Boku no Hero Academia: Custodian Izuku

Disclaimer: This is a crossover fanfiction story of 'Boku no Hero Academia' and 'Warhammer 40k' (yes, really). I own nothing of the two series other than the fanfiction stories that I make.

I am making this story for the sake of fun, fluff and awesome after writing a one-shot story of the same story concept. If I am able to somehow impress fans of Warhammer 40k or even move someone to tears, even better.

Also, if anyone wants to know how in the world I got this idea in the first place, please refer to the artist, Ryuusei (Mark II), who has made some awesome pictures of gender-bent primarchs. The link is: .us/pools/17320

Please note that while I am familiar with the Warhammer 40k setting, my actual knowledge of it is casual at best. Also, if the genderbent primarchs seem at least a bit OOC, please kindly consider the fact that their bodies (especially the traitor primarchs) have changed drastically after entering Izuku's world.

In case anyone asks how much crack I was taking in to come up with the idea, I am just going to say enough to make even a loyalist Adaptus Astartes trippy.

Chapter 26: Sports Festival Madness (Part 3)

It was the third and final event of the U.A. Sports Festival for first year students. As stated previously, only sixteen of the winning team members would progress to the final event. The sixteen short-listed students were as follows: Angron, Russ, Lion, Sanguinius, Corax, Curze, Icarian, Jaghatai, Mortarion, Izuku, Karutoko, Shouto, Momo, Ibara, Kendou and Juuzou.

While no one disagreed that the sixteen students were worthy, more than a few spectators, including the teachers, felt that a few students from Classes 1A and 1B, such as Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, would have had progressed to the final event as well had their contributions not been overshadowed by the former primarchs' own feats. Fortunately, none of the students who had failed to progress to the final event, including the students of the losing team, were overly bitter about the situation. After all, even high-ranking pro-heroes were impressed with how some of the Class 1H students performed, especially Mei and Maina.

With the names of the sixteen finalists announced, followed by a drawing of lots to determine the tournament brackets, the list was as follows:

First Match: Karutoko and Mortarion

Second Match: Momo and Lion

Third Match: Juuzou and Icarian

Fourth Match: Russ and Jaghatai

Fifth Match: Ibara and Corax

Sixth Match: Shouto and Curze

Seventh Match: Kendou and Angron

Eighth Match: Izuku and Sanguinius

More than a few people wondered if the drawing of lots was truly random especially since Curze and Icarian, both of whom had precognitive abilities, were asked to take the first two lots. In spite of the justified doubts, many were interested to see how the hero course students would fare against the "Mighty Maidens" of Class V.

It should be noted that all eight matches would take place on a square-shaped fighting arena that was made of cement and that a contestant would lose if he or she was unable to fight or was forced out of the boundary of the arena.

-First Match…-

"Are the two contestants ready?" asked Nemuri as she glanced at Karutoko and Mortarion who, like most of the contestants in the third event, were both in their P.E. uniforms and were not armed with weapons.

"Rweady!" confirmed Karutoko while Mortarion nodded.

"Then… begin!" announced Nemuri.

Karutoko grinned broadly as she charged towards Mortarion while pushing her body to limits that would have caused multiple internal injuries to an ordinary person. Familiar with Karutoko's ability to heal from injuries, while also wanting to avoid draining Nemuri of her stamina by accident, Mortarion unleashed a short-ranged version of her energy-draining ability. She then proceeded to block, deflect and counter all of Karutoko's rapid attacks with the skill, speed and strength that one would expect from a former primarch. While Mortarion was undeniably faster and stronger than Karutoko, the latter was actually frustratingly difficult to defeat quickly due to her ability to rapidly recover from "glancing blows", that would have disabled most people, even while being affected by the former primarch's ability to drain stamina. In spite of her inevitable defeat, Karutoko pressed on as she continued to attack Mortarion with an unwavering manic grin on her face.

Although Mortarion's victory was never in question, even the majority of the former primarchs did not expect Karutoko to be able to actually graze Mortarion's cheek with a single spinning kick strike that caused the bones in Karutoko's body to almost shatter. Surprised by the grazing blow, Mortarion took a moment to touch her cheek to confirm the injury before she turned her attention towards Karutoko who could no longer stand. Despite her agonizing self-inflicted injuries, Karutoko grinned cheerfully as she spoke, "Hwell, I gwive ups."

Nemuri, who was getting concerned about Karutoko's self-inflicted injuries in spite of her ability to fully recover from them, sighed in relief and announced, "Winner: Mortarion!"

Even though Mortarion had won the match, she knew that Karutoko had won a great achievement as she spoke to her, "You've done well."

"Thwanks!"

-Second Match…-

"You have one minute to create your weapons," said Lion.

Well aware of Lion's combat abilities, Momo nodded with grim determination as she quickly produced a few weapons and pieces of armour. Then, before the one minute was over, Momo quickly charged forward while shooting bean bag rounds from her shotgun.

Lion raised an eyebrow as she easily dodged the bean bag rounds. She then realised that Momo wanted to close the distance so that she could throw a flash grenade to her face. Acting quickly, Lion charged forward to hit the grenade aside with her left hand. However, instead of being knocked aside by the blow, the flash grenade exploded in a manner not unlike a normal bomb. With her left hand injured, albeit not severely due to Momo's desire to avoid unnecessary harm through excessively powerful explosives, Lion frowned in displeasure as Momo tossed her shotgun aside and drew a baton that was clearly sparking with electricity.

In spite of Momo's initiative, which would have taken down most people, Lion was far from defenceless as she grabbed onto Momo's baton which sparked with electrical energy with her uninjured hand. Lion's ability to ignore the pain of getting electrocuted by the baton was one reason why she quickly noticed Momo taking out a pistol that short rubber bullets. Without hesitation, Lion twisted her upper body while still holding onto the baton to throw Momo off balance.

Although Momo had not expected Lion to twist her body to throw off her balance, she was able to quickly regain her footing with a quick roll. However, just was Momo was about to pull the trigger, Lion quickly twirled the baton in her hand and pointed it close to Momo's face. A tense moment passed before Momo sighed and said, "I admit defeat."

As Nemuri announced the winner of the match, Lion raised an eyebrow and said, "I do not remember saying that you could attack me before the one minute was up."

Momo smiled bitterly and replied, "You never specified that I shouldn't do it either."

Lion nodded at Momo's response and said, "Your cunning will serve you well."

-Third Match…-

"Well, at least it's not Sanguinius or Corax," thought Juuzou as he faced his opponent, Icarian.

Well aware of Juuzou's ability to make solid objects soft enough for him to "swim" through, Icarian was prepared to make full use of her precognitive ability to avoid getting stuck in the ground, literally.

As soon as the match began, Juuzou immediately sank into the floor of the arena to avoid getting attacked by Icarian. The former primarch did not move from her spot until the very last moment when Juuzou tried to grab her legs to pull her down into the floor.

In theory, Juuzou could have tried making Icarian sink into softened floor without trying to grab her but, between his inability to make the whole arena soft like mud and being aware of her precognitive abilities, Juuzou had decided to make a risky move to win.

For most people, trying to seize Juuzou's hands while he was still mostly inside the softened floor would be difficult to successfully pull off. However, between her superhuman physical abilities and her ability to predict the possibility of future outcomes, Icarian was able to do exactly that as she grabbed onto one of his hands before he could retreat and then pull him out of the ground.

"Oh, shit!" though Juuzou as Icarian immediately threw him out of the boundary of the arena. Needless to say, she won the match.

Due to the "damaged state" of the fight ring, a five minute break took place while Cementoss repaired it with his cement-manipulating quirk.

-Fourth Match…-

Russ smirked as she faced Jaghatai and said, "Well, this ought to be a fun match."

Jaghatai smiled in return and asked, "So, a duel to force the other out of the arena?"

"I'm fine with that. Throne knows not everyone's willing to watch a days-long slug fest like that time when I fought with Lion," said Russ.

"No, we're not," said Nemuri who grimaced at the very idea of being the referee of a days-long match. Even a match that lasted for a whole day would be too much for her and most other people.

As soon as the match began, Russ transformed into her wulfen form while Khan rushed forward in an attempt to knock her off her feet. However, Russ was barely able to leap over Khan's low sweeping kick and even attempted to counter-attack by doing a downward attack with her clawed hands. Khan easily dodged the attack and grabbed onto Russ' outstretched right arm before doing a twisting spin to build up momentum. Realising that Khan was trying to throw her out of the arena, Russ thought, "Oh, no you don't!"

Just before Khan attempted to throw Russ out of the arena, the wolf-like former primarch grabbed onto Khan's shirt with her clawed left hand. As Khan threw Russ with all her might, her shirt and bra, which were especially made to be tough and resilient, were torn apart. By grabbing onto Khan's shirt and bra at the last possible minute, Russ was able to alter the trajectory of Khan's throw and, upon impact on the arena floor, use her clawed hands and feet to slow her momentum to the point of barely avoiding stepping out of the boundary of the arena. Of course, her clawed hands and feet left deep claw marks on the floor.

Due to being a man in her past life, Khan was unconcerned about losing her shirt and bra especially when compared to the fact that Russ was barely able to avoid getting thrown out of the arena. Before anyone could suggest pausing the match to give Khan a chance to put on a new bra and shirt, the former primarch rushed forward in another attempt to force Russ out of the arena. However, with Russ being so close to the edge of the boundary, never mind her animalistic battle instincts, Khan was forced to make a risky decision to win the match.

Clearly aware that she was at the edge of the arena and that even a few millimetres would be enough to step out of the boundary of the arena and lose, Russ held her ground with a feral grin as she dug her clawed feet into the floor. When Khan slammed against Russ, their hands were locked together in a way that clearly showed Khan's intention to push Russ out of the arena. However, while Khan was the faster of the two, Russ was the stronger one. As soon as Khan ran out of momentum, Russ slammed her forehead against Khan's to disorientate her. Then, she kneed Khan in the stomach while still holding onto her hands for added leverage. In spite of the two blows, Khan was still able to maintain enough focus to kick Russ in the ribs with her knee. Even after receiving the bone-cracking kick, Russ was undeterred as she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed onto Khan's abdomen. As Khan struggled to free herself by hitting her opponent's back with powerful elbow strikes that fractured bones, Russ lifted her up and then bent backwards to execute a suplex.

"Ah, frak…!" thought Khan before she braced herself and got the top of her head "planted" onto the floor outside the boundary of the arena.

Many people grimaced and swore while Hizashi commented, "Yikes… that must have hurt like hell!"

"My whole head hurts from looking at it up close!" exclaimed Nemuri before she declared Russ as the winner of the match.

-Fifth Match…-

Ibara, who knew what Corax was capable of, sighed as she clasped her hands in prayer and said, "Oh, lord in heaven, grant me the strength of spirit, mind and body to at least last more than a few seconds against the arch-crow of shadows."

Corax raised an eyebrow and asked, "Arch-crow of shadows?" Although Corax personally disapproved of Ibara's religious nature, she was willing to tolerate it as long as she did not worship darker powers such as the Chaos Gods of her original universe.

"Given your abilities, such a title seems fitting for you," said Ibara.

Aware of her own abilities, Corax knew that Ibara had a point as she nodded in response.

Soon, the match started and, just as Ibara had predicted, Corax used her ability to transform into a shadow-like wraith that weaved between her vines before pushing the vine-haired girl out of the arena. Not even Ibara's attempts to anchor herself to the floor with her vines could prevent her defeat. In spite of Ibara's quick defeat, many people knew that she was a victim of overwhelmingly poor odds due to facing Corax as an opponent. At the very least, Ibara deserved recognition for not only her achievements in the previous two events but also the fact that she did not simply give up and did everything she could to somehow avoid getting defeated by Corax.

-Sixth Match…-

Shouto knew that there was a significantly high chance that he would lose while facing Curze as an opponent. After all, not only was she much faster and stronger than a normal human opponent but she was also capable of precognition which meant that she could predict his attacks. Even so, he did not wish to simply give up as he spoke to Nemuri, "Midnight-sensei, you might want to get off the arena. I'll be going all out to somehow win this round."

Under normal circumstances, Nemuri would have disagreed with such a decision due to fearing for his opponent's safety. Curze was certainly an exception to the norm as Nemuri turned her attention towards the former primarch who nodded at the pro-heroine before she could ask any questions.

Upon receiving Curze's affirmative response, Nemuri nodded in return and said, "Try not to kill each other by accident." She then walked off the arena at a pace that was noticeably close to being a full run.

Once she stepped away from the arena, as well as the immediate "blast zone" of any attacks that would soon occur, Nemuri took a deep breath while facing the two contestants and yelled, "Begin!"

As soon as the match started, Shouto created a massive wave of ice to not only restrain Curze but also create a dome of ice over himself for self-protection. Curze easily saw through Shouto's attack and leapt over the wide wave of ice before charging forward by running over it. However, Shouto showed no hesitation as he unleashed a wave of flames that not only shattered the ice that he had created earlier but also created an explosive increase in air pressure that would have knocked most people off their feet.

Curze was certainly not like most people as she not only avoided the incoming wave of flames but was also able to hold her ground while resisting the wave of hot high-pressure air that followed the flames.

Shouto did not hesitate to create another wave of ice to freeze Curze into place while she was in a stationary position. However, much like before, Curze was able to predict his attack and leapt over the second wave of ice at the very last minute. Shouto could not help but smile bitterly as he created another wave of fire and thought, "Had I decided to cling onto my previous conviction of never using my fire, I would have had even less of a chance to defeat Curze and her sisters."

When Shouto felt that Curze had gotten close enough, he unleashed both his ice and his fire at the same time, creating a chaotic mix of extreme hot and cold that, while still incomplete as a super-move, was nonetheless capable of sending his target a long distance away in an explosive manner.

Curze avoided the powerful attack that would have harmed even a former primarch by mere millimetres and punched Shouto in the abdomen. As Shouto struggled to stay conscious, Curze said, "Had that attack hit me, you might have won by knocking me out of the arena."

Shouto smiled bitterly as he accepted his defeat and fell unconscious. Although he had lost, he could at least find solace in the fact that Curze had considered his final attack to be strong and that it had in fact grazed against her right ear as evidenced by the presence of both frost and burn damage on it.

In the spectator stands, Enji almost smiled in sorrowful pride of his youngest son's performance in the sports festival.

Curze would later admit that, without suitable weapons, especially of the ranged variety such as a bolter, or a combat zone that suited her preferred methods of combat, she would not be able to defeat Shouto without risking injury.

-Seventh Match…-

Kendou and Angron's match was delayed due to the need to repair the arena which had been badly damaged by Shouto's attacks. One the arena was repaired, the two contestants faced each other.

Familiar with Angron's fighting prowess, Kendou knew that she had little to no chance of winning the match. Even so, she was determined to do the best she could as she assumed a defensive fighting stance.

Recognising Kendou's defensive stance, Angron said, "You intend to hold out as long as possible."

Kendou smiled grimly and said, "Considering that you're my opponent, I figured that 'holding the line' would be a better showcase of my skills than trying to defeat you outright."

Angron smirked as she replied, "Wise choice."

As soon as the match began, Angron attacked Kendou while holding back some of her strength and speed to avoid causing grievous harm. Kendou immediately enlarged her hands and used them as shields to deflect Angron's attacks. Pleased that Kendou was able to successfully defend herself from the first few strikes, Angron continued attacking while gradually increasing the speed and strength of her attacks. Realising what Angron was doing, Kendou gritted her teeth as she held her ground with a combination of her quirk-enhanced hands and martial arts skills.

In spite of Kendou's valiant efforts, she ultimately lost when Angron managed to hit her hard enough to knock her down. Before Kendou could get back onto her feet, Angron pinned her down with one hand and said, "Yield."

Between her aching hands and pinned position, Kendou sighed and said with a resigned smile, "I yield."

As Nemuri announced that Angron was the winner, the former primarch helped Kendou back onto her feet and said, "You did well to last for as long as you did."

"Thanks, but I still have a long way to go before I can consider myself anywhere near your level," said Kendou.

"True, but few in your class would have lasted for as long as you have even with my strength held back," replied Angron who mentally thought, "And I can already sense at least a few pro-heroes who are impressed by her show of resistance to my attacks."

-Eighth Match…-

It was the eighth and final match for the first round of matches.

Initially, many people were understandably certain that Izuku would stand little chance against Sanguinius who could fly and was physically much stronger than a normal human. However, something unexpected happened which made even pro-heroes a little less certain of the seemingly inevitable outcome of the match.

Izuku raised his eyebrow as he looked at the two spears in ornate oversized sheaths that were presented to him and Sanguinius by Vulkan and Dorn respectively. "I don't remember requesting for support gear for this match." Nemuri wore a similar expression as she had not been informed that the two contestants would be given support gear.

Vulkan, who was holding a spear that was green in colour, smiled and replied, "You didn't, but we got permission from Nedzu to let you two use your respective support gear. At the very least, given the nature of your ability, you deserve a chance to fully display your skills as a weapon wielder in combat, Izuku."

Dorn, who was holding a golden spear that was clearly more ornate with ruby-like stones, nodded and said, "To keep things fair, Sanguinius will have access to her own support gear."

"I look forward to seeing how well you two can perform in combat with your respective support gear!" said a voice that clearly belonged to Nedzu. Once it was clear that both contestants were allowed to use their support gear and that there was an actual reason to allow its usage, many people became curious of Izuku's supposed skill as a wielder of a weapon.

Izuku, who was holding the green spear which resembled a Japanese naginata, smiled sheepishly and said, "I honestly never thought that I would be able to take part in the final event." Left unsaid was that, prior to meeting the former primarchs, even attending U.A. High School as potential a hero-student seemed like an impossible dream to his past self.

Sanguinius, who was holding the golden spear which had a double-edged blade, smiled in return and said, "Though you did not directly take part in combat in the previous two events, your strategic mind and ability to strengthen others with your recently-discovered ability are valuable characteristics that only the foolish would carelessly dismiss."

"That may be true, but I intend to prove to everyone that I am, while ultimately a support-type, someone who can do much more than just wait for help when push comes to shove," said Izuku whose smile was one of courage and determination in spite of the pain and injustice that he had endured for years.

Nemuri, who instinctively knew that the upcoming duel was going to be something special, asked, "Are you both ready?"

Izuku activated the transformation ability of his spear thus causing its sheath to transform into armour that resembled that of a primaris space marine, albeit without the power pack and with a slimmer in appearance to fit his form more comfortably. Only his head remained exposed as he replied, "I am ready."

Sanguinius smiled as the sheath of her own spear transformed into her armour which resembled the ornate power armour that she used to wear during the Great Crusade. Her wings then flared wide and her radiance grew as she answered, "As am I."

It should be noted that both spears, which were functional power weapons and even had a ranged attack option in the case of Izuku's weapon, had their power sources removed and covered in thin blunting sheaths to prevent unwanted accidents from happening during the match.

"Then… begin!" announced Nemuri.

Instead of clashing immediately, Sanguinius held her ground with a defensive stance while Izuku assumed his own combat stance while activating his quirk to strengthen himself. As his body, mind and soul were strengthened by his quirk, his armour and weapon started to change colour to a golden hue. By the time Izuku had strengthened himself, a process which took only a single second to complete, his armour and weapon were nearly as golden as Sanguinius' own. The formerly-quirkless boy then immediately charged towards Sanguinius with a speed that even many pro-heroes would fail to match.

Sanguinius deflected the incoming thrusting strike with an ease that clearly showed how much stronger she was as an opponent. Instead of retreating, Izuku used the momentum of his deflected attack to spin around while kneeling low so that he could execute a sweeping strike on Sanguinius' legs. Rather than dodge to avoid the attack, Sanguinius quickly blocked the incoming strike with her own spear and pushed it away. Undeterred by the two failed attacks, never mind the fact that Sanguinius was clearly holding back by maintaining her defensive stance, Izuku did a spinning somersault over her and tried to hit the back of her head with a kick. Sanguinius tilted her head to avoid the kick with seemingly relaxed ease and, at the same time, used one of her wings to essentially block the shaft of Izuku's naginata-shaped spear so that he could not execute his downward slashing strike.

Izuku bit back a curse as he failed to hit Sanguinius with his two-pronged attack and, after landing onto his feet behind her, spun around like a top around her so that he could deliver multiple rapid strikes. Only those who have faced a former primarch in combat training were not surprised by the fact that Sanguinius was able to parry, block and deflect every single strike from Izuku. In total, including the initial attacks, Izuku had delivered well over a dozen strikes.

Once Izuku's short yet intense offensive was done, he took a leap back to gain some distance between himself and Sanguinius. The former primarch smiled as she spoke to him, "Well done, you've forced me to take more than one step on each foot to defend myself."

Izuku already knew what was about to happen as he took on a defensive stance and asked rhetorically, "Your turn?"

Sanguinius nodded and said, "My turn." With a single flap of her wings, she leapt into the air and then did a diving charge towards Izuku. Well aware that he had no hope of standing his ground against Sanguinius, Izuku charged forward and then executed a low sliding kick so that he could move under her. As Izuku slid below, Sanguinius flared her wings wide to slow her momentum and delivered a slashing strike with her spear. Izuku was barely able to block the incoming attack with his own spear and was sent flying. While flying in the air, Izuku spun his body to defend himself from Sanguinius who wasted no time in attacking him again. Once again, Izuku was barely able to defend himself from the attack and was slammed onto the ground as a result. Although he was able to roll onto the ground and was wearing protecting armour, Izuku still felt air getting knocked out of his lungs as he assumed a kneeling defensive stance. Acting on instinct, Izuku thrust his spear forward to somehow keep Sanguinius at bay. However, Sanguinius easily avoided the tip of his spear and delivered a spinning heel kick to the shoulder which sent Izuku flying. Had Izuku not worn his armour, the kick would have dislocated the shoulder at the very least.

While Izuku fell onto the ground, he realised that he was getting dangerously close to the corner of the arena. Well aware that Sanguinius was going to attack again, never mind the fact that she had been holding back enough to avoid maiming him for worse, Izuku gritted his teeth as he slammed the butt-end of his spear so stop his momentum. Barely able to stop himself from rolling off the edge of the border, he quickly did a leaping charge forward so that he would not get cornered by Sanguinius.

Sanguinius swiftly flew towards Izuku but, just as she was about to attack Izuku again, he suddenly twisted his body so that he could parry her attack with a sweeping horizontal slash of his spear. Undeterred by Izuku's successful defence, Sanguinius proceeded to attack Izuku relentlessly in a clear attempt to somehow force him out of the boundary of the arena. Realising what Sanguinius was planning, Izuku gritted his teeth as he tried to find an opening to get around Sagnuinius while being forced to retreat to avoid getting struck down by her many blows. Fortunately for Izuku, he found his chance when he somehow managed to graze Sanguius' right wing with his spear and, while she was momentarily distracted by surprise, moved around her with a burst of speed and agility to avoid getting forced out of the arena. In spite of Sanguinius' efforts to stop him, he was able to successfully move around her while avoiding and deflecting her attacks and charge towards the centre of the arena. The two contestants were soon facing each other again although it was clear that Izuku was far more exhausted than Sanguinius, never mind the battered state of his armour.

"Well done, Izuku. You've succeeded in overcoming my repeated attempts to force you out of the arena boundary," said Sanguinius who then touched her grazed wing and added, "You've even succeeded in grazing me." There was pride in her eyes as she kindly asked him, "That being said, it is clear that you are reaching your limits. As such, do you wish to forfeit? There is no shame in accepting loss to avoid further harm to oneself during training or friendly competition, especially after achieving feats worthy of praise."

In spite of his growing exhaustion, Izuku smiled and said, "No, not yet." Suddenly, the golden hue of his armour and weapon grew even brighter as he took on a fighting stance and said, "This… will be my last attack and, friendly match aside, I'm giving it everything I've got!" Although his defeat was all but certain, he could not help but smile with audacious determination in his eyes.

Sanguinius smile broadened ever so slightly as she replied, "Then it shall be so." Her own gold aura grew in intensity as she took on her own fighting stance and spoke with eyes that blazed with equal determination, "The strongest attack that you can safely bring to bear against the strongest attack that I can safely use to defeat you."

Not a single person in the stadium failed to hear what Sanguinius and Izuku said next in a unison of shared determination, "One shall stand, one shall fall!"

As the spectators struggled to lay their eyes upon the two shining beacons of golden light and felt the weight of their convictions, many of them could not help but wonder if both contestants were somehow blessed by the divine.

A single fleeting moment of intense silence seemed to stretch for an eternity as Izuku and Sanguinius waited for the perfect moment to strike. The moment soon came to pass and both of them suddenly charged towards each other while swinging their respective spears. As their weapons clashed, a flash of blinding white light ignited between them followed by a deafening shriek of tearing metal and a gust of wind which blew over the spectators.

When the spectators and teachers of U.A. High School could finally clearly see the outcome of the match, they realised that Izuku had somehow succeeded in destroying the blade of Sanguinius' spear. The former primarch smiled as she beheld her broken weapon and spoke to Izuku, "Had we agreed that the one with an intact weapon would be the winner, I would have lost this match, Midoriya Izuku."

Izuku, who had passed out while standing, fell onto his knees and yet had a peaceful smile on his face as his weapon and armour finally faded back to their original green colour.

Nemuri was not ashamed to admit that she wept as she announced, "Winner… SANGUINIUS!"

The spectators cheered in jubilant praise of the exciting and moving match between a boy who had been essentially quirkless for years and the mysterious angelic maiden. While it was certain that Sanguinius and her sisters would soon reshape the very destiny of humanity as mighty champions, none doubted the possibility that Izuku would achieve his own form of true greatness as a hero…

-Meanwhile, at a certain low-rent apartment…-

"H-holy shit…!" swore a boy named Tsukaeru Penchirou after watching Izuku's match with Sanguinius. He was one of Izuku's former classmates who could transform his face into what was essentially a massive pair of pliers with a face. Prior to the investigation of and eventual shut down of Aldera Junior High School, he had a handsome and charming face. However, ever since he was transferred to another school, his once-handsome face was marred by the stress of living with the consequences of his actions. One such consequence was being forced to live on his own after his parents had disowned him for bringing shame to the family by being one of Izuku's past tormentors. They were still providing him money but, as soon as he turned eighteen years old, he would be forced to survive on his own.

"Well… he lost even after getting a quirk like we expected, yeah?" said Baruuno Uneru, another former classmate who could inflate his own face to make it many times larger than normal.

Kansatsu Miru, yet another former classmate with a bald head and straight teeth, glared at Uneru and growled, "Like any of us have even a flying fuck of a chance in hell to do any better than him!" The boy whose quirk allowed him to literally pluck his eyeballs out of their sockets, albeit with the eyeballs still connected to his body through extendible optic nerves, then slammed his hands onto the coffee table and yelled, "For fuck's sake, he probably didn't even use his quirk to pass the first event!"

Miru was actually correct about Izuku not using his recently-awakened quirk during the first event.

Penchirou sighed bitterly and asked rhetorically, "We really fucked up, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did," agreed Uneru who had a sad expression on his face.

Similar to Izuku, the three boys wanted to attend schools that offered pro-hero training after graduating from Aldera Junior High School so that they could become pro-heroes in the future. However, even if their academic records had not been permanently tainted by their past actions as Izuku's bullies, albeit to a significantly lesser degree compared to Katsuki and his two closest lackeys (Kakuchou Yubi who could extend his fingers and Rokuro Kubi, who could extend his neck), the three boys would have likely failed to even pass as hero-students. After all, they had never actually trained their bodies and minds to handle to hardships that came with heroics and, while it could be argued that Izuku had done little physical training himself before he somehow got into U.A. High School by sheer dumb luck, there was no denying that their former classmate had a strong will that they had underestimated for far too long.

"Well, at least we didn't end up becoming mad villains and/or getting killed like Bakugou," said Miru. All three boys shuddered as they recalled how the League of Chaos Undivided, which included Bakugou Katsuki, Unimi Paiku, Kagayaku Tamako, Kyoufuu Kazeko and Shaapuno Hakiba, was responsible for the disappearances and deaths of many people including a few of their former classmates such as Kesseki Ude, Furekku Suji, Sukuinote Kakeru, Kakuchou Yubi and Rokuro Kubi. That was not even counting the fact that, other than two surviving members, the whole League of Chaos Undivided got themselves killed in the end never mind the fact that Katsuki, Paiku, Tamako, Kazeko and Hakiba had apparently been used as "sacrifices" to make the remaining members of the villainous league even stronger.

"Small mercies, I guess," said Penchirou who unwillingly recalled the horrifying memory of seeing Yubi and Kubi's mutilated corpses after they had apparently rejected the opportunity to join the League of Chaos Undivided. It was no exaggeration to say that he feared getting "scouted" the League of Chaos Undivided far more than getting locked up in prison for life during the period when he was kept under observation by the police force for his own safety. It certainly did not help that there were clear signs that both Yubi and Kubi were apparently tortured and mutilated by burns and explosions of varying levels of strength, all of which seemed to be hand print-shaped.

Given one of Katsuki's favoured methods of bullying Izuku, namely placing his palms onto Izuku's body and letting the volatile compounds in his sweat start to ignite, it was easy to guess who had tortured the two former lackeys of the boy who once arrogantly believed that he was destined for greatness as a pro-hero.

"If becoming a pro-hero means dealing with insane fucks like Bakugou and the rest of the the League of Chaos Undivided… I'd rather be a background 'extra' for the rest of my life," admitted Uneru.

"Wish we didn't have to be treated like pariahs for the shitty things we did back at Aldera Junior High though," said Miru.

"None of us did anything to help Dek… Midoriya and even took part in kicking him down, literally at times, with the rest of the class," argued Uneru.

"I know that," growled Miru who then added bitterly, "but I can't be the only one who wishes to somehow get out of the shit-hole that we have dug for ourselves."

"What can we do?" asked Penchirou who then said, "We can't very well ask him for forgiveness after all the things we have done to him."

Miru raised an eyebrow at Penchirou's statement and, after a moment of thinking, said, "It can't hurt to at least try."

A moment of stunned silence passed before Penchirou wore a deadpan expression and argued, "It will if he chooses to not forgive us and, let's face it, he has every reason to never forgive any of us. For fuck's sake, I won't be surprised if the first thing that goes through his head is suspicion of the sincerity of our apologies."

"Even if we do somehow receive his forgiveness, I doubt it will actually do anything to change our current circumstances," added Uneru.

Miru sighed in frustration and said, "Look, I'm not going to say that you two are wrong, but… what have we got to lose at this point?"

Both Penchirou and Uneru thought about Miru's argument before Uneru sighed and admitted, "Honestly, assuming that everyone agrees to be honest and accept whatever Izuku has to say to us, not much."

Left unsaid was, as bad as the idea of apologising to Izuku seemed, it also seemed a lot less terrible an idea than whatever convinced Katsuki to join the League of Chaos Undivided.

Penchirou nodded and said, "I'm going to get in touch with the others."

-Inside an immaterial realm…-

Izuku opened his eyes and realised that he was in a realm of pale golden light. Recognising the place, as it was not his first time being there after receiving his "quirk", he got up and thought, "I lost, didn't I?"

"You did, but none who truly matter will even consider deeming you as weak for losing to Sanguinius, especially not after your excellent performance during your match with her," said a deep commanding voice whom Izuku recognised.

Izuku smiled as he turned his attention towards the Emperor and said, "Coming from you, that means a lot, Emperor-san."

The Emperor smiled sightly in return and said, "I am merely stating a fact, Midoriya Izuku." He then turned around and said, "I must return to my duty of protecting the immaterium surrounding this world while guiding the souls of my people to this place. You should rest until your physical body regains enough strength to achieve consciousness."

Izuku nodded and said, "I will."

As the Emperor left, Shuuichi and Nezuko appeared before Izuku. Shuuichi wore a broad grin as he spoke, "That was an awesome fight, Izuku!"

Nezuko nodded with a smile and said, "It's a fight-duel that is worthy of a final-grand performance."

Izuku raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where are the others?"

"Haeto and Gokicha are still performing their duties since their sins are heavier then ours," explained Shuuichi who then added, "As for Tenko, he's still not able to let go of his hatred just yet but he's getting better by the day." Left unsaid was that Tenko never had any genuine loyalty to the Dark Gods, something which Lorgar already knew as well, so he had a chance of becoming repentant.

Glad that Tenko, who was the boy that Shigaraki Tomura used to be before his life was ruined by tragic circumstances, was on the path of recovery and repentance, Izuku said, "Maybe you can bring him along the when Eri prays for a tea party one day."

Ever since the battle with the League of Chaos Undivided at U.A. High School, Eri was given permission by the Emperor to hold small "tea parties" with the souls of those who have sworn their loyalty to him whenever she visits the Bloodline Chapel to pray. This meant that she had the rare privilege of not only having tea parties with repentant heretics like Shuuichi, Nezuko, Haeto and Gokicha but also fallen heroes like Huron-Fal, Phosis T'kar, Juljak Nul, Barabas Dantioch and Rylanor. Even the Emperor had taken part in one of her tea parties at least once.

Reverence to the Emperor and his loyal angels and saints aside, not even the most fanatically devout of Imperial citizens could deny that the image of Eri sharing tea and snacks with them looked rather adorable if not comical.

Aware of Tenko's tragic past, which was made all the worse by recent revelations that All For One had a hand in shaping the circumstances that led to Tenko becoming a villain, Shuuichi smiled and said, "I'm sure he'll appreciate that." Differences in circumstances aside, it was easy to see how similar Eri and Tenko were in having their lives negatively affected by their quirks activating for the first time.

"So, what should we do in the meantime?" asked Izuku.

"Well, we can watch-observe the rest of the matches," suggested Nezuko who then grinned as she proceeded to reveal some leftover snacks that she had somehow kept in her pockets and said, "I still have the snacks-treats form Eri-chan's last visit-party."

Izuku chuckled and said, "Well, let's do just that then."

-In the primarchs' original universe…-

Of all the fights held during the first round of matches, even the forces of Chaos had to begrudgingly agree that Izuku's match with Sanguinius was the most epic.

While the various factions of the Imperial Guard cheered and wept in response to Izuku's outstanding performance as a blessed mortal, the Blood Angels and their successor chapters felt great respect towards the young man who had succeeded in impressing their former primarch. As for the other space marine chapters, nearly all of them agreed that Izuku had done exceptionally well while the Sisters of Battle and the Ecclesiarchy seriously considered the idea of having Izuku's status as a saint made official. Even the Orks respected Izuku for being a "gutsy green git" while the various members of the Cult Mechanicus could have sworn that they heard the machine spirit in Izuku's support gear sing in joy during his last strike that broke Sanguinius' own weapon.

The Adeptus Custodes did not say much but a few keen-eyed Imperial citizens, including the Sisters of Silence, could have sworn that the stoic elite champions of the Emperor smiled approvingly at Izuku's performance. Between Izuku's status as a custodian of the former primarchs and his choice of weapon, some dared to wonder if the Custodes considered Izuku as an honorary member of their austere faction.

With news of the Orks and the Imperium putting aside their desire to destroy one another to watch what was basically a sports event in the alternate version of Holy Terra spreading far and wide, even the T'au and the Necrons got curious and decided to watch. In fact, only the Tyranids had absolutely no interest in watching the sports event.

Among the various xenos races, the Eldar (a.k.a. the Aeldari) were, similar to the human worshippers of the Dark Gods, begrudgingly impressed by Izuku's performance. Unsurprisingly, a number of Dark Eldar (a.k.a. the Drukari) were also interested in the idea of raiding Izuku's home world to obtain "exotic goods" but knew better than to risk drawing the attention of Slaanesh who still had a claim to all Eldar souls. The T'au, along with various allied members of the T'au Empire including human allies, were genuinely impressed by Izuku's combat prowess even though he had ultimately lost against Sanguinius. Even some of the Necrons, including a certain Archaeovist of the Solemnace Galleries named Trazyn, deemed Izuku as someone worthy respect. In fact, Trazyn had prepared a whole gallery in case he ever had the opportunity to "visit" the alternate version of Holy Terra.

If there was one individual who absolutely refused to acknowledge the idea of Izuku being worthy of respect, it would be the shattered soul of a certain Bakugou Katsuki. Though there was no denying that the corruption of the Dark Gods had made his worst traits even worse, there was also the undeniable fact that he had already despised Izuku long before he chose to swear his allegiance to them. Even if he had not sworn his allegiance to the Chaos Gods, just witnessing Izuku thrive as a student at U.A. High School, with a high chance of being officially accepted into the Hero Course no less, would have made him furious to say the least.

To the dark amusement of Khorne, Nurgle and Slaanesh, the portions of Katsuki's soul in their possession generated even more bloodthirsty hatred, decaying despair and malicious desire after watching Izuku's match with Sanguinius. Tzeentch, who had an admittedly small portion of Katsuki's soul which bore his ambition and potential for destiny, was honestly frustrated as all of Katsuki's plans for the future revolved around two things: making Izuku as miserable as possible and becoming a champion greater than everyone else. While all four Chaos Gods agreed that Katsuki was ambitious and had the potential to achieve greatness, albeit as the champion of a single world under most circumstances, Tzeentch simply found him too inflexible and direct for his liking.

Oh, there was no denying that the fragment of Katsuki's soul in Tzeentch's possession had developed a capacity for strategy, such as baiting his enemies into a trap where he had the advantage, and improvisation in case a plan fails. However, Katsuki's stubborn obsession with winning by directly putting his enemies and rivals "in their places" meant that he was downright… "Orky" in his way of fighting and strategising. That was not even counting his dismissive attitude towards even useful minions and how he would never ask for their help unless it was to handle "enemy extras". Even worse, the influence of the other Dark Gods meant that there was little the Tzeentch could do in shaping Katsuki's way of thinking. After all, why would the other three gods even consider letting Katsuki truly embrace change if it meant risking losing their iron-grip onto their respective fragments of his soul?

Perhaps the biggest irony of Katsuki's very existence was the fact that his destiny as a truly great pro-hero was in truth deeply tied to Izuku to the point of dependence. While it was possible for Katsuki to be a powerful pro-hero without Izuku, Katsuki would never reach his full potential as a pro-hero, let alone one even greater than All Might, without first acknowledging the idea that Izuku deserved better than to be mistreated as a "Worthless Deku". Although all four Chaos Gods found Katsuki's reaction to the revelation to be deeply amusing, hilarious even, Tzeentch did not need the power of foresight to know that Katsuki, in his current state, would sooner burn the stars than even consider the idea that Izuku deserved better even if only as a hated yet respected enemy.

Well, Tzeentch had already known that Katsuki would be extremely difficult to change, especially since he had never received the Dark God's mark before dying, so it mattered little if he remained as a failure even after enduring nine-thousand nine-hundred and ninety-nine years of torment to break his downright nurglesque refusal to change. Even so, as the god of ambition, change and destiny, Tzeentch was not going to give up breaking and reshaping the fragment of Katsuki's soul in his possession so easily. The Chaos God's cruel laughter could be heard as Katsuki's nine-fold torment of watching possible destinies continued anew…

-End Chapter-

Author's Notes:

Not going to lie, Izuku's match with Sanguinius was a climatic fight I that have been wanting to write down for quite a while. Also, I originally thought of having Izuku fight with Lion instead but, at some point, I decided to have him face Sanguinius in the end.

Yes, the visions of Izuku's fight with Sanguinius would have a ripple effect across the universe of Warhammer 40k.

Until next time, go beyond, plus ultra!