An Idiots Adventures in the Galaxy and the Friends he Made Along the Way

by OneAMYak

Summary:

Izuku is a normal human kid... Okay, well, actually, he can't say that! Only .009% of kids who apply to study in space at the battalion satellite actually get accepted, and even then, only two have ever gone missing! (It sucks that one is Izuku.)

Humans are rare to see in the galaxy - but seeing a living being who's seen a pissed off human before? Even rarer. Humans are monsters - some of the best fighters in the galaxy and some of the strongest will powers of all known creatures. To most, they seem stupid. Dumb as hell. They can't even learn a language, can they?

 

This fic has a Discord!
Previously titled: Humans Are Space Orcs: Midoriya Izuku Edition.

Notes:

• Inspired by How to train your Terran by Or1onreads
• Inspired by [Restricted Work] by 07JoeTheBastardo (Log in to access.)

Chapter 1: Deathworlder?

Izuku groaned as he slid his arm under his torso. He didn't usually sleep with it above his head like that and it ached like a bitch when he tried to move it. Though, his mind felt dis-attached from the pain. Weird. He was dehydrated too. He should have water -

His bedside table isn't there. Hell, he's not even on a bed right now. Not in his room, no All Might (Earth's most famous star-walker) posters staring down at him with calls for recruitment. 

No. Instead, it's iron (possibly steel) bars surrounding him. Through the bars, creatures Izuku has read about but never seen with his own eyes. So many different species. Some are in cells nearby - about four to a cell like the one Izuku is in - but a few are walking around outside of it. The ones outside of the cages have hosters and armour on. Most of them are bigger than Izuku - though that's not exactly different from back home. Most are actually bigger than most humans. A few eye off Izuku as he slowly sits up. How did he get here? He needs water… 

Fuck ! He feels his arm now - much to his own dismay. It's dislocated…  or broken. Though he had broken his other arm a little over a year ago now, and it doesn't feel that bad. Still bad though. 

Izuku looks at his shoulder, grabbing his elbow and positioning it directly under him before he switches to gripping his shoulder and quickly drops all his weight onto his shoulder - the resulting click and pop hurts blindingly for a second, but when that clears, Izuku can breathe and successfully move his arm without wanting to die. Well, that was an exaggeration, obviously. Izuku always wanted to - fuck, no that's not right. 

Izuku was still a little out of it, but slowly he was becoming more and more aware of the aches and bruises covering his body. What the fuck is going on? 

Izuku finally looks around his cell. He's alone. Why is he alone while those other cells are packed with more people than they can't hold? Where was he? Why was he in a cell to begin with? 

Izuku hadn't even gotten to the battalion satellite where he was going to be training and studying. Apparently, All Might was even going to be teaching him how to explore the stars safely. Izuku would fail in that class, for sure. He couldn't even make it to the fucking school to learn - 

Where the fuck is his escorts? He was supposed to be safe with them. Where are they? How did Izuku get here if they were watching over him? Are they safe? Hurt? Are they in one of these other cells? Where's Kacchan? Kacchan would be screaming already if he were here, so... 

No - Izuku seems to be the only human here. That's weird. You'd think that, maybe, if they were traffickers, they would have more humans… Humans were sort of rare, though. They were new to the whole space travel thing, and by the looks of it, considered either extremely valuable or dangerous - maybe both. Or extremely fragile - that's another reason Izuku could be isolated right now. 

Great. 

Izuku is in an unknown place, uncharted territory, with no way of communicating other than the basic 'common' language he had to learn to be accepted into the battalion - now that Izuku thinks about the name, it's a bit weird actually. But still, Izuku was in trouble. 

He had no way to know how he was seen by the members of this ship, or the other cellmates - that black, furry one was glaring at him with four glowing crimson eyes, though, and that was incredibly unnerving. Izuku involuntary shivers, eyes staying locked with the creature for a few moments.

Izuku's eyes shoot over to the guard as they walk past, making him lose the impromptu staring contest with a feline-like creature. 

Izuku slowly starts to push himself back into the wall - the only solid wall in his cell. He felt like crying. This wasn't supposed to happen, it was all so overwhelming and Izuku has to actively suppress the instinct to throw himself at the bars until they give out. He knew that wouldn't work. 

Fuck…  

Izuku is shaking. He's not cold - God, he'd kill for it to be cold instead of fear. No. No . Izuku wouldn't kill someone. Probably. He still needs water too. 

Thus began Izuku's first day. At some point, three guards came by his cell, one unlocked it while the other two slid in food - a bowl of some sort - and a bottle of water. Afterwards, the door was quickly slammed, but Izuku waited until the guards moved on to the next cell before slowly uncurling himself and grabbing the food and water. 

The food was… bland. It was just chicken and rice. Though the fact that they had human food at all was surprising to Izuku. The water was still sealed around the rim as well, and Izuku was quick to crack it open and down half of it in one go. 

Then the food was gone, and Izuku took one more sip from his water before moving back to his corner, sitting the bottle in his hoodie pocket with his hand protectively over it. On the way back past, the guards take up a stance and one of them is pushed into Izuku's cage. 

Izuku watches him fumble slightly, trying to grab the bowl with as little stepping into the cage as possible. Of course, much to Izuku and the guard's dismay, that pushes the bowl further into the cage. 

The guard seems to be trembling at the thought of having to step any closer, and Izuku was not about to reach for the bowl while someone was in his cage. Even if it was just to push it away. If it came down to it, Izuku could probably use the bowl as a weapon… 

The guard's armour might help him not get hurt, and he seems to have a hardened exoskeleton as another layer of protection. Bugs that have that of earth generally die soon after their exoskeleton is punctured or cracked… Would it be the same for them? They couldn't be that easy to take down… Could they? 

Izuku waited. The guard waited, his hand resting on his weapon as he shifted from foot to foot… to foot. Three feet, probably for balance-related issues… easy to knock over then. 

Izuku flinches when one of the other guards bangs on the bars. Fuck that guy. Izuku narrows his eyes on him, resisting the urge to bare his teeth or even just lunge at him. Though, Izuku moving at all seemed to scare the guards. 

The guard in the cell with him takes a step away, crouching slightly. Fuck it. Fuck him. Take the fucking bowl. Izuku kicks the bowl towards the door, glaring at the three guards and setting his shoulders until they back themselves out of the cell. 

They immediately start talking - or clicking? They keep brushing their antennas together and that creates a slight clicking and they seem to be understanding each other. 

Izuku didn't bother trying to understand - he just shrunk in on himself a little further and put his head on his arms, which are resting on his knees and pulled close to his chest. Izuku is sure to keep his eyes up though - his hearing might be good, but he still didn't need anyone sneaking up on him. 

 

---

 

Izuku hated it. The cycle for this ship was confusing - there were three settings, which essentially were daytime, dusk/dawn and nighttime. The issue is, it was all in the span of about 12 hours, so Izuku would sleep from the dusk, night and dawn settings of one day, then be up for the daytime, dusk, night, dawn and the daytime of the next day. Which, he understood, made him seem weird and dangerous. Not to mention the way his skin seemed to glow at night - he had stripes. It must be a fluorescent or black light of some kind. And the way he continuously runs his fingers through his hair to avoid knotting. 

Izuku hated the lack of a bed - or even just something softer than the floor. 

But, all and all, Izuku's interactions were limited to the odd idiotic guard who got too close and was stared down until they left or maybe, staring at one of the other cellmates of his. 

Izuku also listened. The cellmates around him talked, and he had gotten pretty good at telling tones of some of the chatty ones. And, soon after, he started to pick up on a few words. One, in particular, was easy enough to pick up on - Deathworlder. Humans. Aka Izuku. That was such a badass name. It sucks that it seemed to come for humans apparently extremely violent interactions with other species. They weren't wrong . And Izuku wouldn't correct them even if they were. 

After a few cycles, Izuku waited a few minutes after the 'night' setting before he moved. He wanted to see if there were sensors or anything on the door or bars. If Izuku twisted just the right way, he might be able to squeeze his way out. 

Izuku gently touches the bars. Electricity. Not enough to hurt, really. Not for Izuku. It tingled, made his hairs stand on end, but it wasn't enough to deter him from sticking his arm through the bars and feeling around the lock on the door. He could probably force it open if he just got a grip on it. 

After a few minutes, Izuku pulls himself in and shrinks back into his corner while the guards on this shift pass. No sensors. Next to check is the ones on the ceiling. Well, the roof bars. 

Izuku easily jumps up, grabbing the bar and heaving himself up with a small grunt. The space is barely big enough for Izuku to shimmy through, but eventually, he manages to get his feet up and he pauses for a second while he catches his breath. 

God, balancing on these bars isn't going to be great for an escape… but, for now, Izuku needs to figure out how to get out of here. And how he's going to get home.

An alarm starts blaring , causing Izuku to fall straight back into his cell with an oomph. Fuck. Izuku quickly rolls to his feet and takes a few steps to his usual corner before he sits with his knees to his chest again, but he keeps his hands firmly pressed over his ears. That noise fucking hurts . And Izuku probably has a massive bruise on his ribs from the landing. 

Izuku closes his eyes against the harsh new lights, pushing his back further against the wall. Fuck . Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Fuck. Shut - 

Izuku didn't know when he started to slam his head against the wall - the noise of the bang would cancel out the alarm, unfortunately, it also cancelled out the sound of his cell door opening. All he felt - in a small lapse of his panic - was a small prick in his forearm. 

Chapter 2: Oh my god, they were cellmates -

Summary:

Izuku gets a cellmate!

He woke the next dawn - about three hours later - and he flinched harshly the first time he opened his eyes. The light was still so irritating. He growls in annoyance, stilling up and rubbing his eyes. Fuck that shit. Izuku never wants to hear that noise again. 

Never. Again. 

Izuku watches his arm twitch - a muscle spasm. Ugh . Izuku's ears finally tune into the present - though faint - ringing in the background and the chatter of the cellmates around him. 

"Shut up," he mutters, leaning on his arms and taking a few deep breaths. The chatter stops immediately. Maybe he said that yesterday - he was in a lot of pain from that noise that he might've said it aloud. He forgot that he was supposedly terrifying to his cellmates. A deathworlder . 

What a fucking joke. Izuku snorts while stretching out his legs. The pops are extremely satisfying. If he could get that in his neck…  

Izuku puts his hand to his head, lightly pulling it down to his shoulder on one side and is rewarded with several satisfying clicks before he moves to the other side and gets a loud, almost heavenly crack . His headache is almost immediately relieved and he relaxes. Now for his back. 

Izuku stands, placing his hands on the back of his thighs and slowly lowering his head, hearing a few clicks before another crack that makes him throw himself forward, lest he relaxes and accidentally drops himself backwards onto the floor. He doesn’t hit the floor - God, that was good though. Izuku twists himself a little. No major cracks, but a few more clicks. Knuckles next. 

All of them on one hand, and the other only three, but when he pushes them out , his fingers and elbows click into place. Fuck, that's nice.

They're hushed, but their whispers are starting again. Oh, right… Most species don't crack like that. Izuku couldn't care though - he felt like taking another nap honestly. Maybe he was still under the influence of whatever he was drugged with to knock him out. Is sleeping a good idea after you've been drugged? Probably not. 

Izuku lays on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and trying not to close his eyes and sleep again. If he slept now it would throw off his sense of time. So, Izuku started humming. What else was he supposed to do? He could barely think straight, he couldn't stand for long, he didn't like it when the guards looked at him when he paced around, and he didn't feel like curling up and possibly locking up his limbs again. So, Izuku put a hand under his head, humming his favourite songs. 

Lullabies are the easiest to remember because Izuku was 15 and his mother only stopped singing lullabies to him when he begged her to stop at age 12. Three years does nothing to diminish memories of songs sung to him for over a decade. His voice wasn't anything like his mothers - not since his voice started to crack - but Izuku sang like her anyway. 

The thought of his mother was sobering. He missed her. Would he miss her if he was actually studying like he was supposed to be? Did she know he was missing? Was he going to see her again? Being alone forever was not something Izuku wanted - he was a teenager, he couldn't comprehend that far ahead. 

Of course, that day went slower than it should've. When the dusk mode starts to roll around, Izuku feels his eyes drifting closed. He didn't get to eat today, but he didn't think he'd hold it down anyway. 

Izuku jolts upright when his cell opens up. A creature - person? - is shoved into his cell, a blindfold firmly over the eyes and something tying both the hands and the bright red wings behind the person's back. Of course, they stumble and end up falling to their knees in front of Izuku. Izuku glances at the guards, who slam the cell door shut and start clicking to each other. Izuku glances at the - possibly male? - that is now struggling, trying to stand or at least crawl. Completely immobilised without his arms or wings, huh? Or - at the least, unable to run away. 

Izuku was on his feet, stalking forwards before he realised that that would be absolutely terrifying. Well, the cellmates around him seem to be panicking about it. Uh, well, it's not like the bird-man-thing could really see him, so he could just…  untie them? Was that a good idea? He'd want someone to untie him - whether they were scared of him or not… 

Izuku knelt next to the man, quickly observing the knots used and starting to untie them. It was a mess, but Izuku got through it fairly quickly and even took the rope over to his corner while the man worked on getting his own blindfold off. Izuku thought it would probably be best if he just… stayed in his corner. Whatever species the bird-man is was probably scared of Izuku too, and Izuku knew better than to corner a scared… well, anything, really. Fear leads to fights. Izuku may have basic combat training, but not for anything with wings . God, those are pretty. The wings and most of the lower feathers are a deep red colour while the head and most of the chest are a lighter yellow (ish). 

The bird finally gets the blindfold off and - screech! 

Izuku glares at the thing, rolling forwards slightly and gripping the rope tighter. The feathers on the man puff up slightly, eyes trailing Izuku's movements. Izuku stays crouched, ready to pounce at the drop of a hat - or, well, a feather. That noise hurt his ears and if it came down to it, Izuku could easily tie better knots with the rope in his hand. The blindfold wouldn't help him - but a gag might. 

One of the other cellmates - the cat-like one with four eyes - says something quickly and softly. It sounds something like 'the deathworlder is sensitive to loud noise'. Though, Izuku could be wrong. 

The feathers de-puff themselves with a slight huff of… amusement(?) from the birdman. Izuku realises there is another one of the same species with mostly black on his wings, and chest and his top being a deep yellow a few cages over, and wonders if they could communicate with each other. By the way that they start chirping at each other frantically, they can. Do they know each other?

Izuku doesn't move just yet, and the other just sits himself down, leaning on the bars of the cell casually and continuing to talk to the other bird. Izuku understood none of what the conversation was, but he did sit back on his ass, leaning his head against the bar of the cell next to him - everyone in that cell is pushed to the far side - and letting most of the tension drop from his body. He was tired as all hell, and the lack of food meant that he didn't have the energy to force himself to stay awake right now.

"Uh, how old?" the bird asks in common, and Izuku squints over as he gestures at Izuku. The cat seems to shrug - at least there is something non-verbal there because the bird thirls softly in understanding. Izuku pulls his legs closer to himself, not bothering to hold the rope or keep an eye on his new cellmate. Instead, Izuku slept. 

He woke in the middle of the night, startled by his own dreams. Dreams of home. Izuku missed his mother - hell, he missed school. Learning.

Not hard learning. Because Izuku was learning here, learning a new language, learning body language and learning that humans are considered terrifying monsters. But it was hard to learn without someone spelling it out for you. 

Izuku moved. He was stiff, obviously, he shouldn't be sleeping in that position. He was sore and overwhelmed. He couldn't ignore the tears coming to his eyes, or the way his breathing is picking up. God, he's gonna die alone. Izuku tried not to cry - but he had already been there for nearly five days and he missed his mother. 

Izuku cried. For a while. He tried to stifle himself - he didn't want to wake the bird-man-thing or any other cellmates. He just wanted to cry alone and wish for his mother. When Izuku had finally cried himself out enough to think about going back to sleep, he eyes the sleeping form of the bird-thing and decides to stretch himself out and fall asleep on his arms instead. It was much more comfortable, and Izuku wasn't up for very long after. 

The dawn came, and Izuku woke up shortly after the lights came on. The bird is still asleep, or at least in the same position. Izuku sits up running his fingers through his hair and wincing. He didn't do that yesterday, and that meant it was going to hurt today. So, for the first hour or so of his day, Izuku just ran his fingers through his hair to work out all the knots. He hisses softly at the back - it was the worst of all his hair. This would be easier with a brush. 

Izuku sighs after being able to successfully run his fingers through his hair. It felt a little better - at least, he didn't have an uncomfortable heat trapped in the knots. Unlike his eye bags and tear tracks. He wipes his cheeks, gently trying to massage the heat away while the rest of the cellmates are starting to rise. A few of them - very clearly - didn't seem to think that the bird would still be alive this morning, judging by the shocked faces and whispers when some of them wake. 

Izuku didn't mind - well, not enough to say something. When the bird started to shift a bit, Izuku was already fully awake and had just finished yesterday's bottle of water and he stretched. Izuku felt… good, disregarding his emotional state. So… not good, including his emotional state.

Hopefully, the bird will not attack Izuku - it seems disoriented from sleeping. Izuku could probably win if it came down to a fight, but he wouldn't make it out without some scratches. And Izuku doesn't have access to anything to disinfect himself if he did get a scratch. And there could be all sorts of unknown pathogens that Izuku hasn't been exposed to before that he could get sick from… 

After a few moments of staring and eyeing each other off, both Izuku and the bird turn away. Neither are attacking - Izuku doesn't know if it's a volatile species either. 

Chirp . 

That's a cute noise…

Izuku mimics, echoing the same pitch and length and glancing at the bird. It perks slightly, head tilting and the noise repeats from its beak. It doesn't seem to be made out of keratin like the birds on earth, it's shiny . Like… it's a metal alloy mixed in with the natural biological either minerals or possibly similar to the feathers that are covering the bird's back, crown and some of the shoulders. Those are significantly shinier than the other feathers on the rest of his body. 

Izuku blinks away his thoughts, continuing to watch the bird. It slowly takes a crouched step forward. Shit. No. Nope. Izuku did really want to touch the feathers though… After the first step, the bird waits. Izuku waits for a moment, too. The bird chirps. Izuku mimics, slightly tilting his head and frowning. The bird takes another step forward. Izuku turns to completely face him, sliding forward a little bit. 

Izuku and the bird flinch all the way back to their respective sides as the guards slam open the door. Two trays of food are dropped, and one bottle of water and a bottle of something in a shade of orange - possibly water-based. 

Notes:

Check out the Discord!

Chapter 3: Electric Boogaloo

Summary:

Yeah! Izuku does some learning - maybe gets electrocuted or something, it's no big deal.

Notes:

I wish the chapter title could've been for chapter two.
Don't forget to check out the Discord!
Also! I changed the rating on this fic for a reason - the start of the next chapter is intense and I didn't realise just how graphic I was going to write this fic when I started it. So, that being said, please don't read this if you're under 16 or uncomfortable with violence.

Izuku moves first, stumbling slightly on his way to his bowl and bottle of water. He retreats to his corner to allow the bird to get his food, which seems to be some sort of nuts? Izuku has a bowl of fruit today - fuck yeah, fruit! How the hell did they get this? 

Izuku eats quickly, only slowing down when he realises he is going to make himself sick if he doesn't. Damn, this is good. Izuku ignores the looks of the bird and the feline, sipping his water before he picks up his next piece. He went way too fast. He - 

Hiccup- Izuku squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, tilting his head back and swallowing. Fucking hiccups. Izuku takes a deep breath, moving his shoulder and arms to make as much room as possible in his lungs before he hiccups again. Izuku shakes his head, sipping his water and holding his breath for a moment afterwards. Nothing - another hiccup. 

Fucking hell. 

Hey, sometimes bruises come in handy? 

Izuku hits his ribs, inhaling sharply at the pain. But his hiccups are gone! Izuku huffs, shaking his head again before he continues to eat. 

That would be weird to watch - if a species didn't have lungs or just, like, rib muscles that malfunction when you eat too fast… Actually, Izuku would be looking weird right now with how casually he did that - but, honestly, he couldn't care less. He was hungry damn it. 

The bird and the cat seem to be talking - which is a little funny because the cat seems extremely irritated about it and that is exactly how Izuku imagines earth cats and birds talking if they ever got to the point of speaking the same language. Izuku just watches them for a while, but they start talking too fast for Izuku to keep up - not to mention a lot of non-verbal stuff or pitches and tones too high or low for Izuku to hear properly. Though, Izuku does look at the bird when he clicks or chirps. Clear, easy to understand noises. Izuku had no fucking idea what they meant, but it sets a noise/sound range for what Izuku could or couldn't hear.

Izuku, overall, was bored. He didn't have much to do - and he only just got comfortable enough to lay in the middle of his cell alone and now he has to worry about - does he have a name? Call him Birdman was going to get irritating fast - especially because is there is actually two of them. Just different colours. Maybe separating them mentally by colours would work?

Regardless, Izuku was a little bit awkward about having to share his space. This cell was already smaller than his room back home, and now this - what is he, maybe… 170 cm? Uh… is he finished growing, or just hitting adolescence like Izuku? Is he an adult? How old is he? How would they tell each other that? 

‘Years’ as Izuku knows them is specifically tailored to Earth's four seasons, so that’s practically useless. Izuku isn’t familiar enough with the cycle of the ship to be able to use that as a comparison… Plus, there have to be other variables. Like how some animals of earth develop faster than humans, there probably are other species development times being longer or shorter than humans. 

God, Izuku hasn’t even been here a week and he’s already losing his mind to figure out how to talk to people. 

Does ‘people’ retain specifically to humans, or can Izuku refer to the bird people as bird people - Ah, fuck that sounds rude, doesn’t it? Eh, not as rude as it could…

Is the yellow colour a sign of maturity? Or is it just like how cats come with different fur patterns? The pigments are different between the two different birds - could be the difference of male or female too… Ugh. Why must Izuku think? Why is a part of the bird's feathers shiny and other parts not? Is it an extra layer of protection sort of like armour? It would make sense if that’s the parts of their body they land on the most, but it’s unlikely that they land wings/head first… Given that Izuku was clueless about this sort of thing (Aka birdmen), he couldn’t really tell. 

At dusk that cycle, Redbird (Izuku didn’t come up with anything better yet) chirps to get Izuku’s attention. Izuku turns from the ground - Izuku only really looked up to watch the guards (Which seem to be on an odd schedule, most likely due to the ship's cycle and each species different functioning levels at different times of day) - to the bird with a tilt of his head. He’s not standing but Redbird is facing towards Izuku and slowly moving forward, sort of crawling in a way. Izuku doesn’t fully look up until he is almost at the halfway point of the cell. Redbird pauses, letting Izuku stare at him for a few moments before he continues, slower.

Izuku tenses when he’s just out of arms reach. He should’ve moved into a position where he could dodge or fight if he needed to, but instead he’s stuck hugging his knees. Of course, Redbird doesn’t seem like he’s in much of a position to run away either. Izuku watches the eyes, golden and shining slightly. His eyes flicker to the mouth/beak. It seems to be doing the sort of thing that humans mouths do when they’re trying hard not to smile. Is teeth bearing a threat to this species? Is Izuku being… not threatened? Is he actively putting in effort to make Izuku more comfortable by not bearing his teeth and a show of a threat? Do they emote similar to humans, where smiling is meant to be a show of good faith? Either way, he’s trying to make Izuku comfortable while being uncomfortable himself. 

Izuku lets himself relax slightly, even going as far as to offer his hand to the bird. His palm is up, letting the bird see that nothing is in it. The bird smiles - when he looks down and very gently slides his hand, which is feather-free but has rough callus skin instead, over Izuku’s palm. The bird shifts closer, sitting down next to Izuku, who smiles slightly but not enough to show his teeth. 

“ Yamatakm’,” the bird says, and Izuku tilts his head to show his confusion. The bird points to himself, “ Yamatakm’,” He points at Izuku, “ Deathworlder.”

“Oh,” Izuku mumbles, nodding, “Yamatak-” Izuku pauses, “Ym?

“ Yamatakm’.” The bird nods - sort of bobbing slightly - unsuccessfully trying to suppress a smile. His teeth look so fucking sharp - Fucking, wow!

“Yamatakm’?” Izuku repeats, letting himself uncurl slightly and grin slightly.

“ Keigo,” the Yamatakm’ states, pointing to himself again. “ Keigo,” a word Izuku doesn’t know, “ Yamatakm’.”

“ Keigo?” Izuku repeats, watching the bird's wings puff with pride as he nods again.

“ A’zawa,” Keigo points to the feline-like creature who is staring intently at the two of them.

“Aizawa?”  

“ A’zawa.”

“ A’zawa.”

“ A’zawa,” That word again - what does that mean? “ Nekitty,” Izuku tilts his head, looking at Keigo with a small frown. Keigo repeats the second word, and Izuku frowns further. Keigo tilts his head slightly, mirroring Izuku’s expression for a second before he gestures with his hands wildly.

Izuku holds up his hand placatingly, then points through a few cages, at the slightly different bird-like-man-thing, “ Yamatakm’ ?” Keigo nods, bouncing slightly in his seated position.

“ Ha’si,” the word Izuku isn’t understanding, “ Yamatakm’.”

“He- Ha - Ha’si.” Izuku stutters. That was a bit difficult to get the tongue around.

“Deathworlder,” A’zawa says the word Izuku now understands as meaning ‘like’ or possibly ‘species’ or ‘mate’, “All Might.” 

Izuku shrugs. That didn’t help. It could mean ‘mate’ or ‘like’ and theoretically, it could still mean ‘species’. Maybe ‘akin to’. Keigo pauses, watching Izuku expectantly. He probably wants his name, considering.

“Izuku,” Izuku introduces.

“I’uku,” Keigo nods.

“Izuku,” Izuku huffs in amusement with a soft smile on his lips.

“Izuku akin to Deathworlder,” Keigo states. Damn, that still sounds fucking cool.

“Izuku,” Izuku pauses, then manages to say the word, “ akin to - Human,”

“Hue..Mean?” Keigo tilts his head.

“Human,” Izuku repeats.

“‘Uman.”

“Human.”

“Human.” Keigo echos, nodding with another smile. “Izuku akin to human,” Izuku nods. “How old ?”

Izuku tilts his head. Again, time issue is an issue. Plus, Izuku has no idea what numbers are. Keigo asks something again, a different word that Izuku is in no way familiar with, tilting his head. A’zawa says something else Izuku doesn’t quite understand - it actually sounds like a different language. Keigo seems to speak it, however, because he laughs - he’s close enough to Izuku that Izuku can feel his feathers brush against his hoodie when he does so - and nods to A’zawa.

Keigo pats the ground once, saying a word that Izuku doesn’t understand - and it sounds so difficult to pronounce. Izuku struggles to repeat it a few times before sighing and running a hand through his hair in frustration. Keigo and A’zawa share a few words, then Keigo pats the ground twice and says a different word. Which is significantly easier.

One of the guards bangs loudly on the bars of the cell, making Izuku flinch back, almost instinctively grabbing Keigo’s arm. The guard says something - which Izuku only gets a few words of, but sounds like ‘Deathworlder is too stupid to understand you’. Which, 1 - Ow. 2 - fair. Izuku was struggling to understand a lot of the words he heard on the daily - but he was getting much better at it!

Keigo says something in return to the guard with a snarl - which is significantly different to his smile, and Izuku is struck by how similar Yamatakm’ and Human emotions present. The guard snarl in return, saying something down the hallway, there must be a few of the other guards there because there are multiple sets of footsteps and A’zawa is now yelling at Keigo - something Izuku couldn’t hear very well over Ha’si’s sudden loud screeching and the other cellmates also shouting. 

Keigo is on his feet by the time the guards manage to unlock the door. This particular species of the guards (Izuku didn’t know the name of the actual species) seem to have a likeness to wolves or dogs. They all have fur, though different colours, patterns and sizes. That also means that their arms can’t extend much and they should be-

The leader pulls out an electric, extendable baton - it’s almost like a cattle prod - from his belt and switches it on. A spark jumps between the two prongs, slightly illuminating the cell and the guard’s sadistic smile - or, well, that could be a snarl. Oh, shit. 

Izuku is frozen - watching the scene unfold before him. Keigo gets struck - straight across the face and Izuku watches the gash in Keigo’s cheek bleed out in a darker shade of orange than the drink he gets with his daily meals. Izuku needs to help - he has to help somehow, right? It’s so loud.

Keigo says something to the guard while he’s trying to get to his feet - why is he struggling so much with that? He was only hit once, even Izuku could move after that - is that why humans are scary? How much damage they could take before they passed out or be knocked down?

The guard scoffs, going to jab at Keigo with the cattle prod. Izuku pushes himself up, lunging forward. Izuku grabs the cattle prod, rolling over Keigo and stopping in a crouch, glaring up at the guard. Izuku didn’t mean to go that far, but he wasn’t exactly used to how little gravity there was on this ship and he overshot himself - landing him in the middle of four guards. All he has to defend himself is one cattle prod - which if it’s anything like the bars, the electricity coming out of this thing is approximately fuck all.  

Izuku stands - barely dodging a hit from one of the guards as they lunge forwards to strike him with their prod. He didn’t want to lock up - and honestly, he didn’t trust the way that he could hear the electricity buzzing in the air. 

He should be alright - doesn’t human electricity tolerance have something to do with how fast the current of electricity is rather than how much electricity there is? It’s something like that. Izuku should be fine, he just - 

UGH, Fuck. 

Yep, Electricity fucking hurts.

Izuku’s legs are completely locked - there goes any dodging Izuku could’ve done. Motherfucker. Izuku turns to swing his prod at the motherfucker who hit him - and of course, it weak as all hell and snaps when it makes contact with the amour the guard is wearing. Weak piece of shit. 

Izuku huffs in annoyance, tossing aside the broken piece and bringing up his arms instead. His legs hurt to move, but he starts to shift his weight around to make sure he isn’t about to be blind sighted again. Four against one isn’t great, though one of those four is weaponless - so is Izuku.

Izuku grabs the prod as one of the guards lunge at him, pulling her closer to him and stepping back slightly as she stumbles forward - this sends her straight into one of the other guards who were about to jab Izuku. Fuck this. Izuku goes to take another step back - he didn’t want a fight here, he just wanted them to leave.

But, as fate likes to do to Izuku, things don’t go the way he wants. He gets jabbed with the prod of the last guard - Izuku almost forgot about that guy. Of course, Izuku could have shaken off one jab like he did the first time, but the other two guards lunge forward themselves, effectively trapping Izuku with three doses of electricity. Now that HURTS . 

 

Chapter 4: Oof, That's gotta hurt.

Summary:

TW: GENITAL MUTILATION. I did change this fic to mature for this scene specifically. If you don't really want to read this - know that Izuku accidentally ripped a guard's dick off after the guard tried to piss on him but the graphic parts end at 'The cell door slams shut' (End of the paragraph with a double space afterwards) Also TW: BLOOD for the whole chapter basically.

Izuku didn’t exactly lose consciousness, but he did fall and it did take him a while before his limbs stopped twitching and he could actually move. It hurt, but he could move. He didn't, he needed a little more recovery time before he could move without it hurting. His hands were the twitchiest - they kept locking and unlocking uncomfortably. 

As if to tease them, the door to the cell is left open while a few of the guards leave. It's within a few seconds that they return with a few other guards, laughing and bumping shoulders. 

Izuku's neck twitches and he hisses slightly - fucking hell. The lead guard laughs at something one of them said, saying something that makes most of the prisoners seem disgusted. Izuku narrows his eyes at him when he starts undoing the belt to his uniform.

Motherfucker better keep it in his pants or I swear - Is he pissing on me? Izuku thinks, feeling something seeping through his hoodie - something wet and warm and-- that's so gross .

Izuku moves through the pain, gripping and twisting the guard's dick. The guard whimpers - Izuku wasn’t exactly being gentle about it - stepping away and Izuku tries to let go… His hand locks. It even twitches backwards and the skin tears . 

Oh… Shit. 

The guard jumps away with a yelp of pain - unfortunately, Izuku's hand is still locked. Shit, shit, shit, that’s not supposed to happen . Izuku gags slightly but remains steady at glaring at the guard, who is now being dragged away by two of the other guards.

"You forgot something," Izuku mutters, loosely tossing the dick out of the cage door and having it land straight on the guard’s head. It would have been a funny image if Izuku wasn't struggling to keep down the food he ate earlier. Izuku twitches a bit more, coughing slightly and swallowing back the bile slowly creeping up his throat. That was so gross and Izuku has blood covering his hoodie sleeve now and it's sticky and uncomfortable - the cell door slams shut. 

 

 

Izuku slowly sits up when he can, though he's still a little twitchy. Keigo is all the way at the back of the cage, pushed desperately into the corner with his wings wrapped around himself in a defensive position (is that why the tips of his wings and his head are reinforced with metals? That makes a lot of sense.) and the guard's screams have just exited the floor that the cells are on, leaving silence in their place.

Izuku takes a few deep breaths while his hands are shaking - the aftermath of electricity in his system. And possibly mild shock. Izuku scrunches his nose at the incredibly strong smell of the blood that trails out of the cell - and also coats his entire arm. Fuck, they bleed a lot, huh? 

Izuku needs to get this hoodie off . Izuku unzips it and wrestles his way out quickly - it's so sticky . Izuku drops it - his hands are still twitching a lot. Fuck .

God, Izuku just ripped that off completely - That would hurt so much… 

Izuku gags again at the thought, his breaths heaving - he didn't realise how little he could breathe during electrocution. Jesus, that was intense . 

Izuku pushes his way back to his corner after a few minutes - he just wanted to curl up and die - uh, sleep - uh… Yeah. Izuku just wanted to curl up for a while and not have to deal with the fucking complete silence echoing around the cells right now. Usually, there was something , even just a slight hum around the place from so many bodies being pressed so tightly together. Right now it feels like every living being is holding their breath - as though terrified to be drawing attention to themselves. Even Keigo was trying his hardest to shrink into nothingness. 

Izuku wanted a shower - not just to be clean, but to be alone as well - and maybe, just a part of him wanted to cry. It wasn’t too bad the past week - Izuku had gone longer without changing his clothes due to his depression - but right now, Izuku was covered in blood and sweat and he felt nauseous and sticky and just… it isn’t great. Izuku’s hoodie was the only article of clothing that he was actually allowed to keep from the clothes he remembered being in from Earth. 

They had apparently swapped most of them when they transported him here, meaning he was in what is basically the standard for the prisoners on this ship, simple grey pants plus his hoodie. Many of the species with fur or feathers also wore these pants - possibly to prevent mating or something? Maybe they still had general rules about what is or isn’t appropriate to wear in front of others. 

Izuku's eyes burn a little bit - and he pulls his limbs closer to his body. Don't cry. Don't cry. You don't get to hurt others and turn it into your sob story so suck it up - Izuku clenches his fist, closing his eyes tightly to stop the tears forming in his eyes. 

 

The next hour or so is tense. 

Keigo uncurls himself first, but he doesn’t move to approach Izuku again (He seemed like he was kind of surprised Izuku was even awake). Of course, his eyes scan the hoodie and the bloodied floor before he - extremely nervously - talks to A’zawa about what happened. 

Izuku does glance over occasionally if just to watch them stumble over their words momentarily. He didn’t find joy in it, particularly, but he did do it more than once (with the knowledge that he was causing the stutters and the way that Keigo tensed up). Izuku didn’t like it at all, but being powerful for the first time in his life was nice. Not nice, but - ugh! It’s complicated . 

The reason he has an effect is that he’s scared them, but the fact that he has an effect on people is very rewarding even though the method of achieving said effect is actually very damaging for literally everyone involved. He could sort of understand why he was bullied a lot as a kid - especially because they didn’t have to deal with Izuku outside of the gratification of having him cower in hallways and the classrooms. But Izuku does have to live with the aftereffects of his - frankly, terrifying - actions. 

Izuku flinches when the cell door slams open, half a dozen guards - a completely new species that sort of look like armadillos - carefully stepping in with the same cattle prods. Two have spears as well, directed at Izuku. Izuku adjusts himself to be crouching, carefully watching them as they spread themselves out in the cell. One of them pushes a prod pushed against Keigo’s chest - though, they haven’t turned it on yet. It’s a threat. Izuku eyes the others, watching one of them start leaking from their neck - is that a fear thing? A defence mechanism of some sort? It could be toxic. It could also just be a medical condition of some sort… Do other species have medical conditions or do they just, like, die at any sort of genetic malfunction? How do they mutate and adapt in that case? 

Is this what they would think if they saw Izuku crying? 

Izuku eyes one of the leaders - the other is the one with the prod to Keigo’s chest - and they make a sort of jerk motion to the door with both their head and their spear. Why would Izuku need to go anywhere? What’s going on? One of the others picks up Izuku’s hoodie with a gloved hand - eyeing Izuku’s pants while they’re going. Are they cleaning them or something? Hopefully, they aren’t going to get rid of that hoodie.

The guard makes the motion again, and Izuku slowly stands up. They flinch anyway - Izuku isn’t that scary, is he? - A few of the guards move to stand behind Izuku and Izuku tries to keep them mostly in his line of sight, but damned if that could happen - there are two guards in front of him and currently, they have electricity sticks that would hurt significantly more than just pointy sticks the other two have. 

Izuku is poked in the back - and in his defence, he only stumbles a little bit on his way out of the cage. The pokings kept up through the walk to wherever they were going - and they were especially harsh if Izuku moved his head around to look at the other cages. That didn’t really stop him - he could sort of ignore them for the most part.

After the six main cages, there are three separated ones with walls between them and the only opening is the doors themselves - it actually seems to be some sort of reinforced glass or something.

The cages have one being in each - Izuku was hesitant to call them people because most of them have completely braindead looks and sort of look more like wild animals than beings with thoughts or feelings. All of them have a branding in the centre of their chest - an oval of some sort and each one has a circle just inside it and a few have multiple circles inside the oval. 

Izuku stops to stare at the last one - his oval is full. What happens to them then? The circles mean something - and judging by the way the guards are on edge and each being with one seems to be isolated, it probably indicates danger levels. 

But if a being is dangerous why bother keeping them around? Isn’t that kind of weird? Unless you need them for defence or something, but wouldn’t they be guards then? Do they make them fight or some shit - like for entertainment? If that is the case, and every species is scared of humans, does that mean Izuku is gonna have to fight? 

Izuku is poked into moving again - though he lets out an irritated - and sore - hiss when they actually drag the stickup his back slightly to emphasise the point. They continue on - they don’t actually get too far away from the cells before they push Izuku into a small room - which seems to have a showerhead (?) and some soaps - they sort of make the whole room smell like lavender? Or jasmine?

Izuku is pushed into a seat, one of the prods pressed against his neck while the other guards start to set up the shower and Izuku is stripped off - his clothes taken to presumably be washed while he is forced to get under a stream of water - fuck, it’s freezing . Izuku curls up slightly. Fuck that .

The water does heat up - to a much more suitable temperature - before the guards even try to clean Izuku. Even then, they seem sort of shocked that Izuku would do it himself. Given the strong-looking armour shells they have, they probably deal with the dangerous prisoners all the time, like the ones in the solitary cages and they seem like they’d be reluctant to do anything, let alone wash the blood off themselves. But Izuku was eager to not have the blood covering his arm, and he was generally needing a shower anyway. He’d prefer it without an audience, but he could live with that. For now.

 

Izuku’s clothes are warm when he puts them on - hell, one of the guards even pats his hair when he gets dressed. That’s weird, but damn if Izuku isn’t touch starved. Maybe Keigo would pat him - not that Izuku really knew how to ask. He kind of felt like a dumb pet right now - wanting pats and affection. Not to mention the way that any sort of praise made him melt a little. Maybe he was going crazy… Who wouldn’t be in this situation?

The walk back to the cell was a lot… softer? Maybe that was just because the spears were cushioned by Izuku’s hoodie instead of on his bareback? But, at any rate, Izuku went without many protests. The guards hardly even needed to push him into the cage again. Izuku knew he should run, but he felt tired and soft… Ah, muscle relaxants maybe?  Izuku wasn’t in a good place to fight, evidently. 

Keigo is sleeping when Izuku gets back, so Izuku just walks to his side of the room - he does notice that the blood splatter from earlier is gone - and flop onto the floor gently. If this was during the next cycle and it was dusk - rather than the middle of the night - Izuku would fall asleep. Not that he isn’t tempted, just that he does want to keep track of his time here. If he fell asleep now, he probably wouldn’t wake up until the next night cycle at the earliest. They so used some sort of relaxant - maybe even - Uh, what are they? Uh… Oh! Uh, anaesthetic! 

Chapter 5: We got some communication going on

Summary:

Izuku learns a few words, says a few words and falls asleep.

Izuku’s legs had gone numb. He hadn’t moved in, like, three hours. Keigo woke up a little under half an hour ago - and, of course, immediately tried to shield himself from Izuku. Izuku could really only scoff because moving was a bit too much effort still. But he really does need to move - And he was sort of hungry. Food was at least two more hours away.

Izuku rolls over, stretching his arms before slowly getting to his feet. Ah! Pins and needles! Izuku immediately lowers himself back down, starting to massage his lower legs - with a small hiss of pain. Fucking pins and needles - circulation and shit. Izuku flexes his legs a little bit and stretches them out, sighing softly.

"' You forgot something ?'" A'zawa repeats Izuku's words, making Izuku huff and look over with what was hopefully a blank face. " That sounds -" a word Izuku doesn't know, "- and is outright rude ," Izuku repeats the word he doesn't know with a tilt of his head. 

" Sort of, underdeveloped? Like a -" 

" Like a - - would say ." one of the other cellmates of A'zawa provides quietly. 

"I don't know that word either," Izuku states, shrugging. 

" uh… small being ?" she stutters out, shrinking away. 

" Before - - " Keigo pipes up, finally uncurling his wings from around himself. 

" like… not fully grown but alive ? " Izuku asks, tilting his head. Childhood? 

"Yes." Keigo latches on immediately, "I'm just finished fully growing," Izuku nods, going to run his fingers through his hair and wincing. Owch.

" How grown are you?" Keigo asks, perking slightly. 

" Not fully," Izuku supplies vaguely, now concentrating on brushing his hair. It's always difficult after its been washed. 

A'zawa makes a noise of vague understanding and Keigo moves himself a bit closer to Izuku. " Just finished growing, just after - -"  

Izuku repeats the word with a frown. Keigo said that earlier, too. " Between childhood and full-grown ." Adolescence , then. Izuku nods and Keigo continues, " Is that your stage?" 

That's actually a smart way to separate the language barrier so they are where of what stage Izuku is at without having to know the cycles of each plant. Izuku nods. 

" At the start or near the end ?" 

" Start ," Izuku mutters, eyeing Keigo as he starts to slowly move closer and closer. The other cellmates start whispering in some weird combinations of fear and awe over Izuku's age. And the girl from earlier nods with a small ‘same’ or, well, that’s what Izuku took it as. 

" No - -" Keigo says, making Izuku tilt his head with a frown. 

" No - no causing pain ?" Keigo tries. No hurting him. Izuku was gonna pretend like that didn't feel like a slap to the face. 

"No pain ." Izuku agrees, patting the ground next to him and adjusting how he's seated. Keigo sits in the spot Izuku had patted and they both tense for a moment. Izuku shifts slightly, resting his head on the wall while he looks at Keigo. 

Keigo shifts nervously under Izuku's stare, his feathers ruffling just slightly. Izuku looks at his feathers, slowly raising his hand and touching them. Keigo watches Izuku, not pulling away from his hand just yet. 

His feathers are softer than Izuku thought they'd be - though he hasn't touched the shinier ones yet. Izuku slowly runs his hand along Keigo's wings, stimming with his other hand to make sure he doesn't completely freak out over just how soft, and how some of the feathers are orange and some are a deep red and the yellow near the base of the wings is so pretty too. 

Izuku flinches and pulls his hand away as Keigo goes to touch his hair - It wasn’t that he was scared that Keigo would hit him, as such, but he did have a lot of bullies growing up and there was a common tactic to get Izuku when his guard was down with something space-related. Izuku never did stop falling for it. But, of course, Keigo was just a little confused and went that little bit slower before his hand finally settled on Izuku’s hair. Izuku leans into the touch - Keigo’s hands weren’t anywhere near as soft as his mother's, but Izuku didn’t much care for softness anyway. Izuku hums slightly when Keigo gently runs his hands through Izuku’s hair. Izuku also leans in a little bit, curling himself back up enough to roughly fit is Keigo’s lap. 

If humans were confusing before, they’re even more so now. Izuku completely melted right now. Honestly, it would be really weird to see humans as these huge scary monsters and then see one practically falling asleep after being lightly touched. But, such is life and Izuku is loving the contact from another living being where he doesn’t feel like he’s about to be electrocuted or hit. 

 

Izuku did his best not to fall asleep. He ended up laying with his head on Keigo’s lap while Keigo was chatting - possibly scheming - with A’zawa. Izuku only picked up on a few words, and he was too tired to try to learn any new ones so he didn’t bother asking. Izuku wakes fully when the cage door opens, though. The same guards as last night, and they’re carrying in Izuku and Keigo’s food for the cycle. Izuku waits until they’re out of the cage before he stands and grabs his food and water. Izuku wasn’t quite comfortable enough to eat with Keigo yet, so he found himself sitting in what he has dubbed his corner while he ate. Keigo didn’t seem to mind - if anything, he seems relieved that he could eat in peace. 

After eating, Izuku stretched and started pacing. He had another hour before he would let himself go to sleep, and he wasn’t sure if his boredom was making time seem slower. Plus, he hadn’t done any sort of exercise and his muscles were being underused. He worked hard to gain enough muscle mass to be considered a ‘safe to fly’ cadet - honestly, training to get accepted into the Battalion felt like way too long ago now. 

It seemed like a waste now. All that training and studying - half of the Language Izuku learnt was wrong or oversimplified. He learnt a lot more from listening to the cellmates around him talking in the past week than he did from studying the language on earth for a year. Then again, that's only because that's all he has to listen to right now.

The lights are starting to dim, and Izuku yawns with another stretch before he briefly glances to Keigo's lap, which looks warm and inviting, and then his corner. Would Keigo mind? Probably, because Izuku is still viewed as dangerous (the incident yesterday is still fresh in everyone's minds). But, also, like, his lap was comfy… 

Keigo gently pats his lap the same way Izuku did the floor earlier, inviting Izuku to lay there instead of Izuku having to figure out how to ask. Izuku lays down and Keigo starts to pat his hair with a chuckle. That's a nice noise - it reminds Izuku of Earth. Laughter is not something he thought he could miss, but hearing it makes him relax further. 

 

Izuku woke the next morning to a feather poking his mouth. He groans, rolling away from the offending feather and resting his head on a feathered arm instead. Right… Keigo. Well, at least he is warm. Awkwardness aside, this is really nice. Snuggling was always nice. Of course, Izuku is really awkward now that he's awake enough to understand that he's snuggling with a literal birdman. 

Is birdman a slur? Yamatakm’ is the technical name for them, so is birdman a slur or just an observation? In a way, a slur specifically refers to a group of people oppressed by another group of people - again, people might also specifically retain to humans in this situation. Can it be a slur if it's used on non-humans? Isn’t that sort of how slurs came about, thinking that one group of people weren’t actually human?

Izuku feels Keigo's chest rumbles slightly and his arms tighten on Izuku's waist, pulling him closer and lightly nuzzling Izuku's head. Izuku grumbles, squirming forward and propping himself up on his elbows to look at Keigo. Keigo opens his eyes tiredly and jolts when he realises that he was just snuggling with Izuku. Clearly not what he was expecting. To be fair, Izuku didn't expect to wake up like this either. 

Izuku yawns as he pushes himself to his feet to stretch. He felt extra crunchy again (especially if he was moved at all in his sleep, he would be). He might've been moved because he apparently was basically dead to the world - though Keigo probably couldn't lift him properly (He needed to check for bruises or something) because birds have less dense bone than humans so Izuku would look lighter than he is. Uh, hopefully, Izuku wasn't heavy enough to hurt him at all. That would sort of suck. 

Izuku stretches, the rest of the ship slowly waking and the lights getting a bit brighter as ‘daytime’ approaches. Izuku was already bored - hopefully, Keigo would teach him how to communicate a little better because not being able to talk about things was going to drive Izuku crazy. Like possibly ‘actual murderer’ sort of crazy. Maybe that’s why humans were so scary. They are so co-dependent on each other, yet frequently travel alone or can self isolate. Which is the more likely time that they could get kidnapped.

Izuku sat next to Keigo as Keigo started to preen his feathers - and Izuku found himself finger-brushing his hair. Mirroring? Body doubling? Sort of? Either way, Izuku was finished before Keigo and was quick to start pacing. God, imprisonment was boring. If Izuku thought he could drive this piece of shit ship home he’d have broken out - or, at the least be a bit more active about getting the fuck outta here. 

But, as it stood, Izuku couldn’t fly, couldn’t read, couldn’t talk and definitely had no idea if auto-piloting was even a thing on this ship. And sure, Keigo could talk, and probably read and probably fly this thing but Izuku was unsure he’d be able to get anyone but himself out of the cells before they were overrun by the literal dozens of guards that - for all Izuku knows - could all wake at the sound of any alarm. God, he wishes he paid more attention to when the alarm went off the other day. Did other guards come to try and help? Did they wake up? Hell, how did they drug Izuku? Was it someone’s actual features that did that or was it a medical needle? Do they even have medical needles? How much human anatomy did they know? 

God, why the fuck is the ship so loud?

The ship lurches sightly, awakening the rest of the sleeping cellmates. Shit. Keigo latches himself onto the bars on the roof, and Aizawa curls protectively around the teen with him in his cell. We’re landing? Izuku thinks, frowning. That is probably not good news, all things considered. The ship shudders and Izuku feels a little less gravity pulling him to the ‘ground’ of the ship.

... Or crashing. He mentally adds bitterly, while he grips the bars to the cell. Artificial gravity seems to be unavailable while they land, which is going to suck for the actual touchdown and hopefully, the gravity here isn’t as intense as it is on Earth because that would definitely kill a few people in the landing. Or they are crashing - honestly, it feels like it - and that would mean someone is definitely going to die. 

Chapter 6: Walkies

Summary:

That’s all - it’s nothing sus. No, not sus at all. Why would you even say that?

After the ship stops shaking - the engine was still humming softly in the background so Izuku knew they hadn’t landed yet - but they appeared to be through the atmosphere (does atmosphere refer specifically to Earth as well?) and the ships artificially gravity seem to be back on. No one died when it came back on but Izuku’s arms were sore from how quickly the gravity changed and he was sort of glad he held on or he might’ve been very bruised and very unhappy about it. Izuku takes a deep breath, trying to shove away his anxiety while the ship shakes minutely. God, that isn’t great.

The ship takes another twenty minutes to land, and Izuku’s anxiety comes back with a vengeance when the engine cuts off. He didn’t know where he was or why he was here, but something in his stomach twists at the thought of the three isolated cages - Why were they here? Are they really for fighting ? Humans sort of phased out that sort of thing - well, at least the unwilling sort of fighting.

Boxing and other sports still exist, but people train and volunteer for that. It’s not like they’re being forced - not legally . Well, Izuku doesn’t know enough about the laws of the universe - or even who makes the laws, really - to say this is happening legally. It’s sort of reassuring that this might be illegal.

Izuku was still anxious when the guards walked onto the level of the ship the cells are on. He was actually tempted to curl up and pretend to be asleep again, but he knew that probably wouldn’t work because 1- one of these cellmates are probably a snitch and 2- even if everyone else said he was asleep, he doubted that the guards wouldn’t wake him up if he was going to be forced to fight. Plus, who the hell would be able to sleep through a landing like that? Not Izuku. Probably… Actually, Izuku probably could’ve slept through that if his anxiety levels weren’t as heightened as they have been. 

At this point, he couldn’t tell if it was just his anxiety disorder or whether he should be panicking this much. Obviously, a lot of unknown aspects of what the fuck is going on, which would make a normal person anxious, and Izuku is usually more anxious than a normal person. And on top of that, Izuku couldn’t tell if it was the gravity of this planet or his anxiety making him nauseous. 

The cell door opens - quietly and slowly as though trying not to startle Izuku or Keigo. Probably Izuku, the guards don’t seem to think too much about Keigo. The lights aren’t even at full brightness yet - practically everyone is still half asleep and the armadillo-type (Ask Keigo what species later) slowly creep into Izuku’s cage. Well, not all of it is Izuku’s anymore, but…
Izuku was crouching - some part of his instinct from trying to make himself a smaller target in school mixed with the need to tense in case of running or fighting - while the leader of this group lumbered forwards. They’re slow, so Izuku could probably outrun them. They’ll be a problem if Izuku ever needs to actually incapacitate or - worse case - kill them, though, because they have those thick (Thicccc) protective shells. 

The leader gestures for Izuku to walk out of the cage the same way it did two-night cycles ago. Izuku didn’t particularly want to move. His anxiety was through the roof right now and he wasn’t quite sure what he was signing himself up for if he did stand. Izuku was content at the moment to watch the guard's frustration - The deathworlder understood the other day why isn’t he now? Well, at least that’s what Izuku could imagine they were thinking. 

Again, Izuku is stuck here. Really, he doesn’t want to go because he has no idea what will happen if he does. But, he can’t run or fight his way out because 1 - unknown place, unknown oxygen levels outside of the closed area Izuku is currently in and 2 - if he runs now, he’d be leaving behind Keigo, who is the only person who has tried to help him out so far. Plus, the guards are blocking the door and Izuku is sure they’ll be hard to get passed and he can’t tell weak points because it’s all shell . He just wants to curl up and go back to sleep.  

After a few tense minutes, one of the guards - Izuku is pretty sure the same one who pat him yesterday - walks up to Izuku and quickly - or, well, as quickly as it could for its species - picks Izuku up. Just grabs the back of Izuku’s hoodie and hauls him up into their other waiting arm to hold him to their chest. 

The fuck? Izuku freezes up in the arms of the guard, who has already started to carry him away from his cell. Wait… What? This doesn’t help Izuku’s dilemma in the slightest. Where are they going? Is Izuku safe right now or being carried towards his doom?

Izuku slowly starts to squirm in the guard's arm - just trying to find the points where the arms are the weakest in case he actually needs to break something to get away. Joints are generally a good starting point, but these guys seem to have double protection on their joints with how their armour plates slide together. Which would probably affect their muscle shape and how long they can hold things in their arms. They mustn’t be taking Izuku far if they’re willing to carry him all the way there - Oh, no, they’re just taking turns carrying him.

Izuku is passed to another one of the guards, who seems a bit more reluctant to take him than the first guy (?) was. Izuku is a bit more aware now - why being picked up seemed to stun him, he had no idea - they’ve already passed by the cages and if they were going to the shower area they would’ve turned just now so it’s definitely something new. And Izuku hated not knowing where he was going or what he’d be doing. 

It’s getting brighter - as the walk continues on. Izuku was put down after too much squirming, so now he is being lightly stabbed with a spear to make sure he keeps walking forward though he very much does not want to. Honestly, the spear doesn’t even hurt that much through the hoodie. Izuku hasn’t even eaten yet. Don’t most species get angry when they’re hungry or is that just the animals from Earth? Does whoever is running this place know that? It would line up with the fighting thing… 

Izuku flinches at the sound of metal scraping and a slight rumbling of an engine as the wall in front of them starts to lift up and open. The air that rushes under it is hot, and it brings a small dusting of sand - or, at least something similar to sand. It’s harsher air than what the ship’s air conditioning uses, but it smells more natural and seems like it has a variant of the Oxygen levels compared to the air Izuku’s been breathing in for a week. It’s nice, different and not cold. Izuku wasn’t exactly cold on the ship, but he kept his hoodie on for a reason. The light coming in under the door is minusculely brighter than the lights provide, and it seems like sunlight, for sure. Sunlight! Izuku knelt slightly and peeked out under the door, seeing pretty much nothing but sand (and dirt) and some sort of metal wall. There is another noise now, multiple different types of chatter in different languages. 

It does nothing to settle Izuku’s anxiety. Actually, it increases his anxiety - Why is there a large crowd? Izuku stands up while the door continues to open slowly. The light doesn’t hurt as much as it could, and Izuku’s eyes were quick to adjust despite the fact that this is the brightest light he’s seen for a long time. 

Then, Izuku is pushed forwards, out of the ship into the warmer air, where he can actually see the sky - Blue. A darker blue than what Izuku expected, actually. Not a light blue like earth, but more of a medium blue like what the ocean looks like in pictures, with tones of grey and green throughout the sky. It’s pretty, and the fresh air seems to ease Izuku’s nerves as well. 

Wherever the crowd is - because Izuku is not crazy and there definitely is a lot of living beings nearby - seems to be blocked from Izuku's view by the metal wall - actually, it's more like a box. It gets narrower from the door to another, smaller door as if to funnel Izuku - or any other being that's pushed in here - down towards whatever is waiting.

There is a table that sits just above Izuku's waistline in the corner, and on it is a pair of pants. They're armoured, by the looks of it - heavy padding and patches on the knees and thighs. When Izuku looks away from the table to the guards, they step forward and Izuku instinctively steps back. His heart is beating loudly - loud enough that he can't hear what the guards say to each other.

Izuku currently can only think of one thing that could be happening. Fighting. 

Actually, two things. He could also be getting sold off - but he wouldn't need armoured pants for that, would he? 

Izuku is praying - begging whatever god might actually be out there - that his anxiety is just anxiety and nothing bad is going to happen. 

Two of the guards put down their weapons and slowly flank Izuku - going to his sides as Izuku takes another few steps back. He's gonna hit the wall at this rate… the other guards push Izuku further back, and Izuku feels the wall hit his back, matching his breath catch in his throat and he almost chokes on it. Keep it together, Izuku.  

Izuku is grabbed - and this time he does actually try to pull himself away as quickly as he can. It doesn't work very well, Izuku didn't have anywhere to run and he was so stupid to let himself get cornered like that - 

Izuku is stripped of his hoodie and pants before being forced into the new pants, which are rough on Izuku's skin and heavy - well, not heavy to Izuku but heavier than his last pair of pants.

 Izuku tries very hard to shrink away, to slip between the guard's arms and attempt to break down the door that closed behind them. But, Izuku is pushed forwards, and as the hall becomes narrower, Izuku's guards fall behind him and push him forwards with their spears, through the next door. 

 

Notes:

Some of y’all were really like ‘rescue?’ all hopeful like in the comment of my last chapter, but Nah. Not rescue, just landing.

Chapter 7: I brought you mur! MURDER!

Summary:

Idk Izuku kills someone Ig

Izuku was barely breathing - everything was so bright and suddenly so loud and the sunlight was warm on his skin but the pants seem to get tighter in the direct light - maybe Izuku was just more sensitive to the material now that it was warm… 

He swallows, hands pressing on the door that just closed behind him as he opens his eyes - god, it actually looks like a Rome colosseum, but with some sorts of rubble and obstacles half-buried in the sand. The stands are packed - full of hundreds of beings and they seem to be cheering. 

Izuku is crying - he's not making any noises but he can feel the tears running down his face and they're hot , in part because of Izuku's body temperature and in part because of the sunlight. 

Izuku wipes his eyes and slowly rises to his feet, hearing a static noise that quickly quiets most of the stadium before a projected voice - god this really is like a spectator sport, huh? - says something akin to welcome and something about the Deathworlder that makes the stadium cheer. 

Izuku stands there, shaking and looking around the crowd for a few moments before the voice says something else and there is a creek as the other door across the stadium from Izuku opens. Izuku hadn't even realised there was a door there. 

Izuku had seen this species before - back on earth. Its body isn't a solid body - instead, it's an opaque liquid, constantly moving and shifting, sometimes its organs push up against the invisible barrier of the 'skin'. Izuku remembers being trapped in that body - that horrible taste going down his throat and seeping into his blood. The same way nausea creeps up his throat, making his throat burn and the taste of acid in his mouth - 

Izuku was saved by All Might that day - All Might had already killed twenty of those ( liquid, crawling, unruly ) creatures with his bare hands. The same way he did to save Izuku - Izuku took months to come to terms with the fact that that blood was technically on his hands, even though he wasn't the one to - 

" Rip out the brain," All Might had said when standing up the dazed, sickly Izuku after he nearly died - Izuku nearly died - " when you're inside the thing, just when you start to really struggle to breathe, reach straight up and it's there. "

Izuku regretted that field trip, even though it was the most realistic expectation of what space would be like. Izuku nearly gave up that day - even All Might himself had said that Izuku should, that Izuku was too weak and he could barely stand up for himself. 

But, Izuku ended up scoring the highest on the exams (all that information is still rattling Izuku's brain - a language, what plants he could eat, what could kill him, how to wrap himself up - stitches and compression wrapping, minor surgeries he might need - what he could use as a disinfectant, how to fight and kill those who seek to do that same), even the physical exam (Izuku worked himself to the bone every day to build up the muscle mass for that). And he was going to learn more - Izuku was excited to learn about the stars and explore everything he could see. He always loved the idea of space. The idea of learning in space.

All Might was a symbol of what Izuku could be, what he hoped to be Izuku didn't know what All Might did while he was exploring the stars, but by the way that Izuku's feared - and he isn't even fully grown - it couldn't've been good for the rest of the universe. Maybe Izuku could be better (he sure wanted to be). 

The creature - it probably has some sort of name - slowly creeps forwards. Like it's nervous. 

" Now, the Gellitin are usually stealth hunters -" the announcer’s voice echos slightly in the arena, and Izuku tunes in to try and understand what is happening, " however, we wanted to give the adolescent Deathworlder the best chance - all you researchers out there better get ready to see just how these guys managed to almost wipe out Gellitin's from their early attempts at invasion ."

Oh shit …

Izuku shifts his weight from one foot to the other while the Thing - Gellitin - keeps stalking closer. Maybe if Izuku ran away from the fight, his captors would think of him as a coward and avoid putting him in more fights. Izuku didn’t want to fight anyone and he did not care about how the universe perceives humans, so he didn’t really have anything to lose. Unless they would kill him for not fighting - they probably have no idea what would kill humans though so… Maybe Izuku would be okay? 

The sand shifts under Izuku, making him stagger awkwardly forward. Izuku glances at the ground - the actual platform he is on is tilting so that Izuku has to move forwards, towards the Gellitin. So much for running away . 

Izuku slides slowly down the sand slope, keeping his eyes trained on the mass of organs and - Ew. Just ew. There are bits of bodies floating in that thing. It smells like shit too - probably due to the fact that part of its digestion seems to be excreting some parts of the body in it to cook it slightly. It’s kind of cool - it probably also helps keep the body from melting away in the sun as well. It’d be impressive if Izuku wasn’t looking like its next meal. 

Izuku lands on the flatter part of the arena, moving a few steps forward while the Gellitin moves ever closer. It’s unnerving. It should try to save the legs of the things it eats so that it could mimic them to be faster - though what it digests probably isn’t selectable and the announcer did say they were stealth hunters. Maybe Izuku shouldn’t be thinking about how to improve the thing that’s hunting him. Because it is - Izuku can see its many sets of eyes following him and scanning the surroundings for any vantage points it might be able to access. 

Izuku should probably be doing the same - instead of hiding underneath one of the pieces of scattered shelter - but he doesn’t want to hurt it. He knows he’s going to have to - maybe even kill it - but he doesn’t want to. God, this whole situation is fucked. At least Izuku knew if he broke out he could breathe on this planet. That’s one thing down. Now to find out if there is any wildlife or if it’s all sand and dirt. If there is wildlife, Izuku would be completely able to survive long enough to figure out how to get home.

Shit, no, Izuku focus . 

It was gone. 

Izuku had no idea where it went, but it had just disappeared from his sights. And that made his skin crawl and he moved, away from the blocks that were sort of providing him with a sense of protection. They were threats now. 

Izuku moved too late - before he knew it his feet were sucked into that slimy, wet body with surprising amounts of force. He clamped his mouth shut - from the experience he had he did not want any of that in his mouth - and tried to claw himself forward on the sand. It didn’t work - he didn’t have anything to hold onto and it was up to his knees now - Oh, god is Izuku gonna die? 

Was this what his mother was so concerned about when she was crying and hugging Izuku at the shuttle take off? She was so worried the day that he came back from his field trip - more so after he told her what happened - and that was even on Earth. Does she know he’s missing? Does she know that? Izuku didn’t want to die without his mother even knowing he was missing - Would she forgive him if he killed something to avoid dying, though? Would he ever be able to look her in the eye if he killed something today?

As the Gellitin’s body was starting to surround his underarms, Izuku decided that yes, he could . Or, well, more importantly, yes, he had to . He wasn’t about to let his mother worry over him if he wasn’t coming home. So, he had to make it home. He might not want to hurt anything, but this particular thing wanted to hurt him so he was going to hurt it back.

And then it touched his neck, and Izuku pushed off the ground, flinging himself forwards slightly and pulling his torso mostly out of the body before he started looking for those eyes. Izuku could imagine that something pulling out your eyes would hurt. Well, hopefully, because this thing didn’t look like it had a nervous system the same way things on earth do. Maybe it could still feel things? Did things on its planet even need pain? That’d be cool.

Right. Eyes. 

There’s one.

Izuku plucks the eye out, wishing that he didn’t feel the way the sensation seemed to vibrate through the liquid body of his assailant. The eye pops in Izuku’s hand, coating his hand in a slightly clearer - more of a green tint - of the creature’s main body. Izuku flicks his hand, splattering most of the liquid onto the sand in front of him while his body shudders, the Gellitin seeming to almost spit him out. Well, Izuku thought that until he was getting sucked into the body faster. Izuku only just manages to suck in another breath before he’s surrounded by the body - again. Gotta - Izuku’s gotta - shit, what was it? Izuku thought of it earlier! 

Something about an organ? Bite? Pull? Grab?

Rip. 

Izuku’s hand shoots upwards, grabbing the - is that a cluster of eyes? Fuck it, Izuku was ripping it out anyway. The body shuddered, and Izuku was jostled - as if that would stop him. Izuku grabs something else, pulling it harshly while the body continues to wiggle and - an organ brushes Izuku’s leg, making him almost open his mouth to gag. Instead, Izuku’s hand wrapped around something that made the creature stop - but it was still alive. Izuku tugs, feeling whatever it is detached from the stem it’s attached to. The whole body shudders, and Izuku really needs to breathe now.

Then the body collapses completely, leaving Izuku to slam harshly into the ground with a gasp and some coughing before he rolls himself to his feet, eyes scanning over the crowd as they cheer. Cheer for murder - the death of a life form. Disgusting. 

Chapter 8: Branding

Summary:

I'd say I'm sorry... But - well. This chapter was sort of fun to write, so, no.

Izuku shakes out his arms, ignoring just how much they try to stick to his torso - the remnants of another being making him stickier. Izuku swallows his nausea, taking another shaky breath and shaking out his hair. It was gross - Izuku had been showered immediately afterwards the first time he'd ever had this happen but that was back on earth when he was safe. Back where he was safe and he knew his mother was safe and - god - where he didn't have to kill anything. Izuku's barely even a teenager - he's basically a child so why - just why - does he have to - 

There's that nausea again. 

Izuku stumbles forwards, out of the puddle of a body - fuck, Izuku caused that body - fuck. 

Fuck . 

Izuku's feet touch dry sand, finally letting him stumble over one of the obstacles scattered through the arena and lean on it before - Well, it's not like Izuku had eaten anything, but if he did it'd be all over the ground now. Hell, he hadn't even had any water yet. He'd kill for some water - oh… bad expression. Too soon. 

Still - the burning in his throat hurts and the dryness on his lips is now even more noticeable. He was dehydrated and in the sun for the first time in a week - that's a bad combo. He needs water. 

Izuku spits out the last of the taste - well, that was the idea but it didn't work too great - and pushes himself to his feet, turning his head as the door he was pushed through opens and something is rolled out, towards Izuku. 

It's a bottle of water. 

Well, Izuku did need it. But it didn't subdue the guilt - that heaviness that settled in Izuku's chest as he gulped down over half the bottle. At least his throat doesn't burn anymore. 

Izuku wondered just what was going to be thrown his way next - was he going to be forced to fight again? Something new? Something he hasn't encountered before? A different predator? 

Or was he going to be dragged away, washed then shoved back in his cell until they found something else they wanted him to kill? 

Fuck . 

Izuku had - god! He… 

He swallows again. It's not the first time a member of that species had died so that Izuku could live. Given, it's the first time Izuku made the choice to end the life himself - but… well, he really couldn't stand the thought of his mother searching the entirety of space for him, for him to just be… dead. So, Izuku would fight to see his mother again. To tell her that he should've stayed home with her for a few more years before he went into space. Because space was still amazing - and Izuku knew that he would not have taken back his choice to be the youngest person to go into space - the third youngest is actually 19. Izuku is the only human adolescent that the universe is likely to ever experience, (except for Kacchan if he's alive and still in space) because the first time they tried to send two people younger than 18, at least one went missing. 

That was all the rest time Izuku got. The doors were opening again and his next opponent was stepping out. Oh, fuck - holy shit. 

It's fucking huge. 

Six massive fucking arms connected a rather human-like torso, but then thick, supportive legs that easily were up to Izuku's chest in height. It's amour - because being fucking huge wasn't enough for this thing apparently - is sort of like that of a praying mantis but in a deep brown shade. The pincers on its face add to the image, and the way its eyes track onto Izuku makes him feel like he is about to be torn in half. It's significantly bigger than the one of the same species that is in the same cell as A'zawa, but that's a male so maybe - like praying-mantis on earth - the female is bigger? Or, maybe, the one in the cell is a child. Izuku'd have to ask if he made it out of this fight alive. 

It moves its arms - there seems to be an eye, a hole (for hearing maybe?) and a hand-like one - and the one with the hole and the eye moving the most. It's trying to sense the area - probably looking for Izuku. But, while it does so, it reveals something about itself. Its - her? - arms don't seem to have individual joints - more like one three-sided joint. So, it probably couldn't use two arms if it lost one - as gruesome as that may be. The joint is reliant on the other arms while one or two of them move around.

While it's still orienting itself to the arena, Izuku caps his water and puts it to the side before starting to circle the creature - eyes trying to absorb any and all weak points he possibly could. Honestly, there wasn’t much. There probably was underneath the amour it had on - assuming that wasn’t actually a part of its body. Maybe it was something they developed during puberty? The one in the cell next to Izuku’s doesn’t have the armour - nor the pincers. So, maybe, again, it could be a male-female thing. Or an age thing. Not something Izuku should be focusing on, at any rate.

As for weak points in the amour itself… Well, there is one spot at the back, just at the base of the neck. This feels like it would be a bit of an underhanded move, but Izuku didn't think that it would be afraid to use underhanded tricks to hurt him. All is fair in love and war or some shit. Given, it isn't actually war, just fighting but the premise stands. 

Well, it made Izuku feel better at least. 

Izuku was back near the front of her now - still a little stunned by her size alone. Honestly, she was quite literally double his size - that's nearly eleven feet tall.

Izuku takes a few deep breaths and starts to climb some of the rubble around the place just to get himself a bit higher - he probably couldn't get high enough to look at her face or eyes properly but he wants a better look at the back of her neck. Maybe even a place to jump off to hit the back of her neck if it comes down to that. 

Knowing Izuku's luck it would. 

She's faster than the Gellitin was, and she rushes forward - straight towards Izuku, who yelps with surprise when he realises just how close she actually was. Izuku crouches to try and keep himself on the block he's on while avoiding getting smacked by an arm. Izuku then lunges forwards, hand securing on her lowest arm, ignoring the twisting of his stomach while he pulls and twists slightly, making the female - Izuku had missed the announcer saying its species name - screech loudly in pain and stumble backwards. The noise shook Izuku's bones and made him grind his teeth - it was disturbingly clear and distorted at the same time. 

The arm was limp by her side now, a small trail of blood trickling down and hitting the sand. Her blood is red, and Izuku stands there, tense, waiting for her to react.

She lunges forward with her other arms - the top one coming straight for Izuku's head. But, the gravity of this planet is lower than earth, so when Izuku jumps up he completely jumps over her attack and ends up turning before he latches onto her back. It's freaky to be up this high, but Izuku pushes that thought aside as he claws at the weak point of her armour. 

It takes all of two scratches before she falls forwards, landing with a loud, sickening crack of her skull connecting with the block that Izuku had climbed on to avoid her arm earlier. Izuku was panting - holding on took a lot of effort with how much she was thrashing around. 

The crowd cheers again - louder and more frenzied this time. There were more movements, more attacks and more blood this time. But, if Izuku didn't already throw up, he would've done so. 

Instead, he finds his water bottle and drinks about half of what's left. It does little to help his nausea. 

Izuku's next enemy is shoved - Izuku can actually see the guards through the door pushing them - through the door, and Izuku feels worse at the sight of its trembling limbs. It's small and fuzzy with ears and a snout similar to that of a bat, but arms similar to that of a monkey. Honestly, Izuku was a little confused about what he was looking at, but regardless he capped his water again while the bat-thing climbs over some of the debris in an attempt to hide away from Izuku. 

It's not like Izuku was busy. He could wait until this thing attacked first. It was probably a stealth hunter too - honestly, Izuku couldn't see any obvious weapons so it was probably its teeth or a retractable claw in its feet or something like that. 

The thing is… with its size as well, Izuku is going to have a hard time hearing its approach and a hard time grabbing it if it manages to climb onto him the way he just did with the last fighter. So, Izuku can conclude it's a stealth hunter. 

It doesn't take too long before movement, significantly closer to Izuku, catches his eye. Izuku doesn't feel the need to chase it, but he does turn to keep his eye on it. It lunges - as soon as it notices it doesn't have the stealth advantage anymore. Izuku steps back, watching the retractable claw in its foot go past his chest. 

Izuku grabs the leg, using the momentum that was already there and following it through with a flip and only letting go of the thing at the end of the flip - effectively yeeting away from him. It was so much lighter than Izuku thought it was going to be - but it lands roughly, unconscious but breathing. 

Izuku sips his water again, wiping the sweat off his face afterwards. It was so hot . He was lucky he didn't have heat stroke right now. He has definitely got a sunburn, at least. The crowd was loud as hell though. 

The door on Izuku's side opens, and Izuku spins around to look at what's going on, and his guards are walking through, already flanking around Izuku. 

Izuku was exhausted and he didn't want to kill anything from the start, so it was pointless to do this but Izuku couldn't communicate that so he just watched, waited. 

They moved in. During the time it took Izuku to kill fight three beings, the guards had found some sort of metal cuffs with a particularly long middle chain. It's weird they pulled that out of nowhere now. Unless there was some sort of market nearby that they got it from, then it would sort of make sense but Izuku was still reluctant to be cuffed. 

Izuku didn't move until the guards had their spears pressed into his back, forcing him forwards. The two other guards quickly cuffed him, and the last two - the leader and the one who pat him yesterday - grab one side of the chain each and start to drag Izuku out. 

 

Izuku was pulled into a weird-looking room - and that's when he started to struggle a little bit. He didn't trust anything that was about to happen. 

His cuffs chain was locked into a weird contraption, which raised when a lever was pulled and Izuku was lifted off his feet in a matter of two seconds - unable to get any sort of traction against it. Once he was dangling, legs flailing around under him, the guards also grabbed his legs and put them into cuffs of their own, effectively trapping Izuku completely still. Of course, Izuku was full-on panicking now. He hadn't done anything wrong - well, if it was just because he killed those three then this would've happened after the first one. Maybe it was because he didn't kill the last one?

Shit. 

The door opens and closes, and Izuku can hear movement behind him, though unable to turn around. He squirms, trying to lift himself and look over his shoulder but he quickly receives a blunt jab to the stomach which makes him cough and stop trying. After a few minutes of nothing but the guard in front of him and movement behind him, Izuku is unable to hold himself up with his arms anymore and is forced to relax them. The cuffs dig in uncomfortably, and Izuku hangs his head to try and limit the number of tears he can feel pricking his eyes. 

There's more movement, and when Izuku raises his head, he's met with a red-hot branding on his left side chest - while simultaneously one on his back. He cries out - and after a few seconds, his vision starts to fade with his consciousness and the branding irons are pulled away. Only for another three - smaller ones this time but it's still enough pain for Izuku to blackout completely. 

 

Notes:

Lol, shout out to that one person (BucketORandomness ) who was concerned about the Non-Con Body Mod tag in the last chapter - I hope you're doing good now that you know what it was for.

Chapter 9: Aftercare is important

Summary:

Izuku bites someone! He gets put in a new cell, muzzled and then he uses his big brain to help treat his wounds and make something to eat. So, basically, Izuku does his own aftercare.

Izuku groans in pain, shifting to allow the water to run over his burns. That feels a bit better - the water is even cold. When something else touches the burns, however, Izuku snaps back into reality. Something is in front of him, and it's touching his chest. Izuku lashes out, teeth sinking into the part closest to him with a crunch . 

The blood isn't human - and Izuku knows that as soon as it leaks into his mouth. It tastes… sweet, almost. He stays attached for a moment, shaking his head before he pulls back and opens his jaw. 

But the sharp thing in his mouth - what it is he has no idea - hurts. Izuku spits it out and tries to re-orient himself. (Keyword: tries , because Izuku receives a swift injection that makes him fall unconscious again.)

 

Izuku grumbles awake - this time with less chest and back pain. No water running over him anymore but he isn’t laying on the metal flooring of his cell. Where the fuck?

Izuku slowly opens his eyes, vision blurry as he tries to move a bit more onto his side than his stomach. His chest hurt but his entire back being hot and feeling like all of it was burned is a bit more of a concern. How big was that branding?

Oh, shit. Izuku was branded . No wonder it hurt like a bitch. Shit. Breathing hurts. 

Izuku blinks a few more times, wincing at the pressure on his face. What? He isn’t laying on anything so why…?

Izuku is outside - he can sort of see the outline of a couple of trees and some tall grass from where he’s laying. He can hear chatter around him, one voice that sticks out to him is Keigo’s. And A’zawa’s.  They seem to be arguing over something, along with a third voice Izuku isn’t familiar with. Izuku wonders briefly what they’re arguing over while he reaches up to his face to rub his eyes.

A muzzle. Izuku is in a muzzle. It’s not padded - it’s probably not designed for human faces - and it bites at Izuku’s skin uncomfortably when Izuku come more into consciousness. Maybe he should just try and sleep - it’s nearly dark anyway.

Yeah. If he was asleep he wouldn’t have to deal with this pain. Sleep…

Izuku moves his arms to support his head in a way that doesn’t put pressure on the muzzle or irritate his brandings, closing his eyes again and letting himself fade again. It was easy with the drugs still in his system.

Izuku woke up properly the third time. His back still ached - but it didn’t feel as though it was still burning. He moved, wincing as the muzzle bit into his skin again and it was a fresh reminder that Izuku wasn’t at home. And he wasn’t safe. He was hungry, dehydrated sore, sunburnt, muzzled and branded.

Izuku slowly slides his arms under him to support his weight without putting too much stress on his back before he sits up. He is outside - which was a bit surprising, but he couldn’t tell if there was a fence or anything preventing him from leaving yet. It’s nighttime - Izuku has no idea how long it’s been dark for, or how long it’s going to stay dark. The place is beautiful - some of the plants are glowing much like Izuku himself (Though mildly). 

However, Izuku needs to get rid of this muzzle. He couldn’t admire anything properly like this.

The others are a bit away from Izuku, with a small fire near them while they sleep. Keigo, A’zawa and Ha’si are the most recognisable - A’zawa is sitting up, clearly awake and staring in Izuku’s direction, but Izuku isn’t sure if he can actually see that well in the dark without his eyes glowing red. A’zawa’s cellmates are with him, all curled up next to one another, with Keigo and Ha’si on the sides, as if protecting them from predators. Like deathworlders .   

Izuku shook his head to clear his thoughts before he feels around the back of his muzzle. It doesn’t have any sort of lock on it, but Izuku isn’t familiar with how to undo the straps. It’s not like how humans created buckles or anything like that. It seems to just blend, seamlessly. Maybe it’s twistable?
Izuku grabs the strap, twisting it slightly and feeling it loosen. 

That’s a start. 

Izuku continues to loosen the muzzle until it gets to the point where he can pull it off, breathing out in relief and letting himself relax significantly. Izuku tosses it to the side, ignoring the sight of his blood on the harsh metal and he gets up all the way. He was still light-headed - a mix of dehydration and whatever he was drugged with earlier. Izuku wipes under his cheek, feeling the warm, sticky blood trailing down from the cuts on his cheeks. He needs something - is there some sort of plants around that he could use as both poultice and a disinfectant? Izuku needs whatever that is. It’d help his back too.

Izuku could see most of the area he was in, so he stood up and started to look at the grasses around. He doesn’t recognise all of them, but he does spot a few plants that can be crushed and applied to his face and back. He was mildly amused when he saw a marijuana plant, but he didn’t take it. Yet. Worse comes to worst, it is a prominent pain killer… if Izuku doesn’t think about it as an illegal drug - wait, human laws don’t actually apply here, do they? 

Izuku wasn’t planning on getting high, but it might take the edge off the guilt and pain Izuku is feeling…

Further along, past most of the grasses - one of which is a large plot of wheat for some fucking reason - is a pond. It would probably be big enough for Izuku to stand in the centre and have the water just cover his chest, and there are a lot more plants. These ones are more edible, though Izuku would be getting some wheat on his way back near that fire. There are even palm trees - though they’re much bigger than what Izuku is used to from earth. Coconut would be helpful because Izuku wasn’t sure if he could drink the pond water and Coconut milk was would also be useful to mix with the flour he was going to make somehow. Maybe he could find two rocks and crush the wheat between them? 

Is that sugar cane? 

Wow.

Now, there are taller trees across the pond - and one of them seems to be a banana tree. Banana leaf can be used as a bandage for wounds like this and if could have fruit on it and Izuku was hungry…

But he does need to keep his face and back as clean as he can - and he has no idea if the water has bacteria in it or not. Plus, after climbing the palm tree, Izuku probably won’t have the energy to climb yet another tree. But he’d definitely come back later to check that out. 

Izuku would be impressed at the collection of plants in here if he wasn’t a prisoner. Honestly, he would be loving this if - well… if he didn’t have to kill anything earlier today. 

Izuku had seen the wall as well, stretching past the bigger trees - it didn’t seem like much, but Izuku wasn’t doubting the amount of electricity pumping through that thing. Especially for Izuku, most likely. Izuku yawns as he sits down with his collection of plants, which he had actually found a bowl near the door to carry them in. And it’s also what Izuku would be crushing them in. 

A’zawa seems to have fallen asleep - his head is resting on a rock nearby, which makes it seem like he is still up-right, but his breathing is heavier and all four of his eyes are closed. It could just be him faking the sleep, though (Izuku has noticed he did that frequently on the nights where Izuku didn’t sleep). Well, it’s not like Izuku minded too much if A’zawa was intently watching him, but not having him watch while Izuku struggled to reach all the places on his back was saving Izuku a lot of embarrassment.

When Izuku was finished, he relaxed for a little while, letting the poultice set. At some point, he did need to crush up that wheat but he also still needs to climb that tree for those coconuts. Probably just the one because they seem bigger than the ones on earth. Honestly, Izuku didn’t want to, but he didn’t have any more water and being dehydrated was never good for the healing process his back was about to go through. Coconut water is what he has - though he could boil some of the pond water later to make it drinkable.  

 

Izuku made damper - which really is just flour and water with the tiniest bit of sugar - and he also collected a few of the pieces of fruit or veg that he could see around the place. The sun is starting to rise, and Izuku can tell the others are starting to stir. Izuku had been busy - he had gathered a lot of stuff. He had even made sugar (though it did take him a while to remember how to - though that was one of the things that he was tested on before being allowed into space). And the excess from the sugar - molasses? - was put into a separate jar (It cultivates yeast and that’d help Izuku on his bread-making - and alcohol making - adventures if he lives that long ). 

Izuku had made enough damper for everyone here to have a piece (though he wasn’t quite sure if they could all eat gluten), so he left that with the extra fruit and nuts he collected and moves away from the group as they start to wake properly. Izuku wasn’t sure if any of them would be aggressive after just waking, so it was better safe than sorry. Izuku sits near the water, eating his damper and watching the little ripples in the water. The breeze was nice, and Izuku closed his eyes for a moment.

Izuku’s eyes snapped open quickly when there was more movement to his left. A’zawa is there, staring at Izuku with his eyes red (Izuku noticed that only happens when he’s tense and expecting some sort of attack). Izuku stares for a moment, blinking, then takes another bite of his food and turns away. A’zawa was probably just going to get a drink of water or something. Though, Izuku did bring up his left knee to his chest, covering up the branding from view. He wasn’t embarrassed about it, exactly, but it was a weak point currently and he didn’t want a fight today. He didn’t want to think A’zawa would take advantage of his weak point, but it was better safe than sorry.

After a few tense moments, A’zawa did drink some water, glanced at Izuku one more time and then goes back to the main ‘camp’.

 

Chapter 10: Socialisation

Summary:

IDK what to say here. It's a bit rushed and feels kind of poorly constructed, but I wanted to get this chapter out anyway! Enjoy!

It wasn’t long before Izuku heard arguing again. And rustling. Izuku glances over his shoulder, coming face-to-face with Ha’si. The Yamatakm’ smiles at Izuku - who resists the urge to stick his finger in the bird's mouth just to see how sharp those teeth really are - before nodding backwards, as though inviting Izuku to come over to the camp. Izuku frowns slightly, tilting his head and wincing as the verbal argument gets louder. It’s about Izuku, something about him being dangerous. A'zawa was the one expressing the most concern about it. 

Ha’si hesitantly reaches out, lightly putting a hand on Izuku’s shoulder and tugging him forward, very lightly. Izuku winces at the small amount of pain that jolts through his back, but he lets Ha’si steer him towards the group. Izuku tries to hide behind him as they get closer, flinching at the almost full-on yelling that’s now happening. He does notice that Keigo and Ha'si's wings have been clipped, and that Keigo was favouring leaning more on his right leg than his left, A'zawa has a small cut that Izuku can see through some of his fur as well, but the others are unharmed. 

The small adolescent (?) girl that spoke to Izuku a few cycles ago whispers something to A’zawa that makes his eyes snap up to Izuku, and Keigo turns around, smiling softly at Izuku. A’zawa grumbles something in a language Izuku is unfamiliar with, shaking his head and turning to the three others that were in his cell, including the adolescent male of the species Izuku fought yesterday, the girl that just spoke and one that has a large, strong-looking tail. 

“ Stay away from the deathworlder, especially you, M’zo .” A’zawa says, throwing a glare over his shoulder at the two Yamatakm’ and Izuku. M’zo, the one with six arms, nods cautiously, eyes quickly glancing at the branding on Izuku’s chest. Izuku tries to shift himself further behind Ha’si, but A’zawa meets his eyes, flickering between red and black as he observes Izuku. 

“ A’zawa -” the girl is speaking, her voice is soft and nervous, “ he doesn’t seem -”

“ He might not seem violent right now, but there’s nothing stopping him from becoming that way. He’s dangerous and he needs to be -”

“ Socialised !” Keigo cuts in, “ He didn’t attack me, and he - -  back in - - . If you socialise - - to be non-violent then they are, and I think it’s the same for him. ”

“ You don’t know if deathworlders are social at all -”

“ We are. ” Izuku cuts in, shifting nervously when all eyes snap to him.

“ I forgot you could talk. ” Keigo comments, turning back to A’zawa, “ But he can learn, and talk and that’s more than what most people know about the deathworlders!” There are awkward few seconds of silence. 

“ Fine. But if he hurts any of my - - adolescents, it will be on you .”

“Izuku, Please don’t hurt anyone here. ” Keigo looks at Izuku, who nods and bites the food he momentarily forgot about. The girl blinks looks at the food Izuku left near the fire and grabs one of the pieces herself.

“ Oc’aco, don’t eat that -”  But, Oc’aco already has her mouth around it, biting into it and smiling at A’zawa, as though she didn’t just blatantly ignore his warnings.

“ It’s - - ” She says, extending a piece to M’zo and the tail-boy with a smile, “ You can eat it, it’s good . We make it back - - all the time! It's like - -. ” 

“ Did you make it ?” A’zawa asks in a clearly disapproving tone. Oc’aco shakes her head, turning to Izuku with a small smile.

“ How’d you make this ?”

“Uh -” Izuku shrinks slightly but nods over to the coconut that he cracked open earlier and the flour that’s sitting in the bowl next to it. Oc’aco nods, patting the ground next to her and continuing to eat. The other two boys hesitate for a moment, then bite into the damper and both seem a little surprised that it’s not poisonous or something. Izuku hesitates, but shuffles closer, sitting next to Oc'aco with his legs crossed. Keigo sits nearby - just within his arms reach of Izuku. 

" Why are you ..?" Oc'aco gestures to Izuku legs, and Izuku frowns. Comfortable… what's the word for comfortable? 

" It's - uh -" Izuku frowns, not soft… but… " I don't know that word for it ." 

" Normal ? Relaxing ?" Oc'aco supplies, and Izuku frowns further. 

" Like relaxing I guess, and less painful ?" Izuku shrugs, running a hand through his hair nervously. 

" Painful ? Like ," A small buffering noise much like Izuku's 'uh', " Your - -" she gestures to Izuku's back with the last word. Izuku nods, and A'zawa scoffs quietly. 

" You… didn't want to hurt them, did you ?" Oc'aco asks, her slightly shimmering wings (- god, those are pretty. Like a dragonfly - god is that a chain clipping them together?) fluttering. Oh, she's nervous about Izuku's answer.  

" I didn't want to, " Izuku confirms, suddenly wishing he had a stick or something to play with in his hands rather than just rubbing his fingers together. A feather is stuck in his hands, and he frowns at Keigo, but starts to roll it between his fingers anyway. It's one of his stronger, metal ones so Izuku can even twirl it along his hand and back again.

" Do you want to learn how to - - ?" Oc'aco asks and Izuku frowns while repeating the word. Cue a game of guessing and trying to explain what the word means. It takes a while, but eventually Izuku realises that it's 'count' (and that's only after Keigo steps in with the word for 'one' that Izuku was still struggling to pronounce). She's offering to teach him how to count. Which is actually kind of cute and very sweet. 

Izuku sat with her and she taught him as best as she could - he could even write out (drawn in the dirt with a stick) a few words (mostly for numbers) by the time they stopped for the day. He also found out that he had used a few prepositions wrong, but it wasn't bad enough that they couldn't understand what he was trying to say. Izuku learnt the name of the tail boy too (Oji'o, with Oc'aco calling him Oji for short). 

They had to stop, though. That was partly because A'zawa had decided to pull Oc'aco away from Izuku after Izuku start to get frustrated (the only real signs were the fact that Izuku was spinning the feather a bit faster and his words were a bit more clipped at the end - it was kind of surprising A'zawa even noticed). And partly because it was getting too dark for Oc'aco to see and she was tired. 

But, Izuku did relax after a little while, somehow with his head resting on Keigo's lap while his stomach was on Ha'si's lap, as it went into the actually dark nighttime cycle. This was good because it avoided his chest touching the ground, and it was very comfortable. He did feel a bit nervous about having his whole back exposed, being freshly injured less than 24 hours ago, but it eased as time went on. 

Izuku asked earlier about why he wasn't being forced to fight today, and he had learnt that the crew of the ship was probably going to let his back heal before he was forced to fight again. There was a lot of emphasis on the probably, though. 

But that's how Izuku fell asleep after Keigo's breathing levelled out and his fingers stopped just to rest in Izuku's hair. If he had a staring contest with A'zawa for the last few minutes of his consciousness, nobody else was awake to see it. 

Izuku woke up with his face buried in something soft. It almost reminded him of his pillow back home, but it was breathing and warm. And fuzzy. Keigo wasn't fuzzy, though, so Izuku propped himself up to look at who he was sleeping on. A'zawa. 

A'zawa wasn't even asleep, he was just talking with Keigo and M'zo. His tail was wrapped around Izuku too, shielding him from the cold. Izuku had half a mind to just snuggle back against him and fall asleep again. Hell, Oji and Ha'si were still sleeping too. 

Instead, he yawns, sitting up all the way and tensing at the feeling of a finger in his mouth. He opens his eyes, but keeps his mouth open to avoid biting someone's finger (probably off). That someone is a very startled Oc'aco, who smiles sweetly before she feels Izuku's canine teeth. His sharpest teeth. 

" Oc'aco get your finger out of its mouth," A'zawa commands, and Oc'aco sheepishly pulls her hand away from Izuku. 

" They're blunt, " she comments, and A'zawa huffs, turning to look at the both of them.

" That doesn't mean you should stick your fingers in there. At least ask ." 

" Oh! Right! Can I feel your teeth ?" she asks, smiling sweetly again and Izuku shrugs, nodding and opening his mouth so she can feel his teeth. She's actually gentle about it, and she stops touching whenever Izuku moves away. " It's more like you're a herbivore than anything! How do you eat meat with those? " 

"Just, like… bite really hard," Izuku shrugs, "I can't, uh, say anything else? It's mostly instinctive." 

" The guard that brought you back said you bit one of the - - " (armadillo-type guards, if Izuku had to guess), " and that he needed to have half his muzzle shell replaced?"

" Oh. Yeah, I didn't realise I was biting until it had already happened, so," Izuku shrugs, tilting his head to the side and feeling a deep crack. Oc'aco visibly shivers at the noise, her hand stretching towards A'zawa for reassurance. Izuku forgot that other species don't do that.

" Doesn't that hurt ?" Oc'aco asks in a very concerned tone. 

" Sometimes. Not doing it when needed usually hurts more, though. " Izuku shrugs, standing up and feeling his knees click. It was just one of those days, huh? 

Izuku - now with Oc'aco and, therefore, A'zawa in tow - walked back to the grasses, collecting the same plants he used for his last poultice, which worked really well, his back barely even hurt right now compared to what he thought it would. 

Izuku also grabbed a handful of fruits that Keigo and Ha'si particularly enjoyed yesterday, because he realised they couldn't have the gluten in the flour he made so he couldn't feed them the damper. 

He let Oc'aco talk to him, and explain the words for what he was doing - she was doing a good job at helping Izuku understand the language for sure. 

By the time Izuku was struggling with putting the poultice on his back, Ha'si had woken up. Oji was still asleep, but he was up the lastest out of the three adolescents - wait, four including Izuku, but Izuku was up later. Izuku was also in a bit of a different sleep cycle that was fucked up by his branding-induced nap. Well, it was more drug-induced but the pain made Izuku want to sleep more than necessary. And at an odd time. 

But, when Ha'si saw Izuku scrunching his face slightly when trying to reach a particular spot on his back, he moved closer. 

" Can I - - ?" he asks, gesturing to Izuku's back. Izuku frowns, repeating the word. " Do you want me to do it? You seem like you're struggling… " 

Izuku hesitates, but after a small glance at A'zawa and Keigo, the latter smiling encouragingly, he agrees. It's awkward, and Ha'si is clearly a bit nervous. Izuku made it clear that he lashed out because of how much these hurt him, so Ha'si touching them, even to apply medicine… well, it'd be nerve-racking.  But he was gentle. Izuku only felt intense pain once - and it was when Ha'si was applying to the secondary brandings that are in the middle of the oval shape on his back. Supposedly, that had some sort of symbols in them so that others knew exactly what Izuku had won against. His chest had similar, but it was just plain circles.

Apparently, the species he fought were all hard-hitters that were usually show-stoppers. They were usually the last resort for a ship to use. But, Izuku (deathworlder) was dangerous enough that they brought them out as the first fight. 

Izuku found out why he was fighting (aside from wanting to live, thanks) as well, explained very thoughtfully by A'zawa to distract Izuku from Ha'si touching his back. He was fighting for some scavenger ship - The USJ (A'zawa's friend had built the ship and A'zawa himself was actively looking for it when he was kidnapped). The more fights Izuku won, the more area these guys had as their 'territory' to scavenge (or pirate) in. Izuku thought it was stupid. 

According to A'zawa these fights can last for years and they had actually found a few dead deathworlders left behind once, a few years back. Humans don't generally go missing in space, but there was a shuttle that did with four people on it, going on an exploration of a planet that had no signs of life forms. That was probably why they never reported back with anything. 

Ha'si assured Izuku, while gently ruffling his hair, that they wouldn't let Izuku die and that they were a part of a group of sentient ( - Sentients? Why didn't Izuku think of describing them that way? -) that tracked and shut down these sorts of fighting rings. Honestly, Izuku didn't bother to stop himself from hugging Ha'si. He made sure it was gentle, and he made it clear it wasn't a threat or anything as best he could. Honestly, Ha'si seemed to understand what was happening because he wrapped his own arms around Izuku and muttered more reassurances. 

 

Chapter 11: A'zawa Pov: Chapter 1 (and a half-ish)

Notes:

Some of y'all asked for an A'zawa or Keigo pov for this story, so here it is! A'zawa's pov for the first chapter and a half and next chapter will be from Keigo's pov so we can find out how he got there! See you later!

A'zawa S'ota considered himself very unlucky during this particular moon cycle. Now, it had started out as any normal moon cycle, the worst always do. But, one of his co-inhabitants (NeKitties didn't do 'friends' as such, but co-inhabitants, litter-mates or kits were as close as one could get) had failed his last check-in, but Ha’si was never is particularly reliable when his check-in involved areas close to the HPSC headquarters because that is his chosen mate (Keigo, was it?) happens to be sanctioned. And one of his closer Co-inhabitants (Kuro’e) had come across a hardship recently. More accurately, the loss of a ship. Usually, S'ota would pass this mission off to someone else, generally more qualified, but one of his kits Students had a particular fondness for Kuro’e, and Nedzu had told him to wait a few more days before heading after Ha’si anyway.  

Ur'acha Oc'aco, unfortunately, - one of the only students with any flight sense (most likely due to her species being one of the few that could fly naturally, without a hunk of metal and engine to help) - had insisted that she, Oji’o Masrao and Soji M'zo go looking for it in what S'ota had considered a 'danger-free-enough' zone (No zone is ever fully danger free). Of course, S'ota still couldn't simply let them fly alone (negligence at best, missing or dead kits students at worst). 

And, what was good news at first, they had found the ship. The cheer of his students was a happy one - but it was simply much too early to celebrate. They were attacked as soon as they got on board, and though he tried, S'ota was quickly overwhelmed. His species wasn't made for battles, they were made for stealth hunting and quick stun-and-run operations. And they had Nomu on board. 

His students were quick to follow. No flaw of any of them - Soji had been convinced his whole life he needed to dial back his strength in order not to kill and Oji'o was also overwhelmed by the numbers. Ur'acha's species was not built for fighting and her limited experience in the field led to her almost breaking a wing (though they weren't her mature wings yet, so it wouldn't've been as devastating, nor taking as long to heal). 

Of course, that did mean that they were inside a hostile stolen ship, and S'ota had sustained significant near-eye damage that would take almost a full ward-cycle (over ten moon-cycles) to fully heal unless S'ota could manage to get to the UA healers before then. And that meant that S'ota wouldn't be able to use his eyes as easily - not as in he would struggle to see, but as in he wouldn't be able to suppress the 'quirk' or uniqueness of other species. For example, when he tries, his stares can cause Soji to no longer use his arms as efficiently. And for Ur'acha she loses the ability to use her wings, or the slight anti-gravity effect they can provide to those she touches. 

S'ota's quirk is a rare intensified version of his ancestors, who could weaken the usage of quirks or bodily functions, but never completely block them. Of course, S'ota is not the only Nekitty to develop new aspects of his parents' quirks - his adopted kit, Hi'oshi has a unique addition to his vocal cords which cause a species to temporarily have blocked control over their bodies when they reply to him. They were both shunned, but S'ota knows his kit would've died without help (he was so small when he was abandoned near UA). 

S'ota needed to get out of the hostile ship as soon as he could. Ha’si was hear, as well, which explained his lack of check-in. Of course, they knew exactly what types of ships have Nomu - that circle branding stood for danger and fighter after all. Thankfully, none of the Nomu they fought had any secondary markings, which usually meant that they had fought and won against dangerous species. 

Pirates weren't usually a problem this close to UA, and Soji was exactly in too much danger for S'ota's liking. Soji's species is known for these fight rings, and were commonly Nomu themselves. Females usually could rip a Nekitty in half at Soji's age, and that fact only came to mind when Soji was shoved violently into the cell with A'zawa in the standard attire for prisoners. His student was in danger of being forced to fight in a ring just so these motherfucking assholes could scavenge a few extra spare parts or steal more ships. 

But, the bars were electrified - they were made to hold law-breakers not law enforcers - and S'ota had plenty of experience with Electric bars to know he wasn't going to get anywhere if he just threw himself at the bars continuously. Except maybe he could get his corpse ejected into space - that much electricity could kill with repeat exposure. 

It had started out as a normal moon cycle, and S'ota didn't think it could get any worse. For a while, it didn't. And it was nearing the end of the moon cycle - nearly 46 day-cycles had past by the time things had gotten any worse. 

At first, S'ota didn't know why he and his wards would be moved into the same cell. At first, he didn't recognise the limp body carried in by the guards, and he didn't hear the harsh-panicking whispers over the sound the body made hitting the floor. They almost certainly broke that poor creature's arm. With that noise… 

And then Shouta could recognise, as the creature rolled over in its sleep, just what was in the cell next door. A deathworlder. It was… tiny. Not what S'ota had expected, but the clothing had matched the descriptions he had heard of what deathworlders wore. S'ota didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't something smaller than him . He had heard tales of All Might, the towering, snarling monster that could flatten buildings with a single hit. S'ota was praying the bars would hold up against something even half that, while doubting the rumours are even half true for such a tiny thing. Why it didn't wake up when injured? S'ota didn't know. 

It was only half a cycle before the deathworlder woke fully. It made a low noise, the kind that vibrates intensely through S'ota's bones and makes Ur'acha curl closer to him, as though hiding from the threat.  The deathworlder - S'ota was sure he heard the guards talking about what it was drugged with - no. The deathworlder couldn't have processed a full dosage of anything so soon - 

The deathworlder moves, its eyes slowly opening, but its black circles in the centre (Iris’s? Like a Replasyncri?) seems to be expanding and dilating, as though disoriented. A common side effect of being drugged, S'ota supposes. After a few minutes more, the deathworlder shifts itself up - revealing its second arm to be limply hanging there. There's no way it could handle an injury like that on its own - 

There's movement, a click, a grunt and then the Deathworlder is sitting up, moving the previously limp arm as though it was never hurt in the first place. It's looking around, as though it's uncertain about its surroundings (another common effect of drugs). 

S'ota has to try to stop it from going into a rage, so maybe if he uses his quirk - 

The deathworlder meets his eyes, those viridian, glossy eyes making S'ota freeze, puffing his fur slightly to seem like a bigger threat and maybe the deathworlder wouldn't attack if he was bigger - 

The deathworlder breaks eye contact as the guard walks past. Maybe it doesn't understand what is happening yet? Is it sizing up the guard like it was S'ota seconds ago? 

It moves to a corner, curling into itself… Maybe it did that to avoid predators? Did it even have natural predators? It could be a way to get things closer, just to pounce as soon as anything was close enough. It's vibrating, almost. Did it shake like that because it was cold? Some species get tremors like that when they're scared, but S'ota didn't know if deathworlders could get scared. Something that feels fear didn't line up with any of the horror stories S'ota had heard. 

It watched each guard when they passed, and whenever any of the sapience moved the deathworlder's eyes tracked the movement. If its vision was movement-based, S'ota could use that. Nekitties could be very still when the situation requires it. Hopefully, the deathworlder really could only see something if it moved - like a few other species around the cosmos. 

---

The deathworlder kicks the bowl towards the guard, its face contorted with its face-hair (why did it have face hair above its eyes anyway?) drawn down, towards its eyes and its eyes tracking the movement of the - rightfully - terrified guards. The guard didn't even grab its bottle of - What is that, water? 

Well, at least S'ota now had solid evidence that deathworlders didn't solely drink 'the blood of their enemies' - he'd have to inform Mo'oma (though it would disappoint the Replasyncri adolescent) if he made it out of here alive. The already low chance of that had gotten lower as soon as this ship had set their eyes on a deathworlder - they must be suffering under some strong hallucinogens to think that a deathworlder was - in any way, shape or form - a good idea. This ship was too small, it wasn't made to hold something rumoured to be that powerful. 

S'ota's cycles didn't settle well with the deathworlder. It slept at odd times, going one-night cycle without any sleep at all, then sleeping for nearly the whole three ‘dim-light' settings of the next cycle. S'ota wondered if it was a reaction to stress or if it just wanted to gather information about the guards or ship's cycle. 

During one of the deathworlder's no-sleep night cycles, it moved. It hadn't moved very much during the past few cycles, and S'ota had never seen it move that fast. It reaches for the bars, and S'ota closes his eyes in anticipation of the pain and a bright spark of the electrocution to hit the deathworlder. It doesn't come. 

When he cracks his eyes open, he sees the deathworlder nearly halfway out of its cell but stuck due to its torso thickness. Its arm is through, and it seems to be sizing up the lock to… S'ota didn't know. There is a possibility that the deathworlder was strong enough to break it, but that was slim. Maybe the deathworlder knew how to pick locks? No, that's a skill usually reserved for ‘higher’ - or 'more intelligent' - life forms. That's why they took away Ur'acha's tool kit, and Oji'o's as well. S'ota knew how to pick locks in theory, but his paws weren't made for the fine tools required for it. 

The deathworlder slinks away from the door, back to its usual corner, just as the guards patrol past. So it was watching the guards. Interesting. It had a good enough memory and sense of time to know when the guards were going to go past. 

S'ota watches as it pulls itself up onto the top bars, and the small noise seems to attract the guards back to its cell. The guards don't see it in its cell, and panic before the alarm is pulled. 

The deathworlder falls, covering its ears and whimpering and speaking - it must be in distress because of the loud noise. It even starts to hit its own head against the wall, as though trying to knock itself out to avoid listening to more of that noise. 

Honestly, S'ota knew they were able to push themselves through pain in order to survive, but he didn't realise that they'd do it just to be a bit more comfortable. 

A species S'ota knows of, but doesn’t know the name - a deadly and destructive sapient that could kill almost anything with a single jab of its stinger - is called into the Deathworlders cell. It jabs the deathworlder, and less than a minute later the deathworlder succumbs to the effects of the poison. 

S'ota didn't expect them to leave the deathworlder where it is, as though there is a possibility of it surviving that. It was so small, and it wasn't like it could process that much poison, and even Soji would be out for a few days to process and recover. 

---

But it woke up, a mere quarter of a cycle later. It was disoriented, and it touches the place where it was jabbed - with poison that should've been the end of its life-cycle. It makes another low noise, sitting up and putting its palm to its eye and sort of grinds into it, as though trying to crush its own eye - 

The other cellmates are talking now. The deathworlder was alive after all. The deathworlder takes one glance around at them and repeats the words it said yesterday when it was overwhelmed by noise. Its voice isn't as low or as vibrating as its other noises, but the authority it holds in its voice alone is enough to make everyone's mouths snap shut. 

Then it pops - the deathworlder pops. It even seems a little surprised at the fact. 

Then S'ota watches it snap its own neck with a few clicks. It doesn't die - it's a deathworlder of course it fucking doesn't - but instead, it seems to be content with snapping its neck on the other side as well. The second side is louder - and it reminds S'ota of the time one of his students had broken his arm bones. Was the deathworlder breaking its bones? 

The deathworlder bends itself backwards, another few clicks, nothing sounding broken, thank fu- the deathworlders back makes a similar deep-crack that it did in its neck earlier, and it throws itself upright again, as though it was going to fall back but it corrected itself. It twists its torso - S'ota can't help but wonder what happens to its organs when it does that. 

Soon after, it lays down. Not curled in on itself like it had been the past few cycles. Instead, it's laying on its back, one of its hands supporting its head. And then it starts vibrating. Different to the previous kinds of vibrations, this one reminds S'ota of music. Music was another thing typically left to the intelligent life-forms with small, thin hands that could pluck at strings or vocal life-forms that could control their pitch and volume perfectly. It was one of the only things that made Volitian classed as sapience instead of wildlife - though, their music is loud and angry. S'ota could dismiss the idea that the deathworlder was humming music because they had not been classed as sapience yet. As long as it distracted itself from its lack of food this cycle, S'ota didn't care. 

Chapter 12: Chapter ??? (Keigo's pov)

Summary:

Couldn't fit everything I wanted into this chapter, next chapter is likely to be Keigo's pov again if y'all like what we've got so far. I'm not up to where I wanted to be with my updating of this fic

Keigo was not reckless (if one could gloss over some of his adolescent years).

However, Keigo was, like most of his species, very protective over his mate. They mate for life, usually, and Keigo was attractive in his teen years - very sought after because of his work with the HPSC and his status as a 'hero'. But he wanted someone who he wouldn’t have to put a lot of effort into protecting, someone strong (someone as strong as him so they could protect any kits twice as much). 

Well, he would never admit it out loud (well, he would boost but that's beside the point), but Ha'si was exactly his type, loud, excitable and could make any atmosphere comfortable, not to mention strong and protective and already a flight instructor at UA and a hero! (He works well with most kits! And while Keigo might not be able to make any with him but they sure as hell could adopt once they were ready to settle down properly)

Keigo was a 'love-bird', as his co-workers called it. He couldn't help that his partner was perfect, and he did enjoy showing off a bit. More than a bit. He never properly grew out of showing off. So, whenever Ha'si came to visit (usually on business but they didn't complain about seeing each other) Keigo would spend the whole day being a love-sick, bright-eyed mess. Usually. 

Keigo was a mess while Ha'si was here, but it wasn't long after he left that Keigo felt… off. Usually, as a reassurance thing, Keigo and Ha'si would exchange a feather each. Their feathers were sensitive and didn't need to be attached to feel them, so this was their way of letting each other know they were thinking about each other. Usually, Ha'si would play with Keigo's feather on the way back, just so he could know that he was safe. He didn't - and Keigo could actually feel something on his feather - it almost feels like fire . 

Keigo found Ha'si's ship a few cycles later - burnt beyond repair floating in an asteroid belt. Unfortunately, Keigo knew his partner and he was a good flier - he wouldn't've crashed through a belt like this one unless he was attacked. When Keigo asked for an investigation, the motion was denied by the Higher Committee and they even cut off his transmission to UA because they suspected a 'mental deficit' over losing his life partner. A full moon cycle of nothing but doctors and tests to make sure he was stable enough to work in the field. 

Of course, the first thing he did was try to track down Ha'si (fuck the committee's orders). 

That - well, it was probably the most reckless adventure Keigo had gone on since the middle of his adolescence. A full moon cycle off of work made him lack the spatial awareness he was used to, and he was easier to sneak up on because of that. He was caught off guard, bound, blindfolded and tossed somewhere (twice). He could hear talking through the fabric covering his eyes, but he was more focused on the fact that someone is actually untying him. He wasn't expecting that - most of the time prisoners would not untie someone potentially dangerous like Keigo. 

Well, it's not like they removed the blindfold for him. 

After struggling a bit with it, he removes it and - 

A deathworlder ! He's trapped with a deathworlder. 

"Careful, the deathworlder seems sensitive to loud noises," A'zawa's smooth voice cuts through Keigo's panic. It's… huh . That’s fucking funny - It was supposed to be this big, scary killer but it's scared of loud noises? Keigo huffs, letting himself relax slightly and looking around the cages to see who else is here.

Ha’si!

“Hey! Ha’si!”

“Keigo?”

“Oh my god, I thought I’d never see you again, I can’t believe I found you - Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you?"

“Am I okay? You’re in the cage with the deathworlder!”

“Oh… Yeah…” Keigo shakes his head, turning to A’zawa, gesturing to the deathworlder, who seems to be dozing off, “Uh, How old…?” A’zawa gives an indistinct response - a signal that he does know.

The deathworlder is asleep, letting Keigo talk a bit more with A’zawa about the deathworlder and its current danger levels. So far, it hasn’t acted violent, but the theory is that it can’t attack anything due to the bars. It wasn't fed, and that makes Keigo a bit uncomfortable to be in a cell with a hungry predator. But, Keigo did end up falling asleep under the reassurance that the Deathworlder doesn’t wake properly until the full light part of the cycle.

The deathworlder was awake when Keigo woke. It was terrifying, its eyes stalked any movements around it and the bright viridian eyes soon settled on Keigo. Keigo shifted up, and eventually had to look away from those eyes - he hadn’t really seen a colour like that before, most of his species have yellow, red or brown eyes, but not green. Keigo chirps, the kind of distressed chirp his species does when they’re uncomfortable or in danger. Then the deathworlder repeats it, almost perfectly matching Keigo’s tone and voice - if Ha’si heard that in the dark the tone difference could easily be passed off as Keigo being in pain.

But fuck, it could be trying to just learn how to communicate or something?

Keigo had to find out.

But he takes back what he thought a few cycles ago. This is the most reckless thing he’s done. In all his life, this would top his list. Approaching the deathworlder who’s trapped in this cell.  

He doesn’t get very close before the door is slammed open and the guard - who mutters a bunch of slurs and seems reluctant to feed them - slides in two bowls of food, a bottle of water and a bottle of vitamin-infused water for Keigo. The deathworlder moves first and, if A’zawa was accurate about it not being fed the day before, Keigo didn’t mind. Keigo would prefer it ate… whatever it’s got, over him. The deathworlder eats fast - damn, it’s like halfway through that bowl and it’s only just slowing down.

It made a noise. Keigo could practically see the muscles involuntarily tense as it does, and it makes a face at itself. It swallows what would be practically nothing - except maybe saliva - before it adjusts itself makes the same noise. It’s not a voluntary action, but it is interesting to watch. It drinks some of its water, and there is a small pause before that noise, again.  

It hits its hand against its ribs, inhaling sharply at the pain and then settling back into eating as if that’s normal - normal . Given that it could be normal for deathworlders, but it seemed really vulnerable in that state.

“Do you think that’s normal for them?”

“I don’t know, I’m not a specialist.” A’zawa huffs, shaking his fur out slightly, “Maybe it’s something to do with intimidation? It didn’t do that when nothing else was in its cell.”

“It wasn’t very intimidating tho,” Keigo huffs, smiling slightly.

“It wasn’t…” A’zawa agrees, pausing for a moment to think, “I don’t know what it could be,”

“Well, I guess it was fine with whatever answer it got, but I’m not sure if it is violent after meals or something? Should I try and talk to it?”

“ No . Don’t try and talk to it.” A’zawa hisses, “It’s a predator! A dangerous predator at that.”

“I’m so gonna talk to it.”

“Keigo…”

“What? I didn’t mean right now. I’m gonna see if it’s aggressive first.” 

 

There is a long amount of waiting, wherein Keigo tries to sweet-talk Ha’si through the bars (Their partners, he’s allowed to do that). The deathworlder doesn't do much, but it moves its head occasionally and sometimes stretches its legs out. When the first dim-light setting comes on, Keigo finally turns to the deathworlder, swallowing his nervousness and wondering if it’s okay to smile or if they view that as a threat like some other species.

The Deathworlder eyes Keigo’s mouth anyway, but he doesn’t move, even though Keigo could probably reach him if he stretched his arm out -

It offers its hand, the paler (softer?) side facing up. Keigo has no idea why, but his curiosity wins out because he runs his own hand over its palm and sides himself to sit next to the deathworlder. What should he try to teach it first? Yamatakm’! Species names? That’d work! Maybe even normal names too? Would it understand that?

“Yamatakm’?” the deathworlder repeats, slower than what Keigo did. Keigo mimics the ‘bobbing’ motion that the human did when it understood something - or did something right. Keigo repeats it at the right speed the Deathworlder repeats it again and seems to uncurl itself and grin - oh, it smiles like Yamatakm’s do! That’s so cute!

Right, what’s next? Names? Names. Introductions! 

It - possibly he? - could pronounce Keigo on the first attempt. Keigo was so fucking proud! It struggled a bit with A’zawa (Where did that ‘i’ even come from?). But the deathworlder was trying, at least. It does seem confused by the name for ‘akin to’ but Keigo didn’t have any way to explain it, at least until the deathworlder pointed at Ha’si (Keigo didn’t think it could see through the bars that well) and could correctly say the species name. Keigo introduces Ha’si, and the human seems to understand a little better.

“Deathworlder akin to All Might .” A’zawa pipes in, seeing the deathworlders' confusion.

Keigo watches the deathworlder pause for a moment, processing and meeting eyes for a second.

“Izuku.” Is that its name? Did it understand what Keigo was trying to communicate? 

“I’uku?” Keigo echoes. The deathworlder huffs with a small smile before it repeats its name. “Izuku.” Keigo corrects his pronouciation. Oh, that must be why he thought to add an ‘i’ to A’zawa’s name because its name has an ‘i’ before the ‘z’ sound. Interesting. "Izuku akin to deathworlder.” 

“Izuku akin to Human.” Human? Human. Sounds funny, but okay. Deathworlder is human. Is that what they prefer to be called or does it not matter too much? 

“Izuku akin to Human,” Keigo repeats, smiling slightly. Now, just how much of our language do you understand? “How old?” 

The human tilts its head as if trying to hear the words at a different angle to understand it (Innocent and adorable enough that Keigo could easily forget this is a predator). 

“Maybe try to teach it numbers before asking that,” A’zawa speaks up, in his own native language that Keigo may have taken a class or two in to get closer to Ha’si friend (not that the Nekitty would ever admit that). Keigo laughs, nodding to A’zawa and turning his attention back to the deathworlder.

“One.” Keigo pats the ground. The deathworlder - human - struggles a few times before it lets out a deep breath and runs its hands through its hair - possibly a self-soothing motion to avoid aggression. Keigo and A’zawa glance at each other and seem to agree to move on - no point in aggravating it. 

“Two.” Keigo pats the ground twice, and the deathworlder seems to relax again, opening its mouth to try to repeat it when there is a bang and Keigo is so surprised at just how fast the deathworlder can tense all its muscles again - ready to pounce at a moments notice. The guard is a Canus - and a few years ago they had enslaved Yamatakm’ to do most of the harvesting on their planet until HC decided to placate them with technology to do the harvesting and took most of the Yamatakm’ away from them - when Keigo was a kit. Many of their species think that they are better than most flying species (Their ingenuity with electricity is the only thing that could put them above anything else).

“The deathworlder is too stupid to understand what you’re trying to do and I can’t wait until it rips you to pieces.” The guard jeers, making Keigo snarl at it.

“It’s smarter than you are,” 

“You should know better than to talk back to a superior species.” It snarls itself, turning to its friend (Fucking pack hunters) down the hall, “Hey! We got a talker over here.” 

Fuck. Is that - what is that, three sets of footsteps? 

Chapter 13: Keigo's pov 2 - It's only dangerous when it bites you

Summary:

Basically from dick ripping to when Izuku was unconscious. Enjoy.

Honestly, Keigo didn’t know what he had expected when he got up to fight - but it wasn’t this . Practically useless on the floor while the deathworlder is in the corner - paralysed by uncertainty or fear.

Something jumps over Keigo with surprising speed - disarming the guard about to strike him. 

Oh, shit. Is that the deathworlder? It moves so fast!

The human stands itself upright, being a bit smaller in height than Keigo is when standing. Keigo hadn’t actually seen it uncurl itself yet - and it was sort of intimidating to know that it could fold itself to nearly a third of its height. A guard had gone to attack the deathworlder - and the deathworlder managed to avoid the arc of electricity. 

One of the other guards goes to strike the deathworlders leg. That should knock it down, right? Legs are important for balance and that amount of electricity would render most limbs useless.

The deathworlder hisses, and returns an attack, fairly sloppily but Keigo was expecting it on the ground at this point so he could look over - Oh shit! It broke the baton! How the fuck? The guard seems to have felt it a little through his armour, too.

The deathworlder lets out a puff of air and tosses the broken pieces to the side. Why didn't it use the pieces as a sort of armour to block attacks? Maybe it wasn't exactly as smart as what Keigo was thinking - or it was way smarter… 

It's moving! The deathworlder is moving! On its injured leg. Wow. No wonder it wasn't too concerned about getting struck. 

When the next guard tries to attack, the deathworlder dodges - full handed grabs the baton - and sends her straight into one of the other guards. 

It shifts, as though going to back away, but the last guard jabs it in the lower back, it's only a few metres in front of Keigo and he can see the other guards ready to lunge - 

Three hits of electricity at once? Keigo would die - probably literally. It's not very surprising that the deathworlder collapses - Keigo wouldn't be shocked if he was unconscious after that. The deathworlders body is twitching - and Keigo wonders if that is leftover electricity in his system. Most species would die after that, and the deathworlder likely will too. 

Shame though, he seemed nice. 

"Look at it - it's still fucking conscious and everything! Go get unit 6 -" 

Keigo could move now, and he pushes himself away from the inevitable violence coming to the cell. 

The deathworlder doesn't move much - and the twitching has mostly died down by the time other guards arrive. There is a small hiss from the deathworlder - it did that when it was hurt earlier so is it a pain thing or a defensive thing. 

"You practically kill a deathworlder! It's like it's -" The Canus says something in their native language, a small word that basically translates into 'conquered' and 'property' - and is often associated with Canus' pissing on something to further prove that whatever they've decided is theirs (- in this case, a deathworlder) is submissive. And that is gross. 

The deathworlder moves when it realises what's happening. And it moves fast - that would be the fastest Keigo had seen it move. Its hand is gripping the guard by his d- OH! Oh. Ow! 

The guard whimpers - trying to move away did work evidently. The deathworlder has quite a grip - god, is that blood?
Keigo starts to slowly wrap his wings around himself, hearing the whimpers and whines of the guard before a sickening ripping sound - followed by the wet sound of blood hitting the ground and screaming.

“You forgot something.” It’s the deathworlder - formed its own sentence - and it’s, what, teasing the guard because it ripped his dick off? Keigo peaks over his wings as the guard dick lands on his head, and the screaming continues while he is pulled away, hopefully towards medical. Who knows if that was fatal? It was nothing like what Keigo had ever seen, and he had recovered tortured victims from places like this before. 

Keigo knew that the deathworlder was likely just retaliating, but he was still scared . He didn’t know if the human would rampage or something at the smell of blood like some other species do - he didn’t know if it was still safe in this cell and he barely had any trust for it not killing him as it was. The screaming stopped, and there was movement.

Keigo could hear it breathe, and he heard something drop onto the floor but he couldn’t bring himself to look up. Not with how much blood he could smell. 

But he had to - he was scared, sure, but he had to see -

The deathworlder was back in its corner, and it left the top half of its clothes - soaked with blood - in the bloody puddle near the cage door. There still is a bit of blood on the deathworlder itself, and that made Keigo have to face the fact that… well, that his cellmate -

Anyway.

“A’zawa,” Keigo mutters, keeping his voice as low as he can to avoid disturbing the deathworlder - Though he had no idea what the deathworlder was doing other than staring off into space.

“Keigo… Are you… I’ll talk to the guards and see if you can be moved into this cell and I’ll stay in that cell from now on, okay? You’ll be fine,”

“No, no, the kids need you more than they do me, but I just - God…” Keigo nervously picks at a few of his feathers, “I would’ve thought it was down, too. Like, in the field I wouldn’t’ve thought twice about it but he -”

“Hey, Keigo, I know it’s scary but right now - It’s looking at us.” A’zawa cuts himself off with a glance at the deathworlder, “What do you think it’s -” The deathworlder looks away, blinking tiredly. Yeah, Keigo would be exhausted too if he just ripped - “ Stars , A’zawa he ripped it off completely. You know how tough Canus skin can be - I mean, sure it was a weaker spot but it would still take so much force -”

“I know that when my species gets electrocuted the muscles contract involuntarily, so maybe it tried to let go?” Oji’o (Oji’o? Keigo wasn’t sure what their names were anymore) pipes up, tail nervously swaying slightly.

“He did tease the guard afterwards, though,” A’zawa argues. 

Keigo settles into talking, trying to work through his feelings - occasionally tensing when he feels the deathworlders eyes on him. 

 

The deathworlder is taken away, and only then does Keigo start to emotionally process what just happened. He didn’t mean to fall asleep, either, but the deathworlder is back, still awake but seems sort of dazed.

“They tried to sedate it, but it didn’t pass out,” A’zawa explains when Keigo sits up slightly, moving his wings to shield himself from it.

“What do you mean it didn’t -” The deathworlder shifts, just slightly. But, nothing else happens and Keigo relaxes slightly.

“It hasn’t moved until now, to be fair.” A’zawa shrugs, “hopefully it won’t attack, but if it does, I’d say go for the neck - ” 

“It’s not attacking, let’s not demonise it, A’zawa,” Ur'acha slides forwards slightly, into the conversation. A’zawa starts a lecture, which Keigo is pretty sure Ur’acha also tunes out. It’s not too long before the deathworlder starts to move.

"'You forgot something?'" A'zawa repeats its words, making the deathworlder huff when it looks over, "That sounds childish and is outright rude,"

“Childish?” the deathworlder repeats, tilting its head in confusion again.

"Sort of, underdeveloped? Like a youngling?"  

"Like a teenager would say." Ur’acha provides quietly. 

"I don't know that word either," the deathworlder moves its shoulders slightly, up and then back down again. It’s shrugging - Is that part of how humans communicate or has it just been watching how the others have been talking? 

"Uh… small being?" she stutters out, shrinking away. 

"Before adolescence,” Keigo pipes up, uncurling his wings from around himself. It is trying to learn. 

"like… not fully grown but alive? "

"Yes." Keigo latches on immediately, "I'm just finished fully growing,” the deathworlder starts to preen - or, uh, brush - its top fur, while Keigo continues, “How grown are you?" 

"Not fully,"

It’s not even fully grown yet?  

"Just finished growing, just after adolescence ." The deathworlder repeats the word with a frown. "Between childhood and full-grown." Keigo continues when the deathworlder nods, "Is that your stage?" it nods again, “At the start or near the end?" 

"Start,"

Oh, it’s practically a kit . Keigo moves closer, "No hurting, yeah?" Keigo says and the deathworlder tilts its head again, "No - no causing pain?" Keigo tries. 

“No pain,” The deathworlder nods again, and it pats the ground, as though inviting Keigo to sit next to it. That’s so cute. Though, it does watch Keigo for a long time, now that he’s closer.

Keigo does his best not to twitch, but the deathworlder notices it anyway. It slowly raises its hand - not the hand that it used yesterday thank fuck for that - to Keigo’s feathers. Keigo almost ended up pulling away, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was so gentle when its hand connected with his feathers and its face relaxed and it just looked so interested . Keigo let’s him - Izuku - feel his wings for a while, just watching the way his lips twitch up and his eyes seem to soften. Eventually, Keigo does realise this is probably permission to touch the Deathworlder as well, and slowly he brings up his own hand.

Not slow enough, because the deathworlder flinches - like it’s scared and suddenly Keigo is hurting with the knowledge that this is practically a kit in an unknown place with no way to properly communicate and the guards are mean to it and the cellmates are scared - Keigo brings up his hand slower, and eventually in settles in the surprisingly soft, and fluffy green fur. The deathworlder leans into Keigo’s hand - its eyes slipping closed when Keigo starts to run his hand through it. Is this a human trust thing? Is it trying to get Keigo’s trust or?

Keigo ends up with a practically sleeping deathworlder on his legs and A’zawa trying to lecture him. Of course, Keigo took every opportunity to argue his case - the deathworlder was defenceless like this and Keigo was safe. 

They broke apart for food - Keigo understood the deathworlder was probably trying to protect Keigo from stealing any still and given the situation, Keigo was doing the same. They didn’t exactly feed prisoners much, so Keigo would eat what he could get.

After it’s eaten, and moved around a bit (Why he was doing that wasn’t quite clear,) the deathworlder looks at Keigo’s lap where it was laying before, and then the corner it’s been sleeping in. Maybe it does want to trust Keigo…

The next time the Deathworlder looks, Keigo mimics the way it had patted the floor earlier when it wanted Keigo to sit next to it - him. Izuku (It felt weird to call him anything but ‘the deathworlder’ but Keigo knew it was probably best to get used to the idea of him being sapient because it- he definitely seems capable of thoughts and learning, and he can speak - barely) lays on Keigo’s lap, making Keigo chuckle slightly. Briefly, Keigo wondered if that noise would scare the - Izuku but, by the way, his body relaxed and his eyes closed, he didn’t think it scared him at all.


Keigo knew what landing meant. And he wished he could find the words that Izuku would understand as a warning. But, everything he talked to A’zawa about (in the last of the dim-light setting before the full-light) was agreed upon to be bad wording - or, at the least something that they couldn’t say to Izuku’s face. Izuku was tense the whole time, as though he knew something was coming and Keigo hoped he knew - hoped that Izuku wouldn’t die in the fights today.

When he's grabbed - the same way one would handle a Nekitty kit - Keigo almost found himself wanting to fight against the guards, but he knew that if he did that he’d probably be killed and he couldn’t help Izuku if that happened.

 

Keigo, A’zawa (and the adolescents from A’zawa’s cage), and Ha’si were moved into a different cell (after their wings were all modified to stop them from flying - that could lead to an escape). It had some plants that no one had seen before, and A’zawa was very concerned about the possible wildlife around in the unfamiliar enclosure. 

A’zawa tried to talk to the guards about it, and all he really got was that it was made for deathworlders and that the USJ was being allowed to land here because of the deathworlder. So, if there was any wildlife, it was from the death world (Earth or something) and, honestly, that was a scary thought.

Izuku isn’t brought back until the sun is setting, and the light is fading. He has different guards than before, and A’zawa actually manages to pull the story behind the guard change out of one of them. 

Izuku had bitten a guard - unsurprising, considering the fact that they brought him back with a muzzle on that was made for Yamatakm’ (Human's faces seemed a lot squishier than beaks) and sedated. Keigo didn’t know whether touching Izuku would hurt him, or if he would still be in ‘fight’ mode if he woke up early, so Keigo left Izuku where he was (It’s not like he could pick him up anyway - humans are heavy). Hopefully, Izuku would be up and functional enough to identify some plants to use to address those brandings by the time Keigo woke again. 

Notes:

I love how many people find the word 'Nekitty' funny, cause same. I was going to have this book as light-hearted as it could be but I like traumatising Izuku apparently. See y'all in a few days or so.
PS I wrote this in like two hours or something so there are likely many spelling mistakes but I wanted to get one out today.
Also thanks for 1000 kudos!

Chapter 14: Ha'si pov

Summary:

A Bit of Ha'si's POV for you!

Ha'si had been here the longest (he actually had no idea just how long, but according to A'zawa it had been about a moon cycle) and he had learnt one main thing while being here. Don't fuck with the guards. 

Now - and Ha'si means this is the nicest way - the deathworlder fucked up not just one guard, but two of them. If Ha'si tried that he probably would have been beaten to death. But here the deathworlder was, unconscious and muzzled but breathing, twitching (like it’s dreaming). Ha'si would almost be impressed at the bite marks (he had convinced a guard to let him see what the deathworlder could do) if it wasn’t for the fact that he was stuck in its enclosure. Are they territorial? It might just think of this whole cage as it’s and -

Ha’si didn’t want to think about it, but he did bring up his concerns with A’zawa and Keigo, the latter arguing that he would already be dead if the deathworlder was territorial, while A’zawa argued that the deathworlder clearly didn’t view Keigo as a threat but might now that he wasn’t alone. Honestly, it started an argument that Ha’si never wanted to happen. They both had points to their arguments, which made it worse. Keigo couldn’t actually argue against the deathworlder not viewing him as a threat, though, so the best plan for survival would be to be as not threatening as possibly. Which is impossible when you don’t know what is threatening behaviour for the species you’re trying to appease. Ha’si was almost worried that he’d start to lose some feathers with how much stress he was under right now, but he already lost quite a few feathers before they put them all in here. 

After a lot of convincing to get Keigo to sleep, Ha’si stayed up just a while longer with A’zawa, watching the deathworlder. It wasn’t doing much, but they were expecting it to wake at some point during the morning cycle. Though, they weren’t sure if it was actually in a sleep cycle or if they had some sort of healing cycle that looks like sleep, or if it was just still under the effects of what it was knocked out with. Ha’si made sure A’zawa was alright to stay awake for a while longer, and possibly the whole night before he went to sleep himself. 

 

He woke the next morning to the smell of… something? Something was cooked. Ha’si couldn’t identify it, but he slowly got up, blinking away some of his tiredness before he snuggled into Keigo - just enough to make sure the other was awake before he actually got up and stretched his wings. The deathworlder had moved. Ha’si doubled check that everyone was still alive, and A’zawa assured him that he didn’t sleep long, and he was sure the Deathworlder wasn’t hiding in the long grass. Ha’si didn’t feel much better. A’zawa said he’d check a few places after he had a drink. Surprisingly, he comes back immediately afterwards.

“The deathworlder seems to be guarding the pond over there,” A’zawa says, sitting in front of Keigo and Ha’si.

“Did you get a drink?” Keigo asks, and even Ha’si has to admit he sounds defensive over it. As though trying to say that deathworlder wouldn’t be guarding the water, though he very well could be.

“Yes, but it -”

“He.”

“He seems to… he either doesn’t see me as a threat or see me as a big enough threat that I could get a drink,” A’zawa says, huffing slightly at Keigo’s tone.

“Maybe it’s a kit , A’zawa. Not a monster that will rip you limb from limb for trying to drink water.”

“Maybe it is, but I know for sure that if any adults of its species were nearby, I wouldn’t want to be near it! What do you think is going to happen if it’s still young enough for its parents to know it’s missing? What happens to us, if we’re close to their young? Do you think they’ll let us walk away -”  

Ha’si had enough. He didn’t want A’zawa to keep yelling (Part because the deathworlder is sensitive to loud noises, part because there were a lot of assumptions going on). So, Ha’si decided to walk to the water - and the deathworlder noticed immediately . If it wasn’t a deathworlder, Ha’si would’ve been surprised at how fast it could spin around to look at him. And that’s all it did, just look at him for a long moment. Ha’si didn’t know why, but soon his hand was gently resting on the deathworlders shoulder, and he felt bad at the way its face twitched in pain. Probably from its back - brandings would hurt.

A’zawa is louder now, clearly irritated about Keigo’s defence of a species that is supposed to be really dangerous. But, as Ha’si started to pull the deathworler closer, it started to sort of hiding behind him, as though the yelling is making it nervous.

“The deathworlder -” Oc’aco whispers, gesturing behind Ha’si. A’zawa huffs, muttering something about ‘fucking birds’ before he tells the teens to not go near the deathworlder. Oc’aco joins the conversation now, trying to address the seemingly docile mood of the - Izuku. Of course, this starts another argument between A’zawa and Keigo.

“You don’t even know if deathworlder are social at all -” A’zawa counters Keigo's point - and Keigo actually had his mouth open to formulate a response before he’s cut off by a deep - but gentle voice.

“We are,” Izuku spoke. Ha’si knew he could, but he hadn’t actually heard him speak. He thought that deathworlders voices were supposed to be deeper than that, but at the same time, he talks! He talks! That’s incredible! He understood what the conversation was about, and could formulate his own response that added information to the conversation. Sapient.

“I forgot you could talk…” Keigo says, and Izuku doesn’t have time to respond before Keigo has already started on A’zawa again, “But he can learn, and talk, which is more than what most people know about deathworlders!” A’zawa stops for a moment, staring at Keigo before he relents.

“Fine. But if he hurts any of my fucking teens, it’ll be on you.” 

“Izuku, please don’t hurt anyone here,” Keigo asks, and the deathworlder nods before biting into its food - Wait, where did it get that? There’s more near the fire too…

“Oc’aco, don’t eat that -”

“It’s food!” Oc’aco defends, handing the two other teens a piece, “You can eat it, it’s good. We make it back home all the time! It’s like - bread.”

“Did you make it?” A’zawa asks, shifting just slightly enough so that his tail could easily reach the deathworlder if it attacks - not unnoticed by Keigo or Ha’si. Oc’aco shakes her head, turning her attention to Izuku. 

“How did you make this?” Another sign of sapience - a major one this time - is making/cooking food, rather than just hunting it. That’s three signs of sapience, and the cooking alone would be enough to qualify. This changes everything the HPSC knows about Deathworlders.

The deathworlder nods over to something else Ha’si didn’t notice earlier - some type of grass and - uh, what are they called? Its got a water-milk like substance inside, and Ha’si knows that’s usually a good go to if you aren’t sure if you can drink the water. Man, does the deathworlder know that? He might not have been concerned about the water in the pond at all if he knew he could drink that…

Oc’aco pats the ground - Keigo said the deathworlder did that as an invitation for someone to sit or be somewhere - and the deathworlder hesitates, then sits with his legs tucked under one another. Its language skills aren’t great, and it struggles to form basic sentences, but Oc’aco is patient and seems to know what questions to ask. The deathworlder says that sitting how he is is ‘less painful’, which implies that standing is painful. And honestly, Ha’si wasn’t expecting that. He thought deathworlders couldn’t feel pain much, and the deathworlder only showed signs of his pain when he was touched or moved. Of course, Oc’aco didn’t have a filter and Ha’si and A’zawa were ready to step in if the deathworlder to offence to her next question, but instead, he just assured her that he didn’t want to. Which was fair. He would’ve been forced to fight either way, but him not wanting to did relieve a part of Ha’si that thought he might enjoy hurting others. His hands keep moving, and Keigo quickly sticks one of his hard feathers in his hand. Izuku frowns, but starts to play with it in his hand, but keeps the majority of his attention on Oc’aco.

“You want to learn to count?”

“Count?” 

Oh, he doesn’t know that word, does he? How do you explain counting as a concept to someone who only has half a grip on your language?

 

Izuku ended up sprawled over Keigo and Ha’si, with its injured back facing the sky - which let Ha’si see it properly for the first time. The branding hand symbols in the middle - sometimes the words for the species, and other times symbols to represent them. So, by looking at the branding, one could generally tell what species had been fought by a Nomu.

A Gellitin, A Min’is - Oh, is that why A’zawa told Mez’o to stay away? -  and a Chio’tera. Honestly, for what the deathworlder looked like, Ha’si would've thought it would have come out a bit more banged up. It didn’t have armour to protect itself from pincers or claws, it didn’t have claws or sharp teeth to bite with (those Ha’si knew those teeth were not harmless). Overall, it seems like it would be easy to fight or kill. Ha’si knew better than to think that - especially with those brandings - but the thought of this being a kit . Kits are usually harmless from any given species - except Volitian, they’re usually excessively violent as kids and mellow out a little when they’re older - so what were deathworlder adults like? Did they have armour, claws, and sharper teeth? Did they have faster reflexes? Were they more ruthless? Ha’si wanted to ask, but him staying up later yesterday made him dose off faster than he anticipated.

 

The deathworlder was off him when he woke. He is crushing something, and while Ha’si world starts to come into clearer focus, Ha’si realises just what the deathworlder was doing. And he’s struggling with it - his arms clearly aren’t made to reach all the spots on their back. His face scrunches up - possibly pain or frustration.

“Can I help?” Ha’si offers, moving closer. Izuku is confused, because his face scrunches up again, slightly different this time, and his head tilts to the side while repeating the word. “Do you want me to do it? You seem like you’re struggling.”

Izuku looks at Keigo - it would make sense that the deathworlder trusts him the most, considering they’ve spent the most time together - and Keigo gives him a smile. Ha’si panicked, momentarily, because he wasn’t sure how deathworlders view smiles . Most species view them as threats, but it seemed to be the right thing to do because the deathworlder pushes the poultice towards Ha’si and moves closer, letting Ha’si have full access to his back. 

It’s only after Ha’si starts that he remembers that the deathworlder bit the guard because they were touching this - it didn’t help that Izuku tensed and hissed slightly when Ha’si remembered that. Ha’si tried his best not to irritate it - though some parts of it were already irritated from how Izuku had to apply it. A’zawa talked to Izuku while Ha’si was busy - and it seemed to work really well to take Izuku’s attention away from his back. He still hissed, and once he actually just outright said that it hurt and to work back around to the spot later. Ha’si appreciated the warning and did move on to come back to it later (all the while trying not to freak out that a deathworlder could communicate that clearly, yet still be incredibly violent). The worst part about the morning would be that A’zawa didn’t know how to withhold information that could make a species nervous - and that they didn’t know how deathworlders handle nervousness .
Ha’si gently pats the deathworlders fur while saying that they’d make sure that he doesn’t get killed in these fights - because he is a kit and Ha’si was not getting attached, What are you talking about?

Honestly, Ha’si didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t a hug. Honestly, he didn’t really think deathworlders would hug - he failed to see a reason why a war-mongering species would engage each other this softly. Of course, this was quickly followed by the thoughts that they could not be war-mongers. And that they could be soft, loving species with their kits. It was unnerving to think about, and it brought up something else Ha’si wasn’t comfortable thinking about. Why was Izuku here? If Izuku really was a kit, why was he off his planet in the first place? Wasn’t it usually adult deathworlders seen anywhere in the galaxy? The bodies that they had recovered from the last round of fights were definitely adults - they had been dated at around mid-life by Nedzu.

Did Nedzu know they were sapient? He had spent over a full 23 moon cycles on that planet, and he never spoke about it (the scar he came back with said enough). Maybe it was something Ha’si had to bring up after he got out of here with his kit the deathworlder. Shit, he’s attached, isn’t he?
 

Notes:

I wasn't gonna do Ha'si POV but I realised he is a significantly more important character than I intended him to be. Besides, I've been struggling to get back into Izuku's pov so this is all I could write rn. It'll probably be a long while before I post another update to this story, sorry guys! I'll see y'all at some point.

Chapter 15: Exploration

Summary:

Izuku does some exploring! More exploration of the enclosure to come!

For some reason, Oc'aco decided that Izuku was adorable after he hugged Ha'si (he was pretty sure A'zawa secretly did too - or at the least realised Izuku wasn't about to hurt anyone). She still tried to teach him, naming things as they collected some ingredients and made some tasty things that everyone could eat. Izuku was glad he found some mushrooms, though he was a little concerned about them being poisonous. He and Oc'aco were different species, after all, and what was safe for her might not be for him. Mushrooms are a good substitute in situations where there isn't much meat or something like that to balance out a human diet, though. And he was half sure he wouldn’t die. 

Everyone else joined in with trying to help Izuku read and write after eating. It was a bit overwhelming, but A'zawa was particularly careful about not letting Izuku get aggravated, and would periodically shoo away the teens and Ha'si or Keigo.

Izuku knew it came from a place of fear, but he was grateful for it nevertheless. By the time he knew he was overwhelmed, he couldn't express himself properly. Having an adult (Keigo was the youngest adult but he still tried) step in to make sure he wasn't getting overloaded was nice, not to mention very different from home. 

On earth, a lot of Izuku's teachers would tell him he was just too sensitive or he just needed to grow up when he was overwhelmed. They made Izuku more overwhelmed, and told him it was always his fault for being this sensitive. A'zawa thought Izuku was dangerous, but not overly sensitive. Izuku knew trauma could make humans more irritable, and he just went through something that could definitely be classed as traumatic. Communicating that would be hard, but something that was probably necessary. Unless other species experience that as well and that's why A'zawa is already acting this way… 

That’d be cool. Well, not cool. But It’d be… ugh, well. It’s comforting? No - not comforting, ugh… It’s a fun fact to know - no, an important fact to know? It - it’s sort of nice. Thinking that others would understand exactly what Izuku is going through. Maybe they did. Maybe that's another reason why A'zawa would tolerate Izuku patting him (he didn't mean it the first time, but his fur was so soft that he didn't regret it). 

After the second meal of the day, just before dusk, Izuku and Oc'aco started to explore a little bit past the pond. Though not far as A'zawa still wanted to see them in case they were attacked - by what, Izuku didn't know because he hadn't seen any fauna, just flora. Then again, he hadn't really been looking. The first time he was near the pond he was on a mission to stop his back from hurting and the second time he was listening to - and watching - Oc'aco to learn more about the language. He should've paid more attention, but he couldn't change the past. 

So, they started their walk into the forest-like area. Some of the trees did seem to have fruits - maybe even nuts or something - and Izuku was sort of tempted to climb the trees to sleep in them, they were big enough to. Izuku didn't know how far this part went, but he couldn't go too far without Oc'aco - therefore A'zawa - following. Or, well, A'zawa would call back Oc'aco and she wouldn't leave until Izuku went with her. She seems attached to the idea of Izuku needing to be socialised and she might think that ten minutes alone would make him backtrack. But, Izuku sees something he couldn't help but check out when Oc'aco's showing A'zawa an edible plant she found, (causing neither of them to be paying attention to Izuku when he slipped away). 

It's a human shelter. 

Izuku knew it because he knew how to make the exact same shelter - it actually was pretty much a whole camp. There's rope, set up to be used for a trap, by the door of the shelter, and a crystal (obsidian?) knife next to it. The knife doesn't have anything on it - it seems to be in good condition. It even has a leather holster. 

Izuku looks through the opening of the structure. A pelt pillowcase and blanket, a bag, a journal. The bag even has a shirt - or, well, it was once a shirt - half inside the opening. A sewing kit. A stick - the type that has two extra parts branching off it, like a slingshot. 

Izuku attaches the hostler of the knife to his ankle, under his pants. It's not like he's trying to hide it from A'zawa or Oc'aco or really any of the others trapped in this earth-mimicking environment, but Izuku does want to hide it from the guards. Bag, shirt, journal. Bag has - well, a water bottle, another knife (rusty this time, practically useless unless Izuku wants to kill something via tetanus), an elastic band, a hairbrush, powdered vitamins and a pen. 

Great. Izuku could actually make a slingshot, though. That stick and elastic… Does Izuku need a slingshot? 

Izuku did feel bad about looting the place of a now-dead human who was forced to fight here, don't get him wrong. But this stuff would help him survive. And he was going to survive.

Izuku carried the bag back to where A'zawa was basically dragging Oc'aco away from where Izuku had wandered off to. Izuku gives her a small closed-lipped smile. 

"Where did you go?" A'zawa asks, looking over Izuku. 

"Oh, right, sorry, humans have a small attention span. I got distracted," Izuku shrugs, holding up the bag, "Found this," 

A'zawa raises an eyebrow, "Where did you find that?" 

"Oh, there's a - what's the word? - Shelter?" Izuku gestures to where he just walked away from. 

"Oh, and you just took the stuff of someone who probably died here-" 

"What exactly do you do with the stuff of the dead, A'zawa? Personally, I am okay with using the dead's stuff if it helps me stay alive."

"Taking it is disrespectful -" 

"Explain how. It's not like they're gonna use it." Izuku argues, gesturing loosely around. 

"Aren't humans territorial or something?" Oc'aco asks.

“I really don’t have to worry about it if they’re dead, though.” Izuku shrugs, “and I don’t know how I feel about being called that, either.”

“You aren’t denying it!” Oc’aco teases, and Izuku lets out an amused huff and a small grin. 

“Come on, both of you, it’s nearly dark, let’s get some sleep.” A’zawa ushers the both of them back to camp, where Izuku sits his newly acquired bag down and sits in between A’zawa and Keigo.

At this time, the stars are out, and Izuku had to stop himself from just staring up into the sky - he couldn’t lay on his back and it hurt his neck to look for too long. The constellations here are amazing - the formations of the star produce enough light that Izuku could see everything pretty clearly (That’s probably why he - and some of the wildlife - glows).

“ What are you doing?” Oc’aco asks, and Izuku blinks, returning his head to a less painful position.

“... Looking,” Izuku mutters, looking back up.  

“Huh? It’s just Stars. Do you not see them on your planet?”

“We do - I like looking at it. It’s pretty.” Izuku responds absently. He used to look at stars with his mother all the time - when he was little, and even earth seemed way too big and dangerous for him to explore at the time. The first time he ever realised there were stars was a night he would remember well. He and his mother were visiting his aunty - she lived in the country, where the stars were visible from her dining room window. He must’ve been… four? Maybe five? 

Izuku remembers glancing over, seeing the little white lights and dismissing them immediately because he grew up in the city, people always had their lights on in the city. Of course, he then heard his Aunty laugh and remembered he was not in the city, and there aren’t that many houses out here - so what are those lights? Izuku climbed - with all the stretched his little four or five-year-old legs and arms could muster - onto the counter in the kitchen, staring out at the night sky. They were beautiful, sparkling and there was a cluster of them, making the sky seem lighter in some places, like a cloud but made up of tiny dots. Izuku doesn’t remember gasping a loud - but his mother swears he did.

“Izuku? What are you looking at, baby?” She had asked, her voice filtering through from the hall before she saw where Izuku was.

“Lights!” Izuku had responded, “What kind of lights are they? Why don’t we have those sorts of lights at home? There’s so pretty!?” Inko came into the room, confused before she realised what he was looking at.

“Those are called stars,” She explained, gently pulling Izuku away from the window, “And they are at home, but we can always see them when other people have their lights on, or if they’re to many clouds,”

“I love them! Look at them! They’re so pretty! Can I be a star?” Izuku squirmed in his mother's arms, trying to see the stars better. Inko laughed, gently patting Izuku’s hair and shaking her head.

“Sorry, baby, but people can’t become stars like the ones that are in the sky. One day, when you’re bigger and stronger, maybe you could go in a spaceship to the moon. But, it’ll take a lot of work, and you’d have to study hard, and you’d have to be a good son because I want only good memories of you when you’re all grown up and you’ll have to keep yourself safe -”

“I’ll do it! I’ll study hard, I’ll be a good son, I’ll be safe, I’ll put in all the work and I’ll see the stars!”

It’s bitter-sweet now. Izuku might be exploring the stars, but he definitely could be safer about it. Though, he doesn’t have a choice so he guesses it’s okay. His mother would understand, if not outright be willing to rip All Might - or whoever organised Izuku shuttle - a new one. Izuku wondered again if she knew, he’d been here for a week at least - Shit, he was losing track of time. He needed to keep track of that for his back and if when he gets rescued. Maybe he should just break out if Ha’si really didn’t want Izuku to die here - sounds bad but Izuku was a bit on edge over everything that had been happening - and Ha’si could read and Keigo could read and they could probably at least send out a distress signal if Izuku got them inside to the communications room (If they have one? Was that a strictly human thing, or did other species group things together like that?).

“ I didn’t think humans could just like looking at things… ”  Oc’aco informs, and Izuku hums, looking at her.

“Humans like looking at all sorts of things,” Izuku shrugs, “But I like stars especially,” 

“Did you mean you, especially, like stars?” Ha’si corrects, and Izuku shakes his head slightly, pausing for a second.

“ I like stars more than I like looking at other things, but humans put words like ‘especially’ after the word they are emphasising. So if I said that I, especially, like stars, it would mean that I like stars more than the average human does, and while that’s a correct sentence, it’s not what I wanted to communicate.” After a few seconds of pauses, Ha’si lets out a small screech, which Izuku almost flinches at, but he realises that Ha’si is just very - probably overwhelmingly - happy.

“ Oh, you’re so smart! You communicated that really well. ” Ha’si coos and Izuku feels like that would be the Yamatakm’s equivalent of a baby voice. Distinctly, Izuku feels rather embarrassed, but he smiles anyway. He hardly ever was called smart by anyone except his mother, and even then she only did it when Izuku’s reports cards came in, not when he could sprout twenty different facts about the closest livable planet and its wildlife - or in this case, human prepositions.

Notes:

How are y'all doing? I hope you're doing good! Thanks to some of the comments (And I do read all of them) I had the energy to continue writing today!

Chapter 16: What does 'fuck' mean?

Summary:

It's like when you hear a swear word for the first time and you ask your parents what they mean, but with a tired Dadzawa and an alien language. Plutonic hand-holding is cute!

Izuku had been there for eight days which mean his missed Kacchan's birthday! He had done the math in the morning (loosely scribbled in the first unused page of the journal while Ha’si had helped with his back). Honestly, he barely slept, but that’s alright because he needs to get back into the right sleep cycle anyway. 

Izuku had a bit of time before Oc’aco woke - probably - so he wanted to read over the journal while Keigo and Ha’si went off to get some water and food.

‘I don’t know how long we’ve been here, but it’s been at least a month. I just got given my bag again and they’ve taken any that could be remotely a weapon - even my fucking toothbrush.’ It wasn’t exactly funny but it was so nice to read another human's words that Izuku was smiling slightly. ‘ So far, I’ve fought at least seven different species, and each is harder than the last. I’m pretty sure I’ve broken my leg during the last one and these brandings fucking burn. I’ve been using a mix of different plants (See diagrams on the next page) to treat them, but my wife says it looks infected this time.’

This would be… Oliver Wilcher. He and his wife - Agatha - travelled together - and they were the ones who went missing a few years ago. Damn, Izuku was really hoping he was wrong about who was trapped here. But, at least Oliver had the sense to document things - including the plants. Hopefully, there would be a bit of insight into what plants are edible or not. Izuku would probably be needing more iron at this point too - he hadn’t had red meat since he got here. Izuku looks at the footnote of the paragraph.

‘Update, I am allergic to one of the plants we’ve been using, stopped using it and the swelling went down within two hours. See diagram three. Do not use if allergic to cats (My only known allergy).’

Izuku wasn’t allergic to anything - which was a part of the reason he was approved for early departure. That, and Izuku was given an estimated IQ of 149 and which was the highest of all the applicants they had received this year. Izuku knew he was smart, but he didn’t think it would really come in handy for much while studying other than… well, studying? He does love learning a new language now that he has the basics down. That reminds him -

“ Hey, A’zawa, what does - - mean ?” Izuku asks, repeating the word he had said two cycles ago after Izuku had woken up. Izuku doesn’t even need to look up from the diagrams of the plants to know that A’zawa just did a double-take.

“ Where did you hear that? ” A’zawa asks, and Izuku snorts.

“ From you. ” Izuku looks up now, “ I quote, ‘But if he hurts any of my - - teens, it’ll be on you’ directed at Keigo . Is it… A word kits aren’t supposed to say? ”

“ Yes. It’s another word for… the process of creating children. Don’t -”

“ But Mo'oma says it all the time. It’s also okay to say when you’re in pain, or a tough situation,” Oji says, tail anxiously swaying behind him. That was his first time ever directly speaking to Izuku, so Izuku knew why he was anxious.

“ Okay, so it means exactly what I thought it did,” Izuku concludes, smiling slightly when A’zawa facepalms (Like how a cat will cover its eyes when it’s asleep, but it’s a huge cat and it’s from exasperation).  

“ Do humans have words like that? ” Oji asks, sitting down next to A’zawa.

“ Yeah ,” Izuku nods, “ We have… a lot of them.”

“That’s -” 

“ Masrao ,” M’zo grumbles, “ Your tail, get it out of my face, ”  Oji quickly moves, his tail almost hitting A’zawa.

“ Sorry, M’zo! I didn’t see you there.”

“ Masrao? Oji’o Masrao? ” Izuku tilts his head slightly.

“ Oji’o is my - - name, ” Oji fills in, “ Masrao is my handed- ” (maybe that means given… ) “ name. Do humans have two names? Like, the Kit gets one of the -” Izuku presumes this word means parent’s “- names?” Izuku nods.

“ Humans have up to four names but I’m Midoriya Izuku,” Izuku says, “Izuku is my given name. ”

“ Soji M’zo ,” M’zo greets, finally sitting up, “ M’zo is my given name, ”

“ A’zawa S’ota, ” A’zawa finally relents when the three teens turn to him. “ S’ota is my given name, but I don’t want you to use it. ”

“ A’zawa it is then! I don’t care which of my names you use ,” Izuku informs, turning back to the journal in his hand. 

“ Keigo and Ha’si have been getting water for a long while now, should we go check on them? ” Oji’o asks A’zawa, who sighs. Izuku fills in the answer before A’zawa even has the chance.

“Aren’t they, like, a pairing? They’re probably fucking.” So what if Izuku was swearing just to watch the A’zawa regret swearing himself? It was also interesting to see Oji’o and M’zo just… blink at him like they weren’t expecting him to swear so soon. Oc’aco stirs - mumbling something that sounds like ‘Mo'oma’ before rolling slightly. 

“ Oc’aco, you need to get up, I wanna tell you about the new word I learned from A’zawa, ” Izuku mutters, gently rolling Oc’aco back over. Oc’aco opens her eyes slowly, then jolts when she sees Izuku.

“ OH, STARS-”

“ You could just say fuck -”

“ Izuku, ” A’zawa warns, his tail puffing slightly in a threat and Izuku could only grin, even watching at A’zawa’s eyes start turning red.

“ Oh, come on. It’s not that bad, ” Izuku defends, pouting slightly, while Oc’aco sits up all the way.

“ A’zawa - what are you teaching him? How does he know what that word means -” Oc’aco starts, stopping when A’zawa sighs and closes two of his eyes.

“ Ur’acha, I didn’t teach him it, he just- ”

“ Ur’acha Oc’aco, ” Izuku mimics Oc’aco’s second name and Oc’aco gasps slightly.

“ Yes, yes. Oc’aco is my given name! ” Oc’aco’s wings flutter softly, and she leans forwards, hesitatingly reaching her hand out towards Izuku. Izuku watches it, letting her rest her hand on top of his.

“ Midoriya Izuku ,” Izuku introduces himself, and Oc’aco pats his hand softly, giving him a small smile.

“ It’s nice to properly meet you, Izuku. ”

Keigo and Ha’si came back shortly after Izuku had gone back to reading.

“ Hey, What are you doing? ” Keigo asks, sitting next to Izuku and sitting the water down next to the fire.

“ I’m reading ,” Izuku flicks the page to a few diagrams of food that Oliver had determined to be edible (And he flicked a few pages past that to make sure he didn’t die after eating them).

“ Reading, huh? Is that human language? ” Ha’si asks, after making sure the M’zo was alright to take the water and boil it. Honestly, the teens Izuku is with are smarter than most human teens would be, but they’re probably trained or something considering they were caught with A’zawa, who is supposedly a ‘hero’ - Izuku doesn’t want to think ‘space cop’ because of how human cops are. 

“ It’s one of them, yeah. ” Izuku makes sure to read the annotations under the diagrams, in case one of the two other humans had an adverse reaction.

“ How many are there ?” Ha’si leans over Izuku’s shoulder to see the pages.

“ Written or spoken? ” Izuku shifts so Ha’si can see a bit better.

“ Are the answers different? ” 

“ It’s like, three thousand languages difference…” Izuku pauses, glancing at Ha’si surprised face before explaining, “seven thousand spoken, and four thousand of those have a written form . And then about three hundred of those have signs - using our hands - for the members of our species who can’t hear. ” 

“ Members of your species who can't hear? Wouldn’t that be a huge disadvantage? How do you hunt something if you can’t hear it? ” 

“ Wait until I tell you that some humans can’t see - Oh, and some see too many things when they hear or smell things which I’ve always found kind of weird but most of them - paint - and they’re usually pretty good at it... but some humans brains are different too, and that can be difficult to survive with - ” Izuku pauses, “ I fucked up somewhere in that last sentence… ” 

“ What’s  - paint -?” Oc’aco asks, and Izuku sighs.

“Paint is sort of like - I don’t actually think I know any words that would line up with it… That would be why I fucked up…”

“ Is that a plant? ” Ha’si asks, pointing at one of the diagrams on the page.

“ Yeah, it’s one of the ones in here, ”  Izuku looks closer. Supposedly like a Passionfruit, if a bit more sour, probably also high in vitamin C. Izuku also makes sure to grab some of the coconut - just a handful - to eat on the walk around the place. He wants to find some of the fruits drawn in here, and save some of the dried nutrient powder for when he really needs it or can’t move too far (Like if he gets hurt during the fights).

“ Can I come with you? ” Oc’aco asks, already climbing to her feet. Izuku shrugs.

“ Sure, if you want to. ”

“ Ur’acha, you should probably take Oji’o or Soji too -”

“ Oji! M’zo! Are you two coming? ” Oc’aco turns to the surprised teens, and Oji glances at Izuku like Izuku might just pounce on him before looking back to Oc’aco’s pleading face. They both share a look and sigh softly before standing. Oc’aco cheers, wrapping them both in a quick hug before she grabs Izuku’s hand and starts to lead him. Honestly, Izuku didn’t mind the casual affection, but he did notice how the other boys tensed up slightly, expecting Izuku to attack at any moment. Izuku wouldn’t, he didn’t want to hurt anyone here, but he understands why they’re concerned about it.

Oc’aco didn’t let go, and Izuku follows her through the grasses and eventually around the pond, into the trees. Izuku isn’t sure how big this cage is, but he does want to find out. It seems like he’s going to because Oc’aco is determined to call it an ‘adventure day’. Oji and M’zo seemed to be being dragged along as much as Izuku is - because neither of them shares Oc’aco’s enthusiasm today.  Honestly, Izuku isn’t sure whether it’s her species that’s bouncy, or whether that’s just Oc’aco’s general behaviour, but the boys seem resigned to it as though they already know what she’s like. Izuku watches her wings bound slightly as she walks, and they shimmer in multiple colours, like a rainbow sheet. Izuku didn’t want to stop staring at them, but he figured that might be a little weird and he was supposed to be focused on other things, like plants or seeing if there are any animals around. 

Notes:

Hia! So, I realise that I've written 'USJ' a few times, and that's just because that's how it's pronounced, however, it would probably be closer to Uschjay instead of an acronym and I'll be using that in the future/editing soon so it's uniform.

Chapter 17: Izuku is Protective

Summary:

Walkies/exploration, Oc'aco nearly gets munched on, and Izuku kills something (for trying to munch on Oc'aco).

Izuku quickly figured out something that set humans apart from other species - he already knew about it, but he hadn’t seen it in action until the first time Oc’aco asked for a break. It hadn’t even been more than half an hour, Izuku was nowhere near needing a break, but he could see the exhaustion on Oc’aco’s face, how her wings drooped slightly and the way she stumbled when she asked.

Izuku knew that humans had high endurance, but he didn't realise how little other species had. Honestly, if the other two teens didn't also look run down, Izuku would've just picked Oc'aco up while she recovered. But, as it was, Oc'aco, M'zo and Oji looked like they needed a ten-minute break. Izuku was bored after a few minutes and started to pace while he waited, munching on a bit of coconut and looking at particular plants. 

" How are you still standing? Let alone walking ?" Oc'aco asks legs stretched out in front of her as she sits on a boulder. 

"... This is the sort of movement that humans do for fun, so, like," Izuku shrugs, " I'm used to it?"  

" Fun? Humans hike for fun ?" Oc'aco asks, taken aback. 

" Yeah, personally I've hiked for over 16 hours in one go," it was for training, but he didn't mention that.  

" 16 hours? You've gotta be a fucking - - - - " Oji mutters two words that Izuku doesn't know, shaking his head. Of course, Izuku repeats them with a frown. 

"Uh - it's another thing kits Aren't really supposed to say… but it's like, uh," 

" The first one is sometimes used for realisation or exclamation, but it's like, uh, just someone unpleasant ," Oc'aco tries to explain, and Izuku just stares expectantly at Oji, who sighs. 

" The second is like, traditionally something so scary even a - -" some species name , "wouldn't hang out near you. Like, A'zawa's pretty intimating, and he's a - - if you try to fight him, but usually it's sort of reserved for Nomu and their handlers?" 

"Nomu?" Izuku repeats.  

"Ugh, fighters - with the branding. It's usually used to describe something powerful and scary," 

 

---

It wasn’t long before they were moving again, and Izuku let himself occasionally go off the path, letting the others have a small break while he looked at the interesting bugs or plants around - he found a few trees that looked like they had been witnessed to some fights between something around shin-height with Izuku, most likely a boar kit - like a baby one? The gouges defintely look like tusk marks. A few other trees had marks like bear claws on the bark, as though a bear had been dragging their claws on it like they did on Earth. Honestly, the thought of being caught in here with a bear of all things was terrifying, but Izuku tried not the think about it - and it was easy to forget about once he saw some of the fruits he was after.

Izuku put a few in his bag because he wasn’t hungry enough to eat anything right now but he did want to try them later. He also found a water bottle. He needed to wash it, and he was confused as to why it was out there, but it would come in handy. Honestly, it was a bit… weird to find it out way passed the human camp, but hopefully, it was just that Oliver dropped it before his last fight or something and not intentionally left - it smells like literal poison. Not just like mould, or mildew or something. It smells incredible bitter, vaguely plant-like and the small alone made Izuku’s stomach turn over slightly. Izuku didn’t know if he should use it but cause it reminds him of when he had to sniff for poisons (again, battalion training). Honestly, he was sort of pissed he couldn’t remember what he was smelling. 

Izuku was determined to figure out just how big of a cage he was in, so he needed to push that emotion to the side for a bit. They’d been walking for over an hour now, so it’s about four kilometres long at least (This isn’t particularly accounting for rests between walking). So, maybe five kilometres at max? How much walking would the guards have to do to get to Izuku if he walked to the edge of the cage and just waited? He could probably run the whole thing fairly quickly - and last longer than most of the guards could at that speed. Maybe a distraction would give the others a chance to escape while he was going.

Izuku glances over his shoulder at the three others, watching the way their exhaustion is affecting their form.

“ You guys should have another break, I won’t wander to far ,” Izuku mutters, already starting to go a bit more to the side to see if the wall is still in view. It buzzes with Electricity when he gets to close, so he hasn’t touched it yet. If the electricity ever fails or is cut off he could probably scale the wall and get over the top of it fairly easily. Of course, that means nothing if the electricity never turns off. Izuku could probably cook something with the electricity - Izuku can look along the wall and see the corner now, it can’t be more than ten minutes to walk. But, it would seem there is water - a river maybe?

Maybe Izuku could -

Something plastic catches Izuku's eye. That’s definitely man-made. Izuku walks over to it and picks it up, turning it over in his hands. It’s a container with… Salt? Baking Soda? Cocaine? White powder, at any rate. Izuku hesitates for a moment before he dips his finger in it and eats a small amount. Salt. Izuku puts it in his bag and quickly does a search of the area to make sure he hasn’t missed any other human stuff.

A knife! It’s not even rusty this time!

Izuku glances at where Oc’aco, Soji and Oji are sitting before quickly tucking the knife in his bag. Better keep it on his person, just in case. It’ll come in handy if Izuku manages to actually hunt something.

Izuku walks back over to the group as they stand, and Oc’aco stretches her wings out, allowing the light to catch on them and reflect rainbows over the forest floor for a moment. Izuku watches them, resisting the urge to pounce on them like a cat would chase a laser or light reflection. Would that work on A’zawa? He’s sort of like a cat, if a bit larger than the average tiger (Which is so not terrifying and Izuku does not have to actively resist the urge to flinch every time A’zawa moves too fast because it’s a five-metre long cat that can easily curl around Izuku twice). Izuku would have to test that if he ever found a piece of glass or a crystal that’s a bit more see-through than his obsidian knife.

Oc’aco doesn’t waste any time in taking Izuku’s hand again and starting to walk. Her skin is soft, and a tad colder than Izuku but he doesn’t mind. It’s really hot anyway, so it’s welcome compared to the heat of the sun. Izuku wished he wasn’t this sweaty, but from what he could tell there is actually water up ahead anyway.

Did Other species swim for fun, or is that just humans? Big cats like tigers do it on Earth, so A’zawa might, and Oc’aco seems to have wings like a dragonfly so she might hover around water without many problems… Oji is… not particularly comparable to any species on earth except maybe a monkey or something with his tail, but he might like water? Soji probably doesn’t, considering his more bug-like appearance. Honestly, Izuku isn’t exactly hopeful about anyone else being willing to swim or anything. He would probably sit in the water for a bit to cool off if it’s not deep enough to actually swim in.

Izuku flinches at the sudden light difference when they step out of the trees. The sun is bright here, and Izuku wishes it wasn’t. He was sunburnt as fuck from his fight already, he didn’t need more burning. But, at least he was right about the water. It’s close to the fence, but not quite touching it. There are a few centimetres of dirt between the fence (still buzzing with electricity) and the water. It smells salty, like the ocean, and Oc’aco and Oji curl their noses at the smell. Izuku doesn’t really know if Soji can smell through the mask he has on, which Izuku realises is probably why he doesn’t have pincers.

Izuku could probably clean out that bottle here, considering saltwater would work better than fresh water and no one could actually drink it anyway - did something just move under the water?

Something is moving.

Izuku sets down the bottle next to him, his other hand anxiously hovering over his knife. He keeps his eyes trained on the moving spot of the water while Oc’aco is chatting with Soji, and slowly moving towards the water despite the smell.

“ Do you guys think it’s drinkable ?” Oc’aco asks, crouching as she moves a few inches closer. The movement under the surface follows her, now just in front of her.

“ Oc’aco. Move away from the water ,”

“ Izuku ?” She asks hesitantly, as Izuku pulls his knife out of his holster.

“ She hasn’t - ”

Izuku is already lunging forwards, hand without the knife slamming down on top of the jaw of the crocodile, allowing the momentum to roll him and the crocodile to roll over and land with Izuku on top of it. He quickly brings down his knife to the back of its skull, hitting it at an angle to make sure it hits the brain. It’s at least two and a half metres long, and Izuku lets out a breath when it goes completely limp.

“ What is that!? ” Oc’aco screams, jumping backwards straight into Oji’o. Oji’o stabilises her while staring at Izuku.

“Crocodile , ” Izuku grunts, slowly letting go of its jaw, cautious even though he knows it’s dead. His back is fucking screaming at him, and his chest is burning slightly again, but Izuku was glad that he didn’t let Oc’aco get munched on by the massive saltwater Crocodile. “ They’re stealth hunters, usually, but… yeah, it’s a death-world predator. Congrats on not, like, dying or whatever. ” 

Izuku rolls the knife over his knuckles so it’s held in a different grip before he carefully starts to cut the Crocodile's neck to make sure that it’s bleeding out. He knew a bit about processing meats and how to make leather, so the size of this kill was very much appreciated. He’d definitely be happy to eat it, considering he hasn’t had any meat for the past week.  

“ You have predators in your water? ” Oc’aco asks, clearly distraught at the idea. Izuku just chuckles while he nods and stands. Carrying it might be a bitch for the two-hour walk back, but at least he’ll get frequent rest with the others while he carries it. 

“ What are you doing with it? ” Oc’aco squeaks out when Izuku lifts it onto his shoulder with a small huff. It’s lighter than he expected, but it’s still heavy.

“ Well, I’m planning on taking it back and eating it… Why? ”

“ Okay! ” she puffs, shrinking just slightly into Oji’o. Oji’o protectively wraps his tail around her, lifting her onto his back. “ I thought you only ate plants. ”

“ No, I don’t. Besides, it’s kind of wasteful to kill something without eating it, if capable of doing so.” Izuku shrugs, adjusting the massive scaley corpse on his shoulder before they start the walk back.   

Notes:

Happy Feral Izuku Aprication Friday (FIAF. Also, IDK if it's Friday for you guys, but it's Friday for me so)

Chapter 18: It's called a Crocodile!

Summary:

Reactions to Izuku bringing back a dead thing, Acknowledges that he is a child, and then an extra soft sleepy scene for y'all

Izuku was glad that he could stop frequently because this extra weight was definitely making this more of an endurance test than what Izuku thought was possible. By the time they were getting back to camp, it was already starting to get dark and A’zawa is pacing in front of the fire. Izuku dumps the crocodile on the ground before he grabs a drink and skulls it all in one go. Honestly, he could’ve planned the walk a little better, but he couldn’t change it now. Now he just had to deal with... everything.

“What the ever-loving fuck is that?” A’zawa asks, freezing mid-step to stare at the crocodile.

“It’s called a - crocodile.” Izuku supplies, huffing as he opens his bag and pulls out a knife.

“Why -” A’zawa starts, getting cut off by a still frazzled Oc’aco squeaking.

“It tried to eat me!” 

Izuku nods, already mapping out where to cut through the skin for the best chance at getting a good hide from it.

“What are you doing there, Izuku?” Keigo chirps, hovering over Izuku’s shoulder. 

“Uh… I’m gonna peel its skin off.” Izuku replies, already making the incisions on its neck.

“What the fuck? Is that some sort of deathworlder ritual or something?” The first part of the sentence is soft and almost unhearable, but Izuku wouldn’t’ve responded to it even if it wasn’t. 

“Sort of. We - uh, this’ll sound really bad - but we wear it? We put it through a process to stop it from rotting, and we make clothes out of it…” Izuku shrugs, now rolling the carcass over to carve off the top cut of flesh, leaving the underbelly on the ground where it was once laid. Honestly, Izuku was doing well for someone who had only ever watched two videos on how to do this.

“ ... Do you do that with everything you kill? ”

“Most things - if they’re big enough... But this one’s probably too big, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to eat all this, ” Izuku mumbles, huffing slightly. He doesn’t really have anything to wrap around the meat to stop coal from getting on it - could he get more banana leaves for it? That’d work. Add some spices to each cut of meat and see what tastes the best? That could work out good if Izuku didn’t like all of them, therefore not having to eat them. Izuku could also be fairly picky about the parts he doesn’t want to eat, like the feet, head and intestines. 

The hide is in good condition, with no scars or scrapes or anything on it. Izuku was sort of surprised about that, but he figures there mustn’t be much competition or other predators around to damage it. And it’s pretty young, so that might also be a part of it. Izuku did need to scrape most of the fat off, and it would add flavour to whatever batch of meat Izuku would throw it in with. This was a good kill with lots of meat and a good condition of the skin.

All and all, Izuku was kind of proud? Even on Earth, not many people would survive an encounter with a Crocodile this size, and Izuku hadn’t just survived, but he had won . He’d done something that not many other people would be able to say they’ve ever done (Other than being the youngest person in space, one of the smartest people in space, being strong enough to lift twice his body weight -) aka Izuku is just being Izuku Fucking Midoriya. Still, Izuku could have pride in killing and eating one of the best predators from Earth. A part of that thought also made him slightly nauseous. He shouldn’t feel pride in being a killer, even if it’s just an animal. But, Oc’aco was still alive, so there is that.

Oc’aco gently rest her hand on Izuku’s shoulder, “ Izuku? You kinda… stopped paying attention for a moment there… ” Izuku understood approximately none of what she just said.

“Huh? Uh, sorry?” That was English, wasn’t it? They don’t know English. Izuku sighs, closing his eyes, “ Sorry, I kind of forgot words. What did you say?”

“ You… are you feeling okay? You’re not paying much attention to anything. ”

“I’m okay, I guess. Just, uh,” Izuku glances down, at the carcass in front of him, “It’s a bit… a bit much,”   

“ The ‘Cro’odelle’?”

“Crocodile, and more just… I haven’t, like, killed much before?” Izuku shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck and resisting the urge to scratch a few centimetres down, on the branding. It was still sore, and breathing was hurting again. It was healing really well, but moving so fast earlier had pulled it practically open again. Izuku’s nails brush over it subconsciously before he pulls his hand back to a neutral position.

“You really haven’t much, or you haven’t at all? Not even back on your own planet?”

“I’ve killed a total of three things and all of them have been here! I’m basically a kit!" Izuku snaps, huffing. He didn’t mean to get defensive, but he is tired and he actually hated to be perceived so violently. Snapping wasn’t helping. Honestly, it was probably making the perception worse by the way that Oc’aco tensed like she was about to bolt, and Keigo and A’zawa were half up as though they were going to pull her away from him. She was just curious, but Izuku felt like… his efforts to be not threatening were being overlooked, essentially. It wasn't, humans were just considered extremely dangerous. 

Izuku huffs, rolling his eyes and turning back to his dead Crocodile. It hadn’t moved, for obvious reasons. He starts to work his way down the body, cutting the meat up into sizable chunks that’ll probably take five hours or so each to cook. That means he could sit them in the fire and leave them for the night without having to worry about burning them. He still needs something to cook them in though.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Izuku mutters, taking his knife with him while he walks into the forest again. When he’s almost there, he hears A’zawa’s voice.

“Leave him alone for a bit, Oc’aco. He’s probably just trying to calm down.”

Izuku was quick to get leaves, herbs and some vegetables. It still took him the longer side of ten minutes, but he was much more emotionally regulated by the time he got back. Prepping was easy, and Izuku could toss two of the bundles into the fire to cook while he wrap the rest tight enough that he didn’t feel too worried about them rotting. He didn’t know how long he could get away with most of the meat not being cooked, considering the heat during the day could speed up the decomposition process and make them inedible.

But Izuku decided that was a problem for tomorrow's Izuku while he also grabbed one of the spare barrels from near the door to soak this skin in. Soaking it will help with the scraping that Izuku needs to do. Another problem for tomorrow's Izuku, though, because Izuku finds himself curling up on Keigo again. He did a lot of exercises today and he was tired.

 

Izuku woke up on A’zawa's front leg, head nestled underneath the tuft of fur on A’zawa’s chest. Honestly, it was sort of embarrassing to be snuggled half under a much bigger predator, let alone having a bad dream but Izuku tried not to think about it while he rotated himself so his feet are tucked under A’zawa’s chest and he can look around a bit better. It’s the middle of the night cycle, and Izuku is half sure that A’zawa isn’t actually asleep, but he nuzzles closer and gently pats A’zawa’s fur. Oc’aco, Soji and Oji are all also tucked into A’zawa’s side and covered by his tail while Keigo and Ha'si are curled around each other on the other side of the fire. It’s cold during the night, but A’zawa seems to handle it fine through his fur. Maybe he’s been overheating during the day and that’s why he’s so grumpy?

A’zawa is definitely not asleep, because as soon as Izuku moves that little bit closer, A’zawa starts to purr.

It’s a deep purr, and the vibrations coming from A’zawa’s chest help ease Izuku’s headache that he didn’t even realise he had. Izuku moves even closer, practically disappearing under A’zawa’s fur and curling slightly. When A’zawa pauses, Izuku mimics the sound by rolling his tongue in hopes that A’zawa would continue. A’zawa’s nose gently pokes the top of Izuku’s head, and he huffs as Izuku moves to look at him. Izuku mimics the noise again, and A’zawa purrs softly, making Izuk’s eyes slip closed as he relaxes again. He rolls back onto A'zawa's paw. Honestly, Izuku hadn’t felt this good since before he was trapped here. It helps that the noise is very distracting.

Izuku’s back is tight, and he whines slightly when A’zawa stops again. After another second, Izuku huffs softly and opens one eye to look at A’zawa, who seems to be grinning. Not in a threatening way, Izuku determined after a second. A’zawa licks Izuku’s hair, and Izuku groans, rolling over to look up at A’zawa’s still smugly grinning face. His tongue is as sand-papery as Izuku expected, and A’zawa could probably graze Izuku’s skin if he pushed hard enough. A’zawa licks Izuku’s hair again, and Izuku decides that trying to get him to stop would be too much effort, thus flopping against A’zawa’s paws and letting himself get groomed by the grumpy space cat.

Izuku is rolled over, fairly gently, when A’zawa has finished the one side.  He’d probably have an anxiety attack if A’zawa’s purring didn’t start up again. Izuku momentarily felt like a ball of string, or a mouse. Like A’zawa was about to pounce, just by the way he was rolled. Instead, Izuku huffs while hugging A’zawa’s other paw. Izuku’s hair is basically brushed by A’zawa’s tongue, and Izuku starts to drift back to sleep.

Izuku does jolt slightly when A’zawa licks his back. It hurt, but nowhere near as bad as it should’ve. Cat’s can have antibacterial saliva, right? Maybe he’s trying to help it heal? Still, he probably shouldn’t aggravate Izuku’s injuries. Izuku lets go of A’zawa’s paw and the Nekitty stops, looking at Izuku for a moment before nuzzling him back under his chest fur while purring. Izuku didn’t bother resisting and curled up again to go back to sleep. A’zawa was being very nice right now, and Izuku felt… like a kid again, really. Like he didn’t have to be scary or strong or powerful. Izuku could be soft and warm and cared for. 

But he missed his mother - more so right now. He used to struggle to sleep for ages, and on nights like these, she’d sing him back to sleep. Izuku could sing, probably… It wouldn’t be as good as his mother's singing, and he was tired but these songs have helped him sleep before. Would A’zawa care about it? Probably not. He probably wouldn’t understand the lyrics either. Did that matter? It was more for Izuku to fall asleep too. Maybe Izuku could just hum? It’s not like he could sing under all this fur anyway.

Notes:

The Dadzawa effect is in full swing because he realises that Izuku is very much a child. (A dangerous, overpowered child, but still a child).
Also, A'zawa having a full-on crisis about how to comfort a deathworlder child and Izuku is just being like 'You know what, you're fluffy and make me feel safe'

Chapter 19: Humans have bad dreams

Summary:

Bit of a time skip because of writer's block, but also because I just wanted to write the nightmare scene and get a chapter out today.

Izuku almost freaked out when he woke up surrounded by nothing but fur. ‘Almost’ - It was a mild freak out, just a sharp inhale and moving to brush the fur off his face before he remembered where he was.

A’zawa also now knew a weakness because Izuku completely relaxed as soon as he started to purr. It was almost like all the nervous energy was just zapped out of him. Izuku loved cats back home too, so he guessed there was a reason for it? Maybe he was just extremely anxious for no reason.

“ What’s got you so happy this morning? ” Keigo chirps, and A’zawa chuckles.

“ Nothing, Izuku just really likes me - - ” Izuku was going to assume that word meant purring, and while A’zawa was preoccupied with talking, Izuku crawls his way out from the large cat-like predator. Izuku rubs his eyes, blinking tiredly.

“ Good Morning, Izuku! ” Oc’aco greets, smiling at him while he rubs his eyes.

“ Good Morning, Oc’aco. ” Izuku hadn’t exactly spoken in a ‘morning voice’ much before, because a lot of the times he was up before anyone else and he’d rarely had any experience with it because his voice had only just started to crack at all, let alone actually get any deeper. Oc’aco actually had to blink a few times before she could process that he actually said good morning back. 

“ You sound… different? ” Oc’aco tilts her head while Oji’o hands her a drink.

“ Is that a question or an observation? ” Izuku mutters back, turning his head towards the fire where he should have some meat ready to eat, “Either way, it’ll fade eventually. It’s because I just woke up. ”

“ That… What? ”

“... I have no idea how to explain it, or exactly why it happens.” Izuku shrugs, pulling out the bundle of food he put in the fire yesterday.

“ How about we teach you some more words then? It might help you with how to explain more human things. ” Keigo offers, sitting next to Izuku, who shrugs and nods.

“ Sure. You wanna try some of this? ” Izuku offers, gesturing to the meat bundle he’s unwrapping and blinking at how fast his voice went back to normal.

“ You’d share with me? ”

“ Yeah ,” Izuku huffs, nodding and looking at A’zawa, “ What about you? You wanna try it? ”

“ Do humans usually share with each other? ” Oc’aco asks, and Izuku nods at her.

“ What, do you really think I could eat it all on my own? ”

 

Izuku, Oc’aco and Keigo settled into a routine. They’d wake up (Izuku settled into a sleep cycle that consisted of a six-hour sleep one cycle and a two-hour sleep the next, like a nap in the afternoons), either make something or have A’zawa and Ha’si already have something made, and Izuku would learn. After about a week, Ha’si also started to join in. He’d ask more questions about languages that humans have. Of course, this also leads to Izuku teaching Ha’si bits and pieces of English. Explaining how he understands the language was… uncomfortable, to say the least.

To say a bit more about it, well… Izuku knew all about the experiments done in America on a group of captured aliens. They showed major brain deterioration by the time that over half of them died, but they could still sort of talk and a lot of that is where humans picked up the bits and pieces of ‘common’ that Izuku had known before he arrived here. Sufficed to say he did not want to explain that, but it was sort of important. He did know that one of them escaped about two years into the experiment, while the others died slowly over the next decade. 

He tried not to say many bad things about humans, but he did have to argue the point when Oc’aco suggested that because humans were so adapted to learning a language, they must’ve never had trouble communicating with each other. Humans struggled to communicate with each other to the point of three different world wars, where thousands died for reasons Izuku didn’t quite understand. Of course, Izuku then had to explain that most of the time humans don’t actually like fighting, but view it necessary for survival in some situations.

Then Izuku had to explain that he was not alive during those wars or the experiments. They happened a long time ago for humans (about two hundred years). It seemed to help them understand a bit more, but they were all sort of concerned when Izuku had mentioned while it was his first time killing something, it was not his first fight.

Izuku then had to explain that human kids fought all the time and sometimes would single out the ‘weaker’ kids to socially isolate them and often would physically hurt them as well. Izuku didn’t exactly go into much detail, but he did explain that he went through something like that because he was one of the smallest kids in his school until around a year ago. He was kind of hesitant to tell them that, and he had progressively got smaller, subconsciously, as he talked about it. He didn’t even notice until a tail and a wing wrapped around him, A’zawa and Keigo were comforting him. That felt nice. 

Izuku handled making leather during the downtime, mostly around the ‘sunset’ sort of time, after he’d learnt about as much as he could for the day. It was hard to explain that humans had a limit on how much information they could take in and that it would replenish over time, but Izuku found most things hard to explain so he eventually got the message across (after a fair bit of struggling). 

Izuku was sure he had accidentally said ‘physical pain is just a guideline’ when A’zawa had asked about a survival situation when learning would save someone’s life. They left it at that on that day, and the next day A’zawa asked what exactly that meant and Izuku was stuck explaining that humans could ignore pain signals if they had enough fear or anger. Izuku would’ve said adrenaline if he knew the word for it.  He did have to ignore the way everyone else flinched at the knowledge that humans could basically be unstoppable for about twenty minutes. 

Izuku had read the journal in its entirety by now. Honestly, it was a perfect example of humans doing and enjoying terrible things. Oliver had done shit things - like poisoning his wife after he found out she was pregnant. He forced her into it initially, from what Izuku could tell. That made it even worse. After his wife was murdered - it was murder - Oliver sort of went off the deep end, and his ramblings became more and more deranged. He started eating fruits that he hoped were poisonous, in an attempt to kill himself after his wife had tossed the bottle with poison away before she had died (the journal said before Oliver had to ‘finish her off by hand’). 

While Izuku hated reading about it, it did give him a good idea of what was edible in the cell (that is, basically everything). Apparently, Oliver had used the only small belladonna plant in the entire enclosure which made Izuku think it wasn’t supposed to be in the enclosure, to begin with. Whoever made this enclosure knew what humans could or could not eat, and made it basically impossible for any human put in here to kill themselves (unless one counts the crocodile). Izuku hated not knowing anything about it, but unfortunately, he had no way of finding out any more information. 

Izuku liked having a routine. It made the whole thing sort of… More in his control. His anxiety wasn’t spirling out of control. Until more nightmares came.

It had been a week, easily. So, a total of 15 days since he woke up here. Eight of those were after his first fight. But now that he’d tried to process his feelings about the fights, they were in his nightmares.

 

---

He won his first fight - though he felt like he was drowning the entire time - and he was still gasping for air by the time the next predator was released. Obviously, Izuku went down when he was tackled by… it’s not exactly A’zawa, but it’s the same species. A little smaller, with some sort of weird patterning on it, like how veins look under humans' skin but it’s the fur pattern of a vicious predator that’s trying to rip Izuku limb for limb. The sand is burning in Izuku’s brandings - they aren’t even fully healed yet.

Honestly, Izuku needs to focus on getting it off him. It doesn’t seem to budge at all with his squirming or pushing. It shouldn’t be that heavy, should it? Izuku could lift almost three times his body weight and it’s not that big. Honestly, it’s like Izuku isn’t even moving!

Izuku swallows his panic. There’s gotta be a way outta here, right? If he just -

His thoughts are cut off as the Nekitty on top of him bites at his arm - the crack and ensuing pain tell him all he needs to know. Broken. Izuku can’t even scream, just whimper and squirm some more. He manages to push a bit away from it before it scratches over the back of his right leg, making Izuku whimper again, half rolling so that his leg is out of reach. He can’t walk now, just barely able to hold his weight on his shaking arms and push himself away.

Then, it goes for his head. He tries to move, he pushes away with all his might but even then, it manages to secure its jaws around Izuku’s neck.

---

Izuku woke to pain throughout his body, remnants of the nightmare he just had. He’s barely breathing . And he hates it, and the sharp pain in his arm, leg and neck makes him wide awake within a few seconds. His stomach turns, and the only alert he gets before he realises just how much he’d drolling (that’s probably why he felt like he was drowning).

Izuku manages to get a few steps away from camp before he’s throwing up everything in his stomach. He’s crying - he’d always been such a cry baby over nightmares and things that just aren’t real . He’s pathetic, really. No wonder other humans don’t like him - he’s too useless and weak to defend himself from things that aren’t even real.

Izuku coughs, and this time it burns significantly harsher as it comes up. It’s not even diluted with water, it’s just straight-up bile. The smell isn’t helping Izuku’s breathing situation, which is feeding his anxiety, which is why he’s now throwing up.

Izuku sits back on his heels, tilting his head up and breathing in as deeply as he can, letting the cold night air hit his lungs in a very grounding way. The stars are beautiful tonight, and it provides Izuku with a welcome distraction. He doesn’t have to worry about fighting yet. His back still has a week or so before it’s anywhere near healed enough for that.

“Izuku?” Keigo calls, and Izuku hums, turning to look over his shoulder at Keigo, who seems to be hovering nervously. “ Are you alright? ”

“ Yeah, I just - ” Izuku huffs, “ Just a bad dream, ”

“... why are you over here if it was just a bad dream? ”

“Sometimes, when humans are experiencing really intense emotions, they can make themselves sick… like, when you can’t digest something and it comes back up through your throat. ” Izuku swallows some of his saliva in an attempt to stop his throat from burning much more. He needs water. And to get away from the smell.

Izuku didn’t go back to sleep. He sat near the pond, sipping out of his cleaned water bottle and breathing, staring up into the sky as much as he dared. The stars here are beautiful, and Izuku had already done a few dozen sketches of them in his journal. Because it is his journal now. 

Notes:

Sup? How are y'all doing today?

Chapter 20: A'zawa POV (2)

Summary:

A'zawa's thoughts of the dick-ripping scene and his thoughts during the sleepy scene, plus him trying to figure out what exactly is different about Izuku compared to other deathworlders.

Notes:

Instead of every ten chapters for an alternate POV, I'm going to do five because it's easier to pick key bits of information out of the chapters and have it all fit into the one AltPOV with extra thoughts and feelings rather than all shoved messily into the one chapter. Also frequently Alternating POV's helps break writer's block.

The deathworlder was not what S’ota had expected at all. S’ota had expected Keigo to be ripped to pieces in front of him, not mimicked when he tried to teach the deathworlder the language. They had no evidence that he was smart, though. So far he’s just mimicking the words, which may be a part of its hunting style - S’ota didn’t know how deathworlders hunted.

When Keigo opened his mouth to backtalk the guards, S’ota knew something was gonna happen. Keigo gets attacked, knocked down by the first blow. The deathworlder seems to snap into action after seeing violence for the first time. It disarms the guard and dodges an attack in one fluid motion. S’ota flinched as the other guard attacked it from behind - aiming for the legs. It’s a low move but at the same time, that is a dangerous predator that would probably go on some sort of rampage. If it did, hopefully it would stay outside the cells and pass out so the S’ota and the rest of his students could escape.

Instead of passing out - or at least falling over - The deathworlders eyes scan the guard that just attacked him. Then it attacks back. The baton snaps in half, and the deathworlder discards it with a snarl and a puff of air. It brings up its arms instead, blocking most of the view of its chest and holding its long fingers in a tight curl, as though grabbing air. Why is it doing that? It moves in reaction to the guards, disarming the next one and tossing them. S’ota knew deathworlders were fast and strong, but seeing it in person was different than hearing stories - this was terrifyingly real. This was something that could almost fit through the bars and attack at any time. This was what Keigo was stuck in a cage with.

It’s moving on its freshly electrocuted leg - shifting back and forth while it waits for the next attack. It’s also slowly sliding backwards, away from the fight. The guards lunge at it - all three prods striking at once. The deathworlder drops and S’ota is no longer as naive to think that the deathworlder would die from that. It didn’t die from literal poison, and one of those was shaken off within a few minutes. It’s also breathing, S’ota can see its chest rapidly rising and falling.

The guards leave shortly after. Probably to get more Canus. Savage pack animals, who choose to actively keep slaves and participate in running fighting rings like these. It’s not that Nekitties were ever actively enslaved by them - Nekitties are too smart to stay trapped for long - but, for a while, the two species were at war with each other. S’ota had an intense hatred for them after it came out they had enslaved over a thousand Yamatakm’ kits in less than a hundred cycles. 

S’ota was only just out of flight school when he went on the mission to rescue them - and Keigo was a kit at the time. He’s filled out better now - and he even choose one of S’ota’s Co-inhabitants as his mate. It was odd to see him as anything other than the kit he was when S’ota found him, but right now… He’s trapped in a cell with a deathworlder. With Canus guards. This must be tough for

Keigo, to live through those memories while dealing with a highly dangerous predator -

The guards are back, their amusement showing through with their rowdy behaviour. The deathworlder seems to have been immobilised by the electricity - and it’s hissing at the guards defensively. If it can process that just as fast as it can the poison… Well, it’ll probably be able to move soon. S’ota hears one word - and it was the last word the guard said. S’ota thought they were savages for a reason - and this was one of them.

The deathworlder takes a second - probably because the covering on its top half is rather thick - but it snaps its hand up and grasps the guard's dick tightly, and S’ota swears he sees the hand twist slightly. The guards whimpering - pleading for the deathworlder to just let go. It doesn’t, instead, it seems to tighten. S’ota didn’t think its thin, long fingers could do much damage, as it wasn’t as rigid as claws like S’ota has, but apparently, the muscles in the fingers of a deathworlder were powerful enough to start taring the skin of a Canus. S’ota tried not to flinch, especially when the screaming started. S’ota was trying to stay as still as possible - hopefully, deathworlders couldn’t see him or his kits, or Keigo, if they stayed still.

The guard jumps back, yelping in pain before it realises that it… left something behind. The pain is obviously intense - it’s not every day that a Canus loses a reproductive organ. But of course, the deathworlder isn’t done yet - The dick is tossed out on top of the Canus and the deathworlder taunts - taunts - the guard who he just ripped the dick off of. S’ota barely even had time to consider that it could speak a sentence without directly mimicking one. The guard's screaming doesn’t die down until the guard has been dragged all the way off this floor of the ship. The deathworlder takes its time - and only the occasional twitch lets S’ota know that it’s still affected by the electricity. When it sits up, it removes its blood-covered top and moves back to its corner. Its eyes stalk movement, and it’s tense and ready to maim anything that gets too close.

---

This is a very different deathworlder , S’ota thinks, while Izuku nuzzles against his paw. Izuku is asleep - even after S’ota had to pick him up with a hand from M’zo so Keigo could move without worrying about getting crushed. Izuku was heavy, (deathworlders were apparently really heavy in general) but S’ota was used to his class asking for a cuddle pile when the ships temperatures got low. (S’ota was not soft when he said yes, it was only logical for them to all be well-rested for the next day of training.) S’ota only really needed to worry about Izuku’s head anyway.

S’ota was in the middle of his ‘pretending to be asleep’ part of his sleep cycle when Izuku woke. It didn’t mean much until S’ota felt the deathworlder snuggling under his chest fluff. When Izuku adjusts again, S’ota assumed that the deathworlder had just dozed off to sleep. There is nothing wrong with S’ota enjoying close contact with a highly dangerous kit that is trying his best. S’ota can purr in the middle of the night for no reason, as well. It’s not just because Izuku chose to snuggle under him.

Izuku moves closer, and S’ota hesitates. He didn’t expect Izuku to be awake to hear that…

Izuku mimics the noise. S’ota puts his head into his fluff to huff at Izuku, whose head pops out of the fluff afterwards to look up at S’ota before he makes the noise again. Oh, he wants S’ota to purr again. As soon as S’ota starts again, he watches all the tension leave Izuku and he lightly grips S’ota’s paw. S’ota briefly wondered what the deathworlder would do if he stopped, and decided it wouldn’t be violent.

He whines like a sad Canus kit - as kits, they are adorable and cute - and S’ota feels something pulling on his heart's strings but also… the deathworlder likes him purring. He whines like S’ota stopping is the worst thing to happen and S’ota can’t stop grinning now. Even when the deathworlder huff and looks at him, S’ota can’t bring himself to stop. Izuku’s hair is a mess, and S’ota wonders if Izuku has a way to clean it. He hasn’t been taken for a shower since his last fight, so it must be pretty dirty now. Everyone else is asleep and knowing deathworlder pride, Izuku wouldn’t likely share…

S’ota grooms the fur on Izuku’s head, and the deathworlder makes a noise, looks at him again before deciding that whatever he thought of would take too much energy in his sleepy state. He just rolls back over and doesn’t shoo S’ota away as he continues. S’ota did need to get the other side, so he rolls Izuku over and feels bad when he hears the heart rate elevate. S’ota immediately starts purring again - to show he’s not threatening. And it works because Izuku relaxes again. 

No, this deathworlder was quite different to that snarling monster that S’ota saw in the other cell. 

---

Izuku and Oc’aco are sitting next to each other and chatting amicably while they’re prepping some food for the morning. It is the same deathworlder that melts when S’ota starts purring, that curls under S’ota’s chest like a Nekitty kit. It is the same deathworlder that carries Oc’aco when she’s tired after following him around all day. 

S’ota knew, logically, that it was the same deathworlder in that cell as it is out of that cell, with the same small smiles and same spotted face, same green fur and the same hands that tore a dick off a living being. However, this side of the deathworlder also laughed - it was sort of surprising the first time S’ota had heard the noise - and smiled big as well as small. This deathworlder was polite, eager to learn and able to hold its temper. Izuku was smart, a protective over Oc’aco.

This deathworlder, however, was still dangerous. The brandings of a Nomu are pink and still puffy in contrast to the tan of the rest of the deathworlder's skin, a reminder that this was a powerful fighter. The hunted meat of the Crocodile that Izuku brought back was good - S’ota didn’t have to hunt for himself until a few cycles after it was killed - but it was still only a few cycles after an injury that had torn open when Izuku engaged with the Crocodile. 

Izuku tried not to talk about his homeworld - and after a bit of prodding, it turned out even he wasn’t treated very well by other deathworlders. S’ota was half certain that Izuku was an outlier of his species, incredibly smart and strong, but lacking in the extreme violence that his species seems to gravitate towards. Of course, he was still violent, Deathworlder nature probably dictated that. But he wasn’t even a quarter as bad as the stories S’ota had heard. Perhaps what Izuku had wasn’t so much deficient in violent tendencies, but more a tendency to adopt non-deathworlders into his ‘pack’ of protected things... so, perhaps it was more socially deficient. Or did Izuku few them as a territory? Deathworlders were territorial, as much as Izuku would be reluctant to admit it. So, Izuku’s outlying factor is his territorialism over living beings? Did deathworlders have slavery?

“Izuku,” S’ota starts, and Izuku hums - Deathworlders have a lot of sounds for different things - “Are you socially deficient?”

“... Damn, that obvious, huh?” Izuku huffs, seemingly a bit amused, “Yeah, I am. It’s one of the brain variations the humans have, uh, but what made you ask that?”

“I’ve heard that deathworlders often hurt their cellmates after long periods of time, but you seem to have… socially bonded?”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s cause you guys are the first living things to not push me away. Humans socially bond with pretty much everything, though, so that is not the only reason I’m…” Izuku trails off, probably in mental search for the word he wants to use to express himself, “Non-violent? Friendly? Friendly.” 

“Humans socially bond with pretty much everything?” Keigo pokes his head up from the grass he was laying in. “What else do you guys bond with?” Izuku makes his usual ‘buffering’ noise (as Oji’o and M’zo have taken to calling it).

“Again, pretty much everything.” Izuku repeats, “As long as it moves, and can make noise… usually has to be bigger than a rock, but sometimes humans can get attached to rocks and non-living things, in the same way that they would a living thing, especially as kits. It doesn’t really have to move or make noise, either. We just… uh, I guess view a lot of things as though they are human or similar.”

“So, do humans view living beings as property?” Izuku shakes his head quickly - that was his way of denying something - before he pauses, lips pulling down slightly and his eyebrows knot together in thought.

“Sometimes? It’s hard to explain.” Izuku bites his lip, running his teeth over the outside before he releases it. It was weird to see that happen, for S’ota, whose lips don’t even poke out like a human's. “But, like, most humans think that it’s bad to view other humans as property - cause that’s sort of how one of our big groups ended up at war with itself,” Izuku pauses, “and I know that the main reasons behind it being bad are because all humans can think, and communicate about the same with each other if they know the same language. But, clearly, if humans have done that to other humans before, I can see why you’d be concerned about me seeing you as property, but I don’t cause you’re really fucking - ” Izuku doesn’t pause this time, continuing to mumble in English. Now S’ota wished he had sat in on Oc’aco and Ha’si trying to learn from the deathworlder. Oc’aco seems to be amused by whatever she understands of the language, and she rests a hand on Izuku’s leg to get him to take a breath in and process whatever he’s just said.

“I’m really what?” S’ota prompts, and Izuku’s face flushes pink. S’ota noticed that happened a lot when he felt like he’d said something he shouldn’t. S’ota was more curious now, what could Izuku have said about him that he shouldn’t?

“He said you are ‘really fucking scary’ .” Oc’aco shares, and Izuku whines, covering his face (though not his now pink ears) with his hands and shaking his head while getting smaller. Oh, he’s embarrassed about it. S’ota couldn’t help but grin at Izuku when he peeks through his hands at him.

Chapter 21: M'zo POV

Summary:

M'zo's POV up until the Crocodile scene. Enjoy.

M’zo knew his strength. He knew that he was always the strongest in mixed-species rooms, and he knew that his face pincers made others uncomfortable. He knew he’d never be able to hurt something on purpose. He knew his silence let others forget he was in the room, and that it made others more comfortable when he did. He knew that his mother had done many unsavoury things to keep him fed during his childhood after his father died, and he knew that it took a toll on her mentality. He knew he wanted to help people.

But just because M’zo knew it, doesn’t mean the rest of the universe did too. 

The rest of the universe views him with harsh, judging eyes. They view him as a monster, an unreasonable killing machine that’s only ever going to be good as Nomu. They see his arms, his now covered face (the cover stops his pincers from growing in again, makes him less threatening) and they see a fighter. Of course, sometimes they’re nicer when they realise that M’zo is male because male Min’is are often less violent and smaller. 

But, growing up in the Daoba’kash, M’zo had also known that people will pay him just to stand somewhere and look scary. He knew that his strength is sought out by labourers, and they often didn’t care about age. He knew that he could always find work carrying a bag from one side of the city to the other (He also knew that whatever he had carried was probably illegal). M’zo knew how to survive.

M’zo also knew that his best chance of being a hero would be at UA. Every other school had ridiculous standards for most species they’ll accept, and even then they’d only run classes if more than ten of the species applied and passed. M’zo knew that most of his species preferred their legs on the ground, so it was unlike that any more than two or three would apply to any given school. Due to the nature of how Min’is are treated, and how few schools would accept them, even fewer were educated enough to pass. UA has a unique policy of allowing mixed-species classrooms, so all M’zo had to worry about was making sure he was educated enough to pass the exams.

M’zo didn’t regret trying for UA and he did not regret getting accepted, but he definitely didn’t think he’d be less than a moon cycle into the school year when he encounters his first fight. He didn’t think his first fight would be trying to keep his fellow students away from Nomu, of all things. He didn’t expect to lose - he’d expected the Nomu to crumple as most other species did at a single half-strength hit. The Nomu was stronger than him. M’zo had never experienced anything being stronger than him, and he was always told he was one of the strongest species alive. He was always told that his strength was a flaw that needed to be contained and that he should fear using his full strength.  

M’zo was the only one still conscious when they were dragged through the ship - ironically it was the exact ship they were looking for in the first place. M’zo was also the only one taken to be looked at by some of the higher-ups of the ship because he was Min’is and Min’is were always good fighters. Min’is didn’t have many outside expressions of fear, most of the time they don’t have many expressions at all. M’zo was scared, though. He knew he would most likely be shoved into a fighting arena within the next moon cycle. M’zo didn’t want that, but he couldn't escape without A’zawa, Oc’aco and Oji’o. He wasn’t low enough to just save himself.

But, that also meant being stripped of most of his clothes, put into prisoner wear and then into a cage with A’zawa. A’zawa actually had to try and convince a guard to let M’zo keep his face compressor on to prevent his pincers from starting to grow. It was a difficult decision, considering how helpfully pincers are in a fight, but M’zo didn’t want to grow out his pincers for them to be rescued before he even had to fight. It was more likely that they’ll get rescued before they land, or they’ll get something that’s supposed to fight better than a male Min’is.

---

M’zo hated himself. When he thought they’ll get a better fighter, this was not what he meant. He definitely did not mean they'd get a deathworlder . M’zo grew up with horror stories about these things - well… M’zo guessed the rest of the universe grew up with horror stories about Min’is like him. Maybe M’zo shouldn’t judge a species when he’s never met them?
OH! He ripped a guard's dick off! Nevermind, just keep it in a separate cage, please -

---

Why did M’zo even bother? Of course, he was moved to the deathworlder enclosure. Why not? It’s not like the pirates of this ship have fucked up every other thing in M’zo’s life! No, Everything is perfectly fine ! M’zo is just trapped in a cell with Oc’aco and Oji’o whom he has already struggled to protect by letting them get caught in this mess in the first place.

When the deathworlder is brought back, M’zo regrets his anger, if only a little bit. The burns on its back are irritated, and the muzzle it has on is not made for comfort. Would that have been M’zo? Would he have come back with branding? With a muzzle over his half-grown in pincers? Would he have come back at all?

M’zo was hesitant around the deathworlder, but he found himself feeling a kinship. M’zo knew that he would have acted the same the cycle after his first fight - isolate himself so that the other species in the cell could feel safer. M’zo wasn’t surprised when A’zawa told him to stay away from the deathworlder.

M’zo saw the way the deathworlder was making itself smaller, how it didn’t speak unless it received an invitation to. He saw the way it held its weight like it was ready to run away from everyone when they all looked at him. M’zo hesitated before eating the deathworlder food because there were bound to be biological differences between what a deathworlder could eat and what a Min’is could eat, but Oc’aco had made bread before and that had been fine for him to eat. M’zo didn’t know what Oc’aco was thinking when she asked the deathworlder if he wanted to hurt the species he fought, but the deathworlder didn’t seem phased by her asking. Maybe it understands why she’s concerned about it. 

And somehow Oc’aco manages to steamroll her way into a different confersation topic. Not that anyone minded, but M’zo wonders if the deathworlder could pick up just how fast that topic change was. Or why the topic would change that fast. Did Oc’aco realise that she might’ve said the wrong thing?

---

Oc’aco was determined to give everyone a heart attack. Why would she just put her finger in it’s mouth!? At least she removed it when A’zawa asked, but M’zo fully thought the deathworlder would just bite -

“The guards that brought you back said that you bit one of the Da’ypoda and that he needed to have half of his muzzle shell replaced?” Oc’aco questions, and the deathworlder shrugs. Shrugs . As if it was nothing. 

“Yeah, I didn’t realise that I was bitting until it already happened so…”

It was basically nothing to it. Da’ypoda shells are one of the hardest natural armours in the known universe and it didn’t even realise it was bitting until the muzzle had already broken .

It doesn’t help that M’zo’s thoughts were punctuated with the deathworlder's own cracking.

M’zo didn’t even realise he was trying to hold his breath as the deathworlder passes him to avoid being spotted. It seemed stupid - because the deathworlder hadn’t looked at him at all the whole time.

And besides, it is not like the deathworlder would view him as a threat if it’s already killed a member of his species - the branding on its back seemed to stand out more now that the irritation around it has gone down a bit. M’zo didn’t want to feel uncomfortable around the deathworlder, especially because it hasn’t killed anyone in here. Hell, it hasn’t even been violent. M’zo wasn’t 100% convinced that it showing its teeth wasn’t a threat, but Keigo’s species smiles, so it wasn’t a far fetched idea to suggest the deathworlder smiled the same way. M’zo was still a bit nervous, and now he regretted telling Oc’aco that he was nervous about the deathworlders teeth because of course she tried to find out if the deathworlders teeth were a danger after he said something.

---

“Humans have up to four names-” Up to four? Why? How many humans are there with the same frist and last name to need more than two names- “but I’m Midoriya Izuku,” Izuku says, “Izuku is my given name.”

“Soji M’zo,” M’zo greets, pulling himself up into a seated position. Oc’aco’s still asleep… weird. “M’zo is my given name , ”

“ A’zawa S’ota, ” A’zawa finally relents when the three teens turn to him. “S’ota is my given name, but I don’t want you to use it.” The deathworlder deosn’t seem to mind A’zawa’s defensive tone, instead just nodding slightly.

“A’zawa it is then! I don’t care which of my names you use,” Izuku informs, turning back to the journal in his hand. 

“Keigo and Ha’si have been getting water for a long while now, should we go check on them?” Masrao asks A’zawa, who sighs.

“Aren’t they, like, a pairing? They’re probably fucking -” WHO TAUGHT THE DEATHWORLDER TO SWEAR!? Where did he learn that word? Why does A’zawa look like he’s regretting every life decision- Did A’zawa teach the deathworlder to swear!?

M’zo does not allow anyone else to see his momentary panic, instead, he just blinks slowly while looking at Izuku, who seems more interested in Oc’aco now waking up.

“Oc’aco, you need to get up, I wanna tell you about the new word I learned from A’zawa,” - M’zo was just going to ignore how easily the deathworlder was about to throw his teacher to a Deathworlder - or, well, that’s just an expression… but technically the deathworlder is about to throw his teacher to an Odna’zoparia. Oc’aco will be upset at A’zawa when she find out he thought the deathworlder to swear - and he’ll get told off by her… especially if the deathworlder -

“OH, STARS!”

“You could just say fuck-”

And just like M’zo thought, Oc’aco starts to fret over Izuku knowing the word ‘fuck’. May the lords help him -

“Ur’acha Oc’aco.” the deathworlder mimics, making Oc’aco pause before realising that the deathworlder just said her full name. A’zawa seems to be saved from Oc’aco’s verbal evisceration by the deathworlder who put him in the line of verbal fire in the first place.

“Yes! Yes!” she’s been trying positive reinforcement - like the deathworlder can be trained into non-violent behaviour (M’zo hates that it seems to be working-). “Oc’aco is my given name!”

M’zo notices how the deathworlder’s eyes train on the shine on Oc’aco’s wings momentarily and file away the fact that deathworlders like shiny things for later. Perhaps it’ll be a good distraction if it ever tries to attack them. When the deathworlder goes back to staring at the book in its hands, M’zo relaxes a little and turns Masrao to talk for a while. It’s not until Ha’si hands him the water that he remembers where he is. But, Ha’si interacts with the deathworlder more frequently than M’zo does, so he figures that it’d be better to just let them be (A’zawa mentioned something about the deathworlder sometimes getting overwhelmed with too many living beings nearby). A’zawa speaks loud enough to catch M’zo’s attention on purpose not long after.

“Ur’acha, you should probably take Oji’o or Soji too -”

“Oji! M’zo! Are you two coming?” Oc’aco asks suddenly, making M’zo internally sigh at the sight of her standing with the deathworlder. A quick glance at Masrao confirms that he was thinking the same thing (‘She can go with it alone, what if it eats her?’). 

The deathworlders eyes on them may make them both want to run, as far and as fast as possible, but they won’t just let Oc’aco walk… however far with it alone. 

It? Him? Is it a male? M’zo had never learnt what the difference is between a male deathworlder or a female, and that fact that it doesn’t have a top half of it’s clothes does not help him differentiate. Maybe it did, but he didn’t actually know if it did. 

---

"Fun? Humans hike for fun?" Oc'aco exlaims, trying to keep her volume as low as she could. 

"Yeah, personally I've hiked for over 16 hours in one go, " 

"16 hours? You've gotta be a fucking – – monster, " Oji mutters, and M’zo isn’t quiet familiar with the second word, as it derives from a more… financially stable upbringing. It has ties to religion, M’zo thinks. Along the lines of ‘godless’. Izuku is confused, obviously, and repeats the words in hopes of an explanation. 

" Uh - it's another thing kits aren't really supposed to say… but it's like, uh, " 

"The first one is sometimes used for realisation, or exclamation, but it's like, uh, just someone unpleasant," Oc'aco tries to explain, but the deathworlders eyes are locked on Masrao, who was the one to swear like that anyway and should be the one to teach the deathworlder what it means. 

"The second is like, traditionally something so scary even a Replasyncri wouldn't hang out near you. Like, A'zawa's pretty intimating, and he's a Monster if you try to fight him, but usually it's sort of reserved for Nomu and their handlers?" 

"Nomu?" Izuku repeats. 

"Ugh, fighters - with the branding. It's usually used to describe something powerful and scary," Masrao rushes to explain, and M’zo notices the way his tail is twitching, and slightly swaying back and forth nervously. Thankfully, that’s the end of the deathworlders interrogation.


They reach some water - which the deathworlder approaches calmly, but doesn’t get close enough that M’zo thinks he’d get into the water. The idea of a deathworlder being able to swim was terrifying - they’re land predators and M’zo had heard that one of the best ways to avoid them was by getting into water because deathworlders won’t follow and can’t swim. The deathworlder is messing around with his bag, pulling something out and going to do something before it’s eyes snap to the water.

“Do you guys think it’s drinkable?” Oc’aco asks, and the deathworlders eyes flicker to her, then back to the water.

“Oc’aco, move away from the water,” It’s voice is… different. Its whole body is tense and it seems to have a weapon in it’s hand. She hasn’t done anything, why would the deathworlder be attacking her for going near the water?

“She hasn’t-” Masrao starts, but is cut off by something huge lunging out of the water and the deathworlder flipping over it, and dragging it to the side with it’s momentum. They roll twice before the deathworlder lands on top. The weapon in his hand glints in the sunlight as he brings it down, managing to get it into the scaled monster underneath it.

“What is that!?” Oc’aco doesn’t bother with volume control as she backs up into Masrao.

“ Crocodile . They’re stealth hunters, usually, but… yeah, it’s a death-world predator. Congrats on not, like, dying or whatever.” Izuku mutters, sitting back on the dead Crocodile a death-world predator. That the deathworlder just stopped from killing Oc’aco. It’s easily that same size as M’zo himself and the deathworlder just killed it like it was nothing.

Notes:

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. This chapter is a bit longer to make up for it, though! Hope I did M'zo some justice.
Daoba’kash = a type of slum/poor people housing/underground/undesirable place/trash heap, in case that wasn't entirely clear.
ALSO THANKS for 2000 kudos!

Chapter 22: I'mma check his vibe!

Izuku was basically healed now. He’d had burns when he was younger, so he could recognise that he was nearly healed - at least enough that he shouldn’t have to worry about it unless it splits. This was both good and absolutely awful. It’s good because Izuku can now do things to help him keep his muscle mass so he doesn’t revert back into a walking twig, probably even thinner with less gravity. It’s also bad because he’s going to have to fight again soon.

Izuku was on edge now. 

He knew the guards were going to have to come into the cell to get him, but when? When he was asleep so they didn’t have as high a chance of complications? When he was awake but relaxed? What guards would they send? Would they move him to his cell on the ship first and then to the ring after with different guards? He most definitely shouldn’t ask, because it’s not like the guards would answer him, and he doubts that A’zawa, Keigo or Ha’si would even know the answers. Instead, Izuku was laying down, staring at the stars. He wished he could take a photo of the sky here, just because it’s pretty. Also because he’d be able to show his mother - he was sure she didn’t actually like the number of star photos Izuku had shown her over the years, but Izuku liked showing her the photos he has taken.

Damn it, now he was missing home again. The fields of grass back home were pretty, but the grass here was just too varied for it to mimic his home environment. The stars that are visible here are also different stars that what Izuku had seen before, and he tracked constellations for fun back home. It was… weird, to be at a different point in the universe. Everything was at a different angle, and there were more stars to look at too. Izuku would have loved it if he wasn’t riddled with anxiety.

Izuku sits up when he hears movement behind the door.

“ It’s just the guards - they’ll probably make you fight in the next cycle or so,” A’zawa huffs, glaring at the door.

“ Yeah, I know, ” Izuku mutters, watching the door. It’s not opening yet, and the movements stopped. Izuku flops back down, huffing slightly.

“ You shouldn’t have to. I can fight in your place - ”

“ Why bother, though? It’s not like it’s something I haven’t done before, and whatever I’m fighting will most likely be things they think I can handle, not you.” Izuku watches A’zawa from the corner of his eye. A’zawa seems to be thinking it over and huffs slightly.

“ You’re just a kit - ”

“ Even for a kit, I’m more prepared than plenty of the human adults I know. I’m - like - uh, what’s the word? Taught? Made? Trained? Trained sounds about right.”

“...You still shouldn’t have to…”

“Better me than you,” Izuku huffs, shaking his head slightly before facing the sky again.


Izuku woke up to movement - and he immediately shot up, landing in a crouch. He still put a bit too much muscle into some actions and often got a bit of air time. He’s already been moved - must’ve been while he was asleep - and the noise he heard was the cell door closing. It’s one of the isolated cells, with reinforced, thicker bars that the other cells on the ship. Fucking pricks.

Izuku stands himself upright and walks the smaller cell in its entirety in search of a weak point or somewhere Izuku might be able to squeeze through. Even the roof bars are too slim for Izuku to fit through. These cells are made for things bigger than Izuku, why do they have to make sure that even a house cat would struggle to squeeze in and out of the bars!? Damn.

Izuku sits on the ground with a huff, pushing himself back into a corner. The lights are still on the darkest setting, so he mustn’t have been out for too long… Or he was drugged in his sleep. He doesn’t feel tired, sluggish or sore like he would if he was drugged though. But at this rate, he has a few hours before his first fight.

Izuku sighs, letting his head rest against the wall while he waits. It’s even more boring here without any species to look at or try to understand. Izuku’s mind was kept on a loop of negative thoughts, between anxiety over what he’d be fighting, his thoughts around fighting in general and the part of him saying he shouldn’t even try to fight. In the back of his mind somewhere was Kacchan, screaming at him not to just give up like a coward.

Kacchan always said things like that though, and it always seemed to come easier to Kacchan than it ever did for Izuku. Kacchan was always stronger, faster and more sociable - he had way more friends than Izuku did.  Sure, Kacchan has a more explosive temper, but everything about him is explosive. He does everything with explosive energy, and he attacks every obstacle in his way with that energy. Often that blows everyone away - and that’s why no one was surprised when he made it into the Young Space Program.

Everyone was surprised at Izuku making it in too, even though he and Kacchan were together every second of the day since they were four. They studied together all the time. They might have different interests, but that just added to their abilities to combine into an unstoppable force. It also helped that Izuku was a precise fighter, whereas Kacchan was a heavy hitter. The YSP had actually been looking for a trio of close friends - because humans are more likely to survive as a pack - but Kacchan’s and Izuku’s relationship had been so strong that the people evaluating them had recommended it just be the two of them. So, while they were wildly different, they were going to work together like they always had. 

When Izuku was learning JSL at five or six, Kacchan had just started learning to make explosives. It was little things, like firecrackers and sparklers/flint bombs made from lighters, but Izuku knew the explosions get bigger as he and Kacchan did. Of course, Izuku didn’t know how helpful learning a language would be or how much he would love it. He learnt as much as he could, and he was fluent in Japanese, JSL and English by the time Kacchan had learnt how to hotwire a car and make a pipe bomb - so, they were maybe twelve at the time. And sure, they might’ve gotten in a bit of trouble, but when they realised that might affect their YSP applications they no longer got caught. They were usually causing trouble, but they learnt how to avoid getting caught pretty quickly. If only that skill applied to this situation, so Izuku and Kacchan were never caught in the first place -

Izuku couldn’t think like that, decidedly. Izuku needed to think that he’d get out and find Kacchan and they’d both be fine and Kacchan was not dead - Kacchan couldn’t be dead. Kacchan is the only person that’s ever stayed beside Izuku except for his mother and if he was dead because Izuku was too stupid to read the radar correctly - or Izuku got distracted or whatever - Izuku wouldn’t be able to handle that. 

 

Izuku paid close attention to the guard's footsteps, especially when there is multiple sets of footsteps. So, when Izuku heard a set of four footsteps and the brightness of the ship was practically already daytime, Izuku was standing again. He hadn’t mentally prepared himself very much - or at all, really - but he knew that all the mental prep probably wouldn’t do him any good against the real thing anyway. Nothing in the world could’ve prepared him for his first fight, and Izuku knows that the fights are probably going to be harder this time.

Izuku tried not to shrink into the corner, and he resisted the urge to flinch as the door opened. He had never been great at expressing himself, so his fear went unnoticed by the guards. If they even knew what human fear looked like - maybe they didn’t. Izuku knew what it felt like, though. And he was scared - of course, he was scared he didn’t want to fight or hurt anything!

The universe didn’t care, though, because one of the guards had already had their baton out and was steadily approaching beside one of the other guards (that’s clutching a muzzle in his hand) while the one at the back, with half a gold snout, glared at Izuku with a snarl. That would be the one he bit then… Shit.

Izuku takes a step back when the guards start to get too close, and the lead guard growls at the movement. Izuku growls back, eyes locking onto the guard’s own eyes. For a second, they stay locked and Izuku quickly starts to feel uncomfortable. Eye contact was bad enough with humans, but when the only thing Izuku can see in the eyes of this creature is the reflection of the room around him, it’s even worse. He feels very exposed and smaller, an unnerving feeling creeping up his spine. 

Breaking eye contact, Izuku’s eyes instead land on the muzzle in the closer guard's hands as the guard shifts back and forth, waiting for orders. Breaking eye contact was a bad idea, however as it triggers another growl and a hissed set of orders that make the guards lunge at Izuku. Izuku stumbles back, trying to avoid the eclectic baton aimed at his chest and the other guard that’s still got the muzzle, and seems to be loosening it more to slip it on easier.

Izuku hisses when the baton connects with his shoulder. He tries to push back with his other arm, but it’s quickly blocked and the muzzle slides onto Izuku’s face faster than he could move with the electricity that’s still pressed against his arm. It tightens, and Izuku squirms against both guards, trying to push himself away and only ending up with his back slamming harshly into the wall.

The baton follows, back in Izuku’s shoulder before he could even take a breath. It hurts - they must’ve up the voltage slightly since last time because it hurts and the feeling makes Izuku grind his teeth together while trying to hit the baton away. Of course, the guards don’t care how much pain they’re causing Izuku right now and are more concerned with securing his wrist in the cuffs so they can drag him off to fight basically to the death.

Izuku hisses again as he’s pulled forwards by the cuff they managed to get him in, and the guard is quick to switch sides with the baton so that Izuku can’t keep moving his hand away from the other cuff. After Izuku’s hands are in the cuffs, the extra chain that’s dangling between them comes to his mind as a weapon. Of course, the universe hates Izuku right now, so instead, the guards wrap the chain up Izuku’s arms to prevent him from moving them much. It digs in uncomfortably, and Izuku growls when the guards try to pull him forwards with it.

The guard pulls harder, and Izuku hisses in pain from just how harshly that is digging in - if it’s any worse, it’ll rip the skin. Izuku digs his heels into the ground, pulling the chain himself and making the guard stumble backwards, towards him. Izuku brings up one leg and lands a kick square to the chest of the guard before the other guards grab the chain, one stabilising the guard Izuku kicked. Of course, with two guards pulling on the chain to drag him, Izuku has to step forwards to save ripping open his arms.

Izuku knows the way to the arena, and he struggles every step there, hissing and growling in pain and frustration basically the whole time. Eventually, the guards do have to take his chain and the muzzle off, before they shove him into what Izuku is now calling the ‘death arena’.

Notes:

Edit: Hey, sorry I forgot to mention that I was changing Bakugou from an alien to a human (at the demand of my discord). The alien that was being referred to a few chapters ago is now Monoma(mo'oma), and the species name is different!

Chapter 23: BAD VIBE

Summary:

It's a bad vibe.

The guards were as gentle as Izuku expected - that is, not at all. He was pulled, pushed and poked with their spears. He was roughly pushed into the sunlight before his eyes could even adjust to it, making him collapse to his knees. He’s pulled back to his feet by the muzzle, making him hiss at the way it cuts into his cheeks. He’d swat the guard's arm if he could, but another guard still has a firm grip on the chain attached to the cuffs. He tugs anyway, but his skin is pulled so tight that it almost breaks like the skin on Izuku’s face is breaking from the muzzle. 

Izuku is shoved forwards, again, and this time the guard keeps a grip on his muzzle while the other guards surround them. A baton is pressed against Izuku’s shoulder, and Izuku snarls at the guard holding it there. The guard snarls back, letting a small jolt run through Izuku. Izuku flinches and tries to move back, but the guard holding the cuff chain roughly pulls him forwards and Izuku might be bleeding there now -

The cuffs are undone, and Izuku doesn’t move for a second, especially as the guard holding the baton looks almost desperate to electrocute him again. Izuku’s arms have a trail of small cuts, some more intense than others where the chain put the most pressure, and the blood is a deep red, trailing down Izuku’s arms onto the dirt below him. Hopefully, none of them are deep enough to need stitches, or he might just bleed out during the fights. The muzzle is loosened and held for a moment as if waiting for Izuku to lunge now that it’s loose. All he can think about is the cuts on his face. If he didn’t scar last time, he definitely will be scarred this time.

The muzzle is removed completely, and Izuku is shoved towards the door harshly, having serval spears pushed into his back and pushing him forwards. They move fast, trying to push Izuku in as fast as they can to avoid any possible escape attempts. Izuku stumbles, and the fresh pain in his arms and face make him more aware or just how close he is to getting impaled if he doesn’t move forwards. 

Izuku stumbles through the door after one final shove from the guards, and the door is slammed shut behind him. He stumbles backwards anyway, pressing himself back against the door in hopes that maybe he’ll just sink out of existence. Of course, he doesn’t, and the feedback from the announcers' microphone cuts through the roaring of the crowd.

“This is it, folks! A real, live deathworlder! This adolescent has already gone through three fights, and although it might seem shy, don’t be fooled! The deathworlder is stronger than it looks and deceptively fast! Don’t fret over its injuries, they aren’t deep enough to affect its fights today. “

Izuku swallows after taking in a few gulping breaths of the air. It’s dry, but that helps ground Izuku as he pushes himself to stand properly on both his feet. He moves forwards, climbing up some of the bits of debris around the place, quickly looking around at the crowd before focusing back on the door the other fighter is supposed to come through.

“Now, this little guy is the main attraction piece of the Uschjay ship, but he also doubles as a Nomu - you will see when he moves around that he has the brandings to show his status.” Izuku tilts his head slightly, turning to look at the announcement booth that he can see set slightly above the rest of the crowd.

“And, being an attraction, not all fights are a challenge between two ships, and today it’s more so a show for all of us to enjoy! There is only one fight in the lineup for this little guy today! Let’s hope the - - Nekitty puts up a good fight.”

Nekitty? Oh fuck - Not A’zawa, not A’zawa no-

It’s not A’zawa.

This Nekitty is bigger than A’zawa by about a metre or so, but it’s thinner and looks underfed. Its fur has a purple shine to it, but overall still looks black. Its tail(s?) is a lighter purple and seems shorter than A’zawa’s. It looks around the arena, eyes scanning for any signs of life and Izuku instinctively stills, crouching lower and only his head is poking out from behind the piler he has climbed on. The Nekitties eyes trail straight over him. It doesn’t pause or hesitate as though it hasn’t seen him. Izuku hoped so, but he couldn’t be sure. A’zawa is always a good actor when it comes to that sort of thing, and that could be a species trait rather than just an A’zawa trait. 

This fight is gonna be hard, considering Izuku had never tried to figure out how to kill A’zawa. A’zawa was surprised about humans being able to fight blind - maybe eyes? Eyes are a good start at least. A’zawa was also remarkably flexible - so Izuku has to be careful with this Nekitty too. Flexible, fast, good at hiding, probably deadly pounce and Izuku was sure A’zawa could do something when his eyes were red. Izuku was screwed. The best he could do was hide or make it run around with him until it got tired of chasing him. If it would chase him at all - it probably isn’t as strong as A’zawa is and it probably doesn’t have enough energy to run much at all.

Does the light trick work on bigger cats? If Izuku had something reflective, would it chase the light around? Does Izuku have anything reflective? The Knife!? Crystals reflect light, right? Or would the Nekitty ignore it because it’s in a life or death situation? Is it worth a shot anyway?

Izuku huffs as he pulls out his knife from its holster and carefully holds it up in the light, reflecting it onto the glorified sandbox death arena. The Nekitties eyes are drawn to the movement, and Izuku watches them lower themselves into a crouch, wigging their butt and tail slightly to maintain balance before lunging when the light reflection is close enough. Izuku quickly changes directions, and the Nekitty crouches again. Maybe it’s so hungry that it is bordering on psychosis? Maybe its instinct is to go after whatever it’s seeing - it could not know what it’s after. Izuku was sure that not many living beings had ever seen a human before now. 

The distraction does give Izuku the chance to observe the Nekitty with dynamic movements - actual things Izuku will be facing in a few minutes. Izuku can’t tell if the Nekitty has ribs, and the torso bends fluidly when it accidentally overshoots and ends up rolling over. Facing something six metres tall on its hind legs is terrifying, and Izuku knows that this fight will be much harder than he’s ever done before. The Min’is he fought was about half the size of this, and Izuku felt so fucking tiny compared to other species. How could they say that humans are the scary ones? Humans rarely grow above two metres tall, they don’t have any protective armour or any defensive weapons like sharp teeth, or claws or anything, really. Izuku would be torn in half by that thing -

Maybe Izuku just needs to breathe - humans have survived fighting things bigger than them before - hell, mammoths went extinct. Sure, that was pack hunting and one-on-one fighting a mammoth didn’t seem any more doable than the fight Izuku was about to get into, but he couldn’t just give up because it looked hard. 

It hasn’t spotted Izuku yet, and as long as Izuku keeps tiring it out - The black eyes look up and lock on to Izuku’s hiding spot.

SHIT! Abort mission, abort mission!

Izuku almost dropped his knife in his panic but keeps it in his grasp while he slides down the pillar, watching the Nekitty have enough strength to launch itself halfway up the pillar right as Izuku’s feet touch the ground. Izuku moves - he can’t risk getting caught in one of those lunges.

Izuku stumbles in the sand, glancing over his shoulder just in time to see the Nekitty lunging for his legs -

Izuku screams when the teeth sink in. The knife in his hand is quickly brought down on its eyes, at the same time Izuku tries to pull his leg forwards. Something breaks as he manages to get his leg out of its mouth, and it roars in pain from Izuku managing to get two of its four eyes in the cut he just made. The Nekitty raises a paw to swipe at Izuku, and the fresh wave of terror overrides his excruciating leg pain.

Izuku lunges forwards, one hand securing under the ribs, that the Nekitty does apparently have, while the other hand, holding the knife, creates a cut before his hand slips inside the Nekitty and he pulls both his hands apart. The sound is one Izuku would never forget, both the screams of agony and the tearing of its flesh as it is torn in half by Izuku’s own hands -
Nekitty blood is a purply-blue colour, and Izuku feels his stomach turn as he is covered in it. He slips on some sort of organ as he tries to step back, and away. He didn’t think he’d be able to do that - he didn’t think he had that strength in him - and tears prick at his eyes at the volume of the stands around him, not to mention the sensation of the blood on him - it’s so sticky and gross and now Izuku’s covered in sand as well.

Izuku shudders as a few of the last drops of blood fall from the sky, and his stomach twists again when some of the blood trails down his back. He’s shaking, and he can’t see through the blood or tears. Wiping his face only succeeds in smearing the blood further, and when he pulls his hand back he remembers the cuts on his cheeks too. Would the blood cause an infection? He hopes not, but he can’t care over the TOO MUCH of everything around him. His ears feel like they’re ringing, but it’s just the crowd being loud. The guards would be coming for him soon, and his leg really is burning .

Exhaustion is coming in now - and Izuku feels his head drooping while he tries to get back on his feet. His arms give out when he tries to push himself upwards - his muscles are screaming after that. Every inch of Izuku is screaming, screaming for him to stay awake because of his leg, screaming at him that the guards were coming and screaming at him in pain.

Izuku feels himself being picked up and muzzled, but only when one of the guards touches his leg does he do anything - a pathetic hiss, even by the guards' standards is seemed more like pleading than a warning. Izuku is carted off, arms too sore to lift up even as he was hauled up to the ceiling and his legs were strapped again. Of course, they were branding him again - fucking bastards. He’d barely healed from last time -

Izuku’s voice is raw from the amount of screaming he’s done today, but he screams again at the hot iron pressed against his skin, burning away layer after layer of Izuku’s skin. He tries to move, but he barely manages to struggle weakly against the chains before his arm cuts open again and the branding stops, letting Izuku finally drop. He tries not to close his eyes and let himself drift off, and the burning from various parts of his body helps him stay conscious.

---

The shower was cold, and Izuku leant into it. The blood washed off him easily, but that didn’t stop the guards from scrubbing him down with soap. Izuku let them, leaning on one that was holding him up because of his leg and trying to relax some of his body. It was over, for the most part (Izuku needed to check if his leg needs stitches or not before he let himself sleep though), so Izuku didn’t feel too bad about relaxing. 

He lost track of his knife, and he could see his hoster sitting on top of his pants, lying across the bench that Izuku was sitting on while they stripped him. He must’ve been in the shower for a while now if his pants were already clean. Hopefully, he’d get his knife back in the enclosure -
Oh shit. How is A’zawa going to react? Would he hate Izuku again? Would he feel threatened? Izuku could barely survive a fight with a weakened, starving Nekitty, let alone a trained Nekitty like A’zawa. 

Izuku hisses as one of the guards touches his leg, and he glares down at them. They stop touching it and look over at the lead guard, who huffs and says something in a language Izuku doesn't know.

Before Izuku knew it, he was getting pushed back into the enclosure, and the door slammed behind him. For a moment, Izuku stays curled in a ball on his side, probably too close to the door for comfort, but he closes his eyes and curls then uncurls his fist a few times, trying to control his emotions.

Notes:

Heya!

Chapter 24: Stitches

Summary:

Izuku treats his injuries

Notes:

Also I just realised that this is more graphic than I intended, so if you don't handle gore well just skip to after the page break!

Eventually, Izuku stands, hissing at the weight on his injured leg, but also with the way he's leg already feels like it's covered in blood… he needs to find his bag. He might need stitches, and he definitely needs the rags in the bag for bandages. He has a sewing kit in case he needs stitches, and he can ignore the aching of his muscles and bones when he moves forwards - at least until he’s sorted his leg out.

Thankfully, it seems that Oc’aco has dragged M’zo, Oji’o and A’zawa on a walk - probably for food - and Keigo and Ha’si… well, they like alone time away from the main camp.

Izuku feels bad about being relieved over not having to talk to anyone, but part of him wonders if that was intentional to give Izuku space to cool down. Izuku was overwhelmed, and talking with someone would be far too much for him - he’d have a melt-down for the first time in years. That would be terrifying for everyone else to see, and Izuku didn’t want to be scary or anything.

Izuku sits down on the rock near the campfire, grabbing his bag and opening it up. Izuku hadn’t looked at his leg yet, but he was not excited to see just how much damage was done. Izuku takes a deep breath before rolling up his pant leg - which is already wet with his blood. Definitely needs stitches then. Izuku hisses - something feels like it’s touching his bone and that fucking hurts.

Oh, Jesus - that’s a whole ass tooth… in Izuku’s leg. Izuku huffs. At least it’s keeping the blood in? Izuku should leave it - as much as it hurts - until he’s finished stitching the back of his leg, because it is bleeding and a tad more urgent. It didn’t help that Izuku’s head felt like it might burst, and he was already dizzy.

The needle was hard to thread, and Izuku hated having to do this, but he managed to get it fairly easily. Straight needles are not good for stitches, but it’s what Izuku has so he’s got to deal with it. He didn’t know how much pain he was going to be in over this, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. He expected the pain, he knew that needles hurt, but he didn’t expect the drag of the needle, tugging on his freshly irritated skin. It almost hurt more than the actual needle itself.

He forgot to disinfect this. He’ll have to do it after - right now he needs to focus on stitching his leg the rest of the way. It’s not too bad, only about ten centimetres… that’s actually huge, but Izuku couldn’t think about it. That’s like, twenty stitches. Izuku only had one done…

Izuku grabs a rag and ties it tightly around the rest of the injury, hopefully it’ll help keep some of the blood in while Izuku finishes his stitches. He can move it when he needs to. Izuku takes a deep breath, trying to ignore the unnerving feeling climbing up his spine. Stitches. Izuku can do this. He can - and he will. Next stitch. Damn tears. Izuku needs to see, he can cry later.

Izuku’s shaking gets progressively worse as he continues down his leg, but at least the bleeding is basically stopped. Now Izuku can just tie another rag around his leg like a bandage and -

Oh right, the tooth. It should only need two stitches, but pulling it out will be a bitch. Izuku makes sure his needle is ready before he grits his teeth and grabs the tooth that’s in his leg.

Oh, FUCK! That’s what’s touching the bone -

Izuku grunts, shaking his hand to cope with the unexpected pain before he tries again - this time pulling to the side slightly, the side that the Nekitty bit at him from. Izuku hisses when it finally gives in, and is pulled out swiftly.

Izuku drops it in favour of stitching up the front of his leg - which Izuku can see the bone through - Is that a hole? In the bone? Fuck - Izuku is to tired to do anything about it, plus he doesn’t know how, so he just Stitches his leg up, wrapping it and wiping away his tears before he finally lets himself lay down and pass out.

---

Izuku wakes in the middle of the night cycle, tucked into A’zawa’s fluff. He feels like shit, but he sort of expected that so he ignores it. What Izuku didn’t expect was how hungry he was, though he should’ve expected that too. He didn’t eat the past cycle, so he would be hungry. He has some fruits around, doesn’t he? He also needs to make another poultice for his back and leg. The plants around here do have some disinfecting properties, so Izuku would probably not get an infection.

Izuku was moving - sliding himself out from under A’zawa carefully, and then making sure his leg wouldn’t collapse if he tried to walk -

Oh, shit… He can’t put any weight on his leg right now - that hurts like a bitch. Izuku huffs as he sits down - glaring at his leg. Couldn’t it just work ? Damn it.

Izuku reaches out and grabs some of the fruit that he keeps near camp - though when asked why Izuku couldn’t really explain why he preferred to have it close rather than just walking to grab some. Guess it was a good thing he kept doing it, because he was fucking hungry now.

After Izuku had eaten, he quickly finds the bowl he'd been using to crush up the plants for his poultices. He needs to apply a layer to his leg and back before he tries to go back to sleep. Hopefully it won't sting too bad - and hopefully it isn't already infected. 

When Izuku's finished, he sighs and tilts his head to the sky. The weather here is always predictable, it hasn’t even rained yet.

Izuku was surprised about that, considering how sunny it is he figured that the water would evaporate and rain would come every few days, but instead it just hasn’t. Maybe it wouldn’t - maybe the rain was something that only happened on a few planets. That’d be weird - and Izuku doesn’t understand how the water hasn’t evaporated or how it’s being replaced and filtered. The waters aren’t getting any dirtier, like Izuku would’ve expected if it wasn’t getting cleaned by the atmosphere, and Izuku was sceptical that the crew of the ship would have a pumping system to clean and replace the water. 

Honestly, it was a mystery Izuku probably wouldn’t get answered until he could learn how to ask - and that would probably not be until after he’s gotten out of here. He got so distracted by learning that he let himself stay here for too long - and now with his leg as it is… well, Izuku couldn’t just break out of here at daylight. Izuku didn’t even have a plan to get out of here yet - usually he’d analyse a problem like this until he got an answer.

Izuku had time to think about it though - he didn’t know just how long his leg was going to be useless. He could hop around to get places he needs to, but he would most likely be staying where he is and asking Oc’aco or Keigo to get him something to eat when he needs it. He’s leather is just about ready to use - he could start stitching together… Shoes? He did hate walking around barefoot. He might have enough for a shirt or something.

Izuku’s thoughts are interrupted by a small breeze - a reminder that it’s actually cold. Maybe he should curl back under A’awa until it is a bit warmer. It’s not like anyone is awake - did A’zawa see the branding? Does he know? If he does, than why would he be letting Izuku sleep under him? Damn it - why is Izuku like this? A’zawa could’ve just let him freeze to death rather than keep him warm and A’zawa could’ve killed him in his sleep if he was really upset about the branding anyway -

Izuku maybe just needs to calm down. A’zawa isn’t awake right now, and thinking about how he’s going to respond will only lead to more anxiety. Izuku glances over at A’zawa as he shifts. He’s awake, then…

“I‘uku -” A’zawa opens two of his eyes to look at Izuku, who looks right back at him, “ Where are you hurt? “

“ ... My leg, ” Izuku shrugs, “ It’s… not too bad? ” A’zawa sits up further, opening his last two eyes to fix Izuku with a stare. Izuku shifts when he feels the gaze, eyes remaining trained on the sky. After another second, “ Okay, It is pretty bad, I can’t walk - but it could’ve been worse- ”

“ It could’ve. The guards tossed your knife near the door. ” A’zawa watches him carefully for a second, “ You should keep warm. ” 

Izuku glances at him, his waiting paws. He pats the ground softly, inviting Izuku into the warmth and the fluff. Izuku makes his way back over, carefully avoiding putting any pressure on his leg while he slides under A’zawa’s chest.

“I’m not mad at you for doing what you have to to survive, Izuku,” A’zawa assures, resting his head gently on Izuku’s shoulders.

“I… Just feel bad, about… well,”

“The guards told me, I think they were trying to make me feel like it was just a matter of time before you kill me the same way.”

“No! I would never -” Izuku cuts himself off from his outburst when A’zawa tenses, taking a deep breath, “Sorry, I-I don’t - I don’t like that.” 

“... Okay, what part of that is… upsetting?” A’zawa asks, and Izuku pauses. Why was Izuku upset over it?

A’zawa was… nice, but Izuku wasn’t sure he’d call him a friend yet. Maybe that’s just because Izuku hasn’t had any friends before… A’zawa is sort of dad-like, but Keigo easily was Izuku’s choice for a father figure. Still, Izuku wouldn’t say A’zawa wasn’t close - and anything hurting that’s close to Izuku makes him really… uncomfortable?

“I am uncomfortable with the idea of anything hurting or killing you, and that fact that it’s referring to me is also a bit upsetting… does that make sense?” Izuku asks, and he feels A’zawa let out a small huff of air - his equivalent of a laugh.

“You said humans pack-bond with anything, so am I pack to you?” A’zawa asks.

“Yeah, that’s… that sounds about right.” Izuku lightly rubs his head against A’zawa’s chin, and the Nekitty lets out another huff of air and purrs softly, letting Izuku once again fall asleep.

Notes:

The fic title changed! There's been a lot of changes to the discord! I've had two fics inspired by this one! I feel very popular right now, thanks for all your support guys!

Chapter 25

Summary:

Sorry, if this chapter is a bit dialogue-heavy!

Izuku wakes when A’zawa moves the next morning because he shifts some of his weight straight onto Izuku’s leg. Izuku whines, moving his leg from under A’zawa. A’zawa shoots up at the noise, already checking Izuku over for new injuries. Izuku takes the opportunity to slide out from under A’zawa, yawning and stretching.

“Are you - did I hurt you?”

“Yeah, but it’s okay.” Izuku smiles softly and turns to Keigo, who smiles.

“Good Morning! How did you sleep?”

“I slept well, er, as well as can be expected, I guess?”

“You fought a Nekitty yesterday?” Oc’aco asks, but even as she was saying it her eyes were on Izuku’s branding. Izuku hums, nodding. “Was it scary?”

“Fighting is pretty scary,” Izuku shrugs, accepting the fruit extended by Ha’si with a thank you.

“I thought deathworlders didn’t get scared…” Ha’si frowns slightly.

“Oh, no, we do! I actually have a problem with feeling scared when I shouldn’t, so I’m used to ignoring it.” Izuku shrugs, eating the fruit.

"... That's why you guys are scary." 

"Oh, no, Oc'aco. We're scary because we're used to the ideas of violence and death, to the point of making up stories and games around it."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Izuku." 

"Oh! Well, how about I like you enough that I won't kill you even if you attack first?" 

"... I feel like that's supposed to mean a lot, but that's like, common courtesy?"  

"Not for humans - we view it as, more, you attack us, anything becomes fair. And we'll do just about anything to win a fight, whether it comes from anger or fear."

"... This is why we call you deathworlders." 

"Well, on earth, just about anything will kill you if you aren't careful. On my landmass, specifically, we have bugs that will swarm you until you die from the heat produced by them rubbing their bodies together."

"... And how do humans deal with that?"  

"Well, we found plants that are poisonous to that bug and we turned it into a gas to spray them so they died before they could come near us. We also did that with bigger animals, but usually that only makes the unconscious for long enough for us to either sneak by or move them somewhere else."  

"... Deathworlders ."

Izuku snickers, "Yeah… At least, I can ignore my fear, or I probably wouldn't have come near you guys for ages - if at all. And when I did, I probably would've perceived pretty much everything as aggressive or threatening."

"... Do you know why you don't perceive us that way?"

" Uh, yeah? I know A'zawa probably wasn't thinking too much about it when he asked, but my social difficulties have led to me bonding with - or at least understanding - things that other humans wouldn't. Most humans get a bit scared when something is smart but doesn't look human - or not human enough, at least. I don't have that part of me saying that I should be scared… Or maybe I do, but again I can sort of ignore it." Izuku shrugs, "plus I wanted to learn how to talk because humans are really social and can revert to savage ways of thinking and lose their understanding of any living thing - including other humans - if they don't socialise enough."

"... So if humans don't understand something - "

"If it's dangerous - or perceived that way - we'll usually try and kill it unless we have a way to contain it or observe it. If it's not dangerous, we'll try and understand it better. Sometimes humans have a poor sense of what is or isn't dangerous, or will seek out danger on purpose."

"So when a human is isolated… do they try to kill other humans when they come into contact with them?"

"Try, and often succeed. That's actually a part of the reason why people with my social deficiency are better at surviving - we can handle longer periods of isolation than our more 'average' counterparts. And we don't lose understanding to the point of killing very often."

"So you understand that killing is wrong, as a species?" 

"Yeah. But, at the same time, most of us would rather kill something than die ourselves. And Pack-bonding instincts are extremely strong for a child, or teens, so if a human kid is in danger our parent will go through great lengths, including killing things, so that we’re safe.”

"... So, would your parents be searching for you?" Keigo asks, and Izuku nods. 

"Yeah, my… wait, I don't know the term for 'she' parents or 'he' parent -"  

"- - for 'she' parent, - - for 'he' parent." Izuku repeats the word a few times, then nods. 

"So my mother would be looking for me." Izuku states. 

"What happens when she gets here?" 

"Uh, well, given that fact that I've been hurt pretty badly -" 

"How can something be beautiful and bad at the same time?"  

" Hmm? - Oh! Sorry, human expression. We use what I've equated 'pretty' as an emphasis word, but I realise that's probably not the most accurate translation. It's more like… uh, 'Really bad'?"  

"You've been hurt… really bad? Are you dying - are you okay- what- when? Where injury - " Keigo seems to be panicked at this, and Izuku holds up a hand. 

"Calm down, I'm probably not dying… I'll get back to you on that." Izuku smiles slightly, "But if my mum finds me like this she'll probably try and at least maim everyone on the ship."  

"... Does that include us?" 

"No, but do not try to get in her way. She can really - uh, we have these animals on earth, right? They're called bears , they're about A'zawa's length, but way, way stronger and bigger. Humans avoid them like the plague because they can run faster than us and really easily kill us - "

"Why did you go from your mother to an earth animal that even humans are scared of?" Izuku grins - God, this would probably be actually terrifying to hear about. 

"Let me finish, it'll make sense. So anyway, when a bear has a baby, the mother bear will be excessively aggressive as a defence mechanism. Now, the English word for mother is mother , or, mama is another one. Now, if I say that my mother will be in full mama-bear mode, do you guys understand that I mean she's going to be willing to rip anything to pieces if they stop her from removing the perceived threat?"

"Got it. Steer clear until the threat is removed." 

Izuku nods, eating something before he rolls up his pant leg to look at the bite.

“Izuku, you okay?”

“Yeah…” Izuku unwraps the bandage, looking at the back cut and being plesently surprised at the lack of infection. No burning, no itching, no red veins near it. He adjusts himself and looks at the front, immediately wincing. It’s red, obviously, but it’s hot and Izuku can sort of start to see more irritation around the area than the bigger cut on the back. It’s raised, too. Izuku doesn’t know if it’s just because it was a bone injury or if it’s infected. Why would the front be infected, but not the back? Maybe it has something to do with the tooth being stuck inside it for a while? Maybe because the back of Izuku’s leg was washed with soapy water while the front would’ve been blocked by the tooth?

That… Would make a lot of sense, actually. Great.

“That looks bad,” Oc’aco comments, and Izuku nods.

“Yeah, it does. It feels bad too,” Izuku touches the area around it, huffing, “I’m gonna need to do something before it gets worse...” 

“It looks - -,” M’zo comments, and Izuku frowns.

“I don’t know that word.”

“It’s like - uh… Do humans know how diseases work?”

“Yeah? Like… the so-small-you-can’t-see-them things that attack your… body? Like, inside?”

“Yeah, so it’s like that. But, directly into your blood.”

"Oh, yeah, infection.” Izuku nods , “Yeah, humans have a word for that too. It’s called an infection , and yeah, it probably is one,”

"Infections kill people, Izuku,” Keigo frowns, “Are you sure it’s infected, and not just sore?”

“Okay, one, humans can survive infections, and I have done so before, and two, it’s too early to know for certain if it is an infection, but I’m gonna need to cut it open to be sure.”

“I’m not even surprised anymore,” Keigo mutters, huffing slightly. Izuku girns softly, shrugging.

 

---

Izuku had asked Oc’aco to gather some of the things he needs - because Izuku was not just about to do it with proper sanitation now that he wasn’t on the verge of passing out - and set himself up so he has clean spots to put his tools (namely, his needle and thread and his knife). Izuku had started to process of making Alcohol as soon as he had enough yeast for it, but it wasn’t quite… as ready as what Izuku was wanting. It’s still alcohol, and Izuku has strained it a bit. He doesn’t need much, so he has it sitting in a glass next to his covered rock. Izuku also has the oils from a few plants sitting next to him. Most of them have antiseptic properties, and a few of them are also hemostatic (hopefully).

“Izuku, I get if you don’t want me to, but… can I watch? In case you get hurt again, I want to be able to help.” Oc’aco asks, and Izuku shrugs. Oc’aco being this bold sets the others on edge like they don’t know how Izuku will react to the questions. Izuku doesn’t mind, in fact, he finds this sort of reassuring. She cares enough that she won’t just leave Izuku behind if he gets hurt again.

“ Sure, whatever. It’s not exactly pretty. ” Izuku says, already grabbing his knife. Oc’aco nods, sitting down next to Izuku to observe what he’s doing. Izuku cuts open the stitches, hissing slightly while pulling them out. Oc’aco seems surprised when Izuku starts bleeding, but Izuku just dips his clean fingers into the oils before dripping them onto his cut. Izuku groans, shaking his head and grabbing the Alcohol and pouring a fair bit onto his leg. He sits the cup down before the pain hits, and he hisses when it does. It was definitely infected then - that hurt like a -

“Motherfucker,” Izuku mutters, glaring at his leg. Izuku then dips his thread and needle into the cup of alcohol, making sure the knot is tight at the end of it. Izuku adds another drop of the oils and carefully starts to stitch his leg back up. Oc’aco watches him carefully and even mimics Izuku’s hand movements as he continues. She’s a good learner, she was picking up English as fast as Izuku could teach it. Sure, her first stitches wouldn’t be pretty (neither were Izuku’s), but if it came down to it and Izuku was bleeding out, he didn’t think he’d die.

"... Is that what human bones normally look like?”

"No, that’s a hole,” Izuku states, frowning, “It’s actually healed more than I thought it would for just a few hours,” Izuku puts another stitch in, watching some of his blood run down his leg.

“Did you want to try this?” Izuku offers, looking up to Oc’aco, “Remember that it does hurt, but if you want to give it a go,”

“YES! I’d love to try - it will help you in the long run, right?” Oc’aco moves forwards, making sure to dip her three fingers into the alcohol before gently taking the needle from Izuku.

“Just - it’s harder than it looks, okay?” Izuku states and Oc’aco nods seriously now focused on Izuku’s leg. Izuku winces at her first stitch, but only because she tugged at the thread a bit too hard. She does better after that, and Izuku smiles softly.

“Thank you,” Izuku takes his clean rag, wrapping it around his leg a few times before he tucks the corners under the other bits of the rags, holding it in place. That was painful, and Izuku was glad that he didn’t have to finish doing it himself. It felt better, now that it was over with.

“How long do you think it’ll take for you to be able to walk again?” Oc’aco asks, smiling slightly when Izuku relaxes a bit more.

“I don’t know… At maximum, I think two months,”

Notes:

While you're here, you should check out my latest story, it's a Pirate AU

Chapter 26: A wild human appears

Summary:

Two touch starved boys

Notes:

FANART:
Dodec: Keigo and Ha'si
Oc'aco
A'zawa
and Mei
Skivers: A'zawa

The camp moved further into the trees so Izuku wasn’t left sitting in a field all day, because he felt very vulnerable. Izuku’s routine had hardly changed, instead of walking with Oc’aco, he thought her sewing (It was close to stitches, especially when it comes to leather). Instead of gathering fruits, Izuku drew a drawing of what each plants looked like and allowed Keigo to borrow his journal (Izuku was sure he scared him when he told him that humans rarely let others hold their stuff and that the journal was definitely Izuku’s territory and that he wanted it back in the same condition which he lent it). But Izuku still learnt and taught and he could still cook the foods he enjoyed with Oc’aco. He even had managed to actually get M’zo and Oji’o to have a conversation with him without getting scared!

Izuku started to discuss ways to get out with A’zawa, but working things out was hard. Keigo or Ha’si had to be there to draw things that A’zawa was talking about (they had learnt that Izuku does better with pictures). Eventually, they had stopped talking about it in general because they couldn’t do anything with Izuku while his leg was healing (no one could pick up Izuku and carry him, unfortunately). Izuku had told them that him being injured shouldn’t stop the rest of them from getting out, and that made him receive several looks. He had asked what emotion they were feeling at the time, and the answer was mostly that they didn’t know humans could be self-sacrificing. 

Izuku still had made plans for escape once he was healed - and he didn’t know how long that would be because he’d never had a hole in his bone before. He probably should treat it like a broken bone, but it already felt better than a broken bone would. The stitches were also healing nicely, and his scar wouldn’t even be that terrible. It is sort of in a curve along his leg, like a moon shape. He resisted the urge to put his leg in A’zawa’s mouth to see if it’s a common jaw shape in Nekitties, but he was very tempted, especially as his leg heals. He didn’t want an infection though, and he knew it wasn’t a smart idea. 

 

---

Izuku had taken the stitches out, and now (a cycle later) Izuku wanted to try standing again. Keigo and A’zawa had told him to wait until he was sure he could stand, but Izuku had brushed that off quickly. He was shaky as he stood, using a tree for balance. He hadn’t done much standing, and he didn’t want to wait any more because he was bound to start losing muscle mass soon.

Izuku put weight on his injured leg, hand steady on the tree while he waited for anything, any hint of pain from his bones. Nothing. Izuku leant on it a tad more. It twinged, but it wouldn’t be carrying Izuku’s whole weight like that for a while.  Izuku could probably start conditioning his leg to walk again, it had been two weeks and his leg seemed to almost be done healing.

“Izuku?” Oc’aco calls out, from over where Izuku would usually be sitting. Izuku takes a few stumbled steps, leaning on trees as he’s going.

“Oc’aco,” Izuku returns, grinning.

“Izuku! You’re up?” Oc’aco rushes over, hands hovering nervously in front of her like she’ll try and catch Izuku if he falls. 

“Sort of,” Izuku shrugs, adjusting his weight to lean more on the tree, “My leg still hurts, but less than I thought it would.”

“That’s good? Are you sure you should be walking right now, though?” Oc’aco’s wings flutter nervously, but her hands lower slightly as Izuku stays upright and Izuku nods, smiling fully.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I need to - like, moving it will help it heal?” Izuku rubs the back of his head. Oc’aco nods, though her body language suggests she’s confused about Izuku’s explanation. Izuku takes a few steps forwards, now being able to put more pressure on his leg. He’s going to be limping for a while, but other than that he’s basiclaly healed. 

 

---

It’s a few cycles later that something feels off - and Izuku hates the way his ears tune into the background noise of the enclosure. A’zawa emerges from the bushes behind Oc’aco, and he eyes Izuku. Izuku frowns slightly, noticing the way A’zawa’s ears seem to twitch. Maybe Izuku’s just in sensory overload right now - or reading into things too much. Or A’zawa also thinks something is off, and he thought Izuku had something to do with it.

Izuku winces at the squeaking of the enclosure door opening. Wait - the enclosure door is opening? Izuku starts forward, keeping himself half hidden by the trees in a spot he can actually see the door from. Something is shoved inside. The light coloured hair on top sort of reminds Izuku of Kacchan - and it’s around the same height as a human and it has long legs like a human and when it straightens up -

KACCHAN! It’s Kacchan.

Izuku takes another fews steps forwards while M’zo, who was already near the door for some of the grasses, takes a step backwards. Kacchan is standing, disoriented by the looks of things, and snarling through the muzzle at M’zo. Kacchan’s brandings stand out against his pale skin, and he has more than Izuku does. Kacchan raises his hands in a fight position, and M’zo holds up a hand in a calming gesture while taking another few steps back. Kacchan takes a few steps forward to match.

Izuku grabs Kacchans wrist as he goes to swing, twisting and using the motion to pin it behind his back. Kacchan’s breathing is uneven and heaving. He’s panicking, and he’s looking around like everything in here will kill him. Panic attack.

“Calm down,” Izuku instructs in a calm voice, using his other hand to gently run down one of Kacchans arms. “You’re okay, no one here is gonna hurt you, Kacchan.” Izuku slowly lets go of Kacchans wrist, stepping closer and wrapping his arm around Kacchans waist instead, taking deep breaths for Kacchan to mimic. 

After a few minutes, Kacchan turns to face Izuku, and he’s still shaking. 

“I missed you,” Izuku states, hugging a bit firmer and letting Kacchan relax more. Kacchan might have grumbled an ‘I missed you too’ before he tenses up again when Keigo talks.

“ Izuku, who’s this?” Izuku huffs slightly, rubbing his face against Kacchans before he pulls back fully.

“ A friend of mine, Bakugou Katsuki,” Izuku replies, gently grabbing Kacchan arm and pulling him towards camp, “Come on, I’ll get you something to eat,”

“Is the bird thing gonna like kill me or something? Why is it staring?”

“He. He is staring because he’s curious, and no, he won’t attack you. His name is Keigo, he gives nice head-pats and dad-vibes.” Izuku gestures to M’zo, “M’zo, also friend. Absolutely do not attack him again,” 

“Izuku, what are you saying?” A’zawa asks, and Izuku grins slightly.

“I’m just telling him not to attack anyone,” Izuku replies, and then glances at Kacchan. “The fluffy pink one is Oc’aco, and she’s the sweetest thing ever, I have killed for her, and I would do it again.” 

“You’re sickeningly sweet about-”

“Oji’o, tail-monkey-man over there, still sort of scared of us, but he’s not aggressive. A’zawa, concerned cat-uncle or a really tired dad. Uh, and Ha’si!” Izuku nods over to Ha’si when he sits Kacchan down near the fire pit they have set up, “He’s Keigo’s boyfriend and also super nice. And dad shaped!”

“Hold up, Izu, did you say you killed for her?” Kacchan asks, reclutantly taking the food extended by Izuku. Izuku nods.

“Yeah! It was a crocodile, I made it into leather and used the bones to make gelatin for cheese. It didn’t taste half-bad either.” 

“Jesus,” Kacchan mutters, shaking his head before hesitantly bitting one of the fruits Izuku gave him, “You look fucking feral, you know.”

“Thanks,” Izuku mutters sarcastically, rolling his eyes, “Because, you know, you look so much better. Blood in your hair, it’s the lastest fashion statement.” 

“I don’t have -” Kacchan cuts himself off as he runs a hand through his hair and gets it caught on the half-dried brown hue blood. Izuku snickers. “Shut it, nerd.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Izuku holds up his hands innocently, “It’s been a while since I’ve interacted with another human is all.”

“Fight me, nugget!”

“Eat first, and then I’ll think about it,” Izuku grabs some fruit for himself, sitting next to Kacchan and eating slowly (Kacchan might start picking off Izuku’s food, but Izuku knew that the branding on his back was new, and he probably just fought for his life, so he’ll allow it). Of course, Izuku could also talk to Keigo, A’zawa and Ha’si about Kacchan, and how they grew up together. ‘Pack’ is very accurate, and after a while they start to theorise as to why Kacchan had been tossed into the same enclosure.

“It’s because Izuku’s too docile.” Keigo says, almost frantically. “They probably thought that two deathworlders would kill each other. Even the HC didn’t know that deathworlders were pack-oriented species,”  

“To be clear, I’m not exactly docile. Kacchan is aggressive, though, so that probably made them think that.” Izuku shrugs.

“... Are you sure Bakugou isn’t the average level of aggression and you’re just docile?” Oc’aco asks. She’s been sitting there for most of the conversation, but she was just letting everyone else talk really. 

“I’m sure,” Izuku huffs, grinning slightly, “Even compared to most humans I’m rather aggressive too, er- I … that’s not exactly what I meant, actually. It’s similar to aggressive - defensive? Willing to fight, I guess?” 

“At what point in a human’s life cycle are they the most aggressive?”

“Oh, adolescence! Especially males.” Izuku shrugs, turning back to Kacchan as he finishes eating.

Kacchan rests his head on Izuku’s shoulder. Izuku pats his hair softly, humming in contentment before glancing at Kacchan’s back.

“We should do something about that. It seems like it hurts a lot.” Kacchan seems to be falling asleep, but gives a nod anyway, sitting up to allow Izuku to get up. Izuku smiles, rubbing Kacchan’s hair before he stands and grabs the bowl he’s been using to make poultices and he grabs a few of the grasses too before sitting back down and getitng to work.

“Do you think that your allergies are gonna interact with this? Should I get some water or something to wipe it off if you do react?” Izuku asks as he crushes the plants. 

“Ugh, no. Just do it,” 

Izuku snorts, shaking his head before applying some to Kacchans back, watching Kacchan immediately relax at the touch. Izuku didn’t realise how much he missed skin-to-skin contact either until he started to relax slightly. 

His usual anxiousness is fading away, just from Kacchan being there. He didn’t realise how dependent he was on Kacchan’s presence, but now that they’ve been separated for over a month… Izuku lets Kacchan lay his head on his chest, and relaxes slightly into his touch. It’s warm, cause Kacchan is always warm, and Izuku closes his eyes and wraps his arms around him.

Notes:

I couldn't help but write another cuddle scene because my boys haven't had human contact in like a month and a half and they were super close before that, never apart for more than twenty-four hours. Touch starvation is real.

Chapter 27: Katsuki POV

Katsuki had spent almost two months either in the one godforsaken cell or fighting whatever the motherfuckers who caught him would throw his way. The food was shitty and bland and the closest thing to a toilet was a goddamn hole in the floor. His cell was small - barely enough room to lay comfortably. And Katsuki was separated from Izuku - and he’d never admit it out loud but he hoped the damn nerd was okay. Especially after the first branding. Katsuki had definitely scratched out an eye or two afterwards.

Overall, it’s a shit cell and a shit situation. Katsuki was smart - and he knew he was - but he had never learnt how to pick locks like Izuku did (Izuku picked the car locks, and Katsuki could hotwire it). The nerd had probably already figured out the language too. Katsuki picked up a few words, like ‘come’ or ‘stop’ or ‘claws!’, but Katsuki couldn’t pick up on the patterns of speech - they’re at a different pace than what most human conversations are at. Izuku studied to learn languages and he could recognise patterns easier. Katsuki could blow things up and rip something to pieces and build it better. They were supposed to be a team! They were both strong in different areas. 

Katsuki was pissed. He when wasn’t fed, again , which meant that he had to throw hands again . Katsuki wasn’t even fully healed from the last fight. Katsuki had learnt how to sharpen his nails on the cell walls and the noise irritated the guards on top of that, so that’s what Katsuki spent his time doing while waiting for the guard to come collect him for the ring. Katsuki wished he could be more irritating, or at least more of a pain in the ass to the guards. Katsuki also wondered if Izuku would be doing the same thing, but he didn’t have any more time to think about it before some of the armoured guards turned up. Katsuki had learnt that scratching them was ineffective, but he scratched anyway. He got one of them right in the eye, but that was right before he was shoved into the ring.

---

The fights were exhausting - as per the usual - and Katsuki saved the last bit of his energy to trying to stay conscious during his branding. It hurt like a bitch, and Katsuki growled at the guard when they let him hit the floor. Katsuki was dragged to a shower (He fought the whole time) before he’s finally shoved back -

This isn’t his cell. It’s outside? Is it another fight? What? In a natural environment? With trees to hide in? What sort of weird-? Why did they shower him if they were just gonna toss him back into a fight?

That alien looks like one he’s fought before - he has to be who Katsuki’s got to fight!

Katsuki can feel his heart beating faster, and moving hurts so bad - but Katsuki isn’t about to get killed just over a few injuries. He’s stronger than that! He can handle this. He can’t - He can’t do this. He’s in too much pain. He’s got to fight - He needs to fight so he can be safe and he won’t be hurt anymore. Katsuki swings - and he can’t move his arm anymore. He squirms slightly before someone speaks.

“Calm down. You’re okay,” Just the English is enough to make Katsuki relax slightly, but something about the voice reminds him of someone, “No one here is gonna hurt you, Kacchan,” 

It’s Izuku. Katsuki breathes for a few minutes before turning and hugging Izuku tightly. He never wants to let go again. He missed Izuku more than he missed spicy food - and he would never ever say that aloud. Katsuki couldn’t focus properly anymore, since his panic started to fade, but something about food came out of Izuku’s mouth, and Katsuki started following him without a fight. The birdman is looking at Katsuki like he’s his next meal.

“Is the bird thing like gonna eat me or something?” Katsuki blurts out, and Izuku is amused when he replies. Katsuki would’ve once assumed that he was mocking him, but Izuku wouldn’t do that in this situation, so Katsuki let it slide and tries to take in the next few bits of information that Izuku give him. Keigo, birdman, head pats and dad-vibes? Really? M’zo is the one Katsuki tried to attack.

Right. He should probably say sorry for that, at some point.

Izuku speaks the language that Katsuki had no idea where to even start on, and he doesn’t seem to have much of a problem with his words either. 

“The pink fuffy one is Oc’aco, I have killed for her and I would do it again,” 

“You’re sickeningly sweet,” Katsuki starts, intending to continue with, ‘Especially for someone talking about killing’ before he’s talked over.

Oji’o is threatened, but not gonna attack, A’zawa is… a really big cat. And apparently, Izuku has been adopted by the two birdmen. They’re both ‘dad-like’ so… At least the nerd finally has a dad? And he’s killed for Oc’aco -

“Hold up, Izuku, did you say you killed for her?” Katsuki asks. Izuku went to fast again - now Katsuki had to wait for him to explain things properly or until Katsuki was able to process all the questions he had. And how Izuku looked - dirt and twigs caught in his hair, pants that look like they’ve been stained with blood and dirt before. No shirt - brandings on full display. He looks… Feral.

This is what Katsuki would think that a human would look like after surviving in the woods for a month. But Izuku has killed a crocodile.

“Jesus…” Katsuki settles on, shaking his head, “You look fucking feral, you know.”

---

Katsuki has snuggled with Izuku a lot - but right now? Katsuki had forgotten just how relaxing being around another human was, let alone touching another human. Izuku was one of the only people back on earth that Katsuki was comfortable with touching because Izuku had shown an understanding of physical boundaries better than a majority of their peers did. Katsuki hated his mother trying to touch him, she was always so pushy.

Izuku was also a little bit squishy during their childhood, and that made him more comfortable to sleep on. Right now, Katsuki was a bit thinner than he appreciated, and Izuku seemed to a lost a bit of muscle mass as well, but Izuku had that protective layer of fat that Katsuki had lost from stress. Katsuki was jealous that Izuku had managed to stay stress-free enough to not lose weight, but Katsuki also assumed that Izuku was in this particular enclosure for a long while. It sounded like home, the bugs and the birds and the way the plant shifted around in the breeze. Katsuki had fallen asleep easily with the background noises going on.

Katsuki was awake now - still buried in Izuku’s fluffy hair and cuddling Izuku’s sleeping form. The cat - A’zawa - was near them, and very warm, but Katsuki absolutely did not trust him at all. Katsuki was instead focusing on Izuku’s deep, even breathing and his warm body tucked at Katsuki’s side. Katsuki noticed the scars over Izuku’s cheeks - two sets of scars over his hundreds of freckles. He’s been muzzled like Katsuki was yesterday, but instead of a short time like Katsuki got, Izuku had been muzzled long enough that he got cuts from it… twice. It looks like one set had completely healed before the second cut. Katsuki trails his hand along the scars, silently swearing to kill whoever caused them. Hopefully, Izuku would wake soon, because Katsuki wanted to move and the sun was rising and Katsuki also sort of needed to piss.

Izuku must’ve heard his thoughts because he grumbles and rolls straight off Katsuki’s chest. He hits the ground with a small grunt, before rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

“Good morning,” Katsuki grumbles, and Izuku smiles brightly at him.

“Good morning, Kacchan! How’d you sleep?” Katsuki grumbles some more, and Izuku laughs before standing and helping Katsuki to his feet. He knows exactly how to read what Katsuki means, even when Katsuki can’t articulate it. Katsuki follows Izuku, and Izuku leads him to the wall - where there is a hole that sticks out, about half the size of a toilet back on Earth. 

Great. Best toilet ever.

Katsuki couldn’t really complain though, because none of the guards would understand and he was half sure Izuku would’ve already thought his own complaints too.

“It’s really good to see you, Kacchan,” Izuku mutters, leaning against a nearby tree while Katsuki does his thing.

“Yeah, me too. Bad time to say it, though.”

“Sorry, It’s nice to be able to speak English with someone! Ha’si tries, but he’s still learning.” 

Katsuki rolls his eyes. He can’t help it - Izuku could barely go for an hour without talking about his special interest. It’s not like Katsuki actually minds, he just sometimes wanted to small talk that he didn’t have to process as much. Izuku also didn’t mind if Katsuki didn’t absorb everything about his special interest. So in a way, it was small talk for them.

“So Ha’si is trying to learn English?” Katsuki prompts, adjusting his pants. Izuku nods enthusiastically as they begin to walk back.

“Yeah! He’s learning really fast and it’d been nice to have you around to talk in English with to give better examples of the language.”

“Ah.” Katuski nods, “That makes sense.”

“Of course, if you want I can help teach you the language everyone else speaks. I’m not too good at it, but hopefully-”

“Izuku, none of that ‘I’m no good at it’ shit. I struggled to even understand that it was speech, let alone be able to speak it.” 

“Uh-” Izuku rubs the back of his head like he does when he’s nervous or shy. “Yeah… Right. But I think I could teach you how to understand it a bit better! If you want, that it, you don’t have to.”

“Just remember I can’t learn as much as you can, or as fast,” 

“Right!”

---

Katsuki tries not to shift around a lot while sitting next to Oc’aco and Ha’si. He wasn’t nervous - but he found the way that Oc’aco’s eyes sit so far up her head awkward, and he found how Ha’si’s eyes don’t have irises also unnerving. 

Oc’aco is around a metre and a half tall, sort of airy looking, with a flat snout that seems like it’s tougher than the rest of her skin, which is covered by her light pink fur, in some spots this is yellow, like her joints and her snout. She only has three fingers, which seem to be the same harder skin as her snout. Her legs seem weirdly flexible, and the knee joints work both forwards and backwards. She has a skirt and shirt on, both of which flow around her body lightly. Katsuki can’t pinpoint the material, but he assumes it would be about as light as cotton.

Ha’si is just under two metres tall, mostly black in colour, but the crown of his head, the tops of his wings (near his hands) and near his ankles are a right yellow in colour. Keigo is similar, but mainly a red colour rather than black. The feathers seem to gradient smoothly between the colours of both the birdmen (Izuku did say a name, but Katsuki forgot it immediately). They have plain pants on, the same as the rest of the group. Izuku and Katsuki have thicker pants because they’re fighters. Oji’o and M’zo have shirts on, and M’zo even has a mask on.

Katsuki tried to mimic a lot of the noises Izuku can make to speak, but Katsuki can’t. He knew a long time ago that Izuku would mimic noises from his echolalia, and Katsuki couldn’t mimic half as well as Izuku could. That’s not to say Katsuki would never get it, but he needed to work his mouth muscles more to be able to mimic things properly.

Chapter 28: A'zawa POV (3)

S’ota was having a not-so-great time - given, things could be worse. Sure, he was okay with Izuku - the kit had shown he was reliable, non-volatile and sort of adorable in a can -rip-you-in-half (can, but won't) way. But now there were two of them - two deathworlders. S’ota had an off feeling before the doors opened, but now that he knew that there are two deathworlders in the same cell? And they seem to know each other's names already. (Deathworlders are social animals, maybe they left their planet together?)  

S’ota probably wouldn’t’ve minded another deathworlder if he (Bakugou?) wasn’t immediately trying to attack one of his students. Izuku stopped him, sure, but still, he attacked unprovoked. Izuku calmed him down fairly quickly by speaking something to him in English - which Ha’si helpfully translated for S’ota. ‘You are safe here, no one will hurt you.’ - this implied that Bakugou perceived M’zo as an immediate threat to his safety. He’s clearly been in more fights than Izuku too - he has a lot more species circles branded on his skin. What kind of kit would think that everyone around him was a threat? A death world one, apparently . 

However, the kit calmed down soon enough after eating, and stayed curled at Izuku’s side like Izuku would protect him - which, given, that’s probably the case. Hopefully, Izuku would be able to prevent any more violence, and Izuku was more than willing to explain that they are the same age and they’re definitely pack. While S’ota didn’t want to panic, he did wonder if deathworlders have pack structures where one member of the pack is more of the decision-maker than the others (and if that is the case, he hoped it was Izuku).

Keigo had the right idea about the guards thinking that Bakugou would more likely kill Izuku than anything - and Izuku didn’t disagree with that statement. Keigo was attached, though. S’ota could see it - hell, he was sure everyone could see how attached he is to the kit. The worst part about it though is not knowing if Izuku is also attached, though they’re all likely to be a part of the kits pack now. If they did have pack structure, who would Izuku perceive as the leader? Did he perceive anyone as the leader?

Watching Izuku admit that male deathworlder adolescents are the most volatile of the species, and then immediately start taking care of Bakugou’s wounds was almost contradictory. If S’ota wasn’t aware of Izuku’s own previous violence and (somehow) caring personality he would’ve assumed that he was lying about it. Bakugou seems to trust Izuku a lot, considering their closeness. Maybe they’re mates? Do deathworlders even have the concept of love like that or was it all for survival? 

Izuku and Bakugou stay close together arms wrapped around each other, and S’ota is half sure they’re both asleep now. Best not to wake them, then. Everyone else is also winding down for sleeping too, so it’s not like there will be many disturbances to wake either deathworlder. 

 

---

The deathworlders are awake before S’ota the next cycle, and they are talking to each other quietly, trying not to wake anyone else but still communicating to each other and sitting in a way that their arms brush together when they move them in random movements (given, Izuku is doing more gesturing than Bakugou). Between them is the book that Izuku is has claimed as his own, and Izuku occasionally uses a single finger to point directly at something on the page. Bakugou nods his head occasionally, sometimes gesturing to other things on the page. S’ota knows that the page has diagrams of the foods around, so maybe Izuku was just trying to make sure Bakugou could eat something? Still, to know that deathworlders comminictate shared knowledge like other species was relieving, in a way. The kits wouldn’t die, at least. 

Izuku marks that page a few times, and they continue talking to each other while everyone else starts to wake. Izuku starts to talk to Oc’aco as well, and explains a few words to her as best he can, and then Ha’si joins in after a few minutes of quiet. They’re putting a lot of effort into learning, and S’ota didn’t doubt that it would improve Human relations with the rest of the galaxy, but S’ota didn’t quite have the patience to learn a new language (four is enough). Bakugou is shifting around, like how Izuku does when he’s agitated, but he eventually settles as best he can. He tries to speak a few words, and evidently, Izuku is the better of the two at mimicking. S’ota wonders if that puts Bakugou at a disadvantage for hunting, but it doesn’t matter. He’s still dangerous.
The lesson ends early, and Izuku explains that most humans don’t have the attention span or patience for lots of learning in one day, so S’ota instead watches them walk away, still talking to one another in English. 

It’s basically dark by the time they return, carrying a bunch of sticks each and Izuku laughs loudly at something said, startling Oc’aco and M’zo. Izuku apologizes, and he’s smiling probably the widest S’ota has seen from the kit. Maybe having another deathworlder around wouldn’t be so bad after all, if it makes Izuku relax enough to smile and laugh - which S’ota knows is a good sign. (Who is he kidding? He doesn’t know shit about deathworlders and he’s been living with one for two moon cycles!)  

The two boys sit down again, and S’ota almost panics at the sign of a weapon being handed from Izuku to Bakugou. (He panics a lot, actually) However, Bakugou just nods to whatever Izuku just said and starts to carve away at one of the long sticks they had carried. S’ota’s anxiety doesn’t diminish, in fact, the thought that Izuku had another weapon the whole time makes him even more cautious. Humans are good at hiding things, apparently. Izuku picks up his preserved animal skin, and he invites Oc’aco over to make another pair of those things. (S’ota still doesn't know the purpose, but Izuku had managed to avoid questioning by being adorable - really, S’ota should’ve pushed harder for answers, because he has no idea what Izuku is making, or why he’s making more.)

However, Izuku still manages to learn more language skills while he’s hands are working, thanks to Ha’si’s excessive talking. His talking once irritated S’ota, but now that there is someone learning, and learning from said talking, well… He couldn’t find it as irritating. Izuku seems to find the talking easier than he had a moon-cycle ago, even, and S’ota is unsurprised with how hard he had been working on it. Of course, Izuku did suggest with his comment earlier that he can simply learn more than the average deathworlder, but even then S’ota knows species that could hardly learn their own language, let alone in the same time period. Deathworlders are smart, and that’s part of why they’re deadly.

After food, S’ota half expected (half wanted) Izuku to come and curl under him again, but instead, Izuku laid with Bakugou on their backs, and he was pointing to the stars in the sky, speaking. Why? Are they not tired? S’ota knows that Izuku’s sleep schedule is a bit different - more so at the start of his captivity - but he had assumed that was from stress, not that it was his natural cycle. (S’ota needs to stop assuming things about deathworlders because that only set him up to be caught off guard.)

Bakugou talks for a while and Izuku rolls to look at him, and they talk quieter, softer. Deathworlders have tender moments too, and S’ota knows that, but he turns away anyway because he gets the idea he isn’t supposed to see it. Well, more that neither of them wants him to see it. 

It’s quiet, aside from the gentle whispers from the deathworlders, who have moved closer to each other again. The night sky is clear, and it’s surprisingly still fairly warm. At least S’ota doesn’t have to worry about Izuku freezing to death. S’ota can let himself sleep, knowing that his kits are safely tucked under his tail and that Keigo and Ha’si can handle themselves. Well, mostly. He didn’t think they’d actually survive an encounter with an angry deathworlder, but they were smart enough to avoid setting them off. 

 

---

The next cycle is peaceful, or at least it was . When the lesson ended for the day everything went to shit. 

The deathworlders are fighting - and that is terrifying in its own right. They move almost as fast as an Ege’ium, meaning S’ota can barely even see them with how fast they can move. They’re vicious, hands clenched in a similar to what S’ota saw Izuku holding them when he was fighting the guards, slamming them into each other hard enough that S’ota can hear the impact. They’re moving in sync, forwards and then back again in a rhythm that no one can hear except from the hitting of skin against one another.

“Why are you two fighting?” Ha’si says, punctuated with a distressed chirp. Izuku slaps his hand on his leg twice, and the flurry of movement stops, Bakugou even going as far as to start drinking water from Izuku’s bottle.

“We’re just playing, we aren’t actually hurting each other,” Izuku explains, and Ha’si doesn’t relax.

“Is this something deathworlder kits just do? How aren’t you hurting each other? Look at your chest.” he commands, and Izuku looks down at his redden chest - that’s a sign of injury. Izuku shrugs, however. “Don’t just shrug at that - you’re hurt.”

“It’s not that bad, Ha’si.” Izuku shrugs again, and Bakugou asks something in Eglish which makes Izuku huff and smile at him, saying something else S’ota doesn’t understand. They converse for a while, and progressively Izuku starts to laugh at whatever is being said. 

“What did he just say?” Ha’si asks, and Izuku stifles his laughter enough to be barely understandable.

“It’s a cultural joke, you wouldn’t get it. Just, uh, we aren’t terror hurting each other,” Izuku is still learning to speak, so messing up his prepositions is expected, but it doesn't paint a nice image while he’s messing up his words, “and if it is that much of an issue for you to see, we can do it somewhere else.” Izuku says, and Ha’si sighs.

“Terribly,” He corrects, and Izuku nods, “and I don’t want you guys to hurt each other at all.” 

“It’s… I guess cultural works, but it’s just something that we used to do at home - since we were tiny.” Iuzku gestures small, “Like this big.”

“I doubt you were fighting at that size,” Oc’aco says, probably trying to relieve some tension from the atmosphere and Izuku snorts (another form of deathworlder amusement that took some getting used to). At least he wasn’t insulted by her doubts.

“Uh, play fighting is something most species on my planet do as kits,” Izuku informs, and Bakugou again asks for a translation, judging by the way that Izuku quickly speaks in English. Deathworlders fighting as kits could be a way they prepare for the harsh world they live in, and unfortunately, that seems legitimately like the reason why Izuku would practice fighting with Bakugou now - because they do need to be prepared for the fights they’ll be put in to as long as they’re trapped here.

They need to get them out, and soon.

Notes:

I might not do Izuku's pov for a while and it might just switch between characters for a bit, but I'll see y'all again soon (hopefully)!

Chapter 29: Katsuki POV (2)

Summary:

Hide and Seek round one!

Katsuki didn’t really know what to think about Izuku’s new alien friends. Friends? Eh, cellmates. The nerd has always had a bleeding heart, so Katsuki can’t exactly say he was surprised . If anything, this seems to be on par for Izuku. Social norms affected his ability to make friends on earth, but out here? Humans don’t know the social norms here, and other species certainly don’t know the social norms of humans. Yeah, it’s safe to say the nerd is attached. To Oc’aco especially, considering that the nerd fucking carries her whenever she tires herself out from following him around.

Oc’aco seems almost like a clingy girlfriend, and she giggles a lot. She moves her ( hella shiny ) wings a lot, she sits close to both Izuku and Katsuki, her chatter with Izuku is helping Katuski understand the language. She sometimes doesn’t shut up, and she touches Izuku’s arms a lot (in a way Katsuki knows he’s been conditioned into thinking is flirty even though it’s likely just some sort of cultural barrier that Katsuki can’t wrap his head around yet). Maybe she’s just more comfortable with Izuku, and would also eventually be touching Katsuki like that? 

But whatever, it’s not like Katsuki minds too much. He isn’t used to it, sure, but it’s good that Izuku can finally have some other form of social stimulation. Well, social stimulation he can handle. Where he can stim or do other things to emotionally regulate without being seen as rude. The other fucks back on Earth were always freaked out when Izuku would stim, but Katsuki had known the nerd basically their whole lives so he had adjusted to it. He was about the only one who ever did adjust to it. Except for Aunty Inko, of course. 

Not to mention the way the nerd gets to obsess over his special interest here. A whole new language to learn? Izuku’s all over it, apparently better than Katsuki had initially thought to. Izuku could speak full paragraphs, and explain ideas and concepts to learn more words for more things. Katsuki has bits and pieces of the language, but he still feels like an idiot half the time and just gets Izuku to translate so he doesn’t sound as stupid. Also, all the words are ridiculously long, compared to their meanings. The word for ‘one’ is like six syllables long and Katsuki can’t fucking do that. 

Izuku has informed Katsuki that they wouldn’t be escaping until Katsuki is healed enough to fight again, which apparently came from Ha’si, but Katsuki isn’t sure Izuku didn’t just lie to make him listen. Not that Katsuki wouldn’t listen to Izuku anyway. It was good to know there was already a plan to escape, and that Katsuki wouldn’t have to pull a Houdini while trying to escape alone. He’d have some backup! Specifically Izuku, but Katsuki wasn’t exactly opposed to more helping hands. 

Escaping would be amazing, especially because Katsuki was concerned that Izuku would be forced to fight again during the period of time where Katsuki isn’t fully, but Izuku is. Izuku’s last fight was two weeks ago, and Katsuki had fought every two and a half weeks, so hopefully, it’ll be more than a few days before Izuku is taken to fight. Even then, Katsuki would help protect Izuku even through his injuries! With the two of them together, there was no way either of them would have to fight again! (Katsuki had to ignore the all-consuming fear that he was wrong.) 

So far, most of the days Katsuki has spent learning the language or making his and Izuku’s staffs. They need weapons if they want to escape, and Izuku doesn’t know how to whittle wood, so it’s up to Katsuki. Izuku does, however, have leather from the crocodile he’s killed, and he seems to be making it into two pairs of shoes. Being barefoot wasn’t exactly bothering Katsuki, but Izuku has more sensory issues than Katsuki so he just let the nerd do what he wanted with the leather he made. Besides, Katsuki would want to protect his feet when they kick ass on the way outta here. 

It had only been two days when Izuku started singing while working. Katsuki liked Izuku’s voice - especially while working. Gave him something to work to, a nice rhythm in his movements which seemed to make the repetitiveness easier. Katsuki didn’t take long to sing along, especially because Izuku was singing one of Katsuki’s favourite songs even though he knows Katsuki doesn’t like singing in front of anything of higher intelligence than a goldfish, aside from Izuku (well, sometimes he seems to have the intelligence of a goldfish, so maybe that includes Izuku).  

But damn. When Katsuki didn’t immediately sing, Izuku hit him with those stupid big puppy-dog eyes and Katsuki hated his heartstrings tugging at that and the way that he immediately caved. Katsuki needs better defences against Izuku’s adorableness, and he needs them yesterday. Izuku was simply too adorable, like a younger brother that Katsuki never got to have because his parents were too busy trying to stop Katsuki from being a little shit. 

Katsuki found the way the others looked at them when they were singing to be a bit weird, but he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t, actually. He didn’t exactly know what to say, or how to say it. Probably ‘What the fuck are you fuckers staring at?’, but Katsuki didn’t know all those words yet. Maybe Izuku would say it for him? Katsuki snorts to himself. 

The nerd would probably make it seem friendly and shit, which may be how Izuku wants to be perceived, but Katsuki is viewed as aggressive by every human he’s ever met, so why not aliens? Katsuki didn’t see the point in making himself seem nicer when he isn’t. That’d be like lying to them about who he is. Katsuki Bakugou is many things, but a liar isn’t one of them. Most of the time.

---

 

Katsuki huffs when Izuku tells him they’re going to be playing hide-and-seek. Supposedly this is to help Katsuki learn the numbers of the language, but Katsuki could see through that a mile away. Katsuki and Izuku used to play hide and seek with other kids back home until they both got too good after they started to train to explore space (and got a bunch of tips and tricks for how to hide better from one of the websites they had checked). Izuku wants to have fun and play and be a kid again. Scaring the shit outta their cellmates is a bonus, Katsuki is sure of that.

Katsuki is seeking first, and they have thirty ‘clicks’ (roughly 40 seconds) to hide. Katsuki counts slowly, thankful that Ha’si is saying the numbers alongside him or he might forget them. Ha’si is sitting out to act as a recall for when the five-minute time limit runs out, and also where the kits are supposed to go once they’ve been found. Izuku and Katsuki spent about half an hour setting up some signals to solidify the area that everyone is allowed to hide in, so now Katsuki just has to scan it in the span of five minutes. Easy as pie… 

Katsuki’s favourite part of hide and seek is calling out ‘ready or not, here I come’ because, sometimes, he could say it in a way that made other kids suck in a breath, or move just enough that Katsuki could hear them. He could be absolutely terrifying to other human kids, and he was now about to say it to a bunch of alien kids who are already scared of him. Katsuki immediately found Tail-man. (Uh, Oji’o?) He was smart, hiding close enough that Katsuki wouldn’t think to look back and high enough that Katsuki would struggle to see if he didn’t know something was up there. Shame he was easy to scare, though. If he didn’t move, he just might’ve won. But he moved, and his tail must’ve brushed up against a branch because Katsuki heard it loud and clear. 

Next up, Katsuki was looking for Oc’aco. According to Izuku, she’s not used to walking around as much because she can usually use her wings to fly. Her wings are currently chained together in a way that makes it impossible for her to fly. Which sucks, cause a flying teammate in a fight would be really useful for a birds-ey view of the playing field, but right now Katsuki was using her grounded status as an advantage. She wouldn’t be used to hiding without her wings, so Katsuki would be looking close to the ground, and not high up like Tailman. 

M’zo would probably be easy as well, considering his size. There aren’t many places that he could exactly fit . Maybe he could use those extra arms to climb up a tree? What could he really do? What would Katsuki do if he was - Jesus Christ, he’s right there! Out in the open? God damn -

“ M’zo - found ,” Katsuki announces, listening to the way the trees rustle around him. He grew up with Izuku, and sometimes just to be a little shit during hide and seek the nerd would follow him around the whole time. And that was one of the most irritating and exasperating things - not to mention the way it makes Katsuki feel like an absolute idiot. M’zo walks away, and Katsuki can only assume he wasn’t really trying to play. Or he was the distraction?

Oc’aco and the nerd left. Oc’aco might’ve crawled under some leaves or something, but with her colouration, she should be pretty easy to find. After that, Katsuki could worry about the nerd. Katsuki continues forwards, eye scanning the shrubs and ground near the trees, and after a few minutes, he spots the tiniest hint of pink from behind a shrub. It’s almost too easy. Unless Izuku has set some sort of trap - maybe he wanted to see just how well everyone would do unassisted first? The nerd would - maybe to see just how much energy he should put into playing. Or maybe to give pointers later? Maybe just to win. It’s a safe enough bet that Katsuki circled around to approach Oc’aco from behind her.

He crouches slightly, silent leaning in behind her, whispering, “Hey, Oc’aco, I found you.”

Oc’aco jumps up, (easily out of the bush, almost high enough to hit the tree branch) and Katsuki has to catch her, because she instinctively tried to use her wings, but couldn’t. She’s off-balanced without them, apparently, but not enough to know not to jump into the air. It’s a good thing she’s adorable, or Katsuki would have been tempted to just let her fall. After he sets her straight up, Katsuki gives her a grin. 

Her wings flutter, nervously tapping on the backs of her upper legs to try to relax them. Katsuki still finds her legs weirdly bendy looking, though he’s slowly adjusting to it. She seems to have curled them up while she had air time, so they bent forwards and half connected together. It’s worse to watch them split back apart, slowly unsticking the tough yellowish skin that seems to have velcro-like hairs to hold her legs while she’s in the air. Her hands are still gripping onto Katsuki’s arms, and she slowly starts to loosen her grip there as well while her feet touch the ground. 

When they finally are completely unattached, Katsuki lets her go and starts to hunt a little differently for the nerd. He knows Izuku - and he knows the area that Izuku would likely to hide in. Of course, this all means jack shit if Izuku was following Katsuki the whole time, and Katsuki would be so fucking angry if that was the case. Katsuki huffs, jumping up and grabbing a branch to haul himself into a tree. If the nerd was following him, he’ll be easier to hear if they were in the trees. 

Katsuki continues looking around the trees, trying to inhale quieter and keep his footsteps as even as he possibly can to avoid rustling the trees as he moves between them. Moving quietly really fucking hard in trees, but Katsuki knows he isn’t gonna find Izuku if he keeps moving on the ground. 

There! Movement - on the ground, near the pond. Of course, Izuku would go to the edge of the playfield. Maybe that wasn’t -? That’s… That’s gotta be Izuku. Maybe he circled around? Katsuki was sure that he heard everyone go to the left of him when he started counting, which explains why Izuku is just settling into his hiding position.

“Found you, nerd!” Katsuki calls, dropping out of the tree and landing beside Izuku, who’s now giggling slightly.

“How’d you find me?” He asks as Katsuki helps him to his feet.

“You moved your leg right as I was looking over this way. Wasn’t hard.” Katsuki snorts, pulling Izuku off back to camp.

Notes:

HEY! HEY! GUESS WHAT!
This story is now the equivalent length of a novel, just under 60,000 words!

Chapter 30: M'zo POV (2)

Summary:

The kits continue to play hide and seek!

Notes:

Notes: I wanted to have some fun with swear words this chapter, so I’ve made a few up - these words don’t actually translate smoothly into human swearwords, but they are taboo words that kits especially aren’t meant to know.
Aar’a = Airlock/into the vastness of space, typically associated with Unpleasant death.
Itamis = 100 clicks (around 1 minute and fifteen seconds) but basically more like ‘minutes spent in pain/fear/hell’ (3.75 itamis is about five minutes of ‘straight hell’ - which is how long each round of hide and seek goes for. This took me a ridiculously long time to math it out.)
Epting = Like fucking (Not as in another word for mating, but used similarly for stressful situations.) Usually accompanied by sarcasm. Also sometimes pronounced ‘Epping’ or ‘yepting’ depending on the accent of the speaker.

M’zo wasn’t exactly excited to be hunted by a dangerous predator - no matter how placid they have been. Which, towards M’zo they’re lacking in actual placidity. One had tried to attack him the moment he was seen for the first time. But M’zo was not going to pass the opportunity to learn how they hunt while not actually being in any danger -  ‘just playing’ as Izuku had put it.

The first method he wanted to try was one that A’zawa had brought up one of the very first days that Izuku was in the cell next to them. Or, well… the theory was that the deathworlders have a movement-based vision. With that theory, M’zo should be able to stand in the middle of the open without having to worry about the deathworlders seeing him… As long as he stays still.

When that method proved ineffective, he informed A’zawa. A’zawa, who immediately perked up. He was pretty adamant against them playing this game, and he tried to get M’zo to agree that it was a terrible idea. Except M’zo didn’t, because he really did want to know exactly how the deathworlders hunted - and how good they are at hiding as well. If M’zo could get the upper hand on them, he’d need to know how to find them afterwards. 

The whole thought process felt hypocritical - M’zo knows that Izuku would never hurt him. Why is M’zo so on edge about Izuku being around another deathworlder? Is it because they’re speaking their native language more? That’s… A pretty shallow thing to be upset about. Besides, they’re trying to teach Oc’aco and Ha’si how to speak it so it makes sense they are using examples! 

M’zo also knows what it’s like to be put in a box because of his species. He knows how much it would hurt Izuku’s feelings to know the reasons why M’zo is playing. M’zo wouldn’t say that Izuku views M’zo as pack, but if M’zo told Izuku then any chance he would have of becoming a pack would go out the aa’ra . M’zo didn’t usually feel guilty about something he could justify, but he knows how much a pack bond with Izuku could mean (he sees the way he treats Oc’aco - soft, friendly and caring). 

Maybe he should tell Izuku just so that he doesn’t form a pack bond with him because M’zo was clearly terrible and just as untrustworthy as everyone has always said his species is -

Izuku bares his teeth (Smiles - Like Ha’si. He’s friendly ), walking over to M’zo. What does M’zo say here?

“Kacchan said you were just standing in the one spot,” Izuku says, and M’zo had never been more thankful for his species' lack of expression as he nods in confirmation. Izuku clearly feels awkward as the silence stretches, so he fills it again, “Yeah, Oc’aco hid in a bush and Kacchan only spotted me because I moved,”

Wait… What? How did that work? Only because he moved? Where was Izuku hiding the whole time? But why didn’t it work for M’zo?

“But, you know, it’s - Uh, like… It’s… .” Izuku continues talking, now trying to find the word for some sort of human expression. It’s like… in the past? Unchangeable Behind him? History?

“History?” M’zo supplies and Izuku scrunches his nose.

“That works, but it’s not the word I was after.” Izuku shrugs shaking his head, “Anyway, do you want to seek next, or should I?”  

“I think you should,” M’zo felt guilt rise again after he said that, but that the same time the way Izuku smiles widely suggest that he wanted that answer. 

---

M’zo was actually hiding this time - he’s put himself up just above Izuku’s height, limbs bend as close to his body as he can manage and also almost fully covered by a bush and some branches. Trees are not his species preferred hiding places, but he can’t afford not to hide properly because that wouldn’t be accurate to just how good at finding Izuku is. Though M’zo does wish the guilt would fade at the reasons why. He knows that he isn’t the only person now waiting on these test results, and he wonders if A’zawa feels that little bit guilty about this too, though M’zo doesn’t doubt that he also sees the logical reasons behind this. 

M’zo is uncomfortable, but he tells himself he only has to wait for three and a half itamis . Only three. Epting. Itamis . 

M’zo needs to keep still. It’s hard, his species prefer their feet on the ground and being this high up makes M’zo feel the need to get away from this hiding spot. He has to keep himself still, and he knows this is one of the best hiding spots he’d be able to come up with in a pinch - if he ever is attacked by the deathworlders for whatever reason. 

M’zo doesn’t move for what feels like forever (One itamis, at maximum) before something rustles above him. Masrao, probably. He’s the only one who could get that high. Deathworlders can’t climb.
M’zo peeks up using one of his extremities, and immediately feels a cold rush of fear.
Deathworlders can climb. Deathworlders can climb. Deathworlders can fucking climb -

“M’zo! I found you!” Izuku chirps and M’zo remembers that he’s not in active danger. Well… He feels like he is, but hopefully - hopefully - Izuku will never ever attack him. M’zo doesn’t even know how the fuck Izuku is balancing with his legs on two different branches, leaning forwards to see M’zo a bit better. M’zo barely manages to force a nod of acknowledgement and starts to make his way to the ground. 

 

---

M’zo manages to hide from Oc’aco for most of the round, but she eventually does find him, hidden in a hole that’s partially covered by rocks. After M’zo gets back to camp, He watches Ha’si frill out his neck to project his voice through the forest.
“Alright! That’s time, everyone come on out!” 

By ‘everyone’ Ha’si means the deathworlders and Oc’aco because M’zo and Masrao are already standing next to him. M’zo watches the deathworlders walk out of the forest smiling, and Izuku is carrying Oc’aco to save her energy. They seem to have a few twigs and dirt stuck to them, so they were probably hiding lower because of Oc’aco’s eyes being placed at the top of her head.

---

M’zo is seeking this round. It’s a good chance for him to access how well deathworlders can hide, and he should have the upper hand because of his species' maneuverable hearing and seeing limbs. This should be easy - deathworlders are big, and usually, they’re noisy when they move. Unless they know how to make themselves move quieter, or they stay still the whole round…
Maybe M’zo should just search for them, instead of thinking too much about it. Maybe they’ll be easy enough to spot. Maybe M’zo should stop thinking in theoriticals. 

M’zo just needs to walk through the set area and keep his eyes and ears ready to catch even the slightest movements. 

 

---

Izuku is seeking again. It had been a few rounds, but a deathworlder was seeking again. M’zo set himself in the same hiding spot he did for Oc’aco’s round, this time covering himself with the leaves and sticks from the forest floor. It’s not comfortable, but M’zo was determined to win this time. M’zo set himself up to wait. 

Eventually, after what feels like the right amount of time, Ha’si’s voice echoes around the forest, “Alright! That’s time, everyone come on out!” 

M’zo stood, walking out of the forest with Oc’aco and Masrao. While taking in the grinning face of Izuku, he remembered something. Deathworlders mimic . He quickly glances at Ha’si, who seems to be surprised that all three of them responded so easily to Izuku’s call. Before anyone could say anything else, Izuku looks up, grinning even wider. 

“Kacchan!” He calls out, waving (It’s a greeting, M’zo’s been told, but for some reason, Izuku uses it to show excitement more than an actual greeting). Izuku’s Kacchan huffs, jumping down from the trees - M’zo couldn’t even see him there. He seems to be mostly healed from his brandings - though they still look like they hurt. He’s not as wide as Izuku, but he’s still tall, heavy and very strong. M’zo remembers what he looks like when he’s ready to attack - and M’zo never wants to experience that look again.

The adults determine that it’s too dark to continue playing, and all the non-deathworlders relax. Izuku ends up in conversation with Oc’aco, somehow, about Oc’aco’s home planet. Min’is’ home planet was destroyed by a war over twenty generations ago, so M’zo felt a twinge of jealousy that Oc’aco had gotten to experience the planet her species was evolved for. 

The weather on her planet is also predictable, consistent and…Of course, since Oc’aco’s planet is peaceful, it hasn’t been damaged by war.  Well, M’zo’s heard it described as beautiful before. Her whole planet is certain of their future, where M’zo had struggled to get enough to eat most of his childhood. It was something he understood his jealousy of. Most species would also be jealous of that. But she’s here just as much as he is, and she’s handling it better than M’zo would’ve expected.   

M’zo was not, however, jealous of Izuku or his ‘Kacchan’. M’zo was acutely aware that if the deathworlders weren’t picked up, he would’ve been thrown into the same fights, but in even more danger. The deathworlders could handle themselves. They even made those… stick… things? M’zo didn’t know what they were called, but they were definitely weapons. 

Ha’si inserts himself into the deathworlder and Oc’aco’s conversation, giving Oc’aco the chance to slip out of it to sleep. After Oc’aco’s fallen asleep, M’zo overhears Ha’si asking if Izuku wants to either fight his way out before his next fight or try to send out an SOS from the nearest communicator. Izuku ended up learning what to write in the SOS in case he found a communicator, but M’zo knows they were going to need to make a move within the next few cycles. 

Maybe M’zo was nervous for Izuku? He would likely be dragged off to fight soon, a few cycles at the latest. The question is more if the guards would be taking ‘Kacchan’ too. Is that better or worse? They’d be up against a harder enemy if they were taken together, but they seem to know each other and they even play fight together all the time. (M’zo is unnerved by the fact that they play fight, but he has been trying to reserve judgement)

Regardless, for the night they’d be fine.

Notes:

My first chapter in a while! Writer's block is kicking my ass, so I hope this turned out okay? But yeah, have a chapter!

Chapter 31: ...Wait, What? (Katsuki POV 3)

Summary:

The next fight... and two surprise visitors.

Katsuki was not excited about his brandings healing up. Well, sure the movement was great, and the skin wasn’t about to rip open the second he tried to stretch, but at the same time, FUCK! He was gonna have to fight some bitches. Sure, it’s unlikely he’s not going to fight alone. Like hell Izuku would let him be dragged outta here without him. But still, he was supposed to be doing literally anything else (mainly trying to learn with Izuku). He usually looks forwards to his next fight, back on earth. But here? Katsuki is… Shit, Katsuki is scared . Scared he or Izuku will get hurt and that they’ll not be able to help each other, or worse, get separated again. 

But for now, Izuku is there. Right fucking there . Katsuki could hear his deep breathing, and feel his chest rising and falling from where Katsuki is snuggled against his side. Katsuki is just overthinking in the middle of the night because he can’t fucking sleep. 

Eventually, Katsuki’s must drift, because he jolts awake to a screech of metal on metal. Izuku is up next to him, and they share a glance before they’re scrambling for their newly made bo-staffs. 

Keigo and Ha’si are stirring slightly, but the noise mustn’t be enough to get them awake properly. It’s fine, Katsuki and Izuku will handle it. They can handle themselves after all -

Something small pricks Katsuki’s neck and Katsuki growls while swiping at it, revealing a small vile with a needle-like point. Shit…

Izuku steps towards Katsuki as the world starts to spin, and Katsuki tries to step towards him only for his knees to give out, leading to nothing but black. 

 

---

 

Katsuki wakes somewhere familiar, but honestly, he couldn’t care less right now. He probably just slept in Izuku’s room again, they’ve done that millions of times! Why is he getting so anxious about it?

WHERE’S IZUKU?

Katsuki bolts upright, scanning for any signs of Izuku. The cell he is in is recognisable - And suddenly Katsuki remembers why he was so anxious. They aren’t at home. And Izuku isn’t with him. Katsuki’s alone in his own cell again. He and Izuku were so close - so close to getting out of here together with the strange adults and teenagers that Izuku has adopted - or was adopted by. It doesn’t matter! The point is they were almost able to get out of here! To safety.

But no. Katsuki hisses at the guards as they open the doors. Motherfuckers! Where’s His Izuku!?

Katsuki’s sloppy, half-drugged attack didn’t work - and Katsuki was quickly forced into a muzzle and some sort of chain cuffs he’s never seen before. He struggles during the walk down the hallway and growls as the guards shove him into familiar doors.

“Kacchan!” Katsuki spins to face Izuku, and Izuku tries to run forwards, but the guards get between them. Katsuki tries not to struggle, just to get out of the cuffs and muzzle faster, and when the guards finally take that stupid thing off his face, he lunges forwards to grab Izuku. 

The guards start stabbing at both of them, and Izuku is actually the one to hiss at them to back off. Well, Katsuki assumes that’s what he’s saying. Two of the guards toss their staffs to them, and both boys look at each other before they pick them up. They'll really need these for their fight.

 

---

 

The arena is loud, as usual, and Katsuki glances at Izuku to make sure that he isn’t overwhelmed just yet. The crowd is cheering, the same static announcer voice, as always, is echoing around the stadium making them louder. Izuku starts glaring at the door ahead of them, and Katsuki has to know .
“What is it, nerd?” 

“A pack of something .” Izuku replies, looking around, “But I think we should skip out on this fight, We can easily scale the walls to that booth, and Ha’si said there will be uh- like a computer - or maybe it was a radio?”

“Communication.” Katsuki clarifies, getting a nod before he continues, “Let’s do it before those doors open, then.” 

They move forwards - running towards the wall closest to the booth. The crowd is screaming - but Katsuki can barely hear that over the blood pumping in his ears. They’re so close to getting out, so close to rescue. So, so close. Just up the wall and then Izuku sending out the signal. After that, they’ll be safe.

Katsuki reaches the wall first, turning and boosting Izuku up onto the wall. Izuku dangles his staff down to pull Katsuki up - and not a moment too soon because the other door burst open, revealing at least a dozen feral-looking half-dog half-ape creatures. Katsuki felt sick - and he nearly slipped off Izuku’s staff before he ripped himself upwards as the adrenaline started to surge through his system. Fuck that. Not the way Katsuki wants to die - not in a million years. 

Katsuki white-knuckle grabs the wall, glancing at Izuku and getting a hand on his shoulder in reassurance. Then both of them look up. They need to get into the booth now, which means they need to jump or climb up one another.  

“Get on my shoulders,” Izuku commands, and Katsuki moves to follow as their supposed opponents start screaming. Like a group of wild apes or hundreds of terrified humans or kids - Screaming like they were being burned alive, from the inside out. Screaming in pain or out of pure desperation. Katsuki’s skin is crawling and he’s ears are ringing, but he climbs up Izuku and onto his shoulders to grab the ledge of the booth. They are so close .   

They’re going to get out of here.

Katsuki starts pulling himself up - and something is wrong, suddenly. The world seems to tilt, just slightly enough that Katsuki slips, straight down. He knocks into Izuku, and they both tumble to the ground. Fuck! Fuck!

Katsuki is on his feet, staff in hand as the creatures scream more and more viciously, now closing in on the two of them. 

So much for skipping out on this fight. 

Izuku’s back presses against Katsuki’s, and Katsuki’s anxiety eases slightly. He’s not alone in this fight. They’ll win this. Katsuki grins, raising his staff properly.
“COME ON, MOTHERFUCKERS!”

They lunge, and Katsuki swings. The sound of something snapping on impact sounds out through the stadium, and a quick glance at Katsuki’s now bloodied staff assures him it was the creature's ribs, not that his woodworking skills had degraded. They seem pretty weak - hardly even a fight at all -, but Katsuki can’t think about it for long before another is lunging at him. 

“They regenerate, aim to kill!” Izuku’s voice calls out, through the animalistic noises and the flurry of movement happening around them. Katsuki wanted to turn around and scream at Izuku that he never wants to be a killer, but even as he starts to turn, one of the fuckers bites his arm, causing him to cry out in pain and drop his staff.

The creature pulls on him with its teeth slowly ripping into Katsuki’s skin, and Katsuki starts punching it - as hard as his body could manage even as it’s pulled to his knees. Another one bites Katsuki’s leg - unable to do much damage because of his pants, but with enough of a grip to start pulling his leg the opposite way to his arm. Katsuki feels something pull him up by his other arm, just as another tries to latch onto his other leg. The one attached to his arm is ripped off by Izuku, and the others are kicked in the skull until they go completely limp.

Katsuki kicks his staff up into his hand, nodding in thanks to Izuku before he starts swinging again. These things are willing to kill him, so he needs to do the same. Aim for the head until they die.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, the movement, or the simple fact that they were winning, but Katsuki couldn’t help but let out some animistic sounds himself as he and Izuku turned to the last of the creatures, the only two still standing. They were screwed. The boys lunged in sync and swung down with enough speed to kill both of the things on impact.

“Alright.” Izuku starts, panting heavily, “Let’s get up now, and hope they don’t move the wall like they did last time.”

They move quickly - easily getting back up the wall, and this time Katsuki doesn’t hesitate for even half a second before he’s up on the ledge of the announcer's booth. He stretches his staff down for Izuku, and then stands up, eying the glass of the booth, and the alien inside.

“You think we can break it?” Katsuki asks, looking at a grinning Izuku.

“Easy,” Izuku says, taking a few steps away and raising his staff. Katsuki nods, moving and raising his staff as well. “On three.”

“One,” Katsuki takes a deep breath, adjusting his grip and grinning slightly himself.

“Two,” Guards are now in the arena below them, running across the sand in an attempt to stop them.

“Three!” The glass cracks at their combined hit, and Katsuki winces as Izuku puts his arms out quickly to avoid falling from the recoil. 

“Again,” Izuku commands. “One, Two, Three.”

The crack is wider this time, and the guards are getting closer, their taser rods fully extended. If they reach the wall, they’ll be able to electrocute both of them.

“Come on!” Katsuki yells, batting the glass hectically. The crack grows with every hit, but the glass doesn’t shatter yet. Stubborn piece of shit! Izuku takes another swing as well, and their cracks meet in the centre of the glass. The guards reach the wall, and as they raise their tasers, the boys hit the glass, causing the glass to fly over the guards as deadly rain. A few of the guards drop, and Katsuki and Izuku finish breaking a few more little pieces of the glass so they can get through the window without cuts.

Then, they are in. The limited light in the room means it takes a second for their eyes to adjust, but when they do, Izuku heads straight for the computer while the announcer is sitting there, completely unmoving. The sound of the crowd is less extreme here, which gives Katsuki’s ears a break from the constant noise. Must be good for Izuku too.

Katsuki grabs some sort of shelves, immediately shoving them against the door. Who knows How long Izuku needs? It’ll buy them a bit more time for when the guards come up here, at least. 

Izuku is quickly typing… on whatever the fuck that thing is - it’s like… half a mini-colosseum, with keys instead of seats. A round type-writer? Whatever, looks fucking weird. Regardless, it’ll get the message out, and they’ll be fine. They’ll be safe.

A bang makes Izuku and Katsuki jump away from the door. They’re running out of time.

“Almost there,” Izuku assures, typing faster. Katsuki nods, and the next bang causes the shelves to move slightly, so Katsuki braces himself against the shelves, praying it’ll hold for just a few more seconds. 

The door jolts, and Katsuki winces as something falls off the shelf, touching the cuts on his arm on its way to shattering on the floor. Thank god for these shoes - even if the red is disgustingly bright. 

Izuku curses and Katsuki shoves down a curse of his own when he hears it. That can’t be good news. 

“Slight set back, keep holding the door down!”

Fuck, Izuku ! Katsuki thinks, pushing harder as he nearly gets knocked off his feet. “Hurry the fuck up!”

“One second!” Izuku insists, typing even more frantically. “I almost - I GOT IT! I got it.”

“Thank fuck … now what?”

“Uh…”

“Don’t ‘Uh...’ Me! What the fuck do we do now? The guys are probably gonna kill us now-” Katsuki is cut off by being knocked off his feet. The glass cuts his arms even more, making him hiss in pain. 

The alien standing over him isn’t one he’s seen before - nothing like any of them, actually. Mostly human-esq build, arms and hands like humans too. The skin colour is a bit off-putting, but overall it’s the closest thing to a human build Katsuki has seen from an Alien species. 

Another one Katsuki hasn’t seen before is gross to look at - smelling like burning human hair. The skin is purple, hanging loosely over a boney bull-like frame but if bulls walked on two legs and had hands. The leader hisses something out to the rest of the guards there, and the Purple-ish one grabs Izuku by the throat. Katsuki lunges to attack, but the leader grabs him by the throat too, slamming him into the wall.

“Now, now,” The creature speaks in English, “That’s not very nice.”

Notes:

AHHHH! It's been a hot minute since my last update, but here it is!!!!
Everyone in my house has COVID (I'm still testing negative, but... yeah.) So I have a little bit of extra time to write a little over the two-ish weeks. Hope this is up to standard.

Chapter 32: Brother?

Summary:

What does brother really mean?

Izuku hisses at the white-haired leader as he gets pinned to the wall by the rough purple hand around his throat. His head immediately claws at the creature’s flesh, and despite drawing blood, the creature just laughs. 

“Da’bie,” the leader calls continuing in still plain as-day English , “play nice with it. It’s just a child, after all,” 

“ Me , a child? Bitch , you look like you still call your parents ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’!” Izuku calls, getting slammed into the wall roughly for the smart-ass comment. 

“Don’t talk to my Sigra’aki like that, you little shit.” the bull-creature - Da’bie - snaps, hissing and clicking protectively. The leader - Sigra’aki - smiles almost fondly at the protective behaviour. 

“Da’bie, look! This one is squirming to try and reach your one!” Sigra’aki calls out, and sure enough, Kacchan is fighting against the hand around his throat to try and reach for Izuku. Izuku briefly wonders why the creature is only using four of its five fingers before his thoughts get cut off. 

“Let me go you piece of shit -” Kacchan hisses and Izuku takes the moment Da’bie is distracted to kick him in the stomach and force him back. Izuku dodges under his arm and lunges straight for Sigra’aki, who lets go of Kacchan in favour of grabbing Izuku instead. Izuku tries to punch the thing - but instead, he gets dragged to the side and thrown off balance. Sigra’aki clicks in an unimpressed manner, gripping Izuku’s throat a bit tighter and making his head spin. 

“You little troublemaker -” Sigra’aki hisses, and Izuku flinches as the fifth finger touches his throat. Nothing happens, however, and Sigra’aki seems to be confused enough for Izuku to punch his nose, and successfully be let go a second time. 

Izuku steps away, and Sigra’aki’s eyes snap to him, and briefly, a smile brushes over his face. “Well, that’s interesting.” 

“What?” Izuku hisses, and something feels off now. Like Izuku should know the answer to the question already. 

“Well…” Sigra’aki leans closer to Izuku, who doesn’t step back this time, “ It seems that you’re my Brother, little deathworlder.” Sigra’aki mutters in common, and Izuku reels back.  

“ I’m sorry, WHAT? ” 

“ Take that one to the -– ” Sigra’aki commands the guards, and Izuku tenses up, ready to fight to avoid whatever the fuck he’s being sent to. “ The other one can go back to its containment cell. ” Katsuki - Fuck.

“Kacchan. You’re being taken back.” Izuku states, using Japanese just to make sure the aliens don’t understand him. and Kacchan immediately tenses himself.

“And You?” He asks, and Izuku shrugs.

“No idea. Somewhere - doesn’t sound good. I’ll explain later if I can.” Izuku assures, and Sigra’aki takes Izuku’s distracted moment to slam Izuku so hard into the wall that Izuku has a moment of black, followed by the world around him spinning. Kacchan is yelling somewhere in the background, but Izuku’s hearing is vaguely like being underwater - and the hand around his throat feels incredibly like drowning as well. 

Is Izuku suddenly underwater? When did he close his eyes? Why are his eyelids so heavy? 

Izuku tries to inhale, but his jaw doesn’t seem to want to open enough to get a good amount of air in. Why? Izuku feels like he’s trying to move through wet cement when he moves his arms, but eventually they make it to his face, where Izuku can pry open his eyelids, seeing the odd … liquid?

Where is he? What’s… huh?

Izuku feels around his mouth, feeling the wires and a tube, seemingly keeping his mouth closed and funnelling air into his lungs, respectively. Izuku turns slightly, carefully so as not to rip any of the other wires or medical what-not from his overly sensitive flesh. It feels like he’s on fucking fire, but Izuku looks over to his left. 

Sigra’aki stares at Izuku, holding eye contact for as long as Izuku could - which at the moment wasn’t very long. He continues to glance around, seemingly confined to a large tub - or vat? - of water… Well, Izuku hopes it’s water, with no idea of what else it could be. To Izuku’s right is some sort of creature - Izuku’s vision is a bit distorted on this side from a twinge of pain from his neck all the way down his spine, but the overall white-ish colour makes Izuku think of a doctor. 

Izuku groans - the contortion of his mouth causing another bout of pain from the wires around it - or through it? Maybe not the bones themselves, but definitely the flesh around them. Izuku watches as his blood slowly creeps up through the water, eventually diluting to the point he can no longer see it. What the fuck is this? 

A tap on the glass makes Izuku look back over to Sigra’aki, smiling creepily through the glass. Izuku feels himself lunge forward - and feels something rip through his skin, the tube leaves his throat for a moment, and Izuku inhales in his panic. 

 

---

 

Izuku’s floating. The worlds around him seem normal - a typical sort of trip into the abyss of space. Izuku knows he’s late - He was supposed to take over steering the ship at quarter too! Izuku pulls himself from one hand-rail to the other, dragging himself all the way to the captain's chair. He doesn’t need to apologise, really, but he does anyway. He takes over the steering, and for a while, everything is fine. Izuku carefully continues on the navigated path, watching all the little planets and the butterfly-type light beings float around the ship, unable to get caught in the engines unlike the first few times humans attempted deep-space missions. Honestly, that was awful. Izuku is glad he doesn’t have to -

Blaring. Light’s - alarm.

‘Alert, Alert’ 

Izuku shakes himself. Why is he tired suddenly? What? Shouldn’t he feel more panic-

“Wake up, little brother.”

 

---

 

Izuku lunges forward, hissing as he realises he’s still underwater. Where the fuck is he!? This hurts…

Something’s there. 

Izuku turns to look, growling at the restraints that are somehow holding him mostly in place. There’s a human-shaped - Wait… 

That’s a human. 

‘This one isn’t really for sale…’ 

Sale?

Izuku doesn’t know how he understood that - he barely felt like he did. He shifts again, just getting a glance at Sigra’aki before feeling something burning, hot, dead, he’s dying pump through his system - as though it’s in his blood. 

Izuku screams, trying to thrash to get whatever tube is causing the pain out of his body. The thrashing only causes more pain - and Izuku starts to breathe sharper, harder. Fuck!

Izuku feels his chest constricting - and though he’s never been claustrophobic, the feeling makes Izuku nauseous. He needs to get out. To move! 

Izuku feels his head getting lighter - the world spinning slightly. 

The last thing he hears is laughter. 

 

---

Katsuki's pov

---

 

Izuku had been gone for fucking hours now and Katsuki had been pacing near the door so much that the rest of the aliens had decided to just sit and watch him, deciding that none of their words could even get through Katsuki’s anxious state of mind. Or something. 

“FUCK!” Katsuki shouts at the door as if it would somehow open the fucking thing. Even if the guards could hear him, Katsuki knew that they wouldn’t open it. Instead of something productive (god-knows-what that would be in this situation), Katsuki starts to beat and curse out the door, screaming for his friend - HIS FUCKING BROTHER - to be given back. Or so help whoever the fuck opens this door, Katsuki would rip them to pieces. 

Katsuki felt his knuckles splitting, and by god, he didn’t even fucking care as long as whoever the fuck was inside would hear him and know just how pissed he really is. The door dents and Katsuki screams in frustration, hitting the door harder, smearing his blood along the dent and creating a miniature splatter pattern along it. 

Eventually, Katsuki stops beating the door, cradling his bruised and ripped knuckles to his chest and collapsing onto the ground. He can feel himself crying, and he’s still trying to curse the assholes behind the door out, but his voice is hoarse and it hurts - Hurts so much. Katsuki can’t fucking breathe. Can’t think. Can’t even act like something more than an animal right now and -

GODDAMNIT, That’s exactly what these bastards want! Katsuki can’t give them that - not after everything they have taken away from him. Not when Izuku is still somewhere in there, going through god-knows-what and…

Katsuki lays himself down, properly, staring at the door and waiting. Izuku will be back - he has to be. He’ll have to be back… 

 

---

Katsuki jolts up at the sound of the screaming. It’s Izuku’s voice - and Katsuki was just waiting for whatever motherfucker decides to poke their disgusting heads out of the door. Izuku is in pain! Can’t they fucking hear that!? 

Katsuki bolts to the door, banging his still bruised and bloody hand against it, listening as it finally starts to open. Katsuki pushes it open quickly, slamming his hands against the wall so hard it jolts through the rest of his body from the force. 

Katsuki’s eyes land on Izuku - the marks surrounding his mouth, red and barely scabbed over, the bruises all over his face and arms and neck and - and everywhere. His body is jerking - but it’s not a seizure. It’s him being overstimulated by whatever the fuck just happened to him, probably trying to stim it out subconsciously. The screaming is part of it too- because he’s still screaming. Katsuki growls at the guards trying to shove Izuku into the cage, making them all jolt back. 

Izuku is dropped from the guards backing away, and he hits the floor with a cry. 

Katsuki wants to scream and yell, tell the guards off even though they won’t understand him. But Katsuki knows that it would make Izuku worse. And Izuku is already in pain, though he isn’t screaming now that he isn’t being touched. Just whimpering and trying to stim. 

Katsuki carefully picks Izuku up - humming softly to try and give Izuku something to cling to. Izuku doesn’t start screaming again, but he groans every time Katsuki jostles him. Katsuki swallows, carefully setting Izuku down when they are a safe distance from the door. 

“It hurts -” Izuku mutters barely audibly but Katsuki winces anyway, trying to adjust Izuku to make him more comfortable. “It hurts,” It’s louder this time, and Katsuki doesn’t move. Moving Izuku again might make it worse - “It hurts it hurts ithurts ithurts Ithurts Fuck.” 

Katsuki is panicking now - because he can’t help. He can’t move Izuku without hurting him more and - fuck! What’s he supposed to do? He doesn't have any painkillers, the only thing that could even slightly remove some pressure would be a bath -

The pond. 

Izuku screams when Katsuki picks him up, and Katsuki mutters apologise and reassurance while jogging to the pond, carefully removing Izuku’s pants and slowly lowering him into the water. Katsuki rests Izuku’s head on his thighs, hoping that no sticks or leaves are touching Izuku’s neck while the rest of him is floating in the water.

“Can we help?” The yellow one - Ha’si - offers, and Katsuki thinks before nodding stiffly. 

“That plant - we hung it - get it.” He commands, gently brushing Izuku’s hair out of his face. “Get me a burning piece of wood,” Katsuki follows up to the pink fucking flying thing.

Izuku groans under Katsuki’s hand. He’s sweating - clammy, pale… Fuck he looks like shit. More than just overstimulated - Fucking poisoned is more accurate. Izuku hisses in pain when Katsuki pulls away, hands trembling under the water. Katsuki is horrified as a wave of green electricity-looking-shit jolts under Izuku’s skin.

The weed plant is handed to Katsuki, who quickly uses a leaf as a make-shift paper, crumbles some of the buds with one hand and rolls it into a fucked looking blunt. They were going to make actual papers out of the hemp they could gather from the plant, but Izuku needed the pain relief now . 

Katsuki uses the burning wood to light it and puffs a few times to make sure it’s lit before drawing from it and blowing the smoke onto Izuku’s face directly. 

“Deep breaths, Izuku,” Katsuki mutters, patting Izuku’s hair reassuringly while he continues to try and get some TCH into Izuku’s system. It’ll help with the pain, and hopefully the over-stimulation as well. Katsuki doesn’t even know what the green shit is, but another rush of it leaves Izuku shuddering violently. 

After a couple of minutes, Izuku stops shaking and starts breathing normally again. Another minute, and he reaches for the blunt to inhale on his own. Katsuki lets him because Katsuki doesn’t want to be high. He just wants Izuku to feel better. 

About halfway through, Izuku’s colour is back and he looks around. 

“How’s the pain?” Katsuki asks, making Izuku glance at him. 

“Getting better,” Izuku puffs again, exhaling slowly. 

“Good,” Katsuki’s shoulders slump, sighing in relief. 

Izuku eventually finishes the blunt and sighs against Katsuki’s leg. Katsuki pats Izuku’s hair for a moment -a long moment- and then realises Izuku has fallen asleep. Katsuki waits for another half an hour before he picks Izuku up and carries him slowly back to camp.

Notes:

Believe it or not, I started writing this directly after the last chapter. I just had a long debate with myself, my writer's block, and whether to split the POV midway.

Chapter 33: Swimming!

Summary:

Izuku and crew go swimming and have a light hearted day after a rough night :)

Notes:

Am I taking things slow to torture you guys?
No... well, maybe.
Am I also tortured at how slow things are going?
Yes, yes I am.

Izuku hates everything. 

The light is too bright - the breeze is hurting his ears - Some sort of twig is in his hair and his neck and chest and - something is touching him. All of his body hurts, dull and sharp at the same time. His throat is so dry -

“Kats-” He mumbles, hoping Katsuki could get him some water from his kitchen or something - they must’ve had a rough day training in the woods near his house yesterday for Izuku to still be overstimulated. And bruised. And his mouth hurts. And his arms…

What’s going on? 

“Izuku, I’m here. What do you need?” Katsuki asks in a whisper. Maybe Izuku had a meltdown yesterday? Is that why he sounds so gentle? What did Izuku want again? 

“Water…” 

“One second,” Izuku nods, not opening his eyes yet. It’s too much. He doesn’t have to wait too long for Katsuki - and the water feels cool on the cuts around his mouth. 

Cuts? 

Izuku bolts upright, gripping Katsuki’s arm. 

“Kacchan -” Izuku starts, tears springing to his eyes as yesterday flashes through his mind. “FUck.” 

“I got you, Izuku,” Katsuki assures, gripping Izuku’s hand back, “I - You want a hug or something? You could lay on me if the pressure is too much,” 

Izuku shakily breaths out. “I don’t know - I can’t - I can’t-” Izuku curls up, panting now. Katsuki pulls Izuku closer, gently stroking down his back to keep him stable. “It’s okay, Izuku. You’re going to be okay.” 

“Did I hurt anyone? Fuck Katsuki I haven’t had a fucking meltdown like that since - “ 

“Everyone’s fine Izuku, You’re fine. It was handlable,” Katsuki assures, rocking Izuku gently, “Let’s take it slow today, yeah? Slow going, maybe a small swim. Cooking with Oc’aco,” Izuku relaxes into him, slowly nodding. 

“Yeah… Yeah, that sounds good.” Izuku inhales, sighing shakily afterwards, “Okay. Uh, I would like to cuddle for a while, I think.” 

So they did, Izuku head rising and falling with Katsuki’s breathing, and the pain ebbing down after a long while. Izuku looks around, head tilting up slightly to look at the trees as they rustle with the wind. Izuku doesn’t remember much, other than water? He was basically in a test tube- Izuku shudders at the memory, and Katsuki pulls back. 

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Izuku pulls back himself, sitting up on his own. “I think I’m good,” 

“Izuku?” Oc’aco’s small voice pipes up. “Are you sure you’re okay? You were… In a lot of pain yesterday.” 

“I’m okay, I promise.” 

Izuku was fucking lying.

A'zawa's tail flicks, making Izuku's head snap to the noise. For a moment, everyone pauses, even Katsuki's hand on his back pauses, and then resumes slowly. Izuku blinks, shaking his head slightly and touching his face gently. The cuts sting, but Izuku doesn’t pull his hand away. 

“Okay, I'm not fine. I'm freaking the fuck out.” Izuku admits, running his hand through his hair. “I don't understand.”

“You're okay,” Katsuki says. “We got the call for help out. It shouldn't be long. Only another few days at most.”

 Izuku relaxes slightly against Katsuki.

“Izuku?” Oc'aco again, and Izuku hums, “You were speaking in your sleep…” 

“Oh?” Izuku looks at Katsuki, muttering in Japanese, “What did I say?”

“... You were talking about your dad, and drowning? And something about your brother?”

“Fuck…” Izuku exhales, “Pretend I didn't, hey?” 

“Yeah.”

The unspoken agreement to talk about it later hung in the air. Izuku exhales shakily, hand trailing all his new cuts and bruises. His skin still feels like it's burning, trailing his hands as he moves along his skin. 

“Izuku…” Katsuki is looking at Izuku's skin in horror, “Doesn't that hurt?” Izuku frowns, looking down at his skin, the parts that do actually hurt. The green electricity under his skin explains his pain. 

“It does…” Izuku removes his hands from his skin, letting the electricity fade. “I don't know what it is…” 

“Just… take it easy.” Katsuki mutters, “and drink more water.” Izuku nods, drinking some more of the water that Katsuki brought over to him. Izuku stretches, joints popping. 

“Hey, maybe stretching might make you feel better?” Katsuki says, helping Izuku stand.  

Izuku hums, and he and Katsuki go through some basic stretches. Izuku has always been more flexible than Katsuki, but Katsuki almost stumbles back at just how far Izuku can stretch today. It was almost too far to be human. Izuku doesn't even seem to notice, but the others do. Oc'aco covers her eyes, as though she is seeing something awful or private or something taboo. A'zawa seems impressed, but he glances at Katsuki’s expression. 

“That's not normal, is it?” A'zawa asks, and Katsuki shakes his head. Izuku straightens up, frowning. 

“What?” 

“Your head nearly touched the ground.” Izuku does a double take. 

“What?” 

"I'm serious.” Katsuki assures, but Izuku still seems shocked. 

“I didn't think you'd be able to do that. Aren't your bones supposed to break or something like they did the other time?” Keigo asks.

“Other time?” Izuku frowns at Keigo, who blinks. 

“In the cell. You bent and your bones broke.” Me'zo states, matter-of-factly. A'zawa nods in confirmation.

 “You guys thought I broke my bones!?” Izuku asks, sighing deeply, “I was just cracking them… like, oh God how do I explain this. Uh, our bones get air bubbles, which make the sound you guys heard. Broken bones sound a lot worse, trust me. It's a lot… wetter..? And louder.” 

“... okay.” A'zawa nods, taking in that information. (He was wrong, and that makes it a little less intimidating than when it was happening.) 

Izuku sighs again, but resumes stretching. Katsuki can only watch all the stretches that Izuku breezes through, but would easily snap Katsuki’s tendons. Katsuki shivers when Izuku reaches any particularly deep stretch. 

“Are you guys unnerved yet?” Katsuki asks, almost sarcastically. But Katsuki was also unnerved. Deeply disturbed, even. 

How could he not be? Izuku is bending in a way that is… 

Wow. 

Izuku gets through all his stretches - finally - and sighs in relief. “That actually feels a lot better.” Izuku grins, and Katsuki nods. 

“Good.” 

---

After the night before, everyone was gentle with Izuku. Izuku was grateful, especially for not having to explain about wanting an easy day. After a bit of laying around, mostly, and a bit of talking, the two boys decide to walk to the edge of the cell for a swim. The pond was great, but it wasn't deep or long enough for both boys to swim. 

Of course, Oc'aco volunteers to come with them, and pretty soon the whole group is coming along. A'zawa, Ha'si and Keigo have never been that far away from the main base, but they decided that they wanted to see what the ‘Crocoodilly’ came from. Izuku didn't bother correcting the pronunciation, just sharing an amused look with Katsuki. They took plenty of breaks, and Izuku was wandering around, uselessly fluttering through the wildlife. Katsuki was surprised about how many breaks were needed, but chose to keep his mouth shut and keep his eyes on Izuku’s wandering. 

Once at the water, Izuku and Katsuki walked the bank, double checking the water was clear before they chose a spot to leave their stuff. Oc'aco wasn't swimming, because her species isn't adapted to water, So Izuku and Katsuki bent some branches around to create a shady spot for her to sit with their clothes, and everyone else's.  

The water was warm, and the weather was still as reliable as it always seems to be in the place. So sunny, warm but not too hot. No clouds in the slightly grey-blue of the sky, the gentle breeze through the trees showing no signs of chill or heat, just the same temperature as the rest of the place. Which, Izuku thinks, is odd, because isn't the wind created by the air being a different temperature and needing to rotate through because of that? The colder air comes off the ocean, and the hotter air from the sun, leading to the air trying to thermoregulate. 

Izuku sighs, laying his head on the bank of the large pond, looking at everyone else.  Ha'si and Kiego flutter close together, playfully nudging each other until Kiego takes a running start to leap into the water, splashing Izuku and Katsuki, who was nearing the strand. Izuku looks up at Katsuki, laughing at his indignation and giving him a small splash on the last dry spot on him. 

Katsuki grumbles, kicking water up at Izuku while he gets in the water. 

After a bit more talking and laughing, Izuku wades deeper into the water, tugging Katsuki along with him until both of them are almost shoulder-deep. Me'zo is eyeing them both, and something in Izuku's mind makes him sure that he's internally asking ‘they can fucking climb and what, they can swim too?’. 

And Izuku dives under the water. 

Izuku takes a moment, feeling light-weight, and relaxed for just a moment. 

Then he's drowning, tube sticking out of him and wires cutting his mouth, hurting him all over again. 

Izuku resfaces gasping. He's treading water, keeping his head up and out of the water enough to breathe, but the suddenness of the flashback has him shaken. 

After a deep breath, Izuku flicks his hair back, laughing as Katsuki's face gets splattered with water. Katsuki splashes Izuku  back, and Keigo, who was behind Izuku, squawks at the two teens after having been caught in the crossfire. 

Then Kiego splashes Katsuki. 

---

Half an hour later, after successfully relaxing by playing in the water, Izuku lays next to Oc'aco, the heat drying his hair and clothes. He still felt weird, but he was doing better than this morning. He wasn't overstimulated, at least. Playing around was the thing Izuku needed at the moment. Everything was so serious that a game really helped-

“UGH! I JUST LOST THE GAME!” Izuku calls to Katsuki, who curses and drags himself out of the water to glare at Izuku.

“You little –”

“What's ‘the game’?” Oc'aco asks, and Izuku smiles at Katsuki, who begrudgingly sits next to Oc'aco for Izuku to explain. 

“So, the game is like, well, a game.” Izuku starts, “but the point is to not think about the game. Every Time you do, you have to announce it aloud to those who you know are playing. Thus, they lose the game as well.” 

“But, wait, what? What kind of game is this?” 

“It's just… a game? Sometimes we like to, uh…” 

“Fuck with each other?” Katsuki fills in, making Oc'aco almost sneeze, but Izuku knows it's her version of a snort.

“So, the point of this game is too… not remember it exists, but when you do you have to cause trouble for everyone around you?”

Notes:

Also, quick life stuff, for those who don't follow my other fics, I have:
Been in the hospital twice,
Gotten engaged,
Started a full-time apprenticeship,
Not had much time to write, due to a combinations of these events. I am also on, like, a brain rot moment with unreleased fic ideas.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Humans Are Space Orcs ALT Universes