12:03 a.m.An abandoned amusement park on the edge of Tokyo.
Dark. Flooded. Forgotten.
A perfect place to stage a lie.
Izuku adjusted the comms in his ear.Rain dripped from rusted rides.Bakugo crouched atop a derailed coaster, eyes scanning the park.
Below, the first blast shook the air.
Just enough to make it real.
"Stage One: Begin the mock attack."
Bakugo nodded.
"Copy that."
His gauntlet fired.Sparks and smoke erupted across the sky.Spotlights from drone cameras flicked on—courtesy of Hatsume.
News channels would eat it up by morning:
"Villain Raid Detected in Old Amusement Zone—Child Escapes Into Chaos!"
Exactly what they needed.
Eri, the runaway.
Hunted again.
But this time—on purpose.
Inside a fake villain van, Eri hugged her bunny.
She was calm.
Too calm.
"Will it hurt them?"
"No," Izuku said. "No real villains here. Just the story we feed them."
Eri blinked.
"Do I still have to cry?"
He hesitated.
"…Yes."
She nodded and started practicing.
Tears on command.
Just like she was taught.
Back then.
Izuku looked away.
Guilt creeping again.
Then—an alarm beeped.
Bakugo's voice snapped in his ear.
"Midoriya. Something's wrong."
"What?"
"There's another signal. Third party entering the park."
"How many?"
"One."
Izuku stiffened.
Stain dropped beside him from the rooftops.
"Trouble?"
"Unknown."
Then—silence.
For a full twenty seconds, nothing.
Not a sound.
Not even the wind.
Then…
Eri screamed.
Izuku ran.
Faster than before.
His feet burned against the wet metal of the rides.
He crashed through a carousel—
And stopped.
A girl stood in the middle of the ride.
Not Eri.
But—exactly like her.
White hair. Pale skin.A bunny doll in hand.But no fear in her eyes.
Only—
Hate.
"Who are you?" Izuku asked.
She tilted her head.
Her horn pulsed crimson.
"I'm Eri," she said.
"No… you're not."
"You're the version they wanted."
She smiled.
Cold. Unnatural.
"Then maybe they should've kept me."
The clone moved first.
A blink of motion.Izuku barely dodged.The ground behind him twisted—Not broken.
Rewritten.
A piece of time reversed—just a few seconds—just enough to undo his footing.
He stumbled.
The clone advanced again.
Bakugo dropped from the sky—
Boom.
Explosion lit the world.Smoke swallowed her.
But when it cleared—
She was still standing.
Horn glowing. Skin burning but regenerating.
"She has my blood," Eri whispered behind a crate.
Stain pulled her back to safety.
"She's not you," he said.
"She's everything I used to be," she replied.
"And that means…"
She stepped forward.
Alone.
The clone turned at the sound of her footsteps.
Two Eris.
Same face.
Same heart.
But different eyes.
"You should not exist," the clone said.
"Neither should you," Eri whispered.
Their horns flared.
Time warped.
Izuku screamed—
"Stop!"
But they didn't.
In a single second—
They clashed.
A flash of light.
Reality cracked.
When it ended—
Eri collapsed.
The clone… gone.
Vanished.
But not destroyed.
Banished.
Somewhere in time.
Anywhere.
Stain caught Eri before she hit the ground.
Blood dripped from her nose.
Horn flickering.
Bakugo ran to Izuku, yelling.
"What was that?!"
Izuku was pale.
"Temporal compression. She didn't erase her. She folded her into a moment outside time."
Bakugo stared.
"That even possible?"
"No."
Izuku swallowed hard.
"But she did it."
That night, in a hidden lab—
Chisaki raged.
Smashed the monitor.
The scientist stammered.
"She wasn't supposed to resist. She was perfect."
"No," Chisaki hissed.
"She's not perfect."
"She's Eri."
End of Chapter 13