The boy stood before him eagerly waiting to hear the verdict on what his Ridden Gifts (or 'quirks,' as the ignorant mortal population called them) would be, but Garaki was too trapped in his own little moral dilemma.

Said boy had not manifested any of the powers normal since the Locus Rendering, and it was immediately obvious why to those in the know as soon as Garaki got a look at his hands. All of his fingers were the same length. The kid was born a Werewolf, and thus no spirits would, or even could as far as he knew, bond with the whippersnapper.

Of course, his mother was apparently ignorant of her wolf-blooded heritage, and in spite of everything the Oath of the Moon still applied, and the Herd must not know, so he was prevented from saying anything. To her, at least. Should he tell his secret master about this, and guarantee the child's future long before his First Change? Or should he do as traditional, and wait until this 'Izuku' came into his own powers, letting him figure out about the world hidden beneath the one he had known all his life on his own terms? Regardless, he knew what to tell the kid today.

"You're probably going to quirkless. Sorry, kid." He showed them the X-Ray of Izuku's hand, gave them a nonsensical explanation about how his joint structure was related to the gene that allowed quirk development (which didn't make any sense whatsoever, but he had found over the centuries that humans would accept a lot before accepting that their science uncovered a pretty limited window, even with all the spirits had done in plain sight), then tossed out the slight glimmer of hope. "It's technically possible you're a late-bloomer. Sometimes people like this develop quirks as adults instead of as children, but to be frank kid you're not going to get it in time to get into a Hero School."

Nor would he get one that could fully be shared with the general public without creating a lot of questions that the Oath of the Moon or the Oath of the Pure (depending on who eventually found him) would stop him from answering. The kid's tears only made him snort on the inside. The future's going to give you a lot more to cry about, kid.

--

There were many who swore the Mighty Wolf had more than one quirk. Mostly, villains who fought against him claimed that it wasn't fear that motivated them to surrender, but an overwhelming force that invaded their minds, making them sluggish and fearful. Most dismissed that as saving face.

Izuku could never decide whether he was one of them; while the idea of his idol being able to terrify villains into submission with his sheer presence alone was exciting, the idea that his quirk was multi-layered and able to manipulate others' minds as well as his own body was just too interesting a possibility to pass up. He suspected that, if there was anything to the rumors, it was related to his howling. The Mighty Wolf always did it before getting serious about a battle, which was probably just meant to fit into his theme but also always felt like it was doing more.

Besides, if that great Hero had two quirks, then maybe the universe had given him Izuku's, and that would mean his quirklessness was good for something after all. Regardless, it had been another late night. It had been like this for a while; for some reason, he got a strange feeling whenever the moon was visible. It affected him somehow, filled him with emotions that he didn't normally feel. It was probably just stress.

--

A twelve-year old boy stood outside his house, sulking. It was always like this; his father would get angry about something or other, somehow related to his grandmother and yet somehow also his only son's fault, Tenko would either sit and take it or fight back in some futile effort that only ended up getting himself hurt, and then he would sit here in the backyard. The rest of the family, clearly thinking it was wrong what Tenko's father did to him, wouldn't act on their thoughts in the slightest and just sit back and let things happen.

It always irritated him, but for whatever reason tonight it irritated him so much more. Something about the moon was doing it. He knew how crazy it sounded, even to himself, but looking up at the full moon, bright and white and staring down on him, making the surrounding night feel almost as bright as the day, it angered him, not because he hated it but because it encouraged his anger.

Feel the rage. Embrace the warrior's anger. Let it fuel you to fight for Mother Luna.

Tenko had no time to process whatever had just said that, nor did he want to, for his sister had come outside.

"I'm…sorry about what dad said to you. He shouldn't get so angry."

Yes, she was sorry about what he said. Not about what she did. He began to scratch at himself as the rage grew hotter and hotter, worse than anything than he had felt before.

"I mean, he's in the wrong, but you also shouldn't provoke him, you know?"

That caused him to snap. The light of the moon, the growing itchiness, as if he were sprouting fur everywhere, and the well-meaning (always well-meaning, never well-doing) words of his sister, they all coursed through his veins, his heart beating impossibly fast, getting taller, growling like an animal. His sister stepped back, terrified. What did she have to be scared of? He had evenly long fingers, he was quirkless, what threat could he pose? The threat of a predator to its prey.

He didn't notice his own increase in size, the growth of the fur, claws, and teeth, or any of the signs of his massive transformation. Tenko really wasn't thinking about anything besides the fact that he was really angry.

His sister tried to run, but she fell in one swoop to the back. Later, his mother would devolve into hysterics as he ripped her apart. He wouldn't remember doing either. What he would remember from this escapade, however, was how his father calmly stood before him in his last moments, bitterly noting that his own mother had wronged him one last time. Tenko had no idea what that meant, and wasn't in a state where it was even possible to care. He finished off the angry, violent, bitter old man and then, once all the prey had been consumed, he turned back, having no idea that he had turned in the first place.

Naked, his clothes having been torn apart by the initial transformation, and covered in his family's blood, Tenko found himself unable to do anything besides stare at the moon. It whispered to him more. He was its child. He was its betrayer. It gifted him. It cursed him.

These ramblings would control his thoughts for much of the night as he wandered in a daze, terrifying the onlookers who wouldn't so much as lift a finger for the creepy seemingly homeless child until a single man stepped forward.

"You Changed on the Full Moon. That's never a pleasant experience. The Bitch-Mother truly loves to torment her supposed children. Typical for a monster like her."

Tenko stared at him, unresponsive. "Don't worry, I know about what just happened, and I can explain why you are what you are. You are not human, not anymore. You are part human, part wolf-spirit, the greatest of predators. You are, also, unfortunately, part moon-spirit," he spat out this last part, "but we can burn that away. Come with me, poor child, and become one of the Pure."

--

The fact that he had no quirk whatsoever meant that he was forever prevented from being a Hero, the profession he truly craved. There was a lot to be said for giving up on an impossible dream and learning to find happiness elsewhere; it showed strength of character, in the eyes of some. Izuku was not one of those people.

As far as he could tell, he would not abandon his goal of becoming a Pro-Hero until he had given every bit of his blood, sweat, and tears into the cause.

Today was one of the days that involved a lot of the tears part; although he had apparently done well enough in theoretical course work to be invited to UA's, the most prestigious Hero School in the country, entrance exam, this still only elicited laughter from the vast majority of his classmates and an inexplicable, inextinguishable rage from the one who hadn't laughed.

Apparently Bakugo had gotten it into his head that he was the protagonist of a classic comic book story, and that part of his narrative involved being the only person from his lower-middle class neighborhood to make it into the country's elite school. The fact that not only had someone else applied, but that it was the one with no quirk, provoked him into demanding Izuku rethink his life, destroying Izuku's notebook, and demanding that he kill himself, more-or-less in that order.

At this point, Izuku refused. Even if he couldn't really bring himself to stand up to Bakugo, he could follow his dreams, it's what the Mighty Wolf would do…Izuku found himself suddenly surrounded by a green mass of slime. He couldn't breathe. Either someone's quirk had emitted some substance subsuming him, or someone had transformed themselves using a quirk and surrounded the poor boy. It didn't matter, as he futilely gripped and tried to rip through the slime, only to find its viscosity beyond his ability to manipulate. He was making no progress whatsoever, and at this rate was about to asphyxiate.

Was this how it was going to end? A quirkless loser, hated and failed, dead by a random villain before he got the chance to even try and see if being a Hero was possible? What would Mighty Wolf think if he could see the boy now…where Izuku's hands failed to grasp purchase, Someone's claws found hold. As the quivering mass of slime surrounding him was ripped into and torn apart, Izuku's barely conscious perception could barely make out the muscular, hair-covered visage of…Mighty Wolf? Well, he must be hallucinating as his oxygen-deprived brain led him to fade out….

"Hey, kid," someone shouted at him in a gruff, yet comforting voice. "Are you okay?"

As Izuku groggily brought himself back to consciousness, he once again hallucinated the vaguely wolf-like (though closer to the 'Wolf-Man' from the classic movie than an actual wolf) face of Mighty Wolf.

"Well, I guess as far as near-death visions go, this isn't the worst," he responded.

"Well, then, if everything's fine, then be sure to check out a medic soon, and…I'm OFF!"

As he started to let out his signature howl, Izuku was gaining enough clarity to realize that Mighty Wolf was not a hallucination but in fact the Hero that just saved his life.

"Ohmigosh thankyousomuchyou'reMightyWolfI'myourbiggestfanhowcanIrepaycanyousignmynotebook?"

"Already done, now I'm on my way!"

Mighty Wolf had, in fact, signed the kid's notebook while he was out. It was no real bother. When he dug his claws into a nearby building to begin climbing it, however, he realized that there was a serious bother to deal with; the kid wouldn't leave him alone, and after waiting to make sure the boy was alright he was really running low on Essence. He was about to enter Hishu form, and after all the effort he had put into making sure Dalu form wouldn't cause Lunacy in the general population he didn't want it undone by someone seeing him change between the two.

"Please, I need to ask you a question!" The boy screamed.

Remembering that he had to put on a good show to keep the Herd inspired and happy, and thus attracting benevolent spirits, he forced, "alright, but make it very quick."

"Can someone without a quirk be a Hero?"

This caused Mighty Wolf to pause. Without a Ridden Gift? With how many spirits had flooded the world since the Incident, was that even possible? Well, it would be if the kid repelled them somehow. Jumping down to where the boy was, he grabbed said child's hand. Yes, all the fingers were the same length, just like his. That didn't prove anything, but it was some sure solid evidence.

"You wouldn't be able to be able to get through the Schools," he answered honestly, "though if you work hard, you'll eventually reach the point where you can try out as an adult. It's not easy, but it's been done before." You also have to be careful about passing your powers off as a quirk, he thought, it may be silly in this modern age, but the Herd must still not know.

"Do you really think so," the kid shouted excitedly, then fell dejectedly, "but I already applied to UA."

He didn't smell like an Uratha, which meant the First Change wouldn't happen for more than a month, and the chances of it happening before the entrance exams were absurdly low.

"I'm sorry, kid, that's the best I can tell you right now. Hero work is dangerous, and doing it without a quirk is even more so-" just as he was about to lecture the boy on the dangers of the path he was trying to take, he lost control of Dalu form. Reverting to Hishu, he was now no longer a great, muscle-bound wolf-man who inspired all sorts of people when he could get them past their spirit's revulsion to him, but a frail, injured, and sickly man who couldn't inspire a fly to rotten meat.

Izuku was trying to process his Hero's words when the strong, confident visage he had known all his life completely vanished and was replaced with…something that neither of those adjectives could possibly describe. In fact, he sincerely wondered whether the man in front of him was eating enough. "Oh no, I broke you! I, I, I,"

"Calm down, kid. I'm fine, this is just a part of myself I don't let most of the world see." Sighing, he took a seat. "Listen, if you swear to tell no one, and I mean not a soul, not even those you trust the most, then I'll let you in on a secret. The Herd must not know, but you won't be part of the Herd forever."

While that last part made no sense whatsoever to him, Izuku nodded vigorously to the idea of getting in some top secret.

"You're not quirkless, no one is, you just have a special quirk."

Izuku's face dropped. "Are you about to tell me that I have the quirk of 'heroic spirit' or 'humanity?'"

"No, let me put it in a simple way. The Dawn of Quirks isn't when quirks first came into existence, it's just when they became common and public knowledge, and when they dispersed so there were thousands of them. They used to belong to a select few, and they were kept hidden. They still keep themselves hidden. I actually have one of these quirks, though I've kept it a secret and in fact limited myself from using its full potential to avoid having too many questions asked, and no, before you ask I can't tell you more right now, not until it manifests, and by that I mean I think that you have it as well. Unfortunately, it won't develop until later in life; these original quirks weren't bound to the same '4-6 years old' rule as the modern variants, and I have no way of knowing when. That's why I said you should go for the harder route of getting approved as an adult. Now, before you barrage me with a litany of questions, I have to go. If you want to find me again and learn more, meet me at Dagobah Beach every time the phase of the moon changes."

--

Tenko screamed as the brand was placed against his flesh. The man who had saved him tried to console him, informing him that he was removing his 'Rahu,' whatever that was. The only explanation he got was that it was his 'Auspice,' which of course told him nothing at all.

Once it was done, he felt different, less angry. He was still angry at the world at large for what had been done to him, but he wasn't filled with the almost supernatural anger that once consumed him.

"Now that that's taken care of, I suppose that many explanations are in order," the man who had saved him smiled politely.

"You bet there are! What the hell was that? Did I get a quirk, I thought I was quirkless, I had the same-length fingers and everything!" He held up his hands as if to prove a point. Then he looked at them, remembering the feeling of them having claws, and…"I killed my family."

"Those who go through the First Change under the full moon are 'blessed' with the anger of a warrior, giving them the rage to take down their foes. Or anyone who happens to be in their way. That is the 'gift' of the Bitch-Mother."

"My mother wasn't a bitch!" Just a coward, he thought, though he wasn't able to bring that up while still processing her death at his hands.

"I am not talking about your human mother, I am talking about Mother Luna, the mother of all Uratha. All of what the humans used to call werewolves."

--

Izuku didn't know why he came to Dagobah Beach every time the moon had a different phase. Yes, it was to see Mighty Wolf, the great Hero in person, but every time he merely sniffed Izuku and said "not yet" or told him a ridiculous fairy tale. He had almost been willing to believe that initial story he had been told about there being a set of 'primordial quirks,' but there were no forthcoming details, just a mythological history lesson about two beings called Father Wolf and Mother Luna. "

"Father Wolf was the greatest of the wolf-spirits, the very manifestation of the concept of a hunter, and he took it upon himself to act as the judge of the Spirit World, hunting down those spirits that would abuse their power with impunity. Mother Luna was the greatest of the moon-spirits, watching over all and changing just like the phases of the moon. The two fell in love." Izuku guessed it was interesting enough, and Mighty Wolf would sometimes guide him through exercises to help him with his combat skills while they talked about it.

--

"Father-Wolf was the ultimate predator, hunting down the weak and cowardly, and making the Spirit-World stronger. Mother Luna grew jealous of his power, and concocted a scheme to seduce him and take the power for herself. Together they had nine children." Tenko felt this story resonate with him somehow. He was held in rapt attention.

--

"Winter Wolf the just leader, Red Wolf the curious, Death Wolf the investigator, Black Wolf the trickster, Blood Wolf the warrior," Mighty Wolf named their offspring, "and Dire Wolf the bully, Rabid Wolf the insane, and Silver Wolf the incestuous," he spat out the last three names in disgust. "The ninth has been lost to history, and for good reason."

--

"Dire Wolf the strong, Rabid Wolf the wise and honest, and Silver Wolf whose love was purest," the man told Tenko in a reverent voice before turning to scorn. "Winter Wolf, the coddler of the weak, Red Wolf the inane, Death Wolf the foolish, Black Wolf the coward, Blood Wolf the savage. The ninth has been lost to history, and for good reason"

--

"From their father, they inherited the strength and predatory instincts of true hunters. From their mother, they inherited the ability to change like the moon does, and gained the ability to take human form so strongly that they could breed and produce offspring with normal humans. Those children would become the first werewolves. As time went on, Father Wolf grew old and, by the standards of spirits, frail. His decision-making grew less wise, his judgment less certain. Winter Wolf began to suspect that it was time to take up his mantle. He called on four of his siblings and their offspring to aid him in overthrowing their diminished alpha."

Izuku had considered the word 'werewolf' before now, but actually hearing it in reference to Mighty Wolf's quirk was just downright silly. Though, as he stared up at the full moon, he couldn't help but feel something deep inside. Something primal, something itching to get out…it was nothing, ultimately, so went back to training as he listened.

--

"Eventually, the Bitch-Mother was ready to lay out her sinister plan. She tricked the foolish Winter Wolf, convincing him to take Father Wolf's power for himself, and he gathered a support base of weaklings that liked the way he coddled their kind. Five of Father Wolf's own children, aided by their children, attacked him, striking him down, and destroying the Hunter's Paradise forever. Rabid Wolf and Silver Wolf saw through her deception, and for that the Bitch-Mother cast out all nine of her children from the Paradise that she couldn't maintain anyways. Because of her manipulations, the spirit world and the human world were separated, and the rightful dominion of spirit over mankind was destroyed for thousands of years. While Dire Wolf came to realize that he had been betrayed, and the the destruction of Father Wolf was an evil to never be forgiven, the remaining five remained steadfast in their belief that they and their offspring had rightfully taken on Father Wolf's mantle to oversee the 'balance' between the spirits and the humans, and they did it by oppressing the spirits and those of us who are Pure of their crimes, who are not Forsaken." Tenko was starting to understand the epic battle between good and evil that he had just been recruited into.

--

"When Father Wolf was defeated, Mother Luna cried out in anguish. Furious that her beloved husband had been killed by their own children, she cast them out from the spirit world, and then took part in rending it asunder. She did not destroy it herself, but Father Wolf's death ruined the Hunter's paradise, ripping the spirit world and the human world apart. Not only those who took part in Father Wolf's death suffered, for Dire Wolf, cast out from his paradise, swore revenge on those who ruined it, and Rabid Wolf and Silver Wolf both clung to a conspiracy theory Rabid Wolf made up on the spot that this was all somehow Mother Luna's plan. Silver Wolf actually tried to kill Mother Luna, though his failure only resulted in her cursing all of us with a weakness to silver. "

"Those who were Forsaken by their crime of killing Father Wolf were not about to sit idly by, they understood that it was now their responsibility to shepherd and guide this new world, stopping aggressive spirits from harming the human world and vice versa."

Izuku wasn't sure if he felt the reasoning these 'Forsaken' had provided for killing Father Wolf was in any way justifiable, but their efforts to atone for their actions were admirable.

"Are you one of the Forsaken descendants?" Izuku asked, suspecting that this is was where the story was supposed to be going.

"Blood Wolf," he answered in the affirmative, "though it's a choice for modern Uratha, and I choose to embrace the ideals of the warrior."

Before Izuku could ask any more questions about this myth, Mighty Wolf sat up and started sniffing him. "You're closer than I thought," he muttered. "You might actually change in time for the Exams." Then, without any warning whatsoever, he bit Izuku's hand.

Apparently, this would help him know where Izuku was at all times. Izuku now smelled like an Uratha, which meant he might change within the month. They still met at the same time; the First Change could happen at any time throughout the month as a whole, but it was always apparently on the first day that the moon changed phases.

His mother still had no idea that he was going to train and hear fairy tales from a strange Hero five nights a month, and considering how she would react to him biting her son and telling all sorts of strange stories that he sincerely seemed to believe, that was a good thing. She didn't need any more stress.

Besides, he was starting to believe in the man's tales more and more. It wasn't that they were less absurd, or even that proximity had gotten to him, it was that he was feeling it inside. The 'primal urge,' the sudden awareness of the world surrounding him. Something was happening to him, and, if it meant he wasn't actually quirkless and instead just like Mighty Wolf, then he really hoped it was this 'First Change' he kept hearing about.

One day, the first night of the Half-Moon, when Mighty Wolf was late for their regular meeting, Izuku started noting all the trash covering Daogbah Beach and started wondering about why no one fixed it. There were all sorts of Heroes out there, with all sorts of incredible abilities, so why was this place left to fester and fall into chaos? It began to bother him, thinking about society at large and everything wrong with it.

On one hand, who was he to judge, but on the other, he was Izuku Midoriya, and he had every right to judge. Looking at everything, he saw right, he saw wrong. It was just like the moon up there, half white and half black. Perfectly balanced, with order and chaos, control and freedom, like society should be, but it wasn't. Why wasn't it?

This obsession with 'fixing' some aspect of the universe grew more and more pronounced as the moon shone down on him, and, dealing with his agitation, he started to pick up some of the trash. Going about that more and more, he realized that he wasn't doing it fast enough; he needed more power somehow, how could he get more power? The obsessive quandary was answered for him when his bones and muscles twisted and shifted, forming into a wolf. Not a wolf-man like Mighty Wolf was, just an ordinary wolf. But this wouldn't do at all!

His sudden obsession with cleaning the beach distracting him from the feat he had just performed, Izuku turned back to a human, ignoring that his clothes had been torn apart by turning into a wolf, and pondered the matter some more.

He was growing frustrated at the lack of an answer, and in his frustration he started to grow. His fingers elongated, fur sprouted all over his body, his mouth extended outward into a fang-filled maw, until he resembled the 'more-wolf' form he had known Mighty Wolf to be able to take with serious villains. Not thinking that over at all, not thinking much of anything, he leapt toward the nearest piece of trash and ripped it apart, finding the experience unsatisfying.

A group of teens, bored out of her minds, stopped by the beach to toss their empty cans of soda away. Their leader, Bakugo, was a little concerned about how littering might affect his record, but ultimately dismissed that as irrelevant as they kept on walking until the howls caught up with them. They kind of sounded like Mighty Wolf, but more feral and less heroic. It stopped them all cold, even though Bakugo would never admit it later.

Litter on the beach was his prey. His prey was why this form had been summoned. Humans created more litter on the beach. Humans were his prey.

Bakugo's best toady had no idea what hit him, nor why his intestines were visible and on the outside of his body. His second best toady only got over his shock and paralysis by vomiting. Bakugo himself had prepared for this day for so long; he was going to fight his first villain, no matter if it wasn't technically legal yet, and he was ready to show what he could do.

Ignoring his friends'(?) Plight, the brash teen set off two explosions immediately where the hulking wolf-thing's shoulders looked to be, hopefully incapacitating it but not actually killing it. Incapacitate it did…for a solid three seconds before the slightly burnt and broken patches of flesh where the explosions had gone off began mending themselves before his eyes. His shock meant that he didn't exploit the three second window he had given himself, and the fact that the injuries didn't stick did not mitigate any of the anger they caused.

The monstrous wolf-thing swung its claws toward Bakugo, and now, looking at it, he was starting to panic. His rational mind knew that it was just some freakish quirk, but some primal, instinctive part of himself deep down felt that this was wrong, that this was something that shouldn't exist, that hadn't existed, that he should fear and then forget about once he was safe.

Kateuki Bakugo had no intention of running, but whatever was getting into his head meant the decision to not run was making his thinking unclear and sluggish, which was the last thing he needed while this abomination was trying to rip him apart.

Mighty Wolf was late, though it was hardly his fault. There'd been a villain attack not far from his personal territory that, upon investigation, turned out not to be a villain attack at all. No, some true Ridden, acting like the spirit-controlled zombies from the days before the Locus Rendering and the Dawn of Quirks, which in this day and age meant they were seen as villains with quirks. It felt good, in line with his sense of Harmony, to deal with spirit matters again.

So much so that he forgot to rendezvous with Izuku, even though it was the first night of the Half-Moon and, honestly, the boy struck him as having Elodoth tendencies. Fully expecting to go over training and the real history of the world in spite of that, he merely went over what he remembered of typical Elodoth First Changes as a precautionary measure.

Elodoths were the judges of the werewolf society; they changed when Luna was half-white and half-black, and thus they had the ability to separate the black and white in the world around them. During the First Change, an Elodoth should be obsessing over their new role, probably finding some arbitrary problem and obsessing over fixing it to dangerous levels, even to the point of violence against those who would prevent the fix.

They also tended to change rapidly and unexpectedly, as the demands of the Elodoth position flooding their brain meant they would become unsatisfied with their form, looking for some non-existent 'right' form, which usually led to them getting stuck in Garu at some point.

Luckily, Mighty Wolf had directed Izuku to this beach in large part because no one ever came near it, so even if he was going through the horrific experience of the First Change then it shouldn't be nearly as violent as stereotypical for werewolves that underwent it without Forsaken guidance…such musings were quickly replaced by gratitude that his sharp hearing meant that he was the first Hero to respond to the civilians in question.

In spite of himself, Bakugo was in fact inclined to join his second best toady in running away. The reason he didn't wasn't because of a need to fight this thing, but because it would mean abandoning his best toady to be killed by the monster. Not that he gave a damn about the boy, but rescuing civilians would be important to his image as a Hero and he wasn't completely apathetic to someone being disembowled without deserving it. Unfortunately, the strange effect in his head was still preventing coordinated movements, and though he was (barely) dodging around it with little issue, keeping the creature's focus on himself, he couldn't get a good hit in without putting himself at too much risk. That was until Mighty Wolf came to save the day.

Seeing that Izuku had already devolved in Garu form and mortally injured a child before he arrived, Mighty Wolf barely had time to check with Rahu's Eye to see whether he had the raw strength in Dalu form to take down the less trained pup in Garu form, determined that they were pretty even in raw strength, and charged in. Catching Izuku's claws in his own, he called on the power of his Dominance Gifts, and issued the Voice of Command.

"Calm down. Return to Hishu. Leave these children alone." The shouts were aggressive and authoritative, and fueled by the influences spirits held over the physical world. If a Garu could look confused, then that was the only way to describe Izuku's reaction, making Mighty Wolf curse internally as he realized the boy wouldn't know what 'Return to Hishu' meant.

"Hey, Mighty Wolf! I can help you!" The boy who'd been setting off explosions earlier tried to but in.

"Get your friend to a hospital!" He shouted back, not actually intending to use the Voice of Command but glad he did anyways. This was enough of a distraction for Izuku to rake his claws against Mighty Wolf's chest, drawing blood and cracking a bone. That would take several minutes to heal, he grimaced internally. Not devoting much thought to whether he should try Dominance again, and invested his Willpower into the Gifts of Strength, focusing his already impressive arms so that they could deliver forward force far greater than even his impressive physique would normally allow. Izuku was still too savage to properly block them, and he managed to shatter the boy's ribcage. That one could take up to an hour to heal. "Now listen to me!" He shouted, once more investing his Essence into Dominance. This did…sort of get through to the boy. "

They…unfix…beach…I…fix."

"Do you meant to tell that you disembowled that poor boy for littering?"

It actually wasn't at all that surprising of an action for a First Change, but he wasn't about to let the kid off the hook until he was in a state that they could talk. Much to his surprise, the Garu form shrunk until Izuku stood there, completely naked and in a daze.

"What have I done?"

"We'll need to get you some clothes, and maybe teach you the ritual for making your clothes vanish and reform when you change forms."

Once Izuku was clothed and far enough away from where police would be investigating his attack on the three boys, the two sat down and talked.

"It's the First Change. It's rarely a pleasant experience. I had thought to keep you away from people while it happened, but, well, the best laid plans of mice and men."

"But, I wasn't some animal with no control over my actions, I was so concerned about…littering." He looked like he wanted to vomit over what he had just done. Mighty Wolf pointed up at the moon.

"You did what Mother Luna wanted to you to do. Well, kind of. Our Mother holds that all those who Change under the Half-Moon are to be judges of right and wrong, to learn both sides of every issue and act accordingly. Your thought process was being overridden by her invading your personality with her own expectations. That's not going to go away; emotions are going to be different for you now. Like all werewolves, you'll feel anger on a stronger and deeper level, but your sense of right and wrong, and more particular your desire to think about it, are going to be warped and strengthened as the Auspice kicks in. Be glad it wasn't the Full Moon, their task is be perpetually angry at everything that threatens them."

"It's one of the downsides to our lifestyle. You gain multiple forms, you get stronger when your Auspice moon is in the sky, you heal quickly, you can learn people's locations by tasting their blood, and that's not even getting started on the Gifts, but you also have more intense emotions, an urge to kill animals, get hurt by silver, and suffer from Degeneration. People to this day debate whether it's a gift or a curse in of itself, but you also make people crazy when they see outside of human or full mundane wolf form."

"That third boy, the one who ran away? He probably won't even remember this night. The other two will increasingly get details wrong, and if it weren't for the lingering effects of that one boy's injuries I'm sure they'd be questioning whether any of it actually happened. It's less of a thing since the Locus Rendering, but it still keeps us a secret. I worked hard to rid myself of the Lunacy effect, but if you really want to pass off your Uratha abilities as a quirk, I would suggest trying for a flashier Gift rather than your shapeshifting. Don't try to explain the truth; the Herd must not know. Why? At this point, honestly, because it's still in the Oath of the Moon, but it's still sacred." He got lost in thought for a bit.

"You're going to have to speak that soon, actually, but we'll let you settle into things, especially since you'll probably need some thought before joining a Tribe."

Izuku, who had been writing all of this down enthusiastically, looked up. "Tribe?"

"Which of the five Forsaken children you take as your Tribal Totem. It grants you benefits in exchange for living up to the Totem's ideal. I myself am a Blood Talon, bound to Blood Wolf."

"You're an amazing Hero!" Izuku shouted. "I've always looked up to you! I want to be a Blood Wolf too!"

"Hold on, kid, you should look through the options first. To be honest, what I've seen of you seems to fit the Bone-Shadows or Iron Masters better, but this is your decision, and not one to be made on a whim because you admired my Hero career."