Hey! Here's some news! I am now doing commissioned fanfics! You can check out my profile for information! If you want to make a commission, check out the guidelines for commission costs and rules, then contact me on either FFN, Ao3, or Twitter, all at AzureWriter83!
And yeah, it's been a while. College and personal projects took over, and I stopped using A.I. because it costs money and I don't have a job anymore. Which is totally unrelated to my announcement of commissions. But now we're back with another long chapter! Last time, Ryuko and Deku were captured. Will they be able to make it out? We'll see.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the series used in this. All series are owned by their own respective owners, such as Eiichiro Oda, Yusei Matsui, Kohei Horikoshi, and etc.
Izuku and Ryuko had thick cords wrapped around their torsos with their hands tied in front of them. Well, Ryuko had her hands tied in front of her. Izuku's arm was wrapped up and tied to his chest. They were being pulled along by the pirates that had ambushed them.
"This is your fault," Ryuko grumbled.
"How is it my fault?!"
"I don't know, I just don't want to blame myself."
"You-!"
"You lovebirds need to shut up!" Blaze said over her shoulder.
"We're not lovebirds!"
"Sure. You'll have lots of privacy in here," Blaze said as they came up to a wooden cage. The two were thrown inside before the door was slammed shut and locked. The pirates all snickered around the cage before going out to do their business. Izuku and Ryuko pushed themselves into sitting positions and sat next to each other awkwardly.
"So..." he said.
"So."
"We're stuck."
"Yep." Ryuko sighed as she looked at her hands. "If only they didn't take my Scissor Blade. I probably would be able to get out of here pretty easily."
"I'm not too sure about that, they did catch us pretty easily," Izuku said.
"I, uh, I got a trick up my sleeve," Ryuko said as she looked at her wrist. She tried to reach something, but could only grunt in frustration with how tightly her hands were tied. She opened her mouth to bite it, but glanced up at Izuku and stopped.
"Ryuko, use my power. We can escape easily if you do."
"I don't want to, with him seeing me," Ryuko said with red on her cheeks. Izuku blinked in confusion.
'Nana-san? What did he say?'
"She's refusing to use her uniform's power because of you. Not sure why."
"Either way, I guess it falls to you." Yoichi said.
'Right.' Izuku's mouth opened, and Ryuko watched as Black Whip slithered out of his mouth like a longer tongue, forming a forked tendril that began working on the cords tying his arm to his chest.
"That's gross." Ryuko wrinkled her nose in disgust as she watched the forked tendril of Black Whip wriggle and weave its way around the tightly bound cords.
"Eff ith worths, ith worths," Izuku said. It took a bit, especially when the two were fed with stale bread and expired juice that both didn't enjoy at all, and since he couldn't see the knot directly. But eventually, Izuku was able to free his arm.
"Ah... It's bad enough to not be able to use one arm," Izuku groaned as he stretched it. He covered his arm with his Gauntlet and pulled on the cords around his chest until they snapped.
'It'd also be easier if I had One for All,' he thought. He went over to Ryuko, who tensed slightly. But he knelt down and began working on her binds with his hand and Black Whip tongue. She still thought it was gross, but she couldn't deny that it worked well. Their combined strength made it easier to rip her cords, and the two stood in the wood cage together.
"I'm not going to thank you."
"That's fine. Working with each other is just common sense."
"So what now?"
"We break out, but I suggest an immediate tactical retreat."
"Why the hell would we run away?"
"We have very little assured advantages. It's smarter for us to immediately run. Ideally we meet back up with Shiota-sensei and Naegi-san."
"Yeah, forget that last part. Don't forget that we're enemies too. I'm not going back to a field where I don't have the advantage."
"Yet you want to fight these pirates in a similar field?" Izuku immediately countered. "Where there are more pirates compared to the three of my crewmates and I?"
Ryuko 'tsk'ed and growled to herself, her frustration palpable in the air. She folded her arms tightly across her chest, scowling at Izuku as if he were the source of all her troubles. The tension between them crackled like electricity, a tempestuous storm brewing beneath the surface of their forced alliance. Their eyes locked in a battle of wills, each daring the other to make a move.
"Ryuko. He has a point," Senketsu spoke up.
"Don't you even start, Senketsu."
"Ryuko."
"Agh, fine!" Ryuko threw her hands into the air. "We don't go back to your crew, but I'm fine with us leaving. But not without my Scissor Blade."
"We can return to retrieve it with a better-"
"Non-negotiable!" Ryuko cut Izuku off by jabbing his shoulder with her finger. Izuku put his hand up in surrender, making Ryuko huff and turn away. "Alright, we got a goal. What's the plan to get out and do it?"
"I'll take care of that," Izuku said as he knelt near the door. Black Whip slithered out of his hand and slipped through the gaps in the wood, tapping for the lock a few times before managing to slip inside. "Keep an eye out for incoming pirates."
"Right," Ryuko said as she punched her fists together. It took a bit, but Black Whip finally managed to pick the lock. The two carefully pushed the door up and slipped out.
"Wha- Hey!" one pirate said. Black Whip and Ryuko shot forwards and knocked her and her partner out. The teens dragged them away and hid them before sneaking through the base.
While this was going on, Makoto and Nagisa were jogging through the forest during the cover of the night. Makoto grunted as he stumbled and tripped over several unseen obstacles. Meanwhile, Nagisa was easily jumping and flipping through the branches and roots.
"How are you going through this place so easily?!" Makoto complained.
"I've been doing parkour and acrobatics ever since middle school, where I started my assassination training."
"Middle school? You know, now that you mentioned it, how, old are you?"
"38."
"Bullshit!"
"Ooh, language."
"You look 20!"
"Thank you."
"I mean, you're welcome, but-!"
"I told you I've been here for ten years and had kids."
"I mean, my parents had me when they were 21."
"Which would've still made me 31. And I told you I had a son and daughter."
"Yeah. For about three hours."
"I did not talk about them for three hours."
"Oh, and my baby girl has her mama's eyes, and she had this adorable laugh where she would just wave her arms and legs around!" Nagisa gushed over a cup of sake. Makoto and Izuku were sitting with pained smiles as they listened to the man go on and on about his daughter.
"Oh, and she loved singing, and she had this adorable singing voice-!"
"Okay!" Makoto interrupted by slamming his hand down. "How about we talk about something else?"
"Yeah! Like… Uh… What about your son?" Izuku tried. Makoto slammed an elbow into Izuku's side, but it was too late as Nagisa began gushing over his son.
"Okay, perhaps I did. But how can I not when my babies were such precious and beautiful and-"
'Oh, here we go,' Makoto sighed internally as Nagisa began gushing over his kids again, leaving the Ultimate Hope to stumble his way through the darkness.
The base being outdoors meant more freedom of movement, but also more openings to be seen. It didn't really help that despite Izuku clearly knowing more about tactical maneuvering, Ryuko didn't really want to listen to him. Several more pirates were knocked unconscious and dragged to be stuffed in tight places.
"I got this," Ryuko whispered as they finished hiding the tenth pirate.
"No, you don't," Izuku hissed. The two went up to a pile of barrels and peeked over them to survey the area. There were at least a hundred pirates, possibly even more. Izuku could tell that they had barely made a dent in the enemies' forces.
"We gotta check either the treasury or the captain quarters," Ryuko said. "Pirate scum like to keep unique stuff from people as trophies."
"That does make sense..." Izuku said. He looked around and spotted a larger tent with a candle glowing inside. "There. That's likely the captain's quarters."
"Don't really get why pirates would want to sleep on land instead of their ship," Ryuko commented. Izuku shrugged. The two were silent for a bit, seemingly waiting for something. Izuku turned to see Ryuko staring at him with a questioning look.
"Don't ask me! I'm not a pirate!" he protested.
"You have a bounty! You're either a pirate or you're a bandit!"
"Or it's just a misunderstanding!"
"Whatever, you just go get to the treasury, I'll check out the captain's quarters!" Ryuko said.
"Fine..." Izuku sighed and snuck off. Ryuko turned back to the tent, cracked her knuckles, and grinned.
"That girl is going to be the death of us," En said.
"Agh, don't be such a pessimist," Daigoro replied.
"RYUKOOOO! MATOOOOI!" Ryuko yelled as she ran off. Izuku froze and whipped around to stare in shock.
"Oh my god, she just ran in there," Yoichi deadpanned.
"Ninth, if you have to help her, I suggest you leave this to her and check the treasury quickly," the Second said.
"Not sure if that's a good idea, Kudo," Yoichi said.
"It's either that or be trapped alongside her when you're overwhelmed. If you're by yourself and away from the conflict, then you can probably catch them by surprise for a quick get-away."
"Alright!" Izuku said as he ran towards the ship, hiding from the pirates as they charged towards Ryuko.
"You sure she'll be fine?" Nana said.
The tomboy had stolen a couple of guns and was firing them wildly, forcing the pirates to take cover.
"Run, pirates! Run, pirates!" she yelled.
"Ryuko, this isn't helping," Senketsu said.
"Either that or she gets herself killed," the Third said.
"You're not helping, Bruce," Nana sighed.
Izuku used Float and Black Whip to sling himself onto the mast of the pirate ship, watching people run down the beach to confront the crazy girl. Once they were gone, he flung himself around to rocket himself through the wooden door and ended up in the hallway underneath.
"Hey!" a pirate yelled.
"Black Whip!" Izuku yelled back as he used the Quirk to grab the pirate and slam him into the other ones. He dashed past them and kicked down several doors, quickly scanning the contents before moving on. Finally, he kicked down another door to reveal a room filled with gold and jewels.
"Wow!" Izuku gasped before spotting the giant half of a scissor. "Got it!"
Black Whip snatched the Scissor Blade and Izuku held it in his hand. It was surprisingly heavier than he thought, and extremely sturdy. He examined it for a few seconds before running out the room with it in hand. He darted down the hall past several doors, before stopping, and slowly walking back to one door to look inside.
"Come on you cocksuckers! I'll rip your balls off!" Ryuko yelled as she fired at the pirates with a rifle in each hand.
"This girl is crazy!" one pirate said to the other. Blaze came out of the tent with a drunken walk and a bottle in her hand. She narrowed her eyes at the tomboy and took a swig before drawing a sword with a silver hook at the end of the handle. She made her way over to Ryuko, who noticed her and began firing at her. The pirate swung her sword, knocking the bullets into the air.
"Wha-" Ryuko growled and continued firing, even as Blaze began picking up speed. The hook knocked one rifle out of Ryuko's hand, and she had to block the follow-up sword swing. Blaze kicked Ryuko in her stomach, knocking her to the ground. Ryuko growled and got up to swing the rifle at her opponent, who blocked it with ease. Blaze used the hook to grab the rifle and toss it to the side before swinging at Ryuko, who jumped back and drop-kicked another pirate, stealing his rifle and aiming it at Blaze.
"You really still trying this?" Blaze said, unimpressed. A green blur shot past her, making her blink in surprise. Ryuko grunted as she was suddenly hoisted onto Izuku's shoulder as the Hero ran as fast as he could as the pirates around them finally started shooting them.
"What the hell?!"
"Sorry! I got your Scissor Blade!" Izuku said. Ryuko spotted it tied to Izuku's belt and grabbed it to shrink it down. She placed it between her teeth before aiming her rifle and firing back at the pirates, who took cover. Blaze scoffed as she deflected some bullets, not caring when they hit her crew instead.
"Hey buster! If you're going to carry me then run steadier so I can shoot those guys!" Ryuko snapped as she reloaded.
"Sorry!" Izuku said as he jumped into the air with Float. He shot Black Whip from his mouth to yank himself and Ryuko into the forest like green and red bullets. Blaze scoffed as she watched them disappear.
"Hunt them down!" She ordered.
The duo swung through the fruit trees before eventually coming to a stop. The greenhead looked around and visibly relaxed.
"I think we got away," Izuku sighed.
"That's great. Put me down."
"Ah-! Sorry!" Izuku apologized as he put Ryuko down. He bowed a couple times as she scoffed and leaned against a tree with her arms crossed. The two eventually fell silent with the Hero sitting down, still embarrassed. He had something wrapped around his body, making him look larger than he was.
"... So, why didn't you just leave?" Ryuko asked. Izuku blinked.
"What?"
"We didn't need to work together. We barely worked together. And I still think of you as my target. So why didn't you leave?"
"Why do I need a reason to help someone?"
Ryuko blinked and stared at him in surprise. Izuku had answered immediately. His voice had no tone that she expected. No confidence, no deception, no sass, nothing. It was completely casual, matter-of-fact, as if he was answering what color his hair was. Ryuko couldn't help but be taken aback by Izuku's response. She found herself momentarily silenced, her mind grappling with the unexpected delivery.
"It would seem that our new friend here isn't the pirate you thought," Senketsu spoke up.
"I... guess."
"If I may," Izuku said as he stood up. Ryuko snapped back to attention. "I don't think that the pirates are going to let us go just because we escaped. Since they outnumber us, maybe 50 to 1, maybe it'd be beneficial for us to work together for now. Just to be safe."
"I concur, Ryuko. Especially considering that not only are the two of you escaped prisoners, but you are escape prisoners with information that is quite valuable to them," Senketsu chimed in.
"Augh..." Ryuko ruffled her hair before giving a sour look. "Alright. So what's the plan then?"
"Hm..." Izuku thought to himself. He looked around before lighting up. He turned back to Ryuko.
"How about we lead them to what they want?"
"... Wha?"
"Huh..." Makoto said out loud. Nagisa stopped on a branch and looked back down at his friend.
"What is it, Naegi-kun?"
"I don't know. I just get the feeling that the kids are in a situation of some kind," Makoto said. He stopped in place.
'The kids?!'
"Ha! You're old!" the voice in his head laughed.
'Oh be quiet!'
"Hm. Do you think we should hurry? Do you have the map?"
"Yeah, right here." Makoto reached into his coat and pulled out the rolled up map.
"Caw!" A bird squawked as it swooped down and snatched the map out of his hand before flying into the night sky. The two men stared after the bird in silence.
"Why?"
"Haaaa... Moonwalk." Nagisa chased the bird into the sky as Makoto ran after them on the forest ground.
Blaze and her crew cut their way through the forest as day began to break through the leaves and vines. One group was carrying a large wooden crate between them. Some had guns and swords at the ready, surrounding their captain. The others were trackers of the crew who could see broken branches and footsteps in the dirt, specifically ones that looked as though they had been made with armored boots.
"They're close, Cap'n!" one pirate called.
"Good. Find them! They'll lead us to my treasure whether they like it or not!" Blaze said as she spun her sword skillfully. The crew continued to make their way through the trees, before suddenly coming to a stop.
"Cap'n! That's-!"
"Ancient ruins!" Blaze grinned. In front of them were white bricks covered in moss, some as pillars, some as crumbled walls. All leading to a dark tunnel made of these same mossy bricks.
"Cap'n! The tracks lead inside!" a tracker said.
"So that's their plan! To steal the treasure before I can, and then leave!" Blaze said. She pointed her sword at the entrance with a wild grin. "To hell with that! Find them and rip 'em to shreds!"
"Yeah!" the pirates roared and charged towards the entrance. The ground shook under their feet as they rushed towards the tunnel, but suddenly, one of them stepped on a brick that sank down. He looked down in surprise.
"Wha-?"
An explosion suddenly rocked the area. The other pirates stumbled and collapsed before they looked at where their own had stepped on the trap. Blaze stared in surprise before shaking her head.
'Of course there'd be traps.'
"Keep going, you idiots!"
"But captain!"
"Die to those or die to me!" she threatened. The crew immediately shut up and continued to go through the tunnel, more carefully this time. Blaze cautiously looked around before following her crew inside, making sure to keep a safe distance behind them. She didn't know what those two brats were up to, but she wasn't going to fall for their traps. She didn't notice that a couple stone tablets were carved with letters, and smashed to pieces.
"Run!" Izuku shouted as he and Ryuko skidded around a corner and raced down the corridor. Behind them, a massive boulder the size of five cars rolled after them with the intent to crush them. Ahead of them, a heavy stone door was sliding into place.
"Sh*t!" Ryuko cursed. Izuku used Black Whip and Float to shoot himself towards the door and slid under it. He raised his hands up and caught it, holding it in place. Ryuko ran as fast as she could. She could feel the rumbling from the boulder become closer before she was able to hurl herself under the door. Izuku pushed himself out from under the stone door and into the room, letting the door fall shut and block the boulder, which slammed into the obstacle, shaking the ruins.
"Woo! What a rush!" Ryuko said as she jumped to her feet. Izuku got up as well and dusted himself off.
"We really lucked out. Those stone tablets gave us the, admittedly more dangerous, short route. Meanwhile, the pirates are taking more time and are encountering more traps," he said.
"Let's hope our luck keeps up," Ryuko said.
"Fortunately, I think I managed to find the pattern."
"You did?"
"One… two… three…" Izuku counted off. "... eight… nine… ten!"
He pressed a brick down with his foot. A trio of axes were flung towards him, but Ryuko quickly deflected them with her Scissor Blade.
"And then… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!" Another brick sank. A sharp spear shot out, only for Izuku to catch it and yank it out of the ground.
"And finally… 3, 6, 9, 12, 15!" A section of the wall opened to swing a pair of massive blades on a pendulum, but Izuku hurled the spear into the gear system, causing it to jam. Ryuko couldn't help but whistle.
"Not bad!" she said. "I guess I can compliment you for that at least."
"Thank you." The two teens dashed down the hall, this time prepared for the traps. At least until another boulder, bigger than the last, dropped down and rolled after them, prompting them to run away while screaming in, uh, courage.
"Argh!" a pirate yelled in pain as he was shot down by arrows. Blaze tsked as she watched another one of her crewmates fall into the ravine below the stone bridge. She had already lost a good chunk of her minions, and the ruins were taking more from her.
"Move it!" she barked, forcing her crew to continue moving.
"On your left!" Ryuko called as she jumped off the wall and sliced a cannon shot in half with a single swing, protecting Izuku.
"Thanks!" Izuku grunted as he kicked another cannonball away, letting it blow up the portion of a wall. The two came up to a heavy stone door. The two exchanged looks before taking their stances.
"Vast Gauntlet!"
"Shear Shockwave!" The two attacks exploded the door, reducing it to stone fragments. The two walked into a large cavern, one where sunlight was shining in, showing off a rather lavish looking area.
"Wow, this place looks pretty cool!" Ryuko said as she looked around. Izuku was frowning and looking down at the remains of the door.
'Now that I think about it, we're being pretty disrespectful towards ancient history,' he thought.
"Eh, it's not our history."
"I'm pretty sure that's the same thing that the Mongols said."
"No, you're thinking of the Nazis."
"No, you're talking about English colonizers in the 1400s."
"You mean the 1600s."
Izuku ignored the Vestiges talking in his head in favor of joining Ryuko in looking around the area, trying to take the entire area in.
"Hey, where's the treasure?" Ryuko said. She couldn't see any of the promised treasure chests.
"I don't know. It's strange. Maybe it's all gone?"
"Well in that case, Ima just turn you in instead."
"Eh?! Even after we worked together?!"
"5 million beris! But don't worry! You can pray for mercy while we're kicking Blaze's ass!" Ryuko said.
"You sadist!"
"Ryuko."
"Oh come on, Senketsu, I'm just having some fun. I mean, I'm semi-serious, but I'm also having some fun!" Ryuko grinned at Izuku with her Scissor Blade on her shoulders.
"You sadist!"
"It's not just that. Look at the light on the walls."
"The light on the walls?"
"Huh?" The two teens looked at the walls, where shimmering light was present.
"That light. It's water reflection," Izuku realized. He made his way to the edge of the platform and looked down. He choked.
"Ah-! Gik!"
"What the hell are you looking- HOLY!" Ryuko choked when she joined Izuku at the edge. Below them was clear blue water, the kind you'd see in an advertisement for a tropical island, standing still. And under that water were piles upon piles of gold.
"Now that's a jackpot!" Ryuko grinned. She could see gold coins, gold artifacts, everything was gold. There was enough to cover the entire floor of the massive cavern.
"Treasure chest my ass! That right there is an entire fortune!" she said.
"G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-!" Izuku stammered, still in shock.
"Now that's a payday!"
"Oh, that Uraraka girl would die on sight."
"Ninth! Don't get distracted!"
"Oh, right!" Izuku slapped his cheek and turned to Ryuko, unwrapping the thing around his body. "Matoi-san! We need to get ready!"
"Oh yeah!" The two ran to different sides of the cavern.
"Aaaah!" another pirate yelled as they plunged into the depths. Blaze growled as she looked at her crew, now reduced to only four more members. She was even forced to carry the wooden package herself. But she would complain later. Standing in front of them was a long path with concrete pillars on either side, leading to large stone doors. She could tell that it was exactly what she was looking for.
"Alright! Open the door!" she said.
'Dammit, the captain's gone crazy!' one crewmate thought to himself as he and another member went to push the heavy doors open. 'I can't believe she thought that taking on ancient ruins for treasure was a good idea! We've only searched for buried treasure before!'
The stone doors slowly creaked open, and Blaze dragged the large wooden crate behind her with her crew following her inside. She looked around, eyes narrowed and searching. Not seeing anything, she began to grind her teeth together in frustration.
'Shit! Was it already too late?' she thought.
"Captain!" one crewmate called. "Look in the water!"
"The water?" Blaze repeated as she walked to the edge. Four of the five pirates didn't notice the crewmate who called out suddenly getting snatched.
"Amazing!" one of the remaining three crewmates gasped. Blaze grinned wildly at the sight of the mountains of gold under the surface of the water.
"My treasure!" she said. The two crewmates exchanged looks, but blinked in confusion when they realized something was wrong.
"Alright boys, find a way down and-" Blaze turned, and stopped. She turned her head side-by-side, not seeing anyone with her.
"What the hell?" she muttered as she drew her sword. Something snapped, and she whirled around as a red blade swung down at her. The two weapons collided with a shower of sparks. Ryuko grinned down at Blaze before kicking off and landing back, Scissor Blade at the ready.
"You're still here?!" Blaze growled. "Here for my treasure?!"
"We found it first, bitch! It's my treasure!" Ryuko retorted. Blaze opened her mouth to respond, but a sudden impact slammed into her side, sending her over the edge of the bridge. She yelled in anger as she fell, only to land in a net made of thick cords. The net immediately wrapped around her with bolas, and she swung back and forth by a cord. She spotted her crewmates also hanging under the bridge.
"These are-!"
"Some of your stuff!" Ryuko said over the edge. "Black Whip here helped himself to some of them, but we're nice enough to return them to you!"
"We knew that your crew outnumbered us, and we both are currently unable to fight at our best. But the ruins took care of most of them for us. Your reckless greed helped in your own defeat," Izuku said.
"Shut the hell up!" Blaze spat up to Izuku. "Let me up!"
"Forget it!" Ryuko called back down. Blaze growled before wiggling around slightly. Izuku and Ryuko walked up to the other side of the bridge. Ryuko looked down at the treasure while Izuku looked at the large package that Blaze had been dragging with her.
'What is this? Is it a weapon? Treasure collecting device?' he thought.
"Oi, Black Whip. Either help me get this money or tie yourself up for me to collect your bounty," Ryuko called. Izuku started and turned to Ryuko.
"Uh, sure," he said as he walked over. He glanced back at the large package before walking over to her.
Izuku used Black Whip to hold her by her waist as Ryuko went down to the water below. She was up to her waist in water, and she quickly filled a bag to the brim with the wet coins and antiques. She grinned at how heavy the bag felt before tugging on Black Whip.
"Alright, lift me up!" she called up.
"Right away!" Izuku said as he began to retract Black Whip.
CRACK!
Izuku immediately tensed up and spun around. To his shock, Blaze was on the bridge, standing over the remains of the package. And on her shoulder was a massive stone barrel aimed at him.
"Give me my treasure!" she shouted before firing. A massive cannonball flew out the end with a boom and rocketed towards the Hero. Izuku immediately dropped Ryuko, causing her to fall with a yell, and wrapped himself up in Black Whip. The resulting explosion caused the cavern to shake, causing dust to fall.
"Hey Shiota…? Can… the first thing… you teach me… be how to fly?" Makoto gasped as he tried to catch his breath.
"I mean, there's a couple of things you'll need to learn first, but sure, I can teach you how to use Moon Walk eventually," Nagisa said as he finished skinning the dead bird. "You got the map?"
"Yeah- Yeah. I- I got the map," Makoto said as he caught his breath. He pulled it out before quickly holding it to his chest, looking around the area. When nothing appeared, he held it up and opened it. "Uh, since we mostly went straight, I think we just need to go-"
Boom!
The two looked up to see the mountain, a small amount of dust rising from the top. They exchanged looks.
"Over there," Makoto said. Nagisa quickly put Makoto on his back and shot into the air, flying over to the area.
Ryuko landed with a splash and a shout, quickly scrambling to her feet. She looked up and gasped at the sight of the smoke.
"That bitch! She must've broken free!" she realized.
"YAAAAHHH!" the pirates yelled as they charged through the water towards the surprised Ryuko.
She immediately expanded the Scissor Blade and parried the first slash before spinning and slashing the pirate across the back, causing him to yell. She spun and kicked water into the next pirate's face before slamming the handle of the Scissor Blade into his stomach, knocking him into the third and swung the bag of gold to knock them away with the force of a wrecking ball. The fourth and fifth tried to impale her from above by jumping up, but Ryuko hurled the gold into them, knocking them off-balance.
"Shear Shockwave!" Ryuko yelled as she unleashed the attack, sending the duo flying. She looked up as she heard Izuku grunt and yell as he and Blaze fought. She looked down at the gold for a second, before hearing one of the conscious pirates grunt as he tried to get up.
"You bitch-!" he grunted. Ryuko's shoe slammed into his face, and she gave a yell of effort as she launched herself upwards, sending the pirate back into the water. She flew up and stabbed the Scissor Blade into the side of the bridge before flipping onto and off of it to land on the stone platform.
"Guh!" Izuku grunted as he flew back and landed on his back. He groaned before Danger Sense flared. He immediately rolled to the side, dodging Blaze as she repeatedly stabbed at him with her sword. She yelled as she slashed, forcing Izuku to throw himself away with his good hand. The swing left a gash in the stone platform. Izuku landed near Ryuko as she recovered the Scissor Blade.
"She's strong," he said.
"Tell me about it. I'm pretty confident about my strength, but hers is almost unnatural," she replied as she eyed Blaze.
'If I could just use One for All, Gear Shift, or even Fa Jin… In terms of the Quirks I can rely on consistently… Float is too slow for that cannon without One for All, and Smokescreen will only be detrimental for both sides… Danger Sense and Black Whip are my key to victory,' he thought.
"Don't encourage Daigoro. But you're right," Nana said. "She is strong, but between Black Whip and Danger Sense, you can keep ahead of her with speed and range. Make sure to fight smart."
"Vast Gaunt: Dark Stream!" Izuku shouted as he launched Black Whip. The tendrils lashed out violently towards Blaze, who used her sword to quickly deflect it. Despite holding a massive weapon on her shoulder, she was still fast enough and strong enough to deflect the Quirk. She smirked and fired another shot from the cannon. Black Whip immediately closed around the cannonball, but it exploded, breaking the tendrils. Izuku hissed slightly as he felt pain flare in his arm and recoiled from it.
"Gotcha!" Blaze said, suddenly in front of him. Izuku jerked back as the sword came up, but sparks and a metallic clang filled the air as Ryuko intercepted the sword. She followed it up with a yell and another slash, only for Blaze to jump back with a growl.
"Black Whip! We'll team up properly for now!" she said.
"Sounds good to me!" Izuku said as Vast Gauntlet covered his arm again. He lowered his voice so Blaze didn't hear. "We'll go for a pincer attack. Dash right and then dash left, and attack her from the side."
"Sounds good!"
"On my mark!"
"Die already!" Blaze shouted as she fired again.
"Mark!" The two teens dashed forwards, ducking under the cannonball and letting it explode against the cavern wall, causing it to rumble again.
Izuku and Ryuko were like a pair of green and red blurs that immediately crossed, causing Blaze to whirl around. She tried to fire at Ryuko, but the Scissor Blade wielder slid under the projectile. She tried to slash at Izuku, but the Hero blocked it with his Gauntlet.
'Matoi-san is faster than me, even if I have more agility. On the other hand, I'm stronger than her! Which makes it better for me to fight her sword, and for Matoi-san to fight her cannon!' Izuku thought.
But it would only be an advantage on a surface level. Izuku grunted as Blaze swung her sword with enough speed and precision to parry his own blows and tendril attacks while leaving cuts over his uniform. And despite the size of the cannon, she was still swinging it with enough speed to block Ryuko's swings, knocking her off balance. Ryuko grunted as the large weapon rammed into the Scissor Blade again, knocking her backwards. Blaze took aim at her, and Izuku quickly sprung into action.
'Black Whip: Pinpoint Focus!' he thought as he opened his hand and shot a single precise tendril that sliced through the air towards her. But Blaze lifted her sword, causing the thin tentacle to bounce off of the side of the scimitar. The scimitar spun in her grip and suddenly the blade was on the verge of cutting his face. Izuku's eyes widened as he immediately began throwing himself backwards and dodged, only for the hook to come around and plummet towards his chest.
'Float! Smokescreen! Black Whip!' he thought. He immediately spat out another tendril at Blaze as his body began floating and ejected a purple cloud of smoke. At the same time, he felt his costume being pulled on and away from Blaze. Blaze dodged the tendril, but received a nick to her cheekbone, causing her eyes to widen. Meanwhile, Ryuko dragged Izuku away from Blaze, causing the two to hit the ground and roll to their feet. They immediately took their stance again, facing Blaze. She growled at receiving an injury from the two.
"Thank you, Matoi-san," Izuku panted slightly.
"We're even now," she said while breathing just as heavily. The two eyed Blaze warily as she took a moment to breathe as well. She was in much better condition than the two.
"Ryuko. It's not time for shame right now!" Senketsu said. Ryuko gritted her teeth, before sighing.
"Fine!" she said loudly. Izuku glanced over at her in surprise, especially when she threw her Scissor Blade upwards.
Ryuko grabbed something on her wrist and pulled it off, and suddenly her uniform came alive. Izuku gasped in shock as Senketsu expanded, writhed, quickly taking on the appearance of a monster before slamming his jaws on top of Ryuko. A puff of smoke made him close his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, his face immediately became red.
Ryuko was suddenly in a very, very skimpy outfit, with a face just as red as his. The most amount of skin covered was her legs with their thigh-high heeled boots. Other than that, her entire torso was bare save for a pair of suspenders that just barely held the top over her chest. Said top had a pair of eyes, one covered and the other yellow with an orange pupil like her usual outfit. Blaze blinked at this before throwing her head back and laughing.
"Shut up! This is exactly why I didn't want to use this!" Ryuko snapped.
"Ryuko, calm down. You're on a time limit, especially since you already fought for a bit before!" Senketsu immediately said. Ryuko grumbled before looking at Izuku, who quickly looked away.
"If you got something to say then say it," she grumbled.
"Uh… You look nice, but I have to wonder who designed that," Izuku mumbled, his face bright red.
"That's none of your business!" she snapped. She turned back to Blaze. "We got this now."
"Right!" Izuku immediately got into his own fighting stance. "We'll try a different tactic this time. I go high, you go low. I'll fight at a range, try to keep her off balance. You use your weapon to try to disarm her or take her out."
"Alright!" Ryuko said as she got into her stance. Blaze sneered and gestured for the two to bring it.
"Black Whip: Quintuple Pinpoint Focus!" Izuku said as he fired five tendrils from his fingers. Blaze parried them, but Izuku kept up the pressure.
"Black Whip: Black Net!" Izuku swung the web of tendrils, only for Blaze to blast it. Ryuko yelled as she charged.
"Shear Shockwave!" she yelled as she swung the Scissor Blade. Blaze scoffed as she went to block.
"A fancy name is not going to-!" The red weapon slammed into the sword, and Blaze was sent flying across the bridge. The cannon fell out of her grip as she landed hard on her back. She pushed herself up and gaped in shock.
'What the hell?! It's like she became over 10 times stronger!' she thought. Ryuko smirked despite her blush and charged again. Behind her, Izuku (trying to ignore the back view) launched himself into the air, using Float to stay in place.
"Black Whip: Spider Legs!" he said as more tendrils came out of his palm. This time, they were more rigid, bending as opposed to curving, and stabbed downwards. Blaze rolled over to the cannon and used it to block them, before properly bracing herself and catching Ryuko's next swing.
"Scarlet Stream!" Ryuko yelled as she attacked with a fast cross-shaped slash, leaving red streams from the speed. Blaze grunted as she was knocked back slightly from the force.
"Black Whip: Twin Spear!" Izuku said as he fired thick tendrils from two fingers towards Blaze. This time, the thicker tendrils were stronger and harder to deflect than Pinpoint Focus, knocking her sword higher up.
'Fuck!' she thought as Ryuko grinned.
"Crimson Cleave!" she yelled as she dashed forwards and unleashed a powerful and deadly diagonal slash. Blaze coughed up blood as the gash appeared on her clothes and skin before falling backwards, landing on her back. Izuku dropped to the ground as Ryuko shifted her weight, waiting cautiously, before relaxing when Blaze didn't get up.
"Good. You ended the fight quickly. I'd say that you have enough blood for another 2 minute push before you'd pass out," Senketsu said as he changed back to normal. Ryuko sighed as she fanned her cheeks.
"Hello there!" a voice sounded out.
"Shiota-sensei?" Izuku said in surprise as Nagisa dropped down from the ceiling, Makoto on his back.
"Hello Midoriya-kun. Sorry, we had a bad feeling as we were doing some exercise," Nagisa said. "Not to mention the explosions that came from here. But you and young Matoi took care of things pretty well here."
"Are you guys okay?" Makoto asked in concern.
"Yeah, I think so," Izuku said. He looked over at Ryuko, who was eyeing the group. He walked over to her and held out a hand.
"Nice moves," he said. Ryuko stared at him for a bit before taking his hand and shaking it.
"You're not so bad. At fighting at least," she said. Nagisa smiled at the sight, before suddenly perking up, his eyes alert. Makoto felt uneasy and turned to see Blaze pulling out a syringe. His eyes widened and he immediately pulled out his pistol and fired at her, only for Blaze to stab herself and deflect the bullet with her sword. The syringe emptied its contents into her, and she howled as she suddenly sprang up as if something that launched her into the air.
"Black Whip: Twin Spear!" Izuku immediately fired the twin tendrils from his fingertips, only for Blaze to deflect more easily. Ryuko hurled the Scissor Blade at her, only for Blaze to catch it. Ryuko yanked on the thin string attached, but she couldn't budge her. Blaze scooped up the cannon.
"You're dead- gack!" Blaze was cut off as someone suddenly appeared and kicked her chin, knocking her head upwards, causing her to release her grip on the Scissor Blade.
"I will ask you not to bully my student anymore!" Nagisa said before using Shave to dodge Blaze's retaliation swing. She chased the blue-haired man, swinging wildly before Nagisa planted a foot in her face.
"Shave!" Blaze's head snapped back as Nagisa blurred out of sight again. He appeared to slam his feet on her shoulders before using Shave again, knocking her forwards. He was frowning slightly.
'Based on how she fought Midoriya-kun and young Matoi, she should be relatively easy to fight. Not too much more than Ridley. But, this pressure…'
"Get some!" Makoto shouted as he fired repeatedly at the pirate. Blaze snarled as she deflected the bullets before firing at Makoto, who yelped as he fell flat on the bridge to avoid the cannonball.
"Bastards!" she yelled as she spun to shoot at Nagisa, only for the assassin to be crouched near her. She grunted in surprise as his foot impacted the bottom of the cannon, sending it upwards. Nagisa attacked with a flurry of upside down kicks that knocked the cannon out of her grasp before kicking her away. She skidded to a stop and yelled in anger as the cannon fell over the edge. She charged at Nagisa, who immediately brought his fists up to his chin. His blue eyes darted around, spotting Izuku and Makoto watching him.
'Since Naegi-kun asked me to teach him, perhaps I should give him a demonstration of something he can learn. Midoriya-kun can benefit from this as well,' he thought.
Blaze slashed at Nagisa, who ducked under the attack. He noticed the hook on the handle and swayed back, letting it pass in front of him. Blaze whipped out a knife and swung at Nagisa, who ducked under it again. Blaze attacked furiously, only for Nagisa to sway around and from the blades before one fist shot forwards and impacted her nose, causing her head to snap back. She stumbled back, shaking her head before looking up and blocking another jab.
Nagisa repeatedly jabbed as Blaze blocked before throwing a hook, another blow she blocked. She tried to attack, but was dodged before he continued to jab at her, his fist becoming faster, before he attacked with another hook that she blocked again. She tried to attack again, only for Nagisa to this time follow up with an uppercut on her chin, knocking her head upwards. She snarled as she recovered and attacked again, only for Nagisa to continue weaving around the blades with his upper body forming a side-ways 8 with its motion.
"He's boxing? I didn't expect that," Kudo said.
'He's so fast, even without using Shave!' Izuku thought.
"Dammit, stand still!" Blaze shouted as she slashed wildly, only for Nagisa to slither through the slashes. Blaze was immediately hit with a fast barrage of blows. Jab jab straight, jab hook straight, jab upper straight, jab hook jab, hook straight upper, hook hook upper. The punches were sending Blaze reeling.
She stumbled back and roared as she slashed at Nagisa again, prompting him to side-step. She whirled around, only to receive another jab to the face. Nagisa hit her repeatedly with hooks and straights, causing her entire body to contort with the blows. She tried one more thrust, only for Nagisa to weave around it again. Her eyes widened as she perceived his fist approaching her face and impacted with her cheek. Her entire face contorted as the impact caused her entire body to get sent flying.
'Damn!' Makoto thought as she landed. He frowned. 'Did Sakakura hit me like that? Or was it just a straight? Augh, I don't remember.'
"He probably just needed to sneeze on you to topple you over you useless bastard," the voice in his head said.
'You're mean.'
"Bitch, you know what I am."
"Argh!" Blaze yelled as she continued to swing. Nagisa continued to weave around with a slight frown before dropping the guard and attacking with a sudden snap kick to cause Blaze's face to snap upwards. He spun and kicked her in the gut, slamming his foot into her torso.
"Shave." Nagisa blurred again to send Blaze flying back. He reappeared behind her.
"Moonwalk!" Nagisa flipped to kick Blaze into the air before dashing after her. He pulled out his own knife and stabbed her through the shoulder before blurring again, letting blood spill out like a fountain. The assassin landed on his feet while the pirate slammed onto the bridge with a loud curse. Ryuko was gaping at the sight.
"What the hell? That small guy is kicking her ass without a problem!" she said. Senketsu's eye looked closely at Nagisa.
"He is very skilled," he said. Blaze got up only to receive a fast barrage of kicks to the knee, stomach, liver, and temple, staggering her again. She growled before pulling out and throwing several bombs at Nagisa, who disappeared with another Shave. The bombs went off with a tremendous explosion, with Nagisa even reappearing as he's knocked off-course from the force. He landed on his feet as the other three rolled up to him, having been knocked over. But the rumbling wasn't stopping. Nagisa glanced around him as rubble began to fall.
"Who would've thought? Setting off mini-MOBs in an ancient temple isn't the best idea. Everyone! Out!" Nagisa barked. Ryuko wanted to argue, but it only took a second to see that the cavern was about to collapse. She tsked and followed the crew out, Blaze panting slightly as she watched them leave.
"Heh, that's right! Run! This treasure is mine! It's all m-" She was cut off as a portion of the cavern's ceiling collapsed on top of her. As such, she didn't see a blue blur dashing around.
"Above!" Makoto shouted. Izuku yelled as he threw a Black Whip enhanced uppercut to shatter a piece of rubble.
"Young Matoi! Dash left!" Nagisa said. Ryuko grunted as she leapt out of the way of another trap's projectile.
"You two got an eye for danger!" she said.
"There's a pattern to these traps, and I'm good at spotting those," Nagisa said as he used another Shave kick to launch a piece of rubble into another.
"I'm just trying not to die!" Makoto said as he barely dodged another piece of rubble. He looked up and spotted a light.
"There! We got an opening!"
"Run! Run! Run!" Nagisa yelled. The quadrio sprinted towards the opening. Ryuko growled as something landed in front of the opening and drew her Scissor Blade as Izuku pulled back his fist.
"Shear Shockwave!"
"Vast Gauntlet!" Once again, the two busted through a wall to an opening. The four busted out as dust exploded out from behind them. Nagisa landed on his feet and skidded to a stop. Izuku and Ryuko landed on their knees and used their hands to catch themselves. Makoto fell on his face.
"Oh man…" Izuku panted slightly. The four fell into silence.
"So. Did you two have fun?" Nagisa said awkwardly. Izuku and Ryuko glanced at each other.
"... We didn't get any treasure."
"And we both made it to the room at the same time."
"... Hm. Well, we can talk more once we get back to town," Nagisa said. The two walked off with the two adults following. A while passed, with the sky becoming bright as the sun hung in the sky, before it eventually set. And from the rubble of the door, a hook broke through.
"Mrmph…" Ryuko yawned as she stretched. Night had fallen once again, but the teen had slept through the entire day.
'Gonna have to stay up tomorrow to get my sleep schedule back,' she thought. Her nose twitched and she looked around.
"Someone cooking something?"
"Hello there," Nagisa said as he turned a cooked bird. Ryuko was completely still as she realized that the crew was gathered at a campfire nearby.
"Y-yo," Izuku, now in a black tank top and jeans, said with an awkward wave. Ryuko immediately jumped into a fighting pose, prompting the green-haired teen to do the same.
"Ryuko, you just woke up, give it a rest," Senketsu spoke.
"Please listen to the talking clothes, I just got done cleaning Midoriya's," Makoto sighed as he gestured to Izuku's hero costume, roughly folded.
"Why don't you join us? It's been over 12 hours since you ate," Nagisa invited. "You slept for a while."
"Why are you hanging around my place?" Ryuko said as she finally dropped her stance and accepted an offered fish.
"A few reasons. We were worried about Blaze and her crew. I'm not sure what happened to Blaze for sure, but her crew is still around, so we wanted to keep our guard up. It wouldn't sit right with any of us if we just left you alone," Izuku explained as he sat down.
"The second reason is because of this," Nagisa said as he tossed over a small brown bag. Ryuko caught it in surprise, especially when she heard jingling. She opened it and saw it was filled with gold coins.
"O-oi. What is this?"
"Oh, I doubled back for a bit to grab some gold. It'd be a shame for the game to end with neither of you getting your prize. I managed to grab an even amount, so the two of you got a shared prize, considering you both admitted to reaching the cavern at once," Nagisa said.
"There's twenty coins in there," Makoto said.
'Forty in total?' Ryuko thought. She frowned with a slight growl.
"A-are you dissatisfied?" Izuku asked. To his surprise, Ryuko pulled out some gold and tossed it to him. He caught them, and counted four coins.
"U-uh…?"
"You're gonna share that gold with your crew, aren't you?" Ryuko grunted. "And I'm going to use my gold with Senketsu, even if he doesn't need it. Sharing it between three versus sharing it between two means that I have more gold than you. Split it amongst five, and now it's actually a shared prize."
"O-oh. I see…" Izuku trailed off. Nagisa propped his chin up with an amused smile while Makoto had a closed eye smile. Ryuko noticed this and immediately blushed with an angry expression.
"Oi! Stop looking at me like that! I have standards, you know!"
"You're a nice person, huh?" Izuku said. Ryuko immediately turned to him.
"Why are you saying it like that's a surprise?!"
"E-eh?! I-I mean, you keep threatening to take me in!"
"Yeah! Cause you're a pirate!"
"I'm not a pirate!"
"Your ugly face is on a wanted poster!"
"I'm not ugly!"
"Yeah, I'm sure your momma made sure you believed that lie!"
"Don't call my mom a liar!"
"Sure, but I'll call you a wimp!"
"Don't call me a wimp!"
"What, you think just cause you had a few good ideas that anyone could come up with you're better than me?!"
"Why do you people always assume that?!"
"What do you mean, you people?!"
"Your name is Ryuko Matoi, I know for a fact that we're both Japanese!"
"So you're an Otherworlder too? How about we see who came from thicker cloth?!" Ryuko said as she got up and rolled up her sleeve. Izuku got up as well.
"Why are you always so battle-hungry?!"
"I dunno! Something about you makes me want to fight you!"
"Kids, kids, calm down, you're kicking sand onto the fire," Nagisa said, exasperated as he held the food out of the way. Makoto put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
"Shiota, leave this to me," Makoto said seriously as he pointed a thumb to himself. "I'm also the adult of the group after all.
"Ha… Very well. I'm going to sleep," Nagisa sighed as he walked away from the bickering teens. Makoto turned back to the duo and rolled his neck, cracking his knuckles.
"There is only one thing to do," he said with a serious look in his eye.
"It's not a sauna, but Midoriya shouldn't be in one anyways. Now settle it like this! First one out loses!" Makoto said before slamming the door shut. Ryuko and Izuku were awkwardly sitting at opposite ends of a hot spring, with Izuku's cast being completely wrapped in plastic, and both in full body swimsuits. The two sat in total silence, eyeing each other. Ryuko crossed her arms as Izuku leaned back. He wouldn't say it, but he was quite glad he spent a long time in the same class as the female classmates.
"..."
"..."
"... You should probably get out of here soon. I hear heat is bad for your arm anyways," Ryuko said.
"... Uh… I should be fine. I probably won't have to stay here for too long," Izuku said. Ryuko grunted, slightly aggravated as Nana slapped Daigoro over the head for his suggestion. The two fell back into silence. Sweat was gathering on their brows as steam continued to rise.
"... Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Do you… Do you ever wonder why we're here?" Izuku asked.
"What, like if there's a God?"
"Ah… I don't mean like that. We're Otherworlders, right?"
"Yeah?"
"I wonder if there's a reason why we were transported here."
"Does there have to be a reason?"
"I want there to be."
'Otherwise, I don't even have an excuse to be here instead…' Izuku thought.
"Well, if there is a reason, what would that be?" Ryuko asked. Izuku thought about it for a bit.
"Well… When I was transported here, I was transported to the Land of Wano," he began.
"Land of what?"
"You haven't heard of it?"
"Should I have?"
"I'm… not sure. Shiota-sensei and Naegi-san seemed to have at least heard of it, so I assume it's relatively common knowledge."
"Well I've only been here for around four months. It's why I hunt pirates for money instead of finding a real job."
"I see. I've only been here for around… three weeks. A little over."
"Hm."
"Anyways, the Land of Wano looked like a traditional Japanese country to me, but… I discovered that there was a crew, or rather an army, of pirates, with… a man, sort of, named Kaido."
"Sort of?"
"... In my world, I encountered a man who emanated death. It was as if I was in the presence of an eldritch deity. Something unnatural. Inhuman. I was so scared, so terrified, I couldn't even breathe. As if my body was doing everything it could to hide from danger, and a single sound, a single sign, would be the end of my life."
"Sounds serious."
"Yeah. Kaido… He wasn't like that. Instead of the fear of something I don't know, it was the fear of something I did know. I looked at him, and it was as if I was looking at a tsunami as it towered over a city. Or if I were to look into the sky, and saw the moon falling."
"..." Ryuko was silent as she listened.
"I fought him, but to say that it was a fight would be generous. It was as if I was a child, trying to punch through solid steel. I did more damage to myself than I did to him," Izuku said as he rubbed the plastic covering his cast.
"Oh come on, you're exaggerating," Ryuko said. He looked at her with serious eyes.
"The difference in power between how I am now and how I was then, is the same difference between the gold coins we have and the fortune in the cavern," he said. Ryuko's eyes narrowed slightly, and she dropped her arms into the water.
"... Seriously?"
"Yeah…" Izuku looked at his cast.
'One for All, Gear Shift, and Fa Jin. My three most powerful Quirks, and some of, if not the most powerful Quirks I've seen in the twelve or thirteen years I've spent studying Quirks. All three of them combined, pushed to their limits and beyond, and I couldn't even get a drop of blood.'
"The pirates I saw then, they were actual pirates. Scumbags, whose justice was killing poor people. And a shogun that allowed it all to happen. If there's a reason I came here, it must be for that."
"Why are you so desperate for a reason?" Ryuko asked. Izuku hesitated for a bit, before telling her about his world, and the situation involved there. Ryuko raised an eyebrow at the information.
"Wait, so being a hero is a job in your world?"
"Yeah. But, for me, it's a responsibility. I have to help fight."
"Why you specifically?"
"Because I was handed a legacy, and I have to fulfill it," Izuku said. Ryuko was, again, taken aback. She studied him in silence.
"... You really aren't a pirate. Or a bad guy, are you?"
"Eh…? Why are you saying it like that's a surprise?" Izuku sighed as he leaned back. Ryuko stared at him.
"So, you're a hero? Like, as an actual job?"
"Well, I'm just a student for now."
"You get to learn to be a hero?"
"Yeah. I actually got into one of the best schools in that regard."
"Sounds better than the school I got into."
"What kind of school was that?"
To both of their surprise, it was fairly easy to fall into a casual conversation after that. Even as their bodies continued to absorb heat.
"Hm… Naegi-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"What in the world is this?"
"What are you talking about!" Ryuko laughed.
"No, what are you talking about!" Izuku laughed back. The two had a rather childish, or petty rivalry before, and now it seemed like they were best friends. Nagisa stared dumbly before he looked at Makoto.
"What did you do?"
"I threw them in a hot spring together, and I told them whoever stayed in there the longest wins."
"And… how did that turn into this?"
"I don't know man, it just does."
"I… see…" Nagisa turned back to the two. "So in that case, which of you got out of the hot spring first?"
"That's water under the bridge, Shiota-sensei!" Izuku waved his hand.
"Put our duel out of your mind!" Ryuko said. She suddenly did a few movements with her arms. "Kame hame forget-about-it!"
"You're over nine thousand!" Izuku exclaimed. The two laughed with arms around each other's shoulders. Nagisa scratched his head in confusion while Makoto began downing two beers at once behind him.
"Well, I guess it's a good thing regardless." Nagisa waved it off. He looked down at Ryuko. "Well then, young Matoi. Since you and Midoriya-kun are friends now, why don't you join our crew?"
"Huh? Your crew?" Ryuko stopped laughing and took a moment to think.
"Yeah, why don't you join us?" Izuku said cheerfully. Makoto finished his drinks and took a big breath. He wiped his mouth and looked over at him.
"The more the merrier. It'd be good for Midoriya to have someone his age to be friends with," Makoto said.
"Hm… Well, I guess we did fight together, and had a meal together," Ryuko shrugged with her hands behind her head.
"That sounds familiar," En said.
"I guess things are more fun with you guys around. But, how come you guys are sailing?"
"Well, I'm trying to get home. We all are," Makoto said.
"I mean beyond that. You guys have a goal? A dream? Give me something that makes it worth going with you guys. I know his already." She gestured to Izuku before pointing to Makoto. "What about you, Herbivore?"
"Just call me Naegi, or Makoto. And I have a similar reason. A global war that I have a responsibility to help clean up."
"I see. What about you, Slipstream?"
"You can just call me Shiota, sensei, or Nagisa. For me, I just want to find my wife and kids, whether they're in this world or not," Nagisa said. Ryuko blinked before standing up and dusting herself off.
"Alright, I'll sail with you guys. I'll be your Quartermaster."
"Quartermaster?" Izuku said in confusion.
"It's a more vague position than Navigator or Captain. It basically boils down to keeping the ship and its crew in check," Nagisa explained.
"A Captain and a Vice-Captain are in charge of the crew overall, making important decisions, assigning roles, deciding destinations, etc. Quartermaster makes sure things are up to code," Makoto said.
"I used to be in a few gangs growing up, so I know a bit about keeping things in order," Ryuko said. Izuku nodded.
"Okay. Welcome to the crew," he said as he shook Ryuko's hand.
"Thanks. We got a name?"
"A name?" The three guys looked at each other.
"I mean, we're not pirates, so I don't think we need a name," Izuku said.
"True."
"Alright then, who's the captain? Deku?"
"Deku?" Nagisa repeated.
"I said she could call me that. It's a nickname that I had back in my world and used as my hero name," Izuku explained.
"So like dekiru?"
"Exactly!" Izuku nodded, pleased. Before doing a double-take as he realized what Ryuko had said.
"You think I'm the captain?!" he exclaimed, pointing at himself.
"Well, you are the one with the highest bounty," Ryuko said.
"Well, true… B-but, Shiota-sensei is much more fitting to be the Captain," Izuku said. "He's smarter and more skilled than the rest of us."
"I am, but I would actually say that you should be the Captain," Nagisa said. Izuku's head turned to look at him in shock.
"W-what?"
"I'm not sure if I follow," Makoto said. "You're older and more experienced, especially in terms of being in this world."
"And you're not an experienced navigator, yet we still took you in instead of trying to find a more experienced navigator, because you have the ability to grow in such a position. My goal with you and Midoriya-kun is to teach you to thrive in the positions that you'll be trying to take. You have a duty in your world, one which would eventually require you to be a leader. Midoriya-kun has a similar duty," Nagisa said. He turned to Izuku.
"You and Naegi-kun speak of responsibility, and duty. But I can tell that you're not fully prepared for that kind of role. Now, I have no doubt that you'll be able to rise to the challenge and find your way through, but I'd rather prepare you for it instead of just letting you find your own way. Being the Captain of this makeshift crew will help you learn the responsibility and duty necessary to lead people. That's not to say I'll be leaving you to dry. I'll be your First-Mate, and your advisor," he assured.
"He has a point, Izuku. A large portion of the war was led by other members, and when you made your own choices, you were quite reckless. I think you can benefit from learning responsibility," Nana said. Izuku thought about this, before looking up and nodding reluctantly.
"I'll trust your judgement, but I am a bit apprehensive about this," he said.
"That's fine. Now, let's go shopping again. I have a few ideas that I want to take care of before we leave," Nagisa clapped his hands before walking away. Ryuko stood next to Izuku, watching him walk away.
"Do you think being the Captain is a good idea?" she asked.
"I mean, I don't know. But since he's going to have the second highest authority, we'll probably be fine," he said. Ryuko hummed in thought.
"So, how old is that guy anyways? He said he had a wife and kids?"
"He's 38," Makoto said. Izuku and Ryuko blinked.
"HE'S WHAT?!"
Later, Nagisa stood at the stern of the boat as it sailed into the night. He was observing something he held in his fingers with a furrowed brow. The broken glass of the syringe glinted in the moonlight. Makoto walked up behind him and crossed his arms as he eyed the syringe as well.
"I didn't think this world was this medically advanced," he said.
"It's not. I checked. Strong painkillers, sure, but a super steroid? Dr Vegapunk, the doctors of Drum Island, Germa Kingdom, there are many technological and medical geniuses and miracles, but they're mostly contained within the Grand Line, and are available to few, mostly contained to those who have first-hand access to it. Necessity is the mother of invention, but with this world's unique nature, necessity wasn't available. Even Otherworlders like us were only able to advance this world by a few decades. A steroid on this level? It's not possible," Nagisa said. Makoto shifted slightly, something Nagisa noticed.
"Do you have an idea about this?"
"Not really."
"Are you sure?" Nagisa pressed. Makoto was silent.
"... In my world, there was someone named Seiko Kimura. The Ultimate Pharmacist. She and I worked in the Future Foundation together. I haven't seen much of her work myself, but I heard rumors. If anyone could make something like this, it would be her."
'Kimura? Hm, I wonder if she's a counterpart of sorts to the Kimura I know,' Nagisa thought before turning his attention back to what Makoto said.
"You think that she is responsible for this?"
"No, but I hope she is," Makoto said grimly. "At least she's a good person."
'Then again, that would mean the Future Foundation might be in this world too. And if the Future Foundation is in this world, then there's a bigger chance that there are some Remnants of Despair here too. Maybe even… No. She's dead. She can't affect this world… Right?'
"Either way, this might spell trouble. Necessity is the mother of invention, but so is invention itself. Every step it takes, another step becomes available. And that's not always a good thing," Nagisa said. He closed his hand around the syringe, earning a crack, before opening it and dropping the glass shards onto the deck. He turned around and walked past Makoto.
"I just hope we won't be in the crosshairs," he said as he went under deck. Makoto looked at the moon with a grim look.
'Knowing my luck, we just might be,' he thought. 'Hopefully we'll have people strong enough to fight with us.'
A strange creature crawled along a ruined house. It snarled, and sniffed, searching for prey. Something moved, catching the creature's attention. Someone was standing in the doorway with a covered item hanging off his shoulder. The creature snarled and hurled itself towards him as he grabbed the covered object.
FWOOSH!
SHING!
The creature landed on the ground behind him as he was crouched over. The two were silent before the guy stood up and exhaled a cloud of smoke around a cigarette. The creature burst into blue flames and collapsed, turning to ash. The teen swordsman raised his sword, covered in the same blue flames, and swung it around before sheathing it. He took his cigarette out and blew another plume of smoke.
It's finally out, and without the usage of A.I. again. Since I won't be relying on A.I. to help me write this, it'll probably keep taking a while to update, but hopefully I'll be able to get back into the groove. This is a major passion project, and I have a bunch of things planned out already. And now, the fifth member of the crew has been hinted at, and if you know your anime, you probably can guess who it is. Or you just looked at the tags on Ao3.
Anyways, like I said, I'm taking commission requests. If you want to request something to be written by someone desperate to make some money, you can check me out on Twitter at AzureWriter83 and send me a message. My pinned post has my commission guidelines. Anyways, that's all for now. As per the usual, leave a review! Azure out!