The next morning Himiko woke up in the hospital. So it wasn't just a pleasant dream. Or maybe it is, maybe I'm still passed out in that alleyway, and this is just one long hallucination.

When she got her breakfast, the nurse came in and gave her a small tube of blood with a rubber stopper. "We are going to get your body used to a small regular intake of blood at meals. It may take some time for you to get used to this, so make sure to drink this slowly." Himiko just nodded in shock, at how everyone here is just treating her drinking of blood as something normal. Where were these people all of my life?

"The Midoriyas, are they coming today?"

The nurse turned to her and smiled. "I am sorry, but I don't know if you'll be receiving guests today."

Himiko swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "I hope they do, they were nice."

She busied herself with eating and watching a random show on the television. Eventually she heard a gentle knock on her door and an elderly woman came in. "Good morning Mrs. Toga. I am Mrs. Mamushi, and I'm here to act as your temporary quirk counselor. I know you won't be with us long, but we can at least begin to build a file for whomever you see after you leave."

"Good morning Mrs. Mamushi." She said very politely, and the woman sat down, situating herself so that she could write on her notepad.

"Now Himiko, please tell me about your quirk. We have your previous file, but given what you have told us about your previous counselor, I thought it best to start from scratch."

For the next hour, Mamushi asked Himiko a lot of very basic questions about her quirk - how it activates, how it feels to use it - trying to establish a baseline. After those questions she asked the harder ones - how her parents viewed her quirk, what they told her previous quirk counselor, and the activities, recommendations, and lessons the counselor had for her. Himiko found herself involuntarily wincing every time she answered a question and saw the nice old lady scowl. Was it really that bad?

Eventually the woman began winding down and reviewed her notes to see if she missed anything. "Well, this is a very sad picture. No wonder you suffered a quirk backlash." The woman turned to Himiko. "I know me saying it now isn't going to undo the 10 years of being told the opposite, but there is nothing wrong with your quirk. It is a part of you - no different than your eye or skin color."

"But what about the fact that it's not a harmless quirk? What about evil, bad quirks?" While the like mine was left unsaid, the meaning was clear to the counselor.

The woman sighed and set her pen down. "Do you know much about the flame hero, Endeavor?"

"Not really, my parents weren't big on heroes, so unless there was a major news story we didn't hear about them."

"Well, his ability is to literally produce fire from his body. And while there are many things said about him, he is still the number 2 hero in Japan. When he appears, do you think people are scared of him?"

"No…"

"Now then, let me tell you about another man. About 10 years ago, there was an A-Rank villain who went by the name 'Matchbook.' His quirk gave him the ability to light anything on fire, If he was able to touch it. He thought that his power gave him free reign to terrorize people for money and power, and at some point he just decided to abuse that power. Over the course of 6 months, he gathered like-minded individuals, and forced people to pay him to avoid having their property destroyed, or being burned alive."

Himiko swallowed the lump in her throat. "He sounds scary."

"He was scary, and ironically it was Endeavor who took him down, to much celebration. Now tell me, Himiko, what makes Endeavor's quirk different from Matchbook's quirk?"

The woman patiently sat there as she watched Himiko deep in thought, before her face lit up as the pieces began to fall into place. "There isn't any difference?"

"That is correct." The woman smiled. "The only difference is in the people themselves - Matchbook could have easily decided to become a hero with his quirk, and Endeavor could have easily used his strength to become a terrifying villain."

Himiko nodded along with that. "And because I had spent so long with my quirk being called negative things, now I see it as only something a villain would have?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"I don't want to see myself as a villain." Himiko admitted.

"Well dear, that is the very important first step. It will take time, but for now, every time you think of your quirk in a negative way, I want you to stop, and look at your hand." Himiko lifted her right hand and looked at it, then back to Mamushi in confusion. "And I want you to ask yourself 'is my hand bad?' The goal is that over time, you will see it as just another part of yourself. And your hands are just like your quirk - you can do good things with them, or bad things with them. But in the end, it is because you are choosing to do those things, rather than your hands telling you what to do."

Himiko continued to look between her hand and the lady with confusion. "That sounds absurd."

Mamushi patted her knee. "Of course it is absurd, that is the point."

Himiko groaned and leaned back into the bed. "This is a lot to take in."

The woman smiled at her. "If it was easy, then you wouldn't need me and I would be working in a different field." That elicited a laugh from Himiko. "Now then, as I suspected, I will have to start a new file for you. Next time we can work on a more detailed plan for you, and I can begin to look for a counselor for you once you leave."

Mrs. Mamushi left after that and Himiko felt lighter somehow, but exhausted. She ate lunch and took a light nap. Later that afternoon she heard a gentle knock on her door, before it cracked open and Izuku's head popped in.

"Can we come in?"

"Yes!" She grinned at the two as they entered. "Thank you for coming again."

"It's nothing, dear. We can't stay long today, but we wanted to see how you are doing." Inko reached out to put an arm on her shoulder.

"We also got you this!" Izuku held out a green stuffed rabbit. "We saw this last night and got this so you'll have company when we aren't here."

Himiko broke into a genuine smile as she held it. Cute stuffed animals were normal, but something about this one was different - coming from the Midoriyas, it felt genuine. "I love it." She admitted.

"So how are you feeling today dear?"

"Better," Himiko admitted. "But it's still going to take some getting used to."

Inko rested her hand on Himiko's shoulder, understanding in her eyes. "You just went through something pretty traumatic. On top of everything else. It will take some time for things to get back to normal."

Himiko grumbled. "Yeah, the problem is I don't know what normal is anymore."

"Well, what is normal is different for everyone, isn't it? You just need to find what you want."

Himiko mouthed the words "what I want" as if the concept was foreign to her, and stared at her hand, as if in deep thought. After a long while she looked back up at Inko. "I just want to be myself, and I want to be happy."

Inko smiled gently at her. "That sounds like a wonderful goal, dear."

After that, they spent the rest of the time idly chatting, Izuku doing a good job distracting everyone with the latest Hero activity and both Midoriyas patiently answering any question Himiko had. And watching Inko and Izuku interact filled Himiko with a familiar pair of emotions - jealousy and envy - towards Izuku. Even though he was quirkless, she could tell that Inko loved him and tried her best to make him happy. And she selfishly wanted to feel that type of love herself.

Eventually it grew late and Inko once again had to gather Izuku up to leave. "Tomorrow is Sunday, so we can come by earlier and stay for longer, although Vlad King has already warned us that he will be visiting tomorrow as well. The new school year starts on Monday for Izu, so we won't have as much time to come visit you next week."

Himiko looked a little sad at that. "I understand. Thanks for telling me."

They both gave Himiko gentle hugs and then left. She watched them leave and saw the rabbit on the table. She grabbed it and pulled it into a hug, feeling a small spark of warmth inside of her. It feels almost like I felt about Saito, but it's different somehow?

Inko and Izuku met with Sekijiro Kan in the lobby of the hospital the next morning, and next to him was a small bear-like creature in a suit. "Good morning! I am Nezu, better known as the Principle of UA, but that is not why we are here today!"

"Wait, you are the principal of UA? So cool!" Izuku began to geek out while Inko could only smile at her son's antics, and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Please forgive my son's excitement. It is his dream to be a hero. What brings you here today?"

"Well, one of my teachers." Nezu said, indicating Kan. "Has brought it to my attention that there is a grave injustice brought against a little girl. What he described to me is a bit of a personal sore spot, so I thought it best to assist her in any way possible. As it turns out, the Togas are fairly well off, and likely have good lawyers on hand." He suddenly gave a predatory smile that made the Midoriyas flinch. "I can guarantee that mine are better. Once we are done with them, they will never touch her again."

Izuku spoke up next. "And what about Himiko? Is she going to be ok? She told us she did some pretty bad things."

"Since she is still a minor, and the boy she attacked, Saito, survived the encounter, we will be able to keep it off of her record. There are several other incidents that may have been caused by her during her quirk backlash that will bear further investigation, but similarly, they all survived. Given all of the evidence available, she should be able to avoid any consequences for those as well. Her parents on the other hand… well they may not be so lucky. You see, there are laws and regulations in place to prevent quirk suppression, to avoid exactly the kind of incident that was occurring here. Quirk backlash is rare nowadays for good reason, and if Ms. Toga had the proper care, then this would have never happened."

Izuku sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear that."

Kan shared a glance with Nezu, then looked at Inko, and finally down at the small boy. "Well come on little Midoriya, let's go see how little Toga is doing today."

Inko waited until Vlad took her son further into the hospital, and then looked at Nezu. "So, what is going to happen to Himiko after your lawyers and the police are done tearing the Togas apart?"

"A good question! Unfortunately it is not one that I have a good answer for. Because the Togas are well off, we will be able to ensure that she has a healthy stipend every month for whomever takes her in, but it will be… difficult to find a home for her. She has had a very troubling past, and because of that she is going to need regular therapy, as well as having to see a specialist quirk counsellor. On top of that, we will need to find a school for her that will offer the right remedial courses for her needs."

Inko stared at him, determination building in her eyes. "That does sound difficult."

"Fortunately I have considerable resources! I imagine there is someone out there who will be willing to take her, it is just a matter of how long it will take to find the right home for her." Nezu appeared to be evaluating Inko as he looked her over. "Unless you have someone in mind already?"

"I do."

"It must be hard enough raising your son alone."

"I won't admit that it's the easiest thing, especially given my son's own issues."

"You mean his quirklessness?"

A sad look crossed Inko's face. "Yes. That. It's hard for me to admit it, but I failed him when he needed me the most, and it fills me with regret almost every day. To see Himiko suffering, knowing I can do something about it? Well, I'm not a hero, but maybe being a mom is enough."

"You are a very brave woman, Mrs. Midoriya. If you want to foster her for us, I will gladly have my people work with you to ensure that transition will be as smooth as possible for young Toga."

"Should we tell her?"

"No. Best to let the process begin before we give her the good news. Now shall we?" He swept his arm towards the hallway. "I believe we have people waiting for us."

Over the next week Himiko had fallen into a routine. Wake up, breakfast, a light exercise routine that the hospital provided her, lunch, a session with either a therapist or a quirk counselor, then visitors in the afternoon. Sometimes the visitors were hard for Himiko, like the time that the lawyers came with Nezu, or the day Vlad King brought a pair of police officers to have her retell her story and answer questions for them. That was the worst. But most days it was the Midoriyas, and those days were pleasant. Every day she felt a little better.

This afternoon, the first two people to visit her were Vlad King and Nezu, which surprised her. Nezu was the first to speak. "Good news, Himiko Toga! We have come to an arrangement with your parents. You see, they would rather not go to jail, so they have agreed to give you up, and pay a substantial child support fee to take care of you."

Himiko's face fell. "I knew they would jump at the chance to discard me. Is it wrong that I hoped that they would be in jail instead?"

"I actually agree! However, for the sake of you and your younger sister, we thought it best to have a smooth transition. Your former quirk counsellor, on the other hand, is not so lucky."

Himiko gasped. "I actually forgot about my sister! Is she going to be ok?"

"Quite! As part of the arrangement, they, along with your sister, will have to regularly attend therapy sessions with someone of our choosing. And for the next few years the police will be visiting them regularly to ensure that your sister does not have any negative actions taken against her."

"She should be ok, she had a cute harmless quirk, the kind my parents like." Himiko felt a pit forming in her stomach. "And what about me?"

"Well, now that your parents have released you from your custody, you will be a ward of the state. You will be assigned a foster family to care for you until you are either properly adopted or you turn 18."

Oh, Himiko's face darkened and she started curling in on herself. And I thought things were going so well. Nobody is going to want me.

"Now, now, don't look so down! We have already found a foster family for you. At least let me introduce you to them first!" Nezu gestured to the door, and through misty eyes she saw two familiar figures step in.

"Izuku, Mama Inko!" Himiko practically leaped out of her bed and ran into them, the two of them wrapping her into a warm hug. "I wanted it to be you, but the way Nezu was talking I was worried."

"Of course it was us, Himiko." Inko said.

"Well then, it looks like I guess we chose correctly!" Nezu chimed in from behind them. "Perfect! There are still arrangements to be made before tomorrow, so I think I will leave you be. The three of you probably have a lot to discuss."

"Tomorrow?" Himiko was confused.

Kan stepped up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Now that the police investigation has concluded and your parents gave up their legal rights, I don't have to keep you in protective custody at the hospital anymore. That means you will be discharged into Midoriya's care tomorrow."

Himiko let go of Izuku and Inko, and turned around to grab Kan in a fierce hug next. "After tomorrow, will I see you again?"

She felt his hand rest on top of her head. "It will be harder with my teaching duties since school is in session, but I think I can make some time to visit you periodically."

"You teach? Aren't you a hero?"

"Where else would a hero teach, but at a Hero High School? I actually teach at UA High."

She could hear Izuku geeking out behind her. "That is cool. I'll need to pick out a high school for next year, maybe you could tell me about it sometime."

AN: Again, thanks everyone for the interest and support!

There's a few more chapters to go before Izuku runs into the Slime Villain and All Might. Turns out there isn't a lot of info on Class 2 in the year MHA takes place, so I'll be introducing a few more OCs along the way.