guys guys guys i really like this chapter and i'm really excited about the next few chapters aaaah
ALSO! The ask box is a go! Go to ask-icefall . tumblr . com and send me your questions, your comments, or your miscellaneous keyboard smashes! I will answer with a drawing of the Icefall kids, in character and everything!
I may not answer right away though. Art takes a while. I'll get around to your ask eventually.
Walking into Yuuei is surreal. With every footstep, Izuku's heart rises in his throat. He doesn't know what to feel. It's overwhelming: the lights, the sounds, the people, the memories. It's a rush of color and movement and it takes him back to a time when things were simpler, when his life made sense and the world was whole.
"This is insane," says Ochako quietly. Izuku nods in agreement, because it is insane. Yuuei is, more than anything, so profoundly alive that it's almost surreal. The inn back at Ochako's village had had nothing on this.
Shouto takes a step closer. His face is blank but his eyes are scared.
"Hey," says Izuku under his breath. "Are you okay?"
Shouto meets his gaze and holds it for a moment before replying. "I...yes. I think so."
Izuku nods. "Okay."
"Hey! Watch it!"
Izuku turns; behind him, Kacchan is growling furiously at a frightened looking boy a few years younger than them. From what Izuku can tell, it looks like the boy had bumped into Kacchan and spilled a bucket of snow all over his front. Kacchan looks furious.
"Um. Sorry, sir, I'm sorry," mumbles the boy, reaching out with tentative hands to brush the snow from Kacchan's front. Kacchan snarls at him and pushes him away.
"Don't fucking touch me. What are you doing carrying a bucket of snow around, shithead?"
The boy flinches. "I was...we were gonna make a snowman."
"Well next time, watch where the fuck you're going," snaps Kacchan. The snow is already steaming on his shirt, plumes of smoke rising from his hair and the faint scent of burning cloth filling the air. The boy mumbles another apology before grabbing his now-empty bucket and running off.
Izuku chews on the inside of his lip. He should say something, he really should, but—
"Hey there, friend! That was kind of uncalled for, don'tcha think?"
They turn as a group. The voice, loud and energetic, is not one Izuku recognizes; it's coming from a boy his own age, with violently red hair and a shark-like grin. He'd been under the awning of a nearby shop during the whole exchange and is now approaching with his hands shoved casually into his pockets.
"The fuck did you say?" snaps Kacchan.
The newcomer raises his hands placatingly and shrugs. "All I'm saying is, that wasn't very manly, was it?"
"Manly?"
Tenya steps forward, pushing his glasses further up his nose as he does so. "He has a point, Bakugou, although I wouldn't have used those exact words. That child simply forgot to watch where he was going. It didn't require you to shout at him like that."
Kacchan rounds on him, glaring. "Shut up, Four-eyes."
"Hey, man, calm down," says the newcomer, somehow still smiling. He's beginning to remind Izuku of Ochako; he seems completely unfazed in the face of Kacchan's usual violent bluster. "It's not a big deal. I'm just saying maybe you should try being a little nicer."
"I'll show you nicer—"
Izuku lets out a nervous chuckle and moves to intervene. Shouto's hand reaches for him and latches onto his shoulder with a vise-like grip, cold as ice even through the layers of cloth. Izuku risks a glance behind and sees that his friend has the hood of his parka pulled low over his head and his eyes are downcast so that his face is hidden in shadow. He's impossible to distinguish, and it's very unlikely that anyone would recognize him, even supposing Endeavor had somehow managed to travel this far ahead of them.
There's the sound of a small explosion and a puff of smoke. Oh, right. Kacchan.
"Ah, sorry about Kacchan, he's just...um...anyway, we should, uh. We should be going, shouldn't we? Haha. Uh. Yes, we need to, we need to find a place to stay. So we should get going! Before all the places close." He turns to the stranger and tries to make his smile look a little less nervous. "Thank you for. Um. Yeah."
The newcomer's crimson eyebrows soar up his forehead. "Oh, are you looking for a place to stay?"
"Um—"
"Yes!" exclaims Ochako, bouncing forward and smiling wide. "Do you know one?"
The newcomer's eyes light up at her enthusiasm. "Yeah! I actually work at an inn! Come on, I'll take you there!"
"Great!"
Izuku exchanges a glance with Shouto. The other boy gives him a slight, almost imperceptible nod, and Izuku inhales deeply.
"Okay, then," he says under his breath. "Let's go."
"Oh," says the red-haired boy. "I never introduced myself, did I? The name's Eijirou. Eijirou Kirishima." He shoots a grin over his shoulder, unfaltering in his cheeriness. "What are your guys' names?"
Something bright bubbles in Ochako's stomach. Izuku and his friends are nice, and of course she'll always love Tenya, but it feels like forever since she's had someone who'd be willing to just laugh with her. It's been a heavy few days, emotion-wise, and Eijirou's shining positivity is like a breath of fresh air. It gets tiring, trying to keep an entire group of people afloat.
Maybe now she has help. Maybe now she won't have to lift their spirits on her own.
"I'm Ochako Uraraka," she introduces. "It's really nice to meet you!"
"So are you guys new in town?" asks Eijirou. Ochako nods enthusiastically.
"Yep! I actually didn't know there was a city here until recently. Tenya over there runs a trading post; he told us."
Tenya catches her pointing and drifts closer. "Have you been to Yuuei before?" asks Eijirou, and Tenya nods.
"Only once a year for a supply run. We're three days from here, so it's not worth the risk to come often. Mostly I just make runs around south Endeavor, and occasionally the northern Yuuei settlements."
"Tenya, was it?" says Eijirou, offering his hand to shake. Tenya takes it with a nod.
"You work at an inn?"
"Yep! It's pretty nice, too, if I do say so myself. I work there with a few friends of mine. The owners are really cool, too." Eijirou's face lights up and his steps begin to bounce slightly. "I think you'll like it there!"
"Great!" cheers Ochako. She dances backwards a few steps and pokes Izuku in the arm. He startles, and the almost offended expression on his face sends bubbles of laughter up Ochako's throat. "Izuku, cheer up! You too, Shouto!" She forces her grin wider—though it isn't all that hard at the moment—and moves over to Katsuki. "Hey, same for you! We have a nice place to stay, and already we've met someone nice!"
Katsuki stares at her like she's lost her mind. "The fuck is wrong with you?"
"Eijirou's great! Go on, make a friend for once!" Ochako latches onto his arm with both hands and bodily shoves him in Eijirou's direction. The Yuuei native raises an eyebrow at her and she sends him a thumbs up, trying to hide her giggles.
"You're enjoying this," says Tenya. Ochako turns her head towards him and settles down a bit, old snowflakes fluttering down around her feet as they are released from the wind she hadn't realized she'd stirred up.
"Yeah." She steps closer to him so that their arms are brushing, the contact comforting. "I mean, I love home, and I love my parents, but it's been a while since I've been somewhere new, you know? It's just been the same people and the same place for the last seven years."
Tenya nods. "I understand."
"I mean, you do deliveries, so you get to see people, but I'm just sorta...stuck, you know?"
"I know."
Ochako shakes herself with a sigh and glances over her shoulder at Izuku and Shouto. "I hope they're okay."
Tenya follows her gaze and frowns. "Why wouldn't they be? Didn't Izuku say he likes people?"
"Yeah, but saying it and meaning it are two different things. He didn't even know my village existed, let alone a city. And from what they've told us, Shouto's been isolated for years. Aren't you worried they might get overwhelmed?"
Tenya reaches up with one hand and pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "I suppose that is a concern. We'll just have to keep an eye on them and hope for the best."
"How long will that last? I don't feel good about leaving them, but we can't stay with them forever."
A beat of silence. Their feet crunch on the snow and conversation surrounds them. Up ahead, Katsuki is sulking while Eijirou talks excitedly at him, and behind them Izuku is saying something to Shouto that's too quiet for Ochako to hear.
"I think," says Tenya at last. "That we'll just have to see how things go."
True to Eijirou's words, it is a very nice inn. Standing at two stories high, it is made of expertly hewn wood and emits a cheery sort of feeling. A yellow awning hangs over the doorway, and when they walk beneath it, the light cast by the lanterns above filters through warmly.
That's one difference about the city; even though it is night, the old-fashioned oil street lamps and lanterns by every doorway illuminate the street, chasing the shadows back and pushing away some of the creeping chill of nighttime. It is so very different from the castle, with its cold stone walls and overwhelming darkness.
Shouto pulls his scarf tighter around his neck. Despite the welcoming feel of Yuuei's streets, he can't help but think of the last time he'd stayed in an inn. The last thing he wants is a repeat of those events.
The fact that that's extremely likely doesn't make him feel any better.
"It'll be different, this time," Izuku had promised him quietly. "Eijirou seems really nice, and there's no way En—your father could have made it here before us. And in any case, there's so many people here that it'll be easy to blend in. I mean, look at Eijirou! His hair's as red as yours! You'll be fine, I promise."
"And what if it's not fine?" Shouto had asked, in such a low murmur that he hadn't thought he'd been heard.
"Then we'll leave," Izuku had replied, as if it were really that simple. "We'll keep running until your father can't reach us. We'll go as far as we need."
And Shouto hadn't said what he'd thought, that Izuku would have to leave now, and not to run away. Very, very soon now, Izuku is going to have to go home.
The thought makes Shouto cringe. Something inside him, something he'd thought long since iced-over, shifts uncomfortably, and it feels a little too much like flame for Shouto to identify it as anything other than fear.
But he pushes it down. Right now, he has other concerns, like the roomful of people he'd just walked into.
There's a moment of déjà vu as the door swing shut behind him, and frost creeps across his fingers beneath the fabric of his gloves. But unlike the last inn, conversation does not halt at their entry. The people inside continue with their merriment as if the door had not opened at all.
Izuku's hand slips into his and squeezes. Shouto swallows hard and catches his friend's gaze for a heartbeat, hoping to convey his strength.
Izuku smiles.
"It's going to be fine," he mouths, and for a moment Shouto almost believes it.
At first glance, the counter serving doubly as a reception desk and a bar is unmanned. When they approach it, however, Eijirou raps his fist on the counter.
"Hey, anybody here?"
There's a groaning sound, like somebody being woken from the dead, and then a disheveled looking figure rises from where they'd apparently been lying on the floor behind the counter.
"Kirishima," says the man. He appears to be in his mid-thirties, though it's hard to tell around the massive bags under his eyes. His hair, black and tangled, hangs loosely around his face and shoulders, ungroomed and unshorn as if he'd simply been too tired to manage it. "What is this?"
"They're new!" replies Eijirou brightly. "They don't have a place to stay and I figured we must have a few rooms open!"
The man levels his bored gaze on each of them before returning to the red-haired boy before him. The hair on Shouto's neck prickles as it sweeps across him, and he has to clench his hands into fists to resist the temptation to run.
"We have a few," agrees the man. "But not enough for all of them. They're going to have to share."
"That's fine!" says Izuku, amiable as always. "We're okay with sharing. We'd just like to have a roof over our heads."
"Hmm," says the man. He appears to be inspecting Izuku for a moment, and Shouto fights the urge to step in between them. Then the man's gaze drops and he pulls a book from under the counter. He doesn't speak for a moment as he scans the pages, before returning it to its spot and withdrawing two pairs of keys.
"Rooms 6 and 10," he says.
"Great!" says Eijirou, and takes the keys before turning around and gesturing for them to follow. "Come on, I'll show you where they are."
Shouto nods, face still downcast, shadows still hanging in his eyes, and moves with the rest of the group.
"Kirishima," calls the man before they can get too far, and the group stops. Eijirou turns over his shoulders and raises his brows questioningly.
"Yeah?"
"You don't need to come in tomorrow."
"Oh." Eijirou lifts a hand into a thumbs up and nods. "Ok. I wanted to help show these guys around town anyway."
"Fine."
With that, the man disappears behind the counter again, and Eijirou resumes walking towards the stairs.
"What was that about?" asks Izuku, voice tentative. Eijirou glances to the side.
"Oh, it's nothing."
There's something about the way he says it that makes Shouto suspicious. It's almost too casual, like he's purposefully trying to divert their attention. So far, however, Eijirou has given them no reason to think he is untrustworthy, so Shouto reluctantly decides to let it slide.
Rooms 6 and 10 are across the hall and a few doors down from each other. Eijirou points them out and informs them that each has two beds; they're an uneven number, so someone's going to have to share.
"I'm not sharing," growls Bakugou, and plops down on the bed nearest the door. Shouto does not fail to notice that despite his glower, he still waited to see which room Izuku would be in and followed after him.
Bakugou does not hate Izuku as much as he claims, Shouto thinks. His anger, though real to an extent, is boosted by a hateful facade. It's a shield, and behind it, perhaps, is an urge to protect and a thick pool of guilt.
Shouto looks at the remaining bed. He looks at Izuku.
"I guess we're sharing."
Izuku nods, and for some reason he looks flustered. Shouto can't fathom why; they've slept together before, pressed against each other on the couch in the castle. There'd been significantly less room between them then than there will be in this bed.
"Hey," calls Bakugou from where he's already burrowed under the covers. "Shut up and go to sleep before I set both of you on fire!"
Shouto shares another glance with Izuku. Then they move towards the bed.
They end up lying back to back. They aren't touching, but Shouto can feel the warmth of Izuku's body regardless. They don't speak, and for a while Shouto thinks Izuku is already asleep.
"Goodnight, Shouto," whispers Izuku into the silence. Shouto rolls over so that he is looking up towards the ceiling, and for a moment, his arm brushes against Izuku's back.
He feels warm.
"Goodnight."
The girl crouches on the rooftop. Moonlight turns her into nothing more than a silhouette and glints prettily off of her knives. Pretty little things, pretty metal to cut pretty scars.
Pretty like blood. The girl giggles.
"You're a pretty thing too, aren't you?" she croons into the night. Down below, a boy sleeps soundly, warmer than he has been but not quite as safe as he thinks. "Pretty boy. I bet some scars would make you prettier, though."
An owl calls in the night. The girl straightens and spins once, fingers trailing through the air like frayed pieces of cloth or reaching, grasping claws.
"Better go tell the boss before he gets mad. Maybe he'll let me have the pretty, pretty boy. Maybe he'll let me make him prettier."
With one last laugh, high and shrill, the girl leaps from the rooftops and disappears into the shadows.
The morning dawns cool and bright, the scent of breakfast seeping through the cracks in the floor and setting Izuku's stomach grumbling.
They rejoin Ochako and Tenya in the hallway and head downstairs as a group. Shouto is at Izuku's back, hood pulled low over his head, and Izuku remembers how nice it had been to sleep at his side. It had felt warm and safe; it had felt a little bit like home.
Izuku clamps down on that feeling. Now is not the time to be harboring those thoughts.
Downstairs, the inn is bustling. Several of the tables have been pushed together into a line in the middle of the room where they serve as a buffet. Eijirou spots them from across the room and waves enthusiastically before pointing at the counter.
"Pay there!" he shouts, and goes back to shoveling his face with food.
The man from last night is nowhere to be seen. In his place is a lanky blond man, hair pulled up into a bun and eyes gleaming blue behind triangular glasses. He grins widely as they approach.
"Hey! You must be those new guests Kirishima was talking about! Welcome to Yuuei and the Present Day Inn! 'No day like today,' that's our motto! How'd you guys sleep?"
Izuku blinks, a bit stunned by the onslaught of words. "Um. We slept alright. Thank you."
"Great!" smiles the man. "I'm Hizashi, it's nice to meet you! You'll be wanting breakfast, I suppose?"
Izuku nods. "Uh, yeah. For five of us."
Hizashi gives him a thumbs up and grabs five trays from the stack on the counter. "You got pay, kiddo?"
Izuku pauses. Right. Payment. Usually he trades his plants for what he needs, but something tells him he shouldn't go around showing off his Kosei like that. And besides, from the looks of it, Yuuei uses some sort of currency rather than relying on trade, which makes sense for a community this size.
Unfortunately, that means Izuku has no means of paying for today's breakfast or even last night's stay.
"Um…"
Hizashi waves a hand at him. "Don't worry about it. This one's on the house. Want to make sure you newcomers feel welcome! You are going to have to sum up some money if you're gonna stay here any longer, though, unfortunately."
Izuku flushes. "Oh! Um, thank you!"
"No problem, kid! Go get some food, it's delicious!"
Hizashi proves right; the food is delicious. And warm, too; it's nice to eat something that isn't out of a can. It reminds Izuku strongly of home, and he has to push aside a wave of nostalgia at the thought. Now is not the time to get homesick, not when Shouto still needs him.
A small voice in the back of his mind points out that he has to head home eventually, and he shoves that aside too. He wants to go home, yes, but not if it means leaving Shouto. He never wants to leave Shouto.
The thought makes him feel lightheaded, though he finds it isn't surprising. Izuku shakes his head and turns back to his breakfast.
"So I was thinking I could show you guys around town, what do you say?" says Eijirou brightly. "You've never been, right? I know the city really well! I could show you all the good places to go!"
"We do need to restock on supplies," says Tenya, logical as ever. "Maybe I'll even bring some back with me to the trade center so I don't have to come all the way back so soon."
"And I want to see the city, anyway!" agrees Ochako, smiling. "My village is tiny compared to this!"
"Ochako, your village is tiny compared to anything," points out Tenya. Ochako laughs and punches him lightly in the arm.
"What if we break into groups?" suggests Izuku, smiling slightly. It's nice, to be surrounded by laughter. "Those of us who want to restock on supplies can stop at the market, assuming there is one, and those of us who want to see the city can keep going with Eijirou."
"Sounds great!" says Eijirou. "Hey, I never got all of your names. You're Ochako, right? And you're Tenya?" The two in question nod, and he directs his gaze towards the rest of them. "What about you guys?"
"I'm Izuku," says Izuku. "Izuku Midoriya."
Eijirou's gaze moves to Shouto, his smile faltering as he finds the boy's face still cast in shadow. "You?"
"Shouto," says Shouto curtly, and does not offer up any other words.
"Um...okay, nice to meet you Shouto." Eijirou visibly shakes himself before leaning towards Kacchan and elbowing him lightly in the side. "How 'bout you, shouty-boy?"
"None of your business, Shitty-Hair."
Eijirou pouts, but Izuku can tell immediately that he's not actually offended. "Fine, guess I'll just call you Grumpy, then. Nice to meet you, Grumpy."
"Oh for fuck's sake—it's Katsuki! Katsuki Bakugou. Now shut up, will you?"
Izuku stops paying attention after that, instead choosing to lose himself in the warmth and comfort of the inn. He's been missing this for a long, long time, even if the last time he'd come close had ended in him being kidnapped and used as bait. But here, with the good food in his mouth and Shouto's presence by his side, with Ochako's laughter and Tenya's light words and Eijirou's teasing of a slightly-less-irritated than he seems Kacchan, Izuku feels safe.
"Anyway, we'd better get going if we're going to see the whole city," says Eijirou once they've finished their meals. "And whoever's going to the market should get there before all the stalls sell out."
Tenya frowns. "Is that likely?"
"Yeah. I mean, not completely, but the good stuff disappears really quickly. Oh, and they do accept trade there, so don't worry about not having money."
Izuku flushes and looks away, fingering the packet of seeds in his pocket. He'll have to go find somewhere private to grow them, and probably a tray to put them in, but he assumes vegetables are as valuable here as anywhere.
"I'm not going," declares Kacchan, leaning back against the wall and putting his feet up on the table. "I'm staying here and napping."
"Aw, come on, Grumpy!" Eijirou fake-whines. "Come out with us!"
"No! And I told you not to call me that!"
As they continue to bicker, Shouto leans into his side and Izuku glances over in surprise. "Shouto?"
"I'll stay too. I don't think it's wise for me to be out in public very much."
Izuku bites his lip, ashamed for not having thought of that. "I can stay if you want—"
"No. You go. Have fun." Beneath his hood, Shouto smiles faintly and reaches out a hand to brush Izuku's arm. "Tell me about it when you get back."
"Okay," says Izuku, sighing. "Okay."
If Izuku had thought the inn was alive, the market is something else entirely. People roam about, numbering in the hundreds, all talking and laughing and pushing past each other. Sellers call out from stands, the noisy sound of haggling rising from all around. The air is filled with the intermingling scents of food and animals and perfumes, and despite the hard-packed snow of the street the atmosphere seems warm.
"Do you mind if we split up?" asks Tenya, nearly shouting so that can be heard. "I have a lot I need to get and I don't know how long it'll take."
Izuku nods. "Yeah, that seems smart. Meet back here at midday?" The sun is clearly visible above, so that should be an easy time to gauge.
"Alright."
"Do you need…" Izuku nods towards the tray of plants in his arms and raises an eyebrow. "Do you have anything to trade with?"
Tenya pats his pocket and smiles. "I have Yuuei currency, don't worry. I grabbed a bunch back at the center in case we had to leave in the hurry."
"You predicted we'd have to leave in a hurry?"
"I suspected it, yes. But that's beside the point. We had better get moving if we want to find all we need."
"Right," nods Izuku. "Ok, see you later! Good luck finding anything!"
"The same to you!"
"No," insists Izuku. "Look, I grew this myself, I know it's top quality. This is worth way more than that."
The seller shakes her head. "Two carrots for a six-pack bundle of soup? I think not, young man. Six carrots for six cans. No less than that."
"Oh, come on—you know as well as I do that these are much more valuable that some canned soup! They're fresh!"
"Fine. Five carrots."
"Two!"
"Five!"
"Two!"
"Five!"
"Three?"
"Sold!"
And with that, Izuku walks away three carrots poorer and six cans of soup richer. The basket he'd purchased earlier sits heavy in his arms, and he cranes back his neck to check the position of the sun. He's got everything he needs, but he still has about a half an hour left and there's three heads of broccoli remaining in his basket, so maybe he'll swing back to that bakery he'd seen earlier. The scent wafting out of its open windows had made Izuku's mouth water, but he'd moved on in favor of more necessary supplies.
"Maybe I'll bring back some pastries for everyone," Izuku thinks aloud. "And maybe I'll get a cake or something for Eijrou to thank—"
An arm, heavy and uncomfortable, lands across his shoulders, and it takes all of Izuku's control to prevent the basket from plummeting to the ground.
"Um," stutters Izuku, delicately trying to pull away, but the stranger's arm pins him in place. Fear, thick and inexplicable, spreads through his gut. "Ex—excuse me?"
"Hello, there," says a voice that is as dry and poisonous as a snake's. "Don't be afraid. I'm a friend."
"What do you want?"
The stranger leans in, his face inches from Izuku's neck and his breath hot against Izuku's skin.
"Come with me. Let's have a little talk."
The stranger pulls him into a deserted alley. Beyond, the market bustles on, oblivious to Izuku's predicament. His hands shake on the handles of the basket, but he tries to keep it from showing.
"Um," says Izuku once they've reached the shadows. He has to swallow before continuing; his mouth is as dry as paper. "What—what did you want to talk about?"
"Oh, it's nothing," says the stranger, pulling away slightly but keeping one hand on his wrist. His fingers are tight and claw-like against Izuku's skin, so tight that his hand is starting to lose circulation. "Just a little something about our mutual friend."
Izuku swallows again, and it's difficult. His tongue feels heavy in his mouth. "What mutual friend?"
"You know," rasps the stranger, and from beneath the shadow of his hood Izuku can see his lips stretch apart into a horrible, terrifying grin. "The Ice King."
At that, Izuku reels back, and this time he does drop the basket. His movement is so sudden that it seems to surprise the stranger, because his grasp slips. Izuku backs away until he can't anymore, the cold stone of the building pressing into his back.
"Who are you?" asks Izuku, and he's not proud of the way his voice trembles. He raises his hands into the air and curls them into fists.
The stranger's arms swing loosely at his sides, every line of his body reading as casual. "I am the one who will take this world into the future," he says, still grinning. "I'm the next Big Boss."
"Wha—"
"And," continues the stranger, ignoring him. "I am not alone."
There's a staticky sort of sound, and the shadows in the corners of the alley grow and swell, until a clump of them pull away. They begin to take shape, and then the alleyway is much more crowded than before and Izuku finds that he is surrounded.
"Ooh, he's even prettier up close," says a girl from off to his left, knives glinting in her hands and a manic smile spread across her face. "Can I cut him, Shigaraki? Can I, can I, can I?"
'Shigaraki' seems to think about this for a moment. "Alright, Toga," he says. "But only just a little."
"Tomura Shigaraki," says a man who is still somehow cast in shadow, despite the fact that he's standing in a patch of direct sunlight. "This is him?"
"Yeah," says Shigaraki, still smiling, and now he's moving closer oh no—"The Ice King's little friend."
Izuku raises his fists higher in the air and spreads his stance just a bit wider. "St-stay back!"
"Don't worry, Izuku Midoriya," says the shadowed man. "We mean you no harm. We just need to take you back with us."
"N-no."
He's surrounded. They know about Shouto, they know that he's here, they'll use him to get to Shouto and that—that can't happen. Izuku slides sideways along the wall, looking for an opening, but there's nothing. He's surrounded on all sides.
"Come on, little boy," says Shigaraki in a sing-song tone of voice. "Let's do this the easy way."
And then he moves.
In the blink of an eye there's a hand on Izuku's arm. He jerks back and lashes out with his fist, knuckles colliding with soft flesh. The hood falls away from Shigaraki's face, revealing dry, scarred skin and long blueish hair. There's a red mark already forming on his cheek from where Izuku hit him.
"You—you little brat," snarls Shigaraki, and Izuku realizes he made a mistake. He stumbles back and bumps straight into the girl—Toga?—who drapes her arms around his neck and purrs in his ear. There's a glint of metal and a sharp blade is pressed against his throat.
"Hey there, pretty boy," Toga cooes. "You'd look even prettier with some scars." The knife flashes upwards and pain flashes across Izuku's cheek. The cut is shallow from what he can tell, but it's deep enough that warm blood drips down his face and lands in the snow, strikingly crimson against the white. Izuku throws his head back so that his skull collides with Toga's face, and then uses her momentary weakness to slip out of her grasp.
"Sorry about this, kiddo," says a large figure as she steps in front of him, wielding a large stick of metal. Izuku tries to sidestep, but he's not fast enough to avoid her when pieces of metal peel away from the stick and wrap around his arms.
"Magne! Hold him!" yells Shigaraki, running forward. "Kurogiri!"
"Yes, Tomura," says the shadowed man, moving towards Izuku in a swirl of movement. Izuku's not sure how, but this man must be the one who manipulated the shadows in such a way as to bring them here, and it's not a stretch to think he could bring Izuku back to wherever their lair is.
He can't have that. He can't let that happen.
Desperate, Izuku activates his Kosei. He knows it's a stupid move; revealing this power to them can only bring bad things. But he doesn't know what else to do. In a burst of energy, he reaches out along the metal, his own life force brushing up against Magne's, and then he pulls.
Magne stumbles, and the metal drops from his sides. Izuku turns tail and runs.
Another figure drops down in front of him, and Izuku skids to a stop. "Whoa, there," says the man, black mask obscuring his features. One hand reaches out towards the wall of the nearby building, and the stone pulls away, molding itself into the man's exact image once, twice, three times. Suddenly, there is not one man in Izuku's path, but four.
"No," gasps Izuku, and takes a step backwards.
A hand closes around his neck. He freezes in place.
"Hey, now," hisses Shigaraki's voice in his ear. "You have quite the interesting little Kosei there, don't you?"
"Tomura—" calls Kurogiri—a warning—but it's too late. Something hums through the air, low and dark, and black energy curls around Shigaraki's fingers. Izuku shivers as it sinks into his skin and then he realizes what it's doing.
It's pulling at his life force.
No. No, no, no.
Izuku's Kosei flares up in response, desperately clinging onto his life even as it seeps into Shigaraki's veins. He feels himself weakening, legs trembling underneath him and black spots dancing in his vision.
"Hey!"
The voice is loud, angry, and achingly familiar. Relief floods through Izuku even as Shigaraki's hand leaves his neck and he falls to the ground, unable to hold his own weight.
Through bleary eyes, Izuku looks up towards the end of the alleyway. Tenya is standing there, wind swirling angrily around him and snow lifting from the ground to dance through his hair. Standing on either side of him are Ochako and Eijirou.
"What's going on here?"
"Nothing," snarls Shigaraki, scratching frantically at his neck in what must be a nervous tick. "Go away, little children."
"No," says Tenya, and takes a step forward. "No, I won't abandon my friend."
"Guys," wheezes Izuku, desperately pushing himself upward. "Guys, they're—"
"I'll go get help!" shouts Eijirou. Stone peels away from the walls and forms a shield in front of him. "Hold on!"
With that, he turns and runs, using the shield like a battering ram to push through the crowd.
That leaves Tenya and Ochako. It's just the three of them, just three teenagers, against the terrifying might of Shigaraki and his ilk.
The wind picks up, blowing through the alleyway and sending shivers down Izuku's spine.
"Get away from him," says Ochako, dashing forward.
And that's when the real fight begins.
kiri put on Unbreakable and body slammed his way into this chapter. he wasn't supposed to show up yet or even play as big of a role but all of a sudden boom. there he was.
Do you know how close i was to naming the inn 'erasermic inn'? cuz it was really fucking close.
Also: did i steal the concept of shadow travel from pjo? yes, i did, what're you gonna do about it? (no but seriously it just fit so well i couldn't NOT)
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