Warning: Violence. Depressing and Suicidal thoughts. Cussing.
Chapter 1: The Kamino Incident. Not to be confused with The Cafeteria Incident of last book.
Nico's POV.
"There is no middle ground! Pick a side! Hero, or Villain!" he demanded. I looked around desperately. What did I do?
"Fine. If I must choose, I will stand by the Heroes. I agree with many of your ideals, but I can't condone the murder of innocent civilians." I stated, and stared him in the 'eyes'. I looked to Tomura.
"You will always be one of those I call friends. I will not attack you unless given sufficient reason to do so." I told the hand adorned man. He growled, and turned away from me. I sighed in defeat. While Shigaraki was smart, he also acted like a hormonal teenager. He saw my choosing the heroes as a betrayal. I'd just lost my good friend. I held back tears. I wasn't going to cry again. I was a strong man. I could get through this. I'd been without friends before. I could do it again.
"Nico, what's the plan?" Katsuki whispered. I shook my head mutely. I didn't have a plan.
"I, I can't." I tried, and just shook my head. he saw the hurt in my eyes, and didn't press the issue.
"Come quietly young Bakugou." All for One said. I felt powerless. There was no way I was going to attack the Vanguard Action Squad. I'd lived with them for a month for crying out loud! They were some of the only people that knew the real me. the boy underneath the goth jacket. The scarred teen who liked to cook. The boy who drank to fight off the memories. The one who cried at night when he had nightmares. They knew some of my darkest secrets. I sat heavily on the ground. I didn't know what to do.
I covered myself in shadows, and just sat there reeling. What to do? That was the question of the day. I watched in a detached manner as Bakugou somehow managed to fend off Toga, Tomura, Magne, Twice, Spinner, and Mr. Compress. Then, I saw our classmates. They had formed a rather smart plan. I watched numbly as Katsuki blasted himself into the air, and grabbed Kirishima's arm. If only someone would hold their hand out for me. if only someone would save me like they had Bakugou. But, no one could save you if they didn't know you needed help. And the only people who knew I needed help were Todoroki, and Aizawa.
I stood, and dropped the shadows. It would be so easy. So easy. Just a slight glance from all five of Tomura's fingers. The slightest touch, and poof. All my worries; gone. That sounded rather nice. Not a bad way to go either. I walked toward my once friend in a sort of trance. So close.
"Nico!" someone called. I turned, snapping the trance. Todoroki was looking at me. I looked back at him. I did still have a friend. It wasn't over. Not yet anyway. I dissolved into the shadows and reappeared next to him.
"Yes?" I asked quietly. He looked at my broken look, and gave me a firm hug.
"I'm here for you." He whispered. I let him hug me. then, we ran away with Momo. We ran to the center of the town where there were other people. I was being crowded on all sides, and my demon was not taking that very well.
"Shoto, I have to get out of here!" I said, panicking.
"Go." he said, and let go of my hand. I smiled, and spread my wings. I soared out above all the people watching the fight on the large TV. I landed on the roof of a non-destroyed building nearby. I felt kind of useless not helping All-Might. The shadows seemed to agree with me, and were rearing. I tampered them down, but after the week I'd had, they were still pretty close to the surface. I took to the sky again, and flew closer to where the battle was going on. All-Might wasn't looking too good, and All for One still appeared unharmed.
"Well, here goes the worst decision in my life." I muttered, and flew out just as All-Might was thrown bodily about 50 feet.
"Look at this! Your hero!" All for One announced. I looked at All-Might, he was a skinny, gaunt man with little to no muscle. I landed in front of the hero the world looked to as a symbol.
"Nico?" he asked.
"I can hold him off for maybe 3 minutes. Get yourself together." I told him, and stared deep into his eyes. The pro nodded, and I readied myself.
"Nico? Have you changed your mind about joining us then?" All for One asked.
"No. πηγαίνεις στον εαυτό σου." I told him scathingly.
"I don't know what that means, but I'll assume a no." he said, shaking his head like he was disappointed. "What a waste. You would have been an exceptional villain." He sighed, and readied his arm. I jumped into the air, and flew to the opposite side of All-Might.
"Came at me with all you've got!" I yelled, and dropped to the ground. The shadows came around me and I dropped myself into darkness.
Katsuki Bakugou's POV.
Why was Nico on the TV? I saw the goth teen land in front of All-Might.
"What a waste. You would have been an exceptional villain." The villain All for One sighed. He pointed his OP arm at Nico. Nico flew to the other side of the destroyed area, and grinned maniacally.
"Come at me with all you've got!" Nico yelled before his eyes went red. Great. demon Nico was back. I watched with bated breath as the leader of the villains fired his quirk(s?) at Nico. When the dust cleared, Nico was standing there, smile even more pronounced, and a hard glint in his eye.
"My turn!" he announced. The shadows in the entire area reared up. the demonic teen turned his eyes to the villain, and let out a scream of unearthly fury. An enormous explosion rocked the city, and the cameras were all covered in debris and dust. I couldn't see what was happening. Then, another equally big explosion shook the field. Then a third. By this point more than half the people in the square were fallen over, or holding onto something. Then, the dust cleared enough for the camera to get some footage.
Nico was sitting atop a downed All for One. Nico's eyes were closed, and his hand was on the villain's chest. I think I saw puncture wounds on the villain's neck, but the scene changed too quickly for me to be completely certain. Nico had fallen backwards, and appeared to be having a seizure. He was shaking back and forth. The villain slowly got to his feet, and looked perplexed. Then, the shadows swallowed Nico up, hiding him from view.
What the hell had happened?!
I watched in awe as All-Might, even with a weak and broken body managed to defeat All for One. Then, he pointed at the camera.
"You're next." He said. Deku started crying. I looked at him. wait, what had he told me? his quirk was given to him? was this, was that true? What in the world?!
After the villain was taken into custody, we went to the police station. I was quiet on the way there. I really didn't want to talk to the police. And what was up with Deku? I'll admit, I was worried. We got to the police station, and I was led inside. I wasn't restrained in any way.
They led me to an interrogation room, and told me to have a seat and wait. I stood, and paced the length of the room. Was Nico okay? What had bothered Deku so much? Was Kirishima really my friend? Too many thoughts were crowding my mind. The door was opened.
"Ah, you must be Katsuki Bakugou." A man said. I glared at him, and crossed my arms defiantly. He cleared his throat when it became obvious that I wasn't going to respond.
"Um, well, have a seat, and we'll get started." He said, and sat. I plopped into the chair across form him, and continued glaring.
"Where were you taken from two nights ago?" he asked, getting right into it.
"The UA. Training camp." I replied.
"Okay, how did that happen?" he questioned next.
"The villains showed up, and attacked. They were after me specifically. They captured me with the use of some kind of quirk. I was encased in some kind of blue sphere. When I got out, I was dragged through a portal to their hideout." I responded. I really didn't want to talk about it.
"Was anyone else captured?"
"Yes. Nico di Angelo." I responded. This got his attention.
"And why was he captured if they were after you specifically?" he asked.
"The one who encased me in blue thought Nico's quirk was useful, and that he would be easily converted with a dark quirk like that." I told him truthfully.
"What happened to you after the portal?"
"I don't want to talk about it." I growled, eyes going dark. I couldn't lie. I also couldn't tell them about Nico knowing the villains. Was there a way to win this?
"I know, it must've been very traumatic. Can you please tell me any details?" he said nicely.
"Fine. They said that we should join them, and that the hero society was broken. We both declined adamantly, and that made them mad. I got knocked out, and I don't remember what happened next. When I came to, I was tied to a chair, and Nico was keeping it form hurting me. apparently, they couldn't control his quirk, and used me as bait instead." I half lied. It was close enough to the truth. I set my head down on my arms.
"Anything else? Names? Faces? Descriptions?" he asked. I shook my head.
"No. when they knocked me out, I think I got a concussion. I can't remember any of their names. I can remember blurry faces but nothing's concrete." I lied. I remembered everything. Even though there were definitely some things I wanted to forget. Like that game of T or D. and the general weirdness of Dabi and Shigaraki. And Toga. She's so strange.
"Ok, thank you for your time. Don't leave your home too much over the next couple of weeks. You need to stay safe. But you are free to go!" he said, and stood. I stood, and left the room. My parents were overjoyed to see me, even though they showed it in very different ways. My father gave me a hug. My mom hit me over the head, and yelled at me for not coming home sooner.
Nico's POV.
I opened my eyes painfully. Where was I? I looked blearily around, but winced. I could barely move. My head was killing me. What was wrong with me? what had happened? I pushed myself into a sitting position painfully, and scanned my surroundings. I appeared to be in an ally somewhere.
What in the world was going on?!
I felt around myself cataloguing every part of my body trying to figure out what was wrong. Then, I felt my soul, and almost died of shock.
Shit.
I'd been soul poisoned. Again. I shuddered. Last time this happened, I wasn't able to use my powers for a month. That wasn't going to cut it in this world. I couldn't just be quirkless for a month! I had to purify myself.
That was going to be difficult.
For a purification ritual, you needed at least one other person, with two being ideal. Plus, they'd have to be someone strong enough to restrain me; and willing.
I was at a loss. Todoroki was a no. I didn't want him to see me like that.
Bakugou had just survived trauma himself, that was a no.
Midoriya would never help me with something like that. And even if he did, he didn't have the guts to finish it.
Who could I rely on?
Wait, what about Aizawa? Didn't he say he lived with Present Mic? That was two people. Plus, he genuinely cared about his students. He met all the criteria; Strong, determined, and he had the guts to finish it.
Only problem was I didn't know where he lived.
Welp, this was going to hurt like hades.
I reached out into the shadows gritting my teeth to stop the pain from overtaking me. I felt around until I felt his life force. He was about 20 miles away. great. I could fly there. I pulled out of the shadows, and fell back to the ground with a small whimper of pain. Ow.
After maybe 10 minutes, I managed to stand up. I felt worse than after the Athena Parthenon. I stretched my wings out slowly. I pushed down, and a wave of pain ran through me. I gritted my teeth, and kept going. I had to at least make it there.
I made it, one stroke of my wings at a time. One painful beat after another.
Shota Aizawa's POV.
I was relaxing on my couch after the very stressful day I'd just had. All-Might's secret was out, and I couldn't help in the fight. To be honest, I'd felt a little useless.
"Shota?" Hizashi asked, leaning over the back of the couch. I looked up.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Are you okay? You look sad." He said, and came around to the front of the couch.
"I'm fine 'Zashi. Just a little perturbed." I answered. Just as he was about to respond, I heard a knock on the door. I stood, and went to it.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"Nico." I heard faintly from the other side. Wait, Nico? My student Nico? I opened the door. The goth teen was standing there, wings out looking half dead.
"Nico?!" I asked, confused. Why in the world was he at my house?!
"Hi Professor. May I come in?" he asked, in a broken voice. Then, he coughed up blood into his hand.
"Yeah, come in." I said, and held the door open.
"Shota? Who is it?" Hizashi asked from the other room.
"Nico." I replied, and led the teen to my living room. He almost tripped on the carpet, but managed to catch himself on the wall.
"Nico?! Are you okay?!" my husband asked hopping off the couch, and coming over.
"No." Nico replied, and lowered himself to the floor. "I'm not okay. That's why I'm here. I couldn't think of anyone else who could help." He revealed.
"What's the matter?" I asked, crossing my arms. My student looked at the ground, and hung his head.
"In the fight with All for One, I, um, did something dumb." He said, looking away. he obviously didn't want to share.
"What?" I demanded. I couldn't help if I didn't know. he sighed, and ran his left hand through his hair.
"I entered the soul realm." He admitted. What?!
"The what now?" Hizashi asked.
"The soul realm. Everyone has a soul. That's how I found you actually. Anyway, I entered it on accident really. Now, everyone has a soul, and a quirk. I can see both. All for One has hundreds if not thousands of quirks. They attacked me. now, my soul is poisoned, and if I don't cleanse it, I'll basically be quirkless for a month or more." He explained, coughing every now and then.
"How do you cleanse your soul?" I asked. he looked up at me.
"That's where I need your help. To cleanse your soul, you have to do a purification ritual. Normally, this is as easy as sprinkling holy water on someone. But, because of my heritage, purification rituals affect me worse than everyone else. I have to actually drink holy water, and then I'll start having what looks like a seizure. While this is happening, someone else has to complete the second part as I will be unable to. You were the only person I could think of that wouldn't balk at it." he said, staring into my eyes intently.
"What is the second part?" I questioned. He sighed, and looked at the ground.
"You'd have to cut my hand open and pour my own blood down my throat." He admitted. Hizashi gasped.
"That's horrible!" he said, aghast.
"That's a purification ritual." Nico responded coldly. "Once that happens, you pour the holy water on my hand. it'll steam and then heal. Then, you just wait for the seizures to end. It will harm me more if I don't do this ritual. My soul will become diseased, and I will quite likely die." He said, at Hizashi's attempted response. Nico reached into his boot, and pulled out a pocket knife. He handed it to me.
"Alright. I'll do it." I answered, and held up a hand. "But you have to stay the night. I don't want you out there on your own. Especially after the training camp." I told him.
"That actually works out pretty well. I don't have anywhere to stay." He said, looking back at the ground.
"Where does one get 'holy water'?" I asked. Nico sighed, and seemed to brace himself.
"This is going to hurt." He muttered, and closed his eyes. The shadows in the room swirled, and I think I saw blood dripping from his mouth and nose. Then, from the shadows came a bowl, nicely engraved with gold.
"Holy water." He said, and gasped for breath. His nose was bleeding, and there was most definitely blood on his lips. I sat next to him on my knees.
"What do you want me to do?" Hizashi asked, sitting next to me.
"Keep him from hitting his head on anything. I don't want him to get injured." I told him. he nodded, and gently grabbed Nico's head. the teen took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Okay. I'm ready." He said. I gave him a long look asking with my eyes. He hardened his eyes with resolve. I nodded, and held the bowl up to his lips. He took a sip, and then his eyes rolled back. His body started to shake violently. Hizashi held his head gently, and tried to keep him from moving too much. I gently grabbed his wrist, and slit his hand with the knife he'd handed me. his dark red almost black blood started freely pouring forth. I forced his shaking limb into his mouth, and watched as his eyes temporarily went red. Was that a good sign?
"What now?" Hizashi asked, keeping his head from banging into anything.
"The water." I said, and poured some on his hand. Just as he said, it started smoking, before in front of my eyes it healed. He was still violently thrashing, but it was getting slower.
After maybe 20 tense minutes, the seizures stopped. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were closed.
"What do we do now?" My husband asked, setting the teen's head gently on the wood floor. I wrapped my arm around him in a comforting manner.
"We wait." I told him, and watched the boy.
Little by little, Nico began to stir. Then, he opened his eyes, and looked around.
"Hi there." Hizashi said with a pained smile. Nico blinked.
"Is it over yet?" he asked in a raspy voice.
"Yes. You've been out of it for a while now." I told him. he nodded, and sat up slowly.
"Thank you." He said, looking very interested in the grains of the wooden flooring.
"You're welcome." I answered, and stood. "Come over here." I told him. he stood shakily, and walked over, still inspecting my floor.
"Yes?" he asked, not looking up.
"Look at me." I demanded. He held his head up, and Hizashi gasped. Nico's eyes were completely white. No pupil, no color. White through and through.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" Hizashi asked. Nico sighed, and looked back down.
"It's a side effect I didn't tell you about because I didn't think you'd do it if you knew. By the way, how long did I seize for?"
"Around 25 minutes. Why?" Hizashi said.
"Then for about 75 hours I will be without sight. That's a side effect of drinking holy water. It completely heals you, but everything comes with a cost." He said, sightless eyes pointed at Hizashi.
"Wait, so you're temporarily blind?" I asked. he nodded, turning his head to me.
"Yes. But my other senses are enhanced so I can tell exactly where you are. But it does mean that I can't see anything. Like I have no idea what I look like right now." He said, turning his eyes down to where his own body was. "Also, I have no idea where your furniture is. That might be problematic." He said, with a hint of a smile. I reached out, and took his hand.
"This way." I said, and led him to the couch. He sat on the couch, and leaned back.
"You have a nice couch." He said. Hizashi smiled.
"Yeah. it's nice." He said, and sat on my other side.
End of chapter 1.