Hunt. Kill. Child of the Gods. Deception. Betrayal.

Go.

Kill the Demigod.

Well, Hatsume is a goblin. It's official. When I walked into the shop where she was working, I wasn't expecting, despite knowing better, for me to get blown back from an explosion. Ever since she discovered that she can imbue special effects into her creations, which she insisted wasn't "Enchanting" but just using the raw material's natural magical effects, she's been experimenting. And Hatsume experimenting leads to explosions. As for the weapon she made me? Apparently in many cultures emeralds are used to represent eternity, typically in… wedding rings. Hatsume said that the first time she made something with her Blacksmith skill, she didn't know what she was doing or how it worked. It was like there was a constant itching on her back that was leading her in a specific direction. Now though, she has figured out generally how it works and is having a blast.

I talked with Goddess Artemis about it, and she looked just as confused as I did about it. She said that the Blessing is pseudo-intelligent, and adapts based on the user. She confesses that, despite being a Goddess, she still doesn't know everything about it, as she didn't make the Blessing system. That was apparently Ouranos. She thinks that, because of the lack of knowledge and the lack of other Blessings in the world, it's trying to compensate by providing the necessary tools. She explains that it's likely where I got my skill Iroikí Parémvasi, which grants excellia without having to fight monsters, as there doesn't seem to be many instances of them in this world. She also says that, due to the lack of excellia available, level ups will be harder, so it grants skills earlier than it normally would.

She stressed that this was all conjecture though, but it's the best we've got so far. She did seem worried about something though, which in turn worried me. Anyway, back to the mess that is Hatsume Mei. And the fact that she is lying on my chest and we're both covered in soot.

"Hatsume, please get off." I mumbled, bright red. The girl giggled and got up, pulling me up with her and brushing both of us off.

"Sorry about that! I guess attempting to infuse the power of explosions into a weapon is harder than it sounds."

"That sounds pretty hard though." I pointed out, disturbed. She just jerked around in excitement.

"Yep!" I shook my head in fond confusion before following her in. Her workshop was a mess, covered in random spare parts, wires, circuits, and small, misshapen masses of metal. I had to dodge around, tip toeing around the dangerous materials. I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. A label. Sodium Metal. Except it was empty. There was a suspicious looking chunk of metal next to it.

"Hatsume… please tell me you're not keeping sodium metal… out in the open." Even I knew how reactive it was. However, instead of looking sheepish, Hatsume just whirls around and rushes towards it.

"That's where I left you!"

It was at that moment, I felt a little bit of my soul dissipate.

After Hatsume got a little cleaned up, we ended up just chatting together as she worked. She'd have me bring her heavy objects as a part of my training, only to pick them up like their nothing. Still astounds me that she is secretly ripped under all that… goblinness. Absolute gremlin. She's awesome though. The Blessing only made it worse, giving her already incredible nature strength a small boost. She's now about as strong as someone with a lesser strength quirk.

As for myself, my Blessing has been showing signs of stagnating. It seems my skill decided that I had earned enough excellia from working on the beach, so while my body doesn't quite match what I'm actually capable of yet. I also haven't gotten any magic yet… which is kind of upsetting, but understandable.

Izuku Midoriya

LV 1

STR G 202

VIT H 133

DEX G 203

AGI G 272

MAG I

MAGIC:

SKILL: Argonaut

Elios Passion

Iroikí Parémvasi

Suddenly, there's a shaking, and our conversation gets cut off as we realize there's an earthquake happening. It lasts only a few seconds, but it's intense, and multiple things shake off the shelves.

I barely manage to pull Hatsume down before something explodes, shrapnel flying over us at high speeds. I gulp. She gulps.

"Maybe you should organize your shop a bit…"

"Yeah…"

A moment passes, before we start to laugh, and stand up. The shop is in even more disarray.

"Here, let me help." The two of us worked together to clean up her shop, and by the time we were done, it was evening. I had fun. It was the first time since… Kacchan… that I hung out with a friend. She appreciates my mumbling, and can understand it. She is a bit of a spaz, but she cares. I give her a smile.

"I had fun, see you, Hatsume!" She dashes forward and pulls me into a hug.

"Y'know, I never really had friends before, Midoriya. People would call me weird, and wouldn't want anything to do with me. Things would explode around me, and people said I was bad luck. I'm… I'm really glad you're my friend. I hope I can be the best s-support engineer you could ask for!" She exclaims, pulling back to look me in the eyes with a massive smile. However, I couldn't help but notice that she stuttered on the word 'support.'

"Hatsume… do you really want to be a support engineer?" I asked.

"What? What are you asking, of course I do!? I mean… it's been my dream ever since I was a kid… but I guess…"

"Yes?"
"I… I want to be like Power Loader. A hero, who is also a support technician. But no one thought I could. I was told, 'Hatsume, your quirk is too weak to be a hero! You should stick to what you're good at! Hatsume, who would want to be saved by you? You're just a weirdo. A geek, a loser! Hatsume, heroes are supposed to be cool, not freaks!" Hatsume tears up a little.

"Hatsume… you… you could be a hero with me? After all, you have the Blessing too, like me. And… you're pretty much my only friend." She was quiet for a second. Suddenly, She started to cry, a choked hiccup ringing in my ears. She pulled me into a tight hug, and I felt my body freeze for a moment, before I tentatively wrapped my arms around her. Her tears flowed into my shoulder, and I rubbed her back. A moment passed. Maybe longer. Eventually, though, she broke away, rubbing her tears. But not before I felt her lips brush against my cheek.

"I… Thanks, Izuku. No one… no one's ever told me that. You're… you're a good friend." I smiled, my face bright red, but I chose to ignore it. It was likely just a thank you, nothing more. Right? Right.

"I was being honest, Hatsume-"

"Mei. Call me Mei."

"O-okay. M-Mei, I sincerely believe that you can be a hero with me! Besides, with your zoom quirk, you'd be a phenomenal sniper! Like that one hero, Lady Nagant! Wait, that's a bad example considering she was incarcerated… Snipe! Like Snipe! You could design your own capture weapons, your own sniper rifle! Oh, wait, our patron is Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. Maybe you could make a bow?" We locked eyes, and simultaneously we grinned, Mei's grin slightly more unhinged in my opinion.

"Explosive arrows!" They cheered, before laughing. After they calmed down, Mei frowned.

"But, how would I even do that? I don't have the proper materials. Or tools. Nor lasers."

"You forget my Dad. Wait, lasers?"

"...Izuku, marry me."

"You can't marry into my family just so you can have more access to my Dad."

"Dammit!" I gave her a grin, before I looked down at my non-existent watch.

"It's getting late, I should be getting home soon. Get some sleep, Mei, or I'll spike your coffee or something."

"You dare threaten my drink?"

"I dare."

"...Fine, I'll get six hours of sleep."

"Eight."

"Six."

"Ten."

"Eight- wait a minute!"
"Too late!"

"No!" With a grin, I walked out of her shop, wishing her a good night, and began my journey home, occasionally checking my phone for any recent hero news. Apparently there've been a lot of earthquakes and- holy shit, apparently a massive ravine appeared in the middle of Kamino Ward. It's been completely walled off by yellow tape, and multiple heroes are investigating, but apparently there's no sign of what caused it.

I sighed to myself, shot a text to my Mom letting her know I was on my way home, and tucked my phone back into my pocket, glancing up at the sky. It was dark now, the full moon shining brilliantly in the sky. I gave it a smile, and offered a small prayer to my Goddess. I felt a little warmth, and I smiled even wider. I know that, because she sealed her divine powers, it was likely just a placebo effect, but regardless, I felt like Goddess Artemis was watching over me.

Then, I was tackled to the floor. Goddess, why must you betray me so? I felt something sharp digging deep into me, and there, standing above me, was a half-bird half-woman, her talons buried inside my shoulder. Her eyes glowed red and her feathers were a mixture of black and red- wait, why am I focused on that? She's attacking me!

The lady gave off a loud screech. She spread her wings, and feathers shot out towards me. I barely managed to roll out of the way. She shot up into the sky in a blur of speed, and I felt my stomach drop as more razor sharp feathers shot out. I started to run, but I collapsed as not one, not two, but six feathers buried themselves into my legs, arms and back. I coughed harshly, and spit out blood. I fell completely, now laying on my stomach, as blood pooled around me.

Is this it? Is this.. Is this how I die? I flipped onto my back, the feathers digging deeper, and I stared into the full moon. I'm… I'm sorry, Goddess. I… no. No, I can't die. I haven't even become a hero yet! I can't leave Hatsu- Mei alone! I refuse. I forced myself to my feet, blood running down my body, the woman screeching at me and launching more feathers. I dodged to the side, rolling. Only one feather hit, burying itself in my calf. I winced, but pulled out the knife Mei gave me. Its greenish-silver metal seemed to glow. No wait, it was glowing.

Bells tolled. I reared back my hand, and threw. The knife sliced through the air in a beam of white light, going straight through the chest of the woman, and I felt myself panic for a second thinking I just killed someone, before she burst into a cloud of black dust, a single stone dropping to the floor. My knife stuck a wall, burying itself up to the hilt, and I felt myself sway, before falling over again. Shit. Blood loss.

Mei… I'm… I'm not too far… I just need… to call Mei… I fumbled around and pulled out my phone, my fingers slick with red. I quickly hit her name in my contacts. Please…. Please pick up…

"Izuku? Miss me already, huh?"

"M-Mei… help me…"

"Izuku? Izuku! What's wrong, where are you! I'm coming!"

"M-Mei… bleeding… health care… fuck… help.." I remember dropping my phone, my head pounding and my vision blurring. My hand fell to the floor. I felt cold… tired… where am I?

Everything went black.