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 and Situations. Demonic abilities/powers, as well as potential fits of possessive/overprotective nature, etc.
Without further ado, hope you enjoy~!
Birthmark Pt. 1
Dante's woken up by the roaring of the train's engine. His eyes shifted onto the blonde child in the seat across from him, just a few years older than Izuki. Seeing her staring intently at some kind of pendant hanging around her neck.
"So," he said, breaking the silence and causing her to look up, "you can look cute when you want to."
She blinked, either surprised Dante himself was initiating conversation or just caught off guard by the oddly worded compliment. He smirked, deciding to take things a step further and have some fun. "Is that a picture of your boyfriend?"
She immediately became offended. Score one for Dante.
"No! It's my mom, you half-wit!" Dante let the insult roll off him with practiced ease, Lady and Trish having called him much worse throughout the years. "And she's a whole lot prettier than your girlfriend!"
Dante had to hold back a snicker. The girl, Patty, somehow misinterprets the picture of Dante's mom, Eva, that he kept sitting on the front desk as that of his girlfriend-which given how alike they looked just meant she was dissing Trish. 'Still, if only she knew,' Dante thinks, amused.
"Now now, kids your age shouldn't make up lies just for the heck of it," was his flippant response only serving to further her anger.
Patty went to give some kind of rebuttal, bluebell eyes blazing with tempered fury. Only it never came, something weighing on her mind, thinking back to when she first arrived at the Devil May cry agency…
"Say um," Patty started to say in a far more meek voice than Dante thought she was capable of. "That girl, the one that I kind of spoke to back at your Agency. You know, she was the one who kept hiding behind that boy, Kai. Who was she? Do her parents work for you or something?"
Dante opened his eyes now to look at her fully, having previously closed them in a meager attempt to try and fall back asleep. Patty was a bit unnerved by the sudden, piercing stare he was giving her. Wondering if she said something wrong.
"She seemed, I don't know, awfully shy so I was just wondering?" Patty tried, pushing the subject maybe a little more than wise. She was just so surprised there were other children hanging around a place like that. Sure there were the kids her age back at the orphanage who on rare occasion hung out with her, but still, that didn't mean she shouldn't try and make friends outside the orphanage, right?
'Who knows,' Patty thought, thinking back to her mock offer of having Dante work for her instead after acquiring the famous Lowell family's fortune. 'Maybe I can help her with employment?'
"Kai mentioned she wants to be a hero, so do you know what her quirk is?" Patty continued, feeling a little bolder.
"She's quirkless." Came Dante's curt reply, cutting off Patty's enthusiasm at the knees. The blonde girl's more cheerful expression falls, settling into an almost crestfallen look.
"What? But then...how can she…?" Patty didn't finish, suddenly sounding conflicted herself.
For the next few minutes there was sweet, blissful silence between them.
"Is she... Is she bullied a lot?" Patty asked quietly, making Dante's brow crease in confusion for a moment. Curious as to the sudden melancholic frown etched onto Patty Lowell's face-you'd think a girl about to become heiress would be a bit happier about it. "For being quirkless, I mean," Patty clarified shifting in her seat.
"Maybe." Dante relented, he was no fool. He knew his daughter was...is bullied quite often from the moment she leaves the house, though as to the reasoning behind it...it always varies. "Why does it matter? In any case, it's not something you need to-"
"Back at the orphanage, once I was diagnosed as quirkless a lot of the kids stopped hanging out with me." Patty cut in, eyes still downcast. "And more of the parents that came around didn't want me either." Dante saw how her small fists clenched the fabric of her pants, smelling the salty tears that were welling up in her eyes.
"What's there to say? Other than people can be jerks when they want to be," Dante affirmed, making Patty blink and looking at him in muted surprise. "Just think of how those people are probably gonna be kicking themselves after finding out who you really are." The hero added, content on letting his eyelids slip shut once more.
He didn't see the small glimmer in Patty's eyes, or how her smile became a little more geniune around him.
No, he was far too deep in memories of a pink bundle being handed to him and a smiling Mary in the bed alongside him to care.
"Wow, that's one pretty lady!"
Dante frowned, eyes reopening to see someone standing eerily close to Patty. The glasses on his face glinted from the fading sun outside, peering closely at Patty's still open locket in her hand. The faint smell of blood reaching Dante's nose.
"That wouldn't be a picture of your mother, would it?" The stranger went on to say. "Say, you're pretty charming yourself."
Patty blushed at the compliment towards both her and her mother.
"Mind if I sit here?" The stranger asked.
Dante arched a brow at the stranger, craning his head and looking around seeing more than half of the booths were still unoccupied.
"There are open seats all over the place-"
Dante didn't get to finish, catching the guitar-shaped case that held his sword, Rebellion, inside when Patty chucked it at him.
Yet another annoying tick of being a professional; weapons weren't meant to be displayed in the open unless actively fighting or subduing a target. If they were the populace becomes uneasy, this was especially true in the case of things like Dante's Devil Arms. Like it was his freakin' fault Agni and Rudra couldn't keep their mouths shut while walking around in headless form, or that the sparks from Nevan's guitar may have short-circuited a power grid and left quite a few towns without power.
"Here you go!" Patty says, offering the now empty seat to the 'kind' stranger.
"Thank you," he said, removing his hat while he sat. "Hope I'm not bothering you."
"You're not bothering me, but I can't promise that you'll live long." Dante muttered, resuming his attempt to get some more shut-eye. Ignoring Patty's sudden snap of outrage.
"And what is that supposed to mean!?"
The inside of the train went dark. Passing through a short tunnel and coming out the other side.
"I mean really," Patty continued upturning her nose at Dante's rude remark, "why would anyone need some promise like that just because they sit-"
Her words were cut off by the sound of blood spurting into the air. Eyes opened, becoming wide with terror as the stranger now fell forward, with blood gushing out of his head and a frozen horrified look on his face. Patty flinched as his body hit the ground.
"Good grief." Dante says, his own face holding only boredom. "That's why I told you."
This was going to be a tedious job after all.
When hunting a devil, one must always stay vigilant.
Katsuki had seen All Might's debut, to this day he would still secretly look it up online and watch it; That same clip of him saving over a hundred people, smiling widely, looking damn near unstoppable when villains try to get in his way.
He was the best, of course he couldn't lose. Katsuki wanted that; he wanted to be the best, to be the one people look to when stuff's going wrong. He wanted to experience that rush of adrenaline and euphoria that can only be achieved by scaling that mountain of pure strength…
-then came Dante.
And the mountain became a whole freaking, bottomless chasm that, in truth, Katsuki wasn't sure even All Might could overcome. The acclaimed 'Devil Hunter's' debut was much more gruesome and not recommended for kids Katsuki's age, but he watched it anyway. 'Screw what that hag says!' he thought at the time.
There was a part of him-small, minuscule even at best-that was glad it was only a video. Because if he had to face down those-those things, he wasn't so sure he could win.
Katsuki could beat up villains no problem! He'd punch the snot out of a few older kids a while back.
What he saw on that screen though-
The bloodshed was as barbaric as it was stupid; it was truly evil... cruel.
-it left an impression, needless to say.
"Thank goodness you're here! Mitsuki, was it?" Lady says, wiping a hand against her forehead, seeming winded.
The hag nodded alongside him before being ushered in. Once inside he saw the girl, Izuki. Again he scowled. Only now she had a wall to hide behind in the form of some boy with golden eyes and a deadpan expression. Was he somehow underestimating him? Did he think Katsuki was somehow beneath him by not saying anything?
Unacceptable!
"Oi, you golden-eyed bastard!"
"Katsuki!" He ignores the banshee screaming at him.
"Are you looking down on me!?"
"Yes. You're short, so-"
"HUH!? Say that again, bastard!"
Mitsuki is dragging her son further and further away, her own teeth bared in frustration.
"You wanna fight?" Katsuki screams, livid.
"You shouldn't fight indoors." Came Kai's calm rebuttal, only serving to further agitate Katsuki.
"What, you a chicken or something?"
"No, I'm human."
"I said knock it off!" Mitsuki screams after wrangling her son away, halting his attempt to tackle the other boy.
The whole time walking to the museum he spent scowling, stealing occasional glances in the direction of the weepy-eyed, black-haired little dweeb that was so fearfully clinging onto the other boy, Kai or whatever.
Jabbering away and not even paying Katsuki a lick of attention really, so invested in whatever that golden-eyed bastard had to say instead. 'The nerve of this...this…' Katuski rattled his brain, fists clenching at his sides watching her smile grow wider.
"Oi, Deku!"
The nickname came automatically, stemming from the Kanji that would've been used to spell out her name.
It of course had the desired effect on her. Her smile disappeared and she was looking at him with uncertainty.
"A-are you...um, t-talking to me?" she inquired shyly.
"Um, uh yes!" Came Katuski's annoyed response, feeling a vein in his head throb irritably. "How come all you're doing is talking to that shitty nerd, huh!?"
"It's because all you do is yell." Kai says, calmly looking into the fiery red eyes aimed at him.
"Did I ask for your opinion, shitty nerd?" Katsuki snarls at Kai.
"No." Kai amends with a shake of his head. "Still, your yelling scares people."
"Huh? What's she got to be scared of!"
Katsuki barely even flinched when his mother pulled on his ear, sighing irritably while shaking her head. All the while shooting a beaming smile towards Izuki. "Sorry about him, Izu-chan! He just gets cranky this early in the morning, No need to let it ruin our outing, right?"
Despite her hesitance, Izuki offered up a shy, little smile of her own and nodded eagerly.
"Oi, let me go you old bat!" Katsuki hollered while his mother started walking again, still dragging him by his ear.
As the devil rarely comes dressed in rags, or as a roaring lion despite what some may say.
"He's dead."
The remainder of the passengers, save for the one that ran to get help, gathered around the corpse. Most sporting looks of shock and horror, one or two looking like they were about to wretch. Dante however, looked at the dead body with disinterest.
Back in her seat Patty was still shaking, clutching the locket with a picture of her mom inside to keep herself from breaking down. "Oh mommy...oh mommy..." She whispered, trying and failing to keep the tremor out of her voice.
Part of her was relieved when Dante at least moved the body out of her line of sight. She wasn't sure if she could handle the god-awful red that was still staining the floor or the prominent crack in the window.
'I don't want to die!' Patty thought, afraid.
"Damn! He was beaten to death!" Dante said, loud enough for the others-civilians-to hear. His expression was unchanged.
"I-It can't be! Was it you?" One of the older men says, raising a finger and pointing it accusingly at Dante. Only to shrink back in fear when those silver-blue eyes landed on him, causing him to turn several shades paler.
"Over here!" A female voice called out before Dante could give a response. One of the female passengers ran back over and straight into the arms of her boyfriend for comfort. Following at her heels was the train attendant, eyes wide when he saw the bleeding body that lay on the floor.
"Jesus," he breathed, seeming to take a moment to swallow his lunch back down. "What the hell happened here? You," He says, looking at Dante with suspicious eyes. "Why don't you be the one to tell me what exactly is going on here?"
Dante can't say he's surprised by the fact that everyone aboard the train's already pegged him as the guilty party in some way.
Humans weren't very trustworthy to begin with, he knew that much from experience but still. He would've expected some level of common sense. 'Oh well,' he thought, preparing to 'enlighten' the naïve public yet again…only it became unnecessary.
"He was beaten to death, according to the hero." Informed a soft, lilting and captivating voice.
Dante and the other passengers turned, all simultaneously fixing their gazes on the passenger lingering at the back of the group. Watching her take a few steps forward, coming closer to the body and Dante.
In the back of his mind, Dante briefly thought of how her voice went along well with her appearance, in the same way Mary's Kalina Ann fit perfectly into her arsenal. The mere sight of her was enough to cause all the males, save Dante of course, to blush. The Devil hunter caught a whiff of some flowery, intoxicating aroma as she walked on by.
Come to think of it, she made Dante think of Lady the more he looked at her; What with the dark hair and striking eyes. How she managed to stand out from the rest of the motley crew, yet blend in enough to not be noticed immediately.
"It's fortunate for us that a hero was close at hand," she went on to say now looking towards Dante with warm, inviting eyes and a soft, pleasant smile. She sounded so sincere, he wasn't used to that. "And a strong one such as yourself, my daughter happens to be a huge fan of yours...would you mind terribly if I ask for an autograph?" She says digging down into her purse.
Dante blinked, the other passengers and even the attendant seeming gobsmacked by the sudden excitement that seemed to come out of nowhere with her, eyes sparkling with wonder. It reminded him of Izuki whenever she watched one of her hero shows.
"Uh...Sure, why not?" He says slowly. The tense atmosphere slightly lessened.
"Hey, wait a sec..." the woman who ran to get the train attendant whispered to her boyfriend. "Isn't he the one from the news? That Dante guy or whatever?"
"Wait a minute! Did you say Dante? As in the Dante?" Another of the passengers asked.
"N-no way…!" The same old man from before says right after.
"You mean that devil-"
The female cut herself off, her mouth covered by her hand when she saw the quick glance Dante threw in her direction.
His mind went back to the protesters from just the other day. Breathing a deep sigh of irritation while taking the offered piece of paper and pen the excited woman from before held out towards him. It felt weird dealing with a fan instead of a protester.
Still, it wasn't at all an unwelcome change.
He comes as a gentleman, dressed in the finest of silk whilst seeking ones to devour.
The crowd standing around the museum was...daunting. At least to Izuki it was, to Katsuki and co. It was just a crowd.
"U-um...it looks awfully busy." Izuki mumbles, already hiding(cowering) behind Kai, the one she deemed safest at the moment.
"Don't worry sweetie," Mitsuki says, lowering the tone of her voice and crouching down to Izuki's level while Katsuki scoffed. After a swift smack to the head courtesy of Mitsuki, the older woman returned her gaze back towards Izuki. "If it'll make you feel better, would you like to hold my hand as we walk?"
It wasn't that Izuki didn't trust Mitsuki, that wasn't the case at all! The woman seemed very nice, albeit a little too loud and energetic for Izuki to handle. As though in some silent form of communication her smaller hand latched onto Kai's who seemed to give a silent nod of understanding, reaching with his free hand to grab hold of Mitsuki's.
"Wimp," Katsuki grumbled under his breath.
"Says the little boy who still uses his All Might night light." Mitsuki said in a sing-song voice, brushing past him. Katsuki's small frame went stock-still for a moment, seconds later, both were locked in another verbal slugfest.
Once inside however, Izuki was easily lost and separated from her group.
It wasn't intentional, she was just so enamored by all the different, colorful displays. Letting her feet take her wherever, reciting all the facts and different play-by-plays aloud, assuming Kai to be somewhere close by listening. She let herself be swept up in the feeling of being out and about, immersed in the crowd without anyone actively looking at her in disgust or fear.
It was almost as though an invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Feeling such freedom!
…Then she looked around and there was no one.
No Kai. No Miss Mitsuki. Not even Katsuki.
Then the panic started setting in. The crippling fear of what may happen should the wrong person find her. Or worse, if a demon found her, then wouldn't it be the right thing to try and lead it away from the others?
She clutched the strap of her little red bag her mom had packed her, filled with some snacks and money just in case. Figuring she could probably last a few hours or so on her own, surely someone from her group would find her. Surely nothing bad would happen and she would end the day safe and sound back home, she would-
"Excuse me?" Izuki let out a sudden shriek, her mind going in a hundred different directions contemplating what she was sure was going to be her end, cowering into herself on pure instinct. "Um, are you okay? You were crying," that same voice says, rather kindly.
Izuki blinked, unaware of when exactly the large waterfalls of tears began pouring down her face. Unaware she had been muttering aloud as well.
"Are you lost?"
Izuki slowly lowered her arms, eyes wide with terror as she lifted her gaze up and onto another, smiling face.
She saw hair the same shade as her own, albeit parted differently and put into pig-tails. Framing a softer, older face with warm brown eyes. The girl looked to be around the same age as Kai maybe. She reached out her hand towards Izuki, still grinning.
"U-um…"Izuki mumbled, still trembling.
"My name's Misha!" The other girl announced proudly, her smile radiant; reminding Izuki of her dad whenever he tried to play a joke on mom, only to be caught in the act and laugh it off anyway. It was...a warm feeling, caused by hearing that laugh. "I know my way around here pretty well, I can help you find whoever you were with!" Misha proclaimed, sounding quite confident.
Figuring she had nothing to lose, Izuki took the offered hand, the other girl pulling her up and onto her feet.
"So, are you here to see the new All Might exhibit too?" Misha asked excitedly as they walked. Izuki quickly learned that Misha was a very vibrant, cheerful person, everything Izuki herself wished she could be. "I came here with my dad and well, we were SUPPOSED to be meeting my mom, but she called and said her train got into an accident or something-"
"I-I'm sorry to hear that…" Izuki interjected meekly.
"No worries, mom says she's fine!" Misha assured quickly, easily sliding back into her previous train of thought. "Like I was saying though, me and my dad came here to check it out. He's actually not the biggest All Might fan, can you believe that? Like, I don't get what his deal is, you know? And whenever I ask why he says he really isn't sure, he just...doesn't like him, I guess?"
In the back of her mind Izuki wondered if this was how it was every time she began muttering under her breath, only Misha was still speaking clearly enough to be heard. Waving her hands around in an animated fashion while she talked, at one point even walking backwards while trying to emphasize something.
"-I'd definitely say my mom's the fun one though! I sometimes tease my dad about it by calling him the 'anti-fun' parent." Izuki laughed at that, her shyness gradually evaporating under Misha's beaming smile. "You should hear when my mom scolds him-actually scolds him!"
"She's like 'Hiroshi, there's a difference between encouraging growth and oppressing it.'" Misha recites, raising her voice an octave or two higher in what Izuki could only assume was supposed to be her mom's voice.
Izuki laughed a little harder, causing Misha to smile a bit wider. The comfortable silence falling between the two was broken by yet another unfamiliar voice, at least to Izuki.
"Misha! There you are!"
Misha whirled around only to be swept up into the arms of an older male. Izuki took a few nervous steps back, watching as Misha squirmed sheepishly in the older person's arms, looking a tad embarrassed. "Hey dad! I was on my way back to you, I swear!"
The male pulled back, an expression of worry etched onto his otherwise smooth features. A smile of pure relief pulled at the corners of his lips, brushing away some of the dark strands framing Misha's face. His eyes were a deep navy blue, shining with concern as he seemed to be carefully checking to make sure his child was in fact, unharmed. Then his eyes fell on Izuki.
The smaller girl gave out a frightened 'eep!' having nowhere to run to. And she had yet to be reunited with her group, gripping onto the strap of her bag as though it were her only lifeline suddenly.
"Oh!" Misha says, drawing both pairs of eyes to her as she trotted over and towards Izuki, pulling her by the hand slightly towards the man. "Dad, this is Izuki! She got lost and separated from whoever she was with, so...I'm helping her find her way!" Misha explained carelessly, causing Izuki to blink rather owlishly as the man only seemed to study his child once more before releasing a loud sigh of exasperation.
"Misha...and Izuki, was it?" Misha's dad inquired in a soft, gentle tone. Izuki nodded, feeling more at ease when he made no move to close the small gap of distance between them. "Do either of you know where you're going? Izuki, do you recall where you might have gotten separated in the first place?" He looked between the two girls, who merely looked at each other for a moment, his little cowlick kind of swaying with the movement.
"Nope!"
"N-no…"
They both answered at once, Misha looking a little more carefree than Izuki.
The pounding of feet drew the trio's attention away from one another and toward a cluster of people running towards them; All of whom were dressed in suits and had what looked like little earpieces in one of their ears.
"Hiroshi-san! Misha-chan!" One of the bulkier men yelled, looking rather flamboyant as he launched himself at the two.
To Izuki, it was like seeing a blur of silver-the newcomer darting past her and easily smothering Misha in a tearful glomp. All while bawling like a baby as he held her close, getting snot all over her and making her a bit more confused.
"I'm so glad we found you! Oh, Lady Sera would've been so very cross with us, then she would have punished me again~!"
Izuki wasn't aware of when exactly Hiroshi had shifted closer to her, gently pulling her back when the stream of tears coming off the silver-haired male seemed to shoot out like broken water fountains. "Bwaaaa~!"
"Bwaaa…?" Hiroshi repeated, seeming just as confused by the overly affectionate display.
(They were weird, but...a small part of Izuki couldn't help but think of her own family at that moment. And it made the whole situation a little more bearable for her.)
The devil is always mending its net, hungry for eager prey. They strike without care or warning, leaving only death and despair.
"What are you doing here, Kiara?"
Kai had been keeping a close eye on Izuki, trailing after her at a comfortable distance while she spouted facts on heroes, mostly All Might given that was who the exhibit was made to focus on. He didn't mind all that much, not when Izuki looked so happy.
Only...the peace didn't last.
Catching sight of the familiar red eyes in the crowd just as they turned to look at him, the flowing blonde hair shifting with the movement while she smiled. It was cold, sending a shiver down his spine when she took a single step towards him. Nothing but a stretch of hall in front and to the back of him. It was clearly just the two of them, feeling an odd tingling sensation prickling along his skin.
"Where are the other people? Mitsuki and Bakugo?" He says, brows furrowing ever so slightly. The lack of people where they were standing wasn't normal, he could tell, he just wasn't sure about the 'how' and 'why' yet. The smallest crease of concern is starting to show. "Izuki? You didn't-You didn't hurt anyone, did you?"
She shook her head, offering no verbal response. Still, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"How come you're still here?" She finally asked, seeing his fingers tremble as he tightened them into fists.
"I-"
"You're going to die if you stay here. You don't have long, I'm sure it's already started-"
Kai blinked, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.
"-not that you need to be told, I'm sure. You've heard them, haven't you? The voices, whispers of the damned. They're coming for you Kai, and when-not if-they come…" She trails off purposely, letting the threat hang in the air between them.
"I-I can't leave…" Kai rebutted, trying desperately to keep the fear out of his voice and failing miserably. "I... I don't want anyone else dying because of me, or getting hurt."
"Heh, you mean that girl? Sparda's granddaughter?" The blonde says, an ugly sneer coming onto her otherwise beautiful face.
"You'll die." She says after another precious few moments of silence, allowing the words to sink in this time. "Every second will be torture for you. The longer you wait, the more painful things will be only you, you know that."
"How was...your brother? K-Keigo, was it?" Kai asks, hesitant.
The blonde stares, red eyes sharpening. "...He doesn't even know I exist."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Kai says, sounding sincere.
Her shoulders seem to slump for a moment, like a large weight that just became too heavy to bear.
"Is-is mother-"
"Why do you insist on calling her that!?" The blonde roared, causing the surrounding lights to flicker, her voice resonating.
Kai flinched, the smallest of whimpers escaping from his lips.
"Mothers are supposed to be kind, they're supposed to protect you Kai! Not gut you like some fish and auction you off to the highest damn bidder!" Kai didn't look at her anymore, too afraid to. "Kai, look at me-"
Golden eyes widened, seeing the hand just as it was reaching to brush against his own flesh. "No, don't!" He yelled, but it was too late.
A shockwave of power flooded the area, accompanied by Kai's scream of pure, unfiltered pain. Black and purple thorns jutting out from the ground and going out in a spiraling motion, scaling up the walls and down the many hallways. The concrete floors are breaking apart, crumbling in some areas and giving way to bursts of searing hot flames. All the while sharp, blackened fingers reaching to claw at the much cooler, shifting plates of terrain.
The blood-curdling cries of demons filling the air. Sending everything into a fast, spiraling hellish experience.
Review please. Hope you enjoyed~!