Thank you all for enjoying the story so far. I wanted to say really quick that I hope no one takes these short AN sections as me not caring about the story. I do care, I just don't like when I read a story and the opening commentary from the author is so long that it takes up an entire page on its own. I enjoy writing the story and I don't want anyone to have to slog through me to get to the meat and potatoes.

Edit: fixing some proofreading that slipped through the cracks.

Please enjoy.

Samsara
Chapter Five

Izuku hissed in disappointment, closing yet another book. "Come on…still nothing!"

Leaning back in his chair, he raked a hand through his hair and sighed. Dropping his arms to the side he stared up at the ceiling. He stayed like that until he heard someone knock on his door. "You ok, baby?"

He groaned and leaned forward, banging his head on his desk. Inko opened the door and poked her head in. "Nothing again?"

Another bang on the desk.

Opening the door more, she walked in with a baby carrier wrapped around her chest, a little baby girl with gradient black to green hair drooling in blissful sleep. "I'm sorry, Izuku. Anything I can do to help?"

He rolled his head to look up at her, smiling at the sight of his baby sister. "No…I probably just need to back off on research for a bit. All Might pointed me in the right direction, I think I'm just getting tunnel vision…"

She rubbed his back, trying to think of something to cheer him up before his phone went off. He peeled his face off the desk, seeing Katsuki's name. He perked up a bit and answered. "Kaachan?"

-"I think we found something for you, Rings. Ponytail found some shit in her dads' library and said she wanted to meet. Get your ass over to that fancy tea place."-

He immediately shot up, catching the underside of the desk with a bang and immediately waking up his sister, making her cry. Inko bounced and hummed to her, trying to calm her and Izuku winced, feeling terrible.

-"Why's Yui crying? Did you just scare her, you dumbass?!"-

Inko waved him away with a smile. "It's fine, baby, go on ahead. I'll take care of this, but could you please just pick up some things on your way back?"

He looked like he wanted to protest leaving her with a crying baby when it was clearly his fault, but the potential of even some answers spurred him to go. He gave his mom a quick hug and gave Yui a little kiss on the head, which surprisingly calmed her down just a bit. Grabbing his bag on the way out, he practically flew over the railing, landing on the first floor silently. "I'll take care of it! Just send me a list!"

She came out of his room just as he was opening the front door. Yui was still pouting but she'd stopped crying in record time. She called out to him before the door closed and he stopped mid stride, waiting like a deer in headlights. She grinned. "Tell Katsuki his mom and I REALLY want to meet his girlfriend."

-"SHE'S NOT MY FU-"-

The phone beeped as the call ended, Izuku's face still as blank as before with his thumb where the end call button would be. "I'll be back before eight."

The door closed and he was off!

X-X-X

The only tea spot for dozens of miles that sold Gold Tips Imperial was a solid five miles from the Midoriya household. Luckily, after the last ten months of training, he'd learned more about his actual chakra from practice and had learned subtle ways to boost his speed. Keeping to alleyways and rooftops, he leapt and bounded towards the shop that his and Katsuki's mutual friend had made their regular meeting spot. With the wind in his face and small cloak of electricity surrounding him, he idly thought about how much chakra he used to waste before All Might started training them.

'I can't believe that with all the testing and practice that Kaachan and I used to do at the gym, we had never thought to just…read a book. So many books that All Might showed me talk about the metaphysical nature of chakra itself but I'm just happy normal meditation helped me control it so much more.'

Dropping into the alley beside their meeting spot, he peeked around the corner to see Katsuki staring intently at a worn-out old book. Beside him was a cute girl with a large, spiky black ponytail happily talking and pointing to something in the book right up against him. Anyone else, even himself, doing this would've gotten an explosion to the face or at least chewed out, but Izuku noticed just the faintest hint of a blush.

'Sure, Kaachan, she might not be your girlfriend now. But you like her~!'

He grinned and nonchalantly came around the corner with a relaxed gait. "Hey, Kaachan! Momo!"

Momo looked up with a smile to greet him, but Katsuki beat her to it, pulling him in when he got close enough by the collar of his shirt. He spoke low and as menacingly as he could. "Tell. Your mom. To stop. Please."

Izuku's grin never left his face, meeting his low tone, albeit more playful. "It's ok, Kaachan! We're all rooting for you, you know! I really think you have a chance!"

The normally aggressive teen had a look of pleading on his face, while on the edge of the conversation Momo had been left confused and in the dark. "Is everything ok?"

Izuku relented and gave a nod, with Katsuki giving his own in thanks. He turned back to Momo, his usual cocky grin back in place. "Yeah, we're good, Ponytail. You wanna show him what you showed me?"

She practically sparkled on the spot. "Absolutely! But first, are you thirsty? Would you like some tea?"

The Rinnegan user shook his head but thanked her anyways while pulling a bottle of water from his bag. She quickly relented and pulled the book from Katsuki while flipping through the pages. She came to a stop, a perfectly manicured nail pointing to the title of a series of paragraphs. The book itself seemed to be a collection of ancient stories and myths to Katsuki, but to Izuku, he only focused on the title, something unknown stirring in him. Momo was all too excited to help and read it out.

"The Six Paths of Pain, With no attributed author! I'll admit, the title is a little depressing and the story itself is not much better. In the review notes my father wrote, he believes it's meant to be a subversion of the paths of reincarnation from Buddhism, but…if this story is to be believed, it would predate the religion entirely. At the very least, I think the story will benefit you, Izuku. It specifically mentions a man with ringed, purple eyes. While it doesn't mention the Rinnegan by name, I think it's related to you."

Izuku had already zoned out, reading the story intently. It was short, just over two pages long, but it told the story of a boy from a war-torn land. When he was a young boy, he lost his family. He awakened an unknown power in his eyes and had to survive on his own until he met two people, a boy and a girl. His best friends. They lived together, fought together, laughed together. The boy who brought them together wanted more for his land, though. He wanted to end the war, and bring lasting peace to their home, so they started an organization. The Akatsuki, denoted by their black cloaks with red clouds, tried to negotiate with the dictator of the land, but were betrayed, forced to make a sacrifice.

In that moment of betrayal, the boy lost his best friend, and the girl had lost her love. The author didn't seem to know the finer details of what happened afterward, only describing it as a massacre.

It said that the power of the Rinnegan was unleashed, and the boy made a plan. He would follow through with his best friend's dream. He would bring the world peace through the one unifying concept he understood.

Pain.

Izuku had to stop reading for a second when he read that. 'Pain…is that what defines the Rinnegan?'

Katsuki and Momo read alongside him. Momo had been told Izuku's goals before and quickly understood why he'd stopped. The table was silent while he processed this, but then he shook his head and went back to reading.

The story continued on to talk about his Paths of Pain. Bodies, corpses, controlled through the use of black rods made by the boy that each used a single aspect of the inherent power of the eye. The Human Path, which gathered information by…ripping the souls from its target, killing them instantly.

That made him stop again. 'Thank goodness I stopped using it when I did. Even if the soul is probably just a metaphor, the fact that this says it kills someone is enough to almost never use it again. Something so seemingly harmless being so deadly is terrifying…'

The next path the author mentioned was the Animal Path, able to summon otherworldly creatures that shared the eyes of the boy. Next came the Preta Path, with the power to absorb chakra specifically. Izuku idly thought that if that's the case it wouldn't be useful to him. Over the last few months of training with All Might and Katsuki, and then later bringing Momo in private, he'd started being able to see the chakra of people around him when he focused. At first, he'd wanted to teach them to try and use it, but since even his control still wasn't perfect, he doubted anyone else would truly have the ability to use chakra like he could. They just didn't have enough of it.

Continuing on, the next path it talked about was the Asura Path, one he was very intimate with the abilities of, being able to create weapons of all kinds from the wielders body, as though it was summoning them. The Deva Path was another he recognized, with the power to affect the gravitational pull of the things around him. He didn't realize, though, that it was actual gravity he seemed to be affecting. He simply thought it was an attractive and repulsive force and would require more study, testing and practice.

The final path was one he'd never experienced, and suddenly, he remembered All Might's words from back during their mock battles months ago, with him mentioning something about one day being able to help him.

Naraka Path.

Hell.

It was written that the Naraka Path utilized the King of Hell to pass judgment on liars and could heal the wounds of anyone by consuming the body of whoever the man wanted to heal. This gave Izuku pause. 'If this is true…then I could easily heal All Might! But I have no idea how to use it…I definitely need to try and figure this one out.'

The story went on to discuss another path, but sadly the information was faded and torn at the bottom of the page. He grumbled and held a hand to his head. "Another path? But…that would make seven…why would it say the Six Paths of Pain and there's a seventh path?"

Katsuki was just as confused, but Momo spoke in with a smile. "Right here," she pointed to another paragraph towards the end of the story, mentioning Gedō Mazō, and his eyes began to dimly glow. "My father's notes mention this as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The story doesn't mention what this statue can do or how it interacts with the man, but he believes, and I agree that the Outer Path must refer to the true wielder of the Rinnegan. Someone who exists outside of the Paths of Reincarnation, or…the Paths of Pain. I haven't the slightest clue what the Outer Path would be capable of, though. It could simply be the ability you possess to control these Six Paths without channeling them through corpses. I'm just not sure, and it doesn't go into much more detail before the story ends with the death of the man, his friend that brought him back home, and the desecration of his grave. It's a very morbid tale…"

She seemed down from the story, but Katsuki jabbed a thumb at her with a grin. "Told ya she found something good!" Momo got some pep back from the praise and sparkled with a smile. "I just wanted to help my friends, is all!"

Izuku wasn't really paying attention to them, hypnotized by his own thoughts. There was an image in his head of a massive statue sitting in a lotus pose with its bands bound in front of it, with nine, crazed blue eyes. Whispers swam through his mind and the tomoe in his eyes idly spun by themselves before Katsuki shook him. "Hey, Rings! You good?"

He shook his head and blinked away a daze that caught him by surprise. "Yeah what? I'm good!"

Katsuki gave him an unconvinced glance but shrugged. "Uh huh. Sure. Ponytail wanted to know if you think this'll be useful."

Izuku looked at her waiting with a smile and smiled back. "Absolutely! This is actually the most information I've ever really gotten about my eyes…and I've been researching for months."

A laugh not unlike a melody escaped her mouth, making Katsuki pink in the cheeks. She put a hand lightly on his shoulder and smiled at the explosive teen. "Katsuki mentioned Thursday that you had been stressing over researching your Quirk, so I thought I'd try my best to help! My father has such an extensive library, and the staff were all too eager to help me look!"

That took his mind off the images quickly and he leaned in with a grin. "Oh? Kaachan never mentioned you two were hanging out Thursday."

Another blush, but he couldn't get out a clear word. Momo just smiled brightly, even though she was a tad confused. "You don't remember? He invited me out to a movie with the two of you, but when I got there, he'd said you cancelled because of your research. That's when I asked about it and decided to help! Friends don't let friends miss time with friends!"

Izuku looked directly to where Katsuki's eyes would've been, but he was actively refusing eye contact, and actually starting to sweat a little. The green-haired boy chuckled and held his hands up. "That's right! I forgot about that! My heads been buried in these books for so long I keep on forgetting simple things!"

He laughed, all while staring with crazed eyes at his best friend. 'Definitely not telling mom to stop now! I might just give Aunt Mitsuki and her some more ammo!'

Katsuki met his eyes and coughed, shrugged and crossed his arms. 'Like I give a shit who finds out I like a girl. Of course it was gonna happen at SOME point!'

Izuku's grin was nothing short of devilish. 'Lying to get a girl out on a date, Kaachan?! How deceitful! How juicy!'

This silent conversation left Momo completely in the dark and she closed the book with a light thump. Both boys stopped, apologized and she just kept smiling.

Izuku wasn't entirely sure what it was, but he got a feeling she knew how Katsuki felt, if only a little.

X-X-X

From a nearby alleyway, there stood a man made of dark fog and shadows. He was well dressed, with sickly yellow eyes staring at the three teens reading. He didn't care for what they were saying, only that the boy was reading the book his master had asked him to plant in the girl's house. Little things stood out; from a pause here and there to the far off look in the boys' eyes right as they finished.

'It would seem that Sensei's intrigue was worth it. The boys' eyes exhibit the right features, and he seems to have a genuine reaction to the story book. Whether it is mere curiosity, or a true connection remains to be seen.'

A portal of fog opened up behind him as they got up to leave. 'I shall inform Sensei and see how he wishes to proceed.'

X-X-X

After they'd finished their emergency meeting, the trio had gone to their training grounds; a previously trashed expanse of the Takoba Municipal Beach. Only it wasn't their training grounds anymore. Since Izuku and Katsuki had cleaned it for training, the beach had come back to life, with people enjoying the warm sun and cool ocean. Momo had been shocked at first to learn that they were the ones responsible for it, but after having gotten to know both of them, it came as no surprise.

They'd been here for a while, with the sun getting low. Izuku had noticed the text from his mom for the groceries she'd asked for and sent a message saying thank you. Katsuki was already up and stretching from lazing about and Momo was drying off, having used her Quirk in the changing rooms nearby to make a bathing suit so she could go for a swim.

He grinned when he saw Katsuki trying not to stare but didn't say anything. He'd been teasing him for a while now and figured he'd had enough.

With everyone ready to go, Katsuki offered, in his usual gruff manner, to walk Momo to her train stop. Knowing it was an attempt at alone time, Izuku, truthfully, said he had to get some grocery shopping done before heading home. They said their goodbyes, and everyone went their way.

When he was out of sight in another alley, he used his chakra to increase his physical strength, speed and reflexes to jump up to the rooftops, pulling out his phone.

Getting ready to send a text to his dad while he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, he ended up dropping his phone when a foggy black mass appeared in front of him, startling him. He barely got out of the way and tumbled on the next rooftop, rolling until he hit the edge with a loud *THUD*. He shook his head and worked to stand up, seeing a well-dressed man made of the same black fog appear from what was now clearly a portal.

"Midoriya Izuku. It's a pleasure to meet the one who wields the Rinnegan."

Izuku couldn't place it, but the man didn't feel real. He felt fake. Artificial. Why, he didn't know, but he was on guard. 'Path of the Asura: Scorpio.' His lower back slowly opened up, a skill he'd learned with practice to avoid giving away what he was doing, his tail ready to spring out at a moment's notice if the man attacked. The stranger seemed to sense Izuku was tense and held up a placating hand.

"I assure you, I am not here to harm you, young man. My name is Kurogiri, and I am simply here to deliver you to my Sensei. He would like to speak with you on the matter of your eyes. He's incredibly interested in them, you see."

The boy wanted to outright say no, and once more the man seemed to sense it. "I would like to inform you that, should you refuse, the lives of you family may be in grave danger."

The reaction was immediate, his tail came out aiming directly at his chest with Izuku's arms turning into two giant, articulating blades. He was ready to pounce, but the man didn't seem worried in the slightest. "Touched the right nerve, didn't I? Don't be afraid, I promise nothing shall happen to them, so long as you come with me."

They stayed in this position for a few seconds before Izuku's arms turned back to normal and his tail receded. He stared at Kurogiri in silence. "You let them go the moment I come with you."

Kurogiri chuckled, the odd sound echoing from seemingly even the portal behind him. "You are in no position to bargain, young man. You will come with me with only my word. I'm sorry to say this is your only option. Trust me that even as a villain, I will not harm them without reason. How hard could that be?"

Izuku growled and his eyes began to glow hearing the man's mocking tone. Something was stirring inside him, but he couldn't make it out. As much as he wanted to fight back, with his family being threatened, he knew he didn't have a choice. 'Dammit! The best I can do is try and think of something while I meet this guy's boss. I wish I could make phones in my head with Asura to call All Might or Kaachan…if I get out of this I need to see if I can make it work...'

He stood up straight and scowled at the fog-man, reluctantly nodding and heading towards the portal. Kurogiri stepped out of the way and welcomed him through with a bow. "Thank you, young man, for seeing reason."

His scowl became harsher as he passed into the portal. It felt…odd. It felt like his stomach was doing flips, his bones were being turned into rubber and his body was being stretched. All these feelings hit him in a fraction of a second before his destination appeared.

It was a dank black room with screens and medical equipment in the center surrounding a chair. In that chair sat yet another well-dressed man, only this one Izuku could see he was relatively normal. Apart from the simple fact the man was on life support and had practically no face to speak of above his nose. He didn't let the life support fool him, though. He could almost feel how powerful he was. He had to be if he commanded someone like Kurogiri.

He grimaced when the man turned to him with Kurogiri appearing behind him through another portal. "Hmhmhmhmmm…I'm happy you were able to join me tonight, Midoriya Izuku. I trust Kurogiri was accommodating enough for you?"

Izuku immediately raised his palm, ready to blow the two of them away with one Almighty Push. "Where's my family!"

The man let out an amused laugh and held up his hands in mock welcoming manner. "Oh, I assure you, they're safe, young man. There's nothing to be worried about. Please, Kurogiri, bring the boy a seat and a drink. Anything you prefer?"

Izuku said nothing as a portal opened and Kurogiri stepped through, only to reappear seconds later in front of Izuku with a chair and a glass of water. The man with no face waved for him to sit down. Still in the early stages of having no plan of escape, Izuku did as he asked, taking the glass from Kurogiri with a glare. He stared into the clear glass with caution. "It's not poisoned, young man. Unless, of course, you're allergic to water?"

He glared at the faceless man. "What do you want? Why am I here?"

The man waved, and Kurogiri nodded. "I will return when you're done, Sensei." He disappeared into another foggy portal, leaving the two alone.

"People are going to come looking for me, you know."

The man nodded with a grin. "Yes, I'm sure. Everyone says that you know. Though, I suppose All Might's protégé going missing might warrant some attention. Don't worry, boy, you'll return home to your family soon enough. Just as soon as you and I have a little chat."

The man made no sudden moves, but something didn't feel right with this man. Subtly, he activated his chakra to heighten his senses and when he looked at the man, he was disgusted. Within his core, there looked to be a swirling mass of darkness as large as his own, but it was all wrong! It felt like...multiple people. "What…"

He kept his grin and chuckled. "Oh? Were you able to take a peek inside me with those eyes? That's pretty rude, young man. Oh, never mind, it's pretty hypocritical of me after all. I've been peeking in on you from time to time, myself throughout the years."

Despite the tense atmosphere and threat of impending violence, Izuku grimaced at the man. "Seriously?"

The smile dropped and the faceless man made a motion that would indicate he was rolling his eyes, if he had any. "Children these days. I expected you to be more mature, you know. Someone with your power doesn't have the luxury of being childish."

And like that, the tense atmosphere was back, though the grin was not. "I wanted to enjoy this; you know. I understand that for you the circumstances may not be the best, but it's not often I get to talk to someone other than my own protégé, but sadly you've killed the mood."

He hit a button on a small remote and the screens behind him changed to show his house, shocking Izuku. "I am showing you this so you don't immediately attack me when I tell you this. Your family is home safe. They never left, in fact. But should you attack me moving forward in this conversation, I will signal Kurogiri before you can ever touch me, and he will bisect your mother, your father…even your dear little sister. Am I understood?"

Izuku begrudgingly nodded, leveling the most vicious glare he'd ever given at the villain. The mocking grin came back. "Thank you for being so agreeable. Really, I'd prefer you take this as a show of good faith. It wouldn't do well to ask a favor of someone under duress, now, would it?"

He'd admit that he was happy they weren't anywhere near this man, but with Kurogiri, he understood that no one was far from him. Teleportation Quirks were so rare that he was surprised there even was one in all of Japan. And under duress? What a joke. 'I'd have to take Kurogiri out before trying anything against him. If he knows anything about my Quirk, that the Human Path apparently kill with just a touch, it's probably why he sent him away.'

"Now! Let's not beat around the bush. I'm not going to make any unreasonable requests. It doesn't work to give someone an impossible task when you know they'll fail, after all. All I ask is that you continue to train, and when the time comes, I would like you to use your powers to heal my body."

Alarm bells went off in his head and Izuku reflexively wanted to refuse him. Every fiber of his being was screaming for him to say "NO!" and blast him away. Something! But the cameras of his house at every angle stayed that reaction. His heartbeat was through the roof, though, something he could tell the man knew. "Now, now, I don't expect you to do it right this moment. I'm aware that you've never tapped into the powers of the King of Hell. I only ask, in return for the good faith I'm showing you here, to remember me when you do, and to do as I ask when the time comes. Do this, and I will reward you handsomely."

It came as no surprise to him that this man knew about the Naraka Path. Even if he'd only just learned about it himself, this man had an air of old knowledge around him. He stayed silent, though, and the man hummed. "Make no mistake, if my eye sockets could be repaired, I'd rip those eyes from your skull right now and take them for myself. You're lucky that even with all my power, I cannot fix the damage done to me by myself. You're also lucky that there is no one but myself that I would trust with those eyes, or I'd have taken them years ago. You will keep them, and your family will remain untouched. And as yet another show of goodwill, no other villain will ever touch them so long as I live. I'd certainly say this is by far the most one-sided deal I've ever given in someone else's favor. Well? It's very generous of me, of course. Even you can't be there all the time to protect them, can you?"

His mocking grin became malicious, his head resting on his fist in expectation while the clear threat wasn't lost on Izuku. "I need an answer now, young man. It's not so much, is it? Your mother will never fear another home invasion. Your father will always be safe on the job. And your dear little sister will never have to fear the horrible, terrifying villains that lurk in the shadows. All for the simple request to heal my body."

Izuku's head hung, looking at the ground. 'I can agree…for now. At least until I can find a way to take him out. I get the feeling this isn't something I can tell All Might about, either…or he'll know. I won't even be safe to talk about this until I get into UA. Two more weeks until then. I can keep a secret until that.'

The man tapped his armrest expectantly. "Come on, young man. It's rude to keep your elders waiting."

His singsong tone made Izuku's stomach twist when he looked up at him. "Fine. You make sure my family is never harmed, and I promise to heal you when I learn how."

His hands clapped together. "Excellent young man! Before we shake on it, a caveat. I'd like to warn you; tell anyone about me, tell anyone about what we've discussed, and our deal is off. The protection will be gone. Do you understand?"

Izuku stood up with his glare firmly in place. "I figured. I'm not stupid."

The man chuckled, holding out a hand for Izuku to take. He did so, his hand nearly being crushed in the man's grip, making him grimace in pain. "I never assumed you were, young man. I merely wanted to get that bug in your ear, you see. Something to think about whenever any Heroic ideas might cross your mind."

A portal appeared behind Izuku, but he never took his eyes off the faceless man. Shaking his hand felt…wrong. His eyes glowed brighter in response to the potential danger, but he backed away slowly, the man never moving after him. "I'm a man of my word, Izuku. So long as you keep up your end of the bargain, you and your family will have nothing to fear. Goodbye for now."

His wave was mocking as the boy entered the portal. He appeared right down the road from his house, the sky pitch black. The only lights were the streetlights and those that came from homes. He looked at his watch and was surprised to see it was only nine. He said he'd be home at eight, but at least it wasn't too bad. His parents would still worry, but at least it wasn't after midnight. The groceries could be explained away, but the hardest thing to explain would be his phone.

He walked down to his house and stood with his hand on the doorknob for a second. 'It'll be ok…I'll figure something out…'

He put on a smile and opened the door to the smell of Katsudon.

'I have to…'

X-X-X

Once again, I hope you all enjoyed reading.

Until next time.