Chapter 11: Seteth's Secret: Part 2

"Why do you smell like human blood?"

I froze. I should have realized that Alexander would smell it, but I didn't. Why though? Was it because my mind was elsewhere or did I just not care. Did I forget to brush my teeth afterwards? No, I know I did. I even made sure Recovery Girl had that special toothpaste I use.

"I'm fine, I promise," I said in my usual monotone voice, hoping he would drop it.

"Seteth, you should know you can't lie to me. The more you try to deny it, the more your scent reveals how you're feeling. So, if you want me to drop it, just say so. Although, I would prefer you tell me what's going on. The scent of blood is fresh and it's lingering. That tells me you're either bleeding or you were around a lot of blood. So, just tell me what's up."

"There's nothing going on and I'm not bleeding nor was around a lot of blood. There is nothing wrong with me and if I smell nervous or anxious, it's because you are making me uncomfortable. The rest of the class will be here soon and I'd prefer not to be in the middle of an interrogation when they get here."

I gave my friend a glare before turning my head. It may have seemed harsh, but it was the only thing I could think of to make him back off. He did of course, but I could tell he felt guilty about making me mad, which I wasn't.

After that, the rest of the class started pouring in. I ignored them though since they didn't interest me in the least. Sure, some of them had unique quirks, like that Uraraka girl who could manipulate gravity or Todoroki and his power over fire and Ice, but I still wasn't interested.

The only other person I liked being around was Tokoyami. Mainly because he was a quiet person like me and a good strategist. He's one of the few people who could compete with me in a game of wits such as chess or shogi. Unfortunately, he wasn't here yet. Instead, it was the usual tiresome students with voices so loud they could be car horns.

Since I really didn't want to get involved, I just stared out the window. It was really nice out and the white clouds made me want to let my mind wander. If class wasn't about to start, I'd probably go and fly around a bit. The weather was perfect for it after all.

As I thought about this, I realized I hadn't heard Alexander or Tokoyami. I turned my head and saw that wolf fiddling with something. I thought it was one of those little Disentanglement puzzles, but after I looked at it closely, I realized it was some kind of bangle. I guess he was trying to fix it or add something to it.

I was about to ask him, but that's when Tokoyami walked in. He snuck past the others and sat down at his seat. He looked like he was in a bad mood, something Alexander also picked up on if his staring was anything to go by.

I was honestly expecting the wolf to say something, so I was surprised that he didn't even try to ask anything. It's most likely because of what happened before. It seemed like my glare got to him. Which of course means I'll have to apologize later.

"Alright problem children, quiet down," Mr. Aizawa said, getting our attention. "Today we're going to be going over mutation quirks. As the name implies, mutation quirks are quirks that mutate the body in order to give their users genetic abilities."

"You mean like Alexander or Seteth?" Kirishima asked while pointing at us.

"That is correct. However, you must remember that Alexander and Seteth are special cases given that they have two quirks. A better example would be Asui given that her quirk is what most think of when asked about mutation quirks. Let me explain."

We listened carefully as Mr. Aizawa explained mutation quirks and how they differ from something like a transformation quirk. Basically, a mutation quirk is permanently active since that is a person's natural body and can be thought of as something similar to evolution.

A transformation quirk on the other hand changes the body temporarily and must be manually activated. Mr. Aizawa used Kirishima's 'Harden' quirk as a good example of this. Kirishima has to actively harden his skin to be as hard as steel and is considered a regular human when not active.

He also explained that because mutation quirks directly affect the body by being connected to our DNA, he can't cancel it with his quirk. So in other words, I'm not a human who was changed into a vampire bat, I AM a vampire bat. Ultimately, I was happy to learn something so interesting.


When class ended, I headed to the library since I wanted to learn more about what we discussed. I also wanted to know more about quirks in general and see if there were any more differences between quirks.

After I picked out some books, I sat down at one of the tables and started reading. However, while they were interesting, there wasn't anything in them that I didn't know. When I was on the fourth book, the library door opened. I turned to see who it was and to my surprise, it was Alexander who was being followed by Wynn.

"Hello Seteth," he said in a quiet voice.

It was good to know that this giant wolf understood the etiquette of the library. Most people would just hi in their normal voice volume, be told to be quiet by the librarian, and then lower their voices.

"Hello Alexander, you too Wynn."

The lemur waved before sitting down next to me.

"I'm surprised you're here. I thought you would have headed straight home."

"Well it's dad's turn to pick up Nikolas so it's fine," he said before sitting in the other chair next to me. "I was actually on my way here when I ran into Wynn. And by the looks of it, all three of us had the same idea."

"Yes, I found today's lesson very interesting. However, this school's selection of books on the topic leave much to be desired."

"What do you mean?"

"The three books I already read are simultaneously too detailed and too vague. They don't tell me anything I didn't already know."

"Darn, so much for that Idea. I really wanted to learn more about the different types of quirks. Who knows, maybe there was something that could tell me why I was born a wolf and got a second quirk."

I nodded to him before turning to Wynn who picked up one of the books I read. I was going to say something, but I remembered that Wynn is deaf so I asked Alexander to talk to him for me. I asked him to explain to Wynn what I told him.

Alexander nodded and told Wynn what I said, but Wynn just smiled at me before returning to the book. I took it as him saying he was fine and wanted to read it anyway. That's when my wolf friend tapped me on the shoulder.

"Listen, Seteth, I'm sorry about earlier. I just can't help it when I catch the scent of something. It makes me want to know how it got there and where it came from and after I smelled… that I was worried."

"It's ok Alexander, I understand. I'm sorry for losing my temper."

He smiled at me while giving me a nod.

After we got that out of the way, we enjoyed an hour of comfortable silence while we read our books. I do enjoy my time with these two and I often wish I could do it more often. Sadly, all good things must come to an end.


We left the school after another hour since it was getting late. We said goodbye to Wynn and I was about to go home too when Alexander stopped me.

"Seteth, before you go, I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out a little more. I figured we could train together for a little while since we spent all that time reading. Plus, we didn't spar today so my muscles are feeling a little tight."

I looked to the side for a moment before nodding. I hated to admit it, but I've been neglecting my training and I really needed to learn some new techniques.

After I agreed, we headed to the training area behind the school. We agreed to stick to hand-to-hand combat since that's what I needed to work on the most. Honestly, once I thought about it, this training session worked out better for me in the long one. Since Alexander is a martial arts master, he was the perfect opponent to have if you wanted to improve.

Of course, that would have been the case if the match lasted more than two minutes. However, I underestimated my sparring partner somewhat. I'm faster than Alexander and I'm able to take to the skies if I need to retreat, but the wolf was more creative than I thought since was able to turn things to his advantage with his water and ice.

I tried my usual strategy of fighting from afar, but Alexander shot water at me in order to close the distance and make it hard for me to focus. When I tried to fly away, he made a wall of ice to stop me. Finally, I went in for some close range attacks, but that was my biggest mistake.

As soon as I was in range, the wolf plucked me from the air and slammed me into the ground. When I tried to get up, he hit me with a roundhouse kick to the stomach. After that, Alexander shoulder checked me while I staggered before getting behind me and striking the back of my neck with an elbow. I stood no chance against him.

"W-What happened?"

"You passed out after my last attack," Alexander said as he handed me a bottle of water. "Sorry for going overboard."

I nodded to him before taking a sip of the water.

"You were… different today."

"Yea, sorry. I usually hold back during the class spars since I don't want to reveal my hand too soon. That, and because the others don't seem to study any real martial arts. They all rely on their quirks and only use the basic combat techniques the school provides."

I nodded again in response.

"But, I don't want my skills to get rusty, so while I didn't go all out against you either, I did do a little more than usual. I also plan on sparring with my dad later too since I don't have to pull my punches against him."

"Do you… like to fight?"

"Haha, that's a tough thing to answer. I love martial arts and I love training in it and learning all the techniques. The sparring is great since I get to put what I learned into practice and see how much all that hard work paid off."

"That said though, I'm not the kind of person who goes out looking for fights. I try my best not to cause too much trouble and only really use it for defense or when I'm in a tournament. If there isn't a reason to fight, then I'm not gonna."

"I think it's more about the training and the feeling I get when I see how much stronger I've gotten that I love. I'm able to learn so much while pushing myself in ways I didn't think I'd be able to. Plus, the training does wonders for my mental and physical health, so there's that."

I just nodded one more time.

What about you Seteth?"

"I'm the same way. Although, I prefer training my quirks instead of working on my hand-to-hand combat."

"You should really work both."

I just shrugged my shoulders.

After our break, we continued sparring for a bit. This time however, we stuck to hand-to-hand combat since Alexander insisted on it. He used our time together to give me some advice on my stance and even showed me some stuff I could use with my fighting style. I still prefer to work on my quirks more, but this was a good experience.

"Thanks for the spar!" Alexander said with a smile as he wiped non-existent sweat off his head.

"Why are you whipping your head? You don't sweat."

"I don't know, I guess it just feels like what you're supposed to do after a good workout."

I let out a sigh.

"Guess it's time to head home."

"Yep!"


We cleaned ourselves off and headed out. Since our houses were more or less in the same direction of each other, we decided to walk together. We would walk for a few blocks before I'd need to turn at one of the stop signs. I could have just flown home, but it was nice to just walk like this.

When we arrived at the stop sign, I bid goodbye to my friend and headed home. After another minute of walking, I heard something coming from one of the side streets. I slowly approached to see what it was and to my surprise it was some middle school guys crowding around a girl who looked a grade below them.

"Hey cutie, what's ya doing here all by yourself?" one of the boys said with a perverted look.

"You're new around here right? How about we show you around the neighborhood," another one said as he put his hand on the wall behind the girl.

"Aren't they too young for this?"

I shook my head after thinking that and walked over to them.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing?"

All of them turned to me in what I assumed was confusion while I just glared at them.

"What's it to you?!" the first boy said with a growl.

"Hey now, that's no way to treat our guest," his friend said as he took his hand off the wall. "This girl is an underclassman of ours. She just moved here so we thought we'd show her around."

"Last I checked, you don't need five people to show someone around."

The boy's group glared at me, but I ignored them.

"You can stop pretending. It's clear what you had in mind and I have to say, it's disgusting. You're in middle school for god sake and the fact that you need four guys to help you intimidate one girl shows just how weak you are."

The leader growled at me before opening his hand to produce a ball of energy.

"Watch what you say friend. My quirk 'Condensed Energy' is the strongest in the whole school. You may be in high school, but you're just an animal folk."

I shook my head. It's guys like this that make me embarrassed to live in Japan. I never understood why, but this society puts so much importance on quirks, that they treat those with impressive powers like gods. It's clear this guy was given a lot of favoritism, most of which I'm sure he didn't deserve.

Sigh "I really don't have time for this."

Wanting to get the whole mess over with, I walked closer to the idiot and stared deep into his eyes. I really didn't want to do this, but I went ahead and activated an ability I haven't shown anyone yet.

"What are you…"

"You will turn yourself in and never bother this girl again."

"I will turn myself in and never bother this girl again."

"You will disband your gang and expose the school's favoritism towards you."

"I will disband my gang and expose the school's favoritism towards me."

That's right, my secret power was hypnosis. I do this by staring into the eyes of my opponent, putting them under my control. It's not the best power to use in battle since I need to make direct eye contact. What's more, it has a tell that anyone can catch. Whenever I activate it, my eyes glow red, just like Mr. Aizawa's.

After I finished, the boy's friends tried to snap him out of it, but with one quick look, I was able to put all of them under my spell. I gave them the same commands as their leader before I turned to the girl.

Obviously, I didn't want this getting out, so I hypnotized her as well. I told her to report what happened here to her parents and teacher while also making it that she would forget that I was ever here. Instead, I had her alter the story by having her say she was able to get away by kicking dirt into the boy's eyes.

After I finished giving my orders I watched as all the middle schoolers left, the girl going in the opposite direction as the boys. I was about to leave when I heard something that made my blood freeze.

"Seteth, what did you just do?"

I didn't even breathe. Everything went silent as that familiar voice called my name. I don't know how, but I managed to slowly turn my head until I could see who it was from the corner of my eye, praying that it wasn't who I thought it was. To my horror, it was Alexander, the last person I wanted to see.

"How much did you see?" I said as calmly as possible.

"Pretty much everything. I heard that girl scream and by the time I got here, you were already doing whatever it was you were doing to that gang's leader."

My eyes widened as I clench my fists. I couldn't believe I was so careless. If I could, I would kick my own ass for letting this happen.

"So now what? Are you gonna turn me in?"

"What for? You just saved a girl from getting raped. That makes you a hero in my book."

"You said you saw everything, so surely you can piece it all together."

"Well, I did figure out that you hypnotized those guys which is something I didn't know you could do. But I hardly see the issue. It's not like you're the only one who can do that. Hell, Wynn told me about a guy who can brainwash people just by talking to them."

Sigh "You're really gonna make me say it, aren't you?"

"Only if you want to. I have no right to force you to say anything, especially after what happened during class. So if you want me to just forget about this, I'll go home right now and act like this never happened."

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. He was really willing to keep all this a secret just for me, even the part about him knowing what I am. I could have done that. Just ask him to forget about this and things would have gone back to normal, but I knew better.

Things would never be normal after what he saw and now that he knew, there was no point in hiding it. What's more, Alexander had been an open book with me and proved he was trustworthy. It might have been a mistake to tell him, but it was mine to make.

"Alright then. As I'm sure you've already realized, I'm not a normal animal folk. I'm the monster spoken of in legends, the terror that should only exist in stories, the creature that feeds on the blood of the living."

"I am a Vampire!"