Chapter Text
“Welcome to All Mighty Magic, how may I help you this fine evening?”
Izuku mutters his usual greeting as soon as he hears the little bell above the door shake with a new patron’s arrival, his head propped up by his hand as he stares blankly at some old corner of the store, disinterested. It’s not like he hates working for his mentor, tending to the magic shop while he is away on official business. But he signed up to be taught magic, real magic, not these trinkets that kids play with to pretend they can actually teleport coins to behind someone’s ear.
Sure, he understands that it’s all just a front; after all the witch hunts, people just couldn’t risk living out in the open like the old days, so disguising himself as a mere retired illusionist was as good a plan as any. That didn’t stop Izuku from being bored out of his mind anyway, especially when he isn’t allowed to practice any of what Yagi taught him while he’s away. Too dangerous, he says. He only broke his arm trying to cast a spell that one time, he can handle himself! Well, there was that other incident with his leg, and the one with his other arm, but those weren’t entirely his fault. He can’t exactly control an angry unicorn’s actions but he could try to defend himself. Too bad it backfired.
Finding it somewhat strange not to hear a reply, Izuku turns his head to the entrance with a sigh, expecting to see some little kid dragging their parent along to check out all the ‘magic’. When his eyes land on a person collapsed on the floor, he immediately straightens up, eyes wide and heart suddenly jumping to his throat.
“Oh my god, are you okay?!”
Without a second to waste, Izuku vaults over the shop’s counter, running to the person’s side and dropping to his knees beside them. The person groans before Izuku has even the chance to touch them, turning onto their back with their eyes squeezed shut and features twisted in pain. For a moment, Izuku can only stare.
It’s a young man, around his age, from the look of it, but Izuku doesn’t think he has ever seen someone with such a striking image. Hair split between snow white and fire red, its long strands strewn about around his head like some sort of halo, a garishly red scar surrounding his left eye and coming down to cover almost half of his cheek. His lips are slightly parted, shallow breaths cutting off with occasional gasps whenever his body convulses.
Izuku’s eyes travel further down and his breath catches at the sight of blood, the stranger’s shirt torn to shreds where it looks like he has been clawed by a large animal, perhaps a bear… Which would make sense if they were in the middle of the woods, not in the middle of a busy city’s shopping district, between a cake shop and a real estate agency that are both closed at this hour.
The stranger opens his eyes then, jerking up into a sitting position as he holds his side and growls, and Izuku can only scoot backwards, knocking over a stand full of bending spoons and other accessories.
Their eyes meet and everything seems to stop. Izuku finds himself hypnotised by blue and grey, glowing under the store’s artificial light and filled with anguish. It’s only when the stranger’s lips pull back in a snarl that Izuku snaps out of his momentary trance, sharp fangs bared and looking like they are ready to tear into juicy flesh. And he just so happens to be the closest thing to juicy flesh around.
“Oh shit.”
The stranger pounces and Izuku jumps to his feet with a shriek, fleeing to the back of the shop and slamming the door shut just before the man crashes against it, feral growls sounding along with his claws tearing at the wood. The door shakes with each time he throws himself at it and Izuku can’t keep the frightened little yelps from escaping his lips.
It’s a full moon tonight. That would certainly explain the wound. He didn’t know lycanthropy was that viral though, he expected it to at least take a few days to actually settle. Unless he was already turned before and the wound is unrelated. Regardless, with the way the door is cracking, Izuku needs to find something to stop him soon.
Looking around the backroom, glass vials and categorised drawers scattered all around in shelves and pantries, Izuku tries to find something, anything that might help him against a feral werewolf, possibly recently turned, definitely angry.
Wolfsbane, wolfsbane, where do we keep the wolfsbane?
The door shakes once more, this time more violently than the last, and Izuku thinks it won’t hold much longer, even with his whole weight pushed against it. Finally, he spots the label he was looking for, counting to three inside his head before jumping for the jar and taking it down from the shelf.
One last loud crunch and the door crashes open, the werewolf’s ears already pointing up from his head, his features already distorting beyond recognition, limbs bending unnaturally, his clothes tearing where they can no longer contain his form. Izuku doesn’t have time to waste, completely disregarding his mentor’s rules and mumbling a quick incantation.
A little ball of bright light pops to life in front of him and Izuku sends it straight at the werewolf, watching as it crashes into his chest and explodes, sending him flying backwards into the store. He flinches at the sound of glass breaking, not wanting to think of what sort of damage it caused and just running to the workstation to grind the flower to dust as quickly as he can.
At the sounds of anguished screams, Izuku freezes, his heart seizing for one single moment as he listens to all the pain that is laced behind them. He takes a deep breath and continues to work, faster than he ever has before. Already knowing most of the potions he was taught by heart, Izuku picks up the ingredients he needs without a second thought, mixing them together as he continues to listen to the intruder’s cries, turning from screams and groans to growls and barks that sound just as strangled. Izuku doesn’t want to add to his pain but what choice does he have? He needs to defend himself somehow.
Just as he is pouring the potion into a tiny bottle the werewolf returns, blood dripping down white fur onto the floor. The scar around his eye remains, no fur growing over the abused tissue, as do the split colour across his entire body and those mismatched blue and grey eyes. The wolf comes closer and Izuku’s grip on the potion tightens, his arm tensing and ready to throw.
Then, just as Izuku is about to do it, he looks into those eyes and finds fear, hidden behind all the anger, behind the animalistic growls, he sees a frightened creature unsure of what is happening. He grits his teeth and curses under his breath. Izuku can’t hurt him anymore than he already is.
Leaving the potion behind, he bolts towards the other end of the room, to the door that supposedly leads to the back alley behind the shop. The wolf jumps for him, managing to grab a mouthful of his shirt and tear it open as he dives for the handle, opening it and running through to the forest where he runs for the foliage’s cover. He knows the wolf most likely has his scent already, especially with a piece of his clothing, but Izuku isn’t really running away from him. He is running towards something.
It’s not that far and he knows the forest like the back of his hand, but the wolf is certainly faster and gaining on him. Izuku can only hope he makes it to the meadow before he gets caught between his teeth.
Branches are breaking underneath the wolf’s heavy paws, closer, closer.
Just a little more, almost there…
The werewolf pounces on him and Izuku comes crashing to the ground his fingers brushing the grass at the edge of his destination. He can feel the warm huffs on the back of his neck, the saliva dripping from sharp teeth and onto his shirt. His fingers close around the light blue dandelion and he twists his body just enough to blow it against the wolf’s muzzle.
The wolf shakes his head, closing his eyes and backing away, his weight leaving Izuku’s back and allowing him to turn and sit, watching as he paws at his muzzle, sneezing and huffing. Izuku’s heart is threatening to beat right out of his chest as he prays to all the deities that this works. The wolf lifts its head and growls, their eyes meeting once more. Izuku’s heart skips a beat.
And then the wolf collapses.
“Thank heavens.” Izuku breathes, crashing onto his back and waiting for his breaths to calm.
After a few long heartbeats, Izuku sits back up and stares at the sleeping beast before him. How is he supposed to take him back? It’s not like he can just leave a werewolf in the faerie realm without expecting consequences. Izuku himself is not even supposed to be here to begin with! And that wound… It’s bleeding an awful lot and he needs to take care of it.
Heaving a heavy sigh, Izuku gets to his feet and dusts himself off. “Yagi-sensei is going to kill me.”