Chapter Text
Aizawa Shota was a witch, one who was very good at his craft. He lived in a cozy wooden cabin deep in the Gnarled Forest and had no one nearby to disturb him, pardoning wildlife. So it was reasonable that loud, youthful chattering startled him out of his nap. He nudged a cat off his lap before shuffling to one of the windows. Through the dust and cobwebs, he could see a group of young teenagers in ratty clothes gathered in his front yard. It was common knowledge that Witch Aizawa did not like children, or at least that was the reputation he tried to uphold. He was, however, a patient man. Rather than immediately remove the pests from his land, he turned around and prepared his dinner for the evening.
It was soothing to him to chop vegetables and stir broth and he took his time with the meal. He added a blend of spices and let the pot simmer over a fire place, its smoke filtering into the flue above. The table was set with an ornate cloth, a wooden spoon, and a pitcher of half-bloomed daffodils in the center. Aizawa served himself a bowl of stew and a slice of bread and sat to eat, resolutely ignoring the hum of chatter that had steadily risen in volume for the past hour. He took the first sip of his meal and the chatter stopped. It left behind an eerie silence, punctured only by a cat’s questioning “mrrp.” Aizawa shrugged at the cat and continued to eat.
The front door burst open to the sound of high-pitched yells. Aizawa’s soup bowl tipped over as a mass of young bodies tumbled into the one-room cabin. It was barely enough room for himself, so the addition of five kids made his home far too cramped. And yet, he still had his patience. To the sound of raucous babble, Aizawa righted his bowl, placed his spoon on the table, and stood. He clapped his hands twice and a small pulse of magic reached out from his soul to wrap around the children. Their bodies shrunk into small, mute dolls and he picked them up and carried them outside, shutting the door behind him. The fifteen that had remained outside were still loud and incoherent. He dropped the dolls unceremoniously on the grass before pulling his magic back into him. The children expanded back into their original sizes.
“Quiet, all of you.” He glared down at the teenagers as they fell silent and reflected his gaze with weepy eyes. “One of you tell me why you are here. One of you.” A few who had opened their mouths ducked their heads and shared uncertain looks. A boy with wild blond hair and bright red eyes stepped forward, placing shaky hands on his hips.
“Are you the witch of this forest?”
“That is what I am known for.”
“Then you have to help us. King Nezu--”
“I don’t have to do anything,” Aizawa drawled, wrapping his cloak tighter around his shoulders. The boy flinched but stood his ground.
“We’re asking you to help us, though. King Nezu banished us from his kingdom and I- we want to return home.”
“He banished you to the forest?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
Aizawa grunted and looked closer at the kids huddled before him. Their skin was gray and faces sunken, clothes ragged from travel and not one bag amongst them. All signs of a swift and sudden departure none of them had been prepared for. Though their hungry eyes were cause for worry, it was the pallor of their skin that made him pause.
“Why were you banished?”
The children looked at their feet and fiddled with their torn shirts. The same boy spoke again. “Our magic is gone. And no one’s allowed in the kingdom who doesn’t have magic.” He widened his stance and tilted his chin up, eyes glinting with determination and rage. “So you have to give us magic so we can go home, got it?”
“No.”
“No?” The yelling started up again, each child attempting to have their pleas heard. He held up one hand and closed his eyes, sighing as his head began to throb.
“No, I cannot give you my magic. That isn’t how magic works. I can, however, go speak with Nezu and request he let you return home.
A girl with soft brown hair and big eyes squealed, her smile stretching her hollow cheeks. “You’d really do that for us?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, brat. I don’t want you kids trampling my forest and disturbing the animals. Or my sleep.” He turned back to the cabin and opened the door. “You kids stay in the yard. I’ll be back soon.”
They chorused aloud, “Thank you, Mister Witch!”
Aizawa only grumbled in response as he shut the door behind him, locking it in place.
Within the span of a few minutes, Aizawa had the dinner table clean, the cat fed, and a small bag packed for the trip. He took one last look over the cabin and nodded. He assumed he’d be gone for a day at most. With a flick of one hand, the hearth flames turned to ash and with the flick of his other hand, he felt his body plunge into the earth. The soil and roots of the forest dragged him towards King Nezu’s city. He had a general idea of where he was as he moved, from under the cabin to the yard and beyond into the trees. His magic cut a few days’ worth of travel into a matter of minutes and he popped up out of the earth at the city’s entrance. A heavy iron gate loomed before him, bordered by stone walls and creeping vines. Two guards stood at the entrance. Their armor glinted in the late evening sun, chests emblazoned with the crest of Yuuei. They squinted at the witch’s sudden presence but didn’t flinch. King Nezu’s citizens were used to random spurts of magic.
Aizawa sighed heavily and adjusted his long black cloak to sit more comfortably on his shoulders. “I am here to meet with Nezu.”
The guard on the left gripped the hilt of their sheathed sword. “The King has no appointments today.”
“You are correct,” Aizawa grinned. “However, Nezu has a meeting with the witch of the Gnarled Forest. I am that meeting.” The guards glanced at each other warily. One gave a sweeping gesture with their hand towards the gate and the two bowed low.
“Proceed, Witch,” the left one spoke.
“But don’t mark us when it’s your hide getting tanned,” the right one added. The gate creaked open at their words and Aizawa stepped through.
Yuuei was gray and dreary, an eerie silence filling the streets. The witch ducked his head and walked quickly up the winding cobblestone road. Windows were shuttered and doors locked tight. Not a person was in sight apart from the witch himself. The castle’s silhouette took up most of the horizon, blocking the setting sun. The walk was long, but the city’s lack of life stopped Aizawa from travelling through the earth beneath him. It wasn’t until he reached the base of the towering spires that color reappeared. The front doors were intricately carved wood and propped open just wide enough for him to squeeze through. Dappled white marble floors shined, blue and yellow banners hung from the high ceilings, and every column and archway was lined with gold. He trudged past it all, eyes set on the pretty throne at the end of the room and the castle’s lone occupant resting on it. The king was a white furred animal, a two-foot-tall hybrid between mouse and bear. He was dressed in ornate blue robes and fiddled with the bejeweled crown in his paws.
“Oh, Witch Aizawa! Welcome, welcome!” King Nezu stood up on the seat of his throne and waved his crown in the air. “It’s such a pleasure to see you. Please, step forward!”
“Enough talk, Nezu. Remove those children from my domain.” He stopped a few steps away from the king and poured all his wrath into his glare.
“They’re not children, Aizawa, they’re young adults! And I cannot. You know the rules – no one without magic may live in my kingdom!” Nezu plopped back onto his throne, dangling his feet over the edge. “Your domain is not in my kingdom, so the magicless were sent there. Case closed, witch!”
Aizawa growled low and gripped the edges of his cloak with tight fists. “Case not closed, Nezu. Those children once had magic, I can tell. I don’t care if you return it to them or not. Just get them out of my forest.”
“Hm…” The king tilted his head to one side and looked up at the crown that now rested on his head. He then gasped and beamed at the witch before him. “I have an idea! Let’s make a deal. A little fetch quest for you, one that I’m certain you’ll complete with ease.”
“I’ve played enough of your games. I refuse to be privy to another.” Aizawa raised an open palm towards Nezu, the magic in his chest readying itself to make good on an unspoken threat.
Nezu only smiled. “I think we both know you won’t follow through with that, hm? Why don’t you put that hand down and hear me out. No games yet.” The witch’s hand stayed steady.
“Speak quickly, mouse. Don’t assume you know me.”
“I don’t need to assume, Witch Aizawa.” King Nezu leaned forward and placed his chin on folded paws. “You know of the Heroes in the East, yes? Of course you do. All I ask is that you go there and retrieve their Symbol of Peace for me. Easy for an esteemed witch such as yourself.”
“You want me to kidnap All Might for you?” Aizawa’s hand dropped and he huffed. “That’s a fool’s errand. Even if I got past the Heroes protecting him, I don’t think the person being worshipped as a god would have any interest in leaving his cushioned throne. You would know something about that, your majesty.”
Nezu laughed, “So presumptuous! You’ve grown soft with all the lies you’ve been fed. All Might was once the prince of this kingdom. He was captured by the Heroes years ago, but it only now does the Top Ten grow weak enough for someone such as yourself to rescue him. Are you really going to stand by and let a man be forced to endure false worship, when he would rather be a servant to the kingdom he is right to inherit?”
Aizawa stayed silent, looking past Nezu and his gilded throne.
“I swear to you on my position as king,” he held up a paw. “If you escort All Might from his tower to this castle, I will remove those children from your forest domain. And, since I am a kind soul, I will make sure their new home is safe.”
“We both know you have no soul, Nezu.” The witch turned and stalked back towards the castle entrance.
The king called after him, “So you’ll do it?”
“The next full moon will carry my return.”
King Nezu grinned and leaned back in his seat. “Glad to hear it,” he said to himself. “Safe travels, Aizawa Shota.”
Although this was a fool’s errand, Aizawa was just enough of a wiseman to recognize the fool he was for accepting this deal. Nonetheless, after taking the first step out of Yuuei’s solemn gates, the witch let his magic pull him underground and towards the Land of Heroes in the East. This trip was longer than that of his forest to Yuuei, but by nightfall, his goal loomed before him. He stood in an endless field of tall grass and wildflowers lit up by the half moon hanging low in the sky. A river tumbled through the field a few steps ahead of him and a wide bridge arced over the waters. Beyond that, a town of small houses surrounded the base of a stone tower. It reached up towards the stars and a single window at its peak glowed soft with candlelight.
Aizawa could feel the magic radiating from the town’s people. Unlike Nezu’s hollow city, the Land of Heroes thrived with the magic of life and this town was the Land’s crowning jewel despite its small size. The witch thought himself only half a fool. Yes, he would be retrieving the Symbol of Peace from his tower of worship, an impossible mission. But he had a plan – and he couldn’t afford to fail.
He tugged his hood up and crossed the bridge into town. A few windows flickered with light, but most homes were dark with sleep. Aizawa crept down the road in shadow. He paused near the tower to survey it, crouching low in a garden of scarlet pimpernel, crushing the flowers underfoot. The stone building was much taller up close and quite wide. It would probably take Aizawa a few minutes to walk around its circumference. A sturdy metal door protected its occupants, daring anyone to step closer. The townspeople worshipped their Symbol of Peace, but no one had permission to see or interact with him. He was merely an idea amongst the people and, with a little luck, he would stay that way. Aizawa could not pass through the iron or stone with his magic, so he did the next best thing. He knocked.
It opened quickly and a figure made of metal and sharp edges filled the doorway.
“Who are you?”
“Delivery service.”
“Delivery-?” The man collapsed in a heap at Aizawa’s feet, succumbing to his magic. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. With little life present indoors, he would have a limited amount of magic available. The countdown began. Aizawa hopped over the man at his feet and ran to a set of stairs at the back of the large room, taking them to the second floor. There were no extra hallways or doors in the tower, each floor only containing a wide room with tall ceilings and another set of stairs to the top. The second and third floors were empty, holding only crates and barrels that Aizawa gave no time to. As he began up the steps of the fourth floor, he could hear voices muttering to each other.
“It’s only a little bit, but I can tell, y’know?” A masculine voice sighed and shuffling sounds accompanied the conversation.
A woman’s voice replied. “A little’s enough though. That much magic fueling the area… who knows what weird stuff is going to show up with it. What do you think triggered it though?”
“I don’t know, he was doing fine before. Maybe Endeavor knows. They’re close enough.”
“Sure, sure. Like I’m going to risk my life asking a human wildfire why his toy is broken.”
Their voices cut off as Aizawa crested the stairs and peaked into the room.
“Oh?” The man stood. He was covered in tattoos of branches and vines and wore a mask of aged wood. “Looks like we have a guest, Ryukyu. Something tells me we should greet them as warmly as possible.”
Miruko rubbed her gloved hands together. The only warmth on floor five was an oil lantern set into the wall and the fur-lined blouse she wore. She lifted her feet from the icy stone floor and tucked them under her on the chair. Her eyes squinted in the dim light and she shivered as a breeze passed from the stairwell into the windowless room. She wasn’t the only member of the Top Ten guarding the tower that night, but the shifting shadows and pressing silence isolated her. Miruko couldn’t even hear the sound of her own breathing.
Why couldn’t she hear it?
She huffed into her hands, but no sound returned.
Her breaths quickened. She felt chills run down her spine as she looked around the room.
Shadows creeped towards her.
Miruko stood and stepped back. She bumped into her chair and screamed, but no sound came out.
The lantern on the wall flickered once. Twice.
The room plunged into darkness.
Cloth wrapped around her throat, cutting off her struggle.
The lights on floor nine flickered. The Top Ten’s second-in-command leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head. Guarding Endeavor’s little project was high on Hawks’s list of “most boring jobs in the world.” He wasn’t allowed to read or shift into his bird form to pass the time, but that didn’t stop him from doing either. Tonight was off to an awful start, though. Hawks had spent most of the day flying around town, doing actually productive work as a knight of the Ten, so he was exhausted. In addition, he’d forgotten to bring a book and the only alternative was going downstairs to ask to borrow someone else’s. He’d made that mistake before; the first three paragraphs of Crust’s romance novel scarred him enough to never ask again. At least, not yet. With nothing left to do but wait until his shift was over, Hawks planned to spend most of his time in the hazy world between sleeping and waking. Creaking wood ruffled him from his daydreaming. The shifter opened his eyes and glared at the man who’d just stepped onto his floor. He was a little above average in height with messy hair and a long black cloak to match. It was like staring into a dark void, only to watch it blink back at you with tired eyes.
"Hey, traveler. I think you're new around these parts, yeah?"
The man shifted one foot and Hawks lifted his hands in response, letting the legs of his chair clunk to the ground.
"Woah now, I don't think we have to fight for you to get what you need. Talk to me, babe. What can I do for you?"
The tar black hair of the stranger lifted into the air as if suspended on puppet strings. His soft voice rumbled like distant thunder. "I am here for All Might. Do not get in my way."
Hawks cocked his head to one side. "You seem to be pretty confident about that. Something tells me that confidence is well founded, but I've got a feather in this, too. How about we make a deal?"
He smirked and crossed his arms, subtly placing the palms of his hands on the hilts of each sheathed sword. The man in black did not speak nor move, unblinking eyes flickering red in the lantern light.
"I will let you have All Might because it would fulfill a few of my own desires. Sitting in this tower every night is hardly my idea of a good time. In exchange, you give me a good fight. Easy enough for someone who's reached the ninth floor, yes?"
"You talk too much, bird."
The stranger rushed forward with one fist pulled back. Hawks stood, unsheathing his two swords. Fist and blade collided with a clash, but the stranger's hand was uncut. The shifter jumped back. He raised his weapons once more.
The light of reinforced magic glimmered around the stranger's fist as they met again. He parried blow for blow with the knuckles of each hand. They circled each other, mirroring steps and hits.
Hawks slid his blade into an opening, but the stranger grasped the sword. He pushed it away from his ribs. He stepped forward and aimed for the stomach, but the shifter slammed a hilt into the offending wrist. The stranger yelped in pain before backing away.
The hero followed in his footsteps. He swung both swords toward the chest. The man in black dodged. He rolled towards Hawks's feet. Hawks tripped back to escape. The man grabbed the shifter's legs and pulled, toppling him backwards. Both blades clattered to the stone floor. The stranger jumped forward and pinned Hawks to the ground. He pressed one forearm into his opponent's throat and Hawks froze.
He stared up into bright red eyes, waiting for the killing blow. It did not come. No deadly aura radiated from the man above him. Only calm determination steeled his gaze. Hawks grinned in response.
"I concede defeat, traveler. But be forewarned: our battle may be over, but you have many to come. I hope your goal is worth the bloodshed."
"There will be no blood if I have any say."
"So be it." The man in black lifted one hand and the shifter fell to sleep.
Aizawa panted as he stood. He stretched sore arms over his head and felt inside himself to measure what little magic he had left. If the bird was the last one in the tower, then it would be enough. If he wasn’t, well… he dismissed the thought for the future. He took the last set of stairs up to floor ten. A simple stone door stood in his way, the first one he’d seen since the entrance. Not wanting to waste any more time, Aizawa knocked.
Rustling came from inside and a muffled voice called out. A few moments later, the door swung open to reveal a tall man made of muscles filling the doorway. His blond hair and rabbit-like bangs peaked above the doorframe and Aizawa had to lean his head back to get a full glimpse of the man’s bright blue eyes.
“Ah, hello! Are you new here? Endeavor didn’t say anything about new hires, but he doesn’t say much of anything. Oh, where are my manners? I am All Might! Nice to meet you.” He held out a large hand and Aizawa could only stand frozen. Not only was the man enormous in physical size, but the magic that filled him was monstrous, pouring out of every limb and free space of skin like a fountain. It was akin to giving a toddler a wand – immature, out of control, and dangerous. Suddenly, the work of sneaking this man out of town seemed exponentially harder.
“Yeah, no. I’m here to break you out. Nezu sent me.” All Might’s brows shot up past the door frame and he took his hand back.
“The King? Why now, after so long?”
“I’m an escort, not a courier. You can get your answers from the rat yourself. Let’s go.” Aizawa turned and began to march back down the steps.
All Might called after him, “Wait, that’s it? We’re going just like that? I don’t even know your name!”
The man in black looked back, his eyes flashing red in irritation. “I am the Witch Aizawa. Now start moving or I’ll shrink you into a doll and carry you the rest of the way.” All Might shivered and nodded, shutting the door behind him before following the witch.
Half way down the tower, All Might broke the tense silence. “You have… taken down a lot of the heroes.” He gave a worried glance to one body that had been engulfed in vines before quickening his pace. “I didn’t think witches still existed. They all went extinct years ago when I- when the kingdom fell apart.”
“Most of them succumbed to dark magic, yes. But not all.” All Might only nodded in response.
On the ground floor, All Might heaved open the iron entrance and the two stepped out into the moonlight. The town was still quiet, undisturbed by Aizawa’s fight, and they made their way quickly down the stone paths towards the entrance. As they passed by a market stall, the road beneath their feet rumbled and a roar ripped through the air.
“I thought you knocked out all ten of them!” All Might yelled over the noise before diving into the shadows of the stall.
“I did! Wait- ten? I only got nine.” Aizawa squinted up at the sky above the tower. Circling it was a bright orange dragon, breathing hot flames into the night air.
“They’re called the ‘Top Ten’ because there’s ten of them.” All Might’s bangs bobbed above the stall’s counter as he gestured up at the flying creature. “No wonder you got to me so easily, you missed the big guy himself. That’s Endeavor! He won’t hesitate to eat us!”
The man in black growled at the blond’s words. “I shouldn’t be surprised that the symbol of peace is a fake. You’re a coward, not a king.” He grabbed All Might’s sleeve and tugged him up from the ground. “If you won’t fight by me, we will run.” Aizawa pulled the man towards the entrance. From above, they could hear Endeavor’s roar and felt the beat of wings pass over them. The two ran faster. The wooden bridge came into view as they turned onto the main road. A blast of fire licked their backs and Aizawa tripped with the heat. All Might caught him and they sprinted over the creek that bordered the town. The field of grass and wildflowers softened their steps as they moved, refusing to look back at the fading sounds of rage.