"-ku. Iz- ku. Izuku wa- up."
Izuku groaned. Someone was shaking him. Izuku leaned his head off of Dad's shoulder. "Mmmm...? What is it?" He lifted his sunglasses to rub his eyes. "Look." Dad pointed out the window. Izuku looked out. As his vision cleared, the Eiffel Tower came into view. They were circling it as they prepared to land. "Wow...!" he exclaimed. The city of Paris was right beneath them. Every from above he could tell that it was a very elegant city.
"Izuku, are you sure you should be wearing your costume?" Dad questioned. "It is highly noticeable."
Izuku paused for a second. He pulled the bag under his seat onto his lap and dug through it. Izuku pulled out his favorite hoodie and pulled it on. He had previously taken off his handcuffs for airport security. Izuku took off his sunglasses and mask and put them in the bag. "I'll put them on while we are doing 'work.'" Dad nodded. The plane landed and it was time for them to get off. Outside of the airport, Izuku and Dad made their way to the hotel they were staying in. Dad handled most of the talking, playing off the 'tourist' well.
Dad unlocked the door to their room. They'd be staying here for two days. Tomorrow and the next day they'd be scanning over the best places to mass-steal quirks. On the third day, they would check out and begin by taking Paris by storm. From then on the two would be on the run following the pull Izuku feels whenever quirks are nearby. That tied with the enhancer quirk he got from the Isle, Izuku could feel a quirk from over a thousand miles away. They would cover the entire country of France before moving on.
Izuku gaped at the room. It was so expansive! And detailed and elegant! Izuku couldn't help flopping on the bed with a sigh. Dad chuckled. "I felt as though we should have at least two good days before we go on the run." Izuku smiled. He pulled out his camera and ran over to the window where they had a view of the Eiffel Tower. "Come here!" He felt like a kid again. Izuku slung his arm over Dad's shoulder before snapping the shot. He grinned. Izuku sat down on his bed and sighed. He had a sudden urge to pet Honey. Sadly but understandably, she was not going to be joining them on their journey.
"Are you nervous?"
Izuku shrugged. "A bit."
Dad sat next to him and patted his shoulder. "You'll be fine, kid. I will personally make sure of that." Izuku looked up at his father. "I will not let you fall, Izuku." And somehow, those words took away all fear that Izuku had going into this journey.
-----
Izuku got dressed in jeans and a blue button-up top with short sleeves the next morning. Then he did something he hadn't done in many years. He put in blue eye contacts and covered up his freckles with makeup. Izuku fits a white baseball cap on his head. He nodded. "Let's go." With the camera and map in tow, he and Dad left the hotel room. Dad had tidied up a bit, pulling his long black hair back and dressing in deep blue jeans with a black t-shirt.
They made their way around to the places with the most people, aka, the biggest tourist attractions. They walked through the Louvre Museum, admiring the art while deciding that the peak of the glass triangle would be the best place for hitting as many people as possible. Taking a picture in front of the Arc de Triomphe, they decided that it would be best if Izuku hid in between the pillars holding up the arc. And that is how it went. Izuku and Dad stopped by a bakery, or boulangerie, for a small snack before continuing with their day.
The second day was much of the same and they soon were sitting on their respective beds in the hotel late at night. Izuku closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. Tonight they decided to start. They would visit each room in the hotel via the window and secretly take the quirks of its inhabitants. His watch vibrated as midnight struck. Izuku opened his eyes. He stood up and pulled on his mask and sunglasses. Izuku pulled his hood over his head. Dad walked over to him. "Ready?" Izuku steeled himself. "Ready." He pushed open the doors of their balcony. They were on the top floor. He planted his foot on the railing and climbed up. Izuku judged the distance between his balcony and the one over. "Hup!" He leaped over, landing safely and silently. Dad came over after. Izuku could feel the quirks radiating from the other side of the glass and curtains. He lifted his hand and let a black and red metallic tendril grow from it.
He picked the lock quietly. The door opened softly. The greenette and his companion silently walked in. There was a woman and a man in one bed and a little boy in the other. Izuku grew a thin needle from his finger. One of the quirks he had taken was one that numbed small areas on living things. Not much, but enough for what he needed to do. Izuku bent down and pricked each of them in their arms. The numbing agent entered their bloodstream.
Izuku stood up and retracted the needle. He then grew three tendrils again and stuck each one of them into the spots he had numbed. Izuku gritted his teeth as he extracted their quirks. The little boy flipped over and the greenette tensed. Nothing happened. Izuku retracted his tendrils and left the room without a sound, closing and relocking the balcony door.
He and Dad made their way around the hotel, Dad using his capture weapon to lower themselves down floor by floor. Then they moved on to the next hotel. There were a few on the block as the street was a popular place for tourists to stay. By the time the sun began to rise, Izuku had gotten the hang of it and was leaving his last room. There were a few mishaps and Izuku was forced to call upon Midnight's quirk for those but otherwise, it went smoothly. He and Dad made a mad dash through the shadows of the buildings. They panted as they dived under the arc of the Arc de Triomphe just as a guard walking around shined his flashlight where they had been just a second before. Izuku snuck around behind the guard. He cupped his hand over the man's mouth and released Midnight's quirk. Though the man attempted to struggle, he soon fell unconscious and Izuku took his quirk. Izuku met back up with Dad under the arc. He slid down against the structure as the sun began to rise higher. He was already exhausted and his fingers hurt.
"Izuku, we need to keep moving," Dad pushed. Izuku sighed. Dad peaked around the corner. "Well, it is the morning and no one is here yet, I am sure you can close your eyes for a bit." Izuku gave a wobbly smile under the mask, unseen. "Thanks."
He closed his eyes but did not sleep. Paranoid. He was scared, terrified. In a few hours, everyone in those hotels would be waking up and realizing that they could no longer use their quirks. He didn't know how long it was until gradually the sound of people grew louder. Dad shook his shoulder. "Wa- -up." Izuku stifled a groan. He got up. "What time is it?" he whispered.
"Noon, the largest number of people are present during this time." Izuku got up. "Time to get to work then."
He hated this. Izuku focused on All For One. He could feel the quirks milling around them. Izuku released Midnight's quirk quietly, letting it mill around and mingle in the crowd. Slowly but surely, people began to pass out. Some had noticed and ran away but around fifty were knocked out on the ground. Izuku slipped out of the shadows, multiple tendrils growing from his fingers. He stabbed them into the arms of every person on the floor. He flinched. He hadn't taken this many at once before. As he took them, Izuku also mentally apologized for the injuries they might have gotten from suddenly falling on the hard ground.
Izuku withdrew the tendrils and fell to his knees as his body processed the number that he had taken at once. Dad immediately crouched by him. "Kid! Are you okay?" Izuku huffed. "Y- yeah."
Dad jumped up. Izuku followed his eyes. A couple of heroes were coming their way after being alerted by the few who got away. Izuku used Dad to pull himself up. "Sit back, kid." Izuku shook his head. He waited for them to get into range before letting loose a quirk that Izuku had actually seen in action: Todoroki's. He formed a large wall of ice. He watched his breath billow in front of him. Brrr... Izuku spun on his foot quickly as a hero came around the ice. Instantly, Izuku shot forth a tendril and the hero had no time to dodge. Izuku ground his teeth as he yanked the quirk out. Dad grabbed his arm and pulled him down. A ball of acid flew over their heads and landed on the ground, the ground eroding under it. Dad caught the hero in his capture weapon and pulled him towards them. Izuku caught the man by the shoulders to stop his spin and stabbed the tendrils into his shoulders. Izuku made eye contact with the hero before extracting the quirk.
He spun around. Many had gathered to watch the fight. Izuku bit his lip. "Dad, hold me." The man instantly understood. "Are you sure?" Izuku nodded sharply. His father took him by the shoulders. Izuku closed his eyes and forced the amplifier quirk to its limits on All For One.
Izuku let loose a series of black and red tendrils from his hands all the way to his elbows. He ignored the screeches of pain as he embedded them into everyone around. "I- I'm so sorry about this..." Izuku pulled as hard as he could. He almost blacked out. Almost a hundred quirks fought for space as he captured them in rapid succession. He almost fell as he retracted the tendrils but Dad caught him.
"Kid, stay with me." Izuku nodded. He did a quick file through in his mind of all that he got and picked out one. Izuku grabbed Dad's arm and they melted into the shadows of the Arc de Triomphe. Izuku dragged them along the shadows until the shadows ended and he and Dad popped up from the ground out of view from the crowd. He and Dad ran. Izuku stumbled, too dizzy to keep going. Dad caught him. "Izuku!" He looked around. "Alright, you just rest." Dad picked Izuku up bridal style and kept running.
Izuku felt his vision blur. He grabbed onto Dad's shirt as pain racked through his head and chest. He could make out Dad saying something by the movement of his mouth but nothing was coming out. Izuku let go of his father's shirt and fell asleep.
_______________________________
Shouta ran with Izuku in his arms whispering things like "It'll be fine." Izuku was shaking and he could only imagine the boy's face was contorted in pain. Shouta felt the grip on his shirt loosen and looked down. "Hold on, kid, hold on." He found his way under a bridge with a grassy bank and a stream running under it. Shouta sat down harshly, still cradling Izuku. Izuku was breathing hard. Shouta ran his fingers through the kid's hair. Shouta narrowed his eyes, noticing something coming from under the greenette's sunglasses. He gently removed them. Shouta held a gasp. A black smoke-like fog was seeping out from under Izuku's eyelids that were closed tightly.
Shouta gently opened one of the boy's eyes. The whites of his eyes were black but the black and smoke were fading. He closed Izuku's eye.
The quirk block was probably storing it on its own, only taking a bit longer as there was such a sudden intake of quirks.
Shouta leaned his head against the wall of the bridge. He let himself drift off to the lull of running water.
Shouta woke up as the sun was going down. He immediately noticed the absence of Izuku on his lap. Shouta bolted up. He looked around. The black-haired man sighed in relief to see his son sitting on the bank of the stream. He got up and sat next to Izuku. "Hey." Izuku didn't move.
"Hey." His voice sounded strained. Shouta looked at what Izuku was doing. In his hand was a puff of purple smog that seemed to sparkle. It was spinning around Izuku's hand. The man had seen this one before. Izuku used it often when he was feeling off. "How are you feeling?" Izuku widened his palm and the fog dispersed into the air, tiny sparkles floating around.
"Better than before, I guess."
Shouta chuckled. "I can imagine." Izuku gently bumped him on the shoulder. A cold breeze swept through the tunnel reminding them of the sun that was going down. "We should keep going," Izuku said. "Are you sure yo-"
"Yup."
Izuku stood up.
"Nope."
Immediately his legs shook and he fell forward. Shouta, quick as a whip, Stood and grabbed the boy's shirt, pulling him up and into his arms. "Alright, sit down." Izuku could do nothing but comply. "We will continue in the morning." Izuku looked at him distraught. "If I can't handle this much then I won't be able to handle anymore," he reasoned.
"Your body will adapt and get used to it, responded Shouta. "This was your first time trying that so it will feel off. It is okay to give it time to adjust and get used to your newfound power." Izuku sighed and leaned his head on Shouta's shoulder.
"You know what, Dad?"
"Hm?"
In the most stoic voice the boy has ever had, he deadpanned. "Quirks suck."
It took everything in Shouta not to laugh out loud and give away their position. He ruffled Izuku's hair. "Yeah, some would think."
_______________________________
Izuku felt much better in the morning. They got moving once again. Making use of his newest method of transport and escape method, Shadow Walk, a quirk that allows him and whatever he is touching to meld with and crawl through the shadows, he and Dad found themselves in a housing district at the brink of dawn. There he made his way down the row of houses however there were only a few hours they had before people began to wake up. He was just leaving the last house when the one next to its lights came on.
Izuku and Dad snuck out the back door.
This was how they handled things. Over the course of three weeks in Paris, Izuku and Dad had slept in everything from bridge underpasses, sewer systems, trees, and the hotel at the start, never once staying in the same place twice. They ate little each day and every time Izuku took a mass collection of quirks as he did at the Arc, he could not stand for a day. Dad was right, though. Each time he could get up a little earlier and keep going a bit longer. His body was adapting.
Today would be their second to last day in Paris and their last mass collection. After that, he and Dad would do a sweep around the city to feel for any more quirks. The news that people were losing quirks had spread so many have left Paris in fear of it.
"You know," Izuku huffed as he climbed up higher, wind whipping his face, "this is not how I imagined my first encounter with the Eiffel Tower."
Dad chuckled from above him. Currently, they were scaling the side of it as the elevators had been closed off due to the 'epidemic', as Izuku explained it when the Round Table called. He said that he had been experiencing it too with many of the quirks in his arsenal being gone. Lies, of course, but necessary ones. It was around nine at night and for those that did stay, this was a popular time to view the Eiffel Tower while it was lit up. He and Dad were in all black to blend in with the shadows of it.
Izuku glanced down. Oooooooooooh that's a long way down! He kept climbing until they finally hauled themselves over the balcony edges at the top.
He and Dad panted. "N- never ag- ain," he coughed out. Dad nodded. "Agreed." They took a second to breathe, Izuku trying to force air into his damaged lungs. Dad rubbed his back. Izuku took one more deep breath before standing up straight. Izuku tilted his sunglasses down so he and Dad made eye contact.
"Do NOT let me fall."
The man nodded sharply. Izuku put his sunglasses back over his eyes. He turned on night mode previously so he could actually see. The greenette got on the railing. Dad grabbed onto his waist firmly. He focused on all of the quirks he felt below. There were so few in Paris now but who was here was at the base of the tower or somewhere nearby still in Izuku's range. He let go of the railing, fulling trusting his sense of balance and his father, and lifted his hands forward. Izuku breathed in. On the breath out, he let loose All For One. They zigzagged through the crowd, each seeking out a quirk factor on its own. He was grateful for the distance that prevented him from hearing the screams from down below. He was ungrateful for the wave of nausea he got while almost a thousand feet up. He felt the connection in a few and pulled. Then the next tendrils connected and so on, so forth. Izuku winced. Oh, that was one heck of a mutation! Dang! Once he was sure he had gotten them all, Izuku pulled back. He closed his eyes.
"Kid?" The greenette turned to look at his father. "Y- you have me, right?" The man nodded. "Alright. I don't think I can get down without falling."
"That's okay," Dad said softly. He pulled Izuku back and picked him up. "I won't let you fall." Izuku let himself get moved into a piggyback position by Dad, being secured in the capture weapon before Dad began their descent. They couldn't stay on the tower without freezing from altitude and night air. Izuku didn't know when he had fallen asleep, only that he was last halfway down the Eiffel Tower and now he and Dad were under another bridge.
He groaned and sat up. "Ah, you're up." Izuku turned to his Dad's voice. He scrambled to catch a croissant thrown at him. "T- thanks." Izuku bit into it happily. They didn't each much while on the run so Izuku appreciates what he gets.
Izuku pulled out his phone.
"Who are you calling?" Dad asked.
"The Round Table."
Dad didn't respond.
Izuku charged it in public places while in disguise. The phone rang a couple of times before the Japanese Prime Minister's assistant came on the phone. "Chief Deku, connect me with the Prime Minister." He waited before the man picked up. "I have an update on the epidemic. It seems to not be an epidemic at all. There have been multiple accounts of a hooded figure at the scene and using a quirk like the villain All For One. I do not have access to a quirk database so I really can't check if someone has a similar quirk to the one I stole from him."
...
"Yes, if you could check on that and get back to me on it, I'll do my best to help."
...
"If it comes down to that, I'll take the predator's quirk."
...
"Thank you, Prime Minister. I look forward to hearing from you soon."
Izuku hung up the phone and pocketed it. "Sly dog." Izuku whipped around to face his father. "Oh, shut up!" He had half a mind to throw the rest of his croissant at the man but his grumbling stomach thought better of it. Izuku was quick to finish it. "I don't feel any quirks nearby but let's do a quick sweep over the city before moving on." Dad nodded.
They respectfully threw their trash away in an abandoned park trash can before putting on their backpacks and beginning their travels down the streets of Paris. There were a few people here and there, mostly without quirks who couldn't bring themselves to leave. A couple still had some so Izuku put them to sleep and took their quirks. He and Dad were walking past a vendor shop when Izuku stopped.
"What is it?" Dad asked.
Izuku didn't respond. He went up to one of the spinning racks. Izuku searched through it before pulling off what he wanted. He held it up in front of Dad. It was a pair of Eiffel Tower earrings. "Are you planning on stealing those or using what little cash you have on them?" Dad deadpanned. If Izuku didn't have his mask on, he would have stuck out his tongue. "Paying, obviously." He pulled out a few euro's and lay them on the counter under a pen holder. Izuku took a second to take out his earring and attach the diamond from it. He still wanted it to dangle so he took the Eiffel Tower charm off of the new pair and put it in place of the diamond. Izuku put his earring back in his ear lobe.
"What are you going to do with the others?" questioned Dad. "Want one?" Izuku asked. The man's face said it all. Izuku laughed. "Just kidding. I'll send them back to the Isle in the card.
He pocket the extra and his old charm before the two continued their journey.
By the time they left Paris, his quirk count was well over two million. Izuku might have misjudged how big of a population cities had, especially large tourist cities. He didn't feel much different though so he didn't think much of it.
_______________________________
Izuku and Shouta made their way around the whole country of France in about three months. The population of France is roughly 70 million. Izuku had slightly over that many quirks by now.
Shouta didn't know why he was so worried before. Everything was fine.
"Dad...?"
He looked over at his son as they sat in a tree. Izuku was writing a card to send off before leaving France. "What is it, kid?" Izuku carefully balanced his bag on a limb before taking a picture out of the album and crawling over to Shouta. He put the picture of the Lights before him.
"What about it?"
Izuku pointed at Doom. "I know that person." Shouta narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
Izuku averted his eyes. Shouta grabbed Izuku's shoulders. "Izuku, why?" Forest eyes met his own.
"What is his name again?"
Shouta felt like someone had hit him in the stomach with a boulder. Izuku must have picked up on it. "I- I mean, I know him! We were together from the start of the Quirkless Rejects! We fought the war, he is a Light. I- it's just his name seems to skip my memory." Shouta stared at his son. Okay, just the name. Not the memory. He still remembers. Not the memory. Shouta almost had a heart attack for a second there. "Doom. His name is Doom, remember?"
Izuku scrunched his eyebrows together. It was like a light bulb went off in his head. "Right! Doom! Oh boy, don't tell anyone I asked that, k?" Shouta nodded. "Sure, kid." Izuku went back to his limb and finished the card.
Just the name. Just the name.
Shouta could not perish the feeling of foreboding in his stomach though.
-----
Dear Everyone,
France was pretty cool! Me and Dad got to try some authentic french foods and pastries. They were so delicious! We got through it in about three months. I thought it would take longer but once I got the hang of it, it ran much smoother and faster.
Just a heads up, the Round Table will be calling the QR Headquarters more often now so if Cateye could use his voice changer to mimic my voice that would be great. Thanks in advance. We are going to Spain next and since Portugal is much smaller and right beneath Spain we will be going there as well.
Don't worry, Jester, I haven't forgotten any of you. I think about all of you every day. I hope everything is going well. We might not be back for a long, long while but just know we miss you and are always thinking of you!
Sincerely,
Izuku.
<insert picture of Izuku and Shouta in front of the Eiffel Tower>
- May 17th, 2026.
_______________________________
They traveled down to Barcelona, Spain where they would hit both Spain and Portugal at the same time.
Luckily it lined up with the Running of the Bulls. They would be there a month before the actual race. That is when they would get the most quirks in the shortest time since it was such a big event. For now, Izuku and Dad spent most of their time doing the usual, going through housing districts. They made their way through the medieval city of Cuenca, taking in the sites as well as hiding in between buildings as people passed by and taking their quirks.
On La Concha beach they found themselves a semi-secluded spot to sleep for a few nights and enjoy the beach. They soon had to change locations after Izuku finally made his move there, hiding behind a large rock during a busy afternoon and releasing All For One to take the quirks of everyone on the beach, avoiding those in the water for safety purposes.
Let's just say that the beach cleared out. They only stayed there another day to collect the quirks of beach inspectors that came to check out the situation.
July 6th hit, thus beginning the first day of the San Fermín festival and the Running of the Bulls.
The festival went from the 6th to the 14th. During that span of time, Izuku discreetly stole as many quirks as he could from the shadows, mostly targeting street vendors and those who got separated from the crowd. When the Running of the Bulls started, Izuku and Dad were in place.
They stood at the starting line. It was a really short race with no quirks allowed so he had to do this quickly. With the crowd thicker than ever before, Izuku stood atop a building further away so he would not be seen. Not that he needed to worry since everyone had their attention directed elsewhere. As soon as the bells rang to begin, the race started and Izuku let loose the tendrils. He avoided anyone running in the race, taking to the audience instead. The audience erupted in more screams of terror and pain than excitement as Izuku wove his tendrils through the feet of the crowd and into each person's leg so to stay undercover. He flinched a couple of times when a few stepped on the tendrils that were surprisingly sensitive. With the commotion of the festival, no one took it for anything more than cheers of excitement. Izuku was quick to pull back the tendrils.
He almost passed out but forced himself to stay awake. He and Dad, not without a little assistance from the man himself, leaped across the buildings to the finish line of the short race. The runners were just finishing and the bulls were being taken off. Izuku took advantage of the tired state of the runners to steal their quirks.
He and Dad fled the scene as soon as Izuku retracted his tendrils.
_______________________________
Shouta sat his son down behind a building in an alleyway.
Izuku heaved over and coughed harshly, flames licking at the corners of his mouth. A long devil's tail swished on the ground, grown from the boy's tailbone. His eyes were changing colors in rapid succession. Shouta hated this. He could do nothing to help him son other than carrying him away when he was too weak to stand after a large collection. Shouta pulled out a canister of water and held it out as the tail began to disappear and Izuku's eyes finally faded back to their usual green.
Izuku gratefully took the canister and drank from it. Shouta opened one of his own to drink too. It was incredibly hot out. Izuku panted and leaned against the wall of the building.
Shouta sat next to him and forced Izuku to lay down, putting the boys head in his own lap. The greenette didn't have enough energy to decline. Shouta pulled out the map as Izuku slept. They would head to Portugal as things calmed down here and the citizens began to realize their quirks were gone. Portugal was much smaller so it should be a quick run before coming back to Spain for another sweep and a quick run over of the two locations.
Shouta paused. He pressed his fingers against Izuku's neck to check if the boy was breathing. It was so hard to tell by sound since the boy's breathing was shallow. Shouta checked on a regular basis out of paranoia.
Confirming that his son was indeed breathing still, Shouta went back to the map.
_______________________________
It wasn't long before they had finished their journey between Portugal and Spain. By the time they had finished, Izuku had a total quirk number of 227 million quirks and counting.
Izuku and Shouta moved up through Europe.
They enjoyed schnitzel in Germany, classic pasta in Italy, perogies in Poland, and sachertorte in Austria.
In each European country they visited, and ultimately cleared, Izuku made sure to write a card back to his family. He told them of his and Shouta's travels and the wonderful cites they saw. Of the food they ate and the traditions they discovered.
They ended their journey in Lithuania in the year 2028, September 4th, almost three years since the start of their journey with a quirk total of 760 million quirks.
_______________________________
24-year-old Izuku sat on the edge of a bridge in Lithuania writing. It was quiet. He didn't know if it was just his poor hearing or the way that the country had cleared in fear of the 'epidemic.' He also didn't care. It was peaceful. He was writing another card to his family back home on the Isle of the Quirkless. He glanced over at his father who was standing on the edge, hands in his pockets, the wind blowing through his hair. Dad's hair was longer now, as was Izuku's. They tried to stay constant with cutting their hair but it was so hard without proper training and while they were always on the run.
Izuku kept his hair which had fully grown back from the half-shave and then some in a short ponytail like T- To... Like the bi-colored boy he remembered from the pictures in the album. He will admit, his memories were a little foggy as more and more quirks were stockpiled. He had memories of that boy and Shin in the warehouse playing cards and the memories always brought a fond feeling so he was sure that the male was a dear friend of his.
Dad kept his hair that was long enough to reach his butt now in a braid most of the time. He wouldn't if Izuku didn't get bored sometimes and mess with the long locks of hair. Now it was almost a ritual for them to wake up every morning and for Izuku to put Dad's hair in a braid. For now, Dad just let it blow in the wind, as did Izuku. It felt nice.
Izuku sighed and sealed the letter in the envelope. They would send it off when they got to Asia.
Dad was saying something, Izuku knew he was, he just couldn't hear it. It was all muffled so Izuku just let the man talk. There wasn't much to say anyway, just random chatter. At some point, Dad probably noticed that Izuku wasn't listening, couldn't listen, so he just tapped Izuku on the shoulder. Izuku looked up at the man.
-Ready to head to bed?- Dad signed.
Izuku nodded. -Sure.-
He put everything away in his bag and followed Dad to the end of the bridge where they climbed down some rocks and entered a sort of cave or din that they had been resting in the past few days. He set his bag in the corner and rolled out his blanket. They used their bags as pillows. He sat down and turned to Dad, tapping on the stone flooring, inaudible to him but Dad heard it and turned.
-Goodnight.-
Dad walked over and crouched by him. "Goodnight, kid." Izuku knew by the way his father's mouth moved that he was purposefully projecting his voice. It honestly made Izuku happy that his father made an effort for Izuku to actually hear him. He thinks Dad knew that too, that's why he did it. Dad stood and got under his own blanket. Izuku got under his. He swirled around the purple fog and let the twinkling sparkles fill the roof of the cave. Izuku yawned.
Tomorrow they'd be leaving Europe and heading to Asia. He yawned again and let sleep overtake him.
_______________________________
Bubblegum called everyone to the conference room, Todoroki coming in a few minutes later as he had to come from his house in the city. He still made an effort to be at the tower often, even with a job and twins at home. Today, they had gotten another card from Izuku. It had been almost three years since he and Aizawa left.
Cateye came walking out of the elevator, ripping off his voice changer obviously irked.
"The RT giving ya a hard time?" Jester asked. RT was their abbreviation for Round Table. Cateye nodded. "I'm not as good at lying and manipulating as Deku. It has been so hard to keep them off our tails."
"Especially with the news going haywire," Todoroki commented. It was all over the news. Most of Europe had been slowly losing their quirks. The Round Table had been putting out that it was an epidemic they were working on curing while they conversed about the person actually doing this. Izuku had started them down a rabbit hole a couple of years back saying it was someone with a similar quirk. Cateye had twisted it enough to get them started down the trail of perhaps All For One still being alive, which is obviously a lie, and his quirk regenerating, which is a bigger lie.
"We are all very grateful for you, Cateye," Butterfly reassured him.
Bubble waved the card in her hand. "Got another from Izuku. Want to hear it?" they all nodded, faces visibly lighting up. Bubblegum opened the card with a picture taped to the bottom of Izuku and Aizawa on a beach. There was another taped behind it that she'd show later. She began to read.
"'Hey Everyone,
By the time you get this, we will be in Asia but right now we are in Lithuania. We have just cleared Europe but I am sure you already know about that. It's been pretty cool here. There seems to be something new around every corner. It is quite amazing, really. I think I found something for Bubblegum when I get back. Sachertorte. It's a chocolate cake that is so delicious I can't even describe it! I'll bring back the recipe maybe. Or a piece if I can get back to Europe before heading home.
I hope everyone is well. I haven't heard anything about the Isle falling to pieces so I think that's a good thing. It will still be a while until we get back but I still think of you every day.
Jester, Doom, Bubblegum, Fox and Fox, Butterfly, and Cateye. Also...'"
"What's up, Bubble?" Jester asked.
She paled. "I- it's, um..." She glanced at Todoroki who narrowed his eyes. "What is it? I noticed he didn't mention me and now you are looking at me oddly." She bit her lip and kept reading.
"'Jester, Doom, Bubblegum, Fox and Fox, Butterfly, and Cateye. Also, that red and white-haired boy. I can't seem to remember his name or face well aside from the photo album but I remember playing cards with him and Cateye. Sorry about that, I am sure I'll remember soon enough. I don't plan to forget any of you! When I get back, let's play cards again, you two!
I can't wait to see you all again.
Sincerely,
Izuku.
- September 4th 2028.'"
The room was tense. Butterfly peeled off the first picture and passed it around. She took in a sharp intake of breath at the one under it. It was a picture of Izuku in between Cateye and Todoroki. Todoroki's face was circled with a quotation saying: 'I promise I know you!', as though he was trying to convince someone. Bubblegum passed it around. It got to Todoroki. The bi-colored boy took it. They were all silent. The corner of the picture crumpled as his grip on it tightened. Bubblegum gently removed the paper from his hand and laid it on the table. She hugged the boy gently. His hands dropped to his sides.
"It's okay, Todoroki," she whispered. "He remembers you. Izuku would never forget you, I promise." She let go of him but kept her hands on his shoulders. Todoroki had his head down, loose white and red locks draping his face. "He does, and when he gets back you three will play cards just like always, just like he said in the card. Okay?" Todoroki made a small, minuscule motion that could be taken as a nod.
-----
Shoto sat by his kids' bed. He had baby twins, one boy, one girl. The moonlight was shining on them from the window as Shoto looked at the moon. He sighed and grabbed the deck of cards he had brought in. Shoto shuffled them in random patterns, mind still on Deku's card. He messed up and the cards went everywhere. Scattered, like Deku's memories of him... He placed his head in his hands. Tears fell from Shoto's heterochromatic eyes.
"Please... Please don't forget me..."