AUTHOR NOTES
It did take longer than what I was expecting to finish this chaopter. I had more inspiration for this one than the previous one, since that one was more or less an introduction/first chapter to this new arc/point of the story. More conflict is brewing, and many challenges are about to tackle on vampire Izuku head on!
The next ones shall be more concise and grandiose, so far I'm trying to lay the groundwork needed for the future craziness that shall arrive! The plans are many, and I do plan on taking the world of MHA for a spin!
But for now, enough of my blabbering! You all surely want to go ahead and read more. And so shall it be done! Ryujin Maou out!
Blood for the Blood God.
Chapter 41: [A New (Secret) Ally]
[1-A Classroom, UA Campus.]
[Early School Hours.]
Saying that his classmates were surprised by sudden appearance would be an oxymoron and an understatement. Izuku understood the reason they were so surprised, though he wished they were less vocal about their questions.
The vampire was almost drowned by his curious and excited classmates, their combined voices overlapping and resulting in a cacophony of noise so great that even Izuku's enhanced hearing could not help differentiating between them. Be it the loud and incessant voice of his pink-skinned friend Mina, or the boisterous and formal tone of Iida, the vampire could only lightly smile and nod as he was absolutely bombarded by them.
Every time he tried to answer one questions, another five would be shouted over and it all resulted in a mess where no one could truly get anything from each other. It took a while for the class to calm down – and by that the vampire meant Aizawa needed to arrive and glare from his place on the teacher's podium at the class, his gaze carrying behind heavy intent and annoyance at the noisy teenagers.
"What are all of you doing overwhelming Midoriya this soon in the day?" Aizawa-sensei's tired voice still carried the full authority the man was known for, his few words getting all the teens to find their seats unless they wished to remain under the man's gaze. It then took less than a minute for the classroom to organize itself.
"Midoriya, don't cause such a disturbance first thing in the day as you arrive." Shota lightly chastised the vampire, the teen offering an apologetic half-smile. The man sighed, already looking like he wanted a nap. "I'm sure you all have plenty of questions for Midoriya, but those will have to wait until your free time. He is already behind the schedule due to the recent events, so please, let him be for the time being."
There were a few murmurs among the teens, but they remained mostly quiet, aware of their teacher's mood and unwillingness to tolerate foolishness. Seeing his students waiting, the man took a deep breath and fetched a remote control. Behind him a screen lit up and began displaying a few images of documents, a picture of the dormitory and an arena.
"The recent constant attacks by the villains on our student and staff body has had our principal debating on which measures UA should take to protect you. We have arrived on a few trial measures, one of which is this," He explained, pointing towards the photo of the dormitory. "The heroics course students will be offered lodging in school grounds as a way to fasten response time in case of an attack; there will be permanent staff assign to your dorms, and though we will not force you to board in, it is highly encouraged that you do."
The news caused the previously quiet whispers to increase. Aizawa allowed the students a few moments to take it in before he coughed to gather their attention again.
"Hold any questions you may have about it for now, I'll explain more about it after class. Next is this," the documents on the left part of the board were zoomed in, showing its contents. "The Provisional License Exams. As you all are aware, but to refresh your mind, previously you were not allowed to use your quirks for heroism outside of very specific circumstances. This is a chance for you to acquire an early liberty that will allow you to have more freedom out in the field." As Aizawa explained, more and more pictures appeared behind him, showing the teens a few arenas and a model of one of said licenses picturing a younger (though still grumpy looking) version of their teacher.
"This test is made by the government as a way to give young heroes-in-training more field-experience outside of the short span of your internships. Though this also comes with its fair share of responsibility, so do not mistake this as a joke; earning this license will make it so that you will be held accountable as full-blown heroes."
Izuku's eyes lightly glimmered as he paid full attention to his teacher's explanation. This was an immense chance for him, as it meant that he would no longer have to worry about troubling Edgeshot to back him up. The Shinobi Hero had been very forthcoming in his efforts to help Izuku and the vampire couldn't wait to retribute by relieving him of the headaches caused by the HSPC being pedantic bastards or the usual machinations of the government.
The spooks from before had yet to arrive with the quirk-restriction device and the tracker, but that did not ease the burdens on the hemomancer's mind. If anything, the longer time went by with no word from them, the more worried Izuku grew with the situation. It meant that they were preparing something made specifically with him in mind, thus narrowing his scope of actions. Izuku had been skirting the line of the law for a while, so this could mean a great amount of trouble to him.
Aizawa finished his explanations, immediately jumping on the next topic to avoid giving the students time to waste.
"And so, with the intent to fully prepare you to tackle on this challenge, your heroics training shall be increased." This sentence caused the relatively quiet classroom to grow tense with accumulated energy. UA's curriculum was heavy and advanced, trying to squeeze the best out of its students during school hours to allow for the physical training they were required to keep up with. The teens almost vibrated with energy, as the reason for their choice of school was once again highlighted.
Heroics training!
"During the past semester we took a measure of your skills and quirks, building a solid foundational base for you. We first showed you the abilities you had, then we expanded on those abilities and then pushed you all to get even more of your quirks, thus enhancing your foundation. Now, we shall let you get a glimpse of the pinnacle of one aspect of heroics." Aizawa's explanation was then followed by their classroom door being knocked on, opening before the teacher could give permission and two people entered.
The man glared at the duo entering the classroom but sighed and opted to direct his frustration elsewhere. The students, on the other hand, were absolutely floored.
Midnight, and All Might. Well, the gangly man before then had been All Might before. Now he was simply Toshinori Yagi.
The scantily dressed woman took center-stage, resting her hands on her cocked hips and giving the students a confident grin.
"Come on, my dears, why the long faces? Have I not lifted your spirits?" She joked, causing a few chuckles to follow along. "That's better, my cuties! Being a hero is all about giving the people hope, so you all better learn quick how to raise the tension in a good way! Teasing is fine, so long as there is a reward in the end!"
Toshinori chuckled along, his right arm in a cast. "Young ones, what Midnight says is correct. Don't worry about me. Though it is faster than what I'd have wanted, all of you will be the faces of the future! Your smiles shall be the light to guide the nation into the future!"
Midnight cracked her whip with a quick wrist motion, getting attention back to herself. "That's right! And to do so, my cute buttons, you will need not only your basic skills, but a trump card! Something that allows you to assure victory! An ultimate move – if you will!" Now that got the students. Everyone enjoyed cool moves.
Aizawa shook his head, yet opted to not take the wind out of their sails. "This doesn't mean you all get to neglect the basics, but Midnight and All Might are correct. Having a trump card that can be deployed any time to assure victory is a must for any hero; none of you can afford to be a one-trick pony, especially now. A solid fighting method is not to be neglected, but the more options you have to compliment your skills, the better prepared you will be."
Momo, being the ever so apt class president, raised a hand. Once Midnight pointed to allow her to speak, the girl stood from her seat to speak. "Sensei, could you use an example to further aid in your explanation? I am a bit confused, did we not train to do this back with the Pussycats?" She tried to be cautious with her words to avoid mentioning their summer camp training, but inevitably she had to do so.
Midnight turned to Aizawa, the man nodding and once again pressing on the remote, showing a few pictures of the teens back in the training camp, the class surprised. They never knew about that.
"Indeed Yaoyorozu, you are right. We did an introduction to this during the Summer Camp, though at that time our focus was on further development of your quirks. Now that you understand your powers better and have pushed beyond the first barrier, it is time to increase your repertoire. An ultimate move is less about a single move, and more of a specialized use of your skills."
"Let's take Bakugou as an example," Once pointed out, the entirety of the class turned their gazes to the ash-blonde, the teen narrowing his eyes and looking to the side, displeased at being the center of their attention. "We are used to seeing him use his explosions in a very direct manner. Punches, sweeping strikes and large detonations; that is well enough on its own, but he has already started developing ultimate moves on his own. That technique he used back during the sports event, [Howitzer Impact] and even his usage of explosions to quickly move either to dodge attacks or to pursue could be considered the starting points of an ultimate move."
All Might then interjected. "As you now, I'm famous for using a variety of named attacks. All of those have specific uses in mind, thus all of them can be considered ultimate moves. I'm sure that most of you have received aid from Young Midoriya during the Summer Camp and have begun working on that."
Kaminari then perked up and let his hand shoot up. Once allowed, he stood from his seat and took a basic stance. "So, you mean something like my [Ride Lightning]?" Electric sparks began crackling atop the blonde's skin, the sharp tang of ozone hitting the nose of the vampire as he lightly smiled. Denki's hair because further spiked, and he had a cocky grin on face. "I get mad faster using this and I can last way longer in a fight than if I were to release it out."
"That's right, it is a good foundation and can already be considered an ultimate move on its own." Shota rubbed his eyelids tiredly. Then he glared at the blonde, the effect of his quirk activated. Denki rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly sitting back down under the effects of the quirk-cancelling power of his teacher. "Though I don't remember asking for a live presentation."
A few giggles echoed in the classroom, the electric blonde still preening under the attention of his classmates, though he remained quiet in fear of another rebuke.
Blinking to dismiss his power, Aizawa rubbed his eyelids again.
"I have dry eye, stop making me use my quirk uselessly." He grunted, fetching a small bottle of eye drops from his pockets to moisten his orbs again.
The interaction brought another of suppressed giggles, the teens nostalgic over the interaction. It had been less than a year since they started their hero training, yet so many things had happened in such a short span of time.
Once Aizawa finished with his self-care, the man pointed the controller in his possession to the backwall of the room where their uniforms were. "Grab your costumes and suit up, we shall be waiting for you in gym gamma. Test it out plenty and if any changes need to be made, don't hesitate to contact the Support Department for the needed alterations."
[XXX]
[XXX]
[UA School grounds]
[Gymnasium gamma]
It didn't take long for the students to move to their new location, just about everyone eager to develop a few ultimate moves of their own.
Izuku had remained quiet during the walk to the gym, reviewing his techniques in his mind. He had been a step ahead in that field, his unique quirk rather suited for the development of such techniques. When your blood could decode quirk-factors almost effortlessly, surprise moves were bound to begin popping up.
His moves were a bit more focused on killing, so he supposed he should restrain himself to improving his binding techniques.
The terrain of the gym was something made to imitate a mountainous range, though it was mostly made of cement. Maybe the Pussycats could have helped this training, but they were still recuperating from the whole ordeal. From the attack on their training facility, to dealing with their injured members, to the rescue operation and all of that, maybe the group would remain out of commission for a while.
Izuku had segregated himself to a corner of the gym, thinking about what to develop. He could also sense the many stares burning his back, but his friends were holding back for his sake (and due to the repeated warnings from Aizawa-sensei about boundaries).
The vampire took a deep breath, letting the blood inside his veins move, the hidden power alongside it making him feel almost intoxicated with the potential it held.
The teachers for the lesson were focused mostly on the other students in need of guidance. People like Momo – and surprisingly even Denki – were out helping the others with some advice, the vampire left to his own devices as the holder of the most ultimate moves. Outside of his quirk, Izuku also had his special moves taught by Edgeshot. He closed his eyes and focused, letting the power in his veins hum its secrets to him.
Dark tendrils began to emerge from his shadows, the eldritch limbs and tendrils twisting and folding on themselves, displaying the absolute control he had over the quirk-factor.
The vampire kept meditating; his eyes closed. His already sharp senses became further focused, allowing Izuku to create a mental image of the gym even with no sight. From the smell of sweat in the air, the noises created by his classmates, even the disturbed the flow of air brushing against his skin told him information that allowed Izuku to complete the mental image.
"How may I help you, sensei?" Izuku suddenly spoke out, a person approaching his back. There was a dry chuckle, the vampire turning around and opening his eyes to find himself facing the retired Symbol of Peace.
"Young Midoriya, your senses are sharp as always." The blonde lanky hero complimented him, approaching with calm steps.
Izuku let the man approach him, the teen feeling the hidden power dormant inside his blood resonate with the hero. It was already Izuku's, but it displayed its familiarity with its previous host.
"Thank you, I do train hard to achieve these efforts." The vampire stated, unsure what else to say. He appreciated the hero - his power had boosted [True Ancestor] to the point his quirk could achieve the impossible after all – but they weren't exactly friends or even had a deep mentor-apprentice relationship. Izuku knew some secrets between OFA and AFO, but that wasn't exactly something that could be discussed out in the open like this, especially close to others completely unrelated to these matters. Taking all that in consideration, the vampire was curious as to what business did the hero had to talk with him.
There was some awkwardness in the air as the two males stared at each other, none talking. Izuku kept his neutral gaze over the hero, while All Might kept his sunken eyes focused on the teen.
The hero then scratched the back of his head with his free arm. "Well, this is a bit awkward…"
Izuku ran his tongue over his fangs, finding himself fully agreeing with said statement.
All Might then shook his head and took a deep breath. "I know we haven't talked much outside of your legal defense, but I was hoping to have an opportunity to…talk about my mentor." Then as soon as the words left the man's mouth, Izuku understood the reasons behind the resonance between him and the hero.
There was this feeling, a small sensation that was easy to ignore, but once focused on, became impossible to leave aside. The connection between them was further reinforced by [True Ancestor], something inside Shimura Nana's original body also calling towards Izuku.
Izuku grabbed onto that feeling, his eyes shifting without his conscious input into their diamond-shape form instead of the slit one. "Sure, but could this wait a bit sensei?"
All Might blinked a few times, sensing a sort of pressure being emanated from the vampire. Then the hero apologized. "I'm sorry young Midoriya, I did hurry. I suppose I'm quite anxious about this…"
The vampire kept his gaze upon his teacher. "I understand, sensei. I'll meet you as soon as classes end."
The man nodded to the teen, releasing a relieved sigh. "I thank you young Midoriya. This means a lot to me."
Izuku clenched his jaw, finding himself somehow getting irritated with the hero. It was a strange feeling, since Izuku had nothing but admiration for All Might in his young years; yet now the mere presence and the words of the American-themed blonde were getting on the vampire's nerves.
A hum rang inside the vampire's head, the sound something that the vampire would always recognize. The King in Black? How?
"Sir." Izuku called towards his teacher, the teen sitting himself on the spot. "I need a bit of privacy now, could we resume this later?" Each following word that Izuku spoke came out more and more strained, almost as if he was actively restraining himself.
Toshinori nodded, leaving the teen to his lonesome.
As soon as the hero left him, Izuku closed his eyes and began a mind-dive.
Arriving at the ballroom, Izuku found himself sat at his throne. The moment he opened his eyes inside it, the teen found that his "body" was being restrained by a sequence of black-red crystal-like shackles; far off in the corner of his mind he could sense the [Beast Within] fighting against something.
Izuku roared, the shockwave cracking and freeing him from the shackles. As soon as he did so, the pressure and annoyance at All Might disappeared. Before the strange construct could fully disappear, the vampire made a motion as if to grab something midair, his hand clenching around one of the crystalline-shackles. He pulled it closer to allow him a better look at the item, his mouth split into a snarl.
"Rebellious little thing, huh?" Izuku spoke to himself, pissed off at the quirk-factor. He managed to identify the reason behind his strange anger: It was the quirk-factor that he took from All for One's quirk. It had influenced Izuku, much like how the vampire's quirk had done to free itself from the villain's clutch. Quirks were truly a barely explored subject, as one could still find such unknown things about themselves like this.
Far off in the corner of his mind, the [Beast Within] released a growl of victory, the vampire slowly easing himself away from his mind. He knew it would not be the last time he faced the quirk-factor, but for now he remained victorious.
Opening his eyes and finding himself in the real world, Izuku noticed that he found himself staring down the barrel of a revolver.
"Oh shit, that's a gun." Izuku couldn't help the mutter, finding the cowboy-esque figure of Snipe right in front of him, finger dangerously close to pulling the trigger of his firearm. Izuku knew he could regenerate much, but he wasn't sure if he could come back from that sort of damage. Regenerating such delicate tissue as brain matter wasn't something he had tested (or was willing to test out so far).
Seeing the teen return to consciousness whilst fully in control of himself, the cowboy hero lowered his weapon, doing a spinning trick to holster the revolver back. His modulated voice then spoke out. "Careful there with that killing intent, partner! Ya got most of the kiddies scared straight back 'here. Some powerful stuff ya got, no wonder Edgeshot took a fancy to yeh."
Izuku took a moment to sense his surroundings, the smell of fear permeating the atmosphere. The vampire wondered if his killing intent had leaked while he was deep within the recesses of his mind, but considering a teacher was already ready to deal with him, the hypothesis was pretty much confirmed in an instant.
"I'm sorry for causing trouble." He couldn't do much besides offer an apology.
Snipe sighed, changing his posture to cock his hips a bit and rest his hands over his gun. "Don't sweat over the small stuff; ye are 'ere to learn after all, no sense in chastising ya for not knowing somethin'."
The vampire stood up from his seat on the floor. "I'll keep that in mind, sensei."
The cowboy then offered. "Ya know, I'm a long-range fighter, so I must always be aware of mah surroundings. Got me learning both how to suppress and identify presences. Ya want to learn?"
Izuku was a bit surprised with the sudden offer. He wasn't particularly close to Snipe too, though they had a few lessons together when the vampire proposed to have firearms in his arsenal of tools to Aizawa. He wasn't expecting such as offer, as it was well known that he was a student of Edgeshot. Most heroes avoided teaching other heroes' students to avoid clashing philosophies and training methods. It was already hard enough to learn a particular fighting style, mixing another carelessly could cause incongruencies and needless confusion. Particularly in his case, studying shinobi skills and firearms (two rather opposite methods of fighting).
Still, the vampire was eager to keep learning and if Snipe was offering, well then…
"I'll be under your care, sensei." He bowed his head to the cowboy, the man offering him a handshake.
"I told ya before, don't sweat the small stuff. I ain't the pinnacle of firearms, but I can teach ya a thing or two."
[UA School grounds]
[Gymnasium gamma – Boys locker room]
The scent of sweat was thick inside the locker room, the male students of class 1-A loitering as they caught up in conversation. The intensity of their training had been ramped up, many having a hard time keeping up with the intense pace set by their teachers. Even after the summer camp training, hard work was hard work after all.
Though now the entire group's attention was focused on one person. He had already freshened up and was putting away the last of his armored coat away. UA's immortal "monster" - Midoriya Izuku.
Since he had just hit the showers, he only had a towel wrapped around his waist, showing his naked upper body.
Almost all the boys were peeking at him in their own (not so stealthy) ways, trying to see if there was anything different from the vampire. As far as they could see there were no scars or marks of abuse/torture from the villains, but considering the teen's regenerative abilities, such a thing was to be expected. There seemed to be little to tell from Izuku's experience in the kidnapping.
However…
That Killing intent.
Right in the middle of their training, a feeling blanketed the entire gym. It felt as if their necks were being choked, their breath limited. As if ice was running through your veins; your fingertips felt cold, yet your chest felt very hot.
Those with less awareness felt as if under extreme pressure. For those that had a bit more experience – the feeling was comparable to sensing a rope ever so slowly wrap around your neck, the slightest of tensions enough to set it off and cause it to snap your vertebrae.
Todoroki was the first among his classmates to sense the killing intent that emanated from Izuku. He immediately stopped his training and wanted to rush towards Izuku, yet before he could so Aizawa got in his way. After a few moments the cold feeling stopped, and he was told to resume his training.
As if he could simply do so after that happened! Izuku was Shoto's first real friend, someone who the dual-color haired teen felt he could confide and fully trust. After the kidnapping, Todoroki had promised himself to get stronger to become able to help his friend. It was the second time he felt pushed by his own will to master the flames he inherited from his father.
Thus, when their training was over, the stoic teen felt compelled to call out Izuku. He only needed to find a more suitable time. Immediately after training felt inconvenient, and in the midst of their shower also felt strange, so Todoroki picked this moment as they had finished up and were now packing their gear.
"Midoriya." He called out, approaching the vampire whose back was turned to him.
As he made no effort to suppress his voice, Shoto's call echoed inside the locker room, all the males hearing and making it so that the entire room went dead silent. Whereas before the males inside were trying to fill in the gap of their curiosity with noise, now there was nowhere to escape.
Izuku placed his folded coat inside its suitcase and turned to meet his friend. "Hello there, Shoto."
"It is good that you are finally allowed to return." Shoto stated.
Izuku hummed in agreement. "I never thought I would say this, but I missed schoolwork. Fighting caged as a gladiator lost its shine after the tenth hour." Izuku spoke in his usual tone, the dark content seemingly not a bother to be talked about to him.
Shoto seemed unbothered by it too, seeing as he crossed his arms and nodded along with the vampire's statement. "Indeed. Endlessly repeating a task can get dull."
Kaminari, Hanta and Shoji were the closest ones to the duo and the trio shook their heads almost as if unbelieving the words being spoken by the vampire and the hot-cold teen. No, no, no, that's not exactly the problem here! He was kept as a prisoner and was being tortured, no? That's not something you can just brush aside as if it was nothing!
Shoto and Izuku kept engaging in conversation easily enough, almost as if the entire tension that had permeated the class during the day was nonexistent to these two. In fact, it would have continued like so, were it not for a locker door being slammed shut.
*BLAMM*
The duo stopped talking, Izuku turning his head to the source of the noise and finding Bakugou to be in his sight.
The ash-blonde had dressed up, his face sour as always, though it was contained into a scowl. The explosive teen approached the vampire with heavy steps.
Kaminari immediately moved along and stood in his way, along with Kirishima.
"Yo Bakubro, it ain't manly to bother Izuku so soon. He just came back, so let's keep things civil, okay?"
"Come on, Bakugou, give it a break already man."
The spiky-haired teen brushed aside the comments and attempts at pacifying him, pushing past the duo with ease. He moved until he stood close enough to the vampire, though Shoto also stood in his way.
"Move it, icy-hot. I want to talk with the bloodsucker!" Katsuki growled in his usual way. Todoroki was less than impressed, remaining on his spot, and staring back at him with his stoic gaze.
"What could you ever want to talk with Izuku about, Bakugou. Don't you hate him?" Todoroki coldly asked, unwilling to move from his spot.
Bakugou growled, but then scoffed and clicked his tongue. "Tsk, fine. Be his fucking bodyguard and safeguard his ass to while you are at it." Rude as always, the bomber tucked his hands inside his uniform's jacket. "Oi, Izuku! You gonna hide behind Icy-hot or are you gonna man up and do something useful? Did they buttfuck your courage while you were in there?"
Izuku took a deep breath, audibly releasing it. "You sure are talking a lot about talking it up the ass, Bakugou. Is there anything you want to tell us, but can't find the courage?" The vampire asked back, maintaining his own voice neutral. "It's okay, we won't judge, you know."
Katsuki seemed irked at the accusation, his palms sparking a bit. Though it did not last long, it was enough to fill the room with the light tang of burnt caramel. "I'm asking if you got stronger while you were there, bitch! That feeling back in the gym, that was you, right?! You made me feel as if death was staring at me! How did you do that!" Bakugou began in a calm tone, but by the end he was just short of screaming.
These were questions that all were curious about, yet none wanted to ask – and still the ash-blonde was the one brave (or uncaring) enough to do so.
It was surely a horrible experience, they could glimpse at that merely by being close to the vampire. Yet, there was not a shred of doubt that he managed to get something from it.
That…technique? Skill? Ability?
Whatever it was called, it had the power to blanket them in a sensation so terrible one could hallucinate their own death.
That was Killing intent.
Izuku stared at Bakugou, seeing the ash-blonde's red pupils stare him with something besides hatred for him. The vampire couldn't pinpoint or truly identify said emotion buried there, but then again it wasn't his job to do so. Whatever personal issues there were between them, Izuku had long moved past his animosity about Bakugou. The ash-blonde could cling to whatever kept him going, Izuku wasn't going to let himself be such support.
He would treat the bomber as a coworker; one whose affinity did not mix well with his, but with a particular set of skills good enough to warrant withstanding his noxious personality for the sake of a job.
Maybe it was hypocritical of Izuku, to behave as if he was above the ash-blonde's pettiness while also being petty himself at times. He couldn't find it in himself to give a damn if it was.
"And so what if I did?" The vampire petulantly asked the bomber, his lips twisting into a grin that displayed his sharp fangs.
Those that were observing the interaction groaned. The class might not have spent that long together, but their time had allowed the group to get a grasp of each other. Though it looked like nothing more than callousness, Izuku was – for some god-forsaken reason – actively prodding and provoking the class's walking bomb.
Bakugou smiled – though it was not an act filled with happiness or kindness. His bearing of teeth was a show of his mood, which could be more or less described as…angered beyond belief. His teeth echoed with a grinding noise, the bomber staring with bloodshot eyes at the vampire. "You fuck!" He managed to speak through his gritted teeth.
Izuku crossed his arms over his chest and kept his own mocking smile strong.
"You really are a fucking monster!" Katsuki removed his palms from his jacket and showed his clenched fists to the vampire. "Maybe we should put you down before you do more of anything."
Todoroki narrowed his brow, pulling on his power. Ice layered above his skin on one side, the other covered by the warped flow of air caused by the heat of his body.
Izuku's arms were instantly clad in red gauntlets, his lower face covered by his dragon mask. "I'd like to see you try."
The words got the entirety of the boys in the room to act up. Kaminari was beside the vampire, yellow lightning sparking from his body as he remained ready to restrain any move from Izuku. Kirishima placed himself in front of Bakugou, hardening his body and turning his back to Izuku. Hanta had his elbows pointed at the two, ready to deliver his payload and restrain them.
All the remaining boys moved into position, just about ready to jump in case there was any need for physical intervention. And it was to this that Aizawa walked into, as he went to check the reason why the male students had yet to emerge from their locker room.
All the teens slowly turned their heads to look at their homeroom teacher, the man sighing in tired resignation as he took one glance and understood the situation.
Izuku rapidly retracted his gauntlets, all the while Bakugou shoved his hands back into his jacket (no signs of new sparks occurring). Todoroki quickly shut off his power, doing his best to brush aside the light layer of frost that had built-up on his right side. Kaminari shut off his enhancement skill, doing his best to whistle and play innocent.
"…I swear, it is one thing after the other." Aizawa murmured to himself, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and looking as if he was nursing a terrible headache.
Izuku remained silent, but he began stretching his shadow on the floor towards one person in the room, his close proximity with Todoroki enough that a single touch would bring his friend along for the [warp] ride. The moment he felt his shadow tendril touch Tokoyami, Izuku acted.
"[War–" Before the vampire could finish pulling on the quirk-factor, he was already being wrapped in Aizawa's special restraining tool, the teacher's eyes fully focused on him, the effects of [Erasure] pinning him down.
"I've got you in my sights."
[XXX]
[XXX]
[UA's provisional 1-A dorms]
[After training hours]
"That was quite the earful…" Izuku muttered to himself, tired as all hell after having to endure quite the stern talking from Aizawa, the man more than happy to reprimand the teens for their foolishness in the locker rooms after their training.
Most of the teens got a talking-to, but the majority got liberated as they had tried to avoid the issue that happened. Only the perpetrators were majorly chewed out, which meant that Izuku, Shoto, Bakugou, Kirishima and Kaminari had to remain behind and get punished.
Maybe it was their luck, as the punishment wasn't anything unreasonable. They were to remain after school hours for about an hour receiving Aizawa's words, after which they then had to write an apologetic letter for their behavior. Standard stuff as far as Japanese punishments could be without having to resort to corporal punishment. The practice wasn't common, but then again there were few other ways that could set hormonal teens straight more effectively than doing a countless number of pushups/sit-ups. Even Kirishima – passionate about exercise as he was – was begging for it to end by the last hour.
As they were dismissed, Izuku made his way to the dorm to once again shower and eat a quick meal. Melissa had (thankfully) placed some leftovers for him in the fridge alongside a bloodpack. It wasn't as good as drinking from the source, but the vampire wouldn't complain about it as his girl had gotten him something after all.
After all of that, there was still one thing for him to do. His phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket, sure that it could only be one person. Lo and behold, the message on the screen confirmed his suspicion as All Might's profile pic stared at him.
Izuku was quick to type an answer, apologizing for his tardiness and informing the ex-hero of his incoming arrival. Receiving instructions to head towards the teacher's lounge, Izuku made his way with his usual speed, his head filled with complicated thoughts about the current situation. Although it had been a spur of the moment thing, the vampire had spouted that he could bring back a heroine that had been dead for about three decades. It was something that had been whispered in the back of his mind by the boosted [True Ancestor], which even the vampire had some trouble believing now that he was heading towards said objective.
He still believed it to be true, don't get him wrong, but it certainly sounded insane when spoken out loud.
It didn't take long for the vampire to arrive at school's building faculty, the vampire heading straight to the teacher's lounge. He had a bit of time to get used to the facilities after all. He knocked and waited as he heard some shuffling inside the room. Opening the door after receiving permission, Izuku found himself in the room together with the American-themed hero in an oversized suit, Recovery Girl and the school's principal.
He blinked a few times. "Am I interrupting something?" He questioned, wondering if he should return later.
The rat/bear/mouse waved its paws, motioning for Izuku to fully enter the room. "Of course not, Midoriya-kun! Please, do make yourself comfortable!"
The vampire took the invitation and closed the door behind him, his senses prickling up at the presence of the chimera hybrid. Although not physically imposing, Nezu's beady black eyes were fully trailed on the vampire's frame, the teen aware that the intelligent being could fully outsmart him.
The principal tried to ease the teen. "No need to worry, Midoriya-kun, I don't bite."
Izuku let a small smile split his lips, though he could not fully get rid of the tension that remained in him.
Toshinori looked thoroughly relieved with the teen's presence. "Thank you for putting up with my impatience and request, Young Midoriya." He stood from his seat on the couch and bowed his head, the vampire unsure of what to do at the sight of the previous top ranker in Japan being so humble towards him.
Izuku shook his hands to try and get the male to stand up. "There is no need bow, sir. I'm merely helping out with what I can."
Toshinori shook his own head. "No, you are doing much more than that. No one could do such thing, only you Young Midoriya."
Recovery Girl sighed in frustration. "Quit putting that much responsibility over the kid's shoulders, you oaf! This is not guaranteed to work, much less truly bring back Nana from death." It was clear that the elder heroine was less than pleased with the proposition at stake. Izuku could only give the elder heroine a wry, awkward smile.
Toshinori placed his good hand on his neck, scratching it in shame. Still, his sunken blue eyes were glinting with the prospect of the "operation" working.
Nezu interrupted with a soft clap of his paws. "All of that is good, but first we must go over a few matters." Izuku took a seat on the opposite couch, the adults opposite of him. "This situation is certainly a first for all of us, and most likely the world. We need to proceed with caution and care, as much can go wrong."
The principal then motioned with his paw to Izuku. "Is there anything you would like to stablish as a rule, Midoriya-kun? You are going to be the one performing this act, it would be good to have your input before we start anything."
Izuku closed his eyes at the words and mused a few ideas on his mind. He hummed and pondered, taking some time before answering. He raised his closed fist and began raising his fingers as he talked. "Assuming this works, Shimura-san will be very confused with matters. Confidentially and secrecy should be our top priority, so the less people know about this, the better." The vampiric teen pointed out, noticing that Toshinori deflated a bit, his face fully serious.
Seeing that there no interjections were made yet, the vampire proceeded. "Don't expect me to be able to do this for everyone." He fully pointed out the though. "This time the circumstances aligned exactly right to bring about this type of miracle, and even then, it isn't guaranteed to work. I'm going off a feeling fed to me by my quirk, so it isn't like it is an exact science or that it could be easily reproduced."
"Also, everything here is to be kept off any records." That had both Toshinori and Shuzenji glancing at Izuku with curious expressions, but the principal nodded to the teen.
"Very understandable."
Izuku sent a grateful look to the chimeric being. There were a few other matters that were settled, but eventually everything that needed to be discussed was finished. It was time to start the process.
Izuku took a small breath. "Where is Shimura-san's body?"
Toshinori nervously rubbed his hands together, glancing at Nezu. The animal nodded, pulling out a phone from his suit's pocket before showing it to the other three. "Aizawa-kun is escorting it here together with a police unit and a representative of the HSPC."
As soon as Izuku heard who was coming along the vampire couldn't help twisting his expression into a grimace. He was already under enough pressure as it was, he didn't want to have to worry about a government spook trying to intimidate him (or worse, write some biased report to the higher ups) and get in his way.
The vampire looked at the hero, wondering if he should ask All Might to intervene. He had just stated that this procedure should be done with as few people present as possible, yet here were news that more "guests" would be arriving.
It seemed as if Nezu had read his thoughts (or more accurately, his sour expression) as the principal soon spoke again. "We will try our best to give you the maximum amount of privacy, but I hope that you understand that even we can't push too much against the government."
Izuku exhaled a defeated and frustrated sigh but nodded. "Yes, sir."
The principal glanced once more at his device. "Shall we make our way to gym theta? We have set up a containment field to work with, just in case."
There wasn't much more to talk, so Izuku stood up to indicate his willingness to proceed. Toshinori wasn't too far behind, following along with Recovery Girl as the group made their way to the parking lot, a car waiting for them.
The ride to the gym wasn't anything exciting, the facility being on the very opposite edge from the school facilities and the dorms, the trip taking almost an hour. It was another reminder that UA had seriously deep pockets, the space they owned being truly something that could be considered ludicrous.
Once they arrived, the vampire exited the vehicle and remained standing outside, his eyes fixed on the road they had used to reach the facility. Within his sight there was nothing but forestry and the asphalt, yet he could sense it approaching him.
"Young Midoriya?" The American-themed hero cautiously tried to get the vampire's attention.
Izuku didn't immediately answer. His blood began to pump with an increased rate inside his veins, the hemomancer feeling both his original power and the hidden ancestral energy that was at his beck and call. He turned to the ex-hero, his eyes glimmering with his power.
"Sensei, please call me when they arrive here with Shimura-san's body; I'm going to meditate a bit. Please, whatever you do, don't interrupt me or let Aizawa-sensei use his power on me." He instructed, the adults looking at him with curious expressions.
[The Revenant calls upon us, master. It wishes to talk]
/ Who are you calling old, you damn brat? I'm going to teach you some manners! /
Izuku heard the voices echo in his head, one being the [Inner Beast] while the other could only belong to one person.
"Is everything alright, dearie?" Shuzenji asked with a concerned expression. She quickly turned to give All Might the stink eye, but soon let that go in favor of worrying about the teen's state and request.
Izuku nodded. "Just going to make sure everything ends up alright. It is just a light check, to make sure." He spoke while tapping his right temple.
Going inside the gym, Izuku found it to be a bit more different than the usual UA facilities he was used to. It had reinforced walls alongside with various equipment whose purpose he could only guess at; still, it also had an open space in the middle most likely so that they could place the mobile cell unit that was housing Shimura Nana's body. He sat on the floor close to the center, crossing his legs and doing another mind-dive.
His surroundings were swapped; the dull colors of the gym soon gave way to the vibrant crimson bricks that made the walls of the Throne Room, the living darkness that covered the walls being a reassuring thing for the vampire.
Izuku remained in his seat, sensing something approach him from the side. The framed painting that housed the quirk-factors obtained from [One for All] was close to his throne, hovering in midair and – amusingly enough – resembled some sort of haunted sight. It also seemed to be thrumming with energy, so much so that the frame was vibrating rather violently. The manifestation of [True Ancestor] soon rose from the vampire's shadow, his body double ready to pounce upon anything that dared emerge from the painting.
"You wanted to talk, right? Then, let us cut to the case, Shimura Nana." Izuku calmly asked, his slit eyes focused on the painting.
The painting seemed to become alive, a gloved hand emerging from it alongside a flood of energy. Izuku felt it course through his veins, the Throne Room feeling almost tempestuous due to the stored energy. He almost snarled, the sensation of such power running through him being without equal. He felt almost as if he was a small glass cup trying to house and contain a massive storm.
As more and more of the person exited the painting, Izuku kept doing his best to contain the ranging storm trying to run rampart inside his mind. He grit his teeth, wondering what was going on.
"IT IS TOO MUCH!" The female voice shouted, powerful echoes sounding akin to shockwaves inside the vampire's head.
What the hell is going on? Izuku pondered to himself. His own power seemed to become wildly out of control, the [Beast Within] howling at the immense pressure.
Finding little alternatives to safely reign in his rampaging power, Izuku called upon the King in Black's quirk-factor. The [Shackles] answered in kind, the black-red jagged crystalline chains emerging from the walls and wrapping around the edges of the frame, allowing Izuku to finally suppress the rampaging storm.
He closed his eyes and took a few moments to breathe, sensing the new presence inside the Throne Room.
"That was rather dangerous, huh?" She spoke in a rather carefree manner, though he could still sense the tension that hid under her voice.
When Izuku opened his eyelids to finally see, the sight in front of him was surprising.
The woman before him was rather Amazonian-esque in stature, standing quite taller than him in a black bodysuit. Black hair, fair skin and charming, the vampire could finally see Shimura Nana before him. Well, not the woman per say, but the vestige of the woman. A living memory, if you will, being carried due to the [Stockpile] power of [One for All].
She also had her hands and feet bound by the [Shackles], the woman looking at him with a rather astonished expression.
"You…" She started speaking, however, she stammered and ended up silent.
Izuku waved his hand, the motion dispersing the jagged restrictive chains bounding the woman, but still letting the power encase the painting frame of the inherited quirk just in case. Instead of falling, Nana simply remained floating in place.
Izuku composed himself, wondering the reasons behind the strange overload of energy. He knew that [One for All] housed immense power, but nothing so far had caused such a reaction within him.
"First meetings normally should be far tamer, so I apologize for the mess, Shimura-san." He spoke a bit out of breath, standing from his seat on his throne.
The woman floated closer – still silent. She examined him for a while, glancing around as if in search of something. "Kid…"
Izuku wondered if there was anything wrong, since only a few moments ago he had heard her perfectly well. "Is something wrong?"
She kept her gaze on him, her face frowned in seriousness. The teen was a bit unsure on how to feel as he remained under the scrutiny of the woman's eyes. Eventually she spoke.
"How mysterious, huh?" Her voice carried with it a mix of seriousness and amusement. "There was some sort of connection before, but now I'm fully over here." She mused out loud.
The teen nodded his head. "Before I only had some of the quirk-factor that houses you, but now I possess it in its entirety." He spoke while glancing towards his right hand. Ever since the incident in I-Island Izuku had been carrying fragments of [One for All], but after All Might passed the full quirk to him, Izuku could finally understand what his own quirk had been talking about.
Those voices, those warning. The proximity with the original body (turned into a Noumu) of Nana had momentarily stabilized the connection between them, and now that Izuku had the true source, he could fully interact with her.
"You know that this normally should not be possible, right?" She stated, crossing her arms over her chest, and finally stepping foot on the platform that housed his throne.
Izuku looked at her with a curious gaze.
Nana tapped her temple. "We are deep inside your head. Kinda impossible to not know what you are thinking when I'm literally surrounded by your thoughts." The woman seemed amused, her previously serious expression slowly easing into something less tense.
"Right," Izuku nodded, unsure what to truly make out of this situation. Here stood his teacher's teacher. Someone who should have fully died more than three decades ago, yet she had lived on.
Nana's mirth filled voice called him out. "Watch out with those thoughts, kid. No woman wants her age to be called out like that."
The vampire apologized mentally to her; a bit unused to being this easy to be read. Normally he could hide his emotions behind his poker face, however that would be hard to do when his conversation partner could read his mind.
"Nah, it's fine! You are not exactly wrong after all!" She approached him and patted his shoulder. "Though I'm not sure on how to feel either. Especially since you are rather keen on getting me out there, huh, kiddo?!" She teased, grinning a bit while lightly tapping her elbow against his ribs, an advantage granted by her height over him.
Izuku endured it. "I already have one troublesome tenant living in my head. I'm not sure I have room for another." He tried playing along with her mood.
Nana suppressed a giggling fit. "You mean that wild doppelganger of yours? I'm quite sure that I would be a much more pleasant tenant, but oh well, it is your loss."
The vampire let a smile split his lips. "While troublesome enough, he has been there for quite a while, and he has his moments. Saved my life after all." He spoke fondly, feeling his blood answer in kind and warmly running along his insides.
Nana rolled her eyes. "Hurgh, sentimentalist." She joked.
Izuku found relaxing talking with the woman, but he had to cut it short. "Since you have been active for a bit in my head, I'm quite sure you know what the plan is."
The living memory nodded. "Yeah, it is quite the wild idea. I never imagined that that sick fuck would do something so macabre, even to his enemies. To think that he still managed to live to this day, he truly is one persistent bastard." Nana bitterly spat out curses against All for One. "Do you think this will work?"
"It should." Izuku pondered for a bit. "Had All For One used any other body then we might have faced problems, but considering this is your original body, we should not face any rejection."
Nana glanced back at the still locked-in-place frame of [One for All]. "It's a miracle, huh?" She said in a solemn tone, her eyes staring far into the distance. Voices seemed to be carried from the inner depths of the ancient quirk to the woman, Izuku himself not capable yet of distinguishing the foreign echoes. "…a second chance..."
"I wonder if I truly deserve this…" Nana muttered.
It was the vampire's turn to offer the woman a comforting touch on the shoulder. "A second chance doesn't come easy, Shimura-san. Take it from me, as someone who came back by a miracle. We can only do our best."
The woman nodded. "Talk about being a hero, eh, kiddo?" Her mood was improved, though the vampire could still sense frustration within the heroine. She was inside his head after all.
She took one deep breath and then lightly slapped her cheeks with both hands. "Let's put a smile on that big lug's face!" She turned to him and smiled.
Izuku took in the sight that was akin to a refreshing balm to his soul. [True Ancestor] sprung forth with power, the vampire offering his open right hand to the heroine. "I'll try my best, Shimura-san!"
The heroine placed her own hand on the offered palm. "None of that kiddo! You are making me feel too old! Besides, we are already quite intimate, considering I'm literally inside you! Call me Nana!" She barked out in laughter, Izuku sighing at her low-brow humor
His sight began to be dyed in red and black as he closed his eyes and wished to emerge from the depths of his mind.
…
…
…
Izuku opened his eyes again, this time out in the real world. In front of him stood the mobile unit that had carried the Nana-Noumu, the teen sensing many presences around him. Thankfully this time the vampire didn't find himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
He could sense tension among the few guards that were securing the site. He couldn't exactly blame them for it, as the creature had previously been recorded fighting against him in a manner which few people could stand up to. Izuku wouldn't arrogantly call himself equal to top-ranker heroes, but he had to admit that few colleagues could truly match up to his power.
Still, there was no sense in bragging about this.
He turned his head towards All Might, noticing the man staring at the caged and restrained modified body of his teacher with a complex set of emotions. In a few moments they would all know the truth if this would truly work or not, and there was much to unpack if it even worked.
/Get to work, kiddo! We won't know if we don't try!/ Nana's voice echoed in his head, this time without any interference. The connection between Izuku and [One for All] seemed stable for the moment, so he nodded.
"I'm about to start the procedure!" Izuku loudly stated, turning his eyes to the chimera principal.
Nezu took the opportunity to pitter-patter until he reached Aizawa, climbing atop him as if the lanky man was some sort of broadcasting tower. "I thank you all for your efforts! From here on we shall take point. Please, do give us some working room."
The policemen that came all glanced towards the other person dressed in a suit in the gym. The man remained silent for a few moments, but eventually he nodded his head, which allowed the armed force to start to disperse from the gym, though they didn't leave the area just yet.
Izuku observed the suited individual, remembering that he had met him previously after his rescue. Jimina-san should be his name, though the vampire had trouble remembering any noticeable features from the man; no smell, no unique facial signs, it was as if the man was as unremarkable as possible. Quite unnaturally so.
Must be the effect of some unique quirk, The vampire mused, feeling his fangs lightly itch, which caused him to lick the sharp canine teeth. It would be an interesting and useful addition to me.
Since his request was mostly attended, Izuku felt comfortable with focusing his attention back to Nana's body. The bioengineering done to it was quite the daunting task, the scent of her body something strange. It didn't have a will of its own, much like most of the Noumus he had faced, but it certainly was more intelligent than the average monster. It also resonated quite strongly with [True Ancestor], making Izuku feel weirdly excited/curious about it. He would never expect to see a copy of his own quirk be injected into someone else, even if said "person" was merely a mindless puppet.
Well, enough of ramblings, it is time to start.
Izuku closed his eyes and approached the containment unit with small steps. He opened his eyelids, revealing his rough and wild eyes to the world, the slit pupils staring deep within the empty, beady eyes of the Noumu. Blood encased the vampire's arms, various tentacles emerging from the teen's armored hands and piercing the creature in various exposed spots.
Izuku began calling upon more of the hidden power within his blood. As expected of a quirk that has been cultivated for eight generations, this power is intoxicating! Izuku mused while his work began. Pulling on a very specific target of [One for All] was far harder than anything he was used too, as most of the quirk-factors he had were tied to his own quirk; the inherited quirk was much more powerful (and stubborn) than he anticipated.
Even when he sensed Nana's intentions to help him as she tried to influence the power to the best of her abilities, it was a struggle to get her mind to move.
The original body remained unmoved while under the effects on the teen's power, but to those looking over the procedure they could not compare it to anything else other than a dark ritual. The crimson-colored gantlets that clad the vampire's arm and sprouted the many tendrils connected to the creature, the crackling of power around the teen, the secrecy of the event; to say this was a normal happenstance would be a joke in poor taste.
The body did not show outward changes, that much was expected by the vampire, but even after an hour of his connection with the Noumu he wasn't any closer to placing Nana's spirited mind back into her body. He grit his teeth and pulled more on the energy of the ancestral quirk, his body sparking with the mighty crackle of neon-green lightning.
"Should it be taking this long?" All Might asked the diminutive Shuzenji by his side, the elder trying to pay as much attention as she could.
"There is no medical basis for this, Toshi! Give it a rest, it hasn't even been that long anyway." She grumbled, though the heroine also felt rather nervous with the wait. She had been also itching at the seams to talk with Sorahiko but considering the teen's request to keep the number of people to a minimum (not to mention the possibility of failure), she felt obliged to heed the vampire's word and wait for the result. It would break everyone's heart should this result in failure, so if she could spare the old coot the pain, she would do so.
The neon-green lightning that crackled along Izuku's body began to be dyed in tones of red, the low-pitched whining noise of the energy becoming more and more frequent as it was clear that Izuku was becoming more and more strained at this effort.
Aizawa looked at the event with narrowed eyes, his opinions about this "procedure" rather clear on his face. He wanted to criticize everyone hoping for the success of this act, but then again, the underground hero could not find it in himself to be that harsh now.
Another hour went by, the vampire's actions not having changed much from before. He had been constantly connected to the Noumu and using his power, though none could truly understand the reasons behind his actions. It took another half hour for any change to happen, Izuku powering down and retrieving his blood tentacles from Nana's original body. The Noumu seemed to remain without a will of its own, those observing wondering if the procedure had failed.
Toshinori was the first to move closer to the teen, the ex-hero having yet to speak anything as he approached Izuku.
The vampire tilted his head back and took a deep breath, still equipped with his crimson red gauntlets.
"Young Midoriya, is everything alright with you?"
Izuku did not deign the blonde ex-hero with an answer just yet, seemingly busy with his breathing exercise. Some tension began to build up as those around the room paid rapt attention to the teen, wondering what else he was to do. He had requested to not have his work interrupted by Aizawa's quirk, though if things got dire then they would have no choice but to have him cut the teen off.
Izuku remained silent, his breathing exercise being the only thing that the vampire had done so far. It took a few more moments of great tension until he opened his eyes to focus his attention on the blonde ex-hero. He took a deep breathe, releasing it with a cloud of steam.
"I managed to get a hold on her mind and start a connection." Izuku stated, the sentence seemingly reinvigorating Toshinori ten years. "It is not truly solid, and it barely amounts to anything right now, but at least we can be sure that her body will no longer be under the influence of All for One or Shigaraki." He explained, bringing one hand to massage his forehead.
The ex-hero's voice was charged with emotion, the man's eyes barely managing to hold back tears of joy. "How can I ever thank you, Young Midoriya?!"
Izuku looked around the room for support, unsure what to say to the hero. So far the procedure was barely successful and was more a stop-gap measure than anything that grandiose. He hadn't succeeded in the major objective, which was to transplant the heroine's mind back into her body. Izuku's mind abilities were not strong enough to fixate the woman's mind and ego back, his touch and hold on it faulty at best. To call it anything other than jerry-rigging would be unfair.
Still, it seemed as if the act had been appreciated enough. He couldn't be a wet blanket, and in all honesty the vampire was tired. The connection and pushing on the quirk-factors had been mentally burdensome, his mind truly sapped off. His stamina was fine, though he honestly wouldn't say no to a nap. He figured it was well deserved at this point.
He glanced back to the body of the heroine. All For One's work was nefarious and evil, but it was certainly pragmatic and powerful.
Normally a woman would appreciate being stared at, but that condition is not something I'm proud off. Nana's voice echoed in his mind, the vampire unsure how to react to her commentary.
And I'm naked.
That got a reaction out of him, the teen turning his head aside to cut sight with Nana's body. You really enjoy this, don't you? He mused to himself, crossing his arms over his chest, and raising a hand to massage the bridge of his nose. A chuckling echo was all that he received as an answer.
He let a smile lightly split his lips. "There is no need to worry, I'm just doing what is right." He muttered, feeling his fangs itch and his [Thirst] rearing its head. It had been a while, but the familiar beckoning of his quirk called for its due.
[We worked hard for him. A reward would simply be just, Master!]
Izuku brushed the suggestion aside, aware that if he gave an inch to his desires, then they would try to take a mile.
You know, I kind of agree with mister teeth-and-claws over here. Hard work deserves reward! Nana joined with the [Inner Beast], causing Izuku to mentally sigh. He already had enough with trouble to deal with.
You won't get rid of me that easily though!
[I enjoy much more this version of the Revenant! I approve of her stay!]
Both of you, quiet! Izuku ordered, receiving a gaggle of cackles from both Nana and the [Beast within].
[XXX]
[To be Continued]
