The Original work was written by Op Taipan.
土
BOOK ONE:
EARTH
CHAPTER SIX:
OPERATION: CHIMA! , PART ONE:
A FAMILY TALK
"Aaaaannnddd… Nothing. AGAIN!" A middle-aged woman signed exasperatedly. Slumping on the chair in her office, the Geneticist groaned as she rubbed her temples.
When she woke up today, she did not sign up to encounter a refutation to one of the most basic axioms* in her field.
Honestly, she still could not quite believe it. The evidence supporting the pinky-toe theory was so unquestionable that the entire medical industry excepted them as fact!
Yet, just this morning, a single child had appeared in her hospital who, against all odds, single-handedly disproved it by just existing!
Seriously! It was like the gods or whatever higher deity was out there just decided to taunt her and mankind by showing them that what they knew was nothing more than hot garbage.
It wasn't supposed to be that big of a deal… Just the normal quirk identification tests for a child that, while looking worse-for-wear, was normal.
Nobody at the hospital would even bat a questionable glance at the mother and son, if not for his injuries.
That indifference was soon hurtled out the highest window only to be run over by a truck.
At first, they did the usual thing and took an X-ray of his foot, despite both mother and son claiming it to be unnecessary.
They both said that the boy had a quirk… Heck, to emphasize this point, the boy even performed a demonstration by chugging a rock through a window…
Needless to say, he was scolded profusely for that.
Imagine their surprise when they all looked at the X-rays and saw no missing toe joint.
They were in a panic. Not once, not ever in the history of quirk research had a person who possessed a quirk had two joints in their pinky toe.
It was unprecedented!
Understandably, being scientists, every expert within the hospital wasted no time and got the little boy to go through every test imaginable in their respective fields. All for one purpose: to learn everything they can.
And now here she was, hours later in her office. Looking through countless DNA Sequencings** to find the slightest hint towards a quirk being present in the boy's body.
At this point only her department was left, the other's ending their research early due to finding no quirk-related changes to the child's body.
"You are truly an anomaly aren't you, Izuku?" She chuckled dryly as she skimmed through the newly generated DNA Sequence, trying desperately to find something, anything, to suggest the existence of a quirk-related mechanism.
Reaching the end of the Sequence, a tired groan made it out of her throat, only to evolve into a scream by the suddenly opened door.
"Found anything yet?" Came the exasperated voice of one of her colleagues, an Epigeneticist (A.N- That's a real profession) by the name of Kyusha Kenku.
The doctor slumped her shoulders "No, not a thing" turning to look at the man she had un-admittedly developed feelings for over her time working here, she caught wind of his blood-shot eyes like he was staring at a screen for hours…
…Which he had.
"I've never seen anything like it before…" He rubbed his temples in the same way she had only a couple of minutes earlier " Everything checks out. Medically speaking, he is a completely normal quirkless kid."
"But that's the problem isn't it?" she got up, wanting to stretch her legs a bit from sitting for so long "He isn't quirkless. Unless everyone can now launch rocks without touching them."
Kenku let out a chuckle at her sarcastic humor "It doesn't look like we'll get anything today. Might as well let the kid go… He must be dying of boredom."
The geneticist giggled herself "Well, he is in a hospital, so he'll be fine if anything does happen."
"Seriously though," Kenku side-eyed her as she went past him "We need to let him go. I'm was actually on my way to release him."
"Good idea." She replied from across the hall "While I'd still like to figure this all thing out, we can't really keep a child here forever. Without reason…"
Making her way to the break room, the geneticist let today's discovery finally settle in. It wasn't every day that such fundamental axiom was proven false, after all.
They may have encountered for the first time a brand-new type of quirk!
Here, in a little hospital in the Izu peninsula, a boy fittingly named Izuku might have just revolutionized quirk research by being the discovery of a century!
Whoever said it would be easy?!
Well… He may not have said it, but Chima had certainly thought that when he planned to follow the ambulance.
Oh, how wrong he was.
Following the trail of a vehicle driving at 100 kmph was one thing. A certainly hard thing. Topping all that off with having to weave through trees and up and down mountains was just straight up abuse.
Slumping on the hard ground after finally making it to his destination, Chima huffed and puffed in complete exhaustion, not even able to get himself to get up.
So, it was a good thing he decided to almost faint in a rather secluded corner of the woods near the hospital. He was lucky that the hospital was on the outskirts of the city, otherwise he didn't know what he would've done.
So here he was, half-conscious for a couple of hours after the exhausting ordeal while his companion was currently in that weirdly shaped cave.
Whatever he was doing there is better be good.
Just when Chima began contemplating the pros and cons of getting up once more the decision was made for him when a familiar set of footsteps was felt by his senses.
Even if the two met only a day ago, Chima could recognize those footsteps all the same. They held innocent happiness and energy to them while tapping lightly on the ground, kind of like bird chirps.
Those footsteps were Izuku's.
The boy was finally out! If it weren't for his exhaustion, Chima would have been on top of the boy by now, licking his face like ice cream. Plus, the fact he was currently around other humans.
And indeed, Izuku's form had just made it out of the hospital, squinting in the sunlight with his mother beside him and an older man behind them both.
"Ok, Midoriya-san" Kenku addressed the older of the two who turned to look at him. "While we couldn't really fully identify your son's quirk, we still need to follow protocols, so please take this".
The older man handed Inko a stack of papers, all neatly arranged in a folder. "This is Izuku's quirk registry form. We have already filled all the medical information there, so you don't need to worry about it. Usually, we would have forwarded it to the quirk registry archives by now but seeing as you aren't from around here nor have we fully tested the full capabilities of Izuku's quirk… It would work out better if you fill all the necessary information and hand it over to your city hall."
Inko nodded, familiar with the quirk regulation rules that had been in place long before she was born. "Anything else, doctor?" she asked.
"Well, just one little thing…" He replied, staring at the boy with an expression that looked like… Jealousy? " Since Izuku technically has a brand-new quirk that wasn't recorded up till now, he gets to name it."
"Huh?" Izuku stood at attention, his eyes that up until now were locked on the image of Chima who signaled him from the bushes were transfixed now on the doctor.
The doctor eyed the boy and spoke with a monotone tone. "It's not so common now since most quirks are just copies of their parent's and we recorded so many types… But when a new quirk that was unseen until now is discovered, it's holder is given the ability to name it according to law."***
"Huh?" Izuku only tilted his head in confusion. His young mind unable to make any sense of anything related to bureaucracy.
His mother, however, understood the doctor's mumbo jumbo and gasped in surprise. "He gets to name his quirk?!" She all but yelled. She had solemnly never heard of anyone getting that privilege. How do you think she wound up with the name 'Attraction of small objects'?
Inko shook her head, something didn't seem right to her. "But isn't there plenty of earth manipulation quirks out there? Like that new heroine… Pixie-bob? Shouldn't Izuku get one of those names?"
Kenku nodded, understanding where Inko was coming from with this. "While normally that would be the case, Izuku's quirk has… How should I put it? A unique characteristic to it."
The woman nodded her head, unaware of Izuku leaving her side to go check on Chima. "Like what?"
The doctor signed and rubbed his temples, the amount of time he spent in front of the screens getting to him. "Izuku's quirk is unique in the sense we don't know anything about it."
Inko blinked, confused. "What do you mean by that?" She deadpanned "We know he can manipulate earth with his movements."
"But that's all we know," Kenku admitted to the young mother. "No matter what we tried, we couldn't find any quirk-related changes in his body. Physically speaking he is supposed to be quirkless."
The middle-aged doctor signed again; he desperately needed a cup of coffee. " That's the unique thing about it. That's the first-ever quirk that could 'camouflage' itself, so to speak."
"Ohhhh…." Was all Inko could respond with. Her son was becoming more of a mystery with every moment he was awake.
"Anyways…" Kenku interrupted her musings. Getting her attention again he spoke "I think we have taken enough of yours' and your son's time. Just fill these out as I said and that's that. I can't tell you what will happen with his quirk because of its nature, so keep a close eye on him. If anything happens, report to a hospital immediately."
"And finally," Kenku pointed at a bus that was stopped at the side of the road. Doors open with the Trunk open wide itself, showing its' contents for the world to see. A simple name was flashing in green on the bus's sign 'Musutafu'.
"That bus should take the two of you home, have a nice trip." And with that, Kenku turned around and entered the building, once more leaving Inko alone.
Well… alone for a second. Seeing as Izuku returned to her side before she even noticed him gone.
"Let's go, Izuku" She put an arm on his shoulder and directed him towards the bus.
"We have a phone-call to make once we're home."
*Line Break*
By the time the two-thirds of the Midoriya family made their way home, it was already nearing the early evening.
Entering the small apartment, both mother and son uttered "Taidama!" in unison, a habit they shared with the rest of the Japanese people.
Inko stretched and yawned softly as her son bolted further into their home after he took off his shoes. The journey home was a long and tedious one for the Midoriya matriarch, who was very glad it was over.
As good as the Japanese public transport system was (A.N-As someone who has been to Japan, I vouch for that), spending hours on trains and buses with a four-year-old would never be a not tiring experience.
Making her way in, Inko stifled another yawn as she hung her coat over the coatrack haphazardly, not having the patience to do it properly. She really needed some shut-eye after the night she had, hopefully, nothing extreme will happen that will take away her much-deserved sleeping hours.
She only had one thing to do at this point. And do it she will.
"Izuku!" calling her son, it didn't take long for his energized-in-contrast-to-hers form to happily jump around and pull to a stop near the dining table.
"What is it, mom?" He asked curiously, the smile that was plastered over his face all day still present.
'I can get used to that.' Inko thought to herself merrily as she pulled out her phone and looked through her contacts. "I got a surprise for you~" Inko sang to her son, silently giggling as his excitement reached new levels and seemingly dissipated her exhaustion for the moment.
"What is it? What is it" The-almost-five-year-old boy jumped in his place as he looked up to Inko, wonder and curiosity bubbling up inside him and bursting out in waves.
Having found what she was looking for, Inko sat down at the table and gestured for Izuku to join her. "Just wait a little longer, sweetie…" She teased him a little, hyping up his excitement as he sat beside her "You're about to find out".
Pressing the 'call' button and putting the conversation on speaker, Inko waited patiently for the mystery person to pick up with Izuku(who was waiting less patiently).
For about a minute, only the beeps of the phone were heard in the Midoriya's home. Both mother and son remained silent as they waited, Izuku baiting his breath in anticipation and Inko silently giggling at her son's antics 'Please never grow up Izuku…'.
Just when Inko was getting worried about her call not being responded to and Izuku getting disappointed because of it, the phone's beeping came to a halt and a groggy groan was let out from the other side.
"Ughhhh… Who is this? Do you have any idea what time it is?!" The voice was definitely male, that was for sure. Yet, while it was masculine no doubt, it was still on the higher side of the spectrum, lacking any gruff tones to it. It was kind of pleasant, it was warm and welcoming, even though it sounded a bit annoyed at the moment.
Izuku's smile was immediately empowered ten-folds. He knew that voice well, it belonged to the person he wanted to talk to most in the world at any given moment… Well, maybe All Might was a pretty good contender there.
"Daddy!" he yelled at the phone in pure happiness, talking to his father always brought a smile to his face.
"Izuku?" The man asked as if to confirm his son is the one talking to him. "Izuku! How is my little hero doing?"
Izuku puffed out his chest in pride, a sight that caused his mother to giggle again. Hisashi often had that affect on Izuku, his joyful disposition around his family always brought a smile to his face. Though honestly, Hisashi was just as much of a socially awkward dork as she was in public, and she loved him for it.
Even though he couldn't always be there due to his work, he still made the effort of being a part of their lives. It wasn't uncommon for him to call multiple times a week and he always made sure to come to visit as frequently as possible.
Even away, both Izuku and Inko always thought Hisashi Midoriya was always there with them. So, it only seemed natural that they'd tell him about the recent revelation about Izuku as soon as possible. "Dad! Dad! Guess what!"
"Oh!" Hisashi hummed, playing along with his son's hyping to entertain the boy. He didn't know what got the kid so excited (probably a famous hero showing up near home) but he always felt good about himself when he heard his son is happy, that meant he was doing his job as a parent, so he played along. "I don't know! What happened, Izuku?"
Before Izuku got the chance to reveal the big news, however, he was beaten to the bush when his mother decided she couldn't wait to tell him anymore.
"Izuku got a quirk!". As soon as those words left Inko's mouth, both mother and son heard a heavy thud vibrate through the speakers, as if something crashed down heavily on the floor.
Inko and Izuku panicked, worried about Hisashi's safety.
"Honey? Are you alright?" Inko asked in a worried tone, that thump sounded like whatever crashed was heavy…
"Daddy? You okay?" Izuku had foregone pouting at his mother for ruining his grand reveal in favor of worrying about his father's well-being.
Luckily, it seemed as though Hisashi was unharmed. For it only took a couple of seconds of what sounded like scrambling before the man's voice was heard through the speakers again. "Izuku got what?!"
"I got a quirk!" Izuku yelled enthusiastically, having his worries lifted.
"You got WHAT?!" Hisashi repeated, struggling to process the information.
"I got a quirk!" The boy repeated, the excitement in his voice never faltering.
Before Hisashi could question whether he heard them right again, Inko decided to stop the back and forth of identical comments, "Izuku had developed his quirk today, honey. As soon as we came back from the hospital, we called you to let you know."
"That's wonderful!" Hisashi exclaimed, pride and happiness almost palpable in his voice. "I'm not even mad you called me in the middle of the night here! In fact, I would be mad if you waited to tell me!"
"Wait… You were sleeping?!" Inko yelled in panic, "I'm so sorry, Hisashi!"
"Don't worry about it!" Her husband reassured her "Besides since I'm fully awake now, I might as well hear all there is to know about my son's cool quirk!"
Izuku puffed his chest his pride again, "You think my quirk is cool?!"
Hisashi chuckled, "I know it's cool! Every quirk out there would be cool if you were the one to have it! So, what is it?" Hisashi asked, curious palpable in his voice, "Did you get my quirk or your mother's?"
"Actually…" it was Inko who began answering Hisashi's question while Izuku was struggling not to yell the answer right away," He got neither."
"Come again?" Hisashi's voice was heard from the speakers in a low tone, confusion evident in it.
It appears Izuku had run out of patience as not a moment later he jumped up from his chair and leaned on the table, bellowing like the young boy he was "I can control the ground, dad!"
"Huh?!" Hasashi's confused voice was heard again, the older man struggling to comprehend that this rare event happened to his son.
Inko giggled "I had the same reaction as you at first." She told her husband, 'forgetting' to mention the fit she pulled after she was shaken from her stupor." It's pretty rare but it looks like our baby had gotten a quirk that is all his own."
"That's… wonderful!" Hisashi exclaimed. Inko wasn't sure, but she thought she heard the shuffling of feet on the other side as if her husband was doing a little celebratory dance, a thought that almost made her burst out laughing.
"I'm so proud of you, Izuku! congratulations!" Izuku smiled wide, "So, what's your quirk's name?"
Before Izuku could respond to the question, he was cut off by Inko again who revealed the main reason for the family gathering over the phone. "That's the thing, Hisashi. Because of something unique about how his quirk behaves he gets to name it!"
"What?!" Her husband yelled from the other side, though his wife and son couldn't see it, his eyes were now as wide as dinner plates at the revelations.
"Yeah!" Inko responded enthusiastically, "I thought that we could come up with ideas for a name as a family, won't that be fun Izuku?"
Izuku simply raised his fists in the air and let out an excited "Yeah!" of his own, unaware to the ulterior motive his mother had 'If it were up to him, he would have definitely named it after All Might.'
"Soooo…" Inko began "Got any ideas?".
There was silence around the table as both occupants and phone remained deep in thought. Izuku, in particular, looked extremely focused with his hand cupped around his chin and silent mutters left his mouth, the same kind as left his father's over the phone 'Like father like son…' Inko silently giggled.
"Maybe…" Izuku whispered silently, only loud enough for his mother to hear "Earth's Might…?". Inko internally signed 'Of course he would pick an All Might related name…' She had no problem with the fact he idolized All Might so much, but she wasn't sure if it was good for him to wear his fanboy-ism on his quirk's name like that. Other kids might find it cool, but teenagers weren't the friendliest type of people towards fanboys/girls. The last thing she wanted was for Izuku to get bullied.
Well… more bullied.
Luckily for her, though, she didn't need to dissuade the boy from the name. Izuku did it on his own. The boy frowned and shook his head, dismissing the idea very fast "No, it doesn't feel right…"
"How about…" Hisashi purposed "Geokinesis? It's pretty accurate and it sounds cool."
Izuku frowned again, dismissing the name the moment he heard it. Inko rolled her eyes 'Sometimes you can be so plain, Hisashi…'.
They continued like this for a good half-an-hour, throwing names left and right in an attempt to find the one. But alas, all names were immediately rejected by Izuku, no matter if they were good, bad or… weird… They all just felt wrong to the boy, like his quirk already had a rightful name and calling it anything else would be plain disrespectful.
"I don't know what to tell you, Izuku" Hisashi signed, "I ran out of ideas."
"I think we had enough for today." Inko chimed in, her exhaustion from the previous night returning with a vengeance " Besides. You have work tomorrow Hisashi, I'd hate to make you lose more hours of sleep."
Though they couldn't see it, Hisashi was nodding in agreement" I think it's time I called it a night. You sound pretty tired too honey, maybe it's for the best we all got some rest."
Izuku slumped his shoulders. They spent all this time coming with a name and had nothing to show for it. He actually felt bad about rejecting all of those offers, but it still felt wrong to accept them.
"Don't get your head in the dumps, Izuku." Hisashi comforted his son as if he saw his disappointment. "I'm sure we'll find the right name for your quirk soon. Now remember to be a good boy and listen to your mother, I love you both! Bye"
Both Izuku and Inko replied with a "Bye!" of their own before the line went silent.
The conversation was over.
"Well…" Inko got up from her seat and stretched, popping sounds of tense muscles filling the dining area, "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry. Want to help me make dinner?"
"Sure!" The boy beamed, forgetting their failure with choosing a name for the moment.
"Thanks sweetie!" Inko chuckled and pat Izuku on his head, "Go wash your hands while I'll take out everything we need. Also, what do you think about having cake for a dessert? I'll let you lick the spatula if you'll be a good boy."
"Really?! Then I'll be super good!" With that, Izuku turned on his heel and went to the bathroom eager to help his mom out and get a frosting covered spatula as a prize.
Though he needed to accomplish something first.
Tiptoeing his way to the door, Izuku took a glance behind him one last time to make sure his mother wasn't looking. Stretching on his toes in an attempt to reach the keys that were dangled from the keyhole and open the door, the boy grunted in effort as he put his all to the task.
'Almost there… Got it!' Finally, the greenette's flailing in the air paid off as he now had the keys to his home's door between his fingertips.
Sighing in relief at his accomplished task Izuku began twisting the key leftwards to unlock the door, letting his mind wander for but a moment 'That was tough… I hope I get taller soon…'
With the * click! * of the door unlocking, Izuku stopped his fantasizing of the day he would grow taller than everyone else and tower over all the villains as a hero ( While also not being aware of the fact that since his parents are short, he will likely be short as well…) in favor of drifting his attention to the opened door and silently walking out.
Putting a hand inside his pockets, the boy pulled out a handful of small and smooth marbles, all hand-picked beforehand to just this very task.
Jerking his head in the direction of the staircase, Izuku sighed in relief when he saw that the trail of marbles was still where he left it when he walked through the hall with his mother earlier.
Making sure he didn't have any marbles in his pockets anymore, Izuku slighently placed them on the ground before he went back in, he didn't want to explain to Inko why he had small pieces of earth in his pockets.
All that was left to do now was wait.
Hisashi Midoriya
Quirk: Fire Breath
Description: Pretty self-explanatory. Hisashi is capable of spewing flames from his mouths at will. Though it might sound powerful, Hisashi is very limited in his output and overuse can and had caused severe damage to his respiratory system.
Appearance: Hisashi is a man of average height (Though still on the shorter side) and average build. While he's features are sharper than his wife and son's they are still not that noticeable, giving him a younger appearance than he actually is. He also shares some features with his son, like having freckles and wild, messy hair.
Affiliation: None.
Age: 32.
Birthday: 10/7.
Height: 170 cm.
Favorite food: Tonkatsu.
Favorite thing: Being home with his family.
Tidbit: Because of his quirk, Hisashi always smells like he's a smoker, which he is not. That got him the stink eye from adults when he was a kid and to this day, he feels self-conscious about it. That's why a good portion of his spending money is going towards buying different types of cologne to try and mask his scent.
A couple of hours earlier:
Izuku decided to leave the dull conversation his mom had with the doctor in favor of checking on his friend.
His four-year-old patience could never sit still for so long as the adults were talking about some technical mumbo-jumbo he couldn't hope to understand… They were basically asking him to go occupy himself someplace else!
"Chima~…" The boy whispered, trying to be as discreet as possible for his friend's sake.
Looking up at the boy, the slumped Badgermole silently glared at him, as if blaming him for the run he had had to endure.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Izuku sheepishly titled his head in confusion, his lack of social understanding (or skills for that matter) showing like a platypus-bear in the middle of a city.
Annoyed, Chima let out a gurgled growl that, to be honest, sounded more like a tired groan.
Deciding to ignore Chima's mood for the moment, Izuku opted to instead focus on what laid ahead of him and Chima and what he had on his mind for the last couple of hours, 'On the way home we're gonna go into the city, but Chima is afraid of humans… what do I do?'
Izuku cupped his chin in concentration 'There has to be a way!' Taking inspiration from the words of a pro hero he once heard (Though he couldn't remember which one for the life of him) Izuku darted his head around the place, trying to find a solution to his problem. His vision passed through Chima, the trees around him, and the marble littered floor, before he noticed his saving grace.
A single bus was parked outside of the hospital's gates, and though the boy was young, he did know how to read quite well, including the name of the bus's destination: his hometown of Musutafu.
The bus's trunk was currently open, showing the empty space for all those who took a glance. Some bags were already loaded, conveniently arranged in a neat pile.
It. Was. Perfect. Izuku couldn't have asked for a more convenient solution to his problem. Eyes glancing on Chima and the marbles on the floor around him he couldn't help the smirk of satisfaction from forming on his face along with his plan.
Pointing at his target out of Instinct after putting a couple handful of marbles in his pockets, Izuku led Chima towards the bus before he came back to his mother. A single word that he once heard his father say in a similar association jumping to the front of his mind.
'Bingo.'Nightfall soon descended upon the city of Musutafu. The crescent moon smiled down on the empty streets that were also illuminated by yellow streetlamps, coloring the roads and buildings in an almost orange color.
While most of the human populous was currently fast asleep in their homes at this hour, a certain Badger-like creature was wide awake, if only barely.
Hiding in the tall bushes next to a bus stop, Chima awaited perfectly still while keeping alert of his surroundings.
Izuku's plan had worked out great so far. Smuggling Chima into Musutafu in secret was rather easily done since the bus in which the boy traveled home in did all the work. The only 'difficult' part was hiding Chima behind the luggage pile in the trunk of the bus before anyone noticed the two.
Chima, of course, did not mind the darkness that occupied the space during the travel. Though the stuffing heat in the trunk and the fact the driver handled the bus like an escape van was another story.
Needless to say, when Izuku got out of the bus and the trunk door was automatically opened, he wasted no time and hid himself in the nearby bushes. Good thing they were big enough to hide in.
Now, hours later, the endless traffic of humans darting about had finally reached an all time low. Chima could sense most of them soundly asleep in all the buildings nearby, though the occasional human was still walking around outside, usually one or two within his range of sensory.
Ideally, Chima wanted to wait until there were no humans awake in his vicinity but hope of that happening were not really promising. The current state of the street had been the best so far, but it stayed like that for a couple of hours already. There was no telling how long it would last for, nor if he had hope for a better opportunity.
Plus, he was getting rather hungry and thirsty. He really didn't want to wait any longer.
So, against his better judgment (or in accordance with it, you decided), the Badgermole cub walked out of the shrubbery he hid in for a couple of hours and stretched his sore limbs, preparing to enact the final stage of the plan.
A couple of meters away from him, placed on the sidewalk and sticking out like a sore thumb for the Badgermole, a single marble was placed.
For any passerby such a thing would seem trivial, if existent at all, But Chima was another story. Badgermole were creatures of the earth: they lived inside it, manipulated it to their will, and were fundamentally connected to it. So, sensing a piece of earth that was so out of place to anything else in the area was rather easy.
All he had to do was follow the marble path and he will find Izuku.
*Step-Step*
Walking through the streets as quietly as possible was rather unnerving for the Badgermole cub, more than he would like to admit. The entire ordeal he went through with Izuku was certainly the craziest experience in his life, no other way around that.
Even though he knew about the existence of humans for a rather short time, he still didn't believe he would trust one after what the others had done. Yet, in hindsight, the boy got through to him rather easily, all in the course of one evening.
Was it because they shared the same power? A connection with the earth that bonded them together before they had even met. He never met any other human like that, that would certainly explain why he trusted Izuku despite being a human.
Plus, there was the fact he saved him from certain doom.
Even without the earth powers, the boy had grown on him rather quickly. Something about him always made the cub happier than he was before. The way he easily got excited, the way he cared for him and the way he seemed to communicate with him almost flawlessly despite the language barrier.
He would go through hell for that cinnamon roll, something he was sure the boy would do for him.
But Izuku was one of a kind. It couldn't be a coincidence that the only human to had ever treat him kindly and earn his trust also possessed the same connection to the earth he had. It was simple logic, all other humans lacked that connection, and all of them only wanted to hurt him.
That was why he needed to avoid humans, and also why it was a good thing he was so far away from the Izu peninsula now.
It was also the reason for his restlessness. One wrong move on his part, letting a human sneak up on him and spot him, or having someone suddenly wake up and look out the window, and it was all over. The stark contrast of the city from his home was also quite unnerving.
Tall, imposing, structures were stuck out form the ground in every direction around him, all housing a ridiculous amount of potential enemies. The ground beneath his feet was unnecessarily dense and flat, as if a terrifying giant flattened the earth to suit his desires.
The air around him wasn't clean. It smelled of smoke , fire, dust, and garbage. Gone were the refreshing scents of the night dew, pollinated flowers, and juicy fruits he was accustomed to from the forest.
*HHOOOONNNNNKKKKK!*
A deafening cry vibrated through the air, causing Chima's heart to drop and a yelp to come out of his mouth as he sensed something approach him in blinding speeds.
Wasting no time, Chima dived behind a nearby wall just in time for the metal monstrosity to seep by him, thankfully remaining unnoticed.
Panting as his heart raced, the Badgermole cub continued on its' way, following the marble path into a large, rectangle building.
Reaching a small room that had more height to it than width, Chima climbed the conveniently shaped scaffolding until the trail of marbles seemed to stop ascending, continuing out of the room and into an open corridor.
It was in that same corridor that a hunched figure sat in silence and leaned against the wall, covered completely by a shroud.
Chima froze, heart sinking as the worst-case scenario immediately played out in his head. The figure, however, did not move. In fact, it didn't look like it even noticed Chima, something the cub was infinitely times thankful for.
For some reason, the hunched figure felt familiar to Chima. And a soft purr came from his throat as he realized who it was. Walking through the hallway to the edge of the marble trial, Chima stopped right next to the shrouded figure.
It was Izuku. The boy was soundly asleep in the hallway. Back leaning against the wall, the boy was covered completely in a soft blanket, his soft breaths barely audible.
He was waiting for him. Chima teared up by how much the boy cared. In this foreign place, filled with so many people who would all hurt him, Izuku was the only thing that he had going for him, his anchor.
Nudging the boy gently, Izuku awoke with a tired groan. Squinting through half-lidded eyes, a sleepy smile graced his lips when he saw who it was who woke him up, "Chima, you're here…"
Yawning softly, the boy gave Chima's snout an affectionate hug to the which the Badgermole melted into and let out a yawn of his own. Standing up slowly and slightly leaning on Chima for support, the boy opened to door to his home quietly and walked inside with a hesitant Chima, "Follow me…"
Chima wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel as he walked through the small space Izuku called home. Its shape was unnatural, sharp edges singled when the floor and walls ended and began instead of the two melting into each other like he was used to; The floor was made of an unknown material, softer than earth but still rather firm. It actually reminded him of tree trunks.
It was kind of uncomfortable to walk on something that wasn't made of earth. The Badgermole barely had an outline of the place he was in to navigate himself and the only reason he hadn't crashed into anything already was probably because he clung to Izuku so far.
That discomfort was soon forgotten however, when Chima felt humidity in the air that reminded him of how dry his throat was. Body going on autopilot, the Badgermole found himself in a room that had earth-like floor (thankfully) and a small puddle of water held in a porcelain container. The water in the puddle smelled fishy, though, but Chima was beyond the point in which he cared.
Before he got the chance to take a drink however, Chima felt Izuku tug his head away from the water and whispered to him in a hushed voice, "Chima! Don't drink that! That's toilet water!"
Chima tried to resist against Izuku's hold, but when the boy took notice that he was losing the contest of strength he instead closed the lid on the toilet, preventing Chima, who lacked any thumbs, from opening it, "Phew…"
The badgermole was not happy. Sending Izuku a glare, the boy shuffled his feet nervously "You can't drink toilet water Chima! I'll just give you water from the sink."
Taking a stool from the corner of the room, Izuku tiptoed his way out of the bathroom with a reluctant Chima in tow. Not like he could get water otherwise.
Stepping into the kitchen, Izuku put the stool in front of the sink and opened one of the lower drawers, taking out a large bowl before stepping on the stool he brought over.
Chima's mood perked up significantly when he heard the soft sound of flowing water from the sink, and in no time at all, the boy placed the bowl of water in front of him to drink.
The cool water did wanders to his sore throat, living a chill comfort behind as it went down. But, while he much preferred fresh spring water, Chima had to admit that what he drank was certainly of higher quality than most sources of water he got to drink from.
It was certainly more appealing that the stinky water from before.
Taking a glass of water of his own, Izuku sat next to Chima who was already halfway through the water he was given, only slightly slowing down from when he began. The boy sipped slightly as he smiled down on Chima, happy he saved him from drinking toilet water.
*CRIIIIINNNNKKKK…*
The moment of calm silence the two shared was suddenly interrupted by the sound of an opening door. Both of their hearts sinking, Izuku and Chima scurried away from the kitchen as quietly as possible and hid behind the coach in the living room, hoping to remain unseen.
Not a moment later and Inko groggily entered the kitchen, her posture slack and her eyes half-lidded. Taking out a glass of water, Inko didn't even noticed the bowl of water on the floor before she turned around and went back to bed, yawing.
All the while Izuku watched her from his hiding spot, hand clapsed against Chima's mouth as the Badgermole held a paw to his mouth in kind. Letting out a breath of relief, the duo decided that they had enough excitement for today and Izuku led the way towards his room after getting rid of the evidence that Chima was there.
Plumping on the bed without even changing to his pajamas, Izuku fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched his pillow, remaining conscious only long enough to see Chima climb up to the bed and positioning himself by his legs.
Izuku opened his eyes and was met with a sight he had never encountered before.
All around him, white appeared to be the dominant color of the environment as massive amounts of snow covered the ground, so compressed into itself it appeared completely solid. Tall walls of ice had wrapped around a large compound, obscuring the world behind them save for the peaks of some mountains in the distance.
Darting his head around, Izuku saw what appeared to be a large gate with an intricate design of an unknown but familiar animal craved into it. The boy himself stood on top of an ice platform at the edge of a specially made obstacle course. Behind him, what appeared to be a large Japanese-styled manor was surrounded by igloos and barracks that looked to be from a military encampment, perhaps that's where he was.
A bone chilling breeze grazed Izuku's body and he shivered from the intense cold. Hugging himself to try and keep warm, the boy got a look at his body.
Izuku seemed to be wearing a blue and white fur coat and brown leather boots, an attire that did well do defend him from the cold as much as it could. His hands did not have gloves on them, exposing to him skin that was a darker shade than his own. It appeared the boy's stature had changed as well, as it was significantly taller than the body he went to sleep in. Izuku also felt a light tugging at his scalp, where he failed to feel the usual mop of green hair he usually sported.
He was also a girl.
Usually, the revelation would be enough to turn him into a blushing and stuttering mess. But, oddly enough, his body did not show any signs of being flustered at all, as if he had no control over it.
"Korra!" A voice called out and Izuku's body turned around to look at her caller.
Before Izuku stood an elderly man with a fierce expression. The man stood tall as the sun shone on his sharp features and frost-covered beard, giving him a slightly menacing look. Despite his age, Izuku could clearly see that the man was well fit and muscular, even through the thick green coat he wore, "You'll never become a master Earthbender if you keep daydreaming and jumping around like a hog monkey!"
Izuku gave a curt nod and a frown appeared on her face, jogging up to join the man and finding that the ice beneath her feet gave away to an earthen platform. "Then let's get started, Sifu-Mo!"
Mo let out a small chuckle, "Now that's what I like to hear! Take your stance!"
Izuku complied and spread her legs, forming an arch with her arms above her head before she felt a weak smack against it. "Wrong stance, Korra! We're practicing EARTHBENDING right now! You can go splashing once we're done."
Shaking her head in order to focus, Izuku righted her stance. Bending her knees into a crouch, Izuku clenched her fists before putting her arms ready at her sides, elbows in a ninety-degree angle.
"Much better." Mo hummed in approval, "Remember, Korra. Earthbendning is all about your stance and keeping yourself rooted to the ground. Lose that, and you lose the umph behind your bending. Now let's see what you got!"
Despite wearing boots, Izuku felt the earth's power humming from beneath her as she followed her master's instructions. Stomping her right foot into the ground, a small boulder popped up and was curtly kicked away to lend in the snow a couple of meters ahead.
Mo gave a toothy grin, "Not bad!"
Back in Izuku's bedroom the boy was sound asleep with Chima by his side, murmuring quietly to himself in his sleep.
"…Earth…bending…"
