Chapter Text
Izuku closed the door as he left the cabin; thanks to the darkness, no one could see the scarlet tone that had appeared on his face. Where had he found the confidence to carry out that last action? Feeding Katsuki directly. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to erase the sensation of the vampire's feverish lips, feeling a stone in his stomach.
He walked to the lake, diving in, letting the icy water cool his head. In that moment he felt an enormous urge to cry. What the hell was happening with his life? He let his body float, his eyes drifting to the flowers glowing on the cavern ceiling, so beautiful, so lethal; they needed to leave soon or both he and Katsuki would end up poisoned.
He closed his eyes for a moment. He felt an enormous pressure in his chest now that he knew he was no longer human, and not only that—he was the son of one of the great pillars of the coven that kept his people captive.
"It's your father's diary. In it you'll find answers that perhaps I can't give you for now. Take care of it; the rest of the books and maps you'll discover in the backpack."
The memory came to his mind; Tensei had handed him his father's diary—Toshinori Yagi, the former ruling vampire of the coven.
"Izuku, by the time you read this, I will already be dead. I'm sorry this is the way you must find out about things. I want you to know that both your mother and I made this decision to protect you. Endeavor is beginning to suspect I'm plotting something, and although I'm not worried about him discovering my intention to find a cure, I fear the moment he discovers you are my beloved son.
Surely the question circling most in your mind is how; naturally our species cannot conceive, yet you were the small miracle that illuminated my life. From the moment I learned you were in your mother's womb, fear and confusion became part of my daily life, as did joy and longing.
My purpose for some centuries now has been to find a cure for a life as miserable as ours. Though many long for eternal life and power, they don't know the desolation or misery it brings: the emptiness, the loneliness. All of that disappeared the moment I met Inko; her smiles, her clumsiness, and her light made me feel it was worth fighting harder for that cause. However, little by little I discovered it's not an end everyone desires.
The sadness that overwhelms me knowing I won't see you grow up troubles me every night; but having been able to spend time with you, even if it's just a sigh in all the millennia I've lived, makes me appreciate things in a different way.
For this reason I have prepared this guide, which will lead you step by step to what I believe can turn vampires back into humans. My intention was never to use it as a weapon against my own species; however, I believe everyone deserves a choice between mortality and eternity. To Endeavor, what I'm doing will be high treason, and I have no doubt he will seek to kill me, which is why it must be you, along with a pupil I have been preparing. I regret to inform you that his temperament is difficult, but he is a good person, and like me, I'm certain he would do anything to become human. I hope you can get along, as it is essential that you undertake this journey together.
As a first step..."
Izuku opened his eyes again. As Tensei said, they had to go find Hawks, a pirate who dwelled on the shores of the Black Sea. There was no physical description of the man; however, it warned that he wouldn't be easy to find.
Tenya was finishing cooking the fish. Izuku's stomach began to growl, which made him return to the shore. Something that deeply relieved him was that he didn't seem to have developed the need to drink blood, since food satisfied him and he still craved it. Now that he was a vampire, would he begin to crave blood at some point, or would he remain this way forever? None of those questions had answers, since neither his father nor his allies had ever contemplated the possibility of him becoming what he was.
"How's he doing?" Iida broke the silence, handing Izuku a fish, who sat down next to the bonfire.
"He's improving, but he's still unbearable."
He wasn't going to lie—he had harbored the hope that the vampire would be less surly once he woke up and realized Izuku had saved him. However, the effect seemed to be the opposite; with such marked pride, Bakugou didn't have the ability to say thank you. Izuku bit into the fish, feeling the crispy skin and soft flesh; the taste was somewhat bland, but that was normal without anything to season it.
"I still can't believe how everything ended up this way. Your father's plans seemed so meticulous, we never thought it would all go this wrong."
Izuku didn't know what to say. Though he was glad Tenya was part of the group, in his heart he felt the resentment of deception. For years they had been friends, and although he knew Toshinori had asked him to keep the secret, he couldn't help feeling betrayed.
"What was the original plan?"
"Well... he always hoped you'd go unnoticed. The idea was that you'd leave the village through the tunnels and ask me to accompany you; I would take you to Tensei and he would reveal everything to you. Aizawa would be the one to bring Bakugou, who was supposed to find a notebook All Might left him explaining his plan, but... this had barely started to take shape when, well... you were chosen as a blessed one. Everything got pushed forward, and not only that—you two seem to hate each other despite... whatever it is you are."
"We're nothing." A small blush appeared on his cheeks again, looking at the crackling fire in front of him.
"Well, if it helps, when they took you, that girl with brown hair cried thinking they would kill you. I think she liked you."
"We only met a couple of times. Why would she like me?"
It was true that he had even thought about marrying her, but now things were different. Besides, his thinking hadn't been about love, but practicality; she was a pretty girl and he was at an age close to marriage. Naturally, if they had gotten a little closer... perhaps he wouldn't even have thought about pursuing the tunnels, perhaps he would have found resignation in marrying, forming a family, and being part of that vile cycle of death.
"You've got your own thing going, you're a smart, charismatic guy, and when you're not muttering like a madman, you even look nice. Though I admit with the fangs and the glowing eyes you look pretty handsome."
"I don't think I'll live long enough to fall in love." He took another bite of fish. "I feel like... this journey will end up costing me my life."
"Hey, don't say that. Your father sacrificed a lot to give you a better life."
"Is this a better life?"
Tenya remained silent. Izuku said nothing more, finishing his meal without another word to go back to the cabin; he needed to read more about where they'd be heading from now on and what items from the laboratory they should take for the trip. Upon entering, he found Bakugou standing, holding his father's diary.
The vampire dropped the book, like a thief caught red-handed, but Izuku didn't react. He honestly didn't care if he knew about it—he didn't want it to be a secret.
"Surprised?"
"You're All Might's son?"
Izuku approached to pick up the diary, brushing off the dust.
"Seems that way."
He sat quietly on the bed, opening again to the page where he had left the bookmark; there, a map was drawn. His fingertips traced the paper, feeling the age that was quite noticeable from the color and smell.
"You've already left the city several times, right? Have you been to the Black Sea?"
"No, but I know the way." Bakugou sat down beside him. He seemed to want to keep him company in an unspoken way, or at least that's what Midoriya felt through their bond; it was a strange form of relationship they had, so unconventional. They could scream at each other and even hit each other, but there were moments where they knew how to give comfort through silence.
"Then you'll be our guide. Can I ask you something?"
The vampire looked at him.
"Will I ever crave blood?"
"What do you mean?" The confusion on the vampire's face was real. Even he, who hated the taste of blood, couldn't remember a moment in his life where he didn't feel the need to drink it. "All vampires desire blood."
"I don't feel... I don't feel the impulse to want it. And I've been feeding on fish, fully satisfying my hunger."
"I don't know if it's something about..." Even he didn't know what to call Izuku; the boy had certainly received his blood, but not his venom, and he wasn't sure how that ritual worked between the two of them either. "Maybe you need to taste it."
"But I drank mine."
"It's not the same. If I drank my own blood to 'feed myself,' I would end up dying—it doesn't work that way."
The vampire seemed about to say something else when the door opened again; it was Tenya with a basket full of flowers. Bakugou seemed to feel instant repulsion at the smell of them.
"Night is about to fall. If we want to leave before losing more time, it's now. We don't know how long it will take them to realize we escaped the village and come looking for us; the more of a head start we get, the better."
"You're right, we'd better hurry."
"If my calculations aren't wrong, at our pace we could be there in four days, walking only at night," Bakugou mentioned. "However, with the human, I'm not sure how long it might take."
"I can carry him in stretches," Izuku offered.
"Are you crazy?" The question sounded more like a threat. Katsuki's eyes flashed intensely for a second before he took a breath, as if he himself couldn't believe that sentence had come out of his mouth. "I mean, it would be too much, even being... whatever it is you are, carrying him will be exhausting."
"I'm a vampire like you."
"No, you're not a vampire like me, idiot. You're something else, because you still reek of human, and maybe that's what allows you to eat and not drink blood. You're like a hybrid."
"Am I still human?"
"Have you tried walking under the sun yet?" He shook his head, making Katsuki show an expression of annoyance. "For all the nice things All Might wrote about you, you're a real dimwit. But I get it, humans are ignorant by nature, that's why he had to involve me."
"Excuse me?"
"Hey, don't fight." Iida stepped between them. "If you want to curse each other, do it on the road."
Reluctantly, both agreed. Izuku listed the things they should take, while Iida and Katsuki gathered them; seeing the vampire obey grudgingly strangely brought a smile to his lips for a second—maybe his father wasn't wrong after all.
After a few hours, they finished gathering supplies. With that, they packed a few more fish for the road, the books, some blankets, and that was it; they were traveling light, but even so they already had a fair amount of luggage.
Iida guided them through some tunnels. Like the ones in the city, these had different paths; luckily, the human had been exploring them while Katsuki slept, but they had to be careful not to leave tracks, since whether someone found the entrance or the exit, they shouldn't find the path easily.
Upon reaching the end, they emerged from a cave in a mountain. Before them spread a great forest that not even Katsuki knew; according to the map, if they traveled a few kilometers south they would find Diamond Falls, which led along the path the vampire knew toward the Black Sea.
"There are several villages along the way. We could try to negotiate for a horse—that would help with the load."
"Are you talking about yourself?" Neither Tenya nor Izuku knew if that had been a joke from Bakugou, but they laughed.
"Aizawa gave us a good amount of money. If we manage it well, we could..."
"We can take what we need by force. These are human villages—no one will resist a vampire and a hybrid."
"No." Izuku stopped, looking at him seriously. Bakugou could see a fervor in his eyes and a strange conviction. "We're not going to force anyone to give us anything. If we run out of money, we'll work. I've lived my whole life under the yoke of your species, and I'm not going to subject anyone else to that, understand? It doesn't matter if you don't want to work—Iida and I will."
"You take everything too seriously, but fine. If you two want to work, go ahead, I can survive hunting animals. Since I assume you'll also be against me feeding on other humans." Izuku frowned again, and Bakugou raised his hands. "Fine, I won't..."
"If you need blood, take mine. I won't let you hurt others when... my purpose is to feed you."
"Fine, whatever you want."
Bakugou turned around and kept walking; behind him followed Izuku and Iida. The night was beautiful. Despite the danger that could exist, no potential predator seemed foolish enough to attack a vampire. Izuku assumed the aura Bakugou emitted must be so lethal that not even a wolf pack heard nearby decided to attack.
The hours passed. The plan to carry Iida on his back was, without a doubt, nowhere near possible; with everything they had to carry, it was impossible, not to mention that before dawn they had to find shelter to keep Bakugou from burning.
They were less than an hour from dawn, so using branches, blankets, and some stones, they created a sort of cave for Bakugou. It was then that Izuku noticed how impractical it would be to camp during the day. They definitely needed a horse for Iida, since it would be convenient to make stops in some village where they could lodge, since they too would be forced to rest while there was sun.
When morning finally arrived, both he and Bakugou were inside the cave, which was uncomfortable due to the limited space, but he needed to gradually expose himself to light before assuming he was immune.
"Stick out your hand," Bakugou ordered.
Iida was outside, gathering more leaves to make a bed at the foot of a tree. Izuku felt a bit nervous, but obeyed. Though he wasn't sure if it was because of the shade, he didn't feel any kind of discomfort, so with cautious steps he made his way out of the cave until he was completely outside.
He didn't expose himself directly to the sun, but he could comfortably be in the shade of a tree; the glare off the grass bothered him a little, but nothing significant.
Slowly he walked toward where the golden rays illuminated completely; it was then that he felt the warm light bathe his skin. There was no pain or discomfort, only a sensation of shelter. A smile spread across his lips and his heart gave a jump of joy.
So he was still human.