...
Izuku swallowed nervously as he followed Naomasa to his new school. Nuoding Academy was supposed to be a fresh start for him. But he couldn't help the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach.
What if they hated him? He didn't have a quirk and he was a rare person with Spirit Harmonization. They could hate him for simply existing. Just like almost everyone else he had ever met.
Naomasa said drawing him from his thoughts, "There is no need to be nervous Izuku. Everything will be fine. I promise."
Don't make promises you can't keep. Was his first thought and nearly what came out of his mouth. He had to bite the inside of his cheek till he tasted blood to keep from saying it. Just because he was hurting didn't mean it was okay to hurt his guardian. Naomasa had done a lot for him and it wouldn't do for him to throw all that away.
Izuku asked quietly, "What if they don't like me because I'm quirkless?"
Naomasa's face darkened for a moment and he paused in their walk to the gates of Nuoding, "Your worth is not based on your quirk, lack of a quirk, or you spirit essence. You are who you are. Never let anyone tell you differently."
Then he turned and continued walking. After a brief hesitation Izuku followed him and soon they reached the gates. The guard looked to be in his early twenties. Like Naomasa he had some power that came off of him but it wasn't overbearing. It seemed to just sit upon him lazily.
The man asked with his hand outstretched, "Certificate from the Spirit Masters Hall?"
Naomasa took it from his jacket and held it out. For a moment the guard lazily glanced over it. Then his eyes widened with surprise.
"Spirit Essence Harmonization? If you're going to forge a certificate at least make it beleivable! In my five years as a guard I've never seen someone with that."
"Just because it's rare doesn't make it a forgery," came Izuku sharp reply.
The guard looked as if he wanted to say something more but stopped when he looked over their shoulders. A look of fear crossed his face and he shoved the paper back into Izuku's hands. He then directed them to the main office buildings. With that the gate opened.
As they walked through a man in a white shirt with a light blue jacket over it and black pants passed them. Izuku didn't get to see his face but stark white hair lay flat across his head.
Was that who the guard feared? Izuku couldn't sense anything from him. Maybe he was an administrator?
At the office Izuku was given a dark blue uniform jacket and pants. Underneath it he would have to wear a white or black shirt. If he took on any apprenticeships then he could wear their emblem on the outside of his jacket. A list of potential apprenticeship was handed out. Alchemy was an interesting option. As was inscriptions. He would have to look into them when he was settled in.
The last thing he was given was his schedule and directions to the cafeteria. There he would meet with those in his class. They were Class 1-E mostly made up of lower families and scholarship students. After that Naomasa had to go and he promised to come get Izuku after school.
Izuku walked him outside and watched him leave through the gate. Then he followed the stone path until he reached a large two story building that was said to be the cafeteria. When he entered his senses were assaulted by the loud noises of children unsupervised. The smell of delicious food was the only thing that kept him from walking right back out of it.
In his hesitation a warm body bumped into him from behind. Swiftly he moved out of the door and turned to face the person. It was someone about his age with blond hair that had a black lightning bolt in it. Like Izuku he was wearing the first year's uniform.
Quickly the boy said, "Sorry I didn't see you there."
Izuku quickly bowed and said, "No it's my bad. I shouldn't have been standing in the doorway. I'm Izuku Midoriya of Class 1-E."
The boy blinked for a moment before he stuck out his hand and replied, "That means we're classmates. It's nice to meet you, I'm Denki Kaminari also of Class 1-E."
Small grins were exchanged between the two. It only lasted a moment however as they were interrupted by a blond on the second floor. Unlike the boy next to him this one gave off a vibe he didn't like. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
The snooty blond asked loudly from the stairs of the second floor, "Isn't that the scholarship students? Lunch is my treat."
While the others were excited about it Izuku was instantly suspicious. People like that never did anything nice without an ulterior motive. While he wasn't on the scholarship list he still wasn't allowed access to the upper cafeteria. That was for those from noble families.
"Today is leftovers."
Just like he thought. The boy was making fun of them. Dangling others of money in front of them like it was something to be ashamed of. It wasn't it was something to work to improve until.
Denki incensed snarled as rushed forward," Wanna die?"
Right before she would have hit the boy he said, "Shield spirit defense."
A circle of essence appeared creating a shield to protect him. A boy that had been asleep attacked using a staff spirit essence. An attack that would have hurt the Denki had he not stepped in. Using his arm he blocked the first strike.
He felt his first mark glow as called to his spirit essence. The wolf dodged around the staff and headbutted the boy. Using the distraction he kicked the boy in the chest.
His hand to hand wasn't the best. However years of being picked on he knew where to hit. The kick sent him flying to the side. It wasn't far but it was enough to keep him from ganging up on Denki.
He now stood back to back with him. They glared at their opponents anger flashing in their eyes. One of the boys muttered something about beimg junk spirits. There were no junk spirits or weak spirits. It was just weak and junk people.
The blond seethed holding his cheek, "You would dare hit me?! I think the school these poor losers."
Izuku and the brown haired boy yelled," Do you still want to die?!"
"Stop!"
They both stopped on a dime. A white haired man was making their way to them. The students parted as he came forward their heads in respect. Was this the Headmaster?
The white haired man said, "No personal fighting allowed on the campus."
Denki said angrily electric sparks from his quirk showing his anger, "Those people started it!"
The man gave him a cold look but didn't say anything. It was a look he was well familiar with. The same one he received back in the at his old school. The look that said to be quiet if they knew what was good for them. It made him want to growl low in his throat at the man.
The man pointed at him and said, "You follow me."
There wasn't much he could do in the way of arguing. If the man wanted to expel him it was in his rights to do so. Arguing or fighting would only make his punishment worse.
They went to the otherside of the campus. When they reached a large room he opened the door. Izuku followed him inside closing the door behind him. The headmaster went to stand by the window. His back was turned to the green haired boy.
Wary of the man he went to stand by the desk. Mistrust was clear in his green eyes as he watched the man's back.
The man coughed asked in a clearly fake way," Besides your shadow wolf spirit what other spirit do you have?"
He stiffened. Mistrust turned to suspicion immediately. This person knew about his second mark. The one in his eyes that made his mother turn against him.
"How do you know?" Something on the desk caught his eye. It was a knife. Not much protection but if the man came at him he would defend himself.
The man said not turning from the window," According to my research people with essence harmonization are extremely rare. Those coming from the elemental countries are unheard of. Most are lucky that they reach level 1. Occasionally there is a rare level 2."
Izuku questioned still cold, "What's your point? I could simply be one of the rare few?"
While they had been talking he snatched up the knife. Keeping it behind his back he watched the man for any sign of an attack. If there was one thing the bullies taught him it was to read body language. Especially in how to tell if they were going to attack him.
The man continued oblivious to his dark thoughts, "From the quality of your spirit essence and the level of your spirit essence, there is no way that your fox spirit has that power upon awakening. It is not possible for one such as a shadow fox to support essence harmonization. So you must have two natural spirits. Which means the other one must be very strong!"
During the man's explanation he tried to get a read on him. So far there was nothing to indicate he was lying. Yet Izuku couldn't quite bring himself to trust the man.
He asked preparing to dodge an attack and retaliate, "What are you saying?"
The man gave another harsh cough as he replied, "I want you to be my student."
