Chapter Text
There's a lot of blood.
What's the first thing he should do if there's that much blood?
Stop the bleeding.
"L-Listen--"
"Stop! Don't talk! You'll be okay! You'll be okay!"
"N-No, listen. I have to..."
"What is that?" the lady cringed.
The midwife didn't know how to respond, "...Your son, Ma'am." The infant was crying loudly in her arms, small and helpless. Despite his size, he was thrashing around a lot. He had yet to grow teeth, but the midwife was sure that if he had, her arms would be bleeding by now. He wasn't just flinging his little fists around, he was biting into her as well.
"That's no son of mine," the lady hissed and bared her teeth. However, the minute after she did that, the energy left her and she leaned back against her pillow. Her pair of wolf ears drooped, fell backwards in her tired state.
In the midwife's arms, the baby was starting to make use of his wolf tail. He brushed it about, tickling the midwife's arms. He had calmed down slightly and the thrashing stopped, but the crying was still extremely loud. The midwife still didn't know what to say.
"That's no son of mine," the lady repeated, this time softer. "There is no way I could've possibly given birth to such a tiny child. Tell my husband that my child died at birth."
The midwife gasped, "I-I can't possibly lie to--"
"You don't have to lie," the lady stretched out her arm, "I'll kill him right now."
Instinctively, the midwife pulled back, holding the child protectively in her arms.
"Hmph," the lady smiled. Despite how tired she look, she still gave off an air of superiority, "So lie to my husband."
The midwife nodded nervously, her ears laid flat, showing her submission to the alpha female of their pack. Without another word, she hurried off to hide the child elsewhere and then tell the alpha of their pack the lie.
"It's all about honor," the lady whispered to herself as sleep started to claim her, "I refuse to be a laughingstock for having my first son be that tiny." After all, they were a proud pack of wolves and she was a proud alpha. She did not fight her way up just to be laughed at.
The day started with a scream.
Izuku wasn't sure what he had been dreaming about, but there was no way he could remember it now. In a hurry, he pushed his blankets off and pulled a sweater over his pajamas. Running down the stairs of his house, he quickly stepped into his shoes and ran out. He had heard the scream loud and clear from his room, which means it came from the front of the house--
"Mom! Mom! Are you okay--" Izuku froze and made a loud sound of terror himself. Around him, nearby doors of the other houses of the village were opening up to see what the commotion was about.
Lying in front of the two of them was a bloody mutilated corpse. Izuku recognized him as one of his neighbors. A trail of red led up to the body from the village gates. He must have been attacked and stumbled in while bleeding. He managed to get as far as the Midoriyas' house and collapsed, dying in the middle of the night. Perhaps he called out for help. Perhaps he fought to keep conscious. The rest of the village wouldn't know.
They slept through it.
"Ah, isn't that someone's husband? Is she here right now?" they had started to form a circle around the body and began gossiping.
"He got drunk and left the gates, didn't he?"
"Well, that's stupid of him."
Shaking slightly himself, Izuku moved over to take his trembling mother by the shoulders and lead her back inside, "They'll have someone clean up soon. Don't worry about it," he told her. He didn't even sound confident to himself.
"I'm fine," his mother mumbled, "I was just... really shocked. Right on our doorstep. I'm sure that's bad luck there."
Izuku laughed, "Don't be superstitious, Mom! These things... happen."
"They wouldn't if that pack of wolves weren't around!"
"I guess that's right."
"Okay, I'm going to start breakfast. You tend to the sheep, okay?"
Izuku nodded and went to get properly dressed for the day. After changing out of his pajamas to more durable work clothes, he got to the barn where he started pulling out oats and hay for the sheep. "Breakfast!" he called to the herd as he rang a bell. The sheep let out a couple cries before they all surrounded Izuku. "Woah, hey, hey!" Izuku laughed as he became surrounded by clouds of wool.
Excited barking came from the doghouse as the family herding dog came bouncing out with a smile on his face. He raced through the herd of sheep, making them jump to the side in a mixture of shock and fear, before coming to a halt in front of Izuku. "Good morning, Mighty!" Izuku laughed as he scratched the Border Collie behind the ears, "I'll get breakfast for you in a second."
Izuku's family was just like everyone else's. Their house was a two story building and behind it was a fenced in area. Between each of these fences, a small road ran down and to the back. Past that was the forest. For Izuku's family, they used their fence to keep sheep in. Another family next to them sold fresh vegetables so they used their space as a garden. There was another family on the other side of the village who did so as well, but they were friendly with each other. Various families owned and tended to different businesses in the village and everyone ultimately needed each other's help. There wasn't really that much competition.
The carefree scene was soon disrupted by a panicked voice followed by resounding footsteps, "Izuku!"
"Ochako! Iida!" Izuku turned around in surprise as he saw his two best friends on the other side of the fence, "Good morning!" As he did so, Mighty wasted no time barking and dashing over to greet Izuku's two friends.
"Eek!" Ochako giggled as the dog jumped about on her legs. She bent down and pet the dog, playing with him lightly before turning to face Izuku, "Good morning!" she grinned. As soon as she did so, she suddenly stopped. She stood up, leaving Mighty whining with rejection, and shook her head, putting on a more serious expression, "We saw the body outside your house! Are you alright?!"
"Yes," Izuku nodded nervously as he walked out of the herd of sheep, "Yea, both me, my mother, and clearly Mighty--" he bent down to pet the dog, "are fine. We were shocked though, he just died in front of our house."
Ochako shivered, "That's so creepy, it's like an omen. It was right under your window too, wasn't it--"
"...P-Please don't say s-something like that, Ochako..." Izuku mumbled as he furrowed his eyebrows in fear.
"Yea, Ochako, don't say stupid superstitious things like that!" Iida warned, "...It might end up coming true."
"Iida!" Izuku yelled, "You're saying superstitious things, too!"
His two friends broke into giggles and laughter, "We're just playing with you, Izuku."
"Geez, that was a really scary thing to wake up to, you know?"
"Right, right," Iida frowned, "Those damn wolves, though. We've gotta do something about them. We're losing about a person each month, this can't continue."
"Well, it can't be helped, right?" Ochako whispered, "We're living on borrowed land."
"Yes, but killing a person is completely barbaric! They could try to negotiate, but any time we try to, they just kill everyone."
"It doesn't help that they're so much bigger than us, too. They're like twice the size of an average human. I wonder why they've let us stay here for so long," Izuku said as he looked downward.
"We should fight back against them."
"N-No we shouldn't!" Ochako piped up, "That would only result in everyone getting injured! That's a terrible idea."
"But we can't just live in fear of them! We might as well be their livestock! It isn't right and they refuse to even talk with us!"
Izuku looked at his two bickering friends and frowned. Both of them raised good points. Looking at the sky, he wondered out loud, "I wish we could understand them better."
Later that evening, Izuku was reading books in his room while his mother made dinner. Today had been a nice day and he would've normally taken the sheep out in the afternoon for a short walk outside the village, but thanks to his friends joking around, he decided not to. He didn't want to be superstitious, but he was scared and didn't want to take the risk.
The book he was reading wasn't particularly interesting. It was about a young girl who got adopted into a pack of wolves. It started out nice, but it eventually became a romance and like most boys in the village, Izuku preferred stories about heroic deeds over stories about love.
It was, however, interesting how similar humans and wolves were. They ate meat and vegetables, drank water, bled... The only thing different about them were their ears and tails and their physical size. And, well, maybe their social structure was different, too, but it wasn't as if they couldn't coexist with humans.
I wonder why they don't want to get along with us.
His thoughts went back to the conversation he had with Ochako and Iida this morning. They seemed to be at a stalemate on what to do. The village council probably think the same.
"Izuku!" his mother called from downstairs, "Food's ready!"
"Okay, I'll be right there," Izuku called back down as he put the book on his desk and rolled off his bed. He ran downstairs just as his mother finished setting the table. Taking his seat, he picked up his chopsticks, "Thanks for the food, Mom--"
Crack!
BAAA!!
BAAA!!
There was the sound of something breaking and the sheep started panicking. Izuku immediately stood up and ran to the back door.
Grr!! RUFF! RUFF!!
Growl...
Whine...
"Izuku! Wait--"
Izuku didn't hear the rest of his mother's warning. Something was happening to the sheep and even Mighty couldn't scare it away. Looking out of the back door, at the back of the fence, a humanoid figure stood over the bloody body of a sheep. Around it, the sheep were running about frantically, trying to get away, but unable to get out of the fence. Mighty cowered nearby, head between his paws and tail between his legs. On top of the fence, the person was biting into the flesh of the dead sheep , getting blood everywhere. Having heard the door open, the person looked up and stared at Izuku.
"Grrr--" the person-- he appeared to be a boy Izuku's age-- growled and bared their teeth, causing Izuku to reel back slightly in fear. Without another glance, the person reached down and grabbed another sheep before jumping off the fence and bolting into the woods.
"Wait!" Izuku yelled.
"Izuku, what happened--"
"I'll be right back, Mom!"
"Izuku!"
But it was no use, Izuku had already sprinted off after the person.
Izuku wasn't completely sure why he gave chase. One or two sheep wasn't that costly. This was dangerous, he shouldn't be in the woods after sundown. The wolves were awake at this time. Still, his feet were stepping on dead leaves and broken twigs now. He was outside the protection of his village.
Deep down, he wondered if it was because he was curious.
Coming to a stop at a dirt path in the middle of the woods, Izuku looked around as he caught his breath. The sun had almost completely set now, but the sky was still a median blue and not pitch black, yet. "Where are you?" he yelled, "Hey, come out! Give me back the sheep!"
There was no answer, but Izuku heard a soft "baa" coming from the bushes on his left. Without wasting any more time to catch his breath, he dashed forward and tackled the bushes where he heard the sound.
"Ahhh! Ouch, ow, what the flying fuck?!"
"Got you!" Izuku hissed as he tightened his grip on the other person's waist, "Give me back the sheep!"
"Ow, ow, ow! Okay, fine! Have your damn sheep! Just fucking get off me already!"
The sheep was shoved into Izuku's face and all he could see was white wool. The sheep had been tossed onto Izuku's head and was now blocking the boy's vision. It kicked around and it narrowly missed hitting Izuku's ear. "Woah, calm down! Hey! Hey, boy!" he pulled the sheep off of him and set it on the ground. It immediately ran around him once before hiding behind him.
Izuku sighed, the other person must've ran off by now--
"Agghhhh!!"
Huh?
Izuku looked up and in the dim light, he saw that the boy he tackled was still here. He was on his side and clutching his left leg. His face was pressed into the dirt and he wore a newsboy cap so Izuku couldn't see what he looked like. His clothing looked the same as the villagers, but he was dressed light for such a chilly evening.
And there was blood all over him.
His clothes were stained with fresh blood and the bottom of his mouth was covered in blood as well. Izuku was sure it was from the two sheep he slaughtered. However, there was fresh blood at the cuffs of his pants and his socks as well.
"Hey, are you alright?" Izuku asked as he stood up and walked closer to the other.
"Do I fucking look alright to you?" the other snapped as he turned away from the ground. He must've done that impulsively because his eyes immediately grew wide and he tried to stand up and run away. He stumbled on his one good leg while his left leg gave out on him completely and he fell back on the ground.
"What's wrong?" Izuku asked as his eyes drifted downward to the other's ankle. He hadn't seen it earlier in the dim light, but he could see a metal claw trap clamped on his left foot now, "You got caught in one of the wolf traps they put out."
The other suddenly lunged forward and bared his teeth, "Fuck off!" He stopped with his face inches away from Izuku's, but didn't go further. With a frown, Izuku backed away slightly before pulling at the sleeve of his shirt and ripping it off. The other looked at him in confusion, "What... What are you doing?"
"You know, lamb tastes better when it's cooked."
"Huh? No, it doesn't!"
Izuku didn't respond as he reached down towards his leg. The other boy immediately flinched back due to reflex. "I want to help," Izuku said.
"It's your village's fault that I got caught in one!"
"I'm not my village, now stop fighting with me so I can help you!" Izuku snapped back in an annoyed tone and looked at him straight in the eye. It seemed to have done the trick because he suddenly went quiet. Without wasting another second, Izuku went to work releasing him from the claw.
As soon as the metal came out, he hissed in pain, "Ow! Be a little gentler, will you?" Izuku decided not to answer as he wrapped and tightened the white cloth around his leg.
"There you go," Izuku grinned and stood up, "Would you like to stay with us tonight? You are hurt--"
"Heck no! I didn't ask for this. I'm going to leave," this time, he stood up and turned around to leave. Although he was a bit wobbly on his left foot, he was able to move without trouble now. Then again, it was only hurting again because Izuku had tackled him. He had it on his foot while he was running and jumping around before and he didn't have any problems.
"..." Izuku's eyes drifted downwards and frowned, "Hey..."
"What?"
"Um, uh..." Izuku started stuttering, "M-My name's I-Izuku, it's nice to meet you. What's your name?"
The other glared at him, "Izuku? What a stupid sounding name."
"What--"
"Something like Deku would fit you better."
"What?" Izuku stared at him wide eyed. Without responding, he started to walk away, "W-Wait, what's your name?"
"You are so annoying! Go back home already!"
"Tell me your name!"
He let out a low growl and looked as though he was trying to decide what to do. Finally, he answered, "It's Katsuki."
"Okay, I'll see you another time, Kacchan!"
"What?! Shut up!" Katsuki turned to chase the other down and punch him for the stupid nickname, but Izuku had already started walking away. He was petting the sheep that kept up with him and talking to it sweetly like it was a child.
Katsuki felt his cheeks warm up.
For a brief moment, he wished that Izuku would do the same to him.