195 Chapter 194
(A/N: This chapter is brought to you by the marvelous Peter Garrigues, whose last name I only had to check seven times to get correct~!)
...
..
.
"So? What's up...?" asked Izuku, joining Bakugo outside his house, staring blankly at the starry sky above.
"I want to be in the loop..." stated Bakugo. "It's obvious you know more than even most of the teachers, and I don't believe for a moment you're not blabbing to your girlfriends..."
"Anything specific you want to know...?" asked Izuku. "I honestly leave most of the critical thinking to Nezu-sensei these days..."
"Then that just means you're waiting for something to happen," contended Bakugo, tearing his eyes from the sky to stare directly at Izuku.
"Well...you're not wrong..." replied Izuku, closing his eyes and trying to force memories he didn't have to surface in his mind. His near-perfect recall didn't start until after he acquired [Eidetic Memory], and due to the memories of the original Izuku and other factors, there were troublesome gaps where very important information should have been.
"Do you hate me...?" asked Bakugo, catching Izuku a little off-guard and compelling him to meet the spiky-haired youth's serious gaze.
Without waiting for Izuku's response, Bakugo returned his gaze to the sky, his voice calm and level as he stated, "You've changed...and it's not just because of your Quirk. Back when we were small, you used to creep me out because you never took your well-being into account. Even when you were weak and powerless, you never hesitated to try and help other people...it infuriated me..."
Meeting Izuku's gaze again, Bakugo narrowed his eyes and asserted, "Now, you're still a busybody, but most of your actions revolve around yourself. I get that Quirks can affect a person's nature and personality, but fourteen years of selflessness doesn't just disappear overnight. Tell me what happened to you...what 'really' caused you to change?"
"Were you always this perceptive...?" asked Izuku, his tone joking but his expression sincere as he prepared the explanation he had spent the past two years drafting, one that was indistinguishable from the truth but less 'invasive' on his part.
"You'll come to learn this in time, but Quirks carry an imprint of their original user, a 'vestige' that contains their will and fragments of their memories," attested Izuku. "Simply put, if you were to somehow inherit a Quirk from someone else, a fragment of that person's essence...their very being would become a part of yours."
Holding his right hand and balling it into a fist, Izuku, staring at it with a pensive look, revealed, "Well, my Quirk, Digitalization, came with a vestige attached. I didn't awaken it as everyone believes...I inherited it due to the will of this planet, Telania, reaching out to forces, Gods even greater than herself, and begging for a champion. In response, they attached the soul of a person with fragmented memories of this world's past, present, and future to the Digitalization Quirk before granting it to the person originally fated to save it..."
"Wait..." muttered Bakugo, furrowing his brows and grimacing as he asked, "So, what, you're like an Isekai Protagonist...?"
Shaking his head, Izuku replied, "I can't stop you if you want to view things that way, but Digitalization isn't the only Quirk I've inherited with someone else's will attached. I also still have all my original memories. It's just...difficult to stay a kid when you have memories of the world's almost inevitable destruction and are told you're one of the few people who can save it..."
"Is that why you're living so recklessly...?" asked Bakugo, calming down as he already had a pretty good idea where Izuku had inherited his other Quirks and vestiges. And that was before he received a fairly substantial boost to his Intelligence.
"It's one of the reasons..." Izuku admitted, smiling awkwardly and scratching the back of his head as he confessed, "Another is because, deep down, I'm still the type of person who prioritizes the well-being of others over myself. I originally only planned to get a single girlfriend to share what might be our final few years. This whole harem nonsense is the result of my reluctance to let others down or exclude them. It doesn't help that they're all incredible girls...if I refused or rejected them outright, I feel like I would regret it for the remainder of what might very well be a very short life..."
"..."
Not sure what to say or how to respond, Bakugo joined Izuku in staring at the stars, a lengthy silence hanging between them until he faintly replied, "It does feel pretty incredible..."
Blinking in surprise, Izuku lowered his gaze and stared at Bakugo with equal parts amusement and pride as he asked, "You and your girlfriend did the deed...?"
Snorting, Bakugo, without a shred of insincerity, stated, "Better me than you. I'm planning to have her enter the Party at some point, and I didn't want to risk her falling prey to your casanova ass..."
Instead of refuting Bakugo's assertion, Izuku nodded curtly and stated, "If you can, you should convince the others to do the same. The threats we'll be facing within the next year are exponentially more perilous than anything you've experienced in the breaches. Even if every single Hero in Japan were to rally, there's no guarantee we'll be able to win..."
"Are the forces from other worlds really that powerful...?" asked Bakugo, feeling a bit of tightness in his throat.
"I honestly have no idea..." replied Izuku, shaking his head and revealing, "The threat I'm referring to is home-grown and has plagued this world for over a hundred years..."
"All-for-One..." muttered Bakugo, his expression becoming serious as his brief feelings of fear turned to fierce resolution.
"Him and his protege," clarified Izuku. "The latter has the power to turn anything he touches to ash, and once his power crosses the singularity point and 'awakens,' he'll be able to level entire cities by simply touching the ground..."
"Then what the fuck are we standing around here chatting for...?" asked Bakugo, tiny explosions detonating within his palms as he suddenly felt very anxious.
Tapping his temple, Izuku replied, "It's because my brain is missing key tidbits of information. I know that Shigaraki, All-for-One's disciple, has his awakening induced by the same Doctor who engineered that monster we encountered during the USJ Incident. However, I've discussed this matter with the Principal and personally looked through the staff rosters of every hospital in Japan to see if I could identify him, but it's like he fell off the face of the planet or never existed. Then there's the matter of the League of Villains..."
Exhaling a tired sigh, Izuku revealed, "In the memories I inherited from Digitalization, the League of Villains perpetrated many crimes, including terrorism and kidnapping UA students. Because of the MWT Phenomenon and the changes I've introduced to the timeline, things are completely out of whack. Toshi—All Might was supposed to gradually lose his power due to missing his stomach, ribs, and damaged respiratory system. That was the catalyst for the League taking action, but this time around, All Might's injuries were healed, allowing him to retain his power and continue acting as the Symbol of Peace..."
"In other words, they're hiding like cowards and waiting to fuck us over once shit hits the fan..." muttered Bakugo, crossing his arms and frowning even deeper than usual.
"Now you know how I feel..." exhaled Izuku. Then, before Bakugo could ask, he asserted, "The best thing we can do now is prepare and become as powerful as possible before the League acts. As for keeping you in the loop...I just divulged to you my greatest secret and the root cause of my imposter syndrome. I don't mind sharing other important info, but there's something you need to do for me in exchange..."
"Like what...?" asked Bakugo, visibly annoyed as he expected Izuku to ask or tell him to apologize. Instead, the latter answered, "I need you to bring everyone in Class 1-A and B together. Also...we should meet like this from time to time. The Gods know I could use some male friends..."
Raising his right brow, Bakugo questioned, "Are you for real? Don't you have like twenty girls waiting on you hand and foot? How the hell are you lonely...?"
"Imagine there are twenty copies of your girlfriend with slightly different appearances, and then ask me that same question..." muttered Izuku, his expression half-lidded.
"..."
Scratching his head, Bakugo decided against repeating himself and said, "Yeah, fuck that. As for becoming the leader of the first years...who else 'could' do it besides me? That icy-hot bastard isn't up for the task. That's for damn sure..."
"Then let's wrap this up here," said Izuku, extending his fist to Bakugo and expressing, "Also, I'm not the only one who's changed. You probably don't give a fuck about my opinion, but I'm genuinely impressed with how much you've grown since our tiff a few months back. Keep it up."
"Man, you really know how to piss me off..." growled Bakugo, undermining his moody glower by extending his fist to bump Izuku's with a bit of force. Then, walking away, he raised both of his middle fingers and shouted, "If you really want friends, then get off your ass and come hang out with us! It's not like we've ousted your stupid ass!"
"Then I'll see you around..." replied Izuku, causing Bakugo to flinch as he adopted a shit-eating grin and tacked on, "...Kacchan."
Lowering his middle fingers, Bakugo slipped his hands into his pockets and grumbled something under his breath. Izuku couldn't hear him, even with his enhanced senses, so after idling for a few moments, he made his way back inside his house, greeting Inko with a kiss before heading up to his room to inform a still-dazed Hanako it was safe to come out...
...
..
.
Making good on his promise from earlier, Izuku spent the better part of three hours making slow yet passionate love to Inko while Hanako slept peacefully in his room, as opposed to one of the guest bedrooms. Once they were finished and had taken a long bath, he planned to fall asleep spooning Inko's immaculate ass, but before lying down, he checked his phone to make sure he hadn't missed any important messages.
'This is turning out to be a very long and eventful day...' thought Izuku, smiling apologetically as he said, "Looks like I'm needed at the Ryukyu Agency..."
As Izuku had already apprised her of his interaction with Kaina and the possibility of him meeting with Ryuko, Inko smiled and mused, "Just try not to bully her like you did Hanako-san. The poor girl could hardly hold her utensils..."
"Yeah, but did you see her...?" asked Izuku, smiling as he added, "That girl is enormous but adorable beyond reason. She makes me want to spend a day with Luna."
"If that's the case, should I invite her for lunch tomorrow...?" asked Inko, smiling. She and Luna had hit it off fairly quickly due to her fondness for fluffy animals, especially canines. She would never say it to Luna's face, of course, but Inko was looking forward to the day she could caress the wolf girl's head and rub her belly...
"I'll most likely be busy, but you should still invite her, Rumi, and whoever else you feel like spending time with," replied Izuku. "I don't like you being here alone, and it makes me happy seeing everyone get along."
"I take it you're planning to meet with Uwabami and the others...?" asked Inko.
"That's right..." replied Izuku, crawling onto the bed to silence Inko's long string of questions with a kiss. He felt guilty about leaving her alone, but as he had promised Ryuko he would come running, he would need to be a pretty tremendous dick to ignore her, even more so when she sent him a text declaring that she 'needed' him. Thus, after making out with Inko and creating a trail of kisses from her lips to her pussy, Izuku set out into the night for what Kaina correctly presumed was a booty call...
...
..
.
(A/N: Bakugo lost his v-card and suddenly became calmer and a lot more reasonable. Coincidence? I think not...!)
