It was cold.
Izuku floated in the void as he stared into the strange twilight around him, laying on his back, though not on any kind of floor. He shivered as he tried to sit up, his head pounding for a moment.
"Where am I?" he muttered, looking around, eyes falling on the whirling mass just ahead of him, "What is that?"
Feed.
The voice echoed through the strange space, making the teen jump as he looked for the source, his eyes eventually falling back on the dark mass.
Hunger.
The voice came again, more a feeling than a sound, Izuku recognizing it.
"You're the voice that I heard," he muttered, getting unsteadily to his feet, trying to walk over the non-existent ground beneath him, "When that…nomu thing was attacking me. Who are you?"
No name.
The words made Izuku start, not really expecting a reply.
"You…you don't have a name?" Izuku swallowed, remembering the stories that his Sire had drilled into his head about not giving names to strange entities, "Then…then what are you?"
You.
"M-me?" Izuku gulped, as the mass pulsed and writhed, tiny tendrils emerging from within it and reaching out for him.
Give.
"Give you what?"
Blood. Power. Control.
"What?" the teen gasped, stepping back in surprise, "N-no! I know what you are! Sire told me! You can't have control!"
Give.
"I already said no!"
GIVE.
"No!"
GIVE!
"NO!"
"NO!"
The shout echoed around the room as Izuku sat up in the bed, throwing the covers off himself as he struggled against the restraints that held him down. He panicked, looking around the room for anything familiar, his rapidly beating heart slowing as he saw the cloaked figure rise from the chair in the corner.
"Sire!" he said, relief washing through him.
"Greetings, young one. How do you feel?" the man asked calmly, stepping closer towards the bed.
"Feel?" Izuku blinked, looking down at himself, "I…I feel fine. Why?"
"It would seem that you have not been, for lack of a better word, lost, then," Sire nodded, letting out a relieved sigh as he stepped up to the side of the bed, "Tell me, did you experience anything while you were unconscious?"
"Experience?" Izuku muttered, "I…I think so? It's hazy, but I think I met something. I don't know, I can't remember properly."
"That is understandable, the first time meeting the Inner Beast is dangerous and abstract," Sire nodded, placing a comforting hand on Izuku's shoulder, "I am glad that you were able to resist it. You were in a, for lack of a better word, dangerous, position."
"I was?" Izuku blinked, trying to remember, "That's right! We were attacked at the USJ! Ochako and Tsuyu were hurt! Are they okay?"
"Always worrying about others," Sire chuckled under his breath, "Yes, they are fine, they only suffered minor injuries. Thanks to you I am sure."
"Oh, uhm…I don't think so…" Izuku blushed slightly, automatically going to rub the back of his head, the manacles around his wrist preventing him, "I was just trying to protect them."
"That is a good thing," Sire nodded, "In moderation. Tell me, why did you want to protect them so badly?"
"Why?" Izuku blinked in confusion, looking at his Sire, "Because they're mine."
The two sat in silence at the answer, Izuku's eyes going wide at the words, his Sire letting out a quiet sigh.
"I had hoped to avoid this," the man muttered, before looking directly at the teen, "Izuku, what do you know about Vampire Brides?"
"Vampire Brides?" Izuku muttered, the manacles rattling again as he tried to touch his chin, "Only what you've taught me. They are individuals that share a close bond with a Vampire, providing them with blood and protecting them. They are made by using a special form of mesmerising on a person shortly before…drinking from…them…"
Sire reached out, patting Izuku gently on the shoulder.
"I…I made Ochako and Tsuyu into my Brides, didn't I?" Izuku muttered, a look of shock washing over his face, quickly replaced by panic, "Oh no! Sire, what do I do? I…I tricked them! I've tricked them into liking me! If the others find out they'll hate me and-."
"Calm," Sire hummed, Izuku immediately going still, "There is little to fear, young one. It is possible to release them from the pact. However, I should tell you that only those that are willing are able to form it in the first place."
"Willing? What do you mean?"
"That these girls were willing to form such a pact with you in the first place, otherwise they never would have become your Brides," the man answered plainly, "This could mean any number of things, of course, but most likely that they trust you."
"T-trust me? Why?! I drink blood!"
"And you use the power it gives you for good," Sire nodded, "Not to mention that you are quite charismatic, despite your own self-perception."
"Self-perception?" Izuku blinked, opening his mouth to speak again when the door burst open, his mother rushing in, tears pouring down her face as she tackled him in a hug.
"Izuku! My baby! You're finally awake!" she sobbed, clutching him tightly as she pressed her face into his neck, "You're finally awake! I was so worried!"
"Finally awake?" Izuku asked, pulling her off him slightly to look into her eyes, "How…how long have I been out?"
"Th-three days," Inko sniffed, "After the…the attack, Sire called me and said that you were in critical condition. I was so worried!"
"I'm okay now, mom," Izuku whispered as he let her press herself back against him, trying to reach up to stroke her head, the manacles preventing him, so he just patted her awkwardly on the side, "I'm awake and okay."
Izuku simply let her cry for a while before she finally seemed able to gather herself and let go of him. She still sniffed a few times as she wiped her eyes, but then turned to Sire, a determined look on her face.
"So?" She asked, "You said that you would explain why Izuku was brought in here with no heartbeat when he woke up."
"No heartbeat?" Izuku balked, staring at the two in shock, "What?"
"Yes, of course," Sire nodded, offering Inko a seat as he cleared his throat, "To put it simply, after the fight in the USJ, the young one entered a form of stasis. This is an instinctual safety precaution when a Vampire runs out of blood. It will typically last until the Vampire is able to gain more blood."
"What do you mean, "last until"?" Inko asked, worry crossing her face again.
"That the young one would have been effectively, for lack of a better word, dead, until he somehow acquired more blood," Sire hummed in response, shifting under his cloak slightly as he saw Inko twitch, "But he would always be able to be revived unless the body itself was entirely destroyed."
"So, you're saying that my son was dead? Again?" Inko said softly, almost too softly to hear as the two Vampires flinched.
"M-mom! I'm sorry! I know I promised you but I'm fine now!" Izuku said hurriedly.
"I apologize as well, Madam," Sire bowed, "I had not thought such an occurrence would happen so soon."
"It's okay," Inko chirped happily, making both of them flinch again, "Izuku is fine now, right? He's just going to be grounded for the rest of the month."
"Mom?!"
"Ah, but what about his training?" Sire asked.
"You're a teacher at UA now, aren't you?" Inko hummed, still smiling, "You can train him during school time."
"I suppose…" Sire trailed off as Inko looked at him.
"You're a teacher now, you can't show favouritism," the woman huffed.
"Right you are," Sire nodded.
"Wait," Izuku interrupted, "Sire is a teacher at UA now? Since when?"
"Get to your seats," Aizawa droned as he entered the classroom, eyes immediately darting to Izuku's desk, a look of relief flashing across his face as he saw the familiar green hair, "Glad to see you back, Midoriya."
"Thank you, sensei?" Izuku replied slowly, staring at the mummy man in shock, looking around at the other students, who seemed to ignore the fact that their teacher was heavily wrapped in bandages, "Are…are you okay?"
"I'm fine," the man growled, "Anyway, onto the lesson."
The growl echoed through the room, making everyone freeze as they turned to look at Izuku, his face bright red as he looked down at his stomach in shock.
"What's up, Midori?" Mina chuckled nervously, "Skip breakfast?"
"I…uhm…no," Izuku squeaked, "I…uhm…I can…"
The class leaned in as he trailed off, Aizawa feeling the annoyance rising inside him.
"Spit it out, Midoriya," he said, the teen sitting straight upright in surprise.
"I can smell Sensei's blood from his wounds!" the boy said, scrunching up his eyes as his face went even more red, "I'm sorry! I'll try to control it!"
"Ah," Aizawa muttered in surprise, stepping back slightly as he looked around the room, everyone now staring at him, "I…I apologize. I'll organize a substitute as soon as possible then. Please put up with it for the lesson, then go see Recovery Girl."
The class went silent as they stared at their teacher in shock, the man turning back to the board.
"Other than that," he continued as if nothing had happened, "I was going to take you for Heroics Training this afternoon, but it seems that that is a bad idea. I'll organize for you guys to join class 1-B for sparring or something."
"Yes, Sensei!" the class called as they looked between the Vampire and the teacher.
"So, this is the vaunted 1-A?" the nasally voice droned as the students entered the dojo, looking around in awe, "Did they really survive a Villain attack? They look so amazed by a simple dojo!"
"Monoma," Sekijiro Kan, 1-B's Homeroom teacher sighed, "Quiet down. You know as well as I do that all the teachers have different training styles. This is just the first time they've used this building."
"Yes, Sensei," The blond pouted slightly, giving a slight smirk as he continued to eye up the other class.
"All right!" Vlad King shouted as they two classes lined up in front of him, "Today we'll be doing round-robin spars! Quirks are allowed, as we are trying to find a suitable style of combat that will mesh well with them, but don't go overboard."
He shot Bakugo a pointed look as he spoke, the explosive blond just scowling back.
"Anyone here have prior experience in martial arts?" the teacher asked.
The classes looked around, most of 1-A nodded when Ojiro raised his hand, several raising an eyebrow in surprise as both Izuku and Todoroki also raised theirs. A plain faced dark-haired boy from 1-B also raised his hand.
"Right, and how much experience do you each have?" the teacher asked.
"I've been training since I was young," Ojiro hummed, giving a shy grin as he scratched his cheek, "It compliments my quirk so…"
"I've been…trained since childhood as well," Todoroki almost spat the word, looking away as Vlad King raised an eyebrow.
"I started Karate last year, in preparation for coming to UA," the 1-B boy called out.
"My…trainer…has been teaching me a variety of basic martial arts styles for about the last ten months," Izuku half-mumbled in embarrassment, "I uhm…I know a bit."
"Alright then," Kan hummed, "We'll start this nice and simple, line up according to seating order, your first spar will be with the same seat number from the other class."
"Yes, sensei!" the two classes called, lining up quickly. Izuku looked over to the grinning blonde that was standing opposite him, the same one that had called out when they had entered.
"Greetings, 1-A student," the blond scoffed, "I am Neito Monoma, nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Izuku nodded, deciding not to react to the obvious sarcasm, "Izuku Midoriya."
"So, Midoriya," Monoma continued, as they were sent to their respective sparring circles, "What exactly is your quirk?"
"Huh? Oh, uhm…I'm a Vampire, sort of," Izuku replied, looking at the teacher as he waited for the rest of the students to get into position, "What's yours?"
"Oh, let's keep that a surprise, shall we?" Monoma sniggered as they stepped into the ring, "Don't blink!"
"Begin!" Vlad King shouted as the room suddenly filled with sound.
Izuku blinked as the blonde charged straight forwards, hands outstretched in a way that left him completely open. The green-haired teen almost felt bad as he grabbed the blond by the wrist, throwing him over his shoulder as a tailing hand dragged across his face. He looked up as the blond slammed heavily into the ground, not moving for a moment before the growl came, every hair on the back of Izuku's neck standing on end.
The thing stood slowly, its eyes shimmering in myriad colors as it locked its gaze onto Izuku.
"HuNgRy…"