Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Taylor Pov
I was still recovering from the wound on my neck with the help of my aura as I slowly and thodically cleaned every shelf, table, display case, and stand in the store. There was a television playing so news channel as background noise that I wasn't interested in listening to.
Thinking about the wound on my neck only made think of Izumi. I didn't want to admit it, but Izumi was right again. Why is everyone attacking the neck?! I could already hear it in my head, 'I told you so, Cuddlebug.' I gritted my teeth and started to scrub my target harder.
I still didn't know what to make of the old man lying there. Izumi's grandfather. Izumi never ntioned anything about his family. We'd been together for over a year at this point, a year since we'd gotten engaged, we'd celebrated our anniversary last April 30th for crying out load! And he never ntioned a grandfather?
I just wanted to call him and ask what was going on, but… Izumi always has a reason for what he does, always in the most annoying way possible, but there's always a reason behind it. I just had to figure out what it was.
The old man was dangerous. He was stupidly strong despite his age; he should be as strong as Izumi or stronger, and that was saying sothing. Izumi always said he was self-taught, so the old man shouldn't have taught him anything about swordsmanship. Besides, he only used a knife, so that doesn't tell anything.
I looked around and noticed all kinds of weapons. From daggers to axes, from swords to flails, shields, and grimoires. It was the first ti I'd ever seen grimoires. In fact, it was the first ti I'd ever seen weapons for hunters. Not only that, I hadn't noticed it at first, but they also sell Dust.
We'd had a few classes on Dust and its history, including how to properly manipulate it. For starters, there were many nas for Dust, including one ti, early on, when people started calling them "mana crystals" after early hunters, though that term was quickly abandoned, and Dust beca the more widely accepted term.
Even almost 100 years later, no one had the slightest idea how they ford or where they ca from, or even what they were made of, only that they could be collected from the gates. Even the lowest gates contained a large amount of dust.
Dust was also known as 'nature's wrath', and it was for the simple fact that, in its purest state, it could unleash different effects: fire, air, lightning, wind, gravity, ice—what could be done with Dust was impressive. They could easily match the Quirks of so Hunters and Heroes if used correctly.
And it was sothing we still had to learn at UA, if the curriculum, which Izumi forced to read, was right, then practical classes on the use of Dust would soon begin, whether through weapons, as bullets or creating hunter weapons, or in conjunction with quirks.
I'm pretty sure Ruby had several clips of Dust bullets for Crescent Rose. It's not sothing she used often, but she had them. On the contrary, Izumi never ntioned using Dust.
Or even Essence Stones. Stones found inside the corpses of gate monsters. The only difference from Dust is that Essence Stones are more refined. They have the sa effect as Dust, but much stronger, and the difference only continued to grow depending on the monsters that dropped them; the higher the rank of the monster, the stronger, more energetic, and more refined the Essence Stone.
The higher-ranking ones could be used to create weapons or hunter armor. That said, I now had a huge question.
"Hey, old man… how does Shusui compare to the weapons in this store?" I asked distractedly.
"Mm? Thinking about changing weapons? " the old man asked without even opening his eyes.
"No… just curious, it's the first ti I've seen hunter' weapons." I said honestly, the old man humd.
"Depends on what you're looking for," the old man said simply. "Shusui, as you know, has the distinctive ability to increase the destructive power of its attacks, even when it's not necessary; It's the definition of a problem child. But besides that? Shusui has no other characteristics. You want a weapon that sets your enemies on fire? What it to freeze? Or have it boost the power of your quirk in so way? Shusui is useless."
"Shusui has better durability and sharpness than all the weapons in this shop combined, there's no doubt about that, but for it to be able to demonstrate its full power, it depends greatly on its wielder. Let's just say that, if Izumi were wielding Shusui, he could take out an entire group of Rank-S Hunters with all the weapons in this shop without any problem."
"And it's the sa for almost any ito, even though they're made of similar or even the sa materials, masterpiece itos, especially Supre and Great Grade ones, are on a completely different level. But most don't show any notable or visible features or abilities, it almost always depends on the skill of their users."
"In fact, take this as a tip, if you see soone with a ito, they'll probably know how to handle their weapon much better than soone with a fancy hunter weapon. Most hunters rely heavily on the stats of their weapons, armor, and quirks, so they never bother improving their weapons skills."
"The only hunters who are truly proficient in the handling of their weapons are those hunters who graduate from hero or hunter schools, otherwise, they're almost always a waste." The old man finished, snorting, and I fell silent. I really couldn't say anything; it made sense, a lot of sense.
Before I t Izumi, I believed that I couldn't get anywhere with just my Quirk, even when I had gone through an Awakening, insects? What good would insects be against city-destroying gate monsters? That was all I could focus on.
Before Izumi criticized the first ti we trained together, it had never really occurred to to improve in hand-to-hand combat or with any weapon. Now, the difference with my past self was horribly noticeable. And I couldn't be more grateful to Izumi.
I continued cleaning absentmindedly until my Scroll started beeping.
"Is it Izumi? Put him on speakerphone," the old man said. I looked at the caller ID.
"Unknown," I said simply before taking the call. "Hello."
"Oh? Miss Herbert? " The voice seed confused, I frowned.
"Hebert, and yes, she is talking, who is it? " I asked.
"My apologies, we've been trying to reach you. This is the first ti the call has connected. I'm speaking as a representative of the Draw Sword Guild," the woman said through the phone. My eyes widened.
"Draw Sword Guild?! Is Izumi okay?!" I asked quickly, the old man stood up, quickly beckoned and I understood, I put the call on speaker.
"Izumi? Ah, you're talking about Mr. Miyamura. We didn't call for that reason. Mr. Miyamura is doing just fine for his internship. Actually, we wanted to talk to you about sothing else. We wanted to make you an offer." I visibly cald down, but now I was confused.
"Offer?" I asked, confused.
"Yes, Ryuko Goto wants to buy your sword Shusui, what is its price? " he asked directly, I froze in the mont.
"Excuse , what?" I asked stupidly.
"Shusui, you are in possession of Ryuma's sword, Mrs. Goto wants to buy your sword, tell us a price and the money will be transferred imm- "
"It's not for sale." I interrupted sharply, and the woman fell silent.
"I... I don't understand. Money's not an issue, just give us a number. Is 100 million yen enough? In dollars, maybe? " the woman insisted again. I grimaced at that price. They really didn't mind spending money.
"It's not for sale." I repeated myself. The woman fell silent again.
"Miss Hebert, I don't think you understand the position you're in, I just want -"
"I'm not interested and I don't care what you have to say, Shusui is not for sale, please don't insist again and don't call again. Goodbye." I said simply before ending the call with a grimace of annoyance.
"Impressive girl, I really didn't think you'd keep it," the old man said, impressed. "It was a lot of money." I shrugged as I put away my scroll.
"It's just money, nothing Izumi and I can't get in the future. Not to ntion that it's a gift Izumi gave himself, so I could never sell it." I said with a gentle smile. The old man smiled back.
"You're scared of Izumi, aren't you?" he said with a shit-eating grin.
"I'm terrified." I sighed quickly, the old man burst out laughing.
"You've got a good head, kiddo. Keep using it and you'll live a long life," the old man said amusingly. I just snorted. Really, the thought of even thinking about getting rid of Shusui right now was horrifying. But I wasn't lying when I said Izumi terrified . I've never seen him completely angry, but when he's just plain pissed off and has to let sothing out, it's terrifying enough that I never want to see him angry again.
"That's the plan," I said dryly, the old man smiled amusedly.
"Aside from my grandson, is this the first ti you've been called with an offer to buy the sword?" the old man asked, and I nodded.
"Actually, yeah. I didn't think there would be people calling to buy Shusui. I know it's really famous, but…" I shrugged. "I just saw the mixed reactions online and tried not to think about it more than necessary," I said honestly. The old man humd.
"They won't be the last, that's for sure," the old man said before turning serious. "But they'll definitely be the most annoying," he added, and I looked at him curiously.
"Are you very familiar with Draw Sword?" I asked curiously, the cornflower grimaced.
"Not with the guild itself, but with Goto. Between her and Endeavor, I don't know who has the greatest thirst for power." The old man said dryly. "When they were younger, they both were quite promising. Endeavor was shaping up to be an excellent heroine, while Goto was rising as a model Hunter. But they've both changed a lot. A real sha." The old man said, shaking his head.
"Izumi doesn't think highly of Endeavor either." I said simply, the old man nodded.
"Izumi knows much more than he lets on. Sotis it's terribly irritating how he knows things he shouldn't." the old man growled.
"Sotis?" I said dryly, the old man burst out laughing.
"So not even his fiancée is safe from his 'know-it-all' bullshit. The worst part is I can't hold it against him because he's actually right!" the old man exclaid amusedly. I rolled my eyes with a smile.
"You have no idea, he's doing this whole mysterious act like he wants to speak in riddles or stay quiet, if he wasn't really cute I would have punched him in the face a long ti ago he's so irritating." I said amusedly, the old man burst out laughing.
"Ha! I knew I wasn't the only one! I like you, kiddo!" the old man exclaid. I smiled slightly. A sense of pride filled at having Izumi's grandfather's approval. I didn't know how important the old man was to Izumi, but if I could just get on his good side, I'd have nothing to lose. "Now, back to earlier." The old man stared at with a completely serious expression.
"What?"
"As I said, Goto and Endeavor are both very power-hungry, the forr to beco a national hunter and the latter wants to be the number 1 heroine surpassing All Might. Endeavor at least has so standards, there are many things he doesn't care about, like collateral damage or public opinion, but that's about it."
"But Goto? Goto is more insidious. If she has to kill you to get Shusui, she will." The old man said seriously. I visibly shuddered and looked at him incredulously.
"Are you serious?" I asked, above a whisper. The old man nodded heavily.
"Goto won't let anything or anyone stand between her and the title of 'National Hunter', not even a re student. If she thinks Shusui will help her achieve her goal, then you have to be careful."
"It's possible that she hasn't contacted you before, because you were safe at UA, between Nezu and All Might, you're practically completely safe. But now that you're not at UA, don't think that call is all they'll try." The old man said, I turned slightly pale.
"Should I call All Might?" I asked seriously, the old man humd as he shrugged.
"Do whatever you want. You can return to UA if you want, or stay in the store. As long as you're not far enough away from , they won't try anything at all, or it won't do any good for them to try." The old man said, completely confident. I looked at him suspiciously. The old man was completely sure that they wouldn't try anything with the present, or that he'd be able to defend from any complications. Who the hell is he?
"Who the hell are you?" I repeated my thoughts out loud. The old man smiled as he walked away again.
"Izumi's grandfather, that's the only title you have to know, and as long as you're with Izumi, you're family, so don't worry, no one will try anything while you're in this shop." The old man said simply. I was completely confused, but I nodded. I really had to get in touch with Izumi and find out who the old man was… but I could already see and hear Izumi just saying sothing stupid like I'd figure it out eventually with a smug smile. I love him with everything I had, but he was really irritating when he wanted to be.
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