Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Despite his rapt attention on the the pages of his favourite book, the increasing sound of chatter on the street had Izuku lifting his gaze. At nine years old, his focus and concentration was easily swayed, some said it was more true for the wide eyed boy, than others his age. Without further hesitation, he placed the Mythological Bestiary A-Z book, face down on his futon, grabbed his candle lamp and cautiously tip toed to the window.

The wooden slats and thick glass hampered his view, but he could at least make out the hoard of villagers walking down the cobbled street. Leading the procession, was the Town Mayor, Enji Todoroki, torch in hand, his eldest son Touya by his side. The white haired teen held a rope of black beads that trailed back and wrapped around the wrists of…

Izuku gasped.

He pulled back from the window and ran from his bedroom. His deep green curls bobbed wildly as he ran down the perilously narrow staircase. He skidded past his younger sister, sitting at the kotatsu, colouring with chalks on parchment, and straight to the front door. While he wanted to be quiet, peek out unseen, his urgency to get answers took precedence.

The usually rambunctious Rumi Usagiyama turned to look, her red eyes meeting his shocked green ones. 

“Izuku!” His mother’s hushed, angry voice made him flinch, she was never normally one to raise her voice or make him feel small. It took a moment, his eyes flitting through the disgruntled faces but eventually he found her, a little further back amongst the group, with a mortified expression. 

Everyone in the slowly moving march, wore their finest clothing, but none quite as eye-catching as Rumi’s white kosode, tied with a silver and black painted obi, looped and wrapped with ropes of onyx beads, the same as those tying her hands together. The fabrics were opulent silk, patterned with silver and gold swirling clouds. Her long, ivory-white hair was styled elegantly in buns and loops, small tresses falling down to frame her saddened face. To see the usually boisterous, feisty teenager look so subdued had Izuku drawing in another breath.

An irritated huff came from the head of the gloomy parade, Enji Todoroki’s piercing blue eyes glaring for a moment, before turning, his pace speeding up a little. 

“Go back inside with Eri!” His mother hissed once more, her face now hidden in the shadows cast by the late afternoon sun.

Although he was still dumbfounded, he nodded slowly, stepping back and closing the door.

“What is it? Mamma doing a walk? But its dark soon…”

He turned to his little sister’s puzzled face, forcing a bright smile “Probably nothing as cool as your awesome pictures!! Can I see what you’re drawing?”

“A kite!” She cheered, holding up the paper covered by a mass of unruly squiggles.

“Wow!” He praised, skipping over to the kotatsu “That’s the best!” 

It was three hours before his mother finally returned, stepping through the front door quietly, pausing to stare at Izuku as he ladled out two bowls of vegetable and bone broth.

“Good boy” she breathed, tension in her shoulders slipping away as she closed the door and smiled softly. “Sorry about before, I didn’t want the ceremony to be disturbed.”

“Can you tell me about it?” He asked hesitantly as he slid open the lower cupboard for a third bowl “What was it for?” 

She hung her robe with a sigh, slipping out of her shoes at the genkan and sliding her feet into her fur lined slippers. Izuku didn’t push, letting her unwind from whatever stress had unfolded. 

So he continued to plating dinner, scrunching his nose at the plop of a particularly large piece of daikon. The recipe was one of five meals he’d memorised over the last couple of years. When his father died, the parting words he left for Izuku were simple ‘Care for your sister, help your mother, make me proud from where I watch over you all.’ 

A little much to put on the shoulders of a then seven year old boy, but Izuku bravely rose to the challenge, as his mother wilted with grief. The once curvy bright woman, lost a little shine from her eyes, save for when she played with his younger sister, who was the spitting image of their father. 

So Izuku learned to prepare simple meals from his grandmother’s old cooking instructions and forced himself to clean and scrub the house, even though he wanted to lose himself in the magic of his mythology books. It was easy to care for Eri whenever his mother was performing her duties as a village nurse. She was so bright and bubbly, utterly carefree… probably due to them shielding her from the Midoriya’s strange unpopularity in the town.

“Mammaaaa” Eri plodded leisurely down the stairs, slowly colliding into the lady with a tired giggle.

“Well hello young miss” Inko laughed softly “What did you get up to today?”

And just like that, the house was soaked with warmth, the playful chatter of his 4 year old sister filling the air. While the scene made Izuku happy, a hollow loneliness twinged in the depths of his heart. With a subtle pout, he locked the feeling away, carrying the filled bowls to the low, square table, occasionally adding to the discussion about different types of weather and when to was best to fly a kite (Eri’s current favourite subject).

A short while later, the three sat quietly, Inko and Eri, side by side. The younger girl was half asleep, laid on the cushions around the kotatsu, while Izuku sat opposite, folding paper to create an origami butterfly. The Midoriya house was was far from grand, but it felt homely, especially at times like this.

Less than 6 months after the passing of Hisashi Midoriya, the family moved out of their large ancestral Sukiya style home and moved into a small, narrow Machiya at the end of a busy street, close to the town centre. The front door opened into the lower genkan, then stepped up into the living space with tatami mat flooring. The room had minimal furnishings, along the left wall was a long sideboard with blankets and extra floor cushions for guests. In centre was a large square kotatsu table, hand made by Inko’s father, the village carpenter, before his death.

Beyond the table, the tatami ended and wooden flooring marked the partition to the kitchen. Again, the area was basic, along the back wall and right corner of the house was a resin coated, wooden counter with cupboards below, then to the left, beside the back door and bathroom door, was a sink and clay stove. On the right was the steep staircase leading up to two sparsely furnished bedrooms.

The family moving to this smaller house was his mother’s decision. Smaller to clean, smaller to heat, a better fit for the family of three, she said when they had moved. Izuku did understand once he began helping but he still missed all the little hallmarks of his grandfather in their old home. The carved beams, the elegant tea room, the beautifully ornate shoji screens, even the sweeping veranda was one of the largest in the village. It all reminded him of the grumpy but loving man.

Izuku recalled his grandfather often complaining about the repetition of his requests at work. He claimed that the town and all it’s inhabitants were stuck in old ways, beyond traditional and simply stubborn, refusing to modernise or change. 

But Inko always countered “The village prospers in the shadow of the mountain, our crops are bushy and plentiful, fishing in the river always provides the most delicious fish, the hunt is bountiful, the gold and silver ore is abundant, our silks and fabrics are the finest of all the lands… why seek to fix what isn’t broken?”

The young boy was always amazed by his mother’s wise responses.

“Now then, little princess…” his mother carefully swept the snoozing girl’s hair from her brow. “I think we are so far beyond your bedtime that dawn could creep up and tickle your toes! Go wash up and get ready.” 

Eri looked up, pretty red eyes blinking hazily. With a yawn and a lazy nod, the girl got up and ambled into the bathroom at the back of the house.

Although the sliding door was closed, sound travelled far in the thin walled house, so his mother whispered quietly, “Once Eri goes to bed, we can talk… lets tidy up.”

☆☆☆☆☆☆

The beautiful village of Musutafu, sat nestled deep in the valley beside the grand Mount Shijima. The lush, forest covered Mountain, so named for its still, calm aura, had fauna rich enough to keep families well fed and a waterfall with a strong flowing river that coursed down to the town. It was this serene lush environment that lured in a powerful onyx coloured dragon 90 years ago.

The mythical beast had flown in circles, lapping the summit, then stalking the village before disappearing in the direction of the waterfall, a quarter of the way up mountain. The village elders had met in a panic. Half the townsfolk were overcome with fear of a malevolent monster, while the other half were brimming with excitement over the prospect of a great wealth which the divine beast might bring. After two days of frantic gathering and preparation, the elders approached the waterfall, ringing out a loud bell to gain the dragon’s attention.

The trio of elders comprised the head merchant, the lead of agriculture, hunting and fishing and finally, the mayor. Each carried items of high value. Jewels, fine fabrics, delicious meat and sweet pastries, all presented as tribute, laid out on the large stone alter, made hastily by the village miners and quarrymen the night before. 

The mayor called without fear to the 100ft long dragon, as it burst through the waterfall and landed beside the water, offering their precious items in hopes of placating the menacing beast. With exaggerated gestures, the man spoke of striking up a joyful union between them. The dragon however, was unmoved by the offerings, stating that it simply wished to live a quiet life on the mountain, alone. After centuries out in the vast empty sea, the increasing onslaught of fishing boats, trade ships and travellers, meant the rolling waves of the oceans no longer brought peace to the dragon, so he’d searched far and wide for a mountain and stream, fit for a long, untroubled life. 

The elders tried to argue but the dragon said he would be happy to spread his good luck throughout the land, if he could simply settle down, undisturbed.

The three men returned from the mountain, heading straight to the best Izakaya in the village for a meeting. Each of them were confused and heavy hearted. Obviously their offerings were not to the dragon’s taste, they thought! Baffling, yes, but not the end!! The trio discussed the matter over the finest Sake and yakitori meats, their increasingly loud voices floating through the open window, into the woods behind. 

“We should have bought this Sake!” Proclaimed the tradesman of the three. “Perhaps he wishes to relax with a fine drink!”

At that moment, the door to the private room opened and a voluptuous raven haired woman peeked in. Her vixen-like grin spread widely “Gentlemen, I was passing by and heard your laments.”

She slipped in to the room, hips swaying with every step, her low, loosely open robes showing more skin than the elders were used to “I believe you’re missing something of vital importance, something your beautiful town has to offer a lonely dragon…”

The men looked to each other, in puzzled silence.

Her grin morphed from warm and friendly to wicked and mischievous. After a moment, she spoke, her voice as smooth as velvet “Gentle sweet virgins, ripe for the picking.” Stepping up to the very edge of the table, she picked a stick of juicy meat and with a flash of sharp teeth, she took a bite, sliding the pork from the skewer with a moan. “That is more delectable than anything else you have to offer.”

The town’s mayor gasped “Of course! A sacrifice!”

The three men then devolved into intense discussion, barely giving a wave to the sly woman as she slunk out of the room, disappearing into the night… never to be seen again. 

 ☆☆☆☆☆☆

“A sacrifice!?” Izuku gasped before biting his lip with a curious tilt of his head “I… I don’t know what that means…”

“Well, the elders went back up the mountain the next night and offered to hand over a delicate, pretty pre-teen, for the dragon to ‘consume’ however he saw fit… but the mighty water god was not impressed, growling more fierce than the rumblings of vicious storm.-”

Izuku listened intently, entranced by the story. 

“-The sacred village records state, that only when they offered more mature ‘gifts’ did the beast’s fury subside.” Inko leant back, arms wide, chest puffed out as she mimicked “-‘Before sending them up the mountain to a fate unknown, they must be treated as treasures, if they are to be offered as such!’ That was what the dragon roared before disappearing into the caves behind the waterfalls.” 

She finished her retelling, shrinking in on herself, wringing her hands together in discomfort.

“So this offering- umm- it brings good things to the village?” The young boy asked in an attempt to understand.

His mother smiled, a little dull but warm all the same “Great prosperity, the village was much smaller back then, its more than tripled in size since! Gold and silver deposits were found in the mountains, fruits and vegetables began to grow so much larger, the hunters always came back with prey… There have been no fires, no earthquakes… The dragon kept us safe from mythical beasts too… even once when an Itsumade came-“

“Oh!” Izuku covered his mouth, ducking down at how noisy he’d been, before he continued more hushed “I’ve read about them in my book!! The wailing bird that brings disease!”

Inko’s eyes crinkled in fondness “You’re a clever boy aren’t you? Well yes, that’s right, the bird had golden yellow feathers, peaked atop its head - your great grandfather told me the tale - His sister and many others, were stricken with ailments and the townsfolk had gathered to defeat the bird that sat shrilling on the top of the shrine, believing it would bring further pestilence - that means big widespread disease -“ she paused as Izuku nodded, always eager to absorb knowledge “but, the dragon came down from the mountain, grabbing the noisy beast, spiralling in a corkscrew as it flew into the sky!” She raised her arm up, mimicking the motion with a twirl of her finger. “Then in a flash of red light, the village went quiet and the dragon disappeared back to the mountain-“

Izuku lurched forward, grasping his mother’s hand in anticipation “Did everyone get better!?!?!”

She smiled as she reached up to cup his face between her palms “Of course they did, the dragon cares for the village… and so that is why, every ten years, a boy or girl around 14 to 16 years old, is taken and offered to the dragon… kind of like payment for our good fortune.”

The mood wilted as her hands dropped back to the table. 

“So… Rumi…” 

She could see the cogs working in the boy’s mind as he put two and two together, a growing frown gracing his forehead.

“Yes”

A moment of silence passed…“What will happen to her?”

Inko sucked in a weary breath, poorly attempting to wear a mask of wonder “She will go somewhere magical with the dragon… but… we won’t see her again.”

The young boy slumped “But why did it have to be her?”

His mother turned, looking towards the staircase and where Eri slept in their bedroom on the second floor. “It has to be someone… Rumi was the right age, had the right… qualities… and well, she lacked anything that the town desperately desired to keep.”

“So… next time-“

“Next time” She interrupted “-is a long time away… now, why don’t you get washed up and ready for bed, I’ll get a few things prepped to make breakfast easier for you two in the morning, since I’ll be working early at the doctors clinic.”

.

.

.

Five years later

Izuku woke slowly, sunlight barely peeking over the rooftops across the road. His long established body clock was to blame, given today was one of those rare days when he could sleep in. His mother was home to take care of breakfast and chores so he could have basked in a lazy morning. Stretching his arms above his head, he tensed his muscles one by one, enjoying the gentle seep of endorphins.

“Free day” he mumbled quietly to himself, pinching his bottom lip as he stared at the ceiling from his futon. “Breakfast… make a new notebook, maybe… a hike beside the river…” 

He paused, then glared over at the sliding door, listening to the sniffing and huffing at the draughty gap to the side. Their blond Alsatian, Katsuki, had been a gift from the most elite textile making family in the village. The Bakugo clan were rich, highly favoured by the Todoroki’s and adored by the Jeanist family tradesmen. More recently however, the husband and wife had grown fond of Izuku’s mother, after she cared for them during an unpleasant stint of gout last year. The result of that budding friendship was Katsuki, the ferocious guard dog who bizarrely seemed to be both hostile towards and yet, strangely fond of Izuku. 

Still, the teen did suppose that when he wasn’t around, he never had any reason to fear his family’s safety. Katsuki was lionhearted. Bold and valiant, be it a bear, wolf or other ferocious terror that might lurk deep in the darkest depths of the forest covered mountain… the dog never backed down when it was loaned to the hunters.

Izuku grumbled softly about the dog, pushing back the thick blanket and kneeling at the side to start rolling the bedding away. After he cleaned away his notebooks and pencils, he slid open the door and was greeted by a low, half muted growl.

“You know they’re still in bed huh?” He whispered to the belligerent dog, glancing at the closed door where his mother and sister slept.

After tip toeing down the stairs and over to the cool (double lined) cupboard in the kitchen, he quickly and soundlessly began getting everything ready for breakfast and baking. No point in twiddling his thumbs, the sooner the day started, the sooner he could get Katsuki’s walk over and done with, buy more paper from the Kamui Woods store, pop to the library… then head out for a calm quiet day at the foot of the mountain.

It wasn’t long before his mother and sister were up, the two immediately pulling out books to study after breakfast, while Izuku tied the leash to their unruly dog. It had taken a few months before Izuku fully began to understand why his mother was so insistent on Eri learning to be one of the new village nurses. She’d even asked the retired Dr Shuzeni to come teach the now 9 year old.

“She’s trying to make sure Eri isn’t chosen for the dragon sacrifice” Izuku mumbled to Katsuki as they walked by the babbling brook at the foot of the mountain a short while later. 

The morning sun cast shafts of light through the branches of the surrounding trees, warming his freckle specked cheeks. It really was the most pleasant day to have all to himself, he thought. Tugging on the lead, Izuku slowed to a stop and bent to pick up a smooth, red coloured pebble. 

He enjoyed collecting any with pretty colours, lining them up in their small back garden. The space behind the townhouse was nothing compared to the grand “Stroll” and “Zen” gardens of their former home. It was barely large enough for a small sand area just beyond the external store room, a medicinal herb patch and at the very back, an apple tree… but he still found it soothing to rake patterns and add rings of pebbles around the two moss covered rocks.

He rubbed his thumb over the water worn, almost porcelain texture of the stone. Trying to pull his mind away from thoughts involving the dragon was a folly task though and after a moment of quiet mulling, he groused in a hushed voice “Shindo Yo told Neito that the Dragon eats the sacrifices and uses their bones to decorate his cave.”

The moment the words rolled off his tongue, the tranquil environment grew cold. The sky lost it’s brightness as clouds began to roll in at alarming speeds. Izuku gasped, wide eyed as Katsuki growled, hackles rising as the dog a snarled at the water. He flinched back from the bank as the once gentle stream, boiled into an angry frothing mess.

‘Have I angered the dragon of the mountain?! All the way down here?!’ The fourteen year old panicked, looking around, turning on the spot, wondering if the black scaled beast would magically appear and strike him down. ‘I didn’t think he came down past the waterfall!’

“I… I’m sorry!” He shouted to no-one and nothing, panting in fear “I -I think they just said it to be mean, they’re always saying h-horrible things to me a-a-and pushing me! I never believed them anyway!!”

Katsuki bucked on the lead, making the teen yelp and skid on the gravel “Ka-wait!” The pebble slipped from his fingers as he held onto the rope with both hands, literally getting dragged away from the scene by the blond dog.  

As he scrambled to regain balance, he quickly glanced back over his shoulder, his attention immediately lured by a pair of menacing red eyes, glowing in the thick, dark forest beyond. 

He resisted Katsuki’s pull, digging in his feet to stop them both, bewitched by the mystery of what he could scarcely make out. For the briefest moment he wondered if it was the dragon but dismissed the thought, it was apparently over 100ft long after all and this… could it be a man?

*Bark!!*

Katsuki yanked again, this time breaking the small metal link keeping the lead in place. With his newfound freedom, the Alsatian bolted away, forcing Izuku to give chase, running far away from the intense gaze of something inhuman.

Chapter Text

(Almost five years later)

After a long day in the gold and silver mine, Izuku winced when his bag slipped from his shoulder. Despite working full time for the past year, the nineteen year old could never get used to the clawing suffocation of the tunnels underground. It certainly wasn’t what he had in mind when he thought of dreams and ambitions as a child. 

Dark, dirty and damp, he mourned the days when he could write in his notebooks, read mythologies, run through the forest with Katsuki and draw at the kotatsu with Eri. Now it was long, exhausting hours, toiling away with with chisels and mallets, shovelling the ore into baskets to carry out up ladders. Others seemed to rotate through less exhausting work, they noisily hammered in wooden support beams, waved fans to improve ventilation and collected water from the spiral pumps to prevent flooding.

The mine burrowed into the smaller mountain on the opposite side of the river. Some had speculated that equally dazzling deposits were contained in the mountain that towered behind the town, but since that was the home of their “good luck charm” the village elders wouldn’t even entertain the idea. And thus, the travel time was long, the haul of precious metals back to the village crushing mill was arduous and because Izuku seemed to be in less favour with the mine chief (and pretty much half the town), he always got the most strenuous, back-breaking work. 

“Zuu-Nii?” 

Eri’s voice floated from the back garden, making the teen tilt his head in confusion “Yeah…What are you doing?” He answered, toeing out of his work boots and into his well worn slippers. “Sunset was an hour ago, you’ll get eaten by bugs!”

His younger sister skipped back in, bushel of apples in hand and a bright cheery smile on her face. The fourteen year old tossed a bright red apple towards him, laughing as he fumbled to catch it.

“Did you know its apple picking season now and not only does it distress the trees less to pick it’s fruit at night, but apparently it tastes that much sweeter!” She grinned wider, putting the basket on the counter top so she could wash the fruit, one by one. “I’m going to take these to Mr Toyomitsu in the morning on my way to school, he said this year’s ‘Fatgum Cider’ will be his best yet and I want to show him that my apples are worthy of praise!”

Her enthusiasm zapped away some of his bone deep tiredness. She always did welcome him home sweetly. After carefully placing his apple on the table, he sat on the floor cushion and slumped forward, pressing his cheek on the cool wood while his arms flopped down. ‘This is nice’ he thought dumbly as Katsuki trotted past, nipping his fingertips gently making him chuckle.

“Ah no no no, straight in the bath” Eri chirped over her shoulder. “I made sure we had plenty of super hot water in the boiler- Oh and don’t forget to add the salts, I left them on the side!”

Raising his head back up with a frown, he wondered - When had Eri grown up so much? Years of schooling, after-school schooling, making connections with the villagers and now that Izuku was working, even keeping their home running like clockwork… “Too much for a little kid” he muttered, pushing to a stand.

A long while later, the still warm water gently rippled as Izuku prodded his pruny fingers. Despite the sign it was long overdue, he still couldn’t bring himself to get out of the bath. Each extra minute pulled out knots from his shoulders and softened his calloused hands. It was pleasant. 

There was something about being submerged in water that he found comforting. Reading countless books as a child, more often than not, he scoured the pages the minute he arrived home from the library, for something, anything about their beloved Dragon… or any dragon. 

‘A strong bond with any body of water is formed the moment a Dragon comes to be, breaching the waves and bursting into the sky.’ 

‘A divine connection to any flowing water, be it the rippling currents of a wide ocean or the tiny  trickle of a garden spring, the all powerful Dragon water god can be anywhere in the blink of an eye.’

‘These beautiful deities have an affinity with water.’

Izuku felt he understood that last one, as he sunk down, hunching his knees up so the water reached his chin “Its easy to forget the world like this isn’t it” he whispered, barely more audible than a soft breath. 

As his eyes slid shut, the heat of the water sent a strange shudder down his spine. For a moment, he felt apprehensive about opening his eyes again, the memory of what he’d seen all those years ago in the forest by the river springing to mind-

He flinched with the clattering of the front door, hearing it close and lock for the night.

~”Mama! Welcome home”

Eri’s voice danced though the air from the next room, his mother’s reply however, was too softly spoken to hear. The looked around the dimly lit bathroom and sat up, squeezing a little water out of his long, wet curls. ‘No more dawdling’ he thought as he stood and stepped out of the bath, quickly wrapping himself in his oversized towel.

~“Oh they do look sore! I’ll go grab the ointment from the nurse bag in our bedroom!”

Izuku wondered what had happened as he roughly dried himself, hastily shoving on his clothes for the night.

Another hushed reply.

~”Ah he’s in the bath, he’s been in there ages…” Eri’s voice quietened, no doubt so she could secretly discuss how grumpy and exhausted he was when he’d trudged through the door earlier.

Without waiting a moment longer, he noisily slid open the door, a carefully placed mask of ignorance on his face. “Oh you’re home, good day at the clinic?” He kept his voice chipper, looking everywhere except his mother’s hands until she nodded and turned away.

Red and blistered fingertips, cracked knuckles… just what-

“Ah you’re finally out of the bath, did you drain and clean- gah! Zuu! You’ll catch a cold not drying your hair properly!!”

He rolled his eyes playfully, shaking his head and showering the surrounding area in a fine wet sprinkle. Katsuki barked at the motion, shivering out his fur in a move that screamed ‘I can do this better than you!’ 

Eri’s laugh was bright and bell-like as she none too gently, shoved him down onto a cushion at the table, then kneeling behind him to dry his hair further with the towel he’d slung around his shoulders.

After a few minutes of the girl chattering about the pomegranate shrub finally beginning to bear fruit, Eri shuffled around the table and tenderly grasped their mother’s hands. “This is for the ceremony right? That’s why everyone outside of the mine work has to assist with the bead making… Uraraka said everyone plays a part.”

The room fell silent. 

There had been growing whispers around the village. It wasn’t widely and openly discussed amongst the adults, but the children loved to spin wild tales on the subject. Izuku remembered all too well the gossipy chatter he’d heard during the last 10 years.

He’d tried to ignore it. Obviously he had known it would be soon but he wasn’t sure of the exact date.

Forgetting his own despondency from long, unfulfilling days at work, he finally took a long hard look at his mother. She looked weary. Large bags under her eyes, barely covered by a meagre application of makeup. Dry chapped lips… she’d even lost a little weight.

Their eyes met for a moment and Izuku’s heart began to painfully thump.

Three days later, everyone over the age of 17 was called into the town hall. Children aged 14-16 years old, baby sat for children too young to be left alone or with other siblings. Izuku struggled to swallow past the thick lump in his throat, when Eri had left to baby sit the twins across the street.

Now, the villagers sat on chairs or stood around the edges of the room, mostly gathered in groups of profession. Each set, quietly talking to free the room from an uncomfortable silence. 

After what felt like a lifetime, Enji Todoroki entered from the back room, followed by Tsunagu Hakamada, the Merchant Elder and Shinya Kamihara, the Hunting and Fishing Elder. The trio sat at the table in front of the large crowd.

“Tonight we are gathered to announce the primary candidate for the dragon’s gift. Objections will be considered only if alternatives that are more suitable are provided…” the room was silent as a mouse, not a chair’s creak could be heard. “Ultimately, the final decision lays with the village elders.”

Izuku glanced over to his left, where his mother sat with the doctors and nurses group. She looked white as a sheet.

‘I should ask Eri to help with some special herbs and flowers for the bath, maybe get some new candles from Touya’s wax shop’ he thought idly.

“After a long discussion, pulling together all the information about those who could be considered a fitting choice… we came to the conclusion that… Eri Midoriya is the prime candidate.”

A few shocked gasps rang out through the room but none as pained as the one from his mother. Everyone looked over to see Inko drop to her knees, devastation gracing her face as she tried in vain to keep a heartbroken wail at bay. Past all the clamouring of nurses holding and comforting his mother… their eyes met.

Deep green gaze… begging.

“I will go!” Izuku shouted to the elders, not even realising he’d risen to his feet.

The whole room turned, but he kept his gaze forward, fists clenched by his side “I will go, don’t take my sister, she has too much to offer, far too much promise and she’s barely turned fourteen! Please, I-“

“Watch your tone!” Barked Enji venomously “You should know your place, son of Hizashi Midoriya!”

From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother visibly flinch.

“He’s too old, he’s nineteen for goodness sake!” The gravelly voice came from the far right of the room, the mine chief slapping his palm against a wooden beam to garner attention. 

Izuku could see this wasn’t about concern for how the dragon would react, nor were the man’s fears for his wellbeing - such a thought almost had him snorting a laugh. No, this was purely a man worrying about who would pick up the shitty roles left unfilled in his absence.

There was no way in hell Izuku would let that oaf's selfishness take away his chance to free his sister from this burden.

“There was no age stipulation in the original agreement!” He called out, staring at the man in defiance before talking directly to the elders once more. “In fact, didn’t the dragon become furious at the thought of a younger child sacrifice?!”

His retort caused murmurs amongst the villagers, one that Elder Todoroki allowed for only a moment before clearing his throat. “We will step into the discussion room and come back in a moment with a verdict on this unpredicted response to the initial choice.”

Izuku glared. Unpredicted? Utter hogwash.

The moment the trio stepped out, he almost expected the room to burst into unbridled chatter but instead, a deafening silence hung heavy in the room. Not even quiet whispering or hissed gossip from his unprecedented outcry… just a thick, tense quiet. With each passing second, more eyes set on him, scrutinising, judging, stabbing at his soul. While it had always been something he might have considered, if it wasn’t for his family, now he had made up his mind. If the elders chose not to send him into the dragon’s clutches, he would leave with them either way. He refused to let his sister be torn away. He had no problems fighting to the death to protect them.

After an agonising wait, the door to the back room opened.

“The elders and I have come to a decision… and this one will be final!” Todoroki’s voice echoed through the room, his sharp teal gaze set on Izuku as the three stood at the front. “Your offering has been accepted. Izuku Midoriya will be gifted to the Dragon tomorrow, let the preparations begin.”   

Izuku stood in his bedroom staring at the closed door. He could hear Katsuki softly crying just outside. Perhaps the dog was smarter than Izuku gave him credit… he certainly knew how to read the room.

After the announcement that his request to volunteer was accepted, the hall had cleared out, harsh whisperings beginning the second people passed the threshold and moved into the cool night. 

He’d walked out quietly ahead of everyone else, waiting with a hallow chest just around the side, wincing with every cruel muttering he heard.

‘Well, he’ll only be missed in the mine, he was the running dog after all’

‘I don’t know why they didn’t pick him in the first place’

‘They could just lie to the dragon about his age anyway, he’s scrawny and short for a 19 year old’

‘Its win-win, we don’t have to listen to his weird mumbling anymore!’

‘The best outcome really, even his own mother would rather he left than Eri’

The last one made his heart squeeze painfully. None of them were wrong, not really. In hindsight, it was obvious that the only reason he wasn’t chosen to start with, was because if someone his age could be chosen, then Enji’s most precious son Shouto, who was a few months younger than Izuku, could be suggested as an option.

No, they knew he would fight to take Eri’s place.

And now, Izuku found that he was quite comfortable with that decision. 

He began cleaning up his room, trying to shake away the understanding that it was for the last time. That by tomorrow, his sister would probably be moving in and finally getting her own room. A good thing really, at 14 she shouldn’t have to share with their mother anymore, he thought. 

‘Eri…’  

“She’s not going to take this very well” he mumbled softly with a frown. 

But it was too late now, one of the Edgeshot Clan night guards stood at the front of the house, sent by the Hunting Elder personally, a fixture the night before every offering apparently, to prevent runaways.

Izuku lifted his well-worn Bestiary book, frowning as the pages parted at the dragon listing. It was a section that had been placed face down in lieu of a bookmark, so often and for so long over the years, that the book always opened there. “I wouldn’t run away from this. It feels like its my fate anyway.”

A small scratch at the door highlighted Katsuki’s impatience to get to him, so after placing the book onto the shelf, he slid open the screen door and was immediately bowled over by the Alsatian. For a second, the dog seemed at war with the urge to actually bite him and the desire to comfort him. In the end he sat and whined until Izuku pushed himself back up, grabbing handfuls of scruff to make the dog face him calmly.

“Take care of them for me.”

Looking beyond the mutt, he saw his mother, standing at the top of the stairs, watching him with a pained expression… but she didn’t anything. Just like the walk back from the Town Hall, Inko was muted.

~“Oh hi!?”

The two sets of Midoriya eyes widened and Inko shot down the stairs. The approaching steps on the street felt like a ticking clock, counting down to drama, chaos… and tears.

“Eri, welcome home sweetheart” Inko intercepted the girl before the guard could say anything “Seijin-san was waiting to borrow a book, why don’t you head inside and wash up while I fetch it for him.”

Izuku’s mouth twisted as if he tasted a sour fruit. He scrambled to get up and head downstairs.

“Hi Zuu-nii!” Called Eri as she put on her slippers and walked through, not noticing their mother shaking her head at the guard and closing the door. 

“So…How was the town meeting? Was…” Eri paused, looking to Izuku at the foot of the stairs and then to her mother “Was a sacrifice chosen?

Inko’s ashen face blanched even more, the woman practically scampered around the table “Oh it was postponed! In the end we discussed a lot of trivial matters for the village. It was fine, nothing to worry about, pretty boring in fact - wouldn’t you say so Izuku?”

He twitched. For the first time in his life, he wanted to yell out a vitriolic rant. It was fine? Boring?? How dare she try to sweep it under a rug, hide it from Eri! Did his mother ever think about how he felt? 

“Go on now, wash up, I think the slow roasted boar meat will be ready soon” Inko added, voice off enough that Eri’s head tilted. She looked at Izuku again, who didn’t make an effort to hide his irritation, which just confused the girl even more.

“Come on, otherwise we’ll all be up late.”

The moment Eri stepped outside to collect water, he marched forward, steps only faltering a little at his mother’s frightened eyes. 

“I-I’m sorry” she sobbed quietly.

“I know you’re trying to spare her feelings but I will not go without at least letting her know I’m leaving! I want to say goodbye!” He hissed at his mother for the first time in his life. Inko cowed, trembling with the stress of it all. While he may be furious, hurt beyond belief by her dismissal of his heartache… she was still his mother. And this volunteering was ultimately his choice. So with a deep sign, he caved, softly adding “I’ll tell her its an expedition or something… but you have to talk to her tomorrow, if she finds out from someone else or by seeing me walk past… just don’t let it come to that, she doesn’t deserve that.”

Inko nodded and Izuku felt all the more betrayed… but for Eri’s sake… it was all for her… he put on a brave face and went into the kitchen to take out and pull apart the meat.

“But I don’t understand why you have to go!” Pleaded his sister “Isn’t there someone else?!”

Izuku swallowed with difficulty “Come on, you know how far I’ve come since I started at the mine, but this kind of opportunity… its…-“ lies are hard to spin, thought Izuku as he fumbled with his words “If I show the mine chief and the surveyors how much I can help at this new mine prospect, I could get a promotion. Then maybe if I work on the far side of the mountain, I’ll get more money… and… and think of all the places we could go with that…” he clenched his fists under the table “…all the things we could see… there’s more to life than this village.”

Despite keeping his back straight as a pin, he felt himself sag inside. 

Exactly what awaited him? Was this the end of his life, like many speculated?… Or was there some odd hope he could cling to? Something magical, like his mother said 10 years ago.

“But I can tell you’re worried…” Eri looked between the two of them “You’re both acting weird.”

Izuku shook his head and smiled “We always fear the unknown… I’ve never left the village before.” He knelt and hobbled around the table to wrap her in a hug. He wanted to tell her it was going to be ok… wanted to tell her the truth!

The night ended on an odd note, he’d hugged his sister knowing he would never see her again, all the while trying not to make it painfully obvious that something was very wrong. She’d looked at him with a frown but when he didn’t cave, she simply shrugged and kissed his cheek, retreating up to the bedroom for the night.

“Stay by her side tomorrow” he whispered, keeping his gaze fixed on her closed door.

“But I’m supposed to come see you before the march-“ She stopped when the teen’s head turned towards sharply “ok… I’ll make sure I’m up when they collect you for the bathing rituals at sunrise.”

‘Don’t bother’ he thought… but held his tongue, the words would have tasted bitter leaving his mouth anyway.

Chapter Text

What little sleep Izuku had managed to get, was filled with twisted nightmares. Anything positive in his life was distorted; hounding and chasing him in a never ending loop. Each time he woke with a gasp, feeling like hours had passed, when it hadn’t. The night was moving slowly… the inevitable, creeping closer.

By the time the sky began to lighten, he was dressed and sitting downstairs at the kotatsu, writing a letter for his sister. He was thankful he felt numb enough that he couldn’t cry. The idea of giving her a tear stained letter was unforgivable. And he knew deep down, she would cry enough for both of them, even if he didn’t want her to.

Just as he finished the last words, he heard the gentle creek of the stairs. When he glanced up, his mother rounded the last step, still in her nightgown. 

Despite the horrific night he’d had, she still looked worse.

So in a final attempt to reconnect, he stood and opened his arms, welcoming her when she collided with him. Her small body quaked as her tears soaked through his hemp shirt.

“I never wanted to lose either of you.” She shakily whispered into his shoulder “Izuku, my sweet baby boy, you were the one who gave me the title of ‘Mother’ and there won’t be a day that goes by when I don’t think of you.”

He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head “Between Eri and me, you know who is better suited to the challenge though… I don’t want to leave… but it means more to me that she stays.”

His mother pulled back to look in his eyes, running a rough thumb across his cheek as she tried to hold back her tears  “If this ends up as I always hoped, that you go somewhere magical… find a dream there, Izuku… chase it… I will cheer you on in my heart.”

Time seemed to move faster than usual in those final moments, but he didn’t falter when he slowly extricated himself from her tight hold and went to meet the guards at the door before they had chance to knock. 

Inko whimpered and gasped into her hands as she tried to remain quiet “Tonight-“

“-No” Izuku’s eyes were glossy with unshed tears as he looked back over his shoulder and interrupted “Don’t come. You and Eri… one day maybe you should leave this town, prosper elsewhere… live your lives.”

And with that, he pulled on his most formal haori and boldly stepped over the threshold, walking away from everything he’d ever known.

It felt like a long way to the Chisaki bath house across town. He was sure people were staring through windows, peeking through half closed shutters, but nobody came out and his escorting guards didn’t say a word. When they finally reached the large onsen building, Izuku was greeted by four staff members and the Shinshoku, from the village shrine.

“The cleansing ritual will begin soon…” The middle-aged, blue robed man stepped forward as he spoke, shocking Izuku with a small bow. “Midoriya-Sama, have you eaten breakfast?”

He glanced between everyone’s faces, unsure of process that lay ahead “Ummm, no.”

The onsen staff sighed in relief, nodding and walking up the small staircase into the building. “Good, its required that the gift receive a nearly 12 hours of delicacies before the ceremony tonight. The staff will present the first of your three meals, then undertake the first of many cleansing steps.”

Izuku nodded, following the man through the front door… still stalked by the guards.

It had been a few years since he had been to the bath house but the place looked starkly different. It had been decorated for the occasion. Large, artfully sown fabrics hung from the walls. Swirling clouds, magnificent flying birds… grand black dragons painted and embroidered on tapestries for story telling. A path of petals led him to a tea room he’d never been in, usually reserved for esteemed guests. 

It felt strange to be treated as such too. He’d never really been bowed at, definitely never been called ‘Sama’. The staff led him to the low table in the centre of the room overlooking a beautiful garden. After sitting, a tall, black haired girl entered, carrying a tray filled with traditional breakfast items and tea.

“Midoriya-Sama, my name is Momo Yaoyorozu” She bowed, missing Izuku’s gaped mouth “My family run the Creati Tea House in the Northern part of the town, across from the Mayor’s residence. I will be bringing your meals and drinks for today.”

One of the richest families in the village, famed for their exquisite meals and pastries. He’d never been to the teahouse, he’d only been to that part of the town once, with his grandfather but was too young to really remember. 

“Your meals are all being prepared by the head chef from the Ranchi Rasshu restaurant.-“ Izuku bit his lip to hold in the shock as Momo continued, pointing to the dishes laid out on the table “-He used the finest Koshikari rice, the best eggs were hand chosen for the tamogoyaki, the salmon was freshly caught just one hour ago, the most expensive nori was delivered last night by the famous coastal fisherman, Kugo Sakamata and the miso soup was made using soybeans from Ryuko Tsuchikawa’s farm.”

The nineteen year old nearly fell over. Tsuchikawa, apparently known as Pixie-bob amongst her aristocrat friends, traded only the finest produce with the village, the same for Sakamata. Izuku wondered if the elite of the village always dined this way. He supposed the Midoriya family lived a little like that before the accident that took his father’s life but he wouldn’t have known a fancy five-star soup from one bought at the village store.

Momo cleared her throat.

‘Ah… mumbling out loud I guess’

The teen resumed her explanations “The water was collected from the highest spring on the mountain at first light… and the green tea has been donated from Enji Todoroki’s personal collection and is of a quality beyond-“

She stopped short at the look of the distain in his face, giving Izuku a second to finally compose himself enough to speak. “Thank you for delivering the meal, will I be eating alone?”

“If that’s what you wish…”

He nodded and waited for her to leave the room before sighing and putting his head in his hands. “As if I have appetite enough to enjoy something like this…” He picked up the soup and had a sip…

‘Oh wow’

“OK maybe I’m looking at this all wrong” he continued, uncaring if the others would hear his nonsense through the paper thin walls. “If this is my last day here, I should drink every last drop, savour every bite… suck up every bit of energy…” he nibbled some salmon, holding in a moan as it melted in his mouth “Maybe then I can convince the dragon…”

He shook his head, huffing out of his nose as he ate his fancy food, sipped his pretentious spring water and in a move so petty, he even surprised himself, purposely ignored the Todoroki tea until it went cold.

“Midoriya-sama, is there anything I can bring you to finish your m-“ Momo gasped at the disrespect given by not drinking the tea “Was there something w-“

“No, but it would greatly satisfy me Yaomomo-San, if you could-“ He continued with a whisper “-secretly pour the tea down the drain.”

She looked stunned for a second but then her face softened and a hint of a smile graced her lips. “I’ll take care of it” she replied quietly and took the tea tray out of the room, just before the other staff came to collect the empty bowls from breakfast.

After the fanfare of the first meal, he really shouldn’t have been surprised when he found himself standing in the washing room of the onsen, being scrubbed clean by two men. One from the Chisaki staff, the other from the shrine.

“Apologies Midoriya-Sama, we may be a little rough but its written in the historical texts… shaving and buffing must be extensive.”

‘What a choice of words’ he thought.

“Please bend forward and press your hands against the wall-“

Izuku flushed a deep crimson, stuttering as he tried pulling away “Wh- I-I can do-“

“Again, our apologies Midoriya-Sama, according to the texts, the gift is to be ‘treasured’ and not must not do any of this themselves.”

The stalemate lasted for all of ten seconds, before he glanced at the guard by the door and acquiesced.

After the most humiliating and particularly unpleasant ‘ritual’ of his life, Izuku finally soaked in peace. The private bath on the far side of the building, had a delightful view of the mountain. He was grateful for the wide panorama keeping his eyes busy so he wouldn’t look down and see his newfound hairless body through the clear water. 

Shaking his head, he decided to push all thoughts of sacrifice out of his mind and instead try to pretend he was on some kind of luxurious holiday.   

Just as he began to feel a little light headed, the men returned, helping him out of the water and wrapping him in thick, soft towels. After toeing on some slippers, the three walked into a neighbouring room, where Izuku paused after crossing the threshold.

‘What now?’ He thought, tilting his head in wonder at the padded table and neighbouring tray, topped with various bottles filled with different coloured liquids.

“Midoriya-Sama” 

Although he still couldn’t get used to being referred to in a highly respected way, he nodded a greeting to the lady dressed in a pale blue kimono, waiting beside the table-bed.

“My name is Kaoruko Awata, I work here at the Onsen. We have the finest oils and scents for you to choose from. These will be used for the Anma massage you’ll receive from one of the village’s blind practitioners. After that I will return to tidy your hands and feet.”

“… tidy my-… r-right…”

Two hours later, Izuku felt like jelly. He smelt amazing too. The teen stared at his hands as he sipped on some iced tea. The rough callouses had been worn down, his nails cut and polished… it was quite incredible.

The attendant cleared her throat and he flushed, again realising his old mumbling habit was worse than he’d thought.

“Awata-San… do you know what the rest of the day entails for me?”

She paused her ministrations, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. Before she could stumble through an apology, the door slid open once more and Momo returned.

“I can answer that for you” she unfurled a scroll and began to summarise the itinerary. 

“Once you’re finished here, your hair will be lathered with opulent creams and pastes, then wrapped in a hot towel. After that you’ll be dressed in fine silks and taken to the tea room for lunch and a recital of your favourite literature. If you can’t decide on a book, we have a selection to present for your choosing. Then you’ll return to this room for further hair treatment. After that, you’ll be taken by the Ingenium family’s most splendid rickshaw, to the Musutafu Shrine and Garden for a dessert picnic. It has been closed to the public for today so you can enjoy the tranquility. Once that is complete, you’ll be returned here, for an exciting new Kabuki performance and early dinner, then cleansed with river water and dressed in the ceremonial garments and beads.”

He didn’t want to know the details beyond that, even if Momo knew them.

“Thank you.”

Izuku stood in just his silk fundoshi in front of the tall mirror in the onsen dressing room. It had been a exhausting day and the sun outside cast long shadows in the room. The lunch and literature recital had been surprisingly awkward. He didn’t want to taint the memories of his favourite book with today’s experience and thus, he’d chosen a collection of short fantasy poems from the selection provided… but the teen Aoyama-San, added a little too much theatricality to his performance and it ended up feeling thoroughly cringy. The food though, was delightful, much like his afternoon tea and early dinner. After he was stuffed but not bloated, he was finally left to rinse his body with the large bowl of river water.

“After all that work, I had to rinse off with water that I used to wash my clothes in… seems ridiculous” he mumbled as folded the towel he’d dried himself with.

He glanced up again at his physique. What exactly would the dragon think of him when they met? Izuku was the oldest ever gifted, most were around fifteen or sixteen years old and while he wasn’t the first male, seven of the previous nine had been girls. He looked at his arms in the mirror, over the past year while working in the mine, he’d not only gained a lean but muscular body but he’d also acquired many scars. One particularly nasty one ran most of the length of his right arm.

“Maybe he won’t want to eat me, if that’s what happens…” he whispered, pinching the scars and prodding the freckled skin over his abs “I’d be far too sinewy right?”

There was a quiet knock on the wood of the screen door making his heart squeeze. “Midoriya-Sama, we have to style your hair, apply shimmer, your robes and the beads. May we enter?”

He took a deep breath, staring deeply into his reflected emerald eyes before nodding to himself “Yes, please come in.”

The moment he walked out of the bath house, his throat felt tight. The procession of villagers waited at the bottom of the stairs, Enji Todoroki and his son Touya at the front, just as it had been ten years ago. 

He felt kind of ridiculous, dolled up so effeminately. He wore similar garments to Rumi, but the patterns were much more ornate. Considerable gold leaf was woven into the fabric and a beautiful dragon was hand painted across the back of his shoulders. His collar bone length hair was pulled back in a tight bun and fixed into place with gel and shimmering silver flecks. He was grateful he’d never taken to shaving the top as was the fashion with many of the noblemen of the town. It seemed far too difficult to maintain… so, as with many things in life, he went against the grain. That in turn meant that his hair was more easy for the onsen staff to style in accordance with the traditions.

“Izuku Midoriya, you are to be gifted as a treasure of Musutafu. Represent the town with pride, maintain your dignity… do not upset the Dragon.” 

He mayor looked him up and down, the appraisal making his skin crawl, but he kept his mask of calm in place.

With clenched fists, he walked down to meet them. The shoes and white robes were difficult to move in and with his hands tied with beads, maintaining balance felt as difficult as walking a tightrope. 

He was anxious about the silvery black pellet strings in particular, the dressing staff warned him that the whole village took part in their making - miners (like himself and others) collecting acanthite minerals, the jewellers, refiners and pretty much everyone in the town, working to cut and polish it into hundreds of beads, threading connecting them together. 

To break or ruin the beads was akin to spitting in the face of every villager, his mother included.

He tensely stood on display at the head of the crowd.

“Its a good job he’s got a baby face.” someone sneered in hushed tones before it was quickly covered by the three elders, clearing their throats.

“The robes will appease the dragon, the Bakugo family did well in their request” Tsunagu Hakamada, the merchant elder stepped forward, humming as he stalked around him.

“Umm…” Everyone froze, staring at him with incredulity. It felt terrifying to make a request… but the thought hadn’t left his mind since the moment he’d decided to do this. “Is there a way we can take a route that doesn’t pass my family home.”

“Of course…” the blond man nodded, the lower half of his face, covered by an elegant blue scarf “now, lets go before the parade begins to unravel.”

By the time they’d reached the waterfall, Izuku felt like his feet were screaming. As if being sacrificed wasn’t cruel enough, walking through the town and a quarter of the way up the mountain in wooden geta seemed like a punishment. He hobbled forward and stood beside the alter that had remained for one hundred years. 

“Touya” Enji Todoroki murmured, prompting the man’s eldest son to pull him to a stone pillar on his right and begin unravelling the bead string that wrapped his wrists and gown. 

Izuku shivered as he was pressed against the rock. Last light had finally left, bringing a chill to the evening that he didn’t appreciate. The teen wondered, if it hadn’t been for the rushing roar of the waterfall, would he have heard more cruel whispers from the villagers? Either way he was grateful, perhaps if he closed his eyes-

“Arms at your side… I won’t do it too tight.”

He looked at Touya. While they weren’t close, he did visit the man’s shop from time to time.  The usually cheeky, turquoise eyes looked… dull. The smirk he often wore was missing. Izuku pondered the expression until it clicked.

Pity.

‘Must be nice to be the son of the Mayor’ Izuku thought bitterly.

“Your sacrifice” Enji called out loudly, mostly to the villagers “-ensures the lives of every person in this town will be filled with hope, happiness and prosperity.”

Everyone around bowed.

‘Its all for my mother and Eri’ he repeated in his mind, over and over as he closed his eyes, not wanting to know what came next…

‘Stay calm and quiet’ a deep, gravelly voice rang through his skull. Izuku flinched and opened his eyes, looking around frantically for the source.

Who had spoken? It was not a voice he recognised.

“Ring the bell” Enji Todoroki nodded at the hunting Elder.

‘This isn’t going to happen the way you think’ The voice came through again ‘Just stay silent and still… I won’t hurt you.’

Izuku jerked to the side at the loud clang of the metal drum, accidentally breaking a part of the bead string. He watched in horror as the mineral pellets bounced onto the floor, scattering across the dirt. The Mayor sneered but before he could reprimand him, the Dragon burst through the waterfall and began flying loops in the sky. 

It was a sight to behold, silky raven hair, long curled whiskers that flickered in the rushing wind as it flew. As the texts had said, the beast was covered in glinting black scales, smooth long horns stretched back from atop it’s head and its four limbs ended in sharp claws. The wingless Dragon looked even longer than he expected, it’s serpent like tail swished as it soared.

“I have come to collect my treasure” the mythical beast boomed.

‘That voice’ he thought… ‘He spoke to me? How?’

Before he could ponder the thought anymore, the 100ft long water-god swept down, flying close to the ground at stunning speeds. The blustery wind from the act put out most of the villager’s torches, making many of them cry out in fear as the area was drenched in darkness, the only light coming from the pale, full moon. 

Izuku watched in astonishment, convinced that time had slowed down as a pair of captivating red eyes locked gazes with his. Then with spectacular grace and surprising tenderness, he was ripped from the pillar and flown up into the night’s sky. 

He held in a grunt as his stomach dropped from the accelerated rise. He’d expected it to hurt, but the hold was gentle, the claw’s never pinching or even catching on his lavish clothing.

‘Remember what I said, I promise never to hurt you’ 

Now, looking up at the mythical beast with stars in his eyes, Izuku began to feel a bizarre twinge of excitement.

Chapter Text

Soaring high in the clear night sky, Izuku shivered against the dragon’s chest. The air was biting, his lungs screaming in the altitude.

“While I did say I won’t hurt you…” The beast’s deep rumbly tones vibrated against Izuku’s back “I am afraid you’re going to get a little wet…”

‘What?’

Barely a moment later, the dragon dipped, plummeting towards the ground sending Izuku’s heart into his throat.

“Wh- GAAAH” He tried to curl in on himself as the two shot into the waterfall. Being held almost protectively against the dragon’s chest, he miraculously stayed somewhat dry… until the dragon shook out his mane and drenched his face in cold water.

The two never stopped, only slowing to a glide as they travelled through the pitch black cave. Izuku’s breath came out in pants. He was used the the dark but didn’t particularly enjoy it, especially when he had no control of where they went. That and being held by a 100 ft long, flying dragon…

He wondered for a moment, how many of the previous sacrifices had fainted on this journey to wherever they were going. 

“Wh-“ he tried to shout out over the sound of the whistling wind “Where-“

The dragon took a sharp turn up a shaft of light, lit from the moon and shot out through a crevasse, back into the open air. It was such a jolt, he’d subconsciously covered his eyes with clenched fists.

“To my home” the dragon replied to his barely spoken question. 

He peeked out, looking up at the underside of the dragon’s jaw then down at the forest covered mountain that rushed past just a few below. Under the twinkling stars and bright moon, everything looked so magical… 

An unbridled, almost manic laugh burst from his chest as he realised he’d been thinking the view was magical, not than the fact he was being carried by a mythical dragon. The laugh filled him with giddy butterflies, bolstered by the swooping and sailing of non-winged flight. Before he even realised, a wide beaming smile was painted on his face.

Izuku felt free.

No responsibility. No judgement. No burden.

He opened his arms wide and laughed again.

The Dragon’s head tilted slightly “You’re a curious one.”

The teen looked up again, lamenting that he couldn’t see the beast’s face from his position. He sucked in a breath to shout back something carefree, but paused when he noticed a clearing in the trees ahead. 

Next to another, smaller waterfall, was a plateau in the mountainside. The wide open glen was split by a trickling stream, with a grand, imperial-looking villa at the back.

Izuku tensed his stomach as the mighty dragon swooped down, coming to land beside a tiny wooden bridge that crossed the brook. The teen’s eyes grew wide. His curiosity overtook any semblance of manners as he slipped gently from the dragon’s grasp and ambled across, into the spectacular gardens either side of the manor. 

Deep red Maples, blooming Sakura, large crooked branched Tabunoki Bay trees and Japanese chinquapin branches teeming with nuts lined the outskirts. Tsubaki Camillia, white Kiku and pretty wisteria, sprinkled the view with pretty shades of pink, white, blue and purple… it was like the magical garden didn’t care for the seasons, only that it looked it’s best. Then on the far right side was a small pond, edges lined with delicate iris topped stalks. 

The other-worldly grounds were fitting for such a glorious estate. When the teen turned to appreciate the grand, three story, wooden manor, a gasp slipped from his lips.

Standing just ahead of the front steps, was a tall, handsome man. He had raven black hair which fell loosely on the wide shoulder pads of his dark grey Kamishimo. 

“My name is Shouta Aizawa and I am the Dragon of this mountain.”

Izuku’s jaw dropped. His eyes roamed over the man for a second, briefly noticing the long thin horns atop his head, before he realised his ogling and flushed a deep crimson. He dipped into a bow, heart thumping wildly in his chest with an unknown feeling tickling his stomach.

“I-Izuku Midoriya, Son of Hisashi Midoriya, the former chief extraction engineer from Musutafu mine.”

He remained in a Saikeirei bow, eyes to the floor until he heard the man sigh.

“While this isn’t known to the village, when the treasure is given, they stay on the mountain, here in my home for one year. Then once things have calmed down, the sacrifice leaves with the Tengu Keigo Takami, travelling to the far away land of Fukuoka to start a new life…”

Izuku’s eyes began to pool, tears threatening to fall.

Aizawa’s tired tones continued “- Don’t think about all the details now, I’m sure you’re weary from the ceremony. I’ll show you around, fix up some supper and then we can talk more in the morning.”

He tilted his head up and scrambled forward, seeing the man silently striding into the house. Izuku jogged to catch up, abruptly skidding to a stop in the large, bench lined genkan so he didn’t collide with Aizawa, who was bent forward, untying his waraji.

“Slippers” the man said, pointing to his right before walking into the foyer, again leaving Izuku scurrying to change out of his shoes and catch up.

“Straight forward from here is the tea room.” 

Izuku leant to the side, looking beyond the taller man’s frame to orient himself. He was sure that in the light of the day and after some sleep, all of this wealth of information would have slipped from his grasp, leaving him in an unfamiliar maze. But it didn’t harm at least trying to absorb as much as he could.

“That opens to the courtyard” Aizawa waved his hand once more, the sliding doors parting to show more spectacular gardens before closing again. Izuku marvelled at the mystical god’s powers. Still, he kept his lips firmly sealed. Now wasn’t the time to upset the host.

“Down there” he pointed to the right “Is the main training room-“

‘Training for what’

“-A library-”

Izuku gasped before slapping his hand over his mouth, panicking a little as the man’s gaze narrowed. After pausing his explanation for a second, the man continued “-Next to the tea room are the stairs to the second and third floor.”

Again, the teen looked intently, trying to burn the directions into his mind, eyes fixed on the wide staircase.

Aizawa cleared his throat, his voice slipping deeper “The second floor houses my living and sleeping quarters and is most certainly private… the third floor holds the observatory.”

‘Lock it in Izuku, stay off the stairs’ He nodded to himself, double taking when he noticed the man walking off to the left, towards the opposite wing from the training and library areas. 

“Dining room-” He called as he took long strides through the room and into the next, before pausing in the centre “Kitchen-“ 

Izuku looked around in awe, while trying not to trip up with the hurried pace, almost slipping when he entered the tiled room. The kitchen was a beautiful, wide space. Windows lined the left wall, facing out towards the waterfall. There were two sinks, two stoves and two large counters either side, sitting atop cupboards. There was even a tall table in the centre of the room. It was unlike any kitchen he’d ever seen. 

On the far side, there were two doors, with a flick of his thumb, Aizawa slid open the screens, one revealing a large store room- “Food, extra supplies, whatever you need-“ 

Izuku’s eyes were wide as saucers.

“Then this-” The Dragon man set off again through the second door “-Will be your quarters.”

His fists clenched at the splendour of the place. The ornate chest, large bookcase, candle topped sideboard, small table with floor seats and huge, plush looking futon… this room alone was bigger than the entire ground floor of his family Machiya. There were more furnishings than even his parents bedroom at the old house when he was young. 

And the window at the far side had another wonderful view. He began to step towards it, almost entranced.

“And this-“ The man’s gravelly voice snapped him from his hazy wonder, pointing to the closed door on the right of the room, beside the chest “-is your private toilet, wash room and bath”

Izuku’s brows rose high enough to make his head ache.

“P-Private… how many-“

“I have my own, up on the second floor” Aizawa answered as he started to walk away again, making Izuku want to whine. Couldn’t they just stop for a moment? He already knew he would have to go on a little adventure tomorrow, relearning the layout of the villa, marvelling in the lush gardens. 

His mother’s words popped ahead of the millions of thoughts racing though his overstimulated brain

‘If this ends up as I always hoped, that you go somewhere magical…’

That’s exactly what this was. 

Magical. 

The scenery, this spectacular house, that handsome man- He turned to look at the Dragon God who was watching him in curiosity from beside the kitchen table. Exactly where Izuku’s thoughts were drifting, made him suddenly flush such a deep red that Aizawa frowned.

“Do you have a fever?”

The teen all but died of embarrassment, quickly shaking his head, waving his hands as he skittishly stepped from the bedroom, into the kitchen “Not at all… its a lot to take in- Not that I’m complaining!! Your offer of- of sanctuary is incredibly generous!”

The man rolled his eyes, walking over to the stove and grabbing the large iron kettle.

“This villa, its such an interesting architecture” Izuku looked through the open screen doors, through the long dining room, through those doors and into the entrance hall and beyond. The length of the house… or perhaps more accurately, the width, was impressive. He turned around with a soft smile “Its very beautiful.”

Surprisingly, Aizawa huffed. For a moment, Izuku wondered if that was all the response he would receive but the man eventually continued “The Kitsune that resides on this mountain decided last year that my house was ‘too old and miserable’ and tore it down while I was out travelling for the day. She had it rebuilt in a ‘more modern, exciting style’. If its a roof over my head, that’s more than I had for hundreds of years… I wonder if-“ 

Izuku watched him stop with a frown, leaving him hanging for the rest of the sentence. But it never came. Had Eri been with them, she would have harped on about it. Before he could think about the building ache in his chest from thoughts of his family, the Dragon spoke.

“During your time here, I expect you to clean the house, tend to the vegetables and fruit trees and keep to yourself, otherwise I might- what was it you said-” Aizawa paused, tapping his stubbled chin with his index finger “-ah that’s it, eat you and use your bones to decorate my cave." 

Izuku gasped and tried to stutter out questions and apologies all at once. ‘So that really was the dragon 5 years ago!! And he remembered?! This is not going particularly well. Dragon-Sama probably thinks I’ve been terribly rude, gah this-‘

“I don’t think you’ve been rude” Aizawa called out from the store room he’d walked into, highlighting his mumbling. 

Izuku pinched his lips between his finger and thumb, physically stopping himself from making even more of a fool of himself.

A moment later the Dragon god returned, a ohitsu filled with cooked rice in hand. “You’re just in shock, its not every day you-“

Aizawa paused, staring down at the floor, a deepening frown set on his brow. “Your sister knows… she just passed the stream on her way up the mountain path.”

Izuku wilted. Pleased that his mother had kept her word but still heartbroken for his little sister. Knowing his apparent fate here, he felt a sudden guilt. Eri would have to live in that town, surrounded by people pitying her, blaming herself-

“Don’t dwell on it now.” 

Izuku looked into dark, grey eyes “Can I see her…tell her?”

“…Bowls in that one, spoons in the one next to it” the raven haired man avoided his questions, nodding to a lower cupboard. 

Not wanting to push anymore, he barked out an affirmative and ran the couple of steps to grab bowls and cutlery. He subtly tried to watch the man as he fluffed up the steamy rice, turning and walking back into the store room. Izuku pursed his lips, hoping to stop his mumbling as his brain went into overdrive.

When Aizawa returned again, he placed three lidded bowls on the centre table, brought over the kettle and then heaped out a spoon of cooked rice into the two bowls Izuku had grabbed.

“Green tea or Dashi for your Ochazuke?”

Izuku blinked, trying to clear his mind. “Oh… Dashi please, I drank a lot of-“ pauses seeing Aizawa dull expression and finishes meekly “- green tea today.”

He fidgeted as the Dragon god tipped a spoon of paste into the kettle, swirled the water with a spoon, then poured the broth over the two bowls of rice. “Sesame? Green onion?”

“Uhhh… please?” 

Aizawa grabbed a tiny spoon from each pot and added the toppings that to each bowl.

“Pickled plum?”

Izuku nodded numbly.

A Dragon… THE Dragon of the mountain, was making him Ochazuke for supper. His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head, stuttering a pathetic apology which was immediately waved away. 

Aizawa walked up close, prodding a finger in his chest, unknowingly highlighting the somewhat shocking height difference between them “Eat. Sleep. Talk in the morning.”

Then he walked away, bowl in hand, leaving Izuku standing alone in the kitchen, in a stupor.

What. The. Hell.

Chapter Text

Izuku woke to an unfamiliar ceiling, dimly lit from the first hints of predawn light. He turned his head, scowling at the uncovered window where he failed to close the shutters before crashing to sleep. This bed, he found, was the softest, most plush futon he’d ever slept on. After slowly eating his supper while staring out of the window at the pretty, moonlit garden, he’d laid down ‘just to rest his eyes for a moment’ and promptly passed out. He probably could have slept on the floor given how exhausted he’d been… yesterday was the most-

‘Oh shit’

He sat bolt upright. 

Cleansing. Sacrifice. Dragon.

He scrambled out from under the lush bedding, then stopped at the foot of the mattress, twitching in the directions of the window, the clothing chest, the bathroom. “Damn… damn, damn…” He lit the andon at his bedside and chose to run to the trunk to pull out some simple clothing for the day.

The flicker of light highlighted the shimmer on his skin, making him pause. Apprehensively, he slowly lifted his hand to his head, felt the crunchy texture of his hair and groaned. “I really should have washed all this off last night.”

But he’d been so weary from the day, he’d simply stripped and stepped into a summer jinbei. While it was colder at this elevation, the bedding had looked so warm he’d decided on thinner clothes, simply shoving them on and passing out. Now as he stood there with a hint of a shiver, he dreaded to think how messy his pillow must have looked with all these damn sparkles.

Without further thought, he dashed into the bathroom, closing the door as quietly as possible. “Right… wate- oh… no no no… where do I get-“ When he turned to face the room, the sight of a large barrel of steaming water beside a small stool and washing items made him pause once more. Why was it steaming? Where did it come from? Had someone come in while he was asleep? Was he meant to tip this barrel into the bath? He turned around to look at the distance between the two and saw something he’d not seen before.

“Interesting…” He stepped over to the bath, curiously eying the lever and narrow copper coloured pipe poking out from the wall. Biting his lip, he gave a shrug and turned it. As gasp slipped from his lips as hot water began pouring out.

“Wow… Fancy mechanism… Must be fed from a hot spring nearby-” he mumbled, hopping over to look out of the window. Without really being able to answer any of his own questions, he opted to push that line of inquiry out until later in the day, turning the lever back off. For now he really needed to get a move on, minutes were tricking by and he had a dragon to impress. 

First, more cleansing. After all the buffing the day before, he really hoped it would be a quick job but the arduous task of getting all the polish, oils and silver flecks out of his hair and skin would no doubt take longer than he could afford…

Izuku sat on the stool, tipping ladles of delightfully warm water over his head and body. As the seconds slipped by, he allowed his mind to wander. Perhaps he could ask Aizawa about the water, why it was warm, where it came from. He was a Water Dragon after all…

A flush crept up his neck, blooming on his cheeks. The swirl in his stomach made him think the heat of his skin didn’t come from the trickling liquid that flowed over his skin… instead it was the image of Aizawa that sprang forth in his mind. The man was immensely handsome.

It was a strange feeling, foreign even, given that he’d never even considered the appeal of other people before. When he was younger, at that stage in his life when newly rising hormones brought disastrously fleeting feelings and most teenagers would crush on even the barest hint of something sweet… Izuku was buried in books, caring for his sister, cleaning, cooking, preparing for a life toiling away in the mines. 

But now, all of that was gone and he was to live with a stunning, mysterious Dragon for a year.

“Come on, no more drooling over good looking Dragon gods” he nagged himself, dumping a large splash of water over his face, ignoring whatever growing urges he was feeling.

He hadn’t meant it to take so long but half an hour later, he finally emerged from his room, stepping into the kitchen with trepidation. A little snooping here and there let him settle in the realisation that the dragon was nowhere to be seen. And he really wasn’t sure what to do.

Make food in a house that wasn’t his own? Wander the empty rooms and halls - definitely not venture up to the second or third floor - that would be undoubtedly asking for trouble. Walk the pretty gardens? His job was to tend to the fruits and vegetables, clean the house… 

Izuku hummed quietly, walking over to the large kitchen window that overlooked the waterfall. It seemed like it would be such a pleasant day outside. A small burst of excitement flickered as he pulled his still damp hair up into a bun… completely oblivious to the man carefully watching him from the doorway. 

“Your situational awareness seems lacking” grumbled the Dragon-man.

Izuku jumped a foot, stammering for a second, before dropping into a bow “Aizawa-Sama”

“Just Aizawa will do” he replied, shuffling into the kitchen, lazily yawning and scratching around the base of his horns. “Have a look around the kitchen, through all the cupboards and store rooms, then tell me five meals that you can make.”

Izuku nodded, stiff and wide eyed before getting to work. As he skittered around the room, pulling out pots and baskets, trays of fish, sorting through spices, herbs and soup stock, the raven haired man studied him silently. After what Izuku felt like was much too long, he stood at the edge of the counter, ready to give his report.

“Fried Tofu with soup and rice, Kenchinjiru vegetable soup, Sobagaki-“ he bit his lip anxiously, noting Aizawa’s grimace before continuing. 

“-Trout, perch, black bass, most fish dishes are cooked about the same really, served with daikon, pickled vegetables… rice… miso…” Izuku’s voice trailed off at the man’s intimidating, unimpressed look.

‘This is not going well… what’s the best, what was a treat-‘

“Uhhh Kabayaki-“

“Perfect” Aizawa butted in at his last dish, then turned around and walked out of the kitchen. 

“For breakfast?” Izuku stood dumbfounded, staring at the man’s retreating form. “So… do I… now?” He tilted his head, pouting at the strange behaviour, never getting an answer. Once again, he practically had a heart attack when Aizawa rapped his knuckles on the kitchen window. 

Quickly jogging over, his apologies died on his tongue as the man interrupted once more.

“-Get cooking, I’ll go grab more eel.” With that, he turned around, jogging away until he was far enough that morphing into his dragon form wouldn’t smash the front of the house.

Izuku’s mouth gaped, watching the magnificent beast in absolute wonderment. “Is this really happening?” He muttered softly, eyes still sparkling.

After a moment, he shook his head, a hint of a smile curling his lips as he lit the charcoal stove. Setting up rice to cook, then grabbing ingredients for the sauce, Izuku found himself in a oddly pleasant mood. Any concerns or deep sadness had been firmly pushed to the back of his mind, all focus going on the preparation of a meal hopefully fit for a Dragon God…

“Jeez, no pressure…” He poured mirin, sake, soy sauce and sugar into a bowl, whisking them together. He pinched his bottom lip between his left thumb and index finger, wondering what other rich and flavourful meals he could prepare. Obviously the plain and somewhat bland soba based meals were off the table… “Sweet and salty… fatty fish…” 

With a soft frown, he decided to make extra sauce to set aside for some Yaki Onigiri later, placing the sauce in a small pot and putting it in-

“Wow…” he bent down and ran a finger along the cool box in the pantry. At home, their cold box was a thick lined, fully sealed box. It did a decent enough job most of the year, but this one was definitely something special. The glistening sheen of ice, coating the wood in a thin layer was fascinating.

“Does he keep this icy with his powers all the time?” 

“Yes”

Izuku yelped, falling firm on his ass, wobbling his arms in an attempt to balance himself and keep the small lidded pot of sauce upright. “Aizawa-Sama please!.. Umm… please can you stop making me jump.”

The man’s previously dull expression was laden with mischief. Although perhaps it was only obvious to Izuku, because of how often he had to understand the unspoken feelings of the townsfolk… or maybe it was because of how much time he’d spent thinking about the man’s face. The realisation made him blush. 

Without responding further, Aizawa stepped back into the kitchen, grabbing a filleting board and a large knife. He quickly got to work de-skinning and gutting the 10 eels he’d set down in a bamboo basket.

Izuku slowly breathed out, the air shakily leaving his lungs as he put the sauce in the ‘magic’ cool box and grabbed a pan to began cooking the rest of the sauce on the stove.

Around 30 minutes later and with much trepidation, he began serving up the meal. After preparing the excessive amount of eel and adding it to the cool box, Aizawa had quietly left, leaving him to his spiralling thoughts. Now he was left wondering if the man would return on his own or if he should venture up to the second floor…

Izuku delicately placed the dishes on the wooden table, purposely keeping his eyes on the dining room door, keen to prevent another scarefest… once the Kabayaki Unagi on rice, miso soup and pickled vegetables were all in place, he timidly edged his way out of the dining room, biting his lip.

“Aizawa-Sama?” He winced at his pathetic call, but no sooner had the name left his lips, the man round the top of the stairs, silently stepping down with surprising haste.

Izuku’s nerves were sky high. What if the man didn’t like his meal? Eel was a delicacy, one that he and his sister lovingly prepared for their mother every year on her birthday. The instructions left by his grandmother were explicitly detailed, as if it was one of the most important meals anyone could make. 

Before he could fret further, the Dragon god entered the room, nodding thanks to Izuku who bowed with presentation of the meal.

He waited for Aizawa to take the first bite, holding his breath in anticipation. His heart thumped in his chest, a deep ingrained need for approval pouring off him in waves, which Izuku was sure the deity could sense.

“Hmmm”

‘Is that a good hum or a bad one?’

“This is delicious.” The Dragon man closed his eyes, enjoying the rich dish, allowing Izuku to all but flop with relief. After a second, he sat opposite and grabbed his chopsticks so he could finally dig into breakfast. 

Oil coated his lip as he slipped the eel into his hungry mouth, the sweet and salty flavour bursting on his tongue, leaving a rich fishy tang behind. The teen wriggled on the spot at how delectable it tasted, holding in a moan because he didn’t want to appear boastful.

The two ate for a couple of minutes in a silence, that surprisingly, didn’t feel uncomfortable or tense…. Until Aizawa stopped and put down his chopsticks with a sigh.

“You’ve got 5 questions, choose wisely.”

Izuku quickly sucked in a breath but paused, mouth open ready to speak… “I’m… going to need some time to think about this, otherwise I’ll miss something critical or ask the wrong thing.”

Aizawa huffed a small laugh, muttering a barely audible “logical” before digging in to continue eating.

Another few minutes passed calmly, the miso soup slipping down Izuku’s throat spreading warmth through his chest.

“Have you a career path in mind for when you travel to Fukuoka?”

Izuku stopped, bowl paused halfway towards his mouth. A career path…

“And don’t just consider taking on the work you did in the town once more. I’m sure back breaking labour wasn’t everything you hoped and dreamed of as a child.”

Flashes of memories flooded his mind, days of reading village history books with his grandfather, listening to tales of the Shinobi guards in the Edgeshot clan, who were gradually replaced with Samurai. It was one of the very few things that had changed in the town. Barely 5 years after the arrival of the dragon, espionage, hidden agendas, stealth missions… these were no longer required. Peace and prosperity reigned, the clan moved to policing, guarding and helping to keep foreign tradesmen in check. Training differed, uniforms were more intimidating, the stance was to prevent then if needed, protect.

Either way, Izuku had been drawn to the prospect of helping those in need. Be it offering assistance, defending and shielding or when it was too late, investigating and catching those who brought harm.

But it was a pipe dream.

He was told barely a month after his father’s passing, that he would work in the mine. No explanation, no choice… this was how it would be. The small flame of rebellion lit in his stomach and Izuku had stomped away, huffing and pouting by the river for more than an hour. His father told him when he was young that he could be anyone he wanted to be, that he could change the whole world if he wanted to… once the gentle man was gone, it was all snatched cruelly from his grasp. 

And to top it off, he didn’t even know why.

“There must be something? The town had many jobs, if you didn’t want to stay in one place, you could travel with tradesmen? I know your town didn’t let outsiders stay in the heart of the village, but they came to the borders, you would have seen them, no?”

“Did you come to the town often? I don’t ever recall seeing you?”

Aizawa grumbled “Not physically, no.”

Izuku looked up, wide eyed. “I have figured out my first question…”

The man leant forward, elbow on table, chin on hand, steely gaze burrowing into his soul “…go on” 

His chest thumped suddenly, mouth becoming disastrously dry. “Wh-“ he took a sip of water, cursing his apparently newfound fascination with dark grey eyes. “What are all your powers?”

Aizawa tilted his head, watching him with narrowed eyes for a moment. “Interesting choice… Well, you know I can fly as a dragon and take a human form… I can telepathically speak to someone within a set distance, like by the waterfall… Mild telekinesis- like you saw when I opened the screen doors. I can influence nature on a basic level, how and when plants and trees flourish, drawing animals near or sending them away, especially marine life. I can also control water-” he raised his arm, softly turning and swirling his fingers as a thin rope of water floated up from his cup, twisting around his hand like a snake before shooting out like an arrow, turning to ice and imbedding in the wall.

The teen gasped, gripping his pants with tight fists, desperate to stop an excited babble spilling from his lips.

“I can project part of my consciousness into any moving water… technically I can watch from there but its a little disorientating so I tend not to unless I absolutely need to. I can hear just fine though.”

Izuku blanched “A-any body of water?”

He felt his face flushing deeper with every second, squirming as he saw a slow grin spread on the man’s lips “Correct… a stream, a spiral pump in a mine, a bathtub… the water pouring from a ladle…”

Quickly casting his eyes down to the table, Izuku picked up his chopsticks and scraped together a ball of rice. He never realised today would be the day he died on the inside, recalling every dumb thing he’d said in the quiet sanctuary of his private bathroom. “…a-and that’s everything?”

“I can manifest this form near any body of water, but its barely more than a projection in connection with the water, its not tangible, merely threatening I guess.” 

Izuku remembered the river scene, those glowing red eyes were seared into his memory, despite being years ago. Before he could comment, Aizawa cleared his throat and wiped his mouth on his napkin, adding one final aspect of his powers. “Immortality… inescapable immortality.”

Chapter Text

The rest of meal had been quiet, Izuku sensed a sadness in the air, adding even more mystery to the secretive man. As soon as he’d finished, Aizawa had stood, bowed his thanks and left the room, leaving him to gawk after the man.

Had he lost someone he cared about? Perhaps one of the earlier sacrifices? After all, it was rare to live a long life, reaching 60 was a blessing few humans were afforded. Izuku frowned and took the dishes away to clean up. As he stood in the kitchen, washing up at the sink, his eyes ran over the beautiful scenery through the window. Melancholy regarding his family seeped into his head with every second his mind began to wander… keeping busy should be his main companion, he thought. While he really wanted to explore, the strong urge to do his duties diligently was of utmost importance. And that meant he needed to get cleaning the mansion. 

From what he’d seen, it was a little dusty, barely just lived in, perhaps only slept in. Obviously it had been briefly tidied up before his arrival but there were hints of loneliness as he’d cast his gaze around before breakfast. 

Hopefully while he was working his own magic (cleaning) around the villa, he would come up with his four remaining questions…

“I should ask for more details about Fukuoka… or maybe about Rumi and how she’s doing…” He mumbled away, options for questions popping up again and again as he put away the dishes and began to wipe down the countertops. 

“I could ask him why he does this, why have the sacrifices… if he doesn’t even want-“ His breath caught in his throat as he saw the man walking over the garden bridge from the corner of his eye. He hadn’t even heard him coming down the stairs or opening the front door. “Maybe I really do need to improve my situational awareness.”

Stepping over to the kitchen window, he watched as a sudden hazy mist swept around Aizawa before he transformed and flew away.

“Where are you going?”

Once the god was out of sight, he began rummaging through cupboards. If he was going to clean this mansion, he would do it to a standard never before seen. After pulling out a zashiki-bouki, several zokin and a small wicker basket he jogged around the rooms, opening all the windows, barely letting a small whine breach his lips as he stepped into the dazzling library beyond the training room. 

“Not now Izuku, you can lose yourself here later!”

After lingering for another moment or two, his eyes roaming over the several bookcases that lined the walls, he dragged himself away and over to the genkan, and put on his shoes, trotting out of the front without delay. In the light of the day, the gardens around the villa looked even more incredible. Not so big it was overwhelming but still impressive. Now that he was outside, every deep breath he took, every step between the pretty flowers, he felt his worries and heartaches shrink like a flickering flame on a dying candle.

“This is good… No time to waste Izuku…”

To the side of the mansion, at the end where his bedroom was located, he followed a small path leading around to bountiful vegetable patch. He stopped at the edge, eying the wall of his bathroom, still dumbfounded by the bath mechanism… but chose to chase that up later and went searching for herbs to scent the house since he couldn’t find any incense.

Weary of the time, he didn’t dawdle. The beautiful outdoors pulled at his soul but he had a whole year to explore and probably only a small amount of time to whip the house into shape. After getting back in, he swept the genkan, wiped down the front door and first step into the mansion, then continued further in. 

It quickly became apparent that the house was in slightly worse state than he’d realised. 

“Has there been any cleaning since the oojoshi?” He mumbled, taking care to keep the bowl of water for cleaning at the other side of the room, lest any water gods be listening. 

“Well-“ he climbed the steps to the top of the next floor (turning again before he reached the closed door) to begin sweeping back downwards “-I can’t exactly picture Aizawa-Sama on his hands and knees…” he finished at the bottom and collected the damp cloth to wipe down the bannister. “Oh, I wonder if he manipulates the water to wash through the house…”

After finishing the stairs and foyer, he hung a small bundle of rosemary from a hook near the front door and began sweeping the dining room and kitchen before returning to the training room and library. With each stroke of the brush, his mind spun with thoughts like the dust motes swirling in the air. What other questions should he ask? Despite the vast possibilities, he always returned to the same question.

“I almost don’t want to know the answer but at the same time… can my mother and sister ever know? Surely if the others had told their families, word would have gotten out.” He slumped against the door frame of the tea room, the hint of a festering wound in his chest made him carelessly rub the cloth over his heart. With a small shake of his head, he got back to work, brushing the steps and edges of the tatami mats. 

As he reached his hand towards his cloth and water bowl, the hairs rose on his arm. There was a strange tingle breaching his personal bubble.

“Well, well, well…” 

His eyes flitted up towards the front door where a voluptuous woman began to climb the steps. She had long, deep blue- almost black hair, a low open kimono that made Izuku blush instantly. Beyond her revealing clothes, she wore the most wicked, vixen grin he’d ever seen.

He pushed down the growing anxiety and called out “Can I help you?”

An excitable laugh bellowed out as she snapped shut her fan “I certainly hope you can!! My name is Nemuri and you-“ she pulled off her short toothed Geta and swanned into the home, pointing the fan menacingly as she stepped forward, quick and graceful. “-Are the new sacrifice, yes?”

“I’m afraid the lord of this mansion is not home at the moment.” He sent the woman a warm welcoming smile as he reached into the water, carefully swirling his finger for just a second before grabbing the cloth and wringing it out. “I’m not sure when he will return. Would you care to leave a message for him so I can pass it along?”

The woman laughed once more, glancing back over her shoulder where, as Izuku had hoped, a red eyed, rather irritated visage of Aizawa stood.

“Ohhhhh… well that was quick… I’d better not poke the Dragon.” 

And with that, she transformed right before his wide eyes, into a beautiful, dark blue and black Fox with nine elegant but bushy tails. Izuku barely had chance to gasp before the Kitsune skittered out of the house. 

He quickly shifted his gaze to the apparition of the Dragon-man and upon noting the relieved droop of his head, stepped forward.

“Before you disappear again Aizawa-Sama, can I ask- and this is not one of my five designated questions-“ Izuku spied a mischievous hint of smile on the man’s lip… once more, making his heart thump in his chest “-Is she friend or foe?”

Aizawa sighed “It would honestly loathe me to say friend but… she shouldn’t be of harm.”

He frowned, somewhat petulantly crossing his arms, “That’s not exactly reassuring.”

The man let out a huff and drifted away like a curl of smoke in a breeze, leaving Izuku alone once more.

“Why are you so mysterious?” He grumbled, turning around and finishing his wipe down of the surfaces.

Around midday, Izuku was sitting out the front of the villa, scrubbing the hair soiled, glittery portion of his bedding. The higher altitude brought a cool breeze but the high noon sun felt warm on his cheeks. He hoped it would be enough to dry the bedding by nightfall but if all else failed… perhaps he could muster the courage to ask the Dragon lord to remove the moisture via his magic… Maybe he secretly knew that the sun wasn’t strong enough and he was just using it as an excuse to see more of those fascinating powers… “I’m like those theatre fanboys” he muttered quietly.

The deep rumble of his hungry stomach had him looking out, between the trees, over the small brook, into the sky… “I wonder when he’s coming back…” 

He felt almost certain that Aizawa was listening to him and began to anticipate that he was going to finally see the man coming and not be caught unaware… but after a solid few minutes with only the small spots of cloud occupying the skies, he gave up waiting and hurled the wet bedding over his shoulder with a huff. Turning towards the path around the back of the villa, he padded along just three steps when a voice had him accidentally breathing in some spit and coughing frantically.

“You know that’s not going to dry by tonight, right?”

He whirled on the spot, barking out between hacks “You did that on purpose!”

The man crossed his arms, clearly pouting to avoid laughing as he stared off towards the waterfall.

“Aizawa-Sama!” 

“Just Aizawa.”

Izuku’s fists clenched in the soaked fabric. “You promised!”

“I did nothing of the sort.” 

Izuku barely managed to catch sight of the man’s shit-eating grin as he turned away, heading back towards the front steps. 

He scowled and opened his mouth to say something (that was clearly not going to be witty enough), when a sudden tickling sensation flicked across his skin. Without warning the bedding lifted off his shoulder, floating in the air as tiny, sparkling water drops were pulled from the heavy fabric. The droplets began to collect together, twirling in an hypnotising motion. After barely ten seconds, the bedding began to slowly lower, prompting Izuku to step forward and catch it, continuing to watch in wonder as the now large perfectly spherical blob of water deposited itself in the wash tub with a splash.

When he stepped forward, hoping to see Aizawa, the steps were empty… but Izuku still buried his grinning face into the cotton all the same.

After slipping back into the villa, freshly washed and dried bedding in his arms, the teen ambled to his bedroom. The actions from a moment ago cemented an idea that had been building in his head. 

The Dragon god - extremely powerful, grand, majestic and very much intimidating, even in his human form or just the apparition of one. Izuku found that behind all of that facade, Aizawa was kind, caring… and had a mischievous, playful streak.

‘I want to get to know him more…’

Once his futon was remade, he stepped back out of his room, sliding the door closed just in time for Aizawa to walk out of the pantry. He stupidly began to puff out his chest, a weak form of celebration at not screeching or even slightly jumping. 

“Lunch?”

Izuku’s eyes widened at the comment ‘oh heck, I should have gotten something ready!! What’s quick, quick but tasty-’

“Oshizushi?” he blurted out in haste.

The man seemed to ponder the idea for a moment, scratching his short beard before finally nodding. Izuku skittered into the pantry, pulling out a salmon and the rice that was prepared and cooled earlier. After laying out the fish, he picked up a large knife for filleting then paused.

Tapping the blade on the fish he quietly asked “Uh… Is this fresh?” 

The withered look he received was more than sufficient an answer, so he made quick work of the preparation, hunching in on himself a little under the man’s intense gaze.

“A-Aizawa-sama” Izuku asked, as he lifted the top of the press, “-would you like tamagoyaki too?”

The man walked over quickly, batting Izuku’s hands away to cut the larger piece into smaller ones with frightening speed “No thank you.” 

“…Right. So, umm, about the lady or Kitsune that visited earlier.”

Aizawa groaned, pouring a cup of water from the jug near the window sill. “She’s been on this mountain since… ah she probably arrived few days after me. Brought a lot of hassle into my life-“ Aizawa walked away, food and drink in hand, muttering “I just wanted a nice quiet place to ignore the world but no, brazen hussy, interfering-”

Izuku grabbed his plate and gave chase through the dining room. He was unsure if he was meant to follow, but he was determined to get more answers… until Aizawa spun on the spot, making him skid to a stop at the edge of the hall.

“Like I said before, she’s not out to harm you, she’s a mischievous pest but she’s not malicious, even if-“ the man devolved into more irritated mutters making the teen’s brows raise. 

“Anyway, she loves spending time with humans, well anything that breathes and has compatibility sexu-“ he stopped and clenched his jaw, leaving Izuku puzzled. “Look, if she comes by again and you don’t want to be relentlessly flirted at or teased, just do what you did before with the water, but you don’t need to be afraid to talk to her. Or the noisy idiot for that matter, when he eventually comes around-“

“-Who-“

“But before all of that” Aizawa stepped close and tapped the edge of his cup against Izuku’s chest “-you still didn’t answer my question about a career path AND you still have four questions.”

Izuku’s heart began to run rampage in his chest, this close he could see the varied shades of grey flecks in the man’s eyes. Despite his rugged looks, his lips looked soft.

With each millisecond that passed, a shadow of want began to grip Izuku’s lungs, as his lips parted to draw in a breath, Aizawa’s brow dipped into a deep frown. 

“Don’t waste your time with the question that’s on the tip of your tongue… she can’t know, not now at least.”

A wash of cold swept through his soul. Apparently reading the room was something else he needed to add to his required skillset. 

This time as the man walked away with his lunch, the teen didn’t follow. He simply stared, blank faced at the training room door as it slid closed. Perhaps, Izuku thought, it would be better to focus on the future. If he clung onto the “not now” aspect, the year would surely fly by.

“If I think of a career, move to Fukuoka as its expected of me-“ Izuku whispered “-can I call her over to me then? Can we all start fresh, away from that town?”

He walked back to the kitchen, grabbing some water and propping himself against the countertop. With a deep sigh, he popped a piece of oshizushi into his mouth. Despite the delicious taste, he couldn’t help but grimace. If he chose a career, had a whole new life set up… nothing in that town would change. In ten years, another sacrifice would be chosen. More hearts broken, while others bask in the falsified righteousness. Why couldn’t this cursed cycle end… maybe that should be his next question.  

After swallowing, he took a sip of water and looked into the rippling liquid in his cup “Is there a way that I can be the last sacrifice?”

Chapter Text

With a soft grunt, Izuku pulled the water filled can from the stream and began lugging it back around the mansion’s side path. He realised that it was foolish to tend to the vegetables at this time of day but he wanted to achieve as much as possible on his list of jobs. He’d prepared breakfast, cleaned, laundered his sparkling bedding, prepared lunch and now, at 3pm, was tending to the garden… and certainly not avoiding a certain Dragon.

After uttering the question into the water of his cup after lunch, he’d expected the lord of the house to come speak with him, either as an apparition or not. After all, the god was so keen on him asking questions.

But, minutes ticked by and he never appeared. 

“I don’t really understand him” he whispered with a frown.

Standing beside the first row of thirsty greenery, he tipped the can and watched in a daze as water showered out. The drops of liquid glistened atop the leafy vegetables. It was impressive how pretty the rows of plants were. The whole garden was a magical scene, a feast for the eyes.

Was the dragon interested in gardening and tending to crops? Or was the spectacular foliage merely a side effect of his mystical powers, one that was useful in keeping sacrifices busy…

After grabbing a few terajima eggplants and magome sanzun carrots, Izuku stacked them delicately in his basket, padded away from the garden and cautiously stepped back through the front entrance. As he slipped out of his shoes, he peered down the hall and froze. Aizawa was carefully lifting a stalk of rosemary hanging from a hook and leaning in for what seemed to be a tentative sniff.

“Its rosemary.” 

Izuku internally cursed his ridiculous tendency to blurt out the obvious, curling in on himself with a bitten lip.

“I’m aware.”

After twitching in the increasingly awkward silence, Izuku added on “I couldn’t find any incense when I was cleaning this morning, so I collected these from the garden… to…” 

The waffling he had lined up died on his tongue. These moments made Izuku painfully aware  of their differences. Izuku tended to be a little more verbose. Aizawa was not. At all.

Taking keen interest in the texture of the wooden beams lining the walls and corners, he nervously threaded his fingers behind his back, keen to look anywhere but the Dragon who had turned and was now watching him with curiosity. 

“I don’t have any incense… but… I like the smell…-“ Izuku’s gaze finally snapped to the man, eyes wide. Shafts of late afternoon sun, shone into the mansion, lighting the dust motes that danced through the air between them. A pleased smile began to spread slowly across his lips, even as a subtle frown deepened Aizawa’s brow. 

“-That is-“ the Dragon god continued “-having something almost piney? Slightly minty, perhaps… ughhh” Aizawa paused, a short flash of vexation in his eyes “-my descriptions are a little lacking… the scent is rich and bright… and it adds an interesting depth to the mansion.”

Izuku beamed. Praise, recognition for taking the initiative… a rarely felt prideful excitement coursed through his veins. “I’ll try make some, I can collect some ingredients and come up with some combinations to try so we can see which one you prefer-“ His smile widened further, eyes almost closing with joy “-we can find the one you like the most.”

Interestingly, the raven haired god took a step forward. Izuku’s breath stuttered, still on the cusp of a giddy laugh, face still bright with enthusiasm. But Aizawa quickly shook his head and turned to walk away, calling out “Fine” over his shoulder but grumbling about the blinding sun as he stomped down the hall to the training room.

While the interaction had been a little tense, he’d gained valuable information.

‘Bright, rich scents…’ 

Izuku clenched his fists with silent delight and trotted away into the kitchen to make some Yaki onigiri for a snack, wash his vegetables and plan dinner.

“In relation to your question regarding my career choice, to-“ Izuku pinched his chin between his thumb and finger, desperately trying to think of a way to ask a question without dipping in to his remaining three allotted ones. “-to help me determine my answer, I’d like to know what the other sacrifices chose… not all of them, obviously, just the last few perhaps…”

Aizawa’s right eyebrow lifted “is this one of your questions?”

Izuku bristled, barking back without composing himself “No, you didn’t answer my last question anyway!”

“At least I gave you one of your earlier questions back! A foolish waste, asking about that damn woman…”

Izuku narrowed his eyes but when the man sitting opposite glared, he looked away, hastily shoving a chopstick pinched with a hearty amount of mackerel into his mouth.

The evening dinner wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped. Having barely seen the man all day, the brief discussion about the rosemary had filled him with a thrilling hope of getting a full conversation out of the Dragon god.

Alas… things rarely worked out as planned these days…

‘Yikes’ Izuku gulped down the food and kept his sight firmly locked on the fried carrots in the dish slightly to his right. 

Eventually, Aizawa sighed. “By day, Rumi is an accomplished author, writing under the pseudonym Luna. Behind closed doors, at night, she crafts weapons that Keigo sells.”

“Kiego… he’s the Tengu-“

“Correct-“

“And Nemuri was the Kitsune that visited before?”

“Yes-“

“And you mentioned a noisy-“

“Do you want to garner information on careers or just keep interrupting?” 

Izuku hunched up at the god’s raised voice ‘Damn damn damn, stupid mouth.’

Minutes passed in silence, Izuku wondered if the man would say anymore or if this extended pause was just punishment for his impudence.

“The sacrifice ten years prior, Kiyo, crafts and hand paints lamps in Kumamoto, Tatsu before her worked as a midwife before relocating to a small village outside Fukuoka with her husband and three children, before her, Yoshitaro owns a restaurant, working with his oldest son… need anymore?”

Izuku found his eyebrows had raised throughout the retelling. Not only were all of them successful, sounding as if they lived a happy healthy life… but it seemed Aizawa kept tabs on them. 

With a small tilt of his head, he asked softly “Do you consider the previous sacrifices as something akin to your offspring?” 

Aizawa’s eyes widened briefly before the man lowered his head, seemingly taking great interest in his meal. “…don’t-“ he paused to clear his throat. “Of course not.”

With great difficulty, he swallowed down the tiny smile that threatened to break through at the God’s obvious embarrassment. “The previous sacrifices were all several years younger than me-“

An irritated growl cut him off, Aizawa angrily chewing the soft fish as if it had offended him. Knowing when to pause, even through his lips wanted to babble, Izuku took a sip of water, waiting for the man to continue.

“Its disgusting, they were children.” Aizawa’s outburst shocked him, even if it made sense given the stories he’d been told regarding the first sacrifice. “I ought to of ruined those first village chiefs, I said no gifts, I said I just wanted to be left alone-“ the man muttered grumpily, adding that he might as well have chanted nenbutsu to a horse, leaving Izuku to bite his tongue to stop the chuckle that bubbled up.

“Well-“ he took a deep breath, eager to lift the air in the room “-I’m not a child, you don’t need to worry about me.”

Aizawa pursed his lips, thinking about something obviously beyond what Izuku could know. “So… has this discussion helped you come to some conclusion regarding your future?”

The teen huffed, smiling all the same as he lightly replied “Not at all… but I think I know nonetheless.”

This seemed to pique the man’s curiosity, bringing his elbow up to rest on the table, flopping his hand limply to rest his chin atop. “Do go on”

“I want to help people. Uphold laws, bring criminals to justice, perhaps not a symbol of peace but one of hope, that even in the darkest nights in the grandest cities, anyone could be safe.” 

The man sitting opposite studied him, eyes unreadable. It made Izuku feel a strange hotness, he wondered if the scrutiny made him self conscious, he was already blushing with embarrassment at such a bloated statement after all.

“Very well-“ the man placed down his chop sticks, nodding thanks for the meal. Before he left the room, he paused in the doorway and glanced back “After breakfast, prep lunch and meet me in the training room.”

Izuku sucked in a breath, eyes sparkling as he watched Aizawa disappear out of the room and up the stairs.

“Yes Aizawa-Sama”

Some time later, he placed the last of the cleaned dishes in the cupboard and looked around the empty kitchen. It had been an extremely long day, different from the last but equally exhausting. He’d successfully made three meals plus a snack for the god, cleaned most of the mansion, tended to the vegetables, washed his bedding… and advised Aizawa of his long forgotten heroic dreams.

His first day since being handed over as the sacrifice was coming to an end… three hundred and sixty four more days to go… and then he was expected to move on with his life. 

A deep, unwelcome frown set on his face as he near-silently padded into his bedroom, his small lamp lighting the way. With every second that passed after completing his ‘chores’, grief trickled out of the tightly sealed box that he’d been working so hard to ignore. He pursed his lips, lighting candles around the room and slumping on his futon. Barely thirty seconds slipped by, sat in the spacious room, the flickering glimmer making the space feel calm and warm… 

With a soft huff he stood again. 

“I’m homesick.”

He kept his voice low, grateful that he didn’t even have a cup of water in the room. If Aizawa was listening, he really didn’t want to make the god feel anymore uncomfortable than he already was. Pushing thoughts of his family aside, he tried to see things from the Dragon’s perspective. With what little he knew about him, Izuku understood that the god preferred solitude over companionship, yet here he was with a stranger staying in his home. 

“I wonder if its always been that way… before coming to the mountain… was he different? Did something set him down this path of seclusion? Although, there are at least two other mythical beasts living on the mountain… if he wanted to get rid of them, surely he could.” 

Izuku pulled out his hair tie and scratched the back of his head, groaning at the pleasant tingle along his scalp. His thoughts flowed out easily as quiet mutterings, considering who else lived nearby. He’d briefly met the kitsune, he’d been told of another ‘noisy’ inhabitant and of course, the Tengu he would meet upon leaving. “I wonder if he’s met a Kirin?”

The faintest possibility foolishly had him jogging over to the window, however the glow of the room behind him made it near impossible to see in the vast darkness outside. Thoughts of mythical beasts and gods reminded him of reading his favourite book to Eri when they were younger. Sitting around the kotatsu on cool winter nights, reading fascinating tales out loud as their mother sat beside them, sowing and fixing their fleece lined clothing.

A deep pang of hurt lanced his chest. Sucking in a shaky breath, Izuku began pottering around the room, reorganising the fixings, pulling out clothing, refolding and repacking into the trunk… as if keeping busy would fix something that could not be repaired. 

Knowing that his malaise would render him unable to sleep, he decided to slip out of his room and creep to the library to fetch a book or two.

“Interesting choice” Aizawa said as he entered the kitchen, giving Izuku the faintest of shoulder twitches in lieu of a yelp and jump. The teen turned to greet the Dragon god, his eyes flitting down to the book he’d began reading the night before.

“I like supernatural aspects, fully understanding that we live in a world with these magical mystical beasts, its just-“ Izuku gulped as he realised exactly what he’d been saying and to whom he’d been saying it to. 

Well, too late to not commit now, he thought, staring into a set of steely grey eyes “… its amazing.”

He quickly turned away to hide his blushing cheeks, checking the boiling kettle, avoiding the book, Ugetsu monagatari and the intimidating man flicking through the pages.

One of the God’s brows lifted a touch “…So which one was your favourite?”

“Oh umm I didn’t get too far, I ended up falling asleep fairly hastily.” He absolutely didn’t want to admit that both the day as a whole and his tightly wound emotions had drained him and that he’d not gotten far before dropping the book on his face while laying in his futon and calling it a night.

“Did you read the Blue Hood?”

Izuku frowned, tilting his head and staring hazily towards his top left in a poor attempt to remember. “I don’t think so, can you recount the outline for me?”

Aizawa smirked, making Izuku’s heart leap into his throat for a second. “No I won’t spoil the surprise.”

Following a quiet but quick breakfast, Izuku washed up and prepped lunch as he’d been told. He then changed into some shorter sleeved, loose, navy blue Samue garments and jogged over to the training room. When he slid open the door, Aizawa was waiting for him in the centre of the room, dressed similarly, his hair tied into a slightly messy bun and his hands clasped together.

The combination of his hair, the horns, his rippling forearm muscles on display for the first time and of course those dark, moody eyes… Izuku immediately blushed, his heart hammering in his chest. It should be forbidden to look so ravishing, he thought.

“I’m glad that you didn’t waste time… I don’t like people who dawdle.”

“Yes, I didn’t—“

“Come”

He snapped his mouth closed, nodded and quickly stepped towards the man who shifted to the side, gesturing with an open hand to the centre, where he’d once stood. 

While the teen had cleaned the long rectangular room the previous day and of course stepped through it to reach the library, he’d barely taken stock of anything other than the stark wooden walls and the tall cupboard lining one side. Now that he stood in the centre, he could see the slight change in colour beneath his socked feet for a square of around two by two metres. The mats felt springy, slightly rougher in texture but definitely giving a little under his weight. 

‘Curious’

He watched Aizawa slide open the cupboard and pull out a Fukuroshinai. With training sword in hand, the god began to circle the teen, stalking him menacingly. Izuku’s heart began to beat frantically, equal parts terrified and surprisingly excited.

“Tell me about your strength.”

Izuku kept his eyes fixed on the moving man, rotating a little to keep up as he replied “I worked in the mine, mostly hammering, cutting and carrying. My shoulders and back are strong, but carrying the ore filled baskets up the ladders and back to the mill gave me… umm…”

“-Thighs” Aizawa finished for him, evaluating him in a way that made him feel even more like prey.

He halted his rotations, anxious about getting dizzy, then continued, as the man slipped behind and out of view, “I also ran with Katsuki-ACK”

He jumped as the leather sheathed sword dug into the back of his ribs.

Aizawa hummed, finally stepping back into view “Agility? Flexibility?”

The teen rubbed at the spot, not because it felt sore, more so from the shock. “I-“

He jerked his hips to the side, narrowly avoiding another jab, then ducked under a quick swipe of the bamboo. “I mean-“ he tried to continue, but Aizawa seemed relentless in his pursuit, gracefully moving with light feet, swinging and pressuring Izuku to move quickly.

“Stay in the square but avoid the sword” was the only instruction muttered as a few hits began to land, hard enough to sting but not enough to bruise. His breaths began to grow into short pants as the swipes grew in pace. He tried to mimic the man’s quicksteps, but earned a healthy shove from a flat, left palm, finally knocking him off balance. 

Izuku swallowed harshly as he looked up from his kneeled position on the mat.

The dragon god loomed over him, a carefully placed blank expression on his face “I’m pleased to see you want to learn, but I was more interested in figuring out your baseline level… get up… Take the centre position again, eyes forward and still.”

Izuku did as commanded, his chest rising and falling measuredly as he fought to control his thumping heart. The urge to turn and look at the man who stood silently behind him was sky high but he was keen to follow the instructions.

“Square your shoulders-“ a soft jab between his blades, “shift your centre of gravity so there’s slightly more weight on the balls of your feet-“ a tap against each calf, “…push strength into your abs.” 

The teen sucked in a sharp breath as the man came close behind him. Izuku bit his lip as a rough hand slipped around his front to softly press a path from the top of his abs, down to just under his navel. 

The raven haired god, pressed against him, leaning down to whisper beside his ear “Pull in here-“ 

He held his breath as that hot hand stayed against his stomach. 

“-Straighten up, hold your core strong… We’ve got a lot of work to do, but at least we have time on our side.”

Aizawa then pulled back quickly, leaving him desperate to collapse on the floor and silently scream into his clenched fists. 

“Three hundred laps of the full area around the mansion. Go.”

Izuku immediately felt his shoulders hunch up, the words dropping on him like a bucket of icy water… “Yes Sir.”

Chapter Text

One month had passed since training for his chosen career became part of Izuku’s routine.

Each day he would wake, make breakfast, tidy up and prep for lunch, water the plants, pick fruits or vegetables on alternating days switching through the crops, then enter the training room.

Their next few hours depended on whatever the Dragon god had in mind for the day, but it seemed to rotate through a variety exercise styles, posture, form and stance of self defence - although Aizawa had informed him that attack and apprehension training would begin further down the line. 

After the morning slot was up, he would change clothing, then make lunch, prep dinner and either clean or do laundry for an hour, before once again entering the training room until it was time for the evening meal.

The dramatic increase in time spent with the raven haired man gave him valuable insight into the man’s somewhat hidden persona, however, his burgeoning emotions often paid the price. Thus, every night after bathing, when he didn’t immediately pass out from sheer exhaustion, he found himself in the library, reading to stop his mind wandering.

At least that’s what he tried telling himself as his eyes lifted from the page when, through the window, he saw the stunning Dragon land in the gap between the trees and the small bridge across from the front of the house. The usual swirl of smoke glowed in the warm light from the lanterns scattered through the grounds. When Aizawa transformed into his human form, lifting his hand to run fingers through his hair between his horns, Izuku’s mouth went dry.

'Stop it! Don’t think about him, leave it, read, read about-’

He looked back down at the book he had chosen for the night: Oku no Hosomichi. He’d believed it would be a soft, comforting read, pages filled with prose and poetry, delicately romanticising travel and nature… something cosy to distract him. 

But… he looked up again through his eyelashes just in time to see the man disappear from view.

It was late… he couldn’t help but ponder where the God had been at such an hour. This mystery only added to Aizawa’s appeal. 

He huffed and looked hazily back at the pages in front of him on the low table, the bone deep tiredness adding to the difficulty in making the words sink in. So much for distractions, at this point he’d read the first line at least seven times.

If it wasn’t the internal panic associated with the growing affections towards and desire of the dragon god, then it was the aching hollow in his chest regarding his abandoned family. And at times it really did feel that way… like he’d left them behind to deal with the town’s distasteful mutters, lingering glares and whispered gossip. All of that on top of losing one of their main sources of income. He felt rotten, even though at the time, by choosing to be the one to leave, he felt like he had given them the best chance of a happy life… now he knew what the life of a sacrifice meant, guilt clawed from the depths of his stomach.

Izuku hunched then un-tensed his shoulders, breathing in and out softly. 

‘Focus.’ 

Leaning forward on the soft floor cushions, he placed his elbow aside the open book, propping his head in his palm.

A month ago, after Aizawa had mentioned the Blue Hood story in the morning, he’d all but ran to his room that night, shuffling under the covers to read in peace, but practically died between the sheets as he took in the tale. A deep blush had risen up his neck due to subconsciously focusing more on the reveal of a relationship between two men than the cannibalistic demon terrorising a village. 

From that night, he purposely avoided ‘stories’ for a whole sixteen days, focusing on reading laws, bushido codes and investigative methodology. After all, why had the man suggested the story!?… and in such a teasing manner?! Surely it wasn’t the relationship… perhaps a threat?

Another huff slipped from his lips. Sinking a little further, he forced his weary eyes back onto the fluid strokes on the page. The creeping lure of sleep prompted him to begin reading out loud in an attempt to stay awake, just a little longer.

“I seemed to be possessed by the spirits of wanderlust-“ Izuku spoke softly, his voice smooth but laced with lethargy “-and they all but deprived me of my senses. The guardian spirits of the road beckoned, and I could not settle down to work.”

He slumped further, leaning his face against his forearm, his fingers threading into the loose bun at the back of his head. “I patched… my… torn…”

Each word grew weaker, his eyelids as heavy as a thousand suns.

“…and changed… th… the-”

The most tender pressure against his leg and quiet rustle of fabric threatened to pull him from the peaceful slumber he found himself in.

Through thick foggy clouds, a deep rumbling echoed. 

“Do you believe that a profound rest, capable of replenishing the energy required for training, would come from sleeping in such a position?”

The voice sounded far away and close all at once, but he had no desire to summon the energy to answer. Instead, Izuku nuzzled against something warm, barely lifting from the vast pool of sleep. 

The sound of a gentle but deep sigh tugged at his consciousness but a rhythmic thump lulled him back beyond the reaches of consciousness. Whatever this was, it felt nice. Warm, secure… with a pleasant scent of sandalwood and salt. All too soon, he was gently placed on cool cotton sheets. A faint whimper slipped free from his lips until a warm touch glanced along his cheek and tipped him over the edge of a vast cliff and into a warm ocean, where nothing mattered anymore.

A new sound grasped him after an unknown amount of time, growing louder every second. 

It was a bird song.

Izuku sat up with a harsh gasp. The sun was bleeding into the room between the blinds, far too bright and warm to be dawn. Not only had he slept in, probably extremely late, but he was also in his futon, under his sheets, in the comfortable clothes he was sitting to read in.

A fierce, blistering heat surged through his veins as realisation set in. He had fallen asleep in the library, Aizawa had found him and subsequently carried him to bed.

“I should just die now.”

Washing and dressing in record time, Izuku burst through the sliding door into the kitchen, yanking the screen so viciously it almost broke from its alignment, threatening to embarrass him further. He skidded to a stop by the table.

Izuku

I have to venture into the city for something, please eat breakfast and lunch without me, continue with your tasks and I will return later in the day for some training before our evening meal.

Shouta

Izuku whined pitifully. The Dragon god was probably just irritated by his behaviour. 

“Next time, I’ll read in my room, then if I fall asleep, I won’t burden him.”

An hour after lunch, Izuku was picking fruit to make umeboshi, when a quiet snap of a twig made him pause, his hand frozen a couple of inches below a ripe, plump Japanese Apricot. 

This was not Aizawa.

He decided to turn slowly. While the Dragon god had implied that there were only “friendly” beasts up the mountain, there were risks that should not be taken lightly. Yokai could travel, could spring up in vengeance, heck, what was stopping another Dragon from turning up?

Midway through his rotation, whoever it was sucked in a sharp breath and let out the most obnoxiously loud “HEEEEEYYYYY!!”

The noise instantly had Izuku hitting the floor, eyes screwed shut, with his hands over his ears. His entire chest vibrated with the sound, every part of his being wincing and twitching with the urge to run away.

“Oh! Sorry! Sorry sorry… I got excited there haha!”

‘Huh?’ Tilting his head but keeping his hands firmly over his ears, Izuku opened his eyes.

Sitting on a thick branch, halfway up a Tabunoki Bay tree, legs swinging merrily, was a blond man with vast, pale yellow wings that gradually disappeared in wisps of silvery mist. He wore an elaborately stitched, black Sokutai with bright red waist tie, the contrast made the long bright locks stand out even more.

Izuku was baffled for only a moment, the memory unlocking with the evidence before his eyes as the key. He whispered softly “Itsumade…”

The mystical beast grinned, his short slightly curled moustache twitching with the movement. “Ahhh well, that might be what some people call me- BUT ITS ALL LIES!”

There was a strange intonation at the end, twisting the pitch of the man’s voice so it travelled through Izuku’s bones. The teen ducked once more on impulse. But despite the discomfort brought by the noise, this time, he kept his eyes glued on the stranger, watching as he jumped down and landed gracefully a few feet away. “I didn’t bring any disease. I come and sing a beautiful song that just so happens to be when there’s a plague outbreak or something-” the blond waved his hand dismissively as his waist length hair fluttered in the breeze “-and suddenly everyone blames me!? ME- ah sorry…”

After sighing, the Itsumade approached him with a friendly smile, his apple green eyes twinkling as he bent and offered a hand to the teen. 

“Hizashi Yamada, but you can call me-“

“An idiot” 

Izuku spun on his knees quickly to find Aizawa’s projected apparition a few feet behind to his left. The god flicked his glowing red eyes between the two of them, finally groaning in apparent defeat. “Don’t take that hand, you’ll only encourage h-“

“SHOUTAAAA”

The teen yelped, cowering once more at the overwhelming commotion, prompting Aizawa to step closer with a deep scowl. “Stop yelling you bird brain!”

Scoffing, Yamada finally retracted his hand and crossed his arms, non-plussed about sassing an all-powerful Dragon god. “Stop hogging this cutie pie!”

Izuku blushed, his head snapping left and right as the two bickered like old friends.

“I’m not hogging him-”

The blond grinned wickedly, cutting in with a quick retort “-but you ain’t denying he’s a cutie though huh.”

Now Izuku wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl in. The conversation had headed in a mortifying direction and the teen was still disastrously embarrassed about what happened the night before. Maybe he should just grab his basket of Ume and make a run for the mansion. Maybe that was the worst idea in history. Who knows.

Aizawa growled, pulling him from his distracted rumination. “What the hell do you want Hizashi?!” 

“Good grief!” The yokai rolled his eyes and quite literally, waved his hand as he walked through Aizawa’s apparition, as if the Dragon was nothing more than a bad smell.

Izuku’s jaw all but hit the floor at the rude gesture, scrambling to his feet to warn the blond before any bloodshed. The disrespect would surely be met with violence. The teen knew all of Aizawa’s powers and had seen the god’s temper flare with venom from something as simple as a child’s misinformed chatter. This was on another level. He needed to act quickly. “Umm Yamada-Sama!”

“Awww listen to that!” Yamada turned with a bright smile, ignoring the swirling cloud that rapidly began retaking shape. “Come on sweetheart, let’s go for a walk, I’ll regale you with grand tales, you can be my precious listener-“

“I should never have helped you” snapped the Dragon god, who, Izuku noticed as he glanced back over his shoulder, was soundlessly stomping behind them.

Interestingly, there were no sharp spears of ice, no thunderous storms of vengeance, no trees lifted telekinetically with belligerent intent. 

‘Curious’

“Oh please! As if those idiots could’ve harmed me! You only ‘saved’ me-” the tall man added quotes for emphasis before continuing “-because you were worried they’d start ritualistically killing young maidens or something.” 

He then turned to Izuku and tacked on “-no offence sweet cheeks but the rulers in your little town have a long standing tradition of being as dumb as squid.” Yamada then pointed to Aizawa and wriggled his brow “-besides, you love hearing me sing!”

“I’d rather become dinner for a Gashadokuro.”

The blond gasped theatrically before winking at Izuku, resuming his casual pace through the trees. “Well then… why don’t you go do that, while me and my new best friend head back to mine.”

A menacing aura flared out behind them as the Dragon god snarled “I’m not leaving you with Izuku!”

The almost flippant use of his first name had the teen blushing again, but he tucked his chin down, remaining silent as the two continued to quarrel. After a few minutes the trio had left the fruit trees, passed the mansion, trotted over the bridge and set a course, winding through the larger maple and chinquapin trees. This was the furthest he’d been from villa since arriving, a strange feeling of anxiety and excitement bubbled in his stomach. Peeking back behind him, Izuku found Aizawa still stalking behind, but he wondered how long that would go on for. Would he really stay with them? In this form? Was he already on his way back? The god did seem to have a slightly possessive streak… not that Izuku was an object to be owned or even desired.

He frowned at his train of thought once more.

“Aizawa-Sama-“

The Dragon god sighed loudly, butting in- “Just Aizawa.”

The teen bit his lip. He wouldn’t get answers if all he drew was ire. “R-right… umm… A-Aizawa, where are you? I mean, the real you- not that you’re not real! I just mean solid- ah firm, the-” Izuku wheezed in panic, this was not going well.

Up ahead Hizashi snorted a laugh, quickly covering it with a fake cough as Aizawa scowled. 

“I’m returning from Fukuoka, meeting some people who you’ll be working with after your time is done-“

The blond ahead whirled on the spot, crossing his arms in apparent displeasure prompting Izuku to freeze. “Well aren’t you keen!” 

The snappy bitter tone now made Aizawa pause, the man’s eyes narrowing in suspicion. 

‘What’s happening?’ 

When neither continued the conversation, Izuku broke the increasing tension, hoping what he was about to suggest wouldn’t go down badly.

“I think it would be ok for you to focus on your return journey. While I’m not familiar with Yamada-Sama, you have assured me of my safety around your companions-“

Aizawa scoffed but the blond butted in (as Izuku was finding that he often seemed to do.) “Yeah, I,  Yamada-Sama-“ he pressed a palm against his puffed chest “-want nothing more than to spend a little time with Izu-Kun- I can call you that right? It suits your cute lil cheeks and it’ll piss him off- And I, your companion, would take utmost care with this sweet adoring man.”

A stalemate seemed to be on the horizon as the two stared each other down, Izuku stood off to the side, fretting about what to do. While he didn’t want to upset the God, Izuku should convince him that this wasn’t a big deal, he wasn’t a child like the previous sacrifices after all. If Yamada was as trustworthy and harmless as he appeared then he would be safe and… although he would never admit it, it would be nice to converse with someone again.

Aizawa was a pleasant albeit quiet ‘housemate’ but the two only interacted during meals and training. In all honesty, Izuku had never felt so lonely. He hid it well, even from himself, behind the overwhelming desire for validation and appreciation, pushing himself hard to impress the Dragon God in everything he did. 

But…

Now that he was with someone chatty, warm and excitable, it reminded him of his time with Eri and before he knew it, he was desperate to spend just a little more time with the mystical beast.

And if during their time together he could get some information on Aizawa’s mysterious past… then that was a bonus.

“I- I’ll be back in two hours!!” He blurted out without thinking “-A-and I’ll umm… I’ll read the code of laws book again… a-and do double my daily exercise!”

Yamada whistled, eyes and brows to the sky but seemed to bite his tongue for the first time since arriving.

It took a minute, Izuku jiggling anxiously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, but eventually, Aizawa’s shoulders sank in apparent defeat.

“Fine.” As soon as the dragon god huffed out the word, he began to vanish on the breeze. He kept his gaze firmly locked with Izuku’s and at the last possible second, added “I’ll see you in 2 hours.” Then with that, the last of his form dispersed, leaving Izuku to wonder exactly what he’d signed himself up for.

Chapter Text

As the pair moved further away from the mansion, not exactly descending, more traversing, Izuku noticed a change in the foliage. Earlier in the journey, the sun pried fingers of light between the dense leaf cover, littering the grassy floor in glittering triangles and stars of brightness, flickering and moving with each breath of the wind. Now, the leaves became more sparse, the impact of the approaching change of seasons and the lack of Aizawa’s influence. 

The harsh, end of year winter was rapidly approaching, still a month or so away at sea level but up at such heights, the cold nipped and stung much earlier and the clouds far off on the horizon were a threatening grey colour.

Walking by his side, Hizashi Yamada, an Itsumade, if the story passed down from the elderly towns folk was to be believed, had a pep his step. Winning the battle to gain Izuku’s companionship for the afternoon clearly put the blond in a cheery mood.

Izuku peeked at the man occasionally, keen to absorb any information that he could.

‘He’s Aizawa’s height… or maybe even a tiny bit taller. I wonder how old he is, he barely looks 30’ he thought.

“You going to be warm enough?” 

Izuku almost flinched at the sudden words. He’d clearly been so engrossed, that the breaking of the peaceful quiet was a shock. Yamada smiled. It was friendly, but much like every mythical creature or god he’d met so far, there was a glint of something more in his eyes. “-Its much cooler on my side of the mountain, especially in the afternoon when the sun is on Aizawa’s side. I bet you hadn’t even realised it lightly snowed two days ago.”

His icy fingertips gave him pause for thought. “You’re right-“ he said with raised brows. “Its still fairly warm near Aizawa-san’s mansion, I spend time outside every day but I’ve yet to break out the Hanten in the clothes chest…Is there still snow on the ground near yours?”

The blond shook his head casually “No, it was light and melted the following morning… still…”

He smiled softly at the man’s concern but had no intension of complaining “I’m alright for now… how much further is it to your house?”

Yamada snorted a laugh, “House? Hah, you’re in for a shock-“ Izuku looked up with a puzzled expression but didn’t respond. “Well, it would be quicker to transform and carry you but I’d rather not end up with clipped wings when a grumpy dragon god finds out… so, less than half an hour.”

The teen nodded, mentally taking note that he wouldn’t barely get an hour before he needed to turn around and head back if he was planning to return before his curfew.

For the rest of the walk, the blond chattered away, occasionally asking questions, filling the space with meaningless prattle. Before long, Izuku had learned of Yamada’s love of Oyakodon and many other chicken dishes, which prompted Izuku to promise to cook Tori Meshi or Yakitori for the man during their next rendezvous. 

Yamada was passionate about washing his hair with oils and flowers to keep it thick and soft. The mystical beast seemed to have a fear of losing his hair but Izuku urged him not to worry, reassuring him that it looked strong and plentiful. 

The blond exclusively wore lush fabrics - particularly in black, silver and red, though he could be tempted with bright silk on occasion and lamented Aizawa’s exclusively black and grey, functional fabric filled wardrobe.

Izuku was so absorbed in gathering knowledge that he barely noticed that they were walking towards a bare craggy face in the mountain. A cave opening, that was draped with hanging moss, made him realise why his earlier question brought a chuckle or two.

‘He lives in a cave…’

“Welcome Izu-chan, sacrifice of the dumb village, green eyed deity, he who resides with Lord grump-face-” Yamada turned and grinned cheekily. “I love this cave-“ the blond added as he stepped through the opening, beckoning Izuku to follow.

“The acoustics are second toooooo nooooone-” Izuku winced as the man theatrically bellowed into the dark passage, arms spread wide, a dramatic curve to his spine. “You probably weren’t expecting a cave right?”

Izuku, keen to prevent offence went to placate the man but didn’t get a chance, as Yamada cut in and continued. “My voice travels far and wide anyway, I can control the way the sound travels and this cave just- ah, I suppose the cave just makes it sound better. I have a specific room where I project my voice out to those who want to listen, keeping mythical creatures, a few of the more pleasant yokai and a few humans in the loop with current events-”

The teen burst forward with enthusiasm, almost slipping on the slightly mossy ground. “That’s incredible, your voice sounds so versatile. I think that sounds amazing! And Aizawa-sama doesn’t hear it?”

“Haha no, I very carefully keep it away from your area, unless its to invite him to the parties. They’re only a few times a year though. I invite some of the former sacrifices, Keigo - who I’m sure you’ll meet soon, Camie - she’s a Jorogumo who lives on the mountain on the other side of the valley-“ He quickly spun, holding his arms up tentatively “- please don’t tell Sho that she comes, he can’t stand her-“ Yamada chuckled, running his fingertips through his hair and continuing to step through the passage towards the glowing light at the end.

“Umm… there’s also Sirius, Selkie and Manual - three Kappas from Lake Hamana, I have a cave lake behind the auditorium where they hang out, I’ll show you, its cute… and well, of course Nemuri. Hahhhhhh-” The pair walked closer to the light, Yamada extending his arm out to push aside the long Noren curtains. “-Sho almost never comes.”

With that, he walked through, continuing to hold the drapes so Izuku could walk in to the extensive cavern.

The sight before him was wildly unexpected. Although he really hadn’t known what to expect by this point anyway.

The air was warm, scented with an interesting mix of spice and smoke. His gaze wandered around the circular expanse. The walls were lit with small lamps every few metres, each with different shades and patterns, which added to the inviting and somewhat exotic feel in the room. To his left was another room too dark to see, a further two branching off from the furthest side of the room.

Over in the back right was a kitchen, clay stove, wooden counters and tall stools. Other small chests were spaced around the edges of the main room, each topped with thin cushions for even more spaces to sit. 

But the focal point of the room was a deeply carved, circular depression, with a tall, fire filled  pot in the centre. Set around the edges were thick plush cushions, some lined with fur, again proving ample seating. The interesting clay pot had oval holes in the sides, each emitting the heat and glow of the fire inside, while the long narrow spout at the top bellowed smoke in a vertical column towards a hole in the ceiling that curved out of sight.

“You know-“ Yamada started, as he slipped off his shoes, grabbing some slippers and passing a spare pair to Izuku. “I’ve been traveling the world for hundreds of years, collected amazing things, met fascinating people, learned new languages… but this was the first time I settled down. It took me a while to bring all the things I had gathered from the various homes I’d gathered but, Aizawa was the one who helped me the most.”

He watched Yamada walk into the room, slipping off his outermost layers with a sigh. To anyone else it probably would be a shocking revelation but Izuku knew the dragon god had a heart of gold beneath his steely exterior. Thinking about it made his chest hammer and a warmth, not brought on by the proximity to the fire, spread across his skin.

“Daifuku and Tea?” Yamada was standing in the kitchen, a bright toothy smile on his face. “I’d offer you some sake but Aizawa would summon sharks if I sent you back drunk!” 

The man turned with a chuckle, obviously prepping a plate for the red bean filled, mochi treat, regardless of Izuku’s response.

Taking a seat at the counter, he gave his bountiful thanks, bowing slightly as the blond slid a square slate plate across and turned to begin making tea. Unease crawled through Izuku’s soul. This mystical beast, a vast worldly traveller, hundreds of years old, was making tea for him. His hands clenched, fingers entwined until his knuckles turned white. “W-would you like me to help?”

Yamada turned slightly with an disgruntled expression, practically glaring back over his shoulder. “I know you feel like you’re in the presence of a someone almighty and powerful but we’re friends now. This is my cave and you-“ the blond rudely pointed a spoon at the teen “are my guest. Sit and await the worlds greatest tea, presented by yours truely… if you try and help me, I’ll be offended. And if that happens, I might accidentally deafen you.”

Izuku nodded quickly, sitting up sharply, biting his tongue to resist the urge to apologise.

“So you have a few minutes while this finishes… ask me anything” Yamada’s grin spread slowly “-I know you want to know more about that stoic beast.”

The teen fought back a blush, realising he lost the battle with his cheeks when the man standing at the other side of the counter giggled quietly. “Umm, what…” he looked up and paused as his eyes laid on the second tea set “-what are you drinking?”

The blond groaned “Honey tea, good for the voice, now what were you really going to ask? Real juicy questions or else I’ll tie you up and make you late for your curfew.”

Izuku’s eyes went wide. He knew the man was teasing but he couldn’t help a hint of underlying fear. He’d only just met the man and really, he wasn’t a man at all. A mystical beast feared and despised in his town’s history. 

Taking a deep breath, he mentally reached out for a ‘juicy’ question, dismissing the first that came to mind, because asking about Aizawa’s history of lovers was both disgraceful and if he was honest, it wasn’t something he would be pleased to hear about. After all, in hundreds of years there must have been-

“Remember, we don’t have all day sweet cheeks…”

“What does he do beyond what I see? He leaves for hours at a time and gives little as a way of explanation.”

Yamada hummed into his drink, sipping a little before placing the cup back down and nodding at Izuku to begin his tea.

“He checks on the townsfolk, meets with Keigo and some other’s he works with in the cities. He patrols to keep places safe, investigates dangerous Yokai… y’know-”

Yamada paused to give Izuku a moment to compose himself after the revelation of Aizawa’s dangerous investigations made the teen choke on his drink.

Eventually, Izuku set the teacup down with a shaky hand and wiped his watery eyes, apologising for almost showering the man in spit addled tea.

“Oh!” Yamada exclaimed, clapping his hands together, making Izuku dread whatever the man was about to tack on. “Did he give you five questions?”

‘Oh, thank god that’s all…’  

He took a bite of the mochi and nodded in response, thankful that he wasn’t adding that Aizawa was in some world ending conflict with another deity or something equally as terrifying.

“Hah! Goodness he never changes- hey, wanna sit around the fire, or in the next room, its just as warm I promise!”

Sliding off the stool, Izuku took his cup and teapot in hand “wherever you’re most comfortable.”

“Gah you’re sweeter than this tea! Come on-“ Yamada popped his own mochi into his mouth, grabbing Izuku’s plate, prompting him to finish his half eaten piece, then slid the two slates into the stone sink with a clatter. “Put your tea onto the tray, no room for arguments! You may be a little servant at Aizawa’s but not here!”

After doing as requested, the blond walked off towards one of the side rooms, shouldering the curtain to the side. "To the round table!”

Izuku followed, running his hand along the smooth rock wall. The cave didn’t seem like a natural formation but there weren’t any tool marks along the surface like there were in the mines. There was no dust coating his fingers, no sparkle of unknown minerals. 

“Wasn’t created by nature or man, that’s why” Yamada called over, answering Izuku’s unasked question while leaving the matter equally as mysterious. 

The blond placed the tray on a large round kotatsu and sat, pointing for the teen to join him. All around the table were cushions and furs, making the area look just as warm and inviting as the previous one, but interestingly, narrow shafts of light sliced through the air, reflecting off small, carefully placed mirrors giving a sharp but unique brightness. There were also four, small but deep pools at the edges of the room, each centred below holes in the roof. 

“This room was designed and made by a friend of mine, he’s travelling with his apprentice at the moment so you probably won’t meet him, but these pools connect to finger like tunnels that reach out to the tops of the mountain, they collect summer rain and winter snow melt. Very delicious and fresh. The light, again comes from small but complex shafts to bring in bright sun. It makes the place great for important business meetings.”

Before Izuku could enquire to exactly what kind of meetings he meant, the blond pushed further with his earlier question. “So what was it? Your first question?”

“Oh, I asked what his powers were.”

Yamada froze for a short moment before slapping his knee and bellowing a laugh that carried around the room. “I bet that stumped him! In the past it was always ‘When can I see my mum again, did the village not like me, why me, can my family meet me after the year is up’ I guess its what separates you so obviously, from the previous sacrifices… you’re not a child.”

Izuku sighed, the man wasn’t wrong. Despite the fact he was still a teen, before his time with Aizawa was through he would be 20. Many years into his working life. Beyond the typical age for marriage.

Yamada continued “Hell… to me you’re still young, but in human terms… I suppose you had a job, right?”

After another sip of tea, he went into his past, making sure not to linger on any sad or negative aspects but still revealing potentially far too much. His father’s passing, helping raise his sister while his mother worked, taking on the backbreaking labour in the mines, all things considered, Izuku hadn’t been a child for a very, very long time.

And of course, finishing with his volunteering for the sacrifice.

Without lingering on the depressing topic, Yamada prompted again, this time with a lecherous grin “Any girlfriends?”

Izuku didn’t miss a beat, shaking his head vigorously with just a hint of warmth touching his cheeks.

The blond leant in closer, the space between them seeming like a wild alarm “You know, there’s no prejudice towards love in this cave… so any boyfriends?”

A sudden image of Aizawa burst forth in his mind, the god demonstrating how to do a difficult stretch, panting with exertion given the late hour of the day, a barely audible grunt escaping his lip as he presses into deep lunge- 

“NO! I mean-“ The teen flushed the deepest crimson as he stuttered, leaning back and shaking his head to both wordlessly respond no, while equally trying to dispel the unintentionally exotic imagery. “No I haven’t-I well- no, thats-I-”

Yamada all but flopped back onto the cushions with a barking cackle. “AH! Well well well, Izukuuuu what I would give to see into your mind, God Nemuri would eat you up!” After a moment of laughing and rubbing his sides with a long high pitched sigh, Yamada reached over to the centre of the table, pulling the lid from a pot with nuts and dried fruits hidden inside. 

“Eat up, don’t think I haven’t noticed the lean muscle you’re packing under those robes, the nuts especially are good.”

After a quiet moment of snacking Izuku plucked up the courage to probe for information. “So you and Nemuri, you’re good friends with Aizawa-sama?”

“Ah well, we’re as close as anyone could be with him. Nemuri has known him since the day he came to the mountain. She’d roamed on the five mountains in this region long before mr grumpy turned up. The second he graced these lands with his presence she zoomed in like a hawk, tricking him into revealing all his inner most secrets…” the man paused, looking melancholy for a second before huffing and smiling of fondly “While it may not be the most noble thing to do, I’m sure she would tell you all about it, she’s pretty loose lipped in the right circumstances.”

Something in the revelation made the teen’s stomach twist. A betrayal of trust like that would never be something he would consider. “Th- the history books in the town said the Dragon lord had grown weary after centuries at sea, that fishing boats and such meant he had chosen to seek solace in the mountain… I doubt there would be many secrets after living such a simple life.”

“A simple life…” Hizashi stopped, deepening Izuku’s subconscious desire for details. Before he could push past his own displeasure at digging for details, the blond continued, bursting on noisily with ease as he gestured to match his rambles “-Anyways, they became close while she helped him build a home - much more simple than the one he’s in now that’s for sure… the guy’s gone soft I swear… She helped him figure out what to do with the sacrifices, helped him make connections because-“ Yamada aggressively grabbed his pot and poured himself more honey tea, ignorant of a loud clatter when he placed it down without a hint of gentleness. 

“-Let me tell you, that guy AIN’T a talker!”

Izuku bit back a snort. 

“So she introduced him to Keigo and prepped the grounds to receive the first kid, then she hussied around in the village on the other side of the valley, tricked a few unpleasant assholes out of everything they hold dear, came back and nagged him again, rinse and repeat y’know…. And then I rocked up about 80 years ago or something, jeez I don’t know, I’ve lost count of the rising suns at this point.”

Izuku sat, trying to hide his stunned expression as his ears were talked off, idly sipping on his almost empty cup.

“-He was going to make me leave after he’d picked me up y’know! The cheek of it! Maybe it was because he’d just said goodbye to one of the sacrifices but I think I filled a void- not that he’d say that of course.”

Izuku breathed in to talk, but gave up and poured himself some more green tea when Yamada butted again.

“We go for drinks once a month, not in your village though, HAH god can you imagine- plus we have dinner at Nemuri’s house every few months, I’m waiting for her to rock up again though, usually Sho would come out with us within two weeks of getting a new sacrifice” the blond rotated his hand in a circular motion, ranting on and on “-so he can get it all off his chest and help with planning for their departure but guess what…”

Izuku’s hand paused with his cup halfway to his mouth, looking up into eyes a softer shade of green than his own. “Uhh what?”

“We ain’t heard a peep from him! A whole ass month and nothing-” Yamada grinned, letting an unnerving quiet fill the cave save for a solitary drop of water into one of the small pools. “Interesting huh…”

The quiet resumed, Yamada’s cheeky smile never fading as he silently lifted his cup to take a sip. Although Izuku barely felt it, his companion suddenly sat bolt upright, eyes wide at the gentle tremor that rumbled the room. “Better get you home sunshine.”

After a very hasty departure and a more than skittish traverse through the forests, the two trudged onto the edge of Aizawa’s land. Before they even reached the stream cutting the glade in two, Izuku could see the dragon god, waiting on the steps of the mansion, arms crossed in frustration.

By the time he stepped onto the small bridge, the raven haired man was in front of them, pulling Izuku behind him in lieu of a greeting, prompting the teen to yelp in surprise. 

“Izuku, get your chores done.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Izu-chan!-Ack!” The blond ducked under a weak swipe, clearly meant to irritate and distract rather than cause actual harm.

Making sure to do as he was told, the teen bowed his thanks and turned to jog towards the house. His curiosity may stir up trouble, but he couldn’t help but repeatedly look back over his shoulder as the two wandered off into the forest and away from the house.

Why was Aizawa behaving the way he did, what was with Yamada’s teasing behaviour, what was with that added mystery regarding Aizawa’s background? Plus, if what the blond was implying was true, why was the dragon reacting differently to Izuku compared to the other sacrifices? “Its got to be the age thing right?” He mumbled as he toed off his shoes. “-Rather than him gaining a child to care for, this is different, like-” he pursed his lips in thought as he ambled towards the kitchen “- its like he’s just getting a chugen who worked for him… maybe…”

It was a few hours before Aizawa returned, walking in exactly as Izuku served up dinner. Perhaps the teen was emboldened by Yamada’s behaviour, pushing forward with questions in an inquisitive manner, but the dragon god didn’t respond to Izuku’s obvious attempts to garner information. Exactly what the two old friends had spoken about remained a mystery, just like so many things involving Aizawa.

When the slightly awkward dinner concluded, the man simply stated that training would resume tomorrow as usual and that Izuku should take measures to ensure he didn’t fall asleep in the library, again.

All the teen could do was suck in a sharp breath and pathetically try to hide his blooming blush, despite the fact that Aizawa had already left the room.

Chapter Text

“Good morning!” 

The dragon god was sitting in the tea room with all the back doors open, watching two birds chittering on the branches of the sakura in the beautiful courtyard. The sun was just peeking through the trees, creating honey coloured shafts of light, that cut through the cold blue of the morning. Upon hearing his name, Aizawa turned, strangely freezing when he laid eyes on Izuku’s bright smile. 

The teen had been worried after the awkward dinner following his visit with Yamada. His concern that Aizawa would become more closed off and ruin what they’d worked to build up in the time prior, turned out to be for nothing. The man’s general distain barely lasted a day and things very quickly fell back into a nice routine. After another month, he even found himself looking forward to their varied training every day, despite how physically tiring it was. The added bonus was that Izuku finally began to feel a little more at ease around the man. He didn’t stutter as much, barely ever jumped at Aizawa’s stealthy approach, felt less concerned about engaging in casual conversations, even if the man was still very short and to the point.

It also meant Izuku was happy to go looking for Aizawa (albeit not on the second floor) if he had a question or wanted to offer something different for their shared meals. “I’m making some fresh peach juice this morning, would you like some with your breakfast, its got a wonderful sweetness.”

The man’s eyes were a little wide, watching him intensely but the warmth from the sun bathing Izuku’s face helped the teen keep his resolve, even as Aizawa still didn’t reply.

He laughed softly, eyes crinkling a little as he exuded friendliness towards the Dragon god “or perhaps some extra strong tea? Are you maybe a little tired today?”

Finally, Aizawa responded with a huff, turning away to conceal what Izuku swore might have been a hint of pink on his cheeks. “May as well do both… Thank you.”

Later that morning, movement in the corner of his eye made Izuku turn towards his bedroom window. The breeze had picked up, carrying pretty cherry blossom petals through the air. Yamada’s comment about the approaching winter was around a month ago at this point, yet the warm air around the Dragon’s estate lingered. Just how far he would have to travel from the house before the grass beneath his feet crunched with frost?

Lifting the bedding from his futon, he shook the fabric, attempting to air his mind of the thoughts about the approaching end of year. After all, this would be his first time seeing in a new year without his family, his first time not visiting a shrine-

“Izuku-chaaaaan!” 

The teen froze, eyes wide. That voice definitely belonged to Aizawa’s noisy blond acquaintance. He chuckled and tiptoed out of his room, just getting into view of the kitchen window in time to see the Itsumade yell once more.

“Izuuuuuuu!! You promised me Tori Meshiiiii!” 

A flash of black and grey, flew at insane speeds towards the practically yodelling man. 

Yamada, who had just finished casually walking over the small bridge, either didn’t care about or misunderstood the risk to his safety. Izuku grimaced as the blond bellowed “I yearn for your yakitoriiiiii-ack!”

Leaping backwards to avoid a swift kick to the face, Yamada landed with a very gentle float on the far side of the stream, laughing merrily at Aizawa’s obviously murderous scowl.

Izuku’s jaw almost fell to the floor as Yamada bellowed out once more, in a very suggestive way. “You’re welcome to come back to ~mine!“

The impact was immediate. The stream burst into life, frothing up with violent turbulence. Aizawa’s robes and hair seemed to come to life, floating in unison with his obviously venomous rage. Across the bubbling brook, wind howled around the blond, whipping his hair and silks frantically, but the teen was relieved to notice, that Yamada’s cheeky grin didn’t slip for a second. 

Unlike Yamada’s mellifluous tones, Aizawa’s voice was much deeper, more growly, as such, over the sound of the vitriolic atmosphere Izuku couldn’t really hear any words. Still, he theorised that the Dragon god’s response was something along the lines of “absolutely not.” Perhaps with some expletives thrown in for good measure.

Eventually, the air stilled and the water calmed to its usual gentleness. Whatever stalemate was going on was dismissed with a waved hand as Aizawa turned his back on Yamada and began walking back towards the house. Izuku twitched but knew he was concealed enough to be unnoticed, so he kept watch. 

It was quiet for a moment but Yamada gave another singing comment as he turned away… “You can’t keep her away forever, the longer you do, the worse she’ll be.”

Izuku’s eyes widened at the comment but the dragon’s proximity prompted him to skitter away from the window, afraid of the consequences of being caught eavesdropping. It was only a moment after he rolled up a set of dirty towels ready to launder, that Aizawa stepped through the kitchen, grumbling quietly as he walked. The teen wondered if the man had picked up the bad habit from him or if it primarily came out whenever his ‘friends’ were involved.  

Aizawa began his sentence with a very drawn out, heavy sigh. “Yamada would like to grace us with his presence for dinner this evening, can you check on the ingredients required for whatever god forsaken chicken dishes he wants.”

He stifled a giggle. Yamada did mention that the dragon had grown soft over the years and he could absolutely see it. “Of course Aizawa-sa-” he cut himself off before he could add -Sama. The struggle to drop the polite attachment still lingered. Giving a soft smile, he slipped past the taller man and headed to the pantry.

Soft padded steps followed him, leading him to look back over his shoulder after frowning into the almost empty sack of shiitake mushrooms. The man was slumped to the side, casually leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.

“Its been over two months now Izuku, maybe you can start calling me Shouta?”

Izuku blushed heavily, stuttering half formed words and exclamations that he wouldn’t disrespect a god in such a way as he squeezed past the man to get into the kitchen. He was halfway through writing a list of ingredients, wondering how much of a feast he should put on and if he went too far, would it irritate Aizawa, when a strong gust of wind rattled the shutters on the outside of the house.

“The weather is changing, winter is knocking at the door.” The dragon god spoke soft and quiet, a hint of melancholy in his tone. “How do you feel about the season?”

Izuku looked up at the man who was turned towards the window, watching darker clouds rolling in. “Well I guess I’ve never been a fan of the cold.” The teen pulled open the large lamp in the centre of the counter. 

“It was bitter in the mine-“ he continued, jumped a little when the four candles in the lamp magically lit, before he could even reach for the tinder box and flint. “The uh- the damp air would still leave you sweating when hacking away at the ore and carrying the heavy baskets up the ladders… and then when you emerged the wind would cut though you, chilling you to the bone in a way that even the longest, warm bath could not soothe.”

Aizawa hummed, he was unsure if that would be the only response he would get, but then the Dragon god walked over and continued, “Maybe the wind is the worst part. I’ve never been affected by rain or snow, its all just water to me.” 

The man leant down, resting his elbows on the counter opposite him, pulling water from the air to form small spheres that bobbled over his knuckles in a rhythmic pattern. “Maybe its why I have a preference for cloudy days…” The water drops pulled together, branching up like a thin, spindly tree. The man’s brow deepened into a heavy frown as he stared at Izuku through the flickering stems of water. “You seem like one of those people who shine in the sun.”

The water instantly exploded into the tiniest particles, floating like a glittering cloud between them, the light from the lamp adding a sparkle here and there.

Izuku was fascinated but the words lingered in his mind, the reply so heavy on his tongue that he couldn’t stop it slipping free. “Don’t all things shine in the sun?”

He watched as Aizawa’s eyes widened, still locked deep in his gaze. The man slowly shook his head prompting Izuku to tilt his own in confusion. But faster than he could think of what to say, the man pulled back sharply, already stepping away with his back to him. “I’ll go check on the shutters outside-“

“Wait!” The teen cringed internally when he realised he’d literally reached out to try stop the man from leaving. “Uh… I mean…” He quickly pulled back his hand, clasping it firmly in the other atop the counter. “Can I ask? Do you dislike the sun? Is it because the brightest of days take away all moisture?”

After pausing, the dragon god glanced back at Izuku, half his face hidden in the shadow of his long hair, the other half lit with a the warm orange glow of the lantern. “No that’s not it at all… For a long time, I hated the sun… but lately” the man’s brow twitched as the words died on his lips. “I’d better get on with this… finish your list, I’ll leave you to work on general fitness today while I go procure what we need for dinner.”

Izuku simply nodded and watched the man leave. Looking down at the half written list, he found concentrating on the task at hand troublesome. What was all that about? Exactly what could make one hate the sun? And beyond that, did he imply that his feelings had changed… why? 

Less than half an hour later, Izuku was in the garden, just to the side of the mansion, continuing his chores. As he tipped the warm water into the washing tub, he spied Aizawa walking over the bridge, transforming into a dragon and flying away. Despite its regular occurrence, the teen still felt his heart pound in his chest every time he saw the spectacle. 

Would anything that happened here ever seem normal? How could living with such a majestic beast, a dragon god, ever become mundane. Would the next nine months or so see something like that come to pass?

He smiled down at the towel in his hand. Perhaps its something he can talk about during dinner with their guest.

Barely a minute after he hung the last of the clothing on the line and tipped out the dirty water, a high pitched sigh made him spin on the spot.

“I thought you were never going to finish that laundry!” 

Stepping out from behind the corner of the mansion, the same voluptuous woman that visited right at the beginning of his stay walked towards him with a smile on her face. 

“Nemuri-Sama, w-we didn’t really get to talk much last time.” Izuku bowed “Pleased to meet you”

She giggled, running long nails through her dark hair “Hizashi was right, god I could just eat you up.”

Izuku’s eyes flicked up suddenly, clinging onto Aizawa’s original claim that the kitsune wouldn’t harm him… or was it ‘Shouldn’t’…?

“Aizawa is out-“

“Getting things for dinner, yes, I’m aware. Hizashi’s speech knows no bounds. So of course, it was the perfect chance for me to pop over for a quick visit, since Shouta seems sooo keen on keeping you all to himself…”

The teen straightened back up, barely wanting to make contact with her hungry gaze and yet, certainly not wanting his eyes to rove over her loose fitting white and navy kimono. He glanced back towards the front of the mansion, “Would you like to come inside, I can make you a drink and prepare some refreshments if you like-“

The woman groaned lowly, hunching her shoulders as she crossed her arms. “Sometimes being parched has its advantages… now, Izuku, if you don’t mind that I call you that- come sit in the courtyard with me, I’d love to get to know you some more.”

Izuku followed the woman, noting how immensely silent she remained the moment they were within any distance of water. She was cunning but he would wait until they chatted before he passed any judgement as to whether Aizawa keeping her away was a good thing or not.

After the pair reached the courtyard, they sat on the zabuton, Nemuri relaxing considerably more than she had until now. Once again, Izuku found himself wanting to keep his gaze away from the woman, so he cast his eyes around the courtyard. 

Despite being in the mansion for so long, he’d never actually set foot in the small internal garden. It was incredibly beautiful. A round mossy boulder at the centre was cracked and broken by the stunning sakura tree that grew from the top. It’s roots crept down the edges and through the crevasses, invading and taking over the rock. Around that, fine white stones were raked into an intricate curved design. 

Beside him, Nemuri chuckled “Are you appreciating my beautiful garden? I bet Aizawa never comes out here.” 

She was right. In two months, he’d only seen Aizawa sitting in the tea room with the screens to the courtyard open a handful of times.

“Well… its very dry I suppose… -I like it though!!-” he added in a panic before taking a deep breath and trying to communicate more effectively. “The centrepiece is incredible. I wouldn’t have thought such a delicate thing could have the raw power to break apart ancient stone like that.”

Nemuri leant forward, bracing herself with her palm on the ground between them “You really are so different from anyone else…” she blinked, the curious look on her face disappearing as she sat back with a wide smile. “So! Have you been anywhere else on the mountain, other than Hizashi’s place I mean?”

The woman gasped in mortification when he replied no, her following grumble had a gravelly edge to it, “This mountain is much more vast than it seems, its such a waste to stay here all day every day, I understand that the hours of light are much shorter at this time of year but really, its a crying shame.”

Looking up once more at the eternally blossoming tree, he replied “well, perhaps when the seasons change to something more forgiving of exploration, I’ll be able to venture out a little more…”

Nemuri tutted, lifting her knee to rest on “You’re not wrong there, as you know, its only Aizawa’s influence that keeps the snow at bay - something I’ll add that he only does when he has house guests… but I am a little curious, to what degree would a fluctuation in emotions hamper with his ability to control so many things…”

Izuku gulped and decided to push for a change in subject, asking “I heard you arrived on the mountain before Aiz-“

A sweet coo make him abruptly stop.

“Aren’t you lovely, taking an interest in me! Anything to move your mind away from that anxiety you carry. Gah and it all stems from the waves of sexual frustration that are pouring out of you-“

The teen choked. Coughing, spitting into the sleeve of his jacket between apologies that were no doubt drowned out from the howls of laughter coming from the woman. 

“I moved around a few mountains in the far north, enjoyed apples during spring and plump sweaty thighs during summer, but over the decades I found myself being pulled south, when I happened upon the most buxom-“ Nemuri grinned, staring off at the swaying branches of the tree. “Tell me Izuku, have you heard of Konohanasakuya-hime?”

He nodded, eyes wide “The goddess of Mt Fuji!”

“Well I knew her, or at least her human manifestation, as Yu Takeyama-“ The kitsune woman sighed lightly “She was delightful to climb- that eruption a hundred years ago, that was because of me, she bubbled with pleasure so delightfully and came so spectacularly-”

The teen let slip a small ‘eep’ as he turned away with a furious blush prompting yet another teasing round of laughter.

“Anyways, my affairs are always short lived, I have too many tails to love only once… I arrived on this mountain around a hundred years before Aizawa, hopped around a few of the others nearby. I like it around here, its bountiful in everything I need, its just that sometimes things could become a little boring so-“ she gained a wicked glint in her eye as played with a cluster of stones in the ground, moving them into line, setting the sizes in order “-I decided to change things up a little, set some things in motion… then of course, made more friends, kami, beasts, yokai, unsuspecting sweet maidens and virgins-“ she suddenly cast her sharp gaze on him, snorting a little laugh when he jumped.

“I like having a lot of differing personalities in my life… solace is boring-“ she turned her body towards him, seriousness colouring her tone as she added “-and anyone who says otherwise is hiding from something.”

The words settled in his mind, rushing around with every other tidbit he’d gained over the months. But despite agreeing with her in some respects, it wasn’t completely true. “I’m not so sure about that… sometimes, quiet can bring a calm happiness.”

She smiled warmly, for the first time, looking friendly and not calculating… It made the teen wonder if that was more concerning.

From then on, the conversation flowed more easily. Izuku learned that in addition to illusions, shape shifting, possession, rapid mobility and a keen intellect… Nemuri could put people to sleep by exuding a gentle pink gas and then control their dreams, although tampering with people while awake was something she preferred. She also had never met another nine tailed Fox, although a five tail lived on Hokkaido.

Given that nine tailed kitsune are said to be exceptionally old and wise, he foolishly enquired about her actual age. This resulted in her throwing a handful of gravel at him, prompting him to drop into a dogeza, with his quivering palms and forehead gently pressed to the ground as he repeated apologies.

Izuku told her about his life, his aspirations for after leaving and when pressed for his ‘ideal type’ the teen blushed a crimson so deep, that she grew concerned for his wellbeing.  

“I think I’ll hold out just a little longer before visiting while Sho is home…” she tapped her chin before pushing up and beginning the walk back to the entrance. She looked back over her shoulder with a grin “-Perhaps its best that we keep this little rendezvous between the two of us.”

Izuku’s fists curled inside his jacket sleeves, fearful of disagreeing but determined to stick to his convictions. “I’m very sorry Nemuri-Sama, but I don’t think I should lie to him, after all he’s done and continues to do for me… besides-“

Nemuri laughed, cutting him off with a dismissive wave of her hand, “yes of course, you couldn’t lie if your life depended on it!”

.

.

.

“Nemuri-Sama was here!” Izuku blurted out the words before he could even think.

Aizawa paused in the entry way, feet halfway out of his shoes, sack of ingredients over his shoulder. A dark scowl marred his beautiful face making Izuku wince. Perhaps waiting until the man was actually in the house would have been a better option.

Chapter Text

Without any slamming of cupboard doors, harsh clattering of oil bottles or banging of spice boxes, Izuku watched the Dragon god put away everything he’d gathered for dinner that night. Still, there was a quiet rage to the man. 

Ultimately, he simply demanded that the teen recite every single snippet of conversation, only occasionally interrupting with a huff or a growl. The harshest reaction came as Izuku recalled her comment about ‘setting things in motion’ but he didn’t raise his voice or show any ill will towards Izuku.

“I can’t always stop her, I can’t always be here… but be careful of what you say to her and moreso, understand that some of the things she says and does, even the way she acts or delivers a sentence, may be part of some cunning plan. While I’ve often been assured that her heart is in the right place… her meddling isn’t always appreciated or wanted.”

Izuku picked at his finger tips, pulling and prodding callouses as he contemplated his reply. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong though.” His gaze shot up at the softness in Aizawa’s voice. Deep, silver eyes pierced his soul, not with the harsh intense stare he was used to, but with a gentle kindness. Something so subtly sweet, that Izuku thought his heart might burst. He felt a blush creep up his neck, so he turned towards the pantry. 

“I should prepare for dinner with Yamada-Sama.”

Behind him, Aizawa scoffed. “An unfortunate event means he was forced to cancel. Feel free to use whatever perishable goods we have for a normal dinner tonight.”

The information made him pause. He didn't want to turn though, and risk overwriting the previous soft gaze he’d just permanently seared into his memory banks. He was sure that Nemuri’s visit was the cause. It did seem like Yamada had told her he was coming for dinner. Had he also told her that Aizawa had left for supplies? 

He wasn’t sure the two companions schemed to that extent.

“Very well.”

A quick flick of his gaze, mid-laugh, set Izuku’s heart into overdrive for the second time that day. Aizawa had the smallest curve to the corner of his lips. 

A smile.

The teen thought he might keel over at the sight.

“Needless to say, that was the last time I went on the roof.” Izuku huffed fondly, remembering the heinously embarrassing story he’d been forced to tell.

He’d gotten particularly excited discussing the possibility of different costumes for different mission styles. Mentioning not only the impact of flexibility and breathability the material during a chase but also the noise that came during movement. 

Aizawa watched keenly as he babbled, never seeming annoyed with the endless stream of verbalised thoughts. It over boosted his confidence and allowed him to be a little more carefree about what was coming out of his mouth. 

Unfortunately that meant, when the man spoke of the age, material and style of a house having a consequence on the noise produced during climbing, Izuku burst forth with a humiliating tidbit that the Dragon god absolutely insisted he relinquish every detail of.

At least he got to see an almost, kind of, tiny smile.

Small sacrifices, he supposed as he sighed fondly into his almost empty rice bowl.

“I guess that settles it though” Aizawa said as he leant back, rubbing his full stomach. “Rock climbing to build a strong foundation in your technique… We can start this week.”

Izuku flopped to the side dramatically with a groan “I suppose you’re right, then eventually we can climb around the mansion exterior, then in a few months through a town not too close perhaps?” He sat back up quickly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “It makes sense to test my skills in the right environment before branching out.”

The slightly prolonged silence broke his train of thought. Looking over as lifted his cup, he found Aizawa closely watching him sipping on his drink. It was almost like the man was wearing a carefully placed, expressionless mask.

‘Curious’

“I bought something for you today.”

The comment was so out of the blue that Izuku choked on his water.

“Its- Its not like fine silks or anything.” 

The shock of hearing a stutter from the Dragon god made it even harder to catch his breath and stop coughing out his lungs. He must have looked so shocked that Aizawa stood quickly, tossing a small cloth at his face, waving his hand and muttering that he would be right back as Izuku still fought a wet wheeze.

It didn’t take long before the man returned from upstairs, carrying four large scrolls. Izuku stared, dumbstruck, mouth ever so slightly parted after wiping his spit soaked lip. Aizawa seemed a little lost over exactly how to proceed, standing awkwardly at the edge of the table. 

“Um… thank you! I really-“

“Maps of Fukuoka and the three nearest villages-” Aizawa butted in as he dumped the heavy paper rolls on the table to the left of Izuku’s dinner bowls. The metal ends clattered loudly over the sound of Izuku’s excited gasp.

“Let me-“ He scrambled to push to a stand, gathering the bowls, lurching forward as he sent chopsticks scattering “-ah….I’ll just-“

Izuku was so preoccupied with trying to stack up empty soup dishes and side plates that he missed Aizawa’s fretted movements, arms stretched out to help, then back at his side again and again. “-Well we can-“ 

Pulling their drink cups together abruptly, the teen yelped as water splashed up. Aizawa’s eyes widened, the droplets suddenly freezing and scattering on the table in an attempt to protect the scrolls.

“Library!” Izuku blurted out, wide eyes still cast down in embarrassment.

Giving a curt nod, the dragon god gathered up the maps and hastily exited the room, leaving the teen to curl forward and silently scream.

A few minutes later, he quietly slipped through the half open screen door into the library, immediately spotting Aizawa sitting at the low table. The man had his face buried in his hands.

After a wince, he stepped forward, scratching the back of his head.

“S-sorry about that! I might have-“ he stopped, sucking in a sharp breath as Aizawa parted his fingers to glare at him. The sight was terrifying. And strangely hot. 

He blushed, mumbling the rest of the sentence, stating that he had gotten careless in his excitement.

In an attempt to reset, he took a deep calming breath and sat down, reaching out quietly to grab the nearest scroll and unfurl it across the lengthy tabletop. His face lit up as he leant in to see all the details, a wide toothy smile spread as he looked through the marked houses and merchant shops, larger warehouses filled with descriptions in immaculate writing and arrow straight lines. 

“This is incredible!” His fingertips ran down the streets, finishing up tracing the edge of Fukuoka castle and hopping the gap into ocean with the smattering of waves and small boats. He lifted his head to thank the Dragon god but blushed as he realised the man had been watching him the entire time.

Aizawa nudged forward a different map, quietly adding “This one is a different angle of the neighbouring village, not a view from above… the mountains and streams are very accurate…”

A gasp burst forth again as he opened the map. This one seemed more like a work of art than a document to detail locations. He couldn’t control the urge to babble about the rich level of information.

Sitting opposite, Aizawa ducked his chin down, clearing his throat a little, almost hesitant to pull the teen’s interest away from the scrolls. “I’d realised you seem to enjoy studying before bed…“ 

Izuku pulled his fingers back, clenching his fists in a woeful attempt to calm his buzzing delight. 

The man continued, face slightly turned so he was partially cast in the soft light from the table lamp, half hidden in shadow. “Its only logical to study something so pertinent to your approaching future. I made sure to get them from the best map makers in the area. I requested a few extra details be added but my time was a little short.”

‘The Dragon god bought me such a thoughtful gift!’ Izuku’s insides melted into a warm goo.

Keen to appropriately display just how thrilled he was, he sent the man the brightest smile he could muster, pouring every ounce of happiness into it.

“Thank you Aizawa!” 

Not long after giving his gratitude, the man stepped out, reminding him quietly that the gift didn’t mean he should stay up all night pouring over the features. Izuku’s soft laugh oozed joy, it didn’t even slip when the man frowned at him and left the room. 

After all, he’d long since given up trying to understand Aizawa. Some things would just have to remain a mystery to the world and he’d come to accept that the Dragon god was indeed one of those things. 

Taking heed of the advice, the teen decided to quickly look over each map once more, before having a bath and turning in for an early night. After noting the shortening length of the candle he’d purposely lit directly next to him for time keeping, he rolled up the maps in front of him. Standing up, he smiled, butterflies dancing through his stomach.

When he got back to his room, he closed the door and quickly stripped. So much had happened in this single day that he ached as if he’d run a thousand laps of the grounds. After quickly scrubbing and rinsing, he slowly stepped into the bath.

The mineral rich water rippled around him. Today the water was crystal clear. Other days, particularly those when their training had been intense, he would find the water slightly milky, giving off a faint sulphurous smell as if that particular water had been sourced from some far off onsen town.

It was just another one of those ways that Aizawa silently cared, he supposed. 

With a long sigh, he sunk down into the water until it reached his chin. The bath tub was impressive, big enough that he could pretty much stretch out fully and yet the water never cooled before he was finished. 

A gentle smile graced his lips as he closed his eyes. 

His mind effortlessly pulled back the image of Aizawa’s face when he’d thanked the man. Calling out his name without hesitation, seemed to add even more weight to his gratitude. Of course, much like when the man had smiled earlier, that soft look of surprise, made the Dragon god even more handsome. It was different to the fierce gaze, the burning rage, that heated glare-

Izuku spotted, with absolute horror, his erection poking out of the water. Flinching backwards in mortification, a wave of bath water sloshed behind him, tipping over the edge and splattering onto the floor.

He froze, terrified to look around the room. Had Aizawa realised? Did his extreme reaction actually bring attention to the matter? He flooded with panic, bringing his chilly, wet hands from the edge of the tub he’d been furiously gripping, up to rub his face, taking care to cover his mouth incase he started mumbling in shame.

After a few more seconds, he looked down, scowling at his still proudly standing member. Of course, it was normal, he was a healthy 19 year old. While sexually inexperienced, he like any other male his age understood how things worked down there and he certainly hadn’t been taking care of any urges since coming to Aizawa’s residence.

How could he!? This is the home of the Dragon god of their mountain! And Izuku was a guest… more than that, he was a sacrifice! A virgin sacrifice! 

Fighting the urge to scream, he jumped out of the delightfully warm water and ran over to the cold barrel, half drowning himself with the shock from the frigid liquid. Barely giving himself time to shiver, he hurriedly wrapped himself in a towel and run back into his bedroom to dry off any remaining liquid.

Izuku burst out the most awkward laugh, shaking his head, “Definitely nothing wrong!!”

Aizawa eyed him suspiciously. From the Dragon gods point of view, Izuku had been wired all morning. His behaviour was skittish, bordering on hyperactive in such a way that it screamed culpability. He was just thankful that the man didn’t seem to have any idea as to why he was behaving so bizarrely. 

After the seemingly disastrous events at bath time, Izuku was so brimful of adrenaline that he couldn’t sleep. His pent up frustrations certainly didn’t help the matter. It was only after he spent hours counting the knots and lines in every plank of wood on the ceiling, that he finally fell into a fitful sleep… only to wake with a muffled cry, a thrumming pleasure fizzling out and a humiliating mess in his sleep garments.

After cleaning himself, his clothing and checking his bedding, he had a painfully cold wash on the bath stool and tried to get on with his day.

But the moment he saw Aizawa, shame flooded his whole being. He dropped a setting plate, yelping as the slate shattered on the ground. Barely ten minutes later, he spilt the small collection of salted rice balls he was carrying. After completing his chores, he tripped at the genkan, sending the basket of yuzus scattering across the floor.

So of course by the time he’d finished making ponzu sauce, and bandaged the small cuts on his thumb and third finger he’d gained during lunch prep, Aizawa was obviously convinced something was going on.

The silver lining was that he hadn’t mentioned a thing about the night before. So either he had no idea, or he was pretending (for everyone’s sakes) that he had no idea.

The teen could live with that.

He had no choice really.

“I just didn’t have a great sleep!” He reiterated his excuses as Aizawa asked him for a fourth time that day what was up.

The Dragon god chewed his lip, contemplative, bordering on pouty. After a moment he grumbled “I did tell you not to stay up with the scrolls.”

Izuku all but lurched forward, waving his hands “No- no no, I didn’t!! I uhhh…. I couldn’t sleep that’s all- not that anything in particular was on my mind! I just-“ he sped up the frantic arm flapping, growing redder as he fought to pretend the previous night didn’t exist “There’s nothing- I didn’t- Its nothing to be concerned about!”

Aizawa’s eyes narrowed.

He twitched and resumed babbling like a fool “I slept in the end!! I was a bit cold- no! Nothing! I mean- there wasn’t any reason to be cold, that’s not why I didn’t sleep- I don’t- I’m fine! I’m sure I’ll be fine tonight!”

A very faint high pitched wheeze left his lungs. 

In his entire life, he was sure he’d never made such an idiot out of himself. Particularly if the Dragon god’s face was anything to go by. The man seemed to be flicking between skeptical, concerned, confused and shocked.

“I don’t think that climbing today is such a good idea. This hectic aura you’re emitting though-“ he waved his hand in Izuku’s general direction making his fidgeting hands pause “-would be good for a game of cat and mouse.”

His eyes widened almost comically. ‘Oh no’

“But-“

“I’m going to assume that you weren’t going to try argue with me” the man scowled at Izuku until he practically cowered. “-and I’ll surmise that you only wanted more information… simply put, I’m going to chase you.”

Izuku bit his lip almost to the point of breaking the skin, because something buried deep down felt far too excited by the premise and that was exactly the opposite of what he needed right now.

He needed to force his brain back into remembering that this was for training. That he would no doubt be chased and have to give chase in his chosen career, that this vital practice in manoeuvrability, speed, flexibility and sudden direction changes would all be absolutely useful…

But before anything left his parted lips, Aizawa uttered a single word, in a rich, husky voice-

“Run.”

That night, he woke with an embarrassing snort as the library door noisily slid open. 

Aizawa stood on the precipice of the room, watching him for a moment before huffing and shaking his head. Izuku was barely conscious but the man almost seemed fond. As the soft warm glow of the candle and lamp lit room bloomed into colour, the teen looked down at the small wet patch on his sleeve. Lifting his hand to his face, he sleepily wiped the drool from the side of his face under the watchful and very amused eyes of Aizawa.

“So much for not staying up to read the scrolls…”

Izuku looked to his left at the small melted stump of candle that remained, indicating how many hours had passed. He huffed quietly in indignation, quickly licking his thumb and finger, before snuffing out the flame with a pout.

Aizawa raised a brow at the act, leaning casually to the side as if waiting to receive some ‘startling’ news. Izuku leant forward and dragged over the table lamp he was going to carry back to his room. “I wasn’t staying up and I didn’t last night either…” His petulant tone drifted away as the drowsiness began to double down, leaving his voice soft. “I’m pretty sure I passed out about fifteen minutes after dinner… the chasing was-“ he looked up through his lashes, his dewy emerald eyes still heavy with sleep, “-intense.”

The Dragon god’s jaw clenched. Quickly, he turned away, calling back over his shoulder “Go to bed Izuku… climbing training starts tomorrow, whether you’re rested or not.”

“Obviously the circumstances are significantly different. Scaling a rock face is not akin to traversing up the side of a machiya.”

The teen finally tore his gaze away from the dauntingly high cliff the pair stood in front of. The extra sleep he’d gotten the night before, four hours sprawled out over the table, and the remaining five or six hours after he all but crawled back to his room, had recharged his energy. 

It turned out that being well and truely exhausted, combined with what he’d assumed at the time was, irritating the shit out of a Dragon god with back talking, was a perfect recipe for a deep, dry sleep. 

Thinking back, he couldn’t quite believe his sulky tone, but he was grateful that Aizawa acted completely normal at breakfast. They’d conversed casually, the man even joked that he could find a water repelling fabric for Izuku’s pillow if he needed, since he drooled so much in his sleep. The teen whined, stating that death by embarrassment was just as cruel as death from exhaustion. 

He also added on the request that the game of cat and mouse should be limited to once a fortnight. 

Aizawa had simply replied with a rather sadistic grin.

“Nevertheless-” the Dragon god continued, unfazed by Izuku’s obvious caution “-climbing will increase your arm and grip strength. We will also practice horizontal traversal across faces and techniques for controlled landings. It will all help in those high speed chases, across the towns you hope to protect.”

He breathed out a sigh. Curse the man for being both logical and beautiful. “If I die, feed the squirrels that come to the end of the fruit trees for me.”

Aizawa rolled his eyes, scratching the hair around the base of his horns with a sigh. “That reminds me, Hizashi is coming for dinner tonight- don’t worry about cooking anything fancy. He’ll get what he’s given. And if he can’t keep his loose lips sealed, I’ll roast him and we can have Itsumade yakitori instead.”

Izuku snorted a laugh, shaking his arms and legs free of the tension that had built while looking up. 

After a few calming breaths, he stepped forward to the face. Part of him wanted to ask more questions, enquire about what would be the best way to tackle the challenge, ask if there was a set height he should be aiming for… but something told him that Aizawa wanted to see how he was going to tackle it all alone. The man often did like to get “a baseline idea for a skillset.” Then maybe-

“And then I would give pointers, correct poor habits, help you improve your natural skills.”

He felt his shoulders bunch up as he realised his muttering. That bad habit of his had no doubt gotten worse over time, but the Dragon god never responded negatively. More often than not, he just answered the questions or added his opinions, as if Izuku was purposely voicing his thoughts.

In a quiet, seemingly timid voice, he told Aizawa that he appreciated not being scolded for it.

“I have no problem with you voicing your thoughts. If anything, it’s often refreshing… that said, when you’re tailing someone, stealth means silence.”

Willing away the blistering blush on his cheeks, Izuku nodded and scanned the rocks for the first collection of footholds. After finding a start point, he mentally mapped his route, adapting, backtracking if required. When he’d finally got it nailed down in his head for as far up the face as he could easily see, he wiped his sweaty palms and reached forward. 

The first 20 or so feet were easy. The ache on his fingers when the grip points were narrow was a little irritating but at least he felt comfortable with the height. After all, this was no higher than some of the ladders he’d climbed in the mines.

After a few more minutes, he began to feel a subtle anxiety adding a shake to his limbs. He took calm but shallow breaths, never looked down and always focused on the next step. After wiping his hands, one at a time, he firmed up his grip and moved to the next foothold. 

Then his foot slid.

A startled cry barely broke free before an arm wrapped around his waist. 

His heart hammered so loud in his chest he could barely hear his thoughts. They probably wouldn’t have been productive anyway, not with the man pressed firmly against his back, holding him tightly.

“I’ve got you, don’t worry about falling, I will catch you-“ Aizawa was so close. The peach tea on his breath floated on the breeze past his cheek. “I won’t let you get hurt.”

After squeezing his eyes closed for a second, Izuku slowly turned his head, looking up into the eyes of the Dragon god. He was so close and yet still towering over him. His breath caught in his throat as the two locked gazes, faces only inches apart. 

The teen gulped. For little more than a second, Izuku flicked his eyes down, following the short swipe of tongue as the Dragon god wet his lips. A hot coil instantly curled in his stomach, prompting him to look back up lest his fervour be noticed… but he shocked to realise that those once soft, grey eyes, looked dark and hungry. Aizawa’s pupils were blown wide, a thin sliver of glowing red inside of an even thinner line of grey.

He immediately felt entranced, until Aizawa cleared his throat. A deep frown set on the man’s painfully alluring face.

Turning back to the rock, Izuku took an unsteady breath. “Ok… just… just don’t let me fall.”  

Chapter Text

Slicing the third eggplant down it’s length, Izuku’s tongue poked out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated. The rest of the dishes were basically ready to be plated but Nasu Dengaku was best served freshly baked and didn’t take long to cook. His fingers ached as he scored the creamy white flesh with a crossed pattern. 

The climbing activity earlier in the day had been both rewarding and exhausting. Physically and mentally. It had taken him less time than expected to get to the top. Of course there had been a few more slips, yelps and split second’s of panic, but it was easy to pick himself up (metaphorically) and carry on. After all, Aizawa was always there. 

The Dragon god stayed close, sometimes a little too close, pressing against his back to see things from the same perspective and really help the teen spot the best looking hand holds. 

Every time he stumbled though, the man did not look in his eyes, not after the first time. Even when examining Izuku’s sore fingertips, or when rubbing a chalky powder into his palms for him, Aizawa remained short, to the point and almost cold.

Izuku sighed, pressing the six pieces of vegetable into the largest flat iron pan. He tried to keep his attention on the food, rotating the eggplant around the surface so each piece was evenly cooked over the small blazing heat from the stove hole.

The crackling of the oil made his mind wander back to the moment he breached the top of the rock face he’d ascended. The sound of stone and dirt crumbling and crunching beneath his palms rung in his ears. Pushing up on the top was tough. His limbs shook with the extra exertion but he finally stood to full height on the small plateau. While it wasn’t the summit of the mountain, his triumph over the task was fulfilling nonetheless. 

As the bitingly cold wind rustled through his clothes, a soft giggle bubbled out. His lips almost cracked as the smile grew wide, exhilaration coursing through his veins. Turning around, he pushed the stray hairs that had fallen from his bun and finally locked gazes with Aizawa.

“I did it!” He cried out happily, his small chuckle turning into a bright, joyous laughter. He wasn’t sure if it had been the fear from the beginning, the tension with their proximity during the climb or the sheer exhaustion by the end of it… perhaps it was all three, in any case, he felt almost delirious. 

His eyes closed as he laughed again, the titter finally giving way to a high pitched sigh. When he reopened his eyes, Aizawa was watching him closely. The man looked strangely pained, even his fists were tightly clenched at his sides.

“Aiza-“

“Well done” The Dragon god cut in, his posture quickly regaining it’s usual stoicism. The previous expression was wiped clean, replaced with his usual strange combination of detached kindness and slight apathy. Izuku gave a small bow and thanked the man, choosing not to linger on the things he didn’t comprehend. 

After sending him a quick nod, Aizawa turned around and flicked his wrist, sending an arrow of frost towards the ground a few feet away. The teen jumped back in shock, mouth agape as the frost spread before his eyes to form a narrow path disappearing to the west.

The man took a couple of steps and paused at the cliff edge, before glancing back over his shoulder. He had a hint of mischief in his eyes, making Izuku suddenly feel like he was about to regret something. “Eat the lunch you packed but don’t dawdle. If you follow the path of frost, it’ll take you on a reasonably easy but winding path back to the mansion…It should only take you a couple of hours or so.”

And then Aizawa leapt forward, plummeting out of sight.

Izuku huffed, using the long wooden chopsticks to flip over the eggplant. “I absolutely wanted to kick a cloud of rock and dust at him when he did that” he mumbled to himself. An completely different set of muscles were worked on that path downhill, by the time he’d reached the villa, his shins and hips were screaming. Upon stumbling inside, he immediately hobbled into the kitchen and drank a large cup of water. In a moment of irritated pettiness, he boldly declared to the dregs of liquid, that he’d better begin prepping for dinner, since someone important was coming. 

The sudden crack of rumbling thunder, despite the lack of storm clouds, made him well aware that the man had heard him. It may have been a little foolish to poke the Dragon, but Aizawa was driving him insane. 

After washing and prepping the ingredients, stoking the fire in the two stoves and wiping down the surfaces, he trudged into his bedroom, ready to have a bath before cooking the meal.

The entirety of bathing, dressing and cooking, he’d not heard a sound through the house. He wasn’t even sure if Aizawa was home.

‘He sure is sulky’ he’d thought idly.

Turning around, he grabbed the large clay dish he had ready, then took each piece of eggplant from the pan, gently placing it skin side down in the dish. He brushed the slightly browned flesh with the miso glaze he’d prepped earlier, shrugging and rolling his shoulders a few times to ease the muscle ache.

“Look!” 

Izuku froze, ears pricking at the sound of Yamada Hizashi outside. 

“He totally needs a massage! Go, go on- Ack! Stop trying to hit me! I’m just as fast as you, y’know!”

The teen bit his lip. He’d kind of missed the loud blond. Even though he barely knew the man. 

And of course he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t interested to see how Aizawa would act around him. Dinner would be at the very least, an interesting experience.

Hizashi moaned loudly, chewing the chicken he’d just pulled off the skewer with his teeth. The teen watched, flabbergasted, as the man swayed left and right with his eyes closed. “Mmmm Izuku, zu-chan, sweetest green haired Kami!”

Izuku barely concealed his gasp. Pointless really, because he should have known the two would hear him. But honestly, calling him a deity? Just because of some yakitori?

He tore his practically bulging eyes away from the frankly, slightly obscene display, to look at Aizawa. 

The Dragon god looked venomous. After a beat, he hissed “Hizashi” prompting the blond to finally stop writhing.

Still, the man dramatically kept one hand across his chest, the other gripping the skewer like a lifeline. Slowly, his eyes opened, a wide grin spreading on his lips. “Sorry Sho-“ he flicked his gaze to Izuku, and leisurely lifted more chicken back to his mouth. “This is spectacular, I’m honoured to have been presented with such a feast! Three chicken dishes! And Nasu Dengaku?! Zu-chan, how did you know this was another one of my favourites? Were you asking Sho questions, hoping to please me-“

A low rumble rolled through the air. Izuku wasn’t sure if it was another wrath wrought storm or an actual growl. Hizashi, of course barked out a laugh, just as Aizawa snapped “Its not your favourite anything, stop being a shit!”

“Gaaahhhhhhh you’re no fun, I’ll behave though… mostly.” He lifted his cup of warm sake to his lips and sent the teen a quick wink- then immediately began coughing. “Shouta! Not- ugh!! Not up my nose!!”

Izuku, still watching the exchange in stunned silence, took note of the dark smirk gracing Aizawa’s lips as he bought a bite of eggplant to his mouth. He lingered for a moment, looking at that captivating expression before turning away with a small gulp.

“Seriously though Izu-kun, this is real tasty!” Hizashi finished patting his nose with a cloth and looked down with sparkling eyes at the food. “You’ve got it good this time around huh Sho?”

Aizawa hummed “Izuku is a diligent learner. When he’s not learning for his chosen profession, he scours the library for recipes and cooking books.”

The teen squeaked and ducked his head in embarrassment. Despite the fact that Aizawa’s voice had no hint of a lilt, no real emotion, no boasting or even pride… Izuku still couldn’t believe it. The Dragon god just showered him with compliments! He wasn’t even sure the man realised what he’d been secretly doing, because he was worried Aizawa would say something like “why waste time looking for new recipes, a simple, nutritious meal, three times a day is plenty. Variety is not a necessity. Working towards your career goal is logically a better way to spend your time”… or something like that. 

Instead, here he was, calling him a diligent learner! 

“Sho, Sho look how pink-“ 

Hizashi’s excited whispers stopped but Izuku didn’t want to know why. He continued to bore holes into his rice bowl, willing away his blush. After an awkward moment, he softly inhaled, ready to thank the man and probably humiliate himself, but to his surprise, the conversation moved on smoothly.

“So how was Awaiji?”

Izuku peeked up through his lashes to see Aizawa looking at his friend, awaiting a response. He allowed his tense shoulders to relax, reaching forward to grab his soup and listen to Hizashi’s tales.

“Yeah pretty good.” The blond dropped his now empty skewer, finally looking a lot more casual and less flirty. He poked at his rice, pressing a clump into a piece of chicken with his chopsticks as he spoke. “Kyoka’s finished her song for the Hyakki yagyō, Mina is still perfecting her dance though- oh!” 

Hizashi glanced to his left, smiling at Izuku and giving an explanation “Ok ok, lemme explain. So Kyoka is a Suzuhiko hime, I found her a few months ago, well more accurately, she found me! I was visiting Awaiji to nail down the route for Hyakki yagyō, y’know, the demon parade, and this sweet girl, voice like bells. She’d come from one of the old shrines, ruined in the fire there a few years ago. Poor thing had been alone for that whole time. Anyways, I took her to the complex run by Tomoko Shiretoko, she goes by the nickname Ragdoll, cute right?-“

At that point, Aizawa’s heavy sigh cut in making the blond groan. “Look, I ramble ok! Ignore him. So she’s a human but has a gift for seeing and communicating with Yokai. She can find them when no-one else can. And she is very close with Yawara Chatora, a Koma Inu that guards the complex-“

“I thought Nezu said he was more than a simple Koma Inu-“ Aizawa joined the conversation, pouring himself more sake as he spoke “he’s got tiger stripes.”

“Yeah… no-one is really sure to be honest. But anyways, Mina is a Kijo, a female oni but she still retained some humanity, she just looks like teenager with pale pink skin and small horns… she was turned from a nasty grudge. For a while everyone thought, with some work and patience she could return to human form but she decided not to. And well… teenagers… anyways, she loves to dance. They’re all taking part in the parade. I’ve done my part for that one like Nezu asked. I can’t believe he hasn’t roped you into helping organise them.”

“Ugh” The Dragon god rolled his eyes. “He’s still trying to find a way to convince me. Not happening though. Honestly, what part of leave me alone does nobody understand. I’m far too busy anyways.”

Hizashi looked at Izuku just as Aizawa finished grumbling, grinning in amusement. “Yeeeaaah tell me, how has the training has been going?”

The teen initially was unsure if the question was aimed at him but when Aizawa didn’t answer and literally continued eating, he stuttered to quickly respond. He spoke of the flexibility training, the dodging and rolling, blushed heavily again when Hizashi grinned lecherously about the cat and mouse activity. Before the blond could utter whatever mortifying comment he was winding up to, Aizawa thankfully interrupted with the details of today’s climb.

Hizashi winced as if the training was a form of torture, prompting him to intervene. “Ah! I-Its going to be incredibly helpful! The better I can climb, the faster I’ll become, the more I practice, the more it will become second nature. Then I can help people. Save lives even!”

A small, soft smile graced Hizashi’s lips. “That’s really good… still, sounds exhausting.”

Izuku laughed, idly scratching his chin with his thumbnail. “I can’t argue with that… the two and a half hour walk back was-“ he fought the desire to glare at Aizawa, sitting opposite, leaning on his elbow. Instead he sent a strained smile at their guest “-particularly vexing.”  

“Oooooooooh” Hizashi rubbed his hands together. “Well would you look at that? Our benevolent, emerald prince, getting irritated at something! Aizawa how could you do such a thing!!”

The teen balked, panicking about his increasingly brattish behaviour. How could he risk upsetting the man who offered him sanctuary!! 

Aizawa, however, quickly leant forward, scoffing and refuting the claim, “The walk back was a cool down after the activity! Besides, I retrieved the best, most mineral rich water just for you- for today’s bathwater I mean.”

Hizashi whistled “You went to Shirahone?! Well, well well-“

Izuku was ready to fall over, his heart thumped like a hammered fist against a rattly door.“Sh- Shirahone is- I’ve seen it on the maps in the library, its in the far northern mountains- its several days of hiking! Its-“

Hizashi tutted, swishing his fingers side to side “Not if you’re a water Dragon… still-” he theatrically rubbed his jaw and looked up as if trying to recall some long lost memories, adding a drawl to his tone “I don’t recall you ever getting special water for any of your previous guests, sacrifice or otherwise.”

The low rumbling growl returned. Quickly, he risked a glance at the man but skittishly began to snarf down food, when he saw not only a murderous gaze turned on the blond… but also a defined, and what he presumed to be, an embarrassed flush on Aizawa’s cheeks.

“Hmmmmm” Hizashi had clearly decided to be unrelenting in his teasing. He lifted a soup laden spoon to his mouth, flippantly adding “Well, I can see why he treats you so special Izu-kun” he paused popping the liquid in his mouth but immediately yelped. After dropping the spoon and lurching forward to grab a cup of water, the blond sent a vicious scowl at the Dragon god. 

Izuku jumped up but he was waved away dismissively by both men, Hizashi even forcing a pained smile at the teen before muttering hoarsely “If I get blisters on my tongue and throat, I’ll curse this whole damn mountain, you stunted otter.”

Aizawa cleared his throat, putting down his napkin with a contented sigh. “Izuku, thank you for the meal, it was-“

“Hey! Why didn’t you come out for your birthday drinks last month?! You can say you’re busy all you like but one drink ain’t taking a lifetime Sho.”

Izuku’s head whipped to his right, the last piece of chicken held in his chopsticks dropping back into the bowl with a soft thump. 

‘Aizawa’s birthday!?? I missed his birthday?!?!’ Horror rushed through his veins like rapidly growing barbed vines.

“As if its ever one drink with you and Nemuri-“

“B- b- I- I missed-“ 

The who men quickly glanced over to see Izuku’s devastated expression. Aizawa’s hands shot up, immediately moving to placate the teen before he could burst into tears. “No! I don’t even have a birthday, I wasn’t born! I materialised from the prayers and ruin of a ship filled with Devine artefacts and priests, sunk by a coalescence of five whirlpools in the southern seas-“

Izuku’s mouth gaped further.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell him! And don’t act like there isn’t an actual day, that ship sunk in November, Nezu told me!”

The Dragon god scoffed at his friend but turned to the teen “Izuku-“

“Aizawa!” He practically barked, pushing up with both palms resting atop the table “I apologise greatly!” His firm voice wilted to a soft whine “And after you bought me such a thoughtful gift too! And for no reason… I promise… I promise I will make it up to you! I-“

“Woweeee…Sho went out of his way to get you a gift… how thoughtful!”

Aizawa hissed the blond’s name before getting up and walking around the table, putting a gentle hand on the teen’s shoulder “Izuku, its fine, honestly. I do not celebrate my arrival, its been hundreds of years anyway. Ignore Hizashi, he is just trying to cause trouble and quite frankly, if he doesn’t stop, he might find himself befalling some mysterious and catastrophic incident that forbids him from ever setting foot in Japan South of Aomori!” He turned towards the guest then and with the full effect of his powers radiating out, lifting his hair, his eyes blazing red. But the hand that softly squeezed Izuku’s shoulder remained gentle, soothing… warm.

“Ok, ok!! I get it…”

The rest of the meal was fairly uneventful. 

The two men continued to converse, mostly about events across the country while Izuku cleared away the dishes and bought another warmed bottle of sake. They discussed the few areas of human unrest, Nemuri’s vicious destruction of a particularly disgusting yokai who was assaulting on young women in Tottori, they even debated the cause of the record levels of snowfall in Hokkaido… but there was never any talk of the town. 

Izuku supposed he was grateful. Knowing he would miss Oseibo left an ache in his heart. A fleeting thought of the village leader Todoroki, sitting with his children to receive their gifts and thanks, left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

All too soon, he was saying goodbye to Hizashi at the genkan, huffing a little amused laugh as the blond called back that he would see him again soon. Even though Aizawa had groaned and slammed shut the front screen, he didn’t actually say no.

Maybe he could start spending time with the others a little more regularly after all.

Chapter Text

Three weeks had passed since the particularly engaging dinner. During that time, Hizashi had “popped by” twice and a third time even badgered Aizawa to let him stay for tea. The teasing had settled down mostly and it was interesting to watch the way the two got along, despite being as immiscible as oil and water.

Nemuri had even graced the house with her presence during breakfast one morning, tossing some soft, honey yellow coloured bedding at the Dragon god, claiming it was from the Nishijin district in Kyoto. Aizawa raised his brows, bringing the fabric to his cheek to feel the quality. The teen didn’t exactly understand the importance of fabric from that region, but he supposed it must have been special, since Aizawa quickly went to take the material upstairs, calling out to Izuku to make a little extra food for their guest.

Once he was out of the room, The kitsune had winked at the teen, whispering “simple things.”

All too soon, Izuku was looking around the freshly, deep cleaned mansion, having finished the Osoji. Immediately after that, he got to work on making the most spectacular Osechi ryori he could manage. 

It took a couple of hours but once he was finished, he beamed with pride as he put the lid on the Jubako. He hoped presenting the gifted boxed meal to Aizawa, would work towards making up for missing the god’s birthday. 

Regardless of what the man said, he still felt guilty. No matter how small, his family always presented him with a gift for his birthday.

As often happened, just the passing thought of his family made him frown through the hurt, nonetheless he was quickly distracted by the sound of the front door sliding open. 

Stepping out from the kitchen, he saw Nemuri.

She was dressed elegantly, jewels and ornate fastenings were set in her hair, that for once, was beautifully fixed up in looped buns.

Before she even opened her mouth, Aizawa thundered down the stairs with wide eyes, skidding to a stop.

The woman grinned. 

Suddenly, to the side of the stairs, the screen to the tearoom opened, revealing an equally fabulously dressed Hizashi. The blond even had a shimmery makeup, highlighting his cheeks.

The sight kicked the Dragon god into gear. 

Surging forward he grabbed Izuku, yanking him towards him, before turning and dragging him back up the stairs. The teen found himself to be horribly torn. On one hand, he found the whole situation to be wildly amusing. The idea, that the man would rather barricade them both in his very private quarters to avoid socialising, at what he guessed would be a very spectacular party - seemed outrageous. On the other hand, he was flooded with excitement about seeing Aizawa’s bedroom.

Over three months and he’d still not seen a peek.

As they rounded the stairs and crossed the threshold to the room, the teen gasped. He stood at the edge of the room as Aizawa slammed the screen behind him, covering the openings with a thick layer of ice. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight before him.

Taking a quiet but deep breath, he melted at the scent of the room. Rich wooden tones, fresh sea salt, just a hint of some mysterious spiced fragrance. It was distinctly Aizawa and Izuku craved it more than he realised. 

The vast room was warmly lit with four large decorative paper lamps in each corner. Flicking his gaze to the left, he was surprised to see the wall completely covered with shelves made from the darkest wood, each section topped with a single, unique collectable. A large silvery conch shell bigger than his head, an ornately carved wooden cat who’s colour and pattern from the cedar wood looked amazing, a large shallow bowl filled with water that seemed to glow and shimmer onto the wall behind it, a neat stack of metal tipped, rolled up scrolls. 

The centrepiece, sitting upon a thick wooden plinth was a 3ft high, maple bonsai tree. The orange and red leaves breathed colour into the otherwise uniformly coloured room… Except….

To his right, splayed across an exceptionally large, at least double width futon, was the yellow fabric from Nemuri. 

The large screen that led to the balcony, directly opposite the entrance of the room, opened suddenly with a bang. Standing with his golden blond wings glittering behind his shoulders, Hizashi grinned. “Pretty big bed for one isn’t it Izu-kun?” 

The man winked at him. 

“Get out you ass!” 

Undeterred by the threatening aura of the Dragon god, Hisashi tipped his head to the side to avoid the plum hurled at his face. Secretly enjoying the chaos, Izuku went along in amusement as Aizawa once more, grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him back out of the room. As they went up more stairs to the third floor, the Dragon god created a hazardous path in their wake, by icing the steps. 

The observatory, previously a mystery just like the second floor, was much smaller. Just a single hexagonal shaped room, split in half with thin, ornately painted screen doors, concealing the other half which acted as an open balcony. In the enclosed section where they stood, there was a telescope, several yellow, black and grey cushions-

The screens directly opposite, once again slid open, this time revealing a beautiful young man adorned in gold and black robes. His darker blond, wavy hair was cut shorter than the other magical creatures he’d met and pushed back from his face. His eyes were lined with pointed black triangles in the corners. None of this, nor his cocky grin, were as captivating as his large splendid, red wings.

“If what Nem says is anything to go by, a surefire way to get you to cooperate is to grab your precious sacrifice-“

Izuku yelped as he was lifted off the ground and swiftly pulled away. He twisted in shock, noting the red feathers encircling his limbs, gathering in clusters around his back to support him. In a split second, he was whisked outside. 

“TAKAMI! IZUKU!” 

The teen screamed as he was launched off the balcony, his stomach lurched as his forward momentum slipped away and gravity took over. He plummeted to the ground for a fraction before the supporting feathers flickered out, yanking him up in a sudden direction change. The pivot pulled him out of range as Aizawa dove out, immediately transforming with little regard for the observatory, which all but exploded into fine splinters of wood.

Izuku’s breath left his lungs. His wide emerald eyes locked onto the rage filled, red orbs of the magnificent Dragon. A second stilled for an eternity. Despite all the madness, knowing Aizawa was coming for him, sent a wave of heat into his heart, spreading through his chest like the quaff of a hot drink on a cold day.  

Large claws clasped around him, even more gentle than the first time they’d met, pulling him in against the hard, hot scales of the Dragon’s chest. Reaching forward, he pressed his palms against the almost searing, hard skin of the majestic creature. Just as he stretched his fingers out across the scales, he was yanked out of that soft, tender grasp and once more torn away by bright red feathers. 

He was caught by the blond, a moment later with barely a grunt. Despite the wrath filled Dragon who spun to face him, the winged man chuckled and looked down at Izuku’s shocked face.

“Hey there, my name is Keigo Takami and-” He whipped his arm forward, sending a phenomenally powerful gust of wind with a single wave of his Hauchiwa. The blast of air sent Aizawa hurling through the sky, hundreds metres away. “-I am a Tengu… we’re having Shogatsu at Nemuri’s place this year and you’re our guest of honour… don’t worry you’re not the only human!- Ah ah!”

Keigo held the fan out threateningly, wrist turned and ready to flick. He had a mischievous look in his eyes but Izuku could tell the Tengu held spectacular power. He’d read about the creatures in his book growing up. While Aizawa was an immensely powerful Dragon god, the Tengu were not to be trifled with.

As such, Aizawa paused in front of them. The fury in his gaze made Izuku’s heart thunder in his chest. Keigo’s grin spread wider as the long black scaled body coiled in front of them, floating on the whisper of a breeze. 

“You’ve got two choices… I bring Izuku to the party, I mean, I’ve been quite excited to meet him for a while now, I wasn’t going to get this close but-“

The sky lit with lightning, jagged spears of ice shot out from the clouds but stopped beyond their reach, suspended in the air like the dragon.

“OR… you bring him… the choice is yours.” Keigo used the powerful fan to scratch the small beard on his chin. There was a clear threat to the action but for added effect, the man tacked on- “There are no alternatives.”

After Keigo’s proposal, there was a tense moment of silence, another thunderous rumble… and finally, the spears of ice fell from the sky. 

They all floated calmly down to the ground where Nemuri and Hizashi watched. Both seemed to be stifling giggles. 

Upon setting him down on the floor, Keigo ran his fingers through his hair, staring up at the destroyed third story of the mansion. “Honestly… can’t say I expected such an extreme reaction-“

“Don’t try me.” Aizawa’s Dragon form dissipated with a swirl of mist, leaving him standing with his arms crossed and a blaze of anger marring his handsome face. “I’d wager that those pretty wings would sizzle under a strike of lightning. And then once you couldn’t fly away, it wouldn’t take much to drown you-“

“Shoutaaaa!!” Hizashi wailed at the man’s clearly murderous intent. “We’ll help you fix up the  observatory!!” 

Nemuri sighed but nodded. Walking forward, she patted Izuku’s shoulder, giving him a gentle smile. “You go get ready, fix your hair, look through your clothes trunk and find something extravagant- I know there’s something that will really go with your complexion in there, after all, Hizashi and I stocked that up for you.” 

He nodded, still stupefied by the whole experience, so she added “Don’t worry about all this, it’ll be fixed up in no time!!”

The kitsune hadn’t been bluffing. By the time he emerged from his room, not only had the third level of the mansion been repaired, but Aizawa had changed into a more ornate version of his usual Kamishimo. The inside lining was a deep honey yellow, similar to the fabric Nemuri had bought him. His belt was decorated with silver, an ornate pattern of waves stitched in with the shimmery thread.

He wore his hair half pulled back into a low bun, small pieces beside his horns fell down to frame his face.

All in all, he looked more mouthwatering than Izuku thought he could handle. 

He immediately blushed, desperate to turn away from Aizawa’s wide eyes but unwilling to tear his gaze from the feast before him.

“Izuku sweetheart, you look wonderful!!” Nemuri’s voice was velvety smooth, clearly a tone that had led many worthy yokai to bed, while equally luring unworthy humans to their deaths. 

For once, Aizawa didn’t protest her lecherous tone, instead just continuing his intense appraisal of the teen. “I’ve not seen you in these robes before.”

Izuku’s breath stuttered on the inhale, his already furious blush set further ablaze as he mumbled that it was the same for him too.

Before the tension in the air could boil over, Keigo announced that it was time to leave and he’d found himself once more, pressed against wonderfully warm scales, sailing through the air.

A couple of hours after the chaos had begun, Izuku stood at the edge of a bustling, spectacularly grand room in Nemuri’s luxurious mansion. 

After their arrival, he was whisked through the luxurious building and deposited on a blood red lounging chair, at the side of the room. A small cup was placed in his hands, “Its Amazake, a sweet rice drink, barely alcoholic!!” The kitsune winked and ran off, dragging the three men with her and barking out commands to take care of a few last minute things. Barely ten minutes, later the first guests began to stream into the room, all chatting excitedly, collecting a beverage from one of three, well stocked tables by the entrance. 

Before long the room was lively and Nemuri excitedly announced to the room that she hoped everyone enjoyed their time, be respectful to one another and should any damage occur, she would torment their souls. Hizashi roared with laughter before calling out that Izuku (“The cutie with the lovely emerald hair over there-”) was their guest of honour and much to his mortification, was introduced as “Aizawa’s dearest companion.”

He was sure he would faint from the sudden attention, but the scrutiny of the attendees was distracted by a small dark grey cloud, suddenly forming directly over Hizashi’s head. This prompted the blond to try dissipate it with his thrashing limbs, while yelling about his hair going frizzy.

Eventually the room settled down and everyone mingled jovially, leaving the teen to slide off his chair and skittishly move around the edge of the room to stand beside a large potted plant.

“Let me introduce you to Izuku Midoriya, he’s Aizawa’s current sacrifice-“

The lilac haired, beautiful young woman gasped. “Kiego! Don’t introduce him as that! I’m sure Midoriya-San has much more value beyond being a sacrifice!!”

The teen blushed, honoured to be thought of so highly by a stranger. And such a pretty one at that. 

“Hey you didn’t see what happened earlier! Putting up with such a grumpy monster while still being a polite soul is worthy of praise in itself!” The two then chuckled, leaving Izuku feeling a little out of place. After all, he really didn’t think of Aizawa’s behaviour in any negative light at all. He was fiercely protective, maybe sometimes a little moody but even the most damning of behaviours could be looked upon positively when understanding the circumstances.

“Anyways, Izuku, this is Nejire. And while she is a Hinoenma, rest assured, she will not enchant or lure you to your doom.” Keigo patted his shoulder in a friendly manner, perhaps trying to add reassurance, but knowledge left him feeling a little uneasy. He barely managed to squeeze out an awkward laugh. Perhaps that was the real reason Keigo introduced him as Aizawa’s sacrifice. Hinoenma by all outward appearances just looked like attractive, alluring young women, but these yokai prayed upon young men, devouring their life force.  

“Well there you go with more labels!! Besides, I wouldn’t dare to hunger after Aizawa’s be- Ah! Kaina-Chan! Forgive me Izuku, there’s someone I’ve not seen for a while so I’ll slip away now. It really is a pleasure to meet you! Go introduce yourself to Amajiki, he’s the guy with the darker purple hair, facing the wall by the food table. He’s a human!”

With that, Keigo and Nejire flitted across the room, calling out to another beautiful and no doubt dangerous woman as they went. 

Dismissing his own curiosity over what exactly she was about to say, Izuku decided to take her advice. He scooted around the perimeter of the room, trying not to attract attention to himself. When he reached his target, he noticed the man inch closer to the wall.

“I- uhhh I’m not a yokai! I’m just-“ 

“The sacrifice. I know. I don’t talk a lot, well that’s not entirely true- I just like to- that’s- I mean-“

Izuku realised this wasn’t going as well as he’d hoped and in a moment of panic, reached out to grab an interesting brown, crusty item from the trays of exotic food. “Would you like some of… uhhh… this-”

‘Of all the things I could have grabbed-‘ the teen internally lamented ‘I actually have no idea what this is!’

“Its called bread.”

He looked up from the interesting snack with raised brows. The young man had finally turned away from the wall, albeit only slightly, but enough that Izuku could see his face. 

“Wow, I’ve never heard of it… My name is Izuku Midoriya, I was told you’re also-“

“Yes… Tamaki Amajiki… I’m an exotic food merchant. I cater for… a lot of… Yokai events…” His voice trailed off quietly as he began to turn away once more, adding with a whisper “I hope you like the bread.”

Izuku smiled. Understanding the social awkwardness of the other man, he moved around the other side and leant up against the wall. Part of him felt like maybe he was caging Tamaki in between himself and the table, but he hoped his anxious companion knew that he just wanted to offer some shelter from the wider room.

After a short while, Tamaki half twisted his body towards Izuku, leaning his left shoulder against the wall. “Thanks… its such a wide open room, everyone is staring at everyone else and some of the yokai here don’t understand human emotions and some, despite knowing I’m safe, make me feel like one of the produce I sell… its nice to meet you.”

“Likewise!” Izuku kept his gaze outward, tearing off a piece and popping the bread into his mouth. He quickly hummed brightly, surprised at the food. It was light and fluffy in texture whilst the outside was more chewy and crusty. There was a very slight hint of sweetness to it. “This is really good, its so interesting!”

“I purchased it from some Portuguese travellers. I’d tried to replicate the recipe but I couldn’t figure it out. We don’t have the crops they do according to Nezu, so he helped me make something similar… Nemuri wanted the real deal for today though.”

“I’ve heard of Nezu from Hisashi, he’s another Yokai right?” Izuku moved his gaze further around the room, passing the gilled Kappa, past Hisashi who was excitedly talking to a stout Tanuki and finally landing on Aizawa, leaning against a tall round table. The Dragon god looked tired and grouchy until a sharp blonde woman handed him a hot beverage, laughing heartily as Aizawa’s stormy expression melted.

The teen quickly turned away, uncomfortable with the curling hot irritation in his stomach.

He caught Tamaki nodding in his peripheral, shuffling to his side to reach out for some grilled octopus on a stick. “He helped my Mirio stay by my side.”

With a small curious tilt of his head, he opened his mouth to ask but Tamaki answered before he could. “My… he was my childhood best friend-“

Izuku sucked in a pained breath, whispering near silently “was"

Tamaki sighed, looking down at his wrist to fiddle with an intricate beaded bracelet. “There was a landslide a few years ago, Mirio saved a bunch of kids but he didn’t make it out. The act of heroism was witnessed by a Kirin named Toshinori. He wanted to help Mirio’s spirit pass on but he-“ Tamaki smiled, a faint blush painted across his cheeks. “-Mirio didn’t want to leave me. So to thank him for saving so many children, the Kirin introduced us to Nezu who in turn, helped him remain by my side as a yurei, without losing any of his humanity.”

The merchant looked content, happy even, despite the circumstances. After chewing another bite of food he added “My family threw me out when I refused to accept an arranged marriage, so I’ve lived with Mirio since we were fourteen. We got our own land and built a tiny one room farmhouse, two years later. The first night in our new home, Mirio told me that it was our destiny to be together.” Tamaki huffed fondly, tossing the empty stick on the table. “Having him remain my companion until the end of my days, is all I’ve ever wanted.” 

Their love touched Izuku, his chest thumped and he felt a strong pull in his soul, urging him to look upon Aizawa. His eyes widened as he realised the raven haired man was already watching him. There was a soft warmth to the Dragon god’s gaze… until he realised that same look was returned. With a jolt, Aizawa quickly looked down at his drink, leaving the teen with butterflies dancing in his stomach.

“Do… uhh… do you not miss his touch?” He finished his bread and turned back to Tamaki, who had wide eyes. “Are there not moments when you feel lonely, even knowing he is there?”

The merchant blushed, shoving a large piece of beef tongue into his mouth. After a moment of chewing he mumbled “I can see him and hear him thanks to talismans specially created by Nezu… and there’s small rituals I can perform with gifted meals to deities once every couple of weeks that umm-“ Tamaki turned to face the wall once more, his voice trailing off to a whisper “-that make him… um… tangible… he’s a little see-through but…”

His hushed tones quietened even more, but Izuku faintly heard him say “I can feel him just fine.”

The connotations of what they’d been discussing suddenly flooded Izuku’s body with mortification. He couldn’t believe, that with his mind distracted by Aizawa, he’d literally being asking his acquaintance, about how he could be intimate with a ghost. With a flash of panic hitting his stomach like rotten fish, he began to nervously stutter apologies, adding that he was pleased they could be together for what seemed like forever… but this just made the shy man squeak and literally bend down to crawl under the table. 

Before he could die on the spot, Hizashi bounded over, calling his name joyously. After another three introductions, Nemuri joined them, bringing another round of drinks and more tales of wonder. 

Izuku eventually felt lighter. He added stories of his own, laughing as he spoke of his dog Katsuki and an amusing run in with the youngest Todoroki son, who seemed rather keen on befriending the belligerent mutt.

“Hey don’t look now-” Nemuri whispered as she leaned close to his ear “-but there’s a certain Dragon who looks absolutely vexed because his most precious emerald is so carefree with his new friends.”

Izuku gripped his cup, trying not to tense up, desperately fighting the urge to take a peek. Clearly his motions were as clear at the writing in a book, as Hizashi burst out laughing, slipping around the side of the teen to sling an arm onto his shoulder. “Relax, you’re allowed to have a good time… he’ll saunter over when- Sakamata?!! I thought you couldn’t come!!”

Hizashi stepped back to beckon over another yokai, so Izuku pulled away, leaning against the wall just a few feet from the commotion. With a soft sigh, he sipped his drink, glancing to his left while holding the cup to his lips.

Just as he did, Keigo began talking to Aizawa. The change was subtle, but he could tell the conversation was serious. Despite how terrible he felt about it, he was compelled to try and listen. Leaning slightly askew, he made his breaths shallow, gazing into the liquid he swilled around his half empty cup.

“… from Sendai.” 

“To Edo? When?”

“I am not meeting up with Uwabami EVER again!!” Nemuri’s boisterous voice cut through his concentration, making him frown. “She is more self absorbed than anyone I’ve ever met and let me tell you, I have met a LOT of people!”

Taking a further step to the left as everyone squealed with laughter, Izuku let his gaze fall hazy so he could focus on hearing.

“… seventeen deaths in just the last six weeks, even you can’t take this lightly… but when they’re stealthy like this, silent, near invisible, stalking-“

Aizawa butted in with a heavy sigh “I know, dealing with that type of Yokai is my specialty.”

“Akita, Sendai, now Edo-“

“Don’t say it Keigo-”

“They’re heading this way and you know it.”