Izuku studied the girl, a hornless, teenage version of Eri. She was shorter than he was, but now that she had removed the hoodie completely, now left with a white t-shirt, she was unmistakably muscular. Her arms showed the signs of training, in the form of a few scars and a healthy frame. She smiled happily, "Let's go Izuku, come on. I know what you are, and you know what I am. We are going to have a lot of fun, right?"

Izuku glanced down at Zuzu's screen, which had flashed to life. She was showing a code and a name. "CNJ-001, Kungfuverse." He mumbled. Huanli scoffed.

"Qiverse, please, Master Itsuka is making sure that gets changed." She spoke back at a low tone. The only other men that had heard that seemed to be the Judges, judging by Haimawari's reaction of raising an eyebrow towards Shirakumo. The man just shrugged, but Izuku took the hint.

"We will talk more after this."

"With pleasure." She said, and then rushed forward, Izuku doing the same. His kick was intercepted by Eri's own, and they started to exchange more kicks. Izuku had an advantage in both limb length and muscle strength, in theory, and One for All was more than amplifying that, but Huanli's own kicks were as strong as his.

She suddenly took a step back, and smiled, crouching forward. "Fun. Now try the first shape of Zhandou Quan, the Renlei Quan." She moved at a speed that shouldn't have been possible. Izuku could track her because of One for All, but reacting to it was another thing entirely. He had barely the time to move Blackwhip to block the incoming blows. The girl exclaimed another word – 'Chaopin Suchen' – before four fists hit Izuku's Blackwhip basically at once.

He took a step back, and then answered by upping his Full Cowling to thirty percent. When he moved forward his attack impacted her defense and surprisingly this time, she didn't manage to stop the blow from flinging her back. "Nice!" She shouted, rotating in midair and landing on her feet once more. "Second shape, Shou Quan." She rushed forward again and her hand, opened like she was mimicking claws, came down. Izuku blocked, Danger Sense ringing in his hear, and then felt a sharp pain in his arm as blood trickled down from four wounds. "Baihu Zhao." She grinned ferally.

"Told you, you want to kick it up a notch." Izzzuku explained, while Deku kicked back. The girl blocked with both arms, but she still got thrown to the side once more, her face showing the pain she was clearly feeling but her expression never moving from that feral grin.

'You know her?'

"I know her Master. Itsuka is a martial artist that controls Qi. I don't know if this girl is really a Master herself, but her skills are genuine. Zhandou Quan, the Battle Fist, is the same technique Itsuka uses."

Izuku wanted to ask a lot of questions, but Danger Sense rang while Huanli was rotating towards him and he bent down, dodging apparently nothing, though the warmth he felt passing above his head made him realize what he was feeling was that attack she had used earlier, that invisible impact that had already hurt him once. In response, however, he answered with a kick that this time hit her fully.

She coughed and rolled on the ground, before standing back up. She dashed forward, her hands still in a claw-like position, and started to attack. The 'Baihu Zhao' started opening small gashes in his arms when he defended, before he leaped back to dodge out of range and covered his arms with Blackwhip to make sure they wouldn't get more damaged. The girl, however, was relentless, continuing to push him back. Izuku looked behind, noticing he was on the edge of the ring.

'Wait, ring…'

He launched Blackwhip from his arm at the last second and enveloped her extended arm, before using One for All to pull the whip and throw her. For a moment, Huanli seemed stuck to the ground, but eventually either her or the earth below gave way and she was launched, passing both Koichi and Shirakumo, before standing back up, chuckling and grinning wildly.

"Alright, I wanted to draw this out a bit more, but I suppose I can use…"

"Izuku wins." Haimawari said. Everyone stared at him, and he pointed at the line on the ground Shirakumo had created to delimit the ring. A ring she was most definitely out of.

She looked at her feet.

Izuku stared at her.

Overhaul's mouth was hanging wide open.

"What?!" Shouted everyone around the field, from Izumi's crew's tone of jubilation to the disbelief of the Hassaikai and Huanli.

"What? You know the rules, ring out is ring out." He shrugged, and Izuku fought back the temptation to argue that, in fact, they didn't really know, because no one had told them. He hadn't noticed before, but now that he thought about it, Mirio was eliminated the moment he was thrown out of the ring too, before they knew he couldn't stand back up from the blow. It also just didn't make sense to draw a ring if there was no ring-out for a fight like this. Haimawari shook his head, "Good fight, but you kids always risk going too far."

There wasn't a single person satisfied with that for a moment. Well, not true, Oboro Shirakumo was having a good laugh at it, and Izzzuku was the same. Then, a cheer rose from behind Izuku and he turned to see Izumi, Kendo and Ochaco rush towards him and rise him on their shoulder. "Mi-do-ri-ka-wa! Mi-do-ri-ka-wa!" They chanted excitedly as they paraded him around the field, ignoring his red face burning like fire. Especially because Izzzuku was also resonating the chant inside his head.

"In your face Chisaki!" Izumi added when she was done carrying the teen around, pointing at Overhaul. "Even cheating didn't make you win."

"You are the one talking about cheating?" The masked teen shook his head, "Ah, fine, whatever, enroll her in your stupid school. Let's go guys, we have wasted enough time." He turned to Huanli, who was still staring at the ground, like she couldn't believe she had failed, "You too, Quanteng."

"Nah, I'm done with that." She shrugged, "I had fun guys, see you."

Overhaul's mouth, under the mask, hang open for a second, so much the chin emerged from the mask, then he just shook his hand. "Whatever." He turned around, leaving followed by the other members of the Hassaikai. Izuku had to admit that watching Overhaul just casually leave Eri behind, not once, but twice, was jarring considering what it had taken to save her from him back home.

"Alright." Izumi's voice made him go back to look at her right as she smiled and turned around, pointing to Eri, Lemillion – the dog – and the nearby Shoto and Mirio. "Next step, we are having a party back at Yuuei, and you are all invited."

"I pass. I have plans for later." Shoto said, and without saying anything else turned around to walk away. Izumi frowned for a moment, before deciding it wasn't worth pursuing and turning to Eri.

"Me and Lemillion are totally gonna be there!" The child smiled, her dog barking next to her and wagging its tail left and right.

"I think I have to go to the hospital…" Mirio replied when finally they turned to him, only to see Huanli had walked up to him, looking down, back with the hood pulled on and her hat on her head, though she had abandoned the mask. She was observing him closely, and Izuku had the impression her eyes were glowing.

"Uhm… Let me see…" She touched his forehead with one hand, while another moved to the heart. "I think I might have gone a bit overboard. I'll fix you, that's on me." She closed her eyes, and a moment later they all felt a warm air emanate from Mirio's body.

"What are you…"

"There, done." She stood back up. Mirio stared at his body for a moment in complete disbelief., before jumping back up.

"Woah, I don't feel any pain at all! What is this?!"

"My technique unbalanced your Qi. An unbalanced Qi damages the body. I might have gotten excited for the fight and used the Sixth Shape too eagerly. I apologize." She bowed her head, then sighed, "So, I hear there is a party, can I come too?"

Izumi walked forward and stared the girl in the face. Izumi and Huanli had about the same height difference as Huanli and Izuku, with the shorter grey-haired girl only reaching the Council President's nose. "Why? You just fought us."

"In my defense, I beat up half of his gang to get that spot in their team, I feel like that balances out me fighting two of your gang members."

Izumi and the girl stared at each other for a long moment, before she burst out laughing, "Sure, Huanli. Come with us. I want to ask you some questions too. Like why you look exactly like Eri."

The younger girl was clearly curious too, and a few of the other people nearby were showing signs they were too. 'This is dangerous.' Izuku thought.

"Yeah, not ideal. They aren't stupid and can probably tell something is off."

"That's a nice idea. The party I mean." A new voice intervened, and all the group turned to see Oboro had walked up to them. "Do you mind if I take those two for a minute? I feel like we should talk. If their Deals are resistant to those charms, a Judge like me should know."

Izumi made to argue but Izuku saw the opportunity. "Sure, but can Izumi come too? She is the one that invited me, and she might know something." 'I told her.' Was the message he was trying to convey, and Oboro, after a moment, nodded.

"Sure, the more the merrier. Koichi, you take care of the other issue we have today." The man gasped, but his attempt at arguing were interrupted by Oboro's expression. He was making it clear this was important, and so Koichi resigned himself, nodded and started to walk away after giving a quick wave toward the teens. The white-haired man then pointed to his left and started to walk, followed by Izuku.

"Go buy the supply for the party guys." Izumi said, while following Oboro and Izuku's lead. Huanli did the same after waving at them, and the four made their way through the park. They didn't walk particularly far, just until they reached a clearing where they saw a wooden table that could have been used for picnics or just to seat down during a walk. Oboro was the first to sat down.

"Alright, so, let's not waste time." He looked at them, then pointed his fingers at Eri and Izuku, "You two aren't from this world, are you?"

"No." Izuku admitted first.

"Neither am I." Eri added sitting next to him.

"And neither am I." Izzzuku added emerging from Izuku's head, startling both Huanli and Oboro, the latter of which fell off the chair, while the former shrieked and jumped on her feet. The dream creature started to cackle loudly.

"Please mister Izzzuku, that wasn't nice." Zuzu said, flashing back on, her camera extending outward in a tendril to look behind the table. "Are you ok, Mister Shirakumo?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. They told me about him but seeing someone like that is a lot different from imagining him" He coughed in his hand and returned to sit down, ignoring Izumi's grin as she sat next to Izuku, on the opposite side to Huanli. "So, four of you, correct?"

"Yes, though we didn't all arrive together." Zuzu-9 turned her camera to Huanli, who had barely managed to sit back down, "Itsuka is very worried, miss Huanli. I would suggest going back home."

"What?! No! I'm training!"

"In the Multiverse?" Izumi asked, with a grin, "I thought the next Master was supposed to inherit the One for All dojo."

"I-I will!" She awkwardly said, before looking away, "I just… just want to experience something more before. Why can't mo-Master Quanteng understand that?!"

-x-

"Huanli is my pride and joy." Itsuka said, after the lunch was done. Everyone was busy resting after lunch, before going back to their activities, so it had evolved back into talking about their respective worlds. "But she is stubborn like a mule."

"How did she enter the Multiverse?"

"It's my fault. Once she learned the basics of the Sixth Stage of Zhandou Quan, I introduced her to the concept of the Multiverse. It was important since I had to pass down all my knowledge to my future successor. But Huanli took my advice that it was only an introductory talk poorly and instead decided to use the technique, without knowing how to direct it toward the right target." She took a sip from a glass of water, with a sad smile on her face, before adding a single sentece, "It's hard to raise a student, I get why my Masters were always so resigned when we showed up."

-x-

"So, you are lost?" Izumi asked with a laugh.

"I am not! I'm just training. I have decided that since I'm already in the Multiverse, I might as well use it as an opportunity to grow stronger."

"Sure…"

"What, you want to go?! I'll show you firsthand."

Izumi grinned, "Is that a challenge…"

"Enough!" Oboro exclaimed, and surprisingly both of the girls stopped immediately, to Izuku's relief, "What about you three?" He asked, pointing to the teen, immediately putting him under the focus of everyone at the table.

"I'm following the League's training for people that have the Teleport Quirk but not the Guide Quirk. I need to…"

Oboro nodded, "Yes, I know, so you two must be Izzzuku and Zuzu-9-Epsilon, right?"

"Yep." Izzzuku replied, with a bow of the head that made said head fall off before he caught it and put it back on his neck, with a smile to answer Oboro's flabbergasted look. Izuku found it disappointing he had grown so used to Izzzuku this didn't even faze him.

"Call me Epsi." Epsilon added, smiling from the screen.

After a moment, Oboro chuckled and nodded once more, "Of course. Now, I have to ask… Why were you here today?"

"I made an agreement with Izumi. I helped her today, and she will help me with another fight."

Huanli scoffed, "I heard there was going to be a battle in the park and looked for the closest of the two groups that were going to participate. Once I found them, I just beat enough up to gain my place in."

"You are pretty violent, uh?" Oboro asked, and Izuku noticed the girl didn't deny the fact. Instead, she seemed to think for a moment before turning to Izuku.

"Did you say a fight? Where is it? When is it? Can I come too? Is the enemy strong?" Her eyes, Izuku noticed, were now shining brightly, like he had just told her there was an infinite supplied of candy apples, which was a rather big deal if he knew anything about Eri. Before he could explain more, however, Oboro took back control of the conversation.

"One thing at a time. Did either of you make a Deal with She Who Bears Gift? It's important."

"No, I got the offer but I never took it." Izuku replied.

"Uh, would that be the scary white-haired lady that showed up in my dreams tonight and offered me some sort of power?"

"Yes."

"Pfft, no, I refused. I have the Zhandou Quan, I don't need some random other power. I tried to fight her but she didn't seem to like the idea."

Izuku, Izzzuku, Izumi, Epsi and Oboro all stared at her with wide eyes. "You tried to fight a goddess?" Izuku finally managed to ask.

"Well of course, I'm on a training journey, if I don't try to challenge strong opponents it's just wasted."

"There is a difference between trying to fight a strong opponent and trying to fight a goddess." Oboro pointed out when he managed to finally force himself to talk. Izuku assumed that, to him and Izumi, that sentence sounded a lot different than anyone else.

"In my defense, I didn't know she was a goddess, I thought it was some mental attack. She just shook her head and kicked me out after saying the offer was still up, so no problem there."

Oboro took a deep breath. "I wouldn't call it no problem, but let's put it aside for now. Did she explain the Path of Most Resistance?"

"No, she only mentioned it."

He nodded and turned to Izumi. "Did you agree to help him?" He asked. Izumi nodded slowly, and Oboro took a long moment of silence. "Was it the Path?"

Another nod. Izuku looked confused at Izumi, but she didn't say anything more. The one that asked first was Izzzuku, now 'sitting' – though he was really floating slightly above it – to Oboro's right. "Soooo, what's the Path thing?"

"Well, it's not that important if you don't have a Deal. Just know that Izumi has honest reason to help you, if a bit self-serving."

"I would have offered anyway." Izumi retorted.

"Well, we can't really know that. But anyway, I believe our most important issue is what you two are going to do."

"I actually have questions too." Izuku replied, "Like why you just happened to meet us here."

"Yeah it's kind of a weird coincidence that the only guy that knows the Multiverse in this world is here today." Huanli said, "What's the deal with you?"

Izzuku nodded, "Yeah, this is ideal, but very suspicious."

"Oh god there is two of them." Izuku murmured, but both Izzzuku and Huanli exchanged a glance and talked in almost perfect unison.

"Deal with it."

Izuku and Izumi groaned – and Izuku could have sworn that Epsi had done so as well, but that was harder to say. "So anyway, what's the d… what is going on?"

Shirakumo had managed to find the whole exchange funny apparently, since he chuckled as he answered, "To be honest, today in particular was mere luck. However, I understand what your documents mean. As a Judge, anyone that is involved with Deals, Contracts and Pacts, or powers that look like those, is bound to run into me or the others, and since I'm the Head Judge of the area, that comes eventually back to me."

Haunli nodded vigorously. "I see, I see. Alright. So, follow up question. What is a Judge?"

"I was going to ask the same. I could infer you are some sort of organization that dedicates itself to manage confrontations between the users of Deals, Contracts and Pacts. You also seem to have at least one Deal or Contract, given your use of clouds to clean and draw a border on that field. I didn't see Haimawari use on of his own, but maybe his was only meant for a more subtle use? You also mentioned a Shouta, and given his ability, whether a Deal or a Contract, seems to consist in the creation of those charms you called Temporary Contracts, I guess this is mister Aizawa…"

"Woah, woah, slow down kid. Yes, you are mostly correct." Oboro looked genuinely impressed of Izuku's analysis, while he himself felt like blushing a bit realizing he had once again mumbled out loud. Well, this time it was a good thing, he supposed. "Anyway, yes, I'm a Judge. We are a group that was founded centuries ago to make sure the fights between Deal and Contract users don't get out of hand. Of course, today we have fallen a lot and most of our job is handling children that think Deals are toys." He threw a glance at Izumi. To her credit, she didn't look away or even blush, she just withstood his gaze.

"What happened? You make it sound like Deals used to be more dangerous."

"They did. Have you seen Todoroki's Contract, the one passed down through his family? That one is ancient, and gives him full control over fire. But what we have today as Deals is more… conceptual. Sure, sometimes someone like Asui appears, but usually it's not the case."

"I still don't understand what's the big deal." Izumi pointed out, with a grin that made it clear she was joining the other two, for their and Oboro's delight, "Maybe She Who Bears Gifts just decided this was more interesting. She has a rather mischievous personality after all."

Oboro nodded, "It's possible, but it doesn't explain why suddenly she is so interested in powers from beyond our world. After the first visitor, she tried to make deals with every other Patroller. Except for Jiro, but she probably was an exception."

"There is Jiro Patroller?" Izuku asked to Epsi.

The AI nodded, "Yes, miss Kyoka Jiro from KR-009, Ceresverse. It's a Science universe, and she is a League founder."

"Oh." Izuku nodded. He had more questions but now wasn't the time. "But all we have to do is not agree to it, right? In fact, can just leave."

"True." Oboro admitted, "In fact, I was going to suggest just that. What about you?" He asked turning to Huanli.

"I'm going with him." She replied, pointing at Izuku, "From what I can tell, he is going to be fighting someone strong. I want in."

"You can't." Izzzuku replied, "Not only because Deku is training, but because I will take you back home before we leave."

Huanli paled, physically stepping back from Izzzuku, like she was preparing to just flee. "What? No!" She said with a strangled voice.

"Itsuka is worried about you."

"Well, you can tell her I'm doing just fine. And if Izuku here is planning to travel the Multiverse, I'm joining." She replied with a grin, "You know, I've run into at least twenty different you in the past six months, and you are a cool guy. I'm sure we can work well together."

"But it's dangerous!" Epsi pointed out, "And it will make Izuku's training harder."

"A harder training is better! It means you get better results!"

"We don't have protective material…" Izuku pointed out, but he had barely the time to notice Izzzuku wildly shake his head before she grinned.

"Ah, but you see, as a Qi user with high enough control, I can use it to protect my body. Master Itsuka developed that specifically to mimic whatever protective magic gear the League uses. So, you don't have to worry about that." She grinned, "And I can be helpful! You have to fight someone, and I can help you with that!"

Izuku bit his lower lip, conflicted, and stared at Izzzuku. "It's a terrible idea Deku."

"She wants to help!"

"She just doesn't want to go back home yet!"

"That's not true." Izzzuku stared at her, and she quickly amended "Not entirely true, I mean. I really want to help, I assure you. I might have other reasons, but I really plan to do my best for you."

"I…"

"That's a good idea. Count me in." Another person said. Izuku, Izzzuku and Huanli turned to stare at Izumi.

Oboro, however, was the first to speak, "Why?!"

"Path."

"You can't just use the Path of Most Resistance as an excuse for everything!"

Izumi grinned, and Izuku could instantly tell he had lost the argument, "Watch me. Izuku, I'm coming with you and Huanli." She said, turning towards Deku.

"Wait, wait, I haven't even said yes to Huanli…"

"Now you have. Deal with it, 'cousin', you are stuck chauffeuring us both through the Multiverse now." Izumi replied, and Huanli snickered.

"I like her." She commented, and Izumi winked back.

Izuku looked around. Huanli was grinning too, despite her clear fear just a few moments before. 'Why do they want to come with me? Logically it doesn't matter, they could just wait here. Maybe Huanli has some other motive, but Izumi should want to stay here now that she has just won.' He nodded, "What is the Path you just talked about?"

Oboro looked at Izumi for a moment, then sighed, "Well, I don't think it's that important to tell you about it. Bottom line is that she gets some advice on what to do from her Deal or Contract and that advice seems to be 'stick with Izuku'."

"And that's enough to make it worth risking your life through the Multiverse?" He asked Izumi, surprised. The girl was clearly reckless – though after meeting Huanli he was realizing that Izumi wasn't even remotely as reckless by comparison – and also an hotheaded girl, but she clearly did care about her friends. It seemed weird that she would just up and abandon them by themselves. Granted, this was a far more peaceful world than his own, but still…

"Izuku, if you can stop mumbling I can actually explain myself." Izumi pointed out, and he immediately clenched his mouth.

"S-Sure!"

"Great. Now, what I meant to say is that I trust my friends and school to not fall apart. You have seen Iida, he can make sure the law gets respected, and Mirio, Kendo and Todoroki can deal with Tenko and Bakugo trying anything funny. And if all that worries you are illnesses, One for All's stored Deals include "I Won't Die on this Hill', an anti-illness Deal, thanks to some guy that wanted to never take a sick day. A psycho, I suppose." She shook her head, "And, I kind of agree with Huanli. You will need to learn how to control your ability, whatever that is. And while I understand this is a training meant to be as easy as possible, I subscribe to the idea that training should be as harsh and uncompromising as possible to get the best results."

Izzzuku shook his head, "It's not that easy. I don't think it's a wise idea."

"Please." Izumi said, turning to the dream being, "I really want to do this. I understand it might sound selfish, but my Path and yours have crossed, and it seems I have to follow you and Huanli."

That was when Oboro chimed in, "You know, if you are doing this because of the Path, you should tell them what that is."

"You just tried to not explain the full version of it. You literally just did."

"I know. But looking at him, he clearly needs this explanation, or he won't understand why you are being insistent all of a sudden. While I don't know if it's a good idea, at the very least he should have the option to make an informed choice."

Izumi nodded, and then turned to Deku, "Deals and Contracts are usually made with a goal in mind. They come accompanied with a spirit, a piece of She Who Bears Gift that will give you advice that ensures your goal will be reached. The catch is that they will always give you advice that is guaranteed to succeed, but also guaranteed to be as difficult as possible to follow. This is why so many people with Deals are delinquents. It's harder to become a doctor, or an astronaut, or a police officer, if your high school history is so complicated. Following the Path is a guarantee of success, but only if you follow it. Otherwise…"

"You might have damaged your whole life for nothing." Izuku realized, "That's so… cruel."

"In defense of She Who Bears Gift, you are free to not take the advice and can keep the Deal or Contract indefinitely until you either succeed at fulfilling your dream or just can't do it any longer. This is why Deals are so common among teenagers or young adults, or at least a major reason. Adults tend to either reach whatever goal they set for themselves in life or can no longer do it, and so the Deals just go away. Well, that and She Who Bears Gift doesn't like generic wishes like 'I want to be rich', she likes specific wishes that adult rarely have, since they get used to compromising." Oboro pointed out, "It's a cheat in life anyway, since it's an insurance of eventual success so long as you are willing to follow every advice it gives, no matter how harmful for you."

"And now it's telling you to help me?"

"Help you and follow her." She pointed to Huanli, "So as you can see, my hands are bound. I don't know if not doing this will mean my Deal terminates, but I'm not taking the risk to find out."

"Can't you just go with her?" Deku asked, before realizing what that question sounded like and immediately trying to stammer an apology.

Before Izumi could point out how poorly he had expressed his thought, however, Huanli intervened. "Sorry to say this, but I can't. My ability is based on my refined Qi control, so I can't use it on other living beings, unless they are also Zhandou Quan Masters."

Deku realized there was really no way out. He could say no, sure, but that would probably make his relations with Izumi worse, if she really thought her Deal and Contract were so important, just when he had found an ally against All for Deku, two if Huanli was being honest. He looked at them both.

Huanli was still Eri. She might have been taller, lacking a horn, and a lot more… wild, but she was still the young girl he had done everything to save. He couldn't bring himself to distrust her. And Izumi was a good person, from what he had seen. Even if she had done so because of her Deal giving her a suggestion, she had still offered to help him. It might not have been a completely selfless reason, but she was still putting herself in harms way for another world.

He realized he had already made his choice.

(XX)

And here we are for another chapter and another day of Izuku finding friends.

Izuku winning by ringout is kind of meant as a callback for the UA Sports Festival, admittedly, but it was also something I setup the previous chapter when Oboro first drew the line: why draw a line if there is no rule against jumping outside the ring?

Speaking of the fighters, and particularly Huanli and Izumi, when I designed this second arc of DitM, I sat down and thought of ways to make Deku organically acquire allies without making it weird that he would end up traveling with more people. That was crucial and is why, for example, there is no Emerald Knight traveling with him: it just doesn't make sense for either of them. Luckily, I knew what Huanli and Izumi's objectives are, so they both are excellent candidates for Izuku's companions, and finally, we get here, with those two going with him.

Originally this chapter went a lot more in-depth on some lore of the Delinquentverse/Dealverse, but I really didn't want to add too much stuff, so maybe in the future, you will get the remaining information. Or maybe it will forever remain in my notes, who knows.