Chapter Text
They don’t want to be here. Not really.
But regardless, the two of them are sitting in the backseat of a pale yellow van, with another boy Rose’s age - fourteen - and the promise of a third, wherever they’re going. At least the backseats have their own windows, so Rose and Ichor can watch the streets of Musutafu roll by.
Ichor, being the amorphous, stringy thing made of a pitch black something that keeps themself coiled around Rose, a pair of pure golden eyes set in what seems to act as the face of their mass, which is resting snugly in the crook of Rose’s neck. Rose is the much more clearly human boy, cradling their face with one hand and holding the tendril of their mass that’s wrapped around his other firmly.
He’s rather pale, with stark white hair that falls down to his shoulders. His irises are gold to match Ichor, and he sports seemingly natural black lips, as well as black nails that end in sharp points, like his teeth, though his teeth keep the white color of bone. His surprisingly well-built arms are exposed by his sleeveless hoodie, revealing an extra black line set into his skin on each arm that covers his middle fingers in their entirety before stretching up to the middle of his upper arm, jagged spirals branching off throughout the length of it.
The van slows to a stop as Rose adjusts his wire-frame glasses, and while he focuses on the brick building they’ve stopped by, Ichor turns their eyes to the purple-haired boy standing at the curb with a small suitcase in hand. The man in the front passenger seat, his long blond hair tied up in a bun, hops out to meet the boy and guide him to the back, where he can put his luggage for now.
“Musutafa Children’s Home”, huh?
I suppose there’s a theme for Yuuei’s wards, Ichor adds silently.
Rose shrugs slightly as he focuses back on the people in the van. We’re only here to keep our heads down and keep out of trouble. As long as they don’t bother us, I don’t really care much.
A little rumbly sound, something close to the sound of an engine, comes from Ichor, though they don’t currently have any discernible mouth. It’s an amused sound, though they don’t expect anyone other than Rose to understand that.
And we’re here to win. We can’t go forgetting about that.
Rose snorts, turning his head towards theirs, only to pause and stop there, even if his and Ichor’s shared disappointment, and slight irritation, rolls over him. Of course. We might as well have fun with this trainwreck.
Their silent exchange is cut short by the side door opposite theirs opening. The slim blond boy they’d been across from has to inch over to the middle seat to make room for the new addition.
“Pardon me, messieurs,” he speaks in an almost apologetic, albeit bright, tone, though his grin doesn’t budge. “It seems we have to be a little closer for the time being.”
The purple-haired boy snorts as he slides into his new seat and the blond man shuts the door behind him, though he doesn’t chime in properly. Ichor’s focus stays mostly on him, while Rose doesn’t even spare him a glance for the time being.
“S'alright,” is his brief response after a moment, though Rose still inches further away from him, taking Ichor with him. There’s nothing to be done about it, but it’s still too close for comfort.
The scruffy man in the driver’s seat speaks up in a grumbly voice as the blond man climbs back in. “That makes all of you. We’ll do a tour of your dorms before leaving you to get settled in.”
“How about we run through introductions again quickly, for our new little listener?” The blond chimes in brightly as his friend takes the van out of park and starts driving again. “I’m Yamada Hizashi! I use any pronouns, whatever you want to call me probably works!”
“Aizawa Shouta,” the grumpier man grunts. “He/him.”
Rose snorts and mutters, “Friendly,” before speaking up properly, glancing over the rest of the van slowly. Shouta raises both eyebrows at him through the rearview mirror, but otherwise, nobody seems to take note of it. “Blackwell Rose, he/him or they/them pronouns.”
“...Ichor. They/them,” they speak up after a brief moment of hesitation, their surface swirling slowly as they wait for the newest boy’s reaction. Apart from that, they seem completely relaxed, if cold. They only want to know who could cause problems. “I am a sentient quirk.”
Quirks are superhuman abilities that appeared out of nowhere, but quickly became widespread. Most of the population has one, however, there are certain types of quirks that aren’t exactly well-accepted. Mutative quirks, that visibly change a user’s body, sentient quirks, which have their own consciousness and are in every way people in their own right, and various individual quirks that are seen as “villainous”. Ichor, with how they change Rose’s appearance, partially thanks to being made of his blood and consequently coloring his flesh, checks all three boxes. So, of course, at times, they have to be cautious.
Thankfully, while the purple troll doll blinks in only faintly visible surprise, he seems to relax some, too. Well, now both they and Rose are curious, but they aren’t eager to look a gift horse in the mouth, and instead stay silent as the purple-haired boy speaks.
“Shinsou Hitoshi,” he states in a deadpan tone. “I use he/him.”
The blond boy chimes in brightly, almost seeming relieved as the tension in the air eases up. “Aoyama Yuuga, it is a pleasure to meet you all! I also use he/him pronouns.”
Hizashi claps their hands once, grinning brightly. Seems like he’s also pretty glad everyone’s a little more friendly. After a split second though, he blinks and makes a small noise, turning to sift through his bag. “Right-! Let’s give you listeners these, before we get to the school- Make sure everything’s right, too!”
She passes an ID card back to each of them in turn, though Rose and Ichor only have the one for the two of them. They’re simple little plastic cards, but there’s also a holographic Yuuei badge on the back, like the chip on a credit card. The pair inspects the card slowly for a moment before reading it properly.
“Yuuei High School - Ward ID
Dorm Building: 1
Room Number: 3
Name: Blackwell Rose
DOB: 05/26
Quirk: Ichor”
Set beside the lines of text is the ID photo they’d been asked to take before the flight out of America to Japan. Rose offers a restrained smile to the camera while Ichor is begrudgingly included, nestled into Rose’s shoulder there as well.
“Everything seems to be in order!”
Yuuga’s confirmation, followed by a grunt of agreement from Hitoshi, brings them right back to the present quickly enough, right as Hizashi gives them a questioning glance through the rearview mirror.
“Mhm,” Rose hums evenly, letting the hand holding the card fall back into his lap. “Looks good.”
“Great!” Hizashi speaks brightly, quickly explaining the use of the cards as the drive goes by.
The IDs will give them access to the various buildings on Yuuei’s campus. Some, like the front gates and the front doors to most of the facilities, have sensors built in so the doors will open as they walk up to them, while others, like their individual dorm rooms, will require a direct scan. Each of them can only unlock their own room, which definitely comes as a relief, but staff apparently have free access to most, if not all, of the campus, depending on who they are. “In case of emergencies”, not that that makes Rose and Ichor feel too much better.
It’s not like that’s unexpected, though. Of course the staff have access to the rooms. Not to mention, this is a prestigious hero academy, which means that threats are entirely expected, and the pro heroes need to be able to get where they need to be if there’s an attack, wherever that may be. And it’s not as if they really have anything to hide. But, still .
Regardless, Rose and Ichor don’t protest, same as the other two. As that conversation comes to an end, Shouta slows the van down so they can pull through the gates of Yuuei’s campus.
A tall wall encircles the entirety of the school’s grounds, and the very first thing they notice is that everything is fucking massive . The school building itself towers over everything, but there are multiple of what they assume are those “training facilities” everyone talks about, which, for the record, are not just gyms. Two seem to be something like entire city blocks, while one is a large forested area, and who fucking knows what’s hiding in the enclosed buildings- Look, even they can’t help but be a little awed. The students here use all of that? They can use all of that?
Shouta follows the roads leading throughout the campus to a cluster of smaller buildings, just behind the main building, being maybe four or five stories tall each. The little parking lot is mostly empty, so he doesn’t have any trouble grabbing a parking spot by the doors to one of them. Everyone is herded out of the van again to grab any bags they have in the back, but, as Rose and Ichor only have their dull red backpack, they take the time to inspect the dorm buildings.
There are three in total, and while they aren’t as large as some of the other buildings in this place, they’re just as nice. Where does Yuuei get its funding, to support all of this? Each building is labeled one through three, from right to left - they’re going to have to get used to that - with warm brick walls and white columns and trim. Most of the windows are dark, but one in building two has a faint light shining in the dim evening.
“Nice place, huh?” Hizashi says out of fucking nowhere, making both Rose and Ichor jump, to which he chuckles. “Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you-”
“...You’re fine,” Rose huffs after a moment, finally pocketing his ID card and running that hand through his hair, refusing to let go of the tendril of Ichor’s mass in his other. “And yeah. Lot better than any of our old places.”
Hitoshi snorts, walking up to join them on the curb with his suitcase. “I hear that.”
Yuuga only chuckles as he steps up as well, with a silver sequin-covered backpack held in one hand. That thing was fucking blinding in the light of the airport, but out here, it’s more bearable. Thankfully.
Shouta follows after, glancing over all of them in the brief silence that follows. Then, he nods towards building one, turning off to walk to the doors. “C’mon. Let’s get this over with.”
“Sho,” Hizashi whines as they follow with the rest of the group in tow. “Try to be a little more upbeat? Lookit these kids-”
“I do not know what you want from me,” Shouta huffs in response, holding the door open for the lot of them. “I am tired, they clearly are too,” he gestures around at the four in question as he repeats, “Let’s get this over with.”
In all fairness, yes, Rose knows for damn sure that he’s exhausted. Nearly twenty hours of flights does that to you. Ichor isn’t suffering as much, considering they don’t really have the needs a human body does - as long as Rose has the energy, they can keep their form however they want it, and Rose isn’t to the point of nearly passing out just yet.
Yuuga also had to fly internationally, from France to Japan, and though they aren’t sure just how long his flight was, and he still looks unnaturally put together considering that, he has to be tired too. It looks like Hitoshi is just always sleep deprived, judging by those dark eyebags, which, first, mood, but that also proves Shouta’s point.
Hizashi seems to acknowledge that much, though she still huffs as she guides everyone into the main floor of their dorm building. “Fine, fine, grump.”
The dorms are just as cozy inside as they look on the outside. They step into the beginnings of a living area, with a large couch and a loveseat set around a dark wood coffee table, with matching round ottomans for extra seating. A large TV is set up against the wall, and the dining room is on the other side of the door, the kitchen nestled in the corner past that.
A boy with spiky indigo hair and pointy ears, maybe a year or two older than Rose, is huddled up on the couch in a white shirt and dark cardigan, though he jumps to his feet once he registers the group entering the building and bows to them. Hizashi eases again and laughs, waving him off.
“You worry too much, kid!”
That declaration does not seem to help at all, but he does straighten up again, though he stands rigidly. Hizashi turns to the rest of them, their grin back in place. “Everyone, this is Amajiki Tamaki! He’s in his second year of our hero course, and he’s currently the only other person staying in this building, so don’t worry about being crowded!”
Tamaki waves meekly, very much looking like he’d like to hide away somewhere. He doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes, but Rose and Ichor certainly don’t mind. This is better than some jackass puffing their chest and acting tough, though they can’t help their slight concern for the timid boy. He’s not gonna be a fan of sharing the dorms, is he?
Rose, Ichor, Hitoshi and Yuuga run through introductions again for Tamaki’s sake, with Yuuga as bright as the sun in comparison to the other three - that seems like it’s going to be a running theme. After that, they go through a brief tour of the first floor, Hizashi and Shouta showing them everything with very different levels of enthusiasm and Tamaki following loosely at the back. They do stop for a short exchange in the kitchen, though.
“-And the fridge and pantry should be fully stocked! Never be afraid to bother us if you need anything, though,” Hizashi says brightly, though he pauses and focuses on Rose and Ichor for a moment. “Speaking of, we weren’t sure if Ichor themself needed to eat at all. Do you? And if you do, what can you eat?-”
Rose blinks in surprise, then glances to Ichor silently. It’s really up to them if they want to say anything.
After a moment’s pause, they do decide to speak. “I do not need to eat…however, I can,” they falter just slightly before continuing. “In a way. I can only ‘consume’ blood. It gets added to my mass, making me larger.”
Hizashi seems more than a little caught off guard by that idea, and Shouta’s the one to continue. “I’m hoping you don’t mean just human blood.”
Ichor snorts. “No, not just human blood. Any blood will do. Unless you’re offering.”
Shouta offers an amused huff in response. “No. But, otherwise, duly noted.”
And then the tour just continues.
Ichor and Rose don’t get any dirty looks. Hizashi recovers from his surprise quickly enough, and nobody says a damn thing about it.
…Huh.
Huh, indeed. This is strange.
…I could get used to it.
Rose smiles just faintly, hardly enough for any of the others to notice, though he swears he gets a curious glance from Yuuga. Hm. …I could, too.
Their final stop is the second floor, where each of their rooms are. There are four doors on either wall, with the right wall being odd numbers, and the left being even. Rose pulls out his ID card again as they’re instructed to walk up to their doors, and stops in front of room three, glancing at the others curiously. Yuuga walks up to number two, and Hitoshi takes four, which means-
Rose and Ichor both look at Tamaki, feeling faint relief. They’re not quite sure why they feel so determined to keep this random kid comfortable, but if they’re neighbors, then that means they can at least keep it down and help Tamaki to a degree. Tamaki glances towards them, both nervous and confused.
“...We’ll try not to be a bother,” Rose assures him in the gentlest voice he’s used all day.
Tamaki makes a little noise of surprise, but nods as he goes back to not focusing on anyone. “...Thank you.”
Hizashi chuckles, glancing around at all of them. “Alright! You’ve just got to test your IDs on those scanners, then we’re done for today! Tomorrow, either Amajiki-kun and his friends or Sho and I will show you around whatever you want to see on campus. Until then, you can rest up.”
At that apparent dismissal, Tamaki is fucking gone, quickly using his own ID to open his door and duck inside, the lock clicking into place behind him. There’s a small pause at just how fast that happened, but then everyone looks back at their own doors, swiping the chips on their cards over the scanners under the doorknobs.
Each door clicks open quietly without issue, so Rose and Ichor nudge their door open together, curious. It already has the basics - a twin bed tucked into the corner with a nightstand beside it, a desk nestled against the wall opposite that, and an empty bookshelf adorning the last empty wall. A few boxes are stacked up between the door to the hall and presumably the closet, likely everything they had shipped ahead of them.
“Great,” Shouta huffs, bringing all eyes back to him and Hizashi. “That’s it for now, then. You have our numbers. Contact us if you need anything.”
Hizashi nods enthusiastically. “We’ll be just next door in building two!”
The four kids voice their understanding, and the two adults say their goodbyes before walking back down the stairs and out of sight.
“Well-!”
“Bye,” Hitoshi’s grunt interrupts whatever Yuuga was going to say as he follows Tamaki’s example, shutting his door behind him. Yuuga pauses, then seems to take that as his cue to follow suit, and Rose and Ichor are left behind in the silent hall.
Well then.
They decide to not hang around the eerie vibes of the quiet space, hiding away in their own room and flicking the lights on to unpack. It doesn’t take long, with Ichor hovering parts of their mass to get everything moved into place neatly, moving fluidly along with Rose. A couple boxes of books and clothes each - chest binders included, which are set at the forefront of everything else, and a brief struggle through getting their computer setup and black drawing tablet hooked up later, and Rose is ready to conk the fuck out.
He gets his phone set on its charger on the nightstand and sets his glasses beside it before flopping onto his new bed, just laying with his face buried in the simple red linen bedding for a good ten minutes.
You’re going to hurt yourself if you try passing out like that.
Rose still doesn’t budge.
Ichor produces another one of those amused little rumbles, hovering beside him on the bed. I will lift your dumb ass up myself if I have to.
He turns his head to grin at them at that, amused and much more relaxed with the door shut and locked firmly, leaving no chance for anyone to bother them. Please do.
Without hesitation, Ichor’s mass splits to hold Rose steady as they do, in fact, lift him up easily, more little tendrils pulling the covers back to set him neatly on the mattress. The tendrils then wrap around the black marks over Rose’s arms, and Ichor nuzzles their head into Rose’s chest as they pull the blanket back over the both of them.
Rose chuckles softly, wrapping his arms around their mass and kissing their forehead gently, fondly. Thank you, darling.
Ichor makes a happy little chirring noise in response this time, shifting their face and forming a mouth just to kiss Rose properly before snuggling into him. Absolutely worth it, they’ve been waiting for this since they left their old home in America. Anytime, doll.
They could spend a bit of time chatting about their impressions of Yuuei and their fellow wards, their plans for the week they have before they have to start sitting in on eighth year classes, on and on.
Or, they could cuddle thoughtlessly while Rose drifts off, comfortable with his bodymate, his partner, despite the unfamiliar place.
That sounds like a much better plan.