Prologue
She's the girl next door! Something-something hardware store!
(And her name's Himiko!)
Himiko Toga never considered herself lucky.
Hell no.
In this society, with her quirk? She was a freak, a monster, and she knew it. She had an evil quirk, a villainous quirk, and she knew it. She would never be a normal girl, a normal girl with friends, a normal girl with a boyfriend, and she knew it. Her parents made sure she knew it. Her old classmates made sure she knew it.
She made sure she knew it.
The apartment she stayed in was somewhat big, but always felt empty. She had the whole place to herself but only stayed in one room. Her parents made sure all the bills were paid but she never bothered turning on the lights. She can cook but always stuck with ramen. She was transferred to a new school but still hadn't attended a single class in the first month. No one called but she spent every day on her phone looking at other people's happy lives.
It was a boring new life for her, but at least there was some entertainment. The entertainment being the neighbors in the apartment next to hers. They were loud, she had no reason to make a complaint, and sometimes she could hear their amusing antics.
Like that one Sunday when she was awoken by a loud crash, then shortly after some shouting.
"Elma! WHAT THE FUCK!"
Sometimes the shouting happened late at night, "Deku for fucks sake! STOP PICKING ALL MIGHT! That character is broken!"
Sometimes they happen early in the morning, "Tohru stop smashing my All Might alarm clock!"
There was a lot of screaming and cursing from that apartment.
There was one resident that caught her attention, and he was by far her favorite. Every time he walked out of his apartment she made sure to catch a glimpse of him through the peephole. 'He's so cute! He's a dream!' She would swoon. Those eyes, his curly hair, those perfect freckles!
She was in love and she knew it!
She was obsessed and she knew it!
She was crazy for him and she knew it!
She knew it, she knew it, she knew it!
SHEW KNE-
Her crush was bleeding on the floor, he was scared, afraid of her, and she knew it.
The hunger went away when she took her pills, but they weren't going to work forever, and she knew it.
The terrible memory was fading away but would come back eventually, and she knew it.
The world was growing duller like it always did, she was becoming listless like she always did. She didn't feel like doing anything for the rest of the day. She shut herself in her room and laid on her bed. She couldn't sleep, she was giggling too much about that boy with the green hair.
He was cute, but he would be way cuter covered in blood.
And she knew it.
OOOOO
Chapter 3
Izuku and Himiko
Another struggle, I mean, another school day passes. Izuku stayed seated at his desk and pulled out his phone to check any new hero news. Tons of new hero fights were uploaded that day, Izuku made a mental note of which ones to watch first when he got home. He sighed, of course there was an increase in hero activity right when his right hand was useless. Apparently using hysterical strength to punch a friend was a bad idea. Hopefully his hand will heal soon, aside from not being able to write new notes, all his schoolwork was being done with an uncoordinated left hand. He also struggled with eating utensils, Tohru kept insisting on helping him by feeding him like a baby. It was embarrassing, hopefully he wouldn't have to get used to it.
Some classmates approached his desk, as if looking for trouble. Oh boy. He didn't even say anything!
One of them sneered, "What's wrong Deku? Not gonna write in that creepy diary of yours?"
The others snickered.
"My hand is injured, and I'm not used to writing with my left…" Izuku said, not wanting any trouble.
"Why don't you leave the nerd alone? Before I make you!" Katsuki said, wanting trouble.
The group turned towards him seated at his desk, surprised. One of them said, "What's gotten into you Bakugou? Why are you defending this creep?"
"Yeah you've been all chummy with him lately."
"I dunno. I guess he's just more interesting than you lot." Katsuki said it with a smirk, as if knowing it would hit a sore spot.
The group flinched, as if the offensive remark did harm.
"How could you say that? He doesn't even have a quirk!" The guy with the stretchy eye sockets said.
"He's just some boring loser!" The guy with the stretchy fingers said.
"Yeah!" The guy who awkwardly invited himself into the group said, desperately wanting to fit in.
"Get the hell outta here." Katsuki hissed.
Izuku watched the group disperse. What was that about?
"Come on Deku, you can't let people walk all over you like that."
Izuku shrugged, "It's easier to just take it and not provoke them."
"You gotta let people know that just because you're quirkless doesn't mean you're useless!"
"This is like the exact opposite of a conversation we had last year."
"I'm just saying you need to learn to stand up for yourself, because sure as hell the teachers here won't help! I wouldn't be surprised if the teachers started bullying you themselves!"
"Midoriya, could I see you for a minute." The teacher called from the front of the class.
"For god's sake, I was joking!"
Izuku made his way towards the teacher with Katsuki following behind. Katsuki said, "What is it teach?! Is this about those losers from earlier?! Because if you were even half paying attention ya woulda known they were the ones provoking Deku!"
"This isn't about that Bakugou," The teacher said, then turned to Izuku, "A student of ours has yet to show up to any classes, Midoriya we need you to deliver some school work to her since you live in the address right next to hers."
"Oh okay," Izuku said, always happy to help people, "I'll make sure to deliver these to- HER?!" Izuku clutched the packet of papers, his heart racing. The idea of talking to girls his age still scared him despite the boot camp he suffered with two adult women. But he had Katsuki with him, hopefully that would make things easier.
The school intercom blared, "Katsuki Bakugou to the principal's office please." Goddammit.
"Goddamnit," Katsuki cursed, "I'll meet you at your place, I gotta go see what the principal could possibly want."
Katsuki left, Izuku watched him go, unable to move. 'Please don't leave me…'
The two parted ways, with Izuku rigidly moving forward towards his fate.
Katsuki entered the principal's office without knocking, he slammed the desk. "What is it teach?! Is this about those losers from the other school provoking me the other day?! Because if you were even half paying attention ya woulda known they fell face first on my fists on accident!"
"This isn't about that, Bakugou, I assure you." The principal assured him, "We understand you have big aspirations of becoming a pro hero, and you're aiming for UA to achieve your goal! We the staff would like to let you know we want to support you. If there's anything you need please don't hesitate to ask."
Katsuki leered, there was a catch and he felt it. Not that it mattered, he didn't need any creepy ass kissing to help him become a hero. 'They just want to ride my coattails, just like the other extras.'
"There is another thing we wanted to bring up." 'There's the catch!' "Security footage shows a, uh, 'scuffle', between you and your classmate Izuku Midoriya. We can see that he managed to catch you off guard and, um, hit you with some sort of 'quirk'. If you want to, we could punish him for-"
"It was a training accident!" Katsuki had heard enough, slamming his hands on the desk again.
"Bakugou we assure you, you're not in trouble, you don't have to defend Midoriya."
"Someone has to." Katsuki muttered, then left without another word.
He continued walking down the hallway brooding to himself. 'Those bastards don't even try to hide their favoritism! Deku was the one that took the most damage in that fight yet they were concerned when he hit back! Does Deku have to deal with this sort of crap everyday?' Katsuki shook his head, remembering that he was the sort of 'crap' he was thinking about.
"My, that was quite the performance back there Bakugou." He stopped at the end of the hallway, hearing a slow, condescending clapping from behind. There stood another student, she had bright blonde hair, sitting on her shoulder was a small lizard creature made of shadows.
Katsuki growled at this newcomer, "Who are you again?"
Her smile dropped, stomping one foot down she said, "We've never met before!" Quickly composing herself she continued, "Ahem, I'm from the class next to yours, just like you I too suffer from success, constantly surrounded by those who want to share in your accomplishments."
"Is there a point to this?"
"Stop interrupting!"
Katsuki leered at the newcomer, then at the pathetic looking lizard, "Oh, I've heard of you, Leslie the American transfer student."
"Heh, that's right, I'm- Wait, what? Is that what people call me?"
"Did you need me for something, or…?"
"I've heard you were aiming for UA, the school staff are practically drooling at the idea of one of their students attending such a prestigious school."
"Don't I know it."
"But getting into UA is such a big hurdle. You would need a perfect track record, good grades, perfect attendance," She started smirking, "No bullying."
"Get to the point." Katsuki grunted.
"The school staff aren't the only ones with recorded footage, unlike them though I didn't delete the more incriminating evidence to your treatment of Midoriya. It'd be a shame if UA got wind of this controversy."
'How did she get her own recordings?' Katsuki eyed the lizard on her shoulder, damn, "Blackmail huh?"
"Don't think of it like that, think of it as an opportunity for us to team up. I'm sure you've seen it too, Midoriya has gotten stronger because of that familiar of his. I can tell you're threatened by him, why else would you start hanging out with him." Leslie smiled as if finding a joke funny. "Ironic that you push away everyone that wants to leech off your success, but the minute Midoriya proves to be stronger, you latch onto him like your life depends on him. Isn't that right Sparky?" She moved her hand, as if to pet the lizard, only for the creature to catch her finger in its mouth. Katsuki took a second to realize this was intentional by the look of her caring smile and the creatures nibbling.
"It's not like that at all."
"You know what I'm talking about though, right? He's making himself stronger with his familiar's magic in order to achieve his dreams of being a hero. You decided you weren't going to be left behind and started to suck up to him, pretending like you two are friends and forgetting all about the mistreatment from the past."
Katsuki's eyes widened, he was only recently filled in on the whole 'Tohru is a dragon from another world' story, and he was already getting caught up in some sort of magic scandal. He scoffed to himself, this girl really thought that the overgrown lizard was Deku's familiar, speaking of lizards…
He eyed the shadow creature on her shoulder, "Is that how you know about magic? That thing is your familiar, not a quirk." Better to not confirm or deny her accusations of Deku having a familiar, since he doesn't know (or care) about all that magic nonsense.
Leslie nodded, "That's right, my cute lil' Sparky is my familiar, passed down from multiple generations of sorcerers. He feeds off light, but isn't very strong, sunlight, electrical lights, and lights created by magic feed him enough to live. Lights created by living creatures, however, can increase his magic exponentially, when given to him in large amounts."
"So your quirk must be…"
"Bioluminescence," She held up the finger that was being nibbled, now glowing white at the tip, "Before, Sparky had to be fed fireflies in order to use a small amount of magic. My family wasn't anything special, just a long line of average sorcerers. Now though, with my quirk, I was able to reach the higher ranks at a record pace, with Sparky growing in strength every day. He used to be as small as a pinky finger, now he's big enough to wrap his tail around my neck. However I reached a limit recently, I seem to be having a hard time keeping up with Sparky with a weak light emitter quirk like mine. That's where you come in, I heard that you've found a way to make a flash grenade effect with your quirk."
"Stun grenade."
"Whatever. I'm willing to make a deal, you help me feed my familiar, and in exchange I'll erase all your incriminating footage, and as a bonus I'll give you the footage of Midoriya's familiar illegally using its 'quirk' in a public setting. I imagine you would want to get rid of any competition-"
"Not a chance!" Katsuki interrupted, walking away, "And you better get rid of all that footage if you know what's good for ya!"
Leslie looked panicked, 'Did he call my bluff?!' "Wait! At least tell me how you managed to make a strong light effect with your quirk!"
Katsuki kept walking, but yelled back, "You can't be that dumb! Quirks are physical abilities not magic! Just keep training it like a muscle!" With that word of advice he left.
Leslie was left pondering, 'Train my quirk?' She lit up her finger, it was easy enough but only as bright as a phone's back light. She strained for a bit and managed to make it shine like a flashlight. She managed to hold it for a couple seconds, then got too tired to keep it lit, 'It's a muscle? I guess it makes sense that it would be tiring, but I'm too busy studying for my magic exam, when would I have the time to-' She looked back at Katsuki in the distance. She may not have any footage, but with someone like him… It wouldn't be too hard to gather a different type of evidence to blackmail him with. Ahem- sorry, propose a team up with.
Katsuki scowled, ready to get the hell outta school. He thought about what the foreigner said. 'I'm not threatened by him! I only hang out with Deku because he's the only competent training partner around here!"
He wasn't threatened by him. No really, for real this time.
Him and Deku were rivals, he wasn't a threat. They were going to UA together, Deku wouldn't leave him behind the same way he did all those years ago. He wasn't the type of person to do that.
Right?
OOOOO
Izuku finally reached his demise, that is to say, his neighbor's door.
'Alright it's simple enough. Just knock and explain the paperwork, and then you can go home.'
He turned his head to his left, looking at his apartment door. It was somewhat comforting in this trying time. He smacked his cheeks lightly. 'Come on, focus!' He knocked on the door, 'Chances are an adult will answer.' A person his same height answered the door, 'Crap it's her!'
The girl in question was dressed in gray sweatpants and matching hoodie, her face completely hidden under the hood. 'Okay…this is salvageable.' "Um, h-hello, I'm your neighbor- oh I guess that's not really relevant. I'm your classmate…from school…which you still haven't attended." 'Crap, why is this so hard?!'
The girl's breath hitched upon recognizing his voice, he only caught a glimpse of her face before she quickly put her head down, but decided to continue. "Uh, I'm here to deliver some homework for you to catch up on…or something." 'Come on Izuku! You're almost there!' He awkwardly held out the packet he had been clutching for a while now. The girl gingerly took the papers, flinching when their hands lightly touched. She recoiled from the contact and clutched the papers to herself, Izuku didn't notice. "O-okay, that's all. I mean, uh, be sure to attend school from now- unless you don't want to- I guess that's not really my business…I'll just leave-"
"Wait!"
Izuku jumped back, not expecting her to reply, much less shout.
However her voice lowered immediately, "I mean, y-you went out of your way to deliver these, would you at least want to come in for a bit for some, uh, tea?"
Izuku blushed, "It's fine really, like I said I live next door. I wouldn't want to bother you-"
His apartment door slammed open, black smoke pouring out. Tohru rushed out forcefully coughing, "Oh! Izuku! Uh, dinner is going to be a bit late, you should probably not come in here until the smoke is gone."
"Tohru, what were you cooking?"
"Oh, just some takoyaki made from…
…
…
…kraken."
The door shut, Izuku could vaguely hear a struggle going on inside.
He turned to his neighbor, "On second thought I'd love to come inside, thank you for the invite!"
She nodded, timidly shuffling to the side to show him inside, "Make y-yourself at home." 'Come on, you can do this!' She pulled out a bottle and forcefully swallowed some pills, Izuku pretended not to notice. She gestured towards a small table in the living room, then struggled to look for the switch to the lights, as if she didn't even know where it was.
Izuku took a seat, setting his backpack down next to him, "While I'm here I could help with some of your homework if you like. Oh right, I'm Izuku Midoriya by the way."
The girl set teacups down, her hands were trembling, spilling some of the tea. Again, Izuku pretended not to notice.
"Himiko…T-toga." She introduced herself as if forgetting she had a last name. "And yes, I'd appreciate the help."
(Someone saying they appreciate his help? How could he not get excited?)
About an hour into the study session Izuku noticed how quiet the apartment was. "Uh Toga, is no one else here? Aren't your parents coming home?"
She shook her head, "No, I live alone, no one else is coming…"
Ah, he had been all alone with a girl this entire time. He was only managing a conversation with her because she was hiding her face, now the small amount of confidence he mustered up was fading fast. Now that he thinks about it, wouldn't Katsuki be in his apartment by now? There's no way he could leave him and Tohru alone without expecting another murder attempt.
"Welp, this has been fun but I gotta get home before something blows up," He got up to stretch, grabbing his backpack he turned to his neighbor, "Thank you for your hospitality, but I should get-"
"Wait! You're leaving already?! Can't you stay a little longer?!"
Izuku jumped a bit, not expecting her to vehemently oppose him leaving, "I-uh really have to go-"
"No wait please!" She got up from the floor, a bit too quickly, "Please stay a little-woah!" Then her legs gave out, and she fell on top of Izuku.
"Wha-!" Izuku cried out, landing roughly on his back he barely managed to catch her. 'Well that just happened.' He looked up towards her, "H-hey, are you alri- ?!" His breathing stopped, his mind blank. While they were falling onto the floor Himiko's hood fell, revealing her face. Her dirty blonde hair framed her face, and Izuku was captivated by her eyes, they were golden in color with slits like those of a cat. He couldn't help but mutter, "You're beautiful…"
He also noticed how her slightly blushing face was now blushing completely red and- Wait what the hell did he just say?!
Izuku quickly shot up, Himiko falling off of him still shocked, he turned around towards the door and said, "I- I gotta go!" Without looking back he ran out of the apartment, raced to his own apartment and slammed through the door, quickly shutting it behind him. His mind racing, heart pumping, he decided to rest in the living room. "K-kacchan!"
Katsuki was there, playing some game on his console, his clothes were ripped, singed, and smoking. His face bruised, scratched, and steamed. He paused his game, "Deku, there you are! Where the hell were you?!"
Izuku blushed, his memories coming back with full force, "I was helping my neighbor, with studying…and nothing else…" He couldn't convince himself, desperately he decided to change the topic, "What happened to you?"
"I came here to hang out, there was a portal in the living room and the next thing I know I got dragged in by a tentacle! Then I had to fight for my life against what was apparently supposed to be dinner!"
"I'm sorry you had to go through that…" Izuku tried to sympathize, but was still fighting with his own thoughts.
"You better be! I was forced to team up with Chorogon! Still it wasn't so bad…it was good training I suppose, I got to use a special move I've been theorizing about where I turn myself into a missile. I'm thinking about calling the move, Hiroshima impact!"
"I think you need to workshop that- Wait where's Tohru?"
Katsuki scowled, "After I blew up that squid, she got pissed and started yelling at me for burning the corpse. She said she was going to the other world for some more ingredients."
"Oh I see…" Izuku sat down, still shaken up.
"Hey, you okay? What happened?" Katsuki asked.
"What?! Nothing! Nothing at all! I already explained we were studying! Nothing more! If anything you still have a story to tell!" Izuku said, once again changing the subject.
Katsuki sneered, "Well first of all, I had to do all the work! Chorogon didn't want the food to get too damaged but I said fuck it! I'm unreleasing the kraken!"
Katsuki continued, but Izuku didn't listen, his mind was too preoccupied by the incident that just happened. He had no idea how he could face his neighbor again. But she doesn't attend classes, and their first meeting happened because he had to deliver something. Breathing easier, he realized that as long as he wasn't sent to her place again, the whole situation could blow over.
The next day the teacher called on him again, "Midoriya, thank you for delivering the packets. But we must ask you for another favor, since you and Toga are neighbors we need you to try and convince her to attend school."
Oh boy.
No, no, this was a good thing, he couldn't leave things as they are, he needed to apologize for what happened the day before. But how could he face her? Maybe bringing Katsuki with him would make things easier.
After school, Izuku asked Katsuki to accompany him, "No way, that's your neighbor not mine, I ain't gotta deal with that problem! Besides I gotta get home anyways to catch up on my chores, I've been hanging out at your place too much lately and the old hag is nagging me about it!" The 'old hag' being his mother. "Besides, what's the problem? You were with her for like an hour yesterday."
He was right, Izuku realized, he was thinking too much about the situation.
They parted ways, Izuku moving even more rigidly than the day before, eventually he made it to the girl's apartment. Girl, a really cute girl, he realized. He managed a conversation because she hid her face for most of their meeting. Now what? Would he be able to keep up the false confidence now that he knew what she looked like? Now that he was completely enamored. Now that the image of her blushing face kept popping up in his mind over and over-
The door swung open, Izuku was completely startled out of his daydream. "Oh! Toga!" She was standing there, in the same clothes as yesterday, her hoodie on like before.
Timidly she spoke, "You were standing out here for five minutes."
He was? "Oh, um, h-hey… About yesterday…I just want to say I'm really sorry about," What was he apologizing about again? The part where he ran out or the whole 'you're beautiful' thing that definitely made him sound creepy.
The girl shook her head, "It's fine, none of it was your fault, it was mine." She fidgeted with herself, "Did you mean what you said?"
"Uh, w-what?!"
"Nothing, nevermind, would you like to come in?"
"Um, it's fine really, I should get going."
"I still need some help with my studies, if you don't mind…"
Izuku was conflicted, he wanted to help whenever he could, but he wasn't sure he could be alone with the girl now that he knew how pretty she was. "I don't know…"
The girl removed her hood, "Please." She pouted.
'Crap! Is she doing that on purpose?!' "Uh-uhhh…How about we study at my place?!" He didn't want to subject his innocent neighbor to Tohru's 'eccentricity', but he didn't think he could be alone with her without making a fool of himself again.
His apartment door swung open, Tohru poked her head out, "Oh! Izuku, will we be having a guest-" Tohru looked at their neighbor, she noticed the blonde hair, slitted eyes, and some fangs poking slightly from her parted mouth. "Izuku, I don't think I can encourage you to divulge in any sort of Oedipus complex."
"Wha-! That's not what this- She's not- You're not even-!" Izuku stammered, his face beet red. He turned to his neighbor, "You know what?! Let's study at your place!"
Tohru watched the both of them enter the apartment. She shrugged her shoulders, "Well, whatever makes him happy."
They sat in the living room, "Sorry about that, Tohru can be a bit much."
"It's fine, don't worry about it." She giggled.
And now that beautiful sound was all he could focus on as he slowly came to realize he was alone with her again. He needed something to distract him, oh right, "So when do you think you can go to school?"
"Oh, I don't…want to…"
Izuku panicked, "Oh! I'm so sorry! I don't mean to pry into your business."
"No it's fine, it's just," She paused, as if thinking to herself, "I don't think I can go there now that I'm behind, if you can help me finish studying then I can go to school."
Izuku smiled, "Of course!" He was always happy to help, maybe that would distract him from his growing crush, probably. Hopefully. "We're only a month into school, I think we can get you caught up by the end of the week. I'll be happy to come here everyday after school until we're done if you'd like."
"You would? Thank you, I would love that! I'll make some tea!" She smiled, showing her fangs.
Izuku's heart skipped a beat, 'No, don't think about it. I just have to make it to the end of the week.'
The next few days he made sure to visit after school to have their study sessions. They had idle conversation, the both of them were slowly getting used to talking with the other without stuttering. The topics of conversation were never intrusive, mostly hobbies or interests. They always had tea when they took their breaks, she always took her pills with them, but Izuku noticed she had been taking less of them as the week went by. Izuku had tried inviting her over for dinner, but she always refused, she didn't want to be around other people.
Izuku blushed at that thought, what did that mean if she always wanted his company but no one else's?
Finally Friday came, "And that's it! You're all caught up! You should be all set for school on monday." Izuku said, his promise fulfilled, it felt great!
"Thank you for all your help…" Himiko said with gratitude, but she didn't smile.
"Is something wrong?" Izuku asked worriedly.
"No! I mean…yes? It's just that… I've had fun these past few days studying with you. Now that we're done does that mean we can't hang out like this anymore?"
Izuku shook his head, "No, of course not! I love hanging out with you too. This doesn't have to end, we can still study together. It doesn't have to be a study session, we can do whatever!" 'Damnit Izuku, don't make it weird!'
Himiko didn't mind, "Yes I'd love that! I don't want it to end either! I want this to last forever!"
Izuku smiled, "I'd like that."
Himiko smiled, showing her fangs, her permanent blush reddening, "I'm glad to hear! I'll go get the tea!"
Izuku was trying to control his beating heart after a smile like that. She brought the tea, Izuku took a sip, then drank half the cup, "Mmm! This tastes different, did you put anything different in it?"
"Roofies."
Izuku's head slammed onto the table, blacking out.
OOOOO
The first time Izuku woke up constricted was when Tohru had sleepwalked into his room and cuddled up next to him, wrapping him with her tail like a boa. He always managed to wrestle out of her hold to start his mornings, this wouldn't be any different. He was still half asleep when he noticed he was still struggling to free himself, finally he groggily opened his eyes and realized he was tied up with some rope and not his maid's tail. 'Wait, wha-? Why am I tied up?'
He was struggling to remember what had happened, a vague memory of a girl entered his mind. He began to panic, "Toga?! Where are you?!"
He heard her giggling but couldn't see her. He was lying on the sofa, his sight felt limited, adding to his anxiety. Finally she appeared in front of him.
Himiko was smiling, "You're awake already?!" She didn't sound mad, only amused. "I guess that's fine, we can spend the rest of the night together!"
Izuku stopped struggling, 'Okay…starting to put two and two together.' "Why are you doing this?"
"You promised, didn't you! You said we can always be together because you loved me!"
"Pretty sure I didn't word it like that!" Izuku started struggling again.
"Oh no! Did I make the wrong assumption?" She started to pout cutely like she had before, "But you called me beautiful, were you lying?"
"That's- I wasn't thinking-! I mean of course you- I mean-! Can't we talk this out?!"
"What's there to talk about?" She got on top of him, straddling on his lap, "We can just stay here and enjoy each other's company!"
He sighed, "I didn't want to do this but, Tohru!"
The living room wall behind them tore down, Tohru walked in frantically, "Izuku?! Is something wrong-!" She stopped when she saw the two of them on the sofa, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt! I thought I heard my name, I'll just…go…" She started walking out.
Izuku panicked, "Wait Tohru! This isn't-!"
Tohru interrupted him, "No it's fine, I understand, you're a growing boy." She gave him one last look, her face was stoic but she gave him a subtle yet enthusiastic thumbs up. She left and fixed the wall behind her.
Himiko giggled excitedly, "Perfect! I have the mother's approval!"
Izuku deflated, 'All right, it looks like I'm on my own.'
"Now that we're alone, what do you want to do?" She gave an alluring smile.
Izuku chuckled nervously, "You want to play Uno real quick, you know, for the rest of the night?"
Himiko had other ideas, she started to pepper his face with kisses. In between she said, "I don't have Uno."
Izuku passed out.
He woke up that Saturday morning still tied up, 'What happened? Oh that's right I've been kidnapped.' It was easier to remember but he still refused to believe she meant any harm. She was a lost and confused girl, she must have been sent here to live on her own for a reason. He didn't want to intrude but he knew it was what a hero should do. He was going to help her through her troubles because it's the right thing to do, and not because of any bias.
Himiko walked out of the bathroom, she was wearing shorts and a tank top, drying her hair with a towel. "Oh you're awake."
No bias whatsoever.
After an awkward breakfast where he was once again being fed, but this time by a different blonde, he decided to strike up conversation for any sort of clue to the reason for her crazy actions. 'Probably best not to use the word crazy.'
"So, Toga…You said you lived alone right? Your parents must visit pretty often to check up on you. It would be pretty awkward to explain what's going on here."
"What is going on here? What are we exactly?"
"Not what I meant! I mean, it'd be pretty boring hanging out here all the time, wouldn't you want to go out with your friends?"
"I don't have any friends, not anymore…Not that that matters! I have you now!"
Izuku felt sympathy for that, "You know, I didn't have friends either, or at all really. I only had one friend when I was four and he even left me…"
That was news to her, they never talked about their pasts before. Himiko was avoiding hers for a reason but now she was finding out Izuku was avoiding his too. "Why? What happened?"
Izuku took a breath, "I was diagnosed as quirkless."
Izuku didn't know what compelled him to burden the girl with his backstory, but he figured he'd share first if he wanted to pry in any of her business. Besides, he could probably get sympathy points with this, that was definitely important whenever you're kidnapped. He spared her any specific details, but still mentioned the abuse and isolation. By the end of it the girl was hugging him, close to tears. Izuku tried to ignore how much he enjoyed the touch, the girl was resting her head on his shoulder, Izuku tried not to lean in.
He didn't have much to say, but most of the day passed by anyway because he kept having to pause to reassure her. That's how their day was spent, sitting next to each other awkwardly. Izuku's arms were getting tired from the rope…
Himiko sobbed, "It's just so awful you had to go through all that."
"It's fine, I got my best friend back, after I punched him in the face…" He felt somewhat guilty for what he was about to ask. "Hey, I've been tied up for a day, my arms are getting tired. Can you untie me now?"
Himiko wiped her tears, "How do I know you won't run away?"
"What?! Of course I won't run away!" Izuku said, as if offended. "I just wanted to…hug you…I really need a hug…"
Himiko eyed him carefully, and she left to grab something from the kitchen. She came back with a knife.
Oh boy. What did he say this time?
Carefully she cut the rope.
Slowly he got up, stretching every limb, he heard some bones cracking. He turned towards Himiko, she stared at him with a predatory gaze, as if daring him to do something. But what would he do? Run away? He didn't think she would agree to untie him in the first place. Anxiously, he sat back down.
The girl smiled, satisfied, then she scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around him. Not knowing what else to do, Izuku hugged back. He said, "Thanks…I really needed this…"
"Your life must've been so hard."
"It's gotten better, at least. Like I said, I got my friend back, and I met Tohru."
"The dragon from another world?"
"Yeah, her." 'Why did I mention that part to her?' "And now I have you." 'Why did I say that to her?!'
"You want someone like me as your friend? But you have the other two."
Izuku chortled, "You can never have too many friends. My life has gotten better because of them, because they helped me get better. Now I want to help you."
"You want to help me? But you barely know me."
"Well that can change right."
The girl gave him a look.
Izuku said, "If you want!"
Now it was Izuku's turn to be burdened with someone else's backstory. He was given the story of a young girl pressured by society to be normal. Who's own idea of normal would only drive away other people and scare her parents. She said her quirk was too villainous to show to others, that she had to suppress the cravings it came with. Because her quirk required her to drink blood to activate it. Izuku quickly concluded that her behavior was a result of her suppressing her nature, but decided not to say.
If he brought it up would he also have to encourage her blood cravings? Whatever incident that got her kicked out of her home was probably violent in nature. Izuku could only comfort the girl in his arms by hugging her closer.
Whatever solution he could come up with would have to be developed by future Izuku.
The first time Izuku woke up being cuddled like a teddy bear was when Tohru had purposefully snuck into his room to sleep next to him. He could never wrestle out of her grasp when this happened. This time was similar, except with a different blonde and Izuku was hugging back. He woke up to realize he was sleeping on the couch with Himiko in his arms.
With a jolt, and a heart attack, Izuku shot up wide awake. Of course this woke up Himiko.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
"No! Nothing wrong!" Izuku said, nervously.
Himiko misunderstood his reason for being nervous, "Are you…not comfortable around me anymore?"
Izuku, of course, felt guilty, "What? No, of course not! Why would you think that?" He remembered the conversation from last night. If she kidnapped him does that mean she was having a hard time controlling her urges? Can he say he was comfortable around her if he was afraid of her having a violent episode? Did she stop taking her pills because they no longer helped?
Help.
That's right, he's here to help, he was determined to.
Izuku said, "What happens when you drink blood? Like, does it make you feel better?"
Himiko was surprised by the question, "My…my head clears up, then I'm no longer hungry. I think…I'm sorry it's been a while…"
'Hungry? Right of course it's a craving, denying her blood would mean starving her!' "Did you not drink blood often enough? How much would you need to function-"
"No! I can't drink blood! My parents said it's not normal!" She was shaking.
'Dammit I was right! Her parents are at fault!' "Himiko, listen, your cravings are normal, they're a part of your quirk."
"But my quirk is evil!"
"No it's not, there's no such thing! Your quirk is amazing!" He was reminded of her fangs, 'Can't believe I'm saying this, but,' "Himiko, please drink my blood!"
"What?!" She looked at him, desperately wanting to indulge herself, but she was afraid of hurting him. "Why would you say that? Why would you go so far to help? I have an ugly quirk! I'm not normal! I'm a monster that drinks blood!"
Izuku couldn't take it and hugged the girl, silencing her. "Of course I want to help, you're my friend, there's nothing wrong with who you are."
"I don't believe you…there must be something else, another reason…"
'Can't believe I'm saying this, but,' "I can't sit back and watch when such a beautiful girl needs my help!"
Himiko blushed, her face was red, but she hugged back so he must have convinced her. She couldn't wait any longer and lunged at his neck, biting him. Izuku flinched, her fangs pierced but they didn't hurt, her lips were nibbling on him and he was trying not to pass out. Faintly he couldn't help but notice that the sensation was starting to feel good. 'No! Don't think about it, this is about her!' She started drinking like she was dehydrated, she kept drinking and didn't show signs of stopping.
'Oh god. Is she going to bleed me dry?!' Internally he started freaking out, but dared not show it, he needed her to feel secure. He had to trust that she wouldn't cause him hypovolemic shock.
Finally she stopped, she couldn't help but give a satisfied 'Ahh', which Izuku found adorable. He said, "Are you feeling better?"
Her face was still blushing, realizing what she had done. She was afraid she might have hurt him, but noticed he seemed fine, even smiling at her. Himiko said, "Yes, thank you. My head feels…better. At least…the voices stopped."
"Err, what?"
"I'm not hungry anymore, your blood is delicious!" Her face fell, "Oh sorry. That was probably weird to say."
"I don't mind, I'll take it as a compliment (I guess). In fact, I'll give you more from now on…that is, if you want?"
"What?! Really?! Are you sure?!"
"Of course, don't be afraid to ask."
She squealed, lunging at him again, this time crashing her lips onto his.
This time Izuku passed out.
OOOOO
Izuku made it to class and took his seat. Himiko walked with him to school but had to visit their homeroom teacher for a talk. Izuku noticed the empty seat in front of him and realized that it must be her desk. 'Huh, strange coincidence.'
Katsuki walked in and took his seat next to him, he turned to Izuku, "Deku, there you are, I haven't seen you all weekend, where the hell have you been?"
"I was kidnapped."
"What?"
Himiko walked in the classroom and spotted Izuku, making her way towards him she said, "Izuku I don't have a seat, I'll have to sit with you!"
"Actually the desk in front of me-" She sat on his lap.
Katsuki gave a passing glance at them, more interested in his phone, "Who's that?"
Himiko turned towards him, narrowing her eyes, "I'm his girlfriend."
"You are?" Katsuki asked.
"You are?!" Izuku asked.
Classes started and Himiko had to take her seat, much to her annoyance. As classes were held, some of the other students noticed a new girl sitting in the class. She was cute in her uniform, even though she was wearing sweatpants underneath her skirt. Her hair was tied up in two messy buns, only adding to her laid back charm. After the bell for lunch rang she had a couple students crowding around her desk.
"Hey, so what are you doing after school?" Some of the boys asked.
"Do you want to join us for lunch?" Some of the girls asked.
"What's your quirk?" Some insensitive student's asked.
Himiko got up from her chair, giving them a wicked smile, "My quirk? It's called transform, I can shapeshift into whoever when I drink their blood!" She grabbed Izuku by the arm, leading him away, "And I'm spending lunch time with my boyfriend, Izuku!" And with that she was a social outcast, not that she cared. If these idiots don't care about Izuku then she wouldn't bother giving them the time of day.
The students stood around, still in shock. They turned towards Katsuki, who was still sitting there. He noticed the attention was now on him, he clapped his hands once, "Welp, I better get going…"
He followed after the other two, he found them on the school roof.
Izuku said, "Toga, you shouldn't push others away like that-"
She shushed him with a finger to his lips, "Himiko, call me Himiko. That's what you did yesterday."
He did? Oh god, he did. "Hi-Himiko…You'll be shunned by the whole class if you hang out with me…"
"I don't care about that! It's like you said, I have you now! I don't want anything to do with those losers who can't see how great you are. Speaking of which," She turned towards Katsuki, "You, shoo."
"Himiko, that's Kacchan, the friend I told you about."
"I know who he is, I recognize the dumb spiky blonde hair!"
"That's not how I described it… And like I said, we made up."
"Just because he's your friend doesn't mean I have to like him, I wasn't given the chance to punch him in the face, yet."
Katsuki growled, "Excuse me?"
Himiko walked up to him as if challenging him, "You heard me! I don't approve of you as a friend to my Izuku, he only needs me!"
Izuku said, "Himiko, it's not a competition, you two are my friends."
She didn't listen, "I'm the better friend, I've already gotten approval from his guardian, in fact she already invited me to dinner. Have you ever been invited to their home for anything?"
Katsuki harrumphed, "I don't need that lizard's invitation, it's Deku's apartment, he wants me at his place, right Deku?"
"Um, maybe you two should-"
Himiko interrupted, "And what's up with that nickname?! Isn't that an insult?!"
Izuku sighed.
After school the three of them walked to Izuku's home together, Katsuki and Himiko still arguing the whole way. Tohru welcomed them at the door, "Izuku, welcome home! And I see you've brought Toga! …and Katchin…again…great."
Izuku helped Tohru with dinner in the kitchen, meanwhile Katsuki and Himiko were in the living room still bickering.
Himiko gloated, "Like I said, I'm the favored one here!"
"Yeah. Chorogon's opinion doesn't really matter to me."
Izuku called from the kitchen, "Could you two help set the table?"
Himiko shot up from her chair, "Of course! And I bet I could do it better than Bakugou!"
Izuku exhaled, "It's not a competition-"
But Katsuki said, "Alright! It's on!"
Izuku sighed.
Tuesday they decided to have a study group.
"Ha! You're still behind on school aren't you!" Katsuki wanted to rub it in.
Himiko pouted, "Izuku, can you help me with this problem?"
Izuku said, "Oh, of course."
Himiko scooted closer to him, but since they were already sitting next to each other she was practically seated on his lap. Himiko smirked at Katsuki, as if considering this as a win. Katsuki didn't have it in him to point out his distaste in the situation. He did, however, enjoy Tohru's discomfort in restraining herself from clinging to Izuku when he was already receiving attention from Himiko.
Wednesday they were playing games in the living room. Predictably it turned into a competition between Himiko and Katsuki facing off in Hero Smash 5.
Himiko gave a, "Dammit! Go again!"
Surprisingly, to Izuku, they were pretty equal in skill and were tied in wins. Himiko was frustrated with the score, every time she put effort into winning one round she would only lose the next round. Katsuki was just happy to play against someone who didn't pick All Might.
Thursday their lunch was spent on the school roof again.
Himiko was trying to feed Izuku much to his embarrassment. Katsuki, again, didn't want to voice his distaste.
The door to the school roof opened. A student Izuku and Himiko didn't recognize showed up. The student flushed as if being caught doing something bad.
Katsuki growled out, "Oh, it's you."
Leslie quickly composed herself, "Bakugou…"
"What are you doing up here?"
"Uh…just, practicing." She said, the lizard on her shoulder started chirping.
Izuku immediately got up, "Woah! Is that a sentient shadow quirk?! I've heard of them, but never thought I would see one up close! This is such a rare opportunity!"
"Oh, Uh…" Leslie didn't know how to respond to the boy's enthusiasm.
Katsuki didn't have the heart to tell Izuku that the lizard wasn't a quirk. Instead he let Leslie get bombarded with questions.
Leslie took a look at the setting, Katsuki was still hanging out with Izuku, but now there was a third person. She looked at the girl who was giving her a jealous look, 'Hmm, another friend of his? I feel like I've seen her from somewhere before…'
Friday they made their way to the arcade after school.
Izuku sighed, "Guys, please don't tell me you're going to compete against each other with every game in the arcade-"
Himiko said, "Alright, time to play every game in the arcade and see who has the most wins!"
"You're on!" Katsuki said.
"And then after Izuku has to win me a prize from the claw machine!"
"Uh…okay, I guess."
Izuku wanted to sigh again, but he figured the other two were at least getting along now. Maybe they were becoming friends?
That Saturday they were all taken to the training field by Tohru at Himiko's request. Himiko and Katsuki were facing each other, Izuku and Tohru were off to the side watching them.
"Wait, what's going on?" Izuku asked.
Himiko pointed at Katsuki, "We're finally settling this! You and me are fighting right now!"
Katsuki snarled, "You're going down!"
Izuku sighed this time. Maybe he was reading too much into this. Good friends fight right? Tohru and Elma love to roughhouse, he and Katsuki punched each other bloody that one time…
He turned to Tohru, "Should we be stopping this?"
Tohru dismissed his worries, "No, this has been a long time coming."
It has?
Himiko said, "Don't think that just because Izuku has forgiven you for all your crap it means you can let bygones be bygones. You have to repent for all the times you've hurt him!"
Oh boy, it has.
Izuku called out, "No quirks!"
Unfortunately for Himiko the fight was still very one sided in Katsuki's favor. She lay sprawled on the ground catching her breath.
Izuku ran over to her and gently picked her head up, "Himiko what were you thinking? You were a shut in up until a week ago."
Himiko quickly nestled her head on his lap, "I swear to god, I had this breathing technique where I disappear from sight. You woulda love the skill- you know what, I'll tell you later."
Katsuki walked up to them, "Dammit Toga! Don't think I was pretending to ignore all the crap I gave Izuku. Of course it's still eating me up inside!"
Izuku looked away with guilt, of course they were acting like friends again, but even he knew whatever problems they had from the past were still not resolved. That was going to be an awkward conversation in the future, but hopefully one they can talk out and not have to physically fight over, probably. Hopefully.
"Wait, did you just call Himiko by name?"
Izuku, Himiko, and Tohru were looking at Katsuki with shocked expressions.
Katsuki growled out, "Yeah, yeah. Don't think it's gonna happen often!"
Himiko said, "Well don't think this makes us friends! Action speaks louder than words you know."
"Beating you didn't count?"
"I meant, be nicer to Izuku!"
Izuku once again sighed, maybe they were becoming friends now?
That monday, Katsuki was secretly called into an empty classroom by Leslie after school.
Katsuki said, "What is this, a confession?"
"Don't even joke about that!" Leslie screamed, Sparky chirped.
"What do you want from me this time?" Katsuki growled.
"I see you've made another friend, Toga was it?"
"Yeah, not really a friend…She's Deku's girl if that was what you were asking, so your window to talk to him is gone."
"Dammit there is no confession!" The lizard chirped again. "You're right Sparky, gotta stay on track." Her finger lit up, the lizard quickly lapped it up.
"I see you've been training, it's almost as bright as E.T.'s."
"Yea- wha-? Um, yeah. Unfortunately all the training is making me too exhausted for my magic studies. I was hoping you would reconsider my earlier proposal for a team up."
"I thought I told you to forget about that!" Katsuki snarled.
"No, this time I'd like to sweeten the deal." She threw a newspaper on a desk.
Katsuki read the headline, "Foundation up in flames for defending use of a femur breaker…"
"Not the headline! Here." She pointed to a small article.
"Crazed middle schooler attacks a classmate, leaving a bloody crime scene…" 'Wait…don't tell me.'
Leslie continued, "No pictures, no names or a location. The whole crime scene was covered up, all evidence swept under a rug. Except for this online news article published by an ambitious journalist." She held up her phone, showing an article with a blurry photo of a school girl with familiar looking feral eyes.
'Dammit, does Deku know about this?'
"Himiko, could you not wave the knife around like that?"
"Why? What's wrong?"
'Dammit, of course he knows…'
Leslie said, "There's more evidence, all pointing to Toga. Her parents used their money and influence to cover it up. The school knows about it, in fact this dump was the only school in Japan to agree to enroll her. As long as she agrees to be held back a year, no violent episodes, and no controversy."
"Controversy?"
Leslie nodded, "As long as nobody finds out about this she's good, if word got around this school could end up getting caught up in the scandal with her. If you help me with training my quirk I will give you all the evidence I've piled up."
"You know if you put as much effort into your training as you did with all this-"
"Actually this takes about five minutes if you know where to look. With this you can get rid of Toga."
"Why would I want that?"
"You know, because she stole all of Midoriya's attention away from you. You two are like pals now or whatever. Those two dating is the first step to you getting left behind by Midoriya-"
"Dammit! That's not gonna happen!"
"Oh please, like you haven't noticed. He's not going to want you around if you and Toga can't get along-"
Katsuki snarled, "No, not that! I meant I have no use for all that evidence, I'm not throwing her under the bus! If she's going to be around Deku then I'll have to learn to tolerate her."
Leslie narrowed her eyes, "Oh? You two are friends now, is that it? Then I guess this is no longer a deal negotiation, it's blackmail."
"Wait, what?" Katsuki's eyes widened.
"You heard me! Help me with my quirk or both Midoriya and Toga will get kicked out of the school."
Katsuki sighed, "Dammit, fine. But I can't help you directly, I have to help Deku with training Toga."
"What the hell! Are you serious?! After all that you still won't-" Her lizard started chirping again. "Hmm, I guess you're right Sparky. Besides the quirk training and magic studies I'm still behind on school work, so…"
Katsuki leered.
He finally left the classroom after what felt like forever, at the end of the hallway stood Himiko. She was smirking.
"Hey Kacchan!"
"Dammit, you heard the whole thing didn't you?" Katsuki complained, "And don't call me that!"
"You know, I may not like you-"
"Same."
"But if you're willing to tolerate me then I guess I'll have to learn to do the same, for Izuku's sake." She smiled smugly, "Friend."
Katsuki growled, his eye twitched, "Just fucking call me Kacchan."
"Yay! Alright let's get out of here!"
Izuku waited at the front of the school with Tohru who had opened a portal for them. He spotted Katsuki and Himiko walking towards him.
Himiko called out, "Hey Izuku! I found Kacchan!"
Izuku smiled, it looked like they were finally getting along.
Tohru gestured towards the portal, "Alright, let's go, I want to get started on dinner early today. I bought some more kraken!"
"Please tell me it's dead this time."
Himiko said, "Let's start our study group again today."
Katsuki responded, "All right, sounds good, I've got some extra homework to do anyway."
Author's note: The start of the story suggests this chapter starts immediately after the last one, but some dialogue with Katsuki seems to suggest it was at least a week...
...so...
...What was I talking about again?
Omake
Tasteless
Himiko: Izuku, how did you know about the roofies in your tea? They're supposed to be tasteless and odorless.
Izuku: Himiko, can we not have this conversation at full volume in front of the class?
Unresolved misunderstandings 1
Tohru: Dammit Katchin! I can't believe you just destroyed dinner! This stuff goes for like a million dollars in your planet's money!
Katsuki: …How much is Deku paying you?
Unresolved misunderstandings 2
Tohru: Oh my gosh…I can't believe Izuku accidentally called my name while he was with his girlfriend! And I know I just made the situation more awkward for them by showing up like that.
It's a good thing my quick thinking came up with the idea to pretend like I thought I misheard him. I'll just be sure to never bring this up with him to avoid an awkward conversation.
Author's note: The lyrics to the theme song of My babysitter's a vampire say 'She's the girl next door, nice but naughty, a heart that's pure'. For the past eleven years I coulda sworn they said 'hardware store'. I know that doesn't make sense, but I had no idea what the 'nice but naughty' part was so I assumed the hardware stuff woulda fit in like a puzzle piece once I knew what it was.
Another thing I had to look up was the past tense for sleepwalk.
This chapter was a ride to write.
(Damn, that's a good line. That could be my catch phrase or somethin)