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Chapter Text

“This is bullshit!” Minoru laments, crumpling up the French test he's just been handed back with its offending low mark and shoving it deep into his trouser pocket to hopefully go through the wash before his mother has the chance to see it. “I swear Miss Tsuchikawa hates me just because she caught me looking up her skirt.”

“I don't think that's whole the reason you got a bad mark but that would put anyone off you,” Izuku says.

“It was one time!”

“That's still once too many,” Izuku counters but he knows that Minoru is no longer listening: he's in full on rant mode and nothing is going to derail him.

“Why do we have to learn foreign languages anyway?” Minoru grumbles as if Izuku hadn't spoken, as Izuku suspected he would. “Everybody speaks English!”

“I don't know if it's escaped your notice but English is a foreign language, idiot!” Ochako bites back, frustrated with both Minoru and her own terrible mark, currently hidden at the bottom of her bag.

“More people we're gonna come into contact with are likely to speak English rather than French,” Minoru gripes.

“It's on the curriculum so we have to do it,” Izuku sighs, trying to be diplomatic while trying to think of a way to keep his mum from finding out about his less than perfect score.

“I can always help you with French if you like?” Yuga offers before Minoru has the chance to argue back. “I received one hundred percent on my test.”

“That's not fair,” Ochako whines. “You're cheating!”

Yuga shrugs his shoulders. “It is not my cheating, I have just been speaking it my whole life so I have the advantage.”

“Hey, don't look a gift horse in the ass, or whatever that stupid English saying is,” Minoru cuts in before Ochako can try and argue her point further. “Him offering to help is a once in a lifetime chance and I'm not passing it up.”

“It is not once in a lifetime,” Yuga huffs, affronted, and Izuku wonders if he's already regretting offering.

Minoru opens his mouth to argue that the only person Yuga offers to help is Izuku but seems to think better of it, worried that the offer will be rescinded if he fights. “You're right, I'm sorry, please can you help me because you're a master at French and I am in desperate need of your wisdom.”

“Alright, alright, I will help you,” Yuga says, wrinkling his nose as Minoru begs. “Now, please stop doing the doggy style eyes at me, it is weird.”

Ochako gags loudly. “Please don't ever say 'doggy style' in relation to Mineta again. That's the grossest thought ever!”

“I thought this is what they are called,” Yuga says, brow furrowing in confusion.

“No.”

Ignoring the both of them, Minoru pumps his fist, grinning. “Sweet! I'm gonna be so good at French.”

“You literally just said that it's a useless language,” Ochako sighs, despairing.

“I find that offensive,” Yuga sniffs, folding his arms across his chest.

“Hey, at least it's not some stupid language they only speak in one country like Flemish,” Minoru grins.

“What's Flemish?” Ochako asks.

“What they speak in Belgium,” Minoru replies.

“That's a lie, they speak Belgian,” Ochako argues.

“Belgian isn't a language,” Minoru tells her.

“Aoyama, please tell me he's making things up again,” Ochako says, turning to Yuga.

“No, Mineta is actually right in this instance,” Yuga says. “They speak Flemish, French and Dutch.”

Minoru's grin widens. “I'm smarter than you.”

“Shut up!” Ochako snaps.

“Don't hate me 'cause you ain't me,” Minoru sniggers.

“Why would anyone want to be you?” Ochako asks.

“Cause I'm awesome!”

“Are you alright Midoriya?” Yuga asks, stopping their argument in its tracks. “You seem to have gone out of the zone.”

“Sorry, I was thinking about something else.” Izuku shakes his head, bringing himself back to the conversation. Truth be told he stopped listening a while ago, firstly thinking about how to explain his own test results to Inko but also half wondering if he's ever likely to actually need French in his line of work.

“You are looking tired,” Yuga says. “Have you been burning both ends of the candle?”

“I don't think so,” Izuku says with another shake of his head, “I just...” he tails off, unable to finish his sentence as Mezo suddenly appears at the end of the corridor.

He's just left one of the science rooms and is impossible to miss, standing at least a head and shoulders over everyone else around him, but what Izuku notices instantly is that he's talking to a girl. She has faded pink dreadlocks and what look like welding goggles hanging around her neck (Izuku thinks her name is Hatsume or something like that) and she's talking animatedly. Izuku watches as Mezo throws his head back and laughs at whatever it is she's said, he looks so happy and at ease that it makes a lump spring to Izuku's throat: only a few short weeks ago Izuku was the one making him that carefree. Tears sting Izuku's eyes, making it almost impossible for him to see but before he turns away he still manages to catch a glimpse of the girl trying to wrap both of her hands around one of Mezo's biceps and Mezo allowing her to.

“I have to go to the library,” he announces hurriedly, his voice thick with tears, and runs before anyone can ask him what's wrong.

Even though he was the one to instigate the break up it's still too much for Izuku to bear. As much of a coward as it makes him feel Izuku knows it was better for him to run while he had the chance than to run the risk of Mezo looking in his direction and catching him. Furiously he wipes a hand over his face to rid himself of his tears: knowing his luck if he started crying this would be the exact time for him to run into TetsuTetsu or one of the other rugby boys. Jealousy burns in his chest and he hates himself for it – Mezo is well in his rights to move on to someone new if he wants to – but, more than that he hates Shouto. If it weren't for him then Izuku and Mezo would still be together and Izuku wouldn't be about to cry at school.

Pushing the door to the library open, thankful to be back in his sanctuary, Izuku reminds himself that things have to get better. They did after his break up with Shouto but, then again, he didn't have to see Shouto every day at school... actually Izuku has been able to get away with barely seeing Shouto at all. Sniffing, he blinks away the last of his tears before wiping his face with the back of his hand again. This is ridiculous, he shouldn't let himself get so worked up over a break up when he has plenty more to worry about. He knows that he should get up and go to class but Toru floats over to him, a huge smile on her face, and he decides to stay.

“Hi Midoriya,” she greets. Excitement thrums in the air around her, her presence practically vibrating with it but, as far as Izuku can see, there's nothing out of the ordinary.

“Hi Hagakure, is everything okay?”

Toru nods vigorously, her smile still shining like the sun. “I didn't expect to see any of you guys yet.”

“Yeah...” Izuku hedges, unsure how to admit that he freaked out over what was probably an innocent conversation about school work. “I...”

“It doesn't matter, now that you're here you can see,” Toru squeals excitedly.

“See what?” Izuku asks.

Instead of answering Toru looks over to the door of Aizawa's office, Izuku following her gaze to see Aizawa himself stepping out of it. He looks tired but no more so than the last time Izuku saw him (probably jet lag), his hair is tied back from his face actually looking as if it has been brushed for once, and he's dressed in clothes that don't appear to have been slept in. Izuku has never seen Aizawa looking this put together and after nearly a month of only being able to see him on the library's ancient, grainy computer screen it's quite a surprise. He stares at him, open mouthed, and Aizawa smiles when their eyes meet.

“Hey kid.”

“You're back,” Izuku says, his eyes filling with more tears and his voice coming out in a strangled whisper.

“Got back in last night,” Aizawa tells him. “Didn't think you'd be coming in until lunch time at the earliest. You'd better not have been cutting classes just because you haven't had a Watcher around to keep you in line.”

He means it as a joke, the twinkle in his eye makes that much obvious, but it causes something inside Izuku to break. Without a second's thought he runs to Aizawa and throws his arms around him, hugging him tightly and sobbing into his chest. If he's taken aback by being hugged by a teenager Aizawa doesn't show it, instead hugging Izuku back and running a comforting hand up and down his back.

“You're okay,” he says, his voice calming as Izuku cries. “It's alright, let it out.”

“I'm sorry,” Izuku cries, knowing full well that he's probably wetting the front of Aizawa's shirt with his tears and that he should be showing more restraint than this in case Travers has decided to come back to Japan but now that it's started he can't stop.

“It's alright,” Aizawa tells him.

“I'm so glad you're back,” Izuku manages to sniff before the tears take over again and he continues to cry into Aizawa's embrace.

Rather than push him away or tell him to calm down and compose himself, Aizawa waits patiently while Izuku cries out everything that has been bubbling up inside him for the last few days. All the anger towards Shouto, the hollowness that has been sitting in his chest since he broke up with Mezo and the fact that he's missed Aizawa much more than he realised. Everything comes out in a rush and it's only once the sobs have finally died down to sniffles that he feels as if he can properly speak again. Pulling back he wipes his eyes and is relieved to find that the old tears aren't instantly replaced with new ones.

“Sorry,” he mumbles again, sniffing.

“You've got nothing to be sorry for,” Aizawa says, leading Izuku over to the table so that they can both sit down, Toru joining them. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Izuku worries his bottom lip with his teeth. Obviously Aizawa knows about him getting a new boyfriend but he doesn't know that Izuku and Mezo have since split up – it's not exactly a conversation Izuku wanted to have over video call but, then again, he didn't want to tell Aizawa about having a new boyfriend over video call either. Aizawa was right when he said that Izuku shouldn't have tried to get involved with a civilian because he foresaw what Izuku couldn't: that a vampire would try to get to Izuku through Mezo. Izuku is almost embarrassed that he let Shouto manipulate him so easily and because of that he doesn't know if he can tell Aizawa the whole story. Will Aizawa tell him off for letting himself get bullied by a vampire into not killing them when he should have? Will he tell him that he was stupid for getting romantically involved with anyone when he's the vampire slayer in the first place? Will he–

“Midoriya, sweetie, you're muttering again,” Toru says, derailing Izuku's train of thought.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, cheeks heating up. One of these days he's going to do that in front of someone he shouldn't and tell his mum about vampires!

“So you and the new boyfriend broke up?” Aizawa asks, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair with a look on his face that tells Izuku that he shouldn't leave anything out on pain of death.

Izuku nods. “Yes.”

“Did he find out about you?” Aizawa asks.

“No,” Izuku replies. “I was really careful to keep him from finding out, even when Todoroki threatened him.”

“How did you manage that?” Toru asks. “You never told us.”

“I told him Todoroki was Yakuza,” Izuku says, running a hand over his face. When he thinks about it now it's open to as many questions as telling Mezo that vampires exist would have done. “It was the only thing I could think of to keep Shouji from trying to stand up to him.”

“Smart move,” Toru says.

“Yes, that was very quick thinking, well done,” Aizawa agrees.

“Thanks,” Izuku says, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Despite the circumstances it's nice to be praised.

“So what actually happened with Todoroki?” Aizawa presses.

A lump clogs Izuku's throat and tears sting his eyes but he swallows them down so he can keep his composure. “He told me that if I didn't break up with Shouji then he'd kill him. I threatened to do the same to him but he said that if he didn't return Dabi would kill Shouji so I let him go and broke up with Shouji the next day.”

Aizawa rubs his chin absent-mindedly. “Well, there's something to be said that he actually kept his word. Your boy is still alive I assume?”

“He is yeah,” Izuku says, trying to ignore the way his traitorous eyes well up again as he thinks of Mezo and that girl. “As far as I'm aware Todoroki hasn't done anything to him.”

“Good.”

“It sucks for you though,” Toru says, sadly.

“This is what being the slayer is all about,” Izuku tells her, wiping his tears away. “I just wanted one thing in my life that was normal, even if it was just for a few weeks.”

He expects a lecture but what he gets instead is a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I know you did kid,” Aizawa says, giving it a squeeze.

“I'm sorry,” Izuku sniffs.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Aizawa says. “It's normal, hell, when I was your age I wanted nothing more that to just be like my peers.”

“You did?” Izuku asks, frowning.

“Of course,” Aizawa says. “I didn't want to be different from everyone else, I just wanted to be normal. I wanted to make friends and not have to lie to them about the other half of my life all the time but even then I knew that none of them would understand. We live in such a different world and we have such a heavy burden to carry because of that.”

“How did you deal with it?” Izuku asks.

“It helped that I had a friend in the same position as both of us were training to be Watchers,” Aizawa says. “I know that doesn't help you because you're the only Slayer but you've got a good group of friends around you and they'll do anything for you.”

“We absolutely will,” Toru agrees.

“Thank you,” Izuku says, giving them both a watery smile. He should go and find the rest of his friends and apologise for running away like that but they're all probably in class by now. In fact he should be in class too but he doesn't feel like leaving the comfort of the library and Aizawa just yet. Before he has the chance to decide whether to leave or not one of the doors opens and in walks a man with long blond hair tied up in a messy top knot, glasses and a thick pencil moustache.

“Man, I thought that interview was going to go on forever, he groans. “I'd forgotten how thorough Japanese school boards could be, I was wondering if I was going to have to hypnotise him just so I could get it over with..” He stops short when he sees Izuku and his eyes widen. “Oh hey there,” he says with an awkward laugh. “Sorry, I didn't realise Shouta... I mean, Mr Aizawa, had company.”

A tiny amused smile tugs at the corner of Aizawa's lips. “Hizashi Yamada meet Izuku Midoriya: the Slayer.”

A huge smile spreads over Yamada's face and he bounds over to the table, suddenly full of energy. When he reaches him he grabs Izuku's hand and shakes it vigorously. “It's such an honour to meet you Midoriya, Shouta has told me so much about you.”

“Hi,” Izuku says, offering him a smile. This is the first time that he's even heard Yamada's name but Izuku is too polite to say this.

Yamada looks him up and down, huge grin still firmly in place. “Wow... I can't believe I'm finally getting the chance to meet the Vampire Slayer in person.”

Despite everything a laugh bubbles out of Izuku's chest. “You make it sound like I'm famous.”

“You are where we come from kid,” Aizawa chuckles.

“Yeah,” Yamada agrees, dropping into the seat next to Aizawa, “everyone at the Watchers Council would jump at the chance to meet you.”

“Wow Midoriya's a celebrity,” Toru giggles.

Heat fans across Izuku's cheeks. Considering that he has to keep his identity so secret the idea that there is an entire council of people who have him as their main topic of conversation is quite daunting. “Oh...”

“I count myself very lucky to be here,” Yamada says.

“What brings you to Japan?” Toru asks, thankfully changing the subject and taking the spotlight off Izuku.

“Do you remember when Travers said that I could only come back in post as your Watcher if I had someone come with me?” Aizawa asks.

“Yeah.”

“It took a lot of convincing but eventually Travers agreed to let me bring Mr Yamada back with me,” Aizawa says.

Yamada tolls his eyes and laughs. “Listen to him, calling me Mr Yamada like we haven't known each other our entire lives.”

“You're old friends?” Izuku asks, surprised. The two of them are such polar opposites that Izuku can't picture them being friends but, then again, he struggles to actually picture Aizawa as anything other than a fully grown adult.

“No way!” Toru gasps, thoroughly enjoying herself.

“Oh Shouta and I go way back,” Yamada says slapping Aizawa good naturedly on the back, completely ignoring the glare Aizawa sends his way.

“That's why I fought so hard to convince Travers to allow Yamada to come back with me,” Aizawa says. “I wanted someone I trusted.”

“When Shouta told me about what's happened to you since you were called I felt for you and wanted to help where I could,” Yamada tells Izuku, “so I did what I could to also convince Travers and the rest of the Council to let me come and be your second Watcher. Plus it's been an age since I came back to Japan.”

Izuku looks at Aizawa, worried. “Are you not my Watcher anymore?”

“I'm still your Watcher, don't worry,” Aizawa assures him. “Travers didn't go back on that, I just have someone keeping an eye on me too.”

“Don't worry though,” Yamada cuts in before Izuku can say anything, “I'm not going to rat Shouta out for being too involved. I think his attitude towards you is perfectly healthy and more Watchers should be like him.”

“Shut up,” Aizawa grumbles and looks away but with his usually messy hair tied back he can't hide the red fanning over his cheeks.

“Mr Aizawa are you blushing?” Toru asks, cheekily.

“Don't you have better things to do with your afterlife?” he asks.

“No,” Toru giggles as the school bell rings overhead to signal the start of the lunch hour.

Izuku jumps to his feet, heart pounding. “Oh my god, I skipped class!”

“Oh think nothing of that,” Yamada jumps in, waving his hand dismissively. “Shouta and I used to cut all the time and we turned out fine.”

Izuku stares at Aizawa in disbelief. “You used to skip class?”

“Man, I could tell you so many stories about Shouta when he was your age,” Yamada sniggers. “You wouldn't believe the things that we used to get up to.”

“Please don't,” Aizawa says.

“Please do!” Toru cries excitedly. “I want to hear everything!”

Before either Aizawa or Yamada can say anything the door to the library opens again and Toru blinks out of existence. She re-emerges a second later, the moment that Ochako, Minoru, Yuga and Mashirao enter and she realises that it's safe. As the four of them make their way to the table Izuku casts a quick glance to see the look of relief on Aizawa's face at not having to have his past exposed but Izuku doubts that will last long with Yamada around.

“What the hell man!” Minoru cries as he throws his bag onto the table and jumps up after it a second later. “You disappeared on us!”

“Are you okay Deku?” Ochako asks.

“I'm alright,” Izuku replies. “I'm sorry I made you worry.”

“Was it because you saw Shouji?” Yuga asks.

Izuku nods. “I didn't realise just seeing him was going to hit me so hard.”

“Shall I make us all a cup of tea?” Yamada offers. “I managed to get some Jaffa Cakes through security and they always work wonders for making people feel better.”

“What's a Jaffa Cake?” Mashirao asks at the same time as Minoru looks Yamada up and down.

“Who the hell is this guy?”

Ochako shakes her head as she sits down next to Izuku. “Don't you have any manners at all?”

“Sometimes,” Minoru grins.

“This is Hizashi Yamada,” Aizawa introduces. “He's an old friend of mine and he's come to be a second Watcher for Midoriya.”

“I'm also going to be your new English teacher,” Yamada says. “I've managed to convince the Headmaster to add a few books to the curriculum that I think you'll find a bit more fun than most literature.”

“Ooh, like what?” Ochako asks.

“Lady Chatterley's Lover for one,” Yamada says with a wink.

“The scandalous one that was deemed too sexual?” Yuga asks, aghast.

“That's the one,” Yamada replies. “I thought that might get you all a bit more interested in the classics.”

“Right on,” Minoru says, a huge grin on his face. “They didn't send someone lame.”

“I'll take that,” Yamada laughs. “Now, let me see if I can guess who you all are. Shouta's told me enough that I think I can.” He looks at Yuga, Minoru and Mashirao, studying them before nodding to himself. “Yuga Aoyama, the researcher,” he says, pointing to each of them in turn, “Mashirao Ojiro, the werewolf and Minoru Mineta, the boy who had a run in with Midnight.”

“Got a great souvenir out of it,” Minoru says proudly.

“I am aware,” Yamada says.

“You wanna see it?”

“Absolutely not.”

Yuga preens, smiling at Izuku. “I am a researcher.”

“And,” Yamada continues, turning to Ochako, “last but not least, the witch Ochako Uraraka. Shouta says you're incredibly gifted.”

A blush fans over Ochako's cheeks. “Thank you sir.”

“Don't you worry about calling me sir,” Yamada says with another dismissive wave of his hand. “It's way too stuffy! Mostly I go by Present Mic so call me that or just Mic if you prefer.”

“Mic was about to tell me and Midoriya what Mr Aizawa was like at our age,” Toru says, already comfortable enough to use such an informal name but, then again, she is technically older then all of them. “I'm dying to know... well, not literally.”

“I bet he was one of those annoyingly perfect students who got really good grades and never did anything wrong,” Minoru sniggers.

“You mean like Iida?” Yuga asks.

“That's who I'd picture when I think of young Mr Aizawa,” Mashirao agrees.

Yamada chuckles as Aizawa sends another glare his way. “Actually, believe it or not, Shouta was quite the rebel when he was a teenager. He was always doing things his own way, getting himself into trouble and being told off by the older Watchers.”

“If I recall you were doing the exact same thing and could you please refrain from telling my students all of my secrets?” Aizawa grumbles, glowering.

“But it's so much fun!” Yamada laughs.

“And we really want to know,” Yuga agrees.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Aizawa sighs. “See what you've started!”

“If you were classmates with Mr Aizawa did you train as a Watcher too?” Mashirao asks, saving Aizawa from further humiliation.

“I did, yes,” Yamada replies. “There were quite a few of us but, despite his tendency to bunk off and not follow the rules Shouta was top of the class so he was the first they called when Midoriya's first Watcher died.”

“Did you have to move here from England?” Izuku asks Aizawa, who nods.

“It was more like moving back but, yes.”

“I'd always assumed you were Midoriya's Watcher because you were in Japan already,” Ochako muses.

“Yeah,” Minoru agrees, “convenience and all that.”

“No, I was selected for this,” Aizawa says. “It did help that I already spoke Japanese and had citizenship.”

“Mr Mic,” Ochako begins, still not quite able to drop all formalities, “if it's not too impertinent a question, what do the rest of the Watchers Council do?”

“That's a very good question Uraraka,” Yamada says. “Some of us teach the next generation of Watchers and work directly for the Council. The really high up members, like Mr Travers, co-ordinate the other Watchers, monitor the Slayer's progress and development, keep up to date with prophecies, that kind of thing. The rest of us have ordinary day jobs but we're expected to check in frequently.”

“What do you do?” Mashirao asks. “If you're coming here to be our English teacher does that mean you were a teacher for the Council?”

“No, I present The Watcher's Hour on BBC Radio Two,” Yamada replies.

Minoru frowns. “Isn't that a normal radio station?”

“Yes and no,” Yamada laughs. “There's a particular frequency within the bracket for Radio Two that my show is on. It's incredibly difficult to find unless you know how to so my audience is mostly other Watchers.”

“When is it broadcast?” Yuga asks.

“Every day from half past twelve until half past one.”

“During the day?” Ochako asks in surprise.

Yamada nods. “I didn't want to do it any earlier because I like to listen to Popmaster and someone has to keep an eye on Jeremy Vine so I thought it might as well be me.”

“What did Jeremy Vine do?” Toru asks while the others try to work out who Jeremy Vine even is.

“Nothing yet but you have to watch demons closely, even if they're mostly harmless,” Yamada says.

“Will you still be able to do your show while you're here because of the time difference?” Ochako asks.

“I can take a couple of weeks holiday while I get myself set up here,” Yamada says, shrugging. “A friend of mine who used to be on Radio Two but now DJs for a different station said he can cover mine in the last hour of his.”

“Where are you staying?” Toru asks, elated to have not only Aizawa back but someone else for company.

“He'll be staying with me,” Aizawa cuts in before Yamada can reply. “Now, can we please move on to more important matters, namely the fact that the Todoroki family are still causing trouble?”

“Have any of them tried anything while Shouta was in England?” Yamada asks.

Izuku shakes his head. “Apart from Shouto Todoroki blackmailing me into breaking up with Shouji, they've been pretty quiet.”

“Although we know that does not mean that they are doing nothing,” Yuga says.

“They're probably recruiting or trying to come up with another plan on how to get Midoriya's blood,” Minoru agrees.

“We'll always make sure that there's at least two of us on patrol with you Deku,” Ochako says.

“Yeah, safety in numbers and all that,” Mashirao adds.

“But, mon ami, is it not the full moon soon?” Yuga asks and Mashirao deflates.

“Oh... yeah...”

“Don't worry, I'll be here to keep you company,” Toru says, placing a transparent hand on his shoulder and offering him a smile.

Mashirao's cheeks colour and he smiles back. “Thanks.”

“Thanks guys, plus we've got exams to study for, although that feels like the least of my problems,” Izuku says. “Having said that, now that Todoroki can't get into my house, my mum knows to keep an eye out for him, he's made me break up with Shouji and you guys all wear protection charms I'm less worried. There's no one else he can use to get to me.”

“Don't underestimate him,” Yamada cautions. “You know his history, right?”

“I do yes, Mr Aizawa gave me some books and Aoyama helped me go through them,” Izuku replies. “I'm not underestimating him, I'm thinking logically. Since he revealed his true colours he's only tried something a couple of times, when he could get to me by threatening someone else. As there's no one new he can use I don't think he'll re-appear for a while. I can't speak to Dabi or Fuyumi's personalities but I feel like she will spend more time with Endeavour now that Rei is gone and he will either be scheming something of his own or helping Shouto.”

Yamada thinks this over for a moment, nodding. “It sounds like you know what you're doing, good job.”

“Thank you,” Izuku says, smiling. It means a lot to him that a new Watcher – even one who is Aizawa's friend – thinks that he's doing a good job after Travers constantly made him feel like a disappointment.

“You should still travel in groups where you can though,” Aizawa says. “As Ojirou said, there's safety in numbers.”

“Well, I'm always down to patrol and I'm a good person to have with you,” Minoru says before turning to Yamada. “Things tend to avoid me because of my magical crystal dick.”

“I'll bear that in mind,” Yamada chuckles. He turns to Aizawa. “He's really proud of that, isn't he?”

Aizawa sighs. “For all our sins, yes he is.”

Chapter Text

“Oh my god Deku, I'm so sorry I had to bail!” Ochako gushes in a hushed whisper down the phone. “Iida asked me if I wanted to get dinner before going to the cinema and hanging out in a graveyard with you didn't seem like a good enough excuse not to go.”

“It's fine,” Izuku tells her, chuckling. “You shouldn't put your life on hold for my patrols, you know. I'm the one with the destiny.”

“I know but Mr Aizawa said that we should stick together when we're out at night,” Ochako says.

“If it makes you feel better Ojirou was with me until about twenty minutes ago but then he had to run home because his little brother is sick and his mum needs him to look after his sister while she takes his brother to the doctor,” Izuku says. “There's not been much going on if I'm honest.”

“Are you sure?” Ochako asks and Izuku can practically hear her narrowing her eyes at him.

“I'm sure,” he says. “I'm going to give it ten more minutes and then I'll head home, I've got some chemistry homework that I need to finish off. You have fun with Iida.”

“Thanks,” Ochako says. “I should probably go, I said I was going to the bathroom and ducked out to call you but I don't want to leave it too long.”

“Yeah, that would be really embarrassing,” Izuku laughs.

“Let me know you get home okay though,” Ochako tells him.

“I will.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Izuku hangs up the phone and, before shoving it into his pocket, sets himself a ten minute timer, planning to go home as soon as it goes off. He wanders around for a few minutes but there's still very little going on. On the one hand it's good – it means less people are getting attacked and killed by vampires and it's one less thing for him to worry about – but on the other if there was even a little bit of demonic activity it would make him hanging around in the graveyard at night in the middle of January worth it. It's freezing cold, he's lost the feeling in his fingers and toes both and he wishes that he'd thought to stop off at the café near school and gotten himself a cup of hot chocolate or some soup.

Despite the fact that Aizawa reiterated to all of them the importance of not being alone at night, Izuku is rather enjoying having some time alone with his thoughts. With the appearance of Aizawa and Yamada coming back from England they've all had a lot to talk about. Yamada is nice – he's good at making them all laugh, not to mention that he's a great teacher – and Izuku is so thankful that Aizawa managed to convince the Watchers Council to send someone a little more flexible. The idea of having someone like Travers come back with Aizawa makes Izuku feel physically sick.

Before he can get too lost in his own thoughts, the timer on Izuku's phone goes off and he breathes a sigh of relief. He's so done with this evening and all he wants is a hot shower and some home cooked food; hopefully Inko will have made katsudon. Turning off his phone, Izuku shoves it back into his pocket along with his stake and turns to leave. Unfortunately the universe is not on Izuku's side and the second that he decides to head home movement in the corner of the graveyard catches his eye and his heart sinks.

Great... this is all I need!

Moving swiftly and stealthily, so as not to alert whatever it is that he's spotted, Izuku creeps up behind the great hulking form, hoping for a quick and easy kill. Despite getting closer to it Izuku still can't work out what on earth it is but he knows it's definitely not human. If he can get the jump on whatever it is that might mean he'll be able to do it quickly as he worries that his fingers are too numb to hold a stake. As he creeps closer his foot accidentally falls on an empty drinks can that has been scattered by some litterbug too lazy to walk a few feet to the nearest bin and, as it crunches loudly beneath Izuku's shoe, the mass turns round. Their eyes lock and Izuku can see that it's a demon rather than a vampire, with large antlers like a deer, seemingly covered in a dark sludge that looks like tar. A deep sigh leaves Izuku as he realises that he's up against a chaos demon.

“Hi,” Izuku says, offering it an awkward wave.

Slime slowly drips off one of the demon's antlers onto the floor as it stares at Izuku with an expression so gormless, Izuku has only ever seen it on TetsuTetsu when he's asked a simple maths question. As he gets a little closer, hoping that the demon won't realise who he is and what he's attempting to do, Izuku tries not to gag at the smell coming off it. It reminds him of the time when his mum forgot to put the milk away after she made a cup of coffee and it was left on the kitchen counter during the height of summer. A long line of more slime slowly makes its way down from one of the demon's nostrils where a forked tongue slips out from between its lips to lick it into its mouth and Izuku can no longer keep his revulsion to himself.

“Ewww gross!”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth Izuku realises that he's fucked up and the demon has taken offence to his disgust. It lunges for Izuku with a strange mooing sound and Izuku has to duck out of the way rather than face it head on to avoid getting covered in demon slime. If it gets on his winter coat it will never come off and there's no way he'll be able to explain it to Inko so he tries to fight the demon and keep it at bay while trying to stop himself from getting covered in its disgusting slime. Dodging another punch and blocking a kick a second later, Izuku wishes that Ochako was with him so that she could freeze it or something that might make this fight a little easier.

Out of the corner of his eye Izuku sees more movement and he tries not to groan out loud; if it's a vampire or another one of these things this is going to be even more of a struggle. He's going to have to make this quick so that he only has one enemy to focus on. The newcomer walks under a nearby streetlamp and Izuku recognises the spiky blond hair and slightly hunched posture of Katsuki and his heart leaps for joy.

“Kacchan!” he calls over the demon's shoulder.

Katsuki looks over at him in confusion. “Deku?”

“Help me!” Izuku cries, not even caring if Katsuki relentlessly teases him for appearing weak or useless afterwards. All he wants right now is to be able to have the upper hand on this incredibly gross demon so that he can go home to have as many showers as humanly possible, until his skin is raw from washing so much.

Thankfully Katsuki is never one to shy away from a fight and he joins the fray without complaint. The second that he comes charging in with a fierce growl Izuku knows that between them they can actually win this fight. The demon, which has already given off the impression that it has little to no intelligence, doesn't seem to know which way the blows are coming from as both Katsuki and Izuku deliver punches and kicks as fast as they both can and it becomes obvious that they're overpowering it.

“Deku if I throw you can you jump above it to kill it?” Katsuki asks, seeming to delight in fighting something just as strong as he is.

Izuku grins, enjoying the rush of fighting alongside Katsuki. “Only one way to find out.”

“Let's do it then,” Katsuki says, matching Izuku's grin.

As if he were a dancer Katsuki picks Izuku up and tosses him into the air, Izuku using the leverage to jump and launch himself higher. While he's above the demon Katsuki trips it so that it's lying on its back on the floor so Izuku pulls his stake out of his coat pocket and plunges it into the demon's heart. It's not the correct method for killing a chaos demon but it's good enough as Izuku has no idea what actually is (something Aizawa will probably berate him for when he tells him all about it the next day).

“Thanks Kacchan,” Izuku pants, grinning at him before he bends down to wipe the grime off the end of his stake on the damp grass.

“Looked like you could do with the help nerd,” Katsuki says with a teasing smirk.

“I'm really grateful for it,” Izuku says. “I don't know how I would have explained it to mum if any of that got on me.”

Katsuki prods the lifeless demon's cloven hoof with the toe of his shoe with distaste, as if worried the slime will somehow get on him. “What the fuck even is this thing?”

“Chaos demon,” Izuku says although seeing as Katsuki probably has no more idea of what a chaos demon is than someone like Tenya, who knows nothing of vampires existing, it doesn't really answer his question.

“Fucking gross.”

“I know,” Izuku says, wrinkling his nose as he looks over the demon again.

“Smells like wet ass.”

“I can't do anything about that, I'm sorry.”

“Disgusting.” Katsuki glares at the demon before prodding it with his foot again. “Why isn't it going... you know...” He makes a bursting sign with his hands, while imitating the booming of a firework to signify a vampire exploding into dust.

“Demons don't really do that,” Izuku says, shrugging his shoulders. “I wish they did, it would make clean up much easier.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes. “Fucks sake.”

“Mineta once make one explode with his magic penis,” Izuku says.

“God, your friends are freaks.”

“That's my lot in life,” Izuku laughs. “Can you help me get rid of it?”

For a while Katsuki studies Izuku as if weighing up whether to help him a second time in one night or not. Eventually, after what seems like a lifetime of Izuku thinking he's about to be told to get stuffed, Katsuki shrugs. “Sure, why not?”

“Thank you, I owe you.”

“You already owe me for helping your ass out shitty Deku,” Katsuki says with a grin. “Now, what do you want to do with it?”

“I don't know,” Izuku says, staring down at the demon, his brow furrowed as he thinks. “Dump it in the pond?”

“That's as dumb an idea as any,” Katsuki shrugs. “Let's do it.”

“Great,” Izuku smiles and bends down to take hold of one of the demon's hands and feet, lifting them off the ground. “If you take the other side then neither of us has to be near the... um, the slime.”

“Gross,” Katsuki mutters but still does as instructed, picking up the demon's other hand and foot.

Together the two of them lift the demon off the ground and slowly make their way further into the graveyard. Despite the fact that there's two of them the demon's weight is still quite considerable and it takes them a while to get to where a small, but surprisingly deep, pond sits. As they get closer Izuku thanks his lucky stars that they're doing this after dark because there's no way that he would be able to explain this if anyone were to walk past. Eventually they make it to the pond and, between the two of them, toss the demon's body into it, where it causes a substantial splash. Izuku watches as it slowly sinks beneath the water, leaving a film of brown, oil like goo on the surface. A frog quickly jumps out of the water and into the reeds as if in disgust and Izuku hopes that the oil is gone by the morning so that no one official decides to drain the pond to see what the cause is.

“So what do you do now?” Katsuki asks.

“Pray?” Izuku offers with a nervous laugh. “I don't really know what happens to chaos demons, I'll have to look it up when I get home.”

Katsuki frowns. “Why don't you just look on your phone?”

“I'm technically still on mum's contract and data plan, don't want her finding out and asking questions,” Izuku says.

“Loser,” Katsuki snorts.

“Shut up!” Izuku grumbles, his cheeks heating up. “I've got books at home so I double check there, it's more reliable than the stuff you find online anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, too many people just tell everyone how much they want to have sex with the demons,” Izuku replies.

“Jesus Christ.”

“I don't think he's involved.”

“I haven't been on the internet in at least six months,” Katsuki says as he and Izuku turn away from the pond. “I must have missed out on so many memes.”

“Oh thousands,” Izuku says, the two of them walking towards the graveyard's gates.

“Damn.”

“At least you have a TV now,” Izuku says.

“Yeah,” Katsuki agrees. “I get to watch what I want when Kirishima can finally get Sero off the damned thing. Bummed I missed out on so much One Piece though; I've jumped back in but I've got no way to catch up on what I missed.”

“Do you have a DVD player?” Izuku asks as they pass the gates and head off down the street. “If you tell me where you got to and where you've picked back up and I can fill in the blanks for you.”

“We don't but thanks for the offer,” Katsuki says, smiling in a way that makes a funny feeling settle in the pit of Izuku's stomach.

“I can get you one if you like?” Izuku says without thinking. As soon as he's said it he has no idea how he's going to be able to do that but part of him wants to make Katsuki smile like that again.

“You don't have to,” Katsuki says.

“I know but I want to.”

That smile is back and Izuku's heart skips. “Okay well, let me know if you manage it.”

“I will,” Izuku says, trying to ignore the warmth Katsuki's smile has spread through him. “How does Kirishima manage to get Sero off the TV?”

“With difficulty,” Katsuki says rolling his eyes. “He only ever leaves the thing alone to sleep or hunt.”

“Was that what you were doing tonight?” Izuku asks.

“What?”

“Hunting?”

Katsuki shakes his head. “No, the others think I am but I just wanted an excuse to get away for a bit. Haven't been doing that much hunting lately if I'm honest.”

“Why not?” Izuku asks.

“Don't feel like it,” Katsuki says with a shrug.

“You should take better care of yourself Kacchan,” Izuku admonishes. He knows he shouldn't be telling Katsuki to kill people but he doesn't want to think that Katsuki is intentionally starving himself for whatever reason. “You need to eat.”

“Don't need you mothering me Deku, I get that enough from Pinkie,” Katsuki snaps, glaring at him.

“Alright, alright,” Izuku says, holding his hands up in defence. “I'm sorry, I just... worry about you, I guess.”

This seems to make Katsuki soften somewhat and he grins, gently punching Izuku on the arm. “You don't need to worry about me Deku, I'm fine.”

“Okay.” They continue on in silence for a moment before Izuku laughs softly. “If you're not out killing people that does make my job easier.”

“Yeah, I guess it does,” Katsuki agrees. The two of them fall back into silence for a moment, neither of them having realised that Katsuki has just walked Izuku home until they come to the end of his street and Katsuki hangs back slightly. “Is Aunty home?”

“She's on morning shifts this week so probably,” Izuku says.

“I'll leave you to it then.”

“Thanks for walking me home Kacchan,” Izuku says, smiling. Katsuki makes no move to leave, instead continuing to stare at Izuku with a strange expression on his face. It's one Izuku has never seen on him before and he's surprised to realise that it might be concern. “You okay?”

“How are you doing Deku?” Katsuki asks.

“How do you mean?”

Katsuki shrugs. “Last time I saw you things weren't great.”

“Oh...” Of course, the last time Izuku had seen Katsuki was just after he and Mezo broke up and Katsuki had held him while he sobbed. “I'm fine,” he says more out of instinct than actual truth and the way Katsuki's ruby eyes narrow tells him that Katsuki knows it.

“You don't gotta lie Deku,” he grumbles. “I'm not one of your dumbass human friends who wouldn't notice that shit.” He gives Izuku another punch on the arm, this one a little harder. “Come on, you can tell me anything.”

Tears prick the corners of Izuku's eyes and he swallows the large lump that has formed in his throat. “It's been rough since I last saw you.”

“That half and half bastard pulled any more of his bullshit?” Katsuki asks.

“No,” Izuku says, wiping his eyes. “Thankfully he lost interest after I broke up with Shouji.”

“That's something I guess,” Katsuki says nodding and shuffling his feet in a very un-Katsuki like fashion. “Don't like the thought of you being unhappy.”

Suddenly the lump in Izuku's throat doesn't seem so big, the pressure that had been threatening to crush him lifts a little and he smiles. “Thanks Kacchan.”

“Whatever Deku,” Katsuki says but his smile shows that his disinterest is only lip service.

“See you another night?” Izuku asks, hopefully.

Katsuki shrugs. “I'm usually around.”

“I'll see what I can do about that DVD player,” Izuku says.

“Thanks, see you around Deku,” Katsuki says and turns to leave.

“Bye.” Izuku offers him a small wave as he also turns to go.

As he walks towards his front door he can't help the huge grin that spreads over his face and the butterflies that begin to stir in his stomach. It's been a long time since he's thought about his old crush on Katsuki (mostly because he thought that he was chasing an impossible dream, especially after Katsuki died) but those old forgotten feelings seem to be rearing their head again. Pulling his keys out of his backpack he shakes himself. Get a grip Izuku! It doesn't matter if things between you and Kacchan are better now, it's still not happening. He knows it's ill advised to even entertain the possibility of falling in love with Katsuki again for so many reasons that he doesn't have the energy to list. For now he'll be thankful that the two of them can actually be friends for now, rather than at each other's throats all the time.

“Izuku is that you?” Inko calls as he closes the front door behind himself.

“No a vampire somehow got in,” he mutters to himself before calling back. “Yes, I'm home!”

“You're home late,” Inko admonishes as she comes into the hall to help him with his coat.

“Sorry, I was talking to Kacchan,” Izuku says without thinking and a chill shoots up his spine – how the hell is he going to explain that – but then he sees the sadness that crosses Inko's face and knows he's gotten away with it.

“Oh sweetheart,” she says, hugging him tightly. “I know how hard his passing has been for you but it will get better in time. I promise.”

“Thanks mum,” Izuku says, fixing his face into a sad smile so that she doesn't suspect anything. “Do I have time for a shower before dinner?” he asks, changing the subject. “I didn't realise how cold it was out there until I came inside.”

“Of course,” Inko says, taking his coat and scarf. “I'm making katsudon tonight, it should be ready in about half an hour.”

“Great thanks, I won't be long,” Izuku says before darting up the stairs. As he does he sends a quick text to Ochako to let her know that he's home safely before grabbing some oversized pyjama trousers and his favourite Edgeshot t-shirt. He's just about to open the bathroom door when his mother's voice meets his ears again.

“Izuku, what's this all over the back of your coat?” Inko asks. “It looks like tar!”

Oh crap!

Chapter Text

Yuga idly flips the page of the book he's been reading when he should have been studying for his geography test. It's one on ancient prophecies that he stole from Aizawa's private library while he was in England and he's covered it with the dust cover of one of his text books so no one will know he's not doing school work unless they start reading over his shoulder. Thankfully the only person likely to do that is Minoru, who is busy irritating Ochako. Briefly he watches their back and forth for a moment thinking that Ochako really should just ignore him rather than rising to his bait and if this were one of those American TV shows where two of the side characters end up getting together it would be those two.

If Yuga were a betting man he would even put money on Minoru eventually wearing her down, then the two of them would go on a disastrous date that may end in an awkward kiss or an even more awkward night of sex. Having said that Minoru has never given off the impression that he wants to date Ochako in particular – he's more the kind who will grab the opportunity for any physical contact with the opposite sex that he can get. The idea of anything happening between them is so absurd Yuga has to turn back to his book to stop himself from laughing.

Studying isn't interesting him: he's terrible at geography and no matter how much he studies there's no way that he's going to get more than a sixty-three at most, so why bother? He's hardly going to become a geography teacher when he leaves school and reading about prophecies is vastly more helpful to him and his friends in the long run. He's just reached a chapter all about prophecies relating to Slayers so that's a much better use of his time than trying to study for a test he knows he will just barely pass. There may be nothing that seems as if it relates to Izuku (these books tend to be incredibly non-specific) but if there is that would give them some forewarning of what could happen.

Turning the page he skims the dense paragraphs for anything that might be of use when something suddenly catches his eye. Placing his finger underneath the words to make absolutely sure that, firstly, he's reading this correctly and, secondly, he doesn't miss anything noteworthy, he reads:

Under a late evening moon, towards the end of the year, in the far east a vampire with the face of an angel will lead the Slayer into Hell...

The 'far east' could easily mean Japan and, if it does, then a vampire with the face of an angel could mean Shouto. Even though Yuga only saw his face at a glance when his forehead wasn't wrinkled like a discarded shirt and he didn't have his fangs out Shouto is objectively good looking but there's still nothing to suggest that this is about him. Even if it is there's no guarantee that this particular prophecy is about Izuku as well. In all of his researching Yuga has never managed to find a prophecy that wasn't infuriatingly vague. He stares at the words on the page, almost begging some more clarity to come jumping out at him.

If this is about Izuku and Shouto does that mean that something else is going to happen between them? Izuku is unlikely to fall for any other tricks that either Shouto of any of the other Todoroki family could pull, so does that mean this won't come to pass? Then again the end of the year has been and gone so maybe this has already happened, and if that's true then will something else happen because Izuku was supposed to die but didn't? This is all too much for Yuga to process and he's incredibly thankful that he doesn't have Izuku's uncanny ability to mutter to himself without noticing. Their run in with Endeavour isn't exactly what Yuga would call the end of the year but what if the prophecy means the lunar new year? What if this is actually about another slayer in China? What if Yuga is worrying over nothing? What if...?

“Yo, Aoyama,” Minoru calls, catching Yuga's attention as he also tosses a scrunched up ball of paper onto the book.

Yuga looks up from the book, blinking at his friends who are all staring at him like someone just asked a question and they're all expecting an answer. “Pardon?”

“You okay man?” Minoru asks.

“Yeah, you've gone kind of pale,” Toru says.

Flushing, Yuga hastily closes the book of prophecies and shoves it into his bag so that none of the others have a chance to see what he's reading. “I am fine.”

Izuku frowns at him, concerned. “Are you sure?”

“I am just worrying about the test that we have, it is nothing serious” Yuga lies. His grades are the furthest thing from his mind right now but he can't let the others know until he's absolutely sure. If he's wrong he doesn't want to cause a panic about something that's not going to happen or isn't even about them and he doesn't relish the idea of the scorn he could get from particularly Ochako and Minoru. There's also the worry that they won't believe him, tell him that he's crazy and that prophecies aren't real.

“I know what you mean man,” Mashirao agrees. “If I don't pass our Japanese literature test I could be kicked off the team!”

Minoru blows a dismissive raspberry at him. “You're not in danger of getting kicked off the team.”

“Yeah,” Ochako agrees. “If anyone is it's TetsuTetsu.”

“He did spell his name with five Ts the other day,” Mashirao muses.

“See, you're fine,” Minoru tells him.

“But if I don't pass, even if I don't get kicked off the team, my mum will ground me and we're supposed to be going to the kennels this weekend to get a new dog,” Mashirao says.

“I thought you already had a dog,” Ochako says, frowning in confusion. “I swear I saw you walking one a couple of months ago.”

Mashirao suddenly goes very quiet, his eyes glassing over but before anyone other than the hyper aware Yuga seems to notice Izuku jumps in.

“If it helps I've heard that Mr Ishiyama reuses old test papers,” he says, patting Mashirao's shoulder. “We should be having the same one from about three years ago so we can look in the archives later if you want?”

A smile of relief crosses Mashirao's face and he seems to instantly relax. “Thanks Midoriya.”

“I never got to take my end of year exams,” Toru says with a sad smile. “I know that it would have been stressful and I probably wouldn't have done very well but sometimes I think I might have liked to... just to know, you know?”

“How were you in your class ranking?” Ochako asks.

Toru shrugs. “I was okay, I didn't stand out or anything – I was around the middle of the class table. This was a long time ago though, I doubt I'd even be there if I took an exam now.”

“Hanging out in the library will have helped though,” Mashirao says. “You must have sat in on so many classes and stuff just by being at the school for as long as you have.”

“Yes,” Yuga agrees, thankful that the conversation has moved on. “Surely some of that information will have stuck with you.”

“Maybe,” Toru says. “Will you guys carry on studying after school?”

“I'd like to,” Izuku replies. “I do need to patrol though.”

“It's been a while since we had a slaying and study session,” Ochako pipes up.

“I mean if you guys are free that would be amazing,” Izuku says. “I could really do with the help.”

“I can swing by after practice,” Mashirao says.

“And I'm always down to get out of the house,” Minoru agrees. “Besides, I think my mum wants me out for a few hours so that she can have a date with one of the IT guys from her office.”

“What about you Aoyama?” Izuku asks, turning to him.

He desperately wants to say yes, to spend some relatively carefree time with his friends and work towards getting better grades is almost too good to pass up. Also the idea that he might be able to see a brand new demon that he can add to one of his many folders (all colour co-ordinated and sparkly) is very appealing but he needs to spend some time alone with his computer and not in the way that Minoru would. He'll go onto some chatrooms and forums and see if there's anyone who can help him out.

“Unfortunately I cannot tonight,” he says. “Papa is supposed to be calling from France and because of the time difference I need to be home to catch him.”

“Well, you're more than welcome to come out afterwards if it's not too late,” Izuku says offering him a smile.

“Thank you, I will,” Yuga replies, thankful that none of his friends (apart from Minoru, who is too busy drawing a racoon with an abnormally large scrotum on the edge of Ochako's notebook while she's not looking) know the time difference between Japan and France.

Later that evening, after Yuga has finished speaking over the internet with his parents in France and has taken a light dinner up to his room he logs into his computer. After waiting nearly ten minutes for his old laptop to load while he checks that there's no danger of anyone coming into his room unannounced, he opens up his VPN, sets himself to a country somewhere in the middle of South America and finds his favourite chatroom. What he has found over the years of being a supernatural enthusiast is that most chatrooms like this are filled with trolls but this one is by invitation only so is blissfully troll free.

He logs in, greeting everyone who is already in, recognising some of the names as regulars but there are a few new names. Once the flurry of sign ins seems to have died down someone starts up a conversation about a potential sighting of a kelpie but Yuga doubts that it was a real one. He would love to be able to upload some of the photos he has stored on his phone of Izuku fighting various vampires and demons but he knows he can't: it will only cause more problems and potentially put Izuku in more danger and people are unlikely to believe him anyway. As soon as there is a lull in the conversation Yuga takes his chance and jumps in.

I Literally Cannot Stop Twinkling (*✧×✧*): Does anyone know if anything in the book of prophecies written in 1762 is reliable or not?

Staring at the screen for a few minutes while nothing happens Yuga wonders if this is going to be the first time that his preferred chatroom has actually let him down. It was bound to happen eventually but he would have hoped that would have been for something frivolous like a sighting or the existence of lizard men in the British royal family, not a prophecy that might mean one of his friends is going to die. Then, however, someone tentatively asks if he means the Book of Prophecies and when he answers in the affirmative there's a flurry of activity as response after response comes pouring in.

DrSupernatural2002: OMG! Where did u manage to get a copy of that?

ijustreallylikewerewolves: Yeah I heard that they were all destroyed in 1859!

DrSupernatural2002:But yeah totally it is reliable – everything in it is supposed to happen, even like to the exact date, no one knows how they did it

IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme: That can't be true!

I Literally Cannot Stop Twinkling (*✧×✧*): Really? But the dates are so vague

ijustreallylikewerewolves: How long have u been studying it?

I Literally Cannot Stop Twinkling (*✧×✧*): Honestly, I only found it today, I just wanted to know if it was reliable before I looked into it further...

DrSupernatural2002: They are reliable & if u study it further ull find the date its totally supposed 2 happen

IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme: But it was written like 400 years ago! There's no way that the writers would have been thinking as far ahead as now when the Mayans thought the world would end in 2012

Bruh: No one really thought the world was going to end though

IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme: They did to!

Bruh: That was just when the calendar ended, only crazy people thought that the world would actually end

IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme: Then why has no one felt alive since then?

The conversation seems to be devolving into a shouting match between Bruh and IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme, neither of who seem willing to back down on their view points. It's turning into name calling and insults, with some of the others even joining in, not caring for whose side they're even on, and Yuga worries that he's started something that will provide no answers by starting off with the wrong questions. His fingers hover over the keyboard, ready to tell them all to forget he ever said anything and steer the conversation back to the kelpie when a new member of the chat sends a reply that seems to stop everyone in their tracks.

Flyfreeandhigh2135: My great grandfather was a Navaho chief and he had one of the only two copies left in existence. He told me that everything and I mean literally everything – no matter how insignificant it might seem – in that book eventually comes to pass one way or another.

The bottom drops out of Yuga's stomach and he slaps a hand over his mouth, afraid that he might be sick. Does this mean that Izuku is still in danger? With trembling fingers he begins typing again, ignoring the flurry of messages from the others that are of no use to him.

I Literally Cannot Stop Twinkling (*✧×✧*): So if a prophecy said that someone was going to die and they didn't in the way that you thought it could still happen a different way?

Flyfreeandhigh2135: Absolutely, it's all about how they can be interpreted. It might be that what you thought to begin with was actually wrong.

The urge to vomit is getting stronger but Yuga swallows it down. He can't shy away from asking his next questions because, if he does and this prophecy really is about Izuku then there may still be more danger ahead than they think.

I Literally Cannot Stop Twinkling (*✧×✧*): What about stopping it?

His breath stills as he waits for a reply from Flyfreeandhigh2135 specifically as they seem to know what they're talking about, wishing that he could somehow convey without giving away too much that this is a life or death situation. As predicted though, the first people to respond are not the helpful ones.

IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme: You can't stop prophecies dum dum

DrSupernatural2002: I agree from what I've been given to understand, once a prophecy has been written there's no stopping it but @IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme u shouldn't call people dum dums

IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme: But it was a stupid question!

Bruh: Dude, youll get thrown out the chat

IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme: Nah, only if you say something really bad

ijustreallylikewerewolves: Reported

IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme: Fuck you!

Once again the conversation devolves into insults and arguments, with everyone ganging up on IwearthecheeseItdoesnotwearme over a slight that Yuga isn't even remotely insulted or bothered by. At this point he's only looking for one name and thankfully they're savvy enough to tag him to make sure that he sees their response.

Flyfreeandhigh2135: @I Literally Cannot Stop Twinkling (*✧×✧*) It was a really long time ago when he told me this but he said that if it's written then it will happen, like the guys above said. There's no way of stopping it but, again, it's all about interpretation – it doesn't always mean something bad is going to happen.

I Literally Cannot Stop Twinkling (*✧×✧*): How so?

Flyfreeandhigh2135: For example it could say something about the end of an age but that could just mean the turn of the century – it doesn't always mean someone is going to die or the world is going to end. If you've found something that's worrying you it might be worth you talking about it to someone older that you trust and knows about these things.

I Literally Cannot Stop Twinkling (*✧×✧*): Thank you, I will

Glancing at the other messages Yuga decides that sticking around in the chatroom is only going to stress him out more tonight so he thanks everyone again and bids them goodnight then logs out before turning off his computer and closing it with a deep sigh. Flyfreeandhigh2135 is right: he needs to do some more research and then talk to Aizawa. Currently there are too many variables – for one thing this prophecy may not even be about Izuku to begin with! Yuga delves into his school bag and pulls the book out once more, opening it to the page he marked earlier. He'll read a little more tonight to see if he can find anything that will give him more clues.

While he imagines Izuku and the others are still out patrolling, as their group chat hasn't had the usual messages to say that people are home, staying in is probably a better use of Yuga's time right now. He wants something more substantial before he talks to Aizawa as he knows he's going to get in trouble for borrowing one of his books without asking. The telling off will be worth it though it it can put his mind at rest and save Izuku's life if he is in danger.

The following morning Yuga gets to school earlier than most of the other students and makes a beeline for the library. Luckily for him those who are at school this early pay him no mind because the last thing he needs right now is running into one the the school bullies. To his great surprise Mashirao is already in the library, poring over books with Toru by his side, who seems to be helping rather than her usual state of being a distraction. Neither of them seems to notice him, they're too busy wrapped up in their study session so Yuga doesn't draw any attention to himself by greeting them, instead heading to the door of Aizawa's office and knocking softly. It takes a few minutes for it to open but instead of Aizawa, Yamada answers.

“Aoyama, good morning,” he says with a smile. “You're here early.”

“Good morning Mr Yamada,” Yuga says, trying not to let his disappointment show on his face. “Is Mr Aizawa here?”

“Shouta had to check in with Mr Travers this morning and as it's exam season he didn't want to run the risk of regular students coming in. I told him there's no danger of that but he insisted; he's still at home, he'll be coming in later,” Yamada says. “Also you can call me Mic, you know.”

“Oh...”

“What did you want to talk to him about?” Yamada asks. “Maybe I could help?”

Yuga bites his lip, unsure what to do now as he'd banked on Aizawa being here. He's here so frequently he'd given Yuga the impression that he actually lived here! Yamada has been so kind to them all, he's incredibly approachable and Yuga doesn't want to appear rude by dismissing his offer. There is also a good chance that Yamada might not chew him out for taking a book from Aizawa's personal library without him knowing.

“You know,” Yamada says with a kind smile, “if it's something related to Midoriya that's got you looking like the world's about to end I am a Watcher too. While Shouta's been out on the field with Midoriya I've been researching and building up a lot of knowledge.”

Heart lifting, Yuga looks up. “Really?”

“Oh yeah, I'm not just a pretty face,” Yamada says with a grin. “Why don't you come in and we can talk?”

“Okay then.”

Yamada steps aside, Yuga enters the office and turns to watch as Yamada closes the door behind the two of them. Unsure what else to do with himself Yuga perches on the edge of the chair in front of Aizawa's desk and waits. It feels a little as if he's about to receive a telling off (and he may well still get one) but instead of going round to sit behind it and make things more formal Yamada leans against the edge of the desk, casually folding his arms.

“So what have you got for me?” he asks.

“I found a prophecy and I'm not sure if it is about Midoriya or not,” Yuga replies.

“You're in luck then,” Yamada says with a grin. I aced the section on prophecies when I took my Watchers exam. What's the prophecy and where did you find it?”

Yuga pulls the Book of Prophecies out of his bag and hands it to Yamada, he's placed one of his most bedazzled bookmarks in it and Yamada uses it to open the book to the correct page, beginning to read. Yuga tries to give him time but the tension bubbling up inside him is too much to keep in.

“I stumbled across it the other day and I did some online research last night but I thought it would help to talk to someone with more knowledge and experience of this sort of thing rather than believing everything I read on the internet.”

“That's very smart,” Yamada says, still poring over the book. Keeping his finger in the right page he closes it so that he can look at the cover. “Where did you find this by the way? I thought there were only two left in existence.”

A flush dusts Yuga's cheeks and he looks down, shamefacedly. “I borrowed it from Mr Aizawa's private library while he was in England.”

“I see,” Yamada says, a twinkle in his eye, “and does Shouta know that you borrowed this book?”

“No,” Yuga replies, keeping his eyes on his shoes so that he doesn't have to look Yamada in the eye.

“Wanna tell me why you didn't ask first?” Yamada asks but Yuga is surprised to hear that he doesn't sound angry.

“I don't know,” Yuga says truthfully with a shrug. If he had asked there is a chance that Aizawa would have said yes but Yuga wasn't thinking that would be a possibility when he took the book. “Uraraka asks all the time if she can look at his books and he always says no. I thought it he would say the same to me.”

“Well,” Yamada says, turning back to the bookmarked page, “from what I've been given to understand Uraraka wants access to those books because she wants to do magic that's too advanced for her. If he thought that you wanted the book for research purposes then he might have let you take a look.”

“I suppose so,” Yuga says, twisting his fingers in his lap to keep his nerves at bay.

“I'm not going to tell him you took it without permission,” Yamada says and Yuga looks up to see a grin on his face. “We'll put it back and say no more about it after this but next time, just ask him, alright? He might surprise you.”

“Okay,” Yuga says and smiles back.

“So this prophecy you found,” Yamada says, getting back to the topic at hand, “you think it's about Midoriya?”

Yuga shrugs. “I am not sure, some of the parts of it fit to be about Midoriya but then again some of it doesn't.”

“That is the problem with prophecies,” Yamada muses.

“So much is open to interpretation because they are so vague?” Yuga offers.

“Exactly.”

“Is there any way to find out if it is about Midoriya?” Yuga asks.

Blowing out a deep exhale Yamada shrugs. “I can run it by some of the other people at the Watchers Council and see if they can do more research as they've got access to more materials.”

“Can we do that?” Yuga asks.

“Oh sure,” Yamada replies. “This is something we want to be sure about before we worry everyone else, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“I'll get in touch with some of my contacts at the Watcher's Council and see what they can dig up but if you want to keep researching yourself feel free,” Yamada says. “Just keep me updated with whatever you find.”

“Thank you sir, I will,” Yuga says, his heart lightening.

Yamada looks over his shoulder at the clock on wall behind him. “It's getting on and your friends will be arriving soon so why don't you head off to class?”

“Yes sir,” Yuga says, getting to his feet.

“I'll keep you updated with anything I find out but the next time you want to borrow one of Shouta's books, just ask him,” Yamada says as he leads Yuga to the door and opens it. “You're a good researcher, he'll probably let you.”

“Thank you sir,” Yuga says and, after giving him a parting smile, trots off to the table to join Mashirao and Toru.

With a shake of his head and a wry smile Yamada slips back into the office, looking at the passage Yuga showed him once again. He can see why Yuga was concerned – it does sound a lot like this could relate to Izuku's situation. Looking at the clock again he thinks he'll fire off a few emails to some of his friends in England to see if they can look in the books he and Aizawa were unable to bring with them. The book lies open on the desk but Yamada ignores it in favour of sending emails and letting Aizawa know that they need to talk when he eventually gets to school. If either he or Yuga hadn't been so fixated on that one prophecy they might have noticed the far more worrying one on the opposite page.

The descendent of Momo Yaoyorozu will plunge the world into darkness and the Slayer will not be able to stop her...

Chapter Text

Izuku dodges a punch from the vampire in front of him, reaching behind him to pull his extra stake out of his back coat pocket, his original one somewhere in the grass where it was knocked out of his hand. The vampire he's fighting is a lot bigger than him and as it tries to swing at him again it overbalances as he evades it once more. This slip up gives Izuku the opening he's been waiting for and he plunges his stake into the vampire's heart, jumping back as it explodes into a cloud of dust so as not to get too much on himself. On the one hand he's happy because this patrol has been more vampires rather than demons (although he does have friends with him to help him get rid of the evidence this time) but on the other the vampire dust does have a tendency to get everywhere.

Brushing the dust off his coat and turning to Ochako and Mashirao, Izuku just about has time to register the horror crossing their faces before he hears another vampire running up behind him. Before either of them can blink or the vampire can land the attack it has planned Izuku turns and stakes it. The vampire only has time to look down and realise what's happened before it too turns into a cloud of dust, falling at Izuku's feet. Instead of immediately relaxing again, this time Izuku takes a moment to look around and make sure that there are no more vampires waiting to jump out at him. As Mashirao and Ochako jog over to him he finally lets his guard down, satisfied that they're alone.

“That was amazing Midoriya,” Mashirao says, his eyes sparkling. Despite how many times he has seen Izuku slaying vampires Mashirao never ceases to be amazed by it. It's quite sweet and Izuku must admit that he enjoys the praise.

“Thanks,” he says, trying not to preen too much.

“You fought so many tonight,” Mashirao says. “They just kept coming and coming!”

“Yeah,” Izuku agrees. “I lost count after eight.”

Mashirao whistles. “That must be a new record!”

“Do you think that's the last of them?” Ochako asks.

“I hope so,” Izuku replies, rolling his neck and shoulders to shake out some of the stiffness trying to set in. Having that many vampires come at him almost one after another and managing to slay them all was a hard won fight and Izuku wants nothing more that to go back home and crawl into bed. Annoyingly he does still have homework but he wants to at least try and get an early night tonight.

“Could there be a nest of them nearby?” Mashirao asks, looking around.

“To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case,” Izuku replies.

“Do you want me to see if I can find out with magic?” Ochako offers.

Izuku thinks this over for a moment. On the one hand knowing if there's a vampire nest nearby would be helpful but he can't face it tonight, not after all the others. “Maybe another time,” he says finally. “They seem to have stopped for now and if I'm going to tackle a nest I'd rather do it in the day time when half my job is done for me.”

“Smart move,” Mashirao agrees.

“I know, Mr Aizawa will be pleased,” Izuku grins.

“Do you want to call it a night then?” Ochako asks and Izuku feels guilty that she sounds a little downhearted.

“We probably should,” Izuku says. “We do still have school tomorrow.”

Ochako sighs. “Okay fine.”

“Are you trying to get out of studying for the history test?” Izuku teases.

“No!”

“That's a yes then.”

“Hey,” Mashirao cuts in, “why don't we stop by the café on the way home for some hot chocolate? They've got some fun new flavours.”

“Oh yes, let's,” Ochako squeals happily, perking up. “Iida and I went the other day and I had the chocolate orange one but I really want to try the strawberry shortcake.”

“What do you think Midoriya?” Mashirao asks, probably also wanting to get out of studying for their upcoming test.

Izuku looks at their expectant faces and can't help but laugh; history studying can wait. “Sure, why not?”

“You're going to love these,” Ochako says and begins happily chatting away to Mashirao as they head towards the entrance to the graveyard.

Izuku follows, only half listening to their conversation; while he does agree that hot chocolate would be lovely, he's not too sure about the flavours. Knowing that he can go home soon and be done with slaying makes the tiredness take root in his bones. He could really do with a night off but that's never going to happen unless he falls ill, which isn't beyond the realms of possibility considering that it's flu season. He really should be taking better care of himself but at least Inko always makes sure that he eats well.

As he reaches the edge of the clearing, having lagged behind Ochako and Mashirao to keep an eye out for any more vampires that might suddenly appear, a slow clap sounds from behind him. Izuku whips around to see where the noise is coming from and fear roots him to the spot as Dabi steps out of the darkness. Izuku tries to call out to Ochako and Mashirao to warn them but the words stick in his throat and he hopes that they're far enough away now to be safe. The smirk on Dabi's face widens and Izuku's stomach turns at the way that the skin around Dabi's mouth tugs at the staples holding it in place.

“Dabi...” he says on an out breath.

“Very impressive, Slayer,” Dabi says, closing the distance between them even more. As he comes to a stop in front of Izuku he ceases his slow clapping, instead looking him up and down like he's a piece of meat that he wants to devour. The fangs and bumps on his forehead are out and prominent but, from what Izuku has read and heard about Dabi, he's not one to wear the mask of humanity to lure in prey.

“What are you doing here?” Izuku asks and he's incredibly proud of himself to hear that his voice doesn't shake or waver. He wants to run – he knows that he has no hope of beating Dabi in a fight – but his legs won't move.

Dabi shrugs, his shirt shifting and showing more of his scar covered skin. “I just came out for a nighttime stroll, I didn't expect to find the Slayer on my usual haunt.”

“I'll be sure to stay away in future,” Izuku says as Dabi begin to slowly circle him like a predator with its prey. He remains still, not wanting Dabi to know that he's trying not to take his eyes off him, and hopes that Dabi can't sense his fear.

“You know, I can see why my little brother was so taken with you,” Dabi says. “I always wondered if he was wasting his time but getting a look up close, I get it.”

“Thanks I guess,” Izuku mutters darkly.

“You look even better out of your clothes though,” Dabi says, his voice right next to Izuku's ear making him jump and whip round, his cheeks burning.

“What?”

“You know Sho misses you something awful,” Dabi continues, smirking at Izuku as if he hasn't rattled him to his core. “He was heartbroken when you started dating someone else. It was so heartless of you, Shouto was really torn up about it.”

“He can burn in Hell,” Izuku snarls.

Dabi chuckles. “Now that's not very nice, Slayer.” He reaches over and runs his fingers through Izuku's hair. “Not a pretty look on you.”

“Don't touch me,” Izuku snaps, jerking his head out of Dabi's reach and slapping his hand away at the same time. Tears sting the corners of his eyes but he blinks them away; he can't let Dabi know how terrified he is.

“There it is,” Dabi says, fire blazing in his eyes.

“There what is?” Izuku snaps.

A half scarred hand reaches up and Dabi runs the back of it down Izuku's cheek, a mocking gesture of tenderness. “I love it when they fight back.”

“Glad I'm not a disappointment,” Izuku growls, batting Dabi's hand away once more. He tries to take a step back, wanting to put some distance between them but his legs have been rendered useless. This has never happened to him before – or rather, only in the presence of Endeavour – but, then again, the Todoroki family are different from other vampires. Izuku knows what Dabi did to Denki and he has no desire to fall under the same spell.

A harsh laugh leaves Dabi's lips, his eyes suddenly hard and cold, as he grabs a handful of Izuku's hair. Pain sings across Izuku's scalp as Dabi pulls it, forcing Izuku's head back with his vice-like grip, but Izuku doesn't make a sound: he refuses to give Dabi the satisfaction. With a smirk Dabi yanks Izuku's head to the side, baring his neck, and Izuku realises that the rest of his body is frozen as well when he tries to reach up and rip Dabi's hand away. If he can't fight back all he can do is hope that Mashirao and Ochako have noticed that he's no longer with them, come back to see the situation he's in and gone to raise the alarm. Dabi leans down and runs his tongue up Izuku's exposed neck before sinking his nose into Izuku's hair and inhaling deeply.

“You smell so good,” Dabi coos and it takes everything in Izuku not to gag, suppressing a shudder of revulsion. “Almost as good as when you were getting fucked by Shouto.”

“Fuck you,” Izuku hisses, glaring up at Dabi as it's the only thing he can do.

“You're a lot of fun, Slayer,” Dabi says with a dark chuckle. “I'm going to enjoy watching you die.”

“I can assure you the feeling is mutual,” Izuku bites back.

“And how are you going to do that Slayer?” Dabi asks. “I'm the one with all the power here, you're at my mercy and your little friends aren't coming to save you this time.”

“You don't know that,” Izuku says but he isn't sure. Even if Ochako and Mashirao have gone to get help they may not make it back to him in time.

“I know I'm supposed to take you back to dear old dad unspoiled,” Dabi continues as if Izuku hadn't spoken, “but one little taste won't hurt.”

Dabi opens his mouth, fangs glinting in the moonlight and fear takes hold of Izuku. He desperately tries to fight the thrall that Dabi has him under but to no avail. Fear settles within Izuku's bones and he closes his eyes. There's nothing he can do now but pray that Dabi isn't going to kill him yet.

“Please...” he begs softly, his voice barely above a whisper as he waits for the sharp pain in his neck to come.

But it doesn't.

The next thing Izuku knows is both he and Dabi are surrounded by heat and he can move again. Opening his eyes he sees Dabi shaking flames out of his coat and Izuku aims a hard kick to Dabi's gut, fuelled by anger and embarrassment. Laughing madly Dabi flaps out the last of the flames from his coat before straightening up and looking over Izuku's shoulder. Smirking, he turns his attention back to Izuku.

“You've got some powerful friends Slayer,” he observes snidely, “but that's not going to save you forever.” He grabs Izuku once more and presses a hard kiss to his lips. “Next time you might not be so lucky.”

“I could say the same to you,” Izuku spits, the tiniest hint of a tremble in his voice. He's aware that whoever it is that helped him by setting fire to Dabi's coat is standing behind him but he doesn't dare take his eyes off Dabi as he disappears into the darkness of the trees. Once he's gone Izuku finally allows himself to turn around to face his rescuer and balks when he sees the huge form of Eijirou standing behind him. “Oh god...”

Eijirou chuckles and he holds his hands up in defence as he takes a step closer to where Izuku stands. “Relax Slayer, I'm not here to cause trouble.”

“That's good,” Izuku says with a nervous laugh. Eijirou has never given the impression that he means Izuku any harm but the number of slayers he's killed over the course of his afterlife is nearly at double figures, which makes Izuku wary. However, this is the second time Eijirou has saved him from the Todoroki family so it's only polite for him to say, “Thank you.”

“What for?” Eijirou asks, regarding Izuku the way one might a child.

“For helping me in Endeavour's crypt and again just now with Dabi,” Izuku replies.

“Think nothing of it,” Eijirou says. “You're fine.”

Izuku chews his lip, wondering if he should say what's on his mind but then he doesn't know if he's going to get the chance to ask again so he might as well go for broke. “Wouldn't it have been easier for you to just let me die on both accounts?”

A deep chuckle rumbles through Eijirou's chest. “Obviously your friends didn't pass on the message but no it wouldn't,” he says. “I don't want Endeavour free any more than you do.”

“That's good.”

“Also, Katsuki would be unbearable,” Eijirou continues, “and I could do without him sulking for centuries to come.”

“Kacchan would sulk?” Izuku asks. While their relationship has gotten better in recent months it's still surprising to hear.

“Absolutely.”

“I don't understand what happened with Dabi,” Izuku says, deciding to park that piece of information for now and focus on something else. “I just totally froze, that's never happened to me before.”

“The trick with Dabi is to make sure that you don't look directly into his eyes,” Eijirou tells him.

“I'll bear that in mind for next time,” Izuku says.

“But it would be better for you if you made sure that there wasn't a next time at all,” Eijirou says and Izuku is reminded very much of Aizawa.

“That's true.”

“Well,” Eijirou says with a polite smile, “I'll take my leave and wish you a good night.”

He turns to go and a sudden thought strikes Izuku. Much like his earlier question he doesn't know if he'll ever get the chance to speak to Eijirou like this again. “Kirishima,” he calls before Eijirou can get too far away.

“Yes?” Eijirou asks as he turns back to him with a look of amusement on his face.

“Can I ask you something?”

Still regarding him with mild interest Eijirou folds his arms over his chest. “And what would the Slayer ask a vampire?”

“You've killed a lot of slayers in your time,” Izuku says.

“You could say that.”

Izuku swallows and steels his nerves. “How did you do it?”

“I had what every vampire wants,” Eijirou replies, his smile darkening.

“And what is that?” Izuku asks, his voice unwavering despite his fear as Eijirou comes to stand in front of him and leans down to whisper in Izuku's ear.

“A really good day.”

“That's not enough for me,” Izuku snaps, glaring, his irritation briefly replacing his fear.

Eijirou laughs. “What do you want then?”

“I want to know how I can stay alive!”

“Alright,” Eijirou says, the smile on his face making Izuku feel as if he's given the right answer to a test he was unaware he was taking. “I'll tell you how but don't expect it to be an easy lesson.”

“I'm okay with that,” Izuku says.

For a long moment Eijirou studies him before he ruffles Izuku's unruly hair with one of his huge hands. “I can see why he likes you so much.”

Before Izuku can ask Eijirou if he means Katsuki he's suddenly tackled to floor. As his back hits the ground he realises that it's a vampire on top of him, snapping and clawing at him. He kicks the vampire off him trying to get to his feet so that he can get his bearings but she's on top of him again within seconds. Her golden eyes are alight with mirth from underneath the bumps on her forehead and her dirty blonde hair is in danger of escaping from the twin buns on the side of her head as she claws and bites at Izuku, intent on doing as much damage to him as possible. Over her shoulder Izuku sees Eijirou trying to pull her off but she digs her nails into Izuku's skin and wraps her legs around him like a limpet, making it impossible to get away from her.

“Time to die Slayer!” she crows, laughing in his face.

A sudden blast of wind flings her off and across the clearing, giving Izuku the chance to quickly jump to his feet. Turning in the direction the blast came from, Izuku sees Ochako and Mashirao standing by the trees. Ochako's hand is outstretched, having just conjured the wind, and the relief Izuku feels at seeing them and knowing they're safe is immense. He pulls his stake out and turns back to the blonde vampire to take care of her but she's nowhere to be seen.

“Where did she go?” he asks.

“She disappeared,” Mashirao says, frantically looking around.

“She was too fast even for me to catch,” Eijirou agrees.

Izuku sighs. “Fantastic.”

“Should we go after her?” Ochako asks.

“No point,” Izuku says shaking his head. “We don't know which way she went.”

“My apologies for not being more help,” Eijirou says. “I must be getting slow in my old age.”

“How old are you sir?” Mashirao asks.

“Honestly?” Eijirou asks. “I lost count after a millennium.”

“Wow...”

“Are you alright Deku?” Ochako asks, the usual colour having drained out of her cheeks.

“I'm fine,” Izuku says, waving her off. “She just caught me off guard is all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, everything's fine,” Izuku assures her. He won't tell them about Dabi yet, if at all, as it will only freak them out more.

“You're bleeding,” Ochako says.

“Am I?” Izuku asks, putting his fingers to his cheek, where it has been stinging in the cold night air, and when he pulls them back the tips come away bloody. “Oh, I am.”

“Relax young witch,” Eijirou says with a soft chuckle as he sees the furtive glance Ochako casts his way. “I can assure you that a simple sniff of your friend's blood isn't enough to make me go feral. If I were that weak willed I would have killed you all a long time ago.”

“That's comforting,” Mashirao says with a grin.

“You, however, smell like dog,” Eijirou tells him. “It is not pleasant.”

Mashirao looks at the floor, blushing. “Sorry.”

“Considering how fast she was there's little point trying to chase after her,” Eijirou muses, looking back towards where the blonde vampire disappeared.

“No, she'll be long gone by now,” Izuku agrees, wiping the cut on his cheek with a tissue before turning to his friends. “Shall we go before anything else happens?”

“Yeah, that's more than enough vampires for one night,” Mashirao says before catching Eijirou's eye and cringing. “Sorry.”

“You're fine,” Eijirou says. “Impertinent but not enough for me to want to kill you for it.”

“God, you're almost as bad as Mineta,” Ochako says, rolling her eyes at Mashirao.

“Thank you again for helping me,” Izuku says, offering Eijirou a smile.

One of Eijirou's huge hands comes to rest on Izuku's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “You take care of yourself Slayer.”

“I will.”

“When our paths cross again I'll tell you everything you want to know,” Eijirou says.

“Thank you.”

Eijirou offers Ochako and Mashirao a nod of farewell. “Good evening to you both.”

The three of them watch as he heads off into the darkness, leaving them standing there in silence before Mashirao whistles. “Wow... what an evening!”

“Yeah,” Izuku laughs. “Shall we go and get that hot chocolate finally?”

“Please,” Ochako says, giggling as she links her arm with Izuku's, “I really want to try that strawberry shortcake.”

“What do you think Mr Aizawa is going to make of all this?” Mashirao asks as the three of them head towards the graveyard's exit.

Quickly Izuku's mind replays everything that's happened from nearly being bitten by Dabi to being rescued by Eijirou and the random vampire that he let get away. Aizawa would have kittens if he found out about any one of those things but all three happening in the space of half an hour would be way too much. “How about we just don't tell him?”

Leaning against a tree and smoking a cigarette Dabi waits, his irritation growing by the minute. He's already fuming that Eijirou came in at the last moment and ruined his fun; he had the Slayer in his grasp and because of Eijirou the slippery little fucker got away. This was his one chance as the Slayer usually has people with him but at least Dabi managed to get close and he didn't have Fuyumi or Shouto with him as that would have screwed things up even more. Dabi takes another deep drag on his cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke into the cold night air before tossing the spent butt into the trees.

What is taking that bitch so fucking long?

Before he can get too annoyed arms wrap around him from the side and a girlish giggle pierces the silence of the night air, grating his ears. He looks round to see Himiko grinning up at him and he forces himself to smile back. Stringing her along so she does his bidding has been a pain in the ass because she's incredibly annoying but if she managed to get what he wants then he can ditch her before she gets even more clingy.

“Hey Dabi,” she says, batting her eyelashes and simpering at him.

“Hi babygirl,” he says, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

“I missed you.” Himiko stands up on her tiptoes so that she can kiss him. It's a kiss that is all fangs and tongue and, as Dabi kisses her back, running a hand down to grab her ass, he toys with the idea of having one last fuck before he's done with her.

When she's moaning in his arms, grabbing onto the collar of his leather coat he pulls back, leaving her wanting more. He watches with amusement as she leans forward, chasing his lips for another kiss that he purposefully denies her. “Sorry kitten, have I been neglecting you?”

“Yes,” she pouts and Dabi laughs before leaning down to kiss her again, his hand slipping under her skirt to tease around her underwear.

“Is this better?” he asks, slowly running a finger over her clothed cunt. Got to keep her sweet, just in case she doesn't have what he wants and he needs to keep her around for a little longer.

“I saw the Slayer,” she moans, practically melting in his arms.

“Oh yeah?” Dabi asks, still giving her just enough pleasure so that she won't notice that he's desperate for her to get to the fucking point. “What did you think?”

Himiko grinds down against his touch, moaning softly. “Nothing special, not like you.”

Dabi chuckles and kisses her again as he backs her up against a tree. “You think I'm special babygirl?”

“You know I do.”

He slips his fingers inside her underwear and her cunt, finger fucking her until she's moaning and writhing under his touch, before suddenly stopping. She whines in protest but stops when Dabi brings his fingers to her lips and she sucks them into her mouth, tasting herself. “So if you saw him does that mean you got close?”

“I did.”

“Really?” Dabi asks, running a fingertip up the back of Himiko's neck. He's knows it's a particularly sensitive spot for her from the amount of times he's fucked her. The ones he's turned are always the most willing to do his bidding but Himiko has been particularly easy to manipulate into spreading her legs and doing what he wants. “Because if you did and you got what I asked then Endeavour will be very, very pleased.”

Himiko's eyes sparkle as she smiles up at him. “Really?”

“Oh yeah, he might even make you part of the clan,” Dabi replies. “Family's gotten smaller since our last run in with the Slayer.”

“And I could be one of them?” she asks hopefully.

“Yeah,” Dabi lies. Even if he wasn't planning on disposing of her as soon as her usefulness has reached its end there's no way that Endeavour would bring her into his inner circle: she's far too annoying. “If you managed to get what I want, that is.”

With a grin Himiko reaches into the pocket of the school uniform skirt that she still wears even even though she's been a vampire for well over a year now (not that it particularly bothers Dabi, in fact it's a turn on). She pulls out a small vial half filled with thick, red blood and waves it around. “This was all I could get, do you think it will be enough?”

It's more than Dabi could have hoped for and he tries not to let his excitement show as he takes it from her. For a moment he stares at the vial of Izuku's blood, hypnotised by it to the point of briefly ignoring her but then dragging his gaze away and slipping it into an inside pocket of his coat. “That's perfect babygirl, you did such a good job.”

Himiko giggles, wrapping her arms around Dabi's neck and kissing his cheek. “I get my reward now?”

“Absolutely, I'll fuck you good and then we'll go down to meet Endeavour,” Dabi says.

“I can?” she asks, her face lighting up.

“Of course,” Dabi says, slipping his cigarette lighter out of his coat pocket and holding it down near the hem of her skirt. “You did so well getting this for him that he'll want to thank you personally.”

“Do I look okay?” she asks, letting out another of her girlish giggles that is like nails down a chalkboard to Dabi's ears.

“You look stunning babygirl.” He leans down and kisses her deeply, sinking his fingers into her hair as his tongue plunges into her mouth. While she's distracted grinding against him he clicks the lighter on and teases it along her skirt.

He could have done this any number of ways; he could have had that one last fuck and staked her as he came (he's done that before and it always feels fucking phenomenal) or he could have just staked her and have done with it but pulling back and seeing the panic in her golden eyes as she looks down and sees her skirt suddenly aflame is much more entertaining.

“Dabi?” Himiko cries, looking up at him in horror as the fire reaches her skin, engulfing more of her clothes.

“What?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I'm on fire!” she screams. “It hurts, help me!”

“Sorry babygirl,” Dabi says, smirking as he steps out of her reach when she tries to grab at him, “you're just no use to me anymore.”

Before Himiko can implore him for help further the flames suddenly engulf her and Dabi watches, lighting another cigarette on her as she burns to ashes at his feet. Dabi pulls the vial of Izuku's blood out of his pocket once more, for no other reason than to look at it. Annoyingly it's not enough for him to be able to have a taste first. If he accidentally drained the whole lot he'd have to find someone to get him more but just holding it fills him with a warmth he hasn't felt since the last time he killed a slayer. Slipping it back into his pocket Dabi finishes his cigarette and heads back to the crypt; he'll keep this to himself for now. While he could free Endeavour tonight and become the new golden boy of the family, he can have a bit more fun before he does. He can cause so much more damage if he has free reign while Endeavour is still trapped.