A/N - I replayed Hollow Knight recently and got inspired to write this. Its OOC so sorry in advance if you don't like that. Also Hollow Knight spoilers.
I don't own Hollow Knight or My Hero Academy. They are owned by Team Cherry and Kohei Horikoshi respectively.
/\/\/\/\ Line Break /\/\/\/\
"I'm sorry. I know it's alright to dream, but be realistic kid. Without a quirk, you can't become a hero."
The words he never wanted to hear. The words he hoped he wouldn't hear. Yet, there they were. From All Might himself, his biggest idol. After that, the skinny form of the hero left, and Izuku was left to wallow in pity.
Without purpose or destination, he began walking. The words of his idol replaying over and over in his mind. He hated being quirkless. All Izuku Midoriya wanted was to be hero.
By the time that he came to his senses, Izuku had travelled far from the rooftop where his dreams were shattered. Looking up, he realized just where he had ended up.
The Takoba Municipal Beach.
What was once a beautiful beach and a great tourist destination, was now a huge pile of junk. Mountains of waste and trash scattered the beach, blocking the view of the ocean. Both waste washing in, plus people littering the area over years had lead to this build up.
Izuku sat down on a nearby bench, tears still threatening to fall. As he did, he accidentally moved a piece of debris. One of the nearby trash piles shifted slightly, and he quickly got up and moved before the integrity of it failed and the pile collapsed. Yet instead, the pile only shifted slightly, and a soft clicking of a single piece falling off the top sounded.
His eyes tracked the movement, a small black metal shape softly tinked its way down, before coming to a stop in the sand by Izuku's feet.
Looking at the object, he found it to be a small circle, in the shape of what seemed to be a head. It was solid black with strange intricate patterns running along the surface, and with two white eyes that he swore he thought were glowing. He poked at it slightly, and when it didn't move on contact, picked it up. Looking at the back, he saw a small spike at the end, indicating that the object was a pin that one would wear on their clothes, or have hanging from their school bag.
It was a strange thing to be abandoned, he thought, considering it was extremely well made. Running his fingers along it, he could identify no scratches or dents along the surface, nor did he find anything else interesting about the pin. Shrugging, he took the pin and clipped it onto his shirt, over his heart. He figured that if someone got rid of something so well made, he might as well keep it. The item itself was beautifully made.
As soon as his hands left the object, he felt a sharp prick into his skin. It was tiny, at first, and he merely assumed that the pin must have poked him on accident. He moved his hands to adjust it.
Then the spike extended piercing his heart.
Izuku screamed.
/\/\/\/\ Line Break /\/\/\/\
He stood on top of the cliff, under the light of a single lamp. From where he stood, he could see the lights in the distance of a town. The first that he has seen for a while. With his sight set on his next objective, he did a quick inventory check. His Nail secured on his back, and cloak covering his body, he nodded, before leaping off.
...
He approached the small bug, eyes seemingly clouded in illusions. It was whispering to himself, something he couldn't quite make out until he got closer.
"...Esmy... How much deeper do we have to go..."Tapping him lightly on the shoulder seemed to break the illusion. Their eyes cleared up, and he turned towards me."Oh! What?! Who..." He trailed off, before looking around, realizing where he was."...This old village. What a strange dream, to have lead me here." He shook his head, before he returned his gaze back upon him. "I'm Sly. Usually, I live an uneventful life up in Dirtmouth. I'd probably be best getting back there now. If you return above, come and see me." The bug walked off but he heard it mutter something under his breath as he left.
"I'm probably the friendliest face left there, and I can thank you properly for your good deed."
...
He woke up, unfamiliar with his surroundings. Looking around, he saw an unfamiliar face staring at him as he rose.
"Ahhhh, you've returned. Welcome back to the waking world.
"He stared, slightling tilting his head in a silent question. The figure chuckled, before responding to the unasked."Those figures, those Dreamers... They reached out with what little power they have and dragged you into that place." She paused, before looking at him. Or more accurately, the weapon is his hand. "The Dream Nail... it can cut through the veil that seperates the waking world from our dreams. Even the dreamers themselves can not hide from such a weapon. Though... It is weaker than it should be."
He stared that the artifact in his hand, activating it as the sword shimmered into view.
"It requires essence to reach it's peak. Collect it, and I may make it whole again. Once we have enough, we can work wonders together!" The figure shouted enthusiastically.
He stared at them, before pointing towards her lightly. She blinked, before lightly shaking her head and laughing."Of course, my mistake. You may call me the Seer."
...
Clearing the path through the lush green area around him, he lightly jumps down, following the path of the one he saw. In the clearing, the figure he was chasing stands facing away from him. He steps closer, before the path behind him closes.
"Halt." She declares, red cape billowing. "Come no closer, Ghost."
He does as she asks, stopping where he stands. She turns to face him, empty orbs staring into empty orbs."I've seen you, creeping through the undergrowth stalking me." She starts, eyes never leaving his form. "This old kingdom... A terrible thing awakens. I can smell it in the air..." She shifts, her weapon now at the ready. She points it towards him, sharp and threatening. "I know what you are. What you'd try to do. I can't allow it!"
With that, the Needle is thrown towards him. He steps out of the way, drawing his own weapon. Running forward, he draws Nail and prepares to swing it, before ducking out of the way when the Needle is pulled back on a thread. He stands his ground, weapon flairing out in challenge, and on the unspoken signal, both dash fowards.
...
Climbing down using the Mantis Claws, he approached the main stage. The same ones he definitely didn't steal. Simply... Acquired. They were just laying there after all.
As he approached, he saw his current objective. Three thrones stood tall in the courtyard. On top of each, was one of the Mantis Lords. All three were supposedly strong in combat, and demanded respect out of him. They nodded at him, expecting a bow or some show of respect.Instead, he drew his Nail with a flourish, before bringing it down at his side in a swift motion. He wasn't good with words, and here none were needed.
The three Mantis Lords looked at each other, before the one in the middle stood up, and approached. Claws raised up, he took his spot on the opposite end of the arena. They stared at the other, before he nodded.
And their blades clashed in a flash of movement.
...
He stared up at the fountain where the memorial of the Hollow Knight was located. The one who was sealed in order to keep the corruption at bay. Constant drops of water rained down upom them from the Blue Lake situated above.
"Again we meet, little ghost." Hornet appeared, weapon strung along her back and red cape ever present. He turned to look at her, before both looked back at the memorial.
"Normally, I'm quite perceptive, yet you I underestimated." She spoke. "You've seen beyond this Kingdom's bounds. Yours is resilience born of two voids. It's no surprise you've managed to reach the heart of this world. In doing so, you shall know the sacrifice that keeps it standing." Then she begins to walk away, ready to disappear like eevry other encounter, before stopping. Without looking she leaves one final message.
"If, knowing the truth, you'd still attempt it, seek the Grave in Ash. It shall hold the mark it would grant to one like you."
...
The broken vessel screamed, as the plague that infects it is finally killed. Orange light floods out of the body, before leaving the empty husk in its wake.
In its final moments, it reaches out towards him, before finally the light dims and the body falls limp. Unmoving.
He walks fowards. In the vessels arm lies a small bead. Picking it up, the sides of it opens, pure white wings extending on each side. Clipping it to the back of his cape, he nods before jumping and giving it a test. The wings flap once, giving him extra lift for a moment, before fading. After several more attempts, he realizes that he must touch the ground before the wings may be used again.
This would be useful, he decided.
...
The Nailsmith brought down his hammer woth one final swing, before staring at the results of his work.
"It's done. The reforging is complete."
He hands the weapon off. The Nail, now redubbed the Pure Nail, was beautiful. What was once a pure slat of metal was now beautifally shaped. The smooth surface was now embedded with an intricate pattern, and was deadly sharp. He gave off a nod to the Nailsmith, who was now hesitant.
"In only your weapon I have seen such potential." He starts. "Finally, I behold the majesty ot a Pure Nail... To think... So soon... I... I must step outside a moment." With shaky legs, he walks outside. A few seconds later, he follows.
The Nailsmith waits outside. Staring down at the edge of a cliff. Without turning, he begins to talk.
"With a Pure Nail forged, my lifetimed desure is completed. My only wish is to see and feel the nail strike true. As my final moment in life, I want to taste the blade's exquisite edge."
He draws Pure Nail hesitantly. The Nailmaster notices this.
"Please, do not hesitate. I beg you. Cut me down! Let me feel my life's accomplishment!"
He stares down at his weapon. A single nod.
And then steel moves.
/\/\/\/\ Line Break /\/\/\/\
Izuku woke up with a headache. Memories had flooded into his brain, through the eyes of another.
And yet, they were his memories.
Despite them initially being foreign memories initially, his brain had quickly rewrote that since he was seeing all of them through their eyes, he was seeing it through his eyes.
He was Izuku Midoriya. Yet he was also the Knight. Ghost. Void Vessel. Whatever he was called in a previous life.
It was... strange having multiple memories. It was as if he had multiple personalities, yet they worked in harmony at the same time. Izuku's desire to be a hero resonated with the Knight's desire to defeat all evil.
Remembering that he had been knocked out, he pulled out his phone to check the time. Upon seeing a couple missed calls and a few frantic texts from his worried mother, he quickly got up and ran home. Luckily, the beach wasn't too far off from his house, and made it there within the next half an hour. Idly, he noticed that even running, that was a bit too fast. Plus he wasn't as winded as he thought he would be. Yet, with everything on his mind, that was the least of his worries. He was still searching through his memories of the Hallownest and their (his) feats.
"I'm home!" He called out as he entered his house.
"Oh! Izuku!" His mother called out from the other room. Shuffling was heard from kitchen, where she was probably hard at work making dinner. "I was so worried about you! You didn't answer your calls and it was starting to get late and..." She trailed off, as Izuku finally came around the corner and entered the kitchen. Her eyes widened and she gasped in shock.
"Is something wrong?" He asked her, slightly worried. Never bothering to check what happened to himself after the incident with the pin, he wondered if his mom could sense something was different.
"Honey... Are you alright?" She asked nervously.
"...Yes. Why?" He responded.
"Your... Your eyes..." She cried out. "What happened to your eyes!"
"My eyes?" What was wrong with his eyes? Maybe they were still red from crying earlier. He turned and ran towards the bathroom. When he looked into the mirror, he realized just what shocked his mother.
His had drastically changed. What were once bright green eyes were now black pits. No pupils or sclera. Just and endless void of black.
"Oh." Apparently the Void Heart had affected him much more than he thought. Looking down, he realized that the pin (charm) was no longer on his shirt. Just a small hole where he initially pinned it to. Quickly moving his shirt, he looked to see the area where he was stabbed. Only to find nothing. No scar, no bleeding wound, not even a mark. There was no evidence it was even there, yet he still felt it in his body.
As the Knight, he was unable to remove the charm, so clearly the concept was the same. But before it was atleast always visible, being pinned on his cloak. Maybe, his body had adapted to it. It was what allowed him to syncronize with the void, and helped lead to the fall of the Radiance. Just maybe... He started to focus, attempting to call forth their(his) shade form using their (his) memories.
"Izuku?" His mom poked her head in the doorway, watching her son with his closed eyes. "Are you oka-" Then Izuku's body was engulfed in shadows. His mother screamein panic, and looked like she was about to faint.
Izuku's shade form was similar to what it was in the past. His form was completely shanged into the shadowy void, everything pitch black except for his eyes, which had changed into pure white. From his head he sprouted black hors that the old vessel once had. His arms had elongated slightly, and turned his hands into claws, which he hadn't expected. The lone few times he had done that, was when he had finished off the Radiance. Unlike before, his shade form included his legs, and he didn't seem to be able to hover like in said battle, and he had a couple extra tendrils floating out from his back. Turning to his mom, who shivered when his eyes met hers, he calmly spoke.
"...I think I found my quirk."
/\/\/\/\ Line Break /\/\/\/\
"So, tell me again how you discovered your quirk?"
He was at a quirk doctor now, being examined. His mom, after crying her eyes out, had dragged Izuku to the nearest one, both to get him registered and also to check if his quirk had caused any damages. He had to admit, he didn't appreciate the constant looks of nervousness she kept giving him out of the corner of her eye. Same with others as well. Everyone who looked into his eyes seemed to pale in fear, or at least looked away immediately. Luckily the doctor currently looking at him was professional, and was not doing the same. Even if he noticed the slight twitches of his hands as he talked.
"...I didn't notice anything different until I went home. Mom was the one to notice the changes first." He answered. Obviously he wouldn't tell the truth about how his powers actually came to be. First, because he didn't think anyone would believe him. "Oh yeah, I was stabbed by a pin which I absorbed, giving me memories of a mythical land where bugs and plants could talk and fight. And that enchanted me with powers that weren't my own." Internally, he rolled his eyes at that.
Second, was because he still needed to search the beach. If the Void Heart was there, maybe the rest of his equipment could be lost under the mass of garbage. Telling the doctor may lead to others searching the area, or closing it off and labelling it a hazard and clearing it.
Third, was because he just didn't want to. The Knight, while calm and collected, was a Void Vessel. He was unable to talk, and even then chose not to. Izuku was socially awkward, and would probably be stuttering if not for also being the Knight as well.
He flinched. This multiple personality thing was going to be annoying, at least until he managed to sort things out. He wanted to treat it like a seperate entity, but it also felt wrong to say that, since it was his being.
"Hello? Izuku? Are you alright?" The doctor asked. Izuku looked up, ignoring the slight flinch from the doctor when their eyes met. "You've been slightly mumbling to yourself this entire time. I couldn't really make it out, but we were getting worried."
"Oh, had he been doing that?" He wondered. Somehow, his nervous tick of mumbling seemes to be something that stuck with him. He would never realize when he entered one, and by the time he did, someone would point it out and shake him out of it. "Sorry."
"As I was saying, how did you know how to use it, if all you knew was your eyes were different. From what your mom told me, you shifted into a shadow monster?"
"Because I had experience from a different life."
"It was... instinct. Like my body knew how." Was his actual answer.
"I see..." The doctor wrote something down on his clipboard. "Can you show me this form?" Izuku shrugged before doing as asked. Focusing for a few seconds, Izuku called upon the void, and a short burst of shadows later, he was cloaked in his short form. He saw the doctor's eyes widen in shock, before coughing and reaffirming himself.
The rest of the tests were fairly standard. He had some blood drawn, and found that despite being in shade form still had regular blood inside. They tested the limits of his movement, being able to mobe his claw like appendages fine, and even slightly move his tendrils. Only one tendril could move at a time, but slowly. After all the tests were complete, the doctor gave them his report.
"Well, I couldn't see any complications with your body that I could find. I'm still not sure whether to call this a mutation quirk or an emitter, but for now I'll mark it down as mutation."
"So there's nothing wrong? Even though our quirks are nothing alike?" His mom asked.
"Honestly, it's a bit strange that it's so far off from yours, but it's nothing that hasn't happened before. In any case, congratuations Izuku. You're a late-bloomer with an extra toe joint, but you have a quirk." The doctor smiled at him. "What would you like to call it?"
Well it only one name seemed appropriate. It was what gave him his "quirk" after all.
"Void Heart."
/\/\/\/\ Line Break /\/\/\/\
A couple of days later, and Izuku found himself back at the beach. Mountains of scrap and trash were still piled up, but compared to the Junk Pit, they were nothing put hills. His reason for coming back was very simple. If he could find the Void Heart here, then maybe he could find something else that belonged to him. If he wanted to go to UA and be a hero, he would need his equipment. Worst case scenario, he cleans the beach while looking and gets stronger physically. His human body still needed to workout and build up strength, and he could practice using his shade form for longer lengths of time. As it was, he could only hold it for 3 minutes before it dropped.
He had 9 months to prepare for the UA entrance exams. 9 months to reacquaint himself with his abilities, and get stronger.
In terms of equipment, he ran through what he needed from when he first received them.
First and obviously most important, his weapon. The Nail or eventual Pure Nail. Hopefully he would find this, given it was his main way of dealing with enemies, and by extension would be villians in the future. The short sword like object would be the utmost priority in finding, otherwise he would need to have something identical forged. Having used it extensively, he knew it's weight and shape and could draw plans for it easily. Finding a good Blacksmith (Nailsmith) however would be a struggle.
Next would be the Mothwing Cloak. Finding it shortly after the first encounter with Hornet, it allowed him a short burst of movement, temporarily ignoring the effects of gravity. Later, he had evolved it into the Shade Cloak, where he could dash while enveloped in the void, making everything pass through him rather than damage him. Which, with shade form, gave him an idea.
Focusing, he shifted into shade form, and concentrated once more. He started with a small jog, before jumping forwards. At the peak of his jump, instincts from long before took over, and he sped forwards a couple of metres instantly, before gravity took hold and brought him down to the ground. Nodding, he realized that dashing worked the same way. Yet without the Mothwing Cloak, his mind couldn't make the connection of using his energy to dash. That meant he was only able to dash in shade form, meaning he couldn't incorporate it in his usual fighting style. He did, however, notice he had much higher jumping potential, able to jump vetically about 2 metres. In any case, cloaks were checkmarked off the list as a success.
Shortly after that would be the Mantis Claws. After... Appropriating the claws, it was his primary form of vertical travelling. Acting much like climbing picks, they were extremely helpful in scaling walls. Since most of Hallownest was underground caverns, they were a neccessity. While the Mantis Claws were useful, they were easily replaceable. Finding it would be nice, but it would be for more sentimental reasons than anything.
After that is the Dream Nail. When Awoken, it was what allowed him access to both the White Palace, the Godhome and inside the Hollow Knights mind to defeat the Radiance. It was an exceptional weapon linking him to the dream world where he could see what others were thinking. While it would be useful for interrogation, not the most useful since he believed the Radiance killed. If he came across it however he wouldn't complain.
The Crystal Heart was another that was in the "Would be nice but not necessary category." It could be used to charge up, before launching himself in one direction at great speeds and far distances. Unlike the Hallownest, therr weren't any giant pits of acid or endless spike traps. As such, he didn't think he needed the fast means of transportation.
Speaking of acid, he didn't think that would be a problem either. While there were some people that could have acid as a quirk in some form, he bet on the odds that there wouldn't be someone with it readily available to mess with him. Therefore, Isma's Tear, the fruit that allowed him immunity to acid, would hopefully be uneeded.
Finally, the Monarch Wings. He got those after defeating the Broken Vessel, who was infected by the orange fungus. He felt bad having to cut down a fellow sibling, but his mind was not his own. They allowed him a burst of vertical movement, or a "double jump" as he liked to call it, where the wings would unfold and flap enough to double his altitude. Unfortunately, they never let him fly as they deactivated once used until he found stable footing, whether that be a wall or the ground. One of the most helpful things he got, and he wished he still had it.
Everything else he considered less important. Things like his Lumafly Lantern or the King's Brand were unnecessary. His multitude of charms would be missed, but he was sure that he could find a work around in some way.
Well, he had 9 months until the entrance exam. Time to start catching up as it were.
/\/\/\/\ -8 Months Remain- /\/\/\/\
Well, so far he wasn't having much luck in his searches.
The first month he spent searching and cleaning the beach, his results had been lackluster. He was getting slightly stronger sure, building up a bit of body mass, and he could hold his shade cloak for longer and started training with it, but it wasn't what he was hoping for.
He had luckily been able to contact a local junkyard who was willing to help clean up the beach. Apparently the old man who use to work there had fond memories of it, so he would helpfully drive his truck back and forth to help clear away the debris. A fair amount of the scrap metal and parts could be sold off, and since Izuku didn't need any of it, the old man wasn't losing any profits from his trips. Since Izuku had told him he was searching for something within the piles, the old man had promised that if he found anything shiny or interesting that he may have missed, he would let him know. Sadly, that hadn't happened yet.
Between school, training and some time spent doing quirk analysis, Izuku was starting to tire out. Yet he knew that he wouldn't stop here. His dream to be a hero was still there, nd he had faced worse odds before. Whether that statement was for when he was quirkless or his past life, he didn't truly know.
Plus, he was getting impatient. This was the longest he ever went having his Nail by his side. He did however give him time to experiment with his Soul techniques.
As a Void Vessel, he eventually was able to learn 4 different techniques using Soul energy, which he gained by fighting enemies. Each ability would drain part of his soul charge, and since he had no nail or anything to damage, he had to be careful how he would spend it in the future. He did learn that apparently hot bubbles baths worked as a subsitute for hot springs to charge his soul, which was nice after long days of cleaning the beach.
The first ability was Focus. He would charge his inner soul energy to force his wounds closed. While extremely useful, it required him to stay still in order to use, which meant it wasn't incredibly useful in combat unless he could exploit patterns and find a lull. Each use would take around 33% of his tank.
The second was Vengeful Soul. He would fire off a portion of his tank in a blast of soul energy, which would explode for some damage. What was strange was how his blasts were much weaker than he remembered them being. Rather than large blasts which took 33% of his tank, he was only able to fire off small blasts which took 10% of his charge but did a lot less damage as it were.
Third was an ability called Desolate Dive. Using it, he would dive from above and slam the ground, causing a bolt of white lightnig to strike and a resulting shockwave which would hurt badly. This acted like he remembered, taking away 30% of his tank as normal. It also got him in trouble with local authorities. Most of the time he was careful with not going overboard, but the clear bolt of white lightning that came with this move alerted nearby police, who came expecting a villain attack. When they realized it was just a kid quirk training, they gave him a lecture about quirk use outside being illegal but let him off the hook if he was careful.
This in turn made it so he couldn't test his fourth and final ability, Howling Wraiths. If the Desolate Dive would attract attention, he imagined the screaming banshees that accompanied this ability would definitely cause problems. His most powerful ability would cause the wraiths to explode out from above him, dealing huge damage. Problem was it only hit above him, so anything to the sides or below would go unscathed. This also took 33% of his tank.
All abilities were white. What bothered him was that each offensive soul technique had an upgrade, which dealt more damage and were black signifying his void nature. Yet for some reason, all he could manifest was the regular versions. All his memories that he went through told him he was doing it right, but something was off.
He figured it was due to a lack of training, so he thre himself into it once again.
/\/\/\/\ P.O.V Katsuki Bakugo /\/\/\/\
Something was wrong with that idiot Deku.
Around 2 months ago he came in to school extremely quietly. He brought out of those dumbass notebooks that he had and was scribbling away while muttering. Nothing the weirdo didn't do before. What was new was his eyes while doing it.
Before, when writing about his heroes, he was a smiling blubbery mess of a human. All sunshines and rainbows. Even after I would put him in his place, the thought of being hero would perk him up. Even if I knew the worthless quirkless loser couldn't do it. Yet he wasn't quirkless anymore apparently.
When he came in those couple months ago, everyone noticed it immediately. His weird eyes. He told everyone he had a quirk he called Void Heart (and Katsuki had let out a cackle at the ridiculous name he had given it) he expected some form of acknowledgement. Yet everyone instead laughed at how dumb his quirk was, only changing his eyes into pits. Instead of breaking down like they had expected, he instead just continued staring with those hollow eyes of his, before sitting down at his desk like usual. No one said anything after that, and the few comments that were thrown at him were instead ignored.
To make it worse, that idiot still had delusions of going to UA and becoming a hero. Someone like him with a useless quirk would never become a hero. That dumb Deku would never ruin his chances at being the only from his school to make UA and becoming the top hero.
He couldn't wait for the entrance exam to put him in his place.
/\/\/\/\ -7 Months Remain- /\/\/\/\
Izuku hated himself right now. For someone who regularily records about quirks in his notebooks, and analyzes them, he was incredibly upset he hadn't thought about this sooner. He blamed his memories of the Knight not having access to his shade form sooner, which mentally blocked him from attempting this.
He finally made the obvious connection that maybe his Soul Abilities would work stronger in his Shade form. And to everyones obvious answer, it did.
Wow, he was a smart one.
When in his shade form, he was able to use Shade Soul, the upgrade to Vengeful Spirit, at regular capacity. It would however drain around 50% of his charge, and also eat away at his remaining time in his shade form. It dealt the damage he expected, however, so the trade-off for the damage was expected.
He didn't test it on his other two abilities, Desolate Dive would turn into Descending Dark, while Howling Wraiths would become Abyss Shreik. His estimations though made it seem he would lose around 75% of his soul and probably whatever time he had left in shade form.
Also, shade form had come with a new sort of problem. When practicing it one day, apparently some civilians had called the police on him once again, except this time they claimed they had seen a villain. With how he looked in shade form, he did cut an imposing figure, so it took some convincing that he wasn't truly a villain. It upset him that his quirk was categorized as something a villain might use, even while training it to be a hero.
As for progress in that front, he could hold his shade form for about 4 minutes now, not counting the drain from Shade Soul, which took around 2 minutes each use on his best estimates. Afterwards, he would be unable to use it for atleast 3 hours until his internal energy had stabilized. He still couldn't properly control all his tendrils, but he could atleast move two at once now. All in all, good progress. But he still hadn't found anything else among the scrap, and around 30% of the beach had been cleaned already.
Which meant he still didn't have his Nail damn it!
/\/\/\/\ -5 Months Remain- /\/\/\/\
Training was still not going as well as he hoped.
With no way to gather Vessel Fragments or something similar, he was unable to increase the amount of Soul energy he could carry. That limited the amount of tine he could spend making a style that worked with his shade form. With a lack of a Nail, he would need to rely on combat in his shade form, as even with his building muscle mass, he would be essentially fighting quirkless at that point.
That lead to the next problem. He had no practical way to test his new shade cloak style. With no actual opponent that may dodge, he could only theorize what options an enemy may take, and was unaware of what some of his openings may be.
In any case, he continued to clear away trash outside of his shade form. Almost half of the beach had been cleaned up so far, and the old man working the trucks had been kind enough to hand him a share of the money that he'd gathered through selling parts. It wasn't a huge sum, but it was enough that he was happy with. He still had no idea what he was going to do with the money anyways.
As was customary he was cleaning up the beach, while searching for anything he could use. At this point, he didn't spend nearly as much time searching as he did cleaning, already aware of the fact that almost half the beach was cleaned and nothing was found. He was hopeful, but he didn't expect anything now.
That was when he found it.
It was a small cracked bar of metal, no bigger than the length of his arm. It wasn't large by any means, but it wasn't standard steel or iron either. It reminded him much of something that his Nail was made of. Pale Ore. He had needed 6 pieces of Pale Ore to turn his trusty Nail into the Pure Nail it became. This was one piece, and while not Pale Ore, there was something about it that he felt. Shaking his head, he put it off to the side, content with his discovery. Finally he found something useful in these trash heaps. If he was lucky, he might be able to find enough pieces of this metal that he could recreate the Nail, or something similar at least.
Well, he knew what the money he was getting would be going towards.
/\/\/\/\ -P.O.V Inko Midoriya- /\/\/\/\
Something was wrong with her baby.
Ever since the discovery of his quirk, he's gotten a lot... quieter. That isn't to say he wasn't quiet before he had a quirk either. Yet before, at least with her, he would be emotional. Now, she would be lucky if she could get a smile out of him. Conversations were a lot shorter, him only speaking out in short sentences at once. Sure, he still had his mumbling habit that would show whenever he gets thinking too hard, but added with his eyes it only made him seem scarier. His once bright green eyes that held so much hope, were now the endless pits of black that she could never get a read on.
As much as she loved her son, when he had dreams of being a hero, she was devestated. She couldn't bear the thought of her son, quirkless as he was, trying to do such a dangerous job. Secretly, she was thankful he didn't have a quirk, as that meant he would have to do a job that would put him in less danger. Even if he were to become a policeman, she didn't mind, as they were never in the thick of things. They would support heroes from the sidelines, keeping civilians away and calling in said heroes for backup.
The past few months, he would come home a lot later than usual. For the first month, she would always get nervous and send out texts and calls, trying to make sure that he was uninjured. Every time, she got the same response. That he was training at the beach. For what, went unsaid as both knew what he was training for.
This was what had her conflicted.
All she wanted was the best for her boy. Now that he had a quirk, he could become a hero. Yet this new attitude that came with his quirk was unhealthy for him. That and she was more than a little scared that he would get himself seriously injured.
She did see the results of his training though. Through the past few months, she could see results visible in the muscles forming in his arms. What were once thin arms were slowly becoming larger muscles. Which was both good, and worrying. The few times she listened in to his mumbling, she could make out a few details.
Keywords such as Nail, Knight, Void and Soul were among them.
She had no idea what they meant, but she assumed that if it was harmful, her son would stay clear from them. After all, despite his new training regime, he managed to have extremely good marks though school. Even through his new personality, Izuku would remain a smart individual.
She sighed, before going back to her cooking. It was getting late at night now, and Izuku would be coming home soon enough. Even though she didn't want her son to be a hero, wouldn't mean she would stop him.
/\/\/\/\ -2 Months Remain- /\/\/\/\
Izuku stopped outside the doors of his destination, backpack slung around his shoulders. Over the last three months, he had gotten lucky and found an additional 5 pieces of the Pale Ore lookalike. While he had no idea how much he would actually need in order to get his weapon created, he hoped that like his Pure Nail, 6 would be a magic number.
He had spent the last few days looking extensively on the internet for a good blacksmith that could create his blade. While he could go to any support company and have something created, he was a little wary about it. He was a student with very little credentials. Most support companies would laugh at him, before turning him away at the door. At the same time, many support companies that would accept him are not focused in mainly bladed weapons. They would be able to make a blade sure, but since they weren't specialized in them, he worried about what the end product might become.
As such, he searched specifically through blacksmiths in his local area. After weeding through a bunch and looking up reviews, he decided on one in particular that caught his interest. The blacksmith shop, lazily labelled as The Forge, was one that had seemily been opened for a long while. While it didn't have many reviews, all reviews were a coinflip. They were either extremely positive, or extremely negative, yet they all had one overall similar comment. The blacksmith that worked there would only accept certain requests, and was very picky about it. Those requests that were accepted however had incredible results. No blade that had left The Forge had been unworth the money spent. Then again, he had no idea how many of the weapons that had left were used for combat, and how many used as decoration.
Entering The Forge, he was immediately hit by a wave of heat. There was no counter or reception room, entering the doors lead straight to the work area. Working away at his current project was the lone blacksmith that worked there. He was a massive figure, standing taller than Izuku even aus he was slouched over his work. They had two huge goat horns coming from the tip of his head, large beard and moustache covering his face. His body was a dark red, seemingly heat resistant, as he held the red hot blade with no issues. Izuku mentally started filing away possible quirk analysis before the gruff figure looked up at him.
"Hi." Izuku greeted. The man just nodded at him. "I need a blade made." He continued to stare at him. Idly, Izuku noticed he was the first to stare into his eyes and flinch.
"What kind?" The deep rough voice asked. Izuku quickly pulled out his notebook, before ripping out the page with his sketch and measurements on it. He handed it off to the man, who took it and looked it over and raising an eyebrow. He turned back to Izuku, before asking another question. "Why?"
"Hero work." That was the wrong thing to say apparently. The man immediately scowled at his response.
"No." Seemingly finished with that line of conversation, he turned back to his current line of work. Izuku didn't leave, however.
"Why not?" He asked. The man's arm paused mid swing. His eyes turned to him and seeming glowed with fire behind them.
"Not worth my time. Go ask someone else."
"Please. I need the best. I even brought material." He took this time to open his bag, and brought out the 6 pieces of scrap metal. Izuku caught the man's eyes barely widen in shock, before he put down his hammer and walked over. Grabbing one of the pieces, he looked it over carefully before turning back to him.
"Where?" The man asked.
"The Beach. Why?" While he knew it was good metal, he was curious to what brought about the change of interest.
"An old.. Aquaintance used these." His face seemed to be wistful. Though he couldn't really tell through all the facial hair. He stared hard at the metal, before seemingly taking two more from his bag. "Come back in a week."
"Huh?" The man had turned away, taking the 3 pieces of scrap with him. "Wait. What do I owe?"
"One week. Leave." The old project forgotten and moved away, the man took his sketch and brought it over to a table. There, he began to transfer the sketch onto a larger sheet, and began marking different things. Any attempt Izuku made to talk to him was seemingly ignored, so he shrugged before leaving with 3 remaining pieces of scrap.
He had no idea what to do with these.
...
One week later, he came back.
When he walked through the doors, he was just in time to see the blacksmith adding his final few touches. Chisel in hand, he was inscribing a shape into the flat of the blade. When he was finished, he took it over to a sander and smoothed out the edges. He watched in rapt attention for the next hour as he put the final touches.
Finally, he brought the finished blade over to Izuku.
The shape of the blade was the same, the arrowhead shape the same as he remembered. However the design on the flat side of the blade was a different design. Instead of the wild pattern of the Pure Nail, or even the spiral patterns from one of the previous form, the blacksmith had decided to imbed a symbol. Near the handle in the centre of a small circle was a small flame. That circle was designed to look like a spirit or animal of some kind that was coiled around and protecting the flame. Above that, in the top left and right were three sharp indents shaped like diamonds. Finally, above the the symbol ran two line that ran until the end of the blade, meeting near the tip.
He didn't know why he chose that design, but it probably meant something to the previous weilder of the weapon that it was forged from. Looking up, he saw the blacksmith pointing at him.
"Name." His rough voice called out.
"I-Izuku Midoriya."
"Not you." He shook his head, pointing again, and he quickly realized he meant the blade.
"It's called the Nail." Izuku happily said, only to frown when he saw the blacksmith shake his head again.
"Your old blade was the Nail. Not even name. Type. New blade, new name." Was his gruff response.
Well, thats fair he supposed. Having put a lot effort into the blade to make it unique, he wouldn't expect it to take on the name of his former blade. Though that might be a problem as Izuku did not have a name in mind. He wasn't perticularily clever in naming things. The only two weapons he ever used were the Nail and Dream Nail, and he had seen Hornet's Needle as well. Spending a couple minutes, he went through a few names like Claw, Tooth and Shard. Eventually he settled on something.
"Spire." That got a nod from the blacksmith. Eventually Izuku asked. "What's your name? Are you an ex-hero?"
"..." The blacksmith stared at him for a bit. "Ornn. And no." He pointed towards the door. "Now get out."
"Wait! What about payment?" Izuku frantically asked.
"No need. Use blade well." Was Ornn's response. With that, the blacksmith turned and continued his work. Izuku stared at him for a bit longer, before grabbing Spire and heading to the beach.
...
At a full sprint, Izuku made it to the beach within the hour. He took Spire off his back and took some time inspecting it. It was the exact weight he remembered, fitting comfortable in his right hand. The weapon was made to be used in one hand, and he had the ability to use it in both if needed.
When he got there, he set up a spare fridge in a more open area. Making sure that there was enough space to move and nothing blocking the ground, he walked towards it. From its position on his back, he drew the blade and gave it a quick flourish, before dropping it down to his side. He took a deep breath in, then let it out.
Then he moved.
With instinctual movements, he ran forwards and swung his weapon. Two quick movements across his body, before he jumped. While above the fridge, he did another swing below him, using the force on the impact to propel him higher. Turning midair, on the way down he did one more vertical slash, cutting straight through to the ground before leaping backwards. There was a count of 3 seconds, before the fridge split into 8 different pieces. Looking down at Spire, a quick inspection showed no physical warping or damage to the blade. Izuku let out a rare smile. This was what he was waiting for.
/\/\/\/\ -One Day Remains- /\/\/\/\
Izuku grunted, as he placed the last piece of scrap onto the truck. He sighed in relief, before turning towards the beach. With the added use of Spire, he was able to cut down larger pieces of scrap into smaller chunks, making moving and cleaning the beach significantly easier.
Using his shade form, he was able to move larger chunks and some smaller pieces at once. He was now able to move 2 of his tendrils while still keeping use of his hands. Shade form could now last up to 5 minutes, with each use of Shade Soul still taking 2 minutes of his for amd 50% of his soul charge. Unfortunately, he was unable to use Spire in shade form, with his hands shifting into claws. It was however able to stick onto his back, and even followed him through dashes.
A good chunk of the last 2 months was also spent practicing with the Spire. Getting used to using the weapon with both hands, as well as using it while attacking with Vengeful Soul in his offhand, which gave him different options since he was unable to dash outside of shade form. Sadly, Spire wasn't quite as sharp as the Pure Nail was, but it was still better than his base Nail. Last week he had gone to UA to register his weapon and had been given the okay. Though he will need to show off the blade to staff to prove its untampered with.
He went to sit down on the bench that started it all. Looking off at the beach, it was a clear and beautiful sight, unrecognizeable as the landfill it was. Drawing his weapon and trailing a hand along it lightly. Tomorrow was the day of the entrance exam.
Izuku was more than ready to pass.
/\/\/\/\ Line Break /\/\/\/\
A/N - While this is heavily Hollow Knight based, I tweaked and modified abilities to make him seem strong but not overly op.
Shade form in the game is very unexplored, only shown during dashes, when you die or certain cutscenes. I always thought it looked cool so I took some creative liberties. He can be hit in shade form, but not while dashing. Takes the same damage as regular but have less visible wounds.
Also Ornn/Irelia easter egg for his weapon. Not relevant really but I thought it was a fun way to make his weapon meaningful.