MHA Demons Tale

Chapter 1: Out of the Darkness

Kira Takahashi heaved a huge sigh as he closed the front door to his house. He pushed his long black hair out of his face, his arm throbbing as he did so. His arm was injured from his most recent encounter with her. Before he did anything, he needed to see what damage had been done and add it to the mental list of injuries he had been making for the past decade.

Kira was similar to 80% of the world's population: in that he was born with a unique ability, known as a Quirk. Quirks manifested themselves in all kinds of weird and wonderful ways, but Kira often found himself wishing that he was Quirkless rather than be cursed with the ability he had developed.

Kira's Quirk was Demon Fire, which allowed him to generate purple flames from his hands. Unfortunately to Kira it also gave him a pair of devil horns on his head, which had earned him a decade's worth of bullying, name-calling and torment by the hands of one of his classmates in particular: Mira Sasaki. The mere thought of her name caused Kira to clench his uninjured fist tightly.

Sasaki was a Christian, a self-proclaimed soldier of God. She had been brought up in a Christian household and thought she was God's gift to the world. Kira firmly believed that there was no God in this world, for someone like her to exist and get away with her bullying and vicious attacks on him or that if God did exist, then he had one messed up sense of humour and morality.

Kira then heard the voice of his father call out from upstairs shortly after he closed the door. He was taking his shoes off when he heard his father saying, "Is that you, son? Or has a burglar entered my house? In which case: hello burglar, take anything that belongs to my wife!"

Kira simply rolled his eyes at his dad's bad joke. "It's me, Dad. And what crook would actually take that seriously?" Kira replied to his father. He couldn't help the smile that split over his face at his new companion who came plodding out of the living room. "Hoshi!"

The enormous white dog ambled over to him, clearly eager for Kira to pet him. "Hey, you big polar bear," Kira greeted him, stroking Hoshi's fluffy head with his uninjured hand. He caught sight of his father Kai Takahashi coming down on his stairlift and moved his downstairs wheelchair into place. "Hi, Dad."

"Hello, son. Anything worth reporting happen today?" Kai asked, heaving himself out of the stairlift and into the wheelchair.

Kira sighed, glancing at Hoshi. "Nothing, Dad."

"That means something but you don't want to tell," said Kai, raising an eyebrow at his son. "I won't push you about it. I'm not the Goose, after all."

"While you're at it, don't go telling her either. I'd rather not deal with her going off on a rant again. Especially if she's had a bad day at work. You know what he's like."

Kira and his father were referring to his mother Fey Takahashi, who was the sole provider of the house and to put it lightly, her job was less than easy as she was a Pro Hero ranked in the top 50 heroes. Making it harder was her boss who, in her words, was aggravating and self centred to hell. The Flame Hero and number 2 Hero, Endeavour.

Ever since Kai had retired, Fey had to work at the Endeavour agency to make enough money for them to get by comfortably. It wasn't exactly what she wanted but it was a sacrifice she was willing to make for her family. Endeavour was not a person she wanted to work for, but she gritted her teeth and went along with it anyway as she wanted nothing but the best for her family.

Fey was aware of the bullying that Kira was suffering, and had complained to the school multiple times to no avail. As a result, she was incredibly protective and any mention of bullying or torment set her off. Because of this, Kira often kept quiet simply because he didn't want to stress his mother out. He also kept himself to his room when at home normally so he wouldn't have to confront her about it.

Kira sighed again, rubbing his temples: he could feel a monster headache coming on. "You need anything, Dad? I'm going to my room otherwise," he said to Kai, turning to him.

Kai shook his head at his son. "No, you go on," he told him as Kira gave Hoshi one last pet before his footsteps reached his father's ears.

It was Kai's turn to sigh then as he wheeled himself into the living room. His son was miserable, and had been ever since his Quirk had manifested. Recently though, even he could tell that Kira's mentality had been getting worse. While he had never been the most sociable person, Kai felt as though nobody would know Kira existed unless he came out of his room.

Something had to give, this couldn't continue. Kira had done nothing to deserve any of this. The Takahashis had considered all options available in the past to solve this, however there always seemed to be an obstacle preventing them from doing so. As a result, Kira's misery continued.

The door opened a second time, this time revealing Fey Takahashi, also known as the Angelic Hero: Valkyrie. Fey was an average heighted woman, with dark blonde hair reaching her shoulder blades and tired blue eyes. Protruding from her back were a pair of pure white angel wings, for which she had to have specially modified clothes to accommodate. "I'm home!" she called.

"Hi, honey. Living room," Kai called back, as Fey went into the living room to give him a hug. "How was work?"

"Oh, you know. Same old Endeavour," she replied with an eyeroll, sitting down on the couch next to her husband. "Is Kira home?"

"In his room. I've never seen that kid so miserable," said Kai, his eyes downcasting. "It's getting worse."

"I didn't think it could've gotten any worse," said Fey worriedly. She could practically feel any good mood she may have previously had draining out of her at the mention of her son's predicament.

"No, it's gotten worse. I'm worried about him, Fey. The boy holes himself up in his room when he's not at school. He wasn't like this a year ago, was he?" Kai asked, although he already knew the answer.

Fey shook her head. "You're right, he wasn't. But we've exhausted most of our options, because of one reason or another."

"Well," Kai began, leaning forward in his wheelchair. "There is one thing we haven't actually tried yet. He's close to his fifteenth birthday now, meaning he'll be going to high school soon."

"And we've already agreed we're not sending him to Fukuhara High," said Fey firmly. She knew the name alone would drag up unpleasant memories for Kira.

Kai nodded in agreement. "Yes, that was never up for debate. I've been thinking about a place that would probably really help, and if we keep it quiet then there's no chance that Sasaki girl would follow him there," he told his wife.

Fey had a feeling she knew where this was going. "Are you talking about U.A.?" she asked.

Kai shrugged. "We both went there. We both loved it. And considering you're my personal historian, what was his biggest dream as a child?" he replied with a small cheeky smile.

Fey instantly knew the answer to that. "Simple, to be like us. To be a hero," she said, with a hint of nostalgia crossing her face. "But so much has changed since then. I doubt he even still has that dream. He's not mentioned it in years."

Kai smiled. "A dream like that doesn't just go away. I wouldn't say he's lost his dream. Just-" Kai seemed to be casting around for the right word to use. "Repressed it."

Fey sighed, rubbing a hand down her face. "You could be right there. But it has to be up to him in the end. We can't force him into anything, only encourage him," she told him, meeting his gaze.

Kai held her gaze lovingly. "If it gets him away from there, it'll change him forever," he said, running a hand through his wife's hair. "We'll talk to him after dinner."

"Yes," she agreed. "We'll talk in his room, that's his safe space."

Fey got up to get dinner started, Kai wheeling into the kitchen after her to assist. Neither spoke a word more on the matter as they began to cook their dinner. Instead, Kai elected to do what he did best, bombarding his wife with bad jokes which annoyed her to the point where she banished him from the kitchen and into the living room with the dog, who had been sitting suspiciously close to them while they cooked.

Up in his room, Kira could smell the aroma wafting from the kitchen as he nursed his injuries. However he couldn't bring himself to look forward to it, as he just saw it as one step closer to being back in Fukuhara Junior High and back to Mira Sasaki.

He hated his life. More often than not now, he would find himself thinking: what was the point? He had been called a "terrifying monster" so much that he began to believe it. He shut himself off from everyone who may have supported him, believing they deserved better than him. Anyone else was too scared to try and oppose Mira's beliefs, as then they would be on the receiving end of her torment. He had nobody in Fukuhara.

"Kira! Dinner's ready!" Kira heard his mother call up to him. Sighing, he pushed down on his cut arm hard to stick a plaster on before rolling his sleeve down and heading downstairs, passing by Hoshi on his way.

He entered the kitchen and sat down in front of his plate, inhaling the smell of the curry. He said his thanks for the food, picked up his cutlery and dug in, not realising just how hungry he was.

As Kira ate, he kept to his normal small talk and question dodging, particularly from Fey. When they had finished eating, Kira took the plates and began to clean them as per the tradition in the house. Fey watched him, her heart breaking as she noticed he was neglecting to use his right arm.

After he finished washing the plates, Kira quickly left for his bedroom as he usually did. However this time was slightly different, as a few minutes later he heard a knock on his door. When he opened he saw his mother, who he quickly let in as he knew better to argue.

"Hi Mom. I did my homework before dinner. Check it if you want," Kira said as he lay down on his bed.

"That's good, but that's not why I'm here," Fey replied as she sat down on the end of his bed. "This can't carry on, Kira."

"What can't?" Kira asked, hoping she wasn't going to say what he thought she would.

"Your life at Fukuhara," Fey stated. Kira groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Kira, I wouldn't be where I am as a hero if I wasn't observant. And both me and your father can tell you're miserable."

"What can we do about it though?" Kira cried out, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He had bottled everything up for so long, and now the floodgates were opening. "Nothing ever changes! I'm going to be miserable for the rest of my life as long as she's in it!"

Fey pulled Kira into a hug and waited until he had calmed down a little before she spoke. "Your father and I have been talking, and we have decided that you're not going to Fukuhara for high school."

Kira's head shot up at the news, looking his mother in the eyes. "I'm not?" he asked, hopeful that he didn't mishear.

Fey shook her head. "Absolutely not. Sending you back there would be out of the question. The name alone drags up bad memories."

Fey was correct. Kira had inherited a very rare trait from her: an eidetic memory. It was very rare they forgot anything. Because of it, Kira was especially bright for his age. However, having a memory like that wasn't all good, as Fey herself knew. The torment had been all the more traumatising for Kira as he couldn't forget it, and simply mentioning things could lead to him slipping into his memory and reliving it vividly.

"Your father had an idea, but I want to see what you think of it," said Fey, Kira nodding at her to continue. "Do you still want to be a hero?"

Kira froze. He hadn't thought of that for years, but he should have known his mother wouldn't have forgotten it. He'd given up on the idea about seven years ago, the torment from his bully getting to him so much that he didn't think he would ever be able to.

"I, don't know," he replied truthfully. "I haven't thought about it for so long. After all, who would want a monster to be a-"

"You are not a monster," Fey cut him off firmly. "And you don't become a hero because of what others think about you. You become a hero because it's your dream, and no one can ever take that from you. Understand?"

Kira nodded. "D-do you really think I could?" he asked uncertainly.

"Well, it would take a lot of hard work. You'd have to train up for the practical exam in ten months' time, which I will be honest, is not easy. You'd have to study for the written exam, but I have faith in you when it comes to written work. The question is, do you want to commit to that?" Fey asked finally, holding Kira's gaze.

Kira bit his lip: it all seemed too good to be true. But there was one thing lurking at the back of his mind. "Would it really change things? What if Sasaki follows me there?" he asked worriedly. "If she did, nothing would change!"

"This is where we have to be clever," said Fey with a ghost of a smile. "This was my idea. But it all hinges on secrecy. We tell no one, you tell no one and we make it crystal clear to the teachers that we want this to be kept quiet and threaten to press charges to make sure they do. This way, Sasaki will think you'll be going to Fukuhara and will stay there thinking you will be but you won't.

"You'll be safe at the most prestigious hero school in the country, maybe even the world," Fey finished, smiling at her son.

Kira's breath caught in his throat. "You mean . . . U.A.? Like you and Dad?"

Fey nodded. "Yes, I do mean U.A. hence why I said you'd have to work hard. Do you want to do this? And don't think about what anyone else thinks, not even me and your father. Think about what you want," she told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Kira's eyes turned downwards. For the first time, he felt hopeful. That there was a glimmering chance that he wasn't a monster. That for once, he felt as though there was light in his life again. He realised for the first time in years that he wanted to be a hero.

Kira looked up at his mother, his eyes alight with hope. "I want to do this. No, I'm going to do this. I will do this, Mom. I promise I won't let you down. If this means my life is going to get better, I'm going to do the best I can!" he vowed, his heart thumping with excitement.

"It won't be easy," Fey reminded him gently. "But I'll support you every step of the way."

She turned towards the door, where his father had been sitting silently for who-knows how long. "Will you support him, Kai?" she asked with a smile, as Kira turned to the door in surprise as he had no idea his father was there.

Kai sighed loudly, folding his arms. "Small chance of success, certainty of physical pain? What are we waiting for?" he exclaimed as his wife and son burst out laughing.

And this was how Kira Takahashi's path to becoming a hero began.