Hello, there peeps, Klyju here! Back with another chapter for you all, and I hope you're as excited as I am! Now then, last time on Symbol of Hope, shit went off the rails, the Slayer kicked ass, and a certain bunny remembered something she doesn't know about. This chapter will be slow, mostly for character development and getting through some canon stuff, as well as giving some foreshadowing for later. Try as you might, I'm ready for the flogging you guys will try to give me, so when the plot twist is revealed, I DARE Y'ALL TO COME AND GET ME! Anyways, as usual, I don't own anything here, not even the references. With that out of the way, OPEN THE GAME!

Katsumi woke up to the smell of meat being cooked in the kitchen, the scent of a meal being made quieting the groans that would usually come from waking up early. Her mind brought up memories of yesterday, how she was now in UA at the dorms… how Deku was still alive… and all the carnage he caused during his fight against those… things.

She got up from the bed before changing into the standard UA uniform, her face downcast as she went over to her small mirror to pull her hair back into a ponytail as she took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, only to snap them open back into her standard glare. She can't think like that! She was going to be the next number one hero! She can't let herself show any weakness, no matter what!

She walked out of her room to the kitchen, ready to eat breakfast when she spotted Deku by the stove, cooking what seemed to be bacon in a frying pan as a plate of Pancakes sat at the kitchen bar counter. Apparently, the sounds of her walking into the main living room were enough to get his attention as he turned to look at where she was. The sight of his dull eyes hitched her breath. Despite him acting as though he wasn't the most horrifying motherfucker in existence yesterday, he still acknowledged that it happened. How messed up it had been.

"Deku…" She muttered, trying to find something to say, but she was unable to as his eyes haunted her. "I… breakfast better be ready when I get back."

With that, she walked out of the building, closing the door before slumping next to the entrance. As she tried to suppress memories of the past, but eventually, they became too much as she felt tears roll down her cheeks. She remembered when things went to shit. How life changed for both of them.

14 Years Ago

"Check it out, I have a badass quirk!" A four-year-old Katsumi exclaimed, igniting small explosions on her hands as she showed off her new power to her friend, Izuku.

"Wow, Kachaan!" The young boy exclaimed. "That's so cool! You'll be a cool hero someday!"

"Yeah!" The young girl cheered. "I'll be the next number one! Nobody will be able to beat me!"

"Yeah!" Izuku exclaimed. "And maybe I'll get a quirk, too! And then I can be a hero, and we can be the best team ever!"

Katsumi flinched a bit, her voice shaking before she spoke up. "Y-yeah, you bet!" She said. She knew better than to get his hopes up, but she didn't want to make him feel sad. A sad expression just didn't suit Izuku.

However, no matter how much she tried, she knew he had to face the truth. Boys couldn't get quirks, therefore, they couldn't be heroes.

"But that won't stop him!" She thought to herself at the time. "He's way too smart to let that stop him. He'll be a great hero, even without a quirk! Someday!"

It would be only a few days later that she understood.

She saw a report on a tv in a store window, detailing how a pro was killed in a fight with a villain that they faced off against. It was there that she understood how much heroes put at risk every single day. Their lives are constantly on the line, and even with super cool, super powerful quirks… a lot of heroes still die.

She could handle it fine, but then she thought about Izuku. He was powerless, and yet, he still wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be on the front lines, directly in the face of danger, fighting off evil at the risk of dying.

Her nightmares were filled with visions of Izuku lying in a pool of his blood.

It all began to spill over when one day, she beat the crap out of another kid that tried to badmouth Izuku when he wasn't looking. However, things quickly took a turn when Izuku went up to stop her. "Kachaan, stop it!" He yelled out. "This isn't right, heroes don't hurt people!"

"Oh, what would you know, Deku?" She said, something beginning to swell in her heart.

"Wha-whaddya mean, Kachaan?" Deku said as tears began to form in his eyes. "I thought we were gonna be heroes together."

"Oh please, Deku," It hurt to tell him, but he needed to stop before getting hurt. "You're powerless, and nothing is ever gonna change that!"

"But-but, I thought you said that I could be a hero," Please, just stop before you get killed. "I'll try to be strong-"

"Why won't you get it, Deku?" She had to keep him away from those dangers. "You're weak, you're powerless! You'll never be a hero!"

Never in her life has she ever regretted something so much until that moment.

As the years went on, the relationship between the two began to strain. She repeatedly pushed him down when he tried to voice his desire to become a hero. She continued to torment him when he planned out his desire to become a hero.

And she hated every moment of it.

Eventually, it would be too much for one of them.

It just so happened that he broke first when she said the stupidest thing she had ever said in her life.

"YOU BITCH!" He yelled out, punching her in the face and sending the blonde stumbling back to the ground before Izuku ran off with tears in his eyes.

"Holy shit, he got you good!" One of her cronies exclaimed in surprise as Katsumi held her bleeding nose. Letting out a growl, she got back up to her feet. "Uh, Katsumi, are you okay?"

"Shut up!" She exclaimed as she tried to stop the blood from flowing. "We gotta go after him! We can't let him do something stupid!"

She never meant to have said that, but now that she did, she had to act fast! All she wanted was to keep him safe from hero work, but now she fucked up! She had to find him before he actually followed her "advice". If he died because of her, she wouldn't know how to live with herself. She never wanted any of this!

It was about thirty minutes later, and despite being in an area where there'd be a lot of heroes, they still haven't found Izuku. The other stooges were behind her, out of breath while she remained as strong as ever, though she did notice that she was panting a bit in exhaustion. "Bakugo, can't we get a break?" One of the cronies asked. "Why are you so worried about that loser, anyway?"

"You shut your fucking mouth!" She barked back, causing her followers to flinch in fear. "We need to find him before he does something I should've been quiet about!"

Whatever rant she was about to get on was quieted down when a two-liter bottle bounced off her head, eliciting a yelp from her. "What the hell?!" She exclaimed before she spotted the item. "Stupid fucking bottle!"

She kicked the bottle away, a crack sounding from it as it hit a dumpster nearby. "Anyways, all you should know is that we gotta find him before it's too late!"

"Oh?" A watery voice was heard from behind her. "You're looking for a male? Please, allow me to help you… for a price."

It all happened too fast for her. A slime-like body wrapped around her, covering up her mouth and nose, blocking her breath. She tried to fight back and get the villain off of her, but her explosions barely hit the slime's body, and soon, the explosions started a fire that quickly spread around the area. She saw how the heroes were trying to contain the damage, but she didn't care.

She tried to call out for help, but no one came. She looked around in fear, but nobody was doing anything to help her.

She was scared, and as she felt her mind fade, her mind's last thoughts shifted to her regrets. How she regretted her actions towards Izuku. How she wished that she could've done something different to keep him safe. She could've made him happy and safe. But instead, she hurt him.

She saw what seemed to be Izuku in the distance. Her eyes teared up in sadness. She didn't deserve heaven. All her actions justified her own personal Hell.

But why did the angel look like he was… panicking?

Her eyes widened as she realized that she was still alive, that she wasn't hallucinating, and that Izuku was, in fact, running towards her and the slime villain!

She tried to yell out to him, to get him to turn around, but he kept running towards her before he jumped up out of her view. Within a few moments, she felt the villain's grasp loosen, allowing her to get her face out of the villain's mouth to catch her breath when suddenly, she saw All Might dash towards them, roaring as the heroine uppercut the villain and causing a massive shockwave that freed her and Deku from the villain, the clouds changing to allow rain to fall.

She was interviewed about the incident shortly after, but she wasn't focused on that, instead, trying to look for Izuku. She quickly found him in the distance, being chewed out by Death Arms, one of the pros that stood by the sidelines and waited for someone else to do her job. She had half a mind to tear into the bitch, but the reporters kept getting in her way. Thanks to them, she wasn't able to get to Deku when she saw him walk away, his head lowered in dejection.

When she WAS able to finally get through the reporters, she followed where he went, trying to figure out where he had gone. The sun was beginning to set, and her panic was growing with each passing second. "Dammit, Deku, where the Hell are you?" She muttered as she brought out her phone. She quickly pulled up Deku's number and began to call, clearing her throat so to get rid of the nervousness in her throat, ready to give him her traditional rants, when something strange happened.

She heard his phone ring nearby.

Katsumi looked around to see which direction it was, only to see that the ringing was coming from a nearby alleyway. She thought that he was hiding behind one of the trash cans there and quickly ran towards it, only to be confused when she didn't find him there. She heard her call go to voicemail and quickly tried to restart her call. This time, the ringing sounded closer, but also… beneath her?

She looked down and saw Deku's phone on the ground, the screen on it cracked as if it was dropped. Picking it up carefully, Katsumi looked around, worry in her eyes before she cried out. "Deku!"

"DEKU, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"..."

"IZUKU!"

"Bakugo!"

Katsumi broke from her thoughts when she heard someone call out her name. She removed her arm from her eyes, wiping away any leftover tears before she turned to look at the one who called her, only to see a concerned Iida looking at her. "Are you alright?" The taller girls questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Katsumi retorted, her voice still a bit shaky. "Anyway, is breakfast done?"

"Yes, it is. In fact, Midoriya was the one who asked me to bring you back in…" Tomoyo told the blonde, but her worried expression never left her face. "Are you sure you're alright, Bakugo? Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine!" Katsumi snapped at the blue-haired woman, who flinched at the sudden yell. "Let's just go get something to eat."

Classes

As the students of Class 1-A got into the class, a certain red-head turned her attention towards the Slayer, trying to find a way to break the ice with him. "So, uh, Midoriya," She began, getting the green-haired giant's attention. "How did you get so jacked? I know you did all that stuff, so that's one way to work out, but what did you eat?"

The Slayer signed towards the red-head, and Tomoyo quickly began to process his words. "He says that it was mostly a specialized diet that helped in his exercises. While ripping and tearing demons, he found sources of protein to help him build up his body, though prior to being in Hell, he followed a standard military diet to build up the initial musculature needed."

"Oh shit, really?" Eiko questioned, earning a nod from the Slayer. "Damn, I had this whole diet ready for my workouts and everything, but I guess those military scraps are good for something, huh? Where can we find the protein, anyways?"

The Slayer signed out quickly. "He says it's better that we don't find out," Tomoyo stated, earning confused looks from the rest of the class. "Why is that, Midoriya?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know, it's for your own good." Izuku signed out to the class, eliciting disappointed looks from the class. They were curious about it, but they knew he wouldn't say anything about it.

"So, you all quieted down within four seconds. Impressive," A tired voice said from outside the entryway of the class, getting the students' attention. They all turned their sights to see Aizawa laying outside the door in a sleeping bag, the older woman bringing up a protein pouch to her mouth and sucking it dry. When it was empty, she opened up the sleeping bag to crawl out of it. "Get your gym uniforms, we're going outside to assess your quirks."

Training Field

As the class stood out in the field, some of the girls struggled to keep their eyes off of the sole male, admiring the muscular figure's form through his tight clothing, which emphasized his muscles. Despite trying to be as professional as possible, it was impossible not to notice the Slayer's stature.

"All right, class," Aizawa began, getting the attention of the students. "We're going to go through some exercises to assess your performance and place here in UA."

"But what about orientation?" Uraraka asked. "Isn't that super important too?"

"After the events involving the recent demon attacks, things have changed," The underground heroine began to explain. "I'm not going to waste time that could be used to improve your skills as heroes, skills that could help protect people from the demon armies."

She gestured to a circle drawn on the ground. "Midoriya, since you got first place on the entrance exam, you'll go first. What was your highest record in a ball throw?"

While the rest of his classmates looked at the Slayer in surprise, the man mulled over before he signed out his reply. "I'd say it was 40 meters, but that was before my military training, so I'm not sure."

"Not bad for a male," Aizawa stated as she tossed a softball to the approaching male. "Now, I want you to give it your all. Don't hold back."

The Slayer nodded as he tossed the ball up a bit to judge its weight before he took aim from the circle. When he felt ready, he wound up his arm, charging it up with Argent energy as if he was preparing a Blood Punch. The resulting shockwave allowed the toss to be much greater than usual, sending the ball flying off to the distance before it disappeared. Eventually, a beep was heard from Aizawa's phone as she turned the screen towards the Slayer to let him see his score.

6.66 Kilometers.

"Holy shit!" A couple of students exclaimed as some of the girls gained excited looks on their faces. "That was so awesome!" Eiko said with a massive grin on her face. "Yeah, this'll be so much fun!" Mina agreed

"Fun?" Aizawa inquired in a menacing tone, getting the attention of the other students. "You think being a hero will be fun? Alright, how about an incentive? Whoever ends up last, will be expelled from the Hero Course."

The results were instantaneous as the girls began clamoring complaints. They all said how unfair the punishment was, ranging from how evil it was, to how she couldn't do that on the first day of school. "Not fair you say? Well, life isn't always fair. Eventually, you'll have to learn that the hard way, through unpredictable disasters, such as natural disasters, villain attacks, or, like we saw yesterday, demon invasions." She said with an evil smile. "If that's too much for you, you're welcome to give up."

When she saw that the students quieted down and refused to back down, she let out a chuckle. "Alright," She began. "Let's get on with the tests now."

Soon, the tests went on as planned, though Aizawa did notice something about the Slayer. Throughout all of them, she noticed that he didn't seem strained at all, as if he was barely trying to work through them. The only time he ever did actually try, though, was with the sidesteps, and yet, he still managed to get second on them. It was during the hand strength test did she realize why.

When he grabbed the grip machine, he ended up crushing the machine, and yet, she could tell he could've used more force. Perhaps he was just too good for them to properly assess.

Eventually, they went back to the ball throw test, and right now, the most notable records were of Minerva's side steps, Tomoyo getting first on the dash, and that. When Uraraka chucked her ball, however, she wrote down another record before showing the brunette's score to the class.

"INFINITY?!" They yelled out, and even the Slayer looked impressed before noticing the pads on Uraraka's fingers. So those must be what let her earn that score. They must've had some anti-gravity properties to help her…

His attention was taken away from the bubbly girl when he noticed that Katsumi was stepping up to the circle, a nervous expression on her face. The blonde took a deep breath, as if calming and focusing her nerves before she wound up her arm and took aim. Things were still for a few tense moments before she swung her arm to throw it. "DIE!" She screamed out as an explosion erupted from her hand, launching the ball into the distance. Aizawa took note of something before she revealed the explosive girl's score.

1.34 Kilometers.

The Slayer knew that was much greater than what she should've gotten, but he didn't do anything about it. Instead, he looked over Katsumi, who raised her fist with a pained smile as she… showed off how bruised it was? But she was supposed to be able to hold her own against her explosions.

Now that he thought about it, he remembered that there was a bit of electricity surrounding her hand when she threw the ball.

What was going on?

Later

Class 1-A, after changing back into their school uniform, walked into their next class, pausing a bit when they saw 1-B in there as well before they went over to random seats. "So, Midoriya," Momo questioned the green-haired man as they sat down. "You have experience with this Dr. Hayden, correct? What is he like?"

The Slayer mulled over the question before signing. "He's a jackass." He responded, throwing the upper-class girl through a loop. "What do you mean by that?"

She didn't receive her answer before a large monitor wheeled in on a cart to the front of the classroom, which got the attention of the students as the lights dimmed down. Everything was quiet for a few moments before the TV turned itself on, displaying a robotic being in front of a blue background. "Greetings," The being said. "I am Dr. Samuel Hayden, your new professor at UA University."

"As you all may know, there have been recent events that resulted in major disasters had it not been for the Slayer's ability to stop the invaders. These events were not the result of any villain, nor of any accidents." He began to monologue. "These events were caused by something far more unnatural. What they were caused by… were demons." The display then showed a photo of the recent attack next to the doctor, who kept talking. "In this class, you will learn about these new threats, what their weaknesses are, and how to combat them."

"Class, I welcome you all… to Demonology 101."

And cut! That's a wrap on this chapter, folks, I hope y'all enjoyed it! Sorry it was a bit shorter than usual, but let's face it, you all already know the schtick that goes on in canon, so I didn't want to waste your time reiterating it. Anyways, I heard a lot of your opinions on the harem, and after some input, decided to add more pros, which include:

Ryukyu

Midnight

Mt Lady

Pixie Bob

I'll also add Nejire as well, since she was a bit popular in the comments, but with that, no more girls are gonna be added! You can calm down now! Also, to the ones catching on to the foreshadowing, congrats! I have a bunker prepared in case you guys come over!

Speaking of coming over, if you wanna talk to me, head to my discord at RTRUrsC, or you can find me lurking down in Class 1-C at GVZDqhP, or in the Hoard at q3PmBdq ! Klyju, out!