Wanderer in Time

June 29, 2317. Japan, Musutafu (Present Day) “Excellent work, Midoriya! As always, the highest score!” praised the sensei. The girl only managed a strained smile. She wasn't feeling her best today and wanted to go home quickly to rest and recover. Izuku thanked him shyly for the grade and then left the now-empty classroom. She had been studying at the police academy for a year now, with the aim of working at the local precinct in the future. Since childhood, Midoriya had dreamed of becoming a hero, saving people with a smile on her face. However, her dream was shattered by the diagnosis she received when she was four. Quirkless. Despite this, she continued to move forward, nurturing the hope that she could become a hero without a quirk. But her dream was finally crushed a year ago. First, there were the former classmates who bullied her, and then her idol, All Might. He saved her from a mud villain and then answered her question about the possibility of becoming a hero without a quirk. No chance. Not possible. Izuku accepted it. She came to terms with the fact that she needed to be realistic and view things clearly. Without a quirk, she couldn’t become a hero, so she decided to enroll in the police academy after finishing high school. What troubled her the most was that Katsuki Bakugo — her “best childhood friend” — had entered UA’s hero course. Of course, she had always admired him and his powerful quirk, Explosion, but his taunts and humiliations had finally destroyed her self-esteem. At one point, Midoriya even thought that he would make a great villain (after all, he had suggested she jump off a roof), but she dismissed the thought. She needed to leave that jerk in the past and move on. She left the academy and took her usual route home. All day, she had been feeling unwell. At first, she blamed it on lack of sleep, then on the yogurt that might have been expired. Her head was spinning, her temples were throbbing, and she felt nauseous. Sometimes so strongly it felt like she was on a roller coaster. Halfway home, green sparks suddenly danced before her eyes, and the space around her blurred sharply. A new wave of severe nausea hit her abruptly. At one point, Izuku realized the ground had suddenly disappeared from beneath her feet, and the next moment she painfully fell onto the sidewalk. “Are you alright, kid?” a gruff voice came from somewhere above. Midoriya blinked and looked up. Her vision cleared again, and the nausea disappeared. Standing before her was a large, muscular man with a fierce appearance. He was bald, with a massive square jaw and small dark eyes. A slight stubble covered his cheeks, and he wore square protective glasses on his forehead. His dark suit resembled a hero’s outfit in some way, but Izuku couldn’t recall any hero like that, even though she was the most devoted fan and knew almost everything. “What are you silent for? Are you mute or something?” the loud, gruff voice boomed again. “N-no!” Midoriya squeaked quietly, getting to her feet. “I’m fine!” “You just appeared out of nowhere! Don’t you control your quirk? At your age, you should have it under control,” the man frowned slightly. “You’re mistaken! I don’t have a quirk…” Izuku replied softly, lowering her gaze to the road and noting that the cobblestones were not the usual light gray but black. “No quirk, you say?” the stranger scoffed. “Don’t talk nonsense! I trust my own eyes, you know! You just appeared out of thin air! It must be teleportation or something like that.” “No, that’s impossible. I’ve had many examinations; they told me I’m absolutely quirkless,” Midoriya shook her head, looking around. She had always been attentive and quickly noticed details. For some reason, it was too bright for evening — that was the first thing that struck her. Then — Izuku could have sworn — the usual residential area had been replaced by a vast empty lot prepared for construction. It was fenced off, with a poster hanging on the fence. And it would have been fine, but what bothered Midoriya was the date on the poster. “2258” “This is impossible! There used to be houses here! And what’s with this strange poster? Maybe I’m under the influence of someone’s quirk and it’s just a hallucination? But if not? What if everything happening is real?” the girl thought, trying to believe her own eyes. Then she turned her gaze back to her interlocutor, who was frowning thoughtfully at her. “I’ve seen you somewhere before, kid…” he said seriously, scrutinizing the schoolgirl. “I’m sure I’ve seen you, but I can’t remember where.” “E-excuse me…” A shiver ran down Izuku’s spine, and fear chilled her inside. She knew that if she asked this person a question now, she’d appear at least insane, but what if this wild theory that had come to her mind was real… — “What year is it now?” “Kid, did you hit your head or something?” the man asked skeptically. “It’s 2258. And if you’ve lost your memory, it’s August, nine in the morning, and I’m just coming back from my night patrol…” Izuku stopped listening further. Inside, she was frozen in disbelief, twisted with fear. This couldn’t be happening! This was just impossible! She pinched herself hard. It hurt. So it was not a dream. And it didn’t seem like the effect of someone’s quirk. Midoriya had studied the effects of external quirks on a person at the academy and had an idea of what it should feel like — at the very least, there should be reflexive resistance, which she did not experience. The girl spun around sharply and began looking around. Anything! There should be something familiar here! But no. No familiar flower shop, no recently opened café, no familiar light-brick houses… Nothing. Step. Another step. Unknowingly, she bolted. The man shouted something after her, but green-haired Izuku didn’t hear. Her eyes searched for something familiar but found nothing. Fear gripped her soul with icy fingers, and panic grew. A veil of tears blurred her vision again, distorting the surroundings. She desperately wanted it all to end. She was still running when the familiar feeling of nausea returned, and green lights danced before her eyes once more. Then Izuku felt a sudden jolt, and for a moment the ground beneath her feet disappeared again. She fell a second time, collapsing on the sidewalk and scraping her knees badly. A minute later, somewhat recovered, Midoriya got to her feet and saw familiar streets she was so used to walking. Relief washed over her completely, but her hands still trembled from the fright she had experienced. Then came anxiety. What if it happened again? And what was happening to her? “Home! I need to get home immediately! I need to find out what’s happening to me!” — she thought, and then ran as fast as she could towards her house. Izuku completely ignored Bakugo, who called out to her in his rough manner. The girl was too absorbed in what had happened to notice him. At home, as always, her mother greeted her with a tender smile. But the smile quickly turned to worry when Inko noticed her daughter was agitated, troubled, and even scared. Certain thoughts crept into her mind, but the woman pushed them aside. This just couldn’t be. Izuku, saying she wouldn’t eat and convincing her mother that she was fine, locked herself in her room. Quickly changing clothes, she sat down at her laptop, trying to find out anything about what might be happening to her. “How to tell if you’re in the past?” “Quirks related to time travel” “Possible mistakes by doctors regarding quirk diagnoses” And these were just the first questions that came up. There were more and more of them — but Midoriya couldn’t find anything. It was as if no one had ever experienced anything like this. Late at night, she managed to find only an article by Benjamin Frost*, dated 2002, which described the probability of time travel in complicated terms. The article mainly focused on physics, quantum fields, mechanics, experiments, and theories. Nothing more. Not finding anything useful, Izuku closed the laptop, changed into her pajamas, and went to bed. The stress of the day had taken its toll, and she fell asleep quickly.

* * *

A familiar feeling of severe nausea woke Midoriya in the middle of the night. Getting out of bed, she quietly went to the hallway and headed for the bathroom. But halfway there, the outlines of the space began to blur again, green sparks flashed. She felt the ground disappear beneath her feet once more, followed by a powerful jolt. The girl hissed and cursed quietly as she got up from the floor. What kind of day was this?! No, she had been clumsy before, but falling this often was new. The nausea and dizziness disappeared again as if they had never been there. But… “Strange. I was sure all the lights were off. Maybe Mom forgot to turn off the light in the living room?” — thought Midoriya, looking at the strip of light at the end of the hallway. But as she got closer, she heard rustling and quiet mutterings about a forgotten diary. The voice was definitely male. “Are we having guests? Or is it a burglar?” — the girl thought nervously. She cautiously peered around the corner and froze in astonishment. In her childhood, Midoriya often looked at photographs. Her own, her mother's, and the one photo of her father taken shortly before his disappearance. She looked at that one especially often, as she always missed her father's presence. She liked to imagine him, listening to her mother’s stories, and deep down, the girl hoped that one day she would find him and meet him. Midoriya knew every detail of her father by heart. Hisashi had an unusual appearance for a Japanese person, more European. He had a strong build, quite tall, with fiery red hair, bright freckles, and wise green eyes. Her mother also had green eyes, but they were darker, not as vibrant an emerald shade as her father’s. However, Midoriya had inherited her father’s eyes and freckles. And now… right before her, just a few meters away, was he. Her estranged father, who had disappeared shortly before her birth. Midoriya didn’t know what exactly compelled her to step out of her hiding place, but she did. “Dad?” the girl said hesitantly, drawing his attention. The man looked up at her and froze. “Izuku…” Hisashi said with a sigh, then walked over and hugged her tightly. “How did you end up here? Interesting pajamas you have.” “D-Dad…” Midoriya blushed a little, as her pajamas were patterned like All Might’s costume. But she quickly composed herself. “Where have you been all these years? I waited for you, wanted to see you, to meet you! Gods, I have so many questions!” “Wait.” He frowned. “It’s only the year 2299, Izuku. What year are you from? Is this your first time traveling through time?” “Dad, what…” Midoriya stammered, sitting down on the couch. “It’s 2317 now. June 29th, Tuesday. Oh wait, it’s night now. It’s already June 30th, Wednesday. Yeah…” she mumbled out of habit. “I see. This is your first or second jump, so you’re still not quite grasping what’s happening.” Hisashi nodded, sitting in the armchair opposite his daughter. “We don’t have much time, but I’ll try to explain briefly. The rest you should ask your mom about, and then she should take you to my friends. I hid all my records and the chronograph with them.” “What?” was all Izuku could manage. “Please don’t interrupt.” The man shook his head. “We have very little time, and you might return to your present at any moment. Izuku, our family has had the time traveler gene passed down since ancient times. It’s not a quirk like those you see today. It’s a special gene that cannot be detected. It just exists, and that’s it. We’re also called tempus vagus. In the records that you’ll get later, you’ll learn more about all this.” Hisashi sighed heavily and massaged his temples. “There’s a real hunt for people like us. Someone desires our powers, so stay alert and take all this seriously. To preempt your question — it won’t end, and it’s not a dream. It’s all harsh reality. Time travel, in my opinion, is the most dangerous curse of all. Especially uncontrollable jumps like yours right now. If you had jumped a bit later, you would be falling headfirst from the sixth floor right now.” At this point, Izuku flinched and turned pale, imagining the scene. “But is there something we can do to stop these uncontrollable jumps? I’m not keen on ending up during World War III or some flood. And, honestly, I’ve always dreamed of a quirk, but all this… it’s frightening.” Midoriya croaked, nervously crumpling the edges of her pajama top. “I understand your feelings.” The man sighed. “I remember my first jump. Even though I was prepared and knew everything, I was still scared. Thankfully, you were there to calm me. Or rather, you will be, in your future. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll understand later. As for the uncontrollable jumps. Yes, they can be stopped. With the chronograph, by staying a few hours in a fixed time, we manage to stop uncontrollable jumps for one or two days. No more. Without the chronograph, we can be uncontrollably thrown into any time period, up to seventeen times a day.” “Seventeen times a day traveling through time to unknown dates?! I’d go insane!” The girl exclaimed in terror. If her quirk had manifested a year ago, she might have thought it was cool, but now… it was all very dangerous. “Quiet,” Hisashi quickly reassured her, “I gave the maximum record of one of our predecessors. Astrid Frost-Shade*, our great-grandmother if we’re being specific. Anyway, everyone has their own number!” Izuku didn’t share his amusement. The familiar feeling of nausea returned, and it was as if she could hear the ticking of clocks. “I feel sick… Is it because of the gene?” she managed to say. “Yes.” The man nodded. “Nausea, dizziness, sparks before your eyes, the ticking of clocks in your ears — signs that you’re about to time travel. And you’re about to go back. So remember.” Izuku focused on her father’s voice, which now sounded distant. The nausea intensified, and the space before her eyes began to blur. “When you return to yourself, go to mom and tell her everything. She should take you to my friends. She knows who I’m talking about, and they can be trusted. They will help you. Don’t delay. You need to be safe as soon as possible. I left you a letter with them; read it first. And remember, this isn’t our last meeting. Take care of yourself, daughter, and be…” Izuku didn’t hear the last part. Green sparks danced before her eyes, and then there was a sharp jolt. Midoriya crashed onto the wooden coffee table in the living room with a thud. It was dark, and the surroundings were familiar. She had definitely returned to her time. Suddenly, the light turned on. The girl quickly shut her eyes and then slowly opened them, adjusting to the brightness. In front of her stood a frightened Inko in a nightgown. “M-Mom…” Izuku got up from the floor, lowering her gaze. The table legs were broken. “Oh gods…” the woman exhaled heavily, hugging her daughter. “Izuku, why were you so careless? I was so scared when I heard the crash!” “Mom… we need to talk seriously.” The younger Midoriya hugged her back. “Let’s talk over breakfast. It’s the middle of the night; we need to get some sleep.” Inko ruffled her hair, but her eyes clearly reflected concern. She hoped against hope that the next morning’s discussion wouldn’t be about what she feared. “Go to your room.” “Alright.” Izuku nodded, heading to her room. She needed to think about many things before starting the difficult conversation with her mother.