Chapter 36 - Lone Warrior

Izuku walked down the bustling roads of Musutafu, Japan. He walked with a tinge of anxiety to his every step, but there was an air of confidence around him that gave him a more noticeable presence compared to the others around him. Paired with his surprisingly good looks and athletic build that couldn't be hidden by the thick cover of his clothes, many couldn't help but take a second look at his visage as he disappeared from their view.

He took a deep breath and grabbed the straps of his bag. Even though months have passed and he managed to ease up his social anxiety by a bit because of his newfound friends and mentor, he was still an introvert at heart.

As he passed by a car, he suddenly paused and turned to look back at his reflection in the window of the car beside him. 'Huh… How did Ryuji-san even do this.'

He rubbed his chin and inspected his face even further. 'I haven't really noticed it until yesterday, but my face really looks different. The change must have happened over time and slowly, but how is that even possible with his quirk to essentially create illusions?'

'Is it similar to how he does his healing treatment? Maybe he alters our physical growth by tricking our mind?' Izuku sighed. 'After being given One for All, I just now realized how impressive that really is.'

'Even though I haven't used it yet, I can already peer a little through the fog, but I still don't know how he does it!'

'He must have trained a lot to be able to do the stuff he could do now with his quirk.'

From his understanding, Ryuji's quirk was actually a pretty simple but versatile one. It gives him the ability to directly trick the mind of others, creating hallucinations that can even deceive the smartest of humans. Not only that, his quirk enhanced his physique to the point that he could even smash boulders with his bare fists with ease.

Izuku clenched his fist, feeling more determined than ever to be just like his friends. Not only did they train as hard as him, but they've also been training far longer than he did, so he needs to bridge the gap between him and those two unless he wants to be left behind.

'With One for All, I'll aim to achieve my dream and become the next Symbol of Peace!' Izuku lets out a deep breath and continued his walk, his eyes shining and resolute to achieve his lifelong dream.

Soon enough, he arrived at the vicinity of UA High and was surprised to see just how many people were there. He already knew that UA was a school with a renowned name, but it was still shocking to see how many people with the same dreams and aspirations as him gathered in one place.

'All of them want to become great heroes just like me.' Izuku's eyes lit up in fervor as he couldn't help but feel he was taking one step closer to fulfilling his dreams.

He approached the gate with heavy steps. His heart thumped loudly in his ears as many others passed by him. Once he passed through the gate, he would establish his road to becoming a hero!

"Ack!" Just as he steeled his heart, the tip of his foot unknowingly grabbed at the gaps between the floor, breaking his balance and tripping him forward. He instinctively closed his eyes, bracing himself for the incoming pain.

'Hmm?' Izuku opened his eyes and found himself stopping right in his tracks. It was akin to a person pressing the pause button just as he was about to hit the ground, interrupting his fall midway through.

"Are you okay?" A girl with brown hair, wearing a school uniform that belonged to a school Izuku wasn't familiar with, asked from the side.

Surprised by the turn of events, Izuku stared to the side with widened eyes and locked eyes with the unknown stranger. "Y-Yeah"

Izuku stiffly nodded his head and planted his feet lightly on the ground with the sensation of gravity returning to his body as soon as the girl clapped her hands.

"It's my Quirk. Sorry for using it without asking you first. But it'd be bad luck if you fell, right?" The girl tilted her head with a smile.

The next moment, the girl shook her arms around and shrugged her shoulders. "Aren't you nervous?"

"M-Mmm…!" Izuku laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"Right? It's so nerve-wracking!" The girl chuckled. "Anyways, I gotta go."

"Let's do our best. See ya!" The girl waved her hand, walking away into the distance and leaving Izuku alone.

Izuku watched her leave with blank eyes, pausing for a moment to process what just happened. 'Sigh, I was way too awkward! If Ryuji was here, he'd be nagging me already about how awkward I was.'

'No, I need to look at the bright side! At least I managed to answer her question without thinking too much about it. That's progress, right?' Izuku nodded his head, gaslighting himself to lessen the burden of his failure.

Just as he patted his chest and calmed down his heart, he suddenly heard someone call out to him in the distance.

"Deku!"

Hearing the familiar voice, he turned to look behind him and saw Kacchan wearing the same uniform as him approaching in the distance.

"Kacchan!" Izuku smiled and ran up to the strangely handsome boy with an appearance similar to a spiteful, meant-to-be-hated character with dashingly good looks in an otome game.

"You're here early as usual." Katsuki looked around as if he was finding someone. "Ryuji's not here yet?"

"Probably, I haven't seen him yet." Izuku also looked around to try and find Ryuji, but they couldn't find him near the gate at all.

"Let's just wait for him inside." Katsuki shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk. Izuku followed behind him, and the duo soon arrived deeper into UA grounds.

Just as they were about to check their phones and see if Ryuji has any updates for them, they swiftly noticed their fellow students taking a glance at the area behind them.

'I wonder what they are looking at?' Izuku questioned and went to look behind him when his eyes almost popped out of his skull upon seeing the spectacle that was currently unfolding.

Like a scene ripped straight out of Murim or the land of cultivation, the guiding hands of wind fluttered leaves onto the entrance of the gate as a lone warrior walked with a despondent aura. He wore a strange martial robe with white garments underneath his golden robe.

Carved onto the golden robe were fearsome dragons whose eyes stared defiantly against the nine heavens. On his waist hung a sword sheathed in gold just like his robe. And as the finishing touches to his outfit, he wore a straw hat usually worn by wandering samurais.

"Who is that dude?"

"Is he for real? Did he come from the Edo period or something?"

"I would be embarrassed if my friend wore a stupid outfit like that to the entrance exam."

Upon hearing that last sentence, both Katsuki, and Izuku wordlessly looked away and distanced themselves away from the living samurai. Not only that, they hastily hid behind a tree and held their breaths.

The lone samurai walked forward with slow and steady steps, surveying the area around him with his piercing golden eyes.

"Ahem." A young girl wearing a school uniform that belongs to a prestigious private middle school coughed behind the golden samurai, catching his attention as the boy turned to look who coughed.

His golden eyes stared upon the girl who undeniably exuded the aura of a rich young lady with a noble upbringing. In fact, there was even a butler right beside her with graying hair that further accentuated her rich young lady-ness.

"What can I help you with, ma'am?" The boy asked with a respectful smile, bowing his head and acting like a typical and traditional samurai would do.

The girl was clearly surprised by the obvious dedication to the act and couldn't formulate an answer for a bit, but she quickly calmed herself down and replied. "You do know that you're disturbing the others by wearing that ridiculous costume, right?"

"You're making light of the prestige of this academy, and are causing a useless ruckus for the others around here." The girl crossed her arms to show her dissatisfaction with the boy.

"Costume? You dare call the robes of the Golden Dragon… a costume?! Preposterous indeed!" The boy snapped back and pointed at the girl with anger burning within his golden irises.

"If I wasn't benevolent, you would have faced the wrath of a hundred thousand men already!" The boy sneered and grabbed the handle of his katana with a threatening aura.

The butler beside her quickly acted after the nameless boy grabbed the handle of his sword and stepped forward, blocking the young mistress. Then, he stared at the boy with cold eyes that emitted slight killing intent, "Are you sure you want to do that, boy?"

"Hah!" The boy chuckled with a malicious grin. "A mere worm dares to emit killing intent at me?!"

In the next moment, everyone from the surrounding area felt suffocated by an indescribable chill that crawled through their spine. The smell of blood wafted through the air as they felt like they were plunged into an endless sea of blood.

The butler peered right into the eyes of the abyss as the boy's golden eyes glimmered with boundless killing intent. It was like being stared at by a dragon, a being whose power is so strong it was akin to an ant being stared down by a human.

His eyes rapidly dilated, and his heart thumped erratically as the despairing and overpowering presence of death tightened his neck. He struggled to remain standing as if a huge mountain was pressed down on him.

Just as he was about to be knocked unconscious in his struggle to remain upright, the boy dissapeared from where he stood and appeared right in front of the butler and girl. With a wide grin plastered onto his face, the boy opened his mouth and whispered, "Boo!"

The butler stared at him, his eyes stunned and stunned to the point he can't speak. The girl who hid behind the fearsome butler acted the same, and the other examinees around the area did so too.

"Hahaha! You almost shat your pants for real!" The boy grabbed his stomach and squatted to ease the pain his stomach felt. He removed his hat and let his luscious black hair unfurl in the wind, revealing his handsome face that surprised everyone else out of their previous fear.

"Sorry, sorry. I really just wanted to act like a big cultivator asshole for a second." He waved his arms to show he was apologetic and stood up straight after stopping his laughter.

"Whew, okay. I'm fine now."

The girl stared at him with a little bit of fear still left in her eyes, but she regained her composure and coughed. "You dare do that on school grounds, mindlessly using your quirk on others for no good reason?"

"It was just a prank, okay? Besides, I didn't even use my quirk or anything like that. If I did, everyone here would actually feel like they died just now." The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Anyways, sorry about that Butler-san!"

"Also, I'm sorry too, dear young mistress. Sorry for the insolence of this foolish peasant!"

The girl clenched her fist for a second before finally relenting and crossed her arms once again. "Fine, but make sure that you don't disturb the others with your antics unless you want to suffer the consequences of your own actions."

"Yes, yes." The boy shook his head with a smile and put his back on. Then, he spun on the soles of his feet and tipped his hat forward. "I hope this isn't the last time we'll see each other, miss. You've certainly picked the interest of this grand Sword Saint."

"Remember the name Ryuji Anwir, for that is the name of this legend known as the Sword Saint, the Golden Dragon of Dragon Paradigm Sect, master of Dragon Paradigm Arts, Dragon Among Sages, the walking myth of ancient!"

"Baseless claims." Momo rolled her eyes and straightened her back. "Actions speak louder than words, but I guess introducing myself is required now that you've introduced yourself. My name is Momo Yaoyorozu, it was nice to meet you."

"Momo, heh, you better hope you don't cross paths with me the next time we meet."

Watching him walk into the distance, she finally heaved a sigh of relief and lets out a breath of turbid air. She looked back at her butler with her eyes slightly trembling. "W-What was that just now."

Her butler stared fixedly at the back of the boy, his eyes solemn and wary, "It seems like you have a fearsome opponent this time around, young miss. I suggest you avoid confronting him in this exam of yours unless you want to suffer a loss."

"I see…" The girl rubbed her chin and recalled the arrogant boy in her mind.

…

"Where could those two rascals be?" Ryuji muttered under his breath as his penetrating eyes surveyed the area around him.

"Crap, he's looking for us." Katsuki cursed. "If the others find out we know that dude, we're practically doomed!"

"Doomed, you say?" Like the whisper of a devil, a hand grabbed the two by the shoulders, and a pair of golden eyes stared right through their soul.

"Hello there, fellow sect members."

'Crap.' Both thought at the same time as Ryuji's infallible grip tightened.

AN: This chapter 2310 words.

Bro, I'm struggling real hard in life. I have a myriad of life issues and one of them is that I only have 3 stockpiles left.

(May 20, 2023 - 541st day of writing)