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I have a ko-fi account for those that are interested/can/want to toss some dosh my way. Search for ryujinmaou and you shall find my dumbass there. I am writing the next chapters and it would be good to have your opinions help shape the story.
[XXX]
Chapter 24: [Preparations are Always a Must]
Izuku stood at attention, his shadow burrito containing Monoma right beside the vampire. He watched along with his other classmates the ensuing battles that happened. Nothing so far went about as his own personal match, the following fights being rather tame and simple as the students preferred to prioritize the search part of the exercise instead of any combat.
It didn't take long for the person inside his shadow prison to stir awake, struggling to exit the shadowy embrace of the cocoon Izuku had created for the teen to recover. The vampire slowly unwound the shadow matter, allowing the blonde teen to slowly slide out of protective bubble of shadow mass.
As Monoma slid out of the cocoon and fell on the ground, the blonde dragged himself away far from Izuku, almost in a hurried panic to flee from the vampire's presence. The green-haired teen raised a brow at the young teen, seeing from his position Kendo hurriedly going to check on the blonde together with her classmates.
The hemomancer watched from a distance as the big sister from 1-B worried over the blonde teen, checking over him to see if any injuries remained on him. Much like Izuku had said to Aizawa and Vlad King, the copy-cat quirk would take care of any of Monoma's injuries, although it sapped much of the teen's energy and stamina.
Much better than him draining someone from his class, but the vampire shrugged. The vampire also quietly allowed the shadow mass to return to him, his sensitive nose capturing the scent of blood inside the shadow cocoon. Izuku allowed it to be absorbed through his shadows, connecting it with his own blood.
Considering he kept close to his initial team for the exercise, Uraraka and Kyoka were close to him and thus saw when his eyes glimmered with hidden power, some blood being granted to him while hidden from the view of the rest of all the teens.
The punk rocker kept her guard up, her jacks ready to intervene and help the green-haired vampire. Uraraka also spread her stance, ready to show off her new skills.
As things stood, the vampire merely sighed in frustration, the small drops of blood acquired from Monoma not enough to even quench his [thirst] due to the recent usage of quirk factors. It granted him a new quirk factor to unlock, so Izuku couldn't just complain about the recent development.
He also noticed the girls stand ready in case he did something wrong, which earlier could have happened. He smirked a bit, seeing the duo ready to throw down with their styles, sparking some interest in his mind, but Izuku contained himself.
"I promise a kiss to each if you don't throw me around like a ragdoll." In the end, the vampire couldn't contain his own humor and joked about with the girls. The reactions were just as he expected.
Uraraka immediately burst into a blushing mess, her mouth shut to avoid releasing an embarrassing noise. All the while Jirou groaned as loud as she could, her fighting stance crumbling away as she smacked away Izuku on the shoulder. Only for the girl to once more hug her hand close to her body, nursing it from pain as had once more smacked a hardened plate of armor.
"Urghhhh, I swear one of these days I'll get you!" Kyoka murmured, nursing her hand as her ear jacks pointed at the vampire like hissing snakes.
The vampire smirked, amused at the antics. He approached the rocker girl, seeing her jacks get into striking position, yet the action did nothing to dissuade him of his approach. He offered the girl his open hand, motioning for the rocker to place her hurting hand over his.
"What's this now? Were you serious about the kissing thing?" Jirou asked in a hurry, making Izuku stare at her with a deadpan face, still extending his hand to her.
The girl was a bit reluctant, but in the end followed through and placed her pained hand over Izuku's. He slowly grabbed her hand, running his thumb over Jirou's open palm and focusing on the blood running inside his own limb.
The rocker didn't know what to expect, but a soothing hand-massage wasn't exactly it. Nevertheless, once the vampire began to massage her aching hand, she relaxed into it. It became even better when his hands began to warm up and up the level of the massage into something one could only get when in a spa.
"Mmmhmm…" Jirou let out a small moan as the flared pain of smacking her hands against the hard plates of the vampires coat was washed away by the tender massage and warmth that irradiated from the hemomancer's hands. "Damn vampy, that feels good." She stated, the massage ending after a few more moments.
Izuku acknowledged her with a nod. "A perk of being able to use multiple quirk-factors."
The rocker snorted and shook her head in good-fashioned manner. "You can say that again."
Uraraka had plenty of time to shake her shock off, observing the duo's interactions with a passive gaze. She glanced at her own hands, wondering if she had a good excuse to be under the vampire's touch. When nothing came to mind, the girl looked sideways with a pout on her lips, wondering if the vampire would notice her frustrations.
Either he was being dense or he was purposefully ignoring her woes. Ochaco wasn't sure which one would anger her more.
The good natured fun the group was having was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching them, the vampire and the rocker glancing at the noise origin with questioning gazes.
Kendo was approaching the group with a stern face, her other classmates staying behind to watch over the girl's back. A feeling at the back of Izuku's head told him that he was being observed not only by the students, but also by the two teachers doing the exercise; most likely a precaution in case a heated argument erupted from the meaning of 1-A's vice-president and 1-B's president.
The Big Sister vs the Monster of the Night: now that would be a fight to watch, even if last time they fought it ended with his victory.
"I heard somethings from Monoma, so I came to hear you side too." Kendo spoke in a defeated tone, standing in front of Izuku with her shoulders slouched.
Izuku glanced at Kyoka to gauge some reaction. Some annoyance was visible on the rocker girl's face, but she held it in and merely crossed her arms to wait for the orange-haired girl's turn.
"I'm pretty sure that the recordings can speak for themselves." Izuku said while he stared at the martial artist, the girl herself sighing in resignation.
"Yeah, I know. Vlad-sensei showed us the video, and Setsuna vouched for you." That made Izuku curious. Not the video-proving part, but the vouching part.
Izuku hmm'ed and rested his hands under his chin in a pensive manner. "If I remember correctly, Setsuna-san was one of the two that came over together with you during your visit of the warehouse, correct?"
That, in turn, got Kyoka's and Uraraka's attention.
Kendo seemed to brighten a bit at him remembering one of her friends. "Yes, she is the one that can split into different parts. The sassy one." Itsuka joked, pointing to a particular girl in the crowd of 1-B students.
Izuku nodded. "Right, the sassy one. You said she vouched for me?"
"Right on the dot. She debunked all the panic hazed bullcrap that Monoma kept on saying after the exercise ended, and I guess I just wanted to…I don't know…just make sure that Monoma isn't all the impression you have of us." Itsuka ashamedly looked to the side, scratching at her left cheek while also hiding her other hand behind her body.
Uraraka peeked over Izuku's shoulder. "I don't think there is anything for you to worry about, Kendo-san. Izuku-kun is too laid back to assume things from your class."
That made the group pause, the girls looking at the vampire who raised his brows at them. He wanted to rebuke the tongue-and-cheek reply of the gravity-girl, but found himself agreeing with the statement. He wasn't happy to be agreeing with that, his brows furrowing as he tried to put on a mean face.
Kyoka snorted again, while Uraraka tried to hide her small burst of giggling behind hands, all the while Kendo looked between the two in a sort of confused state.
Izuku sighed with some frustration mixed into his breath, turning his gaze back to the martial artist and releasing the tension from his face. He gave the girl a small smile, his fangs slightly peeking from his lips.
Kendo could not help the slight dusting blush that painted her cheeks at his smile. It was such a common act, something that plenty of people in her class did all the time, herself included; yet, seeing that tiny elevation of his lips on his normally ever so serious and stoic face and the peeking sharp canine that poked ever so slightly to be in sight. She counted herself lucky her mask hid the blush else she might have embarrassed herself.
"I certainly am not holding anything bad against your classmates, Kendo-san." His answer made the girl nod, releasing a sigh of relief. Having the vampire being an antagonistic force against her was certainly not in Itsuka's list of priorities.
She gave a small bow to the group, a cheery aura around the girl as she returned back to her classmates. The vampire and his group watched from their place as the martial artist reached her own group and began to talk with them, most likely explaining the situation to them and forwarding his answer.
"You know she is totally into you, right?" Kyoka whispered close to Izuku, sure that he alone would hear it.
That made the vampire turn his head to stare at the punk rocker, his poker face betraying nothing that the girl could use as a concrete answer. Izuku kept his gaze on his classmate for a few moments, emerald green slits staring unblinking at the amethyst pupils of the girl in an effort to have the girl drop the subject. When it was clear that Jirou wouldn't wither under his gaze – her eyes challenging Izuku with a clear fire – he sighed in defeat and turned aside to glance at the screen where other groups were having their exercise.
Kyoka huffed at his lack of response, clearly eager to hold the subject over the vampire's head and tease him about it. She was just about to begin her renewed attack on the hemomancer when she saw a pink skinned classmate approach the group.
Mina arrived with all the energy she was known for, a clear bounce on her step as she reached the group.
"Mina-chan is here!" With a last hop, the pink girl jumped close to Jirou, hugging the slim girl tightly. "My love sensor is going crazy! You all better spill the beans already, the love doctor is here to solve all your romantic problems!" Mina excitedly spoke as she heavily leaned against Kyoka, causing the punk girl to release a troubled noise.
"A little bit of personal space here, Mina!" Jirou complained, her hands trying to push the more endowed girl away.
Izuku and Uraraka just kept their distance and watched the event, the vampire happy that the [Acid]-quirk user had set her sights over someone else. All the while Ochako was content with the fact that Ashido hadn't aimed for her, else she might crumble into an embarrassed mess.
Or so they thought they were free. The grinning smile that Mina displayed as she turned her head around to look at the duo told another story.
"Ohh, my sensor is tingling this way!" The way the girl spoke made a shiver run down Izuku's spine, along with the message of "STRANGER DANGER" in his head. Izuku glanced at Uraraka, the girl herself looking at him to see if he had already cooked up a plan to escape from the pink menace.
Uraraka's brown orbs shimmered with a wet gaze of hope, the vampire smiling at the girl.
And then, he mouthed "I'm sorry!" as a mist/fog/smoke poured out of his body, Izuku instantly disappearing from everyone's sight as he [Warp]'ed somewhere else, leaving Jirou and Kyoka to deal with their pink-skinned classmate.
"IZUKU-KUN!" Uraraka shouted in a distressed voice, having been left to deal with Mina. She slowly turned around to see Mina inches away from her face.
"Hmmmm, what was that Uraraka-chan? Why were you calling for Midoriya-chan?" Mina had released Jirou, the rocker trying to slowly move away from the Love Doctor without drawing attention to herself. The pink-skinned girl slithered her way close to the brunette with a creepy smile, eager to have all the supposed details.
Jirou gave her condolences for Uraraka's sacrifice, waving a hand to the brunette while she tried to sneak away. Her attempt was almost thwarted by herself, as a cold something grabbed one of her legs and it took Kyoka's entire willpower for the girl to keep her mouth shut. She slowly looked down, finding a shadowy tendril grasping at her left foot. She almost cursed at Izuku, sure that he left her to Mina's interrogation.
Imagine her surprise when Izuku appeared right in front of her, suddenly materializing in a burst of silent black fog. He grasped one of her hand, his free limb making a motion for the girl to keep quiet; she managed to follow his instructions, allowing him to once more [Warp] out of Mina's sight, leaving poor old Uraraka to suffer under the acid girl's talk.
They appeared close to the big screen displaying the teams for the exercises, yet far from the lingering groups so that their appearance didn't draw more attention, right on a corner between two buildings.
Jirou groaned a bit, feeling her stomach complain about the sudden shift in place. Her groan was soon followed by some chuckling, the punk rocker leaning against a wall and glancing at Izuku with half-lidded eyes.
"You know Uraraka is going to throw a fit at this! We left her hanging out for the shark." Kyoka controlled her fit of small laughter and wiped a tiny tear on the corner of her eye as she waited for an answer out of the hemomancer.
Izuku merely shrugged his shoulders, peeking the corner to see if they had attracted any sort of attention. Seeing that the coast was clear, the vampire released a small sight.
"I'll cross that bridge when it comes to it." His nonchalant answer almost made the girl jab him on his right shoulder before she remembered his coat's armor plating and opted for a quick use of her jacks, the metallic tips aiming for the gap between his neck and jaw. Izuku released a choked noise as the vibrations travelled into his neck, making him flinch at the unexpected attack.
"Betrayal…" Izuku whispered with a faux shocked expression, much to the amusement of the rocker.
"I told you I'd get you." Before Kyouka could get too smug about her victory, tiny blood tendrils emerged from Izuku's neck and captured the girl's elongated earlobes, making Jirou immediately pale. She put her hands up, some sweat immediately building on her forehead. "Now now, Midoriya, let's not get hasty here." She tried to pacify the vampire, but it was clear on his face that peace-talks were over and he had made his choice.
Izuku didn't dignify the girl with a verbal answer, his tendrils bringing the captured jacks close to his mouth in a slow manner, extending the time that Kyoka had to regret her choices.
He slowly opened his maw, making a show of displaying his teeth and fangs to a panicked Kyoka. Static built up inside his mouth, Izuku pushing a bit of power into his teeth until they sparked tiny arcs of green lightning. He slowly closed his mouth around the tips of the trapped lobes until teeth met the metal. His lips mouthed a word at the girl, who threw both hands over her mouth to avoid releasing any type of noise.
"Jackpot!"
[XXX]
[XXX]
The classes returned to their rooms after the joint-exercise was finished, the 1-A bagging the majority of the wins. That wasn't to say that the 1-B teens didn't give their best, but against the wealth of fighting experience from the 1-A teens the group fell just short.
The 1-A teens returned to their respective gender lockers to put away their gear and shower, as the work was done for today. The females excitedly chatted away as they made their way back to class, the males (greater in number) taking their time and fooling around in the sweaty locker/shower room.
Izuku watched Kaminari and Hanta joke and fake-wrestle about, their towels firmly fastened around their waist as the duo was locked into a faux match.
As the blonde and black-haired teens fooled about, the vampire finished packing away his gear and dressed up, busying himself with the final details of checking his guns. He was trying his best to remain hidden from sight, his back supposedly hiding away his fiddling with the firearms as he finished cleaning the unused guys.
Luckily, Izuku finished his task before he could be found out. He put away the weapons in their case and locked it, placing the item on his locker and checking himself for any mess or stain in his school uniform. He exited the locker room after observing the "brawl" for a few moments, amused at the two teens.
Bakugou had apparently finished his own hygiene and exited the room with a rapid pace, brushing and bumping shoulders against the vampire in a clearly provocateur manner. The ash-blond kept walking, but Izuku noticed the tenseness in his shoulders, as if the bomber had expected the vampire to act and attack him.
Izuku stayed behind and let the bomber vanish from sight before he sighed, unclenching his right hand that had closed into a fist, veins popping all around the arm as muscles bulged under the strain of the vampire holding himself in place.
He moved away from the locker room door, still hearing his other classmates goofing about inside. He shook his head, now making his way to exit school.
Izuku was about to exit UA's gates when he noticed his phone buzzing. He stopped and pulled the device out, receiving a notification in the class's group chat about the schedule for the group study that had been programmed. He confirmed his presence (being rewarded by a torrent of messages tagged at him thanking him for his efforts) and pocketed his device, calmly walking away from the school campus and making his way to a bus stop. He'd already informed mama Midoriya that he'd arive late home today as he would take a few more hours to work on cultivation of a few quirk factors in his warehouse.
The vampire's ride to the beach was quiet, but his [Hunter Instincts] were being triggered by something. He paid full attention to his surroundings, but nothing truly stood outside the normal as he rode the train; students, housewives and a few businessmen were present in the cart he was, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint where this strange feeling of being watched came from.
Izuku pulled his hood a bit further until it almost reached his nose, the hemomancer trying to ease his unsettled feelings. He almost put his headphones, but opted to not do so.
When he finally reached his station and left the train, Izuku released a sigh of relief, licking his fangs to ease the itching that started ever since he took in the scraps of Monoma's blood.
"I missed you, Vampire-kun!"
Almost as if hit by a bolt of lightning, Izuku's head turned to his left after a voice whispered right by his ear. At the same time, a knife moved to stab him at rib-height, time slowing to a crawl for the vampire. It happened once again, this particular girl had completely avoided his senses and only when she attacked did he notice her.
Blood immediately rushed to cover his abdomen, hardening into protective plating as his clawed hand rushed to try and grab the girl's wrist. She managed to complete her stab, but surprise was evident in her eyes when the small blade failed to penetrate skin, Izuku shifting his body as his free hand shot forward to grab the girl by her throat. She ducked under the grab, legs bent like powerful springs as she tackled him into a nearby alley, her knife aiming for his back (specifically his right kidney).
Her efforts failed once more, the knife merely cutting into his uniform. Unluckily for the girl, blood wasn't the only thing that Izuku could control now; shadow matter immediately lashing out from his legs and this time the vampire managed to grab a hold of the blonde killer. He rolled onto the ground, managing to turn the momentum of his tackle/roll into a standing stance, his shadow matter firmly holding the girl against a wall.
The girl was sporting a full grin, a furious blush painting her face almost like the girl had met the love of her life. Izuku snarled, his hand crashing a few inches shy of hitting the girl in the face, the concrete and bricks of the alley wall being destroyed under his might. The vampire let his eyes resemble red floodlights, his fangs fully exposed in a tactic to intimidate the girl.
Lightning dangerously crackled along his arm buried into the wall, Izuku staring straight into the girl's slit yellow eyes. Yet, instead of fear or panic, Izuku could only find…arousal coming from this girl dressed in a sailor's outfit.
"Himiko Toga!" Izuku just short of shouted the blonde's name, his shadows binding every limb and joint they could get a hold off, this time the vampire sure that he would not let her escape.
"Izu-kyun, you remembered my name! It is almost like it is meant to be, right?!" Himiko said in a sultry tone, her hands trying to reach Izuku, only for his shadows to pull them back into the wall like bungie ropes. "Ouch! You can't be this rough with a girl on just the third date, Izu-kyun! At least show me your blood a bit."
He roared right in her face, still wondering how the hell she had managed to get past his senses. Emerald-green lightning continued to flow on his right arm, the hemomancer unsure what he was to do now. He wasn't exactly planning to get into an altercation with a villain, hell, it was the reason why he reacted so violently; surprises like this were unpredictable factors that were almost an anti-thesis of Izuku's entire way of controlling himself.
"Come on Izu-kyun, there is no need to be all shy like this! You showed you blood to a bunch of people in tv already, a little private show is nothing for you, right?!" Toga's voice became a mix of sultry speech and childish begging, making Izuku furrow his brows and command his shadows to tighten their hold.
"Do you not realize the situation you are in?" His voice displayed his feelings rather clearly: he wasn't playing around, why was she?
"Yeah, of course I do! We are on a date! I saw you defeat Stainy on tv, and then these weirdoes tried to recruit me to their fan club, but then their offer was really dumb and the leader dude was boring. He was nothing like Stainy, or you! He would not even let me see the color of his blood! Or any blood for that matter! So I stabbed him and went away!" Toga spoke a torrent of words like a high school girl talks about her hobbies, but the content obviously wasn't your typical high school drama or a complaint about homework.
Izuku swallowed a lump in his throat, calming his instincts and trying to put his rational mind to work. His sclera darkened and his pupils shone in crimson, his brain picking apart the words and any body-expression that might have suggested that this villainess was lying.
He could not detect any hints that she was lying, which frustrated the vampire. He would beg for a blood sample next time he met with Naomasa.
Returning to the matter at hand, Izuku fished his phone out of his pocket and was just about to fast dial the very same police officer when…
"I'll tell you all about the guys that called me out." For a moment the words merely bounced in his skull, Izuku not truly paying them any attention. And then, he processed them. Then, slowly, the vampire turned his eyes away from his phone and stared right into the girl's eyes. Toga smirked, her eyes expressing a sick joy at having the vampire's attention glued over her frame. "Oh, that got to the serious hero Izu-kyun! I knew it was a good idea to search for you! It took a while, and Giran-chan was really insistent I do that interview, but thanks to him I found your route! Nice, nice!"
Izuku registered the name the girl spoke at the back of his mind, his slit pupils narrowing and the vampire could barely stop his teeth from sinking into the villainess' neck, a roar almost fleeing from his throat.
"I could give you all that sweet sweet info for you, but Himiko-chan can't tell anything in jail!" Every word the girl spoke made a cold sort of fury spark inside the vampire. She was trying to put him into a tough spot, offering possible information that might help society, no doubt in exchange for something personal and self-interested; what angered Izuku the most was that…he was considering to take this deal.
Don't get him wrong, Izuku would love nothing more than to put this killer in jail already. He had witnessed her almost kill a man if not for his intervention, and who knew what other sorts of crimes she hadn't already committed that the police knew nothing about. There were also the casual mentions of stalking and blatant connections with the black-market she had spouted, assuring Izuku that the girl was a criminal through and through…Yet, the prospect (even if miniscule and possibly a lie) of having a person inside those places that was willing to give information out for a price was too good for his rational mind to pass up.
His mind was split. On one side, anger and rage at this disrespectful and threat-filled behavior from the girl towards him (and possibly his family) were shouted inside the cage of the [Inner Beast], calling for him to rip and tear into her flesh; on the other side of his mind the cold, calculative and borderline-Machiavellian logic-driven mind of the vampire began pointing out the obvious benefits of a X-9 – or better named, snitch – among hardened criminals: he could plan out with the police and deal precise strikes to villains as they planned their crimes.
"How do I know you are telling the truth?!" He snarled a question at Toga, maintaining eye contact with the girl and trying to tug at the strings of her mind. It would take time, her willpower clearly something else if she was confident in facing him head on, especially if she had truly watched his performance during the sports festival and the Hosu incident.
The girl purred, but her head looked down to her shadow-bound limbs. "Nah ah ah, Izu-kyun! You have to play fair if you want to get answers from me! Deals are supposed to be made between two parties that have something to gain from each other, right? How about a little trust in good ol' Toga-chan? You were so much better the last two times, you showed your blood really quickly after all!" Have you lost your mind? He let the thought run in his head, unsure if the girl was truly insane or was playing an act. His shadow tendrils further tightened around the girl, some of them wrapping around her neck and giving it a warning squeeze, his wild side flaring up further.
"Gahrk! Y-you like it rough, Izu-kyun? I l-like to be r-roughed up too."
Izuku eased on the hold, just enough that his shadows weren't cutting blood supply to her, but he still had a firm hold on her entire frame.
"Do not test my patience, child!" He roared at the girl, almost forcefully trying to exert mental influence into Himiko's mind. This time the girl reacted differently; physical pain did little to fluster the girl, but it seemed that the mental prodding was an entirely different matter altogether. She had been squirming under his shadowy hold before, but now she went completely still.
The vampire still did not have a foothold in her mind, [Mesmerize] still trying to chip away at the surprisingly tough mental barriers of the girl.
And then, she disappeared.
…
…
…
Izuku released a surprised grunt. It was strange; his shadow tendrils still fed him sensory information of their hold, the shadow mass still in contact with something. Yet, the girl did not register in any of his senses, no matter how hard he tried to sense her.
His eyes saw the shadows grabbing…air, his nose did not capture any particular scent that he was unaware, and even his [Hunter Instincts] were fooled. If his extended touch through [Shadow Control] wasn't already holding her, Izuku would have sworn the girl had managed a [Blink] or even a [Warp] just like him.
"Oi, Izuku-kun." The previously sickly sweet voice that Toga used vanished without any trace, substituted by a cold, apathetic voice that might as well belong to a dead person. "I like you, but if you try to do that again, I'll have to kill you." There was no doubt in the blonde's voice. She spoke as if his death would have been a guarantee, something set undoubtedly in stone.
…
…
…
[I like the gall of this one! Can we keep her?]
Izuku ignored the almost gleeful tone his [Inner Beast] presented the question, his mind now washed in completely cold rational logic. Strangely enough, the vampire found himself lowering Himiko to ground level, not releasing her, but looking at her with different eyes. He seemed to have realized something, even if the vampire was unaware of what it was that he understood.
He closed the distance between the two, pulling back the sleeve of his right arm up until his forearms. The hemomancer lifted his arm until it was close to what he supposed was the girl's face (still incapable of perceiving her), his left hand being draped into shadow matter until it resembled a weakened version of his [Blood Gauntlets]. Much less bulky and offering a greater deal in flexibility for him.
The shadow matter that had pooled at his feet all climbed his body to rest on the left limb, the various tendrils restraining Toga resembling the strings of a puppeteer's doll.
There was still a dreadful tension between the two, the alarming killing intent leaking from Himiko and the nauseating emotionlessness that emanated from Izuku's slit eyes clashing against each other like physical presences. It took quite a few minutes, or maybe hours, time mattered little for the two now in this situation; yet, the tension began to slowly diminish as they kept quiet, Izuku staring into what he supposed was Himiko.
The vampire slowly brought his right arm even closer, the tension further diminishing as his arm got closer and closer. Eventually, it touched the empty air, confirming to him that his prey was still there.
"Go on." He roughly grunted, not willing to apologize for the attempt of invading the girl's mind.
"…" Himiko said nothing, but obliged him and bit his arm, much like he was used to do. Tension seemed to evaporate from the girl's body, Izuku finally being able to perceive Toga's presence in the world. Her expression was that of a dog that had finally received back its favorite chew toy after doing a naughty act, but she chewed on his arm, some annoyance showing on her face. "Izu-kyun, where is the blood?"
The vampire blinked at her question. Then, he realized that he was stopping blood circulation at the wounded area, an unconscious action he developed during his training with Edgeshot, and he allowed his life-force to flow. Himiko seemed surprised when the life liquid suddenly entered her mouth, but she moaned happily at being fed Izuku's blood.
Now he could use [Poisonous Blood] and have an extra layer of safety against the villainess. She was much too busy lapping away at his blood and wouldn't notice it until it was too late, but Izuku didn't do it. The girl was strangely infatuated with blood, to a degree that reminded the vampire of his childhood. Had she not received clearance to have special feeding? With blood quirks, especially ones like Izuku's, those sorts of procedures should have been a must from a young age. Packaged blood - bland as it was - should satiate the worst of the wild instincts of semi-hematophagous people like them.
"Himiko, have you been cleared for blood feeding?" Izuku asked in a tone that curiously sounded like Aizawa speaking. The girl barely looked away from his arm, only paying attention to his question when he pulled his arm away from her mouth.
"Ahh, my Izu-kyun blood snack!" She complained, yellow eyes glancing up to the vampire, finding green emerald slits staring at her. "What is that? Blood feeding? Since when is that a thing?"
Izuku huffed.
"Have you been followed by anyone, or do you have anyone waiting for you? Any backups I should know off ready to clock me the moment I look aside?" He asked the girl in his usual tone, letting blood flow from his wound to incentivize the girl to talk. It worked like a charm, the blush returning to her cheeks as she tried to lap the fluid, the vampire taking it just out of her reach. "Deals are supposed to be made between two parties that have something to gain from each other, right?" He quoted, the girl pouting at his actions.
"No, no one managed to follow me or anything like that. Besides, there is no one really waiting for me or any backup of the sort. I wouldn't want anyone to spoil my alone time with Izu-kyun." She replied in good manner, extending her tongue to lick at the puncture wounds on the hemomancer's right arm.
The vampire nodded to her statement, moving his arm in her mouth's range once more. A light squeal of happiness was muffled by his arm as the girl drank more of his blood, the teen wondering what he was to do. Once more, he wasn't sure if she was speaking the truth, and his body-language reading skills weren't all that advanced.
You know what, screw it! Blood drinking it is. He decided, adjusting the shadow matter wrapped around Himiko to clear away from her neck. That done, he quickly pulled his right arm away from the girl's mouth, her whining falling on deaf ears as he accumulated numbing saliva in his mouth.
Toga was very happy to have had the chance to drink from Izuku once more, her face displaying it clearly. However, she didn't exactly have a plan to follow here. Maybe flee from him once more, stick close to him and avoid his sight until she went thirsty for his blood again. Yet, the sight of the vampire ready to sink his own fangs into her neck did things to Himiko.
She had already "fallen in love" with the vampire and his actions before today only reinforced the feelings in her heart. The day that he defeated Stainy she was almost caught by the police as she pranced around Shizuoka carelessly, so intense were the feelings in her chest when she saw him pull that knife from his face and drain that Noumu. Ohh the things she wished she could do with that vampire! Yet, she was aware that it would be hard for them, for such was the fate of love! Her lovely bloodsucker wanted to follow the path of light, and Himiko-chan had already sunk into the dark side long ago.
She had offered this proposition because that Shiggy-guy was a bore, only talking about society this and All Might that. Giren told her that Stainy had been working with his group, but it was clear that that was a bunch of lies; Stainy would not waste his time with people like boring Shiggy, or that dullard Kurogiri guy. The people that Giren managed to gather to be interviewed were somewhat interesting, that Twice guy seemingly much fun to be with and that other burnt dude was at least a cool looking edgy guy.
Yet, boring Shiggy made the reunion fall apart with all that domination of society and fallacies of whatever talk that seemed to be the only thing he could spout. In the end, she couldn't handle his boring talk about them being his pawns, and just tried to stab him to see if he at least had more interesting blood in his veins.
Kurogiri got in the way of her fun, using his quirk to almost make she attack herself with those portals of his, but in the end she still managed to give boring Shiggy a knife greeting when she used Śūnyatā to slip past their awareness.
Giran only managed to find her a few hours after the meeting, at her current hideout while she watched a recording of the fight between Stainy and Izu-kyun for what could be the millionth time. He only found her there because she allowed him to, considering that the gig with the League of Villains was supposed to give her some work to do and a fat pay for the smuggler/black market profiteer.
Since neither of those became reality, she was left with plenty of time in her hands and Giren with no payment (and still owning her a few favors after her last gig). Then, Toga had the best of ideas. If Shiggy wanted to be such a bore and disliked Izu-kyun so much, maybe she should give away info on him to her favorite vampire.
It wasn't like she had anything to lose, since if Shiggy came after her then it would only be one more that wanted to kill her, another tally mark to add to the pile. She smiled into her heart shaped pillow, hugging it intensely.
All of that lead to her current position, being pinned by her vampire-kun. Who had fed her. Who himself was about to take a bite from her.
~~~Ahhh, is this paradise? ~~~
*BITE*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ahhhhhhhhh!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[XXX]
[XXX]
Izuku dropped the person whom he was carrying on the couch of his office, letting her rest as he went to make himself some coffee and figure out his next move.
I can't believe I'm actually considering this. He berated himself mentally, pouring himself a mug of the black ambrosia of the gods; all the while he observed the girl he had brought inside, Izuku's free left hand kept typing Naomasa's number, only for the vampire to delete it and settle the phone on his desk, repeating the process as time trickled away.
The smell of the coffee drew attention away from the girl and her smell, the hemomancer picturing in his head the conversation he had with the girl in the alley. He should be a bit more careful about the use of his quirk, considering he yet had to have even a provisional license for hero work, but these days it seemed that he had forgot about that rule, almost constantly using his powers in convenient ways.
Outside of the damage property he had caused without meaning to (Himiko delivering quite a scare to him), he had very clearly threatened the villainess with his powers, somewhat mimicking the behavior of people he was supposed to correct. That made a bitter aftertaste remain in his mouth, the blood he had drunk from the blonde doing nothing to alleviate the strange feeling of guilt that panged at him. His body began to decode the quirk-factor inside the blood, using it to also unravel the new ones he had acquired that hadn't been broken in.
Izuku huffed with some frustration, eyes once more falling on the girl that lay on the couch. She had no idea about the hospitals' special blood-giving programs to blood-drinkers like them, which made no sense for him seeing as it was one of the first things his own mother signed when the results of his quirk came in. He sometimes had to pick up the blood bags from the hospital himself, meeting a few other blood-feeders there.
He really wished to simply call it bullshit, that she was just a psycho that took pleasure in killing and feeding on her victims, breaking the law because she couldn't care less. Yet, here he was, allowing her to crash on his couch while he watched over her unconscious body. Izuku felt like a goddamn hypocrite.
Was Toga telling him the truth when she said she had no knowledge of those measures to help blood-drinkers?
Izuku let his right hand to rest atop his right hip, his hand grasping at empty space and making the vampire glance at the area with a questioning gaze. There was nothing there, since he had left his holster – and guns – safely stored in UA.
He released another sigh, cupping his mug and drinking the rest of the coffee in it. He cringed as the liquid went down his throat, the coffee now cold.
Great, he grumbled to himself, resembling a certain homeroom teacher.
It seemed that his old-man act that been louder than he expected, as the girl stirred awake, stretching much like a cat would. Izuku made his eyes take their fear-inducing form, the vampire staring at the girl and waiting for her to realize her location. Toga seemed to purposefully ignore his pointed staring eyes, going through the motions of her stretches as if she had rested in her own cozy home.
"Izu-kyun, if you stare that much, then I'll get excited!" The girl hummed, still keeping her cat-like motions, going so far as to raise her behind up in the air and give it a little shake, crossing her arms under her head and tilting it to look at him with love-struck eyes.
The vampire huffed. "I'm glad you are enjoying your stay, hope the room service is up to your standards." Irony lacing his words, Izuku kept his eyes constantly trailed on the girl.
She rolled her eyes at him, a Cheshire-grin splitting her lips. "Well, it certainly is better than my current hideout! I have been fed a tasty meal and have a cutie watch over me with his scary eyes; this is just about the best! The fact I haven't awakened inside a jail cell also tells me that my Izu-kyun is thinking about me!" Toga teased, one hand grasping at the edge of her uniform and lowering until she could stretch it to give Izuku a peek inside.
The teen kept his eyes glued to her eyes, not bothered by the tease as [Cooling Blood] ran its course in his head. He eased his back into his chair, eyes still watching the girl as if he was a hawk; the vampire still trying to puzzle out what he was even doing.
"Izu-kyun?"
"What are you doing, Himiko Toga?" He asked with some tension in his voice.
The girl cocked her head in a questioning manner. "What do you mean by that?"
"Why have you searched for me? Why did you attack me suddenly like this? What is your plan?" The vampire asked, hopping to understand this girl. He strangely felt some kinship with her and Izuku did not feel aggression pointed at him from her; she did get murderous when he tried to invade her mind, but outside of that she had never truly wished for his death. She knew he could handle a stabbing just fine (which did not meant he would enjoy it, he was not a masochist), which was why she had tried to do so. The vampire truly wanted to understand this girl, even if for his own selfish reasons.
The girl hummed, sticking her tongue out at him and pulling one eyelid down. "I already told you, Izu-kyun! You need to pay more attention! I like you!" She declared, a blush dusting her face as she smiled and showed her own fangs without any shame.
He licked his own sharp teeth, a bothersome feeling growing in his gut.
"What would it take for you to believe me?" She asked, sitting properly on the couch and pouting at him.
Izuku blinked a few times, taken aback by her intensity. He could feel no trace of falsehood or lies; it gnawled at his mind that she could be telling the truth, even as his logical mind screamed that it was a trap.
"Do you want the location of my hideouts? Or Giran-chan's super-secret password for buying stuff off the black market? I could also give you my blood, but you'll have to give me some of yours too!" It was impressive that the girl was talking about these things like they were your average shopping list instead of incredibly incriminatory information that would likely grant her a lifetime sentence in jail. Izuku had to respect her gall, if nothing else.
"…And you are willing to give me all this information, simply like that?" There was still a heavy dose of skepticism in Izuku's voice, the vampire observing the girl tilt her head to glance at him, her brows raised with some annoyance.
"Mohh, Izu-kyun, why don't you believe me?" Himiko complained, huffing and lying back on the couch. "You are just like me, I just feel like we can connect. I drank your blood, you did mine; we are perfect!"
"Except I'm not a killer." Izuku countered, eyes staring at the girl. She smirked at him, resting her head on a cocked fist.
"Tsk tsk tsk, lying is wrong, y'know?" The way Himiko said those words resonated with Izuku, the vampire tightening his hands into fists. His eyes narrowed at the girl, seeing her stand up and slowly make her way towards him; the girl circled the hemomancer, never approaching him more than necessary and keeping at arm's length. "Everyone saw you kill that Noumu-thing, Izu-kyun. You absolutely drained it dry, not even I have managed to do something like that! Killing for society is still killing, you just have backing from the government."
Himiko kept circling around Izuku, eventually returning to her seat and smiling at him.
"How about it, Izuk-kyun? Just say the word! I'll be your pet and everything." The girl kept badgering the vampire, her eyes fixated on his body. Izuku sighed in frustration. Normally guys should get excited when a girl says something like this? He thought, unsure of what to do.
Izuku almost reached for his phone, the device hidden away from Himiko's sight. What was he supposed to do?
[XXX]
[XXX]
The last weekend before the exams had arrived, which mean that for most of class 1-A it was time to cram like there was no tomorrow. Those with poor grades gravitated more and more to the high-scorers. That meant Yaoyorozu was absolutely surrounded by most of her classmates during break-times in school.
She had proposed to help a few of them, offering her home and her skills to her peers. That now took her to this moment. She had her family's servants clean the house spotless, the young mistress of the family also helping in a few tasks (when the workers allowed). She went out to buy her favorite brand of black tea, fixed the small study room – more like obsessed over minute details – and now she was waiting for her friends.
What a moment in her life! Momo had friends! Real friends, and not boot-lickers that merely wished to get closer to the heiress of the Yaoyorozu. She could almost burst in joy.
"Should I send a car to fetch them? No, that would probably be too much; but it is quite a walk from the entry gate and the house." Momo wondered out loud, pacing around the study in her casual clothing. She had decided on something that was easy to move in, thus her attire being a loose light pink dress and a beige shirt, her hair left loose too to freely flow on her back.
The raven-haired girl would have continued to pace around the room without rest, but an alert notification rang on her phone. She unlocked it and opened the SNS app, her classmates having arrived together and the group waited by the gate. Momo almost rushed to exit the house, but the head butler stopped her.
"Yaoyorozu-sama, please, there is no need for you to tire yourself running out. I shall fetch your classmates; worry yourself about nothing, my lady." The older man spoke in a professional tone. He had silver-white hair and a rough appearance, his butler outfit somewhat clashing in aesthetics with him, yet somehow fitting the man in a unique way.
Momo released a sigh of relief, nodding to her butler. "Very well then, Hatori-san. I'll wait for everyone in the study room!" She spoke in a very giddy tone, skipping steps as she bounced her way to the room.
The butler named Hatori displayed a tiny quirk of his lips as he watched the teenager girl make her way to the study room to wait. The man soon erased any expressions from his face and began to make his way to the front gate. As he exited the mansion, Hatori grabbed a tablet from inside his suit, the screen showing live-feed of the teenagers waiting by the gates, his eyes narrowing a bit as he noticed one in particular.
His master had displayed feelings of anxiousness about the young man, and the media coverage about the teen didn't help matters at him. Midoriya Izuku, the famed Monster of 1-A and quite recently nick-named (or infamous in this case) Edgeshot's Dark Disciple, was among the teens, calmly talking with a girl.
Hatori didn't wish to put pressure on the teen, but he was under orders to keep an eye on this so called vampire. The butler wished the kid behaved and proved his master's anxieties wrong, else he might have to get dirty. A result that Hatori truly wished to avoid, but would not shy away if necessary. He was a butler after all, thus his duties were to care for his master, which included cleaning up the trash.
His family name was Hatori after all.
…
…
…
…
…
"Oooaaahhhhh!" Kaminari exclaimed, Mina being too stunned to release any noise. Kyoka smiled wryly, scratching at her cheek.
"I knew Yaomomo was rich, but being this loaded is absurd." The punk rocker commented.
Iida chopped his hands, shaking his head at this silly behavior of his classmates. "I fail to understand your astonishment at this!"
Kirishima laughed heartily. "Not everyone can own a mansion, Iida!" The redhead clapped a hand over the taller teen's shoulder.
Denki snorted at the duo. "You can say that again! Leave it to Iida to normally being rich like this."
Izuku merely observed from the back, smiling and shaking his head at the current antics. Following him were also a set of floating clothes and a somewhat unremarkable teen with a tail. Hagakure Tooru and Mashirao Ojiro talked with each other, the girl laughing at something the boy had said.
The vampire observed their surroundings, impressed with everything he had seen so far. From the vast walls that enclosed the property to the small forest that was being tended by a few workers, and the butler that had arrived to bring them to the heiress's mansion. It was nothing short of a show of wealth that displayed the difference between their lives.
He also felt a stare digging into his back. The vampire rolled his head, his neck emitting a cracking noise. Kyoka turned her head to see if he was okay, the hemomancer smiling and waving her off.
During his head roll, he searched around for the pair of eyes that were focusing on his frame, his emerald eyes finding a pair of dull grey orbs trailed on him. The vampire's brows furrowed a bit, Izuku a bit irked by the persistent stare of the butler.
The teen pushed his feelings down, using a bit of [Cooling Blood] to run its course inside his body and relax himself. The walk to the mansion was filled with the talk of his classmates, the vampire pitching in a few answers and comments when needed, but he mostly kept to himself. Another thing the vampire kept on doing was constantly checking his phone, as if expecting something to happen.
The group reached the mansion, another wave of surprise and astonishment emanating from most of the group (Izuku and Iida being the exception). The butler, who introduced himself as Hatori, opened the grand-looking gates of the mansion and led the group inside.
The vampire remained back, being deliberately slow while taking off his shoes at the door, and while the group advanced inside the incredible mansion, the teen turned to meet the butler, the man standing still at the entrance, looking all the part of a perfect butler.
"I take that Yaoyorozu-san has already given you some directives, or has spoken well about me." Izuku stared back at the butler, the man not giving anything away and merely standing still. The hemomancer sighed in annoyance, but pulled on more cold blood to ease the bubbling anger that simmered in his mind. "I'm not looking for any problems, I'm just here to help my classmates and do some studying myself. Feel free to keep a lookout thought, I understand that you are here to follow orders." Izuku spoke what was on his mind, unwilling to keep up a game of cat and mouse. He was well past the point where he would tolerate things like this occurring to him in silence; he would voice his complaints and would not lower his head.
The butler closed his eyes, doing small nods of comprehension to the green-haired teen. "Very well, Midoriya-san. Your instincts are quite good, as people rarely notice my observation of their behavior. I apologize if I have offended you."
Izuku huffed, taking a deep breath to release tension from his body. The hemomancer gave the butler a nod, finally deciding to follow the group.
The vampire went in further inside the mansion, finding the group together with the heiress, Momo absolutely glowing with happiness among their classmates. It made for quite an enchanting sight since the heiress was a beautiful woman. Very few could adult women could compare to the raven-haired girl, and seeing her grow giddy over the prospect of helping her classmates made the vampire see the girl with different eyes.
Recently it seems that that is all I have been doing, seeing people differently. He mused to himself, standing back and watching the group for a few more moments. Izuku truly hoped that Yaoyorozu realized he wasn't the monster hiding under the bed that she seemed to have taken him for, as he wasn't a fan of emotional conflicts. Their professional relationship as class president and vice president had been suffering a bit as the girl flinched and stammered at any interaction they had to have, slowing their necessary work down to where he could barely finish meeting the standards due to his fewer hours of needed sleep. Anyone else might have either collapsed under the strain or given up the position, piling even more work and swamping the other one.
As Izuku wandered in his own head, the heiress noticed his presence in the room. She hid well her reactions, keeping her smile as she greeted him.
"Good morning, Midoriya-kun." Professional, much like always.
"Hello there, Yaoyorozu-san." He answered in kind, not willing to let their classmates notice their stranged relationship.
"Now that everyone is here, how about we start working?" Momo asked the group, taking her away from the vampire. "I was trying to plan out a work routine for reviewing our classes, but with the incoming exams I feel it would be better to first work on any weak subjects first. Anyone has a subject that they are particularly bad at?"
At her prompt, various hands were raised in the air. Kaminari, Mina, Kirishima and even Mashirao raised their hands.
Denki was the first to speak. "I'm in need of a full workup, man. I haven't been failing the tests, but all my grades need some polishing up. The worse ones are Algebra and Physics." He declared, down-cast that his bad points were being brought up.
Momo nodded, and Iida spoke in his serious-mode voice. "There is nothing to be ashamed off, Kaminari-kun! We are all classmates here, and thus we are willing to help you! We can't let a member of our class fall behind!"
Kirishima gave Iida a thumbs-up, his sharp smile never faltering. "Yeah man! It is totally manly to admit when you are lacking! A man should know when he is out of his depth and when to ask for help! We got you!" That seemed to have Denki's spirits up again, the blonde scratching the back of his head shyly.
"Owwn shucks, you guys are gonna make me blush!" He said in a joking tone, his head turning to Jirou. He tried a suave smile, blinking one of his eyes at the rocker.
The punk girl snorted, suppressing her laughter at his act and putting on her best teaser smile.
"Yeah jamming whey, let a true man show you how it is done." It was a joke in good manner by the rocker. That did not mean that Denki didn't take a critical hit to his pride.
He knelt on the spot, grasping at his heart.
"Mean, Jirou! Mean!" He whined a bit pathetically, which only grow worse when the noise triggered a few chuckles out of everyone. "You guys suck…"
Izuku coughed to gather some attention to himself. "Don't beat yourself too much over it, Denki. You can always improve from here on." He offered some soothing words, glancing at the rocker to see if she would give a mercy blow or let the blonde recuperate. Seeing as she rolled her eyes at him, the vampire took it as a victory.
Mina, on the other hand, unashamedly puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips. "I suck bad at Chemistry, Modern Japanese and Hero History! Help me out of this sinking ship, please Yaomomo-sama!" Always the energy of the party, the pink-skinned girl added flair of dramatics to her request for help.
Kirishima followed through, crossing his arms over his chest and laughing grandly. "Hahahaha! I, myself, am quite bad at Algebra too and History."
Mashirao chuckled, shaking his head. His request was more subdued, helping the teens focus up once more instead of playing about. "I'm not that bad on my studies. It is just that I have some trouble with a few of the harder parts of everything. I guess that a simple review will be good." The martial artist said awkwardly.
The floating set of feminine clothes bounced in place, Hagakure whining. "Come on, why am I last?" The invisible girl hugged Ashido, making the males turn their heads away from the scene to avoid the eye candy.
Denki tried turning his head to peak, but a shadow tendril emerged from Izuku's hand and forcefully turned the blonde's head aside again.
Momo awkwardly separated the two girls. "Well…let's work something out. I think I speak for everyone when I say that Iida-san, Midoriya-san and I review your works. Group up everyone that has similar difficulties, and we can start studying." The entire group agreed and began their work.
[XXX]
[XXX]
"I'm pooped out!" Mina complained as she lay on the beautiful oak-carved table, a variety of books and notes under her. A number of replies agreed with her, the heiress chuckling at the groups' reactions.
"I'll bring us some snacks and we can have a break." Momo was already on the move, Jiro standing up from her place and following the raven-haired girl to help her out. Izuku would offer some help, but he could still feel a stinging stare at the back of his neck; there was also the fact that the heiress feared him and offering to be so close to her so suddenly was a recipe for disaster.
Still, he stood from his seat and stretched his limbs a bit. The vampire checked his phone once more, his lips splitting into a grin-like smile.
"Ohhh, that is one evil-looking smirk you've got there greenie!" Mina said, lifting her head from her books and smugly staring at him.
Izuku looked up from his phone, noticing some members of the study group glancing at him to see the supposed "evil grin" Mina was talking about. The vampire glanced at the group, his face returning to the stoic manner that he was known for. While he could not truly know what Hagakure's face looked like, Izuku was sure that the invisible girl was almost salivating to look what he had in his phone. Too bad for her, he wasn't showing it to anyone.
"Do I have something on my face?" He asked, trying to sound as clueless as possible. Denki and Kaminari had curiosity written all over their face, Iida too busy reading some English sentences to Mashirao.
"Come on, Midoriya! You have been checking your phone, like, all the time! There must be something really interesting there." The invisible girl began making her way close to the green-haired teen, Izuku locking his phone and putting it away. "Nah ah, mister vampire! Show it now and we won't tease you too much!"
That got Izuku to raise a brow, a small smirk present in his lips. "Oh, is that so?" He spread his arms, his hands making a "come hither" motion to the girl. That got a reaction from the girl, the floating set of clothes moving excitedly.
"Ohhhh you just had to say that, didn't you?" Tooru's excitement was almost palpable, the girl coming closer and closer to the vampire.
The group was observing the interaction, amused that Tooru was "challenging" Izuku. The invisible girl spread her legs, taking a stance to pounce upon the hemomancer and take his phone away from him and check out the contents of his phone. That contrasted heavily against the vampire's lax pose, the male teen not bothering to mount any sort of defense against the "attack".
Hagakure did her flying tackle, jumping and purposefully aiming to land atop the vampire. What she didn't expect was the sudden amalgamation of dark matter that pooled under Izuku, various tendrils of inky shadow mass sprouting from the ground and holding the girl up in the air, displaying Tooru in the air while she struggled against the holding tendrils.
She tried to struggle a bit more, but in the end the invisible girl gave up and relented.
"Your powers are so unfair!" Tooru whined, slowly being brought down to the floor. After the vampire released the girl, she began to laugh, Mina also following with her own chuckles. Izuku glanced to the other teens in the study room, trying to figure out what was so funny about this situation.
Iida looked back at him with the same confusion present in the hemomancer's face, the two of them looking at the social butterfly of the group for answers. The pink-skinned girl crossed her arms to try to look self-important and grand, putting her nose in the air.
"Alright, alright! Mina-sama shall teach you socially-inept simpletons emotions!" The girl tried fancy speech, making the vampire and the bespectacled teen to pay some attention to her, even while Izuku narrowed his eyes at her comment. "I'm pretty sure that we have already told you this greenie, but you're always looking serious and grim, so it is kind of hard to approach you to talk. But, when we know that we can play and joke around with you, we sort of realize that you are just like us, only with a few more quirks!"
That…was something that Izuku wasn't expecting. It was sort of heart-warming.
The vampire smiled. A true smile, one where he was not hiding away his fangs or watching and micro-managing his actions.
"Thank you, Mina-san." Izuku gently said, his expression being carved into the memory of everyone inside the study room.
That included a certain raven-haired heiress that stood by the door, bringing with her a cart with the snacks. She watched the scene, but could not believe her eyes. Behind her, the rocker girl that had helped her wondering why had she stopped.
[XXX]
[XXX]
Izuku rolled his shoulders, a bit stiff after having to remain seated for the entire day. The class wasn't having heroics classes the past week, no doubt letting the students rest so that they could be ready to face the exam that would come. The vampire wasn't worried about the first part, being confident that he could pass anything the written exam might have; the physical portion, however, was an entirely different matter.
The vampire observed their homeroom teacher review a few things in his tablet, overlooking the class once in a while and filling in something.
Aizawa finished his work, his usual bored expression slightly different. There was an edge to the man as he gave a once over his students, a minor tinge of worry painting his face before he wiped the expression away to maintain his seriousness.
"Alright class, pay attention. I need to explain somethings a few things to you." Eraserhead's voice made everyone pay attention to his frame, the teacher already slouching at the attention that he was receiving and the complaints that no doubt would be whined at him. "As you have probably noticed, we have been cutting your heroics classes for the last week; that ends now. Tomorrow your exams will happen, and the written exam will last for about three hours. We shall cover everything that we have studied so I hope that for your own good you better have had reviewed your notes. I'm talking to you, Kaminari, Ashido, Hagakure and Kirishima!" At being called out, the foursome awkwardly laughed, the other students tried to console the group with some kind words before the teacher proceeded.
"Since some of you might have tried to gather information on the previous tests, let me tell you that your work was in vain. UA won't coddle you, so you must always expect the unexpected; this type you will not fight mechs or anything of the like. You all shall fight against the UA teaching staff." No sooner had Aizawa said that, an explosive force of surprised and astonished voices hit him, the teens just short of shouting the man down.
The stealth pro sighed at the troublesome situation, allowing the kids some time to digest the bomb that was his announcement. They were kids, but ever since the League of Villains' attack on the USJ and the incident at Hosu, Principal Nezu had been pushing more and more for a harsher training regimen. Nothing that would harm the children or stunt their growth, but the [High Specs] user had been quite vocal with his staff to begin pushing the hero trainees harder and harder to see better improvement for the teens to better protect themselves.
Aizawa huffed, releasing just the slightest bit of killing intent upon the class. Silence was almost instantaneous, a few students standing ready to immediately enter combat: Izuku, Bakugou, Shoto and Tokoyami seemed to be the best acclimated to the situation, the group staring at Aizawa with narrowed eyes. A few of the girls reacted well enough for the teacher, not ready to fight, but at least they weren't locked in place in fear: Kyoka, Yaoyorozu and surprisingly Uraraka. The others did lock up, eyes wide in fear at the intense, claustrophobic feeling.
It was only their first year at this, so the pro could not fault the boys and girls that were locked in place in fear; yet, the villains would not wait for their progress. For even All Might to be suddenly active in teacher duty, almost desperately teaching and mingling with some students, the stealth pro could feel dark times incoming.
Before the pro spoke again, the door of their classroom was opened by the very man himself. All Might presented himself in class with his hero uniform, the various other pros that taught the classes following behind and standing in front of the blackboard.
The teens could feel sweat begin to roll down their backs, the usually comforting presence of the pro heroes now feeling more akin to a noose wrapping around their throats.
"My dear students, shall we test your resolve to be heroes?" The voice of the principal was something that the young teens weren't used to hear. The cute voice of the bear/dog/whatever else the chimera was made off did not match the raw intelligence and willpower that the black eyes of the principal displayed.
Aizawa sighed once more and decided that it would be better to simply rip off the band aid instead of just allowing the kids to simmer in their anxiety. He connected his tablet to a visual feeder in the class and a holographic displayer showed to the kids who would battle against who, all the fights being put together by Aizawa and Nezu, picturing combinations of people who needed to better something or another.
Cementoss VS Kirishima Eijirou and Rikidou Sato
Snipe VS Yuga Aoyama and Sero Hanta
Ectoplasm VS Asui Tsuyu and Bakugou Katsuki
Thirteen VS Uraraka Ochaco and Kaminari Denki
Power Loader VS Tenya Iida and Kyoka Jirou
Present Mic VS Koji Koda and Shinsou Hitoshi
Nezu VS Ashido Mina and Mashirao Eijirou
Midnight VS Mezo Shoji and Hagakure Tooru
Eraserhead VS Todoroki Shoto and Tokoyami Fumikage
...
…
…
AllMight VS Midoriya Izuku and Yaoyorozu Momo
The vampire stared at his name, the selection of his fight making the teen glance at his supposed partner for the exercise. He and Yaoyorozu could barely work together in class while doing student tasks, a fight against AllMight was all but lost already. The girl glanced at him too, flinching as she noticed his eyes upon her frame.
Izuku groaned in frustration, already picturing the humiliating defeat happening in his mind.
[Master, you either dominate the creation heiress and make her submit to our power, or the results of this fight shall be exactly as you predict. We have not been born to lose prematurely, that ignorant little whelp shan't be the one to stain our honor for her petty fears!]
The [Inner Beast] growled in his head, Izuku much too busy trying to come up with any strategy to win against the Symbol of Peace. An open confrontation against the hero was out of question for sure, as his physical strength would never be a match. If Izuku had the full cooperation of the girl then a victory might just be within reach; yet, as things stood, all that Izuku could see was defeat.
They were soon dispersed by their teachers, the group coming last minute to make a display of intimidation and put the teens on the edge. It was working for sure, as Izuku spent the entire commute to his gym licking his fangs and buried deep into his thoughts, not even bothering to put up his hood today. There was some recognition from the populace, some even coming to ask for pictures with him.
He agreed to a few, his behavior mostly set in automatic as Izuku could only focus on how to fight against All Might.
He reached the gym and entered without any fanfare, as there was a person manning the counter today.
"Izu-kyun!"
He barely paid attention to the greeting, his itchy fangs a sign that Izuku needed to sink his fangs into some soft flesh and drink blood. He needed life liquid to cultivate quirk factors, to strengthen himself and to nourish and pacify his wild instincts and currently messy thoughts.
Thus, instead of the usual way he dealt with his current "employee", that being a chop on the head to settle the girl down and examine his warehouse for any unconscious person, he grasped the girl's wrist and brought her into an embrace, his fangs sinking into soft, dainty flesh and began sucking blood from the wound.
He needed to get ready, and that meant using all the resources he could.
[XXX]
TO BE CONTINUED.
AU NOTES.
Well, this one was good to write, since I have felt the support and love of you guys for my works. I can only thank you all very much for your kind words and those that managed to donate.
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