❝ Not all beings are created equal... ❞

A sad, yet critical truth that was ingrained into his mind at just four years old. Some people are just born with an advantage, while others are left in the dust to rot.

"Why are you being so mean, Kacchan?! If you don't stop, I-I'll... I'll stop you myself!" A small green haired boy cried out, standing protectively in front of a cowering child. He clenched his fists timidly, and spread out one of the tiny wings attached to his back, almost like he was shielding the injured one. His tail swished anxiously at the confrontation with the other three boys that stood before him.

"You still want to play savior, Dekuma? Fine then!" The blonde child, apparently called Kacchan challenged, explosive sparks forming at his palms when he pounded his fist into his hand. The other two boys at his side prepared for combat as well, one of them even taking flight on a pair of red wings bigger than the ones the green haired boy had. The three visciously charged forward in an instant.

It wasn't even a fight. Three on one, against a single boy was bound to turn ugly. He layed there, beaten and bruised in the afternoon sun as the child he tried to protect attempted to shake him awake by the shoulders. He wasn't even aware of how much time had passed before he had finally drug himself to his feet to head home, already trying to think of an excuse to give his mother for the injuries. He soon started his journey after reassuring the other child, walking down the street with his tail between his legs in shame. The birds were chirping and the sun was beaming, but that day was not a good one.

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In present times, that little green haired child was no longer as small, nor as young. His name is Izuku Midoriya, and he's currently a middle school student with big dreams for the future.

School had just let out for the day, and Izuku was taking off down the street beaming with excitement as he listened for the distant whispers of a crowd to follow. He kicked up water in a puddle as he hastily navigated the winding streets, before coming to an inmediate halt at the sight in front of him.

A beastly demon was standing on the bridge, snarling at a figure nearby. He was about the size of the bridge, using the various electrical wires to balance on it. A figure, dressed in some sort of tree related garb, was far smaller than the gargantuan being he was confronting, and he also seemed far more calm than the demon did about the situation.

With wide eyes and a smile that transcended normal happiness, Izuku weaseled his way inbetween all the various bystanders until he was right next to where the police had blocked off the street due to the confrontation.

Various murmurs echoed amongst the crowd. Some complaining about the holdup due to a lousy demon, some calling family members to explain why they would be home late. Others stood and decided to take advantage of all the action. Izuku being one of them. He'd actively sought this out for one reason and one reason only.

To see an exorcist in action.

"Whoa, this is going to be good!" He eagerly exclaimed, not able to hear too much before the demon in question let out a viscious roar at being cornered like this in a public area.

"Back off before I snap you in half, you little twig!" The demon roared at the figure who calmly stood on the pole near him.

"Wow, that's Kamui Woods! He's still young and new, but he's been making a big name for himself by going after the larger demonic criminals!" Izuku had found himself fanboying, to which he heard a man say something along the lines of "Give us something flashy, tree man!" from somewhere near him.

"Theft, Illegal use of magic during rush hour traffic, and Destruction of Public Property. You are truly the incarnation of evil, devil!" Kamui Woods, the figure perched atop the power line pole, harshly listed off the various crimes that this demon had committed. He then calmly stood up straighter, extending an arm towards the being of darkness. His hand then proceeded to light up green, various branches and vines protruding from it as they rapidly expanded to a larger size that would fit the demon's large size right as he snarled once again.

The demon was preparing to charge, and Kamui had begun a chant. Izuku, who had already memorized the spell's verses, excitedly listed it off with him.

"Holy... Binding... Lacquer Chain Prison!" Kamui chanted as Izuku yelled it alongside him. The branches rapidly expanded, ready to wrap around the outlaw.

At least, they were before a sudden interruption occured.

A new figure had descended from the sky with a shout. And a... rather large one at that. She kicked the demon off the bridge and into the cleared off area of the street. She soon stood up, her height way taller than the bridge she was next to. Kamui turned to her with a look of shock, his branches still frozen mid-air out of pure bewilderment.

"Hey there everyone~ I'm Mt. Lady. Pleasure to make your ass-quaintence." She seductively winked as she stood in a.. rather interesting position. All the reporters standing in front had all begun photographing the newcomer, and completely ignored Kamui at all. How rude.

Izuku rolled his eyes at the sight, and grumbled that Kamui couldn't finish his binding spell. His mild annoyance didn't last long, as he dug around in his backpack for his notebook. A new exorcist meant more notes for him to take, he furiously flipped to a new page with purpose. He scribbled down all his theories on her magic type, how it works, and various other nuances based on the display he'd gotten. The man nearby soon turned to the young greenette.

"Taking notes, fanboy? You lookin' to be an exorcist like them?" He casually asked, poking a finger at Izuku. Izuku excitedly snapped his book shut and nodded with a beaming grin. A beaming grin that revealed the smallest of fangs.

"Yes! More than anything in the world!" Izuku chirped, not even noticing that his tail had popped out and was wagging furiously at how much the question pleased him.

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In this world that Izuku inhabits, there are two races of beings that dominate it. Humans, being the more common and widely spread ones and Demons, a somewhat rare race that also inhabit the lands alongside humans. They aren't as prevalent as humans, but they also are more powerful.

Humans aren't totally threatened by Demons. Once Demons had started appearing a long time ago, along with humans gaining the power to use magical abilities as well, new laws had to be formed to adjust to the changing society. Most involving putting laws on magic usage.

That's where the Exorcists come in. Exorcists are tasked with maintaining order among humans and demons, and detaining any criminals they come across if nessecary. Especially demonic ones, those being the ones they were specifically trained to handle.

As such, Exorcists are highly favored by the public, and are paid well by the government for their services. The better they perform, the more money they make. All in all, it's all based on how well they can stay relevant and for how long.

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Izuku Midoriya did not like his middle school. Sure, his childhood best friend was in the same class as him, but that didn't make things much better. In fact, it probably made things much worse.

It was the end of the year, one of the last days in the final months of middle school for Izuku, and a day after the excitement he'd encountered. Next year, he'd be attending a high school of his choosing. If he could pass the entrance exam, that is. It was a rather small school, and one he wasn't all that content with, so he was rather glad it had ended.

"Alright class, today is the day where you fill out your applications for high school and choose your career path." The teacher droned, holding a stack of packets in his hand. Izuku was intently paying attention to his words despite his hunched over demeanor.

The students all groaned in unison, Izuku absentmindedly playing with his pencil as he stayed as inconspicuous as possible. The last thing he needed was to attract attention. Attention in this school is akin to having a death wish for someone like him.

"Just kidding! I know you're all looking to go down the Exorcist path." The teacher then tossed the papers aside, to which the class cheered. They all got especially rowdy, all of them showing off the various magic they possessed no matter how weak it was. Izuku shrank into his desk further, wanting nothing more than to dissapear.

"Hah! You losers think you can actually be decent exorcists? The best thing the lot of you will be doing is cleaning up the sidestreets at some backalley D-ranked agency." A blonde boy pridefully snickered, his feet propped up on the desk as he lazily leaned back in his chair. Enter Katsuki Bakugo. The childhood best friend mentioned before and quite frankly, a major asshole.

"You think you're better than us, Bakugo?!" Some students snapped, challenging Bakugo before he soon met it with his own. "Let's go! I'll take all you losers on!" He yelled back, before kicking himself out of his chair and leaping dramatically onto his desk.

"I aced all of the mock tests, and the exams! Not to mention my magical affinity is off the charts! I'm going straight to UA High, and I'll be the greatest Exorcist known to man! I'll even be more popular and powerful than All Might himself! People all across the world will know my name, and it all starts with UA!" Bakugo monalogued quite loudly, Izuku's hearing was too sensitive to handle it and he was quietly covering his ears in the back.

"Oh yeah, as the only demon in this class, Midoriya was thinking of applying there as well. Weren't you?" The teacher had chimed in as he glanced over the various high school entrance forms, pointing right at the green haired boy. So much for not drawing attention. Bakugo immediately halted his speech, and the room went dead silent as they all turned to look at the boy in question. Until, uproarious laughter soon erupted from the various members of the class.

"Midoriya?! A demon applying to the national exorcism school?! And a Hollow one at that! That's the best thing I've heard all day!" Someone maniacally laughed as various other taunting words soon floated around the room. Izuku, feeling stressed about the situation, stood up to desperately prove his point. His tail twitched with both anxiety of how Bakugo would react and also determination to prove his point.

"A-actually, they got rid of that rule! Demons and Hollows are both allowed to apply now!" He hesitantly spoke up, before finding himself being flung into the wall when Bakugo had used an explosive spell to blow up his desk. He huddled to the floor, backing himself into a corner as an orange sigil glowed on the blonde boy's hand and smoke trailed off it.

"Listen here! You're even worse than the rest of these damn abracadabra rejects, you filthy devil! You're so useless that not even your demon senses could save you from having no magic at all! You'd die in the exam, hell, you'd probably die on the way inside!" Bakugo sneered at Izuku, the boy's tail tucked under his legs as his back was pressed against the wall. The others snickered as Bakugo spoke, following his every word just because he was the strongest magic user in this class. Maybe even the entirety of Aldeara Middle School.

"Well... I... It's just... I've always wanted to be an exorcist ever since I was little, and I thought that if maybe I tried my best, I could prove that Demons could do good like that too. Or even just Hollows in general." He rambled on as he tried to defend himself, before he was shut down once more.

"You really think you can hang with the best of the best?! Huh?! There's no way a disgusting nobody like you will go anywhere in life other than being a petty crook, if you could even pull that much off without getting your useless ass killed! Go ahead, cry about your unholy blood, you worthless demon!" Bakugo snarled, the ferocity of it causing Izuku to drop his head and go totally silent, his tail curled tightly around his legs as everyone in the room just watched it happen.

It felt like the taunts went on for an eternity, before the teacher finally regained order and convinced Bakugo to sit back down. Izuku, who was affected by all the comments more than usual, had shrunk into an even quieter shell as he timidly made his way back to his desk. At this point, afraid that even breathing too loud would start up the taunts again.

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

Still, he didn't stay down for long. He always managed to find a positive in a situation, no matter how dim it seemed. It was why he really looked up to the famous Exorcist, All Might, like he did. He never gave up.

And now was especially not one of those times to give up, not when he'd just noticed that the incident from yesterday was already making headlines right after class had concluded.

"It seems like there's a lot in terms of articles already. Word really does travel fast. I'll have to write this down." He mumbled to himself, a small shaky smile forming for the first time since the taunting earlier had ceased. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his notebook. It was surprisingly full considering it was only a month old.

Sadly, Izuku didn't take into account who was left in the room with him, and his notebook was suddenly at the mercy of none other than Bakugo. It was snatched from his hand as his eyes widened and tried to take it back.

"Give that back! It's mine!" He pleaded as he stood up to reach over his desk in order to snatch it back, the blonde only dangling it further out of view with a smirk. All of the notes Izuku had actually been proud of were in there, plus, it was embarassing and nervewracking to have something so important to him snatched away like that.

"Exorcism Analysis? Oh wow, seems like the little devil really is obsessed with exorcists." One of Bakugo's lackeys jabbed at the book, before looking to his friend for further comment.

"Little creep, I bet he even wrote about what they do outside the public eye. A little obsessive demon like him is the perfect material for a stalker. I'd watch my back if I were them." The other sneered, before Bakugo soon shut the both of them up.

And he did so by casting a fire spell on the notebook, causing Izuku to scream out of shock and horror. He screamed even louder when his precious book was launched out the window by the blonde like it was a piece of trash.

"That-That's so mean.." He hardly managed to force out, his voice barely a broken whisper. His day was already going south, he could have just avoided this attention all together had his teacher not singled him out for applying to UA.

The bullies, seemingly content with their torment, had started out the door once Bakugo had. He stomped to the door, pausing right as he reached the doorway.

"You know, if you REALLY want to be an exorcist, then there might just be another way." Bakugo had begun to advise, a cruel smirk forming as he did. Izuku, a small bit of hope fluttering in his chest, excitedly perked up at the thought that he might get something good from all this.

"Just pray that you'll be born as a human being in your next life, and take a swan dive off the roof." Bakugo laughed as he said it, turning to look at the greenette before starting to leave.

It was too much for Izuku to bear. It was way over the line, even that much Izuku knew. With a small growl and tears in his eyes, he whipped around to glare at Bakugo. Bakugo, not even phased by the demon's anger and emotional pain, only set off sparks in his hands.

"Something wrong?" Bakugo almost dared Izuku to try something. It was the word of three humans against a demon's, and all they had to do was say Izuku had attacked them unprovoked. Then Izuku would be the one who got hauled out and expelled.

Not that Izuku had enough fight in him to do that anyways. As soon as he was glared at, his claws immediately retracted and his previous attempt at intimidation had devolved back into terrified trembling, though the tears remained.

As soon as he saw the figures of his classmates vanish, Izuku finished packing up his things and headed outside to where his notebook was. He muttered to himself as he did, expressing frustration with his situation.

"You can't just go around telling people to kill themselves. What was he gonna do if I really jumped? Act like it wasn't his fault?" He grumbled as he searched the bushes, his hair filled with leaves as yet another bush underneath the open window of the second floor classroom was thoroughly searched to no results.
He scoured the area, his search growing more uneventful by the minute until he finally turned his attention to the pond.

He found it. But... it was now soaking wet and the koi fish were nibbling on the corners. How ironic.

"My dreams are now fish food." He sighed somberly, shooing away the fish with his hand as he grabbed the now ruined documentation of the various exorcists he's seen recently. He clutched it tightly in his hands, his knuckles nearly turning white he held it so firmly. His claws had formed again, digging tiny holes into the cover of his notebook.

"Jerk." He finally growled in silent fury, before shaking the excess water off and placing the notebook in a different section of his backpack that was away from all the papers.

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

Izuku just wanted to go home. Why can't he do anything in peace? He had finally forced himself to smile when he reached the bridge underpass. Now here he was, stuck in the grip of a disgusting, slime demon as it tried to take over his body. Nobody would hear him scream so long as it kept suffocating him like that.

He madly clawed at the slime, his claws not even leaving the slightest bit of damage sharp as they were.

"You're a fighter, but those puny claws of yours can't cut liquid." The demon taunted him, leaning an eyeball down beside Izuku as tears filled his eyes. Would this be how he died? Forgotten in an alleyway because of a single demon. He could feel his vision go darker as it kept getting harder and harder to breathe inbetween his hoarse sobs and cries. His hearing was starting to go dark, right as some sort of figure had emerged from the sewers. Then... everything went black.

The next thing he remembers, he's lying down on the pavement as someone is repeatedly slapping his cheek. His eyes groggily opened, gasping for air as he slowly sat up. His mind was still foggy, and it took him a second to process exactly who was standing before him. He knew whoever it was had likely rescued him from death's grip, and he was already starting to mumble an apology.

"Thought we lost you there, young one!" The blonde man laughed heartily, seeming more glad than anything that the young demon was alright.

Izuku blinked in surprise, before letting out a screech of both shock and pure fanboy. The hulking man before him was none other than All Might himself. He, a DEMON, was just rescued by All Might! He squealed, and had begun talking on a whim once his mind had finally caught up with the situation his body had found itself in.

"All Might?! Could you hold on, I need to find it... Where did I put it..?" He assured, digging around his bag for his notebook in his backpack right before spotting it on the pavement, and making a break for it. He was so excited that he forgot to stand, eagerly holding it out for All Might as he desperately searched for a page for him to sign.

"Please sign my notebook!" He begged, not knowing how long it'll be before All Might needed to leave again. He had so many questions, and one of them was really important to him. He didn't know of he'd ever get this chance again if he missed it now.

"Wha-?! You already signed it!!" He then squealed again, his tail out and wagging nonstop as he came to the realization that All Might had already signed his notebook.

"Thankyousosoverymuchsirthiswillbeanheirloom,afamilytreasure,I'llpassthisdownforaslongasIliveohmygodthankyousomuchwordscan'tdescribehowexcitedIam!" Izuku's words jumbled together in a single runon sentence as he rambled with no filter, standing up and aggresisvely bowing as thanks.

He then looked around once he'd calmed down for a second, having finally got some of his reason back after being overloaded due to meeting his all-time idol in person. He tilted his head up at the man in confusion.

"Wait... what happened to that demon?" He looked around, not even seeing the faintest trace of any sludge. Did All Might have enough time to already drop it by the police station?

"No need to fret! I have secured him." All Might proudly proclaimed as he presented the demon.... compressed into an empty bottle of two-liter soda.

"It's been nice to meet you, young one, but I really must go." All Might stretched and slipped the bottle back into his pocket, seeming to be casting some sort of flight spell.

'...Huh? Wait! He can't go yet, there's so much I still need to ask. And it's... it's really important. If I miss out on this, then I won't get a second chance.' Izuku's thoughts frantically swirled as he found his feet moving on impulse before he could think.

Right as the exorcist had taken off, Izuku had leapt and clung onto his leg. The young demon was now straining to hold his eyes open from the speed of the flight.

"What do you think you're doing?! You need to let go!" All Might stubbornly tried to shake off Izuku, who's claws were desperately digging into his pants and probably piercing his leg.

"I-I'm sorry, I can't! If I let go, I'll die!" Izuku cried out as he winced at how high he was. His tiny wings were out and desperately flapping, it was clear that he was a flightless demon just by looking at them. He couldn't even glide properly.

"And there's so much I want to ask you, it's really really important!" He started to ramble on as the wind blowing into his mouth muffled his words.

"Fine, just close your eyes and mouth." All Might eventually agreed, finally holding his leg still enough to allow the demon to ride without too much struggle.

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

It wasn't until All Might had landed on a building and scolded Izuku for suddenly holding on like that when he knew his wings were too small to be used for flight that the pair realized that something was missing. Something important.

All Might had already explained why he was in such a rush, due to an injury he'd sustained a long time ago in battle with a particularly ferocious demon, his magic was far more limited than it used to be. He can only use spells for around 3 hours a day before he'll start coughing uo blood and his body will start to be strained, and maintaining his famous appearance was used via transformation magic. It wears off when his limit is reached, and reduces him to a much smaller and sickly looking man.

"You want to be an exorcist, kid? Not as long as you're Hollow, demon status aside." All Might had finally concluded his long-winded scolding.

Izuku only looked away with tears pricking at his eyes in response. He's been told the same thing. Over. And over. And over. He'll never be able to be an Exorcist. Exorcists aren't demons. Exorcists can use magic. They're so magical and special, and that's why they're allowed to capture the evil-doers.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Izuku noticed something was missing from All Might's pocket, then he wouldn't have done what he did.

"Hey... All Might.." Izuku began, his eyes darting from his pocket to the man's face.

All Might had been preparing for takeoff, before a look of horror crossed his face at Izuku's next words.

❝ Where's the slime demon ? ❞

∘ ───♡༉─── ∘
End of Chapter One

Word Count: 4227