Chapter 1: Let's Get Comfy!
One would think the 'Problem Child' of Class 1-A would be used to bizarre scenarios. Ever since he met his hero, All Might, a year prior, it seemed like nothing in his life would ever be normal.
Waking up inside a theater would be one of his oddest dreams, admittedly discounting the 'mindscape' created by the vestiges of One for All.
A soft groan escaped his lips as Izuku gently opened his eyes while his focus became clearer. He winced from how bright it got while slowly pulling himself up from the rather old style of theater seat he was in. Running his hand through his curly hair, he scanned his surroundings, taking in the sights as he looked behind himself towards the back of the theater, seeing that there was no one else, "Am... am I alone here?"
"For the moment, yes." A deep voice had said from behind him, causing the young hero in training to wipe around into a fighter stance as he looked towards the person now standing in front of the giant movie screen.
Before Izuku was a rather tall man, given the sound of his voice, though what the teenager found odd was the rather peculiar way he was dressed.
It was a simple navy blue robe, completely obscuring their facial features, which, even if Izuku tried to peer into, he couldn't see anything. While Izuku wouldn't usually be aggressive to anyone he first met, considering he was technically 'kidnapped' from his dorm room…
Well, better safe than sorry.
The robed being's hand slowly moved up, revealing how large it was, making Izuku think he was at least an adult man, "No need to be so defensive; I'm not here to harm you or do anything bad."
"Y-You're not?" Izuku asked with a raised eyebrow, relaxing a little but still ready to fight if needed.
"Nope! In fact, I'm here as a sort of… 'entertainment', let's just say. But where are my manners? My name is Grim, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Izuku Midoriya." The robed person bowed gently to the bow, further confusing the teenager as he fully relaxed out of his fighting stance and then gently bowed before the man as well, though he kept his mind alert.
"T-Thank you, Mr. Grim, so um… why exactly am I here?"
"Well, it's pretty simple, really," Grim began to walk towards the giant screen before the pair and patted it with his right hand, "This place is simply a construct I made where I'm going to be showing a little story to you and your classmates… plus some notable people in your life, as a sort of 'break' as it were… You had just finished your internship with Endeavor, correct?"
Izuku slowly frowned, his caution growing more as he slowly nodded his head. Grim merely sighed and muttered something that Izuku picked up on as 'at least I got the right one this time…'. Sensing the tension starting to form, Grim decided to just be blunt with the boy, "If you're thinking I'm working for All for One or Shigaraki, you don't need to worry. I'm not in league with the raisin or his manchild of a pupil."
Izuku looked aghast at the rather odd and admittedly rude way he described the two most significant threats to Japan, "T-then what are you? I-I'm sorry, but this is all just very strange."
"Yeah, that's understandable." Grim chuckled and shrugged, shaking his head softly, "To put it simply… I am one of many! A 'weaver of stories' in a sense… Through our efforts, we can weave tales of people and put together fantastic stories to entertain others who share the same passion or others who just wish to enjoy a story or two. Think of it as creating alternative universes in a sense." As the weaver continued to speak, he held out his arms, and what looked like dozens of screens seemed to phase all around them.
Izuku's eyes widened as he curiously looked at some of the images before him; surprisingly, many of them were of him and his friends… though there were some key differences he noticed. There was one that looked like he was a wolf-like monster with Kyoka and Momo beside him in their hero outfits, while another was wearing fantastical and futuristic armor while fighting off what looked like strange alien-like beings with a vast army of other heavily armored individuals with extremely large shoulder pauldrons. There was one of him looking like he was helping Mei Hatsume with an invention, with Yaoyoruzu standing beside the pair, aiding in whatever invention they were working on, and there was even one of him and Toga in costumes where it looked like the villain he knew usually was actually a hero! Her costume was a kind of Victorian outfit with black and red that, honestly, Izuku could gush about…
"How is this possible? I mean… Why me? I'm not that interesting, and I-I'm not a pro hero yet!" Izuku stammered slightly as Grim chuckled.
"Well, let's just say that *your* story was the catalyst for all these to be made."
Eventually, all of the 'screens slowly joined together, where only one remained and slowly floated down to float in front of the young man as he blinked and took in the sight before him. There, he could see himself, or a slightly older version of himself, wearing what looked like beautiful and ornate silver armor, a shield in his left hand while he held a large sword into the air with the right. Behind the 'knight' version of himself was a large blue crystal, floating in space and radiating a vibrant blue color as Izuku slowly read the text on the image, "'Bearer of the Light'?"
"Mhmm, it's a decent story if I do say so myself." Grim snickered as he crossed his arms over his chest, "But there is a reason why I brought you here first before I call upon everyone else."
"And what's that? If it's permission to show it, I'd love to see it, honestly!" Izuku beamed a bright smile; it was clear his 'hero fanboyism' was kicking into high gear as the visage of the screen faded away. He wondered what kind of quirk he had in this 'universe' Grim was speaking of.
The robed figure merely rubbed the back of his hood, looking away, "Well… yes, there was that… but it was more because I wanted to give you a warning."
Izuku blinked, tilting his head slightly, "A… a warning?"
Grim sighed as he placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder, "Look, I'm going to level with you. Some aspects of the story are going to reveal a LOT about you, and by a lot, I'm not just talking about 'One for All'..."
Now Izuku looked confused, staring into the abyss of the man's face and letting his thoughts run in his mind before a sudden realization came up; his confusion morphed into one of dread, "Y-You don't mean-"
"Yep! They will find a good bunch about Aldera and your previous school experiences… and about 'his' advice." Grim had said with a touch of venom at the mere mention of a particular blonde, "Not only that, UA is a university in this, and the Izuku in this story has had an additional four years of the shit you both endured… so much so… well… don't be shocked if everyone freaks out and worries about you, alright?"
Izuku shifted slightly, his left hand moving over the scars of his right, trembling slightly and tears beginning to form at the edges of his eyes, "C-can you not show it? I-I don't want…"
"As much as I'd like to, it's important to the beginning of the story. But you don't have to worry…" Grim began to say as Izuku could feel the smile from under the darkness, "He will be alright… he has friends and people very close to him to help him get out of that darkness… just like I know you have friends that would and will do the same."
The tears began to stream down his cheeks; Izuku was doing his best to hold back the waterworks before he felt the warm hand of the older being on top of his head, "Trust me, everything will be alright… plus, with how everything turns out for your alternate self… Well, it should be a fun ride."
"... W-what do you mean?" Izuku sniffed gently, wiping away the tears as Grim patted his shoulder and began to walk off toward the front of the screen again.
"Just don't be surprised if some people start to take notice of you in a way you never thought possible… Plus, you know… having multiple girlfriends and lovers."
Izuku suddenly stopped crying, his body frozen after that little reveal as he stared out of space before quickly turning his head towards Grim, who was chuckling, "WH-WHAT?!"
"Anyway! Time to bring the others!" The robed being raised his right hand into the air and snapped his fingers, causing a group of people to suddenly land into the various seats in the theater, all relatively safe, minus two certain people who hit the floor of the theater hard, crying or grunting out in pain, what Izuku noticed however, was how one of them seemed to have been quarantined off to a single area with a lone chair, finding it a little peculiar.
"W-where are we?" Shouted Ochako Uraraka, who had only just been enjoying her mochi treat in her room while reading up on some money-saving tips on her phone only to have landed on top of a rather exquisite-looking theater chair, looking about to who was all around her as few of her classmates were helping one another up while still groaning from the sudden appearance in the strange room.
"Ugh, I don't know, but I was in the middle of beating Sero!" Kaminari ground as he pulled himself into the chair, his friend beside him grunting in response to his comment.
"Sure, you were… after I was lapping you for the last five minutes!"
"Everyone, focus!" Tenya Iida spoke up, his arm chopping the air, "First, we make sure we are all right and try to escape from whatever strange place this is." The class president said as three more figures from another side of the theater had made their way to Class 1-A still trying to recover from the trip.
"An excellent idea, Mr. Iida," spoke the principal of UA Nezu, who was sitting down upon their home teacher, Shouta Aizawa's, shoulder with the thin and skeletal form of Toshinori Yagi standing beside them, "However, I don't think we should be quick to judge our current predicament as anything hostile." the small chimera of a creature turning his head towards the robed individual with one of his students standing beside him.
"Deku/Midoriya!" Several of his classmates shouted in surprise to see their classmate beside the stranger; several of them, which included Uraraka, Todoroki, Iida, and Asui, made their way towards Izuku, with the girls pulling him away from the robed individual and checking him over while the two boys stood on guard to keep them separated.
The determined glares on the pair of boys had made Grim smirk to himself. In contrast, his unseen eyes soon moved over the others, watching as a few of them looked frightened. At the same time, many of them adopted a more fierce stance, mainly the former number-one hero and the class's homeroom teacher.
He also noticed how Kirishima had made his way towards a fuming Bakugo, who was currently silenced within the 'box' he was placed in and pounding his fists against the semi-translucent surface, only for it to vibrate under the assault. Grim had to stifle a chuckle as he found it hilarious that the 'best' in Class 1-A was having difficulty against the plexiglass prison he had been tossed into.
But he needed to make sure everyone else wasn't going to attack him first, so Grim slowly raised his hands up in a surrendering motion, "Before anyone gets any bad ideas, all your quirks have been nullified while you're here."
That had gotten everyone's attention as they all had begun to try and use their quirks. Admittedly, seeing some of them freak out slightly was a little funny, as was the way some had tried to test out their quirks like Ochako pressing all her finger pads on Izuku and seeing him not suddenly take off into the air. Grim, however, cleared his throat as he saw a few of the more 'altered' bunch have some sort of access, like Kyoka, who could still move her ear jacks about, and Shoji, who could still summon tentacles to form his usual mouths and eyes from their ends, "Anyone with a mutation won't be affected as much as say someone with an emitter type, though any sort of mutations caused by your quirk will still work to a degree." He quickly pointed towards the exhaust pipes on Iida's calves, "Like his engine parts, but don't worry, this is only a temporary effect, and once all is said and done, you'll be back in Japan in no time, and all your quirks will function normally."
While some of the students had listened to Grim and were nodding their heads in affirmation, their attention soon shifted to a shout coming from one side of the room, where a fully revealed Toru Hagakure was exposed to Hall of her classmates, and the shout from before coming from an excited Mina to finally see what her bestie looked like and was gushing over how beautiful she looked, granted she always knew already.
The students began to crowd around the now tearing up former invisible woman. Grim felt a tug on his robe and moved his head to look at the person who sought his attention, "I must say, your powers are quite interesting… though I must admit that what joy is seen here will do us little good once we are gone." Nezu had said, turning around slightly to look towards the class coming together and taking pictures with their cellphones with Toru.
"As much as I wish some of the effects were to remain in effect once you all are sent back… Hagakure will revert back to 'normal' once everything is said and done… However…"
"However?" Nezu asked while the other two teachers moved beside their principal.
Though they couldn't see his facial expressions, they could hear the genuine smirk from within the darkness, "However, it doesn't mean she won't find a way on her own… sooner than later if you catch my drift."
"And what about him? Why is he in that container?" Aizawa pointed out the explosive elephant in the room, where Bakugo was now continuing to punch the wall, with little to no effect and shocking no sound as well.
Grim shook his head, "For mine and everyone else's sanity, Bakugo is in there, so he's not shouting every five seconds with what I am going to show you, that and possibly, in a sense, protect him from his classmates."
"And why would that be necessary?" Toshinori asked, tilting his head in confusion. Grim merely crossed his arms and sighed heavily.
"You'll see what I mean shortly… but for now, let's just get everyone seated."
It had only taken about another twenty minutes for everyone to sit down. Grim took in where most of the people were sitting and, not surprisingly, only saw Kirishima sitting beside the now pouting Bakugo, who looked like he finally realized he wasn't getting out of there anytime soon.
With a clap of his hands that echoed across the room and made everyone silence themselves and look directly at him, "Alrighty, since we should really get this going, I am Grim, I am a 'weaver of stories', one of many who like to create, in this case, alternative universes."
"These places are similar to your own; however, certain aspects of them are slightly altered. For instance…" With a raise of his hand into the air and a snap of his fingers, the screen behind him lit up with the 'title card' that Izuku instantly recognized as the one he had seen prior to his friends coming.
The reactions of said friends were silence and staring hard at the green-haired boy who merely started to sink into his seat, with his cheeks becoming red as a tomato.
"This story has been altered slightly due to some of the scenarios within the story," Grim continued as he paced back and forth in front of them, "For instance, UA is a University, and the dorms were already built prior to the beginning of the new year… You are all also eighteen years of age in this."
"If I may be so bold, how come?" Momo Yaoyoruzo had raised her hand politely, ever the heiress to a mega-corporation.
"To be honest, when creating this story and with some of the elements involved… I disagree with putting minors into the situations you have all been put through. I know it sounds weird, but where I'm from, our military and police force kinda has something similar to your hero schools. Those below the age of eighteen can join an extracurricular group called 'Cadets' to get a taste of the life and career they wish to pursue, and once they are old enough, they can then sign up and join the regular forces."
"I believe America still has those sorts of institutions in place." Toshinori said as he rubbed his chain, which Grim merely snapped his fingers.
"Anyway, this will be shown in a similar vein to a movie, though we will take small breaks every couple of viewings to let you all take a break and disgust what you have seen. Also snacks and that."
"Won't this take a long time to view? It sounds like a marathon." Mezo Shoji had said with a use of one of his tentacles.
"That's the beautiful part: while you're here, time outside of this room has stopped. So when you do return, nothing will have changed." Grim held his arms out with a wondrous tone, making the rest of the class murmur and get excited about what was going to be shown.
"Buuut, just to give you a fair warning… Quirks in this universe are a little more strange, moreso for those with animalistic quirks." Grim said as he looked over the group of people, "In fact, one could say they share… characteristics to the animals they share similarities to."
An inquisitive croak came from Tsuyu as she tilted her head, "What kind of characteristics exactly? Considering I'm probably one of those affected by this."
"To give you an example… a 'predator/prey' instinct." Grim looked to the frog-like girl, "A sort of secondary sense to tell friend from foe that is found within the animal kingdom. But you'll see throughout the story what I mean…"
"That being said, be prepared for how some of you may act a little differently due to the changes of how 'natural' quirks are… Relationships like friendship and others will be different from what you all know right now; some may form a new opinion on some others within your class." Grim said with a snicker, at which Izuku continued to blush and look down at the ground, knowing the robed being was referring to what he had been told prior.
"So, if this is like a movie, what kind of rating are we talking about here? And no offense to ya, bro, but how come Midoriya is the main star?" Kaminari asked, leaning over the backrest that Izuku was sitting in.
"The reason why Midoriya is the focus of the story is that, like many weavers before and after me, we tend to view the world through his eyes because… well… he's the main protagonist," Grim spoke as the many screens of alternate tales whizzed by the classroom, many of which did feature the green-haired boy, while a few noted themselves amongst the bunch, either standing with Midoriya, or they were the only one present within the image, "Some stories will have its focus upon others within your class, many tend to include Midoriya as he is sort of a catalyst of sorts… bringing events and scenarios to the world's stage and you all performers within that grand tale!"
"As to your other question about the 'rating' of this story, from your world's system, it would be… well…" Grim slowly rubbed the back of his head, looking away, "Would be… hard R18+, though I have done some edits to be at least appropriate to show you all."
"Excuse me!" Tenya Iida stood up, sporting a rosy blush on his face, as well as many others in the crowd, "I don't think it is right to show young students anything with that kind of filth!"
"Oi!" Grim said indignantly, "I said I edited it down to make it more age-appropriate. Just like they do for public television! Which isn't bloody well easy from a story perspective, let me tell you. And don't call it filth! Especially considering it's a fact of life!"
Grim kept staring at the class president of 1-A hard from underneath his hood, "You're also living in a world where you send literal children into dangerous situations where they could die! So showing some more 'tender' and 'adult-oriented' scenes between two consenting adults is fine! Plus, what's the difference between that and going to a romantic movie intended for young adults? It was going to fade to black anyway! But you know what? This is a nice little segway into another little fact about these viewings."
Grim began to float into the air suddenly, almost growing more enormous from their perspective as an ominous darkness engulfed the room, "Many secrets will be revealed here, some of which are relevant to your world and its history… so I better watch what you call appropriate, Mr. Iida… after all…" The robed being soon landed back on the ground, his hands on his hips as he was staring hard at the glass-wearing teenager, "Perhaps certain events in this tale's version of Hosu will be closer to the truth than what was told…"
Iida's eyes widened slowly, his mouth agape as the rest of the class looked between their class president and their host, with only a couple of people noticing the way that Todoroki and Midoriya seemed to look a little worried as well. Grim merely sighed as he began to walk towards his own seat, which was beside Toshinori, "That being said, We do have one more guest who will be joining us at a later point; currently, they are resting and recovering in another room due to an incident prior to coming here. But they will be watching from their own private booth until it is time."
"And who would this 'mysterious' guest be?" Aizawa asked while leaning forward slightly to look at the robed man, who merely shrugged in response.
"And ruin the surprise? Where's the fun in that?"
With the ever-tired teacher grumbling something under his scarf, Grim had clapped his hands together a couple of times, and the theater began to darken with the screen lighting up, "Alright, everyone, let's get this show started!"
Resting upon a rather comfy and sizeable papasan chair, Himiko Toga was happily sipping on a juice box that was specifically tailored to her 'needs' by the friendly but weirdly robed man. She was giggling gently as she reached over for candied coated red popcorn and began to munch on it as she had been watching everyone from her own private screening room and giggling to herself, with a rather large plushy of Deku and Uraraka currently at either side of her.
Grim, as he called himself, had healed Himiko of her injuries from her fight with 'the bitch' and her followers, which she grumbled at the memory of considering all the pain they put her through. What was odd, however, was his response to her question as to why he was helping her when Grim merely stated he was doing so because Grim liked her 'character'... whatever that meant, but also that someone named 'Zab' would kick his ass if he merely left her in that state.
Regardless, she was feeling giddier as she watched the screen start to brighten and begin to start the show. In the back of her mind, she had hoped that things would be different, and who knows? Maybe even allow her to ask Deku if she could have some of his tasty blood.