Originally, I had planned to release this before The New Year. But, as it would seem, I clearly failed that goal. Oops. Well, despite that, here's the chapter anyway. Now, I know that people wish for longer chapters, and I understand why, but they are as long as they are for a reason. It's to A. Build tension and make people want to come back for more. And B. I can only go so far without getting writer's block. This chapter, at least the actual length of the chapter, is around 6,000 words, if you discount the author's note, so a pretty decent-sized chapter if you ask me.

That being said, there are a few people who I wanted to give my thanks before we begin the chapter. So, with that being said, I'm gonna do that right now.

The first person I want to thank is Donuthair5618. For almost the majority of 2022, they have been working with me on a crossover between one of my other stories, Dynamite And A Laserbeam – Redux (check it out by the way, if you like this, and you enjoy it because of my writing, I think you'll like that one, too. It's now going under the name: My Hero Academia: Dynamite and a Laserbeam.), and their story, A Legacy To Protect (also check this one out, too, it's great!), called A Dynamite To Laserbeam. Throughout that process, I've learned a lot of things writing-wise from them, as well, and vice versa. Not to mention, they're just nice to talk to. In the latter half of 2022, I was going through a rough patch in my life. However, talking to them helped me through it, and while it wasn't just them, I still appreciate the fact that they were willing to talk with me.

The second person who I wanted to thank was TACO SENSEI. Their comments are always a joy to read, and they've made me smile a bunch when I don't have a reason to do so. So, thanks for that.

Another person who I wanted to thank was Sloth. D. God. They already know why I'm thanking them, but to explain to everyone why I am, they are an awesome person, they're nice, and they're patient. They also sub to my Pa-Tre-On, but that has nothing to do with it. The conversations we have on there are nice. They like to pick my brain about certain things, and I pick theirs. So, thank you, kind person. If you're reading this, don't worry, I plan to post something on my Pat-Re-On before the 10th.

And finally, last but not least, there's Kolt999. Kolt has been a constant reviewer on this story, and his reviews, because calling them comments would be downgrading them, give me a lot to think about when it comes to this story in particular. That being said, it also brightens my day when I see that someone took the time out of their day to comment something like that on one of my stories, even if I don't think I deserve it. So, thank you, Kolt! You're awesome!

So, yeah, thank you to those three people in particular. Of course, thank you to everyone else who has been reading this, as well as my other stuff. You all mean a lot to me, and I hope that we can continue down this road. I have a lot of stuff planned for 2023 surrounding this story, so let's make it a good year!

Now, with all of that being said, I think you all know what's about to come next.

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 – 6: Moving Forward – Part 2]

Stalking down an alleyway in some city that she had no idea what the name of it was due to her mind blanking at it, Izuku was swaying left to right, scoping out for anyone that she could get her teeth on. She was hungry, and if she didn't curb her hunger pangs, she was going to end up attacking an innocent bystander. On her walk, she had to restrain herself from lashing out at some of the passersby on the sidewalk. It was a struggle, especially when a few of them had freshly cut wounds, and drew her in ever so slightly.

The whole point of the Izumi disguise that she was wearing at the moment, er, well, that she had turned into, was to not only cover her public image as The Hero Cannibal, but it also served two purposes. Abusing human nature, specifically other male humans, to act upon their natural urges. It was no secret that humanity was a perverse species. Being a Demon didn't allow Izuku to feel such urges, at least, at a normal level.

Even as a pre-teen, which was around the time a boy like herself would've felt that change, the innate desire to find something, anything to do something to, or to even relieve herself of that metaphorical tension, she did not feel it. In fact, she simply did not have a reason to feel such things. Oh, sure, she could feel pleasure, everything could, but she simply wasn't attracted to anything.

It probably had something to do with her Demonic nature, and if that was the case, then she was sort of envious of humanity. However, that also presented a perfect way of attracting prey, and some types of fake heroes.

Even Izuku had to admit, in this female form, she was attractive. Not the height of beauty standards, mind you, but definitely attractive to some degree or another. And a common thing she noticed with certain fake heroes, most of which turned out to be pedophiles or rapists, which was a worrying trend that she was beginning to notice, all of their targets were young teens, around the age of 13 to 15, and all of them were considered to be "attractive" by conventional beauty standards, boys or girls.

And while that thought alone disgusted her, this recent trick she developed, could help her track down and devour more of those pathetic fakes. She was willing to risk whatever it was she had to in order to keep her rate up. 4 fakes a month, that was her goal. Sometimes she killed 5 a month if she got lucky, but her standard goal was usually 4.

Two weeks into this month, she had only killed 1. She was underperforming. So part of this current strategy that she was using to not only stave off her hunger but to catch some fake heroes that were on her list, one of which was a pro by the name of Electevire, who was rumoured to be a wife beater and a serial child groomer and child abuser similar that of he who shall not be named, minus the grooming part, was someone she had her sights on for a while.

And currently, he was positioned in Musutafu. If she searched long enough, she might be able to find him. And if she did…. She was going to make him pay for his crimes. Several snarling voices ruptured in her mind, telling her to feast on the nearest human, but she ignored them. She wasn't about to abandon her principals just because she was hungry. She wasn't about to abandon everything she held herself to because she needed to eat.

Izuku was better than that. She knew she was better than that. Hell, as far as she was concerned, the moment she sank her teeth into an innocent person's flesh, would be the day that she forwent her promise to her late mother. And that was something she could never do. Ever.

And then, the strangest of things happened. Running down the same alleyway she was in, was a little girl. She had snow-white hair and a single small, 3cm tall horn sticking out of the side of her head. She was dressed in rags, with bandages covering her arms and legs. She had pale skin, and maroonish-coloured eyes, bordering on red, similar to her own.

The little girl fell flat on her face, trying to get up, as several more footsteps came running from the sidewalk in front of the alleyway.

"The girl's gotta be here!"

"Hurry up, or else The Boss is gonna have a conniption because we couldn't find her!"

"That's easy for you to say! He used his Quirk on me the last time we couldn't find her! You don't know shit, newbie!"

"Fuck off!"

"Oh?" Izuku thought, looking over to the girl, who was trying to get up, but seemingly couldn't. The more that Izuku looked at her, the more her blood boiled. The girl was malnourished, and the closer she looked at the little kid, the more she saw what appeared to be bloodstains seeping from her bandages, like re-opened wounds. "They must be looking for her… but why?" Izuku thought, reaching out to grab the girl by the collar of her ragged dress.

The girl gasped, as Izuku stood her up straight. Before the girl could say anything, Izuku put a clawed finger to her lips, and shushed her, before pointing behind the trash bin. "Hide." Once Izuku said that the little girl didn't even think twice about it, and ran to hide behind it. It was then that the three men, all of which appeared to be the same, though one had a yellow ball for a head, entered the alleyway. The one with the ball head looked at Izuku, then frowned.

"Oi, we heard you tellin' someone to hide. It wouldn't happen to be a little girl, would it?" The ball-headed man asked as Izuku narrowed her eyes.

"And if it was?" Izuku asked, fanning out her clawed fingers on her left hand. The thug scoffed, walking up to her with a rye grin on his face.

"Then we have ways of making you ta—"

The thug wasn't even given a second to react, as the sound of a sword slashing through bone and skin rang throughout the alleyway. The man with the ball head stood there, eyes wide, as the rest of the thugs looked in confusion.

"Oi! Tokata, what the hell are you—"

And then, the man with the ball for a head fell to the ground…. In five separate vertical pieces, as blood cascaded to the floor. The other three thugs looked at Izuku with wide eyes, shaking in place as Izuku's expression didn't change from the same neutral expression she had been wearing the entire walk. She summoned her bone whips out of her back, the thin black tendrils waving around like bobbing serpents, waiting to strike, as Izuku spoke. "I don't suppose you all want to run away now, right? I'd hate to expose such a little girl to such violence."

That was exactly what they did. They ran away. Izuku would let them. They could tell their boss what happened all they liked. This boss of theirs was no match for her, or what she could do at a conceptual level. She was faster. She was stronger. She was more durable than any lowly human. Izuku knew that she was, and that was all she needed to put herself on top of every other human being in all of existence.

But even still, looking down at the corpse of the man that she turned into mince meat, an idea came to mind. For a split second, she considered turning them into a Demon. But then, she paused on that thought, mentally shook her head, and kicked the remains into a corner. A part of her screamed at her, proclaiming why she didn't eat the remains right then and there, but the more rational side of her reminded the feral side that there was a child just a few steps away and that the child didn't need to see that.

"You can come out if you like," Izuku spoke, imitating her late mother's motherly tone. It was soothing, calming, and meant to break down defences. That, and she had imbued it with something she had been theorizing that she could do. Due to her status as "above human", she considered for a moment that her brain waves were stronger than that of humans. Taking into account that she had complete control over her body to the very atom, she considered for a moment that, perhaps, she could imbue her speaking voice with her naturally superior brain waves, and force the person, or persons, she was talking to, to do as she said.

And so, she decided to use this child as her very first test run of this on-the-spot ability. Lo-and-behold, the girl came out of hiding. Whether that was because the ability worked, or she simply decided to come out of her own volition was completely up in the air. Turning her head ever-so-slightly to look at the little girl, the child recoiled at her gaze. That was something that she was familiar with. Her stare was quite intimidating. Not to mention she was hungry, so there was also that added sense of intimidation lurking in her eyes.

"What is your name, little one?" Izuku asked, once again testing out this new ability of hers, to which the little girl answered in a quiet, shaky, barely audible voice.

"E-Eri…."

Izuku hummed. "Eri… what a beautiful name," the Demon commented, walking over to the little girl, and kneeling to her level. The little girl flinched, taking a step back. Izuku gave her a reassuring smile, before outstretching her hand toward her, palm to the sky, offering it to the girl. "Come now. I won't hurt you. I want to help you. You seem lost, and alone. You're also frail, and from looks alone extremely malnourished. I dare say that whoever's looking after you isn't doing a good enough job, don't you think?"

The little girl, Eri, looked at Izuku with a conflicted gaze. She could tell that Eri was either extremely untrusting of others, which was fair considering she looked like she had been put through the wringer already, but that she also wanted to trust Izuku, considering she had saved the little girl from her would-be attackers.

Izuku looked at the ground, adverting her eyes from the girl as she thought of something. There were a few things she could do. She didn't know if it would be a smart idea, or if it'd even work, but judging by how reserved the girl was being, and judging from the bandages and wounds alone, she was clearly being abused wherever it was that she was living. Instinctively, she wanted to go there herself and deal with the bastards, but at the risk of exposing herself to a giant organization that could have a few stragglers would've been a bad idea.

Oh, she could easily beat them, whoever they might've been. It wasn't an issue of not being powerful enough, the issue was that she didn't want the attention. No. If she was going to reveal herself to the public and give them a face to The Hero Cannibal, it would have to be during something big. Something… worth her time. Not a random gang of thugs.

Then there was the idea she was having. Turning the little kid into a Demon so that she could exact revenge herself. However, there was a chance that it could fail. She had seen what happens to those who failed to acclimate to her blood—they turned into flesh globs. And the last thing she wanted was to run the risk of having a little child melt before her eyes.

Her vision wandered to the lip of the alleyway, where a wide-eyed, blond-haired, familiar-looking teenager stood. And then… another idea came to mind. "Ah… young man. Come here for a sec—"

"Cat-eyes… is that you?"

"Shit!" Izuku thought, narrowing her eyes. "I beg your pardon?" Izuku asked, playing dumb and hoping that Bakugo would either call it a misunderstanding, or think he was seeing things, or whatever and come over anyway. Only for that idea to be stripped away as the blond bomber continued.

"I saw you turn from a dude to a girl. I watched you do it, I know it's you!" Bakugo shouted, glaring at him. "You just killed someone! What the fuck?!"

Izuku once again narrowed her eyes, retracting her hand away from the little girl, before standing up, her narrowed eyes turning into a glare. "Yes. I did. Your point?" No reason on turning back now. She might as well get it over with. "They were chasing after this little girl. This clearly injured, malnourished, little girl. No one was willing to help her, so I did. Do you have a problem with that?"

Bakugo looked away, clearing his throat before speaking. "No. It's not that I have a problem with. You saved her, that should be all that matters. But… you still killed them. The cat-eyes I knew would never kill…. The cat-eyes I knew was a wimp." As Bakugo said that, he looked at Izuku with narrowed eyes, before asking a question that was pretty bold of him to ask, at least, in Izuku's opinion, anyway. "What the fuck happened to you?"

Izuku scoffed, turning back into her man form—his true form, which didn't really change much aside from the reduction of his chest, his genitals changing, and his arms bulking up a slight bit more than they were before. "What happened to me? My mother was murdered, Bakugo. That's what happened. I've lived on the streets for the last 4 years of my life, seen things that no one should ever see, do things that no one should ever have to do to survive. A little murder here and there never hurt someone, especially when it's your only means of survival. I grew a spine, Bakugo. That's what happened."

Bakugo winced, looking away from the green-and-black-haired teen, as Izuku sighed. There were several things that he could do in this situation. His cover was blown, Bakugo knew he could morph between genders, or any form, really, and he knew of his newfound strength if he saw him slice that guy in five separate pieces, so the smart thing to do was to kill him right here, right now.

But then, another idea came to mind. An idea that, in hindsight, he thought was way better than just killing Bakugo, or turning him into a Demon—which was his second idea, though he shot that down, just in case he turned out like Uraraka, disobedient to a fault, and only acting in her self-interest. No, his third idea was far better than that. He could already see it perfectly in his head, and on the inside, he smirked.

"Yes… that will do just nicely…." "Do me a favour, Bakugo. Keep this between us, and take the girl home with you," Izuku said, as the little girl looked surprised. "She needs a better home. I'm sure your mom could take care of her with ease. Unless, of course, you can think of a reason why that wouldn't be a good idea?"

Bakugo grunted, sticking his hands into his pants pockets. "She needs to go to a hospital…. And, my house isn't exactly good for little kids. Dad's a drunkard now ever since Auntie Inko's passing. Not stable for a kid like her…."

Izuku sighed. "Well, she can't come with me, on the account that I'm homeless. And I'm not about to send her to a shitty orphanage. I don't trust heroes for my own personal reasons, so that scratches out option number three. That leaves option number one. Take the kid, Bakugo. If your father raises a hand to her, call me, and I'll sort him out. I have a cellphone," Izuku said, taking a cell phone out of his pocket, one he had factor-reset that he stole from a dead fake hero, Tumbler if he remembered correctly.

And while this was all pointless, namely because Izuku's plan wouldn't even give Masaru a chance to so much as blink at Eri, let alone touch her in any way, he still had to keep up the act that he was putting on.

Bakugo furrowed his eyebrows, staring at Izuku for a few seconds, before ultimately giving in, and shaking his head. "What's your number?"

After a quick exchange of phone numbers, the two went their separate ways, Eri going with Bakugo back home, as Izuku smirked, staying in the alleyway. It took Izuku vouching for Bakugo for Eri to actually go with him for the time being, but at least they left.

Bakugo didn't need to see what was coming up next, and Eri most certainly didn't need to see what happened next.

Turning to face the corpse of the thug that had been accosting poor Eri, Izuku sneered. "Scum. Utter, disgusting scum. You'll be a filling morsel," Izuku said, as he reverted back to Izumi, and without hesitation, she pounced on the corpse and began to eat.

xxXXxxXXxx

Ochako was upset. Upset at herself for what she did. She saw what happened on the news, three children's partially eaten corpses were found in the woods. The very woods that she had retreated to after she met Izumi, or whoever Izumi actually was, and the same place where she felt that uncontrollable hunger take her over.

She recognized the children to be the same ones that had run into her. She could only eat the meat of humans as she found out the hard way when she tried to eat Mochi—she threw up instantly—and after putting two and two together, she now refused to leave her apartment. She couldn't trust herself. Not anymore. Her own body was against her, and it was mortifying. She ate children. Fucking Children! What the hell was wrong with her?!

And yet… thinking back on it, she felt nothing. She was disgusted with herself, true, but there was no hint of remorse. Despite the horrid thing that she did, she felt no remorse. None at all. It was like she had lost the capacity to feel remorse for those she ate. Those families would never see their children ever again. Those children would never get to be who they wanted to be. All because of her and her selfish hunger.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all! But… there was nothing she could do about it. But… at least that was something that she now knew about herself. Sure, she could feel remorse for other people, she still had her emotions after all, but when it came to those she ate, she couldn't bring herself to give even a single iota of a crap about them.

It was… jarring, to say the least, and it sucked, but there wasn't a single thing she could do about it.

Oh… and there was something else that she found… interesting wasn't the word, but definitely enlightening. And it pertained around her body.

Underneath her clothing, which she hadn't taken off until recently, her upper and lower halves of her body were covered in these strange black lines that made swirling patterns all around her body that moved clockwise, all of which were interconnected and looked like something of a strange vogue-like dress, but permanently moulded to her skin. It started from the base of her breasts, looping to cover her nipples, then moving down her body before meeting at a point to stop around her belly button, and then looping counter-clockwise to her waist, where the same black substance pooled around her thighs and made itself to look like a parted short skirt, still leaving that gap between her legs, and pointing out the obvious.

It was… extremely erotic. Uraraka was never an Erotic person, never had been, and never would be. Sure, she was a blushing schoolgirl—literally because her cheeks were stuck with a permanent faint blush—but she never had any lewd thoughts of anyone in particular. So, she had no idea where this design came from, and quite frankly, it made her uncomfortable.

Although, something she found cool about the black streaks was that they glowed bright pink whenever she activated her super-charged Quirk. However, what's more, she also found out that she…. Didn't have genitals anymore. Or, at least, not traditionally. They were still… there? But the black stuff covered it unless she physically made it go away.

Well… it had its uses. Hey! At least she couldn't be sexually assaulted! So that was a plus! Not that she ever had been, but now it couldn't happen at all, not unless she willed it to happen! If there was anything she could call a "Plus" to all of this Demon nonsense, it was that she had a built-in defence mechanism that quite literally closed off her privates.

But, aside from that, she still appeared human. She was just… paler, and she had fangs, along with claws…. And she needed to devour humans to sustain herself…. But hey, she appeared human, so that's all that mattered, right?

Oh! And she no longer needed to use the bathroom! Yay to no bodily functions! Well… technically, she was… undead, right? An undead wouldn't need to deal with that crap anyway, right? So that made some sense. Still, it was weird to think about….

But, there was more. And this one was… weird, but it had nothing to do with her body.

"Oi, Uraraka, I'm going out to get some food. You want me to bring you back something?" The voice of a tall teenager with short black hair, pukish green skin, and brownish orange eyes, wearing a black hoodie and blue ripped jeans, along with black shoes, asked as Uraraka nodded, her stomach growling. "Aight, sounds good. Be back in a bit."

And with that, Ito Kaneki left the apartment that both he and she now shared. Now, how the hell did this random guy show up in her life? Simple, he apparently could track her due to her link with whoever this Muzan guy was. Maybe it was Izumi's real name? Or maybe another fake name. Whatever the case was, her company was good. He wasn't a prude, and he was a Demon just like her, the only difference was that he seemingly didn't care what he ate, child, grown man, hero, or villain. In his own words, "they're all cattle to us anyway. I don't see the difference."

He had to have been a villain before being turned. Or, at the very least, he must've been a very twisted individual when he was human. There was no way he should've been able to shrug it off as he did. Either way, Ito helped out around the place, so as long as it stayed that way, and he didn't start trying to feel her up, because he seemed like the type to do so, she'd have no problems with the company.

Oh, he was evil. That was easy to see, but at the same time, he was able to get money more often than her allowance would allow, and she was pretty sure that his method of money collection was killing someone, eating them, and taking their money.

If she was human… she probably would've not been able to live with someone like that….

But she wasn't human anymore. She was a man-eating Demon. And while she hated that aspect, she understood why Demons, I.E. her, her boss, and Ito, ate humans. They had no choice. And while the only Demons she knew were Ito and her Boss, whatever their name was, there was a chance that more would be created. A part of her shivered at that. What kind of world would that be?

"Chaotic…. it would be Chaotic…." Uraraka thought, looking over to her arm. Pulling back the sleeve on her pink and black tracksuit, the black lines on her arm that looked like tattoos glowed the same dark pink colour as she activated her boosted Quirk, floating a cup of red liquid over to her.

It was a cup of blood. One she had… gotten… from her next-door neighbour. Who was now dead, cut up into little chunks in her fridge, and slowly being picked off by her and Ito. They only had a leg and a hand left over from the guy's corpse, hence why Ito was out "grocery shopping."

"God… what would Mom and Dad think of me now? I haven't called them in a few days, and I've passed the date of the weekly check-in…." Uraraka thought, sipping out of the cup of blood with an almost nonplussed expression. She didn't want to talk to them. Not because she was on bad terms with them, but because she couldn't bring herself to do so. Not when she was like this. She just hoped that one day they'd forget about her and that she'd be able to move on with her life. "I hope they're alright…. Those debt collectors… what if they visited my parents first? What if they were killed by them?"

Uraraka put the cup of blood down and stood up off the ground. Stretching, she looked out the window, and hissed. It was dark out. The clock on the wall said that it was 8:00 PM, and it was a school night. Not that she needed sleep, which was another plus about being a Demon, but still, she liked the feeling of sleep. It was the only normal thing she had left from her old life as a human. "I still have to go to school…. How am I going to keep my hunger under control at school? I can't just… eat while I'm there!" Uraraka thought, tugging at her hair. "God, what am I gonna do!"

"You can always disguise it as regular food. Cut a chunk off of a person's leg and call it a steak. I wouldn't assume it'd be too hard to do, right?"

Uraraka jumped at the suddenness of Muzan's, or Izumi's, or whatever the person's name was's voice in her head. Looking around, she saw that… no one else was there, and sighed. "I forgot that you could read my mind…."

"Hnn… doesn't matter. I have a job for you."

Uraraka raised an eyebrow. "A Job? Like what?"

"I want you to monitor the Bakugo Household for someone to come home. There is someone I want you to kill and devour there. I would do it myself, but I have my hands tied at the moment."

Uraraka gritted her teeth in pseudo-anger for him even suggesting that she was going to go out to eat someone, but nonetheless complied. Even if she didn't want to leave the house after what she had done, she didn't want her arm to blow up again… or worse…. "And… who would that be?" Uraraka asked. She could almost see the smile on her Boss's face, and that alone scared her, but she ignored it.

"His name is Masaru Bakugo. He was once a good man, but now, he abuses his wife and is neglectful to his son, Katsuki. He may work hard, and he may be grieving over the loss of a friend, but that gives him no excuse to abuse his wife. And with a little child on the way there with the son, I want you to get there before they do, and devour him. If the wife tries to call the police, knock her out."

Uraraka felt something… bubble inside her. The phrase "that boils my blood" felt like a real thing to Uraraka, her hand clenched into a fist as she bore her teeth in a deep, toothy frown. He didn't even have to tell her anything past "he abuses his wife" and that would've been all the justification she had to do what she was told. There were certain people in this world that she would never forgive. Abusers were one of them.

After all… her father's dad abused him when he was a child, that was what he told her, anyway… and that was beyond unacceptable. It was why she never referred to him as "grandpa," because he did not deserve that title.

"Got it…. What's the address?"

"It's…"

xxXXxxXXxx

"—2903, Junjiyo Ave. The dead body of Masaru Bakugo was found in the house at 9:30 PM. Witnesses say that someone with brown hair and a pink and black jumpsuit entered the house, and moments later, came out with blood covering their face and hands. When police arrived, the suspect was long gone. Police are currently questioning the wife, Mitsuki Bakugo, and are looking for the son of the family, Katsuki Bakugo, who was not at the house that day, and also looking for the suspect in question. If you have any leads, please call the number on screen now."

Katsuki stared at the T.V. in the McDonalds he had stopped at to get the little girl something to eat, with shrunken pupils, wide eyes, and shaky breath. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing on the screen right now. He had to be hallucinating because there was no fucking way that it was real. Sure, he fucking hated his dad, but…. But that was completely unacceptable.

"The… Hero Cannibal… attacked my house…?" That was the only thought in Katsuki's head… well, not really. There were other worries surrounding that, such as: Was his Mom okay? How did the Hero Cannibal know where he lived? What was he going to do now?

The little girl, Eri, looked up at Bakugo, confusion in her eyes as Katsuki glanced at the kid.

"Fuck… what.. what am I going to do? I can't go home… I—"

"Yo, Bakugo!" A voice called out to him, as his eyes darted over to his left. There, standing there, was a face he hadn't seen in about two weeks. His skin was puke coloured, and his eyes were… strange. He was wearing a black hoodie and blue ripped jeans. His hands were in his pockets, and he was looking at him with a big smirk on his face. His appearance had changed drastically, seeing as his hair was also shorter, and his chin was less pointed than it was before, now smoothing out to look, well, normal, but he recognized that voice from anywhere.

"Fingers…?" Katsuki muttered, as the boy approached him. His eyes… were different. They looked like… "Why does he have the same slitted pupils as Cat-eyes?" Katsuki thought as "fingers" scoffed.

"I thought you wouldn't be able to recognize me. Been a bit, hasn't it," the boy said, looking down at the girl. "Oh, and you have a daughter now? Damn Bakugo, and here I thought you didn't like—"

"Finish that sentence, and you're a dead man," the blond bomber snarled, earning a laugh from the teen. "The fu—heck do you want, anyway. And no, she's not my kid. She's a homeless runt Cat-eyes found…. Did you know he was alive?" Katsuki asked, his tone dejected. He was trying to distract himself from what happened, and "fingers" seemed to catch on pretty quickly, following along the path of conversation.

"Yeah, I did, actually. I ran into him on a walk. The dude was swagged the hell out, too. White expensive Fedora, designer button-up shirt with an expensive black tie, stainless white jeans… gods, the guy was dripped out. Anyway, we talked, and uh… well, ya know what, how about the two of you come to my apartment. I share it with this killer babe man, but she'd rip ya throat out if she thought you're hittin' on her, ya feel me?" The teen said as Bakugo frowned.

"Still has that obnoxious way of speaking… he hasn't changed one bit…." Bakugo thought, glancing at Eri, who was hiding behind him, peeking out from his leg. The kid was slightly scared by his abnormal appearance, which even weirded out Bakugo to an extent. But… with no place to go, and with him really not wanting to go down to the police station at this time of night on a school night….

"Fine. Uh… Eri, was it? C'mon, I know this guy, I trust him. Let's get moving," Bakugo said as Eri reluctantly followed, exiting the building behind "Fingers". They walked through alleyway after alleyway, until they got to an apartment building. They took the stairs up the second floor, and once they got to the room in question, "fingers" unlocked the door and stepped inside, ushering them inside first, before following them inside, closing and locking the door.

The girl he had mentioned was at the fridge. She was wearing a black sports bra, and she had these weird tattoos all over her body. She was also wearing a pair of black yoga pants, which matched the Tattoos, followed by a pair of white ankle socks. She was seemingly reaching for something in the fridge before she noticed them, slamming the door shut and looking at Ito with wide and furious eyes. "ITO! What the hell are you thinking?! Do you—"

"Zip it, we'll talk in a moment," Ito stated, looking over to Bakugo and Eri. "We got a guest room in the back. Only one bed tho, so the girl's gonna halfta sleep with you. Sorry 'bout that," Ito said, gesturing them down the hallway. Bakugo looked wearily between the two roommates, took Eri by the hand, and hurriedly walked to the guest room.

He had a very, very bad feeling about this. He didn't know why, but he did. Entering the room in question, which had been the last room on the left, he closed the door behind them and shushed Eri, leaning his ear against the door. To put it frankly, he didn't trust Ito. He looked like one of those horror monsters from movies now, and the only reason why he went with him was to avoid the cops. Not to mention, the woman, who he didn't know the name of, had brown hair and was female—duh. So, he kinda suspected anyone with that description at the moment.

That, and not to mention that Ito wanted him out of there fairly quickly so that those two could talk about something, something that they weren't privy to, so it must've been a secret. Katsuki was never one for Gossip, but at the same time, he was more worried about the kid than stupid secrets. And with Ito looking like a horror movie monster….

"If something happens to me, kid… I need you to hide, okay?" Bakugo said, as Eri shakily nodded. Bakugo nodded back in return, before repressing his ear up to the door. The voices of the pair were muffled, but he could make it out just fine.

"Are you kidding me?! That's what you brought! The guy whose father I just ate, and a child!"

"Keep it the fuck down, will ya! They might 'ere you! Now, listen, Muzan-sama told me to bring them here. Said somethin' about wanting to "get his payback" or some shit on Katsuki. As for the kid, he wants to turn her into a Demon, but not quite yet. For now, though, we can play things safe, act stupid, and move on. We can order fast food to the house for them, and we can eat when they go to sleep, yeah?"

"One problem with that, what if one of them looks in the fridge, idiot! Did you think of that?"

"Calm down, holy fuck. Yes, I did. No one else lives on this floor anymore, yeah? We can just move the corpses to the other houses' fridges, and sneak into there to take some to eat! That way if they get up in the middle of the night, they won't suspect a thing."

Katsuki tensed, his fists clenched into his palms, drawing blood as his teeth ground against one another. There was silence, his eyes glaring holes into the wall when one of them said something unexpected… and fucking terrifying.

"You know he's listening… right? I can hear him clench his teeth. I can even smell the blood dripping from his palms."

"Oh, I'm well aware. I got the upgraded senses too, ya know. Besides, he's smart… he won't do a goddamn thing. Otherwise, 'is mom's next."

That got Katsuki's eyes to open wider than a saucer. "Holy fuck…. Did he… plan this? Did Fingers plan this…?" Katsuki thought, as his eyes narrowed. "The Hero Cannibal… he kills a lot of heroes… far faster than what a single person can do. Even Stain can't kill that many heroes in one month, only managing two a month on a good hunt…. What if…." A realization dawned on him, and it fucking scared him.

"What if the reason why they can't get a good lock on who The Hero Cannibal is… is because The Hero Cannibal is more than one person! What if they are actually a group of Cannibals!" Bakugo turned around, and slumped against the door, looking at Eri with a distressed look on his face. He only just met this kid, and he just put her in harm's way.

No… more than just harm's way. In the sights of a bunch of hungry Cannibals.

"And I just put myself and a kid right into their lair…. oh fuck…. what have I done?"

-To Be Continued-