So before we begin, I need to mention something.
So for the most part, people have told me that they like this about as much, if not more than the original story.
But there have been a few people who have made it known that they prefer the original one to this one. To those people I say, that story wasn't going anywhere. You may have enjoyed it as it was, and I'm glad you did, but it had no direction. A bunch of build-up with nothing at the end, because I didn't plan out my stories back then. It was so hard to keep writing that without it becoming a mess because I was impulsive and kept tossing things and characters in that I had no idea what I was going to do with later. So ultimately, I decided to rewrite it, but this time I made myself a planner, that would allow me to plan out events far before I write them. Making things, much, much easier on me.
So I'm sorry if you prefer the original story more, to be fair, we are only just beginning with this one.
That's all for now, onto the story.
The next day after Izuku's attack, U.A. gave all the students the day off.
The staff, however, had to attend a meeting, to decide the best course of action moving forward.
"How did this happen?" Snipe asked. "While I doubt our security would stop Midoriya, or even slow him down, the alarms still should have gone off when he entered. And even then if he was wandering the halls then a student should have reported it."
"Not if he teleports in," Eraserhead added. "He made a portal inside the school, and changed his clothes to avoid suspicion."
"Clever kid." Present Mic said.
"Also can we talk about the whole portal thing?" Midnight said. "Since when has he been able to do that?"
"No one has ever reported him being able to do that before. Meaning this is probably something he recently discovered." Thirteen added.
"This is getting ridiculous now. There has to be something up with Midoriya, no quirk can be this strong or versatile, especially considering that almost none of the ability he's shown, have anything to do this his parent's quirks, with the exception of his pyrokinesis." Eraserhead said.
"Are you suggesting that he has multiple quirks?" Nezu asked.
"I think that could be a possibility," Aizawa remarked. "At this point, I think we can all concede that there is something more to Midoriya then what it seems."
"While no one has ever had multiple quirks before, I don't think we can possibly say that all this is just one quirk." Midnight said. "Either this is some sort of evolution of quirks, or there is something else at play that we don't know about."
Most of the staff seemed to agree with this sentiment, nodding their heads and muttering words of agreeance.
"Aizawa you said he was looking for you specifically, can you tell us why that is?" Nezu asked, subtly diverting the topic away from the possibility of multiple quirks.
"Oh right. He was looking for a book." Aizawa revealed.
"A book." Present Mic said, eyes wide in disbelief. "He broke into the school...and caused all this trouble...over a book."
"He seemed desperate to get it too," Aizawa added. "And he looked extremely frustrated when I couldn't tell him it's location."
"Could you tell us what this book was, or any details about it?" Nezu asked. "Or why he thought you would know it's location?"
"I didn't get a title but Midoriya told me he was holding it when he committed suicide, and that it had a pentagram on it," Aizawa revealed.
"Why would Midoriya have been holding a book like that while he killed himself?" Midnight asked.
Suddenly, Present Mic's eyes widened, and they could practically see the light bulb over his head.
"I've got it!" He said. "Now everything makes sense."
Aizawa sighed. "I'm scared to ask, but what exactly do you mean?"
"Everything! The reason he kills criminals! Why he's so strong! Where he got all these powers! Why he won't let us help him! Why he wants to book! It all makes sense!" Mic shouted. "Izuku Midoriya killed himself and sold his soul to demons for power! But the demons must have tricked him somehow and are forcing him to kill criminals, and send their souls to hell! Now he's looking for the book to try and undo the ritual, and get his soul back!"
Once Mic finished, there was a long, long pause. As everyone sat and tried to figure out just what the hell came out of their friend's mouth.
"You know." Aizawa sighed. "Part of me almost wants to believe that. If only because of how absurd this situation already is."
"Same." Midnight sighed, sitting back rubbing her temples.
"Well do you guys have any explanation for this?!" Mic pouted.
Snipe spoke. "Well no but-"
"Then demon it is!" Mic shouted. "We all need to start carrying holy water and crosses!"
"You know Mic may be onto something," Nezu stated.
Everyone gave Nezu a bewildered, curious look.
"You think that...demons...are behind this?" Cementoss asked him.
"No but it's possible but Midoriya does," Nezu suggested. "Let's think about the night Midoriya killed himself. I've looked it over and there a few...strange things. Firstly there was red paint on the floor that was mixed in with Midoriya's blood, and there was a book with a pentagram not too far away from Midoriya's body on the floor, that was strangely free of any blood."
"So what you're saying is the kid tried to perform some kinda demonic ritual and took his life as a result." Aizawa figured out. "I suppose that makes a level of sense, his mother had cancer after all so it's possible he got desperate enough to believe the whole demon nonsense and tried to sacrifice himself for her sake."
"And then she ended up dying from a heart attack after seeing his body." Midnight said sadly. "How tragic."
"Then after his quirk or quirks, resurrected him, he thought that it was the work of demons and that his extremely strange and powerful quirk, was demonic power." Nezu theorized. "And then, it's possible that all the trauma from this incident, as well as most likely years of suppressed emotions and abuse, created a separate personality. Possible a demonic one. Further convincing him that he, in fact, is possessed or something to that effect."
"Zarathos." Snipe said.
"Hmm?" Nezu reacted.
"Back when Midoriya first broke into U.A., right before he left he shouted, Zarathos." Snipe said. "It seemed like a name, the name of someone Midoriya particularly didn't like. But the name was so weird I thought I misheard it. But if Midoriya's second personality thinks it's a demon, then that name fits perfectly."
"This would also explain why he thinks we would be unable to help him," Aizawa added. "If he was possessed by a demon then obviously we wouldn't be able to do anything. So it stands to reason if he thinks he's possessed then he wouldn't accept our help."
"So if we prove to him that he isn't possessed, then do you think he would agree to let us help him, and turn himself in?" Midnight asked.
"Perhaps. But at the same time, we have no real way containing him. He destroyed Tartarus by himself." Cementoss brought up.
"Perhaps we could put him in a permanent sleep state using drugs?" Midnight suggested.
"How would we be able to help the kid if he's unconscious for the rest of his life?" Aizawa asked. "That's basically giving him a life sentence."
"Give me a break, it's not like you have any better ideas!" Midnight snapped, her frustration getting the better of her.
"I still say we should use holy water!" Mic added.
"We could go with Midnight's suggestion until we find another way of holding him." Thirteen suggested.
"And what happens if our...less than kind higher-ups, decide that they don't want to put in the effort to figure out another way and that they would rather keep Midoriya asleep forever?" Cementoss asked.
"Your all getting ahead of yourselves. We don't even know if we can get from point A to point B, you guys are talking about point E." Snipe said.
The staff descended into arguing for several seconds until Nezu spoke up.
"Ahem," Nezu said, using a slightly louder tone than normal to gain their attention.
In a few seconds, the arguments stopped, and the staff stayed quiet to hear what Nezu had to say.
"We're not going to find a solution to this issue today. After all, we have other issues to deal with." Nezu reminds them. "I've already figured out how to placate the parents but we will need to provide professional help to Aizawa's class."
"That's right, those poor kids saw someone die in the most horrific way right in front of them." Midnight said.
"We're gonna need to do some tests on them to see the extent of the trauma." Thirteen noted. "We're going to need to hire some more counselors for sure though."
"I think we also need to discuss what we should handle their expulsion," Aizawa said.
"None of them are getting expelled Aizawa," Nezu said.
"They ignored a direct order and put themselves in harm's way, despite the fact that they were horribly outmatched." Aizawa reminded them. "Just one of those things would be grounds for expulsion, let alone all of them."
"I don't think you understand our situation," Nezu said. "Izuku Midoriya is a mentally unstable child with godlike powers. The only reason anyone survives one of his attacks and the only reason there aren't dozens of dead heroes lining the streets is because he is restraining himself. We are at his mercy, if he, at any point, decides to kill us all, he could. And not even All Might would be able to stop him. Now how do you think he will feel if he finds out that an entire class was expelled because of him. Something he will definitely find out eventually because his sister is part of that class."
Aizawa had no response.
"We need to be careful not to antagonize Midoriya," Nezu told them. "Deal with this like you would a bomb. One wrong step. Everyone dies."
With just a few words, every hero was reminded of how powerless they were. And how terrifying it was.
They couldn't imagine how Midoriya dealt with that feeling, every day.
Meanwhile at a library
It's amazing, really. How one can have the power that surpasses anyone else on the planet, and yet still feel completely powerless.
That was how Izuku felt as he looked through the demon book.
The book did contain some information on Zarathos. But there was nothing at all about the whole soul bond thing. Or how to reverse it.
Sure the fact that he now had access to information about Zarathos could be seen as a step forward but to Izuku it felt like he was stuck.
Izuku slammed his face into the book and was half tempted to cry.
This was my only lead! Izuku shouted in his head. I've scanned through the entire section on Zarathos but I can't find anything that even talks about what I'm going through. Is this the first time something like this has happened!
Izuku felt himself begin to panic and knew he had to do something about it.
He picked himself up before taking the book and putting it in a backpack that he bought.
As he walked out the door, he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit with his powers.
A year ago Izuku would have never even considered using cigarettes, if only because of how his poor mother would react.
But now things were different. Now any negative effects caused by smoking just didn't work on Izuku. Every time he transformed he incinerated his organs and every time he transformed back he just regrew new ones, so even if his regeneration ability failed to stop the negative effects of smoking, the fact that he literally replaced his organs every time he transformed would. And he couldn't dismiss the calming effect of them either way.
Plus, his mother wasn't here anymore.
Izuku inhaled deeply, letting the smoke fill his lungs, and calm him down.
He was tired. Izuku stopped counting the days since he last slept. He didn't technically need sleep and he could still function at full capacity without it, but he still felt tired, his eyes still hurt and his brain still demanded that he rest. But he would never collapse, never pass out. He would only ever sleep if he wanted to.
And right now, in an alleyway next to the library, when he met a dead end. He really, really wanted to sleep.
So he closed his eyes, and immediately fell asleep.
Inside Izuku/Zarathos's stomach
Izuku opened his eyes and found that he was in hell. Or rather the hell that was Zarathos's stomach. But this time it looked...different.
Izuku was on top of a pillar, looking down at what looked to be people down below, geysers of hellfire spewing left and right all over the bedrock caverns.
"I had thought you would stop wasting your time after a few months of fruitless searching, but it seems you're more stubborn than I had anticipated." Said the demonic voice of Zarathos from behind him.
Izuku turned around and glared at the demon, who was sitting on a throne of burning bones. Zarathos was still just as intimidating as before, but Izuku had stopped fearing for his own safety long ago and thus did not fear the demon.
"I'll never stop. Not until I've put you back where I found you." Izuku said definitely.
Zarathos shook his skull and Izuku was pretty sure if he had eyes he would be rolling them. "Perhaps I should explain our situation in more detail. Our souls are joined. They cannot be separated. Even if I desired to leave you I could not."
Izuku's eyes widened. "Wait...you couldn't leave...even if you wanted to?"
"No. I am stuck here now, and forever. Forced to watch your pathetic attempts at resisting me." Zarathos responded.
"It's not so pathetic if I've managed to save some people is it!?" Izuku spat back.
"A few insignificant souls, in comparison to the thousands that have died by our hands." Zarathos pointed out.
"But I'm getting stronger," Izuku said. "When you first became part of me, I couldn't resist you at all. But now...we brought three villains out of that portal. And you only managed to make me kill one of them. One day I'll be strong enough to resist you completely, and then maybe I'll use your powers to help people!"
That statement resonated throughout stomach hell, leaving Zarathos quiet for several moments.
"You've gotten cocky mortal, you forget that I know your weakness." Zarathos chided.
Then Izuku felt it. The sensation that came whenever innocent blood had been spilled.
But this time...he did not feel Zarathos's rage.
Izuku gave Zarathos a suspicious look. "What is this?"
"Just watch," Zarathos said.
It was then a portal opened in front of Izuku. Or rather, not a portal, but a window.
It seemed to be showing what some else was seeing from their own eyes, and from the window, he saw a dark, shady lab. And whoever was seeing this was very short and tied to a chair. And Izuku could hear a very faint whimpering, whimpering that sounded like it was coming from a little girl.
"Oh...oh no," Izuku muttered, as his heart fell into his stomach.
Then he saw a man wearing a bird mask walk up to the girl, holding knives and several needles.
"You know what to do Eri." The man said, revealing the girl's name. "Stay still, and this will be over quicker."
The man's blade got closer and closer to the girl until the knife entered her arm.
Slice.
Izuku felt it. He could feel her pain. He felt as if the metal was tearing into his own skin and splitting it open. Of course, the physical pain was nothing to him, but knowing that this was happening to a little girl brought on a whole new kind of pain.
The knife made a large cut in the girl's arm and the man took a needle and plunged it into her skin, draining blood from the girl pump by pump.
Izuku expected the girl to be screaming her head off, yelling desperately for someone to help her.
But she didn't. The only noise the girl made, was pained whimpers. As if she was used to it.
Slice.
Another cut, another needle. More whimpers.
Slice.
Izuku's knees went weak. He wanted to vomit.
Slice.
Slice.
Slice.
Izuku had no idea how long this lasted. It felt like forever, as the man in the mask cut the little girl up and drained the blood from her body.
Eventually, the man stopped and pulled the needles from her body.
"Time for a clean slate." The man said.
He took off his gloves and Izuku heard the whimpering stopped, and the girl flinched.
The man now ungloved hand reached out for the girl, and then…
Pain.
Pain engulfed every part of his body as if every part of his body was being taken apart.
It only lasted a second, but it was easily the second worst pain he had felt. Second only to his transformation.
And a little girl was going through it.
The window had gone dark for a second, before immediately resuming showing the torture.
The man came back at her, wielding the knives and needles once more.
Slice.
Slice.
Slice.
Slice.
Izuku was absolutely stunned by this horrible display of cruelty. He could only watch with tears running down his face.
"I don't know what he just did to her. But when he touched her, she died." Zarathos explained. "And then she came back to life. What a cruel fate. To be trapped in a place where your tormentors can hurt you as much as they please kill you even. But not even death can free you. The girl seems quite used to it, who knows how many times they've done this. Dozens, hundreds, maybe even a thousand times. And she is...ah yes, about seven years of age."
As Izuku listened to Zarathos's words, we watched as the girl was cut open and drained of her blood, over and over, and over again.
Izuku clenched his fist, and steam started to emit from it.
More and more steam rose from his body, as his horror slowly turned into fury.
"It seems you need a little help," Zarathos said. "Here, allow me."
Back outside in the alley
The alleyway was engulfed in bright green light, as Izuku's eyes opened and he transformed.
There was no resistance this time, no hesitation, no sadness, no regret.
Only fury, only hate.
The transformation was over in an instant, and Izuku in his demonic form walk onto the streets.
People screamed and fled, but he paid them no mind.
He summoned his motorcycle and sped off towards his destination. The Yakuza base.
There was no internal struggle within him, no arguing, no resisting.
There was nothing that could save them from hell's fury.
Yeah, when I said Eri next chapter, last chapter. I meant we would be getting Eri this chapter, not that Izuku would save her in this chapter. But he will in the next chapter.
Speaking of the next chapter, expect a blood bath. Izuku has full access to his demonic powers and I plan on making use of that to give the Yakuza some truly gruesome deaths.
Also, Zarathos was telling the truth when he said he can't undo the bond. He can't leave either. More will be explained about that later.
Well, that's all for this chapter. Please review and leave your thoughts.