Hey everyone! Welcome back to the story! I don't own Genshin Impact or My Hero Academia.

So... SEASON 5 OF MHA CAME OUT! This'll be good.

I'm also looking forward to DBS Part 2, which is said to be coming out this summer. The manga is so different from the anime, that I don't even know what to expect. But I'm looking forward to it! :D

Sorry for keeping you all waiting. Also... JOJO PART 6 :D. Wow, lots of good anime's coming out.

That's it! Guess it's time...

BEHOLD:

Domain Expansion: Unlimited Writing!

...I really need that ability...

THE STORY! :D

"Nice!"= Speaking

"NICE!"=Shouting

"Nice!"= Thinking/ Flashback/ Emphasizing a Word

"Nice."= Whispering

A Heroic Impact: Chapter 21

Bakugo rubbed his face as he snarled from the two things that had been on his mind all day.

One of the things being that he... had lost. Katsuki Bakugo had given it his all, and had completely and entirely lost. Hell, he was actually holding his own against the bastard on the other end of the ring. But then came the fire... damn. But this wouldn't stop him! He was going to overcome any obstacle that came at him! With the training to be provided to him by the people that saw him fight, he would be even more incredible than he was right now! Why?

BECAUSE HE WAS KATSUKI FREAKIN-

"Bakugo!"

Bakugo turned over with his trademark scowl planted firmly on his face as always. He had gotten so caught up in how awesome he was, he didn't notice the bus had finally made its stop. Aizawa, surprisingly, looked even more tired and agitated than usual, something that neither Bakugo nor anyone in the entire school thought was possible. There was something wrong with the teacher...

"Are you going to live on that bus, or am I going to have to pull you out myself?" Aizawa warned as his scarf began to unravel as the ends of the clothing began to make their way over to the door of the bus.

Bakugo growled as he threw the bag containing his dirty, ripped uniform onto the ground as he jumped off the bus and landed next to it, causing many nearby students to back up and yell at him to mind where he was throwing his stuff. Ilda saw this and was not happy in the slightest.

"BAKUGO!" The glass-wearing boy started to run towards the boy, his arms moving robotically in a rather weird fashion that caused multiple students to look at him strangely. "Are you trying to injure students by your own inconside-

He paused as he saw Bakugo, of whom he was unsure had heard him or not, winced as he put his right hand on his bag, and then quickly switched to his left instead. Ever since Bakugo had used that nuke move, his whole body had suffered damage from it. The damage was minimal, however, thanks to the medical team there. But not all the damage could be completely healed, as his hand was still covered in burns and was currently bandaged up.

That didn't seem to stop the blonde-haired boy from still being himself.

Ilda quickly shut his mouth as he let Bakugo to his thoughts as he walked back over to his group of friends, all of who couldn't seem to switch the topic off of Deku, as they were still worrying about their green-haired friend who had disappeared earlier that day. Meanwhile in the explosive boy's head, he was having similar thoughts as the bus containing the class of 1B pulled up to the school as well.

The other thing that had been on his mind was Deku. He... was gone. There was no other way to look at it. But he would come back! Because Bakugo would defeat him! He would make him admit how much stronger he was! How he was going to be the number one hero! How that last win was just a fluke!

The last one was a lie, but he didn't care. He would defeat that bastard when he would come back, he would make sure of it!

Izuku nearly bit his tongue as he landed on the ground once more, narrowly dodging another bolt of lightning that the monster had sent at him. Although the monster was trying to kill him, that didn't stop nor answer the amount of questions that the boy had. What was it made of? Why was it trying to kill them? Why did Venti attract it?

He couldn't even take a second to ponder this as a gust of wind blew him off his feet into the tree behind him. He wheezed when his back hit the tree. He slide off the tree and hit the ground butt-first as he saw stars from the sudden impact. The scratches he had obtained from running through the branches and begun to bleed once more as he forced himself to get off the ground as branches and leaves fell from overhead from his collision with the tree. Suddenly, the questions he had been asking in his head not even a minute ago didn't seem nearly as important now.

Izuku didn't even have time to groan as another bolt of lightning zoomed towards him as he jerked his head to the right at the last second, due to his newfound instinct from his training with All Might, and because of the new dangers that kept rising from this world. The sudden light that was created from the bolt of lightning temporarily blinded Izuku as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise due to he sudden electrical current that had traveled into the tree he was leaning against. The green-haired boy suppressed a shutter as he managed a quick glance where the lighting had hit the tree, seeing scorch marks that had dug deep into the enormous trees's tough bark. He tried not to think about what would've happened if his skin had replaced the bark...

Ven, who also had been dodging the wind and lighting from the creature, gave a primal screech, her hair whipping in every direction due to the wind, as she threw herself at the monster with one of the sticks that had fallen from the tree in her hand in an attempt to stab the monster. She shoved forward as the stick entered the orb, causing it to pause as no wind nor lightning shot out of the still creature. The orb continued to glow, but nothing came out as the team stared at the orb, cautious and shocked by the sudden events as the orb remained airborne, but not responsive.

Venti, who had been staying on the ground where the four had landed, managed to find his feet and helped a dirty Paimon off the ground as well. He blinked in surprise at the sudden, easy defeat of the creature. He groaned as he gripped his aching shoulder from where he had landed from having been forced onto the ground.

Ven still stood there, panting and spitting her vermillion-shaded hair out of her mouth, as the wind from the monster caused some to end up there. The stick stayed in the monster as her hands stayed on the weapon as she began to push it in further in, just in case the monster was still... alive? Was it even alive? It didn't really look like any of the creatures that they had encountered yet...

Izuku got off the base of the tree as back protested greatly. He stifled a yelp of pain as he limped cautiously over to Paimon and Venti, his gaze not leaving the monster that had attacked them mere seconds ago. "So, i-is it dead?"

Venti checked his lyre, his eyes showing relief when he saw his favorite instrument well and intact. "I would have to guess so. But to be attacked so sudden! It's very strange..."

The bard then was left to his thoughts as Izuku turned to Paimon, who was dusting off her tiny clothes, huffing in annoyance. "How are you doing Paimon?"

Paimon suddenly grinned, all of her previous annoyance at being covered in dirt and dust having vanished instantly. She immediately got up and put her hands on her hips as she puffed out her chest at the immobile monster. "You see that? That was just a taste of what's to come! You can't handle the might of Paimon, the strongest knight to ever walk- er... float this world!"

A loud snort was heard from where the Ven stood, as she had begun to twist the stick around in the monster to ensure its death. "Sure, maybe in your dreams! I'll be over there in a minute, we can never be too careful. Wait... HOW MUCH WAS ITS BOUNTY?!"

Ven yelled this over to Izuku, putting much more emphasis on the last question than the statements that had gone with it. In response to this question, Izuku shrugged as he made a mental note to check and give Ven the money, as she definitely needed it more than anyone else present, as she needed it to support her people. The green-haired hero then turned to Venti, who had been strumming a tune on his lyre to ensure its condition. "So... how much do you know about that monster? 'Cause if you have information, we'd be really grateful..."

Venti's eyes lit up as he turned to Izuku, beaming, as he unequipped his wooden instrument. "Of course I do! And all it costs for the information is... a drink! You're young enough to drink, right?"

As Izuku opened his mouth to deny this, but Venti shook his head before the hero-in-training could even utter a word. "On second thought, don't answer that. You're old enough to drink because I said so and because you look like you can...ish! So come on, let's get some drinks!"

The bard grinned as he turned around to start heading back towards the town. After all, his new, reliable friend would be buying him drinks! That was enough on its own to look forward to, but all the stories that were made from this expedition could possibly earn him the "Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt" award for years to come! Nothing could ruin this day for him!

Until a sudden pain filled the back of his lower torso. The bard gasped as jolts of pain ran though his entire body as he fell face-first on the dirt and didn't move.

Izuku looked over at the fallen, electrified bard he had been watching leave with a horrified expression as he and a shocked Paimon turned over back to the monster, which still had the stick in it, but was emitting a little gusts of wind.

Gusts of wind that were so little and insignificant, that Ven, whose hands were still turning the stick in the monster, hadn't noticed them...

"VEN! IT'S A TRAP"

Izuku screamed this as he got the save's attention a moment too late. "A... trap? Wha-"

The monster emitted an enormous gale of wind as Ven removed her hands from the stick and threw her arms in front of her head in a feeble attempt to block herself as the poor girl was catapulted backwards into a nearby grassy plain. When she was in the air, Izuku saw red droplets fall from her arms and cover the blades of grass, turning the green blades into shades of crimson. Izuku looked over to Paimon to tell her to heal the girl, but was happy to see that she was already flying over to heal the bleeding girl and the fallen bard. Izuku was now the only one left on the field fighting this monster.

The orb then made its way into the air as it resumed its previous position as Izuku shuffled his foot across the ground, holding his battle position as he stared cautiously at the being before him. Izuku now knew it could shoot lightning and manipulate the air around it. But what other abilities did it have...?

And with that thought, the orb gave a tiny shutter as sparks began flying off of it. Izuku flinched as he immediately began to back up, knowing what it was beginning to do, as he had just been on the other side of the attack previously, just narrowly managing to dodge it. It was going to try and electrify him once more.

"Find cover or try to get close?" Izuku debated as he saw more sparks emerged from the monster opposite of him. It was going to launch its attack soon, he had no time. "I'll try both!"

Izuku began to sprint towards the monster as it fired its bolt. The green-haired boy threw himself at the ground with his eyes closed, in an attempt to evade the attack all the while getting slightly closer to the creature. He suddenly felt the ground leave his grasp as he opened his green eyes, which widened a considerable amount seeing that he was now in the air, gusts of wind blowing off of the ground and keeping the hero airborne. The monster had taken so long to fire the attack because it had been preparing two of them. One as a distraction, and the other as the real deal...

He was stuck, frozen in the air as the orb shot out another gale of wind, one of which Izuku had no choice but to take. He felt slices of the wind and sudden pain fill his arms, face, and torso as he closed his eyes once more, in an attempt so that his eyeballs wouldn't sustain any damage as he was assaulted by the wind. The boy bit back a scream as he felt each attack hit him, every slice feeling worse than the last. The orb, now done with the attack and apparently satisfied at its amount of damage, threw the green-haired boy at the ground like a rag-doll.

Izuku gagged as he felt the air leave him as the ground made contact with his hurt back, which had already been injured due to the contact he had made with the tree earlier. His ears rung as he spit a mix of dirt, saliva, and blood out of his mouth as he put his hands on the ground in front of him and forced himself into a standing position, his arms covered in cuts and slices, blood beginning to gather in the wounds and trickle down his body. Izuku winced and groaned as he turned towards the monster once more, which in return started sparking again. But it seemed to be charging its attack... at someone else? The sparks seemed lesser in his direction where it had previously fired, so it was safe to presume so. But at what person? Weren't he and Paimon the only ones...

The boy gasped as he quickly craned his head in the direction of where it was now firing in the direction of where Paimon currently was, with her hands over the slave. It was going to shoot lightning at her and roast her and Ven alive...

"NO!" Izuku shouted as he ignored the pain shooting through his back and legs as he ran to help the girls as the monster continued to charge. This bolt was going to be much bigger and more devastating than anything that it had fired prior. He couldn't use his quirk, because he only had a limited amount of shots before he was left defenseless and injured. If he used One for All in his legs, he would not only break, but possibly overshoot where he was trying to go! They had to be saved, he wanted to save them!

No, he needed to save them!

He grit his teeth as he began to sprint faster towards the floating girl, who had started healing the slave and hadn't seen the sparks yet as she was about to get to work. He wouldn't let anyone die!

Unbeknownst to Izuku, red vein-like markings had begun to appear on his body as he continued to run forward. Izuku felt a little uncomfortable, what was happening? Why wasn't he running any faster?

And then, he felt something burst open inside of him, like a dam breaking. Everything he had felt in his arms when using his quirk had spread across his whole body, making it ache, but not to the point where he felt as though he was going to break. What... was this? Adrenaline? Izuku shook his head as he raised it to see his goal. He could focus on that question later.

The enormous bolt of lightning finally fired from the orb and danced through the air as it flew towards the unsuspecting girl. Paimon turned her head from the unconscious slave and saw a great light heading her way as she realized why Izuku had yelled. The little girl threw her arms over face and screamed, waiting for the inevitable.

But strangely enough, the inevitable never came.

Paimon moved her arms, only to see the whole world lopsided. She turned herself right side up as she looked over at where the monster had struck. Where she and Ven had been only mere moments beforehand. What had saved her?

Her little eyes widened as she remembered Izuku's injuries and his voice. He must have saved them, but what had become of him?

She heard footsteps near her as she breathed a sigh of relief. The monster was floating, so there was no way it could have footsteps, meaning only one thing. She turned her head towards the boy with a grateful look. "Thanks Izuku, but Paimon had it cove-"

She trailed off, her gaze still locked onto Izuku as shock filled her. Izuku was much too busy focused on the monster than himself, but that didn't stop Paimon from now looking at her savior with awe and amazement.

The boy was now positively covered in bolts of green lighting and red-vein like markings that traveled up and down his body. The strange electricity looked as though it were searching for a point to escape his body as he glared at the monster, his eyes a bit brighter than they had been before as he stood strong in front of her and the fallen slave.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else."This whisper was quiet, yet it echoed through the clearing, sending chills down Paimon's spine. His energy was surging, yet he looked completely calm, looking completely different than he had when he had used this ability before. And since when did this ability affect his whole body?

The monster had made no response to his sudden change in power as it locked onto Izuku as it began to charge another powerful attack. In response to this, Izuku began to tread lightly over to the side without so much as a limp, in order to prevent Paimon, Ven, and Venti from being potential targets of the monster once more. Every time one of his feet would meet the ground for a step, green lightning would meet the ground before his foot would, singeing the grass and bits of rock that would be beneath his feet. His eyes were distant, as though he were thinking about something else rather than the events currently unfolding as the red vein-like markings on his skin vanished, as even more electricity crackled and sparked from his body out into the open air.

The creature had finished charging up it's power as it fired another bolt of lighting at the sparking boy, who in response stared down the attack as though he had done this every day in his life. Paimon, in response to this, yelled out to the boy. "IZUKU! WATCH OUT! IT'S GOING T-"

She stopped as she saw Izuku raise his scratched, bleeding right fist and clench it as the attack was now only mere feet away from him. His eyes were still distant as though he truly were bored with the current proceedings.

Paimon blinked as she saw the lighting get even closer to Izuku, as it now was in arm's reach from the boy. She couldn't get over to him in time to help him, and his past injuries were still there as well, although he didn't even seem to notice them! What was he doing?

And then, he threw the punch. The powerful punch completely dispersed the bolt of lightning as the wind current from it hit the monster as it recoiled, flying some feet away from where it originally had been floating. The leaves on the tree rustled slightly, but that was the end. Paimon blinked, now horrified and confused. Where was the enormous explosion? The attack that would uproot trees, and even take away bits of mountains?

The white-haired magical girl then turned to Izuku, expecting to find a crumpled figure on the ground with a broken limb. Instead, much to her shock, the boy stood proud and tall, his fist still clenched and his arm slightly red and covered in blood, but nothing on his limb appeared to be broken.

"W-WHAT HAPPENED!?" Paimon shouted over to Izuku, her curiosity winning over her awe and fear of what was currently happening. "WHY ISN'T THE ARM-"

"Paimon." Izuku spoke plain and simply, but she could hear him clearly despite him speaking in a normal tone from some distance away. His eyes were still locked on to the orb as more blood dripped from cuts off his face onto the dirt below. Said orb seemed to still be recovering from the boy's last attack. "Don't you have a job to be doing?"

Paimon blinked as she just then remembered the cut-up slave and injured bard as she nodded. Izuku seemed to understand that she had accepted his question, despite his eyes not leaving the orb. The white-haired girl then turned her attention and magic back to the slave that was in front of her as Izuku resumed his defensive position against the monster, which in turn began to charge up once more at the boy as said boy began to slowly creep over to the right, the green lightning still singeing the ground and rocks underfoot. The monster began to charge up again, unknowingly achieving Izuku's goal of distracting it while Paimon got the rest of the group on their feet.

"Last chance." Izuku said impassively as the monster began to glow once more. "Give up now or I'll start fighting for real."

The monster didn't so much as move as it fired a miny tornado at the green-haired boy, causing bits of grass to fly out of the ground and into the air. Izuku didn't even flinch as the tornado approached him. Even thought was much smaller than the actual natural disaster, it was still enough to do much damage to the boy to which the attack had been aimed.

The only problem was, the boy had vanished from the things range.

A green bolt slid behind the orb. The creature then unwisely turned, just as a flying kick was thrown at it from its opponent. It had no time to dodge, or to make a counterattack to try and parry the dangerous move. It was helpless as the kick connected, shattering a portion of the orb's exterior like glass as it was sent spiraling through the air, landing with a *crunch* in the nearby dirt.

The orb back up into the air, bits of grass and its own exterior hanging off itself in bits as the wind began to change around it. The air around the monster began to rotate faster and faster as the green bolt of light flew towards its target, prepared to end the fight. Izuku remained indifferent to the new move the foreign monster had pulled from its arsenal.

"That looks like a version of the move it used on Ven." He thought as his attention quickly averted over to where Paimon was, to see her now hovering over the bard with her hands out, muttering something under her breath as Ven began to stir from where she lay. He had no time to feel joy from this as the monster threw its deadly attack at the teenage boy. In response, Izuku quickly looked out behind him to see if there were any other critters in the way of the attack. As he saw none behind him, he put his hands on the ground, causing the ground to become even more burnt than the ground where his feet had made contact as he saw the devastating offensive maneuver making its way towards where he was prepping.

And then, he sprinted towards the orb, his ears ringing as he jumped at it as the attack was just as far as the previous attack had been from him as he raised his fist once more. The wind was now swirling dangerously. If he got any closer, he would end up like Ven! But he was already in the air, so what could he...

And then, to the shock of the current bearer of One for All, the lightning around Izuku began to crackle and zap the wind as it approached, causing the wind to cancel. His quirk was acting like a shield!

Just as before, there was nothing protecting the monster from Izuku now that its attack had been canceled. It stayed where it was, unable to move as the attack continued to shoot out of its body, but to no avail. Izuku's fist landed on the monster once more, causing a loud *crunch* to echo throughout the clearing as even more of its exterior shattered, revealing a shining light underneath. The boy grinned as he heard this sound, but this feeling of victory was soon replaced with confusion as he heard a young whisper from the direction of the terrible creature.

"H...l...m..e..."

But he had no more time to hear this voice as another attack was charged asthe monster's exterior began to glow. Izuku, with no to little effort, flipped himself over and shot both of his sparking red shoes down, as the monster in response was slammed against the ground. Izuku then landed on the nearby ground as he used his good hand to steady himself. His leg and arm felt like they were on fire, but it was much better than not being able to feel anything at all as he saw the green lighting course across his leg as his eyes widened considerably, the first real reaction he had since he had entered the state he was in. That was... strange. Weren't his limbs supposed to break? He had thought, at first, that he had been running on pure adrenaline. But he could see One for All running up and down his limbs!

What was this?

But as he pondered this, the lightning began to crackle and spark. He looked confusedly at his own hand at the green lightning. He felt his quirk... but it felt off. A few moments ago when he had landed the attack, he had felt his quirk being used. But now, even though he somehow hadn't broken himself, there was something different, something he couldn't quite figure out.

Did it feel... lesser?

At this thought, the green lightning died away completely as Izuku still gazed at his fist, unaware of anything else the wind blew through his curly hair. It had been lesser, that was it! He had put less power behind his attacks, but how...?

A sudden thought struck Izuku as he remembered his training with Amber and Paimon and the broken rock. He had been able to use it then without damaging his whole hand. Had this been the fruits of his training? The breakthrough that he had been anticipating? The thing Amber had been talking about?

Before he could give the topic any more thought, a shrill, feminine voice filled the air. "IZUKU!"

Izuku turned to see Paimon gazing at him, now apparently horrified at the lack of power he was currently demonstrating. Much to Izuku's relief and pleasure, he saw Ven and Venti now standing behind Paimon, Ven staring at Izuku as though the boy had grown two heads as Venti's attention remained locked onto Izuku's opponent, eyes narrowed as he seemed to be throughly analyzing it.

Izuku's attention was diverted once more as a shrill sound came from the thing that stood opposite of him. It now seemed to be struggling to stay where it currently hovered in the air as pieces of itself hung off the orb loosely, which strangely looked like pieces of glass coming off of it. It swayed for a moment before it threw itself at the boy, hurling at top speed, seeming as though it no longer cared whether it lived or not, but rather that it defeated its opponent that had caused it so much pain.

Izuku stood frozen as he attempted to limp out of the way, but it was no use. The orb had flung itself at the injured boy, who could not do anything but attempt to dodge it.

"COME ON BODY! DO WHAT YOU JUST DID!" Izuku pleaded to himself but to no avail. Not a single spark emerged from his body as he gazed at the quickly approaching orb helplessly.

"NO!" Paimon attempted to jump into the fray, but found herself unable to do so. The little girl turned her head downwards as she saw two tan arms wrapped around her body as she looked back, shocked to see Ven stopping her.

"WE NEED TO! HE'S GOING T-" Paimon tried to speak, but Ven shook her head as she gazed at the boy, conflicted. If they were to go help him, they would just become potential targets and possibly put Izuku even in more danger. But if they were to just stand by, that would make them no better that murderers! What would they do?

Unseen by both the panicking Paimon and pondering Ven, Venti's gaze had hardened. His eyes had begun to glow as the braids of his hair started to glow as well. He had to do something, he couldn't sit by and watch this anymore!

But just before the bard could throw himself into the fray, a large *thwap* was heard as the trio looked around in confusion, what was that noise just now?

Izuku gazed helplessly at the monster as he begged his body to move, even if just a little step, but it wouldn't. He was frozen. Dead.

"NO!" He thought as the monster was about to reach him. "I haven't become the number one hero yet! I haven't helped anyone! I need to help everyone! I can't die yet!"

Izuku opened his eyes, expecting to see the monster about to ram into him, or to possibly see what Heaven may look like. What he didn't expect to see was the fallen form of the monster to the side of him instead of on top of him.

With a familiar arrow dug deep into one of its few bits of the material that was still connected to its body.

Izuku felt his muscles loosen as he took a single step towards the group, pain shooting through his whole body as his foot made contact with the ground. Just as he did this, he heard glorious, familiar voices coming from nearby the group.

"What the hell happened here? Good thing I came in time, or else you all would've died!"

"PAIMON!"

Izuku grinned as he stared up at his savior. Both Klee and Amber stood there, the latter still in her festival wear with her bow in her hand as she lowered it, looking amazed as the group looked on in mixed reactions of relief and happiness, Venti quickly turning his head as his hair went back into its original state without anyone noticing, much to the bard's relief.

"How did you all manage that?" She asked as her bow vanished as she pulled out a little notebook and began to write in it. "That was a RANK 30 monster! You all should've died! It's a miracle I came when I did, because only the Outrider of the Knights of Favonius has enough strength to deal-"

Izuku, while thankful for her saving his life, tuned her out at this point as did everyone else in the group. Izuku suddenly felt the pain from cuts and bruises on him vanish as his bones stopped hurting as well. The boy stood up straight and looked around behind him to see Paimon with her hand on his back, giving him a thumbs up as he returned it wholeheartedly.

"So Klee," Paimon began cheekily as she turned to the hatted girl who had just made her arrival, "Paimon took care of a Rank 25 monster while you were gone. You're welcome." And with that, Paimon turned around and floated away smugly as Klee looked flabbergasted.

"I-I y-you w-w... PAIMON GET BACK HERE!" Klee shouted as she ran as fast as her little legs allowed her to run after the giggling white-haired girl. "I-I can take o-on Rank 50s. A rank 25 is n-nothing for my g-greatness! HEY! GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

As Klee continued to whine and chase Paimon, Amber approached the vermilion-hair colored slave, who was staring down at her arms, which had previously been covered in welts and cuts as she was now sitting on the corpse of the monster. "So... are you doing okay? The reward will be distributed evenly."

Amber kept no hostility in her voice, despite the slave's harsh words to her earlier. The slave glanced up at her before standing up completely, now looking away in another direction, her voice unnaturally quiet. "I'll live, and I would like the money."

Amber nodded as she then turned away, nothing more to say to the slave, who had once more seemed lost in thought and continued to glance at her and the approaching Izuku. Amber looked over at the corpse of the monster, frowning slightly. How had they defeated it? Such a feat seemed impossible and yet...

Her thoughts were broken as she felt two muscled arms reach around her waist and hug her tightly as she looked over to see Izuku holding her.

"Thanks for saving my life! You really live up to your title!" Izuku smiled as he hugged Amber, causing her to redden from the contact and the compliment, but suddenly seemed to remember something as her gaze darkened and as her blush faded away. She broke the hug, not showing her face to the boy in front of her.

"W-Well, its not a problem. Also, don't we have a festival to be attending? Remember? The one that you said that you would attend with me, and then left me?"

Izuku gulped as the demented archer loomed over the poor boy as Paimon passed by with Klee still yelling up at the girl. "A-All Might, save me please."

As Amber began to scold Izuku, Venti stood, still focusing all of his attention on the half-glowing monster as he wiped his pants clean of the soot and checked the hole that the creature had made in it. This one... had been strong. They kept getting stronger, and he couldn't keep up with them. Venti knew it was foolish for him to have made a comment about attracting it, and despite not knowing Izuku for some time, he knew that he would eventually ask him why. Hell, anyone with half of a brain would remember and ask why.

But for now, that would have to wait. He was full of stories, the sun was up in the sky, and there was still plenty of time to story-tell! He might actually win the award this year as well!

As he turned around to pick up his fallen lyre, a sudden breeze made him pause. The breeze blew through the grasses, the leaves on the trees, and through the nearby bushes. Anyone else would've thought it was part of the breeze, but Venti heard something that he could barely make out.

"Thank you."

The words vanished as soon as they were heard, the wind dying down as the leaves and grasses stopped swaying. Venti looked unnaturally serious as he firstly looked back over at the previously glowing monster, which had stopped glowing completely after the voice had spoken, and then over at the recently-healed Izuku, who was still being berated by the angry Outrider as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Who the hell are you Izuku?" The bard whispered under his breath. Unknown to him, a certain slave was having somewhat familiar thoughts.

"I was useless in that fight!" Damn it! Ven thought to herself as she remembered the monster attacking her. "And he," Ven turned her amber gaze over to Izuku, who was still being chewed out but the archer. "Did... whatever the hell that was... I'm not even sure what he did, but he beat it nonetheless. Even that little girl was able to contribute, but I did absolutely nothing except get in the way! Why am I so weak?"

She clenched her fist as her nails dug into her palms, remembering all that had happened before the event. The tournament, her race, her previous "master". At these thoughts, her palms had begun to bleed from her nails, but she seemed not to notice or care, as she unclenched her fists, a few droplets of blood falling to the ground from her hands as her eyes gained a new kind of determination.

"I need to become stronger, so I need to do this. I just have to wait until we get back to Jean. Then, I'll ask."

She sighed as she finally made it onto her feet, stretching as a nearby Amber huffed, apparently satisfied at what she had said to the boy. "Can we please go back now? Let's enjoy the rest of the day to the best of our ability, after we get this monster's bounty." Amber said, but added the last part with a hint of glee.

No one else in that area wanted to stay in that area any longer as they all nodded. Izuku turned his way back towards town, right before Venti grabbed his shoulder as an agitated Klee and laughing Paimon passed them once more, both seeming to be racing back towards the village.

"You still owe me a drink, remember? See you at the bar tonight!" The bard whispered as he then turned away from Izuku and began to skip back towards town, already thinking of new stories to tell and questions to ask Izuku when he would get his chance later on.

Izuku gulped as Amber and Ven passed him once more. Right as Amber passed him, a sudden thought occurred to him. He then walked behind Amber as Ven sped up, seemingly determined to avoid talking to anyone as Klee and Paimon passed her again, the latter taunting the other as Klee continued to yell at Paimon. Izuku chuckled at this sight before smiling as he then remembered once again what had happened in the fight. He glanced at Amber, who was now writing in her notebook as she walked.

"She did help me train it a bit, so she would want to know. I'll tell her later." The green-haired hero thought to himself as he continued onwards, but now his gaze fell on the strangely quiet Ven, who now was walking much further down the trail by herself. Izuku frowned, wanting to confront her about what was going on, but decided to stay quiet. He could ask later, when the two of them were alone with no one around to listen. He recalled what she said about the tournament, her kind, and her eventual fate. He raised his eyes to the sky as they regained their familiar steely determination.

"Ven, I'll change your fate and help you and your people, I promise!"

DONE! FINALLY! Wow, that was my longest chapter yet.

Some people have been asking, but still no OCS, every characterbesides the one who went Izuku to the world of GenshinImpact are all real.

Also... sorry for the wait. I know, it's been a while. I was just REALLY busy, but thanks for waiting.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Don't forget to read, review, and enjoy! :D

See you all next chapter!