Greetings one and all! Hope you all have been doing alright.
Here is Part 1 of the USJ arc, just as a heads up, I had to split the story into 4 parts now, for pacing reasons. So part 2 should be up within a week, followed by part 3 within a few days after that, and part 4 afterward.
As a reminder and update, here is the chapter titles:
Chapter 17: All Fun and Games...
Chapter 18: Game Over
Chapter 19: Darkness Beckons
Chapter 20: Faces New and Old
So, once again, thank you for your time and patience, and enjoy this first part of the USJ.
Reviews from last time:
PMC-Midnight Mariners: I see you are one of the ones to figure out what's been happening to our cinnamon roll. And who's to say if Izuku could keep 'Fray' back under control, you'll just have to see the upcoming chapter to figure it out.
Krasus1988: Honestly I had a very nice discussion over on the discord server I'm mostly talking with people on story ideas and how to make this story flow in regards to this. Fun Fact: Nitroglycerin is water-soluble.
Laplase: Totally agree with you on that point, and personally I was somewhat self-venting during that as well with how Bakugo's character is being handled. Has it gotten better? Yes, it has somewhat... does that mean I like his character or see why he's a fan favorite? Not a damn clue haha.
Xerzo LotCN: Well, better get those tissues my dude ^^; I know a lot of people have voiced their sadness that Ochako and Toru aren't going to join the poly relationship, but I made this decision on a few key deciding factors.
1. Ochako at the beginning of the story wasn't looking for love, and she actively suppressed her feelings of anything like that up until Yuga basically told her at the final exams, and then she admitted it during the licensing exam.
And unlike Ochako in Bearer, sure, she likes Izuku and thinks he's a great guy, but it's nowhere near the pedestal Canon puts him on with her feelings. And spoiler warning, she and Bakugo do not get together in Bearer.
2. In terms of Toru, I have nothing against her or her character, but I already have one of the girls currently who has a similar personality with her lined up already. Doesn't mean she isn't getting together with someone, but it will be a real crack pairing I'll admit that hehe.
Draculyn28: Thank you! I am glad you are enjoying it. Hello!
AnimeFan13579: Oh they will...
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to My Hero Academia and Final Fantasy XIV, they belong to their copyright holders.
Chapter 17
USJ Part 1 - All Fun and Games...
Izuku sighed gently as he stared out of the window of the bus with the events of the last three days still playing through his head on repeat. The first part of his turmoil was from Saturday of how he had apparently told off Bakugo, which he had no recollection of doing, and the study session's aftermath. When some of the boys had told him of how his eye color had changed slightly to that of a dull orange around the edges of his iris', Izuku had booked it straight to his room and immediately checked his eyes within his bathroom mirror to see if any of the discolorations had remained.
Thankfully, they were the same emerald color he knew and loved, and it had not only relaxed Izuku's mind but also somewhat frustrated him as this was clearly another kit about to be 'unleashed'. However, unlike the previous awakenings, this one had no catalyst… none of his classmates were triggering the pull he would often feel when they were needed to bring out a new kit, nor was it an object.
Perhaps it was himself this time?
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the gentle knocking on his door, opening it to find Tsuyu, Momo, and Yuga all standing there with all of his notebooks in their arms. Izuku had blinked for a few moments before going wide-eyed at the fact he was in such a rush that he left all of his notebooks downstairs!
Stuttering out an apology, his three friends chuckled at his antics as he took the notebooks from them and began to place them back into their correct places by his desk, making sure to hide the teal book in a good place first.
Sunday had been a tranquil day. Sadly, Tsuyu had to go to her parents for the day to watch her younger siblings until the early evening, so their plans for training were canceled. Izuku wasn't upset about the change of plans; with the short amount of time he had gotten to know the frog girl, he could tell she was a very mature and responsible woman and that this was simply brought upon her with no prior warning.
However, when his thoughts started to head back towards the kiss she had given him and how he reacted to her, he slapped his cheeks to focus on the homework given to him by Nezu. He grumbled and inwardly berated himself for thinking those thoughts again. He didn't deny that she was beautiful, much like the other girls in his class, and if he was honest… he may have had a slight crush on not just her but also some of the other girls he was friends with.
However, it didn't matter how he felt about them; they were there to be heroes first and foremost. Besides, they would find someone far better than the quirkless deku anyway… no need to get his hopes up.
Settling in for the rest of the day, he had remained alone in his room for most of it, only coming out when it was time for meals and simply grabbing them, his eyes and face buried in a notebook as he muttered softly to himself. What the green-haired boy hadn't noticed was Kirishima had called out to him. Still, Izuku had already ascended the stairs, not hearing the red-headed boy much to his dismay as well as a few others.
Momo sighed gently as she went up to the hardening-quirk boy and merely told him that Izuku tended to get into this sort of tunnel vision when he was upset with himself over something, and he would eventually come out of it, it was just a test of time really. Kirishima huffed gently, not in anger towards Izuku, but more the fact he couldn't help the obviously distressed classmate of his. Momo simply smiled at him gently and nodded, for she too felt that way at times.
And so, Sunday passed by quickly for Izuku. Like he had been doing since his 'sleeping' issues had been taken care of, he had just finished coming back from a morning run around Gym Gamma, which was the closet building, and an excellent way to measure his breath control and stamina.
The morning classes started off the same, with a quick homeroom lecture followed by the announcement of a particular heroics class happening the following day, and a quick follow up homeroom just before lunch, when asked what it was to be about (not that anyone minded an hour free of Present Mic's bombastic style of teaching.), Aizawa merely gave the entire class a deadpan stare and simply said, 'you'll find out later.'
From that point on, Izuku had no idea how the events of that one homeroom lecture would cascade into a whirlwind of chaos for the rest of the day.
If one could call it that, the class was merely the announcement that the students had to choose a class representative. After a chaotic declaration by a few people wanting the position, it was Tenya to 'save the day' by suggesting to hold a class vote to decide the outcome.
Izuku sighed with genuine relief that he had not been chosen as either the class president or vice president. However, the latter was darn close as he had somehow gotten four votes. He watched with a genuine smile as Tenya and Momo stood before the class; his smile was more for Momo because he knew she would best fit the role of leading the class, and she seemed a little upset for some reason. Possibly because she was the vice?
Still, in Izuku's mind, Momo would be the best vice president for Tenya. While Izuku had no qualms with the speedster, in fact, he was proving to be quite a great friend, Izuku did notice how much of a stickler for the rules Tenya was, and having Momo as his vice would counterbalance such ways to make sure that while the rules were followed, it wouldn't be stifling and uncomfortable for the rest of the class. That and truthfully, he could see people going to Momo if there was a problem as she would have listened to them.
Izuku knew this, as this was often the case for him before they were at UA.
When lunch started; Izuku, Momo, Tsuyu, Kyoka, Mina, Ochako, Tenya, Toru, Tokoyami, and Yuga were all seated and discussing various little things, as well as for Izuku apologizing for his behavior during the study session and his lack of being around on Sunday, the green-haired boy's vision went dark suddenly, and he froze as he felt very soft and warm hands covering his eyes.
His own hands quickly shot up, and realizing there was the lack of arms attached to said hands, he huffed softly and called out the giggling trickster who was sitting a few tables away. He sighed as he gently pulled the detached limbs from his head and held them like one would with a pair of hands. He excused himself and headed to the table where Setsuna was just grinning like an idiot at him.
He placed them on the table and politely asked to not spook him again… for the millionth time. For his troubles, Setsuna merely teased him lightheartedly, all the while wiggling her eyebrows at him as to insinuate something that she knew he wouldn't dare even think about, causing Izuku to blush and stammer.
Setsuna giggled at his reaction, as well as a blonde-haired girl sitting beside her with two large horns on the sides of her head, Kinoko who was across from Setsuna, was doing her best not to giggle as well, not from the teasing, but the very adorable way Izuku's face had blossomed into a bright red. A groan came from the other side of Setsuna that came from an orange-haired young woman who lightly karate chopped the top of the sharp-toothed girl's head.
She introduced herself as Itsuka Kendo. The blonde-haired girl with a somewhat and heavily accented broken form of Japanese introduced herself as Pony Tsunotori, all the while beaming a big smile that everyone at the table with them, including Izuku, had to cover their eyes from how bright it was. Izuku then nodded his head in greeting to Kinoko, who very timidly did the same while also supporting a soft blush on her cheeks with her hair still covering her eyes.
Just when Izuku was about to introduce himself, an alarm went off in the cafeteria that caused massive panic amongst the students. As the students began to panic and push and shove their way to the exits, believing the alarms to signal a villain attack against the university, Izuku had been pressed against the windows, and somehow both Kinoko and Pony had been pinned between him and the window.
Izuku grunted not only from being hit continuously in his back by the panicking students but also to not crush the two girls in front of him. He looked down at said girls, both looking utterly confused and frightened, one from not clearly understanding the cacophony of rapidly spoken Japanese. The other was just scared at the thoughts of a villain or a group of them attacking the school. Somewhere deep in his subconscious, this felt wrong to Izuku, and he tried to think of some way to help the two girls.
When in doubt, do what All Might would do.
Izuku spoke out to them, and upon seeing the brilliant blue eyes of Pony, as well as the one revealed brown eye in the shape of a shiitake mushroom of Kinoko look up to him, he gave them the biggest smile he could muster considering someone kept jabbing him in the back with their elbow. Both girls stared up at him, Pony's frightened look turned into one with just as big of a smile as his own, while Kinoko was merely staring up at him with a dusting of pink across her cheeks.
The moment soon ended though, as movement from above had caught their attention. All three students blinked in disbelief at the floating Tenya Iida zipping past them and landing against the wall above the main exit, loudly proclaiming that it was the press that had gotten past the gates to UA and that everyone should calm down and exit the building properly.
From there, the rest of the day had been somewhat quiet; the afternoon classes and any programs afterward had been canceled. Returning to the present, Izuku sighed as he kept thinking about how the press had managed to take down the security gate in the first place. His gaze watched the ground pass by him as he and his classmates were on their way to the special rescue training at a unique building called the USJ or 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint', much to Mina and Kaminari's disappointment.
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a gloved finger poke his cheek, and he turned his head to see Tsuyu staring at him with a tilt of her head, "You've been deep in thought, kero, I've been trying to get your attention for the last ten minutes."
"O-Oh, s-sorry Tsuyu… erm… why were you trying to get my attention?" asked Izuku as he did his best to keep his eyes transfixed onto hers, the reason being she was in her hero suit and the way it hugged tightly against her body left little to his imagination and for the other reason being that he still had no idea how to feel about her ever since they kissed in his room.
Granted, it's not like she would see him in some sort of romantic light; he was only a deku afterall and way out of his league.
"You never did fully explain how your quirk works during the study session, kero, and while I'm not trying to push you if it makes you uncomfortable, now would be a good time while we are still driving to the USJ." Tsuyu said as most of the class turned their heads towards the two green-haired students, obviously eavesdropping on their conversation.
Izuku looked about to see the curious looks all pointed directly at him, except for Bakugo, who he wasn't surprised in the least; he turned his attention back to Tsuyu, "I-it's fine, Tsuyu… and I did promise I would... just so everyone knows, it has some… odd characteristics."
"Every quirk has a bit of an oddness to them," Kirishima spoke up, leaning on the barrier cushion in front of him, "I mean, look at mine, I can harden my body up sure, but it gets more rigid and has sharper edges to them."
"Or the user can be odd themselves, right Fumi?" spoke Dark Shadow as it coiled around the bird-headed boy, who grumbled out a 'hush demon'. Everyone chuckled at the exchange between the two, which made Izuku lose some of his nervousness.
"T-thanks guys… Well, most of you know it's called 'Manifest', which I mentioned back when I gave that very brief explanation after the assessment tests, and how it can… manipulate my personality a little."
"Riiight, still think it's similar to a 'magical girl' anime," Kaminari spoke up, which caused a few of the students to snicker and Izuku to groan and hide his face in his hands. The electricity quirk user yelped in pain from a jab of Kyoka's ear jack to his side and gave him a warning glare that made him flinch and cower slightly.
Izuku sighed gently after taking a deep breath in to quell his embarrassment, "That aside… there is another part I didn't really go over before." Izuku had paused to collect his thoughts, hoping what he was about to say would make some lick of sense for his classmates, "when my kit's 'manifest', it's not exactly at random… I mean, it's random to what I get! But how I get it, there's a... catalyst to it."
"A catalyst?" Tenya asked, raising an eyebrow as there were a few of the others who looked just as confused; the class president pressed on, however, "What do you mean a 'catalyst'?"
"It's… It's like a pulling feeling. Like a tugging motion where my brain just can't stop focusing on it, and the catalyst can be objects I come across…" Izuku slowly shrank a little, tapping his index fingers together, "or people…"
"People can be catalysts? How in the heck does that work?" Mineta had asked while thinking for a moment, then snapped his fingers and pointed at Izuku suddenly loudly exclaiming, "THAT'S WHY YOU WERE CHECKING OUT TSUYU DURING THE TESTS!"
That particular outburst got a sudden slap upside the head by the mentioned frog girl's tongue, followed up by a frown at the diminutive boy while Izuku was blushing like mad and trying to explain himself. Thankfully, Tsuyu was the first to speak in his defense, "As he just mentioned, it was due to the pull of his quirk that he was staring at me, which he already apologized for, and I forgave him for it."
"I-it was still r-r-rude though..." Izuku weakly spoke up, having Tsuyu turn back to look at him, frown gone, and she sighed, well, keroed gently.
"And I told you already that I accepted your apology. Now, it's obvious that I was the reason you have that 'dragoon' kit, correct?" Tsuyu asked, causing the boy to gently nod his head, "Then, kero, has anyone else been a catalyst in our class?"
"Y-yea… Momo and Yuga were the ones to unlock my Gunbreaker and Red Mage kits… Warrior was unlocked due to the events of the battle trials…" Izuku spoke gently, but everyone on the bus could feel the tension at the admittance of that last one, with a scoff coming out of Bakugo, who merely looked away and finding the outside much more appealing.
"So, I've been curious about something," Sato spoke up, his arms crossed over his chest as the thick-lipped teenager had a thinking look to him. "You keep mentioning this 'Red Mage' over and over, but what entails it to be a 'red' mage exactly? Like are there other colors of mages?"
Izuku stared at the boy in yellow spandex for a few moments before looking down to the bus floor and letting his mind race, going over the question a few dozen times while his eyes slowly began to widen. He never once thought about other types of mages. Yet, while he couldn't think of any presently, one idea cropped up that may give him a better understanding.
A flash of light bloomed inside of the bus suddenly, causing a few of the riders to wince as the one to cause the flash was now in fancier red clothes instead of the gym uniform he was wearing due to his hero outfit still being worked on. Izuku was smiling now; the red tricorn hat upon his head was taken off, revealing the somewhat still curly hair now pulled back into a short ponytail of sorts. Upon his lap was the rapier, sheathed and the crystal focus resting on the belt he was wearing.
Everyone was merely staring at the boy and was silent for a few moments. Izuku turned his attention to his classmates with a tilt of his head in confusion… before Kaminari once again opened his mouth.
"Dude! What the heck are you wearing?!"
Soon the bus erupted into laughter and giggles; even the girls were having a hard time trying to hold back at how utterly gaudy and ridiculous Izuku had appeared, leaving the said 'red mage' to blush and put his hat back on to hide his face. The only one who seemed to take any offense to this was Yuga, "Si vulgaire! To mock an amazing outfit such as what Monsieur Midoriya is wearing is vraiment horrible!"
Momo gently cleared her throat, blushing slightly and getting the attention of everyone, "While I do agree with Yuga that it was very rude of us to laugh at your outfit… I'm sorry Izuku, but what on earth is with all the red? I get it's your 'red mage' kit… but even this is a little too far."
Some of his classmates continue to giggle, and Izuku merely hid under his hat again, groaning gently in embarrassment until he felt the gloved hand of Tsuyu on his shoulder; at this point, he looked to the frog girl, "I'm sure you can change our outfit later, kero, but why did you suddenly change into this kit?"
Realizing there was a reason he did go into this kit, Izuku quickly went to his belt and held the focus in his hand. Everyone watched as it slowly began to float just above the palm as Izuku gently cleared his throat, still somewhat embarrassed from the laughter of his classmates, "Y-yes, I figured that since when I go into one of my kits, I get a better understanding of it's… for the lack of a better term, 'nature' and how it works."
"This is going to sound weird, but… I call it 'Red Mage' because it utilizes the Aether or "mana" within my body to… well… cast spells."
"Wait," Sero had spoken up now, "you're saying you can actually use freaking magic?! Is that why that crystal thing is floating?" The tape-quirked boy asked loudly, and everyone waited for the answer, but when Izuku found the outside of the bus more exciting and had remained silent, the whole class put two and two together, and a few gentle gasps could be heard. Sero once again spoke up to get rid of the heavy tension in the air, "Dude, what the heck is your quirk anyway? I know Denki said it's like something from a magical girl anime, but I think it's more like a bloody video game!"
This got a chuckle from Izuku, who had shifted back to his 'normal' look; he looked back towards the class, "I… c-can't deny that myself. It certainly feels like it at times. But back to what Sato had asked, I honestly couldn't tell you if there are other colors or how many… a 'red mage' utilizes both forms of white and black magic, keeping it balanced between the two and, in doing so creates 'red' magic."
"Well, what's the difference between those two?" Sato had asked once again, a few of the other students nodding in agreement to the question.
"W-well, w-white magic is sort of… it's like it's 'harmony' and 'order', I guess? Most of the spells I could cast were more controlled like using air or earth, as well as being able to use white magic for healing." Izuku spoke gently, "Black magic is the direct opposite… it's more about 'destruction' and 'chaos', for which the elements of fire and electricity are perfect examples of 'black magic'. So, when they are balanced, red magic is created and when used, can cause some devastating effects." Izuku looked towards Ochako, Tenya and Yuga then, "R-Remember that spell I used to take off the head of the zero-pointer? That was red magic at its full power."
"Y-you mean that 'Scorch' spell?" Ochako had spoken up and looked a little pale when Izuku gently nodded. Most of the class also grew quiet from both Yuga's looks, who shivered slightly at the idea of such a thing being used against an actual person, and Tenya, who frowned and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"I trust you have taken some sort of care not to use such dangerous… spells… against other people, correct? Seeing first hand what it is capable of, and as much as I hate to even think that magic exists or even call it that… I cannot deny what my own eyes have seen."
Izuku had smirked at the comment Tenya had made; given how short of time they had known each other, it was so surprising that the very rational young man could believe in magic actually existing. Hell, Izuku didn't think it at first himself, but then, Izuku also knew that his 'quirk' wasn't a quirk at all, so magic was definitely the only possible explanation. He had wanted to try and fudge some of the details of his red mage kit to make it sound that much more believable and rational. Still, when it came to his blessing, nothing was reasonable about it.
Still, the green-haired boy chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his head, "To tell you the truth… I haven't used it much, just for the fear that I cannot control its output… I did ask the school to set something up to test it out, but I'm still waiting to hear back from the administration. Y-You know… safety protocols and all that."
"I would totally be down in helping with that!" Kirishima spoke aloud and was grinning like a madman, "With my quirk, I can take a pretty good beating! So while you practice how strong you can make the spells, I get to practice reinforcing my quirk, just like your notebook had suggested!"
"R-really? You'd want to help me with that?" Izuku asked, a little bewildered, which Kirishima nodded enthusiastically. As the discussions amongst the class continued, at one point, Bakugo yelled out threats after being roasted by Kaminari for calling his personality "flaming crap mixed with garbage.", Aizawa slowly opened one of his eyes and watched the chaotic class continue to speak.
The teacher had been silent for most of the trip, leaving the responsibility of keeping the young adults in check to Iida and Yaoyorozu so he could privately think to himself. It had been a few days since the underground hero had that meeting with the dean regarding the 'problem child'. In all honesty, Aizawa wouldn't have customarily believed the explanation if it was from anyone else, but this was Nezu of all people. Plus, the damned 'rat' had some pretty convincing evidence that further cemented the realization that most of what Aizawa had known as a confirmed fact was actually false.
Magic was real.
Midoriya's quirk was a blessing by some sort of celestial being that was made up of crystal.
And the fact that the school was being maintained by furry little creatures that seemed to listen to Nezu of all people and were living in some sort of cavern system underneath the school grounds, which given how large it was, baffled the tired man at how no one had detected it yet.
What further confused the teacher and also propelled his heavy drinking throughout the weekend (much to Hizashi, Nemuri, and Emi's worry) was one thing that was located within the 'Moghome'.
How the hell did they get a crystal THAT big down there.
Izuku was chuckling gently at the antics of Ochako once they had arrived at the USJ, for the reason that one of the special instructors was her favorite hero, 'The Space Hero' Thirteen. Just watching the friendly girl totally fan out on the astronaut suit-wearing hero had brought a smile to his face as Thirteen began to give a small speech about how important it was for heroes to help people, even if their quirks weren't always the best suited for the job.
Their quirk, 'Black Hole', in particular, was a very deadly one if it was misused, but Thirteen explained how it could also be used not to harm but to help those in need. As Izuku listened to the rescue hero continue to speak, Aizawa had interrupted the already too long lecture and asked where All Might was, for which Thirteen said that he had an important meeting that suddenly came up with the hero commission while also holding up three fingers.
Izuku frowned a little at the motion, considering what he already knew of All Might's time limit; he could guess that Toshinori had overdone it on his commute to the university, and no doubt was 'recharging' in Recovery Girl's medical office. While he kinda felt bad for the number one hero, considering it would be hard for him not to jump at every call for help and do his duty, Izuku did think Toshinori needed to tone it down, considering he was supposed to be teaching the first year heroic's class, while in his 'buffed up' state.
At least Inko was there to hopefully protect Toshinori from Recovery Girl's wrath for a bit.
It had been a relief to Izuku that they were able to tell his mother about All Might, considering Izuku felt that lying to his mother more than what already had happened before with the bullying and was still was doing in regards to his blessing, it had taken Izuku to bow down before Toshinori and Nezu that Inko could be trusted with his secret.
Thankfully, Nezu came to his rescue once again; as Toshinori was thinking it over, Nezu had pointed out that the university's staff members had known about his condition, and Inko is technically one herself now. Plus, it would help to have an extra medical professional know to help counteract any adverse effects if Recovery Girl was unavailable or too far to help him.
Izuku chuckled softly to himself at the memory of his mother fainting a few times from the reveal and the explanation of Toshinori's injury before the dorm move-in. Since then, the green-haired boy would notice that his mother seemed to be hanging out more with his favorite hero, and whenever they were together, Inko had the biggest smile… something Izuku had not seen for many years.
Whatever thoughts he had on the matter were lost as Thirteen had called for the class to follow them inside the rather large complex. As Class 1-A entered, they had all gasped at the sights before them as the large door they had entered shut itself tightly. Thirteen then explained how the different 'zones' around them simulated real-world disaster areas, all the while connected to one central plaza.
As Thirteen began to explain what the day's schedule was going to be like, a shout from Kirishima caught everyone's attention to a swirling mass of darkness appearing in front of the large fountain in the central plaza. More swirling mist began to crop up around the larger one, and various people started to slowly pour out.
"Oh, cool! Are these fake villains to help with the simulations?" asked Kirishima as he looked to Aizawa, who merely took hold of his scarf and narrowed his eyes, and what he said next caused the entire class to freeze in shock and some in pure horror.
"Those aren't fake villains, Kirishima. They are real."
As the teacher sternly stated this, out of the more giant swirl came out three particular beings. One wore a fancy dress suit with a rather large metallic collar that had encapsulated the being's smokey head with bright yellow eyes staring out of the abyss. To the far right of the group of three was a hulking brute with the beak of a bird lined with sharp-looking teeth, bulging muscles twitched as it walked beside the other two. At the same time, it looked crazed, especially with the exposed brain currently around its eyes.
And lastly, the pale-haired young man in the middle of the other two, who was simply wearing a black tracksuit that was covered with many dismembered hands clutching all over his body, with one placed over his face. Pure red, beady irises looked up towards the entrance of the USJ and giving out a soft but airy chuckle as he spoke in a hoarse tone of voice.
"Time to have some fun..."