I was on my back again, panting hard. I could feel the familiar weight of Himiko straddling me, see her wicked grin. She was breathing heavily, but not as bad as I was. Her hands were tight around my wrists, keeping them pinned down.

"Finished already?" Her sickeningly sweet voice said.

"That's enough, Toga." Fitzgerald said from where he watched on the couch. She giggled and stood up, leaving me to sit up and take a deep breath. My clothes, a gray T-shirt and loose black gi pants, were soaked with sweat, and I had bruises all over. "Midoriya, you're fighting too conservatively. Toga is only about as strong as you physically. The reason she keeps kicking your ass is because she's being aggressive. She may have more experience than you, but her fighting style is sloppy." She opened her mouth to argue, but he threw one of the rubber practice knives on the table at her, which she caught, but got the message. "You've got two advantages in this fight, figure them out. We're not done here until you've got at least one win." Now I was opening my mouth to argue, but he quickly interrupted. "Toga, kill him." She practically squealed as she lunged at me with the practice knife. I rolled backwards and got into a crouch to avoid her stab, just barely catching her wrist when she followed up.

"Come on, Izu," she said, lunging with her other hand. I turned and brought my other arm against hers for leverage. Instead of going down she leaned in and hit my side with her knee. I cried out and shoved her away, finally springing up to get to my feet, proper. What advantage could I possibly have over this maniac. Was it my more acrobatic style I was developing? She was far too wild, almost feral, and even with my strength training I was only a little stronger than she was. "Let's make you even cuter." she cooed, then lunged again. I spun away from the blade like a dancer and tried to trip her up with my heel. She had apparently anticipated this and used her weight to press me down, an elbow against the back of my neck. I rolled to avoid her getting on top of me again.

That was when I began to realize what Fitzgerald may have meant. My thoughts briefly cast back to one of our little trips. I had been struggling to keep up with his pace all day. We had gone from debt collection, to an escort mission, to a full blown heist in one day. Stealing some diamonds from a jewelry shop seemed simple enough, at least compared to something like a bank robbery. I was pretty much just shadowing Fitzgerald, learning from his example. EMP charges for the security cameras, followed by a quick knockout of the guard watching them. He had gotten into a brief brawl with the second, but very easily took him out. The last one we thought we wouldn't have to worry about, until he had a gun on us coming out of the vault. Fitzgerald had grinned, that trickster smile of his as unnerving to the young guard as it was to me. The guy had to be barely out of his teens, and very clearly was scared to fire, boyishly handsome as he was.

"My my," Fitzgerald had said. "you're not going to shoot me are you?" He had very casually approached the guard, chuckling softly. "Come now, a cutie like you should be somewhere else, you're far too good looking to be getting into fights." The guard had gone pink and took a step back.

"Knock it off, a-and get on the ground you perv," he ordered. Fitzgerald had lunged, grabbing the guard's wrists and pinning him to the wall. He had leaned in close, lips inches from the younger male.

"Drop the gun, darling, I really don't want to hurt you," he had murmured. The guard was wide eyed and blushing madly. After a few tense moments, the gun was dropped. "Good boy." Fitzgerald told him, planting a slow, gentle kiss on his cheek. Then he hit the guard in the temple. Admittedly, I was blushing myself, Fitzgerald always had a sort of sensuality about him. "Remember, Izuku, you have an arsenal of weapons, even without a quirk. Martial arts, acrobatics, tactics, you especially have a sharp mind, but don't be afraid of honing other skills, even something like seduction can go a long way in a fight."

Remembering that, I swallowed, halfway to my feet when Himiko tackled me again. I turned, and redirected her weight to shove her off, breathing hard again. My limbs were starting to feel weak, my legs were like jelly. She straightened, grinning like always. When she stepped to attack again I was too slow.

"T-To-ah!" She knocked me down, straddling me again and attempting to jab me with the fake knife. My hands grabbed her wrists, the two of us struggling against one another. I inhaled and exhaled slowly through my mouth. My eyes narrowed slightly, meeting hers, and tried to put on my most charming smile. "Toga-chan, why don't you drop the knife for me." I said, struggling to keep my voice even, not quite able to reach the sultry tone I was attempting. Her eyes widened, her cheeks went pink, and I had my opening. I rolled, managing to pin her this time. A wave of euphoria hit me as I had done it. I chuckled tiredly, and couldn't help myself. "That's a good girl." I said, getting up and staggering. "There, happy?" I panted, feeling ready to collapse after a long day of training. Fitzgerald chuckled, Himiko still seemed a little flustered, but in her own way. The look she was giving me had me afraid she was going to stab me and lick the blood off of my body.

"You're certainly my student, kid." Fitzgerald chuckled. "Making good progress too." He stood, heading to grab a bottle of wine. "Tomorrow you'll resume training, and in a week I'll be your opponent." I fell back into a sitting position on the mat, glaring at him from behind.

"You told me you needed me for my hero analyses, so why have I been spending all this damn time working out and training?" I demanded, aware of the fact that Himiko was creeping closer.

"You're swearing now? You're really trying to make me proud." He replied, pouring a glass. "Your mind is invaluable, but if you can't hold your own when the heroes come, you'll be a liability." He turned and came back to the couch. "Once you're useful enough, we can potentially get you a Quirk. I'm gonna make you into a living weapon, Izuku." Himiko's hand came up to touch my arm. I was too tired to pull away.

"Izu," she whispered, a hunger in her voice. "Gimme some of your blood." I managed to stand up.

"I'm going to shower and go to bed." I said, swaying on my feet. I didn't register if they had said anything, I just left, dragging myself up the stairs and to my room in the warehouse. I had a strange feeling in my chest. When I first agreed to take Fitzgerald's training I was still depressed, angry, broken. Now, though, something was different, my determination was coming back. I still felt like crying, and I had the first few nights. In the following weeks it felt like my emotions had just dried up, like I felt nothing. Recently, however, I had been feeling something start to awaken. From all the self pity, to the dread of the way heroes were becoming something completely different than what I had idolized, something new was growing. If I couldn't save people, but someone like Bakugo could easily make it to UA, then what did it actually mean to be a pro hero?

I was thinking about this again as I dropped my clothes on the floor and started to shower. The water was hot enough to leave my skin red, the burning sensation felt great to me as I kicked the question around in my head. If someone only need be powerful to receive hero training, regardless of their unheroic actions, then what did that say about the title itself? Shouldn't a pro hero have the same ideals and actions of the traditional hero? Then I felt a familiar sensation. That same sensation that I had felt before I fell. My lips curled and I chuckled softly. That was it, none of it mattered in the end. I had no fear, I was free, I had just forgotten. I had no kindness for a world that had shown me none, and I would do whatever I wanted. What exactly was it that I wanted to do? I wanted to make this society pay. I wouldn't bother fixing anything, I would just tear it all down.

That was when I heard the shower curtain shift. I whirled, grabbing Himiko by the throat. She gasped as I pinned her against the shower wall. I knew EXACTLY who it was. Despite the blush I felt growing on my cheeks from seeing her naked form, I held tight, my newfound resolve giving my exhausted body new strength. I drew my face close to hers, our cheeks almost brushing as I brought my lips to her ear.

"Next time you want to join me in the shower, why don't you ask instead of perving on me." I hissed. I let her go and got out to dry off. It felt good, the confidence that was building in me. I chuckled softly, then started to laugh.

"I can't tell if you're in a bad mood or a good one, Izu." Himiko, no, Toga said. Who cared about formality?

"I'm in a great one, Toga." I said, not looking back at her. I still wasn't sure I could handle another look at her nude form. "So good that in fact, maybe tomorrow I'll let you have some of my blood even." She practically squealed at the idea. No law, no man, not even my previous reservations would stop me now. I was going to be sure to thoroughly enjoy this new life of mine to the fullest.

[Author's Notes]

Hello, I just want to thank everyone for their time. despite the fact that I've been updating very slowly, the amount of support I've been seeing in my emails is really nice, and I appreciate it so much. I've actually been focused on writing something original, which is one of many reasons why its so slow. However, as of today I'm starting a Discord (link below) that I hope to have lots of discussions on. By talking to readers their, I'm hoping to stay on track and upload a little more frequently for you all. Thanks again, darlings.

https/discord.gg/xm2Q8T3dAg