Notes: Before we begin, I must say that this Chapter will be purely focused on Izuku's new Quirk, his interactions with Shouto and OFA Vestiges. Izuku's Vigilante debut will begin with Chapter 7 (maybe Chapter 8), so be patient! And yes, I'll reveal that OFA was transfered back to All Might but the Vestiges are still with Izuku. How did this happen? It's a mystery, for now *wink*.
TW: Mentions of starvation
Chapter Summary: Izuku reunites with Shouto and they start experimenting a bit with Midoriya's new Quirk in an abandoned warehouse. Meanwhile Iris discovers that she can communicate with OFA Vestiges and starts raising The Cat (aka Kouji).
Izuku's PoV
To say that I was relived was an understatement - Iris was vigilante that I was chasing after for anwsers. But Shouto was a friend, someone that I could rely on in case things go south. We hugged after we confirmed each other's identity - then I introduced Todoroki to Iris and Kouji. Kouji, being the bright (but traumatized) kid he was, immediately started to ramble to Shouto. But Todoroki handled Kouji's ramblings well - however his interactions with Iris were surprising, to say the least.
They immediately bonded with each other. Point taken, they were quite similar but still fundamentaly different. While Iris was quite cold and blatant, she still expressed emotions other than exhaustion or arrogance - before Shouto started using his fire, he was the same. But after the Sports Festival, he changed - he became more open, more talkative and funny. When Todoroki was talking to Iris, I saw in his eyes, that he knew what she was going through.
So after we received our terribly low food rations (two slices of stale bread and three small boiled potatoes) we went sleep (Shouto had his bed in another tent). Meanwhile I stared into the ceiling, not being able to fall asleep. My thoughts wandered around my new Quirk - The Green Flare. That figure in my dream was definetly using that Quirk - he could use fire, lightning. With that emerald energy.
After unsucessfully trying to remember other details of that dream, I resolved myself to start experimenting with my new Quirk. It sounded so weird, coming from me - by all accounts I grew up Quirkless. For that I was bullied and pushed around - and then I time travel to the distant past and I still had to face the same old shit. For having a Quirk.
I fell asleep with weird whispers, echoes talking inside my head.
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I woke up around 8:00 A.M and immediately started my plan. I talked to Iris that I would be gone for a half of the day (she wasn't happy with that decision because she wanted to have a talk with me but that was delayed till late evening) so with Shouto we left the refugee camp and found an abandoned warehouse on the northern outskirts of Tokyo.
-"So what do you know about that new Quirk of yours?" - Shouto asked
-"Not much, only the things I remembered from that dream. The tree, that emerald energy and being able to shift between various elements" - I replied
-"Alright, so let's deconstruct it or whatever" - Shouto sighed
-"First of all, that tree. The figure pointed a finger on that tree - the tree began to grow older and older while the man had green energy swirling around his hand. That would mean that the Quirk requires lifeforce or energy from a living organism. Not necessarily human but something that lives - for example a tree or a flower" - I pointed out
So we walked out of the warehouse and onto the empty old construction site. The area was overgrown with various plants, making it a perfect training place for my new Quirk.
I took a series of deep breaths, closed my eyes and made myself focus on the Quirk's core - I found it, in the pitch dark Void. The core was gradient from emerald green through crimson red and ending at the snow white accent - it was swirling, pulsing with unknown potential. I grasped the core of my power and opened my eyes.
I pointed the finger, just like in the dream at a neaby plant - it withered away and the emerald energy came to my hand. It was hot, like a heatwave - but it was fickle, waiting to change. After a few seconds, the green aura vanished from my hand. But I felt a bit tired, which I considered to be a side effect. Similarly to Recovery's Girl Quirk, my Quirk used up stamina - but in that case, it my was stamina.
-"The energy taken from the organism is fragile and fickle. It doesn't hold up for long and it quickly vanishes. But I do wonder if the size of a living object is included when creating this energy - maybe the bigger plant, the longer energy lasts in it's original form" - I concluded after a few minutes of intensive thinking
-"Shit, where that kind of Quirk came from? Maybe you truly are some kind of secret love child" - Shouto laughed
-"Highly doubt it. My dad is dead for more than 10 years and Inko-I mean my mother rarely interacts with other people, she likes to do other things" - I responded gruffly -"But the origins of this Quirk are a good question, it doesn't match my parents Quirks, maybe it's from my grandparents".
Shouto nodded unconvinced but he let that go.
I took a deep breath and once again extracted the emerald energy from a nearby bush - but this time, I wanted to figure out what to do with this aura. The figure in my dream could shift between elements - so I imagined toxic green flames swirling around my hand. When I opened my eyes emerald fire was in the palm of my right hand. I directed the flames into a nearby pillar (a leftover of the abandoned construction) - they easily engulfed it, leaving only a big pile of ash.
I deactivated the flames but I felt more tired. Yeah, I needed a strict training focusing mostly on the stamina and endurance. But I noticed that I still had some emerald energy left - so I imagined green electricity buzzling around my arm - it appeared in a matter of seconds, but then I immediately deactivated the Quirk. The test was done.
-"So to sum it up - my Quirk extract lifeforce from the living organisms and allows me to create elements, such as fire or lightning. But the drawback is that my Quirk uses up hefty of my own stamina. Those elements are based on my imagination - I need to imagine what element I want, based on the energy I extracted" - I revealed -"Shouto, we need to train on the fire and ice part of my Quirk"
Todoroki nodded in response.
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Iris PoV
I couldn't say I was happy with Izuku's decision - sure, he reunited with his old pal but we needed to figure what to do next, fast. Because, it was a matter of time before the officials figure out that we don't exist (besides Kouji) in the system. We had to ran away, we had no other choice - I had a neutral stance on Shouto joining our team. As long as he wasn't problematic, I couldn't care less. But I did care about Kouji's fate. More than I wanted to admit.
After we entered the refugee camp, I noticed some kind of shady/wispy figures snooping around Izuku. They followed him almost everywhere, but this time they stayed behind. I admit, I was curious - maybe it a part of his Quirk. Izuku only said that due to Time Travel, his original Quirk got replaced with a completely new one. It sounded like a load of crap but Quirks are bullshit, after all.
But when Izuku left with Shouto, the figures had began to take more human form. I could recognize their attire and overall physical appearance - there was a woman with black hair tied in a messy ponytail and two men. The first one had white hair, long sleeved shirt and jeans - the second man had a long scar on his face, red eyes and spiky hair. I didn't know why but my brain seemed to recognize the second figure.
But their physical appearance began to sharpen, around midday when I was teaching Kouji multiplication table, while sitting on our beds in our small tent.
-"So, how much is 7 x 7?" - I asked Kouji
-"I-I think fourty...fourty nine!" - he anwsered
-"Yes it's 49. Good job, you're getting good at this" - I praised him and in return he smiled sheepishly
Deep down, I was glad that we had supplies that we gathered. The rations that we got from the refugee camp were downright horribly low. It wasn't enough for a six year old, especially for a kid that almost starved to death. Kouji then yawned - the kid slept for than a normal human, which I considered to be a side effect of his Cat mutation. He went to sleep after our math lesson and I covered him with a warm blanket.
I stood up, searching for those ghosty figures.
-"I know that you're here. Show yourself" - I said
A man with white hair and in jeans revealed himself, clearly shocked.
-"You can see me?" - he asked quietly
-"Well, yes. At first, all of you were barely visible but since today morning, you began to take more..hmm..physical shape" - I admitted -"So who are you?"
-"I'm Yoichi and you?"
-"I'm Arisa but call me Iris, it's my nickname. But what are you, folks? Some kind of wraiths that snoop around Izuku?"
-"No, we are the past holders of Izuku's previous Quirk. That one he had before it got replaced"
-"Past holders? Well, I know that there's one Quirk that can be passed down and it's One for All. And also theoretically, All for One can also be transfered" - I was getting more and more curious and it finally clicked -"Wait....Izuku had One for All?!"
Yoichi was stunned.
-"You know about One for All? How?"
-"You could say that I'm connected to it since my birth but that's beyond your concern. The only thing I can say that All for One wanted me back as badly as OFA, in my times. The rest is history, although it's not a pleasant tale. No, it is bloody and full of death. So spare me explaning the details"
No, my heritage became my curse. The curse that took away all my loved ones.