Hello!
This story is based on Day 5 prompts for Tododeku Halloweek 2023: Lament / Graveyard / "Listen to them - the children of night. What music they make!".
This is the first time that I write so much angst for Tododeku, but there was no way that I could write something happy with those prompts!
Again, english is not my mother language, so there must be some grammar errors, but I don't have a beta reader, so I will do my best to correct them as soon asI find them!^/^
Once upon a time a green haired man saved a bat.
He found the poor creature in the middle of the forest during his outing searching for herbs. Midoriya Izuku was a kind hearted apothecary in a small village, he had enough medical knowledge and supplies to treat the small animal. He brought it back to his cottage, and for two weeks he took care of the creature.
However the bat wasn't a normal animal.
"My name is Shouto." Said the bat, now turned into a human, no, a vampire. "Thank you for saving my life."
"Midoriya Izuku…" The green haired man said, dumbfounded. One minute ago, it was just a bat, the next one, a vampire. He should be scared, maybe hysterical, but there was nothing in the slightly taller man indicating that he was a threat. "...hum…nice to meet you?"
The vampire, Shouto, chuckled, and Izuku blushed, because, oh god! It sounded really nice!
"Nice to meet you, Izuku."
…
They became friends after that, deciding to meet every night at a hidden flowerbed in the middle of the forest, where Shouto usually went when he wanted some time alone.
Izuku learned that while in their human forms, vampires couldn't walk under the sun, their bat's form were free to go anywhere at any time, but Shouto got weak for not drinking blood, and collapsed while in his bat form.
Another reason for him collapsing was because Shouto refused to drink human blood like others.
"Why?" Izuku asked one night, sitting beside Shouto at their secret spot.
"Humans hate us because of that, and I don't want to be hated." The white and red haired man answered sincerely. "And animal blood is not so bad."
Naive. Pure.
"I don't hate you." Green eyes stared at mismatched ones.
"I'm glad." A soft smile was playing on Shouto's lips.
…
"Aren't you too good at making wreaths of flowers?" Izuku commented, eyes glued at Shouto's skilled hands.
"Do you think so?"
"Yeah, I do. I gave up after plucking all the flowers from my garden."
Shouto laughed at that.
"Well, don't worry." He finished the crown of white and yellow daisies, and put it on top of Izuku's green locks. "I will make as many as you want."
Izuku blushed and hid his face behind his hands. Shouto was bad for his heart.
…
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yes."
"It may be kind of…insensitive…" Izuku trailed off.
"I will judge if it is insensitive or not, after hearing it." Shouto answered, arching an eyebrow.
"Okay…but really, you don't have to answer!" The human insisted. "I was just wondering…how you got your scar…"
"Oh, this…" Shouto placed a hand over his blue eye, caressing the reddish mark. "When I was younger and didn't know how to control my shapeshifting, I turned into my human form during the day. I was lucky enough that the sun burned just part of my face."
"If it makes you feel better, I think that the scar makes you look even more handsome." Izuku said, a shy smile on his lips.
"T-Thank you."
Shouto was glad that it was dark enough, so Izuku couldn't see how red his cheeks were.
...
"You are hurt." Shouto narrowed his eyes, right hand caressing the bruise on Izuku's cheek.
"I'm fine." The human laughed embarrassed. "I…fell."
"You don't have to lie to me."
Izuku looked at the flowers, eyes getting glassy. He was 19, a grown up man, he shouldn't cry, but…
"You can cry, you know…"
A sob escaped his lips, Izuku didn't notice that Shouto was already wiping stray tears from his face.
"It's just…that people at the village don't see me with good eyes, since my mother wasn't married when she gave birth to me…" He made a paused. "She died when I was ten, and after that, the way people treat me just got a little bit more…physical. It doesn't happen a lot though, but sometimes, sometimes I just feel tired…"
"You should really punch someone back."
"It's fine. If I retaliate it will be worse."
"It's not fine!" Shouto clenched his fists, anger rising. How could people treat Izuku like that for such a stupid reason? "I just…I just can't understand…"
"Because you are a really gentle person, Shouto." The green haired human said, grabbing the vampire's hands. "That's why."
"Aren't you the gentle one?" Shouto inquired. "Taking all their bullshit without saying a word? Why is no one on your side?!"
"You are on my side, and that's everything I need."
Shouto stared at the human for a moment, his green eyes were a little bit puffy, and the curly green hair was wilder than ever, but he looked lovely.
Shouto kissed Izuku, and was kissed back.
They wished for time to stop.
…
"I think…" Izuku started, worry evident in his voice. "...someone tried to follow me here today."
Midoriya was lying between Shouto's legs, head resting on his lover's chest.
"But don't worry, I lost them in the middle of the way."
"Why the sudden interest?" Shouto frowned. "They usually keep you at an arm length."
"Rumors. People are saying that I am trying to curse the village."
"This is ridiculous. You cursing someone? The other way around is more plausible."
"Right?" Izuku chuckled, music for the vampire's ears. "But because I take night strolls, and work as an apothecary, some people do think that I may be a witch."
Shouto rolled his eyes, because the whole situation was ridiculous, but at the same time, he felt responsible. What if something happens? What if those people try to hurt Izuku?
"It's okay, rumors die after a while."
"Do you…regret this ?" Shouto asked suddenly.
Izuku turned around, and Shouto's arms immediately circled his lover's waist.
"What?" Green eyes were confused.
"Do you regret becoming my lover?"
"Do you regret falling in love with a human?"
"No!"
"Neither do I." Izuku put his hands on both sides of Shouto's face and kissed his temple. "So please, don't ask me that again."
…
"Let's leave this place, Izuku." Shouto suggested, six months after they met. "Let's go to a place where no one knows us."
"And where would we go?" Izuku asked, sounding a little bit worried, after all, the small village, the forest and the flowerbed, were everything that he knew.
"I heard about a village in the north, called Yuuei. Humans and supernatural creatures coexist there."
"It..sounds really nice." The green haired man smiled.
"Would you run away from this place with me?" Shouto asked, not sure if his offer was well received.
"When do we leave?"
Yes, that answer was enough.
…
"NO! NO!" Izuku yelled, trying to release his arms and legs from the death grips of the men who were carrying him. "RELEASE ME!"
"Silence sinner!" The village's chief shouted, pointing a torch at Izuku's direction. "How dare you betray your own kind!"
"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!"
"Someone saw you in the forest!" The old man declared, and Izuku flinched. "Together with a vampire!"
"No! I can expla-!" The men carrying him threw Izuku against a wood pole, tying his arms and legs on it, and scattering wooden logs and wool around him. "STOP! RELEASE ME!"
"Looks like being a sinner flows in the Midoriya's family." Someone in the middle of the crowd muttered.
"A vampire of all things."
"I knew that something was strange, he kept going into the forest…"
"Please, stop it…" Izuku sobbed, but no one in that village was on his side. "This is crazy…"
"Is he really an apothecary? Maybe it was just a disguise, and he is a witch."
"I heard that he made a pact with a devil."
"Why...WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! WHAT DID I EVEN DO TO YOU?!"
"Are you really asking?!" One of the men who carried him there snapped, slapping Izuku on the face. "Who in their right mind would become lovers with that monster!"
"Take that back!" Izuku hissed, green eyes glaring at the man. "You don't know anything about Shouto!"
"Disgusting." The chief uttered, shaking his head. "I don't even know which one is worst, you or that thing ."
"You are the disgusting ones! All these years I suffered in silence, I took your words and punches, and not even once I tried to hit someone back!" Everyone was looking at him, like he went crazy, but enough was enough. "I am human, just like you, but I was never treated like one! But Shouto! The vampire that you are all calling a monster, was the first person I met that treated me with respect!"
"Shut up, Midoriya!"
"No! You shut up!" And the people really went silent, stunned by Izuku's outburst. "You're gonna kill me! So at least, I will say what I want!"
"You little…"
"Shouto doesn't drink human blood because he doesn't want to be hated by humans! He is a little bit awkward, but he is gentle and respectful!" Green eyes were burning, glaring at those people who looked at him with hateful eyes. "Shouto likes flowers, and takes care of the injuries that you inflict on me! He is more human than any of you! That's why I love him! And it doesn't matter what happens from now on! This will never change!"
The village was silent for a few moments, the only sound was Izuku's heavy breath.
"You made your choice." The chief said, dropping the torch at Izuku's feet. The fire spread quickly. "You will regret it."
"I will never regret choosing Shouto."
…
When he opened his eyes, Izuku was standing in the middle of a graveyard.
He looked down at his…clothes…? What was he wearing anyway? He was wearing an oversized white cloth, patched at some places with different types and colors of fabrics. And now that he was paying attention, he wasn't really standing, actually, he was floating…
"I don't have feet anymore…" Weird, but Izuku could live with that. He wondered why he wasn't panicking, which would be a perfect normal reaction considering the whole situation.
It was dark and the only source of light was the moonlight, but truly, it didn't help a lot, the trees around the area were tall and dense, preventing illumination around the graveyard.
A graveyard.
He named the grounds where he was floating a graveyard, but there were only a few tombstones there - 10 if he counted it right - all of them in different degrees of deterioration, just one of them looked like a new addition for the morbid scenario. There was no pattern or organization like typical graveyards, it looked like the village responsible for the area didn't care about it.
So…there was only an explanation for that.
A graveyard held feelings like love, respect, and longing for those who left. But this place? No, it couldn't be called a graveyard. It was merely a place where one open a hole and dump a body. A place where the ones who won't be missed were, the ones who were hated or committed serious sins and crimes were lying.
Oh. He was labeled a sinner, wasn't he?
He frowned.
A sinner. That's so stupid. What was his sin anyway? Loving someone? When 'love' of all things was turned into a sin?
"Who were they to decide who I should love?" He sounded really bitter.
Izuku wondered if he was still there - probably as a ghost/spirit/will o'wisp - because he couldn't let go of the resentment against the people from his village who executed him, or because he still wanted to be beside the person he loved.
…
"It's difficult to keep track of time." He muttered, sitting beside a tombstone.
Most of the time, he felt like he was asleep, even dreaming; sometimes he woke up during the day when rabbits were munching the grass and the birds were chirping, but normally, he would be awake during the nights, when only the moon was up to keep him company, just like now.
The wind blew and some leaves fell from the trees, the cicadas were crying in the forest, a wolf howled in the distance, and the sound of a branch snapping was heard near the graveyard.
Izuku turned to look at the direction from where the sound came, a tall figure was slowly approaching. The dry branches scattered on the dirty floor kept snapping under the stranger's weight, and when the figure finally reached its destination, a word, a name, left the ghost's mouth.
"Shouto."
Half white and half red hairs were combed in a stylish way that would only match his ethereal appearance. The scar on the left side of his face didn't make him less handsome, actually, it only made him more attractive. He looked like a noble, expensive clothes and shoes, a black and red cloak was thrown around his shoulders, and on his hands a bouquet of flowers.
Izuku didn't know how much time had passed, but Shouto looked as breathtaking as ever.
The man walked in his direction, and stopped in front of him.
"Izuku." He whispered, voice soft and full of longing. "I finally found you…"
"Sho-"
"I am sorry." Shouto said suddenly, falling to his knees, mismatched eyes, full of guilt, staring at the name engraved on the tombstone. Midoriya Izuku. "I am so sorry!"
"It's not your fault!" Izuku yelled, green eyes full of tears, but his words couldn't be heard. "This is not your fault!"
"If I h-had walked away…" The man stuttered, voice pained. "If I had left this wouldn't have happened!"
"If you had left, I would have followed you!" The ghost continued saying, even if Shouto wasn't listening.
"You died because I loved you…" Tears were falling down from mismatched eyes, tears that Izuku couldn't dry.
God, why?!
"No! No! I died because people didn't understand…No, they didn't even try to understand you! I died because of prejudice and hate."
"My love for you…was what killed you…" Shouto's head was down, trying to muffled sobs biting his lips.
"Your love was the only thing that was keeping me alive and happy!" Izuku closed his green eyes, seeing Shouto like that was more painful than death itself.
The man placed the bouquet on top of the tomb.
A bouquet of purple hyacinths.
Sorrow and a desire for forgiveness.
"I hope that one day you can forgive me, Izuku..."
"Shouto…no…please, you didn't do anything wrong…" The ghost sobbed, his tears disappearing in the air. Why? Why? His lover was right in front of him but he couldn't give Shouto words of comfort nor could he touch the man.
Life…or death, was cruel.
People were cruel.
The way that they were separate was the worst, and there was nothing that they could do about it.
And the saddest and most tragic part of everything, was that Izuku would choose the same path again.
So, how was the angst?
I hope that you like the story even if it didn't had a happy ending...
As you can see, I like to use the "once upon a time" sentence, I hope that it doesn't sound too childlike.^^''
Thanks for reading!
See you!