A/N: Another day, another early chapter. I know I've said this a million times before, but thank you all so much for all of your support! It really does mean the world to me, no matter how many times I say it.
Anyways, this is the chapter where Torino appears. This is gonna be one heck of a thrill ride. Strap on in and enjoy the chapter! *roller-coaster clinks to a stop* Oh shi- *roller-coaster shoots down track*
Review Responses:
Glenn: While I will try to make this story as close to the canon as I can, and I will continue to use thigs from the canon Volumes when I can; I'm going to start diverging from it in Volume 4, maybe even during the end game of Volume 3 (don't get too excited. You're probably gonna hate me after I get it done), and I'll break away from the canon completely after I get Volume 5 out of the way. Who knows, maybe I'll do a reworking of this story someday that fits with the canon of the RWBYverse, but I don't think I ever will. So, as sad as I am to say this, after I finish up Volume 5, take none of this story as gospel for RWBY or its future volumes. I am rather impatient when it comes to these things.
Red John: Yes, yes it was. As for the huntsman shadowing thing, well... they're not going to be shadowing all together with Torino, although I kinda wish I thought of that before I wrote over 5,000 words for this thing (god damn my compulsive habits). I'll try to have Torino interact with some of the team members in later chapters, maybe even give them advice, but they won't be shadowing him, unfortunately. There will be a fight between All Might and a Nomu during the Breach, because those powerhouses are gonna duke it out eventually anyways. Thank you for the support, and enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or My Hero Academia. They belong to Monty Oum, Kohei Horikoshi, and their respective publishing companies. Please support the official releases.
I do not own the cover image.
Chapter 17: Missions and Mentors
Weiss paced around the dorm room with her hands behind her back, her anxiousness at her partner's sudden summoning obvious. Blake, while she was calmer than her other teammates, tapped her foot with obvious anxiousness against the carpeted floor in anticipation as she read her guilty pleasure smut. And Yang, while she was worried about her sister, wasn't focused on Ruby as she laid atop her half of one of the bunkbeds they'd constructed with her hands behind her head and her back against the slowly warming sheets. No, the blonde brawler was currently focused on the events of the previous night, as well as their implications. Specifically, what almost happened just before the mob of Tomura's goons dropped in. The fact that she and Izuku had almost-
She then felt herself get mentally slapped by her logical side as it yelled at her, C'mon, that was just in the heat of the moment! You don't know if he actually meant to follow through! Besides, you're Yang Xiao Long! You do not get hung up on cute guys, no matter how nice they might be! He may not even feel the same way!
But-
No buts! You don't know, so until you can confirm otherwise, what happened last night means nothing!
But I really do like-
Nothing!
Oh, come on. I wouldn't say it meant nothing.
...what?
I mean, Greenie did seem pretty willing. Plus, he is kinda hot. Maybe you should've aimed for his lips instead of his cheek-
Would you both shut up and leave me alone for like, five minutes? Please? Yang blushed a bit as her emotional side nearly finished its statement.
That last request is literally impossible.
But yeah, we'll shut up.
Yang, now at least somewhat alone with her thoughts, mulled over why she was feeling this anxious in the first place. Izuku was her opposite in a lot of ways, all of them good. While she took a bit of amusement in finding ways to tease everybody, he made it his mission to try and be polite to just about everyone he met. Even Bakugo. And Weiss. Izuku looked her in the eyes when she spoke to him instead of staring at her chest like so many other hotheaded guys she'd met, something she really appreciated about him. Of course, he always looked everyone in the eyes when he spoke to them, although she felt like he paid special attention to her when she had something to say, and not in a perverted way either; he actually cared about what she had to say. He was strong enough to take down an Orochi Youth in a single punch, albeit at the cost of breaking his own arm, but gentle enough to help his friends recover after a hard battle. She recalled all the training matches they'd fought against each other. He never refused her advice, and actually took everything she said about hand to hand to heart, making adjustments to every move she said needed work and often thanked her way too often for it. But that wasn't all that made him special in her eyes. He tried the best he could at every class, every subject, and he wouldn't hesitate to offer help when he had the chance. He had that goofy smile that appeared on his face whenever she made a pun, and that kind gaze that always made her heart skip a beat. He was... well, he was everything she wanted in someone else.
…holy crap, you really like this guy, her emotional and logical sides synched.
Wasn't that obvious?
Then I don't see what the problem is. Why don't you just ask him out?
Because she doesn't feel like she deserves him.
Oh, that's bullshit and you know it!
Look, even if she were to ask him out right now, we have almost no experience with dating. We went on one, and I repeat, ONE DATE! in our entire life, and the guy we went with was a complete asshole! Not to mention all the perverted dickheads who can't keep their hands to themselves. Hell, for all our bravado and all the other guys we've flirted with, we've never even kissed anyone! I vote that we wait a little while and see how she feels about Greenie then.
That... is actually a good idea. I second this action!
Could you two please stop talking about me like I'm not even here?
Sorry.
It was at this moment that Ruby had come back to the dorm room, the blonde brawler getting pulled from her inner turmoil as she and her teammates rushed to the door to make sure their leader was alright, leaving her conflicting thoughts of the green haired boy for another time.
(around the exact same time, Team STIK's dorm room)
Unsurprisingly enough, Izuku had a similar dilemma at almost the exact same moment that Yang did. However, there was one small difference.
You have no chance.
But-
None.
He had absolutely no confidence in himself when it came to romance. At all. Not even the dance helped with that.
"Hey, Izuku!" Shoto broke his partner away from his thoughts. "We've gotta head to the auditorium soon. You ready?"
"Yeah!" Izuku hopped off of his bed with his huntsman outfit on and Gale strapped to his back, quickly heading out the door after the rest of his team towards the main hall. The place was packed to the brim with students from all four academies, Haven to the far right, Atlas to the center right, Shade to the center left, and Beacon to the far left. Izuku and his team found themselves standing beside their sibling teams JNPR and RWBY, though the aforementioned freckled boy was specifically standing next to Yang, and he didn't even mean to stand there. The blonde brawler noticed this as well and when their eyes met they immediately looked away from each other with massive blushes on their faces.
Goodwitch's voice then caught their attention. "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words with all of you before the mission selection begins." The spectacled teacher then stepped aside for her senior to take the stage with his speech. "Today we stand together, united. Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell and who traded with whom. But about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware that was something that many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself. Color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. And it was a trend that has held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity. Through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today while the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional hunter, either with your team or without, on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others might work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."
Ozpin then left the stage with rapid applause at his back that continued for several seconds before the students dispersed towards the mission boards, the excitement and anxiousness of every trainee and team heavy in the clear morning air.
Team STIK then shifted towards the local mission's board and looked for a few jobs within the walls. Well, the others did, Izuku already knew which huntsman he would be shadowing. Gran Torino, the man who taught the Hunter Regulation and Law class before All Might and, ironically enough, his idol's teacher. Izuku quickly skimmed the list and found the name he was looking for and applied for the job, which went through successfully.
"I'm registered. I'm going to be in the western part of Vale for the next few days." Izuku explained to his teammates as the too looked through the myriad of requests. Man, there were a lot of things to do.
Shoto then selected a mission. "I'm on north then. Tenya? Bakugo?"
"I've got south. I've always wanted to go to that sweet shop Ruby recommended." Tenya said with an analytical look on his spectacled face.
Bakugo grumbled and scrolled through the missions list until he found one on the east side, grumbling, "At least I can visit my mom while I'm there."
"Alright. We've all got a quadrant of Vale to cover while we search for Stain. Remember, if you see him, do not engage. Call the others and wait for backup. I cannot stress this enough: do not fight him alone under any circumstances. Okay?" They all nodded, even an incredibly reluctant Bakugo. "Alright. Now that that's settled, let's see our friends off before we go."
"Oh yeah! Yang said that she and her team were going to try and take a mission south of Vale." Izuku blushed pink as he mentioned the blonde brawler, causing Shoto and Tenya to smirk while Bakugo facepalmed at the freckled boy's apparent embarrassment. Seriously, what was the big deal about talking to her in the first place? She was just a girl. Who could break bones with a look.
STIK began walking towards the docks when they noticed that CFVY was walking across the docks back to their dorm room form, the most noticeable to them being the long-eared bunny faunus, who Izuku heard in passing was called Velvet. She was wearing a short, long-sleeved brown jacket with a golden zipper, brown shorts with golden details and black leggings. She also wore a black, semi-translucent undershirt beneath her jacket, along with golden spaulders and vambraces on both arms, as well as a similar belt, and her heel and toe were likewise protected.
"Oh! Hello!" She greeted Team STIK with a happy tone in her voice, her gaze shifting to Bakugo as she continued, "Hey, aren't you that guy who saved me in the cafeteria that one time?"
"Maybe. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I just wanted to thank you for getting those guys off my back. You did a good thing."
"I wasn't trying to help you."
"Oh... well, that's a little disappointing. But I do still have to thank you for what you did." Velvet then came around and pecked Bakugo on the cheek with a pink hue in hers, saying, "Thanks again!" before rushing off to rejoin her teammates, leaving a rather confused Bakugo staring after her.
The aforementioned direwolf faunus then felt a large amount of blood begin rushing upwards. Confused, he turned to his teammates, asking, "What the hell was that?"
Shoto opted to explain. "That was a girl thanking you for something you didn't even mean to do. And then she kissed you on the cheek. And now you're blushing. Huh. I never thought it was possible."
"WAIT, WHAT THE HELL?!" Bakugo yelled in dismay, his hands feeling his face for signs of red, which he found plenty of. He continued, "I DO NOT BLUSH! EVER!" as he ran towards the nearest water source to rid himself of this newfound annoyance. Tenya and Shoto simply shook their heads with a slight smirk on their faces while Izuku, though he did want to show concern for his friend, knew that trying to help Bakugo would likely result in him getting blown up.
After retrieving Bakugo from a nearby fountain without a speck of red on his face, and immediate denial that he had ever blushed to begin with, they once again began walking towards the docks, where Teams JNPR, SN, and RWBY were currently conversing.
"Hey, where are the others? They said they'd be here to see us off." Ruby asked before Izuku and his team appeared seemingly out of nowhere, Shoto clarifying her confusion with, "Sorry we're late. Bakugo dunked himself into a school fountain to get rid of a blush."
"I TOLD YOU, I DON'T BLUSH! EVER!" Bakugo denied yet again, only causing his partner to chuckle in amusement before muttering, "Yeah, right," under his breath.
"So, where are you guys going for your mission?" Jaune asked the newly arrived team, to which Izuku answered, "We're just gonna work inside the walls for a few days. I've been meaning to visit the city again anyways."
"It would be rather nice to see Vale without something blowing up every five minutes." Shoto commented on the fact that everything seemed to go into full on chaos every time RWBY walked into town.
"What's that supposed to insinuate?" Ruby asked with a tiny growl in her voice and possibly the most adorable pout on her face, which Shoto knowingly smirked at.
"FOUR MINUTES, LADIES!" Oobleck called from the bullhead.
"You're going with Oobleck?" Tenya asked in confusion.
"Yeah. We'll just be going outside the kingdom for a couple of days, towards the southeast." Yang answered before her eyes once more met with Izuku's before the latter blushed and turned away slightly. Yang, wishing to say goodbye to the boy in private, though she had her own developing shade of pink, asked the others, "Hey, could I have a minute alone with Greenie? It won't take too long."
RWB nodded as they walked over to the airship, JNPR and STK doing the same before heading back towards the courtyard. Sun, his ever-flamboyant self, said "Good luck! to Izuku while Neptune flashed him a brief thumbs up before they too walked in the same direction as the two latter teams, leaving Yang and Izuku all by their lonesome.
"So... this is really happening, huh?" Yang asked with an awkward tone in her voice.
"Y-yeah. I-I-I wish we could go with you guys. I mean, t-this is an underground crime network we're talking about here, maybe hundreds of White Fang grunts to cover the entire southeastern area since it'sprobablythelargesttheyhaveundertheircontrolsoI'mnptsurehowyou'regingotbeableto-"
He was then silenced out of his mumbling tirade when the blonde brawler pulled him into a tight hug, a few seconds passing before she said, "Thanks for the concern, Greenie, and I really do appreciate it." She pulled away. "But we'll be fine. Most of our team is on the top of the leaderboard, not to mention we've had to deal with these guys before. So-"
"FIVE MINUTES, MS. XIAO LONG. ONE MORE AND WE'LL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU!" Oobleck called from the bullhead.
Yang sighed in frustration before looking at Izuku once more and saying, "Seeya when we get back, Greenie." She then turned and began walking to the airship, stopping halfway as she called back to Izuku. "Hey, Greenie!"
"Y-yeah?"
"If you happen to find Stain during your mission, kick his ass for me!" Yang said before she ran towards the bullhead and just barely managed to jump on in time.
Izuku stood there stupefied for a few moments before he shook himself out of it and smiled at the departing bullhead. He knew they'd be back. Nothing, not he Grimm, not the White Fang, not even Torchwick and Tomura themselves could prevent that. When Team RWBY made a promise, they kept it.
"Huh. I actually thought you guys were going to kiss." Shoto said as he walked up to Izuku's left side, causing the latter to blush pink yet again, answering Shoto's thought with, "I-I-I-It's not that simple!"
Shoto chuckled. "Yeah, I know, I'm just teasing you. Take it at your own pace. Just don't take too long."
"Wait, how did you know, though?"
"A brother always knows, Izuku. That and I've had a bit of experience with Momo."
"W-w-w-wait, d-does that m-m-mean that y-you guys..."
Shoto's eyes widened in realization as he shook his head 'no' at a rapid pace. "No! Oum no! We've hardly even cuddled! Get your mind out of the gutter, man. "
"Y-yeah. S-s-sorry." Izuku said before they rejoined the rest of their team, walking towards the bullheads that would bring them into Vale.
(10:34 am, western side of Vale, Gran Torino's apartment building)
Izuku felt rather intimidated as he stood outside the four-story tall building that was the headquarters of Grand Torino. The apartment building looked fairly old, run down and abandoned. Most of the windows had been broken and a few pieces of the building were actually falling off. Above the front door, there was a sign saying "Welcome" that was bent, made to look as though it was slowly peeling off, which was rather odd considering that it was made of metal. The building was also surrounded by a tall fence and gates.
Izuku made an audible gulp before he walked up the steps to the front door and made three loud knocks, echoing throughout the building and rebounding through the windows, causing the already afraid boy to become even more nervous. Torino definitely heard him.
Then, with a loud and sickening groan, the large wooden door swung open to reveal...
… an old man. A very tiny old man.
Now revealed, Torino had short, spiky gray hair with a contrasting beard, a round, circular wooden walking stick half his height in his right hand. He wore full body, monochrome suit with a matching yellow cape and belt, the latter with the letter "G" emblazed onto the buckle the same color as suit. He also wore very thick yellow boots and gloves.
"Ah, you're the one I sent for, yes?" Torino asked in a crackling voice, his age obvious even if you couldn't see the many wrinkles lining his face. "Your name was... Toshinori, yes?"
On second thought, how the heck was All Might trained by this guy? Izuku thought as he corrected Torino. "It's Izuku, actually. Izuku Midoriya."
"What?" Torino held his ear out so that he could hear better.
"My name is Izuku, sir." Izuku said a bit louder.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't quite hear you."
"Izuku Midoriya, sir!"
.
..
…
"I see. Well, come on in, Toshinori." Torino stepped inside the building with Izuku at his heels, a sigh of frustration escaping the latter's lips as the door slammed shut behind them with an echoing thud. The interior belied the exterior, being well cared for and clean all the way through. Various paper and boards lined the walls, a bookshelf standing off in the far corner, filled to the brim with literature. There was a bright blue sofa to the left of the room, with a matching cushion chair about three feet across from it facing inwards, a wooden stand connecting the corners. On the left wall was everything you'd expect to find in a kitchen, with various cupboards lining the underside of the counter and hanging over it. There were a few shelves here and there, filled with various canned foods and the like, and a fridge at the very end of the setup. Next to that same fridge was a rotating microwave.
Izuku set Gale down on the backside of the sofa before he told Torino that he needed to make a quick phone call. Continuing his ploy, he pulled out his Scroll and began dialing All Might to tell him about his former mentor's condition. But before he could, the old man started poking at Gale, an action that made Izuku rather nervous. But what happened next genuinely surprised him.
"Why don't you just through a full power Smash at me?"
Izuku's flustering immediately ceased, replaced by a calculating expression before Torino further elaborated. "I want to see just how far you've actually come in terms of handling One for All. Those sparring records, while they are all well and good, are nothing compared to first hand judgement." He then began to examine Gale a bit more closely, noting the Vacuean Runes that ran along it, as well as the shift mechanism built into the pommel.
"This is quite a fine weapon. Now where's that attack I asked for?"
Is this even the same guy as before? "Um... sir-"
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Torino asked as he turned to Izuku, going into loony old man mode once more.
What the heck is with this guy?!
Izuku straightened himself as he explained, "Look, I'm here because I need to get a better grasp on One for All. That and... I'm not so sure that All Might has very much time left to spare. So I'm sorry, but I can't afford to be messing around like this." Izuku bowed slightly before he made way for the door.
"*Sigh*. Just as I thought."
Izuku stopped and looked back at Torino, surprised to hear his serious tone emerge yet again. Torino then jumped into the air using his semblance, his cane still in hand as he bounced around the room before mounting himself above the door frame, small impact markings outlining his hands and feet.
"It's time to show me what you can do, newbie. I've seen your sparring matches, boy. And let me tell you right now, you've made good progress, but it's not nearly enough to put up a lasting fight. Almost all of them were short term." Torino chuckled. "He may be Remnants Symbol of Hope, but Toshinori's still got a long way to go when it comes to being a proper teacher. I can only imagine how clumsy his is in a classroom."
Wait... when we started properly training for Initiation, All Might called me 'newbie' too. Plus, during class he either pretends to be completely oblivious or ends up coming down on us super hard. This guy really is his teacher!
"Well, since you're beginning to get a proper grasp on your own style of fighting, I'll just have to help you develop it properly. Grab you weapon. We've got a bout to fight." Torino said, grinning as he hopped down onto the floor with a surprisingly tight grip on his walking stick. Was there a weapon hidden inside?
Izuku didn't pay it any mind as he retrieved Gale from its former resting place, smiling as he readied into his combat stance before activating Full Cowl 5%, their first match of many just beginning.
(two hours later, same place)
"I think that's enough for one day. You've done quite well, Midoriya." Torino wiped the blood from a slight cut on his left cheek, made when he just barely managed to dodge one of Izuku's final attacks. "That's the first time I've had to seriously dodge an attack in years."
Izuku nursed the bruises he'd gained from the spar before they slowly began to fade away due to his excess of Aura. He stood up, his joints aching with effort, and managed to walk himself over to the couch before he collapsed onto it.
"Well, c'mon kid. Let's heat up these nice pastries I bought earlier." Torino said as he pulled out some frozen Taiyaki sweets and piled them onto a plate.
A few minutes later, the pastries were warmed and ready to devour, Torino now happily munching down on the first one that he managed to snatch away from the plate, a muffled but delighted hum escaping his lips. Izuku slowly bit into his own, the taste of sweet custard filling greeting his taste buds and partially relieving his exhaustion.
"So, do you know where the rest of your team shadowed. I didn't want to break up any teams, but this was the best way I could teach you as discreetly as possible." Torino explained.
"Well, I know that Tenya's shadowing with Manuel, and Bakugo's likely shadowing a brawler specialist, maybe Desutegoro or Gunhead. I think Shoto's with Edgeshot, but I could be wrong." Izuku said as he flipped open his journals out of habit, looking up info on the huntsmen he'd just named.
"I see." Torino nodded. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask this for a little while, but how did you actually manage to get One for All to work for you in that way?" Torino asked.
"I kinda just imagined an egg in a microwave not exploding." Izuku said without a hint of hesitation in his voice.
.
..
…
Torino the proceeded to laugh his ass off for three minutes straight. I'm not even kidding.
"-hahahaha! Oh man, that's so nerdy!" Torino said as he banged his fist on the table, emphasizing his amusement threefold.
"I-I-I know. All Might said the same thing." Izuku awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he said this.
"Hehe, Toshinori might be a scrub when it comes to teaching a class, but he actually taught you to control One for All fairly well. That's actually rather surprising, in a pleasant way." Torino took another bite out of his Taiyaki.
"What was he like? As a student, I mean?"
"Toshinori? Well, he was pretty much able to use One for All right off the bat, so he didn't have to go through ten months of pure hell like you did. I guess it was a plus that he already had the body thing working' for 'im. So, I taught him in a very different manner."
"You mean you didn't give him any tips about One for All?"
"He didn't need 'em. It was all combat training for Toshinori." Torino grinned. "And boy, let me tell you, he may have been powerful, but he didn't know the first thing about proper fighting."
No wonder he respects this guy so much!
"But you seem to have the opposite problem he did." Torino inhaled the last of his Taiyaki before he picked up another one.
"Huh?" Izuku tilted his head slightly to emphasize his confusion.
Torino swallowed and explained. "You're afraid of your own power. You still see One for All as something you need to call upon instead of a part of yourself. I... understand that you're a former Fractured. And I don't mean any offense by this; but you've gotta think about it as your power, not something you're borrowing. Whether you like it or not, this power in its entirety will be yours eventually. You need to be ready for that responsibility."
"But... I don't know how to do that."
Torino took a bite out of his fresh Taiyaki, saying, "Well, think about it. You've gotten stronger over the year, haven't you?"
"Well, yeah, but-"
"Then who's to say that you can't use access more power with the technique you're already using? What was it called again? Full... Prowl?"
"Full Cowl." Izuku corrected, unsure of whether Torino was still messing with him or not. "And... I haven't actually tried that yet."
"If you want my advice kid, I recommend plenty of meditation. It'll help you assess yourself a lot more accurately. It helped me when I was trying to figure my semblance out." He chuckled again. "Toshinori really was a natural."
"Wait, why did you help him in the first place? And how do you know about One for All?"
Torino was silent for several seconds, the weight of Izuku's question obvious within his mind. After those seconds, he answered, "I was a close friend to Toshinori's predecessor, and since they couldn't teach him how to use that power, the task fell to me."
"Huh. Could you tell me about the guy sometime?"
"Sure." Torino said before he began munching away at his Taiyaki once more. You really didn't tell him about the seventh, huh Toshinori? Well, he's gotta learn about the threat eventually. It'll be better coming from you than me.
"Anyways, eat up! You can't be yapping away on an empty stomach!" Torino said as Izuku realized just how hungry he was, his stomach growling for emphasis.
(1:56pm, basement of Gran Torino's apartment building)
Izuku sat in a common meditative position: sitting down with his legs crossed and the backs of his hands resting on his knees. Torino opened up his rather spacious basement a few minutes ago for Izuku to collect his thoughts in private.
For approximately five minutes straight he'd sat like this to no effect. Of course, Izuku had expected it to be a slow process, and he was a rather patient person anyways. He slowly breathed in and out continuously, the only sound within the room his own, almost mute breathing.
Izuku suddenly felt something... shift. As though he were still within the confines of the quiet, dimly lit basement and yet somehow elsewhere. He opened his eyes to see a wide beach of sand bleached white by the seemingly never-ending ocean expanse that seemed to stretch on forever into the distance laid in front of it. He glanced to his left and right, the sandbanks having no definite end, the same as the ocean.
Izuku then turned his gaze behind him, surprised to see a green forest just beyond the reaches of the sand, as though it were somehow blocked by some kind of barrier. He stood and walked towards it, curious as to why the terrain was shaped so... artificially.
The soles of his feet touched the soft, velvety pasture beneath them, an altogether different feeling from the warm and grainy sand he once stood upon. Izuku tried to push further, but he felt himself hit a wall. Literally, there was a see-through wall right in front of him. Then, a disembodied voice began a speech that would haunt Izuku's thoughts for days to come.
"An infinite ocean, filled with power. Eight came before you, the ninth you are this hour. If you so wish to tame this great might, survive the Breach, survive the night.
"An eternal forest, now yours to call. But first you must get past the wall. Magic of the father, now in your hand; find the entrance key, claim the Warden's Brand."
Izuku's eyes shot open, the dimly lit basement now the only thing visible to him. He stood and dusted the collecting particles off of his clothes, climbing the stairs to the next level of the building with several questions lurking in every corner of his mind. What was that voice? And what was it talking about? Breach? Magic of the father? Warden's Brand? Urgh, this makes no sense!
"Something on your mind, boy?" Torino inquired as he sat on the sofa, his arm draped over the back while his other hand held a half-eaten burrito still partially wrapped in tinfoil.
"Yeah. I had this weird... vision or something. It was really cryptic, and I can't really make much sense of it."
"Well, you were down there for five hours. Must've been some vision." Torino calmly stated before Izuku began freaking out. "What?! Five hours?!" The green-eyed boy looked at the clock on the wall, finding that five hours had indeed passed, now reading 6:58 pm.
"Why didn't you wake me up?!"
"I've meditated before and I went into a rather docile state for a few hours. Some of my friends tried to snap me out of it, but nothing worked. Trust me when I say that nothing I could think of would've come close to waking you up, if it even affected you in the first place. Now, come eat a burrito. Not much good on patrol if you're hungry." Torino said as he gestured to another plate on the table, which had a foil wrapped burrito on it. Izuku tried to object until his stomach interrupted him, audibly rumbling and telling him just how long he'd gone without food. He dragged himself over to the table and unwrapped the burrito, explaining his vision to Torino as they ate.
A/N: And that's a wrap! Once again, thank you all for your incredible support! I wouldn't be writing this right now without it.
Now, I know that this chapter likely raised a lot of questions that you'd like to ask. If you do have any, please let me know! I love responding to reviews (when the site will actually let me respond to them) and they actually help with inspiration and motivation!
And now, the profile:
11- Gran Torino
Age: 76
Handedness: Right
BDay: 1/28
Race: Human
Hair: Gray, short & spiky with a short beard
Eyes: Yellow
Blood Type: B
Height: 4'2"/128cm
Gender: M
Semblance: Jet, allows Torino to propel himself through the air at rapid speeds, and to change his momentum midflight. However, in his old age he often forgets his own strength, leading to unecessary collateral damage much more often then he would prefer.
Weapon: Shinboku, a collapsible staff with a base form of a cane half the size of Torino's height, and extends from both ends to stand a whole foot taller than him. While many would see this weapon as rather small and basic, he will still kick your ass with it.
Next Chapter: Nov. 17th
Seeya in the next one!