Chapter Text
People are not born equal.
A lesson so engraved into Izuku’s mind, one that persisted no matter how hard he fought back.
“Theres no point in getting up.” A younger boy with large bat-like wings spoke, flapping them against the cold fall air.
Izuku laid flat on the ground, his head pinned down by the foot of a wolfboy. He wrestled against the force, grabbing the end of the wolf’s shoe with his hands. But that only caused the creature to press down harder, bending his ear inwards.
“What could a ghost possibly do against a wolf? You can’t even turn invisible.” The wolf laughed and Izuku tilted his head to see a pair of glowing eyes through the blonde’s spiked mane.
It’s true he lacked many of the abilities ghosts had at birth, which caused many to avoid him in fear he was some type of mutation. And those with more power always took the opportunity to put him in place, lest he accidentally get overconfident. But Izuku couldn’t sit by and watch others get hurt–even if the only help he could offer was a measly distraction.
“How come a weakling like you always tries to meddle in our business?” The wolf boy continued, the fire in his eyes shining. “You’re starting to get on my nerves.”
He released his foot and Izuku scrambled to his feet before the wolf kicked him back down again.
“We’re not done yet.”
The bat-like underling smiled, whispering to the demon next to him.
“Bakugo, hear this.” The demon interrupted and the wolf leaned back, letting the two boys converse quietly under the breeze.
Izuku watched as Bakugo’s face contorted into a deep sinister smile, as his tail began to sway side to side.
“Because you allowed our target to get away,” Bakugo spoke, pulling Izuku up by the collar. “You have to find someone else.”
The demon and bat boy giggled and Izuku nervously gulped. Bakugo slung an arm over Izuku’s shoulder as they began to walk towards the edge of the dark forest. One he was told to avoid countless times by his mother. He dug his heels into the dirt but Bakugo tightened his grip.
“But there’s vampires!” Izuku blurted out, desperately trying to get away.
“If you’re careful you won't run into any.” Bakugo retorted, pushing Izuku closer to the woods. “And besides, how else are you going to get me a fresh human?”
Izuku clawed against Bakugo’s firm arms until the wolf pushed him into the woods, blocking the exit with his body.
“I won’t move until you bring back fresh meat.” Bakugo growled and his underlings laughed.
“Don’t disappoint us!” “Make sure it’s healthy!” The boys added and Izuku stepped forward attempting to get past. But Bakugo kicked him back onto the ground, his expression sour.
“What the hell did I say?”
Izuku opened his mouth to speak but the words caught his throat. What could he possibly say that would change their minds? He was stuck. After a few minutes he stood up on his feet and slowly began to walk into the woods, looking over his shoulder to see Bakugo’s devilish smile. Surely he wouldn’t wait there the whole day, right?
The forest was cold and damp, a sign of the winter to come. Izuku had always been curious about the area but considering how dangerous it was, he never thought to explore it himself. Vampires were the strongest in the monster realm, their power only enhanced with age and immortality made the scale wider. There was a time they were more common, but as the centuries passed other creatures started to worry–considering at any moment the vampires could decide to kill anyone with little to no effort on their part. So slowly they were shunned out of monster society.
Their strictly human blood diet caused them to harbor the woods between the human and demon realm, making travel almost impossible. Monsters relied heavily on humans to feast but with no way to hunt them it became a waiting game. Every now and then a human would venture off too far from their world and end up here. In which they were subsequently eaten, either by wolves or demons. Thankfully for him, ghosts didn’t live off of human flesh and he was able to eat normal meals (for the most part.)
But that didn’t stop him from feeling sorry for humans, especially children. That’s why he went out of his way to let one escape from Bakugo. Even if it caused him to be harassed in return.
Izuku looked back to see trees obstructing his view of Bakugo, if he went a mile in more there wouldn’t be anything to see from behind. And in the worst case scenario, Izuku could get lost.
“How does he expect me to just get a human?” Izuku mumbled to himself, kicking the leaves on the ground until his foot caught a hidden root, knocking him to the ground.
He groaned, lifting his head and rubbing the end of his scrapped knee. It was bleeding.
Izuku panicked, rubbing it away with the sleeve of his shirt. Now he definitely couldn’t go back, if Bakugo saw this blood on him, or even smelled it, his secret would be–
The crack of a twig caught Izuku’s attention as he turned his head towards the direction and caught the shadow of a small figure, peering at him from behind a tree. Was it some sort of animal?
“Hello?” He called out and the figure twitched.
Izuku stood up and walked closer. “It’s dangerous out here, are you lost?”
The figure watched in silence as he approached, and Izuku gently reached out before his knee buckled causing him to fall forward into the stranger's grasp. They both crashed to the ground and Izuku opened his eyes, seeing heterochromic sphere’s gaze back at him. He leaned back and noticed a split in the boy's hair, dividing white from red. It was nothing like he’d ever seen before.
The boy pushed him away and Izuku immediately apologized, helping the boy up to stand.
“I’m so sorry I should’ve been watching myself.” Izuku spoke, drops of nervous sweat falling down his cheek.
The boy awkwardly nodded along which caused Izuku to stutter even more.
“But anyways, what are you doing here? These woods are off limits.” He spoke and the boy tilted his head, redirecting the question back to him.
“I uh,” Izuku gulped. “I got bored..” He blatantly lied, feeling embarrassed to admit he’d been forced into such a situation.
“But anyways!” He interrupted himself, “You should really head home, it's going to get dark soon.” Izuku spoke, believing the kid had just wandered off from the town.
But even then the boy's scent was unique, while wolves like Bakugo had a strong pine aroma and demons carried a black tar stench–the heterochromic kid in front of him gave off a smell only to be described as the soft burning of a candle.
“What about you?” The boy spoke to Izuku's surprise, even if it meant another lie.
“I'm going to wait here a little bit, until the sun dies down. Ghosts prefer the dark anyways.” Izuku joked, sitting down on the forest floor.
To his surprise the boy sat down next to him and Izuku could feel a lingering sense of responsibility growing.
“You need to go home, I mean it.” Izuku repeated but the boy did not budge, causing him to let out a long sigh.
“In any case, it'll get cold soon.” He warned and the boy nodded.
How could he get the boy to leave? It was embarrassing enough trying to hide the fact he was out there because a group of bullies were guarding the exit.
“What's your name?” Izuku asked, giving into the realization the kid wasn't going to leave on his own.
“Shoto Todoroki.”
Izuku searched his mind to see if the family name was familiar, maybe he was a neighbor or their moms had met before–but nothing came from it.
“Then Todoroki, what are you doing out here?” Izuku asked and the boy shuffled in place, was it sensitive?
“It was too loud.” Todoroki responded, lifting his knees to his chest.
Izuku pulled at the grass on the ground. “At home?”
Todoroki nodded and Izuku threw the grass strands in the air, watching them slowly fall to the floor.
“Have you been in these woods before?” Izuku asked, considering Todoroki looked comfortable it must've been a recurring practice.
“I'm always here.” Todoroki responded, which confused Izuku a bit.
“I hope you know it's dangerous, there are vampires in these woods.” Izuku scolded, “Consider yourself lucky that you haven't been snatched up yet.”
Todoroki tilted his head. “Vampires don't eat monsters do they?”
“They don't think we taste good if that's what you're asking. But they're highly territorial. Step too far and you'll be slaughtered.” Izuku held his shoulders and shuddered, thinking about an ill-fated encounter with such a terrifying beast.
“How do you know that?” Todoroki grumbled and Izuku frowned, was he really defending them?
“Haven't you been told? Every monster in this area knows not to mess with vampires. Too many accidents have happened because of it.”
Todoroki turned away and Izuku dipped his head. It's no wonder Todoroki was able to brave the woods when he didn't care about how dangerous vampires were. He needs to intervene before something bad happens.
“How about you go somewhere else when your house gets too loud?” Izuku asked and Todoroki glanced over at him curiously. “Maybe you could just stay in town.”
“And go where?” Todoroki responded, making Izuku gulp.
“You could come to my house if you want.”
Izuku closed his eyes out of embarrassment, even if he didn't want to say it there was no better option in his mind. If he was lucky the boy would lightly brush off the comment and the two of them could continue in peace.
“I can't go to town.” Todoroki spoke and Izuku’s mind halted.
“What do you mean?” Izuku sat up as Todoroki watched him adjust his sitting position to a crouch.
“I'm not allowed over there.” Todoroki mimicked him until they were both parallel from each other.
“Not allowed, in town?” Izuku repeated and Todoroki nodded.
How was that possible? According to his mother every monster lived within the safety of the village. Even if they were farther out it was still within the woods walls. Izuku had assumed that Todoroki was some type of ghoul or zombie, lacking the regular greenish color. And they were more rare, explaining the unique smell.
But could there really be a family willing to live outside of the safe zone?
“Sorry if this is insensitive, but what race are you?” Izuku finally bit the bullet and Todoroki looked down.
“Is it that important?” He spoke and Izuku could feel the hairs on his back rise.
“Considering the circumstances, yes.”
Todoroki fiddled with his hands before looking back up at Izuku.
“I'm a vampire.”
Izuku could feel his heart beat against his chest, he needed to run away–as quickly as possible. He stumbled back out of shock and hit his head against a tree, causing Todoroki to grab his wrist.
Was this really how he was going to die? From a kid vampire the same age as him?
Izuku kicked at Todoroki but the boy didn't budge, holding onto his wrist tightly.
“You lied to me?” Izuku mustered, feeling sweat form at the top of his forehead.
“If I'm not mistaken, you haven't been truthful either.” Todoroki spoke and Izuku felt a shortness of breath.
“I'm sorry for entering the forest, I was forced too.” Izuku pleaded but Todoroki shook his head.
“That's not it.” The boy leaned in closer and pulled Izuku's wrist to his nose, sniffing it gently. “I know this smell, it's faint but very familiar.”
Izuku's mind screamed at him to run away, but Todoroki's strength was overwhelming.
“You're not fully a ghost are you?”
Izuku ripped his arm away and raced to his feet before dashing in the opposite direction. He didn't dare to look back as his eyes caught into the path forward. He didn't care about Bakugo anymore, he didn't care about the scolding he'd receive from his mother. All he wanted was to get the hell out of the forest.
After what felt like an hour of running Izuku made it back to the entrance. Thankfully it was so late into the night that they all had left. He quickly made his way home, looking over his shoulder occasionally to see if the heterochromic boy followed him.
His mother cried when he stepped through the doorway, afraid he'd gone missing. He apologized, explaining that he'd accidentally fallen asleep outside. Izuku didn't want to make his mother worry more than she already had, so he decided to keep the encounter to himself.
But even then it bothered him, his whole life he's been told vampires were unruly–unable to be reasoned with. But Todoroki was calm and well mannered, besides the wrist sniffing part. One thing was for certain, Izuku could never return to the forest again.
****
Izuku's mother always tried her best, having to be the sole provider was hard enough already. She never made him feel ashamed or weak–even if he was marginally different from all the other monsters in town.
Because Izuku was part human.
His mother tried to keep it from him for as long as she could, but the lack of ghost abilities set off red flags across the neighborhood. She managed to keep the rumors down through a few medical lies but it wasn't enough to keep Izuku away from asking.
Eventually by the time he turned 6 the secret had mostly revealed itself to him, and all that was left was an explanation. His father was a human, but Izuku wasn't sure if he was still around–after all, monsters and humans could never last long term. And with how little information his mother was able to provide, it was clear he left the picture long ago.
But why would his mother go through with it? How could she bear to have a child with such an otherworldly creature?
Nonetheless, Izuku was terrified.
Terrified of being caught, terrified of what the other monsters would do to him. And realistically, how long could he even keep a secret as big as this?
It finally happened, one drop of blood and the atmosphere shifted. Bakugo was no longer the childhood bully and Izuku was no longer the weak Ghost.
“What the hell?” Bakugo cursed, rubbing the blood along his thumb and sniffing it. “Hey come here.” He spoke again, motioning over the demon lackey.
They sniffed it, frowning at the action.
“Have you been eating exclusively humans? You're starting to smell like one.” The demon boy joked and Bakugo shook his head.
“You think the bastard could afford that? If he was eating them we would know.” Bakugo scolded, grabbing Isuku by the collar. "Unless he's been hiding meat from us."
"But he refuses to eat human." The bat boy added and Bakugo leaned in to smell Izuku closer.
"Fuck that's strong. Did you bathe in blood or something?"
Izuku's heart slammed to the bottom of his stomach. What could he possibly say to convince them otherwise? It was only a matter of time before Bakugo figured it out.
"I went to the forest." Izuku spoke and Bakugo's ears perked up.
"Huh? Why'd you do that?" He asked and Izuku gulped.
"I wanted to capture a human, but they're slippier than I thought." Izuku lied through his teeth hoping the wolf couldn't smell it too. "I managed to injure it but it was too heavy to carry."
"For real?" The demon interrupted and Bakugo tilted his head, tightening his grip.
"Now why the hell would you even go for a human in the first place? You've always went out of your way to spoil our hunts."
"It's not just for me, the food supply has been drying up for months. I couldn't ignore the starving families." Izuku responded and Bakugo laughed.
"So you did it out of the kindness of your own heart huh?" Bakugo released his grip and Izuku stood up, stepping away. "We'll help you carry the body, just lead the way."
Izuku slowly made his way towards the entrance of the woods, he didn't have a plan to work off of and his adrenaline was going to run out at any moment. If he was lucky, maybe they'd run into a human on the way—distracting the three of them so Izuku could escape.
"So the forest really is the jackpot." Bakugo spoke, kicking at rocks on the ground. "If only those damned vampires didn't claim all of it we'd have plenty to eat."
"I doubt they're still here. No ones seen one in a century." The demon added and Izuku chocked on air.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Bakugo constantly looked around, lifting his nose into the air to smell anything.
"How far out is this thing?" He asked and Izuku nervously smiled.
"We're almost there don't worry."
What was he going to do? Even if he admitted to lying the smell of human would give him away no matter what. And he certainty wasn't fast enough to run away. Was he destined to be eaten alive by his tormentors?
Suddenly Bakugo halted in his tracks, lifting up his head to the air.
"What the fuck is that?" He cursed underneath his breath and the demon boy cautiously looked around.
"Is there something wrong?" Izuku asked and Bakugo pitched his nose.
"It's a damn burning smell, did someone light a match?" Bakugo asked but no one responded, causing him to growl.
"I can't be the only one fucking smelling this. It's like a bonfire." The hair on the wolf boy's tail stood up and Izuku froze in fear. It couldn't be.
A rustle of the bushes caught everyone's attention as a figure appeared from the brush. A well-dressed man with split colored hair stepped forward, his teeth stuck out from his top lip and Izuku noticed a large burn scar plastered along the right side of their face.
Bakugo bent forward, claws growing out from the ends of his fingertips. "So you bastards are real." He lunged at the figure but was met with a swift punch to the stomach—knocking Bakugo to the side.
The bat and demon joined, attempting to claw at the vampire in synchronized succession. But it was futile as the figure knocked them down instantly. The power was overwhelming and all Izuku could do was watch as it approached him. Was this how he was going to die? Alongside his childhood bullies?
He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of a punch or kick but nothing happened. Instead he felt soft gloved hands lift his wrist, and the cold breath of someone's nostrils. Was he, sniffing him?
Izuku slowly cracked his eyes open to see the vampire graze the tip of their nose along his wrist, rubbing the nook of his muscles with their other free hand. Finally they looked up at him and the figure's heterochromic eyes interlocked with his.
"We finally meet again, Izuku."