149Izuku's thoughts were… cluttered, to say the least as he made his way home, the sun setting in the sky as he opened the door and explained to his mom that training had just 'gone on longer than I meant it to' before retreating to his room, collapsing upon his bed.
To say the fight with the truth demon had been an experience would be an understatement, he had entirely forgotten the time his petty side took over and he almost cracked open Kacchan's skull in front of the entire class by moving his chair half an inch.
Good times.
His new found realizations over his situation with Hagakure and Kyoka stuck out the most, he'd have to spend some time thinking about it and talk with them eventually.
Aside from that though, he'd gotten rid of the only other demon he knew of so far and even got some information he could look over later that he could check with the Outsider to start making some plans regarding magical threats.
Before that though, for now he could just be a normal kid, with normal high school problems like exams-
His eyes widened as he realized it was only a week to go until they began their exams, ending next week with a final exam that would be testing their practical skill.
It would sound stressful in any other situation but Izuku just let out a small kind of relieved laugh. Even that stress, it was just a normal part of life and in a way, he could take joy from knowing it was coming.
Suddenly, cold air whipped around his face and he blinked, only to suddenly find himself standing in the void all of a sudden. He just smiled this time though, turning to see the Outsider standing in front of the previous bearers' house that still looked out of place.
The deity stood in front, clutching a fragment of some type of bone and pacing about. The past wielders of One for All all sat in areas around the gardens but they all seemed… subdued.
Even the normally bombastic Ruki was being quiet.
"Hey, everything alright guys?" The greenette asked, raising a brow. Nana hesitantly nodded, looking towards him with a small smile that was too obviously fake.
"Yeah, yeah. Everything is fine. Don't worry about us, Izuku, the Outsider needs you right now." She waved away, pointing towards the god. Izuku raised a brow but decided not to push it, hurrying over the black-eyed man.
"You know, even with my powers I'm not quite sure if you will find this hilarious, infuriating or just surprising." The Outsider began, teleporting in front of the greenette and depositing the bone into his hand. "You recognise this, correct?"
"Uh, yeah? Looks like the same kind of charm on my sword." The greenette said, listening to the small whistling song it produced. "Wait, is this the one I took from Naozumi?"
"Yes. Void magic, tempered only partially through the bone of a living creature. Most commonly dogs and whales in the old world. That one is a human bone however." The deity began explaining, suddenly making Izuku a little more uncomfortable with holding the charm. 'Note to self, do not let Koda know about these.' "The effects can vary wildly depending on the amount of magic, where the magic pours in from and even how the bone is shaped. They were all over the place once upon a time but here… they are somewhat rare to see."
"Wait, but I found that one with the overseers-" Izuku's eyes went wide and all three emotions the Outsider predicted swirled through him at the same time. "SON OF A- HE'S BEEN USING MAGIC?!"
"I'm afraid so, it would seem our dear Naozumi is not only a 'heretic' but a liar as well." The god teleported once more, appearing on the edge of the platform they stood upon and summoned a second island where stone statues depicting Naozumi, the overseers and Izuku and Aki on the rooftop of the building. "You remember when you rather violently knocked out the overseers in your escape? But not long after, Naozumi was once more back to standing and holding interviews on the television?"
"Yeah. I was… kind of reaching my limit at the time." Izuku murmured, before suddenly hearing shuffling behind him and throwing a confused look to the past holders who refused to meet his eye. Nana jut gave him another fake smile, but before he could question it the Outsider began talking again.
"It's interesting anyone without magic but a basic understanding of it would use one, seeing the effect these could have on people. Perhaps the difference of the souls here make them safer, though that is speculation. What is not speculation… the effect this particular charm has seems to be that it allows whoever is in possession of it to heal much faster." The Outsider let out a small hum that might have been amusement. "More than likely this is how the man has maintained his place as high Overseer, combined with their more ruthless criminal methods. He likely has this as insurance so if one of his fellow overseers discovers he is a 'heretic' and tries to attack him."
"Then he'd survive, and could dispose of them." Izuku finished off, letting out a sigh as he sat on the edge of the void and groaned. "Why would he take that off?"
"Perhaps safety? Leaving it on too long might had an adverse effect on the mind he wished to avoid. I'm afraid I'm not omniscient, no matter how much it may seem it. When it comes to magic, there will always be something eluding even me, for that is it's nature."
"Useful." Izuku muttered sarcastically, before standing back up with sparkling eyes as a thought occurred to him. "Wait a minute… you don't think…"
"That they used a bonecharm to hide the torture room? I believe it would fit in with what we know now. It would certainly explain how they could hide it from even magic." The Outsider explained, and Izuku threw his fist into the air victoriously.
"Then I need to let Tsukauchi know! If we can find that other bonecharm, then they have the evidence they need to confirm me and Aki's stories, plus they can add tampering with evidence to the list of crimes. Maybe people might even forger the Stain video." Izuku began rambling excitedly, the clear horizon starting to seem so visible. He failed to notice the way the other wielders of One for All flinched as he carried on.
"Perhaps, but this is not all there is to discuss, my dear Izuku. Do you not remember what I told you after the incident at the USJ?" The Outsider asked, and Izuku tilted his head in confusion. "The leak of information, the potential traitor who I couldn't track?"
"Oh! Holy crap, I completely forgot about that." Izuku admitted, flushing as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I.. know that doesn't reflect great on me but it's hard to think badly of most of my classmates or teachers…"
"Sentiment, the human weakness." The deity said with a small amount of displeasure before he sighed and turned to stare at the horizon. "Regardless, this could also serve to explain why I couldn't track them. If they are utilising a similar bonecharm to mask themselves somehow…"
"Then you wouldn't be able to properly track it." The marked teen finished with a sigh. "You know, just once I'd like to come in here and only get good news."
"That seems unlikely." The black-eyed man said, before waving his hand and Izuku felt the realm begin to fade away around him. "That can all be dealt with more in-depth at a later date however. For now I would encourage you to focus on your studies while I continue to watch out for anything you should be aware of."
"Alright then!" Izuku laughed quietly to himself with a small wave, before he turned to see the past holders all still with those reserved looks on their faces. "Guys? Come on, whats wrong?"
"We're fine, Izuku." Nana assured, ignoring his disbelieving look. A moment of silence passed before she let out a sigh. "It's… something we'd rather deal with ourselves, okay?"
"Well, if you're sure." Izuku sighed, before waving to them with a bright smile which they did their best to return. "Finally get to live a normal life for a bit…"
Then he disappeared from the void, and all smiles fell, Nana hitting her chair in frustration. "God dammit, it's already hard enough knowing whats about to happen, why does he have to be so pure as well on top of it."
"It's just not fair someone like him has to suffer this." Aneko sighed sadly, Ruki and Kenji nodding their heads in agreements.
"I assure you, I am against it just as much as you all are but this needs to happen. For Izuku to grow into who needs to be…"
Izuku sat upon his bed with a notebook open in front of him and laptop pulled up nearby, various tabs open with research about one topic upon them.
Relationships.
The greenette would freely admit that he was far from the poster child for understanding romantic feelings or the like but he did know one thing.
The idea of dating Hagakure or Kyo… it filled him with a kind of giddiness only one other thought did. That thought being heroism.
He'd been contemplating the idea for a few hours now, taking down notes on the idea of each potential relationship and occasionally getting lost inside his mind at the mere thought.
It had caught him off-guard but now he knew what he was looking for, he wanted to make sure not just for his sake but for theirs this was something worth pursuing. He did not want to hurt them in some way by pursuing an impossible dream or something that ultimately would only end badly for them all.
His thoughts of each girl and their potential future left him craving the happiness it left him with. The biggest hurdle in the way, at least as Izuku had thought of it, was the fact that he felt the same way about both of them and he didn't want to break either of their hearts.
Which is why Izuku had most recently spent the past hour researching polyamorous relationships, his eyes opened to a whole new world he'd never realized existed with his exposure to solely one-on-one relationships like his mother's.
Of course, that begged the question of if the two girls would be alright dating him at the same time, of which there was zero guarantee but Izuku could hope, and at least bring the idea up.
After all, It was when he thought of all three of them together that things really clicked for him. It was like they completed a puzzle the marked teen didn't realize was missing a piece, in a way almost like yin and yang even.
Kyoka was like darkness, right down to her aesthetic at times. How she enjoyed spending time together in doors, playing games together and texting each other when they were away from each other. How the girl was a bit of a nervous pessimist, constantly throwing out sarcastic comments that never failed to make Izuku smile and the fact she was more quiet and subtle with her worry.
Tooru was like light, sometimes literally with her quirk. How unlike with Kyoka, his time with the invisible girl was spent more active, playing physical games and chatting endlessly, even the fact that Tooru preferred phone calls to texting. How she was a bombastic go-getter optimist usually, cheerful and supportive, willing to dole out compliments whenever and wherever and how she was rather obvious and, for lack of a better word, loud with her worry.
Both grounded him in a way, kept himself and each other balanced out and just left him feeling good inside.
So different, yet still Izuku dared to say he loved them both. Not out loud yet, but…
Maybe one day, he thought with a small blush.
It was with that thought he'd come to the decision he would talk with them both at the same time, of the opinion that way everyone could deal with this with the same amount information in the healthiest way possible.
Especially in case he'd read their situation wrong, but even then it would be better to get these feelings out from the research he had done. Though admittedly trusting the internet for relationship advice might be something he should be more cautious about.
Still, it was with all this decided and settled in his mind that Izuku had laid down, smiling as he pulled his pillow closer to him and drifted off to sleep.
His dreams of a perfect future where Kyoka and Tooru had been present had been more than welcome.
The sun shined in the sky as Izuku smiled wide, hurrying along the pathway towards U.A., closing in on the school and quickly putting stuff away in his lockers as he hummed to himself
He couldn't be happier. everything was going his way, finally. He knew how to finally deal with the Abbey, there was no demonic threat or warlock biding their time around some corner and he finally understood those odd feeling he got around Kyoka and Tooru.
For someone who had just been in the dark, cold void the night before he felt more like he'd been dancing in a sunny field or something equally overly saccharine.
He hurried up the stairs, adjusting his blazer and coming up to the door to his classroom, pulling it open and smiling bright as he walked inside to find most of his class already there.
"Hey guys!" He called happily, getting various quick greeting in return. Seeing his happy smile and good mood, being the closest to him as well Hagakure threw her arms around him briefly in a quick hug before letting him go, making him blush slightly but chuckle before he walked over to Kyo, who held her hand out for a high five.
It was a recent tradition that had started between the two at the start of the day, making him laugh. He'd save asking them to talk for after school, where they could have some privacy but for now it was just nice to see him.
"You seem like you're in a good mood, dude." The purple haired girl laughed, and he nodded with a smile. "Good dreams or something?"
"Something like that." He chuckled, scratching his neck. "Just kind of realized something pretty cool lately."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"I could tell you… but I think I'll keep it a secret." he chuckles, getting a light playful shove from the girl.
"Oi, teasing is my job!"
Izuku just shrugged, before the door opening signalled the arrival of Aizawa and he hurried to his seat, ignoring the blond in front of him who seemed more agitated than normal.
He was ready for the most awesome hero training and school day yet!
Izuku's smile had been a near constant fixture throughout the entire day, barely wavering even as he struggled with one or two of the math's questions ectoplasm posed or when he'd forgotten the difference between Then and Than in English class.
It was in hero class, where All Might and Aizawa had explained they would be doing simple head to head fights in pairs in the training area where Izuku's smile had been its biggest, even if Aizawa did seem more irritated than normal. (A few of the monitors had been damaged in a training exercise with 1-B apparently.)
And it was the announcement of who he was paired with that finally killed it.
"Kirishima Eijirou and Hanta Sero versus Katsuki Bakugou and Midoriya Izuku."
What?
Izuku shared a look with said blonde, who growled and tightened his fists letting out an explosion.
"Remember this is a team based mission."
FUCK!
"Going to have to try harder than that to beat me, BakuBro!" Kirishima laughed, ducking under an explosion and delivering a strike to the blonde that caused him to stumble back.
A tentacle suddenly shot out and wrapped around the red-head's waist, throwing him into a wall and in the confusion, as he was stunned, Izuku used Full Cowling to appear beside him and handcuff him, knocking him out in the process.
Any other time, with anyone else it would have been seen as a smart sneak attack they'd have been thankful for.
Not Bakugou though. No, he had a different thought process on it as he stormed over to the greenette.
"DEKU?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"What? He was distracted, when else was i-"
A sudden hit to the gut brought the greenette to his knees, completely unexpected as a slap then followed to his face, busting his lip.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING TRY TO STEAL MY WIN AGAIN YOU BASTARD! STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!"
It was with that the angry blonde stormed off, leaving his teammate clutching his stomach on the ground, partially confused as to why he got no prior warning from his magic like usual.
More than anything though, he was just angry and upset. He could easily get back to his feet and continue on, but what would be the point?
He could hear Bakugou decimating Sero nearby, and if he intervened again all he had to look forward to was a fight and an argument he didn't want to have.
Just when he thought he had happiness, Katsuki Bakugou turned up. Like fucking always.
Izuku was much more subdued than he had been in the morning as he stared at the infirmary roof in pain, blood trickling down the side of his mouth while Recovery Girl prepared to heal him.
"You know, you weren't even rendered delirious by Kirishima's attack. You were plenty capable of continuing on the exercise." The short nurse pointed out with a small hum. "It's not like you to just give up so easily, I wouldn't of thought."
"And that's exactly why he's going to be serving detention tomorrow after school." The angry voice of Aizawa snarled, making the marked teen half tempted to snarl right back. "I do not tolerate people just not putting in effort in my class, Midoriya. I expected better of someone like you."
Izuku remained silent, pushing himself up.
"I do not want to see you pulling a stunt like that again, problem child. If you do, it will be much worse than just detention." He said angrily, glaring at the teen. Izuku briefly met that glare with his own.
"Maybe try putting me with someone other than Katuski then, Shota."
…
Recovery Girl looked away, fully aware of the mistake her patient just made. Aizawa grabbed his capture scarf as it flared to life, eyes flashing an intimidating red.
At least, it would be intimidating if Izuku had been starting much scarier things down recently.
"Excuse you?! I AM YOUR TEACHER, AND YOU WILL SHOW ME DUE RESPECT AS SUCH! I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND, AND I WILL NOT BE TALKED BACK TO LIKE ONE." He shouted, visibly angry as he let the scarf die back down. "You just extended your detention until the end of the week. Talk back to me again like that and I will fail you before you even reach your exams."
Finally, as the scruffy pro stormed over to the door, he looked back with a scowl.
"And you had better learn how to work with Bakugou, problem child. I will not be paring you with anyone else any time soon."
It was with that the teacher stormed out of the infirmary, leaving Izuku to stare at the cover over him with eyes that glistened with a newfound agitation and anger.
'Are. You. Fucking. Kidding me!?'
"That was far from one of your smarter decisions, sonny." Recovery Girl sighed, shaking her head and turning to walk away to grab something. "Every day, more and more proof shows up that you have a death wish."
Izuku just lied back down and faced away from her, not wanting to have to stare at another person just yet.
'…Maybe it would be better to talk to the girls after the exam.' He thought to himself, gritting his teeth in irritation that he had to consider it.
He couldn't ask them now after school now though.
'Maybe we'll all be in a better headspace anyways…'
Bakugou flashed through his mind.
….Children laughing rang out inside his head.
'DO IT, DEKU!'
Izuku flinched, trying to ignore the sting in his eyes as the truth final dawned on him.
The next week was not going to be normal.
It was going to be hell.
