3 Chapter 3
It had been a week since Izuku had been to Dagobah. He spent Sunday training his [Heavy Swing] and [Blunt Weapons Mastery] until both were level 3. This allowed him to do some heavy damage to the junk on the beach, but he knew if he were in a real fight, he couldn't rely on the power of his hits to save his skin. He'd get winded too easily and would be open for attack.
The rest of the week had gone relatively well. He had gotten beaten by Bakugo on the way to school Monday, but honestly, after a while, it didn't hurt that badly. He was sure it was due to his new skill which had levelled up 4 times in the process.
[Physical Resistance (Level 4): Your ability to cope with physical trauma such as punches and kicks. 2% for every level. Currently +8% to physical resistance!]
It was Saturday again finally and that meant another strenuous weekend of grinding out skills. Well, the few skills he had so far.
He'd also decided that at this point, he should begin training his body. If he wanted to get into UA, he needed all the additional benefits he could muster. The other entrants would've had years developing their quirks and readying their bodies for the future but Izuku hadn't. A healthy body would be a start. So, he'd need to begin working out. A lot.
The plan was that every afternoon, after school, he'd head straight to Dagobah beach. There, he'd complete an hour worth of activities on a rotating schedule to work out all the muscles in his body instead of just a few. He'd spent the last week researching and documenting the best fitness plans and decided he'd rather remain lean and mean than buffed and roided out. That'd slow him down, and there's no chance he'd be able to deal with a loss of speed. That was currently his greatest asset, at least in his running away from Bakugo.
To combat his lack of stamina and aid in the ability to increase his workout lengths, the teen had decided to purchase his first real quirk, [Assistive Breathing]. He hadn't purchased it yet, instead of waiting for the weekend when he could better weigh his options.
He opened the quirk menu and noticed it was only 10 QP. For that price, it had a myriad of benefits. When he had clicked on the quirk, it'd brought up a small box detailing and explaining the modifications it would provide his body.
[Assistive Breathing: Your body produces excess haemoglobin. This excess means that you have more oxygen fed into each part of your body, and in larger number. Mitochondric reactions thus increase also. Your stamina will practically double. For every level of this quirk advanced, your body will produce more haemoglobin than before and you'll consume less energy when completing strenuous activities.]
"That's gonna be extremely helpful."
He gulped in a large amount of air.
"It's nothing powerful, sure, but it's the first edge I have over others," he smirked. "I should be able to work harder with it and It'll increase my gains exponentially. Even if nobody knows, I need to make this power my own."
With that, it was decided. When he pressed [Purchase], his body instantly transformed. It felt like his veins were on fire, a thousand white-hot knives slicing away at his DNA, afterward being forcibly reformed. A minute passed and finally, the pain ceased. The youth was left a slobbering mess on the floor. He groaned.
"Damn it. That hurt like hell."
He breathed out several times then stood shakily, opening his status menu.
[Status Screen]
[Name: Izuku Midoriya, Age: 15]
[Title(s): The Grand Gamer]
[Level 2: 0/200 XP]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 3]
[Dexterity: 4]
[Vitality: 3]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Wisdom: 7]
[Points available: 5]
[Quirks]
[Assistive Breathing]
"There it is... Assistive breathing." he smiled.
"Oh, and I have some unused points. Guess I should use those on something eventually."
He paused.
"It's probably better to save them for now, actually. I can gain points by training first but I don't know how long that'll last..."
The teen sauntered out of his room and out the front door whilst his mother slept comfortably, laid upon her satin sheets like a large panda. He left her a note so she'd know where he was, otherwise she'd be worried and would constantly call him. She could get a tad overprotective and a little incessant but that was in her nature and Izuku loved her for it.
He'd have to guess that if she was a hero, she'd likely be All-Might's female version, Mom-Might! Sworn protector of the innocent. They'd never be hurt, only because she'd never let them go outside in the first place. He smirked at this and made his way to the bus.
***
After carrying countless tires, Izuku moved onto throwing girders into their respective pile. This helped work his upper body, shoulders, and back. Within minutes his muscles felt tense and sore like they had been locked in place and superheated.
He moved towards an old bench he'd laid out previously. It was rusting slightly and its paint was chipped in some places, fading in others but was in otherwise good condition. Izuku placed a towel on the steel surface providing him a soft resting place to lie down. He'd dug two large poles into the ground, their tops chipped away providing the perfect indent for another metal bar to rest horizontally. Loosely fitted to the bar was a pair of steel rims, one on either side. With a little elbow grease, the intuitive setup now worked as a makeshift bench-press.
He applauded himself satisfactorily. It was a pretty good turnout.
He started completing multiple sets of military presses, the cold metal of the bar pressing into his hands. He continued like this for a while until his pectorals and triceps were on fire. When he couldn't take the pain anymore, he decided to proceed to the next exercise.
"What was it again?"
Out of seemingly nowhere, the teen pulled out a wrinkled note. It was full of scribbled handwriting and crudely drawn figures engaged in different exercises.
"Ah, here it is... Rows" he sat up, sweat pooling on his forehead "then lunges, bicep curls a 10-kilometer jog."
He breathed out forcefully than in again filling his lungs to their max.
"The hell was I thinking?"
His feet began to move.
"Looks like I've got my work cut out here..."
**
The sand seemed cold under his feet. It wormed its way into all the little crevices of his shoes, down the hem of his socks, and into the small gaps between his toes. Izuku cringed at the feeling shaking his shoes vehemently as he finished up his run. His clothes were damp with sweat and he felt like he was going to throw up.
He'd managed to do it though. 10 kilometres. Provided, he'd walked a little of it and almost completely collapsed 5 kilometres in, but that didn't need to be mentioned.
[For straining your body, you've gained +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Vitality.]
The teen smiled in apparent happiness and glee. His efforts hadn't been put to waste for the last however long. The sweat, the pain, the strain. This was the result. Izuku was a little over-enthusiastic but he swore he could feel muscles forming already!
A screen popped up before his eyes and made a loud 'Ding', scaring him out of his thoughts. He jumped in fright and landed on his ass in a pile of freshly washed up seaweed.
"God damn it."
[Quest: Buff Boy]
[Description: Look at you, handsome man. You've discovered that having a healthy body is important in surviving in this world. How about a little more muscle, though? Gain +5 Strength by the end of the month. Maybe then you'll be ready for a proper relationship!]
[Reward: 1000 XP, Pair of training weights, + Relationship with Females]
[Failure: You're a bum.]
[Accept] [Deny]
"Another quest! Finally! Oh, and that reward..." he salivated at the thought of a 1000 XP but froze soon after when re-reading the quest's description.
"I'm just going to ignore the fact that you've basically called me lanky, System."
[Well, you are right now. You can't blame me. You literally have no muscle. You're basically all bone and baby fat.]
Izuku sighed and began walking towards the bus stop his arms hanging limply at his sides.
[You do realize it's almost 7:00 PM, right?]
The teen flipped his head up and stared at the sky.
"Huh." He coughed loudly. "When did that happen?"
[Possibly when you were so focused on trying to lift those weights. You know, when you kept whimpering each time you hit your head on the bar.]
"That never happened!"
[Yes it did! You can't lie to me. I saw it with my own eyes.]
"You don't even have eyes."
He ignored the annoying voices response.
"I'm just gonna walk home. Probably best not to stink out the bus."
***
"System, what exactly are you?"
[...]
"Oh come on. Look, I'm sorry for ignoring you before. Is that what you wanted?"
[Yes.]
The boy shook his head.
"I'll ask again then. What exactly are you?"
[Huh, that's an exceptionally odd question. What do you mean?]
"An odd question, huh?" He snickered. "Says you, the disembodied voice in my head."
[You're going to start this again?]
Izuku scoffed.
"I just mean, what are you? You never really told me. Are you my quirk? Are you ingrained in my DNA? Are you the spirit of an elderly man who died and has decided to haunt a teenager? Because if you are-"
The teen was cut off by what felt like a mental lash to the face.
[What in Gaia's name are you talking about, Izuku? I'm not some random old man. I'm System! It's that simple. Is it that hard for you to recognize?]
With a hand on his head, Izuku thought for a second. He pondered the existence of System but eventually gave up when his head began to pound. He decided it was better to stop thinking as he didn't want his extremity to explode in a fountain of blood and brain juice.
"I-I suppose so. I'm just not used to being effectively possessed."
[I'm not possessing you. I told you, I'm a gift of Gaia.]
The male voice was scratchy but somehow sounded tired. Izuku wondered how this was possible when System was basically an AI.
[You know what? Just think of me as a quirk.]
[I'm your quirk, ok? You know there are other kids that have like... weird voices in their heads as well. You're not the only one.]
"I know that, but most of those kids either have a mental illness or some cool sentient quirk that gives life to an object or a body or like a shadow demon or something. You're just... You."
[I'll have you know that I can be cool as well! I'm like the best big brother in the world!]
"Mhm, old man."
The teen smirked then began laughing loudly. He really was an old man. He kept calling Izuku boy. He never swore. And now, he was trying to tell Izuku how 'cool' he was. He sounded like a father trying to hip with the kids!
[He-]
Before System could respond an ear-shattering scream rang out from an alleyway nearby ringing in Izuku's ears. It was so loud, so extremely powerful that he thought it would shatter the glass around him in seconds. It continued to ring out then echoed off the walls of the nearby brick buildings and dispersed.
"I need to find that person... They could be in danger!"
[First of all, try talking in your head. You don't want a random on the street to think you're crazy, no? And be careful kid, it could be an extremely dangerous armed thug or a setup and right now you'd struggle with even beating a basic quirk user in combat. You're not ready. Talk about a hero complex...]
'I'll figure something out!' he shouted violently in his mind.
**
The boy rounded a corner with haste, feet impacting on the concrete beneath him. He readied the metal pipe, freshly pulled from his inventory and held it beside him hands gripped tightly around it.
When he finally stopped running, he saw a scene that was a scene straight out of a crime novel. A lady stood pushed against the alley wall, her hands raised in the worldwide sign of
She was tall; At least 6 ft. and a fair bit taller than Izuku at his current height. Her blonde hair fell to her shoulders in slightly curled bangs. She also had quite the bust, to say the least. Her hands were also raised in the universal symbol of surrender.
To her front, bent on the ground, was a short man. He wore a black shirt and balaclava was digging through the woman's purse with speed, throwing out anything that wasn't of value and stuffing that of what was into a small burlap sack.
To his left was a taller, well-built gentleman equipped with a ski mask and short steel knife that was holstered on his waist. He kicked his partner lightly in the side.
"Mike, what's taking you so fucking long, dude? We haven't got much time!"
"Just calm down, Stevo. There's a lot of good shit here. Phone, wallet with quite a bit of cash, some jewelry even! It's the fuckin' jackpot for low-lives like us!"
The woman clicked her tongue in anger.
"At least you two scum know what you are!"
The man standing turned to the woman and slapped her.
"Fuck up, blondie. We weren't asking for your input. Now hurry the fuck up Mike, the coppers are probably roaming around the area, not to mention those fuckin' heroes."
"W-What's going on here?"
Izuku tried to sound as confident as possible but ended up faltering. After all, he'd never actually faced a villain before, let alone one with a weapon that could potentially kill him.
This man turned towards Izuku in confusion and immediately withdrew his weapon.
"Who the fuck are you, kid? Why are you interrupting the adults?"
"I'm just a citizen who's concerned o-over the lives of another! Y-You two seem to b-be committing a crime!"
The man put away his knife and laughed lightly which shortly turned into an uproar of wheezing and snorting.
"Look, kid, we're criminals. This is what we do. If you run along now and just leave without saying anything, we don't have to do anything. I'll even give you some of the ladies' money to go buy a lollipop or some shit."
He grinned and held out a 1000 yen note.
"That's all we can offer. Now off you go."
The green haired teen stepped back.
"I don't want the m-money. I w-want you to l-let the lady go!"
The thug stepped towards Izuku but was stopped by the shout of the blonde.
"Don't even think about touching that boy!"
"I don't think you realize, sweetheart," he growled and turned to her. "But you're in no position to demand anything."
Izuku stood stunned. The lady was standing up for him even though he was the one who had come to save her. Whilst the man was turned around, Izuku palmed his pipe and readied himself.
"You know, Blondie, you're kinda rocking in all the right places." He smirked and helped his buddy of the floor. "Not to mention, we're in an alley. No one would hear you, so long as that kid was taken care of, of course. What do you think, Mike?"
"I think your right, Stevo."
The woman spat on the ground in response which angered the two men.
"Oh, that's fuckin' it."
He was about to slap her again but heard the same voice of the timid green haired scoundrel who to his dismay, was still standing there.
"Thought you would've tried to book it by now, kid. Guess you're dumber than you look!"
He once again pulled out his serrated blade and turned to the kid.
"Mike, take care of the woman. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."
Mike smirked and pulled out his own small knife from his pocket.
"No problem, Stevo. Kill em'!"
The taller criminal swaggered towards Izuku, tapping the hardened steel of his soon to be murder weapon on his free hand.
"You know what I can't stand, kid? The fuckin' hero type! Walkin' 'round like they're gonna save the lives of every person they find." He roared. "They can't do shit, those do-gooders. Fuckin' hate them!"
He paused for a second and stared at Izuku, eyes digging deeply into the boys own.
"Bet your one of those types, ey'?" He smirked. "You're fuckin' dead!"
He charged at the expectant teen and swung his blade with hate in his eyes. The blade scraped against the soft flesh of Izuku's arm but didn't sink in.
"You fuckin' shit! You're gonna bleed bad. Gonna' be shoutin' for one of those fuckin' heroes soon! Well, fuck you! They ain't gonna save you!"
'Fuck... I don't know how I'm gonna hit him.'
[You're going to have to feint him or annoy him somehow, then whilst he's open you can attack. He doesn't know you have the pipe since you've hidden it in your inventory. You can equip it with a mental command. Try hitting his leg to disable his movement.]
'Guess that's the best way. T-Thanks, System.'
[Don't thank me yet.]
'Good. Point.'
"H-Hey douchebag. Bet you only use a big knife 'cause y-you've got a small dick!"
The man stopped his next attempted attack and stood their stunned. Before he could process what Izuku said, the teen charged. He sprinted forward and materialized his trusty pipe. With all his strength, he swung it at the man's leg. It collided and he heard a sickening crack followed by an excruciating scream of pain.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! YOU FUCKIN' SHIT! YOU BROKE MY KNEECAP! FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUU!"
Izuku stepped back swiftly and the man fell onto his side, body thumping against the concrete as he continued to scream in pain holding his injured leg.
"FUCK! FUCK! MIKE! FUCKING KILL HIM! NOW!"
The teen continued to back away. Now that the taller man was grovelling on the ground, he felt a little more confident that he could take on his smaller, stockier henchmen.
"Shit Steve. I'm going!" He pushed the woman next to him to the ground. She fell to her knees but remained silent, only slightly smiling. She knew the boy would be alright since he'd managed to fell the evidently faster and stronger of the two. There was no chance that the other would pose a threat. She was wrong.
[Quest: Damsel in Distress]
[Description: Oh my goodness! It seems like there's a lady in need of saving. What will you do hero? Defeat the two thugs and the save the woman, of course!]
[Reward: 1500 XP, Random Item, + Relationship with [Unknown] ]
[Failure: Death. You're still a bum.]
[Accept] [Deny]
'Not right now System! God damn it! Fine! Accept!'
[Don't blame me. It was automatically generated due to the circumstances. Another power of the System. Well, me.]
Mike screeched out in rage and bolted towards the boy ready to slice him to pieces. However, instead of attempting the same move as his companion, the thug threw the blade directly at Izuku. It whistled through the air and hit him directly in the side.
The boy gritted his teeth and attempted the same tactic as before. He hoped the man would be as explosive. He pulled out the knife in his, his skin stitching up before the thugs very eyes.
"T-That's a-all you got? Weak! Even my G-Grandma could kick your ass."
Unfortunately, the man wasn't as swayed by the teen's attempt to taunt him and instead he laughed.
"You're a freak... Some kinda' regeneration quirk, huh? That won't save you. Steve was stupid but I'm not. I'm gonna kill you, then I'm gonna have some fun with the lady behind me. Aint' that right, beautiful?"
The woman looked on in shock and guilt. She pondered why she continued to sit there, doing nothing. She was letting an innocent boy be hurt by the likes of a criminal. He was younger than her. He had his whole life ahead of him! It should be her taking the beating, not him!
She stood on her feet shakily whilst 'Mike' was busy taunting the boy.
"Hey, dickhead!" She screamed passionately. "Screw you and your dumbass of a friend. Well actually, I can't."
She smirked.
"How exactly are we meant to have fun when your dick bruised and battered?"
She swung her foot in an arc. It seemed to blur and was about to make a deep indent on Mike's genitalia but was blocked by the hand of gritting Steve who had managed to clamber over to his acquaintance
"F-u-c-k you."
"That's not very nice."
The blonde bent her leg inwards then proceeded to violently shake it. The air around her leg blurred once again as the taller Thug attempted to hold on. After only a few seconds, he was thrown off and impacted a nearby wall, blood dribbling down his face.
"Didn't know you two were into playing it rough. If you're really into that, I have a friend who specializes in that area."
She winked seductively and motioned for Mike to come.
The man obviously couldn't take it any longer. His face a deep scarlet and his skin wrinkled and the pressure he was exerting. Whilst he could stave off the words of the teenager previously, he wasn't able to hide his anger when he was picked on by the very woman that he had subdued. She was meant to be their play-thing. How dare she speak up!?
The angered assailant sprinted towards the woman and threw a punch directly at her head. Before it could impact, his hand was met with the resistance of a cold metal bar and was stopped in its tracks. The man felt the bones in his fingers grind against each other as he pulled his fist back.
"Damn it! You little shit! When the hell did you get there!?"
"Just now."
Izuku planted a hard kick to the man's chest then followed with an uppercut using the bent end of his pipe. It struck the man's chin but only seemed to sink into his skin before rebounding.
The man laughed at his attempt and waltzed back.
"You think that's going to do something to me? I'll tell you something, boy. Before you and that dumb broad die, you should know why you failed. My quirk is airbag. My skin acts as a protective barrier against blunt force attacks and stops my internal body from being injured."
He grinned evilly and motioned to his exposed body.
"It's several layers thick but still as malleable as normal. I'm basically a moving tank. Anytime you hit me, it'll only bounce off or be absorbed. That's the difference between us! You're both weak and I'm strong! Nothing you do will damage me!"
'How am I meant to combat this? I'm limited to hitting him with blunt objects. I don't have anything that can do real damage and that lady seems to be limited to physical attacks as well.'
"What? Are you suddenly scared? Not gonna say anything?"
Izuku turned to the woman and whispered in her ear.
"U-Uh, M'am, is it possible that you could just keep him busy for a minute? I-I've got an idea..."
She smiled at the boys' politeness. Even in a situation like this, he seemed so innocent. Even after she had seen him so aggressively shatter a man's kneecap.
"Yeah, no problem kid. Do what you gotta do."
The thug and the woman charged each other, fists meeting in mid-air. The attack threw her back but also the man. They then charged again. This continued whilst Izuku was busy attempting something new.
'System, you said I have HP and MP bars, right?'
[Right. Why?]
'How do I bring them up?'
[Just think 'Status bars' and they'll appear.]
'Status bars!'
[Izuku Midoriya]
[HP 90/150]
[MP 100/100]
'That seems like an awfully small amount of MP... and my HP's really down. Shit! Wait a minute!'
He opened his inventory and scoffed down two pieces of bread and a small cheese wheel.
'Power eating!'
[Bread Roll: +20 HP x2, +20 MP x 2]
[Small Cheese Wheel: +10 HP, +10MP]
'Hell yeah! That worked flawlessly!'
He smiled gratefully at his newfound power and laughed inwardly at how much it reminded him of Skyrim, one of his favourite new generation games. '
'Now for that plan. System, how do I use mana?'
[That's easy. Feel for the power in your body and draw it out. Then do some cool shit with it.]
The boy faltered for a second at the bluntness of the voices statement.
'U-Uh ok. Thanks...'
Izuku sat cross-legged and attempted to meditate. It was tough due to the constant shouting of the two adults who were currently duelling, but after 30 seconds of letting his mind blank, he stopped. He felt a warm pool of what felt like a liquid within his core and drew on it.
When he opened his eyes, there was a swarm of green energy spinning rapidly in his hand. The teen grinned and subconsciously formed the mass of power into a bolt.
'I did it! But a bolt is kinda lame...'
[Skill Created: Mana Manipulation]
[Mana Manipulation (Level 1): Bit of wizard, are you? Using your internal pool of mana, you can create constructs of power to be used in defense or attack. It can even be used to augment items! Damage depends on Intelligence and perks. +10 Mana Points for every level as your pool expands from overuse and +5% damage to mana based attacks!]
"M-Miss, let's switch up! I'm ready!"
The blonde turned back and flipped out of the way of her enemies' attack, landing on her feet perfectly.
"He's all yours, kiddo."
Midoriya ran towards Mike and sprung off the ground. Whilst mid-air, he swung his pipe inwardly towards the man's head. Knowing he wouldn't take any damage, Mike stood still. The boy mentally observed the man before he hit.
[Common Thug]
[Name: Mike]
[Age: 35]
[Level: 12]
[HP: 400/500]
"Concussive heavy swing!"
The pipe that Izuku held suddenly glowed a bright blue. It impacted with a thud and knocked the man back several feet. When he had stopped tumbling, Mike groaned and felt a pain forming in his head.
[Critical area hit! x3 Damage!]
[Damage: 225]
[HP: 175/500]
[Status Added: Confused]
[Status Added: Concussed]
"H-How did you damage me? You hit me with a blunt weapon. It shouldn't have done anything..."
The man's words were heavily slurred.
"That's where you're wrong."
Izuku felt his confidence rise.
"Just because 'Airbag' stops the blunt force, doesn't mean it protects from concussive force."
[I may be an all-knowing System, but even I don't understand what that means, Izuku.]
'I concentrated mana into a single point and turned made sure it was weak but incredibly unstable. When it impacted his chin, it was set off, like a landmine. The physical damage was nullified, but the light produced by the small explosion and the sound wasn't. For all intents and purposes, it was a flashbang.'
[I... I don't even know what to say. You came up with that in a single minute?]
Izuku blushed slightly at the praise and stuttered, even in his thoughts.
'I-I-It was really simple... Just a little bit of science and...'
[S-Scary...]
Whilst System was busy chattering in fear over Izuku's genius, the teen watched his opponent. The man tried to clamber to his feet but the pain was too overbearing. He passed out and flopped to the ground like a fish out of water. The woman, now standing next to Izuku, smacked him on the back.
[Enemy has out due to status conditions]
"You did well, kid. That was a hell of a fight."
Izuku turned to her stuttered his words. He had been in the presence of a woman before, let alone been praised by one.
"A-Ah, t-t-thank you! I-it was nothing though..."
"It was something, though. You literally saved my life. I could've been killed or taken advantage of. I can't thank you enough."
She bent down and collected her drop purse and items. The teen couldn't help but stare at her.
[Something caught your eye, hey, you horny beast?]
'S-Shut up, System.'
"U-Uh. Really? You seem like y-you had it under control, Miss."
She turned to him.
"Don't call me 'Miss.' I'm not that old." She giggled. "And I'm not even married, even though I should be by now."
She flicked her bangs out of her eyes.
"My name is Yu Takeyama. A pleasure to meet you~"
"O-Oh likewise!"
[You dolt, you haven't even told her your name!]
"I will!"
Yu looked on in confusion at the boys' outburst. Izuku rubbed his head sheepishly in response.
"I mean, I will tell you my name! I-It's Izuku Midoriya."
The taller woman stared and the boy then pounced him. Once she had a hold of him, she rubbed his green curls and pinched his cheeks.
"So. God. Damn. Cute! God, why have you hidden something like this from me for so long!"
Izuku blushed and started muttering under his breath while the woman continued to fondle his hair in fascination.
"M-M-Mi-"
"Not Miss, Izuku. Yu! Big sister Yu!"
"O-Oh, ummmm... B-Big sister Yu... W-What do we do about the criminals?"
The woman looked back at the fallen victims of the adorable youth. She pulled out her phone, snapped a picture of them, then of Izuku and her hugging.
"Selfie. For memories, of course."
The boy nodded.
"As for those criminals, I'll call the police now. You just sit tight and wait for a little. We'll have it all figured out soon, 'kay cutie? ~"
The boy nodded again, not knowing what to say.
Yu walked away, dialling 911 quickly whilst Izuku was left to think over the past twenty minutes.
[Mission completed! Damsel in Distress.]
[Reward: 1500 XP, Random Item (Find in Inventory), + Relationship with Yu Takeyama!]
Izuku waved away the menu and felt his adrenaline disappearing. Somehow the day had turned from training into a battle to save both his own life and the life of an innocent. He felt it well up inside him. The pride and happiness of saving a life. He was a hero. He'd saved a life. It felt... good.
He couldn't get any more emotional or he'd start crying. He realized shortly after this though, that even if he felt pride, he also felt regret. The power that had flowed through his body was like a drug.
It had him on a high, and he had completely forgotten that his enemies were human. When he heard the sickening crunch of the man's leg bones, he had been blown out of this stupor. Somewhere deep down inside of him, he felt pleasure in injuring those who had done harm to others, but he had also felt a massively overwhelming feeling of guilt and sickness. He knew it had to be done. He knew he shouldn't feel remorse, but he did. Well, actually, he didn't know how to feel at all.
[Congratulations, Izuku Midoriya. You have reached level 5! +15 attribute points. +30 QP]
Izuku gasped softly. He had forgotten just how many rewards the quest would give him. Immediately he threw away his previous train of logic and focused on the message.
Level 5 was still small. The weak quirk user, 'Mike', was level 12 already, and he was a low-scale threat and villain. Practically street scum. He'd likely be nothing compared to a real villain. That worried Izuku slightly but the teen was still happy. Level 5 meant he was getting stronger overall. Eventually, he'd be able to stand side to side with the other heroes of his generation.
Yu was still on the phone, so Midoriya took the chance to quickly open his inventory. Inside, there was a slot filled with what looked like a box. When clicked on, it displayed an information panel.
[Random Item Box. Quality: Common.]
[This box contains random items generated oh so graciously by the System. The items are pulled from a pool. The pool includes weapons, items, etc from games, anime, books, manga, and comics. Therefore, you have a chance of receiving some legendary weapon! Though the chances are incredibly, incredibly low. Like, struck by lightning low. Like, eaten by a shark riding a meteor low. You get it.]
'So cool' the teen yelled to no-one in particular.
He immediately thought of opening the box and another screen appeared.
[What category would you like to open?]
[Weapon]
[Armor]
[Powerups]
[Misc]
The teen selected weapons and suddenly, there was a strange noise. Izuku saw a large wheel appear before him.
[It's time to spin the wheel! Give it all you've got, champ!]
[Spin!]
Izuku pressed on it, and the wheel began to move. It was slow at first but grew faster eventually becoming less and less distinct.
The teen willed the wheel to stop and suddenly, it slowed again, finally landing on an object that had been blacked out.
[Congratulations! You've received a pair of blade resistant steel gloves from Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism!]
The gloves appeared in Izuku's inventory, and he immediately observed them.
[Blade Resistant Steel Gloves: A pair of gloves reinforced with steel. First worn by Nomura Fudou. Able to protect the wearers' hands from bladed attacks and physical strain. Also, doubles as an offensive weapon if the wearer is in a brawl or practices martial arts.]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Base Damage: 100]
[Perks: +20 HP, -50% damage from bladed attacks within a certain threshold.]
The teen smiled. These seemed pretty amazing, especially with that increase in health and that defense from bladed attacks. Would've helped if he had them earlier though. He equipped them instantaneously. They fit perfectly. The boy wondered whether learning martial arts to make full use of them would be a good idea. At least then, he'd be able to protect himself against jerks using a knife.
'Knife... Say, System, I got hit by that guy's dagger and was stabbed by another, and yet was able to pull it out with no damage to my body.'
He felt the area where the knife had impacted. There was no wound, only slightly dried and crusty blood. There wasn't any pain either. It was... strange.
[That's because of... Drum roll please!]
'Just say it, please.'
[Nope. You cut me off. You have to find out yourself now. I've decided not to help you. Go look in skills.]
The boy sighed and opened his skill menu. Apart from Mana manipulation, he couldn't see anything new. That was until he re-read the menu.
[Gamers Body (Level N/A): Your body is that of a game character. You don't take any real damage. If you are hurt, you'll lose HP but won't be physically hurt. If you lose all your HP, you'll still die. No respawns. You aren't that over-powered.]
'That's overpowered!'
[Eh, not really. Sure, you don't take actual damage, but you can still be killed easily. You aren't a God. People keep stabbing you and you lose all that HP. Simple as that. Don't get cocky. That'll be your end.]
'I know, I know. I understand I'm not invincible. Thanks for the reality check though, System.'
[No problem Kiddo.]
'Kiddo? You ARE old!'
[N-No! I meant fellow teen!]
'Sure you did.'
**
The blare of sirens echoed throughout the alleyway as two police cars arrived on the scene. Their flashing lights bathed the area in a deep red and blue glow. Many officers in blue stepped out, guns trained on the villains.
"Scoundrels. Absolute scoundrels. Seriously. Trying to kill a child and such a beautiful woman."
From behind the rest of the police stepped a rather tall man. Far taller than both Yu and Izuku. He wore a brown trench coat with suit and tie barely visible underneath, a bowler hat that matched his coat and a pair of white gloves. His hair was cut short and his face was rather plain, holding a simple look of dismay.
"Get 'em boys."
He motioned towards the two knocked out criminals then whispered to the officer next to him.
"I've always wanted to say that."
The two knocked out criminals were woken and cuffed then forcibly escorted to the back of the cars and roughly shoved inside. When they were seated and the doors shut, the arresting officer walked over to Izuku and Yu who were watching in fascination and morbid pleasure. He introduced himself as Naomasa Tsukauchi.
"So, Miss Takeyama here says you took down the criminals on your own."
Izuku looked down in shame but still maintained his composure. He knew the reason why he was asking. Those who used their quirks in public or for 'vigilante' purposes, were subject to consequences including fines and possibly even jail time.
"I-I did. She was in great danger you see and-"
The man took off his fedora and held pinched his brow, attempting to massage out a newly formed headache.
"Look, Izuku. You sound like a good kid. I'm sure you understood that Miss Takeyama here was in great danger. And I'm sure you didn't mean to use your quirk in public. And I'm sure you only protected her because-"
"Because my legs just started moving. I couldn't help it!"
The man smiled grimly.
"I know someone just like that. He's an absolute idiot. This is only your first offense of vigilantism and quirk usage so we're going to be lenient. You'll only receive a 'slap on the wrist' as they call it. That's already been done. We'll leave it at that."
He turned to Yu and stared her down.
"Now, Miss Takeyama. You have a pro-hero license, correct? Why exactly didn't you defend yourself? Why did you let the boy here risk his life?"
Yu returned the stare ferociously. It was a matchup between two ferocious beasts, and neither would let up without their side winning.
"Well, Mr. Tsukauchi, I'm sure if you looked at my hero ID, you'd notice my quirk was gigantification. Surely, I could not use that in the street otherwise I'd risk damaging the buildings and potentially endangering the lives of their occupants."
"I understand that but you're saying that a hero doesn't know some sort of self-defence? Some martial arts maybe?"
"I'm not even a pro-hero yet. I haven't had my debut. And I'm not fully registered with the hero association. Not to mention, my attacks didn't do anything to that other man. 'Mike' I think it was. His quirk was airbag. It basically nullified the damage of my attacks. I was only able to match him in a stalemate."
The man grimaced then accepted that she wouldn't back down and walked away.
"Ugh... These new heroes. Always 'I did this-"
His voice trailed off. Yu's smile returned and she grappled Izuku who was slowly walking away.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The teen squeaked and hunched his shoulders.
"I'm g-going home Miss Takeyama... Also, I didn't know you were a hero..."
She let go and looked at him with a soft smile.
"Remember, not Miss, it's Big Sister Yu, ok?" She patted his head. "And yes. Well, I'm a hero in training now. Even though I left UA a while ago now, I still have to fix certain areas like my combat. Then I must work with a larger hero for at least 6 months before I can have my debut and go solo, as I mentioned."
He looked at her, a sense of awe now prevalent in his voice.
"B-Big sis Yu..." He flushed a light pink. "You're really awesome. I want to be like you. Like All-Might. A hero. I want to attend UA!"
She gently patted his head.
"I'm sure you'll be a great hero, Izu." She gently patted his head.
"Are you sure?" He gulped. "Well, the problem is, my quirk is really weak. I didn't even have one up until only a couple days ago."
Yu felt a tingle and the emergence of goosebumps all over her body but was mostly focused on the boy trembling under her hands.
"Wait then how did you-"
"I've trained it as much as I could." He motioned to himself and patted his body. "That's how. I've tried to catch up with the rest of my generation but it takes up a lot of time and effort."
"You don't have to say anymore, Izuku. You barely know me after all..."
"I just... feel like I can trust you."
He smiled drearily, his shaking growing more violent all the while.
"We did just bond over a life and death situation, no? That tends to bring people a little closer than normal."
"I've never told anyone... And you're the first to know about my quirk. I tried to save you. T-Tried to be a hero. In the end, I barely did anything. That's not the worst thing. I understand heroes must do what they do for a reason. I love heroes. But now..."
"I won. I won the battle, but at what cost? I... I could've been a killer. There was even a part of me t-that enjoyed it."
His nails dug into his skin and his knuckles turned white from the pressure he was exerting.
"Miss Takeyama. No, Big sis Yu, I... I don't know what to do..."
Tears began rolling down his cheeks. They gently dropped to the floor, landing softly with a small thud.
"And y-you were almost... You were a-almost... How can I be a hero when you were almost..."
He trailed off.
The woman stood in stunned silence then immediately pulled the boy into a warm hug, wrapping her arms around him protectively.
"Izuku. Don't you dare blame yourself, ok?"
She wiped the tears from his eyes with her free hand and gently ran her other hand through his locks.
"I've only just met you but you've brought me such happiness. You saved my LIFE, Izuku. My life. If you hadn't done what you did, I could have very well have ended up..."
She coughed.
"Never mind that. Look, my gratitude is forever with you but that's not what matters right now, is it?"
The boy shook his head slowly, still sniffling.
"Those men. They were bad people. Really, really bad people, Izuku. They were monsters. What you did was completely within your jurisdiction. You want to a hero, right?"
He nodded.
"Then you shouldn't feel too bad about, ok? You weren't going out of your way to torture them or to be malicious. Treat it as a learning experience for the future. Just be softer next time. Let this lesson weave its way into your heart. Remember this moment the next time you're fighting someone on the side of villainy. Remember this feeling. I promise you, you'll never go south."
[Look at you go. You're a monster. Seducing innocent women with your innocent looks when in truth you have a ravenous hunger.]
'Shu-Shut up, System."
The two stayed like this for several minutes before the boys' tears ran dry. He fell back from the hug and turned his face up towards Yu, eyes sparkling with renewed vigour.
"Thanks for that. I don't usually get so emotional."
"It's alright, Izuku. We all need to let it out sometimes. Hell, even I, a beautiful partial hero need to cry when I'm watching a soap opera, which I'm incredibly fond of, by the way."
[Noted down!]
'SYSTEM!'
[You'll thank me later when you're a little more mature.]
Yu's mouth twitched into a slight grin and she poked his chest.
"Now, shouldn't you be heading home, young man? Isn't it past your bedtime?"
"Oh, yeah, it is. I-I should probably go now."
"You have a phone or something?"
The boy pulled out his sleek looking smartphone.
"Y-Yeah I do. The latest Samsung. Why?"
"You're going to put my number in."
"I-I-I... A girls number... I must be dreaming."
"No, you certainly aren't, otherwise I couldn't do this."
She bent down slightly and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"That's a personal reward for my hero. ~"
The teen began sputtering and his face grew a candescent red. It was so bright that the officers remaining on scene swore they were staring directly into the sun. It took him several minutes to calm down.
"Ara~ You don't want my number after all, Izu?"
"N-No I do! I was just-"
"I was joking."
She patted his head and he pouted.
"It's 053-8255665. Put it in!"
She considered her wording.
"Well, you're a bit too young for that, Midoriya. Maybe when you're older."
"Huh?"
[She means doing the deed, Izuku. Come on. You're almost 16!]
Izuku's face exploded into red once again.
