chapter seven: young blood

"Mama, Papa. Look at the cute birdie! Isn't it so pretty with all the blood?"

Toga Himiko was four years old when her parents first noticed something was off.

"Stop that, Himiko!" her mother had yelled, distraught and disgusted by the sight of her eldest daughter's face smeared in blood with a dead bird in her hands. "What do you think you're doing?!" She had screamed and cried, backing away like Himiko was diseased - like there was something wrong with her. Himiko could only sit there in confusion-why was Mama yelling at her? What did she do wrong?

"Stop making that creepy smile, Himiko! You look like a deviant, covered in blood like that! What will the neighbors think?" That was her father, ever worried about their nosy neighbors with their nosy daughter.

(Himiko didn't like her - she wasn't pretty and she was mean to her.)

Mother and Father were so worried about what others would think, they couldn't even bother with their children. So anxious of being the talk of the town, while their daughter was slowly being lost for her love of the color red.

..

"Why can't you just be normal?! Why can't you act like a normal little girl!"

Toga Himiko was six years old when she was first told to act like someone she wasn't.

Himiko, young and scared and confused, was told that she couldn't be herself. People would be scared, and that wasn't okay. She was to be liked and have many friends and be a polite little girl like she was born to be.

(She didn't want to be.)

(They insisted.)

..

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry to call, but is this the Toga residence?"

Toga Himiko was eight years old when she got her first call home.

"Y- yes it is. Is there- is there something wrong?" Her mother, still in her fear and her face stony. Himiko hidden in the hallway closet, hoping it wasn't about what happened at school, don't let them know what happened-

"Well, Toga-san, I'm sorry to be calling about this, but there's been an…incident on school property that you need to know about." A pause on the other end of the line like the secretary was going to tell a horrible, dirty secret.

Her mother was scared to answer, she knew, and she was scared to hear it.

"…what did Himiko do?"

And Himiko knew her life wouldn't be the same.

(So Himiko put on a mask.)

..

"Toga-chan, it's nice to meet you. My name is Dr. Sano, and I'll be helping with your Quirk. It's called Transformation, correct?"

Toga Himiko was ten years old when she first went to Quirk Counseling.

Nervous, small, and scared out of her mind, she didn't know what to expect. Her parents said counseling would help her, and they only wanted to help her.

("It's for the best, Himiko. Everything we do is for the best.")

So Himiko put on her bravest face, slipped her mask on tight, and she smiled.

("Always smile like the polite, normal little girl you are.")

..

"…He- Himiko-chan-what are you doing to S- Saito-kun?"

Toga Himiko was thirteen years old when the mask broke.

"He's so cute… I want to be just like him, Ren-chan. Don't you think his blood is pretty?!… Suck…suck…" Himiko didn't notice anything wrong. At least, not until the screaming started.

"Himiko-chan! What's happening?! Why're you melting? Why—why are you doing this?!" Her friends, horrified; panicked; scared. Of her.

Through her haze of bloodlust and the pungent smell of copper in the air, Himiko saw them. Frozen in shock, faces ashen their blood, where did it go? and trembling with terror.

They looked like Mama when she found the cat… They looked afraid of her.

The mask slipped, cracked. Himiko stood up and ran. Where, she didn't know, but she wouldn't stop. Box cutter tight in her grasp without her really feeling it and her mouth coated in drying blood, she just had to get away, get away before they looked behind the mask-

…but they'd already seen behind the mask, and Mama would be disappointed. She was always disappointed, and Himiko didn't know what to do anymore. She was tired of acting - all she wanted was to be herself for once. So she would.

The mask shattered, and Himiko kept running.

The sounds of the protest faded into the background behind them as they headed home, Julie's mind wandering to the young boy she saw front and center, holding up a sign saying I AM NOT A VILLAIN! Julie noticed he was on his own and a little worse for wear, but she locked eyes with a man with a rather distinct Lizard-type Mutation. Even without speaking to him, the look in his eyes said he would keep a watch on him in case trouble started.

Crowds have been growing more and more in recent months, becoming less of rallies and more like protests that more often than not ended in a fight. It wasn't the safest, especially with Tenko almost always going with her, but they kept to the back of the crowd and made sure to leave before anyone could throw the first punch. It was dangerous with Pro-Heroes usually attending, along with Hero Commission guards restraining the crowd, and the last thing Julie needed was Tenko's cold case being looked into again.

It had taken years, but finally the cops were no longer on the lookout for Shimura Tenko, ruling him dead or having fled the country.

It helped that Tenko and Dabi both had new birth certificates. It cost her a pretty penny, but she found someone that made IDs for people on the run or looking for a new life, but it was worth it. Didn't hurt to be on guard, though.

Dabi still refused to attend the protests.

She understood why, of course-there was always the possibility of Endeavor showing up at one, either for a speech (unlikely) or to help with damage control. It had taken a while, but Julie figured out why Dabi hated him so much: Dabi was once Todoroki Touya. It all added up, at the time, even if Endeavor only had one child announced to the public - his personal life was under wraps: his blue flames, the white hair for his mother (Himura Rei, out of the picture since Shouto's birth), and the cyan eyes that glowed with a simmering rage. Even with the low possibility of the Number Two Hero making an appearance at the protests (the man wasn't one for fanservice, and it was rare for him to stop and talk to civilians), he had a high rate of showing up only to put a stop to the raging crowds. Sometimes, the fights got ugly, and Endeavor didn't hold back on account of them being civilians - after all, anyone "obstructing justice, no matter what," was considered a Villain to the law. Given Endeavor's high pedestrian casualties, cost in property damage, and overall icy demeanor despite his Hellfire Quirk, the man was trouble inside and out. Most Villains the Hero went up against always had a low chance of making it out alive, paramedics too late to show up to treat the critically injured with flames blocking the roads and causing damage to any buildings unlucky enough to be in the way.

(He was a disgrace to the Hero name, but nobody ever said a word.)

The Commission always had specially hired reporters taking any and all statements from him, making sure to never bring up how taxes are raised every time a taxing battle breaks out, if Julie's theories were correct. Any newscaster brave enough to ask about it were quickly shut down, usually losing their jobs in the process.

Overall, the man made her stomach turn, and he wasn't worthy of being deemed a Hero, much less so high-ranking.

Still, despite his hatred and heritage, Dabi was beginning to calm down over the years, becoming more approachable and smiling more often. Julie was happy to see it, even if he refused school.

School was another new development.

For the past year, Tenko was attending - High School, leaving more time on Julie's hands as Dabi took online courses.

There was hesitancy, of course, but Tenko powered through, attending class and getting decent grades. He wore a variety of face masks to school, and even though he wasn't making any friends, he seemed satisfied with the work (until Heroes were brought into the mix, but that was a story for another time), and Julie had all his teachers' numbers on speed dial in case anything happened. It had taken some work on her part, but her kid was happy, so she didn't mind.

Julie managed to convince the teachers he had a Multi-Tongue Mutation like a certain cartoon alien from the Pre-Quirk Era, so nobody questioned it, and she had a friend make custom gloves for him to wear outside the house. They were a thin but strong material that didn't chafe his hands, and his birth certificate was marked down with a Dust Quirk that "made things dirty if he touched them directly." Not the most creative lie, but it worked. At home, he would wear gloves that only covered his pinky fingers so he could pet Megumi.

Speaking of, the little pup was growing, but Julie was thankful Shiba Inus were never supposed to get super big, and the peach-cream color she loved had darkened a bit as he aged. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't mind.

Her life was going great for the first time in a while, so Julie was happy.

And of course, as she thinks this, the hairs on her arms rise, and her skin prickles with goosebumps. A quick glance to Tenko told her he felt it too.

Now on edge at the sudden tension in the air, Julie grabbed Tenko's gloved hand and pulled him closer to her, cautiously taking a look around and trying to non-discreetly put her hand in her pocket to grab her keys.

Electricity danced in the air and tension weighted on her shoulders, but Julie refused to back down to whoever was hiding in the shadows. She would protect her kid-damn it all.

The tension parted like mist, and they were attacked.

Standing before them was a young girl, who couldn't even be out of middle school yet. Blonde clumps of hair clung to the sides of her face, obscuring the view of her eyes. Brown stains of unidentified fluids marked the girl's face and clothes (a school uniform?), and in her hand she clutched a rusted box cutter.

Tenko immediately stood at attention, grip firm in Julie's hand as he angled himself in front of her, a snarl rumbling in his chest. Alarmed, Julie pulled him back into her before he got any ideas, and watched the girl warily as she meandered towards them, unsteady on her legs.

She was thin and lean but not very tall, almost unassuming in presence if she wasn't, you know, stalking towards them with a sharp object coated in dried blood.

The girl was only a few feet away when she suddenly lashed out, yellow eyes frenzied as she aimed the box cutter at Tenko's arms. Hysterical laughter bubbled from her chest as Tenko yanked off the glove on his free hand, trying to swipe at their offender before she could get a hit in.

Unfortunately, and to her terror, the girl was faster.

Her arm bent in an unnatural way, easily evading Tenko's hand as she zipped past his reach to slice his arm, a long trail of red seeping through his long-sleeved shirt form where the blade broke through his skin.

Tenko hissed in pain as he stumbled back into Julie, the both of them momentarily losing balance as they skidded backwards towards the ground. Fear gripped Julie's bones in a vice-like grip, freezing her up as she clutched Tenko's injured hand desperately, trying to think of some way to escape.

They hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from Julie's lungs as she tried to scramble back up again, but despite Tenko's thin frame he was weighing her down.

Eyes darting everywhere, her emotions lit up her freckles in a pulsing turquoise light, blinding her.

The girl gasped, and then she spoke.

"Oh, you're soooo pretty!~" Her voice was strange, like she was hearing it through a recording. "I want to be just as pretty as you and taste your yummy blood~" The girl paused, but from the way Tenko tensed on top of her, she knew the girl hadn't left.

Managing to haul him off of her, Julie scrambled back with her hand still in his, looking to dart back the way they came to the protest and get help from the Heroes. She hadn't noticed before, but the yells from the protest had increased in volume and anger, and she knew a riot would break out soon if one hadn't already.

Still, it was safer than here.

The mouth of the plaza they had been walking through was only several feet away, with the protest a few more yards to the left, when Julie blinked and the girl was somehow before them again, the white teeth in the girl's feral smile glinting oddly in the sun.

"Don't leave yet, I haven't gotten to be you yet," she chided with a pout, and Julie was too busy panicking about who exactly the girl was to notice the remark.

"You're-" Julie started, only to be cut off when she threw her weapon, "-shit! You're Toga Himiko!" Julie managed to get out of the way in time when Tenko tugged her along.

Toga smiled, but it was small and weary, like she was sad Julie knew who she was.

"I used to be," she murmured, more to herself than them, like it wasn't meant for them to hear.

Tenko hissed out a curse Julie could't discreen when Toga straightened up, smiling that strange smile, only this one was more subdued and hidden.

"I don't want to be Toga Himiko anymore. That act is broken now, and there's no getting it back. Besides...she was a fake. I don't want to be a fake. I want to be me." Her eyes became distressed as her voice wavered, shoulders shaking violently like she was repressing an overdue sob.

Julie stared at the girl in bewilderment, wondering what she could mean. The girl had reportedly killed a kid from her school only days ago, attacking anyone else that came across her path. Only a few others had died after the attacks, but only because the paramedics took too long to respond to the emergency calls.

Everyone has a breaking point, Julie thought, almost in a daze-and then it clicked. What was hers?

Julie didn't have any time to ponder that as sirens wailed in the distance, steadily getting closer as car alarms went off. A loud boom! followed quickly after, and the ground rumbled dangerously.

Toga's eyes widened in panic.

Head whipping around, she searched desperately for her weapon, but when Julie chanced a look behind her, she saw Tenko holding it triumphantly. Julie didn't waste a moment as she turned back to Toga, who was only looking more and more desperate as the sirens got closer.

"I- I can't go back. I don't want to pretend anymore!" she screeched, eyes glazed over as she charged blindly down the plaza, path unsteady as she raced in their general direction.

More out of reflex than anything, Julie stuck her arm out and clotheslined the girl.

Toga fell back with a dull thud, unmoving as voices amplified by megaphones sounded only a few blocks away, in the direction of the protest. A look at Tenko told her the sound was upsetting him, if the way he tensed and his eyes squeezed shut said anything.

So very very lost, Julie made an impulse decision.

She bent down and hauled Toga's unconscious body up over her shoulder and grabbed Tenko's hand tight, then turned and booked it the fuck out of there.

..

Angst, amiright?

Guysssss I'm so pumped to be introducing Himiko she's my fav vamp-impersonator. Y'all ready for this shit?