"Izuku?!" The two girls choked out the name in unison.

Midoriya, admittedly, wasn't too comfortable suddenly receiving so much attention from two girls. His freckled cheeks were flushed and his hands held tight to the straps of his yellow backpack. Still, having gone years returning home to be greeted by his mother alone, he was more than surprised to see two unknown girls in the house. Let alone, two unknown girls that seemed content to gape at him.

"Uhm-" his nervous lips parted, eyes darting to and fro between the floor and his two guests.

"Deku, what the hell is going on?"

Midoriya froze, the sound of his degrading nickname scaring his spine stiff. The aggressive tone was enough for his eyes to go wide and for his lips to press shut. Despite seeing Bakugou stomp angrily toward his home barely an hour before, he was fully prepared to see the rowdy lad before him, ready to fight. After years of torment, Midoriya reasoned, this must've been a reflexive reaction. Still, as his shoulders began to fall, his rational fear was instead replaced with perplexity. The scene before him, staring his two female guests, seemed as though he was watching life through a mirror.

Katsuki faced Izuku, glare directed at the slightly shorter girl. "Is this suppose to be a joke?"

Izuku couldn't believe what she was hearing. Neither the words spoken earlier by her supposed "mother", her genderbent lookalike, or Katsuki. "Joke?" Her shock was evident as she choked out the word. "You can't be serious?! You think I would joke about something like this?"

"Don't play dumb, Deku! I know what you're capable of!"

"W-why don't we… calm d-down?" Midoriya's timid voice cut through the two girl's steadily rising voices. He tried to approach, but stopped short when the spiky haired blonde set her glare on him.

"And you!" She reached out, grasping his collar firmly. When the sweat on the palm of her hand began to smoke, Midoriya felt the situation to be too familiar for comfort. "Why do you look so much like Deku?"

Midoriya swallowed uncomfortably, wide eyes fixed on the smoking hand near his throat.

"You've got to be kidding me! You're always trying to start a fight!" Izuku reached out to stop her companion before the situation could escalate further.

"Shut the hell up! I don't want to hear any of your shitty excuses!" Katsuki growled at Izuku, slapping her hand away. "If you're not going to admit to this shitty joke, then I'll make this guy admit it! Even if I have to beat it out of him!"

"Why are you always like this, Katsuki?!"

"Katsuki...?" Midoriya shifted his gaze to the girl that threatened to cause him injury. If possible, his eyes widened further. The similarities between the girl before him and Bakugou now seemed glaringly obvious. They listed themselves out in the far reaches of his own mind, and the more he thought about it the more he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it sooner. "K-Kacchan…?"

Izuku looked toward Midoriya, eyes wide and clouded with confusion. Katsuki, however, clenched her fists tighter, ready to release the frustration that was pent up within her. The explosive girl shifted her glare toward the boy, a mini explosion releasing from the tips of her unoccupied fingers. Her movements were quick, and Izuku barely had time to stop her. Free hand moving to strike, Midoriya squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for impact.

"Don't call me that, you shitty Deku!"

"Katsuki!"

"Enough!" Suddenly, everything was still, Katsuki's hand hovering too close to Midoriya's face for comfort. When he opened his eyes, his focus initially went to the wisps of smoke rising from the tips of Katsuki's fingers before moving elsewhere. He, Katsuki, and Izuku simultaneously looked toward the source of the voice that demanded attention; the plump woman, nearly forgotten in the midsts of the three teens exchange. "No fighting in the house!"

Izuku glanced toward Katsuki, and with an annoyed grunt, Katsuki shoved Midoriya away from her.

"Now," the woman continued, her hands trembling as she wrung them together. Despite this nervous gesture, the look in her eyes was steady and sure. "We are going to talk about this calmly, in the living room."

Midoriya seemed more than uncomfortable with how the situation was progressing. "Mom…"

"Now!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Izuku and Midoriya responded immediately to her, rarely used, commanding tone. They practically tripped their way toward the living area while Katsuki dragged her feet behind them, the older woman following suit.

Upon settling into the living room, everyone sat in silence for a handful of seconds, exchanging uncomfortable stares. It wasn't until the round woman spoke again that the silence was broken.

"We all seemed to be confused," she started, unsure of where to start. "Why don't we first introduce ourselves. Izuku?"

"O-kay-" Midoriya and Izuku started in unison, but stopped short, exchanging a look of surprise. Izuku's features eventually settled into a troubled expression. Looking down at her lap, where her hands rest, clenched together, she let her other speak. "My name is Midoriya Izuku…"

"And I am Midoriya Inko, Izuku's mother." After introducing herself, she looked toward the two girls. "What are your names?"

Katsuki glanced at the other girl, observing how she twiddled with her fingers, eyes trained on her lap. It didn't seem like she wanted to speak, as though she was afraid of the inevitable outcome they tumbled ever closer to.

"Katsuki Bakugou." The rowdy girl said finally, sick of her companions silence.

Midoriya stood from his seat, brows furrowed in an expression of utter confusion. "W-what-?"

"We can save the questions for later." Midoriya's mom interjected, easing her son back into his seat. Although she couldn't hide her equally confused expression, she withheld the words that wanted to escape. Too many questions so early on would only lead to more confusion. She looked toward the only unintroduced person, the one that bore a striking resemblance to her son, "And what about your name?"

Lifting her wary gaze from her lap, Izuku glanced between her lookalike and his supposed mother. "I'm…" she hesitated. "I'm Izuku Midoriya."

Uncomfortable, Inko glanced between Izuku and her son. She wasn't so oblivious to not have noticed the similarities between the two of them. In fact, the only obvious difference between them was that Izuku's hair was longer and pulled back into a messy ponytail.

"Um…" Inko looked at Izuku with eyes filled with unsurity. "When you first came here, you called me mom? Is there some sort of mistake? Where do you live?"

"That's the thing!" Izuku's outburst startled the residents of the abode. Just moments before her lips were tightly pinched shut, but now she sat with her hands buried in her curls in frustration. "You're supposed to be my mom! My mom is Inko Midoriya! You act just like her, and you look like her, but-" The curly haired girl stopped herself, biting at her lips as she carefully contemplated her next words. "This is where I live… This is my house… but you're so different…

"I don't know how to explain it! This all started after the incident in Tatooin Shopping District…" Wearily, Izuku lowered her gaze back to the ground.

"Tatooin?" Midoriya piqued at that. His brows furrowed and he raised his hand to quizzically tap at his chin. Anyone could practically see the gears in his head turning. "The sludge villain?"

Both Izuku and Katsuki's eyes immediately jumped to Midoriya. "Yes!" Izuku said, almost too eagerly. "He took Kacchan, and I just… My legs just-"

"-moved on their own?" Midoriya finished her sentence, all too familiar with the earlier occurrences of the day.

For a moment, they did nothing but stare at each other in awe. Even the usually rough and boisterous Katsuki was silent, brows furrowed deeply in thought. Based on the information presented before them, it was difficult to come to a conclusion of what could be going on.

Inko's gaze drifted between the children, worry evident on the features of her face. "Sludge villain?"

The tense atmosphere seemed to grow more so, Midoriya and Izuku letting out a nervous cough almost simultaneously.

"I-I-" they spoke at once, waving their arms before them as if to assure the older woman. "I was going to tell you as soon as I got home!"

"Izuku Midoriya!" Inko practically screeched. She looked faint.

Both Izuku and Midoriya showered the older woman in apologies. With the boy desperately fanning Inko's face, it took a moment, but they were able to calm her; if only a little.

"We both experienced an encounter with the sludge villain and All Might, and apparently at the same time." Midoriya resumed the previous discussion. He lifted his hand to his chin, fingers tapping quizzically against his cheek. Everyone present could practically see gears turning in his head. "This obviously isn't possible, and there is no clear way to explain the similarities between us. As far as I know, there haven't been any cases like this in the past, so we don't have anything to go off of either. It's almost like-"

Midoriya was rambling, and the other participants of the conversation were beginning to lose where he was going with all of this.

"Deku, shut up!" Katsuki, who had been unusually quiet throughout most of this ordeal, let out an exasperated sigh, shaking Midoriya from his ramblings.

"Oh," the boy looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry…" Still, his brows furrowed with a sort of determination to get to the bottom of this odd occurrence. When his eyes observed his lookalike, from the look on her face, he could tell they had come to the same conclusion.

"It's almost like a parallel universe…" Izuku said the words Midoriya previously left unspoken.

"But aren't parallel universes the same with minor differences?" This time, it was Inko who raised a question.

"Not necessarily," Midoriya responded. "In theory, with parallel universes, there would be many similarities, but there is usually something about them that differs."

"Think of it like flipping a coin." Izuku took over the explanation, the smooth transition almost seeming rehearsed. "If you were to flip a coin and it lands on heads, there would be a parallel universe where it lands on tails. If we really are from parallel universes, that would explain the reaction Katsuki received from her parents…"

"If this really is a different universe, then they aren't my parents." Katsuki grumbled, low and almost inaudible.

Izuku took pause, her lips briefly pinching together solemnly before continuing. "It would also explain some of the similarities."

"What are some of the similarities?" Inko asked.

"Well," Izuku started, a brief hesitation prefacing her words. "Even though Katsuki and I have different genders from our counterparts, for the most part, you're the same as my mom."

"For the most part?"

"Izuku's mom isn't f-ugh!" The word on Katsuki's lips faded into a pained grunt when Izuku's elbow pushed into her gut. Izuku sent her a sharp glare. "You have different features." Katsuki corrected herself with a hiss.

Izuku removed her elbow from Katsuki's person. "Other than you and Katsuki's parents, we haven't seen enough to know what's the same and what's different."

"On top top that," Katsuki grunted, rubbing her sore side, "if we came to a parallel universe, we don't know how to go back…"

For a moment, the room was silent, the air heavy with a sense of hopelessness. Even if they were to find the cause of this anomaly, finding a solution would be an entirely different beast. "Unless..." Izuku mumbled under her breath, realization bringing light to her eyes. "All Might and the Sludge villain are the two factors that are the same in both of our stories. I doubt the Sludge villain will know anything about this, but maybe All Might will be able to help!"

"But," Midoriya hesitated. "We have no way of getting in contact with All Might…" he lied. Thinking back to his trek home earlier in the day, Midoriya certainly had a way of contacting the mentioned hero. However, he was reluctant to mention that information.

"Yes, but for Katsuki and I the U.A. entrance exam was right around the corner. U.A. is All Might's alma mater! Someone there will surely know how to contact him. If not, then maybe they will be able to help!" There were stars in Izuku's eyes. Whether from finding a solution in a seemingly hopeless situation, or from her obvious enthusiasm for heroes, no one could really tell. "Our next step should be getting into U.A.!"

Katsuki huffed arrogantly, chest puffed out with pride. "That was the plan all along. I don't care what universe it is, nothing can stop me from attending U.A.!"

Izuku rolled her eyes. "The exam is in ten months. We'll have to prepare for it."

"Until then," Inko, whom had been quietly following the conversation, spoke up. "You have nowhere else to stay, so you can stay here."

The two girls' faces first reflected shock, and then relief. It was evident that they hadn't considered their living arrangements. Then again, they also hadn't considered the event of suddenly becoming strangers in their own home. Ultimately, it was decided that they would stay in Midoriya's room.

Upon entering, they were greeted with pictures of All Might, earth's greatest hero, covering nearly every surface. Izuku didn't want to admit it, but this was another similarity between her and her counterpart. Being surrounded by the number one hero's image also confirmed another similarity: All Might was male in both worlds. It was comforting to know there were aspects of this world that resembled their own. However, that also made it all the more suspenseful for the two girls. They had no way of knowing when something would be different. So far, it has been the most subtle differences that had the most impact.

Tiredly, they turned off the lights and moved to go to sleep. Katsuki made her way to the bed while Izuku made herself comfortable on the floor. Despite their heavy eyes, it felt as though sleep would never come. What was only a handful of minutes seemed like hours of staring at the familiar yet foreign ceiling. Eventually, however, sleep would come.

First, it took Izuku whose eyes drifted closed without her even realizing. It tried to take Katsuki, whose usual glare settled into a blank stare, but the girl was stubborn. In the midsts of her chaotic thoughts, she realized that she couldn't actually remember the last time she had spent the night over at Izuku's house. When they were younger, they often took turns exploring the other's home at least once a week. After Katsuki developed her quirk, however, it was a custom that quickly ceased. For a moment, she contemplated calling out to Izuku, but aside from her pride insisting otherwise, Katsuki could tell the other girl had already managed to fall into a deep slumber.

Heaving a sigh, Katsuki pushed those memories away, and finally let sleep take her.

A/N: First of all... Thank you so much for being so patient with me! It's been so crazy for me! (I'm in my final semester of college and also transitioned from an internship to a new job) My schedule has finally started to stabilize somewhat, so hopefully I'll be able to commit more time to this story! I 100% refuse to leave this story unfinished!

This chapter was much shorter than the last. It'll pick up soon, but first I really want to dedicate time to properly develop the characters. I hope you will continue to be patient with me!

Please, let me know what you think so far; comments are welcome!

Stay tuned for the next one!