Izuku woke up surrounded by warmth, her head throbbing and her body pulsing with a dull ache. It was nice feeling warm; her mom must have paid the bills this time. Usually, she wasn't all…there to actually pay them. Either shut in her room or just staging at the door…waiting for Izuku's dad to come back…
Izuku curls in her sleep, pulling the blankets tighter around her. She didn't want to leave the bed…she didn't want to get up and go back to the office…where creepy Wilson was. "Damn that dream freaked me out…Wilson dragging me into a realm where Bendy and the others are? Where I met the missing Henry Stein? I won't be able to look at Wilson in the face for the next few weeks…note to self: no more coffee late at night," she kicks out her legs stretching but then frowns. She doesn't remember getting coffee last night…she doesn't even remember getting back in the small apartment that she lives with her mother…
"Stop moving Little Gift," Bendy's voice rumbles in her ears and head, "I'm trying to sleep…" she feels an arm wrap around her stomach and pulls her close to a vibrating chest, a purr ringing in her ears. She felt a nudge to her head, soft and comforting…and Izuku opened her eyes.
Or she thinks she did…she doesn't know if she has eyes under the mass of dripping ink that covered her face. But she could still see. She was in her room, posters of All Might, Mirko, Ryukyu, Fat Gum, the Wild Wild Pussy Cats hanging on the walls. A bookshelf filled with all sorts of books to the history of Ultras to books filled with all sorts of magic she wished she could use. But she lost the attention on her room, focusing on the fact that she was in her bed. It was filled, no pile up with all sorts of blankets, those that had been stiff in the closet for so long after kids stopped coming over to sleepover. She was laying in it, her wings, (she had wings… wings that she had longed for years) pressed between her back and Bendy's chest, which rose and fell slowly, rhymically, only interrupted by the purrs that vibrated.
Tilting her head up, she looks at Bendy, the face of the Onk Demon holding her close, "why…. Are you in my room?" She whispers, "what are you doing in my apartment?!" She screeches out, pulling herself out of the demon's arms and falling off her bed with a screech. Her wings flapping, heart beating in her chest, the fur around her shoulders began to poof up. She looks up at Bendy as he sits up, "it… it wasn't a dream?"
"No… no it wasn't Little Gift," Bendy rumbles, slipping out of the bed. It amazed her that there were no ink stains on the blankets where she and he had slept. But she remember how when they both did their ink trails to warn the Searchers and the Butcher Gang that it never left any new puddles… "Are you upset about that?"
"No…." Izuku admits honestly, "I'm not upset about it not being a dream…a little freaked out that I was pulled into a different realm, my body forcibly changed and I was almost sacrifice in a demonic ritual…but I don't regret it," she holds up her hand, seeing the ink that covered what was once skin…but she could feel the scales that were hidden underneath…her shoulders than slump, "By the Gods my mom is going to kill me,"
"Why would your mother kill you?" Bendy growls, anger and confusion lacing in his voice.
Izuku sighs, "My mother was once a powerful sorceress. She never joined a guild or anything of the sort but she traveled around a lot, helping those in need…she mostly faced demons…and since then she has a hatred of demons. To her there is nothing but trouble, no good can go with making a deal with a demon," she sighs, slowly standing up, "Its why me being Coreless is so...shocking. Usually, people will make deals with demons, or get bitten by vampires or something…mom didn't like that…she didn't like the fact that I was Coreless but thought I should be happy with what I was given…" she huffs, her tail twitching in annoyance. Before she shakes her head… she shouldn't care what her mom thinks anymore…she stopped being her mom after she was declared Coreless.
She looks up when she heard the sound of pots banging against the floor, and curses, "Betty! Betty its alright! I got it! Listen it may have been a while since I cook anything other than bacon soup but I think I can make some good old pancakes…"
"Henry?" Izuku whispers, hearing Henry's voice. She quickly turns to Bendy who rumbles and nuzzles her head, his tail wrapping around her's, "He's here…are they all…"
"Everyone is here….well Allison, the mutt," Bendy growls, his spines pricking up in anger, "Buddy, Betty, Porter, Hedi, Sammy, Rukia, Norman and Clairesse…the others such as the Lost Ones and Searchers…their back in the Dark Puddles…but the Creator should be able to summon them when we get a bigger place…this place…is tiny,"
Izuku nods at this before she pushes herself off the floor. Walking on her hooves, she exits her room, almost hitting her head on the top of the frame. She stares at the sight before her. Sammy was sitting behind Clarisse, looking over her feathers while Norman trudges around, shining his projector light on anything that moved. Buddy was on the couch, staring at the tv with wide eyes, clicking rapidly on the remote changing the channels, his tail wagging. Rukia was glaring at Sammy, in the corner while gripping her apron tightly while ignoring Hedi who was trying to goad her into a game of peek a boo. Allison and Tom were sitting at the counter, Allison holding Tom's hand tightly, tense as her yellow eyes flicker about. Tom was rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand, keeping one eye on Porter who was running around rapidly, almost knocking into the walls. Henry and Betty though were in the kitchen, cooking up some food.
"My Lady!" Rukia gasps, her gaze landing on Izuku. She pushes herself up and runs to her, making Izuku take a step back, "praise the Dark Puddles you have awaken! Oh, a glorious day! We are free from the blasted studio and now shall be-"
"Be guided by our Lord!" Clarisse yelps as she was almost pushed over, catching herself by the hands as Sammy stands up, yelling furiously at Rukia.
Before the two could get into an argument, Bendy grabs them both by the heads and pushes them away. Izuku, deciding to focus on something else walked over to the counter.
"Morning Izuku," Henry smiles at her as he sets a plate of pancakes, "how are you feeling?"
"You were pretty out of it when you dragged yourself out of the puddles," Allison started looking at her in concern, "you didn't really talk… just led us here and then flopped in your room,"
"I'm… fine…" Izuku admits grabbing a fork and taking a bite out of the pancakes, "shock that everything wasn't a dream? Yes. But other than that…I'm, ok? Really, I am…I'm just glad to be alive…" she shivers, thinking of the hours under Wilson's care and looks up when Bendy nuzzles her again. She then jumps when she hears the sound of shattering glass and turns her head to see Porter blinking at the broken vase, Betty coming over to scold him. She frowns, looking over to her mother's door…but she heard nothing….no movement…no sound…
Getting up from her chair, she walks over and pushes the door open. She stares at the room, which looked like it hadn't been used for a long time. There were no clothes in the closet…no bags or purses…searching more Izuku found that her mother's wallet and passport were gone. Her heart ache, and her tail gets between her legs. She knew her mother…didn't care for her…not for a long time. For all that she preach about how Izuku should be happy with what the Gods gave her…she never seem happy about her being Coreless…but she thought she would had done…something when she didn't come back home. Looking at the small clock on the side table she saw that it had been seven months…she frowns, her body trembling as her wings pressed against her back.
"Does anyone even know? Did they even care…did mom report it or did she just left, no longer burdened by her Coreless daughter…" her body trembles more, shadows of ink crawling on the walls, the floors and she roar out, slamming her fist into the wall that it cracked. Her feathers flared out, a screech ripping from her throat before she sucks it all in.
She quickly spins around, stomping back over to the counter….she could feel everyone's stares on her but she ignores it. She grabs onto a pancake and rips into it. Taking a few deep breaths, she looks up, "We can't stay here…not only is it too small for everyone, we won't be able to bring everyone out of the Dark Puddles in this small space," she rolls her eyes…or at least she thinks she does when Bendy snorts "And my mother is gone…I don't know how long we will be allowed to stay in this place…heck the owner may have already sold this space to someone already.."
"True…" Henry sighs, his tail swishing behind him, "I'm going to call Linda…see if she's alive and tell her that I'm ok…but even if she stayed in our old home its not even big enough…" he muses, frowning a bit.
Swallowing, Izuku hums, "I may know someone who might help. He's the one who got me the interview at Arch Gates even though I am a bit young to work as a studio artist…but he's an old friend of my dad's that kept an eye on me," "One of the only ones," Izuku thought with a frown, "He'll probably know a place where we can all be that is big enough…or even a plot of land where we can build a village…"
"Or a Kingdom," Bendy rumbles in approval.
Izuku sighs, shaking her head, "That will need approval from High King Kenichi Yaoyorozu," Bendy tilts his head, confused. "There are many royal families in Ultras…the Todoroki Family who rules Musutafu…the Tokage Family in Ajan…the Yorashi Family in Cloud City…and many more…but all of Ultras is ruled by the Yaoyorozu Family…they're the ones who keeps the between the royal families and the Guilds. So, if we want to create a Kingdom of our own, we well have to go to them…"
Bendy growls in disapproval and Henry chuckles patting him on the back. Izuku looks at her arm with a frown, "The only problem I think I will have is trying to convince the guy I'm really me. I don't exactly look like myself anymore," she sighs, tail twitching in annoyance, "If only I had the ability to shift like you do…will also help make sure I wouldn't bump my head against the doorfr-" she then grimaces as her body began to tingle, the lights flickering on and off above her. Then she felt a sort of squeezing pressure on her, like her body was trying to shift into something much smaller. Coughing a bit, feeling like ink had been thrusted into her throat, she looks up when she heard gasps. Sammy quickly covered Buddy's eyes before he could look over, Norman doing the same for Clarisse. Confuse she looks at Henry who coughs, his eyes gazing at the wall like it was really important.
"You…may want to get some clothes on," Blinking, Izuku looks down and screeches, her arms wrapping around her chest. She had, somehow shifted into old self…well mostly. She still had ink covering her legs, her feet still hooves...her wings quickly wrapped around her, covering her more as she stood up and race to her room. She heard a please growl from Bendy before he painfully yelps.
"Creator! What was that for?!"
"Bud I love you but if you want Izuku to date you, you need to learn about boundaries. For one, not staring at her when she finds herself naked!" she heard Henry scold as she slams the door to her bedroom.
He soars through the air, heart beating against his chest…the wound in his side throbbing in pain. He knew he shouldn't be using his magic like this, wasting it when he should be saving it for more dire needs. But he needed to hurry….he needed to get to his Teacher…he need to.
Landing in an alleyway he pants as smoke and steam waves off his form. From a very large, muscular man with blue scaled arms, tip with white talons on the end of the fingers, to a skinny man. He wheezes his, blue and yellow scaled tail slightly curling between his legs, but All Might…Toshinori Yagi shakes his head and walks out of the alley. He shivers, looking up at the run down and seemingly abandoned building. But he knew the truth…he knew that someone was living in this place..
"Hopefully he doesn't kick me in the stomach," Toshinori sighs as he knocks on the door. He frowns a bit at the silence, knocking once more. When he didn't get an answer, he pulls out the spare key that he always had and unlocks the door.
"Sir? Are you in? I'm sorry for the unexpected visit but I really need to-ACK!" he yelps as foot slams into his face, sending him rolling on the floor and into the wall. Eyes swirling he blinks up at his teacher. A round ball of gray fur stared at him, the fur on his head spiking up in anger. His brown eyes, surrounded by a patch of dark black fur, was narrowed at him while gray pointy ears pinned in anger.
"Toshinori?" the gremlin known as the Pro Hero Gran Torino growls and stalks up to him, "What in the names of the Gods are you doing here? Coming unexpected?! I thought you were someone trying to sneak attack me!"
Toshinori hisses as one of his horns were grabbed, "Why would you think someone was attacking you when I knocked on the door!? Ow ow ow…please Sir, let go! I have something important to say,"
"It must be important if you actually came down and visit," Gran snorted, trudging over to a table where a plate of taiyaki was and grabbed one, throwing it in his mouth.
"One for All chose a new vessel," Toshinori grimaces as Gran Torino chokes, his paw punching his own chest as he tries to dislodge his food, "I know! I'm surprised as well with All For One gone now…"
"I'm not surprise that they he chose a new one," Gran Torino chokes, "I'm just surprise it took so long," he sighs seeing the hurt look on Toshinori's face, "Don't give me that look Toshi…I never liked the Gods and thats the same for One For All…he may be better than his brother but he still a God…and a dragon at that…their greedy,"
"Hey! Not all of us are greedy!" Toshinori argues, before he coughs into his claws, blood spurting onto his palm. Gran rolls his eyes and walks over to him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him over to the couch.
"Toshi, you're the greediest dragon I know! You can hardly let other Heroes do the saving, it always has to be…" Gran Torino takes another deep breath, "Anyway…I don't trust Gods…especially Gods that are dragons. One For All is both such as All For One…we're just lucky he doesn't collect mortals like All For One…you may think that with his brother now gone he may want to move on but he doesn't…no God wants to move on…and if the only way he can make sure he doesn't fade is to keep choosing Vessel,"
Toshinori frowns at what his teacher was saying, "Anyway…enough about this…what do you know about your successor,"
He grimaces at this, his shoulders hunched, "That's the thing, Sir….I don't know anything about them…" he then yelps as a cane smashed into his head almost knocking him over.
"What do you mean you don't know anything about them?" Gran Torino rages, "Were you not paying any attention to the ceremony?!"
"I was!" Toshinori defends himself, "But it was like I was covered in ink! Like I was drowning in it!"
Confusion and frustration builds up on the Gremlin's face, "Ink?"
Nodding his head, and grimacing in pain as it throbbed from where Gran Torino hit it. "yes…Ink…and screams…people crying out, asking for help…to get out…" he frowns, gulping, "It was all suffocating…I could hardly hear my own thoughts. It felt…demonic,"
Gran growls, "Great…seems your successor got themselves in a pickle with some demon shit…" he pinches his brow. Bringing his paw down he looks at Toshinori, "And you are sure you don't know anything about this new vessel?"
Toshinori shakes his head, but frowns, "They're a female…and maybe young…probably a bit older than I was when I was chosen,"
"So maybe their about to join a guild," Gran said, crossing his arms in thought, "You were about 14 when you were chosen as a Vessel," he closes his eyes in annoyance, "that's going to be like a needle in a haystack…so many kids join guilds with an apprentice program…"
"I'm going to agree with Nedzu," Toshinori states, making the gremlin look over to him, "For the last few years he's been asking me to join as a mentor in the U.A Guild…been giving me excuses saying it will help me hide how much time I actually have to use my magic without it killing me….hopefully successor will have the urge to sign up for their apprenticeship program,"
"True…many do go and try to join…" Gran Torino states but sighs, already feeling the headache coming, "Luckily…it may be a bit easy since dragons are so rare now these days…hopefully one will reveal that they have stronger magic than yours…"
Toshinori nods his head but frowns, "Hopefully they're ok and they won't get hurt…"
Music played loudly as Izuku opens the door to the Mos Eisley Cantina. She looks to her side, Bendy who had shifted into his Toon form was bobbing his head down, "Don't cause any trouble alright?"
"I don't cause trouble darling~ Trouble finds me," Bendy snickers but follows her as she pushes through the crowd gently. Making apologies as she bumps into people. Looking around she sighs when she spotted the person she needed.
"Giran!" she calls out, making the man look up, his antlers almost hitting someone in the eye. He puffs out a bit of smoke in surprise, staring at her horns and wings. She quickly walks over to him, Bendy following her, keeping an eye on the others in the Cantina, making sure they won't attack her.
"Izuku? Izuku Midoriya?" Giran stares at her as she slid into the booth. "Well I be…when you said that some things had changed…I didn't think you meant literally!" he smiles, his purple scaled tail with a pink fluff at the end swishes, laying across his lap. He takes a drag of his cigarette, "So what happened? Last time i saw you…you didn't have wings…or your face was dripping with ink,"
Izuku sighs, looking to Bendy who sat beside her. He nods her, "Turns out that the job you got me? At ArchGate pictures? They got their hands on some stuff that made a magic born demon,"
The Qilin hisses, his pink eyes flickering to Bendy, "I guess this little one is the magic born demon in question?"
Izuku nods her head, "It turns out Joey Drew tried to bring his cartoons to life. Bendy here was the first one and he…he wasn't on model…"
"Of course not," Giran puffs out a smoke, looking at Bendy who growls at him, "No offense little guy…but that's the thing with creating life with magic…any sort of magic. Something always goes wrong in the end. You do get something out of it, but its not in the way you want it…I mean magic can do a lot of things but no sacrifice of anything can equal to a soul,"
Izuku nods her head in agreement, patting Bendy on the head between his horns. The Ink Demon stared at Giran before he huffs crossing his arms. She smiles a bit, "Drew didn't learn that…he blame on that they didn't have souls and started…sacrificing his workers…when that didn't work he started blaming his ex who created Bendy and the other characters…he made a different realm Giran…and trap the poor man and all his workers in a hell on earth…" she shivers, taking a deep breath, "that creepy janitor I told you about? He found out about the realm and tried to take over it… Bendy took offense to that so he tried to create his own…demon to overthrow him…he planned on sacrificing me to power it,"
Giran growls, closing his eyes, "Hope that bastard is dead," he chuckles at the surprise look on Izuku's face, "Don't be surprise about it kiddo. I knew you since you were a baby, I've been keeping an eye on you since your old man had to leave," Izuku frowns at the mention of her father, her feathers shifting and making Bendy look up at her. "I wish I could have done more…but with the way your ma is,"
"I don't blame you Giran…and I'm thankful for everything you have done for me," Izuku smiles before she shakes her head, "But Wilson is dead…but now I got a whole studio worth of people to care about since the spell that kept them in that realm is now broken…I need a bigger place…a warehouse, a plot of land anything so I can help them rebuild their lives…"
Giran hums, but before he could open his mouth, someone walked over, sneering at Izuku, "Hey pretty thing~ Why don't you come with me and I can show you a good time?"
Izuku raises an eyebrow at that, staring at the minotaur who grins down at her. She rolls her eyes, "Thanks but no, I have more important things to do,"
The minotaur snorts in disbelief, "More important than having the best time of your life? Come on baby," he rumbles, leaning down and knocking Bendy out of his seat, "I can show you a really good time. Buy you a few drinks since it seems this old geezer didn't have the manners to do so…and it will be much more fun than watching this brat…give you a break,"
"Get away from my Darling…now,"
Izuku sighs, closing her eyes and placing her head in her hands. Giran was staring a bit, his cigarette dropping from his mouth. The minotaur though, huffs in annoyance, turning, "Hey buddy, can you see I'm busy flirting with the…" he stops, slowly looking up, his ears pinning on his head as he takes a step back, staring at what he thought at first was a little kid, but was definitely much more worse.
"I suggest you listen to me and walk away….before I decided that I'm hungry enough to bite your fucking head off!" Bendy growls, and Izuku could feel his anger…maybe it was because they bonded together to become the Beast…but she could feel him…and he was angry. The only reason he wasn't ripping the minotaur's head off was because of her…he knew she would scold him.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the minotaur blabbers before he backs away, holding his paws up, "I didn't know she was…I'll be leaving…" he pushes his hand into his pocket, pulling out a wad of cash, "here! Food and drinks are on me for my troubles!" He quickly turns and runs out of the Catina, everyone staring a bit before they all break down in laughter.
Izuku shakes her head, looking up at Giran, "Maybe make sure the place has a forest area…with lots of animals…"
"I could just hunt the Lost Ones," Bendy remarks but stills at her glare.
"They are people too…you are getting out of that damn habit…and its just ink! You are literally just eating ink…its probably why your such a twig," she gestures to him and he makes a hurt sound.
"Twig? Darling I am not a twig!" he argues but then yelps when Izuku pokes at his side. He grumbles rubbing where she poke.
Izuku smiles, but turns to Giran who picks up his dropped cigarette, "I should have something like that..I will have to talk to an partner of mine that is high up with the Yaoyorozu family to make it all legal…but it shouldn't take too long…gives you enough time for the U.A Festival right?"
Izuku blinks at this, looking at her claws…the Festival that U.A throws for the Apprentice Exams would be in three months…could she really…could she really still do it? She looks up as she felt a nuzzle, Bendy crooning at her, "Don't let the Betrayer win my Queen…you have power now…you can use it however you want…and I shall be by your side,"
Izuku stares at him, and smiles, bringing her hand up to scratch at his chin. His tail swishes behind him, almost hitting someone as he rumbles.
Lookie here! Another chapter! I'm pretty happy! I think things would be better but I'm happy with what I got...
Yes, Gran Tornio is a Gremlin, look up Pop fizz from skylanders and that is what he looks like but with his canon coloring...I am just not good with describing things.
Usually people use Toshinori's detective friend...I decided to use Giran...he's the one who help Izuku get that interview and is now helping her find a new place to live.
I have to figure out why Izuku was coreless when their out vampires and demons who could give people magic...and decided that Ink just...doesn't like that...she thinks that people should be happy with what they got...didn't stop her from not blaming Izuku for everything that went wrong and why she didn't report her missing. No one notice because they all thought that Izuku went with Inko when she left.
Izuku is going to do the U.A exam...she has much less time than canon, but while she knows she is a vessel for One For All...she doesnt know what that means...she is going to be studying so much magic to keep up...but she won't know the true strenght until the exam, which thankfully will point izuku out to Toshinori. (who is freaking out that he can't find his hatchling... I mean sucessor..dadmight...dadmight)
Anyway I hope you all enjoy please leave a comment!