POV: Issei Hyoudou
Imagine this
One day, you decide to take a simple, relaxing walk. Just you, your thoughts, and a town you've spent your entire life in. No way you could possibly get lost, right?
Wrong.
Somehow, defying all logic, reason, and possibly the laws of physics, you get Completely and utterly lost. In your own damn hometown. Next thing you know, you're spending the night in a sketchy, possibly haunted library, surrounded by abandoned buildings that probably house either ghosts or some guy named Larry who talks to pigeons.
But just when you start coming to terms with your situation—BOOM—you open a book and suddenly find yourself in a completely different city. A city where living sludge monsters and people with superpowers casually exist.
And the cherry on top of this multi-layered cake of "What the Actual Hell Is My Life?"
Oh, nothing major, just that even if I find my way home, it won't matter.
Why? Because apparently, I have time traveled FIVE HUNDRED YEARS INTO THE FUTURE.
That's right. Everyone I ever knew? Dead. My childhood home? Probably an overpriced historical landmark. And me? A walking, Talking relic of the past with zero prospects and an outdated understanding of technology.
So Like any self-respecting young adult would, I handled the news with grace.
"I wonder if Porn is more advanced now" That's right instead of unpacking the mind-shattering reality that I now face, I choose to run from that fact by thinking happy thoughts and distracting myself
"Ah who am I kidding, they probably have a way to link the actor's sensations directly to your mind "
I had been walking around what appeared to be a shopping district for the past twenty minutes mumbling to myself. I got the odd looks from time to time but at this point, I didn't care. A part of me was convinced I was either dreaming or dead. The other part was trying to run through every perverted thought I ever had, In a vain attempt to keep my mind from wandering into places I would rather leave alone.
But thankfully, I did manage to get some useful information out of this. You see, Before I left the general area with the news reporter I picked up a little bit of what she was saying while I was walking off. Turns out that the sludge monster that attacked Izuku and me earlier is what is known as a "Villain" or by the reporter's definition "An individual that uses their quirk illegally, And intends to harm others for their benefit "
And that particular villain that we met, Was creatively dubbed the "Sludge villain "
"They were really thinking outside the box for that one huh "
Anyways, Bland naming sense aside he's been on the run from the law for a little while now. Unfortunately for him, he just had to encounter the world's number-one hero. Well turns out it wasn't just a coincidence that All Might just happened to show up there. He was also tailing the sludge villain due to a little scene that happened earlier today that All Might got involved in.
That was about all I cared to listen to, since at that point I decided that I really needed to clear my head otherwise I was going to have a little episode on the sidewalk. With that, I picked the first street I saw and just started moving my legs. which led me to the shopping district where I now find myself standing.
Taking a quick look around the place didn't really tell me anything. It just looked like a regular shopping district to me, They had grocery stores, people trying to promote their business, And constant foot traffic.
You would never guess this is what the future would look like.
I still wasn't thrilled by the idea that I potentially time-traveled hundreds of years into the future, But I would be lying to say I wasn't curious about what humanity could have cooked up in five hundred years.
And it's safe to say I'm disappointed, the only things that caught my eye were the phones, I wasn't a tech enthusiast but I could tell whatever those guys were using, was leagues above my shabby flip phone.
But come on, I was expecting robots, And flying cars. I mean the heroes and villains are kinda cool, But where was my sci-fi fantasy, where is all the cool technology waiting to be used?
I would've kept walking around if it wasn't for my stomach grumbling, Making me stop mid-step.
"Shit"
I just now realized that I hadn't eaten anything in hours, I guess the panic of waking up in an alley and having to aimlessly walk around almost an entire day would give anyone an appetite. The problem with that, Is the fact that I'm flat broke.
Looks like spending the last bit of cash I had, on an internet cafe was coming back to bite me in the ass.
Before I could even attempt to come up with a solution to my hunger problem, A loud explosion rang out nearby. Judging by the plume of smoke I'd say it came from a few streets down at most.
As if moths drawn to a flame everyone in the shopping district began to walk in the direction of the explosion that came from, Some even began chatting among themselves on which hero they thought would show up.
Ok, it turns out people no longer have common sense in the future, Cause my first reaction to an explosion is definitely not walking towards it.
But on the bright side with everyone's attention focused on the explosion, No one was around to guard the now unattended fruit, just waiting to be taken. So with a quick glance around my surroundings to make sure no one was looking, I swiftly slipped an apple into my pocket.
Completely and totally unnoticed.
I only grabbed one which could be a mistake later on, but I just felt bad for stealing. I'll come back later to pay for it of course, but the act itself still left me a little guilty.
I was just about to walk away when I suddenly heard a man shouting behind me.
"HEY THAT GUY JUST TOOK AN APPLE WITHOUT PAYING "
I froze in place, a cold sweat beginning to run down my back. But he couldn't have possibly been talking about me right?
I mean I was sure no one was around when I nabbed it.
"I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU OVER THERE WITH THE BROWN HAIR, IF I CATCH YOU I'M GONNA BEAT YOUR ASS "
Suddenly the idea of running toward the explosion didn't sound so bad. So with a hurried pace followed by shouts and insults, I'd rather not repeat. I headed in the direction of the blast.
POV: Izuku Midoriya
I don't know what I had expected.
I mean, everyone always told me I was never going to be a hero without a quirk. They said it with sneers, with laughter, with pitying looks that burned worse than any insult. And yet, deep down I had hoped.
Hoped that All Might would be different.
That maybe, just maybe, the greatest hero in the world wouldn't see me the way everyone else did. That he'd see something in me that no one else did.
"At least that was one of the nicer rejections I've gotten"
But even knowing that, it didn't make the ache in my chest any easier to bear. It sat there like a heavy stone, pressing against my ribs, making every breath feel just a little harder. Maybe it was because it was him—All Might himself. If it had been anyone else, I might have been able to laugh it off, to crack a joke, to find something, anything, to keep myself from falling apart.
But this?
This felt like the moment all the lies I had told myself shattered.
Because that's all they ever were, weren't they? Lies. Lies I had whispered to myself late at night when the loneliness became too much. Lies I had clung to when the taunts and mockery turned into fists and kicks, leaving bruises that took weeks to fade. Lies I had believed because the truth—the cold, harsh reality of the world—was so much worse.
And now, standing on this rooftop, those lies had finally run out.
I didn't belong in this world. I never did.
I let out a shaky breath and glanced up at the sky, watching the clouds drift lazily overhead, completely indifferent to my suffering. I wondered if they had been here five hundred years ago, floating in the same way, watching over a different version of me—one who still had dreams, one who still believed.
But that version of me was gone.
All I wanted now was to go home, eat whatever my mom had cooked for dinner, and crawl into bed, where I wouldn't have to think anymore. Tomorrow, I'd start looking for a realistic career path—one where I didn't have to pretend I could be something I wasn't.
Then, just as I turned to leave, something stopped me in my tracks.
"I believe that you could become a hero without a quirk"
I froze.
For a moment, I thought I had imagined it. Maybe my exhausted brain was playing tricks on me, desperate to latch onto anything that could dull the pain in my chest. But no, it was real.
I could hear it. That voice. That moment.
"I believe that you could become a hero without a quirk. Now, don't get me wrong—there's a lot you have to do before becoming a hero, like getting fit."
How could I have forgotten?
Between barely surviving an attack from a villain and then meeting my idol right afterward, I had completely forgotten about the brown-haired boy I had met earlier today.
The only person, the only person in my entire life, who had ever looked me in the eye and said the words I had been waiting to hear for nearly Ten years
He had said it. Out loud. To my face.
Something even my mother, The person who had loved me since the day I was born, couldn't bring herself to say.
A bitter laugh bubbled up in my throat. I had spent years fighting, hoping, Begging for someone to believe in me. And the one person who finally did?
I ditched him.
" I totally left Issei in front of the tunnel entrance"
I felt my stomach drop.
The only person to ever tell me I had a chance, to ever believe in me, and I just ditched him the moment All Might showed up. I had even promised to help him call his parents.
And what did I do instead?
I ran after my dream, and when it crumbled, I let myself sink into the darkness, completely forgetting the one person who had given me even the smallest sliver of light.
I felt the sting of fresh tears rolling down my cheeks, hot and unrelenting. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms as guilt coiled in my chest.
He probably hated me now. And maybe he should.
But before I could even begin to process that thought, a thunderous explosion shook the air, rattling the very rooftop beneath my feet.
I barely had time to wipe the tears from my eyes before my instincts kicked in, my gaze snapping toward the thick plume of smoke rising in the distance.
POV: Issei Hyoudou
I finally managed to lose the man in the crowd a couple of minutes back, The rest of the walk just consisted of me finishing the apple. After that, I spent the time looking around to see if I could spot any Heroes arriving at the scene.
I did catch a glimpse of what looked like a firefighter-themed hero rushing in the direction of the explosion. But by the time I caught up to him, there was already a large crowd in the way.
Since this could potentially be the first time I see a real hero in action if you don't count All Might. I decided to push to the front which was easy to do if you don't count the glares and harsh words thrown my way in the process.
But just like all my expectations up to this point, The sight I was treated with when I reached the front was not what I was expecting. I expected to see men and hopefully women, in tight spandex shouting about justice and goodwill While beating up a group of stereotypical-looking criminals.
Instead, Smoke and fire filled the air as I finally got a clear view of what was happening. The acrid scent of burning asphalt stung my nose, and the heat from scattered flames made the air ripple around him.
A trio of heroes were already engaged, shouting commands, dodging wild tendrils of sludge, but it was clear—they were struggling.
The tallest and biggest guy in the trio was massive. Not as huge as All Might, but he was up there in both height and muscle mass. His pants were a dark blue, which contrasted with the black, military-styled boots he wore. By far the strangest thing he wore was his shirt—if you could even call it that. It only covered his back and arms; besides that, his whole chest was exposed, revealing his abs.
To round off his hero costume the man had four collars styled in the construction black and yellow stripes placed in different locations on his body. The first two were placed on both his wrists while the other two were on his waist and head respectively.
I didn't really care about the other two guys. Not to be mean, but they looked kinda bland, so I didn't really give them much thought.
The other problem with this situation, besides the lack of women, lies with their opponent. Due to the smoke and flames surrounding the area, I couldn't get a good look at who they were fighting.
But when a thick, putrid-smelling, sludge tedril slithered across the ground, coiling around a struggling boy. It wasn't too hard to figure out who was causing the destruction around here.
It was none other than the sludge villain and like a feeling of deja vu, he had another hostage, a Blonde-haired boy with red eyes. He looked to be around Izuku's age.
The boy thrashed, explosions firing wildly from his palms, but his breath came in ragged gasps. The sludge was tightening around his body, restricting him more and more with each passing second.
The heroes were trying. They really were. But none of them could get close. Every time they made a move, another uncontrolled blast forced them back.
No one could get to him. This wasn't working. The villain's grip tightened, and the blonde boy's struggles grew weaker. I felt a pit form in my stomach.
"He's running out of air"
Authors Note:
Hey, guys I know I said I was going to try to update regularly from now on, And I was going to post this chapter weeks ago but then other things had to take priority for a little while. But to make up for how long it took me to make this chapter, I decided to give you guys a release date for chapter nine.
But before that, I wanted to address Izuku's behavior in this chapter, We have all seen the anime so we know that this is the scene where Izuku gets his dream crushed by All Might. So because of that, he is in a very fragile mental state right now. so I tried to write that into the way he thinks Issei views him for leaving him at the tunnel.
So I hoped he didn't seem out of character in the way he reacted to some of you guys,But enough of that. I will be posting the ninth chapter on February 22.
I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and have a good night cause I'm heading to bed.