Today had been a good day.
Izumi Midoriya kept her eyes on the fading sun. Though she didn't live far from UA campus, her visit home wasn't meant to last so long; her mother had been so considerate, taking time to set back homemade katsudon for her daughter despite knowing they would not get to see each other (Inko had been called out of town to a work conference in Sapporo. She was scheduled to return next week). Izumi allowed herself to simply bask in the familiarity of her apartment, resting in her own bed for the first time in what felt like ages and sponging up the tranquility of the day.
A gentle wind brushed against her freckle-spattered skin, sending a chill throughout her spine. She sought refuge from the cool by burrowing into her sweatshirt, tucking her hands deeper into her pockets. The evening bustle had dwindled into the light embrace of night, leaving Izumi with only her thoughts. School work, dorm life and quirk training dominated most of her schedule, so the change of scenery (and 3 hour "power nap") had been soothing to her body and soul.
Yes, today had been such a good day…
… Until a whimper fell on Izumi's ears. She turned to face the mouth of the alley to her left, peering into its darkness. "Hello?" The sound continued in response, so she took a quiet step inside. "H-hey there, are you hurt?"
More timid steps followed, the voice growing closer with her advances. A voice cried danger in the back of Izumi's mind, but it was overshadowed by her desire to help. Whoever was crying out sounded hurt, and the heroic demeanor burning in her could not be squelched. Izumi felt her heart pound heavy in her throat but swallowed it down. "I-I am here to assist, so please don't cry. Are you los-"
She yelped in surprise at the hand lunging from the shadows, not fast enough to avoid it as it collided into her jaw. Izumi's sneakers smacked against the dingy concrete as she stumbled from the force of the blow. It took a moment for her jarred brain to process the sudden sensation blossoming across her face, scrubbing at her chin when she felt the trickling warmth of blood. "Seriously?" She prodded her busted lip with her fingers before furrowing her brows at the darkness.
There was a now stoic figure cloaked by shadows deep in the alley's belly. This can't be good. Izumi gripped the phone hidden in her sweatshirt, tapping the side button to (hopefully) notify someone of her location before changing her stance; she curled her fists and prepared herself to spring into action if the hit proved to be more than a startled response from her company. She gritted her teeth to mask the fear threatening to bubble into her features, "I don't know who you think you are, but I really don't appreciate cheap shots."
"Oh, I'm sorry," A gruff snicker erupted from the darkness. That doesn't sound like the same person from before. Izumi's glare hardened on the silhouette that stepped towards her. Streetlights splayed across most of the man as he drew his knuckle to his mouth, kissing where her blood painted his skin.
Suddenly, Izumi felt ice flow through her veins, body halting in its spot. She stuttered in her attempts to move her limbs as the stranger arrived under the fullness of the streetlamps. "I can't get the upper hand if I don't hit first."
To Izumi's dismay, she couldn't kindle the ember of One for All burning in her chest- it was as if her quirk was being stretched just out of her grasp as she desperately tried to call on it. Her body was disobeying her mind's frantic cries to move, and she could only glare as her captor stepped closer. Pale gray eyes combed over her, filled with malice as his jagged teeth appeared from under upturned lips. "You look delicious."
He appeared older, dark hair speckled with gray and fine lines mingled with the scars painting his face and arms. His hair hung in a loose bun, wisps falling into his face as he again tasted her blood. In response, Izumi almost bowed into the concrete against her will, fighting desperately to stay on her feet. He has a similar quirk to Stain, but he doesn't rely on knives. He clearly uses blood for his advantage and seems to have experience using his quirk against others. So, what did he mean when he said I was 'delicious'…? She would have recoiled if possible, grunting suddenly, "Delicious? W-what, are you a cannibal or something?"
"Looks like you've got some brains to you."
Viridian eyes grew with sudden realization. As her mind reeled, her tongue moved at equal vigor, "Wait, I heard about someone like you recently- girls that have been disappearing throughout Japan according to the news- police have been questioning the connection of the crimes due to the location and times between each estimated murder, but the similarities are too striking to not be done by the same person- the victims found have been partially cannibalized and there may be more out there- ohmyGodI'mgoingtobeeatenbyafreakwithanamazingyetterrifyingquirk. Aizawa will never let me leave campus again if I get ate, which I guess I won't be able to if I'm dead-"
The villain heaved a bemused grunt to cut Izumi's monologue short, "You're pretty, but far too smart for your own good." He loomed over her, dangerously smiling as he wrapped talon-like fingers into her hair. Tugging her forward by her locks, she let out a painful cry that brought a tingle up his spine, "You have loose lips if that little rant you just went on says anything… I'm doing myself a favor by getting rid of you, kid. You've connected too many dots."
Stupid mumbling's going to get me killed, Izumi felt tears trail down her cheek; she tried so hard to mask the fear with an intimidating glare, but her mask shattered as a tongue raked along the wetness, "Just because I have to kill you doesn't mean we can't have a little fun first, though."
There was a sick gleam in his eye that made the petite girl cringe. She tried to thrash against the invisible bounds holding her as tears continued leaking from her panicked eyes, "No!" Izumi felt the zipper on her limited-edition All Might Silver Age sweatshirt give to the harsh pull of the monster in front of her. The warmth she'd hidden behind fell to the ground, her phone clattering out of its pocket and out of reach (not that I could even reach it anyway, she lamented). Goose pimples formed along her exposed shoulders, the thin undershirt doing nothing against the billowing chill. Her voice was almost silenced by the fear striking her heart, "No, please don't do this! There has to be-"
Izumi's pleas were extinguished by the terrible pain crushing into the bend of her neck. She sputtered at the blinding affliction as jagged teeth sunk into her flesh before a scream finally erupted from her throat. It was excruciating- her blood was sticky, and it trailed down her chest, her once white shirt now sullied crimson. The hand wrapped in her hair drew her head to the side, allowing her captor greater access to supple flesh as he unhinged his bite. "Oh, you are going to taste fantastic." His grin was stained with reds and pinks as his tongue darted across his teeth. His eyes grazed her body, lust unspoken but evident in his features.
Izumi felt useless, much more now than she ever had when she was a quirkless Deku. At least then, she could run, hide and avoid most of the dangers that pursued her. She could only cry ragged tears as she felt her demon's focus shift to the skin along her chest- it throbbed under sharp teeth and claws as he littered wounds onto her breasts. Unwanted trails were being left across her cleavage by his tongue, smearing blood to connect her wounds with red. "P-p-please, stop this." Her voice trembled, barely above a whisper. She screwed her eyes closed as she felt light-headed from how much of her blood now covered the man, herself and the alley. I'm going to die. I can't access my quirk, can't fight this guy off me. I'm sorry, Yagi-san.
Whoosh!
Pressure whipped violently around Izumi as she was suddenly thrown to the ground, her shoulders grating against the grimy concrete. Hands were violently unfurled from her hair as she fell, and her ears were assaulted by the sound of clattering trashcans nearby. The greenette refused to open her eyes in the silence that briefly followed in fear of what awaited.
"It is fine now. Why? Because I am here."
The voice above her was not bombastic. There was no jovial timbre or flashy presentation like when the same line was delivered countless times before. No, it was like rumbling thunder amidst a storm. There was undoubted force behind each word, but it was not presented in a way to spur hope.
Those words were presented in a way that would stop the worst of the worst dead in their tracks.
Izumi allowed herself to breathe a pained sigh as she tentatively fixed her gaze on her mentor; Toshinori was close enough that had she the ability, she could touch his boot with ease. He stood so tall even in his emaciated form, shoulders tensed and knuckles white from the powerful grip held in his fists. His eyes, cerulean orbs burning in anger, were focused on the source of the deep groan further in the alley. Her hero took a firm step forward, darkness enveloping all but the fire of his glare. "Kubo Junichiro- also known as Odokuro. You're a low-life thug who's decided to change tactics from petty crime to murder." Izumi could feel the anger radiating from her mentor as he took another step towards her attacker, now known as Odokuro, "And you have the gall to harm my student?"
Izumi had only seen this type of anger once, during the last battle between All Might and All for One. Toshinori, had been forced into retirement following those events, though strength and valor continued flowing through his veins. The rage permeating from the former Number One Hero was heavy, almost primal.
Her mentor was not angry- he was pissed.
The villain shuffled away on his backside at the sight before him, "A-All Might?! W-w-why are you- what do you mean your student?" The once confident bravado Odokuro held melted into a stammering mess. "You've got this whole situation all wrong-"
"No." In the blink of an eye, Toshinori closed the distance between himself and his prey. He pulled Odokuro forward by his collar in one fluid motion, his form betraying the raw power still within him, "How dare you think I'm stupid enough to believe that." The two men stared, blue eyes burning while ashen were blown in fear, before the hero snarled, "What were you going to do to her had I not shown up in time?"
"Me? N-N-Nothing, sir-"
Crash! Odokuro's back was shoved so hard into the bricks, some of them crushed into dust. Sputum flew from his wide lips, choking as the breath was knocked from his lungs. There was a menacing tremble in Toshinori's voice, "Don't lie to me. The police and I have had you on our radar for a bit for your other murders," The man paled when another growl pierced the night, "What were you going to do to my student?"
If the judgement thundering from the man known as All Might had not been in her favor, Izumi would have been terrified (and honestly, she was still somewhat afraid of this side of her mentor). The faint echo of sirens drew closer, and she tried to focus on them instead. Odokuro panted nervously as he struggled against Toshinori's vice grip, "I-I…" Then the man cleared his throat, seeing the writing on the wall. A moment of brazen cockiness almost caused him to flash a smile as he boldly confessed, "Don't you think she's a pretty little thing, All Might? You can't blame a man for wanting to savor a meal like her." There was a triumphant grunt uttered through a sickening grin before he continued, "I wanted to ruin her from having any other man before I ate her up."
There was not a smile on Toshinori's face. The former pro was known for a dazzling grin that stretched across his face, crinkling his eyes in a delightful expression. Even after his retirement, there was something calming about the man's toothy grin.
But it was gone, replaced with a stony grimace ebbing with wrath.
"Please, stop." Izumi could no longer focus on anything but the panic swelling in her chest. Her blood was pooling into her curls, sticky and overwhelming her with the smell of iron. Her eyes ached from tears blurring her sight and she wanted to disappear. "A-All- Toshinori-sensei isn't a sick man like you."
Odokuro huffed, "That's his loss for not taking you himself- I want that pretty little mouth of yours to scream my name before-"
Toshinori bit back the urge to crush the man's windpipe like a stress ball, instead slamming him into the wall again to shut him up. "You're disgusting. You have no right to talk to Izumi like she's an object." Steam rolled from the lithe figure struggling to keep his temper in check. He quietly cursed his shell for not being able to tap into the full potential of One for All; If I could maintain my form, this guy would have shut up long ago. "Only a coward would prey on innocent women- nevertheless a child!"
"All Might, stop!"
Sirens now painted the alley in blues and reds, the sound of figures rushing around Izumi, Toshinori and Odokuro echoing between the buildings. Hands pulled against the former hero's arm in attempt to break the connection between him and the villain's shirt; the hold was only released when Detective Tsukauchi resorted to threats of involving Gran Torino in any further reprimands. He kept his heated glare on the criminal as police applied quirk-suppressing cuff and until he was deposited into the back of a squad car.
His friend placed a light hand against his shoulder, voice low as they locked eyes, "Toshinori, what's gotten into you?"
For a moment, the pro's facade cracked as he brought shaky fingers through his hair, "Naomosa." Toshinori swallowed the lump in his throat, "Odokuro wasn't going to just kill young Midoriya."
The detective's deep brown eyes furrowed, "What do you mean?"
A choked cough ruptured from his mouth. Toshinori swabbed his hand across his lip to stop the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He took a small breath, his heart cracking under the pressure of his words, "He was going to rape her before he killed and cannibalized her."
At that, Tsukauchi's brows shot into his hairline, mouth agape for a moment before taming his features once more. The detective had the files of each victim resting on his desk back at headquarters, a steady stream of coffee, cigarettes and raw determination fueling his vigor to pour over every detail contained in them. His team worked diligently to connect the dots as similarities popped up between each crime scene; the past few months brought the spotlight onto Odokuro as their primary suspect, but tonight supplied the missing piece to their puzzle.
His hand never left Toshinori's shoulder as he squeezed assuredly, "I'm so glad she had you listed as her primary contact, Toshi. You saved Midoriya's life in so many ways tonight."
"Perhaps," Cerulean eyes scanned the unfolding crime scene until he spotted his predecessor's whereabouts. Tsukauchi followed suit with his own gaze as both men examined her current state from afar. Anger rekindled in Toshinori's heart at the sight before him, "I saved her body, but I'm more concerned about his mind now."
The young girl looked exhausted on the stretcher, her chest rising and falling in shallow breath. Blood caked her hair and skin, the abstract strokes of red heaviest around the large wounds around her neck (but there were likely more under her shirt if the blooming stains were to believe). A bruise was beginning to form around her bottom lip, which had been split in two. A paramedic hovered around Izumi in preparation of their transport.
Tsukauchi nudged Toshinori along with a curt nod, "They're likely going to take Midoriya to Musutafu General Hospital seeing as it's the closest. Why don't you keep her company until Ms. Midoriya arrives?"
"Inko is out of town for work. I will definitely go with Izumi, though." He was unable to remove his eyes from Izumi until she was wheeled into the back of an awaiting ambulance. "Do you need me at the moment?"
"No," The detective knew his friend would not be of use to him until he knew his protegee was taken care of. The former Symbol of Peace cared immensely for Midoriya, and who was he to separate the man from the closest thing to family he'd had in years? Tsukauchi once again pressed his hand against the broad shoulder until the hero began walking, "She needs you first, Toshi. I can come by the hospital once she's settled and gather anything else."
There was a slight smile on Toshinori's face that masked the rampant emotions in his head. "Thank you, my friend. I owe you one again."
"I'll add it to the list."
There were not words to efficiently describe how much Toshinori hated hospitals.
A fair amount of his career had been spent in different facilities across both Japan and the United States. All Might, while a pillar of hope, power and peace, was still human; countless trips involved patchwork following the aftermath of a villain run, rescues that licked scarring wounds into the hero's flesh and of course the fated blow from All for One that poured his intestines and lung from his torso like a spilled drink. Toshinori had vast experience with the prodding hands of nurses and doctors piecing him back together. He'd learned early in his career to overcome his hesitancy with needles once he was being stitched together every other month.
However, it was a strange experience to be the visitor and not the patient. Toshinori studied the pristine room he and his sleeping student currently occupied. Lavender walls surrounded the two, made much brighter by the florescent bulbs overhead. A large window clung to the farthest wall; periwinkle curtains parted slightly to display the twinkling lights of the city on the other side of glass. The room itself was sparsely decorated- a simple table, semi-comfortable couch (that Toshinori had managed to fold his lanky body into without too much contortion), and stark white hospital bed.
It was the sleeping figure nestled between the sterile linens that kept Toshinori planted by the bedside. Izumi had been assessed, cleansed and heavily medicated before the hero was allowed to step foot into her room. Beside him stood a young resident, a tall, slender-built man with gentle brown eyes and gingery hair that bowed in Toshinori's direction, "Yagi-san, my name is Dr. Yoritaka and I have been placed over Midoriya-chan's care tonight." In his hands was a clipboard dotted with assessment notes. "I see that you are listed as her secondary emergency contact in the absence of her mother, so I would like to discuss what we have done so far."
As much as Toshinori did not want to have this conversation, he gave a pensive nod, "Oh course, doctor. I will relay everything to her mother once I'm able to reach her."
Soft dimples formed under the generous smile on Yoritaka's face. He shifted his gaze back to his notes, "Midoriya-chan may be in and out of consciousness due to her medication filtering through her IV. We are giving her a combination of pain medicine and antibiotics due to the extent of her injuries. At this moment, we are waiting on swab results pulled from the deepest lacerations to rule out any orally transmittable diseases."
"Diseases?" Toshinori pushed down the growing ball of nerves in the pit of what remains of his stomach. He hadn't thought about those types of complications. A cough wracked the man's throat, metallic tingling on his tongue before sliding down the corner of his lips. He reached into a large pocket on his slacks and produced a handkerchief, ignoring the slightly distraught glance from the doctor as he wiped away the blood. "W-What kind of diseases are you looking for?"
Yoritaka's eyes hesitantly shifted between the unconscious Midoriya and the steadied Toshinori. Once the older man waved him on with a faint smile, he answered, "I assure you, we are only running these tests as precaution, but we are checking to be sure her attacker didn't transmit anything such as each subcategory of Hepatitis, syphilis, HIV, or any bacteria that may lead to blood infections. I'd rather be safe than sorry since so much skin was broken."
"I… I see." His response was subdued, eyes transfixed on his interwoven hands as the words soaked into his brain. Toshinori ground his teeth behind pursed lips to fight the urge to swear under his breath. Odokuro better never mention Izumi's name again, even in passing, or I will kill him. He untied his fingers, stretching them until they met Izumi's head. Gentle digits glided through Izumi's freshly cleaned hair to ground his nerves. She is here with me. She is okay. "Do you think any of her wounds will scar?"
The doctor slightly shifted from one foot to the other as he brought his eyes to rest on Midoriya's bed. "For her sake, I hope not. We closed the wounds as discreetly as we could, but there are underlying factors like genetics, her immune system response, and ongoing wound care that really dictates the severity of a scar." Yoritaka took a step forward and gestured over the largest wound in the crook of her neck. "This area is the most concerning along with a place left on one of her breasts, in regard to scarring. We used glue and butterfly bandages to close most of the other wounds, but the two mentioned had to be closed with dissoluble sutures."
If Toshinori had not planted his feet firmly against the linoleum, he would likely already be across town driving a villain's head into steel bars. Instead, he took a moment to actually focus on Izumi's resting form, starting where the doctor had pointed out. Gauze was taped over broken skin, hiding the large punctures left across her neck and chest. Reds, purples and yellows dotted the areas not bandaged or out of reach of the coverings placed. A single stitch was weaved in Izumi's swollen lip, red thread contrasting the deepening bruise along her chin. Normally glistening eyes were closed, but the hero could see how puffy they were from tears she shed.
"I apologize we were not able to fully heal her wounds," Yoritaka's tenor broke Toshinori from his musings as he smiled somberly. "We had a large emergency prior to Midoriya-chan's arrival that required our healer's attention. She was near quirk exhaustion by the time that patient was stabilized, so we've not been able to utilize her quirk at this time."
"Young man, I understand." Toshinori's hand was buried deep in Izumi's curls, tenderly separating tangles between his fingers. He turned to lock eyes with his company, a genuine smile gracing his lips, "I'm so thankful my girl is safe. She will have wounds inside and out, but she's alive." The words began to stick in his throat, his Adam's apple swaying as he attempted to stomach the feeling. "Right now, that's enough. We will take it one day at a time."
Dr. Yoritaka nodded, "Absolutely. We will continue monitoring her progress throughout the night. Please let us know if you need anything until then, Yagi-san."
"I will, thank you."
Both men exchanged pleasantries before Yoritaka left Izumi's room, leaving Toshinori alone to muse the whirlwind of the past few hours.
