Izuku woke early the next morning to something jostling his bed.

"Wake up, Midoriya. We've got some work to do before we leave."

He heaved himself around toward the voice, but by the time he had pried his eyes open, Link had already left. The room was dim, and Izuku had been in Hyrule long enough to know that meant nobody else would be awake besides him and any other poor souls that Link decided to wake up. He'd gotten used to waking up early, both for school and for training, but Link's hours were absurd.

'For a guy as into training as he is, you'd think he would value sleep more.' Grumbling to himself, Izuku pulled his tunic and pants on before stumbling out of the inn, taking care not to wake the innkeeper on the way. The sagging man had perpetual deep circles under his eyes and had practically wilted when Link mentioned that he wanted to be up early. Best to let him sleep while he could.

Outside, Izuku could barely make out Link swinging his arms about in the oddly-damp air. He gestured for Izuku to keep his voice down as he came down the stairs. "Good, you actually woke up," he murmured. "We're just waiting on the girls; once they join us, we'll go over to the graveyard to practice."

Izuku tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn. "Practice wh-wh-wh-what?"

"Weapons. I need to know your classmate's skill level and their abilities. We'll have more time to talk on the road, but I'd rather know what I'm working with before we encounter a bokoblin band—or more of those Yiga assassins."

'Someone's feeling cynical this morning.' Izuku stifled another yawn and started stretching. If they were going to be doing some early training, he might as well get warmed up.

It also gave him a little more time to think.

He and Ashido had stayed up for a while studying the night sky. They didn't see any of Earth's constellations, so they had made a game of creating new ones. Izuku had honored Ashido's request, so while there had been some talk afterwards, it was all unimportant and mostly focused on whether a specific constellation was a dragon or a Xenomorph.

There was something about the whole interaction that he just couldn't figure out. Something about Ashido's hug? Or maybe it was her constantly calling him "Midori" instead of "Midoriya." Then again, Uraraka had called him "Deku" (in a good way, not like Kacchan did) basically from the start. Maybe it was like that? He felt like he was close to something, but his tired mind couldn't quite make the connection, so he just mentally shrugged and filed it away, moving on to planning his workout for the morning. There would be time to ask her later.

He was in the middle of a push-up when the creaking of boards and a quiet rustling roused him from his thoughts. He hastily pushed himself to his feet just as the girls came down the steps to meet them. Both looked just as tired as he felt, though Ashido was doing her best to be her chipper self. She grinned at them before stifling a yawn. "Good—Ooooaaaaah!—morning, guys! Why're we up so-oooooaah early? Weren't we going to leave after breakfast?"

"Y-yeah, we are. Link wanted to get some early training done before we go," Izuku said, waving toward the man in question.

Yaoyorozu stifled her own yawn. "Training? Could we not train on the road?"

"We can and will," Link said, "but I don't know what you two can do. And with what we have against us, I would like to know what I'm working with before we're ambushed again." He started walking down the road and waved for them to follow him.

"And we could not have waited until after breakfast?" Yaoyorozu grumbled.

Izuku privately agreed with her, but there wasn't much to be done about it now. He shrugged and started after Link, and the other two fell in beside him.

It was still incredible to Izuku how quiet Kakariko was in the morning. Everyone was still asleep, including the cuckoos, though they should be waking shortly. The only person he could see was one of Impa's guards—Dorian, he thought, though it was hard to tell in the pre-dawn gloom. Back home, people would already be rushing to work. He had to admit, the change was a nice one.

After passing under another torii, the group stopped at the outskirts of a small graveyard. A training dummy that wasn't much more than a straw-stuffed sack on a stick had been set up on the side of the road, with two more resting against the canyon wall. Beside them was a barrel with what looked like assorted poles and a pair of old crates. Izuku felt his respect for Link deepen as he took in the impromptu setup. The man clearly knew what he was about.

"All right, now that we are no longer within earshot of the village, would you mind explaining why this couldn't have waited until later?" Yaoyorozu demanded.

If her tone had offended Link, it didn't show. "Certainly. As I said, we have many enemies. Between monsters and the Yiga—"

"And the League of Villains," Izuku added.

"—and your League of Villains, the odds are stacked quite heavily against us, and we could be attacked at any time. If we are to survive, we need to know how to work with each other. That means getting a head start on training."

Izuku looked back and forth between the two girls. "It's kind of like some of the exercises we've done for school. We've always had a sort of planning session before each, but that won't always happen."

"Because real scenarios often evolve too quickly for any detailed planning and analysis." Yaoyorozu nodded. "I understand, thank you. Please forgive my grumpiness."

Link smiled faintly. "It's of no concern. My reaction was pretty similar the first time my squad leader woke us up during training."

"Great, we're all on the same page now," Ashido said, practically vibrating on the spot. "Now what're we gonna do?"

"Let's start with weapons. Do either of you have any experience with any sort of weapons?"

"I am proficient in staff usage and have some experience with other tools, though I lack the finesse someone trained in their use would have," Yaoyorozu said. Izuku nodded to himself; he remembered the staff and small shield she had produced during the USJ and Sports Festival. She'd used both with the same sort of self-confidence that Link had whenever he was handling a weapon he was comfortable with.

Link nodded as well before shifting his gaze. "And you, Ashido?"

"Um, not as much as Momo and Midori do. I can kind of use a spear, but that's only because you stab with it. I'm pretty quick and flexible from dancing, though."

"Hmm." Link rubbed his chin in thought. "So one with some experience and another with little to none, though your dance routines could easily be worked into your own fighting style. All right, what about your quirks? I know Midoriya's enhances his strength, speed, and durability, but he hasn't really mentioned what the rest of you can do."

Both girls grinned. "That shows a heroic amount of restraint on your part, Midoriya," Yaoyorozu said.

"You must have been awfully distracted if you haven't gushed about our quirks, Midori," Ashido teased. "Did any of it have to do with Impa's granddaughter?"

Izuku felt his face ignite once more. At this rate, he wouldn't need to worry about warm clothing in the mountains; he could just have someone say something mildly embarrassing to him. "N-n-no, we've j-just been busy. Link's b-been putting me through s-some pretty stiff training, too."

Yaoyorozu chuckled while Ashido continued to leer at him. "Well, to answer your question, Link, my quirk is Create. With it, I can use the lipids in my body to create any non-living material or object, so long as I understand its genetic makeup." The skin on her arm began to glow, and she used her other hand to extract a small shield. "Like this."

When he didn't respond, Izuku looked back at Link, who was staring wide-eyed at the newly created shield. He couldn't blame him; even now, after a few months of school, Izuku couldn't believe how incredible Create was. It really was a good thing that Yaoyorozu had decided to become a hero; he didn't like the idea of what someone with less morals than her could use Create for.

After a moment, Link shook himself. "So you can create anything? Is there any limit?"

"So long as I understand its molecular structure, yes, I can create it. I am limited by the fat cells I've stored, so prolonged use of my quirk will require me to eat large meals in order to replace what I've used."

"Even with that limitation, you're basically a one-woman resupply chain, minus the food." Izuku could see the cogs spinning in Link's mind as he turned to face Ashido. "And your quirk, Ashido? Do you fly, or summon beetles?"

"What, beetles? No, I don't summon beetles!" Ashido pouted. "Koda does though. No, my quirk's not quite as cool as Yaomomo's, though it's a bit flashier. You wanna see?" Before Link could respond, Ashido opened her hand and lobbed a globule of acid at the canyon wall, where it splashed and sizzled into the rock. "My quirk's acid! I can control the acidity and use it for all sorts of stuff."

"Oh, is that all?" Link asked faintly. "Have you ever used that in combat?"

Ashido wilted. "Mostly in training, though I… I did use it on one of those goblins after it broke my spear. Not at full strength, but still acidic enough to…"

Izuku reached over and gave her a quick, one-armed hug. Clearly, Ashido had had a wilder time than she had let on.

Link must have caught the hitch in her voice, too. His eyes softened, and when he continued speaking, his voice was much gentler. "It doesn't matter if it's a person or a monster; the first kill is always hard. Even harder for you all, it sounds like, because you try your best not to use lethal force. If it helps, monsters are reborn under the blood moon. I'm willing to bet that your bokoblin is back, meaner than ever.

"Unfortunately, that means we're going to meet stiff resistance. Hyrule's grown wild since the kingdom fell, and monsters roam the land. I wish I could tell you—all of you—that you won't have to use such force again, but if you want to survive to make it home, you very well might." He paused for a moment before smiling faintly. "That's why we do what we do. We protect those who cannot protect themselves, even if that means applying lethal force."

Ashido sniffled before sucking in a deep breath and straightening. "Thanks, Link. Remembering the people I'm protecting helps. I was totally saving some dork's butt that time, too."

"Then you have done your duty," Yaoyorozu said. "So you know what we can do, but what can you do?"

"Me?" Link scratched his head. "I'm a knight and know how to use almost any weapon that I can think of, though I prefer the sword. I also, evidently, have some kind of… what did you call it, Midoriya? I have a reactionary ability that 'slows down how time affects me, which in turn allows me to react more quickly to threats.'"

"It's really strong, too," Izuku added, thinking back to his first training exercise and other encounters where he'd been able to observe Link. "I don't think anything's fast enough to get you once you've triggered it. He managed to put me flat on my face when I was using On—Superpower against him."

Ashido whistled, and Yaoyorozu's eyebrows rose. "That is impressive," she said. "Midoriya's one of the strongest in our class, if not the strongest when he can get his quirk to cooperate."

"I could tell. We'll see how it holds up this morning." Link turned and strode over to the barrel where he extracted several items. Izuku squinted at them before nodding to himself as Link turned around, revealing a pair of staffs and a practice sword.

"We've only got a little bit of time, but there's enough for me to walk you through the basics of how to use these. We'll keep practicing on the road; it'll take some time, but I intend to give you the tools you need to be a competent fighter with or without your quirks."

A sudden, malicious grin stole across his face as he handed out the staffs. "You best be ready, because I'm taking you three back to training."

Link wasn't kidding. For the next hour, he ran the group through basic stances, footwork, and strikes. A lot of it was stuff that he had gone over with Izuku before, but that didn't prevent it from being quite the workout. Toward the tail end of the session, he had the three UA teens try and knock him down using only their weapons. By the time the cock crowed, the four of them had worked up quite the sweat.

It had also given Izuku some more time to observe his classmate's fighting styles. True to her word, Yaoyorozu already had a good grasp on what Link had demonstrated. She was sturdy, using the shield she had created to give her an extra layer of defense.

Her fighting style contrasted wildly with Ashido's, which was agile and constantly on the move, a result of being able to slide around the battlefield with her quirk. She liked to employ hit and run tactics and preferred quick strikes.

Honestly, if not for Link's quasi-quirk, the three of them very might have been able to take him down. As it was, they had pressed him hard, though Izuku had a suspicion that he may have been holding back. He wasn't sure if the girls had caught that though, and if they hadn't, he wasn't going to tell them. While they were all sweaty, both wore satisfied smiles, and he didn't want to risk robbing them of those.

After racking the equipment, the group separated to wash up before clattering back up to Impa's for breakfast. In the time they had been gone, the village had started to show signs of life. A few more people were outside, working in gardens or stringing laundry. There was even a frenzied man clutching a cuckoo under his arm. Izuku couldn't help but watch as the strange man frantically clucked at some bushes. After a few moments of this, Izuku just shook his head. Some questions he didn't want the answer to.

Dorian nodded as Link and Izuku approached, but otherwise didn't react. Izuku studied him as they passed. The man seemed on edge; his eyes darted up and down the street, and he kept shifting his weight as if he was expecting an attack. Maybe he was just tired? How long had he been up?

The sizzling smell of frying bacon forcefully pulled him from his thoughts, and his stomach rumbled loudly enough that he worried for a second that it would wake the rest of the village. Link started to chuckle, but was quickly interrupted by his own growling belly. The two of them grinned and hurried inside.

"Behold, our erstwhile Champions arrive!" Impa said. The diminutive woman was laying out plates on the table. "Punctual as always when there's food to be had. If the Calamity was a bit more edible, I think you would've had a fair chance at finishing him yourself all those years ago!"

"Takes one to know one, Elder!" Link fired back. "How many tarts did you put away during the last royal feast?" He paused. "Um, actually, how many did you eat? I only remember that it was a lot."

"And that's all you need to remember," Impa chuckled. "No no, leave an old woman her secrets. We'll be ready soon; are your friends coming, Midoriya?"

He nodded. "Y-yeah, they should be. They w-were just cleaning up after training."

"Ah yes, 'cleaning.'" Impa's eyes twinkled as she took her customary place at the head of the table. "Well, Yagi and Paya will have the food out momentarily. So long as the girls hurry, it will still be warm when they get here. Why don't you two take a seat?"

No sooner had Impa finished speaking than All Might and Purah appeared with plates full of toast, eggs, and bacon. Izuku's mouth began to water and he slid over to the nearest open cushion.

Link plopped down beside him and immediately started piling food onto his plate. "Goddesses, I'm starving. You still know how to put a meal together, Impa."

"And your appetite's as bottomless as ever," Impa chuckled again. She pulled a small apple from her robe, and Izuku decided to follow her and Link's example and tuck in. "But it was Paya who was the mastermind behind this spread."

Paya froze in the middle of seating herself and flushed a deep scarlet. "Oh… I d-don't know… I just f-followed Ya…Yagi's instructions."

"Nonsense! You knew exactly what to do. I was more than happy to let the mistress of the kitchen do her work," All Might said, smiling.

Izuku was pretty sure that Paya might turn anemic if any more blood rushed to her head. He opened his mouth to try and save her, but the sound of the door creaking open caught his attention, and he turned around in time to see Yaoyorozu closing the door behind Ashido. The two looked much tidier and had changed into the Sheikah tunics Impa had provided, though Ashido was still sporting the blue cloak she'd picked up in Hateno. It was just the right shade to make her golden irises pop.

Ashido pulled up the cushion on his other side while he was thinking. "Wow, this totally looks amazing. I think I heard Impa say you made it, Paya? Girl, this could feed an army."

"Gra… Grandmother said we would ne… need it. Champion L… Li… Link eats a lot."

"We've established this." Link grinned through a mouthful of eggs and pointed his fork at Impa. "You're just jealous that I can eat you under the table."

"Eat me out of house and home, more likely," she groused good-naturedly. "Which you and Yaoyorozu might do anyway."

Izuku followed her nod and chuckled quietly to himself when he saw Yaoyorozu's plate, which was piled even higher than Link's. Creation was still incredible to him. Being able to make anything as long as you understood its molecular make-up was such a strong quirk. Even having to constantly eat didn't seem like too much of a downside.

"Yeah, Yaomomo's pretty cool that way," Ashido said, echoing Izuku's thoughts.

"Being able to eat large amounts of food is hardly a point of admiration," Yaoyorozu protested. "I only eat so much because of my quirk; otherwise, I assure you that I would eat much less."

"Of course you would, dear," Impa said gently.

The talk around the table ceased, and only the sound of utensils clinking against plates filled the silence. Izuku glanced over at All Might and was gratified to see him put down his fork. He still wasn't entirely sure that his mentor ate enough, so seeing him actually eating something was a relief. He hadn't grown more skeletal, but Izuku was growing increasingly convinced that All Might's hero days were finally behind him.

To distract himself from that thought, he went to scoop up another bite of eggs and was surprised when his fork clacked against the empty plate. He'd been so focused on the banter that he hadn't registered the food. It had been… good? He was pretty sure it was good. He glanced over at the platter, hoping for some more to reaffirm that opinion, but it was empty. 'Oh well. Next time I'll pay more attention.'

After another moment or two, Link leaned back with a content sigh. "Well, that was tasty. Always good to start a journey with a solid meal."

That tickled something at the back of Izuku's mind, and he snatched it. "Speaking of journeys, um, wh-where is Zora's Domain? You mentioned that it was north of K-Kakariko, Elder; wh-what would be the best way there?"

Impa tapped her nose. "Always thinking, you are. There are two paths. The first you will find if you follow the road out through the cemetery. It follows the hills and winds around the Gopunga wetlands and past the old Moor Garrison before eventually looping back around to Zora River. You may find it a little longer, but it is the standard route for travelers these days.

"The second path forks from this one and runs through the ruins of Goponga Village. Much of the village was destroyed during the Calamity, and my scouts have recently spotted a pair of wizzrobes frolicking in the ruins."

Ashido tilted her head. "Excuse me, Impa? What's a wizzrobe?"

"Wizzrobes are elemental sorcerers who surrendered their humanity for greater power." Impa shuddered. "Foul creatures, they are. Impish demons who delight in their craft. They can be terrible adversaries to the unwary, though their powers grant them distinct weaknesses."

"And you said a pair of them are in the ruins?" Link asked. He leaned forward, and while Izuku couldn't see his face, he had tensed in the way that meant he was thinking. "You wouldn't have mentioned the dangerous route just for laughs. Is it faster?"

Impa sighed. "Yes. By nearly a day."

"Then that's the route we take. There're four of us; I'm pretty sure that we can handle two wizzrobes."

"Were it only wizzrobes, I would not doubt you, Brave One. But the area is also infested with lizalfos. The old road runs through a small village of theirs. One traveler might make it through undetected, but four of you? It is risky."

"The entire mission's risky. If it saves us time, then that's the route we'll take." Link heaved himself to his feet and stretched. "Are you three ready to go?"

"Once I finish this plate, I will be."

"Gimme a sec!"

Izuku glanced at his plate. "I think so."

"Perfect. I'll meet you all outside the Curious Quiver. I think I remember there being some elemental arrows there, which would be perfect for dealing with the wizzrobes." Without waiting for a response, Link spun on his heels and hurried out of the house.

"Man, Link really doesn't know how to relax, does he?" Ashido murmured. "I mean, I get that we're on a time limit, but the guy's gonna explode if he doesn't take some time to chill."

"He's been that way since I met him," Impa sighed. "He has a relentless drive to protect others. I don't believe that he'll rest, or even if he is capable of resting, while Zelda's in danger."

'Link's pretty similar to me in that regard.' Izuku knew he would have had the same reaction if something had happened back home. He straightened as that thought fully registered. He'd had the same reaction when Kacchan was kidnapped. That was how they'd all ended up here in the first place! Though if Link had some of the same tendencies that he had, they could lead to similar world-changing events. 'Guess I should probably try to counter some of those if I can. Oh boy.'

Still in thought, Izuku pushed himself to his feet and started stacking the plates. Yaoyorozu and Ashido would both be good at providing some other modes of thinking, but they really needed to find Iida. He'd been the main balancing force for him and Kirishima and Todoroki, so Izuku was sure that he would be able to help with Link.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about those, dear."

Izuku started and looked up at a chuckling Impa. "I see I dammed the flow of thought; my apologies. You three can leave your dishes. We'll take care of them. I believe Link has the supplies we collected for you, so you three best hurry to catch up with him."

After a moment's hesitation, Izuku nodded. "Thank you, Elder."

"Yeah, thanks!" Ashido chimed in.

All Might smiled his terrifying skeletal smile. "You kids be careful. I've no doubt in my mind that you're capable of facing the challenges ahead of you, but there are still many dangers out there. Check in from time to time; with the Slate, there really isn't any excuse not to."

Izuku smiled back and, on the spur of the moment, stepped over to his teacher and embraced him. "Thanks, All Might. We'll keep in touch."

"Indeed. Though it may depend on our proximity to other shrines," Yaoyorozu added.

"But we'll totally call in when we can! We don't want to worry you guys too much," Ashido said.

All Might's smile softened, and the lights in the dark pits of his eyes twinkled. "You're good kids. Now go! Hyrule needs heroes, and you four and the others are all they've got."

Toshinori sighed as the door closed behind Young Midoriya.

He believed his students were capable of incredible things—hell, they'd already proved that they were with this adventure. But they weren't ready, not for the wider conflict. And with All for One still lurking in the shadows, their enemies still had an incredibly dangerous advantage.

A hand touched his shoulder, and he glanced at Impa, who was standing by him and also watching the door. "Though we may wish to protect everyone, there comes a time when we must free the next generation of warriors to forge their own destinies out of the darkness."

"That's true." Toshinori placed his hand over Impa's. "But I'm afraid that the darkness overshadowing their destinies is far deeper than they realized."

When Impa had shown them the map, Izuku hadn't realized that there wasn't an actual road running down the Sahasra slope. There had been one leading out of Kakariko, and there was apparently one at the base of the mountain, but the slope itself didn't contain one. Though given that Kakariko had tried to hide itself in the mountains, perhaps that was intentional. They hadn't seen any other travelers, and he got the feeling that the Sheikah preferred it that way.

It had been a quiet walk, too. Link was several meters ahead, acting as point, and the girls had fallen behind a few steps and were talking about something in hushed tones. When he'd tried to join, they'd just giggled and shooed him away. Or Ashido had giggled; Yaoyorozu had just smiled.

Women were baffling.

He shook his head. He had a sneaking suspicion that he would find out what the girls were talking about later, so he tried to put it out of his mind. Instead, he tried to enjoy the hike. It really was the perfect day for it; the hike wasn't too steep, there were a few puffy clouds floating past the sun, and there was… thunder? Izuku strained his ears. No, it wasn't thunder; it was too light and sporadic for that. And there was some kind of screeching accompanying it—

Izuku bumped into Link. The knight had stopped dead in the center of the trail and seemed to be peering down the slope. "What's up—"

Link waved for him to be quiet and continued looking. 'He's probably heard that weird thunder,' Izuku realized. He glanced back at the girls and saw that they'd both stopped to listen as well. Ashido arched an eyebrow questioningly at him, and he could only shrug before turning back to look downhill. Whatever the sound was, it seemed to be coming from that direction.

After a few moments, a few shapes came out from behind a switchback. Izuku cocked his head as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. There were three shapes that seemed to mostly be brown or white with red splotches up top, and they were chasing a smaller brown splotch. He squinted, trying to make sense of it, before his brain finally registered what he was seeing.

"Boko riders," Link said.

Izuku glanced at him and was surprised to see him smiling. "You're excited about bokoblins?"

"Not the bokoblins; their horses. If we can unseat the bokoblins, we should have semi-trained horses that we can use. That'll speed us up a lot."

"And we'll have horses!" Ashido exclaimed.

Privately, Izuku didn't share her sentiment, but he wasn't going to try and shoot down her glee. "All r-right, then, what do we do?"

Link half turned to look back at them. "I've got a plan. Midoriya, can you act as our distraction?"

"Uh, y-yeah."

"Perfect. Do whatever you need to do to distract them from our efforts, and if you see an opening, go ahead and strike. Ashido, I want you to do the same thing you did when we were training this morning. Pick a target and skate around it until you get a chance to knock it off. Yaoyorozu, I know you have some skill with the staff, but I'm betting you've never fought someone on horseback. Can you fill a support role? Whatever you can think of doing that will unseat the riders without hurting or scaring the horses would be great."

"This plan is well thought out," Yaoyorozu said, nodding. "Yes, I will do as you say. What will you do?"

"I'm going to try and get this 'bullet time' to work for me. I don't know how yet, but I have a couple of ideas that I want to try."

"Shouldn't you, like, do that in training first, my guy?" Ashido asked.

"I have; that's part of what I was doing this morning before I woke you all up. Hopefully, what I learned then will remain true here."

It sounded like a solid plan to Izuku. He was pretty sure that he'd be able to take out one of the bokoblins on his own. They weren't terribly fast, and he knew he could bounce around faster than a horse. He thought Ashido would do fine as well, and while he wasn't sure what Yaoyorozu would come up with, he was sure it would be helpful.

"Good, I'm glad you're on board, Midoriya. Let's commandeer some horses."

Izuku flushed and hurried down the hill after Link. When would he get control of his damn mouth?

It didn't take long for them to get into position behind some rocks as they observed their targets. The bokoblins, it turned out, were attempting to hunt a boar. In its panic, the poor animal had managed to entirely evade its hunters, juking and twisting this way and that and always managing to stay one step ahead. Izuku took a deep breath and waited for the right moment.

That moment came quickly. The nearest bokoblin turned its mount toward him, its attention focused on the boar. Izuku leapt from his hiding place and charged the creature. The horse whickered and pawed the ground nervously, and the bokoblin swung back around. Its bulbous blue eyes widened in surprise, and it shrieked at its friends before urging its horse into a trot toward him. Izuku readied his shield and, at the last moment, jumped to the side with it raised.

Clack!

The bokoblin's spear bounced off his shield as it rode past, and he smiled grimly. He activated One for All and let it flow through him before rocketing after the horse. Once he got close, he bounced to the side and launched himself at the creature. The bokoblin wheeled around and screeched again as Izuku collided with it shield-first, sending them both tumbling to the ground. He scrambled to his feet just in time to deflect another spear.

Clack!

"Sorry, Midoriya!" Ashido called, skating after the second bokoblin. Midoriya wanted to help, but he needed to take care of his target first. The monster had hauled itself to its feet and was eying him warily. He waited, shield up, and after a moment the bokoblin leapt wildly at him.

Thump!

Fwump!

The bokoblin collapsed, dazed. Izuku steeled himself before taking the bokoblin's spear and ramming it through the creature's chest. It gasped and stiffened before collapsing, its eyes going dim as purple smoke streamed from the wound. Izuku shuddered and pulled the spear out before looking around at the others.

Link's target lay motionless in the grass, a single arrow sticking up into the air. The man in question had captured the horse, a dusty dun, and was rubbing its nose, speaking to it softly. Beyond him, Ashido and Yaoyorozu were still fighting their opponent. As he watched, Yaoyorozu hurled something at the monster. It squawked in surprise as whatever she'd thrown wrapped around it, tying it up nicely before it toppled to the earth. The horse, now free of the monster's influence, seemed to settle immediately and began grazing.

Another successful encounter. Izuku wondered how long they could keep that up.

For now though, he needed to find his horse. The piebald had continued trotting after he had knocked the monster off, so he hurried after it. Thankfully, it hadn't wandered too far, stopping beneath a tree. It was straining up at something in the branches, and Izuku chuckled when he realized that there were apples up there. He quickly pulled off his pack and rummaged through the supplies. 'I know I've got one here somewhere… aha!' He pulled out an apple, sliced it in half, and carefully held one half out to the horse.

The horse didn't respond. He wondered how you got a horse's attention. Whistling? No, that might startle it. He could just say something like, "hey," but didn't know how it would react. Finally, he settled on clicking his tongue softly.

The horse's ears swiveled toward him, followed by the rest of its head. Izuku gulped and held his hand out further. The horse took a few steps forward, sniffing at it before it gently nipped the half in his hand and crunched down on it. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief and stepped closer to rub its side.

"That's a good boy. I b-bet you're happy to be away from that bokoblin, aren't you?" Izuku murmured. This is what they did in the movies, right? How the protagonist made friends with his new horse? He felt kind of silly, but it seemed to have worked for Link, so either he had seen the same movies Izuku had, or the movies had actually gotten something right. He laughed to himself; probably the latter, seeing as Link hadn't ever seen a movie before.

"Well boy, I don't know how to ride you, but I'm sure that my friends will be thrilled," Izuku said. The horse whuffed, but otherwise seemed content. Now the only question was how to get him back to the others. He looked around for ideas and froze when he saw a dark shape on a distant hilltop. The shape billowed in the breeze, and Izuku had the distinct impression that it was looking at him. After a moment, it swirled into a circle before disappearing entirely.

Izuku shuddered. If that was who he thought it was, their time might have just run out.