Chapter Text
Izuku woke up in pitch black darkness, well, it would have been if not for his enhanced senses. But he could tell it was before the sunrise.
Momo and Kaina shifted next to him in bed, grumbling as he extricated himself from their arms. Momo quickly passed out, but Izuku had to lull Kaina back to sleep before leaving.
He wasn’t sure the exact reason he woke up, all he knew was that he felt Rumi’s presence pacing through the house. She didn’t seem to have any goal, it was almost like she was on patrol.
Setsuna was already staying with them, but after vetting Rumi, she was given the opportunity to take a room with them. She moved in that day. Izuku still hadn’t gotten to spend much time with her in spite of that.
“Hey,” He whispered into the air after entering the kitchen. “What are you doing up?”
The whisper traveled through the house to Rumi’s delicate ears. Izuku was using Void Magic in his own room to cancel out the noise so that the girls could sleep. Rumi flinched, almost as if she had gotten caught red-handed by a parent and made her way to the kitchen.
Her ears were flopped down and she seemed jittery. Her eyes couldn’t focus.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was just… checking…”
“Checking what?” Izuku used his Gravity Magic to grab some water from the kitchen, telekinetically handing it to her, which she took gratefully.
“I just… had a nightmare. Wanted to make sure everyone was safe.”
“Ah,” He whispered softly, seeing what was happening. Like much of the house, Rumi had a tough childhood. In protecting her siblings from her abusive mother, she’d developed certain tendencies, almost paranoid. “Well the Shadows are always watching… I didn’t mean for that to sound ominous. What I meant was that Igris and the others are keeping guard.”
“I know…”
“But you still can’t relax, can you?” Rumi shook her head.
“I thought… I thought I’d feel safer around you… that’s why I fell for you to begin with.”
“Well, to be fair to both of us,” Izuku said, “We still don’t really know one another very well. For a while we’ve just been… roommates.”
“You’ve heard a lot from Yaoyorozu though.”
Izuku shrugged. “I haven’t heard that much from you.”
“I’m… not great at talking things out.”
“Yeah? Then why not fight things out?”
“Huh?”
Izuku chuckled. “I knew from the second I saw you in that little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. You’re like me. We can be really bad at voicing our true thoughts. Finding the right words is tricky. But we’re usually pretty good at understanding actions, and can draw conclusions just from the way someone moves.”
“You seem pretty good with finding the right words though,” Rumi said, discouraged by her perceived inadequacy.
“Yeah? I guess I’ve been forced to adapt. If you want a polyamorous relationship to work, you kinda have to be able to talk things out.”
“So… I’m not gonna work here, am I?”
Izuku shook his head. “Never said that. We just need to talk in a different way.” He held out his hand. “So, you wanna spar with me?”
*******
“Are you sure we can fight here?” Rumi asked, looking around the cavern.
“I talked with Sung Jin-Woo, he said it’s ours to use whenever we want.”
“But will it hold up?”
“It’s continued to absorb Mana from the fight between me and Beru,” Izuku replied, looking around the hollowed out Jeju mountain. “And the city was rebuilt with Magical materials. We don’t need to worry too much about destroying anything so long as we don’t go all-out. ”
Rumi still looked hesitant, but Izuku could tell she was dying to start the fight. “Come on, you’re too tense, let off some steam. Where’s the person I first me-” Finally, she leapt forwards with blistering speeds, swinging her leg like an axe.
Even Izuku barely managed to put his arm up in time. The impact rattled his body, reverberating so soundly through him that he felt like he was at a concert. Like the speakers were making his chest shake.
He could have tried to stop her midair with Gravity Magic, but that wouldn’t be any fun. So he stuck with just enhancing his body with Gravity Magic. He doubted that any other human on the planet, National-Rank or otherwise, could have survived the kick.
In that brief moment of blocking the blow, his eyes met Rumi’s, and they sparkled with life. “That’s more like it!” He shouted as they separated, the old cheeky smirk back on her face.
This time, he rushed her, throwing a quite obvious haymaker. She blocked it with her arm, distracting her from Izuku’s real move. He stomped on her foot, turning his own density as far up as possible, weighing it down. With one leg essentially clamped down and at such close-range, the advantage was his. Or at least, he thought so. After all, he hadn’t fought many opponents as flexible as Rumi.
She threw off his punch and pivoted her entire body, raising her other leg straight up into the air. She brought it down with such speed and ferocity that Izuku had to use both arms to handle the impact.
“This is her holding back?!” His forearms would be bruised for days after.
At the same time, she punched out with her free hand, getting little more than a glancing blow on his side. But it did distract him enough for her to extricate her feet. By flexing her foot, she shattered the ground underneath it, giving her wiggle room to pull it back from Izuku.
At that point, he let her have it. She clearly knew hand-to-hand better than him. He was still used to Magic and weapons. Sure he could beat up a god when he was going all out, but Quaresha had also been slow, arrogant, and uncoordinated. She may have been an evil god with a lot of power, who was nearly immortal, but she also possessed very little experience. She was a kid picking the wings off of flies, not a veteran of countless wars and battles.
Rumi, on the other hand, was an animal. She’d been defiant for as long as she could remember. Whether it was picking fights in her youth, or struggling for her life in Gates, she’d always been a fighter.
“Just like me,” Izuku reminded himself. “Come on… you know how to fight!” He urged. Right then, he was near the same power level as Rumi, maybe a little higher. He could’ve cranked up the power and easily crushed her, but that wasn’t who he was.
“She always leads with a kick of some sort. Favors her left side. She’s good at using her arms too, but they’re slower, less accurate.” Izuku thought about it like dexterity. When you were right-handed, using your left to write a letter felt unnatural. When you were right-footed, but you used your left to kick a football, you’d miss 99 times out of 100. “Twitch in her smile when she’s about to make her move.” He took another kick to the arms, playing defensive to observe.
Izuku, in his power spike, had forgotten his past. He’d grown accustomed to having raw power to fall back on, but all of his experience was in tactical analysis. If he didn’t use what made him special, he was just an average joe throwing punches.
“She brings her legs down so hard her entire body shifts into the air, and she’s off-balance for a fraction of a second. Bad at adjusting her target once she kicks, just need to keep mobile.” He narrowly ducked under her calf, throwing his fist into her thigh.
She was knocked even further off-balance, tumbling backwards. Rumi didn’t want to give Izuku a chance to exploit it, so she turned the tumble into a roll, springing back to her feet. But Izuku was already out of her vision by that point.
He wasn’t using stealth, he was just behind her. Had he been using stealth, she wouldn’t have seen or heard it coming. But thanks to her impeccable hearing, her reflexes triggered before he could make his move.
She leapt straight up, using her immense strength to crush the cavernous ceiling for a foot hold, hanging there like a bat rather than a rabbit. She barely had the chance to jump again before Izuku came crashing into the same spot she was in.
“Keep her moving, occupy her legs, take advantage of her less powerful upper-body.”
The two began a strange chase, leaping from rocky leverage to rocky leverage. Rumi never had enough time to mount a counterattack, not with how close Izuku was behind her. Conversely, Izuku never reached her in time.
“Is there any pattern? Any tell as to where she’s jumping so I can intercept?” Izuku’s brain raced as he continued the actual race between them. “Her landing crouch… her feet are already positioned for the next jump since I’m not giving her time. Next she’ll go… there! No… a couple feet off. I need to be more accurate before I make my move… but she’s planning her own move probably… Okay, next time she lands, I hold, then see if she instinctively jumps. If she does, I can beat her there.”
He crash landed where she had been moments ago, looking up to the ceiling where her next jump was taking her. “Wait for the feet… wait… there!”
He took off running as she springboarded off the wall, purely on instinct. But halfway to her target, she realized Izuku’s plan.
Instead of aiming to land, she reared her leg back, preparing to kick the ground and send Izuku flying with the shockwave. She was too late.
Izuku caught her leg by the ankle before she made contact. Caught midair, she had no defense as Izuku drove his fist into her side. The air emptied from her lungs with an “oof!”
Still holding onto her leg and with the momentum of his punch catching up with her, Izuku acted like a fulcrum. She was swung down to the ground, cratering the stone floor.
“Ugh… so… do you hit all your women?” She asked with a smile, trying to get some air back in her lungs.
Izuku laughed. “Only if they like it.” He hit her hard, but not hard enough to actually cause serious damage. It was like boxing, they’d both be bruised and sore in the morning, but without all the head trauma. “What about you? You hit all the guys you like?”
“Only the ones that can take it.”
“I’m sure that’s a short list.”
“One name,” She replied, a bit more seriously.
“I don’t… I don’t mean to be rude, but why do you like me? Obviously my strength is the initial catalyst, you felt safe, and that’s perfectly fine. But you don’t stick it out with someone who practically has two wives and another prospective girlfriend,” He said, referring to Setsuna.
“You don’t believe shallowness can be the entire reason?”
“Not a chance. Maybe with some other people. But you took the heat from your siblings to protect them from your mother. You’ve spent more time taking care of them than yourself. You can’t be that good a person, and have a reason that simple. I know there’s more.”
“And what’s your reason for letting me hang around when you don’t know me?” She countered.
“I… already had other partners. I felt that it couldn’t hurt to see where things led.”
“That’s it?”
Izuku chuckled. “I see your point. Okay, you’re beautiful, you-”
“You have other smoking hot women already.”
“Yeah but it’s a nice bonus, and you didn’t let me finish.” He took a seat on the rocks across from her. “You’re kind, you’re caring, even though you can be blunt at times, and you want the feeling of being taken care of yourself.”
“Soooo… I’m your charity case?”
“I’m…” He sighed. “I was never wanted. Not in school, not in Gates. Everyone wanted me out of their lives, out of their business. I only had my family at the time.” He gave her an awkward grin. “Please… don’t tell the others this, it’s kind of embarrassing. But I… like being wanted. It’s my complicated version of shallowness.”
Izuku could only look at the ground as he said it. “I like feeling useful to others, because I’ve always felt so useless. If anything, I’m your charity case.”
“You never told Momo this?”
Izuku shook his head, still not meeting her gaze. “I… didn’t want her to think that I only cared about her because she showed interest in me.”
“And you’re telling me this because you want me to think that?”
“No, not at all,” He quickly denied. “I know why Momo likes me. We’re nerds who share a lot of history. Kaina likes me because we were married in past lives.”
“Setsuna?” She interjected.
“She asked me not to share those things yet. She’s still adjusting to being part of a harem.” He waved his hands through the air, finally looking up, expecting to see shame or disgust on her face. But Rumi seemed totally relaxed.
When she noticed his face, she said, “What? You thought I’d be offended?”
“Uh… yeah?”
“You want to be wanted. I want to be wanted too. Isn’t that how most of us are? We just never say it because it sounds selfish or shallow.”
Izuku scoffed, but not in a dismissive way. “I guess you’re right. But my reasoning sounds more complicated than yours.”
Rumi rolled her eyes. “I… want someone who’s kind enough to be gentle, and strong enough to be rough.” She sat up, running her fingers through her hair. “I’ve been around so many assholes. I always liked strength, I found it attractive in other men, but I never saw them use it to be kind. I want a bad boy and a nice guy.”
Izuku squinted. “I’m pretty sure I’m not a ‘bad boy’ and isn’t ‘nice guy’ an insult these days?”
“You know what I mean. You don’t mind standing up to authority when you feel the need to, but you’ll also listen to others, take their input. You give people a chance and aren’t so blinded by arrogance that you can’t see past your own face!” She huffed, letting out what was likely years of pent-up frustration at the Heroes around her. “I am attracted to you for all sorts of shallow reasons! You’re strong, so I feel safe. You’re… not bad-looking yourself.” She struggled to hide the blush forming on her face. “And you just have… some energy about you that I like. Dominant, but comforting.”
“Heh…” Izuku snorted involuntarily. “Eh… sorry, Kaina said a… similar thing in Maui…” Now he was the one red. “ I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve had girl nights. You’re in the clear.”
“Right… eh, you were saying?”
Rumi smiled at him. Not a confident smirk or joking grin, but a gleaming smile. “I think it sounds silly, but you won’t. That’s why I like you. I want to be around someone who gives me hope, in a world full of dipshits.”
“Then… you won’t mind a guy who finds that hopelessly romantic?”
“Hmm… I think I could live with that.”
*******
“That’s the error right there,” Hatsume said, pointing out a flaw in the sphere she was working on with Izuku. “The energy passes through the ‘nerves’ but it doesn’t do anything in response.”
“This… This is the shape of a Soul, I’m certain of it.”
“Then it’s probably the materials. We have no idea what a Soul is made out of.”
Izuku “hmm’d” to himself for a moment before opening the Soul List of the System. “I’m gonna try something. It might be… a tad immoral.”
“Sweet!” She shouted in excitement.
Izuku shook his head, taking a single Lux Soul from his Soul List. He’d already done stuff like this before, spending Souls as materials. It was… questionable, because these Souls could be brought back as undead beings, and consuming them was like killing them. However, Izuku couldn’t shy away from it now. He killed Chaos Inhabitants, and he’d continue to do so when necessary. Never using them for anything, never letting them go, was just as cruel. War was hell, Izuku would at least try to limit that hell.
By taking out the Soul, he directed it into the housing he and Hatsume created. It lined up perfectly with the model they’d made. Almost like Lego Bricks clicking into place, it seemed to lock into position.
“Okay, now give it a try.”
Hatsume flipped a switch, allowing electricity to flow through the sphere.
Izuku watched as it ran through the Soul, triggering different reactions… and then it exploded.
It wasn’t a big explosion, but it was enough that Izuku had to contain it with Gravity Magic to protect Hatsume and the rest of the laboratory.
“Success!” She exclaimed.
“Uhh… I’m pretty sure explosions are a failure.” The Soul was still intact, but the casing had broken.
“Before that we had no reactions at all! Now something’s happening! That’s progress, pretty boy!”
“True. Still not sure I’d call it a success , but progress I can agree with.” He began piecing the machine back together. “The problem is that, if I have to use a real Soul to replicate the process, then this program is kind of a waste. I don’t want to invent something that requires the harvesting of Souls. No matter the species, human or Chaos Inhabitant, that would lead to mass genocide to power these things.”
“Isn’t that kinda your job as a necromancer?”
“That’s different. They’re not stuck in tiny spheres. I just want to use a Soul to figure it out first, try and make an artificial version.”
“Now you’re just playing god!” It was a pretty dangerous thought, but Hatsume loved it. “If you can create Souls, you’re the big man in the sky given physical form.”
“No, I’m not trying to create new life, it’s more like artificial intelligence. The Soul guides Magic, and if we can mimic the Soul, we can create a fully automated form of Magic.”
“Maybe we just need stronger components,” Hatsume suggested. “The Magical wiring might need to be finer or thicker. We just need to keep working… what?” She noticed Izuku looking back and forth from the Soul and their sphere blueprint nearby.
“This Soul looks different…”
“What, you think we can only replicate Villain Souls?”
“No, I think we’re trying to replicate the wrong thing. We’re trying to recreate the entire Soul… we just need to find the part that holds Skills or Magic. Less taboo, more compact, less energy requirements, and it might explain the trouble we’ve had.”
“What, you think that making artificial Souls is some universal violation?”
“We created an exact replica of a specific human Soul using Magical wiring. Either we screwed up in some small way, or creating life like this is a violation of universal law.”
“Oh shit… are we gonna get smitten by Zeus or something?”
Izuku shrugged. “If we couldn’t create it in the first place, we should be fine.” He rolled up his sleeves, getting ready to sketch out and build a new model. “Okay, let’s start by separating the wiring into any identifiable clumps, we’ll test them as individual units, like testing computer components one at a time.”
“And if there are no patterns to the Soul? No clumps?”
Izuku sighed. “We’ll just have to map it really slowly.”
“Sounds good to me! This is gonna be my best baby ever if we can pull it off!”
*******
“As recent American protests against the Eternal Slumber cure have risen, President Andrew formally addressed the nation alongside CDC Director Shawn Dernitz, assuring the populace that there were no microchips or mutagenic properties associated with the injection. Global cases continue to drop precipitously with no apparent side effects. As Russia and Japan churn out cures, the internet has been flooded with videos of tearful reunions and heartfelt thanks to the Shadow Monarchs.” The reporter cleared his throat. “In other news, Brazil was wracked with wide-scale riots as the supremacist group, ‘Humanity First,’ has accused the Brazilian President of being under Villainous influence. No proof has been provided, but the incident in Russia has everyone-”
Toshinori clicked off the tv after processing what Ryukyu had just told him. “You’re leaving the Hero Business? To go where?”
“I’m not leaving… I’m just taking a vacation.”
“To find it,” He surmised.
“To find him, ” Ryukyu corrected.
“It’s not Touya anymore, Ryuko. It’s a creature that possessed his body.” Having been at the scene of the crime, Izuku, Momo, and Toshinori felt she deserved an explanation.
“You don’t know that! He saved my life! You told me Aeic-”
Toshinori slammed his fist down onto his desk, shattering the wood. “You cannot trust these things! Rulers, Monarchs, Gods! Whatever you want to call them, they are parasites ! They latch onto worlds, drain whatever they can and move on! I may have worked with Aeic to preserve past timelines but I never, never trusted the Rulers.” He caught her startled gaze and took a breath, straightening out his suit and tie. “Ryuko. You are going to chase down this being. Maybe you’ll find him, maybe you won’t. All I know for certain is that if you do find him, and he doesn’t kill you like he said, then all you will get is scorn. You will not come out of this healthier than before.”
For a moment, all they could hear was Toshi’s labored breathing. But Ryuko didn’t keep him in suspense for long.
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
All Might sighed in defeat, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to change her mind. “I-I can’t even say ‘good luck.’ This is insane…” Unfortunately for him, she had already left the room.
*******
3,000,000 Lightyears away from Earth, technically 3,000,000 years in the past due to relativity, a man with crimson-red hair sat on a throne of skulls, built from all the species he’d exterminated throughout the universe. Were it not for Gates, the man would never have gotten the message in time.
“My Liege,” Yogumunt’s voice filled their air. “Quaresha and Baran have both betrayed us. We can no longer trust them to prepare the Earth for our inevitable invasion.”
The man grumbled under his breath, looking down at the foot of his throne, where a woman in a white dress sat. Her body was covered in scales, with a set of white draconic wings poking out behind her. “Which of the closest Gates is strongest?”
“Yggdrasil,” Yogumunt answered.
“Very well. Send that to kill their ‘National-Ranks.’ We will deal with the Shadow Monarch ourselves at a later time. Now… let’s see what that old man is up to. I’m sure All For One would like to have some fun.”