Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Izumi POV.
"I'm here," Maki said as she walked in where Mai and I were. I nodded.
"Thank you for coming," I said modestly. The euphoria of having defeated my most bitter enemy had already passed. I had undone my Totality even before its time; now I was just a sad, poor, ordinary person with a terrible sense of direction, completely far from my perfect form.
Ah, how cruel the world is, giving me a way to eliminate the only imperfection in my being, and it's only a temporary solution. If only—
I let out a muffled noise when Mai hit my ribs with her elbow; she was glaring at me.
"Stop fantasizing and having arrogant internal monologues." Mai hissed, and I gasped loudly.
"It wasn't an arrogant monologue. Let me tell you, I'm completely humble and modest, even in the sanctity of my mind," I said, lifting my chin. Mai snorted loudly and heavily.
"Yeah, right, and that gorilla who just walked in has a love life." Mai rolled her eyes. I turned to look at Maki. Maki turned to look behind her, only to realize Mai was talking about her. I could see her eyebrow twitch.
"Damn it! Why am I the one who ends up being insulted when I didn't do anything?! " Maki snapped angrily. Mai smiled mockingly at her.
"He needs a proper example to prove my point, and you were perfect. I, after all, am the superior twin; I have no problem with that," Mai said haughtily. I looked at her expressionlessly. I really wanted to point out her own haughtiness and arrogance, but... she was many things: an idiot, arrogant, conceited, and who knows what else, but hypocritical wasn't one of them... most of the time.
"Daughter of-"
"Okay, let's get to the reason I called you!" I interrupted with a smile. Maki glared at Mai, while she smiled petulantly. Finally, Maki glared at me and clicked her tongue.
"Okay, what's going on?" Maki asked, crossing her arms. I pointed to the Derf, which was still on the sword stand that held it upright.
"He's yours, if you can wield it." I told Maki easily. Maki looked at the sword before frowning, then approached the sword and began to examine it.
"Not to insult him, but... doesn't it look a bit old? It's rusty in places, it looks like it'll break if I pick it up." Maki said with a frown.
"Old lady? I'll let you know I'm in the best years of my life, kid! " Derf yelled, startling Maki and making her take a step back.
"A sword person?" Maki asked, now sounding even more curious.
" Yep, but right now, Derf considers himself more of a sword than a person; he's been a weapon for over 100 years," I said easily. Maki's eyes widened.
"Oh?" Maki said curiously. "Something interesting about him?" Maki asked. I nodded as I looked at her. I gave her the same summary of her abilities that I had given Mai the other day. Maki looked at the sword in surprise. "Really?" she asked, surprised and curious.
"Derf is truly special. He's been with my grandfather for a long time. I'm not compatible with him, but I promised him I'd find him a Meister if I had the chance," I said honestly. Mai just nodded.
"Let's see if you're not mistaken, hold me, girl!" Derf said to Maki. Maki simply nodded resolutely, lifting Derf from his upright stand. She barely hesitated as she firmly placed a hand on the hilt.
I could feel Derf's aura tremble slightly before calming down, and my eyes shone brightly. They had accepted each other. I didn't know what kind of compatibility they had, especially with Maki having a complete lack of aura, but Derf hadn't rejected Maki; otherwise, Maki would have already sensed the rejection.
That means Maki could handle Derf.
"I'm glad you were compatible," I said honestly, letting out a sigh.
"Ha! I have a partner again! This feels nice! " Derf exclaimed joyfully while laughing.
"It's... curious, I know I don't have an aura to resonate with him, but even so, I can feel him." Maki said, surprised.
"That's my fault, partner! My age isn't just for show, you know? I'm more than capable of joining you, even just with my aura as a link!" Derf said confidently, and Maki smiled broadly.
"I see, you're impressive, Derflinger," Maki said, almost ecstatic.
"Call me Derf, Partner!" Derf said cheerfully, Maki nodded.
"Derf." Maki repeated, then grabbed the scabbard and began to unsheathe Derf, only to stop and see that it was almost completely rusted. "Oh." Maki said, assessing the damage.
"Don't worry, partner, a little use and I'll be as good as new! " said Derf without seeming annoyed.
"He's right, Derf will polish himself during the fight, or when he absorbs something; he requires little to no maintenance," I said directly before humming. "But actually, I wanted to show you something—a new body for Derf, a new weapon," I said, looking at her intently.
"A new... body? You want me to change weapons?" Maki asked curiously.
"Oh? Surprise me, kid." Derf said, sounding interested too. I nodded. I let the shadows cover the floor as a table began to emerge from my shadows.
"As you know, Derf can change weapons, but what's implied is that he can also do so with weapons made from monster parts, and those weapons have their own advantages, their own abilities, whether passive or active."
"Letting Derf transfer to that type of weapon is actually a double win, because he'll still retain his absorption ability." I said with a smile, and Maki's eyes widened.
"Is it actually possible to do that?" Maki asked Derf.
"You know... I have no idea, partner." Derf said, confused. I chuckled. "I've only switched to regular weapons, but... it should be viable, though... is it possible I'll nullify most of the skills? If it's some kind of imbuing the firearm or something, it definitely wouldn't work... I think." Derf said, confused.
"I know, I'd already thought of that," I hummed, placing some papers on the table I'd set up. "The weapon doesn't have a name yet, and I don't know if it will ever have one, since it'll just be, well, Derflinger, but it's something I'd been thinking of specifically for Maki," I said cheerfully, showing the blueprints. "I asked Ruby to design it, but my grandfather will handle the forging, especially because of the materials," I added, showing Ruby's drawings.
I'd actually seen her scribble, and her drawings were truly awful. Even a child could draw better than Ruby; she only knew how to draw stick figures at best. Obviously, that wasn't the case when it came to weapons.
When she was designing or drawing weapons, they almost looked like professional blueprints and designs; the amount of detail was incredible. Everything was noted down: all the measurements, the thickness, the lengths, even the weight and strength of the materials. The internal mechanisms were drawn with terrifying precision, and much more. The difference was almost unbelievable.
The papers contained an abnormal amount of drawings and notes, but the main weapons were clearly visible, drawn on top.
"Are those... multiple weapons? I see a three-section staff, a long staff, a spear, and three katanas?" Maki asked, confused, before frowning. "Is it... just one?" she asked in shock. I smiled broadly.
"Welcome to Mecashift, yes, it's a single weapon. Initially, it's a three-section staff connected by several rings between the weapon's joints. Each section is about 70cm long. The three sections can be joined and transformed into a staff, giving a total length of 210 centimeters. One of them can even be opened to release a hidden blade, converting the staff into a spear."
"Finally, the three sections can be separated. Each section consists of a long, hidden blade inside, covered by a sheath that acts as a protector when used as a walking stick. But each section can activate a mechanism that retracts the sheath, forming a handle and revealing the hidden blade inside to create a katana. And each section can do this. You mentioned wanting to use the three-sword style, and well, this is the solution I came up with." I said cheerfully. Maki looked at the plans in surprise, ran her fingers over the designs, and smiled wildly.
"I like it," Maki finally said. I smiled in relief.
"And as I said, this weapon is supposed to have a special ability, so the materials are crucial. It was difficult; I had to consult with my grandfather about the materials and the capabilities of each one. I wanted it to have a specific effect, and we found it. They will utilize Derf's aura, which is by no means negligible. It should be around Rank A. By using the weapon's own aura, the physical strength used to wield it will be greatly amplified."
"That means if you hit hard, you'll hit even harder, no matter what form it takes—three-section staff, full staff, spear, or swords—the effect should hold true across the board," I said happily, completely satisfied with what I'd created. The entire weapon design was Ruby's, and the materials were Grandpa's; I'd only provided the idea, but even so, it was a good weapon for Maki, if I was honest.
I had gotten the idea from Playful Cloud, whose physical strength enhancement effect was the same. The canonical Playful Cloud was a ridiculously strong weapon, maybe not on the level of Split Soul, but Playful was still very high level, especially for someone who relies almost exclusively on their physical strength.
With Grandpa's help, I went to the Zenin family once again, and we snuck into their armory to see if it still existed and steal it if it did, which, unfortunately, it didn't. Or at least the Zenins didn't have it.
Playful was first seen in Toji's hands, but since Toji didn't exist in this world, or the weapon was never created, or never bought or seen in public, or whatever the reason, Playful didn't exist. Grandfather had also taken it upon himself to ask his various contacts, including several black markets.
Playful Cloud didn't exist in this world, but even so, it was the perfect weapon for Maki. So all that was left was to recreate it, and what if it could be improved? Well, that would be even better.
"Wow, you really created such an amazing weapon for her? Even more so than just Derf's ability? And your grandfather forged it for free? How envious I am." Mai said dryly, though I could hear the bitterness in her voice.
"Mai-" Maki tried to say, I just blinked in her direction.
"For free? Who said that creepy old man was doing this for free? " I asked dryly. Maki and Mai looked at me confused.
"I... I'm supposed to pay for it?" Maki asked, starting to pale. "How much... would this cost?" Maki asked incredulously.
"I don't know? Around... 100 million yen? " I hummed. I could hear Maki and Mai gulp down and start coughing sharply, then they stared at me incredulously, completely dumbfounded.
"1-1-1-100 million! I don't have 100 million yen! I barely have enough for expenses outside of university! What do you expect me to do?! I steal from the Zenin?! " Maki asked incredulously, almost desperately. I rolled my eyes.
"Ha! I like you, kid! A new body worth 100 million yen?! It will be a pleasure to inhabit it!" Derf laughed excitedly, I chuckled before looking at Maki.
"Don't worry, it's not that much money," I told Maki honestly. "And you're not raising it alone, I'll help you," I said casually.
"It's not that much money?!" Maki asked incredulously.
"Iori is so rich that you're saying 100 million isn't that much money?" Mai joined in the disbelief, I rolled my eyes.
"That's not what I meant. Yes, it's a lot of money for the average person, but we're not average." I told her directly. "We're UA students, I'm registered as a hunter, we can go dungeon-crawling, and I can take you with me, Maki."
"I'm sure the principal should even be able to issue a license for you. Do you know the average profit from a C-rank gate? Around 20 million yen per gate, and dozens of them open every week. Even if UA takes more than half of that share, it's still possible to earn 5 to 10 million yen per dungeon."
"A C-rank dungeon is no problem for us, and a B-rank one would be even more profitable, so if we only had to do about 10 dungeons to get that amount of money, we could have it in two or three weeks." I said directly, and Maki and Mai stopped and opened their eyes wide.
"Do hunters earn that much money?" Mai asked, almost horrified, with a hint of greed in her eyes.
"Normally, no," I said honestly. "Hunters usually form groups, so the money is split; the guild and the government take their share and all that, so the pay for an average hunter is lower, but it's still much more than a regular job—there's a reason many people become hunters."
"Even so, it's different for us. We're strong; we can clear a C or B rank dungeon completely on our own, so the money isn't shared." I told her honestly. Mai was still in shock and simply nodded.
"I... I'll have to get used to this, won't I? " Mai asked in surprise. Maki just stared intently at the plans.
"When can we start?" Maki asked directly without looking away.
"Today is... Friday. We have classes soon that last almost all day, then I have an internship with Mirko. I'd have the weekend off, so we can start tomorrow. Unfortunately, I'll be just as busy the rest of next week," I said with a grimace. Maki just nodded.
"When do we have to have the money ready?" Maki asked, and I shrugged.
"There's no date, well, a timeframe of about 3 months, I'd say? My idiot grandfather will manufacture the weapon within the next two weeks, and he's only charging us for the labor. We just have to pay it back in less than three months."
"Otherwise, I'd charge interest, tch, my grandpa charges me interest." I clicked my tongue rudely.
"Oh... that... more generous than I expected? I didn't think he'd start forging it even before I got paid." Maki said, surprised.
"Even though it might not seem like it, Ryuma likes creating weapons for people who truly deserve them. He's softening in his old age, influenced by the kid, too, so don't really worry about the payment," Derf said. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, what he said, but he's still going to make me pay. I already got so many things for free from his store, now he's charging me for everything." I sighed dryly. Derf laughed out loud.
"And you got off easy, kid! You broke more weapons and Dust than you really needed to!" Derf laughed, and I rolled my eyes.
"It was experimentation! I had to know if I could use them in my sword styles, it was for a good cause!" I defended myself, Derf just laughed once again.
"You blew up his shop twice, and Iori's house once! Something Ryuma had to pay for!" Derf laughed, making me blush slightly.
"And it turns out I learned that combining fire and gravity dust is a bad idea, let's move on to the next topic." I said, embarrassed. Maki and Mai snorted.
After that, we continued planning our dungeon runs. I couldn't help but think about the internships, especially Taylor's and Midoriya's. Today, Taylor was supposed to help Lung move.
Which was curious, according to Tattletale, someone had stopped the ABB from retaliating, that meant, someone had stopped Bakuda from starting a massacre and bombing on Brockton Bay somehow.
She? He? Whatever. He stopped Bakuda, someone known for being extremely arrogant and unhinged with a massive lack of common sense, and he was almost certain that this was Bakuda 's normal personality and unaffected by his power in any way. I mean, he was glad Bakuda didn't start planting bombs in people's heads like he did canonically, but there was something strange brewing in BB.
Especially since there were mixed-up things, like the Undersiders having already participated in a bank robbery—did that mean Dinah had been kidnapped? Really, Coil getting Dinah and having access to her power without Taylor and the Undersiders there to stop him was a bad combination.
It was a shame I couldn't go; I would just have to trust that Taylor could handle whatever she faced.
And the other thing is that Darkness appeared in the news because of the arrest the day before—the arrest Kirishima was supposed to carry out with Fat Gum. The confrontation with the villain using the quirk-enhancing drug played out almost exactly the same way. Minor differences, but the same outcome.
That meant the raid against the Shie Hassaikai would happen soon; I had to be aware of that.