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Quirks. Once they were considered gifts of human evolution, granting people wonderful powers that gave them the opportunity to change society. For better or for worse. Soon after the rise of Quirks, heroes and villains began to arise as well. Putting people in the spotlight, ranking them as the best of the best. Individuals the public could look up to seek inspiration from, to keep society from falling into the clutches of chaos and fear. Every child looked up to the heroes, eager to gain their Quirks and throw themselves into the hero industry. That is, until those with Quirks had begun to turn into hideous creatures, monsters. It started off small, hardly noticeable. At first everyone thought it was just a more common type of Quirk that everyone had begun to manifest. Until those who had already manifested their Quirks had started to turn into these monsters. Adults, teenagers, the elderly. It wasn’t long before the public had started to panic, and they had good reason to. It was thought that the monsters were docile at first, until they had begun to attack humans on sight. Fear had grown even stronger as even the pro heroes had succumbed to this strange phenomenon and attacked the people they once protected. Humans fled, building walls and increasing defenses as best they could. Constantly living in fear of each other. Anyone with a Quirk could turn at anytime. Yes, it was possible for people to gain a Quirk, and never transform in their lifetime; albeit it was extremely rare. Years and years passed, and as more people with Quirks were born, the number of Quirkless or normal humans were beginning to dwindle down. Small villages, few and far between had popped up. Building high, durable walls to withhold against the occasional attacks of the beasts. Even within the walls, they had created weapons, or better put, minor deterrents to put former friends down long enough to banish them from the village. To throw them out into the overgrown wilderness that had cropped up after humans abandoned the urban and rural areas they used to occupy. Instead gathering areas with large populations. Safety in numbers. Once children had looked forward to receiving their Quirk, a new trick to show off to their friends. Now, children dreaded their futures. Fearful of getting a Quirk, praying to whatever divine forces they could to not receive a Quirk. To be a normal human, to never go through the painful transformation of turning into a Beast. People who turned into Beasts seemed to transform into creatures based around their Quirks, still able to use their powers to some extent. Each monster seemed to vary in size and design, based on abilities, age, and overall power. Beasts like All Might and Endeavor were towering behemoths who were nearly 15 yards tall. Those who just turned seemed about the same height as they were as humans, before they had their growth spurts, and new bursts of powers only received as those hideous monsters. Truly a shame that they became nothing more than mindless monsters. Perhaps they could have been more, if only they weren’t meant to become such horrors.
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The city, the remains of Mustafu, was a rather crowded village despite what some would consider the steady decline of their population. One person stood at the top, alongside a small council that helped to decide solutions to various problems. Naomasa Tsukauchi. As the chief of the village he did his best to find resolution to every problem that may arise, from food stock, to property issues, to even a petty squabble between lovers whose loud arguments keep everyone up at night. In his stead, who he considered was the perfect candidate to lead the others should/when he had to step down was a young man who went by the name of Izuku Midoriya. A Quirkless child, who had lost his parents at the young age of 6. He had woken up one night to tell his parents of a nightmare he had, only to be met with the destruction of the living room. Standing amidst the mess were two rather large figures. One had appeared as a wraith, green hair floating around her as if she were underwater. Her nearly formless body never touched the ground. Wherever she was, anything within a 2 yard radius would float around her. Her husband had turned into a creature of scales, his body had painfully morphed into a creature that was meant to tread on four legs. His skin turned into black and red scales, and once kind onyx eyes changed into soulless beads looking for prey. As soon as they spotted the poor, horrified boy they lashed out and attacked him, tearing up anything that might have been in their way. He had barely been able to get away that night, his home a smoldering mess, and his parents mindless monsters. When Naomasa had found him, he took pity on the boy and opened his heart up to him, taking him into the family. The Bakugo’s bad offered to take him in, as the parents of the Midoriya’s and Bakugo’s had been very close. But the decision was made by Naomasa himself after he saw how volatile young Katsuki was around Izuku. It was as if he was born a beast already. 9 years later, the relationship of the two hadn’t seemed to change much at all. Despite Izuku’s willingness to extend a hand of friendship, Katsuki was always seemingly rejecting it. Even as the boy followed him everywhere, and stuck up for him despite the negative outlook on the explosive child. In fact, he vouched for everyone the community had thought was a bad person; merely based on the fear of their Quirks and future Beasthood. He had argued that even though the future was inevitable, it didn’t mean they had to turn against each other and isolate others. It was then that Naomasa had wholeheartedly decided that he was the perfect successor. He idled on those thoughts as he st on the front porch of the small house he and his adopted son occupied. He was interrupted from his thoughts though, when he heard the familiar sound of a door opening. “Isn’t it a bit early for you to be awake?” He asked, hearing the footsteps approach him. “Isn’t it a bit late for you to be awake?” Izuku retaliated as he blew warm air onto his hands before putting gloves on. His breath created steam in the cool morning air. It was true, he had stayed up all night, only getting home a few minutes ago and spending the time sitting on the porch. Didn’t excuse his son from waking up at 5:30 in the morning though. “Why are you up so early?” He asked, rubbing his eyes and looking over to the boy. “Why are you up so late?” He grinned, slipping a jacket over his muscle shirt. “Izuku.” Naomasa gave him a look. “I’m helping out with the harvest, there’s gonna be a pretty big harvest this time around and they’re going to need as much help as they can get. Better to start when it’s nice and cool before the heat comes you know?” He stepped forward, stepping down the few stairs. “I suppose so. But when were you planning on telling me about you heading out?” Naomasa smiled. “Uuuhhh.” Izuku turned around with a sheepish smile. “When you got home?” There was a moment of silence before a beeping noise was heard and Izuku pulled out his phone. “Ah, gotta go. Bye Naomasa!” He said, running off. “Try to be back at a decent hour!” “Same to you!” Izuku took off down the street, sprinting past houses as a few people emerged from their homes for their given jobs around the village. Or some, just for leisure. He waved hellos and greeted those he passed by. It wasn’t long before he caught up to an old friend who was also running down the road. “Kacchan!” He called out, smiling. The blond looked over his shoulder, and scowled as he ever so slightly slowed his pace so the other could keep up. “The hell you want nerd!” He yelled as they turned down a corner onto a dirt road. Izuku smiled, not fazed by the hostility. “Morning, you heading over to the fields too?” He asked. “What do you think?” He asked loudly. Izuku laughed as he went back to a sprint, gaining a few feet on Katsuki he could see the fields just up ahead. It wasn’t long before he was overtaken by Katsuki who yelled loudly as he went at a dead sprint. Up ahead they could see a few people already working. Katsuki’s father was one of them. The two skidded to a stop and kicked up a little bit of dust as they approached the farm. “Hey, it’s about someone else arrived!” They looked up to see a woman coming up to them, two empty baskets in her arms. “Mrs. Hatsume!” Izuku greeted, taking one of the baskets. “Good morning!” “Morning Izuku, and morning to you Katsuki.” The blond rolled his eyes and grabbed the basket from her. “Where do you want us?” He asked. “Over on the South side, there’s nobody over there.” She answered, grabbing her own basket and walking over to where she was previously. Mrs. Hatsume was a kind woman, she was one of the individuals on the council. She was known for her level headedness, rather calm compared to her eccentric husband. A few years ago she had lost her daughter to the Beasthood, losing her husband to it a few months after. The two nodded and made their way over to the part of the field they were assigned to. A comfortable silence settling between them, one smiling to themselves while the other had that seemed like a permanent scowl that relaxed every once in a while. “How have you been doing Kacchan?” Izuku asked after a bit, tugging at a few plants. “Hmph…” He grunted, tossing a vegetable into the basket. Izuku stayed quiet for a bit, before starting up again. “You are feeling better right? I mean, last time I saw you you were running a high fever, and you were... I just wanna-” “Deku.” “Yeah?” “Shut up before I get your ass and throw you from the top of the wall. You’re giving me a headache.” “Got it.” He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to be bothered by those thoughts. The colder air, the changing of the leaves, the irritable shiver that seemed to run up everyone’s spine. It always reminded him of her. And made him more anxious. “...It was just the flu dumbass. And some stupid fever dream, I’m fine.” He huffed. “Okay, if you say so.” He hummed softly, taking a small glance at him. “How is your dad?” He asked. “He’s keeping busy, too busy. I had to drag his dumbass to his room because he collapsed in the living room.” He growled lowly, almost knocking over his basket with how rough he tossed in the item. “...And he’s been worried as of late. Just cause I’ve been pissy more often, and I’m just dealing with muscle soreness and a stupid fever. It sucks but I’m dealing with it.” He growled, hands twitching violently for a moment before his clenched them into fists. Izuku said nothing for a moment, unsure what to say. He put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile. Reassurance. .-.-. “Rawr, I’m gonna get you!” “Oh no, she’s a monster!” “Run away, ah!” The two friends watched a group of kids running around in a small courtyard below. They sat on top of a roof and sipped at some coffee. Well, coffee for Katsuki and hot chocolate for Izuku. Everyone learned the hard way not to give the energetic boy caffeine. Despite the cold air Katsuki had been sweating up a storm all day, even after they had left the fields for the day. He complained of a few aches that he figured would be resolved with some rest. Rest he refused to get. “I’m going to go back tomorrow, what about you Kacchan?” Izuku asked as he took a long sip. Hissing in pain after a moment. “Dumbass.” Katsuki huffed, a half smile on his face. “Yeah, may as well. Good to keep busy.” He took one last large sip of his coffee, sighing in satisfaction and putting the cup off to the side before laying back. Izuku smiled to himself and watched the setting sun, letting the bright oranges and crimson lights wash over him. Offering a bit of warmth. He watched the sun slowly descend behind the wall, shadows growing larger by the minute. His eyes caught the greenery that had yet to change, the large wild forest beyond the wall. “Hey Kacchan?” He asked softly. He heard a loud cough from the blond before he growled. “What?” “Remember when we were kids, and we wanted to explore the outside world? We thought we’d be like the heroes conquering the land and taking back the world...heh…” He hummed softly. He saw the kids leave, heading home. “The hell brought that on?” Katsuki growled, rolling onto his side before letting out another cough. “Nothing just...nothing. Don’t you ever wanna see what’s beyond the wall, just...what the world looks like? Even just a peek?” He asked, looking ahead before looking to his friend. His smile fell and he rushed over to the curled up blond. “Hey, hey. Kacchan!” He said, shaking him gently. He put a hand to his forehead, hissing at the heat. There was a low groan in response as he body was wracked with dry, harsh coughs. “Oi...Deku…” “Shut up, you’re burning up. You never got over your flu did you?” Izuku huffed, his tone changing quickly from the wonder and curiousness he displayed to the ‘no nonsense’ tone he rarely used. “Dammit...” He coughed loudly again. Izuku huffed and slowly got the taller boy to his feet. “Come on, let’s get you to the clinic.” He muttered, slowly shuffling down a few sets of stairs to get to the ground floor. Once or twice Katsuki had nearly collapsed, starting to cough up small specks of blood and letting out painful growls. “Where’s...phone..” He grumbled. “I killed mine, where’s yours?” Izuku asked, still dragging Katsuki as best as he could. He looked around for anyone that could help. But the Sun was setting, and people were heading inside. Anyone who was out was either on their way for a guard shift or going to see a friend. “Dead…” “Argh, Kacchan!” He yelled, a bit frustrated at the lack of a solution. “You killed yours too idiot!” He yelled, managing a full sentence before he fell to his knees, hands digging into the dirt. A yell escaping his throat as one hand clawed at his chest. “Kacchan!” Izuku looked over his friend, unsure what to do. A flu didn’t normally do this right? No, it had to be something else. Had he eaten something he wasn’t supposed to? Did someone’s Quirk go haywire again? He chewed his lip as he tried to think of something. There were a few houses up ahead, but would Kacchan be okay in that time he left. The clinic was a few ways down the road, an easy sprint but a long shuffle. He yanked at his hair as he tried to think of something for his suffering friend. “Kacchan, I can either run ahead and get someone to help us, or we can wait out this wave and try to get to a house together. I’m not too big on leaving you alone here.” He said quickly, words jumbling out of his mouth. “Fucking…” He muttered, shaking his head before slamming a fist into the ground. A loud explosion ringing out. Izuku jumped at the sudden violent reaction, but stayed close anyway. He ground his teeth as he tried to drag Katsuki forward a bit more. All they had to do was get to a house, if we left him alone who knows what could happen. “Deku…” His voice sounded raw and hoarse. “No, we gotta get to one of the houses. And if I leave you here, and you get worse something might happen!” Izuku grunted, using all the strength in his small body to pull him. “Deku.” He said, trying to get the panicking boy’s attention. “I’m not leaving you!” He yelled. “Deku!” Katsuki shouted over him, grabbing his attention and making him quiet down. He stopped his struggling and looked at his friend. Katsuki drew in a shaky breath, his shoulders shaking as he looked up. Blood running down his chin as let out another harsh cough. It felt like his insides were twisting into knots. “What?” Izuku looked at him. Katsuki let out another cough, his voice low and almost unrecognizable. “Run…” He growled. Izuku didn’t get a chance to question Katsuki before a loud roar of pain rang out in the night. Izuku only stumbled back and fell on his rear as his friend screamed in pain, struggling to take in breaths as he clawed at his face, small sparks coming from his hands and burning him. He suddenly lunged forward and tried to stop Katsuki from hurting himself, his mind in overdrive. “No, no no Kacchan no!” He yelled, a pit of dread settling in his gut. Now he realized what was happening, it was starting to click together. “Get the hell out of here!” Katsuki roared, his voice gravelly and rough. He shoved Izuku off of him and continued to struggle against himself. Feeling himself slipping away as his body began to tear itself apart. Izuku could only watch in horror as he heard bones snapping apart, and the sounds of his screams slowly turned into angry roars and howls. His sparking hands turned into soot covered claws with rough orange and gray scales that went up to his shoulders. His shirt was torn apart as his ribs tore through his skin, forming into an almost armor like plating around his torso. The same form appeared around his knees and shins. The pale skin around his eyes where a few burns had appeared from his struggling had turned dark. A pattern forming on the top half of his face that almost looked like a mask. His red irises had drowned out the whites and pupils. His eyes now orange and red burning coals. After what felt like eternity Katsuki stopped roaring, his true voice having left him. He laid on the ground, the slightly familiar beast took in one ragged breath after another. Either ignoring or being deaf to the sobs of a former friend. Izuku gulped down his sobs as best he could, scanning over the creature his friend had become. He was motionless, other than the slow rise and fall of his chest. “K-Kacchan…” Izuku scooted forward, not sure how his friend would respond. Or if he even would in some way. He looked around and blinked away a few more tears as he reached a hand forward, his hand settling onto the creature’s- no Katsuki’s shoulder. Izuku hissed and drew his hand back, his hand now an angry red. Katsuki’s scales were red hot, steaming in the cold air. He shifted back a bit, and looked around. What was he supposed to do? If he left, Katsuki could go on a rampage should he wake up in the time he’s gone. But if he stayed he’d probably die when he woke up. It was a risk either way. “Okay...okay…” He turned away and squinted his eyes. The houses he could see had their lights off, and it was a quick jog away. They probably had a phone he could use, he could call Naomasa as soon as he got himself together. Izuku hiccuped a bit and wiped away the tears that streamed down his face. He found it hard to even to that menial task, his hands shook terribly. “I can run over…” He mumbled to himself, standing up. It was hard, his legs felt like jelly, he didn’t want to leave. Worried about how he would fare without someone to watch him. He drew in a shaky breath, shaking his head as he was about to take off. He had only taken a step forward before he felt a hot breath on the back of his neck. He stiffened up, limbs locking for a moment before he found himself turning around. He hadn’t even heard him get up. He was met with an enraged face of a beast, an angry inferno for eyes boring into him. Katsuki was slightly taller than his original form, maybe about two or three inches taller. He towered over Izuku. Everytime he opened his mouth to blow a hot breath in his face Izuku swore he saw fire down his throat. “K-Kacchan?” He asked, taking a step back. Chills ran down his spine as a low growl rumbled down his throat. “A-Are...Are you in there?” He whimpered. A loud roar was all he got in response, he barely ducked in time to avoid a swipe of his claws. Izuku scrambled back to his feet and started to run away as fast as he could, yelling. He heard another roar and the beast raced after him. “H-Help!” He screamed, nearing the first few houses. “H-Help, there’s a Beast!” He shouted. He was sure his voice fell on deaf ears, because at first there was no one to answer his cries. Of course. He stumbled as he felt claws rake across his back, he felt what he thought was blood run down his back. “S-Someone help!” He screamed again, rounding a corner and running down the road. He heard his former friend skid behind him and continue to race after him. There was another loud roar that sent him into even more panic. He was right there, he wasn’t going to be able to get away. Much to his relief he saw a few lights start to flip on. A few people had stepped out into the night. He heard a few screams and shouts as he ran. His moment of relief was short-lived, he was suddenly slammed into the ground as Katsuki pounced on him and held him down. “Agh!” He grit his teeth and weakly struggled. He felt the sharp claws dig into him as a harsh heat began to radiate from them. Izuku screamed in pain and began to writhe beneath him. “Kacchan stop!” Izuku shouted. He drowned out the world around him as he fought against the stronger creature above him. The heat became unbearable and he started to sob and struggle harder. “De...ku…” He heard a rumbling growl, and he stopped for a moment. His heart hammered in his chest as he panted. “Kacchan...Kacchan please. L-Let me go…” He whimpered, his eyes darting around. “Lu...cky…” He shook his head and let out an angry roar as the heat further intensified, and sparks began to fly. “Bastard!” His low voice devolved into harsh growls and roars. “Get off of him!” There was a loud scream and the crack of something breaking. For a moment Katsuki’s attention was taken of of Izuku who took the opportunity to wrangle himself loose and scramble forward. There was another enraged howl and the sound of a loud explosion. Izuku didn’t look back as he tried to gain some distance. In his panic Izuku tripped over himself and fell down once again. He turned around to see Katsuki struggling with one of the adults. Izuku jumped as there were few loud cracks and suddenly the Beast went still. There were a few beats of silence before he fell to the ground in a heap of limbs. The creature lazily looked up at his former friend, red coals still burning before closing. A soft growl rumbling from his throat as he lost consciousness. Izuku shuffled backwards and flinched as he felt someone gently grabbed his shoulders. He struggled for a moment before he felt the individual wrap their arms around him and pull him into a warm hug. “Easy, easy. It’s okay...it’s okay…” He heard Naomasa’s voice. It sounded faint and distant, but he was there. “K-Kacchan…” He murmured, voice wavering. “He...He’s not…” “It’s alright Izuku, we didn’t kill him, we just put him to sleep for the time being. We don’t kill our friends you know that…” Izuku numbly nodded, feeling circles being rubbed into his back. “He’s…” “I know, I know.” Naomasa slowly helped Izuku to his feet, feeling concern as his son merely stared straight ahead, his mind running miles a minute. Naomasa frowned to himself and looked to the others. “Go ahead and put him in the holding cells, check with the guards to see the status outside the walls. I’m gonna take Izuku to the clinic, make sure everyone else is alright.” He told them, getting noises of confirmation. Naomasa nodded to himself and looked back to the greenette. “Iz...Hey Iz- whoa!” He caught the boy who collapsed on the spot. “Alright, alright.” He picked up the boy and started to head towards the clinic, assuring everyone who had stepped out of their houses to see about the commotion that everything was okay. .-.-. “A few lacerations on his back, and some nasty burns on his shoulders and arms. Other than that, and a bit of dehydration he’s okay.” Izuku opened his eyes, his head pounding and body aching. “And the fainting?” He heard Naomasa ask, concern riddling his voice. “The shock and the adrenaline rush most likely. But he’ll be alright, he should be awake soon enough.” Izuku was laying on his stomach, there was a cold sensation on his back. He shifted a bit and tried to get up, his body protesting violently. He gasped in pain and stopped his struggles, settling down again. “Izuku?” Naomasa approached the pale boy. He smiled a bit to himself when he saw him somewhat awake. Izuku felt a bit of tension leave him as a hand ran through his curls. “N-Naomasa.” He muttered. “What...where…” He trailed off, his mind trying to reach back to what happened before. Before his father could answer him it all came crashing down onto Izuku. Katsuki, the transformation, his violence, the pain. “Kacchan!” He screamed, sitting up silently and yelled in pain after a moment. He gasped and struggled to take in air as he was hurriedly, but gently lowered back down. “H-He’s, Kacchan is…” “I know, I know buddy.” Naomasa frowned and tried to help him settle down. “Listen, I know you wanna see Katsuki, but your wounds are still fresh and you’re not strong enough to have a healing session yet. You’re exhausted.” “But he’s-” “He’s okay for the time being. Iz, kiddo...Katsuki isn’t in there anymore. I know you want to believe in that, but he’s gone. He’s not your friend anymore.” Naomasa murmured, trying to be as gentle as he could with his words. “H-He...He was still…” He whimpered, shoulders shaking and sending pain racing through him again. Naomasa looked to the doctor. “I’ll give him something so he can rest easy, I should be able to help him out when he wakes up again.” “Thank you.” Naomasa said softly,