Alone

After walking for about thirty minutes down the relatively barren street, All Might and Shigeo's journey through the city had finally reached its end.

"Here we are."

The hero stopped before a brick building with multiple balconies guarded by black-painted fences. When they entered the apartment, Shigeo was surprised by the brightly lit lobby area. Multiple plants with unique colors were placed on the lounge desk and near the cushioned chairs and couches spread across the region. In addition, two large televisions were hooked up to the walls and surrounded by furniture. At the front desk, the receptionist lazily typed on his phone, ignoring the frail man and the child entering the lobby.

They walked silently to the elevator and continued to say nothing as they went up to the eighth floor. All Might and Shigeo continued walking for a few more seconds until they reached All Might's room, 807. The number one hero unlocked the door, and Shigeo took in the nicely laid-out apartment space before him. The floor was dark oak, contrasted by the white sofa and chairs surrounding a large television. The esper noticed the marble countertop for the kitchen area, and the light brown cabinets hung up on the kitchen wall.

"Wow," muttered Shigeo, "This is nice."

"Thank you." All Might pointed to the door on the left. "Right, there's the guest bedroom. There's an extra bathroom and a small balcony to enjoy the warm breeze. If you're hungry, I've got some snacks in the cabinets here, and you can let me know if there's anything specific you might want for dinner."

"I'll be fine with whatever you have."

"Good. Now then..." Both superpowered humans knew that there were still priorities, so All Might went to the sofa, where his laptop was being charged. Shigeo sat next to him, and the hero opened the computer. But before he typed in his password, his fingertips froze on the keys.

"All Might?"

"Before we do this," All Might gazed at Shigeo Kageyama solemnly, and the esper gulped. "I want you to promise me that whatever happens, you won't allow your powers to get out of control as they did before. Do you believe you can manage that? Because if not, it isn't safe for the residents of this apartment."

The teenage esper closed his eyes and took a deep breath. All Might was right: he couldn't allow his psychic powers to get out of control. He needed to prepare himself for the worst-case scenario and accept whatever happened. After three seconds of keeping his eyes closed and the air in his chest, he let out a deep exhale and slowly opened his eyes.

"I can manage."

All Might remained uncertain for a moment, but with his focused eyes and fists clenched with determination, the number one hero chose to trust Shigeo. Besides, Shigeo had already expended most of his psychic energy, so hopefully, he wouldn't be able to cause massive damage like before.

"Ok then, let's start."

The skinny hero logged into his account and opened up Google Chrome. "Now, let's see if we can locate Seasoning City." All Might typed the city name into the search bar, but all the results revolved around some dish or some sort of review for a restaurant. A sense of hopelessness began to creep inside Shigeo's heart, but All Might wouldn't give up after only one search.

"Do you remember your home address?"

"Yes, it's 18937 Spring Drive."

All Might went to the map section of his search browser and typed in the address. But alas, no results came up. The eyes of the young esper were beginning to falter and wet as they had done so many times today. Yet All Might wouldn't let it go.

"Hold on. There's one final thing we can do." All Might zoomed out of the map, so the entire country of Japan filled the screen. "If you remember the approximate location of your hometown, we can determine if your city is on the map."

"Ok." The esper's voice was a croaky whisper, and he barely had the strength to grab the laptop and zoom in on the location of Seasoning City. All Might's hands were clenching his pants, and he felt sweat beads falling down his face. He hoped this last resort would give him the needed location and hope of reuniting with his family. But in a day full of shocks and surprises, today would be the final shock: when Shigeo zoomed in to the location of Seasoning City, all he found was a forest and a large lake.

This proved it. The lingering, growing fear that this wasn't the reality he'd grown up in had finally been confirmed. Shigeo wasn't home anymore. He didn't understand how it was possible, but it appeared that he'd been transported to another world, another dimension even by absorbing the psychic energy. His family was... gone.

Without even realizing it, the esper's cheeks were stained again by the salty tears flowing down his face and dripping onto the couch cushions. A light aura began to shroud the esper, his emotions fueling whatever his psychic powers could still muster. Shigeo felt as if his life had been sucked out of him. Everyone he knew was gone: he was all alone. Except... he wasn't.

Shigeo Kageyama's heart froze when he felt All Might's arms wrap around the esper's body. His head was resting on the hero's chest, and the tears were now wetting All Might's shirt. All Might heaved a large sigh, his shoulders drooping down as he embraced the child. The number one hero understood all too well what it was like to lose someone close to him, and although his family and friends weren't exactly dead, there was no guarantee that Shigeo would ever get to see them again. So in a sense, they may as well have been dead. Now in this random world with no one to count on, no one to give support. No one except All Might.

"I'm so sorry, Kageyama," whispered All Might, "I know that your whole world has been turned upside down, afraid that you'll never see your family again. I wish I could make it better. I wish I could reunite you with them so they can know you're alright, but I can't. So all I can say to you now is that I am here. I'll be here to help you, no matter what."

Even in the darkest shadow, the bleakest future where his family and friends would never reunite with him, a single ray of light shined on Shigeo Kageyama. The man who was here to lend his aid, who could understand his pain and had expressed his admiration for the esper's morals. In the sea of agony that swamped his soul, Shigeo was happy to know that All Might was there for him. This embrace, the warmth of All Might's body, and the affection in his grasp was such a small gesture, yet at that moment, it was everything the esper needed from the Symbol of Peace. Unable to control his emotions anymore, the teenage esper bawled like a baby. He wrapped his arms around the hero's chest, releasing the full weight of his emotions and having only thoughts of everyone he'd left behind while he leaned on the symbol of peace for support.

All Might began to feel something... unexpected. The light aura enveloping Shigeo shifted towards the hero. The teenager was inadvertently channeling his psychic energy over to All Might. Suddenly, he felt like a weight had been set in his heart. The hero's body began to tremble, and his eyes grew misty.

What was going on? All Might was feeling sad just now, but he wasn't despairing so much that it left him on the verge of tears. So what caused this sudden shift in emotion? The only plausible explanation for this was that, somehow, Kageyama was transferring his feelings along with his energy.

What's more, because of the thoughts of everyone close to him running through Shigeo's mind, these thoughts and memories flashed in All Might's mind, further supporting the assumption that Shigeo's energy was responsible for his sudden display of sadness. Although he could only see snippets, he could vividly see the faces of several different people smiling and laughing with him, including this green floating blob with dimples. So these were the people that Shigeo Kageyama left behind. How heartbreaking.

All Might didn't even pay attention to the increased power he experienced or anything else and remained silent while he allowed Shigeo to weep. The two remained locked in each other's arms for a few minutes while the young esper let out all his emotions. All Might was prepared to stay alongside him for the entire night if he had to, but after a few minutes of bawling, he began to feel Shigeo's grip on his chest loosen.

"Kageyama?" All Might quickly realized that Shigeo had passed out. He must've finally tired himself after all the psychic energy he had spent today. The hero smiled and carried the young esper's body in his arms. He walked the child to the guest room and gently placed him on the bed. He then moved the blankets from under Shigeo's body and rested them over the esper.

"Sleep, Shigeo Kageyama. You've earned it."

Sleep was something that others weren't getting. While things had been heating up in the new dimension Shigeo had been sent to, the action had finally simmered back in the esper's home dimension. Once the esper had absorbed Suzuki's psychic energy, the impact created a huge explosion that shook the city.

Once the explosion had died down, Reigen immediately returned to the explosion's site, along with Ritsu, Teruki, and Dimple.

"Come on, Mob..."

"Where are you, big brother..."

The four were surveying the entire area, trying to see if they could get a glimpse of Shigeo anywhere in the rubble. Of course, none of them had any idea what had happened or what Shigeo had gone back to do, and none of them would even consider the possibility that he had been killed in the blast. No, that kind of thinking was impossible.

As they continued walking through the rubble and devastation, they soon came across a crater that was about ten meters deep. In the center of that crater, they saw an unconscious man completely naked and lying face-down in the ground.

"It's the boss of Claw," exclaimed Hanazawa.

"But then where is..." All four exchanged nervous looks, and without a moment to lose, all sprinted down as fast as they could.

"Come on! Wake up!" Ritsu was the first to shake Toichiro's body vigorously. The violent esper's eyes fluttered open, and he was greeted with the sight of the same evil spirit that was with the child esper before, the child's master, and two other teenagers.

"Huh?"

"Where the hell is my big brother?" In the absence of clothing, Ritsu grabbed Suzuki's shoulders and stared at him with an desperate and unstable expression. "What did you do?"

"Wait..." The adult esper looked around him, surprised to see that the teenager he just battled with was not here. "He was just with me..."

"Come on!" Reigen shouted, not in the mood to wait for this guy to process what was happening to him. "Mob rank back here for a reason! What did you do to him?"

"I..." Toichiro pieced together what had happened before he lost consciousness. "My body was about to explode and destroy the city. Then he came. He... tried to absorb my energy to save the city. After that..." The adult esper lost his words, making everyone around him anxious and furious.

"And THEN?"

"I'm not sure..."

"You still haven't answered my question!" Ritsu shoved Suzuki back down and hovered over him with a dark and intimidating aura. "What happened to my big brother?"

"When he absorbed the energy, he was enveloped in some bright, multi-colored light. After that, he just... disappeared."

The air in the atmosphere dropped to freezing temperatures. Every one of them was trying to formulate what Suzuki meant by "disappeared," desperately hoping that it wasn't what they thought it was.

Dimple was the first of them to speak up. "So then you're saying Shigeo is..." Ritsu, Reigen, Hanazawa, and Dimple were waiting with terrified anticipation.

"I don't think so,"

"What do you mean by that?"

"When he was absorbing my energy, I felt some intense struggle of psychic energy. The sheer intensity and quantity of the psychic energy appeared to cause some profound effect, but I don't think it killed him. I can't explain it any better than that."

Each of them was taking this news differently than the rest. Dimple and Hanazawa were trying to decipher what Suzuki meant by that or pondering the possibilities of such a large amount of psychic energy being transferred over. Reigen, on the other hand, was disturbed by this news, not finding comfort in Suzuki's claims. But Ritsu was taking it the worst of the four.

"That's it? You don't THINK it killed him?" The young esper's multi-colored aura exploded around him, and everyone, even Reigen, could sense a dark chill surrounding Ritsu. "How the hell is that helpful? With the amount of psychic energy he absorbed, who the hell knows what happened to him or where he could be now? This-" Ritsu raised his hand, sending Suzuki crashing into the rocks. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"Whoa, Ritsu!" The younger brother tried to continue to throttle Suzuki, but Hanazawa blocked his path and held out his arms. "You need to calm down."

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!" The young esper's aura exploded, causing the terrain to crack and multiple rocks to float into the air. "My big brother is missing; I have no idea where he could be or if he's even alive, and you want me to fucking CALM DOWN?!"

Sweat trickled down Hanazawa's spine, and the esper slightly grimaced. He wasn't sure what to say would make Ritsu snap out of this murderous rampage. But Reigen did.

"Ritsu." The con artist made his move and walked in front of Ritsu. The younger esper felt some of his rage simmer down when he saw how serious Reigen was looking at him. "I understand why you're feeling so angry. I'm not saying you don't have the right to feel these emotions, especially knowing..." Reigen bit back his emotions as he tried to get this next part out of his mouth, "Knowing that Mob could be anywhere right now. But you can't let that rage consume you. If you allow it to control you, you'll end up doing something you'll regret once you come to your senses, and it might come to haunt you for the rest of your life. I know because you're the same as your brother: a good person."

Ritsu's sudden burst of rage was beginning to crumble. The aura around the esper quickly disappeared, and in place of Ritsu's anger came unbelievable grief and despair. This sadness enveloped him and caused him to lose all feeling in his legs. The esper fell to his knees and stared into the sky as tears streamed down his face.

"Big brother..."

"I know, kid." Reigen bent down and placed his hand on Ritsu's shoulder. The lying master felt a deep aching in his heart, and his eyes began to water. He never wanted this to happen. He never intended to get Mob into so much trouble. He'd taken on the responsibility of being his master: whether or not he had psychic powers, it was still his job to make sure Mob was safe, and he'd failed. Now, there was no way of knowing what had happened to Mob or whether he was alive. There was so much more he wanted to tell him. He wanted to apologize, to have the chance to show how proud he was of the person Shigeo had become and, more importantly, the person Shigeo had turned Reigen into. But now, he may never have that chance. It was a genuinely agonizing revelation.

"I know."

The night had passed, and morning had come. Sleep was very difficult for All Might because all of the day's events ran through his mind, keeping his brain brimming with electrical activity. Most of his thoughts centered on what he would do with Kageyama and how he would begin training Midoriya. In addition, after All, Might put Kageyama in bed, his mind came to terms with the slight increase of power his body felt. It didn't take him long to realize that the esper must've had the ability to give his energy to others, and he accidentally gave All Might his power when they embraced. It took him about two hours of lying awake in bed until his brain finally slowed down and allowed him to fall asleep.

It was noon, and after a shower and a large breakfast, the number one hero was sitting outside on the central balcony adjacent to the guest balcony.

"The kid's still asleep, huh? It goes to show how draining his battles were." At that moment, he was still thinking about Shigeo's fate in this world. He'd thought about sending him back to his home world, but he had no idea how that would be feasible. It seemed that Shigeo could only do it by absorbing twenty years' worth of psychic energy that tore open a hole through reality and sent him to this world. That meant Shigeo would have to spend that same amount of time gathering the required energy to make it back home, and even then, it wasn't a guarantee.

Another slim possibility was that a quirk could send the user to different dimensions. But that seemed equally impossible: even the power of warping was an extremely rare quirk, so to imagine someone out there had an immensely enhanced version of that quirk was next to none. So, in that case, that meant Shigeo Kageyama was here to stay.

So what would become of him? With no one else to turn to and no actual record of his existence, it would be difficult for Shigeo to assimilate into regular society. All Might would probably have to create some baloney story about him or fake his records as if he knew how to do that. So that left the esper with few options for future occupations. But in Toshinori's mind, the most obvious path for him was the path of a hero. He possessed the pure heart and the extraordinary powers necessary for becoming a hero. He could become another beacon of hope people could look to, another symbol of peace like All Might!

However, something Shigeo needed to improve was the drive. It was apparent to All Might that being a hero was something Shigeo had never considered or cared about. To the esper, the lives he already saved and his impact on his city were minimal to him. But he couldn't be more wrong! All Might could see this child's tremendous potential and how he could adapt to this new world as a hero.

That meant it was up to All Might to convince him to become a hero! What better school was there to go to than U.A. High School? He was already enlisting himself as a teacher there! If Shigeo went there, that would allow him to develop as a hero and allow All Might to keep a close eye on him and view his progress.

All Might knew, though, that he would have to break this to him gently. The pain of losing his family was still fresh, so he'd probably have to give him some space for a few days and weeks until he floated his idea to him. In the meantime, there were still a few things All Might would need to take care of now that Shigeo was here to stay. Firstly, he'd need to buy some clothes for the teenage esper and some basic toiletries. That was something he could take care of this afternoon while Shigeo finished getting his rest.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll help you, however I can."

"Uggghhhh..."

The powerful esper's eyes opened up, and he stretched his body. For a second, he didn't understand where he was. But when the memories of yesterday came back to him, and the reality of what had happened to him set in, the esper sank and felt a heavy weight pushing down on him. He was now in an entirely new world. Mom, Dad, Ritsu, Hanazawa, Dimple, Reigen, Tsubomi, and everyone else at his school were gone. Sorrow closed up his throat, and pain gripped his chest.

The esper closed his eyes for a few moments, attempting to calm himself down. Now wasn't the time to let his emotions run wild again. He'd promised All Might. Speaking of All Might, where was he? After keeping this grief in check, the esper got out of bed and walked into the main living room to see if the hero was waiting for him.

"All Might?" The Symbol of Peace wasn't there. He walked to his bedroom but found only his bed well-made and a dark bathroom. It appeared that All Might had left his apartment. Shigeo noticed a piece of paper left on the sofa. He picked it up and read it out loud.

"Hey, Kageyama. Left to buy you some clothes and toiletries. Be back in a few hours. Help yourself to whatever food you want." ~All Might

"All Might..." Once again, Shigeo felt a strong sense of gratitude for this hero who gave him praise and support for everything he's been through. In a world of negatives, he was the one positive.

He entered the kitchen area, but when he saw the time on the microwave, he yelped: it was 5:00 in the afternoon! So he'd been asleep for more than 15 hours? That was crazy!

"I'll get myself some cereal." Shigeo opened the cabinets and found a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He grabbed the box, a bowl, and some milk from the fridge and munched away at his meal. His thoughts still revolved around memories of his loved ones and their time together, so he frowned as he ate his cereal.

Shigeo continued eating his cereal in silence for about ten to fifteen minutes when suddenly, All Might burst through the door with multiple bags in his hands and looped around his arms.

"Oh, All Might."

"Hey, Kageyama. I'm assuming you already saw my note."

"Yep."

"I didn't know your fashion type, so I bought some basic shirts and jeans. I also guessed your sizes, but if anything's too big, I have the receipts and can return anything you don't like."

Shigeo combed through all the different shirts and clothing items in the bags. Although most were singularly colored, a few had basic patterns on the shoulders or logos on the left pectoral section. He also noticed some essential running shoes, sneakers, and sandals. In the other bags, there were basic toiletries, such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, soap, shampoo, and many other things he would require.

"I think that accounts for everything," said Shigeo, "Thank you."

"Not a problem." The number one hero sighed and took a seat on the couch. "Once again, I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you."

The esper's eyes fell to the ground, and he sat in a chair adjacent to the sofa. "It's crazy to imagine absorbing that energy took me to an entirely different world."

"Indeed. At the very least, you can take some solace in the fact that your friends and family aren't dead. Although it's unclear how we will get you back, I assure you that I will find whatever clues I can that could lead you back to your world."

Shigeo's eyes turned back to All Might, and the esper was happy to know that All Might was here to help him. In his eyes, All Might had already become his number-one hero. "All Might, I can't thank you enough for what you did for me."

The frail man chuckled and leaned forward. "Last night, when you cried in my arms, I could see brief images of several people flashing before my eyes."

"You did?" Shigeo was confused by this at first, but he realized that he must've unintentionally transferred his power when his psychic powers increased, and since his mind was filled with the thoughts of everyone he cared about, some of those thoughts must have been moved over to All Might's mind as well.

Shigeo tried to give a brief explanation. "Besides absorbing psychic energy, I can also give my energy to others. I've learned that I can also share memories when I transfer my energy to others, so I accidentally sent you images of everyone I left behind."

"Tell me about them. Who were they?" The skinny hero tried to lighten up the mood and ask another question on his mind. "And more importantly, what was that green blob?"

"Yea, that's Dimple. He's an evil spirit I fought once." The young esper briefly explained how he came across Dimple, his plans to become a God, and the way he had come to accompany him and become a good friend. All Might took this information in with burgeoning interest and slight suspicion towards this Dimple character. It almost sounded as if this evil spirit was trying to use Shigeo to enact his plans for godhood. However, it was too early to tell, and it seemed that Shigeo had a deep trust in this spirit, so he didn't want to say anything too rash.

"It seems Dimple is quite the loyal companion."

"Yea, he is."

"And the others..."

"I don't know how many people you saw, but I'm guessing you saw my younger brother, Ritsu, the one with the spiked-up black hair, Teruki Hanazawa, the teenager with the blonde hair who happens to be my best friend, and my master, Reigen, the one wearing the suit."

"Your master?" All Might's curiosity was piqued considerably by this statement. The hero could only imagine the unbelievable wisdom and power this Reigen must have possessed if he was the one who guided Shigeo on the path to humility and self-improvement.

"What is he like?"

"He's amazing!" Shigeo's eyes shined with admiration and pride for his master. "He helped me to control my powers when I was a kid, and he's the one who taught me that my psychic powers don't make me better than others. I've always been able to rely on him for wisdom and to give me the answers to whatever questions I might have about myself or the world."

The symbol of peace smiled and reclined in his seat. As he expected, this Reigen seemed to be a truly righteous man who molded the esper into the unique character he was now. "It's good to hear that."

"Yea..." Shigeo Kageyama's pain resurfaced when the memories of his master and the last words he exchanged with him came back. "Master. What would he say? What would he tell me to do in a situation like this?"

All Might inched closer to the edge of the couch and sat silently while Shigeo tried to make sense of his emotions. "I don't have him, and I don't have anyone else to rely on except for you, All Might. So if I won't be able to make it back home for a while, then... what do I do now?"

It appeared that Shigeo had asked himself this question sooner than he expected. Nevertheless, the symbol of peace knew it was still too early to tell the esper what he thought his future would be. So All Might decided to remain gentle and give Shigeo his advice. "I'm not sure what the future will hold for you, Kageyama, but I'm sure that your master would want you to remain strong. So for now, allow yourself to adjust to this new world, and the answers to your questions will come in time."

The phenomenal esper knew that All Might was right. He was sure his master wouldn't want him to mope around like a nobody. But, once he allowed the pain of his losses to pass, the esper would somehow find a way to make sure that he'd find a new purpose in this world and make sure he became somebody.