Chapter 5

A shabby looking apartment complex with some bars on the windows, walls smeared with some graffiti stood on an equally shabby looking street filled with garbage. Men of questionable intent stood on the corner with their features obscured by hoods or hats, the alleyways were filled with garbage, graffiti smeared some of the walls and there was a noticeable gloom about the place.

Despite all this Himiko Toga was in a good mood. She didn't know exactly when it started happening or even why it did but she could honestly say she was in as good a mood as she had ever been in a long, long time. The cause of this? As it is with most young pre-teen girls, it had to do with a boy.

A timid, strong-willed, weak, strong, nerdy and adorkable boy by the name of Izuku Midoriya.

'Could this be what love feels like?' her cheeks burned at the thought and she could feel the temperature through her palms.

It made her giddy with anticipation to see him today. So much so that she was tempted to sneak inside the school and give him a surprise visit.

She shook her head at that 'no, none of that. Izuku isn't that type of boy'

He wasn't like her old boyfriends and he definitely wasn't like him. Yet at the same time she found herself drawn to him even though not much blood has been spilt.

Now she's convinced 'it has to be love!'

With that thought in mind she happily skipped along.

\

'Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?' his eyes shifted to the clock 'oh it's about that time'

About that time for him to go about his training and with…Himiko. He gulped at that, there was no doubt Himiko Toga has been a great help this past year and even though she has her quirks (not that he'd figured out her actual Quirk) he could tentatively say that she was a friend. A very bubbly, and oddly cute friend whom has wormed her way into that position through sheer persistence.

And the fact that he still hasn't gotten over his slight stuttering problem with her. Which brings him to his latest dilemma with his sorta-friend. Lately it feels like the dynamic in their relationship has changed and for the life of him he couldn't figure out when, how or why. He no doubt realized he's all but dropped his guard around her and it's thanks to in part by Himiko herself.

Somehow, some time during their yearlong reluctant acquaintanceship (on his part) turned friendship she changed. And by the gods he can't pinpoint when she did, how she did it and for what reason. Izuku shouldn't have really thought of it as much as he did but damn did it get to him. Someone who has been analyzing those around him for so long yet missed a change in someone who has been arguably the closest to him since his mother.

What the heck has he been looking at all this time!

'Why am I thinking about this anyway?' he asked himself.

Then he realized why.

Yesterday by pure coincidence his mother met them while they were walking together from the half-way-mark store. Needless to say the ensuing conversation was the most embarrassingly awkward and fearful he'd ever had with his mother. Now she (at least) expects Himiko to be his girlfriend at some point if she doesn't already think that. Izuku was half afraid that his mother would get the same vibe he did when he first met her or she'd showed one of her odd quirks.

To his surprise nothing of the sort happened and that's when he truly noticed the change. It would have been all good for the conversation to have been left off at that point but his mother was so impressed by her that she invited her to dinner. And that's why he's been thinking of his girlfriend-'girl-friend, friend who happens to be a girl! Aw now she's got me thinking about it'

He never pegged his mother for the teasing type but she shattered that preconception when she milked it with the insinuation when he went home. It was even more surprising because he'd never actually thought of Himiko that way since she…slashed his cheek with a box cutter.

Yeah he's not going to open that can of worms after the epiphany he just had.

\

A month into his hand to hand combat training with Himiko and Izuku found that despite his great power and strategic thinking, more times than not Himiko would beat him, sometimes literally. The first time she had him in a sleeper, another time she wrapped her legs around his neck and threatened to strangle him.

That was an experience

Of course she never actually pulled through but the fact remains that he was still caught unawares and if it were a villain then 9 times out of ten he would be dead. It also didn't help that Himiko was horribly blunt in the ways she could've ended him and not to mention graphic details that raised a lot of questions he was frankly too scared to ask for some time.

When he eventually did ask how she knew all this, she said her family hired an ex-veteran soldier to teach her self-defense. Apparently the man was dedicated to his job. She also mentioned that he might have been off his medication and that he held some very interesting insights into the art of lethal.

Izuku decided not to pry into her life any further.

Either way he decided that a change in regiment was required as he'll need to have combat training down to not be helpless in a close range battle. As his frequent spars with Himiko showed, his powers only work for mid to long range fights.

He knew he'd have to change that soon and changed it he did.

\

Some days Himiko regretted opening Izuku's eyes to his inadequacies in combat situations. Nowadays she saw less of his presence as he devoted the time they would spend at the seaside park (now almost devoid of all garbage) to learn martial arts, something she would've been happy to teach, if she actually knew how to teach properly.

Luckily today was not to be one of those days as she had a surprise in store for him, she smiled as the door opened.

"Himiko-san?"

"Hello Mrs. Midoriya" her smile was so brittle that the younger girl could see it from a mile away "I'm sorry is this a bad time?"

"Well no I just wasn't expecting you, um-"

"It's alright Mrs. Midoriya" a new voice spoke up and she made way for a tall man in a coat "I already said what I came to say"

"Thank you detective"

Himiko maintained her expression as the detective gave her a nod, which she returned, and head to the park car she saw across the street.

"Himiko-san" that got her attention "please come in" the young girl obliged "I'm sorry about that, I wasn't expecting company so soon" the woman frantically spoke "would you like some tea?"

"Yes thank you" she said politely.

As Inko scrambled for the kitchen Himiko took the chance to look around the home. It was average size if not a bit small but enough to hold mother and son. She'd seen this place before but always from afar and now that she was in it, she couldn't help but feel at home. Her gaze then swept to the woman of the house.

Despite being of age she had a pretty face with a slim figure and straight long dark green hair (no doubt where Izuku got it) tied into a small ponytail with the rest just reaching above her shoulder. From the way how she was operating right now Himiko could also tell where Izuku got his worry-wart nature from.

Himiko took a sip of tea "it's delicious, thank you Mrs. Midoriya" she said honestly.

The woman managed a smile at the compliment "you are welcome" her eyes then drifted to the clock.

It wouldn't have seemed like much except that was the twelfth time in 6 minutes she did that and so Himiko was compelled to ask "did I come at a bad time?"

"Hm? No, heavens no it's just that…" she trailed off.

"Did it have something to do with that man?" she 'guessed'

At this Inko sighed and placed the tea down "no, rather it was what he had to say" she looked to the clock again.

"What did he say?"

Inko drummed her fingers against the teacup she held for a moment before speaking "a few months ago Izuku was jogging home late one night when he witnessed a girl being assaulted…"

\

"That's all for today Izuku" spoke an elderly man with short grey hair and a thick grey mustache wearing a black shirt with grey pants

Izuku clad in a training gi stopped his kata and bowed towards the man "thank you Shishou" he bowed.

"I will be seeing you again tomorrow."

"Yes!"

The elderly man chuckled his mustache quivering at the gesture. Izuku meanwhile went to change out of his gi. Afterwards he said farewell to the deceptively frail looking elderly man whom he no doubt knew is a master martial artist of the highest caliber. How was he so sure of this? Because Izuku knew that in his prime the man used to be a hero and not just any hero but the hero formerly known as Silver Fang.

At a time where Quirks were still relatively new to the world he along with a handful of individuals were the first to be given the title of Heroes in Japan. At the time tensions were high between normal people and the super powered community. With a rise in crime and early villains making a power grab using their Quirks, some of them were even bold enough to try taking over countries via a coup.

The truth is Izuku along with everyone who ever called themselves heroes or hell most average Quirk users owe him a debt of gratitude. He was one of the founding members of the hero Association along with others such as Atomic Samurai, Tornado of Terror and Blast. All of them have now faded into obscurity with the rise of so many other Quirk users.

Izuku didn't like that, those individuals of the first hero Association did more than just stop villains. They gave the public, super powered or not, hope and helped stop the discrimination against the then few Quirked individuals. What they stood for, what they fought for created the foundation for what modern heroes have built on over the decades.

For them to just fade into the annals of history like this was a crime in and of itself. Though its water under the bridge now, he still chastised himself for not recognizing a literal living legend when he walked through the doors of the dusty dojo. Though once he did he promptly fainted and when recovered asked for a lot of things including (but not limited to) his autograph, acceptance into his dojo and a whole lot more.

Back then the few heroes deliberately chose not to wear masks only wearing only sturdy outfits when they fought crime. It was as a way to not only gain the people's trust but to also distance themselves from vigilantes who took the law into their own hands often with violent results.

And it worked, by god did it work, there is not a Hero alive whom you can't gain information on because of it. Did it provide a risk to the individual's families? Yes but there were safeguards put in place, that for the most part keep a heroe's next of kin safe from a deranged villain willing to use them. That is if they aren't meant with resistance as no one is without a quirk.

To the matter at hand, he felt life dealt his shishou (teacher) a bad hand. He is fully aware of the circumstances surrounding Silver Fang's retirement into obscurity and he understood why he chose to not bring himself any attention. At the same time Izuku couldn't bear to see the man like this, wasting away in a dilapidated dojo with not a single student to pass on his teachings to.

Izuku did want to learn a bit of self-defense to not be caught off guard by an enemy who excels in close range combat but he made the decision long ago to become Silver Fang's disciple. Become a master of Silver fang's style that made him, at the time, one of the most formidable fighters in all of Japan and a recognized Hero known across the world at one point.

Of course Izuku knew that what he was trying to undertake was a nigh impossible feat. To divide his time between studying for school, training his Quirk, and learning an entire branch of Martial Arts was simply put beyond him. He would have to give up something in order to gain it and unfortunately that would have to be his Quirk training.

"I could always train my Quirk in Yuuei" he said as he opened the door to his home "I'm home" he called out taking off his shoes.

It was about that time a thought came to Izuku, his mind was so busy thinking about his teacher that he didn't bother to think about what was missing from his now routine walk from the dojo.

"Welcome back Izuku"

"How was your time at the dojo?"

Pause

That was not his mother.

Robotically his body turned so slowly you could hear the squeaks until it was pointed to the kitchen where his mouth dropped in conjunction with his eyes bulging. Inside the kitchen with his mother was Himiko Toga wearing an apron.

This is the type of change he was talking about for Himiko didn't look like the girl he had met before. She was still wearing that black sailor uniform that is a traditional middle school uniform but what really caught him off guard was her hair. It was straight, clean, shoulder length and done in a short ponytail.

'What am I looking at here?' he had to question his eyes.

"Surprise!" the girl yelled

"W-wha…how…why?"

"I wanted to surprise you"

Well she certainly achieved that much "uh…I'm going to go to my room!" he squeaked before running up the stairs.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes" his mother yelled out.

Izuku barely heard it as he slammed his room door, locking it for good measure and began pacing wondering why Himiko just suddenly decided to go to his house, how she even knew his address, why his mother let her in and how long they were even together.

There was a glass shattering effect as he realized that his mother and Himiko Toga were together, alone and unsupervised for an undetermined period of time. And judging by how his mother teased him about her the last time and how Himiko's personality is in the first place then…then…

The following two minutes Izuku spent screaming into his pillow.

\

Later That Night…

A man wearing a blue sneakers, black jeans and black hoodie, sunglasses and baseball cap walked the streets enjoying the sights. All the while he kept mumbling under his breath when his eyes caught someone. She was a dainty thing in a mini dress and blue jean jacket, a decent rack, wide hips and thick hips. Her skin was smooth, creamy and looked oh so juicy that his teeth grinded together.

He had to have her.

It took three hours for her date to be finished, three tedious hours of resisting the urge, three days of watching her flesh being spoilt with contact by her date. But in the end it was all worth it when he finally caught her by herself while she was walking home. It was simple enough to catch her unawares and shove her into her apartment.

What he wasn't prepared for was her Quirk, a sonic scream ripped from her mouth and blasted him into the ceiling where he landed in a crumpled heap on the ground. She has some fight in her, good, he liked when they resisted, it made cutting them down more rewarding. She screamed again but he leapt from his prone position in the air, her scream was enough to deafen and disorient them at close and midrange but she wasn't as powerful as some heroes like say, Present Mic.

Now he was annoying.

His teeth extended into spikes that pierced her leg, cutting her sonic scream into a regular one. The first thing he did after landing was to punch her in the throat causing her choke and grab it. He stood over her and opened his mouth

"Time to claim my prize"

\

It was not the first time tonight that Izuku wondered if he could make a noose out his clothes and hang himself by jumping off the couch.

"And here is Izuku when he thought he might have a Quirk like dear and me" Inko said fondly as she and Himiko shared a picture album.

"That's so cute~" Toga gushed

'Death can't be this busy' he silently thought to himself looking up to the heavens

As she turned the page to see an older triumphant Izuku with his palm glowing with light 'I recognize this'

"Ah and this is when he finally found out how to activate his Quirk at will"

"Uh it's getting kind of late Himiko-san, shouldn't you be going home?"

At this both female's eyes went to the clock and saw that it was close to 9:30 "uh, time sure flies" Himiko whistled as she got up and bowed to the matriarch "thank you for your hospitality"

The move shocked Izuku more than it did his mother who simply waved her off "think nothing of it"

"Well I better get going."

"I'll walk you home" Izuku immediately spoke.

Himiko gave him a puzzled look before noticing his mother and smiled "sure"

As they walked down the street Izuku jumped straight to the chase "why did you come to my house today?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

Izuku frowned "Himiko-san"

"What? I am telling the truth."

He raised an eyebrow "really?"

"…okay fine" she relented "I wanted to talk to your mom."

"Why?"

She looked at him "to get to know you better of course".

He opened and closed his mouth "but why?" he pressed in confusion "I mean there is really not much to know about me."

"Yes there is" she disputed rather forcefully "like why you train every day."

"I already told you-"

"For developing your Quirk so you can be a proper hero" she droned "yeah I know but why are you trying so hard? You never told me that. Why do you think you have to try so hard to become a hero? Why do you do it? What drives you every morning to get up and do drills, develop your Quirk and learn how to fight?" she pressed backing him into a wall where she used her arms to box him in.

"I…I…" he swallowed nervously, now noticing the height difference between them.

Toga didn't seem to care as she continued "you told me you want to go to Yuuei but I'm pretty sure no one else is trying this hard to do it. Just what are you trying to prove Izuku Midoriya?"

Izuku stared, his previous embarrassment forgotten, he stared at her but he wasn't staring at her.

"Look, you made him cry…I-I won't let you hurt him anymore!"

"You playing at hero Deku!? You don't even have a quirk."

He looked down

"Izuku?"

She couldn't see it but his eyes clenched shut

"SHOW YOURSELF DEKU! GET OUT HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!"

"Lights out"

His eye snapped open and he drew in a ragged breath.

"Izuku?"

"Huh?" he looked up, Himiko was no longer close but at some point backed up and with good reason "ah…" spikes of dark had coalesced around him and jutted outwards "I'm sorry" the darkness faded away.

"It's okay" she said a little guiltily "I shouldn't have pried."

"No I…" he paused and looked at his hands "it wasn't always like this you know."

"Hm?"

"My Quirk, it…it didn't come to me as easily as it did everyone else. I never even realized I even had Quirk, no one did so before I found out everyone called me 'Quirkless' or 'Useless Deku' because I was always weak and couldn't do anything right" he chuckled bitterly "actually they still do."

Himiko frowned "Izuku…"

"Kacchan was the one who gave me that name" he interrupted.

"I know him, wasn't he your friend?"

"Yeah, he was" he smiled sadly "we both wanted to be heroes like All Might. We were practically inseparable, then he got his Quirk, I didn't and suddenly he was the center of attention, getting praises and suddenly having a lot more friends. I never really cared much for his Quirk, not really, I admired him way before he ever got his Quirk"

"You admire him?"

"I still do" he chuckled derisively "he always strived to be the best, he never let anyone get in his way and he had a lot of passion, especially towards his goal. I want to be just like All Might but Kat-Kacchan he wanted to 'surpass All Might as a hero.' I think I was the only one he knew (besides mom and his parents) that saw him for more than his flashy Quirk. He was just a boy to me, a friend not some 'wonder boy.' I knew that, he knew that and because I didn't see him as this unbeatable, insurmountable thing he started, I don't know, see me as a threat" he took a long pause as if he was thinking of his next words.

"Yeah" Izuku said nodding as if confirming "I think, he didn't really know how to deal with someone who just thought of him as a normal person so he did what he always did with things that bothered him. He lashed out in the worst ways, he bullied me, belittled me, called me names, anything to make me feel inferior to him and he did it without seemingly any regard for my health."

'Bastard' was the first thing that came to Himiko's mind 'Inko-obaasan told me that they went through a 'rough patch' this is a lot more than just-"

"I guess I shouldn't have expected any better" he continued "it's just like Kacchan to respond physically to anything he thought of as a threat. I didn't get it back then but I had a lot of time to think about it, ever since I moved here. Mom told you about the fight we had that made us move here right?"

"Yeah" she said they had a 'little' fight and she thought it would be best to give them some space. Seeing that Inko was a worry-wart Himiko didn't think much of her decision but now…

"You see at the time I was still developing my Quirk and it affected my brain chemistry. So I was down, sad, angry, agitated and I didn't know why. Then Kacchan being Kacchan started to pick on me and that made me feel even worse so I threw the first punch."

Himiko's eyebrows shot up, no doubt the bastard deserved it but to think Izuku was the one to hit first was…well if she was honest, the thought was very appealing.

"Then he retaliated with his Quirk, so I found the storage shed locked the door and turned off the lights so I could make it an even playing field."

The only reason why Himiko wasn't grinning at the thought right now was how Izuku looked. He was ashamed, devastated and sad at the same time. His sad green eyes devoid of any of his usual cheer made her stomach churn.

"I was telling the truth about why I dedicate every single day to bettering and understanding myself and my Quirk Himiko-san. Because the last time I didn't just lose my senses, my mother's peace of mind and my home, I lost my friend and I have nothing to show for it except this" he lifted his shirt to show her a large burn scar across his torso and pulled it back down when her mouth dropped in a silent gasp.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked."

He raised his hand and she remained silent as he gave her a sad smile "it's alright" he looked around "is this far enough?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll see you tomorrow Himiko"

"…you too Izuku" was all she could say to retreating back.

With her mood now thoroughly down a dejected Himiko Toga walked the streets alone 'and the day started so great too' she thought then stopped.

Izuku had his head down mentally trying to calm his thoughts but to no avail but it was something to be expected especially since he opened the floodgates of emotion he had cut off in pursuit of training. With that thought its going to be a while before he could find something to distract his mind from the emotional torment.

"Izuku!"

"Hm?" he turned and was almost tackeld off his feet but luckily managed to plant his footing as his hands reflexively came up to hold whatever hit him still.

And that something happens to be "H-Himiko- sa-UMPH!"

His shout of surprise was muffled by something soft and when she pulled back Himiko had Cheshire-like grin on her face. At that point Izuku was in a suspension of disbelief so badly that he didn't even realize what happened until she said the ten words that would forever change his current life onwards.

"I like you Izuku, will you go out with me?"

…as far as distractions for the heart go, this is about as good as he'll get.

Meanwhile…

"SHOW YOURSELF DEKU! GET OUT HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!"

He turned to see the boy next to the switch.

"Lights out"

"Gah" he snapped up, his breath came up in pants, sweat dropped down his body and red eyes darted around frantically for a moment before they settled down.

"Shit"

He flopped back down on his bed as the memories of that day resurfaced. The thoughts only caused him to growl in a mixture of anger and annoyance.

"Damn you, fucking Deku"

To Be Continued


Authors Notes: In the immortal words of Doakes from Dexter "SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER!"

Yeah bet you didn't expect a straight up confession now did you? Nope, Himiko is just spontaneous like that and just remember they've known each other for months going on a year now and Himiko is the type to go after what she wants with extreme tolerance. Anyway I think it would be something she would do.

I would also like to say that despite her disposition and I know a lot of you guys would find this surprising but I don't think Himiko Toga is a Yandere. *Gasp* Hold up more specifically she doesn't display the typical tropes associated with a Yandere. She's definitely crazy-no she's actually more disturbed and has a twisted logic especially when it comes to love but a Yandere she is not.

She's not obsessing over Izuku much, clearly cares for her own well being and even thinks of his other potential love interest as her best friend (crazy right?). So aside from being an emotionally unbalanced, psychologically disturbed individual with a blood fetish and twisted outlook on 'love' Himiko does not qualify as Yandere material.

Finally, in regards to the last scene are you confused? After the first chapter you might be thinking along the lines of "Izuku finally grew a pair and beat Katsuki, thus freeing himself from the burden of an abusive friendship" right? And that should be end of their story until Yuuei right?

Nope.

Now I'm not going into Izuku's personality because from the first chapter review you guys have a pretty good idea of it and you already figured that the dark aspect of his Quirk was messing with his head and made him do something uncharacteristic (like punching Katsuki in the teeth) so I guess you should have expected for him to feel guilty about it.

And just to be clear Izuku's guilt stems from the fact that he allowed things to escalate to a brawl, not standing up to Katsuki in the first place (he has to draw a line somewhere). He didn't feel that way at first but hindsight is twenty-twenty and the guilt set in over time.

But enough about Izuku let's talk Katsuki, the boy who had everything Izuku wanted: respect, adoration, a kickass Quirk and most importantly the (over)confidence and drive to strive to be better than the best, that is All Might, something not even Izuku could see himself doing as he believes All Might to be the pinnacle of what a true hero is to be. I'm pretty sure it goes without saying but Katsuki…is an asshole, especially during the first few volumes of the manga.

His treatment of Izuku (and people in general), his piss poor attitude, superiority complex and foul mouth made him a very unlikable character in my eyes. Which makes it a little shocking when I start to actually sympathize with him a little, well maybe sympathize is a strong word, he's still an unrepentant dick or Tsundere if you want to be nice about it.

The point is, I get him and why it took him this long to start to even change. So with that said I'm going to do what I did with Izuku, to Katsuki, I'm going develop his character earlier than the author did in the series. And I'm going to do it in the span of a single chapter. So yeah next chapter is Katsuki-centric.