The sky remained blue as Izuku dragged himself up a mountain. One clutch of dirt after another he slowly ascended this grand body, one charred black and gray by death itself. By the time he reached an opening, he collapsed onto the ground staring upward at the beautiful blue sky. Every breath felt as though the young man were taking his very last, he sucked the air into his mouth with large and gaping breaths. His vision blurred as he tried to observe his surroundings, and his fingers clenched at the dry dirt laying underneath his body as his exhausted soul lay unmoving on the earth.
“Hey, hey! Midoriya!”
The boy could barely hear as Tenko casually walked up the hill and suddenly stood over him. His jeans draping from his knees, and his sneakers were as red as the fresh apples from home. Tenko’s All Might shirt was staring directly downward at Izuku as the boy could barely move his legs.
“You know we can’t do anything if you just sit there after a jog.” He spoke. Izuku let out a depraved grunt.
“You call that a JOG?!!”
“Well yeah, the whole point is to get your lungs healthy! When’s the last time you really went out and ran?” Tenko asked.
Izuku sat in silence and looked at the sky with a disgruntled stare.
“You’re joking.” Tenko said deeply as he crossed his arms.
Izuku remained silent as he took deep gasps of air.
“You want to be a Hero and yet you’ve never gone to the gym, or ran?”
Izuku didn’t speak, and Tenko simply stared at the young man.
“Nevermind, we’re here anyway.”
The boy watched as Tenko knelt down and offered a hand, the glove sticking to his skin like it had been burned to the surface. The young man grabbed it and Tenko hoisted him off the ground, Izuku was so exhausted that he fell forward, landing on Tenko’s chest. The blue haired man caught Izuku, and helped him balance all the weight, all the pressure. After mere seconds, Izuku was able to stand on his own two feet.
Tenko did not wait, he moved forward and walked towards a cluster of trees. Izuku followed hastily into those grand bodies. As they walked, Izuku saw them all… blackened and burned husks known as trees. The gray, ash-entwined gravel as every step caused the dirt to collapse underneath their feet. Every sediment twisted and turned as Izuku took a step, and as the boy followed Tenko into a small opening, Izuku could feel an energy enter his body.
The flames erupted from thin air, an orange glow destroying everything in sight. Deer, foxes, tanuki, rabbits, birds, all burned to ash before his eyes. He felt his heart race as everything was burned to nothing more than cinders. Yet, Izuku saw something, a figure in the darkness.
A young boy, hair as white as snow, was sitting with his legs brought to his chest. The boy was sitting on a boulder wearing a white sweatshirt and athlete’s pants. He was crying, every sob echoing in the flames as they grew closer. Izuku felt his body move on its own, running towards the boy. Every step filled his blood with adrenaline, every step hastening his breath. He grit his teeth screaming for the boy to take his hand, yet as the boy raised his head,
His tears turned into the flames, and his sobbing was replaced with a blood curdling scream.
Suddenly, the flames vanished, Izuku felt the plight of the land disappear as if the wind blew it away into the starry night. He felt Tenko’s hand grip his wrist with the force of a lion, and the man looked down into Izuku’s eyes. His blood red eyes were filled with sorrow, his pale skin shivering from the sight, and yet, he looked up at the rock Izuku ran towards.
“You saw it didn’t you?” He asked calmly, he let go of Izuku’s arm and the young boy gasped.
“What… what was that?” He asked.
“A memory… from a long time ago,” Tenko answered.
Tenko jumped onto the rock, and sat down crossing his legs.
“Welcome to Sekoto Peak, or what’s left of it.” He said in a nostalgic voice.
Izuku took a moment to take in his surroundings. To this day, the air itself contained the smell of ash from years prior, the smell of burning wood and grass causing him to grunt in disgust. The gravel beneath his feet moved and slithered with every movement, every second Izuku shift the weight on his feet.
“Why did you bring me here?” Izuku asked quietly. Tenko turned his attention over to the young man.
“This is where my first real mission took place, this is where I learned how important we are…” He spoke.
“Your first mission?”
“Mhm. I…”
Tenko let out a deep sigh.
“This is where I met my first real friend, where I had to save his life after he nearly burned to death.”
“Whoa! You had to save someone?! What happened?” Izuku asked as he suddenly sat next to Tenko.
The blue haired man crossed his arms and shook his head, his attention seemingly floating away. Izuku looked up at him, his green eyes jading in the sun, and then, he looked away.
“Oh, sorry I shouldn’t have said that, that’s pretty personal.” Izuku said.
“It’s fine.” Tenko said quietly. “The whole thing is something that takes me a while to think about.”
They sat there motionless as Tenko looked away from Izuku for a moment, his eyes focused on a nearby tree. A fox appeared, scurrying around the area until it suddenly hopped onto the rock the boys were sitting on. It sniffed Izuku, and then sniffed Tenko before it laid on Tenko’s lap. Izuku stared at the fox again, and on its golden fur, he noticed something. A kanji on its back, it was Inari’s symbol. It nestled onto Tenko’s lap, and without hesitation, he started petting it.
“Toya.” He said as he pet the fox.
“What?” Izuku asked.
“My friend, his name was Toya Todoroki…” Tenko clarified. “We met here years ago, and uh, we both decided to start training here. He was… well he definitely had his fair share of issues, but we really managed to figure things out you know?”
Izuku looked down at his legs, and clenched his shorts.
“I met him when I was only ten, he’s a few years older than me but, yeah, I honestly started to like coming here with him. He taught me how to better control my flames, and I think hanging out with him really let him just… relax. The forest at the time was beautiful, there were flowers everywhere, the grass had this great scent, like mint. The trees had this deep brown bark and-”
Tenko stopped short of his sentence, he rubbed the fox over its back and suddenly a kanji glowed a shining white. It hovered in the air before entering Tenko’s forehead and vanishing from sight. Izuku gasped quietly, and the fox lept off Tenko’s lap. It turned around and licked Izuku on the cheek. He giggled quietly, and he pat the fox on the head, rubbing its soft fur. Then it ran on the very wind itself, and before long, it vanished from all sight.
“Right, we’ve been putting it off long enough. It’s time to train.” Tenko said as he jumped off the rock.
“Uh, are you sure? You were really focused on your fri-”
“I’ll be fine, come on, let’s get started.”
Tenko walked into an opening and called for Izuku to follow him, and he obliged. Izuku met Tenko in the hot sun, the rays beating down on the poor fellow.
“Now then, here we go!”
“Alright, like I said at your place there are three things you need to focus on. We call them the Three Pillars.” Tenko explained. “Body, Mind, and Niwa.”
“Body speaks for itself, if you want to use your Blessing safely you need to strengthen your muscles, you need to build yourself up to be as strong as you can, get yourself a nice body too!”
Izuku grit his teeth with the strength of a bear as he pulled several gigantic logs across the ground, Tenko simply meditated while the boy struggled with his efforts. The green haired boy dragged a log with his bare hands, using his legs, arms, core, he tried everything. With one large pull, his hands slipped and he fell to the ground. Tenko sighed while he meditated, his hands hand together on his lap All the while, Izuku rolled around on the dirt as his fingers were covered in splinters.
“Why’s that so important?” Izuku asked.
“Remember when you used your Blessing for the first time last week? When the Kuchisake Onna attacked you? You managed to help me out and send it to the Grand Golden Woods, and you really surprised me!” Tenko said. “But when you passed through the door I made into the Spirit World, you passed out. Your body couldn’t handle your Blessing’s power.”
Izuku jumped through several trees, each step sending pain and adrenaline through his quads, thighs, and calf muscles. He could feel every fiber ripping apart. Izuku yelled out as he slipped and fell from high in the trees, but before he hit the ground Tenko caught him in his arms, flames bellowing from his feet.
“You’re doing fine, but you really need to practice your footwork. Now start again!”
Izuku let out a deep grunt, and without hesitation he started anew, he slowly climbed a tree like a small child would, trying to find a safe place to put his feet, and once more Tenko let out a sigh of slight frustration.
“You know how when you exercise your body’s muscle fibers rip apart, but they fill in stronger than before?” Tenko asked. “The same principle applies to your Blessing; it’s tied to your soul.”
“Oh… I think I get it now,” Izuku replied. “Yeah, that makes perfect sense! Our bodies and souls are a part of each right? So the stronger my body...”
“The stronger your Blessing becomes.” Tenko said, shortly after a smile formed on his face.
Together, Izuku and Tenko sparred. Izuku ran for a punch, something Tenko easily avoided. He jabbed at Izuku’s lower jointed and suddenly flipped the young man onto the ground. Izuku felt the wind being knocked from his sails as he hit the dirt, his eyes widening in shock. Another day, Izuku was lifting several rocks, logs, heavy brushes, and even small animals.
Time passed, and Izuku was once again running through the trees. Every step was timed, precise, elegant. He climbed into a tree with near perfection, he took a grand leap from one tree to the next. He pounced from a lower branch to one far above. This tree was unlike the others, its body was far wider and its height stood above the rest of the forest. As Izuku rose higher, he peered into the sky, and was now far above the ground with no end in sight. He jumped a great amount as light left his feet, the force of his new power almost overwhelming him. It felt as though he were flying, and as he nearly felt the bark, gravity took hold. Izuku cried in agony as he began to fall, his heart racing as sweat poured from his body. On instinct, Izuku reached for the branch again, but when all seemed lost.
SHIMMER
The golden thread, the string of light. It had shot from Izuku’s fingers and wrapped around the large branch in a mad daze. Izuku stopped falling and hanged from the branch for all to see, and as he dangled in the air, Tenko watched from below with his arms crossed. His face showed a scowl, but one with caution. Flames lined his feet ready to transform into the Okami.
That’s it, use your Blessing Midoriya. He thought catiousally.
And when Izuku looked upward at the branch, he gulped, yet his resolve emerged. Every fiber of his being told him to climb, climb the rope! With all the strength he could muster, Izuku grabbed the light with his hands, and pulled hard.
“HAAAAA!!” He screamed.
Every grasp felt as though his palms were being split open, he could feel his chest, his arms, and his stomach all screeching in pain as he pulled all of his weight, his entire body slowly lifting upward. The branch shook with leaves flying into the wind. As it shook, Izuku felt the fear overcome him. He lost his grip, he slid downward, and Tenko grunted with horror. His flames roared up his legs and he pounced into the air ready to catch Izuku.
It’s not use, I’m gonna fall! Izuku thought as he closed his eyes. Shimura I hope you're here!!
TH-THUMP
A sudden memory flashed, one of the Symbol of Peace in an interview with the NHK news station.
“Just one last question if that’s alright sir.” The interviewer asked.
“Of course, anything for a lovely lady like you!”
“Aww thanks. Gah I mean, when you’re out there saving so many people and facing those villains, how do you do it?”
“I- uh… I may need you to be more specific!”
“How are you so brave when facing these felons? You’re always coming in with that brilliant smile of yours, but is there anything uh… underneath that? What do you really feel?”
Izuku remembered the silence that emanated from All Might in that moment. It was a scary thing, seeing his idol have a moment of pause, a moment of doubt.
“I believe you asked this to my good friend Crimson Riot did you not?!”
“Yes, I did.” She replied.
“Then you might already know the answer!” All Might said.
As Izuku felt his body shake more, gravity taking hold of him from the air, he heard All Might’s words echo in his mind.
“The truth is that every time I fight, I’m scared. Scared that I could fail and that someone can get hurt. Scared that what I have might not be enough.”
Izuku felt tears well in his eyes as he slipped once again, and Tenko moved even higher into the sky.
“But… you’re the Symbol of Peace, you protect everyone.” The interviewer said.
“I know, but even the greatest can make mistakes.” All Might replied.
The boy grit his teeth and closed his eyes.
“Then… how do you manage to keep that smile?”
“It’s simple really!”
Izuku ripped his eyes open and started pulling once more, and Tenko stopped in his tracks as he hovered in the air.
“I embrace it, I remind myself that the fear is always there, because if we act without fear, we become reckless! It’s always best to take that fear and face it rather than let it control us!”
The young man grabbed the thread once more and pulled himself up.
“I take that fear and take it head on, and in the end, it always remains the same.”
Izuku let out a scream, and with another clasp, he grabbed the branch.
“I tell those in danger that I am here!”
And as Tenko watched Izuku climbed onto the branch, and let out a cry of victory. He threw his arms in the air and yelled into the sky as he triumphed over a nearly impossible task. The boy opened his eyes after he emptied his lungs, and he gazed upon the dead forest in awe. The view was clear, the land was vast, the smoke ever flowing into the sky. Izuku collapsed and leaned against the tree’s core, and as he looked down, the ground seemed so far away, the brushes as small as wolf pups.
Izuku looked up again, and this time, something caught his eye. The boy whose hair was as white as snow, his hands glowing with blue flames. He was gasping at the air, smiling with tears in his eyes as he screamed for victory and pride. Izuku watched him hop around the branch as his flames lined his arms, and as the boy looked at Izuku…
“I knew it… my flames are stronger! Just you wait dad… just you… wait…”
And as Izuku blinked, the boy vanished from all sight. Izuku looked around looking for him, but he couldn’t be found. Alas, that had to wait, for Izuku couldn’t feel his arms or his chest, and mere moments later, he closed his eyes, and passed out. Yet in this moment, Tenko only watched, with his shock slowly deteriorating, replaced with a smile.
Day turned to dusk, and dusk into night. This cycle repeated many times, until this special day. Izuku and Tenko were doing pushups together under a crescent moon. Izuku had taken his shirt off as he continued his rigorous training. He did one, then five, then ten, then fifteen, but it was too much. Izuku collapsed on the ground face first before ripping it out of the ash ridden dirt. He sneezed, coughed, nearly choked on the powdery substance, and he rubbed his forehead. As he looked at his right arm he saw it covered to the brim in sweat, and his lungs became exhausted from the relentless working. Izuku then looked over at Tenko, who remained steadfast in his resolve.
“Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred!” He cried. Without notice, he looked over at Izuku, who was on his knees trying to catch your breath. “How many did you do?”
“S-Sixteen…” Izuku muttered. Tenko let out a grunt.
“That’s it? It’s only 100 pushups.”
“Only 100?!” Izuku cried.
Tenko let out a laugh and he slapped Izuku on his bare back.
SLAP
“Ow!”
“There’s another reason to bulk up Midoriya, you’ll toughen yourself and your stamina will really improve.” Tenko said as he knelt next to him. “Trust me, I was just like you at half your age.”
Suddenly, Tenko reached inside his shirt.
“I complained a lot, and there were a bunch of times when I wanted to quit, but in the end…”
As Izuku looked up, he watched as Tenko took off his shirt.
“It was worth it.”
Izuku’s eyes widened a small amount as he gazed upward at Tenko’s physique. The man was toned, his body was almost like a temple. Tenko had fortified pecs, his chest tight and strong. His arms had been worked to become a controlled and bolstered physique, his core had several abdominal muscles lining his lower chest and stomach. He was no different that many Heroes Izuku had analyzed and studied for all those years. Tenko sat down next to Izuku and waited, they stared ahead at a field of dead grass, and Izuku’s mind wavered.
He remembered passing a gym one day, yet that image was one he could not remove from his mind. He saw Bakugo in there one day, bench pressing what appeared to be an incredible number of weights. He was lifting dumbbells, running treadmills, using a leg press, and drinking a protein shake.
Yet in the present, Tenko suddenly took a picture of Izuku with his phone, and put the device in his pocket.
“It’s only been a few days since we started but if you keep at it, you’ll improve for sure.” Tenko said as he pat Izuku on the back, the boy could feel the man’s gloves hit his skin. “In a few months you’ll definitely see the difference, but that also means you need to change your diet!”
“Oh uh, thanks…” Izuku said as he scratched the back of his head.
And then, Tenko left, he went around the back of a dead tree, and when he returned, he gave Izuku a box.
“Happy birthday by the way! From all of us.” Tenko said.
“Oh wow! Thanks!” Izuku cried.
Izuku took the ribbon off and removed the lid from the box. He carefully moved through the inner wrapping, and when he found the prize, he pulled it out. The fabric unraveling right before his eyes. He was at a loss of words, yet Tenko let out a chuckle.
“This is-”
“This is…?”
“A limited run Plus Ultra shirt, this was when All Might saved all those people in that bus crash.”
“That’s right, your Mom told me you’d watch that video every day when you were a little kid. I uh, kind of told everyone about how much you love All Might.”
He’s not that different from you.
“Huh?” Izuku asked, he looked at Tenko, whose pale skin reflected the moonlight. “What’d you say?”
“I… told everyone you like All Might?”
“No not that, the other thing.” Izuku replied. Tenko stared at him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but alright.” Tenko replied. “But listen Midoriya, you’ve just got to keep going, okay? Keep pushing harder and harder, eat well, sleep well, and you’ll end up like me and Jiro.”
Izuku looked down at his shirt again.
“Besides, how are you going to save people when you pass out every time you use your Blessing? Before anything, you need to find that path, that energy, but most of all, your reason for wanting to do this.”
“My reason?”
“Yeah, you need to sit down and ask yourself the important question.”
“Why are you doing this? What does all of this mean to you?”
Izuku remained still and pondered the words.
My reason for doing this…
He felt Tenko rub his hair, much to his embarrassment.
“Hey it’s alright, you don’t need the answer right now, trying to rush through something ends up being a pain in the ass, trust me.” He said. “But in time, you’ll find it, and when you do, you can move forward.”
Izuku looked up at Tenko, and he nodded strongly.
“One hundred right?” Izuku asked, Tenko smiled.
“One hundred before sunrise, and hey,”
Tenko bumped Izuku on his skinny chest.
“You can do this, the moment you doubt yourself is the moment you give up. So give it everything you’ve got, cause I’ve got your back.”
Izuku smiled and nodded, but not before something happened. Tenko gasped quietly, and as Izuku turned away, he noticed a tear touch the ground…
He put the shirt back in the box, and before Tenko even knew it, Izuku got on his hands and continued his pushups. Every pushup made him grunt in exhaustion, but with every movement, he could feel himself getting stronger.
“Thirty!”
“Yep, just like that, not give me more! More!!”
As the night went on, the pushups grew more challenging, but in a time like this, Izuku knew that if he stopped now, he would never become what he wanted. This was all too true, too evident for anyone simply looking.
The moon knew this as well, as Tsukuyomi watched from the sky, his arms crossed under his evening kimono. Sitting next to him was Inari, the young boy kami who sat on the edge of the Moon petting a three-tailed kitsune on his lap. His smile reigned even in this moment, the two gods watching the young men train beneath them. Tsukuyomi let his long silver hair out, the strands reach down to his upper back and his collarbone, and underneath he wore a kimono as white as the moon. Inari meanwhile sat with a kimono as red as blood, a stark contrast to his silvery skin.
“He’s persevering, I’m impressed.” Tsukuyomi said as he continued to watch Izuku train. “This is only the beginning however, it will take months, maybe a year before his Body is complete. He also has Mind and Niwa, are you certain that he’s the one who will bring this ‘great change’ you speak of?”
“Izuku’s the one, I’m sure of it. He’s a good man Tsuku just have faith in him.” Inari said calmly.
“I am not convinced, we’ll see how he does when the time comes to hone his Blessing and his Niwa,” the lunar deity said punctually. “But for now I’ll watch, I’m intrigued at the very least…”
“You always say that when you think they’ll do well.” Inari said as he caressed the kitsune on his lap.
“Hmph,” Tsukuyomi grunted. “I do no such thing.”
“Yes you do,” Inari replied with a giggle. “You even did it in front of the Council.”
“We will speak of this no further…” Tsukuyomi replied in a deep voice.
“Alright alright, but I agree, best we continue watching Izuku down there…” Inari chuckled. “But in all seriousness Tsuku, he’ll do it, I have faith in him.”
Tsukuyomi looked over at Inari, who was watching over his fox as it slept on his lap. The lunar god slowly approached the young teen, and to Inari’s surprise, he sat down on the Moon’s crescent, and then, he rubbed the fox’s head.
“You haven’t let me down before, old friend…” He said softly.
Tsukuyomi gazed down at the earth, his Moon’s light shining for all to see. He saw Izuku suddenly jump in the air and screaming at the top of his lungs. The young man ran up to Tenko and high-fived him so loudly that even he could hear the clash. A small echo could be heard below as the two shirtless boys screamed.
“THAT’S IT! YOU DID IT!” Tenko screamed.
“YEAH!!! PLUS ULTRA!!” Izuku yelled. Tsukuyomi smirked.
“I admit, I enjoy the energy he presents, it reminds me of when Susanoo and I were children…”
“Yeah,” Inari replied. “The good old days…”
“Oh? Has one of your previous incarnations awakened in you?” he asked.
“I think so, they come back here and there, but yeah… I remember when your father asked me to watch you two, Amaterasu was in your library while you idiots kept trying to hunt bears.”
“I remember, I was there Inari…” Tsukuyomi replied, he suddenly blushed much to Inari’s enjoyment.
“Yes, you were. And Izuku and Tenko are here right now.”
Tsukuyomi smirked once again, and he looked down as Izuku and Tenko put their shirts back on, and descended the mountain. They spoke once more.
“Remember Midoriya you need to watch your calorie count if you want to build a strong body. It’s fine to eat things to gain weight, but overeat and you might get fat.”
“Yeah yeah I know.”
“Don’t ‘yeah yeah’ me!” Tenko cried.
Tsukuyomi and Inari watched as Tenko slapped Izuku on the back of the head, yet to their surprise, the boy managed to avoid it.
“Same time tomorrow?” Izuku asked.
“You know it.”
And then, the flames flashed before their eyes, and Tenko transformed into the Okami. The wolf kneeled and Izuku climbed onto his back. Without a moment’s hesitation, Tenko leaped into the air with fire streaking behind him, and together they left Sekoto Peak. As the flames danced in the sky like a jetstream, Tsukuyomi smiled, and gave Inari one final look.
“Yes, that they are…”
