Chapter 2: A Villain's Smile
Izuku shut the door to his room and threw himself face down on his bed. He was trying not cry but that look of disbelief and disgust on his mother's face was too much to take. His breakdown was interrupted by a pair of warm hands gently touching his shoulders. With some effort, he took his face out of his pillow and looked at his new friend. She somehow looked sad without making an expression, all the while an aura of concern dripped from her person. Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat and shifted his position to where he was sitting on the beds edge. He patted the empty spot next to him, gesturing her to sit next to him. She obliged to the offer and carefully moved herself so her large body didn't knock anything down in his room. The bed creaked at the heavy load of weight as she sat on the mattress while her long tail occupied the floor of Izuku's room. It was a while before he finally spoke…
"Don't worry, I am just a little upset that mom said you weren't there. But she is wrong, I can see you, so you must be there." Izuku said with a sniffle, "But let's not worry about that now. Let's just do something else". Izuku looked at his giant friend with watery eyes, but he couldn't be sad, he needed to show his friend that he was happy. "I know! Why don't you tell me your name? I already told you mine, and I am excited to hear yours"
However, the aura of sadness from his friend seemed to grow worse at the mention of the prospect. The fish woman looked away from Izuku as her head hung low. Izuku noticed her hands clenched into fists as her hair squirmed in frustration. He froze on the spot, unsure what to do, but he gathered his courage and gently grabbed one her clenched fists with both hands. He could feel the tension ease slightly in her giant fist, and the squirming in her tendrils wasn't as noticeable.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me your name now" Izuku said with reassurance "You can tell me when you are ready. I can wait, after all we are friends, right?". His nameless friend turned back to look at him and he gave an assuring smile to her. He wasn't sure how, but he could've sworn he had saw tears in her eyes.
…
"Don't Cry. Don't Cry. Don't Cry", Izuku muttered to himself as he could feel the tears build up behind his eyes.
However, such an action was hard in the face of the jeers and taunts of his classmates. The news that Izuku was Quirkless was something that was not well received by his peers and former friends. As typical of children their age, they turned against the black sheep of their group. Yet, the carnage brought upon him by his peers only worsen after they eventually figured out about his invisible friend.
"Deku is such a loser, and crazy to make up someone to put up with him"
"First he doesn't have a quirk, and he has to make up someone to stick around him"
Izuku sank to his knees as each insult pierced him like an icy knife, one after the other. He felt a warm touch on both his shoulders, and it put him at ease. Through his blurry eyes, he could see the blue outline of the fish woman as she grasps his shoulders and obscure the view of his classmate with her large form. Izuku mouths a thank you to his friend as the weight of the insults lightened. The hair of the fish woman fluttered in response.
…
"Izuku? Are you okay? Is everything alright?", Inko Midoriya asked her son one evening during dinner. She possessed an expression that screamed worried with her deep frown and wide eyes. Izuku looked up from his dinner and towards his mother, and a piercing feeling panged at his heart. He hated lying to her, but he also didn't want to worry her. After all, she deserved a better son than he ever could be. But he would do anything for her, even bear all the bullying with a smile.
"I-It's okay mom. Everything is fine. I am just a bit tired." Izuku weakly reassured. His mother did not seem to be convinced but did not bring up more on the subject. However, Izuku sensed an aura that radiated disapproval with a hint of anger and looked to the place near the dinning table that his silent friend was laying. It was hard not to see that she did not agree with Izuku's idea of hiding the bullying he was facing with her hair squirming in anger. Izuku shuddered as her black eyes silently challenged his willingness to suffer.
…
"You all are now third year students now. So now it is time for you to start thinking seriously about your future, and what you will be doing with your life" the homeroom teacher declared "I could pass out some career aptitude tests…" the teacher grabbed one of the many stacks of papers on his desk. "But let's be honest here, you all want to go through the Hero track!"
Every kid in the class, except Izuku and Bakugou, began to cheer and show off their quirks. Izuku's nameless friend rose from her spot on the floor and wrapped her lean arms around Izuku in a response to the display of his classmates, emitting a soothing aura to the occupant in her arms. It was her own attempt at trying to protect him, but he only wished her touch could actually shield him from harm. Izuku's thoughts darkened at the display and tried his hardest to make himself small as possible while trying to take comfort in the warm embrace of his friend's touch. Bakugou didn't move from his relaxed position as the chaos unfolded, all the while with a smug smile plastered on his face.
"Yes, Yes, you all have some powerful quirks, just settle down now" the teacher half-heartedly said as he reigned down the class's excitement.
"Teach" Bakugou blurted out "Don't rope me in with all these extras, they're at best side kick material to some D-tier grunt"
The jeers and shouts were evident of what Bakugou's classmates thought of that comment.
Bakugou, unfazed, stood up and laughed in their faces, "Got a problem with that? I'll take all you losers on!"
"Enough Bakugou" the annoyed teacher remarked "But I wouldn't shy away from the test results from the mock exams. You surely can get into UA with those numbers"
The teacher's comments sent the class into silence and then murmurs broke out among them.
"He's gonna try to get into UA?"
"That one school with only a 0.2 acceptance rate?!"
"If teach thinks he can make it in, then I believe it."
With each comment Bakugou's smile grew larger. He didn't think he could get into UA; He knows he can get into UA. Anyone who disagrees with that idea had to be either suicidal or just plain stupid to contest that fact. But the teacher wasn't done yet with mentioning UA High School.
"Oh yes, Midoriya; Didn't you want to attend UA as well?" the teacher said offhandedly.
The room once again was silent, and Izuku felt all eyes upon him. However, there was only one pair of eye that put him in a state of primal fear. Bakugou's red eyes pierce him like bullets full of rage, his smile vanished and in its place was a scowl. Izuku held his breath as he unfortunately gained the full attention of a very angry Bakugou. He felt the long body of his invisible friend shift as she slowly unwrapped herself from Izuku leaving her long tail on the floor circling the desk. He felt eight digits grasp his shoulders and the coarse fabric of the white robe rub against his head. She had taken a position that mirrored a viper poised to strike, and Izuku knew she would strike out if she could touch anyone other than him.
…
Nine years of bullying is something Izuku did not expect to face in life, or how the dirt tastes for that manner. Upon hearing those accursed ten words, Bakugou decided to make sure Izuku knows that applying for UA would result in consequences. Said consequences came right after class ended, with Bakugou and Izuku in a secluded alley near the school. It was ten minutes of the worst beating that Izuku has ever faced.
"You never learn do you, Deku?" Bakugou remarked darkly while cracking his knuckles, "Well, fortunately for both of us, I think it's time you learn the HARD way!". Bakugou then delivers a hard kick to the stomach on Izuku's prone form. The green haired boy retches from the pain of the blow. Bakugou then grabs Izuku by the collar of his shirt, hoisting him up to eye level of the blond boy. Bakugou pauses and looks in on the pathetic kid in his grip. Deku was covered in all manner of bruises, burns and his split lip dripped blood on his face. His school uniform was roughed up, singed, and had holes from the explosion cradling punches of Bakugou, revealing pieces of burned and bruised skin underneath. His face was contorted in a look of adjected horror making the already meek teen seem ever more vulnerable. Deku screamed nothing but pathetic, and that pisses Bakugou off.
Bakugou scowls and throws two more punches in the face of the Quirkless nobody, nailing him in the cheek and in the eye. Izuku groaned in agony as tears began to fall from his swollen eye, mumbling something incoherently.
"SHUT IT, DEKU!" snarled Bakugou "YOUR QURIKLESS ASS BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!"
"P-P-lease, just s-s-stop. I-I wo-o-n't tell…just stop p-please" Izuku forced out with desperation in his voice. He couldn't see where his friend was at, but he could feel her presence close by him. A kaleidoscope of concern, sadness, and rage was coming from her. Yet, no matter how much she tried to fight against Bakugou, she could do nothing spare Izuku from the wrath of the explosive bully.
"Oh, you aren't talking, Deku." Bakugou took his right limb off of Izuku's collar "This is between us, no extras, no adults, just me and the Quirkless loser that thinks he can get in my way"
"I-I n-never w-wanted t-t-to g-get in y-your w-way, Kacchan" Izuku stuttered "I-I j-just thought..."
Bakugou snarled "You thought what, Deku? That everyone would just humor your dumbass and let some nobody like you become a hero. You'd think that they would even let your imaginary friend come in and share a seat in UA?". Izuku flinched and what little courage he had left died as Bakugou gave him the cold reality.
"It doesn't surprise me that someone as stupid as you would still hold on that childhood bullshit!" Bakugou said with a tone that was almost pitying "And I am sick of dealing with your kid bullshit, Deku. So, I am going to make sure you understand, once and for all"
Bakugou raise his right arm back, it now cackled with small explosions like some form of twisted laughter. Izuku looked at the glowing right hand in terror, it was coming, and this explosion was larger than any others. He shifted his eyes back to Bakugou, and panic filled every fiber of his being. Bakugou had a grin that was similar to how All Might would smile, but instead of warmth or reassurance that was known to the Number One Hero, it emitted a sense of…Satisfaction. A satisfaction that enjoyed the pain he was dishing to Izuku, the cruel high of a boy enjoying his dominance over one who would always be weaker than him. It was the smile of a Villain, and it made Izuku fear for his life. Bakugou was clearly done playing around, and he was truly out for blood now. Izuku tried to struggle out of the iron grip of Bakugou, but like all the times before his resistance to Bakugou was never enough.
Time seemed to move in slow motion for Izuku at the moment. The right arm of Bakugou slowly moved towards him, carrying the impending explosion with it. Izuku could not feel anything, not his heart, his shallow breathes, or even the pain from his previous injuries. All he could do was watch the inevitable blow come streaking towards him like a rolling freight train.
"He's going to kill me! He's going to kill me!"
Suddenly, Izuku felt his body become overcome with a cool feeling, as if he had stepped outside on a day in autumn. The feeling intensified as a pair of blue arms, tensed with extreme strain, wrapped themselves around his around his chest. He felt something warm press against the back of his head, and yet, it made him feel at ease in this awful predicament. Tears dripped from his swollen eyes as the realization finally hit him. He tried to call out for her, but nothing more than a garbled croak come from his throat. She squeezed more firmly and pressed against his body slightly harder.
Bakugou's attack was almost upon his chest with her arms wrapped protectively around it. As he internally braced himself for the blow, something took him out his moment of doom. It was a voice he hadn't ever heard before; it was soft and gentle and vibrated like the ocean at the seashore. It said only one word:
"Sleep"
His vision darkened as he felt a flash of stinging pain, and everything faded into nothingness.
Chapter 3: She has a Name
Izuku's eyes shot open in an instant. He found himself staring something he would not expect. The sky was pure, unaffected by the pollution or lights of the earth, making the inky black void seem clear like a pool of water. Lights of all of colors shone brightly against that inky pool, with streaks of a gold colored dust swirling between the black void and bright lights like sediment kicked up in clear water. It was beautiful. It was like nothing he had ever seen, and not even the old photos of deep space from the pre-quirk era could compare. The sight of such a scene fills the teen with a sense of bliss, and yet made him feel small, smaller than anything his world made him feel.
He couldn't feel his limbs or anyplace on his body, he could only feel something cold below him, it felt like he was lying on a bed of ice. Izuku tried to move but found himself unable to, his limbs, if he still had them, were not responsive. Did his nameless friend transport him away from Bakugou before the blow hit him? No, she at best was only to touch him nor she shown any sign of having a quirk. Perhaps, she did something to ease the blow so he would not feel pain? But that didn't explain how he got here in the first place. Scenarios and possibilities rambled on in the head of Izuku, but only one seemed to have been the likely result of his encounter with Bakugou.
"Am I dead?" Izuku pondered as he stared at the star filled horizon.
"Not Yet"
A voice broke the veil of silence that had engulfed Izuku and the space-like purgatory he now occupied. Izuku tried to move his head to find the source of the sound but could not do so, and all he could do was helplessly stared at the scene he awoke to. He felt a pit develop in his stomach and pinch of fear. He suddenly found himself to be able to find his voice
"Who's there?"He called out "S-Show yourself"
The star-filled swirl in his field of vision rippled like something had disturbed its surface, and his ears caught the faint sound of water splashing. Izuku heard sloshing and dripping before those were replaced by a noise that was similar to something heavy being dragged through sand. The sky lights above him became obscured by an eclipsing shadow. Said shadow was a face that Izuku recognized in an instant. His nameless friend was there in all her glory; black eyes shining like polished obsidian, blue skin that was moist like a frog's, and the long tendrils on her head hung limb instead of floating like usual. She was a sight to behold in this space anomaly of a place, a place she seemed to be at home with rather than the tiny bedroom he was used to seeing her in.
"You are hurt" deadpanned the fish-woman "Why do you let him hurt you?". If nameless had a mouth it would be clear that she was frowning. Izuku's eyes grew as a large as dinner plates.
"You can talk!" Izuku shouted
"Yes." Said the irritated fish woman
"But how is that possible!?" Izuku screeched "Arudimentaryphysicalofyoudemonstratedthatyoudonotpossethefeaturesthatwouldindicateamouththerewasalsonotindicationofahiddenmouthororificethatcouldbeusedforspeechhoweverthatisunlessyoucanconductspeechthroughthenostrillikeslitsonyourcheeks"
Izuku's gaze wanders away from her figure as he gets lost in his rant,
"butthencomestheissueofneedingairtobeabletousevocalcordstoproducethesoundyetyourphysiologyshowedthatyoudonotbreathorhaveaneedtobreathebutthenyoucouldhaveaquirkthatwouldaltersomeofthebodyto…"
Izuku was cut off from his muttering tangent from a clawed finger that gently pressed itself over his mouth. He looked back at his friend to see her with what can be described as a stoic face that somehow has an amused expression.
"That is enough, little minnow" the fish woman said with a mother-like tone "We are talking about what happened to you and not about me."
Izuku gulped "What do you mean? What happened?"
She said nothing but extended her index finger from her curled fist and reached down and touched Izuku where his chest was at. Izuku winced as he suddenly felt a burning pain shoot into his previously numb system after the finger made contact. The feeling became worst as he felt a sense of nausea in his skull while his vison blurred, and a blaring ringing filled his ears. He couldn't help it when tears of relief rolled off his cheeks after she lifted her finger off his chest, returning it to the painless state it was in before. As his vison began to clear, he noticed that his invisible friend was staring at him with an intense gaze, with an aura of overwhelming sadness being emitted from her. She disappeared from his eyes before he felt something warm and coarse replace the icy cold feeling. Spindly fingers began to gently comb through his curled hair as his invisible friend once again appeared upside down in his vision. If he were to guess, she had cradled him in her lap something she hadn't done since his sixth birthday.
"That monster had finally done his worst" she finally spoke up with a shakiness in her voice, "He could've killed you with that attack. You are only saved by the fact that I had to interfere"
"I-I'm sure it's nothing. It is not like I haven't dealt with befo..."
She once again placed her slender finder on his mouth, silencing him yet again. With the newfound position, Izuku was finally able to catch a brief glimpse of the top of her hands. The shiny blue skin of his friend was marred and burned black with darker spots of bruising following the end of the damage. Izuku held his breath as he felt tears welt in his eyes. She bore the blunt of the blow that was meant for him, a blow that could've killed him had she not shielded him.
"No, there is no ignoring this, little minnow" she interrupted with a firmness in her tone "You cannot tell me what he did to you was acceptable" She paused for a moment "Will you promise me to stay away from that snake or do something to put an end to his reign of terror, lest I have to interfere again?"
Izuku was shaken by the sheer anger in the question, "I-Interfere again?"
"Yes, I will do so again if he even thinks about hurting you again. I have spent too long watching you get hurt at the hands of that parasite. Next time, I will put a stop to it permanently, with or without your permission" the fish woman threatened
Okay, it was not a threat, but an ultimatum. Izuku decided it would be probably best to give into this demand, and not for his sake, but Bakugou's. As much as he resents Bakugou for the years of bullying, he would not wish him to be on the receiving end of whatever punishment his friend has in store for him. Izuku silently nodded to the fish woman, and she seemed pleased with his answer. However, she was far from done with him.
"What do you wish to do, little minnow?" asked the fish woman
"W-What do you mean?" a confused Izuku questioned
"Do you still desire to be like the smiling giant?" the fish woman probed
Izuku hesitated from answering, she clearly meant about becoming a hero. But the way she said it, indicated a tone of disapproval. Had she not agreed to his childhood dream? He recalled all those times in which she seemed a tad overprotective of him throughout the years, or those times when she seemed to disapprove all those times, he stuck his neck out for classmates getting bullied.
"If you think I do not agree with your desire to become like the ones you admire, then you are right" the fish woman said
Izuku gasped in surprised, "Huh? But why?"
She said nothing at first, pausing at the action of stroking his hair, and instead shifting her long arms to wrap around his head protectively. "I simply do not wish for you to hurt yourself for parasites underserving of your kindness," her voice dropped to a whisper, "I don't want to lose you, my little minnow"
Izuku was overwhelmed by the response, but pressed the issue further, "Why do you call me that? Little Minnow?"
The fish woman tilts her head, "Is it not obvious, I find you adorable like those yipping furry creatures."
"Eh?!"
The fish woman responded with a bout of hearty laughter at Izuku's surprise. Surely, his oldest friend wouldn't have a reason so shallow as likening him as a cute animal.
But before he could respond to her, she interrupts "Besides that, I do care deeply about you, little minnow. I am your friend, so I wish for you to be happy but also to be safe.", She looks away briefly. Her voice is filled with an old sadness as she speaks, "So that's why I ask you again. Do you wish to continue this path?"
Izuku could only answer with silent for a long time…
"Yes. All I ever wanted was to help people, like how you've helped me when I was little", Izuku replied, "I want to return the favor to someone who will need it"
His friend said nothing but moved her left arm into his view. She raises her hand towards her face, and squeezes her fist so tight, her skin darkens from the pressure. She opens her hand up, revealing a self-inflicted cut in the center of her palm. Black liquid oozes out from the wound and on the claws on her fingers, but she then shifts her bleeding hand towards his mouth.
"Then, so be it. I offer my blood, and with it my strength will become yours", the fish woman said in a prayer-like manner, "This will be our bond as a master and student as our relationship begins in earnest"
Izuku looked at the bleeding wound with hesitation but relented and opened his mouth to the black liquid. It tasted bitter. But thoughts of the bitter taste were forced out of because a sensation akin to burning rapidly enveloped his body. Pain overwhelmed his nerves as it felt like every single nerve was on fire, he lost focus on everything around him in his miasma of agony. He would scream if he could find his voice or, is he screaming already but cannot hear it? Yet, somehow amid his numbness to the world around him, he could hear a voice. It was gentle and vibrated like sounds of the ocean, yet it wavered like the speaker was threatening to lose their nerve at the proclamation.
"M-Marris" said the trembling voice, "My n-name is Marris"