Notes: We're finally in Tokyo, after long perils! Now, that the group finally arrived at their destination... no, they won't have a break<3. Instead, they'll be forced to see the reality of the refugee camps, and why living on the streets is going to be much better option. When writing the draft for this chapter, I admit it was pretty tiring due to the topics it conveys. But yay, the 3rd time - traveller makes his/her debut!
Chapter Summary: The team finally makes to Tokyo after a massacre at the Kyoto train station but soon they're forced to confront the realities of the refugee camp. Also the hipocrisy of the Rogues is revealed and Izuku meets a familiar face from his times.
TW: Discrimination, violence, PTSD, mentions of child abuse and starvation
Izuku's PoV
When I woke up in my seat, it was already dark outside. Iris and Kouji were also sleeping, though I sincerely hoped that they didn't have any nightmares. To be completely honest, I didn't know how to comfort Iris after she took down those Rogues - she did the right thing, but the look on her face remained haunted, terrified. Like she was scared of herself.
I already saw people die in front of my eyes, but I've actually killed anyone - but my hands remained dirty, stained with blood. I robbed dead people homes, I was stealing their belongings. I also sinned, and I knew that in the near future I would have to kill others to survive.
And that thought scared me.
After we stopped at Nagoya station, Iris changed her clothes to a burgundy hoodie, yellow scarf, military jackets and worn - out jeans. But her gaze became cold, empty and devoid of any sorts of comfort or compassion. Like a killing machine, purely focused on taking others lives. I figured out that there was more to Iris past than meets an eye but she still refused to reveal anything more than she revealed by that point.
I grabbed my backpack and went through my stuff - I noticed that I was running low on water and medical supplies. I frowned and looked at my medkit - two rolls of bandages, a few pieces of gauze, one package of plasters plus one small bottle of painkillers. If one of us would catch a cold or something else, then we would be in trouble. I had to resupply my stock anti-inflammatory drugs in Tokyo with funds that we had left after buying train tickets.
But the good news were that we didn't need to buy food as we had plenty of that. I hoped that we would be able to eat something warm, instead of canned fish. We basically lived on canned food due it's longliveness. It made me relived so I packed my belongings back to my backpack.
I looked at the train window - when we stopped at Nagoya, some people cleaned up the train so it wouldn't be covered in blood. But I kept relieving the moment when I saw that kind cashier's head impaled on a wooden pike. The rest of his body was terribly mangled, the decapitation was also sloppily done, judging by the marks. But impaling people's heads on a pikes made my skin crawl.
I wanted to scream at those so - called authorities - they just sat back and did nothing to stop the Rogues. They kept rampaging, bringing one massacre after another - first at the bridge, then at the train station. They weren't just killing innocent people, they reveled in violence - the way they murdered people wasn't human anymore. They stopped being human in my eyes after I saw the bridge massacre.
I just hoped that the Rogues would leave Tokyo untouched. But it was nothing more than wishful thinking.
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When the train stopped at it's destination it was around 5:00 A.M. The sun was hidden behind the curtain for dark gray clouds - I grabbed Kouji's hand, and side eyed Iris, to make sure she didn't disappear. I didn't want to admit it but she gave a heart attack at the train station - for a moment I thought that the Rogues killed her, in the same brutal way. We stepped down the stairs - when I was looking around the station, Iris was searching for a map. Finally she bought one and after a few minutes of asking around, we finally found out about the refugee camp, located near the Kagurazaka district (we were at the Shibuya's train station).
So with no time to lose, we began to move. I've never seen Tokyo before eventually it was nearly ruined, when the Quirk Wars were at it's peak - many historical artifacts were destroyed admists fighting so it was my first time seeing those with my own eyes. Though I was surprised to see that Shibuya from the past was similar to the one from my times - well, the Quirk Wars forced a big stun in the technological progress. Not only in Japan, but also in other countries - for example, the Unites States.
Besides, Kouji was seeing Tokyo for the first time in his life, so of course he was curious of the enviroment around him. But what was worriyng me is that gang fights began occuring in the multiple districts due to goverment's unability to solve the situation at hand.
When we were passing by, I noticed many protests from both sides - the Quirked one and from the Anti - Quirk party. It became clear as day that Tokyo wasn't safer - but at least the Rogues weren't as stupid to attack the capital. The history books never mentioned the Rogues, but Iris knew about them - according to her, the Rogues never targeted Tokyo.
But after a 2 hour walk, we finally reached our destination - and let me tell you, the harsh truth was revealed. The conditions of the camp were awful - the unbearable stench of defecations, families cramped into a small tent, the horribly low food rations. But we had no choice and nowhere to go. So we got ourselves registered and our beds were assigned - damp bedding, scratchy blankets and the worst of all - we were forced to wear red armbands. Those armbands were for the Quirked people.
I almost punched the person who gave us the armbands. But Iris talked me out of it and when Kouji went to sleep I started ranting about the whole system. Interestingly enough, Iris calmly listened to all of my complaints and worries.
-"The goverment doesn't do shit to stop the Rogues! And guess what - amongst the Rogues there are Quirked individuals! They're spitting hipocrisy - they don't even care about their ideology of purging the Qui-Meta's but all they want to do is to slaughter! You saw what they've done - at the bridge, at the Kyoto train station!" - I ranted about everything -"And now, we have to wear those shitty armbands, like we're a different breed of people, someone lower than an insect! They're stigmatizing us!"
They didn't even try to hide the purpose of those armbands - and I didn't know what was worse - that we've been through so much just to be thrown away to another shithole or that we couldn't do anything about it.
It was late evening, meaning the rations were given. I lined up in the line and then noticed a familiar face staring at me - the burn scar on the face, the split hair color...No that couldn't be him. He pushed through people and walked towards me - I could the shock, the surprise in his eyes. It was written all over his face.
-"M-Midoriya?" - the boy asked
-"Todoroki?" - I replied with a question
He nodded in response.
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Kudo was observing - Ninth fought the Villain and got transported to the past. As shocking as it was, he could manage it - but his physical appearance changed. To a face that Kudo clearly remembered him that appearance - how he (or Third) could forget it? Yoichi recognized Izuku was earlier was he kept it quiet.
Fate was a tricky thing, wasn't it?