Demon Lord Jade
Ch 1: A life missing is a life returned.
Another story! Because I love torturing myself. In other news, I'm back on my antidepressants, and my body is twitching like a crack addict.
A green-haired teenage girl wearing an ornate black cloak stumbled out of an alleyway, feeling disoriented. She put a hand to her head in an attempt to steady her swaying. 'What happened?' She leaned against a brick wall to collect her thoughts.
'Ok. I was in battle with a current-generation Hero. He used a spell I wasn't familiar with, and with a flash of light, it blacks out there.' The teenager(?) thought to herself. She looked around the nighttime cityscape. 'Well, his spell obviously transported me away from my castle and domain. To where, though, I am unsure. This place is far more advanced than what I am familiar with.'
Once her head stopped pounding, she stood up and mingled into the crowd of people. 'There's humans here. As well as Demi-Humans and other types of Humanoids that are new to me. Where did that Hero send me?' The Demon Lord thought as she slowly walked. 'Furthermore, none of them seemed to have taken notice of my being, nor have any recognized me.'
That was the most odd aspect. She was arguably the second strongest Demon Lord of the current nine. The humans should be running away in terror and fear. As she turned her head, a reflection in a store window caught her attention. She slowly approached and hesitantly raised her right hand. The reflection followed. She poked her cheek, and the reflection mirrored.
In the image was a girl with a full head of long fluffy green hair, big green eyes, and freckles adorned with a youthful appearance. 'Is that… me?' She stretched her cheek, and the image reflected that. "Is this a human body?!" She yelled out in surprise. A few passersby turned and raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
What was Demon Lord Jade doing in a human body?! What happened to her real body!? WHAT DID THAT HERO DO!? Internally, she was panicking until her skill [Mental Fortitude] released a rush of hormones to control her shock, horror, and anger. She took a deep breath and just stared at her reflection. It was familiar. Something she hadn't seen since she was a "Hero" herself over seven centuries ago. How long had it been since she had a human body? Jade stretched out her hand and tested the full range of motion.
Across the street, a well-meaning old lady pulled up her dialer app. From where she was, it looked like that green-haired girl was high on something. Best to call authorities to help her get home safely.
Once Jade was tired of watching her reflection, she turned and started walking again. She did an internal scan of her body, confirming that she was, in fact, human. A side effect was her magic was less potent than usual but still present and more than useable. She lifted her hand, and a tiny lick of green fire erupted from the palm, dancing around on her fingertips before extinguishing it. This city was so well-illuminated that she didn't need a flame to see in the dark. Not that she would've needed it. The skill [Perfect Vision] included a sub-skill that granted partial night vision. So long as there was even a hint of light, she could always see with perfect clarity.
"Are you lost, young lady?" A sensual older female voice broke into Jade's thoughts. She looked up to see a woman in a tight white costume with belts, a mask, and striking purple hair. Jade just stared at the woman in abject shock as a blush formed on the teenage face.
"Where is your shame?! Why are you dressed like a harlot in public!?" The Demon Lord couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief. Who with any amount of self-respect would wear such an outfit?! She put prostitutes to shame!
The purple-haired woman licked her lips. "Oh, this?" She gave a sultry grin as she stretched her body. "Just a part of my Heroic Persona."
Jade stilled. "Did you say Heroic? Are you claiming to be a Hero?" Jade's voice gained a sharp edge to it that sent a shiver down the scantly clad woman's back.
"Well, that is my profession." The woman grinned. "I'm Midnight, Pro-Hero and Teacher at UA."
Jade said nothing before raising her right palm, and a large collom of green fire erupted, illuminating the street. People started panicking and running away. "A Hero?" Her green eyes sharpened. "Then I have no choice. Die."
Without warning, the green fire reshaped into a tendril that shot out at Midnight. The Pro-Hero wasted no time in dodging it. "A villain? At your age?" Midnight mocked as she ripped a part of her uniform off. "You're barely out of diapers."
A flash of anger flitted across the Demon Lord's face. "How dare you! I'll have you know I'm almost eight centuries old!" Jade bit out.
Midnight merely raised an eyebrow. 'Ok. I'm not dealing with somebody malicious, just someone insane. Guess I should go easy.' She thought as she flipped over another tendril of fire.
Jade raised her other hand, and green lightning sparked. 'Wait, TWO Quirks?!' Midnight's eyes widened. 'How's that possible?!' Jade didn't notice the woman's distress and shot out lightning bolts. It was only thanks to her instinct that Midnight moved before the lightning could leave Jade's palm. 'Ok. I need to take her out, now!'
Midnight ripped her uniform up even more and started leaking her sleeping gas. She got up close and released a massive plume. Jade, shocked by Midnight's brazenness, took an instinctual deep breath. Jade's eyes dilated as she stumbled backward, her spells falling apart. "W-what? Poison g-gas?" Jade pushed against a wall to maintain balance.
"Not Poison. Knockout." Midnight mentioned as she pulled out some fancy cuffs. "I'll have the police contact your guardians after we get some ID."
Jade, for the second time that day, blacked out.
"Is the prisoner talking yet?" A green-skinned humanoid with sharp teeth, red eyes, and a fancy suit asked a wolf-man.
"Well, yes. But he's only been saying nonsense for the past few days." The pair were walking to where the offender was chained up in magic suppression shackles. "He keeps claiming the spell he used was [Teleport Home] and that he used it on our Lord in a last-ditch attempt to buy time to recover. However, we've perused our collection of magic in the library and found that this magic spell sends people back to where they consider home. We've already searched every nook and cranny of the castle and even sent scouts to Lord Jade's old village when she was human but found no trace of her. It's like she's vanished from the face of the world."
"Well, at least we know one thing," The humanoid looked around, observing the shadowy shapes maintaining the castle, "Lord Jade isn't dead. Otherwise, the shades would've disappeared with her demise." The shades were created from Jade's magic, much like he was. But unlike him, they possessed no independent will, magic, or even self-awareness. They were every bit the mindless servants Jade needed them to be for menial tasks. They also depended on her continued life to exist, whereas he could exist without Jade.
The wolf-man nodded. "Yes. Although the "Hero" did say something interesting. Wherever he sent Lord Jade, it took nearly all his remaining magic and some of hers to do so, which we did confirm with a scan of the area Lord Jade was positioned."
The green humanoid hummed. "So somewhere very far if it needed a Hero and Demon Lord's combined level of magic." The green demon stopped and stared out the window. "I guess we'll just have to wait until Lord Jade summons us to her side. And we'll have to keep the other Demon Lords occupied until she returns."
If the other Demon Lords learned Jade had disappeared, they would jump at the chance to take her territory, which was the fourth largest in the world of Lagurdia.
Tsukauchi sighed again. He was exhausted. Being the only detective with a truth quirk in the entire Hosu ward wasn't fun. Oh, he should have taken that offer for vacation a month ago instead of staying because he had a lull in paperwork.
As he was lamenting his choices, the phone on his desk rang. He picked up the receiver without looking at the number. "This is Detective Tsukauchi."
"Woof. Detective Tsukauchi, do you think you can come down to the interrogation room? We have a situation that requires your quirk, Woof." The chief asked.
The detective sighed again. "Ok. Just give me a rundown before I get there." He asked.
"Woof. A roughly thirteen-year-old green-haired, green-eyed female, possibly under the influence, used her quirk illegally. Was brought in by Midnight. We're still waiting for blood and DNA tests, as the individual is without ID, but they keep claiming they are some "Demon Lord," if you can believe it. Woof. They're also claiming to be over seven hundred years old." The Chief told him.
"So, another case to see if somebody is actually crazy or faking it. Got it." Tsukauchi sighed again. He did that a lot. "All right. I'll be down there in five." He put down the receiver.
Well, at least this case would be simple. If she's crazy, she'll be remanded to whoever is her guardian or case worker.
This was not simple. This was anything but simple. Once Tsukauchi had met the perp, she continued with her words, even after being informed of his Truth Telling quirk. Furthermore, she destroyed the Quirk canceling cuffs and showed one of her "Magic spells" once she felt the officers weren't a threat. The only reason why she used her "Magic" in public was because of her distaste for "Heroes." Tsukauchi got the impression that they were talking about two different types of Heroes.
Tsukauchi stepped outside the room with a smile before turning to the chief, his face turning stone cold. "I've been in there for almost two hours, losing my mind from this child who claims to be centuries old. Tell me you have something."
The chief looked troubled. "Woof. Y-yes, but it's a rather complicated mess. We got back the DNA tests and have a perfect match." The chief trailed off.
"I heard a but in there."
"B-but her DNA is a neigh perfect match with a cold case from seven and a half years ago for a six-year-old boy. Woof. She is biologically female." The chief said.
Tsukauchi blinked before his face became pinched. "Ok. Quirks can explain that. What's next?"
"She's biologically Quirkless. Even has the toe-joint. Woof." The Chief mentioned. "Not a trace of a quirk factor to be found."
Tsukauchi stilled. "I'm sorry, did you say she didn't have a quirk?"
"Woof. If she did, our machines didn't pick it up. And our police systems are on par with the best hospital in the country." The dog-faced mand said.
Tsukauchi took a deep breath. Those machines could even pick up the individual quirk factors of All For One's hired help. Shit. So, she did use what could be considered magic. That would explain how she could use multiple abilities that seemed unrelated. And if she wasn't lying about that, she might not have been lying about being a Demon Lord and being centuries old. Tsukauchi cupped his face and screamed.
Please don't be another All For One. Please, to any deity listening, don't let her be like All For One. All Might might be unable to stop her if she decided to rampage. He was considerably weaker than he used to be.
"Ok." Tsuakuchi dropped his arms. "I'm ok. Have you contacted anyone on file?"
The Chief nodded. "Sort of. We've sent out an officer to pick up Inko Midoriya, the biological mother, whose DNA also matches with the young lady in there. They left twenty minutes ago."
'Not really a young lady, but still,' "Did you say pick up? Not call?" The chief went silent. "Just give me her number so I can call her ahead of pickup. It's three in the morning, so she might still be asleep." 'I work with idiots.'
Inko blinked open as she lay in bed. The phone on her nightstand was ringing. It must be an emergency if her boss is calling her in early. She noted the time and answered the call on speaker without looking at the caller ID. "H-hello?" She asked in a sleepy voice.
"Mrs. Inko Midoriya, correct?" A vaguely familiar voice asked.
"Y-yes? Who is this?" Inko asked as she tried to push herself up.
"Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi of the Hosu Police Department. We might have just had a crack in the cold case for your son." Those words caused Inko to shoot up, completely awake once she processed them.
"WHAT?!" Inko hounded into the phone. "YOU FOUND SOMETHING?!" She screamed.
"Y-yes. We've sent a police officer to pick you up in about thirty minutes." Inko wasted no time and shot out of the bed like a bullet.
"I'LL BE READY!" She yelled at the phone. The line disconnected after that.
Finally, after all these years, she would get closure on something important. She had given up hope her darling Izuku was still alive, so she only prayed his body would one day be found so she could adequately grieve him. She wasn't a strong or confident woman, and she did many things wrong while raising Izuku, but she loved him all the same.
Inko quickly changed her clothes, grabbed her purse and phone, and ran to the kitchen for a granola bar. She had put on weight with her poor diet, but now was not a time to be indulging in gluttony. She shot off a quick text to her boss, saying she might not be in today, and locked the door behind her.
Those next ten minutes of waiting outside in the dark were painful. Every passing car she saw she thought was a police cruiser until finally, a vehicle adorned with the police colors pulled up and parked in front of the apartment complex. A cat-faced officer stepped out. "Inko Midoriya?" She hastily nodded. "I'm Officer Sanza of the Hosu PD. I'm here to take you to the police station because of your son's cold case."
She quickly got in and sat in silence as the car sped off on it's hour long journey. She was sacred. But, she would be brave for her son.
Demon Lord Jade blinked as she got up. "What happened?"
'You got your ass kicked, that's what.' Jade's skill [Alter Ego] told her. The skill duplicated her brainwaves and created a similar, if slightly more dominant, personality to help Jade process information twice the speed others could. That was an advantage the other Demon Lords didn't have. 'By a bitch who didn't even use magic.'
'Yes, like I couldn't figure that out. Also, why are you only speaking now?' Jade asked her skill.
'I was out of commission until just now. Whatever that Hero used on us overloaded my ability to process information. I don't have a physical brain to help process things like you do.' The skill said.
'You are literally me. Just utilize the unused capacity in my brain.' Jade rolled her eyes. 'Any ideas?'
'I know everything you do, and I haven't found an answer to anything that's happened yet. Just wing it.'
'Great.' Jade sarcastically thought. 'Nice talking to you.' Jade heard a raspberry from the skill and just sat in silence, picking away at the cuffs. "Interesting design, but not effective at all when it comes to blocking magic. But it is doing something to me if my scans are correct." She muttered to herself.
The cell door swung open, and a cat with a human body walked in. 'What the hell?' Jade blinked at that sight. She'd seen Demi-humans with various traits, but never a cat's head on a human's body. Just… bizarre.
"I'm Officer Sanza of the Hosu Police. What's your name?" The catman asked.
Jade remained silent for a moment. She knew what a police officer was but didn't recognize the name of this department's location. 'Guess I'll play along for now.' "Demon Lord Jade."
The cat just gave her a stare. "Your real name, please." He emphasized the word real.
Jade just gave him a flat look. "That is my real name." She had long ago cast off the name Izaki when she became a Demon Lord.
The catman sighed. "Guess we're playing that game." He mumbled under his breath as he jotted something on a clipboard. "I'm going to ask you a series of preliminary questions; please be truthful about them."
"How old are you?" The cat asked.
"Roughly 765, give or take a few years, it gets hard keeping track."
"Where are you from?"
"A small village in the now defunct Albersa Nation."
"Who are your parents?"
"No idea. I was found by a village hunting party with complete amnesia all those years ago. I'd imagine my birth parents are dead. The people who took me in also died a long time ago." The Demon Lord said.
The Catman sighed. "Are all these answers truthful?"
Jade's eye twitched as she lost her patience. "…Yes."
The cat sighed again. "I'm going to go get some paperwork. In the meantime, my buddy here will take you to another room." He specifically avoided the interrogation word to keep Jade from freaking out.
Now, a Dog-headed man walked in wearing a much nicer suit than the blue the cat was wearing. "Woof. Follow me, please. Woof."
Jade lightly smiled. 'How cute, he woofs too.' She, like all things with a heart, found cute things cute. She was led to a moderately well-lit room and instructed to sit down. The chair was uncomfortable, but in truth, her thrown was more so. She subtly used a cushioning spell to make it more bearable.
The dogman pointed to a button. "Press that if you want us to bring you water for food." He then left the room, closing the door behind.
Jade nodded. Yes, she was in a human body, and they needed more food more often than her other body did. But not at the moment. She wasn't hungry at the moment. Still, she kept the button in mind.
A handful of minutes later, a seemingly plain human walked in. "Greetings. I'm Detective Naomasa Tsuakuchi. I'm going to be conducting an interview with… Demon Lord Jade. Right." The man sat down in the chair opposite Jade. "Sorry for keeping you waiting."
"No trouble, Detective." Jade replied. "But I'm confused. Why do you need to question me further? That catman already did so."
Tsukauchi lightly smiled. "Ah, well, I have a distinct advantage over Officer Sanza. I possess a Quirk that can detect lies."
Jade's eyebrow raised. That was an interesting way to say he had a Skill. And lie detection was quite the skill. Not many people had such a thing. The best most could do was sense intention.
"Please tell me two truths and a lie."
Jade shrugged. "Ok. The sky is blue, I have green hair, and I have a birthmark on my right ankle."
Tsukauchi nodded, his hand tensing on the third statement. Jade's eyes narrowed. 'Interesting, so his hand tenses with a lie.'
What followed was a repeat of the questions Sanza asked her earlier. Jade had to fight off her developing grin as the Detective became increasingly irritated. "For… the sake of this interview, could you tell me two truths and a lie one more time?"
'This again? Ok.' "Grass is green, rabbits are cute, and I love Heroes," Jade said confidently. Once again, the hand tensed on the third statement.
Tsukauchi took a deep breath. "Alright. I'll ask you a new set of questions now; please be truthful."
"Do you know today's date?"
"The seventh day of the third month of the year 17691."
"Do you know the country of Japan?"
"Nope."
"Have you ever heard of All Might?"
"I… hold on." Jade thought for a moment. "It's vaguely familiar, but I can't say for certain where I heard it."
"Ok. Did you know anybody named All for One?" Tsukauchi needed to know if she had ties with another self-proclaimed demon lord.
Jade snorted. "What kind of loser names themselves that? Edgelord much?"
"…What are you?"
Jade smiled. "I'm a lot of things. An amnesiac. A village peasant. A battle-tested warrior and magic user. A betrayed True Hero. A demonoid. And now, I'm the second strongest Demon Lord in Lagurdia."
"Do you think you can show me some of this "magic" of yours?"
Jade smiled, "Sure." She raised her hands. Tsukauchi moved to do something, but she broke the shackles before he could and conjured up a small green fireball from her hands. He stared at the orb as if it had insulted his dog.
Tsukauchi sat back down, put his clipboard on the table, leaned back, and took a deep breath. A knock on the door interrupted his thought process. He promptly got up and headed for the exit. "Excuse me for a few minutes. I'll be right back."
Jade nodded her head and waited. And waited. And waited. For nearly two hours. Fuck this place for making her wait! She should rase this police department to ashes for the insult of taking their sweet time.
Before she could charge up enough power to nuke a city, a knock on the door jolted Jade from unleashing hell. "Come in." She called out.
Tsukauchi stepped inside, holding a steaming cup of some liquid. "Hello again. Apologies for making you wait. Would you like some Hot Chocolate?"
Jade raised an eyebrow. Bringing her chocolate unprompted almost made up for the wait. Almost. She held out her hand and took the hot drink. She didn't even wait for it to cool before drinking from it. "Ah, nice and rich flavor. Stronger than I'm used to. The quality of food makes a big difference."
Tsukauchi nodded. "Glad you like it. We have somebody you might want to meet."
Jade raised an eyebrow. This should be good. Clearly, this person was important if the Big Bad Demon Lord was given a bribe to remain calm. Tsukauchi waved his hand, and the door opened with the Dogman walking in. Following him was a stout woman with green hair and eyes. Strikingly similar to Jade's current form. The woman was visibly shaken.
"Who are you?" Jade asked with a light grin.
The shaking woman looked at Jade like the woman had witnessed a ghost. Tsukauchi jumped in. "Do you not recognize her?" He asked.
Jade was now frowning as something in her mind was screaming at her. "…I feel like I should. Give me a moment." 'Alter Ego, what do you think?'
'I'm in the dark as much as you are.' The skill paused. 'Although, maybe using [Memory Recall] will help?'
'Worth a shot.' [Memory Recall] was a skill that allowed Jade to perfectly recall events she lived through, all the way to her birth and even before that. Not that she ever went that far back. By the time she gained the skill, she had already been a Demon Lord for fifty years. Whatever past she had before being found by that hunting party was already long dead. But, she might as well humor them.
Jade focused on the physically older woman and pictured her face. She activated the spell, and in a sudden moment, a flash. One of a taller, slimmer, and less tired face, but still the same face. And once that memory popped up, more followed like an avalanche.
Jade froze in shock. 'Who's that boy? Who's Kachan? Maybe I should watch some All Might disaster footage. Wait, why would I be interested in that?'
'What are these memories?' Alter Ego asked in disbelief and fear.
"You should probably give it up."
"I AM HERE!"
"I'm so sorry, Izuku!"
"Useless Deku!"
"Now, now, Midoriya, it's your fault for provoking your classmates. Stay there and think about what you've done."
More and more kept flooding back. Further and further back. JadeIzuku began to hyperventilate as she stared at the woman. No. Not woman. Her mother.
"Mama?" The missing child asked her mother before blacking out a third time in 24 hours.
"IZUKU!"