The following is a nonprofit fanfiction. Danmachi and MHA are owned by Fujino Ōmori and Kohei Horikoshi. Please read the official release.
THIS IS A FANFIC. THAT MEANS SOME STUFF MIGHT BE AU SO DON'T EXPECT IT ALL TO BE ON TRACK WITH CANON.
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Another day of work, another day of rejections.
"Not interested."
"Never heard of your familia. What do you offer? Nothing. Get out of here."
These were the phrases she had come to hear every day.
While she would lament over the fact how unfair this would be, she couldn't.
She had come to Gekai with a dream — to bless one child, guide them to greatness, and build a familia bound by love instead of status.
But dreams didn't build themselves. It had been three weeks since Hephaestus cast her out, and now she was living alone in a crumbling old church — no followers, no future, and no idea what to do next.
Hestia shook her head and clapped her cheeks. Now wasn't the time to wallow in her self-loathing. Right now, she had a job to worry about. Tomorrow would be a new start; she shouldn't lose hope yet.
Just as she was about to pull on the string to close her lamp, the sound of knocking could be heard on what she was sure was the door to the church.
"Eh? Who would come at this time?" She muttered. This was odd, nobody had come to visit her ever since she was kicked out by Hephaestus.
As she made her way upstairs, she couldn't help but think who would come here at this time.
Opening the door, she could see that the one knocking was a boy. He was a bit over a foot taller than her. His outfit was something she had never seen in both Gekai and Tenkai. The weirdest part was his split hair color (red on the left, white on the right). Looking at his face she winced at the scar that she was pretty sure was from a burn.
"Uhm… Can I help you with something?" she asked the stranger.
He stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, my name is Shoto, Shoto Todoroki. I had heard there was a god living in here, that's you right?"
Shoto Todoroki, she was pretty sure that sounded like a name of someone from the far east. "Yeah, that's me." She nodded. Wondering what he wanted with her.
"Good," he said with a small smile. "You're the one I have been looking for. I want to join your familia."
She blinked slowly as her mind processed what she had just heard. Did she hear him correctly? Someone came looking for her specifically.
"…You want to join my familia?" She questioned, more towards her own self then the stranger. Why would someone want to join her.
"Yes." Was the reply.
She had dreamed of this moment before even leaving Tenkai. Sure, it was not the way she'd hoped it would happen. But it did. For the past three weeks she had been trying to find someone to join her, only for someone to ask her instead.
The best part of it all was that she knew he wasn't lying. Shaking in excitement she wrapped both of her arm around one of his as she pulled him inside the church.
She heard him chuckle to himself as he let her drag him inside. She could feel the calluses in his hand, as though he had been working hard his entire life.
"So how do we do this?" he asked as she came to a stop near a barely functioning couch.
"Umu," Hestia let go of his arm. "Just take off your t-shirt and lie down on the couch in a way so that your back faces me." Finally, the moment was upon her. While Hephaestus had mentioned to her that skills were a rare thing to have at the start of one's adventure, she couldn't shake of the thought as though her first child would be special.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked quietly. "I don't have much. No weapons, no armor... not even proper beds."
Her voice trembled, a moment of vulnerability coming upon her. She had to say it — she couldn't let someone, no matter who they were, throw away their future for a forgotten goddess in a crumbling church.
"Sure." Her stomach dropped as the word left his mouth. "While I am sure any familia—bar Soma—would willingly take me in, I chose yours. From what I have seen of the gods, they would like to have me just for my skill. Not for who I am. I would just be another prize for them to collect. But not you. Any other god would not have even batted an eye before putting there falna on me but you still asked. Plus, from what I have seen of you; you're the better choice."
She sniffled as she barely held back the urge to cry. To think someone would choose her over someone like that flat-chested Loki. She would—wait a second.
"You said someone would choose you for your skill? What skill? How do you even know you have a skill?" Thoughts churned in her mind. Was he already an adventurer? Did he lose his familia? Or was he kicked out for some reason.
As she was lost in thought she didn't realize that he had sat up on the couch looking at her. "Goddess. Goddess. You there? Hello?" Snapping out of her spiraling thoughts she looked at him.
He looked at her and smirked before lifting both of his hands. Her eyes widened as fire and ice started coming out of his left and right hands respectively.
"I uh-wow. Shoto your… power is something any familia would want. Are you sure you want to join me?" She was sure any familia would have him. Elemental spells were more on the common side, but that fact that he could manipulate two elements at the same time and that too without a falna. She hadn't even heard of something like this.
"I am sure lady Goddess." A smile broke out on her face. Sniffling she motioned for him to lie down on the couch again.
She pricked her thumb with the kitchen knife, a drop of blood welling up. She held it over Shoto's back and let it drop. Summoning her arcanum to give him her blessing, a falna.
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Name: Shoto Todoroki
Race: Meta-Human
Level: 1
Strength: I-0
Endurance: I-0
Dexterity: I-0
Agility: I-0
Magic: I-0
Skills
Half-Hot Half-Cold: A unique trait enabling the ability to generate and manipulate both ice and fire. Effects scale with the use of mind.
Hero's Resolve: An unwavering will to rise above one's lineage and become a true hero by one's own strength. Increases Excelia gained as long as one is on the path to one's true justice.
Magic
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What in the name of Tenkai is this!? The first skill she gets but what's the deal with his race? What's the deal with his second skill?
No one could know of this. Definitely not. The other gods might accuse her of cheating or they might take him from her. It wasn't like there was no case of a new adventurer having a skill—usually due to their race—or a magic.
But starting with two skills? Maybe not impossible but there had never been a person with a skill that boosted excelia gain.
What even was a meta-human? Hestia had never heard of that anywhere. She had—
"Is something wrong, Goddess?" Shoto—no. Her child asked laying on the couch.
"Uhm—No, nothing." She assured him as she finished transcribing his falna onto a piece of parchment for him. She'd have to make sure he never revealed this to anyone. No one should know.
She slipped off his back, standing straight as he pushed himself up from the couch.
"Is it done?" he asked.
"Umu!" she nodded as she saw him let out a small smile.
"Well then, it seems you are my Goddess." He spoke.
"And you are my first child." With that she jumped—more like tackled—on him, wrapping her arms like a koala. Tightening her arms around his neck as though if she let go, he would vanish. He hastily put his arms around her, hugging her back as to reassure her.
"I am so glad you found me." She mumbled into his neck, trying—and failing to hold back her tears.
"I'm glad I found you too… Hestia." She froze for a second, then smiled—real and wide.
In the silent church, where loneliness once echoed, two lost souls had just found a home.
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AUTHORS NOTES:
1: Some things (like why Shoto's in this world or how his Falna works) will be explained gradually, starting next chapter.
2: I'll decide the chapter length based on what readers prefer — drop a comment with your pick before June 1st.
10k+ words = 1 chapter every 10 days
5k+ words = 1 chapter every 5 days
2k+ words = 1 chapter every 2–3 days