Hey, guys! BD and Sora Sentry with the next chapter of 'Emerald Rabbit's Warren.' In this chapter, Izuku learns how to adjust to his newly formed body as a Faunus. Meanwhile, Ochako shows concerns about Izuku and decides to act on it. Later, Izuku learns first hand about the gifts of being a Faunus. What will happen? Read and see!
narutokurogane2013/art/DekuBun-882321249
SS: Here were have how Deku looks like a Faunus, I like to call him DekuBun. Kudos for Mf_uncen for this amazing piece of work, please go check his amazing art. /mf_uncen/media
The Emerald Rabbit.
Izuku stared at his reflection in disbelief. "Rabbit ears and a tail…?" He checked himself over the new features on his body. "Is this for real?" He questioned before he tugged on the extra pair of ears on top of his head. He winched slightly when he did. "Ow…" He let go of his new ears, they denefly felt real and they were sensible to boot.
Izuku tried to do something and then his bunny ears went down and then up again. He glanced at his emerald cottontail as it flicked quickly. "Okay… it's real…" He muttered to himself still in dismay, he went through a lot of freaky stuff in his time here at the U.A., but this is certainly the freakiest of them all… Inexplicably he woke up as a bunnyboy… "I need help…" It was the only thing he could really do to figure this out so he walked out of his room and towards the living room and hoped the others wouldn't laugh at him, well being realistic, he expects Kacchan to laugh at him…
Never did he feel the walk to the living room to be so slow and dreadful. It was like he was marching along the Bataan Death March. No matter which way he would end up, his demise was certain. He wanted to be hopeful, hopeful that his classmates and peers could have an understanding, compassionate eye. But, they were teenagers and teenagers were going to look at something to poke fun.
He made that sharp corner to the common room. The smell of fried grease and the sound of cartoons was attracting the masses. He could hear classmates like Sero, Kirishima, and Tokoyami in boastful laughter after one of them was telling a joke. He could see Kaminari cooking something from the kitchen. Todoroki was deeply concentrated in a book and Tenya was neck deep in his Remnant studies from yesterday.
He took a deep breath. It was a calm, yet tranquil breath. That was because he didn't hear the sounds of a certain spiky-haired blond in the vicinity.
He took another breath. "I can do this. I can do this. This is like a mutation of quirks. Yeah, like Peter Parker or something. Tokoyami-kun can understand. Ojiro-kun knows the struggle." He was becoming a bit chipper, immediately erasing his fearful thoughts. He tightly wrapped his fist. "I think I can do this. I think I can do this."
"Panko!"
It felt like a bolt from the blue. It was too good to be true.
Izuku spent too much time covering his front where instead he should have been covering his rear...literally.
He felt the mighty force of wind that involved two hands and a set of gravity. Izuku immediately yelped the moment he felt the force hitting his backend, which sent him flying dead and center of the living room.
The emerald rabbit hissed as he held onto his newly-formed tail. "My God," he hissed once more. "Kacchan, you...you...you…" He paused. Everything in the living room became a standstill. All eyes were now on him. It became silent with the exception of the sound of the frying pan and syndicated American cartoons.
Izuku blinked a few times. A nervous smile appeared from his face. "Morning," he strained to his classmates.
Another pregnant silence ensued. Each student gave passing looks. It was then Sero stood up from the couch and approached the emerald rabbit.
He had a serious look on his face. The black-haired teen steadily approached Izuku, which made him gulp. Once in contact, he kneeled at eyesight with Izuku. His serious look remained - flat and reserved.
"Sero," he said nervously.
Sero extended his hand and patted Izuku's head. A smile then appeared. "I think you should be saying, 'eh, what's up, doc?"
Those words created a wave of laughter from the masses. An astounding roar filled the living room and Izuku felt that there was an earthquake. If only there was an actual earthquake so he can be swallowed up.
Teardrops appeared down his face.
Sero wiped the tears in his eye. He looked at Katsuki as he stood nearby. "Classic comedy gold, Bakugo. Wouldn't expect anything less."
"The best part of waking up!" Katsuki raised his finger as if it was a gun and blew on it.
"What did you do to stick those ears over Midoriya's head?" Denki asked him as he rubbed his stomach from so much laughing.
"Huh? I didn't do it, I thought it was one of you." Katsuki arced an eyebrow in confusion.
"Sure you didn't, bro. We know if someone would have pulled a prank on Midoriya it would have to be you." Eijiro smirked at him.
"But I'm telling you, it wasn't me. As much as I like to mess with that shitty nerd over there, I didn't do it." Katsuki was now frowning at his friend, Kirishima.
"That is enough, everyone!" Tenya shouted loudly, inciting the silence of those who were laughing. "I can understand that pulling pranks is part of normal teenager behavior, but we are Pro Hero prospects and such behaviors are shameful for people like us! On top of that, can you see how much distress you are putting Midoriya-kun through? You should be ashamed of yourselves!" He then approached the emerald teen, who still knelt on the ground, before he helped him back up on his feet. "Whoever did this to our fellow classmate better take responsibility for their actions now!" He shouted with authority and glanced at the rest of the Hero Students, who remained all silent.
"Um…" Izuku broke the ice, making everyone glanced at him. "It's… not a prank…" The bunnyboy moved his rabbit ears up and down and when he did, pretty much everyone glared at him with shock, their eyes as wide as saucers.
"Oh…" It was all that Tenya uttered.
A few minutes later, the boy sat on the couch of the living room while everyone else either sat or stood nearby, their expressions ranged from inquisitive to concerned. Except Katsuki, who only stood there with his arms crossed and a frown, no one was surprised.
"...And you just woke up like that?" Shouto asked him after Midoriya explained what happened.
Izuku nodded in response.
"And you have no idea how this happened?" The icy hot teen asked him again.
Izuku shook his head in denial.
Kacchan scoffed. "And here I thought you couldn't look even more sissy and stupid." He commented bluntly.
"Dick move, bro!" Eijiro glared at him, upset. "This is not the moment to make fun of the situation, this is serious!" He added as he gestured to the crestfallen Midoriya.
"I call it what how I see it, and what I see is a sissy." Bakugo replied uncaringly.
"He's got a point though! Only girls should have bunny ears like that, it's cursed if it is a guy!" Minoru said with angry passion as he pointed at Izuku.
Denki slapped the back of his head. "Not now, dude!" He shouted at him.
"Hey! What are you guys doing? Are you messing with Midoriya-san again?"
The boys turned to see their female classmates entering the living room. Each had a combination of stunned and disapproving looks on their face, especially when there were those who picked on Deku.
"Don't listen to those meanies, Midoriya-kun! You look totally cute like that!" Tooru said to him in her usual bubbly tone.
"I second that! They are just jealous because now you can have an easier time with girls. I mean, look at you, which girl wouldn't be an adorable bunnyboy for a boyfriend?" Mina grinned at him. "Am I right, Ochako-chan~?" She glanced at the round-faced girl, who sat beside the emerald-haired teen, wearing a knowing grin.
Izuku said nothing, only blushed deeply at what the girls said about him. Ochako glared at the pink-skinned girl angrily, but with a red blush appearing on her cheeks.
She then glanced back at her not-so-secret crush with concern. "And are you okay, Deku-kun?" She asked him with nothing but concern and care.
Deku looked at her. "Well… On top of freaking out about this, for the most part I feel normal. I still have my normal human ears and nothing else seems different." He explained as he looked over his body. "But I do feel like wanting to eat a carrot…" He rubbed one of his red checks with his finger.
"I still can't believe that those ears are real." Ochako commented as she glanced at the rabbit ears on top of Deku-kun's head. She then carefully touched one of them. "Wow… They're so soft and fluffy…" She said surprised as she softly caressed his rabbit ear.
"Ooh! I wanna try too!" Tooru said before Izuku felt another hand on his remaining bunny ear. "Just like a real bunny, how kawaii!" She gushed as she gently caressed his fluffy ear.
"C-careful, they're sensitive…" Izuku said to the girls. It took all of his mental fortitude to not show that he was shuddering from the delicate touch of femenine hands, his face was turning a crimson red from both embarrassment and the admitally pleasurable sensations coming from his ears.
Thankfully they let go of him. "You even have a rabbit tail now." Tsuyu commented. She stood behind the couch and noticed the cottontail coming out from his shorts.
"And you have no idea how this happened?" Tenya asked the greenet.
"Yeah, cause it's really strange that you went from the normal Midoriya to Mirko's little brother overnight just like that out of nowhere." Denki commented.
"Is there something that happened to you recently that might have been the cause?" Momo asked him with concern.
"Hmmm… Not that I can think of, except…" Izuku cupped his chin and recalled everything that he did before today and that's when it hit him... "*Gasp* Hatsume-san!"
"Hold on, did she do this to you?" Ochako asked with a surprised look on her face.
"No…! Well, sort of… You see, she modified my Air Force Gloves to fire Dust rounds and she asked me to try them, but when I did they blew up, covering me head to toe with Dust." Izuku explained what happened yesterday. "At first I thought nothing happened, but clearly that wasn't the case." He concluded as he gently tugged his rabbit ears.
"Wait, but I thought Dust was used as ammo by the Huntsmen. How come that turned you into this?" Hanta scratched his head in confusion.
"Well, while that's true, Dust itself can have many uses and the effects it has on people can differ depending on the make up, but even so it's sometimes hard to tell what can happen if one were to be exposed to it." Yaoyorozu explained.
"Well, at least we know now how you ended up like that." Shouto said serenely.
"In that case, then the next course of action is for you to go see Recovery Girl immediately!" Tenya said with seriousness and concern for his friend as he chopped the air as usual.
Izuku hissed as he covered his rabbit ears "Not so loud, Iida-kun. I'm right beside you." He replied as he uncovered his top ears.
"Oh. Apologies, Midoriya-kun. I should have figured that now you have a more sensible hearing sense." Tenya apologized.
"It's okay." Deku shrugged it off as he scratched the inside of one of his top ears. "Is this usually how it is for you guys?" He turned to Jiro and Shoji.
"Pretty much." The rocker girl replied while the masked teen nodded in response.
Izuku sighed. "Anyway, Iida-kun's right. I should go see Recovery Girl, hopefully there's a way to fix this." He stood up from the couch.
"All right, we'll inform Aizawa-sensei what happened." Tenya said to him. as he stood up from the couch as well "If you don't want to go to class today, that's alright, we can bring you the notes of today." He put his hand on his shoulder with a compressive tone.
"Thanks." Deku nodded in gratitude. "Guess I'll see you later." And with that he walked towards the exit and left the dorms.
Many of his classmates watched leave with concern, most notably the gravity girl. "All right, everyone. We must get ready for classes today. I'm as worried about our fellow classmate and friend as you, but we can't do anything but hope for the best." Tenya said to the rest of his classmates calmly. Many of the teens nodded in understanding at this and walked towards their rooms to change and set for the day.
"Psst! Kaminari!" Mineta whispered at him while they walked towards their respective rooms.
"What?" Denki replied in a low tone.
"We're gonna need to get our hands on that Dust thingy and use it to turn the girls into bunny girls!" The midget grinned pervily as vapor came out from his nose.
"Dude…" Denki deadpanned at him. "Where would we even get that thing without getting into trouble?" He asked back at him, bringing out the glaring issue with that plan.
"Dammit… You're right." Minoru cursed under his breath. He bit his thumb in frustration.
Izuku went to Recovery Girl's infirmary, he even called his mentor, All Might, for emotional support and because he felt like he had to show him what happened.
And well… When the skeleton-like man saw his protege as a rabbit person, he choked out blood from the surprise, but quickly recovered his composure.
Recovery Girl was taken aback by what happened to him, but quickly got to perform some exams on him. Checking his temperature, his reflexes, taking X-rays, taking a sample of his blood, checked both sets of ears and other medical exams.
One of the first things she asked the boy was to check if his Quirk still worked. Izuku tried activated OFA and fortunately it worked, his Quirk was still working as usual, which was a huge relief for both him and his mentor.
After the exams, Izuku sat in one of the beds of the infirmary with All Might standing nearby as they waited for the results. Over an hour has passed since the emerald rabbit boy came in.
The tiny old nurse then approached the master and student duo with a paperclip on one hand and her syringe-shaped crane in the other. "All right, I have the preliminary results." She declared. "The good news is that you are in perfect health so you don't have to worry about that." She informed them.
Both teacher and student sighed in relief. "That's good to know." All Might said relieved.
"The bad news, however, is that you are no longer a human being." Recovery Girl continued with a calm and professional tone.
Izuku and Toshinori looked at her with their eyes widened in shock. "I'm… not a human…?" Izuku asked her as he tried to wrap his head around what he just heard.
"That's right." Recovery Girl nodded at him. "Judging from your results, your genetic makeup is no longer that of a human, but instead that of a humanoid species with animal traits, the Faunus. I believe you know who they are and that you already suspected this, correct?" She explained calmly.
Izuku didn't verbally reply, instead he titled his head down and nodded.
"So then is Midoriya-shounen a Faunus now?" All Might asked her.
"Yes. A Rabbit Faunus, to be exact. And an uncommon alpha one at that since Midoriya has more than one animal trait." The nurse explained. Like the rest of U.A'.s staff, she became familiarized with Remnant concepts, including the biology and anatomy of the Faunus race. "You said that you became like this due to being exposed to a large quantity of Dust, correct?" She then turned back at the boy, who glanced back at her. Izuku nodded in response. "It has been known that Dust can have many sorts of effects on people when not used as ammo, which includes cases of people ending up being transformed or mutated due to overexposure." She explained to her paciente and his mentor. "Fortunately these cases were able to be treated by experts in Remnant." She elaborated.
"Then is there a way to reverse this?" All Might asked her with a hopeful tinge in his tone. Izuku's eyes reflected this too.
"Sadly I don't have an answer for that at the moment." Recovery Girl replied with a noticeable sad look. Izuku and his teacher were taken aback by this statement. "You see, until now there has never been a case of someone transforming into a Faunus like Midoriya here did, it's not like someone turning shorter and having their skin change into a different color, we're talking about a complete change in his genetic make up. He may look normal outside of his ears and tail, but Faunus has many things that set them apart from regular humans, hence why they are treated as a different species in Remnant all together, his DNA has been heavily mutated, making him no different than people in our world with mutation-type Quirks it'll be hard to figure out a way to reverse the effects, if there is a way to do so at all." She elaborated.
"So… Is it permanent…?" Izuku asked her.
"It's too early to tell yet. However if I'm frank with you, it's highly probable so you should prepare yourself for that possibility." The nurse had to be totally transparent with him. "But like I said: it's still too early to tell yet so there is still a possibility for you to return to normal." However, she also wanted to give him some hope, even if it was faint.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Recovery Girl." Izuku thanked her with an understanding tone.
"You're welcome." The nurse nodded back at him as the boy stood up. "Hold on, one more thing before you leave." She told him.
"Hm?" Izuku tilted his head in confusion, but his face quickly twisted in pain as he was clobbered in the shin by the crane of the tiny old lady "OW! What the hell was that for!?" He shouted at her in pain as he held his shin in pain.
"That's what you get for going around playing with a volatile and dangerous substance! You first go around breaking your bones recklessly and now you play with stuff that shouldn't be played with and end up all mutated because of it!" The nurse shouted angrily back at him.
"In my defense, it wasn't entirely my fault, Hatsume-san was the one with the idea." The boy excused himself as he rubbed his shin.
"And you still went along with it. *Sigh* The kids of today…" She grumbled as she pinched her temples. Seriously, this boy always gives her headaches. "Anyway, I still have to run some more tests with the samples you gave to learn what sort of other changes came with your transformation. If you feel something is off and weird is happening to you, come here quickly. We don't know the full extent of your changes after all, is that clear?" She told him with a serious tone.
"Hai." Deku nodded in understanding.
"Alright, you can leave now and All Might, make sure he doesn't get in any more trouble." She turned to the skeleton-like man.
"I'll do what I can, Recovery Girl." All Might replied.
And with that, both said their goodbye to the nurse and left.
Izuku and All Might walked through the hallway, the former No.1 Hero saw that his successor was quiet and crestfallen. "Say, Midoriya-shounen." He called his attention. The boy hummed as he glanced at his mentor. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?" He asked him. The shounen shook his head in denial. "If you want, you can come with me to eat at the teacher's lounge." He suggested with a gentle smile.
"...Okay…" Deku nodded in understanding.
A few minutes later, All Might took his student to the teacher's lounge. The boy sat on the couch as the skinny man prepared a simple breakfast for the both of them: Bacon and eggs with a few vegetables.
"Here you go, my boy." All Might gave him a plate as he set it on the table.
"Thanks." Izuku took the plate in his hands.
"Do you want barley tea?" All Might offered, Izuku nodded in response. "Is there something else you want?" He asked again before going to fetch the drinks.
"Um… Do you… have carrots in here?" The newly-transformed Faunus asked his mentor.
"Oh. Well yes, we have a few in the fridge." All Might replied.
"Can you give me one?" The emerald Faunus asked for a tinge of blush on his cheeks due to embarrassment.
"Of course, Shounen." All Might smiled at him like a caring father. He poured two glasses of barley tea for himself and his student before picking up a carrot from the fridge. "Here you go." He handed him the drink and carrot.
"Thank you, All Might." The emerald child thanked him as he grabbed the items. He glanced at the big orange carrot before he bit it. Never before in his life did he enjoy a carrot as much as now, but even so, he still looked sullen.
"Midoriya-shounen, I understand that all of this is a big and sudden change for you, one that might be for the rest of your life and as such it must be hard for you to come to terms with and assimilate. But I want you to understand that this isn't the end of the world, regardless of the species, you are still the same Izuku Midoriya that I passed on my Quirk. The next Symbol of Peace." All Might said with a compassionate tone as he put a hand on the boy's shoulder in an attempt to lift his spirits, but of course it must be quite the shock for the shounen to suddenly wake up no longer a human, but as an otherworldly species and learn that it might be permanent. "Remember, you can always count on me and others to help you if you're down." He smiled at him.
Izuku looked his mentor in the eye. "I know that, All Might. It's just… I don't know how to feel about this, what to make of all of this. This is so strange and unreal..." He tilted his head down again. He glanced at his scarred hand before closing it into a fist.
"It's okay to feel lost and confused, this is something that has never happened before." All Might replied in an understanding tone. "But I promise you that everything will be alright." He assured him with a smile.
"Thank you, All Might…" Izuku thanked his mentor.
"I'm your mentor, it is my job to ensure the wellbeing of my pupil, after all." The former Symbol of Peace replied.
"Right." A tiny smile was drawn on Izuku's face.
They eat breakfast in quiet peace. After they were finished, the skeleton-like man asked his successor. "Do you feel better now, Shounen?"
"Yeah, I do." Deku nodded with a smile. "Guess I'm just worried about what to do now that I'm a Faunus, but like you said, I'm still me. I still feel normal for the most part so I guess it's just a matter of getting used to these changes." He continued with a shrug.
"That's the spirit, my boy!" All Might grinned at him. "Now then, I suggest you lay low for a while until we know everything about your new body." He said in a more serious tone.
"That would be a little hard. I don't think I can hide these." Izuku tugged at his upper ears.
All Might chuckled slightly. "That's not it, I meant for you to be careful with whatever other sort of changes you have due to your new Faunus physiology, do as Recovery Girl told you and go to her should you feel anything strange is happening to you." He clarified. "You can also come to me if you feel like you need guidance through this trying time of your life." He added.
"Alright. I get it." Izuku nodded in understanding.
"Take all the time you need to acclimate to your new reality." All Might said to him with a fatherly tone.
"Thanks." Izuku thanked his mentor once again. "Um… I guess I should probably tell my mom about what happened to me. Let's hope she doesn't have a heart attack or flood the house again. Better yet cause a tirade with Principal Nezu. She already had concerns about my enrollment into the school. Now isn't the time to give her the reason for doubt." He now realized that he must inform his mother about his new situation, it would be wrong to hide this to her and he is already hiding too much from her.
"Wait, Midoriya-shounen. While I agree that your mother must be informed of this, I suggest not doing it now, at least not yet until we are certain of everything about your new body. And we are certain of everything, I promise you that I will tell her myself." All Might told him calmly. He knows how much Inko Midoriya worries for her son and telling her about this would only cause her more stress than she already went through, after all with what face one tell a mother that her son is no longer a human and that it might be forever? Yeah… that's not an easy conversation indeed. So for the moment at least, it's better to spare her from it, until at least they have all of the facts and hopefully a way to change young Izuku back to normal.
"Okay, if you say so…" Izuku complies with his teacher. "I guess I should head back to my dorm now ." The emerald Faunus stood up from the couch.
"Very well. Take care, Midoriya-shounen and remember what I told you." All Might stood up from his seat.
"I will and thanks for the breakfast." Deku thanked his mentor yet again. "Excuse me." He bowed down his head and walked to the door and left.
The teenagers of Class A tried to go about their day as usual, but they all felt Izuku's absence and it just felt off. Izuku's friends were worried about him, even Kacchan seemed concerned, of course he pretended to not care but they knew it was his way of caring.
Aizawa-sensei was informed what happened to Midoriya and just sighed and pinched his temples. That kid never stops getting into trouble, doesn't he?
Classes continued as normal, mostly everyone tried their best to pay attention and take notes, but a certain gravity girl in particular wasn't paying as much attention as she should. Her mind just tuned out of Midnight's Modern History lesson as her attention drifted towards Deku-kun.
Ochako was growing concerned about him. Did Deku-kun look absolutely cute and adorable as a bunnyguy? Absolutely. Did she enjoy cassering his fluffy and soft furred rabbit ears? Of course.
However she couldn't help but worry about him, Deku-kun seemed distraught and confused and who could blame him? it's not normal to suddenly wake up with rabbit ears on top of your head and with a tail on your lower back after all. Part of her was angry at that pink-haired bi- at Hatsume, it was her fault that Deku-kun is now like this!
Before she knew it, the last period was over for the day. Everyone was packing up their stuff ready to head back to the dorms and relax.
She got up from her desk and grabbed her backpack, her face remained saddened.
Ochako then felt a tap on her shoulder, she turned around and was met with Tsu-chan, her usual blank face wore a slight, but noticeable concerned expression. "Are you still worried about Midoriya-chan, ribbit?" The frog girl asked her.
Ochako couldn't pretend even if she wanted to as her cheeks were a dead giveaway. "In so many words, Tsu-chan. In so many words." She took deep breaths, trying her best to hide her sullen feelings about the boy she deeply cared and admired.
"Midoriya-chan is a tough nut to crack, ribbit," replied Tsuyu in a consoling manner. "Just another mountain to climb and conquer is all." She rubbed Ochako's shoulder. "I wouldn't be as concerned. It isn't like he has a deadly virus. We aren't even sure if it is irreversible yet, ribbit."
Ochako puffed her cheeks. "It still makes me so mad at how much a boy can climb and still get dropped on a peg." She gripped his fist. "What's to stop me from going to the Support Department to give mophead a piece of my mind?"
"Ochako-chan," interjected Tsuyu. "Getting mad at Hatsume wouldn't do any good. Yes, she can be off-centered, reckless, and somewhat irresponsible, she was only doing her job, ribbit. Even Deku is aware of her irregularities and the tendencies of her babies literally blowing up in smoke."
"She couldn't have hurt him."
"Look, Deku is okay, ribbit. He's an awesome wonder. He can pull through this, I believe in him. If it helps, why not go and see him." Tsuyu smiled. "I think he wouldn't mind having a visit from a caring friend."
That comment made the teen blush. That didn't go unnoticed from the vixen. "What? Afraid of rabbit-kun." She bumped Ochako's side with her elbow. "Or afraid of what you might do."
"Tsu-chan," exclaimed Ochako with her beet red face.
"Aw, c'mon, Ochako-chan. For all I know, this might be an act so you can enjoy Izuku's personal carrot…" Ochako covered Tsuyu's mouth.
"I think a dab of soap is needed to wash that filthy mouth of yours," interjected Ochako. Sometimes it still surprises her how much dirt hides behind that seemingly cute and calm face of Tsuyu's.
"Or some of his hot and sticky carrot juice," muffled Tsuyu before using her tongue to lick Ochako's hand. The teen took a step back as she wiped her hand on her skirt.
Tsuyu giggled. "In all seriousness, pay him a visit."
"..."
"How about this? I think Iida-kun is supposed to bring his homework sometime this evening. Instead of him, why not do it?"
Ochako dropped her head, feeling a bit of shyness returning.
"He wouldn't mind. He has so much to do with Remnant history to the point that I thought I'd heard him speaking Mistrali, ribbit."
"I don't wanna pry."
"Don't be a scaredy cat, Uraraka, ribbit." She gave her a glare. "Better yet, let me go and do it instead."
"You?"
"Yeah." She gave Ochako a sly look. "So, I can check on him and get a taste of the carrot myself."
"No," she blurted out, which caused other students to stare at her. She lowered her tone. "I'll do it."
"Neat," replied Tsuyu. "I'll call Yaoyorozu and we can meet at the library to give you his homework. I know her, Todoroki, and Iida are there." As the froggy vixen she is, she knew a bit of nodging would push the round-faced girl in the right direction. Nothing gets a girl more worked up than the sign of a treat to what she considers hers, after all.
Izuku walked back to Class A's dorm and went to his room as per his mentor's orders to lay low for the time being.
It was very quiet at the time due to the others being at classes, so all the boy could do now was just wait for the others to come back in a few hours. So to kill time until then he sat on his computer chair and turned on his laptop.
He goes onto his social media and sees people making comments of him being a rabbit person among other things like jokes and stuff. Izuku growled in slight irritation before closing his laptop.
He decides to watch TV, but either by coincidence or some sort of universal joke, every channel he flips to has something rabbit-related. The boy growled again in irritation. He turned off the TV and walked to his bed.
The emerald Faunus dropped face first into his pillow, he flipped around and faced the ceiling.
He didn't feel like doing anything right now, his mind kept coming back to the fact that he might be stuck as a Faunus forever. But would it be that bad? Not really, like he said several times, he feels mostly normal, his hearing sense is more sensible now with an extra pair bunny ears on top of his head, but it's just a matter of getting used to it. So it would be fine even if he can't go back to normal. Like All Might said: He is still Izuku Midoriya, regardless of the species.
He should probably feel angry at Hatsume for being pretty much the cause of this, but he can't blame her for this. It was an accident and she probably had no idea this could have happened, besides it would make him actually feel bad if she would feel guilty about this, Deku was just that type of guy to worry more about others than himself.
He sighed as he closed his eyes and relaxed, he wanted to not think about any of this for a while, so a nap might do some good. The emerald teen let sleep take his consciousness away...
Izuku was running away as fast as his legs could take him, but he was looking for a way out of the forest that 'she' dragged him into again…
"Why are you running away, you baka?" He could hear Blake shouting at him from a relative distance. He could hear her steps coming at him. Again she wanted to play with him 'Hunters and Grimm' and as always didn't take 'no' for an answer.
"Blake, I don't wanna be the Grimm anymore!" Izuku shouted back at her. "I'm ALWAYS the Grimm!"
"You're whatever I tell you to. I'm older than you, so there. Ha!" Her voice was starting to get closer and Izuku's was growing tired.
It was true, she's older than him and that's why she felt entitled to say what games they would play together, when and where, she was so bossy about it… It's like she doesn't even care about his opinion… It was just unfair and he was getting sick of this! "I'm telling Mom and Auntie Kali!" He shouted back at her with anger, he didn't want to play that card because he didn't want Blake to get into trouble, but like when Kacchan and his lackeys were bullying that kid, he had to make a stand.
"Don't be a tattletale, you tattletale!" The Faunus girl shouted back at him.
Izuku was running out of breath so he made several twists around the trees in an attempt to lose her, but he could still hear her rapid steps. "Blake, stop!" He begged loudly.
"I'm gonna catch you, Icchan! You can run, but you can't hide!" She said with confidence in her tone. Was this funny for her? Well, it sure seems that way from what he came to learn about her in the past week or so knowing her since he and his mother came to Menagerie.
"Leave me alone!" The little emerald child shouted as he forced his legs to run faster.
"I'm your senpai. I will never leave you alone. Ever!" The black haired girl shouted back with seriousness in her voice.
After that, Izuku glanced over his shoulder and was surprised that he didn't see Blake in hot pursuit after him. The little boy continued running towards the exit until Blake suddenly dropped down from tree branches above him. Izuku came to a sudden halt, making him stumble into his rear. "B-Blake? How did you… how…?" He stammered, perplexed as to how she got ahead of him that quickly.
"I'm like a ninja, duh!" The little girl produced a sickening grin as she put her hands on her hips. Izuku whimpered as he trembled, dragging himself backwards slowly. "I think a punishment is in order, for making your senpai run like that…" She walked to him slowly as she eyed him like prey….
Then everything blurs into darkness…
"Blake…" Izuku muttered in his sleep. "Blake…" He said once more. It was amazing how impactive this Faunus was to the young teen. As if her arrival opened memories that were kept deep in the depths of his conscience...
Izuku was hearing a tapping noise. Still stirring from his slumber, it had taken him a moment to realize that was a knock at the door.
"Deku-kun...Deku-kun...Deku-kun!"
He recognized the voice. "Uraraka-san? W-w-why w-w-would she…" Even in his thoughts, his stuttering returns. Rubbing the sleepiness in his eyes, he was in a panic.
"Deku-kun? Are you there?" Uraraka's voice sounded concerned
Initially, he didn't want to answer. He didn't want her to see him like this, especially her out of all people. Of course, she had witnessed him earlier in the day, but he was already out in the open. However, alone...with just him and her?
He slowly got out of his bed. He began tiptoeing to the door. Could it be a dream? It wouldn't be the first time he had such lucid encounters. Maybe it was the trick of the brain, he thought. Thinking of Blake's return was subconsciously making him think of Ochako. Taking steady breaths, he made his way to the door. As he pressed his face at the peephole, he realized that this was no dream, but reality.
"Deku-kun?!"
Yelping, he failed backwards, landing on his butt. No way she didn't miss hearing that noise.
"Deku-kun? Are you okay?"
"No reason to hide now", he thought to himself. "Hey, Uraraka-san. I'm here."
"Well...good! So, listen. I knew you weren't at school today," she said as she spoke through the door. "I...I...I have your homework...and...and…"
Izuku began sweating. However, because of his newly formed body, it made things much cooler to the skin, which made him shiver. "H-H-homework, y-y-y-you s-s-say?"
"Yeah. I...I...I know that you might be a bit nervous about showing yourself. If you want, I can slide your homework under the door."
He could tell that she was nervous. For what, he thought. Nervous because of his appearance? Or else,...
He stood up and gripped his hand around the knob. "I-I-I don't w-w-want t-t-t-to b-b-be r-r-r-rude," he said to Ochako. He slowly turned the knob, feeling his heartbeats radiating through the knob. He opened the door.
Upon opening, he was face to face with her. She wasn't wearing her school uniform - a simple white t-shirt and thigh jean shorts. On one hand were documents of his homework and on the other hand looked like a bag from the nearby convenience store.
"Hey, Deku-kun," she said with a pleasant smile. "Y-y-you look…" Her rosy cheeks were a crimson red.
His eyes were shut. He was ready for whatever name he was going to be called. Although he had doubts as he wouldn't expect that from his dear friend. Say it! Say something! I know I look ridiculous... As if what she said earlier in the living room was nothing more than an aberration.
Suddenly, he heard the growling of his stomach that interrupted his thoughts.
A pregnant silence ensued.
Ochako and Izuku gave each other blank stares in that intermittent moment.
Ochako produced a smile as she lifted the convenience store bag. "Like a little birdie was telling me that a hero was starving."
Ten minutes later….
Ochako was right. Izuku felt like he hadn't eaten in a dog's age, the sun was already setting outside so he slept for quite a while. Sitting in his computer chair, he was slurping on his third cup of instant noodles. Of course, it was his favorite katsudon. Good thing that one thing that hasn't changed about him is his love for katsudon, even with his newfound liking for carrots, cliche? Maybe, but it's a craving from his new body so it can't be helped.
Ochako sat on his bed. His bed, she was thinking to herself. To think that she was living her fantasy, but wish it wasn't under these types of circumstances.
"Wow! Talk about putting it all away, Deku-kun," she said to him. "Do you share any kinship with a certain Saiyan or a pirate in search of the ultimate treasure?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
Izuku covered his mouth as he belched. Wiping the remnants of the katsudon with his arm, he placed the empty containers on the desk. "Thank you so much, Uraraka-san." He bowed apologetically. "Sorry for accidentally eating yours."
She giggled. "That's okay! This was more for you than it was for me."
"I'm grateful for your consideration." He bowed again. "Allow me to make it up to you."
She waved her hands blushingly, trying her best not to float. "No, you're fine! I would have done this for anybody."
You sure?" Izuku titled his head and the round-faced girl nodded fervently. "Well, if you say so…" The emerald rabbit scratched the back of his head, he still felt like he should pay her back, but he didn't want to be pushy if she was insisting that it was fine.
There was a brief silence between them before Ochako finally decided to address the elephant in the room. "So Deku-kun… about… w-well what happened to you…" She said shyly as she pointed at his rabbit ears.
"Oh…" He uttered softly.
She noticed that his face turned off significantly. "I-I mean…! Y-y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…!" She spewed out nervously as she waved her hands frantically.
"N-no, i-it's okay, Uraraka-san." Izuku shook his head in denial. "I get it if you're curious about… all of this…" And so the emerald teen took a deep breath before starting to explain to her what he was told about his condition.
Ochako clung to every word he said, she listened as it was damning, riventing. She didn't utter a single sound until he finished
"...And that's about it." Deku finished his explanation.
"..." Ochako remained silent briefly as she took in all the information. Deku-kun was transformed into a Faunus due to overexposure to Dust and it's highly likely he will stay like this… The girl stood up from his bed, there was a deep frown on her face and she clenched both her fists tightly. She then silently walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" The emerald teen asked her. He already had a hunch though.
The gravity girl stopped and turned around to face him. "Now, I want to give Hatsume-san a piece of my mind." She said with an upset tone.
"Wait, Uraraka-san. You don't have to do that. It won't do any good." Izuku stood up with a concerned look in his eyes.
"SHE is responsible for making you like this. Therefore, she is going to pay!" She replied angrily as she gestured at him. It was that bitch that caused this to Deku-kun, she can tolerate her being handy on him, but turning him into an alien species for playing around with Dust is crossing a goddamned line!
"To be honest, if anything… it was 50/50?" The former human boy replied, trying his best to dissuade her. "I mean I sorta expected something to blow up in my face and I can't really blame her because she had no idea this would happen so…"
"Well… I will be sure to get at her 50% of Plus Ultra with this ass-kicking. She is worried about her 'babies?' She needs to be concerned if she will have babies after what I'm gonna do to her!" She barked enraged, an anime-like vein was appearing on her forehead. The fuming girl turned back to the door and walked towards it.
"Uraraka-san, wait!" Deku reacted fast and grabbed her by the shoulder and forcefully turned her around. "Listen, I get you're upset, but I don't want you to get in trouble because of me on top of giving Hatsume-san more troubles. I bet by now she's receiving the earful of a lifetime from Power Loader and other teachers." He looked her in the eye.
"That's not enough, Deku-kun! You could be like this FOREVER! How can you not be enraged at her?!" Ochako angrily slapped away his hand from her shoulder.
Deku then grabbed her by both shoulders, applying a little force on his grip. "Calm down, Uraraka-san!" He shouted on her face. Making her flinch in shock. "I get it, okay? I know I might be stuck like this for the rest of my life… but it's okay, I'll always be me, that won't change even if I can't go back to normal. And you know? Being a Faunus is not that different, sure I might have extra ears and a tail now, my hearing is more sensitive now and I feel like eating carrots more than before, but for the most part, I haven't changed that much, so it'll be alright, okay? I'll get used to this." He continued with a calmer, more soothing voice.
Ochako looked him directly in the eye again, his calming, beautiful emerald eyes… Her rage was decreasing and felt more at ease with those shining gems in his eyes, just a part of his adorable freckled face.
The gravity girl sighed in defeat. "You're too nice for your own good sometimes…" She whispered softly as she glanced at the floor. Deku heard her clearly. She glanced back at his face. "Okay… I won't beat her bitch ass to the moon and back, but I won't forgive her for a long time." She wore a small frown on her round face.
"I understand. Thanks, Uraraka-san." He let go of her only to be surprised by the girl suddenly hugging him tightly, causing the boy to blush profusely.
"I hope that you can return to normal again…" She whispered as she buried her face on his shoulder. "Not that you're any different than now." A pink blush was manifesting on her face.
Izuku nodded, instinctively placing his hand over her head. "I'm still the same old Deku. Maybe not on the outside, but on the inside for sure."
Ochako smiled, remaining to keep her face buried on his shoulder.
Then suddenly both of them heard a knocking on his door, making them flinch in surprise. "Midoriya-kun? Are you there?" It was Iida from behind the door. "You hadn't come out for quite a while, I just wanted to let you know that dinner is ready, if you want to come down, of course." He informed him.
"O-okay, Iida-kun. I-I'll come down in a moment." Izuku replied as he and Uraraka glanced at the door.
"Glad to hear it! Did Uraraka-kun give you your homework?" Tenya asked again.
"I-I did, Iida-kun." Ochako replied.
"Oh! You're in there too, Uraraka-kun? Well, thank you. Hopefully you're both not doing something inappropriate." Tenya replied in his ever serious tone, he was most likely flipping his right arm.
"W-we're not!" Both shouted at the same time out of embarrassment, their faces were turning hot red.
"Good! We'll be waiting for both of you." The two teens then heard steps getting fainter and fainter from the other end, meaning that Iida walked away.
Ochako and Izuku glanced at each other with their faces fully red, both were still hugging each other before letting go of each other awkwardly as they were looking in opposite directions.
"So...um…" Izuku uttered softly as he scratched the back of his head. Ochako was poking her fingers together, she tried to think of something to say, but she was too flustered and nervous to open her mouth. "Uh… I… I think we should get going…" He said to the girl looking at her from the corner of his eye.
"Um…yeah! Don't need Sensei to give me a demerit or something." She replied with a sheepish grin.
Both of them chuckled nervously before walking to the door, their hands touched when both went to grab the doorknob at the same time, both shot their hands back as soon as they touched, only making their awkwardness and blushes turn deeper.
"G-go ahead." The emerald-haired Faunus said.
"N-no, it's your dorm." Ochako shook her head in denial.
"I insist." He shot back.
"No, I insist! Please, Deku-kun!"
"Ladies first!"
"Age before beauty!"
They went like this for a minute or so before Izuku opened the door and let Ochako walk out first.
Izuku and Ochako went to the living room to dinner with everyone else.
As they sat with the rest of their classmates to eat, Iida asked the emerald haired teen about his condition, many of his friends also seemed to want to know as well. It was inevitable that the others would ask about it.
Izuku then explained everything to everyone, many gasping in shock while others remained calm and silent.
"So… will you remain like that?" Shouto asked him calmly.
"It's not definitive yet, but it's very likely." Izuku shrugged.
"I see…" The icy hot teen replied, maintaining his cool.
"The irresponsibility of Hatsume-san!" Tenya flipped his arm up angrily. "I hope that she is punished accordingly for such a grave mistake!" It wasn't like him to wish ill will to others, but when someone messes with someone important to him that's a line crossed. And honestly he already had resentment towards the crosshair-eyed girl.
"Same." Ochako agreed with a frown.
"Guys… Like I said, it was an accident." Izuku said to the two of them.
"Accident or not, she has to take responsibility for her actions!" Tenya, flipping his arms angrily.
"Yeah!" Ochako agreed again, looking more angry. Izuku sweatdropped at this. He was flattered that two of his closest friends were just trying to defend him, but like he said before, he didn't want his friends to get into trouble because of him.
"Yandere alert?" Mina whispered to Kyouka, who deadpanned at her.
"Anyway, how are you feeling about all of this, Midoriya-san?" Momo asked him concerned.
"Well, I'm coming to terms with the possibility. Honestly, it wouldn't be so bad, you know? Besides these and the tail, there's not much of a difference." Izuku replied, tugging lightly at his rabbit ears. "So, you guys don't have to worry, I'll be okay. In Remnant, the Faunus kind struggled through a lot and yet they persevere, so why can I do the same?" He reassured everyone with a calm smiling expression. "Either way, I'm used to fighting uphill battles."
"It's good to hear that bro." Eijiro smiled at him. Most of the teens from Class A smiled at the boy as well. "Don't you think, BakuBro?" He gently nudged at his friend beside him.
Katsuki scoffed. "Who cares if he's now a sissy Rabbit Faunus or whatever? You guys stop treating this as if he's gonna die. I'm fed up with all of you talking non-stop of him all day." He said with his usual frown. He was getting irritated that others were so concerned about the nerd, he was fine.
"Will you shut your ass up, Bakugou?" Sero frowned at him
"You do know the whole world doesn't revolve around you, right?" Fumikage crossed his arms.
"If it did, God help us!" Denki commented.
"You're just jealous that Midori here looks cuter for us girls! He will definitely score it with a girl!" Tooru chimed in
"Yeah, you'll never get a girl like that! And your hand doesn't count by the way! And if it could, it too, would file a restraining order!" Mina roasted him with a mocking grin. The group burst into laughter at the sick burn towards Katsuki.
"DIE, YOU FUCKING EXTRAS!" The explosive blond shouted furiously as sparks came out from his palms, he would have jumped to blast everyone in the face were it not for Kirishima restraining him from behind.
"Calm down, bro! They were just joking!" The hardened teen pleaded as he struggled to prevent Bakugou from causing an explosive massacre.
"OOII!" Then there was a sonic blast that rang through the room, making everyone cover their ears as they hissed from the loud ringing in their heads.
Then Bakugou felt something wrapping around his body, dragging him away from the others.
Everyone opened their eyes and saw Aizawa-sensei beside Present Mic, the former was using his bindings to restrain and drag Katsuki away as he used his Eraser Quirk.
"Geez Louise, Eraser! I'll never get what's wrong with your class, a second later and would have the aftermath of a mindfield!" Mic said to his friend an co-worked in his usual loud and over the top manner.
"Sometimes I question the same things, Mic. You didn't have to shout though, I could have taken care of it myself." Aizawa replied lazily.
"Naw. Always up to give my friend a hand!" The Voice Hero patted his back cheerfully.
"A little louder and you would have broken every single glass in the dorm." Shouta deadpanned at him.
"Eh hehe… Sorry." Mic apologized sheepishly.
Shouta then turned to Katsuki, who was pissed off alright. "At this point I'm not surprised, you get into as much trouble as Midoriya. I hope you don't mind standing on your feet all night because there are two heavy pails of water with your name on them." He said to him with his deathly glare before turning around and dragging Bakugou away to impart the punishment on him.
Kacchan growled angrily as he was being dragged away like a bag of trash.
Present Mic looked at the rest of the class who were still reeling from the ringing in their heads. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen! Party's over for tonight. Time for y'all to hit the hay. Good night!" He ordered before waving at them and walking off.
The teens then decided to do what they were told and walk to their rooms for tonight.
"Um, Uraraka-san?" Izuku approached her.
"Yes?" She turned to look at her.
"Do you mind if I walk you to your room? I mean, it would be rude to leave a girl walking to her room alone." He asked bashfully as he rubbed the back of his head with a blush and a small appearing on his face. He wasn't totally sure why he wanted to do that or where he got the courage to ask this to her. It was true that he has a crush on her, but usually the nerves would get the better of him at the mere thought of asking for a date, but now he wasn't as nervous as he would be. Weird, but he wouldn't complain for this sudden burst of confidence, God knows he needs it at times like these.
Ochako blushed at this. "Oh! Um… w-well, I wouldn't mind." She smiled shyly back at him.
Deku chuckled softly before Ochako walked with Izuku right beside her.
This was noticed by Tsuyu, Mina and Tooru, who were glancing at each other with knowing smirks. (Assume that's Tooru's expression.) Were they expecting confessions and kisses or paint brushes broken? No, of course not, even if Midoriya is now a Rabbit Faunus, he wouldn't cross that line yet, despite what people say about Rabbit people. However, this is a start, which is always good.
Izuku walked alongside Ochako until they arrived at her door. "Well, here we are. Thanks for coming along with me, Deku-kun." She thanked him with her usual cute smile.
"No, thank you for everything tonight." Izuku shook his head with a smile on his face. He bowed humbly. "I appreciate you looking out for me and I'm deeply grateful for your gratitude." He said grateful to her before looking back at him. "I'm blessed that I can count on you in the good and bad times." He smiled warmly at her.
"Deku-kun…" Ochako's eyes lit up, her cheeks turned deep red and her chest pounced like drum. She smiled warmly back at him. "I'm also blessed that I met you, Deku-kun." She then embraced him warmly before giving him a kiss on his cheek.
Izuku froze as his face turned tomato red.
Ochako then let go of him and glanced back at him with that same smile, then her brain registered what she just did when she saw how he stood still like a statue with his face so hot that vapor was coming out from his bunny ears. "Em... w-well, see you tomorrow, bye!" She grinned nervously as she quickly opened her door. "It was a friend's kiss! It doesn't count! It doesn't count!" She rushed into the room and closed the door.
"Bye…" Izuku uttered absentmindedly as he put his right hand on his cheek. "The first time a non-relative girl kissed me on the cheek…" His mind nearly crashed at what just happened. He then grinned from ear to ear and started to make his way back to his dorm, beaming with happiness. Things were starting to look up already and it was great!
Izuku enjoyed a happy night of sleep and woke up very early the next morning as usual. It was barely 6 AM, so he jumped out of his bed to do his usual morning routine before classes.
He went to his wardrobe to change into his training clothes. First thing in the morning was to go out an for a matinal run to the training track, usually twenty laps, however today he felt particularly full of energy so he ran for fifty instead and surprising he did it faster than he thought, he finished just a few minutes off the time he usually finishes with just 20 laps.
The boy then rushed back, went for a shower and put on his uniform before walking into the common room for breakfast.
He was met with Ojiro, Kirishima and Aoyama on the table. He greeted them before taking his seat and eating his bowl of cereal.
"You look happy today, Midoriya." Eijiro commented to him with a smile as he ate his breakfast.
"Well, I feel pretty good today." Izuku smiled at his friends.
"Good to see that, mon ami." Yuga said to him as usual as he smeared butter on his toast.
"Say, Midoriya." Mashirao turned to him. "I read that Faunus have different abilities depending on their species. You mentioned yesterday that you have a more sensible hearing because of your extra ears, but is that all?" He asked him out of curiosity.
"Hmm…" He cupped his chin. "Now that you mention it… Ever since I became a Faunus I have been smelling better, maybe not as good as a dog, but better than the average human." He could be smelling things clearer than before and significantly farther too. "And I just finished my matinal run of 50 laps instead of 20 that I usually run pretty fast and strangely enough I'm not too tired, in fact, I feel like I could run about another 50 laps." He explained to his friends. "Maybe this is the perks of having a Rabbit Faunus physiology." He glanced back at the other three boys.
"Wow. That sounds great, bro! Maybe you should keep training to see what you can do now. Who knows, maybe your new body is like Mirko's Quirk!" Eijiro grinned excitedly.
"Huh… I never thought about it like that. That it's actually really possible that my condition as an Alpha Rabbit Faunus gave me the physical abilities of a rabbit, similar to Mirko… Then what would happen if I used my Quirk on top of it...?" Izuku's mind started working as soon as he heard this, briefly going through a mutter spree.
Everyone on Class A was already used to this habit of his to the point of ignoring it unless he goes into it for too long.
"Good thing you are looking on the bright side of this, Midoriya." Mashirao smiled at him as the Faunus stopped his habit of looking at his friends.
"Yeah, it's like you have two Quirks now! I'm actually envious of you!" Eijiro grinned at him again and Yuga nodded in agreement.
"Yeah… Yeah, you're right." Izuku smiled excitedly back at them. "I need to see what else I can do with this body and see how far I can take this. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise after all." He looked at his hands before clenching them into fist with determination. He looked forward to practicing more later to see what he can do now, both with and without OFA.
Then the rest of the gang came for breakfast before heading to school. Take note that Katsuki had bags under his eyes for enduring the punishment that Aizawa gave him last night, so he barely slept and looked more irritated than usual.
Izuku greeted the others with a bright smile, which made many of his friends happy to see him in good spirits today. Although the emerald Faunus didn't notice that a certain round-faced girl had her eyes fixed on him as they all sat to eat together…
However, she wasn't the only girl that did… Perhaps there was more of Deku's new Alpha Rabbit Faunus physiology than meets the eyes…
To be Continued…
BD: Action-packed, humorous, and the shot of romance to make this an interesting series.
SS: A bit of everything that we're both good at, best of both worlds, baby!
BD: No doubt about that. Looking forward to the events that will unfold in the next chapter.
SS: Ah yes. It will be spicy indeed. The good stuff's about to come! Sit tight and enjoy the ride! As BD here would say, Team Greenshade and Long Live Midnight.
BD: Indeed! Stay tuned for more!
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