Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or Devil May Cry.
A/N: This is a re-write sort of, as I went back and fixed up some things as well as got rid of a few others altogether.
Hope you enjoy!
I. Tragedy
For as long as she can remember, Inko Midoriya had known the world she lived in to be a dangerous one. She'd seen things as they truly were, unfamiliar though as a child, and more often than not those things would stare right back at her. She couldn't quite say exactly when it all started, maybe around the age of five or so sounds about right, that the lines between what's real and not began to blur and everything became so crystal clear she didn't understand why no one else could see it.
There hadn't been this big moment of discovery with her about it. It just...always was. She'd always been able to see what was hidden in plain sight. Fabled myths and legends that stalked in the dead of night, etc.
Once upon a time, she made the mistake of mentioning such things to her parents, Takashi and Keiko Midoriya, they had immediately begun worrying about her mental health as a result. She was only ten at the time and her parents made it so blatantly obvious too. From the way her father looked at her over the edge of his newspaper to how her mother spent hours pouring over different kinds of parenting books, most of which had similar titles such as 'Dealing with your child's overactive imagination' or 'Creative or Crazy?' But Inko knew deep down that there was nothing wrong with her.
At school, there were no complaints from teachers or other students' parents and her grades were still exemplary. She wasn't popular by any means, but she had a nice, well-rounded group of friends who liked to spend time together outside of school. All was well.
Until it wasn't.
The day her parents sent her to talk to a child therapist in some far-off corner of the world had been the last straw. Inko wouldn't stand for it; She wasn't crazy! She was still a very rational, entirely sane individual, thank you very much.
She knew it was true, even if no one else could see any of it. After going along to a few sessions and winding up in a huge blowout fight with her parents over it, Inko learned never to mention such things to them again. Some things were best kept to herself after all.
The older she became the more used to seeing the different things she was. And though she would never say it aloud or to anyone again, some could be described in one word. Monsters.
She saw monsters; dogs the size of cars, horrifying winged creatures soaring high above in the skies and so very much more. They never did anything to harm her miraculously, rarely even looking her way. As a child growing up, the possibility of one of these creatures hurting her made it harder to sleep at night. Growing up though brought a new bit of perspective as it was harder to fear something that was an everyday occurrence, in a strange, abnormal way she had made peace with it she supposed.
Years passed. Before she knew it she had earned herself a scholarship. Following this, she was accepted to study abroad in the states. The fight with her parents over her 'condition' faded into obscurity as the pieces of her adult life fell into place. Things were going back to normal. Her passion for writing takes over a good chunk of her time, more often than not spending a day either buried beneath a mountain of books or getting together with friends she'd met during numerous creative writing courses.
Things were looking amazing for her, more often than not lost in thoughts about the future and what kinds of books she was going to publish someday; Adventure? Romance? Maybe even a good thriller? The possibilities were endless.
That is... until a single day changed the entire course of her life. It was the day she met him.
It was late into the Summer, the same year she finally turned twenty-two, when she finally got her parents on board with the idea of her living alone, saving up enough money to move to London. Inko was looking forward to it, finding a small, affordable place that was right in the heart of a city called Red Grave.
Unfortunately, the humming neon lights and glittering raindrops aren't enough to stave off the encroaching darkness of night, Inko wasn't exactly sure when she started hating the night but she did. Blackness always enveloped the city.
People instinctively fear the darkness, Inko knew that. She was no different.
But each sundown, the monsters got more restless, more volatile - for Inko, there's no escaping the ghastly screams. For her, their cries are a warning, perhaps, heralding the end of what she once knew.
It was late in the evening. Inko would've already made herself comfortable for the night snuggled under her bed covers, but part of her wanted to explore some more, her 'inner writer' stirring. She was wary of the dark, but another, stranger part knew the nightlife was where all the excitement was at. With her wide-eyed gaze taking in the sight that spread out before her -glittering, bright neon lights and shining, wet slopes of architecture, not to mention the people - she wandered for hours without any real destination in mind. Little by little the fear she held was pushed further to the back of her mind.
Then she met him.
She more so stumbled into him, his own feet equally uneven and coming out of one of the more unsavory-looking establishments. He was extremely handsome, she couldn't deny that. His facial features were all kinds of sharp and angular, his jaw was strong, those strong, muscular arms of his tanned and so unbelievably firm just like his exposed torso. His snow-white hair hung in his eyes, disheveled from who knows what. Inko knew, from the moment they touched, there was something odd about him.
He wasn't human. Her fingers brushing ever so slightly against the bare flesh of his exposed torso-
"Mommy. Mommy... Hey, Mommy!"
The young child shook the body of his fallen mother, but she already breathed her last. The boy didn't understand, "Mommy!"
A warm pool of blood spread out from her motionless body.
The boy cried hysterically. Tears and snot flowed down his face and his silver hair fluttered as he shuddered. "Mom!"
-and felt panic swell in her chest. A fresh wave of fear washed over her.
White and blue - darkness and light - flashed before her. For a moment Inko struggled to keep her eyes open but-
"Hey, are you alright?"
"Are you serious?" a voice, definitely female sounding, all but snarled from the now open door that this man had come stumbling out of. Inko blinked, meeting the searing-hot glare of…someone? Maybe it was the mystery man's girlfriend?
"You won't let me have any fun with you, yet here you are putting the moves on some passerby chick with a semi-decent rack?"
Whatever Inko had been about to say died in her throat still, an odd sort of twitch developing in her left brow. She knew she wasn't by any means the 'prettiest' flower of the bunch, probably not even being in the top three of her social group…but who the hell did this woman think she was? Inko didn't even know her!
"Kerry-"
"You ungrateful ass! I knew I should have left you to rot out here!" The girl now identified as 'Kerry' hissed through clenched teeth as though it were the foulest of curse words. Slamming the door shut before Inko or the man could get a word in edgewise.
The man let out a curse, dropping his hands from where they'd been gripping onto Inko's upper arms in his clumsy attempt to catch her before she ate a faceful of dirt. She'd appreciate it more, were it not for his girlfriend's - she had yet to be told otherwise - poor attitude and the huge misunderstanding. Inko would never get with someone who reeked of so much alcohol.
"Um…" Inko shifted from one foot to the other, clutching the strap of her bag nervously.
"Great, I need this like I need a hole in my head…" He muttered, running a hand across his face and through his snow-white hair.
"S-sorry about that. I-I didn't mean to uh, y-you know, I just tripped and uh, um ..." Inko stumbled over her words, looking anywhere other than this guy's face, there was something vaguely familiar about his eyes-like something she'd seen in a dream once. The images of that child and woman were also unsettling. She didn't recognize either of them, alarm bells going off in her head the longer she remained standing there.
"I-I've gotta go!" She said. Proprietaries be damned. Something tugged at her gut, it was the same as whenever she glimpsed one of the monsters nearby. Seconds before they noticed her, most seemed to think she wasn't worth the trouble of going after. She was fine with that, really, survival of the fittest and all that junk.
She wanted to live, to be normal. She wanted to run and-
"How did you do that?"
Ice flooded into her veins. Her sea-foam eyes drawn forward, against her will. The man stood towering over her. Up close there was a menacing air around him that she only just now took note of, his eyes like two shields of ice as they bore into her.
"Ah, I um…I-I don't-"
Her eyes darted around, her foot sliding back. That was the wrong thing to do.
He grabbed her again, holding her much thinner, easily breakable arm in his hand as though it were a mere twig ready to snap.
His next words send a spark of indignation rushing through her.
"Did somebody send you?"
She panicked, remembering all those forced therapy sessions and arguments with her parents. Inko slapped him, screaming something about rude perverts then ran like a bat out of hell. Wishing more than anything she could turn back time and decide not to go out alone.
She failed to notice the shadowy figure in a green suit. Standing in the shadow of a nearby alley and with a face that was wrapped in bandages. His eyes, which had previously been fixed solely on a white-haired male, immediately swerved onto Inko instead.
'That scent…Impossible.' Watching Inko flee with a strange, contemplative look in his eyes.
~/~
"What do you know about a woman with seafoam eyes and hair?"
"Whoa, dude…Are you interested in someone?"
"Hmm, something like that."
"Heh, well yer better off looking somewhere else. That one's got issues. Know what I mean?"
~/~
Inko hated this place, Fortuna. There was nothing fortuitous to be had. She hated that her parents sent her here.
"Um, e-excuse me?"
White and blue flashed from the corner of her eye, drawing her gaze towards him. A sliver of snow-white shone from under his hood and something inside of Inko just knew…there was something unusual about him.
Her eyes fell a moment later, dropping down to the ground. Her blood ran cold.
The man's shadow was another monster- no, this thing was far more devil-like in both appearance and aura.
All the arguments she'd ever had with her parents and all the close encounters throughout her life, knowing no hero would be enough to stop this creature if it decided to kill her; everything came rushing to the forefront of her mind as she reached out.
The man stopped just as her fingers inched closer, turning-
Flesh met flesh and with a snare of memories not her own blinded Inko's sight.
"Vergil."
.
.
.
History has a way of repeating itself; Like a circle, it's a never-ending cycle. So too is the suffering endured, years of torment etched in blood like ink to paper.
Reminding us not all men are created equal; A testament that power is everything.
Those without it are left to suffer.
Hero.
To a young Midoriya Izumi, that word meant everything, a crystallization of mankind's greatest ideals. All her life, from as far back as she could remember being able to walk, she idolized heroes and heroines with no small amount of fascination. No matter how big or small, Izumi loved them and everything they stood for. For hours upon hours, she would simply watch her favorite heroes save the day, her younger mind simply in awe.
It brought her back to happier times, with her mom…and on rare occasions her dad. Though she could never fully recall his face.
In an ever-growing world where Quirks. Abilities that manifested in humans, dominated the public eye, the natural tendency of humans to abuse power gave way to danger. Much like in the long-forgotten comics of old, Villains appeared, eager to use their power to destroy, control and dominate the masses. And much like in those old stories, it was Heroes who rose to the occasion, protecting the innocent.
All around the world, Pro-Heroes were born to combat the rising tide of evil as crime rates soared with respect for both the law and humanity being increasingly ignored. The mundane police and army, as respected as they were, could no longer keep up with the pace of evolution. What could one do with bullets if a Villain could control metal? What good were things like tanks and bombs if a madman could easily infest the minds of the ones controlling them from hundreds of miles away? What hope did a Quirkless individual have against a being the size of a mountain?
Only the Quirked could combat the Quirked. That was the logic that now dictated the world around her.
The latest in evolution had turned society into a superhuman one where nothing seemed impossible, where it seemed anyone could achieve anything. Myths became reality and surreal became the new average. Unfortunately, things like Quirks and Heroes weren't the only things that sprung up, changing society and Villains weren't the only 'consequence'.
One day a tower appeared…
Izumi herself hadn't been born back then, having only stories and hearsay to rely upon for information. She asked her mom about it…once, then never again. On the internet there were a whole bunch of stories and theories on what exactly happened that day - some argue it was actual, real-life demons that appeared and others insisted it was the doing of some strange, unknown quirk. Izumi remembered watching a few of the interviews taken with Pro-Heroes that were presumably on the scene, one of whom was America's current number one, Stars and Stripes.
"Miss Stripe, is there anything you can tell us about the red-clad individual whom you were seen conversing with following the tower's sudden disappearance?"
Izumi couldn't quite say what intrigued her so much about it, with most of the adults blaming it on her fascination with all things hero-related. Maybe that was part of the reason, or perhaps it was something else entirely. Either way, Izumi became more and more eager for the day her Quirk would manifest, allowing her to start on the path to becoming a heroine herself and join the fight against bad guys, her dream.
She watched on in fascination as her classmates and even her first friend, Kacchan, developed amazing quirks. She had always been fascinated by them, observing even the most dismissable power with unfettered fascination. Still, she could also appreciate powerful and flashy Quirks just as well as the next kid.
Kacchan was especially impressive. His Explosive Quirk combined with his already impressive athletic and academic potential made him even more of a stand-out. His desire to be the best and strive for the best was inspiring to her in many ways. Even more amazing was how he included her whenever going out to play, no one else had approached her or even looked her way…but Kacchan did. She couldn't wait for her quirk to manifest so she could stand on equal footing with him finally.
So, she waited for her power to manifest, dreaming every single night of the day when she would wake up and suddenly be able to control the wind, walk through walls, talk to animals, or maybe be able to duplicate things. Then she would be able to take the stage with so many others her age and become a hero, becoming able to protect someone.
The age of four came and went. And then her fifty birthday was quickly approaching. Still, nothing had happened. Not even the smallest spark of power had begun emanating from her petite frame, until one fateful day she learned the truth.
"You won't ever manifest a quirk. You had best give up on becoming a hero."
Simple, cold, uncaring…those words had crushed her entire being. Overnight, her dreams were stomped on, crushed and ground into nothingness. Nothing save a speck of hope remaining. She had wept, long and hard, her young mind cursing the world for its cruelty against her all the while her mother tearfully hugged her close, relentlessly apologizing.
It was during this very moment Izumi wondered, lifting a shaky finger and pointing it towards her lit-up computer screen where a video of her all-time favorite hero was playing…Showing All Might, smiling big and bright for everyone to see…
She wanted that; to be strong like that. To be a hero. To be someone capable of saving others in a pinch.
"I…can still…b-be a hero…right, M-mom?"
~/~
A year had passed since Izumi was diagnosed as Quirkless, and similarly, it had been roughly around a year since her life had started going from bad to worse. All of her classmates and 'friends' had taken to mocking and ridiculing her every day, taunting her with her helpless nature and isolating her from all the 'normal' kids their age. The teachers were little to no help. Even Katsuki whom she had admired and wanted to be like had turned on her, becoming a bully - more often than not, he was at the center of it.
His betrayal hurt more than it should have, leaving a gaping hole right where her heart was supposed to be. People with power were supposed to protect those weaker, not hurt them, right?
This way of thinking slowly diminished as more and more insults and jeers were thrown her way everywhere she went.
"Oi, Deku!"
Izumi let out a yelp, wincing as she was harshly shoved to the ground. Her palms were bleeding from scraping the dirt too hard.
"Where do you get off following us around? Quirkless rejects like you aren't wanted here!" Katsuki said with a sneer, his palms sparking menacingly. The rest of the kids are flanking him.
She swallowed, feeling the burn of fresh tears swell in both her eyes while lifting her gaze, looking back into Kacchan's own more anger-filled ruby-red eyes. Some small part of her internally pleaded that he would come to his senses and stop bullying her. Instead, he only got more annoyed. Firing off another round of explosions from his palms.
"Hahahahaha! Talk about worthless!" One of the other kids mocked.
"What a loser!" Another joined in, watching Izumi struggle to push herself back onto her feet.
"It's embarrassing to watch." One added with a snicker of laughter.
Words could be cruel, Izumi came to understand that in this past year. And though the other kids' words hurt just as much if not more on occasion, it was always Kacchan who managed to deal the biggest blow. This time was no exception.
"Worthless is an understatement for trash like you!" He says, ignoring the pang of emotion in his own heart at the sight of those glistening, tear-filled sea-foam green eyes. A sudden urge to dissuade her from coming around anymore built in his chest.
"Hurry up and leave, the sooner you're gone the better! Wouldn't want your worthlessness to spread," satisfaction curled in his gut at the sudden look of frozen grief that was slowly becoming etched onto Izumi's face. "I'll bet even your mom's troubled by how useless you are." Knowing only he could hurt her like this - only he could get the message through, loud and clear that she was unwanted.
"You're no good to anybody, stupid Deku." Katsuki continued as if Izumi weren't seconds away from a mental breakdown the likes of which she wouldn't recover from. His arms crossed and an air of smugness around him.
"Y-...Y-y-y-you're l-l-lying…!" Izumi says, stumbling over her words just like she always did when flustered.
It was far too easy for him to get her doubting herself. For Katsuki, picking apart Izumi's insecurities was like second nature for him.
Only this time he would live to regret it. The sense of accomplishment and pride he felt watching her take off running back home (afterward), seconds before forgetting her completely, was nothing in comparison to the sense of remorse and guilt that would come to plague him in the following years.
Unable to help the late nights where his mind would wander, always going back to the moment he stepped through his front door to the sight of his mom and dad bawling their eyes out, catching a glimpse of the breaking news bulletin on tv.
The words villain and attack flashed across the screen, accompanied by a photo of Auntie Inko smiling. Following it was the most damning thing Katsuki had ever heard in his life.
'LOCAL WOMAN VICTIM OF VILLAIN ATTACK: INKO MIDORIYA FOUND DEAD IN HOME!'
Then his world fell apart.
~/~
Ever since her fourth birthday, the dreams had begun taking a darker turn. The night before she was scheduled to go in for her check-up with the doctor being the strangest and most heart-stopping. What she experienced truly frightened her! She'd had dreams before, nightmares too.
This time, however, she didn't recognize where she was. Only that it was raining, though she couldn't feel it.
The very apex of the ancient tower faced the onslaught of the storm with the same dignity that had kept it standing for countless centuries, seemingly reaching to the sky with its seven strange, serpent-like statues. They eerily resembled the arms that nooses were hung from. Though, whether or not they served such a sinister purpose was kept secret, one that only the dead who had constructed them knew. The moon shone stubbornly, full and bright, through the black clouds and sheets of rain, refusing to allow her splendor to be blocked by something so insignificant. Yet the sound of steel on steel was easily heard above the din of the rain and thunder, ringing out like a pair of bells that played a deadly tune.
"Stop. Stop it!"
Two figures dueled fiercely under the gaze of statues, appearing all the world as opposites of each other in appearance. One was dressed in a blood-red trench coat, his muscled chest and back easily visible as he dodged an attack, countering it with the huge broadsword he wielded. His dark pants and boots, though soaked with rainwater, gave the man the appearance of a violent warrior compared to the cold, regal look of his enemy. A blue, gold-trimmed coat flowed about the other, barely protecting his dark vest and pants from the downpour. Dark brown, knee-high boots splashed into a small puddle as he countered the broadsword with his katana, its long hilt wrapped in material the same shade of blue as his coat.
Neither seemed much older than nineteen, yet they fought with the ferocity of warriors much older than they.
There was something about one of them. Izumi found it hard not to stare. The sight caused her pain, her mind trying to understand why he stuck out the most.
"Stop fighting! Please! I don't-"
Reeling back from the blows they exchanged, both figures cast angry, determined glares at each other. They perfectly resembled one another; messy chin-length silver hair, strong handsome faces, and icy blue eyes. Yet it was there that the similarities ended.
As their blades once again sang against each other, sparks rising from the intensity of the blows, the fierce, raw emotion in the red warrior's eyes matched the cold, frighteningly powerful ferocity of the blue warrior.
"I can't-"
The pure speed and strength of the blows continued to create a symphony as the warriors only struck steel. Not a drop of rain was able to slip past as they created a dome of whirling blades, probing for weaknesses in each other's defenses. But they were too evenly matched; when they finally pressed their blades in front of each other, the suspended rain soaked them as it finally fell with a loud splash. Glaring at one another from behind their crossed swords, they caught their breath, neither willing to give in.
Both put so much strength behind the blades that the metal began to glow and steam from where the two blades met.
Pushing forward, the katana's wielder managed to knock the broadsword from its owner's grip. Shocked, the red-coated man tensed as if to move away from the other, but his hesitation cost him dearly. As the tip of his weapon became embedded in the stone, the blue warrior thrust his katana forward, burying it up to the hilt in his enemy's stomach.
For several moments, neither moved, and blood dripped steadily down the blade from the wound, mingling with the rain that fell.
All that could be heard now was the dying man's labored breathing, as he fought to keep his eyes focused on the other's face, whose indifferent expression regarded him with cool satisfaction. As quickly as he had stabbed, the victor pulled his blade from the defeated man's flesh, blood spraying in a wide arc behind him. It was all that had kept him standing; lurching forward from the blade, the red-coated man fell backward, one gloved hand reaching out as if to catch himself, and hit the ground, motionless.
But in the end, only one was left standing.
"I don't want to lose you-"
Placing a loose fist to his forehead, the victorious one closed his eyes and bowed his head for a moment, as if regretting what he had done. But he regained his coldness as he brushed his hair back, slicking it away from his face, and sighed quietly, his task done. He sheathed his katana and lifted the broadsword, turning and walking away from the defeated man. Slowly, though, the fallen one twitched his fingers, attempting to sit up as blood pumped heavily from his wound. Swiftly, his enemy turned and charged at him, bringing the broadsword forward at his chest.
"-DAD!"
It was the last thing she saw before the blackness took her. Her body fell back, right off the edge of the massive tower.
And suddenly, to Izumi's shock, the image of the two warriors vanished, broken apart by a ripple as though they were nothing
more than a reflection on the water. Her hand reached out in a desperate bid to try and hold onto the image-the person she was seeing-only to fail. Her strength drained as she continued to fall further and further down with the roar of the wind whipping around her.
"If you want someone to blame for all this, then blame your father and the blood in your veins; They're the reason your mother is dead and the cause of your suffering."
The words echoed all around her. Along with the memory of white-hot pain and a sword plunged through her back.
"If you knew what was coming, you'd be thanking me," an unfamiliar voice says. Putting Izumi back in her burning house, having come out of the wardrobe to make a run for it just as her mother instructed. Only she was weak, afraid-
"Consider this an act of mercy."
Then her vision faded, the memory of what she saw now lost as she fell into a deep slumber.
Hope you enjoyed. If so, please leave a review!
