Chapter Text
The memories had become blurry—the trail of pain and screams echoing in his mind over and over again. Trapped inside his own head, Katsuki relived the humiliating moment when the chains swam like snakes in water, chasing him until they clamped around his wrists, subduing him while a tall shadow rose with an enormous sword. His eyes, like a pair of white hollows, watched him, and a sinister smile twisted on his lips.
He screamed, pulled at his restraints, but it was impossible to move. That was when the inevitable happened: the blade pierced his chest and blood filled his lungs, leaving him breathless, condemning him to an asphyxiation that didn't kill him but tortured him until he longed for death.
His eyes flew open. The ceiling before him was one he didn't recognize at all—old, made of wood. He sat up. His body ached, his veins burned, though less intensely than when Dabi had injected the poison.
Dabi.
He looked around, scanning the place. He definitely wasn't in a catacomb, nor a basement or a prison. The large room was full of tables, jars, bookshelves, and an old sofa; he was in the only bed in the place. It reeked of an essence identical to the poison. How the hell had he gotten here?
Next to the bed was a candle, half-consumed. Someone must have placed it there, so he wasn't alone. He didn't perceive any hostility in the atmosphere and, in fact, he felt the closeness of his omega. Izuku was nearby—perhaps that was why he didn't feel threatened. He got out of bed, dizzy; his stomach hurt, as did his chest.
He opened his shirt, immediately recognizing it wasn't his. The fabric was rough, of poor quality; the sensation made him nauseous. The vulnerability he must have been in for someone to have the audacity to undress and change him made him want to rip it off in one motion. His fingertips felt the skin beneath: the scar on his chest was almost closed, but it would leave a mark.
He got up from the bed, looking around. It seemed like a dirty cabin, neglected and abandoned. The scent of flowers was penetrating; however, beneath it hid a fragrance he knew. Approaching one of the tables, he picked up an old notebook, sniffed its pages, reviewed the handwriting but not the content.
All Might.
He set the book down and approached the door, perceiving a light on the other side. It wasn't the sun. He opened it, discovering a bonfire on the other side; some fish burned beside the fire, but that wasn't what filled the place with light—it was the ceiling of the cavern they were in. It was beautiful and strange at the same time; flowers covered everything, radiating a soft blue light. There was an extensive lake that shone, reflecting the luminescence of those plants. Katsuki approached the shore, contemplating the water.
The water, full of calm, was like a mirror. Katsuki looked at his haggard, dark-circled face, his paler skin and his lips, which looked purple and sickly; the scar on his chest stood out due to the brown tone of the coagulated blood. He turned around, furious, and it was then that he discovered Izuku watching him. The human—no, it was no longer correct to think of him that way—had his torso bare; a bandage crossed his chest, completely covering his shoulder, and in his arms he carried a load of firewood.
"You woke up." His voice sounded different—more subdued, more serious.
"Where are we?" He didn't ask kindly. Izuku rolled his eyes and, tossing the logs aside, let himself look exhausted.
"We're safe, for now."
"That's not what I asked." With rage, he lunged at him, slamming his back against the cabin. Izuku didn't react; his eyes seemed distant and empty. "What the hell happened?!"
"You were the one who begged for my help, and yet you act as if I were the one who pierced your chest."
"Who asked for your damn help?! Do you think you can mock me? Do you think you're better than me for saving me?" Izuku remained silent, watching him. "If it bothered you so much, you should have let me die."
"And do you think I wanted all of this?!"
For the first time, the omega reacted in the opposite way than expected, unsettling something inside Katsuki; his alpha was not pleased with that attitude.
"You think I intended to save you of my own free will? Do you think it was easy?! Do you think you're the only one suffering right now?!" His eyes shone in an emerald tone. "At least you know who you are. Your life, however difficult it may have been, wasn't a farce, nor have you discovered that everything you believed was a lie."
"Oh, let me cry for you—maybe then you'll stop lamenting so pathetically."
"Pathetic?" Izuku pushed him with a force that completely threw him off. "You want to know which of us is a true coward?" He ripped the bandages from his shoulder, revealing not only the vertical wound from the sword that had pierced him, but two small holes. "While I was dragging you out of danger, you attacked me to sate your hunger and thirst."
He advanced, making the vampire stumble as he pushed him again by the shoulder, showing him his strength. Katsuki felt completely disoriented.
"If I had wanted to, I would have ripped out your teeth."
For the first time, his alpha felt fear. He knew Izuku wasn't human, but right now he didn't even know what he was. Since his visit to Tensei, something had completely changed.
"You think you're stronger than me? Do I have to be your slave now?"
"Enough!" he shouted, rubbing his face in frustration before letting out a sigh of exhaustion. "You think I'm like you? That because I gained some strength I'm going to start acting like an idiot? There's no one here you need to impress.
"They almost killed us out there. All I want is a little rest before what's coming, because guess what: our problems weren't solved by escaping. No, we still have a damn mission out there, and you won't stop acting like an idiot. Is it so hard to just say thank you?"
Katsuki stopped for an instant. He wanted to retort, say anything to humiliate him, but suddenly everything stopped making sense. Izuku was right; he wasn't aware of anything that had happened in the last hours or days. He was just there, complaining, doing the only thing he knew how to do: throwing a tantrum.
"Izuku!" It was Iida's voice that burst in; the human came running. "I found the exit. Oh, Bakugou, you're awake."
"Fuck off."
Without saying anything more, he went back to the cabin, closing the door behind him to throw himself on the bed again. He was weak, exhausted; despite having slept and drunk blood, his body wasn't responding well, possibly because of the poison. He didn't even know how he had survived it. His last moments of consciousness were blurry, but the sensation of the omega suddenly appearing was one that didn't escape him. The security that reliving that moment provoked in him caused him anxiety. Knowing that the faint scent seeping under the door left him calm made him want to rip off his nose.
At some point he fell asleep again, entering once more into the depths of his mind, where the landscape slowly molded itself into the hills where he used to talk with All Might. The sky full of stars, the trees swaying in the wind—everything was calm. And on a rock, a boy identical to him sat watching the landscape. He wore a white fur cloak, his torso bare and his hair more wild; multiple tattoos stood out on his skin, so he wasn't an exact reflection.
"Is it frustrating?"
Katsuki sat next to him, as if he were an old friend, nodding. The strange sensation of tranquility that being next to himself gave him was something he couldn't explain with words.
"It caught me by surprise too."
"Who are you?"
"Figure it out." A crooked smile appeared on his lips; it wasn't hard to know with everything that had happened in recent months. "I didn't expect us to meet in this situation either."
"Dying?"
The other didn't respond, lowering his face slightly, maintaining that mocking smile that made Katsuki want to break his teeth. It didn't matter if he was a reflection of himself—no one was going to belittle him.
"I must be pretty desperate to have this kind of hallucination."
"You think it's a hallucination?"
"If it's not, what else would it be? My subconscious took form and now talks to me?" He clicked his tongue and advanced toward him.
"It's not a hallucination, and I'm not your subconscious. We are two entities occupying the same space; I have developed more slowly, inside you, for decades, waiting for the right moment to emerge. We must respect the hierarchy; once it changes, we have the opportunity to come out."
"What hierarchy? What the hell are you talking about?"
"You're too temperamental. It's no surprise he doesn't submit to us even with an imposed consciousness."
Katsuki looked into the scarlet eyes of his counterpart, who was so calm it drove him crazy, and spoke with such mysticism that it was impossible to stay calm.
"Cut the philosophical crap and speak clearly, will you?"
Again, he didn't respond; instead, he stood up. He was much taller than him, his body seemed more robust, and the tattoos on his skin seemed to be some kind of symbolism he didn't remember seeing. He raised his hand and placed it on his head. Katsuki felt a pain emerge, as if his skull was going to explode.
"This is my territory, Katsuki. Don't try to impose yourself where you have no power. You want us to coexist without stepping on each other?" The vampire grabbed his wrist, trying to break free from the grip, but it was impossible; it was as if all his strength had been drained. "I can help you, give you answers, but I refuse to live with someone hotheaded."
"Let go of me, you bastard!"
"Alright, I'll let you come back when you stop being a jerk."
His eyes flew wide open. His heart was beating desperately. What had that been? A dream? A hallucination? He brought a hand to his head, feeling the same pressure from seconds ago.
The cabin door opened, letting Izuku in. He carried a tray in his hand, with bandages, water, and what appeared to be medicine. He had the same face as before—subdued and resigned. He set the tray on the table next to the bed and knelt beside him. His eyes didn't shine; he seemed like the same human he had found the first time in the forest.
"I need to apply the medicine." Only then did he notice a syringe with a blue liquid and a knife. "I'm not going to poison you, Bakugou, so please, be cooperative."
The vampire didn't respond, simply looking away. He felt the damp cloth clean his skin and soon the edge of the needle penetrated his flesh. Unlike the pain Dabi's injection had caused, this felt like a gentle breeze running through his veins; an inexplicable sensation of relief enveloped him, making him feel the need to embrace the omega, but that remained just a thought.
What came next took him by complete surprise. First he felt the warmth of a liquid on his clothes; when he looked, he found Izuku's wrist full of blood—he had cut himself to offer him nourishment.
"You know you'll heal faster if you drink it, please..."
"I don't want it. I can hunt something. I've had enough of all this damn pity you're showing me."
"It's not pity, and you know you can't drink any blood other than mine."
"How...?" The question hung in the air. Izuku was sucking the blood with his mouth. Katsuki was stunned by the scene; his heart beat faster as he watched. Why...? Another unanswered question.
Izuku approached, invading his personal space, breathing the same air as him, and without giving him time to react, took him by the nape and joined their lips to deposit the liquid in his mouth. The vampire hadn't been aware of his feverish body until he felt Izuku's coldness; his mouth was cold, the delicious taste of blood intoxicated his palate, and a sensation of warmth filled his body as he involuntarily closed his eyes. He swallowed the blood, feeling a new wave of relief, but not a word left his throat.
When that sensation of coldness finally disappeared, he opened his eyes. Aware of what had happened, shame immediately invaded him. Izuku didn't flinch at all, didn't even look at him; he just took one of the bandages and covered his wrist—the fabric stained red.
"Don't make me feed you this way again."
Katsuki was about to stop him, but if he grabbed him, he would take the same spot where the wound was, so he held back his hand, simply watching him leave through the same door.
What the hell was happening now?
In the deepest part of his mind, he could hear that annoying little laugh from the alpha; now he was everyone's joke. It wasn't a kiss—definitely he had just used an unconventional method to force him to do his will. Yes, that was all it was.
"Where is he?!"
The scream resonated throughout the mansion while one of the blessed ones trembled as she changed the bandages on burned, blistered skin. The smell of the room was barely tolerable; the burned flesh and dried blood made anyone want to empty their stomach.
"We don't know anything. Not even his friends know what's become of him," reported one of the servants.
"Your brother is terribly injured. He couldn't have conspired for this."
Endeavor, who also had several injuries from Iida's light, looked through one of the windows while his eldest son screamed from the exposure to the attack.
The effect of that human's power had been greater than expected. The village was full of wounded and they didn't have enough hands to treat them, as the sores caused by that power didn't heal easily; it was as if they had lost their regenerative abilities. On top of that, Katsuki, his blessed one, Tensei, and Tenya were missing. They had searched the city and the catacombs without finding a single trace, except for the blessed one's blood that was lost at the summit of the mountain; after that, nothing.
They couldn't have left the city—at least not the humans; the barrier would have alerted any vampire to it. Something was wrong; Endeavor sensed it. Even though All Might had been dead for more than a decade, he continued to cause havoc for the coven.
"I want his head! I want him dead!"
Dabi got up from the bed, grabbing the girl who was attending him. Her terrified gaze ignited the vampire's rage even more, causing him to bite her until he drained the last drop of blood. The scene was visceral; the thick liquid dripped from his mouth like drool from a rabid dog, his eyes full of hatred made even the bravest tremble. But in his father's eyes, he was just a spoiled child; he had more important problems to take care of.
He had to find out how Katsuki fit into all the commotion Toshinori had caused more than a decade ago.
"The Bakugous—that's it." Dabi dropped the woman's corpse, wiping the rest of the blood from his lips as his wounds began to heal a bit faster.
"They've already been investigated. They don't know anything."
"Come on, it's their son. Of course they were going to hide it after what they saw." Dabi laughed, scratching the wounds on his face. "Ah... Mitsuki Bakugou needs a visit..."