Black Cats and Wolf Spirits

Of Magic and Blood

(Y/n's POV)

There were two days left until the full moon. Two days left until I had to go home. Katsuki was on edge, All Might was getting busier and busier, and I was starting to get impatient. I missed my brother.

Mako had been my everything for my whole life. I'd never known that such a small time without him would be so difficult.

The moon was high in the sky, illuminating everything in a soft glow I had grown to appreciate. This place didn't have a sun, which I supposed made sense, seeing how many stories of creatures from this place in my world explained that they either couldn't be in the sun or didn't prefer it. The moon was its own source of light here, and it ran on the spirits of those who had left this world, mostly witches such as myself.

I dug the edge of my dagger inside my palm,. letting my blood drip onto the collection of herbs I had found around the Academy. A gardener I had talked to had looked at me weird when I'd asked to take some of the plants, apparently not knowing they had any purpose other than decoration.

"Flora and blood, they are the fee, show my brother, Mako, to me." I chanted under my breath. My blood seeped into the assorted plants, staining everything red, then turning silvery, like the back of a mirror.

Slowly, a picture formed. Mako held his head in his hands, a familiar look of worry on his face. It was the only look he ever held when he thought of me as of late. "Mako, you need to move on. It's been almost a month and she hasn't returned, you've got to face it. She's gone." A voice I didn't recognize said.

"I know, but I just can't believe that she's... gone," Mako choked out. "My sister wouldn't just run away. I still don't understand."

"Lyle thinks we've got a witch on our hands."

"Lyle is an old, senile man." Mako spat. "He believes more in old stories than he does in reality. My sister was not taken by a forest witch. Even if she was, those animals of hers would have warned us. She couldn't have simply vanished."

"Mako-" A young woman with soft, brown hair placed a hand on his shoulder. She was the one who had been arguing with him. "The wedding is in four days. We can't change it, my father is coming. But once the wedding is over, we can start planning a funeral."

"She isn't dead!" Mako pushed her hand away, looking up for the first time. His eyes were puffy. He had been crying. "I know she isn't. I would feel it if she was dead. I would." He walked away.

I was going to direct the spell to follow him, but my concentration was shattered when Katsuki opened the door. I cried out and knocked the bowl onto my lap, gasping as the warmth of my blood contrasted the cold of the rest of me. "Redige eam," I hissed as quick as I could, and the remains of my spell disappeared, leaving my skirt as it had been before.

"Was that blood?" Katsuki frowned at me, looking at the knife in my hand. He sniffed, his eyes flashing to my other hand, my palm in the air, raised in his direction. "Y/n!" He rushed over and pressed on the small cut. "What were you doing?!"

"I was just checking to see if my brother was okay," I murmured. Katsuki looked at the wooden bowl on the table and back at me. His eyes flashed with something I couldn't quite name, something that looked like hurt.

"Two more days," he muttered under his breath. "Right?" I nodded, curling my fingers around his hand. He dropped his other hand that had been pressed to my wound, observing it before placing it on my waist. "Do you have to go?"

I frowned, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Well... I need to see my brother. He needs to know that I'm alive. And I want to meet his fiancée. She seems... nice." I leaned closer to him, closing my eyes as I tried to absorb the feeling of being in his arms.

"But will you be able to come back..?" He asked, for the first time seeming so wholly vulnerable.

"All Might said that once my connection to the Barrier is established correctly, I can move between the worlds at any high-magic point in the moon cycle. The Grimoire seems to back that up."

"So you'll be gone a whole two weeks..?"

"Here, yes. Back at home that's a month..."

We were quiet for a long moment, both coming to face the reality of what my returning to the world of the living would be.

When I'd arrived here, I'd wanted nothing more than to go home. But now, I was torn. Mako had been my only person for my whole life- until I met Katsuki.

"You'd better not be late, then." Katsuki finally said, holding me at arm's length. His face was resolved, but his eyes betrayed his expression. 'I'm going to miss you,' they said for him. I cupped his cheeks, trying to commit the feeling of holding him to my memory.

He copied my action, brushing a lock of hair out of my face. I looked him in the eyes, my heart swelling. If things continued like this, surely my heart would break. "I wouldn't dare to even think of it." I sighed before pulling him closer, letting our lips meet.

The kiss was soft and sweet, and for a moment I understood my brother. If he hadn't found someone to watch over him, I don't know if I would've been able to say I could come back here. But I knew I would, no matter what.

"I love you," I whispered when we finally parted.

"I love you too, Y/n."

End of Chapter.

(The next chapter should be the last. Then I'm gonna take a break and maybe post on a different book before continuing this book with a sequel! Hope you enjoyed 😊)