Evening all! New chapter coming at you! With the mark of this chapter, we will begin to see where the story starts to deviate from how it originally was written.

I want to say thanks to those who are reading this updated story as well as all the kind comments about it. While it seems like this story is taking over writing for Bearer of the Light.

It's not.

Bearer of the Light is still my primary focus, but I decided to redo this story more for a break so I do not get burnout.

But yea, stay tuned to Bearer as we are going to be going right into the Stain fight so... look forward to that!

Also thanks to Mega over on the Hoard Discord server for editing this chapter.

Review time:

Djinn: Thank you and look for to this chapter :D

curlyboy01: It is nice to see them together, isn't it? :)

[I do not own any copyrights to My Hero Academia, Dungeon & Dragons, or Warhammer 40k, they belong to their original owners.]

Chapter 3

Paths Taken

Masami Gensou was exhausted.

Let it be known that she was often a very patient woman, being a vocal trainer for those seeking to improve their singing talents often had pupils who needed some… 'extra' guidance. Generally, the lessons were not as bad as today, where there could be some actual talent just hidden underneath that all she needed to do was help guide her pupils.

However, there were days like today where people came in, thinking they had talent, but were as tone-deaf as a broken dog whistle. Even if most took the criticism she would give them, some honestly were just tiring.

Plus, having been called a "monster" or "untalented bug woman" wasn't really all that bad, especially the second insult considering she was a rather well known classically trained singer, plus she had been called far worse things growing up, but it was tiring when she had to use her quirk subtle matter to 'kindly' ask those causing the trouble to leave.

Quirk laws be damned sometimes, and it was not like she did this as often as she would make it out too, but having a small quirk inhibitor bracelet that she can easily unlatch to use her voice for the briefest of moments.

It's amazing how no one pieced together how her quirk worked, but then, she rarely used it.

The ring of the telephone broke her out of her thoughts as she sighed gently, wiping her hands on her apron before picking up the receiver, and hoped it was Naoki, who was running late when she told him to come straight home after school, "Hello, Gensou Residence."

"Hey, Sweetness!"

The deep and guttural voice on the other end of the line brought life back to the woman as her tired state of mind instantly evaporated, "Darling! It's so good to hear from you! But isn't it super late there?"

"Eh, my sleep doesn't matter when it comes to my family." The voice spoke with a soft tone to it and one with some seriousness to it.

Masami blinked in confusion at the way her darling was speaking, her eyes shifting left and right while she thought about it before the possible reason came to her, "... it's about Naoki, isn't it?"

"Yea… kinda shocked when you told me he finally hit that "cocoon" stage, and how he looks now. Gotta admit it's a drastic change from before."

"Of course, I was even shocked at how he looked once he emerged. But then again, he is our son, so I knew he would be just as handsome as his father." Masami spoke with a loving yet teasing tone of voice, which caused her husband on the other line to mutter an 'oh please,' causing her to giggle, but even though she couldn't see it, the insectoid like woman knew her husband was blushing up a storm, "But this isn't about just that is it? You are worried he's inherited more than just your 'looks', aren't you?"

The heavy sigh and rustling of hair coming from the receiver was all she needed to hear as she rested against the wall with the phone still close at hand, "It's not only that," Her husband spoke softly, with what could be heard as voices from an intercom could be heard in the background, "I read his new quirk profile, and what it can do… frankly, I'm honestly shocked at how powerful it is, but also worried about how the HSPC is going to react."

"It's not like he can keep the illusions up permanently, my love."

"I realize that, but it's more that I think those bastards would exploit my boy." The man on the other side of the phone line growled low, which sounded similar to a beast of some kind, along with a few tearing sounds being picked up by his wife.

"Darling, you're losing control."

"Ah!... sorry…" He mumbled into the phone, causing her to giggle once more.

"I understand you are worried, my love, as am I. But I'm sure you have someone that could possibly help?"

"I know of one, and I don't know what he would like in return for helping us out if he can."

"I see…" Masami said with a worried tone now, not liking to be left out of the dark about anything involving their son. Still, if her husband had found a way to help their son out, then she was willing to take it. As she was about to speak, the voices over the intercom came back, which also caused Masami to smile gently, "And I assume that you'd like to have your favorite dinner prepared for you before you get home?"

She giggled when the choked-up cough came over the phone, obviously ruining her husband's surprise as she smiled gently, "I could hear the airport intercoms, darling… you didn't walk far enough away."

"Shit…"

Another gentle giggle escaped past her lips which also caused her husband to chuckle gently before he spoke up again, "I'll be home within another hour or so, I can't wait to see you, Snowflake."

"As I cannot wait to see you too, darling. I love you, Wren."

"Love you too." Wren sighed happily as he pulled the phone from his ear and ended the call, gazing upon the old photo of himself and his family when his son was still just a young boy. A smile crept along his lips as he put the device back into his pocket and looked around while stroking his thick beard.

While he looked far more 'normal' than his wife and son, he was a little hairier than the typical middle-aged man his age, with two of his upper canine teeth being more pronounced and could be seen even with his mouth shut. Lifting up not only his relatively small luggage bag but also a large case containing an instrument, the rather lanky but tall man began to make his way towards the airport's taxi area with a big smile on his face.

He was finally coming home.

"So… let me get this straight," Naoki said, sitting atop a miscellaneous metal appliance on the beach looking at both Izuku and Toshinori Yagi, a skeleton of a man who also just happened to be a "depowered" All-Might, number one hero in Japan,

"You," pointing at Yagi, "were impressed about how Izuku went in to save a classmate, who in my honest opinion had it coming…." Naoki said with some venom in his voice that Toshinori rose an eyebrow at, before looking to Izuku who seemed to be looking down at the ground, further setting off more questions within the Pro's mind given the context from the green-haired boy told him previously that he was merely a "friend" of the blonde hair boy. Toshinori then looked back to Naoki and could see how the quirk-altered boy before them's eyes simply flashed a bright blue for a moment of what could be pure hatred.

"..that you decided to help train Izuku for the UA exams, though he's quirkless, while also keeping the secret of your loss of power?" continued Naoki, which also got Yagi's attention at the phrasing in regards to his successor's current status, and began to scowl slowly as the silence around them could be cut with a knife with how thick the tension was. Suddenly, Naoki smiled brightly while chuckling a little, hopping off the appliance and then slapping Izuku's shoulder; Yagi watched the two interact as Naoki looked to the bewildered green-haired boy, who hissed slightly from the friendly gesture hurting a little more than intended.

"Ow! Naoki, wha-"

"I told you a hero could say you could do it!" the boy smiled at the utterly confused boy for a few moments, "How many years have I told you that if you asked a hero if you could be one too, they could say yes? I mean…Not to say, me telling you that over and over doesn't matter, but you got the freaking number one to tell you! And he's bloody training you!" Naoki chuckled as Izuku slowly began to chuckle too, rubbing the back of his head. Izuku felt a little guilty that they hadn't told Naoki about the first incident with the sludge villain or how All-Might had initially told him he couldn't, but that was in the past, and Izuku thought that his friend not knowing about that stuff OR One for All and All-Might giving him a quirk would probably be for the best, it's not like he didn't trust Naoki, far from it! But, even his friend, his best friend, had secrets that even Izuku didn't know.

All-Might simply watched the two, his scowl from earlier replaced with a gentle smirk to see the timid boy he had chosen with someone who was in his corner; it reminded him of his friendship with David. The man turned towards the two, "So, young Gensou, would you be able to keep my secret safe?" asked the Pro as both boys looked up at him; Naoki nodded, giving the skeleton a thumbs up.

"Sure thing, though… Can I ask something?"

"No harm in questions, my boy!… trust me, young Midoriya had asked plenty of them." grinned Yagi at the currently blushing green-haired boy as Naoki chuckled.

"Yea, he does that… Anyway! Would it be bad for me to help on the beach? Like not every day, I know the bean sprout here needs some muscle on those bones, but on weekends? My body just finished metamorphosing as early as last week. Though my chitin gives me some durability and strength behind my punches and kicks, I want to build up some muscle too." beamed the devil-looking teen at the old hero. He was rubbing his chin in thought.

"Well… I'll have to alter the training plan I made for young Midoriya, but that's the beauty of plans!" Yagi suddenly beefed up to his hero form, "PLANS CAN BE CHANGED! HAHAHA-Blegh!" and suddenly reverted down to his skeleton form, spewing blood comically as Izuku and Naoki shouted in shock and worry.

After ensuring he was alright, Yagi simply waved good-bye to the boys to head back to his home and make said changes. Izuku and Naoki waved back before Naoki looked to his friend, "He made you a training plan?"

"Oh? Yeah! Mr. Yagi made me a training plan to help speed up my muscle growth to make sure I'm ready for the entrance exams! I have it at home at the moment, but it details everything from training, meals, and even my sleep!" Izuku beamed to his friend, who raised an eyebrow, then his lips formed into a shit-eating grin.

"You sleep with it, don't you?"

"Wha?! NO! I don't sleep with it!" Izuku shouted with a deep blush on his face as Naoki looked at him with a dead planned look before the green-haired boy slumped forwards and sighed, "... It was only for the first night…" at which point, Naoki cackled loudly while Izuku frowned at him, puffing his cheeks in annoyance,

After calming down, Naoki shook his head and apologized to him, snickering some more after hearing the name of the plan, " He seriously called it the "The Aim to Pass the American Dream!" Plan?... that sounds like one of my father's failed titles.." further chuckling more as Izuku grumbled something to himself.

"Anyway, do you want to come over for dinner? I know my mom has been worried about you when you were in your cocoon state last week." Izuku asked as he gathered his belongings, Naoki following him and grabbing his things.

"I gotta pass for today; as much as I would love to see auntie, my mother wants me home as soon as possible." Naoki stretched slightly, circling his neck as he looked at Izuku with a smirk on his lips, "Gotta say, wasn't expecting this after coming out of the cocoon… What's next? We get girlfriends before the end of the first year at UA?" Naoki begins to laugh at his comment, Izuku blushing and chuckling nervously along with him. After they settled down, Naoki gave a small salute to Izuku before heading towards his home, where someone he hadn't seen in a very long time was waiting for him.

Sadly, not everything turns out as planned when it comes to anything the two friends had planned, as Izuku had been told by Naoki in the morning that he would be living with his father for a good while in North America. He couldn't go entirely into the details, but it was something both his parents had decided for him to at least consider, which he agreed to after thinking about it overnight.

Admittedly, Izuku felt slightly jealous of Naoki going to visit and stay with his "mysterious" father, although he was happy for his friend because who wouldn't want to hang out with their dad, right?

But yes, Izuku had never once met his friend's father, and the only reason given to him was that due to certain restrictions placed upon any of his visits, his father had to remain "under the radar" due to who he was and what could happen if anyone recognized him.

Of course, this had set off all kinds of thoughts within Izuku's mind, but even after the barrage of questions asking about his father, as a four-year-old would do, the green-haired boy had to relent that he couldn't get any information out of Naoki or Masami. Even his mother had met the illusive man from time to time and was sworn to secrecy herself, which further caused Izuku to think of possible identities of the man.

Regardless, Izuku was told that whatever schooling Naoki needed while he was away was already going to be taken care of by a tutor being brought in, so he could at least pass high school and apply for UA along with his green-haired friend when he would return the week after Christmas.

So while Naoki was off doing, who knows what, while Izuku remained back in Japan cleaning up the beach. However, the plan still had changed at the suggestion of Naoki before leaving. Izuku had asked Toshinori if there was a chance to try and get more work in; that way, he could practice with the quirk (if he had made the time limit, of course) a month or so before the UA Entrance Exams.

Quite honestly, the pro hero was taken back at the notes his young successor had already made in ways to push the limits of the plan, but after both sitting down and going over everything together, they were able to make the improvements while also making sure that Izuku did nothing more than what was written down.

Begrudgingly, but keeping it to himself, Izuku agreed to the terms and went right back to work.

It was a Saturday evening, as Izuku had returned home from cleaning up more of the beach and had just come out of the shower as his mother was in the middle getting her shoes and coat on.

"Hey, mom, where are you going? It's almost time for dinner."

"Oh, I noticed we ran out of a few ingredients for your meal, sweetie, so I'm going to go out and get them." His mother chuckled nervously in embarrassment; Izuku blinked for a few moments before moving towards her, placing a hand on her arm and giving her his best smile.

"It's alright, mom; I'll go and get what's missing! You've been working all day, and it's the least I could do!" he beamed as she shook her head, still trying to put her coat on.

"But you have been exercising all day, Izuku! It's the least I could do!"

Sure enough, the mother and son began to go back and forth, trying to convince the other to allow them to go and get what was needed. Eventually, Izuku won using a "move" he hadn't used since he was a younger child, the puppy-dog eyes, and with a heavy sigh, his mother gave him the money and the list of what she needed.

'It's nice to be able to just walk around; good thing I've caught up with my homework for today so that I could do this for mom… I don't want to worry her too much.' Izuku thought as he was browsing the different and various packages of the local grocer that was at least 20 minutes from his apartment. He had been wearing a loose green hoodie over his "T-shirt" t-shirt, which also had a motif on it in black, bold letters of "I am here!" and was now sporting his classic red sneakers.

Izuku hummed a low tune in his throat as he pondered between two different brands of noodles, muttering out his thought process for a good while before reaching out to take a particular box, which was interrupted by a hand a little larger than his bumping into its path.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were going for the same box, kero." spoke a somewhat, almost nasally, but soft and sweet voice with what could be described as a croak afterward beside him. Izuku turned his head towards the person, and his emerald eyes slowly widened as he gazed upon the vacant-looking black irises of the girl beside him. She was shorter than him, but not by much, with what looked like her slouching forward a little, though it was hard to tell what with her summer coat covering her upper body with a thin scarf around her neck, one that had a cute small frog stitched at the tail end. Just before he had looked into her eyes, Izuku noticed her long hair that ended at the bow at the bottom, a deep green compared to his. He stared at her for a few moments in silence before he could hear another soft "kero" from her, tilting her head in confusion.

'She looks kinda cute with her head tilted like that- WAIT CUTE?' Izuku shook his head from those thoughts wracking in his head, coming to his senses and speaking up finally, his cheeks dusting a soft red as he spoke/stuttered, "N-n-n-no it's perfectly f-f-f-f-fine! M-m-m-my apologies about that! You can take this box." he said with a smile at her that was a little shaky. The girl blinked for a few moments before taking the box.

"Thank you, kero, though you may need to head back to your home soon, your face is rather red, and the summer cold has been getting around lately." She said to him in an unemotional tone before bowing her head in thanks to him and started to walk away. As she did so, Izuku's face went nuclear in embarrassment at her words before he calmed himself slowly, muttering a little to himself; his thoughts projected softly and low but could be heard somewhat if someone was close by.

"I.. actually talked to a rather cute girl…." Izuku beamed to himself, grabbed the box needed, and went towards the cashier. He hadn't noticed he called her cute again, and after paying for the groceries and starting his walk home, he realized what he thought. He groaned, hiding his face into his hands in embarrassment and trying to calm himself down again before walking into his apartment.

[Meanwhile]

Tsuyu didn't know what to think. Currently, she was riding the bus back to her home to cook dinner for her two siblings, the grocery bags in her lap as she held the bag close. Her interaction with the green-haired boy was a big surprise for her at the end of the brief exchange of words. When her hand initially bumped into him accidentally, she mentally cursed herself because she wasn't careful and was lost in her thoughts. When she looked at who she had bumped into, things turned interesting. The boy's hair, similar to her hair color, was wild and curly as if it had never once been tamed, his cheeks had a diamond pattern of freckles that she thought was cute in a way, and his eyes shone brightly like two small emeralds that had a sort of naive innocence to them as he looked directly into her eyes.

He stared at her for a few moments, and Tsuyu thought he would make some kind of comment about her quirk-altered appearance. She was used to it at this point; though she loved who she was and her looks, it didn't stop people from staring at her or pointing it out. She was ready for the comments when she then heard his stuttering and flustered sounding voice; his cheeks then turned to a soft rose, which accented the diamond pattern freckles moreso, then he apologized, not breaking eye contact with her while he stuttered out the small sentence and then beamed a gentle smile at her.

Then she had to open her big mouth, her blunt nature and mind taking over as she talked about how his noticeable blush could be a summer cold, then leaving him there possibly stupefied from such harsh words. She had retreated to the next aisle beside the one the boy was still standing in. Tsuyu had sighed gently, thinking to herself about how foolish this was, which was then interrupted by the muttering of the boy. She couldn't hear everything he was vomiting out at such a speed; you'd think he was one of those auctioneers on TV her father liked to watch, but then, he slowed down, and she caught the last bit of his mutterings.

'I.. actually talked to a rather cute girl….'

Tsuyu almost dropped what she had grabbed as she heard that, the connotations of the meaning of the whole sentence lost on her as she focused on the one word he had said. 'Cute? .. he thinks I'm cute?'

Now finished reminiscing about what had happened nearly twenty minutes prior, Tsuyu slowly lowered her head into the wrappings of her scarf, her cheeks growing slightly pink as she smiled happily under the cloth.

"Kero…"