Toshinori knew that he shouldn't have stayed at Inko's longer than he should have, though he couldn't help but just couldn't stop himself. Those images that appeared in his head had bothered him. Why would he have such images about himself and Inko in the first place? What was it about those images that bothered him so much? It pained him, as if those were the last of a happy memory that he had ever had but, was it that?
Could he have had such a thing?
Did he have such memories that had another woman who just so happened to have looked like Inko in the first place? Not just her appearance was the same but also her name.
Toshinori remembered Inko telling him once that she was named after her ancestor, but that couldn't be the same person could it? After all, what would the chances be that he was a guard for a princess? Let alone her lover as that? Someone that the princess was willing to leave so they could be wed? It just didn't make any kind of sense yet, at the same time a part of him was screaming at him that it did make sense.
Letting out a soft sigh, the young man checked himself over in the mirror, he could see his reflection clearly so he was well fed for the most part. Though, he felt like he was a teenager going on their first date. And he hadn't been a teen in who knows how long.
Shaking his head, the vampire combed his hair as he tried to think on what they would find there. He knew that Inko was excited since it was about the mysterious warrior All Might, who happened to have been the guard for her ancestor.
Letting out a groan, Toshinori finished combing his hair before walking out of the bathroom, he double checked himself as he decided on a blue muscle shirt with a leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans with his usual boots. He knew that this wasn't the most usual thing to wear to a museum but he at least wanted to look… somewhat nice for Inko. This was nice right?
Looking over at the other bedroom, he knew that Shouta and Hizashi were asleep to the world, both having been up rather late watching movies when Shouta woke back up again. It was nice to see the raven haired man having some kind of fun while he was home. Even though it was the simplest of things. Yet, he couldn't help but be worried for the man as well, knowing that if anything they should be going out and enjoying life.
Even though he put his life on the line every time he stepped out those doors as a hero.
Shaking his head, Toshinori looked over at the fridge, he knew that he shouldn't but he wanted to make sure that he was well fed so he wouldn't be thinking of biting her. It sickened him just even knowing that he wanted to bite her for her blood even if it was in his nature to feed in the first place.
Taking a deep breath, he made his way over to the fridge and frowned as he saw that there wasn't a lot left in there. Then again that made sense, he had bitten Shouta so the man was gonna be a little slow when it came to the blood packets but he couldn't blame him for that. It was Toshinori's fault for drinking his blood in the first place.
Rubbing his forehead a little, Toshinori knew that he would have to be careful from here on out. He knew that he would have to find another source, though from what? He could hunt down animals for sure though, they weren't very filling plus, it felt wrong for him to want to hunt in the first place. He had survived this long without any kind of blood and yet here he was, trying to make sure that he didn't hunt or attack the green haired beauty that seemed to captivate him like no other.
He knew that there was a connection between the two, but what was it? What could it be that made him so protective of her in the first place? It just didn't make sense to him, though he knew that it had something to do with that song. Even though it was just a simple song, it was rather fleeting and short lived but he had felt… human again. Not for long, but he knew then what it was like to be a human again and he wanted it back yet, Inko… Just being around her was enough to make him feel like a normal human again and for that he was thankful.
Yet, she still hadn't thanked him but in a way she had already thanked him in ways that she could never think of. Inko said that she hadn't thanked him enough but heh, if only she knew. She had, by making him feel alive again. By making him feel as if he was a human instead of a monster who had to drink the blood of the living in order to survive.
It was a feeling that, if he was alive, he must have taken for granted all those years ago. When he was living the life as a human, he had to have taken it for granted, why else would he crave for a life now that he could no longer live it?
Letting out a soft sigh, the young man double checked everything, making sure that he had his wallet before he started to make his way out the door. May as well go and get Inko so they could make their way over to the museum. Yet, he felt a little hint of fear swelling within him. Why though? What could be there that he would be afraid of in the first place?
Tilting his head a little to the side, Toshinori knew that he shouldn't be afraid of anything in the first place. That there was nothing there that he should be afraid of in the first place. "Maybe I'm just nervous about Inko leaving me and finding me rather boring." He mumbled a little to the empty apartment before he let out a sigh of relief.
He knew Inko wouldn't just leave him like that. She was so kind, so gentle and loving. He knew that she would mother him if he allowed it when really, he should be the one looking out for her. If he could, he would have thrown his life away in order to keep her safe. He knew, that no matter what the cost would he, he would do all he could to make sure that she as safe from any and all that would harm her.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up his arm, causing him to gasp out as he held onto his left shoulder and fell to his knees. He knew that as a vampire, he had for the most part, some resistance to pain but right now it felt as if this was a pain that he's never felt before. Yet, at the same time it was a pain that he had felt once before, in a long forgotten memory.
But what could that spark of memory be?
Pulling down at the shoulder of his shirt, Toshinori looked at his shoulder only to frown. He didn't see anything different. Just the same smooth skin as he always saw… Other than those little dots that spotted his shoulder. He shrugged it off, taking a deep breath through clenched teeth before he started to make his way out of his apartment. He knew that the only thing that he should care about was to meet up with Inko at the museum and that was what he would do damn it.
Nothing would stop him from making Inko happy, that was his mission. To always keep her smiling and that was what he would always do no matter what.
Toshinori looked up at the museum. It was a bit away from the main floor as you had to climb white stone steps in order to get to the entrance. Yet, he wasn't going to complain about that as he was easily able to get up there. Inko though, he couldn't help but look down at her. She let out a sigh at all the stairs. Mumbling that she 'should have worked out more' but, he just chuckled.
"Don't like stairs huh?" Toshinori said with a chuckle.
"Not really no. They're evil, thanks to my short legs." Inko said with a sigh as she gazed up at the museum with a sad look on her face.
Toshinori frowned a little as he looked at her. He had an idea, though she may slap him a little for it but, he wanted her to be comfortable and if this was the only way for her to be comfortable then so be it. "Hold on." He said.
"Hold onto what?" Asked Inko. Only to squeal as Toshinori quickly wrapped his arms around her and lifted the green haired woman from the ground and held her in his arms princess style. "Toshi what are you doing?!" Inko squealed before wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing herself to his chest as she shook.
"I'm gonna carry you of course. You said you didn't like stairs, so I'll just have to carry you." He said with a chuckle escaping his chest. She peeked up at him, her face tinting pink as she gazed up at him. God, her eyes almost seemed to sparkle like emeralds and it made him wish that his heart would beat to show him what he was really feeling. But, he knew that he wanted to kiss her right now. Turning his gaze away, Toshinori started to walk up the steps, ignoring everyone that was staring at the pair.
"Toshi, they're staring." Inko whimpered with a soft tremble.
"Let them stare, they do not matter to me Inko. Only you do." He said with a soft smile on his face. Inko blinked as she gazed at Toshinori's soft blue eyes, the sparks that would pass by in his orbs seemed to have for the most part relaxed the green haired woman. She just smiled at him in return and leaned her head against his chest, though she frowned a little in confusion.
"Odd…"
"What is it?" asked Toshinori.
"Why don't I hear your heart?"
Fuck!
"I uh… I have a heart condition. My heart beats really slowly, I've had to readjust to my life as it was as there isn't really anything that they could do for that." Toshinori lied, god why did she have to find out about such a thing in the first place? Damn it! "I'll be fine, you don't need to worry about me."
"But…"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me Inko." Toshinori said with a soft smile on his face before he looked up. There were a few more people there, all of them of course were staring at them. Yet, it seemed that they weren't expecting people to come around and he thought that he could see them mumbling under their breaths to each other. Though, because of all the sounds that were surrounding him, he couldn't fully understand them in the first place.
"Toshi, you okay?" Inko asked with a frown, causing him to look down at the woman in his arms. "You look like you're about to fall over." Oh, he figured that with all of these voices ringing in his ears from those around him it was starting to become a little overwhelming.
Giving her a gentle smile, Toshinori calmly answered her. "I'm fine, just excited really." Which, in a way he was rather excited. He had hoped that maybe with this exhibit that he'll learn something about a past that he couldn't remember. "So, do you know anything about this All Might guy?" God, why did that name sound so familiar to him?
"Not much, he was a guard for my ancestor years ago, during the attack he had just kind of vanished. No one ever found his body nor his sword which, from what I've been told my ancestor had it made especially for him to go with his quirk that he had developed later on in life." Inko said with a shrug before looking up at Toshinori and saw as the man's expression was confused.
All of that sounded so damn familiar. Was he at least there, was he a worker in that place? No, he had to have been a warrior with this All Might guy, right? He had a sword, and was wearing a kimono of a warrior under a royal line but there had been no real records of a 'Yagi Toshinori' and it made him wonder if there was anyone there. God, he felt like he was so close yet at the same time that he was so far away from learning anything of his past. This was going to drive him mad. "So, what do you know about this guard?" asked Toshinori.
"From what I've read in the copies, it seemed that they were the best of friends and cared a great deal about each other. Yet, after the attack, it seemed that she refused to speak about him or even write about him." Inko said with a frown on her face. Odd, if they were friends, why would she just stop talking about him in there? Unless, the journal had been cut down a few pages and edited for the copies, so if that was the case, then what was written in the original?
They would have to keep the original the way it was or risk it losing its value both in the family and in the terms of it being priceless. Though, Toshinori knew that at some point he'd have to look at this book, a part of him was needing to read it, and he would do so at some point. For now, his main focus was to see what this place held for the two of them.
Once they got to the doors, Toshinori carefully set Inko down onto her feet as he said "Hope you didn't mind the ride. I tried to be careful with you with… well, with how tiny you are." He gave her a soft smile, he couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the blush creeping up Inko's cheeks. How could it be that just a simple change in her blood's flow to her cheeks could make her so cute? So adorable? He wasn't sure if it was due to his vampire senses or if it was the remaining human emotions that seemed to surface in him while he was around her.
"I didn't mind, you were rather gentle carrying me." Inko said with a soft smile on her face.
He rubbed the back of his neck in a bashful manor before he held out his arm saying "Shall we go in my lady?" Inko giggled a little before wrapping her arms around his forearm and walked with him into the museum. It didn't take them long to find the exhibit, as there were signs that lead them to their destination.
"At least we know where to go." Inko said with a smile on her face, Toshinori nodded in agreement. The area was already surrounded by people who all were gazing at the items that made up this exhibit. Tilting his head, Toshinori looked around and frowned a little as he walked with Inko over to a man as he started to begin a tour.
"As many of you all know, this is the exhibit to show off the great guard of the royal Midoriya line, All Might." Toshinori felt a twinge in his stomach at such a title. "As many of you all know, the Midoriya's are famous around Japan as the royal line who had been wiped out in a single night but the princess. It was said that the princess and her guard had made a daring escape, leaving her family behind as they tried to fend off the threat that had attacked them." Toshinori felt something trigger in his head. No, it wasn't what the man had said. There was more to it than that, but how would he know that in the first place?
Shaking his head, Toshinori followed the man as he started to go on with his tale. Toshinori couldn't help but notice a few flaws in the tales. Such as the guard being a quirkless human being who had been able to fight off any and all threats that had been against the princess. He felt like that was only half of the truth.
"Toshi, you okay?" asked Inko.
"I'm fine, I'm just… finding these facts hard to believe." Toshinori whispered softly.
"Why?"
"I don't know, just feels like everything he's saying are lies that he just concluded more than actual facts." Toshinori said with a frown.
"It is said though, that All Might came from a very poor village, having been orphaned at a young age due to sickness and war. He was saved by the Midoriya's to be a guard in exchange for food, water and a roof." No, that was wrong. So very wrong, yet there was also a hint of the truth there as well.
Shaking his head, the young man knew that he couldn't voice his problems, couldn't say what were all lies in the first place. It just didn't make sense to him at all, he knew that much for a fact but he couldn't help but just stand back and let this all go on. Letting out a groan, Toshinori looked on as they made their way over to a case that had an old and torn kimono that was, for the most part well preserved after all the passing years. "We believed from what evidence that we found, All Might was a rather tall man and very well built. Yet, the material is rather odd as it seemed that it is made out of stretchable fabric."
Toshinori's ears perked up at that part. He frowned a little before he tilted his head a little in confusion. Looking at the kimono, it was indeed, a strange kimono. Just like the one he woke up in… no that was just a coincidence. Nothing more. Yet, getting a closer look, he could see that most of the sleeve was gone on the left arm, the colours were of dark blue with red lining around the remaining sleeve, the bottom of the kimono and around the collar. How was it that anyone would wear such a thing?
Tilting his head, the young man looked over as the man made his way over to a weapon's case. "Now, I should warn you this is not the real sword."
"Why not?" asked someone from the crowd.
"Well, during our dig, we thought that we had found everything about this man. Yet, even the Midoriya's didn't have any kind of information about the location, but the sword has been missing for about five hundred years give or take." Toshinori blinked a little at that. "All we know, is that the sword was made out of a very durable type of stone that could handle the force of his quirk when he would use it." Toshinori started to tremble before he took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself.
"But what happened to it?" asked another.
"We believe that it was lost during the attack. The great guard, and hero, All Might had not just taken the princess away and to safety, but it is speculated that he had also died during the attack. The sword and his body were never found. No trace of his body was left behind when the princess went back to look for him." The princess had gone to look for her guard? But why? Why would she go back for her guard? Wouldn't a royal just look for another person to do the job for her?
"But why wasn't the body found?" asked woman in the back.
"We suspect that an animal took away his body though there was no blood left behind according to our discoveries." The man explained before turning his attention to the display case. "This is as close to the original sword that we could get based off of a painting that we found in the buried remains of the original castle of the Midoriya's home." Wait, no one bought the plot and tried to build on top of it? Strange.
"Why didn't anyone buy the land and just, build something on top of it?" asked Toshinori.
"Good question sir. You see, the reason is because the land itself is a historical land mark. It is full of history that no one had discovered yet so it has been left alone to the Midoriya's hand as it is still their land. We were given permission to go looking through the remains in the hopes of finding something." Answered the man with a smile.
Oh, that made sense.
The man walked away from the display case as he calmly said "Now, as for what we have discovered about All Might, was that he was indeed a very powerful man. No one could defeat him, he had amazing control over this strange and mysterious quirk of his."
"What was it?" asked someone in the crowd.
"That is the thing, no one ever learned what it was. The only thing that they know is that it seemed to have only belonged to the guards that would protect the family. We suspect that it is a quirk that is within anyone but only someone who has an understanding of this quirk would be able to help anyone release it." Calmly said the man with a small sad smile.
Toshinori knew that was wrong. It wasn't like that at all, but how would he know any of this in the first place. He looked down and saw Inko giving him a concerned look on her face. He smiled back at her, gently patting her hand that had tightened around him. "I'm okay." He whispered softly.
"Now, follow me and I shall show you a picture of the princess." The man said before everyone started to follow him.
"Why is a picture of the princess here?"
"Ah, even though this exhibit is all about All Might, the princess herself, was the one he was to protect and thus is also part of the exhibit." Toshinori frowned a little at that. "Do not worry, we will keep going on with our tour." The man said with a chuckle as he walked with everyone to the painting. "This, is Princess Inko, princess of the Midoriya royal line." Toshinori looked up and couldn't help but stare at her with wide eyes.
It was the woman he saw when Inko was singing to him.
Her kimono, it was elegant, keeping most of her body out from view which was normal back then. Yet, the colours, emerald, purple, blue, and red all covered the fabric in flower petals that almost seemed to dance in the wind as they all but danced by a gentle and caring breeze. Toshinori couldn't help but stare at her, her green eyes even though in a painting were filled with love, caring, compassion, kindness yet with a hint of sadness that made his heart ache.
"Toshi?" Came Inko's voice, causing him to look down at her with confusion. "You're crying." Blinking in confusion, the vampire reached up and gently touched his cheek and indeed, tears were spilling down his cheeks. What was going on?!
Shaking his head, the young man rubbed at his face, releasing his hold on Inko for a moment as he tried to get all of these tears to leave him alone. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" asked Inko.
"I… I don't know, I just felt as if my chest was being squeezed at. I don't understand it at all…" Toshinori whispered as he gazed down at Inko, wondering if tears were still rolling down his face, though it seemed that wasn't the case as she just gave him a concerned frown and just hugged him. "I'm okay…" He whispered, not really believing his own words at this rate.
"From what we gathered about the princess, she was to wed a lord who wanted her hand in marriage and her father was more than willing to do so." God, why did this sound like his dream… vision? Whatever it was at this point, he knew that it couldn't be anything else. Shaking his head, Toshinori held onto his head with his free hand, wondering why he had all of these problems with the man's theories. Why he kept thinking that they were wrong, or why only a few facts were indeed true.
It just didn't make any kind of sense to him at all.
"Toshi, do you wanna sit down?" asked Inko.
"No, I'm fine." Toshinori lied, giving her a calm yet gentle smile on his face.
Inko frowned a little, thinking that it was best for the man to sit down because of what he had told her about his 'health' condition. Though it seemed that she was going to let it drop for the time being. Turning back to the man who was giving a speech about the Midoriya's and the guard who was known as 'All Might'. Though, Toshinori knew that most of what this man said was nothing but spewed out lies that didn't make sense to him in the least.
Images would flash here and there before he shook the thoughts from his mind. He didn't know why they did, why he was feeling all of this in the first place, but knew that he wanted all of these images out of his head. They only hurt him in ways that he could never understand and felt like he would never ever fully understand in the first place. Taking a deep breath, Toshinori saw the group starting to walk on yet he didn't move. He just kept his gaze up on the image of the princess.
Her beauty frozen in time that showed him that she was, for the moment timeless to him. Yet, why did his heart feel pain when he gazed up at her? Feeling as if this was something that could have been but knew, that no matter what that this was something that could never be. She was a princess, and he would have been some kind of peasant at the time wouldn't he?
Frowning a little, Toshinori couldn't help but stare at the princess. Images once more popped into his head, causing him to frown a little. Images of her smiling at him, images of her crying out of deep emotional pain or even just physical pain. Her calling out a name, her giggling and filled with smiles and laughter.
"Toshi?" He blinked as he looked down and saw Inko as he saw that she stared at him with concern. He gave her a soft smile before patting her hand against his arm gently. "You gonna be okay?" she asked gently, almost afraid of his answer.
"To be honest? I don't know. I don't know what I should feel but I know that I am rather confused."
"Why?" asked Inko.
"It… it's something no one can really understand." He answered her honestly before he followed the group. Only to look back at the princess with a pained expression before ripping his eyes away from the painting and started to walk on ahead, wanting to catch up with the group once again. Though it seemed that Inko saw him took one last gaze at the picture before following him to catch up with the rest of the group.
"Now, we may not know what he had looked like after all those years of questions and theories as to what the man himself looked like, but what we didn't expect was to find an intact tapestry that has the man painted on with a picture of the princess." The man said with a big grin on his face. Toshinori of course couldn't help but roll his eyes with a small smile on his face as he followed them to stare up at the tapestry.
"When we had started our dig, we had found a secret tunnel which we believed to have been a hiding spot for the guard and his secret lover. We don't know who it was, or if he just used the tunnel to keep his personal possessions so no one would ever find them." The man began, making Toshinori frown a little in confusion. "There were many things, mostly other kimono's a few other weapons, a training ground among other things. And of course, an image of himself with the princess herself, the only one known to man."
Toshinori just sighed as he wondered why they were taking so long to just show it already. He was rather curious as to what this man looked like. Hell, maybe he had even seen the man in passing, or had even had drank from the man. Though, now that he thought about it he didn't remember drinking blood from anyone that had seen a woman that looked anything like Inko in the first place. Not even this princess woman for that matter.
So, what could have happened to this great warrior in the first place? If he was as powerful as he made himself out to be, then what happened to him? Letting out a groan, Toshinori felt like he was going to go crazy at the thought of this, that this whole thing would just drive him mad and maybe rather insane at the idea of waiting.
Inko pulled Toshinori down a bit before kissing his cheek. He blinked his eyes as he looked down and just stared at her in shock. Honestly, if he had a heartbeat, it would be beating rather quickly in his chest right about now. He gulped a little as he was about to ask why she had done such a thing until her smile had stopped him in his tracks. "You looked tense, you need to relax. They are just trying to draw this out to make it more interesting when it's revealed."
So she knew what they were doing. Giving her a soft smile, he knew that she was trying to help him relax, that he was being rather tensed. Though he couldn't help bit, he was tensed the moment he walked in here. He felt like everything here was sparking something deep within him, and he couldn't help but be rather confused about the whole feeling in the first place. It just felt as if everything was coming onto him rather strong and fast. As if a dam in his mind was cracking and this place was what was causing all of the damage in his minds dam. Oh man, this was going to be a strange day that was for sure.
"Now, behold the mighty hero, and guard of the Midoriya family, All Might!" called the man in some kind of grand gesture with his arms as a curtain fell away and Toshinori blinked a moment before his eyes slowly widened in shock and confusion.
"This is the great hero in all his former glory!" shouted the man with an excited smile on his face.
Inko gasped as she stared at the tapestry before turning to the blonde. "Toshi, he looks just like you!" Inko said with a smile, only for that smile to fade. "Toshi?" she called out to him yet it seemed that her words didn't reach him.
Toshinori just stared at the picture in shock, his eyes never leaving. Images flashing through his mind, it was no wonder why he had never learned who he was. It was no wonder why he could never remember anything about him as he tried to search for himself.
All this time, he was searching for a name that he wasn't even using at the time.
The image that stared down at him, was of the princess indeed, a soft yet loving smile on her beautiful face as she gazed upward at her guard.
As for All Might, he was the splitting image of Toshinori.
His posture was that of a warrior who had years of training under his belt, years of discipline built into him as he fought for life and death. Toshinori saw the look in his eyes, love was in the eyes of the man in the painting as he stared at the princess. How could this be? How could it be that he didn't remember such a thing? He had gone all this time… wondering, thinking where he came from and yet he didn't even have far to go?!
Lowering his head, Toshinori felt his body trembling, images flashing in his mind so quickly that he felt like he was getting some kind of whiplash. He wasn't sure if it would count as emotional whiplash or something else. All he knew was that he felt like this mind was being torn apart from all of these memories flashing through his head.
"Toshi?"
He held onto his head, breathing deeply as he tried to get himself to calm down, tried to get himself to relax yet no matter what it seemed that his mind wanted to work against him this time around. Breathing deeply, Toshinori backed up a few steps, causing Inko to stare at him in concern before she tried to grab onto him again. He shook his head, telling her to stay back as he tried to sort out his own mind.
Yet, it seemed that everything wanted to work against him.
Breathing deeper and quicker, it almost made it seem as if he was about to have some kind of panic attack at the way he was breathing so deeply and heavily. Inko wanted to reach out to him again, humming that song under her breath again. "Stop it!" he all but shouted, everyone staring at him for a moment before going back on with their business. Inko though just frowned a little, afraid for the blonde man as she tried to comfort him.
"I… I have to get out of here." Toshinori said before he started to run out of the museum. Inko of course, tried to follow but thanks to his vampire speed he was out of the building before she could even catch up to him. Toshinori took a deep breath, trying to get himself to calm down, tried to get himself to relax. What was he to do? What was he to think for that matter? He was getting images of a life that he felt like that they didn't belong to him in the first place.
Were these his memories his? Or were they someone else's? Were they his memories as a human? If so, how was he turned? When was he turned and why for that matter? Toshinori looked up at the sky and saw that it wanted to match his mood as the sky started to darken until rain started to fall. Toshinori clenched his teeth tightly feeling as if everything was ripping him apart. "Who am I!?" He all but cried out to the sky, no one was thankfully around him when he did such a thing.
"Toshi!" Shouted Inko, he turned his head and gazed at Inko, the rain pouring down his face as he gazed at the green haired woman. Yet, as he stared at her, he also saw the faded image of the princess behind her. It was as if her very ghost wanted to haunt him in the meantime. "Toshi, are you okay?" asked Inko.
"I… I don't know… I really don't know."
