Chapter Text
Kaina was exhausted, she just gave up. With Rifle broken she had no real reason to live, her entire life had circled around her quirk and its usefulness for so long, that there was no reason to continue fighting.
You’d think the one thing holding her back from freedom, breaking would be something that would make her happy, but it simply wasn’t just a reminder of what she had become.
‘When did…the platitudes start making me sick?’
She remembered her dream as a kid born with no family and being labeled a villain as soon as her quirk came, her desire to prove everyone wrong. That she could be a hero, like a sparkling star in the night sky.
But she wasn’t that person anymore and so she fell, hopefully to her death, she could finally rest, and her suffering would end. She never could bring herself to end her own life no matter how many times she thought of it in Tartarus.
Until she felt her blood-stained hand being grabbed, her eyes snapped open in awe and surprise. It was that boy..he truly grabbed the hand of his enemy, someone who had attempted to deliver him to his greatest enemy.
“Please fight on our side, you have the heart of a hero!”
She saw that look in his eyes once upon a time she too had that look in her eyes.
‘Incredible.’
Maybe there were some good people out there.
“Midoriya Izuku, your a true hero!”
Then everything went black, and she felt something, it was similar to the recoil of Rifle, like that final moment right before a shot as adrenaline courses through your veins.
Kaina woke up with a start tripping out of bed, a bed, a very comfortable bed, some part of her longed, she hadn’t been in such a comfortable bed, since her hero days, but she squashed those hopes before they could fester, hope only left you disappointed.
She observed her surroundings revealing she was being stared at by an unusual amount of All Might merch, it was every All Might worshiper's wet dream.
Unfortunately, Kaina was not. So she slowly stood up and began to walk towards the door almost tripping on too-short legs, she walked slowly with refined practice, and her footfalls were light not a sound to be heard.
There was a mirror on the door, as she went to grab the handle expecting to see her vibrant purple and pink hair, and jaded look that she saw in the mirror every day, she was instead met with green hair.
‘Huh?!’
The jaded look was still there unsurprisingly, but that was not her face, upon further examination she recognized the face in the mirror it was none other than Midoriya Izuku, she glanced back into the room quickly scanning the room more intently this time, eyes immediately narrowing in on a calendar.
She had glanced at one before going after the brat, she walked over checking the date, which was helpfully circled, and it was.. almost a year too soon.
Time travel, other people put in her place would be panicking and in denial, she was neither, she was well aware of the existence of the concept, the HPSC had her deal with several rowdy time travelers thinking they could change things. How wrong they were, all they got was a bullet for their efforts.
Body-swapping quirks weren’t common but did exist if you could imagine it there was most likely a quirk for it, she had never seen a case of both happening simultaneously, but she had made a deal with the devil, and she knew immediately he was the cause for this, he likely booby-trapped her seeing her heart wasn’t truly in his little game.
If she catches him she’ll kill him, but first this whole situation, she could just run off, and break herself ‘ha herself!’ out of prison, but she doesn’t know how to use the boy's quirk yet, it’ll be better to blend in and take stock of the situation.
She walks over to the desk and opens a notebook, flipping through it quickly, and how helpful he’s one of those people who writes everything down. She was never so meticulous herself, however her memory was incredible, so she never really felt the need to do that. She remembered she could recount faces down to the detail, it was a double-edged sword however in her line of work.
It seems she has to be at Dagobah Beach to finish cleaning it, good thing Kaina is an early riser, she remembers the place had started to become a trash dump over the past few years before her arrest. She wonders how bad it got.
Though she must applaud the boy for finding a way to train without the usual equipment given to hero students and the like, it was a creative way to get stronger, and that also helped the community. The Chairman would call it a waste of time but she didn’t give a shit about what he thought anymore. The dead have no opinions after all.
She checked his drawer seeing an unusual amount of bright green clothes and unusual shirts, a part of her thought this was a very cool experience, getting to experience life as a normal person for once. Regardless, it seemed the trends had changed if wearing shirts with the word “shirt” on them was the new big thing, but who was she to judge?
She pulled on a pair of sweatpants a shirt, and a simple jacket due to it likely being a bit chilly this early in the morning, apart of her skin crawled at the thought of covering her elbow, danger lurked around every corner, however this wasn’t her skin, and there was no time for that, she tugged on his pair of red high tops and slowly opened the door careful not to make a noise, exiting the room completely silently while shouldering the backpack holding the notebook where his schedule was written down.
She entered what looked to be a kitchen area, going towards what would likely be the front door, opening it, and exiting the apartment. She closed it as she looked around, she recognized this area, it seemed to be in downtown Mustafu, she hadn’t delved in this area often, but knew it due to this being one of the larger cities as it housed UA.
She began jogging while she glanced down at the schedule again. It appears today was the UA entrance exam, how naive to want to get some last-minute training in. She could hear the voice of her old trainer berating her, on how the day of a big test like that it was better to rest to conserve energy as the training should’ve been done already.
Arriving quickly her jaw dropped open seeing the state of the beach, he really did it and there was just one section left to clean, time to get to work, she would complete what he started.
It hadn’t taken as long as expected. This boy was far more fit than her, as she went for a more runner's body while his body was suited to be a brawler. Not that she didn’t know how to fight up close, but the HPSC drilled into her to never be a one-trick pony, they taught her all types of martial arts and weapons.
She sighed, slumping on the wall of the beach as she saw her hard work. Kaina hadn’t exercised in a long time, and it made her feel slightly giddy that she had actually managed to do all that in just under two hours to boot.
Then she heard a car approach she slowly turned around to look as the truck parked and some stick guy stepped out, this wasn't the bad part of town so why the hell was there a drug dealer over here?
“Oh my goodness! You went beyond the assignment!”
Huh, maybe he knew Midoriya, a trainer perhaps? He really picked from the bottom of the barrel, but she supposes you take what you can get. So she casually plastered a smile on her face nodding.
“Yup!” She nodded feeling disgusted with how happy she had to present herself, at least for the exam she wouldn’t have to do that due to meeting new people. “And I'm ready to ace those exams!”
“Huh, how confident!” The man remarked with surprise but hid it well plastering a smile on his face, Midoriya at this time must have been a nervous shy kid, and likely came out of his shell during high school, Kaina couldn’t relate. Her entire high school career was spent in the HPSC’s training facility.
Then suddenly the man fucking puffed up smoke covering the area as she coughed waving it out of her face as she came face to face with..what..
“ALL MIGHT!?”
Her jaw dropped what the fuck? Did All Might start taking drugs or something, or had he always been taking drugs, that explains why the top three were following Midoriya back in the future, this kid must be his successor or something. Now that she thinks of it didn't he yell “smash!” after every attack that was a thing All Might did, okay that was plausible but that still didn't explain why he looks like a drug dealer. It was probably the HPSC, they seemed to be the root of all of Kaina’s and by proxy societies' problems, if only someone could see that they were no good, all they did was cause problems everywhere they went. But she supposes ignorance is bliss.
Suddenly All Might wacked her in the head, “Stop nerding out! And why are you acting shocked you already knew this?”
“Exam jitters,” she laughed effortlessly rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, “of course, I knew you were All Might.”
Suddenly he pulled out his phone grinning once again, “Here take a look!”
She peaked at the phone seeing a very skinny version of Midoriya crying, “It's you ten months ago, look how far you’ve come!”
She nodded with a smile, mentally taking note that they likely met about ten months ago, all information would be relevant if she was too truly sell this act.
Then suddenly All Might reached up to one of his tufts pulling out a hair, “Now eat this!”
“What the fuck!”
“C'mon, you need to eat my DNA! EAT EAT EAT!”
Kaina finally arrived at the gates of UA, her expression twisted in disgust as she remembered that All Might made her eat a fucking hair. He mentioned something about transferring his quirk, Kaina would be more surprised if she didn't know All For One existed, a quirk that transferred wasn't that much of a stretch, besides the HPSC, did always suspect he had some sort of tie to All For One they just weren't sure how. It appears this quirk was made especially to fight him. She’d figure out the origins at another time, however.
She started walking towards the gate slowly looking around, she had only been to UA on a few rare occasions, and she must admit it was very impressive. Suddenly some porcupine-looking blonde kid stomped by her yelling in her ear, “Get out of my way or you're dead.”
She scowled behind him, if she saw him again, she’d put him in his place, arrogant brats like him were only good for an early grave, or a bullet to the head. She shook her head as she continued walking almost tripping as she was caught in her thoughts, but luckily some random floaty brat stopped her from falling.
“Are you okay? Sorry for using my quirk on you, it's a bad omen to trip and fall.” She smiled putting her fingers together as she stopped floating and she landed gracefully, noting the similarities to Airwalk.
“I'm fine, I could’ve caught myself.” she scowled looking at the decidedly very round child in front of her (she ignored the logical part of her brain that pointed out she was also technically a child) “You got a name?”
“Im Uraraka Ochako! And you are?”
“Midoriya Izuku,” she said, easily, the lie slipping from her mouth easily, she accessed the girl realizing she could use her for information to better understand the state of the world (she ignored the part of her that whispered she was lonely and had no friends, she couldn’t think of that or she’d break all over again).
“We should swap numbers,” she continued as her eyes curved into little U’s “it's always good to make some new friends.”
“Of course we can!” Uraraka beamed as they continued walking inside.
She reached into her pocket pulling out Midoriya's phone, realizing she didn't actually know his passcode, however, his fingerprint should work just fine, she’d have to change his passcode later. It took a moment to figure out how the phone worked but thankfully the apps were labeled so when she saw the one labeled “contacts” she opened it and handed the phone to Uraraka.
Uraraka smiled at her as she typed quickly, and handed the phone back to her, “Alright we better hurry or we’re gonna be late!”
She sighed as she stepped inside the building, looking around the bustling place. It was busy which was to be expected with such a prestigious school such as UA. Walking up to the receptionist they gave them cards with their names, seat numbers, and other important information, during the chaos she had lost sight of Uraraka but that was no matter.
Kaina stepped into the room that she was directed to, noting it looked like a theater or auditorium. She glanced down at her card walking up the staircase until she finally found the row her seat was in then she scowled seeing the Spiky Porcupine brat from earlier.
From what Kaina had gathered the seats were selected and organized by school, and it was likely that Midoriya knew him, whether he was friend or foe remained to be seen, however, she wouldn’t feel too bad cutting him off it was the latter. Best to get rid of the toxicity early on.
She slipped into her seat as he scowled at her sneering under his breath, “Watch it Deku.”
Foe then, considering he just insulted her; she wouldn’t feel too bad then insulting him, especially considering he just called her useless and this seems to be a norm, she despised bullies having faced many in her younger years due to her quirk.
“Shut the fuck up you Spiky Porcupine,” she scowled, looking at him with barely concealed disdain, “You little brat.”
His eyes widened when he heard that his jaw dropped open in shock as he gaped, then slowly his expression twisted with hatred, “What did you just say to me you quirkless nobody…”
“You heard me,” it seems Midoriya's relationship with this boy was different than she originally suspected, he definitely was a bully, whom Midoriya likely viewed as a friend, the definition of a toxic relationship. But she had no qualms about cutting the toxic people out of her life, especially a boy she knew next to nothing about, this was all just a means to an end after all, eventually, she’d find a way to break herself out of Tartarus and would find a way to switch back into her body, it wasn’t like she would know the brat for long.
Before Bakugo could refute some guy (most likely a hero) with a terrible haircut that looked like a hippie, started speaking, “Welcome to today's live performance!! Everybody say “hey”!!”
She realized this guy was very annoying who the hell made this weirdo the teacher? He really expected a group of new nervous high school brats to actually respond to something like that. It seems the standards for heroics had lowered while she was in Tartarus, but she could likely attribute it to them not having grown up before the time of All Might, because back then heroics wasn’t a career you wanted to do, most dying by the age of 25.
“Well that’s cool my examine listeners!! I’m here to present the guidelines of your practical!” Hippie guy said with enthusiasm as he let out a high pitch yell as the mic screeched due to the loudness, “Are you ready?!?”
She covered her ears as they began to ring scowling, this guy was so loud and annoying to boot, he was clearly an idiot, not fit to do something like this. It would’ve saved her hearing, thankfully in this body she doesn’t have the damaged hearing she has in her own, this was because of Rifle constantly going off right next to her ear, she often times had trouble hearing, and she had brought up the concerns with her handler back in the day but they waved her off and told her to deal with it, she realizes now that should’ve been a major sign that something was very wrong but alas.
Kaina had zoned out at what was happening but she knew how these tests went, back in the day the HPSC President had decided he wanted to spectate one of these tests to make sure they were up to standard she had been brought along as his bodyguard. It worked simply, they test your quirk, and your ability to help other people, it weeds out the weak, those who would stand no chance in the hero course, it doesn’t matter if you have a weak quirk or not, if you want a spot you’ll claw your way to that spot no matter the cost. Though if Kaina was in charge she would do something very different than that, but alas this was UA and you had to be the best of the best to go here.
Suddenly some guy stood up and interrupted the hippie. He was closer and also very loud, it was giving her a headache, she hadn’t been to school in a long time but weren’t you supposed to wait until the instructor finished explaining everything and then ask the question? But what does she know?
“Can you shut up, you stuck-up little prick he was just getting to that?” She sneered at him glaring at him he looked at her with a completely revolted look spluttering then glaring at her.
“This delinquency should not be permitted in the halls of this esteemed establishment, you should be ashamed of yourself!”
She chuckled if only he knew, she shook her head as the hippie guy answered his question regardless sinking in her seat as the Spiky Porcupine guy stared at her with wide eyes saying nothing, she just ignored him, he wasn’t worth her time.
Barely listening to the end of the hippie guy’s instructions she stood up when told to do so content to get away from Spiky Porcupine as soon as possible, they would be transported to each location by bus, however they would have twenty minutes to change out of their school uniforms and into the clothing they had brought for the practical, for Kaina she had brought the clothing from earlier that morning.
She hoped to be able to change quickly and efficiently so she would have a bit of extra time to figure out how this One For All quirk worked, she managed to figure out Airwalk quickly enough, but this was a generational quirk that friggin All Might himself used. But she wasn’t worried if worse came to worse she would be able to pass without even needing it. She had an edge over everyone else having known the secret portions of the test, and being a pro hero once upon a time.
Quickly weaving between the crowds effortlessly blending in with ease she began her journey towards the locker room.
Arriving quickly she paused outside, realizing she would have to change with the boys, a part of her was revolted at the thought, another part of her didn’t care, she hadn’t had privacy in a long time, being watched 24/7 in her cold cell in Tartarus, but she supposed she would just have to suck it up.
Entering quickly she found the darkest corner she could die placing Midoriya's bag down and opening it, she quickly removed the school uniform, feeling disgusted at people seeing her chest, but she pulled the shirt on quickly, she tugged on the pants and immediately put the clothes back in the bag, zipping it up and leaving as quickly as possible.
Letting out a sigh of relief at being out of there she began walking toward the bus, it seemed she was the first one done due to changing so quickly, she pulled out the phone checking the time, she had about fifteen minutes until they boarded, which is enough time to at least figure out how to turn it on.
She sat down on a bench outside thinking, All Might gave some advice but it was completely unhelpful, it seems the quirk is what lets him “buff up” so it likely wasn’t an enhancer, but rather a pool of energy one could pull from, perhaps she could use it for things other than punching really hard.
Biting her lip until suddenly an idea came to her, a smirk playing on her lips, this was a very dangerous idea, but would solve a problem she had noticed earlier.
Kaina in her body had very good vision, her handler said she had the gaze of a predator, with a resting bitch face to boot, however being in this body, it had been annoying going from having that vision, to having normal sight, if she didn’t know her own body so well she would’ve thought Midoriya needed glasses.
It wouldn’t be a good idea to use it all on something like that, the optic nerves were fragile, and she didn’t need to use 100% of the quirk, similar to Rifle if she amped up her shots, she risked jamming, shuddering at the thought of the blowback of such a powerful quirk.
Even using that much power on other parts of her body was risky for herself and dangerous to those around her. It would be wise to go slow, and start at the very bottom, and slowly work her way up to what she was comfortable with.
Closing her eyes and leaning back she felt, breathing in remembering that moment before the critical shot, that moment of pure adrenaline as she pulled the trigger, the blowback settling in her shoulders, rippling throughout her body. She exhaled that moment after the shot, that one second of pure clarity, that trip of a lifetime that none else but her would experience.
She felt it, it was different from Rifle, pure power, it was similar to that one second of clarity and the feeling of pulling the trigger, it was so strong it could drag her under, like a rippling wave on the beach, she struggled to stay afloat, but it was just so strong .
She inhaled again, gaining clarity, she was stronger than this, it was like a knife, you have to respect it, or it will hurt you. Focusing on her eyes she slowly directed just a teaspoon of that power there, her eyes snapping open as she felt electricity run through that area, but it was a good kind like a friend patting you on the shoulder and pushing you forward.
Kaina had never seen the world in such a beautiful way before, even with her great vision, the world had seemed more gray since she realized the truth of this world, compared to the colorful life of her childhood, like she was looking through the eyes of a stranger. But this was beyond even that, a bit of childish glee built in her gut, why had she ever desired to rip the illusion away and fill the world with hate? It was so beautiful.
The trees swayed in the wind, the birds sang a chipper song, and flower petals drifted in the breeze. The world is a beautiful place, she had forgotten, being confined in the depths of hell, her life a constant gray, just going through the motions of the edge of life and death. Perhaps as much as she preached about seeing the truth of the world back then, she had been the one caught in an illusion, one of pain and suffering.
This was true freedom. Her chains had truly been broken, this world was beautiful . That was only a taste of this power, only .1% she wondered what it would feel like, to have all of that power coursing through her veins, she thought if she used it all at once she would break.
The moment was interrupted by the instructor calling them over to the bus, and she grieved the loss of that peace she had just felt, her head hadn’t been that clear since before she was broken, and Kaina Tsutsumi had been broken for a long time, some days she believed she was born that way.
Entering the bus and sitting in a random seat, as it began to fill up, after a few minutes that floaty kid sat next to her smiling and waving, saying, “Hey it’s you, Midoriya!”
She smiled noticing it came easier this time, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Before she realized it with a grimace she hated seeing other people happy, in her heart longing for that sense of normality.
Uraraka sat down next to her beaming, “I heard what you said to that guy, you're so cool!”
Kaina chuckled awkwardly, “I wouldn’t call myself cool or anything, just had a headache from that loud guy. And the rude person sitting next to me.”
She nodded empathetically, “Hopefully we won’t be in the same class as either of them then. If we get in, that is!”
“I’m sure we will,” she thought for a moment maybe a tip in the right direction is in order, she had went out of her way to sit next to her, “just remember there are probably judges watching, and they won’t just be looking out for the strongest people but those who embody heroism.”
Uraraka looked at her like she had the secrets to the world, nodding eagerly. She leaned back awkwardly, not used to other people looking at her like that. Normally she was scorned by other people so to see someone looking at her like that was new.
They delved into a comfortable silence as the bus took off, arriving after about two minutes, Uraraka stood up first as she followed her off the bus.
She glanced around at the other people there, spotting that stuck-up guy, the rest were nobodies she’d never really taken note of, she doubted any of them would pass, maybe a few lucky bastards would get in.
Regardless now she had to figure out this quirk and quickly, spreading her legs and closing her eyes she inhaled slowly, remembering that feeling from earlier, she reached towards that immense pool of power, caressing it softly, then slowly she guided a low amount towards her body, letting it first spread to her feet, rising up to her ankles and thighs, encompassing her chest, and spreading towards her arms, feeling it tingle her fingers, guiding it towards her neck and too her head, she exhaled, slowly increasing it, stopping once it became uncomfortable.
Even now she was using so little of this vast power, if she thought earlier felt incredible, then this was on a whole different level, she felt divine, like she could fight the entire world and come out victorious and without a scratch on her, and she was still using so little she calculated she was using about 3% of the power even that small amount made such a difference.
She opened her eyes looking at her arms seeing green lightning gently sparking off her person, she wondered if she could use it to her advantage, but there was no time to think about that, she had to adjust to this power.
Kaina took a step and the ground literally cracked and she almost went flying forward with how much force, everything seemed sped up, her entire body and its senses were likely increasing, and her perception also increasing due to this, it would take some time to get used to these sensations however there was no time for it today, after the exams she would have plenty of time, until the first day of UA to figure out the inner workings of the quirk, though she’d have to be careful, with where she did it or risk being accused of vigilantism, perhaps the beach that she had helped clear?
Suddenly that hippie from early, yelled start, while everybody else was frozen she ran full speed drifting between the frozen candidates with ease due to her increased perception, launching full speed at the first robot she saw which noted to be worth one point launched into the air by jumping and landing feet first going straight through the robots head like it was butter, apart of her was shocked at how easily she did that, perhaps they made the robots less durable due to this being only the entrance exam, or was this quirk truly that powerful at a measly three percent, perhaps it was a mix of both.
Regardless she landed on the ground with ease dashing into the city, she had a head start and was content to use it to her advantage, if anything this was just like her hero days, patrolling a city, racking up as many takedowns as she possibly could.
Seeing two robots one worth three and another worth two she jumped again, launching into the air full speed at the robot's head elbowing its head right off its body as it attempted to fire at her, it hit the two-pointer point blank.
By that point the other brats finally caught up, she’d have to step her game up, she didn’t just want to win, she wanted to dominate, she figured if she was gonna do this might as well do it right.
Seeing a group of three pointers she smirked picking up a pole that had fallen at one point, she ran full speed jumping into the air and increasing her perception for just a moment in her arm she threw the pole like a javelin it went straight through three three pointers heads.
Noticing the robots collapsing on somebody she grabbed the person out of the way quickly checking them for injuries then turning around and running off back into the fray.
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed or even how many points she had, but it all went by in a blur, it was exhilarating, doing this again, it was so nostalgic of her time as a hero, for so long she had focused only on the bad memories but she had forgotten there were good memories too.
Suddenly a very large robot came from out of nowhere literally, it was fucking huge. For a brief moment, she wondered who in their right mind let them use this in an exam with untrained children, that was definitely a safety hazard and an accident waiting to happen.
She was about to run, until she saw it, Uraraka stumbling forward, some part of her the one that became so jaded, told her to run, not to risk herself for other people, that she knew what happened last time.
But some part of her that had been suppressed for so long, that had been slowly becoming stronger and stronger in her head since her encounter with Midoriya screamed at her to save her, to be a fucking hero for once in her life, that this was her chance.
And before she knew it her body moved on its own channeling the full power into her legs she rocked upward the sound barrier cracking with the force of it, she pulled her arm back throwing a punch as hard as she possibly could its head literally caving in and being blasted right off.
She turned it off exhaling slowly, adrenaline shooting through her veins, her eyes widened in wonder, she felt so good right now. She remembered it, the best part of being a hero, she had forgotten. How could she have forgotten the feeling of saving a life?
There’s no bigger reward than that, and Kaina realized as that look came back to her eyes from so long ago, that she wanted to be a hero, and she wanted it badly.
It’s what she was born to do.