Authors note:
Speaking: "..."
Thinking: '...'
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Mizuki pov
Today was a day like any other. Izuku and her son had made plans to hang out at the park after kindergarten, and up until that moment, it was essentially a normal playtime for Izuku and Katsuki. They were just playing their usual pretend game while Mitsuki sat on a park bench nearby, reading a book.
That was until, "Whoa, Izuku, I think it's your Quirk!" Of course, that caught Mitsuki's attention. While both boys were reaching the age when most people develop their Quirks, she didn't expect one of them to develop one so early.
When she looked up from her book to see what was going on, she saw her son with a hand on Izuku's shoulder, both boys seemingly reading something on what appeared to be a white translucent screen. 'Hm, maybe it's some sort of hologram Quirk,' she thought to herself before standing up and heading in the direction of the boys.
Then she heard Izuku exclaim, "Link Start!" with a level of enthusiasm she had never heard from him before. But what she saw next was even more baffling and nerve-wracking. After saying those two words, both kids began dispersing into small blue holographic triangles.
Seeing this, she immediately picked up her pace while calling out to the boys, "Brat, Izuku, what's going on? What's happening to you?" But before she could reach them, both kids had completely turned into small blue triangles, which began to slowly disappear.
"Katsuki, Izuku, where are you? This isn't funny! Come out, come out, wherever you are! I'll even buy you some ice cream on the way home!" After a few seconds of silence, she added, "Izuku, your mom will be very upset if I tell her you played a prank on your auntie!" she yelled with concern in her voice.
When calling out to Izuku didn't work, panic began to set in, because that was the one thing that always worked on the small green-haired boy. He had never ignored that comment, no matter how much her own son tried to bribe him.
She dropped to the ground, trying to think rationally when, all of a sudden, someone called out to her, "Is everything alright, Miss?" When Mitsuki looked up to see whose voice it was, she saw a tall man with short black hair and somewhat rectangular black eyes.
"Ah, no, my kid and his best friend suddenly disappeared into small triangle thingies, and now I can't find them anymore," she said, visibly worried.
'Hm, she seems to be telling the truth,' the man thought while helping the woman back to her feet. "Well, I'm Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, and I will gladly help you find your child and his friend in any way I can," the now-identified man said, offering his hand to her.
"Thank you, I appreciate the help," Mitsuki said, her worry slowly fading as she shook the detective's hand.
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Inko Midoriya had just arrived home from work. As she opened the door to the kitchen, she thought, Time to get dinner ready—Izuku and the Bakugos will be here in about an hour. Putting on her apron, she started walking toward the fridge to gather the ingredients she needed for cooking.
That's when her phone suddenly started ringing. She took it out of her pocket, not thinking much of it, until she saw that it was the police calling. Her heart skipped a beat as she quickly answered, "Inko Midoriya speaking. How can I help?"
"Mrs. Midoriya, this is Detective Tsukauchi. I regret to inform you that there has been an incident involving your son, Izuku, and we would like you to come to the police station as soon as possible," the man on the phone said calmly.
"My sweet Izuku—was he hurt? Is he safe? What happened?" she asked, the worry evident in her voice.
"We aren't at the hospital, Mrs. Midoriya, but the details will be discussed later at the station."
"Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes," she said before hanging up and rushing to the front door. Please be safe, Izuku. I can't lose you as well, she thought, closing the door behind her and hurrying to the police station.
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Detective Tsukauchi sat in the entrance hall of the police station, waiting for the woman he had just called to arrive. Izuku Midoriya—I have a gut feeling this case won't be as simple as it seems, he thought before the door suddenly swung open, revealing a slender, green-haired woman.
"Ah, you must be Mrs. Midoriya. I'm Detective—" he began, but she cut him off with a commanding tone, "Where is my son?"
Not wanting to provoke her further, Tsukauchi simply responded, "Please, follow me," and led her towards his office.
As he opened the door, it revealed two people already waiting inside—the parents of Katsuki Bakugo.
"Mitsuki, Masaru, what are you doing here? And where are Izuku and Katsuki?" Inko asked, her concern growing.
"Inko, please, sit down. You don't want to be standing right now," Mitsuki said, unable to meet her friend's eyes.
With a sense of dread, Inko took a seat and turned her worried gaze toward Tsukauchi. "Alright, now that everyone is here, let's get started," the detective began. "Today, around 4 o'clock, your son, Izuku Midoriya, appears to have awakened his quirk, which seems to be some form of teleportation ability. In the process, he disappeared, taking his best friend Katsuki with him."
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Hidden Waterfall Village, Wildemaw {Floor 1}
"Kaachan, c'mon, pack your things. Let's go get ourselves some breakfast—we've got a dungeon to clear today," Izuku said, leaning against the door frame of the house they had been renting for the past three weeks.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't stress me out so much; I just needed to get dressed," the silver-haired boy retorted while equipping all of his gear. "Let's go," he added, slightly annoyed, as he walked through the door and waited for Izuku to lock it.
"After we're done eating breakfast, we still need to pick up our gear from the blacksmith, so keep that in mind," Katsuki stated, walking beside Izuku.
"You say that like I did something wrong," Izuku pouted, crossing his arms.
"I'm saying it because last time we had an appointment with the blacksmith after breakfast, you ordered too much, and we almost came late," Katsuki said, giving his friend a stern look.
"Right, I guess that did happen, didn't it? Well, now I know how long it takes for me to eat, so don't worry," Izuku replied with a confident smile.
"Alright, if you say so. But just know if we're late again, I don't care about your food—we're leaving early," the crimson-eyed teen said, opening the door to their favorite café.
The boys wandered around the café for a bit before finding a place to sit down. They already knew the menu by heart, so they didn't bother reading it and got straight to ordering their breakfast.
As they waited, Izuku started a conversation. "Wow, to think we've already been here for two whole months now. Isn't it crazy?" he asked, looking out the window.
"Has it really been two months already? I didn't really think about it that much," Katsuki replied, taking a bite of his food. After swallowing, he added, "Guess I've just been enjoying this life—no kindergarten, no parents ordering me around, just me and my buddy doing whatever we want," he said with a slight but genuine smile.
"I guess that's true. I've never seen you smile so much before," Izuku said, looking at his friend, his head leaning on one hand while the other held a fork with some food.
"What the hell do you mean? I've always been smiling!" the silver-haired teen yelled back, violently eating his food.
"Maybe, but they've never been so honest," Izuku retorted with a genuine smile of his own.
After finishing their meal, the two boys paid for their food and made their way to the blacksmith's shop where they had an appointment.
"God, buying breakfast every day is expensive. We really need to learn how to cook someday," Izuku mused after checking the cost of their breakfast.
"Yeah, but where the heck would we learn to cook? Unless there are cooking classes somewhere in Aincrad," Katsuki replied stoically, eliciting a small chuckle from his friend.
After a short walk, they arrived at their destination—the Blue Blacksmith. The shop had typical blacksmith features, with the addition of blue flags and decorations scattered around it. It was situated in the middle of a small pond connected to a majestic waterfall. Inside, they found two men: a large, muscular man with short black hair, who was sharpening a sword, and an average-looking man with long brown hair braided into a single braid down his back.
"Oi, Corey, how's it going? Did you finish our armor and swords?" Katsuki called out, lifting a hand to wave at the brown-haired man.
"Well, well, if it isn't my best customers—Katsuki, Izuku! Of course, I've got your gear ready. Want to go see it?" Corey replied cheerfully.
"Yes, please. We'd like that very much, Corey," Izuku answered, following the man to the back of the building.
Corey led them to the back room, revealing two sets of improved leather armor and two swords laid out in front of them. "Here you go. We raised the armor to Object Control Authority (OCA) level 7, just as you requested, and adjusted the swords accordingly. One thin but very sharp double-edged one-handed sword with a wooden sheath and grip, and no guard, for Izuku. And a large two-handed greatsword for Katsuki, both at OCA level 7," the blacksmith proudly explained.
The boys walked up to their respective gear, testing their swords and confirming they were to their liking. They equipped their gear, which was essentially the same as before but with added leather forearm bracers, two new shoulder guards made from silver wolf hide, and a leather chest piece.
"These new shoulder guards really boosted its level. It was worth almost dying to those wolves to get them," Izuku remarked while strapping his sword to his lower back.
"Yeah, you can say that again. Not only do they boost our defense significantly, but they also look hella cool," Katsuki grinned as he strapped his blade to his hip. "But, ya know, I still don't get how you plan to kill anything with that little sword?" he questioned.
"Oh, don't worry. I can manage just fine with it. After all, I don't have the monstrous strength stat needed to wield a greatsword like you, Kaachan," Izuku replied as he headed back to the front of the store.
"Yeah, because you invested your points in speed and agility," Katsuki analyzed, following him.
"While I'm glad you like your new gear, I do need you to pay up now," Corey said, moving behind the register and clasping his hands together.
"Alright, how much do we owe you?" Izuku inquired.
"200 col, please," the blacksmith responded after checking his clipboard.
"200?!" both boys exclaimed in shock.
"Didn't you charge us 100 col last time? And didn't we leave the rest of the silver wolf goods with you? Can't you give us a little friendship discount? You did say we were your best customers," Katsuki asked, eyes closed with a smile as he placed his hand on the counter.
"Well, last time we only sharpened your swords and didn't have to make anything out of wolf parts, so of course, it was cheaper. But you're right—you did gift us the rest of the wolf materials, so I guess I can lower it to 150 col. But that's as low as I can go," Corey said, crossing his arms.
"Alright, fair enough. Izuku, pay the man, and then we'll be on our way," Katsuki stated, heading toward the door.
"Here you go, Corey—150 col. Thanks for getting our gear ready," Izuku said after transferring the money to the blacksmith from his menu, then followed Katsuki to the exit.
"It's my pleasure doing business with you. Have a safe trip," Corey called out as the door closed behind Izuku.
"Let's go, Kaachan. The dungeon is waiting for us," Izuku said excitedly, grabbing Katsuki by the arm and dragging him along as they ran toward their next quest.