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Eijirou hardened his skin before diving head first into an oven and pulling out a batch of cookies. These ones looked fantastic---they were the least burnt, most molecularly stable ones he had made yet. He had been trying to follow his mother's recipe since 6 in the evening. It was now 12 o'clock at night, and he wiped his brow as he turned to face the mess of bowls, baking sheets, and batter everywhere.Some serious cleaning would be in order as soon as he finished the task at hand: making a gift for his grandmother. She had come down with the flu yet was working herself to death in her front yard, chopping wood like a mad woman, according to a huntsman that happened to bump into her on one of his excursions. Apparently he tried convincing her to come back to the village. But Gran Gran, being Gran Gran, refused to leave her house. Luckily he knew the Kirishima family so he had informed them of her most recent bout of hysteria.She did this kind of thing often. Got sick, refused to tell her family about it, then kept working until it either passed or a random traveler noticed she needed help. It was a miracle that woman was still alive, he thought. His plan was to bring her some treats and stay with her for a few days, overtaking all the chores she was no doubt trying to do by herself, until she recovered.She lived deep in the woods so he packed his best batch of cookies in a picnic basket. After stuffing it full, he realized he still needed to add one more thing. A card. He ran to his room, grabbed a piece of paper, then ran back. Thinking about what he should write, he remembered all the times she had taken care of him or made him feel like the luckiest kid alive. He wanted to return the favor and write something special.His brain blanked though.Racked with guilt, he wrote the only thing he could think of: "Get well soon, Gran Gran. ---Love, Eijirou"That didn't seem like enough so he scribbled a little heart in the corner. The card still looked like an empty white void to him, but hopefully he could make up for that with a hug when he arrived.As he started to head out, he pulled a dark red cape over his shoulders. He knew it'd be cold on an Autumn night so he bundled himself up in it snuggly and tucked his arms together. The basket sat in the crook of his elbow. As he raced out the door, through the village, and to the woods, it swung wildly. He ran fast, knowing how much Gran Gran needed him. Plus, he just really wanted to see her.
Spending time with that crazy fun lady was a long overdue pleasure. He hadn't been to her house since her last birthday, which was a real shame. He should've gone more often. Other than his parents, she was the closest person in his life (and honestly his favorite.) She had sparked his burning passion for adventure by telling him all about the reckless things she used to do as a kid: chasing monsters, sleeping in caves, and refusing to live a boring life in the villageThat was why he wanted his gift to be perfect. He would be disappointed in himself if she was the slightest bit unhappy with him. Which, considering he was about to enforce a bed rest policy until her health visibly improved, was a genuine possibility. Oh well. As long as she was safe and liked the gift, he could get over her being a little bit unhappy, right? Riiiiiight.He sped up before he could worry about her bickering with him, stubbornly refusing to be taken care of, and hastily found the trail leading to her house. As he stepped onto the path, he waved around his oil lamp to see how it looked. It was different than in summer. Thanks to the cooler weather, red and gold leaves billowed through the air, falling off winter-ready trees. He could see thick, fuzzy birds nests nestled atop some branches and squirrels stuffing acorns into their little hidey holes. It was fun to watch, but he knew he couldn't waste time by admiring nature. He walked past what-could've-been the most entertaining squirrel fight in history without glancing back and sighed.The longer he walked, the more he slipped into a half lucid state where he was imagining random things. Nothing important. Just things. He did this whenever he went on extensive walks without other people. He liked how relaxed it made him feel and especially how he could pretend to be super powerful in his fantasies. Like a manly rock god or something.The world around him seemed perfectly ordinary to the point of almost being boring so he was deep in his fantasy world when suddenly an agonizing cry snapped him out of it. He paused, confused.That sounded like a wolf, but it was too late for any hunters to be out, which meant it had either been attacked by another animal or caught in a trap. If it was the latter, it could be stuck there for hours. Fear gripped him as he imagined it succumbing to a slow, painful death. Nothing deserved to be tortured like that, even if it was 'just an animal'. He felt overcome with the urge to save it.But his grandmother-He told himself she would do the same thing in this situation. She loved animals just as much as he did, if not more, so that settled it. He was going.After sprinting into the unpaved part of the woods, he threw his oil lamp in front of himself to try to make out his surroundings. It didn't help much since the foliage was much thicker here, but he could see the tops of bushes and trees trunks. He hoped the wolf wouldn't be under a bush or it might be kinda hard to spot. Even if it was though, it definitely wasn't under any of these bushes because it had sounded woefully far away, so he kept running.He wasn't sure how far their cries could reach, but he knew their howls were able to surpass 15 kilometers. He ran and ran until he covered maybe a third of that, then debated whether he had gone too far or not far enough. He was digging through the nearby bushes in a panic when another cry grabbed his attention. This one rang in his ears because it was so loud and painful.Although it made part of him wish he were deaf, he felt hopeful that he was getting closer. The wolf had to be less than a few meters from here-Before he could look, the ground vanished from under his feet.He tumbled down a rocky cliff as if he were a runaway wagon wheel, constantly spinning upside down and hitting his head. Ow, crap! He instinctively threw his hands in front of himself like an idiot, forgetting he had a defensive magical power. Luckily, his skin hardened without him thinking. Ever since he started using his weird gift at home more often, it activated on its own if it needed to, which was great because he wouldn't have remembered it otherwise.'Thank God,' he thought as he smashed safely onto the ground. The impact sounded like an anvil hitting another anvil, but it didn't hurt in the slightest. He jumped up and brushed himself off while 'recalling' his power.There was a huge crator around him. Neat.Suddenly he realized he was missing his lantern though, which was not very neat.Where did it go? He scanned his surroundings as best as he could, even though it was pitch black other than the moon in the sky. Despite being nearly full, its light didn't reach the bottom of the cliff, instilling an unnerving fear into him. What if he couldn't find the wolf because it was so dark? No, no, he had to. If he left a poor helpless animal dying in some trap, guilt would eat at him alive. Since he didn't have any light, he just threw his hands out like somebody walking blindfolded and hoped for the best. Within seconds, he bumped into a wooden wall and fell backwards.Huh? What was that doing here?The random wall felt so out of place he was baffled he hadn't noticed it back when he still had his lamp (granted, he was on top of an elevated plateau a few seconds ago, but he wasn't that high up. He should've spotted this below him.)It seemed like the cliff he fell down had dropped him behind a hut of sorts in a gap no bigger than his arm span. This must've been the back of the hut because a door would barely have room to open here, and it was all muddy. A gross stench pervaded the air so he squeezed around to another side, hoping it'd be more pleasant.Up ahead, an eerie green glow shined through what-seemed-to-be the only window. He was walking toward it, captivated by its strangeness, when suddenly wolf-like whimpers emerged from inside. His eyes widened. Nobody better be in there hurting some poor wolf, he thought. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he burst toward the window to figure out what was going on.While peeping through the glass, he was careful to keep his head low so that he couldn't be spotted investigating like a nosey brat in a fairytale. The kind that usually stumbled across magical cottages with witches or bears.To his surprise though, the inside looked the opposite of magical. And, sadly, kinda poverty-stricken. All the rooms that homes normally had were crammed into one small, old wooden room. There was a crummy mattress next to a stove, clothes inside of a collapsing bookshelf, and just about all the junk someone could accrue in their lifetime sitting on a wobbly table. He narrowed his eyes, but didn't see any animals-Suddenly he noticed tons of dead frogs sprawled out on cutting boards on the table where it wasn't covered in junk.If they were still alive, he would've tried to save them, but it was too late. He covered his mouth before gagging. What had they been cut up like that for? They didn't look like they were intended to be eaten. Was this some kind of dark witchcraft thing? Behind them, there was something that looked like a brewing stand with mushy, dark red liquid boiling over a weird green candle. Although he didn't have the faintest idea what it was supposed to be, he got the feeling it was sinister and most likely related to the frogs. What was the liquid? Their blood?As he wondered what kind of monster lived here, running horrible experiments on animals, a creek rang out, then one of the floorboards under the table lifted as if somebody was pushing it up from the other side. After it opened, a short man with gnarled, algae-colored hair crawled out like a creature that had risen from a swamp. Several layers of dirt caked his face, and a trail of mud dragged behind him as he moved around.Eijirou's initial thoughts were "gross" followed by "wait, there's another room under the floor?" That must've been where the wolf was hiding. Or more accurately, where the creature was hiding the wolf. While planning how to get in there and save it, he watched the creature to see what he did next.He looked around frantically. Then he set a blood filled syringe next to his candle. Holy shit- that had to be the wolf's blood!Nearly throwing up, Eijirou ducked under the window with his heart pounding. He- he had to hurry up and save it. He hoped it wasn't dead already. No, can't be dead, too little blood, he told himself. He could still save it, he could still save it...As he was repeating this mantra over and over, a scared child-like voice rose from within the house."E-excuse me? Please leave, whoever you are!"No way that voice came from the creature he just saw.Before he could think of a plan to save the tortured animal, the creature started walking outside (his hut was so creaky that he could hear his every move.) Not wanting to get caught, he ran into the woods where he could hide. He picked a semi-distant spot that allowed him to see the entire side wall of the hut as well its front porch so he could spy on him, which felt a little creepy. Ergh. He felt bad for being creepy, but he needed to make sure the creature moved far enough away that he could sneak inside, unnoticed. He listened as his door cracked open. Although he should've been standing on his porch next, judging by the layout of his house, it was too dark to actually see him until he lit a candle. This one had a normal-colored glow instead of a green one, painting the creature in a different light. Literally. He wasn't as scary as he seemed inside the house. In fact, he looked like a poor, raggedy boy who was nervously searching for an intruder.A shape shifter perhaps? No, his appearance hadn't really changed; it was just that Eijirou was getting a closer look at him now.He tripped down his own steps as if he had forgotten how to walk, then stumbled across his yard while crying. "P-please leave! You can't- can't take him. Leave. Mine. He's- mine!"What was he talking about?He seemed... mentally unwell, which made his heart wrench with pity, but he decided it was better to help the wolf first, then come back and help him. He couldn't bare to see him panicking. He swore he'd come back later. Even if he was doing horrible things to the animals, part of him felt like he didn't know what he was doing... His emotions were a mixed bag.As soon as the weird boy disappeared behind the other side of the hut, looking for him, he darted from his hiding spot to the front door opportunishly.
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A few hours ago, Izuku had been knee-deep in swamp water, catching frogs. He filled a basket with them before finally heading home in the greyish purple twilight. As the colors of the sky darkened, he gulped, reminded of how it was getting closer to that day.
Tomorrow would mark the day when the moon was at its fullest in over a century. A combination of a harvest moon and total lunar eclipse was to blame, but he also wondered if there was some laughing cosmic entity with a twisted sense of humor responsible for this.
His best friend in the whole wide world was a werewolf. On previous full moons, he had lost his mind and done things that left him so damaged it was painful for Izuku to know he couldn't go back in time and prevent them. He could only try to prevent newer, worse things from happening in the present. Before the apex of celestial events would cause him to go berserk. He feared how Kacchan would feel after he went on the most powerful rampage in history more than he feared the rampage itself because seeing him sad always made him sick to his stomach. He cared about him so, so much.
For that reason, he had been letting him stay in his basement for over a month while he was working on a cure!
Actually, he'd been "keeping" him there, but he didn't like that wording because it made it sound like he was holding him against his will. Which, technically, he was, but it was for his own good.
Besides, he put effort into making the basement seem as comfortable as possible (padding it with blankets which Kacchan tore up; stuffing it with chew toys which Kacchan said felt patronizing; and bringing homecooked meals down there every morning, afternoon, and night which Kacchan of course refused to eat.) Izuku grumbled a little as he thought about how often his best friend refused help even though he clearly needed it.
For example, he needed help getting rid of his disease---his werewolfness---which had ruined his life. Although he tried not to talk about it like it was a bad thing, Izuku had witnessed firsthand the suffering it caused.
After the first time he transformed into a werewolf (note: he always remained a semi-regular person with wolf features due a different incident that Izuku didn't like to talk about...), he ran away from home.
He remembered coming to his house that morning, carrying a basket full of tadpoles for his birthday, but instead of being welcomed in, his mom answered the door with tears in her eyes. She sobbed and sobbed until managing to explain Katsuki was missing. Those three words struck fear into Izuku's heart, and he promised her she'd help her find him. He started by zipping off toward the woods where he and Kacchan always hung out like idiots, turning over rocks and playing with the bugs underneath. He doubted his friend had come here by himself to play though; the woods had a much more sinister purpose when you were alone.
As he was running, from behind some trees he heard a tiny sniffle. Then a sharp inhalation. Then so many bad words it would've made a sailor blush.
Immediately, he knew it was Kacchan and that he was trying not to cry over something he did wrong because he always cussed himself out over the littlest mistakes. Usually he just said a quick 'fuck' though. He had never sounded anywhere near as bad as this. Worried, he ran forward until he stumbled upon an old rotting stump that the boy was sitting on, his face buried in his hands.
Izuku who was a moron sometimes threw his arms around him in a hug, then squeaked, "Kacchan! I'm here! P-please please don't cry!"
"Get off of me! I'm not crying!" He said aggressively before knocking him onto the ground by accident.
Izuku brushed himself off, confused because he swore he had heard him crying earlier, and looked into his eyes for the truth. There weren't any tears, but... they were enclosed by thin red lines like the ones his mom had when she woke up too early. That meant he hadn't gotten enough sleep. They were also puffy and glistened slightly when sunlight hit them at just the right angle like wet glass. That meant he had been crying until a few seconds ago and probably forced himself to stop because he heard someone coming. He never cried around other people. It was like he was allergic to it, which made Izuku deeply shocked to have just found him finishing crying, even if he was pretending that wasn't what he'd been doing.
Speaking of things Kacchan was allergic to, the question 'what's wrong?' high up on that list, so he furrowed his brows, thinking of a different way to ask that same sentiment.
"Why didn't you- why didn't you get a normal amount of- of sleep?" He stuttered. Not because he was nervous, but because that was naturally how he spoke due to some birth defect. Fortunately, Kacchan knew this so he didn't bat an eye at the awkward delivery of that sentence. Unfortunately, he didn't answer him the way he wanted him to.
"I know what you're trying to do, Izuku. Stop it. I really don't want to talk about it right now. Or like, ever... Just leave me alone."
Kacchan was always one step ahead of his tricks, Izuku sighed. Since he was refusing to open up about his pain, the littler boy needed to move onto his second biggest priority: bringing him somewhere safe, which meant far far away from the woods.
"Your mom is loo- looking for you. She's worried. You should co- come home."
"Tell her I'll be home in a minute," he groaned.
His friend barely had to analyze him to know "That's not a realistic ti- time frame."
"Tell her I don't fucking know when I'll be home then, whatever! Just go away!"
That was the first time he ever cussed at Izuku. Or, more accurately, used a cuss word in an aggressive sounding sentence that was directed at him (even though the word itself was just modifying a verb.) This must've meant he was mad at him for something other than just be annoying because he was annoying a lot yet Kacchan never got irritated with him by some miracle. Izuku had a feeling he knew why he was angry... He had a feeling ever since he confirmed that Kacchan had come back to the woods where it happened...
He breathed in nervously.
"Does this- does this have something to do with- with that monster that attacked you la- last week?"
In an instant, Kacchan grabbed his face as if he was putting a muzzle on him and growled, "For the love of God, shut up."
He had never put his hands on him like this before.
In fact, he had never acted anything like this before.
Izuku let out a muffled "Mhmmhm!" before pulling away from his grip which nearly suffocated him. After gasping for air, he used all the strength in his lungs to scream, "I'M SORRY-"
That had recently become one of the other phrases Kacchan was allergic to but only when Izuku said it because he had really worn it out since last week. He had already said it a thousand times, and he forgot he had been warned to not say it again until now. He stared at the reticent wolf boy in fear, wondering if he was going to eat him as punishment like one of the wolves in the fairy tales they read together. Crap crap crap- He panicked so hard he froze. All at once, Katsuki's eyes widened and he placed his hands on Izuku's shoulders gently.
"...Please just go," he begged.
His voice had never sounded so thin, so weak, it was like he had suddenly fallen ill. 'Poor Kacchan,' he thought. He nodded and gave him some space to cry, but secretly went to go get his mom to help bring him back home.
When she arrived in the woods, she took a very different approach to Kacchan telling her to "go away." She grabbed him by the ear, dragged him off the stump, and told him they were having roasted pig for dinner because it was "his fucking birthday and he was going to enjoy it whether he wanted to or not."
At the Bakugou's house later, which Izuku felt awkward being invited to for a variety of reasons, the smallest of which being he was the only non-family member, he handed Kacchan his gift.
"Take these back to a pond," he muttered. He looked disgusted as if he didn't remember swimming with him in the river or catching these things or wondering what it'd be like to watch them grow up at all. His heart shattered. He had even spent weeks weaving a basket that barely leaked any water so he could carry them all the way to the village.
When he was handed it back, a tiny amount of fluid dribbled down the bottom because it wasn't perfectly crafted, and he teared up. Not because his stupid gift was a terrible creation, but because he was worried about his best friend who seemed deeply traumatized by... something he did...?
After Mrs. Bakugou set dinner on four plates and they all started eating except Kacchan, Izuku noticed their rancorous little puppy that usually bit his leg under the table, trying to make him drop scraps of meat, was missing.
His mind wandered to how Kacchan had been crying and cussing himself out as if he made a horrible mistake earlier. Then to how he sounded weak and afraid after he attacked him as if he had already attacked something before. Then to how he didn't want any live animals as a present even though he loved animals.
Izuku figured out what was going on at that moment, but didn't want to say anything. Kacchan looked ready to kill somebody again with the fork he was stabbing through his food pointlessly.
Even though he thought they could still be friends, the wolf boy stopped talking to him the day after that. Over the next few months, every time Izuku asked "Why won't you play with me anymore?", he got snippy. Eventually, it escalated to him threatening to eat him if he asked him that one more time. Izuku backed down, but he still cared about Kacchan's well being, so he did what he did best.
Observed him religiously.
For years, if they passed each other in the street, he'd write it down in his notebooks. Sometimes he'd follow him into shops to have more to write about. He wrote about what he bought, how he paid, and most importantly how he interacted with the store clerks. That last one fascinated him a ton because the wolf boy hardly ever interacted with people---a stark contrast from bold overconfident Kacchan. Seeing how he talked to them, Izuku had discovered he acted differently than when he talked to him. With them, he was gruff, anti social, and walked away if they asked how his day was. With him, he called him names and picked fights over the littlest things like he was breathing too loudly or standing too close. It was the same way with his parents. In other words, the wolf boy antagonized the three people he used to care about most.
This was so sick and fascinating at the same time, Izuku created several theories about his motives.
His favorite one was that he was trying to push his former loved ones away so he wouldn't risk accidentally hurting them under a full moon. Maybe he was just being wishy-washy because Kacchan's torment made his heart ache. But there was a lot of evidence backing this theory... Yes, he decided it was true.
By that logic, if Kacchan wasn't suffering from his monstrous disease, he would be able to show his loved ones affection again. He'd be able to show Izuku affection. He'd be able to talk to him about his favorite books and compliment Izuku's sketches and suggest things from his books to draw like the secret nerd that he was.
He knew Kacchan wanted that so badly.
So the other nerd dedicated his life to finding a cure for him. It was only fitting he be the one to fix him because he blamed himself for what happened...
Desperately, he scoured multiple libraries for books about healing or monsters or magic until he discovered one with a recipe for a potion---a perfect potion. A potion that could transform enchanted beasts back into humans. It called for 10 frog hearts, the blood of the human-turned-creature you wished to revert, and water boiled over burning copper. Since he was dirt poor, that last one would be hard to obtain (so would the blood), but he decided he was going to make this work no matter what troubles he would face.
First, he went to a blacksmith. The frogs would've been easier but those needed to be fresh, and his current plan was going to take a while. He asked how much it'd cost to buy 6 pounds of copper to which the blacksmith laughed.
"More than your life's worth."
He asked how long it'd take to work for 6 pounds of copper.
Weirded out, he replied, "Why do you need that? It'd take like... 2 months I guess?"
What a coincidence, Izuku thought. There happened to be a huge astronomical event happening around then. He knew this because he paid close attention to the lunar calendar due to the nature of his friend's illness. It was almost like the universe was just barely giving him enough time to cure his disease before the worst full moon in the history of their kingdom took place, and that was kind of crazy to think about. It was almost like a tragic romantic tale where he had to race against the clock to save his lover. It was so nerve wracking and compelling at the same time, he jittered. He nodded to the blacksmith and said he'd like to start working for him as soon as possible. He'd work as many hours as he needed so he could finish a couple days before the harvest eclipse.
This meant working six days a week from sun up to sun down. He was chronically tired, but never took a break. He might not meet his goal if he stopped. His boss took advantage of his desperation, but he didn't care because at least he was getting paid, even if it was probably less than he should have been... God, work sucked.
After a month passed and he counted his earnings, he was anxious he wouldn't have enough by his goal date. He considered stealing the copper, but then he'd have to worry about how he was going to obtain Kacchan's blood without being murdered. He shuddered. Was he purposefully going about obtaining the other ingredients the long way just to distract himself? Maybe.
Because his head was pounding, he went to the forest to look for frogs to relax. It was still too early to start collecting them, but at least he could learn where they liked hiding so he'd be ready when the time came.
As he was heading down an old forgotten trail in the early evening sun, he spotted Kacchan ahead of him, walking alone. Why was he also going into the forest? He wondered...
It suddenly occurred to him tonight was a full moon. Damn, he usually kept track of those for obvious reasons, but it slipped his mind this month because he'd been so stressed about making the potion. He almost forgot the wolf boy hid here so he could be himself without endangering anyone, which was incredibly admirable, yet unequivocally tragic. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He didn't want to be a diseased lonely monster. Feeling sorry for his friend, Izuku thought he should go talk to him.
"Kacchan!" He waved his arm as he started running toward him.
Turning around, he yelled, "WHO SAID-"
Izuku pounced on his back before he could finish and embraced him in a tight hug.
"DEKU!?"
"Yeah..." he sighed at the somewhat cruel nickname. "You know, it's been a- a while since we've talked to- talked to each other."
"I told you to stop following me yesterday." He shook him onto the ground like a bug.
"I mean, we- we haven't had a real conversation in forever," he explained. "How have you been? Are you scared because it's a full moon tonight? Do you usually bring a rope to chain yourself to a tree or do you just let your inner wolf run wild here? If you do the second thing, I guess it's good you do it in the woods where no one is as likely to get hurt... I know you come here a lot, but I've never actually- I've never actually had the courage to follow you. I wish I could watch you and take notes on what it is you do here exactly."
"...What?" He said after hearing that.
"I like wri- writing notes. Can't stu- stutter in notes."
"Deku, if you don't get out of here, I might literally eat you in a minute. Go the fuck away," he scowled.
He laughed as if he was being silly. "Werewolves only transform when the sun ful- fully sets. We have at least fif- fifteen minutes."
"That isn't enough time for you to run away," he frowned. "Quit being a dumbass."
"Right, right, right- Gosh, you're always thinking further ahead than me even though everyone thought I was the smart one! You're a real ne- nerd, y'know?" He laughed even harder while a weird, energetic sensation pulsed through his jittery legs. He ignored that because he didn't know what it was, then continued rambling. "Can we talk for at least a min- no, 5 minutes? I'll leave as soon as my time's up, I promise!"
He eyed him skeptically before muttering. "What the hell is wrong with you today? You're not usually this... weird?"
The analyst didn't know what was wrong with him, and honestly he was scaring himself, but he kept laughing nervously as if everything was fine, just fine, really. Maybe his problem was stress. God he was so fucking stressed. In any case, his feet remained firmly planted in place, and he looked up at the wolf with big green eyes.
"5 minutes pleeeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeeee? I have something really important to tell you!"
"FINE!" He barked. "Just tell me it, then get away from me, you freak!"
He sucked in a deep breath, then let out the most excited squeal that had ever squoled. "I've found a way to cure your disease and I'm working on getting all the ingredients and then when I'm finished you can be norm- normal again!!!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. What disease?" He squinted at him like a lunatic while walking backwards with caution.
"Your werewolfness. Anyways, I just need some of your blood, but it has to be fresh, and I don't have all the ingre- ingredients yet. So do you think you can give me your blood in one month from now? That'd be perfect, th- th- thanks."
"What the fuck."
Izuku wrapped his arms around him tightly because he was so, so stressed and nuzzled into his chest like it was the only thing keeping him sane. "It'll just be a teeny tiny vile of your blood. I wouldn't take enough to hur- hurt you obviously."
"Please God just leave me alone!" He yelled, trying to push him off.
Somehow Deku managed to keep a hold on him. As a magicless human, he should've been flung into the aether, but no, for once he matched Kacchan's strength. It was a strange moment. He didn't know what was making him grow stronger, but his muscles were tightening and the wolf boy was turning pale while he struggled against him. He kept screaming at him to leave, to quit being stupid, that he was going to die here, etc, etc. Nothing he said mattered though because Izuku continued to hug him until long after the sun set.
Later, after it had been dark for a few minutes, he noticed he was a hugging a werewolf. Kacchan's whole body had gotten bigger and his fuzzy skin had poofed out into untameable fur, but he wasn't growling like animals usually did. In fact, he wasn't making any noise at all. With an eerie silence, he swayed, then fell to the ground with a thud, which mortified the hell out of Izuku.
Freaking out, he squatted beside him and rapidly started checking his body for any injuries. There were none---at least not on the surface anyways. It seemed as though he had passed out from shock or panic, but that shouldn't have been even remotely possible for a monster, Izuku thought.
Now wasn't the best time to study this phenomenon though. He should've been turning around to sprint home but...
He couldn't deny the fact this was kind of perfect.
He had been brainstorming ways to get Kacchan's blood, none of which would've worked in a million years (one was to just pray he had a menstrual cycle and steal his laundry.) Now he had an idea that actually seemed plausible. He could drag the werewolf's body to his house, put him in that nice basement he rarely used, and take care of him until he got all the ingredients! Was it ethically questionable? Technically kidnapping? Yes and yes. But he couldn't pass up this opportunity or else Kacchan would never be safe.
Frantic with excitement, he grabbed his limp hands. They had grown slightly bigger than his regular ones, and soft fuzzy hair lined the backs. He liked touching them weirdly so he didn't mind lugging around 90kg of dead weight despite him only weighing half that much. As he dragged the monster over rocks and bumps, he worried it might wake up, but luckily it slept like a worn out puppy the whole trip home.
After they made it near the cliff overlooking his little hut, he rolled him down a gentle slope to the porch, pushed him up the stairs, and finally lowered him into the basement. It was darker than he remembered down here. And colder too. He swore he was going to gather all the blankets in his house and give them to Kacchan as soon as he ensured the monster wouldn't be able to escape or attack him (because he was getting really worried about it waking up soon.)
At first, he pondered what to bind it with. The closest thing he owned to rope was the stash of yarn his mother left him when she died, but the monster could break that just by sneezing. He needed something stronger. Unfortunately, he didn't have any chains- Wait, at that moment, he remembered Mitsuki giving his mom a crate years ago.
No, he couldn't use that. It would be too messed up, even considering he had just dumped his unconscious friend in a basement.
Literally nothing else he owned would be suitable for this situation though. He could use some drowsiness potions, sure, but too many of those would be bad for Kacchan's health and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt him. Using what was in the crate might sting a little mentally, but he figured he could make up for that by taking care of him with the utmost tenderness possible (which he already planned on doing anyway.) Maybe one day, after the monster was healed, he'd understand this was simply necessary for his safety, and that Izuku derived no enjoyment from it whatsoever.
With a slight bit of remorse, he patted down the basement, trying to find it. Sometime later, he saw a glint of metal which happened to look a chain, tugged it, and caused a dusty crate to slide out from underneath some other unused junk. Inside, the rest of the tough chain lay tangled around a studded red collar and brand new dog toys.
Since the Bakugou's didn't have a puppy anymore, Mitsuki had asked his mom if she could stash all the stuff she had bought for it in their basement. Apparently, Kacchan broke down whenever he saw them as a kid.
Anxiety ran through Izuku as he approached him with the collar and chain and secured them tightly around his neck. Luckily, he didn't wake up during this procedure. However, he did shiver from the cold once which was worrying. As soon as Izuku was done, he ran upstairs to gather every single blanket he could find and the most expensive lamp he owned for him. After running back down again, he put the lamp in a corner, softly lighting the whole room, then worked on enveloping his docile, sleeping form in fleece.
He used one blanket to soften the floor under him, another to make a pillow, a third to cover his body, and a fourth to let him bite down on. His fangs were currently digging into his taut, pained lips so he figured he needed something to chew on. He was like a puppy in a way.
While looking down at him, realizing he seemed precious even as a monster, he smiled. He just wished the monster could show affection like a human. Then it would be perfect. Of course, the only way to bring back the affectionate, loving Kacchan he remembered was to finish his cure, so that's what he set his sights on doing.
The mental image of human Kacchan reinvigorated Izuku's spirits when he returned to work the next day. He didn't seem depressed or resentful anymore. He seemed just as determined as when he started in spite of his boss continuing to take advantage of him (he just... looked past that.)
Another month later, he was awarded 6 pounds of copper at last. As soon as it was placed in his hands, he sprinted home to lay it on his table. Then he headed out to go catch frogs. That next part went so smoothly he was already walking home, as previously mentioned.
Everything about today made him feel happy, except the color of the sky, which stirred up a little panic. But the sky getting dark didn't really matter because he headed inside, where it disappeared. He puffed out his chest, finally ready to prepare his cure-
No sooner than he walked through the door, growling permeated the floorboards as usual, causing him to sigh.
"Hi- hi, Kacchan!" He said cheerfully.
"I WISH YOU WERE FUCKING DEAD, DEKU!" He yelled, which was unnecessary, because his house was so small he would've heard him just as fine at a normal volume.
He rolled his eyes and said softly, "You'll thank me la- later." (Though part of him couldn't help but wonder what if he didn't...)
After a brief pause, he nervously set his basket of frogs on the table, then dug through his drawers for some special cutting boards. They were infused with tiny clamps. The frogs had already been culled so he clipped the clamps around their limbs, spreading them out into flat star shapes. Next, he used a rusty old knife (cause it was the only one he owned) to bisect their abdomens. He plucked their hearts out one by one and plopped them into a beaker of water with a splash.
He placed the beaker over his bunsen burner, placed broken up copper pieces in the space between them, then watched as a green fire started to heat up the water. While he let that begin to bubble, he turned to get his next ingredient.
His knees trembled hesitantly.
As much as it pained him to do this, he knew it would cause Kacchan even more pain to not do this.
So, he crawled under his table, lifted the creaky trap door, and climbed down into the concrete room he had once tried to make nicer to no avail. Hanging his head in shame, he faced the wolf...
Its red eyes narrowed at him, and he bared his fangs while a low, dangerous growl rumbled through the air. He looked like a feral animal with the large iron chain leashing him to the wall, but he was still unmistakably Kacchan. Thank God...
"Hi," he spoke to his old friend. "I know you haven't- haven't really been happy with me these last few weeks. I'm sorry I couldn't- I couldn't make this place any better. I tried." His mind flashed to the blankets that were practically ripped to atoms---not even patch sized pieces remained. His mind also flashed to everything else he had tried unsuccessfully.
Kacchan's growling slowly got louder.
"Luckily, tonight's the las- last night you'll ever have to be in here," he feigned a smile. "I just need your blood to finish the cure. Then you can- you can go home."
In spite of the unending, terrifying growling, Izuku mustered the courage to start moving closer with his syringe in hand.
"...Although, if you're not too mad, I'd really like- like you to stay. I've missed human you for a long- long time."
Finally, he kneeled down beside Kacchan.
"Would you be- be okay with that? Staying with m- me?"
The wolf launched off the wall so quickly he almost managed to bite Izuku's head off before the chain snapped him back in place.
Still thinking brave little Kacchan was trying to push him away out of love, he sighed romantically.
"It's okay. You can tell me how you really fe- feel when you're back to normal," he stroked his soft arm.
In an instant, the wolf retracted it as if he was going to slap him, but he ended up just clutching himself instead, making himself look small and scared. Huh, Izuku grimaced. This was unusual for both the wolf and Kacchan.
He worried he had gone too far, but he had never done anything that wasn't for Kacchan's safety, despite being tempted to once or twice. He ignored those... urges. If somebody else kidnapped him, they probably wouldn't have been as kind. There was no reason the wolf should've reacted with intense fear. It was as if he had thought something bad had happened aside from the kidnapping and binding him with his dead dog's leash.
Those things weren't so bad, right...?
They were just necessary to save his hero...
While drawing the wolf's blood with one hand, he tilted Kacchan's chin up with the other. Oh God, he was crying-
"Shh, shh, don't- don't be afraid of me, please," he whispered worriedly. "I love you."
His eyes widened.
Unfortunately, that was the only response he gave, and Izuku didn't even have time to analyze it because there was a loud crash all of a sudden.
He quickly finished filling his syringe in a panic. What was that noise!? It hadn't sounded like an animal or a human. The sound was like a huge boulder rolling down a cliff, but it would've been impossible for one to have just magically appeared outside. He kept listening for clues. When he heard footsteps, he was surprised. Whoever was trespassing on his property was definitely human. Or some humanoid creature with the magical ability to change into boulders, at least. Based on the way they came furiously bounding in, then pounded against his back wall, they sounded unfriendly and destructive.
He swore, if some random overpowered humanoid ruined his laboratory and all of the hard work he had poured into crafting a cure for Kacchan, he was going to be very upset. He needed to remedy that situation before he could continue.
He leaned over his dear friend and kissed him before promising he'd be right back.
▪︎~~~~◇~~◇~~♡~~◇~~◇~~~~▪︎
After Eijirou snuck into the house, he moved straight toward the trap door under the table, ignoring the crumbled note sheets everywhere. He heaved it open, then jumped down. He landed against a concrete floor with a thud.
"You're not Deku," A cool voice commented behind him. "Thank God."
He turned to see a wolf- man? He had heard of werewolves before, but the person in front of him looked way too calm and too lean to be one. He was casually sitting against a wall, wearing an excessively heavy chain and looking up at him. His tail moved a little for some reason.
Despite his calmness, he was surrounded by stone-grey walls streaked with claw marks and faint traces of blood. Eijirou didn't know what to think. Was that his blood or did he kill something?
"Hey, are you going to just stand there or can you get me out of this thing?" He barked.
"Oh, right, sorry," Eijirou said nervously as he approached him.
Although the wolf seemed calm, he couldn't help but wonder if he had wounds somewhere. After all, he was literally tied up in a basement with an animal murdering maniac stumbling around outside. It'd be impossible for him to truly be okay. He tried to see if there were any marks on him, but he pulled away whenever he felt Eijirou's eyes on him. A slight shiver ran down his spine.
Guessing he didn't like being looked at, Eijirou shifted his focus to the chain. It was sturdy and polished as if it was brand new (at least in comparison to everything else in this dump.) He wondered where the poor guy who lived here bought it. He also wondered how it was managing to shackle a tall werewolf. Don't get him wrong, the chain looked tough, but he thought a werewolf would've been able to break free. Was it cursed or something?
Even if it was, he swore he was going to break it to save him. Seeing him curled against a wall, shivering ever so slightly, filled him with the sense that awful things had been done to him by his kidnapper. He didn't want to keep him in this torturous prison.
Without further ado, he punched the chain so hard it cracked on his first try. He let out a shaky breath of surprise at the energy flowing through him. His weird magic seemed stronger than usual, and he grinned as he easily snapped some of the iron links in half. The rest of the chain fell to the ground beside the wolf boy's crouching ball of a form. After realizing he was free, he slowly started to unfurl.
Before Eijirou could help him stand up, he leaned against the wall and tried climbing to his feet himself. But his body swayed dizzily as if it wasn't going to make it.
"Let me help you!" Eijirou yelped, catching him right as he fell. When the pale creature lay safely in his arms, he asked, "Are you okay?"
He growled.
"Don't look at me like I'm weak!" he ordered.
Eijirou... wasn't?
"You don't look weak," he said, but at that moment, the thinness in his arms and legs became apparent. He had muscles on them as if he used to be stronger, but they had become sinewy and emaciated from what he assumed was starvation. He choked as he realized the wolf was being hurt even worse than he thought. He reached into his grandmother's gift without thinking and pulled out a handful of cookies.
"You don't look weak, but you need food or you're going to pass out," he warned.
When the wolf looked at the snacks in his hands, his teeth salivated a little. He hesitantly took one of the cookies and slowly bit off a piece. Even though he wasn't scarfing it down like Eijirou hoped, he seemed just as grateful as someone who hadn't eaten in ages.
"...Thanks," he muttered. Eijirou handed him 5 more cookies and he accepted, even though he made an offhand comment about them tasting gross.
After gaining more strength, he hobbled toward the ladder that he hadn't noticed when he jumped down here. It was an old, rickety one just below the trap door. It looked as if it might break under any moderate amount of weight, which probably wasn't an issue for the gangly looking kid outside, but Eijirou worried about it, especially when the werewolf started climbing up. Despite him leaning on the skinnier side, he was still tall and well built. In order for him to be kidnapped, he must've been drugged or attacked by magic. Poor thing, no wonder he was so cautious. Eijirou stabilized the ladder as he climbed up, gritting in pain.
Afterwards, he followed him into the main room. He suspected their unspoken plan was to bolt straight toward the door. That made the most sense considering why would anyone want to spend another minute in their kidnapper's lair? But, for some reason, the wolf was staring at something on the floor. Not moving.
"What's going on?" Eijirou shook his shoulder as he crawled next to him. They were both still under the table.
The wolf didn't answer, but he followed his eyes to a splotchy yellowed page near his knees with a sketch on it. The sketch depicted an unconscious version of him in exquisite detail which was... terrifying... He didn't know what to say. The wolf didn't either so he balled up the paper and threw it as far away as he could. It landed near more papers. Everywhere, there was a drawing of him. Some had excessively long paragraphs next to them, but the handwriting was so quick and scribbly he couldn't make out a single word. He wondered if Deku had drawn all of these in one night or over the course of several years. There were enough pictures to think he'd been doing this for centuries.
"I need to find my shirt and jacket," the wolf said with a hazy tone. It almost sounded like he was struggling to upkeep the fake appearance of calmness that unnerved Eijirou, who couldn't believe he wasn't shaking or crying. If he had been abducted by a stalker, he would've been an out-of-control mess. Instead, this man was standing up to go grab his stuff as if he'd just had a bad night.
"Do you need help looking?" He asked.
"I already see it," he replied but didn't move an inch
After crawling out from under the table, Eijirou saw that he was looking at Deku's small, dirty mattress. It was actually more like a floor mat except it didn't have any pillows or blankets. There was just a white shirt and a grey jacket with a fur lined hood covering the top.
"Does he sleep with that?" Eijirou asked, confused.
"I pray that's the only thing he does with it..." He flinched, then went to gather them up. Before he could put them on though, the door opened.
Deku stepped in.
Eijirou nearly shrieked and jumped so far back he crashed into the dirty dishes sitting on the stove behind him. Deku blinked in stunned silence before turning to the wolf.
"Kacchan, who's this...?"
A low growl resonated throughout the eerily quiet room.
"Kacchan?" He repeated.
Before he could try requesting a response again, the wolf's eyes turned stark red. He leapt forward and tackled Deku to the floor like a beast. He bit his neck and ripped off a chunk of flesh.
Deku screamed, "K-KACCHAN! STOP-" but he slammed his hand against his mouth before things got infinitely worse.
He loomed over Deku's big wet eyes. Without any look of pity, he scratched them out. Gushy juices and crimson blood spilled onto his cheeks terrifyingly. Although Eijirou thought he would be fucking dead, he cried as if he was still conscious.
"S-stop! It hurts..."
He was going to throw up yet the wolf showed no signs of stopping. He scratched the little boy's vest, easily thwarting any attempts he made at shielding himself, until he uncovered his chest. Then he dug his claws into his heart and pulled away. Blood stained his arms all the way up to his elbows.
After a moment in which everything returned to being... calm... ish..., the wolf shrouded himself in his fluffy jacket.
"Fuck you, Deku..." he spat eloquently, then turned to Eijirou. "Come on, let's go."
The shocked man nodded. But, truthfully, he had no idea where they were supposed to go from here.
He had sat back and watched somebody get fucking murdered. How could he show his face at his grandmother's house now??
▪︎~~~~◇~~◇~~♡~~◇~~◇~~~~▪︎
"Hnnnnnnggggggghhhhhhhh..."
"My head..."
"hurts."
"I can't take it anymore."
Before Izuku knew where he was or what he was doing, he started floating. He felt immensely light. As if somebody had stripped him of his clothes and put him in a spell.
He realized his leather vest and dress shirt had been replaced by an ethereal white cloak like the kind angels wore.
"Am I in heaven...?" He mumbled.
"You? Heaven? Absolutely not. But you are dead," a deep voice spoke from behind him. He turned around to see a frog sitting on his table.
"I'm... what?"
"You heard me," it said without an ounce of emotions.
Yeah but- no.
"Is this a dream??" His head spun in circles as he began taking in his surroundings. He hoped he could find something that would explain the talking frog, but he was in the same old house as always. Nothing weird stood out aside from the door being slightly ajar. He didn't remember leaving it open? He didn't remember a lot of things. Until a putrid stench rose from the floor, making him jump back.
He was surprised by how far and how fast his light body drifted away, but he was even more surprised to discover what he had previously been floating over. A corpse. His corpse. There were marks all over it, blood seeping everywhere, and a deep crisscross of gashes through which he could see what remained of his organs floundering inside him pathetically.
"Looks like you've been dissected by your precious Kacchan," the frog stated in the same unsympathetic tone as before. "He must really hate you."
"N-no," he choked as if he was about to cry instead of argue, although he impelled himself to argue because that was what he wanted to do more. "He loves me."
"What makes you say that?"
"I've always kn- known it," he answered. "He acts mean but he's really sweet. And he's really caring. And he's rea- really protective. And..."
"Do you have any evidence to support such a theory?"
"He passed out when I- when he transformed into a werewolf because he didn't want to hur- hurt me," he teared up at the beautiful memory. That singular moment had confirmed everything he'd ever believed in: that Kacchan still loved him but pushed him away because he was scared of letting his monstrous side hurt him.
He didn't realize he was busy daydreaming about his friend until the frog tapped its fingers against the messy cutting board beside it boredly.
"But how do you explain him killing you?" it asked.
That was simple. He did it because- because-
"...The red haired guy?"
"I doubt it. Perhaps you could try walking me through your logic."
He couldn't because there wasn't really any logic to that theory. Kacchan would never get attached to someone whom he just met, especially these days. He was as closed off as people came. The only way he would've killed somebody because a random stranger told him to would be if that stranger had mind controlling abilities. However, he knew the red haired guy's brand of magic had something to do with Earth. It was highly unlikely he was involved in Kacchan's reason for killing him at all, though he happened to be there...
"Can you think of another reason he might have wanted to kill you?"
An uncomfortable feeling plagued him as he struggled to think. He had never felt so dumb before.
There wasn't a single reason he could think of.
Except...
No, Kacchan didn't hate him. Kacchan didn't hate him. Kacchan didn't hate him. Kacchan didn't hate him. Kacchan didn't hate him.
The frog tilted its head in silent judgement while he gripped his hair frustratedly (or tried to- his fingers kept phasing through it.)
Suddenly, he remembered the harvest eclipse would happen tomorrow night.
This was a fact both he and Kacchan were exceedingly aware of. Even though Kacchan was no longer able to observe the changing colors of the sky or the phases of the moon, Izuku had been kind enough to help him keep track of the days. This was to help ease his fears about losing his mind. It was also supposed to help him understand there was an end date to his so-called "kidnapping" so he wouldn't assume Izuku was trapping him forever... It didn't succeed at that last thing. But the point was, Kacchan knew about the date.
Not only did he know about it, he was afraid of it. Whenever Izuku would tell him it was getting closer to that day, his tail would shiver between his legs. He probably feared how it would effect him. A powerful moon meant a powerful transformation for a werewolf. There was no telling how big or how strong he could become, and therefore no way of telling how much devastation he would cause.
He knew his victims would suffer a fate worse than death.
What if... that meant...
He had killed Izuku now to avoid hurting him worse later?
The analyst stopped trying to pull his hair and looked up at the frog as if it knew the answer.
"Am I right?"
"You haven't said anything," it retorted.
"Did- did he kill me to avoid hurting me worse la- later?"
"How should I know?"
He paused, feeling like he had this exact same conversation with himself once. Years ago. When he was a kid. He had asked himself if Kacchan bullied him to protect him from his disease.
The answer to that had turned out to be yes, which he realized on the night of the last full moon.
And since he was right that time, then that meant...
"Kacchan does love me," he declared to the frog without any doubt. "Killing me was for my safety and it was like a declaration- the ultimate declaration of love."
That was the answer! He knew he was right again! He started flying around the room and jittering and squealing and juxtaposing the unenthused frog who just sat in one spot.
Bursting with energy, he yelled, "I NEED TO GO FIND HIM!"
"I think he's with the red haired guy," the frog informed before hopping down from the table to go do its own thing. "Good luck."
▪︎~~~~◇~~◇~~♡~~◇~~◇~~~~▪︎
"Why are you running this way?" The wolf that had followed Eijirou for some unknown reason panted while sprinting.
Eijirou didn't know. He didn't know because he didn't really want to go to his grandmother's house anymore. Especially with a murderer following him. But his legs were taking him there frantically.
"My grandma..." He said between breaths "...lives this way."
"Don't tell me she's some crazy fuck who lives in the woods like Deku."
"Well- Kinda. She doesn't kidnap people though," he laughed breathlessly. God, that was such a horrible thing to joke about.
"Good enough for me," he said.
"No offense but..." He looked at him confused "Why do you wanna come with me? You're welcome to come, of course, I just thought you were like-"
"Like what?"
"The lone wolf type?" He shrugged.
"I don't know," he stated. At first, Eijirou thought he was answering genuinely, but then he snarled and finished his comment with sarcasm. "Maybe cause you're the only person I've seen in a month that hasn't tortured me, dumbass."
"Oh." That was fair. Feeling bad that the wolf seemed to have no one else to turn to right now---he hadn't suggested running to any friends or family---Eijirou ached with a little bit of guilt. He should try being the wolf's friend, he thought.
"So... My name's Eijirou. What's yours?" He asked awkwardly while they kept running together.
"Bakugou."
Huh, that wasn't what he'd been expecting, but it was nice. A question burned on the back of his mind though (probably because he couldn't forget the sound of that little boy screaming no matter how hard he was trying.) His stomach churned anxiously.
"Why did he call you... Kacchan...?"
"Never say that name again or I'll kill you."
"Oh, sorry," He felt a pang of regret for bringing that up, then changed the subject. "When we get to my grandma's, I can try to make you some real food if you want. You look like you need it. She's super friendly so I'm sure she won't mind letting you stay. Plus, there's a guest bedroom in case you have nowhere to go..."
"I'll think about it," he said coldly. Those words made it sound like he had other options, but his tone didn't. It was as if he really wanted to say 'no but I might resort to it if nothing better becomes available' (And, even then, he doubted he would resort to it).
Eijirou sighed, just hoping he would be safe whatever he did. "Listen, it's fine if you don't end up staying with us, but you should at least stop by to wash up and eat. I'd never force you to, of course. You can make your own decisions, but you should take care of yourself."
"Maybe I'll stay," he sounded a little more receptive that time. "...As long as you aren't the one cooking."
"Hey- What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your cookies tasted like shit."
"I'd like to see you do better!"
"Ha! Deal."
They kept running through the forest until reaching the path he had strayed away from forever ago. There, they finally slowed down. Deku's prison was nothing but a sickening distant memory. His grandmother's house lay another half hour up the road like a sanctuary, where they could rest and eat and maybe get to know each other.
As they started walking, Bakugou took the lead as if he was the most eager to get there
▪︎~~~~◇~~◇~~♡~~◇~~◇~~~~▪︎
Izuku had been following Kacchan and the red haired guy for a while now. In fact, he had witnessed nearly everything since they left his house. Being a ghost made him able to move faster and permeate through walls and trees so their running was pointless. He would've jumped in to say something, but every time he tried, his voice faded into thin air to his chagrin. He was stuck just watching everything happening like someone spinning a crystal ball. And boy did he analyze the fuck out of it.
First, he found Kacchan running after him which was unusual because he had never run after anybody in his life. He was always the person in front, acting as a leader. Izuku wasn't sure how to interpret this out-of-character behavior until they started talking. Kacchan basically asked where he was going as if he was interested in following him. As if he was interested in getting close to him.
But he hated getting close to people because of his disease, Izuku thought. He prayed he wasn't starting to have feelings for another man.
Then they exchanged short quips. This was unlike any conversation Kacchan had had since he became infected, and the fact that the red haired guy was a total stranger made it even more puzzling. Izuku thought back to all the times he had watched him have conversations with strangers at shops or libraries. Every single time, he only gave one word responses. If more than one word was necessary, he could increase his capacity, but he clearly disliked doing this and tried to avoid it as much as possible. The only conversations he had that weren't one-word were the ones he had with Izuku and his parents. But those involved a lot more anger and animosity than he was showing the red haired stranger. For some reason, he was being unusually nice to him.
This made the ghost inspect him. Since he wasn't saying anything particularly interesting, his eyes wandered to his body. He boasted a huge physique, strong muscles, and tall stature. He was larger than anyone he had ever seen in the village, and he had more meat on him than most cows. Occasionally when he wasn't looking, Kacchan would glance at him, salivating, then stop as soon as he turned around.
Combined with the fact that he had refused to be cured---as if he wanted to remain a werewolf---this could only mean one thing...
Kacchan was luring him into some kind of trap in order to eat him.
He really was a monster.
But this conclusion made Izuku very happy because it meant he was the only person the monster had feelings for.
"Oh, Kacchan~" he said sweetly as he lured his prey to a secluded path. "You're the only person I have feelings for too."
Yes, their love was so mutual and strong, he jittered excitedly.
Although his lover wasn't human anymore, he wanted to reach out and touch him. He wanted to reach out and kiss him. He wanted to reach out and fuck him.
But in order to do that, he needed to work around the inconvenience of not having a body.
He floated down beside the buff red haired guy (He had a name. Izuku had heard him say it. But he couldn't care to remember what it was.) He wrapped his hands around him and watched in surprise as he shivered. He must've been able to sense his ghostly presence. How fascinating.
Before he could call for help, Izuku stuck his fingers inside his brain, thinking that was the most logical way to take over someone's body even though he truly didn't know how his ghost powers worked, and watched as his eyes rolled backwards. The next thing he knew, he was seeing through those eyes as if he had become him. Perfect.
Up ahead, Kacchan was marching as if he was playing leader the same way he did when they were kids. He seemed so happy it filled Izuku with joy. And a little guilt. Guilt he had made him unhappy for the past month. Yet, despite his mistakes, Kacchan still loved him so much he killed saved him from the harvest eclipse! He was so sweet and caring and protective and perfect that Izuku didn't deserve him. He owed him an apology for everything he had done while he finally acted on the fervid desires he had repressed for so long.
"KACCHAN!" He cried as he ran forward and tackled him in a hug. His vessel's body was so big and heavy that it knocked him to the ground to his surprise, but he wasn't complaining. He mindlessly started pulling down his lover's pants.
"WHAT THE HELL?" He screamed, his eyes wide with panic. "GET OFF ME, EIJIROU-"
Oh, right, he thought his food was trying to fuck him right now.
"It's me, Deku," he clarified with a smile
His pupils shrank even tinier, and he almost turned as pale as that romantic evening they had spent near the setting sun.
Izuku began stripping him of his boxers and admiring his huge, furry cock. He salivated, not caring if he looked like a feral monster right now because he had accepted the fact that he was one.
Meanwhile, he took off the red haired guy's black shorts under his skirt and moved into a position that let him straddle Kacchan's thighs while holding his dick. Even though he hadn't started yet, it was hard. He yanked it and forced it inside the red haired guy's anus so he could ride on top of him. When he felt tight, he started hopping like a fucking rabbit. He moved so fast and so wildly that he had to bear his arms against Kacchan's shoulders in order to stay put. As his energy grew, he accidentally turned the red haired guy's hands into rocks, pinning him. He hadn't meant to do that. Oh well! He kept fucking him while starting to spill his heart out.
"I'm so sorry I've been trying to 'cure' you for the past month," he caressed his soft fuzzy cheeks which were so beautiful. "I realize now, you weren't really sick. You were just different. You were a werewolf, and I should've accepted that instead of trying to 'fix' it."
Realizing he had said all of that without stuttering, he swelled with pride and started rambling before Kacchan even had a chance to respond.
"The truth is I was scared of accepting it because I feared what other people would think if they knew I loved you. If they knew I loved a monster... Can you imagine the judgement? The ridicule? The scorn? They would've looked at our relationship as if it was the bane of the Earth. So even though I still had feelings for you long after you changed, I convinced myself I only had feelings for the human side of you, and I saw your werewolfness as a side that needed to be removed. That was wrong of me, I'm sorry. The truth is: there is nothing wrong with you being a werewolf. Nothing at all. You are perfect just the way you are."
He felt a pulse move through Kacchan's dick, but for some reason, heard scared whimpering next. He looked down at Kacchan who was crying. His tears were the biggest, messiest tears Izuku had ever seen anyone make (including his mom who used to cry a lot.) He thought his words had moved him so he kept talking while stroking him tenderly.
"Even though I never accepted you until now, which I'm sorry about, there were times when I wanted to accept you. Like that time I wouldn't leave you alone even though you were about to transform. My heart wanted to be with you so badly that I just couldn't let go. There were a lot more times than that though..."
He took a deep breath as he prepared to tell him about the many, many times he had wanted the werewolf since he was a kid.
"The day that you jumped in front of me while a monster was leering at me from the bushes, and it took a huge bite out of you, causing your skin to change colors, I was terrified. I couldn't help but think you looked cute though. Maybe I was in shock from what happened, but I thought you were the cutest, sweetest person in the world. I cried my eyes out because it was my fault you got hurt. I hated myself for hurting someone so sweet, I wished the monster had killed me instead. You hated when I apologized though because you knew I believed my life was worth nothing compared to yours, and you wanted to boost my self esteem. I really appreciate that... I still feel sorry about what happened, but I'm glad I lived long enough to grow up with you. On your birthday a week later, I was excited to give you a perfect gift. I thought I could repent for letting you save me... But then I heard you were missing and you know what happened next... I felt so bad that you were crying, I wanted to reach out and hug you. I wanted to tell you everything was going to be alright. I may have even wanted to kiss you, but we'll never know because I didn't get the chance. Then you stopped talking to me, but I saw you in the village later so I ran up to you. I asked if you wanted to play with me because I thought we could still be best friends no matter what. Unfortunately, you didn't see it that way so you called me Deku. I was sad but kept asking you to play until finally I got scared. I got scared of being told the same answer over and over again, but not scared of you. Then I started keeping a journal. You used to make fun of me for constantly having my head down, writing in it while I walked. You didn't know what I was writing about, but... well, it was all about you! Isn't that funny? Sometimes when you picked up my journal and threw it in the town's fountain, I hoped you would accidentally see my notes and realize how much you meant to me. I used to fantasize about you pouring over my notes like the books you loved reading. Did you know you're the only person who has ever been able to read my handwriting? I thought that made it even more special. Only you and I would know what the notes said. Then there was when I noticed you hid in the woods once or sometimes twice a month. The connection to the full moon was immediately obvious. I thought you had found a way to control your wild murderous side so your regular wolfy side was going to become nicer. As in, you would be able to start showing affection normally. I was so excited I planned on asking you out. I was going to ask out wolf you. I didn't care if you weren't human. I didn't care if you'd ever be human, as long as you accepted my feelings. But you kept acting aloof so I was scared of getting rejected again. I didn't move forward with my plan. Although, I wonder what would've happened if I asked you out all those years ago. I think you would've run away, ha... You were so panicky about your monstrous side in the beginning. That's a huge part of why I thought it was a disease; you used to hate it. I guess you got more comfortable with it over the years though. I'm sorry I didn't notice you growing to like it. Or I wouldn't have... ugh, I'm so embarrassed by myself. After I went crazy, obsessing over this idea of a 'cure', the only time I went back to liking your wolf-self was during that sunset I mentioned earlier. I told you I was latching onto you because I was stressed. I thought I was. But, now, I think, I was just having a moment of clarity where I could see myself being with you even if we're two different species. I hate myself the most for what I did next... the kidnapping... but thankfully that's over with and I didn't succeed at changing you. I would feel miserable if I did. Because you're perfect the way you are. You don't ever need to be changed."
He relaxed, then noticed his legs felt stiff. He looked down to see he had activated the red hair guy's power by accident again. Kacchan was squirming beneath him as if he was too heavy.
While apologizing for crushing him, he turned his legs back into normal, then gently kissed his forehead. Kacchan's dick still remained inside him, still hard. Despite the mishap, he was still enjoying this. Izuku felt relieved.
He leaned down and asked with enthusiasm...
"Do you wanna say how you feel about me next?"
His red eyes flashed open, revealing tears. There were even more tears than before, which confused Izuku. Weakly, he choked, "I... h-hate you..."
"Ha... haha..." He cried, clenching him, feeling him getting harder. "No you don't..."
"I... hate you," he growled surely.
That didn't make any sense. That didn't add up with any of his deductions. He croaked, "Why...?"
"Why do you THINK, dumbass!?" He tried to bite him, but he wasn't strong enough to lift himself up; his food was too beefy.
"Because..." He hesitated. "Because you're trying to protect me from yourself... Because you still worry about hurting me even though I can't be hurt anymore... Because you're sweet...!"
He looked at him as if he was fucking stupid.
"NO!" He slashed his claws across Deku's face, but the ghost jumped back as soon as he saw the attack coming.
▪︎~~~~◇~~◇~~♡~~◇~~◇~~~~▪︎
Eijirou was somewhat conscious, and it was horrific. He felt like he was on the verge of passing out from sheer panic and guilt and terror. He could see Bakugou... He could see everything happening in spite of the dark green spots closing around his vision. He could tell he was trying to say something even though the only sound he could hear was blood rushing past his ears and occasional high pitched whimpers.
Worst of all, he could feel everything. He could probably feel it even more than the person he thought was possessing him... Deku.
The ghost hadn't seemed remotely aware of the fact Bakugou had already came in his ass because he was fucking talking. He was so... dense.
As the rape continued, Eijirou felt sick to his stomach with guilt. His body was being used to torture his new friend, and he was crying. When Bakugou finally lunged to attack him, he felt relieved. The ghost ran away. Taking a deep breath, he thought everything would go back to normal.
He didn't realize he'd still be sitting on top of him with his dick in his ass, watching tears stream down his face.
Shit!! shit! "Sorry!" He jumped off of him in an instant.
"I'm sorry!" He screamed again, throwing his hand down to help him up. "Are you okay?"
The wolf backed away on all fours, growling like an actual wild animal. Panic shot through Eijirou who kept whispering sorry, sorry, sorry over and over again and reaching out to help as if this situation wasn't beyond saving. Without warning, the wolf darted into the woods faster than lightning.
"Wh- what...?" He stood on the silent path, all alone. A chill like the one he had felt just before Deku took control of him ran down his spine, but he was pretty sure he was gone (God, he hoped he was.) And, oh God... He hoped Bakugou didn't think he was the one who...
His hands raced to his mouth in an attempt to stop it, but he was already puking.
After he wiped his lips and groaned, he debated whether or not he should run after Bakugou to explain that he'd been possessed (Would he even believe him? It sounded so fucking ridiculous, Eijirou wouldn't believe himself.) And what if Bakugou thought he was just running after him to do it again? Or worse?
It seemed like the best thing to do was to sit down and not move... at least not for a couple minutes. He wanted so badly to make sure he was okay, but he knew if he went near him right now, it'd only bring back bad memories.
While trying to calm down, he scrounged through the dirt for his black undershorts, then put them back on. He wished he hadn't though because he became even more aware of the wet cum stains that had splattered against the inside of his skirt as he pulled them over his thighs.
Maybe he shouldn't have felt bad when Deku got killed... This freak might've deserved it.
He didn't know what to do next.