Crossing Fates : Book 1 - Escape (BakuDeku)

Prologue

Izuku was blackmailed into committing a crime more suicidal than he could possibly have imagined, and he had no one to blame but himself.

Knowing that didn't make it easier. He couldn't believe he had been so lacking in good judgment, taste or sensibility.

Honestly, what had he done?

He had taken one look at a handsome face and forgotten everything his mom had taught him about survival. It sucked so bad he might as well put a gun to his head and pull the trigger.

Except he didn't own a gun because he didn't like them.

Besides, pulling the trigger on a gun was pretty final. He had issues with commitment and he was so freaking dead anyway, so why bother.

A taxi horn blared. In Japan, the sound was so common everyone ignored it. But this time, it made him jump. He threw a glance over one hunched shoulder.

His life was in ruins. He would be on the run for the rest of his life- all fifteen minutes or so of it- thanks to his own foolish behavior and his jerk of an ex, who had screwed him, then screwed him over so royally he couldn't get over the knife-like sensation in the pit of his stomach.

After a long nightmarish week, he had just committed the crime. He had stolen from one of the most dangerous creatures on Earth, a creature so frightening that just imagining him was more scary than he ever wanted to meet in real life.

Now he was almost done.

A couple more stops to make, one more meeting with the jerk, and then he could scream for oh, say, a couple of days or so while he figured out where he would run to hide.

Holding on to that thought, Izuku strode down the street until he came to the Magic District. Located east of the Garment District and north of Food District- the Magic District which was sometimes called The Chamber. It comprised several city blocks that seethed with light and dark energies.

The Chamber area was stacked several stories high with kiosks and shops offering tarot readings, psychic consultations, fetishes and spells, retail and wholesale sellers, imports, those who dealt with fake merchandise and those who sold magic items that were deadly real.

Even from the distance of a city block, the area assaulted his senses.

Izuku came to a shop located at the border of the district.

The storefront was painted sage green on the outside, with the molding at the plate-glass windows and door painted pale yellow.

He took a backward step to look up. 'EMPYREAN' was spelled in plain brushed-metal lettering over the front window.

Years ago, his mother had on occasion bought spells from the witch who owned this shop. Izuku's boss, Shinso, had also mentioned the witch had one of the strongest magical talents he had ever met in a human.

He looked at the storefront. His blurred reflection looked back at him. Izuku looked past himself into the shadowed interior. His gaze found the single occupant inside, a tall queen-like woman, with a gaze that connected to his with a snap of Power.

That was when the shouting started.

"You don't have to go in there!" a man yelled. Then a woman shrieked, "Stop before it's too late!"

Izuku startled and looked behind him.

A group of twenty people stood across the street. They held various signs. One poster said, 'MAGIC = HIGHWAY TO HELL'. Another said, 'GOD WILL SAVE US'. A third declared, 'ARCHAIC RACES- AN ELITIST HOAX'.

His sense of unreality deepened, brought on by stress, lack of sleep and a constant sense of fear. They were yelling at him.

Some of the humankind persisted in a belligerent disbelief of the Archaic Races, despite the fact that many generations ago, folktales had given way to proof as the scientific method had been developed.