dive and disappear without a trace (ATLA x BNHA)

Chapter Nine

By the time the girl returned, unsurprisingly with her family in tow, Izuku had calmed down and was beginning to put together the beginnings of a game plan. The first step was gaining information.

"We understand that you seem to be confused about your whereabouts. Is it possible that you've lost some of your memory, perhaps from some sort of head trauma? We did find you unconscious, after all," the mother of the young girl, who Izuku finally discovered was named Lin, spoke anxiously.

Izuku nodded. He decided it would be best to keep his recent discovery a secret. If he told them that he was from another world, there was no telling the kind of reaction that would provoke. For now, it was safest to act like he belonged. "It's certainly a possibility," he said. "As of now, I don't seem to have any memory of this nation's history...if you wouldn't mind, could you fill me in?" The parents shared a glance. Their smiles remained on their faces, but Izuku could tell they were a bit strained.

"Certainly," Lin's mother said. "Well, of course, there are the...the four nations," she began, a bit hesitantly. "We are in the Earth Kingdom right now, in Ba Sing Se, which is renowned as one of the safest places in the world due to its impenetrable outer wall. The Water Tribes are located in the North and South Poles, and the Fire Nation is in the west. For a time, everyone lived in harmony, but-" she winced, glancing around. Her eyes were glossy with fear. Izuku would recognize that look anywhere, as he had experienced it himself many times. "That - that's as much as we can tell you, I'm sorry!" Lin's mother had grown increasingly nervous as she spoke, and finally dropped her head in her hands. Her husband embraced her with the same worried expression.

Izuku frowned thoughtfully. Well, that confirmed it. The possibility that he was in an alternate universe was incredibly high. But putting that aside, there was definitely something wrong in Ba Sing Se. Obviously, there was something Lin's mom wasn't telling him, something that was holding her back from saying the entire truth. But what could it be? Izuku already knew he wouldn't find answers here. If he wanted to find out what was really going on, he'd have to do some investigating.

"Thank you, and please don't push yourself to tell me any more. I should be going now. You've already done so much for me, and I don't want to cause you any more distress by overstaying my welcome." Izuku stood, hoping he had a comforting smile on his face.

"Oh, but it's already dark out! You can't go out like this," Lin's mother exclaimed. "Please, won't you stay here until morning at the very least? You wouldn't be any imposition!" Izuku paused. While he'd like to be out of this family's hair as soon as possible, it wasn't like he had any money or another place to stay. A glance out the window told him that it was, in fact, dark out, and he would have more trouble getting information than he would if it were morning, not to mention the fact that he needed to find work if he was going to be stuck here. It was really in his best interest to stay here, as long as they were willing.

"If you're really sure..." Izuku said uncertainly.

"Of course we are! You just lay down, and we'll get you some fresh clothes and dinner. You must be hungry, seeing as you've been out all day." On cue, Izuku's stomach grumbled, and he laughed sheepishly.

"Thank you so much for your kindness. Is there anything I can do to help?" His gut twisted at the thought of letting them do all this for him without any sort of payment. The least he could do was help them out a little.

"No, no! Just stay here and rest. We wouldn't want to aggravate your wounds!" Izuku frowned. He just couldn't sit back and do nothing! These people were so kind and had already put themselves through hardship caring for him all this time. He pressed a little harder, and the family eventually relented into allowing him to do some of the easier chores as they realized he wouldn't accept just sitting back and relaxing as an answer. Izuku accepted the chores with a grin.

Soon enough, Izuku was satiated but exhausted. Despite being unconscious most of the day, the fatigue lingered, weighing down his eyelids with invisible weight. The family seemed to notice this and left with brief goodbyes, blowing out the candles as they left and leaving Izuku by himself.

And so there he laid, pondering his findings and trying his hardest to remain awake enough to make sense of it all. It was a harder task than he expected. His eyelids kept drifting shut in the middle of one of his thought processes, and when he would come back into himself and remember he was supposed to be thinking, it would be too late to remember where he was in his thoughts.

By the third time he lost his train of thought, he decided it would be best to just give in and go to sleep.

He shut his eyes and drifted away.

__________

He woke to find himself floating in a blinding white void, the borders of it seeming to stretch far into oblivion. Izuku tensed, focusing on his surroundings and trying to sense any incoming danger.

Midoriya Izuku, a voice boomed. Izuku startled, so stuck on his environment that he jumped at the loud noise.

The voice continued. I am sure you have questions.

"Yes," Izuku said cautiously. "Where am I? Who are you? Why am I here?"

If the voice was irritated by all his questions, it didn't show it. I have brought you to this world to assist in the cause. Who I am...is not of importance. You will know in time.

"What cause?"

The war. It has been waged since one hundred years ago.

That's strange, Izuku thought, that woman didn't mention anything about a war. That must have been what she was too frightened to tell him. What was keeping her from saying it?

"Please, how do I get back to Japan?" Izuku's voice was desperate, even to his own ears. He needed to know he at least had a way back before he even thought about delving into this whole war business.

All in good time.

Izuku felt righteous anger boil in his blood, but he took a deep breath and pushed it down. Getting angry wouldn't help anyone right now, least of all himself. "Well - what am I supposed to do here, then?"

Aid those in need of help.

Izuku scoffed mentally. How specific and helpful. He didn't really see the point in the voice even bothering to talk to him if it was just going to give vague answers on everything and not give an ounce of help. Honestly.

It seems it's time for you to leave, the voice said.

"What?" said Izuku, then he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling with light streaming though the cracks of the curtains. Oh.

Izuku recalled the voice's words from his dream with a mixture of emotions, mostly negative. It hadn't given him much to work with. Aid those in need of help, it had said, but Izuku doubted it was that easy. Did help in this context mean fighting in the war or helping with local problems? If he was supposed to fight in whatever war was going on, did that mean he had to end it? It seemed an impossible feat, especially if it had been going on for an entire one hundred years. It must be a truly awful one to be going on that long.

Izuku sighed. For now, he should just gather information, such as why that family seemed so afraid to tell him about the war. Or, he assumed that's what they were scared about, anyway. Izuku sat up, blearily blinking the sleep from his eyes.

He had a long day ahead of him.