Itsumi yawned as she stood up, slowly preparing herself before she walked out of the room. She was starting to get used to the weird life at the League for All, she thought with a sigh. It was odd to say, but the League had a weird way to feel like a very distorted version of home. After all, Uncle Ojiro, Dad and… well in a way Aunt Shouko and mom were around. Except this version of mom was a man with anger issues and Aunt Shouko's alter ego was a broody man that was probably developing a coffee addiction.
'Ok so, yeah, it's not really home. It's more like if someone tried to approximate home while drunk." She had to admit with a silent huff. As she walked down the stairs, she couldn't help but reflect again on her situation. Travelling between universes was possible. Other Earths were not just the sci-fi products of some author, but real things. She was in another universe in that very moment, being trained by an All for One user to fight another, all while a weapon-enthusiast version of her mother worked with her to provide the equipment to do so. Itsumi shook her head. Yeah, it was better to not think about it too much.
As she reached the mess hall, her hears caught the sound of talking. It seemed a few people were there this… well, it was 11 AM, technically 'morning' was still the right word. She figured the voices were people preparing for lunch. At the League, people were allowed to eat at any hour, but of course most just stuck to common times of day for the meals.
Sure enough, the cafeteria was quite full. Shoto and Ojiro were sitting at one of the tables to the side, Shoto still working on the same papers Itsumi had seen him work on the night before. She had to wonder if he had slept at all the night before. Himiko Hatsume, in one of her rare travels out of the lab, was collapsed on a chair nearby, unbothered by the talking at the main table and snoring softly. Itsumi had to assume Hatsume was just so used to the noises of the lab that the chatter in the room was just too soft to keep her awake. Katsuki was nowhere in sight either, hopefully asleep in his room and not still downstairs.
The central table was quite crowded. Lissa, Dekiru, the Green Scar and the newly arrived Canary were sitting there, chatting. Along with them was also a woman in her twenties with red hair that Itsumi didn't know, dressed in classic Chinese clothes. "… So no, Merry Christmas does nothing in particular." Canary was saying. Siren, his pet bird, who was a canary herself Itsumi realized, chirped and, to Itsumi's surprise, seemed to nod.
"Damn, pity Spider-Man isn't around right now. He would have some fun showing you his playlist." The Green Scar replied with a chuckle.
"I'm sure, but I get this kind of question all the time."
"W-Well, your Quirk is quite amazing!" Dekiru's comment was surprisingly loud, "I mean, it's an incredibly versatile one! You can switch between support, offense and defense by simply changing the song."
"You are one to talk about incredibly versatile Quirks." Melissa pointed out, "You can boost yourself by fusing with objects, and that's just the basic. Not to mention having One for All."
Dekiru turned bright red and looked away. "Come on, it's nothing much…"
"Yes, it is Dekiru! You should feel prouder about it! Also, I totally want to try Fusing, you know that, right?"
"I guess…" He answered non-committal, something Lissa seemed to notice too. She huffed, but before she could counter the moment, the red-haired woman put a hand on her shoulder.
"Come now, I'm sure he needs some space." She said, and Melissa nodded slowly. "Sorry."
"No no, you didn't do anything wrong! I'm just… Still a little overwhelmed."
"Ehi, we get it." The Green Scar replied, "It's a weird situation."
"True. The first time I ended up in the Multiverse wasn't fun." Canary pointed out, and Siren tweeted in what was unmistakably agreement, "Leaving aside how worried the people back home might get, and that's a huge thing to leave aside, it's also stressful. You try and try to go home and just… can't."
"Your solution was really easy though." The woman commented with a chuckle.
"Yeah, but I'm just lucky." Canary commented with a slight blush, and Itsumi noted he was also moving his hands while talking, making gestures she didn't really recognize but had to mean something. "But enough of that. Good morning Itsumi."
"Hi Canary. Hello guys! And uh…" She paused a moment, before the woman she was looking at extended her hand with a smile.
"My name is Itsuka Quanteng... Kendo, it's nice to meet you." She spoke. Itsumi only realized then, when she said Kendo instead of the Chinese words, who she was.
Because she was the person she got her name from.
"Uhm, I'm Itsumi. It's… Nice to meet you."
"Doesn't really sound like it." The Green Scar commented.
"It's just… Itsuka Kendo is… Well, let's just say I... My name is based on hers and my mother's." She coughed, looking awkwardly away, "Sorry, I was just surprised, that's all."
"Oh, no, no, I get it!" Kendo replied, giving her a gentle pat on the back, "It can be hard to deal with the Multiverse sometimes."
Itsumi nodded, watching the woman that had according to her mother, died to save her life, as she sat down casually back next to Canary, right in front of Itsumi, "So, I'm Itsuka Kendo, from CNJ-001, the…" She took a deep breath while Canary and Lissa snickered, "The Kungfuverse."
"Pfft…" Ojiro's barely repressed laugh from the next table over was enough to make a few others lose it. Itsuka seemed used to it, because she just sighed and took a sip of water, before putting the glass down and muttering something that sounded dangerously like 'I will kill him. 'No, we can't change the name, we have been using it for years…''.
"So what can you do?" Itsumi asked, before stopping, "Oh, only if you don't mind me asking. Sorry."
"It's no problem. I am a martial artist and a qi master."
Itsumi nodded, "Itsuka from my world was a martial artist too. She had a Quirk called Big Hands, which… well, it gave her the ability to make her hands grow in size."
"Yes. It's the same in everyone else's worlds, right?" She asked, and everyone at the table nodded, "Well, I suppose that makes sense. Most people's Quirk seem consistent, but when it comes to a world like mine, with magic, it can vary a lot more."
"True, Magic universes can be pretty wild." Canary nodded, "I just visited a magic universe that is in the middle of their own version of the French Revolution, you know? Trust me, getting shot by a woman with a magic rifle was not fun."
"Lady Nagant?" Kendo asked.
"Madame Charleville."
"Second verse same as the first." She shrugged, "And anyway I still say Science universes can get a lot weirder. I've been to a world where I saw a mecha All for One fight a mecha All Might."
Canary sputtered and started to laugh, "Pffft, you never told me that!"
"Really? I should have."
"Uhm, so are you both Patrollers?" Itsumi asked.
"Indeed. I am actually a founding member of the League with sixteen years of Multiverse experience." Kendo replied, and Itsumi froze. Again.
"Wait, what?"
"What?"
"You uh… Aren't you a bit young to have been around for sixteen years?"
"Ah no, that's qi for you. It keeps me looking young, but I'm older than the Green Scar." She smiled, "One of my masters looks like an old man chiseled in stone, but Master Koda is somewhere past the two hundred years old, that's to be expected."
Itsumi heard Ojiro sputter since he was drinking, but she was just as surprised. Admittedly, she realizes sourly, she was starting to accept anything weird with just a passing glance. Maybe if she was exposed to the Multiverse for just a bit more, she too was going to just go 'oh cool' hearing about mecha All Mights. Luckily for her, Lissa took over the silence she had fallen into by loudly asking if the aging was slowed by a specific value or if it was influenced by someone's qi quantity, control or similar factors. Itsumi noticed that Kendo was pleased with the talk, and realized she was genuinely enjoying meeting them. Maybe that was the difference between the expressions she had seen on her and Canary and the ones Dekiru, The Green Scar or Katsuki had. The former were free, and doing this for their sense of duty mixed with a sincere curiosity, the latter were trapped in a situation they couldn't hope to get out of. That was probably why Lissa seemed to keep a more positive personality: she had a way out, since her One for All included Guide.
Her musings were interrupted by Zuzu-9-Beta announcing the lunch was ready before serving them using little robots that, Itsumi assumed, had been build by that Midorikawa person she had heard mentioned a few times. Of course, the biggest hint was the logo of Midorikawa Enterprises on the back of their round head. The meal was delicious, and she could only admit she was enjoying it. She listened to Itsuka explaining how she was currently searching for one of her students, who had apparently managed to enter the Multiverse using her technique, and then to Canary, who mentioned how his radio show with Mic was on pause for two weeks, which was good because it gave him time to alternate more easily between his side job as a Patroller and his main job as a Hero back home.
It was nice.
But as she sat there, listening to more stories of the Multiverse, she couldn't help but wonder how Deku was doing.
-x-
The park Izuku had been led to by Izumi, where they were going to fight against Overhaul and his group, was small and frankly rather poorly kept. The swing was broken and dangling uselessly from the only surviving chain, the see-saw was split in half, and the spring horses were all damaged in some way. The only thing probably still working was the merry go round.
"This is… fine?"
"We aren't here to play Midorikawa." Shoto replied, and Izuku sighed. For some reason, this version of his friend really didn't like him. "They are here."
Izuku nodded and like everyone else turned toward the road from where the laughs of seven people were coming from. Ahead of the group walked Kai Chisaki, the Overhaul of his world, though here he was no older than sixteen and had forgone the bird mask for a common black mask that covered his nose, mouth and chin. Next to him was Hari Kurono, his long grey hair loose on his back instead of tailored in the shape of the clock needles of the Kurono he knew.
Kendo Rappa was no more than sixteen, and his toned muscles bulged through his t-shirt. The bulky physique of Rikiya Katsukame wasn't nearly as large as it had been in his world, but he still was a head taller than everyone else. Yu Hojo seemed to be the oldest, his bald head and white mask still present, even if he was now in his late teens. Shirtless, Deidoro Sakaki was drinking from a large can of some caffeine-heavy drink, and Izuku realized he probably was too young to drink in this world.
The last one was unmistakably a girl, wearing an anonymous red hoodie with the hood pulled up, a mostly white mask with black in the lower area, and a sports hat kept low, short black pants, and white sports shoes. She was the shortest of the group, and yet she was also the one that was holding the leash of one of the biggest Akita Inu Izuku had ever seen. The dog seemed quite happy, but Izuku didn't miss that everyone else in Chisaki's group kept a foot or so from the animal and the girl holding him.
"Lemillion!" A new voice shouted. Izuku looked behind his own group and saw a girl that he instantly recognized as Eri. She was older of course, fourteen or fifteen since she was going to join Yuuei – hopefully – the following year, but she still was unmistakably her, the long grey hair extending behind her back. When he saw her, Lemillion barked and pulled on the leash, and Izuku for a moment was worried the girl holding it would fall, but amazingly she didn't even budge.
"Who's that?" He asked Iida, and surprisingly the teen shook his head.
"I have never seen her before. Not that we can see much with her head kept down and the hood up, but the Hassaikai always had only male members."
Izuku raised an eyebrow. Normally, considering what the Multiverse was like, he'd have suspected the girl to be Eri, but that of course was impossible since Eri was currently standing next to Izumi, Kendo and Uraraka, calling for Lemillion. The dog was pulling madly on the leash now, but the girl wasn't budging at all. 'She must have a deal to hold herself like that.' Izuku considered the option she could have been just that strong, but an akita of that size was bound to make even someone like Rikiya struggle if it pulled like that.
A moment later, the girl extended a hand and patted the dog on the head, before letting him sniff it. Surprisingly, the dog calmed down instantly, sitting down. It still barked towards Eri but did no more movements to try and get free, instead wagging its tail towards her.
Eri sniffed. "C-Can I just have it back."
"Alright Kai!" Izumi shouted, marching forward, "We are here and have agreed to your silly game. Give back the dog now."
Chisaki studied her for a moment, "The Judges aren't here yet."
"Screw them, we are just here to kick your ass anyway!" Izumi shouted, and in response Hojo and Katsukame moved forward, placing themselves closer to Overhaul.
"Oh? You think you can take us without magic?" They both asked. Izuku could see their point. Without their Deals, both of them and Rappa were probably physically the strongest. It was clear from the start that Chisaki had asked for the rules to not allow Deals knowing he'd have the advantage.
Bakugou roared and seemed on the verge to rush forward when a cheerful laugh interrupted the stare-off. Everyone looked to the left, and a man with long white hair accompanied by another one, this one with short black hair, walked forward. They both seemed in their twenties, and both smiled cheerfully. "Hello! Is this where the party is at?" The man with white hair asked, "Can't believe you agreed to this Izumi."
"They have a hostage." She replied, pointing at the dog, and the man laughed again.
"Ah! Good thinking Kai, but next time you could do it without putting a little, gentle dog in danger."
"Where is that dog? Can I switch it out for the monster over there?" Chisaki asked with a deadpan look on his face, and against his best interest, Izuku snorted. The other six teens on his side turned to him with a glare. Izuku blushed and looked away. Shoto, Izumi, Iida, Mirio, Uraraka and Kendo were all clearly used to fighting, and at least Kendo and Izumi had surprisingly come armed with a wooden sword and, to Izuku's chagrin, Izumi was also carrying a gun, though she had quickly shown it was just a compressed air one with rubber bullets. Izuku had expected Iida to raise some concern but there was none, so he had just given up. Not his world, not his rules.
"Alright. So, I'm your Judge, Oboro Shirakumo…" The man continued to say more after that, but Izuku's brain registered the information and simply stopped. He must have mud some sound of surprise, because Shirakumo stopped and turned to him. "You ok?"
"I… Yes, of course, sorry."
"… Right. Anyway, this is Koichi Haimawari, who will be my second today. Now, I got Shota to make you all those." He took out a bundle of fourteen charms like those people would buy while visiting a temple on the new year, each of the same black color. "Those are temporary Contracts that will stop your own Deals and Contract from being usable. You, the gasping kid, grab these and pass them around. As for the others… Rikiya?"
Izuku walked up to him, and so did the other, towering teen. Deku thought for a moment, and as Rikiya walked away, he mumbled 'I'm a Patroller'. Oboro clearly heard because he paused a moment before nodding slowly. He would clearly have questions later, but that was perfect for Izuku. He wanted to ask about She Who Bears Gift's true intention, and the world's Sitting Agent was the best option.
He passed around the charms and noticed the others visibly shrug. It was clear that whatever the charm was doing wasn't working on him. He glanced at the other group and saw a similar reaction across them. The sole exception was the girl holding Lemillion, but he blamed that on her mask, hat, and hoodie covering her face so much he couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"Alright, so, now your Deals and Contracts won't work. Making Pacts won't work either, so don't try. Now, the fights will be one against one, weapons allowed though only non-lethal ones. The person that enters the ring stays in the field until they are defeated, after which the losing team sends in one more person. If a side has no one to send in, they have lost. Is that alright?"
Izumi and Chisaki both nodded, though it was clear who of the two was more displeased. Rubber bullets or no, Chisaki had three powerhouses in Rikiya, Rappa, and Yu, while Izumi didn't have anyone of the sort. He glanced to the girl, and felt the need to say she was the third powerhouse. Her red eyes locked with his for a moment, then she turned away, her full attention back to the dog, as the other man, the one called Koichi Haimawari, stepped forward. This was a man Izuku didn't know at all, and he wondered if he was a person of no consequence back home or if he would eventually turn out to be important too.
"Hello everyone. So, we will be arbitrating the match. I just want to ask once more if there is no peaceful solution to this-"
"No." Both leaders said in unison, and Koichi sighed. Oboro shook his head with a sympathetic look on his face. He clearly was expecting Koichi to try and both sides to refuse.
"Very well. In that case…" He gestured to Shirakumo, who pointed one hand forward and a ring of mist – no, that was a small cloud, Deku realized a moment later, appeared on the ground, quickly spinning. Once it was finished, a clear ring of damp earth was visible, the grass and superficial dirt cleaned away. Izuku figured that was a quick way to create an arena without having to build one or even draw a line.
"So, we found the Sitting Agent easily, uh?" Izzzuku's voice in his head made Deku almost jump since he wasn't expecting it. The dream being was trying to concentrate on making sure She Who Bears Gift wasn't planning some nasty surprise, and as a result was much less talkative than usual.
'… I guess.' Izuku answered after a moment, 'I wonder why they said that everyone in this world is bound to run into him, though.'
"Who knows? Maybe he has some magic for it." Izzzuku answered, and Deku looked at him more closely. He had a large pole on his back, aviator goggles, and a leather jacket, plus more casual clothes under it. It was true the pole and goggles might have been some Contracts, if what Izzzuku had explained was correct, but he had to wonder if that was the case. As he looked at him, he noticed the other girl was doing too.
'Izzzuku, did you notice the girl?'
"Oh my Deku, I didn't think you were thinking of…"
'I-I meant if you noticed anything strange!' He answered while going bright red and tearing his eyes from the girl, a reaction that earned him an amused look from Izumi, Kendo, Mirio and Uraraka, a stern one from Shoto and Iida, and a round of laughter from Izzzuku.
"Man, you are way too easy to tease, how do you even survive."
'P-Please, just answer…'
"Alright, sheesh. Well she is definitely different from the others. I could try to investigate but I can sense she has strong mental defenses from here. It might take a while."
'No don't. I don't want to invade her privacy for nothing. If something is off, we can just find out in the match, right?'
"… Yes, I suppose you are right."
-x-
The matches themselves were dangerous but not too dangerous, Izuku realized quickly. The first thing Oboro did, before they started, was ordering Chisaki to return the dog, which the teen agreed to. The hooded girl let go the leash and the dog rushed toward Eri, the two rolling happily on the ground as the girl hugged the massive canine. Overhaul's disgust was palpable, and Izumi laughed at it. That didn't seem to endear her particularly to the other side.
The first match saw Izumi fight Chisaki. It seemed this was just what they were expected to start with, and Izumi was more than happy to. The girl's first move was to aim her gun at him and shoot. The rubber bullet hit him in the gut, but Chisaki pushed through the pain and rushed forward, taking another shot before she dropped the air gun and moved to the wooden sword. Izumi brought it down on Chisaki's shoulder, and Izuku heard a low thud as the wood struck flesh and bones, but the other teen didn't stop. Bearing through the pain he grabbed her tried to pin her to the ground, but Izumi planted her sword in his gut when he did so, forcing him to move back gagging.
"What is it, Chisaki? That's all you've got? I don't need Deals to deal with you." She commented. Kendo groaned.
"No, but you will need this." He replied, and pulled out an air gun of his own. No, Izuku realized, that was Izumi's gun. He had picked it up while he was trying to pin her down, probably expecting to fail. He unleashed two shots and rushed forward. Izumi brought the sword down again, but Chisaki used the gun to swat it out of the way, since the blow was weakened by the girl having just been hit by both rubber bullets, and do something Izuku never thought he would see the leader of the Hassaikai do.
He punched Izumi in the face.
Izumi, who was prepared though, countered with her own punch, and Kai shouted as his black mask was wetted by the blood that was undoubtedly rushing from his nose.
"Man this is good…" Izzzuku said, and Deku could swear he sounded like he was munching on popcorns. He sighed, giving up on figuring out where popcorn would come from in his mind.
The rest of the match continued in that vein until eventually, Izumi pinned down Chisaki with her wooden sword at his throat. Koichi raised his hand and stopped the fight, granting her the victory. Bloodied and battered, Izumi waved in victory at her team.
Then Yu entered the field, and Izumi winced. She picked back up the gun and shot a few times, but the bulky teen ignored the hits of the rubber bullets and barreled down on her. His punches were good, and eventually Koichi called the match, when it was clear Izumi could do nothing but defend herself.
"I wonder why they have Judges." Izzzuku commented, and Izuku couldn't help but wonder the same. There was something odd in watching delinquents fight each other while being arbitered and especially seeing them so deferential toward those arbiters. Neither Chisaki nor Izumi had talked back to them, and while Chisaki's loss was clear cut, Izumi could have technically pulled through, even if it seemed very unlikely given her condition.
He glanced at the man called Shirakumo, who just waved at him and made a gesture Izuku took a while to decipher as 'we will talk later'. He nodded, and sat down next to Izumi, who was massaging her battered arms.
"You ok?" He asked.
"I'll be better when we have beaten them."
"Should I go in?"
She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head, "Let us take care of as many as we can, then you can go in."
True to her word, the already hit Yu Hojo went down to the beating Kendo rained on him both with her sword and barehanded. Deidoro Sakaki, who followed, also got battered black and blue by the girl's sword, but then came Rikiya.
Kendo and Shoto both lost to him, the tall teen seeming barely fazed by their attack. Izumi frowned and turned to Uraraka. She smiled, walking in and cracking her fingers. She only took two punches before projecting the far larger teenager over her shoulder, jumping on him while he was on the ground to pin him and for good measure elbowing him in the face.
'Remind me to never make Uraraka angry.' Izuku commented.
"Yeah that was… ouch."
Kurono, who walked in armed with two wooden swords, one shorter than the other, managed to fight for longer, getting in enough hits before his defeat so that Rappa could take care of the girl. The savage smile on his face told Deku immediately that the man Kirishima had fought had probably been just like that back in school, he had not doubted that.
He made a bit of a mental calculation. They still had Mirio and Iida, besides him, while Chisaki only had Rappa and the girl.
"Don't count it as a win yet." Izumi replied, probably noticing his expression, "I wouldn't have asked you that favor if I wasn't worried about Rappa. That combat junky is crazier for fighting than Ochaco."
True to her word, Iida, who went in next, was one-sidedly beaten, his kicks seemingly doing nothing to the broad-shouldered teen. He just answered every kick with a punch, and if Iida evaded he just snorted and turned to face him again. He seemed to like getting pummeled, so long as he could answer in kind.
The fight with Mirio was about the same, both not giving an inch as they absolutely destroyed each other. It was clear from Haimawari's expression that he wanted to step in, but he couldn't. From what Izuku had understood so far, their role as 'Judges' entailed declaring winners. He figured the main reason they were there in the first place was that both sides wanted someone that could ensure it was a fair fight without either side having to ko every single opponent. They were all battered, and would definitely have some new bruises to think back to the day for a while, but he had noticed that the moment one or the other was clearly losing Haimawari had no qualms in calling the fight.
However, it was clear this one was harder to call. Mirio and Rappa were basically equal in strength, and without deals this was a pure scuffle between delinquents, punches and kicks flying from both sides without any fancy style. Rappa's strength and Mirio's skill were demolishing the other side, and Izuku himself couldn't tell who would have won.
In the end, Mirio managed to land a hook on the chin, and Rappa's legs gave way. He immediately tried to kick the blonde teen in the knee to ground him too, but Mirio instead jumped on the ground by himself and held him down in a strangle hold. When Rappa was about to pass out and clearly unable to free himself before that, Koichi nodded and called the fight.
Mirio sighed in relief, and everyone on their side cheered, including Izuku. The girl stretched quickly, showing she had a great flexibility with some of her movements – "My my Izuku, what are you looking at?" Izzuku teased in his mind, and Deku once more diverted his eyes, despite both knowing very well he had been just studying her skills – but Izuku doubted she would win against Mirio, battered or not. The size difference was far too great, Mirio towering over her by over a foot. She was still wearing her full getup too, and he had to wonder if she hoped to use it to soften the blows.
When Koichi started the fight, however, Izuku had a moment to notice Overhaul grin and the girl plant her open palm in a flash on Mirio's pectorals.
"Tianshen zhang!" She shouted, and Mirio was launched away like he had been hit by a cannon ball, coughing blood as he rolled on the ground.
"W-Wait, how are you using a Deal?" Haimawari asked, echoing Izumi's question, though hers included a few more expletives.
"I'm not." The girl answered, shrugging. She had a faint Chinese inflexion in her voice, not enough to make him think she was Chinese but enough to make it sound like she spoke the language commonly. She took out of her pocket the charm they had been given at the beginning of the fight, and handed it over to Haimawari and Shirakumo, who inspected it carefully before staring back at her, confusion and surprise clear on their face.
Izumi patted Izuku on the back. "Well, good luck man." She said, "You are my last hope now."
Izuku looked at Eri, who along with Lemillion was staring at Mirio – and wasn't that a sentence – as he carefully stood back up, clearly unable to continue fighting. With everyone else already disqualified, he really was her only hope. Walking on the ring, he exchanged a glance with Shirakumo. The man just sighed. Clearly, he knew why he was in Izumi's team, but he could also do nothing about it. It wasn't against the rules to use Quirks, after all.
Before the fight started she bowed, like Izuku had seen people do in martial arts tournaments, with her arms on the side of her body, and then took a fighting pose, her firsts ready and her legs spread enough to reach a good balance.
Haimawari gave the go and she rushed forward again, punching. Izuku had to use One for All immediately to make his body nimble enough to move out of the way of the fist, before punching at five percent.
It did nothing, not even making her budge. Izuku noticed her arm, which she used to block the blow, was uncomfortably warm, like he had punched a radiator, before she quickly side turned. "Hou wei!" She shouted, and Izuku felt something large hit him on the side. It was like in his sparring with Ojiro, where he would use his tail to surprise the opponent, except that here there was no tail, only what had felt like solid air. He jumped back, opening some distance, and then flicked his fingers. Air Force, thanks to his gloves, shot toward the girl. He really hoped she was strong enough to take it.
"Xuanwu dun." She positioned both hands forward and the air force slammed into her, not managing to making her budge at all. He could tell she was smiling under the mask.
"Not to criticize Deku, but I think you might want to kick it up a notch." Izzzuku suggested, "I think I know who you are fighting."
He nodded and his Full Cowling shot up to twenty percent. He rushed forward at high speed and kicked her to the side. The girl this time finally budged, getting sent flying back but managing to land on her feet. Still, the hit threw her hood and hat off.
Her short pale-blue-grey hair and red eyes were a combination Izuku knew too well. His eyes shot to Izumi, who looked as shocked as he was, and then to Eri, who was staring at the other girl with wide eyes.
And then the other Eri took off her mask and grinned.
"Surprised, right?" She said with a smile, striking another combat pose, "I'm Huanli Quanteng, second generation master of Zhandou Quan. And you are like me, right?"
You are a Wanderer like me, she was asking.
Huanli Quanteng. The Chinese reading of Eri and Kendo.
Izuku could say nothing but take his own pose to face the other Wanderer. Izzzuku had only one comment to make.
"Goddammit Itsuka."
(XX)
This chapter came around right when Shang-Chi came out in theaters (watch it, it's a good movie). I'd like to say it was planned but it was just pure luck.
So yeah, usual roll call for the authors whose characters appear here:
Izuku Midoriya/The Green Scar from The Green Scar by Pro-Man and The Green Scar Worldbuilding Thread by Quantum01;
Izuku Midoriya/Fusion Hero: Dekiru from Dekiru: The Fusion Hero! by | OmegaInfinity |;
Izuku Midoriya/Canary from Canary by cloud_nine_and_three_quarters;
Mentioned only Izuku Midoriya/Spider-Man from Amazing Fantasy (different Earth but same multiverse) by TheInfamousMan;
Just figured since they all get brought up together in this chapter I might as well mention them all here in the A/N.
As a note, I did my best to translate correctly everything in Chinese, but it's not a language I speak. This is the result of time spent through dictionaries and asking people that know it if it's at least passable. The comment I got from the latter where positive so hopefully should work.
Huanli and Itsuka's universe is actually one of the most detailed I made, I could tell here and now the story of Itsuka Quanteng, who had basically a pan-Asian martial art manga adventure in her youth and then graduated to Multiverse travel. She was another reason why I was really happy we reached this universe.
Poor Izuku, he expected a subversion from the girl with the Hassaikai but once again it was Eri, just not the Eri he expected. Feels like the Multiverse is just having fun with him.