Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Homecoming
Hisahi groans as the alarm rings, fumbling for its off switch half awake. This was what he got for sleeping at 6AM, he supposes, but it was his boss's fault. Suddenly, calling about a project due in a month and then saying they needed it done in a few days for some bullshit reason. On the bright side, he finally finished it last night, and he did have some accumulated days off. Maybe he should spend some. Get out of the country with his wife, take their minds off things.
He glances at the alarm clock and curses. It was already late in the afternoon, but thank goodness it was a Saturday. He spun around, expecting to be greeted by the sight of his wife, but found her missing from the bed. It was a good thing, actually.
Ever since their son died, she had been a mess. Rarely did she have the will to get out of bed, eat, or do anything without her pestering. It took years before she was able to get out of bed, albeit late in the afternoon, get dressed without help, or even eat a meal.
Usually he'd be awake to find her in bed, most of the time sleeping or lying there numb, sometimes sobbing softly. Seeing her get out of bed before him was a good sign, a sign she was getting better and better day by day.
He understands why she'd be like that. It was his son as well, and when he first heard the news, it wasn't like he was any better. Denial, denying that his son was missing, denying that his son was possibly dead, and lashing out at anyone who dared to suggest it, whether it was friends, coworkers, police, or even Pro Heroes.He'd shut himself in his lab an ocean away from his home, using everything he had; resources from his job, favours accumulated, just to find some way to track down his boy and then shut down like her once it became increasingly clear how futile it was.
It was only after a phone call from his wife that he realised he wasn't the only one suffering. He finally realised how selfish he had been. He packed up, quit his job, and returned home on the same day to care for her.
It was a rough ten years, and he doesn't think anything will ever be the same. The scars from their loss may never fully heal and fade, but they'll manage.
He gets dressed. Perhaps later, they can go out for dinner if Inko feels up for it. The restaurant they used to frequent before
Suddenly, in the midst of buttoning up his shirt, he sees a flash of blue light coming from the cracks of his door and then a loud thud and his wife screaming in shock and fear. Thinking the worst, he dashes out as quickly as possible and heads to the kitchen where he heard the ruckus.
"Inko!" he yells in worry as he sees his wife back up from something behind the kitchen counter, her hands covering her mouth in shock.
He put himself in front of her out of caution as he looked at what she was seeing. A boy, a teenager to be exact, in burnt clothes and lying in a pool of his own blood was on their kitchen floor.
"What the hell just happened?" he asks, confused.
"He-he just appeared; oh God, he needs help." Inko mutters in shock before snapping out of it, moving past Hisashi and grabbing a towel, "We need to help!"
"Inko, wait! We don't know what-" he says, trying to be cautious. For all they knew, it could have been a villain fleeing the law and escaping to their apartment.He'd heard stories like that before. Perhaps he had a quirk that could harm them even if unintentionally; after all, making those with dangerous quirks safe was one of the most common reasons for designing civilian-grade support items.
But he sees how pitiful the child in front of him was, how hurt he was, and unable to stand idly by, he moves to grab his phone.
"Hello? I need an ambulance. There's someone in my apartment; he's bleeding and looks like he's been stabbed. "
He continues to give details like his apartment's address, whether the person was still breathing, and answers whatever questions the operator had. As he did this, his wife worked hard tending to the boy's wounds as best she could, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.
To her relief, she could feel the boy breathing, so he was still alive. She suddenly hears a choking sound emit from the boy as he raises a hand, making it evident he was conscious.
"Please hold still." She tries to sound soothing to calm the boy, "You've been hurt, but the ambulance will be here soon. Just stay away! "
She cuts off as she looks into the boy's now open eyes. His face was covered in a thick layer of soot, covering up most of his features, leaving the eyes as the only thing identifiable. Her jaw slackens and nearly equals the pressure she was applying to the wounds, unable to stop her choked sobs.
"What's wrong?" Hisashi asks, concerned, having just finished the call, "The ambulance will be here in five minutes, we just..."
"Dear, look! Look at his eyes!" Inko says through her sobs that Hisashi did so. They were hazy and unfocused, and while he wasn't a doctor, they appeared to be signs of a concussion; he'd probably have to call an ambulance when they arrived.
But then Hisashi's eyes widened in recognition. He had seen these eyes before, every time he looked into his wife's eyes. He's seen it in a baby he held once nearly 15 years ago. He has seen those eyes in a child in a picture at his desk that he sees every day.
"...our son." Hisashi says, with stunned realisation, "It's our son."
***
A blinding, vast whiteness was all he saw. Was this the afterlife? He had never put much thought into it, never really wondered what was beyond death. Sometimes he spent a few moments pondering, especially during and after the War of the Spark, but it usually led to existential dread, leading to him trying to forget about it.
If this was the afterlife, then it was... peaceful. It was quiet, like he felt he could rest forever. Then the illusion shattered.
"He's loosing blood-!"
A sharp pain fills his body. He was still alive. He was certain of it.His vision was a blur of white, but he could now see movement; bodies hovering over him talking in muffled voices.
"...anemia. We need a transfusion…"
"...type O. Get 4 units of…"
Where was he? Was he still in Dominaria? On Shiv? He does not feel the near overwhelming source of red mana emanating from the continent, so he must surely be elsewhere. His blood runs cold. What if the Phyrexians capture him? What if they seek to complete him now, like they did with Arjani and so many others?
"...eartrate spiking!"
He won't let that happen. He won't!
The white mana he gathered revitalised him and, coating a hand in mana to enhance his strength, he lashes out, gripping the nearest creature.
"You won't take-!" He begins to cast a spell but stops as his vision clears. Instead of some Phyrexian creature, he was gripping a man in blue overalls and head coverings that left only his eyes visible. A quick glance around reveals people dressed in similar clothing looking at him in distress.
"Wh... where am I?" He speaks in the Agrivian dialect to test the waters.
"What's he saying?" One of the people asked in what sounded like Common Kamigawan. Was he in Kamigawa? In his dying breath, did he planeswalk here to save himself subconsciously? He had always taken the plane because it reminded him of home.It helped that they both used very similar language.
"We should call security," another one whispers, thinking he was being unheard.
"Please... calm down." The man whose throat he was gripping was saying, "We just want to help."
Izuku quickly released his grip, ashamed of harming an innocent, and went to apologise.
"I..." I'm sorry, I just reacted. " He weakly defends as he glances everywhere. He appears to be in some sort of room, lying on a strange looking bed of sorts with black cushions. As he tries to sit up, he grimaces and looks down, realising there is a needle and tube in his chest.It appeared that was the source of the stabbing pain and he had healed himself mid-surgery.
The person he nearly strangled put up his hands appeasingly as he approached, "We were trying to help you. Stitch up your wounds. Do you remember what happened? "
Izuku cringes as memories flare of the Battle of the Mana Rig. He distracts himself by pulling out the needle and thread, wincing in pain as he does so.
"Vividly." Izuku mutters as he hands the items to the stunned man.
Those were three stab wounds." He mutters in awe, "Both your lungs had been punctured; your intestines and stomach shredded; severe blood loss; ribs broken; there were burns."
"Yeah, I can feel it." Izuku winces as he feels his bones ache. The first spell only healed a majority of his wounds, so he casts another one quickly, placing a glowing white hand on his body, letting the white mana seep into his bones and organs.
The man in blue, presumably a healer, says as he looks at Izuku's flesh where only faded scars remain, "You must have a powerful healing quirk of sorts. But I didn't see it in your file. "
You could hear a pin drop from the moment he finished. Izuku freezes like he has been struck by a spell. He slowly turns his head to an unsure doctor who looks at him oddly, wondering what it was he said that caused such a reaction.
That word he used, quirk, he had only ever heard it used in one place before. But it can't be...
Can it?
"This... where am I? Is this Kamigawa? " Izuku asks slowly and shakily, his mind and heart racing a hundred miles per hour, and hope fills his chest.
"What is it?" "No, you're in Musutafu, Japan." He answers confused before turning concerned, "Is something wrong? "Are you hurt?"
He asks the boy, who now had tears leaking from his eyes like a faucet, barely choking back sobs. He ignores the doctors trying to check him for any wounds or whatever they were doing. To him at the moment, nothing mattered but the two words he spoke.
Musutafu, Japan.
He was home.
***
Naomasa immediately departed for the hospital once he received the call. Part of him still couldn't believe it, that after 10 years, the Midoriyas' missing child would show up out of the blue. He had been the detective assigned to their case all those years ago before it went cold.
It was eventually declared that Izuku Midoriya was a late bloomer whose quirk awakened during a time of intense fear in order to protect himself, some kind of teleporting ability. It was also declared that he may have killed himself using his quirk.
Cases like that are sadly not uncommon. Every now and then, children can be born with an extraordinary quirk that their bodies may not have been prepared for, such as being too strong or lacking enough control. In this case, it was the latter. It was assumed that Izuku Midoriya warped somewhere and was killed, leaving his body missing. The cause of death could have been anything, perhaps drowning in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, starving in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, or heatstroke in the Sahara Desert, depending on how strong the teleporting Quirk was.
He checks into the hospital and quickly finds Hisashi waiting for him, his back facing him and fidgeting with an unlit cigarette in his fingers.
"You know you can't smoke in here." Hisashi returns a startled look before pocketing the cigarette.
"Just nerves, detective." Hisashi says, as they shake hands, "Thanks for coming so soon."
"It's the least I can do." Naomasa says, "Has there been any updates? Did the blood test get any results? "
Hisashi shook his head, "They're still checking, but Inko insists that it's really him. He has her eyes, and I'd know them anywhere. That boy lying on that bed right now could very well be my son. "
"But you doubt it?" Naomasa asks, noticing that his friend's mood was quite the opposite of what one would have expected when hearing his long-lost son returned. He was stoic, composed, and restrained, but Naomasa could see small cracks in his facade.
"We have had dozens of false alarms in the past. And what about his quirk?It's supposed to be some sort of teleportation, right? But the doctors said they saw him heal himself with some sort of healing quirk. " Hisashi reminds us, "It could just be that his quirk is more complicated than that, or a dozen other possibilities. I want to believe it's him. I really do. But if he isn't... if this is just one big mistake... I don't think either Inko or I can handle it. We need to be sure. I need it to be absolutely sure. Not 90% or 95%, I want to be 100% sure. "
Naomasa nods in understanding, as Hisashi pulls out a notepad from his pockets.
"Here," he says as he hands it over, "I took the liberty of preparing while you were on your way, some questions and answers that only he would know."
Naomasa took it but felt the urge to remind Hisashi that if the child really was Izuku, then there was a chance he may barely remember anything. Disappearing for ten years when one was four years old would be detrimental to one's memory.
"I'll make sure of it." he assures and heads to the room where they are keeping 'Izuku Midoriya', the door having been only a few feet away. He knocks politely before entering once given permission. In front of him was a young teen dressed in hospital garments lying on a bed, his eyes mostly staring blankly ahead as if in thought.
"Hello," he says slowly."My name is Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, and-"
"Are they done yet?" The boy interrupts abruptly, "I apologise for my rudeness, but I've been waiting here for hours. They said they'd take my blood for testing and then I could see my parents. "
The boy sounds stressed but it also seemed like he was attempting to restrain himself to sound polite. Naomasa is surprised. If Izuku had been isolated for the past ten years, then behaviour such as that might not have been possible. He'd have expected to be somewhat feral if he was honest.
He also remembered that he had parents. He supposes that was a good thing.
"We just need to make absolutely sure." Naomasa replied diplomatically as he gestured to a seat, "May I?"
Izuku nods as Naomasa pulls up the chair next to his bed and sits down, pulling out a notepad and pen as he does so.
"I'll be asking you some questions now, if that's fine with you."
Izuku nods again, "Yes, of course. Ask all you need. "
Naomasa decides to start straight to the point, preparing his quirk as he does so.
"Are you Izuku Midoriya?"
"Yes, I am."
Truth. That was what Naomasa felt with his quirk. Of course, it could be that he believes himself to be Izuku Midoriya or something. After all, his quirk wasn't foolproof; it only aided in the investigation, not solved the problems right away.
"Do you remember the details of your disappearance?" Naomasa asks the first question on the list Hisashi gave him. Izuku thinks for a moment before he responds.
"I was... running from someone. What was his name? Kac-something? katan? Kacchan? Yeah, that's it. " Izuku says, in recognition, "I broke my leg when I tripped, and then there was a truck. The next thing I knew, I was gone.
Truth. The notes had said that the boy that witnessed the incident, Katsuki Bakugou, was acquainted with Izuku and even had the nickname 'Kacchan'. It was certainly something you couldn't find by looking up in a newspaper.
He continues through the list. It was mostly basic trivia on things only Izuku would have known. He asked about his favourite food.
"Katsudon."
What kind of games would he play with his mother as a child?
"There wasn't really a name for it." "I'd put on an All Might onesie, she'd run and hide, calling for help," Izuku says wistfully. It was hide and seek with a mix of tag.
and his parents' names.
"My mother, her name was Inko Midoriya." He answers confidently but then falters, "My father... I'm sorry, but I just can't remember. I don't think I even know what he looks like. "
He says this with a large trace of guilt in his voice, his body shuddering slightly. To Naomasa, it was reasonable. Unfortunately, from what he knew, Hisashi was not present much after Izuku was born. He had a job overseas and it left him little time to visit, so it made sense that Izuku would be more familiar with his mother than with his father. He cringes at the thought of having to break the news to Hisashi.
"Is that all, Detective Naomasa?" Izuku interrupts Naomasa's thoughts with irritation barely hidden, "I apologise, but I've been stuck here for hours. I have not seen my parents in ten years. I wish to see them. Failing that, I wish for them to be brought here to see me. Is that possible?"
There was no other explanation, the results from the blood test would only be a formality by now. His quirk didn't lie, and from all the questions that Naomasa asked him, knowledge that only Izuku Midoriya or his close family would know, this was most definitely him.
"It really is you." he mutters stunned as he slumps back into his chair, "Where have you been this whole time?"
Izuku doesn't face him as he answers, gazing off in the distance through the window next to him.
"I got lost."