Chapter Text
Fluffy clouds caress the sky and turquoise water shimmers bright, as if stars slumber on the ocean surface until nightfall awakens. It is a beautiful view from the cliff ledge far above, from up here it is as if the ocean stretches infinitely over the horizon.
Izuku sits at the edge of the Juniper Forest in relaxation, just as he does every evening. Past evergreen foliage lays a small clearing full of overgrown grass and violet flowers that sway in the high-altitude wind, alongside moss that covers the forest floor. Izuku is far above the ocean below, relaxing at the edge of a beautiful and hidden cliff-side haven.
The jagged sea cliff’s edge makes Izuku feel as though he is floating above the cheerful waters and soaring through cotton clouds like a dove, each breeze of sea salt air breathing freedom into his lungs.
It’s too bad he, a vampire is incapable of breathing.
He wishes he really could glide though clouds, but he can only daydream of liberating flight across the rich blue sky. Izuku sighs, wishing he could also bathe in the sunlight. He wonders if the sun feels nice, if it makes people feel good and warm in their heart. Do people only feel warm on their skin, or does it seep beneath into bones and muscles? Does warmth provide relief for humans?
For him, after a while it feels as though his skin is on fire. Beside the feeling of burning alive, he cannot feel the soft comfort of warmth shone by the sun. He feels simply nothing.
Izuku wants to chuck his umbrella and long-sleeved clothing that cover his pale body off the cliff and bask in the sun with his arms open wide to feel its glory. However, he is content simply sitting near sunlight, shaded head to toe without a single bit of skin exposed to rays. At least he is outside, basking in the beauty of nature. It could be worse.
Some cannot even enjoy the wind like he is right now, so he is grateful for the trivial things he is able to enjoy, such as the flowers that paint the overgrown forest floor.
Izuku find that he wishes and wishes, yet he is unable to make them come true. He will never fly free like a bird, and he will never sunbathe like a human. He sometimes wonders that if he wishes upon a shooting star that shoots through the night sky, can his dreams of becoming human come true? Would an all-powerful and rare astronomical phenomenon even listen to such trivial wishes?
Izuku sighs and stands to his feet in the clearing, pulling himself out of his never-ending hopes of a different life as a different being.
His eyes do not leave the never-ending ocean ahead. Turquoise waters turn deep, fiery orange as the sun goes to sleep. The shimmering of stars in the ocean turns into orange supernovas before they finally go back to their home, to the sky above as they do every day. At such high altitudes, Izuku feels as though he stands at the top of the world.
Izuku walks forward through green brush casually, not looking nor caring where he steps. The cliffs edge becomes closer with each step through tall grass. The sea is overtaken by vast pale moonlight as the last ray of sun weakens until it is overtaken by darkness. When the stars return to the galaxy above to speck the sky with endless constellations.
Darkness of night has overtaken the light of day, and Izuku is reborn with a dark energy enveloping his heart. During the day, he can control his thirst, but nightfall is different. The moment that the last ray of sun submerges under the horizon is the moment his bloodlust is bursts and grows ten-fold.
His throat throbs in desperate dry thirst, so overwhelming with want he wants to cry in need, and casual strides turn into rugged stumbles forward.
Wind blows on his dizzying body, feeling as though every caress of crisp air sends every cell in him on overdrive. Izuku feels his sensitive skin electrify over and over again, overstimulating his senses with no rest. He clutches his fluffy green hair with a trembling hand while it flutters in the breeze. Izuku can feel every inch of his trembling body seize and shake in selfish desire for more. Drool spills messily down his chin and drips onto moss below. Need pulses through his veins.
Every movement is a torturous stumble, as if a magnet is forcing his body to give in and stop walking closer the crashing waves. It tries to lull and whisper him away from the cliffs edge with seductive promises of pleasure and pain that will last him lifetimes.
It is a promise that Izuku finds almost impossible to turn away from.
Closer to the cliffs edge, Izuku can hear waves crash violently, thrashing against rock formations seemingly miles below in darkness. His final uncoordinated step hovers momentarily off of the cliffs edge lands on nothing but air, and Izuku lets his body follow through with the movement, and gravity pulls him down with a whoosh of air.
Izuku sighs in relief, letting his body free fall through the air, alongside the cliff face. He can see the forests edge get smaller as he plummets down.
Izuku momentarily relishes in the overstimulating wind and wonders if this is what birds feel when they fly. If this is what freedom is like. And so, just like previous night's such as this, for a long moment Izuku flies through the crisp air, utterly free. Time slows as the star-filled sky expands the more he falls, and his now red eyes twinkle like rubies up at the sight. The waves below muffle as his mouth opens at the infinite sea of stars above.
The vast cosmos is so grand, it makes him feel so worthless.
Crimson eyes burst with life at the feeling of his own insignificance. As he flies free, it doesn't matter that he is a vampire who goes rabid at night, it's so trivial as he gazes to such endless beauty. He feels alive, the crisp ocean air caresses him, the sky above him envelops him, and the grandness of the world elates him.
Red eyes widen upon a single star shining brighter than the billions of others, and it draws Izuku in like a moth to a flame. Izuku reaches his arm upwards as he freefalls. His heart clenches, as he wishes he could touch the star. He wonders if he would feel the pulse of the cosmos burst within him, if fleeting contact with such beauty would make his life complete.
The star glistens at him as he falls, as if to whisper to him, saying 'come get me', and Izuku listens hypnotically. His blood red eyes widen with the reflection of constellations as he reaches and reaches and re--
The hypnotic flight is short-lived, it comes to an abrupt halt when his body splats like a bug onto jagged rock, making flesh fly in pieces through the night sky and crimson blood fill the moonlit waves.
This is the price he must pay to live on. When darkness takes over the world, the murderous monster locked within his heart during the daylight unleashes from its cage and takes him over.
A century ago, he could simply lock himself in a room overnight with no issue. That worked for a long while. Until it didn’t, as age increases his strength does as well. After many nights of murder and havoc caused by himself, he must now resort to extreme measures. Every night, when the night rises, his instincts awaken as well. His veins pulse with murderous need to kill. Izuku has met no one like him in his life, no vampire, no monster, nothing. He only has himself. He is completely alone.
No cage or room can hold him, and no vampire can help him. That is the curse of being the only monster in the world.
So, at his own hands every night, Izuku must die to protect humans from the danger of himself. He has found jumping from the otherworldly cliff at Juniper Forest is his favorite way to die. Regeneration speed following death can vary, and Izuku has found that his body splatting to rocks and water takes the perfect amount of time to come back to ‘life’.
Pieces of his body squish into rock crevices and scatter into the waves, allowing for longer regeneration. Even with his blood and body pieces floating or sinking, he is still alive, just simply unconscious. Body parts and flesh always merge into one again and again, as if the pieces are drawn to each other.
Just like he always has, he reawakens at dawn, submerged and floating in salty blue sea water with sunlight piercing the ocean surface above. A new day has begun, his bloodlust of nightfall locks away once again, allowing for him to go back home with lightness in his heart.
Little did Izuku know that tonight, his flesh would not splatter violently where ocean meets Earth for the first time in twenty-five years.
Izuku slowly swims to shore without a wink of fatigue even after an hour of swimming, his skin only stinging from the heat of the sun. He reaches the coast and begins his walk in soaking clothes through the hilled evergreen forest back home. The trees are tall and go on forever, with moss and vines covering where that stand.
Ahead through dense greenery lays a small log cabin he built years ago in the summer of 1892. It is a mere one room home far from civilization, it somewhat reminds him of a grandmother's house in an old story he read. The space is covered in books and handmade furniture, as well as knickknacks and treasures he has collected over the years. Humans do not wander far into the Juniper Forest, making it the perfect location to live a life of peaceful solitude. He does not even remember that last time he ran into a human. And that is the way he likes it, being alone and isolated from the world.
It’s for his own good to be alone.
Izuku opens the door wide after taking off his soaked clothing and changes into his day clothes. He walks over to his old red couch and splays on it lazily.
“Hey guys, how was your night?”
...
“The sunset was absolutely breathtaking last night, I wish you all could have seen the way orange covered everything from the vast ocean to the forest to the clouds above!”
...
The half- dead plants do not answer. They sit still as always in the rays of sunlight that peer through the forest ceiling and into the window. Izuku allows his plants to grow in his home, he simply just avoids the sun rays that they need to survive.
“While I watched, my mind couldn’t help but wander and I thought of an idea. I wonder if I can train my body to withstand the sun” Izuku shoots out, adjusting his laying position to get comfortable and unbuttoning the top buttons of his frilly white long-sleeved undershirt for comfort.
“I know this sounds crazy, but maybe if I expose myself to the sun I get used to it?”
…
“I know, I know, I won’t burn alive, I swear it! I recon I can do it, have more faith in me!”
…
“That is actually… a great idea!” Izuku sits up quickly with a smile. “Maybe one day I can also train myself to not go crazy at night!”
…
Izuku whips his head over to the pots of plants and flowers on his windowsill that lay in the sun.
“I have tried before, but I will try again and again until I— AH”
Behind the plants, a beautiful view of moss-covered boulders through tall vine filled trees lays outside the rusty window. At least, that is the view he has had every day for the past twenty five years.
A shaggy man with long raggedy hair blocks the awe-striking view of the forest, his tired eyes simply peering into Izuku’s home.
“What the hell?” Izuku yells and points to the man, now shuffling away from the window across the floor due to flailing out of the couch.
What is a stranger doing watching him through his window? Izuku has not seen a person in so long. Seeing someone so suddenly after years of isolation feels foreign, as if he is thrown into icy waters. It’s like he is peering upon a rare creature outside his cabin, one of a myth, such as a dragon, or maybe a fairy. His skin shivers as he watches the odd man, his back pressing against the wooden wall opposite of the window in fright.
The man simply watches him. His eyes analyze Izuku, and he can feel every look of observation touching him.
Izuku shuffles to an abrupt stand from the ground, having a sudden switch from his previous fear. He has to pull himself together. This man must leave at once. Izuku is dangerous and he is isolating himself deep in the forest, where no human would dare go for a reason. No people step foot in this area, and they never have until now.
If he doesn’t leave, Izuku might kill him. He doesn’t want to, but he must drive this man away as quickly as possible. It is for his own safety. Izuku inches forward towards the window, his gut churning, and his face grimacing when he cracks the window open.
“Um sir” Izuku begins with a whisper, his thoughts jumping through his mind while birds chirp for a few silent moments. The man makes no move and utters no word. He almost looks almost bored.
“Sir, pardon my brashness, but I must ask you to leave my land, I apologize for my rudeness”
The man scoffs at him. Scoffs.
What awful manners, but Izuku’s eyes dart to the long unruly unwashed black hair and the stumble on his face, maybe he should have expected such impolite tendencies.
Izuku stays frozen with his arm reaching over his lush plants to the window frame, his fist tightening against the rusty frame that remains cracked open. His body blocks the sunshine from his plants as he stands unguarded in the solar rays, but he knows that soon he may start to bake alive.
Crows caw in the distance of the dense forest and simultaneously the rude man pulls out a paper from his odd looking, loose black pants pocket to unfold it in his hands. He still has not said a word.
This is absurd and outlandish, have humans always been so weird? Izuku racks his brain back in time to the last time he walked among civilization. Before this, he worked in London as a banker. Humans were rude of course, but it was never so… weird and straightforward. His time there was quite fun, as he was an enjoyer of the arts and sports alongside his many friends. That was before his curse twisted him into a monster. Never has he dealt with anything of the sort before London, he was simply a man who was immortal and drank blood, nothing more and nothing less.
Izuku sometimes wonders if other monsters like him existed, would he abandon his hope for becoming human? The thought is always short-lived, as he knows the answer deep in his heart. Humanity is something he cherishes, and nothing in the world can change that.
His time in London society with his human friends is one of his favorite lifes he lived, but it was abruptly ripped away by his sudden unwanted and murderous nighttime activities.
His life was great. Everything was perfect. Izuku has lived so many lifes, he has been a scribe, a philosopher, a stable master, anything under the sun he has dabbled in. In London, he felt alive, he felt human. Humans may be rude at times, but throughout his many lifes, they have been a precious gem.
No matter how the world evolves, the kindness of humans remain consistent. At least he reckoned they were kind. Or has so much time passed his memory is faded and unreliable? Probably not, it has only been twenty-five years after all, this man must just be a weird one.
“I have a letter addressed to you”
Izuku’s skin is beginning to sting, yet he does not move away from the deadly sun. Izuku’s head tilts in confusion and down to the letter.
He has no address, and he has never received a letter here. No one even knows he lives here; he was sure to be secretive about his move towards isolation. So how does this man know to find him here, miles and miles away deep into the depths of the Juniper Forest? Maybe this man is not just simply weird, but dangerous as well. Izuku eyes him up and down in suspicion.
“A letter you say? Sir, how did you know I could be found here?”
The man stretches his hand forward, giving Izuku the letter though the window. His hand snatches the letter away from the odd man with quickness, his green eyes narrowing and not leaving the man. After a few moments of burning skin, the figure speaks an off-putting polite tone that laces with low threat, his voice piercing through the sounds of nature.
“Do decide your next choices wisely. It’s for your own good, Izuku Midoriya.”
Izuku steps away from the sunlight and away from the window in hurried steps “How do you know my name?” Izuku accuses from the comfort of shade.
The man finally moves, turning to step away from the window. His body turns around to face away from the log cabin. Izuku does not get a moment to sight in relief because the man whips his head around his shoulder, his eyes glaring into Izuku’s widening eyes.
“Read the letter”
Izuku watches the man walk away into the forest. He stays frozen, his eyes scrutinizing the man’s back in suspicion. When the man finally disappears through the vine foliage and trees, Izuku quickly sits in the wooden chair of his rickety table, pushing handwritten notes and books away.
Someone knows he lives here, just how anyone found him he is unsure of. If the man simply stumbled upon here on accident, that is one thing. But that man did not come here on accident, no he came here with a purpose. To give him a mere letter. The paper’s contents have words of neat cursive and a mysterious red wax emblem in the bottom corner.
Izuku holds the letter in both hands and reads with darting eyes. Each word he sees his hands further grip the paper, crinkling it.
Dear Mr. Midoriya,
U.A. University extents a warm welcome, as you have been personally selected to attend our upstanding institution.
Transportation is provided for your convenience outside of your cabin, please pack your belongings promptly. We look forward to your academic journey at our campus, as we do expect great things from you.
Sincerely,
Principal Nedzu
August 17th, 2002
Izuku at once crumbles the letter in his shaking hands and strides across the cabin and opens the front door. What a vague letter, and unprofessional, they even wrote the wrong year! He never even applied to any college, how could he even be accepted into one, there must be some mistake. University is something he has attended many times already and he could not go even if he wanted to. It would be a bloodbath.
And how does some University know to find him in the middle of the woods at some random coordinate?
Izuku opens the door with a creaking slowness, pausing once it is open the slightest amount. He peaks through the crack with a grimace, hoping the man is actually gone.
Low and behold, the black-haired man outside of his window never walked away into foliage. He never even left. The man simply stands outside of his door with his arms crossed, seemingly wishing he is anywhere else. Izuku opens the wooden door slightly more, preparing to tell the mysterious messenger his upmost apologies in careful awareness.
“I know you must have traveled far sir, but I apologize I must decline the offer”
“It was not an offer, be ready in five.” the man’s raspy voice demands before Izuku can even blink. “Get packing kid, you are coming with me”
Izuku opens the door wider with a glare. This man must be some sort of criminal, using a fake University letter to persuade him to go to a third location. Does he think Izuku is stupid?
“No I’m not, now please leave” Izuku slowly demands, his voice laced with false politeness.
This man is lucky that Izuku does not rip out his grimy jugular and drink him for dinner. Luckily for him, Izuku has built much control and tolerance over the years, and he only drinks from animals.
Even after so long away from humans and their blood, he is still able to hold back. Nighttime is different, control and restraint are not in his vocabulary.
The man simply slumps into worsening posture.
“Look kid, I am not leaving until you come with me, you will be attending U.A. University whether you want to or not”.
“What, you are implying that you just going to kidnap me sir?”
“Precisely”
Izuku’s jaw drops to the floor, and his eyes widen. What a bold man, he is not even lying about wanting to kidnap him. He stays behind the safety of his door entrance and away from the beaming sunlight.
“You can’t do that!” Izuku exclaims with his hand tightening on the door. “Kidnapping people out of their homes is quite rude. And I have never heard of such a university in my life, you liar!”
“You dare act like you don’t know of U.A.?”
The messenger starts to pace lazily as he continues his lazy dialogue.
“Look, you are coming with me one way or another, it is your choice. Whether you fight or not you will end up at the same destination, so it would be wise to simply come with me without a fuss.”
“Sir, it would be wise to not fight me”
“Wrong. It would be smart of you to not fight me; it is unwise to underestimate your opponent.”
Is this man joking? Izuku would destroy him if anything the human is underestimating him. The man stands no chance. Yet, Izuku cannot find it in himself to jump out of the cabin and tear this pacing man into ribbons of flesh. Being a monster willingly is not something he can stand for.
“I am not coming with you, kidnapper”
The man’s steps come to a sudden stop, and his body is frozen.
“How ironic that you, Midoriya brand me a criminal”. The man’s body slowly turns to face him once again.
Izuku feels a shiver travel up his spine, his stubborn resolve suddenly trembling at the man’s now menacing glare at him.
“You have been in hiding for god knows how long, if anything you are the criminal”
Nature retakes the now silent glare between the two, who glare at the other. Cicadas and grasshoppers overtake the area, and distant waves crash from the distance.
“Sir, this is my home. I do not understand how that brands me a criminal” Izuku’s eyes harden, and he steps outside of the comfort of his cabin and into the sunlight with the man. “Just who are you?”
This man is weird and mean, yet he is different from any human Izuku has met before.His burning skin can be ignored for now; this matter is one of upmost importance.
He may soon feel as though he is burning alive, the sensation so painful he wishes he was dead. On occasion, he actually does burn alive.
But alas, he is never burnt to death. He always comes back.
“I am a professor at U.A. University, I have been sent to retrieve you. The University’s president Nedzu said you have some unsettled business with him, so don’t act stupid.”
“Professor, I really do not know what you speak of, I do not know anyone named Nedzu”
“I hear that line all the time, do not think I will fall for it” Izuku’s eyes widen, and he stays silent in utter shock.
“So you need to come with me, per the request of my superior.”
Aizawa’s eyes search Izuku’s with distain, his hands in his pockets. He stands facing away from the cabin towards the moss-covered forest. Unlike his body, his face turns to look over his should at Izuku behind him. Izuku clenches his fists while the man side-eyes him.
“I lied earlier by the way, about kidnapping you” Mr. Aizawa grumbles a confession.
Izuku's eyes widen in confusion and his teeth grit. His brain sorts through theories and motives of such a lie. Aizawa sighs loudly, still facing away from him and shrugs his shoulders. Izuku's body shivers and his muscles clench in anticipation, his form ready to burst into a defensive position.
“Didn’t want you to panic too much, but I don't care anymore, not my problem. But the truth is, either you come with me to U.A. University of the Supernatural, or you die.”
.
.
.
Did he just say University of the...Supernatural?