All for One sighed, as he displayed once more his results.
They were good, great even. However, they were far from enough.
Experiment 387. Supposed to be a simple Nomu. A creature that would only achieve its purpose of following his orders.
However, the three Quirks he wanted to insert in the Nomu merged, creating something far more dangerous than what he hoped to get.
Quirk #1 : Floral Body. A power that allowed the human body to create plants on itself. Those plants weren't really vegetables, as per say. They were a mix of muscles and leaves, and it was far from beautiful to watch.
Quirk #2 : Propagation. A Quirk that allowed the user to spread his entire being on what was around him. For the initial user, it wasn't that useful. However, to All for One, it was great. His goal was to make the Nomu able to spread the different muscles he would create with Floral Body around him. It still didn't show that much potential, but the third Quirk was the key.
Quirk #3 : Raisonance. The Quirk made the user capable of making his different body parts interact with himself, even after an accident, like an arm being cut. As long as the arm wasn't damaged in any way, it would still respond to the host, as if it didn't leave its body.
It was with those three Quirks that the meaning of the Nomu took all of its sense. Floral body would allow the Nomu to create muscles, that he would spread with Propagation. That thing done, he would be able to control the muscles with Raisonance.
What All for One didn't know, was that Raisonance... evolved. The creature showed that the plants/muscles could interact with himself, in many way.
They could transport the monster away, under the condition that he had also placed muscles at the places he wanted to go. It acted as if it could teleport the user. However, a link would be created between the portals : it would dissolve the area the monster had selected, and would create a different version of reality that only him could enter.
And All for One just couldn't understand how it worked. Because, if he found out, his powers would be improved by a huge margin.
"I need a break." said the man to himself, getting up from the chair he was on. This project was something huge, he just couldn't afford to waste it with a lack of motivation or a lack of focus.
He walked up to a door next to his, and entered what looked like a living room. For a villain hideout, it was kind of cozy. On one of the sofas, a blue-haired teenager was playing a video game. He paused when he noticed the man enter the room.
"How is it going ?" he asked, simply checking up on the progress made. The man chuckled, walking to a coffee machine.
"We're making good progress, but I need the doctor to check up on a few things. Unfortunately, he's still at work."
"You should just ask him to stay here all day. You have enough money to pay him."
"I do, but what we need is a cover. A doctor disappearing like that, or even just closing its work place, would be too suspect."
"You kidnap people, and that isn't suspect already ?"
"We kidnap people from the Underground, the government doesn't care much about them. Frankly, I think they would prefer them all dead. In a way, we're helping them."
"If only they knew."
"Indeed." laughed the man. He took a mug, and filled it up with coffee. "Tonight, the nomu should be doing his first mission. We'll see about the results."
"That's good to know."
The room filled itself in a comfortable silence. After a while, the man sat next to the teenager.
"Tomura, have I ever told you the story of a fallen angel ?" he asked, closing his hands, arms on his knees.
The blue-haired boy looked at him with confusion, clearly surprised about the topic of the question.
"A fallen angel ? I don't think you ever did..." he answered. The man sighed.
"One day, a child was born. A true blessing to the world. A powerful creature, smart, and gifted in every way a man could imagine. A child so, so, bright, that there was no doubt on how important he would be to the world."
He marked a pause.
"This child... was not human. A mix of science, genetics, and luck. Soon, the kid revealed himself to be an angel. A man with wings, strange powers, and a mind so sharp that most beings envied him. But, as he grew up, he became their leader, their guiding light. The idol that every generation hoped to be able to reach."
As he said that, Tomura realized how old the man was. In the position, and that tone of voice, his teacher and master looked more tired than ever.
"But, There always is something going wrong on the path to glory. The angel, facing criminals and pure evil beings, became corrupted. To the price of his purity, he continued bringing peace to the people around him. Soon, he became a corrupted creature, lost, and questioning his existence in the immense world that was his."
He laughed : a bitter chuckle that made the teenager shiver. He knew that there was something to decipher behind that story : his teacher never told stories for the sake of their scenario. There was a moral, something that Tomura could need later.
"Tomura, I'll let you answer this. When this downed man, hoping to redeem himself in the others, tried to speak to them, how do you think they reacted ?"
The teenager huffed. He knew the outcome of the question. He knew it by heart : after all, it had been his case.
"They abandoned him."
"Exactly. They left him to die, alone, disgust in their voices and mistrust in their eyes." He looked up to the ceiling. "The angel perished, devoured by his powers, drowning in his own guilt."
He got up, and walked to the door his laboratory was behind. He stopped right in front of it, and merely turned his head to the teenager.
"What I want you to know, Tomura, is that there always is something to gain from a downed angel. If by luck, or not by luck, you one day cross path with a man like this, don't let him down. It only is with the people that went through the same thing than you, that you can both be reborn, and shine, in the way you want to."
He left, letting the blue-haired kid wonder about everything that had been said.
Momo Yaoyorozu was a bright child. More than a bright girl, she was a prodigy, and she knew it perfectly. Her memory was perfect, something many people would dream of, and she had high deductive skills which easily put her as the star student of her class. However, it didn't really last for long : being first in class, I mean.
Because Momo Yaoyorozu was a bright child, she understood fairly quickly that people weren't born equals.
People often told themselves than the rich ones were the persons who lived the best. In a way, it was certainly true : money gave Momo many things. She came from a very rich family, with both parents at the top of the Yaoyozoru Industry, and they were without a doubt two of the richest people in Japan. Since being a baby, Momo always got the best.
She wanted school supplies ? Sure, just name it. She wanted paper ? Perfect, the delivery man was there in 30 minutes. Food ? A three stars chief was in the kitchen. A piano to learn small melodies ? Then take that Steinway and sons grand piano.
But... Being the daughter of rich persons also was a curse. Every time, the other children would follow the same path. For a child, she was absolutely beautiful, and a single look at her promised that with a bit of time, this girl would be one of the most beautiful women in Japan, easily. Her Quirk was also super cool !
That Quirk... Momo loved it, and yet hated it with a passion. She couldn't think of something better : she could create any object, or material, as long as it wasn't alive. It was a power that went fairly well with her marvelous intellect. She would impress the others, they would become friends... And then they would know about her money.
She offered the most expensive gifts. Every day, after school, a private driver in a limousine would come and get her. She lived in a mansion that had such a gigantic garden that you could get lost in it. And finally, she wore expensive clothes that were from the finest marks from all around the world.
To the other kids, it was disgusting, not that the black-haired girl didn't understand them. It probably was like watching something do everything you did, but in better. She had the best grades, she had no physical imperfection, she was rich, and her Quirk was one of the best.
Quickly, she became the bullied girl.
They would speak behind her back. They would prank her. The most sickening thing that ever happened was parents telling their children to become friends with her, because of her money. She watched, as those other kids came to her with sick expressions, pretending to like her.
Absolutely, utterly, and horribly disgusting.
She was so bright that she was nine, when her parents took her out of school because of the bullying she was facing. They decided that she could learn on her own, far away from the menace that were the others student.
Momo only wanted to live and learn like the normal people. But because of those normal people, she had to act and grow up like the rich kid she was. She was Momo Yaoyorozu, the heiress of the Yaoyorozu family, and it was better for everyone if she stayed that way.
She would pass her days learning, expending her already amazing knowledge. She would learn by heart the recipes of any object she could create, transforming her into a literal weapon that could create almost anything. She would work on her physique, making sure that her body stayed perfect. She would do sport...
But she was lonely. So lonely. Too lonely. Her parents tried hard to make her find new friends, but the girl was damaged. She had understood how unfair the world was. She wanted nothing to do with the others anymore.
Until that day.
"Momo ?"
"Yes ?"
"We need to tell you something."
The black-haired girl, now twelve years old, was lying on her bed, when her two parents entered the room. They were in business suits, something the girl was very aware of. Her parents would meet another group of important people, another couple. Momo didn't really care : She had seen tons and tons of people who wanted to partner with her parents. It never changed, and it would never change.
"Sure, go ahead." she answered, closing the book she was actually reading. She looked at her phone, noticing it barely was 2 P.M.
"As we told you, some ... friends, are stopping by to talk business. I know you don't really mind, but today is different. It is really important business, and we will probably speak with those people for the rest of the day. We won't probably see each others for the rest of the afternoon, or even tonight." her father started. The black-haired girl only nodded, not really understanding where they were going.
"And you see, it is so important that we took pro heroes to protect us for the day." added her mother. Momo's eyes widened : now that was something new. Usually, they would speak business and be done with it.
"Is there something I must know about those heroes ? Plus, why would heroes act as bodyguards ?" she asked.
"Because the persons we will be speaking are from the government. More precisely, from the heroic department. That's why heroes will make sure that we all stay safe. Don't worry, they are three underground heroes, and are very capable. They are, without a doubt, some of the best. They should not be a problem to you. However, one of them has a child." continued her father.
"Don't tell me I'm going to babysit him." said an horrified Momo. Her parent's eyes widened instantly.
"No, absolutely not !" said her mother. "In fact, he should be around your age. Not, what we really wanted you to know is that, maybe you should try to speak with him. You know, befriend him ?" finished her mother.
That really surprised Momo. She could not understand that decision from her parents, really. They had tried, again and again, to make her socialize with other children. And every single time, it failed miserably.
"Why would a child of a hero be there ? Shouldn't you be against a kid interfering with the possible heroes or your business ?" she asked, decided to know what happened for her parents to take that decision.
"Yes, maybe. But, we've heard that like you, he is a prodigy. He left school to train to become a hero, and from what we've seen, he's a very mature boy who only wishes the best for everyone. You maybe even saw him on the web..." hesitantly said her father. He didn't want to make his daughter angry by accident : in the Yaoyorozu family, women were downright scary.
"I'll try, but I can't promise you anything. You know how it goes with other kids, specially boys." said the girl. Her parents nodded.
"That's all we ask. When he'll be there, he will directly come to your room. We will make sure he finds his way." said her mother. "Have fun, Momo." she softly smiled, leaving the room. Her father approached his daughter, kissed her on the forehead, and left too.
The youngest Yaoyorozu looked at them go, before she sat on her bed. She just wondered what person could be that other kid. There was no doubt in the girl's mind that he would be attracted to her money, like all of the others. Deep inside her, she hoped that he wouldn't. It had been a long time since she had a conversation to another kid of her age, and truth to be told, she didn't like being that lone for so long. Of course, there was a ton of people working in the mansion who she could speak with, but none of them were her age, sharing the same passions.
She sighed. What if he was just another one of those kids ? One of those who would mock her ?
She continued thinking about that, until she was forced out of it by a knock on the door. A quick look at her phone told her that it already was thirty minutes later than when her parents went to see her. Did she really lost herself in her thoughts for that long ? She quickly got up, but slowly walked to the door. She took a deep breath, and opened the door.
Behind, was without a doubt the brightest kid she ever met. Literally. His hair were both a black and white shade of green. His eyes were shining like emeralds exposed to the sun. He was wearing a completely black hoodie, except for the strings which were white, and on his torso in white letters, the word "Hoodie". He also wore a completely black jogging, and finally his clothes finished with a pair of white baskets. But it clearly wasn't the most important thing about him.
He had wings. Two actuals, gigantic, pure white, wings. She blinked once, then many times, to finally notice that he also had an aureole.
Okay, did she eat anything nasty during dinner ?
The boy in front of her just looked at her with amusement in his eyes. He then bowed, and while she was still thinking, he gently took her hand. It snapped her out of her thoughts, again, and watched as he softly kissed her knuckles. He then let the hand drop, and got up. With a smile as bright as the sun, he introduced himself.
"Hello, Miss Yaoyorozu. My name is Izuku Aizawa. I don't know if you are aware, but I am supposed to spend the afternoon, and possibly the evening, in your company. It is a pleasure to meet you !" he grinned, only for the black-haired girl to blush. the boy in front of her was fairly beautiful, specially for their age. He was almost as tall as her, which already was something special, since she was fairly tall for her age.
"I'm Momo Yaoyorozu. It also is a pleasure to meet you, mister Aizawa." she answered.
"Please call me Izuku... Mister Aizawa is for my father... I'd rather enjoy being a kid for the moment." he said. Momo nodded. The kid seemed to be awfully friendly, but she couldn't really refuse him when he just introduced himself.
"I can do that, Izuku. Come, don't stand there all day." she said, letting the boy enter her room. It didn't start that bad, but it still could go wrong. He thanked her, and entered the room.
Momo noticed that he was looking all around himself, analyzing the room with a soft smile on his face. She grew suspicious : was he searching for anything ?
"Excuse me, Izuku, but are you searching for anything ?" she asked hesitantly. He looked surprise for a second, before quickly denying that theory.
"No, absolutely not, don't worry ! I wanted to try to find your hobbies by looking around your room, but the only things I see are books and expensive decorations." he said, laughing. Momo blushed, for a reason she didn't really know.
"I'm sorry. I'm kind of a lame person..." she started, only to be interrupted by the winged boy.
"Nobody is lame, Miss Yaoyorozu. It is not because you display your hobbies everywhere that you are an interesting person, or it is not because your room has four walls, a bed and a door that it makes you boring. Everything is there, and there." he said, pointing to his heart, and then at his head. He winked at her. "If we could maybe introduce each others more seriously, I'm sure we'll find a lot of things to talk about." he added.
Momo looked at the boy, almost stupefied. She wouldn't explain it, but in a way, those words were inspiring. She knew those paroles were only that ; words. But she was almost convinced that the boy genuinely wanted to know her.
Or maybe she really just was too lone.
"Sure. Let's have a seat, it will be easier." she said, sitting on her bed. The boy silently pointed to a chair, and seeing that Momo nodded, he took it and sat in front of her.
"May I start ? I think it would be easier." he said, still smiling. Momo nodded again. "As I said, I am Izuku Aizawa. I'm almost twelve. I have a lot of hobbies I'd say : almost everything interests me. But, I'd put a plus on hero work, sport, reading, listening to music and probably playing video games." he added.
"Listening to music, you don't play any instrument ?" asked the ponytail girl in wonder.
"I do, piano and guitar to be exact. But you know, I'm not that good in music. One of my best friends' parents are famous musicians : every single time I go to their house, they show us just how good they are with their art. She is the one that almost forced me to play an instrument : I'm pretty sure she had great plans for me, but I don't quite meet her expectations." he said with the smile that he didn't lose since he entered the room.
Momo chuckled.
"I also play piano, but I don't think I'm that good either. For my other hobbies, I'd say reading too. I also like sport..." she said.
"See ? We have almost the same hobbies ! If you call yourself lame, then so I am !" grinned sheepishly Izuku, making Momo laugh. It had been her first real laugh in a long time. "I'd also say that one of my other favorite hobbies is flying, but I don't think that's really everyone's passion." continued the angel.
Momo nodded, looking in wonder at his wings.
"That is very true. It must be awesome to be able to fly with your own wings." she said. She kind of even envied him. Those wings, plus the aureole, gave him a sort of angelic aura that she guessed was pretty easy to live with. Flying was another really cool ability : She even thought that if she had the same, she could have been able to fly above the rest of her schoolmates, and never be bothered.
"It is. I don't really like to brag about it, but it is something that makes me feel light." he added with a soft smile. Momo could only smile back : She really didn't know why, but something in the angel's smile made it contagious.
"Freedom is something I always dreamed of." started Momo. "Flying... It must feels like the taste of Freedom. I don't really know how to explain that, but it literally is..."
"The symbol ?" asked Izuku, earning a nod from Yaoyorozu. "Yes, sometimes, people make the same link. But, as strange as it sounds, if you fly around aimlessly, you don't really feel free."
"What ?"
"Being free... That is not something I am interested in. Freedom takes its own definition with every single different person, and to me, an aimless life is a goal I don't strike for." finished the angel. For a lone second, his smile faltered, almost as if he wanted to say something else. Momo looked at him, but he just shook his head, as if he agreed with himself. "But let's not take about me anymore, I am pretty obvious. Let's learn more about you !" He added with a grin. Momo smiled, and dropped the subject. Maybe he would tell her on his own.
So they continued to chat, the hero kid doing his best to make the girl smile, and said girl smiling. After a while, Momo felt like something had changed between them. She smiled more easily at him, she even laughed a few times. The angel was, without a doubt, the strange person kind. He always cracked jokes, even when he shouldn't, but as time passed, the black-haired girl felt like she became more and more receptive to his actions. When he said something that would make her doubt before, she know smiled along.
She didn't know if it was because the boy was a a social and people magnet, or because she had been alone for so long.
A growl interrupted both of the kids, and Momo blushed hard when he realized it came from her stomach. She looked at Izuku, who was frozen, before a grin slowly appeared on his face.
"I'm pretty sure even Katsuki's stomach don't growl that loud." he said with an absolute shit-eating grin. The girl blushed even harder : she didn't know that "Katsuki", but she was a hundred percent sure that it wasn't really a compliment.
"Yes, I may have skipped lunch today. I was kind of busy reading..." answered the girl. The angel only laughed.
"You should go and find something to eat : I can even bring something from the city if you want, I just need to go, and before you'll know it, I'll be back." offered Izuku.
"Don't worry, I'll just go and grab something in the kitchens." Said the girl, getting up. She started to leave, but stopped at the door, when she noticed that the angel didn't move. "Do you, uhm, wanna come ?"
The boy smiled, getting up.
"Sure !"
They left together the room, and walked to the kitchens. Well, Momo walked to the kitchen. Izuku just followed her, looking all around him like he did in the girl's room. When they met anyone working in the mansion, the angel would salute them with a grin, something that annoyed a bit Momo. Yes, she hoped that he would have acted like that only with her, but she knew that she couldn't really blame him. Like the heroes, he had been employed by her parents, so it was just normal for him to greet any person of the mansion equally.
They quickly arrived to the kitchen. She grabbed a sandwich out of a fridge, since the mansion's staff always made sure that there was something to eat if the girl was hungry. Which was kind of frequent, her quirk using her lipids to work. She then made her way to the living room, where she sat on a sofa. Izuku followed her, and sat on another sofa in front of her.
"So, Izuku, can I ask you another question ?"
"Sure, miss Yaoyorozu, go ahead." he replied with a smile.
"Why are you here ? Don't misunderstand me, it's not that I don't like you, but it is kind of surprising for a child to work with pro heroes." she asked. Izuku just nodded.
"To be quite honest, I don't think I was supposed to be there. My father came to me like a few days ago, saying that I should come, and that it apparently was a request from your family. I don't really understand why, to be completely honest, but I decided I would take the opportunity."
"So, my parents asked for you to be here ?"
"I guess ? I mean, I don't really know..." added a confused Izuku, his face wearing a thoughtful expression. Momo nodded.
"And... Why do you try to be a hero ?" she simply asked. "It isn't the easiest job around there. Plus, it's dangerous, and not the most rewarding..."
"In my opinion, it is quite the opposite. Yes, maybe it is not the easiest job, but nothing worth doing is easy. The pay may not be worth the risks, but it is by far the most rewarding job : every smile, every 'thank you', and every life I can save is a treasure I will always keep." he simply answered with a smile. He then shrugged. "I guess I just like to help people !"
Momo nodded, lost in thoughts. This definitely wasn't the answer she was expecting from the boy. She surely waited for something along the lines of 'I want to be number 1' or 'I want to be famous'. For some reason, she felt herself open up a bit more to the angel.
"Hey, Izuku ?
"Yes, Miss Yaoyorozu ?"
"Please just call me Momo."
Izuku grinned and nodded. "Sure thing, Momo !"
If the boy had been completely polite, he would have asked if she was sure. First names were something important in Japan, and yet he just didn't seem to care. Momo Internally smirked : The boy was so carefree, easy-going and literally just a bunch of joy, that it was quite easy to live around him. Maybe she'll even ask for his phone, who knows, they will maybe be able to become friends ?
As she took the last bite of her sandwich, the lights of the entire room turned of, and a growling sound was heard. The only remaining light around them was Izuku, who with his wings and aureole, still acted as a sort of uncharged lamp.
"Shit." hissed the boy. He got up as fast as he could, his eyes still glowing like emeralds, and Momo found the situation pretty funny.
"You are incredibly bright, Izuku." she said, trying not to laugh. However, her amusement died fairly quickly when she noticed he wasn't responding to her at all, and was entirely focused on something. She tried to listen, too, only to hear a sound that almost immediately made her flush white.
A low, but menacing, growling sound.
"What it that ?" she whispered, entirely new to those kind of situations.
"Doesn't seem human. Could be an emitter Quirk, from anyone really. But by the situation we are in, and the noises that thing make, I'd say it doesn't want to have a nice and relaxing chat with us." answered the boy. He had switched from that loving idiot to a soldier-like person, and that change alone made Momo feel uneasy about the whole thing.
Izuku walked to the door of the living-room, his entire body still being the only source of light. Momo noticed that he was glowing less and less brightly as time went on, and she couldn't help but switch from a state of uneasy to a state of fear. She quickly walked to him, almost running, and she grabbed his arm. The boy didn't flinch, or didn't even look her way, still completely focused on the sounds around him.
"Izuku, what's going on !" she asked once more, this time on the verge of panic.
"Villain attack. We have to get the fuck out of here, and fast." he answered. He took her under one of his wings, and started walking slowly into the corridor, close to a wall. Momo just followed, still attached to his arm, the wing above her giving her a sense of protection.
When she thought about it, she didn't even hear any of the personal from the mansion. It was as if, suddenly, every single person had decided to make a joke.
She really hoped it was, because she didn't want to think about why they wouldn't be making any sound. Plus, it just wasn't funny.
A sort of walking noise stopped her from thinking more. Izuku completely stood still, and looked around him. He quickly spotted another room, and ran into it, Momo still under his wing. He hided behind the door, with just enough space to see what happened in the corridor.
A creature was slowly walking through the corridor, growling with each step he took. It looked humanoid, even if there frankly was nothing human about it. It was probably around 9 to 10 foot tall, its legs and chest was doing most of his body. His body looked like a sort of mix between muscles and plants, even if Izuku could see something looking like a rib cage. The creature was also fairly skinny. Its head didn't look like it had any eyes, nor a mouth. But for a brief second, it seemed to open, like a sort of carnivore plant.
Izuku was pretty sure it could have been taken from any horror game or movie.
The creature continued walking down the corridor. It stopped when it reached the place next to the door, and Izuku felt Momo stiffen next to him. Apparently, she had seen the monster.
The creature reached the door, still walking slowly. Momo started to move, only for Izuku to grab her arm firmly. She looked at him with fear, only to notice that he was dead-serious, and not moving an inch. His eyes flicked to her, and softened.
'Trust me.' he mouthed. The black-haired girl lost herself in the emerald eyes of the boy, seeing his determination, and she nodded. She pressed herself as hard as she could against him, and closed her eyes. Izuku passed his arm around her shoulders, with his wing above her.
The creature put its head just in front of the door, and started screeching. Izuku still didn't move, but his grip on the girl got stronger, and a pearl of sweat dropped from his front.
The head of the monster opened, revealing the entire of its inside, which was its mouth. A few drops of saliva almost touched the boy, but he remained still. Finally, the mouth of the monster closed itself, and the creature started to leave. The duo waited for a long minute, hoping that the creature wouldn't turn toward them and change his mind. But it left, and both let a sigh escape their mouth.
Izuku looked at Momo.
"Listen, Momo. With no luminosity, my Quirk is almost ineffective. I don't what was this thing, but it seems to have a mind of its own. What we need is to avoid it at any cost, and find the exit. I know it's scary, but you're the only one who knows the build, so you'll need to lead the way." he muttered, and the girl nodded. The girl widened her eyes.
"You need luminosity ?" she asked. The angel nodded, and the girl closed her eyes.
They needed lamps, and that was a thing she could produce. She focused on the palm of her hand, and started to create a lamp torch out of nothing. Izuku looked at her with amazement until the end of the process, before taking it. He clicked on a button, and the lamp light up. Momo created another one as fast as she could.
"My Quirk is called creation. I can create at the cost of my lipids anything that isn't living, but I need to know the recipe. I learned about how to create a lamp over a year ago, when there was no electricity in the house." she said.
"Amazing..." muttered the boy, making the girl blush. "Anyways, we need to be careful. This thing is still roaming around, and there could be others. I don't think it's sensitive to light, as I didn't see any eye on it. However, he definitely feels movements and sounds, and he could possibly smell fear, like any kind of predator. Understood ?". he asked. Momo just nodded. "Let's go then."
The two kids left the room, making the less noises they could. It was at that moment that Izuku really hated his wings : they were heavy, and it was hard not to make sounds while he walked, plus, they always ruffled against a wall, or feathers made sounds by touching themselves.
With much more light, they noticed that things looking like the creature's body were spreaded all around the place, making noise.
"Don't touch it. I'm pretty sure he'll know where we are if we do." warned Izuku. Momo nodded again, making her way around the plant-like obstacle.
The main door of the mansion wasn't that far, and even while slowly walking, they reached it pretty quickly. However, the whole door was covered in the plant-like obstacle, with a hole in the middle. Through the hole, they could see a blury version of the outside. There were cops, a bunch of heroes, and...
"Mom, dad !" almost yelled Momo. However, they were looking at the door, as if they didn't see her.
As if, that sort of hole didn't even exist.
She approached it, but her parents continued to look through it. They never noticed her.
"I don't think they see you." said Izuku. "I think this is some kind of portal, and I'm sure we have to go through it. I'll let you go first, so if anything happens, I can grab you and pull you backwards. Okay ?" he said, with a little smile on his face. She agreed, feeling more confident after Izuku's soft smile, and went to the portal. She passed her arm through the portal, and the persons behind it seemed to look surprised, and approached it.
"Izuku, I think it works !" she almost yelled, delighted. Izuku softly laughed.
But suddenly, they heard an horrible shriek, and a feminine voice yell in terror, and/or possibly, pain. Momo stopped, and looked at the boy.
"I'll go and help her. Go through the portal." said the angel, looking determined. The black-haired girl though for a second, before answering, looking resolved.
"No, I'll help you too. I won't let you down here."
"Momo, my task is to protect you in case something like this happens. Sorry, but you're completely wrong if I think I'll let you come with me." he added, quite fast. "We are losing time. I need you to prevent the heroes, and the cops : they need to stay away from the house. Worse, we don't know what happened to the mansion in the 'real world'. Please."
She didn't know what made her crack, the lack of courage, or the puppy eyes of the angel, but she agreed to leaving.
"Stay safe, okay ?" she asked, with tears in her eyes. The green-haired kid smiled.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Now go."
Another shriek, this time more powerful than the other one, was heard, as Momo entered through the portal. The last thing she saw was Izuku running toward the noises, his wings following behind him with each step he took.
The heroes and cops were waiting around the Yaoyorozu Mansion, looking at the fire with worry. Everyone except three people were safe and out, while the status of the three others remained unknown.
"Cause of the fire ?" asked Eraserhead.
"Unknown." answered the policeman. Next to him, two other heroes, Midnight and Vlad King, plus the Yaoyorozu couple, were listening with rapt attention. "However, allow me to doubt that it was an accidental one."
The pro hero nodded. "Anything that could be saved ?"
"Not a single thing. At least, for the moment. The flames are way too intense for us to get through. Endeavor should be on his way, but we can't guarantee that he'll be there shortly."
"Any people missing ?"
"With the list you gave us of all the people that should be here tonight, yes, three individuals are missing."
"Names ?"
"Ella Windlost, Izuku Aizawa and Momo Yaoyorozu." answered the cop.
"I don't want anyone leaving the site. I want every single person to be questioned about what they were doing in the house ten minutes before the start of the fire."
"Yes, Eraserhead !"
The cop left, giving orders left and right. The two Yaoyorozus were incredibly worried for their daughter, one of their maid, and the boy. Midnight put her hand on the shoulder of the wife, an encouraging smile on her face.
"I'm sure that they'll all be fine." she said.
"And how can you be so sure ?" asked her husband, quite angrily.
"Because I'm pretty sure that your daughter is with my son, and he'd die before not saving her." simply added Eraserhead, making both parents freeze. One look at the man was enough to say that even if he wasn't showing it, he was worried.
"I..I'm sorry-..." tried the man.
"Don't be. I trust that kid as if I trusted myself. You'll have your daughter back before the end of this event."
As he said that, the front door he was looking at started to make strange loud noises. A sort of flower like thing started to reveal itself on the door, leaving the people looking at it speechless.
"Don't approach that thing !" yelled Erasedhead, running to the door. Behind him, Midnight and Vlad followed.
They looked in horror, as an arm appeared from the flower.
"Pull it !" yelled the man of the Yaoyorozu couple.
"Don't !' yelled back Vlad King, not even looking at him, still focused on the flower.
"Why ?"
"You want the arm, or the person behind it ?!"
And so, they watched in terror, for about a whole minute, looking at the arm that sometimes moved. The hand closing itself had been its last movement, before something seemed to appear from behind the arm. In a second, a whole body fell from the plant, a black-haired girl.
Momo Yaoyorozu.
People rushed to help her stand up, and to get her away from the plant.
"Momo, are you okay ?!" asked her mother. However, the girl completely ignored her, and turned to the nearest hero, which happened to be Eraserhead.
"We have to go back ! Izuku is still there !" she said quickly. The hero made a sour face, before asking :
"What happened ?"
"We were in one of the living room, I was eating, we were just talking, and then the lights turned off and a sort of monster-"
"Calm down." said another hero, gently taking her arm. "We can't understand everything with how fast you are going."
The girl took a deep breath.
"I-.. I don't even know what really happened. One second, everything was fine, and the next one, we were like stuck in a different version of the mansion. Everything was dark, without light, but I managed to create lamps, and I guess Izuku was kind of like a lamp too. However, as we tried to... 'escape ?', we found out that there were some kind of muscles/flowers, and a monster made in those things. Izuku managed to hide us, and calm me down so it wouldn't find us, and we passed through him. As we were about to leave, we heard a scream, and the monster shrieking. Izuku told me to leave, and he went toward the scream..."
It only was at that moment that she noticed that the mansion was on fire.
"But, how..." she mumbled. It was enough for the eldest Aizawa.
"Everyone back off ! Be ready to act when two people, possibly dramatically injured, drop down from that thing !" he said, giving orders right and left.
Momo was led away by her parents and a female hero.
"But, we need to go and help Izuku !" said the black-haired girl. The hero smiled sadly.
"We can't. We don't have any informations on what could happen inside of that different version of your home, specially if there are monsters, as you said. We just can't lead a group of people inside of that thing. And trust me, it is as painful for me than for you, for Izuku is my nephew." she said. She then nodded to the parents of the girl, before going back to the front of the mansion.
"Momo, are you okay...?" asked her mother. Her daughter was, very obviously, perturbed. She had never seen her that down, even when she was betrayed by her friends years ago.
"I am, but he is not...!" said the girl. Her father interrupted her.
"Momo, I am sure he is fine right now." said her father. "He has been trained for those kinds of situation. You are not." he said. The girl seemed to falter for a second.
"I know... But it doesn't make me the less worried." she added.
"From what I understood, he managed to calm you enough so you could be ignored by the monster you spoke about ?" asked her mother.
"Yeah... Apparently, he said the monster didn't have eyes. If I follow Izuku's theories, he thought that maybe he could smell sensations from living beings, and that maybe it had smelled, or heard us. He managed to calm me down when the monster was inches from his own face. Then, the thing left, probably having lost our tracks." She thought for a second, and horror appeared on her face. "Or he left toward the other living being that smelled more like fear than us..." she added painfully.
The two parents made a frown, understanding what she meant.
"Is anyone missing ?" asked the girl.
"Ella." answered her father. Momo's heart sank.
The atmosphere was far too heavy for the two parents to handle. Their daughter looked more and more depressed every second, and they had to do something about it. However, fate seemed, as always, to have other plans.
People started to yell in front of the mansion, and the family turned to see what was happening.
Two people fell down the hole, and they just couldn't believe how much red there was.
The angel was holding a girl older than him, but it probably was the least important detail. His entire left side was covered in blood. His black clothes were soaking with blood, and his left shoe had gone from white to red. His face, up to his hair and wings were also covered with red.
"Oh my god." said Momo's mother, and her two family members couldn't agree more with her.
"Medics !" he yelled. People rushed to his side, getting the girl he was holding. He tried to take a few steps forward, before crashing miserably on the ground. Another group of people got him up, and Momo realized that the blood on him wasn't only from Ella.
His left side was literally shredded.
"This is awful." muttered her father.
A group of policemen guided the family and their staff to a secondary home of the person they were having business with, but Momo was numb to everything that was happening around her.
She just couldn't help but watch in her mind, again and again, as the person she thought as her only friend in a while came back, with an injury deeper than any of what she had ever seen, and a distant memory of his words.
"The pay may not be worth the risks, but it is by far the most rewarding job. I guess I just like to help people !"
It had been three days since the mansion accident. Several people were standing in a hospital waiting room, and to most of them, patience wasn't their strongest point.
Shota Aizawa had received the text that his son was awake earlier that day, and he hadn't waited for more than a minute to text everyone and rush to the hospital.
Mitsuki and Katsuki were both here, without Masaru who wasn't able to come, because of work. Kyoka was also there, but both of her parents were in another country for work. Endeavor was on hero duty, so Shoto and Rei came without him. Nejire was in class, as she had not been able to leave school like the rest of her friends. The three kids had formed their own group together in a corner of the room, while their parents spoke with each others.
Surprisingly, the Yaoyorozu family had wanted to know when the angel would wake up. Shota supposed that it was to thanks him, and gave them the news. They came as fast as they could, and were waiting with the others, even if they were in their own corner and interacted with the others only if they needed to.
Momo had wanted to see Izuku again, but had quickly lost her courage when she had seen the boy's actuals friends. During the three days he was 'asleep', she had informed herself on the boy. A prodigy, who left schools and actually did hero work ? This was very forbidden by the law.
She wasn't even surprised when she found that Izuku actually was All Might's apprentice. In a way, it explained a lot of things about his mentality. She could still speak to Izuku, as this information only made him better in her mind, but to his friends ?
The raven-haired girl looked kind of edgy, the blond boy looked really aggressive, and the other boy had a face as cold as ice. The woman with white hair actually looked sweet, but the two other adults with her, probably the mother of the blond kid and Izuku's father both looked scary.
"When will they open that fucking door !" complained Katsuki.
"Shut up, brat !" said his mother.
"Nobody asked you anything old hag !"
It helped to ease the tension in the room : the interactions in the Bakugo family were always funny. Momo's parents both chuckled softly, but Momo just felt more out of place. How did those people see strangers ? Plus, the black-haired girl was kind of the reason why their friend had been hurt in the first place. Her thoughts were interrupted by the door of Izuku's room opening. A nurse came out of it.
"Hello, are you all here to see the young Izuku Aizawa ?" she asked.
"Yes." answered the father of the boy.
"Then you may all come in. I'll leave so you can have your intimacy." she said softly. They all entered the room, and closed the door behind them.
Izuku was casually sitting on his bed, looking as cheerful as always, his wings resting on his back as it should.
"Yo." He said, smiling.
The first reaction of the first person to interact with the boy was the raven-haired girl. She walked to him...
And proceeded to hit him as hard as she could behind his head.
And then, to take him into a bone-crushing hug.
"You scared the shit out of me, Izuku." she said softly, making the angel chuckle.
"You know, that hurts more than any of the villains I've ever faced." he added, making the girl laugh.
"I hope !"
Izuku then turned his head to the two other boys.
"What's up, fuckers ?"
They both grinned.
"Welp, while you were sleeping like a princess, we did reach Masters on LoL." said the bi-haired boy.
"You motherfuckers."
The group laughed. Izuku turned to the parents, who were all grinning.
"Glad to see you alive, brat !" said the blond one, earning a nod and a soft nod from the white haired one.
"Without all of that primitive language, I agree with Mitsuki." said the black-haired man, earning a glare from the blond adult and a laugh from the others.
And finally, Izuku turned to the Yaoyorozu family. His smile didn't falter, but the group of three noticed how his eyes switched from amused to restrained, in an attempt to remain formal.
"Sir Yaoyorozu, Madam Yaoyorozu..." he stopped for a brief second, before grinning. "Momo. What can I do for all of you ?" he asked.
"No need to be this formal, my boy, you can call me Karma." said Momo's father.
"And I am Susie." added the girl's mother. "We merely wanted to thank you for saving our daughter, and Ella."
"Ella ?" curiously said the angel.
"The other girl you saved, when you came back... rather bloody." said Karma, with a frown of disgust. The experience of seeing his maid and the angel soaking in blood hadn't been a fun one. Izuku's eyes widened.
"Oh, right ! How is she ?" he asked with worry. Susie smiled, feeling sympathy for the boy. A hero through and through, she thought.
"She is fine right now. She harbored scratch marks over her body, mainly on her torso, but you managed to save her before she could not be helped anymore." completed Karma.
"That's a relief."
"Yes, and it is entirely thanks to you that she is alive."
"I was merely doing what I had to, no need to give me credit." humbly said the angel. The two parents smiled, looking at each others. It was good to see an alright kid, for once. The angel looked at Momo, who gulped. He smiled softly, encouraging her to speak.
"Well, we never did finish presenting ourselves, right ?" She said quite timidly, now that the entire room was looking at her. "Plus, I thought that maybe, you know, we could try to be friends ?"
Izuku's answer was to laugh.
"I'm sure we can ! I should present you the others, too. The girl with earphone jacks as her ears is..."
"I can present myself, you know ?" She said with a soft smile. Seeing the angel's smirk, she continued. "Name's Kyoka Jiro. Just call me Kyoka, I took this bad habit of calling people by their first name because of someone we both know." She added, glaring briefly at the green-haired kid, who didn't even seem to notice it. The blond kid sighed.
"My name is Katsuki Bakugo." He simply said.
"And I'm Shoto Todoroki." added the bi-haired kid. Momo nodded.
"My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. Pleased to meet you all !"
The adults in the room smiled to each others, knowing that the black-haired girl would fit perfectly into the group.
"Does that mean that we can get ouf of there ?" Asked Izuku, getting up, still in the hospital clothes.
"Absolutely not. You'll leave when you'll have the confirmation from the doctors that everything is fine and..." started Shota.
"Actually, everything is fine !" Said a tiny voice that made Izuku grin. Nezu was casually standing in front of the door, his usual smile on his face. "I even managed to get Izuku an early release. The doctors agreed when I told them that Recovery girl basically would be next to him all the time !"
"Nezu, have I ever told you how much I love you ?" Asked the angel, grinning.
"You did !" Cheerfully answered the tiny bear ('or mouse ?' Thought Momo).
"Anyways, you don't have any clothes, so you can't leav-..." continued the black-haired father.
"And I am here with clothes !" Added another voice, this time of Nemuri.
"Okay, how many of you are standing behind that door ?" Asked the oldest Aizawa. He sighed when Hizashi (Present Mic), Ken (Cementoss), Sejikiro (Vlad King) and Snipe showed themselves, all of them grinning, expect the latest who had his mask, as usual.
"You know what, you won." Said Eraserhead, before leaving the room. They just watched him leave, laughter filling the air, all of them knowing that the man was probably also smirking behind his scarf.
Izuku quickly took the clothes out of Nemuri's hands, and proceeded to change, not embarrassed at all that many people were still in the room.
They flinched, seeing the scar the 'monster' had given him.
"Holy shit, boy, that thing didn't miss you." Said Snipe, earning a nod from Izuku.
"Yeah. Carrying two massive wings in a building, plus worrying about an injured victim, and the fact that there was almost no light didn't made it easier to dodge." Sighed the boy. He finished changing as fast as he could. "So. What's the plan ?"
"Maybe we should show UA to miss Yaoyorozu ? After all, if you all are going to start hanging around, it's better if she knows where you'll be at." Said Nezu. The rest of the heroes nodded, and they started to exit the room, leaving the children, Nezu, and the Yaoyorozu family.
"Karma, Susie ?" Asked Izuku. The two parents nodded. "Would you allow your daughter to come with us to UA ?"
"Giving it literally is a school full of heroes, I'm pretty sure it's safe enough, so of course." Answered Susie, smiling. The angel smiled back, nodding to Momo.
"Oh ! Nezu, I had to tell you something about my Quirk !" Said the boy, looking even more cheerful than before.
"No, we aren't listening to one of your Quirk Analysis shit !" Said Katsuki, leaving the room as fast as he could, Kyoka almost running behind him. Shoto looked at the Yaoyorozus.
"You should do the same, those two can be really annoying when they start to talk about Quirks." He said, leaving. The two parents nodded, and left, as did Momo, leading Izuku and Nezu to laughing.
"So, what did you want to tell me ?" Said Nezu with an huge smile. He loved speaking about Quirks with Izuku : the kid was very skilled at analyzing, and they could talk for hours without interruption. Intellectual conversations like he loved.
However, the angel had other plans. Immediately, his smiled disappeared, leaving confusion on the bear's face. The boy walked to his bed, where he took something under his mattress.
"Nezu, I think that one, maybe two of our theories just proved themselves right." Slowly said the green-haired kid.
"Which ones ?"
Izuku faced Nezu, and gave him something. The mouse widened his eyes when he noticed what it was.
A completely black feather.
He looked at Izuku in shock, who looked grave.
"I teared it out of my wings earlier. Nezu... I don't think that this monster I faced was completely human." He marked a pause. "And, I don't think it was any more human than I am."
Silence passed between the two, before Nezu hissed something that made Izuku shiver.
"Shit."
All for One looked at the body of his Nomu. It was lying on the ground, not a single muscle working, as if it was a puppet that had been cut from its strings. And by the huge hole in its head, the man guessed that it was because it seemed to be very dead.
"Well, it seems like it didn't go that well." Said the doctor, adjusting his glasses. All for One chuckled darkly, before crouching. His massive hand went to the Nomu's head, doing some movements that the doctor couldn't really see because of the corpulence of the man.
The villain got back up, eyeing something that was resting in his hand, before turning to the doctor.
"It is quite the contrary, my dear doctor." He said, showing with two fingers a black feather, covered in the monster's blood. "I think the true experiment went very, very well."