The Wraith Within (On Hold Indefinitely)

Izumi had spent most of her days alone. At six years old, she had already learned that her body was not like the others. She avoided the playground during recess, choosing to sit on the sidelines, watching the other children laugh and play. Her tentacle-like legs, which moved with a strange fluidity, and her blade-like arms, sharp and threatening even in their smallest motions, made it impossible for her to join in. The other children would often glance at her, their eyes filled with unease, before turning away.

But today, something was different.

Izumi had been sitting on a bench near the swings, trying her best to stay out of everyone’s way when she saw him. A loud, brash boy with spiky blonde hair and an unrelenting scowl. He was shouting at a group of younger children, his face red with anger as he berated them for not being strong enough. His voice boomed across the playground, drawing attention from everyone nearby.

"Hey! You call that a quirk? Pathetic! You better start training or you’ll never be able to fight with real heroes!” His words were sharp, biting, and full of arrogance.

Izumi’s eyes widened in surprise. Who is this kid? she wondered, but she kept her distance. She had seen children like him before—those who were naturally confident, always at the center of attention. It was a kind of power Izumi could never fully grasp. After all, how could someone like her—someone so strange, so monstrous—ever gain that kind of confidence?

But then, something happened that made her heart skip a beat.

The boy's outburst caught the attention of another child, one who had been playing near the sandbox. The boy, perhaps no older than five, seemed unsure of himself as he approached the group, looking for a place to join. Without warning, the blonde boy shoved him roughly, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Hey! You want to be a hero, don’t you? You’ve got to toughen up!” the blonde boy sneered, his voice full of scorn.

Izumi’s heart clenched. The boy on the ground looked up at the other with wide, frightened eyes, his face flushed with embarrassment and pain. It reminded Izumi of herself—the way she had been treated in the past, the way she had learned to retreat into the shadows, to avoid the harshness of the world.

But something inside her shifted. She didn’t know why, but seeing someone else hurt like that—it stoked something deep within her. She couldn’t let this boy bully someone weaker than him. She just couldn’t.

Izumi’s tentacle-like legs shifted beneath her as she stood, the soft scrape of her appendages against the ground sending a brief shiver through her. Her sharp, scythe-like arms twitched involuntarily, but she forced herself to calm down. She would have to move carefully, or else risk hurting someone.

With a fluid motion, she darted across the playground, her body vanishing from sight as she sprinted toward the two boys. The wind ruffled her pale hair as she leapt from the shadows, appearing suddenly in front of the blonde boy.

"Hey!" Izumi’s voice was calm but firm, though there was an edge to it, one that was not quite human. Her purple eyes glowed faintly as they locked onto the blonde boy. "Stop bullying him."

The boy froze in mid-sentence, his eyes widening in shock as he took in Izumi’s form. Her body—slender, translucent, with her unnaturally long limbs and glowing purple eyes—was a sight that made even the boldest children hesitate.

Izumi’s heart pounded in her chest. She had expected this. She had always expected fear, always expected rejection. And yet, there was something in the boy’s expression that made her pause. Was it… curiosity?

“What the hell is this?” the blonde boy growled, his voice full of disgust and challenge. He glared at Izumi, his gaze unwavering despite the shock that had flashed across his face. "What do you want, freak? You think you can boss me around?"

Izumi’s body tensed, but she didn’t move. She stood still, her gaze hard, her sharp, blade-like arms relaxed at her sides. "It’s not okay to hurt people. No one should be treated like that, no matter what their quirk is."

The boy’s lips curled into a snarl. "You’re one to talk," he sneered. "What kind of freak are you, huh? You think you’re gonna teach me a lesson?"

For a moment, Izumi was silent. She could feel the tension in the air, the weight of the boy’s words pressing down on her. She had expected this, too. She had always been the one who was different, the one people avoided. And yet, here she was, facing down a boy who, in a way, was no different than the others—arrogant, self-assured, and unaware of the weight of his own actions.

She took a step forward, her body flickering into the shadows for a brief moment before reappearing right in front of him. She didn’t say anything more; she didn’t need to. Her presence alone was enough to make the boy take a cautious step back.

His eyes narrowed, and the look he gave her wasn’t fear, but something else—something almost like a challenge. “You think you’re better than me? Huh? You think you can scare me?” He balled his fists, his body tensing with the promise of a fight. "I don’t care what you look like! I’m gonna make you regret messing with me!"

Izumi’s body flickered again, her speed making it almost impossible for the boy to track her. In a flash, she appeared behind him, her long arms poised in a way that made it clear she could end this in an instant. She didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t want to make things worse, but the anger that had been bubbling inside her—at the boy’s arrogance, at the injustice of his bullying—was like a fire she couldn’t put out.

Before Izumi could do anything more, the boy’s voice rang out again, loud and unyielding. “Katsuki Bakugo.”

Izumi blinked, taken aback by the sudden outburst. She stood still, her blade-like arms lowered. “What?”

“The name’s Katsuki Bakugo!” The blonde boy—Katsuki—glared at her, his pride clearly undeterred despite the fear he had just shown. “And I’ll be the strongest hero in the world! You got that, freak?”

Izumi stared at him for a moment, her heart pounding in her chest. Something about his confidence—the fire in his eyes—struck her deeply. He was just like her in one way: he had a dream, a drive to become something greater. And yet, they were so different.

Bakugo turned to the boy he had been bullying, who was still sitting on the ground, looking more confused than anything else. “Get up. You’re pathetic. Don’t just sit there.”

Izumi was about to leave, knowing that no matter how much she wanted to make things right, the world had already branded her as something unworthy of their attention. But before she could turn away, Bakugo’s voice stopped her.

“Hey,” he said, his voice gruff but softer now. “You got guts. I’ll give you that. You’re a freak, but you don’t back down.” He paused, sizing her up for a moment. “You should watch yourself, though. You don’t know who you’re messing with. I’m gonna be a hero. You might want to stay out of my way.”

Izumi’s heart skipped a beat. A part of her wanted to respond, to tell him that she wanted to be a hero too. But she knew the truth. She couldn’t afford to make enemies. Not with someone like him.

Without saying another word, she turned and walked away, her tentacle-like legs moving effortlessly beneath her. But as she left, she couldn’t help but glance back over her shoulder at Bakugo, whose fiery eyes followed her retreating figure.

It was a look she knew all too well—one of rivalry. And for the first time in her life, Izumi felt a spark of something deep within her. Maybe this boy, this loud, brash Katsuki Bakugo, was the first person who could understand her.

Or maybe, just maybe, he was the first person who would stand in her way.