Bakugo couldn't sleep.
For the third night in a row, he woke up gasping.
That face.Midoriya's face.Right before the villain attacked.
Not scared. Not confused.
Just... cold.
Like he knew what was coming.
The school was quiet the next morning.
Too quiet.
Even the usual class clown didn't speak. Something hung in the air. Heavy. Like stormclouds.
And Midoriya?
Absent.
Again.
Elsewhere—
Izuku stood inside a public library in Hosu.
Not for books.
For the data terminals.
A burner laptop rested on his lap.Black screen. Password locked.One connection line running through six proxies.
Encrypted deep inside:Timeline Logs.
Memories. Events. Deaths.
He updated a new branch:
ERI-SAVED-EARLY (ALPHA01)→ Chisaki destabilized→ Shie Hassaikai loses funding early→ Stain's capture delayed
And then—
Something pinged.
Unauthorized surveillance detected.
Someone tried to trace his location.
He froze.
Pulled the plug.
Wiped the cache.
Gone in seconds.
But the damage was done.
Chisaki sat in front of six monitors.
None of them showed Izuku's face.
Just fragments. Shadows.
But the patterns?
The access codes?
They were U.A. level.
"This ghost knows too much," he hissed.
The assistant trembled. "Sir, what if he's a pro hero in disguise?"
"No. He's a child."
A pause.
"But not from here."
That night, Izuku returned to the clinic.
Eri was sleeping now.
Peaceful. Finally.
He sat beside her door.
Didn't say a word.
Just stared at the notebook in his hand.
He flipped it open.
A single phrase stared back:
"You can't save them all."
He crossed it out.
Wrote:
"You can if you start early enough."
Meanwhile—
Bakugo opened Midoriya's old seat locker.
It creaked.
Empty… except for a single page.
Torn. Folded.
His name was on the top in sharp letters:
"KATSUKI BAKUGO – OBSERVATION REPORT (PRE-QUIRK BLOOM)"
He froze.
Unfolded it.
Inside—
Dozens of notes.
About him.
Fight habits. Emotional triggers. Early trauma events. Growth rate projections.
And at the bottom:
"Explosive output projected to double during Month 16 of First Year. Critical decision point: hero or villain path."
Bakugo's heart stopped.
What the hell was this?
At the same moment, Aizawa got a message.
Unmarked. Direct.
Just one video clip.
Surveillance footage.
A memory.
Of a future event that hadn't happened yet.
Inside it—Bakugo on the ground.Bleeding. Screaming.
And standing over him?
All For One.
Aizawa's grip tightened.
His phone cracked in his hand.
The next day, Bakugo cornered him.
"Where's Midoriya?"
"I can't say."
"Bullshit."
A pause.
Aizawa's tired eyes narrowed.
"You think he's dangerous?"
Bakugo didn't blink.
"I think he's hiding something big. Bigger than all of us."
And then—
The announcement hit.
UA's internal servers had been breached.
Twice.
Once from outside.
Once… from inside.
Students weren't told everything.
But a few noticed the lockdown codes. The restricted files.
One girl whispered—
"They're looking for a ghost."
Back in his room, Izuku opened a message.
Encrypted. Anonymous.
"They're onto you. Get out."
He smiled.
And typed back.
"Let them come. I'm done hiding."
In the next room, Eri clutched the stuffed bunny tighter.
Tears leaking from her shut eyes.
Her dreams were silent.
But her Quirk wasn't.
The horn on her head shimmered—
Pale red light.
Something cracked in the air.
And across the city…
Stain opened his eyes in prison.
End of Chapter 8