Chapter 38:

Camie goes through a simp phase. Or maybe just overprotective phase. I don't fucking know.

Few Years Ago...

This was the day for Camie. All she needs to do is tell him how she feels, and it's golden. She had the flowers ready and she just needs to meet Izubro on his way home. It took minutes before she heard Izubro. He was talking to someone. "Oh man, he finally made a friend in school? Sweet!"

She turned the corner to see Izubro and Himiko holding hands and laughing together. They were holding hands. They were laughing together. Holding hands. Laughing together. It only took a moment for Camie to realize what was going on and so she had a split second to revitalize her plan.

"CONGRATULATIONS ON DATING, FAM!" It killed her inside to say that out loud. Smiling hurts right now. They were briefly surprised but Himiko innocently accepted the flowers. That only confirmed Camie's suspicions.

"Thanks, Cam-chan! How did you know he confessed to me earlier?"

"EARLIER?!" Camie was taken aback by how close she was to confessing first. Tears flowed down her cheeks, knowing that it's over for her.

"Whoa, Camie, are you crying?" Izuku got near her face and wiped off her tears. She gently pushed him away, wanting to do it herself.

"I need a moment! It's just," She sniffed loudly while tears fell on her cheeks. She forced herself to smile and faced the two new couples. "I knew this would happen!"

"I'm so happy for you two." She's half lying. She's happy and upset at the same time. "It was so obvious, fam! About time. You know what? Take the flowers and I'll leave you two some time to get all goody up in there!"

She turned around and walked away as fast as she could. It hurts even worse that she lives in the same apartment building the Midoriyas live in. Next to theirs, to be more specific. Since her parents were busy abroad and only comes back during holidays, she doesn't have anyone to talk about it.

Well, there is one other person.

"Camie? You in there?" Inko Midoriya, Izuku's mother, knocked on her door. She was a professional boxer, currently reigning as a champion. Camie got up from her couch after spending five hours playing Mario Cart without any breaks. It's been five months since Himiko and Izuku started dating and she still hasn't gotten over it no matter how hard she tried.

"Wait up!" She said while walking over to the door. She noticed her apartment has been a mess. She opened to see it was Inko carrying a plastic bag presumably filled with food.

"Tatsumaki is doing hero work and Fubuki is at school. Hisashi is in his workshop downtown and Izuku is somewhere with that girlfriend of his. I figured this would be a chance to spend time with the neighbour." She held up the food, offering Camie some company. As much as she wanted to refuse, she can't find it in her to turn down her best friend's mother.

"Come in, and uh, sorry about the mess, ma'am."

"Oh trust me, I've seen worse in Hisashi's shop. That man had no sense of tidiness, though, he did start considering it after Fubuki is born. Considering our oldest daughter turned out to be a brat and our son being a… well, he's indescribable."

"Is that a nice way of saying Izubro is an asshole?" Camie asked her. Inko laughed in response, expecting that kind of response regarding her son. "No offense."

"None taken. He has been called worse by other women in my field of work and I've given them hell in the boxing ring." Inko said with a calm but dangerous look on her face. Camie shuddered as she remembered that time Inko destroyed someone in the ring just for insulting her husband and her kids. She did not want to be in the business end of Inko's fists.

Both of them set up the table as Inko had brought in tempura, one of Camie's favorites. They chatted while eating about different things.

"And that's how I got banned from the Broadcasting Club." Camie finished her story as she and Inko both laughed at her shenanigans. "I mean, how was I supposed to know the Metal Genre of music was not appealing to the kids we were performing for?"

"Do you even listen to Metal?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Oh, Camie, you clown." Inko gently patted her with the same hand she used to knock out thirty women in the boxing division. Camie learned to fear this woman in front of her. "Of course, Fubuki's future music interest is none of my business. Unless it's trashy, in which case, I will have to take action."

"Hey, Ms. Midoriya…"

"Call me Inko, dear."

"Um, aight, but, Inko, have you ever been a third wheel before? Camie asked, hopefully getting the answers she wants from the woman. Inko shook her head, disappointing her.

"Well, there is my best friend back from when I studied at UA."

"Is she a third wheel?"

"She? No, he's an idiot from the hero course. His name is Toshinori. I'm pretty sure he's at America right now going around as Gold Lightning." Inko tried hard to remember what his quirk was. It had something to do with strength enhancement. It didn't stop her from kicking his ass in the Sports Festival.

"A guy is the third wheel?"

"Correct! It was at this time that I've met a support nerd from Ketsubutsu who's living on his own while struggling to keep up with his grades AND his part-time job." She remembered the day she bumped into Hisashi multiple times on a convenience store. She sighed lovingly as he somehow managed to reach her heart with his nerdy tendencies back in the day.

She snapped back to the present seeing her son's best friend visibly cringing. "Oh, I know! I know! It's so embarrassing! A nerd caught my heart, but he's more of a man than anyone will ever be; standing by my side every single time. All hardships we faced, we did it together without backing down."

"Ahem. Third wheel." Camie hates to interrupt the woman who could probably punch a hole through her stomach while she was reminiscing the days she met her husband but she also was not willing to hear how Tatsumaki, Izuku, and Fubuki came to be. "Ah shit, the image of their sex is getting inside my mind! NOOOOO!"

"Oh right, Toshinori. Long-story-short, he eventually got over it since I saw him more as a brother."

"That sentence hurts me on an emotional level." Camie held her placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm her own heart down.

"Do you love him?" Inko asked her, genuinely curious. Camie instantly knew who she meant and started blushing redder than blood.

"Who? What? Nah, Izubro is just a friend!" She tried waving Inko off but the mother of three was not having it.

"I didn't even have to mention him specifically! Fell for it, hook, line, and sinker!" Inko slapped her knees and let out a hearty laugh. Camie was fooled by her best friend's mother.

"DAMMIT!"

"Don't worry, dear, I know how to keep a secret." Inko's calm face was replaced by a serious look and placed her hand on Camie's shoulder. "You know how Toshinori got over it? He realized that as long as I was happy, he was happy. He's not selfish and he learned to move on."

Inko stood up and picked up the bowl and plates, placing them in the sink. She started cleaning them despite Camie's protests. "Whoa, Inko, please, I'll wash it myself."

"I brought the food, so, I'll wash it. That's final." Her word was strict and firm. Camie gulped and nodded nervously. "You should think about what you want to do, now that the person you love is happy with someone else. Would you selfishly crumble, or would you try to move on and be happy? I know Toshinori would have better advice but he's very busy with his hero work from now on."

"What I want to do…?" Camie sat back down and thought long and hard on what she wanted to do. "Become a harem protagoni- OW!"

Inko whacked her gently on the head with a spatula. "I'm not having it with my son becoming part of a harem. Try again, dear."

"Okay, right, sure, lit, and all that shit. He's happy, that's obvious enough, but he's been off ever since I started avoiding him and Miko-baby more and more… Well, both of them seem off. Are they…upset? I don't want to make things awkward, tho. UUUGGGHHH!" She ruffled her hair in frustration. Inko shook her head, slightly amused.

"Well, I wouldn't expect anyone to know in an instant. Maybe you should go talk to Izuku and Himiko when you have the time instead of just moping around here like a useless NEET."

Inko finished washing the plates, said her goodbyes, and left. Camie had a lot of thinking to do. That's for sure. First, she needs to clean up her entire apartment, which has been a mess for a while. "Ah shit is that a spider?!"

The next time she saw them, the next fucking time she saw them again, Himiko was bandaging his torso. She could see the burns peek out of his bandages as he hissed in pain.

"Bakubitch." He was the first person on her mind that could have done this. She was right when she heard Izuku mutter something about explosions hurting like a bitch.

"Camie, nice of you to join us." He tried his best to act uninterested but Camie knew he was happy to see her again. Himiko lightly smiled in relief upon seeing her friend again after a few months of inactivity.

"Did Bakugou do this?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Fortunately, I managed to fight back by using my quirk to forcefully close his eyelids. Himiko right here knocked him out with a branch." He groaned in pain a little bit more as Himiko sent cool running water on the burns of his torso.

"Why can't you just snitch to your family, dummy?" Himiko asked him and Camie agreed with her.

"Let them worry? No, no, no, no, I got this under control. Trust me." That was their first mistake. Trusting him instead of doing the right thing. Izuku and Katsuki's bitter rivalry got worse and worse. Camie wanted to do something about it, and then it hit her.

"I know what I want to do." She got on her knees and bowed before Inko, ready to ask for help. "Teach me how to fight, please."

"Huh? That's your plan?" Inko asked, confused by Camie's questionable decision. "You sure?"

"I might as well protect their relationship." Camie paused for a while, thinking about her next words. "They're still my best friends, even if I am the third wheel. I don't want to lose them. Please."

Inko looked at her one more time before getting her attention back on the punching bag in front of her. "If that's what you want. Trust me, boxing won't be the only thing you need. It just so happens that I like to punch people over kicking them, and the competition is mostly punching each other. I'll put your body through hell and make sure you come back stronger."

"No abs."

"...Weird request but okay." Inko's punch broke the punching bag's chain and sent it sliding across the room. "But don't expect me to teach you how to kick. You get a trainer for that or you learn on your own, okay?"

"Well, I would need to learn these things eventually, since fighting is something a hero does most of the time anyway."

"Oh, of course, how could I forget?" Inko smacked her own forehead, completely forgetting about hero work. "You and Izuku want to be heroes while Himiko is aiming for Quirk Psychologist. The other girl got a good career ahead of her if she keeps working hard."

"I know. Himiko's amazing." She was amazed at how Himiko quickly figured out Izuku and Katsuki's problems with each other. The only problem was that the two boys refused to deal with it.

To say the training was tough is a gross understatement. It was hell. Every single day, not once did her body not feel like it's burning away. Inko was ruthless but fair with her training. It was apparent that she went through the same training Camie is going through when she was a teenager.

What she is going through right now is called 'Stick Training', which meant conditioning her body to handle more pain. Inko repeatedly hits one part of her body with a stick in a light manner with a steady pace and the pain steadily grows until it was impossible to handle.

"FUCK! WAIT! TIME OUT!" Camie reflexively stopped the stick Inko was using to hit her. Her abdomen was throbbing in pain from the training. She had a new-found respect for the Midoriya's matriarch, having gone through this type of training. She couldn't imagine how painful the actual boxing matches could be. "Okay, I'm good."

"Even with this pain training, a good blow to the head is still going to knock you out and or kill you."

"Yeah, I know."

"Still, you got more balls than my son for going through with this. Trust me, he tried it once and he was crying in the corner after ten seconds of it." Inko laughed, remembering her son underestimating the training his mother is doing. "A few more of these and we move on to the speed bag. How's your kicks doing?"

"The trainer mom hired was lit. He's a Muay Thai specialist and he kicked my ass on the first day! Fun, right?" Everything Camie just said was sarcasm and Inko felt every bit of it. It didn't help the Midoriya Matriarch from cringing though.

"Oooh, that type of trainer, huh? He'll expect you to land on your feet running, and if you're tough enough, you'll keep up eventually." Inko patted her head to comfort her of the future misery she will be facing with the Muay Thai Instructor. Camie secretly hoped the instructor would go easy on her but that would be nothing more than a pipe dream.

"What if your enemy was this close to you?" Her teacher asked before punching a hole in the wood that was only a few centimeters away from his hand. "Can you punch them hard even if your hand is a few centimeters away?"

"I…uh…no?" That earned her a literal slap on the wrist. "OW!"

"Then you are weak! Keep punching that wood from one inch until you can put a hole in it! NOW!" Intimidated, she immediately started doing so. She thought it would be easy and she was wrong. Very, very wrong. In a matter of minutes, she's already feeling pain from her fists, and it didn't look like he'd want her to stop soon.

"Gah!" She paused for a moment but she was immediately smacked on the head for stopping. She got the signal and went back to punching the wood. "This is gonna be hell, isn't it?"

Any normie would have stopped soon but Camie isn't a pussy. Even when her knuckles bled, she didn't stop. This continued for hours with only a few short breaks.

"That's enough for the day." His face was blank, showing no emotion.

"THANK FUCK!" She was thrilled to know that it was over.

"Now, for your stances and movement." His grin reeks of sadism.

"Ah, crap." She was not thrilled to know that they are not done for the day yet.

Muay Thai conditioning was not easy, in fact, Camie hated it. She respected her teacher but hated him at the same time. Another part of her training was using her shins to kick down a banana tree that her teacher had planted. She couldn't stand upright after a few kicks, but she was improving little by little.

"HYAH!" She screamed while kicking the banana tree. At this point, she could no longer tell if it was from pain or adrenaline. The one thing keeping her motivated was the thought of Izuku and Himiko getting hurt. She wants to protect their happiness, no matter what.

"Harder!" Her teacher yelled at her as she kicked the tree harder. The sudden increase in strength backfired and she instantly fell from the pain. "You feel that pain? Good, your body will get used to it and you will become stronger, as I promised you would be."

He directed her sight to the tree, which is slightly bent from her last kick. She was getting stronger.

Hanging out with Izuku and Himiko was becoming less awkward while she was training. While Inko had made her go through a strict diet, it didn't stop her from exploiting her cheat days with at Starducks, their usual hangout spot after Bakugou blew up their old tree hangout as payback.

"Are you sure you want to go through with the training Ms. Inko and that guy is making you go through, Cam-chan?" Himiko worriedly asked her as she noticed the bloody bandages on Camie's fists. Presumably from punching a wooden board for hours. She managed to punch a hole through it eventually but there's still room for improvement. Izuku was just as concerned as Himiko but he was more subtle with it, asking her to hang out more. Camie saw through it earlier and refused every other invitation.

"I mean, if I'm gonna get through as a hero, might as well go through some hard-ass shit training while I'm at it, aight?" She wasn't exactly lying. These skills are useful in the line of hero work but she already had a different reason for doing this. Himiko narrowed her eyes, suspicious of Camie's reasoning but decided to let it go.

"If it's too much for you, just know that it's fine to take it easy for a long while," Izuku added in his piece before sipping on his iced coffee.

"Noted af."

She did not take a break. She didn't have to. She's slowly getting harder, better, faster, stronger. Still, punching wood repeatedly hurts like hell.

"Student, what do you want your hero name to be?"

"Uh… I dunno. Maybe 'Voodoo Child'? OW!"

"YOU WANT TO GET COPYRIGHTED?!"

"Jeez, okay, okay." This was the first time her teacher asked her about any of her interests. Just in time for lunchtime as well. Her hands are still shaky and sore from the pain, making it hard for her to use the chopsticks. She set it down and used her hands to get some of the food. Up until her hand was smacked away from the bowl.

"What are you doing? You're eating like a dog. If you will eat like a dog then I will lock you out of your own apartment and make you LIVE like a dog." Her teacher warned her while throwing away the food from her bowl. He passed her his food. "Now, eat again. Properly."

As much as she would like to hit him, she knew that would be a bad idea. Instead, she forced herself to eat with the chopsticks. "Where did mom find this guy? He's stricter than Inko!"

Training went on for a few more months. She didn't need bandages anymore. Inko taught her everything she needed to know. Now she's hanging out with Izuku and Himiko regularly again.

"And finally, I think you guys should end your first date where it all started, the tree we met at. Even if it is blown up, but still!" Camie pointed at her plans on the bulletin board as the two listened carefully. "Most of all, have fun. This date plan is more of a guideline than an instruction!"

"Seems like a good plan. I owe you one, Camie." Izuku looked at the plan carefully while nodding his head, not seeing any flaws outside of any situations that would be out of their control. This is a good official first date for him and Himiko.

"You owe me more than just a pat on the head, that's a guarantee, Izubro."

"Oh, Cam-chan, if you wanted to share Izu-kun, you could have just asked!"

"W-wait, wha- oh you." Camie playfully slapped Himiko's shoulder but the girl still yelped in pain. "Oh shit! Are you alright?"

"No, the power of that slap just caught me by surprise. I guess that training of yours is working, right?" Himiko laughed it off while caressing her shoulders to ease the stinging sensation.

"I can fix that." Izuku's eyes lit up, letting them know his quirk activated. Suddenly, the stinging sensation disappeared from Himiko's shoulder. "I temporarily shut down your pain receptors."

"Thanks, Izu-kun." They touched noses. In front of Camie. Some of the old lovesick pain came back but she forced it to the deepest depths of her mind.

"Well, anyway, I'm going back to the gym! While you two are going on your first date, my training's gonna be finished today!"

"Now, focus your power, Utsushimi." He told her as she readied her stance in front of an iron pole. This could either break her shins or break the pole. Whatever happens, happens. "STRIKE!"

"HYAH!" She broke the pole in two with one swift kick. She could feel pain on her legs but nothing is broken. "Ouch."

"Good. Good. I thought you everything you need to know. You can train on your own now." Her teacher said while placing his hand on her shoulder. His look is fierce but his eyes told a different story. He was proud of her. "Continue improving and maybe you can surpass me. WAHAHAHAHA!"

The man known as her Muay Thai teacher walked away, never to be seen again.

"Okay, no seriously, where did mom find that guy? He kicked my ass and then asked me to kick an iron pole as the final test? Jeez."

While she is thankful that he taught her a lot about fighting, she sincerely hoped she never meets him again. They've been sparring until afternoon and Camie is sure that Izuku and Himiko are already done with their date.

She was walking back to her apartment, expecting to see the two lovebirds sitting on the couch, kissing or something. What she did not expect was meeting Izuku alone on her way to the apartment. This was the first time she saw him looking frantic. Himiko was nowhere around. He was looking around. It didn't take a minute for her to connect the dots.

"Oi, Izubro, what happened?!" She ran up to him. Once she got a closer look, there was blood coming out of his mouth. "Did she-"

"I know. She didn't tell me she was holding off her blood intake. Why didn't she-"

"We'll find her, I promise."

"I pushed her away when she bit me, Camie." She could see the horror on his eyes, regretting what he did. It's normal to push yourself off a bite. This isn't Izuku's fault, nor was it Himiko's.

"This could be my chan- no, SHUT THE FUCK UP, ME! This shouldn't be about me. No, no, no. Remember…Izubro's happiness."

"We'll find her." She held him close to a hug. That's the closest thing she would do in giving him her affection. The hug was not returned. They eventually went to the police station to file in a missing persons case. A week later, Himiko was completely gone. Izuku was miserable and so was she. She wasn't there when it happened. She could have done something.

She's currently lying on her couch again. Izuku wanted to be left alone for a while after Himiko was gone. They agreed to keep looking for her but some things needed their attention. Himiko would have never wanted them to sacrifice everything just to see her again. "Maybe if I had been there…"

She let out a frustrated growl and buried her face on her pillow. "This is all my fault."

Present Day…

He's currently lying on his couch again. Camie wanted to be left alone for a while after he did something as stupid as going back to fight an all-powerful villain. He never wanted this to happen. The only issue is; it did happen. "Maybe if I had just…"

Izuku let out a frustrated growl while Fubuki ruffled his hair, trying to comfort her older brother. "This is all my fault."

He didn't let that get in the way of his other goal, though. He had to make a call and cash in a favour.

From a Jail Cell…

Himiko laid on her prison bed, contemplating her life choices. She had so many regrets. She ended up having to steal blood from blood banks and hunting down animals in the forest just to live by. She was sure Izuku and Camie would have instantly welcomed her back, which is proven by what happened at the camp invasion, but she always had been too ashamed of what she did to her then-boyfriend. That feeling of love for him is gone now, being away for too long.

"Visitor for Himiko Toga" She heard the voice announce through a speaker in her cell. She got up from the bed and got to the door of her cell. There stood a woman in formal clothing with her hair properly tied and her posture straight. Everything about her meant business.

"Um… who are you?" Himiko asked the woman before her.

"Sho Hakken. Let me get this straight, a mutual friend of ours cashed in a favour I owe him." The woman answered her.

"Mutual friend…?" She didn't remember having friends that would be close to this woman.

"Mutual friend is a bit of a stretch, but long-story-short, he did save my life. Now, I'm paying what I owe. Himiko Toga, I've come here to give you a deal. A chance to be free in exchange for your services."

"...Go on?" As much as she didn't want to trust this woman, anything is better than a jail cell for her at this point.

"You see, the hero commission had this little idea they had in mind. From my mutual acquaintance said, you aren't necessarily a villain by choice. Even better, you're a minor, so you're name or face were never released to the public even after working with the League."

"Wait, what are you going on about, miss?"

"Please, just call me Sho. What the Hero Commission wants is to recruit willing volunteers for a new breed of heroes. Prisoners who are willing to work with us to shave off their prison sentences. After working for us for some time, you're allowed to leave and live your life." Sho threw her hands in the air, as if she was hyping up the project. "Think about it, you're still a teenager! You have so much of your life ahead of you, and now, you can be free if you just work for us a little. Icing on the cake, you'll be the leader of our new project AND you get to see your friend again in his school."

"...See him again…" Himiko wanted closure, and she gets to attend school. "Will my school tuition be-"

"Paid? All three years!" That was enough for her to hear. This woman drives a hard bargain. How bad could working for the commission be? "Of course, you're the one who would be finding new members of this project, or squad, to recruit. We have your hospital bills covered as well. Well, what do you say?"

It was too good of a deal for her. Himiko nodded, wanting to be free from here.

"I'll do it."

{- To Be Continued...

Bakugou: You can't just bullshit in a SUICIDE SQUAD here

I just did it anyway lmao. I got a few ideas regarding the suicide squad team here. No bombs in the neck this time, just a close observation from the commission.

Bakugou: Can they even trust the Hero Commission?

Hard to say, but whatever lets Himiko see her friends again, I guess. Anyway, leave a like, subscribe, and comment. PEACE!