Chapter 4
The first week after Izuku and Kyoka had moved into the farm was something of a learning experience for the two. While the book gifted by Demetrius was a great help, reading about crop rotation and how to till soil did little to prepare one for the actual experience that was running a farm. Neither one was about to let a little problem like "inexperience" stop them however, U.A. pushed the motto of "Plus Ultra" after all, and the two certainly had enough motivation to make up the difference.
After the land was cleared and all the crops planted, the Heroes found themselves with ample time on their hands. While Izuku searched for an area that would be better suited for training his Quirk, Kyoka decided to explore the town to familiarize herself. The excursion was short, Pelican Town was a far cry from a metropolis like Tokyo, but right before Kyoka made for the mountains to see how Izuku was fairing, she stumbled upon a dilapidated building next to a small park. Lewis stood out front, with a dejected look on his face.
Once filled with activity, the Community Center now sat abandoned and forgotten, an eyesore of an otherwise idyllic town. Lewis had received some offers to purchase the building from the local JojaMart representative Morris, but he had turned them all down. Out of curiosity, Kyoka asked the mayor for a look inside, and found the inside to be even worse off. A broken fish tank had leaked water everywhere, causing large areas of the wooden floor to have rotted away. Vegetation grew through the exposed dirt and cracks in the wall, and the supports seemed keen to give way at a moment's notice.
Even stranger, an odd stone hut with a roof of leaves sat in the corner, which Lewis chalked up to the work of Vincent and Jas. Kyoka had her doubts, even though she met the two only in passing, she didn't peg either of them to have the patience to build the small hut. As the mayor left, Kyoka decided to explore the rest of the building, hoping to find a better explanation for the mysterious hut. Most of the rooms had nothing new, but what was once a crafts room contained a golden tablet that seemed to be recently placed, and on it a language Kyoka had never seen before.
After looking over the strange tablet and finding nothing else noteworthy, Kyoka turned to leave. While she thought of the best person or place to find more on the oddity, out of the corner of her eye she saw something bright green and small move, but upon turning to get a better look it had vanished. She doubted it was a rat due to its coloration (although a voice that sounded suspiciously like Izuku said that rat's might be green in this world), and despite her best efforts, Kyoka could not find another one of the little creatures in the old Community Center.
By the time she abandoned her search, the day had nearly come to an end, and after a simple dinner both farmers went to bed early to get a head start on their work tomorrow, while Kyoka decided to get more answers about the strange happenings in the Community Center.
"Hey Kyoka, do you know why a wizard is sending us mail about a 'rat problem?'"
Or it seems answers will come to her. After a brief recounting of her time in the old building, Izuku was left just as confused as Kyoka was, and decided to accompany her to visit Rasmodius. The morning passed quickly, both farmers working to finish their daily chores as fast as possible. Soon the two were finished and passed the short walk through the forest in a comfortable silence. The residence of the Wizard was easy to spot, the large stone tower rising high above the tree line, and before long the farmers found themselves standing in front of the entrance.
After a knock on the door with no response, Kyoka tested the handle and found the door unlocked. Izuku voiced a concern to simply come back some other time, not wishing to be cursed for coming in uninvited.
"Well, he did invite us, and if he didn't want people to come inside, he shouldn't have left the door unlocked." While Izuku couldn't find a fault in her words, they did little to sooth the growing fear he would be spending the rest of his life as a frog, or other such creature.
"She is right about my invitation." The words broke Izuku out of his thoughts before he cursed himself for muttering out loud. The man in front of them looked the part of a wizard, wearing long robes decorated with odd talismans. The only part that seemed off was an odd cowboy hat of black leather with a purple band. Izuku kept his thoughts on the Wizard's choice in headgear to himself.
Rasmodius stirred a large cauldron with bubbling green liquid inside before he continued to speak, "Besides, I wouldn't waste the resources necessary for transmutation on a simple home invader. Far too costly."
Deciding to ignore his comment, Kyoka decided to jump right to the topic of his letter, the 'rat problem' in the community center. "Ah, yes. The creature you saw that day was actually a type of forest spirit called a 'Junimo.'" Rasmodius continued his lesson on the small creatures without breaking focus on his brew. "They have inhabited the forest surrounding the town from the time before the town was built. With the abandonment of the Community Center allowing nature to reclaim the building, the Junimo's have likely decided to 'move in'. They find abandoned settlements fascinating."
After whipping out a notebook (with such speed even Rasmodius was briefly shocked from his task) Izuku recorded all the Wizard told him, hoping to take back knowledge of the fascinating practices and creatures if when he and Kyoka returned to Japan. "Well, it's a shame we can't help rebuild the Center without displacing them. It's not like they did anything wrong, the Junimo's just found an interesting place to live…"
"Not so," Rasmodius interrupted, while pouring his concoction into two cups. "Did you happen to find a form of golden scroll of tablet in the building?" Kyoka nodded in confirmation. "Those are the Junimo's way of asking for assistance. If you decide to help them with their requests, the Junimo's are likely to repay in kind. This is actually the reason why I have called you here. By helping the Junimo's they will provide their assistance to the town in a form of symbiosis. The only problem being few alive can claim to understand their language." Rasmodius handed both cups to the two farmers. "This potion will allow you to speak their language. I cannot force you to help them, I merely ask that you consider doing so."
After some deliberation, Kyoka down her cup. The liquid was thick and viscous, the taste reminding her of a mix of pine tar and fresh grass. Soon her vision was filled with nothing but the color green and natural flora, and her skull felt like it was about to burst from the knowledge being forced inside.
While Kyoka was having a bad trip, Izuku had set his cup down to continue his writing. The idea of a potion that could be used to learn a language was fascinating, and his mind shot forth with a myriad of questions on the possibilities. Would it work with all languages or only those of 'magical' beings? Could any knowledge be passed down? Did the person making the potion have to know the information before hand? Was the information permanent or could it be forgotten? Did…
His writing was interrupted by Rasmodius grabbing his scarred, crooked right hand while looking it over. "To gain such injuries despite being so young… may I ask how you injured yourself to this degree?"
"O-oh… well it was sort of a couple incidents combined… I was competing in a festival tournament, and my opponent, Todoroki, well… I can't really tell the specifics, It's not my place too. He was trying to prove a point to someone, but he was only hurting himself. I managed to convince him during our fight, but in the end, I needed some intense surgery in my hand. The second time was when a serial killer tried to murder a boy. I managed to stop him, but my arm was broken so severely that I have permanent ligament damage. Any more breaks and I could lose function completely." Rasmodius carefully inspected the boy's face during his story but did not find the slightest bit of deceit. To sacrifice his own safety for not only the life but mental well-being of others was admirable. Rasmodius considered his next actions after seeing the state of his arm, but hearing his tale erased any doubt in his mind.
The Wizard picked up Izuku's cup, causing some concern in the boy who thought he did something wrong. Instead of cursing him or loudly shouting to leave while blasting him with magic, as all angry wizards did, instead Rasmodius took a minute to find some more potion ingredients. After some time preparing and adding the strange collection of herbs and fungi he gathered, the potion in Izuku's cup was now a faint pink compared to the forest green it was. "This should help with your arm as well as let you understand the Junimo's. Drink it quickly however, the potion goes bad quickly."
With a quick 'itadakimasu', Izuku downed the potion, only to find the Wizard quickly forcing a strip of leather into his mouth. Before he could begin to question the reason for this, an effect similar to the one Kyoka experienced started to take hold, only for the dancing visions and pounding skull to be instantly replaced with the sheer agony that consumed his arm. Clutching the limb to his chest, Izuku could feel the bones in his hand forcefully rearrange themselves and felt the combined pain of all the previous breaks in his arm hit at once. Finally, the universe decided to give a faint mercy to the boy, and Izuku's consciousness faded.
He awoke sometime later to find himself on his back and kneeling beside him a concerned Kyoka, who immediately wrapped him into a hug. "I didn't expect you to awake for a few hours more." Izuku turned his head to see the Wizard, standing from what looked like a spot for meditation. "My apologies for not telling you the pain the potion would cause, but I have found even with warning no one truly grasps the repercussions. The more damage one receives, the more pain one must endure. Your injuries were right on the threshold where the potion would do more harm than good."
Izuku was left with mixed feelings about the experience. Pain was too weak a word for the suffering he had felt, but now that he had recovered, he felt... fine. No, even better than fine, the phantom aches in his arm he had long grown accustomed too had completely vanished, the scaring in his arm was completely gone. Even the smaller aches from past injuries on other parts of his body had simply disappeared without a trace.
"W-well, thanks… I guess. For fixing my arm," Izuku said while shifting his body to sit up, oblivious to the now blushing girl by his side. "But why did you help in the first place…" The Wizard gave a small smile, "Consider it an incentive to carry out my request in aiding the Junimo's."
The two thanked Rasmodius for his assistance, even if Kyoka did say she would 'vibrate him so hard he would liquify' if he ever did such a stunt again, to which the Wizard only gave a small chuckle.
The farmers walked back to their property, while Izuku flexed and felt his arm in amazement. In truth Izuku was already on board to help the forest spirits, he wouldn't be a good Hero otherwise, but he wouldn't turn down having his body restored to peak condition. Even with the 'repercussions'.
Kyoka was busy piecing together the little information she heard while the effects of the potion wore off her. All of her class could tell Izuku and Todoroki were having much more than a simple tournament fight during the Sports Festival. Knowing that the heterochromatic boy didn't use his fire out of desperation, but because Izuku managed to save him from whatever bitterness was consuming him… well knowing Izuku, it wasn't really a surprise.
After a day filled with lectures on magical creatures and potion induced blackouts, the farmer duo retired for the night, deciding to check the abandoned Community Center tomorrow.
"Come on Kyoka, I finally found the perfect place to train our Quirks!"
Izuku's excitement was always a welcome sight for Kyoka, but she would rather such excitement come sometime in the PM. Or at least after 8AM.
Outside the sky was covered in clouds with rain pouring down. With the weather taking care of irrigation for the day, and no plants needing to be harvested, Izuku elected to explore the surrounding area while Kyoka got some much welcome sleep, before the green haired farmer ran in to the house shortly after he left, almost earning him a jack in the neck for his trouble.
Izuku wouldn't listen to such responses as 'Please let me sleep' and 'I'm sure the spot will still be there tomorrow', and so Kyoka found herself headed to the mountains in the morning while being drenched from the rain.
"I still don't know why we can't just practice in the mines. That place has actual things to fight." Plus, the ores and gem stones they found were rather profitable, as despite going onto their third week of farming, they had made quite a profit from their finds.
"I mean I did consider it, but well…"
Izuku slammed a fist into a cave bat that attempted to swoop down on him from above, sending it careening into the cavern as it's death cries echoed off the walls. Quickly sidestepping a mole like creature that attempted to burrow up from under him, Izuku grabbed and yanked it from the ground before throwing it at a giant flying insect, both dying upon impact. Behind him, Kyoka had two slimes in front of her and jabbed a jack into each, before pumping enough of her heartbeat that the gelatinous monsters were reduced to stains on the walls.
"The monsters there aren't really that difficult. Plus, if I use to much of my Quirk or you're too intense with your vibrations, we might risk a cave in." Kyoka had to concede both points, as their training to become Heroes was much more intense than anything they had faced in the mines so far, and dying from being crushed alive sounded like a poor way to go.
The two walked further into the mountains, passing the large mountaintop lake and the entrance to the mines. Soon Izuku had led Kyoka to a broken bridge past the east side of the lake, beyond which resided an old stone quarry. "This is the spot!" Izuku exclaimed with a wide smile on his face.
"So, you got me up and dragged me through the rain because you just had to show me an old quarry?"
"Yep!" The boy responded oblivious to the sarcasm in her voice. "It's perfect, I can practice using more of my Quirk to carry and break stone, and you can practice breaking denser materials with your vibrations! Plus, I'm pretty sure I saw some ore deposits and gemstones too, so we're still making a profit while training."
Kyoka had to admit the location was a good one, well suited to training both their skill sets. But there was one small problem that Izuku seemed to miss. "The bridge is out."
In lieu of a response, Izuku simply charged up One for All, picked up Kyoka bridal style, and leaped across the broken bridge in a single bound. At first shaken from the sudden action, Kyoka jabbed a jack into his neck while hoping that Izuku didn't notice the blush that had spread across her face.
"Alright smartass, next time at least warn me before you do that." Despite her tone, Kyoka didn't mind his actions. And it seemed from the small laugh he gave while rubbing his neck, neither did Izuku.
"Ugh, remind me why I let you drag me to this." Sebastian was far from his element. He preferred the confines of his room where he worked as a freelance programmer, or spending time with Sam and Abigail, the two people he felt closest with in town. He absolutely did not enjoy the uncomfortable suit and forced social interaction that came with the Flower Dance, the absolute worst town festival (in Sebastian's humble opinion.)
"Because you wanted to see if Sam asked Penny to dance 'as a friend' yet again?" Abigail stood next to him, clearly as uncomfortable with the traditional white dress as Sebastian was with his attire. "Seriously literally everyone can tell he likes her except for themselves. It's infuriating sometimes." A notion Sebastian readily agreed with. There couldn't be a pair more oblivious to how they really felt then those two. Only for his inner dialog to be corrected as the two new farmers arrived at the event grounds.
Kyoka and Izuku were cool to hang out with, separately at least. Kyoka was impressive when it came to musical talent and a good instructor. After less than a month of practicing, the three-man band had improved so much the difference was night and day. Izuku was a bundle of nerves on a good day, but somehow this worked in his favor to make him endearing in a way. It didn't hurt he was surprisingly good at Solarion Chronicles: The Game either. But together…
The constant poorly hidden blushes and not-so-sneaky glances whenever they had to occupy space within five feet of each other left Sebastian honestly amazed at how long the two could go without one realizing their feelings were reciprocated. It felt a little hypocritical, as it took Sebastian and Abigail a week of constant dancing around the other to finally do something about their own feelings, but this trainwreck between the farmers had been going on for nearly a month.
It had seemed as though Abigail had similar thoughts, and decided it was time to take matters into her own hands, "Hey Seb. I think I have a plan to help those two out." Sebastian groaned both at the uncreative pet name and the prospect of more social interaction, but still agreed to her plan. If it got those two to stop with the 'shy, blushing schoolgirl' acts, then it was worth it.
"Hey guys!" Izuku and Kyoka looked over to see Abigail and Sebastian, wearing a dress and blue suit that clearly neither were comfortable with. "Did you come to join the dance today or just come to watch?" Truth be told neither had an idea of what the festival entailed. The Egg Festival was similar quite similar to Easter with decorated eggs and egg scavenger hunts, but neither wanted to make assumptions, as beyond something to do with flowers and dancing, there was a lot of room for interpretation.
"No, we just decided to hang back and see what it's like. Neither of us really knew what to expect today." Said Kyoka. "Plus, I doubt you would be able to get me in one of those dresses." The two purple haired girls shared a laugh, before Abigail gave a look to Sebastian and started to work her plan.
"Well even if you aren't part of the main dance, are you still going to dance together? I know a lot of the couples in town use today as an excuse to be all romantic together." Her words had their intended effect as both Izuku and Kyoka felt a blush creep over their faces and made to deny their involvement.
"I-I'm not… I mean… what gave… w-we're not together!"/"I d-don't know what… he's… I'm not dating him!"
Sebastian took this as his que to speak up, "Oh? I could have sworn you two were dating." Izuku started to frantically wave his hands while denying such claims, while Kyoka had completely frozen up with the exception of her earjacks, which were currently spazzing out in random directions. It took nearly 15 seconds for Izuku to manage to form a coherent sentence, "W-w-well we're n-not!" before trying desperately to find anything to do that wasn't continuing this conversation.
"So if one of you wanted to go out you wouldn't say yes?" The sadistic grin on her face went unnoticed by the oblivious pair, but Sebastian felt a shiver go down his spine. His girlfriend could be scary sometimes.
"W-well I-I mean I would be honored, but you can't s-seriously think someone as g-great as Kyoka w-would…"/"L-look… Izuku is great and all, b-but he'd n-never feel that way about s-someone like…"
Silence overtook the two as they both struggled to comprehend what they had both heard. Izuku's mouth stilled while his mind raced a mile a minute. 'She… thinks I'm great? But why wouldn't I want to d-date someone like her, she's amazing and talented and… and I'm just… me.' Kyoka did not fair much better. 'He would be honored? But all the girls in the class would go out with him if he asked. Hell, half the girls in school look at him like he's the next coming of All Might… and he likes… me?'
While Izuku and Kyoka simply gawked at each other in a mixture of confusion, amazement and elation, Abigail felt it was time to leave to two alone. "Well now we won't have to deal with those two shying around each other all the time. Good thing they weren't as dense as Sam." Sebastian agreed that it would be a welcome change, before a terrible thought occurred. "I don't think we thought this through all the way."
Abigail stopped to look at him in confusion, "What do you mean, clearly my plan worked."
Sebastian shook his head, "It's not the plan that's concerning me." The dark-haired boy looked to Abigail with a grave, almost fearful expression. "What if they're one of those super mushy couples that do everything together."
"Oh. Oh no."
Izuku and Kyoka had decided to leave the festival early, deciding a public venue would not be the right place for the conversation they needed to have. As the two walked back to the farm, they decided the pier extending into the forest lake was private enough.
As they sat down, neither one still dared to look at the other directly or speak up, insecurities flaring up to make both think the whole situation was some elaborate prank. Eventually after what felt like hours of sitting in silence, Izuku spoke up. "Did… you really mean what you said back there?"
"Yeah. Did… did you?"
"Yes." A new wave of silence overtook the two, only for Kyoka to speak up first. "Why me?" Out of all the questions that could have been asked, this was one he didn't expect. "What do you mean?"
"I mean out of all the girls in the class, hell all the girls in school, any one of them would jump at the chance to go out with you. Ochako isn't even subtle about how much she likes you, so why do you think I'm so great? I'm just the flat chested, tomboy who likes music. Even Toru get's more attention from the guys and she's invisible! I just can't understand why…"
Kyoka's self-loathing filled rant was interrupted by Izuku grabbing her hand. "Kyoka, please look at me." After wiping tears she didn't realize were forming, she lifted her gaze up at the verdanette. "First of all, you're one of the most attractive girls I've ever met. I don't care if every single guy in the world or even you disagree with me, I think you're beautiful." The earnestness in Izuku's voice made Kyoka's heart nearly burst from her chest and her stomach twist into knots, but he kept going. "You're not just 'the music girl', you're an amazing Hero, and the coolest person I've met. Anyone would be lucky to be with you. I just don't know what I did to make you feel that way about me…"
It baffled Kyoka how a guy as great as Izuku could say in one breath how much he was amazed by her only to put himself down in the next, and she didn't like that attitude coming from his mouth. So, she decided to do something about it. "Izuku, you are the most heroic guy at U.A. You're not only one of the best in class, but you're constantly helping everyone with their work. You risked your life to save that kid from Muscular at the summer camp, and you saved Todoroki from whatever was eating at him. Hell, you even managed to make Bakugou respect you. Even if only barley." A small laugh left Izuku's lips. Kyoka could listen to it forever, but she had to finish her point. "Even before we got to know each other better, I don't think there is any other guy in class I would rather have been sent here with. And…and if getting hit with some weird Quirk is what it took to finally realize how much I love you, then I don't mind."
Kyoka was just as surprised at the word 'love' coming from her mouth as the man in front of her, but she didn't feel any other word would do what she felt for Izuku justice. "I… I'm glad you fell the same way Kyoka. I love you too." Neither of the two would remember who it was that moved in first, but both remember what happened after. As Kyoka and Izuku's lips met, the faint sound of the forest faded away and for a few brief, wonderful seconds, the only thing that existed to the couple was each other. It wasn't a deep kiss, or a particularly long one, but it was enough for them. The two separated, before spending the rest of the day holding each other on the small pier, lost to their own little world.
They didn't know how long their time in Pelican Town would be, but they would forever be grateful for what it brought.
"Attention, classmates! Midnight-sensei has just informed me that she has identified the Quirk Midoriya and Jiro were affected by." Iida's words grabbed the attention of the rest of class 1-A. While everyone kept their nerves during the incident, the class couldn't help but worry now that there was no active threat. After arriving back at the dorms, Iida was pulled aside by Midnight to inform him about the details of the situation and tasking the class representative with keeping the class calm. "The Quirk has a duration of 5 hours, after which the two will be returned to the spot they had vanished from."
The news was a great relief for the class, with Izuku's closely knit friend group in particular breathing a heavy sigh of relief. "I have also been informed that Midoriya and Jiro's family will be brought to the dorms to await their return with us. As such, we must show them the high standard to which we at U.A. hold ourselves. I have organized a cleaning list to be…"
As Iida attempted to coral the class into cleaning the dorms top to bottom, class 1-A's resident acid girl, Ashido Mina couldn't help but feel… off. Normally, she had a sixth sense for romance that she used to attempt to get her classmates together, but ever sense the incident at the mall she's had this growing feeling. Almost like a relationship had formed between two close friends, and she didn't even get to help the two get together.
'Eh, it's probably nothing.'
Chapter 5
"Alright, I'll get work started on the silo first thing tomorrow, and the coop after that."
The summer heat came in quickly to the valley, practically overnight. It was still somewhat jarring to the two farmers how quickly the seasons shifted, but they were quick to adjust. Izuku had the foresight to prepare for the coming summer, and with the help of Maru, installed an irrigation system to their farmland. The added sprinklers didn't totally remove the need to water the crops, but it did help take a load off of the two, allowing for more effort to be focused elsewhere. Such as animal husbandry.
Kyoka was currently busy at Marnie's Ranch, the woman offering to teach how to build all manner of items, from kegs to cheese presses. While the purple-haired girl was taught in the ways of the rancher, her boyfriend went to Robin's to commission the buildings necessary for raising animals.
As well as a few… new additions to the house.
"I also have some furniture already made, so I can have the new double bed brought to your house by tonight." The carpenter said with a knowing smirk.
Izuku quickly made himself scarce, not willing to be subjected to such teasing. He already got enough from his new friends, the last thing he needed was their parents getting in on it as well. 'At least none of them are as bad as Ashido…'
The thought of his classmate stopped the boy in his tracks. The time had flown by, but it had been over a month since the incident at the mall. As much as Izuku liked Pelican Town, he still had a home in Japan, another life and a mission waiting for him to return. What was Shigaraki doing during the Heroes' absence, what plans were being created to see the downfall of society?
"God damn it! Twice, where did you put my fucking controllers!"
"I haven't even touched them, ask Dabi. I hope he melted them!"
After taking a minute to shake the thought from his head, Izuku continued his walk to the Town library. Worrying about things out of his control wouldn't do any good, and he had faith that even without himself and Kyoka, his friends were strong enough to handle whatever comes their way until they returned. And they would. He just had to keep thinking that.
As he entered the library, Izuku took a spare moment to look over the collection of gems and artifacts. Where once stood empty display cases as the previous collection had been entirely lost, but now the glass contained a small trove of precious stones, gems, geodes, and old artifacts. It was far from a complete restoration, but it was a solid start.
Penny entered the building while Izuku admired the growing showcase and began to organize and prepare for another day of tutoring. Pelican Town was without a proper school, and the nearest town was too far of a commute to be practical in the long term, even before the failure of the local bus. Penny decided to take it upon herself to provide an education to the two children of the village, Vincent and Jas. Laws concerning education seemed much more lax compared to Japan, as long as the children were able to pass examinations to show they understood the information, the Ferngill Republic did not bother with enforcing attendance to a licensed school.
"Hello there Izuku."
"Oh, Hello. Sorry I didn't notice you come in." The green-haired boy responded.
"It's alright. I was actually wondering, are you busy today?" A quick shake of his head confirmed he was not. "In that case, would you be willing to help tutor again? Vincent seemed to pickup the last math lesson quicker with your help."
"Of course, I don't mind, how long until they get here? I can go home and grab some supplies." Penny was quick to stop him, "That's alright, I brought more than enough. We'll start with math today, I know you offered to help, but I won't keep you long."
It wasn't long before Jas, Marnie's niece, entered. She was initially shy of the two new residents, but after mustering the courage to ask Kyoka about her 'cool ear dangles' the two hit it off. Some time with Izuku during her tutoring helped warm her up to the young farmer as well. Vincent arrived a few minutes after Jas, and his solemn face lit up at seeing Izuku would be helping again today.
The lesson went by quickly, even if the history was entirely new and the reading unfamiliar, math would always be math, and Izuku considered it to be among best subjects. Right below Hero Law. As Izuku made to leave, Penny stopped him before the door, "Are you going to be busy tomorrow?"
"Not beyond the usual, but I thought you didn't tutor tomorrow?" He asked with a hint of confusion.
"I'm not, but I planned a small educational fieldtrip to the forest tomorrow. It's really just going to be a picnic while I quiz them on natural science, and I wanted to know if you or Kyoka would like to join us."
"Well, I don't know about Kyoka, but I'd love too!" Izuku said with a large grin on his face. As Penny told him the planned time and left to get back to her lesson, Izuku let his mind wander to tomorrow. A nice relaxing lunch with friends sounded like a perfect break for the two farmers.
"Hey there Kyoka, Izuku!" Gus' friendly greeting was loud enough to cut through the commotion of the small crowd in the saloon. While she preferred to cook her own meals, today Kyoka and Izuku decided to have their dinner at the Stardrop Saloon, both from not wanting to put forth the effort of preparing their own food, but also a desire to interact with the community. The last few days were dominated by a rainstorm, and while it mean the two farmers did not have to spend the effort of watering their fields, with most of the town not wanting to brave the weather, Izuku and Kyoka had little interaction with people beyond each other. With the rain finally letting up, the two decided it would be a good idea to spend some time at the small Saloon.
A very popular sentiment it seemed, as what felt like half the town had the same idea. After battling their way to the counter, the two placed an order, a large salad with a side of grilled salmon each. Fish was actually a large part of most people's diets in the valley, as most farms in the area only raised animals for products such as wool and milk, not for slaughter. That wasn't to say the entire area was pescatarian, but with the local farm practices meaning meat products had to be imported in, most people only had meat for special occasions and town events. Luckily the famers had little trouble adjusting, but Izuku would admit it was hard going without his favorite meal of katsudon on a regular basis.
The only seats not taken were two bar seats near the register Gus used to do business, and with some reluctance, the famers sat down. There wasn't anything wrong with the spots themselves, no localized drafts, annoying glares, or wobbly stools. The problem was with how close they were to Gus. The owner of the Saloon was all in all a great guy, generous to his neighbors and always ready to offer a hand to those in need, but well…
"Are you two excited for the luau? Out of all the festivals it's one of my favorites and not just for the communal soup pot. While everyone pitches in to the potluck and the soup, every year I make this special glazed ham that's a hit with the town. I'll have to make sure to save some for you two, my treat. I get the meat from a friend in Zuzu city who runs a butcher shop, even with a discount the ham cost a pretty penny, but I can assure you, it's worth it. As for the glaze, I use spices from Ginger Island…"
He was passionate about his craft. A little too passionate. Izuku didn't mind so much, as he knew the feeling of being so absorbed in a passion that you can't help but talk on and on for hours, but by the second sentence Kyoka had tuned out. As she pretended to pay full attention, a skill the girl had picked up in middle school and mastered at U.A., Kyoka let her mind wander.
She knew her boyfriend was worried about returning to Japan, or more accurately, the possibility of not returning at all. To be honest, the idea of just 'waiting for the effect to wear off' had always seemed a bit flimsy to her, and if whatever Quirk that warped the two worked like that, then surely it would have worn off by now. The only reason Kyoka allowed herself to believe that someday soon the two would be returned to Japan was because, well… she was scared. Scared about never seeing her friends again. Scared of the thought of her parents mourning for her without even a body to bury. Scared that the League of Villains would make another move to hurt the people close to her, and she wouldn't even know.
But as the days passed, it started to solidify the idea that there was no return. Izuku did a good job of hiding it, but Kyoka had been around him long enough to see past the thin façade he put up. He had started throwing himself into working the farm and training, barley giving himself a moment to rest and dwell on the bigger picture. But with the last few days of rain, there wasn't enough for Izuku to do to totally occupy his mind, and it showed. Kyoka didn't know how to approach the topic, as she didn't even want to admit the possibility of never returning to herself, much less out loud. So she didn't.
After that depressing train of thought, Kyoka finished her meal shortly after Izuku did, and mingled a bit to take her mind off of things. Even if she was stuck here, at least she wasn't alone. She had new friends, a stable source of income, and a boyfriend that had the personality of a cinnamon roll and the strength to shatter glaciers with a flick of a finger. All things considered she could be worse off.
The farmers paid for their meals and said goodbye to their friends before making their way back home. Spending some time curled up together on the sofa while watching whatever was on TV would do them both some good, help put the thoughts of not coming back on hold, even if only for a night. It had become something of a ritual to end the day by simply enjoying each other's presence, with a movie or radio to provide background noise. A daily tradition Kyoka wasn't keen on changing.
If Izuku had a single g for every time his right arm was engulfed in sheer agony after being brought to Pelican Town, he'd have 2g. Which was surprisingly little considering his track record of breaking limbs in the past.
But unlike the shattered limbs of the past or even the Wizards potion, where he at least knew what had caused such pain, right now he had no clue what was happening. The day had started out like any other, wake up, eat breakfast, tend the farm, until the two farmers decided to go spelunking in the mines. A couple days ago they had reached a new section of the caverns, with the frigid cold and ice giving way to an uncomfortable heat.
The two tried to be carful with this new area, while the monsters still posted little threat, they were getting noticeably tougher, and going in overconfident could be disastrous. Izuku was occupied by what looked like a vaguely humanoid mass of shadow wearing a wooden tribal mask when he heard Kyoka cry out. He turned to see his girlfriend knocked to the floor by a larger shadow person that had snuck up on her, and quickly moved to her side. In reality Kyoka wasn't severely injured and would only suffer a large bruise where the creature struck, but in the rush of the situation all Izuku could see was the woman he loved suffering. Until his vision went red, and a wave of anger overtook him.
Izuku had been angry before, but this was different from the anger he felt from being mocked most of his life for being Quirkless or learning the abuse Overhaul put Eri through, which helped fuel his drive to change things for the better. This anger was all consuming, flooding every part of his body until it felt like it would burst. And then, it did.
From his right hand, shadowy tendrils erupted and started writhing, thrashing, and destroying. The two shadow creatures barely had time to realize what was happening before being bisected and dissipating. Even with the threat gone, Izuku couldn't control whatever was happening to him, much less stop it. The only thought that cut through the pain was the fact that he was still near Kyoka, and put everything he had into making the black, shadowy mass avoid her.
Kyoka, who hadn't had time to pick herself off the ground before… whatever the hell this was, was left in shock. The black tendrils seemed to be avoiding her, but the same could not be said of the surrounding stone. As chucks of wall and ceiling were torn away with surprising ease, Izuku's waring about triggering a cave in seemed prophetic in hindsight. If Kyoka didn't do something soon, they would both be buried alive under a mountain of stone, but what could she do? Even if the black mass hadn't hit her yet, the way they cleaved through stone made approaching a very risky prospect.
It was shameful to admit, but the situation had Kyoka frozen in her spot, unable to bring herself closer to help, and unwilling to leave Izuku. Until she saw his face. In her mind, Izuku's face was always a bright smile that lit up the room, or a look of absolute confidence, but now his face was twisted in a horrifying mix of pain and fear. And Kyoka's legs moved on their own.
Either by exceptional skill or dumb luck, Kyoka closed the distance and wrapped her arms around the boy. "Izuku. It's alright, I'm here. I'm fine." The sudden contact and her words seemed to help ground Izuku somewhat, as the thrashing became a little less intense. "I know you're probably scared and hurting a lot, but we're going to be fine, just focus on my voice and what I'm saying." It was a bluff. For all she knew the cave ceiling could come down at any moment, but if the choices were to save herself and abandon Izuku or stay and risk her life with every second, then there really wasn't a choice.
By some miracle, the worst never came to pass. Despite the large amounts of damage, the cavern held strong as Kyoka tried everything she could think of to break Izuku out of whatever had taken hold of him. After a few minutes of calm assurances, breathing patterns, and grounding techniques, the odd shadowy mass no longer risked collapsing the cavern. It took half an hour before the tendrils had totally receded into the boy's arm. The moment they did, almost all the tension in the verdanettes body left, and with the panic and adrenaline no longer flowing through his body, Izuku passed out.
When Izuku awoke he wasn't in the mines, or even anywhere in town, but an empty expanse. In front of him was a bald man who seemed vaguely familiar.
"Hey there Nine. Hell of a way to get a new quirk huh?" New quirk? Izuku's mind was racing trying to figure out who this man was and what he meant when he realized he couldn't speak. "Yeah, it's probably going to be like that for a while, but don't worry about it."
'Wait, can he read my thoughts?'
"Yeah, not hard to do when I'm in your head after all. Name's Banjo Daigoro, the fifth user of One for All."
Kyoka left the small entrance to the mines straining to carry Izuku over her shoulder, while trying to gather her thoughts. While she may not have even completed her first year of Hero schooling, the repeated villain attacks on class 1-A meant that Kyoka had become accustomed to life-or-death situations. After overcoming the initial shock that had her rooted to the ground, it was easy to push back her worries to the back of her mind for later.
But it was later, and right now it felt like no amount of experience would help her get used to what came after a crisis like this. After the boy in her arms had passed out, she initially feared the worst, but a quick check of his pulse proved he was still alive. After slowly dragging her surprisingly heavy boyfriend to the elevator, then and only then did she allow herself the time to panic.
She felt worse than she did after the USJ attack. While Shigaraki may have brought a Nomu, a bioengineered weapon designed to kill All Might, she never actually saw the fight between the monstrosity and her classmates. Kyoka knew some of her friends nearly died but being told about an event and being there to see the people close to you almost die was quite a difference. And being there, in person, watching the person closest to her in terrible pain and practically begging for help, Kyoka had hesitated.
'I'm such a failure. None of the class would hesitate to help him. Izuku wouldn't hesitate to help anyone. I'm trying to be a Hero, but I couldn't even move to help!' The self-deprecating thoughts were cut off as Kyoka heard Izuku stir and begin to wake. She quickly moved to sit him up against a tree by the large mountain top lake.
Izuku woke slowly at first, trying to adjust his eyes to the light and work the stiffness from his muscles, before the memories of what happened before he had passed out caused him to snap wide awake while calling out, "Kyoka! A-are you…"
His girlfriend grabbed him by the hand, putting a halt to his panic while trying her best to stay positive and confident. "I'm not hurt, b-but you did scare me there for a minute mop top." While Kyoka hoped being casual about the encounter would help alleviate any remaining tension, all her comment did was make Izuku even more concerned. "K-Kyoka… I'm so sorry, I almost hurt you and I couldn't stop it from…"
"Hey, calm down. You don't have to apologize to me." Kyoka knew that trying to stop Izuku from apologizing for something was like trying to hold back the concept of gravity, but she still tried every time. Izuku's eyes moved to look at the ground and his voice fell, "B-but I could have hurt you… o-or worse…"
"But you didn't, and I know you Izuku. You wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was robbing a bank, and I know for sure you wouldn't hurt me. Besides, I'm the one that should be apologizing." Izuku was confused by her statement. He almost killed them both via a Quirk accident and she was the one saying sorry? "I-I don't understand, why are you apologizing? I almost…"
"But it wasn't your fault, I know you tried your best to stop whatever the hell that was!" The Earphone Jack user shouted out, "And I couldn't move! I saw how much you were hurting, and I hesitated! You throw yourself into anything to save people you don't even know and I just… couldn't."
"But you did." Izuku moved closer to his distressed girlfriend. "I… I was so scared, and I didn't even have an idea of what was happening or how to stop it. And then you ran in to help me. When you were there, I just felt like everything was going to be all right. You where a real Hero. My Hero."
While his speech made Kyoka feel a little better about the situation, Izuku could tell she was still beating herself up for panicking. The two sat in silence for a moment, while he considered his next words, before the boy decided to speak up again. "You know, I'm always scared when doing hero work."
"W-what?" Kyoka wiped away tears that were forming to look back towards Izuku. "Pretty much every time I have to fight someone, I always think of the worst possible outcomes, and it terrifies me." A large grin spread over the boy's face as he continued his pep talk. "But then I think about how I can help stop that from happening… well technically that's not true. Before I even know if I can help, the idea of helping just… pops through my head and before I know it, I'm already moving to help. But before that moment… I'm hesitating, thinking 'what's going to go wrong.'"
As his words sank in, Kyoka moved to sit next to her boyfriend and take a moment to process. After a small, comfortable silence, she spoke up. "Hey, Izuku?"
As he turned his head to look at her, Kyoka gave the boy a small kiss "Thank you."
Not one to be outdone or waste a romantic moment, Izuku startled Kyoka by pulling her onto his lap before hugging her from behind. "Anytime."
The couple shared the evening resting under the tree, while watching the setting sun's light cascade across the surface of the lake, casting the world in a comfortable warm hue. By the time Izuku felt it was time to leave, a couple of hours had passed and the two had barley moved. He was about to suggest returning to the house when a realization hit the young farmer. She had never actually asked him about what had happened.
"Hey Kyo?" He said before receiving a small hum of acknowledgement. "Aren't you going to ask about what that whole thing was?"
"Well, I am curious, and mostly I just want to know how to stop something like this from happening again. But I felt like if you were comfortable with talking about it, you would bring it up. So… are you?" The purple-haired girl responded while trying to crane her head to look at Izuku's face. Before giving up and returning to the comfortable position she was in.
"Well, I am, but it kind of involves brining up some secrets, and before you say anything, know I don't have to tell you and I do want to tell you. It's just… a really long and weird story." Kyoka let out a low chuckle. "Well, we have time and I'm currently cuddling with my boyfriend I started dating after we were both warped across dimensions. So, talk away."
Izuku started at the beginning, not from the day he was diagnosed Quirkless, but with the dawn of Quirks themselves. Two brothers, One born with a Quirk above all others, the ability to steal Quirks, and the other sickly and powerless. How out of love, pity, a desire for control, or any other unfathomable reason the elder brother gave a Quirk to the younger, a simple Quirk that stockpiles power. But his brother wasn't Quirkless. Unlike the elder, he couldn't take Quirks, but he could still give his own away. Seemingly useless, but with the addition of another Quirk, the two fused into something greater. A Quirk that could store energy and pass it one to another, to carry the torch and build it brighter and brighter. The dual-Quirk was named One for All, the antithesis of the it's creator Quirk, All for One.
Eventually the younger brother opposed cruel actions of the elder and fought against him and his criminal empire. He was killed for his efforts. But not before passing One for All on. His successor fought the elder brother and met a similar fate. It wasn't until the 8th holder, the Symbol of Peace, All Might fought and won, but not without great cost.
"The older brother is only known by the name of his Quirk, All for One. He was the villain that All Might fought at Kamino." Kyoka let that information sink in for a moment. "So, I'm guessing since you know this whole secret story… you weren't really a late bloomer?" A soft "No" left Izuku's lips. Kyoka responded after a short moment. "Thank you for trusting me with this. For what my opinions worth, I think All Might made the best choice of his life when he chose you."
The words were worth a lot to Izuku, as he held her opinion in high regard. While he never thought Kyoka would look down on him for being Quirkless, hearing her words out loud made his heart feel lighter.
"What happened back in the mine's though, well…" Even though Izuku had just been told his next words were true, even he had a hard time believing the situation would get stranger. "As it turns out, One for All was still 'growing' in a way. It's hit some sort of critical mass recently. The Quirk doesn't just store and pass on power, but a lot of the previous holders. Their strength, their memories, and even their Quirks."
This stunned Kyoka silent for a second. "So that whole inky-black-shadow-tendrils thing was…"
"One of the previous holder's Quirks. The fifth one to be specific, Black Whip. I only met Banjo Daigoro, bit he says soon I'll meet all of the other holders and get their Quirks." Kyoka felt it was a bit ironic, the Quirkless boy now in possession of multiple Quirk, but she didn't point it out, instead opting to question further. "So, how many will you get? And do you know what they will be?"
"Well, Including the super strength, I'll have seven. All Might told me his mentor had a floating Quirk powered up to allow full flight, but as for the rest, no idea. Daigoro only said that I'll 'be seeing Nana soon'"
Kyoka wanted to find out more, and ask more and more, to the point she began to think Izuku was rubbing off on her. She pushed those questions to the side, however. Both farmers were feeling worn out and emotionally exhausted after such a day. "I've got nearly a hundred different things to ask you right now, but I think I'll save it for latter. I just want to enjoy the rest of the evening."
"Do you want to head back to the house now?"
"Nah," Kyoka felt too comfortable in her current position to try and leave it. "Not right now."
Chapter 6
The revelation that her boyfriend was not only born 100% bona fide Quirkless, but also chosen by the greatest Hero in Japan's history to take his Quirk and legacy and would be getting all the Quirks of the pervious users actually changed very little in Kyoka's day to day routine. She still woke up and tended to whatever chores needed to be done, the two farmers still worked to provide whatever assortment of items the little Junimo's asked for (why they needed construction materials, smelted metal or gold coins would forever be a mystery.) and the couple still hung out with their friends.
All that really changed was Izuku's training regimen. While he still did physical training with Alex on the beach, he now dedicated half of his Quirk training time to increasing his max percentage of One for All, and the other half to the newly acquired Blackwhip. While improvement of One for All was steady, albeit slow, progress on the new Quirk was practically null. Blackwhip was fueled by anger, and the added power from One for All could make the Quirk lash out unpredictably. For the first few days, Izuku couldn't make any progress. It was hard for him to muster up the anger needed to bring the Quirk out without pumping too much to keep control.
After the 3rd full day of training Blackwhip to no results Izuku was feeling dejected. One for All was a much different beast to tame, sure it broke his bones when he first got it, but this new Quirk felt like it was fighting him at every step of the way. His mood hadn't improved at all when he returned to the house, something Kyoka easily picked up on.
"Still nothing?" She asked while preparing two plates of some recipe Emily had mailed over.
Izuku let out a weary sigh and shook his head. "It's just… frustrating. When I got One for All, it felt like I was starting a decade behind everyone else, I couldn't even use my Quirk without hurting myself while the rest of the class was improving every day. And now that I actually have a handle on it, another Quirk shows up and it feels like I'm being dragged back to the starting line again." Izuku took a moment to eat while he collected his thoughts, eventually finding the words to explain himself further. "I know I should be grateful, there are people who would give up everything for a strong Quirk like this. I just hate feeling like… like…"
"Like you're not enough?" Kyoka knew the feeling well. Kids were cruel, as most children with mutation type Quirks could attest. Add in the fact that until she discovered the ability to channel her heartbeat through her earjacks, Kyoka got hit with the weak Quirk stigma as well. She knew how much that type of crap could stick with you, and Kyoka would be the first to admit she got off rather easy compared to some of her old middle school classmates. For a boy who spent most of his life being told he should just give up on his dreams, that his existence was a mistake, well…
Izuku didn't offer a response, but the look on his face told the purple-haired girl she hit the mark. Luckily, she knew just the cure for the lingering self-doubting thoughts. Besides the pair's nightly ritual of bad movies and cuddling.
Izuku was a results-oriented person. While he may be smart enough to realize that mastering a new Quirk would take time and effort, actually seeing some results, no matter how minor, was the quickest way to break him out of this funk. "Well, you said Blackwhip needs anger to work right?" A nod from Izuku prompted her to continue. "Well, are you just trying to feel angry, or do you think of anything to get you there?"
"The only thing I can think of that gets me angry enough to use Blackwhip is being in a situation like defending Kota from Muscular or stopping Overhaul to protect Eri. Anything else I've tried just doesn't have the kick to get it going, but those life-or-death moments make Blackwhip too uncontrollable." So that was the problem, Izuku wasn't angry enough normally to drag the Quirk out, or he got too angry to maintain control. Kyoka and Izuku dined in silence while the girl mused on just how Izuku could hit that perfect sweet spot.
Diner was nearly over, and the two began to wash their used dishes when the girl finally spoke up. "Hey Izu? How… how was it like growing up? Quirkless, I mean." The verdanette wasn't expecting such a question. From the day Kyoka found out he was a 'late bloomer', the exact details of his childhood went unspoken. She knew the hell that growing up Quirkless in a Quirk dominated society was. In their first month of U.A. class 1-A had been presented with a lecture concerning discrimination based on Quirk status. During the lesson, the exact statistic of how many Quirkless people committed suicide in their lifetimes was given, 40%. Only for the class to erupt when Aizawa revealed it to be one of his Logical Ruse's™. in actuality, 40% of the Quirkless population committed suicide before they had even finished high school. While the class reacted with horror and disgust that people would drive someone to such lengths simply for the lack of a Quirk, Izuku and Bakugou were silent, both trying to look anywhere other than the front of the class. Statistics and graphs are impersonal however, and Kyoka needed to hear the details from her boyfriend.
"It… it was bad. It started out pretty simple, I still orbited around Bakugou and his cronies, even when they started calling me Deku or making me the villain in every game. But pretty soon it got worse." Izuku had stopped washing by this point, with his gaze lost reminiscing on past cruelties. "I liked analyzing Quirks, even before my diagnosis, and I tried to give everyone advice on how to use theirs, or new techniques. Anything to be helpful, prove I wasn't useless. They… didn't really like that. Said I was trying to call them stupid for not knowing how their own Quirks worked."
By this point the dishes sat in the sink forgotten by the both of them, Kyoka too invested to do anything other than listen to what Izuku had to go through. "Then one day, a kid in my class asked if I wanted to help him with Quirk training, he could grow spikes from his hands. I was so excited that someone actually wanted my help, I didn't notice that he was leading me to the back of the school, to a blind spot where there weren't any security cameras." Izuku began to trace his thumb over a spot on his arm. The potion from the Wizard healed every bit of scarring on his body, but sometimes Izuku could still feel them. "From then on, I was the official 'test dummy' for anyone to practice using their Quirk on. Any teacher that saw what was happening ignored it. But honestly, that wasn't really the worst part."
"It gets worse?" Kyoka didn't know if she wanted to know what could be worse than constant abuse like that.
"Well, physically that's the worst it got. Kachan actually put a stop to it one day, said that they 'shouldn't waste their time on some worthless Deku', but from the glare he was giving them I could tell he was pissed off." A small smile graced itself on Izuku's face, before it just as quickly disappeared. "The worst thing was the pity. It stated small, the teachers telling me to be careful playing with the other kids. Wouldn't want someone with my 'condition' to get hurt after all. But it just never stopped. Every single person in my life treated me like I would break if they looked at me wrong." A groan of metal snapped Izuku out of memory lane, as he realized he had begun to grip the lip of the sink hard enough to leave imprints of his fingers. "I… I don't really want to talk about it anymore if that's alright."
"Yeah, I get it." Clearly the topic was a sensitive one, no point in trying to force a conversation over it. "But on the bright side, I think I may have an idea for getting control of your new Quirk." Izuku cocked his head, wondering how the conversation they just had could help. "I'd say from your handiwork on the sink all that bullshit you went through makes you pretty angry." Kyoka pointed an earjack to the new dents. "Have you tried using that to bring out Blackwhip?"
"I… no not really. Thinking back to those days just… hurts, so I try not to." By now the dishes had been 'left to soak' (completely abandoned), as Kyoka dragged Izuku to sit on the sofa.
"You know that's not healthy, right?" the purple-haired girl responded in concern. Izuku left her without an answer long enough that she decided to speak up again. "I'm not saying you need to tell me your life story in graphic detail right now, but anytime you just want to talk about that stuff I'll listen."
While his face didn't notably change, Kyoka could have sworn Izuku's eyes brightened up, even if just a bit. "Thanks, Kyo. For putting up with my shit. I know it's probably a lot to…"
"Hey." Kyoka stuck a jack to the boy's neck in what could be seen as a threatening manner, but Izuku knew better. If she wanted to hurt him, he would already be convulsing on the floor from the vibration. "I'm not 'putting up' with anything. You would literally move a mountain if I asked you too, this is the least I could do. Plus, I like seeing you happy." As she pulled the jack away from her boyfriend's neck, she felt a smirk creep onto her face. "Also, what's with the swearing?" She asked sarcastically. "The boy I started dating would have fainted the second he heard the word 'fuck.'"
"Well, I have been living with you for the better part of two months." As the two shared a laugh and enjoyed their evening together, Izuku silently thanked whatever cosmic forces governed his life had allowed Kyoka to enter it.
The next day during his training Izuku began to test out Kyoka's suggestion. It was difficult to even think back on the discrimination and abuse without falling down a cycle of self-pity and doubt, but after a few hours of failed attempts he had finally managed to move a large stone from one end of the quarry to the other without breaking it.
It didn't make him feel as good as the day he received One for All, standing atop the last scrap from Takoba Beach as he screamed in victory. But it felt damn close.
"Kyoka! It's so good to see you!" The cheerful voice of Emily rang out the second the girl in question stepped into the household. It seemed like every time anyone entered a building the bluenette was currently in, she somehow knew and was ready with a greating no matter what she was doing or where she was.
"You say that every time you see me." Kyoka responded, passing by Emily's craft area to see the girl focused on whatever creative endeavor had her focus for the week. While the girl was a skilled tailor, Emily often branched out and dabbled with a variety of passions.
"Because it's always true!" Emily had a painter's smock on top of her outfit, and in front of her was a half-filled canvas. It seemed to be of some kind of whale, but… in the sky? And for some reason a potted plant was there. Attributing such a scene to Emily just being Emily, Kyoka placed the basket she was carrying down next to a sewing machine. "The sheep are old enough to be sheared now, so I brought you some wool." Emily had asked for some if the two farmers ever started to raise sheep, offering to use any excess fabric she made for new clothes. Taking care to clean her hands of any paint and removing the stained smock, Emily moved to inspect the gift.
"Thank you so much, I hope it wasn't too much trouble." Before Kyoka could get a word out that it wasn't, Emily had already scooped up the basket and started to rummage through various papers with clothing designs. After dumping out the wool and handing the basket back, she suddenly stopped and let out an excited gasp. "I just had a great idea!"
Due to previous exposure with the likes of Ashido and Kaminari, Kyoka was close to letting lose some form of snarky comment. Through a herculean force of will the punk girl held her tongue, and instead asked "What is it?" Truly a moment of pure heroism.
"The Stardew Valley fair is in less than three weeks! Normally I don't display anything like Pierre or Marnie because I don't sell my works, but I was thinking I could make some specialty fabric or even some clothes for you to display. Because it's still made from a product of your farm you can use it for your Grange Display." The idea sounded solid to Kyoka. Emily's tailoring was very high quality and would be a great addition to any display her and Izuku set up, and Emily got… what did she get from this?
"Looking to promote your work? Izuku and I would be happy to help any way we can." Everyone in Pelican Town had been good to the two farmers, but Emily always seemed to go Plus Ultra with her generosity, and neither Kyoka nor Izuku were the type of people to let it go unreciprocated. Emily waved away such concerns, however.
"Oh no, I'm still not selling anything. I don't really care if you tell people who made it or not, I just want to show that good clothes can be made locally. Getting clothes shipped to your door is becoming popular, and while it is convenient, a lot of small businesses can't compete with larger retailers."
Kyoka and Emily spent the next half hour discussing the collaboration, mainly deciding what clothing would be best to display in the fair. While normally she would ask Izuku's opinion in a matter that would affect them both like this, Kyoka had seen what clothes he chose to wear back in Japan. A collection of T-shirts that had said things like 'T-shirt' or 'dress shirt' was likely not what Emily had in mind when offering to display her work.
Pretty soon the sky had begun to darken, and Kyoka took that as her que to leave while Emily started some design sketches for her new project. Just as she was about to exit, Kyoka was nearly hit by the door as Haley threw it open, slammed it closed behind her, and stormed past the farmer with a loud "Out of my way!" before retreating to her room.
Kyoka had few interactions with Haley, the blond came off as one of the stereotypical 'preppy' girls that the violette wasn't fond of. The few conversations they shared had done little to change this impression as Haley was either disinterested or accidentally condescending, but this level of borderline hostility was new.
The surprise on Kyoka's face must have been apparent, as Emily was quick to explain. "I'm sorry about how Haley just acted, she's been in a bad mood for a few days now."
"'Bad mood' is putting it lightly." Kyoka scoffed. "What's so wrong that she's taking it out on everyone else?"
To see Emily without anything other than a bright smile was unusual, but the small frown on her face was a rarity. "She lost a bracelet on the beach. Normally she would just buy another, but this one was passed down to our great-grandmother by her grandmother, and then to Haley." Emily turned to grab something from her craft room and came back with a small blue gemstone and a sketch of a golden bracelet. "I knew how much it meant to her so I thought I would make her one just like it, even if it wasn't the same one." A dejected sigh, another rarity from Emily, escaped her lips. "She started yelling that I was just trying to make her stop complaining, and since then she's been… well, you saw."
Well, that was certainly different than what Kyoka was expecting, but something still didn't feel right. Sure, Haley liked nice jewelry and would be mad about losing a nice piece, but why would she be so adamant against replacing it with a new one? "This is about more than just the bracelet, isn't it?" Kyoka liked to think she was good at reading in between the lines enough to realize what was going on, but you know what they say about assuming.
"Yeah, it is." Emily made her way to sofa to sit down, and Kyoka followed her lead. "Our parents like to travel a lot, and I guess either didn't expect to have kids or just didn't want to change their lifestyle. They still send money and letters asking how we're doing and what's going on, but for the past two years they haven't really been… around. Even before then we lived with our great-grandmother here in Pelican Town more often than our own parents"
Kyoka could relate to the feeling even if only slightly. Her parents always made time for her, but their lives as musicians meant that there would occasionally be stretches of time where she would stay with family friends. Only in the past few years did the pair decide Kyoka was old enough to come along, but even then, it was far from any sort of vacation as the effort they put into their concerts left little time for shared activities.
"Haley used to really like it here, always finding new things for her photography. A little while before our parents left to travel our great-grandmother passed, and Haley started to lash out, kind of similar to how she is now. I guess losing the bracelet grandma gave her is dragging up some bad memories."
"I'm… sorry to hear that." Kyoka didn't have anything else to say in the face of such a story. "I hope Haley starts feeling better soon."
"Thank you for the concern. I know Haley, and she'll bounce back from this. Even if she doesn't show it, I know she would appreciate the concern." With no more to talk about and the evening fast approaching, Kyoka left the household and made her way to the nearby bench in front of the Saloon.
She first wrote off Haley's mood as just some bratty tantrum, but now with the full story she felt like a bitch for assuming as such. Practically anyone would lash out after losing something with that much sentimental value, and even if well meaning, Emily's attempts to replace it could easily be seen in the wrong light. But what could she do about it? She can't just offer some bog-standard platitudes, and clearly replacement wasn't an option. It's not like Kyoka could just turn an entire beach over to find a single bracelet that might not be there anymore. Right?
Kyoka took a look at the time. Izuku would be killing two birds with one stone by using Blackwhip to try and catch some fish in the evening, both to practice catching something small and fast without crushing it, and to catch a few fish that only came out late in the day to finish a bundle for the Junimo's (again, she didn't know why they needed fish at all). She had a few hours to kill, and Izuku was always saying it was a Hero's job to help even when no one asked them too.
After making up her mind and leaping off the bench to her feet, Kyoka marched herself down to the beach. She had a bracelet to find.
Most festival days had Izuku and Kyoka waking up and starting their day with a small sense of urgency. The events so far began fairly early in the day, and the two could not afford to take it slow if they wished to arrive when the festivities opened. Or more accurately, Izuku said they should hurry while Kyoka was fine being an hour or two late.
Unlike most festival days there was no urgency in the farmers as today was the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, the last day of summer, and the festival would be held on the beach from 10PM to midnight. After placing the last of the harvest to be shipped out, feeding the animals, and clearing out the fields to be ready for new crops the pair was left with little to do. Pierre wouldn't sell seeds for the fall season until tomorrow (for some reason) and beyond preparing some more fertilizer there was nothing more to do on the farm.
Izuku was unused to such a large amount of free time with nothing to occupy it. Even before his admittance into U.A., any time to himself was dedicated to mostly to Hero analysis or learning how to do tasks around the house to better help his mother. Even after the move into the dorms, he often found himself training or studying. Kyoka thought it was pretty funny, and a bit depressing, that she had to teach the boy how to do something with his time other than training but was up to the challenge, nevertheless.
After a few (okay a lot of) new albums, a good movie and its terrible sequel, some junk food, and eight hours later, the two found themselves walking to the beach eager to see the natural phenomenon. Izuku had done his own research into the event, curious about the migrating jellyfish. Although the exact reason was still unknown, the jellyfish were attracted to lights. Every year on the last day of summer the residents of Pelican Town would place paper lanterns to attract the jellyfish as they migrated to warmer waters for the fall and winter, which would cause the ocean to softly glow from the bioluminescence.
As the pair arrived at the beach, they saw most of the town had already arrived. Kyoka waved to Emily and Haley, the latter of the two wearing an old, worn bracelet, while Izuku talked with Demetrius (the only town member more excited for the event than Izuku) about migration patterns, average swarm sizes, and other 'nerd stuff' to quote Kyoka.
As Lewis sent out a boat with a lantern meant to attract the traveling swarm of jellyfish, Izuku and Kyoka found a section of the pier secluded enough for their tastes to watch the event together. For a while, the two feared that something was amiss. It had been almost 15 minutes with nothing but the soft glow of the paper lanterns and the sound of waves hitting the shore, but none of the villagers seemed concerned. Soon enough, Izuku thought he could barley make out a soft glow in the water. He was about to point it out to Kyoka when an excited cry from Jas called the towns focus to the jellyfish. For as long as it took the jellyfish to first arrive, the rest weren't far behind, and soon the waters surrounding the pier were bathed in a soft, cyan glow.
While Jas and Vincent were admiring some baby jellyfish and Demetrius was jotting down notes on the swarm, Izuku and Kyoka sat by the sidelines, content to admire the natural wonder before them. "It's so beautiful." Izuku found the words escaping from his lips. A quite hum from Kyoka signaled that she agreed. "Hard to believe it's been two months." The girl said.
With the close proximity, Kyoka practically feel Izuku tense up. It was subtle, anyone watching probably wouldn't be able to tell, but she knew Izuku was stressing out about something. "Y-yeah… two months…" was the only thing he managed to get out before his own words failed him. After a period of silence, Izuku managed to force out a question he had been dreading to ask for a while. "Kyo… do you think we'll actually be going back to Japan?" The words felt like sandpaper leaving his throat. He had done everything in his power to remain optimistic about their situation. How any day now, the two would find themselves back home, surrounded by worried classmates and their absence remembered only as a strange story to tell the press during interviews. But it had been two months. Izuku knew Quirks, and he had never heard of one with a temporary effect lasting more than a week.
"I… I don't know." Kyoka's voice was subdued, "I want to say we will… but…" her voice trailed off leaving her thought unfinished, but Izuku didn't need her to say it out loud to know what she was thinking.
"I think we need to start treating… all this as a permanent thing." Izuku said. It hurt to say it out loud, to say that the pair would never see their homes again, but both knew it had to be done. There was a fine line between optimism and delusion and denying the reality of the situation would just be harmful in the long run.
Slowly the jellyfish left, one by one, to continue their migration. As the last glow faded into the ocean, and the town members left to return home, Kyoka grasped Izuku's hand. "I'm just glad I met you. I mean, being the number one Hero duo sounds nice, but if this whole 'farming isekai' had to happen to be with you then I don't mind."
Izuku let out a small laugh, the dull ache in his chest already dissipating with her words. "Yeah," he said, before leaning in to plant a small kiss on her lips, "Me neither."
Chapter 7
The fall month brought a lot of changes for the pair of farmers. Obviously with a new season came new crops that needed planting, and the work that entailed. Every day came with it a new task that demanded attention, from expanding the fields and crafting enough fertilizer to compensate, to setting up fences around said fields as well as new pens for the farm animals. The coop had recently been expanded to hold ducks and, oddly enough, dinosaurs. Izuku didn't know if having a literal prehistoric reptile loose on the farm would be bad for the crops, but he wasn't going to take chances and find out.
Winter was also on the horizon, just one short month away and bringing with it a whole host of necessary preparations. Add in the upcoming Fair, with dedicated displays for the crowds coming to see what the town could produce, and the two farmers could barley find time for themselves.
Luckily, a few days before the Fair a rainstorm came in. With all the fences set up and the watering done for them, Izuku and Kyoka had free time.
That the two immediately used to do more work.
Kyoka decided to go to the mines, hoping to find a valuable gemstone for the centerpiece of their Fair display, while Izuku went down to the pier to spend some time fishing, both to hopefully catch some of the few remaining fish that the Junimo's were requesting, as well as make some extra money to set aside for winter.
Izuku sat with his feet dangling off the pier while the rain pelted down on him. A sou'wester hat that Izuku bought from a sentient mouse (which is a sentence that he never thought would ever be uttered) kept the rain off his face and his vision clear, while a thick coat made by Emily kept the worst of the weather off him. Not like it mattered that much. Izuku had never minded the rain before and his training on Takoba Beach with Toshinori would take place no matter the weather, so he was well accustomed.
The door to Willy's shop opened from behind Izuku, and the fisherman walked out with a pole in hand before casting his line out into the water, standing just far enough away to not get the fishing lines crossed. Izuku gave him a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to his own pole. As one of the people who helped himself and Kyoka when the two washed up on the beach, Izuku held a great deal of respect for the man. Even though he could make his own lures and bait for cheaper, the verdanette still bought from Willys shop to help support him as not many in the town were that interested in fishing.
As the sun was beginning to set and the overcast skies slowly grew darker, Izuku was close to packing up for the day when Willy broke the silence between them. "The Fair's coming up in a few days, you two got your grange display sorted out?" the man said while reeling in a Red Snapper, "I know what's going in mine." He said in a mirthful tone.
"For the most part," Izuku said with a small shrug. "Just kind of nervous, I guess. It's our first time doing something like this."
"Ehh, don't worry so much about it. Lewis likes to make a whole spectacle with the displays, giving them scores and prizes, but as long as you're proud of what you're showing that's all that matters." Willy recast his line before letting out a laugh. "Corse I might be saying that because I've never placed higher than 3rd in those things. I get the feeling Lewis doesn't like the smell of fresh fish."
The two kept up the small talk for a little while longer but eventually Izuku took his leave and made his way back home, all the while thinking on the fisherman's advice. The notion of some form of competition sent him scrambling to put in as much effort as he could in order to make a good impression, but was it really necessary? Sure, he would like to win, but this wasn't the Sports Festival. Even if he and Kyoka were new to farming, Izuku liked to think they had made great progress and some ranking in a local fair wouldn't change how far the two had come since washing up on the beach. Regardless of what anyone else thought, he could be proud of that.
"This is… a lot more people than I was expecting."
Kyoka found herself agreeing with Izuku. The past festivals had been more akin to small gatherings due to the size of the town. The farmers knew the Fair would be different as it was open to the public, but both of them had underestimated just how many people would be in attendance. How many people would take time out of their day just to come to some small farming town?
As it turns out, quite a lot.
The small stone paths that made up Pelican Town's streets went nearly unseen as people pushed and shoved to get to the next game, shop, or display. Gus was in his element, grilling and serving burgers almost as fast as the crowd could eat them, while several other villagers ran stalls to sell their work or show off their talents. Clint had a rare smile on his face as several members of various Adventuring Guild's admired his work, while Leah and Haley had small sections to show off their sculptures and photography respectively.
Several venders that Kyoka guessed were run by people from the surrounding towns had been set up, selling things like fresh produce and fertilizer to wine and baked goods. Even the sentient hat selling mouse, Hat Mouse, had brought a tiny wooden wagon filled with various pieces of head wear and skirted around the crowd trying to sell his hats.
While the size of the crowd was far from something like U.A.'s culture festival, neither teen had expected such a turn out to what they thought would be a glorified farmers market. The pair fought their way through the mass of people to get to the area set aside for the grange display's. Only three other people would be setting up display's this year, Pierre, Marnie, and Willy. While anyone in town could theoretically participate, most of the town either didn't produce something to display or chose to forgo the competition to run a stall like Clint and Leah.
"Is it just me or is Pierre way too into this competition?" Kyoka said so only Izuku could hear, which due to the surrounding crowd was just slightly louder than a normal conversation. True to her word, Pierre had clearly put in a lot of effort into his display, the front of his wooden display stall had custom made letters spelling his name and the shop owner was currently making micro-adjustments to the position of his produce, not resting until every single object was exactly where he wanted it.
"I mean… there's nothing wrong with being a little competitive." The verdanette responded. Truth be told Izuku thought it was a bit much, but this clearly meant a lot to the man, and who was he to criticize that.
Kyoka didn't seem to share his thoughts on the matter, however. "I mean, there's going Plus Ultra, but then there's just too much. All you get for winning are some tokens you can spend at like, one stall."
Deciding it was not a good use of his time to argue against his girlfriend on a point he didn't even disagree with, Izuku instead turned to set up their own display. Emily had arrived the day before with a pair of outfits, only asking for the pair to place a small sign that said both outfits had been made with local resources and labor. The rest of the display was taken up mostly by some animal products and crops, and a few strange purple mushrooms the two found in the mines that Demetrius had told them were fairly valuable. The center piece of their display was a rainbow-colored stone called a 'Prismatic Shard' that Kyoka had found during her time in the mines. Gunther, the curator of the town's museum, informed them of just how rare such a find was, and the two decided to donate the stone only after using it for the display.
After organizing the stall in a way he guessed would be aesthetically pleasing, Izuku took a moment to look at what Marnie and Willy brought. Marnie's display was filled with animal products, as expected of a rancher, with eggs, bundles of cloth, and jugs of milk surrounding an oversized cheese wheel, while Willy had several boxes of specialty bait and lures as well as several large fish, including the Red Snapper Izuku had seen him catch before. Neither of the two seemed to be as concerned with winning the little competition as Pierre, but both were clearly proud to show the results of their efforts.
"Well, it looks like you two have had a productive year!" Lewis' voice called out from behind the pair. The mayor took a moment to look over the four displays, cringing for a moment as the 'fragrance' from Willy's stall hit his nose, before turning back to the farmers. "I must say, I didn't expect such a showing for your first fair, but I guess many hands make for light work. I'm sure old Gregory is resting well with you two running the farm."
The pair basked in the unexpected praise for a moment, before Izuku spoke up. "Well, what happens now? How long does it take to judge the displays?"
"It doesn't take long at all, but as for now I'd say you two have earned a break, so just enjoy the Fair." Kyoka started to voice her concerns over leaving the display unattended, especially with a valuable gemstone front and center, but Lewis assuaged her concerns. "We haven't had a problem with someone trying to steal from the displays for quite a while, and I always stay close to make sure no one tries. Plus, I got Marlon ready to help out if someone causes trouble." Lewis motioned to the head of the local Adventure's Guild, Marlon. The man had long since gone grey and was sporting an eyepatch, but Izuku and Kyoka knew the man was dangerous enough that they felt sorry for anyone that tried to steal with him around.
With their fears of theft dissuaded, the couple toured the fairgrounds. By now a portion of the crowd was moving to the dining area near the fountain to get an early lunch, so the two had a much easier time of moving through the crowd. Leah was busy working on a wooden sculpture, and Maru was demonstrating new inventions to passerby, but the largest group of onlookers was forming around Haley's attraction, where she had displayed various photographs she had taken over the years, starting from her first picture to the present. Neither teen knew that much about photography, but the improvement in Haley's skill was obvious to see. Emily was helping her sister with her stall, but this mainly boiled down to offering homemade snacks and gossiping about her and Haley's childhoods.
After visiting their friends, Kyoka and Izuku spent some time playing the overpriced fair games. The prizes all being 'star tokens' to turn in at a vendor did prevent Izuku from getting his girlfriend a large stuffed animal after a display of skill (as is tradition). Seeing the man running the strength tester falter with his strongman persona after Izuku launched the puck so hard it nearly took the bell off was a good substitute, however. "I didn't take you for a showoff green. Using your Quirk to just impress your date at a fair? How daring." The violette said with a smirk.
"I mean, who can blame me for wanting to impress a girl as great as you," "You dork" "But I didn't use my Quirk though." Izuku corrected.
"O-oh… w-well, color me impressed then…" The information was surprising even to her. 'He's a lot stronger without his Quirk than I gave him credit for.' While Kyoka had seen his body before, seeing Izuku's strength in such a display gave her some… 'scandalous thoughts' of her boyfriend's physique. 'Fuck that's hot…'
The crowd around Gus had thinned while the pair enjoyed the festivities, so the two took the chance to grab some lunch. All the food on offer was complimentary for the event, so nothing was stopping either teen from eating their fill. Kyoka had just finished her second burger when Izuku went in for a 6th, his appetite a consequence of the heightened protein intake needed to fuel his Quirk enhanced muscles. Kyoka took it upon herself to stop Izuku from becoming a one-man cheeseburger apocalypse and dragged him off to see the various shops set up near the river.
Most of the vendors didn't have anything that interested either farmer, no point in buying fresh produce when it's your job to grow it after all, but there were a few nick knacks that caught their attention. Kyoka bought a small, hand carved rabbit for Izuku, explaining that his first costume always looked like a green bunny and the image was hard to separate from him, while Izuku bought the girl some new guitar picks.
Izuku was busy purchasing some jerky made out of animals Kyoka didn't even know could be made into jerky when something caught her eye. Rasmodius, already an odd sight due to his rare attendance to town events, was having a conversation with a woman who looked like a stereotypical fortune teller, crystal ball included. After following his girlfriend's gaze to the tent and noticing the Wizard, Izuku chimed in, "Do you think they know each other?" The boy wanted to thank the man once more for healing his arm, but the Wizard had apparently finished whatever business he had and quickly left in the direction of his tower. "I think so, I couldn't hear them over the noise, but the conversation seemed friendly."
"Well, do you want to ask? Besides, if she can actually tell the future, it might be interesting to learn." The notion of magic had intrigued Izuku, but as it turns out such forces being confirmed to exist didn't reduce the number of fake psychics and similar scammers, but actually did the opposite. After completing a job for the Wizard from the town's notice board, Rasmodius advised the two to be cautious, as there are many people who fake such talents for profit.
"Nah, even if she can tell the future I'd rather let it be a surprise." After visiting most of the attractions the fair had to offer, Kyoka and Izuku decided to return to the display area and see how they placed. Both had low expectations as it was their first year at the farm but were pleasantly surprised to see a large 1st place ribbon on the front of the stall.
The two collected their prize, 1,000 tokens, all while blushing from the praise of their neighbors. Even Pierre stopped by to congratulate them, but not before offering a challenge to see who wins next year, something both teens found oddly familiar. "Why is it no matter what we do, people are throwing out declarations of war." Izuku said while he thought of the days before the Sports Festival. Kyoka could only offer a shrug in response. It actually felt nice being the target of such a challenge for once, as all the previous challenges at U.A. had been levied at Class 1-A as a whole or Midoriya specifically. Not that she would say such a thing out loud.
The last stop for the two was the prize booth placed just before the path to the bus stop, and beyond it their farm. Kyoka had a lucky streak at the gambling game (which was literally just picking between two colors for a wheel to land on), and combined with their prize tokens, they had just enough for a scarecrow that reminded Izuku of an old pre-Quirk movie character, and something called a 'Stardrop'. The man who ran the stall said it was a mysterious fruit that helped draw out latent energy in whoever consumes it, and that the taste was unique to each person. Such a 'mysterious and valuable' fruit being sold at a fair's prize table made the two farmers doubtful of the claims, but with none of the other offerings standing out the pair decided to split it.
All doubts faded away the moment the fruit passed their lips. As Izuku swallowed, the taste of the Stardrop filled his mind with memories of eating his mother's katsudon, both parents on either side of him before his father left them because he was born wrong went to work overseas. Right before the taste and memories faded from his mind, the scene shifted. His childhood apartment morphed into the farmhouse, and instead of his parents Izuku was dining with Kyoka and a small green-haired child with earphone jacks.
Kyoka's mind was taken to family music nights, and the joy she felt learning how to play whatever instrument caught her attention. Like with Izuku, the scene changed near the end, now she and Izuku were the ones cheering on a purple haired child with diamond pattern freckles happily stumming away on a guitar.
A taste that brought up vivid memories (and more) was not the only oddity of the Stardrop however. It was subtle, possibly a consequence of splitting the fruit in half, but both farmers felt… better. Not only did both of them feel like they had gotten the best rest of their lives, but Kyoka could swear the crowd of the fair had just gotten a little bit louder. Izuku had a much more subdued effect, he simply felt like he had a particularly good workout, but without the fatigue and strained muscles.
If he could hear the vestiges of One for All however, Izuku would have instantly learned that the Stardrop not only affected his body but his Quirk as well. The past wielders, being a part of the Quirk, had all felt the jolt of power after consuming the fruit. It wasn't that much of one, the 9th One for All user wouldn't be throwing out 100% smashes anytime soon, but the fruit didn't just make the boy able to handle more power, it strengthened the Quirk itself.
"Alright," The first holder said to his successors, "The next person to talk to Nine, tell him to find more of those things. All agreed?" A chorus of affirmations rang out in the dark mindscape that made up One for All, while Izuku and Kyoka walked back to the farm for a quiet evening together.
The bus stop near the farm was bustling with activity, as nearly half the town was waiting to board the bus headed for Zuzu city. After almost 3 months of practicing, Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail felt ready enough to hold their first performance. It was far from glamorous, the venue was little more than a rundown park near an old apartment complex, but a gig was a gig.
"Kyoka, Izuku! Glad you could make it!" Abigail called out to the pair when she saw them arrive. Sam had visited the two a few days before to inform them of the concert and offer tickets. While neither farmer would be preforming on stage, the trio treated both Kyoka and Izuku as honorary members for helping the band find its style.
"Wouldn't miss it." The violette said as she neared the bus. "Besides, we live literally a stone's throw away. We could hear you guys from the front door." She continued while pointing a jack to the roof of the farmhouse, still visible over the tree line.
Sebastian, now done checking over the packed instruments, chimed in. "I'm just glad the town's bus got repaired. Renting a different one would be too expensive, and I don't think all the gear would fit on my motorcycle." The bus behind Sebastian, which once sat rusted over and abandoned, was now practically shining and ready to go. By this point Kyoka and Izuku had stopped questioning exactly how a group of tiny forest spirits knew how to repair infrastructure and large vehicles, instead simply taking such happenings in stride.
"Well, I think everyone that said they were coming is here." Sam said while looking over the gathered crowd. Most of the younger residents had come to support the band, as well as Sam's mother Jodi and his younger brother Vincent. The rest of the town simply couldn't make the time to attend, busy with work or other obligations, but still offered their support, nonetheless.
After loading everyone onto the bus, the trip to Zuzu city passed by rather quickly with the occupants mostly engaging in small talk or focusing on personal hobbies. As the bus pulled into the city and the town members piled out, Izuku and Kyoka took a look around the new surroundings. The city was reminiscent of places like New York or Chicago, at least judging by the pictures the two had seen.
The concert wouldn't be held for another hour, even though the venue was small there was still a myriad of tests and checks to make sure all the audio equipment was working properly, so that left the two farmers with some time to kill.
"So, where do you want to go fir-AHHH." Izuku's question was interrupted as Kyoka grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him to the first music store she saw. With the bus rendered inoperable until a few days ago, the punk girl never had the opportunity to browse a music store in person since the day she had washed ashore in Pelican Town, and Kyoka wasn't about to waste this opportunity.
"First things first, I'm getting a new guitar. I refuse to keep playing that beat up spare Sam keeps around. An acoustic would be nice, but if I can find some amps an electric would be good too." Izuku decided to indulge her, only deciding to step in if she came close to buying out an entire music store. He was just (for once in his life) glad he couldn't buy any Hero merchandise, as the combined cost of their purchases and lack of self-control might legitimately run the risk of bankrupting the pair. "Plus, I need to find something for you as well. You're pretty good at the guitar already, but even if he's not here my dad would freak if I ever married a guy who couldn't play at least two instruments."
"Wait, what?"
"N-nothing!" The now blushing girl quickly tried to cover up her slip of the tongue. Izuku let the matter go, too embarrassed to push it further. Even if the two were a lot more comfortable showing their relationship publicly, the prospect of marriage was still a bit much for two 16-year old's.
"W-why don't we check out that music store?" Izuku attempted to distract from the awkward moment. "Then we can get something to eat before the concert."
After making their purchases (an acoustic guitar and an electric keyboard) and arranging them to be shipped to the farmhouse, the couple searched for a place to eat. To Izuku's dismay he was unable to find a spot that served anything even remotely close to katsudon, and the two settled on a small hole in the wall pizza place near the concert venue.
By the time the pair had arrived at the concert grounds it was almost time for the band to perform. All of the town members had arrived by this point, and a few people were left trickling in to hear the new band. Sam stepped in front of the microphone to address the small but passionate audience. "H-hello Zuzu city!" The cheers he received eroded the nervousness Sam felt, and after a quick glance to his band mates, he spoke out to the excited crowd once more. "We're from Pelican Town, and this is our first gig! So, I hope you all enjoy the debut of our band, 'Deep Dope'!"
As the trio started to play their first song Izuku turned to inspect his girlfriends face, but Kyoka seemed adamant in avoiding his gaze. "Really Kyo?" He asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, knowing full well what he was talking about.
"So, three of our friends formed a band and just so happened to name themselves after your favorite band, despite having no way to even know of them?"
Kyoka finally turned to face him. "Hey, I didn't make them chose anything, I just threw out the name and they liked it." She confessed, before turning the tables on her boyfriend. "And besides, I know if you could be a Hero here then you would name yourself after All Might. No one is as much of a fanboy as you are." Izuku tried to form a rebuttal but was cut off by Kyoka pointing an earphone jack inches from his face. "Don't even try to lie about it, we both know you would."
Izuku chuckled a bit to himself while rubbing the back of his head. "I mean… you're probably right."
The concert went well, and the neo Deep Dope had the audience cheering and dancing for nearly the entirety of their set. After selling out of demo tapes, the band packed up and head back to the bus to find all the town members who came out in support waiting to congratulate them for a successful concert. After a ride back to town Jodi forced every member of the band into a group photo to commemorate 'her little rock star' having his big debut. As Kyoka and Izuku looked on at the scene, the rocker girl was just thankful she could help her new friends to pursue their passion.
The fact that she may soon be able to buy Deep Dope merchandise again was just a bonus