16 First Day

The City of Musutafu lay silent, a blanket of darkness enveloping the towering skyscrapers. The only sound was the distant hum of city life, muffled by the stillness of the night. The glow of streetlights casted long shadows, creating an otherworldly ambiance in the heart of the urban landscape.

As the night went on, light began to shine from the east, the giant ball of flame that combated the darkness for eternity a breath of relief for those that abhor the dark.

Vermin and those that abuse the darkness for their cruel deeds skittered for cover, and in their haste left behind nasty foot trails that tempted a do-gooder to try and chase, for the hunt is their life.

The roars and cries of an industrial civilization boomed and swiveled, the cacophony of noises the signal for those of the day to rise.

It was at this moment, Izuku opened his eyes, sunlight filtering through the blinds. A wide grin stretched across his lips, body quivering in excitement.

"Finally!" Izuku hopped out of bed, not at all perturbed by the lack of his modesty. The reason as to why this is is because of his streaking habits back in Lordran.

How was he supposed to get from point A and point B in the least amount of time? Simple. Get naked and run. Also bring a giant sword or club, that usually helped with the obstacles.

Feet stomping across the room, Izuku swung the door open and rushed for the bathroom, his little Izuku fluttering in the air all the while.

It was this scene that Inko woke up to as she exited her bedroom, eyes wide as she stared at her son's lack of modesty while he zoomed to the bathroom. Shaking her head from her stupor, she headed to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.

Not like this was the first time she saw her son without his dignity during his teenage years. Their bathroom door needed a change of locks, that's for sure. She wouldn't dare scar her son's eyes with her own birthday suit. That would just be horrendous.

While Inko headed to the kitchen to cook their food, Izuku hummed in the shower as he squirted a mind-boggling amount of shampoo onto his head. Say what you want about Lordran being somewhat good for him, he hated there being no hygiene. By Gwyn he hated being stinky and sticky, much more so after his dives into Blighttown whenever he needed to go there.

Fuck that place.

Scrubbing all over his body, Izuku humming tune went an octave lower, then it went higher with no sense or sign of melody. Such was the state of his mental faculties, a dichotomy of chaos and order, with chaos mostly reigning in his thoughts if left to his own devices.

Once done scrubbing his body down, next were his teeth. Time to make like a cleaner shrimp and fight the assholes called cavity that wanted a piece of his pearly whites.

No way Izuku was gonna give them the privilege of taking one of his beloved tooth. He may lose them all the time back in Lordran, but that was due to fighting and dying, not cavity.

Toothbrush in hand, Izuku got to work brushi- he meant destroying and eradicating the germs in his mouth. Sounds cooler that way instead of saying 'brushing my teeth'.

Once done with his ritual, he wiped himself down with a towel hanging from the wall then wrapped it around himself before heading out and back into his room. As he walked through the short corridor, Izuku smelled something nice from kitchen, his mouth forming into a smile.

'Mom is taking this day seriously.' Izuku chuckled as he predicted the food that was about to be put on the table once he was done changing into his uniform.

Now inside his room, Izuku grabbed the package that was sent to him a day after he received the welcome message from the RAT GOD.

Opening the already unsealed package, Izuku brought out two white collared button shirts, two gray vests with dark green highlights and yellow buttons - one of which being short-sleeved and the other being long-sleeved - and two dark-blue slacks.

"Surprisingly plain." Izuku noted as he checked to see if they fit. A few minutes later, and the albino was please to know that they did indeed fit. Perhaps a bit too much. Undoubtedly, it was the RAT GOD's fault, and Izuku couldn't be any happier.

Finally, no more over-sized clothes. He had enough of a problem with it back in Lordran, and spending souls for Andre to resize it took a large chunk from his reserves.

Humming a demented tune as he got dressed, first with his underwear, because of course he needed underwear. Specifically, boxer shorts. Loincloths sucked, and Izuku wasn't afraid to make it known.

Next was the collared shirt, after that his pants so he could tuck in his shirt, and then the vest. And voila, he was now fully dressed. A quick glance at the mirror made him grin.

It suited him well.

But there was something missing. His eyes moved downward at his feet, eyelids going wide as he realized the missing link.

"Izuku honey! Breakfast's ready!" His mother's call brought him out of his eureka moment.

'But first, breakfast.' Izuku cheerily hopped out of his room and right into the dining room, which also served as their living room. It was a tiny apartment.

"Made your favorite today, since today's your first day at U.A." Inko smiled as she laid the bowl full of steaming katsudon on the table. Izuku salivated at the sight, his nostrils picking up the wondrous aroma of the freshly cooked pork amidst the egg-fried rice.

It looked like a national jewel, and Izuku would gladly fight anyone who deemed otherwise.

"Thanks mom!" Izuku gave his mom a big hug before he plopped his ass onto the chair. Clapping his hands together, Izuku closed his eyes and breathed out, "Itadakimasu!"

In under a minute, the whole bowl was devoid of anything save some saliva Izuku left as he devoured everything within.

"You're the best, mom." Izuku got up from his seat and hugged his mother again, and he would continue to do so even after his death. She deserved that much, after worrying her so much when he was still a piss-baby.

"Thanks, honey." Inko hugged her son back, hands tightening ever so slightly at the fact that the following days would be different from the past two since school is back.

Less time for them to bond and all.

But it was also an opportunity. To let her son grow, even if he didn't need it anymore, and for her to finally make her plan she's been cooking for the past two weeks a reality.

"Anyway, I'm off. Can't keep the RAT GOD waiting." Izuku grinned as he zoomed past her, grabbed his bag that he brought out of his room, and made his way to the genkan (entranceway).

And there his eyes laid upon the missing link for his entire visage.

His bright red shoes that Inko kept even after his death.

The memories from that time replayed in his mind, some of it cut due to it being so long ago, but still remembered the key bits.

And he was fine with it.

It happened in the past, and it should stay in the past. No use brining it up in the present, and Izuku was a firm believer in looking to the future. He didn't have that luxury back in Lordran, what with him just going about the place and trying to remember which passage connected to which.

It was also the reason as to why as time went on in Lordran, Izuku began to feel the loss of hope, thinking that he would never be able to return. Just the fact that he was here now threw that feeling of despair right out the window as a smile returned on his face.

Izuku really did miss being back in Japan, and he would do anything to make sure that it stays that way.

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"This place is worse than Sen's Playground." Izuku grumbled as he traversed the clean hallways of U.A. High School. "Where in the Unceasing Discharge's discharge is my classroom!?"

Izuku moaned, frustrated at the lack of maps for the place, just as he was frustrated about Lordran and the lack of maps when he first got there.

'Note to self, if there is a graveyard, don't head in balls first.' Izuku knocked his head as his feet went on autopilot. Head on a swivel, Izuku scanned the entire hall for anything that could point him towards his classroom.

"Nezu said I was in Class 1-A… It's also at the third floor… I'm at the third floor…" Izuku groaned once more as he searched for any sign of the classroom. "I swear, the RAT GOD likes being a menace."

Izuku almost heard a maniacal cackle coming from a nearby room, but that must be his imagination.

It was a few minutes later that Izuku finally, FINALLY, found his designated room. If he found it a little later, Izuku just might have stormed into the RAT GOD's office and throttle him for the headache inducing mess he was put through.

"If there's no map, I'll make one." Izuku swore as he opened the door with a bright smile. And let it be known that Izuku wasn't the old introverted Izuku before his untimely death. "I AM HERE! DOING AN ALL MIGHT IMPRESSION!"

Said impression had Izuku's face looking like he grabbed All Might's face, ripped it off, and plastered it over his head.

The sight got most of the class sputtering at the sheer ridiculousness the scene caused, with some of them even laughing with their hands held across their abdomen.

"Nailed it." Izuku fist pumped as All Might's face slowly dissolved and was replaced by his natural, freckly one. Say what you want about how All Might handled his case, he wasn't wrong about him before he was sent to Lordran, and it took being sent to that hellish place for Izuku to learn that All Might was right about him.

No power means you're just nothing in the eyes of a villain, or in Katsuki Bakugo's words, an extra.

"Hello! Name's Midoriya Izuku!" The albino waved, a bright smile plastered on his face. "Who wants to be friends?"

"Damn, best introduction if I've ever seen one." A redhead with sharp teeth grinned as he stood from his desk. "So goddamn manly! Yo, Midoriya! Great All Might impression. How'd you do that anyway?"

"Horn buddy! Don't you dare leave me out of this!" A pink-skinned girl exclaimed with a smirk on her face. "Also, manners! Introduce yourself first."

"Ah, crap. My bad." The redhead sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he headed for Izuku. "Anyway, name's Kirishima Eijiro. Manly entrance, by the way."

"Thanks!" Izuku chirped like a bell as he shook hands with the redhead. "And you?"

"Ashido Mina!" The pink-skinned girl gave a cheerful wave, her bubbly personality a somewhat new experience for the albino. Siegmeyer wishes he had this much of a peppy tune, too bad he was depressed. "Gotta say, you seem like a fun guy. Wanna hang out?"

"Sure." Izuku all but agreed, his smile blindingly bright, causing both Eijiro and Mina to recoil from the pure radiance.

"Reeee…! Too bright! Make it stop!" A shadow hid behind a bird-headed student, who was also having trouble shielding himself from the bright albino.

"Endure, Dark Shadow!" The birdhead grimaced, his feathers ruffled somewhat. "The blinding light that emits from the green angel cannot hold forever!"

This caused his surrounding classmates to raise an eyebrow at his behavior and words, but the birdhead would only notice a little later due to the brightness of Izuku crashing down on him like valkyries on their mounts.

While this all happened, an ash-blonde teen gaped at the white-haired teen.

'He really is alive…' Katsuki stared at Izuku, his once friend-turned-victim by none other than him.

'Maybe I can finally ask for forgiveness…'