Welcome to the next portion of Return of a King – Redux. We're now out of the "Little Izuku" saga of this story, and now we're entering the "Villain Izuku" saga. I won't spoil what I have planned, but, I will say that there will be a lot of twists and turns that I don't think most people would predict.
That being said, for those who have read the original story (before I deleted it) there will be a few callbacks to it in this part of the saga. I know a lot of people want to see who will become members of the Twelve Demon Moons, and trust me, they will show up! However, I have to go over each and every ability that I want them to have, whether or not they will call back to the person's original Quirk, or if they will be a completely different ability.
I will be putting a lot more planning into who I pick for the Twelve Demon Moons. There will also be regular thug Demons that get created, too. Not just the Demon Moons. So there will be that. But, I think I've gone on long enough.
That being said….
WARNING! THIS STORY CONTAINS SCENES/MENTIONS/IMPLICATIONS OF THE FOLLOWING: CANNIBALISM, EXTREME GORE, BULLYING, ABUSE, BRUTAL DEATH, HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION, AND HEAVY BLOODSHED.
IF ANY OF THESE THINGS BOTHER YOU, TURN BACK NOW!
IF THE WARNING DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU...
THIS STORY IS A FAN-BASED FICTION
I OWN NEITHER MY HERO ACADEMIA NOR DEMON SLAYER/KIMETSU NO YAIBA
ALL I OWN ARE MY OCS
[Vol 2 – 1: Revelations – Part 1]
Heavy breathing echoed throughout an alleyway as the moon shone down from the night sky. It was 8:35 PM, on a Monday, meaning it was a school night for most kids in the area. Most kids were also at home after dark. But not this particular teenager.
Her long brown hair flew behind her as her school uniform belonging to Musutafu Private Middle School blew from every angle that it hadn't been kept down by, corners of her shirt lifting and blowing back as she ran. Her skirt followed in the same motion as her hair, rising up just enough for her thighs to have been visible, and nothing more. Her dark auburn eyes were wide in panic, brimming with tears as she rounded a corner.
The alleyway's connecting the city had been like a maze, so she was considerably lost. This wasn't even to mention the fact that this had been her first time down them. It was a bad time to be in as much trouble as she had been, but who could've blamed her!? She watched her friend of two years walk down an alleyway with some random gangster-looking guy, and watched her purchase Trigger! How could she not be curious to see who it was?
Trigger was a highly illegal drug. It was used to power up Quirks and boosted people's senses. The side effects were migraines and instant addiction; among other things. Now, she was no snitch, but for something like that? And in her neighbourhood? She had to tell her dad. But, seeing as she had been caught watching the trade go down, that could've only meant one thing was about to happen.
If she didn't high-tail it the hell out of there, she could be seeing the opposite end of a gun barrel.
She felt something yank on the end of her hair, making her trip up on her footing, sending her falling to the floor, face first into the pavement. The brunette grunted, trying to get up, only to be grabbed by the back of her shirt collar.
"Well, well, well. Lookie what we got here?" A gruff-sounding voice hissed, turning her to face the man responsible for dealing out the drug to her former best friend. If she made it out of this, she wasn't going to associate with them anymore. Her father wouldn't approve of it, and her own morals wouldn't allow her to.
That was if she made it out of this, that is.
The man in question was tall, maybe 6 feet on a good day. He was big, too. His body was rotund, and his eyes looked more like wolf's eyes. He also had two large wolf ears protruding out of the top of his head, as well as a wolf's snout. In fact, if she hadn't known any better, she'd say that he had some sort of wolf-like mutation Quirk.
"L-Let me go!" The girl cried, grabbing at the man's wrist, scratching with her nails as the man laughed. She kept struggling, only for the man to continue to laugh at her attempts to break free.
"Oh please, brat. You don't think I don't know who you are?" The wolf-man snarled, his jaws inches away from her face as she gulped. "You're Mikan Tsukauchi. You're the daughter of that nosey detective. If I let you go, you're going to tell your father. And then what? Get me arrested! Like hell, I'll let you go! Now, be a good little girl, and stop struggling. I want to teach your father a lesson, and I know the best way to do that."
His hand reached out for the brunette's skirt, her eyes widening. "He's going to… rape and kill me!? NO! I have to—!"
Something heavy hit the side of her head, and in one moment, she lost consciousness. In the next moment, she was laying on something soft, but also something wet. She felt something shake her shoulder, and when she came to, she saw a hand pull away from her. Immediately, she sat up, ready to fight, only to see a boy around her age back away defensively.
"Whoa! No need to get hostile," the teen said, his voice calm. The boy was dressed in a white shirt with a black tie, a pair of black suit pants, as well as some fancy-looking dress shoes. His hair was pitch black, and his eyes were a vibrant red unlike any she had seen before. His skin was a tad bit on the pale side, but it wasn't anything sickly. There was also the fact that he was handsome, almost a bit too stunning, so much so that she had believed that it was because of a Quirk.
"Oh… uh, sorry. Um… where are we?" Mikan asked, looking around to see that she had been laying on a flat of grass, next to her a bench, and from where the boy was standing, she could see a sidewalk and a couple of trees.
"Musutafu City park. I took you here because it was the closest place to where that alleyway had been," the teen answered, walking over to the bench and taking a seat. It was only in the light that she noticed the supernatural glow of his skin. It honestly reminded Mikan of those fantasy vampires she read about in those pre-Quirk-era books.
A part of her wanted to ask what the boy's Quirk had been, but another part of her told her that was rude, so she decided against it. However, she still had a question she needed to ask him. One that was on her mind even more than anything else.
"Where's that villain? Is he nearby? Are you some sort of vigilante?! If so I'll have to—"
"Relax," the teen assured, putting his hands into his pockets. "I called the police after I got you out of that situation. I had no choice but to use my Quirk while getting you out of there, but it was for your own good. All you have to know is that the villain will be most likely put away under the charge of selling Trigger and attempted sexual assault of a minor," the teen explained as he brushed a hand through his hair.
"Oh… sorry for assuming, it's just… well, you know, vigilantism has been on the rise lately, and my father and his unit of the police force has been cracking down on it pretty hard. I want to be a police officer too, so…." Mikan said as the teen smirked, looking over at her with a gleam in his eyes.
"You're Tsukauchi Mikan, correct?" As the teen asked that, Mikan couldn't help but shutter. She didn't know why, but the eerie calmness of his voice made her feel uneasy. It was almost like she had been in a conversation with some sort of supervillain. But of course, that couldn't be right. He had just saved her for crying out loud.
"Uh… yeah, I am…. What about it?" Mikan asked, her eyes glancing at him with an uneasy gleam. The black-haired teen smiled, standing up from the bench as he outstretched a clawed hand to her.
"Well, it just so happens that I know where you live. Before you ask, no, I'm not a stalker. I live right across the street from your family's house in the apartment building. I can take you home if you'd like?" the teen offered as Mikan looked at the hand.
The fingers had sharp claws on the ends, and they looked a little bit red. She had a knack for observing things, so it was easy for her to tell if someone had just gotten into a fight. The way his fingers had been bent, it was almost like he had just gotten out of a fight, and with the red under his fingernails, of which she assumed that it was blood—unless it was leftover nail paint—there had been a chance that he had to fight to save her.
She wasn't going to say anything. She was lucky to be alive as it were. If the teen before her hadn't rushed in when he did….
"Yeah… sure," Mikan said, taking his hand as he helped her up. When she got to her feet, she realized that the two were of similar height. Well, he had two, maybe three inches on her, but that was it. That was when a thought came to her mind. This whole time they had been talking, and yet, she hadn't gotten to know his name. So, she asked. "Uh… I never got your name, what is it?"
He blinked, seemingly caught off guard by the question. "Oh… my name?" The teen asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well… my name is… Muzan. You can call me Muzan. Muzan Kibutsuji," the teen, Muzan, answered as he smiled at her. "C'mon, let's get you home. Your parents are probably worried sick about you."
And with that, the two teenagers did just that. The walk was rather long, lasting about an hour. Musutafu City Park was a far way away from the villas, and while that in its own right would've made the walk awkward, there was something different about walking next to Muzan that… didn't make it that way. The whole time she walked alongside Muzan, she felt safe. Mikan didn't know why she did, but she did.
There was this aura around him. An aura of strength. Not only that, but he was always on his guard, always ready to get into a fight if he saw the need to. She could tell based on how his shoulders were tensed up, and how his arms were arched when he put his hands in his pockets. It was like they were springloaded, ready to strike someone in the face in case they tried anything funny.
Whoever this Muzan person was, they were strong. Although, if there was one thing that confused Mikan, it was what he was wearing. It looked like a school uniform, but not one she recognized. Not to mention the fact that he looked a lot like the missing "Izuku Midoriya," down to the cat-like irises. The only difference separating the two was the fact that Muzan had pure black hair.
Perhaps they were distant cousins? Or perhaps half-brothers? Same father different mother? Whatever the case was, it was uncanny.
But then again, Izuku Midoriya had been missing for over 4 years, and his missing person's case had been put on ice even before a year had passed. Most of the police force across the country had assumed him dead—especially after what had happened to his mother.
Once they got to her house, Muzan stayed by the gates as she approached the door. She waved him off as he walked across the street to the apartment building. It was strange having an apartment building in the villas, but it had been there for years, and the person who managed the place lived in the villas themselves, so it was pretty much there for convenience. Plus, the apartment building itself had been there before the villa project had begun, and the owner refused to tear it down.
If she remembered correctly, only 20 other people lived in the building out of the 150 rooms. It wasn't a profit-making machine like it used to be, but the owner didn't seemingly care all too much about that aspect. For a moment, Mikan thought it strange that a teen his age could afford his own apartment, though he had said the rent was supposedly cheap, so around 12,500 yen a month, which was what most fast-food workers got paid every two weeks; so she could buy the fact that Muzan was able to afford it at their shared age.
When she opened the front door to the foyer/living room, she was greeted by her mother sitting at the table, a sly smirk on her face. "Mom, I swear to—"
"So… who was that handsome young man walking you to the door?" Takamai Tsukauchi, Mikan's mother, asked as the brown-haired teenager rolled her eyes, closing the door behind her.
"Does every boy that walks me home have to be a sudden romantic interest, Mom?" Mikan replied as her mother feigned offence, gasping as she put her hand to her chest in such a dramatic way that it would make most theatre kids blush with envy.
"Oh! You assume the worst of me! How awful! How could you do that to your mother?" Mrs. Tsukauchi said as Mikan repressed a laugh. Seeing as her joke was successful, the older woman smiled. "Seriously, Mikan. Who was that? I've never seen him in our neighbourhood before. I'm just making sure I know everyone who interacts with you, just in case something bad happens. You know how paranoid your dad can get, what with you being "daddy's little girl" and all that jazz."
Mikan snorted, taking her shoes off at the door. "Well, for the record, his name was Muzan Kibutsuji. He lives in the apartment complex across the street from the entrance of the villa. He saved me from an attempted villain attack. He apparently called the police, a different unit that Dad's in, so I don't know if he can confirm or deny that. Had it not been for him… I might be dead right now," Mikan said, shuttering as she said that last bit.
Takamai paled at that. "You know not to joke around like that, Mikan. You're scaring me," the older woman said as Mikan shook her head.
"I'm not joking, mom. I'm serious. If Kibutsuji hadn't been there, I would be dead. I witnessed a drug trade with my ex-friend, Tsuki. I say ex-friend because I don't hang out with drug addicts. I don't want to get corrupted." As Mikan said that, Takamai got up from her chair and rushed over to Mikan, enveloping her in an unsuspected hug. "G-Gah! Mom!"
"I'm just glad you're okay! Oh my god, I don't know what I would've done if you wound up hurt, or worse!" Takamai said, her voice full of worry as pinpricks of tears appeared in her eyes. "You know what, I want to thank this Muzan person myself in person," Takamai continued as she let go of her daughter and took a step back. "I want you to invite him over for dinner tomorrow after school. Okay?"
Mikan nodded. She didn't have anything else to say to her mom. She didn't want to make her any more paranoid than she already was. "God forbid Dad hears about this…." "Hey, Mom…." Mikan began as Takamai, who was about to walk away, stopped mid-stride as she glanced over at the brunette. "Do you think you can keep this between me and you? I… I don't want to worry Dad any more than he already is. What with the Hero Cannibal still being on the loose…."
Takamai chewed on the inside of her lip, before nodding. "Yeah. That's a good idea," the older woman replied, walking over to sit down at the desk. "On another note entirely, Do you have any schoolwork you need to do, or?"
And that was when Mikan realized she forgot something back before she ran away from the villain in the alleyway. "…I might have forgotten my backpack while I was running away from the villain…."
"Well, we have plenty of binders and backpacks in the basement. Tomorrow, ask your teachers for any of the work you haven't completed up to that point. Tell them all of it got destroyed in a villain attack. If there is an issue, I'll deal with it, okay?" Takamai said as Mikan nodded, heading toward her room. Today had been a long day, and all she wanted to do was sleep.
xxXXxxXXxx
Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi stood at the end of an alleyway, arms folded as he watched someone analyze the corpse of yet another pro hero, have eaten and missing identifying features. Although, based on how they looked, it appeared to be the hero who went by the name DuneBuggy.
DuneBuggy had been in a lot of scandals, such as allowing human traffickers to walk away so long as he got a 45% cut of the pay that the person they were trafficking was worth. He also had been known for spreading several money laundering schemes, which affected thousands of people in the process. Despite that, though, DuneBuggy was a good hero. He had saved thousands of lives, jailed hundreds of villains, and was ranked 20th on the billboard.
That, however, was overshadowed by his crimes. Tsukauchi didn't even feel bad for most of the heroes who were killed by the Hero Cannibal. However, he was a police officer and as such, it was his job to make sure that this villain was put behind bars.
"4 years. 24 heroes are killed per year. That's 88 heroes. They kill 2 heroes per month. This is the end of February, so if their pattern stays the same… another hero will die on the 12th of March. And with Stain killing heroes, too…. I swear these two are working together in some way." As Tsukauchi thought that, he snapped to attention as the person who was analyzing the corpse sighed, standing up with a shake of their head.
The person in question had bright lime green hair. He was wearing a white and black striped shirt with black pants, held up by a leather belt with a golden belt buckle. His skin was extremely pale, yet despite that, he looked far healthier than most others. When he turned to face the detective, his purple eyes with cat-like irises stared into the detective's normal, brown eyes.
"It's him, alright. But I'm serious, Detective. You can't take him down on your own. Especially if he's devoured 88 people. While it sounds like a lot, I can assure you that if he is what I think he is, that is nothing compared to what he could be doing," the man said as Tsukauchi narrowed his eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean, Yamamoto-san?"
Yamamoto scoffed, dismissing him with a flick of a wrist. "Oh, you know, it could be in the thousands by now. He's been active for 4 years, and he doesn't target innocent civilians. I've been alive long enough to know that things like him are more dangerous than your average villain," the man said as Tsukauchi sighed.
"Seriously? You're still going on about this whole "Demon" crap? Look, Yamamoto, I'm glad we could get your help on this. I never realized that you used to be a mortician, but the fact of the matter is this. The person we're after most likely is just your typical cannibal who eats the people he kills. That's all he is, nothing more, nothing less."
As Tsukauchi said that, Yamamoto seemed to get angry, but, he quickly controlled himself with a deep breath. "I don't know why I bother nowadays…." The man muttered, walking past Tsukauchi. "I'm telling you, Detective. You're dealing with a creature of the night. You're dealing with a Demon. An honest to God, man-eating, Demon. I just hope he doesn't find out where you live. Because I don't doubt for a second he won't be gunning for the family that's giving him issues. For your sake, I suggest you look into the Taisho Era Massacre of Tokyo City. Maybe then you might believe me."
And with that, Yamamoto walked away. Tsukauchi shook his head, directing the other police to close off the area. He honestly didn't know why he allowed him to investigate the corpses of the heroes. He was already confirming what they knew, but he insisted. The last time they told him "no" he found out the hard way that Yamamoto was stronger than he looked. Needless to say, they let him investigate ever since. And ever since then, he had been trying to get Tsukauchi to believe in all this Demon crap.
Living in a world of Quirks told Tsukauchi that Quirks were capable of things that most people would find unnatural. He could live with the fact that sludge people were a thing. He could also live with the fact that people like All Might could exist—hell, he was close friends with the man in question. But Demons? That was playing with his ability to suspend his disbelief.
"Taisho Era Massacre of Tokyo City, huh? Whatever, I'll look into it when I have free time," Tsukauchi thought as he walked over to his car. It was 8:35 PM, and he wanted to go home. Ever since his argument with his wife, he had reduced his hours from 15 hours a day to 10 hours but got increased pay due to his status in the police force.
Don't get him wrong. He loved his job to death, but his family came first and foremost. His family needed him there more than anyone else. It was selfish, but it was his priority. He had almost fallen into the same trappings his father had allowed himself to get caught up in, and because of that, he almost lost his family. But now, he knew better. He just wished that it was something other than the threat of losing his family that made him realize he was overworking himself.
As he pulled away from the crime scene and headed home, he felt a chill run up his spine. Winter was still just subsiding, and it was pretty cold out. Even though it was the end of February, it was still negative 5 degrees out. He had left his rear window open for the whole time he had been investigating, and now he had to pay for it.
Naomasa hated the cold. It was something he always has, and will continue to hate. It wasn't because he had ever had a bad experience with the cold, it was just that it made him uncomfortable. It made him feel like he was buried up to his waist in snow, with below 0 winds blowing on him with no hints of stopping.
Rolling up his window and cranking up the heating system in his car, he sighed. Mic Radio was playing on the stereo system at a low volume. He had it on just for background noise. It usually helped him concentrate on things. These last four years had put him under far too much stress. First, it was the Hero Killer, and his recent 54th kill. It was a poor lady by the name of Ichitan Akamatsu, aka the Sunlight Hero Solar. Her crime? Doing one too many ad reads, and not being able to save two or three people from a burning building out of 120.
At least when it came to the Hero Cannibal, the ones he killed were scums of the earth, or were former criminals turned "heroes" to cover their asses. Yes, what the Hero Cannibal was doing was awful, disgusting, and downright inhumane. But at least they killed actual fake heroes. Sure, Stain got one or two heroes that were true scum every now and again, but otherwise, the heroes he killed had made simple, human mistakes.
It was truly sad. How he found himself on the side of the Hero Cannibal when it came to who they killed. It was more than just sad. It was disturbing how he somewhat agreed with the Hero Cannibal's actions.
Just like the Hero Killer, the Hero Cannibal had gathered quite the online following. He was held in the same regard as the Hero Killer, too, seen as someone who would purge the fakes and leave nothing of them behind, quite literally. There had been times when Hero Cannibal "fans" ran into Hero Killer "fans" and a fight ensued.
It was kind of funny to watch. They both did the same thing. The only difference was that the Hero Cannibal was going after real fake heroes, and was, well, a cannibal.
Of course, he was also a villain, and he found it difficult to truly agree with everything the Hero Cannibal had done. He simply saw the good that it did. How these awful people were being dealt with that the law couldn't catch. And while he would've preferred for them to be brought to justice and put behind bars, the idea of them not being able to hurt anyone anymore was appealing, if not disturbing.
In fact, the only reason he was so hellbent on arresting the Hero Cannibal, outside of him being documented as an S-Class Villain with absolutely NO identifiable features, image, or even appearance, was that Naomasa was worried that he would eventually turn to the public.
As his car pulled into the driveway, Naomasa turned off the engine, exited his car, then walked toward the front door. Taking his house keys from his trenchcoat pocket, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. "I'm home!" Naomasa announced as his wife shushed him. Taking off his trenchcoat and putting it on the coat hanger, he was in the process of taking off his hat as his eyes met his wife's.
"Mikan's asleep. She's had a long day, and she needs her rest," Takamai said as she put down her phone, then stood up and walked toward Naomasa. The two shared a quick kiss as she grabbed him by the chin. "You need to shave again. Your face is getting rough again. You know how much I hate it when you get facial hair."
"Yeah, yeah I know. I'll shave in the morning. More importantly, did Mikan get her schoolwork done?" Naomasa asked, walking toward the kitchen to get himself a late-night cup of coffee.
"She forgot her bag at school. I already scolded her about it, so you don't need to," Takamai said as Naomasa raised an eyebrow.
"Wow, that's the first time you've lied to me in a very, very long time," Naomasa said, looking over his shoulder. "Let me guess, she actually left it at Tsuki's?" Naomasa asked as Takamai shrugged.
"Well, Mikan didn't want you to worry, so she asked me to lie to you. To be fair to her, she still doesn't know how your Quirk works in full detail. All she knows is that you can pick up on lies easier than truths. Considering you're literally a walking lie detector, I would've hoped she understood that lying to you is impossible," Takamai lamented as Naomasa shrugged.
The detective finished pouring his cup of black coffee and took a sip, a jolt of energy rushing through him as he smirked. "Well, that's not true. Half-truths don't register as lies. If she really didn't want me to know, she'd work on getting good and saying half-truths."
Takamai giggled at that, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, putting her head next to his as she kissed his cheek. He smirked, looking into her eyes. "You want something, don't you?" He teased, and that was all she wrote. He was just barely able to put his coffee down on the counter before being dragged up the stairs.
The sound of a door slamming shut from the upstairs of the Tsukauchi household reverberated throughout the house as Mikan, in her room, tossed over to one side, covering her ears with her pillow. It was going to be a long night.
xxXXxxXXxx
Izuku Midoriya, or as the world now knew him, Muzan Kibutsuji, was sitting on a couch in his 12,500 yen a month apartment with a cup of blood in his hands, watching T.V. with an almost amused expression on his face.
The apartment he lived in was quite small, only having a living room and kitchen both connected and separated by a thin wall. The living room had a couch, a coffee table, a window to look out of, a T.V. and a T.V. stand, and a bookshelf where he kept all of his books. The kitchen had a fridge, a deep freezer, an oven, and a few cupboards with a microwave just above the stove.
Then there was the bedroom right next to the entrance of the apartment, which he had converted into an office, seeing as he didn't need to sleep all that often, only sleeping when he was feeling lazy, which was usually never.
Of course, on the opposite end of the hallway entrance to his apartment, which had a small bathroom with a stand-up shower, a toilet, and a sink. Nothing too special, and nothing that he gave much of a crap about. Demons didn't need to use the bathroom, so it really served no purpose.
Right now, Izuku was in the middle of watching re-runs of One Piece, which was something that he enjoyed doing when he had nothing to do, or when he had gotten done filling his quota for the month. It kept him from being bored, which was one of the many plus-sides of One Piece. It never got boring, which was something he couldn't say for most other shows nowadays.
He found the action and the world-building in the old Pre-Quirk-Era show to be far better than what shows were out nowadays. According to old news articles in 2031, when One Piece released its last Chapter, Chapter 2081, the world stood still. Or at least, Shonen Jump—the company—went on a month hiatus to celebrate the Manga finishing.
If the Demon had to make his opinion known, the fight with Kaidou would still be his favourite out of all of the fights before or after. That included the fight with Luffy versus Shanks near the end of the series, which was a close second.
Going back to the topic at hand, when Izuku had thought up his alternate name of Muzan Kibutsuji, it had come to him almost instantly. It wasn't like he had to put any thought into it, it was just the first thing his mind came up with. Also, in order to hide the fact that he was still Izuku, he dyed his hair pitch black. Most of the missing person posters described him as having green and black hair, so dying his hair black was a pretty smart, if not obvious choice.
As for how he got the cup of blood… well, he used to have a next-door neighbour, who he caught trying to rape his 7-year-old niece. Not HIS niece, but the neighbours. He had no extended family, at least to his knowledge. He was able to get the kid to leave the room before he butchered her sick uncle, so that way he didn't have to make himself kill a child.
And now, Izuku had a body in his freezer, which he slowly picked away at throughout the weeks whenever he was hungry, and hadn't found a fake hero to murder and eat. Throughout the years of devouring people, he had grown at least 100 times as strong as he used to be. If he put actual effort into his attacks now, he could assumedly level forests within seconds. Of course, he never tried to do anything like that. But if push came to shove, he knew he could. His regeneration capabilities had skyrocketed, as when one hero who had a flame Quirk tried to turn him into ash using some sort of pyrokinesis Quirk, he was able to regenerate while his cells were being actively burned.
In other words, he could regenerate before he started burning. Of course, that was just basic fire Quirks. He knew had absolutely NO chance of taking out Endeavor, which was his personal goal at the moment. To kill and devour Endeavor for rumours of being a child abuser.
As for the hero with the pyrokinesis Quirk, he was just as typical as most fakes went. At least, the ones he killed. Attempted rape of a teenage intern, smuggling trigger, so-on-and-so-forth. Honestly, it was getting kind of boring hearing about the same despicable bullshit time and time again. Of course, he wasn't going to keep up the whole "Hero Cannibal" thing forever. He needed to branch out sooner or later.
He just didn't know how. He had a few ideas, but he squashed them before he could actually put them into action. He had already built up the reputation of being someone who killed and ate fake heroes. He had a "fanbase" of supposedly like-minded people, yet they never did anything. In other words, he had attracted manipulatable fools who would do anything their "master" told them to do. He wasn't going to lie to himself and say that it sounded like a bad idea. To use those people to begin to spread his name, to advance being only known as The Hero Cannibal.
However, it was all about execution. If he didn't do it just right, and someone ratted out what he looked like, he was going to be in trouble. Serious, serious trouble. The last thing he wanted was for All Might to be at his doorstep and for a fight to ensue.
He was strong, Izuku knew that much, but he wasn't All Might levels of strong. Not even close.
He decided he needed to go for a walk. And so, downing the rest of the blood in his cup, he got up from his couch, shut off the T.V right as Luffy was about to go into Gear 5, and went to put on his suit jacket and fedora. As he was getting ready, he sighed. He had just gotten back from "saving" the life of one Mikan Tsukauchi, which in all honesty, he did because the younger side of his mind, the side that still wanted to be a hero, had told him to do so.
Now granted, he wasn't going to let some creep sexual assault a teenager—hell he had dealt with several pedophiles and sickos over the past four years—but the more cynical side of his brain had told him that he should've let her die. The reason? Because she was a Tsukauchi. And if any family, or anyone for that matter, was going to be the thing that would become a thorn in his side, it would be them.
Originally, he had planned to kill them all, but now that Mikan knew of him… well, it didn't change much, but there had been people seen with him walking her home. So if suddenly two days from now their family had turned up dead and eaten, and those people who saw him were smart, they'd report the fact that he had been seen with her two days prior, and end up putting two and two together.
So, that plan was thrown out the window faster than he could blink. Now, he had to do something else. He had to think of another plan. Which was part of the reason why he was now going out for this little walk around the villas.
He had explored the place many, many times before. In fact, he knew this place like the back of his hand. That still didn't mean he didn't like going on walks around the place. It put him at ease and allowed him to think clearly. That, and not many people would be out and about during the night. He'd see the occasional dog walker, and that was it.
He also knew a lot of people in the area thanks to him doing babysitting for some of the parents, on top of also walking dogs when he was asked, mowing lawns, shovelling snow in the winter; all that stuff. This was on top of his job at Mc Donalds as a cashier and cook, which in total brought his monthly income up to a whopping 33,210 yen a month. It wasn't much, but he had built up quite the bank account, his total being at around 1.5 million Yen. He had been doing these odd jobs for years, and at that time he was living in that old abandoned building with the other squatters. It was only just this year that he was able to rent out the apartment he lived in now.
And seeing as he didn't need to buy food, his expenses were considerably cheaper than what most other people had to pay. It was one of the props of not being a human.
Taking a shortcut down toward the nearby park separate from Musutafu City Park, he found himself walking down a path near the playground. As he walked, he saw a man in a black hoodie up ahead. He couldn't make out the person's features, but he did know that it wasn't someone he had been familiar with.
The man was tall, wearing a black hoodie and a pair of grey sweatpants. He had his hands in his pockets, and his head was lowered. It was almost like he didn't want his face to be seen. Izuku kept that in mind as they crossed paths. And as soon as they did, the man had turned around and got behind Izuku, putting a knife to his throat as Izuku lifted his head just enough to make way for the attempted criminal's hand.
"Don't make any sudden movements. If you do, I'll slit your throat!" The man spat, his voice almost crazed sounding. Just like he had thought, a drug addict.
"What do you want, sir? I'm sure we can come to a peaceful agreement here," Izuku said, trying to de-escalate the situation. In reality, he had hoped the man had tried something. Not that Izuku wanted to beat the snot out of this guy, but he wasn't going to lie and say that he wasn't pissed off that someone had dared try to mug him.
"Shut the fuck up! Now, you listen to me! You're going to hand over any valuables you have, and then you're going to say nothing to no one. You hear me!?" The man practically screamed as Izuku rolled his eyes. Of course, the man couldn't see him do that, but it was a simple gesture that showed just how much Izuku did not care about this punk.
But, just for curiosities sake….
"And if I don't?"
"THEN I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" The man shouted, kneeing Izuku in the back as he pretended to stagger forward, the blade of the knife grazing against his skin as it regenerated instantly. "Now hand everything over, you piece of shit!"
Well, he did escalate it. That gave him a reason to do this.
Izuku whipped around and clocked the man in the face so hard that when he fell to the ground, the ground shook, and the man's nose had been pushed inward to his face. When the hood came off, Izuku immediately recognized the person. Because the "man" wasn't a man and was actually someone from his old elementary school, granted now a teenager, but he couldn't ever mistake that pointed chin.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. Long Fingers," Izuku said, a smirk on his face as he picked the junkie up by his collar. He recognized that pointed chin and long hair from anywhere, though he never bothered to put his name to memory. His eyes were bloodshot, and what remained of his nose was bleeding profusely.
And the look he was getting from him was priceless. The shock, surprise, and more importantly fear within the junkie's bloodshot eyes was more than enough for Izuku.
"C-Cat eyes!? B-But I thought you w-went—" The junkie didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as one of Izuku's whips came out of his back, making whatever it was he had to say die in his throat. However, compared to how his whips usually were, there was something different about them that Izuku had been curious about for a good long while.
Ever since he had started eating other people, blood would occasionally drip from the whips, almost like a hypodermic needle. Now, granted, he had tried using his whips while they were dripping with blood on the fake pro heroes before, but they seemed to melt every time he had stabbed them. So, he assumed that was all the dripping blood did, melt them from the inside out. Of course, he'd eat the remains afterward, that way no one would have to clean that mess up, but the point still stood.
However, recently, a nagging part of his mind had been telling him to continue piercing people and injecting them with his blood. But each and every time, the fake heroes he injected would just melt. He didn't know why his mind was so focused on injecting people with blood, but he just assumed that it was his body telling him to experiment with his new power.
Sure, melting humans was fun to watch, but it got boring after a while. That didn't mean, however, he was just going to let this guy walk away now. Especially since he recognized him.
"I hope you don't mind, but you're going to become something of an experiment. I'm testing out a new ability my Quirk awakened a few months back. I hope you don't mind," Izuku said as the bone whip lurched back, and stung the junkie as a scorpion would when it was threatened. Izuku dropped the teen to the floor as his veins began to bulge, pulsate, and squirm within his body.
The junkie screamed in pain as he writhed on the floor. Izuku watched with confusion, seeing as this never happened before. The reaction had always been for the body to begin to decay at an accelerated rate, then melt into a puddle of nothingness. But this? This was different.
The junkie's skin began to shift in colour, turning a pukish green as his eyes began to drain of colour, and for the pupil to turn into a similar style to Izuku's own. The junkie's nose began to pop back out and into its normal place, the junkie's teeth sharpening and turning to something more akin to what a wolf's mouth would be full of. The junkie's hands turned into claws, and just like that, the junkie no longer screamed, no longer writhed, and no longer jerked.
The junkie slowly stood up, a growling sound coming from him as his eyes now bright green eyes with orange sclera stared at Izuku with an almost anticipating gleam. Izuku was confused. He had no idea what it was he was staring at, outside of the fact that he made it with his blood.
The Junkie from just two seconds ago, who had been writhing and screaming on the floor in utter agony, was now staring at him after transforming. It made no hostile movements toward him, staying completely still, almost as if it was waiting for something. Like a command. Almost as if it was… loyal to him.
"Face me." As Izuku said that, the Junkie turned to face him. From there, he could see just what it was that had happened. His eyes hadn't been deceiving him, his skin had changed from a tannish brown to a sickly greenish yellow. His eyes were green, while the sclera had been a vibrant orange. Its pupils were slit, similar to that of Izuku's own eyes. He couldn't see in the Junkie's mouth, but he had to assume that his teeth had changed, too. The Junkie's hands had also transformed, now looking more like Izuku's claws.
It was almost as if Izuku's blood transformed the Junkie… into another version of himself. Into a Demon. The black-haired teen hummed in contemplation, crossing his arms as he stood there. That was when he thought of something. "What is your name?" Izuku asked the Demon, who then lowered himself to one knee in a bowing position.
"My name is Ito, my Lord," the Demon said, its voice gravely. Izuku raised an eyebrow. Lord? He was this Junk—Ito's Lord? Was it because of his blood?
"But that makes no sense… every time I injected a fake hero with my blood, they melted from the inside out. What makes Ito so special?" Izuku thought as a contemplating expression made its way to his face. "This Demon… he's already loyal to me for no other reason than the fact that I injected him with my blood. He could help me hunt down fake heroes… or…. This could be the start of my rise to becoming Japan's Demon King. I've been building up a name for myself for 4 years, granted, I've only been known as The Hero Cannibal… but…. This could be a massive change."
"Ito," Izuku started, the Demon looking up at him with anticipation. "From here on out, you will be loyal to me, and to me alone. Your first course of action is to head back to the place you called home and devour your family. They will serve no purpose to you or me from here on out. Once you finish that, make sure nothing is left behind, and continue your life as normal. If you ever get hungry and wish to feast on human flesh, only do so in the dead of night, and only on criminals or who you deem as fake heroes. For the time being, civilians are to be left alone. Any deviation from those rules that I have set in place, and you will perish. And if anyone asks you who you work for, if ever at all, tell them this name: Muzan Kibutsuji. Do I make myself clear to you?"
Ito nodded, bowing his head. "Yes, my Lord."
"Very good," Izuku hummed. "Now leave. Do as your Lord commands!"
Without a second of hesitation, Ito stood up and walked past Izuku in the opposite direction of where he had originally been going. The bone whip that had been used to inject the blood into Ito slithered back into Izuku's spine as the black-haired teen smirked.
He now had a plan as to how to get rid of the Tsukauchi family. Of course, for the time being, he'd wait to see if he could up the chances of turning people into Demons rather than melting them. He would have to do various experiments, as well. Because with this new power he had at his disposal, it would mean that he could do a whole lot more than what he had originally thought.
That, and it also brought a new possibility to the table that hadn't expected.
Two bright yellow eyes and a toothy grin. A laugh as infectious as the most viral flu. A smile that radiated joy.
"Is it possible?" Izuku thought, not even noticing that he had stabbed his hand with his claws. He got the image out of his mind. He would need to experiment first before he tried something so reckless. A frown came to his face as he looked down at himself. "Would she even want to be my friend again after all this time? After all that I've done?"
Four years ago, Natsumi Nakime died due to being jumped and brutally assaulted by three thugs in an alleyway. Izuku then returned the favour tenfold and rushed Natsumi back to the hospital. She died before the doctors could have even attempted to save her life. Two heroes who went by the name of Altitude and Gale had stood around and let the whole thing happen.
They had been two feet away from the alleyway, in fact, they had been leaning up against the wall right next to the mouth of the alleyway, and heard it all go down. And yet, they did nothing to stop the horrible beating.
And they were the first two heroes that Izuku had killed in what would at the time become Izuku's new job—purging the country of fake heroes. Real, fake heroes, and not the crap that Stain did. It was also what would then later awaken his Demonic Urges, and what resulted in him devouring his mother, which then showed him what his purpose in life was, that being to become Japan's new Demon King.
And now, he could create Demons out of his own blood. Granted, it was only once, and he had only tried it on a living person. But… if he could resurrect the dead as Demons, that could mean he had the chance to bring Natsumi back. After 4 years of having no one to talk to, he could finally bring his best friend back from the dead.
For a moment he considered bringing back his mother if it worked, but he quickly discarded the idea. He didn't want to be faced with the person he had murdered. That would've left a bad taste in his mouth.
Again, this was all hypothetical. It wasn't set in stone. He first had to make sure that his blood could resurrect the dead, and how often it was that they turned into Demons and not a giant pile of flesh and blood soup on the ground.
And he'd do that tomorrow. He had too much excitement for one day.
-To Be Continued-
So… the first Demon, huh? Not who everyone thought it'd be, now was it? Don't worry about it, though. Ito over here is just a fodder Demon. But there will be more from where that came from.
Also, I hoped this chapter shows what the next little over-arcing story is going to be for a bit.
Also, also… YUICHIRO! It's not like I said that Muzan reincarnated into an alternate universe. I just said he reincarnated. So, yeah, I can get away with him existing. Trust me, he's more of an important character than just a cameo. How important, you might be asking? Well, that's for you to find out, now isn't it?
I also want to make known that you shouldn't get used to these frequent updates. I simply have a lot of free time on my hands, and I'm not working on any other stories at the moment, seeing as I'm taking a break from my big one.
Till next time, everyone. Peace!