Chapter 21: Shinobi Training

Izuku was fast due to the very nature of his quirk. His perception of time was faster than most people and he could push his brain to slow the world to a crawl; his body would also respond in kind and follow through with his (sometimes absurd) wishes. Even then, the vampire was barely capable of catching glimpses of the way Edgeshot moved while he held Izuku in his grip. The ninja took Izuku from the tea house in a blurring manner, the urban environment of Kage no Machi (Shadow City) quickly giving away to the famous mountainous forests that the Iga Prefecture was known for; On mere minutes the city and its buildings had vanished and only trees could be seen by the vampire.

Just as sudden as he was grabbed, Izuku was released by the shinobi, finally being allowed to take in his surroundings.

Right in front of the vampire where a few wooden buildings, a bigger one standing right in the middle of it most likely being a dojo if the vampire's hearing was correct. Everything looked like it had been taken from a manga about shinobi, the buildings having a special charm to them that was unmatched even by the grandeur of the big city. A sort of timeless appeal, a temple of hidden knowledge that was about to invite him to learn to be a better hero.

There were sidekicks and other staff members working about, everyone giving the duo respectful nods to acknowledge their arrival. Edgeshot glanced at Izuku, making sure that the vampire had collected himself well enough; his check-up done, the ninja began to walk once more.

"Follow me." His short words woke Izuku from his stupor, the vampire focusing all his senses on the Pro. Edgeshot might have been standing right there, visible for all to see, but Izuku felt that if he blinked to slow then he would miss the hero – Edgeshot was that good at hiding his presence – which baffled the teen.

Outside of his [Hunter Instincts], the vampire had enhanced senses that should have been able to detect the man even with all his skill (you couldn't exactly hide your heartbeat after all), yet every one of his senses were surpassed almost too easily, granting the pro an easy shot at Izuku. The vampire pondered these thoughts as he followed the shinobi, having to pay extra attention to keep his attention on the man. They headed in one of the buildings, a dormitory, and Edgeshot pointed to a corridor with many doors.

"Pick one, they are mostly the same. Suit up and meet me at the dojo in ten minutes." Edgeshot said while motioning the corridor. Izuku looked at the doors, his head turning back to meet empty space as the shinobi had vanished like he was mist. How does he do that? The vampire pondered, picking up his belongings and heading to the last door to the right.

The room was what one should expect of a traditional Japanese building, focusing on practically above all else. Eight-tatami mats of space, a futon neatly folded on the far left corner together with a blanket. To the right of the room was the simply decorated sliding door that had storage space, a window covered with rice paper to allow only enough sunlight to illuminate the room without excessive heat. It was a comfy place, if rather minimalistic and Spartan in nature.

"Well, not like I'm here to judge the decoration." Izuku mumbled to himself, stripping down his uniform and immediately dressing in his costume. It fit him perfectly, no additions made to his original design. Mei did say that she wanted him to carry some support items, thus he should be already thinking on new designs for the Support Course to get ready, but for now things were back to their usual way.

He quickly left his new room and made his way to the central building in this villa (it was only fair to call the place so, with the whole shinobi motif), hearing once more the sounds of flesh striking at naked flesh and the smelling bittersweet smell of sweat soaking the tatami mats. He glanced at the open door leading to the dojo, taking off his combat boots to avoid spreading dirt on the place; Izuku then found the source of the sounds and smell, Edgeshot sparing with at least three other people – all dressed in spar kimonos.

Izuku entered the dojo and leaned against a nearby wall, pulling at his power to increase his reaction time. His pupils became crimson slits as his sclera turned pitch black, the movement of the other men clear for him to follow like a slow-motion movie. The pro hero's body weaved around the punches and kicks with subtle grace and fluidity, never wasting a single action unless it brought about a result that he desired.

One of the men – with way too bland features – rushed to punch the ninja with a right jab. His punch missed by centimeters, his world turning upside down as his shinobi sparring partner used the momentum of his body to throw him over his shoulder with an Aikido move, knocking the other attacker that tried to ambush him from behind. Only one man remained, hands spread flat for knife-hand slashes and jabs. One of the jabs was parried, which lead the pro to use the captured hand for a submission hold, the arm of the other teen bent into a triangle as the shinobi flattened his own hand and seemed ready to chop the neck of the man.

"I yield!" The shout came before the flat hand descended, Edgeshot unfolding the man's arm and allowing him to relax. The man bowed to the hero, going to help his other friends. The shinobi turned his head to meet Izuku's gaze, his hand motioning for the teen to come closer.

The vampire stopped leaning against the wall and began walking towards the hero, his nose picking on the scent of wolf's bane. The teen's eyes returned to normal, but he still kept his guard high. It helped when he heard two objects being hurled towards both him and the pro; Izuku turned to meet the sound with his left blood gauntlet equipped, his right hand already poised to shoot a [Blood Spear] on whoever had attacked them. The weapons bounced harmlessly before the hardened life-liquid, but before his bloody projectile could be launched to skewer their attacker, a hand settled over his shoulder to hold him back.

"Edgeshot-san?" He asked, eyes still trailed on the attacker, the vampire finding the same lady from the sweet shop, only now she was dressed in shinobi attire, two kunai were grasped on one hand, the other still poised in a throwing arc. The weapons also dripped a purple fluid, Janine giving him a sly smirk.

"So the little vampire can react. I found it funny when Edgeshot grabbed you, but no one can escape his ambushes, so bonus points for you!" Janine joked, hiding away the dangerous metal from sight.

Edgeshot shook his head sideways in an exasperated manner. "Koga, you can't act with new trainees as if they are seasoned fighters. Had Midoriya-san not managed to react to your little stunt, what would you do?" The pro's words seemed to be always calculated, as if there was always more to what he was saying. Janine shrugged, approaching them with silent steps.

"Isn't he a regenerating vampire? Don't tell me a lil' poison and some sharp bits scared the spooky bloodsucker?! The kunoichi joked, once more taking a kunai and spinning it on her pointer finger. The cocky way she spoke irked the hemomancer, who narrowed his eyes at her. "Besides, if he couldn't dodge or block this then he has no place here. At the very least he seems to be smart, so being a paper-pusher won't be so bad. Isn't that right, vampire-kun?" The Koga girl slid over his personal space, all the while still spinning the weapon. She almost touched a finger to his face, a magenta color being present on the digit.

The digit almost touched Izuku's face, but Janine's wrist being captured by Edgeshot's firm grasp stopping it before the final touch.

"Koga, what are you doing?"

"A lil' testing is all." Her defense wasn't solid, unlike the hold on her wrist which tightened a bit. Her teasing smile strained a bit, the girl dividing her attention between the vampire and the shinobi. "A little help here, Spooky-kun? You would have been fine with just a lil' touch, right?"

Izuku wondered if she meant that he would be fine under the threat of poisoning. He was sure [True Regeneration] would take care of it, but being under the effects of poison didn't sound exactly appealing to him – since he was no masochist for punishment – besides…

"I can't say for sure what effects poison would have in my system, but I guess the same could be said for shadow spikes piercing flesh – you won't know until you try it." He stated, glancing down at the spot they were. His shadow had acquired a darker tone, becoming more solid than it had any right to be and raising itself like a spike until it was a few centimeters away from piercing Janine right between the gaps where her hidden chainmail armor met the hardened plates of light Kevlar.

The girl took a quick peek at the shadowy matter, returning to meet the hemomancer's and the shinobi master's eyes.

"He is so going to make for such a badass ninja it is not even funny. What can't this guy do?" Janine asked with enthusiasm, Edgeshot releasing her wrist and sighing.

"Midoriya-san, I'm sorry for her behavior; this is Janine Koga, one of my direct apprentices and heir to the estimated Koga bloodline of Shinobi as well as their family quirk [Poison]. Her behavior still needs correcting, but she is a reliable ally when she follows the proper manners of conduct." The pro presented the girl, the bare hints of annoyance present in his voice vanishing as he composed himself quickly enough. Izuku nodded to the introduction, recalling his shadow back and carefully extending a hand to the girl.

"A pleasure to meet you, Koga-san. I'm-" he was cut by Janine, who quickly grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Yeah, I know, Midoriya Izuku. You are kind of the talk around Japan, considering your stunts back at the sports festival in UA! Just your normal vampire powers are neat, but when you began displaying stuff from the other participants then I was really impressed! How does it work? Do you have to drink their blood? Or do you just need to see their abilities to copy them?" Janine excitedly began asking questions, walking around the vampire as if his visuals would answer her questions. Izuku wondered if he seemed to be like this to people when he got too much into talking about quirks, but before he could answer the kunoichi, she received a chop to the head. "Oww! What's the big idea, Uncl-Edgeshot!" She tried to take back her word, however Izuku was too close to not hear that.

He raised one brow at the duo, but decided to not bother them with insensitive questions.

Edgeshot seemed to appreciate the vampire's act of staying quiet, narrowing his brows at the younger kunoichi. Janine shriveled under his gaze, awkwardly looking at the ground. The ninja hero turned without a word and motioned Izuku to sit down with him. As the two males sat to talk, Janine took the chance and fled from sight.

The two men folded their legs under their bodies, sitting in seiza as they began talking:

"Midoriya-san, I'm sure that you are most curious as to why I have sent a internship offer to you, so I'll explain and by the end if you still have questions then I shall answer them to you too." The pro calmly spoke to the vampire, the dojo emptying as the trainees left to allow privacy. It was impressive how they had read the mood and figured that the hero wanted to have some alone time with the hemomancer. "I have not seen such power before, but I expect it to be a challenge to properly use it. I trained all manner of people, some with quirks that hardly affected their daily lives and others with powers that could be extremely dangerous if left unchecked; what I wish to say with all of this is that I can picture the struggles you must go through everyday to walk the path of heroism. Your extreme focus during tense moments during the school festival caught my attention, the way you fought minding all options is something I see myself doing and it resonated with me. Having the power to decide a man's fate can be quite adicting, as I'm sure you are well aware." The implication on the shinobi's words was not clear for Izuku to understand. The pro seemed to be talking normally, but Izuku had a feeling that whatever would come out of his mouth was the answer to a test that could decide his fate.

The vampire took a deep breath, content with the warm feeling as he fed oxygen into his lungs and his blood. "It certainly hasn't been easy dealing with [True Ancestor], but I feel that such struggles are what made me this way. Everyone has their problems with their quirks, life is not a perfect road and neither us are perfect beings, yet I still feel like striving to better myself. Yes, being capable of deciding when a man lives or dies can be empowering, but my goal is not being the judge of life. I'm glad that my skills have caught the attention of someone such as yourself, Edgeshot-san, but in the long run there are people out there that may struggle even harder than I do; be it their quirks or how they were raised or a million other things, I can't just stand by and allow those people to suffer if I can help them." Izuku just spilled whatever was inside his heart, unsure if anything he said was of use to the hidden questions proposed by the hero.

The pro pondered on what he heard for a few moments, putting together the puzzle that was the vampire with the meager pieces he received. Edgeshot decided what he was going to do for now, and as things progressed he would walk the path. If this vampiric child really was like this, he figured it was fine to show him the true path of the Shinobi.

"Very well, Midoriya Izuku. Stand up and get ready. I shall first analize your current skills. UA has sent me review of your abilities, but I find more useful trial-by-fire, as it brings about the impurities that require refining." Edgeshot said, taking a simple fighting stance. The vampire didn't recognize the form and any guesses would be useless as Edgeshot's [Foldabody] allowed him to become as thin as strings, which were just as powerful as his usual form. "I suggest you use all your skills, including hidden abilities or stuff you haven't shown to anyone yet. Otherwise I won't be capable of stablishing a optimal work plan for you."

Izuku had become a hero trainee to save people and figure more about himself, but the thrill of fighting someone was something enjoyable, especially when your body was made for the hunt and battle. The vampire took another deep breath and stood up.

"Thank you for the invite, Edgeshot-san!" Izuku said, entering his usual fighting stance and allowing blood to flow from his skin pores along his arms, equipping him with his sharp blood gauntlets. "Please do get serious, or things might get dangerous."

Edgeshot hummed to himself, changing his stance. Before his stance seemed to be a defensive one, his fists closed tightly and ready to parry and deflect blows; now, he stood ramrod straight, left hand in front of his torso doing a hand-sight that Izuku recognized as the tiger seal. His right hand was up, grasping at the well hidden kodachi blade sheathed over his shoulder. "Very well, Midoriya-san."

...

...

...

"[RAGE!]"

"..."

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*THUD!*

Izuku's body hit the ground, the teen groaning in pain. Standing a few feet away from him was the source of his pain, the shinobi hero that was training him standing still with one hand grasping the handle of a kodachi that was sheathed over his shoulder. The dojo the duo was training at wasn't that damaged, only having a few displaced mats or the occasional tear that was easily fixable.

Edgeshot was impressed. He knew Izuku was capable of attacks with wide areas of effect, things that could potentially clip the hero while causing massive damage to his surroundings, yet the vampire had held himself in check and had only used what seemed appropriate to try and get a hit on the shinobi. The vampire still had not managed to get a clean hit on the ninja, all his attacks either dodged or parried cleanly; the hero was also found of counters, as proven by how he did counter the majority of the hemomancer's moves.

Izuku had tried slicing at Edgeshot with his gauntlets, stabbing him with shadow spikes, even a few rounds of [Blood Spear Burst]. Every move the vampire did was worked around, Edgeshot's counters hitting hard. Were he not a great regenerator, Izuku was sure that he would have gone down with the first counter (the flat side of the kodachi had struck the vampire's temple after one of his slicing attacks had been parried aside).

"Know yourself, know the enemy. If you know those two factors you shall not fear the result of -" The hero was cut by the vampire, who managed to complete the sentence.

" - the result of a hundred battles. Sun Tzu, the Art of War." Izuku said, slowly lifting his body from the tatami floor. His coat was wrinkled and messy, but undamaged from the spar. The vampire took the small break to glance at his wrist-watch, finding that he had been sparing with the shinobi hero for one hour. His request that the hero take him serious was being attended to, since he was being folded like he was a novice; it was an amazing experience, but it did not meant he enjoyed being tossed around like a ragdoll.

"I take that you have read the entire work?" The pro's question was answered by a thumbs-up from the vampire. The hero nodded and assumed a pensive pose for a while, opting to sit down once more in seiza.

Izuku approached him and sat close to the hero, also sitting in seiza and waiting for further instructions.

"You still have other abilities that you haven't displayed in our spar?" Izuku nodded to the question. Edgeshot closed his eyes and did another handsign, this time it being something he wasn't familiar with, but it resembled two tiger seals stacked. The pro was silent for a while, so Izuku did a shallow mind dive to wait until the pro finished with whatever he was doing.

The vampire had a bird's view of the ballroom and his unfinished throne, finding also the cage of the [Inner Beast] to be in sight. He could sense his savage side messing with one of the quirk factors, trying to fully understand it to allow them to make use of it. From what he could identify, it was Uraraka's [Zero Gravity]. He had broken down her quirk already, but it was one of the more complicated ones that required him to mess around until he could properly find the way to use said power. It was clearly different from the girl's use of it, the vampire finding that instead of taking gravity away from things, his power seemed to be capable of creating a gravity pull. It was weak, barely capable of moving anything heavier than a shoe, but it was still something that he could improve. He had plenty of time and blood to work around the issue of power, so Izuku figured he that his priority was on increasing his control and skills.

Feeling a hand touch his shoulder, Izuku opened his eyes. He took the offered hand from Edgeshot and stood up, the pro motioning for him to follow. They barely exited the dojo before the shinobi did a mighty leap, easily reaching the roof of the building; it took Izuku a few moments as he searched for an angle that allowed him multiple [Blink]'s points, the vampire resembling a cloud of smoke as he dissapeared from his place and reached the pro's position.

"We will train your other skills later. From the review I received from UA, your strenghts seem to lie with stealth and ambushes, but those new powers of yours are a welcomed addition that shall serve you well. From my perspective, you shall reap a bountiful harvest if you follow throught with shinobi training, but I shan't force you to follow such path. I'll give you some lessons in stealth and grant you the time to ponder on the path that you want to walk." Edgeshot said to the vampire, moving to another edge of the roof and crouching to assume a less visible position. Izuku wordlessly followed behind him, letting the words spoken by the pro settle in. The hero then remained silent throughout the entire following hours as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop of the dojo, the shinobi slowing down to allow Izuku to follow him and learn the art of stealth. They trailed after some of the staff members, Edgeshot at some point handing the teen a small notebook and a pen, still silent. The vampire assumed it was to take notes - of what he was unsure, so he wrote down both the methods he could figure out and some info on the people they were following - and he did his best to emulate the motions and behavior that Edgeshot employed.

It was harder to hide on the more angled surfaces of a few buildings, requiring a more calculated approach to some situations. Izuku had a much easier time hiding in an urban environment than the woods since the city had a multitude of objects and other methods one could fall back to. The forest, however, required a more tricky approach such as taking advantage of angles among the trees or the buildings of the villa. Tailing people that worked here was hard too, since they were unnaturally aware of their surroundings, more so than the city folk; it was like they could feel his intent, even if they could not pinpoint the location.

It went like this for the rest of the day. When the sky darkened, Izuku and the pro finally ceased their activities and returned to the dojo, finding staff members to be about done with cleaning and repairs for the day. Izuku wondered when they were going to eat, but before he could voice his concern he once more smelled the scent of wolf's bane. He glanced at the male shinobi, Edgeshot nodding discreetly and motioning for them to sit down on the outside area of the dojo. A few minutes later the poison kunoichi arrived, carrying with her a plate full of riceballs of various flavors if his sense of scent was to be believed.

"Heya, it is your favorite kunoichi, Janine-chan!" The woman's voice echoed from somewhere, a trick Izuku was very willing to learn, and a smoke pellet was thrown closeby, Janine emerging from the purple smoke with the meal ready. Edgeshot eyed her with a stoic gaze, whereas Izuku grinned a bit at her entrance.

"Seven out of ten, to loud for a stealth operator." The vampire tried a joke, raising his hands to show seven fingers up.

The kunoichi narrowed her eyes, coming closer with the meal. "As if you know anything about magnificent entries or stealth operations when you popped a thunder cap on that Todoroki fellow." Janine quipped back, setting the plate between her master and the internee. She also took one of the riceballs with her, shoving the entire serving in her mouth in one go.

Edgeshot shook his head, taking one riceball to himself and approaching the food to his masked mouth. Izuku tried to peek a glimpse from the corner of his eye at the pro's covered face, but almost like it was magic, the onigiri vanished. The vampire blinked, confused.

"Yeah, you won't be able to see under the mask. Believe me, I tried!" Koga sighed, taking another riceball to herself.

The hemomancer scratched at his face awkwardly for being caught doing that, one tiny shadow tendril bringing him an onigiri. He munched on his food, enjoying the gloomy appearance the forest was taking as the sun began to settle down. He also heard footsteps coming from one of the trails, the sight of the UA uniforms making him remember that he hadn't seem either Kaminari or Shiozaki all day during his training. This time Kamui Woods wasn't present with them, the two teens looking tired as they approached the villa. Izuku could see the annoyance that had built-up on the [Vine]-quirk user's face, Kaminari at her side running his mouth talking about some late trend among teens.

Janine also had noticed them, lazily looking over her shoulder at their direction. "Oh, have they finally arrived? Woods-chan was the one that asked to have them here, he was quite insistent in vouching for them, especially the girl. Can't say I find them to be shinobi material, but we managed to train Mt. Lady, so I guess nothing is impossible." She said, lips pouting to spout a tiny could of purple smoke.

That tidbit of information made the vampire raise his brows. The Lurkers had trained Mt. Lady, the recent debutee that loved showmanship and could not resist appealing to the media? She certainly wasn't stealthy, so Izuku wondered what kind of training she had went through as it certainly wasn't shinobi-related. She was a sight for sore eyes, but as far as her usefulness, Izuku placed her among the ranks of Uwabami and Spark King. Midia appeal and television flair seemed to always be the first priority for them.

"She was...head strong and stubborn, but her heart is in the right place. She merely needs more of the bitter medicine called reality." The shinobi spoke almost like a sage, turning his head to Izuku. "She is one example when I mentioned that you need not to follow the path of the shinobi should your heart not desire it. Training has as much to do with the mind as it has with the body. A strong fist is nothing without a sharp mind to guide it. Water might carve new paths where there is none, but if it has a way it shall run its course without much change."

More lessons, even while relaxing. Izuku was sure that he could learn much under the wing of the shinobi hero. Which is why he nodded, his gaze returning to the two teens being received by some staff and being directed towards the dojo. Edgeshot rose from his sitting position, ready to go receive the newcomers. Yet, before the ninja moved, the vampire spoke.

"A shinobi makes use of whatever they have, right? So even if later I learn more brutish or showy powers, the core principles will always remain the same! A shinobi works in the shadows to benefit their master, which for us are the citizens that we protect. I guess being hidden suits me more, but please don't complain when I use my blood to set some things on fire or blow up a bit, Shishou*(respectful form of calling one master)."

Edgeshot glanced at the vampire, and Izuku could swear he saw the corners of the shinobi's eyes tilt upwards. The barest hints of an amused sound left the masked hero, the man turned and went to meet the other internees.

Janine had wide eyes, her head taking turns between moving from Izuku to the back of her teacher. "He likes you! I can't believe it!" She exclaimed, invading the vampire's personal space as she began leaning into him. Izuku began to arc his back to avoid being nose to nose with the kunoichi, but she grasped the edges of his coat, eyes almost glowing with an amethyst tint as a grin began to split her lips. "Hey, how do you gain new powers again?"

Izuku wondered if using [Explosive Blood] would be a useful alternative of escaping her intensity or another way to further incite the Koga girl's curiosity.

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Izuku landed on his futon face first, releasing a tired groan. He had to flee from Janine as the woman began to pester him constantly, wishing to learn how did he acquire new powers. He was sure that she had an idea, but the confirmation would be an ace for the kunoichi for whatever she had planned. She seemed to get great joy from teasing and being playful with the vampire, making the teen himself wonder what had he done to get in her radar like this. He checked his phone, answering a few messages from his mother, Mei and an e-mail from Melissa.

He rested for a few minutes while laid down, trying to review the teachings of the day in his head. Tomorrow (in a few hours, since he was sure that he wouldn't be going to sleep so soon) his shinobi training would truly begin under Edgeshot, the vampire eager to learn whatever the pro would bestow upon him. It was a nice feeling, having someone show you the ropes and praise your efforts. The vampire smiled to himself and got up, shedding his costume off and taking some casual clothing to hit the showers. He had no bruises neither was sore from his training, which were blessings from his regeneration. The showers weren't special, but it had everything one would need. The vampire shed his clothing and stuffed it in a locker that had his name, happy that the showers were empty. He was quick with his shower, going back to his room to practice some more, this time focusing on his most recently acquired quirk factors.

The vampire began with covering his arms back with his blood gauntlets, pulling on Momo's quirk to begin creating "permanent" gauntlets. The hardened blood took on a more metalic sheen, darkening as the iron and calcium content in Izuku's blood was used to create a stable construct. The vampire felt a bit light-headed, two bulky gauntlets equipped on his arms. He did a test, slowly easing his arms from the armor until he set the items right in front of him. A huge grin painted his lips after his gauntlets remained the same even after two minutes of him waiting for them to wither; Izuku was even happier when he tried to take the blood back, although it took a few minutes for the constructs to weaken and return to their malleable state.

He procceeded to then try pulling on Uraraka's power. Nothing inside his room moved, so Izuku tried to picture the way the brunette used her power. He touched his suitcase, maintaining the image in his head, yet nothing happened. Minutes passed, with the vampire wondering what was he doing wrong; nothing seemed to be working, even when he did another mind dive to look back at the hung frame in the ballroom. He knew the power he had gained - gravitational pull - but he was still unable to tap into it. One hour was put into the mental exercise before he opted to put his efforts into something else.

This time he let some blood pool over his hand, looking over it to try to find anything different in it. It looked exactly like normal blood, however a tiny spark of electricity caused it to burst into flames over his hand. He hissed in pain, rapidly waving his hand to put out the sudden fire and biting back a curse from leaving his mouth. The burnt flesh reverted back to its usual tone, the teen letting a soothing cold build under his skin as he pulled on the dual-nature of Shoto's quirk. His blood could become flamable and was also capable of cooling off, to which limit he was still unware. He was sure that it would be weaker than anything Todoroki could dish out, and he wasn't invulnarable to its own effects. He still needed to spark the fluid for it to burst into flames and control over the fire was limited to being careful where he spilled his blood. Useful tricks could be employed for sure, he just needed to be creative.

Izuku sighed as he pooled more blood on his hands and began to pull on Bakugou's quirk, feeling the life-liquid become unstable and ready to explode. It began sparking and crackling, almost as if the vampire had lit a bunch of firecrackers on his hand. He winced, the sparks bothering his hands as the explosions consumed the blood and left his hands a bit raw and covered in soot. He stood and headed to the window, opening it to allow the wisps of smoke to be aired out as he leaned on the wooden frame. His hands healed over the tiny burns and Izuku ran them over his face and hair, feeling strange after using Katsuki's power. It was a strange type of feeling, a melancholy that didn't hurt, yet wasn't pleasant either.

"I wish Mei was here." The vampire eased the feeling from his chest, eye glancing to look at the sky. Stars dotted the black and made for a unique image, something like a jewel that was hidden in plain sight and only available to those that stopped their maelstrom of thoughts and activities to just look up. He took a break, content with watching the sky.

"...bringing girls to your room isn't exactly prohibited, but those thoughts could distract you from your training, spooky-kun." A feminine voice came from outside, Izuku rolling his eyes as he took a deep breath, the smell of the poisonous plant becoming stronger than it was before.

"I guess I shouldn't have expected complete privacy inside a shinobi training ground." He muttered, giggling being the answer to his statement.

The girl slowly came into his field of view, hanging upside down right in front of him. It was hard to see how, but he could hear the subtle noises that the thin metal threads that sustained Janine mid-air made when they rubbed against the wood. He could see a few veins in her neck bulging out, her heartbeat midly stronger than should be normal for someone that wasn't exercising. He refrained from asking, watching as the kunoichi fixed her position and fixed her eyes on his frame. "I began hearing some strange noises and came to check out, then I found you. Working the stress off?" Her tone implied something else entirely, making Izuku blush a bit at her crude remark. He forced the blood away from his face and looked to the side, hoping to avoid harassment from the lady.

"Do you always have this much interest in all of Edgeshot's internees?" He asked in a troubled tone, the purple-haired ninja assuming a joking "thinking man" pose and enthusiastically raised her pointer finger to display that she found her answer.

"When they make him smile, then yes!"

Izuku scratched the back of his head, unsure what else to say. Was he supposed to give back some snarky remark or boast that he was a unique pupil? Both made him internally cringe, so he opted to just nod to the Koga girl.

"Aren't you going to ask about our relationship? Why he is training me when I'm the heir to a famous shinobi clan?" Was he supposed to? The hemomancer liked his privacy, so he pictured that other people enjoyed theirs too. Besides, shouldn't he acquire that sort of information by himself? Was she testing him or something like that? He looked back at Janine and raised a brow. The idea of using [Mesmerize] tickled him, but he held himself in check. Using it always made him [Thirsty], as defenseless prey always looked apetizing, but he wanted to avoid overwhelming himself with quirk factors and risk falling into a freenzy. Last time that happened he challenged someone way above his skills and got cut pretty brutally as a result. That was without saying that he could have done much worse had the [Inner Beast] aimed their fangs at someone else. He ground his teeth, the memory and phantom pain from the broken edge of the katana flaring his anger for a moment.

"Whoa there, spooky-kun! Calm down!" Janine was startled with the sudden wave of killing intent that washed over her, especially since it came from the younger teen. She had to stay her own hand, less she shower him with a wave of shuriken. The kunoichi pocketed back the throwing stars, glancing around to see if Edgeshot wasn't already nearby to check on the situation. Finding herself lucky that he wasn't already subduing them both, Janine returned her gaze to the vampire, finding him with an apologetic expression. "Some intense baggage there. I'll let you rest for the night." She quickly climbed up and left, the smell of wolf's bane lingering for some moments before it vanished too.

Izuku bitterly sighed out, flowing cool blood around his body to ease his tension.

The night was long for the vampire.

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Dawn came crawling by, Izuku readying himself for a new day. He left early for the dojo, surprised to see a few sidekicks and staff members to also be about. He headed to the cafeteria and ate a quick breakfast, making his way for the training area by the appointed time and finding Edgeshot to be already there, meditating. He approached the hero and was a few meters away from him when his senses picked on the sound of air whizzing. His shadow spawned a few tendrils and knocked away the kunai and shuriken that were thrown his way, the vampire himself busy with guarding the palm strike that came his way. The impact reverberated through his bones and he was thrown off the ground a few meters.

As Izuku corrected his posture and landed, he tried to find his assailant, no one in sight. He glanced at Edgeshot, the pro still in his meditative state. The hemomancer wasn't smelling the poison that gave away Janine so he wondered what had attacked him. Edgeshot left his field of vision for a few seconds, enough to have Izuku now facing a fist that stopped just shy of cracking his jaw and giving his brain a good rattling.

He never heard the pro move.

"Erase your presence, mind the senses and you will have an oportunity to attack anyone."

Izuku could only gulp and nod, following the back of the shinobi back to the dojo. The morning quickly went by as the vampire and the shinobi went about their training, a mix of physical activities and short words being Izuku's directives as he watched and tried to incorporate the moves Edgeshot employed. Izuku found himself suprised when lunch time came, as he had honestly lost himself in the training.

The shinobi silently gave Izuku a scroll (that was a surprise too, since he had never seen one) that was named simply Shinobi Skills, the short look Izuku had at the contents revealed it to be entirely handmade, since he could still smell the ink that made the kanji as well as some illustrations for some of the more complex skills. The vampire put the scroll inside his coat, making his way cafeteria for lunch. He left the building with some steamed meatbuns and a container (stylized as a gourd) with green tea, wishing to avoid the full room with people. The smell normally wouldn't be an issue, but he was feeling a bit [Thirsty] due to yesterday's experiments and decided to avoid testing fate. Finding a secluded area wasn't hard, it was a shinobi villa after all. He headed into the forest and soon enough he found a clearing; he sat on a fallen log, his lunch quickly devoured as the vampire found himself to be quite hungry too.

As he basked in the afterglow of a full stomach, Izuku began to lazily mold his shadow. Tendrils of dark matter began to sprout from his shadow, the hemomancer sipping some tea from the gourd as he watched the shadows dance about as they shifted to become faux shapes and forms. He continued his slow practice, his hearing picking on the sound of approaching footsteps. He wondered who it was - quite impossible to be Edgeshot or Janine as they moved stealthly by nature - and turned his head to meet the dull green pupils and a stern gaze of one Shiozaki Ibara.

"Hello there, Shiozaki-san." He greeted, turning his body to meet the girl, his shadow tendrils still behind him as they kept changing shapes.

"Midoriya-san." The girl eyed him with wary eyes, never meeting his emerald for more than seconds.

Silence impregnated the air between them, the two staring at each other in a somewhat awkward mood. The vine-haired girl sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and unconsciously pushing her breasts up. Her chosen costume also didn't exactly help, the white robe loose enough to allow for movement also called some attention to her neck as it laid bare and without protection.

"I did not expect to meet you here." The girl exclaimed, eyes flitting between his frame and the dancing shadow tendrils behind him. Izuku could also feel her annoyance at him, almost making him growl in annoyance himself.

"Yet, here I am." He calmly spoke, his voice still stoic.

Shiozaki moved to a spot where some sunlight peaked from among the trees, basking under it for a short while. Izuku followed her with his eyes, wondering what she was doing. She spoke after a few more silent moments. "Kendo-san has been very forward in her efforts to disuade the class's opinion that you are not our enemy. She spoke about your efforts in helping her train and how you helped her pick her internship, where she chose your opinion over Monoma-san's. He might be a flawed person and suffer from the sin of pride, however, I know he would not suggest something detrimental to our class president. My question for you, Midoriya-san, is what are you trying to gain from helping her?"

The vampire took another sip from his gourd, slowly letting the taste of the tea spread in his mouth. Saying that he gained nothing from it wouldn't go well with Shiozaki (even if it was the truth) as she was suspicious of him, so he quickly built a more pragmatic answer to her question.

"A reliable ally. I know that Kendo-san has potential to be a great heroine, so I merely wish to familiarize myself with a possible future work partner." He saw the girl's expression soften a bit, so he continued. "I don't know Monoma-san and I don't doubt he had great intentions in his mind when he suggested Uwabami as Kendo-san's best option, but popularity and media appeal isn't exactly something I see Kendo-san gushing over

. I merely gave her my particular opinion, in the end the choice was entirely hers." He finished his statement and waited to see what the girl's reaction would be.

Ibara eyed him attently, no doubt searching for any signal that he might be lying. When she found none, she couldn't help but sigh in frustration. No flaw could be found in his argument, so she only had her emotions and rumors from class to back her up when facing him.

"Let's say I trust your word even after what you have done to me-" As the words left her mouth, Izuku couldn't help but interject.

"After what I did to you?" He repeated her words, watching the girl narrow her eyes at him.

"Plese do not play innocent! You invaded my mind and forced me to surrender! You even sullied the Lord's name during it!" She shouted at him, her vines once more moving like living snakes.

Izuku felt his fangs itch. "I merely suggested that you surrender, my only act was to put that idea in your mind; I'm sorry to say, but aything else that comes after that is merely your mind at work." He clarified. [Mesmerize] wasn't an almighty power, as people with a strong will could resist or outright negate his influence over their minds. At his current level the mind manipulation that the girl was suggesting was far from anything he could employ. It would require months of constant use of the skill on the same person, and even then it was not a guarantee.

Ibara blushed a bit before anger painted her face. Was he daring to suggest that she wished to be submissive to a bloodsucker that spouted honeyed words?! She almost lost her composure at the accusation, only a quick prayer holding her back from lashing out in a righteous fury of vines.

"Conversation is a dangerous field to cross with you. I suggest that you think very throughly the words you speak, you devilish man." She spoke, holding her hands in a prayer. She had watered her vines plenty this morning and even got a boost from the sunlight she had basked previously. If he were to employ any tricks she would be ready.

Izuku shut his mouth to hold back a swear. Was she really playing that kind of game with him? He couldn't help releasing a bitter laugh. "Devil, huh? The name-calling game is a bit old; it matters not, and if it helps you sleep at night then feel free to calm me whatever. Devil, monster, leech, bloodsucker, take your pick." He stood up, the girl flinching a bit, but still maintaining some composure. He could hear her vines move, how they were approaching the ground mostly hidden from sight behind her. Izuku huffed and began to walk away, his back to Ibara.

She felt victorious, watching the sinful man depart from her holy aura. She was a devout follower, and she would make Kendo realize the error of associating with this man.

Before Izuku was fully out of sight, he stopped, making the girl focus back on him. He did not turn his face to talk, only spoke loud to make sure the girl heard him.

"Take some time to ponder this, Shiozaki-san. If my supposedly sinful nature truly bothers you, then why do you talk to me instead of just avoiding me? What is it that you wish from me?" He left her with those questions, making her stare at the spot he was before he went out of view.

Indeed, why? She was merely doing the Lord's work, trying to erase sin from the earth.

So why were his words bothering her like this? What did she wish from the vampire called Midoriya Izuku? She now found herself with a question she hadn't asked herself all this time. Was he speaking the truth about his ability? Why did she clash so much against him? Why did his nature called her like this?

The vampire's deep and strong voice echoed in her head, her desire for competition waning as her grasp over her motions began to slip away, her eyelids becoming heavy as something akin to an orchestra began loudly playing in her mind. The corners of her sight began to be dyed in red, the only thing occupying her mind right now being the image of the vampire's face and his tender hold of her body.

"Would you kindly lose?"

She had never been held like that, so it came as a shock. Wait, what am I even thinking? Ibara caught herself thinking strange thoughts and hurriedly shook her head to rid mind of mundane matters. It was the first time something like that had happened to her, so maybe she was overreacting? He had done the same against Kendo-san, and she had not reacted like Ibara. Did I truly blew things out of proportion?

The vine haired girl now began pondering on the matter, reason beginning to speak louder than unwavering faith in her head.

[XXX]

[XXX]

Izuku returned to training with a renewed flame, making constant use of his ability to speed blood flow to the brain to further absorb knowledge as he processed information faster than the regular human. A side effect of that was that his eyes constantly maintained their crimson slits and black sclera. It made for an intimidating sight, but one that Edgeshot's staff members got used to rather quickly. Three days went by in a flash as Izuku constantly trained and trained, when not with the pro he began sparing against Janine and when she was unavailable he read his scroll. The nights he practiced away with his abilities, trying out different things to see what had better synergy. As luck seemed to be on his side, Shiozaki had spent most of her time with her own training, being instructed by Kamui Woods and sometimes by Edgeshot himself.

The vampire sometimes observed her training from a distance, the shibari (binding) techniques that she learned could be replicated with his shadows and blood tendrils. Besides, since they were training with the same pro, Izuku viewd the experience as "Shared Knowledge", even if the vine-haired girl didn't know they were sharing information and training. It wasn't his fault if she didn't watch his training, and he wasn't going to announce his presence (they were training with a shinobi hero after all, being capable of sensing people should be a natural skill for them).

Today was the forth day of his internship and he showed no signs of slowing down. Edgeshot was impressed with the vampire's stamina, and as they finished the lesson of the day, he took the vampire aside before he could leave the dojo. A mere head nod was all the signal that he needed to do to have the vampire following him, making use of Silent Steps just as the pro. His use of the technique still needed to be perfected, but it was good enough to fool most people.

Edgeshot took Izuku to a rather distant building in the villa, the two skipping between trees until they reached a red Tori gate. The duo then came back to the ground level as Edgeshot opened the gates of the building they reached. A shrine.

Inside the shrine the hero pointed to a mat, Izuku sitting down as the pro dissapeared from his senses for a few minutes. Izuku waited patiently, relaxing and releasing his ability, allowing cool blood to flow in his body for a few moments. Edgeshot arrived back not to long after, carrying with him a lacquered black wooden box.

"The unseen blade is the deadliest. A shinobi is always willing to do what is necessary for the sake of their master. Let this blade help you carve a path to the future." The shinobi opened the box to reveal a kodachi and its wooden sheath. The grip was black and the blade looked sharp enough to cut from a mere touch; the sheath was also black, but it had a single red line running through the middle on both sides. "A new blade calls for a name that shall represent its owner's intent and the legacy it will carry."

"I'll call it..."

"Very well, a fitting name."

[XXX]

[XXX]

It was the last day of Izuku's internship period with Edgeshot, the vampire making use of the morning to calmly meditate and review what he had learned from such period. The hemomancer was very happy with his work, the training allowing him to see the flaws in his fighting style. Correcting them was still a work in progress, one week only being enough for him to begin to recognize his errors and the path to correct them. He waited Edgeshot by the dojo, the pro not taking long to arrive.

"Shall we test your proficiency?" The shinobi asked the teen. Izuku nodded, excitement growing in him at the prospect of sparring once more with the ninja.

The air gained the usual scent of wolf's bane as Janine suddenly appeared by their side, her purple hair flowing wild due to the wind. "I hope you weren't planing to go on a patrol without the super sexy kunoichi Janine!" The girl exclaimed to the duo, the two males ignoring her and causing the purple-clad shinobi to huff in annoyance, a thin cloud of magenta-colored poison to float in the air for a few moments. "You two are a match made in heaven, huh? You gloomy dunces!" The kunoichi spoke, annoyed at their dismissal of her.

Edgeshot shook his head lightly, focusing back on Izuku. "We have spared a few times, but I need to see how is your performance in an unban setting. You told me that the city is a place where you thrive at, so I want to see that." As he explained, the man began to make his way outside his villa. The vampire and Kunoichi followed the pro, Izuku finding his lips twitching involuntarely to form something that resembled a smile, Janine at his side inching away from him.

"What the hell is that, spooky-kun? Don't tell me you are trying to smile?" She spoke, covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes displaying a smug expression.

Izuku merely hummed, following behind Edgeshot. They quickly reached the gate that led to the forest, the shinobi stretching his limbs and Janine following his example. Izuku wondered why they were doing as such, but did the same.

"Keep your pace, but don't hesitate to speak out if your stamina takes a hit. Let's see how you perform with the Shunshin(Body Flicker)." As the pro finished talking, he blurred from existance. Impressively, one moment he was before the duo and the next he had crossed over a hundred meters of distance, an amazing use of a Shinobi Art. Izuku did not wish to be left behind, so he began to move. Being a vampire granted him greater agility and speed, but mixing that with his use of the Flash Step/[Blink] had Izuku keeping pace with the Shinobi Hero effortlessly. He also noticed that Janine wasn't far from them, skipping on the trees with the grace that was expected of a kunoichi.

His enhanced hearing picked on the sound of her heart beating much faster than normal, even for someone doing this type of exercise. He also felt the scent of wolf's bane become much stronger as it emanated from Janine. Veins around her neck bulged out, the vampire noticing that the Koga was moving solely through use of her body's strength, differently from him as he used both his physical might and powers. Izuku wondered if Edgeshot was using his quirk or was relying on his sheer physical prowess to use the Shunshin, but he kept that to himself. If he were to ask, the shinobi would probably make the question turn into a quest to discover the answer that would probably have Izuku trying to either outsmart or outsneak the pro to figure that out. It was the last day of his internship, he would go stir crazy if the pro jumped up such assignment to him.

It took the three of them less than ten minutes to reach the city and board a train to the center of the Iga Prefecture. Well, boarding would be used for normal circumnstances; The pro vanished the moment they reached the train station, leaving the vampire to have to handle the Poison user of the Koga family. If he didn't know better, Izuku would swear that Edgeshot was a troll that enjoyed leaving troublesome situations to see how others got out of them instead of a calm and collected Shinobi with a cool attitude. Surely that wasn't the case.

The vampire sighed, entering the train normally and sitting on his chair. His clothing, while not the standard pattern of Japanese society, did not arouse suspicion from anyone who looked at him. He could blend in the urban setting much easier, his coat and costume allowing him such. Janine was much more eye catching, her kunoichi attire calling attention due to its cut and color. Edgeshot was nowhere in sight, probably enjoying the sight of his pupil and apprentice trying to figure out this particular puzzle he had sprung on them.

Janine followed Izuku, sitting by his side and poking his cheek rather pointedly. "You knew this sort of thing would happen, didn't you?". The vampire shrugged his shoulders, secretly enjoying one-upping the poison user.

"Who knows." He stoically said, taking his phone and opening social media to pass the time. His attitude made the kunoichi hiss and grumble in her seat, but she allowed him to have a peaceful ride without trouble. He texted the number the pro had given him to keep in contact, receiving a message that so far he was doing good. Sneaking wasn't always about skulking in the shadows or in dark alleys and grabbing people from behind to acquaintance them to either a fist or a knife (depending on your particular alignment), as there was value in not rousing attention to one's self and blending in the enviroment to attack from an unexpected point.

Their current destination was Kyoto, and since they left early the group avoided any troublesome situations due to rush hour. Two hours later and the vampire and kunoichi were out and about, patrolling the streets.

Edgeshot was still out of their sight and senses, but the vampire figured out that unless a situation really required his presence then the pro would stay hidden. Patrolling was an essential part of the hero work, as normally the mere presence of a hero would disuade any criminal action. There were always those too foolish or too confident in their skills, but smart criminals always did their business under the radar.

Izuku [Blink]'ed to the higher ground, his eyes observing the crowds of people going about and doing their business. Janine followed him, arriving at his location on the rooftop of a building. He was close to the edge, eyes carefully surveying over the peole. The kunoichi leaned on the wall closeby, blowing a raspberry at him.

"Relax a bit, being too tense during patrols can make you too gun-ho to jump into action. Just listen and be careful, there is no need to always be on high alert." Her explanation made Izuku take a deep breath, releasing some tension from his shoulders. He would admit to being tense, his wish to prove to Edgeshot that the training bore fruits making him too excited to jump into action.

Izuku wished he had a blood bag to drink right about now, the bland taste could help him ease his nerves a bit. He licked his fangs, feeling them itch a bit.

Janine approached him, almost as if reading his mind.

"Now that we have some alone time, how about you tell me the way you acquire new powers? I promise I won't tell anyone!" The kunoichi asked in a whiny tone, like a petulant child that had been denied something. He huffed a bit, but since it wasn't exactly a secret the relented.

"I bite people, I drink their blood and I cultivate it until something useful comes out of it." His quick explanation made the girl hum and nod. Izuku let his eyes wander over her frame, the shinobi girl taking off her right arm guard.

"So if you were to bite my arm and drink my blood, you could gain something from it, right? How long does it take for you to cultivate or do your spooky vampire stuff?" Her question made Izuku blink, his eyes wandering over the healthy skin before he glanced away, her heartbeat echoing in his ears. He released a sigh, making eye contact with Koga to see if she was serious. Much to his surprise, she was completely serious; her gaze was focused on him, on his fangs to be more precise. He gulped, moving his gaze to the busy streets.

"Please stop teasing me." He jokingly exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. He turned his head to look back at the kunoichi, finding her coming inside his personal space again. She almost shoved her arm inside his mouth, a serious expression that he rarely saw painting her features. Wolf's bane scent invaded his nose, the vampire trying to backing away from the girl, but finding Janine to be closing the distance with a persistent attitude, all the while still trying to put her arm in his mouth. He was backed into a corner by the shinobi, his back to the wall of the building. Before the girl could shove her limb inside his maw, Izuku pulled on his power and made his shadow emerge from the ground and bind the girl before she could reach him again.

"Come on, spooky-kun, just have a little bite and be done." Janine tried to get away from her shadowy binds, but the dark tendrils held her firm in place. Izuku wondered why she was so insistent on this matter. He approached her bound form, exposing his fangs to the woman.

"You shouldn't be so eager to offer your blood. These fangs of mine are not here for decoration, they are the dangerous weapons of a monster." His explanation seemed to fly over the girl's head, Janine just rolling her eyes at his sentence. She stopped her small struggles against her dark bindings, her eyes moistening as she locked her gaze with Izuku's green emeralds.

"...please?"

"Why?"

"...just...please...can't you do it?"