The first sentence of this chapter gets me murdered.
(XX)
LOVE, BLOOD AND QUIRKS
All for One had the distinct impression something had changed. Something in his plan was shifting. Was it in a desired direction? He couldn't really say.
He checked his phone. Tomura's recruiting was apparently going very well, with many Villains flocking under the banner of the League of Villain. Heck, Muscular and Moonfish alone were prime front fighters, excellent additions.
But it wasn't that, he was sure of it. Was it something with the Green Valley Clan? But there was nothing about it from either Hisashi, Himiko or Mustard.
Well, he could only wait and see. 'I should go to Otheon next.' He mused.
"Blglrhhgh…" The man he was holding by the neck tried to say something, All for One snapping out of his thoughts.
"Oh, pardon me, I forgot what I was doing." And he stole the man's Quirk. "Sorry, but it was a really good one, I just couldn't resist."
"Can I at least have a new one?"
"I'm the Symbol of Evil, not the Symbol of Fairness." All for One replied.
"Awww…"
All for One ignored him and turned around, walking out of the alleyway. He was still bothered by that feeling. There was something off about this.
-x-
"… And a reminder that Midoriya won't be in class starting from tomorrow." Aizawa concluded the homeroom with a nod toward Izukun, "He will be away until next Monday."
Izukun nodded, and Mustard studied his friend. There was something different going on, he could tell. He glanced to Himiko, who was staring at his best friend from her own seat. He had never quite seen that expression on her face before, and was having a really hard time piecing it together. Did she look happy? Or was it more like a longing…
"Something wrong, Masutaro?" Tooru asked, and he stiffened.
"Nothing… Nothing I think." He said, "I just think there is something going on with Himiko and Izukun."
Tooru gasped, "Do you think they had a fight?"
"I can't tell…"
"Why don't you ask?" Tooru asked. Masutaro frowned. He could right? Well, the problem was that he would have to report anything. Sure, All for One was on vacation, but he still had a cellphone. He was literally a phone call away, and if he came back and found out Masutaro hadn't reported any important change in the relationship… well he would be in trouble.
On the other hand, if a change happened it was at the Aquarium. And Masutaro had missed that because he was out on a date with Tooru.
Wops.
He sighed. "I'll wait a bit. If things still look weird between them, I can always ask Izukun or Himiko later."
Tooru hummed. He could tell she was trying to figure out what was happening, but she wasn't having much luck. He looked at Izukun's attempt at turning, that was aborted entirely when he realized he'd have to look at Himiko. He instead went bright red and turned to look straight ahead.
'What did you two do?' Masutaro wondered.
-x-
Mina could feel something was different. A disturbance in the love, one could say.
High school was fun, Mina was adamant about that. Really, her middle school was… well not boring, but absolutely uncool in the love department. Something here and there, but still too young. This high school though? Great! First Midoriya and Himiko, then whatever was going on with Bakugo, Yaomomo and Tsu, and Mustard and Tooru getting together, and now the suspicious behavior exhibited by Todoroki and Ochaco… Yes, that was indeed quite nice.
So, what was this disturbance? Something had changed. And she wanted to find out what it was.
She looked around. Pony? No, she didn't seem to have any particular interest. She had some ideas on long-term shipping, but right now she didn't seem bothered in any way.
Tokoyami? His likely target was outside the class. Dark Shadow was keeping her updated – the Quirk was a really good wingman, though she suspected he was a problem in a full relationship – so she would have known.
Jiro? Plausible – and actually Mina had suspicions about who Jiro might favor – but that seemed to still be mostly in the background. She'd have to talk with the girl, but there was no movement from her side right now.
But if it was one of the current pairings… Well, the only sensible one was something going on with Himiko and Midoriya. She glanced at them. Izuku was… avoiding eye contact with Himiko? And she was also deliberately looking away from him and blushing lightly. She was also drinking from her thermos, and she only did that when she was really nervous.
She narrowed her eyes when she noticed something. There was a bandaging on Midoriya's shoulder. Barely visible, since it was covered by the neck of the school uniform. Granted, it didn't mean anything, necessarily. Midoriya was always training, he might have just gotten injured lightly.
Or maybe…
Yes, something was up, and Mina would find out, no matter what.
"Ashido…"
She'd have to ask someone that knew them better, but…
"Ashido."
There was definitely something she was missing, and…
"Ashido." The firm voice of her Hero Art History teacher made the girl turn to find herself eye-to-eye with professor Midnight, "What are you doing?"
"I-I…"
"You seemed a bit distracted." Midnight smiled, "Are you under the impression I punish only boys, Ashido? I assure I can be… imaginative."
Ashido gulped and blushed, "N-No professor Midnight."
"Good. Detention for an hour after class." She grinned, "That should teach you about not following my lesson to think about something else."
"Awww…"
-x-
Shoto stepped back as Midoriya pummeled his way through the ice, each punch and kick blowing up more and more of the frozen material. Finally, Midoriya emerged, and Shoto fired a new wave of ice and tried to trap him and encase him completely.
Midoriya punched down, his fist splitting the ice in half before it had a chance of encasing him completely, and then rushed Shoto. He punched again, and Shoto had an instant to block with his ice before the follow-up kick slammed into his stomach and sent him roll back on the ground. Shoto stood back up.
"Enough." All Might called, "Good spar students."
Midoriya, who was about to punch Todoroki, stumbled for a moment, suddenly turning off his Quirk to stop, and nodded. "Yes, All Might." He turned around, bowing to Shoto, "Thank you for the fight, Todoroki."
"Likewise." Todoroki replied, before joining the class. He glanced at Midoriya. The teen seemed already focused on something else. He looked at the crowd, blushed, and then walked off to join Asui, Jiro and Tsunotori. 'Weird, did I say something wrong?'
"Good job Todoroki!" Ochaco cheered. Shoto, looked at her, blushed, nodded, and tried to not walk too fast to join the crowd.
-x-
"Himiko, are you ok?" Ochaco asked, looking worriedly at her friend. Yaomomo, next to her, had a similar, troubled expression.
"Mh? What?"
"You seem a bit… off." Momo pointed out.
"What do you mean?"
"You have been dismantling that steak for the past twenty minutes and haven't taken a single bite, for starters." Ochaco pointed out. Himiko slowly looked down to her plate, where what looked like the most horrible steakicide ever committed seemed to have taken place.
"Uhm… I just have… Something on my mind."
"Something you need to talk about?" Momo asked.
"You know we are here for you, if anything is wrong, right?"
"Nothing is wrong." Himiko replied, "Not yet." She smiled, "But I'll tell you if something happens, alright?" She asked.
The girls looked at each other, and slowly nodded. "Alright. But we mean it, you know that right? We are here for you." Momo said, and Ochaco echoed the sentiment immediately.
"I know girls." Himiko smiled, "Thank you."
-x-
"Something happened." Pony said, "Spill the beans." She stared at Tsuyu and Kyoka waiting for them to talk. Instead, they both squirmed in their seat and looked away from her face. "… Because you know what happened, right? You tailed them until they went their separate way, right?"
"… It was an accident." Kyoka finally said.
"What do you mean an accident?!"
"I mean that we lost them at the Aquarium. We were… discussing something, and when we turned they had left. We tried to find them again, but…"
"So, let me get this straight, you left the Boss alone, and something happened between him and Himiko that has them barely looking at each other all day without burning up and trying to look away?!" She passed a hand over her face, "What distracted you so much?!"
-x-
"Ok, listen." Jiro said, leaning over her penguinburger and penguin fries. "Stop me if this doesn't make sense."
"Alright." Tsuyu nodded.
"You like Bakugo."
"This doesn't make any sense." Tsuyu replied, biting into her own penguinburger. A bit too nervously to really sell the act, but Kyoka could admire the poker face.
"Look, it's alright. I only figured it out thanks to Ashido, really. I doubt anyone else in the class has noticed."
"I don't…"
"Oh look, it's Bakugo with his chest bared." Jiro said, casually pointing away. Tsuyu's neck turned so fast Kyoka worried she had just broken her neck, before the frog girl slowly turned around, for once with something different than a plain expression in her eyes.
Murder.
"Ok, I deserve death." Kyoka admitted, "But first hear me out. You know Momo is also after Bakugo, right?"
Tsuyu nodded. Of course she was, anyone could tell. "So?"
"I… Also have a crush on Momo." Kyoka admitted.
"Oh." Tsuyu said, then, "Oh! I didn't realize…"
Kyoka chuckled. Yeah, it wasn't exactly out of the left field, but not everyone expected it. It wasn't that she tried to hide her preference, she just didn't try to tell everyone. "Yep. I'm still not that used to admit it though, so…"
"My lips are sealed." Tsuyu said, and Kyoka smiled.
"Thank you, Tsu." She nodded, "But see, as I said, I like Momo. You like Bakugo. I think Momo is into girls, at least a bit."
"Really?"
"Probably not as much as guys, but I think there might be a chance. I wouldn't do this otherwise. So…"
"You want to help me with Bakugo and my help with Momo, right?" Tsu summarized.
"Yep."
"Deal." The frog girl replied. Kyoka smirked.
-x-
"Alliance making." They said at once.
"What?"
"Look, it's not a problem, we can just ask them what's wrong." Jiro pointed out, "Maybe it's just some romance issue. It happens in a relationship."
"Are we even sure something is actually wrong?" Tsuyu pointed out, "Maybe something changed, but it doesn't have to be a bad change."
Pony hummed, "I don't know, I don't feel super confident." She sighed, "I tried asking the boss, but he just said nothing was wrong and refused to elaborate further."
The free body guards hummed and nodded, trying to figure out what to do.
Then Kyoka sighed. "All in favor to follow the boss?"
"Aye."
"Yes."
"Good girls."
-x-
"The nerd and the psycho are up to something." Bakugo growled, his eyes fixed on the two.
"Bakubro!"
"I mean, Deku and the b- Shimura are up to something." He amended. Kirishima nodded after a moment, giving a shaky approval. Bakugo grinned. "I want to know what that is."
"Well, it's not that easy, we can't just ask."
"Of course not." Bakugo replied, "Which means…"
"Bakubro, no, it's a terrible idea." Kirishima half-begged, half-ordered. Bakugo wasn't listening, of course. His plan had to be a fantastic idea, after all, whoever said otherwise just wasn't prepared.
"It's a great idea. We will get the proof I need once and for all." Bakugo grinned, "And you will help."
"And Mina?"
"Raccoon Face? She'd be useful, but she is too friendly with the b- Shimura. I want to prove the truth about her, and I need to do it without distractions."
"So I'm not coming?"
"Of course you are coming, I need a testimony."
Kirishima sighed. Bakubro was super manly, but he really needed to move on. As a friend, he'd help him, but he would also help him move past his Izuku phase.
He'd be a lot happier afterwards anyway.
-x-
Himiko took a deep breath, as school hour finished. Normally, she would have been going home. She really wished that was what she would do today, but she needed to… face what had happened the day before. Accept the fact her and Izuku's relationship wouldn't be the same. She looked around to make sure no one was following her, and then made her way to the back of Gym Gamma.
Izuku was there too, waiting already.
They looked at each other.
"… Thank you for coming. H-Here, I mean." Izuku finally said.
"Well, I couldn't… I mean, I had to…" She took a deep breath, "I'm… happy to be here Izuku. But, uhm, I have to know. What you said yesterday… Are you still… I mean, are you…"
Izuku took a deep breath, and put his arms around her. He smelled of leaves and he felt so warm against her. She felt tears swell in her eyes. "I wasn't… I wasn't lying, Himiko."
"I just… Izuku…" She felt her heart beat harder in her chest even as she felt his heart beat faster and faster, "Can we… I mean… You still…"
Izuku smiled, an awkward, stilted smile, and then nodded.
-One day earlier…-
'Abort mission! No, counter the order, go forth! No, counter the counter, all men on deck captain!'
Izuku's brain was best summarized by the most incompetent naval commander trying to make sense of a sudden ambush, because he was screaming, terrified, absolutely convinced he was in for some cruel prank. After all, Himiko, his first real crush, the girl he had fallen head over heels for in the past few months, was asking him out. Was asking to be his g-g-g-girlfriend…
'Say something!' An imperious thought that echoed in his head as if coming from multiple sources made Izuku finally breath again. His mouth opened.
Then it slammed shut again, because he had forgotten how to speak. One would think speaking of all things would come easily to him, considering he was always muttering, but apparently he had ran out of words and was desperately waiting for a recharge.
But Himiko wanted to be his girlfriend?! Himiko wanted to… I mean she wanted to… And with… And they…
'Speak, you dense idiot!' The same thought from before shouted, once again echoing as if it came from numerous people at once.
"I…"
Oh god, he had spoken.
"I…"
'That's not speaking, that's repeating I until you are done, stop stalling!'
'Can I keep stalling until the author reaches the wordcount for a chapter and then we get another week before I have to answer?' Izuku asked… himself?
'What?'
'I don't know I'm panicking!' He heard the faint sound of hands slapping against faces, and stared at Himiko. He had to answer. What did he want to answer? Yes of course, right? But One for All? And All for One? He was supposed to take out Himiko's dad, or maybe he would be expected to take out Himiko herself. Was he… Was he supposed to say no? Was it the right thing to do?
He looked up, almost decided to say no, or later, or something to have more time to think, but then his eyes met hers.
The pained, scared expression. Himiko had just admitted she… she hurt others. She did that knowing he could hate her once she told him the truth. She… Izuku didn't even know where to start. She had revealed everything to him. She had told him about her troubles, and then she had asked him out.
"Himiko, I…" He took a deep breath, "I…" He took another, "I…"
'Say it already!'
"I like you too Himiko! Please be my girlfriend!" Izuku shouted.
Himiko's eyes went wide, and Izuku's did the same a moment later. He had done it. He said it. Was this the part where Masuchan walked out of a side road and filmed him with a grin on his face and it turned out this was a very long con to embarrass him and…
Hands on his cheeks, pulling aside the face mask.
Something light like feather on his lips.
A faint taste of blood, tears and strawberry.
Izuku's arms moved on their own as he dragged Himiko in further the moment his mind registered the kiss.
-Still that one day earlier…-
They were kissing. Himiko's mind was racing wildly. Why had she kissed him?! Was she supposed to kiss him?! I mean, he said yes, so yay, consent?! But was that what she was supposed to do?! Usually the kiss ended the movie, or anime, or whatever. Happily ever after as in the sunset appears a gradual 'The End'.
She glanced at the Sun, and at the distinct lack of any form of 'The End' in sight. Nope, that wasn't happening. Turns out, relationships go beyond the first kiss, even when you really wish they didn't.
Which didn't help at all with her current predicament.
She didn't know if I was appropriate continue or not, so she took the only logical step forward. She leaned further into the kiss, unsure of what to do next. Was she supposed to break contact? Was she supposed to wait for him to break contact? Was she…
Then the sensation came in. His lips over hers, his vague taste of mint and cherry. They had bought an ice cream, she supposed, but she also wondered if that was what Izuku's kisses always tasted like. She had heard the first kiss tasted of lemon, but apparently that was a lie.
She didn't mind. In fact, she'd have loved to find out if Izuku's kisses changed taste depending on the day, or if the mint and cherry flavor was just a natural thing.
Which was good, because this… She didn't want to end this. They held each other tightly, and didn't let go. It was far from the perfect kiss, she was sure, but to her it felt special. She had never kissed and had never been kissed before, always ending her dates in a far different way. Not that any of those was a date worth speaking off.
She had never felt so special. It was like the world begun and ended at their two bodies intertwined. Safe in his arm and him safe in hers, green and black hair colliding and mixing just as their mouths did.
She felt her mouth grow dry as she hugged him further, closer, tighter. She wanted this moment to never end, she wanted…
More.
Himiko wanted Izuku, she wanted to be one with him. She leaned in, and then suddenly…
She bit.
She didn't even register the movement. One moment she was kissing him, the next her lips had traveled down and she was biting in his shoulder. The blood poured out a second later, and she drank.
It took her two seconds to process what she had just done, two seconds spent drinking. Izuku tasted so, so good… Her eyes snapped open, and she pushed back, stumbling and almost falling on her own feet. "I…"
"Himiko, wait, it's…" Izuku's expression was a mix of shock, surprise and worry. Was he… scared of her? Did she just ruin it? She just wanted a taste, but she knew it was wrong!
'Why can't you just be normal?' Her parents' voice asked.
"I did it again… Izuku… Please don't… Please…" She whispered, "I just wanted to… to…"
"Himiko, listen…" Izuku tried to stop her, his hand up while the other held the wounded shoulder, but Himiko kept panicking.
"I… I'm so sorry Izuku, I will never… Never again… Please don't hate me, I just…"
"Himiko!" Izuku shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders, "I don't hate you Himiko. I love you, Himiko. Please, listen. I don't care! I love you! This doesn't change anything!"
Himiko felt her lips tremble, and her eyes grow wet with tears. "For… For real? You really… You mean that?" She trembled, "Izuku, I…"
"It's ok Himiko. It's ok. It's not a grievous wound, and you didn't even hurt me. I was just surprised. Really, look, it already stopped." He showed her his hand, "Himiko, I… This isn't enough to make me stop loving you. I know I shouldn't say it like this, but… But I like spending time with you. I like our dates, I like your smile. I like you Himiko. This… This doesn't change anything."
And with that, he hugged her.
She hugged him. She cried. She kissed him again at some point.
Now he tasted of tears, mint and cherries.
-Present day-
The memory of the day before still made Himiko blush, turning red like a traffic light, and Izuku was hardly better. Almost anyone in the class had noticed the change in behavior. "Are you still sure that… I mean, knowing what you know, I would understand if…" She had to know. She had to.
The grip of both hands grew tighter. "Himiko, I… I don't pretend to know what you are going through. But I want you to know… I want you to know I didn't lie. I'd never lie."
"You… mean it?" Himiko asked.
"I mean it Himiko. I l-l-l…" He took a deep breath, "I love you."
Himiko's heart fluttered in her chest again, "But what if I… What if I get the… urge again. What if next time I don't just… Don't just bite you lightly." She looked at him, the green eyes peering in hers.
He looked so sure and serious. "Himiko. Let me say this as clear as possible." He smiled, "I will never hate you. I want to be your boyfriend. And if that's a part of you, I accept that part."
"You…"
"If you really want my blood…" He gulped, "You can have it."
Himiko's jaw fell open. He was… offering? Well, others had offered before, Uraraka and Yaoyorozu had in the very first day of school, but… But he was different. He was Izuku. And now… Just like that? All it took was asking? "You mean it?"
"I mean it, yes. I… I really, really like you Himiko. No, I l-l-l-lo… Well that. I have admitted it twice at this point, right? It jus never gets really easy to say, but it's true! I really… that. And I… I hope we can be together. So… So if you need help, I will give it to you. If you need a kiss, I will give it to you. And if you need blood… You can take it, Himiko." He smiled, "I don't know if it will always be sustainable, but you held back before. I trust you. And to prove it…" He nodded, "To prove it, I will tell you a secret of my own."
Himiko shook her head. "You don't have to…"
"My Quirk came from All Might. I… His Quirk is called One for All. It's a Quirk that is transferred from one person to another, and he chose me to be the next bearer. I was really Quirkless, and if I got to become a Hero it was only thanks to All Might." He was shaking a bit, "There, that's my… my biggest secret."
Himiko's eyes grew wide, her heartbeat faster. Rationally, she knew she was supposed to be shocked by a revelation by this one, but she couldn't be. She wasn't. She stared at Izuku, the determined look on his face so alien and yet so fitting for the guy she loved, and then she smiled, leaning closer. "I want something right now." She decided.
"What?"
"You." She replied, and she leaned in for a kiss.
After a moment, Izuku's surprise stopped, and he hugged her.
It was just as messy as the first time they had kissed. Their experience hadn't magically grown overnight.
Himiko wouldn't have it any other way. They delved into kissing, and when they let go, far from feeling tired or out of breath, they just basked in each other's smile.
And this time, for once, she didn't need to drink.
(XX)
Me: Alright brain, remember, this is a romcom, we are supposed to have fun, don't go too hard on this.
Brain: Understood. Sentence: understood. *Proceeds to write this*
Well, admittedly, I always knew Izuku and Himiko's confession was going to be drama. It's superpowered teens, one of which is supposed to have intertwined blood and love, and the other is Izuku 'I didn't get friends until the last year of middle school but I would die for them' Midoriya, if you thought this wasn't going to be that you were... well very positive, thank you.
And yeah, I did the thing everyone expected and went fast forward to the day after, letting you boil in the gripping question of 'did they or did they not'. You knew it would happen, I knew it would happen, such is life.
Still, I hope this cap was enjoyable. Definitely different, but I have been waiting so long for this. Wild that this is chapter 51 and it feels almost too soon for those two to share like this. Almost, I think this was the direction where the story was supposed to go.
And if you are wondering... Nope, this isn't over. This story is more than just those two getting together, this story is about those two staying together too. Challenges await our False Lovers that... maybe now aren't so False.
Or are they? They still aren't telling the full truth to each other, aren't they?
Also I mean, there are a ton of subplots, do you think I'm dropping them just because those two kissed a few times? We are done when I say we are done.
And for this week I say we are done here. See you next week!