Chapter 17: Angels and Demons


Life at UA High was something that Eveline surprisingly found relaxing. Between classes, training, and weekend shenanigans, the repetitive nature of student life had some appeal to half-goddess. Even though Midoriya and his classmates always returned worn out, they still maintained a refreshing cheerfulness. It helped her keep her mind off of things, like where Bryan went and why Zelda was avoiding her like the plague.

Bryan left the school about two weeks ago, without so much as a note to explain his absence. At first, Eveline was confused, but Zelda had, more or less, assured her that he would be back in due time. Eveline took that to mean that maybe within a week he'd return. After all, what business could he have in this modern world? However, after one week passed and Bryan was still MIA, Eveline knew something was wrong. She knew that Zelda wouldn't tell her anything so she had gently asked Midnight about it, who slyly informed her that Bryan and another teacher were gone. The reason for their absence wasn't kept on file, but she was certain the principal knew what was happening. That was all Eveline needed. She knew something was amiss and when she tried to ask Zelda about it, all she got in return was a cold shoulder.

Predicable as the response was, Eveline still was hurt by it. She couldn't understand why Zelda was adamant about keeping her in the dark, but the pain she felt had begun to contort into frustration and anger. Eveline may not be all that useful given how long she had been a prisoner, and yet, she desperately wanted to have something to do. Perhaps it stemmed from the remnants of pride that she fostered from childhood. She never got her grand adventure as she had been promised and given how this was gearing to be a monumental event in not only her life, it made sense that she would want to have a hand in ending her sister's reign. Unfortunately, Zelda didn't feel the same.

Midoriya, on the other hand, gave her everything she desired. He encouraged her to train with him, taught her about Japanese customs, helped her grasp things like mathematics, and even offered his shoulder and advice whenever she asked for it. She feared that she would become a burden to him, but he seemed to never leave her side even when she'd tried to leave his. It was nice.

Her training with Class 1-A also gave her a slight boost in self-worth. Over the two weeks, she attended every training session the class had, both mandatory and voluntary. She'd done races, combat, stealth, search and rescue, all of it. For the most part, she found that her goddess powers were more readily at her disposal than her demonic powers, however, she figured as much. Her demonic powers, based on conversations she overheard as a child, were always temperamental and her parents only taught her to suppress them. However, as everyone was made aware of her dual heritage, many of the 1-A students wanted to see what her secondary power could do. It was motivating to say the least.

"You've been enjoying training," Midoriya noted as Eveline struggled to summon the slight bit of her demonic powers. They had taken to training together after classes so that Eveline didn't have to stay cooped up in her room or aimlessly wander the dorms.

Eveline let out a long sigh, wiping away the sweat that had started to drip down her forehead. "It's something to do." She turned her attention back to her arms, which she had focusing on during her training.

Midoriya watched her in admiration as she started again. When she came to this world, she had been depressed though somehow hopeful, now she was determined to make something of herself. It kind of reminded him of himself. Although he wasn't too sure of why she suddenly changed her behavior, he could guess it had to do with her cousin as well as Bryan's disappearance.

"What about you?" Midoriya snapped out of his thoughts, startled by the random question.

"Huh?"

"I asked how your training's going," Eveline giggled slightly, partially covering her humored smile with her knuckles. "head in the clouds?"

"A little," he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck rather sheepishly. "it's going well for me, though I feel like I haven't quite gotten into the rhythm of my Shoot Style."

Eveline nodded, she looked down at her hands and let out a soft sigh. "I guess that goes with the territory. I wish I knew how to summon my powers as you do."

Midoriya tilted his head, a confused smile painted his lips. "Is it really that hard for you?"

Eveline shrugged, holding out her dominant hand for them to inspect. "My goddess powers come from my arms and hands, so I thought that it would be the same for my demonic powers."

Midoriya observed Eveline's arm, equally curious about her predicament. He wondered if maybe there was another way she could channel her powers, just like he had to channel One for All through his legs instead of his arms. He didn't know enough about magic to know if it could cancel itself out due to compatibility, but he had a feeling it was entirely possible. After all, Demonic magic and Goddess magic seemed likely to counteract each other just based on principle alone.

"Let me help you," he said as he gently took her arm into his hands, gripping it so that she couldn't move away. "focus your energy elsewhere on your body."

Eveline gave him a confused look, but his encouraging smile eased her into compliance. She tried to think of where else she could focus on, which only aided in giving her a headache. It made sense to channel her energy through her arms, she used those to fight.

"Don't think about it so much," Midoriya urged softly, "just focus somewhere, anywhere."

Eveline pouted, her cheeks rounded as she glared at her entrapped arm. His grip, though firm, was still gentle in an almost soothing way. She didn't want him to let go. She wanted him to stay with her, be it like this or in other ways. A part of her was comforted by his presence, she liked having him there when she needed him. However, there was a part of her that longed for a sense of freedom. She wasn't sure what the freedom was, but it seemed like it tied to Midoriya in some way.

"Eveline?"

She heard her name, but her mind was in a slight fog. The sensation of his thumb absentmindedly rubbing her arm lulled her into a strange trance. She felt warm, safe, and yet there was something off about it.

"Eveline, wake up!"

A soft gasp escaped her as she snapped out of the trance. It was a short experience, completely unintentional. "I-I"

"Your eyes," Midoriya said softly, "Your eyes changed colors."

Eveline looked at Midoriya, completely confused. "My eyes?"

"They turned blackish red," he explained, "I thought you were starting to get mad."

"Mad? I didn't feel mad." She looked down at his hand, finding that his grip was now limp. Within seconds, his hand let go of her, leaving no trace behind except for the phantom-like feeling of his thumb against her skin.

"What did you feel?" He asked.

Eveline tried to answer but found that her memory of the sensation was fleeting, much like a dream. "I…I think it was nice?"

"You think?"

She nodded hesitantly, "Yeah, it was…relaxing but also not. I'm sorry, it was sudden, and I can't really put it to words."

He nodded, "Do you think it was–"

"Yes," She answered quickly, even though she wasn't sure. "it had to have been. But…"

"But what?"

Eveline looked away from Midoriya, "You said my eyes changed, but no mark appeared on my face?"

"I didn't see a mark anywhere on you."

"Then," She mused softly to herself, "maybe it was only a tiny fragment on my powers."

"A fragment?"

She nodded her head slowly before looking at him. "Yeah, it's weird that it came out then but not before."

Midoriya laughed a little, "Yeah, huh? I guess we should practice that next time."

"Yeah…" Though she smiled, there was a worrisome pit forming in her gut. Something about this exchange between them, while didn't feel entirely wrong, it didn't feel right either. Maybe it was their bond? She couldn't be sure, but she would be careful from this point on.

"Either way, let's head back and grab something to eat," He offered as he left her side to collect some of his things. "I have homework to catch up on, but you can join me in my room if you want."

Eveline smiled, this time in earnest, "Sure."


Draven observed the school, keeping a close eye on the wall that separated the world from the campus. From what he could gather, the wall itself wasn't a threat to intruders, there were small robots that patrolled the school, mostly at night. They nearly detected him a few times, leaving him to guess that they had some special method of detecting intruders like him. He also saw Hound Dog every so often. He wasn't too sure what to make of the animal-like man, but he had some educated guesses on how to deal with him. If he could test them, he would, but doing so would endanger his mission. Instead, he made a discovery that aided him in the best way possible.

Google.

With a quick search, he was able to learn a great deal about the heroes that taught at UA, all thanks to the power of Google and a smartphone courtesy of the unfortunate man that Kasdeya was feeding off of. Knowing their names beforehand would have helped, but some creative descriptions and image searches helped him put a name to the people he saw and what they are capable of.

"You're hard at work," Draven nearly yelped as Kasdeya's voice filled his left ear. He jolted upward, glaring at the demon as she floated away from him. "And here I was thinking you'd get lazy like the other two."

"Kasdeya…" Draven looked up at the demon as she stood above his crouched body. "Shouldn't you be doing something?"

Kasdeya smiled deviously, playfully extending her legs out and rolling her ankles. "I am, you should take that question to the others if you want to point fingers."

Draven glared at the redhead, "What are you talking about," He turned his attention back to the campus and shook his head, "You know what? Never mind, I'm busy."

"You don't know," Kasdeya asked in a tone laced with deceitful sweetness, "Morfran and Aamon haven't left our residence since we arrived. Only you and I have left. Zagan leaves every so often too."

Draven tried to ignore her, but his youthful curiosity was intrigued by her taunt. He could understand why Morfran wouldn't have left the apartment, but Aamon? Certainly, he, the second commander, would do something productive during this time. Even if it was just shadowing Draven for an excuse to berate him.

"I'm sure," Draven said in a cool tone, "Master Aamon is doing Lord Zagan's bidding, even if it doesn't look like it."

Kasdeya giggled as she pressed her index finger against her bottom lip. "Oh? I guess Zagan could have asked him to clean that place."

Draven froze slightly; was Aamon only cleaning right now? Why? He could be out, surveying the city, or making another machine for their escape. Why was he wasting his energy on something so trivial?

"Oh," Kasdeya chirped as she leaned closer so she could speak directly into his ear, "by the way, I think you should know that Bryan isn't here."

Draven turned his head quickly to face her, "What? How do you know that?"

She smiled, allowing one of her fangs to protrude from under her top lip. "Have you seen him around here?"

Draven shook his head, "No, but I haven't seen Lady Eveline either."

Again, the demon giggled before pointing toward the series of identical buildings. From this angle, he could see them, but there was no way for him to get a good look at them without alerting the school's security system. "See those? They're like the building we're in."

"You mean, they live there?" He had suspected the students lived on campus, given that he never saw anyone in a uniform leave. However, he thought those buildings were classrooms. But before he could berate himself for his lackluster observations, he wondered how Kasdeya knew.

"I've been observing you this whole time," she said, almost as if she had read his mind. "I've caught glimpses of Eveline and Broccoli Head, you might have seen her too. She's dressed in their uniforms."

Draven looked away, pouting slightly. He didn't even think she would have changed her clothes. "What building did they come from…?"

"1-A," She answered plainly. "However, you wouldn't be able to see it from here."

Draven nodded slowly. The longer he surveyed the area, the more stupid he felt. He couldn't complete his mission under these circumstances; he couldn't gain the proper intel, nor could he give theoretical possibilities when there was so much he didn't understand. There had to be something better he could use for information.

Kasdeya easily could read his expressions, she figured that he would be conflicted and doubtful, perfect for her own exploits. She had to be careful though. "I guess I should help you out, but would you even accept my help?"

Draven's defense immediately went up, "I can do this on my own!"

She smirked at his stubbornness, "I thought so."

Draven sulked. He knew that this was more than he could handle. This world operated differently than theirs did and, while they weren't working on a time limit, the sooner they capture Eveline and returned home, the better.

"Well, since you won't let me help," Kasdeya sang as she began to float away, "I'll be going. Have fun."

However, before she could leave, Draven grabbed her foot, preventing her from going anywhere. Normally, she would have been outraged by the unwanted touch, but she let it slide this time.

"What will it cost?"

"Hm?" That wasn't the question she was expecting.

"Your help," he clarified, "what will it cost me for your help?"

"Well, well, well," he could see the excitement in her fiery eyes, the very look that he had been warned of since the beginning. "you're smarter than I thought."


A/N: Hell again! Originally, I had planned this story to take about 30 chapters to complete, however, as I am currently working through chapter 18, and we still haven't reached the end of what I consider to be Act 2, I'm deciding to increase the number of chapters I have planned to 40.