Another villain running amok in the city.
It was tiring, at least Izumi thought it was, it seemed almost every day someone was flexing their quirk trying to get away with something as small as a purse jacking. The diminutive teen watched boredly from the air as Kamui woods came in to stop the villain, "come on man, that's just cheesy." Izumi groaned, listening to Kamui call the man 'an incarnation of evil', "This is real life, not a shonen anime.." she grumbled, pushing her long hair out of her face and floating down after Mt. Lady came flying in to knock out the villain.
"Shoddy work, really." she drawled as she landed a few blocks away, setting the end of her walking stick on the ground and leaning against it as she looked around, sweat dropping slightly when she realized she didn't know where she was, "was it west of the park and by the business district...or by the beach…" she muttered faintly, paying no mind to the people walking around her, staring in confusion at the black cloak she had on, the deep green robes on underneath it, or the witches hat she was periodically taking off and putting back on. "Okay, I know it was near a park...but which one?" she sighed in frustration as she twirled the staff in his hand and began to float again, "maybe another aerial view will help…"
"Excuse me!"
Izumi looked down, stopping her ascension as Kamui woods walked over, hands on his hips, "do you have a permit to be using your quirk indiscriminately?"
"Uh...no." Izumi said, lounging back in the air with her staff behind her as a prop, "but I don't have a quirk so you can continue your over the top protection of the populace from purse snatchers."
"Do you expect me to believe those blatant lies?" Kamui demanded, getting into a fighting stance while Izumi scratched her head in confusion.
"I expect you to understand the truth when it's spoken...but perhaps my expectations were a little high." Izumi sighed, suddenly darting out of Kamui's reach as the hero tried to capture her.
"Get back here villain!"
"Villain?" Izumi asked in offence, "I was just walking!" she stopped and looked down, "floating," she sighed, "just floating." she dodged back again as Kamui jumped at her, "dude look, you're not catching me." Izumi said in irritation, "I haven't even done anything-" she stopped as a large hand suddenly closed around her.
"Got her!" Mt. Lady exclaimed happily, before letting her go with a squeal, "she licked my hand!"
"That's really all anyone has to do to get away from you?" Izumi asked incredulously, darting away.
"Stop villain!"
Izumi just grit her teeth as she brought her staff forward, "yeah, i'm done with this." she says, clapping her hands against the staff and disappearing with a bright flash of light.
"Wha-where did she go? Mt Lady did you see?"
"No! Let's search the area!"
Izumi popped back into existence a few blocks away, "assholes." she grumbled, walking down an alley, hands hanging off her staff that she had resting across her shoulders, "alright, now where were we…" she trailed off as she heard something moving behind her, she looked back and grinned as the shadows surrounding her suddenly converged and attacked, "what luck, I stumbled upon my quarry."
Forty-five minutes later Pro-Hero Death Arms came upon the unsuspecting alleyway, finding the remains of a furious battle that left claw marks on the walls and a minute bit of blood on the ground, "the hell happened here?" he muttered as he inspected the area.
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Izumi inspected the small glass ball that contained the lower shadow demon, "you, are going back to Forst before he realizes you're gone." Izumi said, stowing the glass ball into her cloak, "honestly, one of these days they're going to give me a mission that isn't 'find what amounts to my rabid dog, it got out'," she sighs as she walks under an overpass, stepping past a grate.
It's only a hair raising chill up her spine that saves Izumi from being swamped by sludge.
"What the hell!?" the teen exclaimed as her feet touched the ground, her staff positioned defensively in front of her.
'You're a fast kid, but I'm gonna need you to stay still!" the sludge shouted, surging at Izumi again, who slammed the end of her staff on the ground, creating a bubble shield that electrocuted the slime as it touched it.
"Even the villains are lame." she sighs, ending the shield and nudging the sludge with her foot.
"HAVE NO FEAR CITIZEN! FOR I AM-oh, you defeated him."
Izumi looked up, smiling slightly at the large, muscle bound man in front of her, "All-Might!" she cheered happily.
"who-YOUNG MIDORIYA!" the man exclaimed, suddenly sweeping the girl up in a hug, "HOW ARE YOU MY GIRL! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN YEARS!"
"I know," Izumi giggled as she got her feet back under her, "what are you doing in Mustafu? I thought you were staying in Tokyo?"
"I'm taking a job at UA next year so I'm relocating here!"
"That's really cool...oh yeah, shouldn't we like...restrain this guy or something?" Izumi asked, looking at the sludge that was slowly trying to piece itself together.
"Of course you're right!" All-Might proclaimed, producing two coke bottles and quickly filling them up with the sludge, "now, lets catch up, I thought you and Hermit would be staying in the states this year!"
"I had a change of plans." Izumi said with a shrug, sitting cross-legged in the air as he followed All-Might down the sidewalk, staff nestled between her legs and leaning against her shoulder, "Mom wanted me to come back for high school and since I finished my apprenticeship I came home early."
"Wait you're finished?" All-Might asked in surprise, "Hermit always talked about your training like you would be in it until after high school at least!"
"He's a perfectionist." Izumi grumbled, crossing her arms with a pout,"he packed four years of training into six months. I completed all of the tasks though and the council has recognized me as a mage."
All-Might whistled, "impressive, if I remember right, then you've jumped several rankings."
"Yeah, Hermit says I have a 'vast amount of mana that helps' but it just sounds creepy to say that."
"Well, I'm glad you're home, it's always good to see those I once worked with!" All-Might laughed, "Have you given thought to your high school choices yet?"
"Of course I have." Izumi chuckled as they reached one of the main roads, "you know I want to be a hero, and UA is the best there is."
"Good answer!" All-Might stretched for a second, "well, it's been nice catching up, Young Midoriya, do try and get your mentor to come by next time he's in Japan!"
"I'll let him know, see ya All-Might!" Izumi waved him off as the large man exploded into the air, "now that's a hero." Izumi sighed, turning around and immediately coming face to face with an irritated Kamui woods, "...would it make you feel better if I said I personally knew All-Might?" Izumi asked, sighing when a pair of handcuffs were slapped onto her wrist, "didn't think so…"
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Inko Midoriya was never more happy then the day she found out that a magical world was open to her daughter.
But times like these really made her wish she had just had a quirk instead.
"Your daughter is classified as quirkless yet can levitate at will." the investigator said, glaring at her pointedly, "lying on federal forms is a felony ma'am."
"I understand that sir but you see, we didn't lie." Inko said helplessly, "she really is quirkless-"
"You expect us to believe that after she flew away from two pro-heroes then teleported?" another investigator asked incredulously.
"I...know it doesn't make sense...but-" she stopped as the door opened, "Tsukauchi." Inko said in relief, 'thank god you're here."
"Came as soon as I heard Inko, sorry I'm a bit late.' Tsukauchi said with a smile, turning to the investigators, "gentleman, this case has been deemed closed.'
"We aren't done."
"Yes, you are.' he said, placing a document on the table in front of them, "this is from the Department of Defense, any questioning that has to do with Izumi Midoriya and her abilities are considered classified and need to know, and frankly, you two don't need to know."
"You expect us to just drop everything like that!?" one exploded, "the girl was seen using her quirk or whatever it was in broad daylight without any kind of repercussion!"
"I promise you she will be reprimanded." Tsukauchi said easily, "Miss Midoriya, lets go collect your daughter."
Inko stood and followed Tsukauchi, giving the investigators a respectful bow before heading down the hall, "I am so sorry for the trouble Tsukauchi." INko began.
"Don't worry about it," Tsukauchi chuckled, "I was informed that Izumi would be coming back today and that she was given a final mission by the council. I honestly didn't expect Kamui to arrest her."
"What was that about? It's obvious Izumi's under age, do heroes usually arrest juveniles?" Inko asked.
"Well, this may have something to do with some...less than respectful things your daughter had to say about Kamui and Mt. Lady."
Inko sighs, "of course it is." They both stepped into the booking area of the jail, both watching as Izumi sat amongst several officers, twirling cards in between her fingers.
"Okay, so memorize that card, don't forget it, toss it straight up." Izumi said to the rookie who was holding the card. The man tossed it into the sky and it instantly flew into the deck, the cards tumbling over Izuku's arms and shoulders into the other hand shuffling itself several times as Izumi hummed, "Now this is where the magic happens." Izumi said, flinging her hand out and making the cards pelt the window until only one remained, suspended against the glass, "Is this your card.'
"Amazing!" the man cheered as everyone else laughed, "kid, how do you do it?"
"It's all in the wrists." Izumi said with a grin as the cards flew back into her hands perfectly, "if you have a straight jacket I can show you how to get out of it-"
"Izumi." Inko called, making her daughter freeze.
"Oh hey mom!" Izumi chuckled nervously, "uh...what brings you here?"
Inko narrowed her eyes at her daughter, making her sweatdrop alongside the officers, "can you guys...just put my back into the holding cell or?"
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"-and you will be writing an apology to Kamui woods."
"Yes ma'am.'
"AND Mt. Lady!"
"I didn't even say anything to her!"
"You licked her hand!"
"...fair."
Inko sighed as she opened the apartment door, letting her daughter step in before she wrapped her in a big hug, "I'm happy your home!" she gushed, "but if you don't stop giving me heart attacks-"
"-I promise I was only trying to watch the 'fight'." izumi chuckled, returning her mom's hug, "it's not my fault Kamui heard me."
"It was your fault for even being around them." she said, shaking a finger at her as she entered the kitchen, "honestly, why were you just levitating over a villain fight?"
"I was trying to find this little bastard!" Izumi said, holding up the lesser demon in the glass ball, "little shit's been shadow jumping all over Japan and getting into all kinds of mischief, all because Dagda didn't want to tell Forst that he had let the damned thing out."
"Well, either way, you didn't need to flaunt your magic so carelessly, I know Hermit's warned you about that-"
"-yeah, yeah, i know." izumi sighed, setting her staff against the wall as she sat down at the table, "I really am sorry, usually the heroes who see me just give me a warning about quirk usage. Kamui was being an extra bit of an asshole." Izumi winced as a wooden spoon came down on her knuckles.
"That's the third time you've cursed in front of me." Inko said, holding the spoon up warningly.
"Sorry mom…"
"Hmph, i'll be having words with Hermit about that too." she sniffed, turning back to the stove and turning it on. "Where is he?"
"Still in the US, after he finished my apprenticeship he went off on some mission to look into some weird magical signatures in Nevada, I came back since I wasn't a part of the mission."
"Hopefully he doesn't hurt himself." Inko said fretfully as she began to prepare lunch, "oh! Before I forget, Mitsuki will be coming over tonight, sort of a little 'welcome back' surprise."
Izumi groaned, "can I just opt out of that please?" she begged, "I'd really rather not deal with Bakugo just yet."
"You two haven't seen each other since you were seven. Surely you want to see your friend."
"We haven't been friends since we were four mom.' Izumi mumbled, "and I'm not holding out much hope that he'll be friendly with me."
"I'm sorry Izumi, but Mitsuki really wants to see you, and you know how she gets."
"Yeah...fine i'll stick around for dinner, but I'm not hiding anything." she warned.
"Do you ever?" she questioned with a smile, making Izumi grin, "lunch will be ready in a bit, why don't you go take care of that demon while you wait."
"Yes ma'am.' she said, standing and walking towards her bedroom door, pulling a small copper key out of her pocket and inserting it into the lock, two twists suddenly had the door resembling an old oak one, which Izumi promptly opened and entered.
Instead of her small room he was in a giant hall lit by bluebell flames. Giant statues lined the walls depicting stoic and powerful looking mages who all stared down at Izumi as if judging her. Izumi strolled between them, hands in her pockets as she approached a large table that sat at the end of the hall, here sat six men in business suits, looking distinctly out of place in the practically medieval setting. Typing away on computers or moving to filing cabinets behind them to put documents away.
"Mr. Noriega." Izumi said respectfully to an older hispanic man, his salt and pepper hair slicked back and he had what appeared to be an eternal scowl as his beady black eyes looked over to Izumi.
"Trouble with the police again Midoriya?" the old man sneered, making Izumi shift slightly.
"Well, trouble with a pro hero…" she mumbled.
"The day you complete a mission without getting on the bad side of some jumped up hero is the day I retire." he griped, "had the Department of Defense calling here demanding to know if you were fighting a world level threat and asking if they should send troops! Troops Midoriya!"
"I heard you the first time Mr. Noriega…" Izumi sighed, 'overreaction of the DoD aside, I got the demon." she pulled said demon out of her pocket, "damn thing almost took a chunk out of my leg."
"Hmm, well I'll notify Dagda for you, and I'll make sure the containment spells are up to date." he said gruffly, "lord knows this thing shouldn't have broken out so easily...your account will be updated by the end of the day, now get out."
"Yes sir." Izumi said, sarcastically saluting the man before walking away.
As she walked away, the door opened again and a short witch with an overly big witches hat walked in, her blue eyes looking around boredly before she spied Izumi, Immediately she began to vibrate with an unknown energy 'MIDORIYA!" she squealed before darting at her, bowling her over with a hug.
"Why Clara…" Izumi groaned, "why would you do this…"
"Midoriya you'll never guess what happened!" the girl giddily squealed, practically jumping up and down on her stomach, "go on guess! GUESS!hey!" she shouted indignantly when she froze in the air, mid jump. Allowing Izumi to stand up and re-catch her breath.
"Okay, first off…" she began, "Ow, secondly, how can I guess what happened if you said I'd never be able to guess it?"
The girl pouted, "you're no fun anymore." she whined as the spell was cancelled and she landed nimbly on her feet.
"I'm having plenty of fun." she defended, ruffling her long blonde hair and making her whine more, 'Now tell me what happened."
"Oh yeah! I'm done with my apprenticeship!" she cheered.
"Congratulations!" she praised her, "and only fifty years past the original completion date."
"It's not my fault you humans don't know how to deal with explosions." she said with an eye roll, pointed ears twitching slightly, "Elder Graybeard just needed to loosen up a bit."
"I'm sure he did after you destroyed his office." Izumi chuckled, checking her watch and sighing, "I gotta get back home, mom's got lunch ready."
"Can we hang out later?" she asked hopefully, skipping alongside her as she went towards the door.
"I got a family gathering tonight, but we can hang out tomorrow." Izumi promised, inserting her key once more, "just remember that if you're going to be in Japan that you have to blend in at least a bit."
"Says the girl in robes and a cloak." she said snottily.
"I was working." he grumbled, stepping through the door and giving her a wave as he closed it, "I'm back." Izumi called, entering the kitchen where her mom was putting food on the table.
"Just in time! Let's dig in."
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Bakugo really didn't want to be here.
He'd rather be at the Arcade, or even just walking around aimlessly.
But no, his mother had practically ordered him to come with her to the Midoriya household
Deku. He sneered to himself, thinking of the meek girl he once called friend. They hadn't seen each other since they were seven, and Bakugo was sure the girl was very much the same quirkless loser she had been then.
"Try not to start any fights today Katsuki." his mom said as she knocked on the door, "this is the first time Izumi's been back from her apprenticeship in seven years, so play. Nice."
"Whatever." he grumbled as the door opened.
"Inko!" Mitsuki exclaimed, hugging her shorter friend happily and making the other woman laugh.
"Mitsuki, you act like we didn't just see each other yesterday."
"Yeah I know, but it's always good to see you!" she said, brushing past the woman.
Inko sighed in exasperation, then looked to Bakugo with a kind smile, "how are you today Katsuki?"
"I'm a good auntie." he said politely as she let him in.
'THERE'S MY NIECE!"
"ARGH!"
'Sounds like she found De-Izumi." Bakugo coughed, covering up the use of the old nickname.
'And knowing her she wasn't paying attention." Inko sighed as they entered the living room, where Mitsuki currently had Izumi in a death hold.
"You've gotten so big since the last time i've seen you brat!" she laughed.
"Can't...breath…' Izumi gasped out as Mitsuki let her go, allowing her to collapse onto the ground with a groan. "Why can't people just greet me normally?" she asked wearily, slowly standing back up.
"Maybe I would if you actually showed up more than once every seven years." Mitsuki said, glaring at the girl as she quaked in fear.
"I-i'll definitely be around more, I promise." she said as she turned around, her eyes widening for a second as she sees Bakugo before all interest seemed to leave them, "Katsuki." she greeted politely.
Bakugo shifted at the girl's tone, having never heard the usually cheerful girl sound so cold, "Izumi.' he greeted, unconsciously looking over the short girl who stood in a simple tank top and sweats, she shifted uncomfortably and crossed her arms, "take a picture, it'll last longer." she sassed, making Bakugo blushed.
"Why would I be looking at you?" he sneered as Izumi narrowed her eyes.
The two mothers shared a look before Inko was ushering everyone into the kitchen, "I made Katsudon! Everyone get served before it gets cold."
Izumi dutifully helped her mother in passing the food around, talking amicably with Mitsuki when she would ask her questions, and completely ignoring Bakugo, who was fine with it.
"So Izumi," Mitsuki began after everyone was served, "your mom was telling me that you've completed your apprenticeship?"
"Yes auntie," she said with a smile, "finished it just last week...that final exam was something I really didn't want to sit through."
"What was your apprenticeship?" Bakugo asked, doing his best to keep his curiosity out of his voice.
Izumi looked at his mother, who nodded, "I already cleared it with Tsukauchi."
Izumi sighed, "well, I was apprenticed under an Archmage named Hermit, and he gave me the knowledge i needed to become a mage."
There was a beat before Bakugo burst out laughing.
"Magic!? You've been gone for seven years learning how to pull rabbits out of hats?" he sneered.
"Technically? Yes, realistically? No." Izumi sighed, holding her hand out and summoning a book from the coffee table, making both Mitsuki and Katsuki stare at her in shock, "hmm...let me see.." she began flipping through the book, "something simple, something simple...ah! Keeping the theme of rabbits-" she pointed his finger at Bakugo's pocket and a bright light flashed from the tip.
"What the-" Bakugo yelped as something began to wriggle about in his pocket. A small white rabbit jumped from the pocket, looking about in confusion.
"Not a hat, but who wears hats anymore?" Izumi shrugged, snapping her fingers and making the rabbit disappear in a poof of green smoke.
"That's...amazing!" Mitsuki gushed, "How do you even get a chance to find out about this!?"
"Hermit was doing a job here in town and I Kinda...ran into the middle of it." she said with a sheepish chuckle as his mother glared at her.
"It's a little more than just 'ran into the middle of it'," she chided, looking at Mitsuki, "Izumi thought it was a good idea to befriend a demon."
Mitsuki and Bakugo looked at Izumi in shock.
"I didn't know he was a demon at the time." she muttered, "I thought it was someone with a unique quirk!"
"A talking fox shouldn't equal a 'unique quirk' Izumi.' his mother sighed.
"I was seven."
"Hold on...demons are real?" Bakugo asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.
"For the most part," Izumi hesitated, "in order from least dangerous to most dangerous, Imps, Lesser shadow demons, higher shadow demons, Daemons-demons who attempted to possess an animal and got stuck- you got your tempters and ensnarers, your inquisitors and fraudulent accusers, general sowers of discord and purveyors of pestilence and the imitators of miracles...hmm...oh! The vessels of iniquity, spirits of lying, false gods." she shrugs, waving her spellbook away, it flew lazily into the air and carefully set itself on the bookcase, "only ones that we usually deal with are the Imps and Lesser Shadow demons, everything else tries to ensnare souls through contracts, and we technically can't destroy them for bad bureaucracy."
Bakugo felt his head spinning while Mitsuki just looked pale, "So...you're saying that if a demon were to show up and I signed a contract...you wouldn't be able to save my soul?"
"That's what lawyers are for auntie." Izumi mumbled around a bite to eat, "just read the fine print and you'll be fine. Hell some of these demons don't even want your soul, they just like making deals because they get to flaunt power, they'll drum up a contract for ten years with certain conditions, maybe it's doing them a favor every now and then; or maybe they have it written you'll have them over for dinner every month, either way, ten years end and you kept up your side, your soul's returned and you get to keep whatever the demon gave you."
"Way to make demon deals sound boring nerd." Bakugo grumbled.
"Hey i'm with you, when i started I thought it would be busting demons and seeing alternate realities...but really it's 'go find my dog, he got out and is a lesser demon so…'."
"So if demons are real...does that mean angels are too?" Mitsuki asked.
"Yes, and they're dicks."
*SMACK!*
"OW!"
"What did I say about cursing?" Inko asked her pointedly.
"Sorry...they're not nice." Izumi corrected himself, "bunch of holier than thou pri-uh-jerks."
"Really?" Mituski asked disappointedly.
"Well, the ones I've dealt with, the Archangels and Seraphim, they're the ones who usually have to deal with rogue demons who don't follow the rules, and they see all of us as...well dispensable. The cherubs are alright, most of the lower angels as well, but those main liners...not a fan...if you want I can always call my friend Cas, he's one of the better seraphim."
"So, since you're all...magical and what not…" Bakugo began awkwardly, "does this mean you gave up your dream on being a hero?"
"Oh no, i'm still gonna apply to UA next year." Izumi said curtly. Smirking when Bakugo began to bristle.
"That's wonderful!" Mitsuki exclaimed, shooting her son a warning glare, "it'll definitely be good to have you around again."
"All honesty it'll be good to be back." Izumi admitted, "This is the first week where I've actually known where I was going to go to sleep for the night. During training Hermit kept us on the road and sometimes we wouldn't have a bed for weeks on end."
"That must have been rough."
"It was, but it was also fun." Izumi grinned, "because of that training I've been all over the world."
The conversation turned to where Izuku had travelled, and continued well after they were done eating until it was time to leave.
"We'll have to do this again soon." Mitsuki said as she hugged her friend and niece goodbye, "maybe Masaru will be able to join."
"That'd be nice.' Inko said happily, "Katsuki sweetie, don't be a stranger."
"Yes auntie." he muttered, "see ya Izumi."
"Bye Katsuki." Izumi said with a small nod as they walked out.
"Well, that wasn't so bad." Mitsuki said as they walked down the steps, "you need to watch yourself though, why do you not like Izumi so much?"
Bakugo didn't say anything, just kept his hands in his pockets as his mind processed the information he learned.
Demons and angels are real...and Deku of all people are fighting them with magic...MAGIC! How the fuck did that master of hers come to the conclusion that weak Deku should have magic! Suddenly the image of Izumi standing in her living room in her tank top and sweats ran through his mind, proudly showing off the small scars and lean muscles she had acquired in her apprenticeship; staring at him with a casual indifference that he had never experienced before.
Idly he remembered just what her crossing her arms had done for her chest…
With an angry shake of his head he dispelled the images. And immediately went to his room when he and his mom had reached home, "I need to find out more..' he muttered, "just how strong is she now?"
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The next day had Izumi walking out of her mothers apartment at five in the morning, dressed in a sports bra and tights. Selecting a playlist off her phone as she put earphones in.
An english song began to play from the earphones, the beginning sirens of Indestructible by Disturbed filling her ears as she quickly began to descend the apartment steps and heading off down the sidewalk at a brisk jog.
She kept this pace until she reached the park, at which point she began to speed up; taking the joggers path around the park, she kept a slow run going as her phone ran through the playlist, including more songs by disturbed, several popular rap songs, and other artists in the Rock genre.
Forty minutes later she stopped, breathing heavily and covered in sweat as she paused her playlist and looked at the beach in front of her. Covered in garbage and blocking her view of the horizon. "Well, that's not going to work." she muttered, hand slowly raising to summon her staff.
"What the hell are you doing up so early out here Deku?"
With a flash of light, Izumi's staff was in her hand, the gnarled and twisted end pointed directly at Bakugo's chest; tip glowing with green energy.
Bakugo, for his part, didn't even finch as he stared at her; eyes flitting over her outfit before staring into her eyes, "pretty early." he commented.
"Well, you know what they say about early birds." she said, slowly bringing her staff back, "what are you doing out so early."
"Know what they say about early birds." he sneered.
Izumi's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't rise to the bait as she turned to the beach.
"Place is a mess because of the tides and illegal dumping." Bakugo said with a frown.
"It's a shame, isn't it?" she asked, not looking back at him, "this beach would be beautiful if they took care of it…"
"Heh, good luck convincing anyone.' Bakugo scoffed.
"The only person I need to convince of anything is myself." she said, tapping her staff onto the ground and slowly raising into the sky much to Bakugo's barely concealed amazement.
"Summa nantis in quisquilias." she said as she pointed her staff at the trash. Smiling when all of it began to lift up, not a single piece left behind. "Sequitur." she commanded as she suddenly shot off across the sky, the trash following at the same pace. Bakugo-wanting to see what was going on, followed as fast as he could, mostly trailing the last bits of trash as Izumi was flying much to fast for him to keep up with her.
He caught up as the trash stopped a few meters from the local dump, Izumi was now standing at the entrance, talking with a flabbergasted looking worker.
"So there's no charge to just put all of this in the dump?" She asked the worker as Bakugo walked up.
"Not at all." the man said faintly, slowly taking his hat off, "if ya want us to pay you for the scrap metal, we'll take ten percent out of the final amount as a service fee."
"That's okay, I don't need the money." she said with a smile.
"...well then just drop it all off anywhere I guess…"
"Thank you sir." she said with a bow, before turning around and levelling her staff at the trash, "Locum constituendum." she called, and instantly the trash began to flow into the dump, separating by materials into the correct pile until nothing remained. "Thanks again!" izumi called as she walked away from the dumbfounded employee.
"What the fuck was that Deku?" Bakugo demanded to know as she walked past him.
"Magic, or do you need yet another demonstration Bakugo?" she drawled.
Bakugo growled, "I meant using it out in the open like this! Isn't it some big secret or some shit?"
"Yes and no," she said, still not looking back at him, "while the existence of magic is a closely guarded secret, the existence of quirks allows us to use our magic without worrying about anyone asking questions that would reveal the existence of magic; a lot of mages have even gone and filed their quirks as 'energy manipulation' as the term covers a broad variety of ways and uses of energy."
Bakugo huffed, "did you do the same thing?" he asked.
"Nope." she chirped, "but I'll probably have to do it before UA so I don't get in trouble with the council."
"What council?"
"The council of Elders, they're the ones who are technically in charge of all Magic Users on earth. And if you go in and register with their enforcers, you can also take jobs involving magic to get yourself a steady income. The council also works closely with the world's governments to be able to protect magic users from being arrested and tried for Illegal quirk usage or any other charges that come up."
Bakugo scowled, "so you get special treatment too." he grumbled.
"It's more like job protection." She said, finally turning around to glare at him, "if I can't complete my job, then whoever it is I was sent to help are in that much more danger, also, why are you following me?"
Bakugo shifted, "wanted to see you get arrested for quirk usage when you moved the trash."
"Mhmm, well he trash is gone and i'm not getting arrested, so why are you still following me? What, are you creeper status now or something?"
Bakugo bristled, "I ain't no Creep Deku."
"Then fuck off, I still have a work out routine to finish."
"Since when do you cuss?" Bakugo asked, his indignation forgotten after hearing the girl cuss.
"Since I almost got dunked into lava." she said dryly, 'Now please, fuck off."
"I won't do what you say just because you know colorful words now Deku." he hissed.
Izumi huffed and turned away from him, 'Stubborn ass, just like when we were kids." she grumbled.
"What's your problem?" he demanded to know, grabbing her upper arm, then quickly released it upon receiving a low level shock that had his arm tingling a bit.
"What's my problem?" she asked angrily, whirling back around, eyes alight with fury, "gee, lets think, since I was four you treated me like I was shit, not worthy of even being called by my name; you chased me down every day after school just so you could beat me up, you tore my homework apart, threw my sketchbook into a river, and were the main cause of me being ostracized by our classmates until I left. And now you have the AUDACITY to ask me what the fuck my problem is?" she ended in a scream, chest heaving as she levelled her staff at a stunned Bakugo once more, "If i didn't have the displeasure of being able to tell the difference between a human and a demon, i'd just assume you were a demon and react accordingly." she sighed as she lowered the staff, still glaring at him, "but that would make mom sad, so how about you just leave me the fuck alone; And i won't transport you to a planet who's atmosphere is nothing but Methane gas and watch the sky for the inevitable planetary explosion." with that Izumi shot into the sky, leaving cracks in the asphalt where she had been standing and leaving Bakugo standing alone, still too stunned to do more than slowly sit down on the curb.
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A few hours later.
Izumi walked into her apartment chugging a water bottle, letting out a satisfied sigh as she finished the last drops and looked around the apartment. Stopping when she sees her mother happily conversing with Clara, who was dressed in a traditional Kimono, colored red with pink flowers decorating it. Her hair was simply tied back in a ponytail, showing off her pointed ears.
"Hi sweetie!" Inko said with a smile, "your friend just arrived here five minutes ago. Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
" um...no...Clara...what are you wearing?" Izumi sighed in exasperation, sitting across from the diminutive girl.
"You told me I had to blend in! So I looked up what was fashionable in Japan." she said with a shrug.
"Maybe eight hundred years ago." Izumi chuckled, thanking her mother when a plate of eggs and bacon were placed in front of her.
"Yeah, your mom informed me when I got here." she deflated a bit, then perked up, "but she said I wouldn't look too out of place."
Izumi sighed, "what did you want to do today Clara?" she asked.
"Something fun!"
Izumi smiled, "Let me finish eating, then give me a second to shower and get changed and we can go into town."
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Izumi smiled as she and Clara happily walked down the sidewalk, both had drinks in their hand, and Izumi was carrying a tub of popcorn, now dressed in simple jeans and t-shirt. "that was so amazing!" Clara cheered, "How did humans learn to do this? Elves don't have anything like this!"
"That's because Elves don't like technology." Izumi giggled.
"Well they're stupid." Clara declared, "and this! This buttered popcorn!" she took a handful from the tub and put it into her mouth, moaning slightly, "so good!"
Izumi laughed, "if you think that's good, just wait until I take you to yakiniku."
"Midoriya?"
Izumi looked up, her eyes narrowing at the two familiar boys in front of her.
"Is that really you Midoriya?" the boy asked again, the cigarette between his lips falling out in surprise.
"Hashiga." Izumi greeted cooly, before looking at the other boy, 'and fingers."
"Hey!" the other boy exclaimed angrily, "my name is Tesaki."
"Same difference." she dismissed, nudging Clara to go around them, "sorry, but we have somewhere to be."
Tesaki stepped in her way, "come on, can't you spare some time for your old buddies Midoriya?" Tesaki asked with a sleazy smile, eyeing Clara with a vague interest.
"These are your friends!?" Clara asked Izumi, unaware of Tesaki's gaze.
"They're not my friends." Izumi said bluntly, while Hashiga pulled Tesaki back.
"Let them go man." he said warningly.
"Come on! I know things between you and Bakugo were dodgy, but we used to hang out all the time!" Tesaki laughed, pushing Hashiga off of him and stepping forward once again, "Can't we just hang out? Get to know one another again?"
"I'd rather eat rusted nails." Izumi growled, pushing past Tesaki with Clara following behind closely, now feeling vaguely uncomfortable with Tesaki.
Clara let out a slight gasp as Tesaki grabbed her upper arm.
"Then maybe I can hang with your friend." Tesaki said with a grin.
"Let me go!" Clara shouted, trying to wrench her arm out of his grip.
"Let her go Fingers." Izumi commanded, staff appearing in her hand.
"Tesaki seriously! Leave them alone!" Hashiga demanded, trying to pull his friend away from the other girl.
An explosion made all of them fall silent, Hashiga slowly turned around to look at a very angry looking Bakugo, who's hand was smoking from the quirk usage, "Let her go Fingers." Bakugo growled.
Instantly Tesaki let go of Clara, who ran to hide behind Izumi, her own staff materializing in her hand just in case.
"H-hey Bakugo." Tesaki laughed uneasily, "w-we were just trying to catch up with Midoriya here, and the bitch tried to blow us off!"
"Tesaki." Hashiga started warningly while Bakugo scoffed.
"You expect me to believe that load of bullshit?" Bakugo sneered, making Tesaki shrink back as he stepped forward, 'I saw the whole thing, when a girl tells you no, she means no Tesaki." faster than Hashiga could track, Bakugo drove his fist into Tesaki's stomach, making the boy double over and throw up.
"Remember that." he growled, looking at Hashiga, who held his hands up.
"Don't look at me bro, I was trying to stop him too." Hashiga said, making Bakugo scowl.
"Try harder next time Idiot." he grumbled, looking at Izumi, the two stared at each other for a bit before Izumi nodded slightly. Her staff disappeared as she turned to look at Clara, 'let's get to Yakiniku, okay?"
"Okay." Clara said, her own staff disappearing as they began walking, Clara looking behind them every now and then to see if they were following while Izumi motioned for their snacks to float back to her. Having suspended them in the air when she summoned her staff.
'Bakugo...bro I'm sorry-" Tesaki began, only to get punched again across the jaw.
"If there's one thing I hate in this world, its sleazy pieces of shit like you who won't take no for an answer." Bakugo growled, glaring down at his former friend, "as it is, you should feel relieved, If i hadn't of come along, then Deku would've clobbered your ass."
"She's a quirkless nobody.' Tesaki grounded out, glaring at Bakugo from where he was still kneeling on the ground.
"That quirkless nobody somehow brought a tree branch into her hands and had her snacks floating in the air." Hashiga deadpanned, looking curiously back to where the two girls had walked away down the alley, "that other girl did too come to think of it."
"What? You think Deku was gone for seven years for shits and giggles or something?" bakugo asked him gruffly, walking away from Tesaki, Hashiga following.
"Figured she went to go stay with her dad in the US." Hashiga said with a shrug, noting that Tesaki was following them as well, rubbing his chin and nursing his bruised ego.
"How'd you know her pops was in the US?" Bakugo asked, giving Hashiga a suspicious glare.
"Because I would listen to her when she would talk with us back when we were kids." Hashiga sighed, 'what can I say, had a bit of a crush on her back then."
"And now?"
Hashiga froze for a second, looking at Bakugo, who looked, for all intents and purposes, calm and disinterested; but Hashiga had been following Bakugo around since they were four, and knew how to pick up on the subtle cues that came with him.
Like now, where his voice dropped two octaves and his right eye twitched. He was angry.
"Psssh, now? No way man, you know I'm dating Koko." Hashiga laughed it off easily, breathing a sigh of relief when Bakugo nodded.
"What about you Bakugo? Have a soft spot for the residential quirkless freak?" Tesaki asked.
"Who said you could follow me." Bakugo asked him, looking back.
"What?"
"Let me make this clear Fingers.' Bakugo drawled, hand coming up and slamming into his chest, a low level explosion making Tesaki cry out in pain. "You follow me any longer then I'm not liable for what I do to you." Bakugo hissed at him as he fell against the wall, "like I said, I hate Sleazeballs, and the way you were lookin' at that blonde haired girl doesn't sit right with me." he leaned in, making Tesaki whimper slightly, "and if you try again, i'll make sure the biggest piece of you they find is your pinky toe." he stepped back, "Now get the fuck outta my sight."
Tesaki didn't waste any time running off, not looking back once as Hashiga pulled his pack of cigarettes out, putting one between his lips.
"Impressive, think he pissed himself?" he asked, sparing Bakugo a glance.
"More than likely." Bakugo grunted, glaring at Hashiga, 'you got a problem with what I just did?"
"No way man, dude was way out of line back there. If you hadn't done it, I would've."
Bakugo nodded his approval and continued walking. Hashiga follows.
"So, do you have a crush on Midoriya?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"You want me to blast you to kingdom come?"
"Yeah, you're sure.'
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Izumi hummed softly as she braided Clara's hair, the small elf was currently engrossed in watching the TV, which was displaying an older All-Might cartoon.
"Your hair is so nice," Izumi sighed with a bit of jealousy, "I wish I could get it like this."
"But your hair is nice too!" Clara said, doing her best not to turn around to look at her friend, who still had her hair in her hands, "I like how it's all fluffy and curly!"
Izumi looked at her own hair in the mirror, it was past her shoulders, and was indeed curly and fluffy, but it also had more tangles then she could count, and had resigned herself to them since she broke the sixth 'indestructible' comb in it. "Yeah, but it's hard to take care of, it's full of knots."
"Well there's this magical item called the Indestructible Cone-"
"If you finish that sentence I will transport you to the center of Angmar and let them arrest you for public indecency."
Clara pouted, but that soon disappeared once Izumi was done braiding her hair, "it looks so good!" she cheered, looking at the twin tails while Izumi chuckled.
"Okay, it's getting late so lets get some sleep alright?" Izumi said, climbing into her bed while Clara jumped on the small pull out bed that usually stayed under Izumi's.
"Come on! The sleepover isn't done!"
"Yes it is, we ate pizza and ice cream, did the cinnamon challenge, prank called three different people including All-Might's personal secretary, and I braided your hair. What would we be missing?"
"We have to talk about boys!"
Izumi gave her an unamused glance, 'you hate boys." she deadpanned, making Clara flush.
"Well yeah...but isn't that what you do at a sleepover?" she questioned unsurely.
Izumi sighed and sat up, crossing her legs, "technically you talk about who you like, you don't have to talk about boys." Izumi explained gently, making Clara look contemplative.
"well...I uh...there's this Orc…" she began, fidgeting slightly when Izumi leaned in with a smile, "They um...we went on a mission together to take down this rogue demon and…" she sighed in frustration, turning a beat red, "this is so embarrassing.
"You don't have to talk about it you know."
"But I want too!" Clara exclaimed quietly, 'because they helped me so much and...um...we were in the Jutland wasteland…"
"All the way out there?"Izumi interrupted in surprise, "how bad was this demon that they were hiding out in one of the coldest realities you can find."
"Right?" Clara asked, "that's' what I asked! But anyways, we got caught in an avalanche while fighting the demon and trapped under the snow in a cave...it was cold and getting colder...and then...and then Voltha suggested huddling together for warmth…"
"ohoho...Voltha...I know her!" Izumi said in surprise, "we took out a False God who was stealing people's souls down in Brazil! And-oh my god, you're the Elf she was talking about!"
"She talked about me?" Clara asked giddily.
"Of course! It was all she talked about for the week we were there." Izumi said with an eyeroll, 'How she couldn't believe an elf could be so cute, and how she was worried she had scared you when you two first met up, and how awkward things were after the avalanche and she suggested sharing body heat." Izumi gave Clara a sly smile, "but you were probably over the moon when she suggested that huh?"
"I-I-I-I thought s-s-s-she was joking at first!" Clara stuttered, "and then she said she was serious and I got soooo embarrassed…"
"But you still cuddled with her." Izumi said smugly.
'We didn't cuddle!" Clara said quickly, "we were huddled together for warmth!"
"Mhmm, from what I remember, Voltha said you two fell asleep with you being the little spoon and Voltha being the big spoon."
"I was not!"
"You drooled on her chest."
Clara blushed and hid her face, "I couldn't even look her in the eye the next day." she wailed, "I was so worried she was going to think I was disgusting!"
Izumi laughed, 'She said she thought it was cute." Izumi teased, "so, Voltha the Valiant, that's who you're crushing on."
"Yeah…" Clara said dejectedly.
"Why do you sound so bummed out?" Izumi asked curiously, "I basically confirmed that she likes you too."
"Yeah but...well you know how my family is."
"Oh, right…" Izumi sighed,
You see, Clara was, for all intents and purposes, a princess, her mother, Izlanzandi, was the ruler of the woodland realm; while Clara was the fifth daughter of the queen, she was still held at a different standard then most normal elves.
And that included who she associated herself with.
Izumi was exempt from most scrutiny, since Izlanzandi knew Izumi was a witch and she respected all practitioners of the art equally.
But had Izumi been just a regular human, Izlanzandi would have forbidden her daughter from becoming friends with her under threat of disownment. As only elves were seen by the queen as worthy of being friends with her daughter.
And while Voltha regularly teamed up with Mages to combat threats. She was not a mage herself. And was instead, one of the few non magic warriors authorized to work for the council.
"I like her...i like her a lot, but mother would be furious if I made that known…" Clara said sadly, "and so long as I don't say anything, I can still go on the odd mission with her…"
"Clara." Izumi began gently, "there's a point in your life where you'll have to decide what's more important: following your heart, or your mothers approval...I know it sounds like a hard choice. But could you really bare it if your mother found out and forbade you from seeing Valtha?"
Clara remained silent, then shook her head.
Izumi smiled sadly and moved to sit down beside Clara, hugging the girl, "you don't have to go and proclaim it to your mother...but I know that Valtha would be thrilled to know you return her affections."
Clara sniffled a bit, then wiped her eyes, "thanks 'Zumi." Clara said, returning her hug.
"Any time, kid." Izumi said, standing up and ruffling her hair.
'Kid?" Clara asked indignantly, "I'm one hundred and thirteen thank you very much!"
"And yet you act like you're ten." Izumi teased.
"Hmph, by my peoples standards, I'm a seventeen year old human ready to go out into the world." she sniffed with her arms crossed, "meanwhile you still have to go through high school."
"And who was it that was acting like a hyper active child all day while I paid for the movies, dinner, the train-"
"-it's not my fault I don't have any idea how money works here!" she squealed indignantly, 'Next time your in Elf territory YOU will be the hyper active child!"
"I'm sure." Izumi snorted as she jumped back into bed.
Clara grumbled a bit before she suddenly began to smile, "so, who do you like Zumi?" she asked.
"No one." Izumi said simply, laying down and stretching before putting her arms behind her head.
"Come on! No one's caught your eye? What about Castiel? You were flirting with him last mission."
"Pffft." Izumi spluttered as she began to laugh hard, "you don't understand." she gasped out after a bit, "he doesn't realize I'm flirting."
Clara's eyes widened, "what?"
"He's a seraphim." she chuckled, "he barely understands metaphors, and is generally clueless on cues; when we went into that Demons hide out, several of the dancers tried to flirt with him, and it was all going over his head! So I started doing it too. It's hilarious to see how confused he gets!"
Clara began to laugh alongside Izumi, "you're mean." she giggled. "So you really don't like anyone?"
"Nope." Izumi sighed as she settled back down, a flick of her finger turning the lights off.
"Oh...hmmm...what about that explosion boy?"
"What?" Izumi asked, eyes opening again.
"The explosion boy, the one who helped us with that sleazeball."
Izumi turned on her side and looked at Clara, "well...back when we were younger I may have...had a small...teensy crush on him." she mumbled, blushing a bit. "But that changed."
"Why?" Clara asked curiously,
"I was diagnosed as quirkless." she sighed, turning back over, "and he decided that I was weak enough to bully because of it, we haven't been friends since then…"
"That's so sad…"Clara said softly, then her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "but why did he help you today?"
She shrugged, "maybe he found a line he couldn't cross." she said quietly, 'or maybe he and Tesaki had a falling out before today...I doubt he was stepping in on my behalf."
'What if he did?" she asked.
"Then that's his problem...get some sleep Clara, I have a mission tomorrow and you have an Orc to woo."
Clara blushed, "okay...goodnight Zumi."
"Goodnight Clara."