Halfway back to the clothier, and so far the trip had been uneventful. But with every minute that passed, Justice became that tiny fraction more nervous. Abandoning her post for a few hours was nothing new, but they'd now passed the full day mark and someone – most likely Lucy – was bound to take notice sooner or later.

Throw in the kerfuffle at the diner and 'sooner' was looking a whole lot more likely.

I should've just left them…

It would've been easy – just explain the actualsituation, that no, they weren't planning on torturing Izuku for all eternity,actually, and move on. But noooo, she just had to drill it into their thick skulls that challenging demons was the fast lane to losing your soul. She could've just told them, probably should've just told them… But if she'd learnt anything about mortals, it was that they only ever seemed to learn from experiencing a mistake for themselves. Even then, it's a toss up as to whether it actually sticks.

Normally she wouldn't care – so a couple of mortals go and get their souls eaten, in other news Gluttony's been pretty cold recently. But if they got themselves killed and then Izuku heard about it… Yeah that's guaranteed depression energy right there. A depressed soul is a demotivated one, and a demotivated soul is a bitch to work with mid-deal.

And this is a deal I really don't want to fall through…

"Everything ok, Justice?" Izuku's voice brought her back to Hell.

"Yeah, just spaced out for a sec." she reassured the soul in question.

"She's probably just focused on the mortals following us." Cerberus added.

"Yep."

"M-hm!"

"I thought I saw something…" Modeus muttered.

"Wait- what?!" Izuku freaked out, "Who-"

"Shhhh." Justice put a finger to his lips, "It's just your friends. I wanna see what they do."

Cerberus wasn't entirely wrong, she had been paying half a mind to the pair of recently arrived souls that had been following them. The group had managed to make a quick exit from the destroyed diner, but they'd evidently resolved to follow them mere moments after they left. Even after coming this close to having their souls devoured.

I can't tell if they're brave, or just stupid… Gotta admire the loyalty, at least. It was a trait scarcely seen nowadays. Or in past days.

Despite their tail and the scenic route Justice decided to take through the dodgier parts of Limbo, in part to test how far they'd follow and in part to make sure they didn't run into anyone problematic, they had no other incidents on their way winding through the side streets back to the tailors. It had been almost two hours, so hopefully Izuku's not-practically-destroyed-and-actually-decent-looking clothes would be finished.

And then we can get the heck outta Hell…

"Good, you're back." Malina's sour voice came from behind the counter before the front door had even had the chance to fully open, "Just finishing up and then you can leave me in peace."

"Great catching up with you too!" Justice replied cheerfully, "Oh, also, we might need another couple of outfits." Malina's eye started twitching.

"And you told me after-"

"They won't need any demonic infusions." Justice reassured her. It could be fun to mess with the irritable demon, but not enough to hear an exhausted rant on a time crunch, "Just a standard outfit for one, and a basic Quirk-infusion for the other."

"… Sure." Malina sighed in irritation, "Quirk infusion'll take about ten minutes. Where's the soul sample?"

"Coming up." she turned to a Cerberus, "Cerbs, go and get the mortals following us would ya?"

"Ok!" two of them bounded off excitedly.

"Wait, what?" Izuku asked in confusion, "But… I thought you said-"

"They're still following us after winding through the dilapidated back-alleys of Limbo and are scoping out a basically deserted tailor shop?" she shrugged, "Yeah they're not giving up anytime soon. Might as well give 'em some decent clothes before telling them to get lost." as well as having the two kitted out in case they turned out to be worth the effort.

"There!" the remaining Cerberus exclaimed happily to Izuku, "Two mortals coming right up!"

"That…" Izuku sighed, "Ok, fine- just please try not to terrify them again-"

*SMASH*

He was interrupted by the sound of the store's front window being shattered into a thousand pieces, a large incoming object soon hitting the floor with a thud.

"Ow." the ice-boy's reaction to being used as a vandal's brick was remarkably relaxed, lying face-up on the floor with a still-apathetic expression.

"Oof!" his reaction to having an invisible body thrown on top of him was slightly stronger, while said girl merely groaned in pain. Justice smiled at Izuku's half-mortified-half-done-with-everything expression before walking over to collect a good few strands of the girl's hair. Ignoring her half-hearted protests she handed the materials over to Malina.

"Great, working with invisible hair." she sighed, "How fun."

"You said 10 minutes – any more and the order's free right?" Justice's comment went unanswered as Malina shuffled off, grumbling about what she'd be giving for free before slamming the door behind the counter closed.

"So!" she turned to the two recovering mortals, "Care to fill us in on why you thought following us was an idea which wouldn't end in you losing your souls?"

"We- ow!" the invisible girl pulled a shard of glass out of her arm.

Wow, that sounds like a pain…

"We're not leaving Midoriya without a better explanation." ice-boy was carefully extracting glass and treating the wounds with…

Wait can he use fire too? While he wasn't using full flames, the smoke coming off his arm, as well as the invisible girl's after she asked for some help in stopping the bleeding, betrayed that he'd heated his hand to scalding levels – enough to cauterise any wounds. Eh, guess he realised it'd be worthless against demons…

"Ok, so…" she glanced backwards to make sure Malina wouldn't hear before gesturing towards Izuku, "You wanna fill 'em in?"

"I-"

"Oh!"

"I can do it!"

"Let me!" Cerberus interrupted.

"That's…" he hesitated.

"""Please…""" All three Cerberi put on puppy-dog eyes. Thankfully only figuratively – Human Cerberus with hound-Cerberus eyes was not something Justice wanted to see for another thousand years at least. Naturally, Izuku caved instantly, nodding for them to continue.

"We're all going to the mortal realm!"

"For the fate of the world!"

"And pancakes!"

"And even more debauchery." Modeus felt the need to add.

"B-By which she means better romance novels." Izuku felt the need to hastily clarify.

"… Ok." Ice-boy answered with only a few seconds hesitation. Invisible girl began spluttering at the lack of a decent explanation, before he continued, "So I'm guessing the circumstances regarding the transfer of this 'power' which earned Izuku him such a ridiculous punishment is something that can be rectified with a visit to the living world, and that's the underlying reason for this journey?"

"That's…" Izuku blinked, "Pretty much-"

"And the rest of you have joined them for entertainment, curiosity, having something to gain by venturing to the mortal realm, or some combination thereof?"

"Damn." Justice whistled, "Other than Modeus' whole cassanova wannabe thing you got it in one."

"'Wannabe'-?!" thankfully Cerberus stopped her immediate beeline for Izuku.

"Can we come?" ice-boy asked flatly. She'd expected the question but could still appreciate the bluntness. However, she had to give the obvious response.

"Why should we let you?" an extra pair of mortals was unlikely to be all that useful. She'd already proven capable of taking them both down with minimal effort, and while some decent training in demon combat could likely fix that to some extent, it was time that they didn't really have right now. Plus, while Cerberus and Modeus were potential liabilities if left in Hell with the knowledge that Justice and Izuku were venturing out of it, she couldn't see these two running off and snitching on them. Especially not to anyone who would actually be able to do anything about it in time.

"Because we won't let you-" a glare from Justice told invisible girl that argument would just land a repeat performance of earlier, "Because… Uh…" she snapped her fingers, "We can help navigate the mortal world!"

"Got Izuku for that. Next." Justice shot her down.

"Our abilities could be useful for terrain traversal?"

"Or stealth!"

"I don't need an ice sheet to clear dodgy ground, and we're unlikely to need any recon. You'd just be dead weights."

"… Midoriya might be more comfortable with some old classmates around?" finally the invisible girl gave a point that was worth considering. She glanced at Izuku for his opinion there.

"I mean… It would be kind of nice to talk with someone who went through similar…" he looked down, "Experiences…"

"Hmmm…" not a bad point, but she wasn't convinced, "And what do any of us get out of it?" she gestured to the demons in their little group.

"We…" Invisible girl glanced back at ice-boy.

"… I… could make ice cubes… and act as an air conditioner?"

"… Tempting." Justice nodded thoughtfully. Glancing to the side, it seemed her fellow demons were in agreement: That was the best argument they'd given thus far.

"Ok, maybe… But" she had to curb their excitement, "We're on a secret-ish-sortof mission, and if many mortals become aware of the afterlife we'd run into… problems…"

"Like what?" Izuku was the one to voice the question, evidently curious.

"Mass panic, societal upheaval, religious turmoil, etc."

"That just sounds like the medieval era with extra steps." ice-boy stated.

"Or maybe it'd be like setting society back to the Quirk awakening?" Izuku pondered.

"Yeah, but depending on how far the knowledge spreads and how generous certain supernaturals are feeling that day, Heaven, Hell, and everything in-between could get directly involved. Trust me, you do not want Valkyries going all Old Testament on Mount Olympus."

"… I mean…"

"I kind of want to now…"

"It sounds cool…" of course the hound of chaos would want to see that.

"Partners separated by war, forbidden love, divine dates…" and of course the not-so-loveable sex maniac was fantasising at the possibilities.

"And as the instigators of the whole thing we'd all be, and I cannot stress this enough: fucked beyond belief." she glared at everyone seriously, extra harshly when Modeus reacted to her word choice because of course she did, "Which means it's imperative that we aren't responsible for the afterlife being discovered by mortal society. So." she stared intently at the two would-be resurrectees, "If we do end up back in the land of the living, can you promise me you won't go running off to take care of any 'unfinished business' and throw everything off the rails?"

"Sure." invisible girl agreed remarkably quickly, "I mean, I'd like to let my family know I'm all right, so if that's allowed it'd be nice… But I won't if it means I'd have to let my friends face this on their own."

"Good to hear." Justice nodded before turning towards ice-boy, "And you?"

"…" he was more hesitant to respond, "… Would I be allowed to speak to my family at all?"

"Final farewells?" Justice asked, "If that's it we can probably let it slide-"

"Not that." he interrupted, "Well, maybe my sister, but mainly I want to tell my father all his efforts were for nothing."

… What?

"… You mean Endeavour?" Izuku asked after a moment of processing that, "What… 'efforts'…?"

The boy seemed hesitant to elaborate. Clearly there was some kind of emotional turmoil going on, but Justice couldn't have a loose cannon screwing everything up. She crossed her arms and refused to shift to get this across, and after making it clear he wouldn't be going anywhere without doing so, he continued after collecting his thoughts:

"… Everything my father has done – marrying my mother, having my siblings, raising and training me, has been done to create a hero capable of surpassing All Might. To reach the number one hero spot he never could. That's all we were to him, tools to defeat his self-proclaimed nemesis. So…" his until-now calm face morphed into some semblance of a smile, "I want to see the look on his face when I tell him, face-to-face, that he'll never see a Todoroki reach the number one hero spot. That his 'masterpiece' is dead and gone for good. That everything he worked towards, that everything he did, that he did to us, throughout his entire life… was for nothing."

The whole group stayed silent at that declaration. What he just said implied that his entire life had been built on something more reminiscent of a political marriage from a bygone era than anything genuine… Justice had heard some stories of shitty marriages – correction, she'd probably heard all the stories from multiple perspectives – but the idea still made her stomach turn.

"So… basically…" she was eventually able to respond, "You want to go back to the mortal world… To make a deal with a demon, to violate the laws of life and death, risk a fate worse than death for the rest of eternity should you be discovered, all to… rub yourown death in your dad's face?"

"… Pretty much." he shrugged.

"That has got to be simultaneously one of the most messed up and petty motivations I've ever heard." she couldn't help but grin stupidly at the thought.

"Welcome aboard."

There'd been a few finer details worked out before Todoroki and Hagakure 'unofficially officially' joined their group; apparently a deceased soul being escorted to the surface cost just a bit more than an amusing motivation. Izuku couldn't help but be impressed at his former classmates. Todoroki seemed to take the entire thing in stride, not missing a beat in finding out what they needed to give, which turned out to be later lending their assistance as effective interns until a particularly large workload Hell's bureaucracy was struggling with had been taken care of. Hagakure turned out to be surprisingly good at bartering, thoroughly ensuring that they wouldn't be trapped into overwork during their sentences and that their jobs wouldn't consist of anything too… Unsavoury.

Of course, that probably had a lot to do with their… 'Patron'?

One of Hagakure's bargaining tactics had been suggesting there were multiple demons they could make a deal with, that if she couldn't monopolise the product, suddenly the price wasn't hers to decide. This tactic quickly failed due to the fact that their options were: Justice, a fairly reasonable and generally lax individual Izuku was basically indebted to forever at this point and oh boy did he wish Hagakure had been present when he'd made his escape deal; Cerberus, an extremely excitable demon with an almost juvenile personality and alarmingly blasé regarding death and destruction, who only seemed respond well to Izuku for some reason and had already nearly eaten Todoroki's soul; and Modeus, who was Modeus.

They picked Justice pretty quickly after that.

And with Malina's work finished almost exactly as their deal was struck, Izuku and Todoroki now found themselves with a whole new change of clothes, while Malina took Hagakure's measurements and adjusted hers accordingly.

He'd been given a red shirt and black pants, along with a black jacket similar to the other demons', plus a white striped suit vest to match their hair. He'd kept his current underwear, socks and red shoes, though Malina generously gave the latter a quick repair job and clean, as there'd still been chunks of Gluttony-based sludge clinging to the shoes in places. His outfit was largely indistinguishable from the demons', but with the exception of his tie: Instead of the typical black or red he'd been expecting, Malina had provided a green one the same shade as his hair and eyes. Small though it was, he couldn't help but smile in appreciation at the thought she'd put into personalisation as he stepped out of the changing room.

"The fuck'd you do to your tie?" Malina asked.

"You know it's not a bowtie, right?" Justice added.

Still can't do it right though… He looked down at the tie which he'd made extremely short and extra wide, "Yeah, I never could really get the proportions…"

"I like it!" Cerberus nodded along.

"Me too." Modeus crept up behind him, "Quicker to take off-" surprisingly it was Malina who stopped her this time.

"None 'a that shit in my store. Be horny on your own time."

"Thanks, Mi-Malina…" he laughed awkwardly in response. Thankfully, Todoroki was soon out to ease his anxiety. His clothing was of the same style, formal black pants and red shirt with a black suit vest sans a jacket nor tie, essentially making his outfit a variation of Malina's.

"Is this ok?" he asked plainly.

"Sure." Justice nodded, "There's no dress code – Hell's denizens aren't legally obligated to wear a full office ensemble or anything. Just need it to not be the clothes you died in."

"Does that matter?" Izuku asked.

"Well… Other than being broken as heck and probably traumatising, dying in them leaves certain…" Justice struggled to find the words, "Imprints."

"Emotional residue." Malina clarified while checking their suits fit correctly, "Clothes are part of how we define ourselves: What we show to others, how much we show, what we want to project. It's part of why higher-ranking demons typically dress to look more professional, and why you don't show up in Hell naked." she turned to Justice "Guessing you wanna use them for 'customer service' or some shit?"

"Why do you jump to that?" Todoroki asked as she moved on to him.

"You don't need new clothes without any latent emotions for doing paperwork. Only thing I can think of other than not wanting other demons and souls to look down on you is that it'd make you easier to track or interfere with illusions, I guess. But even then it'd only be illusions trying to disguise yourselves – useless for clerical work either way."

"Yep! Useless! Definitely the-"

"Actually, I just don't wanna work with shabby dressers." Justice mercifully interrupted Izuku's floundering attempts to try and lie, and Malina didn't really look bothered enough to care.

"Now." she finished up with Todoroki and turned back to Izuku, "Your shirt, waistcoat and trousers have all been imbued with demonic energy, courtesy of Justice, Cerberus and Modeus respectively. Other than their innate powers you didn't give any specific requests so I just left it as free energy and channelled most into the basics – physical absorption, demonic fire protection, etc."

"That 'etc.' sounds important-"

"But I also put some of my own power into your tie." she took Izuku's tie and reached into the small opening at the bottom between the material, pulling out a-

"HOW DID A LAPTOP FIT IN THERE?!" It- It was a full laptop, about 40cm or so screen size, being pulled out of a tie which Izuku had tied it barely 10cm of length! How did it- The opening wasn't even big enough to-

"It's a tamer version of my unique power." Malina explained after opening the laptop to prove that, yes, it was fully functional and capable of playing a strategy game. "Used to be the 'chief hygiene specialist'. Kept a whole warehouse of cleaning supplies in my pockets at all times." She pulled an entire coat rack full of completely uncreased suits out of her pocket for emphasis, "Your tie isn't quite that extreme, but you should be able to fit a good few dozen cubic meters of stuff in there; for now it's just got your phone in – it fell out of your costume's pocket while I had it in mine."

A few dozen?! With that space I could store countermeasures for so many situations, or I could keep days or weeks of food and water – do I need food and water anymore? It sounds like I don't technically need it but maybe I'll keep eating for a while as a more mental thing? But then I'll have to consider the relative benefit of emergency rations against equipment which could be of assistance, assuming I'm able to-

"A-hem!" Justice clearing her throat drew Izuku back to reality.

"… I was mumbling again, wasn't I?" he sighed in response. Thankfully, he heard the last dressing room's curtains fling open, and the thumping of footsteps made Hagakure's appearance audible.

Which was useful, because it certainly wasn't visible.

"I thought you were getting changed." Todoroki stated.

"I did!"

"Does taking off your shoes and gloves count as 'changed'?" he asked, seemingly genuine.

"No, I'm wearing the new suit!" before Izuku knew it, Hagakure had grabbed both his and Todoroki's hands. He felt a bit of heat flush his cheeks before feeling a definite piece of clothing just above the wrist. Astonished, both he and Todoroki tried feeling the arms further only to confirm that, yes, she was wearing a suit jacket just like Izuku's, except that hers was completely invisible.

"How…"

"Infused the material with her inherent power." Malina explained while the group decided to store their spare, broken hero outfits in Izuku's tie because that was a thing they could now apparently – a fact Hagakure squawked over, "Basically the clothes act as an extension of her, and thus, turns as invisible as her when she wears it. The external component and passive energy in the clothing should give you better control over it, as well."

"What do you mean 'better control'?" Hagakure asked, turning her head to look at Malina.

…

"U-Um…" Izuku stuttered.

"… I'm guessing… That." Todoroki forced out, as shocked by Hagakure's appearance as he was.

As in, they could see Hagakure's appearance.

Gone was the invisible girl, and in her place stood one with Hagakure's voice, one that seemed to have the approximate height and posture Izuku would've guessed by her clothes, one that stood exactly where Hagakure was… And yet, now she had a face. A visible, normal, human face. Wavy, chartreuse hair with pink specks topped a visible head, one with eyes and an iris of separated violet and teal surrounding an inner yellow ring, all framed within a visible head. Her clothes had (thankfully) materialised with her, showing her now-standard official demonic clothing and a choice(?) to forego any suit vest in lieu of just the shirt and jacket, keeping a tie with the jacket buttoned up and wearing a pair of white gloves. She was here, she could be seen, she-

"You look different than I expected." Izuku muttered almost unconsciously. He hadn't meant to, but he'd always imagined Hagakure's invisibility quirk would've meant some washed-out complexion, or maybe colourless grey irises or white hair. Instead she looked like any other person their age, albeit with more colourful and complex eyes and hair than most.

"… Eh?"

"Mirror." Todoroki gestured lamely at the object in question.

"Guys, what're you…" she followed his instructions and turned towards a nearby mirror, promptly seeing her reflection.

"Who's…" she seemed to notice the reflection's mouth moving with hers.

"Is that…" she walked towards her reflection, at what Izuku now realised was most likely the first time seeing herself, not through the lens of approximations from scans or outlining objects.

"That's… This is…" she waved vaguely at her reflection, before eventually cupping her own face in her hand, "Hi… me…" she slowly let our a tear. And then another, and another. Before long her reaction had turned fully into full-on sobbing, the reality of the situation settling in.

Izuku had never given it much thought before, but even though he'd always wanted a Quirk, he'd come to realise in the recent month that a lot of them weren't entirely beneficial.

They knew that Aoyama's quirk could give him stomach problems if used too much, but looking back that was a remarkably small price. He imagined Kaminari's electricity was likely difficult to live with before he could fully control it… as a child with the ability to fatally electrocute anyone you touched would've been incredibly difficult, for both him and his parents, to think nothing of the long-term effects repeatedly frying his brain must've caused. Tokoyami getting a sapient quirk attached to him at all times could've easily led to some kind of personality disorder if not handled right, and that's not getting into Dark Shadow's development itself. Even small things: Iida's engines could give him great bursts of speed, but having metallic exhaust vents sticking out of your legs would've meant needing specialist trousers made, certain seating awkward to use, metal detectors pointless…

What would it be like to have never seen your own face? Your own eyes, your own… everything, only being able to figure out the rough outline. For others to never be able to see you? Izuku couldn't help but wonder what it would've been like had it been him. Or if it had been his mother – if he'd never been able to see the loving smile of the one person who'd cared for him his entire life?

It wasn't long before Izuku joined in on the sobbing.

"You done?" Malina asked irritably.

"Y-yeah, sorry…" Izuku wiped his eyes, while Hagakure had returned to the mirror after drying her own, keen to investigate her now-visible appearance.

"I just…" he smiled, "I'm really happy for you, Hagakure…"

"Likewise." Todoroki nodded. The statement was short and brief as normal, but it was said with the outline of what could almost be considered a smile directed at her.

"Thanks, guys…" she giggled and returned to the mirror, "Guess I'll need to start combing this now…"

"I think it's cute!" Modeus stated.

"Aw, thanks-"

"It looks like you just woke up the morning after-" Justice smacked her around the back of the head. Unfortunately, that made her eyes settle on Izuku, and one of Cerberus' bodies promptly had to return to their anti-Modeus duties.

"… What's my outfit made of?" Todoroki asked.

"100% pure Baphometic wool. No special energy infusions but it's still heat and impact resistant – stuff's stronger than any shitty steel plate armour or kevlar or whatever you'd find in the mortal realm."

"Plus it's pretty comfy." Justice added.

"… Cool." he nodded in response.

"I think it looks neat." Izuku smiled as he brushed down his clothes. He'd only ever worn casuals, the most official thing he'd ever had was the U.A. school outfit. To be wearing something usually reserved for the most high-ranking demons…

"I think it looks great on you! But it'd look better off-" Cerberus regained her grip on Modeus.

"I-I didn't mean…" Izuku blushed at the response.

"Don't let Modeus make it weird." Justice wisely suggested with a kind smile, "You look good."

"Yeah!"

"M-hm!" Cerberus enthusiastically agreed.

"Of course he does, it's a custom job and I made it." Malina huffed, like anything else was an impossibility.

"Thanks again, Mal." Justice nodded happily, "But with all that said, we should probably head off."

"Oh, right!" Izuku exclaimed – he'd been so distracted with everything else he'd almost forgotten they needed to get going ASAP. Nodding to the others, he headed for the door-

*click* *SLAM*

Only for the door to slam shut in their faces upon a finger snap from Malina.

"'Thanks' is a good start, but payment is a better end."

Ah. Izuku had just assumed demons had some kind of arrangement, at least for those dealing with sinners-

"They're serving under me – officials get free gear, right?" an arrangement like that.

"So you brought a signed requisition form? Preferably one outlining the justification for including infusions of two primordial- and one neo- arch demons?" Malina's question failed to make the smile on Justice's face flinch, but Izuku could practically feel her groaning.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"I can sign it!" Cerberus tried to help.

"Is your name Pandemonica?"

"No-"

"Is it Lucifer?"

"No…"

"Is it Azazel?"

"You mean Loremaster."

"Whatever!" Malina barked, "Point is without that form those clothes aren't leaving this building barring fair payment." Hagakure gasped in shock, her entire form going invisible at the thought of losing the ability to not do so.

Ugh, that sounded confusing…

"Hey! You steal from me and-"

"Relax, relax." Justice sighed as she tried to calm down the situation, "Look, you know as well as I do everything's been a bit chaotic recently. I just didn't wanna bother Lucy or anyone with everything going on…"

"Still not giving it to you for free without approval." Malina insisted.

"Sure, sure…" Justice sighed, "But we kinda need these clothes. C'mon, Mal, work with me – is there anything you'd take as payment for-"

"Him." she nodded at Izuku.

"Me?" he repeated.

""Him?"" Todoroki and Hagakure asked.

"Him?" Justice questioned.

"Him." Malina confirmed.

"""Him?""" Cerberus echoed.

"Him?!" Modeus exclaimed, "But I called dibs!"

"I can't-" Justice made to reply before getting sidetracked by Modeus, "Wait, when in Hell'd you do that?"

"Just now!"

"That's not how it works!" Cerberus yelled.

"Says who?!"

"Uh…" Izuku interrupted, struggling to vocalise his thoughts amidst the intense heat he could feel in his face, Modeus' claim keying him in to what 'deals' with demons could entail, "M-Mi- M-Malina, I d-don't think I can a-accept taking these outfits in e-exchange f-for… F-f-f-f-for-"

"What?" she sighed before glancing briefly at the argument breaking out about dibs, "You think I want to, what, sleep with you?" She asked incredulously with a scowl, "Who the fuck do you think I am, Modeus?"

"You will never stop our love-!" she managed to grab Izuku's shoulder for about ¼ of a second before Cerberus took her down.

"Why do you want him, exactly?" Justice asked skeptically.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find someone who enjoys strategy games down here who isn't a complete sociopath? They're all casuals who couldn't tell an RTS from a TBS, or can't go three turns without going on about how much they love murder or skin or feet…" she shivered, "Fuckin' degenerates…"

"So…" Izuku managed, "You want a… 'Gaming partner'?"

"That's a weird way to put it, but sure."

"For how long?" Justice asked. After that key point was clarified, it quickly became a matter of negotiation between two demons on exactly how much of Izuku's time would be spent playing games; Malina wanted weekends for the rest of eternity but Justice wanted 1 day a week for a Century or two. In the end, they came to an agreement of him spending the day Sunday, he'd start late Mondays so they could stay up as long as desired, and the deal would last for '''only''' a single millennium. Izuku's mind was still buffering from the revelation he'd be… well, un-alive for so long.

"Oh, and he can't start until we finish our main contract task – should only take a few days or so, assuming things don't go off the rails." she assured Malina before they could object and glanced towards the store's still-broken front window.

"Fine." she agreed without fuss, "But the time period starts from when he actually begins, not now. And if you don't let him start within the next decade then I claim full ownership for the agreed millennium." She extended her hand to shake with Justice's. As she did, a faint red glow seemed to form around them, sealing the agreement in some form of demonic pact.

"I'll need some time to set up another rig, anyway…" she glanced towards Izuku, "You better be ready to play the best damn games of your life!"

"I-I'm looking forward to it!" he nodded with a slightly-confused but genuine smile before the group left. He'd never had anyone who wanted to play games with him before! His mother had tried a couple of times, but there was a steep learning curve to a lot of the games he liked and she was constantly busy with work, unfortunately, and Kacchan had always said TBS games were only for shitty nerds like him-

The reminder of his former best friend/bully/… killer put a pause in Izuku's step, but looking around the colourful cast surrounding him he soon pushed past those thoughts. He also chose not to think too hard about the fact he was fitting in with literal demons who'd lived for millennia better than he ever had anyone in his old life. All that really mattered was that he was with people who he could be friends with now!

Assuming that Justice wasn't planning on devouring his soul when their contract was up, of course.

That could be a workaround to the deal with Malina, couldn't it? 'Finish our main contract task' could include whatever she plans to do as well as what she plans to give, right? And even if she gets… 'ownership' ten years later, that doesn't mean much if I'm dea-'gone'.

Well, regardless, she'd assured him that his soul would give her indigestion, so that was totally not going to happen.

Definitely.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Cerberus could turn around to eat him at the drop of a hat. He felt like he was slowly beginning to understand the juvenile demon, but she was also proving incredibly unpredictable, fully prepared to devour souls, and weirdly attached to Izuku for reasons that may be more sinister than simple friendship.

And then there was Modeus. Enough said.

Well, at the very least, I have my old classmates with me now! I mean, sure, we don't know each other very well, and for all I know going to see their families could spiral out of control and wow I never thought those rumours around Endeavour were underestimating how terrible it really was, and sure they lost to Justice within seconds, but…

…

He was sure that thought was supposed to go somewhere, but he honestly couldn't figure out where.

Stop it, Izuku! He shook off the thoughts he was no-doubt overanalysing, Everyone here has been nicer to me than I ever could have hoped – it's only fair that I trust them in turn. He managed to keep his optimistic smile as they began through the streets of Limbo to their destination. This was the final Circle, and it was proving far easier than the others so far.

I've got even more friends with me, we've got some snazzy suits, and we're almost to the end – nothing can stop us now!

"… Is this your asinine idea of a joke?" a white-haired demon asked her subordinate incredulously.

"Huh- no, I-"

"Of course not - you were high again, weren't you?"

"What- no, I really saw it!"

"Uh-huh." she nodded unbelievingly, "Are you sure it wasn't a pig?"

"Why would a pig fly-"

"Get out of my office." they grunted in irritation.

"But I-"

"NOW!" the lower-ranking demon didn't need to be told again, practically tripping over herself to get out as quickly as possible.

What a day… the demon strolled back to her seat behind the table, No, what a bloody Century… she closed her eyes for a moment's relaxation-

*rrring*, *rrring* only for them to be snapped open again by the sound of her phone.

"What now…?" she picked it up with a growl, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Malina."

"What do you want?" she got straight to the point. Malina wasn't one to mince words, and even if she was the demon honestly didn't give a damn.

"Just wanted to ask if you can get a hold of Justice?"

"Just call her." she grumbled. Why bother me if I'm not even the one you want to-

"Tried, but she's not answering her phone. Neither is 'Monica." the latter of which made sense, as Pandemonica was most likely busy coallating reports for Lucifer's monthly update.

"So she's stepped away again? Typical…" she sneered, "I can't get hold of her any easier than you can. I'd say wait an hour or two and try again, unless it's urgent."

"Nah, guess it's not that urgent. Just forgot to ask if Izuku had a preferred keyboard layout or anything – I can sort it out later."

"Who?" she almost regretted the instinctive question that slipped out – she didn't really care, and it'd probably be something pointless-

"Justice's new mortal helper, or whatever. Guess she didn't tell you? Came in with some shitty half-incinerated wannabe hero costume, so I made him something decent."

"Half-incinerated-" the demon echoed, their eyes widening slightly in realisation, "… Out of curiosity, did he have green hair?"

"Huh? Yeah. Green hair, eyes, and the old costume thing was green as well, actually. How'd you know?"

The demon looked down at the report she'd assumed was some drug-fuelled hallucination. Of the poor drawing her subordinate had given her of a mortal that she'd claimed had been flung high above the cliffs of Ferox. Of the poorly sketched green hair and blackish-green clothes that they'd barely been able to see at such a distance.

The report she'd assumed had no merit because no mortal could ever reach that high. Because only a scant few demons could even hope to launch a mortal that high. But one was currently confirmed to be away from her desk. Said 'one' was apparently in the Limbo ring, despite her office being in Gluttony and no reports of inter-ring travel being filed.

"… Lucky guess."

"Sure." it was clear Malina didn't believe her, but even more clear she didn't care, "Anyway, if you see either of them, just let 'em know I need a word."

"… Of course." the demon got up from her chair and hung up the phone.

But I believe I'll be having more than a few words with them myself.

Judgement set out unto the ring of Limbo, determined to put a stop to whatever foolish nonsense Justice was trying to pull this time.

A/N:

Acquired:
3 x Demonic suits
2 x Mortal allies
1 x Gaming partner
1 x imminent threat(?)

At long last, Izuku isn't wearing the crumbling remains of his initial Hero Outfit. Neither are Toru nor Shouto, but they only had to last 1 chapter and didn't have to deal with Gluttony nor Lust (though they did spend longer here in-universe, so in a way, everyone got to suffer!). Plus, he now has a guaranteed friend/acquaintance/tailor to play games with when things calm down, so this was a great chapter for him. 'Course, that all assumes he doesn't have his soul obliterated, devoured, absorbed, banished, or in some way yeeted before he gets back, but hey, you have to take the bad with the good.

In other news, I can now confirm this arc will finish in Chapter 9, as in 2 more chapters (or 8, depending on when you consider it 'finished'. It depends on what events you deem major enough to split up the story, but I consider chapter 9 the end of this arc). Also, going forward, I'm hoping to put this out once a week if I can have the written content sufficiently ahead; basically I'll want to ensure I always have a substantial stockpile to prioritise stable updates over frequent ones. Most likely will be 2 weeks before the next one, but might only be 1 between 8 and 9. We'll see.

Other than that, as usual, feel free to comment with thoughts, opinions, constructive criticism, etc., and I hope everyone has a great day!