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“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” -Lewis Carroll
After about a solid week of camping, marching, blisters, bandits, more blisters, and some very unkind innkeepers, Midoriya had finally arrived at the capital city, Coeuronne. Armed with nothing but a small sword and big dreams, he planned on joining the Crownsgarde, a unique branch of the military focused of protecting the people of the kingdom of Solutecia. He even ran into the king outside the walls of the castle town (he was disguised, of course; his muscular form was quite distinct) and, after fighting off a few bandits together, the king assured him that he would put in a good word with the commander of the Crownsgarde.
Evidently, the king hadn’t spoken to Commander Eraserhead yet.
The tall, lanky man peered at him from behind his scarf. “So … Izuku Midoriya. You’re from the duchy of … Feugens, correct?”
Midoriya nodded. “Yes, sir. From the port city of Navire, sir.”
“Hm.” The commander sighed. “And do you have a letter of introduction from Captain Froppy?”
Midoriya pursed his lips. The Crownsgarde were supposed to have outposts in each of the duchies, but the Feugens branch was either inactive or non-existent. Without thinking about his words, he replied, “I didn’t know we had crownsgarde in Feugens.”
Eraserhead’s eyes flashed red, and Midoriya froze. The commander growled, “You’re trying to join the Crownsgarde, and you don’t even know how we operate?”
The man next to him cleared his throat, startling Midoriya. He had been so quiet, it barely registered that there was someone else in the courtyard. This second man was also in Crownsgarde attire, with cold blue-gray eyes and what looked like white hair poking out from under his cap. The man whispered, “Commander, we haven’t had correspondence from Froppy in several weeks. Wouldn’t this boy’s words confirm that she is missing?”
Eraserhead begrudgingly nodded. “That’s fair. I suppose we’ll need to send out a search party.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. (Upon closer inspection, Midoriya realized that his eyes weren’t blue gray; the left one was blue, and the right one was gray. What sort of magic did he possess, he wondered?) “With what men? We’re spread thin as it is.”
“We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, we should work on bolstering our numbers. Starting with this boy.” Eraserhead turned back to Midoriya. “So, Midoriya. What magics do you have?”
Midoriya gulped. He was hoping this question wouldn’t come up so soon. “... none, sir.”
Both of the men raised their eyebrows. Eraserhead repeated, “None? Then, do you have any formal combat training?”
Midoriya bit his lip. “Um … I can hunt, and spear fish, and eliminate bandits …”
The two men exchanged a dismal look. Midoriya clutched at the sword at his side. Was he really going to come all this way, just to have to go back?
With dramatically perfect timing, the door to the courtyard opened, and King All-Might strode into the training area. The two men bowed immediately, and Midoriya clumsily followed suit.
With a small gesture, the king signaled them to rise. “Good morning, Eraserhead! Captain Hailfire, how fares the town?”
The man nodded and answered, “Safe, as always.”
Midoriya had to stop himself from screaming in childish delight. That was Captain Hailfire?! The youngest captain in Crownsgarde history, who earned the position by defeating the entire Coeuronne City Guard in less than two minutes - that Captain Hailfire?!
All-Might’s attention turned to him. “Ah, the young traveler. How are your wounds?”
Midoriya pulled back his sleeve to reveal his still-bandaged wrist. “It could be better. My wrist is still sprained, but it’s my non-dominant hand, so it’s fine.” After a moment of silence, he remembered that he was in the presence of royalty and hastily added, “Your Majesty, sir. Thank you again for, uh, helping me, Majesty.”
At his words, Eraserhead and Hailfire looked at the king warily.
Hailfire was the first to speak. “... Your Majesty, if I may, what did you need to help him with?”
In an un-king-like manner, All-Might started twiddling his thumbs. “Well …”
Eraserhead rubbed his temples. “Your Majesty, I’m going to need to have a word with you later …”
All-Might waved his hand dismissively. “Regardless, I can vouch for this boy’s abilities. He did a splendid job fighting off the bandits at the gate, and even deflected a throwing knife aimed at me -”
Hailfire and Eraserhead promptly lost all of their composure.
Hailfire stepped forward and yelled, “At the gate?!”
Eraserhead gestured as if he wanted to choke All-Might. “You were outside of the city walls, fighting bandits?! Again?!”
Midoriya cleared his throat, reminding the three of them that he was still there.
Eraserhead glared at him and growled, “His Majesty may vouch for you, but I still need to see your combat skills. Captain?”
With a stern expression, Hailfire stepped forward and drew his rapier. Midoriya nervously did the same with his gladius.
Eraserhead stepped back and folded his arms, saying, “Try not to kill the boy.”
Hailfire smirked.
Feugens was the southernmost duchy of Solutecia, with warm, temperate weather year-round. Midoriya had never seen ice or snow, and was thoroughly unprepared when an icy blast radiated from Hailfire. After some ungainly screams, he assumed a defensive position - or at least, he tried to. His boots were firmly frozen to the ground from Hailfire’s initial blast. He glanced up to see Hailfire, smiling smugly.
“You should probably yield, shrimp,” he called.
Midoriya gritted his teeth. After his long journey, after fighting alongside the king, even saving the king, after the king promised to personally train him and help him gain access to a legendary magic once he got into the Crownsgarde -
No, there was no way it was going to end like this!
In a few hits, he shattered the ice at his feet and declared, “A member of the Crownsgarde never gives up!”
Hailfire sighed, as if he just had to clean mud off of his boot. He readied another ice spell -
wait what was that shadow on the tower just now
Midoriya just barely dodged the next spell; frost still managed to catch his legs, slowing him down. He looked up at the parapet, but the shadow had disappeared. An ice pillar shot up from his left, and he fell on his right arm. Even as Hailfire drew closer, he was still searching for that familiar shadow - could it be?
His opponent spat, “You know, a member of the Crownsgarde has to pay attention to his surroundings, too. You take your eyes off your enemy for an instant, and you’re -”
There! The shadow had reappeared, and he’d thrown something - another knife? Midoriya screamed, “Watch out!” as he seized the front of Hailfire’s shirt and pulled him behind one of the ice pillars. A knife quivered in the ground, where Hailfire was just moments ago. The captain seemed frustrated and also a little impressed. But the design on the knife …
Midoriya’s eyes widened as he realized why it seemed familiar. He cried out, “Your Majesty, I think it’s him! The renegade!”
All-Might and Eraserhead immediately sprung into action, pursuing the assailant. Hailfire muttered a short incantation and sent up a burst of red sparks.
Midoriya looked to the sky and frowned. “That doesn’t seem harmful at all. What kind of magic -”
Hailfire seized his upper arm and dragged him across the courtyard and into the keep. As soon as he closed the door, he quickly explained, “It’s not meant to harm - it’s a crownsgarde distress signal. But you -” He looked him squarely in the eye. “You’ve faced the renegade Stain?”
Midoriya nodded. “He was the one I was fighting with the king - uh, His Majesty - when I -”
Hailfire’s eyes widened. “Stain was here? At the gate?” He tugged at his cap and started pacing. “And now he’s in the city … dammit, we don’t have the manpower to deal with this!” He turned back to Midoriya and declared, in a somewhat pained voice, “Welcome to the Crownsgarde, shrimp. Your training starts tomorrow.”
Even with access to the same legendary augmentation magic that turned All-Might into the Hero-King of Solutecia, training was hard work - especially since Hailfire seemed very determined to break him.
Midoriya’s chest hit the stone floor hard, knocking the air out of his lungs. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see frost gather on the hilt of Hailfire’s rapier - a sure sign that he was getting frustrated.
“I told you to defend against my attacks,” he hissed. “Not to counterattack.”
Coughing and rasping, Midoriya rose to his feet. “Aren’t they the same thing?”
In unison, Hailfire and Ingenium replied, “No.”
He sighed and bent down to pick up the shield. Hailfire by himself was barely tolerable, but when he was with the much stricter second-in-command, Ingenium, training sessions were bordering on torture.
Just as he had gotten into a defensive stance, Hailfire stepped forward, thrusting with his blade -
And like the last time, Midoriya swung his shield in a wide arc to the side, knocking away the blade while he readied a small dagger on his belt.
In an instant, a foot collided with his stomach and he fell backwards. Ingenium stood over him and sighed. “Why are you like this?”
Midoriya turned his head to the side and coughed up some blood before answering, “Strike first or you die. That’s the way I was taught.”
Ingenium was unamused. “You know we’re called the guard for a reason, right? We’re here to shield the people.”
Slowly and painfully, Midoriya managed to hoist himself up into a sitting position. “I can still shield them by killing whatever it is first.”
Ingenium buried his face in his hands. “All offense, no defense …”
“No defense. Hm.” Hailfire sheathed his sword as he muttered to himself. “Hey, Ingenium. How about ‘Deku’ for his callsign? Short for ‘Defenseless Izuku?’”
Ingenium snorted and shrugged his shoulders. “Not the worst callsign someone could have.”
“Wait, callsigns?” Midoriya had to prop himself up with the shield to return to his feet. “I thought we picked those when we became fully-fledged members of the Crownsgarde.”
Both of the men shook their heads. Hailfire asked, “Do you really think the commander wanted to name himself Eraserhead?”
Midoriya laughed. “Fair point. But … Ingenium sounds so cool. How’d you get it?”
A palpable darkness fell over Ingenium’s face. He walked away from the training area, muttering something about writing up a report. Shaking his head, Hailfire padded closer and took the shield from him.
Quietly, Midoriya asked, “Was it really that bad?”
Hailfire motioned for him to follow. “Come. One last patrol of the city before night falls.”
As they meandered through the bazaar, watching the shopkeepers put away their wares and colorful tapestries, Hailfire said, “His original callsign was Fleetfoot, after his speed-enhancing magic.”
Midoriya furrowed his brow. “Wait, he wasn’t always Ingenium? But I thought you couldn’t change your callsign.”
“Normally, you can’t. But Ingenium was a special case.” With the sun setting over the city, the two of them started climbing the stairs to walk across the tops of the castle town walls.
“The original Ingenium was his brother, and a part of the border patrol. I’m sure you’re familiar with the origins of the renegade Stain?”
Midoriya nodded. “He was part of the Bonacieux Border Guard, but started to sympathize with the invading Lunebraens. The king visited Bonacieux, and Stain tried to attack him.” As soon as the words left his mouth, the realization dawned on him. “Wait, you don’t mean …”
Hailfire sighed. “He died protecting the king. Fleetfoot took a temporary leave to take him home, and when he came back, he petitioned to change his callsign to Ingenium to honor his brother.”
“Hm.” Midoriya stopped and looked over the city, which was slowly being illuminated by lamps and candlelight. “Are you worried about him?”
Hailfire tilted his head. “Who, Ingenium? He’s a good fighter, and a good man. Why would I be worried about him?”
Midoriya sighed and scratched his head. “But his brother’s murderer is in the city. Are you sure he won’t run off, trying to get revenge?”
Hailfire remained silent.
Hailfire tapped his foot impatiently. Deku was usually on time for their morning training, but at least an hour had passed and still no sign of his messy green hair. Sighing, he sheathed his rapier and stomped off to look for him. Not in the mess hall, not in his quarters - where could that shrimp be? Mood souring, he marched past the library and promptly froze in his tracks. He scrambled back to the library doorway and lo and behold, there he was - that stupid shrimp, poring over a map of the city - and was he writing on it?!
He shouted, “Deku, what do you think you’re doing?!”
Deku yelped, nearly dropping his quill. His face turned pale white as he quivered in place. “Is - is it morning - oh no, captain, I’m so sorry -”
Hailfire strode across the room, barking, “Yes, it’s morning, and you’re late for training! What could be more important than that?!”
Deku rubbed his eyes and motioned towards the table. “Well, I was working on this last night, and I didn’t realize how late it was - or how early it was getting …”
Hailfire paused and finally took a good look at what his trainee was working on. He wasn’t actually writing on a map - he had actually copied it over to a blank sheet, and was marking on his copy. Red crosses dotted the copy of the map in clusters, along with dates scrawled next to each cluster. And next to the maps were lists of locations and dates, which also seemed to have been copied over from … Crownsgarde reports? Quietly, Hailfire asked, “Deku, care to explain what this is?”
“Um …” Deku straightened his posture and replied, “I’ve been compiling sightings of Stain, as well as his … corpses. I may be able to predict where he’ll strike next.”
Hailfire tried to mask how impressed he was and stated, “You know this has nothing to do with your training as Crownsgarde.”
Deku frowned and folded his arms. “With all due respect, captain, I think it does. The job of the Crownsgarde is to protect the people. Are they really protected with Stain hiding in the city? The faster we can find him, the better.”
Hailfire absentmindedly ran his fingers across the hilt of his rapier. There was something the king and the commander saw in this boy the day he came, and he thought he was starting to see it, too.
Instead of dragging him to the training area like he meant to, he said, “Go to bed.”
Deku blinked in confusion. “Um … pardon?”
Hailfire turned to face him and repeated, “Go to bed. That’s an order. And when you’re well-rested, show the commander this map. Stain must be stopped, and I believe you can help.”
As they walked out of the library, Deku chuckled. “Who are you, and what did you do to the captain?”
In response, Hailfire froze his shoulder.
Ingenium peered around the bookshelf. So that’s what Deku was working on - a way to locate Stain! He pored over the map, trying to commit every mark to memory. Soon … soon, Tensei would finally be able to rest in peace.
Hailfire had softened considerably ever since that morning in the library. Instead of working him to the bone with drills and sparring, he started showing him more of the inner workings of the Crownsgarde, like writing reports and collecting information from patrols. He even allowed Deku into meetings with the commander! Granted, it was because Deku was the one who was piecing together information on Stain, but still, it was a far cry from the soulless captain that was ready to incapacitate him on his first day.
They had placed the remaining Crownsgarde on patrols around the areas that Stain was most likely to strike next, which left them with the general patrol around the city before nightfall. As usual, they climbed the castle town walls to observe the city from above. They paused as the sky glowed a brilliant red. As the ambient light transitioned from warm to faint to fading, Hailfire sighed.
“Izuku? Is it alright if I talk to you about something?” he asked quietly.
“Uh …” Deku shifted nervously. “Yeah - yes sir, Captain Hailfire, sir.”
Hailfire chuckled. “Well, first … Shouto. My name is Shouto.”
As if he sensed the intimacy of the moment, Deku pressed closer.
Hailfire regarded him warmly before saying, “... do you know of how I became the youngest -”
An overexcited Deku interrupted, “- the youngest captain in Crownsgarde history? Of course! You wiped out the entire Coeuronne Guard with one move!”
Instead of looking proud of his achievement, Hailfire almost looked … ashamed? He bowed his head and clarified, “... yes. They promoted me after that, citing the fight as the only reason I was made captain.”
Deku pouted and tilted his head. “But … that’s good, isn’t it? The strongest person should be the commander.”
Hailfire shook his head. “I could fight. But I was thoroughly unprepared for everything else that came with the job. Patrols, relations with the populace, this information collecting you’ve been doing on Stain -” He gripped the sword at his side. “I was born and raised to fight. Not anything else. You know my men better than I do. I hadn’t even thought of Ingenium trying to seek revenge on Stain until you mentioned it. You …” His eyes softened as he regarded Deku. “I think you would make a better captain.”
Deku simply shook his head. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I know Coeuronne City Guard numbers have been low because of transfers to the border and, you know, Stain maiming most of our senior members, but the few that remain - they really look up to you. You set an example, something to strive towards.” Deku patted his shoulder softly. “At the very least, you inspire me. You make me want to be better.”
Hailfire smiled. (Deku’s jaw almost dropped; this was the first time he had ever seen the captain smile and he looked beautiful.) “I could say the same for you.”
A shower of red sparks flashed in the night sky, drawing their attention to the city. There was something awfully familiar about the area it was illuminating -
Deku gasped and readied himself to sprint. “Captain - that’s -”
Hailfire realized it as well. “Stain. Let’s go!”
The two rushed down the stairs and into the city.