AHHHH WHAT IS THIS FLOW OF INSPIRATION!? I have never been so inspired to get to the next chapter than I have for this story. I dunno what it is that naturally brings out my ideas for this story. But I keep getting more and more ideas to throw out and I just can't wait to get them all out there! So many funky things bouncing around my noggin, I'm grateful for the fact that I have so much free time (and a nonexistent sleep schedule but shhhh that's unimportant when there are stories to write). I will point out and warn you guys now that there are some slight descriptions of disturbing things and heavy topics later, but (hopefully) they aren't too serious. Kytheon Iora has not exactly had the most happy and peaceful previous life, so…...
Anyways! Some more introductions for Beefslab now! I'm excited for the funky antics he will get into! Let's gooooo!
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Kytheon looked up at the enormous school building. Nemuri had to go in early to get ready for all of the orientation and stuff like that, leaving him to prepare himself for his first day alone. He started off the day with a lovely jog on the beach, (He silently wondered when it had gotten so clean, he definitely would need to come here more often to watch the sunrise) followed by a nice bath, followed by an Akroan tradition he had never got to experience himself growing up. However, he had always been curious about it. Nemuri was a bit weirded out when he asked for the materials required, but she still caved and got them for him when he explained it was a homeland tradition.
Boy did he envy those people back in Akros. He was really missing out!
However, his little indulgence had made it so that he was running on a very tight schedule to get to class in time. He had no doubts that he was going to arrive at the last possible second, or maybe even a little late, and he could not abide that. He'd have to shift his schedule earlier if he wanted to keep both an on time schedule and his new habit. He got to the door just in time to see a strange man clad in all black climb out of a yellow sleeping bag. The man turned and gave him a deadpan stare, and Gideon had to suppress a small smile. The man looked almost like Liliana's zombie butler back on Innistrad…
"I'm sure you are part of the hero course too?"
Kytheon nodded and bowed slightly. "Yes sir. I promise you this tardiness will not be a habit, something hung me up on my way here."
"Right… You're only a few seconds late, kid."
Kytheon noticed Uraraka and Izuku out of the corner of his eyes and gave them a small smile and a wave, which broke them out of their apparent shock to wave back. He also noticed the Dovin boy behind them, which caused his eyebrow to twitch slightly at the look of determination the young lad had.
"Anyways, I am your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Nice to meet you."
'Could this guy be any less enthusiastic?' Kytheon thought to himself.
"It's kind of sudden, but put these on and go out onto the field." He said, pulling something out of his sleeping bag and handing it to Kytheon, before pulling out more and handing them off to the rest of the class. He looked at the other students and shrugged, before heading on down to the changing rooms. Izuku caught up with him.
"Hey Iora!"
Kytheon raised an eyebrow. That was one thing about this place he never really understood. Why did everybody insist on using last names? Family names weren't who someone was, their given name was! "Yeah, Izuku? And please, call me Kytheon. Iora just sounds weird."
"R-right! Well… Ior- I mean Kytheon! I'm glad to see you made it in as well! I mean, not like I doubted you would after that stunt you pulled at the exam, but…" he began trailing off into mumbles as Kytheon chuckled and shook his head.
"Good to see you too, Izuku…"
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"A quirk assessment test?" Everyone cried once they had finally changed into the tracksuits and got outside to the field.
"But what about orientation and all that?"
"If you're going to become a hero, you won't have time for such leisurely events."
Kytheon had to hold back a snort. In his definition, that was true. But to the general populace's definition of hero, well, to him it seemed that many of the things heroes did were those leisurely events. That is, if the sheer number of public demonstrations heroes had to go through was any indication.
"UA's selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That's also how the teachers run their classes. You kids have been doing these since junior high too, right?"
No. Kytheon really hadn't. At this age he was already in prison after his activities with his Irregulars, and before that he was on the streets with nothing to him but a name and a small gang. So he was going into this with fresh eyes and had no idea what to expect.
Also, from what he had learned from Nemuri, quirks were usually singularly manifested. One power that did one thing. So he was a tad nervous that someone would call out his Hieromancy as definitely not a quirk since it could do so much for him… but that was a cyclops to slay when it arrived. This quirk testing, whatever it was, was bound to be enlightening.
It was then that he realized he had zoned out a little in the middle of Mister Aizawa's explanation, and tuned back in.
"Well the Ministry of Education is procrastinating. Iora, you finished at the top of the practical exam, right? In junior high, what was your best result for the softball throw?"
Kytheon glanced over at the angry looking blonde that seemed to be glaring daggers into him. Great, his positioning must have put a target on his back for some people. Just what he needed. He looked back to the teacher, who was waiting intently for his answer.
"I never did one."
There were confused gasps and mutterings behind him. Aizawa seemed to consider his answer for a second, thinking back.
"Right, Kayama sensei told me about your… extenuating circumstances. Very well. In that case, please step into the circle."
Kytheon nodded and stepped forwards. Aizawa stepped forwards and handed him a ball. "I want you to throw this as far as you can. Anything is allowed so long as you stay within the circle. Hurry up. And give it all you've got."
Kytheon thought about it, staring at the ball in his hand, thinking about how best to use his hieromancy to achieve the best results. Ultimately he settled on one of the simplest and first things Hyxus had taught him. He concentrated on the magic within him and began to glow, the light moving down to the hand that held the ball. He turned his hand palm down and let go, dropping the ball. But as it fell, a golden chain emanated from his glowing hand, holding it and keeping it from touching the ground.
Izuku was staring intently at Kytheon as he did this. These tests would be a good way to see what the quirks of his classmates were, and Kytheon's had eluded him for quite a while now. Ever since he saw the video of him against the tentacle monster, he knew it had something to do with that light he saw from time to time. But that didn't explain his apparent indestructibility… and now this glowing chain was adding to the mass of confusion. What exactly could he do? It seemed he wasn't the only one in awe, as he could hear the mumblings of his classmates as well, as they watched Kytheon get into a stance.
Kytheon smiled, remembering his one friend in the irregulars that taught him how to use a sling. While it hadn't been his favorite weapon and never used it again, his friend seemed determined to teach him how to utilize it in case he absolutely needed to. He began swinging his chain over his head, building up speed and momentum, even lengthening the chain a bit farther to get even more power behind it.
"Know your own maximum first…" Aizawa said as with a hearty grunt, Kytheon released the chain, flinging the ball far into the sky. "That is the most rational way to form the foundation of a hero."
When the ball finally landed, there was a beep from the device Aizawa was holding, and he showed it to the class. Kytheon was rather proud with the 450 M displayed on the screen as he stepped back to rejoin the crowd of students who were either all staring at him or at the phone, wondering how or even if they could beat that score. He mostly ignored the other comments, up until Aizawa spoke again.
"It sounds fun, huh? You've still got three years to become a hero. Will you have an attitude like that the whole time?"
The more he talked, the more Kytheon appreciated this teacher. It seemed that he really understood what being a hero required. While his looks left something to be desired, he could tell this man was an experienced professional. He now recognized the look on the teacher's face. He had seen it before on the faces of the older legionnaires in the Boros.
"All right. Whoever comes in last place in all eight tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion."
Kytheon raised an eyebrow and nodded. Cutthroat tactics, that was for sure. However, it was certainly a bit biased. If there was a single person with no physical amplification quirk in the class, no matter how hard they worked it would be likely that they would still get kicked from the program. But with an academy as prestigious as UA, it made sense that they would hold their students to such a high regard. Oddly enough however, he noticed he seemed to be the only one not unsettled by this revelation. Didn't matter. He would just need to perform at his very best, and if he got expelled for not doing well enough, well, the system was flawed anyways.
"Welcome to the UA Hero Course!"
A big test on day one, huh? What a bizarre school.
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Despite the protests from Uraraka, it had seemed that Aizawa was unfazed. And that speech he gave in response? Kytheon was really starting to admire the man. He certainly knew what he was talking about, and it seemed that he may have judged the school too harshly when he first heard about it training "heroes". If the school years were really going to be so devastatingly difficult, then he had much to look forward to, and the people coming out the other side of this would definitely be much closer to his definition of Hero. Of course, they had to make it through it all first, and it certainly seemed like one person wouldn't be making it past this part no matter what happened.
Up first was the fifty meter dash, and if he was being honest, this was one of the ones he was looking forward to the least. Sure he could run pretty fast, but he was certainly more built for strength and defense than speed. Certainly not as well equipped for it as the Dovin guy with his engines sticking out of his legs. Maybe more Tezzeret than Dovin? No, not malicious enough. That guy with the laser in his navel… that gave him an idea for his own method to get more speed… He would have to be careful though to not interfere with the person he was racing against.
He lined up against some guy with multiple arms connected by some kind of webbing? Certainly one of the most bizarre people he had seen so far, and bore an uncomfortably close resemblance to some of the eldrazi corrupted humans on innistrad. Emrakul was certainly a twisted one… He was grateful that his opponent only gave him a respectful nod before focusing on the race.
When the tinny voice of the robot called out for them to go, he launched out two chains from his hand to latch onto the ground, before yanking back on them while simultaneously retracting them. It flung him forwards at pretty high speeds, and he stumbled a bit when his feet hit the ground again, but he kept himself upright as he sprinted across the finish line.
"5.20 seconds!"
Not bad, he felt.
Next up was the grip strength test. What this had to do with hero work he was uncertain, but this was most certainly in his wheelhouse. Strength was something he certainly prided himself on. He channeled some of his Hieromancy into a minor support spell, trying desperately to keep it on himself and not cast it on the entire rest of the student body. It was a competition after all, despite how badly the white mana wanted to help all, especially Izuku for some reason. He heard a beep and glanced down. The spiky haired redhead next to him let out a whistle.
"Damn! 280 Kilos is nothing to scoff at! That's pretty impressive bro!"
While not as strong as that Ulamog guy, who was apparently in the five hundred range, he had to agree that it was pretty impressive. He never had to measure his strength before, never had the time. It was always one crisis to the next with him…
Standing long jump! This one was going to be pretty interesting, that is for sure. Kytheon wasn't sure about his performance in this one. But after watching navel laser and the explosive blond cross the entire pit, he realized that this was pretty arbitrary. When it was his turn, he launched out two chains like he did for the sprint, and flung himself across the sand pit.
Repeated side steps was pretty easy for him, it was footwork after all, and he needed good footwork to fight with his sural. You can't fight with a weapon that is comprised of four almost fabric like blades longer than you are tall without developing an acute awareness for where your feet are. It is almost certain that you will lose toes if you are not quick enough on your feet. So that test was cleared fairly easily. However, he noticed that he wasn't really able to acheive the same kind of results that the explosive blond had, which made him wonder why the blond was so pissed at him anyways. Might just be that he was always angry. A distinct possibility if his constant shouts of "DIE!" were anything to go by.
The ball throw, he could sit back and relax and watch, only to chuckle as he watched Uraraka throw it into the stratosphere. Made sense, really. If she could make things float there was nothing really stopping it. So when Aizawa turned and showed the infinity symbol, he seemed to be the only one not to react in shock, instead offering the bubbly brunette a high five, making sure to not accidentally touch the pads on her fingers.
But when Izuku went and it only got above forty, his eyes narrowed. He had seen the energy build up, Izuku was definitely going to do something, probably the same thing that destroyed the robot, and his limbs.
"I erased your quirk."
His eyebrows went up when he heard the declaration from the teacher, looking over at him, noticing his scarf was floating around him.
"That entrance exam was certainly not rational enough. Even someone like you got accepted."
Kytheon took a few steps forwards, ready to defend his friend, when one of the other classmates put their hand on his arm. He glanced over at them, and they mouthed the words "don't interfere.". He regarded the black haired girl who had been creating things from her body during the tests, before closing his eyes and sighing, nodding as he turned his attention back.
"From what I can tell, you can't control your quirk yet, can you?"
Though it was a question, the way he phrased it was more like a statement, and Kytheon was glad that the girl had stopped him. He thought he could see what the teacher was aiming at here, and understood that it was an opportunity for Izuku to learn. He glanced back over at his fellow classmate.
"Thanks." He mumbled with a thumbs up, which she returned with a small smile.
"Do you intend to become incapacitated again and have someone save you? I saw Iora carrying you in the entrance exam after your little show. Do you intend to force those around you to do that again and again?"
Kytheon saw Izuku glance over at him in confusion before yelping as Aizawa dragged him in with that bizarre sentient scarf thing.
"In the past, there was an oppressively passionate hero who saved over a thousand people by himself and created a legend. Even if you have the same reckless valor, you'll just be decked and turn into a useless doll after saving one person. Izuku Midoriya. With your power, you can't become a hero."
There were some mumblings among the other students as Kytheon mulled over what the teacher had said. It made sense… He wouldn't necessarily be there to drag Izuku out of trouble. Had Uraraka not been there, there was a very high potential that Izuku would have just died on the spot after defeating the gearhulk. He had learned his own lesson of reckless valor… no. He can't think about that right now. It's too painful. He grit his teeth and returned his attention in time to see Izuku fling the ball way off into the sky. He couldn't help but relax and chuckle.
"Well, better a finger than an arm…" He mumbled to himself, shaking his head as the girl next to him looked at him with an odd expression.
"Oi! Tell me what's going on, Deku, you bastard!"
Kytheon's head whipped over to the blond as he seemed to charge straight at Izuku with a look that promised suffering. "Hey!" He yelled, glowing chains erupting from the ground and holding the blond still. Said angry blond struggled against the chains, turning his head to glare at Kytheon that had stepped out from the crowd of students with his hand outstretched. He saw that Aizawa's scarf had been a split second away from getting to him as well, but Kytheon held the advantage with the ability to call them out at his feet.
"What the hell… are these chains? They're so tough…"
"Iora. Release Bakugo now, please. Thank you for intervening, but it was unnecessary. I would have stopped him before he got to Midoriya anyways." Kytheon nodded and released the chains, dissolving them into light. The other students all began whispering to themselves about his quirk as Aizawa sighed and shook his head. "You guys really need to stop making me use my quirk… It gives me dry eye… anyways, we are wasting time. So whoever's next, please go."
Kytheon kept an eye on the blond even as Izuku ran on over to him. "T-thanks for the assistance, Kytheon."
"No problem… but what was that all about? Who is he?"
"He is… a childhood friend."
Kytheon scoffed. "With an attitude like that… forgive me for not believing you, Izuku."
"Oh my gosh, is your finger ok?" Kytheon stepped back to allow Uraraka to step forwards and fuss over the state of Izuku's hand, while he leveled a stare at the blond. Bakugo, huh? He would certainly need to keep an eye out on him. Bakugo, meanwhile, was glaring at him with a hatred unfitting for someone who wants to be a hero. Already he was disgusted by the explosive user.
The rest of the tests passed without much incident, Kytheon always scoring somewhere in the High to middle of the pack, grateful for his routine exercises keeping him in shape, and the natural support his hieromancy gave him. Soon, in no time at all, everyone was gathered in front of their homeroom teacher to hear the results. Kytheon wondered which of these poor saps that he never met would be ejected from the school before he could even get to know them.
"The total is simply the marks you got from each test. It's a waste of time to explain them all verbally, so I will show you the results all at once."
Kytheon searched the list for where his name came up and smiled. Fifth place, not too bad… under Momo Yaoyorozu, who must have been that black haired creator girl. He had to admit that she was very creative with the use of her quirk, and wondered what kinds of limitations she had. Under Shoto Todoroki, the kid with the odd dual hair and the burn over his one eye… He didn't want to know what had to have happened to him to have such a mark at this age. Katsuki Bakugo… still unpleasant. And Tenya Iida. So he finally had a name to the Dovin guy with the Tezzeret legs. Overall, not bad! Fifth place meant that he was certainly safe from elimination… so who was at the bottom?
Of course.
It had to be Izuku, didn't it. Now that he thought about it, with the rather poor performances on all of the other tests with the obvious exception of the ball throw, of course he would end up last. As much as he didn't want to see the cheerful green haired kid go, that was the conditions of the competition…
"By the way, I was lying about the expulsion."
...eh?
This time, Kytheon was most certainly caught off guard. The teacher had seemed so tough and adamant about the declaration, he had fully believed the lie, and was very concerned that he was about to watch one of the few he had met in this world that was the embodiment of a hero get kicked out so soon. From a brief glance around, he could see that everyone else was trying to process that as well.
"It was a rational deception to draw out the upper limits of your quirks."
Oh. "Well when you put it like that it makes sense." Kytheon said, releasing the stress from his shoulders and slumping a little. Momo glanced over at the people seeming to have a mental breakdown next to him.
"It should've been obvious if you'd just thought it through…"
Kytheon chuckled as everyone gave her a deadpan stare. "I… don't think they gave a second thought to it. I know I didn't. He seemed serious enough." He said with a laugh, glad that nobody was getting kicked out.
"With that, we're done here. There are handouts with the curriculum and such back in the classroom, so when you get back, look over them. Midoriya, have the old lady fix you at the nurse's office. Tomorrow will be packed with even more rigorous tests. Prepare yourself."
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The rest of the day had proceeded fairly smoothly for Kytheon and the other classmates of 1-A after the testing, and before he knew it, he was heading out the doors alongside Izuku.
"I'm so tired…" The green haired kid said, his position slouched and eyes dead. Kytheon clapped a hand on his shoulder, seeming to not even be bothered by the day's activities in the slightest, a trait Midoriya certainly envied.
"It wasn't that bad, friend!" He declared. "As long as you keep yourself active constantly, there is no doubt that soon activities like this will just be a warmup!"
Izuku celebrated that notion with a drawn out groan, causing Kytheon to chuckle. However, upon a hand clasping Midoriya's shoulder, making the teen jump, both whirled around to see Iida standing there.
"Is your finger healed?"
"Yeah, thanks to Recovery Girl."
As Izuku turned and kept walking with a bit of introspection, Tenya joined Kytheon in walking alongside.
"I was really taken in by Mr. Aizawa. I even thought, "This is the best of the best" and such." The glasses sporting teen declared with a hand on his chin. Kytheon couldn't help but chuckle.
"No kidding. I was in the same boat that you were. I was quite concerned that we were going to lose a new friend before we could even make them."
"I didn't think a teacher would encourage us with a lie."
Kytheon's smile turned sad as he remembered something. Whether on Zendikar, Innistrad, Bant, Amonkhet, Ravnica, he knew the truth. "While I didn't see through it, it was the right thing. In fact, many of the best motivations are lies. I know that first hand." He said, looking at the ground, drawing glances from Tenya and Izuku.
"What do you mean?" Izuku prodded, interested to find out what he meant by this. Kytheon was a very bizarre anomaly to the analytical student. His quirk seemed to have so many strange and unique powers that didn't line up with each other, and while he seemed pretty devoted to the idea of heroism and justice, he didn't come off nearly as scary as some other heroes. He also carried this strange aura of sadness among him. Izuku could see it when Kytheon was watching some of the other pre-made friend groups in their class interact throughout the day. Like he was remembering something, or that he wished he could join in.
Kytheon looked back up at the confused and concerned glances from the other two students next to him, offering them a smile. "The phrase 'you're going to be ok.' can be the most important lie you tell." He said, the smile turning sad. He looked back forwards, eyes lost in thought. His mind filled with images. A kor soldier, missing from the waist down in the mountains of Akoum, dying in his arms. A brand new recruit in the Boros Legion, suffering from severe burns from one of the members of the cult of Rakdos, too far gone for the angels to help, dying in his arms. The unseeing gaze of a clergyman in Innistrad, viewing the horrific form of Briselda, the grotesque fusion of two of the symbols of his church, mindlessly serving the evil corrupting power of Emrakul. The gasps of one of his fellow initiates on Amonkhet, as the venom of one of Hapatra's snakes in the trial of strength coursed through his veins, dying in his arms.
A crowd of cheering friends before a glowing spear-
"HEY! You three! You guys going to the station? Wait for me!"
Kytheon shook his head, a bubbly voice cheering and clearing through the images. He glanced at the other two with him, who had seemed to be mulling over what he said for their own reasons, but it appeared they had been similarly jolted out of their reverie by the voice. They turned around to see Ochako Uraraka running to catch up with them, causing both Kytheon and Izuku's face to light up with genuine smiles.
"Uraraka!"
"You're the infinity girl!"
"Good to see you Ochako!"
She took a moment to catch her breath, before turning to Tenya. "I'm Ochako Uraraka! Um, You're Tenya Iida, Izuku Midoriya, and Kytheon Iora, right?"
Kytheon grinned. "Correct! Please, though, call me Kytheon. The whole calling people by their family name thing is just weird to me." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Ochako smiled as she turned to Izuku.
"But wait, why did that Bakugo guy call you Deku then?"
Kytheon frowned at the mention of the explosive blond who had almost attacked Izuku.
"Uh… My real name is Izuku, but Deku is what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me…"
"An insult?" Tenya said with his hand on his chin.
Kytheon's fist clenched at those words. "I can make him stop." He offered to Izuku with a hand on his shoulder and a dark expression on his face. Izuku sweatdropped and raised his hands.
"Y-You don't need to do that, b-besides, I don't think anybody c-can convince Kacchan to do anything…"
"Deku sounds like the Japanese word for "You can do it!", so I kinda like it." Ochako said with a bright smile on her face, either oblivious to or pointedly ignoring the dark aura surrounding Kytheon.
"I'M DEKU!"
The proclamation from the brightly blushing boy was enough to jolt Kytheon out of his funk and into full-blown hearty guffaws of laughter. As Tenya tried to understand Izuku's sudden motivations and the green haired teen tried to fight off his growing embarrassment, Kytheon couldn't help but feel his heart leap.
That's right. This is a new place. There is no Erebos here… Is this what a normal life feels like?
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Whoof! Stopping this chapter here now! A few more introductions, a few more bits of drama, some happiness, some angst… a well rounded meal! Next chapter we tackle some more of the class shenanigans, as well as some interactions with characters we have not had yet!
One of the reviwers asked if Kytheon with the Blackblade would be able to stop the Nomu. To that I say mechanically, yes. I figure that if it were a magic card, the Nomu would probably have the regenerate ability. Which would then make it fall outside of the power to be gotten rid of by any Gideon related card, except for Four: Path to Exile and Gideon Blackblade/the Oathsworn, and the one outlier of Gideon, Champion of justice. He has the blackblade in the first three of those portrayals, so I would say if he had the Blackblade when fighting the Nomu, then yes he would be able to destroy it. However, for that he needs to get the Blackblade, and since he is a (moderately) rule abiding citizen, he has sworn not to use the weapon until he has been licensed to be able to carry it. Champion of Justice Gideon would end the story there, since the ability is Exile ALL other permanents. Land, creature, spell, everything but him would be gone and I don't think any of us want that. Likewise, Banishing light would certainly take care of it (until it leaves the Battlefield) but since Kytheon has never been portrayed on any Banishing Lights, I will assume he does not have that power. Most of his Hieromancy takes the form of tapping down creatures, making allies, occasional indestructibility, and anthem effects.
TLDR, Yes he can, but he won't. Thank you for the fun question though! I had some fun figuring out how the Nomu would work as a Magic card, since in any situation where something from the Magicverse is involved, I will analyze it through the MTG lens rather than the MHA lens. As someone who statistically plays more MTG arena than 90% of the users, to say that I am obsessed with the cardboard crack is an understatement.
And for those of you who do not understand a single word of what transpired between me and that man, I am sorry. But a new chapter is already in the works, this one was a little delayed due to me coming down with a nasty ear infection and so could not focus for the life of me. But as that seems to be toning down, I'm back on track! See y'all next chapter!