-x- Shoto -x-
"I decided to use my fire," Shoto told Bakugo while they waited for Izuku to make it to the school with his things as he bus undercarriage was filled with duffle bags. Bakugo's head jerked to the side in shock. "I don't know what changed."
"I already know about Izuku's feelings. You don't need to hide that shit. Yeah, I wanted to be his wingman. What? You two would be a safe couple. Neither of you would end up with a scumbag if you were together," Bakugo said openly. Shoto looked away, and nodded. "Are you sure about it? I mean, this is a big decision. Maybe don't be too hasty about it."
Shoto nodded. "I'm not sure, fully. Not yet. But I was thinking about it. If I can't use my super strength without getting caught or suspicious, then I should try and improve in the way that looks possible. Like a substitute," he explained quietly.
"I think it's a big choice, but also a good one. It sucks you can't use your full capacity, but if you want to get stronger, that's the right way to go. At least, to me. I don't have the emotional baggage that comes with that shit."
"Yeah…" Izuku showed up with his duffle bag, which he'd already ironed All Might patches all over. He looked so excited. Shoto had talked to Mikaela and she said to not force himself to feel the same. Love takes time to develop. That was what she said, at least. It had been an awkward conversation, but one he knew he had needed.
"Hey, guys!" he cheered, clearly happy for this trip. "Did you already put your stuff away?" They nodded. He put his things in the undercarriage as well, and they all lined up. Aizawa pulled both vampires away.
"Midoriya, what are you right now?" he asked quietly.
"Human. Been human for a full two days now," Izuku replied just as quietly. Aizawa nodded. He asked Shoto if he'd brought any blood water. He nodded. He'd brought his usual metal canteen and it was full of blood. Partly diluted. Only enough to not cling to his teeth like full blood did. Enough though to curb any cravings.
Aizawa asked if Shoto was feeling stable right now. "Yeah. It's only when he goes from vampire to human that I'm uncomfortable and it's only for a few minutes," he answered. He nodded, and the two returned to the bus. Kirishima made no sign he knew, that anything had happened. He was just as cheerful as always.
Shoto could see the true look of fondness Bakugo gave to his boyfriend. Shoto really was happy for him. He glanced to the side to see his friend looking at his phone, checking the weather, it seemed. He was acting perfectly normal, and hadn't blushed. Did he move on already? Was it because Shoto hadn't returned the feelings that he gave up? The thought made him kind of sad.
Looking away sadly, Izuku saw this. He was too good at reading him. "It didn't go away, but it won't interfere with our friendship."
"You know me too well," Shoto mumbled the truth. Izuku nodded, seeming proud. They got on the bus. Sitting in double seats. It was comfortable. Shoto almost immediately fell asleep quietly. He only woke up when they arrived two hours later. Izuku gently woke him up, and Shoto saw they were at what looked like a car stop. A place on the side of the road that you could pull into. Or a look out point.
He could smell people in the parked car by the bus. Class 1-B's bus had driven further off. Class 1-A wandered around the area, looking out at the vast forest before those in the car popped out. Many of the students thought this was a bathroom break, as their bladders were painfully full after two hours. Though that wasn't too long. At least not to Shoto.
He took another sip of his canteen. Mineta glared at him, but otherwise left him alone, which was nice. Uraraka left them alone as well, hanging out with the other girls. "We stopped here for a reason," Aizawa announced before those that Shoto could sense in the random car popped out and introduced themselves.
Their costumes looed like futuristic robot cats. "They look like robot cats…" Shoto said. Izuku smiled and Bakugo snorted. Sero was the next nearest and just looked amused. But Izuku was already muttering up a storm abut the heroes he clearly recognized, being the hero fanboy and all.
Then they introduced themselves, proving Izuku knew all about them. The Wild, Wild Pussy Cats. What a mouthful. At least Shoto was nice and short, and universal as both his real name and hero one, because he was incredibly not creative. The Pussy Cats were the owners of the training camp and the surrounding area.
"Your lodging is at the mountain that way," the brown haired woman said with a smile.
"So far!"
"Why'd we stop halfway?" Jiro asked. But it started to be realized that this was not going to be good, and students started heading back to the bus in a hurry.
"It's 9:30 right now. I'm thinking around noon at the earliest," she said with a cruel smile. "Kitties who don't make it there before 12:30 won't get any lunch," she said.
"No! Back to the bus!" and the students booked it. Shoto stayed in his spot, knowing it was pointless even before the ground shifted under them, and tossed them over the side. How dangerous.
"You'll get food if you can make it through the forest of beasts! Good luck, kitties!" she shouted. Shoto didn't feel like fighting, he wasn't in the mood. So, he used trees to support his ice path as he slid down the mountain easily. Some stone beast shattered his ice from beneath him, but he just picked up the pace before it collapsed and he fell into the forest below.
Maybe this was considered cheating, but he was pretty hungry and didn't feel like missing lunch. And expending too much energy so early. He could easily hear screams from the students as they fought beasts. But, after a good ten minutes of sliding, the camp came into view. He dropped down, and didn't land very gracefully, falling onto his butt.
He walked inside, curious a bit about where they'd be staying. He was there the fastest, and had made it there before the actual heroes had. He sat down on the steps, waiting. When Aizawa got there with the bus full of their bags, and the WWPCs made it in their little car they were surprised. "Wow, you made it fast!"
"I just used an ice slide to get here," Shoto replied, and pointed to his chunks of ice that had broken off and were laying at the foot of the forest.
"Nice use of mobility, Shoto. Help me with the bags," Aizawa said. They worked to unload class 1-A's bags. He didn't ask where 1-B had went, as he could hear their bus coming their way. He unloaded the bags easily. The heroes, Mandalay, Pixie Bob, Tiger and and Ragdoll, already knew about what he was.
"Vlad does not know. He may not want you or Midoriya here. So, nobody will tell him. We'll keep the blood powder in my own bag," Aizawa said. Shoto nodded. He waited for his class for three hours before eating lunch with class 1-B, who were lucky their teacher didn't torture them, it seemed.
He waited five more hours for his class to make it out. Even Izuku had been having trouble and took a long time. Shoto wondered how hard it was to fight the rock monsters. When they did come out, they were bloody and bruised. Dirty and exhausted.
"You asshole!" Bakugo shouted.
"I am not an asshole. I used my quirk," he said simply.
"Three hours my ass," Sero said, holding his side. Izuku looked so tired. It was weird, seeing him this way. Shoto was nice and clean, and not hungry. The opposite of his poor classmates, who were starved and tired.
"You three sure look the most put together," Pixie Bob said, addressing both of Shoto's closest friends and Iida. They were all hot and sweaty, so Shoto made some pillars of ice for them to sit against or rest their foreheads against. Izuku smiled at him and gladly embraced the ice pillar.
Aizawa let them rest about five minutes, but Izuku's eyes were caught on the little boy that had been staying inside all day, though he did glare at Shoto through the windows when he was messing around with his ice, trying to build little castles, like sand castles. Shoto felt odd under a stranger's glare, but wasn't too bothered.
He was used to people not liking him.
"It seems you three acted without indecision."
"You cheated," Sato accused.
"He used his quirk for a shortcut, avoiding fighting," Aizawa said. "Well, good job, everyone. Even though it took you eight hours to make it. I'm sure you're all tired and hungry. Time for dinner." They cheered. "But you'll all be making it yourselves." The cheers stopped instantly and complaints and sounds of annoyance were heard. Aizawa gave his angry face. "There a problem?" he asked in a cold voice.
"No, sir!" they shouted. They were dead on their feet, but wanting food. The class went to the dining hall. Shoto felt kind of bad for leaving them all while he did go the easy way, so he did most of the cooking. He used his fire to heat the oven, he did the cutting, the tossing in the pan. He did almost all of it, but every time Aizawa came into check, he pretended like they were all putting in the work.
They did help, some of them, but it was mostly measuring ingredients or handing them to him. Reading the recipe outloud. He did it all with no complaint. He hoped it tasted good or he was going to be embarrassed. When he tasted the curry, it was nice. Not too strong but still with flavor.
He checked on the huge pot of sticky rice and the seared vegetables. By the end, he was kind of tired. He sat down at the table, and everyone brought the food to the table, and enjoyed it. He ate his, and was happy with all the compliments. "You didn't need to do all the work, Shoto," Izuku said, eating the yummy food with a smile.
"Everyone went through a hard time and I was easy, so it's only fair I cooked the most," he replied between his own bites. There was enough in the many large pots for seconds and, for some, thirds. Those who heard smiled and thanked him again for his hard work. "You guys helped, too."
"Take the complement," Bakugo said.
"...Thanks."
"Everyone is going to bathe and then sleep."
"In the same place?" Shoto asked, highly uncomfortable with that. Aizawa nodded, and Shoto was upset, not wanting that at all. The others didn't seem too bothered. The girls much less than the boys. So, when it was time to go bathe, Shoto went in his underwear. He didn't care if it looked stupid, he wasn't gonig to be naked in front of his classmates. Especially not Izuku. Not now, anyways. It would feel weird, even if he wished it didn't.
Izuku wore a towel around his waist. Shoto felt kind of stupid, but it was better than the humilaition of being naked in front of them. Even being under a tiny towel that could slip off at any time, he didn't like it.
"Why is there no soap? This is a bath…" Shoto said to Izuku. "I don't want everyone to still stink," he mumbled.
"I don't know. We don't have hair product either," Izuku replied quietly as well. "I'm sorry if I'm the one to make you uncomfortable bathing with everyone else." He sounded sad and guilty.
Shoto shook his head. "It's not your fault. Not… not fully. You know I'm not… too confident. I don't want to be naked in front of other people. "Hey, why'd that kid punch you in the nuts anyways. He's been glaring at me all day." Izuku shrugged. His hair was stuck to his face, as was everyone else. Kirishima's hair was not spiky anymore.
Mineta, predictably, was looking at the wall dividing the girls' and boys' area. "The girls are over there… Now's the time."
Shoto was grossed out, and Izuku was, too. Of course he would be uninterested, same with Kirishima and Bakugo. They were all gay, after all. Shoto was sure that Uraraka wouldn't be happy that Izuku did indeed like him more than a friend. She'd be heavily jealous about it, probably.
Well, at least his best friend didn't like someone like her in that way. No, he just liked Shoto. Looking to the side, down at Izuku, he thought his red face was nice when it was not from his blood heating his face in the way a blush did. He looked tired, too. As Iida yelled at Mineta for his dirty thoughts, Shoto asked, "Why are you so tired?"
"There were a lot of monsters. I didn't want to damage the forest, as it's private property and all. So I couldn't go all out," he explained.
"It's just some trees. There's thousands of others."
"I guess. I just didn't want to be a pain. You were the most harmless, just ending up watering the plants."
"I was lazy, maybe," he mumbled. "I didn't feel like fighting, so I took the easy way out." Izuku bumped shoulders, and told him not to feel bad. Shoto didn't reply other than a curt nod. He looked up when the kid showed up and pushed the pervert down once he began climbing the wall to peek on the girls. Gross.
Was he wrong for not feeling that way, too? Was he gay after all? Not all the guys were interested in violating the girls by peeking without permission, so it made him feel better. He wasn't afraid or averse to being gay. Maybe he was a bit scared he'd return the feelings to Izuku, and ruin it all.
Ruin everything they had. He didn't want that. He was scared of that a lot. It was safer to not feel the same.
-x- Izuku -x-
It did indeed smell a bit in the room they were sleeping in, but not in a blood way. Shoto didn't seem interested in anybody here, he was well fed from that night, drinking his fill, unaffected by the hot bodies in a confined space. He fell asleep first despite being the least tired physically from the day.
He was so cute when he slept. He didn't drool so much anymore like he used to, which was lucky. At least, not in his sleep. And it had been awhile since he was in a frenzy where spit poured out of his mouth from the hunger- the thirst.
Everyone did fall asleep fairly quickly. It was probably around 2 in the morning when he felt himself shift. Immediately, Shoto moved to him, draping one arm across his chest, his face breathing in Izuku's fresh scent. Izuku pet his hair, and quietly woke him up. "Shoto," he said in a whisper, shaking him awake a bit.
His sleepy eyes opened, and he realized what he was doing. His face turned red and he looked away, scooting back into his own space. "It's okay, I just didn't want you to wake up embarrassed," Izuku said kindly. Shoto nodded, and moved to lay on his stomach with his face in his pillow, trying to hide the smell.
Eventually, when he fell back asleep and moved to latch onto Izuku again, he decided to try and sleep somewhere else. He didn't want Shoto to wake up humiliated, even if it was nice to cuddle for Izuku. He slowly detached him again, and got his sleeping bag before moving to another part of the room that was unoccupied.
He fell asleep again, and was glad to wake up before Shoto, before everyone but Iida. He moved his sleeping bag back into place so the bicolored haired teen didn't feel as if he forced Izuku to move when it was his own choice.
When Izuku went to use the bathroom before they were flooded by those in the room after waking up, he came across Kota again. He glared at him hatefully. Izuku had no idea what his issue was, but wanted to. Maybe he could do something to be less annoying to him. So he asked Mandalay about it.
What he was told made sense. Why Kota hated all of them, not just Izuku who he'd punched for trying to be nice. His parents died as heroes, so he resented them all. The profession stole his mother and father. It was sad, and Izuku felt for him. He wasn't sure what to say, or if he should say anything.
He sadly went back to the room to see the boys all waking.
When Shoto woke, it was from everyone else moving around. He was not the only one with bed head at all. Kaminari's was probably the worst out of all of them. They went to bed with partially damp hair, so what else was expected? Shoto and Izuku, in front of everyone, took the fake pills from Aizawa for their skin conditions.
Then they did the sunblock like usual. Izuku was human right now, but still put on the more concealing clothes. Well, short sleeved shirts with arm sleeves like his friend's. "Whoa, you guys really do have an illness?" Sero asked.
"Skin condition, not illness," Izuku corrected. "And yes." Shoto nodded, and they both left the room to meet up with Bakugo and Kirishima in the kitchen. The redhead said nothing, gave nothing away that he knew it was a lie. He seemed very loyal to his friends. Kacchan really did get a good catch.
After breakfast, Aizawa informed them that the rest of the time there was to be training to push their limits. It sounded unpleasant, but the perfect time to practice his fire. "Can I go up on the cliff where there aren't trees to burn?" Shoto asked.
"Yes," Aizawa approved. Before he walked up to his chosen training area, Yaoyorozu came over.
"Shoto-san, will you braid my hair so it doesn't get in the way?" she asked. Izuku was stretching. Shoto nodded, and he put her hair down and gave him the hair tie. He did a braid Izuku had never seen before, called a dutch braid that he made down her head and tied it off at the base of her spine.
"Ooh, do mine, too!" Hagakure said.
"Uh. I'll try," Shoto said. When the floating clothes were turned away from him, Shoto blindly felt along her head and hair, managing to make his way around her hair. His fingers moved weirdly without bing seen, but he managed to braid the invisible hair, which was an impressive feat.
"Yay, thank you!" she cheered. "Momo, let's go train with Jiro!" Both girls headed away.
Shoto wished Izuku luck on his training, and headed up the cliff along the natural path upwards and out of sight. The green haired teen just stood there for a moment, not at all sure what he should practice. He thought for a long moment, trying to come up with something to do that was useful.
Looking at the cliff Shoto went up, maybe he should work on leaping and climbing. He could already punch and kick just fine. So, he did that. Everyone were more focused on their own grueling training, miserable but determined, which was exactly what Aizawa wanted. He supervised and gave advice to those working on their quirks. Izuku could hear bursts of flames, that whooshing sound, from the cliff, and grunts as Shoto did his best. The half vampire was so proud of him.
But he had a feeling Shoto was crying to himself. Maybe feeling guilty. He didn't plan on going up to console him. He went up there to be alone, and Izuku wasn't going to intrude. He'd talk to him later.
The day was kind of miserable, and Izuku was actually sore after all the jumping. His legs, his thighs especially sore and throbbing. He drunk plenty of blood water. And Shoto was right, the mixture of lemon juice and even the Altoids added interesting flavors. When lunch was made and then dinner later, Izuku wished it was Mikaela's cooking with the blood.
But of course that wasn't going to happen.
Shoto's right side was burnt away, everything gone, his clothes and the wrappings. This alone made him never want to use his flames again. The sunblock hadn't burnt off, thankfully, or he'd have serious sunburns. So, until he had clothes that could handle his fire, its use was off the table for now, at least at this place.
Izuku stayed a human all night, and slept next to Shoto, who didn't move this time. Their class was kept separate from class 1-B, who were on the other side of the building. He did wonder if there was a strong bitterness between the classes, and it made him sad to think that.
They took baths in the morning this time, feeling fresh afterwards. It was nice Shoto could heat dry his underwear after wearing it into the hot spring again. Nobody made fun of him, which was nice. Mineta seemed to be being careful about how he treated Shoto, so he didn't engage at all, which the half and half teen was more than glad for.
It was the same thing today, only Izuku was training on the cliff with Shoto. They were able to fight and test one another's strengths easily with no prying eyes. But they did not go as hard as they did at the sports festival. No, not nearly as hard, having definitely learned their lesson from that.
Every hour or so they'd take a break and have some blood. They had a large tub of water that they dipped cups into, the tub full of blood powder, full blood, not diluted. They had some fresh, clean water to wash their mouths out, though. "I'm glad we made it into the same class."
"They probably saw you as my therapy dog." Izuku chuckled. "Even if that's how it was, I'm glad," Shoto said. "I'm sorry if I made you feel bad, about not being naked in the tub."
"Just because I like you doesn't mean I would want you to just abandon how you feel. I… would have been uncomfortable if you were naked, too. I've made things weird between us. I'm sorry."
"I don't think I'll like you back. I'm too scared I'll mess things up. That I'll be bad at it, and things will crumble. And it would be all my fault," he confessed, cheeks red. At least he was being open and honest, though. But it was sad, Izuku felt sad for his words.
"Well, you felt the same way about being friends at first, too, remember? And you never messed that up. It would only be something new, which is scary, I know. It is for me, too. Maybe we should just try to forget about it. I'm the one messing things up," he said in shame.
"You didn't do anything wrong. You can't help your feelings. I know that very well, just not with feelings like that. And just because I didn't mess friends up, doesn't mean I wouldn't mess boyfriends up. What if I, like, suck at kissing? Boyfriends kiss, don't they?"
Izuku gave him a smile. "It's not like I've ever kissed anyone before, either. We wouldn't need to kiss anyways, if you didn't want to. What? Your comfort is more important to me than just doing what couples are expected to do. I would do everything I could to make both of us happy." Shoto's face turned red, and he hid it in his hands.
The half human didn't press more, and asked if he was ready to train again. Shoto pulled his hands away from his face, no longer red, and they fought, though Shoto looked to be lost in thought, his body reacting on autopilot. His body reacted correctly despite his heart not being into it. Honestly, that was pretty impressive.
"Izuku? Will you… not give up? I'd like to feel how you do. I think. But I don't… at least, not right now," Shoto said. A smile stretched across Izuku's face, and he nodded excitedly. Shoto gave a curt nod, and dinner was coming up. They drank the rest of the blood water and then used the clean water to wash it out their mouths and clean out the tub.
The freckled teen was ecstatic that maybe they had a chance to be more than friends. That Shoto was going to try, make an effort. It made his heart soar. He couldn't help the smiling the rest of the night, not telling anyone the truth when they asked what he was so happy about. He just said he felt his training had went well that day.
Of course Kacchan knew better.
-x- Shoto -x-
"A test of courage?" Shoto asked. "But I feel like we're all brave…" he said in confusion.
"It's some thing where you walk into the woods and try to scare other people," Bakugo said, having the matching ticket to Shoto.
"But what if it's not scared, just startled?" Bakugo shrugged.
"So, what did you and Izuku talk about? He was smiling pretty wide all through fuckin' dinner. Something good happen?" Shoto explained that he offered to try. "That's great!"
"You want us together that badly? won't it change things?" Shoto wondered.
"I want my friends to be happy. I know we'd still all be best friends. I believe our friendship is stronger than you worry it isn't," Bakugo said as they started their walk. Shoto already knew where everyone was, so it wasn't too exciting or scary for him. He was just walking through the woods when he'd rather be sleeping.
He gave a small smile. "I'm glad we're friends, and we didn't give up."
"Me, too. Damn it, I wish I could have walked with Shitty Hair." Shoto sighed that he still called his boyfriend "shitty hair". Then he laughed. "What are the odds of all three of us being straight as circles?"
"Friends-"
"Have stuff in common, I know," Bakugo said with and eye roll. They made it to the first obstacle. Well, the first scarer. When the girl showed up, indeed looking creepy, from class B, both of them just stood there. Unafraid and unsurprised, Shoto especially. They just walked past them after a few seconds of awkward staring.
Walking deeper into the forest, where plenty of students still were inside, and both could hear screaming. Normal people getting scared. "How was your training?" Shoto asked. "We didn't see from the cliff."
"Basically trying to make my explosions stronger. Making my hands sweat more so I can use more. Hah, it sucks!" he laughed, and looked at his hands, which were a bright, irritated red. "What about you?"
"It was fire first until my clothes burnt away, then helping fight Izuku," Shoto replied. "Maybe I could train with my fire at night," he mumbled. He turned around when he smelled smoke, and then a putrid scent. Bakugo asked what was wrong. "There's smoke, and a weird smell." He created a block of ice that poked through the canopy, and climbed it, standing about the trees. The forest beyond was on fire with blue flames.
"What is it?" Bakugo asked.
"There's a fire," he said. "Blue flames."
"A quirk," the blonde said darkly. "Do you think it's villains? Did anyone new come, do they smell familiar?"
"I don't recognize them, but there are a few. But there's some other smell, a chemical one. I don't think I can go that way or I'll bleed and be knocked out."
"What about Izuku and Shitty Hair?"
Shoto closed his eyes and focused his hearing all around, searching for the two voices. "Izuku is across the camp, far from us. Kirishima is with Aizawa and Vald-sensei," he said. "He's safe, I think. I trust Izuku, he has the same as me, knows where to avoid. We should head back to camp." Both of them seemed completely calm.
He dropped down, and then shoved Bakugo to the side and into a tree when he sensed something coming towards them. Melal bars slammed into the ground where Bakugo had been. Looking up, they saw the enemy, so creepy that was covered in black leather, the only thing showing being his mouth.
The spikes were from his teeth. "Flesh… show me flesh!"
"Can we kill this loser?" Bakugo asked. They jumped out of the way before Shoto froze his teeth bars. But they broke out. So he shot forward and grabbed them, the cuts digging into his palm and producing blood. He used his fire to melt them, turn the metal scalding hot, a glowing red.
"We're not allowed to fight without permission or we'll be in trouble," Shoto said. "Hurting people with a quirk is illegal and punishable by law."
"Who cares, this loser's trying to kill us!" Bakugo argued. Shoto said they should run for now. "Fuck that! No way, I ain't running from garbage shit like this!"
"Then you'll be arrested," Shoto said calmly. He was keeping an eye on him, and his sense of sound and smell making sure nobody else was around.
The villain was getting angry with how calm Shoto was, and of course that he'd damaged his teeth weapon. What a crappy quirk. Even Mineta's was more useful than this. He pulled his teeth back, them sagging since they were still molten. He cried out, but then yanked his teeth out. More grew in their place.
After he tried to attack again, Shoto sent ice at him, not planning to hurt him, only restrain. But his teeth were strong and shattered it. Shoto could hear shouts and screams, fighting, grunts of pain and exertion from everywhere. The coughing of those suffocated by the smoke, and the gas he could smell stronger now.
Nobody seemed to be burning alive in the fire, so that was good. He knew those screams would be agonizing. Both of them looked up when it was pointless as Mandalay's telepathic quirk activated, intruding in their minds to give them a message.
Shoto's gaze shot to Bakugo when they were told "the villains are after Kacchan", which showed the message was from Izuku. The only one to call Bakugo by that.
Aizawa gives permission to fight to class A and B! You have permission to fight!
Bakugo immediately sent an explosion at the guy, throwing him down. He sat on top of him before Shoto gagged him with ice and froze him to the ground. "Stop him more, injure him. I don't feel like blowing somebody apart right now." So Shoto stomped on both legs, shattering the bone. He cried out around the ice.
"Let's try to find others and get them away from the gas, which is that way," the vampire said, pointing to the way they'd come. Bakugo nodded. "And you don't wander off. They're after you."
"Che," the blonde said in annoyance. "Not like I did shit to piss them off! If this is that shitty League, they should be after your ass." Shoto didn't know either. They made their way through the forest before Shoto stopped him. He put his finger to his lips, and crouched. They could easily hear the screaming and snarling from a little bit ahead.
They were both startled when a massive black monster appeared. They fell back onto their butts. "That's Tokoyami," Shoto whispered.
"Dark Shadow. Did that shit lose control here of all times and places?" Bakugo hissed. Dark Shadow roared, and they could hear Tokoyami screaming for it to stop, and for help. Shoto shot forward, wanting to help his classmate. "Idiot, come back!" Bakugo hissed.
"Stay there!" Shoto called. "Tokoyami!"
"STAY AWAY!" he bellowed. "Stay away from me!"
"How can I help?!" Shoto called, flattening himself to the ground when a large, black clawed hand swiped at him. He jumped out of the way.
"Light! I need light!" he screamed. Shoto erupted into fire, burning his clothes away. At least his shirt. Half of it destroyed and the rest falling off completely. Dark Shadow flinched away. It tried running, but Shoto chased. The out of control creature dragged Tokoyami before whipping around to try and nail Shoto. And it did, punting him through a few trees.
"Shoto!" Tokoyami shouted. "Dark Shadow, stop this!" he shouted, but was completely out of control. Shoto pulled his body off of the tree branch protruding from his leg. It had gone straight through. He heard Bakugo shouting for him.
"I'm here!" he called. The blonde came running, and saw his bloody leg. "Don't worry, I'm fully fed, it'll heal in a little bit," he said, but winced. He dug his fingers inside the open wound and pulled out the splintered bits of wood.
With those out, it started to heal. "Fuck, are you okay?!" Shoto nodded, limping a bit. Bakugo put his arm under his, helping him walk. Walk as fast as they could. Shoto shot more fire out of his body, the part not being supported by Bakugo. Dark Shadow ran again. Dragging Tokoyami away.
"Shoto!"
"I'm okay!" he shouted to try and help Tokoyami not panic. His leg healed, and he was back to running. But they came across the gas, which was spreading fast. Shoto's nose started to pour blood, and he coughed it.
"Shit, shit, shit," Bakugo hissed, putting Shoto over his back and running in the opposite direction, down the trail and trying to make it back to camp around the gas. Shoto's vision was blurring. "Are you - fuck - are you okay?!"
"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy. Sorry," Shoto mumbled. His head hurt like hell. But his head cleared when he was breathing clean air. He was okay and got off of his friend's back. He heard someone behind them, and saw some guy with a mask and a fancy outfit, top hat, cane and all.
"Ah, there you are." Shoto heard shouting for Bakugo's name, worried over him. They needed to focus on controlling Dark Shadow more. He could kill them. Shoto was with the target right now and would never let him get hurt. And it wasn't like Bakugo was weak himself. He probably didn't need a guard.
They stood there, facing off. "The fuck are you?" Bakugo demanded, and his palms started to secrete the nitroglycerin, leaving him some ammo for explosions. Right now, neither could really feel too much pain from the adrenaline pumping through their bodies. But Shoto's heart was beating too fast, and the choker was about to go off. He heard it a nanosecond before it did. He couldn't get paralyzed right now.
He grabbed it and ripped it off, throwing it down, and feeling so much more uneasy. "The Vanguard Action Squad, courtesy of the League of Villains."
"Ugh, you losers again?" Bakugo said dismissively. "What the hell kind of title is 'Vanguard Action Squad'? You come up with that?" They didn't know the man's quirk, so they had to know before attacking.
"You sure are a talkative little shit."
"At least I don't need to hide behind a mask". Shoto jerked around when he smelled and sensed that portal guy, the familiar one, before his head was grabbed, and he was slammed down into the ground, his head hitting so hard he heard a crack. "Shoto! Stop getting hurt, fuck!" He formed spikes of ice on his back, cutting into whoever was behind him.
Head swimming, he looked behind him and saw a man with black hair and severe burn scars all over the skin he could see. He had a crazed expression, grinning down at Shoto. He melted the ice easily with the blue fire. He was the one to set the forest fire. "Poor little Shoto," he said. Shoto didn't scream as his back was set on fire.
"Shoto!" Bakugo screamed.
"RUN!" Shoto bellowed at him. He finally cried out as his skin was burnt. But then Dark Shadow appeared to cause more trouble, getting the fire man off of his back. God, it hurt really bad. That fire was not as hot, not as burning as the sun was, but it was hotter than normal fire by far.
Dark Shadow grabbed him and tossed him through the forest, his back skidding on the ground, this making him cry out. He stood up, but was shaking. No, he had to help his friends! He ignored his melted skin and ran. Forcing his thoughts to focus on something else. Something more painful.
He imagined being starved, having no blood. The thought was so disturbing and caused such heavy trauma that his body reacted instantly. His throat was now what felt on fire. He did not have his choker. The vampire needed to be in control without his handicap. Shoto didn't need it, he didn't need it, he didn't need it, he'd be fine, he'd be okay, everyone would be okay.
He ran faster, but his injury made running a bit harder, a bit slower. But he ran, going to save his best friend.
-x- Izuku -x-
They were after Kacchan. But for what reason? If it was the League, then they should be after Shoto and Izuku, not Kacchan! Why him?! Why did it have to be him?! He couldn't lose him, and he knew Shoto was in trouble as he heard him scream. Izuku wasn't in the best shape himself. Both of his arms had been shattered by a man with a very strong quirk, which had to do with his muscles.
Really, a reinforcement quirk beat his vampire strength? He could still run as the bones in his arms did their best to reconnect, heal. He was fed enough that it should be healing. But he noticed before that his healing and other vampire functions were slower under stress. And this was extremely stressful.
He heard Kacchan and Shoto fighting, but could not go directly through the gas without being flung into unconsciousness and perhaps death. Being helpless and inside unknown chemical, it could be poison gas. If that was the case, many of his fellow first years could be dead, and he couldn't help them.
So he was running around the gas, which continued to spread and impede his movements. But he eventually beat the spread, but was stopped in his tracks, skidding and then falling on his face, as his friend's quirk was out of control, destroying the forest, swiping at Izuku like a scythe. He couldn't use his arms at the moment, but they were healing as best as they could. He needed blood, but the camp was too far and the gas was blocking it.
But he couldn't feed off of his friends, off of humans directly. He wouldn't. Right now he was a vampire, so blood would be really helpful right now. "Tokoyami, what happened!?"
"I can't control Dark Shadow!" and he screamed again. Izuku was nearly beheaded before he bent his body to be in the upside down bridge before flipping up. Shoto's lessons could have just saved his life. But then Shoji was there, grabbing him and sprinting, bringing him to safety away from Dark Shadow.
"Midoriya, what happened to your arms!"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me." He was feeling out of it, but cleared his head. "We have to do something about Dark Shadow, Kacchan needs help, needs to be safe!"
"Dark Shadow is blocking the path. He threw Shoto off somewhere, I don't know where Bakugo is!" Then he crouched, and told Izuku to be quiet so they didn't get noticed by Dark Shadow. He didn't have time for hiding. So, he ran back a few paces, and then went in an all out sprint before using his strong legs to push himself into the air.
He landed behind Dark Shadow, in a painful roll. Sorry, Shoji! He'd abandoned him, but Izuku had to worry about his beloved best friends. But what could he do in the state he was in? He came across them. Well, Bakugo, who was fighting off two villains. He was punched in the gut and grabbed by the neck.
"Izuku! Don't come!" Bakugo shouted.
"Kacchan!" he screamed, reaching his shattered arms out. But too fast to process, Shoto showed up, and jumped into the portal right after Bakugo was taken. Both of them were out of sight. He couldn't smell them anymore. They were taken by the villains, both of them. Izuku couldn't help it, he just started screaming.