Chapter 5: A bit of an unexpected development
Midoriya looked at the woman as he felt something was immediately off with the situation he was in, but due to his current condition he couldn't exactly make a run for it.
"Sure, ask away" he shakily answered.
"Were you the one from Fairy Tail who defeated Deliora?" She asked as she wrote something down, with a small hint of a smile on her face.
And immediately with the first question, Midoriya became slightly fearful, "Umm, yeah, I guess, how'd you hear about that?" he responded.
Ultear put the paper down for a moment and gave him a sly wink, "Because I was there, we even talked".
"Wait…., What?" the young man spluttered.
Ultear quickly showed the mask of the person that Midoriya had met when he first arrived in this world, and then it disappeared again.
"But before we continue on about that, I need to ask a couple more questions" she explained as she observed the confusion on Midoriya's face.
"But, how….?" he as he gave her a quizzical look.
But Ultear ignored him and looked back down at the paper as she prepared to continue to write again, "And you were the one who managed to take on one of the wizard saints, Jose Porla?".
"Well, I guess, but that isn't the whole story…" Midoriya quickly stated, knowing that it wouldn't be good if people made an overestimation of his abilities.
"Yet, the magic council does not care about the specifics" Ultear responded, indicating that things were not going to go the way Midoriya wanted.
She then tilted her head to a very large suitcase sitting beside her, and the young man sat up from the recovery bed he was sitting in to fully observe the item.
"What's that?" he then questioned.
"One of their ways to make sure you keep quiet about the specifics of Deliora" she explained, "But as for the specifics around taking on a Wizard Saint, there is something else".
She then handed a roll of paper to the young man, to which he warily unrolled and read.
"To the person identified as Izuku Midoriya, we, the Magic Council wish make your acquaintance along with the man who is your supposed guild master, the Wizard Saint Makarov Dreyar" he read out.
He then gave her a questioning look as he felt that something was off, and she gave him a knowing nod, "They are definitely trying to tie up loose ends revolving around the things that you have done" she scoffed.
"Like the fact that a destructive demon was left on its own on an island, just because they thought that it was contained" Midoriya started to state as he became annoyed.
"Heh, good point" Ultear said as she relaxed in her chair, and put her feet up.
"So will you meet them?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
And Midoriya shrugged, "I guess, I'll probably ask Master Makarov, but I still don't trust those guys for the fact they act so cavalier with people's lives".
Ultear smirked and then dragged the suitcase over next to her, and Midoriya realised just how big the case actually was.
"What is in that?" he asked as he eyed it.
Ultear hefted the suitcase up onto the table between them, opening it so that Midoriya could see its contents.
But the young man just looked at the contents with a bit of suspicion, "How much money is that?" he questioned as he looked at its contents, as it was brimming with Jewel.
"It is five hundred million jewel" Ultear stated as she waited for his reaction.
And he did react, but not in the way she was thinking, "Fivehundredmillionjewel, accordingtothatbookIreadbefore, thatmuchisworthabout, withconversionandexchangecurrency, morethanfivehundredmillionyen" he quickly muttered as looked down at the money and then back to Ultear.
"Why is there so much there?" he asked.
"Because, as with all of Zeref's notorious demons, Deliora had a bounty, and since it was confirmed by both a member of the magic council and also multiple civilians, the bounty was designated yours to claim" Ultear then explained.
Midoriya slightly shuddered when the name Zeref was said, but another thought popped into his mind, "Disregarding all of that stuff" he said as gave a glance to the suitcase as he closed it, "What about you?".
And Ultear pushed some of her hair behind her head as she gave him a smile, "Think of me as somebody that is interested in what you are truly capable of, after all, I've never met somebody from a different world".
Midoriya then froze as he heard this, and Ultear continued to talk since she could see that wasn't able to respond, "I was in the area when you gave that explanation to your new friends, but don't worry, everything you said will remain a secret, after all, I have my own plans" she said as she could see that he was about to respond.
("She's telling the truth") Esperanza voice quickly stated, before disappearing once again.
"And what about the others" he asked as he felt worried about his new friends, but the older woman in front of him shrugged.
"They're not part of any of my own plans, but something else might happen, so I would suggest that you be careful" she stated as she stood up and pushed the suitcase closer to the younger man.
"You've been unconscious for over a week, you were dragged off to be questioned by the Rune Knights, but I was able to convince them to leave you to rest when they understood what you were truly capable of" she explained as she started to walk out of the room.
"But, why?" Midoriya quietly questioned.
And Ultear gave him a look that he could see sadness in, "I want to achieve something that is usually out of the reach for a normal person, but you are one of the few ways I can truly achieve that", she explained and then the door closed behind her.
"Something's off…, guess I've got another thing to figure out in this world" he said with a sigh as he looked back to his immobile body and the numerous bandages and casts on it, "At the very least, I'm glad that magic is capable of dealing with certain after-effects of using One for All, but I've still got to be a bit more careful".
("I wonder what those magic council guys want to ask me, judging by what has happened, I guess that I can determine it will be something related to the Wizard Saints, or at the very least, Zeref's demons") he thought as he looked away from his casts and out of the window.
"I guess I was put in hospital or something somewhere in the town" he muttered as watched a bird fly by the window, but he then tried to move but still felt a bit of pain in his body, "Crap, I forgot to ask her if all of the others are okay".
But since he was basically restrained by all of the bandages, he was forced to just lie on the bed and contemplate things, "I hope everybody at Fairy Tail is okay".
"Out of my way, I was here first, get out of the way flame-brain, no way pervert, you could just go in through the door one at a time, NO WAY" Midoriya awoke once again to a myriad of voices and this time they belonged to much more friendly faces.
"Yo Midoriya, good to see you're alive" Natsu yelled as he was the first to fall through the door frame, being closely followed by Gray, Lucy, and Erza, while Happy floated above them.
"Hey" the young man replied as he was unable to wave due to still being bandaged up.
"Yeah, I'm surprised you're not dead" Happy morbidly stated as landed on the ground and looked up at Midoriya.
But the blue cat was then sent through the wall thanks to kick from Erza, "Seriously, stop talking like he was gonna cark it" she exclaimed as she looked at the cat that was imprinted in the wall.
She then looked to Midoriya who just looked on in surprise at the fact that Happy was still alive.
He then looked to the others and smiled, "I'm just glad to see that you guys are alright".
"Yeah we're doing fine" Gray responded as he leaned against the wall, "But as for Phantom Lord, it's definitely gonna go good for them".
"Yeah…" Lucy added on, "The Rune Knights are still questioning the rest of the guild, hoping to get something out of anybody that they can".
She then walked over to Midoriya, and it was obvious to him that she had been crying, "Thank you so much, you didn't have to push yourself that far to just protect me" she exclaimed.
"You're still going on about that" Natsu stated with annoyance as he crossed his arms and looked up to her from where he was sitting on the floor.
Midoriya looked to all of them and smiled, and with a quick look to his body, he then looked to Lucy, "As long as somebody is in trouble, I can't help, but to try my best" he said with a smile.
Lucy slightly started to cry as everybody just gave her a soft smile, but the moment was cut short by Happy dragging Midoriya's suitcase out from where it had been placed by one of the people in the building.
"What's this" the cat said with intrigued as he attempted to open the suitcase.
But Midoriya knew exactly what was going to happen the moment Happy opened the suitcase, but he was too late to respond, and as soon as the cat opened it, everybody's eyes turned to what was in it.
"Look at all that money!" Happy exclaimed as he took out a handful of notes and started to count it.
"Where's it from?" Erza quickly questioned making Midoriya turn to her in a slightly awkward fashion.
"Umm, well, a person from the council said that Deliora apparently had a bounty on it, and since they somehow knew it was me, they kinda gave me the reward" he quickly explained, but not mentioning Ultear as even he didn't know what was really going on.
"How much is in there?" Gray questioned as he took a handful out and flicked through it.
"According to the council member who gave it to me" Midoriya started to sheepishly state, "About five hundred million jewel".
And as soon as he said this, everybody else in the room suddenly froze, with their only actions being the constant repeating of "Five hundred million Jewel".
"I know it's a lot" he then said, hoping to get everybody out of their stupor, "But exactly how big an amount is it?"
"You could be set for life and have a ton leftover" Erza said with a look of shock still present on her face as she warily looked at case.
"Imagine all the food you could buy" Natsu said as his mouth started to salivate as he started to imagine the meals.
"You could probably buy a small town with this amount of money" Gray answered as he carefully placed the amount he was counting back into the case.
And Lucy just looked on in in complete disbelief.
"So what should I do with it?" Midoriya then asked.
"What do you mean, it's your money, you should spend it the way you want to" Lucy quickly piped up, but then she whispered melodramatically, "But you could help some people with their rent".
'Knock'
'Knock'
Everybody then quickly looked to the door to see a person dressed in medical garbs holding what looked like a hacksaw in her hand.
"Good to see you're awake" she stated as she looked at the others, "and these must be your friends from Fairy Tail".
She then started to approach Midoriya, "Then they can help you leave, you've been here long enough, now all I've got to do is remove those casts and bandages and you'll be all set to leave" she exclaimed with a slight grin as she approached his leg.
It took about half an hour for the doctor to remove all of the various wrappings on his body, but after it was done, and he had first used the money he had to pay, Midoriya walked out of the building, carrying the large case over his shoulder and the others were close behind him.
"So do you think Master Makarov is available to talk to?" he asked as Natsu ran up beside him.
"Well, everybody's still a bit busy with rebuilding the guild, but I bet Gramps would take any chance to have a break" he said with a grin as they made their way to the guildhall.
"It's great it didn't take you long to recover, but that woman was scary" Both Gray, Lucy and Happy exclaimed as they warily stared back at the building, with Gray also seeing a flash of blue before turning to look ahead.
But Midoriya chose to feign ignorance at what they said, as the images of the woman basically trying to cut through his very limbs flashed through his mind.
And as they made their way closer to the guildhall, Lucy started to walk off in a different direction, "I just forgot, I've got something I need to do, I'll see you all later" she said making everybody just watch as she ran off in the direction of her place.
"What's with her?" Natsu exclaimed as watched her run off, but both Gray and Erza paid it no mind and grabbed him, dragging him back to the guildhall.
"Maybe she needed something" Midoriya then innocently stated as they soon arrived at the guildhall.
The moment they arrived at the construction site, Erza immediately grabbed Natsu, Gray and Happy and started to drag them off to where a majority of the construction was occurring, "I said these two could get a break to come and see you, but now they've got to get back to work" she stated.
And as he watched the other three get dragged off by the dangerous woman, Midoriya gave them a thumbs up and walked into the site to look for Makarov.
And it did take him a little while to find the pint-sized master, but eventually he found and walked up to the man who was the master of the guild that Midoriya had only recently joined.
"Excuse me, Master Makarov" he said as he approached the man, who was sitting on top of a crate and taking a small break from the labour work.
Makarov immediately looked in his direction and gave the boy a distinct look, "It's to see that you're better my boy, even though you're new here, I couldn't forgive myself if something bad happened" he said as he hoped off the crate and looked up at the young man.
Midoriya bowed slightly at this statement, "Thank you for the consideration" he said, but then a serious expression appeared on his face.
"Would I be able to talk to you somewhere private?" he then asked.
"Was something troubling you?" Makarov questioned as he raised an eyebrow.
But the younger man shook his head and waved his hands around, "It's not that, but since I'm guessing that Erza or someone else has told you some stuff about me, I just wanted to talk to you about the full picture" he explained.
And Makarov gave him a smile, "You know you don't need to do that, if it's something that is problematic you don't need to hassle yourself with it".
"Would we be able to talk though, because there are somethings I do need to tell you" Midoriya then stated with a fiercer expression as though it was a demand.
Makarov looked up at him, and then shrugged, "Sure why not, let's go talk down in the basement, nobody is down there at the moment".
And the two of them walked off to the stairs leading down to the basement.
A couple of hours later, and Makarov looked a bit slack jawed at everything that Midoriya had just explained in great detail, ranging from where he was from, to One for All, and to everything about what Ultear had just recently told him.
"I'm sorry for your loss, young man" Makarov said as fixed his face and gave Midoriya a look of pit.
But the young man shook his head in response, "It's fine, I guess, I can't really do anything about it, so I've just gotta achieve whatever I can" he stated in a sad tone as he looked down and let small smile show on his lips.
Makarov then sighed, "I will keep your secret if that is what you wish, but what are you going to do now?".
Midoriya looked at him and slightly shrugged, "Well, I joined Fairy Tail, so I guess now, I might try and hunt down some of Zeref's demons and try to find out why I have a connection to them" he said.
And Makarov sighed again, "You should still be careful my boy, those creatures are not to be taken lightly".
"Yeah, I kinda figured that" Midoriya responded as he remembered the strength of Deliora.
Makarov then looked to the case that Midoriya had placed on the ground, "So the magic council wanted to meet with the two of us?" he asked.
"Yeah, I don't know what it really is about, but I get the feeling it relates to that wizard saint guy and Deliora" he said as he gave Makarov a nod.
Makarov slightly cringed at this, but then he chuckled, "Those guys always have something going on".
Midoriya also chuckled at this, and then he looked around at the basement he was in, and he also remembered back to Erza telling him about all of the property damage that Fairy Tail usually causes.
"Master Makarov" he said as he put a hand and the case and looked to the older man.
"Yes" Makarov responded as he raised an eyebrow.
"I obviously don't need all of this money" Midoriya started to explain as he pulled the case forward, "So did you want some of it for the guild, like to pay for property damage and stuff".
And this question made Makarov's eyes glisten as he heard the younger man's request, "It's your money, you should decide what to do with it" he stated as he looked to the case that held an amount worth more than a couple of towns.
"Well, I guess I'm just thinking ahead" Midoriya explained as pushed the case to the old man, "In case I accidently cause anything, you know?".
Makarov had a slight grin on his face as he acknowledged Midoriya's decision, "Well, I guess if you think you'll cause trouble, it would be appropriate to acknowledge that and be prepared for it".
Midoriya nodded at him, "So I'll leave you with four hundred million jewel then" he said.
And Makarov immediately fell off of the crate that he was sitting on as he heard this, "Four hundred million jewel, four hundred million jewel" he stuttered as he lay on the ground.
But before Midoriya could walk up to check on him, he had quickly stood up off the ground and looked up at Midoriya.
"Are you sure?" he asked the younger man.
And Midoriya smiled as he nodded, "I've got another chance at life, but I don't need that much money, I think that one hundred million jewel would be more than enough for me, heh heh" he stated.
"Well if you say so?" Makarov replied.
"Yep" Midoriya said, and then he started to walk away.
"Wait, what about your hundred million?" Makarov quickly questioned, but Midoriya gave him a shrug in response.
"I've got nowhere to store it, so I'll come pick it up later when I need it, or something like that, I guess" the young man exclaimed as he walked out of the basement, "But Master I do have something to say".
"And what would that be?" Makarov questioned as he changed his size a bit to properly carry the case and store it.
"Thanks for letting me join" Midoriya stated as he disappeared up the stairs.
And Makarov grinned as he watch him disappear, "Izuku Midoriya, you lost everything, but you still go forth with a smile, I wonder what the future has in store for you".
Another hour or two had passed since Midoriya had exited the basement, and upon exiting it, he had run straight into Mira, who had recruited him into helping with the reconstruction efforts, and although he was hesitant at first to help, he did start to relax and enjoy himself with the other members of Fairy Tail who were present at the building site.
"Hey Izuku" Mira said as she called to him while he was carrying a few pieces of wood for the building.
"Umm, yeah" he responded, not really use to somebody referring to him with only his first name.
"Thanks for the help" she said and Midoriya just gave her a quick nod, "But I though you'd like to know that Natsu was looking for you".
And he put down the wood in response to this, "Did you know why?" he asked her.
But before she could respond, the deafening scream of a certain dragon slayer echoed as said dragon slayer quickly appeared, "Yo Midoriya, you need to come with us right now" he demanded.
"What do you mean?" Midoriya asked, dumbfounded at the sudden appearance of his friend, and also the fact that Mira had been sent flying by Natsu appearing out of nowhere.
"Lucy's gone home and we need to get her back" Natsu stated, before grabbing Midoriya and dragging him off as he ran.
Midoriya wasn't even able to fully comprehend what was going on as he was dragged off, but he did shout a quick sorry to Mira, who was dusting herself off from crashing into the ground, and she gave him a quick wave before the construction sight was out of his field of view as Natsu dragged him halfway through Magnolia.
"Natsu, what, do, you, mean, Lucy, went, home?" Midoriya struggled to ask as Natsu continued to drag him.
Natsu then suddenly stopped, and Midoriya skidded across the ground and crashed into a wall.
He then quickly jumped up to question the dragon slayer, but he was then met by also Erza, Gray and Happy.
"What's going on?" he questioned with an exasperated tone as he pulled a piece of the pathway out of his hair.
"Apparently Lucy has gone back to her home, and we don't know why" Erza stated as she pulled another piece of the pathway out of Midoriya's hair.
"Yeah, and we've got to go get her back" Natsu exclaimed as he screamed.
"So you guys think she's in trouble or something?" Midoriya then asked.
And Gray shrugged at this question, "Well she was a runaway, maybe something bad is going to happen" he stated.
Midoriya sighed, and then nodded, "We might as well make sure of the situation" he said.
Erza gave him a nod, and without further warning, Natsu started to run off, but he was quickly grabbed by Erza.
"We know where she is going Natsu, so you know what that means" She said as she looked down at the younger man that she had grabbed.
And suddenly Natsu's fiery disposition disappeared and he gained a solemn look on his face, "Please, not the train".
But it was too late, and the small group of people were already on their way to the train station to get a ride to the location that Lucy had stated in a couple of her letters in her house that she had run away from.
("I wonder what is actually happening") Midoriya thought as he entered the train carriage, and with a small look of pity towards Natsu, he started to think about the reasons that Lucy could've suddenly decided to return to the place that she had run away from.
It was quite a long train trip, but eventually, and with a few sick moments from Natsu, the group arrived at the train station that was the closest to the location that Lucy had described.
"It should be somewhere in this town" Erza stated as she pointed ahead of the group, and although he was still unsure of what exactly they were about to do, Midoriya walked alongside them.
Natsu reached ahead and started to sniff in a certain direction, making everybody stop and look at him, "She's that way" he said as he pointed.
And without a second thought, Erza, Gray, Happy and Natsu quickly ran off in said direction, leaving a quite bewildered Midoriya looking on shock.
"I honestly should've expected that" He said sarcastically as he also ran off in the direction the others had gone.
And about a minute or two later, he came skidding to a stop as he saw the others and Lucy.
"Don't just run off like that" he huffed as looked to the other three, and upon seeing the large stone in front of him with the name Layla Heartfilia inscribed on it and the fact that Gray was ashamed and Natsu was exasperated, he instantly knew what was going on, "See nothing was wrong at all".
"Midoriya" Lucy said as she noticed him behind the others, "You came too".
He stood up straight and gave her a nod, before walking up to the others, "You guys know you can call me by my first name if you want" he said as he looked to her and the others.
"Okay, Izuku" Lucy replied, and the others nodded alongside her, and then the group that had only just recently arrived started to look around.
"You know Lucy, This town you come from is pretty big" Gray stated, and the other four nodded in agreement.
But the response they got from Lucy made their mouth's gape, "Ah…, no, This is just the garden" She said, "Everything from here to beyond that mountain is my family's place" she explained as she pointed to said mountain.
"The young mistress has arrived" Natsu responded as he saluted to Lucy.
"And she says it with such a casual look on her face" Gray then added as he also saluted.
"I wonder if I could've bought a place like this" Midoriya also added as saluted for some unknown reason.
"They've all lost it" Happy exclaimed as he waved his paws in front of the three, before turning to Erza, "Commander Erza, please do something".
But Erza was just looking wistfully into the sky, "Such a blue sky…".
"They've all lost it" Happy exclaimed as he shook his head.
And Lucy just looked on in confusion, "What's with you guys…?".
Ultear returned to the council building, and after handing in all the information relating to Midoriya (bar the stuff she wanted to keep secret), she made her way to Siegrain's chambers.
"So how did your little interview go?" he asked her.
And Ultear gave him a small shrug, "He has extraordinary power, but I do not think that he will pose a risk to our plans" she said.
'Siegrain' smiled at this and looked down at the papers relating to a certain group of mercenaries, "This will be interesting".
Ultear nodded, and the walked off to a different part of the room to sit down and relax, ("Izuku Midoriya, you may prove even more useful than everything else, but only time will prove this") she thought as she looked out of the window at the sun as it started to set.
So I know I said I would get the next chapter of this story up around August, but I messed up, and I apologise for that, but at least for the next few months I will be able to upload at least two more chapters as I don't have as many commitments now.
And as for the story, next chapter will definitely have the tower of heaven, but I don't know if I'll include the whole thing or not.
Also, there will be more revelations regarding who was saved form the world of My Hero Academia.
And all questions and feedback are welcomed for this chapter.
Peace Out.
