o5 . bone house mingle!

[necrolord]

Who: necrolord and CR!
What: Several teens move into the horrible necromancy mansion, and sometimes they bring their friends.
When: Early March.
Where: Bone House in Gaze.

Content Warnings: Skeletons, discussions of death and grief, violence where marked, vomit where marked. Note all the usual warnings of this character.

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[peripheries]

"Do that yourself, huh?"

Despite his stuffy nose and itchy eyes, Kaworu manages a pretty good derisive squint across the table. "Isn't that just what you tried to do in the woods? That didn't work out very well, did it?" It's not really a question.

Then a sigh and the furrowing in his brow goes slack as he looks at Midoriya softly instead. It's easy to be annoyed, he's learned. It's easy to be annoyed instead of considering the other things you feel underneath the annoyance. It's often hard for him to name those feelings but now he knows exactly what it is: concern for Izuku-kun, who is a dear friend. "Even if we can't do as much as you, you still can't carry everything by yourself. I'll keep your secrets but I'm not going to let you take on so much. If there's trouble, I'm not going to let you do it alone."

[wannasmash]

He can hear the narrowing of Kaworu's eyes in his voice. Midoriya stares at his cereal. It's swimming weirdly even though he's not stirring it, and his throat hurts. He, too, knows what's beneath the annoyance and even that jab about being in the woods alone. It's something that hurts more, something Midoriya always gave to others without thought and was surprised when they shattered.

He'd wince comically--like he did when being scolded by his mom, a teacher, Iida--but he's so tired... He knows that he needs to practice asking for help more. It was a slip in his way of speaking. It shows how little he did that when it really mattered, and how accustomed he grew to that.

"I have some help. It's not that you can't, it's about information. Back home, heroes are common, and thanks to everyone's support, we can work publicly. Here is different, I realize. For now, I want to keep it covert and see if we need to use that to our advantage. But..."

He looks up at Kaworu and knows he has to prepare not just for that, but also for the opposite: the eventuality of everything jumping out from behind dust and ashes to attack everyone he knows.

"Thank you, Nagisa-kun." There is a ghost of the old Midoriya, a slight, vulnerable widening of eyes and a soft lift of his voice as it constricts. "That means a lot." Then his eyes fill with tears in earnest.

[peripheries]

"If I have to keep information secret, won't you explain more? I can't hide what isn't known to me."

He says, matter-of-fact, and it's not untrue but there's more to it. Kaworu wants to understand Midoriya and why he's so afraid, so concerned. What out there is hunting him? He knows Midoriya is powerful so this must be something of even greater power. A true threat, possibly from the place Midoriya comes from.

[wannasmash]

This isn't how he thought it would go. He just wanted to give everyone a friendly warning to keep any relationship with Izuku Midoriya or the hero Deku not so public. Some people even have stories of masked vigilantes in their world, so they understand. Kaworu is one of them. Midoriya thought Kaworu would simply accept that. He should have known that wouldn't be the case.

He wipes his eyes on his arm. He got carried away. It's his concern that drives him to tears even in battle. But as they threaten the corners of his eyes again, it's also what clenches his teeth inside his jaw and flattens his eyes with an iron will. He will not let the worst case scenario happen.

"Say, for example, you come across someone who has a grudge against me. If I warned you what they look like, it would show on your face. Then they would know it was me who told them. It'd come back to me, and make you a target. You're powerful," he looks at his pale wispy friend clutching his allergy tea and says this straight without guile, "but none of us are invincible."