~{Author's Pre-Notes}~
HEY GUYS, I'M NOT DEAD!
But it sure felt like I was going to die for a while though. Not in the literal sense, but in the form of mental exhaustion. Most of my days honestly felt like I was just zombie-ing through everything I needed to do. It's hard to believe it's been over half a year since I updated this fanfic, and I'm sure you're all wondering just what the hell has been going on with me during that time. So bear with me if you wanna understand that I'm not just holding off on writing just because I'm too lazy.
So, first off, I mentioned in the most recent chapter of my other Danmachi fanfic that I had been going into the last quarter of my last school year and that it'd be the busiest quarter of my school life. And guess what? I was right. They were four upper-division reading and writing classes, and holy hell was I stressed with a frying brain dealing with all of that. But I managed to get through it to the very end and officially finished my last school quarter on June 14! Woohoo!
However, I'm actually not done with college yet...
I am back home and no longer living on campus, but I actually still have classes left that I need to take before I officially graduate from UCI. These are happening in two sessions over the whole summer. And I thought, "Oh cool, it shouldn't be too hard to keep up with that work. So maybe I can start writing again and finish some chapters." But NOPE! God, I really underestimated the workload in those summer classes. Because these are classes with only 5-week intervals, they CRAM and RUSH through as much work as possible during that time. I only just finished my first summer session classes last week. It SUCKED! And it isn't even just that, but with me nearing the end of my schooling, I'm expected to get ready to integrate myself into society and be an adult. Find a job, buy my own things, all that stuff. I'm even gonna learn bartending to help out my dad while maybe making a career in the catering service.
So yeah... When I said before that the last school quarter would be the busiest of my life, I guess I forgot to take into account that afterward is still gonna be the busiest part Of. My. Life. I'll try to keep writing, but it's not even a lack of passion that's the problem, it's just I have to join life like everyone else.
I hope you all understand. At least I did manage to get this chapter out! Sadly... not really any action or super important events come out of this one so some of you guys might be disappointed. It'll probably feel like filler, but I genuinely think this preparation chapter was necessary before Izuku finally goes into the dungeon, and I'm happy with how it turned out. Establishing characters and set-up is still important, and even the fluff is. Nonetheless, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter!
OH, ONE LAST THING!
I would like to thank {arkeus165} for creating spectacular fan art for my fanfic! I was so surprised to get some and for it to look SO good! Sadly, I can't actually post pictures in these chapters, nor can I post a link to his deviantart work because this website is weird like that (like seriously, it's SO annoying) but if you search up "arkeus165 Izuku and Hestia" on the web, their work should be the first thing that pops up in images, so hopefully you find it like that! It's a cute piece of Izuku explaining to Hestia things about his world while she tries to understand what the hell he's saying and looks clueless because of it. It's so cute, and you can even say it happens in this chapter!
Answered Comments (Oldest to most recent):
Xedornox: Thank you for your review! Glad you agree with One For All being a Development Ability rather than a skill. And there's definitely gonna be more soul shenanigans in the future thanks to One For All.
Jose19: Yes, technically Izuku doesn't have a skill against mental attacks, but he DOES have One For All with the vestiges. That should say enough.
LegendaryMob: Besides maybe some of the key events that happen in danmachi that will probably be unavoidable, I'll be trying not to just make this story a Bell 2.0 story. Izuku and Bell are pretty similar in that they both have similar ideals, so some choices and events may be the same, but with Izuku's experience and help from the vestiges, he won't be making some of the same decisions (including mistakes) as Bell did.
Robbeyy9588: Some key events might be the same, others may be different, and some might happen similarly but through different decisions, I'm still working on it myself. I do want this story to have some canon divergence.
NightmareKnight1: Good to see someone appreciate the fluff. Honestly, I can't even imagine how lonely Hestia must've felt while struggling to survive on her own. Especially as a goddess of family that doesn't have one. I actually plan to maybe explore some of that psychological aspect which I 100% believe is the reason why she became so smitten with Bell even after only like a day of knowing him.
The Black Knight Zero: I love reading your reviews as always sir Knight. And I'm really sorry about the lack of updates in... well, anything.
noggin78: Shigaraki just used the quirk on Izuku and sent him away.
sirleirbag: Pfft, do you really need to ask? Of course Izuku isn't gonna be simping over anyone, he's better than that. Also, I 100% that the Ryuu what-if story was completely just the author being a petty little kid. Why get angry at others not agreeing with your main ship when you made the story a HAREM?
SkyChaser17: I'm back with the milk! Don't worry, it's really good quality! But yes, great on you for pointing out just how similar Bell and Izuku are but acknowledging that Izuku is much more experienced in the hardships of the real world. Thank you for commenting so much and I hope for more in-depth ons in the future!
Reader20448: I don't 'hate' the Loki or Freya familias, but it's clear that their ideals just don't match with Izuku's, which can cause potential conflict and classes with these ideals. I'm just saying it as it is. Don't hate em, but they're not the best, especially for Izuku.
Guest: I actually have no idea if I'll use danmachi characters from other games or media. I probably won't? We'll see.
Athrick: I understand. I know that many people wanted or speculated that I'd have Izuku join a different Familia, but I just really found him fitting with Hestia. No matter what, some people weren't gonna be happy.
Izuku didn't wake up back in the bookstore.
Instead, he opened his eyes to a pure-white ceiling, blinking a few times as his vision adjusted to awakening. Groggily sitting up, he rubbed his eyes before looking at his surroundings.
He found himself in a clean room with an assortment of evenly spaced white beds, including the one he was sitting on. The windows were covered with curtains, but the room was brightly lit by multiple glowing wall lamps. He sniffed the air and picked up a clean, sterile smell filling the room.
Izuku's face blanched as he realized where he was.
"Did I seriously already end up in an infirmary without even going to the dungeon yet?"
The vestige's bellowing laughs followed his rhetorical question.
"Some things just never change!" Yoichi cackled.
Ignoring the users' amusement, Izuku looked down at his body and found his white shirt back on him, clumsily put on but lacking his green vest.
"Ngh... Ugh..."
Izuku's head jerked to the moans and groans on the next bed beside him. He found a lump of blankets squirming before they were pushed off, revealing his new goddess sitting up, quivering in dizziness.
"My head..." Hestia grumbled, rubbing her forehead with both of her hands.
"Hestia!" Izuku exclaimed, relieved to see his new goddess relatively okay.
The short woman turned her gaze to his direction, to which her eyes shot wide open.
"IZUKU!" She scrambled off her bed and nearly tripped before jumping on her new member's bed, crawling up, and pressing herself against him. "Are you okay!? I just had the weirdest dream ever! You were there, and we were in some fancy building with people wearing weird costumes-!"
"Hey! My costume is not weird!"
Hestia gasped loudly.
"Who said that!?" She turned her head around the room.
Izuku's eyes widened.
"You heard Daigoro!?" He gasped.
"What?" Hestia turned back to him with a look of confusion.
"Wait, did she? Hey, shortstack! Can you hear me!?"
"I still don't know what that means! And where are you!?" Hestia snarled as she glared around the room, only to see it was empty.
"Hestia, it's us! We're still in Izuku's head! Or soul, I guess." Nana spoke up, excited at the prospect of communicating with someone outside the mindscape.
The goddess froze in place, her expression blanching. Remembering everything from her 'dream,' she robotically turned to face Izuku.
"That wasn't a dream... was it?"
The viridian-haired boy sheepishly smiled and shrugged.
"Um... no?"
A few seconds of silence passed as Hestia processed everything she had learned, and the reality-shattering circumstances of Izuku's situation hit her sense of logic hard. Her eyes glazed over as if losing her sense of being while her breathing suddenly rioted in pace, gasps and choking sounds emitting from the goddess as if she was starving for air.
"Y-You're-! I-! You're really-! I don't-!"
Izuku quickly held her by the shoulders. "Breathe, Hestia! Breathe! In and out, in and out!"
It took a minute, but soon the goddess fixed her breathing, albeit still freaking out, judging by how she was frantically whispering into her hands.
"I-I have someone in my Familia, I have someone from another world in my Familia! A hero, a cute hero who already saved his own world."
"Um, Hestia?" Izuku called out worriedly, only to yelp as the goddess jumped on her feet with raised fists.
"EAT YOUR HEART OUT, LOKIIIIIIIIII!"
"Hestia!?"
The goddess fell back to her knees and stared upward at Izuku with starry eyes and a giddy smile.
"I still can't believe I have someone like you as my first member! I still have so many questions about your world-!"
Izuku yelped in panic before quickly whispering to her. "Hestia! Don't say that out loud here!"
Hestia gasped and shrunk back. "Ah! Sorry! I'm just so excited-! Wait."
Her excitement tittered out as she finally noticed the unfamiliarity of their surroundings.
"Where even are we?"
"An infirmary. I don't even remember how many times Izuku ended up in one of these," Hikage hummed.
"What?" Hestia turned and looked at Izuku incredulously. "What does he mean by that?"
Izuku cringed.
"Um, well..."
Thankfully, he was saved from explaining his bedridden tendencies by the clicking sound of the door, the smooth wooden frame opening to reveal a beautiful girl.
Izuku took in her appearance: porcelain skin, long silver hair, glistening purple eyes, and a blue, white, and gold uniform with a nurse's hat. Even with her clearly evident human features, she almost seemed like a living doll.
The girl's eyes immediately locked onto the pair on the bed, her expression calm and polite.
"Judging by your volume, I'm assuming that you're both in relatively good health," The girl inquired, approaching them with her hands clasped like a maid would.
"Oh, um, s-sorry about that! We just woke up and are kind of confused." Izuku stammered, hoping that she hadn't heard Hestia's words.
"Yeah! Where even are we!? And who are you!?" Hestia added, just as flustered.
"My name is Airmid Teasanare." The girl introduced herself with a polite bow. "I'm the captain and head doctor of the Dian Cecht Familia, where we're currently residing in."
"The Dian Cecht Familia?" Izuku repeated.
"Oh? Are you perhaps new to Orario?" Airmid returned with equal curiosity.
"Um, yes. I actually just got here today."
The nurse hummed. "You only just arrived in the city and have already ended up here? That's quite some bad luck."
Izuku ignored the overlapping snickers in his head.
"The Dian Cect Familia is a medical Familia focused on medicine and healing. We're essentially the main hospital and pharmacy for Orario," Airmid explained, "The owner of the bookstore you were in discovered you passed out and had the Ganesha Familia bring you here."
Izuku's eyes widened. Right, they had been in Hestia's favorite store just before this.
"They didn't look at Izuku's back, did they!?" Hestia shouted in panic, remembering she had given her new member her falna before that light engulfed them.
"As far as I'm aware, he was dressed when the two of you were brought here. And it was the captain of the Ganesha Familia herself who brought you here. I know the Ankusha enough to know she wouldn't tolerate prying into anyone's status."
"Ankusha?" Izuku asked with a curious tilt of his head.
"That's the alias for the captain, Shakti Varma," Airmid explained.
"Miss Varma?" He repeated in surprise, faintly remembering the name tag of the woman who had accepted him into Orario.
"Wait, that lady was the captain of the largest Familia in Orario? Well, damn. You think Izuku would've conveniently joined it had he just asked her?" Daigoro chucked.
"Knowing nine's luck, that probably would've been the exact case and we could've avoided all that trouble..." Bruce sighed.
"Shush!" Hestia hissed in Izuku's direction, only to pause and realize she did it with Airmid watching. She alarmingly turned to the nurse, who raised an eyebrow after witnessing the uncalled-for scolding she had assumed had been aimed at the boy.
"Shhh! We'll talk later, Hestia! Pretend we don't exist right now!" Nana quickly urged.
Noticing Hestia's panic at not knowing how to act, Izuku quickly drew Airmid's attention back to him. "U-Um is my stuff here!?"
"In that cabinet," Airmid pointed at said wooden cabinet in the corner. "It should contain all your belongings."
"Thank you. And about Miss Varma, is she still here?"
She shook her head. "The Ankusha already left an hour ago."
Izuku blinked in bewilderment.
"An hour ago-? How long were we passed out?"
"Approximately three hours. It's nighttime already, in case you were wondering." Airmid informed him.
"Three hours!?" Hestia cried out, but Izuku didn't think it was odd despite the discrepancy in how much time he and Hestia were in the mindscape. Time worked weirdly at those moments.
"Indeed. Now while you both appear to be in perfect health, may I ask what caused both of you to become unconscious in the first place?" Airmid asked professionally.
"Eh? W-Well, you see..." Hestia became flustered as she tried to come up with an excuse.
"It was from something we ate!" Izuku cut in, trying not to let his nervousness show.
Airmid's neutral expression didn't reveal any signs of whether or not she believed him; she simply nodded in understanding.
"I see... Nonetheless, the two of you are fit to be released, so you may take your leave at any time."
"Er, we don't have to pay for anything... do we?" Hestia asked nervously, making Izuku also tense.
He was more than aware that both of them were completely broke.
Thankfully, Airmid shook her head. "Seeing as we haven't needed to administer any treatment, not this time. However, I hope I don't see you end up on one of these beds again anytime soon, mister...?"
"Midoriya, Izuku Midoriya." Izuku answered with a smile. "I'll try not to."
He pointedly ignored the exaggerated coughs among the vestiges.
~{Northwest Maine Street}~
"I got my first member, I got my first member~" Hestia sang with a happy tune as she led Izuku through multiple short alleyways, holding his hand.
"Hestia? Should we really be walking through here?" The young hero asked, cautiously eyeing the dark paths as his rucksack rustled on his back.
"It's okay, it's a shortcut! No one ever goes down her!."
"Are you sure you should still go down here, Hestia? It's an awfully vulnerable place for a goddess to be." Nana said worryingly.
"Don't worry! No one would ever be insane enough to hurt, let alone kill, a deity. You're just asking for a fate worse than death if you do anything like that." Hestia frowned.
"Like what? Getting your soul torn apart bit by bit?" Daigoro asked, recalling Gramps briefly mentioning it.
"Yes, actually. I actually never saw it or remember anyone who got the punishment, but from what I know, it's the most horrible thing that can happen to someone..." The goddess's voice trailed off at the end, her frown turning into a revolted expression as she gently pulled Izuku down another corner.
"That's..." Izuku wasn't exactly sure what to say to that. Killing people in general is horrible, and he remembers how the worst criminals in Japan had been sent to Tartarus, but here... just what's the scale of the law? Killing one diety would guarantee a fate worse than death? That sounded so extreme, yet he truly knows it makes sense with the context of this world, considering you're not only killing an actual god, but you'd be destroying an entire Familia since they'd lose the deity's blessing.
It didn't make him feel any less uneasy about it, though.
"Look, there it is!"
Hestia's voice gained back cheer as she pulled Izuku out of the alleyways and onto a rough, stone road empty of people, pulling him to a stop in front of a church.
Or at least what's left of one.
Izuku stared upward at the run-down structure, noting its roughly shaped stone bricks, moss growing and spreading between the brick cracks, and shattered stained-glass windows.
"So, y-yeah, this is where I live. It's... kind of dirty." Hestia grew nervous as she tried to present where they'd be staying, "But I've been staying in the basement! It's clean and has a bed, couch, and even a bathroom!"
Izuku stared at the front of the church, the Height Alliance dorms of U.A briefly flashing in place.
"It looks nice." He smiled wistfully.
Considering he's had to sleep in an alleyway and other questionable places a few times during the war, a broken-down church with a functioning bathroom was actually pretty good.
He let Hestia excitedly drag him into the old church. They crossed through the large central area known as the nave and to the back corner, where they went down a set of stairs and into the basement.
"Here we are, my room!"
It wasn't anything special, yet Izuku looked fondly at what would be his new home. The floor was stone and dull, the walls were bare with only smudges decorating them, and the only furniture in the room consisted of an old yellow and green colored couch with tears, a plain bed with clean white sheets, and a lone rough wooden dresser next to it against the corner.
"I know it's not much, but it's home." Hestia shyly smiled.
"Huh, you made it sound like you were living in some dump, but this place is nicer than I thought it'd be." Yoichi voiced.
"You really think so?" The goddess asked happily.
"It's fine. I'm just glad we have somewhere to stay. I don't really have any valis left for an inn anyways." Izuku admitted.
"Don't worry, Izuku! I work at a potato treat stand, and my boss sometimes lets me take some home! I'll make sure to do my part while you go kick butt in the dungeon!" Hestia cheered, punching the air in front of her with cute huffs of determination. "We'll be swimming in valis in no time!"
"Er, I think you're overestimating me, Hestia." Izuku shyly looked down. "I don't even have the power of One For All that I did before."
Hestia halted.
"Oh yeah, you did say something about losing all that power when you got here... but that's what your skill is for, isn't it!?" Her eyes enlarged in excitement. "Not only will it accelerate your growth, but it'll even help you gain your special power back! And you were your world's best hero before getting here, so you'll be powerful again in no time!"
Izuku couldn't help but flush at Hestia's extreme confidence in him.
"Oh! That reminds me!" The goddess gasped. "Get on the bed and show me your back again. I wanna see if your falna is really there!"
"Eh? I mean, okay." Izuku's cheeks grew redder as he sat on the edge of the bed and started pulling off his vest and shirt while Hestia crawled up behind him.
Hestia stilled at the first signs of his bare arms, glimpsing at the scars scattered around them. It was then that the grimmer part of reality hit her. This boy had fought criminals and monsters of the worst kind, not only to save himself but to save all he's ever cared about and more. The marks on his arms were evidence of his struggles, the only evidence of his good deeds after having been forcibly sent away from his home.
She was looking at the body of a boy who gave up everything to save his world.
Hestia hesitantly reached one of her small hands until it pressed onto Izuku's exposed back, the familiar hieroglyphics of her falna staring back at her.
His back felt firm and muscular. Looking past his scars, his whole body was just...
Wow.
Hestia unconsciously licked her lips as she realized how fit Izuku really was, especially for someone so young. His muscles and biceps weren't overly large or macho, but they were highly defined and clearly showed the body of a warrior, a hero.
"Hestia? Is it there?"
Izuku's confused voice snapped the goddess out of her trance, and she quickly shook her head. She shouldn't be perving on her first too-aborable-for-this-world Familia member this soon!
"I-It is! Nothing changed about it, so it really wasn't just in the soul world! You're officially part of my Familia!" She cheered to hide her fluster.
"Good to hear. Then I guess the plan for tomorrow is to head back to the guild and complete your registry? Maybe actually go into the dungeon?" En asked.
"Nine will have to study with his appointed advisor first," Bruce reminded them.
"But until then, you should tuck yourselves in and get some sleep. It's gotten pretty late, after all." Nana motherly encouraged.
"Eh? But we still have so much to talk about!" Hestia disputed, excitedly shaking her hands up and down.
"We do?"
"Are you kidding!? Of course we do! I still have so many things I wanna know more about from your world! Like quirks, or the kinds of heroes you have, or how you became a hero! And-! And..."
Hestia's eyes turned foggy as her mouth opened in a loud yawn.
"That'll have to wait. It looks like the adrenaline from today is dying down," Nana chuckled in amusement.
"Now that you mention it-" Apparently, yawning was contagious, for Izuku found himself doing so right after Hestia. "I guess being passed out didn't account for getting any actual sleep."
"Go on kiddo, get some shut-eye."
"Okay." He mumbled, "I'll take the couch, Hestia."
Hestia gave him a scandalized look. "What!? I can't let my first member sleep on that dusty thing! You can take the bed!"
The boy jumped to his feet. "What? B-But you're a goddess, and you've been living here long before me! I can't just it!"
"Then... What if we share it?"
Izuku burst into red and spoke so fast that Hestia thought he was speaking another language entirely.
One of the saddest effects of the war was its impact on Izuku's ability to sleep.
Being constantly targeted by villains and All For One's assassins meant needing to be vigilant and always ready, even with Danger Sense. There was always a constant risk of danger, never a feeling of peace, and there was hardly even any time for sleep in the first place. Thus, Izuku paid the price for fighting alone for weeks against villains, suffering the inability to truly relax as he used to. This translated into only a few hours of sleep each night. Thankfully, it hardly affected him during the day, as his body being in peak condition thanks to exercise and healthy habits means that he could still function to the best of his health.
So here he was, lying on the couch in a plain tunic and baggy pants, staring straight up at the wooden floorboards with a single blanket covering him. The youngest savior of his world had a solemn expression on him as he explored the questions and worries plaguing his mind.
"I wonder how everyone back home is doing..." He whispered.
Thankfully, no sudden response answered his question. While Izuku appreciated the vestiges, a part of him was glad they could shut themselves away into the mindscape like they were doing now. He needed privacy at times, just like anyone else.
He closed his eyes and breathed calmly, trying once more to lull himself to sleep.
He ignored the rustling of blankets from his goddess's bed, continuing to do so when he heard her move off it... only to listen to her footsteps moving towards him rather than the bathroom like he had expected.
Slightly confused, Izuku opened his eyes just in time to find Hestia tip-toeing a foot from the couch, her body freezing in place as blue eyes met green.
The two stared at each other in awkward silence until Hestia straightened up and nervously laughed while scratching the back of her head.
"O-Oh, you're awake, heheh. H-Having trouble sleeping?"
"Um... Sort of?" Izuku responded calmly, albeit clearly confused. "What are you doing?"
Hestia shyly looked away and fiddled with her fingers nervously.
"W-Well... I thought that you might be a little cold and that I'd, you know... join you?"
After a moment of registering what she said, Izuku's face poofed red with a strangled cry.
"H-H-Hestia! W-We've already established why we really shouldn't do that!"
"I know, I know! It's just that-! I can't-!" Suddenly, the goddess looked down with a grimace of shame. "I'm sorry, it's just..."
And just like that, Izuku realized there was something wrong, for her expression alone had his growing concern suplex his embarrassment out of the way.
"Hestia?" He softly called out as he leaned forward. "What's wrong?"
The woman squirmed in place with her eyes glued to the ground, embarrassingly rubbing her arm.
"I can't sleep," she muttered, her expression twisting with embarrassed frustration. "I keep thinking that if I go to sleep and wake up... then you'll be gone, that everything will have been a dream. So I just- I don't know, I thought if I just, um, hugged you close... that it'd help." Even in the darkness of night, the red growing in her cheeks was noticeable as she tugged down at her twin tails nervously. "I'm sorry, this is stupid. You just got here, and I'm already messing things up."
Izuku's heart twisted in realization. The goddess's clinginess in her hugs, leading him around by hand, the anxiety and anticipation clear as day in her eyes...
Hestia was touch-starved, and Izuku would know, as he's more than experienced in the subject.
Growing up quirkless had meant being treated like the plague by everyone else. Add on a practically non-existent father and a mother whose previous joyful hugs had turned into holds of frantic worry, and you get a socially anxious boy who hardly knew what genuine physical affection felt like. At least both his social anxiety and starvation had been dealt with at U.A. thanks to his friends, but you just never forget the feeling of being alone.
Then there was Eri... the sweet girl traumatized by her own quirk and held captive for it, being used as materials for a quirk-erasing drug. So young yet treated like a tool rather than a child to love. Izuku remembered the time following when he and Mirio had saved the girl; how she would latch onto them at times like her life depended on it, terrified of those she didn't know, along with the constant fear that one day, she'd wake up back in that horrible lab with Overhaul. He remembered going to sleep with the girl in his arms, holding her close as he sweetly whispered reassuring words in her ear until she'd finally close her eyes and sleep.
And right now, Izuku saw Hestia going through something similar. She needed the reassurance after struggling to live alone for some time. A part of her was just afraid that she'd wake up all alone again, especially since she'd been lacking physical affection for quite a while. Thinking about it, it only gets worse when you consider that she's a goddess of family yet has lacked strong familial bonds since showing up in Gekai. He couldn't even imagine how it must feel being unable to indulge in part of a domain that makes you... well, you.
It tugged Izuku's heartstrings to understand what she was feeling, and he couldn't in good conscience just turn her away.
"Hestia, It's okay, I get it." The boy called to his ashamed goddess, who paused with hope in her eyes. He quelled growing nervousness at the thought of being in the same bed. "I... If it'll really help you, then, um..." He looked down with red cheeks. "I-I don't mind-"
He didn't even finish when Hestia dove onto the couch and ducked underneath his blanket, prompting a squeak from the hero as she snuggled up against his side. Wrapping her arms around his midsection, she leaned her head against him and took a barely audible breath of relief.
Izuku nervously gulped down saliva while trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. He thought this would be fine since he'd gone to sleep with Eri a few times, but he really couldn't ignore just how different it felt being held by a woman who was an actual goddess.
Shouldn't they've at least got on the bed!?
"Zzzz..."
...Oh whatever.
~{Orario-Early Morning}~
Izuku didn't remember when he fell asleep, but with a disciplined schedule ingrained in his body, he woke up just as dawn's rays started leaking through the floorboards above. Opening his eyes, the boy felt surprisingly rejuvenated compared to all his most recent nights of sleep. Blinking a few times, his expression turned focused and resolute, knowing what would come out of the day.
"First I'll have to head to the guild to finish my registration, then I can meet my advisor and start studying up the dungeon. If I'm lucky, maybe I can even go into the first floor today."
Izuku went to sit up... only for the weight of something to hold him down.
"Eh?" Lifting his head and looking forward, the young hero was met with his newly appointed goddess sleeping right on top of him, her head resting atop his shoulder while the rest of her body was tightly pressed against his chest. Because of the position she was lying in, the angle he was looking, and the opening in her dress, Izuku found himself staring down at a set of bountiful lumps.
With a sense of deja vu, courtesy of a pink-dreadlock inventor, Izuku broke into an intense shiver with his body distorting in a mixture of fluster and mortification.
"B-B-B-BOOBS!"
Lightning mysteriously stuck outside at the proclamation.
He trembled in a cold sweat as he willed his eyes upward and attempted to ignore the softness pressing against him.
"Sh-She's right on top of me!"
He hesitantly peered back down at his goddess's peacefully sleeping expression. The woman mumbled and shuffled slightly forward, her chest moving even closer to Izuku's face, making him sharply look up again.
"Oh gods! Don't even think about it! What do I do, what do I do!?"
"Hm? Did something happen-?"
En's words died as the vestiges saw the situation.
"Oh." He whispered.
"Nice." Daigoro chuckled.
"Help! H-H-How do I g-get her off me!?" Izuku whisper-screamed, his whole face tomato-red.
"What do you expect us to do, exactly?" Kudo deadpanned.
"Oh, don't worry, I got this."
"Why does that immediately give me a bad feeling about this?"
He was proven right as Daigoro took a deep breath.
"OI, SHORTSTACK WAKE UP!"
"WAH!" Hestia awoke instantly with a cry of alarm, jumped off Izuku's chest, and then yelped as she crashed facefirst off the couch with the blanket tangled around her.
"Ah, Hestia!" Izuku shot up in concern.
"There, see? Problem solved."
"You're an idiot."
After a short, angry rant from a furious goddess, the duo sat side-by-side on the couch. It was incredibly early, so it'd be a while before Hestia had to leave for her job. Using this chance, the goddess pleaded with her first Familia member to tell her more about his world, especially since she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon.
Izuku was happy to oblige.
He told her about All Might, a hero who used to be a simple man without a quirk, just like himself, yet held a dream to make an impact in the world by saving others. It was a dream he held onto until he finally had his fated encounter with his mentor, Nana Shimura. After being passed a power built on the hopes and dreams of others, the man trained and improved until he became a hero who singlehandedly changed the world. He could move so fast that you'd only see a blur, and just one punch from him could do almost anything. Destroy buildings, change the terrain, or even change the weather!
"Whoaaaaaa, so that ghost guy in your soul used to be the number one hero of your world!?" Hestia asked in wonder, finding a newfound respect for the ghostly vestige.
Izuku smiled broadly, glad the goddess was rightfully amazed by the man he admired.
He then moved on to some of the private stuff about All Might and One For All, seeing no harm in sharing it considering the circumstances. It was mainly the vestiges who explained that All Might was the only 'ghost' in Izuku's soul because he isn't dead yet (although none of them even know if the man will fully manifest in the mindscape since they're in another world).
Moving on, Izuku proceeded to tell Hestia about his own meeting with All Might. Being saved from a sludge villain by him, their talk on the rooftop (the goddess was outraged when she learned the man had straight up crushed his dreams with no mercy), and then reencountering each other when Izuku had moved with no hesitation to save a... friend.
Then came the most important moment of his life: being told he could be a hero while being offered the most powerful quirk in the world, allowing him the chance to become not just a hero but the best one.
Finishing on that note, Izuku pulled out a leather case from under the bed, opening it up to show to his goddess.
"This is my costume!" He beamed, motioning his hand at the contents.
Hestia's eyes were immediately hooked on the green fabric, gold outlines, and unique-looking gear of her newest child's superhero costume. It's an attire she doubts anyone has ever seen before, and she knew her best friend Hephaestus would love to take a look at such a unique design meant for heroism.
Hestia pulled the fabric up and shoved it to Izuku's chest with stars in her eyes.
"Put it on, put it on!" She urged like an excited schoolgirl.
"Eh? Now?" Izuku asked in surprise.
"Please, please, pleaaaaaase!" The goddess begged cutely.
Not really having a reason to say no, Izuku chuckled and went into the bathroom to change while an excited Hestia vibrated on the couch with a goofy smile.
"A real superhero costume for a real hero! Kyaaaaaaah! I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it! Those metal soles looked so cool and there's even a cape! I wanna see it, I wanna see it together! That's the costume of a hero who saved a world, and he's in MY Familia! Ooooo! I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't-!"
*Click!*
The sound of the unlocking door had Hestia nearly snapping her neck with how fast she turned. She had to resist the urge to squeal as she saw Izuku fully decked out in his hero costume, the boy filling it out nicely as he stepped into the room. Hestia could only stare as he approached her, his metal soles thumping on the floor and his confident smile making her heart somersault. The hero stopped right in front of her, the leaking morning light from the floorboards acting as a makeshift spotlight for him, further enhancing his heroic, otherworldly aura. The yellow cape around his neck even seemed to be mysteriously fluttering in no wind.
"So... How do I look?" The boy asked sheepishly.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"
Hestia internally screamed as she gawked at Izuku's appearance. Is she fangirling? She definitely is, but she just couldn't get over that she has a real superhero wearing an actual superhero costume standing right in front of her!
And he's in her Familia!
"You look amaaaaaazing!"The goddess finally squealed as she hopped around Izuku in childish excitement. "The metal on your shoes looks so cool! I've never seen gloves like yours, either! Why do they have these little openings on them?" She asked, poking at his Air Force gloves.
Izuku chuckled as he raised his hands and fondly looked at his gloves.
"They're to help me fire attacks of concentrated air since I can create a lot of raw power with One For All—or I used to, at least. But they also help me aim Blackwhip when I send it out sometimes."
Hestia curiously tilted her head.
"Blackwhip? What's that?"
Izuku gasped in realization.
"Oh! I guess we didn't get into that. Remember when I said that each time One For All is passed, it also passes a fragment of the current holder?"
He received a nod of confirmation.
"Well for me, I was able to unlock the quirks of all the past holders. They're weaker than before since I lost the stockpile portion of One For All, but I can still use them."
To prove his point, Izuku let two strands of Blackwhip pour out of the holes of his gloves, earning a stunned gasp from the goddess.
"Blackwhip is one of them. Using it, I can produce energy-like tendrils from any part of their body and control them. Emotion is actually a big part of powering it up, so the more angry I am, the more powerful the quirk gets."
Hestia took in the information nearly identical to how Izuku got with any hero trivia; in total awe.
"Wait, so you have like eight superpowers that aren't even on your falna!?" she yelled, stunned beyond belief. "Th-Th-That's like eight other skills! That's broken!"
"Six actually. Izuku and Toshi didn't have quirks, remember?" Nana corrected.
"Five. She wasn't counting One For All already on the falna," En added.
"Still! It's like you have even more skills at just level one! What do the rest of your quirks do!?" Hestia eagerly asked.
Izuku smiled brightly before activating Float. He slowly lifted himself off the ground, making Hestia's eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets.
"YOU CAN FLY!?"
"Whoa, deja vu..."
After calming down Hestia by promising to one day take her on a ride with Float, Izuku finished telling the goddess about the rest of his quirks before it finally reached that point of the early day when she'd had to leave for work... despite her reluctance at doing so. Putting away his costume and embarrassingly having to pry a whining goddess off him, Izuku left the church with his head high and a leather sling bag over his shoulder, a confident march to his step as he headed for the guild pantheon.
It was time to officially become an adventurer.
Izuku smiled as he followed the crowds down the cobblestone streets, a sense of normalcy in this world of fantasy as he passed by the numerous races and their prominent physical characteristics; the ears and tails of the beast folk, the shortness of the pallums, the pointy ears of the elves, and so much more. Despite it being only his second day here, it didn't faze Izuku in the slightest, for the traits of the people here paled in comparison to the physical mutations caused by quirks in his own world-
Izuku abruptly squeaked and turned away with flushed cheeks, passing by a voluptuous Amazon wearing what you could only call a strip of cloth covering her chest.
Okay, so maybe he has some sights to get used to.
"I know Gramps said they dress like that for acrobatic and maneuverable purposes, but cmon! They all CLEARLY just enjoy exposing themselves!" Nana voiced, scandalized at how little clothing the tan-skinned women in the area wore.
"You realize he never said it was just that, right? He said that it's in an Amazon's nature to... 'affiliate' themselves with strong people they want to entice. Not to mention that modesty is somewhat of a foreign concept to them."
"So what, it's like a biological thing relating to instincts, or just a way of life for them?" En asked, only to receive Hikage's I-don't-know answer in the form of silence.
"Either way, I don't like it!" Nana huffed, miffed by the lack of decency.
Izuku kept silent as he quelled his flustered emotions. Yes, he still wasn't used to girls in the sense of anything sexual (at least he can talk to them without turning into a strawberry anymore), but it's not like he'd crash down because of it. Between Hatsume continuously exploding on top of him, having already seen plenty of the more... revealing heroine costumes, and having seen Toga literally naked a few times because of her quirk, he'd like to think he was somewhat used to female exposure.
He kept his thoughts calm and focused all the way to the Guild Pantheon, entering the building confidently.
He immediately caught sight of Rose Fannett standing at one of the counters, her stony expression present as she sent a muscled male adventurer sulking away for some reason, leaving her area conveniently barren of any people. Her eye twitched in a miffed manner before she turned her head and caught sight of him, to which she stared in patient silence as he approached her counter.
"G-Good morning, Miss Fannett." Izuku stuttered with a polite bow, nervously noticing the faint irritation hidden in the woman's impassive gaze. At least it didn't seem to be directed at him specifically.
The werewolf politely nodded her head.
"Good morning, Mister Midoriya. Seeing as you've returned so soon, I take it that you've managed to join a Familia?"
"Yes! I managed to join the Hestia Familia." Izuku beamed.
"The Hestia Familia..." Rose repeated as she searched through her thoughts. "I must admit, I haven't heard of that deity."
"Oh, she just arrived in Orario about a month ago. I'm actually the only member of her Familia," Izuku admitted in embarrassment, earning a raised eyebrow from the werewolf.
"Mister Midoriya, I hope you realize that being the only member of a newly formed Familia means that you won't have anyone to support you in your endeavors in the dungeon."
Her narrowed gaze stuck to Izuku as she stacked some papers together.
"With how young you are to be taking such a dangerous profession like adventuring, you'll need all the support you can recieve. I hope you didn't decide to rush and join the first Familia you could for the sake of entering the dungeon as soon as possible."
"No, I didn't do that!" Izuku quickly affirmed. "It just sort of ended up that way... But at the very least, I know that I can trust goddess Hestia!" He stated confidently.
However, Rose still looked skeptical and concerned, judging by her furrowing brow.
"Did you not try entering any of the Familias on the list I gave you?"
Izuku shamefully averted his gaze.
"About that... I got rejected from each one."
Rose blinked with the faintest signs of bewilderment.
"All of them?"
He gave her a disheartened nod. "They were all either not recruiting or just didn't think I'd be up for it because of my age."
"What? But Familia's are always recruiting-" Rose paused her words, a brief flash of realization on her face before scowling. However, even that expression only lasted a moment before it returned to a colder, albeit more tired, look. "Even the Ganesha Familia? They're the largest Familia in Orario because they accept almost anyone. You wouldn't even be the first young adventurer they've had."
"Hm," Izuku thought back to the giant building designed as a cross-legged man wearing an elephant mask with an entrance through the crotch area. Sure, it was a little weird, but that didn't deter him from going inside to try and meet the deity.
"Their home seemed really busy when I showed up, so I was passed around for a while until I was told that Ganesha and his captain weren't there. And when I met their vice-captain she, um... yelled that she didn't have time to babysit a new rookie and sent me away." He finished, frowning at the memory. "She might've thought I was already part of the Familia? I didn't really get a chance to explain with the door slamming in my face. I think the two stacks of paperwork on her desk might've been the reason for that... I'm pretty sure I just caught her at a bad time."
Rose's stare turned flat from hearing the boy's bad luck.
"I see... That's quite the unfortunate experience to have with the Paluza, but please don't hold it against her. As an Amazon, paperwork isn't one of her strengths, so she must've been incredibly stressed, especially if their home was as busy as you said."
"I understand. So her name is Paluza?"
"That's the alias of the vice-captain, Illta Farna," Rose explained.
"Wait, adventurers get aliases?" Daigoro asked in intrigue.
Yoichi gasped. "So Izuku can get a cool name like the Shadow Monarch or Blood Red Commander Igris!?"
"Shh! Don't nerd right now!" Nana shushed as Rose continued.
"Regardless, I suppose you're now in a Familia, so let us finish with your registration." Pulling out Izuku's form from a binder, the werewolf slid the parchment over with a pen, which the boy eagerly received and scribbled into the empty spot.
"And with that, you are now officially an adventurer of Orario. Congratulations, Izuku Midoriya." Rose stated in a monotone voice. "Now, if you'll come with me, I'll introduce you to your appointed advisor so you can discuss the terms of when your classes will take place."
Izuku blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected to meet with his advisor so soon. He followed Rose past the counters and to another area with multiple doors. The werewolf opened one to reveal a small room with a table, chairs, and couches, motioning him inside.
"Please wait in this room." Izuku listened and stepped inside, to which Rose spoke again. "Once more, I'll warn you that with your particular advisor, you'll be expected to do much more to test your knowledge of the dungeon. This is your last chance to rethink if you want another person."
The boy smiled as if it were an innocent question. "Oh, I'm good! I'm used to really tough teachers, and it'll make me more prepared for the dungeon."
Rose nodded in approval. "Then, with that, welcome to Orario, Mister Midoriya. I'll pray for your success in the dungeon... as well as your survival." She finished with a respectful bow before turning around to leave, but not without Izuku getting some last words in.
"U-Um, thank you, Miss Fannett!" He bowed in a quick right angle before straightening up. "For introducing me to the city and answering all my questions, and I really appreciated the map you gave me with your notes on what shops I should visit. I promise that I'll take everything I learn to heart going forward! So I'll... see you later?" He trailed off at his last words, clamming up awkwardly as he ran out of more things to say.
Rose stared at him from the doorway, her unchanging gaze in tandem with the silence making the boy sweat nervously. After nearing the point of shivering, the woman finally turned away into the doorway, her fluffy tail flipping.
"Until we meet again."
Izuku breathed in relief, relaxing his posture with a small smile as the woman left.
"Finally. Not gonna lie, that woman really throws me off." Daigoro sighed.
"I'm unsure of what you mean. Yes, her attitude is rather closed off, but I find that somewhat endearing. Doesn't she remind you somewhat of Todoroki?" En returned.
"Yeah..." Izuku's smile turned wistful as he stared at the closed door.
He took a seat on one side of the table as he waited for his advisor to show up, a slight nervousness growing as the seconds ticked by. What kind of person would they be? Maybe someone strict and blunt like Aizawa, or perhaps someone more calculating and factual like Principal Nezu? This will be the person responsible for teaching him knowledge for his survival, and since Rose said she'd bring him the best, he knows he should expect some level of strictness. But still, Izuku couldn't help but hope that his advisor would be a little nice-
*Click!*
Stiffening up in his seat, Izuku's head swerved to the door as it opened.
"Hello!" A woman entered holding papers and fountain pens to her chest, a professional smile on as she turned to face him. "Thank you for waiting-"
Both individuals froze as they met each other's eyes, their orbs widening for different reasons.
For Izuku, it was in awe, for the older woman in front of him would easily fit in with all the other beautiful women of his own world. With smooth, youthful skin, healthy shoulder-length brown hair, emerald eyes nearly identical to his own, and a slim body with a bountiful chest, this woman made her guild uniform look good rather than the other way around.
But what drew his attention the most was her pointy ears.
"An elf!?"
As for the woman, she seemed to be surprised by Izuku's own appearance.
"Emerald eyes?" She stared at his glimmering orbs, their colors practically identical to hers. Her curiosity only grew at the boy's vibrant, fluffy green hair casting shadows in itself.
Both individuals blinked a few times before realizing they were staring at each other, to which both broke into stutters.
"Ah, I'm sorry-!"
"I-I'm sorry-!"
They instinctively paused to let each other speak.
"It was rude of me to-"
"I didn't mean to stare-!"
They stopped again, staring at each other in silence.
"Man, social awkwardness is a bitch." Yoichi chuckled.
Izuku turned away in embarrassment just as a smack echoed in the mindscape.
Thankfully, the elf quickly cleared her throat to regain composure and stepped into the chair across from Izuku, placing her supplies on the table.
"I'm sorry about that. It was rude of me to stare." She said, giving him a welcoming smile.
"I-I'm sorry for doing it too. I was just really surprised to see an elf as my advisor..." Izuku admitted. "Are you sure you're alright with it?"
The elf gave a confused tilt of her head. "What do you mean?"
Izuku fiddled with his fingers with an unsure expression.
"Well, from what I know, elves don't like associating with people outside of their races, so won't being an advisor to a human bother you?" He asked.
The elf gave him a reassuring smile.
"That's usually tends to apply to physical contact more than anything, but you won't to worry about that regardless. I'm actually a half-elf."
Surprise flashed in his eyes. "A half-elf?"
Izuku's mental book of trivia immediately flipped to information from Gramps.
'Half-elves are pretty much what their name implies, half-elf and half of another race. This other race is usually, if not always, human, and no, I have no idea why that's the case. Anyway, you can tell a half-elf by their ears: longer than a human's but shorter than a normal elf's. They ain't uptight like their pureblooded brethren but also don't have as much natural talent in magic as them.'
Unfortunately, Izuku also remembered the other information.
'They're still quite the beauties like their relatives, but you can knock em' up SO much easier! They even tend to be bigger in aaaaaall the right places! You'll never regret filling your hands with a half-elf, bwahahaha!
Izuku's face poofed red as his gaze shot down.
"I-I see! M-My name is Izuku Midoriya; I look forward to working with you!" He bowed respectfully.
The half-elf's smile grew. "My name is Eina Tulle, a long-tenured guild employee and your appointed advisor. I look forward to working with you as well." She bowed in return.
And so, a new connection was born.
Eina hadn't known what to expect when Rose told her that a new adventurer had specifically asked for an advisor with the most knowledge and teaching efficiency regarding the dungeon. It was the first time someone had ever asked for the best rather than either going with the flow and agreeing to whoever was offered or, in the case of many males, just asking for a specific race to please their eyes.
Of all the guild advisors, Eina had the fewest adventurers under her care, with those she was still technically in charge of hardly ever showing up enough to even call them acquaintances. Not to mention, any new adventurers who registered nowadays would always avoid or straight-up refuse to have her as their advisor, considering her... reputation.
She just didn't want anyone else under her care to die in the dungeon. Is that really too much to ask?
So what if in addition to the dungeon-prowling advice and regular meetings, she also commands private lessons to cram as much information into an adventurer's head as possible? So what if she'd demand her students to draw maps of each floor and write monster strategies from memory, with the threat of extra work if there were any mistakes? It's essential, and their lives literally depended on it! They shouldn't be running away or asking for a new advisor!
But in the end, it was always the same. New adventurers would either become or already be arrogant, naive, or simply uncaring of all the information in the dungeon and how dangerous it was, which is why Eina was so surprised to hear someone request the most efficient and hard-working advisor for the first time, and from such a young boy at that.
In truth, she had been skeptical that someone so young would show any sign of discipline or focus to take all her teachings seriously—or if he could even handle it.
Yet, as she talked with Midoriya about when he'd show up for classes and what to expect, he was actually quite eager. He asked questions, lots of them, not only about what kind of structure their classes would take but also about what kind of services the guild provided for adventurers, noting all of it down.
He even asked if it was okay to have his first lesson immediately. Who was she to refuse someone actually eager to learn?
From there, Eina's impression of the boy only kept growing. They spent the entire morning conducting her class to make sure he'd be completely prepared for the first floor of the dungeon, and he only continued to show promise. Izuku stayed focused and attentive even when she only talked about the goblins and kobolds of the first floor, along with the incredibly rare Jack Bird that could appear. She also followed with other general facts about the dungeon everyone already knew or viewed as irrelevant, but Izuku listened respectfully the entire time. He wrote fast yet in small, neat scribbles in his book, showing practiced note-taking skills that she'd say rivaled her own. He even asked if he could copy the first-floor map in the book she had presented, all without being prompted by her.
He showed the habits of a studious, disciplined student. It was almost like looking at herself during her time in the school district.
Her eyes widened. "Wait, maybe...?"
"Midoriya, did you graduate from the School District?" She asked excitedly.
Izuku looked up from his writing.
"There's a school district in Orario?"
Oh, well, that answers that question...
"Ah, my mistake." Eina shrunk back. "No, the School District is actually a ship that serves as an institution to recruit and educate people from all over the world. I graduated from there myself. Your mannerisms looked like the kind a student would have, so I thought you might've come from there."
"Oh, um, I didn't go there, but I did go to an academy before. Because of the curriculum, I had to make good study habits." Izuku smiled.
"Oh?" Eina looked curious. "What academy was it?"
"Eh? Er, well..." Izuku panicked. "Y-You wouldn't have heard of it before! It was just your standard school, but with more combat and protection-oriented classes involved! It was a little unorthodox but also really strict. We didn't even have falnas, just our own abilities when fighting!"
Eina hummed in acceptance but could see how nervous Izuku got talking about his school. She wasn't sure why he seemed uneasy about it, but she wouldn't pry into something she had no business asking from someone she'd just met.
"Nonetheless, I'm glad you seem to be taking this seriously. Did you finish copying down the first-floor map?"
"Ah, one moment!" Eina watched Izuku get back to drawing out the map with fantastic precision, showing the traits of a decent artist in addition to his note-taking. It seems that he truly was an academic student before coming to Orario.
But... why choose adventuring instead of working at the guild?
"We'll end it here for today." Eina cheerfully said as she took back the papers she had brought. "Having passed the quiz I gave you, I have no doubt you'll be able to handle the first floor's monsters. I'm glad you seem to be taking this very seriously, Midoriya. I hope I'll keep seeing this from you in the future."
The corners of his mouth went upward. "Of course! Thank you very much, Miss Tulle!"
Eina's eye twitched.
"Eina is fine. (I'm not that old...) As your advisor, we will hopefully get to know each other for a long time, so we might as well lose the formalities." She awkwardly laughed.
"Eh? Is that okay?"
"I insist."
Izuku looked down with reddening cheeks.
"Oh. Then um, it's fine if you just call me Izuku, too... Eina."
Eina found her cheeks pinkening at the boy's shy, innocent embarrassment.
She cleared her throat. "Ahem, well, before you leave, I still have some last advice left to offer you."
Izuku already had his book and pen in his arms.
It was then she put on a face more serious than ever before.
"Adventurers shouldn't go on adventures."
He was visibly taken aback.
"Eh?"
"Adventurers shouldn't go on adventures," Eina repeated sternly. As an adventurer, I know you'll be going into the dungeon to kill monsters. But you should never get in way over your head, never put yourself in unnecessary danger, and never adventure to where you shouldn't be going. That's how adventurers meet their end: by going on adventures they think they can handle."
"I..." Izuku frowned in confused consideration before hesitantly nodding in agreement. "I understand."
The smile returned to the half-elf.
"I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Izuku. Good luck."
She hoped he wouldn't need it.
"Eina, is that the new guy who registered yesterday?" Misha Flott, Eina's pink-haired coworker, called out to her friend after noticing the green-haired boy buying some items at a farther counter.
The half-elf nodded eagerly.
"He actually just finished registering earlier now that he found a Familia, but I have a good feeling about him!"
Misha looked at Eina like she had grown a second head. Looking from her to the boy just as he left the building.
"Eh? Really? Him? The guy who came in here looking like a baby stepping into a daycare for the first time? Didn't we learn to recognize a lost cause from all those years working here?"
Eina gasped, scandalized by her words.
"Misha!"
"C'mon Eina," the silver-haired elf with matching eyes to the left of her chimed in. "Why'd you even decide to be his advisor? It's a waste to put time and effort into adventurers who aren't gonna last."
"You can't just write him off like that, Sophie! And for the record, he asked for me specifically!"
Both Misha and Sophie raised eyebrows.
"Huh, so he's into elves? Wait, don't tell me that's why you believe in him!? You like them that young!?" Misha gasped.
"NO!" Eina snapped, her face turning red. "I meant that he asked for an advisor who'd effectively teach him everything about the dungeon to the smallest detail!"
The other two women were visibly surprised, although Sophie looked more skeptical.
"Really? You don't think it was just a roundabout way of getting in your grace?"
"O-Of course not! Even from just our one lesson just now I can tell that he's taking this more seriously than any of my other adventurers before!"
Misha rubbed her chin in consideration before shrugging.
"Eh, I still don't see it, even if he's a bookworm. He could study all the books in the world but completely freeze up at the first monster he sees."
"You..." Eina's eye twitched.
"Hey, what about you, Rose?" Sophie called out to their coworker, who stared monotonously at the doors with crossed arms under her healthy chest. "I figured you would've said something already. It's usually these types of innocent boys you don't hold any hope for."
"..."
The werewolf's tail slowly slid to her right.
"...We'll see."
That had the other women's eyes widen.
"Th-That wasn't a dismissal! You actually think he'll outlast all the others!?" Misha exclaimed, shocked not to hear the woman's usual blunt rejection.
"I said we'll see," Rose repeated without any elaboration.
"Whoa," Misha breathed out. "I was gonna suggest we bet on it, but with an answer like that, I feel like I'd lose."
Eina gasped. "Misha! Betting on people's lives is horrible!"
"What Familia is he part of anyway?" The human asked, completely ignoring her friend's scolding.
"Eh? Wait, now that you mention it, I didn't even ask," Eina admitted, recalling that the box had been left blank the previous day when Rose had shown her Izuku's paperwork. "Rose, which one is it?"
"The Hestia Familia. Apparently, he's their only member."
Eina gasped.
"What!? Th-The only member!? Oh gods, I thought he had others to help get him started in the dungeon! Is he gonna be okay!? I can't believe I didn't ask before!" Eina immediately started freaking out at the prospect of an innocent upstart walking to his death.
Misha shook her head. "Welp, nice knowing him."
"Hey, our resident ice wolf here is actually feeling hopeful of all things, so who knows? He might not actually drop dead." Sophie rested her arms on the counter as she leaned forward, staring at the front doors the boy had left.
"...He stands outs. Even more so than the usual adventurers."
"Huh? You think so?"
The elf nodded. "Yeah, his eyes and hair are pretty unique. You don't tend to see any guys with green colors like that. Though... I do kind of wonder how other elves will react to it."
"What? What do you mean?" Eina asked, confused by the notion. Even Rose was raising an eyebrow as she glanced in their direction.
Sure, he has forest-green hair and emerald eyes similar to hers, but why would that specifically gain an elf's attention?
"Well..." Sophie rested her head in her hand. "Green is just kinda familiar to us."
~{Orario North West Main Street}~
"I can't believe you're five thousand valis in debt now..."
"I'm not happy about it either, but you heard what Eina said. Weapons made without any monster parts just don't compare to weapons that are. I don't want the daggers from the village breaking in the dungeon, so getting a loan to buy better weapons like she suggested seemed right." Izuku muttered as he left the guild pantheon.
"But I thought you were going with the Kratos Style! So why'd you buy both a dagger and a shortsword!?"
Izuku looked down at his leather utility belt. Like Daigoro said, a leather scabbard was attached to his left hip, holding a brand-new guild shortsword that he just bought. In addition, he was wearing a new guild dagger sheathed on his back right hip, a strategic placement for critical easy access.
"I'm pretty sure we agreed to put that idea on hold since Izuku doesn't have access to the right weapons for an unorthodox style like that." En corrected.
"Can't he just use the dagger he bought with another?"
"You saw what happened when he did that in the village. They're too small, so they won't even cover a wide area of attack if Nine uses them like how you want him to. At most, using daggers with Blackwhip would mean needing accurate precision similar to how one would use the kyoketsu-shoge weapon." Hikage informed them.
"Ain't that a weapon with a short blade attached to a rope? Wait, does that Izuku could alternate to be like Scorpion instead!?" Yoichi gasped excitedly.
"That's a misconception. Scorpion used a rope attached to a kunai. It's not the same thing."
There was an interesting pause at Kudo's statement.
"Hey, I played some video games as a kid before the world went to shit!" The first holder hissed.
"Huh. You know? Imagining you as a happy, innocent kid playing video games feels... wrong."
"Fuck you Yoichi."
"Regardless-" Hikage cut in. "-Izuku would need custom weapons to even consider the style suggested. I personally believe he's right to explore his options in weaponry to see what he feels the most comfortable with."
Izuku followed the road towards the large tower in the distance.
"We did talk about me using either daggers or a sword. Thanks to Bruce, I know the basics of fighting with daggers; I just need practical experience against monsters. And now that I have the chance to buy a sword, I figured I'd try learning it too."
"You didn't think you should've bought some armor?" En asked him.
"I thought about it, but I think having two weapons is more important in case I lose one while in the dungeon." Izuku looked down at his green vest. "Besides, my vest is durable enough to count as some protection. I just need to parry attacks or not get hit, and as long as I study enough about the dungeon and its monsters, I should be okay."
"And that half-elf teaching you is gonna do just that. I gotta say, I think you scored pretty well with her kid," Daigoro chuckled.
"I know. I can tell that I'm going to learn a lot from her!" The boy smiled.
The man sighed that his actual meaning was missed while Nana gushed.
"I'm glad that you have such a nice lady as your advisor. I can tell that she's a real sweetheart!"
"And she's even given you the go-ahead to jump down into the first floor of the dungeon!" Yoichi cackled. "We can finally get this isekai ball rolling!"
"Don't act like this is some kindergarten field trip."
Kudo's voice silenced everyone, with even Izuku halting his walking at the sharpness of is tone.
"Remember, you're heading to what's essentially a deathtrap creating monsters responsible for millions of deaths. We need to take this as serious as possible, not like some fairy tale adventurer."
Eyes narrowing in determination, Izuku moved onward toward the center of the city.
"I know. I'm not planning to die."
"But you'll increase your odds of it if you go in with a certain attitude or distractions, so we need to establish some rules."
"While in the dungeon, we're keeping our conversations with Nine to the absolute minimum similar to how we interacted with him during the war. So if you don't have anything actually relevant to say, then shut up."
"Aw, you mean we gotta be all quiet and broody again?" Daigoro groaned.
"That's especially for you, Yoichi. You're NOT going to be telling Nine what to do each moment in the dungeon like some obnoxious kid telling someone else how to play a video game."
"No backseat gaming, gotcha," Yoichi responded, understanding enough not to be miffed at being called out. He then spoke in a gentleman-like voice. "However, as a connoisseur with plentiful experience for the liberal arts of this particular field-"
"Aka being a nerd reading generic light novels." En coughed, earning the stink-eye from the first holder.
"...I still have knowledge that'll be quite beneficial for our successor here, so I'll be to share when it's important." Yoichi finished poisedly.
"Whatever. Nine, do you have everything you'll need?" Kudo asked, getting a nod in return.
"I have my new weapons, the other daggers in my bag, a canteen with water, some jerky, bandages, and those two healing potions Mister Miach gave me."
"Then you're all set. It's only the first floor, so I doubt you'll be there for too long, but it'll be good to make a habit of always checking your inventory before diving in."
"Good timing for a last-minute check, because the dungeon is just up ahead," Bruce informed them.
Izuku stopped in the middle of a spacious plaza of cobblestone bricks, staring forward at a large, faintly lit opening of darkness where adventurers were entering or leaving. Raising his head, the boy looked upward at the massive tower of Babel built directly over the dungeon, just like the lid Gramps compared it to.
The vestiges turned silent as a new sense of imposing tension filled the atmosphere.
"Well... Here you are."
"Yeah..."
Izuku nervously swallowed, feeling a chill just by being in the vicinity of the entrance.
"Here I am."
~{Author's Post-Notes}~
And we're done, woohoo! Like I said, nothing much happens in this chapter, but I think it has some great fluff! Next time we'll have Izuku finally get into the dungeon and get his growth rolling from there.
Oh, I actually wanted to ask opinions about Izuku's weapon situation. Like, not even I know what I'll have his main weapons of choice be. I don't think the 'Kratos Style' is right for now, especially since he doesn't even have the right blades for it, and I do think it'd make sense for Izuku to be open and try learning to use different weapons.
Not only that, but I genuinely think Izuku can just rely on his fists to fight even without One For All's stockpile. Because I think even by danmachi standards he's actually more powerful than your average person in natural strength. I mean, we're talking about a boy who managed to clear an entire beach of garbage by pulling the heaviest of appliances, but what really takes the cake is that if you look back on the scene where Izuku finishes cleaning the beach and is screaming in victory, you can SEE HIM STANDING ON TOP OF A TRUCK ON THE VERY TOP OF THE LAST PILE OF GARBAGE!? You realize that means that he actually had to have carried that truck to the top, right? I don't want to clutter these notes, but I genuinely think the people of MHA may have also naturally evolved in a different way than quirks that let them survive and accomplish inhuman feats naturally. So yeah, I think it'd make sense if Izuku could punch the heads off of monsters unless you want to just explain it as general anime over-exaggeration. But I do also think that the kind of hands-on fighting involving such brutality would also make him uncomfortable (as in learning to snap necks and other things), so he wouldn't want to use his hands?
What do you all think? This is something that's just kinda stumped me for a while and is why I had him buy both a dagger and shortsword (the latter of which he could easily hold with one hand because of his natural strength). I'm gonna have Izuku form an alternating style using both a dagger and his sword until he officially chooses which fighting style he wants, but I need to hear some thoughts.
He can go several different ways:
1) He could get custom blades like the Blades of Chaos together with Blackwhip, but I think this style might be a little too savage and lacking accuracy since his attacks will involve just slashing at everything without too much precision.
2) He could go with just a sword, fitting his image of the Fantasy AU. This is the safest and most fitting option to me that I'm leaning toward, as it'd match Izuku's heroic, knightly image. He'd still have his dagger as a backup weapon and just something to carry, but the main focus would be the sword. (He could probably still use Blackwhip with it sometimes.)
3) He could go with just daggers, which would make him a little too comparable to Bell. I think this is the most boring option, yet I also think this would make sense since he'd have the first two holders to teach him more about using them. I'm 100% sure they practiced with daggers during their time in the resistance, Bruce specifically.
4) He could go bare-handed, either using the gloves from his costumes to support his fists or getting new gauntlets. This would be both familiar for Izuku and let him easily adjust his fighting as he gains back more of One For All.
Let me know what you think! This isn't a vote or anything, I just need some other perspectives.
As for what you should all expect from me next, school and life are issues as I mentioned, so it'll still be hard for me to write, but I'll be alternating on 'God Bless This Wonderful Hero' and maybe another fanfic. Thank you all for enjoying my work and I'll keep working hard! Remember not to be afraid of leaving reviews!