Chapter Text
Kagaya Ubayashiki had dead parents, a fiancée, a curse on his bloodline, a supervillain with a personal vendetta against him, and a major problem titled: "he urgently needs to start finding people willing to work in his highly illegal vigilante group."
Oh. He was also 15 years old, but that's not the main point (in his opinion).
How did he end up in this predicate? Well. It all started in his great-grandfather's time, which, contrary to what one may think, wasn't that long ago. The Ubayashiki family itself was never known for producing heroes with that surname. What they were famous for were all the other things related to heroism: inventions, gadgets, funding. They were one of the voices leading the changes in society in the dawn of the Quirk era. Even before the Quirks, the Ubayashikis were an old family, wealthy for generations. The emergence of their family quirk, which from the start was a version of predicting the future, only served to improve their situation. Everything was going well until the appearance of a certain distant cousin.
Muzan Kibitsuji, from a branch of the family disinherited so long ago that even Kagaya hadn't yet uncovered the real reason. Disinherited so long ago that even his great-grandfather had no idea who Muzan was when he appeared before him. Muzan, however, unfortunately knew very well who the Ubayashiki family was and harbored a burning hatred for them.
Genetic Reshuffling. That's the name of Kibitsuji's quirk. It allows him to manipulate his own DNA and people in whose bodies he puts his blood. Of course, at the time, his great-grandfather didn't know this. He also didn't know that Muzan was someone you could barely call human on a good day. It wasn't a good day. Muzan cursed the Ubayashiki lineage with a terminal illness that no doctor or healing quirk could cure. Since that day, every member of the Ubayashiki family has died, barely reaching their 30s, suffering, unable to do anything to prevent it. That was 50 years ago. His great-grandfather lived to the age of 29, his grandfather to 30, and Kagaya's father passed away at an unusually early age of 24. Kagaya himself didn't know when the disease would manifest itself and claim his life as well. In recent years, Kagaya had witnessed all his uncles, aunts, and older cousins fall victim to the same curse. So much suffering and death, yet Muzan Kibitsuji was free to roam.
The knowledge of this boiled Kagaya's blood. Muzan had been elusive since his great-grandfather's time, and for decades now, absolutely nothing has been done to find him. No detective or hero has been investigating his case. The HPSC is happiest pretending he never existed and the incident never happened. Which is bizarre, considering that, frankly, condemning an entire family to a fatal genetic disease is the least of society's concerns regarding Muzan, and the only one who seems to care is the Ubayashiki family.
When the heroes proved ineffective, Kagaya's grandfather's generation devoted themselves entirely to trying to find Muzan and everything known about him. They enlisted the help of vigilantes and even the criminal underworld. Kagaya wasn't afraid to admit that this was, and remains, an obsession. It was through this obsession that they uncovered horrifying facts.
The wider public remains unaware of this. And if someone knows something, they don't know exactly WHAT they know. Most of society doesn't even realize they're on the brink of a very serious crisis if Muzan isn't stopped.
Contrary to all logic, Muzan either has a second quirk or the Genetic Reshuffle is more terrifying than they suspected. Muzan didn't age, Muzan never appeared in sunlight, Muzan ate humans. This isn't a metaphor, this isn't an exaggeration. To maintain his power, to remain eternally young, to continue growing more powerful, Muzan had to consume human blood and flesh. Unlike certain other quirks, he didn't seem to seek any substitutes or take just enough to avoid killing. Each of his victims ended up dead. Dead or... transformed. Because cannibalism apparently wasn't terrifying enough, Muzan was able to impose this on people. He was able to make them eternally young, make their quirks mutate or even spawn new ones, make them never get sick again. All at the cost of becoming monsters. The people he shares this other side of his quirk with, at the best of times, don't see what they're getting into, transform, have no control, and kill those closest to them. In the worst cases, they do it consciously and with pleasure. The latter category was currently the biggest scourge on Kagaya's life. Muzan is building an army with his quirk. He transforms people, and they become the terror of the surrounding area. The strongest, most notorious of them, those closest to Kibitsuji, are called Demon Moons.
Why?
The whole premise of this quirk and what it does to Muzan and others brings to mind Western vampires or the legendary demons of this country. That's why the Ubayashiki family calls them that. That's what victims who survived an encounter with one and believed the explanation calls them. They even call themselves that.
Demons.
Demons that certainly exist, terrorizing Japan in the moonlight, and in whom society and heroes refuse to believe. Whose existence is covered up by the HPSC. Demons that only those whose lives they have already ruined are aware of.
Kagaya doesn't know if he's ever been as angry as when his mother explained to him why they weren't reaching out for help. The HPSC had very crudely suggested that if they didn't stop digging, death before they were thirty would be the least of their worries. That was the payoff for the society they helped build. They rejected them when they needed help, with a threat as a goodbye. From that moment on, Kagaya's grandfather was certain Muzan had connections with the HPSC. The Ubayashiki family couldn't risk any more attempts when one wrong move could cost them all their lives. One bad decision, and the only people who had gathered this information, those who knew what was happening, would disappear from the pages of history.
An idea was born then. They couldn't rely on heroes; they could only rely on themselves. They couldn't wait forever, knowing Muzan was building his evil empire. The family removed themselves from the public eye. Officially, they still live where they had for generations. They've actually built a new mansion in the forest on the outskirts of Tokyo. No one knows about it unless they're cleared as a trusted individual. One wrong person, and the whole plan goes to hell. This new mansion was supposed to become the headquarters of the organization his grandfather's generation had begun building, his father's generation had sewn it all together, and now Kagaya's job is to get this almost ready to launch machine running.
The Ubayashiki family wants to create a vigilante group whose primary goal will be to eliminate Muzan and his demons. They will deal with villains who elude the heroes, removing and exposing corruption the public has never seen. A group that won't be afraid to get their hands dirty, because unfortunately, demons can only be eliminated by beheading them with weapons whose material Kagaya's mother discovered: Nichirin. Metal from a mountain that absorbs sunlight year-round. A group of volunteer craftsmen, who have dealt with demons themselves, are engaged in crafting weapons and a special modified, reinforced material used by heroes in their costumes. Kagaya's father organized Kakushi, a group of people who will be responsible for the behind-the-scenes work of the entire organization. He activated old contacts, found retired heroes willing to help, and established alliances with vigilantes in various corners of Japan. He likely would have been able to launch the organization if he hadn't died so prematurely. Thus, this privilege fell into Kagaya's hands.
Kagaya, who had no siblings, whose family was already dead or would die in the coming years, whose mother had been killed by a demon earlier that year, who was still 15 years old and terrified by everything he had to do.
His mother's death was tragic, causing the eldest member of the Ubayashiki family to die, leaving all management in the hands of Kagayi, who barely had time to grieve. The demons became more frequent and more daring. He had to worry about getting the organization up and running as quickly as possible. He, and those around him, were also terrified that the illness might have become more intense and that Kagayi might die even earlier than his father. This meant that to keep the family and the whole couse from literally dying out, he had to marry and produce an heir. No matter how terrified he was, this meant he had to get married and have a child.
He was supposed to have an arranged marriage. Of course it was. Ever since this whole mess started, the Ubayashiki family couldn't afford to drag more people into it than necessary, so all their partners came from families with connections to the Ubayashiki dating back to the Middle Ages.
Amane was wonderful. Truly! They'd known each other since childhood. She was as beautiful as she was intelligent and capable. Her white hair and fair complexion sometimes made him feel like he was looking at the moon itself. Kagaya had nothing against her. She was also two years older than him and should be dreaming of her adult life instead of being forced into a marriage with a boy who would probably die within ten years, whose family was cursed and currently involved in highly illegal affairs. Kagaya didn't understand how Amane could be so calm about all this. She was his friend. He didn't want to be the one to trap her or get her killed because of the Ubayashiki surname. But what could they do? They didn't have much choice in the matter. Unfortunately, Kagaya knew that Amane's family was very traditional, and if it weren't for him, Amane would have been paired with someone else. Someone who might not want to treat her well. It didn't make him feel any better, but it was one of the few things currently keeping him from completely breaking down.
It was three in the morning, and he sat alone on the balcony with a single flashlight as a source of light, gazing up at the starry sky. Sometimes he was angry at his father for dying so quickly. Kagaya barely remembers him, to be honest, but he knows he was competent and knew what he was doing with the organization. Kagaya had no doubt that if he had lived a few more years, he would have gathered the actual members to serve the cause. But he died. Before he could even begin. Selfishly, Kagaya believed his predecessors had the easy part. They had organized everything that would happen behind the scenes. That was easy compared to what he had to do. How could he ask strangers, who would normally have nothing to do with it, to risk their lives fighting in the shadows against cannibalistic monsters, brutal villains, and corrupt heroes? How could he ask someone to abandon a comfortable life as a hero for damnation and potential death? Why would anyone even agree? Why did his parents have to leave him? He made a sound of frustration, slammed his head against the wall he was leaning against, and buried his face in his hands. He couldn't be the reason this all felt apart. He felt a burning sensation in his eyes, and after a moment, tears of frustration spilled out. Alone in the middle of the night. This was the only time he could allow himself to be so weak.
“Kagaya?”
He would never admit to the sound he made at that moment. He quickly wiped his eyes and turned toward the voice. He was met with worried purple eyes.
“Amane! Shouldn't you be sleeping?” Even as he spoke the words, he knew how weak they sounded, combined with his trembling voice. And combined with Amane's quirk. She can see auras surrounding people. These auras reveal a person's mental state. Each different color, intensity, size, shape signifies something. All of these things combined to create meaning, and they also meant that no matter what Kagaya said or how hard he tried to smile, Amane wouldn't buy it. Confirming this statement, the girl frowned and sat down next to him. It was summer, but the night was still cold, and Amane was wearing a thin nightgown. Kagaya wanted to offer her his sweater, which he was wearing, but he didn’t get a chance.
“Kagaya, I know something's wrong. And it's been like this for a while. Ever since the funeral, you've been walking around me on your tiptoes. You lock yourself in your father's study for entire afternoons, barely eat, and you don't sleep at night.” She grabbed his hands, and Kagaya fought back a blush he knew was inappropriate at the moment. "Please, tell me how I can help you before you kill yourself before the illness even has a chance."
He could have said nothing, could have pretended nothing was wrong, could have smiled, told her not to worry, that it was late and they should go to sleep. She wouldn't have believed him. She would have known he was lying, but the matter would have been swept under the rug for the next few days. He could have. But when her smooth hands held his, her beautiful eyes stared straight into his soul, so full of concern for his well-being, Kagya couldn't find the strength to lie to her. He was tired of it all. He felt like he would explode at any moment. He was going to spend his entire life with Amane. If she weren't the one to confide his worries to, then who?
That's why he opened up. He told her everything that was on his mind. All the worries that kept him awake. Two months of frustration and stress poured out of him like a tsunami, and Amane listened with an understanding he was sure was unmatched by anyone else. He concluded by telling her how he had no idea how to win over people who were loyal and motivated without ruining their lives.
Amane was lost in thought for a moment. Strands of her loose hair fell across her face. Kagaya, without thinking too much about what he was doing, reached out and tucked a strand behind her ear. Her eyes met his again.
“Reach out to people whose lives are already ruined beyond repair.”
“Huh?”
“To join the organization. Recruit people who can't easily return to normal life. We both know that anyone who hasn't personally encountered demons or the injustice we're fighting won't understand the gravity of the situation. Their hearts wouldn't be in the right place. If you offered this job to someone seeking revenge, someone who's already been rejected by society, they'd agree. That way, you could give many people a second chance, and to be honest, you'd probably stop a few villains from being created.”
“That would make sense. But we'll have to be careful. I won't let join anyone who doesn't fully understand what they're agreeing to. Which means we'll have to explain the whole story. If we tell the wrong person, it could be the end.”
“That's why we can finally get Kakushi to work. Interviews, monitoring demon attacks, and other incidents are something they and your crows are happy to handle. If I'm present during the candidate's interview, I'll also be able to tell whether they wish us well or not.”
“You've had this plan for a while now.” It wasn't a question. Kagaya stated a fact that made a smile appear on his lips.
“Hmm. I had a feeling what might be troubling you. I'm glad I was right and I could actually help you.”
They sat in silence for a moment, and Kagaya finally felt the exhaustion seeping into his body. He rested his head on Amane's shoulder, smelling her lavender-scented shampoo. Amane's soft voice broke the silence again.
“I'm glad I'm getting to marry you. I know neither of us chose this, but since it had to happen, I'm happy I get to spend my life with my friend.”
“You always know just the right thing to say. You're truly amazing.”
“If I'm amazing now, how would you compliment me if I told you I might have a potential candidate in mind?”
Kagaya was speechless. He truly adored this woman. He was also happy that she, of all people, would be his partner in this crazy, unfair world.
And so, on a balcony in the middle of the night, the Villain Slayer Corps came to life, ushering in a whole new era of hero society.