Bloodwalker

Chapter 34: Slave

Trigger Warning/s: mentions of drowning, mentions of abuse, abuse, torture, human experimentation, needles

Pre-chapter notes: JR East is a regional passenger railway company that operates a network of urban, regional and interregional train lines (including bullet trains) in the Kanto and Tohoku regions of Japan. It will be mentioned in this chapter.

Art: MJ  on ArtStation. The 3D work on their portfolio is genuinely incredible. Their attention to detail and texturing is extremely intricate and some could honestly pass off as photographs. A lot of their work consists of sculptures, but there is also environmental work too! Please check them out!

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The rest of the school day had passed with relatively few distractions, with the remainder taken up by well-wishes for the Sports Festival from teachers and students alike. At a single reminder of the impending judgement they were all about to face, all but yourself had buzzed with nervous energy. Midoriya in particular flitted from classmate to classmate with the erratic patterns of a dragonfly, and you found yourself wondering how much more nervous he would be on the day of.

"Midoriya-san, why are you so afraid?" you had inquired in-between classes. It wasn't like you weren't - in fact, you were deathly afraid - but you had managed to contain it within yourself. You had not seen many instances of nervousness presented in such an outward manner, and that piqued your curiosity.

The boy had turned his wan and bleary-eyed face to you. "A-Afraid? Really? What g-gave it away?"

"You look like you're about to faint, Midoriya-san."

The boy slumped in a nearby chair, defeated. "I'm just not sure if I'm strong enough..."

"For the Sports Festival?"

For showing the world that I'm supposed to be All Might's successor, he had thought wearily, but kept that to himself. "Uh, yeah," he replied, avoiding your gaze.

You had found it strange how someone like Midoriya with such a strong quirk could be so afraid of the future.

How hypocritical that was of you.

Even so, you had tried to reassure him as best as you could, even if you sounded monotonous doing so. "From what I have seen, you are very strong, so I do not think you have anything to worry about. Please do your best in the Sports Festival. I am sure the pros will take notice of you."

Please shine brightly so that no-one will take notice of me, you had wanted to say.

The green-haired boy, not quite used to being referred to as strong, had stiffened in surprise. You, of all people, thought he was capable enough to garner the attention of the world. You, who had defeated villains with ease, regarded him as more than an equal.

He couldn't let you or All Might down.

He would have to work hard for your expectations too.

Mustering the most confident smile he could, he looked back up at you. "Thanks, Chibana. That means more than you know."

Your classroom continued to emit a palpable nervous energy, and while your peers chattered in groups around the space, you and he remained in a comfortable silence - slumped in chairs at desks that you knew didn't belong to you.

You had stashed Midoriya's drawing of you safely away in your bag; you'd need to find a place for it later, perhaps hidden with the daruma that Kaminari had gifted you. That way, it would be for your eyes only. It was strange - how could one piece of paper make you feel so warm? You didn't understand the feeling.