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My Demonic Academia: Chapter 2 [not yet finished]
🕑 Added 2024-01-01 08:08:21 +0000 UTC“Oi! Deku!”
Izuku tripped at the shove and subsequent laughter of Bakugou’s minions. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a couple people look at him with sympathy, but nobody wanted to get Bakugou’s attention.
Izuku didn’t blame them. It wasn’t a great position to be in.
“What’s got you all chipper lately, huh?” Bakugou leaned down to glare at Izuku menacingly. “You’ve had that dopey expression on your face all week and it’s starting to piss me off!”
Dang it. School was done! Izuku had almost made it through the day without incident!
Before Izuku could process it, Bakugou had his bag in his hand and was rooting through it.
No!
“W-wait! K-Kacchan, p-please!” Izuku was about to…
Actually, Izuku didn’t know what he was about to do. Any action to go against Bakugou could probably classify as ‘suicide’, and he wasn’t anywhere near ready for that.
(Un)fortunately, the choice was taken out of his hands when flunky #1 came up and grabbed his shoulder tightly.
“What the freak is this?” Bakugou looked at Izuku incredulously while holding up his newest notebook, ‘Notes on the Paranormal #1’. “Your stupid notes on heroes was worth shit, but I didn’t think you’d actually go out and find something more worthless!”
Bakugo’s words seemed to be met with confusion from everybody else in the hallway, followed swiftly by derision.
Flunky #2 burst into laughter, “wow, didn’t think you were pathetic enough to start believing in fairy tales Deku!”
“Yeah!” Flunky #1 tightened his grip, fingers digging through his shirt and into his skin while giving a nasty grin. “Though I guess it’s not too far from what you usually do, eh? Going on about being a hero without a quirk, it’s pretty much supernatural, right?”
The mockery burned, but Izuku was able to ignore it and the following insults. His focus remained on Bakugou the book.
Internally, past the fear and anxiety, Izuku’s terror stricken brain latched into an amusing tidbit.
If his dreams of becoming a hero were on par with the supernatural existing… Didn’t that mean that Bakugou’s flunkeys were saying he could be a hero?
For the first time somebody had said Izuku could be a hero, and it was one of his tormentors. Albeit indirectly.
Because demons existed.
Thankfully, Izuku didn’t laugh. His worry for his notebook overrode everything else.
“Tch,” Bakugou threw Izuku’s stuff on the ground while giving him a scornful look. “Keep your delusions if you want Deku, so long as you remember your place.”
Huh. That went a lot better than he was expecting.
As Bakugou left the two flunkeys hurriedly followed, leaving Izuku to frantically grab the notebook and opened it.
Seeing the inside of the cover, Izuku couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Bakugou must not have seen it, or he would absolutely have had more words for him.
Izuku knew it had been a risk to bring it to school with him, where who knows what could happen to it. But he couldn’t help it.
Staring at the scrap of paper he had carefully taped there, with writing far more elegant than Izuku had ever managed, he looked at the note that Momo had left for him.
It might not mean much to others. But to Izuku it was proof that what happened hadn’t been a dream.
He had actually been kidnapped. By people who wanted to kill him. He had seen an actual demon summoning, only for said demoness to actually save him.
She said her name was Momo Yaoyorozu (which didn’t sound very demonic, but it wasn’t like he knew what actually was demonic or not). But more importantly…
Momo had actually wanted to be his friend.
Izuku quickly gathered everything up and walked out, head down and carefully avoiding everybody else, not relaxing until he made it out of the building and on his way back home.
Inevitably, his thoughts turned back to the previous week.
Sadly, Izuku’s memory became pretty hazy after being introduced to Momo. He kinda remembered seeing something red and black(?) followed by a cacophony of sound and sheer terror, and Izuku had been sure his heart would pound out of his chest when his mind sorta shut down.
After waking up, he was somehow back at his house. In his own bed. Listening to his mom as she made dinner.
The entire incident had felt like a strange dream. If that had been all, Izuku probably would have dismissed the entire thing as such.
Yet the note left behind had proven otherwise.
Naturally, this had spurred a flurry of research from him. The focus he put into analyzing heroes was turned towards demons and the paranormal.
Clearly they existed, and obviously there were people that were aware of that. Momo had been summoned by two cultists, they had to learn from somewhere. They might have made a crucial mistake, not meaning to summon Momo in particular, but they summoned a demon. Which meant it was possible for him to learn.
Initial results were… Depressingly limited.
The concept of demons was as old as religion. For as long as people believed in a higher power, there was always a form of opposition. Which meant there was a veritable mountain of theories and literature on the subject, spanning thousands of years and across the world.
With heroes, there were always various ways he could verify the quality of the information. From personal experience to reputable sites. With demons though?
It was a bit harder.
Still, Izuku was hardly one to give up. Especially since he knew demons existed. That meant it was possible. He just needed to figure out how.
Izuku felt himself frown sadly as the thought brought him back to Momo.
Sure, a week wasn’t very long, but he had been hopeful for some type of communication from the demoness.
N-not that he wanted to put any pressure on her or anything! H-he was willing to wait if it came to it. But… It would be nice for some sort of confirmation or… Something. You know?
Izuku sighed as he turned onto a side street close to his apartment.
He was as in the dark regarding friendships as he was about demons. And wasn’t that just sad? He really didn’t want to think that Momo realized she could do better than Izuku.
It might have been true, but he didn’t want her to realize that.
The thought hurt, but at least she hadn’t refused to his face like others had. That was something. Right?
“Hey kid!”
Izuku jerked around as somebody called out. Down the street there was a guy waving something in the air.
“Hey, you dropped something!” The man called out again.
Great. Now he was inconveniencing random strangers. Izuku felt heat race up to his face as he quickly walked up to the man.
“S-sorry,” Izuku muttered as he tried to figure out what dropped. Did Bakugou tear a hole in it that he missed? The angle on the man’s hand was poor, but he could see some sort of rectangular object…
The moment Izuku was in range, the guy lunged and grabbed Izuku’s hand.
“Alright kid, just keep your mouth shut and follow me.” The man’s expression and tone completey changed as he gave the orders.
To Izuku’s horror, his body immediately followed those instructions, never letting go of the man’s hand. There were other people on the street, but for all intents and purposes it looked like he was following the guy of his own volition!
The guy said he had to keep his mouth shut, but maybe if he changed his expression…
“Hey, stop that.” The man ordered with a frown. “Just keep your expression nice and calm. We’re just having a nice walk, and we’re going to get into that car there, alright?”
Izuku’s face went slack.
An emitter quirk, extending control over another body person’s action. But his thoughts were unaffected. Method of control seemed to be a mix of touch and voice. Did it require all five fingers? Or was it any sort of touch? Did the control extend past contact? Or would he continue to follow the orders even after the man let go? Was it language dependent? Did he just do whatever the man said, or was he interpreting the words and following through based on what he himself thought the man wanted? Could he find a loophole to exploit?
Unfortunately, they reached a car before Izuku could figure a way out. The back door of a van opened up, and the kidnapper ‘graciously’ helped Izuku up.
“Alright, go ahead and take a little nap now.” The man instructed, giving a small wave to the driver.
Izuku tried to fight it, but soon a wave of darkness swept through his thoughts.
------------------------------------------------------------
A low chanting broke through the haze, and within moments Izuku woke up fully.
He was in an empty warehouse (a different one this time. Were there really that many empty warehouses in Musutafu?). Different from before though, there were six people that he could see. Five people were wearing robes, standing in a circle around him while chanting words he didn’t understand.
Izuku could see the original kidnapper standing separate from the others. He was reading from an old book.
He must have twitched or something, as the guy looked up.
“Carry on.” He informed the robed people before looking at Izuku. “Look kid, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way, but either way we will be doing this. Make a fuss, and I got no problem knocking you out again. Understood?”
Izuku quickly nodded, eyes darting rapidly between the cultists and the circle. Taking a chance, he coughed softly, “W-who are you guys? W-what are you d-doing?” He managed, heart pounding. “I-is this because of what happened t-to the others last week?”
Were they friends of the previous cultists? Was this revenge? Or did they think they’d get different results or something?
The arrangement was different from last time. This time, Izuku was actually in the circle. The symbols might have been different as well. It was hard to tell from this angle.
The leader looked at him for a moment before shrugging slightly. “I don’t know what others you are referring to. And this is nothing you would understand.” He dismissed him brusquely.
Ok, so not revenge then. The other part, however, was pretty much the same reply he got from the others. Was that just a standard reply all cultists gave? Did they have a pamphlet on what to say to non-cultists?
“All you need to know,” the man continued in an aloof tone, “is that if you behave, we’ll let you free. We simply needed some bait is all. Now shush.” He finished before turning his attention back to the book.
Anything else would probably be met with threats, so Izuku ‘sushed’. Physically at least. Mentally, his mind was racing. A defense mechanism to attempt to push back the panic.
So, they were obviously summoning a demon. There might be some differences from the previous week, but they both had a circle, candles, robed chanting men, and a tied up Izuku. There weren’t that many things it could be.
What were the odds they’d summon Momo?
For a moment Izuku felt hope before he remembered what Momo had said. It was a mistake that caused her to be summoned. It wasn’t intentional.
He didn’t even know what the mistake that allowed her to be summoned was. What were the odds these guys were going to make the same mistake?
… Ok, Izuku had no idea what those odds were, but he was sure they were pretty minuscule. First, they actually had to do enough for an actual summoning. Which was ‘probably’ rare, otherwise demons would be more well known, right? Then, while getting enough right for an actual summoning, they had to make the exact mistake to get the wrong demon.
Yeah, Izuku wasn’t all that confident.
But speaking of mistakes.
Izuku coughed, “I-I thought that child sacrifices weren’t, um, allowed?” Internally he cursed at how that sounded more like a question instead of a statement. “I’m only t-twelve, I-isn’t that too young?”
Izuku froze as the man looked up with a curious glance. “You recognize what we’re doing?” He mused before shrugging. “I suppose it’s not that hard to guess. But why would that be a deterrent at all? I would imagine that the dark forces that be would love to despoil one such as you.”
Izuku blanched, but before he could say anything the man continued with a lazy shrug. “Fortunately for you, as I said, we simply needed bait. Behave, and this will all be but a bad dream. Now!”
Izuku froze when the man slammed the book shut. “The time is upon us.” He intoned dramatically, walking up to the circle. Taking a flask out of his robes, he poured some sort of foul smelling liquid at the edge of the circle.
“Sha ve soltsra, meh no kreaos.” He intoned. “Kek shri casita. Belgrotha fes sorsia!”
“Belgrotha fes sorsia!” Chanted the other five.
“Kri shantso bek tiran’, geat dro kan. Belgrotha shri storosia!”
“Belgrotha shri storosia!”
Izuku shivered, and for a moment it felt like his skin was shaking with static electricity before it vanished.
For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, and the lead cultist frowned before repeating the chant once more.
Twice more, and then the earth began to shake, candles flickering as a column of smoke erupted within the circle.
“Who has summoned me?” A twisted voice called out above him, one that sounded very familiar and caused Izuku to perk up, even if he couldn’t see anything.
“I have.” The original kidnapper called out, and Izuku gained enough sight just in time to see the man dash forward to grab something.
“And you will call me master.” The man grinned maliciously, and Izuku recognized the tone of voice as when he ordered Izuku.
D-did he think he could use his quirk on a demon?
… Wait, could demons be affected by quirks?!
Was Izuku just used as bait to capture the first friend he had ever made?!
There was a beat of silence as Izuku grappled with that horrifying question, only for his attention to snap back when the voice turned into a more familiar one.
“You were already knee deep in your own grave.” The suddenly familiar voice snarled lowly. “Congratulations on finding a way to dig it even deeper.”
The next few moments were a blur. One Izuku couldn’t even see as everything went to black. By the time he could see clearly again, all of the cultists were on the ground, moaning in pain.
The only person standing proud was a familiar looking girl with wings and claws and flowing black hair, tail swaying in irritation. She looked at him with onyx eyes, and Izuku managed a weak smile.
“H-hey M-Momo,” he licked his dry lips as he tried to figure out what to say. “H-how has your week been?”
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Moments before, in The Underworld
Momo threw herself on the couch with a groan, throwing her arm over her eyes.
Normally she’d have avoided such shows of aggravation. It was improper. This particular room was at least mostly unused though, so Momo figured she could get away with it. And these were extenuating circumstances.
After all, last week had been… Rather trying for the young demoness.
After taking Izuku back to his house and being taken back home herself, Momo was greeted almost instantly by frantic parents.
It had been over the top and they were clearly overreacting, but then she already expected that of them.
Unfortunately, once they were done fussing over her, Momo had then been scolded thoroughly for her actions.
Which was rather hypocritical of them, she just wanted to point out.
Momo had, of course, told them what had occurred. From being summoned by fools to them falling unconscious to talking with and befriending Izuku.
Sure, befriending a sacrifice - even if said sacrifice wasn’t supposed to be a sacrifice - wasn’t exactly… traditional. Yet she couldn’t forget the earnest way he spoke to her when he was trying to cheer her up. The genuine desire for a friend that matched her own.
… And yes, the purity of his soul also called to her. But that was only a small part of her motivation!
Alas, her parents had been less than impressed.
After that day, Momo had been given an entire new set of lectures to attend, all revolving around proper summoning protocol and procedures. All of this on top of her regular classes.
That, she could deal with.
The mockery was another.
Knocking on the door caused Momo to lift her head up. “Who is it?” She called out.
“Who else would it be?” Zellmur’s grumble came through the door.
Momo perked up slightly and straightened up. “Literally anybody else in the castle?” She responded dryly, “Come in Zellmur.”
The demon guard opened the door and walked in, collapsing lazily on a chair. “So, how’s it goin’?” He drawled, taking a flask and somehow drinking it through his helmet.
Momo didn’t quite get how that worked.
Ignoring that, Momo raised an eyebrow as she focused on the next most incredulous topic. “You searched me out just to talk?” She asked skeptically.
“I know, disgusting, isn’t it?” Zellmur took a long gulp before giving her a look. “Listen. It’s easier for my job if you stay in. But you’re upset and frustrated right now. If you don’t get it out of your system, you’re gonna want to go out or something soon. Which is more work for me. So, talk. If I can keep you occupied long enough, you won’t want to leave before the end of my shift.”
Ah. That made more sense.
“And you think you can help me?” Momo asked archly.
“Pffft, hahahahaha! Me? You’re kiddin’ right?” Momo frowned as Zellmur chortled merrily, taking another drink. “Nah. But, I think I can delay it enough so you’ll do it during somebody else’s shift.”
She really should have expected something like that.
Momo gave a slow blink. “I’m so glad you have my best interests at heart.” She stated dryly.
“Yep. That’s me.” Zellmur waved at her. “Now c’mon. Let’s get chit chattin’, or whatever.”
Momo stared at him for a few seconds before deciding she had nothing else to lose. And he was, perhaps, more aware of the situation than most.
“I just came back from the Baal social event.” Momo explained, lips curling downward at the memory. “I’m sure you’ve heard what everybody is saying?”
Zellmur tilted his head. “About what?” He asked blankly, his tone bland. When Momo gave him a look he raised his hands defensively “I’ve found it’s too much effort to listen to most people.” He replied without shame.
That actually had a chance of being true.
Momo’s gaze narrowed. “Regarding my first summoning last week.”
Zellmur kept an expectant look, and Momo sighed. “The number of people debating my competency has been extremely vexing.” She expounded reluctantly, her hands fisting the blankets beneath her.
It had only been a week. And yet everybody seemed to know about it. Momo had been to three separate social events since then, and it had come up each time. Repeatedly.
Never in front of her parents, oh no. Demons were rarely that foolish. But she could see them out of the corner of her eyes. The digs and snide remarks.
Child of the two most powerful demons in the Underworld - summoned by two bumpkins with an illegal sacrifice.
“It only took a single child to summon the girl. A true shame. Perhaps she thinks herself a dog, to come running at the first hint of a call.”
“I heard it wasn’t even her name she responded to. How disgraceful.”
“Now now, we cannot place all the blame on the poor girl - I hear that competency tends to skip a generation.”
It was the hottest topic in the Underworld.
Which was really quite unfair. Any demon would be overjoyed at being summoned by fools. It was practically a free soul.
But since it had happened on her first summoning, since she responded to said summoning despite it being so botched (Momo certainly wasn’t going to illuminate anybody on the quality of Izuku’s soul), and that she hadn’t won through cunning or might, but by the foolishness of the summoners themselves…
Well, the culmination of it all created a situation that reflected poorly on her.
“Eh, people always talk. Can’t stop that.” Zellmur drawled, claws scraping against his armor absently. “It’s too much trouble getting worked up over little stuff like that.”
Momo glared at the nonchalant demon, “Perception affects reaction.” She repeated the words that had been drilled into her for years. “All interactions are based on how people view others and those associated with them.”
Being an heiress was a rather superfluous position in demon society. If her father ever died, there was a good chance the apocalypse was upon them, in which case what exactly was she inheriting? Yet it was still a position. One with duties and responsibilities that Momo took most seriously.
Responsibilities that would be much harder to carry out if others did not take her seriously. Demons were a chaotic bunch, and treachery a commonly accepted business strategy.
“Ok, but consider.” Zellmur brought up in a solemn tone as if he were going to give her some big secret. “What if… You just don’t interact with anybody?”
Momo stared at her guard in disbelief before laughing at the, frankly, impossible suggestion. “So when I exile myself to Cania, I can tell my parents you are responsible?” She giggled, her hand in front of her mouth.
“Hey, I ain’t forcing you to do anything, don’t pin that on me.” Zellmur seemed pleased by her reaction nonetheless.
It didn’t truly make anything better, but Momo felt slightly better. As good as she could under the circumstances. Even as she continued to talk with Zellmur, the root of the problem refused to go away.
It didn’t help with the frustrating inability to talk with Izuku
Her parents had assured her it was impossible until Izuku came of age. A number of the additional classes said the same.
And Momo understood, to a degree. Even if she didn’t like it.
The fact that Momo couldn’t explain such to Izuku though… That was very frustrating.
Maybe it had to do with her being a demon, not wanting to be known as one that broke her word.
But honestly?
Momo had seen the chance to make a genuine friend - Somebody her own age that, despite being different species, she could spend time with - Only for that chance to be yanked away. The window closed before she had the chance to experience it.
Still, it wouldn’t do to have her emotions displayed for the world.
To her shock, as their conversation was winding down, Momo felt a now familiar pull around the center of her being.
Again?!
“Z-Zellmur?” Momo managed with a sheepish grin, “do you remember what you said about not wanting me to go anywhere?”
“Tch. Shift change is so close too.” Zellmur clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Sure I can’t persuade you ta wait thirty to forty-five minutes or so?”
Momo winced as the pull became more insistent, and Zellmur suddenly understood.
“Oh no, nonono, how can you be summoned again?!” He asked incredulously as he looked around in a panic. “Why is it on my shift again?! Why couldn’t you wait to do this for another hour?!”
“I don’t know.” Momo frowned at the intensity. She could ignore it of course, but it was stronger than before. Perhaps that meant it was a more competent summoner?
She hoped so.
“Wait!” Momo nearly panicked herself as she saw Zellmur about to cast a spell. “Don’t tell my parents!”
Momo could practically see the incredulous look behind the helmet.
“They’ll just panic and overreact like they did before.” Momo hastily explained. “This is just a normal summoning, no need for -“
“A ‘normal summoning’ that shouldn’t happen? Like last time!” Zellmur rebutted. But he wasn’t moving, which was important.
“I handled it last time too.” Momo reminded him. “Just… Give me the chance!”
He stared at her for several seconds, and Momo waited with bated breath for his decision.
If this summoning went well, it would… Well, it wouldn’t erase the embarrassment of the first, but it would mitigate it. And if it was another dud, then nobody needed to know it happened.
“If my father found out about it, just imagine how much paperwork that would cause.” Momo pointed out, which seemed to tip the scales in her favor.
The demon stared at her for a moment before groaning and collapsing in the chair once more. “You’ve got an hour.” Zellmur grumbled. “After that? I’m throwing you under a bus. Ya hear me? A bus.”
“Deal!” She accepted eagerly, letting go and allowing the summoning to guide her.
This would be different. What were the odds of two failed summonings in a row?
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“Who has summoned me?”
Momo kept the same traditional approach as she had before, and right off the bat she could sense that the circle was far more secure than the first. That was promising.
Not that she wanted to be bound. Momo was confident she could break it if she needed too. But it was a good sign that they were somewhat competent.
Unfortunately, as she was scanning the circle she felt the familiar trace of her own spellwork.
What was Izuku doing here?!
“I have.” Declared one of the summoners, drawing her attention from Izuku and the dying hopes of a normal summoning.
To Momo’s shock, that summoner then proceeded to break the boundary of the circle - the very thing protecting their lives and souls - and grabbed onto her arm.
“And you may call me master.” He sneered.
… What?
This was…
Ok, Momo didn’t even know how to classify this. She was too busy being stunned at the sheer audacity/stupidity of the human.
She was brought back when she felt the trickle of foreign energy trickle into her body.
It took but a moment to purge it from her system with her own energy. Another to grab onto the summoner’s arm, tight enough she felt his bones shift.
A quick glance down confirmed that yep, that was Izuku. There was no way she could mistake that fluffy green hair.
“You were already knee deep into your own grave.” Momo snarled, her composure falling with the spell to alter her voice. Not that it was needed - anger twisted her words just as well. She couldn’t help it. This was the second time somebody tried to sacrifice a child to her! The fact that it was Izuku only added to the flames. “Congratulations on finding a way to deepen that grave.”
Before he could react, Momo tightened her grip and threw him at another of the cultists, the two then flying back several feet.
They all began shouting in a panic, but Momo threw a cloud of darkness around them before they could react.
It was a brief fight. None of them knew what they were doing. Just a few punches and multiple broken bones later, and Momo felt like she had let out enough aggression.
Within moments, Momo lifted the darkness and looked around in satisfaction. Six bodies lay crumpled in unconsciousness.
She breathed out slowly, doing her best to calm down. When she had her rage under control she finally turned towards Izuku.
The boy was looking at her with wide eyes, and for a moment Momo was worried that she scared him with her assault.
-------------------------[UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!]---------------------------
I'm almost done here... And I'm honestly disappointed I wasn't able to finish it. I'll just need to finish this last little section, letting Momo and Izuku talk a little bit. Momo will apologize, Izuku will apologize back, and he'll ask questions about demons that she'll answer to the best of her ability. Afterwords, she leaves after making sure that Izuku can make it home on his own.
Before Izuku leaves, he takes the ritual book that the lead cultist had.
-------------------------[UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!]---------------------------
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“Zellmur!” Momo called out as she returned through the portal, the bodies of the cultists being reduced to ash upon arrival, and she quickly contained the souls.
She just needed to find her parents and tell them her version first. Simple, right?
“Zellmur, where are -“ Momo stopped as she noticed a paper with a crudely drawn picture.
A picture that contained a poorly drawn stick figure with horns being driven over by a large yellow vehicle.
Momo stiffened at the sound of a cough, carefully turning around.
“Good evening Mother, Father.” She said with as much dignity as she could muster. “Do you have a moment where I could talk to you?”
