a hero's labyrinth

learning curve

(I changed the title from fine print to learning curve because the storyline I wanted to use wasn't enough for this single chapter)

"What?"

Izuku wakes up in a broken wasteland. Explosions surround the entire area, with clouds and raining covering the skies. He looks down and notices his legs are trapped in rubble. He can't look to the left or right much, but he sees hints and flashes of pink and purple.

"Where am I?"

He notices the large audience of girls who are lying down in pain. Dark gems are littered all over.

"It hurts..." A small girl said.

"You can't even stand anymore!" An girl clothed in orange berates one holding a dagger.

In the center of it all, a lone Magical Girl stands in the burning road, holding a pink crossbow aimed at a white moth. It's dazzled with so many gems.

Behind the moth, an everlasting presence looms. Her blue dress clashes with her white skin, and her legs are replaced with nothing but gears. She is but a jester, and reality is her stage.

"If you want to save Magical Girls, come to Ka-"

Those dream changes, and the scenery disappears in a swirling background of gray and white. An air raid siren, green in color, stands on top of a table.

"Did you fail again?"

A voice plays from the siren, assaulting Izuku with sound. It's loud, deep and growly, with only little hints of concern.

"Let me help you."

The dream vanishes.

___

"dor... Mi... doriya... idor..."

"Midoriya!"

Izuku jolts from a long sleep, wide eye bags stretching in his eyes. The math teacher glares at him, berates him to stay awake before turning back to teach more algebra, everyone else left to laugh at him. They turn back, pretending to listen. The greenette blinks once and closes his eyes slightly. He hasn't had much sleep since he became a Puerum Magi. Fighting witches and maintaining Soul Gems while also catching up with year-end tests and school work took a huge amount of time so he had to cut on his sleep to do everything, which left him dazed and exhausted. Kyubey said he didn't have to sleep, but it seemed like stamina and rest weren't part of the equation.

___

"So, Kyubey?" Izuku starts, hands fiddling with his green soul gem, its smooth texture gliding in his hands. Kyubey watches from afar, standing on the edge of his bedroom window.

"How exactly do I-" He brings his hands up to accentuate his question "-transform?" Kyubey answers in his mind as loud and as clear as possible. Izuku stil hasn't gotten used to the sudden invasion of his mind yet.

"I am not a magical girl myself, however I have many experiences with other Puella and Puerum Magi." Kyubey jumps down to the bed and sits in an upright position. "Some have said you must imagine transforming, others have said it's like an instinct. One even told me they think of cute objects to transform. Pick one."