Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or Devil May Cry.
A/N: AU. Possible instances of OOCness. Genderswapped Izuku. Switched parentage of Izuku. Swearing. Mentions of violence, blood and potential gore(More so with DMC due to the demons and stuff). Mature themes/Situations. Demonic abilities/powers, as well as potential fits of possessive/overprotective nature, etc.
Again, this is a revised version of the chapter as I've gone back and done some edits, fixed things up a bit, etc.
Without further ado, enjoy!
Friends?
Izuki fiddled with the ends of her sleeves, appetite lost under Bakugo's heated glare.
"Um…" She started, slowly lifting her much more sheepish face, and was met with a heated look of disgust. Her confidence withering, dropping her eyes back down and feeling the familiar sting of tears. Katsuki mentioned several times that he did not care for her, he didn't like her stuttering or the way she seemed to second-guess everything she did.
"Your muttering is annoying," the ash-blonde hissed, looking at her like she was the scum of the earth. And for each hurtful thing that was said his mother responded by clocking him over the head, much to Katsuki's annoyance.
"Stupid hag-"
"Be nice," the lady called Mitsuki says through clenched teeth holding her son's glare with her own. The two Bakugo's drawing quite a bit of attention while exchanging verbal jabs. When Mitsuki turned her attention back onto Inko however, she was all smiles and sunshine again. It was something that baffled Izuki.
"So, anyway as I was saying," Mitsuki continued cheerfully. "Masaru and I won this trip, I didn't even actually know he entered that sweepstake, but he said-"
As the two grown-ups conversed Izuki found herself moving closer and closer to her mother. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" Her mother asked softly, her voice low enough so only Izuki could hear, which she was thankful for. "Aren't you gonna eat your sundae?" Her mother asked with a smile, to which Izuki merely shook her head.
Glancing up and across the table, she was met with yet another heated glare from Katsuki. Reminding her of the school secretary's look of disgust towards her. Truthfully it made her chest hurt, thinking of how many people seemed to hate her.
"I wanna go home…" Izuki mumbled, shame and despair colliding inside her.
Izuki wanted to kick herself when she saw what looked like disappointment in her mother's eyes, looking away immediately. She slid up and out of the booth, taking Izuki with her and fixing the other two ladies and Katsuki with a smile. "Hey Inko, I'm gonna head back, okay? Izuki says she's not feeling well."
Inko looked worried, offering to go along but Lady merely shook her head. "No, it's fine. Stay and catch up with your friend. Mitsuki, was it?" The ash-blonde woman nodded. "Katsuki can have the sundae if he wants to."
Katsuki wasted no time, starting to devour the ice cream like a starved boy. Earning yet another diligent smack on the head from his mother who started yelling about table manners as Izuki and her mom headed for the exit.
"Sorry mom," Izuki mumbled once they were outside.
"Hey, it's okay." Lady soothed, kneeling so that she could look her daughter in the eyes. "It's been a long day. Besides, this way we can get home before your father and make sure he doesn't eat all the ice cream in the freezer, again." A soft laugh followed her words, accompanied by an exaggerated eye roll as Izuki herself giggled.
"Come on," Lady said as the two made their way towards their parked car.
Suddenly Izuki froze. A bone-trembling chill traveled down her spine. Her hand slipping from her mother's, her head jerking in the opposite direction. Her feet moved before she had time to think.
"Izuki? Wait, where are you-"
Her mother's words grew fainter as she ran. Something urging her to hurry. Unfamiliar whispers reached her ears, telling her where she needed to go.
Save him...Save him...Save him…
Izuki rounded a corner just as the sun was starting to dip down below the skyline. Night descending upon them.
"-oF PLuTo!" An inhuman voice roared, shaking Izuki right down to her core. Causing her small body to go rigid.
She saw red everywhere. It was splattered carelessly against the alleyway walls and gritty dirt-covered ground. Her heart skipped a beat as she registered the very small, very human body that was trapped under something far more grotesque and deadly than any school secretary. Hearing the smaller body give out a pained noise as teeth too sharp to be anything other than demon tore into his flesh and rage-filled crimson eyes swerved to meet Izuki's frightened green ones.
"R...un…." The boy-from what Izuki could tell-rasped with his hand flopping down into the pooling red liquid underneath him.
A sickening crunch followed the word, Izuki's breath shuddered. In awestruck horror, she watched as the demon wrapped long, sharpened claws against the boy's much smaller arm taking another vicious bite and causing it to bend at a strange angle.
"S-...sto..." Izuki froze, too scared to even move when the demon looked at her.
Barely a second later and it lunged.
The sound of something whirring in the air followed a split second later and Izuki barely had time to blink before the demon was suddenly struck with an onslaught of bullets. The Demon gave an unearthly howl as it was torn and shredded by the projectiles.
"Izuki!" Her mother's worried, frantic shout snapping her from her trance. "Oh my god, are you alright!?"
Lady holstered one of her pistols, now holding one while using her other arm to bring her daughter closer, checking her over for any sign of injuries. "What were you thinking, running off like that? Never do that again, understand!" Izuki didn't respond at first, still in shock at what she saw.
Then she remembered the boy. Recalling the blood where the demon had bitten into him.
"H-hey! A-are you alright?" Izuki called out, frantically breaking away from her mother's hold and rushing over. The rain started to fall as she skidded to a halt beside the still bleeding boy, hesitantly kneeling alongside him and lifting his head with one hand. "H-hey!" Her fingers trembled from a mix of fear and the chill of the rain.
Dull golden eyes weakly fluttering open to look at her. "An...gel…?" Izuki's mother rushed over herself just as his body went slack in Izuki's hold.
"Wait...This is-" Lady started to say but stopped herself, biting her lower lip in worry. Making a split-second decision. "Izuki, get in the car. Now!" She ordered, trying to be as gentle as possible while lifting the boy into her arms.
~x~
Kai thought his troubles might've ended once he had a family, but turns out he was wrong.
He feels unnaturally hollow by the time he first meets the woman who calls herself his mother admittedly, sitting and staring rather vacantly down at the ground from the bench he sat on. The orphanage patron is throwing the occasional concerned glance or two his way, though it's not enough to push away the whispers that are reaching his ears from the group of kids not far off.
"I heard everyone else died-"
"They said it was a fire and that someone started it-"
"I heard all he did was pick fights, that's probably why he did it I'll bet-"
"I heard someone say that he summoned a demon there-"
Kai had stopped reacting to them a long time ago. Instead, he continued to stare at the single spot on the ground, something that appeared entirely unremarkable and bland-nothing more than stained tiles-to anyone else but all he saw was the non-existent hand waving at him. The flesh of the limb looked burned like something tossed fresh out of a fire-
'Fire?' His mind repeated, numb. He could see the glistening white bone and mutilated cartilage that was once so well hidden.
Kai didn't remember much of what happened, so he told anyone who asked. Whether or not they believed him, he had no idea.
"I remember there was blood...a lot of it…" He said at one point, not even looking at the officer in the room with him.
They found him alone, covered in blood just a few yards into the nearby forest of the orphanage that had been destroyed. Everyone else was reported dead, some being burned alive while others appeared to have been tortured, or so he heard through the open crack of the door while seated inside an empty room.
They were dead because of him. Because that monster wanted him and the moment it came out, everyone panicked.
"Everything you do kills people! You shouldn't even be alive!" He remembered some of the other kids used to tell that too, after one of the people in charge finally reached their limit, lashing out at him when he stumbled and fell once, accidentally breaking a dish-or maybe it was three?-and the glass cut into their hand. Kai didn't see her again, figuring she left.
"Kai?"
The voice that called out to him was gentler than any voice he'd heard before, a pair of finely polished heeled shoes invading his line of sight while she kneeled so they could be eye level with each other. He blinked, noticing she had the same oddly pale complexion as he did, the same facial features consisting of delicate-framed lashes and regal features.
Her eyes however were an enthralling shade of violet, so different from his gold ones. Before he knew it, he was being lifted off the bench and brought into a tender, warm embrace. His smaller body became rigid, unfamiliar to such contact.
"I've finally found you, Kai." The woman whispered, tucking his head down into her shoulder while running her fingers through his hair. He blinked a few more times, eyes becoming a bit wider at the warmth in her voice when she spoke his name. "My precious baby boy. Mommy's here now, Mommy's here."
A trickle of emotion came back into him, his smaller muscles relaxing under her touch feeling the burn of salty tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. He had a mother! A still breathing, alive mother, someone who wanted him! Kai was overwhelmed, not even paying any more attention to the disembodied hand he'd been looking at for the longest time, after watching it burn away under where she stepped, like a distant memory better left forgotten.
He raised a hand, intending to clutch at the older woman's shirt. Fearing she might disappear as quickly as she came-
"No, don't go." He mumbled, turning. When did his throat get so dry?
A warm hand came to rest on his forehead, soothing him.
"Shh, it's alright. I'm not going to leave you, so just rest." A voice soothed, it was strangely more gentle than his mom's but held a certain layer of roughness to it. "Go back to sleep, you must be tired."
Alarm bells went off in Kai's head. Regardless of the advice and how tempting it was, Kai forced his eyes open instead; light scorched his retinas(fortunately, not literally) and he closed them again, turning away while raising a small hand to try and shield his eyes long enough for them to adjust.
When he opened them again, he was looking into a set of large, sparkling emerald-green eyes.
"Aaah!"
"Waaah!"
Both children screamed at once, falling back and away from one another. Kai tumbling from the bed he was on and Izuki landing hard on her bum. Lady, who was sitting in a chair beside the bed, released a quiet sigh of exasperation.
"W-where am I?" Kai asked, bouncing back faster than Izuki and looking around. A sort of grimace coming onto his face upon seeing all the hero memorabilia scattered around the room. He hated heroes.
"Uh, um, i-in my room?" Izuki says, sounding unsure.
"Your room?" Kai repeated, moving to unfurl the covers wrapped and tangled around his small body. He stood up only to be hit by a sudden wave of nausea and dizziness, nearly falling back onto the floor again. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders keeping him upright and steady.
"Easy there. You were hurt pretty badly." Lady says in that same soft, soothing tone.
It takes Kai a moment to remember the demon, teeth tearing into his flesh and his own agonized screams-shivering when he does, seeming to shrink into Lady's comforting embrace only now did he notice the fresh slew of bandages that covered his arm, shoulder, and neck. Realizing the pain had dulled considerably into a more tolerable ache.
"I... I have to go find my mom." Kai says after a long moment of silence. Knowing the longer he stayed, the worse things would be for this woman and her child. "I have to g-"
"No. You can't move yet." Lady said in a scolding tone, picking up and laying him back down onto the bed. "You'll re-open your wounds." She went on to say, much to Kai's mounting trepidation.
"Please, I-!" Kai cut himself off, fear rising within him as he looked from the pair of dual-colored eyes staring back at him worriedly, then at the girl that was probably a few years younger than himself. He couldn't let them die. "I just want to go home. Just let me go home, please." He said, voice much softer than before.
Lady frowned, looking him over for anything out of the ordinary. Was he just shaken from the demon attacking him? She pondered, having seen such a thing plenty of times.
"U-um," Izuki padded forward in uncertainty. Her earlier interactions with the boy Bakugo still linger at the forefront of her mind, nervously picking at the sleeves of her shirt. "I-is it b-because of me? Cuz I-I mean, I can go and wa-wait in the living room?"
Kai's brows furrowed in confusion. "What? No. It's nothing like that, I just-I don't want either of you getting hurt…" He mumbled, sounding defeated somehow. "I'm sure you saw...that thing that attacked me. It wasn't human, a-and it wasn't a villain either it was-"
"It was a demon." Lady cut in, both her words and facial expression were serious. "I know, I saw. I've dealt with demons before. Both my husband and I, it's," she pauses, considering her words for a moment at Kai's look of surprise, "a family thing."
"Your...husband?" Kai stares at her a second longer before the familiar visage of snow-white hair and bluish-silver eyes comes seeping to the forefront of his mind, blinking. His fingers absently brushing against the exposed flesh of her arm. "You mean that Dante guy? He's your-" He swallows thickly, eyes darting back over towards Izuki, a small glimmer of life returning to those deadened gold eyes.
"C-can you...see them too then?" He asks.
Izuki nods. "Me and mommy saw you getting attacked in the alley. I helped patch you up!" Izuki states, looking quite proud of herself for it. She steps a little closer to Kai, who immediately steps back, still wary.
"Wait, how did you know my husband's name is Dante?" Lady asked, curious.
Kai drew further into himself. Moving his one hand to hold onto the other, seeming terrified of letting it anywhere near Lady or Izuki. "I-I...Um…"
Fortunately(or unfortunately), Kai was spared from answering when the sound of a door opening then slamming shut drew their attention to a slightly ajar bedroom door. "Mary, I'm home! Trish and I brought pizza!"
~/~
Dante knew something wasn't quite right about the boy, Kai, the moment he learned a horde of demons abducted him. And if he had known it would lead to an unwanted house guest, he never would have let the kid go in the first place.
He wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but given the alternative, it was much too late to argue. Plus the fact that Kai seemed to be the most civil when interacting with his daughter, having heard of Inko's friend Mitsuki and her son. Wondering if he could get away with at least scaring the snot of Mitsuki's boy while being 'coincidently' out on a job.
Sure, some demons like to save their meals for later but they singled this boy out for a reason and Dante would very much like to know why. "Demons don't usually attack in broad daylight like that," is his first comment once Lady finishes explaining the presence of Dante's latest rescue mission now seated at the dinner table.
"I know that." Lady huffed with a roll of the eyes, "which is why I don't understand either."
"Do you think it has something to do with that Pluto character?" Trish says, uncrossing her arms and putting both hands on her hips while sparring a small glance over her shoulder. The three adults take turns watching Izuki attempting to start a conversation with the oddly stoic Kai. "You say they mentioned the name again?" Trish whispered, looking at Lady.
"Yeah, but I killed him before I could ask what it meant." The blonde gave an almost exasperated look towards the other. "Hey, give me a break! The thing had its jaws buried in a kid's shoulder. What would you have done?"
"You know what?" Dante spoke, getting between the two ladies before a heated debate could startup. His eyes looked at the golden-eyed boy seated at the table, an odd Cheshire-like grin spreading across his face. "Maybe this is one of those golden opportunity moments, why not ask the kid since his mom was a no-go?"
Before either of the ladies could protest Dante walked over, pulling up a chair with an obnoxiously loud screech and flopping down on it. He smiled at Kai for a moment, the boy giving him a blank stare in return. "So Kai, tell me man to man," he ignored Lady snickering in the background, " if the name Pluto means anything to you?"
Kai's response is...unexpected.
He turned, looking down at the table for a few moments in silence, mouth opening then closing like he was about to speak, then decided against it. Finally, he did say something, only not at all what Dante expected(or wanted) to hear. "How much do you want?" He asks, eyes seeming to grow dimmer somehow.
"What?" Dante responded dumbly, surprised it worked.
Kai's next words wipe the grin off his face, however, causing his stomach to churn in disgust.
"Would you prefer just biting down or did you want me to get a knife for you to use? The prices vary depending on whether you just want blood or a pound or so of flesh. If you want to take a bit out yourself then just be sure to do it somewhere that clothes can cover afterwards," his smaller hands move deftly, undoing the buttons of Dante's dress shirt Lady had put him in. His head bowed forward while exposing bandaged flesh to Dante. "Apologies, I don't think I can remove the bandages…"
"Wha-Kai, s-sweetie um, what are you…?" Lady came rushing over, hastily pulling the shirt back on him and frowning. Trish is following close behind, already in the process of ushering Izuki out of the kitchen area when Kai speaks once more.
"He's a demon, right? And he wants to eat me?" Kai looks unbothered. "Mom says if they want a pound or so of actual flesh then they have to pay more. Just blood is cheaper. Biting risks breaking the bones and they have to make sure not to damage any nerves or anything too." His voice is an eerie monotone. "Pluto's blood is valuable, mom says," he says, "humans and demons will pay a lot for it so…" he stops talking, his small shoulders shaking as he tries and fails to muffle a few oncoming sobs. "So if I w-want people to stop dying, then I...I have to….!"
"Kai, that's not something a mother should-" Dante begins but is cut off by Kai's tear-filled eyes and a broken whisper of a voice.
The young boy stubbornly shook his head. "No, m-mom loves me! She does, I swear! She does...I-it's just that, th-things are different for us a-and...and…!" His breath shudders, unable to finish. The three adults looked at one another with varying levels of disturbance following Kai's words.
It takes a few minutes for Lady to calm Kai down enough to where he isn't crying anymore. All the while Dante's expression in a stone-cold mask of indifference, watching Izuki offer the older boy the occasional scoop or two of ice cream to help. Which was of course politely declined, leaving Izuki a bit uncertain as to what else might work.
"So, what should we do?" Trish asks, voice low as Lady rejoins them.
Dante lets out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Well, we can't very well send him back. If this 'mother' of his is truly selling off her own kid's flesh- ``Dante stops himself, shaking his head and refusing to give it any more thought.
"We'll keep him here tonight. We'll figure things out tomorrow," Dante says, leaning his head back against the wall.
"We need information." Trish adds, folding her arms over her chest and flipping her hair over her shoulder, "I'll go around and do some digging on my own. See if I can find anything out about this 'Pluto'."
"He doesn't sound like a demon though…" Lady murmurs thoughtfully.
"Whatever he is, it's causing a problem and now I gotta deal with it." Dante huffed, annoyed.
"Didn't you mention earlier how you had tomorrow off?" Trish reminded, smiling coyly. "Something about taking a 'personal day' to spend time with your daughter?"
"Oh, that's right. You promised to take Izuki to that museum where they're unveiling the new All Might exhibit." Lady says, a look of realization on her face as she clapped her hands together, an almost devious smile starting to form. "This works out perfectly, you can take her and Kai while Trish and I look into things!"
"What?" Dante snaps, blinking owlishly at his wife and partner for a moment. "Wait a second, I-
"We're going to the museum?" An excited voice said, causing the three adults to look down. Dante swallowed the protest that was seconds away from spilling out in front of his daughter's hopeful face. "And Kai's coming too?" She turned those big, glittering green eyes onto Dante and he caved instantly.
"...Yeah." Lady and Trish both smiled encouragingly, offering him a small pat on the back for being a 'good father'.
Meanwhile Izuki turned back to Kai, still smiling albeit more shyly now. "Um, have you ever been to the museum Kai?"
The boy in question shrugged. "Not really, I prefer books."
Izuki's shoulders deflated. "O-oh...W-well you probably don't have to go if you don't want to?" She offered, nervously twiddling her thumbs while looking away.
Her parents and Trish all share a sympathetic glance at one another with Lady about to go over and cheer her up. Pausing when Kai spoke again, sounding just a smidge less monotone.
"Do you...like museums?" He asked, looking about as used to conversation as Izuki was.
"I've never been." Izuki stated shyly. Kai looked to be contemplating his next words.
"If...If you don't mind me coming along, I-I suppose there are worse ways to spend the day." The smile that lit up Izuki's face was radiant.
"Um, w-would you...like to go watch tv?" Izuki asked.
Kai simply nodded, hopping off his chair at the table and following her into the living room. In a fit of playfulness, she grabbed hold of his sleeve, tugging it to try and get him to move faster. He blinked, several images flashing through his mind.
The two took a seat on either end of the couch as Izuki turned on a special about heroes. Kai looked at her while she spouted random facts on every hero they talked about or showed. Nodding along and offering a question or two of his own.
He didn't seem at all bothered by her, even when he would occasionally mention how she was muttering. To which Izuki hurriedly apologized and he said it was no big deal.
It was a few hours later while watching an interview that featured All Might himself Kai found his curiosity piqued, looking over at Izuki who was now huddled underneath her supposed 'favorite' All Might blanket. Eyes glued to the tv.
"Izuki?" He called out softly, just loud enough to be heard over All Might's booming laughter. "Do you...want to be a hero?"
Izuki blinked, looking away from the television and towards Kai now. His gold eyes staring straight ahead, almost like he was looking at something she could never hope to see. It was the first time someone had asked her, lacking the usual venomous tone or hateful glare she was so accustomed to.
"W-well I-I um…" Izuki fumbles over her words, unsure of what to say exactly. "I-I'm Quirkless. S-see um, b-because of my dad's side of the family b-but I, uh…! I-I still want to….um, s-save people though...a-and stuff…."
"A quirk doesn't make a hero." Kai says dispassionately. "My quirk has brought me nothing good. I'm asking if you want to be a hero, even if a majority of people say you can't?" Kai clarified, turning golden eyes onto Izuki.
"You don't need a quirk to be able to make a difference."
No sooner do the words leave his mouth, the front door slams open sending Izuki scurrying over to his side of the couch, frightened. Shielding them both in her All Might blankie for protection, oblivious to Kai's more deadpan stare.
"Wow, this place is a lot different than what I thought." A high-pitched voice says, belonging to a head of golden-blonde hair and bluebell eyes.
"This is the Devil May Cry agency?"
~/~
"So, Kai's disappeared again?"
Isabella's cold voice cut through the air like a knife, looking through her half-full glass of wine watching the cubes of ice clink against the fine-crafted glass in boredom. Her kaleidoscopic eyes turned up and away as she set the glass down onto a table in front of her, uncrossing her legs and standing. Light filtering in through the room from one of the passing cars outside, shining on a mountain of bloody corpses. She stood from the couch she had been seated on, flicking a speck of imaginary dust from her clothes, humming as she walked.
"This is why I said it's better when he's in restraints." She walked over, looking out a window and pulling the curtains shut with a venomous hiss. "The boy's more trouble than he's worth!"
"Nevertheless he is the descendant of Pluto. It is your job to watch him, you know?" A second voice says with a sneer, standing in the shadows behind her. "We need him alive for the ceremony after all."
Isabella let out a 'tch!' of annoyance before turning to face them, her arms folded against her chest and glaring. "Are you trying to give me an order? I would think twice about that unless you wish to end up like the others."
"If that spawn of Sparda gets ahold of him he will-"
The sound of something slicing through the air was the only clear indication they had overstep some type of line. That, and the sudden enormous gaping hole in the owner of the second voice's abdomen, their words becoming trapped in their throat, staring with widened, horrified eyes as Isabella slowly turned fully to face them.
In her hand was the other creature's still beating heart before she slowly crushed it, a cruel, satisfying smile on her lips.
Her free hand changing shape, morphing into something resembling a snake as it wrapping around the other being, dragging them over and into the light. Holding them dangerously close enough to where Isabella's now sharpened, bloodstained teeth was visible. "The fact that you think so little of me tells me that perhaps I've become too lenient. That you would dare to insult me by implying that blood traitor's spawn to be a match for me is-"
As she spoke, Isabella's voice grew louder and louder, filling the empty halls and causing the nearby shadows to stir and come alive. Her eyes a crimson red, seeped in rage, with her morphed arm gradually tightening, cutting herself off when the other person was suddenly crushed in half sending blood onto the walls and carpet.
"Wonderful. Now we have to find a new maid," a third voice drawled, following what sounded like the flapping of wings. "I do think they had a point, you know? Dante can be an annoyance when he's involved, just as Sparda once was."
"You seriously think Dante poses a threat? With how little he knows?" Isabella challenged with a smirk. "The fool doesn't even know who Pluto was, let alone what Kai is. Besides, even if he figures it out there's no saving that boy. And if that accursed devil hunter tries, well...I feel a great swell of pity for him, don't you?" She says, a teasing lilt entering her words.
The other being merely scoffed, opting to stay hidden in the shadows for the moment. "I feel a great swell of pity for anyone foolish enough to get attached to that bothersome brat."
"Kai knows deep down he is not long for this world. It's just a question of whether he faces that knowledge head-on or drags others down with him."
"You are as cruel as ever, Lelina."
"Don't call me that. More importantly, how did the attack on the Commission go earlier?" She inquires, watching the second figure step more into the dim light, revealing the black feathers littering the ground around where their feet were. An owl mask covering part of their face, looking at the other with piercing red eyes.
"Just as you predicted, Dante was there. He stopped the ones I summoned and even stole one of my precious feathers."
"Did you see him though? The one with red wings?"
"Hawks is apparently what they are calling him. And yes, I did catch a mere glimpse." The one in the owl mask confirmed casually. "Blonde hair and golden eyes...they say his mother is still alive, though they don't wish for anyone to know."
"Oh? Perhaps we shall go visit her then?"
Hope you enjoyed~!
Review.