8.

The alarm on Michael's phone had been going off for two minutes now. Growling in frustration, he threw the phone against the wall and slid out of bed. Taking a second to pop his neck, he walked over and pocketed the phone. A beam of sunlight broke through his curtains to highlight a spot on his floor. A look at the clock on his wall confirmed it was ten-thirty in the morning, and he nearly slept in for much longer. He decided to shoot Shinso a quick phone call and figure out his game plan. Taking out the phone and looking at the small crack on the case, he pulled up his contacts. Scrolling through, he found the brainwasher's number and tapped it. A few rings and the call picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Shinso. It's Farron. I was wondering if you were still good with working out today?"

"Uhh, yeah. Yeah, I'm still good for it." Said Shinso's tired voice.

"Great… Hey, by the way, I'm sorry for being a prick about that whole ordeal yesterday. I did kill those guys, but I didn't do it just because I could."

"You're good. I wasn't thinking about how it must've been for you, and I'm sorry as well."

"Dope. Wanna meet up at the park in about… An hour?" Michael asked, glancing at his clock again.

"Sure thing."

"Talk to you then, dude."

"Later."

Farron let out a small sigh of relief at his friend's words. It was good to know that he hadn't lost a friend over his words. Coffee and getting dressed were his newest priorities as he began preparing for the day. He started the machine before changing into a pair of graphite-colored track pants and a white polyester shirt. A quick look in the mirror reminded him to brush his now wild hair. His medium fade had started to grow too long for his tastes again, and his bangs weren't swept to the side how he liked. A brush would fix the second problem, but he'd still need to go to a barber for the first issue. A quick swipe of his hand made his bangs bearable as he continued to look his reflection over. The beginnings of stubble were evident, and he'd need to look into getting a razor here soon. Finally, he looked into his own eyes. The steely grey snake eyes seemed to stare back at him accusingly with guilt hidden down deep inside. Self-doubt and anxiety crept into his thoughts until he shook himself free from his own gaze. He still had a job to do, and thinking would only make things worse. He decided to drown his thoughts in sound before turning his speakers on and connecting his phone. Music flooded through the house, and he hummed along to the haunting melody. "Sooner or later, gotta cut you down." he sang as he picked up his coffee and took a sip.

The black liquid scalded his tongue and left a bitter taste behind as it heated his inside. The heat and caffeine quickly got to work in his body as he grabbed a speaker and headed outside. The park was only a mile-long jog from here and would serve as a good warmup for him to get ready for him and Shinso's workout. A few quick turns of his wrists and hands had locked the door, and he hopped his fence as he ran out.

He made the trip in seven minutes and still had a few until Shinso would get here. "Hey Farron, what's up?" Said a familiar voice.

Turning around, he saw Midoriya in a white shirt and red shorts, both wet with sweat.

"Hey Midoriya, I'm getting ready to do a little exercise with Shinso. You know, help get him ready for the festival."

"Oh, that's awesome. I'm glad the two of you are helping each other to get better. I'm really excited to see what you can do. Especially since I didn't get a chance to see you fight at the USJ." Midoriya said as he brought his shirt up to wipe off the sweat pouring from his face.

"Well, if you want, I certainly don't mind if you hang around and help me with Shinso. Might could spar a bit and show you a sneak peek of what I'll be bringing."

"Well, thanks, but I wouldn't want to get an advantage that no one else has. It would just feel wrong." Said the green-haired boy as he stretched.

"Alright then, I suppose you'll just have to wait until game day. Then I guess I'll see you there, Izuku."

Midoriya nodded and gave a quick bow before running off. Michael checked his phone and began to do stretches as he got a good look at the scenery. The sun was shining bright and sitting at its highest point. The warmth was quickly absorbed into the cold blood running through his veins as he popped his neck. The few remaining birds that hadn't migrated yet flew about as they chirped along to their own tune. Michael couldn't explain why, but he hated birds. Deciding to ignore them, he went back to keeping an eye out for Shinso's purple hair. It was a few more minutes until the brainwasher came into view. He wore a black tracksuit top with purple trim and matching bottoms. His sneakers were purple with black trim and white soles. Michael supposed everyone had a color scheme they preferred to stick to as he looked at his own black and grey outfit. "Ready for today?" Michael asked.

"Depends."

"Great. Let's get to it then. First, we'll start with some basic sparring." Michael said as he set his speaker down and clicked play.

The subwoofers kicked out loud, energetic music as Farron handed him a pair of padded gloves and shin guards. The two put on their protective equipment and took a stance a few feet apart from each other as the bass began to shake the speaker. "Defend yourself!" Said Farron as he began to close the distance. Shinso brought his hands up to try and mirror Michael and stood still, bracing himself. As soon as he got in range, Michael brought his right knee into his chest and shot a spartan kick into Shinso's chest. Hitoshi's eyes widened as he was thrown to the ground by the force and barely managed to get his hands up to block. Three heavy strikes crashed down on him. One stopped by his arms while the other two came from either side and connected with his temple. Michael got off him and yelled, "Get up and fight back!"

Shinso narrowed his eyes before scrambling to his feet and bum-rushing the serpentine teen. His shoulder connected, and Hitoshi could hear the grunt of pain escape Farron. He tried to press forward, but Michael's knee slammed into his nose. A flash of white-hot pain was all he could see until his vision returned, and suddenly he felt two arms wrap around him from behind. The sky and ground rushed by him as he was brought up and suplexed into the ground. His world was spinning wildly as he clawed to reorient himself back onto Michael, who stood a few feet away in a relaxed fighting stance. "Maybe try swinging or kicking."

"Fuckin hell." That was all Shinso said in reply as he stepped forward and swung a left hook. Michael's snake eyes barely glanced at the swing before his body had reacted and ducked under the sloppy blow. Two more and a slow kick were all either dodged or deflected and finally, Farron decided what to do. Letting a sloppy roundhouse kick land, he locked the foot in with one arm and returned the favor. Off-balance and exhausted, the kick knocked him off his remaining foot. Farron pulled and gently put pressure on the ankle, and finally, Hitoshi began tapping the ground.

"You're sloppy, but damn, you took that suplex like a fuckin champ." Michael said, letting his foot go and clapping with a smile.

"What the hell even? Why aren't you in the hero course already?" Shinso asked as he managed to get himself back up.

"That was nothing. Back in the states, my cousin and I would beat the hell out of each other all the time. Hell, sometimes we'd break out the melee weapons or the guns and really go at it." He said with a shrug.

"You two would shoot at each other with real guns" Shinso asked with a raised brow.

"Airsoft, BB, paintball, and pellet guns. We only ever shot targets with the real stuff." Michael explained as he pointed a finger gun at Shinso.

Shinso looked at the black-haired boy in near shock before shaking his head and quietly laughing, "Fucking Americans, man. You are all fucking crazy."

"Proud of it too. Now get ready, so I can show you a few things. First off, your stance is weak. I know you tried to copy me, but you forget a few things."

Michael stood by Shinso's side and walked him through a few things. "No. Keep your chin down. Keep on the balls of your feet. Don't telegraph your attacks." Michael explained as Hitoshi tried to mirror his movements. The two went on like this for hours as the sun had finally begun its descent and the sky reddened. Michael was busy dodging punches and just managed to lean out the way of a hook before a right cross nailed him. The blow caught him perfectly in the chin, and the force was levered directly into his skull. Farron brought his hands together in a timeout gesture, and Shinso stood panting hard as he fought to catch his breath. "Excellent. That would've knocked most anyone else out cold." Michael said as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"You're a fast learner. Keep it up, and you should do fine if you find yourself duking it out. That being said, you'll have to actually exercise on your own tomorrow. I've got a date." Farron said, rubbing his jaw.

"The Ashido girl, right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"The two of you can really dance." Shinso said with a grin.

"I take it back; I hope you get your ass beat in the festival." Said Michael as he remembered that he and Ashido had been recorded.

Hitoshi chuckled to himself and rolled his eyes as he watched Farron grab his speaker with a huff. "What do you have planned?" he asked.

"I was thinking about the arcade and then maybe something to eat, but I'm not sure yet."

"Sounds fun enough. Why her, though?"

Michael paused for a moment before answering, "Besides the fact that she's as pretty as she is? She makes me smile. Like, actually smile. It's really early, but I feel like we really have something. What about you? Got your eyes on a girl?"

"No. I was just curious about how you felt about her." He answered with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"How do you feel about the festival?" Michael asked as he stretched his arms above his head with a yawn.

"I'm not sure. I know I'm going to have to go all out to have a chance at all. I'm just worried that it won't be enough."

"I got faith in you. Even if you don't, I'll be rooting for you until you make it into the hero course."

Shinso and Michael looked at each other for a while until Michael's fist rose up and stretched out to Shinso. Hitoshi rolled his eyes before bumping his fist against his friend, who made an explosion noise and waggled his fingers. "I'll see you Monday, bro." Said Michael as he took off down the road back home.

He was halfway through his jog back home and breathing heavily from the day's events. He and Hitoshi had trained for the better part of five or six hours, and the sun was setting on this warm autumn day. Bass-heavy music played from his speaker as he ran and drowned out the sound of the city behind him. His neighborhood finally came into sight, and he slowed to a stop and took in a few deep breaths before making his way back to his home. Pulling out his keys, he slid them into the knob, and the door creaked open with the motion.

Dread filled his body as he sat the speaker down, stripped down to just his black boxers, and activated his quirk. His skin quickly took on the color of the environment around him as he slowly crept inside. Once inside, he dropped his boxers and was completely invisible so long as he moved slowly. His living room was empty, and a look into his kitchen gave him the same results. Slow, steady, and silent. Those three words ran through his head with each heartbeat as his eyes swapped between thermal and color vision every few seconds as he scanned the house. The bathroom was clear, and so were his laundry and spare rooms. Finally, the door to his room was wide open and stood as the last unchecked spot in the house. Creeping inside, he found Himiko Toga lying on his bed, wearing the same white shirt and red shorts he'd given her the night before. Her cat eyes almost seemed to lock with his own as she kept her gaze locked on the door. "I can't see you, but I can smell you, Mikey." She said as she slid off the bed and walked towards the door.

Michael began moving back as fast as he could without his quirk dropping in near terror. "I saw you at the park with that purple-haired boy, so I know you've been working out. I'm guessing your quirk lets you disappear, huh?" She asked as Michael barely moved out of her way.

Toga walked past him and to the door, where she stopped and bent down. She threw the door open peeked outside before grabbing his clothes and speaker and shutting the door with her foot. "Oh, look, our clothes get in the way of both of our quirks. So that means… Where are you hiding, Mikey?" She asked as she turned off the speaker and began hunting him with a smile on her face.

He could barely move, or he'd risk making a noise that would alert her. She walked to the middle of the room without making a sound as she took in a deep breath through her nose and looking his way. She was dead silent as she made her way towards his direction before stopping and repeating the process. Michael eventually came to a decision and relaxed his body as he readied himself. She had finally come within touching distance when he struck. His vision stretched as his body moved behind her in a split second from his quirk short-range speed burst. She only saw a flash of color come into existence as he coiled an arm around her neck and began pushing her head down into the choke with the other. "What are you doing here, Toga?"

A choking squeak was all she could get out before Farron loosened his grip. "What was that?"

"Harder, daddy." She managed to say as blood and air rushed back into her body.

"You know I'm taken, right?" He asked with a sigh.

"I'm sure I can fix that problem if you tell me who she is."

Michael began tightening his choke again at her words before she choked out, "Okay, okay, I'm sure she wouldn't mind a threesome."

"You're only making this harder for yourself."

"I'm making something hard, alright." She said before snapping a hand behind her and grabbing him.

The boy's eyes grew wide as she giggled to herself. "Hands off my junk, Toga."

"Come on, Mikey, let's work some of that stress out. You're already dressed for the occasion, and I'm wearing some very loose-fitting clothes." She said as she pulled Michael's shirt down, exposing one of her breasts.

"You fucking planned this, didn't you?" He growled out as he fought with himself mentally.

"I hate plans, but I love seeing you flustered. You know I watched the video where your class was fighting in the rescue joint. I saw everything, including you. Handyman showed it to me, and I gotta say, seeing you and the green bean dripping in all that blood… Oh, I'm ruining these shorts just thinking about it." She said as she rubbed her ass against him.

"Leave Midoriya out of this."

"Jealous?"

"Extremely concerned."

"Here, I thought you were a villain that was only supposed to pretend to be their friend. Yet here you are, dating one and trying to save another. Sounds like someone is actually trying to be a hero. It would be a shame if I had to report that to Handyman."

Michael wanted to twist her head off her shoulders at her threat. "You ain't doing that. Not a chance in hell." He said as he pinned her against a wall.

"My death will tell the league just as much as my own words. You won't need to worry about anything... If you listen and do as I say, that is."

The two sat quietly as Michael processed her words a thousand times, and Toga hummed to herself. Finally, Michael released his grip and asked, "What do you want?"

Toga spun on one foot and looked up into Michael's worried grey eyes with her own sadistic smile. "Easy. The green one and yourself. You both look just so… Delicious when covered in blood."

"You won't go after her?"

"No. If anything, I'll probably like her too."

"Why? Besides the blood thing, why us?"

"Because you're both real heroes. You're not fakes like all the others. You are both the hero that Stain says society needs." She answered as her hands guided his to her hips.

Her arms wrapped behind his head as she stood on her toes. "Now, mama's hungry. Give me some sugar." She said before pulling him down into a messy kiss.

Michael felt empty as he felt her tongue break through his lips and run across his fangs. He stood frozen until she broke off and said, "Play ball or lose it all, Mikey."

He took a moment to look into her golden eyes and mentally screamed at himself before lunging forward and kissing back, one hand latching onto her breast and squeezing. Toga let out a moan as he kneaded it in his calloused hands and began to dominate her tongue. The two fought for control of the kiss and ran their hands across each other's bodies. Toga's hands raked up and down his chest as he took control of the kiss again and pressed her against the wall. Breaking off to breathe, Michael's body shook at what he was about to do and the sight before him. The golden eyes of a predator drank in his image before her hands reached down and grabbed the hem of the old stained shirt. She made a point to slowly raise it and whispered, "Keep your eyes on me, Mikey. Keep them on me."

Her lightly tanned skin was slowly revealed as the cotton crept upwards. Her breasts were small but perky with light pink nipples. The shirt fell to the floor beside her, and she turned around before bending over and repeating the process with the red shorts. Her ass was much paler than the rest of her, and it soon became clear she wasn't wearing panties. A small dark hole was followed by dark pink lips already dripping with liquid. She was more than ready from the looks of it. Once the shorts were in a pile around her ankles, she stepped out and swayed her hips as she returned the favor and pinned him against the opposite wall. "You look good in red. Real good." She said in a low, quiet voice before dragging her nails across his chest.

Small drops of scarlet began to seep out in spots along the scratches. Michael barely flinched when she did it again, and the blood started flowing a little more freely. Her tongue ran up his chest to lick at the blood as she stared into his eyes. One hand on the other side of his chest stabilized herself, and the other worked away at rubbing herself. A few more licks, and she brought up her glistening wet fingers to wipe away the blood on her face. A little of her own juices rubbed off and mixed with the blood, and She began sucking her fingers in front of him. Michael shot a hand around her throat and squeezed before leaning down and giving her a soft kiss. She bit his lip and smiled when blood dribbled out slowly. Her mouth began to suck at his lip as he squeezed her throat more and used his free hand to squeeze her ass. She giggled at the touch and spread her legs before pushing his shoulders down. Taking the hint, he picked her up by the waist and threw her over his shoulder. More psychotic giggling was all he heard as he walked to his room and made his way to the bed. "How romantic!" Toga said before being thrown onto the sheets.

She spread her legs open for Michael as he crawled onto the sheets and between her legs. His sheets already had a small wet stain from how much she was leaking out. Her golden eyes looked down at him with her tongue running her own fangs. Her lips were puffy and glistening wet as he leaned in and stabbed his tongue in before dragging it up and flicking her clit on the way out. Himiko had started panting as he began to eat her while she played with her breasts. Michael's tongue snaked his way in and searched the roof of her insides before finding a slightly bumpy patch. He put as much pressure as he could into pressing it and slowly reeled his tongue back in as he held her still with his arms locked around her hips. She thrashed and squealed while he kept moving between her clit and g-spot. She finally let out a long high pitch moan and shuddered in his grasp before dropping in a heap on the wet sheets. Michael let go of her and slowly wiped his face with a handful of dry sheets. She had sprayed all over his face and what hadn't been wiped away, ran down his chest. "That was fucking amazing." She managed to get out in between breaths as her lungs struggled for air.

She just barely managed to see Michael crawl up to look her face to face. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her golden eyes were, for once, unsure of what was going to happen next. He leaned in close and gave her a soft kiss on the lips before pressing his cheek against hers and whispering into her ear, "Keep your end of the deal, and we can do it again."

Her eyes widened at his words before nearly rolling back in her head as he slid his dick in her. Almost coming to a hilt inside her, he could feel what felt like the end of her pussy. Realizing what it was, he bit down on her neck and slammed the last bit of himself in, and she screamed in his ear. His rod was engulfed in what felt like a wet fire by her insides. She was tight and gripped at him as he pulled himself out slowly, and she whimpered at his teeth biting down on her neck. His fangs were held back but still pricked at her neck as he sucked at the bite mark. A dark bruise was already forming, and she was trying to push him back in with one hand on his ass and the other wrapped around his back. He decided to indulge her and began a rhythm of slamming back in and pulling out slowly. Each slam earned a loud moan as he kept breaking into her womb. Her hands began squeezing, and Toga was mouthing for him to go faster. His hips began to slowly start to speed up, and her breasts were swinging wildly as he pistoned into her. Toga's mind had started to begin blanking out from the sensation of his teeth on her neck and his dick deep inside her. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck." Was all that she could say in between moans as her golden cat eyes rolled back in her head.

Michael had kept the same pace for a few minutes when he finally felt himself losing control. His hands had wrapped around her hips and locked in place as he grunted while his thrusts became wild. Himiko's eyes snapped to focus on him to try and find the reason why.

"Almost." Said Michael as he fought for air

"Inside, please, I'm safe, I swear." She begged him as she grit her teeth and fought back moans.

Her golden eyes locked onto his steely grey in desperation as he quickly ran through his options. "Please, Mikey." That was all she could say before a moan overtook her, and she began to spasm.

Fluid gushed from her as she came again, and Michael made his decision. She screamed from the overstimulation of her orgasm, and Michael desperately slamming into her. A few more seconds was all it took before he buried himself inside her as much as he could. He bit down on her neck again as he finally came inside her with a growl. When he came down from his high, he collapsed on top of her and rolled off to her side.

Heavy breathing was all the two of them could hear for the next few minutes as they both calmed down. "Well, that was something, wasn't it?" Toga asked as she propped her head on one hand and looked at him with a smile.

"Shut the fuck up and get the fuck up. The bathroom is the first door on your left from here. Get in the shower so I can clean this up." He said as he got up and began gathering the sheets and covers.

"You're not gonna just kick me out?" She asked with a curious face.

"No. I'm fucking pissed beyond all reason, but this is my fucking mistake as much as it is yours, Toga."

"Himiko. Please call me, Himiko."

"...Himiko. Please go take a shower. I'll be in shortly."

She gave a small smile before heading into the bathroom. Once he heard the water start running, tears began to run down his face. He cried quietly to himself as he gathered the rest of the sheets and both of their clothes. The washing machine was overfilled, but he couldn't care less at the time. He could still hear the water running, so he went ahead and remade the bed with his spare set of linens. He wiped away his tears and took a deep breath before walking to the bathroom door. A deep breath and another wipe of his eyes, and he gently knocked on the door. "I'm coming in."

"Ok." That was all he heard as he walked in to see Himiko's silhouette behind the shower curtain. Steam filled the room, and he could feel his body soak in the heat. He slid the plastic sheet aside and made his way in behind her. Soap ran down her body as she washed her hair. It was his first time seeing her hair down, and he actually liked it. Messy ash blonde hair barely covered her shoulders as he poured a little soap in her hands and began to wash her back. She froze at his touch and quietly asked, "Why?"

"I don't know anymore. Please just don't talk for a few minutes."

They stood quiet as water rained on them from the spout and fell to the porcelain floor with a splash. Michael's hands gently rubbed her back and shoulders, letting the soap wash away the sweat and smell of sex. Focusing on her back, he could make out a few old scars that had mostly healed over and ran his fingers over them, her softly flinching at his touch. He knew she couldn't reach here by herself, and he doubted that anyone could get that close to her back that she didn't specifically want there. The teen boy ran through a few possibilities in his head before coming to two possible outcomes. He decided to try the most likely one first. "Himiko."

She suppressed a slight flinch at hearing her first name being used so casually and looked back at him with one golden eye. "Yeah?"

He slowly ran a finger along the length of one of the more prominent scars and quietly asked, "Did your parents abuse you?"

The water became the only sound for a few seconds before she said, "When my quirk developed, they thought I was a monster. I tried to help a little bird that was dying, and when they saw me help it stop hurting, they didn't like it. I was locked away. I wasn't let out, and when I tried to run… They wanted their normal. They wanted me to not be who I am, and they tried to force it on me." She said, looking at the floor of the tub.

Michael grabbed her shoulders and gently spun her around to look her in the eye. The water couldn't hide the tears that clearly came from her eyes. "Do you still care for them?"

The blonde girl shook her head no, and Michael began to nod to himself and said, "Good. We're gonna go meet your parents sometime." He said, not giving her the option to deny him.

"Why are you doing this for me?" She asked as she brought him into a hug and sobbed into his chest.

"I'm not completely sure yet either. I want to hate you. I want to blame you for all this. I'd be completely in the right for it too, but I can't. So instead, I'm going to try and fucking help you. I willingly fucked you despite being with Mina, so now I have to try and play my cards. Best case scenario, I keep her, and you tag along some fucking how. So for now, I'm going to do what I can to make things better for all of us." He said as he hugged her back.

"I told you that you were a real hero… Her name is Mina?"

"Godfuckingdammit."

"I won't hurt her. I promise."

"What about Midoriya?"

"I don't know."