Chapter Text
Well...that certainly explained Bakugo's lack of presence.
Izuku could only look at his phone in shock.
"What...?" Izuku whispered, before he read more on the article.
The article described how the Sludge Villain was on the run. How the Villain had to crawl through the sewers to hide from Heroes, and how the Sludge Villain needed a victim that he could kill and take over their corpse like a puppet.
And the unfortunate victim that the Sludge Villain came across...was none other than Katsuki Bakugo.
The whole situation turned into chaos, with the Sludge Villain trying to force his way into Bakugo, while Bakugo was releasing so many explosions that they caused significant collateral damage in the surrounding area. Heroes arrived at the scene, but couldn't do much with the hostage situation.
It was because of their inaction and hesitation that the Sludge Villain managed to enter Bakugo's body, starting with his lungs. However, before it could spread to the rest of Bakugo's body, All Might finally arrived and saved the explosive user.
Unfortunately, the timing of All Might stepping in was all too late. The Sludge Villain managed to inflict grievous internal damage to Bakugo's body, and Bakugo had to be rushed straight to the hospital to receive emergency treatment.
And the rest was history.
"...To think this happened yesterday..." Izuku whispered with a frown. "...How horrible."
Despite how horrible Bakugo is to deal with, that doesn't mean Bakugo deserved to suffer a near-death experience.
Some would see this as retribution for the cruel words Bakugo spouted yesterday. For Izuku, however, he hardly felt vindicated seeing this. At worst, Izuku would've just smacked Bakugo really hard and left it at that.
And seeing Bakugo hospitalized...
"...Even someone like him needs support after what happened..." Izuku muttered to himself, thinking to himself it was only the right thing to do to offer words of support to someone who nearly died.
However, the initial thought of visiting Bakugo at the hospital and offering support for Bakugo's recovery was quickly shut down, as Izuku saw many flaws in that plan.
First, Bakugo made it very obvious how much he hates Izuku. Izuku could practically feel the hatred emanating from Bakugo's Heart. Just being within Bakugo's vicinity flares it.
Second, he isn't blind to the fact that whatever he says to Bakugo practically goes in one ear and out the other. Ever since he was under Odin's tutelage, his physical body had been carefully honed and strengthened over the years. It was thanks to the training that whenever physical activities came up at Aldera, Izuku managed to outperform a majority of his classmates. And sometimes, he beat Bakugo in a few of them.
Of course, beating Bakugo quickly pissed him off. Every time, Bakugo would yell at Izuku that he must be looking down on him just because he beat him in some 'shitty school kid' activities. Izuku tried to explain he wasn't, but Bakugo wasn't having any of it and subjected Izuku to his explosions.
Knowing Bakugo, Bakugo would twist Izuku's words of support into 'looking down on him'.
Third and lastly, Bakugo's cruel insults towards Odin. Even though Bakugo's words to him and his master are considered empty, it's still callous to dare someone to commit suicide. Not to mention insulting his late master isn't something to overlook. It just gave Izuku further incentive not to associate with Bakugo. And he would like to do so if it weren't for the school he has to attend.
"...I guess a get-well card is the best thing to do."
With that in mind, the homeroom teacher entered the room, indicating that class was starting.
For the longest time, this was the quietest school day Izuku had ever attended.
~ Break ~
An explosion erupted.
In the streets of the city, an explosion erupted out of nowhere. The civilians who saw the explosion went into panic mode and ran away from it. As they did, a voice emerged from the smoke.
"Uwee hee hee! Tremble, land-dwellers! Your peaceful little city has been chosen as the stage for the magnificent debut of Ultros, terror of the deep!"
What emerged from the smoke appeared to be a rather large purple octopus with a mass of tentacles and large, bulging red eyes. He possesserd row of sharp fangs that make him appear to be smirking.
"Heroes will tremble before my might! And the ladies will be in awe of my awesomeness! I can see it all before me!" Ultros declared with glee, and his eyes fell onto a woman who was trying to evacuate the area. Ultros grinned as one of his tentacles extended toward her.
"Hey there cutie, why not spend some time with this handsome stud!?"
The woman glanced behind her, and saw an assault of tentacles heading towards her. She screamed in panic and fear as it closed in on her...
Only for a figure to appear in front of her and slice the tentacle into pieces, making Ultra yelp in pain.
"Oi oi, what gives!?" Ultros angrily questioned. The sliced tentacle soon regenerated to its original length.
"Y-You're...!" the woman said with recognition.
Zack simply smirked at the Villain before him.
"You know, there's a proper way to ask someone out on a date. This isn't one of them!" Zack declared as he swung down and released a Firaga spell from his sword.
Ultros's eyes widened in alarm at the incoming fireball, and he was too slow to move out of the way as the fireball hit him directly.
"Yeowch! Seafood soup!" Ultros wailed in pain as he panically scurried around while on fire.
"Sorry, I'm not much of a seafood guy!" Zack declared as he closed the distance between them and slammed the flat of his sword into the Villain's face, making him fly through the air.
"Now I'm airplane food!?" Ultros cried out as he soared through the air and then impacted and rolled on the ground. Ultros gave a pained groan as he stood up, and he glared at Zack standing before him.
"Choke on this!" Ultros declared as he sent out multiple tentacles to attack Zack.
"Heh!" Zack smirked as he drew back his blade and moved forward.
Zack then moved with impressive footwork and speed so that the tentacles couldn't touch him at all. At the same time, he swung the large blade with speed and precision so impressive that it looked like a blur when he sliced the tentacles into pieces. When he closed the distance between them, Zack delivered an uppercut straight to Ultros's body, and it sent the large octopus into the air.
When Ultros was in the air, Zack swung down his blade, and Lightning magic fell from the sky and struck the mid-air octopus
"GYAAAAHHHH!" Ultros screamed in pain while his body was spasming from the lightning done to his body.
When it ended, Ultros gave a choked noise before he fell to the ground unceremoniously and was knocked out.
"And that's the end of it," Zack said with a grin as he sheathed the large sword behind him.
Just as he did, he heard cheers and claps around him. He blinked and turned around to see that his fight had attracted a spectacle, and they were all in awe of what he did.
"Amazing as always Leonidas!"
"Hey, you aren't wearing your helmet!"
"Yeah! Where's that helmet of yours!?"
Zack simply chuckled as he waved to the crowd, "well, I decided to go with a new look. That, and the helmet was not good for my hair."
With that answer, the sound of sirens was heard and police soon emerged from the crowd.
"Officers," Zack greeted, and he jabbed a thumb to the unconscious Ultros behind him, "I think you're going to need bigger cuffs...and multiple ones at that."
The officers nodded as they made their way to Ultros. With his job done, he decided that he needed to get a move on. With one final wave to the crowd, he jumped with impressive physical ability onto the roof of a building and began to run on top of it.
Zack hummed to himself as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop in the city that he was in, all the while keeping an eye out on the streets for any Villains causing a ruckus. As he did, however...
"Who would've thought I'd run into another magic user in this World. I thought I was the only one..." Zack chuckled to himself.
He could remember the day he arrived in this world vividly. How he was watching Phil train Hercules on becoming a hero until he spotted a black feather falling from the sky. Before he knew it, he found himself whisked away to another location far from where Phil and Hercules were.
Then he found himself clashing with a black-winged swordsman. The clash was rather intense, and he thought he was going to kick the bucket. However, the results of their clash ended up in transporting the two to an entirely different World!
It was certainly surreal, being so far away from his home World. At times, he could find himself feeling homesick. However, it's not all bad, considering the World he landed in is where people can become Heroes! It was practically a dream come true for Zack, as he was finally allowed to become one!
The problem is...he had to go through a hero school in order to properly become a hero.
Okay, then he has to go to this hero school.
Second problem: he was way past the age to enter a hero school.
Well crud, what's a guy to do in this situation?
Well, his luck managed to turn when he met a certain principal of a top prestigious hero school, and the principal was kind enough to allow him a 'backdoor' of sorts to help him get into the heroics program. It certainly wasn't easy, but he took it head-on and prevailed.
Now he's a professional hero, going around saving lives and stopping Villains! He's living the life!
"Shame I can't find my way back home yet..." Zack muttered to himself, "if I could, I would've found Aqua and finally ask her out on that date..."
Now that he thought about it, thinking back on Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, those three wielded some interesting-looking weapons. Izuku's weapon looked very similar to theirs.
He wondered if Izuku had a connection with those three. Well, now that he has contact with Izuku, he can ask him about it later.
"You seem to be in a good mood," a familiar voice called out, "What's got you grinning so much?"
Zack blinked, and he turned his head to see a familiar rabbit hero approaching him.
"Oh hey Miruko," Zack greeted with a wave and grin, "I didn't expect to see you in this area."
"I'll be wherever I damn please," Miruko said with a smirk, which made Zack chuckle good-naturedly.
One feature about him that makes him stick out from the rest of the heroes is that he's also like Miruko: he's a solo hero who doesn't have an agency. That means he doesn't take sidekicks or any interns under him, which is considered controversial among the hero community.
Many heroes vocally proclaim that they would love to work under him and offer their support. However, for Zack, he just can't see himself as a leader coordinating other heroes. Plus, he prefers to go at his own pace.
It's because of this that this allowed him to travel all over Japan in search of crime. And his travels eventually had him cross paths with Miruko.
The two hit it off instantly...and then the Villains suddenly found themselves dreading the presence of both Zack and Miruko. Mainly because whenever he and Miruko run into each other, they make it a friendly competition on who will take down their villain the fastest or who captures and arrests the most villains.
"Well," Zack started as he looked off into the distance, "I recently encountered someone that I found having something in common with."
"That right?" Miruko said with a raised eyebrow, "you found someone with hair as naturally spiky as yours?"
Zack chuckled, "nah, his is more fluffy. What I'm talking about is we have a lot in common when it comes to abilities."
"So we're expecting another sword-wielding hero who can use elements like you?" Miruko questioned.
"You could say that," Zack said, "and even though I just recently met him...I get the feeling he has a lot of potential to be a great hero."
"Heh, hearing that from you, of all people, means he's got some serious potential. Wait, if you consider him special, I would've heard of him, but the fact that I haven't..." Miruko narrowed her eyes.
"Kid's not in hero school yet." Zack revealed.
"Wait, you mean to tell me he's not even a greenhorn?" Miruko said with a raised brow.
"For now," Zack said, "but trust me, I know potential when I see one."
Miruko gave a non-committal grunt, "what, you're thinking of taking an intern when he eventually gets into a hero school?"
Zack blinked when met with that question.
Normally, he would say he's not interested and leave it to another Hero who can teach them the ropes. However, meeting Izuku and discovering he has magic captured his interest.
"...Who knows?" Zack chuckled, "maybe I will. It'll be a nice change of pace for me."
Miruko simply snorted with disinterest.
"I don't intend on taking any brats to watch over. I go at my own pace."
"Hey, nobody is forcing you," Zack said, simply shrugging.
"Heh," Miruko smirked as she looked out towards the city, "well, as much as I'd like to chat, the Villains aren't exactly going to arrest themselves."
"Want to make the usual?" Zack asked with a grin.
"Loser buys the drinks," Miruko said with a smirk.
It's a game that they like to play whenever they are in the same area: whoever takes down the most villains in a single day is the winner, and the loser has to pay for the drinks after their hero work.
With that said, Miruko quickly jumped off the building and went off in another direction, no doubt searching for Villains for her to kick in the face.
Zack smirked as he stretched his body a bit and did a few squats.
"Well, better not fall behind!" Zack declared as he jumped off the building and onto the next.
As he did, however, something colorful was spotted in the corner of his vision. Seeing this, Zack briefly paused and turned his head towards the source of the colors.
Before him was a local park, and he saw a bunch of kids excitedly running about and playing with...artistic-looking animals that looked like they came straight from a coloring book.
Seeing this made Zack a bit concerned, seeing such colorful animals near children. As he looked around the area, he soon found the source of where those animals were coming from, and as soon as he found the source.
Zack grinned with intrigue and excitement.
"How about that..."
~ Break ~
Without Bakugo's presence in class, it's been very...quiet. Sure, his classmates are still chattering, but without Bakugo's screams or explosions, the noise volume went down a LOT.
The silence and lack of Bakugo looming over him gave Izuku some time to think about other things.
As such, he walked out of the school building while going through his notebook.
"I have 10 months until the U.A. entrance exam...should I continue the training regimen that I did with Master Odin...?" Izuku mumbled to himself all the while writing in his notebook.
"I need to keep myself in shape. Master Odin kept emphasizing that having a strong body is essential for Keyblade wielders, even for users who like to use magic. But magic is something I recently discovered, and I can only use a basic fire spell. That means I need to spend more time on it, but strengthening myself is also important. But I don't have a beach to clean up anymore. Maybe exercise while practicing magic...?"
Izuku would've mumbled more to himself on how to figure out the right training plan, but then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Izuku blinked at the sensation, reached into his pocket, and took out his phone. He blinked at what he saw.
Zack: Hey Midoriya, are you free this weekend?
Izuku could only blink at the text before him.
~ Break ~
The days flew by for Izuku, and it was finally time to meet up with Zack at Takoba Beach.
During these past few days, Izuku spent a majority of his time with magic training. No matter how hard he tried, it was difficult for him to cast a basic fire spell by hand. However, if he used Odin's Keyblade, he was able to manifest a small fire spell...for a very brief moment.
It was better than a spark, but barely held up to a standard low-tier fire spell. It showed that Izuku has his work cut out for him.
And speaking of magic, Zack found another magic user, which was a shock to Izuku. Another magic user found within such a short period of time was just incredible timing.
Izuku lightly jogged to the meeting spot where Zack wanted to convene. As he approached the meeting spot, he found Zack standing there waiting for him.
"Hey, Izuku! Over here!" Zack greeted while waving his arm.
"H-Hello Leonidas. Hope I'm not late..." Izuku greeted with a nervous smile.
"Hey, didn't I tell you to call me Zack? There's no need to call me by my hero name," Zack pointed out with an amused smile.
"O-Oh, um...well, that's rather hard for me," Izuku nervously chuckled, "but...if you insist, I'll do the best I can, F-Fair-san."
Zack could only sigh with a bemused look.
"Good enough I guess," Zack said with mirth, "I swear, I'll never understand why the people here are insistent on being so polite."
Back at his World, the people simply refer to each other by their first names without any use for honorifics. Here, calling a stranger by their first name is considered rude and way too personal.
"In any case," Zack clapped his hands together, "I'm sure you're excited to meet the newly discovered magic user, right?"
"R-Right! I'm surprised you found another magic user so soon, given how rare magic is." Izuku said.
"Right? I thought the same thing. But my senses haven't lied to me, and our magic user confirmed it!" Zack said as he began leading Izuku.
As they did, he and Izuku soon spotted a figure standing near the stairs that led to the beach. As they spotted the figure, Zack grinned as he gestured forward.
"There's our magic user," Zack introduced.
As they approached, Izuku blinked at who he saw before him.
The person in question appeared to be around his age. She currently wore a black tube top shirt and had baggy red pants with stars around the bottom. She wore a red artistic beret over her blonde hair.
And she was currently...busy drawing on a large sketchbook.
"Hey, guess who I bought?" Zack called out to her.
The girl didn't respond as she was busy drawing on her sketchpad.
"Um...hello?" Zack called out once more.
The girl just held up a finger, "Shush, I'm making art! This clean beach is perfect for so many backgrounds!"
Izuku could only blink at this as he saw the girl rapidly drawing on her sketchpad, and he turned to Zack with a bewildered expression. Zack simply gave a hapless shrug and grin.
It only lasted a few seconds before she stopped and examined her artwork. She nodded to herself with satisfaction and closed it. She then turned around to look at the two.
"Alright, all done!" the girl declared, and looked at the two before her. She blinked when her eyes fell on him.
"...So he's the magic guy you were talking about?" the girl asked.
"You bet!" Zack said, "c'mon, why not introduce yourself?"
"H-Huh, oh, um...!" Izuku cheeks turned red as he got flustered.
Even though Izuku learned how to interact with people without being a nervous mess thanks to Odin's presence and guidance...he never really properly interacted with a girl his age. So this new experience is leaving him very flustered.
"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya, a-and you are...?" Izuku managed to squeak out.
The girl looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but she soon gave a grin as she placed her hands on her hips.
"The name's Relm Arrowny! Upcoming hero and virtuoso!"