Timeloop Trouble

Chapter 51 - The Applications of One For All

It took another year for Izuku to be let in on the whole time alteration thing that was going on. He was honestly surprised his disguise hadn't failed him at this point, but then again, the quirk had altered his appearance permanently so everything looked natural enough. That and he let his hair grow out a little more, playing into the whole Aizawa aspect of his new persona. It didn't really matter how it happened, really, because Kohaku was driving him to Jikan's headquarters right then and there.

They'd talked about time manipulation a week before, about keeping things as they are. Because if you could, would you change things? Would you want to keep certain aspects the same? Forever. Like an ageless certainty, something that will always be and continue to be. Something like, say, the symbol of peace, for example? Izuku had told her as much, not even waiting for her to mention All Might. And that must've been the final push, the thing that convinced her that he was trustworthy enough to be let in on this big secret.

Of course Shouta knew where he was going, as did All Might and Kacchan and probably all the others, too. Yeah, there were others now. Kacchan hated sitting still and dwindling with his thumbs while waiting for someone else to solve shit, so after the police investigation ended he'd made it his mission to get the Assembly back together. A mission with a relatively high success rate at this point, Izuku had to admit. Of course he went and screamed at Shoto first thing, he was an easy one. Then he went down his friend list, enlisting the Bakusquad in his little scheme as well. By now they had about half their original class, which was more than Izuku had hoped for.

"We're almost there!" Kohaku smiled as she turned into a small street, barely wide enough to fit the car. She hadn't told Izuku where they were going, but Izuku didn't need to guess. He knew she was bringing him to Jikan, it's what she'd been hinting at for an entire week prior to this. "Are you excited?"

"It would help if you told me where we were going," Izuku commented, flinching when the car mirror on his side almost hit a lamp post. Kohaku sensei wasn't the safest driver, that's for sure. "All you told me is that you found a way to extend All Might's hero career even when he gets older."

"And that information doesn't excite you?" she asked. "You should be thrilled! Having a chance to keep All Might at his prime- It's the same as saving the world!"

Izuku had met people who claimed they alone could save the world. He'd heard detailed and not so detailed plans about 'saving' everyone. One of those plans was the extermination of quirks, killing 80% of the world's population. So yeah, Izuku was a bit skeptical when he heard people talk about saving the entire world from whatever evil they had in mind.

"I mean, it sounds cool and all, but I just... I don't really know what to expect? I mean, how can you extend someone's hero career when their bodies are refusing?" Izuku asked. "It almost sounds like you wanna make All Might immortal."

Izuku's eyes widened when a grin stretched across Kohaku's face. Oh no... Why didn't he think of that before?! Of course that had to be the end goal! Returning All Might to his prime was just a step to get there! Because why go through all this trouble to get just a few more years of peace? Why not try and make it last forever? But immortality... Even All For One had never succeeded in achieving the impossible. Living creatures cannot outrun death, no matter how hard they try. Then again, the members of Jikan were a delusional bunch.

"For real?" he gasped. "You... You found a way to make someone immortal?! But that's-"

"Impossible?" she finished, still grinning. "Wait till you see it for yourself, Ikyu. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the things we've accomplished and hurdles we had to overcome to get it."

Izuku had gotten time to get used to his new name, but it still sounded weird when she said it like that. As if she knew it wasn't who he really was, as if she knew he was hiding something. Izuku had never been sure whether any of this was sincere or not. For all he knew, she'd seen through his disguise day one and decided to see how far she could push it before he retaliated. Then again, there had been no signs she knew, just Izuku's paranoid brain making up theories and seeing things that probably weren't there. That's what Kacchan had said, anyway.