Hello there, name's Kaemisa.
There are a few things I should tell you before you start this story.
Disclaimer : I don't own either My Hero Academia, nor Solo Leveling, or any other character that could appear in this story. When a character that is part of an already existing universe will be introduced, I will always in the author's note make a disclaimer.
Either way, the stories of both MHA and Solo Leveling are both going to receive MAJOR changes. I just took the two concepts and made something out of it. I don't have the audacity to say it'll be better than two masterpieces, I don't even think this fic will be good.
But I have fun writing in, so I will continue.
About reviews, don't hesitate to write some. However, I'm not a native english speaker, so criticizing me on grammar is more or less pointless. Please do try to remain somewhat positive, it doesn't give you anything being mean and it doesn't help me at all.
Another warning : characters will be aged up. And finally, as I literally speak like Bakugo IRL, this fanfiction will have a lot of insults and foul language. You have been warned.
Hope you will enjoy this.
If anyone had told Izuku he would have been killed on a class trip to the closest museum, he probably would have shaken his head, politely thanked that person, and left while calling the nearest hospital that one of their patients had escaped.
But he really died, in the end, so maybe it was his fault.
Wait, no, it really wasn't his fault! How could he know a villain would impale him on a spike while he was crossing a bridge? He wasn't even aiming at him, just at Mount Lady.
And how could he even miss!? You could put a hundred copies of the small green-haired boy in that giant hero's ass, and easily.
Maybe it was some sort of punition for always playing with death? Maybe his guardian angel had had enough, got himself drunk to death after having to protect him once more, and finally decided to retire?
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't blame him. He was so often close to death, that it started to worry the boy that he was cursed at one point.
He could have been, since he died in the end.
Wait, no, he wasn't cursed either! Who would even curse him? The boy had nothing special.
He was the very definition of plain. Well, he was kind of intelligent… Okay, more like scarily insanely smart. But other than that, he was a petite boy that had barely enough muscles to pass as a boy. He had beautiful vibrant emerald eyes, but he was so small and had so messy hair nobody even saw his eyes most of the time.
If he had been killed on the criteria of beauty, his mother would have died a few hundred times before him, as she still looked like the most magnificent model even in her forties.
And his Quirk wasn't great, either. He could manipulate through telekinesis small objects, just like his mother, but nothing more, nothing less.
He wasn't even popular. Some found him funny, because of his very volatile attitude, and everybody knew he was the smartest person in the school, even ahead of Katsuki, but otherwise, he was just a regular person.
Some even found him weird with what used to be his obsession for heroes. Hey, he knew he couldn't become one, but that didn't mean he couldn't like them. His theory was that these prepubert fuckers thought liking heroes would make them less cool, but eveyone liked heroes. That was just straight facts.
Where was he already? Ah, yes, right, he was dying, slowly sinking into the river with a seven centimeters large hole in his chest.
Unlucky.
He thought Bakugo had tried to catch his hand when he fell, but apparently he failed. Damn useless bastard. What were friends for?
Not that it would have mattered anyway, the hole in his chest was enough to die. That, he was pretty sure of. But drowning, to add to that? Yeah, his guardian angel really had enough. He was like dead squared.
Dying was pretty long, he thought. The teenager really hoped it wouldn't be like those creepypastas he read on the internet, where he would be cursed to remain alive in his corpse. That wasn't what he had hoped for, though he hadn't hoped to die either really.
Meh, accidents happened. At least he would bring some push to the career of the hero that arrested that villain, saying he had saved the rest of the class from death. People would even forget he ever existed. His mother might cry, but at least now the green-haired woman wouldn't have to carry around her seventeen years old son like he was nine anymore. And it would be easier to pay for her and his sister's needs.
Hey, could the Grim Reaper, Charon, Azraël, Thanatos, or whatever entity that took care of the dead, actually speed up and come get him? His organs were done for already, he was dead. Hello, I'm Dead, pleasure to meet you, can you get me out of there?
Man, he really felt useless. He had done nothing in life. He always tried to help people, which always resulted in him almost dying in some way, and yet he didn't do much. Even when he stopped to help people carry some things, he always managed to almost get six tons'ed by the nearest truck. When he tried to get a cat in a tree, he would fall or the cat would jump him.
And when he tried to save someone at the pool from drowning, he almost drowned himself after getting him out of the water! And now he really was drowning. Life was terribly cruel.
He couldn't be a himo, a lawyer, a doctor, or anything really. He was even fine with picking up trash as a job, but he couldn't even do that. He didn't even know if more useless people existed.
He was a dump of money for his poor mother who hadn't much, and that's how he was going to end? That was just unfair. Izuku truly hoped his mother would earn some kind of assurance to at least live easily after.
'This is getting pretty awkward.' thought the teenager, after several minutes of not being dead yet. He didn't even feel pain, he was just… floating? he didn't know. It was as if he was swimming in an infinite ocean of darkness, but without the need to breathe or actually swim.
But then, he felt himself delicately touch the ground. His body was now on some sort of flat floor, with the exception that it wasn't cold, but warm. Which he was almost sure was not normal in freezing water. Was that hell's bottom?
And wait, still no pain? Was he so useless that his pain receptors had given up on him?
And that strange sensation, coming from where his heart should have been? He had no heart anymore, it had just disappeared with a large portion of his chest, so why? He felt like he was pulled to something. But he had to get up to reach that thing, and his body couldn't. Because first, he was pretty sure he was in water, and second, because he was dead. Was that just too hard to understand?
But the sensation continued, even after what felt like several minutes. It just never stopped, constantly giving him the envy of getting up.
'I am dead, leave me alone.' Izuku thought, hoping he'd finally be left alone. But it never diminished. If anything, it grew stronger, like calling for him.
"Fine, I'll come!" he said.
Huh? He could talk? He had wanted to think that, not say it. And wasn't he supposed to be underwater?
And just as easily, he opened his eyes.
"'The fuck?" he added, as he finally saw where he was.
Just like what he had felt, he was in complete darkness, and yet, he could clearly see around, as if he was floating in space. However, he was standing on solid ground, which was another major problem, since there wasn't anything under him.
he pushed himself up, using his two arms, looking at his body as he did so.
So, the hole was still there? Yet he could move and breathe? This was fucked. This dream was getting weirder and weirder.
"That guy didn't miss," he muttered, noticing how he could even see his spine through the hole. "Pierced me like a leaf."
He raised his head, looking once more around him. Since everything was black, there was only one thing that caught his eyes: a sort of golden panel that was just standing still in the air.
"Well, only one thing to do I guess."
He started to walk to the panel, noticing how he had no trouble doing so. If anything, he actually felt lighter than ever. He could run a marathon and win easily. Post-death clarity wasn't bad.
When he finally arrived in front of the panel, he noticed a strange text, highlighted on it.
- Welcome, Player. -, was written on it. As soon as he read it, it changed immediately, as if it knew he had registered the information.
- We are glad you decided to start a new game. -
"I didn't start shit." he muttered, but the window continued anyway.
- You have been chosen as your own main character. From now, you will be able to benefit from the system that was made just for you. -
"What is this…" the boy added, his eyes narrowed at the panel. It changed again, and now, the question 'Do you wish to continue?' was written on the panel. Under the question, two buttons, Yes and No, were displayed.
'What will happen if I don't follow this nonsense…?' Izuku pondered. The screen then changed again.
- Notice: If you refuse to become the Player, then you will die of heart loss, lungs loss, blood loss, major bones and tissues loss, and drowning 0,02 seconds after declining the offer. -
"How can I die of drowning without lungs?" Izuku said aloud, not that the screen seemed to care, if it even had a mind on its own. It was back to the Yes or No option, and the boy sighed. If he could live a bit longer, why not?
He clicked on the Yes option, and the screen changed once again.
- Notice: You can also respond to the system verbally. -
'Good to know, I guess…?'
- Now, the Player will choose its race. -
Several similar screens appeared all around him, with no option, but just text. The main screen, however, had now a multiple choice answer.
"So… Kitsune, Catboy, Phoenix, Fairy, Dragonoid, and Snake Hybrid. That's not the kind of race you'd usually see in a game. Unless it's a poor cheap weeb copy of some game." Izumu said.
- Notice: The system took account of the Player's current sex. Does the Player want to change its sex? -
"Nah, I'll remain a boy, thank you very much." he muttered, walking to the first text panel.
- Kitsune: Those creatures have fox-like features with more than one tail that can go up to nine. With great charm and beauty, they can seduce any living being. They also have powerful psychic powers, as well as the control of a few elements that they are attributed to birth. But never forget that with sharpened claws, they can also do severe damage.
This race is heavily focused on Magic Power, with important boosts in the Strength and Sense statistics. -
"What does those stats mean?"
- Notice: There are different statistics attributed to the Player. Strength, Magic Power, Vitality, Agility, Intelligence and Sense. They can be upgraded by leveling up. Some races, however, need some stats more than the others. -
"Leveling up…? Well, I'll just find out later." Izuku said, sighing. He didn't feel like receiving more explanations right now, as he was still not sure of what was happening. That dream was becoming too serious too fast. "Seduction, huh?"
He looked at his body, which had barely enough muscles to distinguish him as male. With another sigh, he went to the next panel. There was no way this race would work for him. He was not attractive, not sexy, not beautiful. His ugly ass could safely move on.
"Aren't there anywhere the human race?" he asked nobody in particular, hoping the entity that was playing with him would actually respond.
- Notice: No. -
'Great…' he mentally groaned.
- Catboys: Those creatures, though they often seem inoffensive, are one of the most aggressive and fast species. Lurking around in darkness, they are swift and invisible to the normal eye, with an insane agility and a splendid attack and vitality.
This race is heavily focused on Agility, with important boosts in Strength and Vitality. -
'This one seems a lot better already. No big physical changes I'd say, and I'd be more or less sneaky anyway. That's a race I could even become a hero with.' the boy pondered. He didn't know what all of this circus was, and he didn't even want to be a hero anymore, but if it was real, and not a product of his imagination, he was going to profit from it.
Izuku then went to the next text, reading once more.
- Phoenix: With incredible healing abilities to both himself and others, and powerful attack means with both Strength and Magic Power, specially using various types of flames, Phoenix men and women have a flexibility no other race has.
This race has no priority on its statistics. They all are as important to the Player. -
'Doesn't seem bad, but it seems kind of too passive… If only I had more information…'
"Would it be possible to have more information to work with? It's kind of hard to choose like that…" he said aloud, hoping the strange system that was playing with his life would actually be helpful.
- Notice: No. -, a new screen appeared.
"Great… Thank you for your help…" he added. It seemed like the system, however, managed to understand his sarcasm, since nothing appeared then.
'Well… Let's move on.' he thought while sighting.
- Fairy: They are a race oriented toward living a peaceful life and enjoying the bare minimum. With abilities in healing and support, they rely on their magic to achieve their objectives.
This race is heavily focused on Intelligence, with important boosts in Sense and Vitality. -
'Well, that's downright the most boring one. It sounds like a more passive version of Phoenix.' Izuku pondered.
- Dragonoid: This race, the most aggressive of all, far ahead of other races without any doubt. Everything goes into destructive force power that allows these people to brute force through their problems instead of solving them.
This race is heavily focused on Strength and Magic Power. -
"This one doesn't sound bad either, but is it really worth it to sacrifice the only thing I am good at, thinking, for muscles? And how can I even be aggressive with this?" he said aloud, looking at his arms that were thinner than the noodles his mother made.
- Snake: those hybrids have… -
He didn't even read any more. Images of him with a snake head, or with a snake body instead of his precious legs he used to run away from death or his problems so many times, and it was enough to convince him he maybe didn't want that race.
Doesn't matter if it was the strongest or not. He had limits not to cross.
"Soooo… Catboy, Phoenix, or Dragonoid huh?" he said out loud, going back to the option select screen.
'Phoenix sounds awesome, but I've got a little preference for Catboy. Dragonoid would go perfectly to Katsuki, but I'm not that much of a fighter. I don't even know if I could become one even if the changes were radical. Alright, let's go for Catboy.' Izuku thought.
"I'll take the Catboy option." he tried to say while sounding as sure as he could.
- Are you sure you want to choose the Catboy race as your new race? All physical changes exclusive to that race will be applied. -
"Yes."
He was not scared of the cat ears. Or the tail. Or whatever.
- Notice: If you don't choose the Phoenix race, you will die of heart loss, lungs loss, blood loss, major bones and tissues loss, and drowning 0,02 seconds after choosing another race. Do you wish to carry on with your choice? -
Silence reigned, as what was written on the panel reached the boy's eyes. He felt blood rush to his head in annoyance, as his cheeks soon were colored with a pretty pink blush.
"And you couldn't tell me that before!? Aaaaah, I'll take the Phoenix race then!" he yelled in frustration, holding his head with his hands.
- You are about to choose the Phoenix race, are you sure? All physical changes exclusive to that race will be applied. -
"Yes, I do! Please get me out of there!"
- The Player has finished its creation of character. Additional information and details will be unlocked as soon as the Player awakens. -
"Is it over…?" Izuku asked nobody in particular.
- The Player has entered the game. Starting the production of Gates and additional enemies. Starting the awakening of additional beings. -
"Wait, wait, that doesn't sound cool at all…!"
- The player will now awaken. Good luck. -
And everything went black again.
Katsuk looked at Izuku in horror as the massive pillar of stone hit him in the chest. A squall of wind that came with the speed of the pillar made his hair fly back, and the tall boy could see his friend's surprised face, his small mouth opened in shock, and his shining eyes immediately losing their light.
"No!" he yelled in pure terror, as the entire class around him broke into panic. Mount Lady, from how far she was, seemed to be frozen, while the villain just looked annoyed he had missed.
But Izuku was already dying. He barely had the strength to look at his blond friend. This was a vision that would haunt him for years, and he perfectly knew it. His empty eyes, with a last cry for help that never came, looking at the person that usually saved him.
He was always close to death. Sometimes, Bakugo wondered if he wasn't depressive, and suicidal, and if he was hiding things from him. But yet he seemed happy? He had given up on becoming a hero, after the years, on the request of the boy, and didn't really know what to do now.
But he had support, and Katsuki made sure he always had. He laughed, ran everywhere like a hyperactive rabbit, and if anything, he felt the most alive person he had ever seen. But it didn't change the fact that he always was, somehow, about to die.
And this time, when he had not even searched for it, he had been killed.
His body collapsed under his weight, falling behind, and above the railing of the bridge. Katsuki, still frozen, was too late to catch him.
He rushed forward, but couldn't even grab his leg as he fell into the river, the water immediately adopting a dirty crimson color where he disappeared.
'This is a nightmare. I'm sleeping on my desk, he's going to hit my head to wake me up and call me a lazy fuck. Please.'
But the hit never came.
He pinched his arm, as hard as he could, but the intense pain that followed told him he wasn't dreaming.
He felt like throwing up. He shouldn't have, he thought he was ready to see people die. He knew he would see people get killed at some point, but not now.
Not him.
He just remained there, at the railing, looking into the water. His mind flashbacked to all the moments he had passed with him, since when they were still toddlers.
When they got their Quirks. When they played heroes. When he eventually convinced him not to become a himo. And all the other things.
The foul language everyone disliked, yet they shared between themselves and their mothers. The boy's kindness, that somehow, started slowly to be his.
"There is no way," he muttered. The class, around him, was still in shock. Some were throwing up, while a boy had fainted right away.
But Katsuki came back to his senses. He could feel his mind get back into work. The gears grind back into motion. He slowly turned himself, looking at the villain that had taken his best friend from him, and his left hand downright exploded.
"You, you're dead." he said, to nobody in particular. But it still needed to be said.
He was about to jump forward, ready to launch himself at the villain that was a few hundred meters away, when a bright, flashing light that made him squint his eyes came out of the water. It lasted for a few seconds, before things went back to normal.
"What…?"
He could see bubbles appear from where Izuku had sunk. A few seconds later, a face appeared, taking a huge gulp of air.
When he saw the green hair, Bakugo jumped without any hesitation. The boy seemed to have terrible trouble swimming, and was menacing to drown at every second.
He didn't ask how he was still alive, and how he wasn't pierced anymore, and alive. This could wait for later. Now, he had to actually save him.
The blond wouldn't let Izuku die twice in front of him.
He grabbed his small body with his arm, closing up the space between them. He then swam, as fast as he could, while making sure his head remained over the water. Finally, they arrived at the shore, when he grabbed the metal ladder, guiding his hands to the metal.
"Go up." he ordered, and the boy nodded.
His body… Seemed different, somehow. His eyes were closed, but his hair seemed just a bit less messy than usual. Usually, they looked like Katsuki had used his Quirk on his head, going in every direction.
'Must be the water.' Katsuki thought.
It's when he got his upper body out of the water, and he saw the six gigantic wings, three coming from both sides, that he knew for sure something was different.
The wings were red at the top, and slowly, they became orange, to yellow, and it was the same for every single one. Since they were three, really big, and were on top of each other on each side, it occupied his entire back, with the few last feathers still dipping in the water.
He didn't say anything, and just watched, as Izuku got out of the water as quickly as he could. When finally he touched the solid ground, he kneeled, his wings folding back around him to protect his small body.
Bakugo got up after him, looking at him with curiosity and relief.
"Izuku, is that you?" he asked softly. He had no answers for a few seconds, before the other teenager finally replied.
"Yeah, I think."
"Good," he nodded. He crouched in front of his friend, looking at him.
His eyes were still shining, but the colour had completely changed. They were now a flashy red, and his before emerald looking eyes now were more like rubies.
And they were really, really pretty.
"What are those?" he asked softly, obviously referring to the wings.
He knew they weren't a hidden part of his Quirk. They had done everything, together, to discover what his Quirk truly was, after the Telekinesis seemed a bit too weak. But they had never found anything, and had accepted, reluctantly, that it was just his mother's. They had hoped his father would have left something in the boy's powers, yet visibly he didn't.
But wings appearing after a death experience? And his chest was now completely healed, when they both knew it had been pierced? This wasn't his fault, getting aggressive would just scare him more.
"I- I don't know!" the boy said, shaking.
The second Izuku had awakened, he had never been in more pain in his entire short life. He could feel his chest closing itself, his organs literally recreating themselves out of nothing. It had been horrific, and too slow for his own good. He had also felt the wings grow in his back, and it had also been incredibly painful.
But everything felt like a part of him. As if it was normal.
But the worst was the water. He just felt helpless, like he had forgotten how to swim. He just couldn't move much, and it had taken almost all of his strength to just get to the surface. He had almost drowned twice, and this was a terrific experience.
And he knew how to swim! Not only that, but he was actually rather good at it. But he just couldn't, for an obscure reason he just didn't know why.
'Was everything real?' he thought, thinking about his choice.
The Phoenix race. He had been offered a second chance at life.
But by who? Why? How? Were these wings part of his choice? He had too many questions and no real answer.
And his shirt was completely torn. That was pretty unlucky, but not really surprising. That was why he was hiding his upper body with his tiny arms and his wings.
They felt like a part of him already, as if they had always been there, and yet he barely had these wings for a few minutes at most. Were those the phoenix wings? He could only guess so. But as of now, he felt no other major change. It would probably come though.
He got up, and Bakugo immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" he asked, trying his best not to scare the boy. The teenager was very obviously going through several emotions at the moment, with a certain degree of fear and confusion. He had died, after all.
"I- I need to get home." he mumbled. He felt tired, as if he was going to collapse at any moment. His legs could barely support his weight, and were shaking uncontrollably.
"You're staying home, Izuku. I'm calling an ambulance and you're going straight to the hospital." he added as he took his home.
"But, I am fine, I…-"
"No. You died, and came back. We both know this is what happened. You are not going anywhere." he interrupted. Then, he put himself right in front of the other teenager, and looked right into his eyes. His red pupils inspired seriousness. "If I have to physically restrict you, I will."
The boy didn't say anything for a few seconds, before sitting on the ground, still protecting himself from the outside world with his wings. He even cuddled within the feathers even more, trying to warm up his body after being in the freezing water.
Bakugo looked at him, and then at the entire class that was rushing to them.
"Call his mother," he said to the teacher, who nodded without saying anything. The explosive teenager could be very scary when he wanted to. "I'll call an ambulance."
As he explained everything on the phone to the hospital, while professionals were already on their way, the blond boy could see a few of his classmates trying to soothe Izuku, who was shaking harder and harder, completely hidden in his wings, with only his legs going out of its feather shell.
"And be fast. It's becoming worse with every second." Katsuki finished, hanging up the phone.
Putting it back in his wet pocket, he crouched next to the boy.
"Hey, Izuku? Everything is going to be fine, alright?" he tried.
But his friend didn't answer. The boy was processing through the shock of dying, what he thought was a dream being real, him new status and, what seemed, 'Quirk', and the pain and terror he felt in the water.
Everything was hitting him at once. He had not taken seriously the selection he made with the system, as he had never really accepted his death. And now, after coming back, he finally felt it all crashing down.
"Hey, Katsuki, is he going to be okay? He's shaking horribly." one of the girls said, with visible worry in her voice.
People liked the petite teenager a lot more than he thought himself. It could be even said that he was more or less popular. He was very easy-going, and never really lost his smile or joy. Even if not all of the class interacted regularly with him, he represented a pillar of stability. If he was being sassy and running around, then everything was going well.
Seeing him so shaken was a shock to everyone, and since it followed the first traumatism of him being pierced like a doll, it didn't help.
"He will." he assured.
He always got up. Even when younger, when they had not agreed on something, and he had beaten him in anger, he had always gotten up. He was too strong not to move past this event.
Soon, the ambulance was there, and they took him in without any resistance on his part. He was still conscious, but didn't respond, or move. He was shielding himself from everything using the colorful feathers. When they carried him, he didn't even change his position.
He finally succumbed to the strange fatigue that was holding him on the way to the hospital.
When Izuku woke up, in hospital clothes, it was to the sound of the machine that was beating the rhythm of his heart.
"Huh?" he pondered, as his wings flapped around him, moving along with his confusion.
He didn't remember going to the hospital. He didn't even remember moving from the ground he was on. Well, at that time, he was fighting with the strange slumber that seemed to take a hold of him, but still.
He never felt better. Even with additional weight on his back, he immediately got up, going as far as to disconnect himself from the different machines and things that had been placed to maintain him alive during his sleep if something went wrong.
The second he got the cables off under his skin, it immediately healed, and he looked curiously at his arms.
[Passive Skill: Healing - Acquired] appeared on a screen in front of him, as well as [Skill: Heal - Acquired]
"It's real…" he mumbled. It was still really hard to believe: those wings, this 'healing', everything was part of the decision he made as the 'Player'.
- Indeed. The Player has successfully become a part of the Phoenix specy. - a screen wrote, appearing in front of his eyes.
"And now that I am one, is it possible to know more?" he asked, remembering how the system promised him additional information after waking up.
- The Phoenix specy, like it was implied in the presentation, is a race capable of doing everything. Fighting, supporting, scheming, they have it all. Even so they are mostly restricted to the element of fire, the great diversity and creativity they find in the flames is more than enough to bear the lack of elemental choice. -
Izuku sat on the bed, losing himself in his thoughts.
"Explain to me your system." he simply said. The entity that referred to him as his Player didn't seem to need courtesy, so he just went straight for what he needed.
- You have been chosen as a Player, and I am the communication between you and the system. After receiving your race, based on your statistics and experience points, and a few other factors you will discover as you level up, you will gain new abilities, skills, and passives that will strengthen you, expand your arsenal, and diversify your possibilities. -
"Statistics? Experience points?"
Said like that, it sounded like some sort of video game. Being called a Player didn't help, but he kept that question about the System for the end.
- Doing certain tasks, such as daily or temporary quests, as well as killing monsters, the player will gain Experience points. After reaching a certain number of Experience points, you will level up, giving you ten points to spend on your statistics, to upgrade your possibilities. Each one will bring different advantages, and synergies will bring new unique skills. -
There was a point Izuku really didn't like in that line, and that bothered him to no end.
"Killing monsters?"
- The Player has not reached this possibility yet. -
He sighed. Well, he didn't know more, but he at least had a bit more time to settle with all of this… new beginning.
"And what are the quests? How can I see my stats?"
- There is a daily quest that refreshes every day, with objectives to fulfill in order to gain experience points. As for temporary quests, they appear on a certain event and under certain circumstances. To see your statistics as well as your profile, just say or think Status. -
"Alright, there we go then. Status."
A new distinctive panel appeared in front of him, where he could see a whole bunch of observations.
[Name: Izuku Midoriya - Level: 1]
[Job: None - Fatigue: 0]
[Title: None]
Under that, he could find two bars, the first being a red bar with written [HP: 100], and the second being blue with written [MP: 20].
"Oh god, this really feels like a game…" Izuku said aloud, rubbing his temples. "Alright, and those are my stats I suppose?"
[Strength: 0]
[Vitality: 0]
[Agility: 0]
[Intelligence: 15]
[Sense: 0]
"Cool, they got my stats from real life transposed right into this shit." he said, annoyed but not surprised in the slightest. At least his intelligence wasn't bad, right? "So, ten points per new level? Show me the daily quest."
What he saw almost made him wish he drowned.
[Quest info: Daily Quest - Prepare to become strong]
Goals : [Push ups: 0/100], [Sits-up: 0/100], [Squats: 0/100], [Run: 0/10 Km]
"This… This is impossible!" he mumbled, his eyes wide open. If he had looked at himself in the mirror, he would have noticed his now red pupils, but he had yet to do so.
- Notice: it is indeed possible. -
'You're not the one that is going to do this!' he thought angrily.
- Notice: as you are too low-leveled, you won't be able to progress without going through the daily quest. -
Silence reigned, and the green-haired boy reached for the ground, accepting there was no other choice than to follow the plan.
"Well… Here goes nothing." he whispered.
Inko crossed the main hall nervously, as she had finally been given the right to see her son on the third day the boy was admitted into the hospital.
She still didn't understand that decision. She had spoken over the phone with the boy, and he seemed completely sane and normal to the mother. He was still that light boy that said what was on his mind.
She wasn't allowed to see him on the first day, because the doctors were scared of the boy's trauma. But he had taken it perfectly well, and Inko had been allowed to see the boy on the second day.
But finally, they called him in the morning, saying the boy had changed his appearance brutally during the night, and that he couldn't come for another day, just to make sure it wasn't dangerous.
Eventually, they said there was no danger to the boy's body transformation, and she was allowed to come on the third day.
She arrived in front of the desk, where a secretary waved to her.
"Hello, what are you here for?" she asked politely with a small smile. They were trained to seem as friendly as possible, in order not to stress people, since the hospital wasn't the funniest place around.
"Hum, I am here to see my son. Izuku Midoriya." the woman answered, holding her hands together, clenching her fingers, the joints almost white.
"Sure, are you Inko Midoriya?" After a nod, the woman took her phone, calling somebody else.
"Hello, Doctor Nemo. Inko Midoriya is here to see her son, would it be possible for you to…? Yes? Alright."
She hung up, smiling at the woman.
"You can wait just here, the doctor will arrive in a few minutes to escort you to him."
Inko thanked the woman, barely managing to hold in a stutter, before waiting on the side, looking from all sides for a doctor that could bring her to her precious little boy.
It didn't take long, when a man arrived in front of him.
"Hello, are you Izuku Midoriya's mother?" he asked politely, smiling softly when she nodded furiously. "I figured, he looks a lot like you. Please follow me, I will explain everything as we walk."
Inko hurried after the doctor, walking by his side as they went through the corridors.
"I need you to answer a few additional questions. Firstly, could you tell me your son's Quirk?" he asked, still looking in front of him.
"It's the e-exact same as mine." The woman was usually calm and collected (to say the truth, she was more relaxed than calm), but when it came to her children's safety, she often became a stuttering mess. "he can mentally attract small objects."
The doctor nodded.
"Are you sure it's all?"
Inko looked sadly at the ground.
"Yes. We did our best to try and find another ability, just a small thing that could help… But we never found anything."
The woman had been devastated when she understood the small boy, at that time, had inherited the exact same Quirk as her. He dreamed of being a hero, and from experience, Inko knew it wasn't possible.
Well, in the end, the boy got that dream out of his head, but every time Inko thought about it, she was almost sure there was a sense of deep regret, hidden somewhere in the volatile boy.
"That's what he also told us. I will be straight forward, madam, but it seems your son developed a second Quirk."
They stopped in front of a door, and the man looked straight into the woman's eyes.
"We don't know what it is. He doesn't seem to know what it is either. But it's great."
There was a certain palpable excitement in his voice, and Inko's attention perked.
"From his classmates and his teacher, when asked about the incident, they said he had been killed by a pillar of stone, completely piercing a major part of his thorax. The chance of survival is absolutely zero percent. His organs were obliterated right there."
He put his hand up, pausing the woman, when he saw she was about to speak.
"Please let me go through my explanation. As I said, he should have died. But something greater than anything happened: a second Quirk appeared in him."
He started to pace around in the corridor, obviously passionate about what he was saying.
"His thorax completely regenerated. Out of nowhere, it came back, it healed, I don't know what happened, but this shouldn't have been possible. But that's not the end, far from it, it's only the beginning."
"He has the greatest healing ability I have ever seen. First, it was on himself, he just healed any cut we made. When we tried to open his chest, to see if his organs had been replaced correctly, we could never finish the process because his body healed on its own at an alarming speed."
"But this morning, we found him healing another patient. We tried it, of course, with the patient's agreement, and he healed the broken leg as if it was nothing, and not only did he healed it easily, but he healed it perfectly. The new leg is even better than the first leg, before being even broken in the first place. Only Recovery Girl is able to do this kind of work in Japan."
"But this is far from the end. His body grows. He got taller, his muscles developed, his features refined. And it develops every day. It continues to evolve. This morning, he could even create fire and control it, just like that."
Inko was left speechless. Just what happened?
The man then calmed down, but she could see by how hard he was breathing that he couldn't contain his excitement. She could understand him: this situation was probably new, and in the entire world.
Right now, Izuku seemed like a protagonist outright taken out of a fairy tale.
"I will now let you see him, and have a bit of privacy with your son. But we need to make daily, or at the very least weekly appointments, even if he's discharged. We don't know for how long he will evolve, or how far. At some point, if it continues to be exponential, it could even start to be dangerous to both you and him." he finished, but she could see he was smiling.
It meant he was well. Izuku was well.
And she couldn't contain herself.
"IZUKUUUUUUuuuuu!" she yelled, as she pushed the door as hard as he could.
The doctor, just now, thought he had done well stopping in front of the boy's room. If it hadn't been his, it would have been really awkward.
But it was awkward anyway, between mother and son.
Because, holy fucking shit, the boy looked nothing like he did three days before, the last time Inko saw him. And the changed boy was looking at his mother with a face full of expectations, waiting for what he would be told.
Izuku was tall. Last time she saw him, he was barely at one hundred sixty centimeters. Now, he just fucking hoped to one meter and at the very least eighty-five centimeters. His eyes were now a magnificent shining red, like precious rubies, and his messy hair looked more ordered, as if every leaving lash was made to frame his face and make him more beautiful. Oh, and of course, the new change. How could she forget the wings?
Ah, yes, the wings.
They were absolutely beautiful. Six wings, with three on each side of his body, with various colours and patterns.
The two top ones were the wings with the biggest variation of colours. It went from a crimson red to almost white tips. There was a gradient of colours, following the place of the feathers, the most colorful being the top ones.
The two middle wings were the darkest. It also ended with white-like tips, but the top was a deep red that then made another gradient of colours, but with more marked red.
The two last wings were the lightest, as even the top feathers were only a light orange, to yellow, then to the purest white of them all.
And the wings were big. They almost reached the boy's feet, and occupied a lot of space in his back, and behind his legs and his head.
"Izuku, is that you..?" Inko asked, baffled.
Her son was absolutely beautiful. Before, he was cute, small, and that made you want to protect him. Now, he was far taller than her, with muscles that looked like a chiseled version of a greek god, and the wings just made everything better.
If, right now, the teenager went into modeling, any other man trying for the discipline would just fail. There was no other way.
"Yeah, it's me, mom." he responded with a smile.
His voice had also deepened. But she recognised it perfectly. It was still that gentle, dorky voice Inko had always known. And it was enough to acknowledge him.
She rushed to the boy, hugging him like he could be taken from her at any moment. Izuku hugged back, and his wings wrapped themselves around the woman, shielding her from the rest of the world, from the hospital room.
They held each other. They didn't know for how long, but eventually, Inko let go, wanting to take a closer look at the boy. He looked so different it was barely believable.
"What happened?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.
"I don't know. But…" he flapped his wings, and a literal fireball appeared in his hand. The flames then left the ball and started to dance along his arm, before disappearing when Izuku wished for it. "... I think I've kind of glown up." he finished with a laugh.
Inko laughed with him, the reason the boy was there in the first place forgotten.
Izuku never expected such radical changes.
The first time he tried the daily quest, before the end, he was already coughing blood. Everything hurt so bad he had almost collapsed in pure pain. But when he finally finished running around the hospital, and dove straight for the ground in exhaustion, a new screen appeared.
- Notice: The Daily Quest has been completed. Do you wish to accept the rewards? -
"I beg you, Yes." he said, almost choking on the words, between two deep breaths that made him hurt.
He was immediately surrounded with a flashy yellow light.
[Alarm: You leveled up!]
[Alarm: You leveled up!]
And he didn't feel tired anymore. All the pain and exhaustion was just… gone.
'How?'
"Status." he mumbled.
The status screen appeared, and his fatigue, which was at a hundred before even starting to run, was now… at zero. Just like that, the fatigue, and the HPs he had lost because of the pain had just regenerated instantly.
'So, clearing the daily quest sets back my health and fatigue to zero. Or is it because I leveled up? Either way, it's always good to know. And I leveled up twice in one quest… Must be because I'm at the beginning.' he thought, analyzing his stats. He could see a new option, with written [Remaining points: 20].
Izuku guessed it was the points he could spend on his stats to upgrade, since there were arrows that went up next to the numbers.
'Maybe I should go back to my room before.' he thought. He maybe wasn't tired anymore, but he was swimming in sweat, which really wasn't the greatest thing, as people were looking at him strangely.
And, oh god, he stinked.
He rushed to his room, and hopped in the shower. As he felt the hot water pour onto his body, he checked the status screen again, wondering where to put his hard-earned points.
'Vitality is what's making my stamina better, right? Today was hell, if the daily quest is always going to be the same, then maybe I should spend my points there? At least it'll be easier.' he thought, starting to put his finger on the arrow next to the vitality option.
'I'm supposed to be somewhat smart with 15 points in intelligence. I'll put 15 in Vitality and the remaining 5 in strength, we'll see how it goes.'
And he did so. He didn't feel anything new at the moment, and so, he continued his shower, just a bit disappointed. However, after a minute or two, fire that appeared out of nowhere started to surround him.
In panic, the boy screamed, and tried as hard as he could to extinguish the flames. But it didn't go away, it didn't even fade with the contact of the water. It continued to surround him, dancing on his skin.
It didn't hurt. If anything, he felt well. Those flames that were consuming his space made him feel, somehow, safe.
'Is that related to the Phoenix wings..?' he wondered, as he was finally enveloped in the flames.
It didn't last long. Seconds later, he was back to normal, with a few… differences.
He was definitely taller. By a lot. And so were his wings. He couldn't even stand in the shower anymore.
He heard the door of his room open, and a voice shouted.
"What's happening!?" Yelled the woman.
Ah, yes, he did scream when the fire surrounded him. Before he could say anything, the door of the bathroom opened, and the nurse that had bargained in was met with the completely naked god-like body of the Phoenix.
She blinked. Once. Twice.
Finally, Izuku had the reflex of hiding his body with his wings, blushing furiously. The nurse opened her mouth to ask something again, but he interrupted him.
"Don't worry, it's fine, it's just that my body changed suddenly. Could you please call a doctor? And eventually bring me bigger clothes?"
He hated that she also brought bigger underpants. Why did it also grow? He was far from small in the first place, this should have been enough already.
The doctors examined his body as much as they could, just as surprised by the sudden transformation. They couldn't find the cause of this change, and Izuku was rendered the only one who knew the reason.
'So, putting points into statistics changes my body too.. Is it because I've put points in the Vitality option?'
It indeed seemed to be the only reasonable answer. Putting point in Vitality changed his body in order for him to have more endurance, which wasn't really that strange when he thought about it. His previous dwarf body struggled a lot.
The next day, when he did his daily quest, almost easily, as if he had been doing it for months or years, he only leveled up once. Just like the previous day, he put the ten remaining points into Strength, and was surrounded by the flames.
This time, after leaving the shower and looking at himself in the glass, he had gained an incredibly muscular body, without going into exaggeration like All Might or Endeavor.
"Wait, I grew up, I went from no muscles to chiseled and perfectly carved muscles, my jaw is cleaner, my skin is smoother, my hair is softer and more silky… Is that system trying to make me pretty?' he said out-loud, in surprise. A tablet appeared next to him.
- Notice: Charms are just as much of a skill as fireballs. -
He wanted to facepalm. And he questioned what those fireballs meant.
Well, he had him answer by the next day. Just as he accepted his rewards, when he finished running around the hospital, and leveled up to the level five, a new screen appeared.
[Skill: Fireball - Acquired]
[Passive Skill: Fire Manipulation - Acquired]
[Passive Skill: Fire Resistance - Acquired]
'Fireball? How do I use that?' he thought to himself, scratching his chin, not noticing the many looks he was getting, specifically from women of all ages.
He was in very thin hospital clothes, and was very sweaty.
Let's just say the fabric kind of snuggled through the lines of his muscles.
- Notice: Using a skill requires no specific activation. Just wanting to use it is enough. It is recommended to inspect the skill beforehand to know exactly what will happen. -
'I have my little idea of how to do that.'
"Inspect." he softly said. Just as he thought it would, a new screen appeared, with all of his skills. He looked at the fireball one, and clicked on it.
[Skill: Fireball, creates a condensed to the extreme orb of fire in the Player's hand. The ball can be thrown at the Player's will. The orb has a second activation: when touching something, or at the Player's command, the condensed ball will explode, creating a large blast of Fire. Depending on the Player's desire to put more magic power into it, the original fireball will be bigger, and so will the final blast.]
'Alright, let's try it.'
He opened his palm, and just when he thought about using a fireball, one appeared in his hand.
[Skill: Fireball]
Just like described, it was an orb of condensed fire, which wasn't bigger than a diameter of two centimeters. However, the heat emanating from it was stupidly intense. It was like standing very close to a raging inferno.
[Passive Skill: Heat resistance - Acquired]
He smiled slightly. He couldn't feel the heat anymore. Now that he had thought about everything, the system… was starting to really please him. It was like a Quirk, but infinitely better, and when he found the responding entity first creepy as hell, he had started to get used to it.
Just like explained, he threw the fireball in the air, and it exploded when he wanted to.
He just didn't expect the release of fire to make a fifty meters wide blast.
People looked at him very strangely now, with very various expressions, from fear to lust. That's when Izuku thought maybe he should enter the hospital before someone decides his development is 'too fast' and he needs to stay in that hospital for longer.
On his way, he met an old man, who was struggling to walk, with a broken leg. He looked at him with pity, as a nurse and a doctor were trying to help him to walk. However, it just didn't seem to work.
"Don't worry, lads, it's just my body catching up to my several years of existence." he told the health professionals, who didn't seem any less determined to help.
That's when Izuku remembered something that happened three days before.
"Excuse me…" he started, stopping in front of the three people. "... I have a Quirk that appeared a few days earlier, and I am pretty sure I can heal people. Would it be alright for me to try?" he asked.
The two professionals looked at him, then at each other in confusion.
"This could be dangerous, kid." the doctor said. However, the old man interrupted anything they could say later.
"For sure, my boy!" he said with a smile.
"But, sir, it's…"
"Have you seen this young lad? He looks very confident to me. If he can't help me, then who can?" he continued, his smile never fading.
Izuku also smiled. He didn't know where that man saw confidence in him, but he'd take it.
The nurse sighed, and looked at the doctor, who finally nodded back. The two women then helped the old man sit in one of the seats along the corridor, before nodding to the boy.
"Go on, do your worst." the doctor said. She didn't seem very confident in the chances of success, which was fine for the boy. He was just trying out his skills, after all.
"Alright, here goes nothing."
He put his right hand above the old man's leg, and just like for the fireball, he wished to heal the patient.
[Skill: Heal]
An appeasing orange and white light appeared around the man's leg, as everyone looked at the act in confusion. It surrounded the entire member, but before Izuku could stop it, the light continued to go up the man's body, soon surrounding it completely.
"Stop it!" the nurse said, thinking something strange was happening. Izuku deactivated his skill, looking at the man.
He was just… sitting. He had that weird look in his eyes that was supposed to mean something.
And suddenly, he got up. He didn't need help, and as soon as he was up, he started to walk around, as if he was discovering something new.
"Incredible…" he muttered.
"What is it?" the doctor asked, expriming everyone's confusion. Then, the man grinned, showing sets of perfectly white teeth that probably weren't there before, because the nurse looked even more surprised.
"I feel sixty years younger!" he said, before laughing, and running down the corridor.
The nurse went after him, yelling for him to stop. Izuku and the doctor just stood there, kind of awkwardly, as Izuku got up from his crouching position.
"Maybe I shouldn't have done this?" he said aloud, earning a nod from the woman.
"I think I regret it too, but for entirely different reasons. What's your name?"
"Izuku Midoriya."
"Either way, thank you, Midoriya. That Quirk of yours is amazing: I hope we'll be colleagues in a few years." she said with a small smile, before leaving him, following where her patient had escaped.
Izuku just stood there, before looking at his hand as he went back to his room.
'This really is something else.'
In the shower, he wondered what to take next. Finally, he opted to put 5 points in both Agility and Sense. With the incredible results of only 15 points in the other statistics, he guessed he would have already significant changes.
And after the fire around him applied the changes, he could definitely feel it. When someone passed in front of his room, he somehow knew it, and he also could bend in ways he almost was sure he shouldn't be able to with his new muscle mass.
But the thing that perplexed him the most was the strange key that had appeared in his Inventory after leveling up. The system had noticed him after the appearance of the new item, and after opening the inventory, it was his only item.
He passed his hand through the inventory, taking the key out of it. He just had to wish for it, and it appeared in his hands.
"Description."
[E-Ranked Key: This item allows the Player to create an E-Ranked gate.]
If he remembered correctly, the gates had been mentioned just before he woke up in the river. Meh, he'd see later, he wouldn't try anything that could potentially get him a longer stay in this boring white room.
He got out, and put on clothes. He had been told he'd be discharged today, and so, he just scrolled on his phone.
One hour later, he smiled, and got up, when he felt his mother arrive in front of his room.
This new Quirk was becoming better and better.
"This can't be true!" Izuku said as he left the hospital.
"We have to, Sweetie, I don't think any of your clothes will fit you anymore!" his mother responded, entering her car.
"But, Mom, we're broke." Izuku answered. He actually had to get to the back of the car for his wings to be able to enter it.
"And you need new clothes. The ones the hospital gave us don't even fit you."
It was the truth. As his old clothes couldn't be put on anymore, for obvious reasons, they had given him second-hand clothes which looked more like ragdolls than anything. The shirt was even torn at certain places, letting his new muscles and abs for the world to see.
"But I can't enter a shop like that!" he groaned, knowing he couldn't escape.
"You will, and you will do it without a word." she countered with a smile.
He almost forgot he didn't get his character from only Bakugo. This woman was Mitsuki's best friend, after all. She could be pretty serious when he was hurt, and… different the rest of the time.
They stopped at the mall's parking lot, and both got out of the car.
They didn't take more than mere seconds to be the center of attention when entering the mall. Izuku's new body, his torn clothes, and his wings, without forgetting of course his beautiful mother in front of him got them in the spotlight pretty fast.
They went directly to one of the clothes' shop her mother always went to.
"Come on, there's a lot of things I want you to try!" she said, excited.
They barely entered that everyone looked their way, from cashiers to clients. There were even some people from the main hall who had followed them.
'I hate it here, give me back my ugly ass body.' Izuku thought.
- Notice: the changes are permanent. -
'Fuck.'
They circled through the shelves, his mother grabbing so many clothes she couldn't pay.
"Mom, this is getting ridiculous." Izuku tried to start.
"Shut up and come." She told him, going toward the change areas. The boy sighed: this was going to be the worst moment.
"And what if I grow more?" he asked.
"We'll trade them."
"What if we can't?"
"I'll buy new clothes, now stop bitching." she continued, with a bright smile. "There you go, you can change in that one, it's empty."
Izuku grabbed the pile of clothes, noticing how there were a lot of people around there that he was pretty sure weren't there before.
"How do you want me to put these on with my wings?" he asked, hoping he'd get more free time.
"Oh, you are right, I'll go get someone to…"
"You know what, forget it. I have a solution." he finally cracked, going into the cabin.
He put the pile on a chair, and grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt. Thinking 'Inventory', He passed the two items through the screen, noticing how they appeared in it.
'At least it's easier to change. Equip.' he thought.
Just like that, the ragdolls appeared in his inventory, and he now had the new pair of clothes on him. Those clothes were completely black bush pants, that he actually didn't find that bad, and the shirt was also a completely black polo.
"Well, at least it's not too colorful, but it's maybe a bit too tight." he said out loud.
"Come show me!" he heard his mother. He sighed, before leaving the cabin.
Wait, there were a ton of people right there. And did he just see a flash in the crowd?
"This is perfect!" Inko said happily.
"Agreed." a woman in the crowd added. He didn't know how he heard it, but maybe that was part of the Sense statistic. He wished he didn't hear it though.
"Can't I have a mirror?" Izuku said emotionlessly, hoping he'd scare the people away.
It didn't seem to work, because one of the cashiers, which he was pretty sure shouldn't have been here, ran away, yelling "I'll get one!". She came back as quickly as she could, putting the mirror in front of him.
And, well, he actually didn't look bad. In complete black, with his muscles shaping the forms of his clothes, his hair that looked less messy and more silky, and his vibrant red pupils, he looked pretty menacing.
Which wasn't a good thing, because the crowd seemed to like it.
He didn't gain muscles in bare seconds to show off in a shop. He was almost sure they were for other means.
- Notice: Charms are always useful. -
'Fuck off.'
"So, how do you find it?" his mother asked. He sighed, looking at the shirt.
"It's not bad, Mom, but look at the price, how do you want to pay that?" He was right, it was way over what they usually bought. His mother made modeling in her youth, so he could understand she would be hyped by his new body to try clothes, but there were limits.
"Is the price a problem for you?" a new person asked. Both Midoriyas looked at what seemed like a rather petite woman with black hair, who was looking at them extensively.
"Yes." Izuku said coldly, shoving his hands in the pant's pockets, staring at her. He was not in the mood for speaking to strangers. Not during the bane that was shopping.
"A bit, but it should work out, don't worry!" Inko replied with her bright face.
The contrast between the two right now couldn't be more obvious.
"Oh, alright..? I am the owner of this shop, and as we are trying to start our own products, I was wondering if you would accept a fair trade..?" she continued, gulping as she did so.
Izuku didn't know, but he was even more menacing than he thought right now.
"What kind of trade?" Inko asked with wonder.
"Would this man…" she started, nodding to Izuku. "...accept to model for a few pictures for us? We would let you go with whatever clothes you want, and a bit of cash if you need so." she finished.
No. No! Terrible idea! This was a trap!
"Oh, we would be delighted to accept!"
This was the beginning of two hours of pure torture for Izuku, who was condemned to putting on clothes after clothes, posing for the camera. Fortunately, they always asked for bored expressions, or menacing ones, so he had no troubles doing these, as he genuinely hated every second of it.
He felt immensely happy when he was finally free. He exited the shop with his mother, with at least four bags of clothes that were ready to crack because of how full they were.
"Not only did we get all of this for free, but we got 200000 Yens in bonus! They loved the pictures!" his mother happily said.
"Woohoo…" Izuku mumbled. He was wearing a blue jean and a white sweatshirt, along with black shoes they had taken from the store. But the additional money was nice, that he couldn't deny.
"And right on time to eat! Perfect."
This sounded a lot better already. He was dying of hunger. This new body of his required a lot more food.
"So, where do you want to go?" she asked him. As they both didn't know, they settled on a small restaurant that mainly made burgers.
Inko took one, with fries, while Izuku took two of each. The waiter seemed surprised, but took the command anyway.
It was maybe kind of scary that Izuku managed to destroy everything he had ordered without any trouble. If anything, he was up for more.
"Do you know why you suddenly eat so much?" his mother asked. He shook his head.
"Nah, no sure explanation, but since I'm suddenly a lot taller and muscled, wings that take a lot of space and probably nutrients, and that I literally have fire abilities that should burn my calories, I guess there could be reasons to why I need to eat so much."
"Mmmmh, makes sense." Inko added. "I'm going to have to ask for a raise. If you have to eat twice, and possibly more if you continue to grow, then we're going to need money." she finished with a sigh.
"Nah, don't bother. I'll take a job." he replied. She frowned at him.
"Certainly not. I can supply the house alone. You should pursue your studies."
Izuku didn't say anything, before looking at his mother right in the eyes.
"I know you want to make up for dad's death, but really mom, I'm almost eighteen. I can get a job." he took a sip of water. "And if I can't, I'll do little things to help, or some modeling pictures I guess, since it seems I have the profile for it. Kaede will study shit, I can help you earn money."
The woman didn't seem to be happy about the boy's answer, but she looked away.
They really needed money. Inko, raising both of her children alone, Izuku and his younger sister, Kaede, had big financial troubles.
"Kae is not going to be happy." she said softly. The girl, to change things, had inherited yet again her mother's Quirk, like Izuku did. However, she didn't want to be a hero, so it didn't really matter. She looked a lot like her mother, and had decided she wanted to become a doctor.
Even though she was still in school, the fifteen-years old girl was as smart as her brother, and had a lot more sense of responsibility than him. She wanted to help her mother, and didn't want to see her brother, whom she saw as frail, work for it.
Well, the last part had changed at least.
"She won't complain. Don't worry, mom." he said with a smile.
"She was already rather upset. I didn't let her leave school to accompany me. I should let her know you're fine." the woman said.
"I did it on my own, mom. You know I interact with her, right?" he replied with a slight smile. Inko had to nodd: the sibling relationship between her two children couldn't be better. She just wished the youngest Midoriya could have escaped the foul language of the other two, but she was no exception either.
"Izuku, let's go home".
She paid for the meal, and together, they went back to the car. It was still hard for Izuku to just walk through the corridors, and sit on chairs. He wondered, quietly, if that's what Hawks had to support every day since the age of four.
Inko drove them home, before they entered their small apartment.
"I think I'm going to go take a nap. I've not slept much for the past three days." she told him with a small smile. She looked like she was about to collapse, and Izuku just agreed: she needed sleep.
"Yeah, I think you should take one too. I'm going outside, I've got a few things I want to try." He added. She nodded.
"Don't do irrational things, sweetie." she said, hugging him.
"Well, I don't think people could harm me much anymore." he finished with a smile. She smiled, but a yawn interrupted it. With a small wave, she went to her bedroom.
Izuku waited a few seconds, before leaving the apartment, closing the door behind him. He had told the truth, he had one thing in particular to try.
"Inventory." he whispered. The screen appeared next to him, and Izuku passed his hand through it, taking the key. Its strange shape meant there was no special place to use it. He didn't know what Gates were, but he'd find out pretty soon.
He went down the building, and in the parking lot, jumped above a fence that went to a wasteland. He had often played there, younger, he thought with a smile.
He stopped in the middle of it, taking a deep breath, looking once again at the key.
[E-Ranked Key: This item allows the Player to create an E-Rank gate.]
"Use." he said.
- Notice: The Player can't do such an action. -
'Well, shit, here goes what I imagined would work.' he sat in the grass, looking at the item in his hand. Suddenly, an idea reached his head.
He put the key right in front of himself, just as if there was some sort of secret invisible door, and made the mimic of unlocking the door. Nothing appeared, and he sighed.
He was about to get up, when he found out he couldn't move the key anymore. It was floating, and impossible to take an inch of it.
Slowly, some sort of blue electricity started to build up on the other end of the key, and the boy jumped back. He watched as the electricity was starting to get stronger and faster, accumulating itself in a spiral around the key.
Soon, there was some sort of complete blue electricity circle in front of him. However, after looking closely, Izuku noticed it wasn't really electricity, but something that was entirely different.
"What in the world is this…" he mumbled aloud.
- Notice: This is a gate created by the player. On the other end, the player will find monsters. -
"Monsters? Why would I ever go in there." he smiled, more to reassure himself than for anything else.
- Notice: Monsters provide an important amount of Experience Points for the player, as well as loot he can find useful. -
'This is a video game. My life is a game. Someone is playing with me and is having the best time of his life.' he thought, as fear started to build up in his stomach. He wasn't ready for any of this, for these radical changes. He was a weakling, not this new strong-looking facade of him.
Wait.
Who said it had to be a facade? This body, these powers…
He could make them his, right?
Flashbacks of the pillar piercing his chest flooded back into his memory. The pain, the terror, everything he felt.
'I died.'
For the first time since he had awoken with these new wings, the entity seemed to vibrate with him, to respond to his emotions.
- Notice: You did. -
A laugh escaped Izuku's mouth, before, soon, a full belly-laugh started to take hold of him.
He was scared. He was about to throw up, even. But this was a chance the boy wouldn't get twice. He stretched himself to the fullest, scratching his hair in the process. His red pupils flashed, for a second, with something new, and his wings flapped.
'Alright… Here we go.'
Izuku jumped through the gate, the portal of blue energy disappearing behind him.