Chapter 23: A Disaster is Brewing Afar

The world had crawled to a stand still. It hadn't slowed down due to his enhanced senses, it had stopped.

His eyes (now he had two of them once more) picked on every detail from his surroundings. From the way the pro heroes stared fearfully at him, the manner which some straggler civilians outright were expressing panic, from the way the media press was shocked with the recording they had just captured. Everything was as still as one frame in his eyes. His blood red eyes, orbs of pure crimson swimming inside a river of pure black. Izuku saw his reflection on the camera's lenses, aware that at this exact moment he looked exactly like a monster that had just crawled from hell.

His costume wasn't that damaged, but the blood that spilled from the Nomu over his coat gave Izuku the image of a cold-hearted killer. The body by his feet also did nothing to disuade the onlookers of the opinion that Izuku had just crossed a line a hero was never meant to. The vampire was deaf to the world around him.

No.

Saying that he was deaf was wrong. His perception was just too fast, so the sounds still had yet to reach him. For the first time in his life, Izuku had fully drained a living being of all its available blood. The rivers of life that flowed through the flying Nomu were extinguished. Izuku had drained it dry. All the powerful life force now run its course inside Izuku, empowering him beyong even his most powerful use of [Rage]. He could feel it deep within, the immense satisfaction of the [Inner Beast] feasting on the blood, using it to strengthen his body and cultivate the quirk-factors inside him. All the previously so difficult factors were being decoded with extreme efficiency.

Izuku could only stare at the camera crew that was filming him, aware that his actions would surely be exposed to Japan, if not the entire world. He wondered why he was lacking any feelings of nervousness. It was as if he was on a high, the sweet taste of life still burning at the tip of his tongue and at the back of his throat.

He slowly turned to face the Hero Killer's unconscious body. His face betrayed no expression as Izuku commanded his shadows to wrap around the criminal, thightly securing the villain into their embrace. The vampire then faced the highest ranker hero among those present, slowly making his way to one stunned Endeavor. His senses picked on Edgeshot's arrival, Janine right behind the man. The duo of ninjas approached him with firm steps, the vampire easily picking on the sound of ninja-wire wrapped around his sensei's hand.

Izuku stopped and turned to the shinobi hero, his shadows following suit and presenting the villain almost like a pupil hunter presents the results of his hard work to the senior hunter. The black matter was wrapped around the villain in a shibari-knot technique, leaving no chance for Stain to flee.

Time finally seemed to return to move at a normal pace to Izuku, his senses being slammed by a barrage of noises. His eyes kept their dark look, no matter how much the vampire wished for them to return to his usual greens, but now he could finally function like a human being again. He shook his head a bit, using the sleeve of his coat to wipe the remainings of a gunky fluid that coated the left side of his face.

"Alucard, are you in control of yourself?" Edgeshot's voice was firm, the hero fully prepared to deal with any situation that might happen.

Thankfully, Izuku slowly raised one hand, giving the pro a thumbs-up and a wide smile, his fangs in full view. "Yes, sir! I think I...caught a villain too?" Izuku normally wouldn't be this giddy, much less make these sort of "jokes" in public, but he couldn't help himself, he was too giddy due to the amount of blood consumed. Almost like a child that had too such sugar before bedtime, he couldn't keep the happiness at bay at his accomplishments. His brain was working fast, much faster than usual and much faster than what Izuku could make happen, thus now that the danger was contained, his attention was turned to his actions. And what actions indeed! Saving Iida and Native, subuing the Hero Killer and defeating a Noumu. All in a single evening of hard work. It was insanely impressive, nothing short of astonishing work that would jump up the career of any rookie hero into high gear and status.

The shinobi hero nodded to his apprentice, the stoic face showing the barest hints of the pro's appreciation for his pupil's hard work. Edgeshot's wrist flickered, Stain's body safely secured in ninja wire; Janine, on the other hard, immediately rushed to the vampire's side and began inspecting him for any remaining damage. Her hands grabbed a hold of the hemomancer's face, worried purple eyes searching carefully for the tiniest cut.

It seemed that as soon as Edgeshot "secured" Stain's uncounscious body, a spell had been broken. The heroes around the plaza stormed to the shinobi hero, wanting to clarify the happenings of the evening. It was clear that some incredible developement had happened outside of their eyes, the heroes just catching the last moments of action as the vampire appeared on the scene, followed by the villain. The media guys were unhesitant to approach too, but their efforts were for naught. Edgeshot whistled loudly, suddenly 50 meters away from the circle of bodies surrounding him and his crew. Kodoku (Janine) and Alucard (Izuku) followed right behind the man, the group not to far from the police cars and ambulances that were sent as reinforcements to the locale. The men and women in blue uniforms flinched in place as the group of silent Lurkers appeared on their zone, their VIP guest brought in toll due to the Shinobi's ninja wire and the Vampire's shadows.

When Izuku tried to hand his capture to one of the cops, a man with cat features, he noticed the cop incredibly hesitant to approach him. His enhanced vision allowed Izuku to see Officer Nemaru (or so the name tag on his badge said) hover his hand/paw over the pistol holstered by his hip; Izuku felt insulted, but his mood was still high from all the blood running its course inside him. So to avoid further trouble, the vampire recalled his shadows, the only thing sustaining Stain upright. The cat officer was forced to rapidly grab the falling (and still restrained) Stain, allowing Izuku to simply turn around the meet his teacher and his shinobi friend.

Flashes of cameras began to light up constantly, photos and videos being recorded by the various devices around. Izuku really wished that the civilias were evacuated instead of being alllowed to hang around this still dangerous area. There was no information if more villains were attacking, or for what purpose the Noumu had so coincidentally wreaked havoc on Hosu at the same time the Hero Killer was on the prowl. The gawking pros around him could be doing something to mitigate the situation instead of staring at him. It soured his good mood, making the previously pleased expressiong that painted Izuku's face to morph into something expressionless. Almost as if the previous expressions he had displayed were no more than easily descartable masks one could put on and off with no problem whatsoever; it sent shivers running down the spines of the more weaker-willed individuals.

The vampire craned his neck to the side, a popping sound being released. He sighed in frustration at the flashes, his black-sclera blood-red eyes turning back to his internship choice. The pro shook his head as he looked around, his gaze stopping at his charge and newest apprentice. They said no words as they exchanged gazes, the pro then turning to face his second-in-command, The Poison Mist Hero.

"Kodoku, take Alucard and quickly get his statement; he needs to rest back in his home. I shall take care of everything else happens, just help him report his encounter and drop him to his house." Edgeshot said, crossing his arms and standing almost like a bastion of unmovable determination. Izuku felt thankful for the man's branch of hope and rest. He gave the man a nod, turning to meet his partner. The girl gave her acknowledgement to her superior, quickly scanning their surroundings to find a high-ranking officer. Almost as if on fate's command, Izuku's eyes locked on a familiar frame, a person whom he was used to meet on a somewhat frequent base before he began training to enter U.A and earn his future hero's license.

Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi

The man was dressed in his usual coat, making the vampire wonder when was the last time he had taken a shower, considering the strong smell of coffee and expired deodorant that emanated from the detective's body.

"Good evening Izuku-kun, Kodoku-san." The officer's face was oily, and it was clear that he had been awake for far too long for it to be healthy, and would be awake for many more hours due to this situation. Well, at least the vampire would be talking with a familiar face instead of stranger, who most likely woud be pretty suspicious of Izuku. "It seems that everytime we meet Izuku-kun, you seem to find yourself into some troublesome situations. If you missed me that much, a simple visit by the presinct or a call would have sufficed." The detective joked, taking off a notepad from his coat and approaching the duo.

Izuku smiled, approaching the man without any hesitation. Janine raised an eyebrown at the duo, but followed behind the vampire like she was instructed to do.

[XXX]

[XXX]

It took the better part of an hour before Izuku was released by the detective, the vampire also due another interrogation before the weekend ended. He didn't mind it, but Janine seemed to be annoyed at the protocol. The vampire was taken by the kunoichi back to his home, their silent steps as they crossed the Hosu and reached the Dagobah city area all that happened on their way. Janine seemed to want to talk about something, but ended giving up on whatever subject was crossing her mind; Izuku almost decided to coax her to talk, but he figured that whatever it was Janine would need some more time to come to terms and talk to him.

He had an idea of what she might want to talk about. His injury, the fact that she had authorized him to go on a ultra-dangerous mission, how his image on the media might be permanently tarnished, or how she should have been by his side. All were valid topics that could be brought on the table as conversation, none of which Izuku really wished to discuss. He, never for a single moment, had blamed anyone else for the happenings of the night. Whatever may happen, Izuku was happy with his decisions today. He saved two people, aprehended a heinous villain and prevented the crippling of many more heroes and had ended the suffering of one lost soul. He was happy with the results of the night, no matter what the talltale media spun.

The vampire could still feel the tingling in his tongue, the taste of life and death. His [Mesmerize] had grown, Izuku himself had grown. As he stared into the empty eyes of the Noumu, the vampire found himself staring into a void. No, a void would be endless and impossible to traverse; the easiest example he could make to compare Noumu's mind was that it was a hacked computer. A system that had been tweaked endlessly past the point it could handle, and then forced to support the programs installed into it until it sacrificed everything that wasn't processing power to run the programs. A one-purpose machine that could obey one to two simple orders, since anything more complicated would bug the "machine" out and restart it to the standard orders.

The only problem was that the "machine" was a human being. The blood would never lie, it was the root the life and death; blood would never lie to him, since Izuku was its Lord. Noumus were once humans, but now the creatures were aanything but. Their flesh was modified, enhanced beyond what should be normal; their bodies had been filled with quirks that did not belong to them, pushing the mind to its limits; their spyche long been shattered to only be able to follow orders from its creator or someone like Izuku, an interference outside of any pre-prepared plans.

Hence, as Izuku peered inside the shattered mind of the Noumu, he saw no way to fix this "programming". He could attempt to run an opposing "code" inside the creature's mind, but all that would accomplish in the end would be a transfer of ownership. There was no way to fix the destruction already caused inside the individual's mind, as there was no mind left to restore. Shattered fragments were all that remained, too broken and weathered to be fixable; the only remaining stable part being the quirk-factors that could be deployed. Thus, Izuku decided to terminate this "machine"...

No...

This abomination of nature that could only be created by some sickening and completely twisted individual.

Izuku recalled the cerulean-haired villain, Shigaraki if he wasn't mistaken, and his painful quirk that desintegrated anything he touched. The vampire was sure that the man-child wasn't capable of this, he seemed too unstable, too reliant on someone else to be this bastion of unrestlessness and horror. He sighed, trying to calm his mind. A shiver run down his spine, his blood picking up on the barest fragments of something else besides the three quirk-factors o the Noumu he had consumed. If he could exemplify in coding terms, a backdoor access. Something that could always reach the system and modify it, regarless of the limits of the "machine".

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Izuku was snapped out of his mind (and the gripping feeling in his heart) by Janine's touch, the vampire realizing that they had finally reached his mother's appartment complex. He blinked a few times to dispell the haze that built up, the kunoichi worriedly looking over him.

"Are you really okay?" Her question was followed by the tender touch of her hand on his left cheek. Izuku closed his eyes in satisfaction, thankful for the distraction of his deeper thoughts. He took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of wolfsbane that emanated from her and nodded. The vampire smiled at the kunoichi, turning to the door of his apartment and taking another deep breath to knock on the door. His knuckles barely rasped against the door before it opened, the swollen red eyes of his mother hitting his heart something fierce. Janine had taken a few steps back, giving the vampire one last pat on his shoulder before she went away and let him have his much deserved rest.

As he slowly made his way inside the apartment, his mother tightly clinging to his frame, his eyes spotted another mess of hair. No sooner he stepped on the living room, his back was taken by his friend/girlfriend, his body surrounded by the heat of the two most precious women in his life. He guided them to the couch, slowly easing them to better embrace the women; he almost forgot the bloody overcoat, as did the two, but he mustered some effort to use his shadows to strip him off the heavy defensive gear. It had already stained the clothes the women were wearing, but at the least he managed to control the mess.

Inko's trembling lips could not make any cohesive sentences, the woman just nuzzling against the left side of his chest. Mei was silently hugging his right side, silently consoling herself with his presence and warmth. It made Izuku remember again that he had people that worried about him, even if he was "immortal". Logic and emotion battled inside his mind as he tried to hum a soft song, trying to ease their worrries about his situation. Luckly for him, his phone had been damaged on his bout against Stain and thus would not disturb him with any social media or messages. He was sure that television would be a storm in a few hours, but for now he wanted to appreciate this warmth with his family.

After fifteen minutes of this quiet rest, mama Midoriya rose from her seat.

"H-hey sweetie. How about you change clothes? A warm shower? Some food?" Her voice crackled, but the woman rebuilt her pacience and spirits to comfort her son. She pulled him from the couch, Mei refusing to part from her Izuku. She clung to his back, her fists tightly holding his shirt. Izuku slipped his hands onto his back, holding Mei easily on his back. He nuzzled his face on Mei, the girl retributing his tender touch.

"Sure mom, all of that will be good." His voice was deeper than normal, his eyes were changed and overall it seemed almost as if Izuku had grown ten years into the span of a few hours, but in the end Izuku would always be her baby boy Izuku. Inko wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater, nodding to her son and taking his coat from the ground. She stiffled a laugh, looking at the tiny stains off blood on both the clothing and her carpet. Izuku glanced back to see what his mother was laughing at, easily spotting the crimson dots. "I'll help you clean out."

"L-later, sweetie! Go rest a bit."

He walked slowly to the bathroom, exchanging soft nuzzles with Mei. He entered the room and the girl finally descended from his back, immediately helping the vampire to strip his heavy clothing. Izuku wasn't hurt physically, but he was mentally exhausted. The shower nozzle let warm water rain over his body, Mei also stripping and once more hugging his back. The intimacy right now was more than enough for the vampire, and he finally let his guard drop. His tense muscles finally relaxed and Izuku finally felt safe.

He exhaled, leaning his arms against the bathroom wall as water cascaded down his body, Mei hugging his back and lending him some much needed warmth.

Izuku had no tears to cry. He knew he had done the right thing, freeing a soul from the shackles of suffering and destruction. So...

Why did it feel like he had commited the worst sin thinkable? How and why was his heart hurting this bad?

Izuku drowned the feelings brewing in his heart as he focused on the warmth coming from his back, Mei's heat being the anchor that held him in a safeport in the storm of his mind. He stood under the shower for quite some time, Mei never leaving him or complaining. Finally, after half a hour, Izuku turned the shower off, thankful that Mei had already filled the tub with warm water. He turned to the girl, hugging her and taking a whiff of her neck, drowining his senses in her smell.

" 'Zuku..." her voice calmed his wild heart, the girl once more guiding him to the tub. As he laid on the water, Mei sat on his lap and leaned her back against his chest. He hugged her, stealing a soft kiss from Hatsume and enjoying her presence. Sex was the farthest thing on his mind right now, since this moment was a thousand times better than some quick release of lust. A person who he could lean and leave his back to, someone who knew his weaknesses and covered for them.

Izuku had little words for this, but those words were something where he poured all his heart and sentiments into. He leaned into Mei, his mouth right by her ear.

"Mei...

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I love you!"

He said those words, because they were the truth. It took something fierce to enter his heart, and Izuku felt that those wrods were losing their meaning more and more in the current age of the quirk heroes, where "love" was declared by any and everyone with the slightest sliver of positive feelings towards something. For Izuku, these words came from the bottom of his heart. Ever since he had been with Mei, the girl had always been there right by his side, accompaning him throught thick and thin. She offered her blood, body and soul to him. And now, he felt was giving her portion of these feelings back.

"Zuku, I love you too!" Her soft whisper of an answer was all that he needed. It did not make the weight in his chest go away, but it eased the pain.

[XXX]

[XXX]

Unknown Location

02:35 A.M.

The room was almost pitch black, except for the illumination coming from a few monitors. The screens displayed a multitude of channels, but all of them held something in common: their main topic of coverage.

Right in the middle of the room stood a mechanical chair. It was an amalgamation of tubes and lines, either giving nutritive paste to the person sitting on it or feeding it medicine. The person was wearing fancy clothing, the black slacks and white shirt being of a famous brand. A particular channel lit up, casting its light upon the person at this throne and revealing it to be a man. Or what one could consider a man, as the top part of his head was a mish-mash of scarring tissue and misshapen flesh; at this point it was either a miracle or a terrible curse that this man was still alive.

He leaned his cheek on his right closed fist, his lips splitting into a disturbingly sinister grin. The man seemed amused with the news, his grin showing perfectly white teeth. A smile usually showed happiness, but it seemed wrong for this man to be expressing any type of joy.

He hummed in a pleased manner, his free left hand raising itself from the arm rest to request for something.

"Yes, master?" A baritone voice answered the man's call, a purple-black mist dressed in a bartender suit appearing out of thin air to heed the commands of this...man.

"I take that Shigaraki has seen the most recent news, yes, Kurogiri?" Tha man's tone would chill down to the core anyone that heard it. A firm and serene voice that seemed unperturbed by the fact that its owner was missing half his head.

"Master Shigaraki has heard them alright. He has been venting his anger on the bar for the last hour, and shows no signs of calming down anytime soon. I fear our hideout will be permanently destroyed if he is allowed to continue like this." Kurogiri explained, his acrid yellow eyes scanning his supposed master's face for any sort of expression. It was just short of impossible to discern anything from the missing face of the man that sat on this techno-throne.

The man released another amused noise, his lips stretching further into his "smile".

"There has been quite some time since I felt this emotion in my heart; I suppose the last time I felt it was five years ago." The man monologued, speaking to no one in particular, letting his subordinate to wait until he was directly addressed. "Don't you find it exillirating, Kurogiri? When you suddenly find a new toy that is just the best? Something shiny and unique, without an equal?" His words prompted the gasseous bartender to muse an answer.

"I can't speak about toys master, but if the feeling is anything like finding a new mix of drinks or flying freely in the sky, then I might understand your feelings. May I guess that this matter relates to the young man on the spotlight in the media? The one that defeated the Hero Killer Stain and killed one of our Noumus?"

The man on the throne fixed his posture and gave a few slow claps to his subordinate's answer, hands pointing to the monitors, where a picture of Midoriya Izuku was displayed. "This quirked world of ours is full of innovation and mysteries, Kurogiri. People finding new quirks and new ways to use those quirks, it makes my heart beat so vigorously! And to find one that is so akin to mine, it is among like meeting a destined soulmate! Only my dearest brother has managed to ignite such passion in my heart!" The man stood from his throne and walked closer to the monitors, stopping a few feet away from them, with his back turned to the [Warp]-quirk user. "Tell Shigaraki to calm down and think about his failures. I'll call him later to offer more advice, just make sure that he understands where he has failed and how he can improve. I'll always be here to help him out, but sometimes a stern talking is what is necessary for kids to grow up."

"As you wish, master."

The gasseous being dissapeared out of the room, leaving the man alone once more. He returned to his seat, once more leaning his head against his fist. "[True Ancestor], huh? I wonder what kind of quirk you are. No, that is the wrong question. Midoriya Izuku, what kind of being are you? I'm so excited to meet you!" The faceless man spoke to himself, raising his free left hand to what could be considered eyesight. The tip of his fingers flashed into a mass of solid black tendrils with red lines running throught them. "Immortality through vampirism, huh? I can't wait to see it in action again!" The gross smile of the [Symbol of Evil] split his lips one last time, one of the screens changing from the television feed to just a black screen.

[Audio Only]

"Doctor, I hope that the productions are doing well."

"The High-Ends are difficult to make, All For One. My [Double] can only do so much with all the quirks you have given to me." The other voice belonged to an old man in a lab coat. His feed had a video, whereas the man in the black room had not. The doctor (one could assume due to his lab coat) was seen pacing around his room, coming in and out of the sight of the camera of his video link. He suddenly stopped, turning to fully focus his attention to the lenses. "Unless I could experiment with the power of your true quirk?" The doctor asked. Even when only receiving audio from the man sitting on the throne in the black room, the doctor could feel sweat pool at on his back and eyebrows.

"My dear doctor, your greediness is truly astonishing. I guess that is to be expected of the man that wishes for immortality." All For One, or so was the man called, spoke in a flat tone, with hints of amusement tinging his voice. "However, it is not time for you to experiment with it. I, however, might have a candidate for the task at hand; it might even solve all your current problems with stabilizing the High-Ends, give you your wish and grant me one of my own. Tell me, dear doctor, how do you feel about vampires."

"Ohohohohoho, interesting..."

[XXX]

[XXX]

Hero Association Comitee Headquarters. Tokyo, Japan.

The Next Day

"You cannot tell me, in good conscience, that this could be worthy behavior of a hero student!" A feminine voice shouted from the stand where the person sat. Grey femme suit, brown channel-cut hair and quite tall, the woman pointed at the Shinobi hero, who sat quietly on his chair. The hero sat calm, collected and cool, letting the woman shout and keep this disgraceful display. She pointed at a monitor, the screen playing over and over the recording that was put out live on the open channels. It showed Izuku shocking the villains and then draining the Noumu creature of its blood. Never at any point the Shinobi Hero seemed to be worried about the acusations, his crossed arms and stoic expression mocking any and every word that came out of the woman's mouth.

There was plenty of whispers among the members of the comitee of the Hero Association, many wondering what would be the response from the population after they witnessed a hero student commit such aggressive acts. In technicallity alone, Midoriya Izuku had broken a few rules that normally would blacklist him and have the teen either banned from most hero schools or behind the bars of a highly secure prison. Yet, as violent as the situation happened, the young vampire had done more than his share of good: rescuing a gravely injuried hero and another student from the clutches of death at the hands of a psychopath that had been on a wild killing spree against heroes, capturing said villain and even another one that was causing havoc. The teen's actions had saved many lives, and if the comitee punished him, there would be bad press for sure.

That was without considering that Izuku was being backed by Edgeshot, the current Rank 5 pro-hero in the of Japan. The Shinobi Hero was one of the few that worked on Black Ops for the government, together with Hawks. Pissing off the ninja would not result in anything good for them, even if the majority of the comitee didn't knew of it. Which was why the pro was so calm and confident.

"...and as such, I believe that Midoriya Izuku should at the very minimum be confined and kept in a government's facility until we can fully study and analyze his quirk!" The woman finished her speech, turning away from the jury and facing Edgeshot, confident that her arguments would pave the way for the vampire's immediate arrest.

Edgeshot was still in his seat, arms still crossed over his chest almost as if the pro had no worries in his life. He stared past the woman, straight into the eyes of the Head of the Association, Marikawa Abe. The man was the very definition of a politician: fat, balding and a cunniving weasel that would say and act whatever bit kept him in his seat of power. Such was the fate of the political games played by those at the top, thinking themselves lords over the lives of the common man and thinking of heroes as mere public servants that should obey each and every order called out by the powers be.

The pro kept his firm gaze upon the man, making sure that his silent message was properly conveyed. After a few seconds, the cold eyes of the ninja fell over the woman.

Marikawa Kubane, a distant cousing of Abe, and one major pain in the ass for the underground heroes like Eraserhead and Edgeshot himself. "Nobles" born with silver spoons stuck in their mouths that thought they knew everything there was to be about any matter. They would always try to pass on laws and amendments that in paper were good, but in practice reduced the power of heroes out there in the field. They had done it to the police, reducing the hard-working men and women in blue to become nothing more than glorified guards, only those high in rank capable of truly breaking away from some of the red-tape and buorocracy that was imposed over them.

Heroes had been able to escape those circumstances due to their very nature and the efforts of one great bastion of power. All Might.

Putting those thoughts aside, Edgeshot hardened his gaze and let the sligthest bit of killing intent out.

"Are you done? May we get serious here?"

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The majority of the suits and paper-pushers would be floored, had there not been chairs behind them. Kubane herself fell to her knees, uncapable to understand what had just happened.

"That is what Midoriya Izuku faced out there, before he even completed his first year of hero education. Is it right for him to do so? No, it was our mission as pro heroes to stop much thing from even happening in the first place. However, we cannot pretend it did not happen; a young man faced a great challenge, and he emerged victorious for the sake of society. Yet here we are, discussing if he should be punished for behaving more heroically than the majority of our so called pro-heroes. I find this very insulting." The Shinobi Hero stated, uncrossing his arms and raising his gaze back towards Abe. The sweat accumulated around tha man's forehead made it shine, indicating that Edgeshot was successful in his intimidation.

He glanced around the room, finding no opposition to his view. His eyes then finally returned to Kubane, gaining a certain...death glaze over over.

"Besides, Midoriya is my newest recruit and internee. His training was top notch, even among my best students. If he used the means that were shown there, it meant that those methods were necessary. I vouch for all his actions, and should this board still find any fault, I shall face them in his place. He is my responsability after all." The pro finished his piece, waiting for the official decision from the board.

Abe took a cloth from the inside of his suit, wiping the sweat off his forehead before the councelors by his side leaned in for a private conversation.

"Very well, Edgeshot-san. The veredict that this board has arrived shall be read now. Midoriya Izuku is hereby considered...

[XXX]

[XXX]

Since the incident had happened on a Friday, Izuku stayed home the entirety of his Saturday, lazily resting and getting spoiled by both his mother and Mei. Sunday came and had Izuku wake up as early as always, the vampire surprisingly content with just his breakfast. As his [Thirst] had yet to rear its head over, the vampire opted to stay on the side of caution and bring his thermo with some spare blood. He put on his hoodie and made sure to cover up his face, almost by the door.

"'Zuku, the bed is cold, where are you going?" Mei emerged from his room, dressed into an oversized shirt and sporting a mess of bed hair. She made her way towards him, immediately clinging to his frame once she got close enough.

Izuku easily carried her, his right arm draped around her waist enough to keep a hold of the girl close to him.

"I'm going to the beach. The Urarakas texted mon for me and they said that they managed to finish the gymnasion, so I wanted to have a look. Besides, I need to test out something." He explained, giving the mechanic a quick peck on her forehead. It was clear she was not content with his decision. "I left a note to mom by her bedside and even woke her up. don't know if she listened to me properly, but there was the note too. You certainly are not one to wake up early, so I figured that I'll let you rest up for a bit more." his explanation was brushed aside as the girl climbed down from him, pulling on his hoodie until she had dragged Izuku back into the kitchen.

"Make me breakfast."

The vampire tilted his head sideways, but decided to not rebute. As he began to work on the meal, Mei skulked to back to the bathroom. The vampire's enhanced hearing allowed him to hear when Mei had turned on the shower, and even her tiny squeal as cold water hit her body. He laughed, working on the tradicional American-styled breakfast that she seemed so found off. He would make something more Japanese if he had a bit more time, but he was in a bit of a hurry. It was still early in the morning, and since it was Sunday, Izuku couldn't picture many people to be out and about, but it was better to avoid them entirely if he had the chance.

Still, even now is a good time to test a few things out, Izuku poundered, allowing both blood tentacles and shadow tendrils to emerge from him. His control over the life liquid felt exponentially more precise, the teen crossing his arms and letting the temporary limbs do his work. Since the tentacles had no bone, they could move in a variety of ways that far surpassed the limited range of his arms; the shadow tendrils by his feet were also stronger, seemingly more flexible now as a faux human shape appeared on the corner of the kitchen. It was a pale and poor imitation of a "clone", but it could serve as a distraction or as a sneak attack to break the concentration of others and allow him a free attack.

With the help of his extra "limbs", Izuku finished the food quicker than he predicted. Since his phone had been damaged and he would not be able to put it to repairs until Monday, the vampire merely closed his eyes and waited for Mei to finish dressing up, as he could hear the noises of clothing rustling. The vampire tried to do a mind dive, but he was sure that it would take more time than what he wanted, so he contended himself with grabbing another mug of coffee and waiting for Mei.

Five minutes later, the girl once more came out of his room, but this time wearing a loose cargo pants and a black t-shirt that hugged her frame a bit on the tighter side. She was also carrying a backpack with her, her steampunk-themed glasses hanging out from the bag.

"You look good." He complimented, seeing Mei sit down and immediately attack her meal. He noticed a tiny blush dusting her cheeks, but made no comment on it, merely drinking his coffee.

Mei mumbled something as she swallowed her meal, the vampire hearing it and allowing his lips to quirk up, a somewhat mischievous expression remaining over him. He was almost tempted to tease Mei a bit over it, but decided to hold back.

The meal done, and the dishes left on water, the duo finally left the apartment and took a train to their destination. The stations were mostly empty, a few passangers besides themselves present and none seemingly interested on the couple. That suited Izuku just fine, as he and Mei rode the train until the station. Leaving their ride, the duo began their walk to the beach, the silent between them comfortable.

The vampire was the first to hear the sounds of the waves, but Mei could see it first. She unentangled their arms and began running in front of him, happy to be close to his private land. It would guarantee that they could test out whatever he wanted to do, and she could test out the babies she had designed for him. Mei ran until she found the beach front, following the low fence parallel to the sea until she was near his buildings. And then she stopped right, her pupils enhancing her vision until she ccould see a group of people in front of Izuku's property. Close to twenty men, all wearing hardhats and proper construction work attire, were in front of the gym/warehouse, blocking someone from entering the place. Mei wondered what these people were doing here, leaning her body back until she hit Izuku's chest , the vampire right behind her.

She pointed to the direction of the people. "So, you rented your place before we even broke it in first?"

If it was an innuendo or a legitimate question, the vampire didn't know. Since it came out from Mei, it could be either, or both; he wasn't sure which made him happier.

Leaving his more lewd thoughts aside, Izuku grabbed the girl into a princess carry, a mist-like smoke emerging from his body. Considering [Advanced Hemomancy] and [Shadow Control] had been improved, the teen was sure that his other powers had also been given a boost.

"Let's try this one. [Warp]!." He exclaimed, feeling energy leave his body before the ground under him shifted and changed its feeling. Whereas before he was stepping over smooth concrete and asphalt, now he was clinging to the wall of his gym, Mei firmly secured by blood tendrils as he looked down at the workers of the Uraraka Company. The group of men were stopping three figures from entering the building.

"Look, I'm telling you! Midoriya is our friend! He allowed us to train here." The voice of a known female echoed. Orange hair and one side ponytail, Itsuka Kendo was being stopped by the construction crew. By her side stood two of her classmates whom Izuku had yet to meet. One guy who had a shiny, steel colored mat of hair and fierce eyebrows, while the other one was a girl with shoulder-length dull green hair and a mischievous expression.

The leader of the construction crew shook his head, taking his hardhat off to fix his sweaty hair before he put the gear back on. "Yeah missy, I 'ave seen you play 'bout with the boss, but I ain't seen your two friends 'ere once before! 'Sides, that was out there on the beach. This here is a surprise for 'im, so we can't let you lot just wander inside when even 'im hasn't seen the thing yet, ya dig?" The man spoke with a rather heavy accent, running his hands under the side of his jaw and messing with the stubble growing there. "If ya wanna meet 'im so bad, how 'bout you wait a bit more? I texted his ma, so the boss should be 'round here soon."

Itsuka sighed in frustration, looking at her friends and giving somewhat apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry guys, it seems we'll have to wait a bit more."

The boy by her side huffed, clearly annoyed by the situation. "Come on, pres! I don't really see what you see on this guy that is so special. Sure, he's got some fancy quirk, but do you really believe that he defeated Stain? That had to be fixed!"

The green-haired girl on Itsuka's side snickered to herself, her smile taunting the other teen. "Ohh, what's this? Little Tetsu is jealous of the big, bad vampire? You really believe anything that Monoma says when it comes to Kendo-chan, right?" Her smirk made the other boy blush a bit, hurriedly trying to defend himself from the acusation.

"O-of course not! It is just that is kinda hard to believe that a first year like us could ever manage to do something like that, you know?!" The boy explained his reasoning, trying to appeal to the orange-haired martial arts.

The girl in question was looking at her phone, sending a message to the green haired hemomancer on her contacts. "I mean, he won first place on the School Festival, right? I don't see it as impossible, specially when he did that last move on that Bakugou guy. Izuku is really strong, and he is rather resourceful. I mean, look at this place! I did some research and a few years back it was a total dump! Now it is one of the best beaches in the area, and all was done by him alone. I just hope that he is alright. I didn't managed to watch the live footage, just some cut part on the tv." Itsuka spoke, pocketing her phone and looking at her friends. The steel-haired one had a somewhat sour face, while the green haired girl had a shit-eating grin.

"Shishishishi, Is Kendo-chan in love with the 1-A menace?" The girl teased, putting air quotes on the words. Suddenly her hands separated from her wrists and came to poke the matial artist on her sides. Itsuka snatched the hands midair before they could bother her, sending her female friend an annoyed glance before throwing the hands back to their owner.

Kendo rolled her eyes and took off the green jersey she had been wearing. "You guys can be worse than Monoma when you want to." As she discarted the piece and placed it inside her backpack, the martial artist began to stretch her limbs. "Come on, we can at least limber up while we wait for him."

The green haired girl shrugged her shoulders before following suit. The steel-haired boy loitered for a few moments before deciding to join his group, discarting his own jersey to show that he was wearing a white tanktop shirt, showing his well-defined arms.

"Let me not keep you waiting then, right?" Izuku's voice echoed, the vampire descending from his perch on the building with a [Blink]. The trio's heads snapped towards him, Izuku meeting them with a head nod. The green-haired girl and the steel-haired boy seemed to be paralized in place, whereas Kendo immediately stopped her stretches and came to meet the vampire. She stopped right in front of the vampire, considering there was also another person with him. Kendo had never seen the pink-haired girl, but it seemed like both Izuku and the girl were close, considering their current physical proximity, something that usually only happened when the vampire was feeding you a knuckle-sandwich during spars

"Hello there, Kendo-san." Izuku greeted the martial artist, her friends still stuck in their daze. It might have to do with the fact that his eyes were still blood-red pupils imersed in pools of complete darkness, but he digressed. "I was sure that you would take the weekend off to rest before school."

Itsuka's expression brightened as a light blush dusted her cheeks. "Someone was out there making headlines. I can't afford to take it easy and rest when you are working hard like this." She joked, raising her hands into fists and assuming a relaxed boxer's stance. A few mock punches were thrown his way, barely enough to brush and tap at his torso, with Kendo soon relaxing and glancing at Izuku's still silent friend. "Excuse me, I haven't greeted you yet. My name is Itsuka Kendo." She presented herself to the pink-haired girl, extending a friendly hand as a greeting.

Hatsume circled from behind Izuku and grabbed the offered hand. A slow smile began to creep on her lips, but the mechanic held herself back. Izuku was watching her. "Hatsume Mei, a pleasure to meet you. Would you mind testing a few pieces of support gear?" Her eyes were glimmering with their usual shine, but Izuku lightly chopped her head.

"At least you managed the greeting properly." Izuku sighed amusedly, tilting his head so as to see the other two teens behind Itsuka. "You friends are alright? They haven't said anything until now." He asked the girl, Kendo turning to glare at her friends for their lack of manners.

Not that Izuku could see her stern gaze, currently too busy being dragged by the chief of the crew. "Hey Boss! Enough chit-chat, you've plenty of time to talk 'fter we open her up! Ain't she a beauty?" The man took Izuku right in front of the warehouse, already moving in to the smaller of the doors that granted access to the inner parts of the place. It resembled a regular warehouse that you might find in any dock; that is, on the outside of course. The insides of it, were a completely different story. You wouldn't be wrong in calling the place state of art, with new equipment just ready to be used. The aesthetics of the place were a mix of modern and brutish, with the empty containers that previously stored the cargo being used as rooms. It made good use of the space that was allotted to the teen, and it would easily be capable of holding at least twenty students with plenty of space left. There were a few areas in a more "crude" state, but those were there by choice, as he could design better plans later when he acquired other quirk factors or allowed other people in. He would rent the place after all, it made sense for there to be areas where he could improve the building after all.

"I have no complaints, Uraraka-san." The vampire stated, fascinated by the place. The chief, Uraraka Keiryo, grinned happily, the work crew peeking from the door, not entering the place to allow the hemomancer to take everything in by himself. It also allowed their boss to get some points with the boy, since Keiryo seemed decided to have Izuku as more than either a friend or their employer.

"That's great, boss! You go ahead and break 'er in. We came over today just to hand her to you." Keiryo handed Izuku the keys of the place and gave the teen one pat on his shoulder. "And don't let any of them nonsense news talk you down, boss! You were scary for sure, but that will make sure that those damn villains learn their place and don't come out of their hidey-holes!" The Uraraka patriach boasted, giving the vampire a thumb's up. At first the man had remained professional and kept his distance from the vampire, but as time passed and the man began to know the teen, the barriers between them crumbled.

First were the formalities.

Second was the Mie prefecture speech/accent that the man unknownly just spoke when close to the vampire. Normally when dealing with clients, Keiryo would never let his accent slip out, but it just happened when working under the vampire.

Before the man knew it, he was treating the vampire almost as if he was an adopted son.

The chief smirked, turning to face Izuku. "Well, boss! Take your time, we restart working on your place tomorrow, so look forward to that! If you think this one is a beauty, your place will be prettier than homemade strawberry mochi! See you, boss!" Keiryo waved goodbye to the vampire, taking his crew away from the warehouse.

Izuku stood in place for a while, thankful for the words of the man. That's why I'll become a monster. So that I can scare the villains before they do anything stupid. What a thing to say, right? Me, looking forward to becoming a monster. He huffed - in good humor - and walked to the door, poking his head out to see Mei measuring Itsuka while the green haired girl taunted and jeered the martial artist, the steel-haired trying and failing to not stare at Kendo while Mei ran her hands all over the girl's body.

"How did you even manage to rope in to this?" Itsuka whined, yelping as Mei cupped and touched her everywhere.

The mechanic would continue her measuring (read groping with purpose), but her enhanced vision caught sight of Izuku leaning against the door frame. It was a bit comical how quick Mei left Itsuka behind, rushing torwards the vampire and tackling him.

"'Zuku! I made a new friend! And she is even willing to be a test rat to my new armors!" Mei happily reported to him, nuzzling against his chest.

He began patting her hair, his back on the ground. A shadow tendril emerged from his feet and signalled for the other teens to enter the warehouse. He gave Mei a quick peck on his lips this time, the mechanic lifting herself from his body and taking some distance. He raised a brow at the behavior, but found that the girl was dropping her backback on the ground and searching for something inside it. He turned his attention to the teens entering his gym and gawking at the place. It made a warm feeling sprout in his chest.

Kendo came over to him and offered a hand to help the vampire stand up. He took it, eyes already locked on the unknown visitors.

Itsuka saw his glance and beckoned her friends to come closer. "I'll introduce you. This sassy one here is Setsuna Tokage." Kendo pointed to the girl with green hair and sharp teeth. Tokage waved to Izuku, seemingly out of whatever funk had affected her previouslu. She leaned forward, showing the vampire her sharp teeth throught a smile. It seemed that she wanted to say something, but her eyes wandered down and she returned to her previous pose, a smug smile firmly carved on her lips.

"Yahallo, Midoriya-chan! As Kendo-chan said, I'm Setsuna Tokage! Don't worry about looking good for me, my heart is already taken." The girl joked, blowing a raspberry at the vampire. Izuku nodded to her, his lips quirking a bit to retribute the girl with a smile of his own.

"Hello there, Setsuna-san. I'm Midoriya Izuku. As per looking good...Well, I'll try my best not to, but I can't make any promises." He tried to return the joke, to keep the momentum afloat. It worked, as the girl's smile increased and she struck a pose, one hand on her forehead and another at her hips.

"Ohh woe is me! How could I resist the charms of this vampire? Shishishishi!" After ending her act, the girl smirked at him. She pointed at her friend by her side. "Don't get too enthusiatic with the girls and forget my pal here. Go on, metal head. Don't let the girls do all the work for you." Tokage said, smacking the other boy on his shoulder. There was little physical effect, but it seemed to have jostled him enough so that the boy stopped gawking around and specially at the gym equipment.

"Oh right, sorry about that. Name's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. I know it is a mouthful, so just call me Tetsu." The teen said, less apparent hostility in his tone as the muscle equipment seemed to be fully distracting him.

Izuku took a moment to commit the new names to memory, stiffling a sily joke that came to his mind due to the boy's name. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Setsuna-san, Tetsutetsu-san. Feel free to use the equipment of the gym, I need some feedback on the machines." Izuku commented, seeing stars shine on Tetsutetsu's eyes. He nodded furiously and rushed to a bench-press, immediately adding weights to the bell-bar. Kendo face-palmed while Setsuna shook her head, calling her classmate "muscle-head".

The green-haired girl turned her gaze back to the other two, covering her mouth with one hand, but purpousely missing ther corners of her mouth, her smrk obvious.

Itsuka looked at her girl friend and asked with a blank gaze. "What's so funny, Lizzie? You have been this smug for a while now."

Tokage said nothing, merely pointing one finger to a direction. Itsuka followed the line her friend's finger traced, lowering her head until she noticed that she had never released Izuku's hand.

It took a few seconds for the martial artist realize the context and the reason for her friend's smugness. Her face flushed red like a tomato, the girl slowly opening her hand and retracting it from the vampire's one.

"Oh me oh my, Itsuka-chan. Unprotected hand-holding? How lewd." Setsuna teased, expecting to get a reaction out of both teens. Itsuka lowered her head in shame, red faced but unwilling to yelp out and further give her friend more [embarass-me ammo]. Izuku, on the other hand, seemed unfazed by the act. He seemed more curious as to why the girls were teasing each other over something minor like this, but soon enough he pieced the clues together. For both his and Kendo's sake, he decided to act like he did with Uraraka back on the school festival: clueless/dense.

It seemed that he had made some new friends alright.

[XXX]

[XXX]

UA High

The comute to school wasn't bad, Izuku enjoying the break that was having his phone be out of comission for a while. Mei had taken upon herself to fix the device, so he would probably have it by the end of the day, but he would enjoy it for now.

Entering his class was no problem, but it seemed that there was a tense awkwardness in the air. Most of his classmates were giving him wary looks, surely indecisive on how to act towards the vampire. Izuku hadn't been act to contact with anyone from his contacts list, only being able to communicate via e-mails. He received one from the principal assuring that everything was fine and that he could continue coming over without a problem, and one rather long e-mail from Iida, apologizing and thanking the vampire for saving him. It went on for about for 20 minutes (even with his rapid reading), but in the end the vampire had received his friend's feelings and forgiviness request.

Luckly for him, the teachers went about their work as always, never sparing Izuku more attention than any other student deserved.

The day went about with business as usual, the ringing bell for lunch being a saving grace from the awkward silent of his class. He picked his food and took to a corner of the cafeteria, aware of the various gazes that followed him. It's the first time in a while since I ate in a table alone, Izuku mused, eating his beef curry slowly. Except, as he brought the spoon to his mouth, a tray was set right in front of his own, cold soba being the main item he could see on his unexpected guest's plate.

"Shoto." Izuku greeted.

"Midoriya." The dual haired teen greeted back, slurping his noodles while staring at the hemomancer.

The duo began continued to eat their food, stuck into a weird staring contest; Izuku bringing spoonfuls of curry to his mouth while Todoroki continuously slurped his noodles. For some, the moment would be considered strange and uncomfortable. For the two teens, it was...nice. A bit out of the usual, but they were sharing a meal.

"How was your internship?" Izuku made conversation, aware that Shoto's enviroment had not exactly been the most stable or normal for raising a young teen.

Shoto cut his long string of cold noodles with his chopsticks, chewing the remains in his mouth and swallowing before he answered. "It was fruitful. I acquired some proficiency with fath-...with my fire, and even had some field experience. If I knew you were so close to the Hero Killer, I could have helped you out."

Izuku smiled wryly. "It happened quite fast. I tried to contact people and broadcast my location, but my phone got damaged when I tried to flee from him. Regardless though, thank you." The vampire smiled at his classmate, spotting a few more people out of the corner of his eye approaching his table. Tokoyami, Kyouka, Uraraka, Iida and even Tsuyu were making their way towards him.

"Don't worry about it." Shoto said, about to begin another session of noodle slurping. However, just before he began eating the cold food, he murmured. "That is what friends are for."

Izuku's blood-red pupils widened as he eyed Todoroki, the half-and-half teen lowering his head to fully focus on his food.

Is Shoto...blushing?

"Midoriya-kun, We would like to sit with you! Is that acceptable?" Iida, always being the loud prim and proper spokesperson of the group, took the inicitive and asked. Izuku turned to the taller teen and nodded.

Uraraka immediately took the seat by his side, Tsuyu ocupying the next one and then Iida filled the seats. By Todoroki's side sat Tokoyami and Kyouka, the raven headed teen nodding respectfully to Izuku and Todoroki before he began digging in his food.

Conversations started slow and somewhat awkward, but they started nonetheless.