Disclaimer: I own nothing
Gabby ended up spending the night at Izuku's. She didn't want to let her parents see her just yet but they knew they'd have to go and get it over with eventually.
"I'll go with you." says Izuku.
"You will?" asks Gabby.
"Sure, I owe your parents an explanation and an apology." says Izuku.
"It wasn't your fault." says Gabby.
"Will they care?" asks Izuku.
"Probably. They're protective but fair." says Gabby.
"Shit, I hope you're right." says Izuku.
A little later in the morning they're walking to the Belmont home. Gabby wanted to walk a little, she was still hesitant to show her parents what happened. Dracula's castle casts its shadow on them as they walk.
"So, we're gonna fight the king pretty soon, huh?" asks Gabby.
"We are. I'd like you to stay back on that one though." says Izuku.
"I'm coming with you." says Gabby.
"I didn't mean it like that." says Izuku, "I want to fight him one on one, if I lose step in for me. I just feel like he deserves it."
"Why? He's awful." says Gabby.
"He's bad, I get that." says Izuku, "But realistically, how far would you be willing to go if humans were about to go extinct? Would you ruin another sentient species to save your own?"
"Are you having second thoughts?" asks Gabby.
"No actually. I've killed too many vampires to have second thoughts now." says Izuku, "I'm not saying he's right, But I almost understand where he's coming from."
"Do you think you can beat him alone?" asks Gabby.
"Maybe. I'm gonna bring you and Speed Demon along if I can't. With all the powers I stole I feel like I can squeeze through." says Izuku, "By the way. The samurai's power wasn't enhanced senses."
"It wasn't?" asks Gabby.
"No, that was just something he taught himself. His power was growth." says Izuku.
"How'd you find that out?" asks Gabby.
"I was in bed in Toga-" starts Izuku.
"Uh oh." says Gabby.
"Not like that. I was just laying there thinking about how much I've grown since becoming a vampire and I grew and pushed Toga off the bed." says Izuku.
"How big did you get?" asks Gabby.
"Around ten feet (3.048 meters)." says Izuku.
"That's really tall." says Gabby.
"I've met taller." says Izuku.
"Hmm. So, you're probably gonna become the vampire king soon." says Gabby.
"Here's hoping." says Izuku.
"How do you feel about that?" asks Gabby.
"Is there any topic you won't bring up to distract yourself from the thought of seeing your parents?" asks Izuku.
"Uhm." says Gabby.
"I'm kidding. I don't really care too much actually." says Izuku, "I mean at that point what am I really the king of? It's just me and my Aunt left after that. I don't feel like I'd ever rule over her. She's so cool and nice. She'd be a good queen come to think of it."
Gabby stares at the gates to her home.
"It'll be okay. Just think about how funny it's gonna be to watch them chase me around. I'm calling it now, one of them will have a hammer and he'll hit me over the head. It's gonna make that funny coconut bonk sound." says Izuku.
Gabby laughs at that, "Okay, that'd be pretty funny. Let's get this over with."
She rings the doorbell.
"That's the spirit, it's like ripping off a bandaid." says Izuku.
The gate opens and Gabby's parents are there and her cousins, and aunt's and uncles and holy shit the whole family's there.
"Hey, sweety. How've you- oh my god." says Mr. Belmont.
"Howdy Mr. Belmont." says Izuku.
"Wow, it took you a while." says Mr. Belmont.
"What?" asks Gabby.
"I was fourteen the first time I was maimed." says Mr. Belmont.
"Uhm." says Gabby.
"Grandpa was nine. He actually rammed the finger he lost into the vampire's eye. He always was the toughest person I've ever met." says Mr. Belmont.
"You're not worried?" asks Gabby.
"I mean. It's part of the job. If it bothers you we can talk about it. I'm always here for you." says Mr Belmont.
"I thought it would upset you." says Gabby.
"Well, I was starting to think it'd never happen. I lost a bet or two with some of the relatives. I'm not upset though. My right thumb and pointer finger, along with my left eye are both fake. Granted an arm is a lot to lose but you got a cool metal one." says Mr. Belmont.
"My left foot is fake." adds Mrs. Belmont.
Various family members chime in about injuries they've received over the years. One dude lost both legs. Izuku can't help but wonder who does their prosthetics. They look pretty real. It takes a while to go over all the injuries. It's a surprisingly big family. You'd expect it to get cut down a little given their lines of work.
At some point during this conversation it dawned on Izuku that Gabby's never gotten seriously injured before now. Honestly, good for her.
Izuku and Gabby meet each other's eyes for a solid ten seconds and shrug.
"Oh, but I'm pissed at you boy." says Mr. Belmont.
"Me?" asks Izuku.
"Who else?" asks Mr. Belmont.
"Fair but don't be mad at me, be proud of her. She really came in clutch." says Izuku.
"Really?" asks Mr. Belmont, was it actually that easy to distract this guy.
"Yeah, she practically killed him herself and he was kicking my ass." says Izuku.
Gabby snorts.
"You should've seen her. She was everywhere. It was one hell of a sight." says Izuku.
"Was he strong?" asks Mr. Belmont.
"Not really, but this guy had finesse." says Izuku, "I barely hit the guy once the whole time. She's got to be one of the best fighters I've ever seen."
"Who's better?" asks Gabby.
" The hero killer Stain, and the Samurai." says Izuku.
"Who's the samurai?" asks Mr. Belmont.
"The guy we just killed." says Izuku.
"Oh that makes sense." says Mr. Belmont, "Ya know what boy? You're off my shit list, I guess. Just don't let it happen again."
"Gee thanks." says Izuku.
"The only reason you're off is because my daughter says you're a good guy. Keep that in mind." says Mr. Belmont.
"You got it." says Izuku.
"So he's off your shit list?" comes one of the cousins.
"Yep." says Mr. Belmont.
The entire family turns and walks away talking among themselves.
They were just here to fuck him up, if need be.
"Welp. I'm heading back inside. You two have fun." says Mr. Belmont, "Not that kind of fun though."
"I've got a girlfriend." says Izuku.
"Oh, I thought there was something going on there." says Mr. Belmont.
"No never." says Izuku.
"Yeah, that's nasty." says Gabby.
"Good, you had me worried." says Mr. Belmont as he walks into the Belmont home.
"So you talk about me?" asks Izuku.
"A little." says Gabby.
"What do you say?" asks Izuku.
"Normally how dumb you are." says Gabby.
"They didn't figure that out already?" asks Izuku.
Gabby laughs at that, " I also tell them how funny you are."
"Dumb and funny are some of my best qualities." says Izuku.
"So when are we gonna get Giaguaro?" asks Gabby.
"Mmm. I'll pick you up in three days." says Izuku.
"Sounds good." says Gabby.
"I'm gonna go to Dracula's castle." says Izuku, "I've never been in there and it's probably cool."
"Have fun. I'm gonna sharpen my tools." says Gabby.
"Yeah, see you in three days." says Izuku as he starts his short walk to Dracula's castle.
"See you." says Gabby.
Ruby once told him the castle used to move. That's probably why it was right next to the Belmont stronghold. One thing that surprised Izuku was he felt stronger when he entered the castle. It's like it was night all day long. Interestingly enough his senses didn't work too well in here either.
Izuku wandered the halls for a while. He could tell it was huge from the outside but something about actually being here was different. It felt almost sacred. Izuku didn't pursue that train of thought because it seemed sacrilegious.
"Hello boy." says Giaguaro.
"Oh… uh. Hey dude." says Izuku.
"Dude?" asks Giaguaro.
"Sorry. You kinda caught me off guard." says Izuku.
"You thinking about something?" asks Giaguaro.
"Yeah, but if I say what it is, it'll ruin the moment." says Izuku.
"Go ahead and say it anyway." says Giaguaro.
"Okay, so you know how on Halloween, there's the candy bowl that says take one. And somebody's totally gonna show up and take the whole bowl. I don't even mean everything in the bowl, I mean the bowl. I've always wanted to be the scarecrow that waits by the bowl. You know, the one you look at and wonder if that's a guy in a suit or if it's a prop, like a decoration. I'd want to be that guy, the one that scares the shit out of the shit goblins that steal the candy." says Izuku.
"Well, you were right that totally ruined the moment." says Giaguaro, "I thought you were thinking about the morality of our conflict and ways to avoid it."
"Not really. I try not to second guess my morals in case I over think things and make the wrong decision. Also you'd totally love being the scarecrow. Its gotta be hilarious." says Izuku.
Giaguaro cracks a smile, "You're right actually. I'd enjoy that."
"Maybe, we're more alike than we think." says Izuku.
"I've thought that for a while." says Giaguaro, "It's why I'd still like us to work together."
"You know that's not happening." says Izuku.
"At least hear me out." says Giaguaro.
"I've heard you out." says Izuku.
"And I've changed since then." says Giaguaro.
"Oh yeah? How've you changed?" asks Izuku.
"I've talked to people who might consider becoming like us. Quirkless people. I've talked to them. They told me about how it feels to be quirkless." says Giaguaro, "I never knew how resilient humans could be. How much they could take and keep going. It's impressive it really is."
"So your plans are changing?" asks Izuku.
"I think we can coexist." says Giaguaro, "I really do. I can take a quirkless person and give them a power. It helps them and it repopulates us. You could serve as an example on how to get blood. You never hurt anybody who doesn't deserve it."
"I wish that were true." says Izuku.
"Even if it isn't it's what you strive to do." says Giaguaro, "I know you don't want us to go extinct. This is the best compromise for both of us."
Izuku's normally super good at telling when somebody is lying to him. He feels like he's been getting lied to forever. He isn't getting any signs that Giaguaro is lying to him. But...
"It would be." says Izuku.
"What's stopping it?" asks Giaguaro.
"You're-" says Izuku.
"I'm what?" asks Giaguaro.
"You're lying to me?" says Izuku.
"I'm not. I swear I'm not." says Giaguaro.
"I-I-I-" Izuku hates when he stutters, he thought he grew out of that, "I don't know that though. Alucard thought you were being honest with him. Look what happened to him. I'm not letting that happen to me."
"Trust me it won't." says Giaguaro.
Izuku takes his necklace off but doesn't transform it yet.
"Why the hell would I trust you? What are you even doing here?" asks Izuku.
"I'm here to tell you the truth. I'm here so we both get what we want and we don't fight." says Giaguaro.
"How long? How long until you go back on that? For all I know, you could gain my trust. Then you could build up your vampire army, kill me then go on with your goal." says Izuku.
"I can't get you to trust me can I?" asks Giaguaro.
"Would you trust you?" asks Izuku.
Giaguaro looks down before shaking his head, "No. No I wouldn't."
"You're telling me exactly what I wanted to hear from you. I hate it when people do that. It's always a lie." says Izuku.
"Does that mean you're going to try to kill me?" asks Giaguaro.
"I don't want to. I really don't. I'd love to see us thrive, but I can't trust you after everything you've done." says Izuku, "After everything you did to Alucard. I can excuse what you did to Vlad. He had it coming. Alucard was a good person. He didn't deserve that."
Giaguaro pulls a knife out of his pocket. The knife grows into a rapier.
"Then we really have to do this?" asks Giaguaro.
"I don't see any way out." says Izuku.
"Consider I'm telling the truth, which I am, think of what you're throwing away." says Giaguaro.
Izuku finally materializes Vlads, no his, double sided battle axe.
"Think of what I'm letting go if you're lying." says Izuku.
Giaguaro sighs.
"When all is said and done. When you die because you refuse to trust someone who's only telling you the truth, I hope you can find peace." says Giaguaro, "We've had our disagreements, but I look at you and see a proud young monster. I see a monster struggling to be a better man. I even see a little bit of myself. I've got nothing but respect for you. Please just trust me. I can help us. Let me help us."
"When you get to hell. I want you to march to Dracula and beg for forgiveness. If you make it to heaven ask Alucard for the same." says Izuku.
"When you get to heaven tell him, I'm sorry." says Giaguaro.
Authors Note
I'm so excited to finally be here. I've thought about this time and time again. How would it play out? What tone would I go for? Where would it take place? I orignally thought it would be in Arizona. In the middle of an empty desert. Two fighters running themselves ragged in a fistfight in scorching heat, but recently I've been thinking about doing it here in Dracula's castle. I figured that would have a much stronger impact. Even if it won't be as physically demanding.
I've also wondered how I'd portray Giaguaro in this appearance. I originally considered having him angry and aggressive. Over time I've come to the conclusion that a somber tone would fit the fight much better. Neither one is completely sure they're in the right to fight the other. But they don't feel like they can afford not to. I don't think I'm ever gonna reveal whether or not Giaguaro was telling the truth here. If I did I'm not even sure how I'd do it. I just think it would be best to leave it to you guys to think about it.
I'm gonna try something. It won't influence the story but, do you guys want Giaguaro and Izuku to come to an agreement and rebuild their species. Or do you want them to fight to the death. If you were in Izuku's shoes would you trust Giaguaro or would you fight against him. Keep in mind that Izuku is usually super good at telling when someone is lying and he doesn't detect anything that says Giaguaro is lying.
It took me a while to find what I felt was right for the Belmont family. I like what I've settled on for this chapter. They don't play a major role overall but they're kind of important for this arc. I thought of them as hyper protective but I think the super loose roles they play is probably more realistic for a family of vampire hunters. Granted there isn't much realism there but still. They're still super protective dating wise but I feel like if Gabby said whe was gonna gar bar fighting, they'd just tell her to be careful and leave it at that.
I've been talking about the discord for a while. I finally got someone to get into the voice channel with me and I had a blast. It's something I'd totally like to do again. So here comes the discord code and pretty much anytime someone is down to talk to a complete stranger online I'm probably down too. With the exception of me being at work, in school, or asleep I'm down. Actually I might be be able to get on during school or work. It just depends on how I go about it.
/SqvXpA9
Robot Doctor: Thanks dude. I'm glad you have a good time reading this. I don't write for reviews but it's always nice so thank you for that. I'm glad you like the way I write interactions. It's my favorite part of writing. Thanks again for the words of encouragement and I hope you enjoy this chapter.