The same day Izuku was attacked by the Slime Villain again was the day Nedzu struck.
It had been... Four or five weeks since the entrance exam, to be honest, Nedzu couldn't even remember what had happened over the last weeks due to him single-mindedly planning the simultaneous destruction of both one Inko Midoriya and the entire Aldera Schools system. He had gone through a significant amount of his tea in that time... he should get more after this meeting.
As the chimera principal stepped up to the shabby apartment complex, his eyes spotted small things that were out of place with the building. For one, it was an under-the-table complex; the peeling paint and strange stains on the concrete definitely pointed to a less than legal set of circumstances for someone to rent out an apartment. The second he noticed when he stepped up to the Midoriya's door. The handle was heavily chipped, the once elegant brass finish missing in some places indicating the rough treatment it must have gone through, and in between the metal and the finish was a substance looking a lot like dried blood. The edges of the doorway and the door itself were worn down and showed signs of violent slamming. Stress cracks had formed in the paint and, some of the wood and miniature warps in the substance showed a considerable amount of force was used.
Taking a deep breath, Nedzu knocked on the door and waited. It took a minute but eventually, the door cracked open, revealing a very dark interior of the room and the only occupant. It was apparent this was Inko Midoriya. Her long green hair was knotted and, her eyes hung with sleep and exhaustion still present. Her entire body was supported by the door frame... she must have only just woken up from her late shift.
Her entire body stature shifted when she spotted the famed Principal Nedzu of UA Highschool. The exhaustion faded into a worried and freaked-out facial expression in half a second. And in a moment, the lights were turned on. And, she hastily opened the door wider to let the Principal in before he could even mutter a word.
"AH! Principal Nedzu! Why- Wha-... What is your reason for coming here? Did- Has Iz- Has my son done anything wrong? Did you come here to reject him prematurely from your school? I promise you, you could have just sent a letter! He is a very understanding boy. A-and he is not here at the moment! You know teenagers, always doing something to get out of the house!"
She kept babbling like that for five minutes, and for those five minutes, Nedzu sat through her blabbing, his smile becoming strained as he walked over the couch that held very scrubbed blood stains and other assorted stains... In fact, the entire house seemed to contain the coppery scent of blood. Nedzu's nose twitched at the smell. How did the woman not notice the smell? Much less do nothing about it? The logical reasons for this were she was blind to the stench and did not notice it due to constant exposure to the smell, or she just didn't care about it. Or perhaps it was even his more well-suited nose for finding these kinds of things.
After another minute or two of looking around the home from the stiff couch and listening to the babbling abuser, Nedzu raised his hand to silence her, his smile leaking into a more predatory and savage grin. "I will be frank with you, Miss Midoriya! I have come to speak about your son!" The moment the word son left his lips, she seemed to stiffen, seemingly unaware of her own reflex, he continued to speak. "I actually came to give you some news! I'll start with the good news! Young Izuku has been accepted into our fine school of learning and heroics under the general studies course in the upcoming year!" He took a second to collect his thoughts and continued, feeling glee at the woman's shocked expression, "And not only that, he has earned a full scholarship to UA's College courses! Specifically, he will be learning under me in both high school and college! And, he also qualifies easily for the support courses Support Items Course and Strategy Course!"
He gave the woman a moment to let the information sink in, and he was giddy with the rush of endorphins her expression gave him. "Oh- We-"
Before she could speak, he cut her off, "Now sadly, it's time for the bad news." Her expression turned to one of confusion at his statement. "I feel bad, to tell you- Actually, I don't feel bad for telling you this. But you won't be here to see your son's achievements. In fact! You and the entire Aldera School System won't be here by the end of the week! It will soon be replaced with a new school, a new brand, new buildings, and new teachers! And your son? Well, I will be taking him in and giving him a much better life than what you have given him."
Nedzu couldn't help his sadistic glee from peaking at the woman's fear. The look of pain and fear she gave him was of the kind he only saw once a moon, a face he would gladly see every abuser have.
"That being said," Nedzu started, lifting his left paw and snapping his pads, "I will be collecting his things now and will be waiting for his return to give him the good news!" As the word news left the Principal's lips, a fireteam of hero's barged in through all the entrances to the building, closely followed by police. A few knives from the kitchen flew towards Inko from behind her, all the blades coming straight towards her as she ducked her head as her quirk's effect dissipated, leaving four kitchen knives to be launched straight at Nedzu. Only to be intercepted by a very familiar cloth that Nedzu had taken shelter in on multiple occasions.
In moments the woman was bound and dragged out the door, leaving Nedzu, Eraserhead, and Detective Tsukauchi; Each of which came from a different area of the house, The detective in the living room and kitchen, Eraserhead in the master bedroom and bathrooms, and Nedzu in Izuku's room.
The boy's room... well, it was a mess. Posters, figurines, books, clothes, collectibles, and all kinds of other bobbles, all resembling All Might, were destroyed. A layer of dried blood marred the walls where fist-sized holes were littered, a small basket of dried and blood-saturated bandages was sitting in a corner, next to the mattress many sizes too small for a teenage boy. After a few minutes of scanning Izuku's bedroom, the only clean and well-kept area of the entire room was a stack of books. And on further inspection, Nedzu learned that they were quirk analysis books. All chock full of exceptional analysis that only got better with time as the books got newer... Only the final page of the latest and most heavily damaged book held an All Might signature, which with Nedzu's exceptional nose, still faintly smelled like the ink of the pen that wrote it. And the room, still only four hours after school started, smelled like still relatively fresh blood within the time of the day before and today. All Might saved a child from the sludge villain yesterday? And another child with green hair attempted to keep the other from drowning... Nedzu closed his eyes and inhaled through his nose, lightly catching the smell of sewage and gunk.
Nedzu pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the CCTV feeds of a mile around the slime incident, running them all at double speed within... half an hour of the slime incident. Crossing out storerooms and main roads, Nedzu was left with rooftops and alleyways. And right as he got to the final recorded rooftop that he could get access to. Did he spot the familiar green hair and the familiar form of All Might.
Nedzu saved the clip for later reviewing and got to work collecting all the valuables that were still intact of the boys and headed to the living room... he had four hours to get more dirt on Aldera... and now All Might too.
—
A thrumming headache split Izuku's brain in two, the violent clash of memory not his own, and the ones he knows are his fought like caged wolves.
"Master Willem. I've come to bid you farewell."
The memory is shown into Izuku's mind, tearing at it feverishly. Seeming to be trying to expose its knowledge to the young hunter. The first voice was young, an air of superiority floating through every word. Then a new voice spoke out from the shadowy grips of the memory, old, ancient, and full of... knowing.
"Oh, I know. I Know. You think now to betray me."
The words were spoken solemnly but unconcerned.
"No, But you will never listen. I tell you, I will not forget our adage."
The younger voice spoke, not a hint of regret as it turned to leave, only standing in front of the door long enough to listen to the older man's final words to them in their departure.
"We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood... Our eyes are yet to open."
And as the old man spoke the final line, his apprentice uttered it too.
"Fear the old blood."
The younger man opened and walked out the door, only saying that they must take their leave, leaving the old man to mutter to himself.
"By the gods, fear it Laurence."
And then, in a jolt, the pain subsided, leaving the young hunter to stare dazed at the bloody puddles that lay around where he fell.
It looked like he had a lot to do.
—
(!this is a flashback!)
Izuku's young lungs ached as he ran from the school. In the distance, he still could hear Bakugou and his cronies screaming up a storm in their wake as they chased him through alleyways and streets, but for once, it looked like Izuku was going to escape! But one explosion, then two then four, and suddenly Bakugou was next to him, his hands smoking from his quirk, and in seconds, Izuku was tackled to the ground. Bakugou's hands were still searing hot as he grabbed at Izuku's skin. The muffled sounds of sizzling skin were discernible as the rest of the bullies came to circle around Izuku, leaving him no point of escape.
Seconds passed as the alleyway Izuku was tackled in was bloated with bullies; those seconds turned into minutes. And thirty minutes later, the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving a very bused, burnt, and in pained Izuku to drag himself to his home... If only he could have gotten away scot-free once. Midnight would be signing autographs at a local comic shop the next day, and now Izuku was contemplating not going.
.
..
...
The next day he still went, the limp in his step and not treated injuries making the fourteen-mile trek nearly unbearable, but Izuku was not going to give up so easily. Izuku got into the line for the packed signing at noon. The heavy smell of the sweat from the crowd due to the heat and the sweet smells coming from the coffee shop they stood next to caused an odd combination of scents that wouldn't leave Izuku alone as the line lessened as people walked out with signed memorabilia. Izuku's cuts ached and, his burns itched as he walked into the air-conditioned comic shop spotting the near infamous get-up of the R-18 hero immediately. His grip on his dull yellow backpack tightened, he had brought a couple pop figures for her to sign and a poster he had delicately rolled, as to not damage. And as he walked up to the table, he watched her eyes sharpen for mere moments... before they lit up and a cheery smile graced her face.
"Oh, ho ho! Well, look what we got here~" Her smile only grew as his face lit up like a Christmas tree, "What did you bring me to sign? Let me guess... something naughty? No?" A small eep excited Izuku as she said that, her smile going from cherry to downright feral as her eyes lit up with joy.
"Don't worry kid. I won't tell anyone~" and the sharp pop of the lid of her marker coming off was the only thing that sent him to grab his memorabilia. Mumbling out sorry as he nearly dropped the figures, his voice seeming to not want to work as she kept her eyes firmly on him.
She commented about how cute he was as she signed the pop figures, her grin sharpening as he became even redder as she kept going. And as she wrote on his Midnight's Collectors Edition poster, she wrote a message on its back before re-rolling the thick paper and handing it back to him. But not before making one more display to see his face redden as his hand grabbed the offered item, she leaned down and kissed the back of his hand, her bright red lipstick imprinting onto his hand and gave him a wink and a wave as he left the store, his ears steaming and his week brightened.
And when he got home to the frigid apartment, building he lived in, back into the darkened rooms of his apartment, and in the claustrophobic walls of his room, he unrolled the poser and looked on its back. Written neatly was a message, "Don't let the bullies get to you, and if necessary, get a weapon. Personally, I think you would look nice with a whip! 3
Izuku's blood soaked into the wood he had been meticulously carving into, a theory of what would happen to organic material like wood when touched with his acidic blood... As the blood saturated the wooden bullet, the wood seemed to melt into the small pool of blood discoloring it. There went his idea for cheap ammo.
The Hunter's Dream had become a calming place for Izuku to go to. When his mind ached and, his heart burned. The light humming from Gerhman as he worked on his small garden and the frequent check-in's the Doll had begun to do when he spent long periods in the dream gave Izuku a feeling of home he had yet to be able to remember. Izuku's delving into the arcane arts had yet to yield much his control on his quickening state had surpassed Gerhman's expectations. And the light guide from the whispering voice of the moon had caused him to learn multiple different runes that the Rune Tool let him manipulate.
He had manipulated some of them to be conjoined, only they did nothing. But the Coven of The Moon Rune that the moon had seared into his mind seemed to change the runes he learned as time went by. The Clockwise Metamorphosis and Anti Clockwise Metamorphosis runes the moon shared with him seemed to glow red in their cores. And the basic Moon Rune Seemed to shift in place in his mind, stretching and shrinking in tandem with something he could not see.
His arsenal was growing as well... especially when it came to his whip. It took a forty-hour streak of smithing and a few weeks before his second whip could even begin to be called a whip. Its size was on par with his average whip, a near eight-foot length at a full swing; the differences came in the blades, while his old whip had massive knives that would cut through his enemies. This whip held more scalpel-like edges serrated for easy bloodletting, and the room for blood gems had been increased.
To say Izuku was happy would be an understatement, but it was not what he wanted. He wanted to get home to become the hero Izuku knew he could be, and he knew exactly how to do that.
The residents of the Forbidden Forest were not prepared for the reincarnation of the Reaper of Beasts.
—
Sorry, this one took more than a month! I've been busy, but the next chapter will be out hopefully within a month of this one. Oh! And I hope you all have a good day/ night/ evening!