Chapter 7: The Hunted
Izuku's return to Aldera had been met with deafening silence. He couldn't entirely blame them, either. The extent of their knowledge was limited to the fact that he was the resident crazy quirkless kid who hadn't hesitated to run head first into a sludge villain. As he walked through the halls, clenching tightly at his backpack straps, his presence was outright ignored. While it was better than being tripped, taunted, or physically thrown against a locker simply for existing, he still found it to be pretty demoralizing. He wondered how long this would remain the norm.
Unsurprisingly, Bakugou sneered upon seeing him enter the classroom, still fuming about what happened last week. The blonde's feet were kicked up on the desk in front of him, with no respect for the person who was currently sitting there. He frowned as the brash teen openly flipped him off.
Jiro waved to him, and he felt himself ease up a little.
"H-hi Jiro! How's your morning been?" He asked as he slid into the desk beside her.
She shrugged. "It's been decent so far. You?" She asked lazily, twirling a jack around her finger in what he recognized was a reoccurring habit of hers.
"People are treating m-me like I d-don't exist now, but it's better than the alternative."
The punk girl didn't look satisfied with that response at all, but before she could give her own input, the teacher announced the start of the lesson, effectively urging the class to hush up and listen. From then on the day went as it normally would, and thankfully no outrageous events occurred during lunch. He wasn't sure he could handle being the center of everyone's attention like that again.
Eventually it was time for PE, and Izuku was able to participate now, his bullet wound having fully healed. What remained as evidence of his duel with Shirai was a small asterisk shaped scar on his side, nestled just below where his rib cage ended. He sometimes found himself tracing the outer edge of the warped skin.
As he was putting on his gym shirt, a classmate inserted themself beside him.
"Hey Midoriya, where'd you get that fancy watch?" They asked, pointing at and eyeing the green device curiously.
Instinctually, Izuku placed his hand over the Omnitrix, as if to try and hide it from plain view, even though everyone had already seen it.
"OH! Uhhhh…" He floundered, sweating as he attempted to come up with a believable lie.
"...My c-cousin from America gave it to me!" He not-so-graciously supplied, his explanation being met with raised brows.
Even so, they didn't care enough to pester him for very long, as he watched the other boys accept his initial answer before leaving the locker room in a dense pack. Letting out a relieved breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he was about to follow them when a heated hand slammed into the locker beside him. He was roughly shoved back, yelping as his surprise attacker grabbed a fistful of his gym shirt.
"Deku…" Bakugo ground out maliciously.
"Bakugou…" He scowled back, not in the mood for the bullies' antics today.
"Why'd you lie about your watch!? I know you don't have any cousins! Unless that deadbeat dad of yours finally broke things off with Auntie? But I know that's not it- so what's the deal!?"
Izuku tried to break free from the blonde's iron grip, but to no avail.
"Why do you care about something that clearly doesn't involve you?"
If Bakugou was perturbed by his spiteful retort, he didn't care to show it, continuing to glare down the green haired teen with an ugly grimace before inquiring lowly:
"Did you steal it?"
He actually scoffed.
"You know me better than that. I'd never steal from someone else. Now let me go or we'll both be late to class."
"You aren't getting away from me that easily- you weren't here for an entire week. A nerd like you wouldn't miss school unless something huge happened. I'm not a fucking idiot, Deku- I see you favoring your left side more even though your right handed. Whatever it is you're hiding, it has to do with this watch-" He ignored Izuku's startled protests as he aggressively grabbed his wrist, including the Omnitrix, hands smoldering slightly.
"Tch! What kind of watch doesn't tell the fucking time!?"
"Bakugou, I am warning you; Let. Me. Go." His serious tone seemed to actually register with the blonde as his viridian eyes bore into his ruby ones.
That is, until he began to fiddle with the watch's buttons. Izuku felt his patience disappear instantaneously as a metaphorical cord snapped within him.
"I don't have to listen to what a pathetic, quirkless f- !" His tangent was halted as a fist squarely planted itself on his cheek, whipping his head sideways in a spray of saliva.
Izuku froze.
Yep. He just punched Bakugou in the face. Like, really hard. His knuckles stung terribly but he ignored the pain by shaking off the numbness. The taller boy just stood there, gaze fixated on the floor and motionless, unresponsive— as if struggling to cope with the idea that he actually fought back.
"I- I warned you." He shakily swallowed.
"I don't have to tell you anything about my life or what goes on in it. You forfeited that right a long t-time ago. S-so just... leave me alone." He whispered the last part, but he was certain Bakugou still heard him.
Once he joined Jiro and the rest of his class outside, they got to running around the track. After twenty minutes of cardio and no sign of Bakugou, he couldn't help the nervous knot forming in his stomach. He couldn't have hurt him that badly…
"What's with the face, Green? I know you're out of shape but not that out of shape." Jiro snickered beside him.
"I'm worried about Bakugou." He admitted.
"Don't waste your time on that jerk. You have better things to focus on." She said as she crossed her arms, the mere mention of the blonde making her brow twitch irritatingly.
"You're probably right, but…"
"...But what? You know you can tell me anything. I won't judge you for it." She looked as if she were going to probe further— then she caught sight of his hand.
"You're bleeding." Her eyes narrowed, gauging his guilty appearance as she slowly connected the dots in her mind.
"Wait, did you- and him- !?"
"-He was suspicious about the Omnitrix. He thought I stole it from someone, and that me being gone for a week was related to that."
Jiro pursed her lips contemplatively.
"You're nervous because he was close to figuring out your secret? Minus the stealing part." She guessed, to which he nodded in confirmation.
"I don't want to have to deal with Ka- Bakugou, breathing down my neck for the next two semesters for suddenly getting a quirk- multiple quirks- out of nowhere! He won't stop until he gets an answer that he's satisfied with. Him learning that I have powers now will probably make him even more angry with me than he already is. I know it won't be a secret any longer if I make it into UA-"
"- You mean when you get into UA, remember?"
He laughed lightly.
"R-right. I keep forgetting I stand a chance of getting in now."
Jiro hummed softly, concerned for her friend.
"I think I need to go check-" He was stopped by a hand clasping his tricep.
"-Green, clearly he got what he deserved. You don't owe him shit." She huffed, mildly annoyed that he was even considering helping his bully.
He gently shrugged her grip off, guiltily averting his gaze.
"Look, Green- I'm sorry. It's just- It's not healthy wanting to help your biggest bully. Especially since you know he would never return the favor! Surely you understand where I'm coming from?"
Izuku considered Jiro's reasoning. Yeah, Bakugou was an egotistical asshole, who also abused him for well over a decade— but he was committed to being a hero— even if his actions may contradict that. He would need to undergo some intensive therapy if he ever hoped to be successful in the industry— even a blind person could spot that much. Yet, even still…
"I know. Which is why you have to let me go. I need to make things right-"
"-I'm coming with you."
"My grades can handle a gym absence- yours can't."
"It's almost impossible to fail PE unless you literally don't try at all!"
"Which is why you should stay here. You transferred here later in the year- I wouldn't want your marks to take a dive because of me."
'And I thought I was stubborn.' Jiro sighed frustratedly.
"Fine. Go seek out Baka-go. If you aren't back in the next ten minutes I'm coming to find you, got it?" She set her jaw into a hardline, tone sincere.
"I don't trust that guy- and neither should you."
"I'll be extra cautious this time." He gave her a reassuring smile, waving to her as he jogged off the blacktop, heading straight for the boy's locker room.
Just as he was out of her view, he slowed down to a walk, mulling over what he was going to say when he confronted the blonde. He didn't get to think on the matter very long, however, as he rounded the corner, he caught sight of a large, imposing figure, stalking through the locker room entrance. They wore a bulky trench coat, accentuated by a black fedora that obscured the discernible features of their face. Izuku could instantly tell whoever that was— they weren't part of the school faculty— nor were they a student. Bakugou could potentially be in real danger— and that's all it took for him to abandon any notion of self preservation.
"I didn't think I'd have to do this again so soon- and definitely not here." He muttered to himself, as he unlocked the Omnitrix, jumping behind a dumpster for cover.
"Let's see what this guy can do!" He pushed the dial down, as green particles encompassed him.
Izuku convulsed momentarily as he felt his spine extend, curling and flexing, before shooting out from his tailbone, generating a long, opposable appendage. His eyes converged— then split into three separate entities, each with different colorations; red, blue, and green. He hunched over as his skin morphed to accommodate lilac scales, which spanned from his toes to his fingers, wrapping around his jaw and neck before ending at the base of his skull. His mouth was filled with rows of serrated teeth. On top of his head, a singular onyx spike stood rigidly, effectively completing the transformation.
Slinking his way inside the locker room, he discovered that he could drop down to all fours. It was admittedly weird at first, since he was used to walking on both legs, you know, with him being a bipedal human and all— but this transformation seemed to be able to organically rotate between the two movement patterns with ease. He also noticed that his digits had a specialized traction to them, and if he willed it so, he could enact suction to the surface of the ground.
'I must be able to use this for scaling walls.' He thought diligently.
He took special care not to make any noise as his triangular vision narrowed in on the intruder's whereabouts. From what he could observe, they were roaming through the different aisles, as if they were searching for one locker in specific. Intrigued, he craned his neck to try and see if he could catch a better glimpse at their face— when his tail knocked over an empty soda can left behind by one of his classmates.
The dull clink of aluminum on the hardwood floorboards alerted the trench coated figure as they promptly whirled around to the source of the sound, homing in on Izuku's exact location. Marching forward alarmingly fast, yet, never actually uptaking a runner's stride— or perhaps their stride just was that long— they dropped the bag they'd previously been rifling through, monstrously large hands outstretched, as if attempting to strangle something.
He held his breath as their gloved bony fingers all but grazed his snout. He could see that their face was engulfed in a white cloth, leaving no openings for eyes, mouth or even a nose. After a couple seconds of fumbling in his general vicinity, they appeared to give up, proceeding to shuffle to another section of the locker room. His heart was hammering in his chest, thankful his lithe ribcage muffled even that. It was then that he came to the conclusion that this transformation wasn't meant for combat— they were meant for stealth.
He experimentally held out his hand, watching as the scales shifted in shades, in response to his mental commands. Snapping back to the present, he ordered his skin to play on automatic, effectively camouflaging himself as he latched onto the wall. Akin to that of a chameleon, he deftly crawled his way up to the ceiling, until he was hanging only by the tips of his toes. He was mildly surprised that he wasn't affected by any feeling of vertigo, but he guessed that was some type of evolutionary feature this particular alien had.
Utilizing this newfound ability, he investigated the trench coat's movement patterns, matching their pace as he followed along from above. He felt his anxiety spike as they snatched his worn yellow backpack, appearing to study it for a considerably longer amount of time than the rest of his peers' belongings. Was it possible someone had already tracked him down and knew about him being Slipstream?
Sure, there were the other passengers on the train who might've seen him as his usual self before he transformed into Slipstream— but that number was even smaller than that considering it was limited to a singular train car and he had his plain features to further aid his ambiguity. He doubted anyone could've recalled that he'd even been there to begin with.
So who was this, and why were they here?
As he continued to seek for the answers to his inner quandaries, and them skimming through his school supplies, he picked up on the faintest sound of a running tap. Three eyes blinked simultaneously. Now that he thought about it… he couldn't recall this person ever having made a single noise. They had been deathly quiet the entire time they'd been snooping. A result of a quirk, perhaps? Likely sound nullification— it would make sense, a quirk like that would make espionage a cake walk. It was like they could mute every sound vibration in an area surrounding them. But that didn't explain why Mr. Mute's face (guess that's what he'll refer to him as now) was completely covered, unless they couldn't risk their identity being found out. This suggested they weren't involved with the law, and were, in fact, working against it. He had to cut his internal mutterings short as he noticed them steering away from the lockers, heading in the direction of the boy's bathroom.
A terse moment of recognition.
'Bakugou! He's still here!' He thought in panic.
Slithering as swiftly as he could manage without making too much of a ruckus, he slipped through a crack in the doorway, advancing into the restroom, scouting the place for signs of a spiteful blonde. The resident teen was currently splashing water on his face, glaring at his own reflection in the mirror. No time for respite, he snuck up behind his bully, juggling a million different scenarios in his mind as he struggled to come up with a feasible solution to his dilemma.
Outside of being able to mute any sound they generated, he couldn't be sure what Mr. Mute's intentions were, but if he had to take a wild guess— they weren't of the innocent sort. Bakugou wouldn't listen to anything he told him to do, especially not with the way he was now. What was he going to do?
From Bakugou's perspective, a three-eyed lizard creature had suddenly materialized behind him, before tightly constricting his mouth and body with their tail.
"Move or make any attempt to call for someone- and you will regret it." He whispered into his ear.
In hindsight, he probably should've just come right out of the gate and told him who he was— then there might've been the slightest chance the blonde would have chosen to willingly cooperate. Instead, the blonde struggled with every ounce of strength he had in him. Fortunately, similar to Jellytronic, this alien's physical capabilities extended to immense tensile durability, so while he did have to actively divert his attention to keeping Bakugou subdued as well as quiet, he could also hike him backwards into the nearest stall, briskly shutting the door.
The lighting in the restroom dimmed, indicating that the trench coat was in the room with them. They could've been kicking the doors down one by one in each of the stalls and he wouldn't know— another perk of sound nullification. Adrenaline kept him on high alert, as the sink Bakugou had been using prior flooded over, cascading onto the tile floor like a miniature waterfall.
The sound of the overflowing tap was inertly smothered.
Realizing what was about to happen, he quickly scaled the underside of the bathroom wall, narrowly avoiding the door as it smashed open, breaking it off its hinges, as Mr. Mute peered inside it threateningly. With great urgency, he maneuvered them so they were slotted inside the next stall over. Still holding the blonde hostage from within his tail, he risked exposing their position by awkwardly peeking outside the confined space, confused to find that Mr. Mute was currently invested in something else— the sink?
They thumbed the handle, turning it off. Their hands caressed the underside of the bowl, before raising their extended finger up to examine. Though it was difficult to make out in the darker room, he could tell that the splotch on their white glove was a shade of purple. They methodically removed their fedora, stuffing it into their coat pocket. Subsequently, they pulled away the blank linen that kept their mysterious face hidden.
Izuku almost wished they kept it on. Via their reflection in the mirror, he was able to pick apart the grizzly details. What laid beneath was something he could only describe as truly hideous. Where a face should've been, instead was an oblong head with a gaping void at its center. A pair of fleshy mandibles fretted about, reminding him of antennae that most insects have. A row of bizarrely human molars lined the upper ridge of their lipless mouth. Two unflinching eyeballs were wedged deep inside exposed gray brain matter.
So enraptured by the horrifying sight, he didn't notice that Bakugou had given up the fight, peering through the small crevice he allowed in between his tail— equally as disturbed.
The two teens tried not to gag as a thick, fleshy organ shot out of their gullet, flopping in the air fluidly before lapping at their stained digit. After they were satisfied with their handiwork, they retracted the slick tube back into their throat. As the trench coat moved to veil their face, Izuku retreated to the ceiling.
Just as the trench coat was about to exit the restroom, Bakugou decided he officially had enough. He bit down into his tail— hard. Not expecting it, Izuku yelped, then slapped a hand over his mouth. Still invisible to the naked eye, the trench coat regarded the area with a hostile gate. He knew that as long as he kept his camouflage on, they wouldn't be able to find him. That is until his tail dripped.
Bakugou had chomped the fleshy portion of his appendage with enough force to draw blood, as the tiniest of droplets splattered on the tiles below. Heart rate ramping up, the alien boy considered his options of escape as Mr. Mute approached the multicolored liquid on the floor. Then their head snapped up, a blank mask directed straight at them. Their gloves ripped as razor sharp claws descended from their fingertips.
"Crap!" He kicked the bathroom window open, not bothering on subtlety anymore, accidentally bonking the blonde's head against the glass pane as he sprinted away on all fours.
He didn't stop, even as they reached the fence barrier, expertly scaling its wirey surface. He deposited Bakugou beside a tall willow tree. Thwipping his head around, he tried to see if Mr. Mute was still on the hunt. A few more seconds passed by and with no sign of the ominous trench coat, he allowed himself time to catch his breath.
"That was clo- ACK!" He recoiled as a bright explosion burned on his shoulder.
"Who the fuck do you think you are you DAMN VILLAIN!?" Bakugou spat with no lack of toxicity, looking beyond angry.
"I'm not a villain!" He cried back indignantly, contorting his body to dodge another oncoming blast.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow you to high hell right now!"
"K-Kacchan, please stop!" He curled up defensively, trying to shield his face from taking further damage, curiously peeking through his fingers when it never came.
"Uh…?"
"...What did you just call me?" Bakugou's eyes were drilling holes into his head.
Izuku blinked. He double facepalmed himself. He'd gone and done it again. He really needed to work on keeping his mouth shut.
"The only person I know who calls me that is…" The blonde trailed off, lip curling in disgust.
"Deku?" He asked, unbelieving of what he was even saying or seeing by this point.
"Yeah, its- its me. Guess the cats out of the bag now, huh?"
Bakugou shook his head, gritting his teeth angrily.
"What the fuck is going on!? Why do you look like that!? Is this some quirk you've kept hidden from me all these years!?"
"Bakugou, I'm going to be perfectly honest with you: I have no clue what that thing is that we just witnessed. I was only trying to find you so I could apologize for hitting you earlier- but then I saw Mr. Mute-"
"-Mr. Mute? You mean the fedora fucker with an asshole for a face?" He growled.
"Err, yeah, that's what I've been calling him- in my head, that is. I sort of got this feeling that they were up to no good. I didn't want you to have to fight for you life for the second time in two weeks…"
"I don't need your help, Deku. I can hold my own."
"I'm not doubting your abilities- but their sound nullification quirk would make it so no one would hear your explosions! If you were to be…" He chose his next words wisely. "...Bested in combat, there's no guarantee anyone would be close enough to save you."
Bakugou huffed, crossing his arms.
"So what's with the ugly lizard?"
"Lets just say you weren't entirely off about your accusations regarding my new watch." He sighed.
"And NO- I didn't steal it. It was given to me by a hero… who will remain anonymous for the time being." He said before loosely gestured to himself.
"This is one of many different transformations I have at my disposal."
"None of this shit makes any sense!" Bakugou appeared to be losing his mind.
"You and me both!" Izuku chuckled, cringing slightly at the blonde's annoyed expression.
He transformed back into his human form, no longer towering above Bakugou, instead he now looked up to him.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do De-"
"-Shouldn't you two be in school?" A dry voice shattered the tension in an instant.
Both teens paused, turning to face the source of the voice. The mystery person approached them casually, donning a black hoodie. They had powder blue strands of hair shrouding their shadowy grin. Crimson eyes were accompanied by harshly chapped lips, further adding to their unsettling appearance. Overall, Izuku was getting the same vibe from this person as he did Mr. Mute— and that's what frightened him the most. Something just… wasn't quite right about his sudden arrival.
"That's rich coming from you!" Bakugou sneered, upset that he was interrupted.
"You can't be too much older than us! Don't you have some freshman to go hit on? Piss off!"
The newcomer merely laughed, though it was raspy and stuttered.
"You're funny. I suppose I came over here to talk to you because I thought you both looked familiar." He rubbed his chin musingly, revealing a specialized glove that only contained his pinky finger.
Izuku made the connection that it must've been related to the guy's quirk, and he unconsciously prepared to dial up another alien behind his back in the case a fight were to break out here.
They made an 'o' shape with their mouth as if they came up with a brilliant idea.
"I remember now! You, blondie- you're the kid who was held hostage by the Sludge villain!" Bakugou snarled upon being reminded of his life-threatening encounter. His gaze shifts to Izuku.
"You're the crazy kid who ran in after him."
Seeing no reason to deny it, he spoke up:
"Uh, yeah- that… was us. Who are you, by the way? I-if you don't mind me asking, that is."
"Hmm, call me Shiggy. How's that?"
"Thats fine. Shiggy, why did you really want to speak with us?"
Shiggy's attention flickered between him and Bakugou, as if weighing some intangible positives and negatives.
"Dunno- it seemed like a good idea at the time." He shrugged nonchalantly, sliding his hands into his hoodie pocket, turning to walk away.
"You coming or what?" He barked over his shoulder.
'Eh? Does he want us to go with him?'
Mr. Mute shouldered past Bakugou, making the blonde sputter and instinctively activate a few pops in his hands. He might've even jumped them had it not been for Izuku tugging at his gym shirt tightly. With no sound vibrations as an indicator, he flinched in surprise at the sensation, whipping around to glare at the green haired teen. Wordlessly, Bakugou reeled back his rage, as hard as that was. The wind and distant honks of automobiles returned as Shiggy and Mr. Mute disappeared behind the street corner.
"This day just keeps getting fucking weirder."
"I would have to agree with you on that one." Izuku frowned.
"We're not done here." Bakugou grunted, jogging towards the school gate, encouraging Izuku to follow closely behind him.
"But I'm not letting your quirkless ass taint my perfect record."
"Of course." Izuku deadpanned, all the while trying to ignore the low thrum of pain on his tailbone.