My evening with Izuku was filled with questions, some that I didn't know the answer to. But he understood the situation and why it had to be kept under wraps.
In the early morning before anybody else woke up, we took the slaughtered rabbit, put it in a box and dug a small grave.
I made a small prayer, thanking the rabbit for its life. Izuku brought a small flower from the field nearby to place on it as well.
"I'm sorry for all of this," I said to him as we sat near the grave on the grass and watched the sun rise. "I know it's just a rabbit but, I feel bad." I pondered.
"I've felt so many people's emotions— seen so many people's lives by taking their consciousness," I rubbed my fingers together anxiously. "A group like my father's will beat you down to nothing, but it can never overtake raw emotion."
"It's not your fault, you were born into it, you didn't have a choice. You told me about it, too, so I think you're inherently good," Izuku said quietly.
I smiled at him.
"I don't know if I've ever mentioned it but— thank you for being so nice to me on my first day. Honestly, with my quirk it was hard to make friends when I was younger since they felt so uncomfortable around my quirk," I said to him happily. His cheeks flushed slightly.
"I knew how you felt exactly— being quirkless most of my life and I was an outcast in that way," he reminisced.
The sunrise took over the whole sky and we watched the colors dance across the clouds.
For once, I felt safe. A big weight was lifted off my shoulder as I realized my secrets were no longer just mine to carry.
Like I had predicted, Izuku and I grew closer. We now had a shared secret and were reliant on each other.
This projected itself externally in a strange way.
Ururaka, Asui and I met up one day for a study session.
"Y/N... Tsu and I were talking, are you and Deku a thing now?" Ururaka asked me. My face flushed as I realized how our relationship could be perceived.
"N-no way! Izu-" I stopped myself quickly.
Shit I'm here saying there's nothing between us but then saying his name so casually…
Asui and Ururaka exchanged a look.
"Anyway, I wanted to give you some tips since… we were a brief thing," Ururaka continued, "but I just realized I'm worth more than that, you know?"
Ururaka said that he was just too shy around her, and the innocent dynamic they had in the beginning was persistent.
"This was a while ago, but that's just my tip, I would make sure he's matured," she finished.
I sighed. I couldn't handle him turning from victim to friend to lover so quickly like they assumed.
"Is this something between you guys or is it well known throughout the school?" I asked them. They explained that it was basically a widespread rumor now.
"Someone saw you guys together in the late evening andearly morning," Asui commented.
Ugh, I thought, if only they knew.
"So… since we are your closest friends…" Ururaka started, fidgeting nervously. They wanted to know what happened, clearly.
I thought about which thing would be easier to cover up. The fact we had dug a grave, or that we were dating? Admittedly. claiming we were dating would allow us to meet without as much questioning.
"It's… we're just testing the waters," I said to them. They let out audible gasps.
"So you are a thing?!" They both exclaimed.
I hushed them and facepalmed.
Did they know what 'testing the waters' meant?
I knew words would travel fast based on what Ururaka, Asui and I had talked about. I tried to get Izuku on the same page as them so he was prepared.
"You told them what?!" Izuku said loudly in the hall outside the classroom during lunch. He blushed deeply and began fidgeting.
"Between explaining why we dug a grave for a rabbit and just saying we're dating, you don't think this is the more logical option?!" I said in a loud but hushed voice.
His face was still red, but he considered this as well.
"Right, if they knew about what happened too, it could get to the teacher that knows, which could blow our cover," he thought out loud.
I nodded. We stood in silence next to each other for a moment, not knowing what to do next.
"Wait… we have to go to lunch together now?" He asked me.
I frowned.
"Not if you don't want to eat, but I'm guessing you'll want to eat lunch one day," I remarked.
We both, begrudgingly, decided to eat lunch that day.
It felt like many eyes were in us as we entered the cafeteria. Both Izuku and I had flushed faces, but tried to focus on getting our food and sitting with our group.
Once we sat down, people must have seen it as an invitation to poke and prod.
"Midoriya!" A voice called out in the distance. It was Kirishima with Bakugo trailing not too far behind. They seemed to approach the table in an anxiety inducing slow-motion.
Kirishima tapped Izuku on the shoulder firmly, Izuku simply froze.
"Dreams do come true, huh? I remember you coming up to me the first day Y/L/N—" Kirishima started to ramble, but was interrupted by a painful yell from Izuku.
"KIRISHIMA!" Izuku interrupted.
"DON'T INTERRUPT HIM! YOU HAVE A BIG MOUTH AND WOULDN'T SHUT UP ABOUT HER!" Bakugo yelled at the group.
I just stared at Izuku in shock, mouth agape and unsure of what to say. I was sure that now I was blushing harder than he had before.
I laughed internally at how our classmates were probably using us for entertainment, but if they only knew the complex set of events that were unfolding.
We mostly ate in silence, at least with each other. A vibe of embarrassment emitted from us both, and we were mostly ignored.
Finally, after lunch we had a brief moment to talk about what had just happened.
We took a brief walk outside and I was the first to talk.
"So… should we talk about what just happened now…?" I asked him, his face still flushed.
"I'll be dying from embarrassment either way…" he muttered. Izuku sighed.
"They're right though. On the first day you were all anybody was talking about," he looked to the side nervously. "I was interested to hear about your quirk more and might have gone on a few tangents about it near them."
I tilted my head.
"That's it? They seemed to interpret it differently, huh," I remarked.
Izuku froze. His face said everything: if I don't say this somebody else will!
"I-I might have also remarked on how pretty and cool you were. Especially after you willingly talked to me after class about your quirk," he said, defeated.
Now I was blushing.
Admittedly. I had been seeing him just as a target to be won— but hadn't seriously considered him in the same way he saw me.
I grinned at him.
"I guess we can give it a genuine shot— I don't think you're half bad either," I said to him, basking in the normalness of flirting.
Izuku's face turned into a mix of shock and elation.
"In the meantime… Did you decide how you're going to approach the Mokushi?" He asked me.
My smile turned into a frown.
"I think we will have to just wait it out to show we're not interested in being their pawns. Even if I wanted to act on the offensive, I wouldn't know how to do it," I said.
"Don't you know where they are headquartered? Didn't you go there as a young girl?" Izuku asked me.
"Yeah, but as a young girl. I don't really remember where I went. My father always took me," I replied.
Izuku put his hand to his face in thought.
"What if you reached out to them and asked to meet?" he proposed.
"I think they would deny it. What I'm supposed to do isn't up for discussion," I frowned.
We were basically sitting ducks— both of us.
Once it was all said and done, finals were the least of our worries. But we were both glad to have some time at home for summer vacation.
"I'll just text you?" Izuku asked before we officially left the dorms for a week. I nodded. Our friend group agreed to meet at least once over break as well.
It was strange being at home after making a different home in the dorms, especially without friends.
"Welcome back!" My mother said enthusiastically as I entered with my bag and small box.
We caught up on the semester while preparing dinner.
"I'm so glad, Y/N. I can tell you're happy at that school," she said as we chopped up veggies. "You were so… serious after your father's funeral service. I was afraid that place had worn you down too much…"
I blinked while listening to her perspective. It was strange growing up knowing she was my mother, but being totally separated. We had the occasional weekend meet-up as dictated by the courts, but my father had won most rights with the exceptional lawyers in Mokushi.
He had always told me that she didn't really care and had her own life to live. He must have lied to keep us apart.
We cooked a hearty meal and I told her about my training and the friends I had made.
"That's right, your school said you were dating someone too?" She asked me. My jaw dropped.
Who!? I wondered.
"Your teacher sent me a general summary of their observations as well. When you live in dorms it must naturally just be more personal," she recounted.
My face flushed. I needed to play this off.
"Well, it's mostly for appearances anyway. It's a private school, you know how those people can be," I tried to brush it off casually.
"Appearances or not, make sure he comes over in a couple of days for dinner," my mother said casually, "his parents too."
Is this an arranged marriage?! I said in my own head.
"I-I guess I can ask. But don't be disappointed if they can't," I replied, trying to focus on eating my food.
I felt relief once I retreated to my room for the night. I layed on my old bed and pulled out my phone.
"Am I really going to ask? I could just say they said no…" I jumped slightly as a call came in while I was staring aimlessly at the screen.
Izuku Midoriya - phone appeared on the screen.
Just in time, I thought.
"Hello?" I answered the call.
"Hi!" Izuku said happily on the other end, "did you make it home?" He asked me.
"Mm, I did. My mother and I made dinner and ate already," I described our conversation but omitted the key part.
"Same here. And uh… this might be weird and you can say no, but somehow my mother knows about you and wants you and your mother to come over for dinner," Izuku said hesitantly.
" Eh?!" I exclaimed through the phone, "my mother asked for the exact same thing!"
" So this means we have no choice then… " Izuku said, barely audible.
"You can stop me if this isn't accurate but… doesn't this seem extreme for us? It's been maybe three weeks since everything happened," I asked him.
"No… I think so too. But what can we do, right?" He said.
He was right. Somehow, it felt like the relationship we had with each other was controlled by anything but each other.
We decided to go to whoever's place was bigger, which ended up being mine, since it was a house.
I was unreasonably nervous the evening that Izuku was supposed to come over. It may have been compounded by my mother, since she had become obsessed with making sure everything was perfect.
She was elated to hear it was just his mother coming over as well.
"We will have so much to talk about!" She exclaimed as we walked through the store for some last minute items.
If only she knew.
Later in the evening, we were ready for their arrival. They came not a second later than we expected. I opened the door and began to enthusiastically greet them.
"Welcome, please come in! It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Ms. Midoriya," I said while respectfully bowing.
"Please, my son's girlfriend doesn't need to be so formal!" She exclaimed. Izuku and I locked eyes in fear. Our looks said it all.
Who told her we were boyfriend and girlfriend?!
Despite her assumptions, his mother was warm and friendly. She had the same green hair as Izuku and they were obviously related.
Izuku held a simple box in his hands. His mother picked it up and held it out to us.
"This is a gift to thank you for having us. I admit, I did have a selfish thought in mind because Izuku's birthday was during finals so I haven't gotten to celebrate with him yet," she explained, "I hope it is alright if we celebrate that as well!"
"We would be honored! It's great to meet you, I'm Youko Tsubaki. Y/N and I have different family names," my mother said, accepting the cake.
Izuku's mother formally introduced herself as well.
Finally, we made it to the table to eat after all the formalities.
As we had suspected, our mothers got along well and had plenty to talk about. They bounced from topic to topic quickly, discussing everything from their 'absent father' experiences to the similar quirk they shared.
Izuku and I mainly listened, also somewhat intrigued to witness the situation. Each other's mothers would ask us questions occasionally, but we were mostly in the background.
Once we ate, everyone was ready to cut the cake and sing to Izuku. He blew out the candles and smiled with his doting, beyond happy mother. I wondered what he wished for.
Izuku and I managed to slip away outside while we had our dessert. It felt great to get a breather.
"So what did you wish for?" I asked him once we had settled into the garden chairs out in the front.
"If I tell you, does that ruin it?" He suggested. I rolled my eyes.
" Yes, but I thought I would still ask," I replied.
"It's okay, I'm not superstitious!" He said, laughing.
"To be honest, I wished that you'd be able to live a long, normal life, free of that cult."
I stopped eating my cake briefly and gave him a sweet look. I had forgotten all about that while with my mother. Everything seemed so… typical.
"I have the same wish. That cancels it out then, right? So your wish isn't nullified," I teased.
We ate our cake quickly but decided to not go back inside quite yet.
"Wait— I almost forgot," I said out loud, running back inside to my room for a brief second.
I came back out quickly with a small gift.
"It's hard to get things when you're in the dorm, and I didn't forget your birthday, so I got something when my mom and I went shopping earlier," I said, handing him the small gift.
"O-oh," he stuttered, "you didn't have to!" He exclaimed, his face flushed.
I told him to open the gift, he opened it to a rectangular box. Inside that were two movie tickets.
"Hey! I saw they were coming out with this, the documentary on All Might, right?" He said excitedly. I nodded.
"Exactly— there's two tickets there. I won't be hurt if you go with someone like Ida or even All Might himself," I smiled.
"Thanks, Y/N," he said sincerely, putting the tickets back in the box. "Maybe my mom wasn't exaggerating, it really is like we're seriously dating." He commented.
I folded my arms but also nodded. He was right, between meeting each other's mothers and celebrating the birthday gifts, all we were missing was the physical component.
I looked over— he must have had the same thought, since he was suddenly deep in thought.
That would be a good birthday gift, too, wouldn't it?
"Do you want to walk to a nearby bridge, so we can start working off our cake?" I asked him. He agreed.
We began the short walk to the bridge. The sun was barely threatening to set— a symptom of it being summer.
We walked to the nearby bridge that sat over a small stream.
"It's beautiful," Izuku remarked, looking towards the sun, reflecting onto the water. I looked at the stream, then at his face as well. He seemed relaxed and the sun rays reflected off his face in a similar way as the stream.
"It is," I affirmed. We stood next to each other on the bridge and gently brushed elbows.
Birthday gift… yeah right Y/N, you'll be the one in the receiving end being this nervous…
I felt the tension that I had created myself.
"Y/N, I've only kissed one other girl, and only once," Izuku said bluntly.
I looked at him, surprised, but part of me also knew that he had assumed something might happen. But in a twist, he was trying to make the move instead of me.
"It's okay," I started, "I'm not an expert, but it's not my first kiss, either."
We turned to face each other, abruptly. I gulped.
Izuku kissed me fairly quickly, with slight force, for some reason. I kissed him back and extended the kiss even more.
But something happened after I closed my eyes.
Shit, I should have known!
It took a second for my quirk to activate in the brief time that our lips were locked but our eyes somehow did as well. It took an even shorter time for me to retreat from his consciousness back into my own.
" Whaaat just happened?! Are you okay?" Izuku exclaimed worriedly as I looked at him from the ground. I began to pick myself off the ground as he lent a hand.
"Err.. this happened last time as well, but basically my quirk can activate if done correctly during a kiss." I explained. Izuku looked at me blankly.
"Did you— did you look into my consciousness?" He asked, fearful.
"No, no! No way! As soon as I realized what happened I bailed! There was no time for me to do anything," I explained. He sighed out of relief.
I said this and then searched my own memory to reaffirm what I had claimed. But after double-checking, I realized I had lied.
Mostly because it had been his exact thought when I so rudely invaded. But I didn't intend to see it.
I covered my face, embarrassed and unsure if it would be best to tell him.
"Your expression… it's telling me that what you said is not true—" Izuku said, embarrassed as well.
I bit my lip and nodded.
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to," I told him. That was the truth.
"It's going to eat at me if you don't confirm what I think it is… so can you just confirm?" He said quietly.
I sighed. Sometimes I wondered if my quirk was through and through a curse.
" ...I love her…" I said quietly, "then, er … I could sense some of the arousal too."
Izuku looked ready to sprint away from me, which I understood. I knew the true invasiveness of it. It was very violating if used in the right way. These were very personal, deep thoughts and feelings. I could sometimes sense ones that others couldn't sense in their own selves.
I had never had to deal with the consequences of facing something so personal. The previous kiss was similar but much less extreme. It was casual and easily brushed off.
Izuku looked to be on the brink of a panic attack, I began to panic too and fidgeted, wondering what to do.
"Let's just go back! Right? We should make sure our mother's aren't missing us too much," I said.
He agreed to that, at least.
The inside of my house reflected how Izuku and I felt on the inside, currently.
My mother had, somehow, convinced Izuku's mother to begin drinking. It seemed like they had begun quickly, and that both of them seemed to be crying drunks.
We could tell things were already getting emotional, so we looked at each other, trying to take a cue from one another on what to do.
We both just froze as they seemed to pretend that we were not there.
Until they did.
"Y/N! Izuku!" My mother yelled.
"Yes?!" I responded.
"Come here and join us, you'll need to know how to handle your liquor if your dear mother ever leaves this world or can't see you—" she said sadly. "If you go to university, I won't let you make a fool of me by not knowing how to drink! It's always the ones who have never done anything that get into trouble."
Izuku and I looked at eachother, terrified.
But, she did have a point.
We joined them and listened to their emotional stories and how they poured their hearts out to each other.
Their performances were so captivating, neither Izuku or I noticed that we had also gone past the tipsy point.
"Are they sleeping?" Izuku remarked when their conversation suddenly stopped.
I put my drink down and looked at them closely.
"...wow… they are out cold," I said, amazed.
"This night ended much differently than I thought it would," he sighed.
I sighed as well. It felt more like one awkward thing after another, especially with both of our mother's drinking themselves until they were out.
I looked at the time. It was already 11 PM. They could still go home, but at this rate it would be past midnight.
"We do have a guest room, so you both can sleep there for now since it's late," I told Izuku.
"O-okay, thanks. Sorry about this," he said bashfully.
"It's okay, my mother isn't much better," I laughed.
With some teamwork, we managed to get them both into bed, despite having drank ourselves.
We collapsed onto the couch afterwards in exhaustion, mainly from the mental exhaustion.
"We can't clean up dinner like this… it'll have to wait until tomorrow," I said.
I looked over at Izuku. His eyes were closed and he slumped over motionless on the couch.
He fell asleep that easily? I thought.
Either way, I figured I would bring a blanket and pillow if that was really where he wanted to sleep.
I walked into my bedroom to grab something, but was distracted by a loud noise coming from my desk drawer.
I gasped and froze. I dropped my main phone onto the ground and it made a loud sound.
I flipped open the secondary phone and read the message. There hadn't been anything since the rabbit incident.
The texts were being sent syllable by syllable. I scrolled up to read what it said.
"P-RED-A-TORS C-AT-CH P-REY. IF YOU ARE NOT PREY, BRING I.M."
"O-THER-WISE, D-EAD-LINE TO-MO-RROW."
I gulped and re-read the messages over and over, my hands shook and I felt tears filling my eyes. Before, I had tried to ignore any of the overwhelming feelings that came with the situation.
Now, I couldn't ignore it.
"Y/N?" Izuku appeared at my door, he probably heard my phone drop.
I tried to wipe away my tears and put the phone away.
"It's nothing, I'm fine. Here, I was going to get you a blanket and a pillow," I gathered these, sniffling slightly.
"What was that just now? Did you get another call from the cult?" Izuku asked me. I didn't reply and just began to hand him the bedding.
"Y/N, come on. You owe me one after looking into my mind earlier. If we're going to work on this together we can't keep secrets," Izuku said while holding the items I had just given him.
Stupid, Izuku. If I hadn't seen into your thoughts at that moment I wouldn't be at this crossroad.
I seriously considered just killing him there and then. I thought about my mother in the other room.
She would be their target, if not him.
She would be easier to kill, that would be for sure.
That's why it was supposed to be my job to get rid of him.
But, like I had told him earlier, raw emotion is hard to forego. I knew exactly what he felt now, and anything I did felt like pure betrayal.
I had seen something so pure and genuine. I don't think there was an ounce of deception in his feelings.
Izuku must have sensed my dilemma and concern.
" I don't want to face them head on," I started, more tears forming in my eyes, " I'm scared of them. They killed my dad, they'll kill me too. I'm next." I said in front of Izuku, my anxiety from earlier returning.
"Then don't, just keep them chasing until they don't have a choice but to deal with just me— I can take them, Y/N. I'm part of the top three at U.A., you know? We can take them together! I'll protect you!" Izuku tried to reassure me. He dropped the bedding onto the floor and pulled me into a close embrace. He cupped my head gently and rested his face close to my hair.
Shocked, I tried to process the moment and then hugged him tightly back, sobbing into his shoulder.
I didn't even notice him taking me to my small, single person bed. Despite the small size he tried to continue comforting me.
I fell asleep to his warm arm draped around my waist and the rhythm of his steady breathing on my head.
"Y/N! Izuku! GET UP!" My mother's voice rang through my sleeping ears and caused me to almost fall out of the bed as I woke.
Upon seeing the combination of my mother, Izuku's mother and Izuku's arm draped around me, I voluntarily threw myself off the bed.
I covered my face, blushing wildly and I noted the morning sun coming through the window.
"I-I-I it's not what you think!" I stammered to my audience, "Nothing happened, we just fell asleep in the same bed! You gave us drinks as well and I honestly don't even remember—"
Izuku's mother walked past me and snatched Izuku's ear with great precision.
"IZUKU! Confirm this or you will not be allowed to leave the house the rest of summer break—" she said loudly.
"It's… true. Nothing happen—" before Izuku could finish, his mother was pulling him out of the house.
"Then get up so we don't make absolute fools of ourselves going home!"
Everything happened so fast. We barely said goodbyes. I barely remembered the texts from last night. My muscles filled with anxiety.
I focused on recovery, for now.
I'm sorry, I hope your mother didn't punish you too much . I sent a message to Izuku later in the evening.
It's okay. We just had a good heart to heart. I'm 18 now so she can only give me guidance, right? Not tell me what to do! He replied. I smiled.
He sent another message shortly after: I lied, too. I remember the whole night. I'll be here to protect you so if you need anything let me know and I will be there before you can say 'All Might'!
I didn't reply to his message quite yet, and thought about being in his arms. I closed my eyes and imagined it again. It did feel safe. Sleeping to the sound of his breathing was comforting.
Before I could reply to his message, I got a message in our "TeamDeku" group chat.
It was Ururaka.
Everybody up to do swimming and karaoke tomorrow?!
The group was all available and we all met up. Izuku and I were both in a daze still and tried to participate enthusiastically, but we couldn't tell if it was the drinking or impending doom that was weighing us down.
Thankfully, the group was too absorbed in themselves to let our mood bring them down.
" Happy belated birthday, again!" We shouted at the end. Izuku happily thanked everyone for the good time.
We had spent a whole day with them and it was past dinner time by the time we had begun to head home.
Izuku and I stayed behind together to catch up after the rest of the group had dissipated.
"Oh— I forgot to mention, do you want to stop by my house to bring some of the cake you brought the other day with you? There's too much for just us to eat and I think you should enjoy it more since it's your cake!" I told him. He agreed and we headed towards the station to get back to my house.
We walked through the large crowds and kept drifting apart. Izuku grabbed my hand the third time it happened and didn't let go until we made it to my house. I gripped my takoyaki leftovers tightly in their container, excited to have them as a snack for later.
"I'm home!" I announced to my mother as Izuku and I took off our shoes. "I promised Izuku some more of hiscake so—"
I stopped and my leftovers fell out of my hands. The container broke and spilled onto the floor. I didn't even see them fall. I just stood in the kitchen in silence.
I didn't know what noise to make. I couldn't make any noises. I wanted to call out to Izuku, but my throat stopped working.
"Did you drop—" Izuku said, coming into the kitchen as well.
He froze as well.
I got to the ground and next to my mother, ignoring the fact that I was kneeling in blood.
"Mom? MOM!" I said, touching her and trying to rouse her awake. Her skin was cold to the touch.
I jumped back, looking at the generous amount of blood that surrounded her.
"I think— the stab wounds— we need to provide pressure," I muttered, getting up to find a towel or other fabric.
Izuku got close to her as well and pressed his fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. He gasped when he felt her skin and how cold it was.
"Y/N... I think… we should call an ambulance," Izuku pulled out his phone and called the emergency number.
"Okay but I need to do something in the meantime to help her— this—" I found some older towels and pressed them against her stomach.
I stayed in my own world while Izuku talked to the emergency services and he followed their instructions.
I sobbed quietly, not wanting to accept what I already knew.
She was gone.