Goblin Cave/Abandoned Building

Chiba, Japan

Izuku leans on the wall of the cave while using his enhanced senses to its full potential. He can see goblins walking from more than 20 feet away, his ears catch the sound of goblins cackling maniacally, and his nose smells a stench of goblins' body odor

The last one causes Izuku to squint his face in disgust, covering his nose to stop himself from smelling those terrible smells again. Kirishima saw this and he couldn't help but start to sniff the air, before looking at Izuku with a confused look.

"Why are you covering your nose? I don't smell anything terrible." Izuku looks at Kirishima in confusion before he remembers that he's the only one here with an enhanced sense.

"I got sensitive senses, caught a goblin's stench. And let me tell you, it doesn't smell good." Izuku said as Kirishima winced.

"Oof, that's sucks," Kirishima said as Izuku chuckled.

"Oh, you have no idea. I still remember how terrible it was when I passed through a beach near my home that got turned into a junkyard. It feels like a million needles stab my nose at the same time." Izuku cringes as he remembers the day he passed by Dagobah Beach after getting discharged. Another reason why he decided to clean it up.

"Ughh, just imagining it horrifies me," Kirishima said with a shudder as Izuku barked in laughter.

"Yeah. It's bad enough to imagine it, it's even worse to experience it firsthand!" Izuku said as Kirishima chuckled before his expression turned crestfallen. "You okay, buddy?"

"...I'm a bit jealous of you guys, you know?" Izuku was taken aback by Kirishima's words. Now, that's a first. "You guys are so confident and strong, even with powerful quirks at a booth. And look at me, a silly kid with a weak ass quirk trying to be a hero..."

"...Don't downplay yourself like that." Izuku hates it. He hates when people look down on themselves just because they have a weak quirk. He can't help but feel like they were mocking the quirkless, despite knowing that it isn't.

Izuku knows he's not the only guy who experiences such discrimination for something he can't control, but at the same time, Izuku thinks they should be grateful to even have a quirk in the first place. He can't help but think of a certain trio who has a weak quirk but leeches on the strong because they didn't feel satisfied with what they got and wanted more, acting like they're strong to hide their insecurity.

'Then again, I can't fully blame them, especially when your quirk is just extending fingers or pulling eyeballs out of their socket. But, they have zero rights to put down those with no powers.' Izuku thought.

"Sorry, I can't help it..." Kirishima sheepishly apologizes.

"...I think you should stay out of the rest of the raid," Izuku said, causing Kirishima to widen his eyes in shock. "This place is dangerous. Trust me on that, I once entered such places. At the final section of the dungeon, there will be a powerful monster that not even heroes that have years of experience could handle alone."

'I know that because All Might somehow didn't cause any dent in that golem. If my speculations are correct, some monsters might've been immune to quirks, but not magic. Kirishima might've bit more than he can chew.' Izuku thought before he heard someone talking. 'Ah, they're finished.'

As Izuku walks away, he stops when Kirishima grabs his shirt tightly. Izuku turned but he was surprised when he saw Kirishima's expression. Back then, he only displayed insecurities and nervousness, but now, it's become desperation.

"Please...I-I need to do this..." Izuku didn't know why, but he felt unnerved by his expression. He can't help but feel familiar before he realizes why. He saw it multiple times, but he always ignored it in favor of something else.

It's like Bakugou's eyes, full of desperation. He never understood why Bakugou was so desperate, but it made him unreasonable to the point that trying to convince him would only lead to more desperation. Izuku stood there for a while before he sighed.

"Do what you want. Just remain cautious." He rather not deal with another situation similar to Bakugou's, so he just let it be. He knows if he stops him, it'll only make him grow desperate and do something stupid.

He has dealt with those for 10 years and he did nothing but intensify that emotion. He rather not deal with it again.

Later

The group continues to kill more and more dungeon monsters as they all casually talk and laugh, acting like it's no big deal. Izuku frowns at the group's carelessness. This place isn't a game, and one mistake could lead them to death. No respawn, no try again button, only death.

This made it clear as they start to panic when a giant ass bat starts to fly towards them and caught them off guard. Kirishima panicked and hugs Izuku's arm in fear as Izuku stood there with an 'I'm so done' expression. He was about to reveal his secret before the similar guy who he didn't bother to remember comes in and slices the bat in half.

"You okay, man?" Izuku raised his eyebrow at the friendly attitude but he simply nodded. He saw the man grin but he knew that it was not genuine.

It feels like a guy who is happy to gain someone's trust, not a guy who is glad that their ally is safe.

"Okay, everyone! Remain vigilant! This isn't a game!" Izuku deadpanned at the man. He couldn't warned those muscleheads earlier? Did this guy even care? As the man walks away, Izuku tries so hard not to react when the man looks at his back with a hint of malice. Izuku was confused until he noticed that the man wasn't looking at both of them, he just staring at Kirishima.

'They've outed him! Kirishima hasn't done anything to show he's 'useful' to them and-!' Izuku held himself from flinching as he saw the others do the same thing to Kirishima. 'I didn't want to do this, but-.'

"Is something wrong, gentlemen?" Izuku asked as they all flinched and internally panicked. Izuku pretends to look at his back. "Is there an enemy behind?"

"N-no, no! We're simply being cautious!" The same man exclaimed as Izuku looked at him before giving a fake cheerful smile.

"Oh, I see. Thanks for looking out for us." Izuku said cheerfully, while he was gagging mentally. "We're very new at this, so we might've been careless. So, again, thanks."

Kirishima stares at Izuku in pure confusion while the group looks surprised before giving a smile at Izuku.

'Geez, can't you make any more obvious?' Izuku mentally rolled his eyes at their expressions.

"Alright, kids. We're here!" The man said as they stopped. In front of them is the mouth of the cave, decorated with a pair of torches hanging on each side of the mouth. Izuku didn't know if they could feel it, but there was a sinister energy emitting from inside the cave. It made him feel uneasy.

They all enter the cave and Izuku squints his nose in disgust as the pungent smell of decaying corpses can be smelled in every direction. Izuku covers his nose in disgust as they continue to walk.

As they arrived at the end of the cave, everyone, including Izuku and Kirishima gasped. In front of them is a pile of treasures, gold, diamonds, colorful gems, even weapons and so much more.

"Alright, folks! We just hit a massive jackpot!" They all cheer as Izuku and Kirishima stare at the whole area in disbelief.

'From their reactions, they didn't seem to expect this. But, given how many things there are in here, I think they didn't care to pay that much money too!' Kirishima suddenly raises his hand, getting everyone's attention.

"Excuse me, but I want to ask," Kirishima said, causing Izuku to widen his eyes in shock. "This...wasn't mentioned either in the contract or the poster, but how are we going to split the loots?"

'Damn it! I forgot to warn him not to speak out of line!' Izuku turns and slightly sweats as the face of every member of the group darkens. Then, they show their fake smiles to all of us.

"Of course! We all will split up the loots evenly." Izuku narrowed his eyes. "But, we all need to do something first." The man smiles before pointing behind Izuku. Izuku turns to see a huge hobgoblin wearing a crown, a shoulder pad, and a leather skirt sitting on a wooden throne while asleep. Next to it is a giant black lance stabs on the ground next to it.

"All dungeons like this always have a boss we need to beat before anything. But this might be a special case." The man said as everyone nodded while Izuku frowned mentally. "Since the dungeon will be closed if we beat the monster, we might need to transport all of these safely first before we can do anything against the hobgoblin."

"Thankfully, it seems that it's asleep, so this might be our best chance. Hey, Takeshi, did you bring the equipment?" Izuku's senses started to go overdrive as he saw the man called Takeshi grin sheepishly.

"Sorry, boss. I didn't expect a huge load of treasures to be found in the dungeon. I thought it'd be a normal cleaning up." Izuku didn't like this so much. "I might've left it in our truck."

"Idiot, didn't I tell you not to leave important things in the car in case of emergency?" The man asked. "This is gonna make our clean up longer than usual."

"I'm sorry, boss." Takeshi apologized.

"Hey, kids. I hope you don't mind to huard this place for a while. We're going back to bring our equipment." The boss said as Kirishima was alarmed.

"Wait, wait, are you truly asking us to stay here ourselves alone with that monster!?!?" Kirishima asks as the man waves it off.

"It'll be fine. As long as you don't wake it up, you'll gonna be okay." Kirishima remains hesitant. "Trust me, you'll be okay."

Izuku gripped his fists tightly as they all left them. Izuku took a deep breath before glaring at the retreating men.

"Took them long enough to reveal their true colors," Izuku said, confusing Kirishima

"W-what?" Kirishima asked.

"Did you think those people with enough power to clear this dungeon would ask for more help? No, Kirishima." Izuku said as his eyes glowed green. "We're merely lizard's tail, a mere bait.

With the group

"I feel bad for that guy, staying with that walking for most of the time," Takeshi said with a laugh.

"Yeah, he looks strong but then again, he didn't exactly do much as he keeps babysitting that coward." The others laugh.

"He is a good addition, but sadly, it seems that he's very loyal to his partner." The boss said before looking at Takeshi with a malicious grin. "Block the entrance."

Takeshi replicates his boss' grin before summoning a light orb.

BOOM!!!

To be continued