UPDATE TIME! It's time for exams and learning and EXAMS. Who doesn't love a good exam?
Hope you all enjoy yo!
"Izuku? Earth to Izuku?"
"Huh?"
"I said are you okay?" Ochaco raised an eyebrow from behind her pink-tinted face-shield, "You were spacing out."
The class had gathered at the front entrance to UA. Above, the few clouds remaining from the more than welcome rain of the night before hovered, drifting lazily about. The ground still held one or two lonely puddles, though they were quickly drying as the asphalt heated from the humid air and rising summer sun. Even the building beside them seemed to be drying out after the downfall, with the mirrored sheen of the walls still with the occasional raindrop slowly fading away.
But while others sweated in the rising heat, Izuku kept his cool.
He'd need to keep cool, after all, today was the day.
The big day.
The day of the physical exams.
And Izuku? Izuku was ready.
He was perhaps more ready than anyone else in class. No longer the runt of the litter, he had rocketed his way into being within the top three students, and maybe, in terms of power, the number one student.
Though there were some that would challenge that assessment.
"I was just thinking, you know," He shrugged and gave a wobbly smile, "About how I'm going to do against everyone else?"
Ochaco nodded, "Yeah, it's hard not to compare yourself to other people, huh?" A friendly smile formed on her lips as she joined Izuku's gaze, scanning the other students, "Like Momo, ugh, she's amazing. I bet she got all A's on her written tests and she's like, a supermodel. I'm so jealous."
"Personally, I think I'll be trying to out-do Hitoshi, you know?" Izuku couldn't help but let his smile become sharper, more Nemesis-esk. His eyes traveled the crowd until he spotted him, "We've been neck and neck lately."
Hitoshi was doing some last-minute stretches, as was much of the class. Tenya was holding his legs down as he bent himself to touch his toes. He was the only one who had managed to match Nemesis on all levels. On speed, on strength, on fearlessness. Indeed, Nemesis considered Hitoshi their only true rival. The dark, hellborn flame of his Fallen-half was countered by the generational power of One For All.
Izuku supposed he should take some honor in that.
And yet…
And yet some part of him, some part of him he knew wasn't human, wanted to overtake Hitoshi. The idea that a human, a superpowered human yes, one chosen by All Might himself, could compete with something like him was… it galled him.
He tried to keep that part of him to one side. He had learned not to ignore such thoughts but not to embrace them. They were part of him, part of Nemesis and Izuku both, but they weren't him. They were just thoughts, feelings, part of a nature he couldn't control.
He would use the thoughts as motivation to do better, not resentment to feed his hellish anger.
"Well, you probably beat him in the written tests, Mr. Brainiac," Ochaco teased with that sunshine smile of hers, making his scars prickle with candle fire, "You've been doing amazing lately, but I guess that Nemesis-memory comes in handy, huh?"
The mid-terms had been easy for Izuku. He'd gotten third overall in the class, which was no mean feat, though that in of itself was less to do with how he did or did not remember the information, and more because he was still finding the right way to use Nemesis's eidetic memory.
Sure, he could look at a page with Nemesis boosting his vision, but if he did it too much it would drain him, and he'd become sluggish and sick to his stomach for a while.
It was why he had been working so hard on finding a good, constant level to keep Nemesis at. Sure, okay, maybe he'd found himself sleeping much less, but it was a good way to build his endurance when it came to using his Fallen self.
They'd come together to create something they called 'exercise mode', which Izuku had at first sworn only to use when he was at school.
He'd broken that promise about two days in.
But could anyone blame him? Really? Keeping Nemesis on a constant low thought his body felt so… right. Natural even. Not to mention eating or drinking without his Hellborn power behind him seemed… less than.
Without the flame in his blood, everything seemed less than.
"So," Ochaco announced, breaking him out of his introspection, "What do you think? Robots?"
"If it's robots, we'll pass with ease," Nemesis again hissed through his lips and he allowed his Fallen-half to bring up an unlight clad talon, curling it into a fist, "Though I'd prefer live prey."
"I'm sure you would," The girl rolled her eyes, drawing an irate glare from Nemesis before Izuku quietly took back over, "Sir Tryhard of Edgelordia."
"Seriously though, I have a feeling it won't be robots," Izuku put his fist to one side, "I mean, we've been working against them all semester so-"
"So, it's logical they'd present us with something more challenging," Shoto's flat-toned voice appeared beside Izuku and the boy turned to see him adjusting the straps on his wristbands.
"Yeah, though I dunno what could be tougher than robots…"
Izuku went to reply but suddenly his ears twitched and he turned to look at the large double doors of the nearby building, his tail curling up behind him, "Someone's coming."
The movement surprised his friends, and from beside him he heard Ochaco mumble, "I'll never get used to you doing that."
From the building, came teachers. Lots of them.
"This must be it," Shoto mumbled under his breath, "It all starts now."
Once they were assembled, and the opposing class had gathered before them, Aizawa-sensei began, his hands placed firmly in his pockets.
"So, we're here at last. Your final exam," His hard eyes roamed across the students, "You may have passed the other tests, but if you fail here, there is no chance of you heading to the Summer Camp."
The Summer Camp. A promised and by now practically fabled trip to some distant, unknown place where they'd all be treated to forest hikes, campfires, and fun-filled activities for a whole two weeks. Mina had even mentioned something about smores. Izuku had no idea what smores were, but they sounded awesome.
Of course, spending nights camping with other people presented its own slew of problems. Izuku had never slept anywhere other than the nights he'd spent at Azrael's place and his own bed.
It was worrying, though an exciting kind of worrying.
"If any of you thought you knew what was coming, think again," He continued sternly, his eyes locking onto Denki and Mina as he did so.
"Because of recent events," A new voice piqued up from within the folds of Aizawa's scarf, and a second later, Nedzu popped his head out, a big grin on his mousey face and his beady black eyes sparkling, "I decided to change things up this year!"
A quiet murmur flittered through the students as the tiny Principal hopped down to the floor. Izuku felt his scars flitter with candle flame at the sight of him. There was something about Nedzu that just always felt a little off.
"This year, you lucky students will be fighting us!"
Izuku didn't need to glance around to know there would be plenty of worried faces in the crowd. He was one of them. Sure, he had the mighty power of his Fallen-self to use, but he knew that if the worst-case scenario came up, he could be in deep trouble.
"Before, the tests focused on fighting ability, however, this year we will also be focusing on teamwork, as well as general tactical knowledge. But in order to really push those skills, we needed to step it up a notch!" He spread his short arms wide, his paws on full display, "So, we have put you all in pairs against us! Isn't that exciting, kids?"
Izuku's tail flicked in anxiety.
"We can do this," Nemesis urged through his thoughts, boosting his body with unholy flame, "We are Izuku Midoriya, we are Nemesis, we are shadow and flame."
Shadow and flame. Yes. Yes, he was ready for this. The anxieties of the past were just that, anxieties of the past, and they deserved to be left there.
"Your opponents and partners have already been pre-chosen, based your perceived abilities, intelligence, co-operation, and quirk matchups," Aizawa continued in his dull tone, though now it seemed edged with something… mean.
There was a spike of flame through Izuku's blood, and a second later he was stepping back even before the shadow crossed the sun and All Might slammed down from above, colliding with the ground before them with an earth-shaking boom. As he straightened up, he towered over them all, his shadow cast long in the sun and the dust settling around him.
"For example," All Might began, his voice powerful and heroic, "The students fighting me will be young Shinsou and young Todoroki. You better try your hardest, boys!"
A second of relief flooded through Izuku, though it was equally followed by disappointment. Nemesis had often wondered about a rematch against the mighty hero, now that they were far more unified in mind, body, and spirit. A match where their own hate wouldn't overwhelm them, nor their Fallen-form dominate their more fragile human-form.
A match that could truly push them to their newly defined limits.
He shook his head, he had to focus.
"Now," All Might turned, motioning as he did towards one of the many busses sitting within the parking lot, "Come along. We're off to training ground alpha!"
As he began walking off, Izuku caught Hitoshi's eye for a split second. They spoke no words, but the message was clear.
Good luck.
After that, the teachers began stepping forward, each naming their opponents and leading them away towards one of the busses. So, he wasn't against Nedzu, or Ectoplasm, or Midnight, or-
A horrible feeling began to form in his gut, and even Nemesis seemed to grow increasingly agitated as the obvious began forming.
By the end of the announcements, there was only one teacher and two students left.
And Izuku, as Nemesis growled almost nervously within his blood, no longer felt so confident.
Fumikage came to his side and together they shared a concerned look.
Because together they were facing the one teacher who could hurt them the most.
Aizawa-sensei gave the boys a cocksure, grim smile as he adjusted his goggles, "Well then, let's get started."
Neighborhood Alpha.
It was a training ground that Izuku was familiar with. They'd come here many times, after all, usually to work on things like hostage or drug bust simulations. Apparently, an awful lot of drug busts took place in residential areas.
Yet his familiarity with the grounds didn't make him any less nervous. In fact, it only made him more nervous.
Well, that and his partner in the fight wasn't exactly helping.
"You think I'm going to listen to you, Princeling?" Dark Shadow sneered and the demonic shadow-bird curled closer to the boy and poked him in the chest, "You and your hand-me-down armor think you can just tell me what to do?"
Izuku, or rather Nemesis judging by the unlight that curled up his arm, swatted the talon away as they walked down the street, "We'd think you'd see some sense, Dark Shadow, but clearly you're too stupid to listen." And yet the moment he said it, Izuku pulled his Fallen-self back into line and took a quick breath, "Nemesis! I mean- fuck- shit- fuck," He scowled and looked away, "… this is gonna be tough."
"Dark Shadow, you will cooperate," Fumikage commanded softly as he frowned at his quirk-familiar before looking back to Izuku, "You should keep heart, my friend. We may see victory yet."
Izuku didn't reply. He glanced around as if expecting someone to be listening in on them. Aizawa-sensei was nowhere to be seen of course, he had given them directions to their starting point, far in the center of the arena, and had left them to it. By the time they reached the center, they were expected to be ready.
But against the power that Aizawa had…
He knew he couldn't have been placed against a more dangerous opponent. Sure, All Might was high in the running, but he had fought All Might before. And while it wasn't a pleasant memory, it did at least give him some background on how to fight the man.
But Aizawa was a different beast altogether. He was cunning and smart, swift and resourceful. And his quirk… the ability to simply tear his soul into two, splitting him from his Fallen-self.
The thought of that grey, ash-world caused both sides of himself to shudder.
"Hey, so, erm, has Aizawa ever used his quirk on you?" Izuku breathed softly.
"Once," Fumikage nodded, and Dark Shadow quickly curled around their master protectively, "It was… not pleasant."
"When?"
"It was a while back. Before you and Nemesis found your footing, just before the sports festival," He ran a hand through the black feathers on his head as one would push their hair back, "You weren't in class, I believe you had knocked yourself sick using Nemesis."
Izuku winced. That could have been at any point before the sports festival.
"So… what happened?"
Fumikage paused, then his voice lowered, "… it hurt."
"His gaze is like an exorcism," Dark Shadow grumbled out as they passed another block of faux-housing, "Strange that he, a Son of David, should have such a power."
"It's not strange at all, Dark Shadow," Fumikage answered his demonic quirk-familiar, "We live in a world where many quirks exist, it is more than likely some have added, hidden effects on the creatures of heaven and hell," The teenager glanced to Izuku with a questioning look, "Perhaps it is simply an aspect of his power that our teacher doesn't even realize himself."
"Or maybe he does, to a degree," Nemesis replied through Izuku's lips, "One doesn't have to understand how the blade works in order to sever someone's head."
"… a fair point," Fumikage sighed as they came out onto a small, two-way road. Propped up to one side of the road was a cardboard cut out of Nedzu, hand raised, a wide smile on his animal face and 'Start Here!' written above it.
There was a sudden, loud announcement in the clear voice of Nedzu himself, joyfully announcing, "Thirty seconds until start!"
As the two came to stand beside the sign, Izuku looked to the handcuffs he had attached to his belt. The instructions had been clear. Either one of them escapes the training ground, or they handcuff their teacher in order to win. There was a thirty-minute time limit in which to accomplish their goals.
All against an opponent who could simply look at them to bring them to their knees.
Easy peasy.
Totally doable.
No sweat.
"So, I've been thinking," Fumikage began, placing a thoughtful finger under his beak, "We should-"
"I bet Nemesis wishes to escape," Dark Shadow cawed mockingly, "Just like the cowardly little Princeling they claim to be."
"We are not a coward," Nemesis snapped back, "The Morningstar Reborn does not run from a fight."
"Or so you claim, Princeling," Dark Shadow sneered, "But dirty, filthy, half-blood such as yours always finds a way to retreat."
"We didn't retreat against All Might," The inner Fallen-half of Izuku turned quickly darkening eyes on Dark Shadow, who did not back down, "Unlike you."
"I was obeying my Master's command, and you cheap-shotted me in the center of my form," The shadow-crow's feathers raised up, making them seem bigger and more threatening, even in the brightness of the afternoon sun, "Come find me at midnight, Princeling, and we'll see who is the mightier one then!"
"Five seconds!"
"Dark Shadow, you will cooperate in this exam!" Fumikage demanded, "And I will not repeat myself! Now, do I make myself clear?"
"Four!"
"Of course, master-"
"Three."
"-We will be-"
"Two."
"-On our best-"
"One."
"-Behavior."
"GO!"
The second the exam started, Izuku let the flame of his Fallen-self rise.
And oh, it felt good.
It was like letting go of a chain that had been wrapped tight around his limbs. His fire coursed through his blood, giving power to his whole body, and making him feel as though only seconds ago he was as weak as a kitten.
His body shifted and changed, his horns grew longer and curled on his head, his feet and legs morphed, become shadowed and wolf-like, and unlight rushed across his hands, turning them into sharp claws and coating his entire forearm.
His own wings stretched from his back before curling around him like a cloak and even his tail seemed to whip in joy.
He felt as though he was breathing again after being strangled for so long, and indeed, he took in an enormous breath of air. He could smell the scents in the air, drifting from the tarmac to the many flowers around him. He could hear the insects buzzing and moving on petals and the beating of bird wings in the air.
He felt… natural. More… him.
There was no guilt with the feeling, and the temptation to dive deeper, while there, was no longer so insidious. It was less of a blasphemy and more of an offering.
If he needed the power, he could take it, if he didn't need it, it would be there, waiting. Obedient. As it should be.
No, the only emotion he now had with accessing the unholy power within him was regret.
Regret that it had taken them this long to find peace within themselves and accept their blood for what it was. Regret that they had been divided so many years, denying themselves the ability to feel this alive.
He reopened his eyes with whites that were now dimmed, and when he spoke again, his voice echoed without any effort being put into it, "Let's go."
They immediately set off in a jog back towards the entrance, though even as they did so Izuku was biting his lip. It was rare he had to do that these days, but Dark Shadow had a way of getting right under his skin. He didn't mind the new, irritating nickname, but the challenges, and the way he mocked their strength… it dug at him.
Izuku was a born warrior, a prince, it was literally in his blood. To have that pride insulted was, well, insulting. He tried not to let it get to him.
They had an exam to finish.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I have a plan to-"
"Our plan is to attack," Nemesis cut in suddenly, "All other plans are worthless."
"My Master's plan is not worthless," Dark Shadow snapped.
Fumikage's scowl told of an anger he was holding back, "If you would listen to me, I think I-"
"Shut up!" Nemesis snapped through sharpened teeth, "I need quiet!"
"Do not tell my Master to shut up!" Dark Shadow turned from covering their back and practically spat the words out.
Fumikage, unsurprisingly, agreed with his demonic-familiar, "I would appreciate not being talked to that way, Morningstar."
But Izuku ignored them both because he too was busy focusing.
As he moved, his brain began cycling through every option he could think of, his heart already set on conquest over retreat. He was half-celestial, after all. They did not win by running away. They weren't built for running away. They were built to fight and win.
Izuku had run away from things all his life, and he wasn't about to restart old habits.
Around them were only one, or two-story houses, ones that he knew Aizawa-sensei could scale just as easily as he or Dark Shadow could, so flying up and monitoring from above was out. Besides, surely Aizawa would just see him in the sky and shoot him right down.
He turned to his sense of smell as they rounded another corner, but that too seemed useless. The smell of drying rain on warm asphalt, along with the pollen from the bushes, but nothing of his teacher.
Izuku's long ears twitched, trying to pick up any sound he could. A footfall, a heartbeat, anything.
The sounds of birds and buzzing insects seemed to echo terribly through the concrete jungle of the training ground. He strained his hearing, feeling the fire in his blood etch higher as he unconsciously handed more to his Fallen-self.
Electricity humming through power cables, droplets of water from a spout, the softest sound of tiles clicking…
"GET DOWN!" Izuku shouted to his companion, turning swiftly on his heel, but it was already too late.
Even as he turned on Fumikage, he saw the capture tape rushing towards them.
But it was not aimed at Fumikage, it was aimed at Izuku.
The tape hit him like a baseball to the stomach with its surprising strength and weight and within seconds he found his arms pinned to his sides even as flame burst from his fingertips. This, however, only added to the chaos as Fumikage instinctively tried to run to help his friend only to have fire force him back.
And then it happened.
As Izuku went to roar in fury at their attacker, he felt the sword of Aizawa-sensei's quirk slice his soul in two.
He collapsed. Instantly. The color from the world around him vanished, as did the sounds and scents and physicality of it all. It all became… grey. A grey, ash waste of vague shapes and distant, echoing sounds. His heartbeat seemed to slam on the breaks, barely struggling to beat within his chest.
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe.
But perhaps worst of all, was that he could only feel the very distant touches of Nemesis. His power, his other-self, his hell-born half.
And then, like a sledgehammer, the world smashed back into him. Bile spewed from his lips as the melding, maddening world forced itself back onto his eyes and ears and nose and tongue all at once. Nemesis stormed back through him, grabbing onto every atom of his being like someone grabbing onto a life raft in a storm.
But unlike last time Izuku didn't struggle for control.
He grabbed back.
He embraced his other half as one would embrace their own sibling thought long lost. The wholeness of his soul was not furious but desperate.
They had been separated, and it was terrifying.
He took heaving breaths and he spat out the bile in his mouth. He had to force his limbs to stop shaking and even had to whisper calming mantras to Nemesis as fire and shadow pounded through their body. He let his fallen-self re-settle as it was, though as his limbs changed back, he noticed something.
He couldn't move his arms, and his wings couldn't push up out of his back, feeling instead uncomfortably stopped against his body.
It took him a long, long moment, for the melding, water-colored painting of the world around him to solidify, and each of his senses to click back into place. Only then did he seem to realize where he was. Hanging in mid-air, suspended over what looked to be caltrops.
And Aizawa was just finishing tying the knots.
"E-Eraserhead," He half-growled, half-whispered, his darkened eyes narrowing, "What-"
"I assume you think you can just burn yourself out of my capture tape when I'm gone, well, think again. I don't think even you could avoid falling onto all these," The teacher looked up. He was in full battle dress, that was to say, he had a full belt of equipment on, his goggles and his capture tape.
He looked even more intimidating than usual.
"I'm not going to give you an easy time because of what my quirk does to you. I'm not here to take pity on you, I'm here to push you to your limits."
"I could power through the blood and pain," Izuku half-threatened, deciding to simply repeat what Nemesis internally told him, rather than let his power speak for itself.
"Maybe, but it would still affect your performance, and besides, I can still stop you," There was a note of sardonic amusement in his tone as he finished tying the knot, "I thought you would try to use stealth for once, or at least co-ordinate a proper plan instead of just directly attacking. Shame. Looks like you won't be going to the summer camp after all."
"Where's Tsukuyomi?"
"Dark Shadow managed to get him away from my sight before I could stop him. But that's fine. You were my main target."
"We're honored."
Aizawa paused, and Izuku knew he shouldn't have used the term we. It was something he did rarely around anyone who wasn't his immediate friends, after all. The fewer people asked questions, the less he had to explain.
But right now he would try anything, even hinting at his other-self.
"This exam was to test how you'd do when confronted with an opponent you couldn't directly attack while working with a partner who you often argue with and in-" He glanced at a watch on his wrist, "-Twenty minutes you're going to fail."
Failure. The word bit deep into Izuku's gut and ripped at it.
They had moved past failure. They had evolved past failure.
But here it was. Rearing its ugly head once again like a personal demon that not even the Prince of Hell could shake.
He felt his talons curling into fists and sharp teeth grit hard within his mouth.
"I understand you've overcome a lot to get to this point, but pride can be even the strongest hero's downfall," The teacher said he looked skyward, taking out a bottle of eye drops and applying a few to each eye before placing his goggles back down again. "Maybe you didn't quite get around to learning that from Hawks."
And with that, he moved. He moved faster than Izuku thought his teacher could move, and that was saying a lot. With expert parkour he ascended up a two-story building before Izuku could even blink, he was gone.
And Izuku was left hanging.
Literally.
"… well fuck."
Fumikage was angry.
He was angry and pissed and angry and… pissed.
Pissed that his friend, someone he thought he could rely on, would be so stupid.
And yet, as he moved to hide within a shadowed alleyway, was he really so surprised? This had been coming ever since he'd come back from his internship.
His pride. His growing sense of pride that seemed to slowly infect everything he did. At first, Fumikage had been happy for his friend. Izuku had become the person he was supposed to be. Strong and confident and willing to use the curse he had been born with to help others.
But that pride. That 'attack first, ask questions later' style of battle he employed.
He would never wish for Izuku to go back to the way he was, suffering day in and day out, but he did wish he'd have a little more humility. His attitude was almost becoming… Bakugo-ish, though he would never say it to his face.
"Nemesis has ruined us," Dark Shadow growled from over Fumikage's shoulder as the teen placed his back against the wooden fencing, his breath coming in short but controlled bursts, "They've left us against the Son of David."
"Be quiet, Dark Shadow," He turned and glared at his quirk-familiar, "You wished for this assault."
"Because we would win," The shadow-crow cawed back, "But the dear Princeling is an unworthy ally. He thinks he stands above us all."
"Does any of that even matter right now?" Fumikage hissed back, "You two keep fighting and bickering, but it never comes to anything. For once, just once I wished for you both to cooperate and what do I get? A friend who can't see past his own strength, and a demon who refuses to see when they're outclassed. No wonder Erasurehead split up apart so easily."
Dark Shadow remained silent. He knew his familiar would never openly admit any of their mistakes, but he could feel it, like an echo in his soul. A regret that they had annoyed their Master so much, that they had upset them.
"Dammnit," Fumikage cursed, closing his eyes before taking a slow, calculated breath. Then he muttered softly to himself, "Anger is the enemy of reason, reason is the path to victory."
Yet even with the mantra, he could still feel Dark Shadow's desire to fight. It was more distant with his quirk-familiar outside of his soul, but it was still there. Like a toxin slowly digging itself deeper and deeper into his thoughts. He had managed to push it back so far, but with the situation so suddenly tense it was getting harder to ignore.
If he could move fast enough, strike fast enough…
"Dark Shadow," He breathed as he turned and moved again. Staying in one spot was dangerous, especially for an opponent like Eraserhead, "I can still enact my plan, however, I need the assistance of Morningstar. So, to that end, we must rescue him. However, to do so I need your advice."
"I have the battle experience of six-hundred years," The shadow-crow replied with a small bow, "Whatever you wish to know, my Master, I will tell you."
"How do you save someone, when being seen means certain defeat?"
The shadow-crow grinned, "That is easy, my Master. You blind your opponent."
"We could blast the ground before we land," Nemesis whispered through Izuku's brain as the two halves of his soul desperately tried to figure a way out of their confinement.
"If we land on our front," Izuku mumbled back, "Which means we'll get caltrops to the face."
"We'll recover."
"No," Izuku sighed and looked to one side, his jaw clenched tight. Dammit, this was stupid. He was the son of Hell and Earth, he was the Prince of Hell and the Morningstar Reborn. This was… humiliating. He glanced back and forth as he spun slowly under the lamppost. He knew that somewhere within one of the many shadows that lay along the street, Kuroiro was watching.
Lucifer had defended his monitoring of Izuku's trips to and from school by saying it was a way of trying to keep his son safe, but Izuku knew he had a habit of sending his Equerry to go and watch the more intensive combat sessions.
There was no doubt in Izuku's mind that Lucifer's little spy was hiding here somewhere.
What kind of report would this make for his father? 'Your son was tied under a lamppost and failed the test because they charged in like an idiot.'
He could only imagine what would come next. A lecture on how a real Prince should act, or how the Fallen conducted themselves in defeat. Maybe Lucifer would even pull more of his terrible strings to get Izuku to the training camp, or, more likely, he would see it as an excuse to spend the summer break with him.
Izuku wasn't sure which was worse.
"We could-"
"Stop," Izuku commanded, though he internally regretted doing so. He could almost feel his inner Fallen chafe at the word, and that uncomfortable feeling of separate otherness entered his heart.
They had come so far together, working side by side to further what Nemesis could do, and how best Izuku could use the unity they had gained.
And it felt like it just wasn't enough…
His head shot up.
No.
He was slipping into old modes of thought. He had moved past that old Izuku, the one who had been at war with Nemesis.
He wasn't that Izuku any longer. He was the Morningstar now, and the Morningstar didn't fail.
… but maybe he was letting the whole 'Prince of Hell' thing get to his head a little. He had taken command the second the exam started because he had simply assumed that was his role. He was born to lead, he was a Prince.
He tried to think back on what he had learned from Azrael, and yet, it was the drunken night with his father that came to mind. His father had a court, a group that even the King of Hell took council from.
Fumikage had tried to give him advice, a plan even, and he had ignored it.
His brow furrowed in thought.
"Maybe… maybe we're not the solution," Izuku breathed softly, "We have to trust in Tsukuyomi."
"The Seventh Son? HA!" His scars flashed an amused azure, "He's worthless. He and Dark Shadow both."
"You- we know he's not," Izuku hissed again, "We know he's capable of helping us."
"The second the Son of David sees him, he and his familiar will be torn from one another. He'll collapse and be captured. We have no faith in-"
"MORNINGSTAR!" The cry rocked the air and Izuku turned, surprised he hadn't heard the footsteps coming, but he had been so deep in thought that he supposed he hadn't been listening.
He turned to see Tsukuyomi rushing towards him at full speed, and there was something clutched tight in his hand. Above him, Dark Shadow's gaze darted from rooftop to rooftop, trying to spot the terrible enemy they knew had to be closing in fast.
However, just as he went to jump off the closest rooftop, Izuku's enhanced hearing picked up on footsteps swiftly approaching from behind him.
"TSUKUYOMI, BEHIND YOU!"
In that half-second, many things happened at once.
Dark Shadow screamed in pain.
The object in Fumikage's hand flew into the air.
Azure fire devoured the tape holding Izuku's form.
And the air filled with light.
The flash was so great and so bright that it utterly blinded Izuku, and the bang that came with it flooded his highly tuned senses so much that he was knocked sick. His vision was nothing but white, nothing but blinded static-snow, and his ears filled with a high-pitched keening sound that caused migraine-pain to pulse at the base of his horns. His eyes closed tight, desperately trying to get the light from his vision, yet it barely did anything.
And he was also falling.
Yet before he could feel the knife-sharp stabs of the caltrops hit him, he felt something grab him in mid-air.
He fell heavily, his own sense of equilibrium utterly knocked off course before suddenly he had the ground under his feet and Fumikage was shouting, "RUN!" Into his ear, loud enough that he could hear it over the incessant, painful ringing.
And so, he ran.
And more than run.
"TSUKUYOMI! GUIDE ME!"
"WHA- AGH!"
All his other senses were blinded and deafened, but he knew one thing he could most certainly do.
He could still fly.
His wings roared form his back as he again felt the freedom of power that his hellborn self-unleashed. He grabbed tight onto the person beside him and, suddenly, they were airborne. He could lift Fumikage as easily as one could lift a child, and while he couldn't see and could barely hear, his other senses were still finely tuned.
He could feel the wind against his face and under his wings, lifting him instantly up into the air with a few quick beats.
"UP, UP!" Fumikage cried out before there was a crunch of something wooden breaking somewhere by him, and Fumikage rocked within his grasp, though thankfully his grip was strong enough not to let him go.
"What was-"
"Just a fence! Keep going!"
He jolted skywards, using his sense of direction, and his tail, to steady and guide his blinded flight.
"Forward! Turn left! Keep going!"
Izuku followed the directions as his friend gripped onto him for all he was worth.
It was at this point that Izuku dared to open his eyes just a crack. Everything was grey and blobby, but he could see enough to know they were heading towards the exit. They were barely above the rooftops of the houses, so much so that Fumikage's feet even hit one and he had to run-jog across it before leaping off again, trusting to Izuku's strength.
This was their chance. If he could speed up he-
Ash. Ash and static and-
The world again crashed into him and oxygen filled lungs that had forgotten to breathe. Izuku's wings were gone.
The two boys went crashing down onto a rooftop, rolling and coming to a stop when Izuku collided with a TV antenna, and Fumikage collided with Izuku. The boy, thankfully, grabbed onto the antennae for all he was worth, stopping himself and his partner from sliding right off the building.
"We need to get down," Fumikage gasped out, clutching his chest, "Before Erasurehead spots us."
Izuku didn't need telling twice. He moved, his power once again flooding his body and by the time he had rolled off the one-story building, he had landed on feet that were taloned and unlight-black.
He fell against the side of the house, taking deep, calming breaths.
Though it wasn't from anxiety.
His heart was pounding at the thrill of the battle, the sensation of pushing his body to the semi-inhuman limits it could endure.
It was a love of battle, of being tested.
"What… what was that?" Izuku finally asked, looking to Fumikage who was sitting to one side regaining his breath after deftly managing to drop down. Dark Shadow was nowhere to be seen, though for the moment, Izuku was glad of it. He didn't need for Nemesis and the damned parasite crow to start arguing again.
Izuku's vision had finally returned, though he was still blinking out sunspots. The terrible keening in his ears had faded, yet with his senses increased, it still seemed to linger in the back of his mind.
And the migraine at the base of his horns hadn't gone either. Great.
"A last resort," Fumikage breathed out, "It's a flash grenade I keep within my equipment, just for dealing with Dark Shadow in case they become too unruly." He paused for a moment before shivering, "Eraserhead's quirk is… that feeling. It is like death itself placing a hand upon your shoulder."
"We know," Izuku nodded back. He had already recovered, another wonderful benefit to being slightly more than human. He moved to the very edge of the wall and glanced around. He couldn't see their teacher, but he had no doubt he was coming. He frowned, then looked back, "We have to move. Now."
Fumikage nodded, though there was an irritation on his face as they began swiftly moving towards the nearest exit.
It didn't take long for Izuku to notice. And he wasn't stupid enough to wonder what it was about.
"… I'm sorry about… all of that before."
"You almost caused us to fail," Fumikage snapped back at him, his voice harsh and cutting, "Because of your impertinence. You may be a Prince, Izuku, but that doesn't make you my superior."
Izuku felt two emotions in that moment.
The first was a guilty agreement. Yes, maybe he had dived in without thinking, and yes, maybe if he had listened to Fumikage they might have done better.
But another emotion lingered within him. Irritation. Was Fumikage seriously blaming him for being unable to keep Dark Shadow from arguing? For being unable to keep up? The very fact he felt as though he had to slow down for Fumikage made him wonder if he would have been better off without him in the first place.
Set free to move and fight as he wished.
Something dark lingered in those thoughts. It was a word. A word which he had heard Azrael and Lucifer use plenty of times but he had never used himself.
"Mortal."
He bit the thought back. No, that was their word, and he wouldn't use it. Yet the very fact it had crossed his mind, whether brought on by Nemesis or not, caused a feeling to gather in the pit of his stomach.
One he didn't like.
The thought lingered for just a second more before finally, Izuku overcame the temptation within his soul.
"You're right, Fumikage," They came into the shadow of a building and he paused, bowing his head, "I've… I've acted like an ass. I could blame it on Nemesis but… that's not the truth. I know I let myself get carried away, I'm sorry."
For a moment, Fumikage seemed caught between admonishing him further or accepting his apology before simply sighing, "It's fine. I too am to blame, I could have kept Dark Shadow on a tighter leash instead of allowing them to rile you up." He shook his head and looked around cautiously, "But we can decide that later. Right now, we have an exam to pass."
"Right," Izuku knew he wasn't off the hook, and he could feel Nemesis bristle within his scars at the apology, but he could suppress his pride for the moment. Lose the battle, win the war, that kinda deal. "So, what's your plan?"
Fumikage looked as though he was about to snap off with another comment before he finally seemed to let go of his anger, at least for the moment. Izuku didn't have to remind himself that Fumikage had a demon within his soul, one that affected his emotions just as much as Nemesis affected Izuku.
Maybe that too was part of the test. Not just his own ability to work with others, but Fumikage's ability to keep Dark Shadow in check.
"We'll only have one shot, so I need your complete cooperation," A tiny smile ghosted his beak, "Will you listen, Princeling?"
Izuku gave a wry smile and nodded his head, "Go ahead, I'm all ears."
Aizawa was still blinking the sunspots from his eyes even as he moved. He knew that Fumikage had the flash grenade, he knew the loadouts of all his students, but he hadn't expected the boy to use it so quickly.
He should have guessed. Izuku and Fumikage were obvious friends, and Dark Shadow had no real chance of going out of control, not with Aizawa himself around to erase it the moment it did.
The teacher paused as he knelt on a telephone pole, a breeze lightly ruffling the capture tape around him. He was distracted for a moment by the sound of Nedzu's pre-recorded voice announcing there were less than ten minutes remaining. He smirked, less than ten minutes? They had as good as lost this fight.
He had been moving directly towards the exit he had seen the two boys moving towards, hoping to cut them off, though he knew if Izuku went all out he could probably beat him to it, maybe with a second to spare, but he could do it.
But the question was, would he?
The Izuku of the past would have run towards the exit at full pelt. The Izuku of the present was far more likely to turn around and attack Aizawa head-on.
The cockiness of the boy needed to be checked before it became outright arrogance. Whatever balance he had learned had clearly come with this hidden cost. Power corrupted, it always had and always would.
Old memories surfaced just for a moment. Another student, arrogant and self-centered with blue fire flowing from his fingertips…
Aizawa shook the thought off. Now was not the time to bring up old failures.
He darted forward again, his footfalls as quiet as a mouse, yet his eyes as sharp as a hawk, despite the injuries he had suffered. He couldn't hold his gaze as long, but that didn't seem to be a huge disadvantage against these two.
Fumikage's own momentum had carried him forward when he had been disabled by Aizawa's quirk, after all. It was the only reason he'd managed to escape.
So, now they had one last chance. The clock was ticking down, and all Aizawa had to do was stop them from escaping and he'd win.
Because he was pretty sure there was no way they would attempt another head on-attack.
So, when a fireball came roaring out of the sky towards him, he was rather shocked.
He dodged it with ease and looked to the direction it came from, his quirk blazing, only to see the end of a spear-tipped tail vanish into a small alleyway dividing two houses. He frowned, wondering what the hell Izuku was playing at before deciding he couldn't risk keeping back.
The option was there, but the students were close enough to the exit to make a decent escape attempt if he didn't keep on top of them.
Aizawa darted across a rooftop, then used the capture tape to practically swing himself up onto the two-story home. He had to keep in mind Fumikage was no doubt close to him, most likely waiting in hiding to lead him into some kind of trap.
Still, all he had to do was look at just one of them to unravel their plans completely. How could they attack him, or escape, when they were laying on the ground?
The thought of doing that to either one of the teens didn't sit perfectly with him, but this was an extreme test of their abilities, and out there, in the real world, things would no doubt be even harder for them.
Aizawa ran across the rooftop, hoping to reach the other side before-
A scream tore through the world. A scream that reached deep into his chest and strangled something within his heart. A scream which, for a flashing instant, made him think of every failure in his life. Every life lost at his hands. A rainy day, the static of a radio, the piles of rubble with the blood seeping out from under-
He forced it away and hardened his heart, knowing this trick. Izuku's nightmare-scream wasn't going to-
There was a sudden explosion around him. The noise was deafening, like thunder breaking through the clouds above. Aizawa had seen heroes use breacher teams before and this was nothing new to him, the surprise, of course, was that it had not come from in front of him, but from under his damn feet.
He was thrown up into the air, though he artfully managed to twist his body to regain at least some control, and through the brick-dust and splintered wood, he caught sight of a black-cloaked figure rising up, suspended by a pair of giant-shadow claws.
His quirk switched on in an instant, and the black cloak figure… collapsed?
No, no not quite. The figure simply vanished, and the cloak fell in on itself.
Shock knifed suddenly, sharply, into Aizawa's brain as he realized his mistake. He had been looking forward this whole time, thinking Fumikage would attack along with his trap.
But that had been another misdirection, which meant-
He barely had time to hear the sound of claws ripping up tile as he landed into a quick roll, his eyes still wide open, his quirk still blazing as he turned just in time to see a figure shadow-black and brass leaping forward.
For a second, just for a brief second, he felt it.
That same pressure that existed around Hokori. That existed around an angered Hawks.
He felt it like air compressing within the base of his skull and clutching fingers around his beating heart.
It was the primeval, instinctual knowledge of power standing before him. And it took all his courage not to simply fall away.
He was fast enough to erase Nemesis, but not fast enough to stop the flame that had poured out of Morningstar's palms in a haphazard wave of fire.
Aizawa jumped, going into a swift retreat, but already the azure flame rushed across him, not quite strong enough to burn him, but strong enough to force his eyes closed.
That was all that was needed.
Another part of the roof erupted beside him, throwing him again off balance.
He threw his capture tape in the direction he had seen Izuku, hoping to trap him before he could recover, surely he was still-
Aizawa had only a second to notice that, as the brick-dust parted, the expected body of Morningstar was nowhere to be seen.
… oh.
Something smashed into his side, and as he felt the handcuff wrap around his wrist, he knew it was over.
Just like that, everything came to a sudden stop.
A loud ringer sounded somewhere, announcing that he had been captured and that Fumikage and Izuku had won the fight.
But that didn't please Aizawa.
Fumikage rose up from the holes punched through the rooftop, or rather, Dark Shadow lifted him up. The boy had a tired but pleased look upon his face. He turned his head to see Izuku laying on his back, staring up at the sky and taking huge, heaving breaths. He barely seemed able to lift himself as the raven-headed teen walked over to help him up.
The moment Izuku was on his feet, however, they embraced in a friendly hug before they separated and Izuku removed his goggles, revealing his still somewhat dimmed eyes and running a hand back through his sweat-covered hair.
Just for that moment, for that one, tiny moment, Aizawa's mind shot back to Hisashi Hokori. The darkness of his eyes, the way he combed his hair back, the sharp-toothed grin.
Then it was gone as Izuku and Fumikage looked back to their teacher.
"Sorry about the property damage," Izuku began, unable to push the grin down, "But it was the only way to get the drop on you."
"I admit, if I was marking you on points, this would be deducted," The teacher calmly chastised.
"Consider it a logical price to pay. Much better to hire out a few builders, than let a dangerous criminal run free," Fumikage added. He too seemed unable to hold back the smile on his beak.
"VICTORY!" Dark Shadow cawed loudly, hovering above Fumikage's head, raising their fists high, "We did it! Even though it was really all our idea," They turned their tarnished-yellow gaze, so undeniably cruel, to Izuku.
Aizawa had seen this before. He watched as the Izuku's… self seemed to shift. It was barely noticeable, not unless one had been keeping a close eye on him. Thankfully, Aizawa had, ever since his discovery about Hawks and his connection to Izuku and Hokori.
When he spoke again, Izuku's voice seemed tinged with that strange echo that Aizawa had come to associate with the quirk within Izuku.
"It was a collaborative effort, Dark Shadow, let us leave it at that."
Aizawa's eyes narrowed behind his goggles. He didn't want to believe that Nemesis could somehow speak through Izuku, but he had seen enough evidence and caught snippets of conversation to think it could be possible.
But if that was the case, why would Izuku not tell them of such a development?
What was the boy hiding?
"How did you recover so quickly?" Aizawa asked suddenly, "You took several minutes to get up last time."
Izuku suddenly looked sheepish, which was far more like the Izuku Aizawa knew, "Well, I… I kind of didn't."
"You didn't?"
"When you took Nemesis away," He admitted, suddenly finding the tiling on the roof to be very interesting, "It hit me as hard as before. But when you were distracted again, I just… acted on instinct. I figured you would attempt to retreat, and the left seemed safer than the right. I couldn't really see straight or hear or anything, but I forced myself to move, knowing I wasn't physically hurt. The rest was just, I dunno, battle instinct, I guess."
Aizawa frowned at this, but he could accept it, "That's a good battle instinct."
"I guess it's just in my blood," Izuku replied with a sudden, and again, sharp-toothed grin.
It's in my blood. As the two boys helped Aizawa get to his feet and remove the cufflink from his wrist, the words played softly through his mind. He thought about how Hawks fought not like a hero, but like a soldier.
Maybe… maybe it wasn't training that Izuku was acting on. Maybe it wasn't battle that had forged a relationship between Hawks and Hokori.
Hawks had said they were related, and as impossible as that seemed, it could very well be true.
Aizawa watched as the two teenagers began making their way to the edge of the building.
Izuku had got his spot in the summer camp. Two weeks away from his mother, the school, and from Hawks.
Silently he vowed would solve the mystery there.
SO YEAH. I will admit this chapter was originally longer, with a bit in the middle with the teachers talking about why they picked the students they picked. However, in the end I decided it added basically nothing to the chapter and just took up space. Also, I'm still... not sure how much I enjoy the overall flow of the chapter? I dunno. Maybe I'm being hard of myself.
ANYWAY, if you really want to go read the bit I cut out, I'll post it up as a sort of 'extra' over in the discord. Which you should join! Also, you should follow me on tumblr where I might post things about a possible place you can go to, to possibly do things with a place that rhymes with Toph... i.
Ahem.
Please don't ban me FF-dot-net, there is no war in Ba Sing Se.
ANYWAY, so next update we get to see what Katsuki has been up to, maybe he's making new friends? Also, some post-exam fallout, after all, Izuku did say Kuro would be reporting back to Lucy! And maybe something with everyone's favourite blonde villainess, who has been... up to things. I'd be very scared if I was you.
So yes, thank you as always for kudos and for reading and just being completely awesome. Wear your masks, stay safe, and I'll see ya next time!
