The voice was talking to him again.
It wasn't overbearing, nor was it commanding, just insistent and annoying like a pest that refused to leave him alone.
"Kill them," It said, "Take their power for your own, you can become so much more than what you are, a God even." It urged.
Tenko ignored it. After all, what use was there to pay attention to a voice that told him to kill Nii-san and Amber Nee-chan?
The 6-year-old looked at the form of his two sleeping adopted older siblings and decided then and there to block out that annoying voice. If becoming a God meant he had to kill the two people who cared about him most in the world, then there was no point in becoming so powerful.
However, that didn't mean he couldn't become powerful through other means.
He knew that, felt it in his bones. The power to take and give rests at his fingertips, to destroy and create.
Why he had such a power, he didn't know.
"Because you are the Greedy King." The voice crooned, "If the world is yours for the taking, then why don't you claim it?"
'Because I don't want the world."
His hand rose to his neck, scratching at it. It wasn't because he was itchy, it just... felt right to do.
After waiting a while to make sure the voice had left, Tenko sank back into the embrace of his older brother, closing his eyes and falling back asleep.
The trip was Silent.
That was the first thing that tipped Izuku off to the fact that something was wrong. Even as they carried on to the gravel road in relative peace, the back of his head itched incessantly. Something was wrong.
Green eyes silently scanned the vast expanse of the flattened plains that spanned into the horizon, looking, searching, waiting, for anything.
"You good, Nii-san?" Izuku found himself broken out of his surveillance when he suddenly felt his brother suddenly poking at his cheek in curiosity. "Hmm? Of course I am, Tenko. Why do you ask?" he asked.
"Probably because you got lost in your own little world there." A snicker from Amber was his reply, and the boy sighed.
"Right, I guess that makes sense." His hand dragged itself through his hair to brush a few stray strands from his line of sight, "It's just, well, something feels... off." He admitted.
His travel companion seemed to agree with him as she soon straightened up and observed their surroundings a bit more keenly. "So, I wasn't just the only one who felt like we weren't alone," she hummed before they both spotted a small figure huddled at the side of the road.
It looked like a child, as young as Tenko, without a place to go and in need of saving.
...So then why didn't he feel the urge to help?
Izuku watched silently as Amber approached the child with a complicated expression on his face, trying to figure out just why it was he felt nothing at all for this child in danger.
Something was wrong.
The itch returned with a vengeance, and his hair stood on end, alarmed as his quirk finally activated.
He reached for [One for All] and charged up to 20% before, with a quick motion, he pivoted in place, left leg displacing the gravel as he planted it on the ground and right leg already in the air and connecting with what looked like nothing.
Something cracked, he heard it even as it echoed out and before their eyes a girl with green hair appeared out of thin air, her eyes wide in shock and pain as his strength-enhanced iron sole boots slammed into and through her aura, bruising ribs and rupturing innards as she shot off with like a rocket to stumble across the ground.
Wincing, Izuku dropped the percentage to 8% when he realized just how badly she'd hurt the girl, her status as his would-be killer not pending.
And as it would turn out, she wasn't the only one.
Black and Silver appeared out of thin air as the ravenette young woman ran past him towards Amber. "You take the one with the Brat! I'll deal with the Maiden for now." Her orders given, the silver blur appeared to be a young man with hair of the same color, legs extended towards him in a flying kick!
He was fast, Izuku would give him that much as he ducked under the first kick and watched the burst of air that was fired from his prosthetic foot.
'His fighting style is similar to mine,' He mused as he stepped back from a downward kick from the boy before surging upwards towards him, entering his guard and startling the boy terribly, who attempted to retreat.
Keyword being: attempted.
'He's still a bit green though,'(1) His hand slammed upwards in a palm strike that caused the boy to rise off the ground, and a good thing too.
He grabbed the boy by his artificial limb and spun, slamming the disoriented boy into the green-haired girl who tried to sneak up on him again. They recovered quickly, however, and were back on their feet in less than three seconds, weapons at the ready, not looking any worse for wear despite the thrashing he'd given them.
This could serve as a good warm-up and an opportunity to see how good the people of this new world were.
"Gotta admit, you might be a bit stronger than we originally thought, but..." The silver-haired boy grunted, obviously annoyed as he walked towards him, legs seemingly beginning to activate as the sound of servos echoed from him. Beside him, his green companion glared cruelly at him as she held her revolve and sickle blade in her hands, no doubt upset at the fact that he'd injured her moments earlier. "You're still no match for us, so how about you make this easy for us and give up so we can be on our way?"
Tenko peeked over his shoulder, notably unperturbed despite the situation, seeming more uncomfortable with the idea of new people being here instead of them actually trying to put them six feet under, a fact that Izuku recognized was similar to how he acted when they were still running through the forest alone before meeting Amber.
"Are you going to fight these bad guys?" He asked almost innocently, if not for the look of excitement in his eyes that he held at the prospect.
He smiled at the boy, "Sure, I'll try to put on a good show for you, ok?" he said before, with a flick of his hand, he slapped the ball of fire that flew towards him from the dust round that had been shot at him.
'Their tag-teaming now.' He thought as he jumped over Grey-san's kick and before dropping low to the ground to dodge the revolver round that Green-san shot at him, watching keenly how Grey-san took the opportunity to try and close the distance and catch him off guard.
He parried the first kick and dodged to the left of the second before punishing the boy on his third when he closed the gap again to slam a fist into him, only for the fist to pass through him, where he fizzled out.
So that's what her... what was it called again? Ah! right her semblance.
"An illusory power, huh?" His hand caught the sickle blade in the gloved hand, sparks flying as the metallic alloy of the fabric ground against the weapon. Green-san stared, horrified, as he accurately guessed her ability and even blocked her again when she was utilizing her semblance to her highest capacity.
"For what it's worth, you have a really cool ability." With that, he pulled her close, and slammed a knee into her gut before throwing her away and grabbing Grey-san, who tried to avenge his teammate for all the good it did him.
His first punch slammed into the boy's gut with ridiculous strength, causing him to double over, his second punch uppercut him and snapped his face skywards before he grabbed his hand, spun, and judo-threw him onto the ground, causing the boy to cough up blood, answering a question Izuku had on his mind where he proceeded to kick the boy towards his teammate, allowing them to take a much-needed breather.
"Now that you two are calmer," Izuku's back straightened, muscles flexing and green lightning crackling violently as he smiled at them.
It was not a kind smile.
"Why did you try to attack us?"
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Cinder Fall found herself growling in agitation as she glared at the Amber, the Fall Maiden.
The plan had been simple, easy, really. Trick the naive Maiden into helping the vision of a lost and injured child courtesy of Emerald's Semblance before killing her and taking the powers of the Fall Maiden for herself. Yes, it was a truly simple yet effective plan. One that should have worked thanks to her ingenious usage of the girl's kind nature and lack of comrades to her advantage.
Then that green-haired bastard threw a wrench into her plans.
Cinder didn't know who he was, nor the brat that clung to his back, staring at her, and quite frankly, she didn't care to know.
She wanted them dead, deader than dead. She wanted to turn them into a pile of ash and brimstone and dance on it for good luck. But she couldn't do that now, could she?
Emerald and Mercury were preoccupied with the Fall maiden's companion, as unlikely as that sounded.
Both were excellent fighters who would have given most huntsmen a run for their money. Yet, the emerald bastard was somehow holding his own against both of them.
"You have a pretty strong ally," Cinder commented as she glanced back at the fight occurring a bit away from them between the three. The brat on his back didn't count.
Amber had the nerve to smile at that. "What can I say? I got lucky in finding a good friend." She replied before falling into a fighting stance, a feral smile growing.
"Now... why don't we have some fun of our own?" Amber's eyes glowed a burning crimson, and Cinder Fall knew she needed to escape.
Strong as she might be, the only reason she had ever dared to attempt to kill a Maiden was that she was confident in being able to take down Amber using superior numbers and skills.
But with both Emerald and Mercury being unable to aid her, her chances of winning dropped from doable to nigh impossible.
Perhaps, if she was quick enough, she would be able to get away-!
"Are you looking to run already? Who would have thought I'd run into a coward~"
Pride sparked to life at the insult, and so too did [Scorching Caress].
Superheated obsidian formed in the air around her, the dirt flying from the earth as a sharp, black projectile towards Amber.
Said Fall Maiden's staff materialized into her hands in an instant as she braced herself, the red and white dust crystals at its tips pulsing with power before she kicked off the ground into a sprint, her agility and speed allowing her to dodge the blackened spikes that attempted to skewer her.
Sliding under the final projectile before she launched herself at Cinder using the wind dust in her staff.
"Tsk." Cinder clicked her tongue and moved to meet the Fall maiden halfway, already wielding Midnight in both hands.
They both found each other at the center of the makeshift battlefield, Cinder lashing out with a torso strike that Amber dodged before deflecting another slash coming for her head.
However, Cinder pressed the attack, reversing the grip of her first blade into a backward grip that stabbed upwards at Amber's chin, all thoughts of keeping the Fall maiden alive abandoning her as she struck to kill!
Unfortunately for her, however, the girl was quick to dodge out of the range of attack before using her weapon's superior reach to take advantage while her guard was open. Her staff thrust forward at Cinder, the sharpened dust crystal turning the damn thing into a makeshift spear that attempted to gouge her eye out! Cinder just barely twisted herself out of the way of the attack and allowed it to slice at the side of her face before using her position to kick out at Amber.
Her foot connected, and the girl cried out in pain at the unexpected attack, which caused Cinder to smile in triumph.
That very same smile died a painful death when she felt something latch onto her leg with an iron grip.
Mistakes were made.
"C'MERE!" Amber yelled in fury as she reeled in the flame semblance user by her captured leg before slamming a fist into the woman's gut, doubling over her with a wheeze before, with an application of wind, she found herself launched backward, her twin swords having fallen from her slackened grip.
By the time Cinder got a hold of herself, Amber was already stabbing at her with her staff, intent on killing her. Fire sparked, and Cinder's hand came out in front of her, forming a gauntlet of molten earth which she used to just barely block the death blow.
"THIS IS BAD!" Cinder internally panicked, her muscles screaming at her as she held the attack at bay.
"You're wide open." Amber's voice caused Cinder's blood to freeze in her veins.
A kick slammed into Cinder's face and sent her flying.
However, unlike before when Cinder was granted a reprieve, Amber didn't let up at all.
[Scorching Caress] bloomed to life in her palms, trying to burn the woman, or at the very least, blind her. In response, Amber flicked a contemptuous hand at the blast of heat and consumed it in a raging inferno!
Another flick of the brunette woman's hand caused a powerful gust of wind to drag the disoriented woman towards her. Twirling the staff around in her hand, Amber aimed her weapon at the woman rapidly approaching her and charged.
[Scorching Caress] flared up once more as Cinder scrambled to save herself, yet before the effects of her semblance could take place, her entire body seized up suddenly.
For a moment, confusion clouded Cinder's mind as she wondered why her body wasn't responding. Realization dawned a moment later as the telltale tingling of electricity ran through her body.
"NO!" Cinder yelled, attempting to take control of her spasming muscles.
Just when Cinder felt control return to her, a flash of red pierced through her aura and into her stomach.
"May you find peace in the beyond," Amber spoke venomously, the dust crystal burning a bright crimson as fire pooled into Cinder's stomach-
-And the woman screamed.
Just what kind of monster were they fighting?!
He didn't make sense, his powers, less so.
Together, both Emerald and Mercury believed they'd make easy work of the Fall maiden's partner.
He was just one person after all, one who would be hampered thanks to the child that hung off his back and who probably had never seen real combat and was only alive thanks to the Fall maiden and her powers, no doubt.
In short, he was a textbook definition of an easy target.
Or so they thought.
Every attack, every strategy, every ability, and every piece of skill was proven utterly useless when facing him. If the Fall maiden, which they saw fighting off in the distance, could be compared to a relentless storm, then her companion was an unshakable wall!
Mercury jumped at him, readying a kick while Emerald shot at the boy's exposed back in a pincer attack, attempting to place him between a rock and a hard place.
For all the good that it did.
Green lightning crackled around the menace as he stepped out of the line of fire with unnerving speed, allowing the bullets to slam into Mercury as his aura protected him.
His hand lashed out and grabbed Mercury by the throat, a scarred finger holding him with a grip that wasn't strong enough to suffocate the man but was still just enough to weaken him from lack of oxygen. He then lifted the assassin into the air before slamming him back down.
"You know I don't want to fight you, right?" He dodged another volley of bullets and punched Mercury dead in his teeth, causing one to fly out. "I just wanna know why you attacked us?" The boy hummed, unbothered and unruffled by their attacks. A complete contrast to the dirty, bruised, and sweat-covered Emerald and Mercury.
"AS IF I'LL FUCKING TELL YOU!" Emerald yelled in frustration, her semblance, [Hallucinations], taking effect on the boy as she approached with as much speed as her legs could muster.
Yet just when she approached stabbing distance, multiple black and green energy tendrils lurched from out of his back, wrapping around her and launching her away.
"Y-you...! Just what the hell are you!?"
The boy didn't answer.
"He's a Hero."
His little companion, though, did.
Both Emerald and Mercury would have ignored the ridiculously childish statement normally, however, the... odd way in which he said hero was... unnerving.
"What I am doesn't matter," Izuku said patiently. "What does matter is knowing who you two are and what you want."
"As... if... w-we'd... tell you." Mercury choked out in defiance, Emerald preparing herself to charge at the monster in human skin again.
"I don't want to hurt you, so please can you just surrender and answer me?" He smiled tiredly.
For a moment, both Emerald and Mercury paused with conflicted expressions on their faces at the tone the boy's voice carried. It wasn't mocking or arrogant.
It was sincere.
A scream pierced the tense air, and all three sets of eyes turned towards its source.
"CINDER!" Both of the woman's teammates yelled out for their leader. Emerald kicked off towards Cinder, whereas Mercury used his captor's momentary distraction to escape his grasp.
His eyes narrowed sadly, and [Blackwhip] answered his call, coiling at his sides like snakes before rushing forward towards the retreating enemies, expanding as it split off into several large energy tendrils that attempted to slam his opponents into submission
"LOOK OUT-!" Emerald cried as one of [Blackwhip]'s tendrils crashed into the ground beneath her, upturning a large amount of earth and dirt and sending her flying.
"CINDER, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HER NOW!" Mercury cried as he barreled into Cinder and swooped the woman up into his arms as he ran.
"H-HEY DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT MEEEEE-AAAAAAHHH!" Emerald yell peaked into a scream as she fell back down to earth beside Mercury and Cinder, scrambling to her feet as she ran alongside them, her semblance taking effect and allowing them to disappear into thin air.
"They escaped," Amber said, annoyed. Flicking Cinder's blood off her staff.
"You tried to kill her."
"And? Is there an issue with it? They tried to kill me first, didn't they?"
A pause.
"I guess there isn't." Izuku sighed, "It's just... weird... knowing you would willingly kill a person."
"They aren't good people." Amber reminded. "besides that bitch tried to kill me first."
He shrugged, "I'm a pacifist, I guess." The green lighting died out, "and where I grew up, killing people, even if they deserve death, is frowned upon."
Amber raised an eyebrow as her Maiden powers faded, "Sounds stupid," She huffed, "And you're saying it like you never had your own fair share of people you want dead."
"Wanted." Izuku corrected, remembering some of the villains he'd fought in the past. "It was more of a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing, and even if it wasn't, the people who I might want dead are dead."
"Well, look at you, mister Izuku 'I-am-a-pacifist-who-wants-a-man-dead' Midoriya." Amber teased. "And here I was beginning to think you couldn't even fathom the idea of having killer intent."
Izuku rolled his eyes at the girl's jab at his contradictory line of thinking.
"Are you okay, Amber Nee-san?" Tenko asked innocently, red eyes shining with worry.
Poor girl almost had a heart attack from the unexpected attack.
"'m fine," Amber miraculously was able to answer the boy, even if her hand was tightly clutching at her heart.
"Sorry, you had to see that, Tenko." Izuku sheepishly apologized, only to see his little brother wave off his apology.
"Don't be Nii-san! You and Nee-san looked super cool!" Tenko gushed.
Both teenagers smiled and continued on their path as the boy continued rambling about the fight he'd just seen, a warm aura encompassing them.
It was nice.
"How interesting." Salem smiled, amused.
"A stranger interrupted your plan to subjugate and steal the Fall Maiden's power?"
"...Y-yes... mistress..." Cinder spoke. The fear she felt from being in the direct presence of her mistress overpowered the horrible pain she felt in her stomach.
"Hmmmmm. Rest and recuperate for now, you are a pawn, yes, but a very important pawn." The woman spoke, voice as sweet as honey yet as unfeeling as a doll.
It annoyed Cinder Fall, yet she would never show it.
"As you command, mistress," the black haired woman said before leaving the throne room.
Left alone, the woman's amused smile fell away as she replayed the memories she had gotten from the Grimm that watched the fight from a distance. Despite her indifferent demeanor when talking to Cinder, the Queen of Grimm found herself unreasonably unsettled by the green haired boy and his little companion.
"That boy... I don't know why I feel this way, but he is dangerous."
Her frown grew more as she mentally replayed another memory in her head.
"And that little boy... He's dangerous as well... maybe even more so than the green-haired one."
That child's eyes... they reminded of her of the past... one that only she and one other knew of.
His gaze was the same as that of a Monarch.
Of a King
Of a God.
One whose greed knew no bounds nor depth.
A/N: Yea bit of filler chapter this one.
In all honesty I just wanted to get something out and this chapter mostly sets up the future plot elements for this story.
Outside of that, this chapter was, to a lesser degree, show you how Amber and Izuku would perform in a fight and just how one sided the battle would have been against been between Amber and Cinder had Emerald and Mercury not been there. (I tried my best but I'm not good at fight scenes)
Side note: Did anyone read the latest Mha manga? Shits wild and I'm honestly hoping that Deku finds a way to join the fight against ShigaAfo again.
That aside I hope you're reading experience was enjoyable and, as always, criticism IS welcomed.
(1): The reason Izuku sees Mercury and Emerald as 'Green' is because, in comparison to him, his class and the villains/enemies he's faced, they have the necessary combat capability to pose any real threat. Especially since this is also one of Emerald and Mecury's first real fights in the series if I'm correct.