Millennia ago, there was a war. Between the human world and the other... the Underworld. But somebody from the Underworld woke up to justice, and stood up against this legion, alone. His name was Sparda. Later, he quietly reigned the human world, and continued to preserve harmony, until his death. He became a legend. The Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda.

It was becoming a concerningly common occurrence.

"What are you doing?"

She made no indication that she'd heard him as she sipped her tea from an ornate cup, with all the refined poise that a lady of her stature ought to possess, in a uniform that was most certainly from the school that she'd gotten into.

He could feel his eye twitch.

Where'd she even get that from?

He sure didn't keep any cups as fancy as that in his cupboard.

Slight correction: he couldn't afford to keep any cups as fancy as that in his cupboard.

She really needed to stop bringing things to his apartment.

On that note-

"What are you doing?"

This time, the intruder deigned to acknowledge his presence.

"Drinking tea."

He sighed, making his way to sit across from her on the floor.

"I can see that. Why are you doing it here?"

She raised a brow, eyes flitting up as she laid the cup down on the coffee table between them. Its aesthetic clashed violently against the stained and chipped wood. A manila envelope sat off to the side.

Ah, business.

And here he was in jeans.

"Why's your hair green?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not, I'm genuinely interested."

"Because it is. How'd you even get in here?"

He watched with a sinking feeling in his gut as the tips of her lips curled upward.

"Your landlady let me in, she told me to tell you that it's in your best interest to listen to what I have to say."

His eye twitched again.

Really, Mrs. Cho?

It wasn't the first time the older woman had let a strange lady into his apartment in an effort to convince him to start paying his rent on time, and until he developed a steady flow of cash it likely wouldn't be the last.

Truth be told, he was lucky that she hadn't decided to kick him out after the third time he missed payment.

She never came banging down his door in search of it, but she did insist rather heavily that he do her a favor or two.

And so, an unsaid agreement was made between the two.

Mrs. Cho would ignore the back rent and stay cordial when she saw him leave on one errand or another.

In return, he listened to her 'requests' and obliged her under the unspoken threat of possible eviction should he fail to comply.

Normally, it wasn't too much of an issue, but this time she'd decided to weaponize it.

And all before he even had a chance to put a shirt on.

And do you know what our young hero had to say to that?

"Well then, how can I help you, Yaoyorozu-san?"

Truth be told, he couldn't afford to be kicked out of his apartment/office space, even rationing the money he'd scraped together from his last gig, he'd barely had enough money for groceries the previous week. He couldn't even imagine trying to do that while also looking for a new place.

His grandfather taught him a lot of things, chief among them was how to pick his battles.

The Yaoyorozu heiress was an opponent he could often fight to standstill, though due to the overwhelming power she held in her palm at the moment, victory was not an option.

She knew this as well, if the uncharacteristically smug smirk about her countenance were any indication.

Plucking up her tea, her voice jaunty, she responded, "Please Midoriya-kun, we've certainly known each other long enough for you to call me by my name."

"I believe I just did, Yaoyorozu-san."

She hummed in response, taking a long sip of her tea, while she eyed him blatantly above its gold-trimmed rim.

It made the damp-haired greenette sigh.

He knew what the stare meant, and as obstinate as he would've loved to be, he knew that then wasn't the time for it.

As playful as she was acting, in her eyes, he could see it.

That glint of concern.

He'd known since he saw that envelope. This wasn't a social call, there was business that needed doing.

Business that only he could do.

He took a breath, and when he next spoke, it was with a solemnity that could only fit what they were about to speak on.

"Momo, what's the job?"

The heiress set down her cup, her mirth soon fading as well, as she grabbed the envelope off to the side and began her briefing.

"In Kyōto , there's been a few instances of people going missing over the past few months in the countryside, most notably in the forest near the town of Areen. It wasn't too big of an issue until a group of junior high students decided to take a trip to the alleged site of the disappearances a few days ago, likely because they wanted to have a story to tell to impress their friends…"

"And let me guess, they never came back?"

The silence was answer enough.

The freckled boy sighed, "And people say I'm reckless... No heroes on site?"

Momo shook her head, "None in the area, there's been an uptick in villainous crime lately, so heroes are spread thin. Most heroes in Kyōto patrol Kyōto City anyhow, the countryside's relatively quiet."

The greenette shrugged, getting to his feet and stretching out his arms.

"Makes sense. Job like this is more my speed anyway. Standard rate?"

Another nod, "The prefectural police are also offering a bonus for any information on the kids that went missing as well."

"Right. Lemme borrow your phone?"

The black-haired girl raised an eyebrow, "Why, exactly?"

"Lost service, turns out the phone company does mind if you don't pay them. I just need it to make a call, won't be but a minute."

"...Fine."

With a sigh, but no further reluctance, the Yaoyorozu scion surrendered her unlocked phone to her companion, who accepted with a smile.

Quickly dialing a number, the greenette pressed the call button and put the phone to his ear.

It took three rings for the other line to pick up.

"Hey, it's me. I need a ride… Yeah, to Kyōto… Yes, I know how far Kyōto is from Aichi. Yes, I'm going to pay you- listen will you just swing by my apartment and pick me up? ...Thank you."

He disconnected in a huff.

"Jeez, why do I even try to talk to you sometimes?"

He handed the phone back to Momo and offered her a hand, gingerly helping her to her feet when she took it.

The young lady offered a smile and a word of 'thanks', the young man waved her off, walking towards the entrance to slip on his shoes. His classic red boots.

He looked back, "Walk you to your car?"

As she carefully slid the papers back into the envelope, the sole daughter of the Yaoyorozu Patriarch turned her sight to the half-naked young man across from her.

"You're leaving shirtless?"

"It's a long ride to Kyōto, I'll get dressed on the way there." He stepped over to the door and put his hand on the knob, waiting for his companion to join him.

"...Fair enough."

She slipped her own shoes on, stepping into the chilly March air as the green-haired young man locked up behind her.

The two-story apartment building was as run-down as ever. It was in a particularly less well-off part of the city. The rent was cheap, in obvious comparison to other parts of the city, but even then most other people wouldn't want to live there. It seemed to suit the greenette teen to a 'T' however, as far as Momo was concerned.

Much like him, it wasn't exactly dangerous, more woebegone than anything, so she wasn't all that worried for her safety whenever she came to visit her… friend.

Ah, her friend.

Could they be considered friends?

She more often than not muscled her way into his day, engaged in verbal spars with him, left things at his apartment with no intention of retrieving them, and she had fun doing it all.

But in the end, could she possibly be friends with the shirtless boy at her side?

Or maybe the more important question, could she just be friends with the boy at her side?

Would she want to be?

She shook the thought from her mind as soon as it appeared.

It wasn't the time to be thinking about that, not while there was work to do.

Midoriya slid his key back into his pocket, taking a step to her side at the top of the stairs, wordlessly gesturing for her to go down first.

The rusty old stairs creaked under both their weights, Momo wasn't sure if speeding up or slowing down would lead to a collapse, so she kept the pace as steady as she could.

"Hey, Momo."

A slight stumble, she wasn't expecting to be addressed so suddenly.

"Yes?"

He probably just had something to ask about the job.

It was likely covered by the dossier, but it couldn't hurt to give him whatever support she could offer.

"...That uniform looks good on you."

And thus, her face caught fire amongst the nip of the night air.

"O-oh, thank you."

"Mhm."

And so they continued down the stairs until they reached the ground floor.

Momo could see her driver pulling around the corner, Midoriya waved to Cho-san through her window.

Silence.

SCREEECH!

A silence quickly broken by the appearance of the white RV that came screeching around the corner opposite from where her family's sleek black sedan appeared.

Momo looked at her friend, he looked back at her.

Not a word was said. Not a word was needed. The less said about that, the better.

The girl put the folder out for the greenette to take, not letting go when he went to pull it back.

She looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Midoriya-kun, please be careful."

"Heh. C'mon, this is me we're talkin' about."

"That's exactly why I'm saying it."

"Oh, ye of little faith."

"Midoriya-kun, I'm serious."

"And so am I, serious as a heart attack."

"..."

She still didn't look convinced. Well, he had just the remedy for that.

He smiled and sighed, "Well, if it means that much to ya…"

This was something he'd wanted to do for a while anyway.

"You don't have school on Sundays, right?"

"Huh?"

That caught her off guard.

"You're off on Sundays, right?"

"U-um, yes. School's out on Sundays."

"Hm, and today's... Saturday, right?"

"Yes?" It seemed she was catching on.

That just left the finisher, "So, any chance you could make some time tomorrow? You see, there's this friend of mine that happened to get into this fancy hero school on recommendation."

If she hadn't realized where he was going with this before, she certainly knew then if her giggle was any indication.

"Now, I'm not the scholarly type, but as far as I understand, that's pretty big, so I wanna treat this friend of mine to lunch tomorrow. Anything she wants, my treat. So..."

He leaned in and gave the girl his toothiest grin.

She grinned back, letting go of the folder completely, and taking a step towards her car, she said, "Well, Izuku-kun, I'm not quite sure what 'friend' of yours thinks, but I'd be happy to join you."

"Awesome, then I'll meet you at the station at around twelve tomorrow."

"Mm, so I suppose that means I should be expecting you at around two then."

"Heh. You know me too well."

And without shame, the devilish greenette walked to the van, opening its door and taking a step up.

Before he completely disappeared into the confines of the vehicle, he looked back and gave her a cheeky little wave.

After that, he and the van were off.

Devil May Cry JP was on the move.

"Self-medicating, craving punishme-"

CLICK!

"Hey, I was listenin' to that!" Whined the irate blonde in the driver's seat, her English heavily accented with southern twang.

"And now you're not. Funny how quick things change." He responded in English as he tossed the envelope into the passenger's seat. It was so much easier to speak his second language than his mother tongue when he was alone or with other speakers. "'side's , you shouldn't be listenin' to that, it'll scare off any boyfriends that you bring here… well, anyone with good taste in music or a bad nose."

Without the driver even looking back, a bird found itself flipped from the driver's seat.

The green-haired contractor ignored the obscene gesture aimed and walked toward the back of the van.

The mobile service for Devil May Cry JP was modeled heavily after its western predecessor.

From its outside durability to its cozy interior, it was designed to be a near perfect replica of the old girl from The States(minus the vintage furnishings).

Toward the front, a fine fabric sofa they'd found months ago and acquired for the low price of 3,000 yen (strange stains and odor included!).

Opposite that, a small high table that they acquired for the obscenely low price of free(Thank goodness for local diners going under). It was covered in magazines, junk food wrappers, and take-out boxes, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

Towards the back, you had the stove and toaster oven sitting next to the work counter, covered in firearm parts, nuts, bolts, and the occasional miscellaneous stain.

From there emanated the fine odor of musk, oil, and, to the trained nose, something a bit more… unnatural.

The lattermost of which came from the ominous black orb that pulsated with energy on the far of the counter.

"By the way, Izzy-" The woman called from the front, sweet scent of a colored vapor carried with her words, "Stop leavin' that orb in my van. I heard your little friends in there growlin' last night."

He rolled his eyes as he finally reached the back of the RV, stopping in front of the wardrobe just opposite the counter(bolted down, of course).

As he bent down and pulled out the bottom drawer, searching through it for a suitable shirt, he responded, "They're not my friends, Neesy. And they weren't growling either, they were probably trying to talk."

From the drawer, he grabbed an old band tee with the words 'Never forgive a shenanigan' printed over the chest, along with a leather handgun holster.

He slipped them both on and opened the doors to the wardrobe proper.

Inside were an assortment of coats. Of all the things that were a must-have in the van, the jackets were all that and more. Working without one just didn't feel right.

It was like his dad always said, "Every guy in our line of business needs a badass jacket."

The one he chose for the day was a forest green bomber, a wee bit worn with a small red cross sewn onto the left side of the chest and a…

Wait a minute, that's not-

He tromped back to the front of the van, snatching the orb from the counter during his advance.

He shoved the jacket forward with a sense of exasperation and waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Neesey kept her eyes on the road,the picture of an attentive driver, it only served to irk him more.

"Ahem."

Not even a peek, she did speak this time though.

"You gonna siddown or what? We got a while 'fore we hit Kyōto and I'd rather not get pulled on account of shovin' that jacket at me the whole way there."

The green-haired teen glared at the blonde behind the wheel for a full thirty seconds, before sliding on the jacket(new addition of a stenciled black bunny standing out proudly) and plopping down into the passenger seat.

"So, where in Kyōto are we goin' again?"

"Areen, small country town. It should show up on the nav."

Neesey pulled out her phone and started typing.

"Oh, so the phone's fine, but you can't spare a sec to look over to see how you massacred my jacket."

"It's a little bunny, Izzy. I don't see what the big problem is."

"That's the problem. You should see the problem!"

The woman sighed and put her phone into the holder in front of the console.

"Navigation started."

"I don't, Izzy. I really don't. I just feel like you've grown up too fast for me and Ma. I remember back when you'd ride on my back in that cute little bunny hoodie'a yours. You used to love that thing!"

"I also used to love dipping my pizza in white chocolate and throwing myself down stairwells, what's your point?"

"My point is that you're so edgy now!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"And not even a committed kinda edgy, cuz you don't curse. You don't smoke. You don't drink. You just got a bad attitude and dyed hair. Not to mention that band'a yours from way back when."

What does my hair have to do with anything? And hey, 'Izzy Stylin and the Rockateers' was just ahead of its time, okay?

"Honestly, what happened to the lil' cutie that used to sit in my lap while I took apart rifles and asked me what every part did?" He was five. "Or who used to follow me everywhere and cry whenever I had to go?" He was seven. "Where's the sweet boy that told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek every day?" He doesn't exist! "Where's my little brother Izzy?"

"Wherever that demented mind of your cooked him up to be."

She reached over and flicked his forehead. He didn't even flinch.

"Anyway, don't you have that protege of yours to push this creepy sisterly love on, uh-what was her name- June?"

"Mei. And she's a great gal. Real attentive. Real… somethin'. But she ain't you, Izzy. She ain't you."

"I'd be almost touched… if you didn't ruin my jacket."

"Oh, get over it!"

An Hour Later…

"Praise to my father. Blessed by the water. Black night, Dark sk-"

An old song that he swore he'd heard before played off the jukebox in the corner.

"Hey Izzy, wake up."

The stink of cigarette smoke hung in the air.

The greenette groaned.

"Don't 'ugh' me. Get up!"

His eyes stayed closed.

"Why? We there?"

"Nope, I'm bored. Get up."

He turned in the seat and kept his eyes shut.

"Izzy? Izzy!"

He began to drift again. Something small and round hit him in the back. It didn't hurt, so he ignored it.

Moments later, something bigger and round hit him in the small of his back. He ignored that as well.

Something much bigger hit him in the back of the head.

He opened his eyes and turned back over, shooting a dirty look at a suspiciously innocent Neesey who kept her eyes on the road ahead, cigarette lit between her lips.

He sighed and sat up, lest he be assaulted by the randomly flying implements in their RV.

"So what do you want Neesey?"

"Aw, don't be like that. Got somethin' for ya. Ma said to make sure ya got it and well since you're here…"

"Wait, does that mean if I didn't call you, you wouldn't'v-"

"Hush and open up the glovebox!"

Izuku stuck his tongue out at her but complied nonetheless.

And upon doing so, his eyes lit up.

"Yuki! Minokichi!"

"Yup. Ma finished touchin' 'em up yesterday. Good timin', huh?"

It definitely was. If doing his job without a coat felt wrong, doing it with two of his best friends felt like a sin.

Minokichi, a mild-mannered bedfellow that previously went by the name of CZ-75, or maybe it was his alias. He wasn't too impressive, but he boasted a stable fire rate and an extended single column magazine packed to the brim with 9x19mm Parabellum cartridges. With those qualities, Izuku couldn't ask for a better guy friend.

But all great things come in pairs, and Minokichi's best qualities came out when he was paired with his partner, Yuki.

Yuki was a beauty. The essence of looks and practicality; she boasted an extended slide of nine-and-a-half inches, extended staggered column loaded with custom-made explosive .454 Casull rounds. It was his Aunt Netta's masterpiece, based on the designs for the Colt M1905 and the AMT Automag III, and the recoil from a single shot would likely shatter the arm of most people, which was good because she was custom-made for him.

"Yeah, real good timing."

"She also told me to tell ya that that's the last freebie yer gettin'. Next time, it's at least 200 grand… for one gun."

Izuku could feel sweat drip down his neck, "I-in yen, right?"

"..."

"In yen, right?!"

35 Minutes Later…

"That is bullshit bl-!"

CLICK!

The van pulled up to the woods just a few minutes outside of the town.

Areen wasn't a huge place by any means. If they hadn't been specifically looking for it, they likely missed it.

Trohldu Forest, on the other hand, was quite expansive. By looks alone, it was at least some 40 odd square kilometers, which meant there was a lot of ground to cover.

Though according to the dossier, there was an old shrine in the middle of the forest, no one was there, but the path to it was still marked and it would be as good a place as any to start his search.

He stood up and gave a nod to Neesey, who was looking for something on the table amongst the trash, and then departed from the vehicle.

He started down the path and was almost at the mouth of the forest when he heard behind him, "Izzy, catch!"

Izuku turned and saw a small projectile coming at him like a bullet.

He put up a hand and caught it.

It was a wireless earpiece. He looked up and saw Neesey leaning out of the van and holding a two-way radio.

"Cuz you can't seem to keep your phone connected!"

He put the earpiece in his ear and listened as Neesey's voice came through, "Ya hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Good, then get outta here. I'm tired of lookin' atcha."

"Uh huh."

And with a turn and a wave, he was off.

A bit further down the path, he took the orb out of his coat pocket and tossed it up in the air.

It didn't come back down. It just kept floating and following as he walked along.

"Alright, listen up guys." He said to the orb, "We've got work to do. We're not too close to the town, but we're also looking for people, so we can't level the forest around us. That said, I'm countin' on you guys to earn your keep here. Got it?"

As if from nowhere, a youthful voice that rang like a bell chimed, "As you wish, Milord."

After that, a deep and powerful voice rumbled, "It will be done, Master Midoriya!"

With hardly a beat after that, a lady's voice, sweet and refined, followed up with, "As the idiot says, your will is our command, Midoriya-sama."

"Watch your mouth, hag." Shot back the booming voice.

"You watch yours, moron."

"Why I-"

"You-"

"That's enough. Both of you." Izuku cut in, his tone stern, but not angry.

The two voices were cowed immediately.

"My humblest apologies, Master."

"Forgive me, Midoriya-sama."

He sighed, "Just don't let it happen again, I'd hate to have to enforce the 'no talking' rule again."

"Please not again, Master!"

"Midoriya-sama, please, no!"

Izuku chuckled, "Relax guys, it's just a blatant thre-"

The bell-like voice cut in, "Milord, demons ahead."

The young Midoriya stopped dead in his tracks, humor switched off instantly.

"You're sure, Inari?"

"Yes, Milord. In the clearing up ahead. There's at least 20 from what I can see."

"... Any humans?"

A beat of silence, and then, "Just one."

The green-haired devil hunter didn't have to hear anything after that, he knew what it was time to do.

It was time to start the party.

Demons were a pretty smelly bunch. If Inari hadn't called them out, he probably would've smelled them.

In a large clearing, there was a little Shinto shrine and, like Inari had said, a lot of demons.

Empusa, Hell Caina, and… wait-

"The heck're those?"

They looked like monkeys, but they weren't. Unless he'd missed a step in evolution that said that simians now ejected smoke from their backs.

I mean, that'd be awesome but-

"Milord, I believe that those are Msira."

"Mu-whata?"

"Msira, Milord. Mutated forms of humans consumed by evil. They forsake their human forms and end up becoming avatars of savagery and greed."

An interesting piece of information, especially when thinking about the reason he was there in the first place.

"I see. I wonder then…"

He shook his head, it wasn't the time for speculating, there were a lot of soon-to-be dead demons that needed killing and one not dead human that needed saving.

"Inari, where's the human?"

A beat of silence.

"Inari!"

"...Inside the shrine, Milord. They appear to be hiding."

"Got it, that's good. That'll make this simple."

So, with all the bravado and sheer jackassery befitting of his family line, he strolled right into the middle of the clearing.

Until that moment, they'd all been milling about the clearing, but as soon as he reached the dead center, they all stopped dead in their tracks.

The greennette looked about and gave a devilish grin, his orb floating next to him audaciously.

"Yo, looks like quite a bash ya got goin' on here! Mind if I crash it?"

The demons stared.

"C'mon, don't be shy. Come close, I'll show ya a party trick. You'll love it!"

There was a single Empusa within striking distance of him. It took a swipe.

BANG!

It tragically passed a moment later.

As smoke rose from Minokichi's barrel, Izuku turned his gaze onto the others and his grin grew wider, "Pretty cool trick, huh?"

And the demons charged.

Droll…

Several Hell Caina charged him from all sides.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Minokichi made short work of them.

Another Empusa swiped at his unprotected back.

He leapt over it with a flip and aimed Yuki's 10 inch barrel at the back of its head.

The quick pull of the trigger-

BANG!

The Empusa was blown to bits and Izuku was launched high into the air.

He spun his guns, sliding them back into their holster under his jacket, before calling out, "Babylon: Izanagi and Izanami!"

The black orb shuddered, opening up and turning into a weapon's rack, with only four things on it.

A red-and-white kitsune mask, a submachine gun, a tanto with a red and black sheath and plain white hilt, and finally, a nodachi with ornate glittering gold sheath and obnoxiously rainbow-colored hilt.

The latter two were the ones he was looking for and they were the ones that shot straight into his outstretched hands, while the rack compressed itself back into an orb.

"You two ready to earn your keep?"

"Ready and able, Master!"

"More than ready, Midoriya-sama!"

The devil hunter fell and landed gently on his feet in a small spot clear from demons.

He put Izanami into the small gap in his guns' holsters and held out Izanagi to them with another shit-eating grin.

"So, do I even need to use the sharp edge of this thing?"

Come on!

A quintet of Msira lunged at him.

Without even making an attempt at unsheathing the blade, he swung Izanagi hard in a wide arc and smacked one-

SMACK!

Who slammed into the next one-

THUD!

Who then slammed into the next and the next and the next-

THUD!THUD!THUD!

Before finally slamming into the last one, who ceased to exist before it even realized what had happened.

THUD!

"HOME RUN!"

"Excellent form, Master!"

"If you think that's good, let's see what happens when I actually draw you!"

SCHIIIING!

The blade, as golden as its sheath, gleamed in the pale moonlight. It felt almost like the sun had risen early for just that clearing in the forest.

"As obnoxious as ever, troglodyte."

"HA! Not even you could ruin this moment for me, wench! Come, Master! Let us show them our strength!"

A number of Hell Caina had surrounded him, scythes at the ready to strike him down. He swung hard and spun in a circle, liberating each of their torsos from their legs.

Izuku whistled, "Brutal, Nagi."

"Only the best for you, Master Midori-!"

The sword was cut off as sharp icicles shot past his green-haired wielder.

Izuku looked and found the culprit at the edge of the clearing.

This particular demon was more goat-like than its companions, it was also floating.

"Baphomet."

Izuku groaned.

Baphomet was a particularly annoying demon to deal with. Ranged combat was pointless due to them using magic to create ice thick enough to block Yuki's explosive Casull rounds.

"Would you like my assistance, Milord?"

He needed to get up close and personal, but he didn't need Inari's help for this one.

"It should be fine. I just need Nagi and Nami for this one. Observe."

Within seconds Izanagi was cutting through the air, directly at the goat demon with Izuku following directly behind him.

The Baphomet shot more icicles, but Izanagi cut straight through them.

Seeing that its attack had failed, the demon moved to reposition and cast again, when suddenly-

SHINK!

A tanto was lodged into its torso. Normally this wouldn't be enough to stop even a lesser demon like a Baphomet, the real issue were the maggots and rot that began to rapidly spread out from the wound and overtake the demon.

It flailed and screamed and tried to pull away, but it couldn't. It was just too weak at that point.

"Come, child. Your time here is over." At that, a warm feeling emanated from the short blade.

That was the final blow. The Baphomet slowly calmed down, its flailing becoming less and less violent before it finally just stopped and crumbled away.

Beat 'em up!

The short black blade was far less powerful than Izanagi from a raw strength standpoint, but she was no less effective.

"Good job, Nami."

"I live to serve, Midoriya-sama."

He put Izanami back into her sheath and looked around.

There were only a handful of demons left. A few Empusa and Hell Caina.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

There weren't any demons left, especially not any Empusa or Hell Caina.

Absolute!

With the immediate threats home, Izuku called out, "Babylon: Recall."

Izanami and Izanagi, the latter of whom was stuck in the trunk of a particularly thick tree, began to glow before disappearing.

He looked up towards the shrine and saw a head peeking from the entrance.

Squinting, Izuku could see that it was a young boy, about junior high school age. That had to be who was looking for.

Glad to see you're still there, chum.

With that, Izuku finally spoke into the earpiece he'd been given.

"Hey, Neesey."

No response.

Ahem, "Hey Neesey, it's me."

Radio silence.

Izuku's eyebrow twitched, he took a deep breath, and calmly called once more, "ANICE GOLDSTEIN!"

"Wah!" A crash from the other end, followed by a brief scramble and the hard thudding of heavy boots before someone picked up, "WHAT?!"

"Don't 'what?!' me! You were the one that wasn't answering!"

"I was busy! Now what do you want?"

"Need you to come here and pick up one of the kids we were looking for, here at the shrine. I've gotta find the big bad behind these disappearances in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be right there."

And then, silence.

Counting on his 'sister' to get to the shrine in a timely manner, he approached the very frightened, soon-to-rescued, likely traumatized child who hid upon seeing his advance.

He stopped a few feet away from the entrance, "C'mon out, kid! You're safer with me than anything else out here."

He made sure to say it in Japanese so that the kid could understand.

A beat of silence, and then, "A-are you a demon too?"

"Man, if I had a nickel for every time someone asked me that… Well, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but ain't it funny that it happened twice?"

Silence.

Izuku coughed, "Anyways, no. I'm not. I'm just your friendly neighborhood demon hunter, I was sent to come find you and your friends."

That made the boy snap out of hiding immediately and grab our green-haired hero by his jacket, "My parents?!"

Okay, we're getting somewhere. Note to self, don't bury the lead next time.

"In a way, but before we get to that," His tone went from slightly glib to deathly serious within the span of a comma, "You need to tell me exactly what went down here."

The kid spilled his guts.

About how the leader of his little band of buddies had the idea to go to the 'haunted forest' in Areen, dick around there, take pictures, mess with the shrine. It was all supposed to be good fun.

And then they got there and everything went wrong.

They got to the shrine and something started talking to them, it wasn't quite human, the boy said, it was much more… alluring. Powerful.

It was whispering into their ears, talking about giving them all the things they could ever want; fame, money, girls…

And one-by-one, the boy saw all his friends turn into those 'Smoky Monkey Things'.

He got freaked out, ran, and blanked out. When he came to, he was laying down in the shrine, the demons roaming around outside of it. So he stayed put and hit.

"A-and then you showed up."

"I see."

Well, it sucked, but his thought about Msira earlier was correct. If you were going to make anybody leave everything behind for their desires, what better target than a teenager?

He needed to come up with something to tell law enforcement to tell the parents.

Just another crappy part of the job.

A job that wasn't over yet, even as he heard the sounds of a car tearing up the path to the shrine, screeching to a halt right in front of the shrine proper.

"Alright, kid. Hop in that van and beat it. It smells and the driver's strange, but they'll take you to the police station and you'll be able to get home from there."

"W-what about you?"

The greenette grinned, "Gonna take the scenic route. Don't you worry about me. I'll be fine. Now, shoo."

He practically pushed into the van and watched as it screeched off back towards civilization.

When it fully disappeared into the distance, he walked down and away from the shrine and sighed.

"I just dyed my hair too. Oh well, I think Momo likes how it was before anyway."

He pulled Yuki out from her holster and took a deep breath in.

When he exhaled, the ground beneath him cracked, the air crackled, and his hair turned a stark white.

He aimed Yuki at the roof of the shrine, looking at the frost collecting on the barrel, as it glimmered it in the moonlight, Yuki's secret was always so pretty.

He steadied his hand, put his finger on the trigger, and fired.

BANG!

Ice and wooden shrapnel exploded from the roof.

Stylin'!

Izuku heard a hiss, as a figure made itself known in a silhouette against the moon.

He grinned,

"Jackpot."

Alternative title: Mission 0: The Devil went down to Kyōto.

Hey, thanks for reading!

This one took way too long, because I wanted to make it perfect, because DMC's my favorite game series (with Yakuza and SMT/Persona following close behind).

I played around this chapter a lot, mainly in the fight scene because I wanted to capture the style of the games as best I could.

I also played all the games(including 'dmc: DMC'), re-read the novels, and re-watched the anime, so hopefully I'll be able to make the world and lore mesh well with MHA's.

With that, just tell me what you guys think. Was it alright? Was it trash? I'm gonna keep writing it no matter what anyone says, but it's always interesting to hear what people think.

(P.S. Yes, I did draw the cover art. Don't bully me for it.)

(P.P.S. A prize for anyone who can find the Guilty Gear references in the text. There are two, neither of them subtle.)