Hey guys! This chapter has a few small timeskips, going over the first few months of Izuku's stay at the Tower. Hope you enjoy!

Izuku had forgotten how good showers were.

He hadn't had the opportunity to clean himself properly for quite a while, the last time being after he discovered a cave pool that the hive hadn't found yet.

After that, 90% of the water sources that he didn't use for drinking water were either filled with thrall or larvae. And while he was fine with eating the Hive at this point, he didn't like the idea of cleaning himself where they slept.

So as he was escorted to a small apartment―literally just 4 rooms, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small office―he had almost immediately ran into the bathroom to take a nice, long, hot shower.

It had taken him turning the nozzle onto the highest pressure it had and the use of a scrubbing brush to get all of the grime and filth off of him, but he didn't regret it. He felt so much lighter now, and with the amount of stuff that had been clinging to him, he might be.

All in all, it took him about 30 minutes to clean himself off properly, and in that time, he had apparently been gifted some items, as he found a few parcels sitting on the bench in the kitchen.

Looking down next to the bathroom door, he saw a simple set of black pants and a white dress shirt laid out for him, as well as some black combat boots. He put them on, feeling odd in such good quality clothing after spending so much time in rags, and went over to the bench.

There were a few boxes, each with different symbols on them. There was a black crate with what Izuku knew was the vanguard symbol on it, filled with spare clothes, a writing pad (something Izuku had specifically requested), and some food to fill his fridge.

From there, he didn't recognize any of the symbols. There was a black and white box with an odd symbol on it, surrounded by a white circle being orbited by a smaller circle. Putting it to the side for now, he moved onto the next box.

This box was a deep blue, emblazoned with a logo that spelled 'FWC' in red, yellow, and white lettering. He briefly wondered what 'FWC' could mean, but put those thoughts aside as he reached for the last, and most fancy looking, box.

Blood red with silver and gold highlights, this box looked like it would fit better in a king's bedroom than a young boy's kitchen. On the top, it was stamped with a white triangle with 3 red lines in the bottom right of it.

Placing them all on the floor and poking the button on the front to open them quickly, he peeked out from behind the bench, seeing what would happen. While he wanted to be allies with the other humans (and blue people and robots?), he didn't know who sent these packages, so he was going to be cautious.

There was a small hiss as the lid opened, revealing soft blue smoke. After a few seconds of waiting where nothing exploded, he walked up to the trio of boxes.

The black and white box held what looked like a cape, pitch black and emblazoned with the same logo from the box.

Underneath it was a sheet of paper with a message on it.

Greetings, Hivebane.

We here at Dead Orbit welcome you to the Last City, and hope that you enjoy our gift to you.

We look forward to your assistance with the current problems on the Moon, and your progress with your abilities.

Best wishes,

Dead Orbit

Izuku checked the other boxes, and found similar contents.

The "Future War Cult" and the "New Monarchy" along with "Dead Orbit" seemed to be factions of guardians and the lightless that had different values and goals.

Izuku huffed as he pulled out the contents of the other boxes. He liked the aesthetic of the scarf/hood combo that the New Monarchy sent him, and he liked the fact that there was no cape.

He grabbed the rest of the clothes out of the various boxes and put them in the cupboard of his new bedroom.

He laid down on the bed they had given him, and marveled at how soft it was. It didn't take him very long to fall asleep, dreaming of a fight between Crota and All Might.

It was the best sleep he had ever had.

"Lord Shaxx! How you doing buddy? Listen, I got an idea, but I need your permission for it!"

Shaxx gave Cayde a deadpan expression as he took his helmet off, having just finished a match in the crucible. There was an upstart faction that thought they could take him and his redguards, so he had gathered the squad and delivered a smackdown that would be talked about for… the next few days, at least.

He sat down at his desk and sighed. "Cayde, your ideas are always either semi-illegal, outright illegal, or utilizes some obscure loophole in the rules, making them just barely legal. So out with it, you need my permission, correct?"

Cayde smiled as he sat down across from the titan, waving at the rest of the redguard as they went off to relax. "So, you heard about Izuku Midoriya right? The Hellmouth kid?"

Shaxx hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, he caused quite a stir when he arrived. Zavala wont tell me everything, but I hear that he's not exactly a… local."

Cayde shrugged. "If Zavala won't tell you, then it's not exactly my place to either. But, and this is completely hypothetical, if there was a person from an alternate dimension that could safely wield Hive Magic, would you be interested in helping me train them with firearms?"

Shaxx hadn't been expecting that. He knew that the boy was special, as he had been given one of the living quarters in the uppermost section of the tower, one usually reserved for the likes of the faction heads and the Speaker.

He smiled at Cayde. "I have to give it to you, my friend. You sure do know how to pique my interest. If he wants to, bring him to me tomorrow. I'll whip him into shape right quick."

Cayde jumped to his feet and clapped Shaxx on the shoulder, smiling. "Sweet! I knew you'd say yes, never could resist a challenge, could ya, shaxxy?"

Shaxx laughed and clapped Cayde back, making the hunters knees buckle slightly as he smacked him on the shoulder. "Alright! I got some newbies to oversee, get out of here you scoundrel!"

Cayde ran over to the window and jumped out, double jumping right before he hit the ground to safely land in the courtyard below. Waving back at Shaxx, he started running towards the Vanguard meeting room, deftly dodging the people in the crowd as he did.

Shaxx just chuckled and started prepping for tomorrow.

Izuku was liking the tower.

He had spent around two or three months here already, and was enjoying not having to constantly be alert, fighting, or hiding. At least, whenever he wasn't in the crucible. He had been a bit surprised when Cayde had approached him and offered proper weapons training with him and Lord Shaxx, but he was glad he accepted it.

His little apartment had gotten a few new decorations during his time there, with things like a photo of him, Cayde, and Shaxx standing around his first target with all 10 shots on the bullseye, or the crucible trophy he got for winning a small tournament.

He had filled a few better quality notebooks full of information on the hive, ranging from how their thought processes worked, to an accurate sketch of their anatomy with highlighted areas for maximum damage. Copies of these had been sent to the Vanguard for circulation to active guardians, and he was proud to see that there were more and more successful missions into the Hellmouth as time wore on.

But his biggest project laid in wait in his office. A ring of stone that he had requested be taken from the inside of the Hellmouth itself. The hive used it as a sort of a transfer device, allowing them to enter their ships through the portals created by the runes on the ring.

But Izuku had a different purpose in mind for it. He had shaved away the runes that told the portal where to go, and had been spending most of his free time reprogramming the destination.

But as the portal opened once again, he felt his Quirk activate. He sent one of the drones he had been using to test the portals through it, and saw a glittering palace hallway through it. Standing in the middle of it was what looked like one of the blue-skinned people, the 'awoken' Izuku thought they were called.

She tapped on her head and made an 'X' with her hands, and Izuku understood as his Quirk pulsed again. Slowly, just in case he needed to put it back up quickly, he turned his Quirk down, allowing the presence of another to enter his mind. He kept it on slightly, only to protect himself from corruption, but allowing speech.

"You are a truly interesting being, Izuku Midoriya, to be able to punch through the barrier and forge a path here without prior knowledge of this place…"

Izuku shivered as he heard the voice enter his mind. It felt like someone was rifling through his mind, searching for answers. It seemed almost… confused when it was unable to, due to Izuku's Quirk.

"Truly fascinating indeed. Well then, onto business…"

"What brings your gateway to the dreaming city, o' visiter mine?"

AN: Another cliffhanger, I know, I'm really sorry! Hoo boy, what has Izuku gotten himself into? You'll find out next chapter!

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