-x- Izuku -x-
Izuku disinfected and bandaged the bite on his arm. It wasn't bleeding deeply, and the skin had only broken in a few places. The long teeth hadn't been a problem since they were sanded down so well. It didn hurt and would heal in a few hours. He just couldn't let his mom see it. Kacchan was in the bedroom with Shoto. He could hear him crying.
Walking back in, he locked the door behind him. It was the night before the last day of break, and the middle school was starting. Shoto hunched over when Izuku walked in and sat next to him. "It's okay, it doesn't hurt and didn't scare me."
"I've been tryin' to get it through his head that he stopped when you told him to. He keeps saying he hadn't meant to in the first place. It was our fault for sneaking in some beer," Bakugo hissed. "Now we just know not to get you tipsy, you lightweight." They had indeed snuck beer into the room from Bakugo's house, just to try. It was awful and they all hated it, but Shoto reacted strangely. He had the frenzied reaction inside, but was sluggish from the booze. His attack had been weak and the collar didn't go off before he'd bitten down on Izuku's arm.
It alarmed the two humans, but when Izuku told him to stop, shoto did. It hadn't been painful, but it also wasn't an awesome feeling. But Shoto started crying in shame. The only catalyst had been the alcohol, so Izuku truly thought it was only because of that that Shoto reacted in that way.
"I forgive you and am not scared. We shouldn't have done that. I dumped it down the sink and threw it out the window into the dumpster."
"Fucker, nice aim," Bakugo grumbled. Izuku wasn't sure if it was a compliment, and didn't respond. "Look, he may not care but I don't want you biting me, got it?" Shoto nodded. "Now stop crying, Inko'll throw a tizzy if she catches you." The vampire managed to get himself under control, and Izuku made him some blood powder in milk, and brought it to him.
He guzzeld it down. "Hey, what was it like? Just for a moment, what did it feel like? Can you explain?" Izuku asked, sitting next to him on his bed. The futon mat was on the floor that Kacchan slept on, since there was no room and he didn't want to sleep on the same bed as either of them.
Shoto looked at the empty, red stained plastic cup. "Nice…"
"Just nice?"
"Like… better than other blood."
"Can you make a comparison?" Izuku encouraged, truly interested. He'd never fed straight from a human, and never would, so he didn't know what it felt like.
"Like if you just got the most rare and collectable All Might figure."
"Whoa," Izuku said. He knew he'd be over the moon if he got something like that. "Well… Maybe we'll do it again some day. But with my permission." Shoto nodded, looking guilty again. Izuku rested his head on his shoulder. "How are you feeling, now? Is it harder to be around me?"
Shoto shook his head. "Easier. You- you don't smell so strong anymore. I don't feel thirsty."
"We got a cheat, then!" Bakugo exclaimed. "For him to be normal and not in pain all the time from your dumbass, all he's gotta do is take a bit at a time, right?" Izuku brightened, thinking that was great news. If it only took a little bit of blood, then it would totally be worth Shoto being comfortable fully around him again.
"Good idea! And it could just be me dripping some blood from a cut if you don't want to bite," Izuku said happily. "We have a plan." Shoto looked plain again, not showing emotion. He just nodded once, smart enough to know there was no changing their opinions on this. They went out and got breakfast, Izuku wearing a shirt with half length sleeves so the bandage wouldn't show.
Taking it off an hour later to check, it was gone completely. Not even a bruise left. He took it off and pointed to it, making eye contact with Shoto. Bakugo crossed his arms with a smug look on, pleased that something good actually happened. There had been no change in his dynamic with Izuku once he was a human again.
He didn't give a shit who was human and who wasn't if they were his friend.
Shoto was quiet the whole day, but that wasn't too odd. Kacchan suggested they go to the arcade, but the vampire didn't want to. He'd rather go someplace outside. They did a vote, and Izuku sided with Shoto, so they went to the park. "Shoto, will you do your best routine? It's really cool."
"The flip routine?"
"Yeah. There's nobody around right now. I like seeing."
"Oh, okay," he said. He put his backpack down, got a running start and then did his fanciest routine. He was fast and strong, but was not perfect, and landed wrong, falling on his butt at he end. Bakugo mocked him for it, but Shoto didn't get offended. Only insults and words that struck him deep upset him.
Kaachan hadn't done that in weeks. Izuku looked at him with a small smile. Shoto thought little of himself, but he really helped two people. He gave Izuku a best friend, and Bakugo was someone that met or destroyed his high standards. Izuku hadn't been called Deku in weeks. Things were nice. He felt middle school would be good as long as they were with him, on his side and there to support him.
-x- Shoto -x-
"What's your name?" a girl with blond hair asked Shoto, cornering him in the hallway. Middle school was full of weirdos. It was only the first day and Shoto had had multiple girls talk to him, who he made no show of being friendly towards. Bakugo thought it was funny for some reason. Izuku looked uncomfortable. It wasn't like any of the three had ever had attention from the opposite sex. Shoto the least since he'd only been around female peers a few months.
"Himura Shoto," he said, and scooched past her and walked away.
"What's your quirk? I can change my body weight by will."
"Oh, that's lucky." she was confused. "You can eat whatever you want and it doesn't matter if you get fat. Bye," and he walked back to his desk at the back of the classroom. He saw Izuku chuckling at the reaction. The girl busted up laughing, too. Shoto made people laugh when he wasn't meaning to, and never understood how his words could be funny until somebody explained why. Usually Izuku being patient.
Classes were no big deal to Shoto, like last year. He excelled at each activity, but this time, he didn't do it so openly. He was doing alright around humans, none smelling as fantastic as his friend, so that wasn't a problem. He just didn't want a lot of people around him. When lunch came, he and his friends had to eat at their desk.
"I miss the jungle gym and open space," Shoto complained as he ate.
"It'll only get worse, deal with it," Bakugo said bluntly. Izuku shot him an annoyed look. "Well, not for me. I'm sure UA is super fun and interesting."
"I'll be all alone, then." Izuku asked what he meant. "You both want to be heroes, and go to hero schools. I don't want to be."
"Izuku doesn't have a quirk, he'd never be let into UAs hero course," Bakugo said flippantly. Izuku looked shocked. "What? You could get into general studies or some shit, but no way they're taking a quirkless guy." But he was quiet enough in the corner for nobody to hear of Izuku's status. "You could probably make it, if you worked on things other than making ice figurines."
"...You said you liked my Naruto figure."
"I did, but that wouldn't be helpful in real life!"
"I could sell them for money, though," Shoto mused. Bakugo's eye twitched, and Izuku laughed lightly.
"Do you not want to be a hero? Really?" Izuku asked, sounding sad.
Shoto shrugged. "I don't think so. Not right now. I'm just not convinced that it's worth it, or that I'd be accepted even if I wanted to."
"Not like you have to wear a shirt on that declares your issue."
"Yeah. I have an idea, though. I want you to like heroes like we do. Good heroes, not you know who," Izuku said. Bakugo slammed his empty bento box down, and asked what the game plan was. "Hero conference! It's coming up next week."
"I thought ahead of you. I already bought three tickets ahead of time," Bakugo bragged, arms crossed. Izuku smiled. "Besides, that asshole never attends fan base events. You wouldn't need to see him there."
"Yeah, Endeavor is never at fan events. Fans have complained about it, but he never attended," Izuku agreed. "And we can't waste Kacchan's offer."
"Right," Shoto said. He wasn't overly excited, but going somewhere both of them liked might be fun. After lunch was over, a class president was picked. None of the three were picked. Not that any of them wanted it or volunteered for a vote. Shoto was not paying much attention to the other students. He didn't need more friends. He had two good ones, and he wasn't comfortable ever opening up to anyone else.
Who knows who could and couldn't keep their mouths shut? The day was new to Izuku, too, because he wasn't outed by Bakugo at being quirkless and having everyone look down on him for it. Some of the quirks that were visible were useless. Only Bakugo's was strong enough to do anything. He had some control over it.
Well, Shoto had good control over his ice, too, but had no reason to show it off, not wanting a lot of attention on him. He wore contacts and his teeth were normal. He was told his blood powder looks like cool aid mix. He was covered in layers of sunscreen when going out. There was nothing that should give him away if he kept all that up.
When he was going to walk home, the girl with long hair followed him. He ignored her, and put his headphones on. She didn't take the hint, and walked up next to him. "Hey, Shoto! Do you want to go on a date with me?"
Shoto was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Like… an outing."
"I already have friends to go places with."
She blinked a few times, confused with him, too. "I meant as in a different way than friends."
"I have family, too, though."
She seemed to give up. "Well, you have a nice day, Shoto-kun." She didn't sound annoyed, and walked away. He texted Bakugo and Izuku what happened and Bakugo just sent a ton of laughing face emojis and a thumbs up.
She was asking as a romantic way. A date is an outing you go on with a romantic partner.
But I don't know her.
That's what dates are usually for.
LOL! You ruined your chances with her, then! Hahahaha! Bakugo thought it was funny. Shoto didn't really have any desire for a girlfriend. It wasn't that he'd never seen a healthy romantic relationship, his foster parents loved each other a lot. He just had no interest. He didn't have enough mental and emotional bandwidth for that kind of thing. At least, not right now.
The next day, he wondered if he'd be seen as stupid for being so dumb about the asking out to date thing. But nobody was mean to him about it. The blonde girl, Ami, waved at him with a smile and he gave a nod. She didn't bother him, and nobody tried to approach him specifically. He was glad, he didn't want to be bullied or always crowded by others.
But, his math teacher… she didn't like him. It was the second time he'd done it, the first day he hoped was just because it was the first day. He stood up while everyone was working on math assignments, and tapped Shoto to go take a break. Which meant to drink blood. He had it in his mind that Shoto needed it at a set time during the day. Which was true, just not at school.
He had no idea why the man thought his period was the time Shoto would fill up. He drank enough at breakfast to easily get him through the school day. Then he'd drink the rest after school and at dinner. He wasn't sure where this guy got the idea from. Izuku was glaring out of the corner of his eye. Bakugo ha da blank face, watching, too.
After class was over, Shoto headed to the staff room to try and find the math teacher, Watanabe-sensei. He found him there, easily, which was helpful. "Sensei, I have something to talk to you about."
"What is it?" He looked very bothered by Shoto being there, and it kind of hurt. He'd never had a mean teacher before, his previous was very kind and understanding.
"Well, I don't actually need any break to drink. I'm fine drinking only at home."
"No, you will drink here, when I say so. I won't be having you throw a violent hissy fit over being thirsty." It felt like he'd been slapped. Shoto just stared at him, a blank one, distant. He didn't reply and then left. It felt awful. He saw Izuku storming over from around the corner, Bakugo going, too.
Shoto grabbed their shoulders. "It'll only make it worse for all three of us."
"So you're just gonna let him talk to you like that?" Bakugo snapped. "That snot nosed prick thinks he's some savior to the common folk? What a damn dipshit of a teacher!" He was speaking louding on purpose. Izuku wasn't stopping him, truly angry with what he'd heard. And Watanabe did hear. He came storming out.
"Bakugo, detention for you!"
"Ah, then I'll take that detention while my friend is also missing school time because of a misconception. I sure am glad you're my math teacher, so I can be safe from him! You sure do care a lot about some of us! I'm sure you'll be a very satisfactory teacher." Then he flipped him the bird, and walked away.
Izuku was giving a nasty look before he took Shoto's hand, and they left. What happened didn't make him feel any better. "That won't be the last judgemental teacher you have," Bakugo said in an annoyed voice. "And you, stop feeling guilty for not suffering beside him," he snapped to Izuku.
"I left him all alone…"
"Does he look alone?" Bakugo asked. "Have we left you alone because we have quirks, and you don't?" Shoto made no visible, open reaction to what had happened. A violent hissy fit… sounded accurate, but disrespectful and belittling how bad it could get for a vampire to be starved. It wasn't just scary for others, it was painful and upsetting for the vampire.
From this, he now knew Watanabe didn't see him as equal to his other students. It felt really shitty. And he was glad his best friend wasn't treated this way, too. Even if he didn't really have anyone who would understand right now, he was glad his friend didn't need to suffer.
Izuku was trying to come up with a counter to Bakugo's words when Shoto gently grabbed his left shoulder. "I'm happy you won't suffer, too," he said sincerely. Izuku's face crumbled a bit, and he looked down and nodded. It wasn't like he could do anything to change the situation.
"I'll be there no matter what for you. Okay?" Shoto nodded.
When he went home, he didn't tell his foster parents. It probably wouldn't do anything but rock the boat. So he lied and said they day had gone smoothly. It was easy for someone with his demeanor to lie and get away with it. He didn't often lie, but when he wanted or needed to, he was good at it.
His foster siblings had good days, too. Well, they had good days and Shoto didn't, but pretended he had. At dinner, he'd asked Maya, "What would you do if you had a mean teacher?"
"Shoto, is one of your teachers not treating you right?" Asahi asked sternly. Shoto looked down.
"Did you get Watanabe for math?" Haru asked. Shoto looked up at him and nodded. "I had him. He's a prick. Getting the parents involved just made things worse. You should just try to tough it out." Shoto drooped. "What did he say? What's he done so far?"
Mikaela looked frustrated and rubbed her temples, having dealt with this teacher before. Did that mean Haru had really been there that long? Wow, he really had been there a long time. But Shoto explained what he'd been doing, and what his reply had been.
Neither foster parents blew a gasket. "The best way to deal with him is to just take the break. Fighting back will just bring more attention to it," Mikaela said in an irate voice. "He's proven he doesn't care about vampires. Unfortunately, many teachers will be this way and you need to just hope for the best."
It wasn't fun to hear. He wasn't normal, he was a freak. A murderer, too. No wonder he would never be treated like normal kids. This is probably how Izuku felt when he was alone and being quirkless was a huge deal. Nobody taking him seriously, looking down on him. But at least he'd never been called a monster or been feared.
Abruptly, Shoto stood up and mumbled he was going to his room, taking his plate with him. Nobody followed, and he was glad.
-x- Izuku -x-
"Can you believe that?!" he ranted to Inko at dinner. She looked very bothered herself. Maybe because it could have been Izuku being treated that way, if he was still a vampire. "I feel so bad. He's the only one that'll be treated this way, I can't shoulder any of it for him anymore."
"Aren't you happy to be human again?" Izuku nodded. Even if he still had sun issues, and had gotten serious sunburns, he felt awful that Shoto couldn't be, too. And he felt guilty that it happened to him, and not the other. Shoto suffered so much more. Still suffered, and had wanted to be a human again.
But then Izuku had a supportive backing, a short stay at rehab, had not be starved or beaten… it just seemed Shoto deserved it more than he did. He deserved to get something good. He'd been through enough already.
"I'm happy that I'm human enough to seem more human than vampire. But it doesn't take away the guilt I feel. I know he doesn't blame me, even if it upset him in a way. I know he's jealous. Not a malicious jealous, but sad. Disappointed."
"Poor Shoto-kun. But it's lovely that you and Katsuki-kun are his friends." Izuku nodded, and finished his food. He looked at the small chest of blood kept for Shoto if he needs any, feeling like that chapter of his life had been short and anticlimactic at the end. He finished his meal, and then went to his room.
What do we do.
Izuku looked at the message from Kacchan with a flat face. He had no answer himself. But they couldn't let him internalize this. Though it was also probably going to happen a lot more in his life. But it didn't mean he had to endure it daily. Should they tell the principal? Izuku didn't care about getting in trouble if it helped his best friend be more comfortable. Feel more welcome.
I don't know.
That's helpful.
You don't know either. There was no response. Izuku went onto the computer and Googled everything regarding discrimination laws in schools, and printed it all out, using the entire nearly full ink cartridge. He smiled as he highlighted the sections that applied to what happened earlier that day.
When he went to bed, it was with a very organized packet nearly tucked into a manilla envelop. It was on his dresser so he could look at it and be satisfied with it. Hopefully it did something!
In the morning, he did what he usually did lately. He went and squeezed a bead of blood out of the vacuum sealed nozzle for one of the blood bottles, and sniffed it. Smelled bad, so he washed his hands of it. He still worried he was part vampire, and needed to make sure he didn't need blood so there was no chance of him reverting back and attacking anyone out of thirst.
Inko gave him a drive there, as Izuku wanted to meet the principal before school. "Go get'em, honey," she said proudly, dropping him off. The quirkless boy nodded and hurried inside. He knocked on the office door before entering. It was still very early in the school year, but it was better for Shoto if they could tamp down that emotional abuse.
"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked curiously.
The pre teen asked, "I'd like to speak to the principal. About a violation of the law." The last part got her attention. She rose her brows, but didn't ask anything further before standing to get the principal. It was a tall woman with bunny ears.
"Has there been a law broken?" she asked, her own brows raised. She guided him to her office. She had a lot of photos around, family photos with lots of children. And dogs, she had a lot of dogs. "What did you need to talk about today? What's your name?"
"Midoriya Izuku! I made my case," he said, and pulled out the packet of paper.
"Can you explain to me? What is your case, before I look over this packet." she sounded patient.
"One of my classmates is a vampire," he began, and explained everything that he knew. Her brows were raised and eyes wide, before a look of deep disapproval. She aksed if she could look at the packet, and he slid it to her across the desk without a word.
"Well, Midoriya, you didn't need to print all this out, you could have just reported it normally. But, this is a lot of information Wanatabe-sensei could use. Thank you for taking your concern to me, I will speak with him about it." He could tell by her inflection that this was not an isolated incident. "And he did not direct any abuse to you? With your current condition, and all."
He shook his head. "Well, our friend Bakugo got in trouble for insulting him and being sarcastic. Maybe he hates Kacchan now, too."
"Well, I'll talk to the teacher and Himura." Izuku nodded and left, feeling great. He hurried to their classroom, a smile on his face. Shoto was there already, working on an extremely complex rubix cube. His eyes were staring straight at it while his fingers and brain worked at the same time. Izuku didn't bother him.
When Kacchan walked in, he looked at Izuku, who gave him a small thumbs up. He had done something, which was better than nothing. Class started and Shoto put his puzzle into his backpack. Then he looked up at the former vampire with raised brows. He knew something was up.
Before he could talk about what he'd done, Wanatabe's name was called over the loud speaker. When Izuku grinned and Kacchan cackled, Shoto looked confused and concerned. "What happened?"
"I alerted the principal to his behavior yesterday and the day before."
"But you'll only make it worse for me-"
"It's making it better for everyone like you. You don't change things by passively letting them go by and hoping the next day would be better," Izuku said firmly. Then he froze, and looked at Bakugo. Shoto looked confused. "I could do it for you, but I couldn't ever do it for me…" Bakugo's head tiled down and he looked away.
Shoto asked, "What do you mean?"
"I never reported any of my teachers when they were awful about me because I was quirkless," he said quietly.
"Then do that from now on," Shoto said. "If you watch my back, then I'll watch yours." Izuku bit his lip and nodded. "Same for you, Bakugo."
"Yeah, yeah," Kacchan muttered. Izuku felt he'd made a major step in his life. Hopefully he could do for himself what he did for others. And he knew Shoto would look out for him in the future.
-x- Shoto -x-
When he was called in into the office, he had hope that the principal was on his side. He sat down with her, a woman with soft looking bunny ears. He sat up straight, the pre teen being quiet and waiting to be spoken to first. "Welcome, Himura-kun." It still felt weird but good to use that surname. He bowed his head. "Your friend Midoriya reported your math teacher being abusive towards you. Can you explain in detail what happened?"
"I noticed him telling me to leave class for blood, but I don't drink at school, I don't need to. I drink before and after school so nobody would see and know. I went after school to talk to him, and he said that I would do what he said because he didn't want me to throw a violent hissy fit over being thirsty."
Her jaw clenched. "My foster brother also had this problem, he's a vampire, too. He said I should just not say anything or it will get worse and nothing will be done."
"Thank you for being honest. But that won't happen. Was his last class this previous year? That was my first of being principal." Shoto shook his head, it had been before she became principal. "Well, it's not like that now. Feel free to speak up about any sort of discrimination you may feel is being done to you. I want every student to feel safe and welcome. I have your back."
Shoto gave a light smile, and walked back to class. He opened up his ears and heard the principal call the teacher back in. He'd been waiting in another room while Shoto gave his piece. "I've heard enough to make my decision. You belittled a painful and dangerous medical condition of a troubled student. You are fired."
"You can't! I've been working here for nine years!"
"I heard. You abused a vampire child a few years ago as well. This makes me wonder how many students you abused over the years. Today is your last day. Pack up." Shoto let out a snicker and hurried back to class. When he entered, Izuku was beaming, too. He could hear, he was listening.
Bakugo said, "Fuckin' tell me, I ain't special like you idiots."
"He got fired," Izuku replied. Bakugo cackled loudly, getting everyone's attention when they were being quiet in the back of the class.
"Is there something funny?" the english teacher asked.
"You know Wanatabe, right?" The class were confused. Shoto and Izuku looked uninterested. "He got fired." Some of the class had already disliked him.
"Can we have a woman, next? I don't want all male teachers!" a girl called, some of the others agreeing. Izuku looked so proud of himself, and Shoto was touched and grateful that he cared so much to do something possibly uncomfortable. He was such a wonderful best friend. Shoto was in a better mood the rest of the school day.
Wanatabe was indeed not working there anymore, and a new teacher was being picked. For math they just had study hall. There was something that was nice, at the end of the school day. For the last fifteen minutes, the students cleaned the building. It was mindless work, but he got to know his classmates better this way.
"Hey, hey, are you sleepy all the time?"
"Sometimes."
"Are you on drugs?"
"I take medicine."
"Oh. Are you high then?" Shoto shook his head, continuing to mop the floor. He didn't really like talking to others. "Will you take this? To dump it?" he was roughly handed a bucket, the dirty water slopping onto his shirt. "Fuck! I'm sorry!" the girl said. Shoto saw she looked truly regretful. She ran to the wall and got out a bunch of paper towels.
Shoto said, "It's okay, it was an accident." There was no use in panicking and all. She looked near tears.
"Please don't tell the others. They'll think I'm a bad cleaning partner and it's only the third day of school." Shoto had already told her that he wasn't upset, so he wasn't going to tell anybody.
"I won't tell anybody." He took some water and slopped it more down his front, onto his pants and shoes. "Now it looks like I was the one to do it." His cleaning partner had wide eyes, looking shocked. "It's just some water, it will dry," he said, and went to dump what was left. Izuku walked by and saw he was wet, wondering what happened. "It was an accident."
"Oh… you gonna dry it with the fire?"
"Later." His cleaning partner came out, looking shy, and thanked him. "Yeah. It was just a mistake, even if you were a bad cleaning partner. Only water, not bleach or something." He turned and went to change, taking off his jacket. He walked past some windows, and his arm caught a beam of light from an open window, and he felt the burn on his skin.
A small red mark was there. He managed to not hiss at the pain. The burn had been too brief to be bad. But he was shaking, now. That was right, he couldn't be sloppy. He had to be careful of the sun, he'd been so distracted! It scared him. He'd lost focus. Things could have been worse. Shoto took a few deep, calming breaths before drying off and redressing, waiting for his friends to be done cleaning.
He was only trying to be a good classmate.
-x- Izuku -x-
"I have to wear this?" Shoto asked, holding up an All Might shirt Izuku had. "I don't like the color yellow."
"Just wear it, you gotta blend in. You can't just wander around not showing a preference or everyone will try and convince you to convert to their fanbase. All Might is the easiest to be a part of since he's near universality favored," Bakugo explained, wearing his own All Might merchandise. "Think of it as a fuck you to the number two."
Izuku smiled when Shoto pulled his own shirt over his head and replaced it with his offered shirt. Yellow did indeed not look great on him, but they weren't there to look great, but to blend in. "Take this too," Bakugo added, sifting through Izuku's drawers and handed him some lanyards. "To get into the spirit."
"Why weren't you friends if you have this in common?" Shoto wondered, seeing how excited both of his human friends.
"Bitch! I have a lot of things in common with people I don't like! That's not how friendship always works!" Kacchan snapped.
"Really?"
"Really! You think too simple!" Bakugo shouted.
"Oh, okay," Shoto replied, and adjusted his lanyard. They got out of the room, all decked out. Inko was waiting to drive them there. Shoto went to his bag and drank a full blood bottle before they left. They got into the car, Izuku sitting in the front seat. Izuku and Kacchan both wanted Shoto to not be so disillusioned about heroes, to think all of them were bad like his father.
The convention was already packed, and standing at the entrance of the crowd, Shoto froze, looking frightened. Kacchan reacted first. "We don't need to interact with any of the merchandise, we can go ot the second floor to avoid the crowds but still listen in one convention events and activities."
"Sorry, guys," Shoto apologized.
"Better than something bad happening," Bakugo muttered. He three headed up the stairs to the more empty floor, which was like a balcony over the events. They could watch from above. Only a few people had gone up there, rather being able to get signatures. They stood at various spots, listening to the speakers.
There were no big name ones before All Might came out. Izuku gasped, and he and Bakugo ran to the railing to be closer. "It's All Might," Shoto said in a bored voice. Neither human blew up about that, too happy to see him in person.
"Shoto! Come here, you dumbass! You get to look at one of the good ones up close and you're over there?!" Bakugo demanded. Izuku was watching in awe, he was so big up close but had that same overpowering presence! His eyes sparkled and Bakugo came over, dragging Shoto by the arm. "What's your problem?!" he grumbled. But Shoto was strong and dug his heels in.
Izuku realized something was wrong. He turned to see a very stiff Shoto. "What's wrong?" Izuku asked, pulling Kacchan's hand off of Shoto's arm. "What is it?"
"Endeavor is here. Or was here. His stench lingers," Shoto sighed. "I want to go home."
"We just got here!" Bakugo complained.
"You can stay here, then," Izuku said. Bakugo faltered. "I'll go home with Shoto." The explosive boy looked kind of shocked and then noticed the shame and embarrassment in Shoto's eyes. He sighed, and stepped away from the railing. "There are multiple at other places. We can go to another one that doesn't have Endeavor."
Shoto thanked him, and apologized to Bakugo. "I'm sorry I ruined it."
"N-no. It's okay." Izuku saw Bakugo's thought process as he realized he'd wanted them to stay despite Shoto's abuser being present. "Sorry. That was a dick move." Izuku smiled lightly. "We're friends. I want to be a hero, too. I won't let fuckin' Endeavor upset you guys." The vampire nodded, and Inko was surprised when they all wanted to go back home.
They were climbing into the car when Shoto flinched at the loud commanding voice Izuku heard easily. He put both hands on his vampire best friend's ears as he saw the flame hero Endeavor walk into the parking lot. Izuku and Bakugo both looked at him with hatred. He was the issue, the reason Shoto was damaged like he was.
"I'll never let him near you, Shoto," Izuku promised. He nodded, but was pale and sweaty, shaking. It was their idea, but it caused this. The two humans felt bad about it, but Izuku was glad the other wasn't apoloizing. It wasn't his fault Endeavor was there and he wanted to get away from his abuser.
-x- Shoto -x-
"Izuku!" Shoto shouted, jumping on his best friend the moment his scent shifted. He pinned down with ice and got out some of his own blood bottle while the younger writhed around violently, tears streaming from his eyes. Shoto forced him to look up and put his canteen to his lips, letting his friend drink all of it.
I was lucky he had never needed a lot, and was calmed down by one full bottle's worth. They were large bottles, so it was more than enough to calm him down. Shoto melted the ice, leaving Izuku's clothes damp but not wet. He crouched next to him, and hugged him. He was in shock. "It's okay, nobody got hurt, and we're inside."
He started to cry, and Shoto dug out a blood candy from his pocket. "Here, you haven't had one of these in awhile," he said, sounding kind. Izuku just held onto him and kept crying, Shoto rubbing his fingers through his hair like he'd done for him. It calmed him down more, and they went out to the living room. Bakugo was in the bathroom and both of his parents were at work. It was only those three, luckily.
"How do you feel?" Shoto asked calmly.
"Weird," Izuku replied. "It's been weeks, but it's back?" he wondered. Standing, he moved towards the window and before Shoto could stop him he put his finger into the sunlight to test, and even just that small part being hit by the sunlight, he screamed in agony. Shoto heard Bakugo fall in the shower.
"Izuku!" Shoto called and ripped the curtain back down. To someone else, the burn might look insignificant. It was tiny, but it didn't mean the pain wasn't akin to fire raging underneath the skin. They got another one of Shoto's blood packets and he quickly fed some to Izuku, whose small burn healed into nothing. There was drool from the corners of his mouth form screaming. Shoto got a blanket and started to wipe the sweat off his face before he hugged him tightly.
"We're safe inside and under sunblock," he said, rubbing his back.
"I-I was human again," Izuku whimpered. Bakugo came out, putting his pants on while he ran.
"THE FUCK HAPPENED?!" he raged.
"Izuku turned back into a vampire. Then he touched the sunlight. It hurts."
"Hell yeah I could tell it fuckin' hurts! Why aren't you human anymore?!" he demanded.
"Bakugo, injure yourself. I'll keep him tight but we have to know." Bakugo nodded firmly and ran to the kitchen while Izuku protested. Shoto had the rest of the blood bottle with him. He cut his finger. The smell of blood wafted into then living room instantly. They all knew Shoto's reaction, but they were testing Izuku's.
He didn't react, but Shoto did, tased by the neck. "Shoto!" Izuku cried. "Kacchan, I'm fine, get some water!"
"Fucking messes," Bakugo grumbled. Shoto woke up a few minutes later, and looked at his best friend. He took his hand.
"'M sorry. We had to find out your self control. This time someone was there to stop you." And he had tightened his arms around Izuku painfully when he'd been zapped. Bakugo was safe around Izuku and Shoto if he had the right equipment on.
"Am I still a vampire? How could you tell?" Izuku asked. Shoto sat up and Bakugo walked over, hair still plastered to his face.
"Different smell. Still your scent, but different. Smells better as a human," Shoto replied. "But you're still Izuku."
"Maybe your quirk is being a vampire," Bakugo said. "If it is, it sucks. But if it is, that means you could train it." Izuku picked up the pillow, and tried tearing it apart, but he was still weak. "Okay, what the hell is up, then." Nobody knew, and Shoto didn't even know how they could find out. Were there hybrid vampires?
You couldn't pass it on to a kid, so there were no half human half vampire babies in the world. So it should be impossible. So then what was wrong with Izuku? If they had any information on who turned him, maybe that would help, but he was long gone. Shoto rubbed at his neck, the burnt skin already healing up just fine.
"Oi, you never take that off around me," Bakugo said firmly.
"I don't take it off anywhere. Especially not around humans," Shoto replied. He took Izuku's hand and rubbed circles on his skin with his thumb. "We'll just have to wait and see. I have more sunscreen, you clearly don't have enough on."
"We should get help," Bakugo stated. "Talk to someone who would know what the fuck is up."
"I already did so much research and the doctor I talked to didn't know. But now its even weirder. Clearly, it didn't leave my system completely. There's still some source of the infection. I don't know what to tell my mom," he said quietly.
Shoto replied, "She loves you no matter what. And you aren't any danger right now, you didn't revert back to the start. If she likes me and I'm a mess, then she'd never ever fear you." Izuku nodded, knowing his mom would love him no matter what. But he needed to stock up on blood again, now.
Bakugo sighed, got up and went to dry his hair a bit more. When he came back out, Izuku apologized for being a mess for them. "We're all messes in our own ways. But at least I'm not gonna accidentally kill anyone. What?! I've never really hurt anyone, I'm in control!"
"You're just lucky," Izuku said. Bakugo got angry, and Shoto just went to get the sunblock and slid up Izuku's shirt sleeves a bit to cover him. He let him do it, and Shoto didn't stop since it seemed to be calming him a bit. He felt so sad for his friend. And he was glad that he didn't feel an ounce relieved that he wasn't completely alone anymore.
He'd rather his best friend be happy and more healthy than dumped in the same bucket as Shoto was. Hopefully they could figure something out about this, find some sort of information that could help. Shoto didn't want Izuku to suffer. He had never done anything to deserve suffering, had never hurt anybody or ever wanted or tried to hurt anybody.
No, he was too good to be cursed like this. Shoto deserved it, but his friend definitely did not.
The two others went to Izuku's home to talk to Inko about it, the human and vampire wanting to be moral support for the in between. They said nothing in the car, but when the for entered their apartment, taking their shoes off first, they headed to the dining table. Inko knew something was wrong, and clasped her hands in nervousness. She let Izuku take his time explaining, him trying to gather the courage, and nobody rushing him. Though his mom got more and more worried by the moment.
"Mom, I'm a vampire again. It happened at Kacchan's house." She was shocked, but leaned forward and took his hand. Bakugo was sitting beside her, and the best friends across from them. "I"m sorry. I don't know what happened, it just did," he confessed. "I'll need to stock up on blood again."
"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry."
"I also got burned from the sun again," he said, face showing fear and trauma. She knew it had to hurt, and just rubbed her thumb on his hand.
"We'll keep an eye one it, make a schedule. It's possible this is temporary, we don't know," Inko said sincerely. The three knew this was needed. Shoto was the one to know first, but Izuku no doubt would be able to notice once the pain in his throat, which returned but not fully, would disappear. If this indeed was temporary.
Shoto felt so bad for him, but would be there every step of the way.
-x- Izuku -x-
It had been nine days of being a vampire again. But it was like riding a bike, he got used to it again quickly, and started to consume the blood again. It was like he'd never been human in the first place. Well, the second time around. Only three bottles needed a day, and everything else was the same.
He wasn't overwhelmed by the senses because they'd stuck with him even in human form. Part of him was hoping he'd get the super strength this time, but it didn't come. He was still weak, but this time had just more sad things. It was annoying and he was starting to lose hope. Shoto and Bakugo slept over a lot, or he slept at their places.
It was to monitor him. Both of them were really nice about it, even Kacchan was doing his best. Izuku moped a bit, but not enough to really annoy anybody. It did worry Shoto and he was great at his own way to comfort, which was mostly physical, as he wasn't the best with words all the time. Sometimes he did very well, but others he just couldn't get out what he meant.
He was under control around Izuku this time, even if sometimes he caught the other vampire looking at him with blank, empty eyes that were different from his usual neutral expression. School hadn't changed and he kept going. The teachers didn't know because they didn't need to. He wasn't drinking at school. Neither was Shoto.
But one good thing about being a vampire again was Shoto's foster mother's cooking. There was nothing he'd tasted as a full human that was better than well cooked food with blood flavoring. So it wasn't too jarring.
He was at Shoto's place when it happened. He was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth in the morning when the thirst disappeared. Just gone. He could tell the shift because it was always there when a vampire, even if it wasn't that hard to tune out. Unlike Shoto, who just accepted the burn and lived with it anyways.
Then he heard the sounds of pounding feet outside the door, and a loud crack and thud was made as Shoto punched apart the door, standing there with wide, red eyes, salivating like a starving dog. Izuku backed away, and Asahi was suddenly on top of Shoto, pinning him down. He thrashed around, making scary snarling sounds.
"Shoto! Calm down! That's your friend!" the man shouted.
"The hell's going on?!" Bakugo demanded.
"Get Izuku out of here!" Asahi shouted. The other vampire kid came out and pinned Shoto down more. As the spit poured from his mouth, his good, non-burned eye was overflowing with tears. Bakugo ran into the bathroom and dragged the shocked and frightened Izuku out and out of the house.
He stopped at the sidewalk outside of the house, and focused his hearing. It was like that time in rehab. When Shoto lost control, like usual, in the blood training, and Izuku had heard him sobbing from the hallway.
"It's okay, shhh," Maya said to the crying Shoto. "Nobody got hurt, and a door is easy to replace."
"Wh-what's wrong w-with me?" he cried. "N-Now he'll b-be afraid of m-me!" Izuku had tears from his eyes, a bit scared. He couldn't help it, it looked like his best friend really was going to attack him. He'd looked like a rabid animal. Izuku had never seen him like that, at least not directed at him. Now what?
Kacchan asked, "What's going on?"
"He's sobbing," the now-human replied. "I'm human again." They hadn't even thought about the sun, which proved he wasn't vampire as it was only burning a little bit, his skin getting an irritated pink, and not black and making him scream in agony. "The moment I turned back he broke down the door and looked like he was going to attack me.
"Asahi came fast and pinned him down."
"Shit," Kacchan cursed under his breath. Izuku walked back towards the house, but his friend stopped him. "Give him time to calm down and stop crying," he said, voice unexpectedly sympathetic and soft.
"He's scared I'm scared of him, now," Izuku said sadly.
"...Are you?"
"A little bit. But not enough to make me want to not be friends anymore," he replied firmly. "I'll call him soon. But I need to get in the shade," he said, lifting his arm to show the red, flaking skin already. They went around the back of the house and into the fancy treehouse, hiding from the sun inside. It was build well enough to not have light shine in through the cracks in the wooden walls.
After a bit, waiting to hear Shoto calm down, he was glad he had his phone and called his best friend. He answered, voice flat. Forced flat, not his natural bored sounding tone. "Hi, Izuku."
"Hey, Shoto. How are you doing?"
"The door's been cleaned up already."
"I didn't ask about the door," Izuku said softly. "How are you doing?"
"I'm sorry… I-I don't know what happened. I was getting water downstairs, and then suddenly the house was filled with this… this smell, and I just blanked out and started running to it. I didn't even know it was you when I got to the bathroom. I was going to h-hurt you." There were now tears in his voice, light sniffles, trying to hold back.
Izuku was near tears, too. Feeling so sorry for his friend. "I turned back human. That's what changed. I'm in the treehouse in your backyard. Can you still smell me?"
"Yeah. The windows are open. The overpowering smell is gone."
"Then the solution is easy. If I turn back into a vampire, I'll just stay away from you on the ninth day, and you won't have any way to get to me so close. Or I could be at your house and your family could protect me like they did just now," he offered.
"Stupid idea," Bakugo hissed. Izuku shot him a glare.
"You still want to be friends?" Shoto asked in shock and confusion.
"Of course! It only lasted a few moments, and you're better now. We just have to work around this issue. Did the collar not go off?"
"... It did. And I ignored the pain." That wasn't good.
"Maybe we can find another solution for it. An extra protection."
"I hope so. I'll understand if you want to stay away for awhile. I want… I want some time after this. I just want to be at home for now. I'm sorry, Haru will bring your guys' stuff out."
"Okay. When you feel ready to see me again, I'll be waiting at home, okay? And call me, don't just stop communicating. You're still my best friend." Kacchan never seemed upset when the two referred to one another as best friends. There was choking up on the other end, and Shoto said goodbye, hanging up.
Haru did indeed come out with their things packed up. "Sorry about today," he said sadly.
"No, thank you all for stopping him from doing something he'd never forgive himself for," Izuku said with a bow, and took his backpack. Haru smiled lightly, and nodded. Izuku and Kacchan waited outside for his mom to pick them up.
Bakugo asked, "Is it safe to be around him, do you think?"
"Will this end your friendship with him?" Izuku asked quietly.
"No, but this was pretty bad. He could have just opened the door but was so out of it that he just destroyed the door instead. I'm not scared, but it was pretty intense."
"It was like how he was at rehab sometimes. The shock collar not working isn't good, either." Bakugo nodded, and both of them were driven home. Izuku would say nothing to his mom about the incident, but happily would tell her he was human again. Well, was he happy? Something else weird happened.
Inko was happy for him, but also nervous since it was so new and strange. Well, he'd deal with it. They all would. Shoto would figure out how to deal with it, too. Hopefully after this he'd realize both of his friends were with him for the long haul. Izuku didn't judge him for his reaction, and he wasn't surprised.
He was always so under control when around people, and Izuku. He never made a show that he was uncomfortable, which could be partly from his meds. But still, he never worried Izuku. But he needed to remember now, that Shoto could snap. And he needed some way to calm him down. He'd find one. He would.
-x- Shoto -x-
Shoto was looking for a hero. Someone who could have pull on how hero support items worked. There was nobody else he could think of that could give him what he wanted. Needed. He didn't want to look for a hero, but he knew it was the best bet. He could always go to an agency, but he'd rather not be surrounded by heroes and sidekicks.
He hadn't seen Izuku since the incident but for at school, where he acted more distant than usual. It was terrifying that his collar hadn't worked. He truly knew he was planning on attacking Izuku, and had been unable to stop himself.
It was a few hours of walking around randomly, listening for crimes but always coming too late, when he found an unexpected hero. He hurried forward, seeing All Might surrounded by fans. He pushed through the crowd, the thirteen year old shorter than most others. He wasn't tall for his age, hadn't had a growth spurt yet.
"All Might!" he called. "I need your help!" This got his attention over the fans begging for autographs. He looked down at Shoto, that painful looking smile on his face, like always.
"What can I do for you?" he asked. "I have somebody to help," he said, and the others got the jist after taking a few more photos with him. He was so influential he didn't even need to ask them to leave and give them space. "Young man, what do you need assistance with?" he asked brightly.
Shoto was nervous and reluctant inside, but didn't hesitate. "I'm a vampire, and this collar helps me stay under control. It electrocutes me if I go into a frenzy. But a few days ago, it didn't work well enough, and I almost attacked my friend. I was wondering if a hero could help me with it? Like, a support item. I don't know where else to get help for it," he said, cheeks red in shame of needing to ask a stranger for help.
"I see, that is a big problem. What were you looking for, to upgrade?" He sounded so understanding.
"I'm not sure. I think a muzzle would work. One that I won't be able to remove myself. Then I can't bite anybody. But there's the problem of my other strength. I punched open the bathroom door to get to him." He was full of shame, and wiped his eye to stop the tears. "I just want to be safe around my friends."
"What is your name?"
"Himura Shoto," he replied. All Might put his hand on his shoulder.
"Your dedication to protecting your friends is awe worthy. Putting yourself through pain and hardship for them. I will see what I can do, Young Shoto," All Might said. He asked for his address and phone number. Shoto was amazed he got help. He gave him his information. "I'll keep in touch."
"I have another question!" he said in a hurry. All Might nodded. "My best friend is quirkless, and also a kinda-sorta vampire. But he wants to be a hero. Do you think he can be? Can vampires be heroes, and can he be any hero without a quirk? I know some heroes, they have useless quirks. So could someone without them have them?" He was talking a lot, and it put him out of his comfort zone.
His face was still neutral despite the hint of desperation in his voice.
"Being a quirkless hero would be very difficult. And vampires can become heroes, as well. They aren't common, but it's happened before! As his friend, you should encourage him. But also be realistic some day," All Might explained. Shoto nodded, and thanked him for his time. "Would you like an autograph?"
"Oh, okay. He'd like that."
"You wouldn't?"
"I don't like heroes," Shoto said bluntly, honestly. All Might laughed, and sighed a paper he already had on him.
"Keep being a good friend, Young Shoto. I shall be in touch to help you, fan or not!" and he was gone. Shoto pocketed the paper, planning on gifting it to Izuku. Well, All Might made it seem a bit like Izuku couldn't be a hero, but Shoto wouldn't give up on him. He believed he could be a hero in practice, because he'd already saved Shoto.
-x- Izuku -x-
"What's that?" Izuku wondered, looking at Shoto's collar, which was thicker and looked heavier. It wasn't his usual one. He actually looked comfortable for the first time in over a week. There were two days left until the potential shift back into a vampire. He was ready for it, calming his mind and convincing himself he'd be fine either way.
Shoto said, "It's new. If I start to freak, it will spawn a muzzle around my head. Then there are these," he said, holding up his wrists. There were tight gold bands around them. "These will lock together so I can't use my hands." He had a satisfied tone in his voice and a content look on his face. They were sitting on the jungle gym bars of one of the parks, Shoto swinging around like an acrobat on the various rings.
"Where'd you get that?" he wondered, having no idea where he'd get such things. Shoto pulled something laminated out of his pocket. It was an autograph with All Might's signature. "What? Where'd you get this?!" he asked, eyes sparkling. He had a real autograph! No way would Shoto print out a fake one. And he'd laminated it, too!
The vampire said, "I found all Might and asked for help to get some hero support item. He gave them to me. And there's even an app attached. I want you and Bakugo to download it. If you press a button, the muzzle and shock will go off, or the cuffs will lock together. Or both at the same time."
"You met All Might?!"
"I was looking or a hero for help, and found him first by luck. So he gave me these things for free. Said I was a good friend. He seemed pretty nice." Izuku was touched. Shoto hated heroes, but went out of his way to find one and get help to protect his friends.
"Thanks, Shoto. For everything," Izuku said with a fond smile. "You're a good friend."
"When I'm not being violent."
"Why can't you just take a compliment?" Izuku asked lightly.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He looked at the autograph with bright eyes. "It's so cool you got help from a hero!"
"He probably pitied me," Shoto replied. Izuku gave him a pointed look. The permanent vampire sighed. "Thank you." The current human nodded. "I'm sorry, about everything. The incident and then bailing on you and Bakugo…" He sounded ashamed.
"I forgive you, and so does Kacchan," Izuku said firmly. "You're our friend, and we won't leave you, okay? It was all an accident and you've done everything you can to prevent it from happening again. If it does, we'll figure it out better, in case this lasts for the long haul." Shoto nodded.
He did some more swings on the bars before he slammed his head into one of them on accident and fell to the gravel beneath the jungle gym. "Are you okay?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah…" He looked embarrassed but the human didn't laugh. Shoto got back on the bars and swung around some more, graceful once again.
