Be The Hero, Like A Wizard!

by MaskedEngineer

Having a Quirk that allows complete control over a mundane, ordinary object is hardly an ideal power. To one Yosuke Nendo however, it is all he needs to achieve his childhood dream. With video game expertise, unchecked delusions and unwilling friends, nothing shall stop Nendo on his quest to become the greatest wizard of all time! Rated M for future events.

1. Enter The Wizard

Chapter 1: Enter The Wizard

Ah, what a time to be alive in the city of Musutafu.

The sun is glowing, illuminating the landscape in an autumn light, though there are just enough clouds so that the general temperature is kept at a comfortable level.

Birds of urban environments, such as sparrows and pigeons, can be seen either perching on top of high-tension power lines or gracefully flying through the air, undoubtedly catching the scopes of avid birdwatchers.

Taking perspectives down to a more street level, every road is currently populated with all manners of pedestrians going on with their daily lives, though one could be quick to notice as to how most, if not all, of people have a suspicious number of plastic bags hanging on their arms. Not only that, each bag are stuffed to the brim with various items and stretched almost to their breaking point.

While some of the stuffs inside the bags make sense to be bought, like notebooks and pens, but why would anyone in this time and age be buying an antique stick whose purpose in history is to wipe your bottom with, while cleaner and less painful alternatives like toilet paper exists?

A simple answer to that question is, because this is not a regular street they are walking in. In fact, this particular district of the city is known as the 'Penny-Filter District', its real name lost to history, and is nowadays only referred to by said nickname, which is given by all of its visitors who are unfortunate enough to stumble upon its premise.

The name has been stuck ever since, and not without reason. Just like how the name implies, the district is exclusively decorated with shops whose owners are (in)famously skilled at bargaining, giving out prices that specifically filters out numbers that can be paid in pennies. The prices are too much for pennies alone, and instead have to be paid in the cold, green cash. However, any salesman worth his salt here also know to not be too greedy, and always temper their need for the cold green enough to make their price seems reasonable, but would still net them a profit.

All of that, and combined with their flowery words and over-exaggerations of their item's quality, will eventually wear down even the pickiest of buyers and force them to give in to their urges. And should the customer ever tried to back out of a deal, buyer's remorse will certainly be used as a scapegoat, further forcing the customer to go through said deal out of potential public embarrassment.

In essence, the system of Penny-Filter District is a machine. It knows your nature, and you can't win. It's harsh, but it is also fair. The prices given aren't stings to your wallet. They are more like persistent itches that you could never scratch and can't help but feel that you've been scammed somehow. And with the sheer amount of shops and stores here, by the time you leave Penny-Filter District, all you have left in your pocket is nothing but pennies, hence, filtering out all the pennies.

Usually, people would learn their lessons and never come back here again, and as time goes on, the local market would stagnate and the owners either open their business elsewhere or shutting down entirely. However, 'usually' is the key word. In this case, the streets always seem to be filled with people no matter what. Is it because in the midst of all the useless bargain-bin things, there are objects of genuine value there? Is it because of nostalgia, given how long the district has been around?

No one knows the concrete answer. One thing is concrete, however, is that Penny-Filter District has been, appropriately enough, compared to an abusive lover. It will caress you, and beat you senseless soon after. But each time, you'll come back for more.

Since it is only four in the afternoon, business is currently booming with every store opening their doors for potential customers to gravitate towards them and go inside and check out what's for sale. The only exceptions are two men who are instead cleaning up their stores and locking the doors. At first glance, some will assume that they have declared bankruptcy, but however, that is not the case here.

They are closing down because they have genuinely sold out all of their stock, and are temporarily closing the shop to purchase more, just to show how successful these two are. Once done with locking their doors, the two men sit down and have a casual chat.

In this world filled with superpowered beings and awesome things happening on a daily basis, it is easy to forget that there are still hard-working, non-powered people out there doing their best to contribute to a society that likely won't ever acknowledge their efforts. The daily struggles of life is definitely what this duo of honest businessmen are talking about.

"Best day I ever have! Can you believe that guy?" The round and stocky man with a bandanna wrapped on his head said, laughing and slapping his thigh. "He thought a cake of soap is actual cake, so he ended up giving me a ton of money for what is basically 10 yen!"

"Pssh, lucky stiff." The other man with thinner features and wearing a pair of rubber gloves snarked back, trying to downplay the former's success. "And I don't need that kind of luck, Ushio. My tongue is all I need. Just keep on talking and talking, and they'll buy something eventually. Never fails, not even once."

"Well...I'm sorry for not wanting to end up with throat cancer later in life, Yoshino." The bandanna-wearing Ushio sardonically remarks. "Well, enough talking. We gotta restock as soon as possible, when there's still money to be made!"

And then, he turns around. "Hey, Nendo! Come help us carry-" However, Ushio quickly cuts his sentence short once he realizes that the person named Nendo was nowhere near the immediate vicinity. All that's left was a crumpled piece of paper with the words 'SORRY I HAVE TO GO' hastily written on it. "What the...?"

"He just left a little bit ago. Heard his shop got robbed or something like that." Yoshino replied shortly, digging dirt off his fingernails. "Hah...classic Nendo."

"I mean, it's not like he could blame anyone but himself!" Ushio throws his hands into the air out of frustration, before his facial expression melted into one of disappointment and equal amusement. "Like, come on. Leaving his shop open, with the door unlocked without anyone there to watch it, and to quote the kid himself, 'just in case someone needs something and I'm not there, then they can leave the money on the counter'. How naive can you get?"

"If I can have it my way, I'll just put his dumb mug right next to 'gullible' in the dictionary." Yoshino said with a flippant tone, holding in a chuckle. "And not only that, he insist on doing business honestly. Anyone with even half a brain knows that honesty only means you'll always lose, but with honor. And that kind of mentality is no good for business at all."

"I know, right? That boy's gotta learn some tricks of his own! He's gotta know how to parley, how to bargain if he wanted to survive the sharks out there." Ushio replied, taking out a packet of cigarettes and sticking one to his mouth, while searching for his lighter. "He's gonna get himself killed if he keep on being all truthful and shit. I've always wanted him to be a bit more sly...but no luck. Kid's as straight as a sword, and just as fun to play with."

Yoshino takes his gloves off, before taking a cigarette from his friend as well and wait for Ushio to be done lighting his. "I don't get it. What exactly does he saw in people anyway? Goodness? Virtue? Human kindness is overrated, I tell you. Honesty is the best policy, my ass." As the stockier man passes him the lighter, he continues speaking. "More like, the best fallacy. People can act all kind of friendly and do all this mushy crap at first, but the moment they saw something they can take for themselves without consequences, they'll do it without even a second thought, much less caring about what you feel."

"Preach it, brother." Ushio said in agreement, taking a long huff from his cigarette, before blowing out a long stream of dense smoke. "How long do you think Nendo is gonna be away?"

"Given his kind of mindset...somewhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour, if he doesn't spend most of it doing make-believe battles with whoever he's chasing down."

-0-

In another part of the district that is no less filled with people, a kid, most likely to be eleven or twelve years of age with youthful, yet scruffy features and mussled hair dressed in a sleeveless shirt and baggy pants is currently weaving through the crowds with a panicked expression on his face, as if running away from something. In his hand is a yellow plastic bag with brightly-colored letters emblazoned on it.

Or rather, running away from someone. "OI! Stop! Koichi, you little shit!" The person yelling the kid's name is a young man of above-average height and grey eyes, clad in cargo pants, white T-shirt and a red apron that has long since grayed-out due to age. For the headwear of choice, he has a simple red cap, with an excess of black hair tied into a ponytail jutting out of the back of his cap. Pushing through the people in a more blunt and direct manner, no thanks to his size in comparison to the kid, he yelled again as he nearly tripped over another person's leg. "Wait, dammit!"

"What, and get caught?!" Koichi shouted as he turned his head back, pointing out the clearly illogical demand. "It's just a bag of candies! Drop dead, you cheapskate!"

"So what? You still gotta pay for it!" The young man retorted, while still giving chase to kid thief. Determined to catch Koichi, he pushes his running speed further and further, closing the distance between him and the kid.

Seeing his capture fast approaching, Koichi deliberately ran into another crowd and makes a sharp turn around a corner, forcing the older teen to make a last-second sidestep, almost crashing into a man in a business suit. "Shit! Sorry!" He quickly yelled back, before continuing the pursuit.

With him still hot on his heels, Koichi came up with another solution to deter the shopkeeper, via pulling an empty soda can out of the pocket of his pants and threw it back. As the projectile rapidly closing in, the young man takes a fraction of a second to gauge its direction...

Before dropping down to one knee, sliding underneath it. By the time he gets back on his feet, Koichi has already gotten quite the distance ahead. "Dammit! I'll never catch him like this. Unless..." He trails off, noticing how the kid was aiming for another turn, around the house surrounded by a concrete fence. Smirking, he purposefully stops chasing Koichi as he hops over the fence.

By technicality, it's trespassing. But hey, the police aren't here, so who's going to stop him? Besides, he's not doing it to steal. Just taking something that belongs to him back.

Koichi slows down as soon as he makes the turn and tiptoes back to see if his pursuer was still there. After staring down at the busy street for a solid ten seconds, the punk breathed a sigh of relief. "Heh, looks like I shook him off."

Bringing the candy bag up, Koichi hungrily looks at it. But just as he was about to rip it open and enjoy the spoils of war, a loud voice rang out. "OR DID YOU?!" And thus, out of nowhere, the young shopkeeper leaped out from the other side of the concrete fence akin to a spring-up toy, completely taking the kid by surprise. Koichi can only stare in horror as the older male dropped on him, and the both of them fell to the ground.

A brief wrestling match ensues, culminating with the shopkeeper wringing the candy bag from Koichi, holding it victoriously over his head while looking down at the kid. "Koichi, pal, I know you're the furthest thing there is to an idiot...so why did you think you can get away with stealing, huh?"

"S-Stealing?! I'm not stealing anything, Nendo!" Koichi attempts to defend himself, lying through his teeth. "That bag just so happens to look like the one in your store! It was lying outside your place, I swear!"

The young man named Nendo raised an eyebrow with a bemused expression. "Oh, I believe you alright. I would have...if not for THIS tag on the bag!" Nendo held the candy bag closer to Koichi, allowing him to see a positively tiny sentence written on it, saying 'IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN TO NENDO CONFECTIONARY'.

"Oh, do you have to be such a boy scout?" Koichi said mockingly, sitting up. "C'mon Nendo-san, do me a solid. What about all the good times we have together? Can you just give it to me, just this once? This is a first time!"

"If by 'good times', you mean throwing pebbles at my shop's windows, then sure." Nendo takes his cap off and wipes a thin layer of sweat off his hairline, formed by all the chasing. "The thing is, it's not that I don't want you to have it. It's just, if I let you go, you'll think it's okay to do this to me, and you're gonna keep going back to steal more and more. And one day, you'll think that my shop is slim pickings, and your sights will be on all the other stores. And believe me, those guys are nowhere near as lenient as I am." The dark-haired teen advised, with a look of genuine concern in his eyes.

Koichi becomes briefly tongue-tied, unable to shrug off that look the older male is giving him. He knows that Nendo doesn't want any serious harm to fall on him. "If you're in this district, you don't steal from anyone. They're gonna string you up and crucify you, man." Nendo further drives his point home. "Besides, don't you have anything better to do than snatching candy bags? Like, I don't know, school and homework?"

"I dropped out, what's your excuse?!" Koichi snapped back. Now, it is Nendo's turn to feel a lump in his throat. He wasn't even sure if there is an appropriate response to that, so he decided to go with a more generalized answer.

"Just...go home, Koichi." Nendo was about to leave, until he catches a glimpse of the kid. Sitting on the ground, with one leg curled up as he rests his head on the knee, Koichi looks rather...crushed, almost like a kicked puppy. Nendo glanced down at the candy bag, then back up at the sky. His brain told him that this is a good lesson for the kid, and he should just walk away. His heart, however...

"Ah, what the hell." Ripping the top of the bag off, he rummaged through its sugary contents. "Hey, Koichi." Nendo then tosses the boy a single candy wrapped in colorful paper as he looks up.

"H-Huh?" Koichi barely catches it, blinking away what little tears that is about to well up in his eyes.

"That one, is completely free of charge. For taste-testing purposes, of course." Said Nendo, a smile slowly spreading across his lips as Koichi visibly becomes more cheerful. "Now, if you wanted more, you gotta buy it, okay?"

Koichi still doesn't answer, instead he can only babble due to being far too absorbed into the sight of the candy he loved in his hand. Then, he managed to utter something resembling human language. "Why did you...?"

"I figured that, must have been a long time since you got to taste your favorite candy again, so there you go. I mean, someone's gotta see if the candy is still good, right? And that responsibility...goes to you." Nendo replied, grinning. "I know you're a good kid, Koichi. Stealing just isn't in your nature, so do the right thing, okay? I'd talk more, but I got somewhere I need to be right now, so...see ya!" And with that, the young man turned around and walked away with a slow, yet determined stride, looking all cool.

But to an outsider, he is just walking really slowly.

"Well, back to helping uncle Ushio and uncle Yoshino with their stuff." Nendo thought to himself, exhaling heavily. Those two are so going to badger him about giving something as small as a single candy away for free.

But who cares? It is his life, he's free to do whatever he want with it.

-0-

"One, two...three!" Yoshino, Ushio and Nendo said in unison, as they hauled a large crate of assorted vegetables inside Ushio's store. "HEAVE!" With great effort placing the crate down without crushing their fingers, Ushio and Yoshino gave each other high-fives while the dark-haired teen was left pushing the crate into a corner so that no one would bump into it. Once that is done, Nendo took a seat on the floor, fagged out.

"Thanks for the help, kid." Ushio said lightheartedly, giving Nendo a smack on the back that is a bit more forceful than usual. Still, he breaks a smile. "Say, what happened? Did you catch the thief?"

"Yeah...I let him get away, though. He was real sorry about it, saying that he just wanted to taste the candy once in his life." Lied Nendo, purposefully leaving the fact that the thief was a kid he knew unmentioned so that these two wouldn't tell on Koichi's mom. "Still got the bag back, so that's that."

"Nendo, Nendo, Nendo...how many times have your store got shoplifted now? And you still insist on letting thieves go?" Yoshino slowly shakes his head in disapproval, while Ushio massages his eyebrows. "Why not just drag their ass to the nearest police station? If you let them go, they're just gonna do it again. Or hell, why not let us, the long-suffering working class, to teach him a lesson? We all know those pro heroes think they're too important to handle petty cases like this, so let the people handle them."

"You're gonna kill him, don't you?"

"Hey, who said anything about killing?" Ushio chimed in, waving his hands defensively. "Just going to...re-educate him a bit."

Hearing the thinner man's rant, Nendo took a deep breath before replying. "I guess I can just do that. But I won't. Because I think that thieves can either be kleptomaniacs or just normal people, driven to crime due to circumstances forcing them to. Even then, the former is just because they can't help it, not because they want to. The thief that I caught...it was the first time he ever did it. I know he didn't want things to go that way, and if I just hand him over to the authorities, then where's the mutual trust? We're all living beings with hopes and dreams, right? If that's his first, then it will be his last if he knows it's a bad thing to do. If I beat someone up over something as simple as stealing candy, that's when it's all over. Everyone is entitled to benefit of the doubt, don't you think?"

"They can have a good thinking about it and then better themselves." Nendo finishes his impassioned speech, as Ushio and Yoshino looked at him, quiet and thinking deeply. Finally, Ushio is the first to break the choking silence.

"Wow...that's quite the speech. And Nendo, I must say..." The rotund man places a hand on the teen's shoulder. "That was touching."

"Really?" Nendo perked up. Could Uncle Ushio finally understand his viewpoint?

"No! Your delusions have crossed into psychosis. Your touch with reality is wacked, kid." Ushio backpedals quickly. The teen isn't even particularly fazed by it, instead only derisively laugh at himself.

"I'll give you credit for having the passion, though. Not many people have that kind of conviction in their beliefs, good or bad." Yoshino deadpanned, which got a chuckle out of Nendo.

"Heh...I guess you could say that. But hey, couldn't hurt to believe in something, right?"

"Damn straight." Said Ushio, before glancing towards the retrieved candy bag sitting on top of a table, its top ripped. "What happened to the bag?"

"Oh, that? It got, uh...roughed up in the scuffle." He said, almost stuttering. "He was holding onto it really tightly, so I just sort of pull harder, and RRRRIP!" Nendo vocalized the sound of plastic ripping, just to help the two salesmen imagine the situation.

"Ah...wait, oh right!" Ushio looked as if he had just discovered a new element, and quickly runs to the back of his store and took out a glass bowl. "I have just the thing for you! See this?"

"...Yeah?"

"Put the candies in here, then place it on top of your counter. I tell you, every time, some dumbass kids are gonna think it's for free and take it, then you can charge 'em for it. If they back out, call it theft, dine-and-dashing, whatever." Ushio demonstrated his genius tactic that basically amounts to extortion. "Free chump change, just in case you need it."

"Sure thing, uncle Ushio." Nendo nods to the idea in an absentminded way, scratching the back of his head. "I'll do just that. If you don't mind, I need to go back to my store. The door is still open, so who knows what stuff have been stolen by now..." The noirette teen speaks his actions out loud, getting back up on his feet and walk out, grabbing the candy bag along the way.

It's an excuse to get away from his honorary uncles, but he prefers to slink away like this rather than having to say that he wants to leave. Then, it would just be a cursing contest, to which he is the underdog.

"Catch ya later, Nendo! Remember, it ain't a crime if no one sees it!" Ushio loudly declares, as if it is some kind of dogma, much to the surprise of onlookers and to Nendo's embarrassment. He gives the two a wordless thumbs-up before bolting. After making sure that he's beyond screaming distance from the 'honest' salesmen, Nendo puts his cap back on and breaks into a gentle stroll back to his store. Passing through the faceless masses of people with his hands stuffed in his pockets, Nendo finally made it back to his store.

A small, dinky, shaggy-looking double-s placed near easternmost edge of a vacant lot that is massive compared to the amount of square meters the shop took up. With an exposed counter, mishmashed decorations hanging from the ceiling, a giant sign that spells out 'NENDO CONFECTIONARY', only with several letters falling out, a miniature fan on the cash desk and only two outside doors with one in the front and another in the back, the whole place was quite old-fashioned, especially by today's standards.

And Nendo couldn't be any prouder to call it his home. Mold might be eating through the wooden floor already, but they were HIS mold, dammit!

Though, he still don't understand as to why the sign said 'confectionary' while his shop sells a lot more things than just sweets.

Marching inside, he did a quick scan over the interior of the place. Everything appears to be in place, except for one of the cabinets meant for storing snacks like candy and chips, which was ransacked courtesy of Koichi. Nendo blows some raspberries as he rearranged the contents, before bringing the candy bag up. Obviously, he can't sold something that was already damaged.

Thus, he takes one of the cylindrical pots meant for putting flowers in from the storage and poured all the remaining paper-wrapped candies inside. As he did so, the business tactic that uncle Ushio taught him earlier returns to his mind. While it could easily fool some unfortunate souls...

Nendo decides not to. Shaking his head, he instead scrawled the words '5 YEN APIECE' over the pot with a blue felt tip pen. Then, he placed it to the side of his counter, giving the usually-bare spot some semblance of decor.

With everything back in order, Nendo returned to his previous state of existence: He pulls out his chair, turns on the desk fan, pulls up the venetian blinds on the windows before grabbing his favorite book, titled 'A Boy And His Brick', which is exactly what it said on the cover.

And now, for the most exciting part of his job: waiting, ever so patiently and silently, for a customer to pass by. He couldn't be luckier to have the store placed near the edge; if it was in the middle of the lot, no one would have even bothered with walking a quarter of a kilometer just to buy radishes.

Any time now...he could see the passerbys, their eyes fluttering towards his shop for a second before looking away.

His index finger taps on the counter once. Then twice. Then thrice. He didn't know what the other word for number four was, so let just call it a fourth time.

As it turns out about a million times before, shopkeeping is a profession of patience and sheer will. Thus, he will have to wait some more. Eventually, the sin of impatience slowly crawls on his back, forcing Nendo to stand up and start walking around the limited space inside his shop.

"Must have been a slow day." Thought Nendo, licking his finger to turn to a new page. Unfortunately, he didn't take the time to gauge how much saliva he's producing when licking, so the page just ends up sticking to said finger instead of flipping over elegantly as what is expected.

Nendo was busy removing his finger off the offending page, he spots a sight moving towards his place that turns Nendo's momentary annoyance into sheer, unfiltered happiness. A figure with a signature messy hairstyle composed of dark-green curls that jut out at odd angles, large green eyes full of ideals, youthful freckles on each cheek and a short stature. He was dressed in a standard all-black school uniform.

"Hey!" Nendo called out to this particular guest, grinning widely as he ceases his restless walk. "Izu-chan!"

The so-called 'Izu-chan' almost jumps at his supposed name being spoken, but quickly sports a warm, if nervous smile once the green-haired teen realize who it was. "O-Oh! Hi Nen-chan. How are things going for you?"

"You know me, man. I'm always fine." Nendo pridefully smacks his chest, before making his way to the sole refrigerator in his shop, ready to take out the foodstuffs that he knew Izuku always come to his place to buy. "Fresh out of school and you're already doing errands?"

"Oh, well...I just wanted to help my mom with stuff like this. I don't want her to work herself this much for me, what with my studies and all..." The greenette timidly said, tapping his fingers together.

"Glad to hear it, Izu. So, whatcha buying?"

"The usual, please! It's-"

"Hold that thought! Let me guess..." The young shopkeeper raised his left finger to silence Izuku, while having his right pressed against his temple, to appear as if he doing some very advanced thinking. "Tofu, pork, wakame and eggs, 400 grams, 250 grams, 50 grams and a dozen respectively?"

"Woah! Are you like, secretly psychic?!" Izuku Midoriya, shy boy extraordinaire, can actually act surprised to someone else. Of course, Nendo sees right through the act and laughs it out. "Could that possibly be your Quirk?"

"Oh, shut up Izu. Your mom send you out for errands so many times that it would be weird to not remember the same order. Besides, if I actually have a telepathic Quirk, you'll probably see me out on the streets being the local crazy guy rambling about Cartesian dualism by now." Nendo replied with a snarky tone, getting out a bag for his green-haired friend's required foodstuffs. "Brings some senses to that whole 'voices in my head' debacle, don't you think? Alright, lemme wrap all this up for you..."

"Yeah! Well, since you've put it that way, I just felt bad for the telepaths out there..." Izuku chuckles awkwardly, but keeps his smile nonetheless.

"Say, Izu...I've been noticing something." Said Nendo, implying something that Izuku wasn't entirely sure what it is. "Your uniform is a lot cleaner today. Usually, lint balls would have been present. But now? It is completely spotless! What's up? Finally got yourself a date?"

"N-Nendo, of course not! It's just...I'm graduating tomorrow, and mom just got really excited about it, so much so that she started to woke up at five in the morning to clean my uniform the second time." Midoriya stuttered, throwing off any suggestions of romance he may have got. "As if a guy like me would ever get a date..."

"Really? Congrats, man! I hope nothing but the best for ya!" Nendo was happy for the greenette to achieve such a milestone in his life, reaching through the counter to pat him on the shoulder. "So, where you aiming for?"

"U.A High. The most acclaimed breeding ground for accomplished Pro Heroes. If I can get in there, I'll die happy!" Izuku energetically announced, before quickly covering his mouth a second later. "Not that I actually want to die, though. Can't do much good if you're dead, right?"

Hearing the supposed 'joke', Nendo's face was as stiff as a board.

"Right?" Izuku asked again, desperately seeking confirmation.

"That joke was terrible." Nendo said with a flat voice, before bursting into laughter and giving Izuku a thumbs up. "I love it! That kind of humor, only you can properly channel it Izu." The green-haired teen was skeptical as to whether Nendo was being sarcastic or genuine, but he takes the praise in stride anyway.

"Hehe...you know me." After having yet another bad day at school, all he ever wanted was someone he could be buddy-buddies around, with or without Quirk. And who would have thought, it was the keeper of his go-to place for shopping?

But alas, no good soul goes unpunished, as this moment of relative peace and safety for the hero fanatic quickly shatters the second two familiar voices enter the scene. "Hey, Deku!"

Izuku felt his nerves getting shot to pieces. Both voices don't sound like they belong to the person he dreaded meeting every step of his life, but he has heard the two of them enough to know that they often accompany the voice of said feared person. And that fact alone gave him cold sweat already.

Both Nendo and Izuku diverted their eyes towards the source of the call, and just like what the latter was afraid it would be, it was his...ahem, childhood friend's cronies. One guy with a strange, condescending smile and black hair that was combed into two long mops on each side of his head, and another guy also with black hair, but kept in a shorter and more sensible cut. And to keep up the image of garden-variety 'school bullies', an irritatingly smug smirk was plastered on his face.

"Hey, Deku! Why don't you say anything back? Or is it because you're so useless that not even your ears are functional?" Said the one with the strange smile, followed by his friend saying 'Good one, dude'. "Oh, are you buying something? Don't mind if we have some of it!"

While Izuku looked as if he is one loud scream away from wetting himself, Nendo narrowed his eyes. Generic bullies don't really garner any more emotion from him than disappointment, since they only ever pick on those who are weaker than them for a short-lived power trip, but the way these two talk to Izuku doesn't sit well with him. As such, another feeling arises inside him.

Protectiveness. Once done with putting in Midoriya's things, Nendo watched the bullies approaching Izuku, with the greenette taking multiple steps back. His hands balled into fists, but then relaxed soon after. Some sort of red dust, so thin that it's almost invisible to the naked eye, emanates from his palms.

Once Izuku has his back pressed against the counter of the shop, he felt Nendo's hand placed calmly on his shoulder. "Take it." The taller teen said, handing the bag full of food over to him.

The green-haired young man stared at the bag, then back at Nendo with pleading eyes. While he is thankful for the shopkeeper having wrapped everything up for him...it is not the most helpful thing to his situation right now!

Also, on an unrelated note, the bag feels a bit heavier than what he expected from just eggs, meat and vegetables.

Thinking that Nendo was going to be a neutral figure, Izuku figured that the best course of action for a Quirkless person like him, in a dilemma like this...

...Is to threw a combination of wads of money and several pennies at Nendo so that he won't have to return to pay, then limber up his running muscles to haul ass as quickly as humanly possible out of the scene.

And it would have worked, if not for the cronie with the bisected-mop hair to extend his fingers unnaturally long to grab the scruff of Izuku's blazer, thus putting a definite halt to his getaway. Midoriya struggled against his captor's elongated appendages, but any attempts at fighting back soon fizzles out once he recollected as of how all of his earlier attempts play out.

He would get beat up, then insulted some more. It's the same vicious cycle, one that he is truly and utterly powerless to even resist. He has been sick of it ever since the start, but what can he do? What can he say?

Feeling the tiger within him turning into a declawed kitten, Izuku slumps down, still getting strung up by the long fingers, which acts as an impromptu coat hanger. Meanwhile, the punk with the short black hair snatched the grocery bag out of his hands, snickering. "Oh ho, thought we would let you get away that quickly? Nuh-uh!"

"Wait...no, don't touch that! Or! Or..." Izuku could felt the tears of futile rage starting to form, reaching out as far as he can with his hands while still dangling in the air, even switching to wildly swinging his fists. Both bullies cruelly laughed, with the one stringing him up sneering.

"Or what? Is useless, Quirkless Deku going to be the hero, defeat us and save the day? Oh no!" The mop-haired cronie said in a faux-dramatic way, further taunting Izuku. "If whatever's inside here worries you that much, maybe we'll just have a eeny teeny little peek~!"

Midoriya, unable to do anything, turned to Nendo for help. Surprisingly, his friend was still observing from his store, looking as flippant and carefree as ever. Not only that, he even winks at him!

The idea of Nendo being uncaring is simply unthinkable to Izuku, so in his mind, he hoped that maybe, just maybe, the shopkeeper have some kind of plan in motion. "Please please please..."

The bully with the extendable-fingers Quirk untied the bag with his unoccupied hand, and inside the bag was...regular groceries. Normally, such sights wouldn't catch much more than a glimpse, but something else intrigued him.

A single, red piece of brick sitting on top of everything. Why would there be a brick inside? As the two cronies have the question running through the cogs of their brain, Izuku could see Nendo, still smiling, lifting a single finger up.

In a motion that played out like a movie, the brick somehow punts itself upwards and hits the long-fingered bully square in the jaw, with enough force to knock him off his feet, dropping both Izuku and the bag at the same time.

The unafflicted one quickly rushes to his cohort's side, while Izuku slowly gets up on his knees, not really sure of the event that has just unfold. That brick...just flies and hits someone.

As his habit to loudly mumble about things he don't understand kicks in, Nendo hops over his counter and began to walk towards his green-haired friend and wordlessly takes his arm and help him up, much to Izuku's (pleasant) surprise. "You okay? Did he rough you up too much?"

"I-uh, I'm okay. But how did a brick did that?! Is it sentient? Could that even be your-" Midoriya almost babbles each sentence out, unable to contain his questions. His hands mimicked the act of the brick disobeying the laws of gravity.

Nendo's only response was to grin confidently, before looking back at the bullies with that same expression, now coupled with a steely glare. "Well, Izu, you tried to play nice. But you know what? Fuck these guys."

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" The one with short black hair asked, while his companion tenderly rubbed his bruised chin.

"Well, this fine gentleman here is a good confidant of mine," Said Nendo, making himself a bit more eloquent than usual by choosing some big words. "And to be frank, I don't appreciate you two talking to him like that. Especially not with the body language I saw."

"What's it to you?!" The long-fingered Quirk user finally manage to speak up after spending several minutes biting down the lingering pain, stomping his foot. "If you don't want to get beat up like that Quirkless loser over there, stay out of the way!"

"Hmm..." The shopkeeper rubbed his chin in thought, just to mock the mop-haired bully's injury. "No, I don't think I will. Ain't that a bitch?"

"Oh, you're in for it now!" Enraged, the wounded cronie extends his fingers to about the length of a crowbar, before swinging them at Nendo. Of course, the increased surface area also makes the fingers move slower as they struggled against air resistance, and as a result, Nendo was able to jump out of his range fairly easily.

"Hey there. Don't you know who you're dealing with here?" Nendo taunted, crossing his arms.

"Actually, we know." The punk adopted his weird smile again as he extends both fingers to lengths of which they are legally considered as weapons, while the other one cracks his neck and relaxed his shoulders, preparing for a fight. "Just another Quirkless trash who's just all bark and no bite! We're gonna kick both of your asses!"

"Hold on, hold on." Nendo raised both hands, momentarily pausing the tension heating up in the air. "Who said anything about me being Quirkless? You'd be wrong. I do have a Quirk." He declared, as Izuku could be heard visibly gasping.

"In fact, it's a Quirk so powerful, that when I use it to its full power, the ground trembles! The very earth shakes! Lightning strikes from the sky and your underwear turns brown!" Nendo raised his hands into the air while dancing around, as if in the middle of a forbidden ritual. Izuku almost chuckled at how comically overexaggerated he is acting, but still kept a straight, if wary face. He has no idea that Nendo has a Quirk, let alone having any knowledge of what it could do. So, there is a chance that said Quirk is as fear-inducing as it is advertised.

"Wow, dramatic much? Yours is probably just some lame Quirk that can't even hold a candle to ours!" Said the long-fingered one, arrogantly mocking Nendo. But to be fair, in a world where one can be strong enough to topple mountains, fast enough to outrun bullets or tough enough to survive a nuke at point-blank, having the ability to do nothing but extend your own fingers doesn't quite translate to 'awesome'.

But who is to judge? "Oh, everyone said that, because they haven't seen it! Lo and behold!" Nendo unleashed a skyward chant of ancient language, as the clouds turn into an eerie black color with thunder roaring, time seemingly stands still and the very ground shakes with cataclysmic power!

Or...at least, that's what Nendo imagines to be happening. In truth, he is just saying nonsense while staring at the sky, prancing like a jackass. Izuku and the bullies can only stare in a mixture of utter confusion and slight amusement. Finally, the main show comes in the form of clusters of faint, orange-red dust coming from Nendo's palms before concentrating into balls that phase back into his hands.

Not looking at his opponents, Nendo flashes an aggressive grin at them. "You have made the foolish attempt to anger the grand wizard! Now, suffer the wrath of the gods!" And with that, he unleashes the overwhelming power in his hands...

...In the form of two bricks, orbiting each hand. If one expects any more to happen, they would be sorely underwhelmed, as the touted all-powerful Quirk Nendo gave so much hype about, is to make bricks, apparently. And not even some special, outlandish type of brick either, just regular, construction-variety bricks made from burnt clay.

The two bullies take a hard look at the bricks floating on the noirette's hands, before both of them proceed to descend into an uncontrollable laughing fit, thinking to themselves that Nendo is ultimately just a pushover.

"Hey! What's so funny? Anybody knows earth beats physical, so you ain't going to laugh after this!" Nendo protested, looking genuinely confused as to why the two bullies are sneering at him. On another note, Izuku's expression has shifted from 'hopeful' to 'hope eradicated'. But still, the mere notion of someone with (presumably) a brick-controlling Quirk is such a new concept that his nigh-obsessive curiosity over others' Quirks forces the green-haired teen to watch.

"Don't you realize what a total joke you are?!" The punk with the short black hair points out after stifling his painful laughter. "Man, you really are like the others. You guys think your Quirks are so strong and you all bark loud, but ain't no bite to back it up. Losers like you go down whimpering like bitches every time."

"Oh really? Well hey pot, I'm kettle!" Nendo dispels the bricks away and crossed his arms, calling out the two cronies for their blatant hypocrisy. "Go down whimpering, you say? Why don't we test that little theory out first before you start publishin' it all over the place?"

"Yeah right!" The short-haired bully pull back his sleeves and held his fists up, while the other extends his fingers yet again. "Put up your goddamn fists! Let's see how you do in a fight."

"We're seriously doing this, huh?" Yosuke Nendo loses his grin to adopt a more focused, neutral frown. "Well, unluckily for you...a wizard never uses his fists!" And thus, he spawned a brick from each hands again, now ready for a battle.

However, something else is also ready. A little something Nendo coined as his 'combat vision'. In the barest of explanations, it goes like this:

RANDOM ENCOUNTER!

THE BATTLE STARTS!

A flash of light briefly engulfs each of the combatants, signifying that all three have entered their battle state. Stepping back and forth, cautiously watching out for his opponents' moves, Nendo takes a moment to scan them.

LV. 2 Schoolyard Bully 1, as the tag identifying the one with the long fingers appeared above him, who now for some reason possesses glowing red eyes.

LV. 2 Schoolyard Bully 2, a similar tag also appear above the one with the shorter hair, as Nendo observed his movement. Like his comrade, he also now have menacing red eyes.

Taking another look down his own status bar, which has his level at a respectable LV. 3, Nendo cranes his neck to the rocking battle tune he heard inside his head, before starting to select his range of attacks. As of now, he has no real skill to apply, so he sets his sights on the bully with the long fingers and chose the simple 'Attack' option.

Nendo Attacks!

The brick-controlling teen summoned a pair of bricks on his right hand alone, before sending each of them towards the targeted enemy. One brick flies at his leg, taking away a small chunk of his health. Another brick homes in onto his chest, further lowering his health bar. Then, Nendo raises his finger into the air, forming one last floating brick that delivers the coup de grace as it cuts through the air and makes contact with the bully's gut, knocking the wind out of him and flooring the punk.

Since his turn is used up, the bully that is still standing figured that this was his opportunity to strike back in the brief moment that Nendo is using to recover. Holding his breath, the short-haired punk throws his head all the way back before extending his neck much, much longer than any normal human can pull off, aiming his forehead at Nendo's own.

Schoolyard Bully 2 Attacks!

With only a second or two to react, Nendo quickly brought up his hands to manifest a cluster of bricks, which then stacked together to form an instant wall, thus protecting him from the long-ranged headbutt. As a result of headbutting a literal brick wall, the bully couldn't help but to clutch his forehead in agony, likely unable to do anything else while recoiling from the pain.

Schoolyard Bully 2 Is Now Stunned For One Turn!

Having successfully guarded against the attack, Nendo once again is in the process of choosing his targets. Attacking the stretchy-neck guy would lower the general amount of hits he have to spend, but the long-fingered guy is still down, so attacking him would likely do massive damage. He decided to go with the latter, as one less enemy to deal with is always tactically beneficial.

Nendo Attacks!

The self-proclaimed wizard channels the power of his mental acumen to create dozens of bricks from a distance away, before balling his fist, causing all of the bricks to coagulate into one ball-shaped mess floating in the air. Just as the long-fingered bully tries to get up, Nendo telekinetically slams the ball of bricks downwards on his back. It was a critical hit! Sparks appear to fly as the unfortunate Quirk user was flattened. With his face imprinted onto the ground and limbs relaxed, it is unlikely that he would be getting up again for another round.

Schoolyard Bully 1 Was Defeated!

The other bully recovered from his head trauma soon after, just in time to witness his friend getting knocked out, rendering him as the last man standing. Now by his lonesome, the long-necked Quirk user screamed bloody vengeance at Nendo due to the defeat of his friend. "You bastard! I'm SO going to kill you for that!"

Schoolyard Bully 2 Is Getting Mad! Schoolyard Bully 2's Damage Increases!

From what Nendo can see, a blood-red aura now surrounds the long-necked punk, blazing like a raging fire. Feeling like he may dish out something spicier than normal, Nendo goes on the defensive, bracing himself for what's to come.

Schoolyard Bully 2 Attacks!

The remaining bully began to swing his head around like a mace, with his neck getting longer by the second. This goes on until the centrifugal force created by all the head spinning has become strong enough to creater gusts of wind, at which the punk swings his noggin at Nendo again, only with much greater force.

Bringing his forearms up to shield his face, Nendo gritted his teeth as he receives the full brunt of the attack on his left shoulder, making the brick-mancer loses balance and fell on his ass. A sharp pain courses through his veins, but it was nothing he couldn't bite down. After all, his health only have a small portion of it taken out, so he still have more than three-quarters left.

Quickly bouncing back while clutching his afflicted body part, Nendo tries to brainstorm a new attack, something else rather than just 'hurling bricks with your mind'. Having the Quirk to create and control bricks doesn't exactly inspire much in anybody's mind.

But woe betide his enemy, as Nendo's mind was anything but normal. Suddenly remembering how he blocked the headbutt by forming a brick wall, he wondered, what if he weaponizes that instead? And with such groundbreaking method now in development, Nendo balls up his fist and closes his eyes.

Deep, deep within the darkest recesses of his psyche, he imagined the bricks, their semi-smooth and earthy texture clear and detailed down to a single pore, before once again visualizing them as assembling together to form a wall.

Every time a brick slides in and interlock with another, he experienced an almost orgasmic feeling at the satisfaction of every brick fitting nicely with one another and creating a durable structure that no amount of cold, rain or heat could ever break. That, is the beauty of bricks.

Opening his eyes, Nendo could feel the essence of bricks charging up within his clenched hand, shaking with newfound power. The remaining bully was still waiting for Nendo to make his turn, raising an eyebrow at how odd the shopkeeper is being.

Nendo Leveled Up! Awakening A New Skill...

Nendo reels his hand back, ready to release this almighty force towards his unfortunate enemy. "TAKE THIS! Ultra super powerful attack that I don't have a name for yet!" Saying the line without a hint of irony, Nendo threw the empowered hand towards with all his weight behind it.

And what comes out? An honest-to-god brick wall, about the length and width of a large fridge, sliding across the ground and towards the bully with increasing speed and leaving behind a billowing trail of dust.

The sheer randomness of the attack had his opponent so exasperated that he couldn't properly defend against the fearsome sight of a wall speeding towards him at the speed of a mobility scooter going full tilt. Before the stretchy-neck Quirk user can even think of rolling out of the way, he finds himself slamming face-first into a moving brick wall and gets pushed out of the vacant lot. And he would have kept going, if not for the brick wall colliding with another wall, a concrete one, and turned to rubble upon impact. Of course, Nendo makes sure to dispel the wall before it actually hits the concrete wall, or else the punk would have been reduced to a pancake.

The attack practically erased the bully's health bar, as he was plastered onto the concrete wall like a piece of modern art. The only sign that is needed to confirm his defeat was the short-haired punk slowly falling down in a comical fashion.

Schoolyard Bully 2 Was Defeated!

"Hell yeah! The enemy is vanquished!" Nendo raises his arms in victory, excitedly jumping up and down before unleashing a skyward roar.

CONGRATULATIONS!

RESULTS:

Generic XP Earned! Level Increased From LV.3 LV.4!

Job XP Earned! Level Increased From LV.1 LV.2!

UNLOCKED SKILL: Wall Launcher

And that, is a brief glimpse into the mind of Nendo.

As the two cronies laid on the ground, beaten and bruised black and blue, Nendo triumphantly whistles a whimsical tune while patting his biceps. "Aww yeah, I feel those stats going up!"

"T-The fuck...?" The long-fingered bully groaned, clutching his back and stomach. "How...how the hell did you learn to fight like that?!"

"What's with the stutter? Never fought someone your own size before?" Nendo admonishes the duo, crossing his arms in an authoritative manner, not unlike a father catching his child stealing cookies. "You guys are just bullies, plain and simple. You guys bark loud and bite hard on anyone weaker than you, yet the moment someone who can actually fight back enters the scene, you guys go down whimpering like bitches every time." Nendo threw the mop-haired cronie's phrase back at him, ironically echoing what he said earlier about some being 'all bark and no bite'.

"This a-ain't over yet!" The long-haired jerk crawled over to his friend, who was still down due to his more painful injuries, thanks to being crushed by two walls. Helping him up by the shoulder, the two waddled away, but not so fast that he can't run his mouth. "We're friends with Katsuki Bakugo! Trust me, you don't know who you're fuckin' with! Deku's shitting his pants, I tell you! He knows what's coming!"

"Get outta here!" Nendo summoned another brick, making it very clear that he's tired of this conversation and is about to send a sentient brick after them to further harass the two. Needless to say, they didn't stick around after that. "What a bunch of pricks. Anyway, are you alright Izu?"

Turning to Izuku, Nendo was almost surprised at just how wide the freckled nerd's jaw has dropped. For an added degree of uncanny, all the blood drained from his face, thus leaving it a pallid white. "Oh no." Izuku said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Oh no no no no."

"Izu? Izu!" Nendo snapped his fingers, pulling Izuku out of his trauma-induced catatonia. "What's wrong? You're as white as a bedsheet."

Midoriya locked eyes with the brickmancer, mouth trembling. "They're gonna sick Bacchan on us..."

"Bacchan? Is that the kid with wings? It's been so long since I've seen him." Nendo muttered, his brain conjuring the image of an overweight guy with a pair of bat-like wings on his back.

"I don't think that was him...that's Tsubasa, if I recall correctly." Izuku massaged his eyebrows in a fatigued manner. "Tsubasa moved away years ago, and to be absolutely honest, I'm sort of glad about it."

"Ooooh...that guy. Yeah, I'm sure you are. He's the one who held your arms up for the others to punch you, right?" Nendo recalled, jokingly rubbing Izuku's fluffy hair as he helps the Quirkless teen up. "I still remember all the horror stories you told me about him shoving his sweaty armpits in your face."

"Ugh...please don't mention that. I'm as queasy enough as it is." Izuku expressed his sheer disgust at that particular memory, to the point that his cheeks turned slightly green. "But yep, that's not Bacchan. He's the top dog around here."

"The top dog, huh?" Nendo dug deeper into the sea of memories about the people he met, until he finds one that reminded him of a voice that violated his virgin ears like a megaphone, saturated with swear words from every dialect known to the Japanese language. "Ah! Bakugo, right? The blonde kid with the hair like a pomeranian and the anger issues of a chihuahua?"

"That's the one..." Izuku trailed off, before collapsing to his knees out of pure despair. "But is that even important anymore? If Kacchan hears of this, he's gonna blow us to the sky then dump our bodies in the water."

Startled by the sudden pessimism, Nendo attempts to light the mood up by laughing it off and playfully socking Izuku in the arm. "Why are you talking like that? I may not know as much about Bakugo as you do, but I don't think he would actually kill you." He said with an understanding smile.

However, it slightly falters when Izuku shot him a look that conveyed the full meaning of the phrase 'You think?'. Just goes to show how the heroic teen has been driven to accepting his fate so easily by the unequal society, going out of its way to downtrod the Quirkless and the unlucky.

"I don't get it." Nendo placed hands on his hips, concerned about his friend's deteriorating mental health. "Getting mocked and pushed around like this...don't you hate it?"

"Of course I hate it! I hate every second of it!" Izuku lashed out, both because of stress and self-hate due to his Quirkless status. "But what am I going to do? Duke it out with a guy who can literally sweat explosive chemicals out of his palms? The more I think about it...the more I realize I'm just making a fool out of myself for even trying in the first place."

And that's when Izuku felt someone slapping the back of his skull, hard. Rubbing the sore spot, he realizes that it was none other than Nendo. "What are you, some emo nihilist on the internet, complaining about how meaningless life is? Listen to yourself, man! The Izu I know would never say something like that."

"W-What do you mean?" Midoriya asked, voice still low and broken.

"Tell me something, Izu. Who's your favorite Pro Hero?" Nendo already knew the answer, but he would still prefer to hear it from Izuku himself.

"A-All Might. But why-"

"Okay, All Might it is then. Now tell me, would All Might be the Symbol of Peace, where he is today, if he gave up?"

"It's not the same and you know it!" Izuku retorted weakly, looking down on his feet. "He has a super powerful Quirk, I don't have anything-"

"And I'm going to stop you right there. Izu, I do not give a shit about whether you have a Quirk or not. What makes or breaks a hero isn't about their powers." Nendo adopted a serious expression, but Izuku could still see the gentleness underneath it. "The concept of a 'hero' has been around long, long before Quirks were even a thing. I mean, does the official definition of the word entails 'anyone who has a Quirk' in it? No!"

Izuku looked up, the doubt and self-loathing in his eyes slowly being replaced by what Nendo has always seen in him: hope and determination. "You don't need to have powers or be the child of someone who does to be a hero. You just need to believe you are one. Heroes are made from what they do, not what they have!"

"And Izu, when you say you don't have anything that makes you a hero, I call bullshit." Nendo points a finger at Izuku, before the finger lands on his chest. "Because you have the heart of a hero. And I believe that to be the most important thing any hero should have. The kindness and will to help those in need. Bakugo may have a flashy Quirk, but you're a bigger hero than ten of him put together."

A newly-inspired Izuku took Nendo's hand and held onto it. Soon after, droplets of liquid start to fell from the greenette's face. However, unlike anything before, these are tears of joy upon finding his will to live revitalized. "Nen-chan...thank you! I realized what an idiot I am...and I promise you, I won't ever say things like that again! I'm gonna look forward and achieve my dream, to be a hero!"

The brick-controlling teen has not much else to say, other than what is possibly his most truthful smile to date.

"And right now...I'm mad! Just thinking about the things Kacchan did...gets my blood boiling!" And as the result of the dopamine rush, Izuku's temper sparked as well. He exhales forcefully, nostrils flaring.

"That's right! I know you're pissed!" Nendo eggs him on, cheering at the sight of his friend being more confident.

"I'm gonna give him a good talk right now!" With firm resolve, Izuku resolutely marches out, eyebrows furrowed. However, before he could actually get any more than three steps away, Nendo quickly grabs him by the collar of his shirt.

"Woah, hang on. I know you're pissed, but going to him right now and asking for a fight is actually stupid. You need to temper that rage, control it and turn it into strength, not the other way around!" Now that he has managed to raise Izuku's mood, it's now time to smack some common sense onto him. "You gotta wait till your Quirk manifests, man! Then we can do serious business."

"My Quirk?" Asked Izuku, now rendered calm due to Nendo's timely rage-blocking. "But the doctor said I'm Quirkless. I don't have an extra joint on my toe..."

"And that's bogus! Completely bogus." Nendo vehemently reinforces his beliefs, grabbing Izuku by the shoulder and points a finger at the horizon. "You're just a really late bloomer. Like, why would having a Quirk or not be decided on whether or not you have extra bones? That's just weird."

"I...well, it has been scientifically proven." Said Izuku reluctantly, not wanting to pop his friend's bubble, but he feels that the ugly truth is always better than to sugarcoat things with lies. "I appreciate your trust in me, but sometimes...no man are born equal, you know?"

"Izu. Doctors are doctors, not seers. How could you be sure that science justifies everything?" Nendo raised an eyebrow, as if he is stating the obvious. "Like, does science justifies how Ryukyu turns into a fricking dragon?"

"That's a good point..." Izuku enters his deep-thinking mode, nodding to what Nendo has to say. But then, something else clicked in. Now that the issue with his childhood friend is temporarily cast aside, the question he was itching to ask Nendo about returned. "Nendo..."

"Yes?"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Izuku exclaimed at the top of his lungs.

"What was what?"

"Controlling bricks, that was your Quirk all along?!" The green-haired teen shouts, rushing to his discarded backpack and rummage through it. "I need my notebook!"

"What, my Quirk? Yeah, you guess it. Summoning and bending bricks of all kinds to my will!" Nendo posed dramatically, before a stinging feeling under the skin of his left arm forces him to prematurely drop the stance. "Ah! Ouch..."

Raising his sleeves further upwards, Nendo reveals a large bruise on his shoulder that is already starting to turn blue. Izuku returns with a thick notebook whose fore edge is stained with pencil dust, before he too saw the bruises and gasp in horror. "Oh my god, Nendo! Are you alright? That looks really bad."

"Well, it does hurt...but eh, I've been through worse." The brick-mancer grimaces as he poke and prod the superficial wound with a finger. "Still, damn. I choked back there."

"I think it's kind of inevitable..." Midoriya said, touching the bruise in a more assertive manner. "Every time you get in a fight, you always let them get some hits in, even though you can wipe the floor with them. I know how hard you fight when you want to."

"Guess I do let them do that...you must have think I'm a masochist or something." Nendo snickered, pulling his sleeve down to hide the bruise. "But that ain't it at all! That was when I still use my fists. When I discovered my Quirk though, that's when I start playing fair. Y'know, like what a wizard would do in a game."

"Wha-? A wizard?" Izuku almost sputtered, not sure of what he just heard.

"Sure, I pretend to be a wizard when I fight. So what?" And now, it is Nendo's turn to be nerdy. Throwing his hands up, he mimicked shooting lightning bolts out of his palms. "When it's time to get heavy with someone, my brain just starts thinking in RPG terms!"

"RPG...you mean like role-playing games?" Izuku makes an assumption which Nendo vigorous nods to, a goofy grin slowly making its way across his mouth.

"Yeah! We got Funkin' Fantasy, The Ancient Scrolls, and the greatest one of them all...Arcane Quest!" Proclaimed Nendo with the excitedness and giddiness of a child. "Getting my Quirk was the best thing ever! I can actually fulfill my fantasy of being a wizard! Or, one that control bricks."

"Arcane Quest? Is it the one we played at the arcade when we were little?" Asked Izuku, innocuously. "And then, you just keep talking on and on about it on the way home. What's so great about it? It's a pretty average game if you ask me."

Heh. I could say the same about you when it comes to Pro Heroes. And since you so kindly asked..." With that said, Nendo quickly stepped behind Izuku and points at the blue sky, smiling all the while. "Everything, man! It's an epic and dangerous journey, full of strange and curious creatures, which is exactly how I see real life!"

"I...you do realize this is also real life, right? Your imagination tells otherwise, but even if only one person gets a lucky hit in, it's game over for you." Izuku expressed his worries, rubbing his arm sheepishly. "It's not because I think it's silly, I'm just afraid you're going to get yourself seriously hurt, or even killed. And I never wanted that to happen in a million years, Nendo."

"Aww, Izu. You're getting me all teared up." He said, wiping away a non-existent tear from his eye. "I get it, you're worried about me and all, but the moment the gloves come off, I'll be fighting seriously. Besides, if I died, who's gonna protect your dumb ass?" Said Nendo flippantly, but unlike Izuku's classmates, his words have no malice behind them, and more like a good friend riffing on the other.

"Look, I like this life with you, Arcane Quest, my store and even uncle Ushio and Yoshino. I wouldn't trade it out for the world." Nendo monologued, slowly walking back to his store as Izuku followed alongside. "Truth is, this is THE life for me, you know? It's everything I ever wanted."

"So...all you wanted out of life is to hang out with me and cooped up in your store, playing non-stop Arcane Quest?" The greenette asked, talking with a slower speed to enunciate the meaning of his question. That is, spending the rest of your life doing just the aforementioned things is quite wasteful.

"Wouldn't be the man I am today without it. A chill, cool guy...full of the courage and lessons those games taught to me, and what they didn't, uncle Ushio and Yoshino did." The teen removes his cap and runs a hand over his tied-up field of black hair, before his face drops like a pancake. "Well, after they have teached me everything else that is decidedly un-heroic, but it's the thought that counts."

"So that's where you get all this wizard stuff out of, eh?" Izuku flashes an awkwardly-curved smile, as if sounding too hard to be all chummy and slick. "Maybe I should give Arcane Quest another go."

"Do it, man! It's a cult classic: never really up there with the big leagues, but when someone gives it the time of the day, they won't ever regret it." Nendo tiptoes over to the grocery bag and picked it up, checking if the contents are still safe from the drop earlier. "But first, let's get your groceries together. Let's see...oh, thank the primordial spirits of bricks!"

"What is it?"

"I had this tiny feeling that something was going to happen, so I put the eggs in double styrofoam. All of them are safe!" Nendo took out the container and opened it, revealing the eggs to be intact...save for an unlucky one, which did crack upon the fall and is now sloshing egg yolk around. "Uh-well, most of them are. I'll give you one more charge, completely free of egg! I mean, one more egg, free of charge. Fucking hell." He swore after doing a double take, fumbling around with his words.

Izuku failed to contain his brief chuckle at how easily Nendo creates a word salad, but swallowed the urge to laugh down to be polite. "Thanks, Nendo."

After spending five extra minutes to scoop out the yolk inside the styrofoam container and filling the spot with another egg, everything was set for Izuku to properly hand the money over to Nendo, as opposed to throwing it. Bidding his goodbyes, Midoriya cheerfully begins his walk back home.

However, it doesn't appear that he will be doing so alone. The sound of a door closing, which was immediately followed by the sound of a key rattling inside its hole. Turning back, the greenette saw the shopkeeper locking the door to his shop, while being outside with him.

"Um...Nendo?" Asked Izuku, thinking that it was just the brick-controlling teen being absentminded again. "Are you locking yourself out?"

Nendo finishes locking the door with a click, before stuffing the key into his pocket. "Oh, this? Nah, I just want to walk you home."

Midoriya's face becomes incandescent with embarassment, his cheeks turning bright red due to misconstruing Nendo's intentions. "Ah! Oh no no, you don't have to do that! I can take care of myself..."

"Really?" Nendo raised one eyebrow in a display of faux skepticism.

"Really." Izuku responded in kind, trying to appear as confident as possible.

An uncomfortably long period of silence passes by, before Nendo drops the skeptical stare and laughs jovially. "Okay, then I'll just walk with you on your way home. For company." He's actually more concerned about Izuku getting ambushed by Bakugo and those two cronies again on the way home, but putting it this way sounds a bit less emasculating for the aspiring hero.

"If it makes you happy...sure thing!" Izuku answered more cheerfully than usual. A ghost of a smile graced Nendo's lips, before he joins the green-haired boy on the street.

The pair of friends walked side-by-side, chatting idly with each other. Since Nendo considers himself an open-minded person, any topic is up for discussion, whether it be political, societal, or even something as trivial as their favorite Pro Heroes. The last one is also the current topic the two are talking about, and it has absorbed them so much that Nendo nearly falls into a manhole. Luckily, he summoned several bricks to act as levitating steps for him, preventing a foul-smelling aftermath.

"...Are you saying that, you like the Dragoon Hero because she turns into a dragon?" Questioned Izuku, surprised at how comically simple Nendo's requirements for liking a hero was.

"Absolutely! Dragons are just the coolest thing ever!" Nendo exclaims, pumping his fists in the air. "Such majestic creatures, so powerful yet so graceful at the same time. Just looking at dragons inspires me, you know? If a dragon is about to burn me to a crisp, I'll be going nuts! It's like the dark fantasy genre: terrible and probably going to kill you, but damn, it's gonna look awesome."

Midoriya was a tad perturbed by the grim analogy, but otherwise shrugs it off due to how childishly excitable Nendo is. The two talked for some more, until they passed through a particular place which rendered Nendo completely silent, stopping in his tracks.

Izuku slows down to a halt shortly after as well, looking back at Nendo, who was staring to his left. Normally, he would have dismissed it as Nendo being Nendo, what with his random moments of blank-mindedness and fantasizing about something. However, this was different. The grin that was on the brick-mancer's face diminished instantly, replaced with a more somber smile.

"Nendo? Is there something wrong?" Izuku patted Nendo several times on the back, attempting to break his friend out of his stupor. Curiously, he followed Nendo's gaze. It was an small, dilapidated factory of sorts, with its doors and windows boarded up and chained, and a broken chimney which smoke once rose out of. Parts of the place are already starting to crumble apart, as a result of neglect and age.

"Nothing...just memories." Nendo replied. "I supposed it's the right moment to tell you. Welcome, to my first home." He said as he looked at the building, eyes glistening with nostalgia.

"Your...home?" Izuku asked again, unsure of what Nendo is implying.

Nendo placed a hand on the sign before the factory, which has been degraded by rust to such a degree that the words on it have become unreadable. "Fifteen years ago, on the twenty-third of March, I came into this world, crying my eyes out inside this brickworks."

Izuku felt his jaw automatically slackened, but chose to keep quiet and listen. Nendo never once told him about this, thus the greenette is sufficiently intrigued.

"Unbelievable, right? Well, my mom apparently worked here, and she keeps on coming to work despite being pregnant. And one day, her water suddenly breaks on site and she popped me out, right there." Nendo points at the shed which was used for drying the bricks before putting them in the kiln. "She was rushed to the hospital...but she never came back, neither for work nor for me. I didn't know that until I learn how to read, when the owner of the brickworks told me. I got nowhere else to go, so he took me in, and called me Yosuke. I was pretty much raised by him and the employees. Never knew who my real dad was, though."

"Things seem to be fine...till the brickworks was closed for financial reasons. The owner figured that he can't raised me with empty pockets, so he gave me away to an orphanage, and disappeared." Nendo continues describing his past in detail for Izuku, who he trusted enough to be sharing these information with. "The place was a piece of shit and I hate it, so the first chance I got, I ran away and never look back. After that, I just start drifting. Begging people for the bare essentials...and what I can't get from begging, I resorted to stealing. I would have probably live on like that and eventually die in a ditch somewhere, if not for Dad catching me when I steal from his shop."

"Well, I say Dad, but we weren't related by blood. When he caught me, I expected him to just hand me over to the authorities and be done with it. But he never did that." Nendo briefly chokes up, but remains composed enough to continue his story. "Instead, he gave me the first proper meal I've had for months, a warm bath, before sending me on my way, telling me to keep my nose clean. I asked him, what exactly does he gain from doing all of this for a street urchin like me. You know what he said?" Nendo peeked at Izuku, who held his breath in waiting.

Judging from how Izuku's eyes gleam with interest, Nendo knows the answer already. "'I guess I just wanted to look cool in front of a kid who has the gall to rob my place.' At that moment, I saw a glimpse of light shining down on my gaping hole of an existence, and before I knew it, I started following him." Nendo said with a heartfelt voice. "I didn't care how often he ignored me or told me to go away, I stood outside his store every day, helping him out with anything, just to paid back what he did for me. Pulling crates, advertising, you name it."

"There were days that rain poured. There were days that the sun scorches earth. But I never once let any of that get in the way of me standing outside his store. And then..."

-Flashback to eight years ago...

A much younger Nendo was standing outside of the shop that was in a much better state than it is in the present, waiting silently and patiently for his savior to come back again, just so he could help him with whatever he needs.

After some time has passed by, the owner of the shop has returned from his trip for supplies, getting off his bike whose handles have bags of food and vegetables strapped to them. Being middle-aged and running a business, the man has a stern, unfaltering expression, which was not only unaffected by his average height, but in fact, strengthens it. He was a small man with a lot of power.

"Welcome back, sir!"

Spotting the kid standing outside his shop as always, wearing nothing but that same old bedraggled shirt and patched-up pants, the man tiredly massages his eyebrows. "Look, kid. I get it that you're grateful, but stop following me around like that. Didn't your parents taught you about stranger danger?"

"I don't have parents, sir!" The young Nendo stated, his back upright and stiff. "Someone used to take care of me, but he's gone now!"

The shopkeeper's eyes widened at the revelation, but it was such a split-second reaction that Nendo couldn't spot it, instead seeing the man as stone-faced as ever. He stood there, contemplating his thoughts. Then, he calmly walked into his shop, stopping short at the entrance, as if waiting for something.

Young Nendo keeps to his post, before realizing that the bags are still at the bike. Rushing over and untying them, he carried the groceries over to the man. The shopkeeper takes a long, hard look at the kid. He was youthful and foolish, but ever since he took care of him that one day, it seemed that life has occupied its place inside his eyes again, as opposed to how dull and hopeless they were when the two first met.

Sighing, the man took his shoes off and walked inside the shop, leaving the door open. "Come on in."

Young Nendo looked at the shopkeeper, as his frown slowly morphed into a genuine smile. "Yes sir!" Thus, he ran inside, not minding the combined weight of both bags at all.

-Back to present day...

Finishing with that little snippet of his story, Nendo has a wistful smile on his face, now looking away from the brickworks. "It'd been two months since I'd met Dad. He did some papers, and he was able to adopt me and send me to the school where I met you. Uncle Ushio and uncle Yoshino were Dad's friends, so I got to meet those two as well." The brick summoning teen monologued again, but quickly stops to let out a chuckle. "Crap, I just went on a whole-ass speech there. Didn't mean to take up so much of your time."

Izuku listened, and was reasonably appalled by how terrible of a childhood Nendo has. Ever since he was old enough to remember, he has come to understand that no man was born equal, but despite being Quirkless, he at least have a loving family and a mother who always supported him no matter what. Nendo, on the other hand, have no one to turn to and even have to live on the streets at one point, despite having a Quirk and, by definition, being one of the less-stigmatized members of society.

Sometimes, expectations are subverted in the most surprising way. "Wow...that's quite the story. I... I never knew things were so hard for you. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I think that you're rich and privileged before this, but I just-"

"Yeah yeah, I know what you mean. Don't have to explain it." Said Nendo, before his mood did a one-eighty and he was back to being cheery and excitable. "But enough sad stuff and nostalgia! Let's talk about something in the present, eh? Like... dreams! Yeah, dreams. What do you dream of, Izuku?"

Approaching a subject that Izuku is all too familiar with, the green-haired hero fan proudly raised his fist. "I wanna be a hero! And the strongest one there is!"

"Now that's what I call a dream. When you dream, you gotta dream big!" Nendo said, feeling similarly pumped up. "Since you're the hero...I am the wizard!"

"Huh? You can be a hero as well, Nendo! With that Quirk, I'm sure there's plenty of good that can be done with it! You can even be an elemental Hero, like Cementoss!" Midoriya rebuffed, putting it in, well, RPG terms for Nendo's brain to digest.

"Nah, man. Izu-chan, my dude, you are the hero. And me? I'm just your trusty wizard, staying by your side, sweeping away all but your most daunting foes with the aid of ungodly magic!" Nendo said, laughing maniacally while summoning two bricks out of thin air to orbit around him. Izuku couldn't help but laugh along. "Besides, what kind of element is brick? Subsidiary to earth, I guess."

Midoriya and Nendo chat some more as they continue their walk, and eventually the two arrived at the apartment block that the Midoriya family called home. "Well, would you look at that. We're here!" The dark-haired self-proclaimed wizard went in front of the gate, then proceed to politely bow down before Izuku, his hands beckoning to the block where the greenette lives. "Welcome back to your stately manor, O great hero."

"Oh, stop it!" Protested an embarassed Izuku. Seeing how Nendo doesn't budge after ten full seconds, the green-haired teen acquiesced in playing along with Nendo's fantasy. "Why thank you, my loyal aide and mage. Please, make way." He said with a defeated tone.

"Aaah, there we go!" Nendo aimed his finger guns at Izuku, cheekily grinning all the while. "Okay, I've hold you for myself long enough. Go! Return home! And say hi to your mom for me!"

"Heh...see you tomorrow, Nendo." Midoriya waved his friend farewell, before turning around.

"Hey!" However, Nendo doesn't seem to have finished yet. "Good luck on tomorrow."

"...Thanks? I mean, thank you. I needed that." Izuku nodded to Nendo's words of encouragement, before opening his mouth, wanting to say something else as well. "And about what we said earlier...well, do you want to be a hero as well?"

"Do I? Hmm..." Nendo rubbed his chin in thought. He was sure of the answer, but what troubles him, is how he say it. "If you ask me from the bottom of my heart, then yes, being a Pro Hero is a very nice thing. But-!"

"But?"

"I still have too much here to just left it all behind to be follow the path of a hero, Izu." Nendo said with a sad smile. "Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to go to U.A with you, but I still have the people who needed me back there. Uncle Ushio, uncle Yoshino, my shop...life happens. And I gotta do it for dad, no matter how boring things can get."

"Oh...that's okay! I mean, it's a shame, but if that's your choice, I'm not going to force you or anything." Izuku looks rather forlorn at the prospect of Nendo staying behind, even if the reason behind it is completely understandable to him.

"What? Oh, silly Izu." Nendo loses the somber expression and smiles again, tapping Izuku on the forehead, making the Quirkless teen physically recoil somehow. "You can't force me. Just have to ask nicely, mate."

Leaving Izuku to numbly stare at him, Nendo hops away and spawns two bricks underneath his shoes. "Until we meet again, noble hero! And now, I shall make my leave. Bricks AWAY!"

Raising a finger towards the horizon, as the bricks began to levitate slightly above the ground and move forward to where he is pointing at. And they do so...at a painfully slow speed, giving the impression that he is sliding across the road on two bricks instead of flying.

"Yeah...see you too..." Izuku had a hopelessly confused look on his face as he waves Nendo goodbye once again, watching him gradually disappearing, still holding out his finger at the distance as if seemingly petrified.

-Later that night...

Nighttime eventually arrives, but it did little to stop the businesses around Penny-Filter District to continue marketing and luring in more unknowing customers, seducing them with sweet words and even sweeter deals, thus enabling them to give in to their mindless consumerism and hand over money for useful-on-paper, but useless-on-practice things.

One of them, however, did close for the night. And of course, it was Nendo's. Despite it being only about nine in the evening, the young man considers it his personal time, and thus spends the rest of the day for himself. Currently, he is taking a shower while singing several mismatched notes in a rather tone-deaf fashion, shampooing his hair in the process.

"Dee da dee dum dum..." Sings Nendo, rubbing the shampoo in until a big, bubbly mess replaces most of the biomass on top of his head. "Doo doo dee da..."

After done taking care of his hygiene, Nendo emerges from his tiny bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel that wraps tightly around his slim, yet taut frame and his long hair draping over his nape like a mullet. Searching through a cardboard box that he labelled as 'Wardrobe', Nendo manages to found a piece of apparel that doesn't smell like old socks and mystery meat.

A red hoodie with a particularly long hood that reminds him of a robe, which is primarily the reason why he likes to wear it. Nendo slides a T-shirt over his bare chest before putting the hoodie on and dons the hood.

Watching himself, a nearly full-grown fifteen-year-old, striking a flamboyant pose in the mirror with a red hood covering the upper half of his face like a jackass, Nendo winks at his reflection. "Hey there. My my, what a handsome wizard you are." He said, flashing a grin at his image.

Chuckling to himself, Nendo then decides to move on to what is arguably the most important order of the day for him: continuing his 118th playthrough of the game he loved, Arcane Quest. Some might say he's utterly obsessed with it, and to be honest...he's not ashamed of admitting that.

Sitting down in front of the TV with a cold water bottle and a bag of slightly-salted chips at his disposal, both items that would hardly last through his robust appetite for gaming, Nendo blows away what little dust that is accumulating around his antiquated game console before turning the TV on and pressed the start button, waiting for the menu screen to appear.

Eventually, the screen lights up...with nothing but static snow and screen tears. Huffing indignantly, Nendo gets up and rotates his good arm a few times to grease up the muscles. Aiming with extreme precision, he smacks the left side of the TV box, at a perfect sixty-degree angle with just enough force.

Whether the TV is sentient and Nendo just hits its itchy spot, or just plain crazy enough to work, the screen returns to normal with the menu screen of Arcane Quest appearing, filled with colorful text and portrayed in glorious 2D, retro-style graphics.

Picking up the controller while smiling from ear to ear, Nendo selected his current save file and took his time to sit through the animated cutscene that has the royal advisor of the King alarming his character, an earth mage, and his party that the princess has been kidnapped by her suitor, an act that shocks the royal family.

Due to the sheer amount of times he has played the game, this revelation wasn't really all that surprising anymore, yet he still prefers to watch it, just to again experience the magical moment when he first get to this part of the story, which, to a nine-year-old, was mind-blowing. The Suitor, a handsome and suave gentleman who was supposed to be the finest man on the realm in order to take care of the princess for life, committing such a heinous act on who is his true love? How could that be?

As the cutscene fades to black, Nendo is left with his seven-member party facing the path to the Deadwoods, where the Suitor is reported to be hiding in. Leading his party through the deathly forest on a single trail surrounded by barren trees, Nendo clutches his controller, wary of whatever horrors that will impede their progress.

And soon enough, his worries were confirmed. Huge, red words spelling out 'RANDOM ENCOUNTER: STRANGE BEINGS' appeared on the screen as his party enters battle mode. The enemies were odd-looking humanoid creatures whose bodies are made entirely out of tree barks, with a ghostly purple glow that emanates from their chests.

"Dang it! Husks." Husks, former humans whose fragile minds have been broken down and absorbed by the Deadwoods, thus allowing the infectious growth in the ground to take over and transform them into these mindless, half-plant monstrosities. The game never told him about such information though, so Nendo to consult the handbook that comes with the game.

He was afraid of these guys back then because of how scary their designs look, often hiding behind a pillow out of superstitious fear that one of them might jump out of the screen and attack him. Nendo had long outgrown that kind of fear, but he still dreads encountering them, owing to their high damage output, massive amounts of health, lack of any specific elemental weaknesses and the fact that they never come alone makes any fight with the Husks an absolute pain to sit through.

Putting his healing items on the ready, Nendo initiates the fight with his avatar. The earth mage plants his staff into the ground, before the very scenery starts to shake as a gigantic fist made of rocks emerged from the dirt and slammed down on the group of Husks, dealing heavy damage to all of them.

Then, he has his berserker joining the fray. The berserker flexed his spiked gauntlets before targeting the Husk in front of him and delivers a barrage of punches, culminating with an uppercut that stuns the Husk, twinkling stars circling above its head in a cartoonish fashion.

Another Husk steps up to attack, its hands extending into long, barbed vines as it lashes at his rogue, lowering her health down to a sliver. Nendo curses himself for forgetting to heal her prior to the battle, and since he can only have three party members active at a time, he was forced to swap out his berserker with the priestess, the party's designated healer.

Targeting the rogue, the priestess raises her arms and cast holy magic unto her, raising the rogue's health bar back to a healthy green. Breathing a sigh of relief, Nendo now has his crosshairs on the Husk responsible for the attack. As it is currently the rogue's turn, Nendo has something nasty for the Husk. Very, very nasty.

An ultimate skill that he had just acquired for the rogue not long ago, aptly named 'Spiral of Daggers'. Shaving off a fixed percent of the enemy's health, as opposed to just dealing damage, affecting every single foe on the field and is guaranteed to cause the 'Haemorrhage' status, a more advanced form of 'Bleed' that saps away a lot more health per second. It costs an absurd amount of mana points, but the results are well worth it.

But before he could move the analog stick down to select the skill, several rhythmic knocks are heard from his door downstairs, presumably because the doorbell has long fallen into a state of disrepair. Letting out a sharp exhale, Nendo begrudgingly pauses his game and gets up, his legs slightly weak from sitting cross-legged for an extended period. Reaching the door and opening it, he was greeted by the sight of an older man, dressed in a postal uniform and cap, along with a large pair of grey-feathered wings folded behind his back.

The man searches through his messenger bag, not giving much eye contact to Nendo. "Is this the Nendo residence?" The postman asked flippantly, still rummaging through the mass of envelopes in his bag.

"Uh...yeah?" Nendo replied, awkwardly standing there and waiting for the postman. "What is it?"

"We got mail for Yosuke Nendo." The winged postal worker finally fishes out the one meant for Nendo, handing it over to him. "There. Have a good evening." Without saying anything further, the postman spreaded his wings and flew away into the night.

Yosuke closed the door before turning around, walking back upstairs as he inspects the letter. Since all of the people he knows live nearby, Nendo rarely, if ever, receives letters or even postcards. Even if he does, it's either the electricity or the water bills. He would have left the letter for later, if not for the stuffily formal words etched on one of the corners of the envelope, detailing the sender.

The Bank of Japan. Specifically, its branch in Musutafu.

Now what would the bank what anything to do with a small business owner like him? Well, technically this place is his father's, but given the circumstances, he effectively acts and works as the owner. Carefully tearing the envelope open, Nendo unfolds the letter inside and proceeds to read it, walking around while doing so. For unknown reasons, Nendo has a habit of walking around every time he reads something.

As his eyes methodically moved down each paragraph of the letter, the neutral look on his face starts to change wildly due to the clash of emotions within him. It turns into anger, then sadness, then goes right back to anger, before finishing off with a look of pure, undiluted shock, his eyes now the size of dinner plates.

During the process of reading the letter, he had wandered into a tiny, discreet room with barely any furniture inside, save for a single table that has several burning incense sticks held before a framed picture. A still-shocked Nendo continues staring at the letter...

...Before his fingers crumple the edges of the letter, squeezing them. A pained look takes over, with Nendo dropping both the envelope and the letter, his arms slackening. Immediately after, he collapses onto his knees, crying. Bitter tears fell as he crawls over to the table and rest against one of its legs, quietly sobbing to himself.

Just then, the incense sticks before the picture of his adoptive father fizzled out.

-0-

Author Notes:

The first chapter, and we're already more than ten thousand words in. I must have been in a particularly poetic mood. This story came when I was reading the manga, then I come across the character of Cementoss. I thought to myself, 'Hey, his Quirk is actually pretty cool. What if it was bricks instead?' And thus, that thought gnawed at my mind like a rabbit unti I just can't take it anymore and have to write it out. All of that, and combined with several gamer fics I saw across the website, and boom, came this fanfic.

Even before this, I was quite a fan of MHA, so I've always wanted to try my hand when it comes to writing fanfics for this. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. And if you can, please give a review so that I can further improve on my writing. Any form of criticism is fine with me. There's more to come, so stay tuned.