Sup everyone! Welcome back to the story!

So uh... good news. I may be releasing a new story soon. BUT DON'T WORRY! This is still my main one.

Also, I wanna clarify something. There are a few made self character who don't really affect the story, like the man who sent Izuku there and the man who was Ven's "master". But Ven isn't an OC. I would tell you guys, but it would ruin the plot of the story if I did ;)

Someone also pointed out how there aren't slaves, and how slaves were gotten rid of years earlier. Here's the thing, I'm trying to make it a little more realistic, and how Mondstadt in this story, unlike the game, is a town full of both good and bad people, just like towns in real life. How some of the NPCs aren't NPCs in this story, but actual people. People make mistakes and can be good or bad, hence the reason why people still have slaves in this story, because they haven't been COMPLETELY outlawed yet. But as you can see, most civilians in the story are against it, as they think it's unnecessary. I'm just trying to make things a bit more interesting.

Also, there's another flashback coming up. Sorry, this'll be Izuku's last one for now, but I gotta put it in.

Summer's coming quick! I'm looking forward to the swimming, sports, writing...

Where was I going with this? Oh right...

BEHOLD:

GEAR FOURTH: TANK MAN!

...I got nothing...

THE STORY! :D

"Nice!"= Talking

"Nice!"= Thinking

"NICE!"=Shouting

"Nice."= Whispering

A Heroic Impact: Chapter 23

Paimon bit back a complaint as Klee practically dragged her through the darkening town as red light was cast across the sky, giving the clouds a bit of color as lights from the towns windows had begun to illuminate Mondstadt.

It had been like this all day, with the red-hatted girl bringing her from place to place, all but ordering for the other girl to compete with her, to see who would come on top. Paimon had been excited at first! She was going to show that she was true knight material... until they had reached their 35th contest in a row. Even Paimon at that point had been tired, but knew better than trying to talk her way out of the competitions as Klee would take that as a win. The only break she had gotten was when Klee stopped at some weird building to show something to some weird woman! And then it was right back to the contests! She just needed to escape, but how would she...?

"I saw a food stand up ahead earlier today! You think you can eat more than me like before?!" Klee asked/demanded as she began to pull Paimon more, much to the other's displeasure. Paimon could have easily have hovered away with Klee in her grip, but that could possibly injure the girl, and while she was very annoying, Paimon didn't want to hurt her.

"COME ON!"

...that much anyway.

Paimon looked over at the buildings as she was able to make out a few familiar faces in the dark. The witch had been walking around with a rather content and somewhat dreamy expression, seeming to be in her own world rather than paying attention to what was currently going on around her. She wouldn't be much help...

There was a face she hadn't seen since early that morning as well. Kaeya was now attempting to woo three girls at once, and seemed to be failing miserably, much to the man's ignorance as he continued to flirt with the girl's pulling a rose made completely out of ice from his pocket. How that man was a trusted knight of Jean was beyond Paimon...

The duo continued to walk as Klee kept turning at random, going down certain crowded streets before turning around completely. Paimon keeping her gaze around her, hoping to see someone who she could hide behind or go to as people stared the young girl, as the color of her hair caused her to almost glow in the dark.

The duo turned the corner before Klee let out a victorious huff. "There it is! It tried to hide from me, thinking it was better than the Spark Knight! But it has nothing on me, as I am the most powerful-

Paimon had stopped paying attention, her eyes wide as she stared past the self-proclaiming girl and stared at someone who had just left the candy shop, the door of the shop swinging closed from his departure. He had a bag of sweets and was staring around the crowds, a bit nervous on how he was going to get through without irritating anyone.

And then she saw bushy, green hair.

"Is that...?" Paimon thought before she saw his face, which showed the freckled face that she was so used to seeing. "IT'S IZUKU!" Paimon thought to herself with glee before looking back at the Spark Knight, who was still going on about something about visions. "How will Paimon do this? Hmmm..."

She had to act quickly, before her hero could vanish once more into the crowd. She looked back at her soon to-be comrade and then back at the boy, an evil grin appearing on her face before it vanished with a look of fake smugness that could have easily passed as a real one before turning towards Klee, who had seemed to be now done talking about herself and was now drooling at the thought of food rather than obsessing over victory.

"I wonder if they have grilled mountain lizard...? That's one of Klee's favorites... Or maybe some squid? Squid... I wonder if they have the toast I love..."

"Squid? That sounds awesome!" Paimon thought as drool began to come out of her mouth before she slapped herself in the face in order to come back to reality. "No! Focus Paimon! Izuku now, squid later!" Paimon thought to herself before clearing her throat and began to talk in a bragging tone to the salivating girl near her, who was now more focused on the food than the completion with the white-haired girl. "Paimon is wayyyy faster than you, Klee!"

The moment she had spoken these words, she knew she had done it. Klee had fallen for the first trap, as the explosive girl was now done talking about the wonders of food and was staring at Paimon, slightly taken aback before scoffing.

"You? Faster than me? I didn't know you told jokes, Paimon." Klee grinned before she stretched. "Klee can beat you with all of my gear on with time to spare! I know! We'll do a lap around the city, and the first one who makes it back to the stand has to buy food for the other! READY?! 321GO!"

Paimon didn't even have time to nod in agreement before Klee took off, speeding down a street as people jumped out of her way or tripped thanks to her running right down the middle, a victorious laugh signifying where she currently was, as the crowd was much taller than her. Paimon laughed victoriously before turning back towards the store with a smile. The smile vanished, however, when she saw the store, but no Izuku, meaning the thought of her and Izuku hanging out and the grilled squid was going up in flames...

"DANGIT KLEE!" Paimon yelled to the now faraway girl as she began to hover once more and took off, determined to find her partner who had just vanished before her once more.

Ven turned the corner of one of the roads in Mondstadt as the slave sighed, looking at her clothes. The little clothes she had on were ripped and singed from the fight with the monster, but she bore no wounds thanks to Paimon's magic. She winced from stepping barefoot onto a patch of broken concrete in the city, but she didn't stop as she continued to walk, bare-footed and tired down the paved road.

She... had gotten her ass handed to her. She thought she had killed it, that with this, it could prove to herself that she was capable of fighting in the tournament, to prove that Izuku wouldn't have to go die for her sake, for a slave's sake! But she was defeated, and quite easily at that as well. And while she had gotten nearly killed and was nothing but a burden, Izuku was the exact opposite. He had almost gotten himself killed, but the stunts he pulled... the moves he used... The boy had been able to severely damage the powerful monster. While she...

She knew what she had to do. She couldn't go back to her former master, as she had technically betrayed him by not coming back to him all day. So that left...

"Big sis?"

Ven stopped in her tracks as a group of red-haired kids with tan skin emerged from one of the alleyways, all of whom were wearing mediocre clothes and were covered in dirt and scuff marks. The boy who had called her name looked a bit like her, with red-hair and tan skin, only he had yellow eyes instead of Ven's amber ones.

"You are home! We were worried!" One of the boys exclaimed as he jumped towards the older slave, embracing her with a tight hug. He looked up at her, smiling, only for the smile to quickly disappear as she saw a hardened look in her eyes as he let go of her. "Are you okay?"

Ven suddenly seemed to snap out of whatever she had been imagining, her eyes became much softer as he rubbed the little boy's dirty hair as he stared up at her worriedly. "I am. And I earned a lot of money today, so we'll be able to eat for now, okay?"

The group of kids let out gleeful cries of joy and surprise as they all jumped on the girl and hugged her tight as many people quickly shifted out of their way, some looking on in pity at the poor, rag-wearing group. "Thank you big sis!"

Ven was about to smile, but she then noticed an ugly welt on the boy's arm, but the little kid did not seem to notice it in the slightest as the others kids broke free of the hug and began to argue about what they would eat. She leaned down, gently grabbing the kid by his arm as she got a better view of the wound. "Topaz," She paused when she said the little boy's name before she started again, her voice quiet. "What happened to you?"

The young slave, Topaz, looked at his arm and smirked. "My master today punched Rebecca in the eye and I punched him in the face!" The little boy puffed his chest out as he continued. "She gave me this, but it was worth it!"

The little female slave Rebecca slightly shook, fear filling her good eye as she quickly clung onto Ven as she seemed to remember the story of what truly happened, of how she was injured, and of how they would be unable to return to their former master, just like Ven at the moment.

"Yeah! We really showed him who's-" He broke off, staring at Ven's face. "A-Are you alright, big sis?" Topaz asked, confused and slightly uncomfortable at the impassive face of Ven, who tried with all of her might to keep her face void of emotion from hearing this story. Ven then shook her head as she smiled at the kids again as more people passed by.

"That's great, and... uhm..." Ven gulped, hoping that she wouldn't be lying to the kids before her, who looked at her curiously as the little Rebecca still clung onto the older girl, still fearful of what happened. Ven, who still had a hand on the little slave, patted her as she spoke carefully, not wanting to get their hopes up just yet.

"I... think I have some good news."

Izuku turned his head left and right with a confused expression donned on his freckled face as darkness began to overtake the town, lanterns illuminating from around and above him. The chocolate candies in the bag he had purchased began to give off a sweet aroma, making him want to immediately start stuffing his face, but he managed to resist. After all, these weren't for him! No matter how good they may smell...

"Who am I, Paimon?" He asked in his head and chuckled as he turned another corner in town, kids jumping around in the dark on the street as the adults spoke in loud voices, discussing current events and haggling prices, just as Amber had done previously that same day.

"Thank god that Stormterror thing finally let up!"

"Yeah, it's good to be outside again!"

"Right before the festival too! Talk about luck!"

"It's a good thing I killed the orb monster. Now, I can get Jean a thank-you gift for letting me into the Knights of Favonius!" He thought brightly as he hummed, feeling motivated from the city's approval. He had now made his way so that he was closer to the entrance of town as kids ran around him, some not even sparing him a look while others began to stare at his strange hair color, as it seemed to stand out. Other children, however, had stopped running around and were now sniffing the air, salivating and staring at the bag of Izuku's sweets. Izuku responded to these stares with a cheerful smile and wave, which either made the kids do the same thing back or to just stare more avidly at the bag or his hair. His hair color was unique, as a doctor had once told him having green hair was just how he was born, rather than the effects of a quirk, much to the boy's displeasure at the time...

"Useless Deku! You don't even have a quirk!"

The thought of not having a quirk brought up a person who Izuku had not thought of since his arrival: Kaachan. How was he now? He promised that he would beat him, but how would they fight with Izuku somewhere completely different? Was he training his quirk? How strong had it gotten?

Was he worried about him?

"Take a swan dive off the roof, and pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life."

The taunting voice unwillingly entered his head, tuning out everything around him. More memories began to flow back into the boy's head as his green eyes dulled, recalling some of the two boys' previous interactions as he continued to walk, although he couldn't see where he was walking or even feel his feet make contact with the ground as crickets began to chirp from around him.

"Why are you applying, you quirkless bastard! You mus have cheated! You're making our school look bad just by showing your face at the exams!" Katsuki spat as he held Izuku by the collar of his shirt. They had both gotten the results of their tests back. It had been announced that Izuku was going to attending U.A. alongside the explosive boy, much to the blonde's anger and bitterness. Bakugo tightened his grip on Izuku's collar as he pulled him closer. "I warned you not to apply, nerd!"

Izuku's fist tightened as he recalled all the training he did with All Might. Every second of his suffering, every second of pushing himself beyond his limits. How much he wanted to give up, but didn't.

And he was going to give up now, just because someone said so?

Izuku's fist tightened as he grabbed the opposing boy's arm with his hand. "Kacchan..."

Izuku, for the first time in his life, glared at the to-be hero as he tightened his own grip on Bakugo's arm, unnerving the boy. "W-What're you-

"Someone told me," Izuku spoke while trembling. Tears were forming, about to leave his eyes, and he looked quite pathetic. But he was going to speak now, nothing was going to stop him as he glared at the boy holding his collar. "That I could be a hero too! So like it or not, you can't stop me!"

Izuku finally paused in his constant walking, looking up atthe darkened sky. Maybe that was why he hadn't really given him much thought when he had arrived. Since he was finally free, he didn't have to think about it anymore.

But strangely enough, he wanted to.

HERO TEAM WINS!

This was the last thing IzukuMidoryia heard as he fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head as he passed out from a hard match as the explosive boy stood there in front of him. He and Kaachan had fought, throwing everything they had at each other. He had nearly been killed, dodging that one certain attack had saved his life, there was no denying it. But he won, Kaachan had been brutal, but he, after all the years, had finally won.

The look on the blonde's face when Izuku had passed out had an expression Izuku had never seen on it. The expression was full of shock, rage, confusion. But there was another emotion on his face, one that he had never seen the blonde show, one that was shown on his face above all other emotions.

Fear.

It was fear. The explosive boy was afraid of him. That fear would quickly extinguish, but him showing that fear made Izuku proud.

"H-He was baiting me?!" The blonde boy nearly screamed as he looked up at the hole in the roof, caused by the duo's final attacks at each other, but it had mainly been caused by Izuku, who had done it in order to win the match to help his partner. Katsuki continued to gaze upwards, flabbergasted at what had happened as Izuku fell to the floor, landing with a *thud* on the cold metal below.

"Does t-that mean...? NO! It can't be!" Bakugo thought to himself as he began to shake, fear and shock now spreading through his whole body, making him feel cold to the bone as his bloodshot eyes widened even more. "If we fought all out, that means... t-that means..."

All Might put his hand on the young boy's shoulder as he began to talk to him, but the blonde couldn't hear anything except for his own breathing, which was growing out of control. He stood there, staring at a wall, the truth finally hitting him like a punch to the gut as his shocked expression stayed frozen on his face.

"He would beat me."

Although the green-haired hero hadn't heard the last part, as the explosive boy had thought it, Izuku still grinned a little at remembering Katsuki's proclamation after the match, which had been more or less of a declaration between rivals. He would just have to train harder here so he could beat Kaachan when he got home! He would have to start tomorrow!

A delicious smell wafted in the air as Izuku snapped back to reality, his dull green eyes becoming slightly brighter as he snapped back to reality, remembering his victory and his opponent's declaration. He stared down at the bag in his clenched hand where the smell originated from. Young children still ran down the street, but now some were being called back by their parents, as it had gotten very late. Izuku resumed his pace, albeit a smile had made its way onto his face.

"It is getting a little late." Izuku thought to himself as he continued to walk. "I should really find-

"I ordered for it a long while ago! Where is she?"

"Sir, please calm down."

Izuku's smile had vanished as he heard voices coming from ahead of him. Two voices, an angry masculine voice and a calm, monotone feminine one was heard by the green-haired hero as he stared at where he had heard the voices. What was that?

"You better be ready by now!" An angry snarl came again as Izuku began to walk from where the voices seemed to be coming from. He quickly began to pick up pace, now running over to where the voices were coming from, now out of curiosity and worry that someone would end up hurt as he quickly maneuvered around a group of kids, who had ceased their playing because of the noise.

The loud voice seemed to get even louder as he ran to where the voices rose from. As he approached, he saw two figures, one standing in front of a building that was built so that a stand seemed to be built into the building, and the other standing within the stand, so that they were facing the man outside of said building. The boy caught a quick glance at the calm female receptionist, who had been standing within the stand, talking to an aggravated, older man, who sounded strangely familiar. The man was getting so loud, in fact, that a crowd was beginning to draw, the nearby people casting curious looks or throwing annoyed glances over at the sudden, unwanted noise. One of the crowd members got in front of Izuku, much to the boy's annoyance.

"My slave disappeared, so I demand that you send someone out to find her!" Izuku heard the man snarl as he gazed around a person standing in front of him so he could see where the man was talking. Now that he could see much clearer, he saw a short-haired, well dressed woman running the stand didn't even seemed fazed by this antagonistic behavior. "It's been all day, and she still hasn't returned to me!"

Izuku's eyes were full of surprise when he realized where he had heard that voice before as he recalled an event that had happened earlier that day.

"There you are, you stupid slave!" The older man growled as he hobbled over to where she and Izuku had been conversing.

"Were you stealing fruit again?" The man seethed as spit from his mouth landed on the Ven's tan cheek as the girl did nothing but gaze at him uncomfortably in response. "I told you that you would stop doing that! Did you disobey my orders?!"

An ugly, uncharacteristic snarl appeared on Izuku's face as he listened to the man rant. He was talking about Ven, who he had not seen all day. It would be a cold day in hell if the green-haired boy allowed that man to get near her again. It looked as though he were about to attack the young girl at the guild as well.

"Sir, we are spread thin." The woman replied once more, her tone indicating she were bored, despite the increasing anger of the man and the rapidly-increasing crowd. "I will have to ask you t-"

"I don't care! She ran away from me! Get someone on it so she comes back! The punishment she's going to get..." The man muttered, thinking of ways he was going to get back at the girl to break her spirit, and possibly a few bones.

Izuku had heard enough. This man was no better than some of the villains he fought in the past! Why would he do that to a girl who was just trying to get food for others?

"Excuse me." He said to the man in front of him, tired of hearing this man speak as he put his candies on the ground. The man in front of him turned and nodded as he moved out of the way, thinking that they smaller boy wanted a better view of what was currently happening. Izuku moved to step forward, ready to defend his friend...

"LOOK OUT BELOW!"

But just as Izuku was about to step forward, a new voice made itself known. A blur sped past him, barely grazing the chain-mail on his sleeve. The flying, unidentifiable object made contact with the seething man, much to the shock of the surrounded crowd.

"What th-"

But the now surprised man was barely able to utter a word as he was sent spiraling, screaming all the while he crashed into the nearby wall, dust and dirt flying everywhere from the contact with the concrete and brick as some of the chirping noises from the crickets halted. Many females in the crowd screamed as the males gasped with horror as they all quickly ran away from the stand over to the man, mainly to see what exactly had hit him. Izuku blinked, as he was now completely alone, barely processing the events of what just transpired.

As he stood there, stunned and surprised at the sudden event, he heard a sigh come from the stand as the woman looked over at the crowd, now gathered around the fallen form of the man and of the thing that had crashed into him. "He always has to make an entrance, doesn't he?"

Izuku turned to the female, about to question her about who that was, when the voice made itself known to the bystanders once more.

"I missed?! I couldn't have! Darn, I was so close too!" The young voice complained as the object stood up, a figure revealing itself in the dark as he gazed at the crowd surrounding him. "Oh, hey everyone! Sorry for interrupting!"

Izuku turned away from the female as he began to approach the crowd, who now seemed to be torn between reprimanding the boy or congratulating him for taking care of the annoying pest. He glanced around a woman whom he nearly matched in height as the light of a lantern in the crowd hit the boy, revealing himself.

A young man stood there, albeit he had donned a confused expression to why a crowd was now staring at him, slightly fearful and impressed. Although he was covered in dust, the scratches and scars on his skin were thrown into relief by the light in the dark, especially the one on his left shoulder, although he didn't seem to mind the injuries as he adjusted the yellow bandana on his arm. The green-haired hero just managed to make out pale-ash grey hair and light tanned skin. The boy seemed to be wearing cuffed navy shorts alongside a sleeveless cream-colored jacket with gold and blue highlights. A leather belt hung loosely from around his waist as a bag seemed to be attached to it. He took off his gloves and goggles as well as he shook both free of dust before reequipping them. He finally turned his face in Izuku's direction, revealing bright green eyes as well as he faced opposite of where he had landed, not seeing the cracks he had made in the wall.

"I won't miss a second time, I'll have to try again!" The boy declared determinedly as he moved to turn around, but this time he tripped on a nearby small rock and fell to the ground, letting out a yelp of pain. At this, the crowd finally began to disperse, although some people looked on in confusion at the boy or at the man who was now unconscious, his arms twitching as his eyes had rolled back into his head .

"Bennett, what are you doing?" The short-haired woman at the stand murmured quite loudly as the boy, Bennett, shot up from the ground and looked over at the woman running the stand, and began to smile as he ran in her direction, Izuku keeping his eyes on him all the while.

"Katheryne!" The boy exclaimed happily, before he face-planted in the dirt once more. The woman let out a sigh as Izuku stared in bewilderment. What was the deal with this boy and tripping? He had done it twice in the last thirty seconds! The green-haired hero kept his eyes trained on the boy as he got up from the ground again with a little groan and bolted up to where the girl was working.

"Bennett, don't think I don't know that you did that on purpose." The woman said flatly as Bennett began to sweat before trying to attempt to lie his way.

"I d-don't know what you're talking about!" Bennett exclaimed, although he didn't meet Katheryne's eyes, who only huffed as filed through some of the paperwork that lay on the counter in front of her as the crickets had begun to chirp once more. "But did you see me? I did take him out, so that means I can ask you now! I can go out with my team tomorrow on an expedition? Right?"

The woman visibly stiffened, a drop of sweat dripping down from her forehead, unbeknownst to the grey-haired male that stood before her, whose green eyes were filled with anticipation. "W-Well," Katheryne began, stuttering a bit at the beginning, which was quite unlike herself. "You see..."

The girl's eyes moved from left to right, looking for something or anything that she could use to avoid her telling the devastating truth to the boy. Fortunately for the receptionist, a distraction had presented itself to her as she saw a green-haired boy staring at the interaction between the two, a bit of blood still on his clothes from the fight that had happened earlier that day.

"You there!" She shouted to Izuku, causing Bennett to turn and gaze in the direction of where Izuku stood, although the darkness prevented him to see too much of the hero. The boy had been watching this sudden meeting between the two before he blinked, realizing that they were shouting to him. He smiled and gave a somewhat half-hearted wave, as he suddenly felt very rude for staring avidly at them. He turned to walk away, picking up his bag of candies as he started to make his leave. But before he could go, Katheryne's loud voice came once again.

"You look like an adventurer, but I've never seen you before! Did you register yet?"

Izuku sighed before shaking his head. There was no way out of this now.

Katheryne, on the other hand, stifled a smile of delight. This was perfect! She could use this as an excuse to not answer Bennett's question! She began to yell over at him again, causing some passerbys to gaze curiously. "I can register you, come over here!"

She then turned her head to Bennett, and addressed the boy once more, as Izuku had begun to trod over to where they were standing, although he looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well Bennett, I'm sorry. I have to register this adventurer, but maybe la-

She broke off, her eyes widening slightly at the look in Bennett's green eyes as he stared at the approaching boy. The look that filled them not too often, but was enough to start ringing danger sirens in the woman's head. "Oh no..."

An excited, enthusiastic smile made its way onto the grey-haired boy's face as he looked Izuku up and down as the boy continued to approach the two. This man reeked of adventure! He even still had blood on his clothes! He seemed uninjured, signifying that he had possibly been in a fight... and if he had, he must've won! If Bennett were to recruit a strong man like him, he would become the most famous and most successful adventurer in the city! He needed to see what he was capable of, he had to!

Izuku finally now stood in front of the stand, rubbing the back of his head. He managed to ignore the amazed boy that stood next to him as he addressed the girl in front of him. "Er... Hi! My name is Izuku Midoryia, and I would like t-

"Oh! The to-be knight!" Katheryne gasped as Izuku raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback that she knew this information. She saw the look on his face and immediately jumped into detail. "The Outrider of the Knights of Favonius came by earlier and registered you! She said to keep an eye out for you, so-

"Thanks, and she knows where I am." He reassured the girl, but now he was internally annoyed at Bennett, who was still staring at him as though the boy before him was the secret to life, now even more so since he heard the to-be knight title. "So, about that account..."

"HEY THERE!" The excited boy next to him finally spoke, excitement visible on his face as Katheryne bit back a sigh. The grey-haired boy blinked before coughing slightly. "I-I mean, hello! My name is Bennett, and I work for the Adventurer's Guild! So uh... HowdidyougetbloodonyourclothesDoyouhaveavisionHowlonghaveyoubee-"

Izuku was now visibly taken aback by this boy as Katheryne could no longer hold in the sigh she was saving. He asked questions so quickly, he could give a muttering Izuku a run for his money! Izuku couldn't make out the last question, and just decided to answer the ones he could hear. "Uh, well... First off, my name is Izuku... an-

"Yeah, and?" Bennet said, jumping up and down in excitement as he awaited the answer from the boy, despite having interrupted him. "Where did the blood come from?"

"I... got into a fight..." Izuku said carefully, not wanting to tell the boy too much about the orb, as he had just met him. Katheryne had begun to file through some of the papers on her desk as Izuku continued. "And I fought a monster, so-

"A monster?" Katheryne stated, her eyes widening at the words on one of the sheets. "That's an understatement. It's recorded here by the Spark Knight that you managed to greatly injure an Eye of the Storm before the Outrider managed to kill it! A high-ranked monster like that will surely raise your Adventure rank, and that monster that Ms. Amber already put under your name already has raised it quite a bi-

"AN EYE OF THE STORM!?" Bennett nearly screamed in excitement as he quickly looked over at Izuku with enthusiasm written all over his face and posture. He needed to join his team! He managed to severely damage such a tough monster, and seemed as though he were barely scratched! The only thing signified that he had gotten into a fight was his somewhat bloodied and ripped clothes. He must be a prodigy if that were the case, as most higher-rank adventurers that fought that sort of monster took days, maybe even weeks, to recover!

"It also says here that you had the help of a... huh. Quite the strange group." She commented, tilting her head slightly at the one of the papers she had pulled out from quite a large pile before clearing her throat and reading out the members listed. Bennett, who was polite enough to realize that he had interrupted the receptionist, closed his mouth, although he seemed to be awaiting his turn to talk again as he was bouncing in glee at the opportunity that stood before him. "A slave, the Spark Knight, and another little girl, who was also registered as "Paimon" as a to-be knight, a bard, and the Outrider." She blinked before shaking her head a little. "They will all be payed accordingly, and the slave will get a full sum as well."

Izuku bit back a retort at the slave part, before he ran through each member in his head, to make sure they didn't miss anyone. "Paimon, Klee, Ven, Venti-

Wait... didn't Venti say something to him earlier today?

"See you at the bar tonight!" The braided bard whispered as he then turned away from Izuku and began to skip back towards town.

The bar... that's right! Venti owed him an explanation! And it was already... oh no...

Izuku immediately got into a bowing position, much to the sudden surprise of the two that stood near him. "I'm sorry! I need to go! Thank you for registering me, and I'll see you later!"

And before either one of the members of the guild could say anything, Izuku sped off in random direction. He had no idea where the bar was, but he would have to at least try and find it! After all, he had technically given Venti his word, so now he had to keep it!

Bennett watched as Izuku ran off, seemingly worried and panicked. The grey-haired boy stood still for a moment before turning to Katheryne, an eager grin spread across his face as he continued to bounce up and down.

"HE'S SO COOL! CANIGETHIMONMYTEAM?! I mean," Bennett paused, flushing slightly as people stared at him due to his strange reaction. "Can I get him on my team? Imagine! The treasure we'll find, the dungeons and forbidden areas we'll explore, we'll be the most popular adventuring group in all of-

As Bennett rambled on, Katheryne began to sort through the paperwork that lay on her desk, now between a rock and a hard place. She couldn't force the green-haired boy on the team, and on top of that, Bennett's former teammates had asked to be removed, due to the boy's misfortune. But if the to-be knight were to do the same thing, Bennett would begin to suspect the truth about his old teammates. What would she do then? For now, she would have to try and delay his request.

"Bennett," Katheryne interrupted, her voice slightly strained as she filed through random paperwork, more focused on getting the unlucky boy off her tail than the work that was before her. "It's getting quite late out. We can discuss this... some other time, okay?"

Bennett stopped speaking for a moment before turning to Katheryne with a grin. "Whatever you say! OH! I gotta tell my dads about this! They're going to be so excited!"

Bennett then bolted towards the door that led to the inside of the building that the receptionist was working at. The moment Bennet vanished, the woman let out a groan as she let her head hit the table in frustration.

"Now what should I do?" She thought glumly as she thought of ways to stall the adventurer from going off to ask Izuku to join his team.

Izuku continued his pace as he ran through the streets of Mondstadt, his candy bag swinging with every arm motion he made. He doubted the tavern would be up the stairs, as there weren't many buildings up there. So where exactly...?

A loud voice interrupted his thoughts. "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR DOUBTING ME, YOU HEAR ME?! THAT'S WHAT YOU GETTTTtttt..."

Izuku jumped slightly at the sudden bit of noise before wildly turning his head over to where the sound had come from. It had been so loud, it seemed to echo around town. Izuku looked over to the right, where he was expecting to see the person who had made the loud comment, but instead saw the place he had been looking for. A tall, sturdy building stood next to him with many tables in the front that seemed to be full of people, who were all enjoying themselves and the nice night that they were currently happening. He walked past the tables, causing some people to whisper about his unique hair color as he opened the door to the tavern.

As he opened the door, his nostrils were immediately filled with the scent of different dishes and alcohol. The green-haired hero wrinkled his nose slightly as he gazed around the interior. It was almost completely full, as there were stone steps that led to the crowded, noisy eating area. He looked to his right, seeing a familiar bard at a nearby table surrounded by people, all of who were laughing at a joke the bard had made. He began to approach the table, slightly grimacing as the smell of alcohol got stronger as he got closer to the table. As he approached, he picked up little snippets of other conversations in the bar.

"Come on! We gotta get closer! I want to hear what he's saying!" A younger black-haired female had said this to a grown man sitting across of her, who nodded in response as they left their table while Izuku's ear picked up another nearby ongoing conversation.

"Did you see that weird woman with the Grandmaster today?" One young, brown-haired woman said to her boyfriend. "I wonder what she wanted, although Ms. Jean did seem slightly uncomfortable when talking to her..."

Izuku continued to walk, his bag still swinging slightly in his hand as he did so as he recalled the memory from earlier that day. Noelle had made matters much worse, he could only imagine what Jean and Lisa might do to the maid. He had finally begun to approach the table as his ear picked up only half of another conversation.

"Did you see that boy, Timmie? You know, the one that was always sorta... sad? Was it just me, or did he look a bit-

"IZUKUUU! I KNEW YOU WOULD COME!"

Izuku, who had been quite interested in the topic regarding the depressed boy he had run into a few days prior, had an arm suddenly forced around his head, causing him to gag slightly at the sudden pressure. He maneuvered his head so he could see who had grabbed it, only to see Venti above him giggling, his face red and eyes unfocused as he stood above him, swaying slightly.

"I'm sooo GLAD you're here I'll take that for you buddy!" Venti grinned stupidly at the green-haired boy, who could only grin nervously back. He was then suddenly forced forward, the candies ripped from out of his grip as he found himself stumbling into a seat that the drunk Venti had nearly chucked him into with with many other males and females around him. All of the people around him were talking amongst themselves or staring at him with interest, which was a stare that he now found himself tired of. A loud noise suddenly came form next to him as Venti had plopped down in his seat and had slammed his mug against the table, drawing the attention of a nearby male waiter.

"Another round, Mr. waiter!" Venti hiccuped as the male waiter nodded and went over to where the drinks were being made in order to get and make more. "And add an extra drink, for my friend here! I know that I told youallthestory," Venti slurred the last words before shaking his head and continuing. "but now he's going to tell what it was like living it! He's gonna tell us all a story about his fight... WITH THE EYE OF THE STORM!"

Nearly the entire bar roared in anticipation and excitement as everyone nearby, some waiters and waitresses included, got closer to the table in an attempt to hear the story as the noise in the tavern died down, everyone focusing their attention onto the green-haired boy. Izuku suddenly felt very uncomfortable as everyone focused their attention on him, alongside the fact he wasn't of legal drinking age yet. He wasn't even sure if he was ready to share all the details of the story either, but now, Venti had left him without a choice. The waiters who weren't listening were now serving another round of drinks to the customers, who accepted it eagerly before turning their attention back to Izuku as Venti now also stared at Izuku expectedly.

Izuku gulped. There was no way out of this one.

Jean strode down the road, stifling a yawn as she passed the Angel's Share, still wearing the clothes that she had bought with Izuku as crickets chirped from nearby trees and bushes. It had been a hard day at work for her, as she had to constantly stop drunks and other people from beating each other over stupid subjects, no breaks, and a report that Izuku had apparently killed a rare monster! The last topic had just made her all the more curious about his powers and his backstory. He came out a forest one day with a girl who could heal anything and killed a monster that was ruining trade. And that was before he had even arrived at the village or even applied to be a knight! Then there were the questions she had about his powers... she was able to see it against Lisa, but it didn't look like the boy used a vision or a weapon of any sort. The reports that she received from Klee (Who wouldn't look her in the eyes once) said that he seemed to be only moderately damaged when they came across him as well! So how exactly did he beat it without damaging himself too badly?

Jean stopped in her tracks before turning, slightly raising an eyebrow at the famous tavern she had just passed. It was the night of the festival, and there was no noise coming from the lively establishment? Something didn't sit right...

Not wasting a moment, Jean strode towards the tavern, determined to figure out what could be so important to make the whole restaurant go completely silent.

DONE! Wow. I'm very tired.

Resident Evil 8 came out, so there's something cool :D. I also have finals coming up, so I might not update for a while. Sorry.

I WILL go back and change and add to chapters, as I have said like fifty times before. I just need the time, which I'll get when summer comes!

Thanks for reading the story! Don't forget to read, review, and enjoy!

Imma go play Star Wars Battlefront II. See ya'll next chapter!