Claws and Hooves
"Your Japanese is very impressive, Izuku-kun. It's almost like you've always known it." Tenya praised the Tiefling as he read over the assignment that Aizawa-sensei had assigned them.
"Thanks, I guess. But I only know it because of the Comprende Language spell, otherwise I wouldn't be able to write it, read it, understand it, or speak it" Izuku said this off handedly, he was still a little weirded out by the niceties and praise from the humans.
"You can do magic?!" Mina perked her head up from her group with Tooru and Kyoka, she left the two others to rush over to Izuku's group. "If you can do magic here does that mean there is magic in this world? Can you teach me?"
Izuku couldn't help the smile on his lips, Ashido's enthusiasm reminded him of when he was little begging his mom to teach him magic. "I think I have something that can help let me know if magic exist in this world, because I am casting magic through my Patron."
"Patron?" Tenya asked the horned boy but before he could answer the bell rang signalling them to head to lunch. Mina walked with Izuku asking him all kinds of questions in the regards to magic, Izuku doing his best to answer the pink skinned girl.
----
"What's wrong Izuku-kun? Kero~" Tsuyu noted that the boy looked a little crestfallen as he looked at his meal.
"Oh, it's just that apparently the cook isn't allowed to serve steak bloody, or bones for the marrow." Izuku jabbed the strange, breaded meat, that the coof Lunch Rush had assured him he would love, it covered the white rice beneath, the steam keeping the meat warm.
"That doesn't sound like a safe meal to eat." Denki said with a wrinkled nose at the thought of eating a steak that was bloody.
"You eat raw meat and bone?" Katsuki asked the greenette, his eyebrow raised at the Tiefling who fixed him with an indignant look.
"No, I do not eat raw meat and bones. The meat is cooked at low heat so it browns nicely outside but inside is still pink enough with just a hint of blood, and the marrow from the bone is a delicious dessert." Izuku was drooling a bit at remembering the way his mom used to cook his favorite meal.
Eijirou couldn't help but think how cute the Tiefling looked, surprising himself at that. Eijirou shook his head clearing it of thoughts before using his chopsticks to pick up a piece of katsudon and offer it to Izuku. "It might not be what you're used to eating, but Lunch Rush's cooking is really delicious."
Izuku eyed the offered meat with some hesitation before opening his mouth and accepting the meat, Eijirou blushed hard his mind going to dirty places as he watched Izuku's forked tongue lick his lips. The solid green eyes of his grew wide and seemed to sparkle.
"Wow, that is really good." Izuku picked up a piece with his fingers popping it into his mouth, Tenya's eyebrow quivered at the sight, he tried to restrain himself from saying anything, Izuku was after all from a different dimension they might have different etiquette when it came to eating but he couldn't hold hold his tongue when Izuku scooped up some rice offering it to Kirishima, and the redhead ate it from his hand.
"Izuku-kun, that is not the proper way to eat!" Tenya stood up from his seat chopping the air in from of him. "And Kirishima, you should know better! Please use the appropriate utensils." Tenya pointed to the chopsticks on Izuku's tray.
"Why? It's easier to eat with your hands." Izuku looked at the bulkier human who looked like he was about to pop a vein.
"Because it's improper manners to eat with one's hands, or even offer food to someone else with your hands."
"But, I don't know how to use these things." Izuku picked up the disposable chopsticks with a frown, how does one eat with two sticks, Mashirao came to his aid.
"Here, Izuku-kun, let me help you. You hold this one like this, and the other one like so." Mashirao helped Izuku get the hang of using his chopsticks, the tailed blond couldn't help but feel his heart flutter as he held the greenette's hand, for some reason he felt a connection to Izuku, it may be due to the fact that they both knew what it was like to feel ridiculed for their appearance.
He remembered the taunts he endured as a kid in kindergarten, from all the other kids with flashier quirks.
"How am I doing?" Izuku's question snapped Mashirao out of his painful reminiscing, he looked at Izuku who had gotten the hang of the chopsticks fairly quickly, the blond told Izuku he was doing great, and for that he was offered a piece of katsudon, Mashirao gladly accepted the offering. Mashirao caught Kirishima looking at him with a look he had never seen before on his friend, jealousy and anger.
Directed at him, did Kirishima also like Izuku? Well that was going to be an issue.
"Izuchan! You were going to show me how you were going to find out if there was magic in our world, come on!" Mina grabbed Izuku dragging him away from the table, Fumikage was curious to see his friend perform magic, he stood from the table following after the pinked skinned girl, he noted that Ojiro and Kirishima were following as well, he did not miss the look they were shooting between one another.
Fumikage could feel trouble brew between the two of them, but why?
-----
Mina was vibrating with excitement as she watched Izuku set up for the magical ritual, she was joined by Tsuyu, Ochako, Momo, Tooru, and Kyoka; they were all curious as well. Fumikage stood besides Momo, his arms crossed watching with a mask of aloofness but inside he was very excited to witness actual magic, from the corner of his eye he could see Ojiro and Kirishima making Tsuyu and Ochako look uneasy as the strange spark of rivalry jumped between them; the girls unfortunately caught in the middle.
Izuku finished the circle drawing in the dirt, he went over to the nearest tree grabbing a few leaves from the lower branches, and a few scrapings of bark, going back to the circle he set the leaves down then the bark on top, he produced a small flame atop of his finger setting the material a flame he began the ritual.
"Dythemyr zmy lisw ao zmuw sardv vorv ryjyid uz'w lizfry" Izuku spoke the words of the spell feeling his magic flare outwards, his senses dulling and opening the sixth sense, the one that allowed him to connect and see the magic surrounding all things.
He looked about seeing the world in negative, he spotted thin trails of magic, along with his own threads connecting him to his Patron; those were thick and chain like, that seemed to disappear into the sky, he looked over over to the other teens standing about, they showed up in negative as well, so they didn't have magic in them whatsoever, so where were the thin threads of magic coming from, he followed them with his eyes.
The threads disappeared off into the city, could there be a magic user in this world other than himself?
"Izuku?" Mina approached him, her voice sounding so far away because of the ritual, he slammed his hand down on the smoldering ritual material breaking the spell, the world suddenly rushed back to color making Izuku feel a bit dizzy but he recovered quickly.
"Sorry to say, your world seems devoid of magic, well for the most part." Mina looked really disappointed.
"I was kinda expecting magic to be flashier, all that happened was the smoke turning blue." Kyoka twirled her earjack around her finger, she had expected more flash and showmanship from the Tiefling.
"Magic is more than just hurling fireballs around, though most Wild Magic Sorcerer and some Destruction School Wizards will disagree with me, using rituals allow one to tap into The Weave and subtly pull at the threads of magic without all the flash and bang."
"There were a lot of words in there that I did not get, say it in plain Japanese." Tooru said with a wave of her arm, her uniform sleeve the only indication she was moving at all.
"In the simplest way to say it is, that magic is The Weave, and The Weave is magic. Every spell cast pulls from the Weave, either by twisting it, tearing it, rearranging it. I have no other way to explain it." Izuku just gave a gallic shrug, his explanation didn't seem to satisfy Tooru who rubbed her head in frustration and confusion.
"Oh, I get it." Eijirou spoke up causing everyone look at him waiting for an explanation from the redhead. "This Weave is sort of like a cloth, like this." Eijirou took out his handkerchief. "You can make magic by manipulating this Weave thing, right? So what happens if it gets torn?"
Izuku smiled at the sharp toothed teen, that made Eijirou give Ojiro a smug side smirk as he saw the look of jealousy on the blond's face. "Well it causes zones of Wild Magic, were trying to cast a spell could result in a random one or even a random effect, mom told me stories of her time with one of the Wizard's Circles, and how her friend tried to cast a spell in one of the Wild Magic Zones, she turned herself blue for a year."
Izuku laughed at the memory of the story he had been fond of for years, Eijirou laughed as well.
"Can you show us some flashy magic?! Please, Izuchan!!" Mina begged the Tiefling who let out a sigh agreeing to show her some of the flashier magic he knew, but the bell rung ending lunch period.
"Maybe later at the doors I will show you some magic." Mina let out a frustrated sigh, she followed her classmates back to class rather dejected.
"Izuku, can you tell me more on how magic works in your world, you also mention a Patron, is that someone who teaches magic?" Fumikage asked the greenette when they got a chance to themselves during class.
"Well yes and no on the Patron thing, it's complicated. But as for magic, it's like Kirishima showed earlier with his handkerchief, by using spells we manipulate the Weave, which is raw magic, and shape it into spells, the Weave touches every corner of my world, with the exceptions of dead magic zones, this world seems to be one of those zones, because there is no Weave here, yet I saw some of the threads of magic floating about."
"If there is no Weave here, how are you performing magic, is it due to these threads you mentioned?"
"No, the threads are coming from somewhere in the city, so maybe another magic user, but I can perform magic because of my Patron, it seems the Pact I made is just as strong in this world as it was in my world."
"Pact? So a Patron is a form of master?"
"Yeah, I'm a Warlock, my magic comes not from bloodlines like a Sorcerer, or study like a Wizard; it's more like how a Cleric gets their power through their devotion to their Deities."
"So you devoted yourself to a god for your magic?" Fumikage was getting curiouser and curiouser about his friend and his magic.
"Oh, no my Patron is not a god, it's a powerful, sentient sword." Izuku said this with such a casual air that it took a moment for Fumikage to register what Izuku had just said.
"Can you repeat that last part?"
"My Patron is a powerful, sentient sword." The bell rang signalling the end of the class, next they would be having hero training.
"So you got your magic, from a talking sword?" Fumikage asked as the two of them headed to the locker room to change into their hero costumes.
"Tokoyami, Izuku-kun, you two should have been here .5 seconds ago, we can't keep Aizawa-sensei waiting." Tenya told the two boys with a chopping motion of his arm. As Izuku stripped off his shirt he felt someone's eyes on him, he glanced out the corner of his eye spotting Shouji who was looking at his back with a look of sympathy and shock.
It hit Izuku like a bolt, how could he have forgotten the scars on his back, the ones given to him by his captors, he grabbed his gear then rushed into one of the stalls, he could hear the concern from Tokoyami, Kirishima, and Ojiro.
"Come on, everyone we must get to the gym in time, now." Tenya called into the boy's locker room.
"Oh, shove it up your ass four-eyes." Katsuki shoved his way past Tenya, Yuuga following closely their hands linked. Fumikage, Eijirou, and Mashirao were told to go ahead and that Mezo would talk to Izuku who had yet to leave the bathroom stall. The three boys didn't want to leave the greenette behind but Tenya grabbed them and pulled them along telling Shouji to hurry.
Shouji knocked gently on the stall door. "Izuku, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare at them. Please come out."
Izuku had changed into his hero costume, a gift from Nezu; a leather armor with bracers and greaves modeled after his dad's old adventuring gear, he couldn't believe he had lowered his guard so much with the humans, but was it because he felt safe with them? He was shaken from these thoughts by gentle knocking and Shouji's deep voice asking him to come out.
Izuku opened the stall door, his eyes cast down so to avoid the taller teen's eyes. "Their ugly aren't they." Was all the greenette said, he felt strangely ashamed; he just wasn't sure why.
"No, but they did look really painful, and old. I'm guessing they have a bad memory attached to them?" Shouji spoke gently, he too had painful scars. Izuku nodded hugging himself, a few tears spilling from his eyes. Shouji drew the smaller boy into a hug, that seemed to make him calm down.
"I'm sorry, it's just.." Izuku trailed off as he buried his face into the taller boy's chest, he could feel the hard muscles of Shouji's chest, that seem to send a new feeling through Izuku's body, strange sensations he had never felt before. Shouji ended the hug, much to Izuku's disappointment.
"It's okay Izuku, you don't have to talk about it if it's too painful. Just know that if you do ever want to talk about it." Shouji pulled down his face mask to show off the scars he had gotten as a kid, when he ran with a gang in his misspent youth. Izuku reached up to touch the scars before he realized what he was about to do, drawing back his hands, but Mezo lowered his head, silently giving Izuku permission to touch them.
Izuku reached out again, tracing both scars that ran from the bottom of Mezo's ears to the corner of his lips. Who could have done such a horrible thing to someone so gentle as Mezo, it hurt Izuku to think of a younger Mezo hurt like this, he could relate to it. He wasn't sure why but Izuku stood on his tip toes and planted a soft kiss on Mezo's scar.
Izuku pulled back his face flushing pink, realizing what he just did. "I'm sorry, Shouji! I wasn't thinking, I..." Izuku was cut off by a pair of lips connecting to his, Izuku's world exploded into all new sensations, he felt Mezo's tongue lick his lips asking for permission to enter and Izuku granted it, opening his mouth, feeling Mezo's tongue slide in and explore his mouth.
Izuku then felt Mezo wrap a strong, muscled arm, around his waist, all the greenette could do was make soft mewling noises as his brain was overloaded with new sensations and feelings, he could feel himself growing hard in his pants, his hands found themselves perched on Mezo's broad shoulders, his tail snaked up Mezo's shirt, feeling the hard muscles, before coiling around the six-armed boys midsection, the two of them were entranced in their passionate make-out session that they both jumped when they heard someone speak.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Four-eyes is ready to shit out a cow, and you two are in here swapping spit, hurry the fuck up before four-eyes get in here and chews both your asses up." Katsuki gave them both a glare before leaving the locker room, shaking his head.
Izuku and Mezo broke apart, both flushed pink, they adjusted their clothing, Mezo putting his facemask back before they exited the locker room. As they walked side by side following a grumbling Katsuki, Izuku really hoped that they would get a chance to do that again; and by the look that Mezo gave Izuku he was hoping the same thing.