His mouth felt dry and he was sure his eyes were betraying his fear as he looked into those two abysses that masqueraded as the monster's eyes. The 'man' smiled kindly, and Midoriya wanted to throw up.
MurdererMurderder-
Not now! His breathing was ragged but just barely, he could at least try to force the voices away. It wouldn't work but it seemed, wherever he was in the void, the Outsider was doing his part as the attack seemed to be unable to really pick up.
As he struggled with his own mind, Midoriya took in the man before him.
He had short black hair, in the style of a crop top. He wore a dirty white hospital coat and, while you had to look for them, there were signs of his skin being damaged. Something Yutoo had as well.
"Midoriya?" Todoroki questioned, concerned and finally reality seemed to snap in, as the greenette finally felt his words return to him.
"S-sorry…. Just still r-recovering." He lied, curling his left hand into a fist, ready to throw out Far Reach at a moment's notice.
"Well, I suppose that's understandable." The demon laughed, flipping through random pages on a clipboard. "How is your shoulder feeling, my boy?"
"Please don't call me that-" Midoriya blurted out, getting odd looks from his friends as he shivered. "It's fine. I heal fast."
"Yes, I noticed." The demon chuckled looking up to meet his eyes. "Without healing quirks being involved, one could almost call it magic."
Midoriya's breath hitched as he gritted his teeth, unconsciously lifting his hand up and feeling at the shoulder that had been injured. Not even so much as a scar remained.
As he did, the doctor's eyes continued to scan over him and then he noticed his hand. And for just a moment, the Demon's smile faltered. 'Shit.'
"I….. Excuse me a moment, you lot. If mister Midoriya is in no need of immediate attention, then I need to attend to some business. You know how to call." He said hurriedly, climbing off the bed and suddenly leaving.
"….What on earth was that all about?" Iida asked, clearly confused. Though he was quiet, the look on Todoroki's face betrayed his own curiosity. Midoriya's free hand gripped the side of his bed, steadying himself as he took a calming breath. "Midoriya?"
"I…..I don't trust him." He said simply, with nothing added. The other two seemed confused, but before they could elaborate Midoriya stood up. "Is there a bathroom?"
"…Yeah. Just in there." The heterochromatic teen nodded, pointing to the end of the hall. Nodding his thanks, Midoriya made his way over, quietly reaching for his bag at his bedside as he did so. The other two hopefully didn't see as he pulled out a little block of wood and hid it in his palms, before making it to the rest room.
As he closed the door and locked it behind him, a singular question pierced his mind. He walked up to the sink, running the water and splashing it on his face before he looked up at the mirror. "Why…."
Why is a demon, a 'creature of evil', in a hospital? Especially as a doctor?
It made no sense. A place where people were healed and saved, where Doctors who were almost bigger paragons of good than heroes would reside. Why-
"Hey, hey, hey. Sweetie! Come on, it'll be ok, it'll be-" A man was talking trying to sound comforting. A thud cut him off and suddenly a woman began to talk, sounding hysterical.
"HOW THE HELL CAN IT BE 'OK?!' MY MOTHERS DEAD BECAUSE OF THAT STUPID HOSPITAL! I TOLD YOU WE SHOULDN'T PUT HER THERE!"
Bile started to rise in Midoriya's throat as the answer hit him. 'Easy prey…..'
He looked down at his mark as he mulled over that thought, gritting his teeth. A wounded man couldn't fight back against another man, let alone a demon…..
It was… Horrific, Pathetic, cowardly. For once, the greenette didn't need to channel Bakugou's emotions to be pissed off. He took a breathe faced his reflection once more, as he considered his options.
"Ok… don't freak out. You just have a potentially Nomu level threat right under your nose that you can't tell anyone else about and have to deal with despite knowing no way to do it without killing them…."
He groaned as he set his head on the sink. God forbid after he risks his life to save his classmate and passes out facing a serial killer, god forbid he gets some actual time to fucking recover!
Quietly growling, he lifted his head and took in the room properly. It was a cramped little space, with a toilet, sink and a small empty space on the other side of the room. However as his gaze turned up he spotted a vent, with a grating. A vent he was JUST small enough to fit into.
Making sure the door was definitively locked, he left the sink running so it would seem as though Midoriya was still inside to the other students before he threw up Far Reach and pulled off the grating by force. As it fell down, he grabbed it before using his enhanced agility to jump up and grab on, squeezing inside.
It was a tight fit that left various parts of his body feeling ready to bend in unnatural and undesirable ways but he put up with it as he began to crawl, the world fading into a sepia tone.
Through the metal walls, he saw many people. Some were bustling about, attending to others who were laid up in bed. Patients, probably. There was no sign of any green silhouette anywhere however.
He grumbled as he continued to move. He had no clue what he'd do, what he even could do if he found the demon but he knew he couldn't just stay sitting in bed. 'Some advice from god would be really handy right about now….'
No voice entered his head to give him any advice and the greenette rolled his eyes. 'Sometimes, I really hate you Outsider.'
His crawling soon came to an end as the vent ran out of room, and his only option to continue moving was another grate that would let him out. Awkwardly twisting his body, he managed to get his fist in front of him and called upon Full Cowling for just a moment to punch out the grate.
He smiled despite himself, taking just a moment to be proud of himself that he'd finally started to tame One for All. The clattering of the metal panel on the tiled floor brought him back to reality and he flinched at the sudden noise, before dropping down into the room.
Looking around, he quickly noted it to be supply room of some type. It would be unremarkable and generic, if not for one odd detail. The room had clear signs of damage, presumably recent.
In fact, it almost seemed as if it was caused by a blade of some type, and suddenly Midoriya recalled that Stain had attacked the hospital. He let out an impressed whistle as he walked up to one, inspecting it.
Psychotic or not, if the demon had been here the whole time and Stain still got away, that was just impressive. Then again, that was assuming the demon would of done anything to stop him….
"-Supposed to do!?" A sudden muffled voice caused the greenette's eyes to go wide and shot Far Reach up, clambering atop one of the shelves and activating Shadow Walk.
He did his best to ignore the sudden…. Elicit…..satisfying thoughts that accompanied the transformation, slinking back and hiding amongst the darkness as the doctor burst in with some mystery blonde man, with a slightly stocky build and a more damaged his face. His body shuddered as he felt yet more of the energy that the doctor had radiated.
'Two of them?!'
"I don't know, maybe don't give us away?!" The blonde snarled as he slammed the door behind him. "We don't exactly have a plan for him showing up here. He's a threat to this entire operation, Kiyoshi!"
"Oh, I'm sure you care. This isn't even your job, so isn't it just less competition for you, Minori?" 'Kiyoshi' asked, rolling his eyes. The blonde shook his head.
"We don't exactly have the resources for in-fighting. Sometime I seem to be the only one who understands that though!" Minori growled, before placing his hands on his face and groaning. "Look…. Wait…. Actually….. how long is he here?"
"I mean, probably not long." The doctor shrugged. "He might want to run away fast if he knows about us. Look, I'll handle it!"
'I'd never run from a monster like you if my life depended on it. I won't give you the satisfaction.' Midoriya thought angrily, before he felt a sudden lurch in his body. He couldn't remain in his new shadowy form much longer.
"Damn, that's a shame." Minori grinned, as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. Midoriya felt one of his hand like appendages begin to twitch. "Just imagine…. A marked demon….The possibilities are amazing."
What…..
"Well, you never know. Now, weren't you doing something?"
"Yeah, had some important business down in Toyama. Try not to fuck the pooch on this, Kiyoshi." The blonde grinned, before suddenly his entire body went up in flames and he dissipated away.
"Yeah, fuck you too." The doctor growled before leaving the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Midoriya's physically form finally returned as the greenette fell from the shelf and felt his arm smash again the ground. 'Ow….'
Picking himself up, he looked to where the blonde had been just a moment ago with a fearful frown. 'Another one….. What did he mean…'
It shouldn't be possible for any more demons to be made. The Outsider would have stopped them…. Right?
His throat went dry as he looked up to the vent, and quickly climbed back in. He knew he still had to deal with the demon but…. He still had no idea how, and now he had to figure out what 'Minori' meant.
As he crawled through the vents, worries piling on top of one another, he didn't even notice the room he was in begin to flicker and fade away, until it disappeared without a trace.
"Oh, Midoriya. That was….." Iida trailed off as the boy walked out, seeming to get caught on his own words. "Pardon my rudeness but are you ok? You might have been roughed up by the Nomu, I could call a doctor If need be."
"I'm fine Iida, just…. Tired." Midoriya brushed off his friends concern, and tried to ignore the piercing stare of Todoroki as he crawled back into his bed. The idea of sleeping and going into a vulnerable state while a demon was in the same place as him was horrifying, but he would take his chances. Hopefully they wouldn't risk attacking in such a crowded place.
They did seem to still value secrecy.
"I'm going to rest a little more but… if either of you are going to sleep or if that doctor comes back… please wake me up, ok?" He asked, and though they both wore looks of confusion his friends. "Thanks…."
With that, he laid his head down and closed his eyes. It only took a couple moments for a cold wind to start to blow across his face, causing his eye to twitch. He started to sit up, opening his eyes and-
"MIDORIYA!" Shimura and Aneko shouted, as they threw themselves at him, arms wrapping around him tight. He returned the hugs quietly, before breaking away and standing up to see the other holders all staring at him concerned. "Thank god you're alright. Are you…."
"I'm fine, for now. Where's the outsider?" He asked, inspecting the place. Kenji opened his mouth but before he could say anything, a flurry of crystals got their attention and the Outsider stood tall and imposing over them. "I doubt I need to explain why I'm here."
"Of course not. Let's go, we don't have much time." The god said with a frown, giving a dramatic flourish of his hands, and suddenly the two were no longer in the void, but on a nearby floating island of 'void rock'. There were no statues or the like this time though. "So?"
"I think you know what I'm wondering. That Minori demon mentioned making me a demon… that implies making more. Is that even possible?" He asked, crossing his arms. "I thought you stopped it happening here."
"I did. It isn't…. or at least it shouldn't be possible." The black eyed man said, pacing about. "I mean if they had someone helping them who was able to be like…"
"Like what?"
"Never mind. Forget it."
"Wait wh-"
"Forget. It." The god demanded as he turned around, walking up to Midoriya. To the greenette's surprised, the normally distand god actually knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder. Hid body shuddered involuntarily as he felt the raw power of the god. Along with that…. Why did the Outsider feel so… scared? "Remember I told you to bring your sword?"
"Yeah. Did you just want to see me get in a sword fight with Stain?" The greenette asked. It had hardly been an instrumental piece in stopping the villain, even if it was useful.
"Actually, he had nothing to do with why I told you to bring it." The Outsider said, shaking his head and holding his other hand out. In it, said blade formed. The god took his hand off Izuku and pulled off the odd bone like charm that was attached. "I'm surprised you've yet to ask about this little addition."
"Huh? Isn't it just a design piece?"
"Oh my dear Izuku…. This is a bonecharm." The Outsider tutted, hadnign it over to Izuku. "Feel it, truly feel it. Feel the energy within."
Confused, the teen obliged only to be shocked when he felt it suddenly begin to course through him. He stopped channelling as he let go, eyes going wide. "What the…."
"They are charms, relics of the old world I have mentioned. A bit like good luck charms in this world, except their effects are tangible and can range from minor to magnificent." The god explained, as Izuku stared on confused. "Prevention of pregnancies, revitalising one's self, making one more resistant to damage. Of course, like anything, they'd come with a price. Still, not one you need concern yourself over."
"Wait then… is that how my sword can avoid hurting people? Why Power Loader was so unsure of it?"
"Yes, I had very specific instructions so that the blade could be properly crafted. However, it's not quite as non-lethal as one might expect. You see, there is a trade off. It is not actually it's purpose, merely a side effect of it's true one." The black eyed man disappeared in a flurry before reappearing on the other side of the boy, seemingly unable to stay still for more than a few moments at a time. "The inability to hurt mortals is a trade off, so that It may possess the ability to wound and kill demons in the same way a normal sword would work. Some magic abilities should also prove effective, such as Far Lance and Shadow Walk."
"Oh…." Midoriya sighed as he looked at the blade. His throat felt tight as he looked at it. "So…. It….. it still is killing…."
The hand from before returned and he looked up to the Outsider, who had a grin that did not suit his face. Midoriya definitely preferred it when he showed no emotion.
The odd effort to try to assure him was at least appreciated though.
"Izuku, remember this. It may not be pleasant to do, but a demon is a man who is already dead. It is not murder, and it is not a sin. It's a necessity to protect those who are powerless in fact. It may be unpleasant, they may make it dramatic to make you feel worse about it but it's not. A. Sin. Ok?"
"Y-yeah, ok…" Midoriya nodded, mouth still dry and the god sighed, before snapping his fingers. The floor began to fall back and suddenly Midoriya was falling through the void. "I'll… try."
"Good. In the meantime, I'll see if I can find the other one…."
With a sudden gasp, Midoriya shot up in his bed and noted it was now night time, with the sky outside having gone dark and much to his chargrin both Iida and Todoroki were sleeping soundly. 'Guess they thought I was just being hysterical or something…'
Shaking his head, he thanked his luck that nothing had happened but now he was left with a dilemma. Not just of what he would do with the demon but simply remaining to deal with the problem.
With his cut healed, Midoriya was currently a perfectly healthy human. There would be no reason for him to remain and he'd be discharged, which would have him placed with Gran Torino again and give him no time to work on the demon issue.
As he looked between his two friends, he mulled over the issue before an idea struck. Where he in a more… stable mind at the moment he'd perhaps of considered trying to convince Gran Torino to simply patrol near the hospital for a while.
Instead, confused and worried as he was, he made a much more reckless decision. He quietly climbed out of bed, making sure not to wake either of the other boys as he left the room and began to make his way through the halls, avoiding anyone along the way.
As he began to near the end of the hall, finding the stairwell, he heard the sound of a woman laughing. It was an odd cackle, almost manic. Curious, he looked over to see an old woman, with poofy white hair and dark eyes laughing at the show on her TV.
Midoriya just grimaced when he realized it was some kind torture scene in a horror film of some type. 'Note to self, never ever accept any confectionery from her if she offers. Why would you laugh at that?!'
Shaking his head, not wanting to ponder it any more he made his way up the stairs and soon he found himself on the roof. It was a calm and peaceful night, almost ethereal in it's simple beauty.
Too bad he was about to ruin it by screaming like a madman.
He took a deep breathe, looking up into the sky and raising his right arm. 'I can't risk leaving the hospital yet, and they can't release me if I'm still injured so….'
The few who were still awake at this time could only jump as a voice screamed to the heavens, followed by a deafening bang as a cyclone of wind erupted above Hosu general hospital.
"ONE FOR ALL! SIXTY PERCENT!"