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Chapter Text

Inko Midoriya was heartbroken. She had just gotten back from the doctor with her son Izuku, who the doctor just told that he wouldn’t develop a quirk like his friends and classmates. Izuku watched his favorite All Might video sans his usual excitement, so Inko picked up the phone and dialed an overseas number. There were a few rings before someone answered.

“Hello, Hisashi Midoriya speaking.”

“Hey, Sashi-san.”

“Inko-chan!” Hisashi’s tone switched from semi-casual businessman to loving husband. “Is everything alright? I didn’t miss our video appointment, did I?!”

“No, dear,” Inko replied softly, “That’s not for another two weeks.” Hisashi sighed in relief on the other side of the line. “It’s Izuku.”

Hisashi paused for a moment as he put the pieces together. “He’s quirkless.”

Inko choked back a sob and blinked the tears away from her eyes. When she spoke again, her voice shook with sorrow. “He wants to be a hero like All Might.”

Another pause came from the Midoriya patriarch. “Inko, my love,” he spoke his tone now that of a calculating strategist, “I know what to do. Get a pen and some paper; I’ve got some information for you. There’s a dojo about a block east of the toy store where Izu gets most of his toys. I know the place owner, so it’s safe to leave Izuku there by himself while you go to the shop two buildings over and order a bale of 300 gsm cotton watercolor paper in A3 sheets. Those shop owners know me as well.”

Inko was stunned for a moment but managed to write everything down in shorthand. She didn’t question anything, as her husband had made contingency plans for their wedding a year before the actual day that they ended up using on the big day.

Inko had just finished writing everything down when she heard sniffling coming from Izuku’s room. “I need to go, dear. I love you.”

“I love you too, Inko-chan. Give Izuku a big hug for me, okay?”

“I will.” The couple kissed over the phone and hung up so that Inko could comfort their son.

Izuku didn’t have school the next day, so Inko took him to the toy store to get the new All Might figurine that they had just started selling. As her husband suggested, she went to the dojo first. She walked in with her son to see a small handful of people in an odd uniform that seemed to be a mixture of multiple martial arts uniforms. Most everyone was mainly wearing a red or white version of the uniform, but an older man in a royal blue uniform smiled and approached the green-haired pair.

“You two must be Inko and Izuku Midoriya. My name is Ryo Makunochi, this dojo’s owner and sensei.” he gave a quick, polite bow in greeting that both Midoriyas returned. “Izuku-Kun, would you mind coming with me for a moment?”

The young boy looked to his mother for assurance, and she gave a soft smile and nod of approval. Izuku then followed Makunochi into the nearby office and sat on a stool. Inko left to the shop for the paper after waving goodbye to her son.

In the office, Izuku looked around from the stool on which he was sitting. He marveled at the various awards and trophies displayed on the wall. The green-haired boy jumped slightly when the older man, Makunochi-sensei, walked into the office and closed the door if he remembered correctly. The blue-clad martial artist sat across from the small boy and gave him a smile that reminded Izuku of a grandfather.

“Okay, Izuku, I want you to close your eyes and hold your hands out for me,” the old man asked. Izuku complied with a nod and shut his eyes tight. “Good! Just like that. Now I want you to imagine a circle for me. Make it as round as you can and make it the darkest black that you can imagine.”

Unbeknownst to the green-haired child, a small orb of pale blue light formed between his hands. Makunouchi smiled at seeing the solidity and stability of the sphere. This young man had a natural intellect and imagination that would make teaching him to wield magic more than a breeze. The old sorcerer gave Izuku some more instructions that the boy followed perfectly, splitting the orb into two smaller orbs by each hand and remerging them before flattening the sphere to be almost paper-thin.

“Izuku. Open your eyes.”

The young boy opened his eyes and widened them upon seeing the ball. A grin began to split the curly-haired child’s face, and he began to do something that surprised the old mage. He started changing the shape and size of the energy into whatever he could imagine. Izuku got distracted for a moment by a woman gasping. The sphere lengthened into a staff that would have hit the older man squarely in the center of the forehead. However, he caught the pillar of energy, changing the color from pale blue to deep orange.

“What,” Inko Midoriya walked over to her son and covered his ears with her hands “What the hell was that?!” she whisper-yelled at the middle-aged martial artist.

Ryo Makunouchi dispersed the energy into motes of orange light before standing up, a grin threatening to split his face in two.

“Midoriya-San," the old mage began, "your boy has an innate talent for magic.”

Chapter Text

Inko Midoriya blinked a few times before giving Izuku the pro-hero toys that she kept in her purse and ushering him out of the office. The green-haired woman closed the door behind her son, who was now preoccupied with his toys, and turned to the dojo owner with an incredulous look on her face. “Magic? As in incantations and grinding herbs into potions? As in the thing that the fantasy games my son’s friend loves so much are chock full of?!” With each sentence, her voice raised, and her tone became more accusatory.

Ryo stayed calm despite the woman’s quirk causing some pens and pencils to float off the desk. “Yes, ma’am. Magic. Although the herbs and potions bit is more along the lines of alchemy.” The master gestured for Inko to take a seat while he went and sat down behind his desk. “Magic is the manipulation of both your internal energies and the ambient energy of your surroundings. It is something that requires intellect, creativity, and discipline. I’m assuming you’ve given your son an IQ test?”

Inko nodded and seemed to sit up straighter. “He has a score of 138, and I think his observational and analytical abilities were what was most notable.”

Ryo nodded. “That makes sense. When he saw the orb of light in his hands, he seemed to understand the basics of what it was quickly and then proceeded to manipulate the energy with a level of skill that I’ve only seen in mages that have been practicing for several years. He was able to create a solid staff of energy in a matter of minutes. It took me almost seven years to reach that level of control.”

"What does that mean for Izuku?” Inko asked, concern and confusion lacing her voice.

“It means that I am willing to train Izuku in magic and even get other tutors from around the world to help him. I am also willing to teach him martial arts, namely Karate, boxing, and Silat, so that his body can handle the feedback of casting spells. All the paper you ordered will be condensed and bound into an enchanted book called a Grimoire for Izuku to record his findings and observations about magic. The lessons will be free of charge, for the record.”

Inko sat for a moment, processing what the gentleman across the desk just told her. She was about to decline the offer, but then she looked out the window. Izuku had surrounded himself with a dozen golfball-sized orbs of light and changing their shapes and sizes into everything from small staves to thin disks to silhouettes of heroes. Inko’s expression softened, and she looked over to her husband’s acquaintance. “Okay. How often should I bring him over?”

Makunouchi beamed happily. “Bring him by every Sunday after lunch for a couple of hours of magic training, and I’ll have him join the junior beginner’s class for my dojo. I promise you won’t regret this, Midoriya-San. I promise on my relationship with Hisashi, you won’t regret this.”

Inko smiled softly as she once again looked out the office window to see Izuku trying to make an All Might-shaped figure out of light. She made a mental note to give her husband the biggest thank you that she could next time he visited in person. Their little boy had a chance at being a hero.

Izuku’s training began the following Sunday. According to Makunouchi-Sensei, he had all but mastered what other mages called Hard Light Constructs, so today’s lesson was going to be about magical affinities. There was fire, water, earth, air, wood, thunder, light, and shadow. A significantly advanced mage could combine these eight elements into secondary affinities, such as gravity, life, or magnetism. Izuku took notes on his almost comedically large spellbook using a pen that his father managed to overnight to Japan. He drew little pictures to represent each affinity and wrote colors next to each one.

After he finished his notes, Makunouchi-Sensei handed him a crystal and told him to focus his energy on the crystal. When he complied, the crystal glowed blue on one half and white on the other.

"Sensei, what does this mean?" Izuku asked

"Well, what affinity is associated with white?"

"Air."

"And blue?"

"Water."

"Good!" Ryo praised. "This crystal, when you put mana into it, changes colors based on what elements are strongest in a person. You have very strong Air and Water affinities. Do you remember what kind of spells are associated with those elements."

Izuku took a moment to look in his Grimoire and read off what he had written down. "Spells with air affinity have to do with motion and movement, such as te- tele-"

"Telekinesis."

"Telekinesis. Spells with water affinity deal with the flow of mana and conjumation..."

"Conjuration."

"Conjuration," Izuku repeated.

"That means it'll be easier for you to learn spells that move things around and spells that summon creatures and tools. Can you guess what Water and Air combine into?"

Izuku furrowed his brows for a moment while he thought. He began muttering something to himself so quickly that Ryo had to put a hand on the child's head to pull him from his semi-trance.

"Ice," Ryo said with a chuckle. "Water and Air combine to create Ice."

After school one day, Izuku was walking home from school with his friend, Katsuki Bakugo. Izuku always referred to the young boy as Kacchan. The blond recently developed a Quirk that caused him to sweat nitroglycerin that he could ignite from his palms and everyone praised the boy and his potential for becoming a hero. The boys were both excitedly talking about the latest news footage of All Might and the people he saved, the blonde’s quirk sparking occasionally and filling the air with the scent of caramel. Neither boy paid attention to where they were walking, meaning that they didn’t notice the sudden drop in elevation until Katsuki began to fall. Izuku made a platform of light out of instinct that his spiky-haired friend fell harmlessly onto instead of rolling down the hill. After a few moments of the boys staring at each other, Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s hand and ran towards his apartment. When they got to the Midoriya household, Inko looked at the boys first with confusion before looking at her son with a semi-accusatory expression.

“Kacchan fell,” Izuku explained. “I reacted.”

Inko sighed and picked up the phone to call Katsuki’s parents to let them know where their son was and then called Makunouchi-Sensei to explain the situation. After a few minutes, Mitsuki Bakugo showed up at the door with a pleasant smile. Inko invited her inside to wait, explaining that the boys were in Izuku’s room admiring his collection. The two sat and reminisced over some tea for about thirteen minutes before there was a knock at the door. Inko answered the door and greeted her son’s magic instructor as he stood in a dark blue three-piece suit.

“Ah, I recognize Mitsuki Bakugo. My granddaughter recorded all your fashion shows and kept your Louis Vuitton and Valentino advertisements.” The martial artist gave a polite bow that Mitsuki returned with a fond smile. “Actually, while I’m here,” Makunouchi blushed sheepishly and pulled a magazine with Mitsuki on the cover from inside his sport coat. “Would you mind signing this for me? My granddaughter’s birthday is in a few days, and I forgot to get her a proper present.” Mitsuki giggled and signed the magazine with a marker from her purse.

One appreciative bow later, Ryo sat down and began to explain the basics of what his job was and what Izuku was doing at his dojo. After Ryo had finished his explanation and Mitsuki had picked her jaw off the ground, the Bakugo’s left with the promise to only tell Mitsuki’s husband Masaru about the whole situation.

“Alright, alright. We’ll only tell Masaru-Kun about this. I don’t suppose it’d be too much to ask if Katsuki could come and learn at your dojo alongside Izuku?” Mitsuki asked hopefully.

“Well,” Ryo said as he grabbed his hat, “I really can’t teach him any magic since it would actually require him to be quirkless to be able to use it effectively. I can probably teach him some martial arts that would compliment his quirk. Assuming he wants to be a hero, that is.”

“More than anything!” Katsuki answered before his mother could even open her mouth, earning him a quick tap to the back of his head.

Ryo chuckled and handed Mitsuki a small piece of paper about the size of a business card. “Izuku is in this class for martial arts. Bring Katsuki by later this week for a uniform fitting and we can see if we can get him and Izuku at the same level.”

Mitsuki accepted the card and bowed gratefully before nudging Katsuki to do the same. Both Bakugo’s then left for their home, and Ryo left for his dojo. Inko proceeded to clean up the dishes from the tea she made and called Izuku into the living room to do his schoolwork and magic practice. Inko grabbed a cup and finished off the last of the tea while watching her son. She put the news on and saw that the number 2 hero, Endeavor, had captured a criminal that was a serial robber. He brushed the news away with a glower and dragged the criminal away. Inko shook her head. She always got an odd feeling from the man, as if all he cared about was catching criminals or being the best. It was a feeling certainly supported by the amount of property damage the Flame Hero left in his wake.

“Mama,” Izuku piped up, “why does Endeavor look so angry all the time?”

Inko needed a moment to avoid spitting her tea out before she answered. “Well, sweetie,” she said in between coughs, “he’s probably just upset that he’s not the Number One Hero.”

Izuku’s face contorted and he made a sound that suggested he was unconvinced but went back to practicing his magic. He made a small needle out of ice that he accidentally launched into the nearby wall. Inko sighed and downed the rest of her tea in one go. She’s probably going to need to have a handyman on speed dial.

Chapter Text

9 years later

Izuku was on his way to school for the day. He was in his usual black uniform, his mop of curly green hair in a neat undercut with the top slicked over to the right. Each step he took was calculated while his impassive expression concealed the fact that he was taking in his surroundings in excruciating detail. He noticed a crowd gathering near the Hosu train station and stopped to see where they were looking and saw a man easily ten stories tall yelling at pro heroes to get away from him.

“Dude’s got an amazing quirk like that and he’s a purse snatcher,” someone commented.

Izuku simply saw a flashy quirk that required little to no imagination to be powerful. He would have walked away from the scene, but the screams of fangirls got his attention as another pro showed up to the scene. It was none other than the recently debuted Kamui Woods. As soon as Izuku saw his work on the news, Kamui Woods grabbed his attention. What the man’s quirk lacked in raw power it made up for in versatility and Kamui’s dedication to justice and imagination in using his quirk to help people and detain criminals quickly bumped him up in popularity polls.

Kamui was in the middle of using one of his signature moves, Lacquered Chain Prison, to detain the giant criminal when a blonde woman in a skin-tight white and purple suit almost twice the height of the purse snatcher came and delivered a flying double kick to the criminal’s side.

Izuku’s jaw dropped as the new pro picked the villain up and introduced herself as Mount Lady. She even made a bad pun about her butt and struck a gravure-like pose that the male photographers filled their SD cards with within seconds.

Another person in the hero business for fame and money. Izuku thought as he walked away from the scene. When nobody was around he pulled out a notebook and pen and used his magic to dictate some notes while the stationery floated beside him. He made sure to draw a couple of sketches of Mount Lady in various action poses and standing poses to get an idea of how she would likely be moving around and operating as a hero, stopping for a moment to grab a couple coffee-milks from a vending machine before getting to school.

He put away his enchanted notebook and walked through the gates, giving the disciplinary club members a friendly wave on his way in. Izuku was one of the first ones in the homeroom that day, so he sat down to go over the notes he had taken that morning. He went through his notes for a few moments before he heard Katsuki and some of his friends clamoring into the classroom. Izuku put his book away and leaned back in his seat as he waited for his childhood friend to sit down.

Katsuki’s appearance hadn’t changed much from when he was a little boy aside from his face changing a little bit. The blonde’s friends left after a few moments, leaving the two old friends alone in the classroom. “Hey, Deku.”

“Mornin’, Kacchan,” Izuku greeted as he reached into his book bag and pulled out a coffee-milk for his spiky-haired friend. The explosion user let out a grateful sigh and tapped his can to Izuku’s before the two took a big gulp of the caffeinated liquid. They looked at the cans, seemingly disappointed at the flavor.

“Nowhere near as good as that stuff we had a while back,” Kacchan commented.

“No kidding. I’m still having a hard time getting those Turkish coffee beans imported without being a cafe. “

“You still have those French roasted beans?”

“Really only enough to make some sort of coffee dessert,” Izuku lamented as he drank more coffee.

“You thinking cake, or something trickier?” Katsuki asked as he started reading the ingredients on the side of the can.

“I’ve got a tutor from Italy coming in next week. Might ask if they know of any dishes I could try. Italians do go through an average of six kilos of coffee per person, so I imagine they know what to do with it.”

“Immortal or regular?”

“Regular. He’s apparently an S-class artificer that works with precious metals and gemstones.”

“That means he makes magic jewelry right?” Katsuki asked as he finished off his coffee and tossed the empty can into the trash bin.

“Most likely,” Izuku answered as he tossed his own can in the trash. “Might also mean he makes spirit vessels. Those need to be made out of very specific metals in specific patterns.”

“Oh yeah, that noisy ghost that was bugging Dad had to be sealed away in copper right?”

“Poltergeist,” Izuku corrected. “And yes, I had to make a copper vessel for that thing and hand it off to a spiritualist for proper disposal.”

The two continued to talk magic for a little while until they heard people walking around in the hallways. They switched to hero talk, eventually getting to the debut of Mount Lady and how reckless her attack was. A few other students were at the scene that morning and piped in occasionally to give their thoughts. Mostly it was just guys defending her actions solely because she was attractive. When the teacher walked in, everyone got to their seat and prepared for class.

The day went by without much excitement, except for one student falling victim to the trap of Izuku’s Ghost Pepper Curry at lunch. In all fairness, he didn’t ask to try any and simply took a bite, so the class found glee in the young man running out of the room as he began to sweat bullets and cough. At the end of the day, the homeroom teacher came in with a stack of papers. He was supposed to pass them out and see what the students wanted to do for their careers, but he promptly threw papers up after declaring that he knew all of the students wanted to be heroes.

“C’mon, teach,” Bakugo spoke up, “Why’re ya lumping me and Deku with the rest of these wannabes? We’re probably the only ones in here who even have a chance of being anything other than sidekicks. We aced the mock exam for UA, so just give it three years and You’ll be looking at your top two heroes!”

“Glad to know you’ve accepted that you’ll be number 2,” Izuku teased. Katsuki retaliated by tossing an eraser at the green-haired mage, who caught it and met his rival’s eyes with a somewhat savage smile that the blonde returned. The air in the classroom grew thick with tension as the silent challenge between the two aspiring heroes grew.

“All right, you two. Settle down,” the teacher commanded as he used his quirk to tap the standing Bakugo on the head with a book. He was closer and higher up, so he made an easier target. The boys settled down and sat back in their seats, but used their fingers to tap out messages in a code they had made when they were kids.

When school ended, the two boys raced off the school grounds and headed not towards their homes, but towards the dojo the two had been training at for the last nine years. It took the rival pair about fifteen minutes of running and trying to trip each other up before the two bursted into the building, startling Ryo and some mages that Izuku didn’t recognize. It didn’t matter right now to the green-haired teen. All that mattered was the match between his best friend and himself. They were currently tied with forty-eight wins apiece, so this would be a tie-breaker that the winner could gloat about until the next match.

Izuku changed quickly into the green sparring uniform he kept in his bag while Kacchan changed into a pair of loose-fitting black cargo pants and a black muscle shirt with a stylized skull on the front. One of the regulars to the dojo recognized the oncoming match and set up some protective wards while Makunouchi took the well-dressed mages into his office to watch from the window.

The blonde took a stance that could best be described as a boxer’s stance, his palms facing out and fingers relaxed as some sparks ignited millimeters away from his skin. Izuku took a wide stance with his feet and held his hands out in a knife hand, fingertips aimed at his opponent. The mage who set up the wards prior stood between the teenagers as they stood in their ready stances.

“The 97th match between Journeyman Izuku Midoriya and Explosion user Katsuki Bakugo will now commence!” he announced with his right arm raised. “Journeyman Midoriya, are you ready?” Izuku nodded. “Bakugo-san, are you ready?”

“Hell yeah,” the spiky-haired blonde barked.

The mage raised his other arm and counted down from 5. “ Hajime! ” he yelled as he dropped his arms and teleported into Makunouchi’s office.

Bakuogo charged forward with an explosive-propelled leap while Izuku began to throw a mana-enhanced punch. As his punch followed through, Izuku sent forth a powerful burst of kinetic energy that forced Bakugo to use an explosion to change his trajectory in order to stay in bounds. Izuku used the split second of distraction to begin a barrage of magical snowballs and dulled ice shards at his opponent. Bakugo countered the frosty projectiles with smaller explosions from his palms while using the agility he had developed to dodge the rest. He then used a larger, concentrated explosion to dash forward. The two began a short spar of close-quarters combat with a mixture of Karate and Tae Kwon Do; Katsuki using his quirk to create small, concussive blasts in tandem with open-palm strikes while Izuku used mana-enhanced strength and speed to block and counter.

In Ryo’s office, the two visiting mages watched the green-haired teen with awe as he displayed masterful control of mana.

“As I was saying before the subject of our conversation burst through the door with his rival,” Ryo piped up, “I think that Izuku Midoriya should be promoted from Journeyman to 3rd Class Master.”

As the two mages came to their senses, they continued their conversation with the mage instructor. “You do understand,” the one in the charcoal gray suit started, “that promoting someone so young to that rank hasn’t been done since Nicolas Flamel created a Philosopher's Stone when he was only 16.”

“Not to mention,” the other one in an all-white suit interjected, “that having any sort of Master rank in Japan would essentially make this 14-year-old boy a hero reservist.”

“Well it’s a good thing he wants to be Japan’s number 1 hero then,” Ryo retorted as he watched Katsuki create a small flashbang with his quirk that Izuku countered with a veil of Shadow Mist. “All that boy has ever wanted was to help people. I have no doubts in my mind that boy will shine brighter than even All Might himself as a symbol of hope and perseverance.”

Hearing the praise of Ryo Makunochi and watching the greenette pull off multiple complex spells in rapid succession, the two men looked at each other and nodded. They were about to step out of the office to give the news to Izuku before Ryo conjured a shield in front of the door. “I’d wait till they’re done if I were you. Don’t want to get accidentally blown up.” Almost on queue, the glass window of the office shook violently from a large explosion caused by the spar of the two rivals. Immediately, the two men in suits teleported to what they believed to be the safest corner of the room with frightened expressions on their now pale faces.

The sparring match continued for another 10 minutes with the two boys testing new techniques and spells on each other while bantering and smiling. The spar would have continued past that, but the protective ward had not been strong enough to withstand the blowback of one of Katsuki’s most powerful explosions colliding with a powerful gravity spell Izuku had cast. While the two were arguing over who’s win it was, the three sorcerers stepped out of the office.

“Pardon me, Izuku?” the man in gray interrupted.

“What?!” the two teenagers snapped in frighteningly similar tones, causing the two sorcerers unfamiliar with the 3rd year middle schoolers to flinch.

“Midoriya,” Ryo began in a warning tone “these two are from the International Sorcerer’s Association.”

At the mention of the ISA, Midoriya quickly stood up and bowed while apologizing profusely and shooting an occasional glare at the now hysterically laughing Katsuki. The man in gray held out a hand and introduced himself as Masaharu Jigen of the Japanese branch while the man in blue was Vincenzzo Barbarossa of the Italian branch. The three then began conversing in Ecclesiastical Latin about Izuku’s future as a sorcerer.

“ Mr. Barbarossa here was coming to teach you some artificing, but from what we just saw of your little sparring match, it seems practically unnecessary ,” Masaharu stated.

“ Thank you, Mr. Jigen, ” Midoriya said with a smile.

“ Although, I still need to teach you the basics if you’re going to get that promotion, ” Barbarossa joked.

Izuku then perked up a little, smile faltering somewhat as he put the pieces together in his mind. “ You mean… ” The two senior sorcerers nodded, confirming the greenette’s suspicions. He smiled broadly, a calm joy plastered on his face as he placed his hands on his sides and bowed at a full ninety degrees before switching back to Japanese. “I humbly refuse this promotion!”

Chapter Text

Jigen was too busy picking his jaw off the ground to explain to his Italian colleague that Izuku had indeed just turned down a promotion from Journeyman to 3rd Class Master and the benefits that go with such a rank. Ryo Makunochi simply smiled, having already guessed that his star pupil would do such a thing..

“Midoriya-kun,” Jigen began once he had regained his senses, “you understand what it is you’re turning down, right?”

Izuku nodded as he stood up, still smiling. “I’m turning down a promotion from Journeyman Sorcerer to 3rd Class Master, which would grant me a Hero Reservist License as well as a warehouse to set up a laboratory for my research. However, it would also make giving lectures at the Japanese branch of the ISA mandatory until I had ranked up to 1st Class, making attending any school next to impossible.” Izuku then relaxed his stance, before becoming slightly more informal with his speech. “I’m perfectly fine with staying a Journeyman until I graduate from UA with a fully-fledged Hero’s License.”

“But-” Jigen started to interject before looking into Izuku’s eyes. He may have been a young immortal, but in his century and a half of life, he recalled only seeing that determination in a few people, with one Nana Shimura coming most prominently to mind. With a resigned sigh, Jigen nodded and spoke. “In that case, as the Chief Sorcerer of the Chūbu Region, I, A-Class Sorcerer Massaharu Jigen, grant Sorcerer Izuku Midoriya the rank of Honorary Master and the privileges that come with such ranking. Makunouchi-san, do you approve of the promotion of your student?”

“I, C-Class Sorcerer Ryo Makunouchi, fully approve and support this promotion as Izuku Midoriya’s Master.”

“Barbarossa-san?”

“I, A-Class Sorcerer Vincenzo Barbarossa of Tuscany, hereby witness and approve this promotion.”

During the process of approval, three golden threads had formed loosely between the right hands of Izuku and Masaharu. The former had extended his hand and asked Izuku one last question. “Izuku Midoriya, as an Honorary Master, you will receive assistance in attaining magical supplies and materials from the ISA, but you will not receive a Hero Reservist license nor will you be required to give lectures at the Academy in Tokyo. Do you accept this promotion?”

Izuku looked at the gold threads now glowing brighter before looking at his best friend, who had since composed himself, and nodded. The green-haired magician then grasped the forearm of his senior with a simple, “I accept.” The gold threads tightened before dispersing into twinkling motes of pale blue light.

An hour of discussion and a lecture on the effects of metals and gemstones on magic later, Izuku and Katsuki walked out of the dojo and began to head home. The pair came to a point where they had to go their separate ways, so they bumped fists before Katsuki signed the finger-spelling for “De” while Izuku spelled out “Ka” as they usually did when they parted ways. Izuku passed under a bridge near his home as he sensed an odd shifting of mana in the area. He immediately put his defenses up as something burst out of the nearby manhole. It was a sort of sewage-colored goo, but there was a fair amount of mana coming from it, as if it was alive. The immediate appearance of two eyes solidified the assumption.

While the apparent person was quite literally collecting themselves, Izuku set up a few barriers so that they couldn’t escape since he saw a fair bit of jewelry and cash suspended within the goo. Before the thief could say anything, he was imprisoned in a 2 meter cube. The would-be thief used his fluid form to try and escape the box of hardened air to little avail, much to the mild amusement of the sorcerer who made the barrier.

A loud and familiar laughter to most Japanese citizens seemed to be approaching and halted shortly before the sound of impact just outside the bridge. As the dust cleared, a famous voice began to build up. “ TEXAS- ”

“Wait!” Izuku yelled out as he moved the box containing the gelatinous thief into the light.

The now silent number one hero looked at the box containing the criminal he was chasing while standing frozen in the middle of his wind-up. The bulky blonde looked back and forth between the box and the greenette before standing with hands on his hips.

“Well, shounen! I am quite impressed at how you have captured the villain! Although I should warn you that using your Quirk without a hero license makes you-”

“I’m a quirkless sorcerer, sir,” Izuku interrupted.

Again, Japan’s number one hero stood silent as he assessed the situation. Japan was less strict about the usage of magic versus quirks considering the Sorcerer’s Association already had so many rules in place, and putting someone in a semi-permeable box certainly didn’t break any rules. “Ah. Well. Hmm. I suppose I should take him to the nearest station and have him processed.”

“I’ll go with you. This barrier spell is only effective if I’m within about three meters of it, and showing up with Japan’s number one hero would probably get me in a lot less trouble than normal.”

All Might nodded at the suggestion and turned around to let Izuku onto his back, but the teenage sorcerer simply conjured a transparent disk to stand on while the box floated right behind his shoulder. “Lead the way, Number One.”

The seven-foot-tall blonde gave an amused chuckle before gearing up for a jump and leaping in the direction of the nearest police station. Izuku was able to keep up by following All Might’s trajectory and speed and anchoring the box to be no more than an meter away from the disk he had conjured to fly on next to his idol.

The two were able to see the police station from the sky when Izuku sensed a rapid decline in the mana flowing through Japan’s number one hero. He knew the hero was no spring chicken, but he wasn’t old enough to experience that sort of rapid depletion in energy. The greenette made a mental note of the decline and when his enhanced hearing heard his hero curse, noting the starts of steam rising from Japan's number one.

When All Might landed on a nearby building, Izuku took note of the drastic decrease of mana and the small cloud that formed around the hero. Moments later, the hulking tower of muscle and power was replaced by a gaunt, bone-thin man about a foot shorter than the number one. Luckily, Izuku had cast a sleeping spell on the prisoner before landing, so the green-haired mage was the only one to see the change.

“Apologies shounen, but all those years of hero work have- gaahk !” The gaunt blonde was interrupted by coughing up a large clot of blood from his lung and intense pain from his abdomen.

Not a moment later, Izuku was next to his idol, hands glowing with a pale blue light as he held them over where he sensed the most volatile mana. Eye’s closed, he slowly and carefully rearranged the damaged organs of the number one hero so that the blood would flow better and not clot in the lungs as much. All Might immediately felt the effects as he took the deepest, fullest breath he had taken in several years. When Izuku was done, he pulled his hands away and shook them to get the feeling back in his fingertips; healing magic always messed with his nerves.

“Well, shounen, I suppose I should thank you!” All Might said. “I haven’t been able to breathe like this in quite a while, at least not without it delving into a coughing fit.”

“It’s not a problem. I can’t really stand by while someone needs help.”

“Well, how can I offer my thanks?”

Izuku beamed and pulled out one of his many notebooks from his backpack and opened it up to a blank page, handing All Might a marker. The number one hero smiled and wrote three things in the notebook; his signature that he used for All Might merchandise, his real name, and a phone number. When Izuku took his notebook back, he almost dropped the spells he had up out of pure shock.

“Toshinori Yagi?” he asked.

“My real name. You know about this,” Toshinori gestured to his emaciated body, “so you deserve to know who I am. Now, why don’t we walk to the station and talk a bit.” Toshinori headed for the steps that lead to the ground floor of the building the pair stood on top of, and Izuku followed behind shortly, double checking the box he had put the gelatinous thief in.

As they walked down to the nearest police station, Toshinori began to explain to Izuku his predicament; His incredible power was inherited through a quirk called One For All, but ever since a fierce battle that was kept secret from the public, he was left with injuries that made using his powers for long periods of time painful and difficult. At his current rate, he could only hold up for about three hours with minimal repercussions, though he theorized that Izuku’s magic might have just added an additional hour to that limit. He was in the process of looking for someone to inherit the power of OFA, but was having a hard time picking just the right person. His former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, believed he had found a perfect candidate, but Toshinori wanted to wait a bit in case someone else came along.

When the pair finally reached the police station, an officer met them out front with a large liquid containment unit that the thief was quickly deposited into. The officer thanked Toshinori, but gave Izuku a stern look and told him to be careful interfering with adult’s business. Katsuki’s influce shone through for just a moment as he sneered at the officer before turning away. Adults that thought they knew everything always got on his nerves.

“Midoriya-shounen!” Toshinori called out. “I do hope you plan on attending UA this coming school year. It would an honor to be a mentor to such a skilled and selfless potential hero as yourself.”

“Eh?!” came the surprised yell of the green-haired teenager. “You’re gonna being teaching? Are you sure you’re going to be alright? I mean, you’d have to hide this version of yourself from God knows how many people. Though I’m sure Principal Nezu already knows. I guess that’d mean a few teach-”

A bony, calloused hand covered the rambling teenagers mouth as Yagi Toshinori could think of nothing else to do to stop the greenette. The Number One hero blinked a few times before he pulled his hand away cautiously.

“I’m done. Sorry,” Izuku said sheepishly.

“Do you usually…” Toshinori paused as he furrowed his brow.

“Ramble like that?” Izuku finished for him. “Yeah, it’s something I get from my mom. We both have a tendency to just keep talking and not stop when we get excited about something.”

“Well young man, I certainly hope you do well at the entrance exam. I’d offer a recommendation, but you don’t seem the type to accept it,” the middle-aged blonde half joked.

Izuku bowed in thanks and the two parted ways. Toshinori felt hungrier than he had in a long time, so he went to go to a nearby restaurant that he knew would serve the kind of food that Lady Chiyo would insist he eat. As he ordered food, he noticed that he ate more than he usually did and made a mental note to see if any foods could be added to his safe-list.

Izuku waited until he was sure he was alone before stumbling into his pocket for his phone. He dialed a number and bounced his leg in anticipation as he waited. A grumpy “Hello?” started as Izuku’s best friend answered the phone.

“I just met All Might and helped him catch a criminal!” the green-haird teen nearly shouted into the phone.

“Shut the fuck up!” Katsuki replied incredulously before a smacking sound could be heard over the phone. “Damn it, woman! Quit doin’ that!”

“Kacchan,” Izuku interrupted.

“Yeah, no, I’m with ya still, but Ma’s yelling at me now for cursing,” he pulled away from the phone’s microphone for a moment, “as if I didn’t pick it up from her!” A short pause later, rustling could be heard from Katsuki’s side of the phone conversation. “Shit, the slipper just came off; Gotta go!” and he hung up.

Izuku was left standing with a mixture of confusion, excitement, and exasperation circulating through him as he stared at his phone. “There’s gotta be a study done on that boy,” he said to no one in particular.