A Tarnished Hero

Melina was confused. She didn't think that more of her fellow countrymen would be arriving in Izuku's home world. It made her a little hopeful that there would be a way to get Izuku back to the Lands Between so he could fulfill his promise to her.

The hallways were eerily silent. Izuku, Patches, and Blaidd tread through them slowly, both the wolf-man and bald man unnecessarily cautious, while Izuku whistled a tune without a care in the world. Each of their steps echoed throughout the area, the rhythmic tapping of boots and shoes creating a cacophony of noise that could instill anxiety in anyone caught dead alone in these halls.

Patches and Blaidd were content to follow the greenette in abject silence, their eyes wandering around to see if there was anything out of the ordinary in the place, not that they would see anything amiss since they weren't used to Japan's architecture.

As they trudged through, Melina couldn't help but observe both of her companion's wayward guests. Patches was someone she held no trust of, whatsoever. She had encountered the man numerous times in the past with her previous companions, and they were scammed by the bald man, resulting in their multiple deaths. Of course, they went back for sweet revenge because that was the normal reaction.

Most of them weren't able to do it. They either died to him or died trying to get to him. But that didn't mean the bald man was no stranger to death. He had already died a handful of times at this point. Strange seeing him retaining the same personality after hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Blaidd, on the other hand, she knew… She knew all too well… Izuku was the only one out of all of her companions to come face to face with the shadow serving Ranni. It was a sight seeing Izuku interacting with Blaidd like they were old friends. He did, after all, help the half-wolf find Darriwil, the traitor that he was.

"So, Izuku, a small question, if you would be kind enough to answer." Blaidd's smooth tone contrasted his rugged looks. Izuku turned his head around, his lips still whistling that eerie tune. "I know you've said that we'll be meeting the… principal of this academy, but may I ask who he is?"

"Hm, true. Can't really make a good first impression if we don't know even a single thing about the man." Patches hummed, a hand cupping his chin. "Like, his favorite food? Maybe his hobbies? What about dislikes?"

"Well, he does like his tea. The sweet ones, at least." Izuku said while his feet continued guiding his way. "Principal Nezu is also something of a control freak. He likes being on top of people."

The speakers around the hallway buzzed with static, a light-hearted voice coming from the undoubtedly principal of this here academy.

"Oh my, Midoriya. I do like how you know me in such deep detail." The rat chuckled, the speakers conveying the mirth hidden from observing eyes. "However, I would like to surprise them when we meet face to face. Considering the circumstances, I would be most pleased if you didn't babble some things about myself that would ultimately be harmless."

"... Oh right, forgot that the walls here have ears." Both Blaidd and Patches looked at Izuku like he had grown a second head, their apprehension showing through their body language. It may not be obvious, but Melina had spent millennia observing the world and its inhabitants, and as someone who was invisible to the naked eye, she managed to pick up a skill or two here with reading people. It was reminiscent of the rat that ran this academy, now that she thought of it. "Anyway, no need to worry. Principal Nezu wouldn't hurt you two, unless you give him a valid reason."

"Oh great… That just makes this a tiny bit bearable… not." Patches sighed, and Melina couldn't help but think that Blaidd thought the same. "So, where is his office, anyway? Everything here looks the same, and it's messin' with my head."

"Just a couple of doors away." Izuku said as they passed through the teacher's lounge, the door slightly ajar with piercing blue eyes peeking through them. "And the uniform surroundings are intentional, I think. Something along the lines of making it hard for intruders to know where they are."

"... A plausible tactic." Blaidd responded with nod.

Melina had to agree. With her unique form, phasing through the walls and staying hidden to the naked eyes made it possible to… spy on the rat. And the actions he did when not in view of prying eyes made her shiver.

He would be right at home in the Lands Between during its peaceful times. She doubted most of the demigods would even compare to his natural intellect, though it was kind of shocking that it was a part of his power… His quirk… Politics would be child's play for him. The various lords and ladies would be no match.

Imagine what the rat would be like if he was one of the spawns of Marika? Just imagining it sent a shiver down her spine. Letting out a soft sigh, Melina decided to keep pace with the trio, her steps lagging behind because of the horrifying… thought that entered her mind…

She shivered again. The rat, under no circumstances, was allowed to head to the Lands Between. It was already a massive pit of degeneracy and the insane but adding the rat on top of that might just make everything turn for the worse.

Her feet stopped when the trio in front of her did the same, their heads turned towards a closed door.

"Welp, here it is, Principal Nezu's office." Izuku said and the two behind him – or more specifically, Patches – gulped slightly. After what Nezu had been doing – which was just speaking through the PA system, something unheard of in the Lands Between because of their backwater technology – it was normal for someone like him to be a bit nervous. Knocking on the door, Izuku called out to the rat inside his throne room. "Principal Nezu, we're here."

"Ah, come in, come in. No need to stay gaggled up on my front door." Nezu's voice echoed from his pristine chambers. Melina's senses caught two more other people within the chambers as well, one of which being distinctly female.

No doubt, Izuku had also realized that Nezu wasn't the only one inside his office. Smart for the rat to have some insurance in the case in the case Blaidd or Patches became a bit too unruly for his tastes, not that he needed to worry with her companion watching the two like a Stormhawk. Blaidd would behave himself – he didn't want to risk his involvement with Ranni and put her plan in jeopardy – but Patches… Izuku needed no permission to smack him a few times if he did go too far.

Their first meeting wasn't all that peaceful, after all.

Opening the door, Izuku headed in, followed by both Blaidd and Patches, the half-wolf ducking slightly because the door, even made with gigantification quirks in mind, was a tad too short for him. Inside waited Nezu, paws lightly stirring his cup of tantalizing tea, the scent making Melina want another cup for herself; Eraserhead, still looking like he needed a good amount of sleep just to function with even a modicum of performance; and Midnight, the woman who had wanted to fornicate with her companion upon first laying eyes on him. That thought changed when she realized he was still a minor, although Melina would be hard-pressed to call him a minor.

Every death in the Lands Between took time to come back. Some were gone for days, others, a few hours. There were even cases where it took months before someone reformed. And that's not even taking into account the mere fact that rune-strengthening has effects on one's personal growth.

Mentally, Izuku might still be a child, although that was up to debate because of his experiences, but biologically, for all intents and purposes, Izuku was a full-fledged adult.

"Please, take a seat. You two as well." Nezu gestured for the unoccupied sofa, Izuku plopping his ass on the soft cushions with nary a care in the world. Blaidd and Patches looked at him, then at Nezu, then to the other two in the room silently observing them, one with a tired gaze and another with a sultry smirk, then finally to each other.

It took a few more seconds for the two of them to come to terms with the situation and sit on the couch alongside Izuku, Patches taking his left and Blaidd taking his right. Melina was content to be standing, her form invisible to everyone within the room.

"Now, glad to finally meet your acquaintance." Nezu cheerfully started things off. "My name is Nezu, the principal of this academy. Those two you see are two of the teachers here, Eraserhead and Midnight respectively."

Eraserhead grunted as a response and Midnight waved her hand at the two. Patches and Blaidd didn't know how to respond to that, so they remained silent.

"So, may I have your names?" Nezu questioned.

"Blaidd." A one word answer came out of the half-wolf's snout.

"Well now, that's not how you make an introduction. Where're your manners?" Patches grinned, his eyes roaming around the room and each inhabitant's faces. "Hello there, my name's Patches. Owner of the famous Patches Emporium! Home to the finest goods one can find in the land!" His smile grew strained. "At least, until I lost all of it after whatever that… freak show happened."

"Freak show?" Nezu had a glint in his eye, snout forming a tight smile. "Do tell."

"A simple affair, really." Patches shrugged. "There I was, rooting through the corpse of a dragon somebody killed – probably by this one sitting right next to me – when all of a sudden, this fella right over here decided that threatening me was an okay thing to do."

"... Really? You're making me the bad guy?" Blaidd grunted as he glared at the unapologetic bald man.

"Hold on a second. You said dragon?" Midnight interrupted; brows furrowed as she held a hand out in front.

"... Oh. You mean the dragon in one giant lake?" Izuku asked and Patches gave him a nod.

"Yep." He said, popping the P. "That's the one. You killed it, didn't ya?" A slow nod. "Well, I'll be damned. First you slay Agheel, now this… You sure you don't have any runes to spare? I promise you the items I have back in Liurnia are top quality."

"As interesting this conversation has been, it still does not answer how and why you two are here." Nezu looked at Izuku for a brief moment. Both Midnight and Eraserhead looked at each other for a brief moment, also a bit mind-boggled at the fact that her companion had slain dragons.

"I was just getting to that." Patches chuckled sheepishly, the aura emanating from the rat something to behold. Even Blaidd wasn't exempt from the effect, the wolf-man slightly adjusting himself in his seat. "So, Blaidd arrived, threatened me, then when we got to even ground, a giant, black portal sucked the two of us in. Last we knew it; we were in a dark building."

"Hmmm… That answers some of my questions, then." Nezu gestured towards the laptop that was sitting on his desk. Turning it around, both Blaidd's and Patches' eyes widened when they saw what was displayed on the screen.

Patches and Blaidd being spat out from thin air, their bodies crashing against the floor, unconscious. Before that, however, they spotted the thing that spat them out, or traces of it at least. They couldn't make heads or tails out of it, even the cameras refused to display the entire thing, the screen glitching out whenever it came up on screen.

"What you see right now is the recording of how you two came into my school." Eraserhead and Midnight were incredibly silent as they watched the footage, the fairer of the duo's eyes slightly wide-opened. "As you can see here, catching even a glimpse of the thing that spat you here is impossible. I've done everything in my capabilities, and not once have I managed a breakthrough."

Well now, that was interesting. Perhaps sorceries and incantations do not play nice with their advanced technology, but that would be assuming that whatever sent them here were spells cast by others. No, what was more plausible was that something sent them here. Something strong… Something… unexplainable…

Does the Greater Will have plans for this world as well? It had already left The Lands Between to its fate, so maybe Japan… no… Earth was its new dwelling… Maybe that was why Izuku was able to even arrive at the Lands Between in the first place. After all, the Greater Will held power unimaginable.

She shivered. Just thinking about it made her want to shut that thought down and erase it from her memory.

"Huh… So that's what it looks like." Izuku, the undaunted being that he was, mused to himself. "Was that how I got here as well, Nezu?"

"Indeed." Nezu played another video, this time in a ruinous city burning to the ground where a few people were roaming the area. A few seconds later, in came Izuku hurtling to the ground with his armor masking his visage. The land was anything but graceful, his body crashing against the ground forcefully. The observers nearby were a bit stunned, but not long after that, two of them were bisected in half and the last one went running for the hills.

Patches smirked while Blaidd couldn't help but raise a brow at the display. Midnight and Eraserhead, however, scowled at it, uncomfortable at the mere prospect of seeing one of their colleagues – temporary, may she add – kill a man.

However, they were all focused on one important part of the video. The portal from which Izuku came. It too, just like what had happened in the previous video, was glitchy and hard to understand. The more one tried to look into it, the more one had a pounding headache that threatened to consume their entire mind.

Melina could tell, she was affected too. So, for her to be affected, just imagining how it would affect other people unlike her, or her companion, was quite the thought. Just for that alone, the rat had her respect, if his actions were anything to go by.

Eraserhead and Midnight, however, didn't pass the test. They clutched at their heads, groaning and moaning at the sudden pain that assaulted their senses.

"That is precisely why it is near impossible to analyze the footage." Nezu folded the laptop with a grim tone. "Sporadic headaches and visual hallucinations. I should know, I've tried multiple times."

"... Oh…" Blaidd's sudden response echoed throughout the silent room, the other inhabitants all focusing their gaze on the half-wolf. Melina, however, noticed something else… His fur… Even by a tiny amount, they were standing on end… Nezu no doubt noticed this as well, the observant rat that he was.

"Oho? Something to add, Blaidd?" Nezu asked.

"... You may call it a hunch, but… No… Never mind…" Blaidd shook his head, his mouth shut. Nezu raised a brow at the actions, while Eraserhead and Midnight were still reeling from the video. Oddly enough, Patches was alright, and Izuku was still being Izuku.

"Nothing to share?" The half-wolf remained silent, and the rat sighed. "Very well, then. Eraserhead, Midnight, please bring our guests to Midoriya's home where they'll be staying for the foreseeable future."

The two teachers looked like they wanted to protest, but Nezu's word was law, and as the smartest being in the school, knew things that their human brains possibly couldn't comprehend. So, with a sigh and a shrug, Eraserhead and Midnight guided the two, along with Izuku, to their temporary abode.

As the group exited the room, Melina stared back into the office. As the door closed shut, she managed one last glance at the rat's actions.

A pen and paper on the desk… Curious… With technology like this, one would think that they would be using the digitized version of notes, but… Curious indeed. Perhaps a bit more snooping was in order.

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A/N: Just got back from a trip, and I'm tired. Sorry for the delay (even if it is just a few minutes late.)

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