Ceasefire of the senses
When a strange outbreak sweeps through Japan, can the heroes find the cause before they succumb to the illness as well...or is it too late. for @kushami-hime thank you, friend-i am better for knowing you
WARNING this is a sneeze kink story if that is not your jam then don't fucking read it.
ALL CHARACTERS ARE 21+ AND THIS STORY IS POST CANNON
Words: 9703
https://archiveofourown.org/works/36381502?view_adult=true
The rain pelted down on the glass balcony doors, and the AC unit hummed to life, Izuku sighed. It was a perfect day off; one he had not had in over 5 weeks. The unpredictable time of the rise of villains along with himself being named the new symbol of peace; which of course he was happy the public knew, but all the meetups and interviews and costume designers banging at his door and blowing up his social media had taken a toll on the young hero, so a day where he could just relax and check up on podcasts and maybe do some gaming, he was over the moon. As he stretched on the soft sofa his furry friend Emily FancyWhisker perked up from the blanket resting on his lap. As he smiled and reached to pet her, she yawned and jumped down off the blanket. ‘Well, that is just how a cat is’ he thought to himself before turning his attention back to the screen of his phone.
For the number 1 hero, he did not have many applications on his phone just the bare necessities. Messages, photos, camera, notes, as well as a few social media platforms, Bakugou forced him to download. It's not like he knew how to use most of them anyway. But he had a guilty pleasure of a few podcasts and gaming channels he liked to watch that he kept on the second page just in case someone took his phone mostly Bakugou and he didn’t want him to judge him.
As he clicked on the headline of a news story called flu season, he heard the familiar click of the front door to the apartment and the sound of jingling keys. As the blond-haired man crossed the threshold Izuku called out in his cheery demeanor. “Heya Kacchan, how was the office?”
He heard the rustling of bags before a loud huff reached his ears. “It was fine, nothing has changed since the last time you texted me 20 fucking minutes ago,” Bakugou replies as he shut the door behind him and locked it. He then preceded to take off his coat and boots throwing them across the room a behavior Midoriya disproved of and smirks when Izuku looked at him knowingly.
“What?”
“Nothing Kacchan” and Midoriya went back to half-reading the report as Bakugou marched over and dramatically laid across the sofa practical crushing him in the process.
As Midoriya laughed in protest at the weight of Bakugou lightly crushing him Bakugou exclaimed. “Man, we need to get a new sofa this one is all lumpy.” He stated before poking Midoriya in the elbow and knee. “But certain parts are hard what shitty place did you get this from.” He said laughing.
Midoriya who is trying to push Bakugou off of him exclaimed out. “You sitting on me not the sofa get off,” he said laughing.
Bakugou ignoring his comments simply took the blanket and covered himself with it and laid down now with his ass in the face of Deku. “Ahh now after a long day of work I can finally relax without any—in-hh inter—hheh-interruptions…uhh.. Hh’U...h! uhhhCHUSH’oo! Oh…fucking hell.”
With a final push, Midoriya pushed his way out from behind Bakugou and looked at his partner who was rubbing his nose annoyingly.
“Bless you, you ok- “
“I’m fine the damn furball was laying on this,” he said as he tossed the pink blanket across the room as Emily strolled into the room. “Speaking of the brat, why did we even adopt her again you know I am a—aller—allergic... Hhh’ihhh…. heh-ETCHishhh!” he quickly catches the sneeze in his hands before cursing.
Deku reaches behind him and grabs a few tissues and extends them out to the sniffling pro. “Bless you, and you promised you would take your pills so this would not happen, that is why we adopted her.” He said as he strolled over to the feline and picked her up in his arms. “That and because she is so cute.” He said rubbing his face against the light fur.
Bakugou just sniffed and grunted as he stood up and made his way over to the side table where all the medicine they took were laid out before popping 2 purple pills and swelling them dry.
“Happy now,” he said rubbing his nose on the corner of his sleeve.
Midoriya smiled before going to the sofa and pulling out his phone trying to enjoy the last 5 hours of his day off.
Bakugou went to the shared bathroom to shower after work so Izuku had at least 25 minutes before he had to get up and prepare dinner. As he punched in his password, he saw a flashing of red before the screen went back to normal. ‘That is a weird glitch’ he thought to himself before continuing to the article he had up. The title read increased flu-like symptoms cause panic among populous.
Midoriya sighs to himself of course in these uncertain times everything made the public tense about the only thing that seemed to not take a toll was the dumb TikTok dances Kirishima kept sending him.
As he continued to read the article taking note of areas of infection and increased spread, he was interrupted by a surprise text message but this was unlike any other he has received. It was from an unknown number and it seemed to almost move as he looked at the message.
Hello, Deku. Before he could block the number, another text came through enjoying the article… some of my best work.
He immediately turned around and scanned the outside and confirmed no one was watching him before he was brought back to his phone with a vibration.
As one last text came through. See you soon, ウイルス as his phone glitched out and shut down. Midoriya jumped back in surprise and scrambled to catch it from falling on the floor, sadly it did and a nice crack formed on the screen.
‘Shoot now I will have to repair it’ he thought to himself. That was weird he thought but it was probability some prank his friends thought of he would have to talk to Denki tomorrow. He pocketed his phone before heading to the kitchen to start working on dinner.
When the rice cooker was ready, he poured in the rice, and then he heard the soft footsteps of his partner approaching him. He pretended not to notice and went back to cutting vegetables so when the taller blond bent down and whispered in his ear “hey sexy” he pretended to be all scared “Oh Kacchan I didn’t hear you scared me” he said sarcastically and giggled a little.
“Pfft you are lucky your Number 1 your acting skill as shit Deku,” he said as he kissed the messy hair of his partner.
“Feel better mister grump after your shower”? Midoriya said turning back around to prepare the nori.
“Yea I do shitty deku, I got roped into fucking babysitting the damn extra since some of the major pros were out sick. Fucking idiots like I swear if I have to tell Duracell the definition of a pencil shaper again, I am going to punch a hole in his head that the brain damage he has makes sense.”
“Aww doesn’t be mean to him, everything is hard right now, with the changing times and uncertainty, and besides I think with the disappearance of Shinsou it got him a little on edge.”
Bakugou scoffs before going to the table and pulling out his phone and going through the notification. It was quiet just the sound of cooking and rain hitting the window Deku wished it could be like this all the time.
“Deku”
“Hmm?” the green hair boy replied taking out the rice and beginning to form the sushi rolls.
“See the fucking headline about the illness.”
“Yea for a moment…why what’s up?
“The damn public freaking out over a case of the sniffles fucking pathetic.”
“Kachhan if I remember correctly, it was because of a small case of sniffles that you were out of work last year for 2 weeks.”
“Deku that was different and you know it, work send out a reminder to be care and all that shit.”
He trailed off as Midoriya plated his creation and took out the soy sauce and the hot sauce for Bakugou.
“Let’s forget about work we will deal with it in the morning…let’s eat.”
-----------------
Usually, Izuku waited until at least six a.m. before going on his morning jog, but he hadn't slept much that night. So, after an hour of stubbornly staring at his ceiling in an attempt to get back to sleep, he rolled out of bed and changed into his jogging clothes. As a last-minute thought, he turned off his clock’s alarm, ignoring the cheery green “5:34” that laughed at him from its screen.
The air outside of the dorms was chilled, causing puffs of grey to appear with every breath taken. Izuku liked the cold- it was refreshing and helped him wake up, even as his nose and cheeks reddened. Outside the entrance of the apartment building, he jumped in place and briefly stretched. Usually, he planned his jogging routes but he took off at a light jog, deciding to go wherever his feet took him.
He'd been jogging for a good ten minutes before he caught sight of anyone. Izuku became curious, then. He rarely saw anyone on his usual morning jogs, and today he'd started even earlier than usual. ‘Who else could be up this early to exercise?’ he wondered.
Izuku looked at the figure ahead of him It was hard to tell who it was in the pale morning light, but the figure seemed familiar. He upped his pace slightly, gaining on the person ahead of him. As he got closer, the person’s purple-blue hair became obvious, and a smile came easily to Izuku’s lips.
Izuku sped up further, easily catching up with Shinsou.
“Hey Shinsou we have been looking for you, can’t disappear for like 3 days, even if you are on a mission!” he called out his breathe hanging in the air.
Shinsou stumbled, whipping his head around to stare at Izuku in surprise.
Izuku laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he matched Shinsou’s pace with ease. “Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you…. hey you look sorry for the foul language like shit what happened?!”
Shinsou composed himself quickly and turned back to focus on the path before him. “M.. fine,” he said awkwardly. His tone betrayed him because after a moment he was bending over to cough roughly.
“Woah breathe there what happened?” Izuku asked beginning to look him over for any signs of injury.
“I’m not hurt, just ugh head is killing me, think I might have got some entail on my way to the office now…” he paused before coughing again. “If I can make it.”
Deku helped the struggling man regain his posture “hey I don’t mind going in early I probably have a lot of work to catch up on anyway…would you like some help?”
Okay, that was the wrong thing to say, Izuku thought, watching Shinsou cringe slightly, now looking even more unsure of himself. Before Izuku could apologize and change the subject, Shinsou responded quietly, “I guess.”
The shorter boy’s smile returned to his face full force, and they walked side by side for a few minutes in silence. When Izuku’s burning curiosity became too much to bear, he broke the comfortable silence with a statement; “So Denki will be happy to see you, info or not”
Shinsou nodded, “yeah would have told him where I was, but he would have tried to follow. He winced as his voice caught in his throat. “And being stealthy isn’t his strong suit.”
Izuku wanted to ask where he had gone- surely it must have been a tiring journey if he came back this exhausted but he didn't want to push. The question must’ve shown on his face, though, as Shinsou let out a little sigh and explained.
“You know the increased movement of the league well my team and I realized it isn’t so unpredictable as we thought. They seem to be going to the same kinds of abandonment places-medically facilities. The team set me up with some locations that might yield in some information being useful” he paused as he coughed thickly into his sleeve. “They were right. While I did not have the chance to stay extremely long, I did find a hideout for one of the gangs working with lov I was outnumbered but I did manage to get some info and I think maybe we can figure out their next plan.”
The last part came out muttered under his breath, probably not meant for Izuku to hear. Even so, Izuku was excited to hear his friend was working hard.
“Ah, I see! That is incredible work shinsou wow, Aizawa did a good job teaching you huh, do not worry when we get to the office, I will make you some well-deserved coffee and maybe I can ask Bakugou to bring a thermos of something hot to help with that cough-oh shinsou?”
The purple hair pro had stopped walking and was staring at the newly rising sun before Midoriya could say anything help the pro was pinching forward with wet sneezes.
"Heh'KIIHHPT'shht! Hihgg-NNXXT'choo!" Out of habit, he had yet cupped both hands over his nose, and they were now unpleasantly wet. He grimaced, reaching for his sleeve to wipe his now running nose.
"Bless you…and maybe some meds too," Midoriya replied before reaching into his pants and pulling out an extra travel size pack of tissues, and handing it over.
“That might be nice, thanks,” a self-deprecating smile appeared on Shinsou’s lips, “I started feeling like this soon after leaving the hideout.” The smile disappeared, and his jaw set determinedly. “But this also might be a good thing, if my hunch is right this is a good sign” he explained. They walked the rest of the way to the agency in silence except for some sniffling.
---
Once they entered the building Shinosu excused himself to the showers to clean up while Deku took out his cacked phone to try to type a message to Bakugou who would be waking up any minutes. However, before he could the phone glitched again and the text reading “it is already too late” flashed before it shut down again.
‘Crap he thought to himself so this isn’t some prank’ as his mind began to do calculations and he began muttering to himself he was brought out of the moments when it made his nose burn with a strong itch, he hoped that if he scrubbed at it again it might help to tame the itch, but it did nothing of the sort, in fact, it only made it worse. He felt the sneeze creeping up so he quickly turned away burying his face in the crook of my elbow
“Heh… iehh…ah- ah’TSSSHHHuu!”
A surprisingly strong made him surprisingly sniffly and as he went to his office to call Bakugou the worry and anxiety began to rise in him.
As he dialed the number and waited as the dial tone rang, he bit his lip. After the third ring, a gruff voice answered. “Do you have any clue what time it is right now?”
“Morning kaccan I know it is early but hey I need you to bring a few things before you come to the office.” As he listed the required items, he could hear Bakugou groan and finally spit out fine before saying a quick I love you and ending the call.
Midoriya then signed and pulled out a whiteboard it was better to write on it since notepaper was not everyone cup of tea. In red markers he put the schedule on and wheeled it into the common room just as the first person clocking in at 8 am. Kirishima always punction and always perfect.
“Heya number 1 how was your day off?” He inquired taking off his bag and heading toward the coffee machine and breakfast corner.
“Kirishima, we talked about this just because I am number 1 doesn’t mean you need to refer to me as much. I’m still just your friend and coworker.”
Kirishima laughed a hearty chuckle before filling his bowl with lucky charms a trait he picked up on his first trip to America and now had an unhealthy obsession over. “Yeah, but come on it is a pretty cool tile if I was anything that manly, I would love to have people call me it.”
“Yeah, well I don’t…people should not treat me any differently just because I am number 1.”
Kirishima laughed before taking another bite of cereal. “Oh yeah what about that fancy place you got, think they just give those out to anyone?”
Deku shook his head “there is no winning with you is there?”
“Nope get used to it number 1.” He turned and looked at the schedule “hey what is the meeting at 9 about. He inquired mouth full of marshmallows.
“Oh, I ran into Shinsou he was investigating some things and I think he might have a leg up on the next move of the lov.”
Kirishima fist punched the air “oh man that is awesome where is the insomniac I got to give my thanks.”
“In the showers, I don’t think he is feeling too well though, looked pretty run down when I talked to him.
“Ah that is too bad but nothing one of my patented best man hugs can fix.”
Midoriya signed before heading back to his laptop to catch up on email. “Just be careful Bakugou will have your thrown out if you catch something.”
“I will man, hey take it easy number 1,” he said before turning the corner and heading to the showers throwing the now-empty bowl in the trash.
-------
It was now 9:27 and he could hear the elevator door open and the grunting footsteps of Bakugou even before he saw him.
“Good morning ba- “
“Shut it I got your damn stuff next time just get this shit yourself,” he said before emptying the supplies of tissues, a thermos of hot soup, as well as some cough medicine onto the next.
Midoriya smirked “Thank you nurse I'm sure Shinsou will appreciate it.”
“Tsh whatever just don’t get what he has.”
As 10 o’clock rolls around and everyone is gathered in the press conference meeting Shinsou is at the podium looking better since he has showered and Midoriya next to him ready to take notes and add any information.
“I will skip the pleasantries and get right down to the bottom of it I believe the league of villains has infiltrated the grid market and is using it to target pros as well as the general public.
“Based on what I've seen there seems to be an underground organization that specializes in digital attacks if any of you have seen or heard of anything of the sort come talk to me after.” He continues after coughing. “However, that isn’t the only thing. The reason that they are infiltrating unused medical facilities as I believe they are trying to make a virus. A virus that will first hack the grid network and then slowly its users. As you all probably heard the increased number of flu-like symptoms in this region has almost doubled in the past five days however an uncommon statistic that they don’t tell you is that all these people were between the ages of 23 and 36 that demographic as per usual is addicted to their phones and other online sources. I believe they have figured a way to hack the grid and somehow infiltrate your body to produce flu-like symptoms…Well, this is just a theory…I believe my symptoms are the start of it.”
“I will be working with the lab as well as other techies” he winks at Denki “to try to determine if there is an antidote or antivirus or something but first let’s not cause any more harm than there already is, all this information stays close to the chest as we will continue to investigate and send scouts to these various locations. Now questions or any additions.”
Deku then steps forward earning a glare from Bakugou.
“I believe I was targeted by one of these cyber-attacks yesterday my phone seemed to glitch out and I got unnerving messages and then this morning another glitch appeared and soon after…” he kind of mumbled to himself… “I sneezed.”
“I don’t think I am infected. I do believe that they are targeting pros we need to stop this immediately. We need to know if it is a quirk-based virus or something else. All other work is to be put on hold until we figure out what is causing this and how to put an end to it. I will be going to one of these facilities with a team as well as others you will be informed later today of your locations and what you are to inquire but I do believe we should keep this a private matter. We don’t want the general public already so close to protests and rioting to become any more agitated. Let’s keep the peace and let’s find what is ever causing this and end it.”
He ends with his former mentor's favorite catchphrase “go beyond plus ultra” before concluding the meeting and heading off to his office Bakugou following in suit.
As he sat down in the chair his mind racing with preparation as well as notes to make and meeting to schedule and items to bring, he is brought back to the present when a hard glove-covered hand smacks him across the face.
He recoils and looks at Bakugou stunned, as go goes to rub his cheek and looks at him dumbfounded “Ow what was that for?”
“What the hell Deku why didn’t you tell me your phone was glitching?”
“It didn’t happen a lot and I didn’t think it was anything phones glitch software malfunctions it’s part of life it didn’t start to worry me until this morning.”
“What’s this shit about you getting sick.”
“I like sneezed once. I feel perfectly fine nothing is wrong with me but if I am infected, I should be monitored to determine what is going on.”
“Have the fucking purple hair mimic guy do it. We need the number one the public needs it and I need it.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet kacc-”
“Oh, shut it come on let’s get down to the lab, have Denki look at your fucking phone, and have that half and half bastard look at your health.”
“OK but just so you know I am still going to go on the patrol” he starts to hitch through the ending of that sentence. “as well as the new location to try to fight villains” His voice speeds up trying to end the sentence before sneezing and it became a higher pitch before he finally succumbs to the urge and sneezes twice openly.
“hHH-en'gSHOO! hHH-en'gSHOO!”
This earns him another slap to the face as well as a stern look as Bakugou states “if you are sick don’t fucking spread your shit to others and cover your mouth idiot.”
He sniffs and grabs a tissue from his desk before blowing his nose softly. “I don’t think that is how this virus works I think it has to do with screens and tech but let’s get Denki he should know more.”
“With any luck maybe, he has not fried his brain yet he says he plants a small kiss on the top of his head before practically dragging him out of his office and down the stairs.
-----
As they entered the basement layer of the agency it is filled with all types of bodies and movements. Lab equipment, as well as programming and special repair and support items, are being rushed around while certain area things are being marked off so it is a lot of activity.
Bakugou quality heads over the neon sign that says electronics and pushes the sliding glass door open.
“Oi Duracell got something for you to look at.”
From around the corner, Denki walks up to both of them before crossing his arms. “Hey, how many times do I have to tell you, don’t call me that…. ever hear me call you caramel?” The blond inquired.
“No cause if you did you would be 5 feet in the ground.”
“Yeah, that threat has lost its vigor over the years” he turns and looks at Midoriya “I swear I do not know how you live with him.”
Deku chuckles before handing over his phone.
“I think there might be a virus on this think you can work your magic and determine if that is true and how it got there?”
He cracks his knuckles and smiles “hey if I can fix a tractor with a piece of gum and a toothpick this should be no issue you are welcome to hang out around here” he says right before Izuku hitches and direct soft sneezes into his arm.
“hH-! hhuhdt’hptsSSCHhuhh...!”
“On the second case may be, you should go see Todoroki he might be able to help with that.”
“Finally, you said something smart, let's go” and dragged Midoriya out of the room.
As they arrived at the emergency health station, they saw more business than usual pros were being taken into a private room and the nurse's station was full of ringing phones. Bakugou sneered before hauling Midoriya to the private office of Todoroki.
“Hey half and half you busy?” he said already opening the door.
The room flickered as the fluorescent lights turned on, behind a wood table piles with papers and files sad Dr. Todoroki. After getting his Pro Hero license he decided to enroll in a medical program. While his quirk was one of the most powerful ones, he decided that after many years he decided to do what he wanted; and he wanted to help others as much as possible so he went into the medical field.
He became a first-class doctor and many pros sought out his expertise Midoriya agency had hired him about three years back and has been a useful member of the team.
As the pro lifted his head from behind a stack of files, he smiled warmly. “Good morning, Bakugo pleasant as always.” he said before standing up out of his rolling chair. “And Midoriya” he pauses as if he was thinking of something nice to say “always a pleasure to see you again.”
Bakugou shut the door behind him before practically pushing Midoriya forward.
“So, there’s this virus thing I’m sure you read the news half and half bastard but we think it’s being transmitted through tech or some crap we’re having Duracell look at it now, however….” He pauses as Deku begins to hitch. “It seems like someone might have something.”
He finishes his statement before quickly wrapping his hand over Midoriya face as he sneezed a wet triple into his hand.
“etCHUSHoo! ehhhUSH’oo!” …. eh… heh… huhCHussh!”
“We don’t think it’s contagious through direct contact,” he said looking at his hand in disgust and wiping it on his pants “but it is transmittable through screens maybe you can find something wrong.”
Throughout this entire time, Todoroki had been writing things down on a notepad before circling his desk and approaching Izuku now sniffling.
“Don’t worry I’ll take a look at him but you should go and plan the stealth missions. you’ll be in good hands with me.”
Bakugo huffs but before leaving delivering a kiss and then stomps out his voice echoing as he leaves.
Midoriya finally talks and when he does it is horse and congested. “Thank you Todoroki I didn’t think he would finally leave Sniff.”
Todoroki nods in sympathy, “he has a good heart but sometimes his anger gets in the way he cares about you and is worried even though he won’t have the decency to say so upfront.”
Midoriya blushes before running a finger under his nose and sniffling back congestion.
Todoroki motions for him to step further into his office and soon he’s at his private examination room.
As he jumps up on the table a situation, he has been in far too often Todoroki smiles.
“So, what seems to be the problem number one.”
Deku blushes before responding “well it started this morning with some congestion and” he clears his throat a little before continuing “sneezing…but I think it’s moved to my throat.” He winces as he’s talking as if his voice hurts him. “So, I guess general flu-like symptoms the strange part it happened quickly.”
Todoroki nods and scribbles a few things down before continuing “yes it seems that this” he motions for a word that he doesn’t know “virus seems to quickly attack and cause symptoms although the spread is something we’re not sure of.” He continues. “We have examined Shinsou and the other member who seems to have taken ill and he reports the same symptoms as you first having a glitching phone or other media and then generally feeling ill. It’s logical to conclude that they are related but let’s get some test done before we jump to any conclusions.”
------
Todoroki let out a small laugh at his old friend's rambling as he prepared the blood test and nasal swabs. "Still the same Midoriya I know. You haven't got rid of that habit, have you?" He said, letting a small smile form on his scarred face. “Still scared of needles old friend.”
"Yeah, you're right. You know...it is a quite common fear around Pros." The green-haired male said, then let out a chuckle.
Todoroki smiled at the words that came out of his old friend. "My fears are still the same since I graduated UA. I guess the trauma fucked me up." He let out a pained kind of smile on his face.
"S-sorry for bringing that up. I-I didn't mean to." The current number one hero said, stuttering.
The heterochromatic male let out a heavy sigh. "It's okay. I'm good now."
Before the pro hero could say another word, the doctor started to clean the area of his arm with wipes. "As I said before, let's get yourself checked up. Lay down on the bed so I can check your health."
The pro hero did as he said. He laid his body on a bed. The younger male put on his stethoscope and checked his old friend's heartbeat. Then he checked the pro hero's blood pressure, body temperature, and any kind of check-up.
"Now I will warn I do have to do a nasal swab so that might trigger a reaction. Just let me know if you feel…. anything so I can stop.” He said grabbing the long stick.
Midoriya nodded tilting his head back. “Don’t worry I will be clear.”
“Alright let’s begin.”
The test seems simple right insert a swab into the nostril and swab the back and then send out the contents to a lab. However, the human body is good at preventing things from entering unwanted holes. If the body is already on red alert because a virus is attacking it makes this process even harder to do. As the green hair pro squirmed as Todoroki inserted the swab, he could see the eyes of the pro well up and a few tears escape.
He reassured Midoriya. “I know it is uncomfortable just a few more seconds” he said as he turned the swab resulting in a small hitching breath of the pro. Todoroki could tell he was doing his best not to cough or sneeze but this was a losing battle. As he twisted the swab again it was the lats taw and Midoriya flinched and it’s was too late to stop the sneeze now. “Ih…KSShh! HX’SChh! huh…KX’Shhh!” Shit-sniff so-hhh sorry hhh ii-ihh-ii’shiew! huh-eh’chIEW!! oh sniff! sorry snuff!”
Todoroki rubbed his back as he continued to cough and sneeze and handed him a tissue from the desk next to him.
When Midoriya seem to slow Todoroki offered a small blessing to which Midoriya thanks him.
“Well, I think I have all I need here so you can go. The lab results should be done in about 5 hours.”
Midoriya turned to leave before turning back to him. “Thank you, Todoroki sniff I know things, have not been the best since I passed…him...but I swear I will be stronger and better than him”.
Todoroki smiles before walking over and embracing him. “I know and don’t worry you already have. You surprised him even before you were a pro back in UA because you survived everything. Everyone is so proud of you. I know that man upstairs doesn’t say it enough but he is proud. I am proud. You are what this world needed.” He exits the embrace before smiling “just try not to forget that it is okay to ask for help you don’t have to be the number 1 all the time. And take care of yourself.”
He reaches into his lab coat and pulls out a lollipop. “Enjoy and I will see you soon with the results feel better was the last thing Midoriya heard before he closed the door took the wrapper off the lollipop and proceeded to head toward the exit back to the main office.
However, that was short-lived as soon as he exited the doctor's wing a bolt of electricity whipped out in front of him. luckily Danger sense came in handy and he quickly dodged it. He turned to see Kaminari looking surprised before his face contorted all almost like he was going to…and then another bolt of lightning-sparked from him as he doubled over and sneezed harshly.
Once the beeping from all the machines slowly lessened Midoriya saw Denki recovering before holding his phone up to him. Through the blinking emergency light, Midoriya could read the glitching message that flared on the screen, and then before he could blink the room adjacent to where Denki was standing all the monitors and tv and glitched and began to pulse with the same message.
“Already too late hero, my disease spreads soon I will control all.”
This was going to be a fight like he had never had before
It was a few hours later when Bakugou and Deku as well as Kirishima and a few other pros were on a train that the seriousness of the situation came in to play. In a matter of hours anyone who had come in to contact with the glitched phone of the number 1 Shinsou, Denki, Deku himself as well as Bakugou had all began to develop signs of illness.
The location they were heading to is one they believed using database from the dissected phone the location of where these texts were being sent from hopefully, they can find another clue and/or be ready for a fight.
As is the train swayed side to side Bakugou cursed silently before bringing up his shirt and sneezing openly into his chest below.
“Hh-! Hhih-!! HheESCHY'hUuoo!!”
A harsh sound that echo throughout the train car causing others to look at him in pity to which he answered back with a glare that would scare even the strongest of pros.
“Let’s just go over the plan again.” he said sniffling.
“All right I’m sorry you feel bad I just wanted to help you feel better-” Kirishima exclaimed. To which Bakugou exclaimed “I will feel better” he said as his breath started to hitch “when we- hhiH-! sniff get this fucking villain delt with… Hhhih-! Hahh. Hh-! Hhih-!! HheESCHY'hUuoo!!” rubbing his chest afterwards.
They are to enter the facility using the underground tunnel system which will put them on the right corridor of the abandon hospital. They are then to make their way to the security office, before activating the security protocols and locking all of the doors and wings. Therefore, if anyone is in the building they will be trapped along with the heroes. Then it becomes a search and rescue mission as well as gathering info or a fight.
It sounds simple enough but with a team of five and two of the strongest pros currently battling whatever they have it is going to be difficult… But they’ve handled worse before, right?
As the three of them look at the blueprints and the map each of them memorizing the locations the train slowed and eventually came to a stop indicating they are at their location. It was still a 10-minute walk to the man hole cover where the entrance to the underground tunnels were.
As they exited the train a light rain shower had begun and Kirishima put up his hood and Deku brought out umbrella they looked at each other in annoyance before continuing on.
The walk seemed longer than usual as they dragged their feet. The puddles on the street began to increase in their size. Soaking the clothes and pressing their hair against their face as they continue to walk. Every once in a while, one of them would stop do us perimeter check to see if they were being followed and/or cough or sneeze
Each one hurting their chest and voice but eventually they reach the manhole cover. Before Kirishima could even suggest he use his strength to pull it up, Bakugou bent down concentrated his quirk and blew the manhole cover into the raining sky.
Midoriya looked at him and surprise. “We were supposed to be stealthy about this” he said with congestion thick in his voice.
“These damn villains are going to get my fucking wrath” he said “I don’t give a shit about a manhole cover the city will bill me later” he said as he began climbing down into the tunnels.
Kirishima and Deku exchanged a look. “Sorry Kirishima he’s always like this when he is sick.” before following suit down the ladder. Kirishima was the last one using his strength to put the man hole cover back on and as they descended down into the underground tunnels, he tried to hide his smile.
---
As the team began walking down the abandoned tunnel their footsteps echoed over the musty concrete floor Midoriya who is in the front of the line put up his hand the others immediately stopped.
Bakugou rushed to his side, he couldn’t see anything in front of them but if Deku had stopped maybe his quirk was going off that indicated danger he looked at the face of Deku and then growled at what he saw.
The damn nerd's eyes were closed his breath spasming as his breath was hitching wildly like a mad dog.
He came to two realizations very quickly. 1) if he were to have an outburst and might work against him as they are trying to have an element of surprise and 2) no matter what he did he wasn’t going to stop.
Midoriya was doing everything in his power to stop the sneeze from happening but it was a losing battle. He suddenly found his face being smashed into the chest of his partner as the tickle overtook him and he spasmed against him.
“HehK’TSSCHuhh!...Heh’TSSCHISH!......Hhhh….Hhi-iIH’TSCHOO!”
Spasm after spasm rocked him against the chest and Bakugou began to feel wetness seep through his shirt and onto his skin.
When Bakugou was sure he was done and his shirt had been thoroughly soaked he whispered a quiet blessing in his ear as Midoriya looked up that him. His eyes watering and his nose running and tinged a light pink Bakugou could swear his heart almost melted, he quickly regained his composure and continue down the tunnel.
About another five minutes in the tunnel and it was Bakugou who stopped this time, however unlike Deku he didn’t get a warning.
His breathing hitched for two seconds before he was jolted forward in a series of unsatisfying stifled sneezes which left him hitching is Kirishima and Deku ran up to him to try to stop him from making too much noise.
Kiri began instructing Bakugou on how to breathe while Deku pinched his nose. Even with a combined effort of both of them, it was barely keeping the sneezes at bay and Bakugou was actively whining.
“I think I’m-Hhih-I’m g-hahh…gonna s-Hhuh-! Snee-Heeeehh…please…hahhI cahhhi can’t…stop it-!!”
One thing about Bakugou is he didn’t do anything quietly. He woke up loudly, he went to bed loudly, he brushed his teeth loudly so it is reasonable to imagine his sneezes are loud. As they were even closer to the entrance of the hospital now there’s no doubt that if anyone was in the building when the ‘explosion’ was going to take place they were going to hear him. They needed the element of surprise now more than ever, but Bakugou was going to ruin it…so Deku did something he never thought he would do.
He activated black whip the tendrils of energy gathering on his arms and shooting out, he created sphere-like imprisonment around Bakugou. He was working on this move in secret for about two months now. Theoretically could be a sound dampening maneuver. The pulsing energy encapsulated the hitching man and he saw Bakugou open one eye and then all went still.
Kirishima and Deku held their breath waiting for the ‘explosion’ they knew was going to happen but I never did. Bakugou was left rubbing his nose like a madman cursing although it was very muffled.
Midoriya had seen this too many times, when Bakugou desperately wanted to stop showing weakness he would force himself to not sneeze or even cough when he was sick this resulted in what Deku called stubborn sneezes.
He would hitch but never fully release until some irritant caused him to fall over the edge. His sneezes stuck and now he was surrounded by massive radiating energy.
Deku did the only thing he thought of shot one tendril of black whip into the sphere and brought it right under the twitching nose of his partner.
Through the semi-translucent pulsing energy of the sphere, Midoriya could see. The tendril was circling the rim before slowly inserting and circling the inside. “Hhhih-! Hahh …hhiH-! …Close…” The way Katsuki hitched was so violent, Deku was afraid he might activate his quirk by mistake however no sneeze happened so he continued to tickle that special spot he knew Bakugou had, until Katsuki reared back, his nose aimed at the ceiling.
“Hh-! Hhih-!! HheESCHY'hUuoo!! Aaahhn… Dhehh..” Katsuki sniffled, keeping his head down and being to hitch more urgently. “Hhigh..I.. ih-..hEHDISSH’uh!.. eh’KIZSCH-!.. fuck-HH-…...hAHJZZISH’IUH!!-fuHH- tih-HH!.....hD’KZSSCHT-!! Ugh, dabbit, -h-HH-!.....HIH’EHZZSHH’IUH!- fuc’gk!”
In short, the explosion was nuclear, the results were undoubtedly messy. Snot thoroughly coating and soaking the middle down to the bottom of their shirt. The amount of glistening snot and spray that erupted from the volcano of a nose was rather shocking to Bakugou who was left coughing and panting.
After a few very rough sounds nose-blowing filling the travel-size tissues Bakugou signs ‘I’m done'. Deku nods and lowers the barrier and walks forward and stammers out. “Bless you, umm. that sounded bad, are you sure you can fight?”
He sniffs wetly and coughs his voice almost completely gone. “I’m fine let’s just go and get this over with.”
-----
As the three found the hatch that connected the underground tunnel to the west corridor of the hospital soon after. They opened the heavy metal door and began silently walking on the dusty pattern floor to the hospital wing.
They kept their eyes and ears out for any signs of movement and any sound besides the rattling of wind and rain against the shattered windows.
In their notes, they knew that this place has been abandoned for about five years. The hospital fell through due to a financial crisis and was left unaccounted for. Weeds and vines and overgrown foliage pushed through the broken windows and floor.
‘Almost an eerie display of nature overtaking something so modern’ Deku thought to himself before sniffling back congestion.
Empty beds and other medical equipment littered the floor and the three had to be careful not to step on any broken glass. As they neared the security office still no sign of any human the three of them heard a buzzing sound enter their ears. As they looked around for the sources, they could not see anything so Bakugou exclaimed. “It is probably an old wire, let us keep moving.”
However, they took a couple more steps Deku saw something moving along with the ceiling. He called out to the group to wait and dug out his flashlight shining a light up.
As the light illuminated the ceiling above them, they saw a dull purple ooze-like substance pulsing as if it had a heartbeat. When the light illuminated it scrambled out of the light and into a nearby crack on the adjacent wall.
Kirishima decided to harden and an unspoken agreement was made and he ran into the wall battering it with all his might while the other two prepared themselves for an encounter. Now with a larger crack and the rattling of drywall slowing, a new sound emerged. A distant voice could be heard speaking in a whisper.
“So, you’ve come home.”
An eerie voice called out that sent shivers up their spines. Bakugou called out “show yourself don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.” he said in a low growl his voice still horse and rough sounding.
A snake-like laugh filled the hallway around them before the purple ooze-like substance began to spill out of the wall as if a pipe had burst. It surrounded the three of them encapsulating their feet and as they try to move, they realized that this substance was much thicker than they had originally thought.
A spider-like arm emerges from the large crack in the wall followed by another and another and another before finally emerging was a… Human?
They are tall almost 7 feet in height. The skeletal creature with a purple armor-like shell emerged smiling? They had limbs similar to grasshoppers and hands like a bird's foot. They also had many long thin tentacles with curved blades hanging from their bodies and long claws.
As the three of them stared at this thing in front of them Bakugo already making small explosions in his hand called out “Are you the one causing this?”
“My young hero. How naïve I’m the savior of this world soon all will be my subjects.”
“Not if we have anything to do with it,” Deku said.
As the creature turned to look at him his eyes piercing. “Oh, but you’ve already fallen victim to one of my greater schemes…tell me a number one,” The air around him thicken as a smoky substance filled the air “how can you fight when your body is already betraying you?”
It was as if daggers had cut into Deku’s skin as he crumpled forward, a pain unlike he had ever felt encapsulated him. It felt like needles were piercing his skin. He coughed violently as if he was choking on air. The creature smiled.
“You see my friend, I control, I conquer and I overtake. You can call me Virus a pleasure to meet you…although it won’t be for very long,” he said before pulling out three blades each lined with a purplish colored hook. Quickly he began admitting purplish energy that soon encapsulated the ground. Three more similarly dressed creatures also emerged from the smoke and soon the battle began.
---
Bakugou pulled the pin off his gauntlet, the blazing torch and heat from the explosion was deafening. As he flung the white-hot burning flame at the face of the oncoming creature. The one who had spoken previously deflected it with his armor like a shield as cascades of sparks fell around him. He smiled and went after the sickly blonde “Is that all you got? no wonder my friends have taken refuge in your body…so weak.” To gain a brief respite, Bakugou pushed Kirishima into the creature on the right. The creature was grappled and was cloven in two with one swift stroke of the hardened exterior of the red-haired pro. Deku stepped over the slain creature, whirling his fists expertly as he pursued the enemy. Ignoring his unprotected back, Deku failed to see a shadow-like creature stealing up behind him. The shadow raised his arms a set of claws, but, before he could strike, Kirishima had hurled the net over him.
The creature struggled like a landed fish as the Kirishima picked up the net and swung it several times against the wall. Dropping the lifeless thing, Kirishima let out a terrifying roar before turning to the other creature.
Deku stood in the center of the room, his one eye-straining to catch sight of Bakugou in the belfry. Blood dripped from the dozen wounds the sharp tendril had inflicted upon him during their battle. But now he knew he had won; he would soon see the last of the virus. “Give up, Virus, Deku the number 1 is waiting for you,” he cried.
Virus stood up on the broken tile floor. He laughed “You have not won anything,” he says as he raised his hands. Almost immediately Bakugou and Deku freeze and their breathing started to hitch. “See even you are being victims of your own body,” He walks over to the hitching blonde and slashes him under the ribs as red crimson starts to flow down his chest and drip onto the floor. Deku cries out as his breath falters and he succumbs to harsh sneezes that rock his body forward.
““Suh- sdneeze….huhhh-ATSHHiew!..huh-ish! hishhiew! huh’TSHHeshooo!”
As he stumbled forward trying to catch his breath as well as secure footing, he felt a hand on his back and before he can do anything he is being thrown into the ground, the tile breaking as the impact. The creature stands over him smiling menacingly before taking one of his sharpened blades like tendrils and slashing down. Deku closes his eye and prepares for pain but it doesn't come. He opens his eyes to see Kirishima blocking the blow.
The creature frowns “Ah a pet who isn’t one of mine yet. Don’t worry you will be soon.” He raises his arm a dark purplish orb with little spikes appears and as he goes to thrust it into Kirishima a defeating sound is heard.
BOOM!
Bakugou lets of an explosion that throws the Virus off of Deku and against the wall. A crack is heard then a yelp of pain before the creature slides their knees buckling and sits on the broken floor unable to move.
Wearily, Deku stands clutching his chest. Together the three of them stood and stared at the creature where it lay. Blood seeping from beneath its bloodied claw and a smashed tail laying limply against the wall.
Deku spoke, “It’s all over now. We won.”
They then both noticed that did not feel any better. “Or maybe not”
-------
As the investigation team was notified as well as everyone back at the agency. Bakugo and Deku were given immediate transport back to the agency, due to an intern Quirk that allowed teleportation.
The two partners were now driven home as they were told they were under quarantine until this flu passed. Of course, Bakugo didn’t take the news easily and tried to fight it although the argument was helped when he sneezed and it rattled the protective glass in the car.
As they get to their apartment and climb up the stairs and open the door, both of them completely exhausted, Deku makes a beeline to the couch while Bakugo sits down on the floor his back against the couch.
“Well, this suck.” the blonde exclaimed, “we don’t even know anything about this quirk or how long it lasts or anything.” His voice is thick with congestion and he’s irritated.
Deku rub his shoulders “I know but I think it’s for the best if we stay quarantined, we don’t know how long--” his breath starts to falter
He’s too preoccupied trying to fight back the immense tickle that he doesn’t realize the Bakugo was handing him tissues before he is being thrust forward and Bakugo catches him covering his nose and mouth.
“KSShh! HX’SChh! huh…KX’Shhh!!”
“Bless you” he grumbles before telling Deku to blow his nose while still holding the tissues against the sniffling pro.
As he does so Bakugo cringes at the sound before crumbling the tissues and throwing them in the trashcan.
“Should get used to you doing that, you’re always shitty at covering your mouth” he says flatly
Deku blushes before responding “well at least mine don’t rattle all the windows” he said taunting him.
“Hey” Bakugo exclaves “my sneezes are fine”
Deku rolls his eyes before responding “yeah sure I’m surprised Japan doesn’t put out an earthquake warning every time you get the sniffles.”
“Keep talking Deku and the only thing they will find is your hhhhi bones-”
Deku laughs “Oh going to sneeze already…well then prove it.”
“Prove what,” said the blonde whose hitching was slowing and he rubbed at his nose.
“Try to be quiet,” Deku said crossing his arms.
“I'm a pro. If I want my sneezes to sound quieter, I'll do it. Can't be that hard to stifle them, right? It's just a matter of pushing them to the back of my throat and holding the release in. I bet I can make mine even quieter than yours.” He wiggled his nose as if trying to invite a sneeze, though all it did was make Deku hot. Not the sort of hot you got when someone snuggled up to your side but the sort you got when someone with amazing sneezes threatened to sneeze right then and there. “Except... huh... hnnn... huh... No. Sniff! How can I practice when I can't... hah... huhhhhh... huh-hnnn! Eh! Hehh! Hnnn! Uhh...” He sighed, shaking his head. Then he buried his face against deku neck and spoke words that whispered against deku skin. “Deku... do you know a way to make me sneeze?”
Izuku nearly died. Just like that. All the training, all the adventures, all the battles with Bakugou over the years, and what nearly did him in were those little words and Bakugou warm, heavy body and slightly wet nose. All Izuku could do was nod. He feared any word out of him would sound like a whimper and reveal too much of his interests. He leaned to the side and grabbed a few tissues, twirling one into a sharp point a method he had only dreamed of.
Izuku held it up in front of katsuki face. “Do you trust me?”
He nodded and sniffed so that his nostrils flared widely, invitingly. Deku’s whole body wibbled and burned with need as he inserted the pointed tissue into his nose. Bakugou gave a sharp gasp and his eyes began to water. But it wasn't until Izuku started wiggling the piece around that the build-up started. “heh! Eh!”
“Now, when the sneeze comes, remember what you're trying to do.”
“Nngh!” Bakugou said, bobbing his head up and down in an attempt at agreeing. “Gonna... gonna sn-sneeze... ehhhh quiet-huh quietly. Heh! Hehhh!” Deku gave Bakugou beautifully twitching nose one more jab with the tissues and that was all it took. “hD’KZSSCHT-!! Ugh, dabbit, -h-HH-! HIH’EHZZSHH’IUH! - fuc’gk!”
It was, without a doubt, the worst attempt at reigning in a sneeze deku had ever heard. And, at the same time, he had never wanted Bakugou more.
“Didn't... hahh... didn't work that time. Sniff! Try again.” He rubbed two fingers boyishly at his nose to ready it, then tilted his head back, waiting for deku to tease his nose again.
Izuku did not hesitate. He switched nostrils, spinning and tickling, and this time the sneeze came faster. “hah-engg... ehh-ngg...HIH’EHZZSHH’IUH!- fuc’gk!” Bakugou gasped and moaned, rubbing his forehead and the bridge of his nose. “Harder than I thought,” he murmured. “Do it again?”
His hand almost shaking with his excitement, Izuku inserted a blade of grass and twirled it around, but he did not sneeze at once. His nostrils flared and his eyes watered. Then he tilted his head and his nostrils flared more violently. “I can feel it... heh! Feel the tickle way back in... hah! Back in my n-nose. Hah! Yes... that's.. hehh! That's it. Hah! Hah! Just... like that... heh-eh! Ehhh! Make me... hahhh! Make me sneeze h-HH-! HIH’EHZZSHH’IUH! - fuc’gk!!” Bakugou wiped his hand at his eyes and then his nose. “Was that any softer sniff do you think?”
Chewing on his bottom lip, Izuku shook his head. “I'm sorry.”
Bakugou huffed in frustration. “Show me how you do it?”
“It's just the way I sneeze. I can't help it,” Deku replied. He took another pointed tissue and invaded his own nostrils. Already sensitive from his flu, it didn't take a second to feel that tell-tale tickle rises. His tongue pushed against his bottom teeth as his mouth dropped open. “KSShh! HX’SChh! huh…KX’Shhh!” He caught the sneeze in his hand, but only just in time. His nose dripped and itched, and he rubbed at it as he noticed Bakugou staring longingly at him.
“I want to sneeze like that.” Bakugou practically pouted.
Izuku's heart raced hard and fast. He couldn't believe Bakugou might be able to hear his words above its thumping when he replied, “Your sneezes are perfect just as they are. You just... need to stay away from stealthy missions when you have a cold.”
This earned deku a sniffle-filled kiss. He nearly passed out a second time.
--the end--
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Beyond The Veil: Chapter 5
The assessment test was pretty consistent.
Those that had the quirks suited for it at first glance had dominated while the rest all seemed to get variations of the same base score. Some slightly better, some slightly worse. This made it pretty easy for Muska to just, consistently get good scores.
When your quirk, *cough* and other things *cough*, essentially affects anything and everything as long as the energy itself isn’t being used by something else it becomes easy to just enhance everything.
Ball throw? More like sniper propulsion. Long jump? Ha, more like flying to the opposite side. Grip strength? She doesn’t even need to touch it. Just contract the energy surrounding the mechanism. Flexibility? She used to do ballet, like, a century ago but muscle memory counts.
She had some tests she couldn’t do well, like the endurance test. She was here to train her quirk after all. Plus the longer the tests went on the harder it was to continue. If she continued at the level she was doing, she’d have one hell of a headache. It was starting to hurt as well. Every time she tried to go over her limits, using the energy actually hurt so she’d rather avoid that.
By the end of it all, Muska had placed a solid 3rd place. Beating out Robocop and PomPom (Bakugo), looking down the list with curiosity, Muska cringed at Midoriya taking last place. The kid definitely couldn’t regulate the energy belonging to his quirk, which felt really weird whenever Muska looked into it, and had broken his finger on the ball throw. However, what she didn’t expect was the feeling of mirth coming off of Aizawa.
Wait a damn minute.
The fucker wouldn’t.
“It was a logical ruse to make you all perform at your best capabilities.”
The fucker did.
Now, even as the class started shouting once more that evening, Muska was highly focused on the man in front of her. That was a lie. He lied about it being a ruse. The energy had fluctuated just slightly when he said ruse, going from mirth to a hazy feeling. The indescribable experience one goes through when they white lie or bluff.
He was going to expel the person who came in last. Something changed that though. What the fu- Oh. Ooooh.
“...If you won’t take this seriously as the hero in training students you are…”
The bastard was judging our potential and disguised it as an assessment!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rat-man hadn’t given Muska a map, either expecting her to ask someone to help or look at the map and guess. She would do neither. Asking for help would warn them beforehand and she might be waved off considering it was a staff meeting. Secondly, she just doesn’t want to.
Instead of her quirk, Muska closed her eyes and felt around the harmony. Surprisingly, the school was ‘clean’ for the most part. A few dark patches here and there but nothing horrendous. That was when she noticed it. A room towards the top of the fourth tower, left side in the back away from the gate, was filled with several aged energies. One of which seemed to be escaping slowly towards something else. That was weird, but definitely where she needed to be.
It took 10 minutes of dedication to get to the tower needed, and 10 more to not stab the principal on sight after she got up the stairs and walked over to a steel door that had a key code. Disregarding the key code box since she definitely didn’t know said code, she decided that knocking in the tune to “Crab Rave” was a good alternative.
The door opened before the first verse was done to a very confused woman in spandex. Giving her a smile, it definitely had an annoyed flair to it since she could be at home and forcing Eras to be cooking right now, Muska slipped past her and into the meeting room. The Rat-man stood on the large table, surrounded by pro hero’s (based on the flashy getups…. Is that a horse gas mask?) and seemed to be in the middle of something. A beat of silence followed as Muska walked over to an empty chair near the front, it looked to be Nedzu’s but the short rat-man didn’t need it, and sat down. Pulling out her phone and starting to scroll through Tiktok. It was an old app but it stayed strong through the years and was still running.
“Uh, whatsa youngin like ya doin here?” Horse gas mask man asked. The heroes all subtly nodded along, too shocked by her nonchalant actions about crashing a very obvious faculty meeting.
Muska’a face twisted into a small frown as she turned her attention up to see the man. Aizawa, who she just now noticed was sitting at the back corner of the table, was just glaring down at Nedzu. Smart move and he was right.
“First of all, don’t call me youngin, I can guarantee I'm older than you. Second of all, ask Remy the rat here for that info.” Muska stated, about to return to her phone before perking up again and continued, “Also rat-man, if you want answered questions they better be done before 5, I have pasta being cooked by a glorified 5 star chef waiting at home.”
Several heroes choked, Aizawa hid a snort into his scarf, at her words. Nedzu, the fiend, just smiled wider.
“Of course!” The chimera chirped.
Yes chirped, maybe he had some bird DNA mixed in?
“I wouldn’t want to keep you too long! Faculty, this is Viridis Muska, Viridis, these are the pro heroes on staff that I trust to keep their mouths shut under oath of an NDA! Your guardian was kind enough to email it over to me this afternoon.”
Muska snorted at that. “Yea sounds like her.” Placing her phone face up on the table next to her, she tapped on the table expectantly as the Rat took his sign to continue.
“The most obvious question should probably be first and I know my dear staff are confused, what did you mean by you being older?”
It was an innocent question, she’ll answer it.
“Why Remy, that's cause unless Humanity has managed to surpass their expected due date of at max 120 years, then I am very much so older.”
The room was filled with confusion. It radiated off them in waves as distress rose at getting such vague answers. Aizawa in the corner sighed and snapped his gaze from the rat to her.
“I’m sure what the rat meant to ask was how old are you exactly and how did you reach that age.” Aizawa stated. Clear and concise.
“Of course, if I remember correctly I should be turning 267 this year,” she said, not pausing even when coffee was spat all over the table from a few of the people around the room, “and I was born a human, however upon entry into the veil and my chosen profession as a witch, I was changed. Reaching the height of my craft has allowed me to unlock certain aspects of my being, immortalizing my body for now. I’m still technically in my ‘teen’ years considering the average witch you’ll meet has passed a thousand years in some capacity.”
Aizawa ran a hand down his face in exasperation and a quiet mumble of “fucking problem ch- witch” escaped. A few other heroes were pale, and the spandex woman looked very intrigued. A twink with blond hair that had the weird energy actually coughed up blood. Muska’s gaze snapped to him at that. The need to heal over writing her focus for a moment before Nedzu cleared his throat for attention again.
Reluctantly she returned her gaze to the rat. If she didn’t know any better she would have thought he was undisturbed. She did, however, know better. The rat was practically vibrating where he stood in excitement.
“Viridis, do you think you could give us a basic rundown of the veil?” Nedzu quizzed, looking more and more like the sadistic researcher he was. Fuck, He's just like the elves.
Muska leaned back and sighed. She expected this and went over it with eras last night. They came up with what could, or couldn’t be talked about for the beginning until they were all deemed trustworthy.
“I can give you a short, very short compared to all the details of the veil, summary but frankly the veil doesn’t want certain info getting into certain hands.” She said, voice cold and steely. She would not be taking a no for this.
“I understand! Anything you can trust us with for now would help the mystery that has been plaguing me for years.” Nedzu said, which caused Muska to cackle a bit.
“I know, the… reps of certain races and collectives have placed bets on when and who would slip and give you the info at some point.” watching with amusement as Nedzu’s whiskers twitched, she sighed and leaned forwards. Pointing a finger at the white board behind her.
Nedzu, who of course understood exactly what that meant, nodded.
Muska stood up and grabbed three markers. One black, one green, and one red. Taking the black marker, she drew a large circle and wrote ‘The Veil’ above it. Uncapping the green marker, Muska spoke up as she marked off sections in the circle with black and labeled them in green.
“In the veil there are set collections and races. I, as a witch, belong to the group called Magia.” Magia was written in a section taking up a 5th of the circle, “It's a collective that represents those who follow magically tied professions, no matter the race you are, since once you become a part of what defines the Magia you are assigned this section. Of course like nations there is also dual representation. However, that's more complicated and this is the short version.”
A quick glance told Muska that everyone in the room was listening with rapt attention. Especially Aizawa and Nedzu, one more concealed than the other.
“Next is the elvish. Yes, elves, and yes, they are very pretentious. The younger ones are more lax and ready for mischief, but the elders tend to be stuck in their ways or research. God the research they do. They’re called the scholars of the abyss. Do you need to know something? Ask an elf. They write and read practically everything there is to write and read.” Another section gets cut off and labeled.
“Then there's the dwarves, oh and I’m listing these in population order as is the sectioning. The more people the bigger the section and so on. I’ll get to influence later. Back to dwarves. They aren’t all blacksmiths as myth leads you to believe but they do make the best weaponry and armor. You can find quite a few in engineering professions. A lot find jobs in mixology and brewing as well.” Another section. So far all are labeled with green.
“Next is the Vampires. These guys are incredibly important in the veil since they were the first members of it. Treated the closest to monsters, they had to run away from society's view earlier than loved races like elves and dwarves. Hell, even witches had some supporters when Halloween started to become a festive rather than a lore holiday. If you want to truly know about the veil? Then ask a vampire. They have every secret tucked away and safe guarded by their Origins.” Muska said, a small mischievous smirk was hidden as they faced the board. The energy shift in Nedzu told her the first time he met Eras would be cathartic considering it's her quirk registry game that led her here.
“Next is a much smaller group called the Fae. They are everything you’ve read and more. Do not engage with them until you’ve gone through Celtic mythology. You’ll become moss like that. I fuckin hate the imps sometimes.”
“In a more general group are the smallest numbers. Collectively known as the ‘inbetween’ these members range from the sirens in the waters to the spirits that haunt the earth and fuel the energy. Demons fall under here too but they rarely visit earth and always do so under contract so they don’t have much of a voice. Dragon descendants too, the last of the actual dragons died thousands of years ago but their blood lines are in half dragons. They have wings on some, horns and scales on others, but all carry the boiling blood of their predecessors.”
Muska took a deep breath after labeling one of the last spaces with green. Capping it, she uncapped the red and wrote a bold ‘FORGOTTEN’ in the smallest space. Turning around she dropped all smiles and pleasantries. Voice harsh and cold as she spoke venom with every word.
“Never, ever, look for those in the forgotten. They do not have representation but they are known and branded. A red circle with a line in the middle along with text that only certain people can read is their symbol and it's burned into their skin. The forgotten are the, essentially, criminals of the veil. The veil is filled with people of dubious legalities to humans but there is a special place to rot for those that cross veil taboos. Whether it’s a necromancer practicing on those that are alive, or a vampire who has gone blood crazy and slipped into the view of humans as food. Elves committing experimentation on live creatures for research or sirens drowning sailors into the ocean out of amusement. These are all examples of forgottens who get branded soon after they are recognized.”
The air seemed stale as Muska ran her glare over the heroes present. Even Nedzu shuddered as the energy in the room seemed to freeze and burn those that took too deep of a breath despite not actually happening.
The heroes nodded once they realized she was looking for a response and her gaze softened but still held a serious edge to it.
“The brands are placed by chosen representatives of the race where the forgotten came from. The representative is chosen by a council meeting between the heads of each race, the heads themselves are chosen by vote or position within the race and the job is carried out within 24 hours of discovery.”
Speaking of the representatives of races,
“Any questions before I head home for my fuckin pasta?”
(She just really wants her pasta)
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@baguettehead
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