Chapter Text
Looking up at the starry sky, Yushiro sat in a park with a canvas on his lap and colors next to him on the bench, trying to remember the face of someone he used to be close to, wishing to draw that someone.
He trembled slightly as tears of frustration and sorrow began to form in his eyes, as he came to the realization that he couldn't remember what that person looked like.
“Tamayo-sama..why can't I remember what you look like anymore..” No matter how hard Yushiro tried to remember what his beloved Tamayo-sama looked like, he just couldn't. It’s like how, during the many years he lived, it just became more blurry and unrecognizable. At first, he couldn't remember her voice, then her unmistakable scent that used to be ingrained in his mind, and slowly her smile and her bright, knowledgeable eyes vanished from his mind until her whole face vanished from his memories.
In all the years that Yushiro existed, he always stuck to his promise to remember Tamayo, but now he struggled to even picture her, and it frustrated him more than anything, even more than that demon slayer with his demon sister that Yushiro met many, many years ago during the Taisho-era.
Yushiro was lost/deep inside his own thoughts that he didn’t notice someone coming up to him, not until that someone spoke up.
“Are you alright, kid?” The woman asked, her worried voice brought Yushiro back from his thoughts, and he turned his gaze from the stars to look at her. “Why is a boy your age still awake and out at a time like this?”
She was a nice, but slightly worried-looking woman with dark green hair and emerald eyes, and for a moment, he blinked in confusion at her, wondering if this woman was talking to him or someone nearby. Yushiro even looked around to see if there was someone else that she could mean, but there was only him and that woman in the otherwise empty park.
Seeing the confusion in his eyes, the woman got more worried and asked again, “Are you alright, kid?” The woman repeated. “Did you forget where you are? We are currently at the park in the middle of Musutafu. Should I bring you to the hospital to check that you are alright?”
Slowly, understanding came to Yushiro. He forgot he changed his appearance to look like a young teenager. Why he chose to look like that, he didn’t know himself, but maybe that's why that woman was so worried.
After many minutes of silence, Yushiro spoke calmly, trying not to sound as annoyed as he was by that woman. Tamayo-sama wouldn't like it if I got angry at someone with worries, at least I think she wouldn't…
“Yes, I am alright, miss. I was just enjoying the stars out here, no need to worry,” he gave the woman a small smile in an attempt to reassure her that he was alright, but it didn't seem to help.
“Are you sure? Where are your parents? I am sure they miss you already,” the woman said, still worried about him. For all she knew, she just found a 12, maybe 13-year-old boy out at night, all alone, on a park bench, so of course, she was worried. If she hadn’t forgotten her phone at home, she would have already called the police or a hero to try to find that boy's parents.
“My parents?” Yushiro looked more confused at the woman. His parents were long gone; they died way back in the Meiji-era and long after he became a demon, so he decided to say something along those lines, “They're dead, I live alone.” That, however, didn’t seem to be the right answer, because the woman looked more worried, as if she was about to cry upon hearing his answer.
“Oh god, you poor child. I am so sorry for your loss and pray for your parents to be at peace now.” The woman became sad as she heard the news that the boy's parents were dead, and because of that, he lived alone. Then an idea came to her. “I know I am just a stranger, but would you like to live with me? Just so that you're not alone anymore and have someone who takes care of you.”
Yushiro looked at the woman with a raised eyebrow, at first he didn’t want to take her offer, however, she kinda reminded him of Tamayo with the worry for him in her eyes, with the way that she asked him to live with her, it just was how Tamayo was to him in their time together and he just couldn't say no to that. Besides, he did need a new place to live in anyway; his current house was already worn out and looked like it could collapse anytime soon, and he didn’t want to live in such a house.
Even though he couldn't really be killed by the building if it collapsed on top of him, he still could get hurt, and Yushiro didn't want that, so he agreed to the woman's offer. “Alright, but who are you, miss?”
“I am Midoriya Inko, but you can call me Inko, dear,” the woman–now known as Inko–gave Yushiro a relieved smile, glad that he agreed to her offer. “And who might you be?”
Yushiro thought for a moment; he had many names over the centuries. Changing his name for every new era to stay hidden among humans and make them believe he died when his time would have come. However, for this lifetime, he hadn’t yet thought of a name.
But this time, he needed something more modern than usual. After all, he is now living in a time without demons and demon slayers, nor does he live in a time with stories and myths about them; now he lives in a time full of heroes and villains and humans with supernatural powers called quirks.
It was strange and hard for him to get used to seeing humans with superpowers, which is a bit ironic after all, he is a strong demon who is trying his best to live among humans without them knowing who or what he is, never would he have thought to live in an era where humans got powers and act almighty. In his eyes, humans are still as weak and pathetic as they always were, besides maybe a handful he knew in the past.
Finally, after some silence, Yushiro answered as he decided on a name for himself, “You can call me Izuku, miss.”
And with that, Yushiro's life in a new era began