Work Text:
Today had been very strange.
To be fair, Izuku had had a lot of days he could classify as strange. But being strung up in a game net in the forest definitely would be near the top of the list.
He had wandered off in search of herbs he had heard were native to the area, declining Todoroki's help when he offered to come with him.
I'll be alright, just stay here and keep them out of trouble. He'd said with a tilt of his head towards Katsuki and Ochako, who were bickering about something.
And now, he was regretting that decision.
The sound of footsteps brought him out of his thoughts, and he stilled when he didn't recognize them. Too light to be Shouto or Katsuki's, and too rhythmic to be Ochako's.
“Well, look what we have here.” An unfamiliar voice, smooth as velvet, spoke. Izuku craned his neck from his awkward position to see who it was, and the first thing he noticed was a shock of vibrant purple hair.
He was dressed similarly to Bakugou, but there were stark differences. Mainly being the painted markings scattered across his face, bare chest and arms, and the feathered headpiece.
"You…. you're a wanderer." Izuku murmured, almost in awe.
The mystery man's violet eyes were a strange mix of tired and alert, boring inquisitively into Izuku. "And I'm fairly certain you're not the game I was hoping to catch." He said dryly, almost amused.
Izuku flushed, poking out his lip in a pout. "What an astute observation. Can you please let me out, then? Since I’m obviously not a deer or rabbit?"
A smirk pulled at the corner of the wanderer's mouth. "I could. But what would I get in return?" Flipping a knife from his belt up in the air before catching it again, he gave Izuku an almost bored look to cover his amusement.
The greenette would've flapped his arms if he wasn't still very stuck in a net. "I don't know! What would you want?"
The man below him only sighed in response, getting to his feet from the stump he was sitting on. His hand flashed out, the knife going flying towards a nearby tree. Izuku heard the sound of a rope snapping, and seconds later, he landed on the ground in a heap of net and flailing limbs.
There was a soft snort as the violet haired man came over, helping Izuku untangle himself from the net. The greenette sighed in relief when he was finally free, eyes moving to look at the wanderer now that he was closer.
Besides the wanderer tribal markings, there were scars lacing his skin. Some were just random silver lines across his arms and sides, but there was a bigger one across his right bicep. It looked like a laceration from a spear or some other thrusting weapon.
"Not that it isn't flattering, but how long are you going to ogle?" The center of Izuku's attention finally spoke again, tilting his head, violet locks flopping over with the movement.
Izuku's face was very red, and he couldn't even deny that he'd been staring, because he had been. "Sorry!" He squeaked. Clearing his throat in an attempt to calm himself, he offered the other man his hand. "I'm Izuku Midoriya." He introduced himself.
The wanderer hesitated a moment like he wasn’t familiar with the custom of shaking hands, before his fingers closed around Izuku's. "Hitoshi Shinsou." He said back, trying to have at least a little semblance of manners.
As soon as Hitoshi released his hand, he rubbed his own against the legs of his pants nervously. "So, if there's anything I can do to pay you back for helping me, I'd be more than happy to."
"That remains to be seen." Hitoshi studied him for a moment, before asking curiously, "You don't look like a native from these parts, and I can tell you're no wanderer, so what are you doing here?"
Izuku gestured in the general direction of the camp he’d come from and the rest of his party with a flap of his arm. "We're here for work. There are herbs that are native to this area and I thought I'd be able to find some before I got caught." He explained.
"We?" Hitoshi asked, unable to keep the intrigue from his voice. "If you have friends, there may be something you and your party could assist me with." He offered.
Izuku looked surprised, but quickly agreed. "I'm sure there's something we could do. Let's head back and we can see what the others think."
"Lead the way." Hitoshi said, doing a little flourish with his arm, a smirk on his face.
~ ☆ ~
"So, let me get this straight. You guys want us to kill this big huge monster that supposedly has been giving you trouble for what, a decade now?"
The pair had reconvened with Izuku's companions, and they sat around the campfire to listen to what Hitoshi had to say. Unsurprisingly, the first words out of Bakugou's mouth after the wanderer finished speaking were snark.
Ochako slapped the blonde’s arm with the back of her hand, shooting a glare at him. "Bakugou, be less of an ass for 5 seconds, will you, please?"
"What?!" He squawked, turning his glare on the brunette. "Am I the only one here wondering what the fucking catch is?"
"For once, I'm inclined to side with Bakugou." Todoroki said lowly, not looking very pleased with having to admit such a thing.
As much as he hated assuming the worst, Izuku was finding it hard to disagree as well.
He said the wanderer's name to get his attention, eyes not quite narrowed, but still intense, in concentration. "Why not get rid of it before now? Why wait so long?"
Shinsou hesitated, before answering with a sigh. "It's like a tradition of sorts to try and end the beast's life at this point. And it's a tradition that I want to end ." He said, spitting the words out like poison. There was obviously some personal experience fueling this desire, but no one pressed any further on it, not wanting to mess up a potential job offer.
"Ok, so does it have any weaknesses? Anything we can exploit?" Izuku asked to break the tension, already preparing to make mental notes and come up with strategies for them to use.
"From what I've been told," Shinsou began, "he's particularly weak to gravity magic and poisons."
Ochako leaned forward, grin wide. "You're in luck, gravity magic is my specialty! And Deku is no slouch when it comes to both poisons and medicines!"
Izuku flushed, but nodded. "I'm sure between the three of us, we could find some way to take it down." There was a grumbled complaint from Katsuki about not being on the front line for once, but he was promptly shushed by Shouto.
"I hope so." Shinsou said, violet eyes looking tired beyond his years for a moment before the emotion in those eyes disappeared.
~ ☆ ~
Everyone else was asleep, but for some reason, Izuku stayed wide awake.
He wasn't sure if it was because the quest they'd been given, or because of the person who gave them said quest.
Izuku rolled over to look at their new companion, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as he slept.
"I can practically feel you staring at me."
Ok, so not asleep, and prone to scaring the snot out of Izuku.
"I'm sorry! I thought you were sleeping. Not that you being asleep should make any difference, I shouldn't have been staring at all! I don't know why I thought--"
Mid-rant, Hitoshi leaned over, clapping a hand over Izuku's mouth. "Goddamn, you talk a lot." He muttered, half amused, and half exasperated.
Izuku was tempted to lick his hand in retaliation, but decided not to. What was he, a child?! Instead, he made a huffy noise behind the hand, eyes having a pouty look.
Dropping his hand, the violet haired man stared at Izuku curiously. "You're really interesting, you know that?" He said, smirking ever so slightly.
"What do you mean by interesting?" Izuku asked suspiciously.
"Do I need to have a long, drawn out reason for thinking you're an interesting person?" Shinsou asked, voice almost dry.
"I guess not…" The greenette muttered, seeming unsatisfied with the answer he got.
"Don't pout. Your face will get stuck like that." Hitoshi said, still smirking, only causing Izuku to pout more.
"Says Mr. Permanent deadpan face." Izuku retorted with a huff.
"You're not good at insulting people, are you?" Hitoshi asked, seemingly growing more amused by the second.
A sigh escaped the adventurer. "No…"
"I can tell." Hitoshi said with a snort as he flopped back down onto his mat.
"You're so mean!" Izuku complains. It was a front, though. He was enjoying their banter. It had been a while since someone interested him like Shinsou seemed to, and vice versa.
"I think you'll be ok." The wanderer retorted in amusement.
There were a few moments of silence before either of them spoke again. Izuku's voice was soft when he did, his eyes directed upwards at the canopy of trees. Stars twinkling through any gaps they could find.
"Hey, Shinsou? Can I ask you something?"
"Depends on what it is, I guess." Shinsou replied, instantly wary of Midoriya's serious tone.
"Why does this mean so much to you? This mission, I mean." Izuku asked, green eyes moving to stare at him. It almost felt like he was x-raying Shinsou's soul.
"It's….personal." Shinsou's answer wasn't gruff like Izuku expected it to be. He sounded almost...sad.
"I thought as much." He greenette said softly, rolling over and putting his back to Shinsou. "Sorry for prying."
There was a soft sigh, and the sound of shuffling, before fingers started to run though his green hair. "It's fine." Shinsou said just as quietly.
Izuku hummed, enjoying the fingers in his hair as he turned to face the wanderer again. His expression silently prompted Shinsou to speak. After a moment, he relented and continued.
"Like I said, it's almost like a tradition for young people of our tribe to attempt to end the monster's life. I never cared much about it, in all honesty. That is, until my father got hurt." He said the last part softly, the pieces seemingly coming together in Izuku's mind.
"I understand what you're trying to say." Izuku said, voice comforting. "I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing in your shoes."
Shinsou hesitated, but a small smile came to his face after a moment. "Thank you, Izuku." He said softly.
Izuku promised himself, in that moment, he'd do whatever he could to help Shinsou.
~ ☆ ~
The trip back to the home of the wanderer's tribe was surprisingly quick. The entrance was very subtle, and easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it.
After they passed through the mess of trees, vines and moss creating a curtain around the village, there was a moment all the adventurers stopped a moment to look around. Wisteria trees created a more elegant look to the other wise homey atmosphere of the area. Most of the houses were small, but comfy looking, with the bright wisteria flowers draping them like a blanket.
"This is...incredible." Izuku said softly in awe, green eyes sparkling as he took it all in.
"I'm glad you approve." Shinsou said, unable to stop from preening a bit under the praise before he reminded himself to focus again. "Let's go speak to my father, he may help us come up with a solid plan to defeat the monster with the ideas we have."
Everyone nodded, instantly sobering up as they followed Shinsou. They eventually stopped at a house, one that was a bit bigger than the others, but different because of the wisteria tree growing directly through it, some of its branches poking through the roof, and some hidden inside the interior.
Shinsou opened the door, calling out as he went inside. "Dad! I'm home!"
There was a returning call of In here from the other room, and Shinsou led the group through his home to the source of the voice. When they entered a room that looked like it contained the bulk of the tree growing through it, Izuku couldn't help but start staring again.
He was broken out of his trance when a soft voice spoke, green eyes moving to the man leaning against the base of the tree. There were bandages surrounding his torso and one of his arms, so Izuku immediately assumed that this man was Shinsou's father. If that hadn't already been given away by his Shinsou's greeting when he returned.
"Do I want to ask why you have an entomologist's collection of outsiders with you?" His voice was low, not quite disapproving but more suspicious in tone.
"They can help us." Shinsou replied simply, before moving to his father's side. They spoke in hushed voices between the two of them for a few moments, Shinsou's violet eyes occasionally darting back to glance at Izuku.
Eventually, the older man sighed, seemingly giving into whatever his son was saying. "Alright. You've convinced me." He said a bit louder.
He waved the adventures over and as soon as they were all sitting in various positions across the floor, he introduced himself as Aizawa, chief of the Wanderer Tribe.
Izuku and Ochako were immediately brought forward to talk strategy with the chief and Shinsou, and after a couple hours, they had a solid plan for taking down the beast plaguing the tribe.
Shinsou urged them to stay the night and rest in their home so they'd be ready for their trials come morning. Some of them agreed more reluctantly than others, but it didn't take long for all of them to get settled in.
~ ☆ ~
Come morning, the adventures plus Shinsou got ready and headed out for the beast's lair.
Shinsou had both his knife and a spear strapped to him, along with a pouch that dangled from his belt. As curious as Izuku was to know what was in it, they had more pressing concerns. There would be time for curiosity later.
The violet haired boy led their party through the woods, a familiarity in his pace that spoke to years of knowing the area and traversing it.
Izuku's hand fiddled with the pommel of his sword as they walked, going over the strategy again in his mind as they got closer and closer to the lair.
Uraraka would start out with long range gravity attacks, Shouto and Katsuki covering her in case the boss or any minions got too close.
After they had the monster’s attention, Shouto would switch to holding said attention until Izuku and Shinsou could find an opening to poison him with the concoction Izuku had spent time making before they had headed out. (Katsuki strangely had insisted on being the one to stay with Ochako and make sure she didn’t get hurt.)
Normally, any poisons Izuku made were toned more towards not drawing out pain and doing their job as quickly as possible. He made medicine a lot more often than he made poison, and every time he’d had to, it made something queasy sit in the pit of his stomach. This was why poison usually wasn’t his first choice, and only used it when absolutely necessary.
And this situation definitely qualified as necessary. (Even if he didn’t want to admit it was because he didn’t like that expression on Shinsou’s face, the anger in his voice, when he spoke of it.)
The entrance to the lair of the monster was little more than a cave entrance covered in vines, much like the entrance to the wanderer tribe. Izuku’s curiosity must have shown on his face, because Shinsou gave a gruff explanation. “This system of caves used to be in use by the people of our tribe, before the infestation. ”
Again, Izuku very much didn’t like the tone of Hitoshi’s voice.
They all ducked inside, Katsuki lighting his hand ablaze with his fire magic so they could see as Shinsou led the way through the twisting maze of the cave. After walking for a while, the wanderer stopped suddenly, the fire at the tips of Katsuki’s fingers dimming minutely.
“The center of the cave system is right ahead. That’s where the boss usually lurks.” He explained, before turning to Izuku. Pulling the pouch from his belt, he offered it to Izuku. “It’s a sleeping powder. Too strong to use on a human, but if you manage to get close enough, this may help incapacitate him long enough so that we can take him out.”
Izuku took the pouch, mouth straightening into a determined line as he nodded.
There was a universal shift of concentration in all of them as they entered the center of the lair. The area was a wide, rounded shape, the jagged shape of the walls indicating that it wasn’t the wanderers that had shaped the room.
And lying in the center of the room, was a huge monster. Even shaded by shadows like it was, Izuku could still roughly see its size.
Izuku had only ever seen one full-blooded dragon in his life. Eijiro Kirishima, one of Katsuki Bakugou’s friends. Though you’d never hear Katsuki call them friends. He’d probably rather choke on those words than let them escape him. Kirishima’s dragon form was enormous, he was very easily bigger than the cottage Izuku had grown up in with his mother.
This monster very clearly wasn’t as big as Kirishima, but due to the size, it was the first comparison he had made.
Calm down, Izuku. He reminded himself, taking a steadying breath even as his hand clenched around the grip of his sword. You’ve faced far worse.
The group slid into their positions around the beast; Katsuki, Shouto, and Uraraka staying near the entrance in case they needed to retreat while Izuku and Hitoshi slid into the the shadows of one large, overhanging spike.
They could hear the soft mutters of Ochako chanting her spell under her breath from their position, Izuku sliding his sword from the scabbard with one hand while the other clutched at the pouch in his pocket that contained the sleeping powder, along with the vial of poison. Shinsou’s hands tightened around the shaft of his spear, knuckles white as his violet eyes watched the monster like a hawk.
Ochako finished chanting the spell, voice raising in pitch along with her wand raising above her head as well. The jagged, ceiling spikes above the monster cracked and thundered, before breaking apart and pelting it with deadly spikes.
There was a howl from the creature among the rumbling and the cloud of dust the attack kicked up, Ochako’s wand at the ready for another spell as soon as it cleared.
They however, didn’t get the chance, because, with another enraged howl, something shot out of the dust cloud and towards Ochako. Without thinking, Katsuki put himself between the attack and their companion, familiar red scales spreading across his skin in the blink of an eye.
As a dragon half-blood, Katsuki had the ability to partially shift and create scales across his skin, which were much tougher than any human skin would be, and he took full advantage of that fact more often than not.
“Katsuki!” Ochako had cried in concern as the dust cleared, revealing what exactly it was that had swiped at Ochako. The long, scaled appendage with a snake head hissed at the blonde as it retreated.
“I’m fine!” Katsuki hissed back at her, red eyes slitted as he kept his gaze forward. True to his word, he was fine, his scales protecting both of them quite adequately.
No, it couldn’t be--! Izuku thought, horror dawning on him as he realized what they might be facing.
But it was.
There, in the midst of the rubble, was a chimera.
Izuku had only read about them in books, he’d never seen one with his own eyes. They were so rare--
The loud sound of Katsuki’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts before he could spiral.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me! You could’ve told us it was a chimera we were dealing with, Troll Hair!”
Shinsou only shrugged in a gesture that screamed would it really have mattered? And Izuku couldn’t find it in himself to be mad that Shinsou and Aizawa had withheld this information. He was more focused on getting them out of this alive.
He quickly ran though all the information he’d read on chimeras in his mind. Outside of his thought bubble, there were grunts and clangs of weapons as Ochako, Katsuki, and Shouto engaged the beast to buy him some time and hopefully chip at its stamina. Where would a weak spot be?!
Izuku then noticed something. The chimera had three snake tails it could use to attack, but it was only using the outer two. The middle one stayed close to the lion head, as if….it was guarding something.
Realizing there were several weak spots he could exploit if he could get that head out of the way, he insistently tugged on Hitoshi’s arm. “I have an idea, but we need to get rid of that middle snake head.”
Hitoshi’s eyes darted between Izuku and the chimera a few times, before understanding dawned on him in the form of fierce determination. He nodded. “I’ll take care of that. Just be ready when you see your chance.” He said, slipping out of their hiding spot to join the others in the fray.
As soon as the others caught onto Hitoshi aiming for that particular limb of the chimera, they joined him in their attacks, which started to batter the creature back with the ferocity of it.
Izuku slipped out of the hiding spot when he could tell the chimera was getting desperate, beginning to use every attack it could to fight back. Even using the head that had once held back for defense.
Izuku’s eyes zeroed in on his target, single-minded determination overtaking him for a moment.
And sometimes, a moment was all it took.
“Izuku!”
There was a cry of his name, and a blur of purple, before he’d realized what had happened.
One of the snake tails had whipped around lightning fast, aiming for Izuku, and Hitoshi had shoved him back and out of the way, taking the blow meant for him. The force of the blow, Shinsou's body flew back into the wall, it crumbled a bit around him before he fell to the floor, unconscious.
At the sight of the wanderer collapsing, Izuku saw red. He’d never been more single-handedly furious in his life. And he’d had a lot of things happen to him that he could get mad over.
He was a blur as he moved, easily slicing off the snake head as it rounded on him again, before closing the distance between him and the beast. He hopped onto its back, shoving his sword deep into its shoulder, causing it to howl in pain. Forgoing the sleep powder Shinsou had given him, he stabbed the vial of poison into the chimera’s neck, right where he knew a vital vein was.
It only took a few more thrashes before the chimera went still, and toppled under him, going limp. The strong poison did its job quickly, and it wasn’t long until it was nothing more than a corpse.
Izuku didn’t care to stick around and catalogue the effects of the poison either. He immediately ran to Shinsou’s side, sighing in relief when he felt his pulse and there was a definite thump-thump under his hand. His violet hair was matted with blood from a head wound, and he’d probably have a concussion, but Izuku didn’t have the energy to feel anything other than dizzy relief as the others came over and helped him get Shinsou back to the Wanderer Village.
~ ☆ ~
As Shinsou had predicted, there was much joy and relief from everyone in the tribe when they returned. Aizawa had been insistent on throwing them a party, if only for an excuse to drink, after all of their wounds had been taken care of.
A large bonfire was lit in the center square, and there was a steady stream of laughter, drinking and dancing. Izuku had caught a glance of a fairly tipsy Bakugou and Ochako dipping out of the range of the fire's light, arms wrapped around each other. And as for Shouto, he seemed fairly enamored with his conversation with a wanderer girl, her short pink curls bouncing as she spoke, using her hands to gesture as she told whatever story she was speaking of. There was a soft smile on his lips and he watched her yellow eyes brighten in excitement. It was rare for him to show emotion like that, but Izuku was glad he was opening up to someone.
All of a sudden, loneliness hit him like a boar head-butting him, despite all the people surrounding him. He stared into the fire for a minute, the flames crackling and reflecting in his green eyes.
The feeling didn't last long though, as there was promptly a tap on his shoulder. Izuku turned to find Shinsou looking down at him, expression pinched up in concern. "You ok? You're not in pain, are you?"
Izuku laughed softly, giving him a smile, but he wasn't sure how genuine it was. "I'm fine. I should be asking you that, with the hit you took for me. I'm just glad everyone is having fun."
"Are you not having fun?" Shinsou asked, getting straight to the point.
Izuku only shrugged in response, looking back to the fire. There was movement in his peripheral vision, and when he glanced back over, Shinsou had sat down beside him.
"Tell me what you're thinking." It wasn't a demand that left Shinsou's mouth, the words were pure concern.
"I…." Izuku opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped, realizing how pathetic he'd sound if he told Shinsou what he'd been thinking. "Nothing. It's stupid." He muttered, chin resting on his knees that he'd pulled up to his chest and wrapped his arms around.
"You should know that's not gonna be a good enough excuse for me." Shinsou said, violet eyes watching Izuku closely.
The greenette sighed, turning away to hide his red face as he muttered out, "I was just feeling a bit lonely, ok?"
Shinsou didn't say anything for a few moments, and eventually, Izuku turned back to him in confusion.
The wanderer's expression was a mix of surprise and concern, before he shook his head to snap himself out of his stupor.
"What?" Izuku managed to ask when Shinsou opened and closed his mouth a few times without saying anything.
"You...don't have to be lonely." Shinsou eventually grunted, turning his face away from Izuku to hide the flush crawling up it.
"Wait, what?" Izuku asked again, more confused than anything this time.
“I said,” Shinsou said louder, turning his head back to Izuku despite the blush still present on his face. “You don’t have to be lonely.” Violet eyes bored into his, and Izuku could feel a similar blush crawling up his face.
“What are you…?”
Shinsou cursed under his breath, before flapping his arms wildly. “I’m saying I want to come with you!” He hesitated at Izuku’s shocked expression, his voice lowered. “If you’ll have me, I’d like to come with you.”
“What about your father? Aren’t you the heir to being chief or something?” Izuku asked, trying not to get his hopes up too much only to have them squashed later.
“I already asked my dad. He was more than okay with it.” Shinsou said with a shake of his head, a slightly amused grin coming to his face for a moment before it faltered into something more venerable. “If you’d rather I didn’t though, I have a place here.”
“No!” Izuku cried, surprising himself, and Shinsou, with the volume, before he lowered it to something more acceptable. “No, I do want you to come. I just...didn’t see this coming.” He admitted shyly.
Shinsou was silent for a moment, but when Izuku looked back to his face, he was smiling. Genuinely smiling. Not an amused or sarcastic expression. He was happy .
“I hope it’s the first of many pleasant surprises…” He murmured before dipping down to press a brief, but affectionate, kiss to Izuku’s mouth. The greenette immediately leaned into it, chasing after that warmth when they parted.
Warm, in more ways than one. He thought in contentment as he curled into Shinsou’s side, enjoying the arm around his shoulders.
And I’m not letting go of that warmth. Not now, not ever.