Alright! We're back for another chapter. I know It's almost been a month since this thing was updated, but, I mean considering all the other stories that I'm writing, my schedule is kinda cluttered at the moment. Not that it'll ever change, in fact as the year goes on it'll probably get worse. But, such is the life of a Fanfic Author.

Now, last time we left off, Bakugo did a fuckie-wuckie, and now he has to get out of it, all the while not endangering a kid in the process. Just what is our explosive little devil gonna do? Well, it's about time we found out. So, after 13 chapters, the first legitimate fight scene! Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready? Because I am!

But before we do that….

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

Now, onto the chapter.

[Vol 2 – 7: Moving Forward – Part 3]

Bakugo grit his teeth, his ruby-red eyes glancing over at the small girl, Eri, hiding in the cupboard. She looked absolutely horrified, which was to be expected. His shoulders tensed, his eyes focused. He had to do something…. He just didn't know what.

If this had been himself from a year ago, he would've gone out guns-a-blazing, consequences be damned. But, right now, with a child's safety in jeopardy, and with these cannibals having heightened senses, he wasn't about to take that risk. Although, he was confused about one thing, that being the aforementioned heightened senses.

The brown-haired bitch made sense, namely because he didn't know what her Quirk was, but Ito having them didn't. Ito's Quirk made him elongate his fingers, not increase his senses. Whatever, regardless of that, he had to be really fucking careful with how he proceeded.

One wrong move and both himself and Eri would be killed. Shit, he hadn't even known the girl for more than five minutes, and he got her into trouble. Shit, the kid probably hated his guts right now. He wouldn't even blame her for thinking that way.

He looked over to Eri and motioned her to close the cupboard door. Much to his relief, the girl seemed to know what he meant, and Eri did just that.

"So long as she's safe, I might have a chance at taking these bastards out, Quirk Laws be damned, this can fall under self-defence. Plus, their villains, they don't have rights…." Bakugo thought, silently standing up from the door. Clenching his hand into a fist, he collected himself, closed his eyes, and envisioned his mother….

God, she must've been mortified. If this didn't pan out well, then he hoped that Izuku would look after his mom. These were cannibals, and villains. From the sounds of things, their Quirks were kinda ass, Ito's being the only good one there, at least, in his opinion. His Explosion would be more than enough to do significant damage to them. Not kill them, per se, but knock their asses out so he could escape with Eri, and call the cops and heroes.

With his mind made up, and his body more than ready, Katsuki Bakugo opened the door and stood in the hallway. Ito was waiting there, smirking at him. "Hiya there, Bakugo," Ito said as Bakugo bared his teeth, a small snarl escaping his lips as the black-haired villain raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "Whoa there Bakugo. What's got your panties in a twist, eh?"

"Don't "eh" me you piece of shit! You're a fuckin' murderer!" Bakugo snarled, popping off an explosion in his right hand. "First it's Cat eyes, but in his defence it was self-defence, and now it's you? Not only that, but you're a fucking cannibal! You sick bastard! How'd your family feel about that?!" Bakugo snapped, as Ito scoffed.

"Oh… how'd they feel? Probably shitty, considering I ate'em," Ito barked back, laughing as Bakugo roared, rage coming out of every pour in his body. Rushing down the hallway, he cocked his arm back and prepared to unleash an explosion, full power, at the bastard's face. But, instead of dodging, Ito just…. Stood there. Bakugo remained undeterred by whatever stupid thing he was planning, and once he got within arms reach of Ito, he unleashed the explosion.

With a powerful BOOM, the whole apartment shook, sending Ito through wall after wall, apartment after apartment—empty, might he add, until after the third wall, where Ito skidded to a halt, tripping over himself, and falling down to the ground, with half of his face missing.

And normally, that would've been it. Bakugo would've felt a small modicum of regret, but not much, and then he'd focus on the brunette, who looked shocked at the sheer power he had displayed.

But no… things couldn't have been simple. Because what happened next utterly confused, and stunned Bakugo.

Ito's head, the missing portion of it anyway, began to regenerate. It took around a second for it to be done, but it was done, and Ito seemed no worse for wear. In fact, he had a giant shit-eating grin on his face. "Nice one, Bakugo! But that ain't gonna be enough!"

In the blink of an eye, Ito, who had been three apartments away, was in front of him, arm cocked back into a strike. Bakugo put his arms up to block the blow, as the fist met his guard. Instead of going flying, Bakugo was sent through the ground, down two floors as his back seared with pain, as did his arms. He heard screaming coming from the other tenants as he pulverized their floors on his way down, and by the time he stopped falling, he had landed squarely on an elderly couple's dining table.

Groaning, Bakugo rolled off the table and fell to his hands and knees. His body felt broken, but, thanks to his adrenaline, he was mostly able to ignore it. Slowly, he began to stand up. The man of the two helped him to his feet, which he was thankful for.

"Young man, are you alright?" The elderly woman asked as Bakugo looked up from the hole. Ito was getting ready to jump down and chase after him. With panic in his eyes, he was about to direct them to go, when Ito fell through the floor, and with his arms crossed to his chest, as he landed, he swung his arms outward, his fingers, which were glowing red stretched out like whips, and slashed through both elderly people in a shower of blood and gore. Bakugo was barely able to duck and dodge the attack, but at what cost?

Ito laughed, staring at Bakugo, who was shaken. "Awe, shucks. I missed," Ito said, his tone casual, as he looked down at one of the heads of the slashed-apart elderly folk. Reaching down, Ito dug his fingers into one of the eye sockets, yanked it out, and popped it into his mouth like a piece of popcorn. Bakugo felt bile rush up his throat but quickly pushed it down as Ito let out a satisfied sigh. "Tastes like bubble gum. Anywho, where—"

Bakugo didn't let him finish, as he socked Ito in the jaw, before then giving him a point-blank explosion to the chest, which ripped through him like a hot knife through butter. The collateral damage behind him was bad, resulting in yet another destroyed wall, but instead of being launched, Ito stood still, as if nothing had happened in the first place.

Not letting that stop him, Bakugo kicked Ito's right knee out from under him, dropping him to the floor. As he fell, Bakugo blasted him with yet another explosion to the head, this time, he shot it off of him with an explosion. Then, he kicked Ito's body into the wall, before blasting Ito again with another explosion.

As his fury died down, and as he stared at Ito's body, his breathing ragged, he felt a cold chill wash down his spine. He had to be dead now, right? There was no way anyone could have their head blasted off of their body, and have a massive hole burrowed through their chest, and still be alive, right?

When Ito's body didn't move, Bakugo let out a sigh of relief, turning his back on Ito. He was about to exit the apartment and rush up to the floor the other villain was on when a laugh echoed throughout the apartment.

Spinning around, Bakugo watched in horror as Ito placed his head back on his neck, and as the hole in his chest began to slowly regenerate, organs included. Although, he noticeably looked shaky, and the wound seemingly regenerated slower than it did with his head. "Hehe… hey now, Bakugo. Don't you know not to turn your back on your opponent? You don't know if they have something up their sleeve or not!"

When Ito said that, as if he were drawing a gun, Ito whipped his right hand out, and pointed his index finger at him, the finger glowing a bright blue, before firing off a pulse of blue energy, which shot right through Bakugo's left shoulder, making the blond bomber stumble backward, but not before blasting Ito with another explosion, sending him through the door of the now deceased elderly couples apartment, and into the hallway.

Covering his shoulder wound with his hand, Bakugo gritted his teeth as he breathed heavily. He glanced down at the corpses and felt his stomach churn. There were limbs, sliced fingers, cut organs, and bone fragments scattered about the place.

He had to get out of here. Screw taking down the villains, he needed to grab Eri and get the fuck out of here right now. His arms were bruising pretty badly, and his forearms looked a little swollen. Chances were that his arms were either broken, or the bones were cracked. And if it was the latter, then goddamn, adrenaline was one hell of a pain nullifier.

Looking up at the hole in the floor, he saw the other cannibal monster staring back at him. He noticed the conflicted expression on her face, and for a second he swore he saw what looked to be sympathy in her eyes. Then, she looked up, her eyes widened, before she ran away from the hole, as Bakugo, by the skin of his bloody teeth, narrowly avoided an extended arm covered with red energy.

The wall was completely shattered from the attack, leaving a massive opening in the wall as the dimming sky became visible. Bakugo leapt out of the way of another extended arm, before blasting them both, a loud groan coming from the hallway. The hands grabbed the ground and slung shot Ito back into the room, a manic smile on his face.

"I gotta say Bakugo, you're pretty tough! But I should really end this now!" Ito declared, as his neck and arms outstretched to meters long, his arms turning a bright red as Bakugo stumbled back at the sight. It was like staring at a goddamn monster from those pre-quirk eras Anime that his cousins loved to watch. However, as much as he wanted to stand there and look upon the bastard, he had to do something.

There was an opening in the wall, one that Ito caused…. All he had to do was knock him out of the building, and then he'd have the chance to escape! If Ito wasn't on his trail, he could make a dash for Eri, exit the building as fast as possible and call for help.

Readying himself, Bakugo dodged two swings from Ito, who laughed all the while. Ducking and dodging, while trying to look for an opening, was something that he found out was really difficult with an injured back and arms. What made things worse was that he felt the adrenaline wearing off, and he knew he wouldn't last much longer if he didn't have it.

Arms flung at barely dodgeable speeds, as Bakugo used his weaker explosions to parry the attacks, making Ito hiss. The puke-skinned monster swung his head at Bakugo, maw agape, and ready to chomp down on whatever it could. The blond bomber tried to dodge but found himself unable to. Ito's razor-sharp teeth sunk into his undamaged shoulder, drawing blood and ripping out a chunk of his flesh in the process. Bakugo screamed as he was slapped back into the wall after Ito had chomped his shoulder.

Bakugo tried to will himself to get up, but found his body not responding to him. He watched as Ito ate the chunk of flesh he had ripped out of his shoulder, as his arms and neck retracted. Warm crimson-red liquid dripped from his shoulder and down his shirt, as his breathing intensified. He tried to move either of his arms, but they didn't want to, and then, the pain that he was supposed to have felt washed over him, as he hissed in agony.

"You know, Bakugo…." Ito began, as he approached the blond bomber. The cannibal monster thing that Ito had become stared him down, wiping the blood from his mouth as he spoke. "You almost had me a couple of times. I honestly don't know how I survived both the times you did damage to my head. I for sure thought I was a goner."

As Ito said that, he grabbed Bakugo by the throat, and slowly raised him off the ground, Bakugo's arms dangling by his sides uselessly as the swelling only got worse. Gasping for air, Bakugo kicked at the air, squirming, much to Ito's appeared amusement. "I grow tired of you…. Just die already. I—"

The sound of a sword cutting through flesh and bone reverberated through the air, as Ito's eyes widened. The grip around Bakugo's throat dropped completely, as the blond bomber fell to the floor with a thud. Ito's head slid off his shoulders, except, this time, Ito's body became completely unresponsive, slumping down to the ground in a heap, as his body began disintegrating.

When Bakugo looked up to see who it was who had chopped off Ito's head, he was greeted by a lime green and black-haired man, who looked to be in his early 20s. His eyes were a dark purple, with cat-like slits. He was wearing a completely black Haori and red traditional-styled shirt, and a pair of baggy white Hakama pants, held together by some sort of rope-like belt. There was a sword sheath on his hip and a sword in his right hand. On his arm was a tag and this tag read "Dead Silent".

The man looked at Bakugo, and smirked, reaching a hand out to him. "C'mon, let's get you to the hospital. You're going to need it."

"W-what a-about—"

"The other Demon? She fled with a little girl in her arms. She was faster than I could've caught up with. Now c'mon, you're gonna die without medical attention. You're lucky to have survived this long," the man said as Bakugo's eyes widened. He tried to protest, only for a tag to be placed on his head, which had appeared seemingly out of nowhere in a red liquid-like veil, that read "sleep."

And then, Bakugo was out like a light.

xxXXxxXXxx

When Izuku felt Ito's presence fade from his mind, the green-and-black-haired teen's first instinct was to grit his teeth and bear the loss. He knew Ito had died because he could if only slightly, feel his death from across the city. He could feel the death of one of the Demons he had created. He honestly had no idea why or how Ito died, but he wanted answers.

Answers he knew he wasn't going to get. At least, not yet, anyway.

At least Ochako Uraraka was still alive. And, if his last conversation was to be believed, with Eri in tow. That meant he now had to open his home to two more people. One of those people was Eri, and the other being Ochako Uraraka, assuming she wasn't going to try and explain to her parents that she was, well, not human anymore, but a man-eating Demon. If they accepted her after that, then that showed just how much they cared for her, otherwise, the smart idea would've been to stay with him after dropping off Eri.

He hoped that they weren't being followed. And, if they were… well, whoever came against him at that moment wouldn't exactly make it out alive.

However, right now, he was not at his home.

No. He was somewhere else.

He was at Musutafu City's Local Graveyard, to be exact.

He had but one task he wanted to do. Something he should've done weeks ago. Something that he needed to do. Something that he wanted to do for so long.

Staring down at Natsumi Nakime's grave, Izuku closed his eyes. He hadn't once visited the grave since she died. It brought back far too many negative memories. Far too many times where he had cried himself to sleep, remembering that day. The day when his life took a dip into the deep end. The day he had lost all faith in heroism.

Some may call it corny. Others would call it generic. But to him… it was his life. His red, crimson eyes overlooked the finely kept grave, as the flowers that had been left by her parents had fully wilted. It seemed as if they didn't visit her often either, if not at all after that first visit. Perhaps it was for the same reasons. Perhaps it was for worse. Izuku wasn't one to pry into a grieving family's ways of coping.

A thousand different questions zoomed through his mind all at once. Was this even morally correct? Would Natsumi even want to be alive after all this time? Would Natsumi want to remain dead? After everything she went through that day, would she even consider him a friend? What would she think of him now? Would she even remember him?

Those questions, and more, lived in his head rent-free. They came up whenever he thought about it, thought about bringing Natsumi back. A part of him feared that she'd hate him. Hate him for betraying his original goal, hate him for killing and devouring people, be they fake heroes or otherwise.

Opening his eyes, Izuku came back from that thought process with only one answer. And that answer was quite simple: He didn't care what Natsumi would think of him. All he cared about was her being alive again. She'd still be 11 years old upon her revival, and she'd need to attend school, somehow. And, the more he thought about it, the more he thought that she'd make a great older sister for Eri, seeing as Eri was going to be living with them now.

That, and he didn't want to endanger Natsumi's parents, because he actually liked them. Which was why he brought the corpse of Electevire with him for Natsumi's berserker-like state to feed on until she regained consciousness of her human self. Izuku sighed, dropping the body in front of the grave. His bone whips came from his back, the fleshy extensions that allowed him to pump his blood into the bodies he turned growing on the edges, while six others burrowed into the ground to rip the coffin out of the ground.

Once the coffin came to the surface, Izuku flipped the lid off and was greeted by the years-old rotting corpse of his friend. He recoiled in disgust but expected nothing less. It was several years old, and while most of the flesh had rotted away, leaving bone, he knew it mattered not. He could bring the dead back to life. Question was, just how restored would she be?

Clearing his head of his thoughts, he had the infector whips, as he was now calling them, pierce her skin, as he began to pump blood into her long dried-out, mummified body. After three minutes of pumping enough blood into her body to restart her heart, her skin quickly began to regrow, and cracked bones began to mend. Any organs that had been festering and rotting were quickly replenished, along with any missing muscle having been replaced.

Her hair began to regrow out, replacing the old disgusting hair, with silky white locks. When her eyes opened again, yellow irises with what appeared to be rainbow sclera bore witness to the world, as her teeth bore themselves to the world. The colour of her skin was an ashen pale, much like his own, as slowly, she began to sit up, the only thing covering her modesty being a thin drape of whatever remained of her clothing after having been left to rot for the last four years, which wasn't much.

His heart skipped a beat.

His best friend… was alive again. It made tears well up in Izuku's eyes, as Natsumi's golden yellow irises widened with hunger upon making contact with the corpse of Electevire. Leaping from her casket in an animalistic frenzy, Natsumi's now re-animated body leapt onto and began swiftly devouring the false hero.

And all Izuku could do was smile, knowing that his best friend was alive again. And soon… her consciousness would come with it….

xxXXxxXXxx

Confusion. It was the first thing that came to her mind. What was going on? Where was she? How was she? What was she? Those four questions plagued her mind only briefly before one underlying emotion took her mind over completely.

Hunger.

She was hungry—starving, more like it. And she smelled food. Her eyes briefly glimpsed at the human body laying before her, but instead of feeling fear or disgust, something that she assumed she was supposed to feel, all that washed over her was the salivating need to eat.

And eat she did.

She knew she wasn't fully in control of herself, comparing her base carnal desire to eat to that of a starving lion. And while Natsumi knew what she was doing was wrong, there was nothing her brain was doing to prevent her from doing it.

She tore the skin from muscle, and muscle from bone. She ripped limbs off and devoured fingers. She ripped open the stomach and slurped back the intestines like ramen noodles. She ate the kidneys and the liver like they were nothing but snacks. She devoured the corpse of what appeared to be a hero with no remorse or no hesitation, and it disturbed her.

Disturbed her to the point of fearing herself for being that weak. For allowing herself to fall into something like that.

But then it dawned on her.

How the hell was she alive?

And then it all came rushing back to her.

The pain.

The agony.

The violence.

The bloodshed.

Izuku carried her in his arms, rushing her to the hospital.

Doctors placed her on a stretcher.

Her want to just… fall asleep….

And then… nothing.

She had died. She had died and that was it. There was nothing but a dark, black, inky abyss. And then, her eyes opened again. She could breathe again. She could… think again.

She was alive, somehow.

And the first thing she did was eat. And she ate a person's corpse. Nothing else came to her mind when she saw that body, other than "Food" and "Eat".

And then, she saw someone who she never thought she'd see ever again. Although, he had gotten taller, and… bulkier. His eyes… she still remembered his eyes as if they were something that she could never forget. The smile on his face, the tears falling down his cheeks… his messy green-and-black hair….

Izuku Midoriya looked at her, and she looked back. He had grown so much taller. And… he looked older—like, he looked like he was in his mid-teens. He knelt to her and placed a hand on her cheek. There was a sense of longing in his eyes, and pain….

Oh god, the pain. It was almost overwhelming. Izuku… for however long she had been dead, seemed to have suffered quite a bit. And… she didn't even know why.

And then, he hugged her. He hugged her tightly, and it felt like she was choking to death because of it. But… where she would normally beg him to let go, she didn't… need to. Because… she wasn't choking to death, for some reason.

"I've missed you…" his voice was hoarse. "I-I've missed you so, so much…!" As he whispered, she slowly reciprocated the hug, burying her face in his shoulder. It was just… instinct. She had a feeling it was because of him that she was alive again. She also had a very sick feeling that Izuku had killed that hero. But, right now, she was more focused on being alive again, moreso than any moralistic outcome of how she was brought back to life.

"I've… missed you too, Midori…." Natsumi spoke, her voice dry and hoarse. She needed to drink something, anything. Izuku let go of her and produced a dress of sorts that was designed to drape over the body. She stared at it, quizzically, silently asking him why, to which, he immediately caught onto—his whip-speed smarts being something she remembered liking so fondly about him—as he spoke.

"Uh… as much as I'm glad to have you back…. You're still, what, 11, yeah?" Izuku asked as Natsumi scoffed.

"12, Midori, get it right!" Natsumi replied as Izuku sighed, shaking his head with a small, goofy smile on his face.

"Well, as a 15-year-old, to avoid looking creepy to the nearest passerby, please cover yourself. I would rather not look upon a naked 12-year-old. Note me staring at your forehead," Izuku pointed out, as Natsumi inhaled sharply, snagging the dress, and running behind a tree. Once she slipped it over herself, she walked out from behind the tree, glancing at her new apparel, if only for the moment.

It was a blank white, knee-high dress, with yellow flower designs decorating the thing from head to toe. It honestly made her feel old but in a good way. It had only been when she had put the dress on did she notice her clothing had… deteriorated completely, only leaving what was left of the collar of her shirt, and some spare scrappings of the pants she wore on that day.

"There," Izuku began, as a thin smile took up his visage. "That's better. Now, help me bury this body," Izuku continued, gesturing to the corpse she had just… eaten a moment ago. The idea sickened her, but strangely enough, she wasn't… freaking out about consuming, well, you know, a person. Izuku seemingly noticed this and bowed his head slightly. "There is much I need to fill you in on. And… about your continued existence, and how that might not be the last person you eat. Be they dead or alive."

With that ominous note, and a chill forming down her spine, Natsumi reluctantly helped Izuku put the corpse of the hero she had mostly eaten into her casket—which in of itself mortified her, you know, what with having JUST been resurrected and all; added onto the fact that they were replacing her body with someone else's—before Izuku placed the casket back into the ground, and reburied it, making it seem as if the grave hadn't been disturbed in the slightest.

After the deed was done, Natsumi looked at Izuku, who stared at her grave one last time, taking a deep breath, and exhaling. "You want answers, right?"

"Yeah, I do…. What happened to you? I'm going off on a limb here, and assuming you killed that hero?" Natsumi asked, morbid curiosity in her tone of voice as Izuku… frowned.

"That… monster wasn't a hero. He was a sex offender, masquerading as one. He had a license, and he did save people, but he was no hero. And never would be. Not properly, anyway. He was a predator, using his power and influence to solicit minors for sex. I killed him on behalf of all of his victims. And, you ate him because of what you are now," Izuku said, before looking over to her, his crimson-red eyes flaring in the darkness.

"What… am I then? I mean… am I a Zombie? That'd be cool!" Natsumi said as she rose her arms up like that of a generic, cartoonish zombie would, and meandered her way over to Izuku, moaning "brains" in a low, cartoony tone of voice, sticking her tongue out to add to the whole act. It made Izuku smirk, before he shrugged, snickering as Natsumi smiled, putting her arms back down, and dropping the act.

"Technically, if you want to chalk it up to that. But, being a zombie implies you have no proper intelligence. No. What you are, and what I am, is that we are Demons. Think of a fusion between Vampires and Oni's, but… well, real and… well, what we are," Izuku began, before reaching a hand out to her. "Come. Tomorrow, If you so choose, we'll go see your parents. But seeing as it's nighttime, how about I introduce you to my new friends? Besides, you'll get more answers there, because I don't think discussing this in public is a good idea."

There was a small part of her that hesitated. But, then again, having access to a mirror to see what she looked like after so long was tempting. And… well, she desperately needed a shower. She probably reeked, and… well, smelt like a rotting corpse. So, she took Izuku's hand, and off they went.

xxXXxxXXxx

Yushiro exited Musutafu City Hospital with his sword sheathed to his waist and his Haori blowing in the cold night wind. He was right… and unfortunatly, his worst fears were coming true. There was a new Demon King, and a new Demon King meant that more innocent people were going to be torn apart and devoured for the monstrous race—his monstrous race—to sustain themselves.

What was worse, was that, if his theory was correct about their being a new Demon King were to be true, then that meant that this Demon King was created with the immunity to sunlight, seeing as their M.O. as The Hero Cannibal showed that they stayed out during the day, and feasted upon the flesh of those who they deem to be "fakes."

Yushiro couldn't lie to himself, if the rumours surrounding those heroes were true, then perhaps this Demon King was doing humanity a service. And while his base carnal instincts told him that it was treasonist to try and kill one of his kin, he knew damn well that it didn't matter to the other Demons who were innocent and who weren't.

He also knew that, even if he had mastered Sun Breathing, which he hadn't, no one other than the Kamado or Tsugikuni Blood-Line could, even with the breathing styles he had mastered, with perhaps the exception of perhaps Insect Breathing with its use of Wisteria Poison, he stood no chance against the second coming of Muzan Kibutsuji.

It was why he had recruited the likes of Stain, aka Akaguro Chizome, the only remaining descendent of Giyuu Tomioka. With a Quirk like bloodcurdle, it would help immensely. The only issue is that using such a Quirk while Demon Slaying ran the risk of the person turning into a Demon. But, the short-term paralysis that it gave made it easier to decapitate Demons if they fell under the clutches of said Quirk.

If only he used it for good, rather than evil….

Yushiro sighed, looking up at the starry night sky. A frown formed on his face, as he thought about his next move. He hoped that the Demon he killed, and the Demon he saw in the house were the only two Demons that had been created. Because if there were more, then disaster could already be being spelt. If enough Demons were created, it could drive Japan back into a post-technology era, given enough time, that is.

Walking away from the Hospital's entrance, Yushiro crossed his arms as he continued to think about what to do. There were still a few people he could contact. But… he knew that it would be risky. Perhaps he'd save them for later. For one thing, he didn't want to drag that boy he had just rescued into this mess.

He hoped that the boy wouldn't seek him out, but the chances of him doing so were far higher than him not. So, he was going to have to prepare for a potential guest. The next thing he was going to have to do was inform Nedzu, of U.A. Academy, and the other headmasters of the academies around Japan.

Unlike the police, they knew about Muzan Kibutsuji. They knew the danger he represented in the past. If he told them that there was a potential for his second coming to be just as powerful as the previous one was, he'd hoped that they would act upon it with seriousness.

In fact, he had heard the name tossed around by a few school girls walking by his shop one day. They mentioned how a new kid, named Muzan Kibutsuji, had just started attending their school. He apparently worked at the local Mc Donalds. If that was true….

"If it truly is him, he'd recognize me instantly. Still… I have to confront them. I need to know whether or not this was a coincidence, or… if it is the real deal. I know I have no hope of killing him, no one truly does. Not unless they can destroy every cell of his body in one single strike. But if I can at least see if he is the monster who he was in his past life, or if he isn't, then perhaps, maybe… just maybe, my fear is unfounded."

Yushiro uncrossed his arms and stared at the entrance of his shop. He knew his wishes and prayers were probably him hoping for the reality of the situation to not be the case. He knew damn well that any Demon King would be just as vicious, if not more so, than Muzan Kibutsuji. And if this Muzan Kibutsuji was the same as the previous one, what with him creating Demons, he knew that he had his work cut out for him.

Right now, Chizome was off doing his own thing. He wasn't going to stop him. What he did in his past time, was what he did in his past time. If it meant killing fake heroes, or, well… "fake" heroes, he'd let him do it. So long as innocent civilians stayed out of his line of sight.

Entering his home, which doubled as his place of business, Yushiro closed the door behind him and approached his laptop—one of the only things he liked about this new era of technological advancement—opened up his Email, and began to type out a message to every headmaster of Japan's Top Three Hero Schools, U.A., Ketsubutsu High School, and Shiketsu Academy.

With the new year coming around, and with entrance exams just opening for people to sign up to take them, he hoped that contacting them now wasn't too late. He needed to warn the new generation of Heroes, of just how deadly Demons were.

Otherwise… their deaths would be swift…. And the future would be lost.

Should his conversation with this new Muzan Kibutsuji go wrong, he'd have no choice… but to start up The Demon Slayer Corp once again. With or without the Ubuyashiki family being around anymore.

xxXXxxXXxx

A man shrouded in darkness hummed to himself, as a variety of medical equipment stared, watching the news. Yet another was found eaten to the bone, and yet another pest out of his and his successors' way. When he first heard of the man-eating Hero Cannibal, he thought they'd be caught and weeded out within the coming months. But when they persisted for almost 4 years, they caught his attention.

With both The Hero Killer running amok, causing chaos for Hero Society and this new wannabe Hero Killer who ate his foes rather than simply killing them, he had to say that he was intrigued by his presence.

He wondered… would it be possible to get such a villain into the fold? What would it cost him? What was their Quirk? Who were they, exactly? How could they blackmail them into joining The League of Villains? Tomura Shigaraki was going to need some underlings, or perhaps an equal partner to run the clan.

As much as he put faith in Tomura, he knew that he couldn't do it in his current state, and with his current power. He was too immature, too rash. For as much as Doctor Daruma Garaki told him this, he still believed in Tomura, far more than he believed in whoever the doctor had picked or suggested.

Kai Chisaki, his first option, hated the idea of Quirks, despite having quite the powerful one of his own. His second option, Touya Todoroki, burnt down the entire orphanage the doctor had been running for farming Quirks and ran away. His Quirk was too powerful for his body, anyway, so he wasn't an option either, seeing as he was probably going to drop dead in the next 4 months—at least, that had been the thought at the time. Interestingly, after a decade, he reappeared again as Dabi. So perhaps he had been wrong about the young man? Whatever the case might have been. Tomura Shigaraki, aka, Tenko Shimura was his best bet as his successor.

Not only was it ironic, but he had the right amount of hatred and the right amount of power to become his next vessel. Not that Tomura knew that was the case, but he didn't need to know in the first place.

However, as previously mentioned, he was too immature at the moment. And while his body wasn't going to die on him too soon, he was still growing weak, and his longevity Quirks were slowly becoming obsolete. If he didn't turn Tomura into a new vessel in the coming decade, he was going to die, and along with him, his entire empire.

He needed to speed up Tomura's mental maturity. So, he hoped that this Hero Cannibal person would be the perfect fit for someone to help the manchild grow. For as much as he respected Kurogiri, he was a high-end Nomu first, and a person last. He would listen to every command Tomura would give him, and not question him even for a moment, unless the idea was truly stupid.

But… if someone, who he was betting on being a sane individual rather than a maniac as the news was trying to assert, were to help Tomura grow into his own, and be powerful enough to not be scared by Tomura's Decay and threats, then perhaps he could get Tomura to grow out of his manchild phase, and grow into a proper adult.

And then, once he accomplished that… he'd have Dr. Garaki begin the metamorphosis phase, and Tomura Shigaraki's body would be his.

All For One smiled. "Kurogiri," the ancient human said, as a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared in the darkness. The gaseous humanoid wearing a black waistcoat, white shirt, light green pants and black shoes took full form before All For One, before bowing.

"Yes, Master. What is it that you require of me?" Kurogiri asked as All For One's expression turned serious, the smile vanishing as he spoke.

"Identify, and bring me The Hero Cannibal. Use whatever methods you need. I wish to meet the person behind the title. I believe he can help in Tomura's growth as a person, and, as a villain. Don't you agree, doctor?" All For One asked, as a man with gear-like glasses, covered in shadow, huffed.

"That cannibalistic brute? Hmm… depending on who he is, and depending if he's all there in the head, there's a chance… but I wouldn't assume anything, All For One. He could be unstable, just like Shigaraki. That would create an echo chamber of stupidity if you ask me," Dr. Garaki replied as All For One hummed.

"Perhaps, but…. I am a betting man. And all bets go toward that I'm right. If he does not agree, I will simply steal his Quirk, and have him turned into a Nomu. That way, we both benefit from this. Right, doctor?" All For One asked, to which Dr. Garaki laughed.

"Yes! Oh, you are truly a genius, master! I cannot wait!" And with that, Dr. Garaki disappeared. Kurogiri did as he was told, and All For One was left in silence, his smile returning. The future was looking grim… and he loved it.

-To Be Continued in Vol. 3 – 1: Choices, and Consequences – Part 1