Chapter Text
Leaves crunched underfoot, almost echoing in the heavy quiet.
Izuku slowed, more slowly than a moment ago, breath catching as the sound seemed to echo further than it should. The air felt thick. Frozen and unmoving. Like the trees them selves were holding their breath. Even the faintest of light filtering through the canopy struggled to reach the ground. Tiny dancing glimpses of sunlight came through, almost like his freckled cheeks.
He shouldn’t be here.
His hand tightened around his leg as pain flared again, sharper than before. Blood had soaked through the fabric, warm and slick, each step threatening to give him away, the smell of iron stronger than ever. He tried to adjust his weight, but it only made the ache worse. Forget that, he should focus. That's what he needed to do.
One step at a time. Then another. Each causing a wave of aching discomfort to his attention.
A rustle broke through the silence, Izuku froze instantly.
Of course there is something in the trees while I'm incapable of fighting. Just my luck.
He listened in closer, trying to decipher what it was. It wasn’t the wind, not the trees either.
Something else. Bigger.
His eyes darted toward the sound, heart pounding hard enough to make his vision blur. For a moment, everything felt distant. The shadows stretched too far. The trees seemed taller, closer, wrong.
But then he saw her.
A figure moving between the trees.
Almost... Human.
Relief came first, quick and sharp.
But dread followed just as fast.
She was walking toward the boundary line.
“No…”
The word slipped out under his breath before he could stop it. He had to speak louder, so he forced himself forward despite the pain, ignoring the way his leg protested.
He had to stop her. He wouldn’t willingly let her go into a graveyard of bones blood and screams. The boundary line, as the people call it, had been left by itself back when the trees didn’t scowl at someone for taking a step into the wilderness. Left for so long that the deadliest of creatures thrived, somewhere unimaginable to even dream of. There were so many, in fact, that it was told to all whether young or old, if you are to go there, go knowing what you are doing or die in the process.
And unfortunately, the latter was the most if not the only case ever. No one comes back out alive.
He hadn’t even realized he had come so close, if he was being honest. But right now? He had to stop her, or wallow in guilt for letting someone’s life go in front of his eyes.
“Hey. Stop.” It wasn’t loud enough, definitely not, but enough to make it across.
The girl turned immediately. A glimpse of Brown eyes flickered in the sliver of light bestowed upon them. Her ragged witches hat catching more of the radiance as it covered her in a blanket of darkness right after her swift movement.
She did not step back. Instead, she shifted her stance, staff lifting into position as if the movement had been practiced a hundred times. She locked onto him, not letting him out of her sight. Not that he would be able to though.
“I… who are you?”
Izuku blinked, thrown off for a second by how steady she sounded. Was she not surprised? Scared?
Her voice was not that of a person who was afraid, but rather, it was careful.
He raised his hands slightly, taking a small step back as dizziness crept in again. Having to lean onto a nearby tree.
“Don’t come any closer” a warning.
“You’re not safe there,” he said quickly.
Her grip tightened around the staff. Ok, maybe he said it too quickly.
“And you are?”
“I know what’s in there.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
A faint glow flickered at the tip of her staff. It’s blue and red crystals emitting energy derived from the host.
Izuku swallowed, forcing himself to stay upright.
Don’t show weakness.
“I don’t need you to trust me,” he said. “Just don’t cross the denser trees.”
Her gaze shifted briefly toward the darker stretch of forest behind him. The difference was subtle, but it was there. The light did not reach as far. The silence felt heavier.
Then she looked back at him.
“What exactly is over there that you, a stranger, don't want me to go to?” Straight to the point.
Izuku hesitated, then answered.
“It’s the border. You know? With Mirth-hounds. Skin-rats. Woe-hounds. Godspores.”
He watched her carefully.
“There are more,” he added quietly. “Those are just the ones that move in packs.”
For a moment, nothing happened. Like she was processing his words. Then something in her expression shifted. It was recognition.
Her eyes flickered, just slightly, as if recalling something she had been told before.
“…That’s not supposed to be this close,” she murmured, more to herself than to him.
“It is,” Izuku replied, his voice weaker now.
Silence settled again. This time, it was heavier than before. The girl did not lower her staff, but she also did not move forward.
That was enough. At least she was safe. For now.
Izuku let out a slow breath and moved forward, about to say something else to try and further persuade her.
The moment his back left the tree, however, his balance wavered. The ground tilted beneath his feet. He tried to steady himself. Failed miserably. His knee buckled, and the world lurched sideways. Arms dropping down from the previous defensive position in an attempt to soften the landing.
“Hey-”
He barely heard her voice before everything blurred. The trees melted into shadows, the light fading at the edges of his vision. He tried to catch himself, but his strength gave out too quickly. He was falling. How lucky, right at the border between the forest and the hunting grounds with a girl who thought of him as a threat.
Something stopped him… stopped him?
Not the ground though. Something softer. Like a pillow. Like home. Like how his mom would tuck him into bed and sing him lullabies till he fell asleep. Like how she would hug him. Like her.
He snapped back to reality, unpleasantly.
A faint glow flickered through his blurred vision, warm and steady. The pain in his leg dulled slightly, replaced by a strange, gentle heat.
Oh, right. He's in the forest.
“…Stay still,” the girl’s voice came, closer now. When did she move? It was focused. No hesitation this time.
Izuku tried to respond, but the words wouldn’t form properly.
“…huh…?”
“Later,” she said quickly. “You can ask later.”
Her hands hovered over his leg, light gathering around her palms. The glow deepened, soft but steady, seeping into the wound. The sharp edge of pain began to fade, not disappearing, but easing it enough for him to breathe again without his thoughts spiraling back to his leg. Almost as if the pain were being lifted off.
He let out a shaky breath, eyes slipping shut for a moment.
“…thank you…”
“Don’t talk,” she replied. “You’ve lost too much blood already.”
Her voice was different now. Less guarded and more certain. She worked quickly, her movements precise despite the urgency. Up close, the damage was worse than she had thought. The gash along his leg was deep, poorly treated, and surrounded by smaller cuts that looked both fresh and days old.
Her expression tightened.
“What were you even doing out here…” she muttered.
“...” Izuku didn’t answer.
His breathing had grown uneven again.
She moved one hand to steady him, keeping him from shifting as she focused on the worst of the injuries.
Warmth spread through him again.
For a moment, it almost felt safe.
Then,
A sound cut through the quiet. Sharp and familiar. Both of them froze. Their heads locking onto the noise.
Izuku’s eyes had snapped open. Both heads turned toward the source.
There was Movement, fast and precise.
A figure emerged from between the trees, landing lightly but ready, eyes immediately locking onto the scene in front of her. Green hair. Long and tied near the end of the length.
A stranger…?
Tsuyu’s posture shifted instantly, body tensing as her gaze sharpened, eyes turning to slits.
“Who are you?” she asked, her voice was low but firm. A weight in her speech.
The girl pulled her hands back slightly, startled. Then Quickly recovering and pointing her staff at Tsuyu. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Tsuyu with the same attentiveness and carefulness as she had when izuku came behind her. He could see her face better now. Her hair and eyes of one colour, and rosy cheeks. A round face and innocent but stern look. She was young. Probably the same age as him.
“I’m helping him.” The girl said, not answering Tsuyu’s question.
Tsuyu didn’t relax.
Her stance lowered, ready to move at a second’s notice.
“That’s not what it looks like.” she growled out.
“I’m not hurting him.”
The air between them tightened. Izuku had felt it before he could fully process it.
“Tsuyu…” he forced out, his voice weak but urgent.
Her eyes flicked to him for just a second.
“She’s… not… an enemy.”
Tsuyu hesitated. Only for a moment. But that was okay, it was enough.
The girl exhaled quietly, tension still in her shoulders but not escalating further.
Then,
Another rustle. Deeper. Heavier. All three of them went still.
This time, there was no mistaking it. Something was moving through the trees.
Not carefully or quietly. It was coming closer. Izuku’s chest tightened.
“…It followed me,” he whispered.
Tsuyu’s gaze snapped back toward the forest. The girl gripped her staff tighter, magic flickering to life at the tip.
“Get up,” Tsuyu said quickly, already shifting her position, eyes scanning for an exit. “We need to move.”
“I can’t-” Izuku tried, but the words died halfway through.
The sound came again. Closer. Branches shifting. Something breathing.
Oh no...
The girl stepped forward instead, planting herself between Izuku and the direction of the noise. Her grip on the staff tightened.
“Then we hold it off,” she said, her voice firm despite the tension.
Tsuyu glanced at her, just for a second. Then nodded.
“Stay behind me,” said Tsuyu, though it was unclear which one of them she meant it for.
The forest fell silent again. Too silent. Even the air seemed to pause. Waiting.
Then the shadows ahead shifted.
And something stepped forward.