I'm Scared to Fall, But I want a Happily Ever After [Baku x Deku]

[NicTheDjinn]

Izuku has always felt like.... This wasn't his first time being alive. Sure, he was happy with this one-- he lived in a small and peaceful village, went on small quests with his friends, Ochako and Tenya, who are a mage and knight respectively, and he had a comfortable home with his mother, who ran a bakery, textile and tailor shop. But.... All the same, he felt that parts of his memory were.... Muddied, at times. There was a legendary hero of their land who bore a magical set of equipment amd gear, but.... He was often mistaken for a hero in some strange and colorful clothing with a cape, punching villains with near monsterous strength. He would remember a blonde, ruby-eyed boy who he knew he used to be close with.... But, whenever he tried to remember more about him, he'd suddenly feel a sudden jerk downward-- like he was falling from a great height, his heart dropping and squeezing before he'd snap back to reality, panting with heavy tears rolling down his cheeks.

If he had a life before this one.... What happened to him? Why was he so scared of heights-- why were any memories of a supposedly close friend ending with that weightless terror that broke him down so easily?

.... It shouldn't matter now-- He was happy now-- he had friends, he was an adventurer, and one day, he hoped to forge his own destiny, become a great legend that would be shared by generations to come!! And, his next quest was one he's been itching to complete-- finding the legendary toolset of the fabled hero, Sir Yagi, Paladin of Peace! It has been told that whomever finds those legendary relics would be given the great power the hero wielded and be able to uphold justice as the Symbol of Peace across the land!!

And the best part?? Izuku had found half the map to the resting place of those relics, and had learned that the next piece, a quarter of it at least, was in the Badlands!! Sure, there were.... Orcs, cyclops, violent fae, and most worrying of all, dragons up on the mountain where the next piece was rumored to be waiting, but Izuku wasn't going to back down from this!! He's always wanted to be a hero-- he was too small to be enrolled in the knight's academy under the rule of the Blaze King, Enji Todoroki, or even be taken under the wing of a head knight as a squire, but he was determined!! He wanted to prove himself-- wanted to show that he could be a hero, too!!

He's.... He's always wanted to be a hero. Why did it hurt when he was so passionate about becoming one? Why.... Why was there this dread, this.... Misery that felt like shackles to the greenette?

Regardless.... His story has just begun, and despite what may have happened in his past life, he wasn't going to fail-- wasn't going to let these dark and painful feelings consume him again!!

The Badlands were fittingly named. A harsh terrain that was rumored to kill life quicker than it could grow it, filled with things that could kill an unprepared traveler in an instant- tribes of bloodthirsty barbarians had carved their claim into the earth there, terrifying creatures of all descriptions stalked the shadows and the night skies, and, of course, the landscape itself was so treacherous that it was deadly to anyone who didn't know how to navigate it properly.

Izuku's map was torn about what looked to be halfway- a clean, straight slice cutting off the majority of the land beyond the mountains that formed a border between the place of civilization and the Badlands, but what was visible was just enough to prompt the green-haired boy on his adventure should he choose to pursue the legends.

A small 'x' shape was drawn onto the map that had fallen into Izuku's hands one fateful morning through trade, the red of the mark either done with paint or blood, though it was too bright to be the latter, hopefully. It was clearly marking the tip of a mountain a ways away from the mountain borders, though it was indeed still located in the Badlands. But whatever was there had to have been important to be marked on a map, right? And Izuku, along with his two dear friends were soon setting off, as prepared as their budget and strength allowed, eager to make a name for themselves, become stronger!