A Tarnished Hero

Chapter 45: Back Again

Izuku opened his eyes, his dull, green eyes staring into a dusty old ceiling. Pushing energy into his arms, he slowly propped himself up, a light groan escaping his lips. Stretching his limbs, he rolled his neck and looked around, noting that this was the same room where he found the last Site of Grace. One thing he immediately took note of was how lived in the room was. There was a makeshift bed in the corner, with some clean empty bowls sitting right next to it.

He hummed, crawling forward to inspect the objects that garnered his curiosity. Grabbing one of them, he held it up to his eyes, his brows furrowing at the sight of a Japanese character engraved at the bottom.

"This is mine alright. Now where the hell are they..." Izuku murmured to himself as he set it down, eyes roaming around the room in search of clues as to where his companions had gone, only to hear some footsteps coming from the outside.

Gripping his zweihander close, he readied himself for a sudden engagement, only to spy some ash blond locks peeking out from the corner. Lowering his arms, he waited for the two to come into view, and a smile graced his lips as he saw them talking to each other animatedly, only for them to stop when they saw him sitting on the ground.

"Fucking finally! You're back!" Katsuki barked as he stepped close, Melina not too far on his trail.

"Yep, I'm back." Izuku stood up, his hands going up to his helmet to take them off. "How long has it been?"

"Three days." Melina was the one who answered.

"Well, it's not that bad, all things considered." Izuku shrugged and he looked at Katsuki. "So, what were you up to while I wasn't here?"

"This." It was then Izuku noticed what was in Katsuki's right hand. How had he not seen that? The ash blond raised the staff and the glintstone gem on the top glowed. He then swung it down, a blue glowing projectile launching from the gem and straight into the wall. The projectile shattered into crystals, vanishing amidst the air as they floated slowly to the ground.

"... What the fuck? You actually learned how to use spells?" Izuku raised an eyebrow at the spectacle.

"No shit." Katsuki huffed, arms crossed as the staff laid in his grip. "Took a while to learn how to do this shit, and even then, I can only do them, I think... Four times before I start to feel a bit dizzy."

"Well, color me surprised then." Izuku let out a low whistle. "I mean, I know that I have the possibility to do what you do, and even more because of my... special circumstances, but props to you for learning the most basic spell in three days."

"... I don't know whether you're being sarcastic or sincere." The ash blond narrowed his eyes at him but shrugged right afterwards. "Not like it matters. I've got fucking magic!" A smile graced his lips as he stared excitedly at his staff.

"By the way, where did you get that?" Izuku asked Melina, who just pointed towards his bottomless box that was sitting right beside the bedroll. "Oh, right. Forgot we actually took some of those lying around the academy."

"Please don't tell me you forgot some things during the time you were dead." Katsuki stared at him, a natural deadpan forming over his face.

"I do forget some things, but mostly inconsequential matters that don't really need my attention." Izuku pointed at the staff Katsuki was holding. "Like that staff. You think I'm going to use it when I'm using another form of power?"

"... Point." Katsuki acquiesced at the words. "But why get them at all if you're not going to use them?"

"I have a bottomless box. That doesn't get filled no matter how many things I store inside." Izuku curled an eyebrow at the ash blond. "If that isn't grounds to hoard as many things as I can, I don't know what is."