*gasp* What is that I spy!? SOMEONE WITHOUT GLOVES OR A MASK DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS?! Chill, stay safe, my peeps, and let's stop the spread of COVID-19, or the Coronavirus for those people like me that prefer the non-scientific version.
Sup, my dudes, dudettes, and peeps! (My version of Roman tried her best, so she decided on that for my version of guys, gals, and non-bianary pals. I like it, but if you don't, that's chill, let me know, and I'll put her back to work. After a while, she's dying on the couch in my Mind Palace. *pats her on the back* It's ok, it's ok.)
Before I forget again, I never actually introduced Dasu and Duke's quirks! Dasu's quirk is that he can create and control tangible illusions, but they disappear after three minutes exactly. Duke can create weapons from material around him similar to FMA and FMAB. (point if you get the reference, I guess.) I'll add it into the story, but thought you might want to know quick.
Anyway, we are about to do a timeskip and meet some side-Sides. I've read through some reviews from y'all (and they make my day THANK YOU SO MUCH), and I've decided that I'm going to introduce 11 new Sides in this chapter and the next (because this started as one chapter and turned out to be REALLY long.) I'll state exactly which Side we're meeting right before each story, and I'll probably mention how old Izuku is at that point. I might not go full-out backstories right now (if they get important later on, I'll probably tell them later on, but if they're someone that already knows one of the Sides, I'll probably have a more in-depth back story *hint hint wink wink*)
Oh, and quick question...did anyone notice the mistake I made with Yumio's name. I went back and reread a little bit because I couldn't remember something, and I realized that YUMIO'S NAME IS ACTUALLY FUMIO BUT IT'S BEEN SO LONG THAT I CAN'T JUST CHANGE IT AAAAAHHHH! Just asking because I'm over here beating myself up about it, but whatever.
Enjoy!
It seemed like a pretty normal day. Izuku was about to start his last year of elementary school-although he was more than smart enough to just take online school and finish it all already, thanks to Yumio, but he had been surprised when he realized that Izuku still had one more year, then had gotten frustrated about that miscalculation. They had all laughed it off, but right now, it didn't matter. Izuku was sitting in his room, writing down in Notebook #12 about a new pro on the news-his notes were really in-depth now that he had help from Yumio's quirk, which he was getting the hang of, so that was nice.
So, the day was normal…
...until Odin, who had decided to go get groceries with Hisashi, suddenly burst through the door dramatically, causing Izuku to jump and look at her.
"Mom, what's up?" Izuku asked, having no reservation against calling her Mom now-his parents were going through a divorce, and Inko didn't want to continue contact with him, and he was honestly fine with it now-he wasn't at first, but now he was.
Odin grinned. "I just talked to Hisashi about how there's only five Sides, and he said that it would be a good idea to try to get more tricks up your sleeve, so basically, I think that we should start rapid-fire adding more Sides!"
"Um...are you sure that's a good idea?" Izuku asked, giving her an odd look.
Odin nodded. "The more Sides, the more of an advantage you'll have when you get older, and we should try to get more soon so you'll get more used to it!"
"Are you sure?" Izuku asked. "We should ask Yumio-"
"I already did!" Odin said, grinning.
"Really?" Izuku asked, surprised-Yumio was in the Mind Palace Library at the moment, and he would've heard the telepathic conversation...right? "When?"
Odin grinned. "As soon as I asked Hisashi about it, so...ten minutes ago?"
"Um...how?" Izuku asked.
Turns out we can communicate without having to go through you-there are plenty of tricks that we Sides can do-I've barely scratched the surface of the information in the Mind Palace Library, Yumio said.
"Oh," Izuku said, then bit his cheek. "Well...if you think it's a good idea...sure!"
"Sweet!" Odin said happily. "More people to smother in care!"
"Odin-" Izuku started, but Odin was already in the Mind Palace. Izuku just sighed, then closed his notebook.
Well, then, I'm gonna go for a walk for a while-who knows, maybe we'll meet some new ghosts in the area and make a contract today, Izuku said, then walked outside, making sure to grab his spare key and leave a note for his dad that he was going out, just in case he wasn't home by the time Hisashi was done with work.
….
Deceit
…
It was a pretty normal day, overall. Hai sat in a tree, watching the children in the park.
Hai was actually from China, but he had died on a family trip to Japan when he and his family had gotten too close to a villain attack. Of course, the actual villain hadn't killed him-in fact, it had been the hero that had done it. See, Hai had what most would call a villainous appearance. His quirk gave him all the abilities of a snake, which meant that he was also pretty covered in scales that unfortunately weren't fireproof...that hero had assumed that he was an accomplice of the villain when he had gotten separated from his parents in the panic...and one thing lead to another, here he was, dead from the age of eight years old because some fire hero had assumed that he was a villain-seriously, didn't he look too young to be a villain?! And why did that jerk just instantly go for the kill instead of capture!? And you know the worst part? While that pro hero had been taken from his position as a hero, he wasn't put in jail or anything. And now there were people that idolized a different fire-user of a pro hero. Sure, Endeavor hadn't done anything to Hai, but he just hated fire, and while he watched other children play because he longed to have a friend to play with, children loved to play Heroes and Villains, and there always seemed to be someone with a fire quirk pretending to be Endeavor. Whenever said child would show off their fire quirk, Hai would bolt out of there-even though he was dead, he was still terrified of fire-and who could blame him? It was scary, and it was what had killed him.
Hai watched as the children in the park played for a little while-none of them using quirks, thank whatever higher being existed-then left-it was time for dinner.
Hai blinked and sighed, left alone. He could go somewhere else, but at the same time, it was getting late in Japan, so it was probably time to go to a nearby graveyard or something to recharge on Lifeforce so he wouldn't turn into a Wrath-it had been two weeks since he'd last gone somewhere for a recharge. But, then again...what was the point in just being a ghost for the rest of his existence? He could fly off to some deserted island somewhere, become a Wrath, hopefully not hurt anyone when he lost his mind...and just disappear eventually.
Suddenly, there was a sudden laugh, pulling Hai out of his thoughts as he looked to see three boys walk into the park-one with green hair, one with blond hair, and one with purple hair.
"I'm being completely serious, you nerds!" the blond one exclaimed. "I'm gonna be the best hero to ever exist, and you two are gonna be the second and third best!"
"Underground hero status for me, and I think that Izuku's gonna be top of the charts," the purple one said.
The green one chuckled nervously. "I think that I'd end up being registered as a Hero Team instead of an independant pro since...yeah."
"Wait, can they actually do that?" the purple one asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yumio thinks it's possible, but Odin says that it didn't happen with anyone in the past, but that was basically one person with a ghost buddy, so we'll see," the green one said. Either way, Hitochan, I think you'll be an amazing underground hero! And Kacchan, if I'm registered as an independent pro instead of a team, I think that we'll be better heroes than All Might, even if that apparently doesn't take that much."
Hai's eyes grew wide, and he leaned forward a little. A kid that didn't seem to like All Might? But All Might was the best there was!
"Still don't get how you hate All Might-he's the best hero in the whole world!" the blond one said.
"He's the #1 hero in Japan," the green one corrected. "Not the world-and that doesn't include Underground heroes like Eraserhead."
"Now he's awesome," the purple one said.
"Still don't know who that is," the blond one said.
"That's the point!" the other two exclaimed.
"For underground pros, the whole point is that nobody's heard of them," the purple one said.
"And yet you two do?" the blond one said.
"He was on the case that saved me from my abusive parents," the purple one said.
"Wait, what?" the blond one asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah...my quirk and everything," the purple one said. "Eraserhead was the one that actually came to the door in the first place to arrest them. I'd be still written as quirkless if it wasn't for him."
"Wait, people actually thought you were quirkless?" the blond one asked, clearly skeptical.
"My parents didn't want to register me," the purple one shrugged.
"Which is nice, because now you're part of our friend group!" the green one said happily.
Hai rolled his eyes. Seriously, what was with these weirdos? This was just ridiculous, honestly. And that still didn't explain how that green one didn't like All Might! It clearly wasn't just the fact that there were probably better heroes out there, and Hai was really curious.
The purple one gave a small smile, then gave the green one a hug. "Yeah, it's nice to be in a friend group-especially when one of the people in it is really short."
"Hey, I'm not that short!" the green one pouted while the blond one laughed.
"Deku, just face it-you're short, ya runt!" the blond one laughed.
The green one-Deku-glared at the blond. "Kacchan, I'm not short!"
"You kinda are, Izuku," the purple one said with a snort.
Deku-or was it Izuku? What was this kid's name?-pouted at the purple one again. "Hitochan! That's not true!"
The blond-Kacchan, Hai was guessing-and the purple one-Hitochan?-burst out laughing, Deku/Izuku just pouted, which looked really funny, and Hai couldn't help it.
He burst out laughing, too.
Izudeku-screw it, that was his new name-jumped, then looked directly at Hai, who stopped laughing in shock, staring right back.
After a few seconds, Kacchan and Hitochan stopped laughing and stared over in the direction of Hai, but they didn't look directly at him.
"Um, Izuku?" Hitochan asked. "Is there...something wrong?"
"There's a ghost over there," Izuku said.
"Wait, you can...see me?" Hai whispered.
"Oh, really?" Kacchan asked. "Deku, you idiot, you'd better not be planning on making another contract!" He clenched his fists, then unclenched them…
...and fire appeared.
Hai yelped, then fell backwards, landing in a bush.
Instantly, two other ghosts appeared by Hai, helping him up. Hai blinked at them in surprise. One of them was wearing all green and had a pair of wings, while the other was wearing blue and had a...cardigan around her neck? What?
"You alright?" the winged one asked, clearly concerned.
"U-Um...w-what the-" Hai started just as Izudeku, who was now standing between the two ghosts, gave him a worried look.
"It's nice to meet you-but are you alright?" Izudeku asked. "I mean, you did just fall out of that tree…"
"I-I'm fine," Hai said-after all, he was a ghost-he was dead-technically, he couldn't feel pain-why was this boy worried? He already knew that he was a ghost...must be nice to have a quirk that allowed him to see ghosts. But what was with these other two ghosts-and where did they disappear to what the hEcK-
"That's good!" Izudeku said-why was he acting like nothing happened?! "I'm Izuku! What's your name?"
"H-Hai," Hai said.
"Hi?" Izudeku asked-yeah, that name was just going to stick, it had already grown on Hai.
"H-A-I, Hai," Hai said.
"Oh," Izudeku said. "Sorry about that! It's nice to meet you, Hai!"
"Nice to meet you, too…" Hai said, then flinched as Kacchan and Hitochan walked closer.
"Who the hell is there?" Kacchan yelled. Izudeku gave Hai a surprised look, then noticed that he was looking at Kacchan with fear in his eyes.
Quickly putting two and two together, Izudeku said, "Kacchan, I think you're scaring him."
Kacchan opened his mouth as if to protest, but Hitochan suddenly said, "Well, would you look at the time, I'm sure your dad's waiting for us for dinner, Izuku, so we're just gonna head over to your place, and you can talk to this ghost, or whatever." With that, Hitochan literally dragged a kicking and screaming Kacchan away-how could that kid do that without feeling embarrassed?! Seriously, what the heck?!
Izudeku watched as the two left, then he turned to Hai with a big smile on his face.
"Sorry about Kacchan-he's loud and can be scary to people that don't know him that well-and even those that do know him," Izudeku said, flinching slightly, looking like he was recalling a memory-was he actually friends with that boy!?
"I-I can handle loud noises-f-fire," Hai said quietly.
Thankfully, Izudeku didn't press further. "Gotcha. Fear of fire-I don't blame you."
"I-It's how I died," Hai blurted, then cursed silently. He didn't know this boy! Why was he telling him how he died?!
"Oh, death by fire-that had to hurt," a boy ghost wearing god-awful green and black suddenly said, appearing out of nowhere, causing Hai to jump back and yelp.
"How did you do that?!" Hai exclaimed.
"It's my quirk-I can make contracts with ghosts, and they kinda just appear and disappear as they want-and scare the ever-loving soul out of people when they do," Izudeku said, glaring at the green ghost, who smirked and shrugged.
"C'mon, gotta have some fun," the ghost said.
"You're supposed to be the insecure one-in what way is jump-scaring the teacher fun?" Izudeku asked, causing Hai to snort in laughter.
The ghost gestured at Hai. "He finds it funny-besides, I'm also supposed to be Intrusive Thoughts-Remus did stuff like that, too! At least I don't eat deodorant and keep you awake at the crack of dawn!"
"Only because Odin would kill you again if you did," Izudeku pointed out.
The ghost shrugged. "A reason's a reason."
"Um...what?" Hai asked.
They both looked at him.
"Oh, part of the contract he makes lets us ghosts control part of his personality," the ghost said. "For example, I'm in control of his insecurities and Intrusive Thoughts-mostly the former, but hey, I love pulling pranks."
"So does Dasu-what is with you two and your pranks?" Izudeku said.
"At least you aren't getting in trouble for them in school," the ghost said. "We don't go that far."
"I know, but still," Izudeku said, then turned back to Hai. "Well, I'm glad that you're alright, Hai! Mind if I ask why you were sitting in the tree in the first place?"
Hai shrugged. "Honestly? I'm bored."
"Huh?" the ghost and Izudeku asked at the same time.
"The whole being dead thing is boring," Hai said. (Point if you get the reference.) "I'm just floating around doing nothing-I don't even know any ghosts that I meet, I don't have any friends, so I'm just left watching kids play and wish that I could as well."
Izudeku and the ghost exchanged a look, then they both looked at Hai.
"You know...there might be something that we can do about that," the ghost said.
"What?" Hai asked, blinking in surprise.
"Well...you see, I'm not the only ghost that Izuku has a contract with," the ghost said. "There's five of us at the moment-I'm actually the most recent to make a contract with him! Maybe...if you'd like, you can join us. Izuku would be able to use your quirk, and in exchange, you would control some part of his personality, and you'd also get Lifeforce from him."
"Wait, what?!" Hai exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise.
Izudeku scratched the back of his neck. "I can create and share Lifeforce-that's how I make contracts with ghosts like Duke here. I'd give you a new name, then you'd be one of us-if you want, that is."
"We can all communicate telepathically with each other and Izuku-we're one big happy family!" the ghost-Duke, was it?-said happily.
That sounds...amazing.
"But why are you offering something like that?" Hai asked. "Don't I look like a...villain?"
"Hun, I was a villain, and let me tell you, you clearly ain't one," Duke said. "I mean, you look like a kid, for frick's sake."
Hai hesitated, then reached up and touched the scales that lined his face. "You don't think...I'm freaky?"
"Of course not!" Izudeku and Duke exclaimed.
"In fact, you look really cool!" Duke added.
Hai's eyes grew wide, and he felt tears come to his eyes, which he quickly wiped away.
"Well...if you want me on your team...then I guess I'd love to join," Hai said.
"Sweet!" Izudeku said, then held his hand out. "For a new name, how about...Darnall?"
Hai thought for a few seconds. "That has a nice ring to it-I accept!" With that, he took Izudeku's hand, and an orange string appeared appeared around Izudeku and Hai-no, Darnall-'s wrists, then disappeared as Darnall's scales turned orange, his shirt became orange, too, and he was wearing black shorts with a black bow in his red hair.
Darnell Midoriya, a voice said. Izuku's Deceit. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Darnell a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming another Dark Side. Darnell is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku can use part of Darnell's quirk. This also allows the two to communicate, and it gives Darnell a room in the Dark Side of the Mind Palace. As Darnell is younger than Izuku is, his appearance will stay the way that it is instead of appearing the same age as Izuku. This holds true for all Sides.
Welcome to the family! a girl's voice suddenly piped up. Hey, Duke, bring Darnell to the Mind Palace so we can all introduce ourselves! Oh, and Izuku? You might want to head home-Hisashi's probably getting worried.
Right, Izudeku said.
"So let's go!" Duke said out loud, then grabbed Darnell's hand and disappeared.
…
Sleep, Patience, & Recklessness
(Quick note: I'm well aware of Oboro's actual situation, but I'll give an explanation-but two points if you know what it is. :))
….
None of the three were completely sure how they'd become friends, honestly. At least, Oboro wasn't completely sure how he'd become friends with Peyton and Remy. Apparently, those two had known each other for a really long time, but they'd kinda adopted Oboro as their friend when they'd first met him. Oboro was fine with that, honestly-even if he was still wondering where half his soul seemed to be. Sure, as a ghost, he was whole, but there was always something at the back of his mind that seemed to be...wrong, like there was something missing.
Anyway.
It wasn't exactly a nice day. It was raining, and while Oboro loved the rain, Peyton and Remy weren't exactly fans-they'd both drowned in a storm, so Oboro could understand why. At the moment, they were hanging out at an abandoned bus stop, waiting for the rain to stop, and while Peyton and Remy were having a quiet conversation, Oboro was just staring at the rain, thinking about the day with that cat-
No, no no. No. That was the past. That was when he was alive. Yeah, he missed his old friends, 'cause they knew when he needed them the most. Yeah, Peyton and Remy were cool and all, but it was just...different. (Two points if you got the reference there. :))
But still. Oboro wasn't alive anymore. He just...needed to move on. Yeah. That was something he could do-
"Ah, my wings are getting soaked!"
All three ghosts jumped and looked to see a boy with wings and a girl-a ghost, Oboro realized after a few seconds-also with wings land just out of the bus stop canopy and then walk under so they were out of the rain. The boy shook off his wings, then they disappeared, and he looked at the girl ghost.
"I thought you said it wasn't going to rain this bad!" the boy said.
"Because otherwise you would've said that we wouldn't need to go for a fly!" the ghost girl said happily. "But you're gonna need to be able to fly in the rain someday when you're a pro hero."
"Pro hero, huh?" Oboro muttered.
The boy and the ghost girl jumped, then looked at Oboro, Peyton, and Remy, who were all staring at them.
"Oh my gosh, so sorry, didn't realize that there were others here!" the boy said.
"You can see ghosts, huh?" Remy asked.
"Well, yeah," the boy said.
"And...you also have wings," Remy said, then shrugged, making a Starbucks coffee appear and taking a sip-not all ghosts could use their quirks after death from what Oboro could tell, but Remy and Peyton could. Remy could make any kind of food or drink appear-it was almost always coffee, but Oboro wasn't sure how it mattered now that they were dead, but oh well. Peyton could tell exactly how someone was feeling and had been working on emotional manipulation before they had died, but wasn't able to do that yet-and Oboro wasn't sure that he could at all, but whatever.
Strangely, neither decided to comment on the fact that Remy was drinking Starbucks coffee.
"Yeah," the boy said. "I can make a contract with different ghosts with my quirk, and I can use their quirks-the wings are actually Odin's quirk." He gestured at the ghost next to him, who waved...with a strangely straight-out black right arm.
"Hi!" the ghost-Odin-said. "I'm Odin, and this is Izuku!"
"Oh, right, I hadn't introduced myself," Izuku said, scratching the back of his neck. "S-Sorry about that."
"That's alright," Peyton said. "I'm Peyton. This is Remy, and this is Oboro. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you, too!" Izuku said. "So, you three here to sit out the rain?"
"Yeah, f*** the rain," Remy said, sipping his coffee.
Odin gasped, covering Izuku's ears. "You do not casually swear in front of my child!"
"Wait, aren't you a little young to be his mother?" Remy asked, giving her an odd look.
"Since we're under a contract, I appear to be the same age as him-at least, I will until he's as old as I was when I died, then I'll stop aging," Odin explained. "But he isn't my child by birth, but he's still my child."
"That makes...no sense," Remy said.
"Nah, makes perfect sense," Oboro said, then grinned at Odin and Izuku. "Nice to meet you."
Odin smiled, then carefully took her hands away from Izuku's ears.
"So...mind if we sit out the rain here, too?" Izuku asked.
"I think we can fly home," Odin said.
"Yeah, no," Izuku said. "How can you fly with those winds?! Seriously, that was hard!"
"Not really," Odin said.
"You're a ghost-you aren't affected by the wind that much!" Izuku protested. "You can head home if you want to tell Dad where I am, but I'm waiting out the rain here!"
Odin sighed. "Fine, we can wait." She sat down on one end of the bench-it was pretty big, really. Izuku sat next to her, but turned to Oboro, Remy, and Peyton.
"So, um...wanna play a game to pass the time?" Izuku asked.
"Ooh, ooh, I love games!" Oboro said.
"Ok, what do you wanna play?" Izuku asked.
"Hmm...ooh, guess the pro hero!" Oboro said with a big grin on his face.
Izuku grinned. "I love this game! You wanna go first, or me?"
"I'll start!" Oboro said. "Ok...my quirk is called Gatling-"
"You're Gunhead," Izuku said.
"I barely said anything!" Oboro said.
Izuku smirked. "I'm good at this game. Ok, my quirk is called Hellflame."
"Endeavor," Oboro said. "Ok, so completely name the hero from the quirk. This is gonna be fun. My quirk is Quad Arms."
"Fourth Kind," Izuku said. "My quirk is High Spec."
Oboro snorted. "Nezu. My quirk is Overclock."
"O'Clock-too easy," Izuku said. "My quirk is Shield."
"Crust," Oboro said. "And too easy, huh? Ok. My quirk is Erasure." Ha. Eraserhead was an underground hero-there was no way-
"Eraserhead," Izuku said. "Still too easy."
"Wait, you know about Eraserhead?!" Oboro exclaimed, his eyes wide. "How?! Nobody's heard of Eraserhead!"
Izuku smiled. "He's one of my best friend's favorite pros, and Odin kinda knows every pro that she can know about. Pretty cool, honestly."
"Even I can't get that much of a read on him-and I've been trying!" Oboro said.
"Really?" Izuku asked. "Why?"
"Because he was one of my best buds back in school!" Oboro said, which clearly surprised Izuku.
"Wait, you went to school with Eraserhead!?" Izuku asked.
Oboro nodded. "Yeah! We were great friends back before I...died."
"Oh…" Izuku said. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah," Oboro said, scratching the back of his neck. "I wish that there was some way that I could talk to him, but he's probably already moved on. It's fine and all, but still...I miss him."
"Wait, does that mean you were...a pro hero?" Izuku asked.
Oboro shook his head. "Nah, I didn't actually get there...I died in an internship from a villain attack. Good ol' Eraserhead survived, thank god, but I didn't make it out of there alive…"
"Loud Cloud," Izuku whispered, causing Oboro to jump.
"Wait...you've heard of me?" Oboro asked, which clearly also surprised Remy and Peyton.
"Um...my friend and I were looking through news articles involving Eraserhead, and we found one from his time as a student talking about the death of...you," Izuku said awkwardly.
"Oh," Oboro said. "Well, you learn something new everyday, huh? But you guys actually went that far into the research rabbit hole to dig into Eraser's past?"
"I know plenty about him, but Hitochan didn't, so...yeah," Izuku said. "Um...do you wanna continue the game, or...wait, I have an idea!"
"What?" Oboro asked.
"Easy!" Izuku said with a grin. "It would be pretty easy for me to figure out how to send Eraserhead a note from you…"
"Wait, you would do that?" Oboro asked excitedly.
"Wait, why does it sound like there's a catch?" Remy asked, them and Peyton standing up.
"I don't mind doing it-honest," Izuku said. "But...you've been to UA. I mean, Odin has, too, but…"
"But…" Oboro said, encouraging him to continue.
"I'd like every advantage I can have while trying to get into UA and become a pro hero," Izuku said. "So...how about we continue this game? If you win, I give him the note-I'm going to anyway, but you'll also get to decide on something else that I'll have to do."
"Izuku-" Odin started.
"And if you win?" Oboro grinned.
Izuku smiled. "If I win...can I make a contract with you?"
"Oboro, that sounds really dangerous-" Remy started.
"I accept!" Oboro said.
Remy sighed. "Of freaking course you do."
Peyton chuckled nervously. "That's our friend. Rushing into things without thinking twice."
"Alright, so it's my turn again," Izuku said, smirking. "Spotted Seal."
"Selkie," Oboro said. "Serpentress."
"Uwabami, who missed the perfect opportunity to make an 'uwu' pun in her name," Izuku said.
"Oh my gosh, I never thought of that!" Oboro said.
"Blood control," Izuku said.
"Vlad King," Oboro said. "Rabbit."
"Mirko," Izuku said. "Engine."
"Ingenium," Oboro said. "Somnambulist."
"Midnight," Izuku said, making a face. "Heal."
"Recovery Girl," Oboro said. "Voice."
"Present Mic," Izuku said. "Sandstorm."
"Snatch," Oboro said. "Flight."
"Captain Celebrity-an American Hero, how original," Izuku said. "Homing."
"Snipe," Oboro said. "Iron Claws."
"Power Loader," Izuku said, then suddenly paused for a few seconds, then grinned-it looked a little creepy. "One For All."
Oboro paused. "U-Um…"
One For All? One For All? He'd never heard of it! What hero could possibly have that quirk?! It didn't even give away what it did! It wasn't obvious like others! So who could it possibly be…
...yeah, he probably shouldn't've entered this contest with this kid, he saw that now…
...but hey, from the looks of it, losing wouldn't be so bad.
Oboro took a deep breath, then let it out. "I've never heard of it. You have me stumped. So...who is it?"
Izuku grinned. "One For All is the name of All Might's quirk."
Remy, Peyton, and Oboro all gasped while Odin bit her lip.
"Wait, how do you know that?" Peyton asked. "And why is Odin annoyed at that question?"
"Huh?" Izuku asked.
"I can tell exactly how someone's feeling-doesn't matter right now," Peyton said, going Therapist Mode™, as Oboro liked to call it-he was pretty sure Peyton had been a therapist in life, and Remy had probably worked at Starbucks or some similar coffee place. "What matters is that something here is going on, and I would like to know how in the world you even know the name of All Might's quirk when most of the world doesn't know-ooh, Odin, you look guilty, you know something that the rest of us don't."
"Um...I'd rather not talk about it," Odin said. "But nice quirk. Were you a police detective when you were alive or something?"
"Or something," Peyton said. "And why don't you want to talk about it?"
"Guys-" Izuku started.
"That isn't really any of our business, if you don't mind me saying," Odin said.
"Um, I do mind, 'cause no ordinary ghost would know that," Remy said. "So what, were you All Might's Sidekick or something?"
"Excuse me!?" Odin exclaimed, standing up and glaring at Remy-Oboro noticed Peyton get defensive, so he guessed that Odin was beyond angry.
"Oh, am I right on?" Remy asked, smirking. "Didn't realize that people from his Agency knew the name of his quirk, though-"
"I was never part of his agency-in any life, I would never be his Sidekick!" Odin said.
"Remy-" Peyton said warningly.
"Why not?" Remy asked. "All Might's the best pro hero ever-"
"All Might doesn't even have a quirk of his own-he was just deemed worthy by Nana Shimura for a quirk that was just passed along as if I was some kind of worthless hand me down!" Odin exclaimed.
Wait…
"As...you were some kind of worthless hand-me-down?" Oboro asked quietly, and they all went quiet.
"U-Um…" Odin said.
Remy's eyes grew wide. "Wait...are you even an actual ghost, or are you...one of those Quirk Consciouses?"
Oof. Quirk Consciouses as ghosts were rare, and while Oboro had never actually met one, he knew that they couldn't go far from whoever they were the quirk of...as long as that person was alive, that is-maybe even in death, he didn't really know.
Odin looked like she was about to punch him, but she stopped herself and took a deep breath.
"Look, I'm not really a Quirk Conscious," Odin said. "I mean, I did represent All Might's quirk-I was One For All for about two hundred years, but I was once an actual person. It's only been less than a year since I was separated from the quirk, and I could finally live the rest of my ghostly days as a regular ghost...but then I ended up making a contract with Izuku here, which was honestly the best choice I could ever have made."
"O-Oh," Remy said.
"Remy, it's not nice to assume that someone's a Quirk Conscious," Peyton scolded.
"Well, now that that's all been said, I still lost the bet...so how does this contract thing work?" Oboro asked, snapping them all out of their thoughts.
"Oh, right," Izuku said. "Basically, I'll give you a new name, we shake on it, you become the same age as me, and you control part of who I am-like Odin, who controls my ability to care for myself and others. There's also Yui, my morals and emotions, Yumio, my intelligence, Duke, my insecurities and intrusive thoughts-but he doesn't really do that last one, thankfully, I'm nine, gonna be ten before too long-Dasu, my creativity, and Darnell, my Deceptiveness. In exchange, I get to use your quirk, and I also give you Lifeforce."
"Huh," Oboro said. "Do you know what I'll be, controlling-wise?"
"Um...no," Izuku admitted. "I don't know what determines it, honestly."
"Huh," Oboro said.
"What about me and Remy?" Peyton suddenly blurted, causing Odin, Izuku, and Oboro to jump and look at them.
"H-Huh?" Izuku asked.
"Well, I mean, Oboro's kinda our friend-it just wouldn't be the same without him around-if you don't mind making contracts with us, too, that is," Peyton asked.
"A-Are you sure?" Izuku asked. "Both of you?"
Remy shrugged. "Sounds like fun."
"Alright, I guess!" Izuku said. "So, coming up with names for all of you! Let's see...for you, Oboro...how about Brazen?" He held out his hand.
Oboro smiled. "Sounds good to me!" He took Izuku's hand, and a dark blue string appeared and tied around both their wrists, then disappeared, and Oboro-no, Brazen-felt himself shrinking and growing younger until he was the same age as Izuku. He was wearing a light gray sweatshirt, goggles similar to the ones from his former hero costume, a dark blue gi that felt similar to his former hero costume, too, leggings, and combat boots. There was also a bandage on his nose.
Brazen Midoriya, a voice suddenly said. Izuku's Recklessness. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Brazen a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming the first Neutral Side, who can access his room through a gray door that shall appear in the Mind Palace Living Room. As with the Dark Sides, Izuku can move rooms as he sees fit. Brazen is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku can use part of Brazen's quirk. This also allows the two to communicate.
So now we have Neutral Sides, huh? a new voice suddenly asked, surprising Brazen. Ooh, and he has blue, too! Hi, I'm Yui, in charge of Morals and Emotions-it's nice to meet you!
"Um...he's a kid again," Remy said. Brazen looked at them and Peyton.
"Well, Izuku did say I'd become a kid again!" Brazen said happily, then floated over to Odin. "Alright, I guess it's your guys's turns."
"Ooh, I'll go first!" Peyton said, then sat down in front of Izuku. "If you don't mind, can you give me a gender neutral one? Same with Remy-we're non-bianary."
"Ooh, nice!" Odin said.
"Ok-but the names usually just...pop into my head," Izuku said, then thought for a few seconds. "Um...how about…Emory?"
Peyton thought for a few seconds, then smiled and nodded. "I love it!"
"Sweet!" Izuku said, holding his hand out. Peyton took it, and a light brown string appeared around both their wrists, then disappeared, and Peyton-no, Emory, that was going to be weird to say instead-shrunk until they were nine years old again, and they were wearing a light brown cardigan with a white undershirt and brown shorts. Their pink hair was brushed to the side with a blue bow hair clip.
Emory Midoriya, the voice said. Izuku's Patience. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Emory a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming the fifth Light Side. Emory's room is in the regular Mind Palace. They are able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku can use part of Emory's quirk. This also allows the two to communicate.
Nice to meet you! another new voice said. I'm Dasu,the Creativity. Can't wait to get to know you!
Patience sounds nice! Yui said. I'm Yui, in charge of Morals and Emotions-I have a feeling that we're going to get along just great!
"Woah," Remy said, breaking them all out of their thoughts. "Um...I guess it's my turn."
They all looked at Remy-it was weird to think that Remy was now the oldest one there. Emory smiled, then floated over to Odin and Brazen, who both smiled at them, then turned to Izuku and Remy.
"Um...how about…" Izuku started.
"I'm also gender neutral-just so you know," Remy said.
"Cool," Izuku said. "So, how about...Kamari?"
Remy smiled, then held out their hand. "Love it, my dude...wait, are you a dude, or does having all these sides of different genders do something in your head?"
"THAT TOPIC MUST NOT BE DISCUSSED UNTIL LATER IN THE STORY!" the voice suddenly boomed out loud, making them all jump.
"Hey, no breaking the fourth wall-that's expensive!" Odin said, then giggled. "Anyway, pretend we didn't hear that, avoid the topic, continue on."
Izuku gave her an odd look, then shrugged and took Remy's hand. A black string appeared around both their wrists, then disappeared...and Remy became nine years old, too, their black hair brushing to the side to match Emory's, having a pink bow as well. They were wearing a black leather jacket, gray shirt, leather jeans, and a new Starbucks coffee appeared in their hand.
Kamari Midoriya, the voice said, back to normal volume. Izuku's Sleep. Izuku's quirk makes him able to create and share Lifeforce. By giving Kamari a name, Izuku made a contract, thus naming the second Neutral Side, giving Kamari a room in the Neutral Mind Palace, accessible through the gray door in the Mind Palace living room. Kamari is able to consume some of Izuku's endless supply of Lifeforce, and in exchange, Izuku can use part of Remy's quirk. This also allows the two to communicate. This also gives Kamari a small area of the Imagination called the Dream Land that can be used however they deem fit.
Two Neutral Sides at once-totally not cool, a new voice piped up. I'm totally not Darnell, Izuku's Deceit. And I don't speak in lies.
Got it, my dude...right? Kamari asked, sipping their coffee.
No… Darnell said.
He means yes-you'll get used to his way of speaking-he's done that ever since he became Deceit, another new voice said. I'm Duke, Insecurities and Intrusive Thoughts-Darnell and I are the only Dark Sides at the moment.
Good to know! Emory said. Nice to meet you, Duke! Wait, if you're insecurities, does that mean you're really insecure?
In a way, Duke said. But come on to the Mind Palace-can't wait to meet you!
Um...how do we do that? Brazen asked.
Odin smiled, then grabbed Brazen with one hand, then Emory and Kamari with her other-somehow-and they disappeared.
And this is where this chapter is stopping for now! We met Deceit, Recklessness, Patience, and Sleep in this chapter-oof! May not seem like that much, but in the next chapter, we still have 7 sides to be introduced.
Do you think I did good with Oboro Shirakumo-oh, wait, Brazen? Honestly, if you meet his character (he was introduced in the main manga, I think, but he was in Vigilantes, so anime-only peeps probably don't know the significance of his character, but oh well.
I'm working on the next chapter, but writer's block isn't fun whatsoever… :( Hopefully, I'll have it done before too long (I've already started it, but then this chapter felt too long, and the next seven characters are kinda introduced in groups like I did with Brazen, Emory, and Kamari. A group of four, a group of two, then one that I do NOT like.
Anyway, enough about that.
*quick note! I would love to use Crimson Riot, Kirishima's role model-and if he's confirmed to be dead anytime soon, I will create a random Side for him to be because I really want to have this awesome scene where Kirishima is talking about his hero Crimson Riot and Izuku just pauses and is like, "Um...wanna meet him?" and all that, but here's the thing: there isn't confirmation that Crimson Riot is dead as far as I know. In fact, from the fact that Present Mic (or Midnight, I can't remember at the moment and don't feel like going and checking) comments on Kirishima's choice of name and mentions that it's similar to Crimson Riot's, I believe that Crimson Riot is actually alive and pretty high on the hero ranks, but is currently working in a different country, so that's why he's not on the hero rankings. If I'm proven wrong in this, I'll introduce him as a new Side.
Anyway, I'm gonna work on the next chapter, so see you (hopefully) soon, my friends!
*does a flip falling backwards to go work on next chapter*
