Chapter 2!

It's weird for me to have a One Piece referenced fic where Izumi is the main POV as opposed to the other three in which I still haven't used her POV at all in any of them. That being said, I do like writing this Izumi as she gets to be very generally disconnected from a lot of things. I also added in some other ideas and we'll see how they go as we get farther through the story.

User/Reviewer JustABird: Glad you've enjoyed the limited amount I've had for this story so far! It was quite different from my other fics so while I was looking forward to it, I was also questioning how it would be received. It's one I have to be a little more imaginative with in terms of Izumi's character because of her status as a yokai and not really aligning with, caring for, or understanding most human nature.

User/Reviewer Logical-Tadkins: Absolutely, having a yokai Izumi that not only is generally unaffected by time but has also existed for a long time already was a new idea for me. I feel like this fic will have a lot of Izumi POV as opposed to my other One Piece referenced fics cause we need her character due to her lack of involvement for a lot of events as well as just her personal insight.

User/Reviewer EndlessChains: Thanks as always for your reviews! I'm quite pleased with the idea and story so far and I'm happy with its reception so far even if it's a touch difficult to write. We'll have a lot of Izumi going forward and I need to think of how Izumi gets more and more involved in certain events. The difficulties writing her mainly come from that it's hard to comprehend some of her thinking and disconnect that level of humanity as the author.

User/Reviewer yomunot: Ooh glad to hear it! I really want this story to go places as I'm quite into the idea and simply went ahead and posted it even if I'll only be getting to it here and there.

To everyone who faved, followed, or reviewed thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA or the referenced power

Enjoy, more notes at the end!

Chapter 2: Blood

*Izumi POV*

The clear water rolled over her uncovered feet and splashed her calves as Izumi shuffled through the nearby river, the fish still swimming about unassumingly despite her presence.

It had only been a few days since the oni had returned to the temporary residence of the shrine and with a swipe of her hand through the water, the green haired yokai had finished fishing. The numerous fish that she had caught were prepared and the greenette let out a puff of flames to begin a fire to roast them. The green haired yokai sat patiently before grabbing one of the fish and digging in to eat while her mind wandered to the past.

A human from long ago, another brave soul that challenged her, had asked the oni if she had ever felt lonely and it wasn't only humans that had pestered her about the notion before. Other yokai that she had met throughout her existence had asked the same thing, the question becoming more frequent with the changing of ages, and Izumi's thoughts instead wandered to other yokai.

Many of them had been like her a long time ago but slowly as territories shrunk and the monotony of their long existences or their own natural instinct had caused them to become enticed by humans. How did they live? What did they value? What was so different between us and them? Many yokai had started asking such questions and as one of the few who remained the same, Izumi met less and less of them as time went on.

Yokai had blended in with humans and for better or worse they continued to do so. At the very least, Izumi knew that their numbers had dwindled overtime and that not all yokai that tried to become integrated into human society had come out of it unscathed. In the early stages of the act, some were found out and killed due to fear, unwarranted hatred, or even jealousy but perhaps the worst was when a yokai returned back to how they once were. It was said that having what you never thought you could and then losing it was a level of pain unmatched and that idea hadn't even spared yokai.

The thing about human friends, lovers, for a yokai meant that they would easily pass them by. After just the first time losing a human they loved some yokai retreated to seclusion or more rarely took their own lives from the event or what had become a repeated trauma and Izumi had put a small handful of the scarred beings to rest after they had instead pleaded her to end them or battled her to death in their crazed states. Despite such things, yokai continued to live with humans even today and it wasn't strange for humans with yokai blood to exist now, though more often than not the blood was largely diluted across generations.

The thoughts eventually trailed off as even among yokai Izumi could not have considered ever having anything more than an acquaintance. Much of her life had been spent wandering about to engage in battle after battle, with both other yokai and humans, and only as quirks began to appear more prominently had those encounters died off. The early days of quirks held quite a bit of dispute between humans themselves and since Izumi never bothered to actively interact with them she had largely ignored whatever violence they were partaking in. Although, it wasn't as if she hadn't killed her fair share of fools that attacked her during that time since those humans believed her to be another human that was opposing them rather than an actual yokai when they aimed for her.

Unlike the other yokai that were eventually drawn towards the humans, Izumi instead found them to be quite a bore. Other than never satisfying her expectations in a fight, the oni found the cycle within humanity to be predictable and repetitive. The great 'progress' that was made by humans was always squashed back down eventually and only ever amounted to less than a crawl in the grand scheme of things. It wasn't something that the green haired oni could understand and perhaps she never would but regardless she was a little less than indifferent to humans as a whole. Regardless, the oni woman could at least understand the other yokais' dissatisfaction with a monotonous lifestyle. For a creature like herself that had thrived off of battle, simply wandering about here and there wasn't what she would call fulfilling.

The green haired oni instantly perked up as she got a strange feeling from far off. Even if the oni wasn't physically there, the greenette knew when any of her few territories were being trespassed on. It seemed that there was something that required her attention. Utilizing some of her own quirk without transforming, Izumi carried herself through the sky with her flame clouds.

-break-

*?*

All that mattered was running, escaping as far away from that place as possible.

Anywhere should be, had to be, better than there. Everything hurt and it was hard to understand why it had to be like this. The head start had been helpful but with no direction or plan and the group already in pursuit things had become truly desperate.

Someone please just save her.

She didn't like her dark room, she didn't like the pain, and most of all she didn't like that she was thinking more and more that she deserved it.

Was she a monster?

Did she deserve this?

Stumbling over a tree root as she ran, tears began pooling at the corner of the girl's eyes as she tried to pull herself up off the ground. The people chasing after her had nearly caught up and she knew that this attempt would now once again result in failure. The little girl backed up on the ground until her back hit a tree and she could see her pursuers filing into the clearing.

"Come on now kiddo," the main man ushered, trying to coax her, "it's not safe you know, what say we head back?"

"Yeah, we don't wanna make the boss angry right?" another added on, causing the girl to flinch and recoil at the thought of that man.

"Come on, let's get back now." the leader finished and the villains began closing in.

The little girl was paralyzed in fear and she hugged at her small body. She wouldn't go back! She had to leave and escape but the group steadily walked up towards her before, unknown to the men, a figure quietly appeared behind them. Her eyes became wide and fearful but perhaps it was because the men didn't see what she could.

Behind the man who was speaking appeared a giant of a woman, her eyes gleaming red and her sharp teeth exposed as she hoisted her spiked club high above her head before swinging it downward. The little girl was familiar with death and there was no doubt that the man had been killed after the sickening sound of the blow.

"What the hell!"

"Who are you!"

"Do you know who-"

The group erupted into frantic yells but the horned woman was already upon them as an unnatural wind whipped up through the area. Taking her weapon in both hands, a powerful horizontal swing hit two more of the yakuza and sent them flying away before their bodies broke against the trees and the terrible violence had shaken the rest of them into a frenzied state. The green haired woman suddenly closed the distance between her and another villain and she strode passed with a casual swing of her club as the man spasmed as if he was struck by lightning. The final surviving villain was promptly grabbed by the woman and lifted into the air as he fired bullets into her with no effect before a burst of flames left her mouth in a huff and engulfed the man. Dropping the burning villain, and without any acknowledgement of the girl, the horned woman trudged about the clearing and burned the other bodies.

"No need for the smell to taint my territory longer than it needs to." the monstrous woman grumbled as she hefted her club onto her shoulder.

The horned greenette removed a gourd from her hip and took a deep drink from it as she began wandering off and the little girl, for as terrified as she was, realized that this person was her escape.

The woman said nothing as Eri carefully followed behind her.

-break-

*Izumi POV*

The encounter had added a bit of variety to her otherwise repetitive existence, even if the 'fight' was as unsatisfying as it could be, but Izumi was also thinking of what to do with her little follower.

It had been a long time since she had encountered a human child but of course she had met a number of them in the past. Ones who simply wandered, were abandoned, or very rarely even ones who were meant to be a sacrifice to her in one of her limited territories. The green haired oni had never needed such things nor had she ever killed one of them but instead had guided them out and sent them on their way. However, this girl was a bit of a different case. Just a single look at the tiny girl told the oni all she needed to know. This child had nothing to return to and no future if she remained by herself but beyond that, while as thin as it could be, the child had the barest amount of a yokai's blood.

It was obvious to the greenette that she was a yokai's descendant but it was unclear as to what kind of yokai it was. The child was clearly tiring as she tried to keep up with the green haired oni but had said nothing of her struggles, simply quietly pressing on. Izumi would need to figure out what to do with the girl because she couldn't stay with her. Even if the child had a drop of yokai blood she was still a human and needed to be around other humans as an oni that was uncaring towards her simply wouldn't do. At the most, the child might remain with her until that dragon woman returned to pick up the traditional gourd but Izumi reminded herself that that may be long for a human, particularly a child. Either way, she would need to transport them back to the shrine.

The oni woman halted and turned to the little girl who stopped as soon as she did, her legs wobbling from the extensive activity. The green haired yokai reached for her and the child recoiled and braced herself as her single horn began to spark to life with energy and as soon as Izumi touched the energy she retreated her approach. The little girl fell back and tears fell from her eyes as she rocked herself slowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." the girl chanted and the oni woman looked on impassively from the effects.

A decade or two meant little to the green haired yokai and she crouched down before the scared girl, "I'm still here child."

The horned girl's large round eyes opened and stared up at her, tears marring her face as her lips trembled, "I didn't mean to."

"and you've apologized already," the greenette soothed, the comforting words foreign to her lips, "your ability means little to me but I do need to move us elsewhere."

"You'll still take me?" the girl hoped desperately and Izumi nodded.

"For a while," the oni told her truthfully but the girl appeared relieved nonetheless. "but only until I find somewhere for you to go."

The child appeared hesitant at her added words but agreed for the moment, "O-okay."

Moving her hand forward cautiously, the oni woman used her left to pick the girl up, the child stiffening in her arm before slowly easing, and Izumi generated flame clouds once more before gingerly taking back to the skies. The child marveled at the expansive sight but Izumi was unclear about what made it so great.

At least until that woman returned, the oni would need to provide for a human.

-break-

*Ryuko POV*

"Any luck?" Ryukyu wondered as she reconvened with Gang Orca.

"Nothing," the whale man grumbled, "there's still a number of heroes actively searching right now and we should hear from Hawks soon." the Orca Hero informed as Ryukyu thought over the situation.

It had been reported that there was a suspicious looking group of people seemingly chasing after a little girl. Some of the men had been asking around if she had been seen and while initially it hadn't come off as strange, a civilian had recalled briefly catching a glimpse of the child in question looking distressed and covered in bandages so they had gone to the police instead. Soon enough, a number of heroes were informed and an active search had begun as it was quickly found out that the men searching for the little girl were a part of the yakuza.

"Thankfully Hawks wasn't too busy," Ryukyu noted and the whale hero nodded in agreement just before his phone went off.

"Speak of the devil," Gang Orca peered at his screen with a frown, "I'll inform the police. Can you meet up with Hawks?" he asked, sending the information that Hawks had relayed over to the dragon woman.

Ryukyu's wings swiftly grew out, "right, I'll see you there." the blonde told her fellow hero as she took off.

-break-

The Dragoon Hero's sense of smell was instantly assaulted as she landed in the small clearing of trees where Hawks was.

The smell was somewhat faint now but with her better senses Ryukyu was still able to identify the stench of burnt flesh. Hawks had looked over to her scowling face as he made tracks over the area, still investigating the immediate surroundings.

"I circled a few times after I arrived but couldn't find anything, or anyone, else save for this place." the winged hero reported as Ryukyu put a hand up to her chin in thought.

"Orca is bringing the police but I guess it's already easy to tell that a third party was involved." the blonde dragon woman observed as Hawks was crouched over by a tree.

"That's the idea," he agreed readily, "while most of the bodies were reduced to just small traces of ashes, the piles just about match our given number of yakuza."

"Nothing of the little girl?" Ryukyu wondered, though glad that it didn't seem that she was a part of these cinders.

Hawks placed his hands behind his head and aimed his gaze up, "found some light footprints that were pretty small but they disappeared suddenly."

"Where at?" the blonde woman pressed, wanting to get a look herself.

Hawks pointed a finger a bit of way out and motioned for her to follow and sure enough there were child footprints in some of the dirt as well as a few strange line indents here and there. The dragon hero paced about gently before something caught her eye and she crouched down low.

"You think she fell here?" the woman wondered to her fellow hero and Hawks looked over the disturbed dirt with his sharp gaze.

"Could be," the winged man replied but something else must have caught his eye, "what about this?" he remarked and Ryukyu studied the dirt across from them.

Standing up, the Dragoon Hero also took note of the short horizontal lines that had popped up here and there and something clicked in her head.

"The lines here are wooden sandals," the dragon woman realized and then looked at the larger oval like indent in the dirt, "and I'd guess that someone crouched down and put their knee here."

"So the girl was definitely taken then," Hawks sighed as he stood up, "and considering her apparent situation then it probably didn't matter to her who it was as long as they saved her."

Ryukyu nodded at the idea, "did they get any info about the girl?"

"Not yet," he shook his head, the winged man's disappointment clear by his tone.

"Damn," the woman grumbled at the wall that they'd hit, "Orca should be here soon so let's meet up with him."

The two heroes made their way back to the clearing to wait for the whale hero but Ryukyu's mind was still fixated on finding the little girl as well as whoever took her and killed those men.

Notes and Stuff

Getting Eri in here early! Not only that but as Izumi stated she has a touch of yokai blood here.

I wonder if I'll ever write out a legitimate timeline for this Izumi but that'll be quite some work. I also need to figure out some of Izumi's fights because this Izumi is definitely in a position to fight a lot of different people from different sides and factions. Considering her disposition here I just wanna make her battle haha. Also I think this is the first fic I've done that I just straight up killed people off, albeit not a major character and excluding the Nomus, so that was quite different for me. Of course Izumi doesn't care though.

The fic definitely needs a lot of Izumi's POV since generally she wouldn't meet other characters often and be away from major events but also because looking at her from another character's view would only amount to making her seem generally just brutish. Most of her interactions with humans mainly just were fights and without many words and a lot of her character would come out better through her thoughts and outlooks. It should be enjoyable for me to to write out Izumi moving pretty separately from the checkpoint canon events though.

This was probably a part of a small batch update so make sure to check for the other fics I updated too since as the time of writing this I wasn't sure which ones I had written a new chapter for.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to more updates from me!