Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Home Is Where The Heart Is
"...A thousand-year voyage…"
Green eyes blinked open, an immense blue sky greeting them. Slowly, the sensation of his body came back to him.
Izuku was cold. Not the cold that refreshed the body. Not the cold that numbed the pain. Not the cold that comforted his heart. No. It was the cold that chilled the blood and invaded even the bones. The one that followed the blackness of nothing and existed after being forcefully dragged from it.
A distant explosion, and Izuku blinked. Where was he? Slowly, carefully, he filled his lungs and moved his head to look. Then that breath caught as he saw the unassuming grey of concrete under him, at the distant buildings that reached for that blue sky, and to the fires growing in the background. His lungs protested, and he finished inhaling. That was when he noticed the scent of copper, the blooms of red staining the grey. The wetness that contributed to the growing cold.
Izuku was lying in a pool of blood, his blood.
Looking back up, he saw the building-
"Take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in your next life."
"No, you can't be a hero without a quirk."
"I'm sorry, Izuku."
He forced himself up, ripping himself from the drying blood and thanking his lucky stars that his gakuran was all black while his shoes were red.
Red shoes. His red shoes. Not boots or greaves or bandages. Shoes.
"I'm back. I'm back! I'm… I'm back?" Izuku slowly looked around, the cold growing and digging deeper. "Did I…? Did I even go?" The brightness of the afternoon sun was too much and too little. He looked all around him, spinning in place again and again. Still, no matter how much he searched, a fact remained unchanged.
Izuku was alone.
Something inside him simply, quietly, gave up.
"What's the point? Why? Where are you?! Please, don't leave me alone." Izuku fell into a crouch, holding his green hair matted with blood in a death grip. "I can't, please. Please! You promised."
Another explosion, and Izuku started to laugh.
Then he abruptly stopped. Stood back up, a rueful smile on his face, and turned in the direction of the explosions. One foot after the other, he started to walk into danger's way instead of away from it. A staggering step after another. Tap, tap, tap. The empty wooden doll made its way to the flames.
His smile grew, exaggerated and ridiculous, almost like a clown. He was fate's little fool. Why try to hide? Izuku just needed to find a big enough pyre, and…
"Let the world burn."
Rooftops turned into streets that turned into a barricade. A mob was being held back by heroes who stood by and watched. What was so captivating that they remained still in the middle of fire and chaos-?
Red eyes. Green sludge. Despair, pain, and fear.
And Izuku moved.
One second, he was squished between observers; the next, he was bolting down a burning street while hands failed to grab him. And why, oh why? Why couldn't his body understand his soul was already empty? Fire, destruction, death. In the middle of it all, Izuku felt at home. At a home that wasn't his, in a war that wasn't his, for a future that wasn't his.
But he didn't stop running. Izuku was too stubborn.
That was what she always said.
A dogged fool to the end.
"You! I'll kill you now, brat. This time for sure!" Slime, explosions, and rubble came flying at Izuku.
He kept running.
Storm the castle. Storm the castle. Don't stop. Don't get stopped by the arrows or the fire or the stones or the swords. Don't be stopped by the bodies, dead or alive. Keep going. Storm the castle. Storm the castle!
In a blur of frantic movement, Izuku weaved through the tide of destruction like a ghost. He ducked and leaped and dashed until he was right before the mass of green living waste. With a fluid movement, Izuku ducked and grabbed a stone. Spun on his heels and sent it flying with the precision of a sniper and the strength of a siege weapon. The piece of debris that could have come from anywhere on the torn street, ordinary and mundane, flew with the speed of a comet and the rage of a dragon.
The monster- villain, hadn't even the time to blink before his head popped like a dirty water balloon. He screamed and shouted and cursed, but Izuku paid his enemy no mind.
No, he dove in and grabbed the hand trying desperately to free itself. He pulled, turned, planted his feet, and sent the body flying over his shoulder and back to the waiting line of desperate civilians and frantic heroes.
Now, Izuku was alone, in the middle of a warzone.
Like he did a million times before.
"Fucking hell! I'm gonna rip the bones out of your flesh!" The villain raged and rose, towering over Izuku.
But the boy could only look with dead eyes, dull and indifferent.
What was the point?
He was alone.
The wave of sludge fell… Until it didn't. Halfway, the titanic pillar that held up the world stopped the wave of slime with a single arm.
Izuku felt his breath flee out of his chest. His heart drummed against his ribs in a painful crescendo. His mind was back at the top of that building, and then at the top of the adjacent one, while lying on his blood.
All Might.
Why was he here? Why him? Why not her?
Force, sound, and wind hit him like a wall. Izuku glanced back and saw the sludge splattered and the street fires blown out. He looked at the back of who he always strove to be and never reached and never would, and he felt tired.
What was the point? Izuku was alone.
He turned and left, disappearing into a busted side alley to avoid just being for a second. Izuku ran, feet pounding the asphalt and legs burning. Ears buzzed with static as his brain felt too full and too empty to form proper thoughts. Izuku didn't see where he was going; he just ran until his body refused to take another step.
Not for lack of oxygen or energy, but for a lack of will.
Izuku couldn't be bothered to take another step when it was all for naught.
He was cold and alone, like he always was. Like Izuku always would be.
He thought he wouldn't, but that didn't pan out as he wanted.
Here he was, cold, alone, and defeated.
Izuku just wanted to stop being.
But he never got what he wanted. Behind him, a heavy weight crashed on the street with a deceptively soft sound.
No alarm, no reflex reaction, just numbness as he turned. Slowly, awkwardly, as if his limbs were fighting him. Or was he fighting them, as he knew it was the man who put him in that position in the first place?
"All Might." His voice was tired. Flat. Done. As if his tone by itself said 'leave me alone' to anyone who heard it.
"Young man, I'm glad I managed to catch up to you! There's something I want to discuss." The giant, the Symbol of Peace, shrank midsentence, revealing a skeletal visage that would have shocked the world.
Izuku didn't even blink.
"I would like to apologize, and also offer you…"
"An accord."
"An opportunity."
What the damned and dark pits was that? Why does the universe keep pouring salt on his wounds?!
Izuku was so tired.
"Hum?" He didn't have the energy to even utter a word, letting the man talk.
About legacy.
About hope.
About One For All.
About how that stupid advice apparently was paying off.
He had no reason to accept. No reason to reject it. No reason to do anything at all. So he just laughed.
Laughed at how unfair it all was.
Laughed, because he had no tears to shed for himself anymore.
Laughed, because Izuku Midoriya was a joke. A joke that refused to die and be forgotten like everything else.
Then he stopped, looked into All Might's eyes, and didn't find in him the will to hate the man since long, long ago.
With a shrug that was far too casual a moment of such gravitas, Izuku nodded. "Sure, I accept-"
The cold shifted.
His soul lit up like a quasar.
Her voice interrupted him.
"You should not make such decisions alone, my Lord Consort."
All Might yelped and almost jumped out of his skin, but Izuku remained still as a statue. He didn't move, didn't even breathe, in fear. Fear that he would turn and see he was just going crazy. Fear it wouldn't be her. Fear he would still be alone.
But he was also stubborn, and he would not let fear stop him forever. So cautiously, hopefully, fearfully, Izuku turned.
And there she was. Sitting on the rim of a flowerbed of all things, four hands poised with touching fingers and eyes sparkling in the sunset. Blue skin contrasting against her snow white dress, grey fur cloak, and the comically large witch hat on her head.
That thing in Izuku that gave up, that broke, quietly pulled itself back together. The boy took one step closer, two, and then bolted.
Izuku didn't care that he crashed into her, that he pulled her into his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck, that he cried his heart out. No, he only cared that she hadn't abandoned him. "Ranni. You're here."
Two arms circled his middle while one other slipped around his neck and caressed his hair as he cried. "Of course. I made a vow to remain by your side, forevermore."
"You kept your promise."
"Never shall I break it. Not to you, not to my dogged pursuer."
Izuku laughed, cried, crumbled, and just held on as, for the first time since he opened his eyes to the sky, he actually felt alive.
And then a cough sounded, and the moment was broken.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but…who are you?" The man asked tentatively, confused but appearing genuinely apologetic for stopping what appeared like a literally tearful reunion. Still, he had to talk about how much the mysterious woman had seen and, more importantly, who was she?
Ranni turned her eyes to All Might, the softness and care evaporating as if an illusion, giving place to a steely glare that made the man gulp. "Ah, yes. You." She spoke with barely contained vitriol. Turning back to Izuku, she gently pulled one of the green locks that had secretly fascinated her, seeing it matted with still not dried red. "I still have to deal with you, seeing that you are the source of my Starlight's current state."
All Might blinked and looked closer, and then promptly coughed a mouthful of blood. The boy, still clinging to the mysterious woman, was caked in blood. It was difficult to see with his black clothes and darker green hair, but All Might knew from experience what to look for, and what she saw almost made his heart stop. "Young man, you're hurt! Here, let me take you back to the emergency responders, I saw ambulances and-"
"It's okay." Izuku finally got his crying under control, seeing his frosted tears on Ranni's dress, he knew she would chew him up for that later. Turning back to the frantic hero, but still clinging to Ranni like a koala, the boy tried to calm him down, "It's not from that villain, and I'm fine already."
"Not from the villain? Then how-" All Might's eyes widened. He was far and wide considered the best hero in the world, and he did not reach that by being a brick that only knew how to punch hard. "Oh."
"Yes, it appears like you recognize the results of your truly inspiring words, O Symbol of Peace." Ranni had no qualms about twisting the knife. "Destroy a person's dreams and will and leave them in an auspicious place to finish the work themselves. Truly, a sophisticated way to rid yourself of the annoyances, I almost commend you-" Her brutal dressdown was interrupted by Izuku stepping away and giving her a look.
The same hard gaze and disappointed tilt of the head that somehow stopped her cold in her tracks every single time.
"It's fine. No, it isn't fine, but it is what it is." Izuku turned fully to All Might, still holding one of Ranni's hands to make sure she wouldn't disappear the moment he took his eyes off her. Which, with her record, was actually a valid concern, no matter what she said. "What you told me hurt a lot. More than everything else anyone had ever said. But you were right about one thing: I couldn't be a hero while being weak." He stated as a simple matter of fact declaration. It was true, Izuku had been weak, too weak to stand for himself or anyone, and someone that weak could not be a hero.
"Young man, that is not true-"
Izuku cut off whatever protest All Might tried to raise, "It is. You were right about that part, even if that wasn't really what you said; it was what you meant. And you were right. Even if I had a quirk, it wouldn't change anything." And that admission, somehow, was freeing. "I would still be weak, maybe not in body but in spirit. To be a hero is to stand up and fight no matter what. And the weak me wouldn't ever be able to do that, to be that."
But that was just the thing, the worst moment of Izuku's life, and yes, he could still say with full confidence that those scarce minutes on that rooftop were the worst moment of Izuku's life, were also what got him to where he was. A gentle squeeze on the cold and deceptively delicate hand on his reminded him that it also brought him to be with her, and that was more than worth the rest. "So, I can say for sure. Thank you, All Might. Thank you for killing my weak self and making me who I am."
That more than anything threw the hero for a loop. Here he was, the young man whom he failed and hurt more than he could ever truly know, thanking All Might for the pain he caused. But seeing the clear and tired eyes locked with his own, and the firm but gentle surety of his words, All Might understood that the boy wasn't saying he became the better version of himself because of the man's words, but despite them.
That All Might could understand. Still, he could not, would not stand by and let his failures remain unaddressed. Kneeling, the hero bowed until his forehead touched the floor, "I apologize for my callousness, young man." Not for the pain it caused or what the boy endured, because he already turned that in his own strength.
"I-"
"Am too forgiving for your own good," Ranni spoke over Izuku, giving him a harsh glance from the corner of her eye. "He may accept your apologies; however, I do not."
Izuku knew how to pick his battles, at least with her, and that was a hill he wasn't eager to die on. "Anyway, I think I'm not the best choice to pass on your quirk."
"I couldn't disagree more." All Might sat on his legs in a sieza right there on the street. "I was angry and disillusioned with my own helplessness, and in that I hurt you. While you, young man, in the same position, decided to do your best to help others anyway."
Izuku couldn't help but shake his head, "It wasn't like that. I was just going without even knowing where, and when I saw what was happening, I… I don't even know, I just-"
"Moved, and when you realized you were right on the thick of it." All Might finished for him, making Izuku blink in surprise. "The one thing all great heroes have in common, no matter what, is that when it counted, they all said their bodies moved on their own. To help. To save. To fight." All Might nodded, and a hint of his usual brilliant smile shone through even after all that. "That's why I can say for certain, young man, you are worthy of One For All. More worthy than me, at any rate."
The moment Izuku opened his mouth to say something, anything, Ranni gave him a sharp look that stopped him. "While I would not fault him for accepting a weapon of such considerable power, why would my Lord Consort wish to carry your burdens is beyond me. Still…" Her eyes turned to him, growing softer than any other ever seen by the witch. "Never were you one to turn away from a cry for help. If you wish to acquire such power in the pursuit of your heroics or what-have-you, then I can only support you."
All Might didn't recognize the language the woman used, interspaced with her flawless Japanese, but he could see the look of adoration she gave the shocked boy. "Excuse me, but it seems we skipped a couple of steps, like introductions." He got back up and nodded to them. "My name is Yagi Toshinori, please call me that while I look like this."
Izuku knew more than enough about his Moonlight to see her vicious retort coming a mile away, so he decided to spare the poor man from the verbal beatdown, "I'm Midoriya Izuku." Normally, he would be stuttering over a storm and be freaking out about learning All Might's name, but now, he just was polite about it. He was almost proud of himself. "And this is Ranni…my wife."
There was no good way to drop this bomb, not when Izuku himself was still reeling from it. He thought relationships, especially romantic ones, were not on the table for him. Quirkless, powerless, useless little Deku was not what Izuku would call remotely attractive. He still didn't think he was, but Ranni, well…
Let's just say the sequence of events that led to them treading vows under the moon and stars and over the corpse of her most despised enemy was nothing short of a miracle. A mathematical improbability that compounded with Izuku's borderline supernatural stubbornness and culminated in their happy and fulfilling union.
So yes, Yagi's reaction of coughing a spray of blood was completely understandable. "W-what?! But you-, him, Young Midoriya aren't you in middle school?!"
Izuku nodded slowly, remembering that, "Yes, last year of it. I'll be fifteen in a couple of months."
Ranni turned an annoyed glare his way, not knowing that he found it cute, "And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?"
"I'm almost fifteen, you're five thousand and something." He smiled and shrugged, knowing exactly what he was doing and that he was at ground zero of the blast zone. "If that's not a cradle robber, I don't know what is."
"Someone is feeling brave."
"Don't worry, I love you even if you're a cougar."
"Very brave."
Yagi watched them bicker as…well, as an old married couple, which seemed to be just what they were- "Wait, what do you mean five thousand?!"
That stopped the couple and saved Izuku from his encroaching demise. Blinking in confusion, the boy organized his thoughts and realized that he was back, back to Japan, back to Earth, where the supernatural only became commonplace two centuries ago. The chip finally fell, and Izuku realized that he had to switch gears back to what was common sense on a world of quirks and science instead of gods and magic. "So, uh, funny story… Well, not so funny, but you told me about your impossible origins, so nothing fairer than doing the same, right?"
Ranni sighed, but said nothing. Her Starlight's story was his to tell. First, they moved away from the small side street, which was pretty much dead at the end of the day, and to a nearby park where Izuku remembered going to when he was a child. Now with actual privacy and a smaller risk of being overheard, Izuku told his story to Yagi.
Izuku didn't know if by the end the man regretted more having said anything on the rooftop, having offered him the quirk, or just having gotten out of bed that morning. Which, to be fair? Was a hell of a mood.
Now, to finally be done with the day. Time for Izuku to truly go back home. And for Ranni to meet her mother-in-law.
Was it too late to give up?
—
Izuku stood right in front of his family's apartment, still as a statue. The unassuming door was more intimidating than any of the colossal gates he saw. He tried to move, to go in or turn back and run, but he could only stand there and stare at the door with his mind deafeningly silent.
Ranni understood he needed a moment, but then the moment passed, and he kept stalling, "Cowardice does not suit you."
"You would be surprised." To her unamused stare, Izuku backtracked, "I just don't know if…"
"You are home," Ranni stated simply.
Izuku took in a deep breath and released it shakily, trying to hold on. "I know you said you would bring me back, but I… I didn't even know if I wanted to go back. And now we're here and I… I'm scared." He had to force himself to keep talking, to not just trail off and lose his courage. Ranni is the one he owed honesty most of all. No matter how ironic that was.
"That never stopped you before." She reached over and gently cupped his cheek with a hand, trailing his freckles with a thumb. "You more than anyone know that courage is not the absence of fear, but moving forward despite it. You taught me that. You proved to me that turning away in fear is not the answer." More than once. No matter how far she ran or how well she hid, her Starlight found a way to chase Ranni. Now, it was her turn, "Now go, and know you are not alone."
That, more than anything, was what gave Izuku the strength to nod and finally open the door. All at once, he was bombarded with memories of entering the house on thousands of different occasions, always leading to the same chain of events. He took off his shoes, raised his head, and saw his mother rushing to greet him with the same anxious and motherly concern as always.
"Izuku! Oh, thank goodness it was getting late, and I didn't know if something had happened, and the news said there was a villain attack nearby and-" That same frantic deluge of words like Izuku himself let out when he was flustered, the same fuzzing over, the same care. Inko Midoriya was still the same mother that Izuku remembered, the same one he promised to return to. The mother he didn't valorize nearly enough, and that he would stay the rest of his life making up for his disregard. In one swift movement, Izuku stepped forward and hugged his mother tightly.
"I'm home."
Inko stopped completely. Her boy was different; she just knew he was, but he was still her boy. "Welcome home." She returned the hug, embracing him tightly and letting her son know he was safe.
Izuku took in a deep breath, sensing that maternal scent that somehow eased his very soul, and slowly let out all the weariness that a one-man crusade caused him. He was tired, confused, and just about done with it all, but he was home. Izuku was home.
"Uh, why is your back kinda sticky?"
Oh yeah, he was still caked in dried blood. Uh, change of plans. "Hey Mom, there's someone I want you to meet." Asking for forgiveness was better and all that. Turning so Inko could see their guest still by the door, Izuku gave Ranni a wink while pushing Inko forward, "That's my mother, Inko. Mom, that's my wife, Ranni. I'll let you guys talk while I go take a shower, okay? Okay. Have fun!" And with the tactical acumen he painstakingly sharpened, Izuku made his quick retreat after priming that grenade.
"...WHAT?!"
Oh, his Moonlight would have his hide for that later. Still, better the shock of suddenly having a daughter-in-law than of realizing his son was basically painted in red. Anyway, Izuku ducked into his room, his legs still knowing the way. There, he had another little blast from the past.
All Might.
The walls, the desk, the bed, everywhere, there he was. All Might. His iconic smile was plastered all over Izuku's bedroom. The boy felt a shock of something going through him, something he couldn't quite name but felt once before, back there, in the gilded city of Leyndell. When he first laid his eyes on the golden projection of Godfrey guarding the royal chambers. Saw a ghost of someone, something, larger than life, that was not what he first thought. Like when he first understood that life was only fair in how it was unfair to everyone.
Legends were not born to greatness; they were created by adversity. That one era's hero would be the next era's wall. An almost impossible-to-cross chasm that could break a man's spirit. But just like any wall, if you bang your head on it enough, you will get through. Izuku understood that behind every legend was a person, and that no matter how great, each story came to an end.
Now, in a room dedicated to the borderline worship of one such legend, Izuku looked around and saw the thing Ranni sacrificed everything to destroy. Chains made of blind faith, of ignorance to the flaws in a gilded symbol. Slowly, almost melancholic, Izuku started walking around his room, taking down posters and putting away figurines. Gently, he put his childhood innocence to rest. It died along with the weak boy who could not face the world for what it was. This was just the funeral rites. Just the final goodbye. When the last piece was stashed and put away, Izuku's room was bare, from the walls to the floor, not even the bed and pillows had any cover.
It was with a sad but light heart that Izuku grabbed a towel and lounge clothes and slipped out of his room and into the bathroom. Taking off his school clothes, which was still a somewhat funny thought, Izuku washed away the grime and crusted blood.
Goddess, he missed warm baths. Speaking of, he should go back and see how his Moonlight was faring. Ranni was not what Izuku would call emotionally stunted, but she was a bit too dry and tended not to factor others' feelings when choosing her words. Or actions. Or at all, to be frank.
Yes, he was still mad with her running off all the time. No, he didn't plan to let her live it down, ever. Izuku tried not to hold grudges, but the Lake of Rot changes a man, usually with horrifying mutations and madness.
"And now I feel dirty again, great." Izuku soldiered on, putting on his shirt and drying his hair some more, not bothering to even try brushing it. Getting out of the bathroom, Izuku stealthily approached the living room.
Just to be greeted by the scene of his mother fainting on the couch. Ranni, who was sitting opposite the unconscious woman, sighed and held the bridge of her nose with one hand, "It's the third time already."
"Good to see you're getting along." Oh, there was the cute glare again.
—
Ranni had gone through many ordeals to reach her goals, but none of them had prepared her for the surprisingly strong embrace of the Midoriya matriarch, nor for the waterworks. Which were genetic, and that should not have surprised her. Glancing at her Starlight, who was also trapped and squished, he could only offer her a half-shrug and an awkward smile. Oh well, "I understand that my tale is quite fantastic, Midoriya-sama, but that is surely too much."
The woman stopped for a moment, "Oh dear, none of that. You can call me Inko. Oh, my baby went and became a man while I wasn't looking!" Cue more tears. "You are part of the family now, Ranni. There is no need for formalities."
The refreshing thought still grated against her sensibilities, but for all she was a Carian princess and a Demigod turned Goddess, Ranni had fought for a world where none should grovel before those that called themselves lords while being nothing more than tyrants. Japanese was a language that also used much formality to indicate deference, but like any other language, the longer it lived, the more it changed to become a reflection of its people. Honorifics, while an integral part of the language, were also something easily discarded by choice. "If you insist, Inko."
At the new wave of tears, Ranni was left speechless. She did not think it possible for someone to be even more emotional than her Starlight, but it was understandable that if so, it would be his mother who would have him beat. And, while she simplified most of the recount of the events that led to Ranni and Izuku meeting and their journey after, it was still enough to fell the woman multiple times. While the deception was with the best of intentions, she caught her Starlight's thoughtful frown at having to lie to his mother. Still, better to paint his tale as a fable of a humble knight saving a princess and defeating a despot than the scarring saga he faced.
At least, the woman had welcomed Ranni with open arms and many, many tears. Truly, the fruit did not fall far from the tree. While the turn of phrase somewhat annoyed Ranni, it was no less true. The Midoriya family had great and caring hearts and mighty tear ducts.
—
Izuku, after a day of highs and lows and turnabouts and surprises, finally lay down on his bed. It was still without covers or anything, but it was still much better than sleeping on the ground. "I missed this."
"A bare bed and empty room?" Ranni asked with a raised brow, sitting down at his side on the edge of the bed, looking out the windows and seeing how the many lights drowned the stars with a frown.
"The comfort only safety can bring." He corrected, turning his eyes from her and to the ceiling. "And I cleaned up. I… I outgrew that old room." The crutch that Izuku had to use desperately to go on day by day. "And it's technically our room now, so we could decorate it together. I'm sure if I sell my old stuff, I can have enough for a telescope and some starsharts."
The smile that graced her face made his heart flutter. "That would be most appreciated. Even if this land also has a penchant to darken the sky with its own light." She sighed, going back to the stoic mask she used to conceal her emotions.
Izuku knew what she meant, but still, it wasn't the same. "I know that light pollution is a problem in bigger cities like here, but there are still many places with less demographics we can go and see the stars. It's not like the Erdtree, where people were forced to be always under it, with nowhere to go. Here, people chose to live with the lights on." It was a bit more complicated than that, yes, but there was no living monolith reminding people they were under somebody's rule, overtaking 50 to 90% of the skyline at all times.
"Oversimplifications do not change the facts." Ranni knew him too well. Still, she acquiesced, "You have faith in your homeland, but do not let that blind you."
"Oh, I know very well how messed up things really are, I just keep in mind how much good there also is in the world. That's the only way of not getting depressed." Or more depressed.
By the sharp look Ranni shot him, she must have heard his thoughts. Time for a subject change! Izuku rolled to his side and extended his arms, "Let's sleep now."
She knew what he was doing, "You understand I do not need sleep, do you not?"
"I mean, me neither, but it's still good for us." That actually got Izuku thinking. "Wait, what happened to my body, my old body, I mean. Not this old, but- you get it, what happened to my body from the Lands Between? It had at least thirty extra kilos of muscle and a ton of scars."
Ranni lost the fight to keep on track, looking at Izuku curiously, "It is strange. The convergence effect your soul had should be what brought you here, but the body you inhabited in the Lands Between was technically made from the Grace of Gold." The disdain in her voice was overwhelming. Ranni didn't even bother to translate the words into Japanese. "To that effect, it makes sense that it ceased to be when I broke the grasp of Order over the land. That would leave it free to return to its natural vessel, your original body. Why it had crossed in the first place and how is a mystery I will have to unravel at a later date."
Izuku gave her a look, arms still raised in invitation, "That's a fancy way of saying you don't know."
"Stop being insufferable."
"C'mon, my arms are getting tired."
"Then rest them."
"Ranni, stop being mean and get in here already." He made grabby hands, urging her to get a move on. "It's our room now, and will be for the foreseeable future. So, better get comfortable, like I will when you get here. I had a very long…yeah. I want all the comfort I can get."
Ranni looked down at the boy. A boy, only technically considered responsible for himself even in her homeland in virtue of his capabilities. And in this land, he was still beholden to his family. The softness that had been mostly eroded by the first time they met was in full display, with his large expressive eyes that bore his soul out and the soft curves of his cheeks stretched with a smile.
The Elden Lord. Slayer of Gods. Breaker of Chains. Her Lord Consort Eternal. Her Starlight.
Izuku might have considered himself weak, but his unshakeable kindness was the greatest proof of strength. It was how he conquered adversity, by not compromising and sinking into cruelty; it was how he pulled her from it. By fighting with his heart, even with each scar it gained, he proved that his conviction about doing good, no matter what, no matter to whom, was greater than whatever horrors the cosmos could conjure. It was how he melted the ice that hardened her heart, and how Ranni found herself taking off her hat.
Putting it on the table, she leaned in and let her Starlight pull her in. Gently resting her head on his chest, she marveled at once again feeling the sensations her skin transmitted to her mind. Another thing for which she was grateful for Izuku and his inability to let matters lie. A body to call her own, not only a vessel, reclaimed for her. Now, she could feel the warmth of his skin, the tickle of his breath on her hair, and his steady heartbeat.
Looping his arms around his Moonlight, Izuku gave a pleased sigh and smiled. There, lying side by side, holding her close and feeling her cold skin against him, made Izuku once more affirm that it was worth it. Every second of struggle, to be with her, was one he would repeat in a blink if it led them to this moment. "I love you."
He heard her breath catch, felt the pair of arms that sneaked around his midriff hold tighter, and the ones resting on his chest grasp his shirt. Izuku chuckled under his breath, gently running his fingers over her silvery-blue hair.
The Goddess of the Dark Moon. The Carian Princess. The Shaterrer of Order. His Moonlight. His love.
"You rascal. How dare you?" Ranni grumbled without any heat right to his heart, then she raised her head and pulled him down with a pair of hands.
She kissed him. Gently. Tenderly. Lovingly. Her cool and glossy lips sent sparks down his spine. Izuku asked himself if she knew. If Ranni understood that she owed his heart and soul, and that he gave it to her willingly. That, after all they went through, he trusted her completely. That, after she again and again picked up his shards after he broke and put Izuku back together, there was nothing he wished more than to be with her forever.
After a long time that felt entirely too short, they parted, mostly thanks to Izuku's need for air. Bright green eyes, dotted with faint speckles of gold, locked with deep ice-blue ones like a frozen lake. Izuku leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers, and the contact earned him the slightest but most heartfelt smile from his Moonlight.
"I love you too, my Starlight."
Izuku was home, for he was exactly where his heart belonged.
What is this?
What the hell is this?!
This was a writing-prompt I made in the Discord server that the bastards in there fucking manifested into a new story. Blame them, I sure do. To you guys, I hate all of you.
Rant over, this story is basically a post-Elden Ring Izuku getting reverse isekai-ed back to MHA. What that entails was heavily hinted at in this chapter, but it will be explored later. I can't just reveal all the mysteries in the very first chapter, right? The vibe, though, will be mostly consistent, so expect more crashouts, fluff, and shenanigans.
Also, of course, here are the good hearts that threw a coin to their author and are still supporting me. Applause for the great:
Sleppt, Guipa, SilverZero90, Godeater23, Thomas, Matthew Merrill, Veonix, and kennine.
My most heartfelt thanks to you all!
Also, join the discord and the rest of the idiots that make crap like this happen (Remember to delete the spaces!)
discord . gg / stAGY4V