Chapter 3: Wailing In the Walls
Izuku didn't know when he fell asleep. His exhaustion and extreme trembling must have taken over. Blinking his eyes open and rubbing them, he looks towards the closed window. Remembering what Iida said, his eyes open wide and he gulps. If the Moat Guardian knocks, he's to open the window. Izuku sits silently, staring at the window, waiting for the sound of knocking. There was none. He lets out a sigh of relief.
A noise that wasn't knocking suddenly fills him with dread. He gets goosebumps on his skin and a chill up his spine. The hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It's the wailing from the walls. Izuku doesn't know what to do, so he retreats under the blanket again. The wailing started off soft and distant at first, but then it grew louder the closer it came to the bed. Izuku whimpered and shook, wishing he was back in his own world! Just as it sounds as if it's directly above him, the wailing stops.
'Oh no...is it right outside my blanket?' Izuku wonders, biting his lip and hoping that he's wrong. 'Go away! Just go away!'
Izuku suddenly felt the fear inside of him fade and replaced with calm. The wailing started up again, only this time the sound wasn't filled with agonizing sorrow. It was soft sobbing, almost as if someone is trying to recover from crying for too long. No longer feeling scared, Izuku peeks out from under the blanket. There's nothing there that he can, but he can feel the presence of 'something.' The sound slowly begins to move away, and Izuku is unable to ignore it. Instead, he follows it, like a siren's song. He knows it's coming from the walls, so he places a hand on the stone. He can feel the presence of the wailing. It's almost familiar to him. Gliding his hand along the wall, Izuku follows the sound out of his room and through the castle.
He travels through dark halls and climbs stairs, all the while following the wail. It leads him to a spot on the wall. Izuku looks at the area, noticing that there are lines in the wall. A door. A secret door, as it matches the wall and would be impossible to see unless you know it's there. But how to open it? Izuku feels around the area for signs of a hidden doorknob or a latch.
"It opens from the inside," came a voice from above him. Izuku looks up to see a small creature, a kobold, peeking out of the tunnel.
Izuku tries not to make a face at the humanoid lizard figure looking down at him. "Um...are you able to open it for me?" he asks.
"Yes," the creature disappears and Izuku waits. There is a click from the other side of the door and a creak as it opens about an inch.
"Thank you," Izuku tells the creature and opens the door to pure darkness. He swallows hard, deciding that, maybe, this isn't such a good idea despite the growing need of curiosity. The wailing begins again; soft little sobs. It's too dark to see anything and he doesn't want to slip and fall into a hole or bump into a wall. The kobold from before offers him a lantern as big as it is. "Oh. Thanks again," Izuku smiles at the small creature and takes the lantern from them. It scurries away into the dark.
Holding the lantern, he sees a stairway. The wailing is coming from up there. Taking a deep breath, he ascends the stairs with the light. The many, many stairs. The spiral design was beginning to make him dizzy, so he uses the wall to steady himself. If he slips and falls, it would be a very long tumble back down. The stairs stop another door made of rotting black wood. There's a knob on this one. The wailing is on the other side of the door. Izuku takes another deep breath, holds it, and opens the door. It led to something soft. A cloth? Izuku feels its woven texture. A curtain? There's some light shining through. Izuku finds the end and peeks around the fabric.
It's a room. A large room with a high ceiling, decorated with red walls and a black floor. Izuku grows pale when he sees the arches of the ceiling made out of black bones. Heads of strange creatures and monstrous beasts line the walls. Izuku steps out from behind the woven cloth, seeing it now as a tapestry. Aside from the black bones and beast hides, the room had everything a normal living area would have. When Izuku sees the large painting above the fireplace, he nearly wets himself. It's Bakugo's room!
'Oh, no...I'm in Blood Lord Bakugo's chambers! I'm a dead man now! I have to get out of here! Why would that wailing lead me here?'
Izuku's attention falls on the bed in the room. The width of it looks as if it could sleep six people comfortably with room to spare. It had four pillars but no canopy and the structure looked to be made of solid carved wood. Something urges him to get closer, and he obeys. Holding the lantern, he approaches the bed and the sleeping figure on it. In the center of the bed sleeps Bakugo, laying on his belly with arms folded under red silk pillows. The top blanket covers only his lower half, leaving his back bare. Unlike the barbaric demon in the painting, this Bakugo's sleeping features are soft. His shoulders gently rise and fall with even breathing; no snores.
'He's very handsome when he's not screaming and yelling,' Izuku thinks. He wants to leave but something about the sleeping demon seems familiar to him. It's almost as if he's seen Bakugo like this before. 'I'm really playing with fire...I have to leave before he senses I'm here,'
"I thought I heard a mouse,"
Izuku's entire form becomes rigid and his face turns white as if he's seen a ghost. 'He's awake!' Red eyes stare hard at him, but Bakugo doesn't move from his position.
"What are you doing in my room, human scum?"
"I...I...I didn't mean to! I followed the wailing and it led me here! There's a secret door! I didn't know!" He almost drops the lantern when Bakugo sits up. The blanket reveals Bakugo's tail, and Izuku realizes the alpha demon is naked. 'Oh no…'
Bakugo takes a deep, deep breath before saying, "You're lucky I have orders not to kill you, because rest assured, you'd be dead by now."
"I understand!"
"Do you?"
'At least he's not attacking me. Yet.' "I guess I'll leave you alone now. I don't know why the wailing brought me to your room. Has anything like that ever happened before?"
"I don't hear the wailing anymore," Bakugo says, cracking his back. "I suggest next time you don't follow it, or rather, don't follow it into my damn room! Your human stench is smelling up the place!" That wasn't the truth, though. Izuku's omega scent excited him. He refuses to give in. "Get out of my room, scum!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Bakugo growls at the retreating figure as the human disappears behind the tapestry. He's forgotten all about that door. He doesn't doubt the wailing cry put Izuku in a trance. There has never been a human here before, so whatever the wailing spirit is, it never sensed humans before. Humans are so weak...they don't deserve to hold dominion over the world above. But that human...his scent still lingers. It is a sweet scent, like a cake or pastry. And it is so familiar to him.
'That human can't be the one from the prophecy,' Bakugo lays back down, but on his back to look at the ceiling. 'He's too stupid." Bakugo couldn't get back to sleep because of the omega's scent lingering in the room. He eventually gave up trying and decided to busy himself with reading in the library. He had to escape his room and the omega.
The following morning, while Bakugo snoozed in his office, he's awoken by the one-eyed raven pecking at the window. Bakugo swishes his tail in annoyance as he is forced to get up to let the bird in. It carries a letter from the Dark King. He shoos the bird away and closes the window, ignoring the angry pecking.
'This had better have something to do with the human.' Bakugo grumbles and opens it to read.
My Child,
I have decided what to do about the human. While consulting with my council, we have come to the conclusion that this human may very well be the successor reborn. I can feel it in my bones. If this is so, we must not let on that we know or let the human know of his true power and past life. I wish to recreate the events of that time so many years ago, but we will have control this time. That is why I plan to marry the omega human to an alpha Blood Lord. We will need a child born of both worlds if we are to regain our rightful place. My council and I have prophesied that this is the best chance we have to break through the barrier. A mixed-blood child can do this. I will go further into detail at our next meeting.
I believe Blood Lord Shoto Todoroki will make a good alpha husband. I plan to reach out to him shortly.
Regards.
"Oh, fuck that," Bakugo tears up the paper. "I won't let that half and half bastard show ME up!" he goes to Tokoyami's room and demands that the gargoyle conjure a direct speaking line to the Dark King. Bakugo tries to calm his rage while Tokoyami is making the magic. The thought of the human omega with his arch-rival filled him with fury and, strange enough, pure jealousy. Shoto Todoroki will not be the hero of the Dark World! Only HE will be number one.
"The line of communication is ready," Tokoyami says.
"Finally!" Bakugo shoves the gargoyle away and looks at the rippling picture of the Dark King's chambers. "Master of All Evil? I got your note and I have a few things to say!"
'Bakugo, my boy, so good to hear from you,'
"You can't marry the human off to Shoto! I forbid it!"
'You forbid it? Whatever for? I thought you'd be thrilled to get the human out of your way?'
"I'm an alpha prime and your best Blood Lord! Why would you offer Shoto the human omega?"
'...because the omega is a human. Humans are so fragile...so weak and helpless...a precious human-like Izuku Midoriya needs a demon alpha who is not...shall we say, a bully?' The Dark King chuckles and Bakugo growls at him. 'You are my prized warrior, but you are not husband material. We need the omega's trust. We need him to fall in love. Any omega will naturally do what's best for their child and mate, so long as they love them.'
Bakugo grips the edges of the cauldron. "You speak of the prophecy, but you forget one thing. No one knows how we ended up stuck here, in the underworld, forever banned from the world above, which we rightfully own! We assume it was the Symbol of Peace's powers...but we don't know for sure."
'Ah, my boy...there is so much you don't understand. But I assure you, in time, all will become clear. If you truly wish to take the human omega as your mate, then I will grant that permission. Though I have my doubts…'
Bakugo roars at the enchanted water.
'My, my...such vicious anger. A short temper...a firey attitude. Your alpha prime seed will no doubt help bear a strong child, but you lack the tender touch of a lover,'
"Bullshit. I am your best warrior. I'm the smartest, the strongest, the bravest, and none has matched me! There is NOTHING I can't do!"
"Pardon my butting in," Tokoyami starts. "But we are forgetting one very obvious detail. No human could carry the child of a demon in their womb. Not an omega, and not a woman. Izuku will likely die,"
'Not if he is the successor, as we believe him to be. If he dies, then he dies. It's of little matter in the grand view of things. It would be time wasted, yes, but nothing terrible. But Bakugo, do give this some thought before you let your pride take over?'
Bakugo smirks then, and counters with, "If this means so much to you...why not take the human omega yourself? The Master of All Evil...the Dark King...the Enslaver of Worlds. Wouldn't you like to mount and impregnate the omega yourself?"
'...some things are better left to the young ones,' he chuckles darkly and the image fades.
"Fuck!" Bakugo hisses when he sees the water return to normal.
"My Lord, if I may?"
Bakugo paces back and forth. "What, bird-brain?"
"In the story...the omega had an alpha lover, who was once human. It was when the human alpha became a demon that the omega killed himself,"
"Get to the point, asshole!"
Tokoyami bows his head and continues. "The omega successor was already pregnant, but by a human alpha, not a demon. Do we really wish to risk the life of Izuku over something that may or may not be true? I don't wish to oppose the Dark King...but I have yet to analyze the stars and moons."
Bakugo stops pacing to face him, hands his hips. "You think you can prophesize differently than the Dark King?"
"No, I did not say that. I only mentioned it because...because I believe it's worth having two opinions. He is the Master of All Evil for a reason. He is the Lord of All. He is All For One. This very land and everything in it exists through His will and power alone."
Bakugo's tail swishes behind him. "You think that the Dark King has a plan he's not telling me about?"
"I am...hesitant, that's all," Tokoyami says. "Please allow me time to conduct my own powers and give my findings," he falls to one knee. "I'm here to serve you,"
"Hmph. Fine. Conduct your magic, and do it soon! Get it done before your mate comes back. Got it?"
"Yes, My Lord."
'Everything is so warm...the sun is so bright…'
Izuku sees himself trailing his hand along the tall grass mixed with wildflowers. The sun shines brightly in the clear blue sky; not a cloud in sight. He looks down at his bare feet in the grass, and the slight bulge of his stomach.
'The baby is happy today,' he says.
At the end of the field, he sees a dark figure waving to him. The figure is so far away that Izuku cannot make out any features. The figure calls to him; Izuku can hear the voice but can't understand the language. There is one thing he does know, however, and that is to get to that figure. 'My mate!' His bare feet trudge through the grass as he runs towards his mate, but the closer he gets, the further away the figure becomes. Izuku feels as if he's just running, endlessly, as if trying to reach the end of a rainbow. Izuku starts to panic, calling out to the figure in the same language though not understanding it. He reaches his hands out for the figure, urging the mate to come to him. The black figure becomes bleak, almost disappearing into the clear, sunny distance. Suddenly, the figure explodes into a raging spiral dark cloud of fire and ash. Izuku gasps and stays away for the heat is too strong to tolerate. He has to think of the baby.
He watches in horror as a humanoid form struggles and fights its way through the fire cloud as if being reborn. The skin is bloody red, and the agonizing screams are high pitched shrieks in Izuku's ears.
'Make it stop!'
'...zuku! -zuku! IZUKU!'
Izuku's eyes fly open at the sound of his name. He is desperately trying to catch his breath and notices his body is drenched in sweat. Above him is the Demon Command Sero, holding a torch.
"Izuku! Wow, it took you so long to wake up!" Sero says.
"W-Where am I?"
"In a hallway," Sero tells him. "I just happened to be coming this way and I saw you. I thought you were having a fit with how you were crying and thrashing and screaming."
Izuku looks at his belly and places his hand on top of it, feeling nothing inside his womb; only flat, hard muscles. He lets out a breath of relief. "I'm sorry, Master Sero...I...I don't know what happened. There was a wailing and I followed it…"
Sero chuckles and helps him up. "Hey, don't let it get to you. We've all followed the wailing once or twice in our stay here."
"Really? Where did it take you?"
"To be honest, I can't remember. But you look famished and exhausted. You need to eat. Why not have breakfast with Kirishima, Kaminari, Iida, and myself? Get your mind off things for a bit. You look like you were having a pretty nasty nightmare."
Izuku wipes the sweat from his bow. "I was…" He thinks about ending up in Bakugo's chamber and seeing the demon alpha prime's bare skin. Bakugo had so many hard and toned muscles. The omega part of him had been turned on by the sight, and if he had been an omega who believed in free love, Izuku would have stripped and bared his neck and open thighs. But if he can fight off the hundreds of mining alphas, then he can fight his desire for the Blood Lord Katsuki Bakugo. "Having a nightmare. I'm still getting used to this place. 'What was that about? Ugh...just thinking about it is making my head hurt! I don't think that was a regular nightmare...'
"Understood. So, you want to have breakfast with us? Some food and good company will help build up your strength!"
"I would like that,"
Izuku goes with Sero to the main dining hall where the other commanders are seated and talking. Tokoyami is with them as well. Izuku looks at the head of the table to find Bakugo's chair empty. Kirishima stands up to greet and welcome him to the table. Izuku takes the seat on the end next to Tokoyami, wanting to be close to an omega than an alpha at the moment. He wonders where Iida is.
"Izuku heard the wailing last night and followed it," Sero tells them, taking his own seat.
"I've learned to block it out," Kirishima says.
"You also sleep like a rock!" Sero says with a grin and Kaminari adds,
"An earthquake along with a thunderstorm wouldn't wake you up!"
Kirishima gives them both amused looks of shock. "First off, I wake up when I need to! And Kaminari, you shouldn't talk! It's you who can sleep through anything!"
Izuku smiles at the friendly banter, realizing how much he missed the company of others. He asks Tokoyami if he is okay because the gargoyle is barely talking, and Tokoyami answers that he only speaks when he deems it necessary. It was a valid enough reason for Izuku. Servants bring out plates of food, and when Izuku sees his meal, a wave of nausea came over him. The meat (he assumes) looks raw. There is a small pie with...something moving under the crust. A fist-size of vegetables (again, he assumes) fills the rest of the plate.
"Something wrong with the food?" Kaminari asks him, already munching loudly.
"I...um...it's um…"
Tokoyami takes Izuku's plate and swaps it with his. "You're not ready yet to eat this type of food," he says. "My plate will be easier for you to consume."
Izuku thanks him, checking to make sure there wasn't anything 'moving around' on the plate. Everything seemed normal. Though the moment he picked up the fork, the doors burst open. He drops the fork on the floor, startled by the sudden entry of Bakugo. The demon Blood Lord never wears a shirt. Izuku would rather look at Bakugo's chest than meet the demon's eyes. Iida is directly behind him.
"Human. Out." Bakugo commands. "Demon only talk."
Izuku looks at the others and gets up. Tokoyami tells him to take the plate and wait outside the door. Izuku keeps his head down as he walks by Bakugo, unable to keep his nose from picking up the strong alpha scent. Bakugo's tail ushers him out and the doors slammed closed.
Bakugo goes to the head of the table and sits, though he doesn't ask for food, only blood wine. Kirishima pours him some and asks,
"So, what's this 'demon only' talk?"
"I'm getting married."
Kaminari spits out his food. Sero drops the piece of bread from his mouth. Kirishima stares at Bakugo and over pours the blood wine, spilling it on the table. Tokoyami doesn't let on that he knew. Bakugo explains to them what the Dark King said.
"Shoto will not get that privilege," Bakugo says.
"Forgive me for speaking out of turn," Iida shouts. "But My Lord, fatherhood does not suit you!"
"I agree with Iida," Kaminari says. "You're not the parent-type at all,"
Bakugo growls and yells. "Shut up, you! I can be whatever I want!" He calms down and adds, "Besides, who said anything about 'parenting?' My job is to impregnate and put a roof over the brat's head. The rest of you can play 'daddy' if you want."
Kirishima sighs. "You really are a rotten guy,"
Bakugo looks to Tokoyami. "Don't you have some prophesying to do instead of sitting here?"
"This evening I will," Tokoyami tells him. "Please hold off on proposing marriage to Izuku until I give you my reading."
"Still, I can't believe you're even considering this at all," Sero adds. "I mean, I would think you'd be completely embarrassed to marry and mate a human when so many demon omega men and women have been BEGGING to be your mate."
"And we cannot say Izuku can even manage or bare a half-blood child!" Iida says.
"Well, we don't know that for sure," Kaminari says. "This has never happened before. We just assume humans can't do anything and are weak...but they have kept us out of the world above for generations."
"From now on, no one questions my reasons for doing this!" Bakugo yells at them.
"Can I plan the wedding?" Kaminari pleads.
"Shut up! No one says anything to anyone about this outside of this room! I have spoken and will speak no more right now! Your extra faces bother me! I'm going hunting!"
Kirishima chooses to follow behind Bakugo, but doesn't let his alpha friend know he's there until reaching the stables. He goes up to Bakugo once the demon is saddling his beast. Bakugo picks up on his scent and turns to glare, threatening Kirishima with his tail. Kirishima puts his hands up, grins, and offers to ride with Bakugo to hunt. Bakugo ignores him and mounts the beast, leaving without Kirishima. But Kirishima catches up easily, because Bakugo wanted him to, and this is how Kirishima knew that something else is bothering his friend.
"Hey bro, mind if we have some demon buddy talk?"
Bakugo growls deep in his throat. "I'm not your 'buddy'."
Kirishima knows the truth about their friendship but never pushes it. Bakugo shows it in different ways than he does.
"Sero told me that he found Izuku having a nightmare in the hallway, far from his room. Izuku told Sero he followed the wailing. I didn't think a human would be able to hear the wailing, much less follow it."
"Don't say a fucking word, or I'll eat your tongue,"
Kirishima grins. Bakugo's threats to him and the others are always empty ones. "I promise not to blab."
"The wailing led the human grub worm to my room."
"He has a name, you turd. It's Izuku."
Bakugo sneers. "I'll call him whatever I want! Scum, grub worm, human waste…" he grumbles, then mutters. "Deku. That's all I'll call him."
"Deku, huh? Fair enough. That's better than insults. But, how did he get into your room?"
"There's a secret stairway I completely forgot about. The wailing led him to that door, and for some reason, to my room."
"Hm. I would take that a sign. A sign of something to happen. As in, there's something different, or special, about Izuku. Maybe he is a piece of the prophecy."
Bakugo fires his bow and strikes a bird from the tree. "All I know is that I don't want Shoto involved in any of this. And I will tell you one more thing, so keep it to yourself,"
Kirishima nods.
"His omega smell...is far greater and more desirable than any other omega I have ever come in contact with. It's oddly familiar...and when I smell it, I feel confused." He sees another bird and shoots it down. "And it pisses me off!"
TBC
