Chapter 2: Nose Holding

"Izuku? What took you so long? I was getting worried." His mom pulled him into a tight hug as soon as he took his shoes off, "Did you have trouble getting that game you wanted?"

"Y-yeah," he admitted, both truthfully and not, "lots of places sold out, even with pre-orders. I had to look around."

She sighed and finally released him, "You should have called, dinner is already cold."

He scratched the back of his head, "Sorry, mom."

She patted his shoulder, giving him an apologetic smile, "Now I know you want to start playing your game, but I want you to eat first. Go put your bag away and I'll reheat some."

"Thanks, mom." He said, giving her a quick hug before he went to his room, to quickly hide the game. If nothing else, he could research the game, and look up FAQs and guides while he ate.

At least, that was the plan. But as he started researching the game, Izuku quickly began to lose his appetite.

Bakugo got a certain thrill out of seeing Deku the next day. He looked completely miserable, even more than usual, and he only looked more crestfallen when everyone started talking about All Might Battle Challenge.

It was enough to make Bakugo smile.

And, of course, he'd managed to get farther than anyone else had, even if he had to stay up later than usual to do it. He also had money left over, courtesy of Deku, to buy the upcoming DLCs. Overall, the day was going great, and he couldn't wait to get home.

But then it got even better when Fingers taunted Deku about it, asking if he found a copy. He was about to ream out Fingers for drawing attention to it when Deku broke down further and let slip that a shop had ripped him off by selling him a ten-year-old game for his last one hundred thousand yen.

That's when the day became fantastic.

Dinner had never been quite as awkward as it had the night before. Looking up the game had shocked him to his core. He didn't even know a game could receive a zero out of a hundred. There had been a few people who praised the graphics and the simulated smells and tastes, but the sheer difficulty of it and the removal of quirk functionality had been a huge turnoff to most players.

And then, somehow, it got worse. The game would destroy his console if he died in-game! He'd been shocked that a company could create a product like that and not get sued out of existence… only to find out they had. Ten years ago. He'd been so sick to his stomach that his mom had worried she'd given him food poisoning.

He sent Reona a text about returning the game, but she hadn't responded. Was she just going to ignore him? Would she deny selling it to him? He hadn't thought about it at the time, but she didn't give him a receipt to return it with either. Just thinking about it left a foul taste in his mouth. He wondered if he'd even be able to find her shop if he went out again, or would it have disappeared like his money? He could only groan at his stupidity as he stumbled into his room.

He owned a one hundred thousand yen brick. An outdated, unwinnable MMO with no player base that was also a ticking time bomb for his console. He couldn't even admit the truth to his mom, not after lying to her and hiding the fact he'd bought a game with a ZZ rating. He'd been robbed twice in a single day. There wasn't even a way to auction it off, given the rating.

He lay on his bed and picked up the box to glower at it, kicking himself for not realizing he was being conned.

And then his phone buzzed.

He blinked and set the game down, grabbing his phone and checking his messages.

Reona Kisaragi

Did you even try it?

No I didn't try it! It can fry my system!

I want a refund!

At least try it first

And it won't fry your system unless you die

You tricked me

I did not

I told you I had what you needed, and I did, you're just too stubborn to try it

I don't want to try it because I don't want to destroy my console

You don't know if that will even happen

I read reviews

It destroys your machine if you die

Fine

You can return it

Izuku felt a thrill go up his spine. Maybe he could fix this? Maybe something would finally go his way? As if to answer his questions, his phone dinged again, a new message from Reona popping into view.

But only if you try it for at *least* a few hours

It's not like you have anything better to do this weekend

Izuku slammed his head into his pillow.

Izuku felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as the game started. An angel swept her arms open, introducing him to the game world and panning over the scenery. And every inch of him was left in a panic.

He was going to be stuck in a torturously difficult game that was one step away from killing him and destroying his console. The screen went white and he opened his eyes, almost expecting a monster to be in the room ready to kill him.

Instead, he found himself alone in a simple wooden room. He still barely dared to breathe, nervously looking around expecting some trick.

Nothing.

He let out a small breath and took stock of his surroundings. There was a table and chair in front of him, a stone counter to his right, a bare wall, save for a window, to his left, and behind him–his heart skipped a beat. A sword! Something to protect himself with!

He quickly grabbed it and picked it up only to stagger back a step. He stared at it, eyes going wide. He could feel it, really feel it. Not just the grooves of the wooden hilt, but the weight of it. He lifted it up, staring at it in shock. He couldn't remember a time when he felt the weight of the items he held in a game. Curious, his fingers ran over the well-worn leather scabbard. It just felt so real.

His eyes drifted from the sword and he found himself looking in a mirror. He'd been told that the game would base his avatar on his own body, but he hadn't expected this. Even his hair was how he kept it. The only difference was the clothes he wore, which looked like simple peasant clothes, except, bizarrely, a skin-tight black body suit underneath it. Curious, he reached up and rubbed the shirt between his fingers. It wasn't like his shirts at home, clearly a rougher fabric… he shook his head, in disbelief.

"Hero?" A feminine voice called out to him from the other side of the door, jarring him from his reverie, "You home?" He whirled on the spot, back almost up against the wall, sword shaking in his hands. He couldn't afford to die here! His mom would kill him if he destroyed his console.

And then the door opened and a young woman walked in, "Oh, there you are." She gave him a smile, "Sorry it took so long, I got sidetracked."

Izuku stared at her, sword, still in scabbard, held before him like a protective charm. "S-sidetracked?" He squeaked.

She ducked her head, "Just chores." She answered, and went back to looking at him, "Are you still trying to get used to your father's sword?"

"My father's sword?" He repeated numbly. His character had a father? Was he an NPC? Was he alive?

"Are you feeling alright?" The girl asked gently, clearly trying to be reassuring.

"I-I'm fine." He lied, unconvincingly.

That seemed to be the final straw because the girl's face set and she marched right over to him, stepping around his sword, which was still in its scabbard, and pressed the back of her palm against his forehead. His cheeks began to burn, but she shook her head, "I don't feel a fever, but you look flush. Maybe you should sit down?"

He nodded, almost falling onto his bed, the sword dangling in his hand. "Have you been trying to practice at night again?" She tutted and sat down beside him. On his bed. A girl. A girl was sitting next to him on his bed. It didn't *matter* that it was a video game, or that she wasn't real. Alerts began to blare inside his head and he scrambled back, a stammering, blushing mess.

"Hero," Her voice grew more concerned and she crawled on after him, "you're worrying me. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine!" He squeaked, realizing he'd abandoned his only means of defense in his mad rush to create space. And it was only then that he realized he was trapped. She was cutting off his only way off the bed, and he was completely helpless! If she killed him, he'd lose everything–

She pulled him into a hug. "Calm down Hero, just take a moment to relax, okay? Martin will be here any minute and we'll help however we can."

"M-Martin?" He stammered, trying very hard to focus on what she was saying rather than think about the fact she was hugging him. Or that she had normal human female anatomy.

She pushed him away gently to look him in the eye, "My brother? Your best friend?"

A part of him urged him to correct her, but his tongue stayed still. "O-oh. Right. Martin."

She pouted, "You're not trying to get out of the apple harvest, are you? You promised you'd help."

He shook his head, "N-no. I'll help." Apple harvesting couldn't be that dangerous, could it? And they'd both have to get off of the bed! At this point, he'd agree to just about anything to accomplish that.

The door began to open, a masculine voice spilling into the room, "Hey, what's taking you so long? The apples'll get overripe–" Izuku felt his blood run cold when he saw him. Martin, he assumed, was two feet taller than him and his muscles were visible beneath his shirt. And he was walking in on his sister in his best friend's bed.

He folded his arms in front of his chest, "Alicia." He said in a warning voice.

The girl blushed and shimmied off the bed, moving the blade out of the way for good measure, "Sorry Martin, but Hero was acting weird and panicky. I was just trying to help him calm down."

Martin frowned, and glanced at Izuku, "You weren't faking just to get her attention, were you Hero?"

"N-no!" He stammered, realizing that they had incorporated his username… sans a dozen numbers he'd had to use. "I was just…" He failed to come up with an excuse, even a dumb one, "Nevermind! I just… you were right! We should go pick the apples before they get overripe."

Martin and Alicia exchanged a look, but Martin shrugged it off, "Alright, let's hit the road."

For fans of Full Dive: Izuku is not Hiroshi. His adventure is going to be a lot different for the simple fact that Izuku would read reviews beforehand. Though I will note he hasn't found the guide yet, since it's long been buried by multitudes of bad press.

Also a reminder: this is Bakugo before any character development. He is a shitty shit kid who is showing very few redeeming qualities.