We're back

Izuku had dealt with bullying for most of his life. He'd been picked on, made fun of, even hurt on multiple occasions. Not once did he ever go to anyone for help, or let anyone know how much he was hurting. And yet, reading over the page again has him dropping the notebook and bringing the green figure into a hug, muffling his sobs as best as he could.

Being believed in for the first time in his life was jarring, and to think that it came from a random figure made of green energy and bandages? Izuku finds himself laughing quietly, the absurdity of the past few days catching up to him. The figure shifts slightly and he finally realizes that its shoulders are shaking, almost as if it was laughing along with him. The thought just brings a louder laugh out, and soon both he and the figure are lying down on the floor, Izuku trying to catch his breath as more giggles leave him.

It was hard to explain, probably even impossible, if anyone asked him, but he had the faint feeling that they shared some experience with being alone and isolated from others. He could almost feel the figure's presence and feelings, as if they shared some bond. When he finally manages to catch his breath, he stares at his ceiling for a few seconds before quietly asking, "Who are you?"

The figure gets up and he blinks at the sudden lack of both the hole and cracks he'd seen on it previously; instead, it looked better than he'd ever seen it, body fully repaired and a glimmering green. The figure pauses, seemingly staring at him for a moment before gently picking up the notebook from where it had fallen. A green coil darted out to grab a pencil off his desk and he watched, amazed, as it flipped to a page and wrote in almost an instant.

"Woah! How do you write so fast?! What's your eye-hand precision and coordination? Is it cursive? How did the friction from that level of speed not burn the paper?" Izuku sat up immediately, gushing over the writing before noting the figure's slightly amused feeling. He feels a small flush rise to his face and quickly reaches over to grab the notebook and read it.

The first thing to catch his eye at the very top of the page was a picture of the green coiled figure and a caption directly underneath it. "Hierophant Green?" He mumbled the words to himself, glancing up when the figure perked up.

"Oh! It's- is that your name? Hierophant Green?" He feels some giddiness return to his mind. If it- they? If they have a name, that means they're capable of speaking and thinking- he'd already known they was intelligent, but this was on a whole new level! The figure nods and he grins when their eyes (or what he thinks are their eyes?) turned to crescents, a happy feeling flooding through him. He takes a few moments to familiarize himself with the name before eagerly returning to the notebook.

"Destructive power C, speed B, range A, power persistence B, precision C, developmental potential . . D?" He frowned, re-reading the words another few times. He may not have known Hierophant Green for too long, but he knew that last status was wrong. Hierophant Green was more than capable of proper development and learning new things!

He'd just have to show everyone else wrong. He and Hierophant Green would help people and be the best heroes out there! He'd prove that they could grow and prosper together, if they helped each other. He doesn't know why it's such a strong feeling in him; just that it feels right, and he'll do his best to prove so.

"Previous user?" Izuku blinks, then chokes back a gasp at the deceased status. He frowns, thinking over the words and what they could mean. Previous user? Hierophant didn't feel like a quirk, but surely that was the only explanation? Were there quirks you could pass on to other people? Was that what Hierophant was? He'd have to research this later.

He stared at his notebook blankly, the words "Current User: Izuku Midoriya" staring back at him. Slowly, he set his notebook back down, trying to make sense of anything that had just happened. Hierophant Green is some sort of stat-based shared quirk that belonged to someone before him. The previous user, as the notebook told him, was deceased. He was now the current user, and had no idea how to control or communicate with Hierophant, but they appear to share feelings and they possess at least some level of language understanding.

"When did this become my life?" Izuku thought in despair.

He'd been silent for too long; Hierophant took a seat next to him and gently patted his head, a quick flash of understanding passing through him. It was strangely comforting, almost like something he'd imagine a sibling would do for him if he had one. He sent Hierophant a weak smile, opening his mouth before-

"Izuku, dinner is ready!" His mother's voice coming from right outside his room broke him out of thought, springing him into action. How was he supposed to hide Hierophant in his room? The giant green figure was practically 6 feet tall! Maybe Hierophant could disappear, like he had been doing the whole day before? His panic came to a stop when Hierophant phased right into him, almost making him yelp.

He marveled at the display of power and subsequent disappearance, quickly making his way downstairs. He almost felt lighter, like some heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. The bounce in his step followed him all the way to dinner, and it must have shown clearly, because Inko's smile eased from the slightly concerned tilt it had held earlier. Dinner was a more lively affair than it'd been in weeks, with laughing and smiles passed freely between mother and son.

Izuku offered to help his mother with the plates but Inko quickly shooed him back to his room, telling him to finish his homework and not to stay up too late. Izuku easily conceded, seeing as he did actually have homework to finish. He'd gotten swept up in the mystery that was Hierophant, and even as he stared at the paper in front of him he started doodling smaller versions of the green quirk. Was he even a quirk? Maybe he ". . . could ask him, he can write, maybe it's more of a . . ."

Hierophant watched curiously as his new user began mumbling to himself as he did his homework. He probably thought out loud a lot, then. Settling that matter, Hierophant turned back to the rest of the room, eyes narrowing slightly as he took in every single bit of All Might fan material. It almost felt like every single figurine was staring directly at him. Still, if his new user idolized someone who was clearly a well known hero, he was likely aiming to be one himself.

It would take a while for Hierophant to familiarize himself with this world, but as long as he was here, he'd do everything in his power to make sure that Izuku became a hero and didn't meet the same ending as- as . . .

Hierophant quickly turned away from Izuku, one hand flying up to his chest, directly over where the wound used to be. He steeled his resolve, eyes shining a brighter yellow.

He'd make sure Izuku didn't end up like Kakyoin. No matter what it took.