i will not be tamed by the dark
chapter one
Aizawa paid attention to the humans living just outside the Woods of Remembrance—a peculiar people in the kingdom of Yuuei who, despite the odd and somewhat dark befuddlements that occur in the forest, were drawn to the landscape and put up refuge in the name of the Great Spirit of Harmony.
Peculiarly enough, all those who trekked to this area to set up camp ended up never leaving—and they were all similar families with selfless hearts and a kind nature as if it was by some spell that these particular types of people felt the same pull to these woods.
Of course, Aizawa knew that was exactly the case. The humans shrugged it off as a coincidence, but the reality was that it was by the power of the Great Spirit of Harmony herself that these kind humans were called out from the four corners of the kingdom to this particular part of the country.
The Woods of Remembrance was a beautiful place, where the creatures were friendly and the air acted like an elixir to wipe away life's stresses and turmoil. Despite the healing atmosphere of the woods, villagers strayed away from stumbling into the trees for it was a known fact that you never stepped into the same forest twice. The magic of the woods shifted the layout of the trees to protect the spring nestled at the heart and no amount of mapping could stop you from getting lost in the woods.
Just because he kept an eye on these humans didn't mean he had the time or the care to save them from the woods when they got lost inside.
Especially stupid, freckled, green-haired kids who'd sneak away from their mother as often as they could and wander into the forest with a leather-bound book and a stick of charcoal.
"You're a serious pain in my ass," The grumpy guardian of the Spring of Remembrance muttered to the kid, ensnaring the boy for what had to be the hundredth time in the wrappings around his neck and carrying him out of the woods. He sighed as the boy, despite being manhandled, continued to sketch in his book as he took in everything around him.
"What's your name, spirit?" The boy inquired, blocking in the form of a flower quickly and writing notes on it, all the while ignoring the spirit's grumpy remarks. Every time Aizawa ended up carrying his sorry hide out of the forest, he made sure to make the ride as bumpy as possible so that the boy's lines and sketches would be shaky and imprecise just to spite him.
"I haven't told you before, and I'm not going to tell you now," Aizawa replied, pausing to smell the air and listen to the music of the trees. He glanced at the boy, who couldn't be older than fourteen-years-old, and rolled his eyes at the shrewd gleam in his gaze, "I know you know what it would mean for me to offer you my name and yet you still ask?" How the boy even came upon such knowledge was a mystery to the guardian of the spring, but Aizawa knew he wasn't mistaking that look to mean anything other than the boy having a clear and strategic purpose to his questions.
"Doesn't hurt to try," He chirped, closing the leather notebook around the charcoal.
"I would be enslaved to you."
There was no point hiding that information when Aizawa was positive the boy already knew, but he was at least expecting some kind of reaction from the kid. But he only shrugged. Or, at least, he tried to. It was kind of tricky to shrug when you were wrapped up like this. How the boy always managed to wiggle his arms out to draw and write was beyond Aizawa.
Green eyes sparkled up at the spirit, and the smile offered to Aizawa was warm and playful. "I'd treat you well," He said with that same astute look in his eyes.
Aizawa snorted, not gracing that remark with a response.
A soft light filtered through the trees that could easily be mistaken for moonlight—but Aizawa knew better. They were being followed by the Great Spirit and that was enough to make the guardian groan in frustration. But for all the boy's smug intelligence, even he didn't notice the presence of his revered Spirit of Harmony. And that was enough to make him grin with mirth.
"How do you navigate these woods?"
Ah, yes. The second of the holy trinity of questions the boy would pester him with. Aizawa's gaze returned to the kid.
"You can't."
"Why not?" He inquired, mocking Aizawa's tone.
And there was the climax to the trifecta.
Which was good, because they were finally nearing the edge of the forest.
"How a tenacious brat like you got called into this neck of the country baffles me," Aizawa intoned, releasing the boy from his wraps as they broke through the trees and throwing him out onto the road that led back to his village. The moon was full and bright above them, peeking through the clouds that always seemed to settle over this part of the land, bringing in rain and vegetation, and keeping the air thick with humidity.
The boy got to his feet, dusting off his knees casually.
"You don't think I'm nice enough to be called to this part of Yuuei? Ouch." He pouted facetiously, placing a hand over his heart, "That hurts."
Aizawa's eyes widened in actual surprise.
"Where do you find your knowledge, boy?" He inquired, after a moment.
The boy's responding smile was all teeth. "I'm plenty nice, spirit," He continued as if Aizawa hadn't even spoken, "And I know whatever it is you don't want me to find at the center of this forest is the key to protecting my people."
Aizawa raised an eyebrow.
"What do you know about protecting a people? You're just a boy."
"So? You're just a grumpy spirit."
Aizawa rolled his eyes, forcing himself to relax despite the alarm he felt because of this boy's knowledge and stubbornness. "This is a time of peace." Aizawa watched that shrewd gleam filter across the kid's eyes again at his words. "Go home to your mother and rest," He commanded, turning his back on the kid, "And give her my regards. Unless," He smirked, looking over his shoulder at the boy, "she's unaware that you're sneaking off into the woods so frequently and recklessly?"
The kid sighed sheepishly, but never let his confidence and playfulness falter for even a moment.
"You win," He admitted, "But I'll be back. The name's Midoriya Izuku, by the way."
"I don't care," Aizawa shot back, waving his hand in a lazy farewell and then trudging back into the forest. He was well aware of the boy's name—Izuku only reminded him every time they crossed paths.
Aizawa trudged back into the woods, checking over his shoulder to make sure Midoriya had actually gone back to his village. He had. The guardian of the Spring of Remembrance sighed, turning to the soft light that had been following them this whole time.
"I'm not sure what you see in that boy," He said to the Great Spirit.
The Great Spirit glided forward, illuminating the trees around her. She was an ethereal spirit, taking whatever form she pleased—and right now that form was a nymph of light. Her tiny body was dressed in leaves, and her wings looked delicate like a butterfly's yet were strong and capable like a dragonfly's.
Her only response to her grumpy spirit companion was to make soft tinkling sounds that reminded Aizawa of laughter.
He shook his head.
"I hope you know what you're doing."
He began walking back to the center of the forest with the light of the Great Spirit following close behind him.
»»-¤-««
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Bakugou?" Kirishima inquired of his friend, wiping away the sweat that had gathered on his brow due to the summer heat and humidity. Even though the sun had long descended beneath the horizon, it was still hot and uncomfortable. He wasn't used to the muggy quality of the air—it'd only been a day and he already missed the mountainous terrain and dry air of their home.
Bakugou had one arm out straight, grip tight on his bow, while the other one held onto the end of the arrow, pulling back and aiming carefully. His aim followed something that Eijirou couldn't be bothered to notice, making an elegant line in the air, before letting go of the tension on the string and sending the arrow into the humidity. It connected with something solid—it always did—and Kirishima glanced over to see a bird fall from the sky.
Kirishima rolled his eyes at his king's posturing. No matter human or beast, night or day, Bakugou Katsuki was the best at hunting.
"How many times are you going to make me fucking console you about this, shitty hair?" Bakugou inquired, turning to his friend with a scowl while draping the bow over his shoulder and back.
Kirishima shrugged.
"I just don't see how hiding out near the Woods of Remembrance to spy on the humans is a smart idea when Aizawa hates your guts and you hate humans," As he spoke, he examined his fingernails—emphasizing his disregard for his king's very reckless plan.
Bakugou's brow wrinkled, "Fuck that sleepy guardian spirit! I ain't afraid of him!"
Eijirou sighed, leveling his friend with an exasperated look, "That's definitely not the point I was trying to make."
Bakugou peered over the edge of the small cliff they were standing on, and jumped down. Kirishima followed with another sigh.
"Look, hair for brains," Bakugou huffed as he stocked towards his kill, "I don't hate humans, I hate weakness. If we find the vessel of One for All—supposedly a strong ass human—I can create a blood bond with the fucker and then have access to our very own Great Spirit of Harmony's power. You following me?"
"There's another thing," Kirishima chirped, hands outstretched to brush through the shrubbery and leaves, "Blood bonds have to go both ways. What if this 'strong ass human' isn't willing?"
Katsuki scoffed, "Who wouldn't want a blood bond with the Beast King?"
"I can think of several people," Eijirou deadpanned.
"Yeah?" Katsuki intoned, "Well they can eat my ass."
Kirishima laughed.
"Sure they can," He agreed drolly, keeping pace with Bakugou as they neared his kill. "You know that I admire you as a king and a friend, and that's why I'm even here with you in the first place. I don't doubt you—I just don't think it'll be as easy as you're anticipating. And I especially think you need to be wary of Aizawa."
"Whatever," Bakugou acquiesced, throwing his thick leather cape, adorned with furs, over his shoulder and out of the way. He stooped down to retrieve the bird and yanked the arrow out of its body and shoved it into the ground as he worked to pull a leather cloth from his satchel. "Just keep an eye out for someone constantly wandering into the woods—they'll be strong. But still human, so they're not gonna be a match for you if you end up in a scuffle." He remained stooped down as he wrapped the dead bird in the leather and tied it off with a string. "What I gathered from that fucking bird with the shadow is that the next heir of One for All has yet to speak to the Great Spirit. But she'll make her move soon if that dark cloud streaming in from the south is anything to go by. And when she does, so will we."
Katsuki stood to his full height, and handed the kill to Eijirou who took it and placed it into his leather bag. Bakugou bent down again and pulled the arrow out of the earth to put it back in his quiver. Then he focused his red eyes onto his packmate, and clapped his palm on Kirishima's shoulder.
"Humans may inhabit the village, but we don't know what the hell lives in that forest. Howl if you need me."
Kirishima nodded, looking towards the south at the village that sat surrounded by green rolling hills with the comfort and protection of the Spring of Remembrance to its northeast. Rain clouds loomed over, blocking out the moon, and he really missed his dry mountains.
Bakugou removed his bow and quiver and handed them off to the redhead. Then he shucked his pants and cape and stuffed them in his satchel. "That fucking shadow bird spirit is worried about demons becoming more self-assured—killing off the fucking animals of the west. As the King of Beasts, I take that as a motherfucking declaration of war. I'm going to investigate." Katsuki's fierce red gaze resettled on Kirishima, and the redhead resisted the urge to bare his neck to his king.
"Meet me here in another seven days at this same time," He commanded Eijirou. Kirishima nodded again and watched his king transform into a golden-haired wolf—the largest of any of the wolves of their clan, standing taller than even his human form. The tattoos that adorned Katsuki's back and arms as a human were the same patterns found in the young king's fur. The clouds broke apart for a moment, and suddenly the markings on the wolf created an ethereal glow around his stature in the light of the moon.
Katsuki grabbed onto the satchel with his snout, gave a final nod to Eijirou and then bounded into the trees.
Kirishima sighed once again, and then began his trek towards the village.
»»-¤-««
Izuku woke up to his mother yanking his blankets away. Izuku groaned, immediately curling in on himself to try and hold onto the warmth that had been stolen from him. But his mother was conniving, and she followed up her initial attack by unlocking the hatches to his windows and opening up the wooden doors to let the light stream in all at once. Izuku shrieked, throwing his arms over his eyes.
"Wake up, Izuku," Inko huffed, shuffling over to his bed to smack his face repeatedly.
"Let me sleep," Izuku whined, swatting at the pestering hands.
Inko snorted, "The water isn't going to fetch itself this morning."
"The water should learn to fetch itself," Izuku sassed quietly, praying that his comment would fall on deaf ears.
"Izuku."
It hadn't.
»»-¤-««
"Morning, Izuku!" Uraraka called to him as he approached the well on the outskirts of their village. She had her hair tied up today and she was wearing tan slacks underneath her tunic—she must be helping the Kouda's with their goat herding before she aided her dad with his lumber business today.
Izuku appreciated the push and pull of her arm muscles as she yanked on the rope to recover her bucket from the bottom of the well.
"Morning, Ochako," He replied, smiling weakly.
"Late night again?" She inquired, beaming much too brightly considering the ungodly hour.
"It wouldn't have been a late night if the morning didn't come so damn quickly," He grumbled, lifting the wooden bar that his water buckets were dangling from off his shoulders and setting it down on the well to patiently wait his turn. He hummed in thought as he leant his arms against the post of the well, "You ought to come into the forest with me sometime, Ochako. It's a lot more interesting when it's not just me."
"And listen to you mutter on and on about magic and plants?" She scoffed good-naturedly, "I'm gonna have to pass. Besides. My parents would chop me to bits if they knew I was sneaking into the trees at night." She yanked one final time on the rope, than hooked it to the edge of the well so that she could retrieve her bucket. Then she started the process over with her second bucket.
"It's not a dangerous place," Izuku argued.
"Isn't there a grumpy spirit that watches over the woods?" She inquired, waiting a moment before yanking once again on the rope.
"Aw, he doesn't bite," Izuku mused, unhooking his own buckets from the bar they were restrained to.
Ochako let out an exasperated breath, "Of course you've met him."
Izuku chuckled, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows as Ochako unlatched her bucket and set to work hooking them to her wooden bar. Izuku took her place and allowed his bucket to drop into the depths of the well until he heard it splash against the water.
Ochako squatted down and got the bar situated on her shoulders.
"Koji, Asui, Kendo, Tenya and I are all meeting up at the lake close to sunset," She hummed with a friendly smile, "Would you wanna join us?"
"Sounds like fun!" Izuku replied, working his biceps and triceps and the muscles in his forearms as he pulled the water up. "If I'm not there, it's because Yagi is grinding my ass to the nub with work."
"Tell him hi for me!" She chirped, turning away from him and starting down the path that leads back to the village. "Oh!" She said, as if just remembering something. She turned back to face him. "Almost forgot! My dad told me that another traveller stopped at the inn late last night. Some guy with red hair and weird tattoos. And apparently he waltzed into the market place half naked this morning and nearly gave some of the elderly women a heart attack. I heard he hailed from the Mountains of Fire."
Izuku's ears twitched.
"A wolf?" He inquired.
Ochako shrugged, hiking the bar up to readjust her hold on it, some of the water sloshing out.
"Is he staying long?"
Ochako nodded, "He was talking to my dad about the resources he'd need to build a house. S'how I even know about any of this."
"Hmm," Izuku hummed, securing his rope to the hook and replacing the full bucket with the empty one, "Interesting."
Ochako laughed, "Sure it is. Just thought you'd eat that information up. Looks like I was right. Bye, Izuku!"
"Bye!"
»»-¤-««
Izuku walked into Yagi's blacksmith studio and immediately frowned. Yagi kept a couple of large barrels of water in the corner—he'd put them up on the edge of the workshop table and Izuku had been meaning to switch them out. But the job had already been done, apparently sometime after the boy had left yesterday in the evening. But that shouldn't be possible. The only ones with keys to the studio were Izuku and Yagi himself, and Yagi was far too frail to manage that all by himself.
But this wasn't the only time things like this occurred. Izuku had noticed these sorts of things since he started apprenticing under Yagi just a year ago. If it wasn't the barrel, Izuku would walk in to see way too many new swords and tools crafted for the time allotted to the blonde man, all perfectly displayed on the workshop table. Or the crates of metal were moved and organized out of nowhere.
And Yagi was really obvious about it. And Izuku still couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. It drove him up the wall. And whenever the boy would ask the older man, Yagi would start in on a terrible joke that'd make the blonde laugh hard and long enough that Izuku would get annoyed and leave the man to his laughter.
"Izuku, my boy!" Yagi's voice sounded from behind him, startling Izuku. Izuku turned around to see him walking in from the front of the store, hair unkempt and wearing baggy clothes as per usual. The blonde man came forward and clapped the younger man on the back. "Good to see you're surviving yet another morning! Don't worry! I'll have ya wishing you were dead before too long!"
Izuku groaned.
»»-¤-««
Kirishima strolled leisurely through the dirt pathways of this tiny village with an amused smile on his face. One of the nice old ladies selling clothing at one of the vendors in the market place had forced a tunic over his shoulders and the fabric was surprisingly soft against his chest and abdomen. She'd offered it for free and, even though Eijirou found their awkward behaviors towards immodesty hilarious, he'd accepted the gesture and clothed himself for her sake. And then, seeing a bandana that he thought looked badass, he gave the lady a piece of gold and tied the fabric around his neck.
Currently he was biting into an apple he'd traded for some fire berries, glancing around him at the different shops this village had to offer. He was on the lookout for strong looking humans, but so far everyone he'd met seemed small and unimposing.
He was also looking for work—if he was going to keep an eye on this people, he'd need to make it seem like he was invested in this town for the long haul. Besides. Getting a job sounded fun!
"Huh," He said, mouth full of half-chewed apple bits as he noticed a quaint potion shop nestled on the top of a small hill. It was connected to the side of a tiny cobblestone home where there was a garden out front—different herbs and plants and flowers were growing easily in the rainy weather. The wooden sign posted at the beginning of the path that led up to the shop was beautifully decorated with elegant calligraphy and precise illustrations of different plants and flowers.
"Midoriya's potion shop," Kirishima read, biting into his apple again.
The wolf shrugged and started making his way up the hill.
The door to the shop opened with a ring of a bell, and Kirishima waited patiently for the soft footsteps scurrying from the back to grow closer. There were potted plants adorning the counter—an open window was spilling light onto them, and Kirishima guessed they were plants that didn't do as well in the rain. Eijirou's mouth opened into a small 'o' as he admired the large bookshelf behind the counter holding what had to be thousands of vials containing differently colored potions.
A short lady with green hair and a soft smile rounded the corner that led into the back. Kirishima walked over to the counter, leaning his weight onto his elbows and smiling at the woman kindly. She blinked, smile faltering for a moment as she eyed up his sharp teeth and the tattoos running down the length of his exposed forearms.
"Good morning!" Eijirou greeted cheerfully.
"Morning," She replied, smile returning in full force at his friendly nature, "You're not a familiar face. Just passing through?"
Kirishima shook his head, "The name's Kirishima Eijirou. Are you Midoriya—?"
"Inko. Midoriya Inko."
He nodded, beaming, "The Uraraka's are going to help me build a small home just down the road—kinda closer to the Woods of Remembrance—and I'm looking for work! Do you man this shop by yourself?"
Inko nodded, "My son used to help me out, but now he's apprenticing with the local blacksmith. It's a quiet business, anyways. You might have a better time finding work at the Kouda's just west of here—they're always looking for strong kids to help herd their goats."
Kirishima pouted. "Aw," He whined cutely, eyes round like a dog begging for food, "But you're such a nice lady, Miss Midoriya! I was really hoping to work in this cute little potion shop." He grinned at her, charming and warm. He glanced again at the potted plants soaking in the sunlight through the window.
"Is that a burning heart?" He inquired excitedly, recognizing the flower from home. He frowned at the droopiness of its stem, "What's it doing in the sun?"
Inko raised an eyebrow, "You know much about that flower?"
"Of course!" He twittered, "They're everywhere from where I'm from. They don't need much sunlight—they like the shade and do really well in dryer conditions!" Kirishima poked at the flower thoughtfully. Rain began to fall outside, drops of water falling onto the windowsill.
Inko eyed his intrigue of the dicentra and hummed in thought.
»»-¤-««
Izuku just about collapsed in pure delight when Yagi told him his work was enough for the day.
"You really need to hire someone else to help you out, Yagi," Izuku grumbled to the man on shaky knees, accepting part of a loaf of bread from the man and biting into it eagerly.
"Nonsense!" Yagi insisted, snagging a bite from his own bread with a smile, "You're more than enough to get the job done!" He clapped his hands together, "Now! I overhead young Asui mentioning a trip to the lake at sundown? Run along and have some fun, Izuku!" He held out a bag full of coins—Izuku's pay for the day.
Izuku nodded gratefully, taking the bag and tying it to his belt. He trudged towards the door, waving goodbye to his teacher.
"Ochako says hi, by the way," He called to him from the doorway.
Yagi laughed, "That girl! I hardly ever see her anymore. Let her know that she works too hard for me?"
"Sure thing!" Izuku said, leaving the blacksmith shop and immediately turning west. Despite his screaming muscles and aching bones, Izuku bounded forward, eager to greet his friends and have fun for once in his life. The sun was nearing the horizon, casting a golden glow on the village and Izuku knew that soon everything would look blue and the mosquitos would emerge to torment them all. The rain from the day had dissipated, leaving the clouds fluffy and dispersed. The sunset lit them up in beautiful ways and Izuku thanked the heavens for allowing him to live in such a wonderful village.
He waved at Tenya's mom as he passed near the inn. She was out picking strawberries from her garden now that the heat of the day was beginning to subside a bit. As he neared Asui's house, he stopped to pet the village cat that liked to climb the Tsuyu's two-story home.
"Hey," He said as he stopped to catch his breath, scratching behind her ears. She meowed softly at him when he got back to his feet a moment later. He chuckled at the cat and sprinted off towards the lake.
"Izuku!" Tenya called from the shore, waving wildly.
"Izuku!" Ochako exclaimed, as he neared his friends. Izuku noted that she was kicking water good-naturedly at Asui who was floating on her back in the shallow part of the lake. "You made it!" Ochako grinned up at him.
Kouji waved at him, smiling softly.
They were all dressed to swim—the girls in nothing but their white wraps and Tenya and Kouji wearing nothing but their slacks that they'd rolled up to their knees.
"Yagi work you to the bone, Izuku?" Kendou inquired from where she was sitting in the water. She was wringing her orange hair out so that she could more easily put it up into a bun, "We hardly get to see you anymore!"
Izuku chuckled, plopping down next to Tenya and divesting himself of his shirt instantly.
"You're all one to talk!" He accused, "Even Yagi says that Ochako works too hard. And the rest of you aren't better off! You're all probably beat right now."
"Yeah," Asui conceded, feet kicking her through the water, "But we don't lose sleep to venture into the forest."
Kouji nodded in agreement.
"Hey, hey," He placated, hands held up defensively, "I'll get a good night's sleep tonight if you're all really that worried about me." Izuku cringed at his own words, because he already could feel the overwhelming urge to walk into the forest and feel the healing air it had to offer.
"Of course we're worried, Izuku" Kendou offered, "You look like you wanna murder people in the mornings."
Izuku snorted, following Tenya and Kouji's lead and beginning to roll up his slacks.
"I think that's going a bit far."
Kendou shook her head, turning to the others, "What do you guys think?"
"She's got a point, Izuku," Tenya agreed, standing up and walking closer to the edge of the water.
"Yeah," Ochako said, "You're scary when you wake up."
"They're right," Asui intoned.
Kouji shrugged sheepishly.
"Pffft," Izuku waved at the air like their suggestion was ridiculous, "You're all just disgusting morning people."
They all laughed, and the six of them dove into the lake to splash around and play games. At one point, Ochako ended up on Tenya's shoulders with Izuku perched on top of Kouji's. They wrestled like that, trying to push the other one into the water. Ochako won by tickling Izuku's side.
"Cheater!" He declared, tackling Tenya and using his heel to make the taller boy lose his footing. Ochako shrieked when she was let go of, falling into the water with sizeable splash. Asui laughed at their antics, content to swim around them while Kendou teamed up with Ochako to get their revenge on Izuku.
"Hey," Izuku said happily, not even struggling to escape the headlock Ochako had around his neck, "Did any of you get to meet the traveller from the Mountains of Fire today?"
Tenya raised his hand enthusiastically. "I did!" He proclaimed, "He's quite the cheery fellow, but didn't seem to know what a shirt was!"
"Do you think he's a wolf?" Izuku questioned, eyes going wide at the prospect of meeting someone from the south mountains.
Tenya shrugged, wading through the water lazily.
"It would be pretty cool if he was a wolf," Kendou inserted, "We've never had a wolf pass through before. I thought their race was pretty reserved and liked their isolation?"
"They do," Izuku muttered, "S'why it's so surprising for one to be here in the first place—not to mention wanting to stay. It's unheard of. I mean, if he even is a wolf."
Ochako frowned, "Maybe something happened to his clan?"
They all shrugged, getting back to their fun.
When they returned to the shore, it was completely dark around them except for the glow of the full moon. Tenya had brought some rags for them to use to dry themselves off, and they all got dressed while chatting and laughing. Their stomachs were rumbling, and it was truly time to retire to their homes.
Izuku stayed back.
"I thought you said you'd get a good night's sleep tonight, Izuku?" Ochako prodded, waiting to make sure her friend was okay.
Izuku smiled at her.
"I just like looking at the stars," He explained, "I'll go home soon."
She nodded, accepting his answer and following the rest of their friends back into the village.
Izuku laid back on the sand, gazing up at the sky with a smile on his face.
His friends were the greatest—it always amazed him how much fun he had with the kids his age in this village. He and his mother had moved here a few years ago from the south—a land where the people were riddled with all kinds of different magical abilities. Izuku had often been made fun of for being normal.
His father, an ambitious man with an awesome power of breathing fire, had one day wandered off to fight demons antagonizing their town—he hadn't returned. Inko had always been drawn to this part of land, marveling about how nice it would be to live near the Great Spirit of Harmony.
Imagine his surprise when they'd gotten here and most of the kids were as normal as he was—or just didn't seem to care whether or not Izuku could do anything fancy. Ochako had magical abilities—notably her affinity to healing and helping other's quite literally lighten their load. Asui could hold her breath underwater for much longer than a normal human, and had an easier time swimming than the rest of them. No one knew for sure, but they were all pretty certain that Kouji could talk to animals.
And the rest of them were…pretty normal.
Izuku loved it.
But there was still something about this village—some hidden power that he knew was hiding somewhere. It was part of the reason that he felt so drawn to creep into the woods nearly every night. The dark forces at play in the south had to be gaining momentum—something was definitely off in the land—and Izuku was going to grab hold of the light that sat at the center of the woods. He would protect the kindhearted people living in humble village.
He sat up when he heard the rustle of bushes.
A golden wolf had emerged from the trees. Izuku stared at it with wide eyes, taking in its large stature and gulping. Judging by its size and the precise patterns adorning its fur, it had to be a wolf from the south. Somewhere inside the beast, behind those red eyes that seemed to glow even from this distance, there was a man sizing Izuku up.
Izuku could tell by the beast's widened eyes that the creature was just as surprised to see him as Izuku was to see the wolf. The beast stood while Izuku sat, and for a moment they didn't move at all. Then, the wolf huffed. And…rolled its eyes? Was it sneering at him?
The wolf crept up to the lake to lap at the water, ignoring Izuku.
Izuku had so many questions for the wolf, but it was apparent that the beast couldn't be bothered by the small human.
Izuku saw the wolf's ears twitch, saw the beast turn its head back towards the trees, could hear the rustling of the trees as something from the trees on the western side of the village approached the lakeside.
The wolf growled at Izuku as if to tell him to leave, and then placed himself in front of the boy, facing the trees and ready to pounce should something attack. The rustling grew louder, as if whatever was in there was multiplying. Izuku's feet were frozen to the ground. The wolf barked at him, startling the boy. He gasped, turning away from the lake and towards the trail that would lead back to the village. He paused as he reached the dirt path, glancing behind him.
The trees were shaking.
And then darkness erupted from the forest, and it was headed straight for Izuku.
"Run, you idiot!" A deep voice shouted at him. Izuku glanced over to see a young man—a nude young man—running at the darkness. Izuku blinked, trying to make sense of the man's features. Besides clearly seeing light spiky hair, it was impossible for Izuku to make out anything else in the nighttime. Especially when he was moving so swiftly. Evidently, the wolf had only transformed to yell at Izuku, because the next second he was a wolf again and he was sinking his canines into the belly of the dark form. The wolf growled, it's eye trained on Izuku and clearly wondering why he hadn't made a run for it yet.
Izuku gulped and nodded.
He ran straight home.