Izumi was always different. Himiko is too.

Nen Deku: Blinky Part 0

Izumi didn't understand why her parents always told her off. No matter how many times they explained the so-called "Rules of Society" to her, she just couldn't grasp it.

Why shouldn't she take what she wanted? She wanted it, so she took it. Simple as that.

If she was being honest, she didn't remember hearing any of their lectures. Supposedly they happened. Because they would say "How many times must we tell you this, Izumi?" And other such things.

She would remember something like that. She has a pretty good memory, you know.

Eventually her parents had the idea to teach her the value of working for something you wanted. They made her do housework, and once a week she would be given an allowance.

The first time she bought something with her allowance, her parents went on about things like "Wasn't that satisfying, Izumi?" and "Isn't buying something with money you've earned a great feeling?"

Not really. She had the thing she wanted, yes, but she could have done with the tedious middle bit between seeing what she wanted and getting it. It was annoying more than anything. She hadn't even wanted the thing by the time she could afford it. She could have taken it when she saw it, and had it when she wanted it.

Adults really did like to complicate things.

But when they were happy, they weren't telling Izumi off and being annoying, so Izumi did her chores and got her pay, and spent it.

She didn't mind cleaning. She liked it, in fact. Cleanliness wasn't convoluted or hard to understand. Something was clean, or it wasn't. No middle ground, no confusion. It helped that her quirk, Blinky, was something that she could use to clean with.

It was a part of her that her parents liked. They didn't like her taking things, unless those things were dust and rubbish. Apparently she could have as much of that as she wanted. But not nice things, like chocolate or baubles or the toys other children owned.

Still, cleaning was at least enjoyable, even if she didn't care for the intricacies of economical transactions. So she cleaned, and pretended to be a respectable member of society. Which also meant not using her quirk in public to clean up messy playgrounds. Apparently, an abundance of bird feces on a swing wasn't enough justification for public quirk use.

It didn't seem to matter how much she disagreed on the issue, it was a hard no.

Katsuki never liked her quirk. Or her, for that matter. A shame, cus she actually liked him. A lot. He was strong, confident, and he usually got whatever he wanted.

Maybe she should've been envious of that last bit. She wasn't. It was an admirable trait.

She didn't mind that he picked on people weaker than himself. It made sense. He was strong, they weren't, so he acted however he wanted towards them. He took what he wanted out of every interaction, peer and adult alike. Another thing she admired about him.

She just wished he didn't target her. She was plenty strong. She could beat all the boys at school at arm wrestling. She didn't care that everyone said Katsuki had beaten her once, she'd have remembered that.

(In truth she did lose against him. Izumi forgot which was her dominant hand and used the other instead.)

She also didn't much care for her nickname: Deku. That was a little annoying. She wasn't some doll, thank you. She had feelings. She just didn't get a lot of things.

It might have had something to do with the All Might toy she took from him when they were small. She saw him playing with it and she wanted it. So she took it home with her. Katsuki had supposedly had the mother of all tantrums, and her own mother had given several deep bows when Mitsuki came to get it back.

Still, that was a long time ago. Katsuki certainly could hold a grudge if that was the source of his dislike for her.

It would also explain why none of the other kids at school ever trusted her around their things, if he had told them. Not that she wanted any of their things. Pencils and tacky keychains never interested her.

(Izumi was of course forgetting all the pencils and tacky keychains she had pinched from desks and pockets over the years. As well as the many meetings with teachers about the issue.)

One day, the Katsuki thing came to a head. He and some of his friends had cornered her near an arcade and were taunting her. She couldn't remember what they were saying, but one too many "Deku"s later and Katsuki had a dent in his skull.

She hadn't felt anything beyond the force of the impact down her arms. She stared at the blood dripping from Blinky. The metallic smell that she wanted to suck away down a nozzle. The annoying screams that she quickly silenced. Then she was there with four corpses and blood splattered glasses, which she could have done without.

Another scream had her looking across the road, at a woman shakily holding a phone to her ear. Izumi figured she was calling the Police. So Izumi ran away and never looked back.

Murder was a pretty extreme crime. Murder with a quirk, and against children no less, even worse. She didn't expect a good time if the Police caught her. Her parents might've been somewhat patient with her over the years, but she reckoned they had their limits, and her turning up covered in blood with four murders under her belt would probably be a touch beyond those limits.

She didn't mind. She never felt attached to them anyway. Not since they went to such extents to change who she was. She was doing them a favour, in a way.

Now that she'd killed, surely taking what she wanted wasn't so bad in comparison? And if she killed to take what she wanted...well, they had something she wanted. Some people had this tendency to not want to give their things to some stranger, So, she did what she needed to do. It's not like she went around killing people for no reason. What would be the point? Just more mess to clean up.

Intimidation instead of killing? Maybe. Something she could do, she supposed. But that left a trail. Witnesses. Izumi enjoyed her newfound freedom, she wasn't keen to lose it.

Was it lonely? Probably. But Izumi had never not been lonely. So it was fine.

But then she met Himiko.

Himiko was different from anyone else she'd met. She was a serial killer, for one. Even if Izumi was one to judge, she wasn't in a place to do so. She was probably considered one herself.

Himiko reminded Izumi of Katsuki a little, only a lot nicer. Both knew what they wanted in life and they went for it. But Himiko didn't expect other people to give her what she wanted. How Katsuki demanded respect and adulation from others. When Himiko wanted something, she went and got it.

Like Izumi.

She was a bit messy, but Izumi didn't mind. Another chance to use her quirk. Himiko seemed to enjoy her quirk, especially Blinky's eject function. Himiko seemed to enjoy Izumi's presence, too. Not just because she was a (as Himiko put it once) Murder Buddy, but she appeared to genuinely like Izumi as a person.

That was...Izumi wasn't used to it.

She didn't even get annoyed when Izumi forgot things. She would repeat herself with a smile and a fond glint in her eye. Like Izumi's faulty memory was just an endearing trait. Because it was part of Izumi.

It wasn't something to put up with, just something to accommodate. She even got her a notebook for things she didn't want to forget. Izumi never realised how many things she forgot on a daily basis until then.

It made her feel...well, she liked it.

Himiko was her first ever friend. Katsuki had never been a friend, she knew that now. She hadn't known better before. Himiko never put her down, or made her feel bad. Himiko adored everything about her that Katsuki hated.

Maybe some people found Himiko off-putting. Her personality and actions would probably put some people off. But Izumi didn't care. Himiko accepted her as she was, and Izumi would do the same.

It was easy to do so. Everything Himiko did made her glow, vibrant with life. But when family would come up, that vibrancy would dim. That sparkle in her eyes would go dull.

...Izumi never particularly wanted to kill anyone. She could take or leave murder like anyone else would a cup of tea. But if she ever met Himiko's family…

…

What was she thinking about?

"Hey, Izumi-chan, what are you thinking about?" Himiko said, leaning over her shoulder and staring at the blank notebook page in Izumi's lap. "Aw, did you forget before you wrote it down?"

Izumi turned her head to look at Himiko. "...Maybe?"

Himiko giggled and squeezed her shoulders. "Oh well. Hey! Wanna go out? I'm getting thirsty, and there's a black market meet going on a few blocks away soon!"

Izumi smiled. "Sounds like fun."

Himiko giggled and let go of her. "Let's get ready! We've gotta look our best if we're gonna paint the town red!"

"Ah. Sounds messy."

"Yep yep! I'll make the mess, and you clean it up! We're a perfect team!"

Izumi smiled at her notebook and picked up her pen.

Himiko and I are a perfect team...

...Is what she could have written. But she didn't need to: it was something Izumi was never going to forget.