Road to Nowhere

Fanfiction
Title:	Road to Nowhere
Author(s):	Aerugonian
Date(s):	Published: April 23, 2020 Updated: July 18, 2022
Length:	67330 (14 chapters)
Genre(s):	Action, Superhero
Fandom(s):	BNHA, Naruto
Relationship(s):
External Links:	AO3, Backup link
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Road to Nowhere is a BNHA and Naruto crossover fanfiction by Aerugonian in which Hatake Kakashi is reborn as Shinsou Hitoshi. It's a popular fic that has attracted an active fan community and a discord server.

Summary

Hitoshi knows there's something wrong with himself before he's even old enough to have a sense of self. He looks at his reflection and knows that the infant looking back at him isn't what he should be seeing.

His dreams are a maelstrom of grief and fear, his mind overwhelmed with a lifetime of emotions his brain isn't developed enough to comprehend. There's an ingrained instinct blaring that everything is wrong wrong wrong.

--

In which Hatake Kakashi is reincarnated as Shinsou Hitoshi, and he wants nothing to do with this world's so-called "heroes."

Hatake Kakashi from Naruto is reincarnated into Shinsou Hitoshi from Boku no Hero Academia. This Hatake Kakashi having recently died to Pain's attack on Konohagakure. The story follows him as he adjusts to life without chakra, new technology, and a society with different rules and ideologies, and then causing several butterfly effects to happen. The story is currently in the U.A. Sports Festival Arc[1] of BNHA.

The status of the story is Ongoing.

Plot

The story generally follows BNHA's canon timeline but with minor to major alterations in accordance to Hitoshi's actions. The main story is split into 3 parts: Pre-U.A. Arc (Chapters 1–7), USJ Arc (Chapters 8–12), U.A. Sports Festival Arc (Chapters 13–14).

Pre-U.A. Arc

Follows Hitoshi as he adjusts and adapts to his new body and new environment. After killing a villain in elementary school, he is sent to a child guidance center, but soon turns to vigilantism. He is then discovered by Aizawa Shouta and adopted. Later, he is convinced by Aizawa and his husband Yamada Hizashi to try U.A. High School's[2] recommendation exam[3].

USJ Arc

Hitoshi is now enrolled in U.A.'s class 1-A[4], replacing Mineta Minoru[5]. He passes the ball test, and uses the infiltration event to break into the teacher's lockers. He then discovers that someone has looked through the plans for class 1-A's itinerary, and informs Aizawa. The USJ outing is delayed and the attack does not occur. After that, the training trip is rescheduled.

U.A. Sports Festival Arc

Hitoshi participates in the Sports Festival with his class. Midway, the League of Villains[6] attacks. In the aftermath, Aizawa is severely injured and Hitoshi reveals his Sharingan's[7] abilities to Yamada.

Canon Divergences

One of the key elements of Road to Nowhere is it's unique alterations to BNHA's canon plot.

Reincarnation

Hatake Kakashi reincarnating into Shinsou Hitoshi and replacing the original Hitoshi is the first change, and the catalyst of all alterations following.

Villain Attack

A villain attack that might not have happened originally occurs on Hitoshi's elementary school. Hitoshi uses a chair leg to stab through the villain and kills him.

Child Guidance Center

Hitoshi is sent to a child guidance center after killing the villain, and is forced to wear a muzzle. As the original Hitoshi's full backstory is still unrevealed, it is unclear if the original Hitoshi has had similar experiences.

Vigilantism

Hitoshi starts going out as a vigilante after arriving at the child guidance centre, a route unconfirmed but likely did not happen in canon.

Adoption

Hitoshi is adopted by Aizawa Shouta and Yamada Hizashi after being discovered as a vigilante.

Erasermic marriage

Erasermic is not confirmed canon, but in Road to Nowhere Aerugonian explicitly states that they are married and living together.

Recommendation exam

Instead of the normal entrance exam, Hitoshi participates in U.A.'s recommendation exams instead. He passes.

Course and class change

Instead of the General Studies course, Hitoshi is enrolled in the Heroics course's class 1-A.

Infiltration event

Hitoshi does not stay in the cafeteria or run away like other students, but instead sneaks to the teachers' lockers, thus discovering signs of possible enemy espionage and sabotage. He informs Aizawa, who reschedules the USJ training event.

USJ

Class 1-A's training trip to USJ is rescheduled, and the League of Villains fail in ambushing All Might. They do go on a training trip later on, without outside interference.

Sports Festival

The Sports Festival is held as usual, with Hitoshi participating as a Heroics course student. Midway, the League of Villains attack. Hitoshi then interrogates a villain and incapitates a Noumu[8] using his Sharingan.

Original Characters

Road to Nowhere utilizes various original characters to enhance the story, often in places where canon material is not forthcoming. These include (in order of appearance):

1. Shinsou Kasumi, Hitoshi's biological mother. She has a quirk that can disrupt the thoughts of people around her with her voice, although this is speculation on Hitoshi's part. She appears terrified of Hitoshi, avoiding him if possible.
2. Shinsou Yoichi, Hitoshi's biological father. He has a quirk that allows him to alter the emotional state of anyone within a certain radius to himself. Hitoshi estimates that radius to be three meters, and that it works by manipulating the body's hormonal balance. He is easily angered and abuses his quirk on Hitoshi.
3. Sakurai, the head teacher of Hitoshi's elementary school karate club. He does not seem to care about Hitoshi's quirk. Hitoshi considers him a good teacher.
4. Matsuda, a police officer who interviews Hitoshi after he kills a villain. He is convinced that Hitoshi used brainwashing to kill the villain.
5. Inugenium, a dog owned by Iida Tensei [9].

Fandom

The protagonist is often referred to as "Katoshi" by fans when discussing the fic, the nickname being a combination of "Kakashi" and "Hitoshi".

The fic has inspired an active recursive fandom, which some compare to Dreaming of Sunshine.

Inspired Fanworks

Fanfiction

• Works inspired by Road to Nowhere on AO3
• Road To Nowhere Extended Universe, ^{Archived version}, AO3 collection for recursive fanfic set in the RtN universe

Art

• he lives in my head rent free. katoshi king…, ^{Archived version} by groovedcorner, 2020
• fanart!!!!!!! for @aerugonian !!!!!!!! and their AMAZING fanfic "Road to Nowhere" on ao3!!!!!!! 🤍🖤♥️🤍🖤♥️ by frankencanon, 2020
• .......Idk why but this is how my brain thinks Katoshi’s meeting with Kaminari will go fancomic by eggs-and-dragonflies, 2020
• dies animation by groovedcorner, 2020
• they put it on the fridge, ^{Archived version} by hogbogglerspirits, 2022

See also

• Aerugonian's tumblr tag for the fic