It was quiet; the nice kind of quiet. It was the way all libraries should sound: silent. It made it easier for him to work, and considering the mess he had to clean up, it was much appreciated.

"And here we have "Sacred Stones"... "Sculpture and Aesthetics"..." Izuku murmured, balancing himself on the library ladder.

Leaned up against the bookshelf, he meticulously replaced the books that a few passing scholars had requested earlier. After reading from a few select pages, they had thoughtlessly left them on the table in a nonsensical order; the poor bindings stressed from being left open to a few select pages, stacked mercilessly and with no thought given to their upkeep.

Trailing his fingers along the tattered spine, Izuku let his mind wander and his eyes trace the faint gold leaf markings on the title before turning it to inspect the pages once more. Old, paper thin, and crumpled. It was sporting a few dog eared pages, which drew a low stream of tutting from Izuku as he gently folded them back into place. Giving it a few soft pats, he placed it delicately back in its correct position, and promptly did the same with its sister.

In Professor Aizawa's museum, he was allowed to read as many books as he liked, so long as he kept them in perfect condition and replaced them in perfect order. Which, for Izuku, was an absolute given and a very small price to pay for access to some of the rarer books in the museum's keeping. He could be incredibly clumsy, but he would argue that he did particularly good work cataloguing and maintaining the collection.

"Socrates, Seth…." Izuku muttered, placing them in line. He ran his fingers against the cool wood of the ladder as he sorted them through in his head before he placed them in their designated spot. He had read a few of these. "What a nonsensical arrangement." He chastised, chuckling softly. "Volumes one and two…." His eyes followed the line of books before he found what he was looking for. "Ah!" He smiled, tucking them away. He looked back down at the remaining book in his arms.

"Tuthmosis?" He exclaimed, regarding the book in mock horror, "And just what are you doing here?" He looked over his shoulder, spotting the golden placard that marked the 'T' section. It was on the other side of the aisle, but he could reach. He smiled, biting his tongue slightly as he reached over the aisle to fit it into place.

The ladder protested loudly, whining at the unnatural change in weight. Izuku snapped back to clutch the lifeline, letting out a breath of frustration. The ladder was heavy, and there was no point in climbing all the way down just to tip it to the other side when he could so very easily do it from here. Humming softly, he reached again, tipping his body just a tad further. Right as the tip of the book touched the edge of the shelf, Izuku felt the ladder suddenly shift drastically, nearly sending him tumbling down the bookshelf.

Izuku yelped as he struggled to correct himself, pushing the ladder forward with his arms to lean it back into place; but the ladder weighed a ton and his move was wholly uncoordinated. He was forced to resort to making desperate jerking motions to keep himself from falling twenty feet down onto Professor Aizawa's very nice, very hard, solid wood floors. The ladder tipped and tilted, and they went back and forth in a small dance until Izuku found himself standing in the middle of the isle, perfectly balanced on the now straight ladder, his and its weight supported only by the two stilts.

"Ha...Oh gods….help." Izuku breathed desperately as he felt the ladder slowly fall off balance. In one last desperate move, he wrenched the ladder towards the original bookshelf, his eyes squeezing shut as he slammed into it.

Upon impact, the shelf screamed and groaned as the entirety of it swayed over, banging into the next shelf...which hit the next one...and the next one… Izuku scrambled from the top of the shelf in a panic, one arm reaching out towards them as though he could will them to stop. It was like a terrifying game of dominoes. Each blow sounded off another slap of thunder as books and papers and articles wildly littered the air.

As the last case fell, completing the circle of fallen units, Izuku was too shocked to stop himself as he turned to face Professor Aizawa as he entered the room, letting a small "Oops." brush past his lips as an explanation.

Aizawa let his gaze follow the entirety of the fallen bookshelves before turning to rest on Izuku. "Oops…?" He parroted, kneeling down to pick up a small stack of papers.

"It...It was an accident." Izuku managed, surveying the utter destruction around him. There were books scattered in every manner of being - pages crushed and folded, bindings snapped the other direction, pages ripped out and littering the floor. It would take weeks to assemble the loose articles and unattached booknotes with their correct owners.

"This…" Aizawa spoke slowly, "Is a catastrophe." He let the papers in his hand fall back to the floor, and Izuku watched as they mixed with the rest of the jumbled pages. "I should fire you. Don't know why I haven't."

"I…" Izuku felt a pang of undescribable emotion hit his heart. "F-fire me…? Now wait…" He couldn't stop the flow of words coming out of his mouth. "I-I'm useful! I can read and write ancient Egyptian, I can decipher hieroglyphics and hieratic, and…"

Aizawa waved his hand in dismissal, silencing him. "I put up with you because your father Toshinori was one of this world's finest archaeologists, that's why. Both him and his wife."

Izuku opened his mouth to protest but was silenced again as Aizawa glared at him with his dark, tired eyes. They had an angry glint in them. "I don't care how long it takes…" He started, measuring a pointed finger at him, "And I don't care how you do it," He motioned to the whole of the library, "But clean. This. Up."

Izuku nodded his head quickly even as Aizawa turned and stepped out of the room. He let out a long sigh as he looked a little hopelessly around him. Scanning the room, he unbuttoned the cufflinks of his white, long sleeve shirt, and rolled them up just above his elbows. He was wearing a beige vest as well, which he may have to remove later if he got too hot… but for now he simply straightened it, and his mouth pinched in a solid, determined line. He bent down and reached for the closest stack of papers.

- An hour later…

Straightening his back, Izuku let out a long, exhausted groan as he stretched his arms over his head. He looked down at the work he had done, and had to bite back a small whimper. He hadn't been able to right the bookshelves (they were much too heavy), but he had started to try and make sense of the scattered cloud of papers on the floor.

So far he had only successfully restored eleven articles, which wasn't so bad except he had at least a thousand more to go. Hopefully the majority of them were only missing a few pages or had fallen in the general vicinity of their respective bookshelves, but he couldn't exactly put them away without the shelves righted... He had tried to rearrange about a hundred of the heavy volumes, and they were stretched out on the tables in a bare semblance of their original order.

"One thing at a time…" He chanted under his breath, "One thing at a time…" Bending down to continue, he startled when he heard whispers coming from what sounded like the arrival room. It was attached to the library, but inaccessible to the general public.

Tilting his head, Izuku regarded the door. Only he and Professor Aizawa were supposed to be in the museum at the moment as it was closed for the day. Izuku spared a quick glance down the hallway where Professor Aizawa had departed over an hour ago before he began cautiously making his way towards the doorway, setting the papers gently down on a table as he passed.

"Hello?" He tried calling out. His voice was soft and unsure, and his uncertainty grew as he grasped the wide arching door handle. The door creaked as he opened it slowly, peering inside.

The room was massive, towering columns looming in all four corners of it. The door archway was surrounded in hand carved stone moldings, which amassed and decorated the entirety of the room. Viewing lights had been pointed in various areas around the space, the cone lights shining up the walls to create large shadows, which added drama. The area was used to hold a variety of artifacts that hadn't been either approved or given space on the main floor yet.

Intricate chairs painted and carved in the Egyptian style, various tablets with hieroglyphs carved into them, and even some larger displays; one featured a life size statue of an important political figure in the All Might era. It portrayed a lone, red haired man man atop his horse cart, whip in hand as he urged his horses faster. He had a fearsome, cruel, expression on his face. The lighting in the room cast deep lines under the fake man's eyes, and the figure's dark, lifeless gaze sent a shudder down Izuku's spine.

"This isn't funny…" Izuku called out again, tearing his focus away from the display. Nobody answered. Gritting his teeth, he slowly made his way through the room, peering behind artifacts and glancing across glass cases. His hands trailed on some of the relics as he passed, the stone tablets cool and gritty to the touch. His fingers traced golden wings and symmetrical figures in various poses.

Despite himself, his mind drifted away from the noise he heard earlier as he got lost in the history. His steps echoed as he walked, and he felt unnaturally loud in the large room, the brief clips of his shoes announcing his presence to the souls that still slept in their coffins. Izuku worried at his lip, pausing to study a newer arrival of papyri to take his mind off of his silly paranoia.

He had only been looking for a moment when a soft shuffle ripped Izuku's gaze from the display case. His head whipped in the sound's general direction. "Professor Aizawa? Are you in here?" He tried again, louder. The noise had come from around one of the larger sarcophagi. His stomach doing a small flip, Izuku tried to quiet his steps as he slowly walked over.

Izuku took a deep gulp as his hand slowly grasped the side of the sarcophagus, the cool chill spreading through his fingers to his chest. He peered over.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" The mummy residing in the sarcophagus shrieked and sat up, reaching for him-

Izuku screamed, stumbling backwards, his back crashing up against one of the large stone tablets. His knees buckled and he nearly fell to the ground as his shriek reverberated through the huge room, nearly deafening in its intensity.

His fear melted away when he heard laughing.

Kirishima's head popped over the side of the sarcophagus, his body convulsing in the throes of laughter. Izuku felt his face fall as Kirishima continued to snicker as he got his now shaking legs underneath him. He strode forward with every intention of chewing him out.

"Have you no respect for the dead?!" Izuku demanded, watching Kirishima nonchalantly put the decaying mummy back in its former resting position.

"Of course I do!" Kirishima chuckled, folding his arms over the side, "But sometimes I'd rather like to join them." He winked, his smile turning mischievous.

"Well do it before you get me in trouble with Professor Aizawa!" Izuku snapped. He looked past Kirishima to the mangled remains of the mummy. "Oh, gods…" He groaned, "If he knew you were playing with the artifacts, much less the mummies-"

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Kirishima assured confidently. "Besides, I thought you were leaving soon anyway. What's wrong with having a little fun?" He rested his chin on his hand, staring at Izuku thoughtfully. "Did you get your letter back from the academy yet?"

Izuku gave him a withering look at the less than subtle topic change, but he let it slide. "We're not done discussing this." He promised, before breaking eye contact and wringing his wrist. He sighed loudly. "They rejected my application at the Yuuei Academy again." Izuku said quietly, shaking his head. His fists tightened as he recalled reading the letter. "They said I didn't have enough experience in the field-" He shook his head adamantly, "But I probably know more about Egypt than half of the applicants who go there-" He felt the stream of words let loose even as Kirishima tried awkwardly patting him on the shoulder in reassurance. "If they would just give me a chance I could prove that I more than qualify to-"

"Hey, hey, listen." Kirishima cut him off, giving a fond smile before continuing, "I think I've found something that will cheer you up." He patted down his shirt pockets, fumbling a little to find the right one.

"Oh, Kirishima, you know I always appreciate when you bring stuff back for me to look at but...eh..." Izuku cringed a little as he thought of the line of 'priceless treasures' Kirishima seemed to always bring him. They were all either fake gimmicks, or legitimately worthless.

It was the equivalent of a cat bringing dead mice to its owner. But… Izuku's cat never brought him dead animals. Izuku's expression soured as he considered it. What did that make Kirishima?

"Found it!" Kirishima exclaimed, procuring the item in question. It looked like old, tinged gold in the shape of an octagon. A line of hieroglyphs striped the center, and two sitting figures graced either side, like two opposing halves. There was also writing on the sides, but Kirishima snapped it back playfully when Izuku leaned forward, curious. He tossed it back and forth in his hands. "And I'm ten times better than any cat; including your precious Ochako." Kirishima chastised, smiling crookedly.

Izuku snorted as he snatched the box from Kirishima's fingers, dancing backwards to keep it from being reclaimed. He felt a small prickle of heat in his cheeks at having been caught muttering again. "Don't let her hear you say that." He murmured, slowly turning the box in his hand.

He ran his fingers along the old, metallic material. Could it be gold? It had to be, considering. That alone would make it valuable, but it was the hieroglyphs that intrigued him. His thumb wiped away imaginary dirt on the markings as he slowly read them. His eyes widened slightly at their implication. Izuku let his fingers trail the lines, the surface smooth save for the slight indents of the engravings. It was an interesting piece, but what could it have been part of? It spoke of a key to a separate object of significant importance, but the shape suggested it was holding something of great value as well…

His fingers caught on a small bump, and he frowned slightly as he turned it over. A piece of a hieroglyph that was jutting outwards. The imperfection was purposeful, but he couldn't understand why. He worried at it, his heart catching as it popped inwards. A brief second of uncertainty flashed through him as he panicked, thinking he had damaged the artifact, before the top unlatched and flipped open in a loud snap. Izuku very nearly dropped it in surprise. The metal pieces were triangular in shape, and with the box open, the surrounding edges gave the illusion of looking like the sun.

Kirishima leaned over, eyes trained on the object. "Please, Izuku, tell me I've found something."

"Kirishima…" Izuku breathed, peering into the center of the box. He slowly reached in and delicately extracted a folded piece of ancient papyrii. His green eyes met Kirishima's, sparkling with excitement. "I think you've found something."

- Professor Aizawa's office

It was early evening now, the light a soft orange as it filtered through the windows. Aizawa's office was decent in size, fitting a wall length bookshelf on the one side, and a large, worn mahogany desk facing away from the high windows. Historical pieces and artifacts were scattered all over the room on various open surfaces. Some were for show, while others were still being catalogued; easily distinguished for the brown tickets that had their item number on them. It was crowded, but not messy, and Izuku loved every opportunity to go in and look around the professor's work space.

"And if you look closely there," Izuku said, highly animated, "You'll see the cartouche there; yes, it's the official royal seal of All Might, I'm absolutely positive." He was pacing the office floor, one hand on his chin, the other waving in the air.

Aizawa sat disinterested in his old, plush leather chair. He regarded the box in his hands with disinterest. He placed it down quietly on his desk, looking back up again to see that Izuku's pacing wasn't slowing down. He tapped his finger in a slow, leisurely rhythm.

Kirishima was straddling a chair off in the corner, watching Izuku with a huge grin on his face. "Hold up," he said, patting the top of the chair in excitement, "Who is this All Might person," he looked at Aizawa, and lifted a mischievous eyebrow, "And was he rich?" Aizawa's answering stoic expression just seemed to impress him even further, and Kirishima directed a huge smile at him in response even as Izuku babbled out the answer.

"He was the second pharaoh of the 19th dynasty." Izuku quickly piped in, ignoring the other two's exchange. He chuckled at Kirishima's eagerness, and matched his smile. "Said to be the wealthiest and most powerful pharaoh of all."

Kirishima nodded in approval as Izuku turned heel and strode over to the front of Aizawa's desk, leaning over and extracting the box from its resting position. He fumbled it in his hands as he found the jutting hieroglyph and pressed it, snapping the locks open to reveal the contents. He pulled out the papyrii even as Aizawa's expression remained neutral, and carefully unfolded it. He handed it to Aizawa, pointing at the painted markings.

"I've already dated this. It's a map, almost 3,000 years old." Izuku tapped the upper corner. "And if you look here… well, this hieratic… It's Hamunaptra." His eyes went up to meet Aizawa's, who was regarding him with a very unusual expression.

"Izuku," Aizawa started tiredly, his tone gentle but firm, "We're scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra's a myth." He raised a hand even as Izuku began to splutter out an objection, silencing him. "Listen to me. Your father wouldn't want you to-"

Izuku inhaled sharply, standing up straight. "My father isn't here." He clipped, smile fading. "I've heard all about the blather regarding the city and the curse that supposedly protects it. If my father weren't forced to retire, he would have wanted to investigate this." Izuku shook his head adamantly as Aizawa looked to dispute him. "My research has led me to believe that this city actually existed-"

"Are we talking about the Hamunaptra?" Kirishima butted in, twirling in his seat.

Izuku turned to look at him, wringing his wrist. "...Yes. The City of the Dead." He bit at his lip as he looked thoughtful, distantly tracing the lines of books on the small shelves surrounding the room. His fingers caught his chin as he muttered further, the words lost under Kirishima's excited rambling.

"Yes! Where the early pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth and great magic of Egypt." Kirishima laughed, speaking outwards. He motioned vividly with his hands, "In a huge underground treasure chamber!"

Aizawa sighed heavily even as Izuku scoffed, his pacing having restarted.

"Oh, come on you two, you both know the story," Kirishima whined, leaning forward lazily in his chair, "The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand on All Might's command. The city would sink beneath the sand dunes, taking the treasure with it." He laughed, wagging his finger at them. "Now, I don't know about you two, but I've got a couple of shovels in the back of my car…"

Izuku turned, disbelieving, "It's going to take a lot more than shovels to dig up the city if the whole thing is undergrou-"

"Hey! Careful with- WHOA!" Kirishima screeched, knocking his chair over.

Izuku turned to see the map was still in Aizawa's hands, but it was dangling precariously close to one of his large desk candles. In just a split second, the whole sheet was set ablaze. Izuku let out a small cry as he scrambled over, nearly tripping over his two feet as he yanked the map out of Aizawa's loose grip in desperation to stop the flames.

"Oops." Aizawa said calmly.

The fire licked at Izuku's hands and he yelped as he was forced to drop it, clutching his singed fingers. Kirishima quickly started to aggressively stamp out the flames when the map hit the floor, and a few reeling moments later the fire was successfully put out.

There was a few seconds of absolute silence as all three of them regarded the tattered, badly burned piece of papyrii on the ground between them. It was now sporting several shoeprints.

Izuku knelt down, holding his seared fingers against his chest. With his good hand he picked up the map by a single corner. "You've burnt it…" He stated numbly, "You've burned off the part with the lost city."

"It's for the best, I'm sure." Aizawa said simply, rolling backwards in his chair and standing. He walked around the desk and bent down slightly to inspect the charred map Izuku held lightly in his grip. "Many men have lost their lives in the pursuit of Hamunaptra." He regarded the map for a few thoughtful seconds before he tapped on Izuku's forehead, drawing his eyes to him. They were wide and shiny, the emerald green reflective in the afternoon light. Aizawa let out a huff of air and patted Izuku on the head. "Most have never returned. Now lets drop the subject."

Izuku was incapable of forming a coherent sentence as he dazedly watched Aizawa straighten and walk back over to his desk, collecting papers and throwing them into a folder. Kirishima was likewise stunned, shifting his attention back and forth between Aizawa, Izuku, and the crisp remainders of the map.

"I'm leaving for the day." Aizawa said simply, plucking his jacket from the nearby coat hanger. He tossed it over his shoulder, the folder tucked under his other arm. Izuku was still on the floor, and Aizawa's statement was slow to process as he suddenly regained his senses.

"Hey… W-wait! Professor Aizawa!" Izuku called out, his arm reaching for the retreating figure. He hissed when his burnt fingers hit the air.

Aizawa merely waved, already closing the door behind him. "Get those burns taken care of." He said simply. He hesitated in the doorway for a moment. "And finish cleaning the library." he snapped as an afternote. With that, the door clicked shut and his footsteps slowly faded off.

Izuku turned to the ruined article in front of him. It was unusable now, destroyed. They would never be able to find the lost city now, this could have truly been the only link to Hamunaptra.

Kirishima walked over and bent down next to Izuku, prying the map from his hand. He held it up in the air with an exaggerated hum. "Yup, that's well and truly destroyed." He asserted blandly.

Izuku bit back a small cry. "I-I really don't need to hear that."

Kirishima gave him a good natured pound on the back. "Don't worry, I think I know what to do."

Izuku looked up skeptically. "What can we possibly do? It's been burned off, there's no way-"

"Shhhhhh," Kirishima hushed, shaking his head. "Not precisely. I think I know someone who can help."

"Who?"