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Chapter 3: Lost Time is Never Found Again

Chapter Text

"Missing?" Izuku echoes, because that's all he can manage around the closing of his throat. Officer Tanaka sounds just as confused as Izuku feels, his brows creased as if Izuku is the one saying utter nonsense.

He had thought, originally, that he was still in his own timeline, that he woke up in the woods the next day. It was odd, not alarming. Then, when he'd seen the state of his room, he was confused, a niggling suspicion starting to creep into his head. And that was the idea that somehow, someway, he was transported into the past. Which was actually pretty concerning, but Izuku could handle that. What he couldn't handle was this idea that things had changed . That somehow he was not just back in time, but in an entirely different time line as well. He couldn't even deal with time travel, how was he supposed to deal with this ?

"Izuku." Officer Tanaka says again, his voice laced with concern. "Izuku, do you not remember where you've been?"

Oh, Izuku knows where he's been. He's been at UA. He's been at the dorms, in the hero course. He's been 2 years in the future with a fantastic quirk and even more fantastic friends. But here? The place they want to know where Izuku went? He doesn't know. He doesn't know if everything he was working towards up until this moment was just some cruel dream.

He's choking on air and he can't answer as his sight warps and sways. The edges of his vision turn black with static and in an attempt to ground himself, Izuku pulls his legs up to his chin and closes his eyes. He can vaguely feel his mother's hand still in his and it sounds as if someone might be calling his name, but Izuku can't be bothered because he can't breathe.

An eternity passes. Izuku's heartbeat drums erratically in his ears. There's a hand rubbing soothing circles on his back and someone's voice in his ears telling him to-

"Breathe. Come on. In. And hold it. Hold it. And out. Good. Now in again. Count to ten. Then release. You can do it." It's a feminine voice, and Izuku finds himself following it's instructions. It's hard. He's coughing and wheezing, there's tears and snot and sweat all over. His limbs are shaking as well, but the blackness finally recedes from his eyes.

"Hey. Hey there, are you okay now?" A face swims in his vision. Bright blue eyes and purple hair framing a youthful face. Not his mother then.

He uncurls himself and tries to shake out the fog in his head. He feels like he's done a rigorous workout routine, but without the endorphin high that comes after.

Officer Hikarume stands from where she was kneeling in front of him. She turns to the side and directs her attention there, a frown forming on her face.

"It's clear that he was starting to panic, why did you persist in the questioning?" She asks angrily. Izuku shifts his gaze to see who she's talking to, landing on a guilty looking Officer Tanaka.

He turns to Izuku and his mother, who has been beside him the whole time crying, and bows.

"I apologise. I failed to read the signs. It seems I've caused you major discomfort."

His words cause Officer Hikarume to relax and her scowl to ease. Izuku wants him to lift his head, it wasn't such a big deal, but he's too tired to say it.

Officer Tanaka continues, "I would like to say we can continue the questioning later, but I'm afraid there's something serious we still need to discuss." He sounds apologetic.

"What is it?" Izuku croaks out, wincing at how his voice sounds.

The officers exchange looks. Officer Hikarume turns to him. "Izuku. You don't need to be included in the following discussion. It's just something we need to talk with Ms. Midoriya about." She explains gently to him.

Now that the panic is gone, Izuku doubts hearing anything else will make it come back. In fact, keeping him in the dark could be the worst possible thing for him.

"No." Izuku says and he mentally congratulates himself on how steady his voice sounds. "I want to hear it. Please."

"Izuku…" His mother starts. The officers look conflicted. He knows a losing battle when he sees one.

"Please mom." And his voice cracks as fresh tears spill over his cheeks. "I don't know what's going on. The questions help and I need to hear everything they have to say. It'll help me, I promise." He begs.

His mother whimpers, more tears cascading down her face, and turns to the officers.

"It m-might be o-okay. I couldn't k-keep, I couldn't keep anyth-thing from h-him anyway." She manages to get out.

The officers still look as if they are debating it before they both sigh simultaneously. They return to their seats and Officer Hikarume reaches for her notebook as Officer Tanaka scrubs a hand across his face.

"Izuku." Officer Tanaka addresses him. "Are we correct to assume that you are unaware of the events surrounding your disappearance?"

Izuku nods.

"And can you tell us what you remember happening instead?" He questions.

A second passes where Izuku debates telling the officers about the time travel. How he's from the future and how he doesn't know why, but he's back in the past. But the moment passes and Izuku takes a breath.

"Well after the sludge villain incident like I told you, I went home. And my life carried on like normal. I applied for the UA hero course and trained to get in when I wasn't at school." He explains, trying to recall his life from before without outright mentioning All Might. That's still an important secret, especially now when he suspects he isn't supposed to know it in this timeline.

Officer Tanaka frowns, deep in thought. "So life was just normal for you, up till today...?"

"Yes." Izuku agrees, relieved he doesn't have to lie for this one.

"And what about the phone call? The one to your mother. What made you compelled to call her?" He asks.

Might as well say the truth for this one too. "Today I woke up in the middle of the woods near here and I found it strange. I came back home and something seemed off, so I called my mom to find the answer."

He could hear Officer Hikarume furiously scribbling away on her notepad.

"The woods, eh? Could you tell us where? Would you recognize the exact spot?"

"Um they're the woods that stretch along the Sumida riverbank. I don't know the exact spot, sorry. I didn't really stick around there once I found out where I was."

Officer Tanaka smiles. "Of course. It's fine, that's more than enough." His expression turns a little more strained and his eyes stray down from Izuku's face. An awkward pause stretches and Izuku shifts uncomfortably.

"And the scars?" He asks a little hesitantly.

"Tanaka!" Officer Hikarume shouts, making Izuku jump. She then goes on to scold her partner, but Izuku tunes her out.

He clenches his fist, and realizes it feels just the same as always.

His eyes trail down to catalog himself. Same scars. Same muscles. And if he reaches for it, the same thrum of electricity of One For All rushing through his veins. Why didn't he notice that before? He's still the same, even if everything else is different. And isn't that peculiar?

The officers argue across the coffee table. Izuku's mom hasn't stopped crying and she doesn't look like she'll stop anytime soon. He's in a daze, too caught up with the implications. He still has One For All? He's still in his original body, despite being back in time? So it wasn't a transfer of consciousness, more so a complete removal of him from his timeline and thrust into another. Did that make this an alternate dimension? Would that mean there are two Izukus? After all, if he isn't currently inhabiting his younger body, doesn't that mean that his younger self is walking around somewhere? That's how time travel theoretically works, right? ...And that he isn't supposed to meet his younger self no matter what, isn't that a rule as well? But…wait a minute, does that mean his younger self is currently missing?!

Maybe he was too quick to assume that he wouldn't have another panic attack.

Thankfully Officer Hikarume interjects and snaps him out of it.

"Don't worry Izuku, you don't have to answer that. We'll be speaking with Ms. Midoriya now."

He wasn't quite following whatever they were talking about before, but he's a little too preoccupied to care if he's missed something. Everything seems a little far away, even the voices sound a little echo-y. Maybe he's dissociating? Is that better or worse than a panic attack? Or just a different form?

Through the disassociation, Izuku sees the officers say a few more words- maybe an attempt at further questioning?- before they stand and lead his mother into the kitchen. Izuku vaguely registers his mother's hand sliding out of his own. Their voices are hushed, but Izuku would be able to hear them if he wasn't so out of it. As it is, a few words break through for Izuku to focus on.

"...amnesia…"

"...possible kidnapping…"

"...villain…"

"...scars…"

"... hospital…"

And doesn't that paint a pretty picture? But, Izuku doesn't protest. They can draw whatever conclusions they want, he's going to figure this out one way or another. Maybe later he can reveal his circumstances, but not now. He doesn't think he has the energy to explain everything right now, especially with emotions running high and incomplete information.

What would his mother say anyway? If he told her her son was probably still missing, right when she got him back? Would she -or the officers- even believe him? Then again, what would he do if the other Izuku did come back? Or even worse, if he returned to his timeline as quickly as he'd come with no explanation? Would his mom think she had lost her son once again?

He doesn't even register his mother crossing the room until she kneels right in front of his face and takes his hands in hers again. The officers once again hover awkwardly in the background.

"Izuku," His mother sobs, shakily rubbing circles into his hands. "W-we're going to go- to go to the h-hospital and run a check up okay? Nothing b-bad, we just want to make sure- to make sure that you're okay, okay?"

The way she says it makes Izuku think that she expects him to disagree or bolt the first chance he gets. Which, he won't do, but it still clenches his gut with guilt anyway. Hopefully he doesn't get spirited away before he can explain things to her properly. He nods slowly, not trusting himself to speak and watches his mother release some tension even as tears continuously stream over her cheeks.

He stands and his mother releases one of his hands, but still holds the other in a death grip. She leads him to the door and they walk down the steps, the cold cutting through the cotton in Izuku's head, if only a little. The sun has risen completely now, and the walk to the police cruiser allows him and his mother to compose themselves somewhat.

They are ushered gently into the back seat, the cage separating them from the two officers in the front.

They pull away and Izuku puts all his effort into pushing down his anxiety. His mother swipes at her eyes and the only sounds are the hum of the engine and the occasional sniffle.

"I'm glad you're here Izuku." His mother eventually says, her voice breaking, and she offers him a watery smile. Her voice sounds so loud in the silence.

"I think you've grown an inch or two since I last saw you." She observes, one of her hands flattening his fluffy hair as if she can measure his height just from that. "No longer my little boy." Her eyes drift to the scars, obvious on his skin, but she doesn't comment on them. Izuku wonders if she's noticed the other things too. The obvious muscle gain, the aging of two years. Would that even show? He knows that she's trying to lighten the mood. She wants to focus on him being back, rather than the time he was away. He saw how she said "I'm glad you're here" rather than "I'm glad you're back", as if acknowledging it will make him disappear again.

Izuku feels the tears on his own cheeks and god, he wishes he would've gotten over that. But he looks at his mom and he knows that even though he never left, she still thinks he did, and it causes her more pain then Izuku could ever know.

"I'll always be your little boy, mom." He chokes out in a whisper, "And I'm not going anywhere. Not anymore. I promise." And he means it. Damn whatever mysterious force that brought him here in the first place. He won't let it take him away until he needs it to.

His mother's smile wobbles and he pulls her into a hug right as the sobs rush out of her mouth, wracking her whole body. It's ugly and messy, but Izuku doesn't mind. He owes her this much, he thinks.

If the officers look back on the scene through the rearview mirror with fondness, Izuku pretends he doesn't notice.