[Previously]
He extracted a Taser from his pouch and swiftly incapacitated Kyo, rendering her unconscious with a jolt to her neck. With a thud, Kyo collapsed to the ground.
"Leave her," Asuka commanded, not even bothering to glance back at Himiko, aware of her furious expression. He turned toward her, wincing at the sight. "Let's have that eye examined."
[Project 42 Arc] Transfiguration
"Hatred is corrosive of a person's wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation's spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society's tolerance and humanity, and block a nation's progress to freedom and democracy." - Liu Xiaobo
-You Can Be A Hero Too-
He slumbered, his face serene in the embrace of sleep. The sisters observed him with heavy hearts, each of them rising slowly to depart to their separate realms.
"Let him find respite, he's earned it," Hayami whispered, fading away. And one by one, Koyami and Sasami followed suit.
Nanami lingered, her gaze fixed on the boy, an ache in her chest. She yearned to hold him close, to reassure him that everything would be alright. The weight of his profound suffering wasn't lost on her; she wished to share that burden.
"Thank you, Izuku-kun."
As the sisters drifted away, the scene around Izuku transformed. The familiar void, once encountered with Ashborn, returned. He blinked his eyes open and lifted himself up.
Izuku's gaze settled on his younger self, a version divergent from the one guided by Miyagi.
"You're—" Izuku began, only to be interrupted.
"Me," his younger self completed, a mirror of his elder. "You are me, and I am you. We are intertwined." The child's gaze oscillated between the two iterations of Izuku.
"Almost. Though our bodies align, our minds diverge." Izuku stared at the miniature version of himself, a puzzled frown creasing his brow. What was his younger self implying?
"What exactly do you mean?" Izuku inquired, hoping for illumination from his past reflection. The eight-year-old extended his arms.
"I am you before Yuuei's influence. Before myriad voices shaped you. They molded us—you—into beings with softened edges, crippled by indecision." He drew nearer as Izuku grew older, an instinctive retreat from his end.
"That impedes your mission. Don't you recall? When you spared Orochi, only to end his life later? You aspired to sever the cycle of enmity between heroes and villains, to forge global harmony." Izuku's eyes widened.
"But I was misguided."
"Indeed. We were mistaken. Disrupting the cycle alone proved inadequate. So you aimed higher. For what? Silence? To wither away within those academy walls?" Izuku remained silent.
"You lost your way, entrapped by Yuuei's denizens. You preach world peace, yet your actions confined you to playing games among aspiring heroes." Izuku hesitated to admit it, yet his younger self spoke the truth.
Years had passed in covert combat, shadow games waged against hero students. That was the extent of it. Until now, nothing more had been spoken.
"And you know what else? It is time to chase the peace we envisaged." Izuku's fists clenched and relaxed.
"What makes you think my path is misguided?" The eight-year-old smirked faintly, his eyes forming crescents of amusement.
"Because I am the ideal you," he replied to Izuku's inquiry.
YOU ARE READING
You Can Be a Hero Too
FanfictionAlthough he possessed unrivaled strength, unmatched intelligence, and an indomitable will, he never consciously sought after these abilities. At the young age of four, Izuku Midoriya was removed from his home and taught a valuable lesson about the...
