DxD:The Installments

POV: Issei Hyoudou

"All Might?" My voice cracked.

The sunlight streaming in from the tunnel entrance framed him like a hero from the pages of a comic book. His larger-than-life presence was almost surreal—his bright, confident smile and unmistakable golden hair practically radiated reassurance. I wasn't sure if he was real or if I was dreaming.

He wore a white T-shirt that strained to keep all of his muscles contained within the fabric. He also sported simple brown cargo pants with enough pockets to house any essential items. And lastly, to round out his outfit, he wore a pair of sturdy-looking brown boots.

"You gave me quite the scare there, young man," he said, his voice booming yet kind. "But have no fear—you're safe now."

I blinked up at him, still dazed. The memory of the wind, the suffocating pressure, and the sludge monster's screeching flashed through my mind. Slowly, the realization hit me: All Might had saved me. The monster was nowhere to be seen.

"Where…?" I croaked, glancing around, but All Might interrupted with a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"It's gone. I took care of it." He paused, his gaze softening as he looked me over. "But you need to rest. Passing out from oxygen deprivation isn't something to take lightly."

I tried to sit up further, but my body protested. "Izuku—what about Izuku?" I rasped.

"He's safe, too," All Might assured me. "Rest easy. You did well to hang on as long as you did."

I nodded weakly, my body sagging back onto the concrete floor. For once, the thought of letting someone else handle things didn't feel so bad. It felt like trusting someone stronger to carry the weight I couldn't.

I didn't look up to see what All Might did to wake up Izuku, but judging by the sound of slapping coming from their direction, I think I had a pretty good idea.

Izuku also made it obvious when he woke up, as he immediately started screaming upon seeing All Might standing over him. He must really love the guy, because, like a switch being flipped, he just as quickly started worshipping the very ground All Might stood on.

While I may have just found out who All Might was today, even I have to admit—from the few pieces of media I've seen of him and now watching him in action in person—that the guy is a total badass.

So why aren't I over there asking for his autograph like Izuku?

It's because I was thinking. Really thinking about my situation. Ever since I woke up in that alley this morning, strange things have been happening.

First, I woke up in an alley, and I clearly remember being in a library. Then, meeting that strange cosplayer. After that, there was an intense fight scene on the train tracks.

Not finding any information about Kouh or being able to locate it on a map. And finally, to top off this bizarre day, I got attacked by a sludge monster and met a man I was sure was purely fictional—not even two hours ago.

Even I'm not stupid enough to think there isn't something strange going on here.

"That settles it. The moment All Might leaves, I'm asking Izuku a few more questions."

At the very least, with his vast knowledge of superheroes, he could at least tell me what kind of strange abilities All Might used. That was the plan—until I heard All Might's announcement.

"WELP, I've gotta get this to the police so they can take care of him."

Oh, I guess he's leaving now. Shame I was going to ask him what kind of workout routine he follows. The guy's built like a brick shithouse.

"Stay out of trouble. See you around."

Was it just me, or did that exit seem kind of rushed? Here I was, expecting some kind of motivational speech from the number one hero. But nope, just a "see you around."

Not gonna lie, kinda disappointed.

I didn't see exactly what he did, but by the time I glanced up from my position on the ground, he was long gone. A quick glance toward the sky answered any questions I had.

"Holy shit, how is it even possible for a human to jump that high? What do you think, Izuku?"

I waited a few seconds for a response, but when none came, I grew confused.

"Izuku?"

Taking a quick glance around cemented the fact that I was now sitting outside the tunnel alone. Moving my body still hurt, but not enough to hinder my movement. Standing up, I started searching my immediate area.

Did he get upset because All Might left and decided to head home?"

Not likely. I don't think Izuku's petty enough to do that. At the very least, he would have told me before leaving.

"So, if he didn't go home, where did he go?"

While searching some nearby bushes, a thought popped into my mind.

"Izuku's an All Might fan, isn't he?"

Shooting my head in the direction All Might flew off in, my suspicions were proven correct. In the air, hundreds of feet above the ground, attached to All Might's pant leg, was a scrawny green-haired boy flailing through the air.

"Are you kidding me?! He actually grabbed onto him!" I shouted, a mix of exasperation and panic. My jaw dropped as I watched their shrinking silhouettes disappear into the horizon.

For a moment, I just stood there, frozen in shock. Then I groaned loudly, dragging a hand down my face. "Of course he did. Of course, Izuku latched onto the number one hero like some kind of deranged fangirl. What else would he do?"

Exhaling sharply, I tried to process what I had just witnessed. "Now what am I supposed to do? Wait for him to come back? Chase after them? Yeah, sure, let me just sprout wings real quick."

POV: Izuku Midoriya

I know this is incredibly reckless—borderline idiotic, even so, how could I let this opportunity slip away?

All Might, the number one hero himself, was standing right there. I've imagined this moment so many times I've lost count. To actually meet him, to be this close… it's like a dream.

That said, grabbing onto his leg mid-jump probably wasn't my brightest idea. I should have realized the risks. At this altitude, with the surrounding skyscrapers shrinking beneath us, letting go wasn't an option anymore.

I just needed to hold on—long enough for All Might to slow down and land somewhere safe. That was the plan. Well, more like a gamble, but the odds weren't entirely impossible. At least, I hoped they weren't.

It took us longer than I would have liked to finally reach solid ground. The situation wasn't made any easier when All Might realized I'd latched onto him—his immediate reaction was to try and shake me off.

Thankfully, I managed to convince him, albeit in a panicked shout, that letting go mid-flight would only result in me becoming a very unfortunate stain on the concrete below. That seemed to get the point across, though his exasperated sigh told me he wasn't exactly thrilled with me.

He quickly landed us on a nearby building and promptly dropped me onto the ground. As I expected, he wasn't pleased with my spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Not a very smart move"

I knew I was probably getting off easy with that remark, but it still didn't feel great to be reprimanded by your idol.

"Bang on the door for a while, someone will let you in. Now, I have to go."

Wait, he can't leave just yet! I haven't even asked him my question!

" Wait All Might please there's a question I have to ask "

Those words didn't seem all that effective, as All Might kept walking to the edge of the building, clearly intent on leaving. I wasn't even sure why I felt so desperate for an answer. Maybe it was because he's been my hero since childhood, the symbol of everything I've admired. Or maybe it was because his unwavering smile and inspiring words had been my anchor during moments when I wasn't sure I could keep going. Whatever the reason, I couldn't let him go—not without asking.

"Do you believe... that someone without a quirk can still become a hero?"

POV: Issei Hyoudou 

I'm so Boreeeeed 

It's been about thirty minutes since Izuku and All Might left me outside that tunnel. With nothing else to do, and since Izuku was my only way to contact my parents,I decided the best option was to walk in the direction they flew off.

The downside to this plan?

"IS THAT I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I'M GOING!"

Turns out, wandering aimlessly in an unfamiliar city isn't the smartest idea. Which is strange, considering it's worked out for me before.

At some point, I just gave up and sat on the first bench I saw. Without my phone, I resorted to people-watching to stave off the boredom.

I think I read somewhere that people-watching is supposed to be a calming experience, but for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being a creep. I mean, the idea of just sitting in one spot and quietly observing strangers as they go about their day has always seemed a little... odd to me.

Then again, put me in front of some cute girls, and I'd be happy all day.

Okay, maybe I'm not the best person to judge whether or not something is creepy. I'll admit that.

But sitting here, watching people pass by, has put something into perspective that's been bothering me for a while now.

"There sure are a lot of people cosplaying today."

It wasn't obvious at first, but the more I paid attention, the more I realized something was… off about the people around me. Okay, maybe "off" isn't the right word, but you get what I mean.

At first, I noticed some people with brightly colored hair, which wasn't too unusual. But then I saw others with extra limbs that moved far too realistically to be mere attachments.

But the part that shocked me the most was seeing a literal human-sized dog walking around on two legs, wearing clothes, and no one batted an eye. 

"So, either the entire world has gone insane, or I must've taken some seriously messed-up drug before leaving the house yesterday."

Welp, I think I've had enough people-watching for one day. Standing up, I did a quick stretch before resuming my search for Izuku.

I didn't really trust my sense of direction at this point, so I just decided to follow the crowd. It didn't take long before I was led to the main street. The best way I could describe it was: loud.

Hordes of people were walking back and forth, screens the size of buildings played the local news, all while the noise of car horns blared in the background.

Projected on one of those screens was a middle-aged woman reporting on the current events happening in the city. I wasn't really a fan of watching the news, but the Lady was hot, so I thought I would give it a glance.

"Good afternoon, Musutafu. The date today is March 12, 2400, and I'm your host, Hana Takahashi, for today's Hero News."

So her name was Hana what a pre.... I'm sorry WHAT YEAR!!

I stole some glances in the direction of some of the other people watching the broadcast, Maybe they caught the slip-up and make a comment on it.

But once again it seemed like I was the only one noticing the strange things happening, Since no one even batted an eye to the glaring mistake this reporter just made.

But just to make sure I'm not the odd one here I tap the shoulder of the guy standing next to me.

"Huh, What do you want "

Ok a little aggressive, but then again I am a total stranger to this guy so some annoyance is expected.

"Sorry to bother you but would you mind telling me what year it is "

The guy looked like he wanted to brush me off and go back to watching the broadcast. Seeing as in hindsight I asked a very stupid question, But spotting the serious look on my face the guy relented.

"What are they even teaching kids in schools nowadays, To not even know the year."

He gave me a once-over before continuing

"The thought of this country being put into the hands of idiots like you in the next few years worries me. But to answer your question the year is 2400, March 12, 2400, to be exact."

The man didn't even wait for my response before turning his head back to the broadcast and tuning me out. Normally I would've been pissed off by this guy's attitude, but I kinda had a lot to process right now.

"The year 2400"

It was like the final piece of the puzzle falling into place. The strange outfits the people are wearing, the fact that I got attacked by a literal slime monster, Just to get saved by a superhero.And not to mention the fact that I couldn't find any information on Kuoh or its location.

I tried to hold out hope, I tried to look past anything strange and chalked it up to the weird culture of this city. But at this point, there was no use pretending.

"I don't think I'm going home "

Author's Note :

The major thing I wanted to talk about was the date I brought up in this chapter. I tried to keep it as accurate as possible, but I never found an official date for the beginning of MHA.

I read online that it takes place around the year 2400, while other sources state that it's set in the year 1900. So, I was a bit confused about which date to use. However, since it's mentioned a few times in the series that the story takes place a couple of hundred years after the present day, I thought it made the most sense for my story to be set in the future.

Also, I don't know if any of you caught the fact that I used the last name of a famous manga author. I did this for two reasons: the first reason is that I don't know how to come up with a decent-sounding Japanese name, and the second reason is that I thought it would be funny.

Anyway, thank you all for reading this chapter, and please leave a comment below to let me know if you're enjoying the story so far.