Chapter 1
"God damnit problem child."
Aizawa should have expected this really. His class could never do anything without being involved in some villain attack or major incident. And of course, whatever contrivance fate had decided to curse the underground hero with on any given day always seemed to revolve around Midoriya Izuku, from facing down S class villains during internships or training camps to breaking his body during his first Sports Festival. So why did he let Hizashi talk him into chaperoning a class shopping trip?
Eraserhead rubbed his temples in an attempt to assuage the incoming migraine he could feel coming on. He was hesitant to bring the class back to the mall where Midoriya had been held hostage by Shigaraki, it just seemed like tempting fate, but with Mic arguing that it would be best to keep an eye on him personally and Midoriya's insistence that he was fine going back, he decided to go ahead with his class.
You would think he learned his lesson by now.
A child had been separated from his mother and panicked, and accidentally lost control of his quirk. His class had been near the child, specifically two, Midoriya Izuku and Jiro Kyoka, the former who moved closer to help the obviously distressed child, the latter placing herself as far from Mineta as she could. When the young boys Quirk activated, bright blue light began filling the area around him, blinding most in the surrounding area, with the two students unable to be seen through the effect. Aizawa was quick to use his own Quirk on the child, but the two had completely vanished with no sign of their presence. Nemuri Kayama, better known as the Pro Hero Midnight, began to search for the boy's parents, both to prevent another episode as well as know exactly what Quirk he had, while Aizawa stayed back to keep his own class calm and keep the child's quirk suppressed if need be.
The disappearance of the Midoriya and Jiro had obviously caused distress with their classmates, but to their teachers pride they handled it like the aspiring pros they were. Once it was clear the child's Quirk was under control, Uraraka and Asui moved to keep the child calm and letting him know that Heroes were working to find his parents. Yaoyorozu and Todoroki coordinated efforts to keep civilians out of any harm, and Iida assured his class that their teachers would have the situation under control and find out what happened to their friends.
"Aizawa," the voice of Nemuri drew the underground Hero's attention, "I found the boy's parents and found out what his Quirk is."
"Good, I'm already regretting coming here, and I just want to get a nap in. So, what is it? I'm guessing some form of teleportation." That was the most likely situation, if a tad annoying not knowing where the two students were.
"Not exactly, it's a little more complicated than that." Said the R-rated Heroine, before dropping her voice to a whisper to prevent the class from overhearing, "His Quirk is able to warp people, but not like the League's warper, it warps them to, quoting the parents directly, 'different worlds.'"
Well, that was new. Out of all the possibilities Aizawa thought of, including those that would necessitate visiting the parents of the two with condolences, this wasn't one of them. "Ok, putting aside the implications that comes with a what you just said, is there anything we can even do? How do we get them back from… wherever they are?"
"Good news and bad news, good news is that two family members had been affected by his Quirk before, and in both cases, they both came back to the spot they were in five hours."
Tension Aizawa didn't know he was holding fell from his body, he wouldn't have to be the one telling families how their children would never be coming back. "Okay that's good, we just have to keep the area clear and wait it out. What's the bad news?"
"The first person, the boy's mother, said she only remembered being wherever she ended up for around 10 minutes before being sent back, the second, his older brother, said he was gone for a week. We don't know how long it will have been for the two, even if they end up at the same place."
"Knowing problem child's luck, he'll probably be on the longer side." Aizawa let out a tired sigh. Why couldn't anything involving that kid just end normally. "I'll explain the situation to the police and get the area cordoned off and wait for the two. You explain this to the class and get them back to the dorms. Contact their parents too, they'll want to see their kids after they come back."
Nemuri gave a nod before gathering the class up to leave, while Aizawa made his way to the nearest officer, silently praying to whatever was listening that Midoriya and Kyoka come back with nothing more than a funny story and things going back to normal in a week. Something in his gut told him he wouldn't be that lucky though.
Lewis sat at his dining room table enjoying the last of his breakfast before starting his day. Being the mayor of Pelican Town gave him several responsibilities to oversee, and the small size of the town gave him a personal obligation to carry them out personally. Sure, he could probably find someone willing to be his assistant, but he managed his duties over the years fine, and personally interacting with his neighbors built up the trust that had him elected mayor for 20 years straight.
He ran unopposed for 20 years, but that was probably just a sign of how well he ran the town.
Mayor Lewis was finishing his coffee when he heard a knock at his door, startling him. He didn't have any meetings with anyone today, either professional or his more… personal dealings with Marnie. It was probably George coming by to complain about one of the younger residents doing… something that young people liked or Pierre complaining about the recent addition of a Joja Mart to the town. Both where semi-regular happenings and both he was tired of dealing with, as Lewis could neither control the will of the younger generation nor stop the Joja corporation's recent move on their town, as much as he didn't like the business giant encroaching on the small town.
Opening his door to see Elliott, out of breath from sprinting to his doorstep, was not what he was expecting. Elliott was far more concerned about completing his first novel than any of the goings on of the other residents, so clearly something important must of happened. "M-Mayor Lewis… Willy… two people… beach… Harvey's…" The young man panted out in-between heavy breaths.
"Calm down Elliott, just get your breath first." He couldn't understand what Elliott was trying to explain to him with his breathing so labored. His cabin wasn't that far from Lewis', so if he was out of breath he must have been in a hurry. Eventually the writer managed to catch his breath and explain the situation with better clarity.
"Willy found two strangers, a man and a woman passed out on the beach, probably washed ashore. They where still breathing but weren't waking up, so he had me come get you while he and Alex took them to Harvey's clinic. Said you would probably want to see them yourself"
Well now that was certainly a reason for panic. Not much in the way of danger happened in Pelican Town, beyond the monsters in the mine but the Adventurers Guild took care of that. Two random people showing up in town needing medical attention was not something that happened every day. Or ever, to Lewis' knowledge. "I appreciate you getting here quick Elliott, you can go back home, I'll stop by Harvey's and make sure they're okay." Lewis closed the door behind him and made his way to the clinic, but not before asking Elliott some questions about the strangers, "Did you get a good look at the two?"
"Not really, Willy was carrying the woman over his shoulder while Alex was picking up the man. They both had fairly rare hair colors, purple and green, and were wearing a uniform similar to a boarding school. I didn't see their faces, but they were on the smaller side so they might still be students." That was probably as good as Lewis was going to get without seeing them for himself and begun to make his way towards Harvey's clinic.
Alex was having an odd day. What should have been a normal day of training and gridball practice was interrupted when he begun his early morning training on the beach. Normally Alex was by himself, sometimes the old fisherman Willy was casting from the pier or Elliott was staring at random stuff on the beach for "inspiration" or whatever. But today Willy was bent over two bodies, thankfully still alive, and was roped into helping them to the Clinic while Elliott was told to go get Mayor Lewis. Not that Alex minded, he wasn't just about to leave someone in need of help because he wanted to train. Plus, he even managed to get some training in anyway, as the guy he was carrying to the clinic was kinda short, but made of pure muscle, making him fairly tough to carry across town.
'Maybe I should ask the guy for workout tips when he wakes up.'
Alex and Willy reached Harvey's Clinic and placed the two on some beds to be examined. While Willy was explaining how he found them, Alex finally got a good look at the two. They both had unusual colored hair, the girl purple, and the boy green, and were probably a little younger than Alex. The boy had four freckles on each cheek forming a diamond below each eye, and a closer look at his right arm showed some serious scarring, the kind that came from injuries that ended pro athletes.
The girl was even weirder, as she had what looked like the end of headphones or auxiliary cords coming from her ears. Alex thought about tugging on one to see if it was real or if it would come off, but the good doctor ending his conversation with Willy and beginning his examination stopped him before he could. Weird ear things or not, Alex decided to stick around, wanting to make sure they where alright, but Harvey moved him out of the room, telling him the examination would be private. So, while Willy went back to his shop (he still had to make a living), Alex sat down and grabbed a magazine to pass the time.
The mayor entered the clinic not long after Alex sat down. After telling Lewis what he knew and being told he would be informed when the two recovered, he left and got back to his interrupted training.
"Well, they should make a full recovery, the only reason I can tell for them still being out is exhaustion." The town's local doctor Harvey told Lewis. His initial examination for any potential life-threatening injuries didn't take too long, but after seeing the scaring on the boy's arm and the strange protrusions from the girl's ears, he took some X-rays and a nerve conduction test, which took up some time. Lewis was kind enough to bring the man some lunch after he lost track of time with his newest patients.
Harvey led Lewis to the room the two were recovering in, while going over what he had found. "They both seem in exceptional shape, suggesting a lot of physical activity, but I am rather concerned with the amount of scarring on the boys arm. Whatever caused that injury gave him some permanent ligament damage to the point he may lose function in that arm permanently with a few more breaks. In addition, they both have evidence of a concerning number of micro fractures over their body."
Lewis turned to look at the two strangers. He knew better than to make assumptions based on appearance, but for the life of him he just couldn't picture either one of them starting trouble and causing fights to receive that many injuries in their lives. Maybe the boy got injured often in some sort of full body sport, probably culminating in whatever happened to his arm. The girl might have gotten harassment from… whatever was going on with her ears. Pelican Town might be a welcoming community, but he knew not everyplace was so tolerant.
Harvey continued his diagnosis, breaking Lewis from his thoughts, "They both seem to have, for lack of a better description, 'changes' to their body."
"Both?" Asked the Mayor. The girl's abnormality was obvious, but he couldn't see anything different about him. Even if green hair was fairly uncommon, it wasn't that strange.
"Yes both. The boy might not have any obvious oddities, but his muscle and bone density are much higher than the norm. He could probably take any number of monsters in the mines with his bare hands. And I'm sure you have seen the cables coming from the girl's earlobes." 'They're fairly hard to miss.' thought Lewis, but he didn't want to interrupt the doctor. "What is surprising is that they are not just continuations of the ear's cartilage but contain nerves and musculature. I can't tell until she wakes up but it's likely that the cables are completely prehensile. I'd like to run a brain scan on her to see what changes the addition of two new limbs has caused, but I don't have the equipment here." Harvey began to continue with more information about the boy's musculature that Lewis did not fully comprehend, so he simply nodded along to the doctor as he let his mind wander.
Both of them were clearly not from anywhere around Pelican Town, their uniforms didn't match any sort of boarding school withing 100 miles, and surely some news about a girl with earlobe limbs or a boy with super dense muscles would have spread around, even if only as gossip. With the war between the Ferngill Republic and the Gotoro Empire, news from the later nation was sparse. They could have come from the Empire, but neither of them looked like natives to Gotoro. The last thing possible lead he had in mind was the wizard Rasmodius, who lived in the forest to the west of Pelican Town, but beyond the girl having purple hair and the two being odd, he really had nothing else to claim he was involved somehow.
Lacking any better option, Lewis decided to make a trip to visit the wizard latter in the day after making a post on the town bulletin board for a town wide meeting tomorrow. As he thanked the doctor for his help and made his way out of the clinic, he had barley walked ten paces before Harvey ran out the door and practically dragged Lewis back inside. The cause for the sudden retrieval was clear when Lewis was rushed back to the room he had just left, as the pair of strangers that had been lying unconscious were both slowly but surely rousing from their forced sleep.
Chapter 2
Out of all the hospital beds Izuku had woken up upon, this was one of the best. The cushion was actually soft and didn't feel like a slightly soft wooden board, and the blankets were actual blankets, not the thin sheets that Recovery Girl called a blanket. Overall, a solid 9/10 hospital bed.
'Wait, hospital bed?'
Izuku's eyes shot open, the panic rising in his chest not helped by the unfamiliar setting. This clearly wasn't Recovery Girl's office and judging by how the medical posters on the walls were written in English, it wasn't anywhere he was familiar with. Izuku fought the stiffness in his neck to look around the room, seeing an L shaped room with three beds, and in the bed to his left resided the music lover of class 1-A, Jiro Kyoka. While Izuku didn't enjoy the fact that whatever happened to him also affected one of his classmates, he was slightly relived that he wasn't in unfamiliar territory alone.
'Okay Izuku, try to remember what happened.' The verdant haired boy thought, 'We were at the mall with Aizawa and Kayama, then that scared boy, then a bright light and now here.' While it didn't help explain what exactly happened it did narrow it down to a Quirk accident, which exited Izuku despite his best efforts to take the situation seriously. What Quirk did the boy have? Was it teleportation? That would explain the strange hospital room. But why did Izuku and Jiro pass out? Did it use the energy of the people affected rather than the user? Maybe…
"Ugh… Moptop is that you? It's too goddamn early for this…" Jiro's drowsy complaints snapped Izuku out of his (non-internal) muttering. "Why the hell are you even in my… room…" Her comment died on her lips as Jiro began to look around the room, eyes widening as her own panic grew. "Where the hell are we?" Jiro almost shouted at her classmate, distress clear in her voice.
"Do you remember when we were at the mall?" A nod from Jiro prompted Izuku to continue, "There was a boy that I think lost his mother, and his Quirk acted up. If I had to guess I think it was some sort of warp Quirk." While Izuku did say it was a guess, to Jiro a guess from the resident Quirk nerd was as good as confirmation to her. But that just raised more questions on their situation. "Any idea where we are?" she asked, but before Izuku could respond, the door to the hospital room opened up, and two men, clearly non-Japanese, walked in.
The first had short, curvy brown hair and a mustache, glasses, and a green coat over a white dress shirt and tie. "Ah good, you're awake." The first man said in English while holding the door for the second man. This man was clearly much older than the first and had a head of grey hair under a flat cap, a larger mustache, and wore suspenders over a green dress shirt. "You two caused quite a stir this morning," said the second man before letting out a small chuckle. "I'm just glad you two are doing alright."
Luckily both of the teens had learnt English, Izuku from a desire to watch old untranslated All Might interviews from his time in America, and Jiro to understand the old classic rock albums her father had gifted to her one birthday. Izuku was the first to speak, "T-thank you for helping us, but do you know where we are? We aren't really familiar with this place… or how we got here."
"You're in Stardew Valley, Pelican town to be more specific," The grey-haired man was clearly expecting such a question from the two odd teens. "I'm Lewis, the town's Mayor, and this is Harvey, he runs this clinic. As for how you ended up here, all we know is that our fisherman Willy found you two passed out on the beach."
Izuku and Jiro gave each other a glance to see if the other had any idea where Pelican Town was, and clearly neither knew. Jiro spoke to the now identified Lewis, "I don't think either of us know where that is… are we in America right now?" This time Lewis and Harvey where the ones to be confused by the situation. "I've never heard of a place called America," Harvey said, almost missing the way his patients blanched at his words. "Stardew Valley is a part of the Ferngill Republic. I could get you two a map to help show where we are."
The two teens were quirk to accept the map, hoping it had the answers to their confusion, but when Harvey brought the two a world map, it only brought more panic.
"No no no no, this… this doesn't make sense." Izuku muttered, "Where's Japan, or America. What the hell is Gotoro?" before the map was snatched by one of Jiro's ear jacks, (while Harvey made a mental note that he was correct about the prehensile nature of her extra limbs.) only to have a similar breakdown. Harvey was rather concerned with what the two were saying, and briefly considered that both of them might have a concussion from their confusion with basic geography, but the fact they both questioned the lack of the same countries was harder to explain. Suddenly the green haired boy's eye sparked with a revelation. "The kid's Quirk, it's either creates some sort of illusion, or it is a warp Quirk. But not like Kurogiri, instead he can warp people to other worlds!"
The boy's words were lost on the two natives of Pelican Town, and Harvey was making a mental note to schedule a psyche evaluation for the boy, but the strange claim seemed to mean something to the girl. "Oh, come on you can't be serious Midoriya. That sounds like something out of some manga, or a half-baked fanfiction." Jiro was quick to shoot down his idea, but it was clear to everyone in the room that it was not because she didn't believe it, but because the idea of whatever the boy said being true terrified her.
Lewis made a loud coughing sound to draw the two's attention, "I think I speak for both myself and Harvey when I say, I am totally confused by what is going on?" Harvey was quick to nod in confirmation.
Izuku looked between Jiro and Lewis while mentally deciding what the best approach was. The two had clearly shown that they were unfamiliar with the location they ended up and trying to play it off as confusion from the unconsciousness was not only not likely to work, but also cause problems in the future. A sigh escaped Izuku's lips as he realized the best course of action was to tell the truth of what was going on no matter how strange and unbelievable it seemed.
"I know this is going to sound very strange, and it's kind of a long story, but please hear me out." Lewis simply nodded and dragged two chairs over for himself and Harvey to listen to the boy. "Well, it started in a a country called China, with a baby that glowed light…"
"So, you come from a world where most people have superpowers." Said a clearly exasperated Lewis.
"Yes" Izuku confirmed.
"Both of you are training to be 'Heroes' and stop people that use superpowers for crime."
"Yep." Said Jiro.
"And a boy lost control of his 'Quirk' and you think it sent you to another world. Our world."
"That's basically all of it." Said Izuku. He sympathized with Lewis even if he clearly didn't believe him. It would be hard for Izuku to believe anything like what he had just said without some form of proof.
"I know both of you just had something traumatic happen, and clearly you believe what you just said, but I don't see how anyone else could ever believe it?" Sighed Lewis, mentally wishing he could go back to this morning, when his biggest problem was collecting taxes.
"I believe them." Harvey's words stunned the three, Lewis that a man of science was so quick to believe the story, and the two world travelers surprised that someone believed at all. "Both of them have strange mutations in their bodies, and I doubt that someone being born with super dense musculature or two extra limbs from their ears wouldn't be a topic of some medical journal somewhere. I'd have to call in some favors to get the equipment for a brain scan, but if I can, we can prove that they have this 'Quirk factor'." Harvey began muttering to himself about the potential ramifications that such a discovery could have on the medical field in a way that made Izuku feel self-conscious.
"Well regardless," Lewis' interjection stopped Harveys mutterings and Izuku's self-reflection, "it doesn't change the reality of the situation, we have two young adults that have no homes, known family, or employment." Izuku and Jiro exchanged nervous glances, but Lewis was quick to catch the worry on their faces. "Oh, don't worry, none of us are going to kick you out or anything like that. We here in Pelican Town take care of our own, even if they've been in town less than a day and washed up on a beach." Lewis let out a small chuckle.
The two where relived that the land they ended up in seemed to be very friendly, and they were not being run out of town. "I think I have a solution that will help you two with your… problems but give me a few days to finalize some things and inform the rest of the town. Harvey, I'll be holding a town meeting tomorrow so I can answer any questions the people have. Can you get Maru to come in and cover for you? I don't think I can explain this by myself." A nod from Harvey, still lost in his thoughts, was all Lewis needed before bidding his two (hopefully) newest resident's farewell.
While Izuku and Jiro thought they would have time to rest once more after Lewis left, Harvey quickly snapped from his own personal bubble intent on grilling the two about the nature of these 'Quirks'. "I understand you're probably tired from today, but I do have a few questions. Now then, are people born with their Quirks present or do they manifest latter."
Jiro was considering engaging the doctor in conversation, but upon seeing Izuku's eyes light up at the prospect of talking Quirks with someone as interested as himself she held her tongue. Seeing him be so excited about a hobby was even kind of cute in a way. 'Wait, cute?'
While she had an internal panic at the rouge thought of finding the biggest nerd in her class cute, Izuku was happy to explain all that he knew on the topic of Quirks, going so far as to grab his (now dry) notebook from the stack of folded clothes by his bed to show what notes he had taken on his classmate's Quirks. It was while explaining how the exact type of Quirk could affect the time frame of manifestation that Jiro turned her focus back on the conversation.
"What do you mean 16 months, four years is 48 months?" Izuku and Harvey where both confused by the other, as something as simple as the number of months in a year shouldn't be a point of disagreement. Suddenly Harvey had a realization and quickly left to grab a small calendar he kept in his office. "I think I understand the confusion," Harvey said while flipping the calendar to the current date, "We must have different systems for measuring time." True enough, as Izuku and Jiro looked through the calendar they saw one year was divided into four 28-day seasons, totaling for 112 days in a year.
Jiro kept looking through the calendar, noting the current date was Winter 26th, one day after the Feast of the Winter Star (which in her opinion just seemed like an off-brand Christmas), while Izuku explained the system the two were familiar with, one year composed on 12 months and 365 days. Luckily the system of 24 hours was constant, and the two wouldn't have to adjust to an entirely new sleep schedule.
"So, I guess with this calendar we would be around… 52 or 53 years old." Jiro let out an amused huff, imagining a middle aged Izuku throwing out his back fighting villains.
"Well with that out of the way I did have one last question." Harvey pulled out some x-rays he took of the two while checking for injuries. "While most of any differences to the standard human body are explained by the presence of your Quirks, there is one thing that is still nagging me." As Harvey placed the x-rays to the backlight, the images in question were shown to be the bones in the pair's feet. "Kyoka, you lack a joint in your pinky toes, but Izuku doesn't. Is this in anyway related to Quirks?"
'Wait, isn't the toe joint thing used to see is someone has a Quirk or not?' Jiro thought to herself, 'but Izuku has a Quirk. So why does he have the extra joint?' Her questions were answered by Izuku, "W-well, normally people with Quirks only have the two toe joints. I got misdiagnosed as Q-quirkless when I went to the doctor because I was born with the extra joint. I'm kind of a medical outlier." Jiro didn't see anything wrong with his explanation, medical anomalies happened sometimes, and an extra toe joint wasn't that weird. But the way he refused to meet either her or Harvey's eyes was slightly concerning. 'I guess being diagnosed as Quirkless was a bad day for him.' Jiro reasoned. But even then, when his Quirk manifested it should have cleared everything up. 'I guess I'll ask him about it later.'
"Ah I see. Fascinating that such an evolutionary step would affect vestigial parts of the body. And yet somehow the appendix is still there." Harvey mused. "Well, I've bothered you enough I feel, I'll let you get some rest. If you need anything I'll still be in the building."
After Harvey turned off the lights and left the two so they could sleep, Izuku finally had time to ruminate on all the information he had been told. He was in a strange town, with strange calendars and strange nations, and no one knew what Quirks were. Even when he wasn't Quirkless fate somehow found a way to make him the odd one out.
"Hey Midoriya," Jiro's voice called his attention, "When talking about the toe joint thing, you seemed pretty out of it." While Izuku did welcome the concern, Jiro was touching on memories he would rather not dig up, memories of the day he was branded less than human to society.
"It… wasn't a good day for me. I always wanted to be a hero, even back then. And the doctor was… not kind with how he told me." Izuku's voice was barley above a whisper, even in the close proximity of the hospital room, if Jiro didn't have greater hearing with her Quirk, she might not have heard him. "he told me… 'I'd give it up kid, it's not gonna happen.' Like he didn't even care that he was telling me my dream was impossible."
"Wow, that guy sounds like a dick." A small chuckle escaped Izuku's lips, which Jiro considered a win. "But hey, you showed him. I bet when you got your Quirk he changed his tune immediately." Jiro was hoping her words would help lift the gloomy atmosphere of the conversation, but the distraught look on Izuku's face before he turned around made it obvious, she only made it worse.
"15…" The boy mumbled out, and even with Jiro's hearing she couldn't hear all of what he said. "Sorry, I didn't hear that."
"I was 15 when I got my Quirk. Didn't have enough muscle mass to use it without blowing myself up so my Quirk didn't activate." It was a practiced lie that Izuku was accustomed to telling, but the implications of such information was never easy to tell anyone. "Until the entrance exam, everyone thought I was Q-quirkless."
"Oh…" Well, that explained a lot. Jiro had wondered how someone with such a strong Quirk was so timid, or how he made such drastic improvements with his Quirk so quickly compared to everyone else. And why Bakugou thought he was Quirkless for so long, he didn't hide his Quirk from the blond, Izuku didn't even know about it. Although, with the antagonistic way Bakugou always talked to Izuku, and the way he never fought back against the threats… Jiro didn't want to make the conversation any darker, so she left those implications alone for the time being.
"Well, who cares, you would have found a way to be a Hero without a Quirk anyway." Jiro said with the upmost confidence. Izuku was expecting a lot after such a revelation. Mockery, pity disguised as sympathy, but honest encouragement? "W-wha… t-thanks for saying that Jiro but you don't need to lie to make me feel better."
"I'm not lying." Jiro assured the boy, "It seems like every day you do some crazy impossible stunt to save someone else and I'm sure you would have done it again to be a Hero, no matter what anyone else told you." Izuku was stunned silent. Sure, he got told he could be a Hero before, but it was always passerby's that didn't know that he was Quirkless, even All Might only trained him to be able to receive his Quirk. But Jiro was telling him with no hint of deception that she believed he could be a Hero, no matter what.
Even in the dark it was easy to see Izuku's face flush. "T-thank you J-jiro."
"Kyoka." The girl interjected
"Huh?"
"After that heavy conversation, you can call me Kyoka." It was hard to see in the dim room, but the small yet earnest smile on Jiro's, no, Kyoka's face made Izuku's heart hitch. "T-then you can call me Izuku. O-only fair." The boy managed to sputter out.
"Sure thing, Izuku."
.
Chapter 3
Lewis looked over the gather crowed at the Stardrop Saloon. The Saloon served as the usual gathering spot for any town meetings that were held, and nearly every member of the town had come. Maru was busy watching over the two newcomers in Harvey's absence, and the manager of the new JojaMart Morris didn't come to town events, seeing them as a waste of time. The only other missing face was the Wizard, but even though Lewis made sure to deliver a notice of the time and place of the meeting to his tower personally, he didn't expect Rasmodius' arrival, due to 'experiments and research that could not be put off.'
While Gus and Emily were busy making food for the villagers that had to skip breakfast, Harvey and Lewis prepared to address the crowd. After talking with the two earlier in the morning, Izuku and Kyoka decided to keep the 'From another world that has weird powers called Quirks' under wraps. They hardly believed the situation themselves, and the last thing they needed was an entire town believing them to be insane. Instead, they would simply be two young travelers that could not return to their homeland for private reasons, while Izuku's superhuman strength and Kyoka's extra ear-based limb's the result of exposure to odd magics. Although magic was a documented phenomenon, not many beyond dedicated practitioners knew much about it, so it would serve as a plausible explanation.
"Alright, everyone that's going to be here is here and we all have busy day's ahead of us, so I'll just get right to the point." The conversations of the villagers died out as every gave Lewis and Harvey their attention. "As some of you already know yesterday morning Wily found two people, a boy named Izuku Midoriya and a girl named Kyoka Jiro, washed up on the beach by the pier before he and Alex brought them to the clinic. Both of them are doing fine now, but for reasons they would rather keep private they don't have anywhere else to go for the foreseeable future." The comment got a few sympathetic looks from the group, particularly the three that found them. To be washed ashore and rendered destitute at such a young age must have been terrible.
"This meeting isn't to ask for handouts or donations, but because I've decided to offer them a place to stay on the old farm to the west. If they accept the two will be the newest residents of Pelican Town." Several of the villagers where surprised by the news, as the mayor had turned down several offers to buy the once prized farm for a sizable sum, only to offer it up for free. George, a former coal miner now confined to a wheelchair was the only one who seemed to have a major exception to Lewis' plan. "You're going to give that farm away to two brats? That farm was the pride and joy of this town back in my day! And instead of doing anything meaningful with it you just pass it off?"
George was friends with the old owner of the farm, a hard-working man named Gregory but as he got on in years was saddled with the nickname 'Grandpa'. Ironically, he didn't have any known grandchildren, his son died before having kids of his own and his estranged daughter moved away and cut contact with the man. It had been his dream to pass the farm down through the family, but without that option he instead gave the deed to Lewis, with the only stipulation being that he gave it to someone who needed it. "I know seeing the farm waste away is a sad sight, but the old man was clear on how the property should be handled and giving it to two kids down on their luck is exactly what he would have wanted, and you know it." George didn't offer a rebuttal beyond a small "hmmph", so Lewis turned his focus to Robin the local carpenter. "Any idea on how long it will take to get the house ready for two people?"
The orange haired woman expected such a request from the moment he announced the two would be moving into town and already had an answer ready, "That old house is in pretty good condition considering the years. I could have it ready by the 1st of Spring if I rush it." The mayor was satisfied with her answer and made a mental note to compensate her well for the sudden job. "With that out of the way there's only one more thing to address, but I feel Harvey can explain things better than I can." Lewis stepped aside as the crowd turned towards Harvey, who cleared his throat while pulling out some notes.
"Due to some potential exposure to magic, although the exact situation is unclear, both Izuku and Kyoka have for lack of a better term, "changes" to their bodies. Normally I would not disclose the details of my patients, but both have given their consent for this information to be shared, as they feel it would be better to inform everyone at once. Kyoka has the most notable change with two prehensile limbs at the end of her ears that resemble headphone cords, while Izuku has a much higher bone and muscle density, to the point his own strength can break his bones." This news got a few murmurs about the two, mostly concern about exactly how the boy found that last fact out, before Alex loudly exclaimed "No wonder that guy was so heavy! I gotta find out his diet plan, dude must need a lot of protein for…"
As Alex continued his musing on his new workout buddy (whether Izuku knew it or not), Harvey tried to regain the floor to continue speaking. "On that topic, with the exception of a sensitivity to loud noises and an increase in protein intake respectively, the two have received a clean bill of health and should be discharged soon." Harvey put away his writings and went to go sit down and let Lewis continue, only to be immediately approached by Demetrius, Robin's husband, and a local biologist. While his specialization was in the fauna and flora of Stardew Valley, his mind couldn't rest until he knew the how and why of such drastic changes occurring in the human body.
Lewis called the meeting adjourned, while the townspeople left to continue whatever their day called for. Most made a mental note to visit the two in Harvey's clinic to welcome them to Pelican Town, it was only neighborly after all. While several people formed ideas about potential welcoming gifts or wondering how well they would get along with the town, Lewis prepared to float his idea to the two, and made his way to the clinic.
"How would you two like to own a farm?"
Neither Izuku nor Kyoka were expecting Lewis to be so generous as to offer property for the two to live on, much less for free. But while they were immensely grateful for his kindness, they did have some… reservations with the news. "Do we look like farmers?" was the first thing out of Kyoka's mouth, perhaps a slight bit ruder than she intended. "I don't know the first thing about farming, and I'm going to take a gamble and say Greenbean over there doesn't either."
"Greenbean?" Izuku quietly said, unnoticed by the other two.
"Oh, please! The previous owner didn't know a lick of farming when he got the propriety, and he turned an old patch of dirt into the shining jewel of this town." Lewis seemed to beam with pride recounting the glory days of Pelican Town. "Besides, it's not like you have to farm. Practically anywhere you look you can make a living off the valley. Fishing, Mining, heck with the forage you could take a walk through the forest and turn a profit for the day!"
'Why does it feel like he's selling us something?' the two Heroes thought at the same time, before Izuku turned to Kyoka. "Well, it's not like we have many other options. Plus, we're training to fight villains on a daily basis, I think we can handle growing some crops while we wait for whatever Quirk hit us to wear off."
A soft groan escaped Kyoka's lips but with no real annoyance behind it. "How dare you use logic on me Izuku, I thought I could trust you." The two shared a small laugh while Lewis took that as her acceptance. "Well, I'm glad that Gregory finally got his last wish" he said to himself and stood to leave the room. "Our local carpenter is fixing up the house on the property, and she should be done on the 1st of Spring. Harvey wanted to keep you two until then anyway, said he should be getting what he needs to run his last tests tomorrow."
The two bid farewell to Lewis, and went back to entertaining themselves, which in a hospital room meant reading, talking to each other, or staring at the clock.
The next day was much more exciting for the two, as Harvey finally received the necessary devices to preform brain scans on the two and received assistance by a scientist who introduced himself as Demetrius. While the two (to quote Kyoka) 'Nerded out' over the scan results, a large number of people came to introduce themselves and welcome them to the valley.
A kind old lady and a rather grumpy old man introduced themselves as Evelyn and George, who gave the two a plate of fresh cookies and a demand to "treat that old farm right," respectfully, and soon after a trio of young adults, around a few years older the Izuku and Kyoka ('I guess it would be around ten here,' Izuku thought). The blond was named Sam, the dark-haired boy Sebastian, and the fellow purple head Abigail. When Kyoka asked about the nearest music store, which was in a place called Zuzu city, the group seemed to perk up. They were interested in starting a band and had begun to learn to play some instruments, and Sam asked if the two were interested in practicing together. After a push from Izuku, who was interested as he had herd practicing guitar would be good physical therapy for his fingers, Kyoka agreed and the five planned a time.
Clint, the town blacksmith came by to drop off some tools to farm and mine with, saying if they wanted to pay him back then to buy form his store. Wily, the man who found them, dropped off some old fishing poles and live bait. Thankfully in a sealed container. Demetrius, after stopping by his home for lunch came back with a book on beginners farming for the two, and soon after Pierre, the owner of the local store offered some free seeds, "to personally show the quality compared to JojaMart seeds." Despite the fact that neither of the two knew what a JojaMart was.
A few smaller welcoming gifts came in throughout the day, A cookbook from the owner of the Saloon, Gus, a selection of teas from a woman named Caroline, and a welcoming card signed in a messy scrawl by "Vincent and Jas", and in a much neater handwriting "Penny", who Izuku and Kyoka found out was the local tutor.
The last gift of the day came from a girl with blue hair and a bubbly attitude, Emily. She came with a bag containing new clothes for the two. Izuku and Kyoka were immensely grateful, seeing as they both only possessed a single school uniform for clothing. Emily was a skilled tailor, and the clothes were not only durable to stand up to the stresses of farming, but comfortable and rather stylish. Kyoka asked how she managed to get their sizes right without meeting them, but Emily only responded that she "was told in a dream." Izuku argued that in a world that apparently has magic, it didn't seem such an odd explanation, to which Kyoka once again cursed his fowl logic reasoning.
Without any other further visitors, the two got ready for the next day. While neither knew just how long they would be in this strange place, they were at least glad they would be surrounded by good people.
"Y'know, when the mayor said it was an old farm, I was expecting worn down fences and dirt, not… this." Kyoka said while gesturing to the scene before her.
Stretched out before the two was what could be called a farm in the loosest sense, the years of disuse leaving the property covered in weeds, trees, old logs, and somehow entire boulders. It was difficult to even see where the end of the property was and where the surrounding forest began. The ruins of what was once a greenhouse sat near the main house, which was the only thing that looked remotely new. Robin was true to her word that she could renovate the home rather quickly.
Izuku knew that today would be an active one, but he expected to be busy tilling soil and sowing seeds. With a small sigh he resigned himself instead to a monotonous day of clearing weeds and uprooting trees. At least it would be good practice using One for All.
After several hours, Izuku had cleared around half of the property, finding out rather quickly that his own body and Quirk were better suited to removing the large, gnarled logs and dense boulders then the tools he had on hand, while Kyoka finished planting and watering the seeds Pierre had given them. Both were rather tired but had become accustomed to such a feeling after the many intense days of Hero training at U.A., a little farm work wouldn't be enough to stop the two. After placing the fallen trees and broken stone near the house to be used later, the two new farmers elected to retire for the night.
The house was far from spacious but was more than enough for their needs. The largest room was a mix between a surprisingly well equipped kitchen and a furnished living room. Connected by a short hallway, the next room was a single bedroom, luckily coming with a divider for privacy, and a bathroom.
"Ugh, remind me why we let Lewis talk us into this again?" Kyoka mumbled out; barley heard as she flopped face down on her bed. "Because one, we both need a place to stay, two, a way to make money, and three, this was the only open property in town?" Izuku shot back. It was odd, but while a few days ago he would have been a stuttering mess when talking to any of his classmates beyond his own group of friends, he found himself able to relax around the punk girl. 'Even though she's really attractive. And cool. And…' A traitorous part of his brain whispered before he forcefully stamped it down. The last thing Izuku wanted was to make the situation awkward between them. 'Besides, there's no way someone as great as Kyoka would think of me the same way' he thought, unaware of the similar crisis occurring in Kyoka's mind.
She knew he was strong, and probably had built some muscle with his training, but nothing had prepared Kyoka from watching the shy wallflower that Izuku was rip a tree from the ground with one arm and heft it over his shoulder like one would a baseball bat. It seemed Izuku was full of these surprises, from the battle trial during their first Heroics class, the sports festival, and most recently his fight with Overhaul, the meek boy seemed to pull moments of boundless determination and intense strength out of nowhere. Now knowing about how Izuku spent most of his life effectively Quirkless only made Kyoka all the more impressed that Izuku could still be so kind and considerate and… well, Izuku.
Trying (and failing) to get the image of Izuku working to clear the field from her head, Kyoka would admit to herself that maybe, just maybe, she might be attracted to the cinnamon roll she was sharing a room with. 'Not like it would matter,' she thought to herself. 'There's no way someone like Izuku would notice me that way.'
With the evening giving way to night, both prepared to rest for a new day of more labor. While eager to return to their old lives and friends with all the stresses they entailed, both Izuku and Kyoka would both find themselves having pleasant dreams filled with living a quiet life on the farm with the other by their side. A dream they would be living out for much longer than either one expected.