It has been two days since Ameri announced the disbandment of the Battler to the members of the Magical Tools Research Battler. Currently, the members of Battler are working hard to find a new name and recruit a third-year senior to reestablish their Battler.
However, just because this unexpected responsibility was placed on them doesn't mean the rest of the world stopped moving forward and other important matters stopped piling up. One of these important things was the First Term Final Exams, which were just around the corner.
Now, Izuku was no stranger to studying; in fact, he kind of liked it. Back in his previous life, studying helped him take his mind off of other things, which he appreciated given everything happening around him. However, things were a little different and difficult for Izuku here in the Demon World due to the language barrier. Although his grandpa's spell did translate the demon language for him, he still found it challenging to grasp the meaning of the words and the subject matter, as if he were solving a riddle in the dark.
Fortunately, Balam Shichiro and his picture books had significantly helped him in the past couple of months. As a result, his test scores had improved drastically compared to his scores after the first test of the year. Although he wasn't at the top of the class, he was doing well enough to comfortably achieve the 5th or 6th rank.
However, the First Term Final Exams were different from regular tests as they tested students on the entirety of their first term curriculum. This is why, after completing all of his lectures for the day, Izuku Midoriya could be found in the school library, going through one of his subjects.
"This is really tricky. I wonder where my calculations are going wrong," Izuku scratched his head in frustration as he stared at the astrology book in front of him. It had been almost half an hour since Izuku started working on this equation, but he still couldn't crack it due to some flaw in his calculations, which he was unable to grasp.
But then, just as he was about to give up on the problem and pack up for the day, he felt a presence behind him. Turning around, he saw a curvaceous girl with dazzling white hair braided at the waist and a pair of sheep horns peeking into his notebook over his shoulder.
He was about to ask the sheep-horned girl what she was doing. However, before he could, she pointed at his book and said, "I believe there's a slight error here. You've used the sidereal time for the alignment, but in this particular case, we should use the tropical time and account for the influence of the twin moons."
Izuku stared at her for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that makes sense. I only applied the influence of one moon!" he said. He was about to make the correction when the sheep-horned girl quickly and gracefully slid into the chair beside him and took his notebook as well as pen from him.
"You see, the large moon is in its waxing phase and the small moon is in its waning phase during this transit. This dual influence affects the timing and the impact on the celestial bodies," she explained as Izuku watched in awe and fascination as she recalculated the alignment. "Now," she said, finishing the last adjustment, "the peak should be at 3:57 AM instead of 4:22 AM. This also slightly alters the influence window, making it more potent for those with lunar ascendants, especially when the large moon is waxing."
Izuku stared at the equation for a moment as his brain caught up with the sheep-horned girl's explanation. Then he turned his head towards her and saw the sheep-horned girl still sitting next to him, staring at him without showing any kind of emotion on her face. "Thank you for your help," Izuku said gratefully. "That equation was starting to eat away at my patience."
At his words, the girl with sheep-like horns frowned and tilted her head. "You are thanking me...?" she asked with confusion in her voice. "Aren't you upset that I pointed out your mistake?"
Now it was Izuku's turn to tilt his head. "No, why would I be upset? You helped me figure out what I was doing wrong," he asked.
The girl's frown deepened slightly as she pondered his response. "You are strange," she said slowly. "Most people do not react well to having their mistakes highlighted."
"It seems like you've had some unpleasant experiences in the past," Izuku said with a frown.
"Yes, I did have a few," the girl with sheep horns said. "Many people take offense at being corrected without being asked, while others do not like being corrected by someone younger or unrelated. In my personal experience, most of them think that I am insulting their indignance or looking down on them, even when that is not the case. I suspect that this might be due to my straightforward approach and blunt vocabulary."
"So why did you approach me?" asked Izuku without thinking. "Not that I don't appreciate your help!"
"Because I cannot help myself when I see a mistake, especially when it comes to academics or any area of my expertise," the sheep-horned girl said stoutly. "For example, I couldn't help but intervene when I saw that the mistake you were making was borderline moronic," she said, not noticing Izuku's flushed face and wince. "You were foolishly applying the influence of one moon despite seeing two moons in the sky ever since being a child," she said, and paused for a moment. "I think I did it again somehow..." she said, frowning. "I think I said something rude... something that I should have kept to myself."
Izuku's cheeks flushed deeper at white-haired girl's straightforward assessment, but he quickly shook his head, trying to brush off any offense. "No, no, it's alright. I appreciate your honesty, and you are right; I do have a habit of overlooking the obvious," he admitted with a sheepish smile.
The girl with sheep-like horns studied him for a moment before her expression softened a little. "I didn't mean to sound harsh," she said sincerely. "I just have a tendency to speak my mind. It goes against my nature to not intervene if my intervention can improve something."
"Honestly, I think that's quite admirable," Izuku said with a reassuring smile. "It takes courage to speak one's mind and even more to stand by those words."
"Do you really think so?" she asked. Izuku nodded. "Thank you, I really appreciate that," she added with a smile.
"Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time. I should be going now," she said as she started walking away. She stopped in her tracks when Izuku called out to her. "What's the matter? Is there something else you wanted to ask?"
"No, nothing like that," Izuku shook his head. "I just realized we didn't properly introduce ourselves," he said, extending his hand. "I'm Izuku Midoriya, first-year. Thank you for your help and it was nice talking to you."
The girl with sheep-like horns stared at the hand for a moment before accepting it. "I'm Leila Ovinelore, third-year. It was nice talking to you as well," she said, then walked away, leaving Izuku behind.
"What a strange girl," Izuku said with a faint smile while shaking his head as he started packing his stuff. "Then again, who would have thought I would meet a third-year student..." his voice trailed off when suddenly a thought crossed his mind. "Maybe... this might work," he said and stared at the door from where Leila had just left. "Yeah, this might work perfectly."
******
It was Saturday afternoon- two days after Izuku's encounter with Laila- and it was an incredibly slow day due to half the number of classes and a large number of students being busy with either the preparation for First Term Final Exams, with their own Battlers, or already at their homes to enjoy the weekend.
Normally, even Izuku had plans every Saturday after lectures—either manga reading sessions with Ameri or after-school training with Opera. However, today, neither of those options was available. Opera had an errand to run for Izuku's grandfather, and as for Ameri... well, the situation with her had become quite complicated and confusing for him.
Since Monday, Ameri had been acting strangely around Izuku. She would try to avoid him or make excuses to leave when they were in the same place. Izuku was confused by Ameri's sudden change in behavior, especially since they had been on excellent terms before.
Izuku initially believed that he was responsible for Ameri's sudden change, but Nana reassured him that it was not his fault. Nana also advised him to give Ameri some space and time to sort things out on her own and explained that there was little he could do to help her.
So now with both Opera and Ameri unavailable, Izuku found himself with an entire afternoon free for himself. Since he had just finished a lecture and wasn't in the mood to study, he debated with himself for a few minutes on what to do. Eventually, Izuku decided to head towards the school training ground, even without Opera. Although he also had the option of going back home, he knew his grandpa and Opera wouldn't be there until later, so he chose to stay at the school instead.
With his decision made, Izuku quickly changed into his training gear and made his way towards one of the school training grounds, the one he and Opera often used. However, when he got there, he found that the training ground was already occupied by two girls.
The first was a honey-skinned girl with sky-blue eyes, yellow cat-like pupils, dusky blonde-accented dark brown hair, and tufts protruding from her hair resembling horns or ears. She wore training gear similar to his own and was currently doing warm-ups in the middle of the field.
The second girl had pale skin, light emerald-green eyes, and dark blue hair with light blue highlights at the end of her bangs, along with two small horns peeking out from beneath her hair. Unlike the first girl, this one was still in her school uniform and was sitting on the side, looking at her cell with a bored expression on her face.
After observing them for a moment, Izuku walked into the field, getting their attention.
The girl with brown hair looked at Izuku as he approached and raised her eyebrow. "Sup?" she asked. "Do you need something?"
"No, I am just surprised to see someone actually here on this training field," Izuku said. "Usually, everyone prefers outdoor training fields. I don't remember seeing anyone here in this underground training ground, aside from me and my classmates before."
"You are right. I don't usually come around this part of the school, but unfortunately, the training ground that I usually use is closed due to some maintenance, and others are occupied, so here I am," the brown-haired girl shrugged. "I am Dehya, by the way, and she..." Dehya pointed at the dark blue-haired girl who was observing Izuku curiously, "...is Yelan, my classmate."
"I am Iz-"
"Izuku Midoriya, ranked GIMMEL (3rd) and the Principal's grandson. Average academic record but you are considered an extraordinary fighter for a first-year student," Yelan suddenly cut Izuku off and started reciting his information with a smug smile. "You keep Asmodeus and Valac as your companions as well as a girl without any significant political or bloodline power. You have a giant black serpentine creature as your familiar. You rescued a Sabnock from Guardian of the Valley and befriended its child."
"During Mock Battle Exam, you managed to survive for fifteen minutes against President Azazel, which was quite impressive, I must say," Yelan continued. "Then you pulled out a strange ring from the Ranking Owl instead of a rank badge. You were also responsible for those beautiful fireworks; it was your idea to create them. However, your Battler still didn't win any prize at the Battler Party because one of your members was involved in a devious scheme that endangered the school... a scheme that you foiled. And recently you have found yourself in another problem..." she finished, flashing him an innocent smile, "... was that right?"
"Huh?" Izuku finally managed to utter, still taken aback by Yelan's unexpected barrage of information. He glanced between Dehya and Yelan with a mixture of confusion and surprise. "What?"
"Oh, man! I love seeing people's reactions when they meet her," Dehya laughed out loud, draping a hand over Izuku's shoulder. "Yelan is really the best when it comes to intelligence gathering. You should be honored, you know. Yelan doesn't just profile someone to their face or reveal her talent like that."
"Yeah, I am honored, all right," Izuku sarcastically remarked, still feeling bothered by how Yelan laid out his information. "How and why did you know so much about me? Especially the battler thing. That was supposed to be classified."
"I have a profile on you because you're a target of interest," Yelan replied nonchalantly. "Even if we set aside your status as the Principal's grandson, you've gained quite a reputation in a very short time."
"And as for how... well, that's a trade secret," Yelan continued with a wink. "However, I do offer my services for the right price, of course."
"That was kind of you to inform me, but let me ask you this: are you a threat, Yelan?" Izuku asked, narrowing his eyes. "Do I need to inform Grandpa about you?"
Yelna's face suddenly paled as she began to panic. "No! There's no need to involve the principal!" she said, her voice rising. "I don't plan on selling information to just anyone who asks for it! I understand the value of good intelligence and the trouble it could cause. Hell, only a select few people know how good I am, or that I am even planning to do this kind of thing."
"So why are you telling me this?" asked Izuku.
"Because like I said to you earlier, you are a target of interest and someone who could use my services with how much trouble you have gotten yourself into even before a single term of the school," Yelan explained. "So please don't tell your grandfather about my little side project. Unlike you, I am a nobody right now, but with this, I can be somebody in the future," she said in a steeled voice.
Izuku pondered her words for a moment before he sighed. "Fine, I won't tell anyone about you or your 'little project' for the time being," he said, narrowing his eyes at Yelan once again. "But I warn you, don't sell the information to anyone who can bring harm to the school or the students here."
"Duh!" Yelan rolled her eyes. "I'm responsible like that."
"You better be..." Izuku said, then suddenly remembered the other girl in the field. "Dehya, sorry for ignoring you like that," he said, flashing the brown-haired girl an apologetic smile.
"No, no, that was quite entertaining to watch. It's not every day you see Yelan panicked like that," Dehya grinned and yelped when Yelan elbowed her in the side.
"Anyway..." Dehya continued after shooting Yelan a quick glare. "That was quite a profile for a firstie. Especially your performance at the Mock Battle Exam, which was quite entertaining to watch."
"You were there?" Izuku asked, tilting his head until sudden realization hit him. "Wait, I remember now! You're a second-year student, aren't you!? I recall seeing you on the day of the Mock Battle Exam, and you fought one of my classmates as well!"
"Yeah, I fought that perv, kicked him straight in the face," Dehya said with a disgusted expression. "Anyway, as I was saying, your match against Ameri was seriously impressive, and since that day, I was hoping to get my hands on you."
"Wait... hands on me?" Izuku asked, a troubled expression crossing his face as he slowly started putting some distance between them. "What do you mean by that?"
Suddenly, Yelan started laughing while holding her sides. "Don't worry, she only talks like a predator but she isn't," she said, grinning as she noticed Dehya's eye twitch. "In fact, she may come off as a brute, but she's really soft like that."
"Your face is soft!" Dehya shot back at Yelan and shoved her laughing face away. "And you..." she turned her head towards Izuku. "I'm not saying what you think I am. What I meant was that ever since that day, I've wanted to spar with you. Since we're both already here in our training clothes, what do you say? Want to go at it?" she asked, cracking her knuckles with a savage grin.
'Hmm... what should I do?' he thought. 'Nana, what do you think?'
'Honestly, I don't see a problem accepting her offer,' Nana suggested. 'They haven't come off as bad or problematic so far, to me at least. I also think you would benefit by having a different training partner. However, in the end, it is your decision, so do what you see fit for yourself.'
Taking Nana's advice into consideration, Izuku looked at Dehya and said, "Sure, we can spar for a bit. Let me just get my warm-up done."
After fifteen minutes of warm-up, Izuku and Dehya stood at opposite ends of the field, facing each other. Dehya's stance was relaxed but ready, her hands loosely clenched at her sides. Izuku, in contrast, was more rigid, his fists raised in a defensive posture. Meanwhile, Yelan sat a little away from the field to avoid getting involved in a crossfire.
"Ready when you are," Dehya called out, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Izuku simply nodded, focusing his emerald eyes on her.
Dehya made the first move by dashing forward with impressive speed, quickly closing the distance between them. Izuku braced himself, but Dehya's speed took him by surprise. She swung a powerful fist at him, the force of her attack strong enough to stir the air around her knuckles.
Izuku barely managed to dodge, feeling the impact of her strike graze his cheek. He retaliated with a swift punch of his own, aiming for her midsection. Dehya blocked it with her forearm, and quickly jumped back, creating some distance between them.
"Not bad," she said with a grin. "But you'll have to do better than that," she added as she quickly rushed towards Izuku and unleashed a series of rapid strikes.
Izuku reacted instantly, flowing 5% of One for All through his body and activating Float to leap high into the air, avoiding her attacks.
From above, Izuku descended rapidly, aiming a powerful kick at Dehya. She crossed her arms above her head, the force of his attack pushing her back but not down. The ground beneath her feet cracked from the impact, and she skidded a few feet back, her shoes leaving trails in the dirt. Taking a moment to herself, she rubbed her arms, feeling the impact of Izuku's kick.
Meanwhile, Izuku landed lightly on his feet and assumed his stance once more. Noticing that Dehya wasn't rushing him, Izuku decided to take the initiative and charged at her. With a burst of speed, he threw a series of rapid punches, which Dehya dodged and blocked with fluid movements. However, just then, Dehya spotted an opening and delivered a powerful punch to his chest, sending him flying backward.
Izuku twisted in mid-air, landing on his feet with a thud. Clutching his chest, he felt the force of her attack. 'Yeah, she is good alright,' he thought to himself, refocusing on the fight.
"You're really strong," Izuku said, panting slightly. Then, green lightning started crackling around his body as he increased the power of One for All to 15%. "But I'm not done yet," he declared.
Dehya grinned, and suddenly, bright red flames started spiraling around her arms. "Good, because neither am I," she said, punching her fist into her palm, creating a burst of fire.
Izuku's eyes widened as Dehya's flames flared up around her arms. 'Well, that's a surprise,' Izuku thought, staring at the red flames with childlike fascination as he tried to study them.
'Izuku, focus!' Nana lightly chided him. 'You can study her powers later!'
'Right, sorry!' Izuku said, refocusing on the fight.
Meanwhile, Dehya decided to make a move, and with a savage grin, she launched herself forward, her fists wreathed in flames. She closed the distance between them in an instant and threw a rapid succession of punches, each one getting an incredible boost from her flames. Izuku kept blocking them, wincing as he felt the heat and power behind each strike.
"You'll need more than just defense to keep up with me!" Dehya shouted, grinning as she upped the intensity of her assault.
Izuku gritted his teeth, feeling the strain of her relentless assault. However, just then, he saw an opening and took it, sidestepping one of her punches and aiming a kick at her side. But Dehya was ready; she twisted mid-strike, her body flowing like liquid fire, and countered with a backhanded punch that connected with Izuku's jaw, sending him stumbling backward.
Not giving him a moment to recover, Dehya pressed her advantage and lunged at him. Seeing her coming towards him, Izuku increased One for All to 30%, and the green lightning crackling around him intensified as he met her charge head-on. Their fists collided with a resounding boom, creating a shockwave that rippled through the field.
Dehya didn't relent. She spun around, her leg sweeping out in a wide arc, flames trailing behind her. Izuku ducked just in time, feeling the intense heat pass over his head. Then, he used her momentum to his advantage, grabbing her leg and throwing her across the field.
"Is that all you've got?" Dehya taunted with a savage grin as she once again launched herself at Izuku. However, this time, the flames spiraling around her arms had intensified and completely engulfed them. "Let's see how you deal with this! Calidus Brachium!" she exclaimed.
Seeing her flaming fist closing in on him, Izuku reacted quickly. "Red Riot Rampart!" he shouted, and immediately a jagged, rock-like barrier was erected before him, blocking Dehya's attack and creating shockwaves around them.
'What's the deal with this barrier spell!? Why is it so hard to break!?' Dehya thought to herself, growing agitated as her attack failed to penetrate Izuku's barrier spell. Seeing that her attack wasn't getting through, Dehya swiftly kicked the barrier, backflipped, and created distance between them.
"That was some solid barrier spell," Dehya said, panting. "Original, I assume."
"Improvised, actually," Izuku replied, also panting. "I used Tenebris as a base for this."
"Impressive," Dehya praised as she winced while flexing her fingers. "What do you say? Wanna end this with one final attack?" she said as flames flared around her arms once more.
"Yeah, one final attack..." Izuku said, green lightning crackling around his body as he pushed One for All to 40%.
"Leonine-"
"Full Cowl: Detroit-"
Just as Izuku and Dehya were about to lunge at each other, suddenly both of them were splashed with water, effectively stopping their attacks and their spar.
"What the hell, Yelan! Why did you do that!?" Dehya yelled, glaring at the blue-haired girl.
"Because our assigned time for the field is up, and I also don't want to be involved in whatever damage you were about to cause," Yelan said with an unimpressed expression.
Dehya muttered something under her breath and let out an exasperated sigh. "You could have just told us, you know. No need for the splash."
"I know, but..." a mischievous grin spread across Yelan's face, "...where's the fun in that? Besides, I figured a little cooling off wouldn't hurt either of you. Plus, it was much more entertaining," she said, much to Dehya's ire, who groaned and facepalmed.
Suddenly, Izuku laughed, wiping the water from his face. "She's got a point," he said between laughs. "It must have been hilarious to look at."
"Yep, it totally was!" Yelan said with a wide grin.
Dehya rolled her eyes but couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, alright. At least someone got a laugh out of it," she said, shaking her head.
Then Dehya turned to Izuku, "It was a good fight. I can see why you gave such a tough fight to Ameri."
"Thanks, I enjoyed our fight as well," Izuku said. "It was much more entertaining than a normal training session. Although I'm sure I'm going to get an earful later when I'm getting patched up," he said as they shared a laugh.
After their discussion, Izuku received a message from Opera. "I guess I need to go now, but it was really nice meeting you guys."
"Yeah, same here," Dehya smiled at him. "Let's do it again sometime."
"Yeah, definitely," Izuku said, returning the smile. "Yelan, it was nice to meet you as well."
"Likewise," Yelan said. "Also, remember my offer, by the way... my little side project, you know."
"You know what, I think I could use your services for something," Izuku said, and Yelan's face bloomed with excitement. "Can you get me information on..." Izuku explained his request to her. "Do you think you can do that?"
"Hmmm... sounds easy enough," Yelan said, rubbing her chin in thought.
"Great," Izuku said. "Now, as for your payment, I hope you'll keep it reasonable."
"Don't worry. Since this is your first time doing business with me, I'll do your job in exchange for a favor. How does that sound?" Yelan offered.
"Sure, sounds good," Izuku said, shaking hands with Yelan. After bidding his goodbyes, Izuku left the underground training field.
"Well, that was unexpected," Yelan said as she reflected on the events of the afternoon. "Dehya, he was good, right?"
"Good!? He was a freaking monster!" Dehya exclaimed. "Every time he countered my punches, it sent shockwaves through my arms. It felt like I was trying to punch a steel wall. And you know what's worst? He wasn't even going all out!"
"Really?" Yelan tilted her head. "I thought both of you were equally matched."
"Not really... you were there for his fight with Ameri. There's no way what we saw today was his best," Dehya shook her head. "He also didn't use his other tricks like that smoke thing he did during the Mock Battle Exam. And the flick that ended his match with Ameri... nope, he was definitely holding back."
"It must be true if you're saying that," Yelan said. "Well, it seems like getting to know him was definitely the right choice."
To be continued...