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Chapter 5: Flame Caretaker
🕑 Added 2023-10-26 14:11:31 +0000 UTCI am so far behind with stuff as I've only just finished watching the first 3 episodes of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War, with there being at least 30 more for me to catch up on. I don't even know why it took me so long, I used to love Bleach. Also, is it just me, or are stakes in MHA disregarded? I don't mean how Hawks's wings have the potential to grow back despite Dabi roasting his entire back-not just his wings, but when I was rewatching season 6 for content ideas, I noticed that despite Bakugo nearly dying during the fight with Shigaraki(AFO), he's…just fine when they go after Izuku, like sure he's wearing bandages but his wounds don't seem to slow him down, or even hurt so you could easily edit them out and no-one would be able to tell he's supposed to be in recovery.
Anyway, this is the last chapter where the stories will be the same, after this they'll diverge so if you want to see both timelines, you'll have to read both stories from chapter 6 forward.
Chapter 5: Flame Caretaker.
Izuku hummed a song whose lyrics he didn't know while he finished up his chores for the day. Leaning the broom on the wall, hand on his side, he couldn't help but be impressed with what he had managed in these 2 months. The temple was still run-down, but it was far cleaner, plants had been removed, old floor boards removed, and wooden panels and doors as well. He had even managed to get the old women's dorms into a much better state so that he could sleep there instead then in the shrine.
Off to the side, he had a small garden going which wouldn't yield anything till spring at the latest, but the forest had proved plentiful when it came to fruits, and with the river, he now had a source of clean water for drinking, bathing and washing with the bonus of fish which the two enjoyed a lot, so much so that he didn't mind the daily trek up to the stream to fetch two buckets worth, often more when it was cleaning. Around his neck, his friend slept peacefully, as she had taken to napping on him whenever she got the mood. He didn't know why Koharu preferred him over the the literal fire he kept burning 24/7, he had even set up rocks close to it that she could rest on but he didn't mind, it was nice having her close.
‘Still, I’ve done almost all I could with what I have. I need to get tools and suppliers to handle the actual repair.’ He had planned for this, gone back and revised his notes on how he could go about it a few times now, with the older planks being discarded to the flames. Perhaps he should have a pen and notebook again, as he didn't think it would do for him to get used to using his blood as ink and his finger as a crude pen.
Looking to the side, he saw the bucket he had been using for cleaning and how was standing in mud, half its water having leaked out. "New buckets would also be great; these are on their last legs." They could only carry 15L at a time, which wasn’t much and it wasn’t helped by the fact that he lost at least a Liter per bucket every hour due to the many leaks in the buckets. With him speaking, he felt his serpent friend stirring from her nap.
“Morning, Koharu. Did you enjoy your nap?” He asked with a smile, with the snake giving him a look which he merely chuckled at as he reached to pet her head. “Not my fault you chose to eat that mouse, you could have waited for dinner.” They were even planning to have fish, but he suspected she would just give him the snake eyes till he caved and gave her a portion for her to enjoy.
“Well, anyway, I’ll be heading into town to see if I can’t get some of the stuff I need, though I’m still not sure how I’ll pay for any of it…” That was an issue. He had lost his wallet and even if he didn’t, he would have hesitated to try and pay with a card as that could be tracked, it also wasn’t like he carried that much cash on him. Maybe he could trade some wild fruits for something.
Koharu hissed at him, but it was a soft hiss as she snuggled up to his cheek, keeping him grounded. “Yeah, you’re right. I need to hope for the best. Alright, let me get my shirt and make sure I look presentable.” Looking at himself, he saw that he had been working shirtless, with just his pants which didn’t look too bad, who knows, maybe he’ll find a place that could offer him a spare set of clothing.
Line Break
Taking the same mountain road that led him to the temple, he strolled down it, following it till he came across a small town, a place that seemed far too closely knit to be a part of the city, where the tallest building was around 4 stories tall. While he didn't have a bird's eye view, he wouldn't be surprised if the place didn't have more than 150 buildings. The people were also different to the city where most were busy or rushing from one place to another, it was more rustic, and calm as people took their time, speaking with one another even in the middle of the road as he had seen just the 2 cars since entering, one parked and other driving away.
It was the kind of place where everyone knew everyone, which made it impossible for him to blend in as to them, he was a stranger which in itself, was enough to draw attention, or at least that was what he told himself as his picture was all over the place last, he checked, so he could only pray that no-one connected the dots and tried anything. To help with that, he would stick to his guns and not steal anything as he wasn't starving, he was thirsty. He wasn't as desperate as he had been then, so he would sooner jump into an ice bath than steal.
Of course, whatever he thought was going on didn't prepare him for what he heard.
“A shrine maiden? Here?” A woman asked her husband, the man shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, I heard there is an old temple up in the mountains, maybe she's from there." He looked up the road that Izuku had come in on, missing how the boy was starting to blush at the misunderstanding.
“So, she walked the entire way, that’s at least 15km away.” Someone close by, a grocer added.
“Maybe she’s one of those types that prefers the exercise, sees it as part of their duties or something.” Another joked as Izuku felt his face couldn't get any redder without him using his quirk, which was for once, itching to climb to the surface.
‘I can’t believe they think I’m a girl!’ How could he forget what he was wearing? Of course, they'll make that assessment, not helped by the fact they neither knew him nor was he the most masculine kid in class, he and Katsuki looked like younger versions of their mothers, but he managed to still look like a boy whereas Izuku was no neutral in gender appearance that women's clothes were enough to fool people!
From inside his clothing, he felt his friend hiss in a way that couldn’t be anything but laughter as he looked down at her through his shirt. “This is not funny, Koharu! You know these are the only clothes I have.” He kept it quiet, but it was still embarrassing that Koharu taking joy from this. In response, the snake’s eyes shifted to his hair, which was usually a bushy mess that he didn't care to style, but now he had done his best to straighten it and placed it into a small and spiky ponytail just like his mother’s hair was done.
"Okay, yes I did up my hair but I have to look nice, it's not my fault I don't know how to do anything more than what Mother does with hers, I never had guy friends to help in that department." He had seen his mother do her hair up hundreds of times, it was just something he could do without thinking.
Lucky for him, people stopped talking to him and merely watched him as he entered a small general goods store. Inside, he found that it was like seemed to have most of what he needed besides supplies, so he hoped that there was a hardware store that he could go to next. He didn’t take a trolley or a basket, he wouldn’t need them as he walked through the place, ending up in an aisle that had cleaning supplies, which included buckets. As much as he wanted to take the largest ones, he had to be careful with price as what he brought with him wasn't money, so he would need to pick something he could use but could be traded for which was how he picked a bucket that was labelled 30L as that was twice what the buckets he had could carry, and the ones he picked out were study enough.
Using the buckets, he picked up other gardening and basic repair tools before he went to the counter which was manned by a balding man in his late 40s at least.
“Is this all?” The man asked, seeing what he had selected to buy, which was 4 buckets stacked inside one another, some basic tools, a couple of notebooks, a pack of pens, cans of food and cleaning supplies.
"Yes, I'll try to pick up everything else from the hardware store if the town has one," Midoriya replied as he placed the stuff on the counter and let the man ring him up, hearing his voice, he realized that this was a boy, at least biologically but he had seen far stranger and wouldn’t give the boy or girl flak for that.
“It does, it’s about three blocks down, you can’t miss it.” He replied as he finished scanning the last item. “That’ll be 6,500 Yen.” He raised an eyebrow when Midoriya didn't pull out a wallet or purse, he wasn't sure what the kid carried but hey, he wasn't one to judge. Instead, the character was sheepish as they rubbed the back of their head.
“That’s an issue, see I don’t have any money on me but!” Before he could tell the kid he needed to pay, they pulled out the bag he was carrying, which was more made from old cloth and presented what he had been carrying. “I do have some fresh mountain fruit to trade.” Did this kid think it was still the Edo period or something?
He would have thought the kid was messing with him, but they looked so sincere he could find anything more than nervousness in them, at least the kid knew this was a long shot. “Fruit? You do know that you can buy them, right? I can get most of that from Amamiya’s store down the street.” The kid seemed to deflate a bit at that, shyly wrapping his cargo up again.
“I figured…but it was better than nothing.” He muttered, now feeling like an idiot, standing before the till with no way to pay for his stuff. The only thing that would make this worse was if he was holding up a line but at least today, the heavens decided to grant him a small mercy as it was just the three of them in the store.
Still, the man was curious about the kid as they dressed like a shrine maiden, they might even buy one which was strange of itself as he hadn't seen one of those types in a while, most only passing through in groups. Also, the choice of items was strange as he was used to neighborhood kids doing the shopping for the family, or trying to get their hands on sweets and other snacks to enjoy while they did whatever the hell it was kids did these days. But this one was different, which meant him interested. “Listen, kid? Why do you even need this stuff?”
Having no reason to lie, Midoriya answered truthfully. “I live at the old temple up the mountain, and the place is in dire need of repair.” The man scratched his chin at that answer.
“That old place, I’m pretty sure I used to hear about when I was a kid, but wasn’t it closed down like 30 years ago.” Midoriya nodded, finally having an idea of when the place was abandoned, but he needed the man to know that he wasn’t lying.
“It shows, but it doesn’t feel right to let it fall to ruin.” Even if he wasn't planning on staying there for…however long he could, he couldn't just let the place that offered him shelter fall apart. “And it would help if I didn’t have to worry about the roof falling in on me.” He muttered that last part, as he had spent more than a few nights in the shrine as the roof creaked and moaned too much for comfort.
“But why you? Aren’t they others?” Looking the kid over, he saw that he wasn’t the largest, nor the strongest looking. That kind of work would need an entire team of people, or maybe it was his quirk that would allow him to speed up the process.
“Just me and a friend, but she’s not much help in that department.” At that, the snake that was hiding within his clothes made herself known, slithering out to the shock of the man as she curled up around Izuku’s neck, the boy not reacting in the slightest.
Finding this stranger then he thought, he decided that he could let the whole snake thing slide seeing how the kid had it on him. “And your parents? You aren’t from here so I can only assume why they aren’t here with you.” There was a change in the kid’s mood, as they looked scared and tired but also shifty.
“I can’t go home. I did the one thing she told me not to and people suffered for it…I can’t bring myself to face her and disappoint her even more.” There was more to that statement, it was far too vague to be anything else but considering that the kid must have run away from home and was willing to live in a run-down temple which they’ll personally repair, he could only assume that whatever the kid did must have been bad, or he was overeating. Either way, he might have to look into this.
Taking his silence as the end of the conversation, Izuku reached to collect what he collected to return it to its proper place, it was the least he could do for disturbing the man. “I’ll just return what I picked to where I got it from them.”
“Hold on a second,” The man raised his hand, stopping the kid, he didn't like it, but he couldn't just let him leave if he needed this stuff. As much as he knew he could just call it in, he decided to humor the kid. “I don't approve of a kid living on his own in an old shrine, even if you fancy yourself a shrine maiden."
Midoriya only looked away to try and hide his red face from that comment. “They were the only clothes up there.”
“You’re not making your case any better, my boy.” He didn't need to know why the boy could only find women's clothing, but that could be fixed pretty easily once he got some cash. “But I’ll cut you a deal. Keep your fruits and I’ll let you take the supplies you need so long as you work some odd jobs for me to pay it off, also I'll be checking in on you from time to time.” He patted the goods in question as Midoriya turned to him, wide-eyed.
“Is that it?” Midoriya asked, not trusting that he could get such a deal with his luck, even Koharu seemed caught off guard by it.
“That’s it. I don’t have much help here and I’m getting old.” The man nodded, his eye going over his store and his lack of employees.
“Then I accept!” Midoriya quickly accepted before he could change his mind, the man grunting as he handed over the goods to the boy who looked at them like they came from the heavens.
“Also,” He reached under the counter, taking out a small notepad and pen before he wrote down something, tearing it from the book, he handed the boy the note. “Take this. It’ll explain things to the old lady that runs the hardware store, with luck you’ll get more of whatever you’ll need, provided you also work off your debt to her.”
Line Break
It was as the man said when he got to the hardware store, the 30-something gave him a similar look after he collected all that he felt he would need, which meant a nearly full shopping cart. Seeing the note, she only groaned that she wished she didn't lose that last poker game to the old bastard before making it clear that he would be working off that debt, all 300,000 Yen of it which he didn’t mind in the slightest.
He even met the grocer that the old man was talking about, Amamiya who heard what he was doing and gave him all the produce that she knew wasn’t going to sell, though he turned down most of it as he didn’t have a proper place to store any of it long term. When he was getting ready to leave, with the shopping cart from before, he was asked how he intended to get back to the temple with everything and surprised them when he told them he planned to walk, the same as how he got there. The grocer, Saitama, laughed it off as it was a 15km walk uphill with cargo and he merely brushed it aside. Would it be hard, sure? But it wouldn't be impossible, plus it would be good exercise.
With them flabbergasted at his response, he bid them goodbye and left. Once he got back, he was tired and sweaty, but still incredibly pleased with himself as he now had some of what he would need to get this place back into proper shape. His good mood was so great that he didn't even feel it as he used his new buckets to go up to the stream twice to fill up all four and catch the biggest two fish he could which he and Koharu happily dined on by the fire of the shrine after he deboned and cooked them.
With that, the next day came with a change to his schedule as from then on, Izuku spent his time either training, tending to his small garden, getting water or fixing up the place, starting with the essentials which were either tearing down or reinforcing the walls. The townsfolk that he met, as the grocer told him, stopped by every week to check up on him. The first time they came via walking and most were winded by the time he heard them approaching but they were impressed with the progress he had made by his lonesome though they had issues with him keeping the fire lit at all times when it was just him to care for it.
As the days turned to weeks, they were witness to how the old temple seemed to gain new life as weeds were cleared out, plants that had grown into the walls, foundations and electrical wiring were disposed of, most of the old floor was removed and replaced with new panels which he painstaking cut to shape and nailed in. The old walls deemed a lost cause knocked down, though he never did that when they were around which left them confused as to how he could, before said walls were replaced while others found themselves replaced. The roof was completely redone, and reinforced as well just to be on the safe side while the statues and other images were cleaned up and polished on the regular as with everything that was fixed, that was just one more thing for him to care for nearly every day.
However, other things remained the same despite him slowly working off his debts, and being offered a change of clothes, he stuck to his uniform as he felt like…it was right, he lived and worked in a shrine, why not dress the part? They decided to mess with him by supplying him with different sets so that he didn't have to wear just one, but they were all women's which embarrassed him but he didn't want to say no, so he accepted it.
It had nothing to do with the fact that he liked the way they looked…nope, the look hadn’t grown on him at all, no matter what the cheeky snake would imply.
The increased work and times he could speak with other people did wonders for his health which combined with his training and daily hikes for water built up his endurance and stamina quickly as before, a couple of trips for water would have left him tired, now he could do that 6-7 times with increased loads. He can still recall the grocer's face when he found him collecting water and he asked why he didn't just use the taps, learning that the place had no plumbing and that he was walking further up the mountain for 5km to collect water and bringing it back, most days this was a done multiple times which to the shock of the man who asked him if he was okay.
There was talk of solar panels, but seeing how he didn’t have much electronics with the possible exception being a fridge and freezer he was thinking of adding, he didn’t see any need for them, it wasn't like he needed them for light as he was fine with the candles, torches and lanterns that he had going, in fact being surrounded by so much fire every night always helped raise his mood after a hard day's work as he could just sit just about anywhere and meditate by the flames as he would every morning in the shrine next to the hearth. Besides, he still hadn't done the electrical work and had no time or interest in doing so, not when winter was fast approaching and he would need to focus on ensuring that he and Koharu would be comfortable, warm and have enough food to last.
Line Break
It had been months since he first stumbled into the temple, and while it was only a couple weeks into Winter, the cold had come in fast and dug its heels deep into the land, with snowfall being something of a norm. it was extremely cold out even during the day, but at night as it was, it was far worse as bitterly cold winds moved over the mountains, carrying them with ice and snow that covered almost every surface, bar one.
Deep in the mountains, far from where anyone could stumble onto it, there was an inferno. It burned as hot as it was bright, its emerald flames melting ice and snow instantly, causing massive steam clouds to rise into the air where they cooled, and fall to earth, only to be heated once more in an endless cycle. Now and then, a blast of fire would shoot out across the clearing, melting all the ice beneath it to the cold, but rapidly heating dirt that lay beneath it, or towards the sky where gales and cyclones of emerald fire flew into the sky for dozens of meters before they petered out, returning the sky to the darkness again, only for the flames to return to, for a moment, banish that darkness away.
The source of this blaze was a figure in the centre of the clearing, their volcanic body coated in green flames as their emerald magma-like veins pulsed with power. Their voice being inhuman with even breaths and hisses coming out like rocks being crashed together while being superheated. They lacked legs but instead had a large serpentine tail that carried them around like it was nothing.
Izuku felt alive, not even the chill of the winter’s night being able to reach him as his body gave off heat like a bonfire, keeping him toasty as he went through his training. Twisting, backing up, sliding to the sides and rapidly closing the distance between him and an imaginary foe, his movements lacked his old nervousness, hesitation and weakness. Now he danced, breathing out flames whenever he pleased, targets in his mind jumping and moving around him, villains trying to do him and others harm, villains he handled with blasts of fire that rendered them taken care of. The clearing had been covered in 30cm worth of snow when he arrived, now most of it was gone, masking the area with a thick cloud of steam that couldn't get colder to become water and ice again or rise further into the sky thanks to the sheer amount of cold, icy filled wind that seemed to hit these mountains.
He wanted to challenge that.
Leaping into the air, his serpentine tail propelling him far higher than his humanoid legs could manage, he found himself looking towards the ground, seeing that the place from the air looked like a wet mess with the steam lingering as the heat within it was slowly drained into the environment. The area was a perfect target as he created a fire within himself, feeding power into it and feeling it grow in heat and power, when his stone cheeks cracked as they puffed up, he let loose.
“Serpent’s Fireball!" His stone jaws swung open and from them, a massive fireball the size of a car shot out, racing towards the earth where it crashed with explosive force, lighting up the space and superheating the air in the area, the blast hitting him in the face as he landed in the half meter deep crater, small emerald flames still dotting the space here and there. While Izuku was proud of himself for that name choice, as he normally would have struggled to come up with something not related to All Might, he didn't give himself time to pat himself on the back as he quickly built up flames within his mouth again.
Just like before, he fed the flames till his cheeks cracked as they puffed up, but he held it just a second longer as he aimed for the sky this time around. "Boa Flame!" Flames raced out of his open jaws, more than before, hotter than his fireball but it didn't remain a single fireball instead, he willed it to change shape, taking the form of a massive boa constrictor that twisted and turned around as it raced into the air, creating a massive vortex of flames which sucked in the cold air and sent it barreling higher into the sky, the flames were so hot that the snow on the edges of the clearing started to melt, once the flames had travelled around 50m into the air, he willed it to change once more as its body tightened, squeezing an imaginary foe before-
Like a bolt of lightning flying through the air before crashing into earth, there was a massive explosion rocked the area as his flame serpent burst, creating a brilliant fireball high up above his head, the boom ringing through the air and no doubt catching the attention of anyone close by, but he didn't care. His exhaustion mounting, he gathered flames into his mouth for a third time, adding as much power to the emerald inferno that formed within him before he released it.
“Serpent’s Fire Scales!" Same as the last, fire shot out of his mouth in the form of a giant fireball, but it quickly exploded-creating 13 smaller fireballs that shot out into the air like a volley from an artillery brigade, Izuku grabbed onto each through his quirk, willing them to his command as pulled them around, allowing them to fly around him, creating a barrier against attacks as he turned his attention towards a tree that was close to the edge of the place, around it were the burnt and broken stumps of others that would soon meet its fat-
Like a switch, his control over the flames died with the fireballs flying out in random directions for a second before dissipating. Izuku fell to his hands and knees, the exhaustion that was building hitting him all at once as his form reverted from his living embodiment of volcanic wrath and fire back to his human body, he was steaming as if he was a pot of boiling water, yes-but still human once more, not naked by wearing a pair of shorts to cover his modesty in a clearing of mud, steam and dirt with the flames of his earlier attacks starting to die out.
“I’ve come far…but not far enough. Tomorrow,” He said to himself, his body's temperature keeping him warm but he knew that it wouldn't last as he walked away from the clearing and towards a tree where he had left his friend and most of his clothing. “Tomorrow, I’ll train even harder, and see if I can’t boast my time limit by another couple minutes or so.” He finished as he collected his clothing, putting on a white long-sleeved shirt, baggy red pants and a cyan jacket. As Koharu slithered out from her hiding hole, he made a note to see if he could increase his time in that form to 45 minutes.
“Did you enjoy the show, Koharu?” He asked, his attention shifting to the snake that was crawling up his leg before settling around his neck. The snake snuggled closer to him to warm up.
"Well, that's why I make sure you always have your little hole and fire to keep warm." He said to her as he had left behind a heated rock for her to rest on, but she didn’t seem happy by that.
“If you don’t like it, then you could always just join me. The flames are great!” He answered her questioning eyes as he walked off, back towards the temple so he could shower, meditate, and tend to the flame before hitting the hay. His words made the snake look at him like he was crazy. "No, you won't burn! I'm still wearing pants this time around." He had come a long way since he would end training sessions naked, his control over what his flames burnt had gotten a lot better.
Koharu looked skeptical about this. “Honestly, I still can’t see why you’re so against it, it’s not like it’ll leave lasting damage, I used it to heal you just the other week.” She had gotten injured by a passing weasel, he had saved her, reducing the weasel to a charred piece of meat, but she had seriously needed to see a vet. The problem was that it would take him too long to get her to town and look for one. So, he listened to his urges and burnt her instead, she didn't like it, and thrashed and squirmed around, forcing him to hold her down but she had come out of it healed, as if the entire affair didn't happen.
Didn't stop her from biting him for not warning her.
It was a quiet walk back home, the chilled winds battering them to the point she took refuge in his shirt while he hummed a song, a mantra really that he had found while he cleaned out the old stores months back. When the temple came into view, the place looked vastly different to the decrepit ruin he had first found, as most of the major repairs were done and maintenance work was done, at least for the winter. He even had electricity, though he didn’t install it as the townsfolk had been the ones to do that, with the local handyman having to tear out almost all the old wiring and completely redo it. He almost felt bad about only using it for the bare necessities like his phone and the kitchen appliances, but it wasn’t like he had much else use for it.
Walking through the main gate, the well-kept garden greeted him, though most of it was covered in a thick carpet of snow while the place was lit up entirely by bonbori lanterns which either hung from trees, were placed on stones along the path, or close to the water of the now frozen pond. Entering, one found that the interior was lit up by andon lanterns instead, with not a single electrical lightbulb in sight as he collected a fresh change of clothes, and his toiletries and left for the redone bathhouse. Entering, he saw that the tank that sat above a wood-burning fire was boiling, making him smile as he had decided to be lazy and just collected snow to be his bath water, setting the fire before he left so that it would melt and heat up just as he and Koharu liked it.
They liked it so much that neither cared about bathing together, though part of that was due to one being a snake that could care less for human norms about gender separation, besides the bathroom was more like a hot spring than anything else with the water being gathered in a rock pond he dug out, cleaned and then waterproofed. The space even gave the two a nice view of the night sky and valley below.
Line Break
Later, he entered his room with a smile on his face and a pep in his step, having finished everything else and had a great dinner of canned beans and fish, he was ready to turn in for the night. His room, unlike the rest of the temple, was the only place he thought to be more liberal when it came to decorating it as it was his private space. There were potted plants scattered around the place along with 7 different large black and white drawings he had done in his free time of the town, its people or just the mountain landscape.
A small desk was placed in the corner, covered with notes and a few books on shrine upkeep, gardening and general repair. To the side, closest to the window was his futon with a small drawer placed next to it that had a few knick-knacks he had collected over his time, from a pressed flower, some of Koharu's scales and his diary. Stepping to the closet, he opened it to fetch his sleeping clothing, which took a second for him to find as most of what was inside were just reproductions of the shrine uniform he wore every day.
Finding it, he changed into them which was just an old shirt and light shorts before he knelt at his drawer, lighting the andon lantern atop it to give him light as he hummed, grabbing a comb to try and manage his hair into a bun for the night. The chilled air enters through the window. At some point, his friend had left his body and went to the little bed he had made for her in the corner, the soft pillows and blankets welcoming her as she crawled up and fell asleep in minutes.
As he worked with his hair, he looked towards the calendar hanging on the wall and felt a pang in his heart when he realized just how much time had passed since he left home. "I'm better here, no bad urges, no nightmares…this is…this is for the best." He whispered to himself, though he still felt…like it wasn't enough, that what he was doing was terrible but he was understanding, more by the day, that what he was doing was okay. He used his quirk; he followed his urges-and nothing bad happened. He didn't have human friends, but he didn't have human enemies either. He had a great place to stay at, somewhere to train himself to exhaustion every day without worry or scolding from others.
How could any of this be bad?
Opening the drawer, he reached for the hair-relaxing gel, only to feel it was light. Stopping, he opened the jar and found that it was close to empty. "Looks like I'll need to head into town in the morning to collect some, but while I'm out, I might as well get everything else I need." He pulled out his wallet, and a frog-themed purse and looked inside for what funds he had, seeing that he had about 20,000 yen which should be enough for what he'd need to pick up. Come sunrise, he'll do his morning tasks and then head down the mountain.
You know the hardest part of this? It was writing about the interaction with the store owner in a way that followed his assumption that Izuku was either a crossdresser or trans as I kept using he/him/his even when the guy was thinking about Izuku. As for why he didn't say anything, why would he? We have characters like Tiger and Magne running and no one even brought up the fact they were trans because it's as normal as anything else, hell, I didn't even know Tiger was trans till I looked up his Wiki page. Magne was easier as characters refer to her as 'Big-Sis Magne'
Oh, and a strange thing, when I was researching what could hurt a snake, I found that snakes in Japan can fall prey to the Japanese weasel, which is also called Itachi which adds another layer to why Itachi in Naruto was too much for Orochimaru to handle.
