Chapter Text
It starts with a dream. Not a particularly colourful one, but not a nightmare either. Even if most people would think it a bit creepy. The dreamscape around 5-years old Izuku consists mostly of trees. Well, trees, and grass. He can see a bit of sky’s blueness peaking from between tree branches, casting sunshine and just a bit of warmth. The only thing that feels off is how lonely it is.
He stays there for a moment, enjoying the sun, but the feeling of loneliness continues to grow. He wants his mom. Or Kacchan. He tries calling for them, but no one answers. He doesn’t feel particularly off-put by this, for some strange reason. The only thing he feels is loneliness, that seems to get worse the longer he stays in one place.
So, he runs. With no particular plan in mind, just trying to escape the forest to find his mom. But then, he notices something strange. The further he goes, the larger the trees become. And soon enough, they get large enough to start blocking even more light. And then some more. He starts thinking of going back since it seems like he’s just getting even more lost. But he finds that, for some inexplicable reason, he doesn’t feel as lonely anymore.
The trees here feel more alive, keeping him company. And the shadows soothe him in a way he can’t explain. So, instead of turning back, he heads ahead. And the trees grow ever larger, till they suffocate almost all light. He feels… at peace. Everything around him seems serene, even when the grass gives way to barren ground. And the trees just keep getting larger.
When he comes to a point where he can barely see the leaves even while looking up, he realises that silence is disrupted by a quiet sound. He doesn’t know what sound it is, but it’s a bit like a melody. He decides that he likes it. It feels a bit like a lullaby. And since it’s coming from the heart of the forest, just ahead of him, he continues on walking.
And he walks… and walks… and walks, as the sound gets louder and louder. And somehow more melodic and soothing. It sounds like someone humming, but it has a bit of a weird echo of sorts. One that ripples with murmurs of water and swooshing of leaves. Before long, he arrives at a large clearing between trees, even though it’s still bathed in shadows.
In the centre of the clearing there is a big, old-looking well, and a person clad in a cloak, lowering a bucket into said well. Since this is where the humming comes from, he supposes it’s the person who’s doing it. Curious, he walks up to them. They startle when they finally notice him, almost dropping the rope holding their bucket.
“…Hello” He greets the strange person.
“Oh my, what are you doing here?” They ask in a feminine voice, fully turning to him. He notes that there is a weird shadow obscuring their face, so he can’t see any part of it. Only a pair of glowing, blue eyes, seemingly floating in the darkness.
“Uhm, I don’t know” He admits, feeling himself frown “I was just there in the forest, and I started walking, and the trees got bigger, and I’m… here?”
“I see…” The figure hums again, crouching to be at his eye-level “Are you feeling alright?”
“Uhm, yeah” He answers, looking at the glowing eyes. They’re pretty.
“That’s a relief” The voice sounds completely sincere, but there is something weird in it, almost like… confusion? “Now, how about I take you back home? Your parents might worry if you’re gone for too long…”
“Ah, right!” He shouts “Mom must be so worried! Since I just appeared here all of a sudden and all, I didn’t even get the chance to tell her I’d be going anywhere… Huh, that’s weird. Going? The last thing I remember is……… falling asleep………………… Oh, is this a dream…?”
“Hmm, I wonder” The person says, getting up and taking his hand. Their hand feels so cold… They begin heading away from the well “If it is, would it matter?”
“Well, yeah!” He frowns, slightly off-put by the response “That’d mean you aren’t real. Doesn’t it make you scared? I wouldn’t want to be not-real…”
“It does sound quite frightening, doesn’t it?” The person murmurs, giving his hand a gentle squeeze “But I assure you, whether it’s a dream or not, I’m real”
“So, is it a dream?” He asks in confusion “Wait, then why are you trying to take me home? I’ll wake up either way, won’t I? It’d be a waste to do it before mom comes to wake me up…”
“…I think the sooner you leave here and end up home, the better” The person insists, still not stopping in their stride “People who don’t leave… sometimes forget how to wake up”
“That’s silly” He says, frowning. The person sounded sad for some reason, he doesn’t like it “You can’t just forget how to wake up! In the first place, isn’t waking up just something that happens, not a thing you need to know how to do?”
“…Let’s just keep going” They sighs.
“You’re so weird” He decides “Not that it’s a bad thing! I mean, there are a lot of weird people who are really cool! Oh, now that I think about it, what’s your name?”
“I have many names, but… I suppose you can call me Gardener” They reply. He doesn’t think it qualifies as a real name, but he also doesn’t want to offend them, so he decides not to ask about it “What’s your name?”
“Ah, it’s Izuku” He smiles brightly, introducing himself “Izuku Midoriya”
“Well Izuku, it was nice meeting you, but it seems we are at our destination” Gardener says, and stops walking after a moment.
“Huh?” He blinks, looking around in confusion. It doesn’t look particularly different from the rest of the forest.
“See those blue mushrooms over there?” Gardener asks, and Izuku looks where they are pointing. There is a patch of mushrooms there, they’re slightly glowing “They make a circle, see? Try walking inside of it”
“Is it really okay?” He frowns, suddenly feeling uneasy.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing dangerous” Gardener soothes him, putting a hand on his back and applying slight pressure “Off you go”
He reluctantly walks into the weird circle…
…and the next thing he knows, he’s woken up in his bed.
He looks around, bemused. That dream was so detailed… it felt so real. But he decides to just shrug it off. Sometimes dreams are just weird like that. But still, he can’t shake off the feeling of loss… it’s weird, but knowing he probably won’t see Gardener again makes him sad. He feels like their meeting was important, even if he can’t tell why.
With a sigh, he closes his eyes and tries to go back to sleep. It’s still the middle of the night, after all.
---
In the morning, his mom wakes him up, before leaving to make breakfast. Groggily, he gets out of bed, startling at the loud ‘thud’ that follows. He looks towards the source of the noise. It’s a book that seemingly fell out of the covers of his bed… but he knows for a fact that he didn’t sleep with a book. And he certainly doesn’t even have a book like that.
It’s a beautiful looking tome. It’s leather-bound, with intricate patterns all over it. The title is written in pretty, golden letters: Soulweaver, Grimoire of Death. He has to admit the title itself is… unsettling. Why would a book like that be here? It looks like something that belongs in a library. And it’s really not the type of book his mom would bring home. So, how did it end up here?
“Izuku! Breakfast is ready!” His mom calls out.
“Just a moment!” He yells back.
Curiously, he picks the book up – it sends an electrifying tickle up his arm when he touches it. He marvels for a second at how right the book feels in his hands, before trying to open it… only, as it turns out, he can’t. It’s like the pages are glued together. He tries applying some more force, still with no effect.
“Izuku, please hurry up before it gets cold!” Mom’s voice reaches him.
“I know, mom!” With a huff, he puts the book down and gets ready for the day.
He never notices that by the time he leaves his room the book isn’t where he left it.
---
He completely forgets to ask his mom about the book, and so, the breakfast ends, and he heads to kindergarten without any new information about the mysterious object. He only remembers it later on, while playing with Kacchan and the others. They’re playing hide and seek, so he finds a hiding place, and lets his thoughts wander.
A book with a title like that seems like something you’d find in a movie. At least he thinks so… Or maybe it’s a fantasy book? They tend to have funny titles sometimes. But that also feels somehow… wrong. Why would a book like that have such expensive looking cover? He wishes he had it with him, maybe if he asked the school librarian she could tell him something about it… Librarians are supposed to know a lot about books, aren’t they?
He shifts, moving his hand from his knee to the ground, except… what he feels doesn’t seem like the ground. Confused, he looks at his hand, and realises it’s resting on a book. The same book that was in his room. He frowns in contemplation, picking it up. No, it definitely isn’t a normal book. Normal books don’t appear out of nowhere, and they don’t teleport.
So, if it’s not a normal book, what is it? He’d think it’s his quirk, maybe, since it’s about time for it to appear, but… Wouldn’t he be able to open it if that was the case? Or at least do something with it. But if it’s someone else’s quirk, why would it be following him? Unless it’s just an item affected by a quirk rather than a quirk itself.
Some quirks have weird effects, after all. It wouldn’t be impossible for one to make an item pursue a random person. Though, he supposes it’s still quite unlikely. Anyways… what is he supposed to do now? Bringing it to the librarian is still an option, but maybe he should just show it to his teacher. Oh, maybe Kacchan would have some idea about what to do! He is amazingly smart, after all.
“Fucking stupid Deku, I’ll find you!” And speak of the devil… Though now that he thinks about it, they’re still playing. Going out of his hiding place now wouldn’t end too well.
He decides to wait.
…
…
…
“Found you, fucker!” Kacchan says, and Izuku can’t even move before he’s slapped on the arm “Now come the fuck out, we still have to find Fingers-extra. Though, I doubt you’ll be of any help”
“At least I’ll try, Kacchan” He huffs, getting out of his hiding spot between large bushes “By the way, look at that!” He shows his friend the book.
“What the hell…?” Kacchan frowns “Was it in the bushes? What’s with this fucking title, anyways?” His friend huffs “I guess I’ll admit it’s not so lame… Give it to me”
“Huh…?” He stares dumbly. Kacchan got his quirk less than a year ago and his control is still not the best. He sometimes sets off explosions without meaning to. Is it really okay for him to hold such an expensive looking book…?
“Oh, come on, I’ll give it back” The boy rolls his eyes, snatching the object “It’s not yours anyways-… What the fuck?!”
They both look on in astonishment as the book basically dissolves into black mist in Kacchan’s hands. It’s completely gone within moments. They both stare dumbly for a moment, before Izuku’s friend scoffs and turns away, beginning to walk.
“It was probably a prank by some stupid extra” The boy grumbles as Izuku hurries after him “When I find out who did it, I’ll explode them to hell!”
Izuku just follows him as always. And when the day ends, and he gets home, he asks his mom about the book. She doesn’t seem to know anything about it, so he just brushes it off. He doesn’t see the book at all for a long time after that.