deercountry | Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone

Paul pivots on his heel as if struck hard in the shoulder, staggered and whirling, seized up in a mirror of Midoriya's compulsion.

"No."

Panic is scrawled across his face as it was in the ruined street where they faced the fiery wyrm, as it was on the cold beach where they clasped hands and swore that the future where Midoriya fell in tatters to the sea would never come to pass, as it was when Midoriya shattered his bones to throw himself at God on the deck of the ship. All he sees is a door closing, the lips of an open grave drawing together over the toothed eye of an insensible universe.

In the handful of steps it takes him to cross the space between them, he feels no closer, his eyes collapsing to cloudless blue luminosity even in those fractions of seconds.

"Izuku-kun-" He reaches for his shoulders, his strong arms, his voice an unbearable, shaken thing that reaches out with him in terrible yearning - and he catches himself short, staring at the blue flames that lick his fingers. He makes a torn, wet sound at the back of his throat and pulls himself back.

"I must not fear," he breathes, trembling, and when he presses the heels of his hands against his eyes it's impossible to tell where the light of one meets the other, "Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

The fire dies with every word, the approach to the criticality threshold averted. He doesn't lower his hands when he speaks again.

"She'd kill you," he whispers, harrowed and low, "I can't let people keep dying for me."

That could be the case. [ Daniel admits. It's not like he wants to sugarcoat all of this, not when other people's feelings are involved. Kaworu might just end up more hurt if he presents some overly optimistic view here, only for it all to come crashing down in reality later. Granted, judging by what these kids seem like, he feels like they'll forgive Kaworu - but he doesn't know them well enough to be entirely certain.

Of course he doesn't leave it at just that either. ]

But even if they do.. then all you got to do is do better in the future. Be the person you want to be for them. [ Does Daniel realise the romantic angle to all of this?

.. who knows. Probably not. But Daniel has experience both with friendship and romance, so it all works out when it comes to this advice. ]

Life is way too short to focus on our mistakes in the past, rather than the things we can do better in the future for the people we care about. [ He pauses, and then shakes his head with a faintly amused smile as he adds: ] As cheesy as I'm sure that sounds.

[ Sorry. He can't help it. He's cheesy by nature. ]

"What if I can't? What if those people are right?"

But even as he protests, he collapses into Midoriya's arms, wrapping his skinny arms around muscular shoulders and nestling under his chin. Midoriya smells like sweat, he always does, and tears but there familiar fierceness in his embraces centers him.

"What if the beast is real? The humans that raised me in the lab... they always feared me. And the things I was capable of."

[And Striking First is exactly what Johnny was doing here. Daniel was the only person here he really trusted in a fight. He would never admit that for a second and he'd just go on convincing himself it's only because he's seen Daniel fight and not because he thought he was any good.

He does manage to give a little snort hearing that and it takes the edge off the situation.]

I'm pretty sure it's mostly skeletons. He's used them a bunch to help me advertise the dojo. We're probably going to have to break some when we get back to my place too.

...But the kids will appreciate that. Trust me. They're good, kids.

[Because Johnny definitely doesn't appreciate it. Obviously.]

And if it makes you feel any better. You never really figure out what's going on here. You mostly roll with the punches.

[ She glares at him, already snatching a second pancake. She doesn't appreciate being made a fool of. But the truth is, she really is out of her depth. With anything home or comfort. Or being human. The diversion back to what she is good at is welcome. ]

Rabbits, birds, sometimes deer. Gotta be careful you don't get anything corrupted.

[ It's easy to shift back into survival mode. Into being on the outskirts of a world that you will never be a part of, but will play a part in keeping safe. ]

But it's not hard to tell the difference.

They must not know the real you, Ruby said to him just days ago when he told her having so many abilities isn't a good look in his world. The only others who do are either monsters or villains. But his friends didn't think that about him. The people who care about Kaworu are the same, and he needs to know that.

"How could those people know you if they only hurt you or were afraid of you?" he asks, a trace of roughness creeping into his voice on Kaworu's behalf. "They're stupid. They don't know you. Not like people who love you do."

He saw the scars the first day they met. He very lightly strokes his fingers over them on Kaworu's arm. He buries his face in his hair and his voice trembles softly,

"I know why you hate having your choice taken away. I'm sorry Paul-kun hurt you. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything." He did later, but he glosses over that.

"They made me. They've seen more sides of me than you could ever because they what I was and so decided what to mold me into. Maybe it's best to admit that you care for a monster and decide if he is worthy of your affection despite that."

Kaworu's body trembles like Midoriya's voice but his voice is quiet and firm. Pushing boundaries as he does. As he thinks is necessary for people to reach the understanding he wants for them.

However, there's a moment where he wavers again.

"I didn't expect to be saved. It's alright.

The more Kaworu shakes, the more firmly he holds him and softly strokes his hair. Midoriya can't stand for the disservice Kaworu does himself because it rends him so deep and tears him apart from others. His voice is low and rippled through with iron.

"They weren't here to see who you've grown to be. All your efforts to learn about people and connect with them mean something. I believe in your dream. Don't throw it away."

Isn't it a good thing, to have your heart open to other people? Kaworu once said. Then they kissed, and Midoriya wanted to give him everything he didn't have before. Friendship, love, family, people looking out for him, a host of new experiences--roller skating, slushies on a hot day...

That's lovely to hear. [ Said with the sort of tone that implies that, of course, it's not lovely at all.

In a sense it's a bit of a relief that Johnny also thinks this place is nuts. Since they come from the same place, so they're used to the same stuff, which makes it validating that they see that stuff the exact same way. If anything, Johnny is definitely a little wilder than Daniel himself is - or likes to think he is, ssh - so that makes it make even more sense that Daniel thinks this place is utterly ridiculous.

After he sighs though, he continues with: ]

Well, we should be able to handle a few skeletons. [ Hopefully?? ] I mean, it can't be worse than just fighting regular people. Skeletons don't even have a brain. If they get in the way, we'll just have to knock them right over.

[ Is that a little more aggressive than the usual with Daniel? Maybe. A little bit. But he's grown a bit over the past few months, and.. besides, they're skeletons.

It's not like they'd be hurting actual people. ]

That's good. [ Daniel says, only to add and clarify a moment later: ] I guess it'd be one thing if we didn't have any other choice, but I'm glad that there's not.. let's say, threeheaded alien on the table.

[ Look, this place is so weird, Daniel wouldn't have been surprised if game in this place was also incredibly weird on top of it all.

But rabbits and birds and deer? That's not strange at all. ]

I wonder if people eat fish here, considering..

[ .. you know. Them being squids and all. ]

It'd be nice to make some sashimi. Do they have that where you come from?

[ He's also definitely not stopping her from taking more of the pancakes. Feel free to go on devouring them, Kainé. Daniel seems content enough to just stand there and talk. ]

Hello.

[ Big Boy is not a tense creature. Even so, she relaxes a little when Sophia recognizes her, and even more so at the touch. She closes her eyes and nuzzles in closer, encouraging. ]

You're hurt. [ She agrees, hoping the recognition is at least somewhat soothing. Big Boy knows her Sleeper hates to be alone, even when she drives her away. She applies the same principles here. ]

Who set the fire?

[ Big Boy has a guess, but will not name him. Not if she doesn't have to. It hurts too much. ]

[ The hum, the way he talks about his kids -- this guy is so much like Magnus it makes Gideon's chest hurt. He probably likes to throw dinner parties and thinks puns are funny. Fortunately, Gideon is able to stay somewhat out of his direct line of sight while he makes the tea. She tells herself he won't notice her crossing her arms tightly, like she's hugging herself. Gideon hasn't pulled that shit since she was eleven. Whatever she's doing, it's not to comfort herself.

Obviously. ]

It's not the corruption, or whatever, it's fine now. Better than the alternative.

[ She won't elaborate on what the alternative is, but based on the edge in her voice, it's bad. ]

I just fucked up, you know? But whatever, I'll get over it. You shouldn't get too mixed up in it. [ Gideon smiles, tired an wan. ] You don't wanna get hurt, not if you've got kids back home.

[ Gideon thinks about those shitty Fourth House teens and shivers, once. Then, she doesn't. Nothing good ever comes of that. ]

"I don't dream. How am I to know what a waking dream is?"

He reaches up and grips Midoriya's wrist. His fingers are soft and there's no strength in his hold. It's begging, not demanding.

"What if your faith in me is misplaced?"

That's the raw fish, yeah?

[ She'd had it before. But it was a bit expensive, even in Seafront, and she's not in the habit of eating expensive food. She's had a hard time gauging what sort of things are supposed to be luxurious or commonplace in different worlds from her own. ]

Sure, if you trust anything that comes out of that water to be safe for eating raw.

[ She snatches another pancake, and leans against the wall. For all that bluster, she'd probably be fine eating just about anything, but she's not sure about everyone else. ]

"Then I take your hand. Like now," he says simply, and slips his hand out of Kaworu's hold to do so. "Your hope. That's what I meant. It's in every time you reach out to someone. I don't like it when you call yourself 'thing' and 'monster.' You're just repeating whatever that committee told you."

With his white eyes and their sleepless shadows above a mouth pressed in a determined line, he draws back just enough to look at the face of someone he loves.

"You're a person. Not a human, I know, but a person. You're a person who's done good things... and bad things. People might say what you did on the ship is unforgivable. If you haven't already, you're going to have to apologize to the people you hurt. But you also..." his voice softens, "you also looked like you needed saving. Scared, in bad trouble."

Kaworu's voice on the deck was stopped by another. Midoriya didn't feel quite the same potent revulsion at being Voiced as others did; the deaths at the hands of those he trusted was what horrified him. He hates and fears not being able to prevent that. But he did understand the attack on someone's pressure point, and how that can cut and scar more than any physical blow.

"I won't let that happen to you again."

Oh, I'm not planning on getting hurt. [ He sounds almost.. amused as he's saying that. For some reason. Thanks, Daniel, very helpful. Don't get too cocky there now, my dude.

He taps his fingers on the makeshift counter as he waits for the water to boil so he can make some tea. Still not directly looking at her, but it's a very much conscious choice at this point. ]

Mostly since I'm assuming drinking some tea with you won't get me hurt.

[ Sure, the guy they were all involved with seems dangerous, judging by how everyone talks about him.. But if he hasn't chased the kids down to the dojo already, then Daniel figures it's probably not going to happen at all.

It's why he seems so relatively chill about all of this in this moment. ]

Or do you think differently?

We do not know.

[ She tells her, sorrowfully, from the well of her ignorance. She molds her little body to the horse's still much larger nose, her whiskers twitching fitfully as she curls her tail around her own feet.

It is better to be together. Her Sleeper does not understand this, either, even if he says otherwise. Not in his heart, which shies away, a shadow slipping along a cave wall in flickering light. ]

It has been burning for ten thousand years. It comes with us, wherever we go.

You know. [ Words are coming more easily, more clearly. The present intrudes on the future. ] How it can be.

[ .. she has a point. Daniel didn't quite consider that aspect to it yet, making him frown in thought for a moment here. ]

Surely not everything in the sea here could be odd, right?

[ S.. urely..??

Then again, they came out of there. As squid people. ]

I mean, I can't imagine the locals living right next to a sea and not fishing in it. [ Not that he knows for sure. See: having had no time to properly check out all the available food in this place just yet.

Maybe the locals just know better than to eat anything from the magical waters. ]

.. then again, if I do find some fish, maybe I should first test it somehow. Just to be sure. [ Not that he's sure how he's going to test that. Just tell someone 'hey, take a bite of this potentially poisonous fish'? No way. ] I wouldn't want to accidentally poison everyone in the whole dojo.

The pale hand is limp in his. The fingers twitch but don't move to entangle them with Midoriya's. The claws dig slightly into his skin but don't pierce it. Or if it does, it heals too quickly to be noticeable.

"Then why did you leave? Why did you choose someone else over me? I thought I was left alone for doing something unforgivable. He was the only one left. I thought he was the only one who would accept me."

He lets the emotion spill out like blood from a jagged wound. He knows Midoriya would not have left him. But the memories of waking up on that beach eclipse the light, taking over his head like creeping shadows at the corners of a dark room.

"...If I were a monster, would you still care for me?"

Being Corrupted so long, he's gotten the knack of being gentle with claws over the weeks. It doesn't matter that Kaworu can heal right away. He doesn't want to hurt him. His claws rest there, a reminder of pain, but also of the care it takes not to inflict it.

As he once told Kaworu the first day they met, a person is, among other things, someone who has a right to be treated a certain way.

"You're not a monster. In my world, people call others monsters just because of their Quirks and use that as an excuse to hurt them. You're my person. And I'm yours. You're part of me. I will always care for you. I didn't leave you."

He tried to explain to the angel in God's house. He tries again here. Tears slip down his cheeks again, but his hands remain firm.

"Back then, I needed to keep everyone safe, but I was outnumbered," he says softly. "I decided to guard an area instead. Any wounded who couldn't move on their own would go there. I put you behind cover. I fired at Teacher's Omen to keep it away from Paul-kun and you, behind me. I made sure he and Suaveterre-san left because I needed to protect you. You were my first priority, and I was going to carry you away. I... I didn't think you'd leave with him..."

Paul's curls catch the air with their movement. His eyes match the fire on his fingers. Midoriya is very familiar with the heat of blue flame, but he doesn't flinch. Danger Sense doesn't need to tell him there is no ill intent. He will not flinch from someone in need reaching for him either. He never has.

He only moves without thinking when it looks like Paul will burn himself. His fingers in their tattered gloves have wrapped themselves around his forearms. He doesn't remember doing it. Paul's litany flows like water attempting to assuage the heat.

"Then think carefully and don't summon a Pthumerian you'll regret. I love you," he says quietly with a ripple of emotion across the disturbed waters. Somehow it feels like the force of a thunderclap.

On a bright summer day, Paul led him out of this house and the darkness of a memory. Now Midoriya takes Paul by the arm (by the hand if the heat will let him) and gently steers him towards the door for some air.

[ Gideon actually takes some time to think about it. Which should say a lot, because she almost never thinks, and also, the fact that this is still on the table does not speak well of the Emperor. ]

Nah. Probably not. If you told him about this, he'd probably thank you, in some weird, passive-aggressive way.

[ He'd imply Gideon was still His. That's the part she hates most of all. ]

Has no one...told you about him? He's, uh, pretty shitty. And powerful.

We know. She tries to make it go away.

[ It never works. Her Sleeper is good at hiding things: Big Boy herself is a hidden thing. It has never protected her from the burning.

Big Boy's breathing slows, as to not jostle the smaller creature too much. ]

She is not very good at it. But we want to help you try, anyway.

[ Even small, Big Boy is large enough for a mouse to find an obstacle to scale. Sophia sinks low and then hops, launching herself up to land on her mane, climbing to the crest of her neck and nestling there. ]

You do. Help.

[ Hot and cold are relativities to her. Big Boy is cool anyway, an oasis in a desert, and Sophia buries her face into shadowed horse hair. ]

We don't mean to make you worry. [ She is sorry; how much it matters is beyond even an Omen's knowing. ] We should find her.

[ It is nice to hear Ortus pronounce pornography, all things considered. That hint of suffering is more familiar to her than almost anything in this place. It's very of the Ninth, but recast in a way that sounds like home, rather than hurt.

The Reverend Mother and Father could not give Gideon this. Aiglamene couldn't, and Crux never wanted to, and neither did the cloisterites. But here, safe in the arms of the elder cavalier, Gideon lets herself think that this is what it's like to be part of the Ninth, instead of its scapegoat.

(It's not like that at all. It's better.)

Still, it might be nice to heard Ortus try and say titties. Gideon better not push it, though. ]

Yeah. [ Through a smile: ] Thanks.

[ Gideon pulls away after a long while, and only barely. Just enough to see him. ]

I can't believe you're here. Sensei Lawrence isn't getting on your nerves?

[ He's the best Sensei around, of course, but even Gideon knows he might not exactly be Ortus' style. ]

Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone

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mha spoilers

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