"Himiko Toga, 19, able to take on the form of any person whose blood she drinks." The detective threw a file the size of a small novel on the table. "And prime suspect in multiple murder cases in which the victims died due to loss of blood. Sounds like a one-way trip to Tartarus if you ask me." The man in the beige suit looked down on the blonde-haired girl, her face remaining expressionless despite the snide remark.
Crap… This wasn't supposed to happen.
This was supposed to be just like any other time. She'd been after this guy for so long, she finally had him just where she wanted him! How was she supposed to know that his blood would paralyze her!?
The man in question was a trauma surgeon who used his Quirk as a replacement for anaesthetics when performing emergency surgery. Toga had taken a liking to him due to his many cuts and the constant smell of blood that surrounded him, but she had no idea as to why he constantly looked so beaten up. Getting some of his blood on her hands was her first mistake, though it was only after trying to taste his blood that things really went south.
In a matter of seconds Toga fell to the ground as her victim's blood started circulating through her system. Usually, it was just about enough to replace a local anaesthetic when applied to the skin, though obviously no one had ever thought to ingest the surgeon's blood to see what would happen.
There she was, lay on the wet ground of a backstreet alley and unable to move. She'd been hoping to recover and get out of that place sooner rather than later, but after an hour or two there was still no improvement. She was hopelessly stuck. To make matters worse, an unfortunate passer-by ended up encountering the horrific scene and contacted the police, sealing Toga's fate completely.
By the time she'd arrived at the police station the surgeon's blood had worn off.
Not that it mattered anymore.
"Unfortunately…" Toga got pulled out of her reminiscence abruptly by the sound of the detective's voice. "It's not up to me to decide what happens to you, there's someone here to see you." He muttered as he reluctantly stepped towards the interrogation room's entrance before opening the door, allowing Toga's visitors in.
Entering the room was a lanky-looking man in a suit. He had dishevelled, blonde hair and dark eyes. If it weren't for his obvious lack of muscles Toga would've thought she was looking at the No.1 Hero, All Might, himself. Though, Toga was more interested in what was on the man's shoulder. A small, white, mouse-like creature dressed in a suit stood on the man's shoulder proudly, hands behind his back as he looked at Toga while being carried into the room.
"Mousey!" Toga shot up as if suddenly possessed, her Quirk causing her to be a little too interested in the creature that had appeared on the other side of the room. The buns in her hair struggled to keep up with the speed at which she flew off her chair as she tried to pounce on top of the mouse-bear-dog-thing before being yanked down again by the handcuffs that connected her to the table.
Ouch. Be good and sit down, got it.
"I see you're excited to meet me, good!" The mouse laughed as he approached the table and got set down on it by the man that had been carrying him. "I will start by introducing myself then. My name is Nezu, I am the principal of U.A. University, the current #1 ranked hero school. For years we've been teaching the best heroes in all of Japan." Nezu paced around the table as he explained the school's history.
Meanwhile Toga's feline eyes followed him around, like a cat stalking her prey. Except, more than anything, she just didn't trust this man. "What does the principal of the #1 hero school want with a villain? Forgot I'm a serial killer? Or did they just not tell you that before letting you in here?" There was little of her usual bubbly personality left now that it started to dawn on her that she was fully at the mercy of these heroes in front of her.
"No, I certainly did not forget the gruesome details of the reports I was made to read before coming here." Nezu replied, shuddering at the thought of the multitude of case files that he read on the way to the precinct. As if Himiko Toga's personal file and Quirk file weren't enough already, the police forced him to read up on all the acts she had committed. This to 'make sure this was the right decision'. "I actually came here with a proposal, Miss Toga. You see, you won't be surprised to hear the police has been tracking you for quite a while now."
Toga was listening well enough, but averted her eyes from the mouse, as if to tell him to get on with it. Obviously, she knew the police had been tracking her. It's not her fault they sucked too much to catch her though.
"Now that they've caught you, they're quite eager to send you to prison, Tartarus even, for your crimes." The small man continued unbothered. Meanwhile the detective who'd been questioning Toga earlier had a visible smirk on his face at the sound of Tartarus being mentioned.
Toga couldn't help but notice it. There was nothing she would've rather done than wipe that smirk off his face and cut his throat along with it, but alas, she was stuck to this table while listening to what could best be described as a living cartoon character. She was angry over getting caught and how they treated her, but the angrier she got, the more she felt empty inside. As if she didn't have anything left now that she'd been caught and handcuffed.
All because of one mistake.
"Miss Toga, we can keep you out of Tartarus and give you a second chance at life. All you have to do is join us at U.A." Nezu exclaimed almost proudly. He'd worked himself up to this moment for so long, he had to do this right. Unfortunately for him, Toga seemed rather unimpressed at the proposal.
"A villain… at a hero school…?" Her eyes had turned into small slits, staring at the mouse as she responded. It felt like the temperature inside the interrogation room had dropped below zero. The only audible sound the swishing of Nezu's tail.
A minute that felt like an hour passed by before the silence was broken by the sound of Himiko Toga's cackling laughter.
They're mocking me, they must be mocking me! I got caught and now this dumb mouse… and the detective… and every stupid hero around is laughing at me!
Her mind was somewhere in between wanting to cry and wanting to kill every person in this room, including the scrawny All-Might lookalike who'd just been looking on the entire time, but the only thing that came out was laughter. She'd just lost her last bit of freedom and instead of throwing her in jail and being done with it they decided to torture her first.
"You're funny, mousey! That's a good joke!" She threw her head backwards as she continued laughing. Nezu looked at the girl stoically, waiting for her to finish her outburst. Another minute passed before the room quieted down again. "At least I got to hear something funny before I get locked away…" the blonde sat up again and sighed with a smile, she almost seemed relieved. "Just like my parents wanted." The only actual relief she felt was for them, they'd finally see their daughter, the 'creepy demon child', get punished for ruining their perfect family.
They must be so happy right now.
"I assure you I'm not joking, Miss Toga." Nezu cleared his throat, making sure the attention was on him again. "Under a special rehabilitation program for young villains such as yourself, you'll be able to join U.A. University's hero course. Except for a few special conditions you'll be able to enjoy university life just like any other student." He continued his explanation as he walked closer to Toga's side of the table, despite Definitely-Not-All-Might's warnings not to get too close to the villain.
"While your deeds were heinous to say the least, we acknowledge that you never got the chance to live the life a woman your age should be allowed to live. You were forced to hide your Quirk starting at a young age, and when that proved impossible, you were rejected by the people around you." It was clear this guy knew Toga's entire history; they really must have been keeping a good eye on her for all those years. Having to hear her personal history being explained to her again only served to upset her again though. She swung her cuffed arm at Nezu trying to catch him, but the mouse swiftly jumped out of reach before she could grab him.
"Oops! That's okay!" Nezu smiled at the girl that had just attacked him as he wiped some dust off his dress shirt. "Your Quirk causes you to act in ways that society deems abnormal, but we can work on that!"
"I don't want to change how I act!" Toga interjected, clearly still tired from the years she spent trying to fit in with the rest of Hero Society.
Mr. Principal seemed unsurprised by her reaction, as if it was all part of the process. "Let me rephrase. We want to show you that you can fit in with everyone else without needing to hide your Quirk and personality."
"How? Are you going to allow me to cut up whoever I want?" An excited grin had formed on Toga's face, her fangs showing ever so slightly. The thought of being allowed to taste the blood of every pretty boy and girl she saw on campus made her want to say yes to Nezu's proposal immediately.
"Absolutely not!" He quickly shot down her idea without even dropping his smile. "But under the rehabilitation program you'll have special guidance, making sure to help you find a way to express yourself in ways that are acceptable both to you and society, without harming others."
Now that her idea had been put to rest, she seemed a whole lot less excited again. "What if I do hurt someone else?"
"There will be extra supervision to prevent that from happening. If it does happen, we'll put extra measures in place. Although…" he paused and straightened his tie, suddenly looking a lot more formal again.
Uh oh, the hamster went serious mode.
"In extremely severe cases, we'll consider the villain rehabilitation program a failure, and you'll be sent to Tartarus."
If she didn't accept, she'd be thrown into jail. If she did accept and messed up too badly, she'd still be thrown into jail.
I should've known it would end up like this.
"What's life at U.A. like?" She asked reluctantly. For all she knew life at Tartarus was just as good if not better. If she was going to be forced to go to one place or the other, she might as well consider her options.
"You'll be following the same classes as the other students in the Hero Course, and you will be taught how to use your Quirk and your own abilities to protect humanity." Nezu tried explaining school life as excitedly as possible, in hopes she'd warm up to the idea more. "During your studies you will be participating in multiple school activities, as well as internships and workplace training." Toga wasn't exactly interested in the actual school related stuff. But she tried to at least feign some kind of interest, nodding every time the principal finished a sentence.
"Besides that, you'll be staying in the dorms with the other students. There's a common area that you share with your fellow students, and you are allowed to leave campus during weekends." Now she was actually excited! If she was able to leave campus in the weekends, she wouldn't have to worry about not being allowed to hurt anyone anymore, she could just do that on her days away from school, or even better, she could just leave and never—
"Unfortunately, due to your special circumstances it will be a while before you will get to enjoy the same privileges as the rest of the students." Nezu continued firmly. He'd noticed Toga slowly starting to rock in her chair, obviously happy at the thought of getting to leave the school grounds, and felt he had to calm her down before she got the wrong idea.
She would still be considered a villain to everyone and there'd be restrictions involved with that. As she furthered in her rehabilitation, she would be allowed more freedom again, but that would take time and effort.
Toga stopped rocking back and forth but remained relatively calm despite Nezu having just told her that she wouldn't be able to live the same life as the other students. "That's okay, if I show everyone I'm a good girl I'll be allowed to go out eventually, right?" She had an uncharacteristically soft smile on her lips, as if all of her erratic, excited behaviour had faded along with her previous anger.
"Indeed, as long as you continue to exhibit good behaviour you will eventually be granted the same privileges as the other students."
Good, it didn't seem like Nezu had picked up on Toga's plan.
Behave for as long as needed, then make a run for it as soon as they allow you out. Easy as pie.
"One more unfortunate detail," Nezu continued his explanation as if he had direct access to Toga's mind. What's this guy's Quirk anyways? "You'll be under extra surveillance for as long as deemed necessary. This will probably extend into your first few weekends off campus as well."
Damn it.
She tried to conceal her disappointment but couldn't help letting out a small growl as she muttered a quick "That's okay." Seeing every one of her plans crushed immediately like this was less than favourable, but she figured she could probably figure out a way to escape somehow. U.A. was big, it would be impossible to keep an eye on her all day and all night, right?
"I believe that's all I have to explain for now." The principal finished his explanation with a bow as if he'd just finished the last act in a play. Toga could swear she could see the scrawny man behind him resist the urge to start clapping.
All that was left for her was to consider the options laid out in front of her as the interrogation room went silent again. Tartarus was a high-security prison where she would just rot away for the rest of her life. She would be isolated from society and worst-case scenario she'd be thrown into a straitjacket with nowhere to go and nothing to do. If she would even think about activating her quirk or doing anything else, she'd be blown to bits. There was no one out there that would visit her either. She'd be bored to death in there!
Meanwhile at U.A. she'd be stuck in an entire school full of Pro Heroes. She would be followed around constantly and she wouldn't be able to move even a muscle the wrong way or she'd be sent to Tartarus anyways. They would probably want her to behave like a 'normal student' as well, and she wasn't even allowed to go out in the weekends!
But at the very least U.A. would give her a chance to get out someday. In there she would have a chance to make some friends, and maybe even meet a cute boy or girl again. Just the thought of all the people there made her excited. She'd be able to know what university life was like and she could sleep in a dorm with all of the other students. It'd be so much fun! Even if she would decide it wasn't her cup of tea, she could still just up and leave one day when they would eventually let her go out on her own.
Maybe there would even be some people there that would accept her for who she was. Quirk, personality, and everything else included. Then she could finally forget about her parents and everyone else that hurt her. Then she could finally leave her past behind her and live the life she always wanted to live without being forced to be a perfect little girl by everyone around her.
No matter how you look at it, U.A. is the best option here.
"Fine, I'll do it!" She exclaimed, sounding more excited than she'd intended to. She couldn't help letting out a small giggle, smiling at the thought of everything that could happen during her new student life. All of it was so exciting!
"Very well." Nezu seemed pleased with Toga's answer. Then again, he also knew that, between a high-security prison and the #1 Hero School in Japan, the choice was obvious. "The paperwork for your transfer to U.A. will take around a week. Unfortunately, there's no other choice but to transport you to Tartarus for the time being." He seemed genuinely apologetic as he spoke. As happy as he was that she had accepted his proposal, he couldn't change anything about this fact. There'd be too much of a risk of her escaping in the meantime if they didn't send her to Tartarus while awaiting her acceptance into U.A. "My apologies Miss Toga, I promise we will work as quickly as possible to get you out of prison and into our school as soon as we can."
"Alright I guess…" She blew up her cheeks and pouted as she crossed her arms. All this to still be thrown into jail at the end of it!? That bear was lucky it was only for a week, otherwise nothing would've been able to stop her from having dog for lunch.
"My apologies." Nezu bowed as he got picked up again by the blonde-haired man. "I will be leaving now. The sooner I get started on your transfer the better for everyone involved."
I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-All-Might walked out of the room as he put the principal back on his shoulder, the door closing behind them with a quiet click as the interrogation room was left in silence once more. The only noise that could be heard was the soft rocking of Toga's chair as she swayed back and forth, her mind having already forgotten about her week in Tartarus and instead going through everything that could happen while at her new school. Making new friends, maybe even getting a boyfriend or girlfriend, or both. Going to so many different classes, learning so many new things, learning to be a hero even! She'd finally be around people who wouldn't expect her to change her entire personality!
That last one stuck with her for the entirety of her stay at the precinct. She even skipped out of the building happily as they came to take her away to Tartarus. She wasn't even thinking about escaping anymore. All she could think about was that she would finally get to be happy being just herself.
She would finally be able to be Himiko Toga, the girl with the transformation Quirk. No more 'ideal schoolgirl', no more 'perfect student', no more being 'normal'.
No more 'creepy demon child'.
Just Himiko Toga.