A groan escaped the green-haired boy as he pushed himself off the ground. When he finally sat up, he froze and his eyes widened as he took in his surroundings.
It was nothing but a white void.
"Wh-Where am I?" questioned Midoriya Izuku, feeling panic build up in him. He then looked down at himself. "And why am I wearing my hero costume?"
The last thing he remembered was being at the Class 1-A dorms, with a majority of Class 1-B visiting. Seeing that it was Sunday, meaning no classes, he had planned on heading home for the day to visit his mom. Just as he was about to leave though, there was a large flash of light. After that, he was apparently here.
"This has to be the work of someone's Quirk," started Izuku as he went into his usual thought process. The void filled with his mutterings as he tried to figure this out. "That's the only explanation, but how did it happen in the first place? Is there another UA student who could do this? …Did a villain somehow sneak onto the campus? How did they get past the teachers and staff if that was the case? Are the others okay? This is not good."
There were more questions than answers for Izuku than he would have liked. Not knowing what else to do, he stood up and decided to see if there was anything around here that could be of any help.
Turning around, he stopped when he saw a wooden door in front of him. That…wasn't there before. Getting a good look at it, Izuku saw that the door had an intricate green border around it, yet in the middle of it was a carving a of simple green leaf.
Furrowing his brow, the greenie had a feeling the symbol meant something.
Seeing no other choice, Izuku reached for the doorknob and opened the door, entering further into the unknown.
-:-
"This definitely has to be the work of a Quirk."
Izuku took in his new surrounding in confusion. He had gone from a white void to a lush, green forest and before him stood a very large and tall tree. What was odd about the tree was the massive door built into it.
"Whatever is going on, the answers I'm looking for must be in here," said Izuku to himself as he walked towards the tree. Reaching the door in the tree, he found a signpost right next to it. "Temple of the Forest?"
Well that didn't bode well for the One for All successor. This just raised further questions since he's never heard of this place, so who knew where he truly was. Wanting to find the answers he sought, he pushed aside the door and entered the giant tree.
Once inside, he looked around, finding foliage covering the walls and a few torches set up around the room for light.
"…A fire hazard in the making," said the greenie, as he stayed clear of the torches, not wanting to knock them over in a clearly wooden structure.
The boy only made it a few feet in before he stopped in his tracks at the sound of something skittering about. Looking around, he froze when he saw a cat-sized spider crawling on the wall. Without hesitation, he shot off an air bullet with a flick of his fingers at the arachnid, hitting his mark. He was surprised when the creature died in a puff of smoke.
"Smoke? Was it fake?"
With the question in mind, Izuku headed deeper into the temple, shooting down any creature or monster in his path, all of which became puffs of smoke after taking a hit.
"This is getting weirder and weirder," stated Izuku as he entered the next room. He noticed that across the room that the door was barred off, stopping him from progressing. Furrowing his brow, Izuku examined the door, trying to figure out how to open it.
It was then that Izuku heard a loud clacking sound that made him tense up. Turning around, his eyes widened when up above he saw a humanoid figure crawling across the ceiling. Thing got even weirder when the figure's head turned completely around like an owl's to look at Izuku, giving the boy a better look.
"A puppet?" questioned Izuku, getting on guard.
Indeed, the figure that suddenly dropped down was a large wooden puppet, floating in the air as if it was connected to strings with its limbs dangling limply. Not wanting to give it a chance to do whatever it was planning, Izuku put his One For All training to use and started to jump off the walls at high speed. Once he gained enough velocity, he charged up a kick aimed right for the puppet's head.
"SMASH!" called out the greenie as he brought his foot down and slammed the puppet into the ground, shattering it into splinters.
With the puppet destroyed, a treasure chest shimmered into existence, much to Izuku's surprise. As he said earlier, things were getting weirder and weirder. Being weary of any traps, Izuku cautiously made his way over to the chest and opened it, only to raise an eyebrow when he found what was inside.
"A boomerang? None of this makes any sense," he stated as he examined the weapon.
The sound of metal then caught his attention and he noticed that the door was no longer barred off. Taking this opportunity, Izuku quickly made his way through the door and continued on his way.
Fighting through more monsters and surprisingly solving a few puzzles that involved the boomerang he found, Izuku soon arrived to what he believed was the last room of the temple.
"At least I hope it is," said Izuku, looking at the large gold key in hand that he had found exploring the temple. He then looked up at the matching lock on the door before him. Steeling himself, Izuku put the key into the lock and turned it. Once the lock fell to the floor, he went inside to face whatever was lurking there.
The first thing Izuku noticed about the large room was how what he presumed was a small lake taking up most of the room. There were also no doors aside from the one he just went through. A rumbling then shook the room and Izuku tried to keep his balance. From the lake, a large mass shot up and towered over Izuku. Once he saw what it was, he backed up in slight fear at what was before him.
It was a large plant-like monster, its "body" comprised of multiple thorny vines wrapped around themselves, while its "head" was a flower that opened up like a mouth. On the inside, Izuku could see a glowing, bulb-like tongue that he figured was the creature's weak spot. There were two other, smaller flower monsters that from what Izuku could tell would act like the larger plant's arms and hands.
Devout Flora Queen
Zealothorn
The creature let out a screech before it sent a thorny vine towards Izuku. Activating One For All, Izuku dodged the attack and tried to create as much distance as possible. The creature clearly didn't like this as it let out another screech before once again lashing out with its vines.
'Not good, not good, not good!' thought Izuku as he kept dodging the vines. 'I need to figure out a way to beat this thing and fast!'
With the vines keeping him at a distance and seeing how sharp the thorns on its body were, Izuku knew there'd be no way of getting in and attacking at close range. So he used the method that hasn't failed him yet while he was here.
Firing off an air bullet, it was much faster than the creature's vines and hit its mark, slamming into the creature's torso and causing it to roar in pain. With the creature in a now stunned state, Izuku noticed the glowing, bulb-like tongue hanging out of its mouth.
'Is that what I think it is?' wondered the greenie, looking at the bulb with a calculating look. While he was figuring out what this was, the creature came out of its daze and screeched again, jolting Izuku out of his thoughts.
Going back on the defensive, Izuku had a plan in mind on how to stop this overgrown weed. Charging up One For All in his hand, he dodged the vines and shot off another air bullet, once more hitting the mark and causing the creature to spit out its tongue.
Not wasting any time, Izuku pulled out the boomerang he acquired and took aim.
'Please let this work!'
Throwing the weapon with all of his might, he watched as it spun through the air towards the bulb. When the boomerang reached its target and cut it off, Izuku couldn't help but cheer in victory.
The creature roared in pain once more before it struggled to stay upright. Eventually, the creature fell forward, crashing into the ground and started to dissipate, signifying its death. Once it full dissipated though, a lone figure that Izuku recognized all too well was left in its place.
"Sh-Shiozaki-san?!" exclaimed the shocked greenie as he rushed over to the religious girl.
He quickly checked her over and found that not only was she thankfully breathing, but she didn't have a scratch on her.
"Why is Shiozaki-san here? Was she sent here by the same Quirk that sent me here? Why was she in that monster…or was SHE the monster? In that case, what could have transformed her into that monster in the first place?"
As Izuku kept muttering, a bright light interrupted him. Looking up, he grew confused when he saw a green-colored crystal medallion floating in front of him before it landed in his hand. From the looks of it, it looked like it was made of jade and even had the same leaf symbol on it as the door that brought him here did.
Intrigued, he would have to study it later. Right now, he needed to get Shiozaki out of there and somewhere safe. Lifting up the taller girl into his arms, and blushing all the while at the close contact, he went towards the door that materialized along with the medallion, hoping that it would lead them home.
-:-
Shiozaki let out a small groan as she opened her eyes, only to close them again when she was met with a bright, white light.
'My Lord? Have you called me home?' questioned the girl, thinking that she had died.
"Shiozaki-san! You're awake!" called a voice, catching her attention.
Turning to where the voice came from, she saw the relieved face of Class 1-A's Midoriya. "M-Midoriya? Has the Lord called for you as well?"
The boy furrowed his brow in confusion. "No? We're still alive if that's what you're asking."
Shiozaki sat up and took in their surroundings. They were in a small garden, complete with a garden table, chairs, and even a bench, which is what she was currently sitting on. What was strange though, was the vast white void that surrounded them.
"Where are we, Midoriya?"
"I'm not exactly sure. When I woke up here it was nothing but this void, but when I came back after saving you this garden was here," explained Izuku.
"Saved me?" questioned Shiozaki, confused. When Izuku explained what he had done when he first arrived here, she grimaced. "I became a monster?"
"It would seem that way," replied Izuku. "Whatever Quirk brought us here must have affected you differently and I'm afraid it might have affected others the same way."
The religious girl looked over to where Izuku was glancing at to find two doors, one of which she suspected led to the temple where Izuku found her. If that was the case, the second door must have one of their other classmates captive as well.
She was about to say something to Izuku when both greenies jumped when Izuku's phone went off, much to their shock.
"We have service here?!" questioned Izuku, pulling out his phone. "It's All Might!"
As soon as the boy answered his phone, he was bombarded with questions.
"Young Midoriya! What happened?! Where are you?! Are you alright, my boy?!" came the frantic questions of the retired hero.
Before Izuku could answer, the sounds of a struggle could be heard and he grew worried for his mentor, but he jumped when a new voice spoke.
"Deku-kun!"
"U-Uraraka?!" squeaked out the greenie.
"Tell us where you are, Deku-kun, and we'll come save you!" exclaimed Uraraka, only to let out a yelp that confused Izuku.
"Midoriya, are you still there?" asked a third voice.
"Yaoyorozu?"
"I apologize, Midoriya, but everything has been hectic ever since what happened this morning," explained Momo, worry clear in her tone.
"Yaoyorozu, hand All Might his phone back and tell him to put it on speaker. It'll be easier to explain things to everyone," said Izuku.
As Momo handed All Might back his phone, Izuku set his own phone down and put it on speaker as well.
"Midoriya, my boy! Young Yaoyorozu says you know what's going on?"
"Not entirely, All Might, but I believe this is because of a Quirk."
"A Quirk?" questioned All Might.
"Hai. When I was about to leave the dorms this morning, there was a flash of light and then I ended up…wherever here is," said Izuku.
"I remember that light," started Momo, not at all happy. "When we regained consciousness, most of us were missing."
Izuku was afraid that would be the case, his worry for his friends and classmates growing. "H-How many are missing? I was able to find Shiozaki-san while I was here."
"Shiozaki?" asked another voice, one Shiozaki recognized immediately. "Ibara! Are you okay?!"
"I am well, Itsuka, thanks to Midoriya," said Shiozaki. "What of the rest of our class?"
"You were the only one of us missing, Ibara," replied Itsuka with a sigh of relief. "I am so glad that you're safe."
"And thank the Lord that the rest of you are safe as well," replied Shiozaki, putting her hands together in prayer.
"What about our class?" asked Izuku, still worried.
"The only ones accounted for are myself, Ochaco, Tsuyu, Tooru, Kouda, and Mineta," answered Momo, her own worry coming through.
In the background, Mineta could be heard saying how lucky Midoriya was to be stuck somewhere with a hottie like Shiozaki, only to earn a smack, possibly from Tsuyu's tongue. Despite Mineta's words though, Izuku did not blush as he was too worried about his classmates.
"S-so some of our classmates are still missing. If I was able to find Shiozaki-san here, the others might be here as well."
"You still haven't told us where exactly you are, Deku-kun," said Ochaco. If Izuku didn't know better, it sounded like she was pouting.
"I don't think any of you would be able to get here, Uraraka," said Izuku, before explaining to them where he and Shiozaki were and what he had done so far.
"That…is quite concerning, Young Midoriya," stated All Might after taking the information given.
"I know. Not only could it mean that the others are here as well, but I might have to fight them to save them," replied Izuku with a frown.
"And I will be assisting him," added Shiozaki. "It would be sinful of me to make Midoriya do all of the work, especially if he must fight his fellow classmates."
"…Very well, but be careful, Young Midoriya, Young Shiozaki," said All Might. "In the meantime, I will inform Nezu the rest of the UA staff and we'll try to find some answers on our end."
"What about us? Can we do anything to help?" asked the voice of Class 1-A's invisible girl.
"For now, just be patient, Young Hagakure. We might not know exactly what happened, but we WILL find answers and bring everyone home."
After a few more words with his mentor, Izuku soon hung up and started making plans with Shiozaki on what their next move will be.
He just hoped that he could save his classmates in time before whoever brought them here finds them first.
CHAPTER END
-:-
You can pretty much guess where Izuku and Shiozaki ended up. And no, this isn't going to be a crossover. The places Izuku and his group will be visiting are more generic than anything specific.
This chapter is something from my backlog of stuff that I've started on and I'm hoping to clear most of it out over the next few weeks or so. Other stuff in my backlog are…
The next chapter of "IzuJirou Album Soundtrack", which I'll be changing the title of once it's posted.
The first chapter of a multi-chapter Smiling Family fic.
A Smiling Family one-shot about Izuku and Kyouka's first date.
A sequel to "Ichigo's Shadow".
A one-shot where Izuku goes to UA, but not in the Hero course, Support course, Business course, or General course.
The second chapter of "Shizuoka Squad".
The second chapter of "Who You Goin' To Call?", which should have gone up LONG before last Halloween.
A Kirby one-shot that I started WAY back when Star Allies came out.
So, yeah, I have my work cut out for me, especially because one of the reasons these are in the backlog to begin with is because I have a hard time keeping focus. So wish me luck in trying to finish some of these.