Test of Courage

4

Midoriya's POV
"Since we are all working together we should take turns caring the sword," Bakugou suggested. After we found Kirishima and Bakugou we stopped for lunch and we were about to continue our journey. Almost like a reflex, my hand went to the sword protectively.

"I agree," Todoroki added. I took the sword from my belt and handed it to him. Everything in my mind was telling me not to. Why? I knew I could trust him. He grabbed the sword but immediately dropped it in shock. He held the hand that touched the hilt. "It burned me!"

"What?" Iida went over to inspect his hand.

"There was a voice in my head," Todoroki continued, "It said, 'not yours'." I realized it must have been All for One.

"He only wants me to have it," I said picking the sword up carefully, "All for One's magic was sealed in the sword with him." Iida took a first aid kit out of his bag. He started to treat Todoroki's burn and wrap it.

"I chose you for a reason, you're smart," His voice entered my thoughts. It sent chills down my back. All Might's warning echoed in my head.

"I guess we should continue then," Kirishima said. Todoroki had a look in his eyes I couldn't place and he was deep in thought. Iida finished wrapping his hand and we continued weaving our way through the forest.

We spent two days walking before anything changed. We made it to a small town at sunset. We checked into an inn and got dinner. When we went to retire for the night I went with Iida and Todoroki. Bakugou and Kirishima shared a room since the maximum amount of people in each room is three.

That night I had a dream. I was in the black void again. Instead of seeing All Might, I was with All for One. He loomed over me and held out his hand.

"If you free me I can give you things you can only dream of," He offered. I took a step back as I remembered All Might's warning. Before I could react his palm was on my forehead. Everything around me shifted and the next thing I knew, I was in the dining room at home. My mom sat at the table with papers spread out before her. She looked worried as she read through them.

"Mom?" I took a step toward her but she didn't notice me.

"She can't hear you. This is from the past," I couldn't see him but it sounded like All for One was right next to me. I got closer to her and I could see the words on the papers. It was taxes. Growing up I knew we didn't have much money but I thought we were doing okay.

"What am I going to do?" My mom muttered to herself. Then the front door opened. It was me, from a few months ago. She immediately pulled a smile onto her face. "How was your day?" Her voice was cheery as if she wasn't just worrying about our financial problems. My mom and past me started having a conversation and the room faded. I was in the dark with All for One again. He took his hand from my forehead.

"What-how did you-" I stammered.

"Once I'm free I can make sure you and your mother will never have to worry about money ever again," He said. I shook my head.

"We have other options," I responded and I tried not to let my fear show.

"We will meet again." I woke up with a gasp. The sun just barely peaked out behind the horizon. The world was still dark. Todoroki and Iida were fast asleep. I laid down but I couldn't fall asleep again.

We got started early that morning. We stopped to get more food and continued to find our way through town. As I walked I bumped into a man with a dark cloak. His face was covered but I could make out purplish burn scars on his face.

"I'm sorry, sir," I apologized.

"Be careful, you might run into someone less forgiving," He glanced at my sword and then disappeared into the crowd.

"We should get out of here soon," I said quietly to the others. My eyes scanned the people milling around in the roads. Once we made it out of the town, we were met with grassy fields. Wild flowers were in full bloom and they were scattered in groups as far as we could see.

"What was the deal with that guy you bumped into?" Kirishima asked, "He said something and you looked worried."

"He told me to be careful of where I was walking and then he looked at my sword like he was looking for it," I explained.

"Let's hope he just noticed how decorated it looks," Iida said. The rest of us nodded. We had barely made it an hour away from the town when we heard something running through the grass. Correction, somethings. Each of us drew our swords. From what I could tell, we were being surrounded. Whatever these things were, they now ran in a circle around our group. The tall grass concealed them from us.

One lounged, it's claws aimed at Todoroki's face. Iida was quick in slashing it out of the air with his sword. It landed limply on the ground and I got a look at it. It looked like a small wolf, except for the fact it was made out of stone. It looked as if someone took pieces of rock and stuck them together in the shape of a wolf. I recognized it from books I read. It was called Lupus Lapis. They became rare ever since the use of magic went down.

Another Lupus Lapis jumped at me. Then it felt as if someone flicked a switch. What happened in the cave with the dragon was happening again. It felt like someone else was moving my body for me. The next thing I knew my sword was embedded in the chest of the stone wolf. There were five or six more that followed the lead of the first two. I swung my sword and took out two at once with a gracefulness I never had.

The others killed a few and I finished off the last one. The switch was flicked and I was in control again. I caught Todoroki staring at my eyes like he was looking for something. He looked away quickly.

"They were easy," All for One said, his voice seemed to echo. I didn't want to think about what else we might have to face.

"As Midoriya said, the sword attracts monster so I suggest we stay on alert. When we have to sleep outside someone should always be on guard as well," Iida said. Even though Todoroki is the prince, Iida seemed to be the leader of the group. The four of us nodded like obedient children.