Holy shit it's been awhile! But nope, this story isn't dead! It's still going and I intend to finish it! I hope you all can forgive me for the long wait, and that this chapter will satisfy you. Truth is, my life outside of fanfiction is VERY chaotic and stressful, I don't have the free time to write like I once had. But I still wanna write exciting stories for y'all, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy them. So with that said, happy reading!

Oh, and I hope you all like the new cover photo depicting Devilman Izuku, it was designed by SonicAsura and I believe they did a wonderful job!

...

I'm going to kill you."

Izuku slid against the wall onto his rear, staring up at Aizawa in disbelief.

Aizawa, in the form of a hulking tiger with fur the color of storm clouds, took a step forward, showing off his impressive fangs.

"And we're going to see how long you can stay alive." he snarled, crouching low to the ground.

With barely any time for reaction, he pounced at Izuku, claws extending much further than any natural big cat. Izuku cried out and just managed to roll out of the way. He pushed himself to his feet, stumbling back as those vicious claws swiped at his face, missing by just a few centimeters. Izuku whipped around and bolted for the doors, slamming his shoulder into them in a vain attempt to bust through. They didn't budge, but Izuku pounded on them with his fists. "HELP!" he screamed, reaching down to jiggle the handle. "SOMEONE OPEN THE DOOR!"

"There's no one here but us, Midoriya!" Aizawa roared, and Izuku instinctively flung himself to the side as the devilman slammed into the doors. The tiger shook its head and backed away, his piercing amber gaze locking onto Izuku, who was scrambling for a high up window. "Do you plan on running forever?" Aizawa asked as he intercepted the boy's escape, swatting him across the room with a powerful back paw. "Running won't save you, Midoriya! You have the power of a demon inside you! USE IT! If you want to live, you'll have to KILL ME!"

Izuku's body slammed against the wall, feeling his air leave his body entirely. He collapsed onto the ground, struggling to breathe as the tiger continued to stalk towards him. 'What do I do?' he wondered, trying not to let his tears escape. 'He's so powerful, maybe more so than All Might! How am I supposed to beat this thing?! He's too strong!'

The tiger stopped his slow pursuit right in front of the younger devilman, looking down at him with disappointment. "Why aren't you using your power?" he questioned, his teeth baring. "What are you so afraid of? By any chance...can you not control it? Are you trying to use only a fraction of your power? Is that what All Might taught you?" His eyes flared, and he swatted Izuku away once more, watching him crash into some storage boxes stacked in the corner. "Are you kidding me?! A power you can't control? BULLSHIT! If you want to live, you'll have to go all out! Show me the devil inside you, Midoriya, let him come out! Because if you don't..."

Aizawa crouched down, his shoulders flexing and his claws digging into the ground. His large, black tongue ran over stainless white teeth.

"...this next attack will kill you."

He lunged a final time, nothing being held back. If Izuku didn't do something, he would be torn in half. The boy realized this, but he couldn't find the will to move as the demon was upon him. As he stared death in the face, time slowed to a crawl, the young devilman locked in the confines of his very mind.

'This is it...' he realized. 'I'm going to die here...'

He could see his reflection in Aizawa's eyes.

'All of that work for nothing...It was all a fluke. The rave, the exam...I just got lucky...'

The large knife-like claws entered his shoulders.

'All Might, Mom...I'm so sorry...'

The tiger's mouth was wide open, preparing the tear his head clean off.

"I just wanted to be...'

His eyes widened.

"You saved that girl's life," All Might assumed, and Izuku nodded. "All those demons...you killed them because she was in danger."

...

"Sounds like a hero to me, young Midoriya. Even if you only saved one life, it made all the difference for that girl."

...

"Izuku Midoriya," Mina beamed. "How can I not know the name of the boy who rescued me twice?"

'A hero...' Izuku closed his eyes as the jaws of death closed around him. "I want to be...a hero. The greatest hero who ever lived.'

Maybe...it wasn't just a fluke?

Maybe...

Izuku's eyes shot open. 'A hero!' he repeated. 'I'm going to be the world's greatest hero! And...and...'

Something flared inside him.

"I WON'T LET A DEMON LIKE YOU STOP ME!"

With lightning quick reflexes, his arm shot up, gripping one of the tiger's humongous fangs. With a grunt, he tore it out of Aizawa's mouth, ignoring the splashing of blood and the devilman's roar of pain. Tearing himself free from the monster, his shoulders being shredded into ribbons, he leaped into the air and drove the fang deep into one of Aizawa's amber eyes. A sickening noise pierced the air, and the tiger staggered back, howling and shaking his head back in forth. The tiger dug one of his claws into the eye, opting to rip out the entire thing and fling it away. He let out a ragged sigh and turned to Izuku, glaring at him with one amber orb and an empty, bloody socket.

Izuku stood there, fully transformed. Towering in height, with green skin stretched over rippled muscle. Two black, leathery wings jutted out of his back, and two large devil horns rose from his head. Izuku's tongue ran over his shark-like teeth, and he crouched down in a similar manner to Aizawa. a wicked grin on his face.

Despite his injury, Aizawa grinned back. "That's more like it, Midorya!" he praised. "Now come at me with all you've got!"

Izuku nodded, and with a growl he charged at Aizawa, his sickle-like fingers poised to rake down on his opponent. Aizawa took it full force, allowing the top of his skull to be sliced into as he sank his teeth into Izuku's torso, biting down as the taste of blood filled his mouth. He swung his head around, tossing his fellow devilman into the ceiling. Izuku grunted and began to descend, but caught himself with a flap of his wings. Oily, mustard yellow blood oozed out of his wounds, but he ignored the pain as he dove back into the brawl, his fist rearing back. With a harsh battle cry, he swung and struck Aizawa into the jaw. Aizawa rolled with the blow, however, allowing Izuku to continue past him. But just as Izuku realized Aizawa's game, it was too late, and the hulking tiger pinned him to the ground. With a chuckle, Aizawa dug his teeth into one of the devilman's wings, ripping a huge hole through them.

Izuku screamed out in pain and he trashed around. He tried to fly away but collapsed back onto the ground. He continued to twist and fold as he scrambled to his feet, just as Aizawa leaped at him. Izuku thought fast and rushed underneath, stabbing his fingers into the tiger's stomach. Aizawa roared, and Izuku allowed a sick, satisfied smile on his face.

"Doesn't feel too good, does it?" he cackled, before slamming his foe onto the ground. Without a moment of hesitation, he was on Aizawa, raking his claws onto exposed flesh. Aizawa roared in agony, desperately trying to stay down. Izuku continued his relentless assault, his entire body being stained a sickly yellow. Once Aizawa stopped moving, Izuku stood up, but didn't stop. Reaching back down, he grabbed Aizawa's sides and hoisted him over his shoulders with a gasp and a grunt. "Go...to...Hell!" he snarled, slamming Aizawa back into the ground with all his strength.

The devilman sighed and approached the motionless tiger. "Good enough for you, Mr. Aizawa?" he barked.

Silence, but just for a moment. Aizawa's one eye shot open, a huge smirk forming. "Not quite yet." he answered.

His mouth opened, and without warning smoky, ethereal chains shot out of his gaping maw, wrapping around Izuku. "The hell?!" Izuku gasped, struggling to break free of his binds. However, the chains tightened, crushing his body together. Izuku cried out as they dug into his skin. But that wasn't the end of it.

With a snarl, Aizawa whipped his head to the side, the chains following as the smashed Izuku into a wall. The chains moved again and bashed him into the ceiling, then into another wall. Izuku was thrown and battered into all sides of the building, until finally he was thrown back onto the ground with enough force to leave a small crater. Exhausted, Izuku returned to his human form, unable to breathe. He felt like his lungs had been flattened, and it hurt to move. All he could do was watch as Aizawa approached him.

The tiger looked a lot bigger now, and powerful, despite his ragged breaths and gaping wounds.

"Two minutes and forty seven seconds."

Izuku continued to stare at the tiger, confused. "...Wh-What...?" he gasped.

"Two minutes and forty seven seconds." Aizawa repeated. "That's how long you managed to survive. Not bad, Midorya, but not great. How do you expect to protect the people when this happens?"

"I...I..."

The tiger vanished into smoke, revealed the human Aizawa. He staggered over and extended his hand, grasping Izuku's hand and yanking him up to his feet. Izuku hissed at the sudden pain that shot through his entire body, and Aizawa smirked in amusement. "Still, an A for effort, I suppose," he offered light praise.

Izuku nodded as he tried not to fall back over. "S-So...this...was a t-test?" he wondered.

His teacher nodded. "Yes," he confirmed, "I wanted to test your powers for myself, see if you really had what it takes." His gaze turned stern. "You lost complete control, however. You weren't fighting with your brain, you were fighting on complete adrenaline. I thought All Might taught you better than that."

"I...I know..." Izuku muttered, hands on his knees. "I d-don't know...what came over-" He suddenly gasped. "M-Mr. Aizawa...you're-" He glanced up and nearly hurled.

Aizawa still had an empty, bleeding eye socket, as well as all his previous wounds.

"O-Oh my God..." Izuku whimpered, hands at his mouth as he took a step back. "Mr. Aizawa, I-"

"What? This?" Aizawa wondered, pointing at his missing eye. He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. See, we devilmen have been blessed with regenerative powers. All wounds we get in our devil forms heal in time. At least, as long as you're still alive. Some injuries are just too fatal." He shook his head. "How do you think you're still standing, despite being bitten and torn into like a bag of rice?"

Izuku looked down at himself, noticing just how bad of shape he was in, despite the pain being numbed out. His PE uniform had been reduced to nothing but rags loosely draped around his body, and the holes that had been made by the hulking tiger's fangs were still there, blood slowly trickling from them...How they managed to not reach his internal organs was beyond him, but he was still thankful. His shoulders were covered in so much blood, it was a mystery what they looked like underneath. He remembered his wing being torn, but all he felt on his back was a throbbing sting.

Aizawa was heading towards the door, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the key. He opened the doors and held them for Izuku. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up," he said. "We don't want people asking questions."

Izuku nodded and wobbled as he stepped forward. He took a deep breath and continued, following Aizawa as the doors behind them slammed shut.

...

"...as heroes in training, you are to be an example of good citizenship to the people," Principal Nezu continued his speech cheerfully, the faculty of heroes lined up behind him. "It is important that you shine bright with honesty, courage, humility, and..."

Mina tuned out the rodent's words and yawned. By some miracle, the class managed to make it to the opening ceremony, but with the long and drawn out speech that just repeated the same three phrases over and over (just with fancier words), the pink skinned girl was beginning to wish she could've just stayed outside. At least during Mr. Aizawa's harsh training, she had something to do, she had something to engage in! She looked to her right, frowning as she watched Mineta lean back, passing out and snoring lightly. Lucky little bastard... To her left, Tenya Iida was dutifully taking notes, nodding along with everything the rodent up front was saying. Mina frowned again. Dammit, why couldn't she be smart or tired enough to be like these two guys?! Why did she have to be both dumb AND energetic?! It wasn't fair!

"Holding up okay?" a voice behind her whispered. Mina turned her head back to look at Kirishima, who looked just about as bored as she did.

"Same as you, I suppose." she replied.

"Shh!" Iida lightly shushed, briefly glancing at them with annoyance before returning his attention to his note-taking.

Kirishima shrugged, completely ignoring the bespectacled speedster. "Yeah, figures. Still..." He grinned and nodded towards the stage. "It IS pretty cool to see all these heroes, right?"

Mina turned her attention back to the stage, and nodded. They were all there! Power Loader, Midnight, Snipe, Ectoplasm (she briefly remembered to secure the hero's autograph for her younger brother, Michi), and even...

"Holy crap, that's All Might!" Kirishima gasped behind her.

At the very end of the line stood the number one pro hero, larger than life figure himself: All Might. His signature smile on his face as his broad stature completely overshadowed the other heroes. He didn't seem to mind that all eyes were on him the whole time, his eyes staring over them the whole time. However, Mina noticed that the pro hero's head was shifting from side to side, and she could've sworn she saw his smile twitch downwards just a bit. Mina tilted her head in confusion, ignoring the entire world around her and Kirishima's attempts to get her attention as she continued to stare at the number one hero.

Was he...looking for someone? Who would he be looking for?

Suddenly, All Might's gaze shifted to her without warning, causing Mina to jump with surprise. She gulped but didn't look away, and she could've sworn she saw some hidden meaning in the pro hero's piercing blue eyes, but he turned away as quickly as he had glanced at her, his eyes continuing to scan over the crowd for...somebody.

A name popped into her head.

"Hey..." she began, turning back to Kirishima. "Have you seen Izuku anywhere?"

"Midoriya?" the redhead asked, tapping his chin. He shook his head. "Nope, not since Mr. Aizawa said he wanted to- Heeeeeey..." He smirked and leaned in closer. "Are you seriously on a first name basis with him already? That fast?"

"SHHHHHH!" Iida scolded, glaring at the two briefly.

Mina lightly blushed but returned the smirk with a cheeky grin. "Maybe."

Kirishima mocked gasped and clutched his heart. "Before me? Ashido, I'm shocked!"

Mina chuckled and lightly punched her friend's shoulder. "Oh grow up, lover boy," she teased. "You'll eventually find someone who will be able to put up with all your macho."

Kirishima grinned and flexed his arm. "Damn straight!" he laughed.

"Will you guys just SHUT UP?!" Bakugo snarled from Kirishima's side, loud enough for apparently everyone to hear. Principal Nezu stopped his speech and zeroed in on the three.

"Is there a problem, children?" he asked kindly.

"NOT WITH YOU, FERRET FACE!" Bakugo roared. "JUST CONTINUE YOUR DAMN SPEECH!"

It was silent for several long moments, before the principal cleared his throat and continued speaking.

Mina sighed and tried her best to pay attention to the rest of the speech, but now that Izuku was on her mind she couldn't concentrate on anything else. She wondered just what Mr. Aizawa wanted to speak with him about, she hoped that the green haired boy wasn't in trouble...

She glanced down at the unconscious, drooling Mineta and smiled a little, remembering the heartfelt speech Izuku had given in defense of the short boy. It had been..inspiring, and it just made Mina appreciate him just that much more. To think that someone as selfless as Izuku could exist, someone who simply wanted to do the right thing because it should be done... Mina briefly wished she could be like that, not training to be a hero for fortune and fame...Not that there was anything wrong with wanting that, everyone had their own reasons for doing hero work, but as long as lives were saved, what did the reasons matter?

'What did Mr. Aizawa want with him, though...' she pondered. The Erasure Hero seemed pretty ticked off when he told Izuku to stay behind, the pink girl could only hope that the green haired boy would be alright...

There was something weird about their homeroom teacher, however, and Mina only noticed when she realized how anxious Izuku was acting around him. Something weird, something...vaguely familiar about Mr. Aizawa. The way he carried himself, the way he grinned with almost sinister glee, the way his cold, unfeeling eyes gazed at them...

She was beginning to feel worms crawling inside her gut, an all too familiar sensation. Mina took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

'Breathe, Ashido...' she instructed herself. 'You're at your orientation, everything is fine. You're not at the warehouse.'

She was suddenly yanked out of her mantra with the sound of doors being forced open. All heads turned around and watched as Izuku Midoriya staggered into the large assembly room, panting heavily as he rested his hands on his knees. Mr. Aizawa casually swaggered in after the exhausted boy, hands in his pockets with a satisfied smirk on his face. He lightly patted Izuku's shoulder and walked past his class, stepping onto the stage and standing next to All Might as if he hadn't just interrupted the entire assembly.

"Continue,' he nodded to Principal Nezu.

The principal, in good spirit, likely chuckled and continued his speech without a hitch, and Mina waved the tired Izuku over, offering him the empty seat between her and the still snoring Mineta. Izuku crashed down with a sigh, and then a hiss of pain. Mina looked him over and frowned, noticing how ragged he looking. He was back in his school uniform, but it seemed to hang loosely off of his. His hair was a complete mess and his eyes were bloodshot. Every time he breathed he winced as if the muscular movement was too much for him to handle. And true, his breathing was very labored. Mina glanced down and noticed that the boy's hands were shaking, and without a second thought Mina reached over and gently took his hand in hers, ignoring the fluttering in her chest.

Immediately, Izuku's shaking stopped, and he glanced down at their intertwined hands, eyes wide. He looked up at Mina, who offered him a caring smile. Izuku's face turned bright red.

Mina giggled softly and then squeezed his hand. "That bad, huh?"

Izuku let out a long sigh and nodded. "You have no idea..." he groaned, closing his eyes. "Mr. Aizawa is one tough teacher, but...I think overall he was...proud of me."

"Well, that's good!" Mina chirped. "At least he didn't kick you out for directly challenging him."

"ShSHHHsshhhhShhsHHHHH!" Tenya hissed in increasing agitation.

The two fell silent and listened to the rest of Nezu's speech, hands clasped together. Mina stole glanced at Izuku's way, noticing how he kept glancing up at one of the heroes. She followed his eyesight and saw he kept gazing at All Might, who was looking right back at him. And did the number one hero have a look of...disproval? Mina tilted her head in confusion, but kept silent and tried to focus on the speech, noticing how Izuku's hand squeezed hers. She tightened her grip as well.

Once the speech ("fuckin' finally!" growled Bakugo) ended, Izuku muttered that he'd catch up with Mina, and he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

'Do he and All Might know each other?' she wondered, before shaking her head.

It was probably nothing...

She sighed and jogged forward to keep pace with Tooru, striking up a conversation with the invisible girl.

...

"I told you not to hang around Young Ashido," All Might scolded, fists on his waist. He stared down at Izuku, his forever-smile tilting downward.

Izuku flinched and glanced down at his feet. "I-I know, but..." He gulped. "After the entrance exam, after I saved her, I thought..." He trailed off.

"That was different," All Might clarified, "that could've been anyone you saved, the fact it was young Ashido was mere coincidence."

"B-But what if it wasn't!" Izuku stammered, catching both All Might and himself by surprise. All Might sighed but didn't say anything, so Izuku continued. "What if...there's a reason for all of this? For me saving Mina twice, for us meeting again here, for her even approaching me...What if...that was all fate? Or something..."

All Might remained silent, then finally pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Teenagers..." he groaned. "Especially ones with a demon's hormones."

Izuku's face turned bright red.

"At the end of the day, young Midoriya, I cannot control your social life or whom you choose to spend your time with," All Might said, "but I advise you to be cautious about this. If young Ashido ever found out the truth...if ANYONE found out the truth about your power, you'd die. You know that."

Izuku gulped and nodded. "I know that," he confirmed.

All Might's smile twitched upward. "Good," he said, patting his young protege's back. "Now, hurry on to class, young Midoriya, you've got a big day ahead of you!"

Izuku beamed and nodded again. "Will you be teaching today, All Might?"

"As a matter of fact, I will be," the number one hero chuckled. "I shall see you in a few hours, my boy, for now I must- BLARGH!"

Izuku yelped as All Might spat out more blood and shrank down to his true form in an instant. The skeletal All Might cleared his throat and frowned. "Right, then..." he muttered. "I'll be seeing you, hurry on to class."

After Izuku left, All Might sighed and made his way to the teacher's lounge, passing by students who were quick to ignore him, having no idea he was actually the number one hero. As it should be. As he reached the door, it opened and all the teachers poured out, nodding at him and exchanging farewells as they all split off to prepare for their first lessons. All Might slid inside and shut the door behind him, eyes locking onto the one other person in the room.

"All Might." was the curt greeting.

"Aizawa." All Might nodded.

Aizawa leaned back in his seat, staring up at the ceiling fan. "Your kid's a demon." He grunted.

All Might's blood ran cold, and his heart nearly burst out of his chest. He opened his mouth to protest, but Aizawa quickly cut him off.

"Or rather...you two call his kind 'devilmen' or whatever." Aizawa shook his head. "Stupid fucking name..."

"H-How..." All Might gulped, sweat cascading down his brow. "How did-"

"How did I figure it out?" Aizawa guessed. "Easy. I showed him my power, he showed me his."

"Your power...?"

Aizawa scoffed. "For fuck's sake, don't play dumb. The answer is right in front of you, hero."

"...!" It clicked in All Might's brain. "You...You're a devilman too?!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Tell it to the whole world, why don't you?" Aizawa hissed, rolling his eyes. "And that name is still stupid...But yes, I too have the body of a demon, yet retain my humanity. And I appreciate it if we kept this a secret between you, me, and Midoriya."

"O-Of course!" All Might promised, then furrowed his brow. "But...when? How?"

"A little less than a year ago, ten and a half months to be exact," Aizawa answered. "I was investigating one of the sabbath parties undercover when the demons attacked. Next thing I know, I'm one of them."

"...the rumors!" All Might realized. "There were rumors of a hero attending a sabbath party...was that you?"

"Hit the nail right on the head," Aizawa grunted. "Took a lot of string pulling to keep the heroes from tracing it back to me."

"So why tell me?" All Might questioned. "You wouldn't trust me with your secret out of good fortune."

"Because I have information I think you need to know," Aizawa answered, sitting up and leaning in close. "Being the number one hero, it's your right to know before anyone else."

"..." All Might sat down across from his fellow hero and placed his hands on his knees as he also leaned forward. "Tell me what you know."

"I assume you're aware of the rise of demon activity?" Aizawa asked.

"Of course," All Might nodded, "that's hardly new information. Do you know why activity is rising?"

"I do."

All Might took a deep breath to slow his racing heart, and tried his best to ignore the chill running up his spine.

Aizawa was silent for a few moments before continuing. "What if I told you they were being drawn to here, like a beacon?"

"I'd ask what's drawing them here."

"I wonder that too," Aizawa scoffed, "but...I think I have an answer. Someone is trying to lead them."

All Might's breath hitched. "A leader...for the demons?!"

"TRYING to lead them," Aizawa corrected. "For what reason, I don't know, but if the demons can be unified..."

"...it's the end of Japan," All Might concluded. "And eventually, the world..." His eyes widened. "You don't think it could be-"

"For all our sake, I sure hope not," Aizawa muttered. "But if he is back...Toshinori, will your protege be ready to face him?"

...

The door to a seedy bar was pushed open. The bartender, a tall man with a ghastly face made of dark mist, was busy cleaning a glass when he looked up.

"So you're back," he said simply.

The young man wearing the dark hoodie who had entered nodded, grunting in mild annoyance. "I'd rather be alone, Kurogiri."

"I hope you weren't straining yourself with your new power, Shigaraki," Kurogiri remarked, setting down the newly cleaned glass, then picking up another. "He needs you at peak level to move forward with the plan."

"...did you hear the news?" Shigaraki asked, scratching his neck absentmindedly as he ignored Kurogiri's words.

"Of course, all of Japan is talking about it. Certainly, he would like to talk to you about it."

"...I suppose so," Shigaraki muttered. "All these demons...when did Japan get so weird?"

...

I hope that was worth the wait, it was a little shorter than I'd like, but I believe I've written down everything I wanted. Hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long... Don't forget to review, and remember, stay wykkyd!