Chapter 9: To Make A Choice
"So," Toshinori began with a grin. "A Familiar?"
Ever since Young Midoriya had shown up for the day's training, the boy had been ecstatic to talk about their adventures in the Forest Of Familiars from the previous night. He spoke highly of the multitude of creatures he had seen, from the Undines to the Sprite Dragon. He spoke of them with such a childlike glee that, for the first time in a while, Toshinori had been reminded of just how young his protégé truly was.
There may have been times when he held himself up with the fortitude of someone much older, but he was still only fifteen years old.
Naturally, Izuku made sure to say nothing about what had happened with the Slimes. As far as he was concerned, his hero did not need to know about any of that.
Now if only those images of the girl's bare bodies would simply leave his mind! He would swear that he could barely get any sleep last night, not with their naked bodies continually popping into his mind no matter what he did.
It had definitely made heading home with Asia more awkward than it needed to be. Especially seeing as how both had seen the other in similar states.
Though his mind had certainly been put off of it when they had finally arrived home, before noticing just how late it had gotten. Even after facing down against a Stray Devil twice the size of All Might and a Fallen Angel that had nearly killed him, twice, the sight of his mother, lit only by the light of the living room lamp and glaring daggers at her two children was absolutely the most unnerving thing he'd gone through to date.
He still had no idea how Asia had been able to talk her out of grounding them.
"This Familiar of yours then?" Toshinori said, his grin never once fading as Izuku stopped to take a breath. "What's it like?"
"She's beautiful!" Izuku said, his grin matching his mentor's. "She's a large wolf!"
"A wolf huh," Toshinori responded as he began looking past Izuku. "Does she have white fur and pure black eyes?"
"Yeah! Wait, how'd you guess that?"
Toshinori simply pointed behind him.
When Izuku turned around, he found himself face to snout with a smiling Amako, falling off the damaged sofa he had been sitting on in surprise.
"Amako!? What are you doing here?" He asked, watching as she began wagging her tail while panting happily.
"Seems she's taken a bit of a liking to you my boy," Toshinori said with a teasing grin.
"I just…I thought they went back to the forest whenever they weren't summoned," he explained, remembering what Rias had mentioned the previous night as the canine went over to Toshinori.
The hidden hero extended his hand down to her, not wanting to pet her without any permission. He watched as she sniffed at his hand in curiosity, hoping she didn't mistake his arm for a chew bone.
He knew that he was bone thin in this form, but he'd rather she not take it literal.
Thankfully, she began licking at his hand after she finished sniffing it, even turning her head into his hand as he stroked her head.
"She seems like a fine Familiar, Young Midoriya," he said with pride as Amako's tail kept wagging with happiness.
"I…I guess," Izuku stammered out. He still had no real idea what exactly Amako was capable of. For all he knew, she could have just been a normal wolf without any real abilities.
Though he knew that certainly did not explain how she had just shown up out of the blue.
He heard his hero ask how he'd run into her when they were in the forest, and then began to snicker when he learned that she had run into him.
"Sound's like you had quite the interesting night my boy," Toshinori said, removing his hand from Amako as steam began emitting from his form, the legendary figure of All Might now standing before him once again. "I hope it didn't exhaust you too much for today!" His smile was as gleaming as it was iconic, pumping Izuku up more than anything he could do on his own as Amako looked on in surprise.
He didn't even know a wolf's jaw could drop like that.
"Of course not!" Jumping to his feet, a small spring in his step, Izuku had already begun moving toward another patch of garbage that littered the beach. "I'm ready to go!"
"That's the spirit my boy!" A hearty laugh followed his words as he watched Izuku begin his daily training, at least until he felt a weight on his chest. Looking down, he noticed that Amako had stood on her hind legs while reaching up to his torso, once again sniffing at him. "Don't worry girl. I am indeed the same person you saw before. And I promise that I mean no harm to your master."
Amako just kept sniffing at him before tilting her head curiously. She looked confused by his buffed up appearance, though he couldn't exactly blame her. She wasn't the first after all.
"I see you've made a new friend, All Might," a familiar voice called out, grabbing his attention. He watched as Rias walked over to him, her eyes having a new light to them as she saw Amako. "Good morning Amako. It looks like Izu wanted to introduce you to his hero today," she said as the wolf went to her side, gleefully receiving pats on her head.
"That's not exactly what happened," All Might admitted before telling Rias about the last few minutes. She seemed just as surprised as Izuku did when she heard about it. "Has something like this ever happened before?"
"There have been times where a Familiar was able to summon themselves, at least from what I've heard before," she said as she put her hand to her chin in thought, much to Amako's dismay. "But those times have been rather few, and only when their master's lives were in extreme danger. I wonder how she was able to do so here?"
"I wonder. Could she simply not want to be in the forest? From what Young Midoriya told me, not even the Masters of the forest knew of her existence," the pro suggested, watching as Amako yawned before laying down in the sand.
"It's definitely possible," Rias admitted before leaning down to face the Familiar. "Amako. I'm going to have to ask you to head back to the forest for now, okay? I'm sure Izuku will summon you whenever he needs you."
Amako seemed to pout at that before disappearing in a puff of smoke, much to All Might's confusion.
"As King, I hold sway over the Familiars of my peerage just as much as they do. I can't summon them, but they are bound to me just as much as they are to their masters," she explained as All Might shifted back to his normal appearance, not wanting to waste any more time in it than necessary.
He had no idea the kind of power Rias had truly held as the 'King' of a peerage. Part of it worried him, he wouldn't hesitate to admit that. It would be so easy for her to abuse such a power, to take advantage of any member of her peerage, and they would basically be helpless to stop her.
But over the past several months, he had gotten to know her. She had often offered to join him in assisting Young Midoriya with his training, even if it was as simple as cheering him on.
He was completely aware of how she had been training him as well, with her explaining just what she would be doing, and Young Midoriya confirming it. Not once had he ever seen her step beyond what he would define as appropriate boundaries.
Indeed, her presence had become rather welcome. She seemed to spur Young Midoriya's efforts whenever she showed up, getting ever so slightly ahead of schedule as he worked even harder. It had led him to suspect that his protégé may in fact be trying to impress her with his work ethic, even if he himself was not aware of it.
And he was also quite certain that Rias had ulterior motives of her own, judging by how her eyes seemed to light up whenever Young Midoriya had to remove his shirt. Even in the days when that didn't happen, her eyes had rarely ever left his form.
He wouldn't point that out to them of course. This would be something the two would have to work out on their own.
'Teenagers,' he thought as he rolled his eyes. He certainly didn't remember acting like that, but he had seen more than his fair share of such a thing over his life.
"He really is impressive," Rias said, breaking Toshinori out of his musings. He saw that she had her eyes locked squarely on Young Midoriya once more, though he could tell that she was speaking directly to him.
The pro had to hold back a small chuckle when his student had noticed Rias' arrival, watching as the two exchanged friendly waves to each other before Izuku went back to work, a bit faster than before.
"You're not wrong," Toshinori admitted. "With everything that's been happening with him lately, from grabbing the attention of a pro hero, meeting the sister of one of the Four Satan's, finding out that he holds a powerful artifact within him, and an unknown wolf as a Familiar, he's bound to have a very interesting future."
"I have no doubts about that," she told him as she watched Izuku begin lifting more and more garbage, frowning ever so slightly when she noticed him stumble before rubbing at his eyes like he was tired. He had gotten back up almost immediately, but it had certainly not gone without notice, by either her or Toshinori. "But I'm here for more than just admiring him."
"There's something I've been thinking about lately," she told him, finally taking her eyes off of Izuku and focusing them on Toshinori's sunken in blue orbs. "But I wanted to run it by you first if that's alright."
He could feel his eyebrow quirk at that, though he felt like he knew what she would be asking about.
After allowing her to speak, his suspicions had been confirmed.
The mood in the club room later that day was a rather joyous one, as it had been for the last several weeks.
Yumi and Asia sat beside each other happily, Asia stroking Raizuku's head as he lay comfortably on her lap. Akeno was busy serving out tea and sweets to everyone else as she chatted with Rias, tossing a treat over to Raizuku at one point, the Sprite Dragon gobbling it up greedily. Meanwhile Koneko, as per usual, was munching on her sweets as her gaze roamed over everyone in the room. While her face remained as stoic as it normally was, there was a feeling of contentment radiating from her.
At least until her gaze moved over to the sofa Izuku and Rias were sitting on.
Mainly because Amako was there again, having popped up out of nowhere again as they made their way to the club room,clearly making herself comfortable by Izuku's side, all while unintentionally pushing him closer to Rias' side.
Naturally, his face was blooming red the entire time.
Rias didn't seem to have any issue with it at least.
"He even cuddled up to me while I was sleeping!" Asia said excitedly. "He's just so cute!"
"He is rather adorable," Yumi replied as she began stroking along his back, the miniature dragon clearly enjoying it. "You really seem to have lucked out with him Argento."
"Thank you Yumi," she said with a smile.
The taller blonde smiled back, happy to see the newest member of their little family enjoying everything about their new life so far.
"I've been curious about something for some time Argento," Akeno spoke up as she took a sip of tea, having handed everyone a cup. "You seem to have no problem calling us all by our first names here. Is it common where you're from?"
"Yes? Is it really a problem here in Japan?" Asia had both a look of curiosity and dread on her face, hoping she hadn't done anything to offend her friends.
"Some people may find it to be one," Rias responded. "It's far more common here in Japan to address someone by their family name instead of their given one, unless they're especially close to one another."
"Oh." It still felt rather odd for her to hear people continually calling her by her last name, but if that was really the way things were done here…
"So, why don't you then Rias?" Asia asked, feeling confused.
"Old habits mainly," the older girl admitted. "Devil society functions similarly to most human societies, down to us addressing each other by our first names instead of our family names. I've tried adjusting since coming to Japan but," she said with a small chuckle. "I suppose it's as the saying goes. Old habits are hard to break."
"Would you be more comfortable with us calling you by your first name?" Akeno asked as she sat beside Rias.
"I don't mind at all if that's what you want to do," she responded, smiling widely.
"I don't see anything wrong with it?" Yumi said as she took a sip of her tea. "I asked Izuku if we could do the same when we had your party. It's a good way for us to show our friendship."
Her smile, bright as it usually was, seemed to glow just a little brighter as she spoke those words.
"Absolutely," Akeno said with a sly smile, the hint of a tease in her voice. "There's nothing wrong with our friendship with each other, is there Deku?"
Izuku wisely kept his mouth shut, though his already red cheeks seemed to grow redder when she spoke.
Koneko watched it all silently. She had nothing to actually contribute to this little conversation, though she would not particularly mind if Asia decided to call her by her first name at all. She would strive to do the same if it came down to it.
Though she may also have been a bit too on edge to say anything at all with Amako in the room. The instant she had seen the canine Familiar, she had ended up on top of one of the shelves, the wolf looking up at her with those big dumb happy eyes while her tail wagged.
She really hoped no one heard her hiss at the mutt.
Despite it all though, Koneko couldn't help but notice something whenever she looked at him. She watched as his eyelids drooped before opening back up again several times, making him look like someone who had been either getting a lack of needed sleep, or someone who was more tired than they wanted to let on.
"Midoriya. Are you alright?"
Naturally, she could not ignore something like this. She had seen it before with Yumi more times than she would ever admit.
Izuku blinked owlishly at her, only barely noticing that they had gotten the attention of the entire room.
"Huh? No…I mean yeah? I'm fine," he said before unintentionally breaking out into a yawn.
Naturally, his words did not convince anyone.
"Now that she's brought that up," Asia began, her eyes widening slightly in concern. "I've been noticing that Izuku's not been paying much attention in class lately. He looks like he's trying not to fall asleep."
She remembered several times seeing him nearly fall face first into one of his books, and actually falling down the stairs when he failed to notice a step.
Though she had done that too while wide awake, so she didn't exactly think much of it at the time.
"No really, I'm fine," he said again, hoping that they would believe him.
"Izuku, it's important for all of us to get our rest when we need it," Yumi said, her scolding making him feel several years younger than he was.
"She's right Deku," Akeno said after placing her now empty cup down. "Staying well rested allows us to fulfill our duties as efficiently as possible."
Izuku flinched as he began sinking into himself. He was getting ganged up on now.
"Although," Akeno added, a small smirk on her face, looking like a predator waiting to sink her teeth into her prey. "I had a rather rough time getting to sleep too. My mind just kept going back to what I saw."
Now he felt his face getting even redder as he broke out into a cold sweat.
"Was it like that for you too, Deku?"
She watched as his face somehow went even redder, quickly being matched by Yumi's and Asia's.
And Koneko's too, though hers looked to be more from frustration.
"Did you enjoy the view?"
The sound of sputtering quickly filled the room, Izuku being joined by both Asia and Yumi as Akeno's laughter filled the room, Rias joining her when she got a good look at the red on their faces.
Even through his sputtering, Izuku could feel the heated glare Koneko was sending him, her own face red with both embarrassment and anger, at least until it switched over to the still laughing Akeno, who's laughter switched to cackling once she caught sight of her glare.
"I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY!" His heart was beating more rapidly than he ever thought it could, the images of his friends bare bodies once again coming to mind as steam escaped his ears.
"I already told you Izu, there's no need for you to apologize," Rias said when she calmed down from her laughter, taking pity on him. "What happened was an accident. Besides, it's not like we didn't see anything of yours either." She made sure to rest her hand gently on his shoulder as she spoke to him.
Her words did little to comfort him though. In fact, reminding him that they had seen him had made him start shaking comically.
"I…well…what happened was no one's fault but those slimes, so Rias is right Izuku," Yumi said, one hand holding her blazing cheek as her thoughts went back to the previous night.
That had been the first time she had seen a man's…that outside of health books. It had certainly made it difficult for her to get to sleep as well.
"Yumi's right Izu. No one blames you for what happened, so please calm down," Rias told him, gently massaging his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.
Thankfully Koneko had stopped glaring, having turned away with a slight pout.
Akeno had stopped laughing, merely nodding in agreement with her King with a mirthful smile.
Amako lazily snoozed away next to him without a care.
"Well then, I think that's enough of that now," Rias said as she stood, grabbing everyone's attention. "We all have work to do tonight, including you Izu, so we'd best get to it."
The others nodded in agreement, each now holding a flyer specifically tuned to them for summoning. Before long, each of them had stepped into the center circle in the room before vanishing from sight completely.
Izuku made ready to head out to his bike, wondering when he would be able to use the circle like the others, before he was stopped.
"Izu. Do you mind waiting for a little while? There's something I wish to discuss with you."
The tone of her voice captured his attention almost instantly. Turning around to see her, she had a contemplative look on her face as she sat back down, lightly petting Amako as she did so.
Didn't she say that she didn't blame him for those slimes? Was this what it was about?
"This morning, while you were training, All Might and I ended up talking. Something has been bothering me for sometime now, and when I brought it up to him, he seemed to agree with me," she stopped to take a breath, as well as finishing off her tea. "You may sit back down if you wish."
He did so, wondering just what it was that had been bothering her as of late. He watched as she took in a breath before speaking, her words making his eyes widen.
"We both think that the rest of the peerage should know about One For All."
"Is that so?" Toshinori asked, his eyebrow quirked. If he was upset in any way by her suggestion, he didn't show it. "Why is that?"
"Everyone's aware that he's quirkless," she said, her eyes glued to Izuku's form as she spoke to the pro hero. "If he were to start throwing attacks at your level without his Sacred Gear, they would all immediately get suspicious."
"You're not wrong," he admitted. He had yet to say it to anyone, but such a thing had crossed his mind once or twice before as well. It wasn't like before, where the only one who may have gotten suspicious would have been Young Midoriya's mother, which could have easily been explained away by naming him as a late bloomer(A rare event to be sure,but it had happened before.) He had other people around him now. People who had already fought by his side, and seemed ready to stay by it if what Rias told him about them all wishing to attend U.A. was true.
Still, he wondered if there may have been other options.
"Couldn't we just say that it's an effect of his Sacred Gear? It already boosts his strength the more he uses it, so why not just say that it's given him a form of super strength?"
Rias shook her head in response. "My knowledge of the Boosted Gear may be limited, but I'm already certain it would not work. You and I both know that that accumulated strength eventually fades away after a while. Something like this simply cannot be brushed aside as some sort of side-effect." Her gaze finally shifted to the pro, her smile having faded into a neutral expression that did little to hide her concern over this matter. "I'm more than willing to try and keep this secret if it comes down to it, but my servants are smart. It won't take long for them to start seeing holes in the story, especially since they're also aware that he's training on this very beach."
Toshinori's eyes had shut as he listened to her words, his mind racing as to what should be done. She raised a good point, but would it be right for him to do so? One For All had been a closely guarded secret for generations of quirk wielders. Only the smallest number of people were even aware of its existence, let alone that he currently held it.
But that was the thing. Soon, sooner than he had initially expected, it would no longer be his quirk.
Once he passed it on to Young Midoriya, it would be his secret to tell.
Toshinori had told few people about the truth of his quirk. The only reason he had done so was because he had trusted them.
In the same way that Young Midoriya had placed his trust in his friends.
"You're not wrong," he said, his eyes open once more as they met Rias'. "Given how closely he'll be working with you all, it may be wise to let them in on the truth. But…," he moved his gaze from her back to Izuku, still hard at work. Rias followed his gaze, understanding what he was about to say in a heartbeat.
"In the end, it should be his choice. Not ours," the old pro said with a sigh. His eyes showed his age more than he ever wanted them to, but deep within was a look of pride as he watched his student work, a look Rias shared in earnest. "This power will soon be his. If he trusts everyone enough, then I have no issue with him telling them."
Rias nodded in response, her warm smile having not once left her face. "You realize though, that if he decides to tell them, they would also have to learn about your condition."
"I'm aware. If it comes down to it, it's something I can prepare for. Besides, no matter what happens, everyone will see me like this all the time anyway," he responded.
His time left with One For All was short, whether he passed it down to Young Midoriya or not. Eventually, he would no longer be able to perform his duty as the Symbol Of Peace. If others had to learn of it early to help his student, then it would be a small sacrifice to pay.
"Very well then," Rias said, her smile growing as she kept her eyes glued to Izuku. "I'll be sure to inform him about it."
She was then given something more to look at, as she watched him strip out of the top of his tracksuit, leaving his well-toned and sweaty chest bare to the world.
Toshinori rolled his eyes as he saw hers brighten once his protégé's bare torso was revealed.
Teenagers.
Izuku felt frozen in place as Rias spoke, her words bouncing through his skull as he took in each and every word.
"I know that this is placing a lot on you, but it is something you should think about," Rias said as she and Amako both sat up, the large wolf going over to lay her head on his lap. "I want you to know that even if you decide not to tell them, I will stand by your decision."
He didn't know what to think. Tell them all about One For All? And they would even be learning about what happened to All Might? He didn't know what to truly think about any of this.
The idea of revealing his hero's secret left a bad taste in his mouth, even with Rias already knowing about it. And even then, they would learn an even darker secret.
That All Might was weakening.
Someday soon, his era would come to an end, and he had no idea what would happen after that. The instant All Might would retire, a thought that had brought him to tears before, everything could fall apart.
And then, everything would be on his shoulders.
"It's a heavy burden, isn't it?" Rias asked, a frown on her face as she broke him out of his thoughts. "Knowing that you will be inheriting something important, whether you feel ready or not. That you will have to make a decision that can affect people you may never even know. So many things will end up landing on your shoulders, and you'll never be sure if you won't collapse under it all."
Her words struck a chord with him. Like she understood everything about what was bothering him. He knew that she was the heiress to a powerful and influential family in the Underworld, but what could it be that lay on her shoulders?
"Even so Izu, I want you to remember something." She had placed her hands gently on his shoulders before meeting him with the biggest smile she could muster, one that could put All Might to shame. "No matter what you choose to do, I'll be right there by your side. You won't have to shoulder it all alone.
She removed her hands before quickly embracing him, his head once more buried in her chest. It was comforting, a feeling he didn't know that he needed as he embraced her back.
After holding each other for what felt like minutes, the two broke apart, soft smiles on their faces.
"Keep it in mind," Rias said as she stood tall before him. As he made to stand back up, he was reminded that Amako was resting her head on his lap, the wolf looking up at him before licking his cheek affectionately. "I suppose you have someone else in your corner as well," Rias said with a small giggle.
While he knew that this would be something he would be pondering for some time, he appreciated Rias' words, as well as Amako's affections.
"Before you go though Izu," Rias spoke up as he began once more to leave the building. "Be sure to get some rest tonight. Yumi and Akeno were both right after all," she said with a small smirk, holding back a laugh as she watched him leave with a slightly red face, making sure that the canine Familiar would disappear back to the forest from whence she came before leaving on her own summon.
She meant every word she said to him. She would stand by his decision, no matter what it was. All that remained now was to wait for his choice.
He wondered just what kind of person had summoned him this time.
Most of the time, he ended up being summoned by Mr Morisawa or Milly. Not that he had anything to complain about with them. Mr Morisawa was always fun to talk to, he had even been told by him that he was looking to ask someone out at his work. Izuku wished him the best of luck.
Milky meanwhile, seemed to just enjoy his company, usually wishing to simply watch more magical girl anime with him. And while something about her still weirded him out a little, he couldn't say that he didn't come to enjoy going to see her either.
He still had no way of making her an actual magical girl though.
Despite it all however, his mind would keep going back to what he and Rias had discussed. He simply didn't know what to do.
He appreciated that she was willing to stand by his decision no matter what, but no matter what he did, he couldn't think of good reasons against telling them that outweighed all the good reasons for telling them.
They were his friends. They talked with him, encouraged him, and spent time with him. Even Koneko, who he wasn't as close to as the others, still didn't seem to mind his company. Some of them had even been fine with him using their given names, something he hadn't experienced in years.
Shouldn't he have every reason to trust them?
All these thoughts ran through his mind the closer he got to his summoner's address. Outside of the incident with Freed, who was still at large, each of his contractors had a welcoming sight to their homes, even if they were simple apartments. They tended to send a warmth through him for some reason, almost like he was stepping into his own home.
This one felt nothing like that.
He hadn't felt so off approaching some place since the church they had rescued Asia from. Despite looking like a normal house, its very presence managed to send a chill up his spine.
He made sure to quickly place his phone in his hand, ready to contact Rias immediately if there was any trouble that he couldn't handle.
Steeling himself, he rang the doorbell, a soft chime echoing in his ears as he watched the door open.
Standing there was an older looking man in a green yukata with black hair that faded into golden bangs, all while sporting a black goatee. He also towered over Izuku, even making Yumi look small In comparison. He didn't exactly reach All Might's height of course, but it still lent him a presence that unnerved him all the same.
That and the man's barely hidden smirk.
"Um, h-hello," Izuku gulped out, cursing himself for stuttering. "I'm the Devil you called for."
"Is that so?" The man asked, his eyebrow quirked as he studied Izuku. "Shouldn't you have popped out of the flyer? Isn't that what Devils do?"
"S-sorry. I'm still working on that," he said, giving a slight bow to the larger man in apology, but never once taking his eyes away from him.
"Well, I suppose it's not really that big a deal," the man shrugged, much to Izuku's surprise. He had partially expected the man to be upset and criticize him for being tardy.
Though he supposed it was better than the ones who had been upset that he wasn't one of the girls.
"Well? What're you waiting for? Come on in boyo."
That feeling continued creeping up his spine as he entered the man's home, even as he ended up looking around in amazement. His client's home was impeccably furnished and clean, and was covered by various pieces of artwork across each wall that he could see.
He wondered just how his client could have afforded all this. The house's outward appearance was nowhere near as extravagant as the inside. It even seemed to be bigger somehow.
Sitting down on the closest sofa, one of three immediately in sight that reminded him of the ones in the club room, Izuku began wondering just who his client even was. In spite of the yukata, the man was clearly a foreigner, possibly American or European like Asia, though he spoke Japanese as fluently as a native born.
He watched as the man began approaching him, a fine silver tray in his hands, with very fine saké cups alongside a bottle atop it. "Care for a drink?"
Izuku just blinked at the man incredulously. Was he actually serious?
"I'm underage."
"Really?" The man asked, looking surprised before narrowing his eyes as he looked closer at Izuku. "Huh, guess you are. Thought you were just real short for your age. Oh well," the man said, taking the sofa opposite Izuku as he began pouring himself a cup.
The more Izuku watched him, the more…off he felt about the man. He just had no idea why. He hoped he was keeping his phone discreetly hidden just in case.
"Shame," the man said before downing the entire cup. "Was hoping I'd have someone to drink with."
"Is…is that the reason you summoned me?"
"Yup," he answered bluntly. "Though I'll probably have to think of something else now."
Izuku just blinked owlishly at the man. He'd had odd summoners before, Milly especially, but their wishes seemed more fantastical, something one would aspire to have in their life.
Just wanting someone to drink with was so mundane.
"Wait, I think I got it," the odd man suddenly said, shaking Izuku from his thoughts. "I got some dishes in the sink over there. You mind washing them?"
Izuku just stared at him completely dumbfounded. Was he serious?
As it turned out, he was.
Izuku found himself washing each and every dish lying there in the sink. Thankfully, there weren't too many dishes, and he had everything he needed there by the sink to get them done.
The entire time, he and the strange man spoke to one another, the man apparently getting tipsy the more he drank.
"HAHAHA! That's great kid! Your magic power's really so weak that you need to bike here!"
"You don't really need to say it like that," Izuku responded despondently.
"Why not? It's hilarious!" The man guffawed, having a good laugh at his expense.
As they continued to talk, their little conversation veered into something more up Izuku's alley. Quirks. The man even seemed to sober up the instant he started talking about them, apparently having just as much enthusiasm about them as he did.
Oddly enough, not once did he ever talk about having a quirk of his own, or even asking if he had one.
This went on for another hour, the two talking long after Izuku had finished drying the dishes, before the man realized he had run out of saké.
"Well, that's a shame," he said with a sigh. "Probably for the best though. We've been talking for quite a while." He then grinned at Izuku, looking rather impressed with him. "You got those dishes done fast kid. Not bad."
"It's not the first time I've done dishes." Naturally, there had been many times where he'd helped his mom with doing the dishes.
"I could tell. Kind of a shame we have to stop here. This was getting kind of fun," he said as he began setting the saké cups back on the tray. "So then, what do I owe you? My soul?"
"Huh? Wha!? No! No! It doesn't work like that!"
At least that's what Rias had told him. Long ago, there had been Devils who had attempted to barter souls from the humans they had forged contracts with, but it had quickly been abandoned. One's soul only had true worth to them, and it would be useless in the hands of another.
Good for the contractor, but the Devil's still needed to do business.
"Really? Could have sworn that was how it worked," he said as he stood up with the tray. "Still, got to pay you somehow though," he said as he began looking around the room. He then pointed over toward one of the walls, a painting hanging directly where where was pointing. "How about that?"
Izuku did not have what one would call an eye for art. Sure, he sketched in his hero notebooks at times, and he had even received compliments from some about them, mainly his mother, but that was where his experience with art began and ended. It certainly looked nice, depicting a quiet cityscape separated by a lone road with tons of blue tones, but it didn't really pop out that much to him.
"What do you think? Not a reproduction either. That's the real deal right there," the man said, a grin on his face the entire time.
"Um, it looks nice?" Izuku responded, not certain of what to say.
"Well, I don't really have much else with me at the moment," the man shrugged before adopting a sly grin on his face that eerily reminded him of Akeno. "Though if you don't want it, I could still put up my soul."
"THEPAINTING'SFINE!"
He could hear the man's laughter behind him as he pedaled away from the house, the painting now strapped to his back as his face was stained red with embarrassment. It had certainly been an interesting contract, though he never exactly figured out just what it was that made him feel so on edge when it came to that strange man.
At the very least though, it had been able to put his mind off more important matters, at least for a small while.
As Izuku biked away, the man stood in the doorway, smiling widely as he still shook with silent laughter. The kid was easy to rile up.
"You got yourself an interesting one this time," he said as he closed the door, Izuku vanishing over the horizon. "Haven't you Ddraig?"
Despite all his efforts, Izuku had little success in coming to any kind of decision over the next week. Day after day saw him struggling with the same questions time and again, and each time he found himself unable to come to any real conclusion.
In an effort to try and put it off his mind, he started pushing himself even harder in his training. And not just with All Might, but with Rias as well. He would work himself to near exhaustion every day, and then continue to try and make progress even when told to get rest.
It became even harder for him to hide it from the others though. They noticed him looking more and more exhausted as the days passed, each of them telling him that he should get some rest. His attempts to tell them that he was fine fell on deaf ears as his exhaustion made itself more and more apparent though.
And then finally, it caught up to him.
It was another day when he was training with Rias. Asia had decided to join them both that day, both to get herself in better shape for whatever Rias would require of her, and because she was concerned about Izuku's health.
He looked ready to keel over, barely able to stand upright and with eyes so baggy and sunken in at this point they could have matched All Might's in his normal state.
Both she and Rias had tried to convince him to go home and rest, but their requests also fell on deaf ears as he started without them. Thanks to his exhaustion though, he had lagged behind them both pretty quickly, with Asia able to finish all of hers before he had even gotten halfway through with his own.
"Izu," Rias asked, slowing her jogging speed as she went to Izuku's side, the young man panting heavily with sweat cascading down his body. "Are you really sure you can do this?c
"Ye…yeah. I'm…I'm fine," he panted out, his stride slowing more and more as he tried speaking with her. "I'm…I'm fine. I'm al… I'm alrigh…"
He didn't even finish his sentence before collapsing to the ground, unable to hear his companions' concerned cries as he lapsed into unconsciousness.
"Deku! Come on! Let's play hero!"
The call of one of his best friends seemed to wake him from some kind of slumber, rubbing his eyes to stay awake.
He seemed to be surrounded by some sort of white void. He could barely see anything around him, even the hand he had used to wipe at his eyes looked blurry and unfocused.
But he would never forget that voice
Over in the distance , far from where he lay, were his old friends, Kacchan and RinRin. He couldn't make out any details about them, only the color of their hair, a dark blonde and light brown, but he knew it was them all the same.
"Yeah!" He heard RinRin shout. "This time I get to be the hero!"
"What!?" He heard Kacchan cry out. "Don't be stupid! I'm the hero!"
"You got to be the hero last time Kacchan!"
He could hear RinRin pouting as she began arguing with Kacchan.
He felt himself rise to chase after them. And why wouldn't he? They were his best friends. The people who stood by him after he was diagnosed as quirkless, after all the other kids decided that he wasn't worth hanging around.
"Izu?"
Another familiar voice rang out. When he turned to see its source, he saw a blob of red in the distance, waving to him next to a shock of blonde hair, one different from Kacchan's.
"Izuku! Over here!"
Rias. And Asia. That's right. They were his friends too.
The more he stared over at where they were, he saw more blobs of color. One white, another blonde, one black, and a shade of brown different from RinRin's.
They were all there. Akeno, Yumi, Konkeo, Ochako. His new friends. Others who knew of him being quirkless. People who cared about him just the same.
He looked over to where Kacchan and RinRin stood. They seemed farther away than before, but he still felt their warmth. It was like they were still here even as they moved further away.
"Izu."
He turned again to see it. That same shade of red that looked to be reaching out to him. That same warmth began enveloping him as he reached his left arm toward it, the red glowing brighter and brighter the closer his hand got.
And then he watched as the color grew.
"Finally."
That voice. He had heard it before, he knew it. It sounded so familiar, like the call of his long gone friends, but somehow deeper and infinitely more powerful. But who was it? And why did it feel like it was so close to him?
"Because I am."
Suddenly, his vision became clearer, the white void fading away into darkness as he became more and more aware of what was around him. His friends were no longer in sight. Was he hallucinating? Was anything here even real? What was going on? And just who was that voice?
"Me."
The voice was closer than ever before now, and when he turned to face its source, he saw that very same shade of red he had reached out to before, only now, it was growing.
Stretching up higher and higher before his very eyes, expanding outward as much as it did upward as shapes began to form. He could see sharp talons grow on large limbs, wings of deep crimson bursting forth from its back, and eyes as red as blood staring into his very soul.
It took its final shape before him, a great beast with teeth sharper than any blade could dream. A great horn burst from their forehead as it stared down at him, their crimson scales resembling flowing magma.
Izuku recognized what this beast was the second its form solidified. For what else could it be?
"Dragon."
His voice came out as a whispered awe as he looked upon the creature before him, the dragon seeming to grin in amusement at him.
"Indeed. You have heard me before, but I have not been able to contact you again until now. I was starting to believe that it was nothing more than a fluke. I had truly begun to think that you were too weak to even perceive me at all. But here we are now."
Weak? Perceive? Izuku wished he could understand just what this dragon was talking about. And what did they mean by him hearing them before? Just what were they? What was going on?
"Simple. I wished merely to introduce myself. After all, you and I will be fighting side by side together from now on. Partner."
Partner? What did they mean by that? Fighting side by side? Just who was this dragon?
"You already know who I am, of that I'm certain. You're more than smart enough. You only need to think about it just a little bit."
He already knew? But how? How could he know?
Wait.
A crimson red dragon. They claimed that they would fight by his side. And he had heard them before.
Instinctively, Izuku looked down at his left arm. On it, he saw the Boosted Gear, now covered in scales that matched the dragon before him, with razor sharp talons that looked like they could tear through metal as though it were wet paper.
It all clicked together.
"The Boosted Gear."
"That's right," the dragon said with a grin. "I am the being that resides within the Boosted Gear. It is from me where it draws its abilities. You have a great power lying within you, and you will soon receive even more. I won't lie, I'm very interested to see where this all goes."
Izuku had questions, more questions than he was certain he could ask, but as he began to speak, the void around them had started fading away.
"We're out of time for now. Rest assured that we will meet again, and soon. Until then, Midoriya Izuku, I want you to hear my name, and to never forget it. After all, we're partners now."
The void faded away more and more as the dragon spoke, everything blurring away as it felt like he was being pulled from where he stood. The dragon's form began to fade away more and more, and he felt his eyes grow heavier and heavier.
But before they finally shut, he heard the dragon speak once more.
"Y Ddraig Goch. See you soon partner."
He could feel his eyes slowly fluttering open, exhaustion still making itself known as he struggled to wake. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a dark orange light streaking through the darkness of the room he was in, letting him know that it was nearly dusk. He had apparently been unconscious for several hours.
None of this truly entered his mind however, as he had found himself face to face with something that grabbed his complete attention.
Namely, the sight of bare naked breasts.
The worst part was that he instantly knew who they belonged to, and a small glance up revealed him to be correct.
Rias Gremory held him directly to her chest, the rest of her body every bit as bare.
He thought that he would yelp in surprise, maybe even find a way to try and wriggle out of her hold, but he couldn't. Rias had wound up wrapping her arms around his head as she slept, holding him close to her the entire while.
Even then, he still felt every bit as tired as he had earlier, the energy to try and escape her hold simply didn't come to him no matter what he tried.
So all he could do was wait for her to awaken. Part of him wondered if he should try going back to sleep, but he knew he couldn't.
That dream that he had just had shook him. Did he really see a dragon? A dragon that claimed to be his Sacred Gear?
And that name. Y Ddraig Goch.
He understood what those words meant as soon as he heard them.
The Welsh Dragon.
He didn't know what to think about that.
He also didn't know what to think about all his friends showing up in his dream as well.
He had dreams of both Kacchan and RinRin before. He had found himself rather lonely after they had both moved away, and his dream felt like they were the only times he would ever see them again.
But after meeting Rias and the others, he found himself dreaming about them less and less.
He would never forget them, he knew that, but his new friends had clearly filled a void in his heart. He'd had dreams of them too.
Mainly of them all as heroes of course.
But this was the first time all of his friends had been in the same dream. Why? What could have brought that on?
A cute yawn broke his thoughts away from those burning questions.
His eyes found a way to roam upwards, the teen having found himself unable to tear them away from the sight of her breasts the beforehand, as he watched her eyes slowly begin to open.
"Izu? You're awake. That's good," she said tiredly, a soft smile on her face that seemed to make his heart skip a beat.
"R-rias? What's…what are…?" His words were stammered out as his heart began racing faster. What happened after he collapsed in front of her and Asia? And where was Asia right now?
Her smile began to fade as he asked his questions, before she cuddled him closer to her chest, burying his nose into her supple bosom.
"I was worried when I saw you collapse. Asia and I brought you back to the club room to try and help you recover," she told him, gently stroking her hand through his forest of hair.
'So fluffy,' she thought to herself.
"B-b-but why are…you…n-n-n-naked?"
"Have you forgotten? I am able to heal you so long as I keep you close. Besides, I'm still more comfortable sleeping like this than clothed. You seemed rather content as you lied in my arms that I must have fallen asleep as well."
Well, that certainly explained why she had been holding him so close. He had actually forgotten about that particular ability of hers, much to his shame.
"Don't be ashamed Izu," she said with that slightly teasing tone he had come to expect from her in a situation like this. "I told you before that you can look at them if you like."
Did she really need to say that? His face was already red enough by waking up where he was! He didn't need her to make it worse!
He was already using all his willpower to keep his "Little Might" from poking her.
"Izu."
Her voice had become more stern as she began releasing him from her grasp, allowing him to stare her right in the eye. She looked concerned for him, worried that he may collapse again right in front of her.
"You've been overworking yourself, haven't you?"
His eyes widened before he looked away in shame, confirming her suspicions.
"Izu, All Might and I worked hard to make that plan for you. We both wanted to make sure that you could become as strong as you need to be without tearing your body apart. Overworking yourself is going to have the opposite effect. Your body will break down more, it won't get the rest it needs for all your work to matter," she spoke gently, but her voice was firm as she spoke, making certain that he would hear everything she had to say.
"So why haven't you been following it?"
"I…" He struggled to find the words he could say to her. What could he actually say that wouldn't make her disappointed in him?
"I need to get stronger."
The words he needed came from his heart as he looked back to her, his eyes meeting hers as a fire once more began to burn in them. "You, Himejima, Yumi, Tojou, all of you have been Devils longer than I have. You're all stronger than me. I don't want to be the weak link that drags you down. I need to push myself more, work harder than everyone else if I want to make my dreams a reality. If I don't, then I'll never be able to catch up to all of you."
The image of his entire peerage entered his mind. Everything that he had seen them do, what he knew they were capable of played out in his head. Yumi's speed and swordsmanship, Koneko's pure power and defense, Akeno's electrical prowess, and Rias' power of destruction. All of it seemed so far ahead of him, even with his Sacred Gear.
It wasn't just them either. Ochako with her gravity quirk and power siphoning Sacred Gear. Raynare and her ability to manipulate light into weapons, even if he had ended up beating her.
And finally, standing above them all, All Might. The titanic power he wielded through One For All felt like it outclassed them all.
"If I'm going to stand side by side with everyone, I can't just settle with good enough. I need to push myself harder to make it happen. To not only make it to U.A., but to excel past it. If I want to do all that, I need to go beyond."
Rias stared at him, never uttering a word as he spoke. She felt a sense of pride welling as she heard him, despite her worries about his health.
She had come to know him well over these past few months. From how his life was before, with him having almost no one in his corner, to this very moment, where he wanted to push himself so that he could stand beside everyone who supported him.
But with as well as she had come to know him, she could tell that something else was bothering him. Something that had been bottled within him for the past week.
"And what about whether or not you want to tell everyone about One For All?"
The fire in his eyes began to die as soon as those words were uttered, his face becoming downcast. She regretted speaking those words after he had just given her such a rousing speech, but she knew that they needed to be said.
"Izu, I don't want you to torture yourself over this."
She saw that she had regained his attention, judging by how his face began rising back up to meet hers.
"When I brought it up to you before, I only wanted it to be something to think on, not something that would bring you grief. You've been pushing yourself not only to succeed, but also to try and put it out of your mind, haven't you?"
He nodded ever so slightly. He couldn't lie to her, not after everything he had just confessed. To try and deny it all now would accomplish nothing.
"I never meant for this to hurt you Izu. If you don't want to choose, then you don't have to," she told him, catching him by surprise. "We can keep this secret from the rest for as long as we need. You don't need to keep doing this to yourself."
"I…" Part of him wanted to tell her no, that she didn't need to rescind it like that, but another part of him felt relieved. He still had no idea what to do about that. Just brushing it aside though, and without thinking about how the others would feel if they kept that secret to themselves?
It didn't feel right.
"I…I still don't know yet," he admitted, a bit of a spark to his words as he began to speak again. "But I can't just say no to it like that. I'll come to a decision, I promise."
He sent her a smile. A soft smile, one thay let her know that he meant every word, that he truly would not just brush such a thing to the side and treat the others like they didn't deserve to know.
It felt like her heart skipped a beat when she saw it.
"That's good to hear," she said, returning his smile with one of her own. "Take as much time as you need after tonight."
"Tonight?"
"You still have to fulfill your contracts after all. You'll never truly grow as a Devil without them. Tonight though," she began, a twinkle of amusement in her eye. "I'll be coming with you to keep an eye on you."
He sat there looking dumbfounded.
"Huh?"
"What kind of master would I be if I neglected my previous servants in such a way? I don't want you to end up falling unconscious again, so I'll be there to catch you if you fall."
The two ended up smiling at each other again, Rias' words sounding like a blessing to his tired body.
"And maybe…" she continued.
"Maybe?" He had no idea what she was thinking of right now.
"I'm thinking that maybe you should get some kind of reward for getting one done for tonight, as well as an apology for causing you such anguish. So I've come to a decision."
"Okay?" Just what could she offer him right now?
"If you complete tonight's contract, I'll let you touch these," she said, gesturing towards her breasts.