“Sir Shield.”

 

Izuku bowed as he stood across from David, the man’s desk in between them. David sighed, waving his hand. “Hello, Izuku. Have you decided on whether or not you wish to be part of the defence force?”

 

Izuku glanced at the menu that hovered next to his face, having rushed over at full speed after making his decision. “Yes, sir! While I’m still not sure why you want me there, I want to help out however I can.”

 

David nodded, a smile forming on his face. “Excellent, I thought that you might. Now, I don’t know what warnings or anything that Kurimuzon gave you, but I promise, you aren’t being thrown to the metaphorical wolves.”

 

With a wave of his hand, a map appeared on top of David’s desk, showing the outer walls of Mutsafu, and the surrounding area. Izuku could see two pins out on the fields, one blue and the other white.

 

“Those are the [Mana Springs], right?”

 

Nodding, David tapped on the map. “They sure are. Now, I’m not really worried at all about the [Water Incursion]. The town guard is equipped more than enough to deal with a single [Incursion]. The main issue is how soon the second one starts.”

 

Izuku nodded. “I haven’t had a chance to read over the book you sent me yet, how long do they usually go for?”

 

David clicked his tongue. “Right, I keep forgetting that you know very little about this. [Incursion]s last a minimum of 3 days, and a maximum of 4 and a half.”

 

Izuku frowned. “That means there’s either going to be only a day to recover from the [Water Incursion] before the [Air] one, or they might overlap?”

 

David nodded, clasping his hands together. “Yes, that’s why I’ve been getting more help than usual for these [Incursion]s. And that leads me to my next point, actually. Rumi, you can come in now.”

 

Izuku turned to see the door to the office burst open, whoever was on the other side having literally kicked it open, her leg sticking through, showing off her… paws? “Fucking finally. Your waiting area’s 10 kinds of stuffy, old man.”

 

Izuku’s eyes widened as ‘Rumi’ walked into the room, his eyes immediately drawn to the two white rabbit ears on top of her head. ‘A demi-human?’

 

“Identify”

 

Rumi “Beast of Caerbannog” Usagiyama

Level 59

Class: ???, ???, ???

Traits: ???, ???, ???

Current Target: None

 

“Keep staring at my ears and I’ll rip yours off.”

 

Izuku yelled, swiping away the [Identify] menu as fast as he could, turning to see that Miss Usagiyama was suddenly right up in his face. Or, right up in his neck. She was probably around 15 centimetres shorter than him, but he hadn’t really registered it at first because of the extra ‘height’ her ears gave her. 

 

“I’m sorry! You’re just the first Rabbit-kin I’ve ever seen!”

 

She clicked her tongue, seemingly giving him a once over. “Whatever. So Shield, this the guy I gotta keep my eye on? Pretty low level to be helping out with an [Incursion], ain’t he?”

 

David smiled. “Yes, this is your charge. Miss Usagiyama, meet Izuku Midoriya. Izuku, meet Rumi Usagiyama, also known as the Beast of Caerbannog, and one of the finest mercenary adventurers money can hire.”

 

Izuku grinned, his hand shooting out. “That’s amazing! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Usagiyama.”

 

She stared at him, her eyebrow-raising as she leaned to her side slightly. After shaking his hand for the briefest instant, she shrugged. “He’s polite at least, my price would probably go up a lot if he was a pain in the ass to protect.”

 

David chuckled. “I’m sure it would have, but I’m glad it hasn’t. Now, Izuku, you and Miss Usagiyama will be part of the Inner Guard, the backup group in case the currently stationed groups need assistance. Your job isn’t to go out and attack the creatures from the [Mana Spring] directly, instead you’ll be keeping an eye on the town itself to make sure that anything that slips by us dies quickly.”

 

Izuku nodded, making sure to carve these instructions into his mind. Miss Usagiyama sighed next to him. “Seriously? You hired me to play babysitter for someone who’s not even going to be on the front lines?”

 

David shot Miss Usagiyama a look. “He may not be on the front lines initially, but we’ve got a double [Incursion] on our hands here. If there was ever a time for the Inner Guard to be needed, it’s now.”

 

Miss Usagiyama huffed, crossing her arms, even as a smile formed on her face. “Good. It would really suck to just have to stare at a wall for a week.”

 

Izuku tilted his head to the side. “Wouldn’t that be good for you, though? You’d still get paid but you wouldn’t have to do much but stay alert?”

 

Miss Usagiyama glanced over to him, eyes closing as she shook her head. “Man you’re green. And I don’t mean that literally. Job’s no fun if I don’t get to fight. Sitting there keeping myself amped up but not getting to let it all out? That’d be like torture for me. I’m not about to blue ball myself just to have an easy payday.”

 

Izuku blushed, nodding quickly. “Right, yes, of course, sorry, Miss Usagiyama. I shouldn’t have interrupted.”

 

Miss Usagiyama raised her eyebrow at him, turning her head to look at him properly. “No, you’re fine... Ugh, whatever. Shield, what’re my proper instructions. I could deal with every single thing that gets past you by myself if needed, so I assume I’m not supposed to be killing everything?”

 

David nodded. “You are correct. Izuku is here to get some experience and hopefully gain some levels. I want him to be the first to engage anything that slips by us, but you will immediately take over if it’s a monster that you think is a too high level for him to beat.”

 

Miss Usagiyama clicked her tongue. “Right, be the safety net for your new favourite hero boy, gotcha.”

 

David laughed, clapping his hands. “That’s essentially it, yes. Now, I have some things to organise, so I’ll let you two get on your way and get to know one another. Knowing your party members limits is one of the most important parts of being an adventurer.”

 

David ushered the two of them out, leaving Izuku standing outside his office as Miss Usagiyama walked ahead, a small bounce in her step from her rabbit-like legs. “Cmon then, let’s get going. Also, If you keep staring at my ass I’m gonna kick yours up and down this hallway.”

 

Izuku sputtered. “I wasn’t staring at your ah, butt! I promise! I was looking at your legs You’re the first rabbit-kin I’ve ever seen!”

 

Miss Usagiyama rolled her eyes, grabbing his shirt and dragging him along. “My legs, huh? Heard that one before. Now hurry up, I need to learn your limits, like Shield said to if I’m gonna know when to step in later.”

 

You have been invited to Rumi Usagiyama’s [Party]

Current Members: 1

[Yes] / [No]

 

Izuku had to hide his grin as he pressed the [Yes] button on a party invite for the first time in his life, his legs doing a small happy dance that was thankfully disguised as struggling to keep up with Miss Usagiyama as she pulled him along.

 

Izuku jogged along behind her, stumbling every now and then because of his shirt pulling on him as they exited the building David’s office was in. “uh, Miss Usagiyama? How exactly are you going to test my limits?”

 

Miss Usagiyama turned to him, a confused look on her face. “How the fuck do you think? We’re going to spar!”

 

Izuku almost fell over completely at that, his heart feeling like it was about to stop. 

 

“What?!”

[34 Damage Taken!]

 

Izuku coughed as he slammed up against the wooden fence of the sparring area Miss Usagiyama had taken him to, the old wood shattering from the force of his impact. Sir Ratsudon sprinted towards him and nudged his side, seemingly checking if he was ok.

 

He could almost still feel the imprint of Miss Usagiyama’s foot-paw-thing in his gut as he struggled to stand up. They had been at this for almost 2 hours now, and while he felt like he was dying, Miss Usagiyama didn’t look any worse for wear.

 

As Izuku got to his knees, a wooden container stopped rolling in front of him. It was one of Miss Usagiyama’s [HP Potion]s, the kind that recovered 100 HP. While it was still a lot for her, it was basically a full restore for him. Opening the cork, Izuku drank the [HP Potion] slowly, not wanting to throw it up as his stomach cramped.

 

[100 HP Gained!]

[You are at max HP]

 

You have ingested too many [HP Potions] too quickly

You are now under the effect of [Alchemical Poisoning 1]

 

[Alchemical Poisoning 1]: Your body has been affected by alchemical creations too often in a short amount of time. Further consumption of potions will have a HP penalty, as well as reduced potion effects.

 

Izuku groaned as his stomach’s cramping soothed, and he pushed himself to his feet, plugging the cork back into the wooden container. Shaking his head, he looked over to where Miss Usagiyama was stretching.

 

She saw him watching and grinned, and Izuku couldn’t help the shiver that went down his spine. Miss Usagiyama was scary. “That’ll be it I guess. Can’t test you properly if the potions are gonna start hurting you anyway, and your rat ghost thingy disappeared after one kick.”

 

She moved from stretching her legs to a handstand, and Izuku was astounded when she started doing push-ups while on only her hands. “You’re incredible.”

 

Izuku blushed, clasping his hand over his mouth. He hadn’t to say that out loud! Luckily for him, Miss Usagiyama didn’t seem to care. “Damn right I am! I’m the Beast of Caerbannog, and one of the youngest people in recorded history to get my third class! I’m only 24 and I’m already a higher level than most peoples grandpa’s!”

 

She pushed up one more time, this time flinging herself into a flip, landing on her feet a few meters away from Izuku, readjusting the ponytail her hair had been put up in. “I gotta admit, for someone who just hit Level 13, you ain’t half bad.”

 

She swiped some dust off of her leather chest piece and walked over to the gate of the sparring ground, throwing a small bag of what sounded like coins at the nearby guard. “That should cover the fences that he broke.”

 

Izuku yelped as followed her out. The guard gave him a look that Izuku could only see as pitying as Miss Usagiyama once again started dragging him by the shirt. “But I didn’t break the fences! You kicked me into them!”

 

She gave him an incredulous look. “I distinctly remember them breaking as you impacted them. Not once did I even touch ‘em.”

 

Izuku stared at her for a moment, and she just raised her eyebrow at him, as if challenging him. Which, after the sparring (beatdown) he had just gotten through, was definitely not a great idea.

 

As he crossed his arms, Miss Usagiyama’s smile grew feral again. “Good, we figured that all out. Now, I’m tired from travelling for the last few days. Where the hell are we sleeping?”

 

Izuku blinked. “What?”

 

Miss Usagiyama laughed. “You think I got rich enough to throw silvers at guards for shitty fences by paying for my own room on every job I took? Not a chance. You’re my party member for the next few days, and true party mates always help other members with sleeping arrangements.”

 

Izuku sighed. ‘Are you kidding me?’  “There’s an Inn called The Sleeping Boar. It’s a few minutes down the road from the Dungeon Hall. I’ve been sleeping there ever since I arrived.”

 

Miss Usagiyama’s turned away from him, speeding up a little, just enough that Izuku had to start sprinting. Which after sparring for two hours, was not pleasant. It didn’t take them long to reach The Sleeping Boar, and Miss Usagiyama kicked the door open and dragged him towards the sleeping quarters.

 

Izuku got a small wave off towards the Innkeeper, throwing him a silver coin as payment for Miss Usagiyama to stay in the room as well, getting what looked like a… jealous look from the man? Izuku couldn’t think of a single reason why the hell any sane person would anyone be jealous of him right now.  

 

Wasn’t the fact that he was limping and covered in bruises proof enough that Miss Usagiyama was scary as hell?!