Genres: Friendship, Humor, Action, Romance, & Family
Others: Slow burn, Platonic relationships, Fluff, Possible dark themes in future chapters

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I

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People are still people, quirks and all.

Just like the difference in talent and skill between an artist and a scientist, both are fundamentally humans. Each of us is given unique qualities for our unique purpose, but underneath those superficial things are creatures with the same eyes, lungs, bones, and a beating heart. No matter how much we try to differentiate ourselves from one another, all humans are born from the womb of their mother, and all humans shall also return as ashes of the earth where they once belonged to. 'You are born a human; therefore, you will die a human.'

("Y-You... You're not... You're not human!")

However, only a few people can afford to think that way given how the world has evolved into this new era of humans with natural-born powers called quirks. People are suddenly given the ability to rise up to an entirely different stage where wishes can be shaped into their different sets of reality, but while this is a way for humans to become better versions of themselves, it has given certain desires the chance to take form born from something dark and insidious— something that turns a common man into a 'villain'.

("Y-Y-You're just a demon! A-A-A filthy demon...!")

And because of the existence of villains, people can't help but to expect evil from others. They become all too painfully aware of one simple yet horrible fact: even with certain rules and those who implement them, they become meaningless decorations and lifeless figures to a person who is fully committed to do evil. This drives their fear to overcome their logic, and they revert to one of their most primal instincts: to survive.

So, what does Man do in the face of that evil?

"Villains like you should die already!"

He makes a run for it.

(Then, shortly after, the two others follow him behind; one of them trips on his own foot and starts limping, desperate to get away.)

'Pathetic.'

A lone girl wearing a black, tattered uniform is left standing there with a purple bruise contrasting the paleness of her cheek— something bitter and metallic taste starts forming in her mouth and she tries to spit it out; most of it is fresh blood, but the rest is just pure disgust from what she witnessed.

"You owe me lunch for bleeding."

She doesn't bother to look up and see who it is— the warmth of familiarity is enough to put her into relative ease, but a flavour of disappointment approaches her as soon as she feels the person's presence near her. Wiping the remaining blood off the corner of her mouth, she spits it out and buries the rest into the dirt.

A tall, black-haired boy then extends his hand towards her. "That's a hundred yen, pal."

"Hey, the bet doesn't count anymore!" Brushing off the singes on her sleeves, the shorter girl picks up her pair of blue-tinted glasses from the ground and puts them on before facing the boy. "The bastard had an augmenting quirk! Didn't know he'd hit me in the face first!"

"But you still took on the punch and you bled like I expected." He then hands her a handkerchief from one of his pockets. A friendly offer, but to the girl, it's another way of saying 'I told you so' to her. "I'm afraid it still counts, my friend."

Clicking her tongue in irritation, the violet-haired girl takes it begrudgingly and cleans the dirt off her face.

"You know, you're the only one in the world who'd make that fucking bet," she grumbles in a low voice, unsure if she finds that amusing or annoying. "Some friend, you are."

"Well, I didn't really bet for you to get injured," he says with an unapologetic grin. "I simply bet on how the world deals with stupidity, that's all."

"I was testing my quirk, okay?!" She snaps at the boy, shoving the handkerchief back at him. "Not like you'd punch me if I asked you to!"

"Dude, trying out stuff with bullies is never a good idea." He puts the cloth back into his pocket, shaking his head as if to shame the girl. "And trust me; I'd totally punch you if you gave me the chance. To help you out with your, uh, 'quirk experiments', of course."

Rolling her eyes away, the girl starts walking ahead, her hand caressing the fresh bruise on her cheek. "Sometimes I really do wonder why I'm still hanging out with you, Sero."

The boy simply grins and follows her shortly. "The answer is actually quite simple, Yuri— I'm the best you could ever have."

.

Middle school is pain, but life in general is pain for a fourteen-year-old Hoori Oniyuri. The moment her quirk had appeared at the age of four, it's already been decided by God and the universe itself that from that day onward, her world will be nothing short of hell. 'Fitting for a demon, everyone would say.'

People don't make life easy for her or anyone with a specific kind of quirk— the 'evil' kind of quirk. It's just one of the many, unspoken truths in their society; that there are some who are paranoid of others with horns, fangs, claws and certain characteristics that show the textbook definition of evil. They are the types that despise anyone who has the power to intimidate them and possibly control them. They bring down those who contrast from the heroes they worship in some misguided attempt to be like their idols, to make their own difference by punishing the different.

Yuri then lets out a heavy sigh. Ultimately, this is all about quirks, isn't it? 'These damned quirks.'

"Oi, Yuri, are you doing some self-deprecating monologue in your head again? Lunch isn't gonna last forever, you know."

"Shut up, I'm not doing a monologue!" Yuri shoots the boy an irritated look and takes a bite of her third sweet bread of the noon. "And what kind of lunatic eats seaweed for lunch?"

Sero Hanta takes a mouthful from his packed seaweed out of spite. "Uh, every Japanese person on Earth does? And it's actually a good and healthy snack unlike yours."

"Seaweeds are meant to be eaten with rice, not by itself! That's like a crime against... rice balls and lunch boxes or something. And Jagabee tastes better!"

"Anyway," Sero pointedly ignores her whole statement and finishes the last of his snack. "You still gonna do your 'experiments'?"

At his question, the horned girl purses her lips and turns away quietly. The sting on her cheek becomes more evident along with the phantom pain from the bruises on her body that had disappeared some time ago. Her memories comes flashing back to her like a movie in a theater— the blood on her fangs, her skin going numb, and the cuts and wounds on her arms and legs— these are only the few things that resulted from those trials and errors. Yuri clasps her hands together like a prayer.

"Yeah, well, it's the only way I can find out more about my quirk," she murmurs as she hugs her knees to her chest. "It's the only choice that I have. To get hurt and learn in the process."

Another moment of silence hangs between them. There's the warmth of the noon's sunlight, the gentle breeze, and the comfort in each other's company at the school's barren rooftop, but Sero interrupts them and says—

"Man, you're a real masochist, aren't cha?"

"M-Maso—?!" Caught by surprise, Yuri snaps her head back to the boy, dropping her bread by accident. "I-I'm not a—"

"Dude, you can't keep hurting yourself like that!" Sero retaliates. "Sure, it's for your own sake, but you don't have to suffer for it."

"B-But I—" She looks down on the ground, trying not to bite her lower lip. "This is the only way... This is my last op—"

"There has to be another way." He insists firmly. "If you can't think of anything, I'll help you. I'll come up with something."

"And why would you even do that?!" Yuri clenches her hands into fists in frustration. "What does it have to do with you anyway?!"

"Because I'm your friend," Sero answers, simple. "It's what I'm here for, right?"

She pauses, her eyes widening in surprise.

This is Sero Hanta, the guy who's been by her side since their second year middle school, the guy who can make friends with the entire school but still chooses to be with the one that everyone hates and avoids the most. She doesn't understand anything about that at all; nothing in his words makes sense other than the fact that he means them, he believes in them— this is his truth, and it should be hers, too, because she is his friend.

In that moment of acceptance, all the tension gently leaves her body, and she just sighs as her shoulders drop as if to surrender.

"God, you're more stupid than I am. Being friends with the school villain...?" She turns away, covering her mouth to try and hide the smile forming on her lips. "Who's the real masochist between us now, huh?"

"Well," he shrugs and smiles his casual, silly smile. "Birds of the same feather do flock together."

"So then... What was the bet really for?"

"To stop you, dumbass. Ever heard of reverse psychology?" Sero punches her lightly on the arm. "I made that bet to scare you, but you met up with them and got beaten down by those bullies anyway."

"Well, don't worry about that anymore. Like you said, nothing good comes out of it," she returns the punch. "And it sucks. I mean, that should be obvious enough already, but you know, the surprises are just unpleasant. Like this bruise on my face."

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. You look like you're growing a grape on your face," Sero shakes his head after taking another look at the violet mark on the girl's left cheek. "Good thing the Evil Eye works or you'd end up in the nurse's office for real."

"Yep, definitely wouldn't want that. The office smells like bananas, ugh." Yuri's face twists into utter disgust at the memory of staying in that room the whole afternoon after getting beat up by third years last year. (Coincidentally, that was also around the time when Sero first talked to her.) "And for crying out loud, don't give my quirk a chuunibyou* name! It's fucking lame!"

"And your Scales of the Glass Basilisk don't work against augmented blows... Hmm..." He cups his chin and nods as if he's deeply immersed in his thoughts. "Why didn't you use Hellfire to guard yourself instead?"

"You want me turn that guy into a freakin' barbeque?" Yuri tosses the bread a couple of feet away for the nearby birds to feed on. "And I said stop it with the cringey names!"

"You're fourteen, they only fit."

"You're only a year older than I am!" She raises her voice. "And I told you, the experiment was a test for my scales! This part where he punched me was completely unexpected!"

"Of course he's gonna go for your face first. That's like the number one rule in fights! Always go for the face!"

"I know! I just—" Yuri pauses for a second and puffs her other cheek in frustration. "I just thought... my scales are gonna act like a face armour or something."

"Like an automatic defense system from those sci-fi movies?" Sero raises an incredulous eyebrow at the girl. "Dude, you're not a robot! Your scales only appear when you set yourself on fire!"

"Yeah, I couldn't just set my entire body on fire! I'd end up butt naked! So I..." She trails off and hesitates for a moment, but with the growing awkward silence, she forces herself to at least confess the rest under a barely audible mumble. "...s-slapped my face with my own fire..."

Upon hearing her words, Sero bursts out laughing. "Jesus, you really are a dumbass!"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Embarrassed, Yuri's cheeks grow bright red. "I was trying to improvise!"

"Sorry, sorry..." The boy tries to calm himself down and wipes the tear away from the corner of his eye. "Remind me, Hoori Oniyuri-san— what's so important about this again?"

"I don't know what my quirk really is, okay?" Yuri tries not to sulk, still embarrassed from her own confession. "Like I know I'm not Satan's incarnate. I mean, do I look like I have goat feet to you?"

"You mean hooves?"

"Whatever, you get what I'm saying. Like, people are so stupid! Why do they call me a demon? " the girl rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Have you seen demons with scales? Do I have a pointy tail? Bat wings? I think not!"

"Well, I haven't seen actual demons, but your scales are invisible for the most part. And you can just hide your tail under your skirt," Sero states. "Not that I would know that, but you can prove it to me right now by lift—"

"You're not helping, moron!" Yuri raises her fist at the boy, ready to hit him. "What I'm trying to say is I know I'm not a demon! Or at least I'm not a full one, just a quarter or something."

"Oh, like a demon dragon spawn from the union of a Demon Overlord and a mystical Dark Dragon?" Sero asks with a wide, teasing grin. "Man, you'd really be a chuunibyou's dream come true by then."

"Shut up! I'm just saying, idiot!" Utterly annoyed, the girl's face quickly heats up almost comically. "I just want to know if I'm—!"

("You're not human!")

And before she can even finish that sentence, she drops into silence and looks away from Sero. Yuri then curls back to her previous position— she wraps her arms around her knees again and buries her face into them.

"I want to know if I'm not just the demon that people make me out to be."

Silence has taken hostage the space between them as a cluster of clouds cast a looming shadow over Yuri, keeping Sero in the bright sunlight.

The comforting stillness then drowns into this sickening, thundering, and heart-wrenching moment of solemn clarity when she becomes all too aware of her differences from the boy and the others. Her long, dark hair kept in a neat braid, her yellow eyes that glow eerily behind her tinted glasses, and the pair of sharp, black horns filed into small decorations protruding from her forehead— these are just the few parts of herself that she desperately tries to hide to fit in with everybody else, to be like everybody else.

(People are not accepting of those who are made different from them. But—)

"You're not a demon to me, though."

Almond eyes meet wide, yellow ones— in that brief moment of connection, there's only one truth between the two of them.

"As far as I know, you're just a dumbass who slapped herself," Sero grins. "In the face. With fire."

And as simple as that, Yuri doesn't hold back anymore and laughs as freely as she can. The clear blue sky is in view again— the spring sun is warm and bright above once more as her voice gently fades into the school bell ringing at the background.

"You really are an idiot," she smiles at Sero. "The biggest idiot I met."

"Not as much as you are." Sero returns the smile and gets on his feet, giving his hand for the girl to reach. "C'mon, let's go back before you start your dramatic monologues again."

"Shut up."

And without hesitation, Yuri takes it. Sero then helps her up, and the pair starts heading back to their classroom after cleaning up.

"... D-Do I really look like I always do monologues...?"

"Yeah, totally. You'd suddenly go quiet and gloomy and broody like when Naruto does the flashbacks at the swing or when Sasuke remembers that night when Itachi—"

"Ah, shut—! No spoilers!"

.

People are not accepting of those who are made different from them. This has been made harshly and brutally clear to Yuri through the years that she has lived with a 'villainous' quirk that contrasts the heroic idols and ideals of the masses. However, it also becomes equally true to others who deviate or reject the 'normal' treatment of her kind.

"Oi, are you that Sero? The guy with the tape quirk?"

Yuri stands behind one of the tall trees at the back of their school, hiding herself from the crowd nearby. It was same trio of varying heights and quirks from lunch earlier, and anger, frustration, and irritation are quite vivid across their equally ugly mugs. However, they don't seem to affect Sero as she sees him leaning casually against the wall while sucking on a juice pouch like those three students can't turn his face into a Picasso painting.

In cold sweat, Yuri girl can only clasp her hands in fear of knowing what those people are going to do to Sero next. This is an all too familiar scene; people going after anyone close to her. This is one of the reasons why people have either left or avoided her— who would want to get hurt in the first place?

"We know you've been hanging out with that demon girl from Class 4," the guy with the long, green tongue says, stepping in closer to Sero. "And you two look pretty clossse."

"It's called being friends, if that's what you mean," Sero replies casually, still drinking his juice. "Don't see anything weird about that."

"Don't be a fuckin' smartass, twig." A vein pops on the bald guy's head as he grits his teeth in annoyance. "We know what you really are."

"You're the same kind as that filthy demon!" The spiky-haired guy who screamed death on Yuri's face points an accusing finger at Sero. "You're a fuckin' villain like her!"

Upon hearing those words, her stomach falls into a bottomless pit. The world becomes static— something cold grips her heart and freezes her skin, sending chills all over her body. Little by little, she can feel her chest turning hollow as if the core of her soul has collapsed at the horrid reminder of what happens to people close to her.

(They get hurt, and they will learn in the process, too.)

(They get hurt, and they will learn that they're better off without her.)

(They get hurt, and they will learn that they should leave her.)

And everything comes to a screeching halt.

"So you guys think I'm also a 'villain' just because I hang out with her?" Sero asks, sarcastic in his tone and jokingly contemplative. "Y'all sure you got your brains checked?"

"'Birds of the same feather flock together,' so they sssay," Green Tongue hisses menacingly.

With a predatory grin, the bald guy then towers over Sero. "And we're here to put you down."

Suddenly, he grabs Sero by the collar and lifts him up with one arm. As Sero tries to break free from the guy's vice grip, the guy starts pulling back his other arm, and just as he goes in for a huge punch, something stops him.

"What the—?"

He then peeks over his arm see what it is, and—

"Shit!"

Glaring up at him is a pair of acid yellow eyes, and in that instant, he finds himself staring into the fires of Hell itself. Overcome by immediate fear and panic, the bald guy throws Sero towards the trees, and cold beads of sweat dripping from his face with his heart trying to escape from his throat.

"L-Let me go, you bitch!" He groans and grunts in pain as he tries to pull his arm back with all his strength, but even if he wants to tear it off from his body, the hand doesn't budge from his weight at all.

"O-Oi, y-you two, help me! I—" Desperation forces him to punch the hand off as he keeps turning back and forth from his arm to his underlings. "I-I can't...!"

But no matter how much he pleads to them, the two can only back away with their knees buckling under fear. As its intensity slowly creeps up from their feet up into their hearts, they realize who the true predator is here, and it has come to devour them.

"F-Fuck...!"

Seeing the resulting hopelessness in the other two's eyes, the guy becomes hysterical and starts screaming on top of his lungs.

"H-HELP...! PLEASE! ANYONE! HELP US!"

He starts screaming for anyone nearby, screaming for anyone that can hear them, but the grip around his arm only becomes tighter, making him cry out another blood-curdling scream.

"LET ME GO! I SAID— LET ME GO!"

He cries out more and more and once he reaches his weakest point, he finally drops on his knees. Just as he traces the hand up slowly to the shadow looming over him, he can only to stare at its face in utter horror.

And the Devil looks back.

A black dye has seemingly drowned the paleness of her skin starting from the tip of her fingers all the way up to her arms until it reaches near her shoulders as dark lines appear on her face as if remnants of dried blood are trailing from its sharp, yellow eyes down to chin. Random bumps of different sizes start to form on random places around both of her arms as if they're all going to burst at once, and at the centre of her forehead, a horizontal slit ruptures as an unknown object tries to break out from her flesh.

In one look, the trio becomes aware that this isn't the same girl from this noon earlier. This isn't the girl who's not going to fight back, the girl who's only going to let them kick her around.

And in one look, Sero becomes aware that this isn't his friend anymore. The smiling and expressive Yuri has gone dead silent— there's only this wordless stranger standing there without any trace of emotion on her face.

Sero has watched how one guy had completely surrendered with wide, horrified eyes and unending tears streaming down his face while the two others can only tremble in fear as they are too terrified to even move an inch all because of one girl who refuses to let any of them go, the girl who holds them all down with only a hand and nothing more.

But even then, he doesn't feel afraid or threatened by anything. Sitting there, only one thing has come into his mind the moment he saw the horned girl holding the guy's arm. And that is—

"Yuri, that's enough." Sero finally speaks as he gets up on his feet and approaches the girl.

As soon as he reaches her, he puts his hand gently on her arm. Her skin feels strangely cold, but upon his touch, warmth slowly returns into her as the black dye starts dissolving away along with the bumps on her arms and the thing on her forehead.

"You've done more than enough already," Sero says, calm and at ease. "Just let him go."

Carefully, the girl releases the bald guy's arm, and when she looks up at Sero, there's only Yuri— confused, wide-eyed, and in pain.

"Wha—"

Before she can even finish the word, Yuri suddenly winces from the cut on her forehead and the small, random punctures on her arms. Her eyebrows furrow as she tries to make sense out of the wounds on her body, but her confusion doesn't last long as she becomes startled at the bald guy cowering on the ground right in front of her.

"What—?" She only becomes more puzzled to see the other two trying to crawl away from them. "I... I don't remember...?"

"...It's okay, dude." Sero picks up her tinted glasses and hands it over to the girl. "You don't have to force yourself if you can't."

He then takes a quick look at the bald guy to check something, and weirdly enough, there's only a faint trace of Yuri's hand being there. Sero witnessed how she grabbed the guy hard enough that he couldn't pry himself away from her, but the bruises on his arm look like they mostly came from the missed punches when he tried to use force on her. It's also probably thanks to his thick and muscular arms that Yuri's hand could barely leave a mark, but even so, there should be more considering how much the guy struggled from her grip.

Just what the hell was that all about?

Sero shakes his head and tries not to think about it anymore. There are a lot that he and Yuri herself don't know about her quirk anyway. At least nothing worse happened, he thinks. 'Only psychological damage, I guess.'

"W... What happened...?" Yuri asks; her voice is almost as low as a whisper. "D-Did I...?"

For a moment, Sero considers telling the girl about the whole ordeal, but seeing how her hands start trembling uncontrollably, he keeps his lips in a thin line.

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong." He gives her his usual smile instead and puts a hand on her shoulder. "You were only trying to protect me, okay?"

Yuri then takes another look around— she watches how the other two finally manage to gather enough strength to retrieve the bald guy and make their escape towards the school gate. They all look too terrified to utter a word; they didn't even look back as they ran away as fast as they could. Feeling a wave of helplessness crashing onto her, she keeps her hands close to her chest.

Is this the result from another unknown part of her quirk? How much more does she not know of? How much more damage is she going to cause before she knows everything about herself? How much more pain and fear is she going to inflict on herself and others before she learns? How much more can she take?

And just what will it be all for?

But for now—

("Don't worry...")

She pushes those questions aside. Yuri then puts on her glasses and swallows everything that happened.

("You didn't do anything wrong.")

She can take comfort in that.

("You were only trying to protect me.")

'I can take comfort in that.'

"Thank you, Sero. And I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Taken aback, Sero can only blink his eyes at the girl's sudden words. "For what?"

"You stopped me, right?" Yuri says, grateful yet strangely distant. "It... must've been scary for you... but you—"

"I already told you, didn't I?" Sero cuts her off. "I'm your friend, and you shouldn't apologize for that."

Yuri gazes up at the boy's wide grin and wonders how he can change her mind with just a few words. For the moment, she chooses to surrender herself and mirror his smile with her own instead.

"I'll be right here if you need me." Sero then gives her a light pat on the head. "Okay?"

Yuri nods her head as an acceptance for the hidden promise in his words. Not just for him, but for her as well. 'For us.'

"Okay."

.

*Chuunibyou - aka "eighth-grade syndrome" is a slang term for the embarrassing behavior of 13-to-14-year-olds. It's also used to describe a person who manifests delusional behavior, particularly thinking that one has special powers that no other person has. Example in anime: Rintaro Okabe from Steins;Gate and Rikka Takanashi from Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!.

Nico: Yep. Yuri is now a tsundere edgelord.

LMAO kidding aside, WE'RE BACK AGAIN! The story is now in 3rd POV, Yuri's personality did a 180, and she's friends with Sero now- SOME MAJOR CHANGES HAPPENED YES IM SORRY ABOUT THEM, but the rest will still be the same, I promise. There are just some things that I'm gonna add to the story but I couldn't do them in the previous version since the narrative is limited to Yuri's perspective only. So yeah, hopefully, things are gonna be better and easier to write now, hahaha. Really sorry about the sudden changes, and I hope you can understand. Thank you!

ANYWAY, if you have any questions, the review box is open for everyone (anon or not) or you can send me a private message! Constructive criticisms or simple comments are all equally loved and appreciated here. :')

Thank you very much for reading!