Chapter Text
Izumi had been having head-splitting migraines for days and bouts of uncontrollable anger. At times, her eyes would flicker from emerald green to teal and gold. Everything came to a head when, at the beginning of her last year of Junior High, her childhood friend turned ‘bully’ told her to jump off a building so she could get a quirk in another life. She could see he instantly regretted his words, but the person inside her head did not. Her eye color flickered teal and gold, but this time, they stayed that way, not that he noticed.
The voice in her head was yelling now, “You can’t win if you don’t fight. Fight. FIGHT!” Izumi winced and covered her ears, backing away from Bakugou.
“Get away from me.” She said softly, and Bakugou growled.
“What the hell did you say to me, Nerd?” Her head shot up, locking her eyes with his and she saw him flinch away from the different colors.
“He’s going to try and kill you for hurting me, you need to get away!” She shrieked. His scowl deepened, but she could tell he was concerned.
“Who is?”
“I don’t know! He’s been talking in my head for days. He’s yelling at me to fight. You need to leave. I don’t want you to die, Katsuki.”
“Izumi, what is he going to do?” His voice was soft. And he only called her by her name when there were no students or teachers around. She groaned in pain and her eyes began to glow.
“He will take control and transform into the Attack Titan. It’s over 15 meters tall and he won’t stop until you're dead. He doesn’t understand. Leave, now!” She fell to her knees, her hands gripping her hair. She heard the door shut and she was alone.
“Why did you do that?” His voice sounded like he was right in front of her. She opened her eyes and found herself kneeling in pure white sand that was soft beneath her skin. She looked up and found that the sky was glowing, with trails of blue-ish-white lights everywhere. He cleared his throat and Izumi turned and looked at him. He stood at a height of 6 feet, his hair was pulled back into a messy bun at the back of his head. He had the same teal and gold eyes that she did, and he had what looked like scars under his eyes, the lines going from under his eyes to the top of his cheekbones.
“What?” She whispered. He crouched in front of her, his expression stern.
“Why did you save him? He deserves to die.” Izumi shook her head.
“No one deserves to die. He’s doing it to protect me.” He scowled at her.
“You are too naive,” He muttered softly. “You will learn eventually,” Izumi growled at him.
“No, I’m not. I know the world is bad, but he is my only friend. He is acting like a bully to keep me from being harmed by other students. We came up with the plan together years ago. He is not the enemy here, Eren.” She said firmly before she paused. “Wait, how do I know your name?” She muttered softly.
“We’re in the paths. You have all sorts of knowledge at the tips of your fingers here. You were going to find out my name sooner or later. But enough of this. You need to wake up. You’ve been taken to the hospital because you haven’t woken up.” He turned away from her.
“Wait. How long have you been here?” She asked, and he turned slightly to look at her over his shoulder.
“All your life.” He walked into the light and disappeared and Izumi closed her eyes and when she opened them again, all she could see was the bright white ceiling of a hospital room and she groaned in pain, closing her eyes and turning her head away.
“Izumi?” She cracked her eyes open and found her father staring at her.
“Daddy? What happened?” She croaked, her throat extremely dry for some reason. He grabbed a cup with a straw and put it up to her lips, letting her drink.
“Katsuki came running from the school, saying that something was happening to you and you needed me. We found you unconscious on the floor of your classroom, with marks under your eyes. You kept muttering in your sleep, something about punishments and how you weren’t naive. What happened?” he asked softly, sitting on the edge of her bed.
“I think I actually have a quirk. Because he said he’s been in my head for all my life, but only now was he able to make contact.”
“Who?” her dad asked, smoothing a hand over her head.
“His name is Eren. And he was yelling in my head about killing Katsuki for supposedly hurting and bullying me. I told Katsuki to leave because I didn’t know what he would do. He pulled me into my mind and talked to me. I-I don’t know what to do, daddy. I’m scared.” She cried, tears running from her eyes, that her father noticed weren’t her usual color.
“Your eyes. Are they the same as his?” She nodded. He sighed. “I hoped this wouldn’t happen. But this could turn out to be a good thing. I know who he is.” Izumi felt Eren come closer to the forefront, listening intently.
“Do you remember all those stories I used to tell you and Katsuki when your mother wasn’t around before she died?”
“The ones about titans and the flying soldiers?” he nodded. “Yeah?”
“Well, those stories were real. They actually happened. We have books from someone from that time.” Izumi’s eyes widened.
“Really? That’s insane that those things actually existed. Wait, so the man in my head is Eren Jaeger? The one who started the war?” her father nodded. And Izumi scowled.
“Punish him, huh Eren? You’re one to talk.” She said and he grumbled as her father gave her a startled look.
“Is he listening?” She nodded. “Eren, you need to listen to me. You need to protect Izumi without killing people. Things aren’t like they were back then, there is no Paradis vs. Marley. Just Heroes vs. Villains. Your powers can be used for good. To save people. Please, trust us. Trust in Izumi’s heart.” She could hear Eren sigh in the back of her mind and agree.
“He said he would.” Her father sighed.
“Good. Now, once you’re released, we’ll go home and make food. Then we’ll work with Eren on your powers.” Izumi nodded and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“I’ll go find a nurse and get you discharged.” He slipped out of the room and Izumi laid back in the bed. She felt Eren prodding her consciousness, trying to get her attention, but she tried to ignore him until she finally snapped.
“What Eren?!” She could feel his guilt like a bullet piercing her heart and she sighed. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. What did you want, Eren?” She asked softly.
“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. It just reminded me of back in my time. No one would do anything for fear of death, and you just taking his hits pissed me off. I hated being weak once, this was kind of the final straw.”
“I accept your apology Eren. Maybe you can teach me how to defend myself?” He hummed in answer before his presence moved away. Izumi sat up and pulled the hospital blanket away. Luckily, she was still wearing her uniform and didn’t have to wear a hospital gown. She stood and slipped her shoes on before she sat at the end of the bed. Once her father came back, she stood and grabbed her backpack from him before she followed him out, happy to leave.
They walked to their apartment, talking as they went. Once there, Izumi went to her room and grabbed one of her unused notebooks. She left her room and went down to the kitchen and sat at the table and began writing in the book, making sketches as she went. Her father slid a bowl of Katsudon in front of her, gently closing her notebook. She gave him a small smile and began eating. Once she was done, she went back to drawing in the notebook, adding smaller details to Eren’s face. After her father was done eating, the two of them moved to the living room.
“First things first, Izumi. I want you to go back to the paths, and try and make a deep connection with Eren. Maybe even meet one of the others. I want you to learn as much as possible about your powers before you use them. Maybe learn about the ODM gear from one of the soldiers. Take as long as you need.” Izumi nodded and sat down on the couch, so if she went through the night, she would be comfortable. She closed her eyes and let her consciousness follow the tie between herself and Eren and the paths.