Black Magic!

Part 12~Seto

Looking up, Kosho tilted his head in worry. "Is everything okay? The school called, and they said you were in a villain attack. Are you hurt?" He rushed across the entrance, glancing over the boys as Akuma stepped back, gripping his arm tightly.

"We're fine. Barely. Can we talk in the other room?"

Kosho nodded, chewing his lip but letting Akuma through. Izuku smiled at him, taking his hand and watching his shoulders relax. They gathered in the living room, sitting around the table. "What's on your mind, Akuma?"

Akuma hesitated, biting his tongue. "Dad... Who's my mom?"

Kosho flinched, sighing as he lowered his head. "Your mother... she wasn't the best person."

"You said she left when I was little. Why did she go?"

"I don't know."

"But you can guess?"

Kosho paused, meeting his son's eyes. "Your mother wasn't a good person."

"She was a villain." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. You met her, didn't you? That's why you're bringing all this up again."

"She tried to kill us."

"Sounds like her." Kosho ran a hand through his hair, a tired look behind his eyes.

"Dad... why were you ever with her?"

Kosho looked away. He couldn't meet his son's gaze. "If I tell you that, it will change everything. I didn't want to put that reality on you. I still don't. It's a truth I hoped I would never have to tell you." Kosho glanced at Akuma. "But I see I don't have a choice. The truth is, I wasn't with her. I barely even knew who she was. She was my stalker back when I was a teenager. One day she showed up and told me she used her quirk to create a child using her and my DNA. I don't even know how she got my DNA in the first place. When I rejected her, she flipped. She started destroying my house, and she was going to kill you, so I took you and ran. The heroes were able to stop her. I haven't heard from her since, but I've always known she would track us down again, and anyone around us would be hurt in her revenge."

There was a long silence as Akuma let out a bitter laugh. "No wonder you didn't want to talk about it."

"You're not your mother, Akuma. You're amazing, and you won't ever be her." Kosho shuffled around the table, wrapping his arms around Akuma.

"This is why you wouldn't let us contact Izuku's mum, isn't it?"

Kosho nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry for that. I didn't want to risk Izuku's family being brought into our problems."

"That ship has sailed. I punched her familiar." Izuku grinned at his achievement as Kosho laughed.

"Nicely done." He ruffled Izuku's hair before standing up. "How about pizza?"

"Pizza sounds good." Akuma smiled as his dad left the room. He curled in on himself, thinking back to the lady who attacked them, thinking about her eyes that were the same as his. "Hey, dad. What was mother's name?"

Kosho hesitated. "Seto Remi. According to the police file, that is."

~~~

"Good morning Akuma-kun! I hope you had a pleasant weekend!" Iida waved his hands wildly as he walked through the door, receiving a groan from Akuma, who lay his head on the table.

Iida paused, unsure what to do as he approached Akuma, patting his shoulder.

"Is everything alright?"

"No."

"Would... would you like to talk about whatever is bothering you?"

Akuma lifted his head, a tired look on his face. "No." Iida shuffled, unsure how to respond, as Akuma sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry. Thanks for the offer, but I'm good with avoiding my issues for now."

"That is not an effective coping mechanism, Akuma-kun."

"You're starting to sound like Ichi. What are you doing here anyway? School's not for ages."

"I always arrive an hour before school begins to ensure I arrive on time!"

"That's a bit excessive, isn't it?"

"No! It's proper procedure!"

Snickering, Akuma tilted his head in amusement. "I'm not sure if that's true."

Iida waved his arms about, trying to defend his reasons, but it only made Akuma laugh more. Groaning, Izuku popped his head out of Akuma's pocket, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Too noisy, Ku-chan... Oh, morning Te-chan!" Izuku jumped out of the pocket, returning to his normal size as he waved excitedly.

Akuma and Iida shared a confused look. "Te-chan?"

Izuku nodded, a grin on his face. "Yep. He Te-chan! Te-chan helped protect me, and he is-" Izuku cut himself off, grinning mischievously- "you'll find out."

"Well, that's ominous, even for you." Akuma gave Izuku a worried glance as Izuku laughed happily.

"Don't worry about it."

"That makes me worry more."

~~~

Gathering in the waiting area, the members of class 1a waited for them to be called to the field. Against all odds, they were doing the sports festival. Something about not letting the public think they were backing down, but that wasn't what Akuma was thinking about.

"Chill out, Kuma. you look like you're about to collapse." Ichi grinned, laughing to herself as she punched Akuma's arm. The boy looked horrified.

"Why do I have to do this? I hate public talking."

"You can summon demons without a second thought, but you freeze up when talking to a crowd?"

"Demons are easier to deal with if they turn on you."

"That's debatable." Ichi paused, pointing at Iida. "Tenya, calm Kuma down for me."

Iida blinked, glancing at Akuma before carefully standing beside him. "Don't worry. I'm certain you will achieve your goal without problems."

"Comforting," Ichi and Izuku snickered.

Present Mic's voice echoed through the halls, announcing the beginning as they stood up and headed out to the field.

With everyone standing in the stadium, Akuma forced himself onto the stage, fidgeting as Izuku and Ichi gave him thumbs-ups.

"Try your best to win," he muttered, barely getting the words out.

"Wow, that was inspiring," Ichi chuckled as Akuma returned to the crowd. "You can kill satan himself but can't get a speech to save your life?"

"Shut up."

"Nope."

The first event of the sports festival was explained. A race around the stadium and back. Standing before the tunnel, they waited for the command to start.

"Ready? Set. Go!"