Getting a four foot tall, red frogman down seven flights of stairs and into the back of a car was not an easy task, but it was made slightly easier by it being completely conked out. It turned out that the caloric content present inside your every-day garden variety Katsuki Bakugo was just enough to put the creature into a deep sleep.

With the help of a conveniently abandoned wheelbarrow found in the apartment building's outdoor picnic area—yes, technically theft, but Inko assured them it was fine—the trio of Izuku, Inko, and Tsuyu managed to load the Yara-Ma-Yha-Who into the Midoriya family station wagon with surprising ease. Well, except for the part where an old man stopped to ask if their dog was sick.

Once back at the apartment, Izuku wasn't as shocked as he should have been to discover that a section of his ceiling concealed a flat-packed iron cage—presumably for situations just like this. So, the gang gathered around to watch as the Australian Vampire snoozed, occasionally snoring, gurgling, and…

"Mroww…"

Izuku sighed, watching yet another cat tumble out of the monster's mouth and squeezing through the bars of the cage before shaking off the drool that drenched it. "Mom! We've got another cat!" He called out to the kitchen, where his mother was currently contending with a group of very upset moggies that were determined to climb all over her freshly cleaned plates.

"Just put it with the others, Izuku!" Her voice floated back with a hint of exasperation, before there was yet another yowl and the sound of spoons hitting the floor.

The disgruntled, saliva-soaked cat looked as though it had gone through a traumatic event as Izuku cradled it, "Don't worry, bud." he muttered, "You're not the first to go through this today." He said as he placed it with its companions in a cardboard box.

Tsuyu, who was crouched down and waving a toy frog keychain in front of the kitties, looked up and asked "Ribbit, is it normal for these things to eat so many cats?"

Izuku shrugged, just as lost. "I mean… I don't think so? I've never even read anything about these things in my research, but if what mom said about them living in the Australian outback is true then there can't be that many cats lying around. Maybe it eats…Koalas? …Is that racist?"

"I don't think it is, ribbit, but I wouldn't say it to too many people."

With a checkerboard of thin scratches all over her face and arms, Inko reappeared from the kitchen looking like she'd just lost a fight with a lawnmower. "They usually target travellers, actually. They wait at the top of fig trees until someone stops for a rest."

"Mom!" Izuku said in shock, "What happened?!" he gestured to all the injuries covering her.

"Oh, right, cats hate me."

As if on cue, the creature stirred in its sleep, its massive mouth opening slightly to let out a low, gurgling snore. The three of them tensed, but the Yara-Ma-Yha-Who simply shifted in its slumber, settling back into a deeper sleep.

Izuku leaned into the box and gave one of the cats a little rub on the cheek, thankful he hadn't inherited the cat-hatred gene, "Mom… What if Kacchan isn't okay? I mean, you said he'd be fine, but what if something goes wrong?"

Inko smiled, but it faltered slightly. "Honey, I know it's hard not to worry, but we have to trust the process. These creatures are strange, yes, but they're actually not malicious. There absolutely, one hundred percent, certainly should not have been one inside an apartment building - something I am going to look into - but they aren't malicious. Katsuki is strong, he'll make it through this. And when he does, he'll probably be back to his usual self in no time."

"I only just met him, but he seems like the sort of person to like the idea of getting eaten by a monster, ribbit." Tsuyu said in an attempt to lighten the mood, "Like a badge of honour."

Izuku snorted, despite himself. "Yeah, probably. I bet he'd tell people it was twenty feet tall and could breathe fire."

"Or had ten legs, and big razor sharp claws!" Tsuyu laughed.

As they chuckled at the thought, with even Inko stifling a laugh behind a hand, there was a sudden, loud gurgle echoing from the cage. The vampire shifted again, this time more violently, its entire body convulsing as if trying to expel something.

"Get ready," Inko warned, ushering the kids back. "I think it's about to happen."

The creature's throat bulged, its frog-like eyes rolling back as it made a series of wet, retching sounds. The three of them recoiled in disgust slightly, but found it impossible to look away. They held their breath as it opened its massive mouth as wide as it could, and with a final forceful heave, it spat out a very dishevelled, saliva-soaked Katsuki Bakugo onto the floor.

"Gah!!" Katsuki sputtered, and spit out a clump of cat hair. Shakily, he managed to push himself up to his feet, a look of disgust on his face. "What the hell was that?!"

Izuku rushed forward and unlocked the cage, leading the poor boy out before closing it back up behind him, "Kacchan, oh my god, are you okay?!"

Katsuki wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and flicked a globule of monster spit on the floor, "Do I look okay?! That thing swallowed me!" he paused for a moment as though recounting the experience, "...And it tasted like crap!"

The Yara-Ma-Yha-Who was wide awake now, seemingly feeling better after a meal, and Inko kept a watchful eye on it as it sat against the bars of the cage. "I'm really sorry about all this, Katsuki. If you feel sick, please let me know, I might know a few remedies that could help."

Katsuki shot her a look, "Remedies?! What I need is to blow that thing to pieces!!" He yelled, lunging at the cage.

Tsuyu and Izuku grabbed his arms and pulled him back, "Wait, Kacchan!" Izuku shouted, "It didn't mean to, it was just hungry!"

"Hungry?! It ate me!" Katsuki growled, trying to yank his arm free.

Tsuyu wrapped her tongue around his torso to hold him back, "Think about it, ribbit! If you blow it up we don't know what could happen!"

Before he could do anything rash, Inko stepped between him and the cage. "Katsuki," she said calmly, "We'll deal with this creature, responsibly. I know a specialist who will be happy to have it relocated safely. Somewhere far, far away."

"The same person who helped with the imp, right?" Izuku asked.

"That's right. He knows what he's doing, you don't have to worry."

Katsuki hesitated, clearly wrestling with his instincts, then finally exhaled and let his shoulder slump. "Fine. But if this thing even looks at me funny, I'm blasting it!"

As he continued to grumble under his breath, Tsuyu turned to Inko. "So what do we do now?"

"Now we just make sure everyone's okay, get these cats back to their rightful owners, and get you kids back to your parents."

Izuku nodded, still feeling a bit rattled but grateful everything had worked out so nicely. As he walked his friends to the door, he put an arm around Kacchan's shoulder and patted it. "You know, Kacchan, surviving a vampire attack? Pretty hardcore."

Despite himself, he huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, well… That freak was lucky he caught me off guard. He didn't know who he was messing with…"

—

Later that evening, Inko sat bathed in the warm glow of a single lamp, her eyes tracking the Yara-Ma-Yha-Who as it wandered restlessly inside the cage. She swirled the wine in her glass, savouring the smell before taking a sip, and took a quick glance at her watch.

Her expression changed very little when the floor of the cage began to tremble, a subtle quake that quickly escalated into a violent rupture. The living room seemed to split open, the crack widening with alarming speed, flames erupting from the abyss. The vampire panicked, its frantic scrambles for safety only pulling it closer to the blazing chasm.

It clawed desperately at the rocky edges, but the stone disintegrated in its grip, and with a final, pitiful screech, the creature was consumed by the inferno, vanishing into the flames. The floor snapped shut as if nothing had happened.

Inko lifted her drink in a toast and nodded, before taking another sip.

—

One Week Later

"Midoriya! I got another one! Ribbit! Under the sands!"

Tsuyu, Katsuki and Izuku found themselves on the, shockingly, pristine white sands of Takoba Beach. A picturesque landscape which had, until very recently, been a dumping ground where you'd be more likely to catch tetanus than a gnarly wave. None of them knew where all the trash had gone, or how it had been cleared so quickly, but they did know that the now clear stretch of land had attracted more than just tourists.

"Watch out!" Izuku yelled, sprinting toward Tsuyu, who had just spotted another one of the creatures. "Mongolian death worms aren't to be messed with! They can grow up to thirty feet long if we let them!"

Katsuki was already on the move. With a wild, primal scream he plunged his hand deep into the sand, yanking out a writhing, bright-red worm with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth. The creature was vicious, twisting and snapping, but Katsuki just gave it a furious look.

"You think you can beat me?!" he shouted, swinging the worm by its tail like a lasso. With a mighty heave, he flung the creature high into the air. "Deku! Now!!"

Izuku was already in motion, whipping the sleeve of his coat back to reveal a sleek, compact crossbow strapped to his forearm. The weapon's arms snapped open with a metallic click as he loaded a bolt from his coat pocket, taking aim at the soaring worm.

He closed one eye, and pulled the trigger. The bolt shot out and pierced the death worm mid-air, right in its stomach. The worm froze, its body bulging like a grotesque balloon before it exploded in a spectacular shower of goo and entrails.

"I don't see how you're allowed to shoot things with a crossbow, but I'm not allowed to use my quirk!!" Katsuki roared, turning red in the face as a splatter of worm guts landed next to him. "You let the frog girl use her quirk!!"

"I'm not using my quirk, ribbit," Tsuyu said, hopping over to them, "I just look like this."

"She's got you there, Kacchan." Izuku shrugged, "You know we can't risk people checking up on us down here, they'd ask too many questions, and explosions aren't exactly subtle."

"Pssht, whatever" he sneered, sticking his hands deep into his pockets and kicking the sand. "Froggy an' me gotta go anyway, we've got an entrance exam to crush."

"Are you coming too, Midoriya? Ribbit. You've never told me what school you're trying for."

"Oh, was that today?" Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, whilst failing to act nonchalant. "Funny thing, I never actually applied to any schools, you know with the whole… monster slaying thing and all. But hey, good luck to you guys! I'll just uh, stay here and–" he waved a hand vaguely at the beach, "catch more worms. I guess…"

For a long moment, Katsuki and Tsuyu stared at him, watching him sink further into a melodramatic pity party. Tsuyu turned her head to give a wide eyed acknowledgement to Katsuki, who then sighed, loud and exaggerated.

"Ugh, fine." Katsuki tilted his head back and acted defeated, "do you wanna come with us to watch the stupid exam?"

Immediately, Izuku's entire demeanour flipped on its head, his eyes lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning. "S-seriously?! Do you think they'd let me in just to watch?! I mean, I've always been pretty curious what the exam is like, it has to be something incredible right? Like something to really push the blah blah blah blah,"

Katsuki's eyes glazed over as Izuku's rambling quickly escalated into a full-blown analysis. Meanwhile, Tsuyu glanced between them with her usual serene expression and an amused smile, letting out a soft "Ribbit."

"Deku," Katsuki interrupted with a growl, snapping back to reality and cutting off the torrent of words before he drowned under it. "If you don't shut up, I swear you won't live long enough to find out what the exam is."

Izuku stopped mid-spiel, and grinned. "Right, got it."

"Whatever. If you're coming, don't slow us down."

"Right! Let's go!" Izuku jogged to catch up, the three of them making their way to the exam site together. As they walked, Izuku's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas, and despite the earlier warning, he couldn't help expressing them out loud. Albeit, a little quieter this time.