Once More (My Hero Academia)

1: Back in Time

This was it. One last time.

The green-haired boy stood in front of the blue archway in the late-night rain. He remembered the first time he stood here, at the entrance of UA high school. It wasn't raining that time.

Izuku wiped the tear-mixed raindrops off his face to no avail. His vision was still blurry, his cheeks still wet.

"Young Midoriya," a deep voice sounded from behind, "you coming?"

"...Yeah," Izuku whispered. He stared at the bright lights in the distance coming from the dorms. They emitted a warmth Izuku could no longer feel.

"Can I just... stay here for a while longer?"

"Sure, kid. I'll be in the car." All Might's voice was filled with sympathy.

Izuku wept silently as his mentor walked away. Even though the boy knew there was no other way to stop the villains, the pain of leaving his friends still jabbed at his heart like an icy cold dagger.

Then a sharp feeling shot through his mind like a pin. It was the fourth's quirk, Danger Sense. Something was wrong.

A sudden wave of fear washed over him, making it hard to breathe. Izuku leaped into the air and activated Float. Danger Sense screamed in Izuku's mind, impelling him to look up. That's when he saw the girl.

No, it can't be...

"Eri...?!" Izuku propelled himself higher in the air to catch the silver-haired girl who was falling from the sky.

Eri was screaming, eyes closed, tears streaming.

"Eri! What the— How in the world did you—"

Pain.

Pain bloomed in Izuku's chest, and he saw blood sprinkle on Eri's face.

Izuku held back a scream. Two sharp, red-and-black tendrils were sticking out of his chest. Blood was dripping down, falling towards the distant ground alongside the raindrops.

A loud cackle boomed from behind Izuku. The boy froze solid.

Eri opened her eyes and whimpered. The tendrils were mere inches above her face. Her eyes, wide with horror, followed the tendrils to the place where they sprouted from Izuku's chest. She was shaking so hard Izuku worried she might explode.

"Ninth holder of One For All, Midoriya Izuku." The all-too-familiar voice said.

"All For One," Izuku said through gritted teeth. "I thought it was my job to... lure you out, didn't expect you to show up so quickly..."

All For One laughed. "If killing you is the only thing I need to do to win, why not do it as soon as possible? Plus, I need that little girl's quirk to heal my body. I can't rule the world looking like a squashed potato, can I?" The villain said that as if it were funny.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on Eri," Izuku spat, his head already racing for a plan. His grip tightened around the trembling girl.

"No..." Eri whispered, her eyes never leaving Izuku's wound. "You're hurt again... because of me..."

Izuku tried to relax his expression a bit. "Eri, it's ok. I'll..."

"No!!" Eri screamed. The horn on her forehead suddenly emitted a bright, yellow light. She was using her rewind quirk.

But something was terribly wrong.

The horn was growing bigger.

Izuku's mind went blank. This wasn't supposed to happen. Her quirk... it changed.