Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A woman in nondescript clothing with a staff in hand stood on the sidewalk, silently observing the reconstruction of a museum. 

“It’s gone.” she said into her phone a mix between British and American accents coated her words.

“What?” a male voice with a distinct American accent said on the other side of the call.

“The reading, it’s gone.”

“Where do you think it went?”

“Considering they haven’t spoken to us and Horus doesn’t know where they are I’m guessing they found themselves some hosts,” she said.

“Well crap. You’ll have to find them quickly then, we don’t need any innocents dying because they were unwilling hosts to gods.”

“I know that brother dear.” 

“Then find them please.”

“Alright, call you later.”

“Bye.”

She hung up the phone and sighed deeply. “Come on, couldn’t you have stayed put just a little longer?” she complained to the heavens before marching off to headquarters.

10 hours ago

“Are you sure that’s what you felt?” Carter asked his sister as she prepared her bag and filled it with her magician’s tools. They were standing in Sadie’s room in the First Nome.

“Yes. I’m sure it was her.” she told him as she finished packing up for her sudden trip. 

You see, a few decades ago, a small sect of rogue magicians who still didn’t believe that the gods were needed had successfully managed to seal away some minor and two major gods. Those two major gods being Isis and Set. Sadie had finally managed to get a read on their location seeing as the sect had, somehow, managed to make a powerful enough cloaking spell to evade her and Amos’ search for their patrons for the last 17 years. Finally the gods’ energy signatures were once again released somewhere in Japan, more specifically in the 233rd Nome, Musutafu.

So now Sadie is packing her things to find her patron in one of the most hero infested cities in the world, fun. They headed for one of the portal areas of the First Nome and Carter opened a swirling circle of sand in a small obelisk for his sister.

“Alright then, be safe.” he told her.

“When am I not safe? Don’t answer that.” She could hear Carter chuckle as she embraced him. “I’ll be back soon, don’t worry.”

“I’m your brother, it’s my job to worry.” They hugged each other for a moment longer before releasing. The portal closed behind her as the Japanese night sky greeted the youngest Kane.

“Let’s get this show on the road shall we?” She marched off to where she remembered the headquarters, Musutafu House (or as she called it Musutafu Manor, has a better ring to it).

Chapter Text

“So what am I looking for exactly?”

It’s supposed to look like a big house. A man’s voice said in Izuku’s head.

It’s been a week since Izuku first woke up the gods in his head after the incident in the museum. In that time he learned that he had the blood of pharaohs in his veins and that Set was a terrible person. Now the gods were helping him find the headquarters of the 233rd Nome.

[Author here,for those wondering how Izuku got into this mess, let’s recap. 

Izuku’s class was going to the museum to look at the new Egyptian exhibit so they could write a history essay. Sometime during their touring of the exhibit, a villain attacked. He blasted through the wall and almost destroyed a few of the relics displayed in the glass cases. He was followed by an irate Death Arms that lunged for the villain and tackled him to the ground. The hero and  villain, like in most fights between people with strength quirks, kept throwing each other around. During the brawl, Death Arms threw the villain into another section of the exhibit where he crashed through several artifacts and landed a few feet away from where Izuku hid himself. Luckily the man either didn’t notice or simply didn’t care as he charged the hero again. Distractedly Izuku felt as if something latched on to him. When he turned around to see what it was he saw nothing.

Together they managed to destroy several priceless pieces of history before the villain was finally apprehended.

Time skip to a few days later. 

Izuku had a majestic headache pounding against his skull the entire morning, as if something was trying to get out. It ended after he ate so he thought it must have been hunger. Taking advantage of the fact it was Saturday, he thought it would be a good idea to start his essay early so he could turn it in by Friday. He knew they had two weeks to do it but if he turned it in with the rest of his classmates then it would inevitably be ‘accidentally’ destroyed and he’d get a failing grade for ‘not doing the work’.

He was looking up the gods of Ancient Egypt because they were what most caught his eye. Clicking on a link he found a symbol called a tyet , otherwise known as “The knot of Isis,” he whispered under his breath. He gasped and grasped at his head as he felt something in his mind break free of… something.

Finally, was that so hard? Honestly, even my last host didn’t take so long to call out to me. A woman said in his mind.

Izuku was so startled he fell off his chair.

“W-What?! Who said that?” he looked around his room in a panic. “Where are you?!”

Stop screaming, you’ll wake up the neighbors. The voice chided him.

“What’s going on?! Who are you!?”

The disembodied voice sighed, My name is Isis.

“Like the goddess?” Izuku guessed.

I am the goddess. 

“You’re expecting me to believe I have a goddess in my head? Yeah right.” he scoffed but panicked internally because he had a fucking woman speaking in his head!

It’s not just me in here, unfortunately.

“What?” 

Who is the god of Evil in Egypt? She asked him

“Set.”

Finally, another voice spoke, this one male, it was getting stuffy in there. Thank you dear Isis for getting me out.

I should’ve kept my mouth shut, shouldn’t I have?

Probably.

“I’m sorry, who are you?”

I’m Set, God of deserts and storms, lord of Evil?

Lord of Drama more like .

You spent too much time with that Kane girl.

Clearly not enough if you’re still speaking to me. 

That’s so harsh,

You deserve it.

“I’m sorry, what the hell is going on?!” Izuku screamed. This is it, he’s finally gone insane, he’s hearing voices in his head and they’re arguing with each other, just his luck, he developed voices that didn’t even like each other and one had an ego bigger than Kacchan’s calling himself the God of Evil.

Relax, you’re not insane. Yet. 

Lay off the boy Set.

Just saying

What I would like to know is how we are both hosting the same person at the same time.

True, that’s never happened before.

Interesting isn’t it?

“Hello?!”

Right right, you’re still here. Long story short kid, the gods of Egypt are real, we need to possess people, hosts, to interact on the physical plane and you my annoying, fleshy broccoli, are our host. Somehow. 

That’s one way to put it. Isis groused .

And that’s how Izuku met his new roommates, or should I say headmates? Yeah it was funnier in my head. 

Back to the story. (in case you haven’t figured it out: Set speaks in Italics and Isis in Italics underlined ) ]

“Why thank you for the help. I would be lost without you.” he deadpanned.

Just trying to help.

What he means is that a Nome’s Headquarters are always big enough to house a few dozen magicians at a time, seeing as that was their initial purpose.  

“And how would I know that what I’m looking at is the headquarters?”

Well considering they’re ostentatious and over the top and that mortals can’t see them, I’d say look for the giant extravagant house that doesn’t belong and people ignore.

“So you can be helpful, good to know.”

It took him a little while but with Isis  boosting his magic senses he found Musutafu’s home base quickly enough. It was a majestic building, a strangely elegant mix of western and Japanese architecture that seemed both homey and threatening at the same time.

“Huh, you were right. It is overly extravagant.”

See?!

Shut up Set.

Izuku got the distinct impression the god was pouting but received a mental slap on the back of the head for the thought. He snickered as he opened the oversized doors. 

The interior was as grand as the exterior (imagine Brooklyn House). A giant statue of Thoth overlooked three sofas facing the fireplace. On the far end of the room were two sets of stairs curving in to meet the upper floor like in those fancy Victorian mansions. Second floor was mainly occupied by what he assumed to be a training area the size of a basketball court. Statues lounged the walls and carvings of gods and monsters decorated them. A vaulted ceiling with pictures of Ancient Egypt loomed overhead. 

On the third floor were the rooms. Each one was the size of a hotel suite with a king sized bed, a strange headrest, a coffee table with a sofa and a good view over Musutafu could be seen from the private balcony. A kitchenette lounged in the corner of the wall and a TV was mounted on the wall, a door connected a bathroom to the main room.

Backtracking to the main room he spied a door leading to a vast room filled with tables and cubby holes lining the walls. The walls were, once again, lined with images of gods and monsters and who he assumed to be ancient magicians painted in different colors. Four shabti were stationed at the four cardinal points, Isis said they were meant to retrieve artifacts and texts he asked for.

A statue of Sekhmet stood in the infirmary, which made sense considering she was the goddess of healing and patron of, you guessed it, healers. Beds with curtains lined the walls and a small office was attached to the room. He guessed it was for the main healer to work while keeping an eye on their patients.

The terrace was big and wrapped around the entirety of the mansion (there’s no way he’s calling this a mere house) and was fully decked out with a table and pool for when the weather is comfortable.

(I’m taking most of these descriptions from the Brooklyn House fanpage) 

After finishing his tour Izuku returned to the main room with the statue of Thoth.

“So what do I do from here?”

Now? Now you learn.

“And how do I do that? If you haven’t seen, there’s no one here to teach me.”

What are we, chopped liver?

“No but I mean, come on, you’re going to teach me magic?” He asked incredulously, “You’d think two gods wouldn’t stoop to being mere teachers to a novice magician.” 

Well what else is there to do? You can already use Chaos and Storm magic comfortably, what with Set’s idiotic attempt at possession failing as spectacularly as it did.

I’d like to see you do better.

The goddess continued as if he hadn't spoken, And it has been a while since the House of Life has made any magician worth their title. Honestly, I think the Kanes were the last competent magicians the House ever made, and they weren’t even trained by them.

Ah yes, the god said bitterly, the Kanes.

You remember them well I hope?

I can’t forget, they’re still alive after all. I can still hear Sadie insulting me at times.

Good .

“I’m sorry. Who’re the Kanes and why does Sadie curse you?”

The Kanes were the first magicians to successfully bring back the Path of the Gods since Iskandar banned its practice millennia ago. All others who tried were either killed by the magic or by other magicians. Sadie Kane became my host when her father freed the five of us from the Rosetta Stone in 2010, her brother hosted Horus, her father Osiris and Set her uncle. Nephtys ended up possessing a fire magician from the House and was then sealed away by Iskandar to protect her host.

Sadie insults me every time something bad happens, honestly I’m starting to think she doesn’t like me, Set complained.

“What was your first guess?” came a voice from the front door.

Izuku let out a very manly shriek in surprise and turned so fast his neck cracked. There, leaning on the door as nonchalantly as could be, was a blonde woman with streaks of purple and red in her hair seemingly in her mid twenties.

Speak of the Devil

“Ironic coming from the literal God of Evil himself.”

My dear, you make me blush.

She made a disgusted noise and gagged. “Never call me that again unless you want to be execrated.”

No promises.

“Who are you and how can you hear him?” Izuku asked, lightning arcing between his fingers in what he hoped was a menacing fashion. By the look the woman was giving him he could tell she thought his effort was adorable.

“My name is Sadie Kane, Blood of the Pharaohs and badass magician extraordinaire. Now who might you be, host of Set?” she raised an eyebrow at him.

‘Should I tell her there’s two of you?’ he asked the gods.

Yes, with any luck she can help get us out of you.

‘You sure?’ 

Positive.

“I’m Midoriya Izuku, host of Set and Isis and somehow ex-Eye of Set.”

Her eyebrows rose and her eyes widened in shock. “I’m sorry, did you just say you host of Set and Isis?”

“Yeah, what of it?” he asked challengingly.

“Well shit.” she looked up and let her hand drop on her face and let it slowly slide down to reveal a shit eating grin. “Carter’s gonna be pissed he missed this.” She sounded way too happy in Izuku’s professional opinion. 

“Why are you so happy?”

“Because, this is an unprecedented event, and I’m the one to find you. The boys are going to be so jealous. But, let’s get back on track shall we?” She walked to the fireplace and sat on the closest sofa before gesturing for him to do the safe.

He sat down slowly, still weary of her even after recognizing her from the memories he saw of her as Set. He knew she was very trigger happy with her ha-di spell so he stayed a fair distance away from her. She seemed amused by his efforts.

“So, tell me how you got possessed by not one, but two of Egypt's major gods, became the Eye of one and still haven’t died.”

He stayed silent as he mulled over what to say. He finally settled on, “Short version or long version?”

“Long version, indulge me.” She crossed her legs and leaned her elbow on her knee before placing her chin on her fist.

So he told her everything. How his class was visiting the new Egyptian exhibit and how Death arms and a villain crashed through it, breaking several of the pieces. How he learned he was possessed when he called out the gods’ names when researching them for his essay. How they told him to get to Musutafu House in hopes of finding a magician to get them out of because somehow his quirk factor (because apparently he had one) wasn’t letting him renounce them or letting them leave him on their own. How Set had tried to take over his mind and how he stopped him by accidentally becoming his Eye and how he didn’t need to use words or spells to manipulate the things that fell under Set’s domain.

“What do you mean you don’t need spells to control sand?”

“I mean I don't need them? It’s like I can will it to do something and it will, like turning into sand or making lighting. It’s easy for me.”

“Like Percy then,” she muttered.

“Like who?”

“A friend of mine from long ago,” she explained, “he wasn’t a magician and he didn’t have a quirk but because of who his father was, he could control water in all its forms.”

“So I’m like him then?”

“That’s what I think. You obviously have Blood of the Pharaohs in you, otherwise you’d be dead by now. It also explains why you don’t have a quirk beyond your green hair. Quirks and magic don’t mix.”

“What do you mean I don’t have a quirk beyond my green hair? I don’t have a quirk, I have the double toe joint.”

“I mean, it’s basic biology isn’t it? Your mother has a quirk I’m guessing?” he nodded. “And your father?” another nod, “then by all means you should have a quirk. The only reason it didn’t manifest is because, and this is just a guess, you have more magic in you than your parents. The older the Blood the stronger the magic. My brother and I are the product of two ancient lines coming together and we’re more powerful than our parents ever were. Your parents must have both had some trace of pharaohs blood that was blocked by their quirks and together their blood was enough to overpower your quirk factor to ensure that you would be able to use magic. But magic always comes at a price, yours came at the price of never getting a quirk beyond the mutation of your hair. Trust me, no one is born with green hair unless they have some kind of quirk.”

Omake: Izuku Becoming the Eye of Set

It won’t be your body for much longer though. The god said

“What–” is all he had the time to say before searing pain overtook him as the god tried to forcefully take over his body and mind.

As Set’s power flooded his mind he felt both of their spirits meet. Their thoughts and memories melded together, Izuku saw every host he took over and every atrocity he committed in a thousand lifetimes. He could feel Set going through his memories just as he had gone through his. Their essences fused and their powers became one. Izuku watched, fascinated, as arcs of electricity danced between his fingers as he channeled the storm he could feel brewing under his skin. Then, as quickly as they had become one, Set wrenched himself from him and left him gasping as all the power he gained suddenly drained out him.

What. the Fuck. was that? The god asked panting.

“How the hell am I supposed to know dickhead?” Izuku snapped.

What happened? Izuku, are you okay?  Isis’ worried voice filtered through his mind.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” he gasped as he forced air back into his lungs. He felt as if he had just run a marathon without exercising first.

What happened? she asked again.

“I don’t know. Set was talking shit like usual then next thing I know I am Set ? I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like we–”

Became one?

“Yeah. how’d you know?”

Set is this true? Did this boy just become your Eye because you tried to take over his body? She urgently asked her brother.

Yes. The word was said as though pulled through gritted teeth.

How?!  Isis was baffled, for the first time in centuries, if not millennia, she didn’t know how.

His quirk. The word was spit out in distaste and hate. It blocked me from possessing him somehow. Acted like a barrier that didn’t let me take over but also trapped me for a few seconds before I pulled myself out.

Fascinating, she said. All worry she had for the other god vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. So his quirk factor is insignificant enough for him to not be able to manifest a quirk but strong enough to disturb any type of magic we attempt on his body and mind.

“What does that mean?” Izuku was so confused.

It means that you are basically immune to whatever take over we might attempt on you. When Set tried to take over your mind your quirk protected you. It was strong enough to make it so he couldn’t possess you against your will but weak enough that he got through just enough to form a balance with you, making you his Eye for a brief moment.

“What does that mean, his Eye?” Izuku asked warily, as if he didn’t already know from the god’s memories.

The Eye of a god is when a magician fully merges with the god they are hosting, essentially wielding their power as god and host become one. You just became the Eye of Set, however briefly and unwillingly. You will both be connected for as long as you live.

“Fuck.”

Chapter Text

Meeting Carter

“Sadie?” a man’s voice yelled from the main room.

“Shit.” she said

It was two days after Izuku first met Sadie and she appointed herself as his magic teacher. Something about hosts of Isis needing to stick together, he didn’t listen as he was busy escaping the shabti she set on him to ‘see how he reacts when faced with a dangerous situation.’ Honestly he just thought she liked seeing him suffer. ‘Much like someone else huh?’ his treacherous thoughts whispered to him.

“What? Who is that? Are they dangerous?” Izuku asked as he got his staff ready and pointed it at the training room doors.

“What? No no, don’t worry. It’s just Carter, my brother. I forgot to call him and he gets worried easily. Something about chaos following me wherever I go or something.”

“Oh,” he said, “didn’t you say he couldn’t leave the First Nome?”

“No, he can. It’s just that as Pharaoh that's where he should be. But nothing forbids him from doing whatever the hell he wants since, you know, he’s the pharaoh.” she shrugged.

“Sadie?” Carter's voice rang out through the house, he must have been using magic to amplify it.

“Let’s go say hi shall we?” She didn’t give him a chase to refuse as she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the training room. “I’m here! I’m here! Don’t get your knickers in a twist.” she shouted as they walked down the stairs.

“There you are.” a dark skinned man in linen clothes and dark curly hair that fell fashionably onto his forehead but stopped just short of impeding his vision. His eyes were lightly rimmed with either kohl or eyeliner, Izuku couldn’t tell. A baboon walked beside him. The man, Carter, froze when his eyes fell on Izuku.

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice holding an authority that made Izuku want to kneel before him.

“Oh shove off Carter, and stop using your pharaoh voice. You’re scaring my student.” Sadie chided him.

“I’m sorry, student?” he asked, his gaze breaking away from the teen and voice returning to, what he guessed was his normal pitch, to focus on his sister.

“Yes, my student.” She placed her arm around Izuku’s shoulders and pulled him close to her. “Carter, meet Izuku Midoriya, host of Set and Isis, once Eye of Set and my new personal student.” she presented him. “Izuku, meet my annoying older brother Carter, pharaoh of the House of Life and all around goody two shoes.”

“Pleasure to meet you– Wait what do you mean host of Set and Isis?” he asked, his gaze turning serious and confused all at once.

…………

“So you’re telling me this kid.” he gestured to Izuku sitting on the couch with his hands on his lap. “Somehow got possessed by not one, but two of the Five, and became the Eye of Set because of a magic/quirk malfunction?”

“Right on brother dear.”

The pharaoh pinched the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache, which, with having Sadie as a sister, he might very well be. The sigh he released was strong enough for Izuku to feel it in his soul.

“Alright then, you know what, we’ve seen weirder. Welcome to the House of Life kid,” he said before reaching out a hand to shake Izuku’s. The teen warily shook it, somewhat afraid of the imposing man and hoping he was saner than his sister.

“Glad to be here?” he said.

“No need to look so scared, twerp. You’re lucky he didn’t bring her along, then you’d know how intimidating a magician can be,” Sadie told him.

“Zia isn’t that bad,” he complained.

“Carter, she once gave a demon a panic attack by looking him in the eye. Your wife is terrifying when she wants to be.”

He chuckled, “Yeah, can’t argue with that.” he turned to Izuku.

“We’ll have to find a spell to free you of them. It can’t be healthy having two more people in your head, especially when one of them is Set.”

Hey! I’m a delight to be around. Was the god’s rebuke.

You’re really not.

Well–

“Shut it both of you.” Izuku hissed.

Carter seemed taken aback for a moment before nodding, as if him talking to himself cleared everything up.

“We definitely need to get them out.”

“No shit.” the teen said, having Set in his head really loosened his tongue when it came to cussing out people who could smite him with a look apparently.

The pharaoh laughed, “I can tell we’re going to get along just fine, kid.” he said grinning.

Izuku smiled back.

And that’s how Izuku met the Pharaoh of the House of Life and his new combat magic and mythology/Egypt teacher, Carter Kane.

_________________________________________

Meeting Bast

Maybe being around the Kane siblings made him immune to weird stuff happening and that’s why he barely batted an eye at the woman in a leopard print leotard with lamp like yellow cat eyes sitting on the counter drinking a glass of milk and polishing her knives. She jumped off the counter and approached him once she saw him.

“You must be the new kitten my kittens are taking care of aren’t you?” she asked as she circled him.

Izuku couldn’t help but feel like a cornered mouse under her scrutinizing gaze. He gulped softly, “Yep, that’s me.” he knew he was strong, having two gods to back him up made him sure of that much, but he knew that if she wanted to, this woman could kill him before he even started casting.

“Rumor has it you’re somehow hosting two gods in that head of yours. Are the rumors true?”

“Yes,” he squeaked as she leaned in, her eyes a few scant inshes from his.

“How fascinating,” she muttered

Yes yes we know, now get her away from us. I can’t stand the stench of cat. Set’s voice rang through Izuku’s head. 

“Set,” she said as if she were talking about shit under her shoe, “I see he was unlucky enough to be saddled with you.”

Always unfortunate to see you Bast.

She hummed dismissively. “So you have Set, who’s the other?”

“Uh, Isis.”

“Really now? Well, I feel bad for you, those two can’t be fun to have around in your head.”

“They have their moments.” he defended them, they were the first people to not give a damn about his quirklessness and he’d always be thankful for that. “I mean sure, Set tried to take over my body once-”

Which failed spectacularly I must say.

“- and Isis has tried to persuade me to give up control more times than I care to count. But they’re my friends and I don’t like you insulting them.”

Stunned silence greeted the end of his little speech. The Cat Goddess was speechless and the gods in his head were silent after his declaration. Bast got her bearings back first.

“Kitten’s got claws huh. Good, you’ll need them.” she sounded impressed, her gaze was appraising and analytical. “You’ll do well in my class then.”

“...”

“Huh?” he asked, utterly confused.

She smirked, a hint of fang poking out between her lips, “I said you’ll need them for my class. You see, I taught the magicians of Brooklyn House along with Sadie and Carter when the first initiatives arrived, and I enjoyed it. It was like having a litter of kittens I could teach how to hunt and trap mice. I was so proud of them for beating Menshikov’s men back during the equinox. But I had to leave them when the gods were forced back into the Duat after the Snake’s defeat. So when rumors of Sadie taking on an apprentice after so long I thought to myself ‘what better way to get back into teaching than seeing what my kitten’s kitten was like?’ So I did, and here I am.” 

“What does that have to do with claws and classes?” he asked, still confused but catching on quickly.

“It’s simple really. I, along with Carter and Sadie, am going to teach you. Since they’re already teaching you magic, I’ll just have to teach you everything else.” she grinned.

“Like what?” he asked suspiciously. Because he knew that what gods considered worth teaching and what mortals considered worth learning could be very different things.

“Oh just the basics really, what every cat should know.” she waved away his concerns. “Napping, Advanced Cat Grooming, Flirting, How to Eviscerate your Enemies 101, etc. Everything a young cat should know I will teach you. Including knives, I don’t know why Carter sticks to such a long sword but I find knives much easier to use, don’t you?”

“Uh, I’m better with a staff actually, since, you know, Set?”

“Right, right, we’ll work on it then. It’s best you know how to wield more than one weapon.” she nodded to herself, as if everything had already been decided.

“Wai-”

“Don’t bother,” Sadie said as she came down the stairs with Khufu hanging on to her like a backpack, “now that she’s decided it’s best to just do as she says. Trust me.”

Izuku groaned and Sadie laughed as she clapped him on the back before making her way to the coffee machine on the counter. 

Chapter Text

While Izuku wished he could spend all day in Musutafu House, he still had school. The world didn’t stop spinning just because he found out he had powers. And that’s how he found himself in this situation, getting beat up in a back alley by Kacchan and his goons.

This is pathetic, why aren't you standing up for yourself? A voice he had grown accustomed to in the incident said in his head.

‘I can’t, I’m quirkless and Sadie told me not to use magic on mortals.’ he meekly retorted in his mind.

And?

‘What do you mean ‘and?’ ’

She means, what does your status as quirkless matter in this situation? You have fists, punch him. You have legs, kick him. You have hands, bash his head into the wall. It’s simple.  He explained, like it was easy to beat someone as powerful as Kacchan.

‘I-I can’t do that! Kacchan is too strong. I’d never win.’

Which is exactly why you should let me deal with him. Willingly give me control and I’ll deal with this twerp easily.

‘N-no. I won't do that. I don’t trust you.’

Good, at least you’re not completely stupid if you don’t trust Set.

You wound me dear Isis.

Choke on a cock and die.

The evil god only laughed.

Izuku doesn’t know what happened next, he remembers opening his eyes to a foot speeding towards his face and waking up in the deserted alleyway with him as the sole occupant.

He slowly made his way home, limping and holding his side as his ribs ached and burned from the brutal assault they underwent once again. It took a while but he made it, the sight of his empty apartment was one was unfortunately used to. His mother worked all day and when she was home she acted as if he didn’t exist. He got to the bathroom and took the, thankfully, fully stocked first aid kit he had stashed in the cabinet and tended to his wounds as best he could.

Why do you allow yourself to be treated in such a way? Isis asked curiously.

‘It’s not like I can do anything to stop them.’

But you can. You have Set’s power and my magic. You could very easily reduce every one one of those heathens to ash and dust with a single word. But you don’t. Why?

‘I don’t know. Maybe I’m just used to it?’ he thought defeatedly.

I hate to say this, but Set was right. You should have let him deal with those brutes.

‘He would have killed them.’

And? They attacked you, they insulted you and they abuse you every day without consequence. It’s time they learned, it’s time you fought back.

‘I’m tired, can we talk about this some other time?’ his eyes were drooping as he stumbled his way to his room. 

Of course, sleep well Izuku

‘Night… Isis..’ he was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Silence stretched out in the quiet room, only interrupted by the teen’s soft snores.

Why do you care so much? Set asked curiously. You’ve never cared this much for a host, even Sadie Kane wasn’t as favored as this boy. What makes him so special?

I don’t know.

That’s not an answer.

It’s the one you’re getting.

With that Isis retreated to the edges of her host’s mind and away from Set. 

Izuku woke up completely healed, having the power of two gods on his side has some good side effects after all. 

Get up. The Desert god’s voice rang inside his head.

“No,” the teen grumbled, rolling over in bed and shoving his hands under his pillow and relaxing further at the cooler fabric on his skin.

Get up. 

“No.”

Fine then.

Suddenly a sharp pain erupted in his head as he felt Set jump away from the front of his mind, it was like someone rang a gong between his ears. Izuku sat straight (snort) up in bed, he had the distinct feeling the god was shaking his hand and hissing out a breath.

“Did you- did you just punch my brain!?” he asked, scandalized.

It got you up didn’t it? 

“What the fuck Set?!”

Hey it hurt me too you know. Let me remind you there’s a wall around your mind that I just hit, I'm hurt too.

“I don’t care. You just punched me in the brain!”

Get over it.

“I will not–”

What are you two squabbling about now? Came Isis’ tired voice. She sounded like a mother too Done to deal with her two misbehaving kids crap at the moment.

Set laughed, Who shat in your cereal this morning?    He asked gleefully.

No one you wretch, but if you keep trying me I will find a way to curse you from here.

Someone’s feisty today!

“Shut up Set. What’s the matter, Isis?” Izuku asked, worried.

I was thinking of ways to get out of here and I think I found something.

“What?” He was excited, but could you blame him? There was finally a chance he would have his thoughts to himself again.

An old ritual I vaguely remember. Some minor god possessed a pharaoh and refused to leave them, therefore impeding Horus from making them his host. Needless to say, he was angry. The pharaoh's mother, she was a magician, and a clever one at that. She banded together seven of Egypts strongest magicians and together they all cast a spell. They used a specific day, I don’t remember which but it allowed them to expel the god and from the boy so Horus could take him. 

“Why seven? Why couldn't she have called the ten or twenty best magicians?”

Because, seven and all its multiples is an important number in Egypt. For the spell to work they needed to be synchronized, every word had to be said by all of them at the same time, every one projecting the same amount of magic into the ritual as the others. Otherwise the magic would implode and kill them all. It’s hard enough to read a scroll alone and a miracle they managed it with seven, but with more? It would be impossible.

“Alright then, so we need to get Carter to call the seven strongest magicians in the world to get you out of me. That doesn’t seem so hard nor does it explain why you sound so tired and resigned.”

Because, Izuku. They needed seven, very powerful magicians to expel a minor god. You host two major gods. Do you see the issue with this?

“Can’t we just get one of you out and then the other on another day?” he asked, his previous elation already making way for dread.

No, magic doesn’t work like that. We both made you our host simultaneously so we both need to be expelled simultaneously. Otherwise the sudden imbalance of power could–no, will kill you.

Dread settled itself in his stomach. He was going to die. He knew he was, of course he knew. He was Quirkless, it didn’t matter that he found out he could use magic, he was going to die anyway. He knew the gods liked him, but he also knew they didn’t favor him enough not to kill him if it granted them their freedom. He was expendable, and he knew it. 

“So we can’t get you out?” His voice came a lot smaller than he thought it would be.

She sighed, it sounded sad. ‘She must have been listening to my thoughts,’ he thought as a silent tear slid down his cheek. 

You will not die Izuku. I will not allow it. I have a way to get us both out and keep you alive.

Her words sparked hope inside him, but he quickly snuffed it out. Nothing good ever came from getting his hopes up.

You will cast the spell.

“What? I thought you said it took seven for one god, and now you want me to expel you both alone? It would kill me.”

He’s right, how would an inexperienced novice do it without completely burning himself up? Unless… He seemed to come to some sort of realization. Isis, you wouldn’t–

It is the only way for us to all get what we want! She snapped at her brother.

But to make him your Eye–

It is the only way. She said her tone was cold but he could feel her reluctance, she herself hated the plan she came up with.

“What are you talking about? Set already made me his Eye once, you want him to do it again?” Izuku was so confused. Isis was sad, Set was shocked and he didn’t know what the hell was going on other than the fact he was probably going to die.

No, Izuku. The only way for you to cast the spell would be if you became my Eye. 

“Why are you saying that like it’s a death sentence?” he was wary, sue him.

Because, you already became my Eye, however unwillingly it was for both sides. Fusing with Isis might be too much for you. You could burn up from too much divine energy. 

“And Isis is acting like merging with me is a nightmare because…” he prodded.

Because you’re a boy.

“That’s awfully sexist.”

You don’t understand. Isis has never had a male host before. She’s never even attempted to. So for you to host her, a male, and one she has to make her Eye lest we stay trapped in you until your death. Which with our magic in you would take centuries, or we get expelled correctly and banished deep enough into the Duat it could take centuries to get out.

“If she doesn’t want to make me her Eye, we’ll find another way. I won’t force her to do anything she doesn’t want to. I refuse to.” he was adamant on that. He refused to make Isis do something she didn’t want to, to use her against her will like that. It’d be villainous.

There is no other way.  If we do not merge the spell will fail. It is impossible for fourteen magicians to cast a spell this complex in perfect harmony. You need to do it, and you are too weak to do so alone. You don’t even know the incantation needed. The only way for us to not get banished into the darkest depths of the Duat and for you to live would be to become one with me.

So I ask you, Midoriya Izuku, will you be my Eye and grant us all freedom? Will you allow me into your heart, into everything that makes you you and allow yourself to do the same to me?

Izuku was silent for a long while. His thoughts running wild in his head. He refused to take advantage of her for his own sake. She sounded resigned that the price of her freedom, and that of her brother’s, was to allow a man to see, to experience, the deepest, darkest parts of her.

“Are you sure?” he asked hesitantly. He knew what she would say, but she wanted her to know she could refuse. They would find another way, he was sure of it.

I am.

“Then I would be honored, my lady Isis.” he bowed his head, even if she wasn’t standing in front of him, in both acceptance and apology to the goddess who has been more of a mother to him than his own in the short time he’s known her.

They decided to wait to do it on the equinox, when Ma’at and Isfet were both equal in power. When the powers of Isis and Set were equal in strength as gods of order and chaos respectively. Luckily, since the school year started in April and the equinox was in March it gave him time to get used to his diminished magic. But they still had ten months before they could cast the spell. Ten months to turn him into a powerful enough magician to expel two gods and fuse with Isis without burning himself to ash from a divine energy overload.

That’s how the gods sent him to find the 233rd Nome’s headquarters, and how he met Sadie and Carter and Khufu and Bast. How he met the people he would call family and how they would call him theirs. 

“Hadi.” nothing happened.

Sadie was trying to teach Izuku her signature spell. It wasn’t working as well for him as it did her.

“No it’s pronounced Ha-di. Think of it like this, Dvine magic becomes a lot easier and safer to use if you find something in common between you and the god you’re channeling. For example, when Walt and I were looking for the book of Ra we had to get into a burial ground. I channeled a memory of Isis unearthing Osiris’ coffin and cast the strongest ha-di I’d ever made. Find something in common, it doesn’t even need to be much. It can be a memory, an emotion or even something as benign as a pet peeve. It’ll help” 

“Ha-di! ” he yelled in frustration. Suddenly red hieroglyphs burned in the air in front of him before the vase he was supposed to target, and the stool it was standing on, exploded.

“Jesus shit!” he yelled as he crouched down to avoid the shrapnel while Sadie only formed a simple barrier to protect herself.

The room was silent as both teacher and student admired his handiwork.

“Like that,” she said.

He glared at her, she only smiled.

“You're strong greenie. If I did that at your age I’d be exhausted, but then again you have Isis in you so I shouldn’t be too surprised.”

Izuku beamed at the praise. It hurt something in Sadie that such a small compliment made him so happy. He clearly didn’t get enough of them at home or in school.

Wait a bit. It won’t be long before broccoli boy becomes stronger than you were at his age, with or without Isis. Set taunted the youngest Kane.

“What does that mean?” said green haired boy asked.

He means that the longer someone hosts a god the more aspects and attributes they will keep from the god they hosted: their habits, their magic and control over their domains. 

“So if I host Set for too long I’ll become evil?” He was worried now, for good reason too.

No, at best you would become crueler in some ways. You would finally use that analysis you so love to write and destroy those that hurt you.

“And what would I get from you?”

I would like to say my grace and elegance but even I can’t work miracles of such magnitude.

“Hey!” he heard Sadie laughing in the as she magically cleaned up the mess he made.

But you would most likely become even better at analyzing your opponents. At finding their weaknesses and exploiting them. You might also develop some political aptitude, you host a queen after all. If there’s one thing we know, it’s politics.

“Cool.” 

“Wait, if he’s hundreds of years old… how is he still alive? Baboons usually live like 6 years or something don’t they?”

“He’s a magic baboon.”

“Yeah but still, he’s like 300 years old.”

Sadie puts her hands on Izuku’s shoulders and looks at him with dead eyes before declaring in a solemn tone. “Magic. Baboon. Leave it at that.” her tone clearly indicated that she herself had once asked the question and was mentally scarred by the answer.

“Alright.” Izuku said slowly, nodding his agreement to drop the subject, somewhat scared of the dead eyed look his teacher was using to stare into his very soul . 

Sadie opened the door to the library only to see her pupil running around the room while a shabti chased after him with a rolled up newspaper, whacking him whenever it got within reach. She saw Khufu rolling on the floor in hilarity, releasing wheezing baboon laughs and clutching his stomach. 

“Stop it, get away from me!” Izuku kept yelling as he dodged another swing from the shabti.

“What the hell is going on?” she asked incredulously.

“There was a spider–” *dodge* “and I asked the shabti to kill it–ack” *hit* “but then it jumped on me and disappeared!” he slid over a table in an attempt to put some distance between them but the shabti dove over it like a professional athlete. “And now it won’t stop chasing me because it thinks the spider is still on me! Help!” He yelled in hopes that she would save him but was only met with his teacher cracking up and joining Khufu on the floor as they watched him be chased by a newspaper wielding retrieval shabti .

It took fifteen minutes for the duo to compose themselves enough for Sadie to deactivate the clay librarian. 

“That’s why you don’t mess with shabti .” she clapped him on the shoulder, still giggling.

“Whatever.” the teen grumbled, just happy not to be whacked anymore.

Izuku’s khopesh went clattering to the floor as Carter, once again, disarmed him.

“Again,” he said.

Izuku grumbled under his breath all the way as he retrieved his sword and regained his fighting stance.

“Don’t feel bad. You’re hosting Set, his specialty is with a staff, not a khopesh. So you’re actually doing pretty well.”

“Thanks,” he said before lunging at his teacher. He was blocked and pushed away as Carter smashed his pommel into the teen’s side, making him wheeze and put some distance between them.

“Don’t lunge, you overextend yourself and leave yourself open.” He regained his initial position and gestured for his student to do the same. “Again.”

Izuku left the training room tired, sore and hurting. He made his way to the infirmary and took a sip from the water at the foot of Sekhmet’s statue, immediately feeling better.

Izuku was, once again, in the training room, only this time his teacher was Bast. She was helping him go through some stretches, like she did every time, before they started on daggers and parkour/flexibility. The goddess could change the layout of the room with a swipe of her hand and make the obstacles move, shift and completely transform, making for an endless parkour simulation.

“Don’t forget to land on the balls of your feet and roll!” She screamed up to him as he ran across suspended logs and jumped on top of a swinging one to land on a platform higher up. He sent her a thumbs up, not willing to lose his focus by formulating words. He took a running start and leaped onto the rotating platforms that spun on both themselves and in a giant circle to another platform. This was where he usually failed. The combined spinning threw him off his rhythm completely and sent crashing down to the magically padded floor below. Counting how long it took for one of the sandstone tiles he jumped on one and crouched down, grabbing the edge in a bruising grip so as to not get thrown off. Counting again, he jumped. His fingers grasped the edge of the platform before they slipped and sent him falling down to meet the goddess below.

He groaned as he hit the floor. Just because the magic prevented him from getting hurt doesn’t mean it didn’t knock the air out of him.

“That was better than last time Kitten.” Bast’s smiling face blocked out the room’s artificial light. She held out a hand for him to grasp and hauled him to his feet. He stumbled a bit before she stabilized him and held out his water bottle. He took it with a thanks and drank greedily before it was snatched away from him. He met her disapproving gaze with a grin of his own. 

They were crazy, that’s true. But they were his and loved them for it.

Chapter Text

The equinox came faster than expected and ten months blurred by in the blink of an eye (get it?). The Kanes along with Izuku and Bast were in the training room which had been modified to act as a ritual for the occasion. Everyone was tense, it’s not everyday a magician becomes the Eye of a god, especially after already being that of another once before.

“Are you sure you can do this?” Bast asked him worriedly. She was running her fingers through his hair and mating down any strand she found, like a mother making sure her son looks good for the family photo.

“I am. Plus if I don't do this now then we’ll have to wait until September, and I don’t think I can handle Set in my head for that long without going crazy.”

“If you're sure.” she still looked worried but relinquished grooming his hair in distress.

“I am. Let’s do this.” he nodded to Sadie as she finished drawing the hieroglyphs needed on the floor and prepared herself to hold the magical backlash should he fail. Carter was with her, as well as Amos Kane, who he recently met and came to make sure Set’s magic didn’t kill him during the extraction, the same thing Sadie was there for. Bast and Carter were there out of worry and Khufu was found on the pharaoh’s shoulders glancing between the magic circle and Izuku nervously.

Finally, I can't wait to get out of this place. 

“I’ll miss you too, Set,” Izuku chuckled.

No you won’t. It would be a sad day if you ever do.

“I know. Doesn’t mean I won’t miss you, both of you.”

As will we, Izuku.

Bla bla. Start casting the spell already, dusk is approaching and we can’t miss our shot.

“Alright alright.” Izuku spread out his arms and summoned his staffs. The one in his right hand was a battle staff with a Set animal head at the end of it, the second was a magician’s staff but reinforced with a tyet carved into its middle. Holding aloft the symbols representing both of his hosts, Izuku delved deep into his own mind and searched for the familiar feeling of Isis' presence.

‘Let’s do this, shall we?’ he asked the goddess.

We shall.  

He could feel them slotting together into place. Each filling the gaps in whatever the other lacked and empowering them to the greatest extent. Izuku saw himself be a loving mother and caring wife to Osiris and Horus, a powerful Queen and venerated goddess. Isis saw and experienced her host’s ten years of abuse and torment at the hands of those he once called his friends. The visions lasted a second and several lifetimes all at once. Izuku raised his head from its bowed position in the center of the circle. His eyes were completely overtaken by glowing white light, rainbow wings unfolded from his back and spread in all their magnificence, leaving the magicians gaping at the display.

“We’re ready.”

They raised their staffs and started chanting, stories depicting the differences between Set and Isis and the separation of Isfet and Ma’at. How desert storms and wise queens are too different to reside together in the same host. Izuku started to feel the drain on their reserves as the ritual took effect. Wild desert winds whipped around the room, Divine Words engraved themselves in the space between sentences before joining the sand that rose from the ground and surrounded them in the storm of their own making. The powers of Isis and Set working together, with and against one another to expel the other from their host simultaneously. 

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of divine words that would’ve killed lesser magicians had they been in the room, Carter and Sadie watched as the hurricane of sand and floating hieroglyphs died down and disappeared as two forms were expelled into the room. The first was a bald man with red eyes and kohl lining his eyes, wearing Egyptian garbs and a battle staff resting in his hand. The second was a woman, dark braided hair with gold and diamonds intertwined with her locks in a Cleopatra-like style with rainbow wings fading into light behind her back. She was donning a cloud white robe that disappeared into mist as it reached her feet.

They barely spared the Kanes a glance before turning to the boy in the middle of the illuminated ritual circle in the middle of the room. They both gave him a brief bow of the head before disappearing in a storm cloud and a rainbow respectively. As soon as the gods left Izuku collapsed. The light that shone from his sockets like flashlights faded and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Luckily, Bast was quick enough to catch him before he hit the ground, she hefted him up in a bridal style carry. She immediately started making her way through the halls to the infirmary, her two other kittens following closely behind.

..........................

Izuku woke up groggily, he felt as if he just got run over by a herd of charging hippos on steroids. 

‘What happened?’ he thought to himself and the two gods residing in his head. He was surprised when all that greeted him was silence. He laid there confused at the peace in his head, he had expected Set to make a snarky comment by now on how weak he was but it never came. Then the memories of the ritual came rushing back, him becoming the Eye of Isis, saying and casting Divinie Words easily, like gospel from a priest’s mouth, the hieroglyphic sand storm that summoned itself as he invoked the power of his patrons and finally expelled them from his body.

“Hey, you alright?”

Izuku startled at Jaz’s voice, he had met the healer once or twice while visiting the Twenty-First Nome and gotten along with her pretty well. He hadn’t even noticed her approaching, heck he didn’t even know she was in the room until she spoke.

“I’m fine.” his voice was raspy, like he hadn’t drank any water in a long time. Which was also what made him realize how dry his throat was. Fucking Set and his sandstorms.

“Here.” The healer brought a cup of water up to his lips and gently tilted it enough for him to drink slowly before taking it away. “Better?” she asked.

“Much, thanks.” his voice wasn’t back to normal but it was much better than it had been. “So doc, what’s the verdict?” he teased.

She sighed fondly and ruffled his hair, not unlike Sadie and Bast did, seriously, what is it with women ruffling his hair?

“Your condition isn’t serious, just some magical exhaustion so you should be okay with a bit of rest for the rest of today and tomorrow. But you are officially god free, congratulations.”

“Finally,” he sighed, after all, it’d been ten months since he’d had his thoughts to himself, “that’s good, I still need to train for the entrance exam.”

“Tell me about it. Especially now that you need to get used to your actual mortal limitations and not rely on the power of the two superpowered gods inside you.” Sadie’s voice came from the door of the infirmary.

“Ugh, who let her in?” Izuku fake groaned.

“Excuse you.” immediately Izuku felt something pinch his ass.

“Ow!” he glared at his mentor as she looked back amusedly

“That’ll teach you to sass me.”

“But you sass me all the time!” 

“And?” she raised an eyebrow.

Izuku stayed silent for a moment. 

“You have no idea how much like Isis you’re acting right now.”

“Wait really? She does this?” Sadie asked, surprised at the prospect of acting like her patron.

“She usually says ‘And?’ the same way you just did. It’s freaky.” he told her earnestly.

“Huh, the more you learn. I wonder what ticks uncle Amos still has leftover from Set?” she mused.

“We’ll never know,” he sighed.

“Or will we?” Sadie cast him a sly look that he immediately reciprocated. But their mischief planning was unfortunately interrupted by Carter, his Big Brother Senses™ must have alerted him. 

“No, you won’t.” he said sternly, ignoring the dual pouts sent his way by his sister and her accompli–I mean protégé, as he crossed his arms over his chest. A familiar woman entered behind him.

“Zia!” Izuku yelled in excitement as the Eye of Ra approached his bed and leaned down to give him a hug.

“How are you, little kite?” (the bird not the toy)

“I’m doing better now, thanks. What brings you all the way to Japan?” he was freaking beaming. It was bright enough that the siblings wondered if Ra suddenly had two Eyes instead of one.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to see my nephew.” she gave him a look that clearly said ‘why else would I be here?’

Izuku blushed scarlet at that. He knew she was talking about him. Ever since he had visited the First Nome and met Amos and Zia while Carter and Sadie showed him around she had been calling him her nephew. He still didn’t know why but he wasn’t really complaining, he had a family now and he knew his aunty Zia would burn Japan to the ground if he asked and Carter wouldn’t stop her. Because while Carter might be Pharaoh, Zia wears the pants in the relationship and even he doesn’t piss her off if he can avoid it. This is the woman that scares demons into panic attacks with a look, ain’t no way he’s pissing her off. Plus, while Carter might be an expert in Combat Magic and all Horus related hocus pocus, Zia channels the power of the first King of the gods, the power of Ra himself. He wouldn’t stand a chance. To be fair not many people would. 

Zia herself just took a look at the child following Sadie around like a lost duckling and, when his story was revealed to her and Amos, immediately became protective of him. H could she not? The boy had personality traits and characteristics of the three Kanes she knew. It was a miracle he was still alive, she could already imagine the headaches he would induce. If there was one thing Kanes were good at, it was finding trouble where there, realistically, shouldn't be any. Shopping trips can become battle fields in an instant when a Kane is around.

“I’m doing fine,” he mumbled as he ducked his head, trying to hide his blush. He failed. Zia ruffled his hair with a laugh before turning to Jaz.

“How long will he have to stay in bed?” she asked. She wasn’t asking because she wanted him back to training at the soonest convenience, oh no, quite the opposite. She was asking to make sure the little gremlin didn’t try to escape his bed rest to start training ahead of time because he thought he was getting behind.

“He’s on bedrest until tomorrow but I suggest taking it easy even then. He can go back to training after tomorrow or the day after depending on how much magic he’s replenished.” she explained, speaking to the adults and acting like Izuku wasn’t in the room with them.

“We’ll make sure he gets his rest.” Carter assured her.

“I’m right here.” the teen exclaimed.

“We know.” the three women said at the same time shooting him a look .

He pouted in response and Carter laughed at his misfortune and clapped him on the back. 

……………………

The next day had Izuku trying to infiltrate the training room several times, each time succeeding in evading some of the traps set by Sadie and then being caught by one of the siblings before being promptly plopped in front of the TV. Sadie even went so far as to threaten him with the Seven Ribbons of Hathor. That got him to shut up.

The day after that, Izuku was finally cleared for training and spent hours in the training room with Sadie exploring and testing the limits of his new mortal limitations.  

Ha-di now left him more spent if he wasn’t pissed off and didn’t use the negative emotions in the air or his own. His powers remained mostly the same: sand and lightning still came to him easily without the need for Divine Words and magic itself still came naturally, they were just more muted than when he hosted Set and Isis. 

He kept up his staff training, both magical and battle, and trained in tandem with some of the shabti he had made with Walt’s help when he visited. Together they had made some jackal-Set animal hybrids that would follow Izuku’s commands and were infused with some Death Magic, courtesy of Walt himself. His favorite creature  was King Basilisk, he was a giant gray lizard with bat wings and a crown of horns and could petrify people with his gaze. (look up King Basilisk Huntik) King Basilisk wasn’t a shabti, he was a monster loyal to Set who allowed himself to be sealed into an amulet and released whenever his new lord (Izuku) needed him. He wasn’t really very sentient to begin with seeing as he was basically a stone statue until ordered to move or given a task and he only lived to serve his lord Set, and now Izuku. So there was no risk of him being stabbed in the back by his 

Sadie and Amos gave him a crash course in the Path of the Gods for both paths, godless version this time, since when they started teaching him he had his tenants with him. Before he knew it the U.A entrance exam had arrived.

Chapter Text

The day had finally arrived, the U.A entrance exam was finally upon them, well, him but Sadie said it was like she was also taking the exam through him so it was a joint effort. He disagreed but since when did what others think affect Sadie Kane?

Izuku had checked his gear, his battle staff and magician’s staff were both stored in his Duat compartment and he had spares just in case. He had his shabti all stored in a bag his King Basilisk amulet was around his throat. Bast had given him some daggers she had made for him, which he also stored away, then she had given him a second pair. ‘Just in case’ she said before grooming his hair with her fingers fussing over him with experience that came from both millenia of experience and from dealing with Sadie and Carter in their youth. 

“I’ll be fine Bast.” he grabbed her hands and held him between his own and squeezed them gently to reassure her.

“I just worry,” she said as her eyes darted to his hair again and started grooming it again.

Izuku just gave up by that point. 

“If you’re that worried then you can accompany me to the gates if it’ll ease your mind.”

“Alright, I’ll do that.” she nodded to herself, it’s like she expected him to get into trouble the moment he walked out the door. Which, knowing his luck, wouldn’t be too surprising unfortunately. 

Apparently, since Izuku gave Bast the okay to accompany him, Sadie, Zia, Carter and Walt (who was visiting) took it as an invitation to tag along as well. So that’s how he ended up at the gates of U.A, being one of the only kids whose parents came with them to wish them luck. But where they only had one or two, he had five.

“We’re here,” he told them.

Sadie looked at the school, wholly unimpressed. To be fair Izuku thought it would be more impressive himself but it turns out that seeing the Hall of Ages and the First Nome in all its reformed glory took away some of the majesty that U.A seemed to emit from every window.

“I thought it’d be bigger.” Zia said.

Sadie opened her mouth to most likely make an inappropriate joke but Carter cut her off.

“Don’t–just don’t say anything. Please.” 

She must have been feeling generous because she kept quiet. He sighed in relief before turning to Izuku.

“Remember, you can do this, you’ve trained for this and you’ve been trained by us,” he gestured to the others assembled around them, “you’ve got this kid.”

“Yeah, you’re Izuku fucking Midoriya, Eye of Isis and Set. You’re the baddest motherfucker here so show ‘em who’s boss!” Sadie punched the air in her excitement as Walt tried to placate her.

“I wouldn’t have said it like that, but, what she said.” Zia gestured to Sadie with her head.

“You can do this kitten, we know it and you know it. So go out there and win .” Bast’s leotard was changing color again, shifting between tiger stripes, leopard print and lion gold.

“I will,” Izuku reassured her once again, “I have to go in now. I’ll see you all at the Nome?” he turned to walk off, waiting for their acquiescence before actually going in. They all nodded and kept wishing him luck until he crossed into the building. There he found many of the examinees looking at him and whispering, some laughing under their breath. Most likely making fun of him for having a supportive family, in which case he just pitied them since their’s clearly didn’t care about them enough to show up.

There were plaques with names on them telling examinees to go to specific heroes so they could be taken to their written exam rooms. Izuku went to Midnight as that’s who’s group he was in.

The exam itself was easy, Isis had helped him study by quizzing him at random moments in time. She said she wasn’t going to let her host be stupid and not know the basis to get the best education available.

Soon all the examinees were assembled in the auditorium for the briefing on the practical portion of the exam.

Present Mic walked on stage to start the assembly.

“Hey listeners! Can I get a YEAH?!” He turned his mic to face the examinees. Izuku took pity on him when no one answered and shouted out “Yeah!” making the blue haired boy beside him jump and glare at him for startling him. The voice hero on the other hand seemed ecstatic that someone actually answered back and responded.

“Thanks for that little listener! You’re the best!” while falling into one of his comedic and characteristic poses.

Then started the actual briefing on the practical. He explained how they would be separated depending on which schools they attended to lessen the chances of two examinees having made plans to work together in advance. Izuku didn’t really know if that would work for him seeing as he dropped out of Aldera and was home schooled at Musutafu House and the First Nome depending on the day and who was available. 

He was mildly surprised when a dark haired boy got up and started berating Present Mic for not explaining the entirety of the exam in what Izuku guessed to be the allotted time the teen had expected him to take? The guy just cut him off mid sentence and acted like he was in the right.

‘Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean you can get up and scream at one of the people deciding if you even get into this school.’ Izuku thought to himself. He wasn’t going to lie and say the guy wasn’t attractive, from what he could see he had a hot back. Plus, since when were kids their age built like brick shit houses? Because that’s exactly what Robocop over there was.

But apparently he hadn’t thought the words as much as said them because the blonde with a black streak in his hair beside him choked on his spit and the aforementioned robot stopped talking and turned to face him with a shockingly red face. He didn’t know if he was blushing or embarrassed. Probably the both though because he didn’t even finish what he was saying and just sat down, face as red as tomato.

Present Mic let silence encompass the room for a few seconds and then continued on with the slideshow depicting the examinees’ robotic enemies like nothing happened. He finished by telling them they’d be judged on villain points, style points for how aesthetically they can take down their enemies (since heroics is unfortunately also a popularity contest seeing as flashy equals eye catching equals more popular which then equals more money). They would be judged on a few more criteria that only the judges were privy to. With that he sent them all out to board their buses that would take them to their exam sites.

Izuku ended up on the same bus as the dark blue haired brick shithouse posing as a teenager. The teen avoided him when he saw him boarding the same bus, his cheeks reddening with a blush.

Once on site the examinees started some stretches to loosen up before the start of the exam. Izuku was allowed to bring his magician staff that he reinforced to be able to use as a battle staff in a pinch and his wand because they were foci for his powers. The exam allowed for you to use support equipment as long as it was to help fight any backlash from your quirk. Izuku knew there was someone else using gear like him, a blonde with a belt to counteract the stomach pains his navel laser inflicted him with. 

“Start!” the voice hero on top of the bus yelled out of the blue.

No one moved except Izuku, he had shot out towards the opening gates like a bat out of hell. Then the rest of his group started following once they got over the surprise start.

As soon as he crossed into the fake city a two pointer made the mistake of gunning for him and ended up knowing what the business end of a lightning bolt looked like. He threw his wand like a boomerang down the street and watched as every bot it bounced off of sparked and turned off before coming back to his hand. By then the rest of the contestants had arrived and were starting to decimate the robots in the immediate vicinity. So Izuku chose to find a more deserted area with more victi–robots to destroy. And what better way to leave an area in style than run down the middle of the street and turn into a kite (bird not toy) while dodging a One Pointer’s swinging arm. 

Flying over the chaos that was the first few blocks, he headed deeper into the exam site where he could see a more concentrated amount of robots being released into the city to supply the examinees with more points. Finding an intersection where a group of one and two Pointers were crossing, Izuku decided to do what Kanes do best: kick ass with style (and unnecessary property destruction and general chaos but that’s neither here nor there). 

He released his transformation and gripped his staff tight with both hands as he cast a cushioning spell on his legs so as to not completely shatter them on impact and end his career before it even began. He slammed into the ground in the middle of the robots. As soon as his staff smashed against the concrete sand erupted everywhere. The ground around him melted into desert sand as it exploded and engulfed everything within fifty feet of him. The bots stood no chance as Izuku compressed the sand as tightly as he could with a twist of his staff against the ground, the sound of bent metal rang beautifully through the air. He could feel the eyes of every ‘villain’ in the adjoining streets locking on to him as he stood in the center of his personal desert in the forest of concrete.

“Bring it on.” he told them with a smirk, his eyes glinting red and gold.

The first Two Pointer tried to slam him with its tail but met his shield before being blasted with lightning and destroyed. The next was dealt with in the same fashion before a trio of Three Pointers shot (kid friendly) rockets at him, which he then turned into kites, animal,  and sent them out to distract the other metal brutes wanting to take his head off.

A One Pointer snuck its way into his summoned desert and promptly became aware of how it felt to be a pin cushion as stakes of sand skewered it from below. 

Seeing a contingent of One and Two Pointers gunning for him, Izuku bellows out a “ Suh-far!” The hieroglyphs for ‘loosen’ burn gold in the air as the screws and joints holding the bots together loosened enough to make them fall apart.

Spinning his staff, he brought it down on the head of a brave, but foolish, One Pointer that decided to face him alone. It caved like crumpled paper. 

Other examinees had made their way to where he was now, some stood frozen in awe at the sheer amount of robots he had brought down but he didn’t pay them any mind.

Izuku had to stop and call forth some wind to get an examinee who thought he could take on three Two Pointers at once while sporting an injured arm was a good idea.

Making his way to a less populated area of the fake-city, Izuku summoned his red battle avatar. A ten foot shimmering red avatar with a Set animal head enveloped him and his staff (he kept his avatar small to allow the other examinees to have some room to move around him). Spinning his staff with a feral grin making its way across his face, he charged the group of robots with a spiky red haired examinee. Together they tore through the metal brutes blocking their way with ease. Izuku gripped his staff and threw it like a javelin at a bot cornering a teen against the wall of a building. It impaled and pinned it to the wall next to the teen’s shoulder, the angle of the throw pushing it’s target diagonally and destroying all its internal circuits.

A tremor rocked through the city and everyone stopped to see the ginormous Zero Pointer rise from the (now destroyed) streets. Most of the examinees started running away towards the exit they came in from or just away from the doom machine making its way through the streets. There were some hoping to get some last minute points in but quickly lost interest when the titan Nedzu had unleashed on them made it a few streets closer.

Izuku himself was planning on running the fuck away from the thing but stopped when he heard something. He strained his ears, even tapping into his kite hearing to hear better. There. A girl was screaming out for help a few streets over. Deciding that running against the crowd was stupid he dropped his avatar and turned into a kite.

Flying over the terrified examinees he quickly found the girl, she was stuck under a pile of rubble and was directly in the Zero Pointer’s path.

‘Shit!’ he thought to himself as he tucked his wings and dove to her. 

“Hey, you’ll be alright now I promise,” he said as soon as he landed. He had dropped the transformation a few feet off the ground so he could roll and keep his momentum. He kneeled next to her and she grabbed his arm with all the desperation of a dying woman.

“Please! Please don’t leave me! I don’t want to die!” she wailed.

“You won’t, I promise.” With that he summoned the fist of his Set avatar and lifted the rubble pinning her leg down, he pulled her out with the other. Then he called for some wind to take her out of the way of the Zero Pointer, it deposited her on the sidewalk the next street over. Then he called forth enough magic to destroy a city block and held it. Sadie had taught him that magic short circuits electronics very easily, but the amount of magic it takes to make them malfunction usually depends on the size and complexity of the electronics in question. The more complex something is, the less magic it takes to make it malfunction. Considering the sheer size of the Zero Pointer and the machinery that needs to work perfectly for it to do its intended purpose Izuku wouldn’t need that much magic to incapacitate it.

“Come on ya big lug,” he goaded it closer, waiting for the right moment to unleash his magic.

He used a slip of magic, enough to knock out a herd of serpopards or turn a building into a giant sand pile, to make the electronics inside the behemoth malfunction. It came to an anticlimactic and grinding halt a few feet away from him. It left him out of breath but still well enough to fight. He tapped it on the leg like an obedient dog. 

“There there Toto, better luck next time.” He comforted the now disabled (and most likely dead) machine. Then he turned to the alley he left the girl in and walked up to her.

“You alright?” He asked. He didn’t expect her to grab him in a bone breaking hug and sob her eyes out on his shoulder. “Uhh…” he was panicking, he was not trained for what to do when a girl started crying on him. Sadie would be laughing her ass off at his face he was sure. “There there, it’s alright, you’re safe now.” He was completely winging it and his mind was two seconds away from short circuiting. 

“Hey! You two alright?” a voice yelled from the mouth of the alley, a troll haired boy was jogging towards them. 

“We’re fine.” Izuku had his arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulder in a half hug while the other was running up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing motion.

“The exam is over, do you need help to get to Recovery Girl?”

“Could you lead the way? I think she needs it.” the magician nodded to the girl who’s name he still didn’t know.

“Yeah sure, I saw right before finding you. She should be over here somewhere.”

Izuku gently moved the girl into a bridal carry and was surprised by how quiet she’d become. He looked down to see her asleep.

“The stress must have gotten to her.”

The teen’s voice made him look up, the other was looking at him cryptically.

“I’m Midoriya Izuku.”

“Shinsou Hitoshi.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Shinsou-san.” Izuk flashed him a tired smile, looks like running around a city and using magic as freely as he did was taking its toll on him. He still sometimes overestimated his limits, so used to having the backup of Isis and Set he was.

“There she is. Recovery Girl! I have two here!” Shinsou cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled to grab the heroine’s attention. She turned to them and with a nod made her way over after handing the teen she was just examining a few gummies and kissing his hand.

“Now what happened to you two?” she asked as she gestured for Izuku to place the brunette in his arms on the ground.

“I found her stuck under some rubble, her ankle was trapped and I think she overused her quirk.” he elaborated at her look, “I saw her floating a few of robots but she couldn’t float the rubble, meaning she’s probably suffering from some quirk exhaustion. She fell asleep after I dealt with the Zero Pointer.”

“You defeated the Zero Pointer?” Shinsou asked, baffled and a little disbelieving.

“My power has a negative effect on technology, it short circuits it and the more complex something is the easier it is to disrupt.”

“Huh, that’s handy."

“I just got lucky that the exam had robots, it’s nothing to brag about.”

Shinsou got a look in his eyes at that, like he didn’t expect Izuku to say that at all. Probably expected me to brag.  

“And what about you sunny, are you hurt?”

“Just a few scrapes from a rough landing and some light quirk exhaustion.” Oh how he hated referring to his magic as a mere quirk . It was insulting. 

“Alright then.” Recovery Girl gave him a peck on the arm. Just as she did the girl began to open her eyes.

“Huh? Where am I?” she was blinking confusedly at them. She must have realised what was going on because her eyes widened and she started looking around, possibly for some robots to see if she could a last minute point or something.

“The exam is over, you passed out after the Zero Pointer.” Izuku told her as he kneeled down beside her.

“You’re the boy that saved me?”

He nodded

“Thank you.” her eyes started watering once more. How the hell does she still have tears to cry?!  

“It was nothing really.” he rubbed the back of neck sheepishly.

“It wasn’t nothing young man,” Recovery Girl’s voice cut through their conversation, “You saved her from what could’ve been a real threat. There is always a chance of the Zero Pointer malfunctioning or simply not seeing a student trapped under it. You might have saved her life when everyone else ran away. While it wasn’t wrong of them to do so–you’re all still children and self preservation is a good thing to have–you were the only one who tried to save her. I’ll make sure the judges see that and award the correct amount of points.” She nodded resolutely before asking if the girl–Uraraka she said her name was–had enough energy left for a healing kiss. She gladly accepted and swayed from her sitting position. Shinsou and Izuku helped her to the bus as she was basically sleeping on her feet and walked with her to the gate. 

“I hope to see you guys at UA, see you then.” Izuku waved before making his way to the train station.

“Wait!” Uraraka’s voice rang out. He turned to see what the matter was and got a flip phone thrust in his face.

“Put your number in! And give me yours so I can do the same.”

Shinsou laughed at his bewildered expression.

“She wants to be friends dumbass,” he smirked before lifting his own phone to show the new contact with the name ‘Mochi Cheeks’ that made Uraraka puff her cheeks in indignation. Making both boys crack up and laugh. 

“Here.” Izuku handed her his phone before putting his number in hers as she did the same with his.

“There done. Lets meet up before the school year starts ‘kay?” she asked with a smile.

The boys shared a look, “Sure.” they both said simultaneously. 

“Awesome, see you then!” They split up then, each going their separate ways with the comfort that even if they didn’t get in at least they got something from the exam.