Anna Dobinek took a sip from her red Gatorade bottle. Waiting for the two teenagers was rather boring, but then again most military work was "hurrying up and waiting", so nothing too unusual. The hike would have taken her team under a day, and the two were now on mid-day of the second day. The exercise wasn't just for the hike, the pair were expected to bond even more. She wasn't sure she liked the idea that much anymore; Toga was gaining a little more control, and she clearly worked well with Midoriya, but the hero had accepted a bit too readily to take on American intelligence wet work. Anna thought maybe it was just the hormones deciding, but she also considered how the hero had somewhat repaired his relationship with a former bully through sheer stubbornness. She thought his judgement may not be objective if push came to shove.
In the distance she could see two figures approaching. The dark tinted sunglasses shielding her night vision quirked eyes didn't let her see them in full detail yet. "Get the car ready, lovebirds inbound" she told her companion, the agent codenamed Flight Plan. Flight Plan straightened his khaki pants, shook his keys and got to the vehicle. Anna walked into the diner again, bought some more snacks and drinks, and walked to the car to wait for the two hikers. Leaning on the dark sedan, she sipped again on her red Gatorade. Her favourite flavour, it reminded her of her childhood.
"Kept us waiting, huh?" The two teenagers shared a look, a bit sheepish and embarrassed. They were clearly more at ease with each other, so exercise successful, it seems. "We didn't know we were supposed to hurry, Commander Bitchface…" said Toga, smiling mischievously at Midoriya. Anna rolled her eyes at the nickname. It wasn't that bad. "Did you give me a promotion, Toga? I was Sergeant Bitchface before." "Congratulations, ma´am!" the girl beamed at her. Midoriya laughed at her joke, they were actually kinda cute together when they weren't being completely ruthless in the training field.
"Well, you made it back, so you aren't hopeless on land nav. Get on the back seat, you two, we are going back. The first two targets are ready whenever you are, you can have two days of rest and to say good bye, Midoriya. Then the jet is ready for the mission." They got in the car and drove to Midoriya´s hotel. The trip back was uneventful. The two teenagers spoke softly in Japanese, so Anna couldn't keep up with their conversation without effort. She took a short nap, and soon the were close to the city. "Here´s your stop, you two." "I´m staying with Izu-Izu?" "Yeah, your stuff is already in his room." The girl blushed hard. Anna had no idea how a human face could do that, these Japanese kids just blushed like crazy. She reached into the boot of the car for a medium cardboard box and tossed it at Midoriya "Pregnancies affect the mission, kids." She smiled smugly as the kid realized what was in the box and turned into an embarrassed tomato. Toga´s eyes gleamed, and she grabbed into the lad´s arm.
Flight Plan scratched his curly hair and said, "Think these hotheads will work well?" "Yeah, they took everything we threw at them this week like it was nothing. They´ve been through tough shit. They´ll do."
Toshinori Yagi was feeling quite happy, perhaps the happiest he had been in recent years. He felt very much at home in America and was excited to show his second homeland to his new family. He was glad to have found Inko Midoriya. Even if their first meeting had been difficult, with her not wanting Izuku to be in danger, the two had eventually come to become trusted friends, and then something much more intimate. As All Might, he had carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, pushing friends away in fear the attachment could be used to hurt them to get to him. He hadn't realized how wrong he had been, how comforting it was to share his burden with another person. Inko made him feel, in a way, complete. And he was just so proud of Izuku, his boy. His spirit was so strong and kind. He had been very concerned at first with the whole Toga situation but seeing how happy the lad was every day after training, he couldn't help to somewhat approve, if not for the sake of redeeming Toga, at least for Izuku´s happiness.
Still, he hadn't expected both of them to arrive at the hotel at lunchtime. Inko had nearly gotten a heart attack when she saw the former villain latched onto the boy´s arm with a proud look on her face. Inko didn't know the operation her son was taking place in, for security reasons, but both Izuku and Toshinori had assured her it was one he could handle. She knew nothing of Toga being a villain, the media had less information about the League than what they made apparent. But still, it was her little boy being held by some girl!
When Izuku reached them he stuttered, "M-mom, All Might, h-hi!" Inko looked about ready to faint. "T-this is Himiko, Himiko Toga, she´s uh…in my uhhh…team?" Toga shook Inko´s hand and pulled her into a hug. Inko was crying rivers "My boy is growing too fast!" she squealed. It was just like when he had introduced Hatsume, and his team. But Izuku hadn't exchanged glances like that with his other team mates!
After a few minutes of a motherly hug, Toga separated and greeted All Might excitedly "I always told Izu-Izu that he had the best dad!". Toshinori felt rather proud in the moment. Inko was shocked by the nickname "Izu-Izu". It was going to take some getting used to.
The two teenagers joined them in the hotel restaurant, buffet styled so they could get a lot of food after the two-day exercise. Both returned with plates full of all sorts of food, and Izuku tried to get Toga to improve her tableside manners to little avail. At least she wasn't just using her hands!
After the amount of food made them drowsy and Toga had started nodding off in her seat, Inko said "You two look quite tired…Izuku, why don't you take Toga to her room, so she can rest? You too look really tired, dear." "Ok mom! See you!" This time Toga didn't grab Izuku´s arm but sneaked her hand to his while she thought they were out of sight. Izuku held her hand confidently.
When they were gone, Inko looked at Toshinori with concern "Is that girl the one he has been talking on the phone all year long? And is she the one that Ochako warned us about? The one obsessed with Izuku? What is my son doing, Toshi? Is this like with Katsuki?" All Might sighed and said, "Yes, I´m afraid it is like that, and she is indeed. And Izuku does indeed believe he can bring her to the side of good. The girl is in a very vulnerable state at the moment, trauma has mounted up on the poor child, but with good help, I believe there is hope." "I…I just hope she doesn't end up hurting my son." Toshinori placed his hand on Inko´s shoulder "So do I, so do I."
Himiko Toga had never been happier, at least in the almost six years of life she remembered. She was walking around the most famous theme park in the world with her Izu-Izu. It didn't feel real, but she constantly pinched herself to check she wasn't dreaming it. It was real!
The agents had given Izu-Izu some tickets, to go to any of the four main parks or to any of the smaller ones, and some sort of coupons that allowed them to skip the lines. It was so much fun so far! They had gone to the oldest one, the one where every area was called a kingdom. The rollercoasters, the turkey legs, that quirky little ride where international children sang about the world being small…It was a whole new experience. Izu-Izu had never been here too, because his family had never been exactly wealthy, so it was new for him as well. Toga loved seeing the innocent smile of her hero, just grinning at the decoration, the mascots, the food…With one hand on a jumbo soda and another on Izuku´s, Toga felt like she was a small child, or at least how she supposed a small child would feel in this situation. Why DON'T I remember anything? Is it like a repressed memory or something?
"Himiko, are you alright?" Izu-Izu brought her back to the present. His expression was worried. "Oh, I just got caught in my thoughts, is all." She smiled at him, carefree. "So, are we going to that Space Mountain or what, Izu-Izu?" She didn't wait for an answer and just dragged the hero along to the futuristic section of the park. I should talk with him about how I don't remember anything before, he is really smart, and he will know what to do. But maybe I gotta steal a kiss from him before we get serious and sad and all.
The rollercoaster seriously lived up to its hype, Toga reflected as they sat on a bench nearby. Renovated recently, it captured the essence of what an indoor coaster should be. At least that was Toga´s completely uneducated opinion. Now that I think about my education, it's really rather incomplete. Kurogiri taught me some pretty advanced math stuff, I learned some history and languages last year, I know stuff about sleep, lucid dreams and nightmares, all that stuff about my Quirk and stealth and combat…but I probably suck at writing, like, letters and stuff, at things like philosophy too, I guess. What did Izu-Izu even study? I never bothered to ask about his subjects.
The space mountain was the last attraction they had time for if they still wanted to go see that movie in the "Downtown" park, so Izuku led her to the monorail that connected the parks. Toga didn't wait when they sat down and cuddled up to him, resting her head on her chest and closing her eyes, she was a bit tired from the day and wanted to be awake for the movie.
Toga woke up when she felt a hand softly brushing her hair. It took her an instant to recognize Izuku´s scarred hand, but by that moment she had already reached toward a knife that wasn't there. Izu-Izu looked really startled "I´m sorry, instinct" she said, shrugging "But do continue!". She put her head close to his arms again. Izuku slowly got his hand on her hair again and started softly caressing her scalp. Sooooo gooood…Oh no, I think I´m doing THAT face, the other passengers are gonna stare! But don't stop doing that, I love it! After a few moments she knew they could easily spend like that for the whole journey, but she kinda wanted to return the favour. "Your turn!" Toga grabbed Izuku´s head energetically and placed it on her chest. You like that, huh? Comfortable? Just you wait! I´m going to make your brain melt! She started moving her fingers through the green curls, scratching a bit at the darker haired roots. I love this hair god damnit. It was meant for this. She lingered on a swirl of hair on top of her hero´s head. A quick look at Izuku´s face told her he was enjoying it, he looked completely relaxed.
She gently scratched in concentric circles, massaging his scalp tenderly. His hair was a bit shorter and tidier than when they had met, but it was still such a joy to see. And run her fingers through, apparently. Izuku was pretty much asleep, and their stop was quickly approaching, so Toga had to think fast. You could very easily take his blood right now, look at that vein on his neck. Yummy! Don't you love him anymore? What better statement of love than BECOMING HIM. TAKE HIS FACE, HIS BODY. HIS FAMILY, HIS FRIENDS. It was her own voice, but all…wrong, telling her that. Fuck off, voice inside my head, I changed! Now I really love him! The voice let go and stopped talking. It was getting more aggressive now that she could tell it wasn't her own thought.
The stop was just a few minutes away. She wasn't about to bite Izu-Izu, but she still had to wake him up. Well that's easy, let's do this, Sleeping Beauty style. She grabbed the back of Izuku´s head and held him still as she lowered her lips onto his. It woke him up indeed; his eyes shot open and he almost choked. Toga gave him some space, and then kissed him again. It wasn't exactly like their first kiss in Okinawa, but it was so much what Toga needed right now!
When they separated Toga said with a wink "Next time you steal the kiss, hero." He nodded with determination in his eyes. "And just in time for the stop! Let´s go see that movie!"
The movie was a British drama film about spies, with surprisingly good humour. Both enjoyed it, even if Toga was much more focused on holding Izuku´s hand than the sarcastic comments and witty banter. Izu-Izu looked quite excited about new ideas he had after seeing the film, which he quickly wrote down on a cinema napkin. Ughhh…he´s gonna discuss that with that Hatsume, isn't he? Maybe we could trick Uraraka into killing Hatsume…For the first time I kinda agree with you, fucking annoying voice in my head, though living in my Izu-Izu´s friendzone in enough punishment for now!
Izu-Izu called for the agents on his phone to get picked up. I guess we save money on a cab. Today it was the agent with the extra fingers and the Quirkless Brit on the car. Izuku quickly started asking them stuff, and it turned out the extra fingers guy was a big fan of the spy movie they had just seen. The British guy argued that it was completely unrealistic, and that as an actual agent he knew. Toga tuned it all out, she was much more excited by the prospect of getting room service with Izu-Izu on the room they shared. The Agency was seriously her guardian angel, putting them in the same room was a stroke of genius. Or maybe we could smuggle a whole pizza from the buffet? This mouse hoodie can survive a little grease in the pockets!
They didn't see All Might´s skeletal form around or Izu-Izu´s mom either at the hotel, maybe they were having dinner somewhere fancy? The pair went straight to the restaurant area, Izuku had like the idea of bringing food to the room and had asked for some disposable containers at the hotel kitchens. Toga was still amazed at the food variety available, it was easily the most diverse selection she had ever seen. And after a time on prison food, a year traveling around and living on whatever she could afford, steal or cook when possible, and her entire life living on low quality Japanese food, she was delighted with new options. Shrimps, all sorts of pasta, steak, actual tacos…Toga grabbed a bit of everything that grabbed her attention in the containers Izuku had acquired, and they took their food to the room. Apparently, it had been the Agency´s plan all along to have them share a room, and Toga again counted her blessings. I may have a kill switch on my ankle, but they put us together! Too bad there´s two beds! Toga had been respectful of Izuku´s personal space, after suggesting they sleep on the same bed made him faint, his nose bleeding. I can wait to get closer, precious Izu-Izu, I could probably outwait a prison sentence for you!
They sat down on Izuku´s bed and opened their meals. Izuku had grabbed some barbeque ribs that he had absolutely loved "Its like Katsudon, but also not! They are soooo tasty!", a slice of vegetarian pizza, a large portion of salad, a chicken wrap and small bowl of grapes as desert. They barely spoke as they ate, concentrating on the new flavours mostly. Toga looked up as Izu-Izu brought his hand to her cheek "You, errr…have some sauce there". He gave her a shy smile as he wiped off the little smear of tomato sauce from the cold cuts pizza she was eating. That was smooth, goddamn. Toga blushed and gave him a toothy smile in return. After their comfortable dinner, all the walking of the day and the drowsiness from the amount of food caught up to them and they decided to sleep. Very reluctantly, Toga got to her side of the room. She was glad the agents had returned most of her possessions (except for her weapons), so she could show off her Deku t-shirt instead of the totally un-cute prison uniform! Toga threw off her new hoody, bought the same day at the park, her socks and the jeans they had given her. Izu-Izu quickly looked away, flustered. Come on, I know you like my legs, what´s wrong with staring a bit?
With her Deku shirt on, she said "You turn around now! Do you like it?" Izuku was quite surprised to see her wearing his merchandise, it seemed. And maybe a bit proud at being recognized as a famous hero. "I didn't even know they made Deku t-shirts…" "It's the first edition, I pre-ordered it the moment they were announced!" Suddenly flustered, Izuku looked away, stammering while trying to excuse himself to wash his teeth or something. Oh, he noticed there´s nothing underneath the shirt, nice! Izuku changed too, to an old t-shirt with kanji saying, "red sports shoes" and boxers. Toga had just enough restraint not to jump him then and there, but not enough to not ogle at him. Panicking a bit at the attention, the hero turned off the lights of the room. Toga sighed in defeat. "Good night, Himiko" Izuku said softly. "Sweet dreams, Izu-Izu." Toga listened as Izuku´s breathing became regular and deep as he fell asleep. The sound was very, very calming.