#mortem ad wrens

[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 14: To Break the Chains

Summary:

tw: calorie tracking, ed behaviors, food insecurity, intrusive thoughts, body flashback Internship starts

Notes:

DISCLAIMER: I’m not a nutritionist and am just trying to not throw complete nonsense in here. Please don’t take any of the nutrition plan stuff as advice, especially since I’m trying to adjust things to loosely make sense with Akira’s quirk. 'text' JSL text thoughts

“Amajiki!” Fat Gum called out, grinning widely as he made his way to the pair. “Good to see you again, and you must be Akira Mori. Let’s get you settled and then we can grab lunch!”

Akira grinned, bowing at the introduction. ‘I look forward to working with you, Fat Gum. Thank you for the opportunity.’

“No need to be so formal with us, Mori. You have quite the quirk, and I have some preliminary ideas to help with your drawback. Our patrol will start at six, so we’ll be showing you the ropes of paperwork.”

As Fat Gum talked about Esuha City and his community programs, Akira felt eyes on them. Without missing a beat, they started looking around more at the shops and sights Fat Gum described while flashing a quick ‘watching us’ to Amajiki. As the trio were stopped by a sweet bun shop owner for samples, Akira casually positioned themselves to look back on the street and spotted Mouse, one of Fat Gum’s sidekicks, in the crowd. They took an offered sweet bun, biting in before signing ‘clear.’

Fat Gum chuckled, “You’ve got good instincts, kid.” He signaled Mouse to move on, who to Akira’s pleasure looked surprised. “You want to be an underground hero, right?”

Akira nodded, ‘It’ll give the cover and flexibility I need to operate. I did briefly consider Twilight, but I need to avoid the media.’

“I’ll keep that in mind as we work on a nutrition plan for your quirk. We’ll be logging what you eat so we have a baseline to work with.”

‘I have been keeping track of that in a notebook since I started at UA,’ Akira signed and fished it out of their pack at Fat Gum’s excitement. ‘The first page has a breakdown of my current nutrition plan, and the rest is a daily log of calories, quirk use, and weight at the beginning and end of each day.’ Knowing how valuable his input could be, Akira had already adjusted the plan to what they actually ate for lunch and dinner instead of what the school knew.

Fat Gum spent the rest of their walk flipping through the notebook, grin falling slightly over some of the pages. “This is great, kid, but I take it you like jelly pouches?” he asked, grin a little more forced.

Akira ducked their head, ears flushing. ‘Eraser insisted on keeping my backup stash stocked with them. I was using pocky sticks before.’

Amajiki peeked up in surprise before tucking back into himself. Fat Gum laughed, “I’ve heard stories about that man and his jelly pouches. I’m glad you caught his eye; I see he also let you put him down as an emergency contact. Any relation?”

Akira shook their head as they slipped into the agency with the pair, ‘I didn’t make a good first impression, and by the end of the first day, Eraser just started helping me outside schoolwork for some reason. He offered to be my second contact since it was required for the internship.’

Akira’s head was on a swivel as Fat Gum gave them a tour of the agency. They met a few of his sidekicks, confirming their observations of brutes and changers comprising most of the hero’s agency. Akira also recognized a few former vigilantes who now lived at the agency full-time while working towards their license. Some were kids but others were in their late teens or early twenties.

After setting their duffle in their room, Akira sat on the bed, letting themself soak in the comforts while they could. I could get used to this, Akira thought bittersweetly. Come on, just let yourself enjoy while you can. You can have three years of this if you don’t ruin it.

Akira pulled their hair into a messy bun and made a couple adjustments to their braces, testing the give since the support company’s execution of Hatsume’s designs had only arrived the previous day. Akira put on their hero costume and restocked their snack pouches, including a protein drink in case patrol was particularly busy. Finally, they clipped their retractable forearm crutches into their utility belt. The aids would put less stress on their shoulders and enable them to lessen the pressure on both legs instead of just their worse one.

Before heading out, Akira texted the Mad Banquet chat that they made it to the agency. Other than Tokoyami, the others had long since arrived, train rides much shorter than their own. Tucking their phone away, Akira made their way to the cafeteria, drawing a few odd looks from the brightly colored heroes at their monochrome palette, yellow contacts providing the only splash of color.

They started heading to the self-serve feast laid out over a few counters and dispensers when Fat Gum waved them over to a table. “Based on your notes, we need to double your current base intake.” Akira startled, eyebrows shooting up. “Your quirk’s drawback isn’t as separate as your paperwork implied. My quirk has the physical limit of the fat stored in my body; my muscles alone won’t absorb hits. Your quirk doesn’t recognize the difference between fat and muscle, which is what causes the atrophy. Your idea of having a buffer is more accurate than you think. Your quirk should never have the choice between muscle and fat because which it chooses is variable.”

‘I can’t develop muscle? I need the strength and flexibility,’ Akira signed desperately.

“You can still work on muscle development,” Fat Gum clarified gently. “But we’re not talking about being a couple kilos over the average. To reliably use your quirk without the risk of starvation, you should be 45-50% body fat. It’ll take time, but your current eating structure of two main meals with snacks throughout the day is a good framework to start with.”

Fat Gum ran through the changes they’d be making and pushed over a written-out plan. Akira tried to focus, but they were reeling with how they’d maintain the plan once they were paying for it. The recipes Fat Gum gave them all required a kitchen to varying degrees, but their security deposit fund would be gone in the first week of this plan. Akira followed the hero to the feast, nodding as he pointed out everything he put on the nutrition plan and encouraged them to try what they could while here so they knew the options. Before starting to eat, Akira quickly jot down their meal and the sweet bun they had earlier, trying to ignore the twist in their gut at the amount of food.

“Are you alright?” Akira turned at Amajiki’s soft, concerned voice. Their eyes flitted to Fat Gum, who was talking with one of his ex-vigilantes off to the side.

‘Just trying to figure out how to make this work,’ Akira distractedly signed. They offered a small smile to the introverted teen, ‘I was hoping he’d be able to take a look at the plan, just wasn’t expecting… this.’

Nodding after a moment, Amajiki looked back to his own plate with a more normal amount of food but far more variety. After a few minutes of trying to do the math in their head, Akira flipped to the back of their nutrition notebook and started running numbers on their new budget range for each week while eating with their off hand. With the internship’s stipend, they would still be a few thousand yen short of a low-income security deposit by the end of next week even if they didn’t implement Fat Gum’s changes that week and ran deliveries for an extra two hours each night. Besides, with finals rapidly approaching, only getting two hours of sleep would spell disaster for their grades.

As Fat Gum walked back over, Akira closed and secured the notebook in its holster. The hero tried to start up conversation with Amajiki, but he seemed as anxious as Akira, mumbling and stuttering as the man energetically guided the conversation.

U̸̳̥͇̺̙͒͋͌͗̎͐͌n̴̩̯̜͔̮͍̗̲̤͓̏̃̇͜͝ͅw̷̢̭͎̦͎̼̤̯̫͍̘̔̽͊́̌̇̊͜ơ̸̢̛̲̞̯̰̭̻͚̮͈̾͋͗̏́̽͘͝r̴̢̡̘̱̙̼̗̮͙͓̬̫̀́t̶̛̛͈͕͕͇̝̫́̐̿̏̊͂̑̔̒͘̚͝͝h̵̢̧̜̠̟͕̼̣̀͐̿̅̊̅̾̀̇́̋ỹ̶͕̥̙̇̎͐̉̊̍͂̍ (Unworthy)

Damnit, not here. Akira subtly dropped their left hand into their lap to focus on the texture of their tassels and on eating as Fat Gum and Amajiki’s conversation faded into the background.

Y̶̛͉͑͊͋͐̒̿͝͝o̶̢̧͕͕̖̟̲̣̭͕̙̠͕̗͛u̶̼̱̙̣̗̜̙̅͛͌͒ ̸̢͍̰͉̖͔̤̤̣͚̾͑̔̈̆͑̀́̇͝͠͠r̵̨̧̡̟̹͙̙͔͓͉͉̬͕̋͠u̷͔̜͖̗̇͌͂͑̄̂i̸͇̮̯͙̞̣̇̍̋̐̐̇͐͆͂̎̓̚n̷̯̱̪̫̬̼̳̪̜͕̯̳̱̖̑ ̴̧̠̩̬̲̙̭̗̤̭̟̻̉̅̆͆͒̍̉̈́̊̓̓̎̕e̵̛̤͉̳̯̘̮͎̲͚̮̓̓̈́̂̌͐́͆̃̅̕͘͜v̵̯̱͉̱̩̻̤̟̰̈́̉̓͊̑̾͒̿̊͛͋̉͜͝ḛ̴̛̖͉̮̘̠͉̣̈̄̓̃̽͒r̴̙̱̥̙̗̈́͗́̽̋̓̋̿͐̄̒͝ÿ̷͇͈͍̥̟̥́̅͘t̷̡̢̗̣͕͖̲̖̙͕͉́̉͆̅͂̎̌̽̋͒̆̒ͅh̴̢̧͎̻͓͈̬̜̩̼͋͘͜į̷͓̻̩̖̺͙̯͙̍͝n̵̨̻̫̺͎̥͎̭̥͔̗̰̓͛́̈͂̇͠g̸̝̩̰͎̣͛̎͋̀̅ͅ ̵̡̖̟̤͖͇̝͕̯͇̭̈́͐̒̇y̷͈̲͙̣̭̺͐͒́ō̷̬̈̈͒̓̊̂͑̄̓̈̄ư̴̧̛̦͉͍͎̬̖̯̰͇̗̰͎̦̓̈̿͐͋̓̂̈́̈́̔͠͝ ̴̼̝̩̦͉̱̹̝̯̘͔̌̐̒̚͝͠t̸̡̧͕̳̺͎̑͊͌̄̔̎͗̆ǫ̵̡̝̰̙̙͕̘̦͂͋u̷̲̲̙̲̽c̷̙̙̞͎͕̖̽͌͒̀̿́̇͛̕͜h̸̼̞͕͇̱̦̅͗͐ (You ruin everything you touch)

Akira shivered, remembering the burns that often accompanied those words.

Y̴̤̎̃̿̇̋́̈́̂̑̎̿͘̕͝o̶̢͖̿̄͌̅̈͌̾̐͌̓̐̃̃͝͝ṵ̴̫̝̞̥̥͇͝’̴̡̧̙̰̲͈̘̙͈̳̳̬̮͈͇̒̐͌͋̑͝͠l̵̡̰̩̞͓̩̝͎͎̜͈̟̝̜̝͂̂͒̅͗̔͝l̴͈̬̃͌͊̄̊́̎͘̕̕ ̴͈̙̣̬͔̭̜̥͙̇̋̉̚͜͜͜ŗ̷̘͔̝̩͙̬̥̳̈́̑̄̓̅́̂̒̒̒͝ͅù̸̡̡̧̧̺̝̼͈̣̩̩̰̟̯́͒̄̕͜i̴̢̡̢̬͓͉̱͚̫̮̝̖̗͉͛̈̿̚ń̸̖̭̝̳͔̗̺̹̼̭̳̐̀͒̃̍̈́̈́̚͠ ̶̭̺̎̐͌̌͛̀̚͠t̸̡̧̘̜̝̬͚̘̻͚̬͉̻̂̾͆͝h̵̗̍̈́î̶̹͗̇̈́̏͋̏̚͘ṣ̷̰͉̖̥̲̻́̂̑̾́̎̈͜͝,̸̛̦͖͎̫̯͎͓͇̝̫̜̹͛͑͒̈̀́͗͌̚̕ ̴̢̤͍͉͇͎̮̥̝͇̠̘̇̇̈̈́͋͗̀͒̀̅̔͘t̶̘͙͚̪̭̮̑̅̔̈̉́͊̚̚͠ǫ̵͚̹͌͋̀o̷̧̹̜͕͙͎̮̮̤̘̦̾̀͜ͅ (You’ll ruin this, too)

“…quirk analysis and encoded it.” Akira looked up as they forced themself to swallow the last of their heaping plate.

“We’ll have time before patrol to start going over it and look at improving the encryption since you already have a good system for food tracking and the initial nutrition plan adjustments are done.”

Akira nodded, ‘I use the same system for practicing analysis of others, so improving it is a good idea. It only took Sun Eater fifteen minutes to decode it on the train.’

Fat Gum grinned and ruffled Amajiki’s hair despite the boy’s disgruntled look. Akira smiled as they noticed him slightly lean into the touch despite himself. “I knew you’d get it once you got out of your head!” Fat Gum praised and asked more about the process as Amajiki shrunk into his seat.

‘I think that was a compliment,’ Akira signed, briefly catching Amajiki’s downturned gaze before continuing, ‘I start with a Caesar cipher then use a Polybius square.’

“Wonderful! A two-part cipher like that would slow down would-be readers. Are you using a static or variable key? Well, the easiest way to add another layer of difficulty would be to make the Polybius key variable. It could be based on a book you like, a website or newspaper, or even a radio show. If you haven’t done so already, you’d need to start dating the pages. I’d recommend using a written material to save time looking for your daily key.”

The trio made their way to Fat Gum’s office, and Akira felt themself relax marginally at the massive window opposite the door. “When it’s just me, I do paperwork in the main area, but I thought you might enjoy the quiet more, like Tamaki.” Akira startled at the use of his first name. “While we’re patrolling, call me Fat Gum and Tamaki Suneater. When we’re off duty, I ask everyone to call me Toyomitsu or Taishiro if they’re comfortable, and my call sign is Sunny D.”

Akira nodded, ‘My call sign is Reaper if we need to communicate nonverbally off duty.’

Fat Gum pulled out a stack of forms, a few liability wavers at the top of empty reports. “Once you sign these, we can start going over what reports will look like. Tamaki and I usually don’t have to worry about property damage, but it’s good to know what that looks like in case it does occur. Even if the villain was the one causing damage, it’s important to file the report so there’s a record of what happened.”

Akira paid rapt attention as Fat Gum went over the various types of reports they might need, appreciating the extra time he took explaining ones that applied more to underground work. They were left with two hours before patrol, which they took to decide on a forum that followed Wren fights with the day of the month determining which post – sorted by recent – to pull the first five letters from. They also changed the plain text to classical Latin to add a layer of not quite encryption but difficulty… and maybe a clue for Asami to realize they were alive.

As they wrote the plain text to the side to restart encryption, Fat Gum – right, Taishiro and Amajiki read through the notes. Once Akira was primed with their keywords and square – a temporary aid to get used to the new method – Taishiro asked, “From what we’ve read so far and your talk on the train, you recently had an awakening or mutation, right?”

Akira hesitated, ‘Maybe? As you can tell from the beginning, I didn’t have enough buffer to experiment much when my quirk first manifested, so it’s possible the movement aspect of my clones didn’t have enough energy available to be noticeable.’

“The journal only dates back two years. Did you not keep track when it first manifested?” Fat Gum asked gently, curiosity shining in his eyes.

‘My quirk forcibly manifested when I was 13. With Stranger such an unknown variable in quirks, it’s possible that component was my biological quirk with an activation that would be difficult for me to encounter. The trigger fit secondary Master just as well and I have family history of it, so I originally used that classification.’

As they started re-encrypting their notebook, Akira noticed the room was completely silent and, out of the corner of their eye, they saw a paper drift back to the desk. Akira glanced up in confusion and flinched into themself at the rage in Taishiro’s eyes and horror in Amajiki’s.

“Who?” Taishiro ground out. Akira briefly glanced up, confused. “Who tortured you?”

‘Oh,’ Akira signed. ‘My family. Abuse seems to be 2 for 5 with the other kids of heroes I’ve met. Although, I don’t know if Blank counts since he was abused up until he got placed with heroes. 50/50 if he doesn’t.’

Amajiki looked sick and Taishiro’s expression softened, although his voice remained hard. “I’m going to need the name of your family and the other kid’s family, then. Preventing abuse, especially Forced Quirk Manifestation, is one of the main reasons I foster a sense of community. The kids feel safe enough to expose the underbelly groups that do it.”

Still confused, Akira flinched at the quiet fury in his voice. ‘That’s just more proof that it’s common. The other kid is Shoto Todoroki; I can guarantee his father is abusive, but I lack proof without the children’s testimonies, and their quirks point to the only potential forced manifestation being Natsuo given his weak Brute quirk. With time, Shoto could be given justice or break free, but the Commission is involved in the cover-up as usual. My family is too large and connected to reach.’

“That’s why you need to avoid the media… Just because it’s common doesn’t make it right,” Amajiki murmured.

‘I know, it’s just confusing when people are surprised by it.’

“Since they haven’t found you yet, I take it your last name isn’t Mori. So what is their name?” Taishiro pressed.

‘Like I said, it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing you can do to them, and if you refuse to work with them, that will just put more potential focus on me. I have a plan, but it’s going to take years.’ Akira huffed as they thought if I even survive that long.

“Will you at least tell me if any members of my agency are part of your family?”

Akira chuckled humorlessly, ‘Being a limelight is a requirement in the family, so none of them would dream of working under a Twilight hero.’

Something clicked in Taishiro’s eyes, and Akira straightened warily from their writing position. ‘Don’t-’

“The Wrens.”

Shit.

Notes:

Akira’s notes are in English so I could use ciphers I’m familiar with (cryptography was one of my hyperfixations) I was trying to find a call sign for Fat Gum that wouldn’t be weird when I got to Sunshine Dad, which turned into Sunny D. The D does still stand for Dad, but people are usually more comfortable shortening it to the brand name at least when they’re first taken in. Also sorry I didn't upload this yesterday; wasn't feeling well and didn't write anything for Libertias aut Mortis either 😅

Akira: panicking Amajiki: what is wrong with this child Fat Gum: I’ve got another kid! Akira: casually mentions trauma Amajiki.exe has stopped working Fat Gum: who do I need to kill

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[realjessicareyes]

JUNE 24TH, THURSDAY. EARLY EVENING. THE FACTORY. FT. @oflightfeet​. 

The Factory looked different by day. Whereas last weekend it had been the site of Rafael and Ikki’s engagement party, decorated to look like an island paradise, today it seemed like yet another decrepit structure bordering Mile End. From the outside, that is. Inside, it was simply the Factory, perfect for what she and Wren were here for: shooting practice, the interiors tidied up and rearranged into a makeshift shooting range, with paper targets ready in front of them and mannequins on standby in another corner of the room if they were ready for that.

Jessica wasn’t sure if they were, but they would have to be, soon. Just last night, a Famine meeting had been called to announce a new truce—one with the other two gangs, yes, but also with Death. Jess was usually quick to give her uncle the benefit of the doubt, certain that Rafael Femenias Sr. wouldn’t agree to getting the short end of the stick, but she was less than thrilled to be getting into bed with people who had bombed their Tower, tried to destroy them, and killed one of Famine’s most loyal members in cold blood. That they were arranging a masquerade ball of all things—ugh, weren’t masks and disguises so over? They’d have to do more than that if they wanted even a semblance of trust from a Reyes.

As Jessica double checked her pistol, deft fingers moving to reload, she thought of the night she had selected it: Mortem. She had chosen sleekness and effectiveness over beauty, only to realize that it hadn’t mattered at all. Not by the end of the night. But if Wren would soon be the PA of not just FemEn’s interim CEO, but also a Femenias by marriage, they would have to be ready. And they seemed to know people in Death, too: Vincent, Mei—no, Ginny... They needed training more than she did. Even if they all would have to play nice tomorrow night. 

Sliding the magazine into place with a click, Jess nodded, before raising her head to look at Wren. “Hey, you good over there?” she asked. “Thomas did teach you how to handle a gun, right?” Thomas Ackermann was all around them today: in the Mercedes Benz they’d driven to the Factory in, Wren at the wheel; in the ear defenders he had once helped Jessica select; even in the old mannequins that awaited them, chosen on Thomas’ watch years ago. A small chuckle escaped her lips as a memory resurfaced. “Did you know he taught me kickboxing when I was an Angel? Scared the hell out of me, but with love. Or so I’d like to think,” she added under her breath, fondness laced throughout her tone. “He notably did not teach me shooting, though, so if I’m horrible at it, you can blame Niamh here,” she added, grinning at the blonde Angel on her security team, who was leaning against a column a few meters away—hopefully far enough away not to hear this joking slander.

[doriians]

[ UNDER THE STREET LIGHTS ]

— a wip intro by @noxstories

Arthur Kennett has been training as a police officer since he graduated high school, and though he’s had some accidents that have left him with too many bad memories and too many problem to count, he’s finally on the case he’s wanted since he first heard of it — the case of the Wren, the youngest and most dangerous drug lord New York has seen in years. Arthur replies to track him down and maybe, just make, the Wren’s imprisonment will be enough to quell the guilt he feels over his first failed case two years ago.

As the months go by, and the case grows into something far more dangerous than anyone expected, Arthur realises that he isn’t the only one with secrets and skeletons in his closet. Trust becomes sacred, and those trustworthy are no longer his closest allies, but rather his prior enemies. Closer than ever to solving the case and turning Wren in, a tragic discovery forces Arthur to stop and think: who really is Wren Miller, and does he deserve to go to jail? If he does, can Arthur let him do the time for his crimes, or will his heart get in the way?

genre: crime, romance, detective

target audience: NA [new adults]

features

LGBT representation, enemies to friends to lovers, death, gangs, repressed feelings, guns, drugs, recovering, kind of found family, reasons to live, two people healing together, 1960s gritty crime/mafia New York

point of view: third [Arthur’s perspective]

warnings: period-typical homophobia, domestic abuse between a main character and side character, cheating, alcohol/drug abuse/addiction, violence, blackmail, gang-typical behaviour, mental illness

writing status: planning || writing first draft

MAIN CHARACTERS

— ARTHUR; a police officer, one of the youngest and one of the best. At twenty seven, he’s seen things he shouldn’t and been part of things that changed him, and struggles with drugs and memories of his past. He’s bitter and sarcastic and sharp, but forcing past the blunt exterior would reveal emotion beyond comprehension and guilt beyond belief. He’s a troubled young man, but heals slowly over the course of the book, learning to trust in others and in his own judgements again.

— WREN; despite the delicate name, Wren is one of New York’s most feared drug lords and criminals, and is not afraid to get his hands dirty to get what he wants. He appears bright and youthful and happy, with an incredible amount of control over his emotions, though none of this is the case at all. In reality, Wren is haunted, both by his past and his present, and struggles to live his life without thinking about his own imminent demise — or thinking about his boyfriend, Michael.

— MICHAEL; Wren’s boyfriend [for now], and a bastard through and through. Head of the mafia and in contact with powerful people in high places, Michael has a god-complex that makes him cruel, and intelligence that makes him nearly impossible to link to any of the crimes he commits. He is the puppet master, the one behind everything, and truly believes he can get away with anything. Wren, he believes, is his, and he is willing to kill and destroy anything that gets between the two of them.

— AVIS; [Wren’s little sister, unknown] and Arthur’s headstrong partner. She’s a close friend of Arthur’s, though desperately doesn’t want him to catch Wren: she hasn’t heard from her brother in years apart from what she’s heard on the news. She’s worried about him, but hides it behind snark and cheer. Little does she know, she plays a bigger part in his motivations for what he does than she is aware of.

SIDE CHARACTERS

— JULIANNA; Arthur’s boss and a woman with many secrets. She pulled her way to the top by yanking others down, and as a result has a lot of enemies. Wren is one of them, and his boyfriend, Michael, and she wants them both taken off the board before they can cause her to fall first. She is stubborn, strict, and sarcastic, but has a soft spot for her oldest friend and youngest employer, Arthur.

— FRIEDA; Arthur’s girlfriend. Sweet and devoted to helping her boyfriend recover, she grows to realise as the story progresses that she does not have to devote her entire life to him. She’s strong willed and funny, and perpetually worried for Arthur, but ultimately is an optimist and knows everything will turn out for the better.

— ISAAC; Wren’s abusive father and friend of Michael’s. Controlling and nasty for no reason, he sold his son to Michael when Wren was fifteen, forcing Wren to do awful things to survive. He treats Avis nicer because she looks more like his ex-wife, but Avis despises him for how he treats Wren. An asshole, through and through.

— EDRIEN; Arthur’s close friend who is despairing of his mental state. Edrien is French, and a cynical one, though he tries to stay more upbeat for Arthur who is naturally pessimistic. Edrien isn’t sure if his friend will ever recover, but looks out for him regardless, and is the only one who knows about Arthur’s struggles with his sexuality. He’s loyal and quirky and intelligent, studying Law in university.

— ANTONIA; Wren’s friend and local bartender. She immigrated to New York in the 30s as a young adult, and now, in her 50s, still struggles for acceptance in her living in America. She met Wren as a child, and Wren thinks of her like a mother. Caring, blunt, strong.

— FHAN; Arthur’s drug dealer. Very rude, very dead, very to blame for this whole story.

playlist 📍 weheartit 📍 character intros [tba] 📍 sketches [tba]

TAGLIST

— @cassius-mortemer-has-advice @note-katha :))

if you want to be added or removed, please comment below or dm me!! I reply from @noxstories :]

—OKAY TO REBLOG—

[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 30: First Impressions Reprise

Summary:

tw: gaslighting, deadnaming, misgendering Meet the family and a reminder in the notes

Notes:

‘text’ JSL text thoughts

Warm, honey eyes met neon purple, and Asami grinned brightly upon seeing Akira. “It is you! It’s so good to see you again.” She practically glided into the room with the Legacy Holder trailing behind.

‘Stop,’ Akira sharply signed and turned slightly to glare at the Legacy Holder. ‘I know what you are capable of, and I recognize that you will just come in a different way if I make you leave. So, cut to the chase. What do you want?’

Hurt and confusion flashed in Asami’s eyes as her smile briefly faltered. She glanced back at the looming figure and hesitantly stopped her approach. “We’re taking you home, Daitan.”

‘My name is Akira. And that’s not going to happen,’ Akira signed firmly. ‘Fat Gum, Raven, this is my twin, Asami aka Trophaeum Wren. The Legacy Holder can introduce themself.’

“My name is irrelevant, I am merely here to support Asami,” he rumbled.

“You’re not supposed to be here at all,” Taishiro gruffly pointed out. “The Inoue-”

‘Stop,’ Akira quickly signed to the hero before hurriedly glancing back at the pair. Can’t risk any slip.

“Well,” Asami chuckled awkwardly, “we’re family, aren’t we? I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. We can take you to one of our private hospitals, get you fixed up, and you won’t even have to attend that crazy school anymore. Mom and papa want you back, Dai- er, Akira.”

‘No, they want my quirk. I’m not going to-’ eyes ablaze, Akira warped into Fumikage’s side, throwing him out of the way of the Legacy Holder slowly reaching out his hand. They snarled at him as their clone dispelled, setting off the heart rate monitor alarm. They sharply signed, ‘Stay away from them! You touch any of us, and I will not hesitate to end this.’

Taishiro lurched to his feet and Asami took a step back, eyes flickering between the trio and the Legacy Holder. Her form shimmered and took on a purple hue as her shield activated.

“I believe I can shed some light on this situation,” a voice chirped from the doorway. Akira briefly glanced towards Nezu as the stoat stepped into the room, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. “Step away from my ward so they can get back to bed rest.”

Akira blinked in shock, chest tightening as nurses rushed in and maneuvered them back onto the bed. They glanced at Taishiro, who seemed just as surprised.

“Are you implying you were aware of my cousin’s identity and failed to disclose that information to her family?” the Legacy Holder asked. His gaze morphed from bored to steely as he peered at Nezu.

“Given the circumstances I found them in, I went through the proper channels to make Akira a ward of U.A. I’m sure the media would love to hear how they were starving on the streets and didn’t exist until two years ago. It’s a good thing I have backups of their records since Daitan Inoue certainly didn’t exist until an hour ago.”

Asami zeroed in on Akira, eyes pouring over their body. “What?” she asked softly in disbelief. “That can’t be right.”

“Nothing for you to worry about, my dear,” the Legacy Holder murmured, placing a hand on Asami’s shoulder so a couple fingers touched her skin. Akira glared at him as their twin relaxed into the touch and nodded. “You will be hearing from us again, Nezu.”

“I’m sure I will,” the principal grinned. After they left, he turned back to Akira. “Now, I’m sure you have questions.”

‘How long have you known?’ Akira hesitantly asked. They glared at their now shaking hands as the adrenaline faded.

Nezu laughed brightly, “I had my suspicions when you applied, but they were confirmed on your first day.”

“You have a twin?” Fumikage asked breathily, looking somewhat overwhelmed.

Akira nodded, ‘We’re identical except our eyes and quirks, so she probably dyed her hair for it to be black.’ They turned back to Nezu and steeled themself. ‘What happens now?’

“We’re moving all students into dorms on campus, so you don’t have to worry about your roommate being targeted. Legacy Holders will not be able to affect our digital security system, and it would be terrible PR to attack U.A.”

Akira’s protests died on their fingertips, although they doubted the Wrens wouldn’t be able to find a loophole. ‘When can I transfer there?’

Nezu grinned, “Aizawa should be bringing the discharge paperwork shortly. You’ll be quarantining with Recovery Girl until your immune system recovers.”

Akira nodded, sinking into the bed as exhaustion hit like a freight train. Just as they started to drift off, Akira sat up with a jolt. ‘Is Murder God okay? The rest of the rescue squad?’

Fumikage nodded, handing over his phone so they could see the group chat blowing up. Akira skimmed through the past couple days of messages, smiling at Hitoshi’s frustration. As they scrolled to the bottom, they looked up at Fumikage questioningly, who nodded.

raven: I’m back, bitches -Akira

blank: good. Don’t do that again

murdergod: when were you going to tell me you used murder of crows?!

raven: …

who told crow boy? -Akira

murdergod: the EMT asked if I liked crows

and then dropped the bomb of my call sign

raven: are crows not classy enough for you? -Tokoyami and Dark Shadow

redhot: :eyes:

electricrat: oh no… Bakubro you need to run. We’ll miss you

F’s in chat for Bakubro

Aizawa raised an eyebrow a few minutes later as he entered holding their braces and a small bag. Fumikage continued their reign of terror in the group chat and Dark Shadow cackled from where they were nestled under Akira’s arm. “How are you holding up, kid?”

‘Never better,’ Akira rolled their eyes, drawing a strained laugh from Taishiro. ‘In seriousness, I know where I stand with Principal now, and I’m feeling appropriately terrible for my condition. Do you have my phone by chance?’

Aizawa lightly tossed a bag of their belongings over. “I had to reject a few emergency location requests for security, so you should check on those notifications. They insisted the hospital keeps you overnight for observation, but we can take you to U.A. in the morning.”

Akira nodded and started scrolling through their notifications. There were several emergency location requests that were still queued but refused so they could see timestamps and requestors. Most were from Boss and Haru, but there were a couple recent ones from Dabi. Thank kami he’s alive, they grinned, marking themself as “safe” without a location to Family. There were a few missed calls from Boss and a plethora of messages from their classmates hoping for a speedy recovery.

Glancing at the feather tucked under Fumikage’s arm, Akira motioned for him to bring it out. ‘Hawks, if you want to be part of the conversation, come in person. Otherwise, we’ll get rid of the feather.’

Taishiro and Aizawa frowned, looking at each other before the former spoke up. “Mori, are you sure that’s what you want? We can keep him away until you’re recovered.”

Akira shook their head in resignation, ‘If he wants to have an ear in the room, he’ll just sneak a covert in. They should work for reconnaissance, just probably not as well given he primarily uses flight feathers.’ Akira clasped their hands before they could go on a rant about feathers. Looking at Fumikage, they saw an amused but understanding sparkle in his eyes.

A few minutes later, there was a tapping at the window, and Akira stared at the winged hero as he waved. Aizawa and Fumikage looked exasperated and Taishiro amused as they just shrugged and gestured to the window. Aizawa let Hawks in, who sauntered a few steps closer, hands in pockets. His feather gently wiggled out of Fumikage’s hand before lazily spinning back and reattaching to his wing.

“For the record, I’m not directly associated with the Wrens. Different kind of bird,” Hawks smirked, although his eyes remained tense.

‘Obviously you’re one of the commission’s projects, and you are biologically an Inoue,’ Akira signed. ‘The question is are you considered a member of the Wrens or just under the commission?’

Hawks tensed, feathers ruffling for a moment before he smoothed over his body language. Wings still twitching, he quirked an eyebrow, “Nah, parents gave me to the Hero Commission, and haven’t heard from them since. I never was considered a member of the Wrens, just an Inoue by blood.”

‘What did they get for you?’ Akira pushed. ‘I remember the Mover Blaster branch’s disappointment at a vulnerable Mover Thinker, but they clearly missed your potential.’

“Chick, you clearly don’t want to go back to them. I’ve never been with them. You have nothing to fear from me,” Hawks said casually. Akira watched as under his relaxed exterior his wings still quivered and his eyes subtly darted between them.

What is he hiding? Akira wondered, openly searching his posture before looking to Aizawa and Taishiro. Akira’s eyebrows shot up as they saw concern aimed not at them but at the young hero. Mentally taking a step back, they looked at Hawks as they would a child coming from an unknown situation. Tense shoulders, wings flared just enough to provide extra agility, micro-movements away from the older heroes… Akira felt white hot shame settle in their chest as they saw themself.

‘Okay,’ Akira signed. Hawks sharply turned to them, a hint of confusion in his eyes. Akira shakily wrote down their number, name, and hero name before holding it out to the young hero. ‘If you want out, just send the word. I would recommend avoiding Legacy Holder Wrens when you can and not letting them touch you when you can’t.’

Hawks masked a carefree grin and said, “Sure thing, chick. See you later, Eraser Head, Fat Gum, Tsukuyomi.” With that, he flew back out the window, a slight stutter in his wings caught by all as he climbed into the sky.

‘Once he texts me, I’ll send his number to you two,’ Akira turned back to the heroes.

“We already have each other’s,” Eraser Head smirked, thumbing a Hawks business card out of his pocket.

Akira returned the smirk as they saw a message from Hawks.

unknown: how did your emo mentor do that

reaper changed unknown’s name to flamingo

reaper: I was going to give them your number anyways

You look like you need some people on your side

flamingo: why is this my nickname?

I take it you are friends with little raven after all

reaper: perhaps… and that’s your call sign

someone else may be getting your number soon

don’t worry, he’s nice

…sometimes

flamingo: ???

Akira barely slept that night, waking up nearly every hour between nightmares and nurses entering. They tried to be quiet, but Akira was too wired to not wake up at the slightest sounds. U.A. may be safe for now, but their timetable either needed to be moved up or they needed to keep U.A. safe for the next two and a half years.

Notes:

AAAAAH IT’S FINALLY HERE! This is as far as I planned before I started writing, and this is my first time completing a multi-chapter piece 😊 I finished the first draft of this on August 19th, 2022. Trophaeum translates to trophy or victory, depending on the context. Is cousin the right word? No, but if I wanted to be more accurate, I’d have to figure out the mess that is the Inoue family tree. They’d be very distantly related. Potentially unrelated even? I keep forgetting that I've implied they don't just have bio children Libertias aut Mortis is with Moss Nightwing (@mossNightwing on tiktok) for sensitivity reading, but I don't expect to get it back for a bit due to the content. As such, Bello Licentiae will be on an every other day schedule to reduce the time in between when I finish posting it and when LaM is ready to post.

Previous Chapter

[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 29: Kamino Ward

Summary:

tw: presence of past abusers

Notes:

‘text’ JSL text thoughts

Carefully keeping out of the heroes' line of sight, Akira padded in the shadows behind All for One as he stalked forward. Tiger gently scooped up Ragdoll, carrying her bridal style as he turned to Best Jeanist. Akira shuddered, forcing themself to keep moving. If they could just slip away…

Akira flinched as a loud boom shook the ground and threw the heroes back. Hair-like strands gleamed in the dim moonlight and pulled most of the heroes away from the main blast. With a flick of his finger, a shockwave rippled out from All for One’s finger, ripping a hole through the hero’s torso.

There! A low alley wall caught Akira’s eye, and they slowly shifted their trajectory while keeping rubble between them and the fight. Their left knee buckled with a sharp twinge, barely remaining upright as the sharp concrete ridges dug into their hands. Come on, just a little farther.

Akira’s eyes grew wide as they peeked over the rubble to find the League forming behind Katsuki out of black goop. Their breath caught at Dabi’s prone form, barely holding back from rushing to his side. They tried to catch Katsuki’s eyes, but he was solely focused on All for One, eyes wide in confusion and anger.

“Do it over as many times as you need to. That is why I am here. It’s all for you,” All for One encouraged Shigaraki, reaching out a hand to the shaking man. Shigaraki’s shaking frame relaxed slightly and took the hand with a hopeful look.

Akira slowly edged closer to the group, trying to get in Katsuki’s line of sight as a flicker of movement drew their eye to the opposite wall. Shit, whose backup is that? They finally caught his eyes as All Might landed into All for One and the concussive blast from the impact threw everyone back. Akira warped just before a piece of rubble would've hit them to land next to Katsuki, wincing at the albeit smaller impact and at the timer they were on accelerating.

“He held All Might back with his bare hands! This guy’s the villains’ boss!” Katsuki muttered, keeping himself low to the ground.

‘We need to go. Now.’ Akira signed, motioning towards the east wall. ‘We should avoid being behind either of them,’ they added as All for One blasted All Might through several buildings.

“All Mi-”

Akira slapped a hand over Katsuki’s mouth with a glare even as the dust settled. Akira leaned slightly on Katsuki as they rose with the villains' gazes. Damnit, Katsuki.

“Run away from here, Tomura, and take the children with you,” All for One said. Black and red spikes shot out of his fingertips and into Kurogiri, forcing a warp gate open.

Twice surged forward, shooting his sharpened measuring tape out as Dynamight and Mortis dodged in unison. Mortis unraveled their capture weapon from their arms, wincing as they dropped to their sides. Dynamight focused on Toga and Twice as Mortis kept Spinner and Magne occupied, blasting and pulling themselves away, respectively, from Mr. Compress when they had to. Mortis slipped under Magne’s weapon, snapping out their capture weapon to trip Spinner as he tried to slip into their reach. Mr. Compress marbled Dabi before leaping back, nearly tagging Mortis as they wrapped their capture weapon around a piece of rubble and pulled themself away from his landing.

They almost warped out of his reach before remembering the compressed clones, instead sweeping his legs and narrowly contorting out of his fall path as Dynamight let off a large enough explosion to put himself just behind and above All for One for a moment. They winced at the sharp spikes of pain but darted back towards the undamaged section of building. Mortis wrapped their capture weapon around Dynamight's ankle and pulled him harshly to the side.

Just as they dodged swipes from Toga and Dynamight landed, Midoriya, Ida, Kirishima, and Fumikage burst through the wall and up an ice ramp. Glancing at Dynamight, Mortis charged towards the squad as Dark Shadow emerged at full strength and Kirishima reached out for Dynamight. “Come!”

Mortis snapped their capture scarf around Dynamight’s waist and closed their eyes tight against the massive explosion that rocketed them into the air. Gritting through the burns sharply tingling against their skin, Mortis sling-shot Katsuki into Kirishima and warped the last ten meters into Dark Shadow’s reach, snapping out their capture scarf to dispel the clone. The ringing slowly faded as they soared through the air, Dynamight begrudgingly following Deku’s calls for trajectories. After a few minutes, they roughly landed on a side street, narrowly avoiding grinding into the asphalt. Fumikage immediately shoved a straw to Mortis, who focused on drinking the familiar smoothie from their oversized tumbler.

“Can you walk?” Midoriya asked, glancing between the two of them.

“Of course I can, nerd!” Katsuki ground out while leaning slightly against Kirishima.

‘I shouldn’t,’ Mortis wearily shook their head. ‘Technically, I shouldn’t have used my quirk back there.’

A red feather sped up to them and, after a brief moment of hesitation, darted towards Mortis’ collar. Eyes wide, they threw themself to the side. Dark Shadow ducked to support them while Fumikage rapidly shook his head at the feather. “Just show us to the First Aid station.”

Two more feathers joined the first, and Fumikage scowled. “Hawks, that’s not what my classmate needs. Show us the station, or we’ll find it ourselves.”

After a moment, the feather zipped ahead, weaving the group through more side streets to avoid the main fight. Kirishima moved Katsuki to his back as the group trudged forward, and Midoriya stayed half a block ahead to make sure they weren’t about to run into rubble or villains. Explosions, screams, and sirens filled the air as they followed the feather, and the smell of sulfur, blood, and sweat hung thick. Soon, they arrived at a station with a number of civilians, a few heroes, and two ambulances at the ready. Fumikage quickly explained their history to the EMT and that they needed to stay out of the hospital if possible while Katsuki was checked over at the other ambulance.

“Kid, your friend needs fluids and antibiotics stat. They can’t stay around here, and we’re not going out to Musutafu.”

Akira reluctantly nodded, not wanting to waste their time. Besides, like All for One said, I’ll be found out soon enough from what that reporter said.

“Who’s riding with you? If you lot didn’t bring a guardian, I can let one of you ride,” he gestured to the rescue group.

“I’ll go,” Fumikage said with a nod from Akira.

Akira tensed as they noticed a red feather slip in right before the ambulance door closed but decided not to fight the intrusion. Not that they were in a state to do so anyway…

“Alright kid, I’m going to take your braces and scarf off so we can get a good look at what’s going on, okay? Do you have any injuries under them?”

Akira shook their head, directing their scarf to unwrap their torso and rest on Fumikage’s lap. He let out a quiet squeak before petting the material with a soft smile and wide eyes. The EMT sucked in a breath at their numerous scars and emaciated frame. What progress they’d made over the term was gone, their skin stretched over their protruding rib cage and sunken stomach.

“Damn, kid, how are you awake right now,” he muttered while hooking up an IV and monitors.

Akira smirked slightly and weakly joked, ‘Spite.’

Fumikage snorted and Dark Shadow did their odd little buzzing laugh as the EMT looked exasperated at them. The few cars on the road shimmied to make room for the ambulance, and soon, they arrived at Kamino General.

“Fat Gum is already here, I texted him on the way,” Fumikage said as they wheeled into the hospital. Akira nodded gratefully although torn on how their family might react to his presence.

The EMT passed them off to a couple nurses, who frowned at the paperwork. “There’s no Akira Mori in the system. Is there another name you go by?”

‘Wait,’ Akira weakly signed, limbs sluggish as the adrenaline started to wear off.

“Wait for Fat Gum?” Fumikage asked, head cocked slightly. At Akira’s nod, he explained, “Pro Hero Fat Gum should be with us shortly. He has their legal name if I’m not mistaken?” Akira nodded again. “They’re mildly allergic to methamphetamine and citrus. The emaciation is from their quirk’s drawback.”

Taishiro caught up to them as they were approaching an empty room, and Akira let themself relax into the gurney as they caught sight of him. “Mori! How are you feeling, kiddo?”

“Sir, we were told you know their legal name? We need it for records,” one of the nurses clipped.

With a worried glance at Akira, Taishiro said, “Daitan Inoue. Their family is the subject of an ongoing investigation, so they are not to be notified or let near their room.”

The nurses looked skeptical but nodded, one peeling off to presumably update the system. Fumikage squawked at the name and stared at Akira. “Inoue. As in the Wrens?” he whispered.

Akira nodded, eyeing the nurse as he set up an IV and explained the call buttons. He drew some blood for standard tests and said a doctor should come by eventually, but they weren’t considered a critical patient other than monitoring and getting their weight back with the IV cocktail.

“Feel free to sleep, kiddo, we’ve got you,” Taishiro murmured, settling on the floor next to the bed while Fumikage took the chair. “Shouta and Nezu are on their way, but traffic is horrific around the city right now.”

Akira shook their head and signed, ‘Sorry for not warning you.’

Taishiro chuckled, “You have no reason to apologize, but what do you mean warn?”

‘They had Murder God and Raven. Threatened them. Let myself be taken instead.’

“Akira, wasn’t that after you had a dozen clones up?” Fumikage asked, feathers ruffling as he gaped at them.

“You what?” Taishiro shot up, startling Akira halfway off the bed. “Sorry, but kid, that’s way more than we talked about. Is that why you’re so underweight?”

Shifting back, Akira nodded. ‘Had to try something. Stopped when he released.’

“Of course, right this way, sir.”

Akira tensed as the door opened, relaxing minutely when they recognized the Detective. Fumikage froze, feathers poofing as he looked between them and the cop before attempting to smooth his features.

“Tokoyami, I want to first say that what you did was incredibly reckless and nearly crossed the line into illegal,” the Detective said evenly. “That being said, since no one was hurt, none of your group will be facing vigilante charges. Mori, you and Bakugo were still acting under the permission given at the training camp as well as in self-defense, so both of you are also in the clear. If either of you have questions about those rulings, Aizawa is already planning a refresher on vigilante laws and would gladly go into more depth.”

‘Thank you, Detective,’ Akira signed before letting out a resigned sigh. ‘I take it you’re not just here for my statement on being kidnapped.’

“I’m afraid not. Your previous statements about your home life were lies, correct?”

‘About half were, the other half were half-truths or lies by omission,’ Akira shrugged.

“And why was that?” the Detective asked gently.

Akira scowled and drew themself up the small amount they could in their weakened state. ‘What’s your relation to the Wrens?’

He blinked, looking to Taishiro who simply motioned for him to go on. “I occasionally work on cases with them, but they don’t often come to my jurisdiction. Why?”

‘Once they arrive in the next 24 to 48 hours, I’ll assess and then decide whether to give a statement,’ Akira decided.

“If they hurt you, we can-”

‘Protect me?’ Akira scoffed. ‘I don’t trust heroes, cops, or the Hero Commission. Good luck finding someone who can work with that, can’t be bought out or blackmailed, and is still capable of holding off the Wrens.’

The Detective looked to Taishiro, who simply added, “Mori has their reasons. You up for a statement on the kidnapping while he’s here, kiddo? I can interpret for you for the record.”

At their nod, the Detective set up the recording. Akira described the night of their capture, excluding the tip from Dabi. They kept their discussion with the League vague but included that the League was one of the bidders during the sting. As they got to All for One, Akira started slowing down, more hesitant.

“Preliminary reports say you weren’t at the bar with Bakugo. Were you kept at a secondary location?” the Detective gently asked.

Akira nodded, ‘The Kamino warehouse.’ They took a steadying breath before adding, ‘All for One wanted to meet me.’

“Did he tell you why?”

Akira hesitated, glancing at the red feather tucked between Fumikage’s chair and the wall. ‘They wanted to recruit us, but I was nearing the point of organ failure because of my quirk. All for One gave me enough for my baseline, but…’

“It’s enough for them to gain a few pounds on a normal day without actively using their quirk,” Taishiro supplied. “I helped Mori refine a nutrition plan during their internship, so I’m well-versed on the side effects.”

After a few more questions, the Detective left to take other statements. Fumikage spoke up after a moment, “He offered something, didn’t he?”

Akira nodded, not bothering to contest his intuition. ‘Not now. Hawks listening.’

“What?” he squawked. Akira motioned behind his chair, and he grabbed the feather. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

‘I would’ve stopped you if there was going to be an issue. We’ll find out soon enough if he’s still with the family.’

“So, biggest hero family in Japan,” Fumikage said after a while. Akira chuckled and motioned for him to continue. “Do you have any siblings?”

Akira was caught between a shudder and smile at the flashes of their siblings. ‘Unfortunately, yes.’

Taking the hint, Fumikage shifted to catching them up on what had happened over the past two days. Hitoshi had been held hostage by Yamada and Aizawa at their house, only letting him video call those in the hospital. The rescue team also included Ida and Shota making sure they didn’t fight and running support, respectively. Koji thought it was a terrible idea, especially without a plan, since surely the heroes already had a plan in place.

Akira glanced to Taishiro at that, whose expression was dark but slightly amused. ‘Were you part of the bar team? I didn’t see you at the warehouse, but we were a little busy.’

That drew a small laugh out of the hero, albeit less enthusiastically than normal. “Yeah, kiddo, I was a little too recognizable to be with the warehouse team. Tamaki offered to do the paperwork once Tokoyami messaged me you were on your way here. He might stop by later depending on when you get discharged.”

A few hours and several micronaps later, Akira shot up in bed, hairs on the back of their neck rising. Dread pooled in their gut, although nothing in the room itself seemed different. They quickly made a shushing motion to Taishiro and Fumikage and slipped off the bed, bringing the IV with them towards the door. Ear to the wall next to it, Akira just barely made out a few voices.

“…really, sir, I’m afraid you can’t go back there right now. We’re limiting visitors per the…” the voice trailed off, and Akira froze. “Of course, right this way. My apologies for the confusion.”

“It’s no trouble at all, thank you.”

Akira stumbled back and quickly signed to the pair, ‘Don’t let them touch you!’ They hobbled back to the bed with Dark Shadow steadying them and settled just as the door opened. Beyond was a slightly dazed nurse, a tall man with dark, gravity-defying hair in a suit with the mandatory Legacy Holder red gloves and ring, and…

Asami?

Notes:

normally with starvation, you don’t want the person to eat too much too quickly, especially since their stomach will have shrunk. Akira’s starvation mode from their quirk works a little differently since it’s a lot faster and their body is designed to recoup faster. Akira wasn’t this bad during USJ because they were pretty quickly dispelling their clones, only leaving at most one or two active when they needed invisibility. They also had time to chug jelly pouches and assess the situation before acting.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 27: What We Can Become

Summary:

tw: torture, abuse, sibling abuse, gore, blood, deadname, old pronouns, flashback, body horror, GRAPHIC PHYSICAL ABUSE, knife, blood, gore, kidnapping, coercion/compliant kidnaping

Notes:

[Violence Start] and [Violence End] tags are in play for this one again. There's a flashback summary after the latter if you need to skip it ‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

[VIOLENCE START]

“How the hell did she get that close!”

Akira landed heavily a few meters into the room and drew a shuddering breath as they glared back at Keiko, one of their older sisters. “Fuck you that’s how,” they hissed. “You’ll fucking pay for what you did to-” Akira bit back a scream as Keiko speared their leg with her foot.

“If she’s holding out this long, the quirk must be a powerful one,” Eichi, one of their older brothers, added. “We can’t just kill her.”

Keiko pulled Akira up by their hair while putting her weight on their leg. “Come now, bold one, tell us who helped you,” she snarled.

Akira just stared defiantly at her, mouth pressed tightly. Keiko slammed their head into the ground twice before putting her weight on their leg and twisting their torso backwards at an odd angle. Akira let out a choked gasp as their spine crackled and they felt a bone in their leg snap. Still, they glared up at their siblings without breathing a word.

The abuse continued for what felt like an eternity before the door quietly opened, and Keiko promptly dropped Akira. The world was too blurry to try and catch themself, so Akira’s nose smashed into the ground with a crunch.

“Tch, amateurs,” a syrupy voice drifted from the doorway. “If you can’t force the answer out of a high potential, you call me.” Akira was rolled over, and they let out a choked gasp at the bone now sticking out of their leg as it sluggishly bled. Nori loomed over them, spindly fingers dangerously close to their face. “Once more, Daitan, or you’ll never speak again. Who helped you?”

Akira spat in their face, blood mixing with saliva as the woman simply pulled out a handkerchief and wiped it off. “Now, that was uncalled for. I suppose you’ll be awake for the process then.”

They did scream as Nori’s fingers carefully extended up their nose, joints brushing against the sides of their canal and arching down their throat. Akira tried not to breathe as the entire digits sharpened into cold metal and began to saw at their vocal chords. Just as they thought they would pass out, a white-hot pain latticed through their leg, ripping a gasp out of them and causing Nori’s fingers to slip slightly.

[VIOLENCE END]

(flashback summary: Akira’s vocal chords were removed after they tried to speak out against their family and refused to tell who helped them)

Akira woke up with a silent scream, kicking off their blankets as they jolted up. Rolling off the thin mattress, they snatched a blanket before it could land on Koji.

Noting they’d almost been asleep long enough for them to normally wake up, Akira stared at their legs for a long moment before they could push past the dizziness and move to the bathroom. By the time they finished brushing their hair, Akira’s hands only slightly shook while they made tea. They let their mind drift, barely registering that their mug was empty after a while.

An hour later, Aizawa walked into the room. He looked at them, blinked, and went to make coffee. “Nightmare?” Akira nodded. “Want to talk about it?”

Akira chuckled at the irony and sluggishly signed, ‘Can’t. Mute.’

Aizawa huffed, “I’m here if you want to sign about it then.”

‘Thanks,’ Akira signed after a moment. ‘Maybe later.’

Akira warped four times before sitting next to Sato to eat in the shade, double-checking their burn rate against their notebook before focusing on the food. Today’s training was geared towards having multiple clones active without losing weight. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to start working on motor control.

Hitoshi was going through vocal exercises with Koji while working on voice imitation. His quick adjustments to pitch range were improving, but they still struggled with tone and variance.

Akira looked down at their phone as the tight burning all over their body was escalating to a 7. Still an hour from when they could take their next dose, Akira dispelled their last clone with a forceful step and stiffly pulled a couple cold compresses out of their bag onto their legs. They directed their capture weapon to wrap around their arms and torso like compression sleeves as they turned a dial on their braces to extend compression wraps around their legs.

“Mori, are you okay?” Sato asked as he paused eating.

Akira gave a so-so gesture while gulping from their water bottle. ‘I’ll live. Just need a break.’

Yaoyorozu grumbled something about no one else needing a break, so Akira leaned forward slightly to flip her off. ‘Try saying that next time you’re at a 7.’ They pulled more ice packs from their pack to place on their arms and neck, which provided a small measure of relief.

Their meds an hour later kept the pain from getting worse, but Akira still felt like they were moving through molasses. A few hours later, they woke with a start to Aizawa standing over them concerned. ‘Sorry, I think the heat got to me.’

“I’ll take them back to camp,” Aizawa said as Ragdoll approached. “They can join the evening intensive if they have the energy.”

Akira wobbled to their feet, steadying themself on the table before grabbing their crutches. They were vaguely aware of Aizawa talking but were mostly focused on making their legs move, each step sending sharp spikes of pain up their legs. A few agonizing minutes later, Akira maneuvered through the door and lowered themself onto the couch to take off their braces.

Akira looked up at Aizawa as they shifted into a lounging position to elevate their legs. ‘What were you saying about the schedule? I couldn’t listen and move at the same time.’

“If you’re feeling up to it, you can join the intensive tonight with the same strategy and goal of today. Regardless, tomorrow you can be with the others until lunch then I’ll bring you, Shoji, and Tokage from 1-B back here since your quirk training can be done in or outside. Staying inside should help with your health, correct?”

Akira nodded. ‘I was only asleep for a few minutes, so I should try to get a couple hours before dinner.’ Aizawa seemed confused for a moment before nodding and sitting in one of the chairs. They wondered if some of that was lost in their pained haze as they drifted off, quickly giving into their exhaustion now that they were horizontal.

Akira woke up to a soft humming and pushed themself up to see Aizawa crouched a short distance from the couch. “The class is almost back. I thought you might like to get ready before they’re here.”

Akira nodded, slipping on their braces and crutches as they took stock of their spoons. ‘I can use my clones to help with dinner. I don’t think I have the spoons to do make dinner, eat, and go to the intensive.’

“Alright, but don’t strain yourself to the point you won’t have the spoons to train tomorrow.”

Akira settled by the bowls of vegetables, wrapping their capture weapon around their arms as they started to chop. Ida lifted the classes’ morale as they trudged into camp to start dividing into groups, Kaibara and Monoma from 1-B joining Akira in chopping.

‘Do you know JSL?’ Akira asked as they sat.

Kaibara interpreted then said, “Yes, my parents are deaf. I can interpret for you.”

“Wonderful! What brought you back so early?” Monoma asked as they resumed chopping.

‘My health, I started the day with only a few spoons and- oh, spoons are a way to visualize energy,’ Akira explained at Kaibara’s confusion. ‘People use the analogy when they have a chronic condition, and different tasks take different amounts of spoons. When we run out of spoons, we crash hard.’

“I can see how your quirk causing so much pain would classify as chronic,” Monoma shuddered.

Akira paused but shrugged, not devoting the energy to correct him. ‘I’m going to use my clones to get some training in. I don’t have the energy to keep a conversation and them up at once.’

With a nod from the others, Akira warped twice, directing the clones as they grabbed a protein drink from their pack. Monoma and Kaibara kept up a steady, if reserved flow of conversation, and Akira started picking up the concerning undertones of inferiority they heard in Bakugo and Midoriya. Kami, do I need to investigate another one?

“Is this how much you always have to eat?” Monoma asked. Mad Banquet had quickly agreed to mingle with 1-B after a brief exchange with Akira.

‘No, but I do eat a lot more than average to keep up with my quirk,’ Akira signed with Fumikage interpreting. ‘Actively using it takes more than the passive drain you felt at the sports festival.’

Monoma shuddered, “I thought Yaoyorozu’s quirk would have a similar drawback from what I’ve seen, but there was no burning when I copied it earlier today.”

“Hm?” Yaoyorozu looked over her shoulder at her name. “Of course there isn’t. Creation doesn’t have any passive effects.”

“Neither does Silent Night,” Fumikage added. “It’s just the drawback that’s passive, right?”

Akira nodded, ‘I haven’t noticed any passive mutations, but it’s possible they’ll show up as I train more.’

“I don’t know,” Hitoshi teased. “You did sneak past Aizawa that one time.”

‘It was more than once!’ Akira rebutted as Mad Banquet gasped at them.

“What, does he have a Thinker mutation?” Monoma looked between them confused.

“Mori,” Aizawa said from behind them. Wincing, they tilted their head to look up at their teacher. “When did this happen?”

Catching his small, amused smirk, Akira signed, ‘Which time? When you were in a pile of alley cats? When you were covered in glitter? When you-’ Akira froze as Hitoshi burst out laughing and Aizawa’s expression turned exasperated.

Their teacher muttered “problem children” under his breath as he resumed walking between tables.

“Please tell me you have pictures,” Hitoshi wheezed. “Were you at least the one who did those?”

Akira shook their head with a small smile. ‘I didn’t have a phone at the time. I may have been behind the second glitter incident after I saw how effective a distraction it was, though. Oh, to your question, Copy Cat, Eraser doesn’t have Thinker attributes. He’s just that observant as an underground hero.’

Akira slept fitfully that night, waking up every couple hours from nightmares that mixed memories with possible futures. At five, they woke with a start to Dark Shadow nudging their arm. The rest of the class was already outside or in the common area, so Akira quickly moved through their low-spoon routine and stuffed extra snacks in their backpack to conserve energy and cover their bases in case the date wasn’t a coincidence.

Akira spent the morning focusing on directing their four clones while eating, running through fighting forms they’d picked up from Blue Fang, U.A., and some hero analysis. They raised an eyebrow at Pixie-Bob’s announcement of a test of courage that night, glancing at Aizawa before continuing their training. Seems a bit counterintuitive to security, but fine. As their last set dispelled while they took meds, Akira caught Aizawa’s eyes and gathered their pack as he collected Shoji and Tokage.

The afternoon had Akira inside eating while directing their clones about the forest. Shoji and Tokage were trying to find them while Akira tried to keep their movements separate. The shadows in their mind grew more distinct and the heartbeats less unnerving as the day progressed, and Akira silently lamented training camp would likely end with the attack.

Akira’s phone buzzed, so they paused briefly. Only one person would… shit. Akira read over the message from Dabi twice.

Wildfire: Wildfire has shared his location with status Danger. Click here to acknowledge. Click here to call first responders to his location.

Capture Katsuki Bakugo, Akira Mori

Kill Izuku Midoriya

Waiting for rest of vanguard to arrive

Mortis: location confirmed

See you on the other side

Mortis briefly considered letting Taishiro know of their potential kidnapping before dismissing the idea. Surely, it’ll be fine since we know they’re coming. No point worrying him. Mortis looked up as Aizawa entered the cabin, resignation in their eyes as they showed the messages. ‘They’ll probably attack tonight so we’re exhausted.’

Aizawa sighed, leaning against the wall. “We knew this this was a possibility. I’ll speak with the others before the courage test, keep training for now.”

Aizawa directed Kirishima, Sato, Mina, and Kaminari to remedial lessons with him and Vlad as the rest of 1-A and 1-B headed to the scare challenge. In the clearing, Akira noticed Pixie-Bob making puppet motions and let themself relax marginally at the earth beast patrols she had. As the fourth group, Sero and Aoyama, left, Akira started glancing between Pixie-Bob and Tiger.

‘Reaper, are you okay?’ Koji signed.

‘Something’s not right,’ Akira settled for. A few minutes later, after Uraraka and Tsu left, Pixie-Bob’s tail stopped twitching and she gave a signal to Mandalay.

The latter frowned, but a few moments after tapping a quick pattern on her radio, her eyes widened. “We’re being attacked by villains. Everyone who can move, get back to camp immediately! If you come across the enemy, you have permission to engage!” Her quirk echoed in everyone’s mind.

“What- what is this?!” A pink glow enveloped Pixie-Bob and threw her backwards.

Shit, they slipped through. Mortis warped to the top of a nearby tree and wrapped one of their crutches around the thin trunk, confirming Dabi’s flames and Mustard’s pink mist filling the forest as those in the clearing started noticing the smell of smoke. Looking back down, Mortis winced at Pixie-Bob’s bleeding face underneath Magne and Spinner.

Mortis warped back, stepping into their clone before signing, ‘Blue forest fire. Pink mist covering half the forest. Unknown locations of other villains.’ As they signed, they felt a strange grounding sensation as they started to glow white and looked over their shoulder to see Magne glowing. What the… oh! Right, polarity based on gender.

Mandalay called for Ingenium to start bringing the group back to camp while Deku took off to find Kota. The Pussycats placed themselves protectively in front of the retreating group, but Mortis only kept a clone running with the group for a minute while Spinner spouted Stain-adjacent ideology.

“You fake heroes who only care about yourselves are targets to be purged!” Spinner charged forward with his comically large set of blades.

‘You do realize these are rescue heroes, right?’ Mortis shook their head as they pulled back opposite Mandalay. They warped forward and their clone darted to the side as Mandalay dodged the gecko’s attacks. Just as the Pussycat leader was sent hurtling towards Magne, Tiger shoved her aside, and Mortis seized the opportunity to have their capture weapon support Pixie-Bob’s head and start dragging her away from the fight.

Mortis got Pixie-Bob to the edge of the clearing just as Deku burst through to land a hit on Spinner’s weapon. What the fuck? Mortis nearly dropped Pixie-Bob at the boy’s shattered arm. Now that they were out of the main combat zone, Mortis dispelled their clone and picked up their pace, not worrying about what the villains saw anymore. As the sounds of fighting got more distant, they picked up on the soft crunching of a familiar gate as Eraserhead ran into view.

“Status?”

‘Pixie-Bob head injury. Deku heavily injured. Magne and Spinner fighting Mandalay and Tiger. Ragdoll not responding. Mustard around courage test area. Other villains unknown.’

“Midoriya brought Kota to camp and ran off before I could stop him. Take-”

“We have discovered two of the villains’ targets,” Mandalay announced. “They are students – Bakugo and Mori. They should try to avoid fighting and acting independently.”

“Mandalay and-” Eraserhead huffed and paused, presumably as he received a message.

“Umbra Mortis, we’re heading your way. Stay put with Pixie-Bob, and we’ll find you.” Mortis heard from Mandalay.

“-and Tiger are headed this way. Twice and Dabi are likely around this area. Get behind cover and stay quiet. Keep an eye out for Mr. Compress especially.”

Mortis reluctantly nodded, gently pulling Pixie-Bob under a bush before warping up a tree. They heard a vaguely familiar gait not long after Eraserhead left and jumped down as Ragdoll rounded the bend. ‘Are you alright? What happened?’ Mortis hopped down and scanned the rescue hero for injuries as they approached.

“Oh, you’re bleeding! Let me help,” a slightly off Ragdoll voice said. Mortis backed up a step, tensing as they took in the person’s slight sway and broad grin. “Come on, don’t be shy. I don’t bite.”

The familiar gait connected just as a large needle flew at Mortis. They warped a breath before it would’ve hit them and shied to the side. ‘Toga?’

“You remember me!” Toga squealed, form melting as she turned back into the teen serial killer Mortis had met. She pouted, “It’s no fun ruining the game, though. Why don’t I pretty you up before we take you?”

Mortis warped twice as the girl’s syringes on tubes twisted and contorted, yellow eyes keeping up with the small puffs of dirt kicked up by their appearance. Even as the clones were dispelled left and right, Mortis kept themself within a few meters of Pixie-Bob, torn between protecting the unconscious hero and keeping suspicion off the hiding spot.

A slight rustle from above narrowly warned them in time to warp away from Mr. Compress landing, straight into a needle. With a sharp hiss, Mortis warped again, the large needle snapping from the carried momentum. Glaring at the two of them, Mortis activated their capture weapon and fell into a defensive stance. Just keep stalling, Eraser said they’d be here soon.

“Come now, we’re just claiming what we won. You have quite the powerful quirk, and if you go willingly, you can join us instead of becoming a base for a Nomu,” Mr. Compress said.

Mortis shot their capture weapon out in response, wrapping it quickly around the man’s arm while Toga tried to close distance. They jumped onto the bottom branch of a tree, letting their braces give the extra boost as Mr. Compress snapped towards the trunk. Instead of the impact, however, Mortis tried to warp as they saw the villain jettisoning toward them. Just as they did so, however, Mr. Compress brushed their foot and the world distorted and spun until they were contorted in a marble. A small, tight, spherical space capable of hearing the outside world through a garbled filter but unable to see.

Trying not to hyperventilate, Mortis took shuddering, deep breaths and focused on what they could hear. They couldn’t quite make out words, but… there! Mortis could just make out Deku shouting and warped with the goal of just on the other side of the marble. A muffled shout of surprise came from Mr. Compress, so they rapidly warped over and over, only vaguely aware of their clones in their panic as shadows filled their mindscape.

With a clear snap, Mortis landed roughly on their crutches amidst a dozen clones, keenly aware of the strain on their body as their heartbeats stuttered and fat rapidly burned. Looking around as they surged their clones forward, Mortis gasped at most of the Vanguard squad in a clearing fighting Siren, Tentacole, and Deku. Shit. They activated their capture weapon, glaring around even as they felt their clones dissipate with quick blows and Mr. Compress lept into the air. Mortis tried to dodge but stumbled, turning it into a jump of their own with their braces. Landing near Hitoshi, who was facing off with Twice, they directed their last five clones to swarm the villain as he landed.

“Umbra Mortis! Are you alright?” Siren called out. “He has Dynamight and Tsukuyomi.”

Mortis shook their head but pushed through the pained haze to quickly wrap their capture weapon around their torso and arms even as their last five clones were not dispelled but compressed. Mortis tried to dispel them but couldn’t get the momentum. Darting forward, they snapped their remaining length of capture weapon out as a whip, trying to crack the villain’s mask.

Even as Tentacole called for a retreat, holding up two marbles, Mortis followed their gut and rushed at Mr. Compress and Dabi. Out of the corner of their eye, they spotted a Nomu enter the clearing as Kurogiri’s voice sounded behind them and warp gates opened around the remaining villains. Wheezing, Mortis pulled up short as they spotted the two marbles the magician lightly squeezed with his teeth.

“Now, now, you don’t know what would release or kill people in these marbles, do you?” Mr. Compress whispered just loud enough for them to hear. “Come along quietly or I might just kill your precious classmates.”

Mortis tried to take a step forward but would’ve fallen if not for the braces as their limbs gave out. Glaring up at the villain, Mortis nodded and let him compress them. They shuddered, curling even further into themself as the already tiny marble felt like it was shrinking and pulling tight around them. Mortis could just barely make out Deku screaming for Dynamight before they passed out.

Notes:

gosh the hyperphantasia sucked ass on this one. (not so) Fun fact: what happens in the nightmare is the third worst experience I’ve ever simulated. No, I did not forget the sibling I introduced in the previous flashback; they have a lot of siblings.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 25: These Chains Our Consciences Wear

Summary:

tw: graphic depiction of being sold, torture, descriptions of a child as livestock, malnutrition, child abuse, violence, injuries, murder, blood, gore, corpses

Notes:

This chapter was unexpectedly difficult to write. Apparently at the time of originally posting, I didn't fully understand triggers lol this was definitely triggering That being said, this entire chapter is a graphic description of human trafficking. There’s a little fluff at the end, but if this is a chapter you need to skip because of the content warnings, there is a summary in the end notes, and there will also be one at the start of Chapter 26. The fluff starts at the linebreak followed by [END OF TRAFFICKING. START OF FLUFF] ‘text’ JSL or Morse code for this chapter text thoughts

Mortis followed the figure in a trance-like state, filing what they could on his quirk and demeanor into their analysis hall even as they memorized the streets and alleyways they took. After ten minutes, the figure walked into a wall and…

What the hell? He roughly tugged Mortis through without warning, their eyes growing wide as they saw a small safe house. Looking over their shoulder, Mortis saw a device attached to the wall next to where an opening had been made. They were quickly bound with rope before everything seemed to fold.

Everything sounded muffled and distorted as Mortis tried to take stock of what happened, vision a sea of blurry colors. Not a direct compression quirk, maybe one that literally folds?

Mortis shuddered at the unfolding process that dragged on for several seconds. Now inside a cramped room with about a dozen other children, Mortis took stock of the two cameras and single door. The others started whispering. A few had quirk suppressant cuffs, although they were much more worn.

“Hey, aren’t you from U.A.?” one of the younger girls asked. A few others started to perk up at the idea as Mortis nodded.

“You can’t talk, right?” one of the older kids tiredly walked up. At their nod, he asked, “Do you know Morse Code?”

‘Yes,’ Mortis blinked. ‘Heroes come.’

“Can you warp out of here?”

‘Maybe but illegal. How many here?’

“You make thirteen in this room, and they’ve been taking a few each day. Sometimes the Quirkless return with a quirk, but most never come back. There always seem to be three people taking kids, and everyone feels foggy when they’re taken. Those of us with strong quirks can’t see when we’re taken.”

Mortis nodded, ‘Fits my story. Buyers?’

None of the kids seemed to know who was buying, so Mortis sat down to wait. They learned each kid’s status, quirk, age, and name as well as small snippets about the traffickers’ quirks. What felt like a few hours after arriving, Mortis registered their pain flaring as their quirk started to burn fat.

Moments later, three armed men stormed in and dragged them out. Stumbling to their feet, Akira crinkled their nose to shake the tracker a bit. Once they felt a slight indent they stopped. One of their guards had purple gravity-defying hair, another had fangs, and the other had rippling muscles. Probably mental, blood, and unknown but physically strong quirks.

After several twists and turns through the complex, the group came to a thick metal door with a biometrics panel. Muscle spun them around so they couldn’t see what type of biometrics and soon after dragged them backwards into the room beyond. A bed, a desk piled with food, a camera on each wall, and a screen filled the room.

Muscle snapped their cuffs and left the room with a slam of the door. After a moment, the screen flashed to life with the four video feeds from the room, a chat window, and a countdown for 2 hours. Akira watched in morbid fascination as dozens of people joined the chat as they ate. With no way to interact with the screen, Akira simply ignored their audience while they could.

Once they were out of the danger zone for fat burning, Akira knocked on the walls every couple steps around the perimeter to check for thickness. Most they could warp to the other side of, although as smart as the group had been, it would probably be dangerous. No obvious signs of Tinker tech, but it could be interlaced in the walls. Wouldn’t want to waste energy trying to warp if there’s a draining element in play.

Once they were well-acquainted with the dimensions and thickness of the room, Akira settled into stretches while watching the chat feed. Most of the conversation centered around how much they ate in comparison to their body, although a few were curious about their quirk. Akira frowned. If they know who I am, why aren’t they broadcasting it? A U.A. student would be much more enticing than just some kid.

“Bidding will begin in 15 minutes for Akira Mori. Age 15. Quirk Silent Night. When they are about to be injured, they can warp up to 20 meters within line of sight.” A robotic voice monotoned from the screen. “A demonstration will be available once entry closes.”

Akira shuddered, remembering demonstrations at family gatherings. Hundreds of users were now in the chat making crude comments and asking about what would be available later that night. A few minutes before entry closed, bluejay302 and wildfire666 joined the chat.

Bidding slowly climbed and Lavender walked into the room as entry closed and the door with it. Akira raised an eyebrow at them sending a mental quirk first.

“Warp to the bed.” Lavender commanded and went to slap their face. Akira easily ducked under his arm, flipping the man on his back using his own momentum.

‘Make me,’ Akira smirked. They want a U.A. brat, I’ll show them a brat. Breathe, just remember to breathe. Little panic not big Panic.

As they danced back, Lavender’s hand brushed Akira’s ankle and their world became white noise of pain. Every nerve was on fire, and they felt every contraction of muscle as their nerves pulled them forward. After a moment, they felt Lavender’s control wane and Akira warped to the bed as their vision started to return.

Eyeing Lavender warily, Akira glanced at the screen to see the bids skyrocketing.

“A powerful and rare showing for your pleasure today, this specimen has much room to grow and can provide a flexible container for other quirks. This first year from U.A. has both theoretical and practical combat experience with a high pain tolerance since it withstood Mind Jack’s agonizing touch. You’ve seen older specimens lose consciousness from less time.”

Akira kept their distance from Mind Jack, stance low as they watched the screen like a hawk. After a few more feints, they saw bluejay302 increased the bid by 511 then 202. Mind Jack frowned as Akira heard his earpiece go off. He lunged for them, but they warped to the other side of the wall a breath before he dispelled their clone.

Akira and the ten villains froze as they caught sight of each other in the hallway. Akira surged forward first, warping to the end of the hallway as Scales breathed fire at them. They scrambled down the hallway and made their way to the route they’d taken from the holding room.  

Skidding around a corner, Mortis warped as they ran into a hulking figure, recognizing the task force as they appeared in the midst of a few police, Eraser and- ‘Fat Gum! D-didn’t know you’d b-be here.’ Mortis lit up. ‘This way t-to the kids.’

“Mori, are you injured?” Fat Gum asked as he matched their pace and Eraser continued to the bidding room with half the police.

‘I’m fine o-other than wide… widespread minor nerve d-damage,’ Mortis signed, angling slightly towards the hero so he could properly see.

“You’re seeing Recovery Girl after this regardless, so she should be able to help,” Fat Gum said, checking them over. “How many?”

‘Twelve o-other kids as o-of two hours ago, ages s-six to ten. Three have quirk s-suppressant cuffs o-on, the o-others are quirk… Quirkless or have weak quirks.’ Mortis gave a rundown of their abilities and minor injuries, mostly attributed to malnutrition and abuse.

“And why didn’t you tell me you were getting kidnapped?”

Mortis blinked, looking up at the hero in confusion. ‘It was o-only temporary. I had the best chance o-of getting o-out if some… something went wrong.’

Fat Gum just gave them a disappointed look before saying, “We’ll talk about this later.”

As Mortis tried to understand what could’ve provoked that reaction, they almost missed a figure stepping out of the wall. Mortis warped as elongated fangs sunk into their right shoulder, leaving angry tears in their shirt and flesh. Arm limp, Mortis narrowed their eyes at the figure who looked camouflaged against the wall. Without their knives, they couldn’t do much other than distract villains, so Mortis warped forward to scout a bit while their clone blocked the villain’s escape.

Realizing the route was empty or being emptied as guards ran to other areas, Mortis made their way back. After a couple minutes, their arm slowly regained feeling. Stepping into their clone, Mortis signed, ‘Way to the hold… holding room is mostly clear. Guards moving to o-other areas of compound. Hurry.’

The group started jogging, minds filled with why the traffickers were leaving their goods unprotected. As they rounded a corner into the hallway, Mortis saw the door ajar. They immediately warped inside, warping again to shove a villain away from the little girl who asked if they were from U.A. Whirling around, Mortis put themself between the muscular guard who took them to the bidding room and the child.

“Oh, now you’re here to protect them, ay?” The man sneered. “You really had those kids convinced-”

Mortis slammed an elbow into his nose, warping back as a blade skewered their clone. The man’s brow knitted in confusion as he saw them unharmed.

Blood pouring from his nose, Blade slowly grinned in realization as Mortis started maneuvering Kohana towards the door. “You’re not just a warper, are you?”

Surging forward, Mortis warped as the man tried to land a hit, narrowly hitting their clones each time. Just buy time. The others aren’t far. Just a few more seconds. Mortis looped in their head. As they dragged on, Mortis started landing blows to Blade’s back and kidneys, barely making a dent in the man’s stamina. Meanwhile, he got closer and closer to hitting them until he caught their side with a blade, scraping across their ribs as they warped next to Kohana.

Clutching their side, Mortis snarled at Blade and motioned for the girl to run. Kohana was frozen in place, though, looking up at them in terror. Shit. Mortis gave her a shove just as Blade shot out an arm, forcing them to redirect and warp, the blade catching their thigh as they were a hair too slow. Kohana finally dashed for the door, squeezing through just as Mortis rammed into the villain, throwing his aim off into the door instead of through the crack.

Just as they warped off to avoid being impaled, the door was thrown open and Fat Gum barreled through, startling Blade and giving Mortis the opportunity to warp to the few kids who were still bleeding, cautiously keeping an eye on the short fight as they checked for pulses.

As Fat Gum incapacitated the villain, Akira looked up and shook their head. ‘Took you… you long enough,’ they signed with a small smirk before their leg gave out.

“Mori!” Fat Gum rushed to their side, pulling out first aid and high-calorie protein bars. “Hang on, kid. We’ll get you out of here.”

‘No hospitals. I’m fine, barely more than f-flesh wounds,’ Akira signed as he wrapped the wounds. They carefully stood up, letting themself lean on Fat Gum’s arm a bit as they balanced. With a steadying breath, Akira took a step towards the corpses, pausing at a large hand on their arm. ‘They need to be checked,’ they signed weakly.

“The officers will do that. Most of the compound is clear, and there are other teams finishing.”

With a nod, Akira let Fat Gum lead them out of the compound, surprised but grateful that night had fallen. They gave their statement to the Detective, including the names of the children who were lost, while Recovery Girl and an EMT with a diagnostic quirk discussed options given the breadth of the damage.

Eraser looked exasperated at Fat Gum and Akira as he walked up from helping manage the villains. After speaking quietly with the massive hero, Eraser’s expression softened. “How are you holding up?”

Akira shrugged, ‘Nurse and EMT are figuring out what to do with me. Nothing too serious.’

Eraser snorted, “Your idea of serious is very different than normal, kid. You did good, though. Once you get patched up, remember you’re staying with me at least for tonight.”

“Next time you’re going to get kidnapped, you need to tell me,” Fat Gum chided.

Akira cocked their head with a hesitant smile, ‘I might not have a choice? Also, why?’

Fat Gum chuckled without much humor, “If you know you’re going to get kidnapped, tell me. How about that? And you’re one of my kids now, so you get to deal with Dadgum as the youngsters say.”

Akira snorted, remembering the younger vigilantes parroting that during their internship. ‘Sure. And that doesn’t really explain anything but okay.’ Akira shook their head in confusion, too tired from Recovery Girl and the day to dig deeper.

[END OF TRAFFICKING. START OF FLUFF]

On their way to Aizawa’s house, the hero asked, “Was warping without line of sight new?”

Akira tiredly shook their head. ‘It takes more energy and has a much shorter range, but I’ve been working on it for the past few weeks.’

“You should see Hound Dog this week.”

Akira nodded, loosely signing they’d scheduled it in advance.

Yamada and Hitoshi greeted the pair as they trudged into the house. Oboro, who’d taken a liking to Akira over the past couple months, immediately ran up to them and started rubbing against their uninjured leg to be picked up. Akira quietly did so and started petting the cat.

A veritable feast was laid out on the island and three pitchers of Akira’s shake. Akira cast a confused look to Aizawa. ‘It wasn’t even 24 hours. Is someone else coming?’

Aizawa softly smiled as someone knocked on the door. “Ah! You got here just before us, I see,” Taishiro ducked through the doorway followed closely by Amajiki. “Since Tamaki and I were in town for the raid, we thought it’d be nice to catch up.”

“Shiro, Tamaki! Good to see you out of uniform,” Yamada grinned. “Please, everyone help yourselves. There’s miso soup on the stove, takoyaki on the hot plate, and all the fixings for yakiniku you could want on the island. We also have green tea cookies and red bean cakes for later.”

Akira stared at the array of food on the island even after Hitoshi put a few selections on his plate and grabbed a small grill. What the… Akira hesitantly grabbed the same selection and a grill with their soup and sat between them and Amajiki.

Akira started with their soup, carefully watching the others turn on their mini grills as they tried to see where the switches were on their own. After a few minutes, they started theirs up, mirroring Hitoshi’s layout since Amajiki mostly got octopus and offal instead of chicken and beef with some vegetables.

“I’m glad you’ve been able to keep up with the nutrition plan, Mori,” Taishiro smiled as they flipped their skewers. “How’s the new job going?”

‘Good, it didn’t take much convincing since I primarily stick to the shadows,’ Akira signed. ‘Since it’s summer, I’m mostly using the drink recipes, but I don’t have to use my quirk as much.’

“Have you ever had yakiniku before?” Yamada asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Akira paused with a skewer halfway to their mouth, realizing with a glance the others were holding it like corn instead of a popsicle. They blushed, ‘Ah, no. I didn’t get to choose much of anything growing up.’

Hitoshi chuckled, “Is that why you just grabbed what I did? I didn’t even think about that.” At Akira’s nod, they explained the different preparations and sauces for yakiniku, Amajiki softly adding his thoughts on seafood, which seemed to be a less common option. Akira mostly just nodded along, filing away the information in their small kitchen area.

Akira’s head shot up as Taishiro mentioned he started an investigation with them. Catching his eye, they tapped one finger on their wrist and wobbled a second, arched finger next to it. Taishiro gave a slight, thoughtful nod as the other two adults looked confused and Hitoshi narrowed their eyes at Akira. Taishiro simply said he’d like to consult with Aizawa soon, as it was something he would be interested in. Yamada’s confusion turned into slight resignation as he glanced at Akira, who offered a small smile, softening their eyes into what they hoped was a flicker of interest.

People are so much harder than books, Akira mused. ‘How are you and Mirio doing?’ they asked after a time.

Amajiki turned beet red and mumbled “good” into his food with a soft, embarrassed smile.

“Ooh does the little listener have a crush?” Yamada squealed.

Aizawa sighed, “They’ve been dating since second year.”

Akira blushed as they noticed Hitoshi signing ‘Sun Eater, huh?’ Akira shooed them, glad Amajiki was still focused on his food.

Taishiro laughed before winking at Hitoshi. “I hear there might be another brooding goth and loud blonde couple this year…”

Hitoshi looked mortified as Aizawa slowly turned to them.

Bakugo, Aoyama… no. Akira stared at him. ‘Electric Rat? You’re into Electric Rat?’

Aizawa muttered something about the 1A talk but turned to Hitoshi with a sly grin, “If you’re going to date in the class, they’re not the worst loud blonde you could go with.”

Hitoshi buried his head in their hands. “You can’t just out me like that…” At Taishiro’s concerned, confused glance, Hitoshi waved him off. “Loud blonde, not sexuality. Dad and Pops are, well, obviously gay.”

A soft laugh came from Amajiki as Taishiro’s booming one echoed. “Aizawa tried to set me and Mirio up, too,” he softly admitted.

“And now you’re together,” Aizawa preened. “Loud blondes are perfect for emo introverts.”

Yamada covered his mouth, trying and failing to contain his giggles as Aizawa turned more serious. “We’re still having the shovel talk before you get serious.”

Hitoshi turned even redder and Yamada gave up on hiding his laughter as even Akira smiled a bit. Soon, Taishiro and Amajiki left to catch the last train to Esuha. As Akira retired to their room, it hit them that’s what they called it. They shook their head. Can’t get too attached. They’ll know soon enough.

Notes:

Summary: Akira’s taken to a secondary location where the traffickers are holding other children for auction or experimentation. They’re put up for online auction, but the heroes raid the facility. Only one other child survives. Akira promises to let Fat Gum know if they know they’re going to be kidnapped, and they have dinner with the Yamazawas, Fat Gum, and Amajiki. MiriTama and ShinKami confirmed. Error code 302 is Found (previously Moved Temporarily) in HTML codes. Also discovered 418 is I’m a Teapot. Figured I’d use actual codes instead of my favorite number for fun. 511 is Network Authentication Required, and 202 is Accepted.

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 24: We Could not Bear to Break

Summary:

tw: human trafficking, kidnapping, being called ‘it’ Little bit of fluff and groundwork before the human trafficking angst kicks into full gear.

Notes:

Giran’s here! I like to headcanon that he checks up on the people he helps. The start of the kidnapping will be tagged with [KIDNAP START] and goes to the end of the chapter. Just as a reminder, there will be an overview in Chapter 26 if you need to skip the human trafficking portion of this chapter and Chapter 25. ‘text’ JSL text thoughts

“Set the table, Giran’s coming,” Dabi said as they walked in the door.

Akira set their duffle by the couch before heading back to the kitchen. The smell of curry wafted towards them, bringing a grin. ‘What, no hello? How have you been? Where were you?’ they teased.

With a huff, Dabi just shoved the mismatched bowls into their arms and continued cooking. “I saw the news.”

Akira tilted their head as they came back for utensils. ‘And? Hand Job didn’t recognize me.’ At Dabi’s scowl, they added, ‘Also, Eraser knows you’re alive. He joined the unofficial Endeavor abuse investigation.’

Dabi stilled, pot quietly bubbling. “Eraser Head,” he ground out. “The same underground hero who went to my funeral and tried to launch an investigation into my death.”

Akira froze, spoon clattering to the table. ‘I… didn’t know you had history.’

“We met a couple times at hero galas when he actually attended. Never liked my old man. Or people in general.” Dabi resumed cooking as Akira hesitantly finished.

Not long after dinner was ready and Akira took out their contacts, Giran arrived, crooked smile grim. “I’m afraid this isn’t as much of a social call as I’d hoped.” The pair tensed as the broker sat down. “Mori, your family’s digging around again. I’m keeping them off your trail for now, but one more show and I can’t guarantee you’ll be safe here.”

Akira swallowed hard and nodded. ‘We knew it was a risk aiming for U.A. Try to keep them off Fat Gum and Sun Eater if you can.’

The rest of dinner passed in mostly silence, only occasional pleasantries exchanged. Giran did raise an eyebrow at the pill Akira downed with the meal but left it alone. As Giran eventually got up to leave, he palmed a note into Akira’s hand without a word. A few more names and pronouns to pass along. Once memorized, the note was incinerated by Dabi.

Mortis crouched on a rooftop, listening to Haru arrange a meeting with two of their suspected traffickers. One was partially covered in scales while the other had no obvious quirk. Their focus seemed to be on quirk and Quirkless trafficking with an emphasis on children.

Not ideal given our pool of potential bait, but not the worst. Mortis would normally be outside their age range, but they still didn’t look it. Ayaka and Azumi were still recovering, and Kano was too young at 7 to be risked. Their only other option was Kichi, who probably wouldn’t be approved by the task force since he was Quirkless.

Mortis wanted to try following the pair again, but from the past week, Mortis and Eraser Head had learned they watched the rooftops. Staying ahead of or keeping pace with the pair made them too visible, but falling behind led them to empty alleys without a sign of passing. Instead, Mortis trailed behind Haru to make sure he wasn’t followed.

Dropping off, Akira made their way to where the district was supposedly being revitalized. There was some construction equipment and progress being made, but much of it was still in shambles. Most of the rubble was cleared out, but the structures still seemed pretty unstable and damaged. Akira sighed as they checked their phone for an update from Dabi, a few members of the League seemingly still at the apartment. Team bonding seemed a little uncharacteristic of the group, but they weren’t completely incompetent according to Dabi.

A couple hours later and some fed alley cats, Mortis slipped their crutches on and made their way to Eraser’s patrol route for the night. They watched a few buildings over as he wrapped up a fight with some muggers and called the Detective. A few minutes later, he joined them on the roof.

“Social or business?”

‘Business. The exchange is happening in one week at a location that will be sent two hours prior.’ Mortis explained. ‘Given what they’re looking for, our recommendation is either myself or a Quirkless kid. We have one who has the stamina and constitution and would be willing to act as bait. I’m a little high-profile, but we know the police’s lack of faith in Quirkless abilities.’

Aizawa scowled, “An irrational doubt on their part. I’ll speak with Tsukauchi.” As he turned to leave, he paused. “Was there something else?”

‘Can I finish patrol with you? Tonight is quiet by design,’ Mortis hesitantly signed.

Aizawa’s expression softened, “Yes, I take it you can’t go back to your apartment?” At Mortis’ nod, he sent a text. “If they’re still there by the end or when you want to wrap up, you can stay with us.”

As they eventually started heading back to Eraser’s house, Mortis noticed there was something on his mind. ‘Care to share?’

“Perceptive as usual,” Eraser huffed. After a moment, he continued, “Have you told anyone about Zashi and I?”

Akira stumbled as they pulled to a stop. ‘What? Of course not! I never share personal information of pros unless the information or pro themself pose a threat to people I care about.’

“Good. We appreciate it.” Aizawa went to lunge to the next roof, but Akira grabbed his wrist for a moment before dropping it.

‘Did you see something suspicious? If someone is casing your house, I need to know.’ Akira searched his face with wide eyes, trying to hide the fear and growing concern.

Aizawa frowned, “No, and it’s not your job to worry about those things. We’ve been over this.”

Akira firmly shook their head, ‘This is different. There are people who might target you because of me, and I need to know if I’m putting your family in danger.’

“Kid, pros make enemies every night, especially underground-”

‘I’m not talking about that!’ Akira signed harshly, rounding to fully face the hero. With a heaving breath, they stared into Aizawa’s eyes, forcing themself to let all the anger, worry, and fear show. ‘This is beyond petty criminals, Yakuza, and even the League. I am telling you. I need to know if they’re getting close.’

Taken aback, Aizawa stared back, searching their face. After a few minutes, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine. What am I looking for?”

Akira threw up their hands before signing, ‘Literally anyone casing your house, trailing you or your family, checking in too often or too personally, anything. I can narrow it down from there.’

Aizawa stared back before shaking his head. “What hell family do you have.”

Akira bit back a giveaway answer before signing, ‘The worst kind.’

“Hey Dad, Akira. Pops left you plates in the fridge.” Hitoshi turned slightly from his show at their entrance.

‘Insomnia acting up? What day are you on?’

“Technically my fourth since it’s 6 a.m.” At Aizawa’s concerned look, Hitoshi sighed. “I know, if I can’t sleep by tonight we’ll call Auntie Nem.”

Aizawa ruffled their fluffy purple hair as he walked past. “Don’t stay up too much later, Mori,” he said as he headed to his bedroom.

Akira barely finished the leftovers before trudging to the guest room and crashing.

Akira silently padded into the kitchen, giving Bastard a few pets once he hopped onto one of the stools as they watched Yamada make lunch. With Hitoshi watching a hero documentary in the living room and Aizawa elsewhere, now could be their last chance. Akira lightly tapped his arm as they shifted into view, trying to keep their face impassive as the blonde turned. ‘Mic-sensei, watch your back in the Hero Commission. Please tell me if someone asks odd or too personal questions or starts following you.’

“Good to see you up, little listener.” Yamada’s grin faded into confusion. “Is this what you talked about with Shou last night? He asked me the same but didn’t say much else.”

At least he knows when and what to share. Akira nodded, signing a quick thanks before padding away. Tension still pooling in their shoulders, they sat next to Hitoshi. After a few minutes, Dabi pinged his location as “Safe,” and Akira stood up.

“Hold up, kid,” Aizawa drawled from the doorway to his and Yamada’s hallway. “You were right.” He plodded over to hand a tiny device to them. “Put it where they won’t look; it will start transmitting your location one hour before the scheduled time.”

Akira looked up at the night sky from atop an apartment building, counting to keep their breaths even as they tried to find the constellations they’d read about. The street below was quiet as their legs swung against the side of the building, and Akira pointedly did not look down. Hands gripping the edge of the roof tightly, they picked up the barely audible thump of someone landing on the roof behind them.

Hearing Eraser’s measured steps, Akira carefully swung their legs back onto the roof and scooted a little bit away from the edge. ‘Need something?’

“Mori, why are you sitting on the edge of a roof?” Eraser cautiously slunk forward, hand almost too casually grasping his capture weapon.

Akira cocked their head. Why would that be a problem? We roof hop all the time. It’s not like… their eyes widened in realization. ‘Oh! No, I just like star gazing now that I can do it, and it’s efficient to work on… balance.’

“On the edge of a nine-story building?” Eraser gave an unimpressed gaze, although he did relax marginally.

As he stood beside them, Akira nodded resolutely and forced themself not to look over the edge. ‘High enough for my current reaction time, low enough to not be fatal if I misjudge the distance.’

Aizawa studied them for a long moment before sitting next to them, feet almost touching. “Hitoshi could use a parkour partner. I trained him Tuesdays and Thursdays after class, and now we use those days to focus on parkour.”

Tensing, Akira hurriedly signed, ‘Did we mess up your training schedule for the sports festival? If he had said something, we could-’

Aizawa held up a hand. “No, they liked that schedule better than Mondays and Fridays. If you want to work on your balance more, parkour can help either way.”

Akira hesitated, gently worrying their bottom lip.

“You can think about it,” Aizawa said gently. “I did want to speak with you tonight about what you might face with the case.” At their gesture to continue, Aizawa said, “Since they will either know or figure out that you’re a U.A. student, they may try to get information from you.”

‘Don’t worry, I won’t give them anything,’ Akira signed dismissively. After a moment, they added, ‘What is the average student’s pain tolerance? Wouldn’t want to raise suspicion.’

Aizawa stared back. “You will give them the information they ask about pros, teachers, or the schedule. We can run damage control, and you’re not going to suffer to prove a point.”

‘It’s not a big deal. Not like they’re going to do worse than what I’ve already been through,’ Akira shrugged. Looking away out of habit, they tensed as vertigo made the buildings and street below swim. Akira shook their head, closing their eyes to wait for their senses to return to normal.

Aizawa’s hand gently grasped their arm to steady them, riding out the small flinch. When they opened their eyes again, Akira frowned at the hero’s concerned, slightly amused expression. “You’ve been roof hopping for years, and you don’t like heights?”

Akira blushed, looking towards the middle of the roof this time. ‘I know it doesn’t make sense. I’m working on it.’

“Zashi is deathly afraid of bugs.” Akira looked up at him in confusion. “I’m afraid of hospitals and of losing the people I care about. Everyone has something.”

‘You have reasons for those fears. I have reasons for my other fears. This,’ Akira gestured at the street. ‘doesn’t make sense. It’s just one more “fuck you” from the universe after being trapped my whole life.’

“Why are you afraid of Zashi?” Aizawa asked quietly after a few minutes.

Akira sighed, running a hand down their face. ‘He’s confusing. I don’t know what to expect from him, much less what he expects from me. That’s dangerous with his quirk.’ At his confusion, they continued. ‘I know first-hand what a quirk like his is capable of. I’m not keen to find out what happens when I cross a line I haven’t found yet.’

“He would never intentionally use it against you,” Aizawa gently tried to reassure them. “Zashi would calmly tell you that you’d crossed a line and, depending on what you did, may give extra homework, scold you, or step away from the situation.”

Akira’s eyes narrowed. ‘To do what?’

“Cool off. Sometimes he goes into a soundproof room. Sometimes he quietly grades by himself. Most of the time – unless I’m the one who crossed the line – he comes to me and talks.”

After a few minutes, Akira stood up and stretched. ‘I’m heading back.’

Aizawa let them pass towards the middle of the roof before quietly asking, “How’s Toya?”

‘Stressed. The League put him in charge of the names I passed for the trial run, but they’re not giving him any information on where they’re going or what they’re doing.’ After a moment, they added, ‘I didn’t know you two had history. He knows you tried to launch an investigation after his “death.”’

Aizawa nodded, expression darkening. “It was the first time I saw how corrupt the Commission is.” Akira’s head snapped up as they tried to school their expression. “I couldn’t get anywhere, especially after Rei was hospitalized and turned into a scapegoat.”

Akira nodded slowly, hesitantly confirming him as a prospect.

[KIDNAP START]

Akira carefully tested the empty quirk suppressant cuffs around their wrists, putting on a show of wincing as the spikes dug into their skin. Haru cuffed them over the head and the three tensed at a deep chuckle from the far end of the warehouse.

“Careful now, gentleman,” the voice purred. “Don’t rough up the merchandise too much.”

A somewhat distorted lone figure with dusty grey skin and glowing red eyes stepped out from the shadows. Trench coat billowing behind him, the figure sized up Akira.

Shit. Mortis felt a deep sense of calmness wash over them, smoothing their features.

“Impressive, how did you acquire such a… unique specimen?”

“The kid was poking their nose where they don’t belong,” Haru said casually. “We were going to have some fun, but your offer came first.”

Isao dragged Mortis forward and the figure circled them, observing the slight twitches. “A fighter, as I would expect. I’ll take it for what we agreed upon.” Tossing the briefcase to Haru, the figure grabbed Mortis by the arm and led them out of the warehouse.

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens: Chapter 23 Can We Live with the Knowledge

Summary:

tw: human trafficking, blood

Notes:

‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

Half an hour before their study session, Akira was surprised to see Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari already at the table as they walked in.

“Honey, someone left a note for you,” Hisano, one of the librarians, said as they signed in the group. “He said something about fire?”

Akira nodded, thanking the lady as they slipped the note into their jacket pocket. ‘You’re early.’

“Yeah! We wanted to check if we could join your study group,” Kirishima beamed at them.

‘Sure, just try to limit your pops, Murder God,’ Akira shrugged. ‘Hisano and Hotaru don’t mind noise since we’re technically an after-school program, but explosion- and fire-based quirks are discouraged. If you need something to keep your sweat from building up, they have towels at the desk.’

Bakugo looked about to protest, but at a soft hand on his arm from Kirishima, he snapped his mouth shut and took their suggestion.

‘I’m assuming you’re the one who needs help between you and Murder God?’ Akira asked Kirishima after Bakugo came back.

He chuckled and said, “Yeah, he’s been helping me with Math, and when we talked with Kamibro, explaining some of it helped me learn, you know?”

Akira nodded thoughtfully. ‘If your system has already been working, I’d suggest continuing with it and adding explanations if you or Electric Rat get stuck. I usually spend the first two hours working with Raven and Dark Shadow on English after setting Electric Rat up with visual aids. Murder God, is there anything we can help you with or do you want to take over helping with math?’

“I don’t need any fucking help,” Bakugo snapped, curling in a bit.

Akira blinked, remembering why they usually didn’t bother. Wait, isn’t that like…they startled at the realization. ‘I struggle with History, personally. The dates and order of events always get mixed up in my head. I don’t sleep much, so I usually wait till the evening to study. I’m pretty sure everyone has something they’re not good at. Like how All Might is learning to teach.’

Some of the tension bled out of Bakugo’s shoulders as he grumbled, “Nicknames are easier than names.”

Akira offered a lopsided grin, ‘Sounds like a good match, then. If you don’t mind helping either Math or English for the first half, we can quiz each other on History the second half.’

The rest of the session went pretty smoothly, Bakugo only popping a few times in frustration and using the rag to keep down the size. The blonde’s excessive use of nicknames was starting to make sense as he barely recognized most of the names Akira threw at him. They were surprised Bakugo remembered their name, but they made a breakthrough realizing it was the sign that stuck with him. By the end of the session, Akira’s world map room was even marginally more organized.

Excusing themself a few minutes before Aizawa picked them up, Akira slipped into the bathroom and checked the note. Their breath caught at the list of names and pronouns: Sensei, Tomura Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Dabi, Himiko Toga, Spinner, Twice, Mr. Compress, Mustard. Recruiting on Stain. Trial run August.

That night, a bad feeling settled in their gut as Mortis watched the drugs be exchanged. Nothing in particular seemed off, Eraser Head not even stopping by to check on them. As they watched the gang for tails, though, they caught sight of two people stumbling while running through a nearby alleyway. Silently roof hopping closer, Mortis tagged them as emaciated, filthy, and… their eyes widened as they spotted bloody wrists. Mortis practically flew over the roofs in the direction they came from, warping a few times as their legs buckled, but didn’t spot anyone. Still not seeing Eraser Head, they made their way back to where the people were headed.

Mortis warped down, dispelling their clone as one of them collapsed against the side of a building. ‘Woah there, I’m not here to hurt you,’ Mortis signed as the standing person brandished a pipe. ‘Do you know JSL?’

“Wh-who are you?” pipe person asked.

‘Someone who wants to help,’ Mortis signed slowly. ‘You two look pretty badly hurt, and I know those wounds. Would you rather I call a hero?’

The one on the ground nodded while pipe person looked conflicted. “Which one?”

‘Eraser Head is nearby; I can ping him my location. What are your names?’ At pipe person’s nod, they pinged him their location with Injury: Other (Civilian).

“I’m Kawa Ikeda, and this is June Seymour,” pipe person, now Ikeda, said. She frantically started looking around. “Did you see anyone? I- I don’t know if we were followed.”

Mortis shook their head, ‘I checked back the way you came before coming down. Eraser Head should be here in a few… there he is.’ Mortis pointed out the hero darting down a fire escape across the street and quickly caught him up, adding, ‘Pretty sure trafficking is involved. Please keep me apprised, as we’ll be keeping an eye out as well.’

Back at base, Mortis checked in with Boss.

“You’re usually back sooner, run into a problem?”

‘You could say that,’ Mortis huffed and adjusted the cold compresses on their legs. ‘We’ve got another human trafficking ring. Eraser said he’ll keep us updated, but everyone should be aware.’

“Alright, I’ll round up another meeting. Anything else?”

Mortis passed the note Dabi had left for them. ‘Wildfire passed this along. Also, Eraser is working on the Todoroki abuse case now.’

Boss peered up at them for a long moment before nodding. “Glad you two are getting along, kid. You could use more people on your side with what you have planned.”

As Akira set aside History prep to take a break with English, they picked up Yamada’s humming drifting closer from the kitchen. Akira shifted their papers together, condensing their space on the coffee table for him.

“Oh, you’re studying English?” Yamada asked, eyes lighting up. He sat in the chair at the other end of the table but looked curiously over the study guide. Yamada set down a cup of his usual tea, kabuecha, beside his tablet.

Akira nodded with some hesitation, gradually getting used to the voice hero’s proximity. ‘It’s a good break from History.’

“Well, let me know if you need any help,” Yamada said brightly. “I’m just going over this week’s programming for my show.”

A few minutes later, Akira’s gaze flicked towards Yamada at a movement. He set his hearing aids in a charging case. They’d seen him do this several times over the course of their stay, but Akira was suddenly struck by a thought. ‘Loud Cockatoo?’ they hesitantly signed. The hero looked up with a smile. ‘Japanese has JSL. Does English have a different sign language? At base, its fingerspelling would be different.’

Yamada looked surprised then grinned, ‘It sure does, little listener! It’s called American Sign Language, or ASL. England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland also have British Sign Language from when they were classified as the United Kingdom. We still have the ASL textbook Sleepy Cat started with if you want to learn.’

Akira nodded, curiosity seeping into their eyes. ‘They separated in 2050, right?’

‘2054, but that was close. Also, back then Ireland was split with only Northern Ireland being part of the UK,’ Yamada flashed a bright smile. He returned after a few minutes with a thick book titled “Introduction to American Sign Language” and set it down halfway down the coffee table. ‘We have a bit of a tradition for people who start learning with it to write their name on the title page, but don’t feel obligated if you don’t want to.’

Inside, Akira found the signature of Aizawa, Oboro, Kayama, and Ida. They cocked their head at the second name, not sure if they should ask. When Yamada saw what made them pause, he gave a sad smile. ‘Loud Cloud was a dear friend of ours. We lost him during our debut in second year.’

Akira nodded reverently, ‘It’s terrible to lose someone that young.’ They added their name to the list and started looking through the basics, copying the gestures as best they could with the occasional correction from Yamada.

The first three days of exams were all the written portion, and Akira felt pretty confident they didn’t fail anything. Even History was at worst a C, which should put them solidly in the running for the summer training camp. Kaminari was definitely worse for wear by the end, but their study sessions and apparent IEP were paying off as he at least got to all the questions.

The day of the practical, all the first-year teachers met them in U.A.’s central plaza. “I expect that you all have gathered information ahead of time and have some idea of what you will be doing.”

“We’re fighting you teachers, right?” Kaminari asked nervously.

“That’s right!” Nezu called as he wriggled out of Aizawa’s scarf. “For various reasons, the exam will be different starting this year…”

Akira met Koda’s smile as their suspicions were confirmed with the formatting. As they’d hoped, Akira was paired against Midnight, although Sero for a partner was a surprise. They barely interacted with him unless sparring, his outgoing personality a little much for Akira.

‘Test it first,’ Mortis signed as they headed to their zone, motioning for Cellophane to apply tape. ‘Need to check for the day.’ While their heart skipped a beat with Cellophane’s proximity, Mortis nodded after a moment and ripped the tape off their nose and mouth. ‘Tape’s fine, we’ll go with that strategy.’

While Cellophane couldn’t hold his breath as long as Mortis, he was primarily a ranged fighter anyways. The moment the test started, they flung themselves into a sprint away from Midnight as Cellophane quickly applied the tape. Mortis circled back around opposite Cellophane, curiosity thrumming as they watched Somnambulist crawl across the ground.

Deftly warping at the crack of a whip, Mortis kept the capture side of their cuffs in their palm. Mortis darted forward as Midnight’s whip cracked in the opposite direction, only to roll to the side as Midnight released a fresh wave of her quirk. Hitting their halfway mark for air, Mortis warped out of the building gas to take a quick breath, checking with Cellophane, who was a few meters away keeping Midnight’s attention.

Removing the tape, Mortis warped forward while directing their clone to approach Cellophane. A whip cracked out, dispelling it with an amused look from Midnight. “Come now, kittens, why don’t you stop messing around? You must be running out of air soon, Cellophane, and your little friend is around here somewhere.”

Good, her awareness doesn’t extend with her quirk. Mortis warped and directed their clone to carefully slump over. The force would normally be enough to dispel it, but Mina had suggested stage falls as a way to control their descent. Midnight grinned and approached their clone, crouching to check them as Mortis snuck up behind her. In a flash, the cuff clipped around Midnight’s wrist, and the buzzer sounded.

As the hero’s quirk dispersed, Mortis took a small breath of it. ‘Smells nice, like chocolate.’

“That was clever, kittens. How are you feeling?” Midnight asked, letting Mortis take the cuff off before giving them some space.

‘Nothing new, just a little drowsy. I’m glad our theory worked.’

“Yeah! Since you’re nonbinary and… what was it again?” Cellophane asked with a grin.

‘Aro ace. I think the combination of the two made Somnambulist less effective since Lesbians seem as affected as most men.’

Midnight nodded with a smile, “I haven’t run into many nonbinary opponents, and people who aren’t attracted to women aren’t immune but don’t go down as fast.”

Kirishima, Sato, Mina, and Kaminari still failed the practical, but Akira wasn’t sure how any student was supposed to defeat the principal. At Mina’s suggestion, the class went out for ramen after Aizawa announced everyone was going.

“What are everyone’s plans for the summer?” Mina asked excitedly, bouncing in her seat. “We should try to do something together.”

“We could go shopping together,” Uraraka pointed out. “Most of us probably need to get at least a few things off the list to bring, right?”

The next day, Aizawa drove Akira and Shinso to the mall, reminding them to ping their location and not engage if they ran into any trouble. Akira slipped a copy of Dabi’s note onto the console as they left, hoping the time difference would shake potential suspicion. As the group split into pairs, things seemed to be going smoothly.

“Think Uraraka’s finally gonna tell Midoriya about her crush?”

Akira stared between him and the pair that had just separated. ‘She has a crush on him?’

They snorted, “It’s pretty obvious. The looks, the blushing, Mina’s intuition…”

Shaking their head, Akira did a double take as they noticed someone leading a stiff Midoriya to a bench. ‘Do you know the guy leading Midoriya? Seems off.’

Shinso frowned, and the two slowly made their way around the top to get a better angle. Akira pulled out their phone and hovered over the emergency locator. ‘There’s a trafficking ring active, if anything is suspicious-’ Akira slammed the villain alert as they spotted a hand around Midoriya’s neck. They followed it with a text to Aizawa with a picture of the situation, “Man with hand around Midoriya’s throat. No reaction, likely civilians threatened.”

Moments later, he responded. “Evacuate. Coordinate with security. ETA 10 minutes.”

With a nod to Shinso, Akira quickly scanned the floor for the security office and motioned Shinso to it. Akira told the class group chat to start evacuating people and made their way through the second floor with the authority of a U.A. student. Most followed their instructions, but a few stragglers refused to listen to a child.

Huffing in frustration, Akira looked over the balcony again and saw Uraraka approaching the pair. Immediately, they shot out a text, “Don’t approach. Aizawa en route.”

Halfway through the second floor, Akira spotted Tokoyami and Ida assisting with the evacuation. Catching their eyes, Akira signaled the two to continue while they made their way downstairs. A few more had joined the evacuation, although it was starting to be noticeable. Akira shot off another text to Aizawa, “Crowd thinning noticeable. Permission to use quirk.”

“Permission granted but don’t engage. ETA 2 minutes.”

Ducking behind a plant, Akira warped to the other side of Midoriya, tapping his leg twice. Examining the hold, they forced their breathing to steady as they recognized Shigaraki’s eyes. The moment they felt their invisibility drop early, Akira chopped their hand in between Shigaraki’s finger and Midoriya’s throat, narrowly catching it as they stared into red eyes. Shit.

Shigaraki pulled away to their confusion as Midoriya started coughing. “Oh, you had a friend with you? Sorry ‘bout that. I’m off, then.” With a heated glance at Akira, he continued. “If you try following me, I’ll get angry.”

Frozen, Akira watched Shigaraki slip into the crowd after answering Midoriya’s bold questions, blending in with the evacuees. After a moment, they checked Midoriya, examining his neck while he tried to catch his breath.

‘What the fuck. Don’t antagonize someone who just nearly dusted you,’ Akira signed as they didn’t see any lasting damage.

Aizawa rushed out of the crowd, “Where is he?”

‘Gone into the crowd. Something disrupted my clone while I was following your instructions, and it was too risky to then follow him into a crowd,’ Akira signed. ‘Broccoli is winded but not hurt.’ They winced at the small bruise starting to form. ‘Not seriously.’

There was a lot of paperwork to fill out as a quirk had been used, and they had to go to the police station with Midoriya. A pro’s permission technically applied, although the medium would be questionable if Aizawa had not used the phone number on file.

“You did good, kids,” Aizawa gruffly said as they finally left that evening. Midoriya’s mom whisked him away and Aizawa turned to Akira. “I’d feel more comfortable if you continue to stay with us, but I’ll give you a ride to where you want.”

‘Warehouse District 11. I need to be close.’ As much as Akira found themself wanting to stay, it was too dangerous. For them and for the hero family.

Notes:

omg I remembered the cutest ship name for kiribaku: pop rocks. Akira noticed when Uraraka didn’t because they’ve been watching for human trafficking. Midoriya going with a stranger wouldn’t make sense. When I first uploaded this chapter on ao3, I had just finished Bello Licentiae. I just finished Libertias aut Mortis yesterday :) 

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 22: Is This Worth Our Lives

Summary:

tw: child abuse, scarring, graphic depictions of violence, blood, wrong pronouns, child abuse, near-death experience Nightmares, secrets, and sparring oh my!

Notes:

the end of the violence will be marked by [VIOLENCE START] and [VIOLENCE END] centered on the page. If you need to skip it, there's a flashback summary after the second marker. ‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

[VIOLENCE START]

“That’s it! You’re going to the Carpenter.”

Akira let out a choked gasp, neon purple eyes blown wide as they tried to crawl forward through a haze of red. They screamed as a foot slammed into their side, sharp claws digging into their skin as another rib cracked. Akira collapsed onto their stomach and narrowly stopped themself from curling inwards, knowing it would just make it worse.

Coarse hands grabbed their red and silver hair and dragged Akira across the blood-stained floor. Their brother’s clawed hand grasped the back of their neck, red-hot pain coursed through them as they were ripped to their feet, breaths coming shallow and fast as Akira desperately searched for an escape.

The maze of hallways only ever led back to where they were told to go, and suddenly they were at the soundproof door intricately carved with a tree. Hiroki roughly threw them into the room as the Carpenter lifted their hands from a block of wood, the intricate carvings stopping without his touch.

“This one needs more specialized attention. Use her back and remember to keep this one alive.”

The Carpenter grinned, sending a shudder down Akira’s spine as he set his current piece aside. “I can always make time for your failures, cousin.”

On the table, Akira tried to keep still. It was always easier when- they gasped as the Carpenter placed a hand on their back. Five bloody tracks slowly made their way out from his hand, dully scooping out millimeters of flesh at a time as Akira tried to hold back a scream. Screaming always made things worse. As the Carpenter’s quirk subsided, they thought he was done. The chisels started a second pass just as Akira took a breath, only to scream as the raw skin flared and burned.

[VIOLENCE END]

(flashback summary: after a torture session from one of their brothers didn’t result in forced quirk manifestation, Akira got their back scar from a cousin)

Akira jolted awake with a silent scream, throat raw as they scrambled out from their blanket pile, tripping over the weighted blanket. Frantically, they searched the room for anything familiar, only to find everything foreign. Trembling against the wall, Akira tried to ask a question, but only air came out. World pulsing in and out of focus, they ripped their shirt off, hands reaching back to touch their shoulder blades.

It's not bleeding. This isn’t our room. This is… Akira flinched into themself as the door flung open, stammering apologies they couldn’t hear as feet hesitantly approached. A callused hand gently pulled their right from their back, which they now realized had been scratching at the scars. Wait, scars? Akira peered up from behind their knees and tensed as they saw Eraser Head kneeling in front of them, mouth moving as he gently thumbed circles in the back of their right hand.

After a moment, the rushing Akira hadn’t noticed in their ears subsided, and they heard him murmuring reassurances that they were safe, were in he and Zashi’s house, and had nothing to be sorry about. When Aizawa noticed they were coming to, he loosened his grip on their hand a little. Akira immediately grasped his, flushing as they registered the motion but not letting go.

“Hot chocolate?” Aizawa asked gently as Akira slowed their breathing. They nodded and shakily got to their feet, forcing themself to drop his hand as they did so.

Settling on the couch with their mugs, Aizawa handed them a weighted blanket, which they quickly pulled up to their chest as a grounding weight.

After a few sips, Aizawa quietly said, “I have nightmares when I sleep more than a few hours. Most heroes get them eventually.”

Akira nodded numbly, briefly setting down their mug to sign, ‘Counselor said that, too. New place, bad day, or trigger during the day bring them.’ Aizawa hummed, giving them a minute to grasp their mug again. Akira risked a brief glance to the side, his eyes curious and another emotion they couldn’t quite grasp. Looking back to their mug, they signed, ‘Sorry for waking you.’

“You didn’t, kid. And I wouldn’t have minded if you did. What do you usually do after a nightmare?”

‘Drink water, ground myself like Counselor said, and sometimes talk about it with Wildfire.’

“Do you want to talk about it?” Aizawa asked gently.

Instead of answering, Akira turned to face Aizawa and forced themself to meet his eyes, even if only briefly. ‘Peppermint is being abused by Endeavor. I don’t have proof, but he will testify if we have a solid case. Natsuo will do the same if asked, but I don’t know about Fuyumi. If we can show something will be done, I might be able to get Toya onboard.’

Aizawa stiffened, nearly dropping his mug before Akira grabbed it and gently placed it on the table. “Toya’s not dead?”

‘No, he’s heavily scarred and wants to kill Endeavor, but he’s alive.’ After a moment, Akira hesitantly continued. ‘From what little he’s said, he was in a coma for a while. Broker helped him find a safe place in the underworld.’

In that moment, the hero looked exhausted, fingers shaking as he ducked into his capture scarf. “You knew at the sports festival.”

Akira swallowed thickly and nodded. ‘I needed to know you would care.’

“Does anyone else know?”

Akira restrained a snappy response, reminding themself he wanted to help. ‘Fat Gum, Sun Eater, and Blank. Also, maybe Nurse and Counselor? They were there when Blank and I helped Peppermint out of a flashback at the sports festival.’

Aizawa sighed, chording a hand through his hair. “I don’t know how much we can realistically do since the Commission will be fighting us every step, but I will do everything I can to get him out.”

Akira nodded, ‘I can and will extract him if he gives the word.’

“Good.”

As they finished their lukewarm chocolate, Akira sighed. ‘It was about my back scar.’

Aizawa’s eyes shot up to where their back was just off the couch. “You said a… villain did that.”

They grimaced bitterly. ‘Bit of a stretch, but you already knew that. Has Counselor told you anything about our sessions?’

Aizawa shook his head, confusion seeping in, “Those are confidential and can only be shared with your permission. I thought he told you that?”

Akira nodded. ‘He’s almost as confusing to read as Mic.’ As Aizawa tried to puzzle that out, they continued, ‘Limelights did this. They hated twilight and underground heroes, and only the best were fit to be in society.’

Akira tensed as anger bubbled to the surface of Aizawa’s expression. He glanced at their shift and relaxed marginally, simply signing ‘them, not you.’

A few hours of studying history and grading later, the running shower and muted singing filled the apartment as the cats filtered into the living room. Remembering the state they were in, Akira went to get ready as Bastard followed them, ignoring Aizawa as the hero skirted around his cat. Their back still crawled as they applied cream and slipped into their uniform, but that wasn’t uncommon. Right before they opened the bedroom door, Akira’s burner lit up. Tapping a quick confirmation, Akira grabbed their duffel bag.

‘I’ll be out tonight,’ they signed as Aizawa and Yamada turned around. Shinso was already lounging on the couch with Houdini and raised an eyebrow.

“Anything I should be concerned about?” Aizawa asked.

‘Not for me,’ Akira gave a small smirk. It dropped with a wince as they remembered Yamada’s presence and clarified, ‘I don’t have details yet, so it’ll be standard.’

At lunch, Akira pulled Shoto to the side with Shinso as he joined them again. “Sorry, I can leave if you don’t-” he said before they could start.

‘Wait, it’s not about that,’ Akira signed. ‘I told Eraser. He’s going to help.’

Shinso nodded after interpreting. “Dad won’t stop until you never have to see him again or are at least safe from him.”

Shoto stared at them, disbelief and a spark of hope in his eyes. He mutely nodded and followed them back to the group. With a new JSL student, Koda or Shinso interpreted for Akira. When the conversation eventually turned to the final exam, Shoto quietly said, “Kendo heard from upperclassmen the practical will be robots.”

Shinso snorted, “That was previous years. With how many nonphysical quirks there are in class and the villains we’ve already fought, there’s no way it’s the same this year.”

Koda softly added, “The mice heard the teachers talking. We’re fighting them.”

Shinso swore and Akira blanched. ‘Did they say who was facing which teacher?’

Koda shook his head, “They’re still deciding, but the teachers will have weights to slow them down.”

‘We should probably talk with Broccoli then to see what strategies he can suggest.’

Tokoyami looked at them strangely and Dark Shadow chimed in, “You analyze! Why not share?”

Akira shrugged, ‘He’s been doing it for much longer, and most of mine consist of basic observations, not strategies to take them down. I can update him on my quirk in exchange for the information, but he might ask for more.’

“We’re already giving him an advantage with the knowledge of teachers being the villains for the practical,” Shinso drawled.

Looking between them, Shoto softly added, “Midoriya doesn’t ask for anything in return. Why would he ask you?”

Akira blinked, about to bring up the Ectoplasm incident when they remembered that they had offered him the information. Midoriya technically hadn’t asked.

After word spread, the class started heroics with Midoriya breaking down strategies for each teacher, Akira occasionally adding their own observations. They would likely be working in pairs given their inexperience and power differential, so instead of normal sparring, they paired off for two v two matches with random pairings. Since it was the week before exams, this was considered a study period specifically for heroics. All Might watched from the sidelines but aside from occasionally making critiques and answering questions, he mostly observed. Anii was with him in case Akira needed her to interpret, but they had already established that Akira only wanted her as an interpreter with All Might, not during private conversations.

Unfortunately, Akira got paired with Yaoyorozu again against Uraraka and Shoji first, and they looked nervously at Bakugo and Midoriya as a team, the blonde glaring at the slips of paper. Akira turned to Yaoyorozu with a sigh and waved their phone, setting up a chat since teams had a few minutes to plan before starting the match. “Infrared goggles will let you see me. I register a few degrees cooler than ambient temperature while invisible.”

“That’s nice,” Yaoyorozu said distractedly as she made the goggles. “You can be the distraction while I drive them back.”

Akira rolled their eyes and huffed before typing in the chat. “I’ve actually been improving since the sports festival while you’ve gotten slower. Keep their attention and go for Shoji.”

As the timer went off, the teams stepped into the sparring rings. Akira immediately warped, darting forward in sync with their clone. Shoji’s brow knitted in confusion as he dodged a matryoshka doll and formed a few more ears.

Just as he stepped towards them and not their clone, Akira warped again, still sending the clones forward to be dispelled by Shoji’s arms as they tapped on Uraraka’s shoulder. The girl whipped around, palm outstretched, and Akira let her touch them before warping again right above her. As Uraraka released in confusion, Akira angled themself to land heavily on her shoulders, knocking the wind out of her.

As the clone dispelled with a swipe of Uraraka’s hand, Shoji turned to the thump. Cannon complete, Yaoyorozu shot them in the back with what looked more like a large bean bag than a cannonball, pushing her out of the ring.

Akira helped Uraraka up before signing, ‘The matchup wasn’t in your favor, but that was good. If you don’t know where a warper went, don’t immediately release your quirk. Tentacle Boy, trust your instincts; I could tell you heard two sets of footsteps, but you took a little too long to react to where I was. Rich Miss, if this was our only spar, the cannon would be fine, but we have nine other teams to face. Remember to conserve your lipids or keep snacks on you.’

A few matches later, everyone took a break, Akira sipping on a juice pouch with cold presses resting on their legs as All Might gave out encouragement and minor critiques. They noticed a Teaching for Dummies book sticking out of his back pocket with numerous page markers sticking out. Nudging Tokoyami, Akira pointed it out with a small smile, ‘Looks like he’s learning. That’s good, right? Ectoplasm hasn’t had a clone nearby in almost a week, and All Might has a little more room control.’

Tokoyami nodded, “I thought you didn’t like him?”

‘I don’t, but I can acknowledge the effort.’

Notes:

So random.org has a love/hate relationship with Bakugo and Midoriya and Akira and Momo XD they keep either getting paired up or being on opposing teams (Bakugo and Midoriya for latter).

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 21: For the Courage to Decide

Summary:

tw: torture mention Important conversations and a deal

Notes:

‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

Dark Shadow was the first to notice their footwear, and they looked up at Akira curiously from between their and Tokoyami’s desks. “Why are you wearing house shoes?”

‘My left shoe got accidentally destroyed, so I needed something quick to wear.’

Tokoyami peeked over, feathers ruffling as he noticed the bandages. ‘What are those for, Reaper?’ he signed, eyes piercing and worried.

Akira sighed, ‘Eraser is aware. And maybe Mic?’ They thought for a moment, last night a bit hazy from sleep deprivation and pain. ‘I got burned by Wildfire in an avoidable situation that was my fault, and I got help when I needed it.’

Ida strode over, arm chopping. “Mori, it is in violation of the dress code to not wear proper shoes to school. You should change.”

Akira just rolled their eyes. ‘Engine Calf, I don’t have other shoes right now.’

Ida flushed and sputtered an apology before returning to his seat. Akira held back a sigh as a location ping came through from Dabi at their apartment: Danger.

After a visit to Recovery Girl to heal their leg the rest of the way and remove their bandages, Akira met Dark Banquet back in the classroom, only to find Shoto with them. They waved and carefully slid into their chair while trying not to jostle their leg much. ‘Blank, looks like I’ll be staying another night.’

Shinso just nodded, shoulders tense as the others looked between them.

Shoto spoke first, neutral expression taking a confused cast. “Is something wrong?”

Koda interpreted for Akira since Shoto was still pretty new, ‘My roommate has a difficult-to-control fire quirk, and there was an incident last night that was completely avoidable on my part. Can we not talk about it? I’m getting tired of explaining.’

Shoto blinked, more confusion filling his eyes, “What does that have to do with Shinso, though?”

‘When things were getting bad while my roommate and I adjusted to living together, I told Mad Banquet that I would leave if things got worse. Which they didn’t.’

“I heard when Recovery Girl came. Dad would only call her if things were hospital bad. Then I wake up to your leg still covered in second-degree burns and gaps in the bandaging. How the hell is that not worse?”

Akira winced, not sure how to respond for a while. ‘It would put you in too much danger to explain why-’

“Danger?” Shinso leapt to his feet. “You want to talk to us about danger. We survived USJ, the League could strike again any day, and you’re being burnt to a crisp by some asshole when you have a place to go! I’m not going to just stand by and watch you sacrifice yourself just because you hate limelight heroes. What could Pop possibly do that would be worse than what you’re going through right now?”

‘What he could do or what I think he’d do?’ Akira signed after a moment, trying not to pull away.

“What?” Shinso flinched back, continuing at Akira’s gesture. “Both? Either?”

Akira sighed, looking down at their food. They carefully pulled up their sound- and voice-based tormentors in their analysis hall, grateful for Dark Shadow’s velvety touch and vibrations as they started shaking from the rumbling pain of old memories. ‘Sound quirks are capable of far more destruction than most people realize. Beyond the intensity of the sound waves ripping apart cells, specific frequencies that people with enough training – like Mic – can produce are capable of far more damage when built up over time or pulsed. Specific nerve endings can be triggered to the nth degree, intense nausea and vomiting induced, seizures triggered, internal hemorrhaging, the list goes on. All of which I have personally experienced on multiple occasions at the hands of limelights.

What do I think he’ll do?’ Akira finally looked up, tired eyes meeting their friends’ shocked expressions. ‘I have no idea. I want to trust that he won’t do those things. He hasn’t shown any signs of that in class or with you, and he is married to Eraser. But… how do I know that won’t change the moment I decide to stay? The moment he finds out who my bio family is? After something I didn’t know would set him off?’

“But you trusted Fat Gum?” Shinso said weakly.

Akira laughed humorlessly. ‘Not with that much. He had enough prior knowledge and experience from his work that he figured out who I was with less than I’ve told you.’ After a moment, they added while barely moving their hands, ‘I almost ran when he said their name, and he’s a twilight.’

The rest of lunch passed in silence, Shoto contemplative while Akira tried to keep their head above the ocean of memories trying to drag them under. Every so often, phantom pains still shuddered through their body. As focused as they were on existing, they barely registered their friends’ worried glances.

By the end of the day, Akira was heavily leaning into their crutches while deflecting concerned looks from their teachers. They still met up with Kaminari and Tokoyami at the library with their lesson plans, using real-world examples and pictures to help Kaminari with math while giving him their texture ball to help them focus. For Tokoyami, they actively involved Dark Shadow in talking in English, encouraging the pair to work together on schoolwork since they were both aware most of the time during classes. Things still felt a little awkward from lunch, but both seemed content to focus on studying for now.

Kaminari’s grasp of English wasn’t good either, but he seemed to learn better if Akira let them hyperfocus for a while. After the first two hours, Akira asked Dark Shadow to vibrate at a certain frequency, and sure enough, after a few moments, Kaminari looked around confused.

“Do you want to start on English now or keep going on math?” Akira passed them a note.

“I thought I was doing math for the first half?”

“Kaminari, it’s been two hours,” Tokoyami said concerned.

Motioning for Tokoyami to interpret, Akira signed, ‘I think you were hyper-focusing. It’s one of the signs of neurodivergence.’

“Oh, uh yeah,” Kaminari blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I have ADHD. If that’s a problem, I can go…” they started to stand up.

Akira quickly shook their head, blinking rapidly as their head pounded. ‘No, that’s not what I meant. I thought you might after doing some research on your learning style and habits yesterday, so I made lesson plans based on what I could find. Does the school know? There are some accommodations you can get that might help.’

Eyes wide, Kaminari shook his head to Akira and Tokoyami’s confusion. “No! I can do it, just need to focus more.”

Glancing at Tokoyami, Akira signed, ‘I have accommodations for my chronic pain and quirk drawback. Does that make me any less of a hero student?’

“No…”

‘Then why would accommodations for your brain being wired differently make you any less of one?’ After a moment, Akira motioned for them to sit back down. ‘Let me know if something wouldn’t be helpful…’

The trio continued studying for two more hours before Aizawa strolled in, and Akira started packing up and reminded Kaminari to ask about an IEP conveniently as Aizawa walked into hearing range but before he was noticed by the others.

“What were you talking with Kaminari about?” Aizawa asked as they walked to his car, Yamada and Hitoshi already waiting.

‘He has ADHD but is worried about getting help. I was reading about ways to help them yesterday when his behaviors lined up in my research, and they should qualify for some accommodations like a different question format and more time to take tests.’

Aizawa’s eyebrows raised, “That’s dedicated for a study group. I’ll talk with Inui to see how we can best approach the conversation. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

As they headed to presumably a mall, Akira made a group chat with Bakugo and Kirishima.

Reaper: I’m worried about Kaminari.

Murdergod: why?

Redhot: yeah, is something wrong?

Reaper: he’s more insecure than I thought

And I already thought they were faking

Pretty sure he doesn’t think they belong in 1-A

Murdergod: the fuck?

Redhot: we’ll talk to him, thanks

Murdergod: get back to studying, nerds

‘You should tell Pop,’ Shinso signed.

Akira winced and stared at them. ‘Like hell I will. I’m not taking that risk.’ At his returning stare, they huffed. ‘Besides, he already knows I’m even more uncomfortable around the other teachers.’

When they arrived at the mall, Akira tried not to stare at the sheer number of options. They were quickly pulled along by Shinso as Yamada pointed out what stores had different clothing and shoe options. At Akira’s simple request for dark durable shoes, Aizawa led them to a store that, judging by the muted colors he mostly wore out of costume, was where he primarily shopped. It focused on visual kei and dark to neutral clothing in general. Akira grabbed a pair of black combat boots and loose, dark grey cargo shorts. Turning around, they took in Yamada holding up a black peplum three-quarters jacket with a few metallic accents. Akira’s eyes lit up, but they bit their lip as they thought through their budget.

“Do you want to try it on, little listener?” Yamada asked with a grin.

‘I don’t have enough in my budget for all three, and I need these.’

Yamada frowned in confusion and motioned Aizawa over with a glance. “Sorry if we weren’t clear enough last night, little listener, but Shouta and I are paying, not you.”

Akira cocked their head, ‘But I’ll pay you back, right? That’s usually how this works.’

Yamada shook his head, “No, we don’t want anything in return. It’s enough to see you express yourself.”

What? There’s always some kind of catch. Akira tried to puzzle through what they could’ve possibly done to front a favor in exchange for this.

“I can see your wheels turning, kid. What’s on your mind?” Aizawa crouched in front of them, eyes searching but kind as Yamada looked on from behind.

‘If it’s a favor exchange, I can’t think of what I’ve done to pay forward, and I’d rather know now what kind of favor is expected,’ Akira signed after a moment.

Understanding sparking in his eyes, Aizawa asked, “Would you be more comfortable if we asked for something in exchange for buying you things?”

‘Yes,’ Akira signed instantly.

“Alright… stay with us through final exams.”

Akira waited a beat for him to continue before looking even more confused. ‘That’s it?’ At his nod, their eyes narrowed. ‘And my job?’

Aizawa sighed, “I don’t suppose we could just give you what you’d earn on those nights? Alright, but if you’re injured, come to us. Understood?”

Akira nodded and hesitantly accepted the jacket from Yamada. Looking in the mirror, a small smile slipped on their face. Turning back, they let Yamada pick out a few shirts and another pair of pants, hesitantly drawing the line at a pair covered in belts and zippers. The blonde just shrugged and put it back, and as they checked out, Akira wondered if this was others’ normal.

Akira was surprised by the small personal touches in the guest room from the black and gold color scheme to Latin books on the small bookshelf to a couple Fat Gum posters on the walls. Akira set their bag down off the soft, dark purple rug covering most of the floor and started sweeping the room for bugs. As they finished, they heard Aizawa walk up to the open door. Carefully replacing the books, Akira turned to face him.

“The only cameras we have are exterior and hand-held. Same for audio recorders. You’re welcome to read any book in the house if you have trouble sleeping. Do you need anything?”

Akira shook their head. ‘Thank you, and no, this is… wonderful.’ Akira sat on the bed, pulling a cat plushie that looked like Bastard onto their lap. There were a few others on the bed of varying sizes and shapes, Bastard about the size of the real cat.

“Good.” Aizawa went to leave before adding, “The grey blanket on the nightstand is weighted. Feel free to grab more blankets from the linen closet by the bathroom if you want more.”

Akira did try to sleep on the bed for an hour before giving up. They slid the pile of blankets onto the floor, arranged them in a nest, and pulled the weighted blanket off the nightstand. Just as they were about to doze off, they got a location request from Dabi. After a moment, they rejected it with the attached message “safe.”

Notes:

welp I can add fashion to the list of things I wasn’t expecting to research for this fic lol I knew the aesthetic I was picturing wasn’t quite goth, but I didn’t find what it was until I found visual kei, a Japanese fashion subculture. Also!! I just finished Libertias aut Mortis today :D sent it off for Moss Nightwing to sensitivity read, but it'll probably take a month or two given how dark it is and what it covers (usually faer turnaorund is faster, but it's a lot and fae's going through a lot right now). Bello Licentiae is shorter than Mortem ad Wrens, so I'll post every other day for that one to catch y'all up with hopefully not much downtime between that wrapping up and posting Libertias aut Mortis.

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 20: We Must Search Deep Inside

Summary:

tw: medical anxiety Akira tries to navigate a night at the Yamazawa house

Notes:

‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

“What the hell, kid,” Aizawa carefully ushered them inside, steadying them and taking some of their weight. “I’m getting the first aid kit. Where are you injured?”

Biting back a cheeky response, Akira stiffly signed, ‘My left leg is covered in burns, mostly second with a few patches of third. I was hit a little over thirty minutes ago so my pant leg will probably have to be cut.’

“And why didn’t you ping me when it happened?” Aizawa scolded, carefully cutting their pants around where the dark fabric stuck to their skin. He carefully lowered them to the floor and propped their leg up with some throw pillows.

Akira hissed and signed without thinking, ‘Didn’t want the League to see you on your off night after a stranger walked into the apartment.’

Aizawa froze. Akira’s eyes widened and they rushed to explain as he started wrapping the burns. ‘My roommate’s an informant for us against the League. I’m supposed to check with him before heading over because being roommates with a U.A. student would be suspicious as hell, but I’d been helping Electric Rat and Raven and was too exhausted to think about that.’

Akira’s face contorted in pain as Aizawa gently separated their toes with some bandages, the skin sticking slightly. He started applying Recovery Girl’s cream to the sections of their leg that weren’t black, and Akira desperately clutched the blanket he’d draped over them while trying not to hyperventilate.

“You’re okay, Mori, almost done,” Aizawa murmured.

“Shou? I thought you were off- kami!” Akira flinched back, hissing as their leg rubbed against the pillow, as Yamada entered the room in Put Your Hands Up pajamas. He backed up a step, clearly restraining himself as the blonde looked over Akira. “Shou, how can I help?”

“Call Chiyo then leave,” Aizawa’s gaze softened as he looked between the two.

‘N-no, it’s alright,’ Akira stammered, ‘He can stay.’

“Mori, the last thing you need right now is an anxiety attack while you’re at risk for shock. Are you sure?” Aizawa stared at them, looking for something in their face.

‘He shouldn’t have to avoid part of his own house,’ Akira signed stubbornly. They didn’t want to press their luck with the hero, even if he had been defying all expectations.

Aizawa sighed and gave Yamada a rundown to tell Recovery Girl before asking him to bring lukewarm water and make tea for them. “If you need him to leave the room, tell me. Like I said, I want this to be a safe space for you.”

Akira nodded shakily, carefully maneuvering themself forward so the pillow wasn’t directly on their burns. Aizawa was quick to help them, carefully supporting their back. ‘Sorry.’

“Nothing to be sorry for, kid.” A few agonizing minutes later, Aizawa finished applying the cream and sat back on his heels. Yamada set the tea and water on the coffee table within reach of the two before backing up and observing.

After a moment, he brightened a little and asked, “Can I get the guest bed ready or should I wait?”

‘The couch is fine, really, you don’t need to go through the trouble,’ Akira hurriedly signed, starting to sit up but Aizawa gently put a hand over their chest.

Both heroes gave them an exasperated look before Aizawa responded, “You’re not sleeping on the couch. We will need to keep you on observation, though, and it’ll be easier for you to stay awake there.” Akira didn’t protest, just tensely watching Aizawa finish wrapping their leg. “There, can I ask you a few questions about what led to this?” Akira nodded. “Why was your roommate meeting with the League at your apartment?”

Akira hesitated, ‘I don’t actually know. He just mentioned it was a possibility when he joined, so we talked about how to handle that situation.’

Aizawa frowned, “And was it his suggestion to give you potentially life-threatening injuries?”

‘No! It’s not exactly something we can practice, and I watched the flames start going out of control just before I had to dodge. I couldn’t go full-speed or use my quirk because they’d be suspicious. We were going for first to second-degree burns so I could self-treat, but that obviously didn’t work out.’

Aizawa went to say something before snapping his mouth shut and sighing. He stood up, knees popping. “Since you’re staying here, we leave at 7:30. If we don’t have what you need for your smoothie, we can stop by the cafeteria, and Lunch Rush will make it for you. We can stop by the store to get whatever else you need after school.”

Shakily sitting up, Akira shook their head. ‘I shouldn’t stay for more than a night. They should be gone by morning.’

Aizawa gently motioned for them to stay down. “You’re at high risk for infection and shock right now. What if they aren’t? What if they need a place to crash for a few days?”

Akira hesitated, trying to ignore their shaking arms. ‘I’ll check with Wildfire. If they plan on staying – which I doubt given the size of our apartment – we can talk.’

“Even if they don’t stay, if you come here in the future, it would be helpful for us to have the ingredients you need,” Aizawa pointed out as Yamada slipped back into the room with a few books in hand. “You and Hitoshi’s bathroom is just past your rooms on the left, Zashi and I are at the end of this hallway. Come get either of us if you need anything in the night, and you’re free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen. We’ll introduce you to the cats in the morning since they’re in Zashi and I’s room right now.”

As if to prove him wrong, a tuxedo cat started meowing as it beelined to Akira. They reached out a hand for it to sniff. Akira smiled as it attacked their hand and reached over to lightly bonk its nose with their other hand. It gnawed playfully, teeth gentle enough to barely make indents in their skin.

Aizawa sighed and pulled the cat off, “This is Bastard. He’s the oldest we took off the streets, and he doesn’t like people.” Checking their hand, Aizawa hid a small smile behind his capture scarf. “Looks like he was just playing, though, so he either likes you or is too tired to live up to his name. He did much worse to Zashi when I first brought him home.”

Recovery Girl arrived soon after and immediately chided Aizawa for not taking them to the hospital as she crouched and placed a kiss on Akira’s knee. They hissed at the contact, breath catching as the burns started to heal and the pieces of fabric stuck to their muscle separated. Already exhausted from their day, Akira nearly fell asleep on the floor but forced themself to stay awake.

Shouta Aizawa. Pronouns: he/him. Call Signs: Sleepy Cat, Eraser. Pro hero Eraser Head with Erasure quirk. Null Trump quirk that negates most quirk effects with very minor Shaker properties presenting as telekinetic effects on his hair and capture scarf. Strengths: hand-to-hand combat, versatility, stealth, volatile or out-of-control quirks. Weaknesses: always-on quirks and physical mutation quirks, emotional connections, kids.

“Kid, you with us? We need you to stay awake to monitor for shock, okay?”

Akira blinked hard a few times as Aizawa’s face came into focus. They nodded and tiredly signed, ‘I know. Running through analysis helps. Eight hours? Or less because of Nurse?’ Recovery Girl wasn’t in their line of sight anymore, so Akira shifted, only seeing Yamada in the kitchen sipping from a World’s Loudest Dad mug.

“Recovery Girl left a few minutes ago,” Aizawa looked down at them, brow knitting in concern. “You’re usually more aware of your surroundings, are you sure you were awake?”

Akira nodded, ‘I was just in my analysis hall.’ At his raised eyebrow, Akira sighed. ‘Do you not see things in your mind, either?’

“I can see things, yes, but I don’t have separate rooms like it sounds like you do.”

‘It’s just to help organize my thoughts. If I need to remember something specific, I can go to that area, and it’s usually easier to find it than before I came up with the system,’ Akira frowned at their world map room where everything was jumbled up, briefly wondering if it was time to try another organization method. ‘And get space if things get too much.’

“Toshi mentioned you like Latin, so we got a few books if you want to use those to stay awake,” Yamada quietly offered as Aizawa looked down at them appraisingly.

“The best way to get you on the couch is for me to pick you up. Is that alright, kid?” Aizawa eventually asked.

‘Can…’ Akira hesitated, not sure what their own reaction would be for a moment. ‘Can you avoid my upper back?’

Aizawa nodded as Yamada’s eyes flashed in sad understanding. “You’ll be less stable, but it’s not far.”

A few unsteady minutes later, Akira was sitting lengthwise on the couch, right leg dangling as their left was elevated. Glancing at the small stack, Akira smiled softly as they saw the Aeneid near the top, the unfinished manuscript bringing them back to when they and Asami would write their own versions of how they thought the story should end. Akira winced at the bitterness and resentment thinking of their twin brought, refocusing on the work as they were delighted to see it was in its original language. Before they could hyper-focus, Akira grabbed their contact case from their backpack and hesitantly removed their contacts, angling slightly away from Aizawa to avoid his stare.

Aizawa and Yamada occasionally pulled them out of the epic poem to check vitals, but Akira was content to just read. While they could no longer recite the story by heart, Akira let their mind fill with scenes from the story, pointedly ignoring times when a near-identical girl with honey eyes joined their cast. At some point, Bastard joined them, curling up by their head after Aizawa shooed him from their lap. Sometime after their third check-in, Akira put the poem down with a sigh, knowing they usually needed to eat something after this part. Now that they were eating more food more frequently, Akira at least didn’t feel as much of a burning pain in between meals. They went to reach for their backpack when Aizawa moved in front of them.

“I was about to say it’s time to make your smoothie.”

Akira blinked, noting the time on their watch with a start. ‘Sorry, usually I read a little faster. I need a cup of strawberries, a quarter cup of peanut butter, two bananas, two tablespoons of honey, two cups of oats, four scoops of the protein powder in my duffle bag, and three cups of whole or almond milk.’

“We don’t have strawberries, but we do have some frozen blueberries.”

Akira thought for a moment before nodding at the substitute. They fished the protein powder out of their duffel bag, carefully setting it away from the precious books before going to zip the bag back up. Bastard, true to his name, immediately jumped into the bag, curling up on the ratty blankets. With a huff, Akira tried to bend over to extract him but nearly fell off the couch, catching themself on the table halfway to the ground. Unphased, Bastard stared at them and twitched his tail.

Akira pushed themself back up as Aizawa hurried over, waving off his concern. ‘Your cat likes my blankets for some reason.’

“Sorry about him.” Aizawa grabbed the cat, holding him at arm’s length when Bastard started hissing and scratching. “I knew last night was an anomaly,” he muttered, setting Bastard on a cat tree. Looking back at their bag, Aizawa frowned. “Are those your only blankets? Alright, we’re getting you new ones after school.”

Eyes wide, Akira shook their head, ‘That’s really not necessary. I’m not on the streets anymore so it’s not like having newer blankets would matter, and it’s summer, so it’s not like I use them much right now.’

“Alright, fine. If that’s the boundary you’re setting, I won’t get new blankets. You will need new shoes, though, since your left was destroyed. Yamada should be back soon with slippers that will work for the time being.”

Akira nodded and noticed Shinso’s door opening. Shinso blearily looked between the couch and Aizawa a few times before he seemed to realize who Akira was. He rushed over, scanning their body and settling on their lightly wrapped leg. “What happened?”

‘Roommate.’ At Shinso’s strangled “what,” Akira sighed. ‘It’s complicated.’

Shinso pulled back, eyes filled with hurt. “You said you’d leave if things got worse.”

‘They haven’t,’ Akira signed, chewing their bottom lip. ‘Last night was just a shitty situation that could’ve been avoided, and I came here because I couldn’t get what I needed. That’s what we agreed to, right?’

Shinso’s mouth thinned to a hard line as he looked to Aizawa.

The hero sighed, “I told Mori our home would be open if they needed a place to stay without questions. They graciously answered a few of mine last night, and what they’ve said is correct, although I’m not familiar with whatever deal the two of you made.”

Shinso closed his eyes for a moment before looking intensely at Akira. “One day, right?”

Akira nodded, much to Aizawa’s confusion. As the family prepared to leave, Akira noticed a small shrine to a teenager with fluffy blue hair tucked into one corner of the living room. A few trinkets graced the space, including a plushie of a blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail. Before leaving, they met Patches the calico, Nico the all-black shorthair, Oboro the white cat with blue eyes, Puddles the long-haired grey cat, and Houdini the cat Aizawa rescued earlier in the term.

At school, the group headed to the teacher’s lounge first, Yamada commenting it was more comfortable than the classroom and the other teachers wouldn’t bother them. As they stepped into the lounge, Akira took in the handful of teachers grading, prepping their lessons, and quietly chatting while most nursed coffee cups. They were largely ignored apart from a few curious looks directed at Akira as Aizawa directed them to a loveseat and started the last check for shock. Midnight drifted over as he finished with a reminder to go to Recovery Girl if the pain got worse or at lunch, whichever came first.

“You okay, kitten?” Midnight asked, staying a meter back.

Akira nodded, ‘I’ll see Nurse later, just need to get my stamina back up.’

“Do you mind if I keep an eye on you during class?” Midnight asked gently. “If I notice you’re in pain, I can send you to Shuzenji and save you the discomfort of asking.”

Akira did consider it for a moment but knew their anxiety would just be worse if they had to worry about Midnight watching them. At their increasing discomfort, Midnight just nodded and backed off to where she had been going over papers.

Aizawa sighed, pulling their attention back. “She just wanted to help,” he said softly.

‘That wouldn’t have helped,’ Akira signed curtly. After a moment, they left for their classroom.

Notes:

I was going to have more extensive burns, but I was looking up treatment… each leg is 18% of body mass, and at 20% you need an IV, which you need a prescription for the fluids. It’s also quite dangerous to administer IV fluids without proper training. And apparently even small third-degree burns require medical professionals >< I just wanted a little solo hurt/comfort with dadzawa! I asked my Latin nerd friend if there were poetry books that weren’t epics or smut, and she said that’s almost all they wrote (at least that we have today). Figured Zawa and Zashi would be more likely to get Akira epics The smoothie Akira requests is an actual recipe I found for a 1000-calorie smoothie, just doubled. I was originally going to stick with 1000, but with the upgraded nutrition plan, this kid needs all the calories they can get.

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 19: When They Breathe Free

Summary:

tw: abuse, medical trauma With a crooked smile they asked, “Offer still open?”

Notes:

fun fact there are only two chapters with fewer trigger warnings: 20 and 21 ‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

“Mori, stay for a moment,” Aizawa called out as class filtered out.

‘I’ll catch up with you,’ Akira signed to Mad Banquet before walking over to his desk with their crutches. They were still getting the hang of smooth movement, but Akira was slowly building up speed.

“How are the kids doing?” he asked quietly.

Akira gave a small smile, ‘Much better, thank you. Doc says it’ll take a couple months for them to recover, but they’re on their way.’ At Aizawa’s raised eyebrow, they continued, ‘Doc can see the source of people’s pain. Can’t do much to help, but it’s how we knew what the kids needed.’

“I take it med school is out of their budget?”

Akira nodded and hesitated a moment before signing, ‘Thank you. You could’ve walked away with no one knowing, and you gained more that night than you probably realize.’

‘Murder God,’ Akira signed, tapping on his shoulder in the locker room. ‘You still want the match?’

Bakugo’s scowl turned into a chaotic grin, “You’re on, Reaper!”

‘Pit or tournament rules?’ Akira asked as they warmed up.

“Until we have a fucking indisputable win,” Bakugo growled.

‘Pit it is then,’ Akira grinned. They snagged one of the larger sparring areas while discussing the specifics, and to his credit, All Might approached with Anii and an Ectoplasm clone.

“Young Bakugo, Young Mori. You don’t usually spar together, is everything alright?”

‘We’re settling the match that would’ve happened at the sports festival. To reiterate the rules for their benefit, we go until one of us is incapacitated or yields, out of bounds is not a thing in this, but we will try to keep it in this area. If we need to stop, we sign “yellow flag.” Chokeholds are allowed but the other person can tap out to drop the hold.’

Bakugo huffed and nodded, crossing his arms. “I’m not going to tap out.”

Akira nodded, knowing it was more for the teachers’ benefit. ‘Ready?’ They noted Ectoplasm’s clone and Anii stayed while All Might went back to observing the regular sparring matches.

Bakugo burst forward with an explosion, and Akira deftly dodged, the heat now causing more of phantom pains than a flashback from living with Dabi. As Bakugo course-corrected in mid-air, Akira warped between his shoulder blades, feet hooking into his gauntlets’ pins as they warped again and directed their clone to pull back as it fell. The explosion made Bakugo stumble, pitching forward at the unexpected momentum. After a moment, he charged again as Akira wove in between blasts, warping when an explosion got a little too close. The loud pops and crackles still made them wince, but it was progress.

Just as Akira noticed they’d slipped into a pattern, Bakugo was right in their face, shooting an explosion into their stomach. They just barely caught their breath in time to warp before hitting the ground, but the momentum made them stumble as a wave of nausea hit and their legs protested the strain. As Bakugo waited for the smoke to clear, shoulders tense in focus, Akira stalked forward, low to the ground with barely a rustle of fabric buried under the sounds of sparring far away and the ringing in their ears.

Akira silently warped three times in rapid succession, tapping into their clones to have them charge from behind as they waited inside the falling smoke cloud for Bakugo to turn. The moment he did, they warped onto his back, slamming their full weight into him while pulling up on his arms, the back of their head above his. Bakugo let out a startled yelp as he went down, and his palms ignited, a massive explosion slamming them harder into the ground as Akira flinched out of the hold, rolling to the side and trying to blink their vision back from just white. The ringing in their ears was now a constant, high-pitched piercing noise that consumed all other sound.

Akira closed their eyes and focused on what senses they could use, noting what felt like a light breeze back and forth on their face. After a moment, they signed, ‘Please stop, I can’t see or hear right now.’

The breeze stopped, and a hand on their arm guided them to stand. Panic seized as they scrambled back. ‘Don’t touch me! I don’t know who-’

A familiar velvety static ducked under their hand, and they breathed a sigh of relief. Nodding, they let Dark Shadow and presumably Tokoyami lead them along. Gradually, the ringing faded into more of an annoyance, and they could finally hear Tokoyami talking about the life cycle of robins. Confused, Akira signed, ‘I’m intrigued, but why are you talking about robins?’

“Your hearing’s back!” Tokoyami chirped in relief. “I didn’t want you to worry that your hearing was gone after the ringing stopped. We decided it would be beneficial to have a steady stream, so I talked about birds.”

Akira nodded, their curiosity piqued. ‘Well don’t stop if you’re okay continuing. I didn’t know they could get drunk.’

“Bakugo’s also here. You almost stabbed him when he tried to help you up.”

At Bakugo’s mumble, Akira grimaced, ‘Sorry, I just… don’t have great experiences with being touched so need to know who’s doing it. Are your arms okay? You seemed just as surprised at the explosion’s size.’

“They’re fine, nerd. You’re the one whose head I almost blew off,” Bakugo huffed.

‘My head was far enough away, and it doesn’t feel like I got any burns.’ At their silence, Akira frowned. ‘Unless they’re getting buried under everything else?’

Akira tried not to tense as they recognized Recovery Girl’s footsteps walking up. “Just some superficial ones, dearie. All Might already called down to explain what injuries he could see, and Aizawa is on his way. Pain level?”

Akira shifted onto the bed with Dark Shadow’s help. ‘6. Can you make the room dark? I think photosensitivity is in my file, and I know you’ll want to check my sight.’

A strangled noise came from Bakugo as he asked, “What the fuck, Reaper? How were you walking?”

Akira waved off his concern as Dark Shadow settled in their lap with a gentle purr.

There were a few soft clicks before Recovery Girl asked them to open their eyes. Even with just the sunlight filtering through drapes, Akira’s eyes burned, and they nearly snapped them closed again. Focusing more on the source of the pain, they sighed. ‘I think my contacts were at least partially damaged. Nurse, can you take them out? I don’t feel like fishing them out without a mirror.’

“Of course, dearie.”

Akira forced their eyes open long enough for Recovery Girl to take out what felt like multiple fragments of the contacts from each eye. Akira quickly closed them again as Bakugo and Tokoyami let out confused noises as they presumably saw the colored lenses.

“Your eyes aren’t yellow?” Tokoyami was the first to speak up.

‘No, it’s just easier to blend in with people with that color. I need contacts for my bad eyesight anyways, and since those are from the support company, they help filter out some of the light my pupils can’t. I have a backup pair without the light filtering in my backpack. Front left pouch.’

“You are not putting more contacts in until I’ve determined the damage to your eyes,” Recovery Girl said sternly. “At least that young man has gotten ahold of himself.”

“Oi!” Bakugo shouted as Akira exasperatedly signed, ‘It was just as much my fault!’

Glancing at the blond, eyes still closed, they specified, ‘She’s talking about my roommate, not you.’

After running a few tests, during which Aizawa entered, Recovery Girl gave them eye drops to use for the next few days while their eyes recover from sunburn. When Akira protested not being able to use their contacts, Aizawa handed them a pair of dark sunglasses.

“These should help with the light sensitivity and color.”

Akira nodded in relief and immediately put them on, cautiously letting Recovery Girl heal their minor burns and take the edge off an incoming migraine.

“Did Recovery Girl do something to you?” Tokoyami abruptly asked the next day while the Mad Banquet ate lunch in their classroom.

Akira cocked their head, ‘Nothing bad?’

“Why are you afraid of her then?”

Shinso tensed, looking to Akira with apprehension as Koda looked on with curiosity. ‘What gave it away? I thought I’d gotten better about not flinching,’ Akira frowned.

“You tensed when we could hear her cane, and you only seemed more uncomfortable with her proximity.”

Akira sighed, ‘It’s not so much her as limelight heroes and medical professionals in general. People thought I was Quirkless for a long time, so I wasn’t a person in their eyes. Not to mention they helped cover up or were responsible for the abuse.’

“One day you’ll give us a name, and we will hunt down your family like the animals they are and call forth the dark upon them.”

Koda and Shinso looked at Tokoyami in surprise at the outburst, but Akira nodded with a small smile. ‘Maybe one day. If everything goes to plan, you won’t need to be at risk, but-’

‘Need isn’t a factor. We want to be there for you,’ Koda signed with a glint in his eye.

A week before the exam, Akira was amazed that many of the students had waited to start studying and were just now forming groups. ‘Do any of you need help?’ they asked the Mad Banquet. Shinso and Koda shook their heads, having ranked around the middle of the class in midterms. Tokoyami admitted to not studying along with Kaminari, so Akira offered to help. Yaoyorozu was also forming a study group, but Akira wanted no part of that.

After school, they spent a few hours at the library with the others, making notes on their learning styles and grasp of the material – however tenuous Kaminari’s was – to better plan future sessions. After the other two left, Akira looked up techniques on the computers for their styles and noticed that much of Kaminari’s behavior lined up with neurodivergent people.

Akira headed out shortly before the library closed after changing into plain clothes, understanding a bit more about the loud blonde but also feeling overwhelmed at the sheer amount of information they sorted through to find what would be useful. They knew U.A. readily provided accommodations for students, so the only reason Kaminari wouldn’t already have the tools he needed was if he didn’t know they were neurodivergent. Or he’s embarrassed by it? They already get teased for having the lowest grades.

Akira was so caught up in their thoughts they walked up to their apartment unannounced and jimmied the door open. Shit. Their breath caught at the sight of Dabi staring daggers at them as Shigaraki, Kurogiri, knife girl, a lizard man, and a magician sat on their couch. Regret flashed in his eyes as Akira settled into the robber role they’d thankfully determined in case of emergency.

Dabi cursed and threw a fireball at them, the flames spinning slightly out of control in his surprise, and Akira had to dodge just a little faster than normal to avoid the brunt of the blast. Clothes singed and breath heaving, they scrambled down the stairs as they patted out their pants, taking a practiced route as their clothes scraped and stuck to their burns.

Shit. Of course, the one time I forget to check in is when he has them over. Akira briefly considered going to base, but they were already low on medical supplies from when the kids were sick. Pausing to take in their surroundings, Akira realized they’d drifted to one of Eraser Head’s routes, despite him not being on patrol tonight. Wait, Eraser Head. Akira jolted with the thought, curling inwards and leaning on a building corner for support as their leg spasmed.

As the adrenaline wore off, Akira pulled their crutches out of their duffle bag and slowly started making their way to the underground hero’s house, avoiding possible sources of infection when they could. The warehouse district streets were still filthy, and Akira was never more grateful to see the district transitioning to a more residential area. Thirty minutes after being greeted by a fireball, they knocked on Aizawa’s door. After a few minutes of no response, Akira pinged their location to Aizawa with the Injury: Severe notification.

Moments later, a light turned on in the house and Akira heard scrambling before the door opened to a haphazardly dressed Aizawa, capture scarf only loosely around his shoulders. With a crooked smile they asked, ‘Offer still open?’

Notes:

I don't usually include cliffhangers but I rewrote the last section going into chapter 20 several times before I was happy with it. Sorry for the delay, I'm really close to finishing Libertias aut Mortis (fic 3) and my cat was on my laptop for like most of yesterday when I was going to catch this up me: codifies what options there are in the app also me: doesn't write any of them down me months later: aww shit

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 18: Their Voices Will Roar Like the Sea

Summary:

tw: burns, abuse, flashback involving old pronouns, torture, being called pet/good girl by abusers, grooming, child trafficking, child abuse “Sounds like a match made in hell. Let’s do it.”

Notes:

‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

A couple days later, June rolled around, bringing warmer weather and summer uniforms. Akira was signing with Shinso before homeroom when they got an alert on their phone. Confused, Akira glanced down and dropped their head to the desk.

“Endeavor levels half of warehouse district 13… Akira, you good?” Shinso read through their hair.

Akira shook their head, barely lifting it as they signed, ‘That’s where I live. Heroes never go there unless they’re in a long villain chase.’ Going to their locator app, they selected Family and Safe before pinging their location. ‘I’ll keep an eye on it. Hopefully, it was contained to the warehouses.’

“Are your belongings safe?” Tokoyami asked, Akira giving a shushing motion as the rest of the class started to notice.

‘Yeah, I keep them with me for pretty much this reason. As long as everyone else is safe, the only thing I have to worry about is finding a new place.’

‘Sleepy Cat’s offer is still on the table,’ Shinso signed.

Akira shrugged it off as Bakugo stalked over. “Hey extras, what’s wrong with you?”

‘Not in the mood, Murder God. Piss off,’ Akira signed. They gestured to Aizawa entering the room as the rest of class rushed back to their seats. For the rest of the morning, the remaining Blue Fang members checked in, getting away with only one supply cache and the corner store as casualties along with a couple low-income housing units and the warehouses fit for sleeping in. Not good, but manageable.

At lunch, Uraraka stopped Akira as they were about to trail after Mad Banquet. “I heard what happened to district thirteen and… I know what housing is like there. If you need help, I don’t have much, but-”

Akira waved her off, ‘I appreciate it, but I have a few options and wouldn’t want to put the extra strain on your family.’ After a moment, they continued to the group’s tree and forced themself to focus on the conversation instead of where they should go.

Mortis was greeted by an oppressive somberness as they entered base that night. They checked in on Ayaka and Azumi, who already had a place lined up with their fosters, the throuple assuring Mortis that they had what they needed. Mortis gradually made their way around the room, checking on everyone before doubling back to Dabi at the bar.

‘What brings you here tonight, Wildfire? If you’re looking to take a kid in, all of them are set for the moment,’ Mortis signed, hopping onto a stool a couple seats over.

“Nah, too jumpy to have kids running around the place. I was thinking more of a roommate,” Dabi side-eyed them.

‘Really?’ Mortis’ eyebrows shot up. ‘Most people are already paired up, but I can keep an eye out for stragglers coming in.’

“Where will you go? I heard your usual haunts got caught up in the bastard’s fight.”

‘I’ll stay here a night and see what’s being slotted for gentrification on the news. There are usually one or two that just get condemned since companies can’t be bothered.’

Dabi pushed his phone over, and Mortis swore at the headline. “Not this time, Mortis. I came to offer you the couch at my place again. We pay for our own groceries, and I take care of rent. We both plan on taking down powerful heroes, and our families would hunt us down if we’re discovered, so we’re not adding risk to the other.”

Mortis grinned bitterly, ‘Sounds like a match made in hell. Let’s do it.’

“You look like death this morning,” Shinso grumbled as Akira trudged into class.

‘Couldn’t sleep. New place,’ Akira wearily signed, leaning against his desk. At their questioning look, Akira smiled slightly, ‘Got a roommate. He’s okay so far.’

Shinso jerked up at that. “How old is this roommate?”

Akira thought for a moment, waving at Ida as he entered. ‘Early to mid-twenties? He’s in a similar family situation so we don’t add to each other’s danger level.’ They smirked, remembering the kitchen fire that morning, ‘Well, unless he’s cooking.’

He frowned and signed back, ‘You don’t know him?’

Akira shrugged, keeping an eye on Ida who seemed busy studying. ‘Work associate who officially joined a month ago. He’s rough around the edges but a good kid.’

Things went smoothly for the next couple days, but as Akira grew more comfortable they made less noise as they walked. One morning while Dabi was making eggs, Akira got up soundlessly and went about their routine in the bathroom, coming back out to make a smoothie when they stepped on a creaky floorboard and were met with a ball of fire. Quickly throwing up their arms to guard, Akira warped but not before the blue flames tore at their skin. They shuddered as pain from their current burns and phantom flames from their memories consumed their senses for several long moments. They bit back a scream as the cones of flame seared their flesh. Good kids don’t scream. If you just got a quirk like your sister, you wouldn’t be such a worthless little pet. Now be a good little girl and hold still.

They came to a few minutes later on the floor, leaning against the back of the couch as a worried, scratched-up Dabi crouched a little ways away. “You back, kid?”

Akira nodded and went to sign but flinched as the blistering skin stretched.

Dabi sighed, “Are you going to let me patch you up or do you want to go to school like that?” After a moment, Akira held up one shaky finger and let him apply burn cream. “Fuck, I told you I was jumpy, so don’t sneak up on me. It’s hard enough to control the flames when my own skin is burning, and I could have killed you. Now come on,” he helped them up by their armpits. “I can at least make your smoothie.”

Akira shakily pointed at the scratches littering his arms and face then to the kit.

Dabi chuckled after a moment as he turned on the blender. ‘They’re nothing, Reaper. I’ll clean them up after we get you to school.’

Putting on their braces was a bit of a struggle after that, but Recovery Girl’s cream helped take out some of the sting. They got a few odd looks on the train but managed to avoid student scrutiny until they ran into Aizawa exiting 1C. He took one look at them cradling their raw arms and gently pulled them into the classroom.

“First aid kit.”

Akira froze at the blonde limelight hero, desperately trying to separate him from another blonde hero with a fire-breathing quirk.

“Zashi, out,” Aizawa said more firmly. He gently wrapped bandages around their arms, keeping the ones around their fingers loose enough to let them sign. “Who did this?”

‘Roommate, my fault,’ Akira tried not to wince at the motions.

Aizawa sucked in a breath, “Why do you think it was your fault?”

‘Startled him. Forgot to not move quietly.’

“That’s a pretty serious burn for being startled,” Aizawa frowned.

‘Not good control. Hurts him to use.’

“Do you feel safe with him?”

‘Safer than streets right now.’

Aizawa sighed, “My offer is still open. No questions asked, just a safe space when you need it.”

Akira nodded before getting up, not wanting to take up any more of Yamada’s prep time. Shinso was the only one in the classroom this early, and his worried frown only deepened at Akira signing ‘roommate accident.’

“What’s your favorite color?”

Akira rolled their eyes, wondering for the hundredth time how Dabi went from helping them study to convincing them to play icebreakers. ‘Gold. Yours?’

“Cerulean, like the middle color of my flames.” Dabi looked at the card pack he’d gotten from a bargain bin. He wrinkled his nose but still asked, “Who’s your favorite hero?”

‘Easy, Fat Gum. Yours?’ Dabi blushed and mumbled a name Akira barely caught. They grinned, ‘Ooh, you like Hawks, huh?’

“Shut up,” Dabi growled, blue flames sparking from his fingertips. “I doubt he remembers me, but before my sperm donor discovered my quirk’s drawback, we would meet at Hero Commission events. Birdie was the only one who would actually talk to me without trying to be fake.”

Akira nodded, adjusting the cold compresses on their legs. ‘He’s from my family, you know?’ Dabi sat straighter, staring at them. ‘They sold him to the Hero Commission for having a weak quirk when it first manifested, so he didn’t take the Wren surname. Probably went through the standard brainwashing, too, although he seems a little spunky for the full treatment. I can’t risk meeting him, though, and my family discovering my existence too early.’

“And he’d probably kill me on sight,” Dabi sighed, letting his head fall against the back of the couch. “Why didn’t your folks want him?”

‘He came from the Mover/Blaster branch, so the wings were viewed as a liability, especially with their fire vulnerability. He also didn’t know how to weaponize his feathers at first, so he initially would’ve been classified as Mover/Thinker for his reconnaissance capabilities. Not a bad combo normally, but they didn’t see the potential in his unique fighting style.’

The next time Akira startled Dabi, they were more prepared and got away with first-degree and a couple minor second-degree burns. Akira still bandaged them before heading to school, meeting Aizawa and their classmates’ concerned glances with the same explanation. Finals were only three weeks away, and Akira crammed every chance they could get, mouthing dates and events while watching over drug and arms deals from the rafters. They rarely had to get involved, Isao’s rare Brute/Trump quirk that let him ignore mundane wounds for up to an hour and heal from being hit by quirks providing more than enough incentive for most.

“I’m going to join the League of Villains,” Dabi said as they walked in one day.

Setting their bag down cautiously, Akira signed, ‘There’s more to that statement, right?’

“I already talked to Boss about becoming an informant, and they’re looking for mid- to long-range fighters. I’m meeting with them tomorrow. If I get in, always check before coming over. I’ll try to keep them away from the apartment, but I don’t want you to be seen with me.”

Akira nodded and flopped onto the couch over him. ‘Stay safe, okay Wildfire? Wouldn’t want Flamingo to lose his spark.’

Dabi huffed and pushed them off, nodding before fully turning away.

As the pair got used to each other’s presence and habits, Akira came to school wrapped in bandages less frequently, and some of the tension bled out of the air. One day, they brought a handmade card and a couple of Yamada’s favorite toffees to his desk while the hero was in the teacher’s lounge. It was just a simple note appreciating his patience and musing that he’s not bad for a limelight, but the grin Yamada threw their way in English made it seem like they had given him the world.

Two weeks before finals, Ayaka, Azumi, and a few of the other kids came down with a nasty illness. The gang immediately took them off delivery duties, pulling from their still limited antibiotic supplies as the kids slowly got worse.

Mortis was starting to consider Aizawa’s offer of anything they needed when one of the message runners ran into base announcing that there was a dealer offering antibiotics for the meningitis strain going around. The price seemed a little skewed in their favor, but with who was at stake, Mortis promised to be extra vigilant for signs of a trap.

As they approached the run-down building, Mortis was reminded of their veto power on the deal and signs to flash should they see anything out of place. Mortis carefully made their way around the building’s perimeter from the ground and the rooftops, searching for any sign of cameras, quirks, or… very distinct scuff marks on the top of a lamp post. Shit.

Making their way back around, Mortis signed to scatter; Eraser was already in the building. The lieutenant signed back asking to just check for other signs just in case, which Mortis reluctantly did. Making their way into the building on the rafters, Mortis tried to stay out of Eraser’s line of sight, but there were only so many beams, and they quickly spotted the police force waiting for their people.

Anger swelling, Mortis turned to leave when Eraser’s surprised face found theirs. Making their way over, Mortis rapidly signed, ‘What the hell, Eraser? I thought you were better than this.’

‘I thought you ran deliveries, and what do you mean,’ Eraser frowned. ‘I’m doing my job.’

Mortis sneered, ‘And a shitty one at that! If you want to lure people out so badly, use fucking illegal drugs. We need those antibiotics, and if kids die because we wasted our time on this, that’s on your hands, Eraser.’ Mortis punctuated their statement with a jab in his direction.

Eraser’s face morphed into shock before signing, ‘Antibiotics? The idea was posed, but I insisted the bait be recreational.’ After searching their open face, Eraser dropped from the rafters by his capture scarf with a fierce glare, quirk activating as he rounded on the officer in charge. Mortis knew they should go back, but they wanted to see where this would go. “The operation’s off. I want you off the case and a review of your actions here today. This will not go unnoticed, and I will personally put a black mark on your file so no self-respecting hero will work with you again,” Eraser seethed at the officer.

“Eraser Head, I don’t know what you’re-”

“Don’t lie to me, detective. I know you changed the bait, and I know what’s at stake for people that desperate. Now move out before I make you,” he growled.

Mortis directed the gang away from the leaving police, making sure they didn’t have tails before circling back. Eraser Head was filling out paperwork with an unfamiliar detective, but a slight shift in his posture indicated he’d heard Mortis land. They backed off a few buildings now that they had his attention, and soon Eraser Head met them.

‘Thank you. That was unexpected but appreciated,’ Mortis jerkily signed.

“I’m an underground hero, I’m surprised they tried to pull that shit,” Eraser sighed. “How much do you need?”

Mortis looked up in shock, eyes clouding in suspicion before deciding to take the risk, consequences for themself be damned. ‘We’re still recouping medicine from Flame Hole’s fight, but right now we need enough for five children who contracted bacterial Meningitis five days ago.’

Eraser nodded stiffly, stoic face flickering with barely concealed rage. “I meant what I said before. About the police facing consequences and getting you anything legal you need.” He met Mortis’ eyes briefly before they looked away. “I won’t stand by while you or the other kids die. Reach out next time, you know how.”

Mortis nodded before roof hopping away, slowly losing reasons to not believe what the hero said.

Notes:

While not the smallest apartment size, this one fits the needs of the story best of the small ones (1K):

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 17: For the Freedom of Those Our Nation Denies

Summary:

tw: scars, trafficking mention, gang involvement, domestic violence shelter, abuse mention, unhoused, spousal abuse mention, muzzle adjacent device Stain from afar and rescue race

Notes:

Me: Akira’s never had a stable adult in their life, have they Akira: there’s the gang! Me: eeeeh ‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

As they geared up for the third day’s evening patrol, Akira kept trying to adjust their capture weapon, something causing it to sit askew. After a moment of trying to undo a lump, they directed it to unravel and saw a small lizard napping in it. Grinning, Akira took a picture of it and sent it to their class group chat and Lizzaro once Taishiro happily gave them her number. Akira scooped the lizard off the scarf, being careful to detangle its tiny claws, and set it on their now-empty costume case.

An hour into patrol, everyone’s phone sounded an alarm as Hosu was attacked. Akira blanched and quickly texted the class group chat, “Those in or going to Hosu, stay safe. Don’t do anything illegal.”

Shoto liked their message, but they weren’t expecting Ida to see it for a while. It’s the thought that counts, right?

“Any friends in Hosu?” Taishiro asked gently.

‘Mini Ingenium’s interning there, and it looks like Shoto is heading there with Endeavor,’

“We’re too far out to send people, but the backup evening team will be ready to deploy if they need more people that badly.”

Akira nodded and put their phone away, hoping their classmates would follow protocol for once. Mortis helped a cat down from a tree, letting the poor thing ride in their capture scarf as they carefully climbed back down. Fat Gum discretely took a picture, chuckling at Mortis’ half-hearted glare that was tempered by the cat nuzzling under against the mottled scar across their throat.

“Nejire is also responding in Hosu with Ryukyu,” Suneater said as the group quietly patrolled. Even Fat Gum only tried to lighten the mood a couple times, keeping an eye on the HN for updates.

Half an hour later, Mortis’ phone vibrated. They immediately paused with a roll halfway to their mouth and pulled it out. ‘Deku’s caught up in something, and it looks like mini Ingenium is at the same location.’

Fat Gum sent out a Hero Network alert with what little information they had, two interns either separated from their mentors or with injured mentors in an alleyway. Mortis quickly messaged the group that the alert had been sent to the Hero Network and pinged Shoto in case he hadn’t seen it yet.

The trio waited tensely by the sushi shop as Endeavor and Manual added themselves as responders along with a few of the flame hero’s sidekicks. The minutes ticked by until it was marked as resolved with no casualties but two students moderately injured, one pro and one student severely injured, and Stain severely injured in custody.

Akira sighed in relief and frustration, ‘I’d bet my savings mini Ingenium got there first, and Deku swooped in to help. He wouldn’t have targeted Manual, so Native is probably the injured pro.’

“Native? What makes you say that?” Fat Gum asked.

‘There is a list compiled by people with similar ideologies to Stain of people who need to be taken down in some way. Native is on there for racism, multiple counts of assault, and helping to cover up crimes against indigenous people.’ At Fat Gum’s confusion, Mortis gave their theory on why Ingenium was attacked and not killed.

The three went back to a quiet but tense patrol as it seemed everyone was waiting on news from Hosu. Towards the end of their shift, Fat Gum took the group a little off their patrol route and smiled at Akira’s confused head tilt. “On Wednesdays, I like to check on the battered spouse and community shelters. No matter how much we promote education and therapy for abuse, there are a few who slip through the cracks.”

‘And the community shelters?’ Mortis asked. ‘Are they just a nicer term for unhoused shelters?’

Suneater smiled slightly, “No, anyone from the community or who ends up here can have a place to stay with warm meals, education, and a counselor. The shelters have an emergency foster license they can employ at their discretion, and since we implemented those, we’ve found runaways or abuse victims are more likely to reach out when something’s wrong.”

Fat Gum let one of the intake people take them on a tour of the battered spouse shelter. As they spoke with some of the staff in each wing, a few residents would occasionally approach who had an issue with services. Some were also curious about Akira as his newest, albeit temporary, addition to the agency.

As the tour was wrapping up in the birthing person ward, Akira hesitantly asked, ‘Do you have any protections in place for spouses of pro heroes or villains?’

“Why yes, we have a Tinker on staff who has a support license to help protect the building against most quirk-based attacks. We also have evacuation plans in case the facility is attacked.”

The community shelter left Mortis wishing they had something like it in Musutafu. While the warehouses were protected, a place where you could continue education, not have to worry about your next meal, and start saving money would have made a world of difference when Mortis arrived. They found themself easily talking with the kids, encouraging their dreams and letting them share their interests. The adults still made them a little wary, visually and subtly verbally checking the kids for abuse, but they all seemed to be thriving as best they could in the circumstances.

Eventually heading back to the agency, Mortis signed, ‘Thank you. If U.A. wasn’t so far away, I would wish I stopped here instead of going to Musutafu.’

A few days later, Mortis slipped into base, giving an exhausted smile to Au as they made their way to the back. Most people were making deliveries or deals or sleeping, so Mortis took silent steps until they were just outside Boss’ door, knocking for the first time in ages.

“Mortis, good to have you back. How was the internship?”

‘Good, Fat Gum updated my nutrition plan, and I’m working on a new skill. Unclear yet whether it’ll help on this side of my life, but we’ll see. Also, Fat Gum and Sun Eater are aware of my situation and are willing to help with and recruit for Plan A.’

“Unexpected but noted. Are they aware of us?”

‘Not by name, but they are aware I’m in a gang. With how quickly Fat Gum figured out my bio family, I doubt it’ll take him long to find out which gang I’m in if he decides to look into it.’

“Will they be a problem?” Boss groaned.

‘No, they work with gangs in Esuha, albeit with a tighter leash.’ Akira took a steadying breath, script set in their head. ‘I want to go on security duty. The new nutrition plan is going to take two and a half times what I’m currently making off deliveries. I know we’re still down people since the USJ incident, and I can be the shadow cloak or overwatch. I can intercept Eraser Head and draw off other heroes-’

“Done. Just stay out of the line of fire unless the muscle gives you the signal.”

Akira grinned, ‘Thanks, Boss. If everything goes well for once, you’ll be looking for someone new around October. Also, I’m gonna need to use the kitchen for a couple hours once a week.’

The next day in class, everyone was sharing their internships, and Akira resisted rolling their eyes at the trio saying Endeavor saved them. Riiight, definitely not a cover story. Bakugo seemed pretty happy in his own way with Mirko’s internship, and Kaminari seemed hyped for the alternate way of thinking Present Mic worked on with them. Akira was surprised by his admission of thinking Stain was cool, at least for his drive, and they carefully scanned the room for agreement, only to find disdain towards Kaminari and concern towards Ida. Shinso looked a little disappointed but mostly an emotion Akira couldn’t quite place.

Shinso’s capture scarf was now comfortably settled around his neck, and Akira grinned at the aesthetic choice. ‘Some hell course, huh? You look even more like Eraser now,’ they teased. Shinso just looked smug and nuzzled the fabric, drawing a laugh out of Akira and Koda.

Tokoyami was brooding more than usual, so Akira doodled a few stick figure Hawks getting doused in water and other pranks they’d heard of during homeroom. After passing it to Tokoyami during the break, Akira grinned at his small smile.

As the group made their way to Gym Gamma for rescue training, Akira kept glancing at Shinso’s new addition to his costume. Catching their eye, Akira signed, ‘Are you really okay with that?’

Shinso’s hands ghosted over their half mask as understanding sparked in his eyes. ‘It’s the most effective way to help advance my quirk, and Loud Cockatoo worked with me on the design and structure to avoid triggering. I need a lot of practice with the settings and with mimicking inflections, but yeah. I’m okay.’

Akira nodded hesitantly, worry still gnawing at the back of their mind over the muzzle-like contraption.

After Midoriya’s surprising demonstration of control, Akira went in the second rescue group for heroics with Jiro, Tokoyami, Shoto, and Shinso. Akira immediately heard the sharp tinkling of Shoto’s ice and warped onto the nearest building, surveying the terrain a moment before darting across the pipes. They could just make out Shinso in the distance using their capture weapon and Tokoyami using Dark Shadow’s hover to assist with larger jumps over top. Without an easy way to the canopy, Akira almost felt bad for Jiro being restricted to the ground.

Tokoyami, Akira, and Shoto were neck and neck, steps sure and quirks propelling them forward. Just as the twinkling stopped and Shoto activated his left side to propel the last few meters, Akira tapped All Might on the shoulder as they made their clone lose its footing. They winced as Tokoyami dove to catch them, only to dispel it with the force.

As the others caught up, Shoto bewildered, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow glared at Akira. “Don’t scare us like that! Give a warning next time.”

Akira smirked sheepishly, ‘If I warned you, you could’ve pulled ahead. I’ve been working on continued motion.’

Shinso lit up as they arrived. “You actually got it? That’s great!” But it wasn’t Shinso’s voice. It almost sounded like Tokoyami, but something was distinctly off.

‘That… I see what you’re going for, but you need a little more edge and intone.’

“How long have you been standing here?” All Might asked, handing the sash to Akira.

‘About 30 seconds before I tapped you. I’m still working on clone control.’ Akira signed as Anii interpreted, although they could tell All Might was starting to catch more of their signs in the moment.

Anii added to Akira, ‘You did good, kid.’

Jiro finally jogged up, looking pissed. “Of course, I got paired with aerial people. Who won?”

“I’m not aerial,” Shoto looked mildly confused.

“Yeah, but you might as well be with your ice,” Jiro snapped.

‘To answer your question, I won.’

Jiro scowled and stalked back to the class as the other four shrugged and made their way back, too.

“Are your clones new?” Shoto asked.

‘No, but how they work is. Fat Gum and Sun Eater helped me figure out how to direct them during my internship. Fine motor control and number of clones is still an issue, but that’ll come with time.’

Notes:

What’s the purpose of the lizard? None, I just thought it’d be cute. It’ll probably make an appearance in that collection of short stories. I used a random number generator to get the second rescue group based on the seating chart and immediately got three of the four members of Mad Banquet XD Also here's the first fanart I did of Akira! Technically they'd have their yellow contacts in, but I wanted to draw their cool eyes. Akira helping cat Next week things start heating up :D

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[aspenforest732]

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 16: We Are Determined to Live and to Die!

Summary:

tw: addiction, elevated gang involvement, suicide, mass murder, grooming, abuse, shortened life expectancy, multiplicity adjacent activities, kidnapping mention Logistics are logicked, plans are explained, and quirks trained

Notes:

Happy Halloween/Samhain! I'm gonna be dressing up as Present Mic for dnd tonight. Next week will include the first art I made of Akira :) Also, Chapter 2 of Memoirs Mori is up! It's an essay Akira will write in book 2 on Forced Quirk Manifestation. Check it out if you want to see how trauma maps to quirks and what the different types look like ‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

Slipping into their room at almost half past midnight, Akira flopped onto the bed and saw over a dozen chat notifications from the Mad Banquet. Koda and Shinso were thriving, although the latter was going through what they called the Eraser Hell Course. Shaking their head at his theatrics, Akira frowned as they scrolled down to Tokoyami being disheartened with his internship, having learned nothing except how self-centered and seemingly unwilling to teach Hawks was. Only Shinso was still online, but Akira sent a quick update that they just got in from patrol and were about to crash. Shinso immediately sent a facetime request, which Akira blearily accepted, barely sitting up enough to sign.

“Hey, how’d your first- woah, our eyes match!”

Akira cocked their head in confusion before remembering that they’d taken their contacts out a bit ago since Taishiro and Amajiki already knew their birth family. ‘Exhausting. I have to more than double my food budget with the plan he said I need, and I don’t know how that’s going to happen. Fat Gum also figured out more than I wanted him to – at least in this phase – and now Purple Moon knows, too.’

“He- I thought you were barely keeping up with Recovery Girl’s?” Shinso switched gears as Aizawa walked into frame.

‘Hi sensei, and I’ll figure it out eventually. I just haven’t had the time to sit down and hammer out more than an unsustainable work/school/sleep balance that’ll set me back too far on that deposit. I have a week to make it work, two if I need to delay continuing the plan.’

“What about those 1000-calorie drinks you sometimes use?”

‘Those are expensive, though. He gave me a bunch of recipes that are meant for a low budget, but they all require electricity to some degree.’

“Did he give you them before or after he… found out?” Shinso asked, drawing Aizawa’s attention. “Then maybe he’ll adjust it tomorrow? If nothing else, I can make you some of the stuff here and bring it to school.”

‘Blank, no. That’s too much. My base intake needs to double, and part of this week is figuring out how much I need to increase my variable snacks to be effective.’ Aizawa choked on his coffee in the background, and Akira stifled a laugh. ‘Besides, you two need to leave soon for patrol; I imagine that’s why Eraser is lurking?’

The next day, Akira found the morning shift in the cafeteria and was quickly spotted by the Diminutive Hero: Mouse. “Hey kid!” the petite hero bounded up. “I’m Mouse, fae/faer pronouns. You must be Umbra Mortis. Not many first years see me on their first day. Let me guess, Class A?”

They nodded, ‘I remember reading about those, but do you know the JSL? I was having trouble finding signs for a lot of neopronouns.’

“Sure thing, kiddo,” Mouse grinned and went through the signs. “They aren’t coded yet, so it varies between people. Kind of like call signs! Fat Gum and Suneater usually aren’t down here for another two hours, so how about you sit with us.”

Gust and Lizarro waved tiredly from the group’s table while nursing coffee mugs.

“What got you up so early this morning? Did Fat Gum forget to give you the schedule? From the shift overview, it sounded like you had an eventful first night.”

‘I’m just used to getting four hours of sleep. Figured I could go back over my new budget I started working on yesterday.’ Noticing Lizarro’s stare, Akira cocked their head, ‘Do you need something?’

“You’re the kid who danced instead of fighting in the quarter-finals at the sports festival, right?”

Akira quirked a small smile, ‘While not accurate, you’re not technically wrong. I didn’t want the media exposure, so approached Pink Queen with an offer of letting her show off an unusual fighting style. She’s been dancing for years and noticed that most people with vocal quirks along with a few outliers move to a beat that can be followed.’

“And since she wouldn’t face a quirk like that, you wanted to show her understanding,” Gust supplied. “Smart move if she was looking for an internship with someone with that type of quirk. Did you get many offers?”

‘I had ten in total, but Fat Gum was the one I was hoping to get the attention of, so it wasn’t much of a choice.’

“Because of your quirk drawback, right? That blonde kid with the copy quirk seemed pretty shaken up about it.”

Why does everyone think that? Akira huffed. ‘That was part of it, yes, to see if he had ideas for better management since his is similar. But the main reason was he’s one of the few heroes with core ideals similar to mine and a track record of consistently upholding them.’

Finishing their breakfast while listening to the group banter about various pros’ codes and – mostly questionable – morals, Akira logged their meal before flipping to their budget again. The thought briefly crossed their mind of convincing Boss to let them be a tester a couple times, but the risk of addiction or serious side effects were too high even for them, not to mention if the drug was picked up by a quirk or a trip to Recovery Girl. Wait. Akira sat up a little straighter as they mentally ran through who had been blacklisted after the USJ incident. We are low on security personnel… While not intimidating on their own, Akira could easily be a cloak in the shadows and eyes in the rafters. They quickly made another chart, grinning as the standard security schedule would get them enough for a security deposit before winter.

“You figure it out, kid?” Lizzaro asked, interrupting Mouse’s rant on the difference between mice and rats.

‘Yeah, I think I can make this work. Just need to pick up some extra responsibilities at work. We’re a little short-staffed, so it shouldn’t take much convincing.’

“That’s great! If you ever need help, though, Fat Gum’s helped all of us out of tight situations before,” Mouse pointed out before faer watch started chiming. “That’s our alarm to get ready for patrol, remember to leave some time for fun, kid.”

Akira blinked, wondering at the idea for a moment before turning their chair against the wall and continuing to encode their notebook. Half an hour into the process, Taishiro and Amajiki came in with the night shift, who mostly grabbed small meals, tea, or presumably decaf coffee. The pair made their way to Akira’s table.

Tucking away their notebook, Akira signed, ‘I figured out the budget. There are some openings that would pay enough to cover food while still putting a bit aside.’

Taishiro smiled gently even as an edge creeped into his voice. “What would you be doing and why are the positions open?”

‘Protection detail. Most likely from the shadows or rafters since Boss will still want me out of harm’s way when possible. Some people were blacklisted after USJ.’

“And if a pro arrives?”

Akira gave him a flat look. ‘I’m not giving you our exit strategies.’ After a moment of Taishiro’s smile turning mildly amused, Akira realized what he meant to ask. ‘Sorry. If it’s Eraser, talk. If it’s any other pro, lead them off.’

Once Taishiro and Amajiki finished breakfast, they headed to the large office. After closing the door, Taishiro guided Akira to a chair, the latter realizing they were shaking. The hero moved back to his desk, pulling out a small bin and offering its contents to Amajiki before heading back to Akira, who was just taking out their texture ball.

“Ah, good, you have one already. I always keep fidget toys in here for harder conversations or days,” Taishiro said gently. “Feel free to continue using that one or peruse the bin as we talk. Now, for today at least, I want to understand why we aren’t moving on the Wrens now and what plan you have.”

Akira unsuccessfully willed their hands to stop shaking as they signed, ‘They have decades old contracts with the Hero Commission and understandings with the Police that protect their status and reputation in both hero and civilian circles. As bad as corruption is among limelights, the Wrens account for most of the cover-ups and blacklisting victims with their teams of lawyers and full support from the Commission as a known producer of powerhouses.

As for my plan…I’ll give you the choice: plausible deniability or reality?’

“The more I know, the more likely I am to be able to help you.”

‘Purple Moon?’ At his firm nod, they continued. ‘Once I get my full license, I’ll be an independent underground hero. I’ll grab one of the young Wren heroes and determine if there’s a way to reverse the memory alteration. If not, I’ll be pretty limited in who I can save, but I’ll still grab as many pre-quirk and “weak” quirked kids as I can, using my associates to help with housing them. Once everyone I can get out is out, I’ll kill the Legacy Holder branch, which is in charge of breeding and breaking memory- and emotion-altering quirks to make the empire more sustainable. If fortune is on my side – which it rarely is – that will end the effects currently over most of the Wren heroes. At that point, it’s a matter of bringing the old guard to justice and preventing mass suicides.’

Akira looked up from their lap to check in before the darker alternative. Amajiki once again looked sick, but Taishiro’s prominent emotion was worry with nearly concealed fury. “And if fortune isn’t on your side?”

‘If the process is reversible, reverse those I can, but… When justice is an impossibility and the crime too great, revenge is the path to take. I would take my army of vigilantes and “villains” and gut the Wrens. The Commission should then be weakened enough for the kids to take them down in a legal battle.’

“The kids?” Amajiki whispered. “What about you?”

Akira blinked. ‘I doubt I’ll make it to 30 with everything that could go wrong. Given that the Wrens will underestimate the kids they practically or literally left for dead, they’ll have a better chance of surviving the war.’

Taishiro quietly observed them for a few minutes before continuing. “If you took out the leaders, would the group not fall?”

‘No, part of the alterations from the differences I’ve seen is convincing the victims that the abuse was justified and doing the right thing. They will just continue because they were programmed to not know better. They won’t face justice because they’re so ingrained in the justice system, and if I target the Hero Commission and police first, I’ll effectively be facing all of Japan. Anything I expose on their end will be refuted by the family, and they can easily bring in the Legacy Holder branch to turn witnesses and victims.’

“What if you target the Legacy Holders then the Commission?”

‘If I move on the Wrens, I have to keep them on the defensive because they have the quirks to find me once they realize I’m alive and taking revenge. Giving them the time it would take to go after the Commission would also give them the time to make an excuse to obliterate whatever building I’m in along with my followers.’

“Sounds like you need some people on your side, then. Many of the twilight and underground heroes are unhappy with the state of the Commission and have been for a long time. You’ll need people to help evaluate your first target, right? I know some, and we can help with stable environments for the kids you bring.”

Akira nodded, deciding not to bring up Plan B for now, at least. ‘Twilight and Underground only, though, and I want to watch them before they know any part of this. If word gets out, the Wrens will not hesitate to kill anyone they think might be associated with their secrets.’

The somber mood followed the trio to the training rooms after Akira finished encoding their notes and destroying the keys and plain text. ‘When I warped to the lamp post, I noticed a new shadow next to me in my mindscape.’

“Next to you?” Suneater asked.

‘Yeah? I was standing in my neutral space, and a figure made of shadow appeared next to me.’ Akira paused. ‘Do you not see in first person in your mindscape?’

“I… don’t see anything. I know what I have, but it’s just black.”

“Let’s start with you warping, then, and see if the shadow figure is back,” Taishiro suggested. “You can text me while invisible, so we have a line of communication.”

Akira nodded and warped a meter to the side and, closing their eyes to focus, once again saw the shadow figure. They texted “it’s back” to Taishiro before refocusing. Circling the figure, Akira noted that it looked like someone had taken a silhouette of them and made it 3D. They reached out to touch the figure, but their hand passed through with a sensation not unlike petting Dark Shadow.

“It twitched,” Fat Gum called out.

Interesting, I wonder…Akira stepped into the shadow figure and moved into a defensive position. A deep feeling of wrongness settled in their gut, and they quickly stepped out.

“Keep doing what you just did, it changed position.”

Akira opened their eyes to see the clone now in the pose they took. They texted Fat Gum, “Something felt very wrong when I tried to step into the figure to control it, but it moved as I did.”

“The first few times I transformed a body part, it felt unnatural and almost wrong,” Suneater said softly. “It might be the unfamiliarity.”

After a moment, Akira texted that they were going to warp again to see if anything changed when they had two clones active. With Fat Gum’s go-ahead, they noticed that the first figure split into two. Closing their eyes, Akira touched the connecting thread of shadow and startled at the distinct thrum of energy. Slowly reaching their hand back in, they grasped the tendril and felt what was almost like two additional pulses harmonizing with their own.

Even as they stepped back from the connection, they felt the pulses remain. Breath hitching, they quickly dispelled the clones. The pulses faded out slower than the clones, echoing in their chest.

“Are you alright?” Fat Gum approached, eyes searching their frame.

Akira shuddered before nodding, ‘Just… a bizarre feeling. It was like when Pink Queen and I synched up at the sports festival, but I could feel the two pulses.’

“Okay, do you want to slow down or keep going?”

For the rest of the session, Akira focused on getting used to the connection with clones and forming it with only one active. Mentally stepping into a clone still didn’t seem like a good primary control method, but they were at least moving in the right direction. Once it seemed Akira wasn’t being a danger to themself, Suneater started his own training routine, focusing primarily on his arms for the day at least.

Notes:

fun fact: I actually have hyperphantasia, which is like the opposite of aphantasia, which I gave Amajiki. I can see all the things in my head and my other senses often interact with them. Great for learning what injuries feel like, horrible when the same activates involuntarily I was double-checking the trigger warning edits for this chapter and registered the “multiplicity-adjacent activities.” Hadn’t really thought about how I picture Stranger quirks working that way, but makes sense. In order to differentiate control mechanisms from Masters and Changers, I set up how I picture each of them being represented in the user’s mindscape. For Masters, are usually strings leading to the people they control or their summons. Amajiki’s description is standard for Changers, although those without aphantasia can see their options, a switch, or some other on/off visualization. Additional note: yeah so I didn't know I'm host of a DID system at the time of writing this. Akira is a bit system-coded between that and her masks being somewhat based off Shallan in Stormlight Archives, who is also canonically a system (forgot about that when I was drawing inspiration)

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