BNHA: Undying (Ch 73) (Patreon)

Half of the class immediately books it out of the room when lunch rolls around, while the other half crowd me. Izumi is in the first half, and Kachan in the later, making me sigh and roll my eyes at what I know is about to happen.

“YOU WORTHLESS-”

So to speed things up I lean forward and grab his tie, yanking it back and down to slam his head into the desk. There’s a crunch and a thud before he slumps to the floor, silent and unconscious before a wave of ice encases him. The assembled students switch their shocked gazes from me to Shoko, their mouths hanging open. I chuckle, stretching as I stand up. I feel a flash of amusement as they flinch, taking a step back with flashes of fear on their expressions. I turn to Shoko as we nonchalantly head towards the door, the rabid pomeranian’s antics nothing new.

“So, I’m guessing that this is the quietest he’s been since you started UA?”

She shrugs, a small smile pulling at her lips. “You’d be surprised, actually. He’s on a short leash after the principal investigated Aldera, so he hasn't been shouting as much. His personality is still terrible though.”

“Huh.” I blink in surprise for a moment before frowning. “So if the rat knows about all the laws he’s broken, why are he and Izumi still in UA instead of a prison?” I’m aware that some of the hero students are following us, but unless they decide to stop creeping in the background they aren’t really important enough to pay attention to.

Shoko sighs, annoyance flickering across her face. “According to the principal, if he’d tried arresting them then your father-”

“Toshinori Yagi is not my father, nor is Inko my mother,” I tell her softly but firmly. She nods, easily accepting the new information.

“If Nezu tried arresting either one of them, then All Might would have used his influence to clear their records. He was also worried about them turning into villains if they were to blatantly be turned away from becoming heroes. So he decided to put them in therapy and do community service, and if they did terribly he’d be allowed to prosecute.” The corners of her lips turn downwards. “Unfortunately, they met the bar he set.”

I hum in thought, putting my hands behind my head as we walk into the cafeteria. “Sounds unfair, but with Yagi holding the title of ‘Symbol of Peace’, I suppose he was fairly limited in what he could do. Would also explain that time I saw Kachan picking up trash.” I snort. “Clearly though, he has blind spots if he thought Izumi would turn villain.”

Shoko tilts her head as she grabs a tray and moves down a counter extending from the wall, glass containers showing off a variety of food further down. I mimic her actions, grabbing my own tray and sliding down the line as she talks. “You don’t think she’d turn to villainy? How come?”

I open my mouth to point out that it’s obvious, but the words freeze in my throat. Why… do I think that? From a purely objective point of view, her actions are more along the lines of villainy than heroism, so it would make sense for her to become a villain if she couldn’t join a hero school. Heck, I have no problem believing that Kachan would become a villain, but Izumi? I just can’t imagine it.

“Cold soba.” Shoko tells the cook behind the counter, Lunch Rush. He nods before grabbing a bowl and handing it over.

“Chicken Katsudon,” I say absentmindedly, still following Shoko’s lead in obtaining a cafeteria lunch for the first time. I’m still trying to work through my feelings as I follow her to an empty table.

I’m perfectly fine with acknowledging Izumi as evil, but not as a villain? What the heck!? Her actions were cruel. I hate her. I want her to suffer. But do I want her to die? … I have no idea? I groan as I let my head fall to the table. For some reason, it seems like my emotions towards Izumi still haven’t fricken settled!

“Things would be so much easier if I could just kill her without feeling regret,” I sigh to myself. But to my surprise someone responds.

“Shit went from zero to a hundred real quick!” I blink, looking up and seeing a guy with electric blonde hair with a black lightning bolt streaking across the side. “I mean, seriously? That’s the first thing you say after we sit down!?”

I blink again as I take in the people who’ve decided to sit with Shoko and I. There’s the blonde, of course, and a guy with a bird head, and a girl with purple hair and jacks coming out her ears. The first two made it into the finals of the Sports Festival, so I’m pretty sure I know their names… Kamino and Takoyaki? Feels close enough. No idea about the girl’s name though, since she didn’t get a spotlight introduction for making it to the finals.

“He gets lost in thought a lot.” Shoko says as way of explanation for my outburst.

The jack girl with a punk vibe raises an eyebrow. “You know him that well? He only got brought to the class today.”

Kamino nods, pointing at her with an air of challenge. “Yeah! And what’s up with your face? You never show emotions!”

I tilt my head curiously, looking at him in confusion. “What are you talking about? Shoko wears her emotions on her sleeve. She’s very expressive.”

“We went to the same middle school together before he disappeared. Of course I know him well.”

“A mysterious past shrouded by a fog of despair.” Takoyaki says in a deep voice.

I think about that for a moment before nodding understandingly. “Yeah, that sounds about right. I didn’t really make it a point to announce that death is simply an inconvenience for me, and the reason I left was because I fell into despair…” I give the bird boy a thumbs up. “You’re pretty observant!”

“Revelry in the Dark,” he says with his head dipped while the other two stare at him in surprise. Suddenly, I hear a cackling that seemingly comes from nowhere. Without any warning, a dark bird thing erupts from Takoyaki’s chest.

“This guy totally gets you, Yami! You should show him your collection!”

Takoyaki looks down even further while I stare at the bird thing in surprise, my eyes gleaming. “Fascinating,” I mutter, reaching out to touch it before pulling my hand back. “It wasn’t really clear on the video, but are you perhaps a sentient quirk?”

They turn away from their apparently embarrassed host and hold out a hand to me. “Got it in one! I’m Dark Shadow, and just so we’re clear from the get-go, I’m a girl.”

I shake their hand -claw?- even while I frown. “Dark Shadow? Sorry if this comes as rude, but isn’t that a little on the nose? And kind of a little racist?”

“Oh damn!” Kamino shouts, throwing his hands in the air. Meanwhile Takoyaki jerks in surprise and Dark Shadow tilts her head at me.

“Well, how else would you describe me as a ‘dark shadow’?” They shrug. “That’s what I’ve been called ever since I manifested when Tokoyami turned four.”

I snort, holding up a finger before pausing. “Tokoyami? Not Takoyaki?”

My honest question gets a snort from the punk girl, stifled laughter from Kamino, and a small ‘heh’ from Shoko. The now properly named bird boy looks a bit offended while Dark Shadow cackles again. They turn to their host. “I like this one!”

Tokoyami lets out a huff. “I suppose proper introductions are needed after all. I am Fumikage Tokoyami.”

I point at the blonde. “And he’s Kamino?” More laughter tells me that I might be wrong…

“Denki Kaminari! I’m sure my electric personality won’t let you forget it!” He shoots me sparking finger guns, a confident smirk on his face. I snort, mentally filing it away. Close enough that people won’t think much of it. I wonder if anyone will realize that I basically told them where to find one of the LoV’s locations~?

“Kyoka Jiro,” the punk girl says quickly. “I don’t really want to know what you thought my name was.”

I shrug. “I wasn’t planning to guess since they didn’t really name many people outside of the tournament. I’ve just been mentally referring to you as ‘the punk girl’ since you give off a kind of ‘no-nonsense don’t mess with me’ vibe.”

She blinks for a moment before looking away, twirling one of her earphone jacks while a blush dusts her cheeks. She coughs, the other jack raising itself to point at me. “Well, yeah. Don’t fuck with me, or else I’ll stab you.”

I laugh. “I know that feeling. Anyways,” I clap my hands and look back at Dark Shadow, ignoring the frosty glare that Shoko directs at Jiro. None of my business, nope. Nothing to do with me whatsoever. “Are you really okay with your name just being a description? That would be like me being named ‘Green Hair’ or ‘Freckles’ just because I have them.”

“I’d only lived through four cycles when I named them!”

I tsk at Tokoyami’s objection, wagging my finger at him. “That’s no excuse! Dark Shadow is basically your daughter, and you decided that you’d never ask her opinion?”

“They’re my quirk! Not my daughter!” The boy looks absolutely scandalized at what I’m saying while Kaminari and Jiro are laughing. Shoko, of course, seems to understand what I mean.

“But Dark Shadow is sentient. So that would mean that they are, in fact, their own person. Which would mean that you are her father since she came from your body. But since you didn’t have a partner when you made her, it would also mean that you are her mother.” Shoko nods while the other four stare at her with wide eyes. She points at Tokoyami. “Therefore, from a purely biological standpoint, you are both male and female.”

There’s a moment of silence before Tokoyami buries his head in the table, a massive groan leaving his beak. “This is a banquet of madness, and I am unsure if I should remain to partake.”

I shrug, taking a sip of whatever drink it is I grabbed. “I mean, you did choose to sit down with a known villain, so…”

“No offense,” Jiro says in a doubtful tone. “But you aren’t really acting like a villain.”

“Y’know, other than knocking out Bakugou.” Kaminari points out, getting a shrug from the girl.

“Eh, I’m fine with that. With how loud he always is I was kind of hoping someone would shut him up sooner.” She uses her jacks to point to her ears. “Sensitive hearing.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Really? Shoko said that he’s been a lot quieter since our time in middle school. And From what I can tell,” I make a show of looking around the cafeteria and confirming what I thought, “UA doesn’t condone quirk use on campus, so you shouldn’t have to deal with him letting off explosions every few minutes either.”

Kaminari and Jiro stare at me with mouths agape. “You mean he was worse!?” Kaminari shouts, drawing attention to our table. I shoot the onlookers a cheery grin, waving a knife at them. They quickly look away and I snort, making it disappear back into my sleeve. Oops, the table is staring at me again.

“They let you have a knife?” Kaminari asks with a bit of worry in his voice. Much more appropriate than their blase attitudes so far.

“Nope~.” I say, popping the ‘p’ while smirking at them. “But a little thing like me not supposed to be having it isn’t going to stop me~.”

That gets a few tense chuckles from them and next to me Shoko rolls her eyes. “I don’t understand why him having a knife is what has you all unsettled. His mind is much more dangerous than any blade.”

I'll admit, I kind of lost track of where this chapter was going.