20.03.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and I'm back with some backstory material! But first, the comment!:
SonicMax - I'm a big fun of Izuku x Tokoyami friendships! Probably because the birbhead is a magnificent edgelord
And now, the chapter!:
Izuku expected things to go quite a bit worse than they did, but there was still one worry on his mind that he had to face.
Standing in front of their sister class' dormitory he weighed whether or not this was a good idea and many things were pointing towards this being a mistake. Still, he couldn't really turn back now, not after already getting here.
After revealing the few bits about his past and powers to his classmates, they clued him in on what has happened whilst he was away.
The news about the attack on the USJ has spread like wildfire not only throughout the school but the entirety of Japan. The latter was probably more important, but not to Izuku. The day before their trip to USJ Izuku had lunch with Shiozaki and they ended up talking about the mysterious field trip that Aizawa was taking them on. She was quite smart, so Izuku was sure she'd be able to connect the dots in no time. His assumption was right and Shiozaki had dropped by a couple of times to ask for him specifically. He was still in custody back then however and his classmates didn't know his whereabouts either, so she must've been worried sick since then.
Izuku was wondering how she was going to react to everything he wanted to tell her as she was by far the most religious person he's met after leaving the monastery behind, so the news about him utilizing the power of a literal daemon might shake her entire opinion of him. He couldn't bring himself to omit the truth any longer however, as he really enjoyed spending time with her, but wouldn't be able to continue doing so until he came clean.
"You're Midoriya, right?" Izuku heard someone shout towards him, catching his attention and finally shaking him out of his thoughts.
Izuku looked up towards the entrance to the building and spotted an amber-haired girl standing in the doorway. Shiozaki had told him all about the friends she's made in her class so Izuku already had a good idea who this was.
"That'd be me, yes." He responded with a polite bow. "I presume you're Kendo then?" He asked once he straightened himself back up. A look of surprise crossed the redhead's features and Izuku smiled gently at her. "Shiozaki mentioned you a couple of times." He explained.
"I should've known that to be the case." Kendo mumbled to herself before addressing Izuku once again. "I'm guessing you're here for Shiozaki then?" She asked to confirm her suspicions and receive a nod of confirmation in response. "She left for a walk just a couple of minutes ago. She said she won't take long so you can wait for her in our common room if you'd like." Kendo offered and Izuku wholeheartedly agreed with Shiozaki's description of her character.
"I thank you sincerely for the offer, but I have to decline. There's something I want to discuss with her, so this situation is actually in my favor. Thank you for your help." Izuku said with a bow and turned to walk away, already thinking where Shiozaki could've gone.
"She was really worried about you!" Kendo yelled after him before heading back inside.
It seemed that Shiozaki was quite close with her classmates and that made Izuku very happy. He'd hate to be her only friend, especially since they might not be friends for much longer. Still, there was a barely noticeable spring in his step as he headed towards the gardens.
Just as he expected, Shiozaki had decided to head towards the flower gardens to relax and probably calm her nerves a bit.
Izuku found her sitting on a bench in one of the corners of the garden, her attention focused on the flowers around her. They were forgotten as soon as she saw him approach and they were already standing face to face before he even realized that she's moved from her spot.
"Midoriya!" Shiozaki exclaimed, relief clear on her face as her eyes frantically scanned his entire form for any signs of immediate injury which in her head must've been the cause for his sudden disappearance.
"Hello." He greeted her calmly with a wave and waited for her to calm down.
"I'm so glad you're okay. As soon as we learned what happened to your class I wanted to check if you were alright, but you didn't come back to the dormitory and your classmates didn't know anything either so I was worried. Now that I saw you with my own two eyes I can finally stop worrying." Shiozaki said with a small smile. "I hope your injuries healed well. Recovery Girl's quirk must've knocked you out, yes?" She asked innocently and Izuku almost couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. Almost.
"Actually, I wasn't being treated by Recovery Girl." Izuku corrected, confusing Shiozaki in the process. Before she had a chance to respond however, Izuku continued. "It's a long story, so let's sit down, okay?" He offered and Shiozaki nodded before following him.
Once they sat down Izuku drew a deep breath before beginning his explanation.
He told her everything that he's shared first with Nezu and later his classmates, but this time he delved deeper into the important details. It was obvious that Shiozaki was conflicted almost as soon as he started telling her the story, which Izuku expected, but she stayed silent throughout the whole ordeal and waited patiently for him to end to ask any of the many questions that she probably had.
There were so many things that she wanted to know more about, so she decided to start from the very beginning - Fujikuma Monastery itself.
It was a windy July morning and brother Magnus had woken up just a couple of minutes ago. His glorious mane of fiery-red hair in utter disarray and his copper-ish skin glimmering in the rising Sun. He was responsible for doing the rounds around the monastery in the morning and in the evening to make sure that the entire complex wouldn't fall apart overnight.
Fujikuma was an almost ancient fortified complex comprised of several buildings surrounded by a tall wall. Time had taken its toll on the stone blocks which made up the majority of the complex, but they somehow managed to stick together for hundreds of years without fail. This place could've been a great fortress back in the Sengoku Jidai era, but now was merely a shadow of its former self. Still, it was far from abandoned.
Even though brother Magnus was always the first one to wake up, by the time he was done with the morning inspection he'd already come across some of the more restless brothers and sisters going about their days. Small talk, laughter and the crying of a newborn definitely made the place seem much more livable than one might expect it to be.
"Wait, a crying child?" Magnus suddenly realized as he neared the front gate of the complex.
Fujikuma Monastery was a complex located on one of the steeper slopes of Mount Fuji dedicated to learning, broader theology and worship. Everyone was welcome to join the ranks of Fujikuma as long as they were willing to help out their fellow brothers and sisters with day to day tasks. People from across the world sought out Fujikuma in search of answers or understanding. They came from various backgrounds and had little in common with each other, but they were all equal here.
None of the brothers or sisters had brought in a child however. Certainly not a newborn.
Magnus approached the front gate where the wailing seemed loudest and removed the oversized lock before peering outside. Locating the source of the wailing wasn't hard as right beyond the gate Magnus spotted a basket with a note stuck onto it.
He carefully reached out for the note and unfolded it out of curiosity.
'His name is Izuku. Please take care of him' were the only words written on the wrinkled piece of paper. Magnus was thoroughly confused by the mysterious message as someone must've snuck up here in the night and left this basket while they slept.
Magnus was shaken out of his thoughts as the cries of a newborn once again sounded out from the inside of the basket. The man reached towards the basket a second time to pull away the cover that was draped over the top of it. As soon as he did that his ruby eyes were met by teary emerald ones of the child that was the cause of all the commotion.
Similarly to Magnus himself, the boy's hair had a similar color to the one of his eyes, though a fair few shades darker in comparison. Magnus took one last look beyond the gate, hoping to spot something, anything that could allow them to track down the kid's parents, but his efforts failed to bear fruit. With no other choice Magnus resigned himself to his fate and lifted the basket before retreating back behind the gate. He needed to report to Master Amon this instant.
"It was you…" Shiozaki realized right away, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.
"Yes. My arrival had stirred up quite the commotion and I'm not talking about my crying either." Izuku responded with a small smile.
"You're an orphan…" The vine-haired girl mumbled out, her brain only just now catching up with the news.
"Well, I was abandoned by my parents, but the people at Fujikuma became my new family." Izuku confirmed, his smile becoming just a bit dimmer and more melancholic at the same time. "We were never able to find out who my parents were or why they'd abandoned me in the first place. I'm not harboring any ill-will towards them either. Kinda hard to do when I don't know who to direct that anger towards…" Izuku clenched his fist as he stared at it intensively.
"But you've chosen to keep the name, why?" Shiozaki asked in curiosity.
"I was only a couple of weeks old when brother Magnus found me in front of the monastery's gate and it took me a couple of years to learn how to talk. Everyone was simply addressing me as Izuku by that time so I decided to keep it that way." Izuku shrugged, not that bothered with his name. Despite the weight that came with it, he was actually quite fond of it personally. "But that's the only link to my parents. My family name is something that brother Magnus thought of one day. Just below Fujikuma lies a serene, lush valley that stays green throughout the year. He said that my hair and eyes always remind him of the valley, so he came up with the surname 'Midoriya'. He was also the one who chose my birth date. I wasn't actually born on July 15th. July 15th is the day I appeared at Fujikuma."
"That's… a lot to take in. I can already feel that my head is about to explode…" Shiozaki mumbled as she massaged her temples to stave off the incoming headache.
"Well, I kind of flipped your entire world upside down right there." Izuku admitted with a slight, sheepish smile. "All things considered you seem to be taking it all quite well. I was honestly quite afraid of what you might do once I reveal all of that daemon stuff."
"I'm mostly surprised to learn that actual daemons exist. I thought that if anything they'd be confined to Hell. I can't even begin to imagine what it feels like to have a second voice in your head constantly whispering temptations directly into your mind." She shivered just at the thought of having to go through anything that Izuku had described. "This actually makes you even more amazing. You are able to do so many great things whilst fighting an endless battle inside your own mind, it's nothing short of incredible!"
"Well, I'm not alone, am I? I've got you and my classmates. We've known each other for just a couple of months, but I'm confident that I can count on each one of you. I'd put my life in your hands without hesitation." Izuku shared his thoughts with Shiozaki, his smile becoming more genuine as the corners of his mouth twitched upwards just a bit.
"It warms my heart, knowing that you have such a high opinion of me. I too can rest easy knowing that if I ever needed help I could turn to you." She responded in kind, though for some reason she felt her cheeks warm up slightly.
She dismissed that however and instead turned to admire the setting Sun. They had spent quite some time in the garden and it was about to get dark. Izuku realized the exact same thing and so he stood up before offering his hand to Shiozaki.
"I believe it'd be wise to head back to our dormitories. You must be exhausted after having so much stuff suddenly dropped on your head, so let's continue this conversation some other time, okay?" Izuku proposed with a kind smile.
Shiozaki agreed with his reasoning and took his hand, allowing him to gently pull her onto her feet in one swift motion. Izuku, being the gentleman he was, escorted her all the way to her dorm before heading back to his own.
As soon as he stepped into the common room he felt the familiar presence inside of his mind. It was only then that Izuku realized that the daemon hadn't teleported to him despite being left all alone in his room.
"You've been… reminiscing?" The daemon questioned in wonder.
"It's none of your business." Izuku cut the conversation short, though the daemon refused to take the hint.
"The way I see it, it's very much my business. I still can sense traces of your thoughts, y'know? It certainly brings back memories. That guy was an absolute psycho, wouldn't you agree?" The daemon mocked.
"Don't you dare talk about him." Izuku responded with venom dripping off of his every word.
"Struck a nerve did I?" The daemon pushed further, hoping to rile the warden up even more, but was instead met with absolute silence. "You can be so boring sometimes…" It eventually gave up and the link went silent on both ends.
The school activities were suspended for some time and so most students took this time to relax. There were of course some that wanted to use this time more efficiently and decided to train on their own or catch up on studying. Izuku was certainly in the latter group, though he wasn't exactly training on his own.
Staying true to what he's told Nezu after the interrogation, Izuku wanted to try and harness the daemon's power without actually giving up any control whatsoever. He's already wrestled control from the daemon once, but doing so again was something that Izuku wasn't confident he could do. As such it'd be best if Izuku focused on trying to draw upon a fraction of the daemon's power to acquaint himself with it more and eventually work on increasing his resilience against the daemon's temptations.
There was no way of knowing how the daemon was going to react to Izuku trying to tame it however, so Izuku and Nezu decided to play it safe and conduct the first training on one of the most remote Grounds that U.A. had to offer.
Just as Izuku expected, Nezu was already waiting for him there. He wasn't alone however.
Standing next to him was a man probably in his late twenties with dark brown hair, a set of very intriguing purple eyes and a faint scar on his left cheek. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a black dress shirt and no tie. There was an expensive-looking watch on his right wrist and a pair of sunglasses on his nose.
"Hello Principal." Izuku greeted politely as he approached the two.
"Ah, young Midoriya, impeccable timing." Nezu responded with a wave before gesturing towards the man next to him. "This is Martin Kravchenko, the CEO and Chief Engineer of Militor Defense Solutions, the genius behind all of U.A.'s security measures. He traveled half the world as soon as he was notified that our defenses have been penetrated not once but twice. After hearing about your unique destructive potential he offered to invent something that could stop you if you were to be overtaken by the daemon once again. It would've helped immensely with your training, but I decided to leave the choice up to you."
Izuku nodded to himself, thankful that Nezu allowed him to have a say on the matter, though he guessed that they were pretty much on the same page at the moment. There were many, many variables that Izuku had no idea about, so having a safety measure in place would be invaluable.
"If you think you can make something like that then I'll put my trust in you." Izuku stated, eager to see what the man had to offer.
"Excellent, let me ask you a few questions so that I have something to work with." It was immediately obvious that this man was a foreigner from just his accent alone. European if Izuku had to guess.
Something about this Martin Kravchenko didn't sit right with Izuku, but he decided to trust him, at least for now. The potential benefits outweighed the risks tenfold after all.
It is I, the SI Side Character that brings nothing to the table and is only here to justify bringing this story to my personal Expanded Universe later down the line! Also, Magnus? A completely random name with no ominous strings attached whatsoever.
With that being said, have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!