Izuku breathed in deeply, sweat dripping down the side of his face as the intense heat threatened to roast him alive. It was like he was in a giant oven, with the chill of the night nothing more than a distant memory in the face of such intense warmth.

And then, like a switch was flipped inside of him, all that warmth disappeared in an instant. He banished the scorching heat as clouds gathered slowly above him, with Izuku clenching his teeth in concentration as he tried to force it to drizzle around him for the third time that day. It took longer than it should have, but after a few minutes the grass around Izuku began to receive compensation for him nearly drying it out several times so far. It didn't go very far, the rain only falling in a circle a few meters around him, but with each new attempt his range of control crept out further and further. He'd been at it for what must have been nearly an hour by now, and he had no intentions of slowing down yet.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he prepared to restart the cycle. Clouds dissipated as he let go of his control over them, and he grit his teeth as he prepared to let loose another heat wave into the dark night–

"Hrk!"

Izuku's knees buckled unexpectedly as he felt his control on the weather around him slip, and a second later he found himself on the ground nursing the worst case of heat stroke that he'd ever felt.

It was agony. He felt like he was being melted from the inside out, slowly and painfully. His breaths came out in short, sharp bursts as he felt what must have been the punishment of overusing Zenith Tempest - there was no other reason he should feel like his body was being dipped in hot oil and fried.

His eyes clenched shut in pain as he shuddered, tears of agony forming in them as he waited for the pain to end.

It took longer than he would have liked, (which meant it took time at all - it wasn't a very good feeling to have to sit through and wait to go away), but eventually the pain receded enough to the point he could open his eyes and pull himself into a sitting position. Izuku still didn't feel great, but at least he no longer felt like a fork in a microwave.

He grimaced as he saw the telltale signs of a magic circle forming a few meters away from him - the red glow a clear indicator of who was showing up, not that there was any doubt in the first place.

Why was Gremory coming here? She had told him that after his first week of training that she'd stop in on occasion to check on him, but it was his first day alone. Did she suddenly decide he couldn't be trusted on his own? She'd already shown him what would happen if he ran away - it wasn't like there was a snowball's chance in hell he'd even consider doing that…

Or did she think he was too weak to be left alone?

In a flash of light Gremory appeared, with Izuku barely making it to his feet in time for her to see him.

For some reason, she offered him a friendly wave and smile as she greeted him. "Good morning, Izuku!" Gremory said happily, "How are you? Good to see you're still keeping up your training schedule!"

"H-Hi…" He mumbled, "I'm f-f-fine, Gremory-san."

She frowned at him. "I told you that you didn't have to call me 'Gremory-san', didn't I?" Gremory huffed, crossing her arms underneath her chest, "We're family now, remember?"

Family. Right.

The only family he had, and the only family he needed, was his mom - even if she didn't need him.

Izuku dipped his head in acknowledgement. "R-Right…"

He wasn't going to call her Rias. Not happening. They weren't family, and they certainly weren't friends. All they were was master and slave.

Gremory coughed into her fist. "W-Well," she continued awkwardly, "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here!"

Izuku had a few guesses, as seen by his thoughts when the magic circle had first appeared, but he just nodded silently to appease her.

"I figured that it was time for you to move onto the next aspect of devil training," Gremory elaborated, "That is, making pacts with humans."

She took his silence as permission to continue. "You and Asia have been handing out flyers, and I'm sure you've read them at least once - so I'll just give you the cliffnotes. Us devils make deals with humans, and in exchange for favors, magic, or whatever other sort of wishes they may ask for, these pacts give us strength. The more pacts we make, the more renowned we become, the more prestige you gather for me, and the more potential influence you begin with if you ever become a high-class devil with a peerage of your own."

Wow. She was really selling him on this here. Do something for someone, and in exchange Gremory gets stronger. Why would he care about any of this?

Oh, right. It didn't matter what he thought. It was his job to do whatever she desired of him.

"Okay."

She pursed her lips, seemingly pondering her next choice of words. "Tonight will be you and Asia's first time going out and making pacts, so I just wanted to make sure you didn't completely wear yourself out training. You can take the rest of the morning off, and I'll give you the rest of the details of your clientele later at the club, if you'd like?"

He shrugged lamely. It wasn't like he had any say in the matter. "Okay."

Gremory frowned again, and he immediately felt a pulse of frustration bubble up inside of him - what, was his response not to her liking? He had done everything she had asked of him without so much as a peep, and she still found a reason to be unhappy with him.

Maybe she just flat out didn't like him. That wouldn't surprise Izuku in the slightest; it wasn't like anyone else had ever liked him before. After all, the only reason she even bothered turning him into her slave was because of the Gear he just so happened to have.

They stood in silence for a moment, with Gremory watching him with an unreadable expression while he stared blankly at his feet.

"Alright," she finally said, silent as a mouse, "I'll see you later, Izuku."

Her magic circle returned. She didn't seem keen on staying any longer than she had to.

Izuku didn't blame her.

"Bye."

Gremory vanished without a trace.

–

Izuku sank into his seat in his homeroom, tiredly rubbing his eyes slowly as the rest of the classroom chatted around him.

He was starting to really feel the sting of waking up at four in the morning every single day - and the way Gremory and the peerage were constantly making him come along to do work at night didn't really help things.

The words around him blurred as they hit his ears, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. People only ever talked about things that Izuku had no interest in (which was most things) or himself, but it wasn't like he wanted to hear people gossip about how much of a loser he was. The reprieve from that was almost nice.

As the bell rang in the background and the teacher walked in, Izuku sighed. It looked like any chance he could have had at pulling himself together before classes began had been completely wasted. Typical.

"Quiet!" Izuku's homeroom teacher barked out harshly, causing most of the students to either shut up instantly or gasp in surprise at the unexpected outburst, "I have important news! We have a new student joining us today!"

The class gasped as one in surprise. New students were always a topic of conversation in school - especially since Kuoh Academy didn't really do the whole mid-semester transfer thing, so this one must have been a big deal.

If Izuku had a few more hours of sleep, perhaps he would have realized that there was only one option it could realistically be.

Asia peeked her head into the class through the large door frame shyly. "That was my cue, right?"

The teacher nodded. "Yes," he confirmed, "Come in and introduce yourself."

Asia nodded back cheerfully, eyes quickly fluttering between each new student sitting in front of her. Izuku shrunk into his seat slightly at the way her eyes lit up when she found him.

"My name is Asia Argento." She bowed her head softly, smiling at all the faces in front of her as her eyes sparkled. "I'm sure there is a lot I am unfamiliar with, but I offer my regards. I hope to make as many new friends here as I can!"

The class was in an uproar instantly.

"She's a blonde beauty!" One of the guys roared, with the other boys cheering in agreement.
A different male adjusted his glasses as he undressed her with his eyes. "Bust eighty-two centimeters, waist fifty-five centimeters, hips eighty-one centimeters! Great!"

Izuku felt more than a little ashamed of the fact that he shared the same gender, let alone classroom, with some of his fellow men. He might have even said something to the asshole that listed out her measurements like a pervert had he not been such a complete and utter outcast - no one would care what he had to think.

Also, as shameful as it was, he couldn't find it within himself to disagree with them - she looked really good in Kuoh Academy's uniform.

He was a little confused how Gremory had somehow managed to place her in the same class as him, however. And a little annoyed - if she wanted Asia to fit in, she would have placed her as far away from the school's resident pariah as possible.

To be completely honest, though, she probably wouldn't have any problems with that anyway. The moment her introduction was finished a good majority of the girls pulled her over to their circle to introduce themselves and shield her from the lecherous gazes of most of the men, and Izuku felt a small pang in his heart at the action.

No one had ever been that welcoming to him…

But he quickly dispelled those thoughts. He deserved everything that had happened to him. It was his fault he was born defective, an antisocial loser, and had no friends. If he'd known his place from the beginning, maybe none of this would have happened to him.

"Say, Asia-chan," one of the girls asked, loud enough to be heard across the room, "Where are you from? Did you just move here?"

Asia hesitated slightly at the question, though her warm and welcoming smile didn't falter. "I'm from Europe," she explained happily, "Um, I only recently moved by myself to Kuoh Town, and it was… d-difficult at first, but I've met so many new people who are all so kind to me!"

"Wait, wait, wait," another girl questioned, "You moved to Japan alone? All by yourself? Without knowing anyone? Where are you staying?"

Her eyes fell slightly. "W-Well," Asia continued, "It wasn't something I originally thought I would ever do… but it all turned out okay! I met a really amazing friend, and they're allowing me to stay over with them, free of charge! I'm very blessed to have met them!"

Oh man. The girls gasped as she recounted her (slightly modified) story, and Izuku just knew Asia's eyes had fallen on him at some point.

He couldn't bring himself to look back. He had no idea how she could say that with a straight face.

"Wow!" The original girl sighed dreamily, "That's so sweet of them! You're really lucky, Asia-chan!"

Izuku buried his head in his hands in embarrassment. If only they knew she was talking about him - their praise would evaporate in an instant, and he'd probably get called out for trying to take advantage of her or something.

The blonde's eyes shined. "I know."

"Alright, alright," the teacher interrupted, "We've got a class to start. In your seats, in your seats! Argento-san, you can take the empty seat behind Midoriya-kun."

The girls collectively shrieked (aside from Asia, of course). "Sensei!" One immediately protested, "Don't make her sit near him!"

Asia blinked in confusion, eyes wide and innocent. "Huh?"

Another girl turned to her, a serious look in her eyes. "Trust us," she said, all joy drained from her face, "You do not want to be stuck around Midoriya."

The teacher ignored their protests. "It's the only open desk," he reminded the class, "So unless one of you is willing to switch your own seats, it's where she'll sit, understood?"

No one looked happy about the arrangement - least of all Izuku, who was ready to drop dead right then and there. He would have been grateful for a sudden heart attack at this point - at least then he wouldn't have to deal with the dirty looks he was receiving just for breathing the same air as the rest of them.

Asia smiled despite the confusion that was filling her mind. "I'm sure it'll be okay!"

Some of the girls looked ready to cry. "She's so innocent…"

The room was silent as she walked to the desk directly behind Izuku. It was like the entire class, barring their teacher and Asia herself, was awaiting some sort of deadly confrontation - like he was a wild animal that was ready to strike.

If he was naive, he would have wondered what he did to deserve to be treated like this by everyone.

It did hurt to ignore the way Asia waved at him in greeting, offering him the same friendly smile she had given to the rest of the class, but it was for the best that she didn't seem like she knew him (or, even worse, was friends with him).

A brief look of confusion and hurt passed across her face at the way he callously brushed her off, but Izuku just reminded himself that if she grew to dislike him then it was only going to make things easier for her. He turned his attention back to his desk before he could see any more of the look that sent a stake through his already shattered heart, ignoring the way people were already whispering about how much of a prick he was.

It was better this way.

It didn't matter how miserable or alone he felt.

It was better this way.

Asia would probably understand that soon too, if the way her new friends looked ready to rescue her from him meant anything.

It was better this way.

Izuku just had to keep telling himself that, because otherwise he didn't think he could take it.

–

Classes took far too long to let out. He felt like he was slowly suffocating with the way he could practically feel the two dozen pairs of eyes boring into his skull.

It wasn't very fun. And the feeling only got worse as the hours ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace.

There was no question who the first one out of the classroom was when the final bell rang. He needed to get out and away from the group of people that were revolted by his very presence… even if that feeling was mutual across the entire student body. At least in the hallway if he moved fast enough he could pretend that he couldn't hear the whispers–

"Ah, Izuku-san! Wait up!"

He froze like a deer in headlights as Asia called out to him, only to immediately try and speed up. Maybe if he pretended like he didn't hear her the other teens wouldn't realize that she was talking to him–

"Izuku-san!"

Great. Just great. Why did she have to be the one person less socially aware than he was?

He stopped and waited for her, but he didn't turn around to look at her. If he did, then there was a greater chance of people realizing that they were interacting with each other, and that would torpedo her blossoming social status in minutes.

She panted softly for a moment as she caught up to him. "Oh, dear," Asia huffed, "You're very fast, Izuku-san. I-Is everything alright? You–"

"You shouldn't talk to me in school."

Asia froze in confusion. "Uwah?"

Izuku couldn't bring himself to look at her, instead keeping his eyes trained on the ground in front of him as he kept his back to his… friend. "Pretend like we aren't talking right now," he instructed carefully, starting to walk slowly down the hallway once more, "Act like you're just walking near me and we're not having a conversation."

Hey, if she wanted to have this conversation now and not later, fine. But he wasn't going to force her to suffer due to her naivety - at least this way if anyone noticed them together, she'd have some plausible deniability.

A few moments after he said his piece, he could hear the soft pitter-patter of her footsteps as she hurried to fall beside him (even if she was slightly further behind him to try and follow his orders). "You saw how everyone t-treated me in class earlier," he mumbled dejectedly, "And you said you wanted to make friends here, right? Y-You shouldn't talk to me if that's your goal."

He heard Asia stop in her tracks behind him. Maybe she suddenly realized what he was talking about?

Izuku kept walking. She had no reason to stick around him now, so–

"I-I don't understand." Asia's quiet voice carried itself back to him, even over the noise of the hundreds of other teens walking Kuoh Academy's halls now that class was out for the day. "Why would I have to do that? Why does everyone seem to dislike you here, Izuku-san?"

He didn't miss the way she said everyone - did that mean she was aware of the stares he garnered, regardless of location? Why would she continue to try and talk to him if that was the case, though? Surely she'd realize that he was bad news to be around, right?

"I told you already," he said suddenly, finally turning around to meet Asia's eyes to really hammer the point home, "I'm Quirkless. Remember? I'm not normal. Everyone has a Quirk. I'm different - I'm weird. A pariah. A f-freak. Just being near me is enough to basically be asking for problems. If you really want friends, you're not going to find them by hanging around me."

Izuku didn't try to sound particularly mean, but it was hard to completely bottle up the bitterness he carried.

At least it did have the unintended consequence of making Asia look like he had just killed her dog - she looked mortified as she stared at him, eyes wide as she slowly processed his words. "B-But I–I don't–"

Izuku sighed as she stammered in shock. People were starting to stare even more now. "You know, if you tell people I said something really mean to you, they'd probably believe you without a second thought," he whispered encouragingly, "You'd probably get like twenty people defending you from me in an instant. It would be a really good way to make friends fast–"

"T-That's horrible!" She whimpered, "But you're so nice! A-And helpful! Why would having a Quirk matter instead of character?"

He hesitated at her words - were they even on the same planet? Quirks were all that mattered to most people in modern society - especially Japan. Quirks determined everything. And since he didn't have one, he didn't have anything.

"I-It's just how it is," Izuku muttered, "And you're exaggerating - but it doesn't matter. Just pretend like you don't know me, or that you don't like me, and you'll be f-fine–"

"No!"

Her sudden outburst took him by surprise… and so did they way that she suddenly reached forward and grabbed him by his hands. He sputtered and flailed like an idiot as she looked into his eyes with an intense gaze, one full of determination, stubbornness, and a million other things Izuku couldn't place.

"I can't do that to you, Izuku-san!" She declared proudly, ignoring the way gasps erupted from around them at the use of his first name, "I said I wanted to be your friend, didn't I? And friends don't treat other friends poorly!"

Izuku was at a complete loss for words. "B-But you said–"

She shook her head fervently. "I-If everyone here treats you poorly, then I don't want to be their friend!" Asia said boldly, "You've done so much for me already, Izuku-san, a-and I don't think I can repay your kindness by pretending like I don't even know you! I don't care if everyone dislikes me for it too, but I'm not going to be ashamed of being your friend!"

The whispers were getting loud now. A few people were even shooting her suspicious looks.

He felt his throat grow tight. "A-Asia…" Izuku tried to reason, "You s-shouldn't–"

The blonde was having none of it. She pushed ahead of him, a bright smile on her face as she began to drag him along by his hands.
"Come on, Izuku-san!" She encouraged, completely uncaring of the dozens of pairs of eyes on them, "We have to hurry, or we might be late to the club!"

He nodded silently behind her, even though there was no way she could have noticed. "O-O-Okay."

This time, as they walked, he barely noticed the stares he received.

Izuku was too busy thinking about how nice Asia was.

Or, more importantly, how nice she was to him.

–

Izuku was deathly still as he sat in the club room alongside Asia, the pair of them waiting silently on the couch for Gremory to make her appearance. He was about as tense as humanly (or perhaps devilly) possible, and with each passing moment that feeling only got worse and worse.

Why was he so nervous?

"Ah, tea's ready!"

Because of her.

Himejima returned to the couches calmly, a kettle and several smaller teacups atop the tray she was carrying. "Would either of you like some tea?"

Asia nodded happily at the offer. "Yes, please!"

She sat the tray down atop the small table between them (with Izuku and Asia on one couch and Himejima on the other), pouring a cup for the blonde before handing it off with a smile. "How about you, Midoriya-chan?"

Their eyes met for a moment, but Izuku quickly broke contact. "N-No thank you," he said hurriedly, shaking his head tightly as his hands gripped his knees.

Himejima tilted her head to the side playfully. "Are you sure?" She asked, almost teasingly, "It's very good. Right, Asia?"

The blonde nodded as she daintily sipped at her cup. "Mhm!"

Izuku just shook his head again. "I-I'm s-s-sure."

The black-haired girl shrugged easily at his second refusal, picking up the tray once more and moving to return it to its place in storage. "You don't have to be so nervous, Midoriya-chan!" She said, "You're only going to learn to make pacts tonight. They're not that difficult - most of the requests we get are fairly mundane. Easy, even!"

"Right." He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding as she turned away from him. If she thought he was tense because of what he was supposed to be doing tonight, making pacts or whatever, he wasn't going to correct her - especially because it was Himejima herself who was making Izuku so jittery.

He wasn't quite able to say that he was outright afraid of the girl. But between their… 'shaky' first meeting, the fact that her Quirk made Izuku's nerves go haywire like nothing else, and the fact that she seemed to be a massive sadist based off the way she was torturing that stray devil the other night, he couldn't say he felt particularly at ease around her either.

In fact, if it were completely up to Izuku, he'd never be alone in a room with her. What if she decided that he was her next victim? It's not like anyone would care - if Himejima suddenly made up her mind that he was prey or something, he couldn't exactly count on Gremory to come to her pawn's defense against her queen, much less when her queen was someone she actually cared about.

Asia noticed the troubled look on his face. "Are you alright, Izuku-san?"

"Y-Yeah," he lied.

Things got quiet for a bit - Asia sipped her tea, Himejima hummed as she tidied up, and Izuku tried to not bolt out the door the moment he thought neither of them were looking, but it didn't last. The door to the Occult Research Club swung open softly as Gremory walked in, the girl running a lithe hand through her red hair as she nodded approvingly at the two of them sitting silently on the couch.

"Akeno, Asia, Izuku," she greeted, "Good evening. Apologies for being late - I had some urgent matters to attend to, but now we're ready to begin."

Gremory clapped her hands together as she leant back against her desk. "You both remember what I have told you about pacts, right?"

"Um…" Asia's brow furrowed as she struggled to recall the older girl's words. "You said that devils do things for people in exchange for favors, and that the flyers we've given out to people are what they use to summon us, right?"

"Exactly." The redhead's eyes flashed as dim light shined down on her. "Normally that job would be for your familiars, or at the very least messenger demons, but that's a topic for another day. We've gotten quite the influx of requests over the past few weeks, so I decided it's time for you two to start working on acquiring pacts as well. Do a good enough job, and you may get to have servants yourself!"

Asia blinked. "Huh?"

"Become famous or strong enough, and you'll be promoted to a high-class devil, and then you can have your own peerage," Gremory explained again, "Fun, right?"

Yeah, no thanks. Izuku wouldn't wish this on anybody. At least Asia didn't look too thrilled either.

"Akeno, if you'd be so kind," Gremory said suddenly.

She nodded. "Of course, president." A red magic circle, the same kind Gremory used when she appeared before Izuku earlier in the day, appeared beneath her feet. She spread her arms out wide as power flowed from the runes etched into the circle, hair and clothing gently fluttering.

"Hold out your left hand, Izuku," his owner instructed, "Here."

He stared blankly as she traced a small pattern onto his palm, which was immediately followed by a small glowing mark appearing in the shape of her outline. "It's a seal. This proves that you are a member of the House of Gremory. This transport magic circle will take you to the client's location, and from there you just need to do as I told you and there will be no complications. You're all set, right?"

He nodded slowly. "I-I guess…"

Izuku couldn't imagine it would be that bad, though he shuddered at the thought of being summoned to do something beyond his capabilities. If his client wanted their cup of water filled or their fireplace lit then he could probably handle it, but it wasn't like Izuku was any sort of powerful when compared to the others. Even Asia was probably stronger than him… and he still had no idea how the hell magic worked.

And what if he failed? Would Gremory be upset with him? Would he be punished? What if the client wanted something he couldn't do, and she didn't care about his excuses?

Gremory's smile twitched. "We'll… we'll work on that," she muttered before straightening up slightly, "Okay, off you go!"

Akeno stepped past him silently with what seemed to be an encouraging smile on her face, but it just made Izuku that much twitchier.

The magic circle shined brightly beneath him. He awkwardly set his hands out in front of him, and the last thing he saw was Asia and Rias waving to him as he disappeared to who-knows-where.

–

His world went white for a moment, though by the time he was able to blink everything was back to normal. Izuku was in the middle of what seemed to be a small apartment - or, more specifically, the atrium of the apartments. It seemed like Himejima's magic circle was spot on.

"It's about time. And I don't even get who I wanted?"

Izuku quickly turned his head towards the unfamiliar voice, deciding to leave scoping out the room for later, only to instantly have to fight down a wince. The man who summoned him didn't look very happy.

At all.

He was lanky, with black hair that went down to the end of his neck, a small pair of glasses, and an irritated look in his eyes that immediately told him this wasn't going to go well.

"G-Good evening, Mister Morisawa," Izuku began slowly, trying to both remember everything Toujou had drilled into his head about the client before she had left on her own pact-hunting and not let his nerves show too much. "I'm h-here as a messenger of the House of Gremory."

The man stared down at him for a moment, giving him a somewhat dirty look as he eyed him up. "Pass."

"W-What?!" He froze like a deer in headlights. "I-I mean, y-you're the one who summoned me, aren't you?"

"Get bent. I didn't summon you," Morisawa grumbled, already moving to the door (presumably to shove Izuku out of it), "Koneko-chan always appears out of the magic circle, not… whoever the hell you are. Koneko-chan is the one that I summoned, so if you want to be useful then you'd better get out of here and go get her instead!"

Izuku felt very defeated already, and he'd been here for less than thirty seconds. "U-Um, T-Toujou-san is, ah, p-preoccupied with another client tonight," he tried desperately, "I-I'm s-sure I can help with whatever it is she usually does for you!"

He didn't want to be here, and based on the irritated sigh he received from the client Izuku was pretty sure he wasn't wanted here either, but he still had to try. "No." Morisawa sneered at him. "You can't. I don't want you touching me."

…

"...W-What?"

The man smiled at his dumbfounded expression, reaching behind him and pulling out a small outfit. "Koneko-chan and I do cosplay, and we play 'Sweep the Princess Off Her Feet'!"

…Izuku was speechless. And more than a little uncomfortable now, too. Was Toujou seriously okay with this? "Y-You don't really need a d-devil to do that…" he mumbled.

"Tch!" The man huffed. "No one else but a little girl devil would be capable of sweeping me off my feet, don't you understand?"

Izuku sweatdropped. "...O-Okay."

As he finally took a glance around the room he found himself inside, Izuku realized that it was full of nothing but manga, anime DVDs, and pictures of various girls from what must have been a dozen different shows.

Oh. So he was dealing with a massive anime otaku.

Who probably had some sort of thing for little girls.

Great.

Unfortunately, Izuku couldn't really judge him - at least Morisawa was still a human, something he couldn't even claim to be anymore. And who was he to judge someone for his hobbies when he didn't even have any of his own?

The man in front of him sighed, sitting down in the chair at his desk. "Fine," he grumbled, "I suppose you'll have to do. If you're a devil, you must have some special techniques, right? You can start by showing me."

"A-Alright," Izuku replied, nodding lamely as he summoned Zenith Tempest. "U-Um, it's probably not the b-best power to show indoors, but…"

The man hummed in approval as he saw the necklace suddenly appear on Izuku. The gemstone glowed a rich blue as Izuku held his palm out in front of him, and a few seconds later a small orb of water appeared over his outstretched hand.

"I can, uh, manipulate base elements," he explained quietly, moving the orb of water around the air in front of him slightly as he did so, "Water, fire, wind, t-things like that. I can also manipulate the weather, but–"

"Can you make it snow tomorrow?" Morisawa interrupted immediately, an eager look in his eyes, "Or how about a thunderstorm? Hail?"

Izuku gulped. "I-I can only do it for a small amount of time," he continued, "A-And my range is, uh, v-very limited, too. And I can't set it up for the future, e-either, I kind of have to, uh, be there for it."

The man rolled his eyes as he waved Izuku off. "Lame. I have no use for that stuff!"

He bowed apologetically, allowing the water in his palm to dissipate back into nothingness. "I'm s-sorry."

"...Do you at least watch any anime?" Morisawa probed, "Or read any manga?"

Izuku shook his head. "...N-No," he admitted, "Not really."

The client was quiet for a moment, before finally nodding. "Alright," he said, "You can leave now."

He froze. "But y-you haven't made a pact yet?"

"And I'm not going to," Morisawa said sternly, "You have nothing to offer me and I have no interest in you."

"I-I'm sure there's something I can do for you," Izuku pleaded, "I– I mean–"

The lanky man in front of him shook his head. "Nope. Sorry, but I'm not interested."

He moved to the door, opening it and gesturing for Izuku to leave. "Tell your master that if she wants a pact next time it has to be Koneko-chan, okay?" Morisawa asked, "Now get lost."

Izuku felt numb, protests dying on his lips as he walked out of the apartment. The fact that he'd failed as horribly as he did didn't fully sink in until the door slammed shut behind him, and it settled like a brick in his stomach.

He'd failed at being a devil.

Again.

First it was the stray, and now this - how many more fuck ups did he get?

Either way, he knew Gremory was going to be pissed - this was one of Koneko's most reliable patrons, and all he'd been able to do was make himself look like a massive idiot. For all he knew, he'd just torpedoed one of her best relationships. Would he even want another pact with how embarrassing Izuku had just been?

It looked like he wasn't even good enough to be a slave. Fitting. It seemed like everyone who thought he was worthless was right.

Izuku sighed despondently, shoulders slumping as he stared out at the night sky. What could he even say for himself? When he got back to the club–

The green-haired devil froze.

He didn't know how to create magic circles yet.

Izuku had no way back.

Fuck.

He had to walk all the way back to Kuoh Academy just to tell Gremory he'd failed.

And he didn't even know where he was.

Great.

Just great.

—

A/N: He's not having a fun time. But he never really is anymore. I don't have much to say this time so it's a short note from me.

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think! See you next time!