Chapter Text
The news of the infamous wreck of the Titanic made headlines. After almost 84 years the ship of dreams was once again on everyone’s lips. It’s historical and disastrous maiden voyage had never been forgotten and countless searches had been called to find the wreck only for it to have been found by chance. Once Titanic was discovered, historians and marine scientists flocked to the site to unearth its long-held secrets. This included renowned historian Hizashi Yamada, nicknamed Present Mic, who was on the hunt for Titanic’s greatest hidden treasure.
The Heart of the Ocean. A blue diamond necklace worth more than the Hope diamond said to have gone down with the ship during the sinking. Yamada had it on good authority that the necklace was still in the safe in its owner's first-class cabin hopefully still intact after all these years. To find it Lovett and his team commissioned the top-of-the-line deep sea Submarines and the latest remote control mechanical technology to scour the wreck and nearby seabed to search for the safe. They named it Scooter.
Yamada felt that today he and his crew were going to hit the big time. He could feel it in his bones. Much to his delight his intuition paid off. They managed to get the robot within the first-class deck where the safe was thought to be and they struck gold.
“Oh baby, baby! Are you seeing this boss!?” his colleague Keigo manning the robot grinned like a fool.
The other man grinned brightly, on the screen was the long-lost safe they had been searching for. “It’s payday boys”
The crew lifted the safe back up to the surface. It was met with cheers and champagne from the ecstatic crew. Weeks of hard work had finally paid off. The cheers only grew louder when the safe was brought up from the depths and placed safely onto the deck of the research ship.
Keigo, nicknamed Hawkes thanks to the wings on his back and his Hawklike vision, was the one to break out the buzzsaw to open up the safe. So sure they were of their success that they had agreed to have a camera crew on board to capture the moment.
Once the safe was able to be opened, Mic held the honour. Out gushed decades of much and filth from the bottom of the ocean. He reached inside finding soaked old American currency and a filth-covered file of some kind. Other than that, the safe was empty. No necklace inside much to his dismay.
“You know Mic, the same thing happened to Geraldo and his career never recovered” Hawkes commented
Mic glared at the camera in his face “Turn the camera off” he demanded much louder than he had intended. The lenses of the camera cracked due to his voice quirk.
--
“Look Hisashi, it’s not the end of the world. The necklace has got to be in there somewhere” his partner Aizawa stated “It could be anywhere in the wreckage. We knew it wouldn’t be likely we’d find it so soon”
Mic sighed with a grumble “I know that. I just... I really want this to happen. This will make all our careers if we find it” he then paused “What the...?” Mic whispered his eyes locked on the screen behind his partner.
His eyes widened and he leapt from his seat to where one of the conservationists was slowly and delicately wiping away decades of deep-sea filth from a piece of paper. It was what was on the paper that caught Mic’s attention. It was a detailed drawing of a young man lying on a sofa propped up with pillows. He was shockingly naked but that wasn’t what made Lovett stare in disbelief. The man in the drawing was wearing the necklace he had been searching for. At the bottom of the paper was a date. April 14 th 1912 with the initials BK beside it. A grin formed on his face. “I’ll be god dammed”
Back on dry land in a house nestled in sunny Tokyo, the television played the news story about Titanic in the background while the house’s occupants went about their day. A young woman was tidying up the room while an ageing old man was sitting in the attached sunroom reading the daily newspaper. The house was neatly cluttered from a life well lived and a life full of adventure which meant the live-in nurse had her work cut out for her. He turned the page to continue reading but stopped when the television caught his attention. He turned his head to look adjusting his glasses to see better.
“Mr Horikoshi?” the brown-haired nurse asked when he walked back into the room using his cane
“Turn it up dear” he asked pointing at the television. She did so just in time for Hisashi Yamada to tell the camera about their latest finds from the ship. He pulled the camera to see the picture that was being kept in a water solution to keep it preserved. “This was found in a safe from within Titanic and after 84 years it’s finally seen the light of day. Should this have stayed underwater forever? And just who was this young man? Well, I for one can certainly say that he must have been one hell of a character”
The old man stared at the screen in shock “I’ll be god damned”
Back on the ship, the crew were getting ready for another launch of the submarines when someone came up to Mic and said he had a call waiting for him. “We’re about to launch. Can't this wait?”
“Sir, you’re going to want to take this one” the crewman urged
Mic sighed “This better be good”
“You’ll have to speak up. He’s kind of old” the crewman explained as they walked to the satellite phone.
Mic picked up the phone “This is Hisashi Yamada, how can I help you Mr...”
“Horikoshi. Izuku Horikoshi” the crewman clarified
On the phone, Izuku spoke, “I was just wondering if you had found the Heart of the Ocean yet, Mr Yamada?”
That made Mic pause, glancing at his crewmate in surprise “Alright Sir, you have my attention. You know who the person in the picture is?”
“Oh yes. The young man in the picture is me” he answered with a small smile, his nurse Ochako staring at him in disbelief.
--
Present Mic had Izuku flown out to the research ship the following day. He was beyond elated. Not only had he found the identity of the person in the picture, but they were also still alive. He could hardly believe his luck. His crew were more sceptical. Especially when they looked into Izuku’s past from before and after Titanic sank.
“I’m telling you, he’s a liar” Hawkes pressed the issue “Some old man just looking for notoriety or money”
“They’re inbound!” a crewman shouted pointing at the helicopter coming in for landing.
Mic went to meet them while Hawks kept ranting “Izuku Midoriya died on the Titanic when he was seventeen. If he’d survived, he’d be over a hundred by now”
“A hundred and one next month” Mic answered
“Ok, so he’s a very old liar. Look, we’ve done a background check all the way back to the twenties when he worked as an actor. There’s your first clue, Sherlock. An Actor. He went by Izuku Bakugo back then. Then he moves from the States to Tokyo where he changes his name to Horikoshi where he adopts a bunch of kids”
Mic sighed “Well anyone who should know about the necklace is either dead or on this boat, but he knows!”
The helicopter landed soundly and the crew went to help the old man down. Though he could still walk it was easier in unfamiliar terrain to use his wheelchair. He was carried onto the deck while his nurse carried one of his bags.
“He doesn’t travel light, does he?” Aizawa commented seeing just how many suitcases were being brought out of the chopper. Before Mic could conduct his interview Izuku was taken to one of the staterooms on the ship to unpack first. He brought with him dozens of framed photos which were placed on the dresser.
“How are you settling in?” the blonde asked at the door
Izuku smiled, crow's feet tightening around his eyes “Very comfortable, thank you. This is my nurse Ochako Uraraka. She helps take care of me”
The much younger brunette smiled “We met a few minutes ago” in her hands, one of the photo frames began to float “Oh shoot, not again!” she gasped grabbing the photo before it hit the ceiling. “Sorry about that. I promise I won’t touch any of the equipment”
“Don’t worry about it. All the important stuff on this ship if Quirk proof so there’s no need to worry” he glanced at Izuku “Can we get you anything? Is there anything you would like?”
The man with greyed green hair nodded “Yes. I would like to see my drawing”
He was soon taken to the room where the picture was being kept along with other items recovered from the ship. The picture was submerged in water to keep it preserved as the sea had done for decades. Seeing it in person, Izuku was overcome with a wave of memories. Seeing his much younger self staring back at him. He could remember that moment clear as day. Pencil gliding over paper. Ruby red eyes took in his form as he drew.
Izuku was brought out of his memories when Mic started to talk “Louis XVII wore a fabulous stone that was called the Blue diamond of the crown which disappeared in 1793. Around the time Louis’s head disappeared from his neck. Rumour has it the stone was cut up and one piece was created into the acclaimed Heart of the Ocean”
The old man sighed “It was a dreadful, heavy thing. I only wore it this once”
“You really think this is you, Mr Horikoshi?”
He looked a little offended “Of course it’s me. Do I look that old?”
“I tracked it down through insurance records. An old claim that was settled under terms of absolute secrecy. Can you tell me who the claimant was, Izuku?” asked Present Mic
Izuku hummed “I believe it should be someone named Shigaraki”
Mic grinned “That’s right, the Shigaraki family. Japanese steel tycoons that made their fortune in the US. The claimant was for a diamond necklace for the youngest son Tomura Shigaraki bought for his fiancé. You. A week before Titanic set sail and it was filed right after the sinking. So, the diamond had to have gone down with the ship. See the date?” he pointed to the picture
Ochako looked at it “April 14 th 1912” she read aloud
“If your employer is who he says he is, then he was wearing the necklace the day of the sinking” Hawkes told her
Mic grinned again “Which makes him my new best friend”
Afterwards, Izuku was shown the items salvaged from the wreckage. Some were from the very room the safe was located in. They were items Izuku had once owned. Trinkets from a life long ago. After that, Hawkes brought him to a television screen which played a computerised retelling of the sinking.
Izuku took a moment to respond after Hawkes was done explaining how the ship met her end “Thank you for that fine forensic analysis, Mr Keigo. Of course, the experience was... somewhat different”
“Will you share it with us?” Aizawa asked after staying quiet for so long
Izuku suddenly rose from his wheelchair and walked slowly to one of the many monitors. Recordings of the inside of the ship deep below them. The elderly man suddenly let out a sudden sob as a wave of emotion hit him hard. Ochako tried to urge him back to his room to rest but Izuku wasn’t having it.
Present Mic had a recorder out ready for when Izuku sat back down “Are you ready to go back to Titanic?”
The elderly man, now truly feeling his age, nodded “It’s been eighty-four years... and I can still smell the fresh paint” he mused “The china had never been used. The beds had never been slept in. Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams. And it was. It really was...”