Dragon's Pride (Ch 4) (Patreon)

The three new friends watch as police go over the campsites, worry eating away at them from the concern of their fourth friend.

The day had started off without much to say. They’d woken up, eaten breakfast with their parents, and then trickled into their meeting spot. But when Midoriya still hadn’t shown by the time Shinso, who was the third to stumble into the clearing, did, the worry that had been building since the first of them arrived reached its peak..

They may only have been friends for a few days, but they’re also the only ones to actually act like friends to the others. Between people discriminating against Shinso’s quirk, Jiro’s mutation, and Kodai’s condition, what ‘friends’ they managed to get in the past were really just the ones who weren’t mean to them. Or those who were least cruel.

So they were understandably concerned when the one who’s the most worried about having friends, who apologizes anytime she even thinks they might be upset with her about something extremely minor -like when she tripped on a root and thought they would get mad at her for slowing them down- is last. Every time they’ve met up she’s been the first one there, or at least tied for first the one time Jiro had decided that she’d try to beat her there.

When she still hadn’t shown up after a few minutes, they’d gone to her campsite and asked her mother, who was cooking some eggs on a portable stove, where she was. To say they were surprised when she tilted her head and said she was with them is an understatement. And after they’d convinced her that, no they weren’t playing a prank on her and Izumi was really missing, she’d immediately called the police. Not long after, Izumi's father walked out of their tent and Inko Midoriya practically collapsed onto him as she sobbed her worries out.

Shinso, who was the most suspicious of other people due to them pretending to be his friend so they could say he brainwashed them when they did something bad, noted the flash of irritation on his face that was gone by the time Mrs. Midoriya looked up at him.

It’s now past noon, and the police still haven’t found any sign of the girl. Though Shinso has certainly developed his suspicions…

“Her dad did something.” He crosses his arms as he glares at the man where he’s reassuring his wife.

Jiro shakes her head. “Why would he do something like that? He’s her dad.” To her, the thought that a parent would willingly hurt their child is so foreign that it’s never even entered her mind.

A shame that Shinso has experienced it himself.

“The same reason that my dad tried putting a muzzle on me,” he scowls at the memory. He’s lucky that his mom walked in, because his dad had started hitting him when Shinso wouldn’t let him put it on. A panicked call to the police later and the man was out of the house and out of their lives within the hour. “Quirk discrimination. Or in her case, a lack of one.”

Kodai looks at him with slightly widened eyes. For others, it would be equivalent to their mouth hanging open. “Your dad wanted to muzzle you?” Her eyes twitch as she does her best to glare at where his parents are being interviewed by the police.

Seeing the misunderstanding, he clarifies. “Not him. My mom remarried after about a year. He’s actually one of the cops who showed up that night to take that bastard away.”

“But then why would he wait until now? Wouldn’t he have done it back when she was first diagnosed?” Jiro is spinning one of her jacks in a tight circle as she tries to contain her nervousness. As much as she wishes otherwise, she can’t argue with Shinso since he’s speaking from experience. But it just doesn’t make sense to her why he’d wait until now to get rid of her. And get rid of her how?

He huffs, reaching up to fiddle with something in his hair. “I don’t know. Maybe plausible deniability? People would have looked into it if something happened right after she was diagnosed, but now it can look like something else? Maybe?”

“But there’s too few people. Until she’s found, we’re all under suspicion. He’d have to be stupid to do something here.” Kodai points out, and Shinso has to reluctantly nod. If Mr. Midoriya tried to send her away, she’d easily be able to make her way to one of their families and tell them what happened. And if he tried to do something more…permanent… there’s not a lot of area to search. Either way, they’d find her quickly. So…

There’s suddenly a commotion as one of the search parties comes back, speaking quietly to the cop who was talking to Shinso’s father, and both of them leave to follow the newcomer. Sharing looks, the three are of one mind as they follow the adult trio. It’s not a long walk, and they quickly find themselves in the area each of their parents told them to avoid. They’re surprised to see a large hole in the ground, though they’re too far to see how deep it goes. But they do manage to get close enough to listen in on the adults, who all put on gloves while they were walking.

The cop who came to get the other and Shinso’s dad is the first to speak, gesturing around them. “The trail ends here, and with the marks and the hair…”

“A fall? Or did someone do it?” The second cop asks, crouching to look at whatever the first cop pointed out.

“If it was simply a fall, these marks would make sense,” Shinso’s dad says as he points at the edge of the hole. Before holding up a clump of something between a set of tweezers. “But look at the hair. Look closely and tell me what you see.”

The first cop frowns and leans in. “It’s…clumped? Is that mud?”

The second cop shakes their head. “Hasn’t been rain in a week. And there’s no water sources up here that would have caused mud.”

“Blood.” Shinso’s dad says grimly, and the three kids tense as he carefully puts the hair in a plastic bag. “Her hair got torn out by the roots, along with some of her skin. Painful. Unnecessary.” He rises with a sigh. “And a murder. There are grooves where she tried to hold on, probably after whoever was with her pushed her. But there’s also scuff marks around them, and they look an awful lot like a shoe print to me.”

The other two rise as well, equally grim looks on their faces. He meets both of their eyes before jerking his head in the direction of the campsites. “Go keep anyone from leaving. I have a detective who owes me a couple of favors that I can call. Hopefully we’ll have this child-killer behind bars before it even gets dark.” They nod, sending him a salute before they go to follow his orders.

He watches them as they leave, waiting an extra few moments after they’re out of sight before opening his mouth. “Come on out. I know you’re there.”

The two girls exchange surprised looks, hoping that he’s talking to someone else, even though they know it’s not likely. Shinso just sighs before straightening his legs, leaning back with his hands in his pockets. “How’d you know, old man?”

“You need a haircut if you’re going to try and hide behind a bush. That or dye it green.” The three children wince, the girls joining Shinso in standing with sad looks at the reminder of their friend. The one they don’t think they’ll be seeing again. Realizing what he said, Shinso’s dad winces. “Sorry. That was insensitive.”

They don’t acknowledge the apology other than to fidget a bit. They stand in silence for what feels like forever until Kodai speaks up, her monotone voice tinged with sadness. “So… she’s gone?”

He looks away. “That’s what it seems like. I’m sorry.”

The silence stretches on once again. This time Shinso is the one to break it. “Her dad. It’s him.” At his own dad’s questioning look he explains. “When Mrs. Midoriya was telling him that Izumi vanished -while in tears- he looked mad.” He shrugs. “Not the usual reaction someone would have if their kid is missing, I’d guess.”

The man keeps eye contact with his son for a moment before walking towards him. He doesn’t look away, even when he has to crane his neck up. His father puts a hand on his shoulder, glancing at the two standing next to his son. “It’s ok to cry. Nobody will think less of you. Any of you.”

Sinso manages to keep his cool, at least until the first sob breaks out. He doesn’t know which of them it came from, it might even have come from him, but it starts off the others, tears flowing from each of their eyes as they mourn the short friendship they made. The one who convinced each of them that there’s nothing wrong with them. That they don’t have a villainous quirk, a weird quirk that comes with a weird mutation, or that they look like a doll. That they each have only what makes them unique. 

They mourn for the one who brought them together as friends, but can no longer enjoy what they achieved.

`~`

He struggles as he’s forced into the back of a police car. Because of course someone like that can’t accept it when he’s caught. His wife is staring at the altercation from inside a different vehicle with blank eyes, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The other adults look at her with pity before switching hateful looks to the disgusting excuse of a father.

Meanwhile the three children have stoic looks on their faces, silently thankful that none of them have tried to comfort them after they came back with Shinso’s dad. They cried as much as they could before they returned to the campsites, and now they just need to be by themselves for a bit. They don’t move until the police are long gone, one of them assuring Mrs. Midoriya that they’d have someone bring her belongings to her address. Though there’s doubts as to whether or not she heard them.

Finally, the three start moving. They’re silent as they walk back to their meeting point, the clearing now having an oppressive atmosphere to it. They stand together, shuffling their feet.

“Should we…do something?” Shinso asks hesitantly.

Jiro shrugs, her shoulders hunched. “I don’t know. I’ve never…lost anyone before.”

Kodai is silent, simply raising her wrist. The other two stare for a second before Jiro pulls a pendant from her shirt. Shinso removes a hair clip from the mess that is his hair. On their own, they wouldn’t mean anything to anyone watching. But each of them share two characteristics.

They each look like they’re made of solid gold.

And each of them was gifted to them by Izumi.

They can practically hear her voice again, stuttering an explanation as she hands them out. “We-w-we’re f-f-f-rie-friends, right? So these will be a s-s-sym-symbol of that!”

A small smile graces each of their lips at the memory, especially with how determined she was to gift them despite her incredibly clear reluctance. She had to punch her wrist with her other hand to even let them go! And it took more than half an hour of assurances from all of them that they’d never sell them or lose them before she stopped her hands from twitching with the desire to take them back.

The three gently clink them together, careful to avoid causing any scratches. They hold their smiles, despite the absence of Midoriya’s own bracelet to complete the set.

“We’re friends,” Shinso starts.

“Bound by the hoard,” Jiro continues.

“Instead of blood,” Kodai speaks her part.

The three finish the oath together, in lieu of the one who was meant to finish it.

“““For gold is worth far more!”””

They may have lost the one who brought them together, but they won’t disappoint her by going their separate ways. They’ll be sticking together for as long as possible. And with them all being transferred to the same middle school, that will be a long time indeed.