author's note: I originally posted this fic in AO3. but with the website currently down at the moment, I decide to back up all my work on this site. hopefully it'll come back soon. I hope you all enjoy the fic. it's a nice project i'm working on.
ch 1: The stray
It was a cold windy night near the mountains. The winds were blazing through the trees, shaking the leaves lightly. The sky was free from any clouds, revealing the beautiful stars. The area is free from any animals and trespassers. The nearby lakes were clean, rid of any trash. The flowers were blooming, giving off their natural scent.
A perfect scenery to end a wonderful date.
Unfortunately, a certain hero wasn't getting that tonight. Instead she was driving home angrily through the mountains. The diver rage was enough to scare a mugger to surrender their money.
That angry driver was named Ryuko Tsuchikawa. She was also known widely as Pixie Bob, one of the heroes that's part of a popular mountain rescue team called the Wild Wild Pussycats.
"I'm so done with dating!" She yelled to herself so loud, that her windshield almost cracked. She drove back to her massive house, where both her team and herself lived.
Things didn't go well for Ryuko, as she was driving home from another horrible night. What was supposed to be a simple date, ended up being a massive disaster.
Not only did the date end up bad, but it became the most humiliating night she could've possibly experienced.
At first, the date seemed like it was going well, but things quickly escalated more and more to the point where she had to get out of there. Now she just wants to go to her room and forget the whole thing ever happened.
She parked her car into the driveway, and made her way to her home. She opened the door to find Shino and Yawara in the living room watching TV. When both of them saw Ryuko enter, they immediately turned the television off.
"R-Ryuko! you're back! h-how did your date g-go?" Shino stuttered nervously, as she made it obvious that she was hiding something.
"Not as I hoped for, I'm afraid." Ryuko replied as she wasn't happy about it.
"How sad," Yawara wept, trying his best to feel bad for his friend. "I'm sorry things didn't go as you expect."
"Hey, cheer up." Shino advised. "You know what they say. There're still other fishes in the sea."
They were trying their best to cheer her up, and it was slightly working. Even though Ryuko wasn't going to forget about it, she is glad to have her friends for support. She just gave them a smile and acted like her usual self to show them that she's okay. "Don't worry about it you two, so it didn't work out. Big deal. It's fine."
Both Shino and Yawara had their doubts, they could feel it in their senses.
"Well if you say so." Shino replied. "Just tell us anything if you feel bothered."
"Don't worry, I'm fine." She felt a bit annoyed that they didn't drop it, so she changed the subject. "By the way, where's Tomoko?"
"She's in the kitchen, making dinner." Yawara answers. "Here, let me call her. Tomoko! Ryuko is home!" Yawara yelled across the room to get his friend' attention.
Tomoko peeks her head around the corner of the hallway. Looking all happy. "Ryuko! How did your date go?!" Of course her cheerful attitude couldn't read the room.
"Not good, I'm afraid." she calmly told her, not wanting to hurt the innocent one of the group.
"Awwww. I'm sorry. Are you sad?"
Sad was the last thing she was feeling, mad world would be the right word. "Just a bit."
Tomoko put on a smile, and started scratching the air. "Well leave it to your best friend to make you happy, I know! Let's have a movie night." She jumped across the room and onto the couch to grab the remote off Yawara's hand.
"Wait! Tomoko, no!" Once Yawara realized what happened, he stopped her, but it was too late.
*click*
She turned on the TV, and it showed a female news reporter covering the news at a certain restaurant.
"I'm here live on the scene where the incident took place. Apparently, what started out as a bad date, turned into an embarrassing act as a grown hero. A young man claiming that he was going on a date with the pro hero Pixie Bob. He was so sure that it was her, that he called his friends to come over to record the entire date."
The channel news shows the video of the date. The video showed Ryuko Tsuchikawa getting angry with the man as he brags about himself. He didn't seem interested in Ryuko's interests.
"As you can see here, the man was so blinded by his own ego, that he couldn't see how much he blew it. Tsuchikawa then asked him one question here, she asked, 'what do you think of me having a child?' The man unfortunately answered her with this. 'I honestly don't imagine you as a mother, because you are always this childish person who is out of touch with reality despite your old age.' Those were the words that led our hero to do this-"
*click*
"Hey! What happened?" Asked Tomoko, "I want to know what Ryuko did."
Yawara quickly turned the TV off before it could go to that embarrassing part again. He looked over at Ryuko, her face clearly showing her in distress.
"I'm sure not a lot of people will see it! After all, there's still a ton of other things for people to notice!" Shino tried to get her to forget all about it.
"Of course!" Yawara shouts, "Besides, I'm sure it's not going to be a big thing."
*click*
Tomoko grabbed the remote to turn the TV back on.
"After the hero finally noticed the cameras, she got embarrassed, and ran straight back to her car. Driving out of sight. This moment just happened an hour ago, and a video was uploaded onto the internet. It's already trending all over Japan. What does the studio say?"
The channel cut over to the rest of the cast back at the station. "Well our hero proved herself to be youthful alright. As an immature child."
*click*
"Aw, I missed it." Tomoko weeps.
Tomoko turned the TV off as she looked over at Ryuko. the bloodlust signaling off her body. Before her team could utter one word, Ryuko made a mad dash into her room. wanting to forget this night forever.
When she closed and locked the door, her whole team quickly came by her room. They tried to say confronting things for her to come out.
"It's not that bad! I'm sure a lot of heroes have embarrassed themselves before!" This went on for a while, but unfortunately, Ryuko was not in the mood right now.
After a minute, they stopped and figured to give her some space until the morning. The team left her to give her time.
In her bedroom. Ryuko was laying face first on her bed, muffling angrily into her pillow. This went on for a long, long time before she tied herself to sleep, and drifted her problems away.
It has been a few years since she started the hero business with her teammates. Safe to say, they became a popular sensation. Iconic heroes, merchandise, and massive popularity. They have everything the hero society offered them.
Ever since she first became a hero, it was the happiest that she has ever been. She had a perfect team that she could rely on, a perfect line of work, and a decent amount of fans.
Her career as a mountain rescue group had really taken off. She sometimes couldn't believe that she achieved her dream career so early in her life.
She had a successful life.
But after a few years, she finds herself to be having some thoughts about her life. There was nothing to complain about, in fact, their team managed to be perfect at mountain rescue. There haven't been any incidents, not since they were established.
Over the recent years, the number of mountain rescue teams started to grow exponentially. covering more of the mountain's ground. It gave the team slightly less responsibility to do any rescues.
Ever since then, it has only been about comic deals, celebrity fame, and talk shows. She had her mind on something else. Not that she dislikes it, but it was starting to become a chore.
It took away the excitement she had when she first became a hero. Now with less responsibility, she felt like she was stuck on a nine to five forest watch job. Soon enough, the boredom kicked in, and that got her thinking. What's going to be the next step of her life? And that's when it hit her.
She was going to start a family.
After thinking more about it, she decided that it should be time. She shared her exciting news with her teammates. At first they were quite surprised to hear it. Maybe even a bit worried, but they supported her decision.
Very soon, she clearly made up her mind, and she was gonna go on dates to find, 'the one.'
Unfortunately for her, she somehow managed to keep getting bad first dates. For some reason, it continuously gets worse than the last. It was definitely something she forgot to anticipate when she first started. But it wasn't going to stop her that easily.
Tonight however, was the one that settled it once and for all. She'd finally reached her limit. Not only was it bad, but it became the biggest embarrassing night of her life.
She woke herself up, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Because even though she's quitting dating, it makes her sad. She was preparing to settle down with a loving husband and her own little one. But she didn't want to keep doing this, all the failed dates had been taking a toll on her stress, and oftentimes left her feeling empty that there's nobody for her.
She took out her phone, looking for any type of distractions. The first thing that popped up was news about her horrible date night. "Oh come on!"
She went on videos, and she already saw ten videos of people talking about her bad date night. "Are these people always on alert to cover anything?!" She decided that she had enough, and just watched simple cat videos.
She searches and watches some videos of cats playing around. "That's better." just what she needed, nice videos of cats to forget all most of her problems. Most of them, as her main problem of not having a family is still apparent. She didn't have any ideas what to do. She just watched more cat videos, hoping that it would make her feel better.
After watching a ton of cat videos, she came across one about an older cat, adopting a kitten. She watches the video, it appears to be a time-lapse video that shows the owner bringing home a kitten, and the older cat inspecting it. Throughout the video the older cat becomes more and more accepting of the kitten to the point that it is basically its mother.
After watching the video, she came up with an idea. Along with a new resolve.
THE NEXT MORNING.
The team gathered around the dining room having breakfast. They were concerned for their friends after last night. Worried that the date might've gotten to her.
Or at least it was, until she came out of her room. She walked into the living room, acting like nothing had happened.
"Ryuko!" They all shouted.
They were gonna ask her if everything was alright, but they soon saw something unexpected. She was smiling. This shocks everyone, it is as if the date last night hasn't happened.
"Hey everyone!" Ryuko greeted everyone as she got her breakfast.
"Are you alright, Ryuko?" Shino asked.
"Yeah I am, why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, um… last night."
"Oh right! don't worry about it, I just had a bad night. That's all. After a long, goodnight sleep, I feel a lot different."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, In fact, I have an announcement that I would like to share with everyone after breakfast." She cheered as she ate her breakfast.
Both Shino and Yawara show their concerns. Except Tomoko who seems to be excited to hear the news.
They held off their conversation, and continued on with their breakfast. While they ate, they noticed that Ryuko was excited about something.
What could it be?
After they finished their Breakfast, they all moved to the main base. Everyone sat by their chairs while Ryuko stood in front of them to give her announcements.
"Everyone, I have an announcement." Her team waited to hear what she had to say. Hopefully it's not to leave the team. "After last night, I decided to quit dating." she announced it with a smile.
The news came as a shock to everyone, none of them expected to give up dating like that.
"Ryuko, are you sure?" Shino gasped.
"Yeah, after a continuous streak of bad dates, I decided to just take a break from it. For a long…long while."
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I Hope for the best that you'll be able to find someone you'll love one day." Yawara expresses his deepest condolences towards his friend.
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"Awww. Does this mean Tomoko won't be an aunt then?" Tomoko weeped actual tears when she heard the news. She was one of the few who was looking forward to the new additions to the family.
Yawara joined Tomoko to weep, as he secretly wanted to be an uncle. "There, there. Maybe one day."
"Not exactly, because I have another announcement." Ryuko Once again announced while smiling at everyone.
Everyone looked at her with shock wide eyes as they all thought to themselves. 'Another news?!'
After Ryuko once again grabbed everyone's attention, she told everyone with a smile full of confidence. "I decided to try adoption instead."
…
Everyone suddenly went silent for a good minute, taking in the news. None of them expected her to consider adoption"
"ADOPTION?!" Everyone reacted the same way when they had the news
"Yup, you all heard exactly right. I'm going to adopt instead."
Everyone immediately shows different signs of emotions. Tomoko showed immediate excitement towards the news. Yawara was crying tears of joy for his fellow teammate.
Shino however, seems concerned, "Are you sure about this, Ryuko?"
"Yes, I have made up my mind. And I plan on going through with it. Why do you ask?"
"Well… uh, I just wanted to make sure that you're sure about this first," She immediately dropped what she had originally intended to say, and let Ryuko have her wish. Instead she was going to be the responsible one and keep a close eye on everything.
"So, when are we expecting to see the new addition to the family?" Yawara questioned.
"Really soon, I plan to get everything ready first, before I can adopt."
With that, everyone showed support for her decision.
2 WEEKS LATER
Ryuko dressed properly and acted professionally when she arrived at the adoption center. To think that she is actually gonna do it, all sorts of emotions were building up inside her.
She was going to be a mother, and everything felt beautiful. The beginning of a new adventure in motherhood.
Without wasting any time, she started walking into the adoption center and spoke with an older female representative. She placed her application for adoption and waited to see if she was qualified. The representative looked over her application and background.
"Let's see here, judging by your record here. You're a pro hero who specializes in mountain rescue operations, A clean record, and high professionalism in the line of work. Yup, everything seems in order."
Ryuko is happy to hear that. Hopefully this is enough to convince them all that she's fit for the role of being a mother. She waited to move on to the next process.
"Wait a minute, what's this?" The female representative asked when she looked over her record, "horrible celebrity date night?"
'No!' Ryuko panicked when the representative found a video of her worst date night. "It's nothing! Please don't look into it! I beg you!"
The representative clicked on the video and it showed the most embarrassing video of her life. The young man appeared disrespectful before the main event that transpired. The representative seemed to almost not hold in her laughter. She quickly regained her composure and looked back at the pro hero.
"Well, that was…something. But nothing too bad here. Let's get on with the adoption process.
"Yeah." Ryuko held her head down after realizing that this event will follow till the day she dies.
The representative then typed on her computer to bring up the available adoption they had. She then placed all records on a tablet and passed it on to her.
"These are the available children that we have. Take your time to look it over."
This was it. The moment that will impact her life. This was the moment for her to decide the child that will change her life. She looked thoroughly at all the adoptees and she didn't know who to choose.
"This is difficult, how do I know which one is right for me?"
She searched and searched, but none of them felt right for her. This was difficult. That was when she saw at the very bottom of the list. Himiko Toga. A 5 year old child with yellow cat-like eyes. Her ash blonde hair was in two small buns. She showed an open mouth smile showing her fangs. Her appearance was all feline like.
Ryuko immediately knew that this child was perfect. She knew that she was practically a perfect fit to the wild wild family.
That's when she made her decision.
"This child, right here."
The representative looked over the tablet to see who it was, and she immediately gasped, "You want to adopt her?"
Ryuko got confused by that question, "huh? What do you mean by that?"
The woman quickly regained composure. "I mean, it's not that you can't. But there's some things you might need to know about this child."
This got the pro hero's attention, "really? Then please tell me."
"This child here, was just recently dropped in the adoption center by her biological parents."
Ryuko couldn't believe this, "what?! Just recently? At 5? What for?"
"Have you ever heard of... blood quirks?"
She wasn't prepared for that question. Although she did know a decent guy named Vlad king. Great friend, but she didn't have time to think about that. "What does blood quirk have to do with anything?"
"This girl here has the desire for blood."
The cat hero didn't know what to say to that. "Oh my."
"Apparently, when she got her quirk. her parents didn't know or even have an idea on how to raise her. They thought it would be better to leave her in the hands of child services to help deal with her unusual needs."
"My goodness! That must have been traumatic."
"It gets worse, because none of us has ever dealt with…someone like her before. we believe that her quirk can be potentially hostile toward others, especially with the other children. So we had to put her in a safe and separate environment until we've a definitive answer. But we haven't gotten close. And I'm afraid there's nothing we could do."
Ryuko saw how serious Himiko Toga's case was. She was a troubled child, her parents couldn't raise her, and a quirk that seemed monstrous.
But…
"Would it still be possible for me to adopt this child?" Ryuko questioned.
Despite all the red flags the girl raised, she still wanted to go through with the adoption. Because she was already dead set on raising this child. And her desire for blood doesn't really bother her.
"Are you sure about it? You really want to adopt her?"
"Yes I do, if that's alright with you."
"Well…" The representation lady wasn't quite sure about this at first. But seeing that the person adopting the child was a trained pro hero, she believes that they are able to do more than a normal family. "Ok then. We'll begin the process, and we should get everything ready in a month," she started printing out Himiko's records and handed it over to Ryuko, "here's the child's data, be ready in one month. Have a nice day."
"Thank you ma'am."
Ryuko walked out the center, and looked over at Toga's records. She smiled as she thought to herself, 'welcome to the family.'
She dedicated herself to give this child her unconditional motherly love.
ONE MONTH PASSED
Today was the day where the wild wild pussycats were expecting their new arrival to come to their home.
Ryuko told everyone about the child she adopted. Once they saw her photo, they immediately wanted to greet their new family member.
She also told all them about her story, and her quirk. At first they had some worries, but after hours of discussion. They decided to figure out a way to handle this situation together.
Tomoko was already excited to become the aunt of the family.
Yawara prepares to teach this young girl proper manners and become her teacher.
Shino, being the most cautious person, is going to take proper care of her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself.
After about an hour of waiting, a car pulled up to their home. It was the adoption representative, here to deliver the child to them.
Ryuko immediately walked over to them, ready for this exact moment.
"Hello, Miss Tsuchikawa. I have the child in the back seat, are you ready to greet her?"
"Yes I am." Ryuko answered.
The representative opens the door to reveal Himiko Toga.
As soon as the door was opened, Toga slightly leaned over the car door to look at her adopted family. She was very shy and hesitant to meet them.
"Hello there," Ryuko greeted her.
Himiko slowly shuffled out of her hiding place and walked up to them. She saw the 4 people that stood in front of her. Their happy and cheerful faces put her at ease and it quickly made her warm up to them.
"Welcome to your new home!" Tomoko shouted.
"A new home? Really?" She asked when she finally realized that she'd been adopted by them.
"Yes, and starting today, I am here to take care of you. Along with my friends here. Do you understand?" Ryuko calmly asked her while she bent down to her level.
Himiko felt emotional as she slowly walked over to her new adopted mother. At first she looked like she was about to go for a hug but held herself back. "Yes miss, I promise to behave. Thank you for adopting me."
The good behavior act didn't go unnoticed by her, she knew that she was faking it. "Hey, it's alright little one, no need to be formal. Just act like yourself."
"Ok." Himiko began to do her open wide unhinged simile to express her happy emotions.
"There, isn't that an adorable smile?"
"I'll say." Tomoko agrees as she took a photo to treasure this moment.
After the first meeting, Ryuko showed Toga her room. The feeling of being an adopted mother has already begun to overwhelm her with
"This will be your new room, do you like it?"
The moment she saw her new room, she practically burst with joy. It had everything that a little girl would dream of. A room fully decorated with colorful walls, toys, and posters.
"I love it!" The little child smiled.
Himiko quickly adjusted to her new room, setting her bags down, and climbed on her bed. She looks to be the happiest person ever. Surprisingly it took her a few minutes to adjust to a new home.
Meanwhile, the whole group just couldn't get enough of her little happy face. It was slowly killing them with cuteness. Warming their hearts and spreading joy all over.
Without warning, Tomoko took another picture to keep a memory of this moment. She was going to start keeping a picture book. "I already love being an aunt!"
Big the cat had the supplies on hand to make the picture book, he turned around with manly tears in his eyes. "Me too!"
While the others were busy, Ryuko began to get serious as she walked over to Himiko. When she got to the bed, Himiko sat up to see what her step mom wanted."I believe now would be a time to talk." After hearing that everyone listened in. "I know this might be all new and a lot to take in, but we want you to know one thing. We are here for you, and you are important to us. If you need anything, just ask."
"Anything?" Himiko asked as she thought about it. That is when she thought about her quirk, and her desire. She opens her mouth to say something, but quickly stops herself. She really wanted to believe in her new family. She really wanted to. But she is scared that they won't understand. "Nothing, I'm alright." she told them while looking away.
The team could see that she was still on the fence about them. Guess it can't be helped. "It's alright, we can take it one step at a time." Ryuko reassures her, as she thought of an idea. "I know! Let's spend a week getting to know each other!"
Once everyone heard that, they were already on board behind her. "Sounds like a good idea." Shino complimented.
"Yeah! Let's have fun!" Tomoko cheered as she prepared herself to get to know the new member.
Himiko watched as her new family were all eager to know her. She only has been here for one day, and she has already been shown more love and affection than her actual family.
It was nice.
Over the course of a couple of days, the whole team spent the whole week getting to know Himiko. At first they were worried about how we would go, but after each of them spent individual time with each other, they found it better than anticipated.
Under Shino care, she would homeschool the little one in her free time. She didn't want a miniature Tomoko running around the base for the sake of her sanity. And it was more so her responsibility as leader of the team to teach her the basics of life.
"Ok Toga, time for math." Shino holds up a book as Toga sits by the living room table.
"Aww, but math is hard!"
"Not to worry, we'll be using…" she pauses for dramatic effect, right before she pulls out a bowl that was filled with sweet red fruit. "Strawberries!"
Himiko became interested once sweet food became involved.
Shino then placed a couple of small plates in front of her. "Today, we'll be learning our divisions. I want you to take this big bowl filled with ten strawberries, and begin filling these small plates with two strawberries each. After you've finished, tell me how many plates of strawberries you have."
"Ok!" Himiko got to work figuring out the equation.
While the little one was busy, Shino couldn't help but smile at the little one. Over the past week, she had grown on her. She was well behaved, with the side of little Chaos. But what kid isn't.
Admittedly, she had her doubts about this idea. Being as it was too early to raise a kid. Then there was her friend choosing to adopt her as simple as that. But with the way things have been, it turned out really well. No complaints here.
She actually liked to be seen as a teacher of the group. She already began having ideas of retiring as a UA teacher. After all, she's doing a good job.
"Zero." Himiko answered her.
"Huh?"
"Zero, there's no strawberries left."
"What? How can that be? What happened to the-" she stopped herself after taking one glance at Himiko. She had some strawberry juice all over her, and she's looking away acting like she didn't know.
Shino just laughed and left her off easily. "Let's get you clean up,
Under the care of Yawara, he taught her how to behave around people, and to what's acceptable.
"Now remember Young Tsuchikawa. Bowing is an important part of socialization towards other people in japan. One of the few times to bow is when you greet, apologize, or thank someone." Yawara demonstrated. Trying to make sure that Himiko gets the idea.
Himiko tried bowing, thinking it was kind of odd for that this means different things.
"Good, now that you learned what bowing is, we'll learn all types and when to use them."
Himiko thought about how such a simple action is acceptable to a lot of people. Then it got her thinking about… her situation. After wondering for a while, she asked him a question.
"Hey ?"
"Yes, little one?"
"What are things people don't accept?"
"Oh, many things. Most of it is subjective, but oftentimes it's things that would cause harm, or present an unpleasant sight towards other people."
"I see." She dropped her question and asked something else insead. "So why are you wearing a dress?" She was legitimately curious about his clothing fashion. Where she used to live, it was considered unacceptable.
Yawara just gave a smile as he answered her. "There's no shame for anyone to wear this. I wear it because I strongly believe in this team, and putting on this outfit is the greatest honor. I wouldn't remove it even if my teammates asked me to."
"Really? So you don't wear anything else?"
"Well, Unless it's official business, then that's when we get serious about clothing topic. Nevertheless, it's my pride and joy. It's a part of me. And besides, I made the outfits."
"You made the outfits?"
"Well it was Ryuko who made the design and I made them. But that's besides the point, these are important to me. And I won't give them up for anything."
The talk definitely shows Himiko how acceptable some people are towards certain things. More than she was told before.
While the others were teaching Himiko, Tomoko was more focused on fun and freedom. Himiko finds Tomoko the most fun auntie she ever had. After she is finished with her teachings, she often goes outside to hang out with her. One of their favorite activities is hide and seek.
"Ok you have to be around here." Tomoko checks around the outside of the base, in search of the little one. She was forbition to use her search quirk until time was up.
While she was lookin, Ryuko came outside. "Hey Tomoko. Shino is almost finished cooking dinner, and have you seen Himiko?"
"Yeah, just a sec. Himiko and I are playing hide and seek."
"Well isn't that adorable."
Suddenly, a timer went off. Indicating the end of Hide and Seek.
"Awww. I lost." Tomoko appeared to be sad for losing, but she quickly changed her tune a second later. "Oh well. I'll find her next time."
"Great." Ryuko looked around for her little one, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Where is she?"
"Hold on, let me check." Tomoko used her search quirk to locate himiko's whereabouts. She raised her arms to point. "She's on top of our base."
Ryuko twisted her head to look, and lo and behold, there she was sitting on top of a three story base. She innocently waved at them, while looking down at them. As soon as she saw her little one in a dangerous position, her mother instinct ran in high gear.
"Himiko! How did you even get up there?!" Ryuko Tsuchikawa starts panicking, as she starts manipulating the ground below her. Creating a mud tower to raise herself up the roof. "Hang on, I'm coming!"
Once she got to the roof, she stood next to Himiko, she opened her arms and instructed her to come to her and hold on tight. As soon as Himiko hugs Ryuko Tsuchikawa like a baby koala on a tree, they both start heading to the ground.
When they reach the ground floor, Ryuko Tsuchikawa hugs her daughter. "I'm so glad that you're alright, but please don't climb the roof again. You made me worried." Her tone was calm, and very clear. She didn't wanna yell at her.
"I'm sorry." The small child now felt bad about making her worry.
"It's ok, just no more high places. Now come, Shino is baking your favorite.
Later that night.
Later on, both Tomoko and Himiko would watch fun movies and videos together in the living room. Tonight they were watching funny videos, while laughing on the couch.
Meanwhile, Ryuko was restocking in the kitchen nearby. She heard both her friend and Himiko laugh, and decided to check in on them. "How is my little one doing?"
"Good! Auntie is showing me a funny video."
"That's good." She went back to restocking, thinking nothing of it.
That was until she heard her voice from the living room. "Hey, what do you think about me having children?"
Those familiar words awaken a dread inside Ryuko, a despair unlike any other. Tomoko is showing Himiko her most embarrassing date video.
"No!" She screams as she makes her way in the living room. Grabbing a cream pie that was sitting on the table. She busted through the doors, and saw Himiko watching the video. Without hesitation, she throws the pie at the TV blocking her view.
She jumps and covers himiko's ears from behind. The girl laughed as she saw enough.
"Well she enjoys it." Tomoko smiled at Ryuko while she looked annoyed.
"I'm never going to live this down."
While all of the team members had their time bonding with Himiko. There's only one that will always be her favorite, and that's her adopted mother Ryuko.
Upon first impression, she didn't look like mother material. But under her youthful personality, and somewhat immature side, was a caring mother.
She takes time to hang out with Himiko, playing with dolls and practicing arts and crafts. She would take her out shopping, and go to the park. Most importantly, she makes sure that Himiko is cared for.
Whether Ryuko gets the chance, she makes sure to make Himiko her top priority.
"Alright Himiko, are you ready for a surprise?"
"What is it?" She was eagerly waiting.
She revealed a new set of special clothes. Not just any clothes, but a smaller version of the hero outfit the hero team wore. It was pink, and it even had little radio ears and gloves. "Tada, a custom made hero outfit for you."
When Himiko first saw it, she was the happiest she had ever been. She went up to her adopted mom and hugged her.
Ryuko was surprised when her adopted daughter willingly gave her a hug for the first time.
"Well, aren't you quite the hugger?" Ryuko hugged her daughter back overwhelmed with happiness. "You are a wonderful addition to the family." Himiko just hugged her tightly, accepting her new mother fully.
A few minutes later.
"Ok, are you ready?" Asked Ryuko, as she put up her Hero outfit.
"Yeah!" Himiko replied, dawning her new hero outfit.
"I'm Ryuko." She scratched the air to her left side.
"And I'm Himiko!" The girl scratched with the oversized gloves to the right.
Both began to chant together. "And we are… The wild wild pussycats."
The two were practically the best of friends. Never once a dull moment between them. Himiko felt happy being here, with them.
She had everything she needed from her new family. And she didn't want to lose it… not again.
(THE NEXT DAY)
Early in the morning, Ryuko was preparing breakfast for the first time. Usually, she would have Tomoko do all the cooking, but not this time. Because this specific day, she was preparing for her new little one. She cooks fresh curry, she's not experienced in the way of the kitchen, but hopefully it was good enough.
"Phew, All done." She looked over her masterpiece of a breakfast. Curry with a side of rice. She placed a plate on a tray, along with an apple juice. She picked it up, and headed straight to her room door.
While walking, she thought about how her life had changed since she became an adopted mother. She was so happy that she could cry.
The child she adopted has been nothing but a sweetheart. It was surreal to her that people talked about how difficult she was. She hasn't gotten any of the problems she was warned about.
By the look of it, everything seems fine.
Although there was still the problem with her blood quirk. They didn't talk about her blood quirk to her, because they didn't know how to start the conversation. But with how things have been going, surely now is the time to talk to her. Once they figure out the problem, her and the team will be able to start figuring out a solution.
Ryuko got up to Himiko's room. She gently knocked on her door. "Himiko, wakey wakey, it's time for breakfast." A moment of silence passed, as she received no response. "Himiko?" Her voice sounded very panicked, as she had yet to her from her stray child.
Not waiting a second longer, she placed the breakfast down, and reached for her keys. Once the door was opened, she slowly looked inside the room.
And Himiko wasn't in her room.
Fear ran down her spine as Ryuko slammed the door open with her mom's strength. She immediately inspected the room, looking for any clues as to what might have happened.
The first thing she noticed was that Himiko's bed sheets were gone. The moment she saw them gone, she turned her head over the window. and sure enough, it was open along with a piece of bed sheet tied to the edge.
She ran to look outside the window to see the sheets tied together to reach the first floor. Without question, she knew that Himiko made herself an escape route from her room to the outside.
To think she would do such a thing, honestly she wasn't expecting this for at least another ten years. Boy was she not looking forward to that.
But nevermind that, her daughter had sneaked out of the house. Thankfully it wasn't a kidnapping, but it still didn't calm her down. Himiko could be anywhere in the mountains.
Of course there was one person who could help her. She ran out of the room, and headed outside to look for Tomoko. With her quirk, she could locate Himiko within seconds.
She looked all over the base for her, she managed to find her chatting with the rest of her teammates.
She ran up to them, panicking in her voice. "Everyone, I need all your help!"
The moment she screamed, everyone stopped what they were doing, and paid attention to their frightened friend.
"What's wrong!" Shino asked, rushing over to her friend's needs.
"It's Himiko, she snuck out of her room! I need all your help to find her."
Without skipping a beat, the whole team ready themselves to find her.
Tomoko began using her quirk to find Himiko. "I found her location. I also don't detect anyone else."
Ryuko felt a sense of relief after hearing that, but she was still in distress. "How far is she?"
"Not far, this way."
Everyone soon gave chase, Tomoko led them all to her current position. Each of them felt scared for the little one. They all ran into the forest, searching for any hint of her whereabouts.
After a few minutes of running, Tomoko came to a halt. "She's just up ahead."
Everyone slowly walked towards Himiko location, they turned around the corner of a tree to find her sitting in an open field. Ryuko walked up to her, "Himiko? What are you doing out here?"
Himiko raised her head, alerted by the voice of her adopted mother. Surprised that they were here, but she didn't turn around. Nor did she say anything.
"You had us worried about you. Come, let's go home. I've made breakfast." Ryuko tried to get Himiko to come back, but she suddenly took a step away from them.
"I'm sorry."
Out of nowhere, Himikostarted sprinting into the woods.
"Hey wait! Himiko, where are you going?!" They received no answer as toga disappeared from their sight by running into the bushes.
Once she left, Tomoko once again used her quirk to get a clear location on her. "This way!"
Everyone quickly gave chase. Tomoko noticed that she was running rather quickly.
"Come back, we're not mad at you for running." Ryuko yelled, in hopes that her voice would reach her, but it appears to haven't done anything.
"Let me try." Shino used her quirk to get through with her telepathically.
'Himiko, please stop. Tell us, what's the problem?' After sending the message. She checked over at Tomoko.
"Nope, still running."
"Alright that's it." That's when they know that they have to capture her. Ryuko began Manipulating the ground to make some four legged mud monsters for her team to ride on.
Everyone soon got on to their own mud monsters and began chasing Himiko at a much rapid pace. Soon they caught up to her.
"We are just behind her!" Tomoko yelled, as she suddenly became line of sight.
Yawara soon got next to her, and he used his quirk to stretch his arms to pick her up. "I've caught her!" Ryuko slowly stops the mud monster completely. Everyone soon came up from behind, and got off their mud monsters to get close.
"Thank goodness she's alright." Shino felt reassured for her safety.
This experience had left Ryuko terrified out of her mind, she was about to give Himiko a bit of a stern talking.
Or at least that was, until Yawara noticed something upon looking at her face. His expression went from worried to being scared. "Ryuko! Himiko appears to be bleeding!"
All feelings of anger vanished. Knowing that her daughter was hurt caused her to rush to her aid. As soon as she finally saw her face, she saw drops of blood on her mouth area. "Himiko?! My little girl, what has happened to you?!"
The girl just lowers her face, not wanting anyone to see. She seems to be in distress. "I'm sorry." She weakly whispers.
Ryuko didn't understand what she meant, and assumed it was for running away. She couldn't care about that, so she pulled out a little hanky and started rubbing her face with it. "It's okay, I'm not mad at you. Now hold still, I need to clean this blood off you."
She wipes the blood off her face, looking for the source of the wound. Once her face was clear of blood, she noticed no wounds on her. "Huh? Where did the blood come from?"
While Ryuko tries to figure out where the source of all the blood was from, she notices that Himiko was covering her sleeve.
Ryuko grabs and pulls up her sleeve, revealing what she's hiding. To her surprise, she found a small bite mark on her hand. It wasn't deep, just enough to break the skin and draw blood.
"How did you get this?"
She didn't want to say anything, still keeping her head down.
"Himiko, please. Tell me what happened." She tried to get through with her, using only the nice and sweet approach. But it wasn't working as she still wasn't looking at her.
Ryuko took a look at the small bite mark one more time, as she looked at it, she finally piece it together. "Did you… bite yourself?"
The child looked scared as she nodded, letting her know the truth.
Everyone gasped at the fact that Himiko bit herself. Despite their concern, they still wanted to help her.
"Please, don't hate me." Himiko weakly weeps.
"What?"
"My quirk makes me like blood." she raised her head, showing everyone how scared she was. "When mommy and daddy found out, they stopped loving me." Her eyes started to fill with tears. "I tried to hide it, because I was scared that you all would act like them." tears flow down her cheek. "And you'll stop loving me."
"That's not true!" Ryuko shots out.
The whole team saw their friends in a whole different way. As if she became more serious, her change in attitude causes Himiko to finally look up at her with crying eyes.
"The truth is, we actually knew about your situation."
"You knew?" She finally stopped crying, hearing what her adopted mother had to say.
"Yes, I did. I heard everything that has happened to you, and despite all of it, I still choose to adopt you. Because even a girl like you is deserving of a loving family."
Those words, they spoke to her loud and clear.
"Please believe me when I say that I'm here for you. That we are all here for you no matter what."
Himiko looked around and she saw the faces of the team all worried about her. They were not scared, only concerned about her safety. She looked back at Ryuko as she continued.
"You know, it's unfair how things ended up with your previous family. But know that I won't abandon you, no way, no how. You are stuck with me till the end, because You are the best thing that ever happened to me."
Hearing those words finally clicks something in her. Himiko stands up, as she finally stops crying. Ryuko then gave her daughter a hug, Himiko found comfort and hugged her mother back.
Happy to be accepted for who she is.
She then picked her up, and carried her all the way back home. The team looked at her, all glad that she was safe.
"We'll figure everything out, one way or another."
(Later that night.)
Ryuko was trying to figure out Himiko's blood situation in her room. After talking with her about it, she found it to be both a desire to see and drink it. She spent all night trying to find a long term solution that could end the problem her daughter has. Although she wasn't quite known for studying, she is determined to for Himiko sake.
"What is this crap, there's almost nothing here."
Much to her surprise, there wasn't really a lot going for people with Himiko's desires. Almost as if there's no actual way to offer a normal why to live in society. Knowing how limited Himiko options are, makes her worry a lot.
But she wasn't going to give up.
"This is useless, maybe I should get a hold of Vlad king. Surely he should help with-"
*knock* *knock*
a knock suddenly came at her door. Ryuko halted what she was doing, and answered.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal Himiko. She walked in the room, holding a blanket in her hand.
"What's wrong little one?"
"I had a nightmare. Can I sleep here tonight?"
Without missing a beat, she answers to her daughter's needs. "Oh, of course."
Ryuko picked her off the ground. She placed her on the bed, bringing a blanket over her.
"There, feeling better?"
"A lot."
"Good, now tell me. What was your nightmare about?"
"I dream that people will only see me as a monster. Will people be able to accept me?"
After hours of reading, and years of life experience, she knows that it was a likely possibility that people would be…unacceptable to her. She will tell her how life is, but not to lose hope.
"I know this may not be what you wanna hear, but the truth is, there will be people who aren't going to accept you. Because there's a lot who just don't want to understand. But…somewhere there's a few who will, and those are the people you'll treasure forever."
Although the answer seemed scary, it did tell her there are people out that would be important to her.
"It's okay if you sing me a Lullaby?"
"Sure." Ryuko sang to her a simple harmony, enough to calm her little one as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Thank you, mom."
Himiko fell asleep on her bed after she said these last words. The second Himiko called her mom, she nearly had a heartache. She finally felt like a real mother. Especially after everything she did in her power to raise her.
She tucks her in and wishes her good night. "Anything for you, little cub."
(Several years later)
An announcement was made all over japan. An advertisement about the wild wild Pussycats.
Appearing on the screen was none other than ragdoll, "Hello everyone in Japan, it's your favorite rescue heroes, the wild wild pussycats."
Mandalay appears on the side to continue. "It's about that time of year where we get to appear in town for our annual meet and greet!"
Pixie bob drops in on the Announcement "We'll be hosting our meet and greet within the city of Musutafu. Don't miss out, as it will be the first time our newest member and mascot will make a first ever appearance in person."
Tiger then came into the screen, "Give it up for our lovely newest member of the family… Singapura!"
Appearing on screen was the newest addition of the team. Himiko Tsuchikawa, first year at UA. Her outfit was a pink version of the team's iconic gear. Appearing all happy on screen.
Pixie Bob then finishes the message "Come and meet her in person. and remember to be kind to her, or you'll get scratched." After she finishes saying that, the announcement comes to an end.
After the announcement has been sent, most fans are excited to meet their favorite cat heroes. Especially about the new addition to the wild wild family. A good number of people wanted to meet her.
Especially to one green-hair boy, who watched the announcements at home. "So she's going to be there."
He closed his laptop, and went over to his all Might bed. He checked under it, and pulled out a lock box. He undid the lock, and opened it.
It revealed several of his important figures, and posters that he kept hidden away for…reasons.
One of them was a special limited edition wild wild Pussycats 10th anniversary poster. It was the only one that first introduced Himiko as a mascot.
The boy closed the box as his face turned blushed red. "It's alright Izuku, you are just another person asking for an autograph. She's not going to bite."
Izuku opened the box again, and grabbed his poster. He packed in his backpack, and headed off to school. Hoping to get an autograph from Himiko.
TO BE CONTINUED…