He remembered that day when everyone lost: the monumental school in the sky had fallen.
The death of the man who was like a father to him.
The loss of the person he could have called friend again...
Everything went wrong. As if fate mocked them, the demon appeared before him.
Still, with a tight heart, he prepared to fight against both.
Ironically, Shigaraki resisted this. It was a battle of all against all.
At first, he thought that was lucky.
However, All for One managed to subdue Shigaraki, and he could hear the heartbreaking screams of the white-haired man.
He understood that All for One was forcing his own consciousness to regain control of Shigaraki's body.
He tried to stop him.
But an explosion from All for One's residual body, an amorphous mass of chaos, greeted him with a smile.
—Today I win... hero!
Rage overflowed from his being, a heartbreaking scream resonated in the air as the light of the explosion flooded his eyes.
For the first time in his life, his words became a death threat, an echo of desperation and rage.
—I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU! ALL FOR ONE! I'LL END YOU!
The start of his passion play to stop the Demon King was imminent. The ideals he once held firmly now twisted under the weight of the vengeance accumulating in his soul...
(...)
—Senpai...
—Senpai!
A dull sound.
—Come on, Senpai!
Was he failing to call him?
—Fou?... Fou!
—MASTER! WAKE UP OR I'LL KILL YOU!
The violent shout turned out to be surprisingly effective. Suddenly, the young man woke up with a start, catching the creature that was licking his face with his hands.
—No, Fou! —exclaimed a worried female voice.
At first, the green-haired young man had a wild look, but he reacted to the shout and saw what appeared to be a... hairball?
—Kyu! Kyu! Fou! —the creature squirmed desperately in his hands.
Quickly, the young man let it go. Was that a rat? The creature ran towards the girl and climbed onto her shoulder.
The young man blinked, surprised, and then frowned.
—I... I'm sorry. I thought that... Wait, aren't you...? —he quickly got up from the ground, but the movement made him dizzy, forcing him to lean on his knees.
—Hello! Yes, it's me! Mash! Mash Kyrielight, ready to serve you, Senpai... I mean, Master!
The green-haired boy blinked a couple of times, feeling completely disoriented.
Honestly, he had been confused even before waking up, and now that confusion only added to a sea of questions.
Why am I wearing different clothes?
Where did that shield come from?
How did she recover?
Where the hell are we now?
—I... have questions...— admitted Izuku as he ran a hand through his hair.
—I understand, master! I will do my best to answer you... within my capabilities.
—Huh? Why do you call me "master"?— asked Izuku, now even more confused.
Great, another doubt.
—Eh... well, it's because I am at your service. I'm your servant!
Oh, right, that seemed to clarify things...
Wait a minute! That clarified nothing.
—My what...?
—Huh? Did I not introduce myself properly? If you want, I can do it again.
—No! Ugh, look, just explain to me why you're my servant. Is that okay?
Mash seemed surprised.
—Master, you and I made a contract, remember?
—Contract? When? I haven't signed anything...
—No! I'm talking about a contract between servant and master, a... magical contract.
—Magical? Are you okay? Maybe the explosion disoriented you a bit...— said Izuku, worried.
—No! Master! The seals on your hand! They symbolize our contract!— Mash pointed to Izuku's hand.
He turned his hand and, indeed, his eyes widened as he discovered a red tattoo on his skin.
Well... Great.
Now his head was starting to hurt.
Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
—Alright... I'll be honest, I don't understand much of what you're saying, but I'll leave the topic for now. Do you know where we are? —Izuku asked.
Mash frowned, surprised that her master had no idea what was happening. In fact, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him in Chaldea before. But she decided to obey; after all, he was still her master.
—As far as I can deduce, we are in Singularity F. It had already been detected! But I thought the mission to come had been canceled due to the explosion —said Mash.
Izuku tried to hide it.
Singularity F? Mission?
As mentioned before, he had been confused from the beginning. This was because he didn't even know what Chaldea was, although he had heard its name from certain people who had "imprisoned" him.
After fainting in the snow, he had woken up in a room where he had been chained, and some soldiers were aiming guns at him. Had he ended up in the wrong place? He decided to set that aside too.
—I understand, so what's the objective now? —Izuku asked.
—We must find the epicenter of the problem causing the singularity and fix it! —explained Mash.
At least something was clear.
—So, I guess we'll have to investigate what caused the destruction of this city, right? —Izuku asked, feeling familiar with the desolate landscape.
—Yes! That's right, master —responded Mash, ready to move forward.
—Wait! First of all... call me Izuku, okay? This "master" thing is... very weird —said Izuku with a grimace.
Mash tilted her head.
—But... if I'm your servant...
—Ugh, that sounds weird too... we're partners, okay?
—I understand... But I feel that calling you by your name is something foolish. Would it be better... Senpai? —Mash offered a smile hoping Izuku would accept.
At this point, the green-haired boy decided not to argue anymore.
—Fine, call me Senpai if you feel more comfortable...
The girl smiled and they began to walk into the unknown.
To be continued...