Chapter 9: Mage's Steps
Why did he run like that?! Nothing would look more suspicious than that! He could've just explained his situation and been on his way but noooooo, Izuku had to freak out that he had been seen using his 'quirk' in a public area and book it from the person who just wanted to help him.
How was Izuku supposed to know someone was watching him cast those illusions, he thought the coast was clear! The reason he did resort to using the spell was because apparently it was another chase day curtesy of Kacchan and his friends.
And because he wanted to see how big of an illusion he could cast at the time but that was beside the point!
All that running really tired him out, not to mention the massive tome that weighed half as much as he did, thankfully he was home. Izuku went straight to his room and started to unpack and unwind. Izuku really had to watch his surroundings, especially if he was going to be a hero. Villains could strike from anywhere and he had to be ready. Maybe the tome had a spell for sensing nearby people. That would help.
Just as he was pulling out the huge tome and putting it on his desk, Izuku rooted around his backpack for his school supplies and hero journal. He had one up in school stuff but was missing a hero journal. Ok that's fine. You have more then one and that one was getting pretty full. It's fine, there's more notes to take. Just relax….
"Where is it?! Where is it?!"
Izuku then frantically looked in every crook of the backpack, even flipping it upside down and shaking it to see if it was stuck at the bottom and would just fall out. No such luck. Where could have it gone? Ok, ok, retrace your steps. Where did you take the journal through your day. He got up, just leaving Etheria, packed his things into his bag, went to school, etc. etc.
It was pretty calm during the school day and Izuku didn't take it out until a scheduled break, so that rules out school and leaving it at home. That left after school as he was being chased. He did have to quickly grab his things and put his shoes on in a hurry. But everything was secure before he casted the illusion and…jumped into the bush… The pointy, rigged, shrub... The one that caught his backpack as he was trying to leave it. Probably opening the backpack open just enough that-
It dropped from his bag as he was running from the scene, didn't it?
Oh, of course it did. It probably got swept up by the wind when he ran. So there was no way he could find it wherever it went. Well, it could've been worse. He could've lost the tome. But he definitely would have noticed the weight difference if he did drop it.
Izuku did have a few assignments to do for tomorrow. It'll certainly pass the time, at least until he went back to Brightmoon. Where he could go back to practising spells and maybe delve into the runes section of the tome.
It's not like Izuku would see the man again after today. He probably went back to whatever he was doing after Izuku ran and apologized like a lunatic. Even less likely that the man had his hero volume after that whole deal. Why would he take some crazy kid's things?
With nothing better to do, Izuku got to work. Maybe he could get a little practice in after he got these assignments done before he had to sleep.
---------
Bright and early was the opportune time to practice some new spells and improve on ones he already knew. His room in Brightmoon was the perfect amount of both functional and spacious.
Izuku still had a clear view of the open tome from his side of the room which was turned to a new page. This one about a creating a circle of magic which would stay in hand and be able to fire small projectiles from it. The tome mentioned how these projectiles were pretty weak compared to something like fireball or just firing magical energy straight from his hands. But it could be rapid fired as long as you kept supplying the spell with magic
A side-note by the author mentioned that it could transition into a more powerful long-range spell.
Izuku was also still a beginner, so starting weak was the best thing for him. He really didn't want a repeat of yesterday even though it was impossible without the tuning glove. He was still wary of the possibility, however.
"Alright… P-Please don't blow up..."
Izuku took a deep breath and began casting. He followed his fingers as he created the circle, occasionally glancing at the tome to make sure it was correct. Nervous about the whole thing as this was his second attempt at a more offensive spell. The first almost killing him on his first day. As the circle neared completion and glyphs of various shapes began to fill the radius of the circle, then Izuku placed his intent on to the spell.
With it the circle completed and shrank until it was about the size of his palm. Unlike the illusions he's casted before, the spell circle remained in his palm, awaiting magic to be fed through it. Maybe this is how runes work? They simply await a feed of magic for activation, until then, they were inert.
He watched in shock as the circle began to fade in his hand as no magic was keeping it sustained. He sighed in disappointment when the spell completely disbursed. Guess he took to long.
Izuku also had to learn the difference between the two. As somehow runes could sustain themselves depending on the object or the amount of magic poured into it before the rune was complete. Spells required a constant feed of magic as they were cast.
If this requirement is not met, the spell would either fizzle out and fail or be far weaker then what the caster would want and with what magic he could gather, that time was very short. There were ups and downs to both. Izuku settled for figuring out the difference in depth later. Right now, he had to try the spell again. And this time no getting distracted, just get straight to blasting.
But first, maybe he'd ought to set some targets to hit.
Going around the room and grabbing random junk scattered across it, Izuku prepared some makeshift 'targets' to hit with his spell, but in actuality were just mounds of pillows with random junk strapped on to them. Ensuring he was a decent distance from the targets, drawing a line on the floor to measure the distance, Izuku took a deep breath and began casting the spell again.
In a few moments, the spell was complete. Identical to when he first drew it, sitting safely in his hand. "Here we go…." Izuku raised his arm, palm open, towards the target and passed some power to it. A tiny bolt of magic shot from the circle in his palm only to fizzle out before hitting the target. Was he too far? Or did not put enough magic into that bolt? It was working though so he must have done the spell correctly.
Perhaps just a little bit more. Izuku readied himself again, passing a little more to the spell. Another bolt shot out from his hand. It was a little bigger then his first one but still fizzled out, only a few mere inches from the target. Izuku had to be careful still. He had to find the perfect middle point of hitting the target and not draining himself or exploding his hand. Just a little more.
Once more he readied his arm and fired. Another larger bolt blasted from his palm finally hitting the target. Causing it to rock back and forth before settling back to normal but leaving no mark. That's it, just like that. Izuku prepared to fire two bolts from his spell, now having finally figuring out the amount of magic required to hit his target.
The first bolt hit his target but, in his excitement, and the rapid fire caused his arm to pull up in recoil and the second bolt fired, slamming just above the target hitting the wall beyond it.
Whoa! Ok, there is a recoil. Good to know, easily fixed, but good to know. Izuku steadied his spell arm with his free arm on top mitigating any recoil that rapid bolts might make. Hopefully.
Izuku took a second to gather magic into the spell. He didn't want it to fizzle out when he was this close to figuring it out. He then fired two bolts into the target, both hitting the target with only the second one slightly ajar from the center. He then moved on three then four then five bolts before the bolts began to sputter out from his hand and land on the floor.
Five bolts were his limit on this spell for now. Izuku stopped feeding the spell magic and it promptly faded from his palm into nothingness. That actually took a lot out of him. But it was a new spell and an offensive one at that so that made sense on his end. Still, he was making amazing progress on his spell work. With the target still up, maybe he could practice a few more spells. Izuku walked over to the tome and flipped to a random page that looked simple to do.
Only finding moderately difficult runes that required intense preparation at his level and spells well out of his reach for the time being. Izuku moved back to illusions, something that could always need improving. Maybe he could conjure a more tangible illusion this time or make his regular illusions more life like thus making people fall for them more easily.
Before he could start however, a sturdy knock came to his door. As he walked over to answer the door, Izuku began to wonder who it could be. Maybe it was Glimmer, she really wasn't that much of a morning person as he got to know her. But wouldn't she have just teleported into his room? It was still morning so maybe she was being nice.
Izuku opened the door expecting his friend to be there only to have a taller figure stand as his doorway. As he slowly looked up to face the figure, side cut of pale blue hair and dark skin wearing a silver breastplate, bracers, and boots with blue accents with a fashionable white coat over her shoulders with the sleeves under the bracers. They looked to be in their early twenties, just becoming so.
What he had to guess was a princess stood there looking down to the young sorcerer before she could start speaking, she noticed the makeshift targets and distance line at the opposite end of his room with an all too knowing gaze.
"Someone's been busy."
Izuku began to sweat.
Before another word could leave the princess's mouth, Izuku closed the door, spinning on his heel back to his room. He ran back over to his desk. He closed the tome shut and started cleaning up his mess before she saw anything else.
As quickly as he could in a panic induced cleaning session, his room resembled back to how it looked before he started practising. The only thing left was the mark on the wall just out of reach of him to clean. Not with lack of trying. He jumped up a couple times with a broom to try and reach it but no luck.
With no time left. Izuku then ran back to the door, opened it again to see the princess still standing there, hand on hip waiting. She looked to the rushed room and back to the greenette. A nervous smile on his face.
"…"
"…S-So, W-What's going on?"
"…"
"…O-Oh that? That was just…stretching exercises for uh… t-this morning… N-Nothing too weird right? I'm sure you do tons of things in the morning."
"…Stretching…" The bluenette rebel looked incredibly skeptical. A small smirk forming on her face
Izuku nodded nervously and quickly. "M-Mhm!"
"So that obvious mark on your wall was from… stretching."
The princess gingerly pointed to the wall on the opposite end of the room with the obvious blast mark on it. Izuku looked back to the mark and cringed.
"…You do know that there is a perfectly functional training hall in the castle, right? Probably a lot better then..." The princess glanced back into the room, the make shift dummy fell over as she looked back and down to the young sorcerer. "...Whatever is happening here."
Izuku looked down at his feet at the princess's statement. Trying to figure out why he didn't do that considering he was completely capable of going there himself.
"W-Well it's my spells and I thought it was…closed?"
"Really? That right."
The bluenette then motioned Izuku to follow her. Izuku obliged following the fierce woman closely. He asked where she was taking him, but she was silent. As they headed to wherever she was taking him, the young sorcerer had a few questions to ask. But kept them to himself. The princess noticed him biting his tongue.
"The name's Netossa by the way." She said with a bright smile as they walked. "If you got questions, ask'em."
Izuku looked up to the princess in confusion then quickly turned to confirmation. The young sorcerer started asking his questions in great quantity. One of which was did she have a power and if so what was it. She said yes. Had she ever been outside of the castle or other kingdoms, "Sometimes, less then usual now."
The questions continued until they reached the familiar doors of the training hall. Netossa pushed open the doors revealing an empty hall before the greenette who in turn looked to the princess with another question.
"Um, was it actually closed or is everyone late?"
"Nah, the hall is open at all times. It's just no recruit training drills have been scheduled for today. I usually bet on myself against all the rookies to hit the most targets if there is one. Which I usually do~."
The princess strode into the hall with Izuku behind her. Netossa led the young sorcerer to the middle of the hall before turning on step, facing Izuku. She then pointed to a few dummies a few meters away from them. The princess stood to the side still observing.
"You wanted to practice? There's your targets. You can start whenever."
"U-Uh C-Could I go and get my book back. I k-kind of need to reference...f-from it.
"Do you think the bad guy will wait for you to 'reference' one of your spells?"
Izuku audibly gulped then looked to the dummies across from him. With nothing but time on his side right now. Izuku started practising the spells he could remember. Starting with the rapid bolts. He casted the spell and began to fire bolts from the circle.
First hitting only one target with the five bolts. Izuku kept repeatedly hitting the dummy with bolts until all five hit their mark. Izuku looked over the princess who was still watching. Occasionally glancing to a rack of practice staves beside her.
"Not bad, Greeny. Now try and hit each target once with your bolts. Let's see if Casta has actually been helping your hand to eye junk. Then try faster until you can't hit consistently anymore."
Izuku nodded to the princess's direction and prepared the spell again. He hit a target then slowly move on to the next one in line. He hit each one in the chest, then aimed right at the start again, this time faster. He missed the last one and tried again at that speed, until he hit all of them in one go. Again, and again. Each time getting faster until he couldn't hit the third or fourth dummies.
Izuku brought his arm down in exhaustion of holding it up for that long. Just before he could completely turn to his impromptu instructor, she tossed a training staff in his direction. He fumbled it until he grasped it completely. He looked up from the staff in his hands to Netossa, who had a staff of her own and walked towards the center where Izuku was standing.
"Wha-What are you doing?"
Netossa now stood across from Izuku, after a quick twirl of the staff in her hand, adopted a fighting stance.
Uh oh.
"Come at me. Show me what I'm working with."
She wanted him to FIGHT? HER? Are you kidding? Who knows how much experience she has. Not to mention Izuku has never actually fought any other sentient being before. He didn't even know her powers! This had to be a joke, Izuku looked to the warrior princess in front of him. Ok not a joke this is very real. Oh no she's probably waiting for you to make the first move! Just move! MOVE!
Izuku charged at his would-be trainer, staff at his side. What he wasn't expecting was a small of blue energy being thrown at him. That must be her power! Maybe it's similar to Glimmers. Just have to hit it away. Izuku struck the blue ball of energy, but instead of it just exploding in a ball of glitter or sparkles. It burst open into a large net which quickly entangling the trainee. He still had momentum from running so he was still on his feet.
Not for long as Netossa step to the side and tripped him as he passed. The net completely immobilizing him as he fell. She crouched down to Izuku checking if was ok. The staff Izuku had was now entangled tightly to his face and chest. As if he stepped on a rake.
"You alright, Greeny?"
"Why are we doing this again?" Izuku's speech impaired by the stick still slapped in his face.
Netossa stood up and snapped her fingers, the net that Izuku was trapped in dissipated into pale blue particles. Izuku then slowly stood up from his position with a few stretches of his own before looking over to the princess.
"Well, I wanted to see the "Other world kid" I've been hearing Casta babble on about since yesterday. So, I asked Queen Angella where you were staying. At first, I wanted to just hey, see what the hub-bub was about, but then I saw you practising magic, so I thought I'd give you a pointer or two. Maybe slip in some combat practice in there too."
"Does everyone kno-"
"Yeah, almost everyone in Brightmoon knows you're from another world or dimension or something." Netossa shrugged.
Well, that's just great. At least no one has just been barging on his door to ask him questions.
"So, wanna keep going? Don't worry I'll go easy on you."
"Don't you have anything else to do?" Izuku said with some exasperation. He was starting to get tired.
"Not until this afternoon! Got a date. Till then, your stuck with me." She said, leaning on her staff with a big grin.
With very little choice in the matter, Izuku agreed for further training. At least he would learn how to fight. Especially if he was going to be a hero. Combat experience reigned supreme if he couldn't get his spells out in time. He grabbed his staff off the ground and readied himself. Netossa stood defensively awaiting an attack.
And so, his training began anew. Learning as much as his ten-year-old body could handle before it just gave out.
--- Hours Later ---
And give out it did. Now covered in bruises, Izuku was barely keeping himself up while his opponent was completely fine. Netossa did keep her word about going easy.
That didn't last however.
At first, she was teaching him basic strikes. Slowly parrying his attacks as he made them, showing him how to counter and how to avoid being countered. She then moved unto the offensive as Izuku tried to employ the same moves she used to block him. He got it a few times, and a few attacks got through, but Netossa stopped just before actually hitting him.
After getting the hang of blocking with the staff, Netossa got faster with her strikes not pulling her blows and letting them connect if Izuku miss timed a parry or block. He got a few lucky hits in on her, but she shrugged them off. Each taking turns going offensive to defensive. Until Izuku couldn't keep up or time was up.
It looked to be both as Izuku was absolutely famished from the training and Netossa was almost done with her lesson. At least, he really hoped she was almost done.
Thankfully she was. Netossa congratulated him on getting a few good hits in and parries. Then helped him to his room. After that, she said goodbye and went to her date with… whoever. Another princess he caught as she was taking him back. Izuku didn't care at the moment, everything hurt. Izuku crashed on to his bed, faceplanting into the pillow before letting out an exhausted, but muffled, groan.
He really hoped these bruises would fade before he got home. His mom would flip and never leave his side until he told her how he got them. Like she would believe him. As Izuku laid on his stomach, he heard the all-to-familiar sound of someone magically entering his room before a groan of her own left her lips.
"UGH, you would not believe the day I- WHOA what happened to you?!"
Glimmer rushed over to the greenette's side, face still buried in the pillow. She shook him a few times to make sure he wasn't dead. Izuku turned his head slowly from the pillow until he could see the princess. Glimmer could tell he was exhausted from whatever happened to him.
"You still there?" Izuku nodded. "Are you going to tell me what happened?" Izuku was about to answer before a loud grumble from Izuku took the stage. Both were surprised at the sound, but Izuku was completely embarrassed and dove back into the pillow in an effort to hide his red as tomatoes face.
Glimmer reached out towards her friend again in worry then retracted her hand and smiled softly. Izuku heard the sound of Glimmer teleporting, he glanced from his hiding pillow to see that the princess had left. Probably wanting to avoid the awkward situation. Izuku didn't blame her, it sounded like a long day for the both of them. She was about to talk to him about her day, but he made her worry. He ruined it. Again.
Why couldn't he just stop being weird?! Then maybe he would have other friends to hang around outside of Glimmer. Who was probably getting sick of comforting him at all times since they met. There were millions of other people that whatever dragged him over could've picked but no it picked the quirkless nobody. Why couldn't he just be normal…
"I think weird is… pretty cool if you ask me."
Izuku shot up from his bed and turned to see that Glimmer came back with a few plates of food for the both of them. Setting them down on a spare table he had in his room to fill the space.
"Did…Did I mumble that?"
"Mmhm." she said, still setting the table.
Izuku was really starting to hate his mumbling. " And this food isn't going to get any hotter! So, come on!" His blush now subsided to his cheeks, Izuku got up from his bed and wandered over to the table Glimmer had set, fidgeting with his hands as he went, taking a seat in front of a plate of food.
Glimmer sat beside him, waiting for Izuku to try eating first. "Sorry it's nothing too extravagant, just a bunch of leftovers I grabbed and heated up. It's all still good though, I promise." Glimmer scratched the back of her head. Izuku remained silent, poking at his food with a fork. Her brow furrowed; he was only like this if he was deep in some bad thoughts.
"You ok?" Silence. The greenette continued to tiredly stare at his food. Not even making the attempt of eating. There was only an a few moments of silence until he said something that she didn't like to hear.
"Do I… belong here?"
"Well, I mean this is your room so I wouldn't think you can be anywhere else." Glimmer tried to change the mood with no luck. She's never seen Izuku like this.
"You know what I mean." She didn't like where this was going. But pressed on.
"I feel like the only reason that anyone acknowledges me is because I 'saved' you and that I'm not from Etheria, which the last point wouldn't have mattered without the first one anyway." Izuku ranted under his breath. Was this how he actually felt?
"People only bare with me because of that. I should be happy that I'm so lucky to be here, but I keep thinking that there's so many other people more important that could have been brought here by… whatever got me in the first place." Glimmer wanted to stop him, but she couldn't, she had to know everything if she wanted to help him, and she desperately wanted too.
"Out of anyone back home, with all their amazing powers. Something picked me. Some powerless, sensitive, worthless, crybaby, fragile kid from a world full of amazing people with amazing powers."
"And it picked me. A Deku…."
Izuku turned to the princess who looked absolutely lost for words.
"Does a worthless Deku really belong in a place as amazing as this? Does he really deserve this chance to be something better? To be your friend?"
"Do you really want to be friends with a de-"
Before he could utter another awful word out of his tired mouth, Glimmer closed the distance with a hug. Not a spine crushing one that she was normally known for, but it was soft, gentle. Kind. Izuku was in complete shock and couldn't react. He didn't know how too. This felt… different. Was different. Glimmer started to speak, still embracing the young sorcerer tightly.
"Of course I do you idiot! Your one of my best friends and one of the bravest people I know! Without you, I'd probably be bug chow years ago and since you've been helping me with my powers, I can take the both of us wherever we want! And the amount of fun we've had with Bow?! Does that mean anything?!"
Izuku didn't what to say, his face was filled with shock, but she couldn't see. Glimmer continued.
"And don't even think someone else can take your place! YOU chose to come running to a place no kid should be. YOU saved me when some people would be running around in circles trying to find me or the other way. YOU helped me with everything even if you wouldn't get anything in return. YOU… you…"
Izuku heard something he wished to hear ever since he was diagnosed quirkless. That one sentence no one would even give him the time of day to say or even bother to think.
"You are not worthless. You can be anything you want to be if you believe in it hard enough. And I won't stand for it if anyone says that Izuku Midoriya is anything but amazing"
Izuku started shaking in the princess's embrace, tears started forming in his eyes and after a second to process. Returned Glimmer's hug tightly and started crying in her shoulder. The only sound in that room, in that moment, were the soft sniffles of a boy's dreams reigniting thanks to his best friend in all of two worlds.
"Izuku?"
"*sniff* Ye-Yes?"
"What is a 'Deku'? I don't think it means anything good if you said it like that."
"I-"
"You don't have to tell me your life story or what Earth is like, or Japan. That can wait. I just want to know what it means, ok?"
"…ok…"
Glimmer released Izuku from her hug and both sat back down. Izuku then explained what Deku meant to her. To say she didn't like it was the understatement of the decade.
She despised the word. She then asked who was calling him that, a not to subtle twitch in her eye. When he said everyone in school, he could tell she was holding herself back, just barely though, from a full-scale rant. She still threatened to blast every single one of his bullies in the face if she ever saw them. Izuku knew that would never happen, but it made him smile none the less.
The two finally got into their meals and eventually moved on to how their days went. Glimmer's being chalk full of 'boring, mindless' lessons about the virtues of proper table setting and manners in special balls or events, like how to bow to someone you will dance with or politely decline. The tutor that was teaching was also apparently a real stickler for perfection. So, Glimmer had 'accidentally' shot a blast of sparkles into her dance partner's face. Which got her no end of comments but was worth it.
Izuku began to explain how his day went, having made progress in a new spell, his impromptu meeting with Netossa and the proceeding beating he got from her with a few tips on to fight. Hence all of his bruises. Glimmer sympathized with him and was sorry for him. She said this trying not to laugh or let out a giggle.
Both of their discussions went on for hours with the occasional joke or question in-between their banter. Izuku even showed Glimmer the new spell he learned quickly only firing a single bolt into a nearby comforter pillow. Amazed at the showcase, Glimmer showed off some of the dance moves she learned at her class, mixing in a little of her own 'princess finesse' with her moves. Izuku grabbed his MP3 from his desk and played some background music for her.
"What is that anyway?" The princess questioned, only having seen it a few times before.
"It's an old MP3 I bought from my neighbourhood. It can play a ton of songs saved on it." Glimmer walked over Izuku who was scrolling through the playlist, looking over his shoulder. "Here's something you might like." Izuku plugged in some earbuds into the device and passed one to the princess and pointed to his ear.
"So, it's kind of like an earpiece?" Glimmer put the bud in.
"K-Kind of, yeah! But you can't talk with it. Just listen to stuff." Izuku hit play and an automated voice played before the song. Putting the opposite bud in his ear.
Now playing: LILAC – By: IU
An electronic beat hit them both at first, but slowly moved to something more upbeat and natural. Glimmer wasn't sure at first as the lyrics were in Japanese so she didn't understand any of it, but the feeling was there, she definitely could feel that. Izuku was swaying along to the beat, eyes closed, even mouthing some of the lyrics she didn't understand. The princess wasn't at that point until they reached the chorus. When the drop hit, Glimmer immediately began humming along to the melody. Both were now swaying along to the music. Enjoying it as it lasted.
Glimmer didn't understand any of it. But she still very much liked it. The song slowly faded out as it ended, Izuku paused the playlist before it played anything else.
"Wow."
The greenette nodded in understanding. He was the exact same when he first heard something like it. Glimmer was about to ask him to play another but realized what time it was and regrettably sighed. Both cleaned up the table and set the dishes aside for now. Just before Glimmer grabbed the empty plates, she stopped in thought.
"Hey Izuku?"
"Hmm?" He turned from the table to the princess. She inhaled and exhaled deeply. Now determination filled her eyes.
"Can you promise me that you will tell me everything someday? And I mean everything. Japan, Earth, the powers people have. Everything, not just you. But I will want to hear that too"
Izuku blinked at the request. It made sense, after tonight she deserved to know but he wasn't up for more emotional baggage that night. Just before he was about to answer, Glimmer stopped him.
"It doesn't have to be tomorrow or the day after, heck, it doesn't have to be in a few years. Whenever your ready. I'll be here." She smiled.
And that was it. The smile that set it in stone. Izuku knew what he had to do.
"I promise."
Glimmer nodded and grabbed the two empty plates off the table. Both said goodnight to one another, and she phased out of his room leaving him alone again. With a yawn from today's massive roller-coaster of emotions, Izuku got ready for bed hoping not having to deal with another deep talk like that for a few months.
----- Japan, Dagoba Middle School --------
Apparently, someone had found his missing journal and was planning on returning it after school andwanted to talk to him about it. So, the idea of ignoring possible confrontation for the next few months had just flown out the window. Great, great.
The young sorcerer mumbled to himself trying to figure a plan how to get out of this meeting with a "Yagi Toshinori" his mom mentioned. Of course, he was in the middle of class, so everyone just stared at him awkwardly including the teacher at the front of the class. He, of course, got called out by his teacher in front of everyone to stop bothering everyone else. Izuku hid under his arms in embarrassment as a majority of the class giggled at him.
The words that he heard everyone mutter around would have stung more if it weren't for the fact there was someone who believed in him and that was enough for him.
--- Midoriya Household ----
After another day of 'surviving' school, Izuku was almost home. Thankfully Kacchan didn't feel like chasing him today, so he actually got home on time. Just as he made the turn to his home, Izuku noticed a very nice looking two-door cruiser had pulled up into the driveway of his house and his mom's small van was right in front of it.
Was he here already?! Izuku rushed to the door and let himself in, taking off his outdoor shoes, and creeping further down the hall to the living room. Izuku heard his mom asking some questions then he heard another familiar voice respond then cough. Nooooo... it couldn't be... Izuku peeked around the corner to see his mom sitting at the kitchen table and across from her…
Oh, you've got to be kidding me…
The same skeletal, blonde man sitting across from her with a cup of tea in his hand. So that was Yagi Toshinori... This time, he was wearing a very loose-fitting blue suit instead of the plain white shirt and cargo shorts he met him in.
The tall man glanced over to Izuku's hiding place around the corner with his mom following the man's gaze. Izuku ducked back around the corner, hopeful he hadn't been seen.
"Izuku is that you? It's ok, this the man I was telling you about this morning." Izuku didn't move afraid that he would have to explain what happened yesterday. "Did I mention he's from the All-Might Agency."
What.
Izuku awkwardly shuffled over from his hiding spot, now keenly interested why some one who worked with All-Might, his idol, was interested in him out of anyone. Heck, he even expected the man to be more interested in Kacchan then him. Izuku continued shuffling right to the table and stood stiff as a board next to his mother, nervously avoiding making eye-contact with the man.
Yagi's piercing blue eyes looked straight at Izuku, but a light chuckle left his lips and a bright smile formed on his face. "Ah! It is very nice to meet you for the second time, Young Midoriya." He said with a chuckle.
Izuku shuffled in place and nodded. Still unsure how much the man told his mother. Inko asked Izuku if he could have a seat, they were going to be talking for a bit. He obliged and slowly made his way to an empty seat. After taking a seat, still avoiding any major eye contact with their guest, Yagi reached into his suit and pulled out his hero notebook.
"I believe this belongs to you." Yagi slid it across the table to the greenette. "I was hoping to discuss it's contents with you." He actually read it?! He probably thinks he's a nut job! And he works for All-Might. ALL. MIGHT. If this 'Yagi' told his idol anything, it was to avoid the crazed fan Midoriya Izuku. This couldn't get any worse!
"From what I read, you possess a great deal of knowledge on the hero industry and hero's themselves. Keeping very detailed note work that would even make some quirk specialists blush!"
Wait what?
"Not to mention, from what I gathered, you have almost every Japanese hero's quirk recorded. Including strengths, weaknesses and drawbacks to the user. Not to mention tips on how to counter these drawbacks. I have worked with many hero's in my time and I wish could tell half of this stuff to them." An open smile grew on the man's face as he was speaking.
What was happening? Was he… praising him? These past few days have just been full of weird feeling emotions. "I was hoping to ask a few questions about it and yourself. Is that alright?" Yagi asked, taking a sip of tea. "This is amazing tea by the way, thank you Miss Midoriya."
Inko thanked him for the complement. Izuku on the other hand was trying to figure out what was happening right now and mindlessly accepted the line of questioning.
"Thank you, this won't take long I assure you." Yagi opened his mouth then closed it again, then looked to Inko. "Miss Midoriya? Might I speak to your son in private for a moment?" Inko was confused at first but understood nonetheless. She excused herself but not before kissing Izuku on the forehead.
"I'll just be in my room, ok? I won't be gone long." Inko then left to her bedroom, leaving the two alone at the table. Izuku started to sweat, looking down at his quivering hands sitting in his lap, wondering what the man would say next.
"Before anything else happens, I just want to say, you are not in trouble."
"Huh?" Izuku shot up to face Yagi.
"I came here to discuss your notebook's contents with you, yes. But I also wished to speak to you about what had happened yesterday." Right, when he ran away like a lunatic, he remembered. "Speaking to your mother has also revealed to me something very strange about you and your quirk." Here it comes.
"Yesterday I saw you create two illusions to hide from your pursuers, one of which you sent off on its own in your place. But when I asked your mother if you had a quirk of any kind, she irrefutably and sadly told me you were quirkless. So much as showing me the medical documents proving you, in fact, do not have quirk."
Before Izuku could explain or make up an excuse, knowing he was busted, Yagi raised his hand, cutting the boy off.
"Don't worry I haven't told your mother anything. I simply wish to know why you are hiding your quirk now." Izuku shuffled nervously in his seat at first then started to weave something believable.
"B-Because for most of my life I've b-been told quirkless people have no chance of being heroes. That they would get in the way" Izuku started speaking from the heart. Yagi listened on. His full interest given to the greenette. "I waited nearly six years to have a quirk so when one magically appeared from nowhere one day, I-I was ecstatic, but I was scared to tell mom because w-what if it didn't work when I wanted it too? So, I started practising in secret. Not telling her anything until I was ready."
"You're a late-bloomer. I have heard of such thing before, but all the documents point to you being quirkless. When did your quirk first appear?"
"A-A week ago, I co-could only draw lines of light in the air at first." Actually only basically a day ago.
"Then you started training in private. By yourself I presume?"
"Ye-Yes sir." He didn't need to know that a actual sorceress was teaching him. No one did.
"Does she know anything?" Izuku shook his head.
"I see... Do you plan on re-registering your quirk status once your mother knows?" Izuku had thought of that plenty of times when he first started practising. She would need to know if he wanted to register into U.A properly and enter it's legendary hero course. "I understand your hesitation. It can be a scary thing to show a quirk you don't have full control over. But you're a smart kid there is no doubt, so I'm sure you can figure it out and know what happens if you use your quirk in public and they find to see your status says your quirkless even though they saw otherwise."
He did know. False information, A strike on his credentials. Goodbye U.A. "The sooner, the better Young Midoriya and be more careful until then."
Izuku nodded. Yagi leaned forward, folding his hands together and placing them on the table. " I have one more question then we can have your mother come back." Izuku nodded again.
"Do you want to be a hero? Even before. When you were quirkless." Yagi stared down the greenette with his question hanging over him like a pendulum. Did he? That was the question of the century wasn't it? He just questioned himself last night back in Etheria before she... what was he thinking! He already knew the answer. Izuku answered with fire in his heart. He knew who he had to prove wrong and he knew who to show his gratitude for believing in him.
"More than anything."
Yagi was surprised at the sheer determination that he saw in the boy's eyes, He slowly nodded to Izuku's answer, finally understanding his conviction to be hero was as strong as his golden years. The old hero knew the boy would make the right choice and be one of the better ones out there. Yagi smiled at the greenette and motioned him to bring his mother back.
After Inko had returned the three then discussed several other things about Izuku's notebooks, when he first started writing them. How many volumes he has. Yagi asked a few random trivia questions about a random hero to see if the greenette could answer, he passed that test with flying colours. After a solid hour questions and quirk related topics Inko lost track of, Yagi had to excuse himself.
"Thank you very much for your time." As he walked to the front door. "And thank you again for the tea, Miss Midoriya."
"Oh, I'm sure It's not as good as the coffee at the number one's office."
"You'd be surprised." Yagi muttered under his breath. Recollecting how the office coffee tasted like dirt water.
"As for you, Young Midoriya, I would like for you to have this." Yagi pulled a small business card from his pocket and handed it over to Izuku. The young sorcerer held it up to his face as if it was the golden ticket to a day with All-Might.
"If you have any questions or if you would like to come visit, do not hesitate to call. Don't forget what we talked about as well." Izuku nodded excitingly. "I will be watching your progress with great interest, and I hope to see you at U.A." With that, Yagi closed the door behind him and left.
"My that was scary, someone that works for All-Might. You must be absolute- Izuku? ." Inko looked down to Izuku who was still mesmerized by the card. It had a similar aesthetic to All-Might's Golden age costume with his signature smile in the corner of the card. Inko excused herself to go make dinner. Izuku was deep in thought when noticed his mother pass by to the kitchen.
He had to tell her, or at least tell her he had a quirk now. How would she react though? Would she freak out? be sad? Happy? Izuku didn't know. All he did know if he wanted to get into U.A and be the best hero he could be. Izuku had to get his 'quirk' registered and his status changed.
"M-Mom? I have something to show you…."
"Hmm? What is it sweety?"
Was he really sure he wanted to do this? She had to know eventually. 'Do you want to be a hero?' Izuku already knew the answer. He took a deep breath and raised his hand to cast a spell. Light already forming at his fingertips.
More than anything.