On a slight hill, a house stood, smoke curling out of the chimney. It resembled a clump of mushrooms with white stalks and red tops. The windows were circular, and the door was made of wood. Stone steps with wooden fences lead up to the painted door. A birdhouse was positioned to the right of the house, finishing the homely feel of the place.

The place was isolated, an island in the midst of trees. For two people, it was a big house.

The first person, a mother, was short with straight green shoulder-length hair and eyes. She was on the chubby side. Her son had the exact same shade of hair and eyes, and freckles were visible on the pale of his skin. No amount of combing could ever tame his curly hair, and so he ended up looking like a broccoli. He was also relatively short, though not fat.

The 14 year old stood in the hallway of their house, doing his last-minute checks. He was not coming back for a long while. Satisfied, he pushed on the door and burst out of the building, waving goodbye to his very anxious mother.

He wore a green coat that complimented his eyes and had a scabbard at his side. Slung over his shoulder, his bag was a comfortable brown. A white long-sleeve shirt was underneath his coat and a similar colour of gloves were on his hands. His trusty red trainers sat on his feet, as snug as his gloves.

He kissed his mother on the cheek and walked down the steps and stood on the base of the 'hill', then turned.

"Bye mum!" He called, waving frantically.

"Bye, Izuku, baby!" She called back, waving like her son's life depended on it.

Every so often, after walking a few metres, he'd twist his upper body, wave and shout. Still at the door, Inko, his mother, would wave and shout also. This continued until he was out of sight and lost in the encompassing woods. Inko didn't stop waving until the sun went down and it was cold, barely noticing her empty stomach complaining.

With the trees concealing him from the sun, Izuku maintained his steady pace for most of the day, stopping only to eat a few of the hundreds of sandwiches he had. At night, he made a fire and slept in his green sleeping bag, looking like an oversized caterpillar with broccoli for a head. His first night was relatively easy, though he knew he was definitely not out of the woods yet. Literally and figuratively. (Ha ha ha, I'm so funny).

In the morning, his alarm clock – a large action figure of a man whose muscles had muscles – woke him. It also scared away his food, meaning Izuku's breakfast was sandwiches. As was lunch and dinner.

While the sun set on yet another beautifully calm day, a troll appeared. Trolls normally lived in a place that could offer plenty of shade and food. Bridges were a prime example, with enough tasty humans to last a lifetime. This one had probably had a whiff of Izuku's scent and come running, like a very hungry sniffer dog.

Izuku acted on instinct. He unseated his sword and ran at the vaguely humanoid creature, too fast for it to react. He jumped, but stopped just before he cleaved it in half. The troll took this opportunity to grab him and fling him to the ground. Izuku knew he would have bruises the next day. Picking himself up, he dodged the incoming hammerfist and scanned for the quickest escape route, making a break for it a soon as possible.

Throughout the next day, various creatures attacked him, though he never stood and fought. Running was the best option. As the trees thinned out and a meandering path was visible, the amount of animals he had to deal with grew and grew.

At least, he knew he was heading in the right direction.

Deciding to make himself comfortable in a tree this time, he made sure he was secure and not able to fall off. Even if a tree was free from most hungry animals, it still had its own dangers. The night passed without incident.

Waking up, he decided that he was no longer going to attempt to sleep in a tree; the height made him restless, and his alarm beeping at every hour was not helping. Izuku almost slipped here and there getting off the tree.

Due his morning dizziness, Izuku stumbled around like a drunk. Standing patiently, the mighty warrior, called the rock in the West, faced him. Izuku didn't know what was coming. Assigned to guarding the road, it used its powers to trip the unsuspecting traveller, Izuku, over and make him fall flat on his face. Job well done.

Snapped back into sanity, Izuku noticed his possessions strewn on the path around him. Morning carelessness was a horrible thing- it could end your life, though in this case, Izuku's USA coloured alarm clock was broken. Izuku's face stayed in the mud as he mourned the loss of his trusty companion.

"Are you okay?" A friendly female voice asked him.

He looked up, only to find a pretty face the same age as him staring at him, hand stretched toward him. He proceeded to hastily pull up himself up into a presentable position, forgetting about his alarm clock. He ended up sitting on one of the broken shards, and it stung. A reminder to never forget his friend that sacrificed its life for the sake of Izuku's perilous journey. He would beg for forgiveness later, though, he had more pressing matters at hand.

"I-I'm fine thanks. I'm sorry for getting in your way." He replied, hanging on, with just his fingertips, to his few social skills.

"No need to apologise, boy with messy hair. Only bad things can hinder your path, and, I can tell, you are not one of them. It is against a knight's code of conduct to accuse the citizens of our kingdom, and by doing so, I would no longer be a knight, God forbid that."

This was all said by a taller teenager, who looked to be around the same age as Izuku, like the girl. He was smiling down at Izuku, though his well-meant words did not help with Izuku's flustering in the slightest.

This is just a taster, and if you would like this fic to continue, please do say. Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter done by Monday, though school will probably get in the way. I hope you like it! Constructive feedback would be brilliant.

~TheMooOfDoom

01/05/18