Chapter 488 - 5

Midoriya Izuku was shaking.

Looking down at his charred notebook, marred by water and suckled on by koi fish, Izuku shuddered. Bakugo just told him to off himself and hope to get a quirk in the next life. He had gone too far this time. Too far, too much. Bullied for ten years, all because he was quirkless and Bakugou had a powerful quirk that was just as explosive as his personality.

The notebook floated there as Izuku stared at it. It was as though the thing mocked him, even if it was the one that got exploded on by Ka-

No, not Kaachan. Izuku wondered why the hell did he even care to still call him by that doting nickname when the blonde had been nothing but an asshole that lorded his superiority over everyone else. Not just Izuku, but every other kid in this thrice-damned middle school. They either followed him around like a retinue of cultists or slunk in the shadows. Either way, he was Aldera's star student.

Izuku knew well that he couldn't be a hero, not like this, not like how he was right now. Not only did he have no quirk like literally every hero in existence, but he had no skills and could be best described as a scrawny kid.

Well, it's not like he could help being scrawny when the other kids kept stealing his lunch. He always felt tired, too; of all the various conditions and syndromes he could have, he also had insomnia. It would be difficult to do anything that cost a lot of energy when he was just functioning enough to survive and not much else.

He'll still apply to UA. He'd probably fail the practical entrance exam with about zero points. He'd do well in the written. Maybe in the end he could get into general education, but he knew for a fact that he wouldn't be accepted into the hero course. But in the end, he would have tried. Then… he could do something else entirely afterward. Maybe he could work on being a police officer instead.

Izuku picked up the notebook, patting it to remove at least some of the water that had matted it. He was in the process of walking back home in his mother's apartment when his phone rang. It ringing was a rare occasion; aside from his mother and auntie Mitsuki (who still didn't know that her son liked to bully her best friend's son), not a lot of people ever bothered to text or call him. He imagined that his father Hisashi would be calling a lot... if he was still alive.

Well, he did have one bird-headed friend that he kept in touch with for years, even if he lived pretty far away. The usually aloof heteromorph had been a classmate long ago in kindergarten, up until they were six years old. Aside from Bakugou, Fumikage was the only other friend he had, though they had met only around five times in the last nine or so years. Fumikage's family moved all the way up to Hokkaido because his father, Tokoyami Raito, who worked in some kind of managerial position in the Hero Safety Public Commission, had a job promotion too good for him to pass up, and he attended a different school.

Just to his luck, Fumikage had left a message.

PrinceOfShadows: Greetings, Izuku. I will be visiting Musutafu tomorrow. May I visit your realm? Also, Dark Shadow says he misses you very much.

TheBroccoli: Yes, of course Fumikage! Feel free to drop by any time. We have a lot to catch up with. What do you want to do?

PrinceOfShadows: I have acquired a new grimoire of the occult. I wish to try it out with you.

TheBroccoli: What kind of spell is that?

PrinceOfShadows: A summoning spell. We will summon a demon into this world and CONSUME EVERY INSECT THAT STANDS IN OUR WAY!

Izuku actually snickered at that. The sudden change in mood meant that-

PrinceOfShadows: Apologies, Dark Shadow stole my phone for a moment there. But yes, we will be conducting a summoning ritual. Do you agree to this arrangement?

TheBroccoli: Yeah, of course! I'd love to hang out with you and Dark Shadow again.

PrinceOfShadows: And so it shall be.

TheBroccoli: Right, oh, and before I forget, why are you here in Musutafu? Is it because you're applying to UA?

PrinceOfShadows: Yes. I wish to be a hero. Though I seek to be an underground hero. I do not like too much attention.

TheBroccoli: That's great Fumikage! You and Dark Shadow will be excellent heroes one day!

PrinceOfShadows: Thank you Izuku. Also, Dark Shadow says that he loves and misses you very much and wants you to pet him when we meet. Alas, I must go, for my mother calls for me.

TheBroccoli: Okay, see you tomorrow!

Izuku closed his phone. Well, it was nice to know that two of his friends (the only two he had, really) wanted to be heroes. And they wanted to drop by. Fumikage and Dark Shadow will probably, no, they're sure to get accepted into the hero course. Izuku is happy for them, of course, but he couldn't help but be green with envy. He so wanted to be a hero like All Might, but the world just really hated him.

Another day passed. Izuku kept his head down, hoping that Bakugo would ignore him. Thankfully, he did just that; maybe he was being extra careful not to do anything that might mess up his chances to go to UA. The teachers by some miracle didn't call on him even once except to record attendance. It was as though the entire staff had come together to ignore Izuku on the last day of school, which, if it really happened, Izuku would have thanked them for it. The last thing he needed was to be noticed, again.

Quite honestly, he now wished that Bakugo would go on with his life and forget about him. Izuku will forget about him, too. Maybe he could move to another country so that the chances of them meeting again would dwindle to near zero. Perhaps he could go to New Zealand and herd sheep for the rest of his life. It would be peaceful.

Izuku came home to the scent of katsudon. Inko had been informed beforehand that Fumikage would be dropping in tonight, so she went into overdrive to cook a hearty dinner for her son and his friend(s). She had, in fact, cooked so much that Izuku feared that even Fumikage's doubled calorie requirements wouldn't keep up.

"Mom, it's just two friends that are coming over, you don't have to make so much," Izuku sauntered over to the kitchen and took an unwashed plate, bombarding it with water and soap.

"Oh, Izuku, you know that Tokoyami eats four times as much as someone else, right?" Inko laughed. "That quirk of his takes up a lot of energy, doesn't it?"

"Yes, but this…" Izuku scanned the three family-sized plates all filled with various types of food like katsudon and ramen. There was even a box of pizza that Inko ordered online. "It's like you cooked for his whole family…"

"Well," Inko put her hands on her hips and beamed at him. "If there are leftovers, then we'll just have those for the week."

"But it won't fit in the refrigerator…"

"I'll work my magic! Don't you worry about it, Izu dear!"

That would be when the doorbell to their apartment rang, indicating that Fumikage (and Dark Shadow) had arrived.

When Izuku opened the door, he was greeted by a most peculiar sight. Fumikage was holding at least two high-intensity flashlights in his hands, which he kept pointed at himself. Dark Shadow was tinier than Izuku remembered back then, wrapped around his host's neck like a scarf.

"Hello, Izuku, Auntie Inko," the raven-headed boy greeted. "May we come in?"

"Of course, dear!" Inko smiled and motioned to a seat on the dining table. "Any friend of my son is welcome here!"

"Izukkuuuuuuu…" Dark Shadow unwrapped himself from Funikage's neck, growing slightly larger as Fumikage put away his flashlights now that they were well under the apartment's lighting. "I missed yoooouuuu!"

"Missed you too Dark Shadow," Izuku chuckled as he petted the sentient quirk. Dark Shadow purred, almost like a cat but at a lower, distorted pitch. "Been a year, man."

"I would never forget a fellow compatriot in the darkness," Fumikage bowed.

"Oh, Fumi, can I eat too?" Dark Shadow asked.

The bird boy rolled his eyes. "Dark Shadow, you cannot eat."

"Yeah, you… literally can't," Izuku deadpanned. Dark Shadow pouted. Izuku didn't know how it was possible given that the sentient quirk was a shadow of Fumikage and thus a birdlike shadow and a bird can't pout. But Dark Shadow did so anyway, morphing his beak into a pout.

"When I eat, you are already eating as well," Fumikage added. "Now allow me to consume this banquet granted unto me by Izuku's mother in peace."

"You do that. Izuku! Pet me again."

Izuku could only indulge the sentient quirk. Though it was harder and slower to eat with just one hand. He would only be free to eat with both hands when Dark Shadow requested Inko to pet him, which the woman graciously granted.

"So… what's next?"

"We begin to chant."

Izuku was nervous. How, or why, was he nervous? This is just some fun with Fumikage's chosen mode of entertainment. Inko watched with a mix of amusement and curiosity; hell, Izuku could swear he could hear her barely containing a chuckle. He predicted that she would laugh when they actually started chanting. Because of course, watching two teenagers make a magic circle on the floor with some sand and candles was the definition of funny.

Either that or Dark Shadow would be the one laughing. Evidently, he was enjoying himself as he watched the two of them labor on the magic circle.

"Ready, Izuku?"

"Ready."

"On the count of three… two... one…"

"Wait!"

Fumikage, Inko, and Dark Shadow all looked at Izuku. "What is it?" The other boy asked.

"Is there any… intent or wish I should have in mind while we do this?"

Fumikage considered this for a moment. While he liked playing with occult things… it was not like he believed in it. Mostly. "Your deepest desire, I suppose."

"I desire to destroy all of my enemies!" Dark Shadow loudly proclaimed. Fumikage glared at his quirk, causing him to pout yet again. "I guess my greatest desire is to protect Fumi, then."

"Don't call me that."

"Fumi." Dark Shadow repeated in emphasis.

"Okay, then," Izuku interrupted the spat between master and quirk (or were they more like brothers, come to think of it?) "Let's do this."

And so the chanting began. Izuku wished to have power. He wished that someone could teach him. He wished that he can be a hero even without a quirk.

He still wanted to be a hero. And so he chanted with all his heart.

Somewhere else, in another world

Frieren was bored.

But again, when you're a nigh immortal, one thousand-year-old elf with perhaps the most extensive arsenal of magic spells in the entire world save for Serie and the Demon King (though the latter bastard was dead, courtesy to Frieren and friends), things just pass by for you. And, right now, you and your party are just going to be walking for a few miles and another bunch of miles after that without a single grimoire in sight. Fern and Stark were in disagreement, again. Apparently Stark had forgotten Fern's birthday… again, and didn't get her a gift before they left the previous town. So, Fern had been angrily pouting for the last three hours.

That would change when Frieren started glowing. She was glowing green, a pulse of color that just kept pulsing faster and faster at a steady rate.

"Mistress Frieren?" Fern questioned, summoning her staff. "What is happening to you?"

Frieren looked down without much of an expression. She was, however, intrigued. While it was a completely new spell to experience, she had read of the existence of something like this long, long ago. She didn't think that it would be used on her while she was walking around with Fern and Stark, though. "Oh. It's a summoning spell."

"Wh-what?!" Stark looked positively terrified. "You're being summoned?! Where? Who?! Why?! Mistress Frierenpleasedon'tleavemewithFernaloneI'msureshe'sgoingtokillmeifyou'renothere-"

"How interesting. I don't have a spell like this one," Frieren simply noted. Fern sighed, completely used to Frieren seemingly not caring when magic was being thrown at her, since she blocked quite literally anything anyone throws at her. But again, she was probably the third or fourth most powerful mage in the entire continent. There wasn't much that could faze her.

"Mistress Frieren…" Fern let out another sigh. "You're just going to let it take you, aren't you?"

"I want this spell," Frieren stated simply. "There are probably a lot of other interesting grimoires in the place that I'm being summoned to… it's another world, I think."

"Another world?"

"ANOTHER WORLD?!"

Frieren looked at her hand. The pulsing was easily going at a tenth of a second now. "I'll be back soon, Fern, Stark. I'm sensing that there's a space-time distortion component in the spell too… I could spend a hundred years there and return to you minutes after I go."

"Mistress Frieren," Fern shook her head. "Are you… sure?"

Frieren nodded. "Of course."

"What if you come back and we're already dead?!" Stark screamed. "Please don't leave us!"

"It will only be for a few minutes, Stark. Make up with Fern while I'm gone."

Now Fern was pouting again. Stark shuddered in fear at the sight.

"Okay, see you later," Frieren muttered, disappearing in a flash of green light.

Back in Musutafu…

"Yes! Yes! Pour your desire into the magic! MUAHAHAHAHA!"

Dark Shadow cackled as he watched Izuku and Fumikage chanted in Latin. Inko watched on with amusement, seeing the whole thing as little more than two, no, three friends having fun.

Then the circle started to glow.

Inko was the first to react. "Boys? The circle is glowing! It's not supposed to do that, is it?"

Dark Shadow was next. "Wow, so cool! You guys actually did it!"

Fumikage was next, opening one of his eyes as he and Izuku finished the last verse of the chant. "Oh… what. How…?"

Izuku was the last to be made aware of the glowing circle. He stared at the magic circle as it glimmered with emerald light, the nearby candles blown away by a wind that was never there.

What was even more amazing, however, was the fact that someone was standing in the circle. She was short, with white hair and pointed ears. She held an ornate staff in her hand, was clothed in a white tunic, and looked at everyone one by one with a blank expression. She was studying them, for sure.

"Uh… hello?" Izuku's voice trembled. She did come from the magic circle… and Fumikage said that it would summon a demon. Or was it Dark Shadow that texted that?

The short lady spoke in a language no one knew, but Izuku, Inko, Fumikage, and Dark Shadow understood her anyway, somehow. "Hello. You're the ones that summoned me?"

Izuku looked over at Inko. His poor mother was hiding behind the couch, mortified that the ritual that was supposedly just for fun actually worked. As for Fumikage, his beak was open, genuinely shocked that what he pegged as entertainment well-suited for his chuunibyou preferences was the real thing. As for Dark Shadow, the sentient quirk simply watched the short lady with a bit of wariness, as his instinct had gone from cheering to protecting Fumikage.

"Uh… yes, but we didn't think that it was an actual spell…" Izuku shuddered at the thought. Wait, if spells were real, and he and Fumikage just made one work, could it be possible that he learned magic? Could he use magic to be a hero?

And this elf lady… her whole getup just screamed "mage" all over.

"Ah. Children playing around with magic. I expected a Demon Lord trying to use a powerful pawn…" Frieren said, sounding slightly disappointed. "I would have some fun blowing up that kind of summoner…"

"Excuse me," Inko emerged from behind the couch. "Who are you?"

"I am Frieren, an elf mage," the elf lady answered.

Izuku narrowed his eyes. Frieren? That sounded German… now that he thought about it, it probably meant something like free… something.

"And you all are?" Frieren asked with a monotone voice.

"I'm Izuku Midoriya," Izuku began. "That's my mom, Inko Midoriya," he pointed at his mother, "And these two are my friends, Tokoyami Fumikage and Dark Shadow."

"You are friends with… a familiar?" Frieren suddenly had her interest piqued by Dark Shadow. She stepped out of the magic circle and looked at the living shadow, who stared back at her. Fumikage started sweating at the confrontation happening in front of him.

"I'm not a familiar," Dark Shadow grumbled. "I'm Fumi's first and greatest friend."

"He's my friend and quirk," Fumikage managed, still clearly mortified that one of his occult books was somehow the real deal. "Greetings… Frieren-san."

"Quirk…" Frieren repeated with that same monotone. "No matter. I'll learn about that later. Where is the grimoire with which you summoned me?"

"It's this one, Frieren-san," Izuku walked over to Frieren with said book in his hands. "Now, to be fair, we thought it was all just a fun game and-"

"A spell that can summon a creature across dimensions… most fascinating, I bet Serie or the Demon King don't have anything like this… if the latter had it the creature would have used it already…" Frieren ignored him completely. "Where did you get this?"

Izuku looked over to Fumikage. "From a bookstore?"

"You… you sell grimoires with such enormous power in a public market?" Frieren questioned. "How interesting. And probably irresponsible."

Izuku immediately protested. "Hey, it's not like it's ever worked before!"

"Could you lead me to this bookstore?" Frieren asked.

"...huh?"

"I wish to seek for more grimoires with spells," Frieren replied. "And this bookstore that you speak of has many of them, do they not?"

Izuku looked over to Fumikage. The other boy gulped. "I… I can lead you to the bookstore. Tomorrow, though. It's closed at this time."

Frieren studied them for a moment before shrugging. "Okay. I can wait."

Inko spoke again. "You're… going to wait here?"

"I suppose, if you're not going to force me to leave."

Oh. No, no, no. No way they're going to kick out the mage who probably has a lot of different spells she could throw out to destroy the place. Maybe she doesn't… but no one wants to take that chance. She got sent here from another world, for hell's sake! It was like a reverse-isekai, but it's the mundane world doing the magical summoning and intruding into the magical world! Well, as mundane as you can get when quirks are involved.

"Well, since it was you boys that brought her here…" Inko looked at Izuku and Fumikage. She decided that the elf mage was amicable enough. Besides, she wasn't about to let someone like that wander about without knowing a thing about how society worked here. "Frieren-san, you can stay here for the night. This ritual of theirs is the reason you're here. I'm so sorry if you got pulled from something important…"

"Don't worry. I don't mind. I like seeing new things," Frieren nodded.

"I will call my parents and tell them that my return will be delayed…" Fumikage said with a shudder.

Izuku groaned inside. This night just got so much more interesting… and complicated.

This fanfic is currently being rewritten. But because I'm lazy, I've only been updating the Ao3 version so far.

I'll get to applying the changes here. Eventually.

When Inko got up the following morning, she was greeted by a surreal sight in her living room.

First off, the pointy-eared lady who got summoned by Izuku and Fumikage's little ritual was still on the couch, snoring away as if she wasn't in an entirely alien world. In Inko's eyes, Frieren looked closer to a teenage girl who got hammered with a lot of bad booze at a late-night party… and Inko knows that she had her fair share of those back when she was still young and stupid. She wasn't even sleeping in a 'dignified' pose. One of her legs dangled over the couch, her foot touching the floor. Her right arm, meanwhile, was splayed over her head. Her staff was leaning against the wall, somehow not sliding off and making a clattering sound all this time.

Second, Izuku and Fumikage were on the other couch, also asleep. The two must have taken turns watching the elf lady in case anything happened. Eventually, though, one must have fallen asleep while on the job, followed by the other. Judging by how Fumikage had his hands folded together and Izuku sat beside him, his head on the other teen's shoulder, Fumikage would have been the one that got claimed by sleep earlier. Izuku must have gotten his turn, found his friend asleep, and then tried to soldier on throughout the rest of the night just to fall asleep.

Which, of course, meant the only person still awake to watch Frieren had been Dark Shadow, who looked and waved at Inko as she approached."Hello, Auntie!"

"Good morning, Dark Shadow," Inko yawned. Thankfully, today was a Saturday, which meant that there was no work at the office and she could spend the whole day here. But the boys will probably accompany Frieren to the bookstore from which that spell book came and teach her how things work here. If she really was a mage as her whole getup suggested, then they couldn't have her cast spells with wanton abandon (though she didn't seem to be the type… yet).

"Can you wake Fumikage and Frieren up?" Inko continued. She checked the clock. It was already… 8:00 AM? Well, that was pretty much late in her book. She should have woken up an hour earlier and prepared breakfast earlier for the three (four).

"Why not Izuku too?" Dark Shadow asked.

Inko sighed. Her son was an insomniac, so he needed every bit of sleep he could get. "Just let him sleep off for now. He needs it…"

The sentient quirk appeared to understand what she meant as he nodded. Dark Shadow floated towards his host, taking hold of and shaking Fumikage's beak. "Hey, bozo! Time to rise and shine!"

Fumikage groaned. "Dark Shadow… not now…"

"We need you to cook breakfast, Fumi!"

This was when Fumikage's eyes shot open. He would have immediately bolted from the couch had he not noticed that Izuku was still leaning on him… and, all things considered, it was not that easy to notice, as he was quite light. Inko then shot Dark Shadow a stern look. "Dark Shadow, I wasn't going to ask him to do that."

"Hah. It was worth trying," the sentient quirk shrugged.

"Dark Shadow… move Izuku to the side of the couch. Don't wake him." Fumikage whispered. Dark Shadow complied, and soon enough, Izuku was alone on that couch, sleeping soundly.

With that done, Fumikage looked over to Frieren, who was still sleeping like a child in a Victorian-era painting. His eyes lingered on the elf lady; he still had trouble processing that all that strange occult stuff that he liked to play with was somehow, actually, completely real. By the darkness! What if the voodoo spells were real, too? Did he accidentally use someone somewhere as a puppet, thinking it was just for fun?!

"Hey, pointy ears," Dark Shadow nudged Frieren, who then grumbled. She was already half-awake, that was for sure, but she didn't want to get off. "Wake up and get up, you want to see more of Fumi's spellbooks, right?"

The elf groaned. "Two… more… hours…"

Inko pinched her nose. Great. She now had two late risers in this house.

"Frieren-san…" Fumikage said to the elf. "You need to wake up."

"No…"

"Please."

"No…"

Fumikage groaned. This was hopeless. "Auntie Inko, I think I'll just help you prepare breakfast for today."

"Fumi," Dark Shadow looked at him and blinked, slowly. "You know you can't cook anything other than fried eggs, right?"

"I still wish to assist Izuku's mother however I can," Fumikage insisted. He then looked over to Inko. "Will you allow me?"

"Izuku is usually the one helping me," Inko replied. "But sure, you may. Poor old me might forget something, after all. It's going to be easier with… four extra hands. Or two extra hands and two extra claws?"

"As long as I get some, too."

"Dark Shadow, no."

In the end, Izuku woke up an hour later. He felt a little better than on most mornings, as he managed to sleep faster. After all, it was easier to go to slumber when the only sound you could really hear was Dark Shadow's ambient purring. Izuku swore that the sentient quirk had also expanded in size as they slept, enveloping both him and Fumikage like a warm blanket.

As he got up, the events of the previous night replayed in his head.

He and Fumikage had met up again after a long time. They ate dinner, and then they made a magic circle as instructed by one of the bird-headed teen's many strange occult books. They chanted some words in Latin, and Izuku wished he could become a hero without a quirk. Then Frieren showed up, and she was apparently completely fine with being yanked across dimensions. Hell, Izuku could see the implication that she wanted to stick around for a bit.

Well, Frieren was on the other couch, sleeping without so much as a care in the world, but there was one other thing that he forgot. He looked at the clock. It was already 9:00 AM, which wouldn't be that important on a Saturday, but… there was something else.

Oh, no! I have to help Mom with breakfast!

Izuku shot out of the couch and ran to the kitchen. How could he have been so foolish, so lazy? It was his duty to help his mother with breakfast every single day! She was working as she was already! This was the one thing he wasn't useless in-

"Ah, finally, you are awake," Fumikage's baritone voice greeted Izuku as he entered the kitchen. Already, Inko was sprinkling in the final finishing touches on the Katsudon (which was Izuku's absolute favorite food) with some rosemary sprinkles. "Dark Shadow and I have aided your mother in preparing breakfast."

"By aiding he means going out and slaughtering the pig that would become the po-"

Fumikage cut in, gently slapping the sentient quirk in the face with his palm. "Dark Shadow, no. We were merely sent out to the grocery to acquire the pork cutlets."

"Oh." Izuku looked down. He should try to wake up earlier no matter what…

"Frieren-san is still sleeping, isn't she?" Fumikage asked.

"Still sleeping like a damsel in distress last I saw," Izuku replied.

Fumikage actually snickered at that. He rarely laughed… it was usually Dark Shadow that laughed. "Oh, but I doubt she is a damsel in distress. Did you see how nonchalant she was about… everything? It's like she's used to getting sent to different places…"

"Well, we'll ask her later," Izuku nodded. Meanwhile, Dark Shadow started setting the plates; his efforts were rewarded by a pet on the head by Inko. "Where did you get that spell book, anyway? I hope it's not up at your place in Hokkaido?"

"Oh no, no," Fumikage shook his head. "It's close to Musutafu, actually. I got it on the way here. It was… very interesting to look at."

"What's the name of the bookstore?" Izuku asked, curious. Maybe if those spellbooks were real then maybe he could study them…

"Sanctum Sanctorum Books of Sorcery. I heard from the shopowner that the books are copied from a library somewhere in Nepal, but apart from that I have no clue as to its specifics."

"Huh."

"Breakfast is ready!" Inko called out. "Can you wake up Frieren, again?"

It took their collective efforts thirty whole minutes to finally get Frieren out of the couch. The elf mage was groggy and still wanted to sleep for yet another two hours, but Dark Shadow took matters into his own hands (claws?) and quite literally picked her up and set her down. She… did not seem to mind.

As they began a rather quiet breakfast, Frieren looked at each of these individuals once again. With her mana detection, she could see that out of them, Izuku had the most mana. Inko had far less, and Fumikage's were nearly nonexistent. The green-haired boy had less than Fern when she first started out with Heiter (may the corrupt priest rest in peace), but he clearly had the best potential to be trained in the magic arts. Not that Frieren wanted to do so in particular… unless he asked, which he probably wouldn't, given his shyness. But she definitely would, if he asked. After all, he's the one that summoned her here, given that he had more mana than the other.

The near absence of mana in the others, however, was something a little more questionable for Frieren. In her world, humans who displayed no aptitude for magic still had at least some mana. But these people? They could probably learn the most basic of basic spells, and that was it. They probably wouldn't be able to learn even just Zoltraak and basic defense shields.

Huh. Could it be that keeping the familiar- err, quirk called Dark Shadow consumed all of that bird-headed child's resources? Perhaps, it could be, but it certainly wasn't made out of mana. It was something else, and not even Frieren, with her great knowledge of magic, could decipher what it was beyond a sentient collection of living shadow. As for the mother… Frieren didn't know what she could do yet, nor the green-headed boy.

So much to learn. So much to know. A whole world of new possibilities beyond even magic! Frieren could barely wait to begin to explore. She is going to have so much fun here. When she gets back, she'll make Serie green from envy and the Demon King will spin in his grave. That's for sure!

"So," Izuku's head snapped towards Frieren, who had just begun a line of questioning. "There are many things that I must know of this world. First of all… what is a quirk?"

Oh. This was probably the best thing she could have asked first. "Well," Izuku began, "Quirks are different superpowers that a lot of people here have. It's something that you inherit from your parents, and it varies in strength and usefulness. For example, Mom can pull small objects towards her. It's useful in the kitchen and office work, but not in fighting. Fumikage here has, well, Dark Shadow. You're well acquainted at this point." Izuku shuddered at the memory of Dark Shadow just deciding to drag Frieren out of bed. "80% of the population have them, but only a small percentage actively train their quirks. Most quirks aren't as strong as Dark Shadow, for example."

The sentient quirk vibrated in place at Izuku's compliment. "Why, yes, I am the best that there is."

"Dark Shadow…"

"What is yours, then?" Frieren asked.

Oh.

That…

There was that.

"I don't have one," Izuku admitted. "I'm quirkless."

Frieren simply stared at him. Her expression didn't change at all. Hell, she barely had an expression to begin with. "Alright, then. So most of this world's population has… a single spell that they specialize in?"

"You could say that," Izuku nodded. "But some quirks are versatile. Like, uh, Dark Shadow, again. He can do a lot of things. Endeavor is the best at pyrokinesis, Edgeshot can become as thin as a thread, Ryukyu turns into a dragon, and Yoroi Musha can summon any weapon he wants into his hands. Then there's All Might, a man so strong his punch can change the weather!"

Frieren kept listening. Such great variety in powers and abilities. How so fascinating!

"All Might is the best hero of our time," Izuku continued. "He's… he's my idol, my role model. When he arrives with a smile, everyone knows everything will be fine, because he is here."

"Ah. Just like how people back home think of Himmel the Hero," Frieren nodded along. "He has statues everywhere."

"Himmel the Hero?" Fumikage asked.

"I was part of his party of legendary adventurers that defeated the Demon King, a cruel tyrant and conqueror whose demonic legions reduced the population of the northern regions by 40%." Frieren replied. Izuku nodded. "Demon King" sounded like a very unpleasant character. "Himmel was the party leader. Though it has been years since his death. Humans just don't live as long as we elves do. But people still remember him very fondly."

Izuku remembered that Frieren was indeed an elf, not just someone with a pointy ear mutation. "How old are you… Frieren-san?"

"More than a thousand years."

"Oh my," Inko gasped.

"Older than my grandmother?!" Dark Shadow shrieked.

Izuku was less surprised. Elves were either immortal or lived a very, very long time, so Frieren being a thousand years old wasn't so… shocking. "So you'd been collecting a lot of spells, then?"

"I have many," Frieren replied simply. "The process of acquiring and analyzing them is quite fun. Just as fun as actually casting them." To prove the point, she materialized several glowing orbs of light from her right hand, while creating a flower on her left. "Magic."

Izuku gulped. Frieren was, as Bakugo might put it, a massive nerd. Just like himself. Izuku loved analyzing quirks. Frieren loved analyzing spells, even if her voice didn't show it that much.

"Can you… um…"

"Yes?"

"Can you… teach me?"

Ah. So there it was. Frieren, for the first time that day, smiled. "I suppose I can teach you basic, fundamental spells… after all, you already did cast a spell. But first," the elf leaned closer to Izuku, and Fumikage too, for good measure. "You must bring me to the bookstore first. Everything else is contingent on that."

Izuku beamed. "Ahhh, yes, of course, Frieren-san! Mom, is it okay for you for me to go out with them?"

As she watched, Inko could swear she was going to cry. Her sweet baby boy looked happy! He was going to learn magic, of all things! "Yes, Izuku, as long as Fumikage watches you."

As for Fumikage, he simply patted Izuku on the shoulder, with Dark Shadow patting his back. "You're a wizard, Izuku," Fumikage said, pulling an ancient reference from a pre-quirk movie.

"Don't celebrate yet," Frieren smirked. "Also," she pulled out a purse filled with silver coins, as well as some gold ones. "What kind of currency does the bookstore accept?"

Oh. It looks like they'll have to pass by a pawnshop first, it seems.

Frieren held the 5,000 yen note up in the air, letting the light of the sun pass through it. Just a few minutes ago, Izuku and Fumikage escorted her to the nearest pawnshop, where she exchanged a few silver coins for some of the currency of this world. Or rather, this particular country in this world. "How strange," she commented. "How do you exchange this as currency when paper has no intrinsic value?"

"I… uh…" Izuku began, not sure how to respond to that. He knew something about money being backed by gold and silver, but what exactly that meant was lost to him. Did it have actual gold dust in the back? Or was it backed in the same way sidekicks backup heroes?

"We haven't studied that part of economics yet, or economics, for that matter," Fumikage commented. As for Dark Shadow, his concerns were most markedly different. "Don't put up your money like that lady! Someone might snatch it! Me, for instance!"

"Please do not steal Frieren-san's money, Dark Shadow," Izuku pleaded. He remembered well how Dark Shadow used to snatch people's purses and Fumikage had to forcibly pry those from the sentient quirk's claws to return them to the owners.

"I wasn't going to!" Dark Shadow retorted defensively.

As they approached the train station, Frieren was, once again, curious about everything around her. She was used to walking for miles and miles, taking up entire days and weeks in journey time. Hell, the journey she got snatched from still had more than an entire year in it. But now, this world has the technology to transport people and goods across vast distances at speeds that none of her compatriots would have imagined. Not even with magic were these feats possible! But again, if Serie were to get off her ass and stop gatekeeping magic from humanity, maybe innovations would eventually bring about something like magic trains.

Speaking of trains…

"Metal worm," Frieren dully commented as the train came into view. "You ride these every day?"

"Well, if you work or study in a different city and lack a car, then yes," Izuku replied. "But if its relatively close, one would walk or use a bike. He held the group's train tickets and had paid the fare. If Fumikage had the tickets, Dark Shadow would certainly pick them out the moment he wasn't looking. Neither of them wanted such a situation to happen… again.

"A car?" Frieren asked.

"Those are cars," this time it was Fumikage who answered, pointing at the nearby road where many metal contraptions with four wheels and glass windows were speeding about. "Private transportation."

"Interesting," Frieren commented. She paused as the three boarded the train along with a dozen or so other people. The train wasn't as congested as it would be on a weekday, as a lot of people were either staying at home or still asleep. "I would like one of those."

"Those are pretty expensive, Frieren-san," Izuku said. You'll have to put a down payment down and then slowly pay it every quarter…"

"So many differences," Frieren observed as she scanned the other passengers. There was a man with an elephant mutation, taking up two seats instead of one, though he stood up and gave up his position when a fragile-looking elderly woman with a cane came into view. A nearby woman had a bird mutation, like Fumikage's, though hers was more akin to an eagle than a crow. A man had insectoid mandibles for a jaw, another had a pair of horns on his forehead, and someone else still was a straight-up cyclops. "But all still unmistakably human."

"How do you know, Frieren-san?" Izuku asked. She was probably using a spell of some kind to ascertain the species of all those around her. It was also probably the reason why she didn't question Fumikage's appearance too much.

"I have a passive spell called Soul Sight. Different species of sapient beings have different energy signatures, so to speak," Frieren answered. "That is why I can tell that the man with horns is not an actual demon, but a human, albeit with a… quirk."

"Do you have something against demons, Frieren-san?" Izuku questioned.

The elf leaned on her seat. "I've fought and destroyed actual demons for some of my life. Most notably during my time as a member of the party of legendary heroes, though I also slew a few when they attacked and destroyed the village of my birth. I wasn't strong enough at the time, however, for I was young. I was the only survivor."

Oh.

"I'm sorry about your village," Izuku said, wondering how that would sound when the event had been a thousand years ago.

"There is no need. It has been a very long time. And those demons are long dead."

Right. She's a demon slayer.

Heroes don't kill, right? Well, they don't kill people. Demons are something else entirely. And when you fight the literal forces of evil… you'd have to not pull your punches. Izuku knows that even All Might killed a villain or two when the choice was either ending their lives or allowing mass civilian casualties.

"These demons of your world, what are they like?" Fumikage asked. As one who dabbled with the occult, he had a slight interest in demons, if only the "popular culture" version of them. He knew well that actual demons, if they existed, would be reprehensible, monstrous creatures that only seek to destroy and consume. The difference between the two was akin to comparing fish and lizards. There's nothing they had in common. Well, other than laying eggs to reproduce.

"If you were to face them, they would greatly unnerve you," Frieren replied. "They mimic emotion and take on more human characteristics to make it easier to consume their prey."

"By consume, you mean-"

"Yes."

"Ah. I see."

The rest of the train ride was pretty quiet, with Frieren occasionally asking questions about the various sights. But then…

The entire train car erupted into gasps as a man dressed in a multicolored poncho started flying just beside the train. He waved at the passengers, who all waved back… except for Izuku, who began to practically vibrate on his seat. "Oh my God, it's Majestic! The Magic Hero! He's like Number 39 in the rankings and his quirk allows him to createringsofenergythatheanotherscanfloaton-"

"Izuku…" Fumikage put a hand on his shoulder, making him stop. "Please, slow down."

"No, I understood everything he said," Frieren said. "The Magic Hero? That is… amusing. I could see his mana, and he has almost none."

"I mean he's called the Magic Hero because what he does looks pretty magical…" Izuku deflated. Man, how would Majestic react if he were to encounter someone who uses actual magic? Like Frieren, for instance? Or Izuku in the near future? Would he be forced to rebrand his name from the Magic Hero to… something like Floating Ring Hero? The Ring Hero?

"What a big nerd," Dark Shadow commented from underneath Fumikage's hoodie. Unbeknownst to himself, Izuku had been voicing his thoughts out loud, just loud enough for his companions to hear him.

"Dark Shadow, don't say that." His host reprimanded.

Dark Shadow pouted. "But it's true… and I didn't say that it's a bad thing!"

Fumikage looked up as the name of the station they were heading to was announced to be the next one. "Either way, we should get ready to get off."

Within a few minutes, the Sanctum Sanctorum Bookstore of Sorcery was within view. At first glance, one wouldn't peg it as a source of occult books, what with the friendly, warm lighting, the brown wood veneers, and the general lack of overly dark aesthetics. The latter of which was something Fumikage might be thoroughly attracted to. However, as the three stepped into the bookstore, that didn't matter, as there were simply a lot of books on display. It didn't end with books, either. There were staves for mage wannabes, wands for wizard wannabes, and brooms for witch wannabes. There were also voodoo dolls, amulets that contained 'the bones of ancient witches', good luck charms, tarot cards, and crystal balls.

There were quite a few other people in the store. Most of them were teenagers and young adults, though there was this old-looking guy that wore robes and had a long, grey beard (no one but Frieren would discern that said geriatric cosplayer was actually 20-something years old with a fake beard and makeup to make fake wrinkles). That customer demographic was expected, really; most of them were looking into magic simply because its cool as an aesthetic. After all… there's no actual magic. Quirks were as close as one might get.

Frieren immediately walked towards the spellbook section. By the way she moved, Izuku could tell she was in no hurry at all. Someone like her has all the time they would ever need.

Within about half a minute, Frieren was on her first book, looking at a page that supposedly told readers how to cast a spell for seeing the future.

"This one is just wrong," Frieren muttered.

"Huh? But what about the one we had?" Izuku asked.

Frieren didn't answer that question, instead continuing to read. "The magic circles have incomplete sections. Some of the chants are simply illogical and wrong, and the preparations that include… the liver of a chicken are completely unnecessary."

The elf mage put the book back on the shelf and looked at another. This time, the spell was Fireball.

Who could ever forget the Fireball spell?

Frieren sighed. "Another fake." It's just like Flamme's notes being supposedly in every seemingly importance place, only for those to all be fakes. Frieren was used to fake grimoires by now, though, so she simply carried on with looking.

Within ten minutes, Frieren had looked into each and every spellbook in the store. Almost every one of them either had the wrong chants, mismatched magic circles, strange ingredients or were, in Frieren's words, "nonsense even as magic." But most of them could be made into reality should Frieren "fix" them. "Things are forgotten and lost after a few years," so she said.

The operating word there, though, was almost.

Fumikage stared at the book in question. "This is the same one that contained the summoning spell that brought you here…"

"How's that, the only real one is the one you already have," Dark Shadow cackled.

"Hm." Frieren turned towards the section with the staves. "Izuku, as I am going to teach you basic magic, you will need a staff to focus your mana."

Izuku jumped at that. "Yes!" Several heads turned towards him, and Izuku shrunk under the sudden onslaught of attention. "I mean, yes… but are they real?"

"Unlike the grimoires, staves are just staves. They're more for helping you focus and overcome mental blocks; aiming and casting a spell with a staff aids with visualization as well," Frieren droned as she began examining the arrayed tools of magic. "A good one for a beginner like you would have to be lightweight… not too ornate, that would just be too much…"

It took her about ten minutes to choose, mostly because she wasn't sure what kind of staff Izuku would like and Izuku was too busy thinking about the spells that he might get taught to place his input. As for Fumikage, he simply watched.

"I would like this staff," Izuku placed the staff on the counter. The cashier, a teenage girl just about the same age as him and Fumikage and white hair that covered her left eye, looked at them with mild interest.

"Ah, the Obliviator. A fine staff for use in the darkness," the cashier said as she checked it in. She didn't sound like she had been made to memorize a script for each product. Rather, she sounded like… she genuinely applauded the decision to buy the "Obliviator." "That will be 6,000 yen."

"You also dwell in the darkness?" Fumikage asked. Izuku pinched his nose, while Frieren looked on like she had no idea what was going on between the bird-headed boy and the cashier.

"I commune with the shadows and speak to the dead," the cashier, whose name was apparently R. Yanagi according to her nameplate, nodded. "But soon I will leave this place and become greater."

"May the darkness guide you."

"As do you."

Izuku would have chuckled if Fumikage wasn't his friend. Chuunis are so funny.

As the three left the bookstore, Izuku held the staff, no, his staff. It was still wrapped in paper and tape; he was supposed to unwrap it only when Frieren started teaching him.

"Izuku, Frieren-san," Fumikage said as they arrived at the train station. "I am afraid that we will have to part ways now. I have to return home."

"Oh, right, you'll be going all the way to Hokkaido, right?" Izuku said, remembering where Fumikage actually lived. "But when you go to UA…"

"My parents will grant me the funds to rent an apartment close by if I am accepted-"

"When, Fumikage, not if."

The bird-headed boy laughed. "Hah! Ehm… thank you for your faith, Izuku. Not a lot of people have faith in my ability to become a hero… what with being a heteromorph and a possessor of a rather dark and dangerous quirk."

Dark Shadow was indignant as he popped out of Fumikage's chest. "Hey! Who are you calling dark and dangerous?!"

"You, destroyer of worlds."

The sentient quirk puffed up his chest and laughed. "Yes, I am the destroyer of worlds! Bow down mortals and despair!"

"Anyway," Fumikage continued, "I will see you in class ten months from now, Izuku."

"Wha- no-"

"I meant what I said!" Fumikage smirked as he fled to the northbound train, leaving Izuku and Frieren to come back to Musutafu alone. After all, it was obvious what Izuku would do once he knew how to use magic.

The train ride back to Musutafu was rather quiet. Frieren had adamantly not given any specifics about the spells she'd teach Izuku other than "its basic offensive and defensive magic." That description didn't really spark much in the imagination, so Izuku was busy coming up with his ideas of what it might be.

As they walked back the the Midoriyas' apartment, the sound of shouting, explosions, and cursing began to get louder and louder. There was also the smell of smoke… and the pillar of smoke rising to the sky wasn't all that subtle. That, and Mount Lady was there too.

And that cursing? Izuku knew well who that was. How could he ever forget Bakugo's liberal use of expletives?

"Frieren-san! Something's happening! We should check it out!"

Frieren wordlessly nodded and followed the greenette. As they arrived, they would be greeted by a scene straight out of a disaster movie.

Bakugo was in the middle of the street. He was also in the middle of a sentient pile of sludge, which was saying something about having a new host to "play with." Several pro-heroes, including Kamui Woods, Backdraft, and Death Arms had cordoned the street, protecting the crowd of civilians. They could only watch as Bakugo unleashed explosion after explosion, only for all of them to be harmlessly absorbed by the sludge villain.

"Bak-"

"Izuku, stay back."

Izuku had been stopped from rushing into the situation by Frieren's staff. By now, people were probably thinking that they were just cosplayers or roleplayers passing by.

"But he's-"

"I can see that," Frieren replied. "It appears that the heroes present lack the spells necessary to defeat the villain."

"Frieren-san, if they see you using magic, they might think you're a vigilante and try to prosecute you for illegal quirk use!"

"Who said that I would be seen? And don't worry, I know that the pile of sludge is still human. I will only knock him away from that other child, got it?" Frieren gave Izuku a wry smirk before stepping into a nearby alleyway and disappearing into the shadows.

Oh.

Of course, she had an invisibility spell. How many spells would she have at this point, anyway? Izuku watched, and prayed, that Frieren would finish what several pros could not. It's just unfortunate that none of them have quirks suitable for dealing with a pile of sentient sludge.

And then All Might showed up.

Wait.

ALL MIGHT IS HERE!?

Toshinori Yagi's timer was up.

He already used up the three hours that he could safely use One For All for today. He probably would've been told to just let the other pros deal with it… but here he was, watching them do the exact opposite of dealing with a problem. They weren't dealing with it. They were just watching, waiting for someone with a more suitable quirk to come in.

But Yagi knows that no villain will just wait for a hero with a better quirk to come in. Neither will he.

And so he summoned the power of One For All, and confronted the sludge. "DETROIT SMA-"

Before he could actually throw that smash, however, the wind roared. It roared with such power that the sludge villain was actually blown off the blonde, cursing child, allowing Mount Lady to grab him in his entirety and shove him into a box of wood made by Kamui Woods, which would seal the villain tight. The crowd began to cheer.

"All Might! His punch changed the weather!"

"Truly the greatest hero!"

"He's so strong!"

"Praise All Might!"

Yagi gently took hold of the surprised blonde, who seemed to be so awestruck that he could no longer speak. The Number One Hero turned to the cheering crowd, and smiled, as always. "Kamui Woods, take care of him, alright?" Yagi said to the other pro hero. Kamui nodded, and Yagi fled from the scene to safely return to his true form.

As the crowd cheered his name even in his absence, Yagi could only wonder. Who blew that wind?

Izuku was seething. All Might was here. ALL MIGHT of all heroes was here, right in front of him! Having the greatest hero in your general vicinity is one of the best things you can ever experience, and yet Izuku couldn't even get the man's autograph on his notebook! Oh well, there are several heroes here from whom he could get autographs instead. Mount Lady and Kamui Woods in particular had been living rent-free in his head ever since he saw them bring down a villain with a gigantification quirk (albeit Mount Lady was a bit of a capture-stealer… but my, oh my, Izuku found her to be so pretty!). All he had to do was get past the crowds…

"What's next then?"

Izuku jumped. Frieren had, somehow, appeared out of nowhere behind him. "AH! Frieren-san… since when did you come back here?"

"Just now," Frieren replied. She lazily gazed over at the cheering crowds and the heroes dragging the sludge villain inside a wooden box. "It is fortunate that the one known as All Might arrived. Apparently they thought my wind blast spell was his doing. Now no one will ask questions."

"Huh," Izuku nodded. He hadn't been sure whether it was Frieren or All Might that produced the blast of wind. All Might certainly hadn't thrown that Smash to the full, not to the point that it would actually made an impact strong enough to change the weather. It was like half a Smash that was way too strong for what it was. Hearing it straight from Frieren had more or less confirmed that she timed it with All Might's attack, though.

"By the way, Frieren-san," Izuku pulled out his notebook and stepped towards the nearby heroes, who were busy chatting with the police. "Can you wait here for a bit? I'm just going to ask the heroes to sign my notebook…" Hopefully Bakugo is too busy sitting on that ambulance and giving his statement to the police to even notice that I'm there…

Frieren simply nodded, prompting Izuku to fly off towards the heroes. Mount Lady had been the first one he asked, and she gave him the brightest of smiles, signed his notebook with glee… and had one of the nearby policemen take a picture of them together. Kamui Woods and Death Arms were more reserved in their reception of the green bean that suddenly appeared in their midst, simply signing his notebook. Backdraft was already out of the place, apparently, so Izuku didn't get his autograph.

Izuku soon skipped back to a waiting Frieren, who sat on a nearby bench watching a nearby stray cat with mild interest. "Frieren-san… wow, you didn't say you liked cats! You do know what a cat is, right?"

"They are very cute," Frieren simply commented. "I like them. I wish to acquire one."

"Well… that one might have an owner, given how clean its fur is…" Izuku replied. He also liked cats very much, and dogs too, but between him and his mother, neither of them had the time to take care for an animal in the apartment.

As they walked home, the topic of magic came up again. "Are there any secluded, open areas wherein we can practice spells?" Frieren asked.

"Oh, there's this big forest with a bunch of clearings in it," Izuku replied. "Ka… err, Bakugo and I used to march in those woods when we were kids."

"The angry child from earlier?" Frieren asked. "You were friends?"

Izuku winced. He and Bakugo really were friends. Then Bakugo got his explosion quirk, and Izuku got none at all. That was when things started going down, and down, and down. At first, it felt Bakugo was concerned that Izuku's incessant desire to be a hero despite being quirkless would get him killed. And then he was called a potential burden. And then an actual burden. And then... useless Deku. After that, Bakugo outright told him to go kill himself and hope for a good quirk in his next incarnation. "A long time ago, yeah. But no longer."

"But you were so adamant to go save him, even to the point of risking yourself," Frieren reminded him. "Why? Not that I oppose the concept in itself. Himmel always said that saving even those that you don't like or don't like you is a strength."

"Well, I agree with him," Izuku sighed. "I mean, Bakugo's life is no less valuable than any other person here… even if he's a prick and a bully. I just hope that he gets… I don't know, anger management sessions and therapy to resolve whatever stupid issues he has." I miss the old days when we were still actual friends.

"Hm," Frieren nodded. "Very well then. Lead us to this clearing… and then we will begin."

Izuku beamed at that. The time has come! "Yes, Frieren-sensei!" At that moment, though, something else came up. "But… also, you never asked why I wanted to learn magic from you. You just said yes."

"It's quite obvious, actually," Frieren replied. "You practically worship the heroes of this world. You want to be like them, especially that All Might." Izuku practically vibrated in place as he heard All Might mentioned. "And from what I have seen, they do not kill. They are like… town guards, but if mages decided to be town guards. They apprehend criminals."

"Well, they do sometimes have to take the lives of criminals…" Izuku replied on a more somber note. "But only if they really, really, really don't have any other choice. Like if the choice is between that or hundreds dying."

"Himmel will probably like them…" Frieren thought.

Later, the clearing in the woods

"I will be teaching you basic offensive magic and basic defensive magic," Frieren began. Izuku tightly gripped the staff that they bought earlier. He was nervous. What if he miscasts? What if he hits the wrong target? What if-

"Calm down, will you?" Frieren gently said. "Now, magic is based on visualization. If you can imagine yourself doing it, then it will be so, as far as your mana and spell can carry you, anyway. Your mana is sufficient, so these first two will surely come to you easily. But first…"

Frieren raised her hands, casting a spell that muted every sound around them except for their voices. "Now, we may practice without the entire city hearing the explosions."

Izuku blinked at that. "Ex… explosions?" What is basic offensive magic, anyway? Is it something like Fireball? But wouldn't throwing fire in the middle of a forest dangerous?

Frieren pointed her staff at a nearby boulder. "I will now demonstrate the basic offensive spell, Zoltraak."

A slowly rotating magic circle appeared on her staff. It was quite frankly, beautiful and artistic in appearance. What came after was much more breathtaking, however. A beam of blue energy streamed out, slamming into the boulder and blowing a molten hole cleanly through it… and into the next three trees behind it.

"Zoltraak is essentially mana concentrated into a beam," Frieren continued as Izuku gaped at her handiwork. "It was developed by a demon lord named Qual, tailoring it to kill humans. However-"

"Wait, what?!" Izuku was shocked by that tidbit of information. "The most basic spell is one that's specialized for killing people?!" Oh no. No, no, no! He can't be a hero if the first thing he does is kill the criminal!

"Let me finish," Frieren said with a neutral tone. She didn't seem to care much about how Izuku had an outburst… or she was already used to outbursts like that. "Zoltraak was later deconstructed by human mages, and defensive magic was built around protecting against it. So, in merely a century, Zoltraak went from the most powerful spell ever devised to being a basic spell. The Zoltraak my apprentice and I use, however, is modified to kill demons. For your purposes, since you apparently want to focus on incapacitating and capturing… you need only scale down the amount of energy you put into Zoltraak. Like this."

She fired Zoltraak again, but this time, it was noticeably weaker, only lightly scalding the rock. She launched yet another beam of Zoltraak, chipping the boulder. "Now you try it. Imagine yourself doing what I just did. Visualize yourself using a low-powered Zoltraak to strike that boulder.

Two agonizing minutes passed as Izuku couldn't summon his mana to cast Zoltraak. Him, a quirkless person wielding a power? That was just hard to imagine at the moment. "You have mana, Izuku," Frieren continued. "You can use magic, if you know of its existence and that it is actually possible. Visualize. Imagine. Cast. You're the only person I have seen so far who has the ability to use Zoltraak and all the other spells that I intend to teach you, after all. You are a pioneer, the first."

Ah.

That was it.

He would be the first mage in this world, in a long time, maybe, since that summoning spell was real. He can do it. He can cast Zoltraak in a way that won't kill anyone, just knock them out. Izuku began to believe. He began to imagine and visualize. I imagined All Might cheering him on with his signature smile.

"Zoltraak," he repeated. Immediately, a magic circle appeared on his staff and out came a low-intensity beam of condensed mana. It slammed into the boulder, chipping off a small piece.

"I… I did it!" Izuku looked down at his staff, holding it as though it was his greatest friend (the title still belonged to Fumikage, of course, but he was forgotten if only for a few seconds. "I cast magic. I am a mage. I am a wizard. I can be a hero with magic!"

"Good job, Izuku," Frieren congratulated him. "Now let's continue. Next… fire Zoltraak at me."

Wait.

What?!

10 months passed by in a blaze. Every day, Izuku trained his newfound powers of magic with Frieren in the woods. Frieren practically lived with the Midoriyas now, especially as Inko had stated that "since you summoned her here, she is your responsibility now." Thankfully, Frieren was every bit as helpful as she was curious. She used hydromancy spells to wash the dashes at least a few times, despite Izuku and Inko begging her to let them do it instead. But she wouldn't have it any other way.

Now was the day, however, for Izuku to change his Quirk status.

Of course, there was no way he was just going to tell UA (and Shiketsu and Ketsubutsu; after all, when applying for a school, you have to cover all your bases) "Hey, so I don't have a quirk, but I learned magic from an elf from another dimension that I summoned here using an occult book that my friend bought from a bookstore over in Hosu, and I'm going to use magic to prove that I'm just as good as anyone with a quirk for hero work." That would spawn too many questions, and make life Frieren a bit difficult. So, today, Izuku will be accompanied by Inko to the city hall to get his quirk status.

He had discussed that little change with Fumikage and Frieren, the former participating via a video call. When he had first called, it had taken Frieren about two minutes to get used to it. "So, since it's all about imagination... I'll call it Maji."

"I concur, Izuku," Fumikage added. "I believe that is sufficient. Also, Frieren-san… can I ask you something?"

"Yes?" The elf looked at his video on the computer rather than the camera, making it look like she wasn't looking at him, but she really was.

"Can you… teach me an illumination spell?"

"You have almost no mana… but I suppose that you can make a small orb of light. Why?"

"Um…"

"If you can imagine yourself creating an orb of light to restrain your shadow… then yes," Frieren answered. Fumikage, not familiar with how Frieren's magic worked, was slightly confused, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Thank you, Frieren-san."

"Alright guys, it's bedtime," Inko called out. That would be all the signal Izuku needed to say goodbye to Fumikage and Dark Shadow and turn in for the night.

Right now, Izuku, a few minutes after showing what he could do to a quirk counselor, watched as a visibly surprised bureaucrat of some kind began updating his quirk folder.

Quirk Status

Name: Midoriya Izuku

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Quirk: None (misdiagnosed)

Maji

Allows the user to create a vast variety of effects, as long as they regard said effects to be realistic for themself. If they can visualise it perfectly, then it is possible. Current abilities include energy beams, barriers, and restraints. Imagining himself as a mage has greatly improved the Quirk's growth.

Private Addendum: Private assessment has concluded that Midoriya's quirk has great potential in hero work. Fortunately, Midoriya desires to enroll in a hero school. A recommendation will be sent to the Hero Public Safety Commission to give priority status should he enroll and be accepted in his chosen school.

"You're scared of me, Fumi..."

Dark Shadow floated around his host's bedroom, constantly looking for threats and hidden assailants. His very purpose, his prime directive, was to protect Fumikage. But at the same time… Fumikage has been fearful of Dark Shadow, even if he would never say it outright. After all, what kind of prospective hero student was afraid of his own quirk?

Well, to be fair, there is quite the precedent for that quiet fear, that unspoken conflict between user and quirk. Fumikage had once been a little loose with Dark Shadow, who he gave a doting and unimaginative name back when he was just four. Anyone with a quirk takes some time to discover how their abilities react and act in various situations. Those who actively train them find their limits and try their best to break those and go beyond (PLUS ULTRA!). Of course, it had been obvious from the start that Dark Shadow becomes docile when under intense light. But that wasn't the whole picture.

Dark Shadow also reacts to his host's emotions. Emotions that, when heightened, can turn the formidable dark entity into an even bigger monster. Unfortunately, the incident where the Tokoyamis discovered that the only child in their family could become so powerful and dangerous when driven by powerful emotion was also the reason for there being a red seal order in Fumikage's record.

Being a heteromorph and the wielder of what others may see to be a dark quirk or even a yokai made of shadows, Fumikage didn't have the best interactions in school.

"Hey, the freak and his demon."

Fumikage looked up from his seat. He was about eight years old, a tiny Dark Shadow hidden in his jacket's hood. It had been two years since his family moved to Hokkaido. It was the end of the school day, and they'd be getting home in a few minutes from now. In front of him, about six different kids, the "alpha gang" with rather strong quirks, looked down at him.

"Dark Shadow is not a demon," Fumikage looked away.

"Don't make us laugh, you freak," one of the kids, their apparent leader, said, conjuring hot steam from his palm. "You mutants are a pollution. You and your demon are some of the worst of you all."

"I am not a freak," Fumikage replied. "You are stupid. Go away."

The steam user's eyebrows twitched. "Grab him." Two members of his goon squad took hold of his shoulders and dragged him out of his desk. "You mutant freaks, you should never talk back to your betters! We'll teach you a lesson. Learn your place, mutant trash!"

The bird-headed boy's heart began to pound. It pounded in his chest, louder, harder, and faster. He found himself forcibly dragged to the school yard, and one by one, the six began to kick and punch at him.

"Take that, you freak!"

It hurts. It hurts. It is painful. It is painful everywhere.

"Mutant scum!"

Why are they doing this? Because he looked different? Because he had a different kind of head on his shoulders? Because he looked like a bird?

"Do the world a favor and die!"

Hate. Hate. HATE HATE HATE HATE.

He hated them. So, so, so much. The hatred called. The anger turned into a beacon for darkness and even more hate. It was met by even more anger, one that was protective and familial. It screeched and roared, crying out for justice against prejudice.

Dark Shadow grew. He was so much smaller than the titan he would eventually become, but the power of the sentient quirk was still overwhelming against the six. Writhing with anger, his glowing yellow eyes turned to a malevolent red, Dark Shadow attacked. He sent every bully flying across the schoolyard, all in a bid to protect his host. They all landed on the ground with a thud, with one breaking his arm with a pathetic scream as it impacted against a rock.

"If you come after Fumikage again, I will hurt you far, far worse than I just did now!" Dark Shadow roared. The kids ran away, fearful of the monstrous shadow. Now that the beating had stopped, and the taunts had ceased, Fumikage began to calm down. Dark Shadow shrunk, and his host painfully stood up, realizing that his quirk had driven off the bullies. He ran home the best he could, and when he did, his parents were driven into a state of rage. He watched as his father began to make several calls, mentioning names like "Mr. President" and "Commission."

The whole incident was captured by the school's surveillance cameras, but the tapes would be erased and the families of the beaten bullies presented with NDAs, threats, and bribes all at once within a day. A red seal order was placed on Fumikage's record, and no one was to speak of that event ever again. Everyone involved is to pretend that it never happened. And then, Fumikage would be put on homeschooling up until high school.

Such are the perks of having a parent who works in the HSPC.

Dark Shadow watched as his host slept peacefully. The sentient quirk felt regret about that incident right until this day. Yes, he just can't help being himself. He is, after all, a Quirk, not a human being. If Fumi's emotions make Dark Shadow go berserk, then that is just how it is. But Dark Shadow sometimes wished that wasn't the case. He wished that the things about Fumi that affected him were different. He wished that he can't go berserk, that he would always be calm and collected, just like how Fumi always tries his best to be just that. Maybe then, his first and greatest friend wouldn't have such a deep, underlying fear of him. Maybe Fumi wouldn't feel the need to bring flashlights in his pockets or ask Frieren if he can learn a spell that creates light.

But, at the very least, Fumi wants to be a hero, the hate he felt on that day never festering into something worse. Hell, he felt bad for it. Even up to this day, he still does.

Even if Dark Shadow can never understand why his host would put himself in danger for other people, especially as amongst those people would be those that would be ready to kick him in the face for looking like a crow and an eagle chimera, he will support him in his dreams. After all… that is what friends are for.

"Sleep well, Fumi," Dark Shadow cooed. "I'll always be here, no matter what."

Izuku looked up at the gates of UA, and shook with excitement (though it was still a bummer that Fumikage got into the school way earlier than he did, so he wasn't there to share the excitement with him). Ten months ago, he thought that he would just take the exam, fail horribly, maybe get into general education… or fail that too. At the end of the day, he could still say, "Well, I tried, at least." But now? He had a real chance of getting in. The thought of entering All Might's alma mater was absolutely electrifying, to say the least.

The practical exam is going to be all about scoring points against robots. If he can take down enough robots with Zoltraak, Skeldus, and Mana Tendrils, he'd have a good shot into the hero course. He'd have to be careful about his mana pool, though; while he'd be putting way less mana into each shot of Zoltraak due to not using it at full power, he still had far less mana than Frieren's previous apprentice, who's name is Fern. Apparently, the mana you had grows in proportion to the amount of time you've been training with magic, along with the years of your life at that point. Given that he had trained for "just" ten months and was just shy of turning 16 years old, the amount of mana he had was simply… alright.

Frieren had spoken of Fern very proudly. She said that she casts Zoltraak at its concentrated, demon-killing form with such speed that she may as well be a walking assault rifle. That is, if assault rifles fired laser beams made out of mana. And if Fern used the weaker Zoltraak that Izuku was currently most familiar with? She'd be a minigun, no, an entire squad, each member wielding a minigun that fired little Zoltraaks. Hell, she might even be like those close-in-support weapons that Izuku saw when America's Number #6 Pro Hero, the Lord of Iron, was seen using his technopathy to control the guns of several naval destroyers to shoot down a villain with a jet quirk.

She would go "brrrt" with all those Zoltraaks.

Izuku started wondering why the world started going towards his face when it hit him.

He tripped.

He tripped. On his own foot. Like an absolute idiot.

Ten months of magic training, and he still forgets basic footwork when he's overthinking and analyzing.

Before his face could strike UA's hallowed, holy concrete, Izuku found himself floating off the ground. He at first thought he had subconsciously activated the Flight spell, but he hadn't used a drop of his mana yet.

That was when a girl started talking to him.

A girl.

A girl was talking to him.

"Oh! Hi there, so I stopped you from falling with my quirk, hehe…" A girl about the same age as he was began. She had rosy cheeks and brown hair. She had a round facial plan, and she was… she was… she's cute…

Oh no. Izuku had no idea how to react.

"Uuuuuuuh thanks?" Izuku replied. He quickly realized that he was still floating in a horizontal position. "I can't… I can't stay like this… you know…"

"Oh, sorry!" The girl took hold of his shoulder and put him in an upright position before putting her hands together. Her fingers glowed a faint pink, and gravity took hold of Izuku again.

"Um, thank you," Izuku stammered, adjusting his jacket and feeling at the staff on his back (which he gained permission to use a support item, though Power Loader was a little confused until he explained the mechanics of his "quirk'). He could feel himself heating up. "You have an awesome quirk, by the way. Nullifying gravity… that's got a lot of potential applications. Are you also here for the hero course?"

"Thanks, and I am going for the hero course too!" The girl smiled. "My name's Uraraka Ochaco, what's yours?"

"Midoriya Izuku. Also gunning for the hero course."

"Cool! What's your quirk?"

Izuku paused for a second at that question. The first answer that came to mind was "I don't", but he remembered his cover story. He had a "quirk" now, one that needed a lot of imagination to work.

"I can manipulate energy into… a few different things," Izuku replied. "You'll see."

"Alright! I look forward to it, Midoriya."

Of course, that wasn't a guarantee. One or both of them might not even get into UA to begin with. Neither was it guaranteed that they'd be in the same testing site. But, Izuku found it just right to say that."

"Fumikage, Uraraka, we're on the same testing site?!"

Izuku had just encountered his friend and a… what's the right word, future classmate? The general orientation had been… something. Present Mic oriented everyone, but his attempts at riling up the examinees had utterly fallen flat. It was somewhat awkward and sad that the pro hero/teacher/radio host (how the hell did he have time to juggle three jobs, anyway?!) with a voice quirk couldn't rouse a crowd. Then someone hollered at Izuku for muttering and being a distraction, which was, well, fair, but did Mr. Blue Hair Glasses really have to call him out in front of everyone?! Not that just that, but him, specifically?!

Oh, no! Bakugo is applying to UA too, isn't he? Izuku hadn't seen him yet, but he was surely in that assembly. There were only so many people with green hair that anyone knew of, so Bakugo was probably thinking that useless little Deku was still trying his damndest to get in.

Well, he's in for a rude surprise soon enough.

Either way, when Izuku found Fumikage and Uraraka, they were all heading to the same general direction to the loading bays where buses were waiting to bring the prospective students to the different testing sites for the practical exam. The written portion had been alright, at least, and Izuku is fairly confident that he would pass that one. The practical portion, however… the spells Frieren taught him had given him him confidence and a real chance to enter the hero course, but it was just impossible not to feel nervous.

"Hello, Izuku, you seem to be heading to Area C as well," Fumikage greeted. Uraraka also turned around, walking towards the two of them and matched their pace as they walked. "Hi, Midoriya! And, ah, hi, Midoriya's friend!"

"I am Tokoyami Fumikage," Fumikage greeted her. "I was not aware that my friend had finally gained another friend."

"We just met today at the gates," Izuku said. "I, uh, tripped, but she stopped me from falling."

"Is that so…?" Fumikage looked at the two of them. "Very well. I look forward to seeing both of you in class."

"Oh, you're too kind, Fumi!" Izuku laughed.

"...Fumi…" Fumikage muttered. He knew well where that doting nickname came from.

"The buses are here!" Uraraka pointed ahead, and sure enough, the buses were there, waiting. Present Mic was also there, shouting out instructions at the prospective students. Apparently, they were going to ride the buses to the testing areas… which they sort of already knew, but whatever. "Let's go!"

Blasting robots with Zoltraak and smashing them together with Blau Kraken (the actual name of the Mana Tendrils spell) has been, to sum it up, has been rather fun. The poor machines must be contemplating revolting against humanity again, because they were getting smashed apart at a vicious rate. Zoltraak pierced through one-pointers, three-pointers, and five-pointers, while Blau Kraken restrained and slammed them together. Meanwhile, somewhere close by, Dark Shadow went ham, destroying one robot after another in gleeful mayhem. It must be immensely therapeutic for the sentient quirk to break things.

And, to make things better, Izuku and Dark Shadow were shouting out the number of their "kills." It was something they picked up from an ancient pre-quirk movie called the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, where the dwarf and the elf were basically competing on how many orcs each one of them could kill while defending a fortress. Fumikage, meanwhile, facepalmed in second-hand embarrassment as several other examinees, such as a redhead with sharp teeth and a rocky exterior, a frog girl, and a blonde boy with a lightning bolt on his hair, stopped and listened with bewilderment. Another kid, one with purple hair, was busy somehow stopping the robots on their tracks just by talking to them (Power Loader had calibrated the robots to respond to examinees with mentalist quirks as if they were being affected, as Present Mic stated earlier during the general assembly). Oh hell, what if someone started complaining about "show-offs?"

"Sixteen!"

"Thirteen!"

"Seventeen!"

"ONE HUNDRED!"

"DON'T EVEN TRY TO BE FUNNY!"

"What intarnation? Are those magic circles?! And a staff?!"

Aizawa let out a sigh. He was trying his hardest to focus on watching the students as they took their practical exam, but Snipe was making it a little difficult. "Snipe, read the kid's quirk folder. He imagines himself as a mage to help his quirk work properly."

A moment of silence passed. "Oh. That… well, that is weird."

"Weirder than the one with a gluestick for a head? Or the one with a manga page for a head?" Aizawa asked. "Just… observe how he performs. Which, at the moment, appears to indicate that he has some actual promise."

Aizawa then felt some shuffling on his shoulder. Oh, damn his life. Nezu was here. How the hell he always manages to sneak into his capture weapon will always escape logical explanation. "Well! What a powerful quirk at work, indeed! He's going to you, Aizawa."

"No," Aizawa grumbled. He had been watching and listening to that green-haired kid in particular for about a few seconds, and he was shouting out his 'kill count' with… what is that, a sentient quirk coming out of a heteromorph? Well, that latter thing was just as weird as the whole pretending-to-be-a-mage-to-help-focus-his-quirk thing. But, he just knew that Midoriya Izuku would be a problem child for him. He'd rather have Vlad deal with that.

"Oh no, no, Aizawa. You know all the dangerous and powerful quirks go your class because you can stop them if anything goes wrong," Nezu stated. "And my decision is final."

Aizawa returned his stare to the screen. "I better not be getting the shadow monster, too."

"Oh, you will." Aizawa groaned. Just because he had Erasure doesn't mean Nezu should be throwing all the insane cases at him. "And now, for the final surprise of this exam…" Nezu cackled and the other teachers shrunk on their seats from the sheer chaos emanating from the furry principal. Nezu kept cackling as he slammed his paw at a red button. And then, he laughed even more.

"Hohohoho, how will they deal with the Zero Pointer, I wonder?"

A mountain of steel and cold logic had appeared.

"This must be the Zero Pointer Present Mic mentioned during the general assembly, kero." One of the other examinees, the frog girl, said. "We should just avoid it, kero."

Izuku was all too ready to agree to that. He had already blasted enough robots with Zoltraak and Mana Tendrils to get into the hero course. And, by this point, he was getting dangerously close to mana exhaustion."Let's get out of it's way-"

"Someone help me! I'm pinned!"

Izuku turned around. He saw Uraraka pinned beneath some rubble, the Zero Pointer's shadow looming over her. Was the robot's sensor array blind, or what? An examinee was in its path, and it's still going! Crap, it's going to crush her! It's surely going to step on her! And others too, probably. Either way, it's a nuisance and a danger.

"Fumikage, get Dark Shadow to get Uraraka out of that rubble!" Izuku shouted as he ran toward the Zero Pointer. Examinees shouted in surprise as he saw him run toward danger. Why, oh why, was he going for something that wouldn't give any points?

"On it," Fumikage sent Dark Shadow forward toward Uraraka. The rubble was heavy, however, and even Dark Shadow was having a hard time lifting it. But he did his damnedest and his hardest, and the rubble began to budge.

Izuku, meanwhile, stepped in front of the Zero Pointer. He knew for sure that the form of Zoltraak that he favored wouldn't be able to destroy the mountain-sized robot. However… a bigger, stronger Zoltraak can for sure. He used one of those against a boulder when Frieren had been training him, turning it into molten slag.

The mage-in-training visualized and imagined. He can't imagine himself killing anyone with Zoltraak. He couldn't visualize hitting a person with killing intent, not yet. But a big robot with no soul and going straight toward someone who was pinned down? Well, he could destroy that. He wants to destroy it.

Izuku pulled at his mana, his strength beginning to leave him as mana exhaustion crept in with each ounce of energy he put into this Zoltraak spell. He pointed his staff at the Zero Pointer's head, aiming to destroy it whole.

"Zoltraak."

Zoltraak surged forth. The biggest magic circle that Izuku ever conjured appeared on his staff, firing a beam of energy that slammed into the Zero Pointer's head and left an enormous, molten hole. With its head gone, the Zero Pointer simply stopped, sputtering to a complete stop.

Izuku wouldn't hear Present Mic announce that the exam was over, however, as he fell to the ground and his staff fell with a clatter.

Mana exhaustion was a bitch.