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It’s been many years since she was alive. He did accept it but hated that fact. His fingers ran over the simple hairpin, the top of it held a small white flower with a yellow middle next to it had a small purple ball. The calico cat next to him purred in the night, the cat was ignorantly blissfully purring away as he petted the cat. His hair has grown long, though not as long as it could be. He keeps his pale green hair up in a messy bun, though at the tips a bunch of black is shown as that is stubborn to be held up.
He sighed as he looked at the full moon, he truly wished for the time back then. What he would do if he had the ability to time travel, but that’s not possible. How? Because he has researched it already, he found that it was impossible even with the existence of quirks. Many years ago he had given up on the idea of time travel but when quirks started to appear he tried again. Maybe, just maybe, it was possible but it wasn’t.
He pulled out his phone. Compared to back then, the modern world has truly advanced so much. He saw that he only had 3 more hours to be able to be outside until it became morning. He turned the phone off once again before placing it on the bench he sat on. Looking around the beach there was one thing that he thought, humanity was destroying the earth by throwing their garbage anywhere and everywhere.
Like humans, he ignored it. He already cleaned up enough that filled 5 garbage bags just that night. He didn’t throw them away in a garbage can or recycling bin inside; he lit them on fire. Hardly any ashes were left but within those ashes, small flares of fire were still going. It’s not like the coldness of the night wouldn’t make the embers go away, before he leaves he’ll get water to put them out.
It’s only been around 200 years since quirks developed, and another 200 since the owner of the hairpin lived. The demon wondered what would have happened if she didn’t die, or if he wasn’t told to keep her memory alive because no one truly dies if someone remembers but if you're not remembered then it’s like you never existed. People wondered if that was true.
Yushiro knew that it was true. He knew people from 400 years ago that weren't even remembered now. Humans that put their lives at risk for humanity and aren't even remembered by their descendants. He knew as the eras came and went, the war would happen and with war was death. Death was the only true fate for humans and Yushiro knew that. That’s why he stopped making friends with humans, that's the main reason why he only went out during the night.
He felt a poke on his shoulder, it was a gentle one. Yushiro looked over to see a woman with a concerned look on her face. Yushiro recognized her as a pro hero, one of the few female ones out there. The woman has shoulder-length hair, some of it pulled up into a bun at the back while some bangs hung loosely against her forehead. Her gray eyes seem to be looking to make sure that Yushiro was safe and injured.
“Sir. Are you alright?” Nana asked, it seemed to be a question that she repeated.
Yushiro blinked once. He blinked again. A human was worried about him. How strange? The last time a human was worried about him was before Ubuyashiki Kirya died. He nodded slowly before saying, “yes, I am. Sorry if it caused any concern.”
Nana shook her head, “It’s alright! It just seemed that you were in a daze when my student first saw you.” Yushrio didn’t even see the pro hero’s student at first. He made eye contact with a pair of deep blue eyes. The younger male’s concerned eyes reminded him of someone else's. Both of the younger males and the other’s eyes held a determination but still helped with kindness. The younger male seemed to be in his last year of middle school, he had short blond hair that swept backward. Two tufts of hair leaning slightly on each side of the male’s face stood out the most.
Nana continued speaking not knowing what the other was thinking. “He thought something might have happened as you didn’t respond when he called out to you, so he went to get me.” She took a deep breath. “And when we got back here, you were crying a little but still in a daze. Are you alright? Did something happen?” She didn’t want to say the crying part to save the man from embarrassment but she had to, to be able to make sure he was alright.
Yushiro didn’t even realize that. He reached up to his cheek and felt that it was wet. “Oh…” He knew why, it was the day that the woman he once loved died, the day of that forgotten war. It wasn’t something that he would be easily able to say to strangers, so he changed the subject. “But what are you two doing so early in the morning?”
This question was one that not many people asked but Nana was happy to answer. “Well, Toshinori here is training to go to UA for high school!”
That answer surprised Yushiro, he could tell that the blond teen, Toshinori, was quirkless. It’s not that the quirkless people couldn’t do anything, he knew many who did extraordinary things that held little to any power. “Oh, I see…” Yushiro looks over at the nervous teen, “I know you can make it in,” He looks over at Nana, “With Pro Hero Nana on your side.” Nana laughed at that.
The teen’s dark ocean-like eyes brightened a little, and a small smile formed on his face as he nodded. “Thank you…?”
“Yamamoto Yushiro.”
“Thank you, Yamamoto-san!”
“Hey, Yamamoto-san…” Nana started to say, “Why are you out this early? It’s dangerous for civilians to be out at this time, villains always make trouble at this time.”
‘ Oh, this question …’ Yushiro thinks to himself before lying to them. “It’s due to my quirk.” He quite disliked lying to others but he had to because it risked his safety as a demon.
“Your quirk. What is it, if you don’t mind?” Toshinori asked curiously.
“Well, my quirk allows me to make myself or others and things invisible for a certain amount of time.” Yushiro lied. “But my drawback is that I have to use my blood and that I can’t go in the sun, otherwise it won’t work.”
“That’s an awful drawback, Yamamoto-san.” Nana commented while Toshinori simply nodded.
Yushiro was glad that he didn’t have to continue to lie to the two humans. He was sure Nana might have caught onto his lies but pretended not to care for the sake of Toshinori. Without saying a word, Nana sat down next to Chachamaru.
The physically older woman patted the calico cat on the head as she spoke to the blond teen, “Toshinori. Jog 500 meters towards the beach entrance. Then you can take a two-minute pause before jogging back for another two-minute pause. Then repeat it another time.”
Toshinori looked panicked a little for having to jog 2000 meters but he didn’t voice anything to complain about. “Yes ma’am!”
The two older sat in silence as they watched the teenager jog off into the distance. Chachamaru purred loudly as Nana scratched her chin.
“Yamamoto-san.” Nana eyed Yushiro’s next actions, “Why did you lie to us about your quirk?”
She watched as the male’s shoulder tensed but it was obvious that the lie was not what he was tensing about. Yushiro’s eyes continued to look forward into the forest in front of them before he leaned backward, his head laying on the back of the bench while his eyes focused on the stars.
“You won’t like the truth.” Yushrio told the woman, not caring for Nana’s reaction.
“I can take it.” Nana dared him to tell her. If getting someone to tell something, Nana is the one to get information out of someone.
Yushrio sighed. He truly didn’t want to answer her question.
“Yamamoto-san.” Nana’s eyes narrowed on the man, “If that even is your name. I know you are hiding something.”
He could tell that the woman was thinking of something else, than what he was holding. Yushrio knew that the woman wasn’t meaning to pry so hard for him to tell her that he was a demon but she thought something else. He knew that Nana thought he probably lied to her about his identity because he could have killed someone.
Which he has killed before but none that didn’t deserve it. Specifically humans.
Yushiro leaned his head up and looked toward Nana. “Why do you want to know?”
“You mentioned that your quirk required blood. You never specified what blood. All I could know was that it required other people's blood and that you lied about the invisible part. If the invisible part is true, how could I know if you don’t kill people for their blood?” Nana continued to pet Chachamaru as she leaned backward. “Although, this could just be a superstition.”
“All I know is that you are hiding something.” Nana finished. She wasn’t facing Yushiro, her eyes looked among the stars above.
“How are you certain?” Yushrio asked. They were good reasons to not trust him, especially with those theories. Sadly, the woman is wrong.
“Call it a woman’s intuition.”
Yushrio’s grip on the small hairpin tightened. Would this woman truly not stop asking until she knew what he was hiding. Of course, the answer wouldn’t be what she’d expect. “Fine but you can not tell anyone what I'm about to tell you.” Nana nodded.
Nana turned her head to face the male as she sat straight up. Her hand didn’t stop petting the cat. Yushrio knew he probably would regret his next words. “I’m a demon.”
Nana froze. That surely wasn’t an answer she was expecting. “What is a… demon?” Nana wasn’t sure how to phrase it.
Yushrio sighed, he knew that he had to explain. “Demons are not humans. They eat humans and hide from the sun to survive. Although demons are like that in instinct, I am not like them. I am a doctor, I don’t kill humans to survive. I prefer to save their lives.”
“How did you become a demon? It seems that you are older than you look.” Nana asked, she had never heard of demons before. Yushrio looks human to her.
“To put it simply for my reasoning, I would have died if I didn’t.” Yurshiro told the woman. Chachamaru simply purred and rolled onto her back for belly rubs.
Nana hesitated to ask her next question, “Do… Do demons still exist? Well besides you.”
Yushrio shook his head, “No. Chachamaru and I are the last.”
“Why?”
What a curious human.
“Around four hundred years ago, humans and demons had a war. Within that war, many human lives were lost due to demons. I won’t go into full detail. But to put it plainly, the demon king died. After the demon king and the six most powerful demons died, all of the other, weaker, demons were killed off by the remaining members of the Demon Slayer Corps and I.” Yushrio explained, he didn’t like remembering the battle but it will always be the one thing that will stay in his mind forever.
“I see…” Nana rubbed her chin with her free hand. “So whatever happened back then wasn’t something that made it into history. Was this ‘Demon Slayer Corps’ secret?”
“Yes, the organization was kept secret for centuries.” Yushrio’s hand rubbed against Chachamaru’s soft belly. “It will stay that way forever.”
Toshinori’s footsteps were heard before they stopped nearby the two older. Although the teen wouldn’t be able to hear them from that distance, the two adults made their voices into a whisper.
“My quirk isn’t just my quirk.” Nana told the mentally older.
Yushrio raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“My quirk originally is Float. Which it still is, but it was enhanced with a quirk called One For All. It has been passed down for many generations, and I will pass it down to Toshinori.” Nana spoke freely.
“Why are you telling me this?” Yushrio was confused, why would she tell him an important secret like this.
“A secret for a secret.” Nana then laughed as she spoke. Toshinori took off jogging again.
Yurshio sighed. “That makes sense.”
The two sat in silence as they watched the moon slowly move. The stars twinkled in the clear night but early morning sky.
“Yushrio-san.” Nana broke the silence. This was the first time that he was referred to as ‘Yushrio-san’ instead of ‘Yamamoto-san’.
“Yes?”
“I have a request.” Nana told the older one.
“Which is?” Yushrio asked.
“Can you watch over Toshi’ and whoever will be the successors after him?” Nana asked the other.
Why would she want him to watch over the successors? Him of all people. Yushiro isn’t even human. But it would be too similar to Kiriya’s request. His dearest friend died over two hundred years ago. Kiriya wished for Yushrio to continue to live with the memories that no one else will ever have.
Yushrio usually stayed in the countryside, where the Ubyashki family house resided for hundreds -if not thousands- of years. He rarely came to the city anymore but had to because the cat tree he ordered was the wrong one and it could only be returned in the store. Chachamaru snuck her way with him. He didn’t have the cat tree with him now due to it being delivered and being the correct one.
Yushrio kept a lot of the things from the Demon Slayer Corps. He had different nichirin swords, he had the Hashira’s weapons and most of the haori from the Hashria who died during the last battle. He also held those forgotten old photos that were taken back then.
“Why me? I understand it might be because I’m immortal but there has to be something else.” Yushrio asked.
“Well yes, that but I could tell that you’re a good person-er-demon.” Nana chuckled. “But also because Toshinori reminded you of someone, didn’t he?”
It was Yushrio’s turn to chuckle. “Yes, his determination reminds me of someone who passed away many years ago. Expect, Toshinori doesn’t seem as dumb as that brat.” Tanjiro. He wanted to say the person’s name but Yushrio hasn’t said his name for a hundred years.
“Was that truly your reason?” Yushrio asked. He felt Chachamaru stand up and stretch her legs before she sat down and looked up at the stars.
“No.” Nana scratches the back of Chachamaru’s ear as she looks at the sky, “I have a feeling that I won’t be here much longer, maybe two or three years. I want to know that Toshinori will be watched when no one else knows his real identity. It’s selfish of me, I know, but I want him and the future generations to come to be safe.”
To Yushrio, the image of Nana sitting next to him changed to another. Tamayo. The woman knew when she would die but didn’t tell him. A demoness that wanted to protect the humans and the future generations. But the image lasted only for a second as the protective wish of the future reminded Yushiro of all the Demon Slayer members he knew.
“I’ll watch over him.” Yushrio blinked the image of the dead away. “Why do you have the feeling that you will die soon?”
“All For One. The enemy of all who holds One For All.” Nana spoke in disgust.
She went on to explain how and why the two quirks came to be. All For One was from one of the first few generations with the first user of One For All. They were brothers. They had a close friend who allowed the two to stay with him due to quirks being hated at the time. He was quirkless but his skin was sensitive to the sun. When a close friend died in a freak accident that related to quirks, All For One went insane. All For One wished to take away all quirks from the undeserving people and give them to his deserving followers. Since the younger brother was thought to have no quirk, All For One forcefully gave him a quirk. It turned out that the younger did have a quirk but it was hidden, it is the reason why One For All exists.
Yushrio felt guilty. He knew All For One and the first user of One For All. He was the close friend that ‘died’. He remembered how that quirk user was merely a child getting their quirk for the first time, it just so happened to be a fire-related quirk. To the public eye, ‘Minami Takahiro’ died in a quirk-related fire at an apartment complex. He never knew what happened to those two humans that were fond of him. He always thought that the two got married to someone and had children then eventually died.
He didn’t know what truly happened to the two because house renovations at the Ubuyashiki, now Yamamoto, estate were finished. He had to get more modern household renovations. After that fire many years ago happened, Yushrio simply kept to himself for about one-hundred and fifty years so that he knew no one would recognize him.
By the time Toshinori made his way back, Yushiro and Chachamaru were gone. Nana ended up explaining that Yushiro will be watching over him and any future successors. The sun had risen by the time Nana finished explaining that Yushrio was a demon.
Toshinori noticed something on the ground. “Uhh, Nana?”
“Yeah, brat?”
The teen pointed to the simple hairpin on the bench, “Is that Yamamoto-san’s hairpin?”
________________________________________
Almost thirty years have gone by since Yushrio met Nana and Yagi Toshinori. In those thirty years, Yushrio has watched Toshinori grow from a quirkless teenager to the number one hero that everyone wished to be and meet.
He was devastated when he returned home after meeting the two. Yushrio had lost Tamayo’s hairpin. For thirty years he refused to give up looking for that hairpin but it never once was found, probably long gone now.
Human’s truly don’t realize the value of simple things until they are gone. Yushrio always knew the value of that hairpin and he hates himself for losing it.
He had given Nana his home address but a few years after meeting the woman, any and all letters stopped being sent. Yushrio later found out that she was killed by All For One. He doubted that Toshinori, now known as All Might the Symbol of Peace, knew his address.
Yushrio sat on the back porch that once belonged to the Ubuyashiki family. The sun had set around 2 hours ago and allowed Yushrio and Chachamaru to be outside. Chachamaru lay spread out as she purred as she basked in the moonlight. Yushrio on the other hand simply watched some of the cherry blossoms fall from the trees from the slight breeze.
He listened to the sounds of the animals around him and to the fountain of water that pays respects to many families. Ubuyashiki, Rengoku, Kamado, Uzui, Tokito, Himejima, Tomioka, Shinazugawa, Kocho, and many more families deserved it. The Ubuyashiki family was in the middle and surrounded by the nine Hashira names that were the last generation of Hashira. The next layer was many key people in winning that war who were not Hashira. Tanjiro, Inoskue, Zenitsu, Kanao, and Genya were the ones that were closest to the Hashira.
The ringing of the doorbell interrupted the sounds outside. Groaning, Yushrio stood up and made his way inside towards the front of the house. He passed by the many pictures hanging on the walls, either taken or drawn. The house was an older design like how it was those hundreds of years ago but it’s now modern with working electricity, water, wifi, and other things that made a modern household. Chachamaru followed behind Yushrio.
The doorbell rang once again. Whoever was there seemed to be impatient.
When Yushrio got to the door, he looked through the peephole. He didn’t just open the door due to once being stabbed when he opened the door for a random person. Of course, he lived but had to leave the area. That happened before Ubuyashiki Kiriya died.
Two figures stood there. Both seemed nervous and uncertain at the same time. The one that rang the doorbell was a teenager with black curly hair and green highlights. The teen’s face held some freckles and a pair of green eyes.
Next to the teenager, there stood an older-looking man. The man wore baggy clothing that couldn’t hide how skinny he was. His blond hair was wild in the back as the front held two familiar tufts on either side of his face facing downwards.
They didn’t seem dangerous but Yushrio had to keep on guard because you can’t really trust everyone. Especially people who randomly show up at your doorstep.
Taking his phone out of his pocket, Yushiro opened a camera app. He wasn’t sure about it when he first got it but now it’s very useful for the daytime but he still checks that the camera works properly at night and that the two humans didn’t have anything behind them.
Deciding that the two mortals didn’t have anything for a surprise attack, Yushrio turned off his phone and placed it in his pocket. Unlocking the door, he heard footsteps going backward. When he opened the door, the two humans were looking at each other.
The man with blond hair eyes widened when he looked at Yushiro while the teen stood in silence. “Can I help you?” Yushiro asked as he took further note of the duo’s appearances.
The man seemed to be holding a box in one hand while the teen held a piece of paper, probably his address. “Yamamoto Yushiro?” The man asked.
Yushrio simply nodded while looking at the two curiously. “That’s me, why do you want?” The teen kept looking at the two of them.
The man smiled before saying, “It’s me, Yagi Toshinori.” Yushiro's eyes widened. “The kid that was with Nana those thirty years ago.” Toshinori sounded very different than he did many years ago, then again he also is in his forties while back then he was merely 15.
Yushrio has seen those clips and news reports about All Might’s rise to fame. He was even there that day that All Might became the symbol of peace, that fire. Originally he wasn’t even supposed to be there but an Agatsuma ended up contacting him through letter and wanting to know why his address and name were on a letter with a kimono and multiple boxes tucked away in storage. Apparently, the descendant was planning to move to another country, England, with their two finances and wanted to clean out their family's old storage compartment and found a really old kimono tightly sealed and boxes around it with his name and address on it.
He was able to tell them that the kimono belonged to their ancestor named Nezuko Kamado. The Agatsuma decided that it would be better for the kimono to stay with Yushiro as it would be no use to them anymore and especially in England. There had been a letter tucked into the kimono that had very familiar but forgotten writing on it. The letter was extremely old due to it being written by Nezuko Kamado. Of course, Nezuko knew that it would probably be many years before it was found but it was addressed to him as if she wrote it a couple of days before he opened it. The letter itself made him cry, it had felt as if he were pulled back in time before quirks. The four paged letter was neatly inside a picture frame.
That late afternoon that the Agatsuma and Yushiro met up was the day that All Might made his debut. Thankfully the Agatsuma made it out safely despite a twisted ankle, but Yushiro wasn’t so lucky as he was counted for the dead when the heroes found one of his arms. Of course, in reality, that arm grew back and the Agatsuma lied about Yushiro pushing her and her two lovers out the way but dying in the process.
“Toshinori you look…” Yushrio looked up and down. “Older and skinnier than before.”
Toshinori nodded as a smile formed on his face, “And you look the same as you did many years ago.” He looked down at his feet when he felt fur brush against his leg. “Chachamaru looks the same as well.”
Yushrio eyed the teenager next to Toshinori. “Who is this?”
Toshinori placed his hand on the now embarrassed teen, “This is Midoriya Izuku, he is going to be the next holder of One for All.” The teenager, Midoriya Izuku, eyes widened. It was obvious that Toshinori didn’t tell him that Yushrio already knew.
“Well Toshinori,” Yushrio turned his head towards the youngest. “Midoriya, come inside, and let's talk.”
Yushiro opened his door more for the other two to come inside. He told the two to not touch anything on the wall or on top of the desk without his permission or him knowing. Yushiro poured tea for the two mortals while they looked around the common room. He could see Midoriya looking at the nichiren blades from the Hashira, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inoskue, Kanao, and Genya’s gun. While Toshinori looked at the pictures from before he became the last demon, of course, those are all in black and white.
“You have lots of katanas, Yamamoto-san.” Midoriya commented as he took a seat on the couch, next to Toshinori.
“None of them are mine.” Yushiro told the other. Midoriya’s eyes simply widened but didn’t say anything.
Toshinori reached down with his free hand to pet Chachamaru, who was next to his leg. “Is Chachamaru a demon as well?” He asked.
Yushrio nodded, “Did you tell the kid?”
Toshinori chuckled, “Yes, he knows all of that.” Midoriya nodded but didn’t say anything.
Yushrio took a sip from his tea, “What made you suddenly show up at my doorstep? It couldn’t be because you are getting a successor.” Yushiro eyed Midoriya, “I already saw you training him.”
Toshinori placed the box that was in his hand on the table. “I’ve had this for a while.” He thought for a moment, “I think about 30 years ago.”
Yushrio placed his cup on the table before he reached for the box. The box seemed to be relatively old but well taken care of. The box wasn’t taped shut so it was easy to access. Whatever was inside was wrapped in cloth, he removed the cloth gently only to freeze when he saw what was inside.
“I saw that you left this hairpin on the bench, so I wanted to return it to you but I was unable to.” Toshinori admitted, he looked down at the cup of tea in his hand. “It wasn’t until Young Midoriya helped me look through a box of old documents and found your address on a letter from… Nana. It seemed to be a letter that was never sent.”
Midoriya leaned over and handed the envelope to Yushiro. It clearly had Nana’s old apartment address and his own, the letter was unopened. It was dated the day of Nana’s death. He took out a paper-knife from the drawer connected to the table. He then gently opened the envelope and made sure not to rip or tear it.
The letter’s paper was crisp and clearly old. As Yushiro opened the letter he could feel how easy it would be to rip it. The handwriting on the letter was clear and gentle, the same way Yushiro remembered Nana’s handwriting.
He began to read the short letter.
Date: ####-##-##
Dear Yamamoto Yushiro,
I apologize for not sending a letter last week but I’m afraid that this might be one of the last letters I will be able to send to you. All for One has been active more recently at night. I wish for Toshinori to not have to worry about All for One so I plan on killing him but I’m afraid I won’t be strong enough. There is a spy on the inside for us, we heroes plan to launch a surprise attack next week. Besides those negative things, how are you? Have you been taking care of that garden you recently planted? I hope to be able to meet up once again before the surprise attack. This wasn’t a long letter but I promise the next one will be longer and won’t include any of my work in it.
Your hero friend,
Nana Shimura
Yushrio remembered hearing about how the spy was found out not long after hearing about Nana’s death. It appeared that the spy that the heroes put at All for One’s group was found out before the surprise attack. All for One had killed the spy and then attacked. In the end, nine heroes lost their lives, Nana and the spy not included. Although the letter itself made him sad, he was glad that Nana wished to meet up with him another time.
Midoriya watched in silence with a smile on his face as he watched Yamamoto Yushiro, the man who he heard about, and Yagi Toshinori, the one who told him about Yamamoto-san. As the two talked, it seemed that no time went past the two. They talked about simple things in their lives. If he was not told, Yushrio would have looked like any other in the country.
If Midoriya was not told that Yushiro was 700 years old and if he was not told that Yushiro has been the last demon to be alive for the last 400 years, he wouldn’t have believed Yushiro was the older one. He would have most definitely not believed his eyes to know that his mentor, All Might, was younger than Yushiro even though Yushrio looks a little bit older than himself.
Midoriya Izuku smiled to himself as he drank his tea while watching his idol talk and catch up to someone he considered to be a good friend. It seemed that the two of them were how they were over 30 years ago, not that Midoriya would know.
A breeze from the opened window behind Yushiro blew the curtains from its place. It almost seemed as if a woman was smiling toward the two old friends but didn’t wish to interfere. The curtain went to its original place as if no one was there. Midoryia had to do a double-take to make sure he wasn’t seeing anything.