17

The house was silent as the two girls took in the sight of each other, their eyes switching from each other to Michael in uncertainty. "Both of you go and take a seat on the couch. I'm going to grab some drinks, and then we're all gonna have a good, long talk." Farron said, forcing himself to keep his composure and control the situation as he stepped away.

Once in the kitchen, Michael grabbed three cups and started to prepare some tea. As he waited for the water to boil, he could faintly hear the two girls making small talk.

The two girls studied each other as they waited for Michael. "Your name is Himiko Toga, right? It's a pretty name." The pink girl asked.

"Yeah, thank you." The blonde answered, uncertain of what to say without Michael's permission.

"You go to school around here?"

"No."

"Oh… Well, do you work around here then?"

"You could say that." Himiko answered, leaving the room silent for a few minutes.

Looking at the girl's clothes, Mina saw they were several sizes too big for the small blonde's frame. A green sweat top and bottom with military insignia hung loosely off the girl; the draw bands tightened to their limit to secure them to the blonde across from her. Her English wasn't the best, but she could make out the letters USMC under the emblem, marking them with the foreign military Michael's parents served in. Putting two and two together, Mina's expression darkened before she broke the silence. "So, how do you know Michael?"

"I think it's best if we wait for him to answer that."

Silence reigned again until Michael finally stepped back into the room, two cups of steaming tea in one hand, a glass of sweet iced tea in the other. He handed each girl a glass of hot tea before taking a long sip of his own cold glass, a deep sigh of acceptance escaping his lips as he set the glass down. "Where do I even begin with this?" He asked aloud to no one in particular.

"The beginning." Mina said eyes narrowed at the blonde.

"Of course. Well… I was ten when we first got the news. My mom had cancer, and apparently, we'd been too late in catching it. Bills piled up, paperwork was filed and lost, pleas for any assistance at all were made, and we got nothing. Mom held on until a little before I turned twelve. It was then that dad started to teach me to survive, both legally and otherwise. He showed me everything he picked up in life. I learned everything from simple lockpicking to how to handle myself in a firefight. We'd work manual labor by day and come nightfall; we'd do simple jobs like robbing houses or jacking cars. He knew a few guys in low places, and they'd give us even bigger jobs to do. Anything from a shakedown to crippling a man or full-blown arson was on the table. I'd got pretty damn good at the stuff, and they'd eventually taken notice. One summer day after I'd finished middle school, I'd come home from my day job of shoveling asphalt, and dear old dad is dead as a doornail. His body reeked of alcohol, and I didn't bother to clean the mess that I think was his head. I guess he couldn't take it anymore and decided to suck-start a shotgun while I was out. I still have it... the gun he did it with. It's a nice, little, double-barrel .12 gauge shotgun that those contacts were nice enough to modify a bit for me. Anyways, I burnt the house down and started pulling more jobs with my dad's contacts. Each one led me further and further down into the dark bullshit they thrived on, and in turn, they made sure I was taken care of. Eventually, they told me who was responsible for denying and losing so much of our paperwork, papers that could have saved mom or at least helped dad and me. That whole mess caught a lot of attention, and so I was moved here by an extremely important member of said contacts. Any questions so far?" Michael asked, letting the girls absorb each word he said.

"Why would they do such a thing? Why didn't they help you?" Mina asked, her face marred by tears.

"I don't know. I don't think I ever will know." He answered, sipping his sweet tea.

"So you really are a villain?"

"Yeah. I was put in an unde-" He began before Toga cut him off, fear in her eyes as she shouted, "Mikey! Are you sure about this?"

"No, but I'm sick of playing this game of hiding the two of you from each other. I'm telling her the truth, and we'll find a way to make this work based on that. No more lies… We have to trust each other, or this will not work."

Mina looked between the two, the look of worry and grim acceptance on their faces as Michael faced her again. "Mina… As payment for getting me out of America and putting me back on my feet, the contact sent me to another job. My mission was to infiltrate the U.A., gathering any useful information before reporting back to his second in command when convenient. I'm a deep-cover spy, double agent, mole, or whatever you want to call it."

"A snake in the grass." Mina offered, disbelief evident on her face.

"Yeah… That's a good name for it if a bit on the nose." Michael admitted.

"Were you the reason we got attacked at the USJ?" She asked, her tone sharp and accusing.

"No. I was only told that something was planned, not the plan itself. It's most likely a safety in place to keep me from sabotaging their plans should I ever have a change of heart."

"Then how did they know!" Ashido demanded, tears pooling in her eyes at what she'd been told.

With a reluctant sigh, Himiko answered her pink counterpart. "They knew because of me. I took the form of one of your students and managed to snag a schedule from a break room."

"WHO EVEN ARE YOU?" Mina yelled, desperate for answers to an ever-growing amount of questions.

"I am Himiko Toga of the League of Villains, and I am Michael's... other girlfriend."

The shock of her words slammed into Mina like a wall of bricks, leaving her speechless as she struggled to process them. "Goddamnit, Himi. You couldn't have eased her into that any better?" Michael asked.

"You said no more lies. So let's just give it to her." the blonde argued before looking back to Mina.

"Mikey here got a bit too heroic during the whole mess that was that attack on U.A., and I saw the video of him killing those two creeps. When I saw him covered in blood and risking his life for those two other girls, I just knew I had to have him. So when it came to taking him, you could imagine my surprise when I found that he was quite set on you and being a hero. So I made a few moves, whispered a few threats, and eventually, I got to melt in his mouth. After it was all over, it turned out that he was…."

"What? What did you do to Michael?" Mina's voice had gotten low and harbored an edge to each syllable.

"I put him into struggle snuggle time."

"You did what?"

"Just think about it for a moment." The blonde said as Michael set his tea down and prepared to stop what he knew was coming.

Mina stopped and repeated the words to herself a few times before understanding dawned on her. The next thing she knew, she had pounced from her spot, dripping in highly corrosive acid as Michael intercepted her. Pain lanced across his arms as the acid began eating away at him, his grip holding firm despite his body screaming to let go.

"Why the FUCK are you protecting her! She fucking raped you! Let me melt her, Michael!"

"I know what she did to me goddamit, Mina! I fucking know!" He yelled back as he wrestled her to the ground, pinning her on her back and restraining her as the acid slowly ate away at him.

Mina's breath heaved as tears poured from her eyes, the thought of Michael being violated and the sight of her acid burning his arms overwhelming her. The black-haired teen's firm but gentle grip and voice were the only things keeping her from having a complete meltdown.

"Honey! Listen to me! It's not entirely her fault. I know that sounds like absolute horseshit, but you have got to believe me. I wouldn't admit to everything I have so far, just to lie to you now. So please, listen to me when I say that it's not entirely her fault."

Once Ashido had stopped struggling, Farron took that as his cue to explain. "It's her quirk. It's fucking with her head, and she can't get help anywhere else. I know I can help her because I know how to do it. Himiko needs blood and needs it regularly, or she gets fucking psychotic. I need to help her, Mina. I need to because no one else will. I need to do this, and I don't think I can without you."

"Why? Fucking why, Michael? Why should we help her? She… She's… She's a monster. Why?" Mina said, in between heavy gasps of air, panic threatening to overtake her.

"Because she needs a hero. A hero that doesn't want any fame or recognition for doing what's expected of them. She needs a hero who will be there for her at her worst and help her through that. She needs us."

"She raped you. Michael, please." She said, tears streaking down her flawless pink skin.

"I forgive her."

"What?" Both girls said in unison, shock and disbelief clear in their voices.

"I forgive her… I don't expect you to do the same right now, but right now, I need you to understand that I can't hate her for something she couldn't control. I love her the same way I love you, and I need you both… I love you… Both of you." Michael said, looking between the two of them.

Silence reigned as the boy gently released Mina, standing up and glancing down at his arms. The smell of burned flesh filled the air as he gingerly prodded his skin, a numb pain aching with the slightest contact. "Mikey, here." Himiko's voice said behind him.

Turning to the blond, he saw her holding the roll of sterile gauze and antibiotic cream he kept in his bug-out bag that stayed in his closet. He didn't get a chance to ask when she'd dug through his things, the girl quickly applying the cream and gauze. From her spot on the floor, Mina observed the psychotic blonde wrap his arms. A genuine look of worry and care in her eyes as she took care of the wounds Mina herself had caused in her fury. Once both arms had been carefully treated and wrapped in gauze, Michael whispered his thanks to the blonde and looked back to Mina. "Mina, honey. I know that I'm asking for more than I have any right to… But I need you both if this is all going to work out right in the end. Are you willing to try to make this work?" He asked, offering his hand and praying to god this worked out.

"How would it work? How do you plan to work with them and us at the same time? I'm supposed just to let you endanger our class? Those are our friends! I'm supposed to just know that you and her are working against us and not tell anyone?" She asked, unsure and afraid of what may come from his answer.

"Remember that I'm not actually working for them anymore. Anything I do to help them is only done in our interest. Our class should stay out of any real trouble because Himi will be giving us a heads up before anything happens."

"Can we even trust her not to backstab us? What if she's using you?"

This time Toga cut in with her own argument. "Can we even trust you to not rat Mikey out? He's already risking life and his freedom to try and make this work with you and me."

"I'm not gonna let anyone take Michael away from me! I won't let them!" Mina said, taking Michael's hand and pulling herself back up.

"Looks like we agree on something after all." Himiko said, a smile beginning to creep across her face.

"Okay, look. Nobody is going to take me from anyone, but only if we all three can work together. Mina, you'll have to help cover for me with the heroes. Toga will do the same for the villains, and I'll do what I can on both sides to make sure we all make it out together in the end." Michael assured her.

"So you want me to share you with her?" Mina asked, pointing to the grinning blonde.

"I don't mind sharing you with him." Himiko playfully suggested to the shock of the pinkette.

"Down, Himi. Don't antagonize Pinks like that."

The mention of the nickname only widened the grin on her face as Michael continued, "Mina… Pinky… Honey. I need to know if I can trust you to keep this under wraps. If you can't, then I understand, and you won't see me again. I need an answer, and I'm sorry, but I need it now."

Mina stared quietly into Michael's thundercloud grey eyes, a black slit allowing her both a look into his soul and a reflection of herself. On the one hand, he was everything she was training to fight. On the other, he was surrendering himself wholly to her judgment and giving her control. Blood raced through her body, her heart working overtime as her mind raced through every possibility. Once again, she found Michael's presence was the only thing stopping her from shutting down. Feeling herself being shaken, she snapped back to reality, the sound of Michael's voice slowly coming into focus. "Mina?... Mina! Are you okay?"

Waving him off, she took a deep breath and asked, "What about her? I'm just supposed to forgive and forget what she did and be girlfriends with her?"

"I can't and won't force you to like or hate her. Himiko has her own flaws to work on but won't just accept help from anyone. So, it's up to you how the two of you work things out... Can I trust you with this or not, Mina?"

A resigned sigh followed a few seconds of uncertainty. "You can trust me… I have a few conditions and questions, though."

Michael released a breath he didn't know he was holding, a weight lifted off his shoulders as a sense of relief flowed through him. "Ask away."

"How do you, or well… How do we help her?" She asked, pointing to Toga.

"Like I said earlier. The girl needs a steady supply of blood, or she starts to go fucking mental… Isn't that right, Himi?" He said to the still smiling blonde.

"I guess. Not like I've been to a doctor in a while. I just know that it helps me calm down a bit. Speaking of… Can I get some now?" Toga asked, her tongue making a show of licking across her sharp canines.

Seeing Michael look back to her pink counterpart in uncertainty, she offered, "May as well introduce her into it now. Don't want her walking in on it later and getting the wrong idea, do we?"

"I feel like you're going to try and put her in that position every chance you get… Fine. Go get my knife." He said before turning back to Mina, who stood quiet.

He took a seat on the couch and patted the cushion next to him, and Mina took her spot. "You have any other questions, Pinks?"

"Have… Have you killed anyone?... Besides those two villains, I mean."

"Yeah. Yeah, I've killed a few people here and there. Nobody that didn't fucking deserve it, though." He answered, letting the girl absorb the information.

"How many?"

"Too many for my liking. If you want a more accurate number, then try like… six or seven. I try to avoid it, but I'm not opposed to it either."

"What about her?" She said, nodding to Himiko, who'd returned, a large knife in hand.

The blond giggled before answering the question herself. "I lost count somewhere in the thirties."

Michael looked at her in surprise, his original fear of her being justified. He knew better than to think the girl didn't have blood on her hands, but the amount of death she was responsible for still shocked him.

"If I had said that you couldn't trust me, would you have killed me?"

"I could never hurt you like that, Pinks."

"I could." Toga interjected.

"I wouldn't let you."

"I told you that nobody else was allowed to hurt you. I've already let her break this rule once with her burning your arms. If she broke your heart, then there's nothing you could do." Himiko said coldly, his knife glinting in her relaxed grip.

Grey met gold as Michael and Himiko stared at each other in deadly silence. Mina's fearful eyes swapped between the two of them as she waited for the next move to be made. "You'd have to kill me first, Himi. I won't fight you, but you will have to kill me to get to Mina."

Turning back to Mina, he continued. "Should you have chosen to alert the authorities, then the situation would be the same. I wouldn't fight you, but you or the heroes would need to kill me before they touch Himiko. Now let's get this feeding out of the way. Give me the knife, Himi." He said, standing up and reaching out to the blonde.

Taking the knife from her, he made sure Mina could see the blade cut through the scar on his palm. The angry scar split open once again, bleeding out the crimson Toga desperately needed to keep a grip on her sanity. Michael wiped the blade clean with his pants leg before holding his hand out. By now, a pool of blood had formed in his palm that the blonde leapt upon. He could feel her tongue lick and suck at the wound to draw out all she could. After several seconds, he felt her lips gently kiss the wound as if to thank him for what he gave up so willingly. Once she had broken away, Michael gestured for her to wipe her mouth, his blood staining her face dark scarlet. "Do you feel better?" He asked her.

"Yeah… Go take care of your hand. I wanna talk to her."

Looking down at the blonde, he searched for any sign of hostility before nodding and walking away.

Once he'd left the room, Himiko sat down beside Mina and looked at the scared pink girl. "He sure does have a weird taste in girls. I mean, look at us." She said with a halfhearted laugh.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked, unsure of what the blonde's intentions were.

"Look at us. We're both a far cry from any kind of normal. Our quirks have screwed both of us over, and society has been less than welcoming of it. You can't deny that you get those dirty looks by those bastards for being so different… Or am I wrong?"

"No… It's not that big of a deal, though. It's not as bad as it used to be, and I've gotten used to it."

"Why should you have to get used to something like that? Being born different isn't your fault. So why just sit there and take that?"

"I… I shouldn't… But that's just how it is, and the people who don't care about that outnumber the people who do."

"Don't lie to me… Pinks." She said, emphasizing the nickname Michael had given her.

Taking advantage of her silence, Himiko continued. "Mikey knows you're different. He knows we aren't quite normal… and he loves it. He loves our differences and is willing to try the impossible for us. He doesn't see me as a monster or you as an alien. He just sees us, and he's going to change the world for us. I know you don't trust me, but he trusts you enough that he's put everything on the line. I trust him, and so by extension, I'm trusting you to help us make this work."

"I trust Michael, and I said I'd help him, even if I don't like this. I just don't want to have to lie to my friends. I don't want to see him die. I'm so scared, and I don't know what to do." She confessed.

Heavy footsteps announced Michael's return, his hand freshly wrapped to match his burnt arms. The Lichtenberg scars had begun to fade, the darkest lesions on his neck and lower jaw. "Just do what you've been doing, Pinks. This was all to bring you in on the loop and keep from having to lie to you. If I can keep you from lying to anyone, then I will. If I can keep anyone from actually hurting any of us, then I will. If I have to kill someone to accomplish this… Then I will."

"...What happens now?" Mina asked.

He thought for a moment, choosing to answer with a question of his own. "What do you want to happen?"

"I, uh… I wanna… Can I stay here tonight? Please?" She asked, unsure.

"Oh… Well yeah, of course. Just get the okay from your parents, and I'll order some pizza or something, and we can watch a movie or something." Michael said, surprised at her request.

Sliding her phone from her pocket, Mina unlocked it and quickly made her way into her contact list. A press of a button later, and Michael could faintly hear the voice of Mina's mother on the phone. Her voice reminded him of that night after the USJ incident how he ran through the rain and jumped the fence to comfort her. All the way from the cold rain that soaked his jacket to the warm embrace they shared at the end of that night. Soon enough, he was snapped out of his memories by a hand gently slapping his cheek. Looking down, he saw Toga pointing over to Mina, who patiently waited for his attention. "I have to get some clothes, but I can spend the night."

"Awesome. I'll order pizza while we wait for you to get back. Toga, can you go grab some blankets and pillows from my closet?"

The three of them all set to work, different thoughts running through their minds as they processed what just happened—each part of the newly formed trio having unique feelings about their counterparts.

Mina's worldview had been shaken, her boyfriend having revealed his entire hand to her. On the one hand, she wanted to rage at him and the world for being so unfair. The blonde had taken advantage of him, worming her way into what was supposed to be just the two of them. On the other hand, she knew that he had to have complete faith in her to do what he did. That thought comforted her, allowing her to accept the situation at hand as she packed a small bag with some pajamas.

Himiko sat quietly in her own thoughts, mindlessly searching through Michael's closet for the blankets. She knew on some level that Michael had moved past the traumatic beginnings of their relationship. She never expected him to outright forgive her, expecting him to possibly use it as leverage in a future argument. Instead, he'd surrendered his main argument to her at possibly his most emotionally vulnerable moment. Her brief talk with Mina had revealed plenty for her. The girl was self-conscious and plenty aware of how society treated people who couldn't help but be born different. Hopefully, the girl would eventually fully come around to the idea of the three of them being happy together. Finding the last of the extra pillows, Himiko smiled at the thought of what Mina might taste like, bubblegum hopefully.

Michael had just finished ordering two pizzas, a few drinks, and a dessert to go with it. The order being the same his dad would make back in the states. Hanging up the phone, he walked silently to the bathroom and locked the door behind him. Hearing the faint click, he calmly got to his knees in front of the toilet and vomited. His nerves had finally gotten the best of him, forcing him to empty his stomach once again into the porcelain bowl. The bitter acid taste on his tongue was the least of his problems as he dry heaved a few more times. His mouth was watering heavily in an effort to protect itself from any more that may come up. Taking a few deep breaths, he spat into the toilet and flushed away the evidence. Wiping his mouth, he slowly got back to his feet and looked into the mirror, his grey snake eyes looking back at him. "Jesus fucking Christ, that went so much better than it had any right to." He told himself as he splashed water on his face.

A sense of relief trickled throughout his body, watered down by the knowledge that he could no longer afford mistakes. Mina had every right to reject him there and then, instead choosing to stand by him. He owed it to her to make sure he kept his word. Himiko was also better behaved than he'd expected, not even attempting to defend herself when Mina initially lashed out. The blonde only ever showed hostility when the possibility of him being harmed came up, and that had been defused fast enough.

Taking another deep breath, he reached for the door, only for it to be opened. Standing there looking up at him was Himiko, a look of concern evident on her face. "Are you okay?" She asked, waiting for him to try and play it off.

"I'm… I'll make it. I'm just really fuckin relieved but also worried as fuck if you know what I mean."

Her golden cat eyes looked up at him in understanding, a smile growing across her face before she answered him. "I figured. Pinky Pie is back and waiting in the living room. We've been talking a bit more, and I figured I'd come find you."

"Damn, how long was I in there?"

"You stopped vomiting about ten minutes ago."

"Fuck."

"I've got the covers laid out, and the two of us picked out a movie, so let's go."

The blonde took his hand in hers, leading them to the living room, where Mina sat on the pullout couch. She wore pink and black fuzzy pajama bottoms; a black hoodie hung loosely to her top as she sat quietly in wait of the two. Hopping on the couch, Himiko quickly got herself comfy in a bundle of covers, the remote to the DVD player in hand. Michael was about to crawl on the spread of blankets and pillows, a knocking at the door freezing him in place. "Himiko, cover yourself up. Just in case."

Stepping over to the door, he took a quick look through the peephole and groaned. "There is no fucking way."

Opening the door, he saw Kaminari standing in front of him. The electric blond wore a t-shirt with a small pizza slice embroidered on the chest, and a small moped waited at the road. "Hey, Michael! Pizza time!" he said to the still stunned Michael.

"You're fucking joking."

"Nah. I didn't know you lived here, dude. You got a pretty chill place. Hey, I don't live too far from here, actually… Like a ten-minute walk that way, take a left, and boom. The last house on the left is me."

"Right… Well, how much do I owe you?" Michael asked, trying to speed this along.

"20.000 Yen for two pizzas and the rest of this. This is a bit much for just you to eat… Are you having a slumber party or something?" He asked as he looked past Michael's large frame.

"Is that… Mina? What's up, Mina?" He said, happily waving to the girl.

"Denki… I'm kinda in the middle of something, bro…."

"Oh… OH! My bad, Mike. Yeah, I'll let the two of you get back to it."

"Denki, I swear to god. We aren't doing that, but we are trying to enjoy our night. We will see you at school tomorrow, okay?"

Nodding excitedly, Denki handed Michael the food before waving his goodbyes and speeding off.

Watching the moped drive off, Michael sighed and closed the door behind him.

He set the food down in front of them, crawling into the pile of covers and finally relaxing. Himiko pressed play, and the screen went dark, the beginning of the movie Alien playing out on screen.

Once the movie had run its course, and the credits rolled, Michael took a look at his surroundings. Mina was passed out, using his chest as a pillow. Toga was also asleep, quiet snores coming from her every so often as she dreamt of whatever. Checking his alarm one last time, Michael dropped his phone, finally allowing himself to be done with the day's drama.