If there was one thing Izuku had learned these last couple of days, it was that stepping through a threshold could leave him literally anywhere. As he followed Koui through the silken door, he had visions of blazing infernos, of typhoons and earthquakes, of all sorts of horrific places.
It was therefore a surprise when they stepped out onto wooden decking. In front of him was a small lawn before a large and completely still lake. The sky was a collage of pink and orange as everything was bathed in the glow of the evening sun. This was a veranda of a traditional Japanese house. It was not at all what Izuku was expecting.
Koui allowed him a moment to take in the view before leading him around the house. Despite it being wood beneath his feet, it was surprisingly soft. As they walked, Izuku’s awe gave way to caution as he remembered where he was.
Right now, he was in a strange place, with a strange being he knew very little about. To top it all off, he was wearing barely any clothes, which apparently was the only way for him to be safe. It was very difficult to walk normally as he kept itching to cover himself up.
“I’m surprised you’ve not bombarded me with questions,” Koui said.
“I’ve been told people don’t like that,” Izuku said.
“Nothing wrong with questions, especially when you’re with someone as interesting as me,” Koui shot him a wink, then seemingly out of nowhere he asked, “what do you know about death?”
The question was so unexpected it brought Izuku to a halt.
“What’s there to know? You die and then that’s it,” Izuku said, “though you called me mortal earlier, so I’m guessing there’s more to it.”
“Indeed there is,” Koui said, “when a mortal dies, their spirit moves from one plane of existence to another, but most of the time they need a little help getting there.”
“Is that like the grim reaper or something?” Izuku asked.
It was ridiculous, but after finding out magic was real, he’d believe it. Koui stopped, tapping a finger to his chin.
“What did those hunky Greeks used to call it?” he thought for a moment, “a psychopomp! That’s it.”
“And that’s what you are? A psychopomp?”
“Indeed I am!” Koui said with a grin, “I am one of many. We all have different aspects to us, because there are so many ways in which people can die, so many ways they can leave the mortal plane behind.”
They rounded a corner. On the opposite side of the house to the lake was a field that stretched out far beyond the horizon. Spread out on the field were a series of ornately carved wooden gazebos set on slightly raised marble dais. Most had thin curtains, giving them the bare minimum privacy to what was inside but the one closest to them was open.
There was a man crouched in the centre of the gazebo. He looked up when Koui approached him, Izuku following at a careful distance. His brain was whirring, running through the possibilities and not entirely liking where he was being led. The man was naked and Koui only in a fundoshi. The man bit his lip when Koui entered the gazebo. He stood, reaching out for the other boy.
“Oh god that’s hot. A gorgeous babe all for me.”
He felt at Koui’s chest.
“Perfect tits. I want to rub my face in them while I wreck your pussy,” he groaned.
Koui seemed to let him, but Izuku saw the way his smile grew sharper and sharper. Those eyes, so vibrant and blue, were like daggers of ice. Alarms were going off in Izuku’s head, and somehow the man didn’t even see it.
He took notice when Koui grabbed his dick and yanked it harshly. The man doubled over, whimpering from the tight grip. Koui forced him to his knees, then onto his back.
“Patience, your time will come soon,” he said, voice silky smooth.
Koui let go, stepping out of the gazebo. Izuku flinched when something passed next to him. It was another boy, shorter than Izuku by a hair. He had pale, almost white skin, and when Izuku caught a glimpse of his eyes, he saw how the sclera were jet black. He dressed in the same style of fundoshi as Koui. When the man laid eyes on him, he reacted similarly to how he saw Koui just before.
“So many beautiful women. I’m sure you’re so much better than the bitch who just attacked me.”
The new boy crooned, whispering reassurances as the man pulled him onto his lap. A curtain appeared, closing around the gazebo, but it barely concealed what was happening within it. Izuku turned to see Koui leaning against one of the support struts.
“What the hell is this? Some kind of sex afterlife?”
Surprisingly, Koui almost looked regretful.
“If only it was,” he said, “there are precious few things in life that connect people more than sex can. There’s nothing to get in the way. When people come together to enjoy their pleasures, they leave everything else behind. As soon as they enter their bed, or bed equivalent, nothing else matters. Gender, class, money, power, quirk, all of it is meaningless in the heart of that connection.”
Koui’s expression became wistful as he gazed at nothing in particular.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re madly in love or just want to feel good, it’s a gift they get to share with each other.”
Koui’s eyes hardened as he glanced behind him. The man was fondling at the boys chest with one hand while the other moved around the back.
“Only there are some who don’t see it like that. They don’t see it as a gift to be shared. No, they take it. They steal it from their partner, perverting what should have been a connection made by choice, and for what? Cheap pleasure that pales in comparison to the real thing!”
Koui’s anger was palpable, but even though Izuku tensed, part of him knew it wasn’t directed at him.
“They take, and take, and rob people of the chance to experience what sex can be,” Koui finished, now sounding upset, “and for that, they get sent to me.”
The implications registered in his head. Looking around, the surrounding gazebos all had similar situations as the one in front of him. Sometimes it was a man, sometimes it was a woman, but all of them were naked and being attended to by one or more of the same pale boy. The man had grabbed at Koui’s chest without hesitation.
Sludge wrapping around his…
Pushing against his…
“All of these people? They all...”.
Koui gestured to the man.
“Juro Kagawa cheated on his wife with girls at the club who couldn’t put up a fight. He raped three before getting caught in a villain fight which led to his death.”
He pointed at another.
“Kaede Asano used the little boys in her grade school class to get herself off. She killed herself before she could stand trial.”
“Yuu Konno never listened when his boyfriend said no, until one day he met his end when said boyfriend snapped.”
“All the mortal souls here took what should have been a gift freely given and perverted it to their own ends. Regardless of whether they faced justice in life, they all end up here.”
The gazebos stretched out far into the distance, each one containing the soul of a dead rapist. There were so many! Izuku could barely comprehend it.
“And what do you do to them? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re just giving them more of what they want.”
Koui smiled.
“It might seem like it at first. When they first arrive, they might delude themselves into thinking this is some kind of heaven, but it really isn’t. Yes they get sex, but even the most ardent pervert has their limits. Eventually they want to stop, eventually they say no,” Koui said, “they didn’t stop in life, so why should they get to stop in death?”
Izuku knew many people talked about how rapists deserved what they got in prison. This was like that, only on a much grander scale.
“All the mortal souls, does that include me?”
“I wouldn’t dream of doing that to you,” Koui said.
“But you were going to. When I stepped into that bedroom, you were going to something to me,” Izuku said.
“Everyone else that comes to me comes for the same reason, whether they’re still living or not,” Koui said, “but you’re special, my love. As much as I want you in my bed, it has to be your choice.”
“Why?” Izuku said, anger rising, “what makes me so special?”
“Because you said no.”
Koui’s smile was a lot warmer than it had been.
“In the endless time I’ve shepherded the souls of the dead, I can count on one hand the number of times someone has been able to say no to me and actually make it happen, and I'd still have fingers to spare. That alone makes you special, but there’s more,” Koui said, “I can feel it, and it’s not just the incredible power you wield. I don’t think I’ve ever felt someone so good before.”
The boy sighed.
“I know I’m not a good person like you are,” he said, “it’s not in my nature to care about these people. I look at them and see those who need to be punished, but you see those who need saving.”
Izuku clenched his fist. He wasn’t stupid. If Koui was right, and these people committed those atrocities in life, then they deserved to face justice, but was this really it? Did they really deserve this?
“I want to be a hero. Is there nothing I can do?”
“Maybe, if they were still alive,” Koui said, “but you are the only living human here. You can’t change what’s happened once they’re already dead.”
Izuku hung his head. He figured that would be the answer, but it still hurt to hear. Heroes couldn’t save everyone, he knew that. Part of him agreed with Koui, at least a little bit. These people deserved to be punished for their sins, but he was not going to be their figurative executioner. As though sensing his thoughts, Koui spoke again.
“My offer to teach you still stands, for as much as you wish to learn from me. I won’t ask you to be the one to deal out their punishment, that's my purpose. The most I will ask of you is to help prepare them, and only as a way to demonstrate concepts. Everything is up to you.”
He felt as though his head was splitting in two. Izuku thought he was a decisive person, but what Koui was presenting to him was far beyond anything he’d imagined. Everything about magic was too much, but would he even be able to find a new teacher if he said no?
His magic coiled in his chest, settling next to his heart and filling him with a soothing warmth. It did a lot to calm him, enough that he could meet Koui’s patient expression with a firm one of his own.
“I will learn from you.”
The second trip to the library was a lot more productive than the first. It helped that as soon as he arrived, Izuku was able to turn his fundoshi back into normal clothes, intact ones this time. The Librarian had sniffed at him but ultimately made no comment. When Izuku handed her a list of books, she led him down the rows of shelves without question.
It seemed busier than the last time he was here. People were sitting at chairs reading or were looking for things on the shelves. Most looked normal, but others were different. Some had strangely coloured skin, some had animal appendages, but there were also a couple who were obviously not human. Izuku wanted to gawk and stare, but not wanting to anger the Librarian any more than he already had, he kept his eyes forward and followed her.
The Librarian was efficient and in no time at all, Izuku was stepping back through the door to Koui’s realm, three books in hand. The sight he was met with when he stepped through the hanging beads almost made him drop them.
The bed was gone. In its place was a standard school desk, sitting across from a large blackboard. Koui turned to face him, a pair of glasses perched at the end of his nose and a small cane tapping against his hand.
“Where’s your school uniform?”
Was he trying to be a teacher? The effect was ruined since he was still only in a fundoshi.
“Well? Do I need to send you to the principal’s office to get changed?”
Izuku raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
“Drop the act Koui.”
The boy pouted. The glasses disappeared and the furniture rearranged to two armchairs facing each other.
“Fine, spoil my fun. I’m guessing you never had a crush on a teacher?”
He grimaced. There was no way he’d see his middle school teachers like that.
“Good, I see far too many teachers here,” Koui said, “though I was serious about the uniform bit. Please get changed.”
Izuku put the books down and changed his clothes. The comfortable t-shirt and sweats melted into shards of glass before reforming into his fundoshi. It took a moment to get over the exposure, by which point Koui was already sitting. Izuku took the other chair.
“You keep saying it’s to keep me safe, but I’m not sure how a strip of cloth is supposed to do that,” he said.
“It’s simple really. Anything outside of this room only serves one purpose. The fundoshi marks you as mine, so to speak, otherwise they’ll assume you’re a mortal soul here to be punished.”
That … made an absurd kind of sense.
“So these books,” Izuku said, avoiding that conversation before it could progress, “I can’t read them, but they’re written in Japanese?”
“No they’re not, they only appear to you in Japanese in the same way that I appear to you like this,” Koui said.
“Is that supposed to make sense?”
Koui chuckled.
“Maybe. Think of it this way. You were able to use magic on command by allowing it to move through your body. This is no different.”
“So, I’m supposed to what, channel the magic to my brain so I can read this?”
“Not your brain silly, your eyes,” Koui said, “give your eyes time to adjust to reading magic and it’ll be no problem.”
Channel the magic to his eyes and then the text becomes readable. That seemed reasonable, hopefully. Before Izuku was able to try, Koui held up his hand.
“I hear it can be overwhelming the first time you try it. Let’s start by just trying to read the titles.”
Izuku huffed but closed his eyes. He could feel his magic within him like normal. It was throughout his body, including his eyes. What was he supposed to do differently? No! That was the wrong mindset. Thinking like that hadn’t helped him transmute his clothes back and forth. This was no different.
The magic was within him throughout but it pooled near his heart, like a core in his chest. Maybe if he let it pool elsewhere. Two smaller pools in his eyes? The magic responded to his thoughts and he felt it gathering. When he opened his eyes, nothing around him seemed different. Koui was watching him expectantly.
Izuku looked down at the book in his lap. The words on the cover jumped out him, blaring like bright lights in the dark, but he could read them! He could read what they said!
He winced and looked away. Koui clapped.
“Well done. It will get easier the more you try, then it’ll become second nature just like reading normally is,” he said.
“I’m guessing you didn’t have any problems at all,” Izuku said dryly.
“I’m not the mortal in the room. Of course I didn’t have problems.”
Izuku glanced down again. The words still seemed unnaturally bright, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as before.
“Forms and Flows?”
Koui nodded.
“That book will break down the basic forms and spells any self respecting mage should know. It’ll also be a good spring board for the more advanced stuff.”
“This one,” Koui held up a book titled ‘Seeing Beyond Seeing’, “will help you hone your passive control by giving you a continuous spell to use, and this one,” he held up ‘Universalis’, “will teach you more about the crazy world you’re now a part of, so things like me won’t be so unexpected.”
It was a surprisingly ordinary conversation that followed. Obviously Izuku couldn’t learn everything from books, and in Koui’s words, the Librarian would kill him if he tried practising anything there. Izuku would instead practise his magic with Koui. Throughout the conversation, Izuku resolutely ignored Koui changing positions in his seat, each time accentuating a different part of his body. Either the boy didn’t realise he was doing it, or else he was very good at acting nonchalantly.
Koui, with one leg slung over the arm of the chair while he leaned against the opposite side, interrupted their discussion out of the blue.
“I have to admit I’m curious,” he said, “you want to be a hero. Why?”
Izuku made a confused noise.
“I don’t see many heroes here. While I’m sure that’s a good thing, it's left me with a skewed view of why someone would want to be a hero. Someone as amazing as you wouldn’t dream of being a hero for those reasons, right?”
He set the books aside, thinking heavily. Why did he want to be a hero? When he was younger, the answer was obvious. He wanted to be a hero like All Might, like his dad! Later on, that would change to wanting to be a hero like his brother. As the years went by, it changed again to somewhat selfishly proving that he could do it, that he could be a hero despite everyone saying that he couldn’t.
A quirkless deku couldn’t be a hero.
Obviously he now had power. While magic wasn’t a quirk, he wasn’t a useless deku any more. If he thought about it hard enough, like now, there was always one constant throughout.
“I want to be a hero because there are people who need help. All the people here hurt others. Villains hurt innocent people, and somebody needs to stop them, but it’s more than that. People need help, but sometimes all they need is someone to point them in the right direction. Sometimes all they need is someone to hold them and tell them it’ll be alright. I just want to help people, so I will be a hero.”
Izuku finished speaking and Koui not so subtly fanned himself. The other boy’s eyes were gleaming with excitement.
“And how does one become a hero?”
“Typically they go to a school to learn how to be a hero,” Izuku said, “loads of high schools offer hero courses, but UA’s is the best.”
“Well my perfect angel deserves only the best education. Are entrance exams still a thing? I feel like they’re still a thing,” Koui said.
“Unless time passes by weirdly here, the entrance exams were in ten months when I left,” Izuku said, not quite liking the feral glee in Koui’s expression.
“Well then, we only have ten months to turn you into the best hero the mortal plane has ever seen!”
So he worked.
He practised and studied.
His mind opened to concepts he never thought possible. The goal was the entrance exam. He had ten months to prepare for it. It was everything he’d ever dreamed his future could be. The challenge would be great but he’d get there. He could do it. After all, Izuku was not useless. He was not powerless!
He could be a hero!