Chapter 1
Izumi looked down at her ruined notebook, burned and soaking from being tossed into the fish pool. It wasn’t like the notebook itself was expensive, or practically valuable, but it hurt to see all her hard work destroyed. Quirk Analysis was one of the few things that made her happy in her shitshow she called a life.
She knew trying to be a Hero without a Quirk was impossible, she didn’t need anyone, Bakugo especially, to tell her that. Izumi had long since abandoned her dream to be Hero, ever since…. She had met “him”.
The reason her notebook was destroyed was because her teacher had mentioned she had made an application for UA. Katsuki had taken it as a challenge, or just as an excuse to make her feel as small as possible. He ignored the fact she had applied for the General Education and Support Courses, and after classes ended, he made sure to remind how worthless she was to him.
But what hurt more than the burns she got, was his “Advice” to her before he left.
“If you want to be Hero so bad, go take a swan dive off a roof, and maybe you’ll get a half decent Quirk in your next life!” The words of an aspiring Hero, truly inspirational.
Izumi looked at her watch, and decided that it wasn’t the best use of her time just standing there, so she did her best to wring the water out of her notebook, mand made her way home.
She had overheard that Katsuki and his cronies were going o the arcade, so she should be able to get home safely without having to worry about them. she hated having to always look over her shoulder, but not for much longer. 10 more months and Katsuki would be in the Hero course. Away from her. Her teacher had made it out as UA was her first choice, but it was actually her second. Her first choice was Seikō College, one founded by David Shield himself. UA was just her backup plan.
Her teacher had done that on purpose, probably finding some satisfaction in Katsuki and the other students tormenting her. And what was she gonna do? Report Katsuki for Suicide baiting her? She knew it wouldn’t work. After all, Katsuki was an Exemplar.
Exemplar’s were those who were scouted and hand picked by the Hero Commission, given private training and was guaranteed to get into any Hero School of their choice. Even if she had a recording of what Katsuki said to her, the Hero Commission would shut it down so fast she would get whiplash. Izumi saw it happen once before. It would happen again.
‘It must be nice to be born for greatness huh?’ she thought to herself as she passed under a bridge, holding her nose to block out the putrid smell of the sewer. So caught up in her thoughts, she failed to notice as a dark green sludge lifted the man hole cover and rose up, quickly growing in size. A disfigured mouth and a pair of bloodshot eyes formed, locking on to Izumi.
“Lucky me. A medium sized host. Not exactly what I was looking for, but you’ll do” It spoke in a groggy and slimy voice. Izumi spun around to see the still growing mountain of sludge, eyes widening in fear. She turned to try and run, but the sludge enveloped her in seconds, and began to force itself down her throat.
“Sorry kid, nothing personal. The less you struggle, the less it’s gonna hurt. Give it 45 seconds or so and it’ll be all over” it told her, her lungs beginning to fill up with sludge. Izumi struggled to free herself, but the villain’s body made it impossible. Not matter how hard she tried, it was hopeless.
Tears began to flowed from her eyes, silently crying. ‘Please someone, anyone help me. I don’t want to die like this’. But her prayers fell on deaf ears. Nobody was coming to save her. She was going to die.
“Don’t worry kid, I’ll make sure to dump your body somewhere they can find you. right after I have some fun that is”
Was this her fate? To die to some villain in a sewer, to have her body used as a puppet for his enjoyment?
(“If you want to be Hero so bad, go take a swan dive off a roof, and maybe you’ll get a half decent Quirk in your next life!”)
Izumi could feel herself becoming weaker by the second, losing feeling in her body. Black dots began to fill her vison as the world started to fade away.
(“Maybe you’ll get a half decent Quirk in your next life!”)
(“Maybe you’ll get a half decent Quirk in your next life!”)
(“Maybe you’ll get a half decent Quirk in your next life!”)
(“Maybe you’ll get a half decent Quirk in your next life!”)
(“Maybe you’ll get a half decent Quirk in your next life!”)
(“Maybe you’ll get a half decent Quirk in your next life!”)
No.
She couldn’t die, she refused to, not while she had someone to live for.
Izumi used what strength she had left to free her arm, and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small pocket knife; one her mother had given her as protection.
Even with her fading consciousness, Izumi was still able to break down the villain’s Quirk. He was capable of speech, meaning he possessed organs such as a brain and lungs, which his fluid body was formed around. She looked over to where the villain had come from, noticing the lifted man hoile cover.
‘If his entire body is made of Sludge, he wouldn’t have bothered to lifted the cover up entirely, just enough for him to slip through. Meaning his organs are still solid, including….’
With her final shred of strength, she sent her arm backwards, and drove the knife into his eye.
“AHHHH! He screamed, in to much pain to do anything. Izumi then twisted the knife, and yanked it out. The villain thrashed in agony, throwing Izumi away in the process. She landed towards to exit to the tunnel, coughing up the foul liquid.
As precious air filled her lungs, her vision began to clear, the world becoming visible once again. The Sludge villain was still thrashing in around, holding his destroyed eye. She felt strength return to her body, allowing to move again. She looked towards the exit, knowing she didn’t have a lot of time before the villain would be coming for her again. But as she got up to run, a blue square holographic screen manifested itself in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.
[Notice]
[You have met all of the requirements to complete the Secret Quest, ‘Courage of the Weak’]
Wait, what? Secret Quest? Requirements? Why was nearly dying a requirement!? And for what?
[You now Qualify to become a Player. Do you accept?]
[Time is limited. Your enemy will recover soon. DO YOU ACCEPT?]
‘A Player? What in the world is a Player!? What the fuck is even going on?’ Izumi asked herself.
[Notice]
[Enemy will recover in 0.02. You will be at Enemy’s mercy if you decline]
[Accept] [Decline]
Before Izumi even had a second to consider her options, she heard the villain scream at her “YOU LITTLE BITCH!”
She looked over to the villain, who had managed to recover from the pain. His remaining eye locked on to Izumi, while the one she stabbed was oozing sludge out of it. while his face was made of sludge, it still conveyed enough emotion to tell Izumi the villain was beyond angry.
“Here I was being nice, giving you a quick death. I was even gonna leave your body somewhere you’d be found. But now?” his body began to morph and change, forming into a mass of spiked tendrils, al aimed at Izumi. “I’M GONNA SCREWE YOU ALIVE!!” he lunged towards her, a stinking tsunami of spikes.
Izumi looked over to the screen, the options still waiting and ready. She had no idea what this even was, but if it could save her life, she was willing to take that risk.
“Accept!” She screamed at the screen, and it instantly changed, reading: [Congratulations! You have become a Player!]
“That’s right kid! Accept you fate!” the Sludge Villain laughed, nearly upon her.
“I DON’T THINK SO VILLAIN!” a booming voice called out, grabbing both Izumi’s and the Villain’s attention “DETROIT….SMASH!”
A blast of compressed air torn through tunnel, exploding the villain’s body on impact, and through Izumi through the air once more. The world became black for her once again, the last thing she saw being the familiar figure at the end of the tunnel.
“A-All, Might?” escaped her lips as she fell into unconsciousness.
Many miles away, the Forgotten King felt a shiver run down his spine, as he sensed something, a power that he had not felt in very long time.
“So, you’ve retuned to haunt me have you, Player?” He snarled. Red electricity coursed over his body as he stood up and looked over the city below him.
“Bring it on”