I Provide Protection: Side Story Specials!

by PuffedGill

A compilation of one-shots or short stories based off my MHA OC Fanfic, "I Provide Protection". The extra tidbits and side stories of Hitomi Kanetsukabe and her adventures with Class 1-A. Infrequent updates.

6. To Save Your Soul (MHAlloween 2020)

A grim reaper who hesitates to take lives.

A boy who's been cursed to live a life of immortality.

The two cross paths, coming from completely different worlds. And after the events of one fateful night, their futures become intertwined.

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A/N: HEY IT'S YOUR FAVORITE SLEEP-DEPRIVED LOSER WHO'S 2 DAYS LATE WITH THE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

This was originally supposed to be a comic, buuuut I came up with this with only 5 days left before Halloween and I had several long assignments to finish last week along with an essay that was ALSO due on Halloween (college has been kicking my butt, save meeeee 😭). I knew there was no way I'd be able to do a comic in 5 days and stay on top of school, so I made it a fanfic instead, ALTHOUGH I STILL ENDED UP BEING LATE TvT

Anyway the only extra notes I have for this one-shot is that this is a fantasy AU (no, not THAT Fantasy AU, sadly 😔) filled with supernatural creatures such as vampires, werewolves, etc. etc., y'know, the typical fantasy stuff. There won't be any specific mentions of such creatures save for one or two, I just brought it up to help establish the kind of world this takes place in. Oh, and Hitomi and Bakugou are ~18 in this AU, since I just think it makes sense for them to be a bit older here :3

Side note: I really encourage you to read this one-shot on Wattpad or AO3! I formatted several soundtracks from Toilet Bound Hanako-kun into the story to help set the mood for different scenes, and it can help make the experience feel more spooky to fit the Halloween vibe, not to mention the art is also formatted into the text as well. Either way, whether you decide to read it here or on those sites instead, I hope you enjoy :)

Happy reading!

Art - Add /21dtiw74xlvv to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

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Grim reapers in this world were cruel.

They were beings who brought upon death on the humans that walked this Earth, having the power to choose when and how one died.

They were the cause of widespread plagues, wars, disasters that took away thousands and thousands of these humans' lives.

Some that were especially cruel liked to cause a poor human so much suffering that they'd eventually be driven to take their own life.

Grim reapers took pride in taking human souls away from their hosts' body, having the nerve to act as some kindly deity as they guided the soul to the afterlife, as if they hadn't just stolen that human's precious life away.

And Hitomi… Hitomi hated it.

She hated taking lives.

An abnormal thought for a grim reaper.

But that was just how she felt.

She hated when her peers would laugh at the absurd amount of souls they'd collected from the day, hated listening to them detail which cruel ways they'd taken them. Drowning, decapitation, disease, Hitomi had heard them all. Anything one could think of, it had probably been done before.

And they would torture humans in such ways simply because… they were lesser creatures than reapers. Simply because they were mortal. Grim reapers took pleasure in taking their lives away, simply because their lives already had a time limit anyway. They enjoyed watching humans die in such ways because they weren't supernatural, because they were much more fragile and an easier target than a typical vampire, or witch.

Hitomi hated it.

She hated being a reaper.

She hated that other reapers expected her to take joy in severing souls from bodies, to laugh at the sadness that overtook a family when they realized a loved one had passed away.

How could they laugh? How could they laugh when humans looked… just like them? After all, grim reapers were born from unclaimed souls who never made it to the afterlife. Was it resentment from their previous life that was unable to fade away after they were reborn? Was it because they now saw themselves as "above", and humans as "lesser"?

Hitomi didn't know.

All Hitomi did know was that she felt… what was the word… sympathy? For these humans. They were just living their lives, blissfully ignorant to the knowledge their lives were at the mercy of a simple slash of Hitomi's scythe.

Hitomi didn't want to take their lives away.

She couldn't remember her own previous life as a human, just like other reapers, but she loved watching humans. She loved watching them dance, cook, learn, struggle, and grow, just be human. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't hidden her scythe and disguised herself as human to walk among them a few times. Maybe that was why she cared about them so much.

She definitely wasn't the only one who thought this way. She'd come across other reapers who'd shared her mindset every now and then, but she could tell they were the minority. After all, reapers who didn't love taking lives were simply absurd.

Well, Hitomi didn't care if that way of thinking was absurd. That was how she felt. She hated cutting a life that still had so much time left short. That was why the only souls she ever took were those of the old, those who had lived their lives to the fullest and were ready to move on. When she severed the tendril of the soul that was connected to their heart, they often acted like they were expecting her, taking her hand resolutely. Sometimes they even told her about their life as she guided them across the Bridge to the afterlife.

Personally, she found much more gratification in the stories they told her rather than trying to come up with some gruesome death to brag about.

Hitomi knew, however, that she was on thin ice. Even though she did her best to only sever souls of the elderly, she still hated that she had to do it at all.

But she had to do it.

She had to take lives because that was a grim reaper's job.

A grim reaper that didn't do their job… well… she didn't know what happened to them. All they were ever told was that when grim reapers didn't do their jobs, they messed up the balance between life and death, and when that happened, those who had altered that delicate balance were "taken care of", whatever that meant. It definitely couldn't be a good thing.

Hitomi never wanted to find out.

So she did the bare minimum. If you didn't want to be "taken care of", you had to actively be working to claim souls (such as casting disease over a prolonged period of time, for example) or severing souls from hearts directly.

Hitomi had always stuck to the latter, bringing back the absolute barest minimum of elderly souls every day that would keep her from tampering with the balance. It was risky, yes, and it sometimes put herself on close watch by the higher ups because she never brought back as many souls as other reapers, but they could never fault her because she was still, technically, doing her job, just not at the same frequency.

Hitomi sighed, blowing her hair out of her face.

Sometimes she wondered why her soul had never been claimed.

Had she lived a peaceful life as a human? Lived with a family, maybe had her own, had a lover? Or did she die young?

Had she been a kind person in her past life? Or had she been cruel, evil, caused other humans pain and suffering?

If it had been the latter… maybe she deserved to become this and hate it. If she had been horrible to fellow humans in her past life, maybe this was her chance to provide them mercy and let them live on peacefully in this life.

Or maybe she hadn't been awful, and whichever reaper had come across her soul had thought it would be amusing to resign her to this duty.

Or maybe her soul had just genuinely never been found.

Hitomi flinched when something whacked the top of her head, hissing to herself as her grip instinctively tightened on her scythe.

"Hey!"

She looked to her left, rubbing her head as her eyes narrowed at the glowing ball of blue light beside her. "What was that for?"

The will-o-wisp only stared back at her, its flame tendril flowing behind it as it floated beside her. Hitomi squinted at the fire elemental before it made a small titter, flying towards Hitomi's face to give her cheek a nuzzle and making the bluenette yelp.

"Nari-! Nari, stop that, I'm gonna fall!"

The will-o-wisp flew back, giving Hitomi the chance to readjust herself on top of her scythe. She'd been flying through the sky on her weapon, watching as the last remnants of twilight turned into night. Hitomi took a deep breath once she was safely secure on the pole, before shooting her companion a glare.

"Why did you do that? I could've fallen!"

Nari tilted to the side, giving her a questioning look.

"Yeah, yeah, I know it's not like I could actually die from falling or anything— maybe just a sore butt— but it's… it's about the principle!" Hitomi spluttered.

Another questioning gaze.

Hitomi sighed. "Look, Nari, just… don't do that while I'm flying, okay? I may not break a limb or whatever, but… I can't lose track of my scythe, alright? We don't want another being getting their hands on it, and… well, if I fell, what if I crashed into a human?"

Nari's flame faltered slightly, as if the will-o-wisp was looking apologetic.

Hitomi wore a small smile, tickling the ball of fire with her fingertips. "Yeah… I know that wasn't your intent. You don't have to say sorry." She placed her hand back on her scythe, staring at the forest that was a distance away. "If anything, I should be saying sorry, for being so distracted…" Her grip tightened on the black metal. "It's just… I… I'm starting to get tired of this, y'know? After doing it for years and years… Even though I only try to take the elderly, there are still… there are always people that are sad to see them go. I just… I hate seeing their faces when they realize their loved ones are gone…"

Hitomi hissed, covering her eyes with her hands. "I hate being this! I hate that this is my job…! Why did my soul have to be left unclaimed? Why didn't I get to move on to the afterlife?!"

She glanced at Nari, the will-o-wisp's big black eyes staring back at her.

Hitomi let out another sigh, wrapping herself up in her cloak. "Y'know, they've started to notice I've been bringing in less and less souls lately. I'm guessing that they're going to have someone monitor me sometime soon." Hitomi bit her lip, her fingers tightening around the dark blue fabric. "Why do they care so much how many we bring, or how we do it? Isn't the fact that we're bringing those souls to the afterlife enough? So what if I go into human shops, or make conversation with them, or… or eat human food every now and then?"

Nari let out a small squeak in response.

Hitomi hummed, giving her a timid smile. "Well, you wouldn't know, would you? You're just a fire elemental after all, you don't know what it's like up there."

She gave the will-o-wisp a small pat, appreciating the warmth that engulfed her palm.

"You see, Nari, they don't like us interacting with humans directly, or getting close to them, because… well, we already lived our lives as humans. I… I know it's wrong, but… I just can't help it." Hitomi looked up at the sky, admiring the stars that twinkled against the black abyss.

"It's just… the humans live in such a beautiful world, y'know? They're always advancing, growing, learning new things. They create so many cool inventions, they discover things about this world they live in, and they just… have fun. Is it so bad that I… want to be a part of that? Even though I've already lived that life? It's not like I can remember anything from it, so… is it wrong of me to want to see it all all over again…?"

Nari sailed over to her, settling herself right on the end of Hitomi's scythe and staring up at her. Hitomi looked down at her, her mouth in a small frown.

"It's really selfish of me, huh…? I hate taking souls, and I don't have to keep doing it… I could just stop and accept whatever punishment they give to grim reapers who 'tip the balance'... But I keep taking souls anyway because I'm scared that I won't be able to watch the humans anymore if I don't."

Nari floated up so she was eye level with her, before nuzzling herself into Hitomi's face. The bluenette spluttered, scrambling to pull the ball of fire off. She held Nari in her hands, staring down at her sternly. "Nari…!"

The blue flame let out another titter, circling around the reaper playfully. Hitomi sputtered, trying to scold her and be stern, but it was in vain. Her weak composure quickly broke, and she broke out into giggles as Nari floated in front of her.

"Man, you really have no worries at all, huh?" Hitomi laughed, scratching her cheek. She held her hands out, letting her friend settle into her palms and giving Nari a small smile. "Must be nice to be you. Sorry about… dumping all my thoughts and feelings on you like that. Not like you really understand what I'm talking about, anyway." Hitomi let out another quiet laugh. "Let's get going. We haven't left this field for a while now." Nari floated out of her hands as Hitomi faced forward, squinting to see what was up ahead.

"That forest looks like it goes for a while…" Hitomi mumbled, taking note of the large expanse of trees. "You think there'll be any elderly souls that are ready to move on to the afterlife?"

The bluenette looked to her companion, only to get a questioning hum in response.

"...Yeah, me neither. How many souls do we have so far?"

Hitomi turned around, swinging her legs around the scythe's shaft so she was now sitting facing the blade. She scooted towards it, Nari's light illuminating the back part, a black crescent-shaped piece of metal with a cerulean orb in the middle. The back of Hitomi's scythe matched the clasp of her cloak: a black moon wrapped around a cerulean circle.

Hitomi tapped the blue orb, the sphere glowing at her touch. The glow grew, turning into a solid ball about the size of Hitomi's hand. Hitomi looked into it for a few moments, before she sighed, slumping over. "...Shit. Only 10…?" She pushed the ball back into the orb, the glow fading as she turned back around to face the front. "I need about 15 more before I go back, at least."

Nari looked up at her curiously, Hitomi's troubled expression lit by her flame.

"...We better get those souls by the end of the week. I've already been down here for almost a month, and if we stay any longer than that it'll definitely look suspicious." Hitomi gave Nari a small scratch, before she took a deep breath, gripping the handle of her scythe firmly. "Let's go. If we don't stop anymore, maybe we can get past that forest and find a village before morning."

The will-o-wisp nodded enthusiastically, before settling on Hitomi's shoulder. Hitomi laughed at the action, before she pushed forward, sailing through the sky towards the many trees that lay ahead.

…

The trip had been uneventful for a while.

The forest turned out to be much more expansive than Hitomi had initially thought, as she had been flying over it long enough that Nari had gotten sleepy, the fire elemental now resting comfortably in the hood of Hitomi's cloak.

Hitomi, meanwhile, was humming a song to pass the time, a small tune she'd heard during a festival from the last village she'd visited. Her voice was the only sound she heard for miles, filling the overwhelming silence of nighttime as she sailed through the air. The sky was still a dark black, the stars dotting it white as Hitomi admired the view, her voice soft as it continued to hum that simple tune.

"Orion's Belt, huh…?" she mumbled, staring at the trio of stars that formed a straight line. Humans called them "constellations", groups of stars that supposedly formed patterns you could see no matter where you were in the world. You couldn't see them from the Astral Plane, only on Earth. Hitomi held a hand up, tracing her finger over the imaginary line formed by the stars of the Orion constellation. "Wonder where the name came from…"

Hitomi blinked when she heard a faint whistle, lowering her hand and looking over her shoulder. "Nari?" The will-o-wisp let out a small murmur, opening her eyes drowsily. "Was that noise you?"

Hitomi's question was quickly answered when an orange ball of fire whizzed past her, her hair getting blown around by the following wind. Hitomi flinched back, tensing at the thick smell of smoke the fireball had left behind. "What was-?!"

She looked down at the trees below her, seeing a faint purple glow before her eyes widened.

"Oh, crap!"

The purple glow went shooting towards her, Hitomi grasping her scythe's pole firmly as she swerved out of the way. She heard Nari squeal, the fire elemental now awake after getting jostled around from Hitomi's rushed movements.

"Nari-!" Hitomi dodged another attack, this time a flash of lightning. "Nari, your flame! It's exposing us!" Another swerve out of the way, from what she was guessing was a freezing spell. "There's a witch here! She's attacking us…!"

Nari squeaked, burrowing herself into Hitomi's hood as her flame slowly dimmed. Hitomi yelped as another attack came flying towards her, this time a barrage of energy beams. She dove downwards to avoid them, her hair and cloak whipping behind her as she gained speed, trying to get out of the witch's range.

She continued to avoid the witch's attacks, berating herself internally as she swerved left and right, narrowly avoiding the spells and hexes that came her way.

Of course there'd be other supernaturals here! This forest is huge!

Large vines came shooting towards her, Hitomi hastily pulling up, out of their reach. They only followed after her, continuing to grow until Hitomi felt one wrap around her ankle.

I was being careless!

She yelped, flipping herself off her scythe before she spun it around, slashing through the vine and setting her foot free. The other vines came barreling towards her, Hitomi making several more harsh slashes against them. The death she willed through her blade spread throughout the plants, following down the stems and leaves before reaching the roots. The vines went limp as Hitomi jumped back onto her scythe, watching as they fell back to the ground lifelessly. She heard a scream echo through the trees, likely belonging to the witch who was trying to get her hands on her scythe before another barrage of attacks ensued, energy beams shooting towards her left and right.

Hitomi flew forward, trying her best to avoid them as she tried putting some distance between herself and the witch. She could feel Nari jostle around in her hood as she zigzagged all over the place, yelping when a purple beam shot through some of her hair, cutting off a few stray blue strands.

Dammit!

There was no way these attacks were going to stop anytime soon. Hitomi knew that witch wouldn't stop until she brought Hitomi down, because it was a well-known fact a grim reaper's scythe was one of the most sought-after treasures among mortal beings.

Taking lives was one thing. You didn't have to be a grim reaper to kill someone, or something. Mortals killed each other all the time; grim reapers were simply the little whisper in their ears that gave them the push to do so.

But if you got your hands on a grim reaper's scythe?

You had the power to sever souls directly. You had the ability to take souls as your own instead of letting them go to the afterlife.

And if mortals got their hands on actual souls, well, that just meant trouble.

Because the more souls you had, the more power it gave you.

That was another reason grim reapers took so many souls, besides the fact they simply took pleasure in the act. The more souls you took from hearts, the more power you earned. The higher you went up the Thirteen Levels.

Some souls were worth more than others, of course, which in turn granted you varying levels of power. Humans were worth more than animals, and supernaturals were worth more than humans. The worth among specific supernatural creatures varied as well.

Hitomi only took enough that would give her enough power to fend off such supernatural creatures, but for Christ's sake, this witch wouldn't lay off!

Damn wands and magic brooms!

"Nari, hold on tight!" Hitomi ordered as she dodged another fireball. "We can't shake her. I'm going to have to stop this myself."

Nari made a squeak of agreement, before she flew out of Hitomi's hood, diving into the blue gem on the clasp of Hitomi's cloak. It was a pocket dimension usually reserved for Hitomi's scythe when trying to hide it, but in a situation like this that was the safest place for her little will-o-wisp.

With Nari safely tucked away, Hitomi looked over her shoulder, seeing the witch was still tailing her a distance away on her broom, another bolt of lightning forming at the tip of her wand. She gritted her teeth, pulling up higher into the sky. The witch couldn't keep up, as enchanted broomsticks couldn't reach the same altitude or speed of a scythe.

Hitomi couldn't help the small smile on her face as she put more distance between the two, which was bound to affect the witch's accuracy. She heard the crackle of thunder, and just as she'd planned, the witch's lightning bolt missed, shooting up into the sky and disappearing into the darkness.

Once Hitomi felt she was at a safe enough height, she slowed down and turned around to face the witch, her eyes narrowing as she saw the faint glow of another attack forming. Her grip tightened around her scythe, before the witch's attack shot out to the side, making her pause.

What was that supposed to be?

Hitomi shook her head, trying to ignore the odd action.

Never mind that! I need to end this, now!

Hitomi slid off her scythe, trying her best to maintain her float against the pull of gravity as she saw the witch gear up another spell. Right as the witch raised her wand, Hitomi shot forward, her scythe positioned with an attack of her own. Before the witch could launch her hex, Hitomi swung her scythe with a determined yell, a large cerulean wave of concentrated energy shooting towards the supernatural being. It hit the witch dead on, blowing her back in the direction Hitomi had initially come from. Hitomi watched as her figure grew smaller, her adrenaline slowly beginning to settle as the witch's screams grew distant.

She settled onto her scythe, her rushed breaths slowing down as the blue light from her attack slowly faded, becoming a small dot before eventually disappearing into the trees completely. Hitomi sighed once it was gone, turning around to face forward. "Phew. Well, looks like she won't be coming back anytime soon…" Hitomi began to fly forward, albeit cautiously, as she touched her cloak clasp. "Nari, you can come out no-"

She was cut off when was hit with a sudden blast of fire, making her crash into the forest. Hitomi yelped as she gripped her scythe for dear life, destroying twigs and branches as she tried to regain control of her direction. Her cloak almost got snagged several times as she tried her best to avoid the trees and minimize damage, the fact she was unable to see without Nari's light or the stars only making the task more difficult.

Hitomi screeched when she finally made it out into what she assumed was a clearing or pathway, only to crash into something else and send her tumbling off her scythe.

"AGH!"

She fell face-first onto something, crashing into the ground as she heard the metallic clang of her scythe falling into the dirt. Immediately she sat up, feeling around for her weapon blindly.

Never mind that painful fireball she'd just been assaulted with— she assumed that was the odd attack the witch had casted before Hitomi had sent her flying— she couldn't lose track of her scythe no matter what. She'd just fought a supernatural for god's sake over it, that fight being only one of many. No, that wasn't it, that was a… rock? An oddly soft one but- Nevermind that…! She didn't want to know what would happen if the higher ups found out she lost a grim reaper's most valuable possession so- ahah! Metal pole, here it is!

Hitomi hastily wrapped her fingers around it, pulling it up from the ground and resting it against her shoulder as she sighed in relief.

Thank goodness…

She paused when she heard a low groan, the voice sounding deep and gravelly.

"Ugh… what the hell…"

Hitomi stared straight ahead, the understanding of what had just happened not yet setting in. She was unable to see anything, her eyes not having adjusted to the sparse light provided by the stars. Before she could stop herself to even think about it, her mouth was already moving.

"Nari…! Nari, you can come out now! I need light!"

The little will-o-wisp shot out of Hitomi's gem, circling around her a few times before floating comfortably above her. Nari's dim glow slowly grew back into a bright blue flame, illuminating what exactly Hitomi had just crashed into.

She was face-to-face with a young man, his mouth in a scowl as he rubbed the side of his head with his fingers running through blonde, spiky locks. He let out a growl before his hand settled onto the ground, his eyes opening to reveal bright red irises.

Hitomi watched silently as his eyes trailed up for a moment before he finally took notice of her, his head snapping up in surprise.

The two of them stared at each other, silver eyes boring into red ones before Hitomi was finally able to form a coherent thought.

He's… a human…!

She blinked, looking down at his chest to get a peek at his soul. The sight made her freeze.

No… wait…

All mortal beings had a soul and a heart, the two connected by a single tendril. That simple, little tendril's connection was what determined whether a person was alive or dead.

But this… what she was looking at…

Looked like a soul… fused to a heart.

This man's soul and heart… seemed to be one and the same. No tendril to connect the two… but a soul… that seemed to take the shape of a heart.

And when there was no tendril to cut away, like grim reapers, who had only souls, it only meant one thing.

"You…" Hitomi said slowly, her eyes trailing back up to his face.

"You're immortal…!"

She saw the man tense, his eyes narrowing. Before Hitomi could react, his hand went to his waist, a quiet shing sounding before she was suddenly pinned to the ground. Hitomi heard Nari squeak as she suddenly found the man sitting on top of her, pushing the wrist of her hand holding her scythe down to the soil while his knee was pressing down on her other arm. A knife was held to her neck, the man's face in a harsh glare.

"That's right, reaper," he growled, the blade hovering close to her skin. "So save yourself some time and don't even think about trying anything." His grip tightened around her wrist, making Hitomi grimace as her fingers inadvertently loosened from around her scythe.

Nari let out another squeak, circling around the man angrily and hitting the back of his head.

"Hey-!" The man looked away from Hitomi, trying to bat the will-o-wisp away. "Back off, you little shit!"

Nari's response was flying straight into his face, making him yelp as his knife drew away from Hitomi's neck. His hand flew up to instead try prying the elemental spirit off of him, his voice muffled.

"Get the fuck off, what the hell!"

Hitomi squirmed underneath him, cursing under her breath as she realized his other hand was still pinning her wrist to the ground, her grip now slack.

"You… Human!" Hitomi griped, writhing underneath him. "Leave her alone!"

The man ignored her, finally pulling Nari off his face and glaring down at the spirit. His hand squeezed the will-o-wisp tightly so she couldn't attack him, making Nari squeal.

"Hey…!" Hitomi's legs wriggled underneath him, trying to push him off. "Let her go! Get off of me!"

"Fat chance!" the man snapped, finally looking back at her. "Like hell I'm letting you even attempt to take my soul! It's not gonna work, so you can fuck right off!"

"I wasn't going to take your soul!"

She felt the man's grip on her wrist tense, finally ceasing her squirming.

"...What?"

Hitomi stared up at him, seeing his eyes still narrowed but looking somewhat dumbfounded.

"I don't want to take your life away," she said slowly, looking to the side hesitantly. "...I hate taking lives."

The man scoffed. "A grim reaper that doesn't like death? Give me a break. Drop the shitty act."

"It's the truth!" Hitomi protested, glaring at him. "You don't have to believe me— I don't really care— but let Nari go!"

"Nari?" he asked, before he saw she was looking at the fire spirit he held in his hand. It was a simple creature, the only noticeable feature other than its eyes being what looked like a stitch running down the bottom of its body. He looked back at Hitomi, his eyes filled with suspicion. "You think I'm a fucking idiot or something? As soon as I let her go, she'll attack me again and you'll use her distraction to jump at the chance to kill me. Nice try."

Hitomi scowled, beginning to lose her patience. "I already said I wasn't planning to take your soul! Let her go, now!"

Nari wiggled in his hand, the man staring at the creature in contemplation. "And why the fuck should I trust you?"

"If I really wanted your soul, I would have tried to take it already…!" Hitomi huffed. "I wouldn't have just stared at you earlier! That knife of yours would barely even scratch me, or make shallow cuts at best."

The male fell silent, Hitomi practically seeing the gears turning in his head as he observed her. After a few moments of deliberation, he grunted, loosening his hand from around Nari's flame body. The will-o-wisp flew off his palm immediately, floating to his other hand that clutched Hitomi's wrist. Nari pushed against his hand in a futile attempt to move it away, the little sounds she was making Hitomi would've considered adorable if she hadn't been in this sort of predicament.

"Oi, knock it off you little poltergeist!" the boy growled, loosening his grip from around Hitomi's wrist. "I was already gonna let your owner go, so calm down!"

Hitomi wrinkled her nose, her brows furrowing as he leaned back.

"For your information, I don't own her. She's my friend, not a pet."

The blonde rolled his eyes in response and got off of Hitomi in a huff, grumbling to himself as he stood up. Hitomi sighed in relief as her fingers closed around her scythe, sitting up. Nari flew towards her, rubbing against Hitomi's cheek and making the bluenette laugh.

"Hey, hey! I'm fine!" Hitomi cradled the fire spirit in her hand, smiling softly at the creature. "No need for you to worry. A little knife isn't gonna hurt me."

She heard the blonde man scoff, looking up at him and raising a brow.

"What?" Hitomi mumbled, finally getting up from the ground, Nari hovering by her side. "You have something you want to say?"

"I'd just think twice about that if I were you," he grumbled, crossing his arms. "You damn reapers, think you're so indestructible just because you can't die. It pisses me off."

Hitomi tilted her head to the side, staring at him. "Well, neither can you. You're immortal too."

There was a feral growl, the man's red eyes flashing before he grabbed Hitomi by the collar. Nari let out another squeak as Hitomi flinched, surprised by his sudden change in demeanor.

Earlier he was just being cautious— now he seemed genuinely angry.

"Well, unlike you, reaper, I still have a heart," he snarled, teeth bared. "I still have a mortal, human body, that feels pain just like any other human. You reapers wouldn't know what that feels like, huh? Since the only thing you have is a soul?"

His grip tightened around the fabric, his voice getting louder and sounding angrier with each word.

"You grim reapers play with people's lives like they're nothing. You don't know what it's like to feel real, agonizing pain, to know your life could be taken away at any given moment! It doesn't mean shit that I'm immortal. I still get hurt— I could get torn apart only to get put back together over and over again.

You don't know what it's really like to suffer, because at the end of the day, you're the ones pulling the goddamn fucking strings! You reapers, all supernatural creatures, really, toy with humans like it's a fucking game. A witch messed with my soul, cursed me, and now I suffer pain that makes me wish I was fucking dead! Do you monsters get some sick kick out of torturing us? Because we have no freakish abilities like you? Because you think we're inferior?!"

He breathed heavily, his eyes bright with fury. Hitomi stared at him in shock, speechless.

How… was she supposed to respond to him?

There was nothing she could say to argue against him, because… he wasn't wrong.

Grim reapers were the ones pulling all the strings. Grim reapers did enjoy torturing human lives, and they did think humans were genuinely inferior.

While humans were just trying to survive in this world, all grim reapers did was watch from above and add to that torment.

Hitomi lifted her free hand slowly, wrapping her fingers around the blonde's wrist. He flinched, Hitomi feeling him tense up as she looked away.

"You… you're right," she mumbled, her gaze falling to the ground. "I… I don't know what it's like to suffer. I'm from a completely different world. I don't feel pain like you do, and I don't live in fear of dying. I'm not human anymore."

His grip loosened, the furrow in his eyebrows faltering slightly.

"But… I used to be, at one point. Human." Hitomi frowned, feeling Nari rest on top of her shoulder. "And if I'm being honest with you, I wish I still was one. I hate being this. I hate being in control of mortal's lives, and I hate seeing the aftermath of taking people's loved ones away."

The blonde scoffed, letting go of her collar and pushing her away. "You trying to get me to feel sorry for you? Spout as much bullshit as you want, but I know at the end of the day the only thing you reapers care about is how many people you kill."

Hitomi winced, readjusting her cloak. Nari hovered by her head. "...You're right. When it comes down to it, I'm still taking people's souls in the end. Believe me, if I had the choice not to, I wouldn't. But… I have to. It's my job. As much as I hate being what I am, if I don't do what I'm supposed to… if grim reapers refuse to do their jobs, we disturb the balance between life and death. And… something happens to us. We get… 'taken care of'..."

The human stared at her indignantly, an air of caution still around him. Hitomi blinked, realizing what she'd just shared. She hissed, slapping her forehead.

"Shit! What am I doing, telling a human like you all of this?!" She gritted her teeth, chastising herself internally.

Bad Hitomi. Bad. It was bad enough she had crashed into a human, and revealed herself as a grim reaper to someone she wasn't planning on killing anytime soon. Now she'd gone and spilled information that was definitely never supposed to be heard by mortal beings!

Hitomi took a deep breath, facing the boy and straightening her shoulders in an attempt to convey authority. "Human, listen-"

"I have a name, reaper."

Hitomi's eyebrow twitched, the girl frowning. "Yeah, well so do I. But it's not like either of us bothered to mention them while you held me at knifepoint or yelled at me— that's not important right now. What is important, human-"

"Bakugou."

Hitomi paused, her eyebrows raising into her bangs. "What?"

"My name," the human griped, "is Bakugou. Katsuki Bakugou. Stop fucking calling me 'human'. That makes me feel like a dog or some shit."

Hitomi sighed, pushing some of her hair back behind her ear. "Okay… Bakugou. If this is what we're doing right now, my name is Hitomi. So now you have no excuse to call me 'reaper' since you know my name. Now, before you interrupted me, I was going to-"

She was cut off when Bakugou suddenly shoved her aside, making her yelp as she fell into the nearby bushes, Bakugou diving in after her. Hitomi heard the crackle of thunder as they tumbled into the grass, seeing a flash of light enter her vision. The smell of smoke filled the air as she rolled over so she was on her hands and knees, hearing Bakugou let out a small string of swears. Nari hastily flew over to the two of them, hovering over their heads as Hitomi grabbed a hold of her scythe. Hitomi looked to where she and Bakugou had been standing just a few moments ago through the tree trunks, seeing a dark singe mark on the ground.

Don't tell me…

She heard a loud cackle from above, recognizing the voice.

Oh, hell.

Bakugou growled, standing up from the ground and swinging his bag off his shoulder. "Fucking witch."

Hitomi let out a cry of frustration, getting up as well. "Goddammit! Stupid teleportation spells!"

Bakugou looked at her questioningly as he dropped his bag onto the ground and reached for his belt, pulling out the knife he'd held against Hitomi's throat earlier. "You know this bastard?"

"I was literally fending this witch off and actually got rid of her, before one of her fireballs sent me crashing into you," Hitomi grumbled. "Nari, stay here with Bakugou. I'm going to send her flying… again."

The blonde scoffed, pushing up his sleeves. "Hah? You think you can tell me what to do? Like hell I'm staying here."

Hitomi eyed the knife in his hand, raising a brow. "Uh, I think it's best if you do. I hate to break it to you, but a measly knife isn't going to do much against…"

She trailed off when the engraving on the knife's blade glowed orange, the glow engulfing the small blade in fire. The flames twisted and morphed, growing in size before taking a solid shape, the small knife now a large sword.

Bakugou wore a small smirk, letting out an arrogant laugh at Hitomi's dumbfounded expression. "I told you to think twice. Still think this measly, enchanted sacred weapon won't do much, Moon Face?"

Hitomi bit her lip, shaking her head to try to hide the blush that came from the embarrassment of being so, utterly wrong. "I can handle her by myself. And I already told you my name! Where'd 'Moon Face' come from?!"

"From those dull gray eyes of yours and the crescent on your clasp, Moon Face," the blonde huffed. "And I don't give two shits about whether you can take her or not. I just want to see if there's any links between her and the bitch who cursed me."

Hitomi gave him a sympathetic look, brushing aside the offense she felt at the comment about her eyes. She floated up into the air slightly, sighing.

"Alright. Just try to stay away from my attacks. I don't want to accidentally hurt you, even if you're immortal."

Bakugou grunted in response, readjusting the grip on his sword's handle.

Hitomi looked over her shoulder at Nari, giving the elemental spirit a quick pat. "Nari, stay here, alright? Watch over Bakugou's stuff for us."

Nari made a noise of agreement, settling herself on top of the leather bag.

Hitomi smiled, before her face turned serious as she turned back around. "Let's get rid of this nuisance."

Hitomi jumped up into the sky, breaking through the foliage and out into the open air. Her eyes darted around in search for the witch, her scythe held up defensively. Hitomi blanched when she saw a freezing spell shooting straight for her, hastily spinning her weapon rapidly and deflecting it. She looked in the direction the attack had come from, seeing the witch a distance away.

Hitomi shot herself forward, jumping across the tops of the trees with her scythe at the ready. She swung at and deflected the attacks that came flying her way, trying to send them back towards the witch only for her opponent to dodge all her counterattacks.

Hitomi gritted her teeth in frustration, blocking another spell. She hoped Bakugou was keeping up, but that was hardly on her mind, as the only thing she wanted to do was get rid of this headache. She swung her scythe back, gearing up the same attack that had gotten rid of the witch earlier. With a loud yell, she launched a cerulean wave of energy, creating a gust of wind behind her.

The witch seemed to have learned her lesson, this time creating a shield around herself, nullifying the attack. She cackled behind her barrier, waving her wand around arrogantly. "Like I'd let you pull the same trick on me twice, reaper!"

Hitomi scowled, swinging her scythe rapidly. It sent slash after slash towards the witch, only for each one to be nullified by the witch's spell.

This isn't working.

She jumped off the tree she was standing on, launching herself towards the witch. Before the witch could react, Hitomi was already in front of her, her scythe's blade positioned high in the air. Using all the force she could muster, Hitomi swung it down onto the witch's shield, the collision of the two making an ear-piercing sound. The blade struggled against the barrier for only a few moments before cracks began to form, spreading across the surface.

Hitomi dug the blade into the shield with all her might, too focused on breaking it to notice the triumphant smirk on the witch's face. Vines sprouted out from the ground underneath her, growing rapidly and spreading across the dirt. They weaved up, twirling around and nearing Hitomi's legs. By the time Hitomi had noticed it was too late, the vines wrapping themselves around her body, pinning her arms to her sides and leaving her unable to slice them away.

Shit!

She wriggled in the vines' grasp, struggling to break her arms free. The witch laughed maniacally, her shield dropping as she smiled tauntingly at Hitomi. "Well, well, well," she tutted, twirling her wand in her hand. "Looks like reapers aren't as strong as they're made out to be, after all." She flicked her wrist, the tip of the wand giving off a faint green glow.

Hitomi's eyes widened in horror when one of the vines wrapped around the shaft of her scythe, tightening her fingers around it in a vain attempt to keep it in her grasp.

"This scythe of yours though…" the witch hummed, "that's a different story."

Fuck! This is what I get for doing the bare minimum!

"I wonder if souls really hold as much power as they say?"

Right as Hitomi felt the scythe begin to slip through her fingers, a burst of fire shot out from below. It hit the witch dead on, engulfing her and causing her to let out a painful scream. Hitomi looked over her shoulder to see Bakugou running towards them on the ground, the engravings on his sword glowing and releasing small embers.

"You fucking idiot!" he yelled, looking furious. "You just ran off by yourself and left me to chase after your dumbass!"

He stopped by the vines holding her captive, the blade of his sword turning bright scorching red. With one simple swing, he cut through the vines at the roots like it was butter, the plants becoming limp and falling to the ground. Hitomi was able to push the vines off of her now with ease, grabbing hold of her scythe and shaking the vines off.

She landed on the ground next to him, looking sheepish. "Sorry…!"

He scowled in response before they turned back to face the witch at the sound of a loud growl, the flames surrounding her dissipating. She was badly burned in several places, looking enraged.

"You… wretched- You're going to regret ever crossing paths with me!"

With a wave of her wand, she sent out a barrage of energy beams, the purple attacks shooting towards them. Bakugou and Hitomi both held their weapons up, blocking and deflecting them with attacks of their own. The witch shrieked, summoning bolts of lightning. They both dove out of the way, the loud thunder reverberating in their ears as the electricity hit the ground. Bakugou swung his sword with a yell, sending another wave of fire that the witch hastily dodged. Seeing an opening, Hitomi jumped forward, swinging her scythe at her. Another shield formed to block it, but it was weaker this time, Hitomi's blade stabbing through it easily. She ripped through it, the barrier breaking apart and shattering.

The witch pulled back to put some distance between herself and the grim reaper, only to leave her more vulnerable to Bakugou's attacks. He sent burst after burst of scorching flames, the witch barely able to dodge them. Some she couldn't avoid, the fire singeing her skin and worsening the burns she'd already obtained.

Eventually she'd had enough, screeching as she lifted her wand into the air. Large transparent spikes formed around the witch in a circle, Hitomi tensing at this new spell. The witch pointed her wand at them, the spikes following suit before shooting forward. Hitomi had no time to think, only instinctively blocking them using her scythe. A few she missed, the spikes grazing her in several places and leaving small tears in her clothes or tiny cuts on her skin.

Hitomi froze when she heard a shrill screech, turning to see one of the spikes had pierced through Bakugou's torso. Blood was leaking out of the wound and staining his clothes, the blonde barely staying upright even with his sword supporting him.

"Bakugou-!"

HItomi was cut off when another spike shot forward, narrowly missing her face. She turned back to face the witch, growling and gripping her scythe tightly.

I'm ending this now!

The blue orb at the top of her scythe glowed as Hitomi twirled the weapon, the orb tracing the outline of a circle. A crescent shape glowed within the circle, making the witch falter slightly at the sight. Hitomi swung her scythe back, the orb still shining brightly.

"Don't come back this time!"

Before the witch could conjure up a counter spell or defense, Hitomi swung her scythe in a full arc, the light construct she'd created becoming blinding. It let out a huge blast, engulfing the witch completely.

Hitomi's hair billowed as the blast sent the witch flying back, hearing her scream grow distant. Once it had settled, Hitomi dropped back to the ground, running to Bakugou's side.

"Bakugou!"

His face was contorted in pain, his hand clutching at the spike speared through his stomach.

"Take it out!"

Hitomi did a double take, her eyes furrowing in worry. "What-?"

"Take it the fuck out!"

Hitomi gulped, wrapping her arm around the large green spike. She pulled it away, Bakugou letting out agonizing screams of pain and coughing up blood. Hitomi threw the spike to the side, it disappearing into thin air as soon as it hit the ground.

"Shit!" Hitomi cried, finally getting a look at the severity of Bakugou's wound. The hole in his stomach was gushing blood, the blood running down his clothes and staining them dark red.

Shit. Fuck! What do I do?!

She looked around frantically, as if there would be something around to aid the human. All she was met with was more shrubbery and trees, becoming more and more frantic.

There's nothing here that could help him!

Bakugou's breaths grew heavy, until his sword clattered to the ground, his body following suit. His body went limp, the human now unconscious. Hitomi yelped, kneeling down beside him in a panic and flinching at the pool of blood forming underneath him that was soaking into the dirt.

She let out another swear, grabbing his sword. It was engulfed in flames before it turned back into a small knife, Hitomi storing it in the orb of her scythe.

She let go of her scythe, allowing her to use both hands to pull his body up. The scythe floated horizontally with its blade facing down, ready to take flight. Hitomi staggered over to it, Bakugou's weight making her stumble.

We need to get out of here first! We can't come across that witch again, and there's nothing I can do for him here…!

She swung her leg over, helping Bakugou's slack body onto the handle. Gripping her scythe tightly with one hand, she used the other to support him, cringing at the amount of blood that dripped onto the ground. Hitomi held him close as she shot forward, flying past the many trees and her cloak billowing behind her.

"Nari…!" Hitomi called, searching for the fire spirit. "Nari, where are you?!" There was a bright blue glow through the tree trunks in response, Hitomi flying towards it. She approached the will-o-wisp, hearing Nari squeak at the sight she must've been. "Yes, I know he's hurt! Come on! We need to get to a village to get him some help!"

Nari understood immediately, flying to Bakugou's bag and floating under the strap, picking it up. Hitomi grabbed it from her hastily, slinging it over her shoulder as Nari settled into her hood. "You secure?"

There was a noise of agreement, Hitomi's arm tightening around the blonde's body. She shot up into the air, flying across the trees. Hitomi hissed at the sight of the forest that seemed to span for miles, picking up speed.

She looked down at the human she cradled in her arms, his face void of color. Hitomi frowned, her fingers tightening around his shoulder. "Just hang tight, Bakugou."

She flew across the dark sky, scanning below for any indication of human domain. There was nothing for miles, just trees and trees and a few small ponds or swamps. The air was filled with an uneasy silence, Bakugou's haggard breathing barely audible. His chest rose unsteadily, the wound in his stomach still bleeding out. Hitomi bit her lip, upset that she couldn't do a single thing for him.

She heard Nari squeak by her ear, looking up from the blonde. Nari made small noises, pushing against her shoulder avidly, as if trying to gesture something. Hitomi followed the will-o-wisp's gaze, seeing a cluster of tiny, orange lights in the far distance. Her eyes widened as she leaned forward. "That's… a village!" she exclaimed, looking back down at Bakugou. "We're almost there. Just a little further, you'll be okay!"

He groaned quietly in response, shifting slightly. His eyebrows furrowed, his body tensing up before he suddenly let out a loud yell. Hitomi flinched, her arm tightening around Bakugou as he began to twitch, convulsing and jerking around. His yell turned into a scream, his hand grabbing onto Hitomi's cloak like he was holding on for dear life. Hitomi gasped as the hole in his stomach morphed, muscle and skin growing slowly from the sides. Bakugou jolted, Hitomi trying to keep them from falling over as his screams became painful, agonizing, like he was being burned alive. Hitomi watched in shock as the skin and muscle grew, fusing together and closing the wound. The skin that covered it now appeared bruised, but the hole was completely gone, as if he hadn't just been skewered alive.

Hitomi shook her head, trying to stay focused as she finally brought them down to the ground, the denseness of the forest now thin. She had landed a safe distance away from the village's entrance to lower the risk of them being seen, her scythe now hovering only a few feet above the ground. Nari flew out of her hood as Hitomi slid off her scythe, keeping Bakugou from falling over as she stepped onto the soil. She stared at his now healed stomach, eyebrows furrowing at the large bruise.

"Nari, time to hide," she said sternly, maneuvering Bakugou and hoisting him up onto her back. Nari flew into Hitomi's cloak clasp as the bluenette staggered slightly under Bakugou's weight, his feet brushing against the ground because of his taller height. Hitomi grabbed her scythe, wavering slightly as she tried to maintain her balance. The orb on the back glowed before the entire weapon turned luminescent, glowing blue and purple before it shot into the clasp. Hitomi was now surrounded in the darkness of night as she readjusted Bakugou on her back, looking over her shoulder. All she could see was the faint outline of his cheek. "Don't you worry, Bakugou," she mumbled, facing forward and beginning to walk to the end of the forest.

"I'll get you somewhere safe, I promise."

…

Hitomi paced around the small room, fiddling with her hands anxiously as she glanced back and forth between the floor and the unconscious human laying in the bed against the wall.

When Hitomi had finally reached the village, stumbling through the entrance with blood-stained clothes and an unconscious man on her back, even more bloody than her, she was rushed to the village healer before she could say a single word. Bakugou had been taken away, straight to the main healer while Hitomi was pulled over by some apprentices. They had checked her for any wounds or injuries (not that they would find any, since she wasn't actually human and all), and after figuring out none of the blood was hers they sent her to the hospital baths to clean up.

Hitomi had cleaned away the blood hastily, her clothes now having faded, light stains that she would have to get rid of later. When she had finally found the healer who was looking over Bakugou, he was just finishing up, putting away his materials.

"That bruise really is something," the healer said, eyeing Bakugou's stomach that was now wrapped in bandages. Bakugou's shirt and vest hung on the bed frame, still stained with his blood. The healer turned to Hitomi, looking bewildered. "However, I couldn't find a single cut or gash that could've spilled so much blood. You sure the blood isn't yours?"

Hitomi nodded. "Yeah, none of it is mine. I… er, I just found him in the woods."

The healer scratched his head, getting up from his chair. "Well, there were no other injuries besides that bruise of his. Perhaps he had had to fend off an animal or something of the sort, because there's no opening that could have indicated this blood came from him."

Hitomi looked to the side sheepishly, gripping her wrist. "...Right…"

The healer made his way to the door, peering at the two of them from over his shoulder. "I'll check up on him again in the morning. It'd probably be best for him to stay here a while; he has no business walking around with a bruise like that, anyway."

Hitomi gave another timid nod, before the healer left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the two alone.

Now Hitomi was pacing around the room, anxiously waiting for Bakugou to wake up. She'd let Nari come out, the will-o-wisp sitting at the foot of the bed as she watched the bluenette walk back and forth. Hitomi eventually sighed, making her way to the chair and sitting down. She stared at Bakugou's face, the pained expression he'd had earlier now a peaceful one, his skin cleansed of all the blood. Her eyes trailed down to his stomach, white bandages wrapped around him and covering it completely.

Hitomi leaned back in her chair as she let out another sigh, Nari floating over and sitting in her lap. Hitomi smiled slightly, petting the small ball of fire. She looked back at the bandages around Bakugou's stomach, her smile faltering.

Not long ago, that stomach had just been impaled. It'd had a large, gaping hole in it, gushing pools and pools of blood. And when Hitomi saw that, the sight of Bakugou being skewered alive, she'd forgotten all about his immortality.

Because all she saw… was a human. A human that bled, just like everyone else, that felt pain, just like everyone else. A human that looked like he was about to die.

And she'd panicked, wanting to get him some help because all she saw was a young human that still had so much of his life left to live.

Bakugou shifted, his face scrunching up in a grimace. Hitomi straightened, leaning forward slightly in anticipation. Nari floated up out of her lap, hovering by her head as the two watched Bakugou regain consciousness. He groaned, eyebrows furrowing before he slowly opened his eyes, squinting from the light of the lanterns in the room.

"Where…"

"I brought you to a hospital," Hitomi answered before he could even finish. His eyes opened fully, surprised to see her and now wide awake.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Hitomi puffed her cheeks out, placing her hands on the bed. "I just said I brought you here! I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Bakugou scoffed, moving to sit up before he let out a hiss, clutching his stomach.

Hitomi rushed to cradle his head, helping him up gingerly. "Don't move so quickly! That wound may have closed up, but you still have a pretty bad bruise."

Bakugou glanced down at the bandages around his stomach, scowling before he tugged at them, intending to take them off. Hitomi gasped, grabbing his hands to stop him.

"What are you doing?"

Bakugou glared at her, trying to move his hands against Hitomi's tight grip. "I don't need these! It'll be gone by tomorrow, and I need to be out of here by then! I can't let them find out what I am!"

Hitomi faltered slightly, before she pushed his hands away, making him growl. "Hey-!"

"No," Hitomi said sternly. "You need to rest first! At least wait until it doesn't hurt to move before you decide to get up and leave!"

Nari nodded avidly beside her, Bakugou looking annoyed with the two supernatural creatures. He let out a huff, looking away.

"Fine," grumbled, running his hand through his hair. "If it'll get you to shut up, fine. But I'm leaving before sunrise. Like hell I'm letting them find out I'm immortal."

Hitomi relaxed, sitting back in her chair. "Right, you're…"

"You saw what happened, didn't you?" he asked, red eyes piercing into her. "That painful shit I have to deal with?"

Hitomi nodded sympathetically, her eyes falling to her hands in her lap. "Yeah. I'm… I'm sorry you have to go through that."

Bakugou's hand went back to his lap, the blonde turning to look out the window. "I don't want your sympathy. Just don't mindlessly talk about how I can't die as if I'm someone like you. And don't run your mouth about how I'm immortal either. I got enough shit to deal with already."

"I won't." Hitomi meant it wholeheartedly. She didn't want to bring him more suffering than he already had. That would be just plain cruel. If it had been another reaper, maybe they would, but she never wanted to be like them.

Hitomi's eyes widened slightly as her mind drifted back to the conversation they had been having earlier, recalling what she had accidentally shared. She looked back at Bakugou, her thoughts already running rampant.

What if he already forgot about what I told him?

No… he seems like someone who'd remember. I need to ask, at least.

"Uh, by the way…"

Bakugou turned away from the window, an eyebrow raised as Hitomi timidly fiddled with her hands.

"Since we're on the topic of keeping secrets, ah…" Hitomi's eyes darted to the side, unable to hold his stare. "I'd like to kindly ask you to… um, keep what I told you earlier to yourself, too."

"Hah?" Bakugou huffed. "Earlier?"

Shit! He doesn't remember! I shouldn't have brought it up!

Hitomi held her hands up, waving them sheepishly. "Ahhh, if you don't remember, that's fine too! Better, actually, if you forgot about what I said!"

Bakugou looked at her disdainfully. "Are you talking about when you were going on about how reapers disappear or some shit when they don't do what they're supposed to?"

Hitomi cringed, screaming at herself internally.

Stupid! Idiot! You shouldn't have said anything!

She sighed defeatedly, Nari floating back to her lap to comfort her. Hitomi pet the will-o-wisp, frowning. "...Yeah. That. Can you keep that to yourself?"

Bakugou scoffed, crossing his arms. "Why? That seems like some pretty useful information for getting rid of you fuckers. The less of you there are, the less humans have to needlessly suffer at your hands."

Hitomi brushed the "fucker" comment aside, finally looking him in the eye again. "Honestly, I would be inclined to agree with you… I do genuinely believe reapers don't need to be causing unecessary torture. But, Bakugou… do you remember what I said before that part? If reapers aren't doing their jobs, the balance between life and death gets altered."

Her eyes fell back to Nari, scratching the spirit's cheek with her finger. "What's more, a grim reaper's scythe is already sought after enough as it is; you saw it yourself with that witch we fought. If people found out that reapers who neglected to enforce death were gotten rid of, that would only embolden creatures to try and steal our weapons even more. And do you understand what it means for mortals to get their hands on reapers' scythes?"

She looked up to see Bakugou tense, his eyes widening. She swore she saw a hint of fear in those red irises, but before she could dwell too much on it, his eyes were filled with anger. Bakugou scowled.

"It means they have the ability to take souls."

Hitomi nodded, her expression grim as she spoke. "Exactly. A grim reaper's scythe doesn't just allow you to meddle with life itself; it grants you the power to take a person's soul, their entire sense of being in its purest, most potent form. Grim reapers understand how to handle that, and are built to withstand it. But mortals...?"

"Mortals… don't," Bakugou finished for her. His eyes narrowed, one of his hands drifting to his chest. "They get engulfed in it, drown in the power granted by souls… and they can even get driven to madness by it."

Hitomi looked surprised, her mouth hanging open slightly. "Yes. How did you-?"

"Because the fucking witch who cursed me had her hands on a reaper's scythe."

Hitomi froze, her eyes widening in horror. "...What?"

"The motherfucker who cursed me to live like this had a scythe," Bakugou growled, gritting his teeth. "She was playing God, meddling with souls left and right. My guess is that she was trying to find a way to grant mortal souls immortality."

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed, a twisting feeling in her stomach as she hung on to Bakugou's every word.

"The bitch was fucking insane." Bakugou brought a hand up to his face, cradling his forehead. "Tampering with human souls, dissecting people and taking them apart. When I finally came across her, I guess that was around the time she'd finally figured it all out."

"What… do you mean?" Hitomi mumbled, fearing what came next.

Bakugou let out a snarl, his eyes filled with pure hatred. "She decided to make me her little experiment. She sliced my chest open with the damn scythe, giving her direct access to my soul. And you know what she did? She fucking cursed it. She cursed my soul, fusing it with my heart. And now, I can never fucking die. I still feel pain, bleed out, get my bones broken just like any other normal person, but my heart will never stop beating. Instead of dying, I'll just get put back together. Wounds will close up, skin gets fused back together, bones snap back into place. The pain of getting ripped apart and being stitched back together is worse than anything a sick fuck could even dream of."

He looked at Hitomi, the dark look in his eyes making her flinch back.

"It's a fate worse than death."

…

Hitomi had left Bakugou's room after their conversation, sitting outside at the fountain in the hospital's courtyard to process everything she'd just heard. He had agreed not to say anything about what she had accidentally shared, saying something along the lines of "I don't really give a shit about what you reapers have to deal with anyway," before she left. Now she was alone outside, Nari hovering next to her as she stared at her reflection in the water.

A fate… worse than death.

It sounded awful.

Hitomi would never truly be able to understand what he went through, because she wasn't a human like him anymore. She had no heart, no mortal limitations to her body like he did. Sure, she could get hurt, from things like other supernatural beings or enchanted objects, but at the end of the day, she would never, ever feel the pain of being on the brink of death. Because she was a harbinger of death itself.

Death was something every mortal being feared. It was seen by mortals as the worst fate imaginable, because once you died, it was irreversible. There was no going back. Some had tried, all had failed. Death was permanent.

But now, Hitomi had come across someone who suffered a fate worse than death itself.

Grim reapers loved to make people suffer. It was cruel, evil, and Hitomi hated it. She vowed to never be that way, to never toy with people's lives before she brought them to their end. It put her at risk sometimes, and earned her suspicious looks, of course, but she couldn't bring herself to care about what other reapers thought of her. However, as much as grim reapers liked to play with lives, at the very least, the suffering they caused always, without a doubt, eventually came to an end.

But this human, Katsuki Bakugou, was cursed to a life of suffering that was never ending.

Just how long had it been this way for him?

And… was this witch, this monster that ruined him, still out there? Did she still have her hands on a reaper's scythe? Did she still tamper with mortal souls? Had she figured out how to achieve true immortality?

Hitomi sighed, picking up a stray pebble and tossing it into the water. The tiny rock made a small splash, causing ripples to spread throughout the surface.

"This whole thing is crazy, Nari," she mumbled, watching the water. She was tired of everything. All she'd wanted was to stop taking lives away, and relearn what it was like to be human. She only ever did what she had to to avoid whatever punishment the Level Ones had in store.

Now she'd come across a human, who she couldn't help but feel sorry for. It was bad, it was wrong, for a grim reaper to feel any sort of way over a human, because grim reapers had to take lives no matter what in order to maintain balance. If you felt anything for them, you hesitated. The hesitation turned to reluctance, the reluctance turned to unwillingness, and the unwillingness eventually turned to outright refusal. And when grim reapers refused to fulfill their purpose, there were consequences.

But it was too late for Hitomi to take back how she felt. She couldn't take back crashing into him, couldn't take back telling him how she felt about being what she was, couldn't take back fighting together with him. She couldn't take back worrying over him, couldn't take back wanting to preserve all the life he had left to live, couldn't take back wanting to help him and end his suffering.

She had already become too involved.

Hitomi's head snapped up when she heard a door open, seeing Bakugou walk out, closing the door quietly. He was fully dressed, save for the rip in the middle of his vest. The white and bloodied shirt he wore underneath it had been replaced with a new one, pristine and clear of any dirt. Hitomi got up from the fountain ledge, opening her mouth to say something as he walked across the courtyard to the hospital's exit.

He brushed past her without even a glance, looking through his bag and leaving Hitomi's mouth hanging open as she watched him walk away.

"Bakugou, wait…!"

The blonde stopped, looking up from his bag and over his shoulder at her.

Hitomi drew a blank, holding her hand to her chest as she struggled to speak. "I… uh… You're leaving already? Is it healed?"

Bakugou's eyes narrowed, his hand gripping his bag strap. "The bruise is still there, but I can't stay here. I need to leave, so that's exactly what I'm doing."

Hitomi stepped forward hesitantly, Nari hovering over her shoulder. "Where are you going to go…?"

Bakugou turned towards the door, grabbing the handle. "Somewhere," he muttered. "Out of this town. I'm not risking people recognizing me and figuring out I'm not normal." He gave her another glance over his shoulder, red eyes staring into gray ones. "Why? Still think you can get my soul out of me?"

"No…!" Hitomi spluttered, holding her hands up. "No… I…"

"Then there's no reason for us to stick together," Bakugou huffed, opening the door.

"Uh, right…" Hitomi lowered her hands, trying to think of something, anything, else to say.

What could she even say to him, anyway?

She was a grim reaper, he was a human, and grim reapers were not supposed to get involved with humans unless it was to impose death.

"I… I guess this is goodbye, then," Hitomi said timidly, her gaze falling to the floor.

Bakugou snorted, stepping through the doorway. "Yeah, I guess it is."

He turned away and Hitomi watched, speechless as he closed the door behind him, the small sound echoing through the small courtyard. Hitomi's shoulders slumped, her eyes filled with regret.

Nari made a questioning noise, her fire illuminating Hitomi's somber expression. "It's… better this way, if I let him go, Nari. After all, what am I supposed to do? I'm not allowed to get involved, and I have a job I need to do."

She made her way to the exit, stepping through the doors into the town. Nari hid under her cloak, out of view from the sparse amount of people still milling about in the late night.

As Hitomi closed the door, she couldn't help but glance around, trying to find a trace of blonde, spiky hair.

He was already gone.

Hitomi shook her head, slapping her cheeks and scolding herself. "No!" she hissed, holding her cheeks. "You're going your separate ways now. He's just a memory, a one-note interaction just like all the other humans you've talked to."

Hitomi walked briskly through the town, making her way past all the buildings, the shops and houses. Her eyes kept glancing around, searching and dismissing everything she saw that wasn't what she was looking for. Eventually, she made it to the other side, standing at the edge of the village's other entrance. She sighed, holding her arms as she walked across the bridge above the small stream.

"It's better this way," Hitomi whispered to herself, stopping in front of a sign. The path diverged into three different directions, Hitomi making her way down the middle one. Nari flew out from under her cloak, now floating beside her as they left the village. "It's better not to get involved."

The walk was quiet, the sounds of crickets chirping and Hitomi's steps filling the silence. Soon, the path led her into a grove of trees, the bluenette glancing around to see if anyone was nearby. Once she was sure she was alone, her hand went to her cloak clasp, summoning her scythe. The purple and blue light solidified, fading to reveal her weapon. Right as Hitomi was about to swing her leg over, her eyes fell on the blue orb on the back.

…Wait.

She tapped it, making it glow and reaching into the light. Her eyes widened as she pulled out a knife, a wave of realization hitting her.

Oh.

"This… this is Bakugou's!" Hitomi exclaimed, looking at Nari in worry. "I still have it— I completely forgot to give it back to him…!" She hopped onto her scythe, floating up into the air and Nari following suit. Once she was high enough in the sky, Hitomi looked down at the knife, her thumb tracing over the engraving on the blade.

It's best to just let him go.

It's best to not get involved, more than you already did.

Hitomi hesitated, her fingers tightening around the hilt. Don't get involved, she chanted in her head, over and over again. Don't get involved. Don't get involved. If you do, there may be no chance of letting him go.

Hitomi bit her lip, thoughts running rampant through her mind.

She truly, genuinely wanted to help him. She wanted him to stop suffering, find the witch who'd caused it, put an end to the witch's schemes. However, at the same time, Hitomi was still a little bit selfish.

She had her own wants, her own desires, wanting to experience human life as much as she could. But she couldn't, because she was a hesitant grim reaper, and grim reapers who didn't bring in many souls were always under close watch. If she wanted to get the higher ups off her back, get them to stop monitoring her, she had to start actively spending time cultivating souls for death, or bring in a lot more by cutting lives short.

And Hitomi vowed she would never do the latter. Ending lives when they still had a lot of time left. After all, she hated killing.

But what about if you were cultivating an immortal, yet still, undoubtedly, human soul? Would that get them to leave her alone? If she told them she was trying to find a way to separate this human's cursed soul from his heart?

After all, if you found a way to claim an immortal's soul and make them yours, no matter what they were or used to be, it granted you so much power that you would never have any need to take mortal lives again. That was what Level One reapers had done, why they no longer came down to Earth and only watched over the other Levels instead.

Was this a loophole Hitomi could use, in order to take part in and understand human life like she wanted?

And well, if she did this, it didn't mean she had to sever his soul right away. She could leave him alone, let him live his life afterwards, and come back to claim it when he reached his old age later on. And at the same time, she would be helping him like she wanted to, ending the eternal suffering he'd been forced into.

Reapers don't get involved with humans.

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed, her hand gripping the knife's handle so tightly now her fingertips were white.

Well, fuck that.

She'd already gotten involved the moment she crashed into him.

"Nari," Hitomi began, gripping her scythe tightly, "we're going to find him." Nari let out a squeak, settling on the reaper's shoulder. Hitomi's expression looked serious, determined, her eyes scanning the ground below. "Let me know if you spot him, okay?" There was a noise of agreement, and Hitomi began flying back the way she came, searching for that unique spiky blonde hair. She stopped when she reached the sign where the paths split, looking back and forth between the left and right ones. "Which way do you think he went?"

Nari flew off her shoulder to Hitomi's right, the will-o-wisp's flame brightening slightly as she gestured excitedly in that direction. Hitomi followed her gaze, looking down the left path and seeing a small silhouette receding.

"Think that's him?"

Nari nodded, before settling into Hitomi's hood, ready to go. Hitomi smiled slightly, before she flew forward, down the path the human had taken. Unlike the one that led into a grove, this path was more sparse, leading to another bridge over a river that Hitomi guessed the stream at the town's edge flowed into.

As she drew closer, Hitomi was able to make out spiky hair, picking up speed. She soon saw that spiky hair was blonde from the moonlight, flying down towards the ground. Right as he was making his way over the bridge, Hitomi called his name, her voice breaking the quiet of night.

"Bakugou!"

The blonde paused in the middle of the bridge, looking over his shoulder and his eyes widening at the sight of her approaching. "You…! Are you following me?!"

Hitomi stopped in front of him, jumping off of her scythe as Nari flew out of her hood. Hitomi held her scythe upright before she held her other hand out, showing him his knife.

"You… forgot this."

Bakugou's mouth opened slightly in surprise, his hand flying to his belt under his vest. He found his sheath was empty, turning back to Hitomi and quickly grabbing the knife from her hand.

"When you fainted earlier, I didn't know where to put it," Hitomi laughed, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "So I stored it in my scythe. I meant to return it earlier, but I… ah… got distracted." Hitomi clapped her hands together, wearing a timid smile. "Sorry for that!"

Bakugou stared at her for a moment before looking to the side, storing his knife away. "...Whatever. I didn't even realize it was missing, so, uh…" His lips pursed, his voice becoming a mumble. "...Thanks. For returning it."

Hitomi nodded in response before she looked away as well, falling silent. Bakugou took that as their conversation ending there, scratching the back of his head and turning away.

"Well, if that was all you're here for, I'm gonna-"

"That wasn't all…!" Hitomi spluttered, blushing slightly. "I didn't come back here… just for that."

Bakugou squinted at her, suspicion in his eyes. "Then what's the real reason you're here?"

Hitomi took a deep breath, taking a moment to steel her nerves in anticipation of what she was going to say. She straightened her shoulders, facing him fully. "I want to come with you."

Bakugou raised a brow. "Huh? Why?"

"You're searching for a way to lift your curse, right?" Hitomi asked him. "I want to help you. What happened to you… you didn't deserve it. No one deserves to have that happen to them. It's awful, atrocious, and I wouldn't want to wish that upon anyone." Hitomi's hand drifted to her clasp, her fingers tracing over the embellishments. "I don't like seeing humans suffer. I've been witnessing it for decades, and I've never been able to do anything for them. I couldn't stop the fates reapers had decided for them." Hitomi's hand lowered, her grip tightening around her scythe as she looked at the ground. "But you… you're suffering right now, right in front of me, and I can do something about it. At least, I think I can. That's why I want to come with you, so I can help you figure out a way to break your curse."

She stared at her shoes, falling silent as she waited for Bakugou's answer. He didn't say anything for several moments, likely contemplating Hitomi's words.

"You're getting something out of doing this."

Hitomi's eyes widened, her body tensing. She looked up at him, appalled he'd been able to read between the lines. Bakugou scoffed at her reaction, the suspicion in his eyes turning into animosity. "Fucking figures."

Hitomi's shoulders slumped slightly, the girl looking away in shame. "...I won't lie to you. There is some personal gain in this… but not for the reasons you think." Hitomi gripped her scythe with both hands now, holding it to her chest. "I don't know what it's like to be human, but… I want to. I know I already had my turn, and it's not exactly right, frowned upon, even, but that doesn't change how I feel. I want to understand. I also genuinely do want to help you. And if I come with you, I would be able to do both."

She looked back at him, seeing those red eyes searching her for any signs of deceit. The blonde crossed his arms, glaring down at her.

"This isn't some sick kind of long con in an attempt to take my soul?"

Hitomi shook her head in denial. "It's not. Even if I did want your soul in the end, I would only take it after you've lived a fulfilling life to your old age." She could feel Nari hovering by her head, appreciating the warmth of the spirit's flame. "But that's not my priority right now. What is my priority is breaking your curse, so you can live that life."

Bakugou still looked doubtful, his mouth in a deep frown.

"Besides," Hitomi continued, "if there's anyone that could help you break a curse cast on your soul, what better than a creature that deals with souls themselves?"

She could see the calculation behind his eyes, still mulling her words over. Hitomi took another deep breath, feeling Nari had settled on her shoulder to comfort her. "Katsuki Bakugou," she began. "You allow me to come with you and experience human life first-hand, and in exchange, I'll be helping you lift your curse of immortality. You're not going to be the one losing anything in this situation, because my end goal isn't your life. You'd only be gaining from this. So…"

She held her hand out, Bakugou staring at her intently. "Do you accept?"

Bakugou looked back and forth between her hand and her face, an air of skepticism still around him. Hitomi faltered slightly, before she blushed, looking down at her hand.

"Ah… was this the right thing you're supposed to do in this sort of situation?" She pulled her hand back, staring at her palm in embarrassment. "A… handshake? That's what humans do when making an agreement, right…? Or… was it something else?"

Bakugou's eyes widened, silent for a moment before he suddenly covered his mouth, a quiet huff escaping his lips. Hitomi looked at him in confusion before he let out a small snicker, the blonde looking away.

"What…" Hitomi's blush deepened as she stepped back slightly. "Was that wrong?"

Bakugou's snickers turned into laughs, his voice echoing in the night. His mouth was in a small smile, his shoulders shaking as he laughed. Hitomi looked away, pulling her hood up in an attempt to hide her red face.

"Holy shit," Bakugou snorted, his lips turned up in a smirk. "I guess you really are a dumbass."

Hitomi grumbled, keeping her eyes glued to the river below. "Well, excuse me for not knowing every little thing about human mannerisms…! I've tried to learn everything I can, but I guess I used the wrong one in this situation."

Bakugou shook his head, his snickers slowly fading away. "Nah. That was the right one. Not my fault you ended up doubting yourself, though."

Hitomi could feel her blush had spread to her ears now, Nari's fire only adding to the warmth she felt on her face. "You didn't have to laugh at me."

"I didn't," Bakugou replied, "but it was funny." His smirk disappeared, his expression turning serious now. "So… you really do just want to understand humans."

Hitomi lowered her hood, nodding quietly. "Yeah. I do."

"And all I have to do to get your help in lifting my curse is let you tag along?"

Another nod. "That's right." Hitomi turned to face him, her cheeks still a slight pink as she held her hand out. "So… what's your answer?"

Bakugou looked down at her hand, Hitomi unable to read his expression. He didn't say anything, or make any move to shake it, causing disappointment to slowly form in Hitomi's chest. Right as she was about to lower her hand, Bakugou grabbed it, red eyes staring into silver.

"Deal, Moon Face."

|| fin ||

---

A/N: I'm sorry, excuse my language but how the FUCK did this end up as long as it did. 40 pages. 14,061 words. ALDGHGFJHALGKSDH WHAT THE HECK

I thought this was gonna be like,,, 5000 words. BOY WAS I SO WRONG AUUUGUGHHAH

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this special! I'm really sorry I wasn't able to get it out in time for Halloween :( I really tried my best to finish it before the spoopy mood was already gone but it ended up waaaay longer than I expected, and I also had to deal with other responsibilities (aka a BUTTLOAD of schoolwork) last week that just didn't leave me with enough free time to meet the deadline. Believe me, I really tried 😭 I even tried pulling all nighters (although the latest I stayed up was on Friday night to 4 am lol) to finish it in time but it just didn't work out 😔

This'll most likely be a one-off AU! I don't really have any big plans for it, since I only came up with the concept specifically for Halloween. There were some other ideas for the AU I came up with that I wasn't able to fit in, such as where Bakugou's enchanted knife comes from (a certain childhood friend wink wink :3) and what some of the other members of Class 1-A would be (Kiri would most likely be a vampire here for example :D), but I don't think I'll be expanding on this story in the future.

Regardless, I hope you liked reading it! And if the writing seemed odd in any places (the fight scenes ;-;) or Bakugou seemed out of character, I apologize for that 😅 It's been a while since I wrote anything and lots of portions of this were written late at night by a sleep-deprived student (yours truly) 😂

See you all next time! :)