Waking up groggily, Izuku could smell the blissful scent of an entirely new place. It almost felt like camping, had he not been indoors it would've been perfect. Not only that, but he could also smell the blissful scent of steak, eggs, and some smells that he'd never even come into contact with before. To this, he slowly rose, and his ears finally caught up with him; there was a slow wrapping noise against his door. Rubbing his eyes, Izuku jumped out of bed, slipping against the fallen blanket, and made his way to the door. Opening it slowly, sliding his face through the cracks, he was met with a slightly tired Hina Katsuma. Compared to the last time he saw her, she was an entirely new frame—her clothes consisted of a regular T-shirt and jeans, and her hair was no longer in a neatly wrapped ponytail. For some reason, this made Izuku flush a bit—"G-good morning, Hina." He greeted shyly. She smiled in returned.
"Good morning," she replied coyly, "if you're not already, make sure to get dressed. If you hurry, we might be able to check out most of the Central Center." Izuku tilted a bit, "the Central Center?"
Hina hopped, "yep; the Central Center is where all the shops and stuff are. I usually only go there for clothes when mine get torn during school exercises, but there's a lot of stuff to do up there, too." Izuku was about to respond when Hina brought up again, "Oh! If you want, we can stop by Sentaba and try to get you enrolled for Summer school; you should be able to catch up from there—you only need basic education and a strong, prominent Catalyst Element."
Izuku looked down at his fingers, swiping a screen into existence, and nodding at the progress he had made with his abilities. So far, he only had one catalyst element, and even beyond that, he didn't really know what that meant in the first place. However, he did get the general idea of it; Catalyst meaning the overall skill with both control and element, but at the same time, it didn't make that much sense, either. He had unlocked both Da element level one, and Da control level two, but hadn't unlocked the Catalyst. Perhaps there was more to it, he agreed.
"Y-yeah, just give me a moment to get ready, okay?" Izuku said, slowly backing away from the door. "Of course, I'll see you downstairs by the counter—the boss wants to ask you a few questions before she decides if you're a good fit. Don't worry, though… I told her you were a good fit, and she seems to agree."
Izuku flushed a little, and Hina walked away, closing the door behind her so Izuku could get ready. Today was going to be interesting, no doubt.
Quest Activated! [Learn About Bladelbem!]
After slipping on his backpack, transferring some of the snacks and water into it to avoid suspicion, he made his way downstairs. Nearly immediately was he met by Hina and Melanie, waving him over to the counter. He made his way towards them, greeting the two with a nervous smile. He noticed that they both faltered a bit under his gaze, seemingly more comfortable than before.
Comforting Gaze Has Leveled Up!
Comforting Gaze [lvl3-10] 42%
Izuku closed his eyes for a moment, and they both went back to normal. He couldn't tell if he really wanted to turn that feature off, knowing that it would be great for calming people down—it would be great for hostage situations in the future.
"Izuku," Melanie started, "Hina said a lot of good things about you last night, and I'd like to ask you a couple of questions before you start working."
Izuku shook his head, "o-okay." There was a small silence before her eyes suddenly glowed, peering into Izuku's blue ones. They seemed to reflect for a moment, and Melanie nodded in acceptance. "Alright; what's your full name?" she began, and Izuku would answer.
This continued for several minutes, and before he even knew it, he was signing his way into the capitalist's lifestyle. "Remember," Melanie pointed at the locked shelves to her left, "all of your weekly paychecks will be placed in your box. So don't lose that key, got it?"
"G-got it!"
"Oh, before you leave, make sure Izuku gets an alarm for his room. He'll need it if he wants to start working tomorrow." Hina gave her a thumbs-up and looked at Izuku. This would be a great way to become friends with the new guy… he wasn't biased like the rest of them. Hina shook away the thought.
Hina pulled at his arm, tugging him towards her direction. Izuku looked at her, and she faltered again, letting go of his elbow. "Come on!" she hurried, "It's my free day off, so I'll show you around—" Izuku looked like he was about to protest, "—I have to go out and get some things anyway, so I might as well." Izuku stopped resisting, allowing himself to go with the flow, anxious to learn more about what his future would be looking like. To be entirely honest, he could already see that there was going to be a lot of learning and that there would be a lot of room to grow.
"Hm?" Hina hummed, looking back at a mumbling Izuku, "did you say something?" He froze, a blush rising to his face, expecting to be critically judged, "n-no! S-sorry a-about that!" He bowed furiously, only for Hina to lightly smack the top of his head with the handle of her rapier—she always carried it with her, it seemed.
"Psh, stop the whining. It's fine," she said, giving him a coy smile; it reminded her of when she was a child, and how the teachers always got onto her for her never-ending talking. Izuku relaxed a bit, wondering if that was how she felt when she looked directly into his irises. He shared his empathy for a moment before being dragged into the busy streets of Bladelbem. Unlike when he had arrived to the kingdom, the streets were now filled with all sorts of people, and everyone was doing their own, special thing. He even spotted a few adults and children playing with their powers, and it made Izuku wonder… How far am I behind? And is it legal to… use your Magic in public?
The answers to that would be quickly answered by Hina, who had heard every word of that; "Uh, I don't know where you're at with your Magic, so I can't help there, but for your other question: Bladelbem is very laid back about public magic—just don't do anything above Debier and Sebr magic while in largely populated areas. You can do more advanced magic in the public training grounds, and sometimes even indoors. Just don't do anything that would spark suspicion, and you should be fine!" Hina gave another thumbs-up, giggling at Izuku's pale expression. He could never just think to himself, huh?
A few minutes later, they came to a stop, and Izuku's eyes widened as stars filled his pupils. After scaling a long, yet fairly low tilt in the road going upwards, he was finally able to see the Central Center; there was a large sign above it saying its name. When he first entered, Hina held a good grip on his elbow, helping him surf through the beginning crowd. After the initial entry, they were able to separate as the crowed slimmed to the point where they could just walk side-by-side. Despite this, Hina continued to guide him, probably bringing him to somewhere of interest.
"Ah," Hina sighed in relief, dipping her head downwards, "almost thought that I'd gotten lost for a second." She chuckled. Moving forward, Hina entered the small shop, passing through the curtain-bead-like entrance. Izuku would have expected there to be some kind of Gypsie or Fortune teller inside, had he not seen the obvious display of clothes just outside… women's clothes, too, he noticed, making sure not to stare.
"Welcome, Hina!" called a man from the other side of the store, wearing what looked like an employee's uniform. Hina waved, and the guy switched his sight to Izuku, smiling, "and to you too!" he then proceeded to exit the counter, "is there anything I can help you with, mister?" he got closer, but not too close. Izuku shook his head, "n-no, I'm just t-tagging along with Hina." The other boy smiled, but was cut off when Hina peeked her head around the corner, "—I'm just showing him around, Jake; don't get your panties in a twist!" Jake chuckled, turning back to Izuku.
"She hasn't hurt you or anything, right?" he whispered, and Izuku gave him a confused look, watching as Hina pulled out her rapier from behind him, plopping it against the back of his head. "I heard that!" she yelled, basking in joy as Jake whimpered, waving his hands at her in surrender, muttering the words, sorry. She even managed to force him to give her a discount—Izuku chuckled a bit, putting his hand to his mouth, but Hina noticed anyway. She seemed to catch herself slipping up on the inside, quickly gathering herself. Damn, he was kind of cute, despite having such a plain face. It's not like she'd even have time for something like that right now. She had to focus on her studies if she ever hoped to get into Yuuei. That got her thinking… would the new guy really be able to catch up?
By the time she had finished her thoughts, she had already picked out a few sets of familiar-looking clothes in her sizes and had placed them onto the counter. Jake looked at her cautiously, keeping a keen eye on her rapier as he told her the price. She nodded and paid up, retrieving Izuku from a pair of clothing that he had been looking at, himself. Hina had seen him at the same shelf a few time, looking at the mannequin to the right of it; it had been a small hoodie with flakes of ice decorated onto the front, as well as a forest green backside that matched up really nicely—below that was a plain black t-shirt, as well as a neat pair of black jeans.
"Are you ready?" she asked, tapping his shoulder, "or were you wanting to buy something…?" To this, Izuku shook his head. "I-I wouldn't be able to afford it in the first place, so not really…" he chuckled. Hina raised a brow at him, "well, if I were to buy it for you, think you can pay me back later?"
Izuku blinked and turned, "n-n-no! I-I mean, yes, I would! But why would you do that for me? Aren't you worried that I might—"
"Calm down," she insisted, "if you pull a fast one on me, I know where you live," she chuckled. Izuku took a moment to follow along, chuckling as well, before accepting her offer. She seemed way too happy to be doing this for him, but he wouldn't protest any further… until Hina came to a stop, and turned to look at him. "Did you try it on yet?" she asked simply, to which Izuku shook his head. "I-I didn't see any changing rooms, so I just…" he analyzed it, actually. Hina shook her head, "you should've just asked somebody—they would've told you," she pushed him in the direction of the changing room, pointing at it as she gave him his set of clothes back, "it's just over there."
Izuku entered the changing room, and, as it is said in the name, changed into the new pair of clothes. The blue, ice flake decorated hoodie slipped on much too easily but felt very comfortable; the same applied to the jeans and shirt, but they were a much more perfect fit than the hoodie. Anxiousness filled him once again as he heard Hina from the other side, "they fit?" she asked.
"Y-yeah, they're a good fit," he replied. "Well?" Hina hummed, "let me check it out." Izuku was about to object, "—don't forget who bought you those," she sneered. Izuku could feel the annoyance; he peeked outside the curtains, looking at the ground as he showed himself. He wondered if he looked ridiculous… he never really got nervous about his clothes, so why now?
Then, he looked at Hina, and saw the flabbergasted look on her face, along with her reddening blush. Is she okay? He wondered, 'Analysis'
Hina was not expecting such a noticeable change… but now that he was out of his tighter clothes, the jeans and hoodie made him look a little bigger, and the way his hoodie fell a little in the front made her internally squeal. However, once he genuinely smiled, she externally gasped. Damn!
This caused Jake to bat an eye at them, spotting Izuku's new set of apparel. He gasped, too, giving him a thumbs up. "Hey!" they turned, "t's a great fit, bro!" he then turned to a small cabinet in front of him, pulling out a ticket, "I'll give it to you with a 10% discount." Izuku was about to protest again until Hina pointed at a sign, clearly stating that a good fit is automatically a 10% off. "O-Oh, I-I get it…" he said, before returning to the changing room and switching back to his normal clothes; he'd been familiar with this rule in a few shops near where he lived.
[LUK has leveled up!]
When he returned to Hina and Jake, they gave an approving nod, and finally, check out of the shop. Just by entering the store, Izuku had learned so much about this worlds fashion. Believe it or not, it wasn't all that much different from his own, but it seemed like more people than not wore some of the more expected pilgrim-like clothing, consisting of tight, tan belts and pants, along with strange leather boots. However, there were also those who wore simpler clothing: jeans, shorts, a t-shirt, and long sleeves.
"Izuku," Hina began, "have you eaten yet?" she asked. Izuku looked down and shook his head, "n-no, but I'll be okay," he pointed towards his bag and pulled out a Snickers™. He looked at Hina, "I-I have more… if you wanted any." Hina looked at them curiously. "What are they?" she questioned.
Izuku blushed a bit, "they're just candy. I packed a lot with me, so I don't mind sharing—it's the least I can offer, really…" he gestured the bar towards her, and she gratefully accepted, clawing confusedly at the edges of the bar as they walked. Izuku noticed, "do you want help with that?" he asked, and Hina nodded. After watching Izuku peel it open, she stared at the chocolaty treat inside, not entirely knowing what it was. She was wary of eating it, but soon followed along when Izuku started to chow down on the ends of it. 'It's pretty good,' Hina thought, only for her eyes to open in bliss when she reached the creamy insides, taking over her taste buds.
"Y-yeah, I like them too," Izuku mentioned, seeing her light up. Moving a hand backward, he reached the familiar pocket and handed her another one, watching as she clawed at the edges again. He chuckled. It was only when she finished her delightful snack that she started to speak.
"You said that you were wanting to learn more about magic, right?" Hina asked, and Izuku nodded. Hina came to a stop and took a sharp right at the next corner; in front of them to the side of the street was a large, library-like building, surrounded by glass walls showing the immense shelves filled with books on the inside. After a little bit of inspection, they went inside.
Upon entry, they were both greeted with a sweet, inky scent, and the smell of fresh pages and unopened books filled their noses. Izuku looked at Hina as she began to speak, "if you're looking to learn about anything, then you'll probably find it here: Magic has its own section, and they're all organized based on the Levels Of Magical Understanding, so you should be able to start here," she took a breath, "I typically come here to study in the mornings every weekend, but today was an exception…" she paused, thinking about what she was going to say next. Asking a cute boy to join me every morning? Is that asking for too much? "If you want, we can study together, and I can help you get up to speed if you're a little behind."
Izuku smiled widely, nodding, "a-absolutely!"
The librarian from the other side of the room looked at him and brought her fingers to her mouth, shushing him, "people are trying to read, kids." He flushed a bit, bowing an apology her way; he'd always try his best to be respectful to the elderly, but he'd probably bow to a goldfish if he thought he put in the wrong water.
He turned back to Hina, "I'd love to… if that's really alright with you—I-I don't want to bother you or any—"
"Nah, don't worry about it!" the librarian shushed her too, and she apologized, too. "Yeah, just don't worry about it. There's not a lot of students at Sentaba who are putting in the real work to get accepted by Yuuei, you know?" Izuku's interest peeked when she said that, "b-but, isn't Yuuei really hard to get accepted into?"
"Yes," Hina nodded, "but that's only for commoners like myself…" she drifted off, a sigh escaping her lips. "Most of the students at Sentaba are Royally secured, meaning that they were born in Royal Families… Yuuei typically accepts Royals without even giving them an eye, but I'll get in; no matter what." She paused for a second, feeling her arms droop, "even if I can't rely on my magic, I'll get in."
Izuku smiled… a genuine smile made it to his face as he stared into her eyes. He remembered how it felt to be in her shoes… it had only been two days ago that he felt like that—and he knew what she wanted to hear. He gave her a thumbs-up, "I believe in you, Hina." Hina perked up, a cold and warm feeling striking her heart. Nobody had ever said that to her before… and then she remembered.
Hina was always judged in the past—she remembered how the kids at her school would pick on her for having an impossible dream. And her dream was to become the best Knight of Bladelbem, which everyone believed that, in order to become it, you'd need to attend Yuuei. And it was true. Yuuei was known all around the world as the perfect school for upcoming Knights and Adventurers: those who sought the betterment of themselves and their loved ones, or perhaps seeking knowledge beyond understanding, Yuuei was the place to go. Hina wanted to seek for equilibrium within the walls of Bladelbem, and she'd reveal the corruption of the society that the people so easily let slip past them. Slowly, she'd climb the ranks, and bring that order to revelation—she'd always told anybody who asked why she wanted to join that she was in it for the money—a surprising amount of people didn't care, and sympathized with that; but that never meant that they believed she could do it. Just by being born a commoner was she at a disadvantage, and her inability to use anything other than Iclima Elements with her sword ability was weak; her teachers and mentors soldered that into her mind. But, she'd been practicing… and she'd make her way there. There was only one thing left that she needed now…
And she'd gotten it. A tear escaped her right eye, and she quickly looked the other way, wiping it away. But it would just come back, and before she knew it, she was softly crying.
Izuku was about to ask if he had said something wrong, but was stopped by a large screen.
[Congratulations! Hina Katsuma Is Now Your Friend!]
[Quest Complete: Make New Friends!]
Rewards:
500 XP
Guide To Fast Friends x1 [Inventory]
Silver Coin x10
[Your Storage Has Increased By Two Slots!]
Quickly, Izuku took note of the rewards and swiped away at the screen, making it shudder out of existence. He then paced forwards, revolving around Hina, keeping his hands at a safe distance as he asked, "are you okay?"
Hina stopped wiping her tears off of her face, and looked Izuku dead on, a determined look written on her expression. She then took his hand into her own and threw them into the air, looking as if they'd finally beaten a super powerful boss together. "Yes," she began, "and we'll both get into Yuuei!" Izuku's eyes became determined as well, and he smiled, "we will!"
Instantly, the librarian gave them a death glare, and a few others sitting at the tables around them looked annoyed. Hina didn't look like she cared, but Izuku was mere twitches away from falling to the ground in embarrassment.
After an intense scolding from the librarian, Hina and Izuku sighed, still partaking in the libraries corridors. Once they had spoked to the, as Hina called her, "An Old Hag" about the whereabouts for certain beginner level magic and brewery knowledge, she had calmed down, seemingly more satisfied with the two teenagers. It was enough to make the lady stop being a hypocrite, having yelled at them in return… Izuku bet that she was a nice lady on the inside, but something about her nagged at him; he usually never felt that way about people, but things in his life were changing fast, so he'd have to come to terms with them.
"Hey…" Hina whispered. Izuku looked at her, a small stack of books in his arms, "did you need something?" he asked. Hina turned and tilted her head, looking as if she was pondering something really hard—"Would, uh…" she seemed to hitch a bit, "you mind being friends?"
Izuku lit up.
After returning home from the library, Izuku set the small stack of books on his nightstand and took a seat on his bed. He and Hina were just coming back to put the stuff they had bought away, and to take a lunch break. Hina wanted him to come to the downstairs and join her for lunch, but Izuku kindly declined her offer, saying that she had already done so much for him already. Once she accepted that, she asked if he had anything to eat in the first place, and he nodded. He never told her what he had, but he stated that it would be more than enough.
Quickly entering his inventory, Izuku pulled out what was supposed to be his breakfast that he had forgotten to eat: a carton of cold milk and the box of cereal. Izuku quickly took out his journal, writing about how the Milk was still cold and unaffected by time while within his hammerspace… huh, Hammerspace was a nice name for it; he wrote that down, too, and poured himself a bowl. Of course, if he wanted to, he could've just returned to Earth and made himself a nice lunch, but then he'd have to wait a long time to return, and then he'd have to wait for Hina to finish, too.
When he finished his bowl of cereal, he quickly changed into his new clothes, neatly folding his plain white t-shirt back into his inventory and switching it out with the black one that came with the set. However, it had been hot outside, so he left his ice-blue hoodie on the nightstand, wearing only the jeans and tight black t-shirt. He looked into the mirror on the other side of the room, taking a keen eye on his appearance. He simply couldn't shake off that he was practically reversed into an icy blue… he'd already accepted this look—he loved his new eyes, though. He'd always liked blue eyes. A few minutes later, he was knocked out of his stupor when he heard a knock at his door. "Oh," he murmured, opening the door, and continuing his journey with Hina. He had already learned so much, but he had a strange feeling that he wasn't even close to the beginning.
They were now approaching Sentaba, and Izuku was nervous; "are you gonna be okay?" Hina asked, realizing how shaky her new friend was. Izuku didn't nod, but he also didn't deny, "I-I just… I'm new, really… and I'm not s-sure how this is going to go…" he sighed, kicking the ground solemnly. Hina revolved around him, looking at him as she breathed, "I know you're going to do great—besides, I don't expect you to pass the entry-test on the first go…" she flushed a bit, "it took me three tries, y'know?" To this, Izuku's brow furrowed upwards, "it took you three tries?" he asked, and Hina nodded with an exasperated look. "Yup. That was this year alone," she noticed the look on Izuku's face, "yeah, I know… pretty stupid, right?" she joked—but Izuku didn't laugh. He simply looked at the ground and took a deep breath, "I don't think you're stupid, Hina." And he meant it, too. This wasn't some silly repertoire to him; he could clearly see just how smart she was… and how determined she was to become an amazing Knight in the future.
Hina, however, frowned slightly, but soon lightened up a bit, "I guess we'll have to see how I do on the test next month, then," she pointed at him, "and you, too." Izuku lifted his arms, "I'll keep trying!" he protested. Hina followed suit and jumped into a cheer. They stopped when they reached the top of the ever-extending stairs that they had been climbing, and the school was now in full view.
Izuku faltered.
"We'll get you signed up for the mock tests in no time," Hina presented, "we'll see if they can provide you with the study material to catch up, too."