On this episode of Author's Notes Time, I am putting it out there that this is going to be a chapter for some worldbuilding and happy fluff. Things will be getting serious later on so enjoy the heart-warming bits while they're here.
Sushui's discord link is back in chapter 2 for anyone interested where I post early versions before uploading. Anyways, you didn't come here to listen to me, Bread out.
Izuku
Walking together to Aldera High, Kazumi and I make sure to keep Himiko as calm as could be reasonably expected for someone attending school for the first time ever. Fortunately, one of the few teachers there worth a damn managed to get her into class with Kazumi and I, making her a lot less anxious than she would otherwise be.
Aware of the stares and whispers we were getting Himiko shrunk behind us in fear, clearly still unused to people after going through so much. A burst of fury emerged with my instinct as her brother and released a burst of killing intent directed at those scaring her. While it wasn't as all-consuming as Stain's, it was still able to make them tremble in terror and back off.
In the stunned silence that followed we walked right in through the gates, people scrambling out of the way for us to pass. Kazumi chuckled "My, my you're really getting into protective big brother mode. It's rather adorable actually". Without a second's delay I fire back "You would have a point if I didn't know you were going to go have 'chat' with them later on. You're really getting into whole protective big sister thing yourself, so your point was?"
Coughing slightly at being read so easily, she mutters "I always wanted a little sister, okay? We're practically siblings given how we grew up together, but I can't exactly talk to a guy about girl stuff. It's awkward" her embarrassment only noticeable to Himiko and I. Although I don't know what Himiko is thinking, I'm personally enjoying the sight of the firecracker getting flustered after trying to tease me.
Arms wrap around our sides as Himiko hugs us saying cheerfully "Thanks for looking after me nii-san, nee-san. It means a lot to me". Without any prior agreement we each grip one of her cheeks and tug lightly.
Confused she mumbles "Whas dat fo?", before we release her cheeks rubbing them with a small pout on her face. Rubbing her head, I lecture in mock sternness "I was serious when I said you were family. I don't need to have you thanking me for looking after, it's what I should do as your brother and don't you forget it. I care about you and from the looks of it, Kazumi agrees wholeheartedly" noticing the 'onee-chan smile' on her lips and thumbs up in support of my little speech.
"What the nerd said Himiko. You are part of our family now and we don't abandon or hurt family. No matter what" soothed Kazumi patting her head with a little eye-roll.
Laughing softly at our antics Himiko's smile as we all walk together to class made her golden cat eyes seem to shine with light as it struck me that after cleaning up and recovering from the malnourishment to a certain degree, she was really quite beautiful. A fact that several others seemed to notice as they snuck glances at her on the way past.
Kazumi on the other side of her was equally beautiful in her own way, a proud warrior with steel in her bones in comparison to Himiko's almost ethereal beauty. A girl that was filled with fire and passion that could rival a sun.
Realization that I might not just think of them as family emerged as I quash down those thoughts for now. All I needed to know was that I cared about them, I could sort out all the details later on down the road. Until the day we all get into UA and chase our dreams together.
Two months later
After six months of hellish training Kazumi and I had finally reached a level of physical strength that would, in Gin's own words "Make sure you don't explode and make a mess everywhere" leaving us unsure of if he was joking or not, we were finally ready to start training our arcanum.
Himiko asked to come along with us and see what was going on so we reluctantly agreed. It was damn near impossible to turn down something so simple, especially when she was pouting with her gleaming golden cat eyes.
So that was how we were in Gin's Dojo, with him facing directly at me like I had grown a second head. Slightly unnerved at his intense air, I joke "Seriously sensei, I know I'm kind of good looking but I don't swing that way. So, I'm sorry but I must reject-" cut off by a wooden pole half the length and twice the thickness of a middle finger nailed me in the forehead, cutting me off.
"I'm trying to work out how the hell you keep managing to find people with innate magic. Usually anyone that has an innate magic is almost impossible to find and now there's your friends as well as yourself with it in one spot. This makes no fucking sense frankly. It's starting to drive me nuts" he grumbled, not dignifying my joke with a response.
Understanding what he was trying to say, I blurt out "Hang on a sec, Himiko too?" whipping around to look at her alongside Kazumi, to see her looking completely lost as to where our conversation was going.
Settling in for the long run I explain the basics of the situation from the fact that none of us had a quirk and that most of our gifts were unable to manifest thanks to our body's being too fragile to the unfortunate side effects that not controlling it had on Kazumi. All things considered she took it surprisingly well, especially considering the shame that Kazumi still felt over her actions at that time.
Grabbing a gourd of sake from the wall Gin grumbled "You're going to need to learn how to control yourself even more than she did. If she lost it the worst she'd do is go on a rampage and fight everyone. You on the other hand would drain the blood from every living creature nearby until they're left a hollowed-out husk. If it's alive, it dies in agony. At least it isn't like Izuku's, if I had known earlier, I would have made sure to give you a suppression bracelet to prevent any accidents. Frankly we're all lucky that you two haven't lost it and no one is dead"
Himiko and I listen in with full focus, hoping to try and understand what was going on. After a deep swig of sake Gin explained grimly "I was hoping this wouldn't be the case but Izuku, you've inherited an arcanum from your father alongside your natural connection to your own. Both of which are obscenely powerful, but equally difficult to control at that. I should have realised when your connection was flickering all other the place that this was the case, but it's a one in a few billion chance of ever occurring. Fortunately, you haven't awoken your inherited one from your father yet, so we can temporarily suppress it until you can control your own power. In your case Izuku, if you lose control everything starts to fall apart as the laws of reality start to warp and tear in your presence. The area around you is reduced to a chaotic storm of energy as it erases whatever it comes into contact with. If your other Arcanum was unleashed as well with both at the peak of their potential strength...you might just tear the country apart by yourself"
Shrinking in fear of the idea that I could cause so much pain I felt "I-I'm that d-dang-gerous..." spilled from my lips as the crushing weight of that power and all the responsibility that came with it landed on my shoulders only to find Himiko and Kazumi hugging me between them, comforting me.
"If it was anyone else, I would have permanently sealed their magic, but you have something most mages don't. Compassion for other and the will to stick to your ideals. That girl seems to wish to follow you and I won't deny her that wish, however" he speaks his killing intent far vaster than it was the last time, dwarfing Stain's like an ocean would a lake "if any of you harm innocents, I'll do my duty as a teacher and stop you even if that means killing you on the spot"
This side of Gin was completely new, a cold and ruthless warrior willing and able to leave bodies in his wake if he were to choose so. Fear gripped my heart as I looked back and squeezed out "You know me well enough old man, did you go senile since the last time we met? I wouldn't kill if I had any other choice" to which he responded instantly "Even if it meant risking the lives of the two you call family? The lives of those who have done nothing wrong?".
Rage breaking out I snarl "If it means watching my family or innocents die, then I'd tear them apart in a heartbeat. I'd try to do it without it coming to that, but should it come to that then so be it" glaring directly at Gin. As long moments pass, the killing intent vanishes and he seems to age decades on the spot, he back slumping as he stumbles back to his seat.
"Remember those words well boy, make sure you protect those that you care for with everything you have. It's a lonely bitter existence of self-blame and sorrow that awaits those that fail to do so. We'll start yours and Kazumi's training in your respective Arcanum today after I explain 'The Ten Thousand Forgings' method to blondie over there" he starts to lecture, slowly shaking himself out of his sorrow when Himiko cuts in "I have a name dammit, I'm Midoriya Himiko. You could at least use it or should I just call you fossil old man?"
Any remaining tension and sorrow in the air shatters as Kazumi and I burst out in wild laughter at Gin spitting out the sake he was drinking and Himiko's smug grin as she held up two victory signs in triumph. I'll be hard to get all this training done properly, but I think I'll make it through just fine with people like this around me. Can't wait to get even stronger.
Six months later
Apparently, Gin didn't take too kindly to the fossil nickname as our training growing even more intense as we were systematically pushed to the edge of breaking to pieces before being healed and pushed to the brink once more. Finding out a bit about our Arcanum from Gin lead us to some interesting discoveries.
It turned out mine was called "Runic" an Arcanum with only one ability, yet was respected as one of the most powerful and exotic Arcanum of all. The ability "Rune-Forger" had the ability to use runes to create magical phenomena. It was explained that basically put if I could describe the process and the outcome I was looking for, I could create it if I had enough power and didn't accidently try something that was banned for good reason. Death gods and goddesses never took that kindly to people raising the dead or trying to cheat their end by achieving immortality, so they made sure to make it as dangerous and near-impossible as they could to achieve such an outcome.
As for why they didn't make it completely impossible, it turns out that the great laws also prevent any possible outcome from being completely impossible, though it would allow the deck to be heavily stacked against you. There was clearly a story there, but Gin just brushed it off.
Himiko somehow managed to get the legacy inheritance of a Daywalker vampire by accident and her thirst for blood and other powers were a result of acquiring it at any early age. Gin's reaction had been somewhat spectacular on working that out. The memory of him slamming his head into a wall screaming about bullshit plot armour managed to drag a few chuckles out of us when we were carrying each other back home from training.
After these months living with Mum and I Himiko has started to become a little more out-going though still a bit terrified of being judged for having what appeared to be a blood quirk. A few 'civilised conversations" later from Kazumi and people got the message not to give her trouble. Her scrawny figure where you could she her ribs when she first arrived was a fading memory as she filled out to a healthy weight and training alongside Kazumi and I.
Kazumi had been cooling off much faster now that we were learning our Arcanum properly, no longer as blatantly threatening yet the slight smirk on her face reminded everyone what happened when five people thought it would be a funny idea to try and take her spot as the top dog. Needless to say, it went extremely poorly for them as far as fights went. Actually, calling it a fight wasn't really that accurate of a way to describe the one-sided beatdown that occurred that day.
I myself had grown numb to the joking nicknames and taunts about hiding behind Kazumi. They were quickly proven wrong when the same idiots that tried to fight with Kazumi attacked me. Two seconds and a neat kick to the back of the head for each of them ended the fight without spilling a crumb as I went back to eating the bento Mum made for me as they rolled around on the floor groaning.
The incident made its way around the school just before I mentioned my 'quirk' had recently shown up thanks to my body's strength reaching the minimum level required for it to not kill me recently. The three of us had a little nickname of "The Demon Lords of Aldera High" which Kazumi seemed to wear as a badge of honour.
Wandering home after school we were attacked by a few low-level muggers who thought that three eleven-year-olds would be any easy target. It would have been had they not chosen to mug us of all people. Three minutes and an awkward call to the police line later, we found ourselves in a police station with Mum and Auntie Mitsuki grilling the poor desk sergeant for why they wanted to try and charge us with illegal quirk usage.
"It's simply impossible for three eleven-year-old kids to defeat ten full grown adults without the use of their quirks! Illegal quirk usage is a serious offence and-" the cat faced officer ranted only to be cut off by Kazumi cackling "Sure thing Tibbles, my explosions left no marks anywhere on the alley walls, Himiko's left no blood residue and the nerd only got his last month so we could totally do something like that. Did you even bother checking for us in the quirk registry or are you just too far gone in the catnip to bother fact-checking properly?" much to the embarrassment of the officer and the great pleasure conveyed by the proud thumbs up from Auntie Mitsuki. Even Mum had an innocent smile of 'What can you do?' plastered on her face enjoying every last bit of discomfort the officer was going through.
The door swung open as an officer in a long trench coat walked in calling "I'm going to keep this nice and short. Did you three use your quirks?" Kazumi snarling back "For the seventeenth time we didn't use our quirks, Inspector Gadget" causing their face to colour slightly from the response. Confusion written on his face he asked "Then how did you beat them?"
I cut in stating "I only recently got my quirk recently thanks to some training with an old friend of Dad's. Turned out my quirk had stayed dormant because it would explode my body if I used it when everyone else develops their quirk. About a years' worth of training alongside Kazumi who needed help with her temper and Himiko who didn't want to be left out of it, this is what you get" answering the question with as much truth as possible, vaguely recognising the Inspector Gadget cosplayer from somewhere.
A raised eyebrow and look of respect in his eyes "Damn, must've been some serious training to go through at your ages. Why would three then ten-year-olds like you kids push yourselves so hard to reach this level so quickly?". Noticing our evident confusion, he chuckled "Lie-detector quirk. It comes in handy for situations like this which is why I just got dragged off my coffee break. AGAIN" turning his attention to the cat headed officer behind the desk.
"As a reference for the future, if I'm dragged out here again because you're being too lazy to check the quirk registry properly, so help me I'm revoking your donut privileges" getting a frenzied nodding spree of acknowledgement and our Mum's not so subtle laughter coming from the side of the desk. Mumbling about getting grey hairs he turned his attention to us, waiting for our answer as to why we were training.
Himiko
Seeing the nice police officer wait for an answer after telling of the irritating kitten, I look up with a radiant smile "I want to be a hero that makes the world a better place for my family. They've done so much for me and I just want them to be happy" the response drawing a small tear to Mum's and Auntie Inko's eyes as Izu-nii and Kaz-nee sandwiched me in a tight hug. Snuggling into their arms a warmth spread through my body as I relaxed completely in their embrace, remembering why I wanted to be a hero so badly. To be able to stay here and feel their love. I don't think I would mind staying like this forever.
Kazumi
Sniffling slightly from the little vampire's adorable reason for becoming a hero, I only hope that I could be someone even half as amazing as she thinks I am. With a light chuckle "I want to be a hero that will never lose, that will never let a villain get past me and hurt someone else. After all-" pausing for a moment to squeeze the vampire and the nerd "I have a family to come back to". That set off Auntie Inko and the old hag, hugging each other and saying we grew up so fast as the vampire purred like a cat and the nerd turned bright red. I'd never admit it out loud, but this doesn't seem all that bad, being here like this. I could actually get used to this.
Izuku
Touched by the sincerity in their dreams and the confidence they had to say it I spoke something I wish I could have said long ago. I remember that alleyway, the encounter with Stain, the false hero, everything wrong with this society. Stain could have been a great hero with his willpower and combat skills, but he grew disgusted and it wasn't hard to see why after the incident with Purifier. Everything goes into one statement, that ideal of what it means to be a hero.
"I want to be the hero that saves others, not just those in danger from villain attacks but the lost and helpless, the ones that fall through the cracks when the system fails them. It isn't just villain attacks that are important, it's also disaster relief, giving someone a way out of their personal hell-" feeling Himiko tighten her grip on me until I move to stroke her hair "or saving them from their own despair and shortcomings-" when Kazumi flinches slightly, I grasp her hand lightly "I want to save everyone I can from as much as I can. If I can inspire people to do more, then the outcome is all the better for it"
Tsukauchi
Hearing the dreams of these three children sent a shock through my system, each completely serious in a way beyond their ages in their desire to make things better. The most impressive one of all was the green kid without a single doubt however.
His words carried such conviction, bursting with raw willpower and determination that in spite of the massive age difference between us I took him very seriously. Very few people had the ability to draw others to themselves so naturally, to inspire trust and faith in others towards them. It had nothing to do with what their quirk was or how strong they were, it was the product of the sheer strength of character that made them leaders and idols to admire.
It made them incredibly dangerous in a way no other ability could manage.
The only people I had ever witnessed previously with that kind of aura, that overwhelming force of will to them, were All Might, the Symbol of Peace and All for One, the Lord of Crime. While it might not be as potent yet as theirs was, it had been coming from an eleven-year-old child. Should that child reach the same age as All Might, he would become an inspiring force that could rally countless individuals around him. I know from the moment I felt that aura...
If he fell to crime and sought to claim the right of succession to All for One's dark throne, all would be lost at the hand of this charming young boy.
Yeah, sorry about the delay, writer's block is starting to act up a bit, so the chapter might get delayed a little going forwards. It might end up in me temporarily putting Runic Legacy on hiatus to do a villain/anti-hero Deku prompt I found from ages ago in the hopes of leaving it stewing on the back burner easing the block. Nothing definite, just a possibility for now.