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The first time she bleeds, it's an accident. It was expected to happen, given how adventurous of a child she was. There wasn't a day that went by when the little girl didn't want to explore, it didn't matter the place. The first time she bleeds, she cries. She was scared, holding out her stained tiny hand to her mother. It's not red on her hand. It's not red that sheds from the cut on her leg from trying to climb a tree. It's not the red she sees from kids at her school bleed when they fall and scrap their knees. No, it's not red.
Black.
Black is what bleeds from her cut. Black is what stained her little hand and her ruffle sock. Black, the color that opposes the white of her curls that frame her wet round face.
Her mother picks her up and puts her in her lap, cooing and shushing at her gently, wiping away her tears. "It's normal for you, Rumi." Those were her words at the time.
Of course, she questions it. She bled black. Not red. Her grandfather is the one to tell her.
"You're special, my little rabbit. You're not like other children. You're extraordinary. A precious treasure."
Rumi didn't understand until she got older and the answer to her question then became concise.
She is an "Unknown". It's the name given to her kind. Immortals and mortals alike believed that someone like her were descendants of unfamiliar gods. Possessed strength and speed that rivaled many. Senses heightened that caught things that seemed beyond the visible. Bleed black, not red, with magic coursing through their veins. Unidentifiable.
Others wanted to study them. Some carved them, envied their power. Some wanted to rid of them.
An Unknown.
She bleeds a few times in her life. Paper cuts, tripping, scratches. Simple accidents.
This time though, Rumi bleeds on purpose on someone else's means and she is pissed about it, rightfully so. She was attacked in her own home.
Nightfall is when the incident happens. Rumi is home alone in her room, watching television. Izuku was out at the time, catching up with his once childhood friend. With him away, Rumi had to entertain herself some way and television had been her best option at the time. Although, she barely paid much attention to it. Tension. She had a headache and chills going up and down her body. Her instincts were telling her something was wrong and Rumi yearned to know what it could be.
With her throat feeling scratchy and dry, Rumi ventures downstairs for an ice cold water. That's when it happens.
She only gets two good sips in before the door to the kitchen is burst open and she's flying back against the counter. Rumi hadn't been too sure as to what happened with those first couple of moments, but it lead to her on her back on the cold tiled floor, something sharp in her side and some man holding her down. Even in a frenzy, Rumi gets a good look at the man. Shoulder-length drained pink hair, tan skin and thin light brown eyes.
He's pushing a knife towards Rumi's face, but with her strength, she manages to hold him back. He's grinning down at her with a scowl so mean.
"Filth like you shouldn't breathe. You're a plight on this world. A disease. I will kill every single one of you."
She screams when the dagger in her side is dug deeper. Pain spikes through her and she snaps. She pushes the man off her and kicks him back. He grunts when his back hits the edge of the countertop. He doesn't have the chance to recover before his hand is pinned to the smooth surface of the countertop.
"It's not going to end... is it...?"
He catches black liquid dropping to the floor, pooling at her feet. It comes from her wound that is now freed from the dagger she used to pin through his hand.
"It won't... end... It won't end!" Rumi lets out a laugh, eyes glowing ruby red within the darkness of the kitchen. "What have we done to deserve this, but exist?" She takes a step closer to the man. Black still drips from her wound. The man notices it seem to bubble... move and shift. "... kill you... I'll kill you..." A grin spreads across her face, showing off gleaming rows of sharp teeth.
Fear is what the man finds himself consumed by, watching with wide eyes as she begins to change in front of him. He knew of the tales of her kind. The Unknown... able to tap into powers that no one else could understand.
"I'll rip you into shreds!"
He takes this time to rip the dagger out his hand to escape her. He ignores the pain from hole in his hand, no longer wanting to linger around. His mission was to get rid of her. He knows now he'll fail, but maybe he has a chance to leave with his life. He could if he's fast enough.
Yet... something grabs around his ankle and pulls him away from the door. He lands on the floor, face first hitting the tiles, then dragged away from the door as more of his limps are gripped onto by something cold.
"Unfair... it's unfair... just wanted to live a life..." When he looks back, he isn't sure what to make of what he sees. Red stares back at him from a black mass and white threads lay like curtains over it, long black appendages peaking upwards that looked like rabbit ears. "It's unfair... I'm going to kill you..."
Rumi isn't one to make empty threats.
When he pulls into the driveway, the smile dies off his freckled face. Izuku enjoyed seeing his high school friends again after so long. It was a surprise since he thought it would have been just him and Katsuki. Didn't make a difference as he still had a good time. Yet, that happiness faded away when his car came to a park. He scans the front of the house. Nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, he dreads what he may see. His instincts tell him that something terrible had happened.
Izuku rushes out the car, not even sure if he locks it and makes his way inside the home. It's dark, cold. And he hears broken sobs.
"Rumi?" he calls out. He doesn't get an answer. "Rumi?"
The sobs stop just from a second and there's just some seconds of silence before Rumi's voice responds with her location. Izuku makes his way there, to the hallway. On his way, he picks up the scent of blood. A lot of it isn't Rumi's, which brings up bit of relief, but there is a hint that is. He stops at the entrance of the kitchen and sees a mess. There's a trail of black and red that leaves out into the hallway and the door that leads outside is broken. He reminds himself to fix it later. First, he had family to check on.
Izuku continues, unfazed when he notices the splats of red on the white walls of the hallway. He stops again, this time when he sees Rumi.
She's laying on the floor on her back. No other in sight. She's a wreck. Black and red staining her clothes, brown skin and white curls. Surrounding her is a small horde of black inky rabbits with ruby red eyes. They skitter away from her, but kept close when he approaches. He sits on the floor next to her, taking hold of her hand.
"What happened?"
Rumi isn't looking at him. Instead, her eyes are fixated on the wall. One of the rabbits paw at her nose, yet she lays unmoved.
"... there was an attack. There was an intruder. I got rid of him though." She sighs. "He wanted to kill me."
"Are you injured anywhere?"
Her hand rests on her side that no longer bleeds. "Here. He got me here, but I'm healed now."
Neither say anything else for a while. It's fine though. Right now, each other's presences soothes the aching they both feel. Izuku can't help though feeling guilty. If he had been home, would this still have happen? Rumi is capable of taking care of herself, but still someone should have been here. He should have been here.
"Stop that." Rumi is looking up at him, eyes dull yet kind. She reaches up and presses her hand to his cheek. "It's fine now. I'm okay. You should have went out with your friend and have fun. Crybaby." He hadn't realize he was crying until she wiped away his tears. "Just promise me something?"
He nods. "Anything."
"Let's not... let's not tell Grandfather about this."
Izuku doesn't object to her request. Instead, he promises her he won't say a word. He knows what his granduncle would do if he found out about Rumi being attacked. He can already see the bars on the windows.
One of the shadow rabbits takes claim in Izuku's lap. He pets it, feeling just smooth coldness. Not warm fur. "I won't say a word about it... but you think he'll find out?"
Rumi groans at the thought, sitting up. "I don't want him to. About any of this. I don't even want to remember it after tonight."
"I don't blame you." He eyes the blood on the wall. "You were---"
"It felt good."
Izuku falls silent at the confession. When he looks back at her, her face is shadowed with black. Her eyes burn red through it. Rumi staring down at her lap with a small smile on her face.
"I remember seeing Grandfather do it years ago. It was two nights after that group attacked us. When he hid us away. I followed him that night to somewhere... he found the group that tried to hurt us and I watched him from my hiding spot. He... it was horrific. He ripped them all from limb to limb as they screamed and begged for mercy. And I couldn't look away. I wanted to, but I couldn't, Izuku. That day I felt so many emotions. Fear, curiosity, confusion... He looked like he had pleasure in it, too. He was grinning when he killed them. Tonight when I ripped that guy apart, I also was grinning. I was angry that someone had the gall to invade our home. Our safe haven. A part of me... really took great pleasure in teaching him a lesson. The terror in his eyes was satisfying to me. He came threatening with death, cursing our people. But in end, I... I got rid of him..."
Izuku reaches out and takes her hand, giving it a squeeze. He doesn't say anything. Not yet. Rumi had more to say.
"I liked doing it. And I hate that. Is... is that even normal for us?"
He shrugs. "I don't know. But we'll figure it out together." He shifts so that she can lean on his shoulder. "We always do, don't we? We're family. I'm not going to let you go through this alone. And I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you."
"Izuku, I told you that it's okay." She lifts her head from his shoulder. "I'm... I'm fine now. Shaken, tired, but I'm fine." She sighs when she looks at the splatters on the wall.
"First, I should probably deal with this mess and get cleaned up."
"I'll handle this. You just go get yourself cleaned up. You dealt with enough tonight."
"Are---"
"I'm sure." Izuku helps her up to her feet and begins to lead her in the down the hall. The rabbits follow. "Just go take a bath and relax, okay?"
Rumi opens her mouth, but closes it knowing her cousin wasn't going to change his mind. "Alright, I'll go do that." Without any other word, she makes way to her room, still the inky rabbits following. Not once Izuku looked away from until he couldn't even see a single rabbit anymore and her door closed. Once alone, he proceeded on taking care of the mess.
It's murky, black and yet holds a clear reflection that Rumi eyes. Ruby red stares back at her from the cold water. She isn't sure how long she's been in the tub, surely quite some time. She feels numb now. Not physically. Emotionally. She doesn't feel anything. Her heart in her chest is stone still, her stomach empty and her mind is void of any memories from before. She doesn't even remember what she did tonight. Not for some moments, she didn't until she heard a scream in her head.
"Oh, yeah. I killed a guy."
The words she mumbles tasted... right... wrong... it sparked something in her. A slight ache. When she lifts her hands from the water, they're wet, but clean from the intruder's blood. Blood she spilled as she sliced through his body with claws and fangs. She remembers now. It all happened so fast, but she recalls every single moment.
Just like when she was a teenager watching him do the same. Her grandfather wasn't merciful to those people. He had been ruthless. Violent. A black mass of death raining down on those who wronged his family.
That intruder wronged her. He invaded her and Izuku's sanctuary. He had the intentions to kill her and she just returned the sentiment. She was right. She wasn't wrong.
In the reflection, Rumi sees she's smiling and her eyes bright. She's allowed to smile when she feels good and she does so. Immortals and mortals worshiped those like her. Some feared them. Some wanted them dead. And those who cross the line like the intruder gets what's coming to them.
Rumi was protecting herself and Izuku, fulfilling her role in her family. Her grandfather shouldn't be the only one to protect them. She can't to, right? He would be proud of her, wouldn't he?
Maybe... maybe...
Neither Rumi or Izuku brought up what happened that night for the next two days. There was no reason to as they promised each other they wouldn't and there was no reminder of what happened visible in their house. Things went on as they normally did.
Until that third morning.
It came crashing down in the form of a call. The two had been sitting at the table, finishing their breakfast when Rumi's cell rung on the countertop. Getting up to put her dishes away, she had retrieved the phone. Seeing it was her grandfather calling, she answers, knowing to not keep him waiting long.
Like a good granddaughter, she greets him politely and asks how his morning has been going so far. He answers in a chipper tone, one he only held for her and the rest of their family. Polite conversation until he makes a request.
"Stop by the house today. I have something important I must discuss with you. Something very important."
Her nerves tingle as her mind becomes a jumble mess of confusion and anxiety.
"I will. Soon, I promise."
She doesn't have to see him to know he's smiling.
"Wonderful! Oh, and one more thing." He laughs. "I'm so proud of you, my dear little rabbit. You truly are my granddaughter."
Rumi isn't stupid. She knows exactly what her grandfather is talking about and the realization makes her frightened to see him. Yet... pride swims through her veins.
The call ends there and she stays stuck in place. The cell dropped onto the countertop and she kept her bowl in her hand. It took Izuku walking over and gently taking the bowl from her.
"Rumi? You okay?"
She snaps out of it, offering him her usual confident smiles. "Yeah, I'm fine! Just was thinking about something, is all. I better finish getting ready. Grandfather wants to see me."
At that his round eyes widened. "Should I come with you?"
"If you want. We can probably go shopping or something after."
"I guess we could. You cooked this morning, so I'll wash up our dishes. Just a couple of bowls and utensils anyways. You go finish getting ready."
They parted ways for the time being. Izuku to the sink and Rumi returning to her room.
When she makes it to the hallway, she slows to a stop and looks down at her hand. She opens it, not having known she even balled it up. Once her fingers are unfolded, black drips from the small cuts on her palm.
Not red. Black.