Jaune : Hello, everyone! Or... whoever watches this, I guess...
[WOMAN LAUGHS]
Jaune : My name is Jaune and, from what I'm getting, I apparently signed up for some project. I was given this camera to make short videos as they will watch my condition as the time progresses. So I decided to have some fun with it. You send me questions of... well... anything on my side and I'll do my best to answer them!
Jaune : Well, I think it's enough for first time. Jaune, sign off.
Midoriya Izuku is born incomplete, part of him lacking in a way that makes him abnormal - inhuman. When he turns nine, this changes.
( shamelessly based of the young loki storyline in marvel comics a while ago with the title stolen from there as well. Look - "I am the crime that can not be forgiven." is a baller line ok.)
Midoriya Izuku is born blue and silent. There is no gentle rise and fall of his chest, no pulse, no movement. The Doctors whisk him away in a blur of activity – they tell Inko they will do everything they can. They do not expect a happy ending.
20 Minutes later, Izuku begins to breath on his own. With no previous reaction to treatment this spontaneous respiration is shocking. They expect major brain damage, only to see the infant open his eyes and squint in the bright light of the room. He yawns. They cheer.
They return him to his near hysterical mother’s room. He’s hooked up to countless monitors, but they assure her its just a precaution. She is warned he may have some form of brain damage that will become apparent as he grows, but he is alive and healthy and that in itself they can promise.
Inko cries – her son is alive and he is smiling and that’s all she could ever ask for.
Izuku grows up strange. As a baby he rarely cries – so rarely in fact that Inko can’t stand to have him sleep in a different room, so scared her near silent son will drift away without her knowing. He never does. He seems to understand her from day one as she tells him stories about heroes and dragons. His little hands wipe her tears as she cries. She doesn’t know how, but her son is special.
He doesn’t speak a word until he goes to daycare and meets a firecracker blonde, upon which he shows he can speak far better than most of his peers.
Despite this he seems somehow – lacking – to the other children. Like he’s missing something he needs to be one of them, to be human. They hurt him and push him and take his things. He does not cry.
The only child mostly unaffected by this is Katsuki. He still admits Izuku is a “weirdo”, but he’s smart and fast, sure on his feet with dexterous hands. He seems somehow older and younger than all of the other children in a way that makes adults baby him, but children fear him. Katsuki will not be scared.
Katsuki gets his quirk first. It’s bright and colourful and everything they expected from him.
He asks Izuku about his quirk. His looks into the middle distance for a moment before smiling. It’s small but bright as ever. “Mine will be late.” He then frowns, looking down at his own two hands. They seem ever so small at the moment. “Not sure why.”
Inko asks if he wants to go to the doctor, to see if he has a quirk. Izuku shakes his head gently. “I have one – I know I do. It’ll be late though.” Inko asks him if hes sure, but she trusts her son. He’s much smarter than they remember to give him credit for.
Still, the others don’t believe him. He grows up labelled quirkless with all it brings. Katsuki stays by his side, the quiet and kind boy is something different from the extras - he knows this as well as he knows the sun will rise. They make an interesting pair. One quiet, calm, too knowing, the other brash and loud. They are both whip smart.
Izuku has an eye for quirks better than anyone, always teasing out their mechanisms and probably limitations faster than someone with decades of experience. Katsuki is convinced this will prove to be an aspect of the elusive quirk that refuses to show itself.
Izuku dreams of horrors he has never seen – blood on his hands and quirks at his fingertips. He feels powerful but oh so alone. In the dark on night when he retches silently into his bin, the feeling of hot blood still so real under his shaking hands, he vows to be nothing like the man in this dreams.
Never again.
Izuku is nine when it happens. Katsuki is dragging him through the forest excitedly, hands warm and gently crackling in his own. His head begins to ache.
What started as a nagging irritation quickly shifts into a blinding pain worse than anything Izuku has ever felt in his life. He stumbles to the ground, clutching as his head and he screams and sobs, tears hot down his face.
Katsuki has seen Izuku cry plenty – but never from pain. Not when they got their shots, not when the bully from two grades about them slammed his fingers in the heavy oak door, not when he felt from the tree Katsuki had begged him to climb; bone sharp and pink through his skin. Katsuki wraps his arms around his friend and screams for help.
The screaming stops. Izuku slumps. Katsuki panics. He can feel his friend’s breath on his shoulder but he will not wake. Katsuki can only hold his friend and hope.
All for One had known this day would come. He had known All Might would kill him – it was only a matter of time. That’s why he had a plan B.
A quirk he’d stolen nine odd years ago, creating a shell his mind and quirk would snap to upon his original body’s death. It would kill the original holder of the body, ideally leaving nothing more than an empty shell of a person he would become should he die. He felt some what bad knowing he had killed an infant before it got to draw it’s first breath, but the feeling was fleeting. He had work to do.
He watches Izuku grow. He always had a link to the boy – something about him being an extension of himself making it ever so easy to find him. The boy’s soul – because what else could it be – is stubborn. Parts of it linger in the body, only growing stronger as he ages. He can’t help be grow fond of him. The boy is almost like a son to him, in some strange and twisted way. A creature that should have died but refused to at every turn. All for One could empathise.
That’s why, them All Might’s final blow falls, he feels a flicker of sorrow. Izuku would be no more soon, simply a body he would wear as a puppet. There was no choice though. His work was not yet done.
All for One / Izuku finds themselves in a world of pain, two souls waring for life in a body that can only hold one. What astounds them the most is that Izuku is winning.
All for One plunges them into darkness – away from the pain, so they can talk. They have a time limit though, they are tearing the small body to pieces from the inside out.
Izuku doesn’t want to force All for One out – that will kill him. All for One doesn’t want him dead either. They strike a deal : Izuku will keep his own body until he dies, All for One’s quirk his to use (though the man will keep every quirk he’s personally acquired close to his chest). When Izuku dies – as he will, All for One insists, because the boy wants to be a hero – All for One will take control. They agree.
Izuku opens his eyes and smiles. What once was dull green is now bright and electric, flickers of crystalline white running through them. Izuku feels whole – normal. That makes Katsuki worried most of all.
He explains everything to his only friend – everything he knows. Its not a lot admittedly, only that there is someone else in his head now – their quirk his to use, and that when he dies he will no longer be himself. They do not tell Inko. They train – they will become heroes.
All Might meets Izuku under the bridge, a scraggly man trying to wring his neck as he screams incoherently. All Might knocks out the man before asking is Izuku has seen the villain he was looking for. Understanding blooms in the child’s eyes and suddenly the man on the floor is liquid once again. All Might feels deathly cold.
Izuku gets his autograph, the strange man sharing his mind griping idly about the “blond buffoon” as he insits on calling All Might. Izuku doesn’t mind, ecstatic to meet his hero. He doesn’t miss the flinch on All Might’s face when he lets the man’s quirk flow back into him, but he brushes it away. Everyone is scared of his quirk, its nothing new.
As All Might is distracted by memories long after the boy leaves, the slime villain slinks away
Izuku saves Katsuki, clutching the boy’s own quirk in his gentle grasp, pulling it into his own fold ever so gently, never truly severing it from the blonde. The villain recoils from the blasts as Izuku pulls his friend. All Might swoops in.
Later he asks to train the boy – revealing his smaller side. He says nothing of One for All. He is considering it but he is so scared of any possible connections to All for One he dares not mention it. Izuku takes this with a smile and open arms.
Other stuff:
Izuku is told about One for All a few months in to training because All Might sees his boy is good and kind and nothing like the monster the thought he could be. Izuku immediately goes on about all of the good someone with All Might’s quirk could do, never once assuming it would be his to use. That makes up All Might’s mind – he will pass it to him.
Izuku calls All for One Zero. For All for One it’s kind of a pun about he is One for All wielder number 0. He starts calling Izuku Ninth, or Niner just before he get’s One for All – Izuku thinks it’s a pun on his name.
Izuku can both take quirks and borrow them. Taking them severs their connection from the wielder, borrowing them is just like holding them for a second – they snap back when he stops paying attention. Borrowing is faster and easier and can be reversed without contact. Taking means he will keep the quirk even if he is knocked out or stops concentrating – he tries to avoid doing that because it hurts to give them back and he doesn’t trust himself to do it no matter how guilty stealing something would make him feel.
All for One is actually big soft on Izuku and really doesn’t want the boy dead. He chats to him a lot, offers to help him cheat on tests – which Izuku never takes – and subtly heals their shared body while Izuku sleeps. He wants to kill the children who hurt him. Izuku can’t bare the thought.
All for One and Katsuki get along like a house on fire, even if their interactions are all mediated through Izuku serving as a mouth piece, and its scary. Katsuki and Inko were the only people he told about Zero until All Might. Others in 1A find out at various points in time.
Izuku eventually finds out about the weird quirk hes a part of and has a crisis knowing he is not the Izuku that should have been born into the world. He tells his mother, expecting her to hate him, but she only smiles. "You're still my son - I couldn't ask for anyone better."
aka the MSF era AU where ocelot gives himself heatstroke bc he’s jealous of the attention bibo gives kaz 🧑🍼 started as a crack fic but got genuinely sappy and pathetic pshhhHh enjoy.
The sun that poured down on the Colombian beach was white hot. Blistering, really. But the seething stare from a certain sunburnt Russian made it pale in comparison.
They were talking again. Shoulder to shoulder. Then that harebrained blonde said something that made John laugh no less. What could that man have to say that could be even halfway entertaining?
“Careful there, Adam. Your face is going to get stuck like that,” Eva mused sweetly to his right.
She was laid out on the sand next to him. With one knee bent, she rubbed sunscreen on her bare leg. Eva sported red “hot pants” this morning, very popular with all the pretty girls in the states these days. Soldiers sparring on the beach ahead of them were practically tripping over themselves to catch a glance at her. She found distracting them to be a fun little hobby while the two of them were visiting the MSF base. And that Miller was no exception.
Eva nudged Adam’s leg, offering a sip of her water. He shook his head and felt her frown without even turning towards her.
“Snake is finally going to give us a proper tour today. Did you hear?” She offered, and maybe she thought that’d make him feel better. Or at least pull him out of this foul mood he’d been in since he’d met John’s newest play toy.
“I heard. Think he’s looking for our feedback?” Adam said, half joking. He rolled his sunburnt shoulders and finally looked away from Snake and Miller.
“Doubt it.” Eva replied with a smirk, handing him the sunscreen instead. “Be a dear and get my back?”
“Course.” He scooted closer.
Eva squeezed sunscreen into his palm and he rubbed it carefully around the straps of her black swim top. Her skin was getting awfully tan. Meanwhile, his cheeks seemed to redden by the day, and that had very little to do with being around John again. He’d hardly seen him!
Suddenly, Eva turned and plopped a dollop of sunscreen on the tip of his nose. He squeezed his face up like he’d eaten a lemon.
“What are you doing?” he complained, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.
“You need to get out of your head. Have some fun.”
“What about a cramped military base in the dead of the summer screams ‘fun’ to you?”
“Plenty.” She grinned, beautiful and deadly. Her eyes shifted over to the men running drills shirtless on the beach; their skin tan and muscles reflecting with sweat in the sunshine.
“Sure.” He rolled his eyes.
“Listen, kitty. There’s plenty of fun to be had once you let go of some of those tight structures up there.” She tapped his forehead now, with more sunscreen. He scowled, but let her rub it into his skin and down his burning cheeks.
As she was finishing up, they were alerted to the sound of two pairs of shoes approaching them in the sand. Adam glanced up to see Snake towering over them, the sun eclipsing his bearded face. He wiped sweat from his forehead and smirked, kind of dumbly.
Miller was by his side, per usual, but Ocelot didn't pay him any mind.
“Hey, you two,” John said, a bit monotone but warm all the same. “We’re loading up if you’re ready.”
Kaz, as John affectionately calls him, extended a hand down to Eva who smiled and took it like a princess. Ocelot stood on his own.
As he got to his feet, he was greeted by a flicker of stars crossing his vision. They cleared once he bent his knees and took a deep breath. This kind of weather did not suit him at all. His skin burned, his hair was constantly matted to his temple, and he had no appetite. If he wasn’t careful, he might even get heatstroke before the day was through - given how the temperature only seemed to climb. It’d happened to him before after all.
John and Miller led the way to a Jeep parked nearby. As they walked, Miller had the audacity to put an arm around John’s shoulder while he yammered away to Eva.
Wait. Ocelot blinked, an idea forming in his mind. Heatstroke would be the perfect way to get John’s attention away from this dog.
With more enthusiasm than he had since they arrived two days ago, Ocelot caught up with the group and climbed into the truck.
Kaz drove, with his bare arm hanging casually over the side of the window. Adam watched it wave to and fro as he explained all the thought that went into their location of choice. He didn’t really care, but Eva did of course. She was focused on information gathering, as she had been since they met the ever-talkative Miller.
The tour wasn’t anything exciting really. They’d already seen the barracks. That was where Adam and Eva had spent most of their time trying to keep cool over the last two days. Snake had offered up a cozy room for them to share. They’d gotten close over the years, of course. The pair had a certain commonality after all. They could be trusted to room together without tearing each other to shreds at least. The two beds were all they needed.
Next was the training grounds. Aside from beach front drills, the three Jeeps on the property could carry soldiers to the leftmost egress and back into the jungle where a clearing of trees opened up. The field seemed to suck in all the heat of the sun, positioned at its peak for the day. It had sort of a sauna effect that Ocelot didn’t even know was possible.
When they exited the Jeep to walk the perimeter, Ocelot could feel his limbs getting tingly and sweat coating his collar. He was glad to be wearing one of his thicker button-ups, alongside his scarf and gloves that he rarely went without. These garments would move his plan along much quicker. He had no intent on making himself miserable for too long. Efficiency was the goal.
“We run a few different programs here. Combat training, endurance, survival. Every soldier will be as equipped as the Boss to handle themselves in the field. Well, that’s the goal at least.” Miller smiled in a bashful way, flashing pearly whites.
What annoyed Adam the most about Miller was how handsome he was. He really was striking. It only made him want to push that sparkling grin into a brick wall.
“Quite a high standard to hold them to, Kazuhira.” Eva used his full name a lot lately. Adam figured she probably knew that turned him on in some way. She was good at pinpointing things like that.
“They’re dedicated. Everyone here knows their purpose. They work for themselves, for their goals and future.” Snake chimed in, a bit more serious in tone than the other two.
The group stopped to watch as an instructor had a squad of men pull apart submachine guns and rebuild them on a row of long wooden tables. They were being timed and if they didn’t complete their task within the limit, they’d have to sprint the diameter of the grounds and repeat. Most of them were decent, some were less than.
Miller led them on, showing them the next round of training happening on the other side of the field. Target practice. Adam itched to show off for the recruits, and John, but he had other plans in play at the moment. He’d save that for later.
Miller announced that they’d end the tour back at the beach, where the large wooden cabin overlooked the Atlantic. It was where they’d met with Snake and Miller when they first arrived.
Ocelot wouldn’t make it back there. He was running on fumes already.
He felt sick to his stomach, likely from not eating or drinking anything since the morning before. Even so, he wasn’t half as dizzy as he needed to be to truly lose consciousness. And Eva was smart enough to know if he was playing, this had to look real. It had to be real. He was already getting giddy just thinking of Snake pressing him into his wide chest and holding him steady. It’d been too long since those coarse fingers brushed over his skin. It made his heart flutter in anticipation.
So, Ocelot started holding his breath to speed things up. He knew if he did so in small increments and clenched his muscles with each step - the sun would do the rest. The key was making sure he was close to Snake when it happened. Timing would be paramount.
“Once we can secure additional funding, we’ll build up a more permanent location. Boss and I have been tossing around a few ideas.”
Jesus, does this guy ever stop talking?
“Of course, I’d love to walk you through them. I’m sure you’d have invaluable insights, Miss Eva.” His eyes were traveling her, it made Adam even more dizzy. Perfect.
“I told you, just call me Eva.” She smiled, letting her hips sway as she walked confidently in the sun.
Adam ignored them both and nearly fell over his own feet trying to catch up with Snake, who led the pack. The guns from the range rang out again and the sound seemed to echo in his head. He was getting close to his goal, his vision starting to blur pretty badly. He had to physically stop himself from reaching out and pulling on John’s sleeve to slow him down.
The edges of his view grew darker and darker. Maybe he’d held his breath a little too long the last time.
Adam’s head was pounding in time with his heart that raced to cool him down. Jesus, he was too damn hot. He felt like he was going to burn straight through his clothes. But John would save him before that could happen. It was time. He just needed to sink his lure.
“John,” his voice cracked a bit when he tried to get his attention.
That was perfect, it sounded so weak. But Snake didn’t turn. Maybe he’d been too quiet. He tried again.
“I… I don’t feel right.” He didn’t even have to overplay the whine that seeped into his voice, it happened naturally. God, he felt like a genius.
He blinked again at the back of John’s shirt, and his vision did not clear. He could feel his legs failing him, turning to jelly under his weight. But John was going to turn any minute to catch him. Wasn’t he? He’d have to be quick about it.
Adam felt his stomach drop as his eyes snapped involuntarily into the back of his head and all the ringing finally went silent.
—
When he woke, he felt significantly cooler. A gentle breeze was kissing his sweat ridden skin as he laid flat on his back. The ceiling was familiar, with its wooden paneling. It took him longer than expected to remember exactly where he’d seen it before. He was back in the room he’d been sharing with Eva and his head was elevated as it rested between someone’s thick muscular thighs. He could feel the coarse leg hair tickling his cheek as it peeked out from their black shorts.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” John’s voice, but more annoyed than Adam had heard it in a while.
And what was that? A hint of concern?
Ocelot tried to hide the smile that threatened to break out on his lips. But he’d be lying if he wasn’t overjoyed to find himself on John’s lap, of all people. It was just how he’d imagined it.
He was just a bit disappointed that he couldn’t remember John catching him. His timing wasn’t perfect afterall. He’d wanted to at least be semi-conscious for that part. But it was fine. He could use his imagination to fill in the gaps.
He wondered just how worried he’d had gotten when Adam finally went down hard. Maybe John had panicked. Maybe he’d wrapped him up in his arms and held him just like this. Like a handsome cowboy, throwing a lasso of strong arms around Adam’s unsteady form. Being oh-so attentive and protective, until he finally woke. It was just like one of his westerns, and he was the fair and sweet town person in need of saving.
“Did you hear me?” Snake repeated, and Adam had forgotten his initial question.
Damn, his head really hurt.
“Look, you have a concussion. When you fell, you hit a rock on the ground. Got a nasty bump.”
What?
“Y’didnt catch me?” His voice sounded foreign to him as it creaked out of his chapped lips. And his tongue didn’t quite fit in his mouth all of the sudden. Everything came out messy and slurried.
“No.” Snake shifted beneath him. “Kaz tried, he was faster.”
“Kaz?” He couldn’t even fight the snarl that bled into his slurred speech.
Adam tried to sit up out of pure irritation but got pulled back down swiftly by Snake. He tutted his tongue and kept one arm around his chest so he’d stay put.
John brushed Adam’s damp hair away from his bandaged forehead. His hands were calloused and rough and the way they made his skin light up in irritation tempted Adam to just turn away. But this was John, and he’d never do that.
“So what’s this I hear about refusing water and food from staff?” John asked, without accusation. “And look at your skin, you’re practically a tomato.”
“No, m’not.” It was a little pathetic sounding, but he didn’t really care.
“You won’t do this again. Got it?” Snake ordered, and Adam felt a pang of something in his stomach. Maybe nausea. Maybe embarrassment. No, not that. Just nausea.
“Dunno what you’re talking about.” Then he quickly added, “M’tired.”
“Well, you scored yourself a week of bed rest. Medical team’s orders. And you’ll eat, drink, and behave yourself during that time.”
This time, Adam did smile. He liked when John told him what to do. Not that he’d necessarily listen. But it made him feel important all the same. Better for Snake to spend his time telling him what to do, than Miller.
“Will y’stay and watch over me?” Adam nestled into the crook of John’s thigh, edging closer to a specific place he was well acquainted with. He purposefully breathed against John’s shorts, hoping the warm air would bleed to his flesh. John shifted his other leg, but didn’t move away.
“You know I can’t do that.” Sure, sure. “What’s gotten into you?”
“You have t’visit me,” Adam pushed, murmuring into the fabric. “If I get too bored, who knows what I'll get up to.”
Snake puffed a sigh but Adam thought he could hear a soft smirk behind it. “Fine. But, only if you promise there’ll be no nonsense.”
Ocelot turned to look up at him. He brought up a shaky finger to his chest and made an “X” motion over his heart.
A knock at the door was soft but it felt like it pounded against his very skull. Adam swallowed dryly and moaned in irritation, he was trying so hard to enjoy himself.
If Miller walked in that door, he’d maul him to death.
Instead, blessedly, it was Eva. She was fitted in a light shawl, with the night sky painting dark blues behind her. She relinquished the shawl from her shoulders as she came in wordlessly and tossed it on her bed. Then she crawled like a sly little fox onto the bed with them, curling on Adam’s left side where her back met the wall.
Gingerly, she pressed a cool hand to his cheek, then flipped it.
“Hm,” she hummed softly, mindful of his headache. “Still pretty warm there, cowboy.”
“He’ll be alright, he’s strong,” John replied.
Adam felt his heartbeat pound behind his cheeks at that. He practically melted into Snake out of pure happiness, almost losing consciousness again. But no, he had to stay awake.
“He’s also too stubborn for his own good,” Eva snipped. She was annoyed. He must’ve caused a fuss for her. “Thought you’d grown out of that by now.”
“Na’stubborn,” he slurred in response, fighting to keep his eyes open.
“Case in point.” Eva smirked and gave him a peck on his overheated cheek.
He was getting too sleepy. He wanted to enjoy this moment. The last thing he wanted was to wake up and find John gone again. He’d already spent two sleepless nights thinking of all the things John could be doing in that big cabin so far away from him. Most of all, he wondered why he hadn’t been invited to it yet. His head pulsed uncomfortably as he tried to get out one more request to John.
“Stay here th’night.”
“What’d he say?”
Eva seemed to understand. Bless her. “We’ll keep you company.” She whispered before nudging John. “Won’t we, big guy?”
John brushed his thumb along the edge of Adam’s jaw and trailed up to his lips. “Sleep. I’ll be here.”
Then John mimicked the motion from before, trailing an “X” across Adam’s heart.
my MSF era au feels less lore accurate and more like if eva, bibo, ocelot, kaz (and fuck it, the medic too) were all in a dating sim on a island paradise.
LOVE ISLAND????
fuck it. always write the self indulgent thing man. be free, fly high, be gay.
