Running With The Wolves (Shoto Todoroki X Izuku Midoriya)

Chapter 24: Creatures Of The Night

The town of Kilkenny was basked in the darkness of the night, it's townspeople sleeping soundly from within their homes. Beyond the walls of the town however, soldiers sat wide awake around a campfire. Every single one of them had their helmets removed, revealing their faces.

"So let me get this straight, you ran away?! Just like that?!" One of them soldiers, an older man with long blond hair drastically combed to the left and covering his left eye asked in disbelief and a raised brow.

"Unlike the rest of you, I was alone in the woods when...whatever that thing tormented me and made me end up getting caught in my own trap. What was I supposed to do?!" A younger soldier with short black hair retorted back.

"He does have a point, you know!" A soldier, a young man with a head of curly brown hair agreed with a shrug. "You two though, you ran away because bees started swarming all over the both of you!"

"Bees sting, you big oaf. You try catching a beehive that suddenly fell from a tree and see how you like it!" An older soldier with gray hair that covered the right side of his face angrily retorted. "At least we didn't run away because a tree had somehow magically moved on it's own and tripped the two of you!"

"It's those woods, it's those cursed woods is what's driving us all mad!" A soldier, a blond man with a large scar splitting his forehead sneered tiredly in between gritted teeth, his body hunched forward as he massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and finger.

"Dear Lord, the hunter was right. We do sound mad!" The dark-haired soldier agreed with a sigh of his own. "Speaking of which, where is he anyway?"

"He said he went out to scout for a bit, remember? Try and look for the child we heard!" The soldier with brown unruly hair responded simply.

"You mean he's not back yet?!" The blond soldier with a scar exclaimed, a hint of annoyance was audible from within his voice. "It's dark already, how long is he planning on looking for that kid anyway? We're not even certain if there really was one to begin with!"

"If that kid really were a wolfwalker, do you think it could've led him astray or something?" The dark-haired soldier asked a bit worriedly. "I heard wolfwalkers could do something like that, purposefully make people loose their way in the forest!"

"Oh. Don't you waste your time worrying about him, Todoroki's fine" The gray-haired soldier said as he crossed his arms over his chest, his tone not sounding as worried as the last. "The man's a hunter after all, he probably knows the woods like the back of his hand. He can take care of himself!"

"But what if the hunter's right? What if there really is no wolfwalker?" The soldier with messy hair spoke suggestively.

"Then it's probably some mangy brat playing dirty tricks on us. Messing with us and driving us all into a pit of madness!" The blond soldier responded irritatingly. "And I bet it's one of them troublesome rebel kids back in the town!"

"I don't know. Those brats may cause trouble, but at least they're wise enough to understand it's dangerous beyond the walls!" Said the gray-haired soldier with an uncertain tone.

"Now that I think about it, the only child I ever saw that went beyond the walls was actually the hunter's son!" Inquired the blond soldier.

"You mean the kid with the weird hair and the nasty scar on the left side of his face?" The soldier with dark unruly hair curiously asked, waving his hands over his face to place more emphasis.

"Yeah, him!" The blond soldier replied. "What if he's the one responsible for all the misfortune that's been going on lately?"

"Him? Are you joking, mate?" The gray-haired soldier asked in disbelief. "What makes you even say that? What possible motive does that kid even have to sabotage our mission to rid off the wolves?!"