Why? It was bad enough to deal with this alternate world, being in the past, and everyone he knew just not being the same, but now even the ghosts in his head weren't the ones he knew? This was just ridiculous!
"Answer the Question! And how do you know 2!?" 3 Shouted, his usual stern male voice replaced by an angry feminine. Izuku started feeling dizzy again.
"I-" Izuku started, before grabbing his head in pain. This...why? Why did he have to deal with this?
"FASTER!" Nana shouted, not wanting to play around with this random person in One for All, and knocking Izuku enough to consciously answer.
"I'M THE NINTH!" Izuku cried out, before he fell to the floor in pain. His head felt like it was splitting open from both sides like an eggshell being cut with scissors.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" 2 shouted in disbelief. He couldn't be the ninth. They can still see Toshi's memories, and she's going strong, even if 2 and 3 weren't particularly fond of her.
"Toshinori hasn't given up One for All yet!" Nana continued, as Izuku continued feeling pain, but he was still conscious to reply.
"YOUR TOSHINORI HASN'T, BUT MINE HAS!" Izuku yelled in pain, and all the users stopped in surprise. What did that mean?
Quickly, Shigaraki and Nana helped the kid up, who was still caressing his head, albeit the pain was diminishing, but it was still torture.
"Explain. NOW," Shinomori demanded.
"Can't you look through my memories or something? Considering I'm here in the first place?" Izuku suggested, but Yoichi shook her head.
"No good. You're segmented from one for all, yet you're still here. So, you'll have to explain to us in words," Yoichi explained.
"Great. Okay, I'll make this quick," Izuku started, as the rest of the users hovered around. "I'm the ninth wielder of one for all. Names Midoriya Izuku. I'm from another universe where all genders can have quirks. I was born quirkless. All Might, or for you guys All Mighty, decided to make me the ninth holder after witnessing my heroic heart, and a whole damn lot happened. At the time, not only am I in another universe, but I'm also approximately 18 years in the past from where I originally was. I've already hit singularity which is why I was able to be here while Toshinori doesn't know you guys exist. I was successfully able to defeat All for one once and for all, but I've been through way too much to mention. You'll figure it out overtime, but that's the rundown."
After the blasthrough of knowledge, the users were sitting in disbelief. Sure, it was unbelievable, but it matched the case of what was happening.
"I...assume that it means that you got our blessings in your world?" 2 asked for herself and 3, to which Izuku side-nodded.
"Sorta. It just kind of went into Overdrive, and you two just ran along with it after a couple deaths of people, and noticing that I was actually...worthy I guess?" Izuku continued, before shaking his head. "Wait, are you guys just accepting that fast?"
"Let's be honest, your explanation is the only feasible one, even if it is absolutely ridiculous," En answered, and the rest of the vestiges agreed.
"Besides, you seem way too calm and recognize us, which we know would be impossible for anyone not connected to One for all in some way, whether the quirk itself or a user," Yoichi continued.
"I...I guess. Just assumed you all would be much more suspicious," Izuku continued, before noticing his presence diminishing. "Welp, guess you guys get to watch me save this world too, or is that a bit disingenuous? You get to watch me do my best to save the world, let's go with that," Izuku said, finger-gunning the previous users, before he was completely gone and awake.
There was silence in the void, before a hearty laugh shattered the air.
"I love this kid!" 5th proclaimed.
--------------------------------
*BBBBRRRRRINNGG*
The bell of UA struck, signaling the start of the day, and what a day for Shiko Aizawa. Here she was, staying in the General Studies class, and just waiting until the day was over, when she got a call to the Principal's office.
That was odd, but nothing bad, right?
So what if everyone, "ooo's" whenever someone gets called up there. Nozomi isn't a monster. Well, not figuratively at least.
As she opened the door, there stood the marsupial principal. "Ahh! Aizawa Shiko! Please come in!"
'Too polite. Is that a bad thing?' Aizawa thought to herself as she sat down opposite the Principal and her massive desk. She also took the time to look around the room. It was filled with memorabilia, of UA and heroes in general, which wasn't surprising. What was surprising was that...that was all there was. Nothing really special outside of that.
"Now, Aizawa, it has recently come to my attention of your quirk's nature," Nozomi started, pulling out a file of the student, and making the wannabe heroine cringe in worry. Nozomi wasn't going to expel her because of her quirk, right? Nozomi didn't think there was such a thing as a villainous quirk, cause there wasn't one, right? The thoughts kept coming back from her previous terms in school, but they were shut up whenever Nozomi started laughing.
"How could we have been so blind!?" Nozomi exclaimed, both intriguing and worrying the student even more. "Of course you'd end up in General Studies with such a quirk like yours in our flawed exam!"
Now that...wasn't what the student expected at all. She expected maybe some chastising or even outright threatening, best case scenario being just an apology, but...what was happening?
"I do apologize for, essentially keeping you out of our hero course, however that isn't an issue anymore, now is it?" Nozomi asks the student, before passing a new chart for 1-A revealing...her. Her eyes widened when she saw that she was not only in a hero course class, but with her...friends...yeah, they were her friends. "Even if you had performed lackluster at the Sports festival weeks ago, I still would've put you in 1-B after seeing your potential, but you've blown us all out of the water, especially those at the HPSC, and very especially me!"
"I...I-Thank you, Principal," Aizawa got up from her seat and bowed. Was she that special that Nozomi would've put her in the hero course, even if she didn't absolutely decimate her opponents? What was happening?
"Please Aizawa, don't feel entitled to thank me. You got here either from your own merit, or from our mistake. Whichever you like to believe, the outcome is the same," Nozomi mentions, hopping onto her desk, bowing to the student, and proclaiming, "Welcome to your hero academia, Shiko Aizawa!"
Every day gets brighter I suppose.
--------------------------------
Here Izuku was, whistling to himself as he worked on his new Guardian outfit.
Most of the body had been completed for a while now, it was just the helmet.
Now, his own experience with his outfit had been a rollercoaster. It was originally an All Might tribute, before he got rid of any helmet, before getting it back for his, as he regretfully calls it, "Dark Hero," arc, before going for a more tribute style costume, complete with something reminiscent of the past users of One for all, and something that resonated with his old friends who have passed away, either in war or in a bed, sick and surrounded by loved ones.
That wouldn't happen again.
Not to him, not to anyone.
Enough painful memories though, his outfit was nearly done. The helmet he'd need to work on more, so he'd just wear the original outfit for now. Granted, he might've wasted time on some extremities for his new outfit, but so what if he wanted a radio or something in his helmet, or basically every form of enhanced vision from X-ray to infrared to heat? Sure, some aren't needed, but he sure wants them. The smallest things can help him focus and be a better hero.
Sliding on the tan and orange outfit, buckling himself, and placing on all the parts, he looked...well he didn't look like a hero. More like a mechanic or something, but whatever. It wouldn't be for long. He just needed to get through the day, and he could finish things up.
Just like when he wore it for the photo shoot, It felt oddly spacious, almost like he was too small for it, even though it was too small for him, but he can deal with it for now.
Now then, just wait until Nozomi gets he-
"Guardian!" Nozomi called into the workshop, making Izuku slingshot over to the Principal. "Fast as always!" Izuku simply nods. It got hard getting used to not talking in this suit, but it gave Izuku a sense of power whenever he wore it. He answers to Nozomi, no one else.
"It is the first day the students will be back, and you know what that means?" Nozomi asked, full well knowing that Izuku couldn't respond. "It means it's your first day on the job! You're also wearing the original suit today? I take it the new model isn't finished, correct?" Izuku nodded, as Nozomi also did in response. "In that case, we'll leave you with the minimal duties today, but I shouldn't need to inform you of your duties. Always remember that mission plans are in the shirt pocket however." Izuku tapped his chest, verifying his duties were written there.
"Excellent! I'll see you at the end of the day!" Nozomi said, before walking out of sight, and out of mind. Well, not totally. She's definitely watching him and everywhere in the school right now, but that's not something to worry about.
'Alright. First stop, arrive at the front gate to escort students,' Izuku thinks to himself, before launching himself across hallways to get towards the front entrance.
"Stop stealing my moves!" Torino jokingly cried as she saw the guardian launching himself feet first while using blackwhip to steer himself. Only 2 minutes before the gates open.
"Be Careful! These walls aren't meant for pointy black tentacles!" The 1-A Course teacher, aka Lawful Hero: Deputy, shouted. She was similar to snipe, but instead of a homing quirk, she had a major agility quirk. It allowed her to bounce off of really anything as long as her weight didn't crush it. She also had a boomerang gun, so that's neat.
Disregarding her concerns, Izuku shot through the hallways before reaching the front entrance. At that point, he grabbed the Guardian's Badge present by the door, reading the note on it as well.
"Here's your badge, Guardian of UA! We'll get your new picture taken whenever your new model is finished, but this should get you anywhere you need to be on UA grounds! -Nozomi." The cheeky little rat. Izuku would bet that Nozomi did this entirely on her own so that no one knew that the Guardian could essentially barge into any room if need be. Or maybe he's overthinking, but probably not.
Nozomi would absolutely do something like that.
'Forgot I chose that background,' Izuku snorted as he equipped the badge to his suit's chest, and made his way out to the front Gate. There was still 10 minutes before the gates opened, so Izuku had time to kill, and that meant thinking.
A whole lot of thinking.
--------------------------------
Nemuri Kayama was doing great!
One of her best friends just got into the hero course, she herself was doing amazing in said hero course, and her new costume just got accepted.
Shame she had to get rid of the old one. So what if it was provocative? That's her whole thing!
Either way, life was going good, and nothing would stop that soon.
"Hey Heroshi!" She called out, noticing her cockatoo blonde haired buddy sitting near the front gate.
"Hey Nem! What's up?" Heroshi asked rhetorically, and they both knew who was about to appear before them.
"Well, I know I am!" A white lofty cloud floated down to the both of them, and off stepped Obari Shirakumo, also known as Loud Cloud to UA.
"Of course. How many times are you gonna make that joke?" Heroshi asked jokingly, already knowing the answer. They've asked her that many times before.
"Whenever it stops being funny!" Obari replied.
"It was never funny," a less tired than normal voice replied from beside them all, and there was the new student of 1-A, Aizawa Shiko.
"Aizawa! How're you doing?" Heroshi asked, hugging her best friend.
"Better then normal at least, so I'd say okay," Shiko replied, the slightest smile coming out from her uniform.
"Aizawa not being tired? When did that happen?" Nemuri joked, as Aizawa rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Look, I'm actually excited for something, don't ruin it early," Aizawa complained, but they could hear the happiness in her voice, even as small as it was to her normal monotone, and that's enough for them to agree to her wishes. In the couple of months they've known each other, Aizawa was known to be the, 'less then excited,' member of the group, so when she does get a ray of sunshine in her eyes, they'll respect her wishes to keep that ray there.
A buzzing sound rang out from the gate, as the light nearby switched from red to yellow, indicating that the gate must be opened via keycard, making all 4 pull out their student IDs.
Nemuri started, sliding her keycard into the slot. The light glowed blue, and the gate slowly opened, but someone was waiting on the other side.
From the gate, out came what could best be described as a space engineer. Tan bodysuit with a fully enclosed yellow helmet, utility belt and straps. If they didn't know any better, they'd assume he was a visiting hero.
They moved towards Nemuri, before they gave her a Thumbs-up, and motioned for her to move in towards the gate.
"Erm...who are you?" Shirakumo asked, and the new member pointed towards their chest. A small badge clipped onto the bodysuit presented itself.
"Oh! They're like a bodyguard or something?" Nemuri asks, and the person nods, but points to their badge closer. "Oh. Apparently, we're not supposed to talk to them."
"What?" Aizawa asked, before swiping her card. The light went blue, and the person motioned for her to join Nemuri inside the gate. She took a look at the badge. Sure enough, the second thing on the small list was, "(Do not speak to unless life or limb is in danger)"
"Why're they out here then?" Shirakumo asked, also swiping her card. Light's blue, and the person once again motioned for her to join them. Heroshi did the same after her card came up as blue. The rooftop squad was on UA campus now, but before they could question the guardian any further, they simply pushed the four towards the entrance.
"Wh-hey!" Nemuri complained, but it didn't even phase the guardian. They were pushed to the front entrance before the guardian stopped, saluted them, and went back to their position at the front gate.
"Weird."
--------------------------------
It took a lot for Izuku to not cry at seeing Midnight-sensei. She died way too early in the war for them. It'd only been a year since she was KIA, but then here she was, alive and exuberant as ever.
Yeah, it wasn't his Nemuri. Yeah, it wasn't his sensei. Yeah, it wasn't his surrogate mother by proxy.
But it was still Nemuri Kayama. Same as always, and that hurts.
-Come on kid, don't start sobbing now. The day just started. Do that in your room- The voice of the third came through his head. The previous users of this world had gotten accustomed to him, and thankfully had been kind enough to the kid to allow him to use their quirks, even 2 and 3. He already had experience with them after all, and if the 2 and 3 of his world thought he was worthy, why shouldn't they?
-Leave the kid alone. They're obviously important to him!- En complained to the third, and Izuku could just feel the third roll her eyes.
'No, she's right. Just thought it wouldn't be this hard,' Izuku thought to them, as he shook his head. 'Back into the game.'
The rest of the students had similar reactions, especially considering that the Guardian hadn't shown up before. Why were they here now? That didn't make sense at all.
Despite that confusion, they all did respect him enough to actually listen to what he was implying. It got a bit hard not talking for some of them, especially those who he knew personally. He completely forgot that Edgeshot was a second year student when his Senseis were first years. But, he was able to get everyone in the school safely.
With a look across the street and to the sides, he swiped his badge on the nearby slider, and the gates slowly swung close. The light turned back to red, and he walked inside.
--------------------------------
The rest of the day went by pretty smoothly and way too fast for Izuku. Most of the tasks that were required of the guardian were done on an hourly basis, and were very simple. Patrol the Perimeter, watch 1-A & 1-B for any incidents, keep classes out of danger and fights, simple things a security guard of sorts would do.
Most of them could be done remotely, but Izuku didn't trust Cameras. Not because they were rigged or hacked, but because he knew blind spots existed. He couldn't rely on his history of UA and UA incidents, simply because he already knew this universe was different, and not just in gender or names. Small stuff is already changed, whether by default or by him simply existing, so that meant he did have to literally get up and slingshot around the school to keep everything going good.
Not that anything went badly today though. Most was a Press Reporter that was staked out on a building to get a view of 1-A. Probably just for a news short. Izuku did respect most of the Press, because he knows that they exist for a reason, but there are people who will do anything to get a story.
So what if they end up black whipped to a wall on a nearby building in an instant, with a police complaint strapped to them? UA's private property, and it's likely that those kinds of pictures are illegal.
Probably.
In any case, he spent his time off getting his helmet finished. If not for the fact that Mei and Melissa, or as he called them, "Trouble Twain," had basically forced him to learn how to be a support student at, as Mei said, "Black hole Laser gun-point" he'd be very lost.
-She had a black hole laser gun?- 1 asked, astonished, Sounded like something out of her comics.
'She never used it around me, but I wouldn't put it past her and Mel to make something like that a possible weapon,' Izuku thought, and he could just feel Nana and Banjo laugh. 'They're the Order to each other's Chaos, which leads to a whole lot of BS creations.'
-Cannot wait for this world's 'Trouble Twain!'- Nana cried, as Izuku rolled his eyes. Yeah, he couldn't wait either.
Suddenly, his Work in Progress Helmet started beeping, and he saw through its lens that it was nearly time for classes to be up.
-You really put everything in that thing didn't you?- 4th asked, as Izuku nodded.
'Why not? If it makes a good difference, even a minor one, I'll put a goddamn pumpkin cannon in here,' Izuku replied, as he remembered more "Trouble Twain" creations.
Either way, he could discuss the two's Hammerspace abilities later.
-Hammerspace?- 1st asked, very intrigued.
He had to get to the front gate, to do the same duty as the beginning of the day. Make sure all the students get out safely.
It uh...it was basically the exact same thing as before, but no one was as confused.
-Well did you expect a difference? They're just leaving.- 3 remarked, as Izuku side-nodded.
'Yeah yeah, but just expected a similar treatment. Is that bad?' Izuku questioned, as he felt the vestiges collectively nod.
-Kid, with all due respect, what the hell happened to you in your world?- 5 asked, as Izuku mentally sighed.
'Enough to call 110 about, approximately...17 times? Somewhere around there,' Izuku mentally shrugged, as he felt most vestiges sigh sympathetically. 'Oh wait, better comparison. Enough to accurately compare to Paul Bäumer from all quiet on the western front. That's pretty close,' That just made it worse. Well, except for...
'Not good enough,' 2 replied, and Izuku could just feel the smile on her face. She was having a bit of fun with it at least.
In anycase, the last of the students had just left for whatever they were supposed to do. Normally, the guardian would have more duties to finish other then what was done today, but as Nozomi said, he had minimal today, probably because she wanted to see the new suit in action, and to not get the students accustomed to the old variant. To be honest, he could see why. Honestly, the old suit wasn't the greatest after being worn for so long, but he wouldn't have to deal with that soon.
Once all the kiddies were past the gates and out of sight, he shut the gate, locked it, and walked back into the campus, right back to the support lab. Both shockingly, and not so much for Izuku, Nozomi was there, inspecting the new suit.
"Very impressive work Guardian! Was this a costume of yours from your world and time?" Nozomi asked, and Izuku shook his head, before writing down nearby, 'Original Creation."
"Really? Even more so! Were you a support student for a year, because this is on the level of work I'd expect from a major support company, or even perhaps, David shield?" Nozomi replied, before continuing. "Also, you can remove your suit for now Guardian. School hours are over, and You don't have any errands for me to complete."
At that motion, Izuku removed his helmet, unlatching and shifting it off his head. "Thanks Principal. As for what you said, no I wasn't a support course student, however I did learn from some of the best students ever most of the work involved."
"Might I ask who those are?" Nozomi asked, before continuing. "Or would that diverge the timeline with that knowledge?"
"I can tell you one of them, because It's really not a surprise, but David Shield's Daughter, Melissa Shield, was one of the best of the best at the time I left. She was thankfully alive, along with the others, as they were mostly in hiding or in different locations at the time the war became dangerous for anyone. I will say though..." Izuku started, intriguing Nozomi. "...I'm pretty certain you'll be able to tell the other best whenever she gets here in those years. The teacher will not stop complaining about her."
Nozomi's corrupt like laughter pierced the air again, as she gleefully looked at Izuku. "I cannot wait. Now then, is this costume complete now?"
"Almost. Just need a battery powerful enough to keep the auxiliary involved running," Izuku said, before both of them looked at each other, and had that sinister smirk on their faces. "You thought what I did at the same time, didn't you?"
"It's why we're such a great duo, aren't we?" Nozomi replied, as the two shook, gloved hand and paw. It would have to wait for the weekend, but it'll be just fine.
--------------------------------
Days after the first time the guardian was on duty, something happened.
The plane touched down on the steel pavement, tire rubber burning off as it slowed down from its originally high speed.
Coming to a halt, the relatively smaller plane's door unlocked, with a staircase erecting from the open doorway. Out stepped both the Principal of UA, Nozomi, and a tan-clad and Yellow helmeted person.
"I'm sure that David would have a battery just powerful enough to complete your suit, no? I doubt some place like this could work with only Double AAs," Nozomi concluded, as the Guardian nodded. Yet again, here he was, in I-island.
Sure, it wasn't his I-island, like with Midnight earlier, but it was just enough to be nostalgic for the lad. It kept reminding him of when he first came.
"Now if we were normal visitors, we would have to go through those dreadful lines and waste time. Fortunately, you came with me!" Nozomi mentions, as they arrived at a door multiple other people were entering. However, Nozomi stood directly on the same tile for an extended period of time. Izuku assumed that Nozomi was waiting for someone to come and pick both of them up, take them both directly into the city or something.
He honestly should've seen the tile she was standing on press down, causing a platform to descend beneath the both of them.
"Surprised?" Nozomi asked, and Izuku responded with a so-so.
The platform continued downwards for a while, before stopping flat in a dark tunnel. "You might want to hold your ground," Nozomi said, before grabbing onto a nearby barrier. Izuku did the same, and good thing he did. The flat platform blasted forward through the tunnel of lights, pipes, and wiring all across the tunnel's shell.
After a minute or two, the both of them were rapidly stopped, causing Izuku to nearly be sent flying off his holdings. Then the ascent started, and both let go of their respective barriers.
"Fun, right?" Nozomi asked, and Izuku responded with a nod. It actually kind of was. Their platform eventually led directly into the center of I-Island, right next to the central tower.
Rising into a perfect fit in the floor, the two stepped off of the platform onto the actual floor of I-Island. The platform then descended after detecting no person on it, and a gate closed off the area.
"Sometimes I feel like the scientists here sometimes just get bored, and decide to make whatever. Not complaining however!" Nozomi mentions, as the two continued to, what Izuku assumed was David's office.
A Triple, double, then quadruple knock later, and the door swung open to reveal a slightly disheveled man with glasses and a growing beard.
"Nozomi? Isn't it your visit next month?" David asked, as Nozomi nodded.
"Yes however we have something that would require your attention," Nozomi revealed, slightly patting her paws together, and Izuku set down the crate he had been carrying for a while now. It wasn't the suit inside, it was the box itself that was heavy. "You can now speak Izuku. It'll be required. You're the creator of it, not me."
"Thanks Nozomi. Well, Mr. Shield, I've been working on a hero costume that would fit a high powered quirk, but I unfortunately don't have a form of battery enough to power it's features. Me and Nozomi came here as we figured it would likely be the best option," Izuku explained as he opened the crate, revealing the nearly completed suit.
"Nozomi, you brought a child to I-Island to see if he could get a battery?" David asked in disbelief, to Nozomi's glee.
"Yes, and I believe it would be best if you took a detailed look at the suit. It's obviously not gonna take a 9 volt battery," Nozomi mentions, as David sighs and takes the helmet out of the box, placing it on a nearby table, before doing the same for the other 4 major pieces of the suit.
"So what exactly was this made of? Titanium? Steel?" David asked, trying to pinpoint the actual material used. It was surprisingly lightweight.
"Carbon actually," Izuku replied, and David looked over confused. "Carbon Nanotubes."
"For a hero suit?" David asked. Sure, it worked as protection, but usually for normal weapons.
"At least the exterior of it, yeah. It's meant to work as a Nerve cell inhibitor or healer. Pain is a hindrance, so I figured disabling that would probably work favorably for a heroine, no?" Izuku tried like a 9th grader to get through his mental speech.
"That's a dangerous game, kid. Pain is what lets us know we're dying," David remarks, before sighing to himself. "But, I can't say I'm not interested. What else can this do?"
That day, an inventor would be most impressed, an exchange was made, and a boy and principal went back to their school with a fully completed suit.
The Guardian of U.A. is completed.