Izuku fell onto the floor of the church, mentally exhausted.
Whyyyyyyy. Izuku groaned internally. None of the heroes on the list were any good. How long is this gonna take?
Eri ran over to Izuku trying to make sure he was alright with tears in her eyes.
"It's ok Eri I was just tired," Izuku admitted.
"O-oh," Eri said.
After about half a minute Izuku was about to get up, but suddenly he felt Eri pat his head.
It was very awkward and stiff. Like a scared child petting a dog for the first time.
"Eri?" Izuku was confused, normally Eri was the one who needed comforting.
Eri flinched and stopped. "I-I'm sorry. Wh-when you do that to me I feel better. I-I thought if I did it to you then…"
Izuku brought Eri over to him and started patting her on the head. "You're such a good girl Eri."
Eri seemed stunned by that, with tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
She came closer to Izuku and wrapped her arms around his waist. Hugging him as best she could.
They stayed like this for a few minutes, before Izuku eventually got up and Eri hesitantly stopped hugging him and instead started holding his hand.
"Let's go back to the books again," Izuku said, receiving a nod from the young girl.
Izuku had been stealing books from local libraries and bookstores. At first, it was just any books relating to demons or magic. But one day Eri was looking at the books and that was when Izuku found out that she couldn't read.
After that Izuku started taking children's books and so Izuku would often take the opportunity to read to her and teach her how to read.
Izuku went over to Eri's book pile(Which he kept separate from his own books) and picked up one of the books.
"Ah, I remember this one." Izuku smiled. "All Might's great adventure!"
Izuku took the book and walked himself and Eri over to the bed and sat down, Eri taking her place on his lap.
Eri loved when Izuku read to her. She would stare at the book as he read, looking at the pictures and trying to imagine them moving and doing the things Izuku said they were, and whenever Izuku stopped and tried to get her to say some of the words, she would try her best to do so, often with middling success.
Once the story was finished, Izuku closed the book. "It's been a long time since I read that book."
"You read it before?" Eri asked him, her face adorned with a curious expression.
"Yeah. Back when I was your age." Izuku recalled the memory. "Mom used to read me and my sister this book a lot when we were younger. Then later on my sister demanded that she read the story instead, so every night she would read me the book, and she was so proud of herself that I didn't even tell her I got tired of the story after the fiftieth time."
"You had a mama?" Eri asked. She faintly remembered her own mother. Some foggy memories to happier days, ending in a feeling of betrayal and sadness. They weren't memories she liked to relive.
Izuku's smile fell and his expression took a one-eighty. "Yes...I did. But...I don't anymore."
"Did she leave you too?" Eri asked him.
"No!" Izuku reacted, scaring Eri a little. "S-sorry I yelled Eri. No, my mom didn't leave me. She loved me too much to do that."
There was a short pause before Eri asked.
"Does that mean my mama didn't love me?" Eri asked him sadly.
In the top ten worst moments of Izuku's life, he ranked this a solid fourth place. Third place would go to seeing her get tortured by Overhaul, second was his first murder, and first would definitely have to go to when he saw his mother die because of his mistake.
Izuku was sweating rapidly, unsure of what to say to her, and desperately trying to find an answer.
"Just tell her the truth. Her mother didn't love her and still doesn't."
You can't just say that to a person! Let alone a child!
"She is asking you a question she already knows the answer to. She was there when she called her a monster. When she abandoned her and left her in the hands of sinners. How would you explain those actions to her if you lied to her?"
….I hate it when you're right.
"That's unfortunate. Considering I am always right."
"Well...how do I say this." Izuku struggled for words. "No, she didn't. But she was a bad mother. And a bad person in general. So she doesn't matter. I'm here and I love you."
"You-you do?" Eri seemed shocked to hear that.
"Yes! You are the best thing to happen to my life recently." Izuku said.
That wasn't saying much but Eri didn't need to know that.
"Does...does that mean you won't leave me?" Eri asked him.
Izuku was astounded at his ability to dig his own grave.
Uhhhhhhhhh! What do I do, what do I do!? Izuku started panicking in his mind. If I tell her yes then she might be bad for her mental health later when I have to leave! But if I say no then she might not trust me anymore! She might even try to run away.
"You could just not leave her."
Are you kidding me! I can't do that! How could I take care of her! A girl like her needs love and support from family and friends! She needs a home and warm meals! She needs a therapist! I can't give her any of those things and no one is going to take in an unstoppable mass murderer. ...Well...not anybody I can trust anyway. Oh god, she's starting to think I'm gonna say no I have to do something.
"You have already told her a harsh truth. Why not balance it out with a kind lie?"
Izuku thought about it and tried to weigh his options.
And then he thought of a third option.
"Look Eri the sun is going down!" Izuku tried to distract her.
It worked and Eri looked towards the tinted window to see that the sun was in fact setting.
"We need to go, fast!" Izuku said, quickly getting up and grabbing his chain.
Izuku opened a portal and he and Eri walked through it.
The portal led to a cliffside looking over the water, which had a perfect view of the setting sun. And it was far away from everyone else so it was the perfect place for Izuku and Eri to look at the sunset.
Eri looked at the setting sun with wide eyes, marveling at the orange sky and the reflection in the water.
Looks like I managed to distract her...for now. Izuku thought.
"Izuku," Eri said. "Why does the sun go away?"
"It's not going away Eri." Izuku corrected. "It's just resting for a while."
"Oh," Eri responded. "Goodnight sun."
Izuku felt like he could explode from the sheer cuteness.
Sometime later
After getting back into the church Izuku tucked Eri into bed.
"Izuku?" Eri said.
"Yes, Eri?" Izuku responded.
"What is love?" Eri asked.
What is it with her and these hard questions today!? Izuku thought. "Well...love is...complicated. There's a lot of different versions of love and even those versions of love are different for each person. Loving an object, loving a family member, loving a person. There's a lot of versions of love so I can't really explain it very well. Sorry...um...to put it simply, love is...when you like someone, but it feels like you like them more than just liking them."
Eri didn't really understand, but she also didn't want to annoy Izuku with too many questions so she just decided to ask one.
"What's your version of love?" Eri asked.
"My version of love…" Izuku thought about that for a second. "My version of love is...when I want to protect someone no matter what. When I want to see them grow and be happy. That's what my version of love is...at least for you and my sister."
Eri had trouble understanding this. Not the part about what love was. But because of the fact that he said he loved her. And what that meant.
She didn't understand a lot. But she at least understood one thing.
"Izuku," Eri said. "I...love you too."
Izuku felt like he was having a heart attack. His emotions were conflicted and clashing in all sorts of ways.
"T-thank you Eri." Izuku barely managed to croak out. "Now go to sleep. You need to rest."
"Ok." Eri nodded. "You're not going to sleep?"
"I'm going to sleep later. I have a few things to do first, so just take All Might and he'll keep you safe." Izuku said while handing her the All Might plush.
Eri seemed hesitant as she took the plush. "Can you hold my hand."
Izuku gave her the warmest smile he could manage. "Of course."
And so Izuku held Eri's hand until she fell asleep.
Sometime later.
Izuku walked outside the church, leaning against the wall and sliding down.
That was a sweet moment...so why couldn't I enjoy it! Izuku was so frustrated. That was the sweetest thing anyone had said to him in a while and it was adorable. But at the same time, he knew it would crush her when he had to leave her. It's like someone is purposely making my life miserable.
"I suspect that would be Mephisto's doing."
Izuku grit his teeth at hearing that demon's name again. That bastard tricked him, and killed his mother, if he wasn't so concerned with Zarathos then he would probably be looking for a way to get rid of that demon permanently. What does he have to do with this?
"I have a theory. I can not prove it, but after looking through your memories and learning your knowledge, I suspect that quirks in their entirety may have been the doing of Mephisto."
Izuku's eyes widened. "What? Why? Why would a demon want to give everyone superpowers?"
"That's exactly it. Not everyone got quirks, did they? And why is that?"
"Well...genetically quirklessness gets passed down through families and-"
"But both your parents have quirks. And your parents have quirks. And your grandparents have quirks. The chances of you being quirkless, or anyone, being quirkless should be much lower than twenty percent. And yet, has it ever dipped below that number?"
"No...no it hasn't." Izuku was still confused.
"And if it's all genetic-based, then how did there come to be such a large amount of people with quirks in such a short time? It's almost like someone wanted it to be this way."
"And you think Mephisto used magic to create quirks?" Izuku asked.
"I know magic was involved somehow. Humans were capable of magic before, but it was never this widespread, and it was never ingrained into their bodies like this. When I first saw these quirks I just thought that you people had stopped burning magic users. But once I started getting a better look at these quirked people, I knew it was something different."
"Humans can use magic?" Izuku asked in disbelief.
"There is a man who can punch mountains into pebbles and you find it hard to believe that magic might be involved in that?"
"Well, when you put it like that," Izuku muttered. "But how could Mephisto even do that? If he's that powerful then why not just do whatever he wants?"
"Mephisto's power is limited away from his domain. And on the mortal plane, he is nearly powerless unless he is making or had made a deal with a human, or giving a proper sacrifice. My guess is he most likely managed to gather a few hundred of his followers, and either had them gather sacrifices or sacrifice themself to power his magic in order to perform such a feat."
"But that still doesn't explain why he would do that," Izuku commented.
"Mephisto only wants a few things. To gather souls in his domain, to corrupt the hearts of mankind, and to enjoy the suffering of any living thing."
"But how do quirks do any of that? Quirks are great." Izuku said.
"They are now. But were they so great to have many years ago?"
Izuku wondered about what he was going on about, and then he realized. The transition.
The transition period was a time when quirks had just started to become prominent. Back then people with quirks were called mutants, and the people without quirks feared and hated them. Discrimination, harassment, assault, and even being hunted down and killed or put into a concentration camp, were all fates that awaited you if you had a quirk back then. Of course, the people with quirks fought back, and this eventually led to world war 3. Millions died until the people with quirks won, leading thousands of people without quirks to die afterward.
It was a bloody time in which the entire world was wrapped in pain and suffering.
Something that Mephisto would love.
Izuku's skin started to warm, becoming hotter and hotter as he started to transform from sheer anger.
"I see you get it. And let us think about it further. How has there always been a stable twenty percent of the population without quirks? Well tell me Izuku, how has your life been as someone without a quirk?"
Izuku's head burst into flames as he realized the depths of Mephisto's plan. "He's created a minority of people who'll be shunned and are literally powerless to fight back! Not to mention all the people who get harassed for having villainous or weak quirks! He's the one responsible for all this, this...gahhhh!"
"Even without any sacrifices, Mephisto can affect people's lives on a small scale. Do you think that it was a coincidence that a demonic book fell on you just as you were at your lowest? For all, you know Mephisto could have been manipulating your life from the very beginning."
Izuku wanted to scream out with rage. Or set something on fire. Or just destroy something.
But he barely managed to stop himself. His green flames burning brightly outside the church. He needed to make sure he didn't wake up Eri.
One day! One day Mephisto! You'll get what you deserve! Izuku swore in his head.
"Mmmmm. For that, you'll need power. My power. If you undo the seal upon our power, then we could kill Mephisto at any time."
Izuku thought about what Zarathos just said. But that would mean not only keeping you inside me. But making you more powerful.
"There is a price for everything."
There were a few minutes of silence before Izuku started transforming back.
"You got me riled up." Izuku calmed himself. "Although I don't think you're lying. I can't let you trick me so easily. I'll get rid of you first. And then Mephisto will pay."
"If you get rid of me, you will be nothing. You would have even less power than the average human. How do you plan on getting rid of a demon lord in that state?"
"I'll find away. Humans can learn magic right? Then I'll use that." Izuku said.
"You think human magic can rival that of a demon?"
"All Might and Overhaul were able to hurt us weren't they?" Izuku pointed out. "If it weren't for our regeneration, then we would have died. And since you said quirks originated from magic
"But we still won. And this is not even our full power."
"And that wasn't All Might's full power either," Izuku said. "He's not in his prime."
Zarathos stayed silent.
Izuku smiled at finally winning against the demon. Even if it was a minor victory.
"Well, right now my first priority is finding Eri a home," Izuku said. "And I still have no clue how to do that."
"I think I may know of a solution. Do you remember when I said I found that girl's mother?"
"I'll make another suicide attempt before I take Eri back to her," Izuku growled.
"That was not what I was suggesting. It's possible that the girl has relatives. Ones that would want to take care of and protect the girl. And that woman would be the only way to find out about such relatives."
Izuku considered this. He didn't really have any other leads. And while he didn't like the idea of getting so close to someone he hated, he didn't really have much of a choice.
"Fine." Izuku sighed. "Let's get this over with.
So I know that quirks being magic is something that some people are not going to like. But I'm not going to have quirks(Superpowers that are basically magic) and actual magic be two separate things. That would just be confusing.
And while some quirks are explained scientifically, there are also quirks like Ochaco's, Nighteye's, and Overhaul's that are basically magic and go completely unexplained.
Also, no one knows where quirks come from. There are theories but no there is no solid answer to where quirks came from. People just started being born with them. So I just made them magic.
Oh, and that Mutants reference, it was just a reference. Nothing more.
Also, the next chapter is gonna be a big fight and we'll discover one of Izuku's weaknesses, make sure to review. Have a nice day!