Shouta moved silently among the shadows. He doubted anyone was following him after all the doubling back he had done but it didn't hurt to be careful. He jumped off the ledge and landed ungracefully in the street, still not comfortable with his prosthetic. A quick glance at his surroundings revealed delipidated buildings and dirty abandoned streets. The nomu attack last week had encouraged anyone alive to evacuate. There was a very small chance that his acquaintance still lived in his old hideout, but he had to atleast try.

Two streets later, Shouta was standing in front of a nondescript warehouse that he had not seen in five years. He moved to enter just as pain shot through his right leg- the one that wasn't even there anymore. It took him by surprise. He had been handling and ignoring pain for a long time, but phantom pain was a bitch.

"Fuck. Useless." He swore, his hand moving to massage the prosthetic, the action doing little to relieve his agony. He grit his teeth and pushed open the door, revealing nothing but darkness. He switched on his flashlight and walked inside, limping slightly.

He had taken two steps inside when a voice echoed in the dark, "Eraserhead. Never thought I'll see you again."

Instinctively pointing his flashlight towards the source revealed a middle aged man with a boyish face and balding head.

"Neither did I. But desperate times call for desperate measures, Akito." He replied.

He remembered Midoriya being brought back to UA by his classmates last week. How Uraraka had to fight and beg the civilians just for a chance for the Problem Child to rest after dealing with villians without any break. How all his first years had to grow to take up the responsibility and trauma of fully fledged pros. He remembered their grim faces, ready to fight till their last breath but also their quite acceptance that it might not be enough.

Yes, these were desperate times indeed.

"Is that so?" Akito asked. "Are you here to cash in your favour then?"

"I am." Shouta affirmed. "I need to go back three years."

"That's impossible. My limit is two weeks."

"I've brought 30 doses of trigger with me." The hero revealed. Being involved in that fucked up mission last year was good for atleast one thing.

"That much trigger would kill me 2 times over." Akito protested.

"You are going to die soon anyway if nothing is changed. You can't hide in here forever. You will either pretend to be quirkless or someone with an invisible quirk, both of which are death sentences in the regime of the Paranormal Liberation Army. Or maybe you'll reveal your quirk and All For One would snatch it up from you faster than candy from a baby." Shouta flippantly remarked. "Your best chance would be to corporate with me. I'll fix this mess in the past and your younger self will live on in this shitty hideout for the rest of his miserable life."

He knew it was a gamble. Akito was like a slippery critter, a survivalist above all else. Killing himself just to give a chance to his younger self might not sit right with his survival instincts.

"You're blackmailing me then?"  Akito scowled. "Either I help you or you'll expose my quirk to All for One? What happened to your word to keep it a secret? I never should have trusted you.

Shouta couldn't help but snort. "I'm not going to tell All for One about you. I doubt I'll even be alive much longer of things go on like this. This is only logical. He'll ruling Japan soon enough. He would scour the island for quirks he wants in his arsenal or quirks which could be potentially used against him."

"This is it, then? You're admitting defeat? You don't think that the Heroes are going to defeat him?"

Shouta observed the subtle trembling of Akito's hands as he answered, "I'm not naive. The government is essentially in ruins, the borders are closed with no hope of international help. The handful of Heroes left in Japan are not going to be able to do much."

"What do you there won't be help coming? What about America? They always meddle everywhere?" Akito asked, on the verge of panicking.

Good.

Shouta raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you heard? All for One killed Star and Stripe. They are not going to send anyone else after their number one hero was killed here."

Akito gulped, indecision evident in his eyes.

"I'll get you out of the country when I get back. Your life wouldn't have to depend on my success or failure to fix this mess. You have my word. You know I haven't broken it yet." Shouta dangled the carrot.

"I need some time to think." The reply was frustrating, but atleast it wasn't outright denial.

"We don't have any time." Shouta growled. "I wouldn't have come here if we did." It was a bit risky to push but Shouta knew that risks were a requirement if you wanted a great reward. He could see that the man was ready to break.

And snap.

"6 months." Akito bargained.

Shouta narrowed his eyes. "That isn't anywhere near enough. 2 year." He countered.

"I'm not going to kill myself for some alternate timeline. 9 months. That's my final offer."

"1 year and I'll have Recovery Girl heal you."

"Done." As expected. Not that it would help him much. Recovery Girl's healing didn't do much against quirk overuse. Shouta wasn't going to tell him though. As he had told Akito ' desperate times called for desperate measures.'