"Izuku!" Mina cried as he slumped forward. An arrow stuck out of his back and he wasn't moving. Her heart hammered in unrestrained terror as she ran forward to see if he was all right, but she hadn't made it halfway to him before she realized what that arrow meant. She turned and saw Ochako on her hands and knees, staff on the ground before her. The six bandits that had been held at bay on the other side of them surged forward, the large man at their forefront.

"Tenya! Momo! Ochako's down, hurry up and watch for arrows!" Mina skated forward to move between the enemies and her friend, coating her arms top to bottom with acidic Nectar. The sleep-inducing mixture was good, but required skin contact. She couldn't rely on it if she was dealing with this many targets, but without her allies in the way, she didn't have to wait for safe shots, either. An arrow whizzed by her as she violently whipped her right arm towards the oncoming horde. The serpentine glob that flew off of her arm was dodged by the front two, who had been her intended targets, but the bulk of their muscular leader prevented those behind him from seeing it. Their clothing and shoddy armor flowed off their bodies when the acid reduced it to a slurry of fiber and liquid animal hides. They screamed in pain and fear, but Mina paid them no mind. Much of the potency of the attack would be spent on their outerwear, and while it would burn them horribly when it got to their skin, it wouldn't have enough strength to melt through and damage anything internal. They may not like it, but they'd live.

She ignored a choked apology from Ochako when she took up position over her, the Nectar she had thrown replacing itself in short order. She began to swing her arms in a flurry, sending a porous wall of pain forward. The charge broke as those comprising it scattered to provide more difficult targets. For as much as she was sending down range, comparatively little Nectar made contact with the people she was trying to harm. Nobody escaped unscathed, but the injuries were mostly superficial. The real accomplishment of her assault, other than taking away their momentum, had been the damage done to their protective gear. After all, the more exposed flesh they had, the easier it was to put them to sleep. Acid was a very effective weapon, but she didn't want to kill them. Burns would slow them down and maybe cause some to run, but her potent sleeping mixture would put them out of the fight much more quickly.

The Nectar forming on her arms went from a pale green to a sickly gray-brown as she blended the acid and sleeping Nectars together. The first batch she threw went wide as an arrow pierced directly through her left bicep. Mina screamed, not having expected the sudden agony. "Ochako, arrows, please!"

"I... I can't, my head–"

"I know, but I need you to keep us safe!" Mina melted the arrow out of her arm, thankful that she was largely unaffected by the harmful variants of her Nectar. She didn't want to imagine the havoc that acid in the bloodstream would do. After flinging a long line of liquid at two approaching enemies, she plugged the hole with the sticky brown Nectar she'd been using to keep wounded bandits from bleeding alive. Two more tried to come at her from either side, and she slung her self-made weaponry at them. Her first target, the big one, dodged and continued coming in, but the other screamed as he tried to scrape it off his chest, only managing to give himself burns on his hands. Moments later, he dropped to the ground asleep.

She moved to position herself more directly between the large man and Ochako, but it ultimately proved unnecessary. He was intercepted by Tenya, whose breastplate was coated in blood she hoped belonged to someone else. They proceeded to engage in a high-speed duel which the giant was not doing terribly well in. All his strength was nothing compared to the nobleman's speed; Tenya flowed around his heavy hammer like water, and while none of his own blows were particularly heavy, they were many and bled his adversary. It was almost hypnotic, but other pressing concerns kept Mina from watching for too long.

Another arrow came too close to hitting her. "Ochako!" She threw a large glob of Nectar point-blank at a man who had used the brief distraction Tenya caused her to close the distance. She tried to catch his sword hand before he cut into her, mostly succeeding and escaping with only a shallow cut to her shoulder before he fell victim to the slumber being forced upon him.

"I can't, Mina, I'm sorry!" Her friend struggled to her feet, leaning heavily on her staff. "It was too much, keeping all the weight of them back..."

Momo joined the fray. Her thin sword leaped from odd angles to press her target back. Mina noticed the three arrows embedded in her shield. "Can you throw my Nectar, then?" She punctuated the sentence with another flying stream, taking one of the two unoccupied combatants in the neck. The Nectar she made to replace what she used came out much more slowly than it had been previously, and Mina could feel the strain it put on her body to make it. Mixing two high-potency Nectars together took a lot more out of her than making either by itself, and she'd been making an irresponsible amount of the hybrid batch in an effort to end this fight before someone got hurt or killed.

Her mind went back to Izuku, slumped over with that arrow in his back, and her heart jumped into her throat.

Ochako took a deep breath. "Maybe? I... I can try..."

Mina threw another armful of Nectar at the final unoccupied bandit, who was increasingly penned in by sizzling acid. She made as much purple Nectar as she could manage in the short reprieve that bought her and tossed it to the ground in front of the Godling of Magic. "Get it on their skin!" She called over her shoulder as she stalked over to her final target.

"I give up!" he said when he saw her approaching. He dropped his sword and put his hands up. "Please, just don't melt me!"

"I'm not going to melt you," she said. "I'm just putting you to sleep. You'll wake up just fine, as long as my friend isn't dead." Before he could respond, a fat glob of Nectar landed on his face, sending him sprawling to the ground. His hand landed in some of the acidic mixture, but he'd be fine aside from some burns.

Mina turned to find Ochako laying on her back, drenched in sweat, but the archers on the far wall weren't standing, either. Tenya was stepping off of the decapitated corpse of the large bandit and the woman Momo was fighting was voluntarily being handcuffed. With the fight concluded (for now, anyways), she slapped some Nectar on the woman's cheek to knock her out as she sprinted to Izuku's fallen body. "Izuku!" she called, knowing he couldn't hear her. When she reached him, she dropped and skidded the last foot on her knees, protecting her skin from the stone with a light coating of Nectar.

The arrow didn't appear to be too deep into his back, which gave her hope. She wrenched it from his body and sealed the wound before turning him over to see his face. When she did, she wasn't sure whether to be angry or to laugh. He certainly wasn't dying from the arrow, and he had purple Nectar smeared over one of his cheeks. After shoving aside the unconscious bandit and putting his head in her lap, Mina swept it off his face with a gentle stroke. She sealed up another wound on his arm and then produced a small, clear bead of liquid on her fingertip and dropped it directly in the center of his forehead.

She was aware of Momo behind her; the woman was radiating anxiety. Mina heard her breathe a sigh of relief as, after nearly half a minute of waiting, Izuku's face shifted from a passive mask of sleep into an expression of distinct discomfort and his eyes opened.

After the scare he gave her, Mina didn't feel the least bit bad as she watched him try to understand what was happening around him. She could spot the exact moment when he registered where his head was, because his face quickly turned the deep red of a rose and he began to sputter in panic.

"I – Mina, what... But, when did... I'm sorry! I don't know what, er, I mean how I..."

She couldn't help it. She threw her head back and laughed at him. "Calm down, I put you there. I wouldn't be mad at you for something I did, would I?"

This clearly didn't help him recover from his embarrassment, but Momo ruined her fun by interjecting, "I'm glad to see you're all right, Midoriya. We were all frightened for you when we saw you collapse."

"Collapse?" The red began draining from his face, and Mina couldn't help but pout. "What? When did I...?" His brows knit together as he tried to piece together what happened.

She sighed and moved his head off of her lap so she could stand. "You got hit by an arrow in the back when Ochako's magic broke. The head didn't even go all the way into your back, but I think the impact knocked you off balance and into that puddle of Nectar."

He looked over at the bricks smeared with purple and his posture crumbled. It wasn't enough to say that his face fell; everything about his posture, his expression, the way he existed in the world changed when he saw that. "And then you all had to fight the rest of them by yourselves..." Izuku sounded absolutely heartbroken. "I'm... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to let you all down..."

Mina blinked. Was he crying?

He went to wipe his face with a sleeve, noticed the blood on it, and shifted the fabric to a spot that was at least mostly clean before doing so. "Is... is everyone all right?"

"We'll make it," Mina said.

"I believe the worst injury is Uraraka's exhaustion. Having her barriers attacked appears to take a toll on her." Izuku looked past her and Momo, and Mina turned to look as well. Tenya was kneeling next to Ochako while she took a long drink from a waterskin.

She sighed, looked back to the enigmatic human, and leaned over to offer her hand. "It's okay, Izuku. It's not your fault."

He looked up at her, eyes wide and watery. He made no move to take the offered appendage.

"Seriously. It's okay. You didn't intentionally rub your face in Nectar to get out of the fight. There might still be more here, and Ochako and I are about at the limit of what we can do. I've still got bandits with wounds to seal before we're done. We'll need you to protect us."

It may have been manipulative to say, but she watched it harden his resolve. His face went from sad and broken to determined over the course of her last sentence. Mina had expected as much. While she still couldn't quite figure out why he was the way that he was, she did have something of an understanding of how he worked. Izuku put his self-worth in what he could do for other people. By being put out of the fight in a way that he felt was a failure, that worth – and any confidence he may have had – was taken down with him. An appeal to what he could still do to help was all that he needed to start feeling valuable again, especially if she phrased it in such a way that put him in a position of importance.

He took her hand and she hauled him up. "Okay. I'll... it won't happen again." He leaned over and picked up his sword and dagger, sheathing the latter.

She smiled encouragingly at him, but she felt little but dread for the upcoming several minutes. Her Nectar was already flowing slowly from the fight, and she had cleanup to do. If she was able to squeeze out a drop after they left Fort Ekko, she'd be surprised. "I'd best get to work if we don't want any of them to die from blood loss..." she sighed.

Momo nodded. "And I need to start producing manacles for those not already bound. Keep watch, Midoriya. We'll need someone to alert us if more arrive while we're occupied."

He nodded. "I'll see if Iida can lend a hand, if Uraraka is all right."

With that, they set to the weary work of saving lives and restraining criminals.


The short few minutes it took for Mina and Yaoyarozu to attend to the defeated bandits felt like hours to Izuku. No corner of the fort was safe from his gaze; he had failed his only job in spectacular fashion during the battle and was keen to make up for it. It felt odd to be patrolling the walls of a fortress that they had just assaulted, but it was the best way to check each angle without wandering off by himself and risking an ambush. It was also easier to give him a set of bindings to put on the archers since his patrol took him to that end of the wall.

On the conclusion of his last lap, he found his friends gathered and waiting for him. Uraraka was looking much better. She had dried her face off and her staff no longer trembled in her hands. Yaoyarozu and Mina stood in front of a massive circle of their fallen foes, manacles interlinked to prevent any sort of efficient escape or even movement. While Iida was near a large blanket, the irregular shapes beneath it and the pool of blood that leaked out of it gave little illusion to how he had occupied himself since the end of the battle.

"Any signs of activity?" the nobleman asked.

Izuku shook his head. "No. I did spot what looked like a chimney set into part of the wall over there, though," he answered, gesturing to the location. "I'm pretty sure that's where the forge is, and that's probably a good place to start, since we're looking for the Lord Maijima's Godling.."

"It doesn't have any smoke coming out of it," Yaoyarozu said, worry clear in her voice.

"They probably just don't have the forge lit." Uraraka put a hand on the other woman's shoulder to comfort her. "I'm sure she's fine."

"In either case, we shouldn't delay any longer. Yaoyarozu, please take point with me. Uraraka and Miss Mina, stay behind us, and if you would bring up the rear, Midoriya. I don't want any hidden enemies coming up behind us without someone there to deal with them."

Even though he knew it wasn't the case, Izuku couldn't help but feel as though Iida were punishing him by placing him in the back. It was as though the young noble were saying,"Since you weren't able to fight without screwing up, we're putting you in the back where you can't make things worse." He tried to shake off the negativity. After all,it was a tactically important position. History was littered with battles where a rearguard good enough turned the tide of battle, or one poor or absent enough did the same.

That didn't help him feel any better about it in light of his earlier shortcoming, but somehow, Mina's smile did. The weight of his thoughts still pulled him down, but he couldn't help return it as he took his position and they descended from the wall into the courtyard.

There were several buildings accessible from here, and due to the highly specific maps included within Recollections on Ataran History, he even knew what most of them were originally used for. The stables had fallen into disrepair and served as little more than half a roof over some crates. The door to the barracks was ajar, something he had noticed while circling the walls, and likely emptied of people now. That was a place to keep an eye on. The armory was shut, so there was no way to tell what it was being used for without breaking formation to investigate. The granary was missing entirely, likely destroyed during the war and the rubble cleared at some later point.

That left the smithy. It wasn't designed for more than spot repairs or light production, since the fort was near enough to Hosu that it could be easily supplied from there. Still, to prevent attackers from firing a siege weapon directly into it and thereby remove their ability to upkeep arms and armor, it was placed under a reinforced portion of the wall, and a sturdy flue had been channeled out to the chimney where the gaseous byproducts of forging could be discharged without giving the smith black lung.

Iida was the first in, telegraphing his entry somewhat with his shield as he moved forward warily. When nobody came out of the darkness to assault him, he waved them forward with his sword. "Stairs. Mind your step."

Two by two, the group began the trip down into the building. When a pile of canvas bags shifted and two arms, one with a dagger and the other an open hand, reached out for Mina, Izuku hardly realized what was happening before his body leaped into action.

"Nobody move, or –" The hidden bandit's sentence was cut short before he could even finish seizing the nymph. A sword flashed out and both his weapon-wielding arm and head separated from his body in a violent spurt of blood.

Izuku watched the man fall as though he was looking through the eyes of another person. As the body moved towards the floor in slow-motion, his mind replayed the split-second event over and over. He had seen the dagger going towards Mina and... He hadn't panicked. He hadn't even fully registered what was happening by the time the sword – his sword – had finished swinging. His sword. Wielded by his arm.

Izuku had killed a man.

Time resumed when the body hit the floor. Mina and Uraraka cried out in surprise while Iida and Yaoyarozu spun, weapons at the ready. "What happened?" The blue-haired Godling demanded.

"Eugh!" Mina gagged. "This is disgusting!" She flailed her arms, coated with the blood that had spattered out from the wound, in an attempt to dislodge it. She turned to Izuku, and in the light filtering in from behind him, he saw a splash of gore on her face as well. Something about the sight made his body unfreeze. "Thanks for –" she began, but she was interrupted by the noise of his sword clanging down the stairs as his hand went limp and released it. "Hey, are you okay?" Her voice was tinged with both concern and panic.

His words came out shaky and small. "I... I didn't mean to..." He stepped back, away from the corpse he had created. "It just happened, I... I wasn't... I never wanted..." His eyes couldn't be torn from the sight.

Mina stepped between him and the dead man. "It's okay," she said slowly. "You were protecting me, right? You didn't do anything wrong."

Izuku could hear Yaoyarozu saying something, and Iida responding, but he couldn't make sense of what it was. Uraraka moved into view, her face twisted in what could only be disgust. He had killed someone. He had said he wasn't going to kill anyone. Even when Iida had told him holding back would be dangerous, he hadn't killed anyone. His foot touched dirt, and the doorframe entered his sight.

"Izuku," Mina said, covered in blood. Blood he had spilled. Her blood? Had he cut Mina? His mind played the scene again, clearly showing his sword passing through her as well as the bandit. "Listen to me. It's all going to be okay." Other words floated in from the passageway, but they made no sense, jumbled syllables that had to have been another language. "He's freaking out," she called behind her. "Hey, there's nothing to –"

He doubled over and vomited. The sick spewed out of his body with the volume of a thunderclap and the force of a raging river. Mina continued to talk to him, but now even her words were lost to incomprehensibility. His eyes screwed shut and he fell to his knees, hurling again. A hand touched his back, instantly provoking another heave. It recoiled, and his stomach continued depositing everything that had ever passed through it on the ground before him.


Tenya and Yaoyarozu made their way down into the building while Miss Mina and Uraraka watched over Midoriya. As unfortunate as it was that he was taking his frankly heroic act so harshly, the Smith's Godling may well still have been in danger, and the best he could do as the leader was ensure that their comrade was protected while those who could forged on.

The unlit staircase became increasingly treacherous as they descended. The sun, already having been low in the sky when they began their assault on the fort, was not in a position to shine directly into the doorway they entered from. As such, the only point of reference they had during their descent was a spot of light coming from under what was likely a door at the bottom.

Opening the door revealed a modestly sized room mostly dominated by the forge and large crates stacked neatly behind it. The thing that immediately caught his attention, however, was the body of a man before it. His throat was cut, but it looked like it was a suicide. In his hand was a blood-coated sword, and there was no indication of a struggle.

"Don't touch that sword!" came a cheerful voice. Tenya's head snapped to the right, where he saw a young woman with her hands chained above her head to the wall. "It's very cursed, if you pick it up, you'll kill yourself."

"Mei!" Yaoyarozu said, surging forward into the room. She embraced the other Godling, who had long, pink hair and striking yellow eyes. Were her sclera black, Tenya mused, she'd bear a striking resemblance to Miss Mina, aside from the skin color.

"Hey, Momo! Glad you could make it. I was planning to be out of here myself within a few days, but then that guy came in and grabbed one of the swords I was making."

"Your plan was to give them swords that would kill them when wielded?" He asked.

"Yup! It seemed pretty foolproof at the time, but then he came in talking about how he needed a new weapon now. A few of his friends got really upset when he died. I think they were getting ready to kill me when something distracted them and they all ran out." She was oddly cheerful, considering her circumstances.

Yaoyarozu was jamming some substance she had created into the lock on the manacles binding Mei to the wall. "That would have been us," Tenya said. "We attacked the walls a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. They chained me up and said they'd be back to deal with me later. But now you're here, Momo and whoever you are! So that makes things a lot easier for me. Plus, free forge! I'll have to see if I can break it down enough to get it in a wagon or something. You can make a wagon, right, Momo?"

The Godling of Creation had examined the object after pulling it back out of the lock and created a key. "Yes, but I don't know how we'd pull it."

"Oh, yeah, good point." Mei's hands were released from the manacles and she stretched her arms. "Do we have enough money to buy horses? Ooh, or maybe an ox? I bet a bull would scare off bandits!"

"If we buy any manner of draft animal, we'll likely run out of money before we reach the Palace." She paused for a moment before saying, "Do you even know how to drive a wagon? Because I do not."

Ignoring the second question entirely, Mei responded, "You can just make more money! I don't see the problem there!"

"We've been over this. That's counterfeiting and I will not do it." Yaoyarozu turned back to Tenya. "I'm sorry. Iida, this is Mei Hatsume, Godling of the Forge. Mei, this is Tenya Iida, Godling of Intellect. He and his companions did most of the work involved in getting you free."

"Thanks!" Hatsume said brightly.

"It's good to meet you," Tenya returned.

Hatsume looked behind him. "So... Companions? I don't see anybody else."

"They're outside. One of them killed a man on the way in here. He is not taking it well."

"Oh, is that what all the yelling was about?" After a thoughtful moment, she said, "But wouldn't you have had to kill lots of people to get in here? There were at least twenty of them."

"We are... blessed... with the assets to approach situations like this non-lethally. Most of them desired to do this without taking life." He held a hand out to the door. "We should return to them, if there's nothing else here."

"I still need to take the forge apart!"

"Mei, we can always come back and do that another time. It's late, we should get to Hosu and sleep somewhere safe."

Hatsume sighed. "Fine. But we're coming back here tomorrow after we buy an ox and you make a wagon!"

Yaoyarozu shook her head and sighed. Tenya lead them out the door, collecting Midoriya's fallen sword from the bottom of the stairs as he passed.


An eternity came and went. At some point during the passing of endless years, he realized he had stopped throwing up and was now curled up on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. The world ended and was remade in the time it took him to find the strength to open his eyes again. They ached, and Izuku realized that he had been crying. If only the turning of the wheels of time could have erased the memory of what sent him into such a state. He saw himself slay the bandit and cut Mina again, and if he had anything left in his stomach, it would have come back up.

The first thing Izuku saw was Mina sitting beside him. She was curled up and had her chin resting on her knees. Most importantly, she had no blood on her, and he could see that the spot where his mind insisted he had cut her was unharmed.

"Hey. How're you doing?" she asked.

"Are you okay?" He knew she was. He could see that she was. He hadn't hurt her. He still had to ask.

Mina gave him a perplexed look. "I'm fine. That guy didn't even get a chance to touch me." She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, Izuku. You probably saved my life."

He pressed his mouth into a line and took a deep breath. That was something to remember. Not the lies his brain told him. He saved her life. "...Yeah. It's... I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Well, you're doing a good job preventing it, but you never answered my question." She stood up and offered him a hand.

Izuku took a bracing breath and accepted the hand. "I'm... I'll be okay." He looked around to get a bearing on what had happened while he was...

Well. He stepped away from the pool of vomit, anyways.

There was someone there he didn't recognize, but assumed to be Mei. It was mildly embarrassing for this to be the first she saw of him, but he swallowed the discomfort (and the sour taste). "Uh... Hi. I'm Izuku Midoriya."

"Mei Hatsume," she responded eagerly. "I hear you've got some kind of magic key, can I see it?"

He took a step back. "Uh... Sorry, I'd... I'd rather not. It's, um, really important and was given to me by my, uh... my old master. Before he died." That churning feeling was from throwing up, not from the lying, certainly.

"That said," Iida cut in, interrupting Hatsume's reply, "I do believe most of us would benefit from a trip to Grandmother Nighteye's residence. Ironically, Hatsume seems to be the only one uninjured."

"Yup! Told 'em that I wouldn't so much as lift a hammer if they even flicked my nose." She patted the hammer on her belt for emphasis.

"Yeah... Then, uh, let's go." He started moving for the door down into the smithy, but someone grabbed his wrist as he did.

Uraraka looked at him with haunted eyes. "You're sure you're okay?"

Izuku gave her the most convincing smile he could muster. He didn't feel it was very successful. "As okay as I'm going to be."

For a moment, she didn't let go, seeming to want to press the matter. Ultimately, she didn't say anything else and let her hand fall back to her side.

Hatsume hovered directly behind him as he produced the key and fit it into the lock. She immediately began asking questions about how it worked, but Yaoyarozu politely silenced her. As ever, with the turn of the key, the door lead to the foyer of Grandmother's home. She was waiting for them, seven cups set out at the table and a kettle over the fire.

"Come in, please." She gestured broadly to the side and behind, her hand running over six different open doors which lead to individual bedrooms.

Those who had been here before entered and greeted 'Granny Chiyo,' while Yaoyarozu showed the curiosity endemic to a first-time visitor.

Hatsume, on the other hand, amplified that with an interrogation. "Amazing! How did the enchantment get bound? How far did we go to get here? Where is here?" She stepped in and out of the door several times, looking from different angles and through the windows. "Can the key go in any door? How does it fit? The locks have to be shaped differently. Does it change as it's put into or taken from the lock?"

"Darling, you'll let in a draft, or perhaps one of those sleeping bandits you've got out there will wake up and try to wander in. Please, close the door, preferably with you on the inside."

"If I'm outside, can I get back in? Will the door open to wherever here is as long as the key is inside, or is the key needed each time?" Even with the continued interrogatory barrage, she did comply and shut the door from the inside.

"Granny, how did you know about the bandits? And how many of us there were?" Uraraka asked, looking between the cups and the open doors.

Grandmother looked insulted. "What, you think Mirai's divination skill came from nowhere? I check in on Izuku from time to time, and I happened to see you all on your way to that fortress. I kept an eye on you as I prepared everything, just to be safe. Now, everyone who's hurt, into a bedroom. Some of you are going to need to disrobe for me to get at your wounds, and we'll not be doing that where anyone else can see." She looked to Hatsume. "There's a bath drawn in every room, as well, if you want to wash up a bit. Either way, we'll all be back and ready for tea before you know it."

Each of them began heading towards one of the open doors, but Mina hesitated before passing through hers. "Granny Chiyo? Izuku –"

"I know, Mina. I'll take care of him." She smiled kindly.

The look of concern didn't leave her face entirely, but she did smile slightly before closing the door.

Izuku waited in his room for several minutes before Grandmother joined him. She immediately strode over to the bed he was sitting on, cast her cane aside, and pulled him down into a hug. "I am so sorry you had to go through that, Izuku."

Something about the way she said that broke the dam in his eyes once more, and though he fought valiantly, he failed to choke back the sobs. Grandmother stroked his back comfortingly as he wept. "I didn't want to kill him!" he cried. "I didn't mean to! My arm moved by itself, it just happened!"

"I know you didn't, dear. You were put in a horrible position where you had to make a decision, and the decision you made, even if you didn't consciously realize it, was to protect Mina." She pulled back and looked him in the eye. "That's a good thing, Izuku. Your desire to protect your friends is strong, and they're safer for it."

He tried to form words, but it all came out as sputtered nonsense. He used his sleeve to wipe away the mass of tears flowing down his face, then kept it there so that he didn't have to look at Grandmother. Even being near her felt like too much, the mere presence of someone else enough overwhelm him.

"Taking a life is a hard thing, especially for someone as kind and empathetic as you are. I know it hurts, but sometimes you have to do hard things to protect the people you care about. You're doing such a good job taking care of everyone, and I know you'll continue to do so."

Finally, between the hiccuping and sobbing, he managed to speak. "B-but you can heal it, right? I... I know it's not a physical wound, but it's still a wound, right? And you're –"

"Oh, Izuku," she sighed. "You're right. I could heal it, but I'm not going to."

The shock was almost enough to stop him from crying. "Wha... but... why not?"

"When I heal someone, I don't leave any scars. That's not usually a problem when someone's body is damaged, but the mind is a much more complex thing. If I were to mend this for you, the same thing would happen if you ever were in a position where you had to take another life. You'd go through all the same hurt, all the same trauma and horror. I know this feels like it's never going to get any better, but sometimes, we need scars to help us grow." She put her hands on his cheeks. "I don't believe you'll ever get to a point where killing doesn't bother you. You'll never enjoy it, thank heavens, and I doubt you'll do it unless there isn't another option, but the road ahead is long yet. You'll have your fair share of hardships, maybe more. Going through these trials, having these experiences, it makes you a stronger person. Growing hurts, and it's not a just thing that anyone has to make the decisions you've made or those that you'll make in the coming days. However, for all of Yagi's blustering, the thing he was unquestionably right about is that you will be the greatest of the Gods, in this or any age, because none of them have ever had a heart like yours."

Through the course of her speech, Izuku's tears welled up for a myriad of reasons – for sorrow, for fear, for awkwardness and the compliments he received. The thing that finally quelled them, though, was confusion. "I... What do you mean, any age? Do you know much about the Gods that came before?"

Grandmother smiled sadly. "Go ahead and lay down, Izuku. We should get to work on healing your wounds."

"But –"

"That's a conversation for another time," she said firmly. "And I have other Godlings waiting for my help." As he begrudgingly got into the bed, Grandmother continued. "I do apologize for taking as long as I did to come see to you. Tenya had some nasty internal bleeding from his fight with the large one, and that had to be handled first."

"Is he okay?" Izuku asked reflexively. "Sorry. I... Of course he is."

"It's all right, you don't need to apologize. It's good that you're concerned." She used a wet cloth to wash away the Nectar sealing his wounds, after which the uncomfortable feeling of them being stitched together without thread or needle returned. "I'm very grateful to Mina. She's quite clever, using her powers to bind wounds and prevent external bleeding. Keeps you all in better shape until you can get back to me."

"Yeah, it's... Without her, I think today would have been a lot harder. For, um, for a lot of reasons."

Grandmother smiled knowingly. "I'm also grateful to her because she makes sure to take special care of you." She pinched his cheek, causing him to recoil back in surprise. "After all, someone has to, and I can't unless you come and visit."

Izuku opened his mouth to say something, but a weird knot in his chest made it difficult. What would he even say? His inability to respond made him feel more flustered than he already had, so he looked away in hopes that it would recede.

"Why don't you head back and take a bath, dear? I'll go see the rest of your friends and then we can all have some tea."

An excuse to leave was all he needed.


After washing the blood ejected from his body when he injuries were healed, Izuku felt cleaner in more ways than one. The warm water carried the day's troubles away like a river, even if he could still feel the stone left behind by his trauma at its bed. He'd have liked to stay longer, but between the others likely waiting for him and the fact that the water was tinged with blood, it seemed better to not linger.

He wandered, mostly dry, back into the foyer. He was correct in that the others were waiting on him, as the rest of those in the house were already at the table and having tea. A full cup, still steaming, was set out for him at the remaining chair, which would have him between Grandmother and Mina.

He hadn't even fully sat down before Hatsume, seated across from him, nearly jumped over the table. "Iida said you have something Seaforged! Is it true? Can I see it?"

The suddenness of her outburst made Izuku jump, and Mina had to catch his chair before it clattered to the ground. "We practically had to hold her down to keep her from barging in on you during your bath," she explained as she righted the furniture.

"Well?!" Hatsume demanded.

Izuku could see the fire in her eyes. He got the impression that she was going to be looking at the dagger whether or not he gave it willingly. "Uh... sure." He reached into his bag, where he had stowed it after his bath, and passed the sheathed weapon over the table.

"How are you feeling, Izuku?" Grandmother asked between sips of tea.

"Better, now." He saw Mina smile widely out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm glad to –" the God began.

"It's beautiful!" Hatsume interrupted, having drawn the blade. She ran her fingers over the bluish metal. "It's a steel alloy... no, a titanium alloy. Alloyed with steel, but the titanium is the more important ingredient." She pinched it between her fingers. "Not a normal alloy, though, there's no coal." She looked at Yaoyarozu, who had a long-suffering expression. "No coal, Momo! There's sulfur, but it seems... incidental. Probably because of the thermal vents, I hear that's where the Sea Nymphs set up their forges."

Conversation at the table was all but impossible. Each time someone tried to speak, Hatsume spoke over them. Iida and Uraraka were succeeding in a hushed exchange, but despite the fact that the nobleman wasn't two seats down from him, Izuku couldn't hear a word he was saying. In fact, he wouldn't have known he was speaking if he hadn't looked.

"Even with that, though, it shouldn't be this durable. None of that should make Seaforging superior to a normal... Oh!" She leaned forward and sniffed the dagger. "I think..." She scratched at it with a long nail and then licked her finger. "Yup! There it is." She sheathed the weapon and passed it back over the table to Izuku. "Thanks!"

He blinked. "What?"

"Thanks for letting me look at your dagger. Obviously."

"No, I mean... What was it? What did you find out?"

"Can we make it?" Yaoyarozu asked. Despite her obvious exasperation with her friend's loud pontificating, she seemed excited.

"Nope!" Hatsume said cheerfully. "From what I can see, it's a pretty normal alloy, but the thing that makes it such a good metal isn't even actually a metal at all. Instead of coal, they use a species of semi-magical coral. The reason Seaforged blades keep their edge and are so durable is that they're all actually enchanted! Something about the way they forge in the coral makes the blade regenerate itself. I doubt that someone could make Seaforged metal even if they knew how, just because they wouldn't have that coral."

The Godling of Creation seemed somewhat disheartened, but it was a fleeting mood. "Well, I suppose we can't have everything." She took a sip of her tea. "I do apologize for Mei's overexcitement on the matter."

The accused woman blinked in confusion, but before she could respond, Grandmother cut in. "I don't think there's any need for that. It's behind us, and now that Izuku is here, the more important conversations can happen." She shrewdly peered at Iida over the rim of her teacup.

He met her gaze with a casual ease Izuku doubted he'd be able to manage if he knew the truth about her, then nodded. "Indeed. Yaoyarozu, Hatsume, I think there would be much to gain from continued cooperation. Considering the talents already aligned with us, you would provide a significant advantage in the Great Game, and we could ensure your safety so that we don't see a repeat of today."

There was a loud scoff as Mina said, "Oh, so I'm unwelcome and a liar, but they get to come right along?"

"I never called you –" Iida began.

"You so did! You told me, to my face, that you didn't want to cart around every Godling that wants to follow you because one of us would be lying about why!" She stood up and punctuated her sentence by slamming her hands down on the table. "How is that not calling me a liar?"

Grandmother seemed unperturbed by this, calmly saying, "Don't spill the tea, dear."

"Mina, maybe we shouldn't fight about this now," Izuku said. He reached to put a hand on her back, but his face lit up and he couldn't bring himself to complete the gesture.

She looked at him, her face twisted in indignation, but it melted off as soon as they locked eyes. With a pointed "Hmph!" she sat back down, crossed her arms, and turned her nose up and away from Iida. This, of course, oriented her directly towards Izuku, who couldn't help but note that she was still exceptionally attractive even when she was... making whatever that face was.

That didn't help how inflamed his face felt.

Yaoyarozu held an impassive expression for the duration of the spat. Upon its resolution, she spoke in a measured voice: "While we greatly appreciate your assistance in rescuing Mei, I have my own aims to the Throne. I would be more than happy to see you as King of the Gods – you've more than proven your character and your capability today." That sentence drove a shard of ice deep into Izuku's chest as he considered his lies. "However, my plan for the world requires singular vision and focus, which I cannot exercise if I am not the Queen."

"I see. And you will not be persuaded?"

"It would be a disservice to myself and to any who would follow me to give up without even trying."

Iida gave Hatsume the briefest of glances, but everyone at the table noticed. "I go where Momo goes," the Godling said.

He sighed. "Very well, then. Allow us to escort you back to the city proper, but after that, I wish you the best of luck in the Game."

"What about the bandits?" asked Uraraka.

"We'll put them indoors," Iida said confidently. "They'll be uncomfortable, but ultimately safe for the night. We'll entreat the guard to collect them tomorrow. Despite the resistance of the one we spoke with earlier, I'm certain that their captain will want to collect a group of already-handled criminals." He finished his tea and stood up. "We shouldn't delay, however. The longer we wait, the farther into the night we'll have to travel."

Assent was voiced by several present, and all likewise finished their drink.

"You all be safe," Grandmother said, cleaning up the table. "And consider visiting when you aren't in need of healing! It's very lonely out in the woods, I could use the company."

"I'll, uh... I'll visit soon, G-Granny! Promise!" Izuku said, forcing a smile he didn't feel onto his face.

Yaoyarozu bowed to the God. "It seems unlikely that our paths will cross again, since Midoriya possesses the key that grants passage here. Thank you for your healing and your hospitality. I promise, whether or not I am triumphant in the Great Game, that your kindness shall be repaid upon my ascension." She paused, as though something was just now occurring to her. "Unless there is something material that would benefit you now? I'm capable of making almost –"

Grandmother waved her hand dismissively. "You're very considerate, Momo, but I've all the creature comforts an old lady could want. Even if I were to think of something, it would be far too insignificant to trouble a young Godling. You're all so busy, I don't want to keep you from your quest for the Castle or what have you."

"The Palace," Iida gently corrected.

"Yes, yes, the Palace, that's right." She took the dishes over to a basin and placed them carefully inside. "I'll wash those tomorrow," she said to nobody in particular. "Good night, everyone!"

Her farewell was reciprocated as they left the cozy home and stepped out into the courtyard of Fort Ekko once more. The sun was down, but the moon hadn't climbed high into the sky quite yet. Dark shadows stretched eerily over the grounds while torches and braziers lay dormant, having nobody to light them. Some faint clinking of chains and irritated conversation could be heard from bandits who had clearly awoken.

"Do you think you can put them back to sleep, Mina?" Uraraka asked.

The nymph sighed. "Maybe? We'll see how much I've got left in me."

"W-well, let's... let's get them all inside. The faster we can do that, the faster we can get back to the inn, right?" Izuku asked.

"Right!" Mina said with a grin. "And let me tell you, I'm ready to sleep!"

The former scribe couldn't help but grin himself as he set off to where he had left the archers. As he did, however, he overheard Iida speak: "By the way, Yaoyarozu. Much as you said before: regardless of which of us wins, I'd be happy to see you on the Throne."

Anything bright in Izuku's mood died as he was forced to once again consider the inevitable betrayal he would bring upon his friend.


Several hours later

A pair of hands shaking his shoulders startled Izuku awake. With a mighty yell, he rose and swung his fist, narrowly missing his assailant as they ducked underneath his blow. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath.

Wait... What? Why was he out of breath?

"Midoriya, it's Iida!" As his eyes focused, he could see that it was, indeed, his friend's face before him. He wasn't wearing his glasses. Why wouldn't –

His mind began to catch up with the waking world. They had rented a pair of rooms when they arrived in Hosu, each with two beds. He and Iida were in one room, Mina and Uraraka shared the other.

"Iida?" he asked blearily. "Wh... Why did you wake me up?" Izuku brought in a particularly large gulp of air and realized he was very cold. When he went to hold his arms, he found them covered in sweat. "Why am I...?"

"You were having some manner of nightmare," Iida answered. "I woke up to you crying out and thrashing in your sleep."

"A nightmare...?" Something tugged at the dark corners of Izuku's mind. He dropped the thread of memory fearfully, not wanting to bring back whatever was tied to the other end. "I don't remember..."

His friend made a displeased noise. "Whatever it was, it had you tightly in its clutches. I'd been shaking you for several seconds before you woke."

"Well... Thanks for waking me up. And, uh, sorry for waking you up."

"Don't worry about it." He stepped away from the bed before hesitating. "I am available if you wish to speak about something. It doesn't need to be now specifically, but feel free to call on me should you find the need."

"Um... Thanks. I'm good for now, though." That wasn't entirely true – he was very unsettled by whatever had caused him to have a fit in his sleep. However, talking about it would require him to remember whatever it was, and Izuku did not care to do that.

Iida nodded and returned to his bed. Izuku lay down and brought his blanket up around him. The warmth it brought was mild, as significant portions of it had already been soaked through with sweat. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes.

The effect was immediate. The moment his eyelids blocked out the light, he remembered exactly what had been tormenting him in his sleep. He saw the blood spatter as he killed the man reaching out for Mina. Izuku's eyes flew back open as he bolted upright. "Actually! I think I'm going to, uh... Go for a walk! Some fresh air should make sure I don't just fall back into the nightmare." He sprung out of bed and went to put on more than just a pair of pants.

"Are you sure? You sound unwell. Perhaps I should accompany you."

"Nope! That's fine! Don't worry about it, just going to go for a little walk and I'll be back and it'll be fine and there's nothing to worry about."

He turned while shrugging on a tunic to see Iida had stood up and was similarly dressing. "Frankly, Midoriya, your behavior is concerning and the insistence that I shouldn't worry is making me do so."

The last thing he wanted was company. Izuku took a deep breath in, held it for a moment, and then exhaled. "Iida. Really. I'm fine. I... I just remembered what I had been dreaming about and it freaked me out a little. I'll be all right."

His friend paused in the middle of buttoning his shirt. "...Very well. At least take your sword with you, though."

The mere mention of the object made every hair on Izuku's body stand on end, his stomach clench, and ice run through his veins. He felt its hateful presence radiating out from under the bed, where he had put it to keep it out of sight and, therefore, mind. "I'll be fine," he said, moving swiftly for the door. "After all, that guard was talking about how much attention they're paying to the city, right? I'm sure there's nothing to worry about!" Before Iida could respond, he ducked out the door and closed it behind him.

As he stalked down the hall, his fist was curled tightly around the silver key in his pocket, which he had snatched from his bag while getting dressed. Izuku did fully intend to take a walk like he had said – however, first, there was a conversation to be had with Grandmother, and the middle of a sleepless night was as good a time as any.

He stopped before the exit of the inn. Did Gods sleep? It didn't seem likely; having to dedicate a third of the day to resting would severely limit the impact the divine were able to have on the world. Would it be all right for him to come in at this hour? She'd never said he couldn't, but that could have been because it was such a common-sense thing that it didn't bear mentioning.

Izuku took another deep breath. No, Grandmother had always been ready for them whenever he had opened the door. Now wouldn't be any different. He inserted and turned the key, stepping in quickly without fully opening it, lest someone were to notice.

As expected, Grandmother was sitting at her table, waiting for him. "I'm sorry you're having a rough night," she said in greeting.

"It's... Not your fault." He shook his head to clear out the image of the dead man and a blood-covered Mina. As he approached the table, Izuku was struck with the feeling that something was different. Not wrong, but it nagged at the corners of his mind. He looked around to try and find the source of the distraction. "Are there less doors than there were earlier?"

"My house has exactly as many rooms as it needs. It's just the two of us, so most of the bedrooms I treated the others in are gone."

The implication that the house was somehow aware (and watching, perhaps?) was unsettling. Being watched by Grandmother was one thing, but to have a building do so... Something about it wasn't right. Pushing the thoughts aside, he sat down at the table with her.

There was a brief moment of silence between them before Grandmother spoke. "Would you like to start with your questions or the nightmare?"

"...I don't really think the nightmare needs to be discussed. It's... I know what's causing it. And why, I guess. I just... have to find a way to get past it."

"Well, I'm certainly not going to force it out of you." She waited patiently for him to speak.

After taking a moment to send the thoughts of the bandit he'd murdered – no, the bandit that he'd killed, there was a difference – he found the words he was looking for. "You said that I'd be the greatest of the Gods in any age because of my heart. How did... How can you know that?"

She interlaced her fingers and sat straight up in her chair. "How do you think I could know that?"

His stomach couldn't have dropped harder if he'd swallowed a stone. "Oh... Is this something that you can't tell me? Because it's rendering aid?"

"No, not at all. You're just a very clever young man, and I'm curious how close you are to the truth."

That gave Izuku pause. He hadn't very much considered how she might know, or at least, not in terms that made any kind of sense. She could have some sort of knowledge or divination-based power that gave her that information, but that didn't mesh with healing at all. If anyone, such a power would belong to Lord Nezu. The Palace could have well-chronicled histories that she had pored over during the course of the last several thousand years, but texts like that tended to be clinical, at least when written by mortals. He supposed it wasn't impossible that a more perfect form of record keeping might exist for the Gods, but that was a stretch. It wasn't likely she'd be able to truly know the heart of a God without having met them. She could have access to whatever the afterlife for Gods was, but that was more the domain of Nosferatu.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "None of the theories I've come up with make any sense."

"Humor an old lady, won't you?"

He begrudgingly shared his thoughts on the matter with her.

"You're not quite there with any of those," she said after he related them. "Though you are correct in that I can't know the heart of a God without meeting them. The answer, of course, is that I've known all of them."

His brows furrowed. "But how? Can the Gods communicate with their forebears?"

Grandmother laughed. "No, not at all. I'm merely one of the primordial Gods that first emerged from the subconscious of all thinking creatures."

Izuku looked at her for a long time. She waited, smiling kindly while he did. She didn't seem like she was joking, but with what the All Mighty had told him about the Gods, it didn't make sense. "...Are... You're not serious, are you?"

"Serious as can be. Gods have been around for as long as people have had concepts for us to embody. There weren't many of us at the beginning. While some of these titles are best applied retroactively, we originally had a God of Chiefs, a God of Survival, a God of the Wilds, a God of Weather, a God of Battle, a God of Death, and myself, the God of Life. The God of Death was, perhaps fittingly, the first to die, which prompted our chief to create the Great Game to keep our powers from disappearing."

"But we still have a God of Death," Izuku said breathlessly. He could scarcely believe what he was being told.

"His mantle did return," she nodded. "It only missed a single cycle, but that's where we got the undead. There was nobody to properly shepherd souls into the afterlife. Several of us tried, and we got some of them, but it was tens of thousands of years before the problem was under control again." She waved a hand towards the door. "As you've seen, we never quite were able to clean up the last of them. By the time we were able to properly end it, there were Gods with a vested interest in continuing to use them."

"So... You just... don't die?"

"Of course not!" Grandmother said with a laugh. "I'm the Goddess of Life. I may have relegated myself to healing for the past dozen cycles, but that doesn't mean I'm not still infused with anima."

"But... that means you've been around for all of human history. You're... You're the oldest living being in the world!"

"Longer, actually. I wouldn't have called your earliest ancestors quite human. Something close, surely, but not the same."

It took him a minute to realize he had been leaning forward over the table in a rather uncomfortable position. Izuku re-seated himself in the chair. What to even do with this information? It changed... nothing. Knowing that Grandmother had been alive for as long as she had was fascinating, and it meant that she had likely seen every important even ever to occur, but it didn't mean she could help him more. It was nothing more than a curiosity until the Great Game was over, after which she would be a veritable font of knowledge and wisdom.

That said... "So... I'm assuming you can't answer questions about your Godling."

"Well, that would be giving privileged information about the Game."

"But you're not going to die."

"Why, Izuku, what relevance could that have?"

He squinted at her. "How were you able to tell me how old you were? That had to count as rendering aid for the Game."

"Perhaps I didn't think that it was. Or, more likely, I've been preparing to break the Law and tell you since earlier today, because you truly needed the encouragement in a dark hour."

Suspicion fell from his face and was replaced with worry. "You can just... do that? Won't something bad happen?"

"I doubt it. The penalties for breaking the Law are entirely based on whether you're caught, by whom, and how many of the other Gods actually care. Even if someone else were to know what I've told you, the benefit you get from it is so minuscule that the worst that would come of it is grandstanding between Gods."

He nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay... So... You don't have a Godling, then?"

"That sounds more like a question than an answer, dear."

"Right. You don't have a Godling. It wouldn't make sense for you to, if you weren't about to die."

"That's right. The Law dictates that you must pick a Godling by the midpoint of your last century."

"But how do you know when that is?"

"It was actually quite ingenious," Grandmother said, looking fondly off into the distance. "Because Gods feel the Law on an instinctual level, we know when we're breaching it. This law was made to be broken, and we can feel it when it happens. When the first God feels themselves in violation, they know they've got mere decades left to live and Game is announced."

"So... You all die at different times, then?"

"We would, normally. Unfortunately, the process of transferring the whole of a Godly mantle is invariably lethal. Usually, the variance is as little as a matter of weeks. Every now and then one of the Godlings makes it in a few months late." She laughed slightly. "Once, a Godling was so thoroughly lost that her God was at risk of dying of old age. We had to go and get her." Her thought completed, Grandmother then noted Izuku sitting straight and unmoving in his chair, eyes wide. "Ah. I see that Yagi's fate after you arrived at the Palace isn't something you had ever considered."

"B-but... I don't want to kill him! I... He's a God! How can I kill a God? I wouldn't be able to live with myself!" His gorge rose as he saw himself kill the bandit again, and again, and again.

"Izuku, you aren't going to kill him," she said gently. "He's going to die. There's a difference. Yagi's almost three thousand years old. Without the power of his mantle to sustain him, he'll pass into the afterlife. It's a painless and natural thing."

His blows against the criminal became sloppy. At first, it was just messier. Then, he started hurting Mina as he rushed to save her. He sat a prisoner in his own mind as he watched it get progressively worse, knowing that the next waking nightmare could –

Izuku's head suddenly hurt very badly, knocking him out of his mind. He held his hands against what would very likely be a knot in the morning if Grandmother didn't do something about it. The God herself leaned back in her chair, setting her cane back down next to her. "There's no need for that," she chastised. "Your friends are all safe, and you played a significant part in that."

"Sorry... Sorry, I just... thinking about..."

Grandmother wagged her finger. "No, no! None of that. You'll just slide right back down that hill, and I'll not allow it. No, we're going to give you something to keep your mind occupied."

"I'm not sure how well that will work... I think about a lot of things, and sometimes I just –"

"Any time you begin thinking about what happened," she interrupted, "You are to deliberate on Uraraka's portent."

Izuku blinked. "What? Why?"

"Because based on the meaning you and your friends agreed upon, shouldn't it have already come to pass? And is the head of her staff not still alight with stars?"

Grandmother was right. The full portent had read 'Forgefire lights the way,' and they had agreed (under duress, in Iida's case) that this likely meant that something in relation to the Godling of the Forge would come to pass. They had escorted Hatsume and Yaoyarozu back to Hosu and parted ways, and yet Uraraka's staff had yet to return to the clouded state it remained in when it had nothing to show.

"That's what I thought," she said, nodding in satisfaction. "You think on that for a little while, Izuku, and then try to get some sleep. I can't promise that it won't be fitful, but if you do as I say, you may be able to trick yourself into a calmer sleep than you had before."

"Do you really think so?"

"Maybe," Grandmother shrugged. "The mind is a strange thing. Each one behaves differently. Perhaps this will work, perhaps it won't."

He took several calming breaths and nodded. "Okay. I'll try. And... Thank you, Grandmother, for... um, for continuing to help me."

Her face softened. "Of course, dear. Any time and anything you need, as long as it is within my right and power."


The night air was crisp and refreshing when compared even to the pleasant climate of Grandmother's house. The city was almost still under the moon, only the dashing movements of small animals present to distract Izuku from his thoughts.

Trying to figure the portent out was a dead end. He couldn't figure out what it was supposed to mean if it didn't have anything to do with Hatsume. However, as he had been instructed, Izuku tried to figure it out any time memories of the bandit crawled back to torment him. This mostly involved explicitly thinking the exact message in different intonations and paces after he finally realized that he was making nothing even remotely close to progress.

Something was preventing him from thinking about it now, however. As he circled back around the empty market and began his return to the inn, a vague sense of dread settled on him like a cloak. Every time he tried to direct his thoughts towards something else, regardless of topic, his mind was quickly drawn back to that feeling, which only caused it to magnify. Something compelled him to break out into a run, but he resisted the urge. Izuku didn't understand what was happening, but he wasn't going to rely solely on an increasing sense of unease.

As he began to look around for a potential source, a hand clapped over his mouth while another seized his arm and twisted it into an uncomfortable position. "Don't make a noise," the wind said.

The surprise actually prevented him from struggling as he was forcibly pulled back into an alley. He was certain someone had spoken, but it was so soft and sounded so distant that he had difficulty considering any source but a far-away conversation carried by the breeze. Only after he passed the threshold into the unlit space between buildings did he regain the presence of mind to resist.

"Stop that!" the faint voice came again. "If you want to live, hold still and don't make a single noise! Don't even breathe!"

Then, something happened that Izuku found difficult to describe. It was as though a curtain had been drawn before his eyes, but instead of blocking his vision, it made everything past it appear as though viewed through murky water. His immediate surroundings, within a few feet in any given direction, remained clear.

It was about this time that he also noticed that, despite his skin insisting that someone was physically holding his mouth shut, there was no appendage present to indicate that this was happening.

"What part about 'if you want to live' don't you understand?!" the breeze demanded. He had been preparing to try and say something, to demand some sort of explanation. "Hush!"

Suddenly, the dread he had felt earlier magnified a thousandfold. It was as though he was standing before his death, utter annihilation mere feet away, and every part of his body knew it. This coincided with a vague shape appearing in the main road ahead of him. If Izuku hadn't noticed the barest flicker of it entering his field of view, he would have thought it appeared from thin air. The silhouette moved, though the strange curtain made it difficult to notice exactly how. After a moment, he realized that it was looking for something... or perhaps someone. There was a flash of red and black, and the feeling began to diminish.

"Don't say anything," the wind whispered. "Nod yes or no. You're traveling with an Iida, right?"

Izuku froze. A new feeling of dread crept into him. What did this person want with Iida?

"Oh my Gods," it groaned. The phantom hand left his mouth. "Fine, but be very quiet, I can't mute the noises from other people very well."

"Who are you?" It was less than a whisper – the question rode out of his mouth on the lightest of breaths.

"The Unseen. I'm a Godling, like your friend. He is your friend, right? You're Izuku Midoriya, traveling with Tenya Iida?"

The Unseen? He craned his neck around, since their firm grip on his arm prevented him from turning. He couldn't see anyone behind him, which... made sense, all things considered. "Are you the Council's Godling?"

The pressure on his arm increased as it was twisted, and he bit his tongue to avoid making a pained noise. He could break the clinch – he'd just need to draw on his mantle. Would that be suspicious? Would – "Answer my question. You would not believe the schedule I am running on."

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth. The pain in his arm disappeared as The Unseen let go entirely.

"Good. This is what's going to happen. I'm going to run and distract my tail. You're going to wait two full minutes – that's the count of one hundred and twenty, do you know how to count?" At his nod, they continued. "You're going to wait two full minutes before you very quietly get back to your inn. VERY quietly, unless you want to die. You're going to tell your Iida that my Iida is going to be a day late to the rendezvous. He's here, but he's hiding. I'm going to have the tail out of the city by tomorrow night, and then he'll be at the agreed meeting place the next morning. Got it? And don't say anything, just nod again if you understand."

Izuku obeyed, nodding his head once. His mind raced to put all of the pieces together. Most of them were fairly easy, the majority of missing details were 'why' rather than 'who' or 'what.' One 'what' in particular was very easy to place as he finally recognized the sensation that the silhouette had brought.

The other Iida and The Unseen were being hunted by a vampire.

"Good. Now hold very still and keep not breathing, because he's coming back this way." Out of thin air, a suit of leather armor appeared, no fewer than six daggers sheathed at various points on it along with a shortsword at the hip. He could tell that it belonged to a slender person from the way it fit, but there was no head coming out from the collar, no flesh seen where cloth bunched up near the wrists. The empty suit of armor drew the sword and one of the daggers and, silent as a ghost, ran out into the street, becoming nothing more than a blurry mess of brown after passing the curtain. Suddenly, a single footfall was heard as one of their boots struck the ground and interrupted the stillness of the night.

The Unseen promptly disappeared in entirety, not even leaving an outline for him to track. Within seconds of the noise, the silhouette from before and its accompanying dread shot back into his vision. Its whole body turned as it tried to find the source of the noise, and Izuku's blood ran cold as its indistinct face looked directly at him. The vampire stared directly at him, and he was sure that he was going to die until another noise, this one the sound of metal on stone, rang out. The vampire's head shot around to the other side and raced down the opposite alley, out of sight.

Izuku belatedly realized he had forgotten to start counting. Not wanting to go too early, he began his counting. Once he finished, he would very slowly begin making his way back to the inn.

Blessedly, all thoughts of the man he had killed had been driven from his mind by this encounter, though he wouldn't realize it until much later.


Well, this one wound up being a bit longer than I intended. I probably should have waited to finish it in entirety before splitting the chapters, because I thought I was going to end up with 8 and 8 when instead I've got 8 and 12. Probably could have split that closer to the middle if I had waited, but oh well.

This has been a very exciting chapter, and I can't wait to hear what you all think about the mess of unresolved plots that it's brought!

Grandmother

Major Purviews: Healing, Life

Minor Purviews: The elderly, the hearth/home, food, wisdom

Worshippers: Healers, cooks, those seeking the comfort of a home

Grandmother is a deity not fully understood, though her temple believes that they have a full understanding of what she represents. As the knowledge that the Gods have not always been is only recently spreading, nobody realizes that she actually has. Originally the God of Life and responsible for the creation of many of the beings that have walked the earth, Grandmother has taken a less hands-on approach to her Godhood in recent cycles. Where once she created life, she now merely preserves it, as she believes that her right to overtly influence the course of the world diminishes the longer she is a part of it.

While temples to Grandmother are not omnipresent, there is at least one in every major city, where healers work tirelessly to mend flesh and bone and dispel illness from those brought through their doors. Her name is called upon to survive wound and disease, but also for guidance and wisdom. Even without full knowledge of her origins, her elderly presentation has engendered an almost universal agreement that she is the oldest of the Gods, and therefore the most experienced in the world.