AN: Thanks for reading and leaving reviews everyone!

"Sorry I'm late!" Himiko shouted as she slammed open the door to Atsuko's apartment.

"I'm surprised you got here so quickly," Atsuko said as she stood up to greet her friend. "When I got your message I thought you were going to cancel on us."

"Song would never let me hear the end of it," Himiko pointed out, before she bit her lip, feeling her fang pressing against the soft skin. "Besides… I think I need this."

"You certainly don't look like you just came from a celebration," Emily chimed in as she stood up,

Himiko looked down at her choice of outfit for the night. She was in a cute black dress with black leggings, with the only color coming from the red bracelets on her wrist and the dark red scarf she had wrapped around her neck. A stark contrast to the other girl's attire, which was simply a UA uniform with a fluffy cream sweater replacing her jacket.

Returning her gaze to Emily, she shrugged. "After this week I deserve to look cute." She failed to catch the heat rising to the blonde girl's cheeks as she turned toward Atsuko. "So do you have a plan?"

"Of course," Atsuko smiled knowingly. "We're gonna get some dinner, and then we're gonna embarrass ourselves until you feel better."

"Embarrass ourselves?" Tomoe asked curiously.

"Remember when I told you to bring your earphones?" Atsuko asked. She waited for her friend to nod her head before she continued. "Well, the plan is to go to a karaoke bar. I hope you two don't mind."

"Wait! Really?" Emily asked, and they swore they saw lights dancing in her eyes, as if under the effects of her quirk.

Himiko and Atsuko looked at each other and realized they may have made a grave mistake.

After a quick dinner at a nearby ramen shop, Atsuko led the group to a karaoke box. It was small but well-maintained and, most importantly, close to the apartment she and her dad lived in. Because of that, it became a regular hangout spot for her and Himiko along with the rest of their middle school friends.

Now it was time to introduce their new friends to the venue.

After they checked in for their reservation, the host led them to one of the rooms. Once the four settled in and ordered drinks, Atsuko finally decided to deal with the elephant in the room. She turned to her best friend.

"How are you really feeling, Himi?"

"Well Izu's letter was a huge relief," Himiko admitted. "Izu was worried because his trainer ghosted him-"

"What the hell is wrong with him? Leaving Izuku hanging like that!"

Himiko grimaced as she remembered All Might's apology during Izuku's acceptance letter. There was a reason for it, but something didn't quite sit right - some lingering doubt about his quirk. She hated feeling that way about Izuku.

"It turns out All Might is going to be a teacher at UA next year," Himiko explained. "And so-"

"WHAT?!" All three of her friends exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell us that sooner!" Emily demanded, slamming her hand down on the table. "That's big news!"

"Do you know what he's teaching?" Tomoe asked with an uncharacteristic bout of excitement in her voice.

"We've gotta tell Habiki," Atsuko said as she was already reaching for her phone. "He's gonna be so excited!"

Himiko huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from her friends. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you at all."

Atsuko froze and looked up from her phone. "No, you're right," She said apologetically as she sat the device back on the table. "Sorry, we just got carried away."

"It's big news!" Emily tried to defend herself, earning a glare from the blue-haired girl. "But we can talk about it later!" She added quickly.

"I'm sorry as well," Tomoe said. "Back to the more important topic. How did your brother feel when the number one hero apologized to him?"

"Better," Himiko bit her lip. "He and Mom were going out to celebrate him getting first place on the entrance exam." She glared at Emily, cutting her off before she could interrupt again. "So that's one problem down. But it's not the only one…"

Atsuko seemed to understand immediately. Her face softening she reached out a hand toward her best friend. "Himi you don't have to -"

"No," Himiko let out a sigh. "I think they deserve to know."

"Know what?" Surprisingly, it was Tomoe who asked the question.

Himiko's eyes darted between the two. "You two both remember how I was adopted, right?" She waited until both girls nodded an affirmative before she continued. "What I didn't tell you was… what happened before that."

"What happened?" Emily asked with uncharacteristic quietness.

Himiko closed her eyes and took a breath.

They're your friends. You know them. They would never judge you for this. It'll go just as smoothly as it did in middle school.

Opening them, she looked at Tomoe and Emily. "The people who gave birth to me. They abused me." She heard the audible gasps but pushed on. "Physically and mentally. They forced me to suppress my quirk. To try and act like a Normal Girl." She spat the words with venom. "Including the part where I needed to drink blood regularly."

"Those monsters!" Emily was already standing, a look of unbridled rage on her face.

Tomoe was more composed, but Himiko could see the look of heartbreak on her face. Their reactions gave her the strength to continue.

"I - I wish I ran away. But that's not what happened, not really. I suffered a quirk backlash. There's a hole in my memory - I just don't know what happened for several weeks." She let out a bitter laugh. "There's a sealed police report that knows more about what I did than I do. Somehow I managed to travel several hundred kilometers and ended up in Mustafu." She felt a fond smile tugging at her lips. "Funny how the first thing I actually do remember is a kid with freckles and messy green hair - right before I passed out in an alleyway."

Despite her training, she let out a startled cry as Emily slammed into her, nearly knocking her over as she hugged her.

"That's- that's monstrous!"

"What kind of parent would do that to their child?" Tomoe asked, surprising everyone as her legendary composure cracked.

"I thought that's just how things were," Himiko said in a shaky voice, feeling Emily's arms tighten around her. Relenting, she wrapped her arms around the other girl, savoring the uncharacteristic warmth of her body. "At least until I woke up in the hospital and saw that kid and his mom sitting in the room with me. Before I knew it, I had the best family I could have ever asked for."

Giving her one final squeeze, Emily pulled away to look Himiko in the eye. "Remind me to thank your brother the next time I see him. But I still don't get it. Why is it a problem that he developed a quirk?"

And there she goes.

Himiko huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms. "Since I apparently need to spell it out for you. Quirk Discrimination sucks when you're on the receiving end. Something you'll never understand. Unlike some people, Izuku got me. He had to deal with being quirkless and bullied," Her face morphed into a sad smile. "And he's still so optimistic and hopeful. It's why I want to be a hero - to try and be like him. To inspire hope in others the way he inspired hope in me."

"I think I get it," Tomoe said softly. "And then he comes home with a quirk."

"Not just any quirk," Himiko exclaimed. "A super strong one, too!"

"I see."

"I still don't get it," Emily said matter-of-factly. "How is this a problem?"

"Are you serious right now?" Himiko didn't bother hiding the sheer exasperation in her voice as she glared at her friend. Although Emily was dangerously close to losing the title at the moment.

"Of course I am," Emily fired back with a glare of her own. "Everyone thought he was quirkless up until the Entrance Exam, right? Nobody had any clue that he's had a late blooming quirk before then?"

Himiko hesitated, thinking about Izuku's words. Technically he and All Might have both been planning this for ten months. But she couldn't say that part.

"No," She replied, shaking her head.

"That's what I thought," Emily said, sounding uncharacteristically serious, with none of her usual tone bleeding into her voice. "So how does his extremely late-blooming quirk suddenly invalidate everything that happened before the Entrance Exam? He still had to deal with everything thinking he was quirkless for years. Do you really think that him getting a quirk is going to change all of that?"

Himiko broke eye contact, suddenly finding the table very interesting as she buried the lower half of her face in her scarf. Mentally she once again went over her conversation with Izuku. How he came to her because she was upset. How he tried to reassure her. And further back, how excited he was that day he was caught up in a villain attack - the day he met with All Might.

The day he was offered a quirk.

Nothing in the past ten months suggested her worst fears would come true. He was still Izuku. Her Brother.

"No," Himiko said. "Izu's not like that." She let out a fond sigh.

"Of course he isn't," Atsuko giggled. "You know he still cares a lot about you."

"Yeah…" Himiko smiled fondly into her scarf. She knew how hard it was to get Izuku to put his own feelings first. It constantly exasperated her and Mom.

Even if there was a small, selfish part of her that liked him acting that way.

"I'm still waiting," Emily interrupted her thoughts - again. "How is this a problem?"

Himiko glared at Emily but with half of her face hidden behind a crimson scarf the look lacked any bite. Finally raising her head out of its hiding place, she sighed. "It shouldn't be! That's the problem!" Her voice dropped to barely a whisper as she showed a rare moment of vulnerability. "I'm just scared. I don't ever want to be alone again."

"You-" Emily said, taken off guard by the admission. "Do you really think we'd abandon you?"

"You've helped me so much," Tomoe gave her a gentle look. "I'd never do something as thoughtless as that."

"It's middle school all over again," Atsuko said as she stood up. "You're stuck with me. With us. And I'm sure Habiki feels the same way - he'd agree if he was here."

"I know how important your brother is to you," Tomoe added, "but if anything did happen you'd still have us."

"Exactly!" Emily said as she regained some measure of composure. "You don't think you're gonna get rid of us that easily, do you? And if he hurts you he'll - he'll answer to us!"

"I'd be careful if I were you, Song," Atsuko smiled playfully. "I'm pretty sure Himiko would kill for Izuku, no matter who it is."

Himiko barked out a stilted laugh at the joke. "You're not wrong." Like a switch had been flipped, she jumped out of her seat and pulled all three into a hug. "Thank you!" She cried out.

"I'm glad we could help," Tomoe said as she tried to adjust herself.

"And if you keep being an idiot about it we'll just keep reminding you," Emily said as she let herself melt into the other girl's embrace.

"I'll hold you to that," Himiko let go of the three and smiled at them. "I know it'll all work out. Just-"

"You don't have to say it," Tomoe said softly. "We all understand."

"If I ever meet your genetic donors though…" Emily said darkly, a storm brewing in her eyes.

"You'll have to get in line," Himiko let out a curt laugh as a predatory glint filled her eyes. "Mom's got first dibs."

"And there she is," Emily exclaimed. "There's the Himiko that we love and are terrified of."

Himiko rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at the other blonde, who fired back with a smirk of her own. Deciding now was the right moment to end the conversation, Emily walked over to the touch screen and found the cheesiest song she could think of. Grabbing the microphone, she shoved it in Himiko's hands before slamming her fist on the Play button.

"Ok, serious time is over. Let's embarrass ourselves!"

As they left the karaoke booth, Himiko grabbed Atsuko and Emily. Wrapping her arms around their shoulders, she pulled them into a side hug. "Thanks! I needed this!"

"Even Song's bad singing?" Atsuko asked playfully.

"Hey! I made up for it!"

"Song," Tomoe said as she turned towards the three of them. "Enthusiasm doesn't make up for lack of tune. It actually makes things worse."

"I tried my hardest!" Emily protested, before going uncharacteristically quiet as she looked at the others. "Actually, that reminds me. I'd like to think we're close enough now that you can call me Emily. Hideo too."

Tomoe looked taken aback for a moment before she offered the others a smile. "I think so. In that case, you should start calling me Tomoe."

"Only if you call me Atsuko."

Himiko looked at the two girls and felt like she was wrapped in a blanket of warmth. They were her friends - there was no judgment for her past, only anger at the people who abused her. Giving them a fanged smile, she finally spoke. "As much as I love being called Midoriya, you can call me Himiko too."

After a quick stop at Atsuko's place to retrieve their things, the three girls finally said their goodbyes.

"Thanks again," Himiko said as they stood outside the door of the apartment.

"I had fun tonight." Atsuko smiled from the doorway. "And I'm really glad you're feeling better Himi. I'll see you all Monday!"

"Bye!" The three called as the blue-haired girl closed the door.

As they turned to leave, Himiko suddenly felt a hand wrap around her arm. "Mido- Himiko, wait!"

From her position several meters away Tomoe noticed the proceedings out of the corner of her eye. She could watch if she wanted to, but something told her Emily wanted privacy. Not that anything said would stay secret for long, given those two. The ghost of a smile appeared on her face, she kept walking as she pulled out her noise-canceling headphones and put them on.

Silently thanking their mutual friend for not interrupting, Emily watched as Himiko spun around, her face betraying her confusion. Taking a deep breath, She bowed.

"I'm so sorry about earlier!"

"Huh?" Himiko asked, confusion written all over her face.

"In homeroom. When I demanded to know about your brother's quirk!" Emily felt her face heating up. "I didn't know what you were really going through!"

Himiko opened and closed her mouth, once again rendered speechless by the girl in front of her. Finding her voice, she finally spoke. "Who are you and what have you done with Emily?"

Emily let out a strangled cry as she straightened upright. "Hey! I'm trying to be nice!"

Himiko's face softened as she gave the other girl an earnest smile. "I know." Without warning she pulled Emily into a hug, the girl letting out another surprised cry.

"Just - I'm here for you. I know the others are too but-" Emily rested her head against the other girl's shoulder. "I- you helped me figure out a lot about myself this year."

Himiko side-eyed the other girl. "Thank Suko, not me."

Emily pulled away to glare at Himiko. "Hoto-Atsuko may have started things, but you had a huge part in it too!"

"Good!" Himiko chirped. "I don't know if Japan could have survived otherwise."

"Hey!"

Himiko laughed, only to realize her mistake as she saw the flash of pain behind the other girl's eyes. She hid it well - her mask was just as good as Himiko's used to be - but Himiko knew that pain. Cutting herself off, she bowed her head. "I'm sorry. That was too far."

"You should be!" Emily crossed her arms and huffed.

Raising her head, Himiko's expression softened. "I'm glad I listened to Suko. I like this version of you much better."

Emily slowly uncrossed her arms, feeling her neck heating up. "Me too."

Slowly, awkwardly, Himiko picked up the bag she dropped. "I'll see you Monday?"

"Yeah… Have a good night, Himiko."

"Have a safe trip back. Emily."

"Oh they'd regret messing with me," Emily laughed.

Himiko answered with a laugh of her own. "They would." Giving the girl one last fanged smile, Himiko turned around and dashed toward the stairwell, feeling invigorated and ready to celebrate Izuku's success.

Emily watched Himiko leave before letting out a longing sigh.

"You've done it again Emmy. You just can't ever make it easy on yourself, can you?"

Shaking her head she slowly made her way to the stairwell, descending slowly to give Himiko plenty of time to disappear from her sight.

Not that she could get the image of Himiko's cute fanged smile out of her mind even if she tried.

She didn't know when it started - certainly not at the beginning of the year. She was so focused on becoming a hero. To prove that she wasn't letting her parents down. She had inherited their keen intellect and curiosity, but that wasn't all she inherited from them. Her father's weak light generation quirk and her mother's weak fluid manipulation quirk combined to give her a powerful light manipulation quirk.

Even though I-Island catered to the residents' every whim, Emily found the whole atmosphere stifling. She wanted freedom - she planned to leave as soon as she could. So when her parents told her they were moving to Japan to open a new branch of Windsong Industries, she jumped at the chance. After they settled in, she finally admitted to them that she didn't want to be a scientist - she didn't want to follow in their footsteps designing support gear. They had given her more than one amazing gift, and she wanted to be a hero - a shining beacon to those around her.

They took it well. She knew they would because they're wonderful! But still… she had a lingering sense of guilt.

She wanted- needed to prove to herself that she made the right choice. To show her parents - to show the world! That she deserved to be a hero too. That she was more than capable of stepping out of her parents' shadow.

And she thought she proved it when she managed to get into UA! On the recommendation exam, no less! Facing off against Japan's best and brightest!

Then seven weeks later classes started, and she realized how far she still had to go.

That wasn't all she realized.

During middle school, she never really was interested in romance or boys like her classmates were. She was too busy focused on getting good grades, on trying to practice with her quirk, and on building support gear to prepare for the future.

And then Himiko Midoriya crashed into her life.

Her knife-wielding classmate wasn't perfect. Far from it. She was loud, crude, rude-

-and she was strong, determined, and painfully cute.

In the beginning, they were always at odds, each a regular source of frustration for the other. But over time they formed a strange partnership. When Aizawa expelled his entire class both girls were determined to get their classmates through the year, no matter what. Finding common ground, the two began to work together, finding common ground between them as their frustration transformed into playful banter and teasing.

The groundwork had been slowly building for a long time, but something was always missing. Until tonight, when the final piece fell into place. When Himiko opened up - shared a rare moment of vulnerability. That was when Emily found Himiko's true beauty.

The girl was like a piece of Kintsugi. She had been hurt by the genetic donors who dared call themselves her parents and suffered abuses that nobody should have to live through. But she survived. And the girl that had emerged, Himiko Midoriya, was so, so beautiful.

"Argh!" Emily threw her hands in frustration. "You don't even know if she likes girls! Not like you stood a chance anyway. You ruined that chance before you even began." She stopped in front of a lamp pole and banged her head against it before she slowly reached up and pressed the button to activate the crosswalk.

Lifting her head, Emily let out another sigh.

"Well Emmy, you vowed to become a hero no matter what. You're certainly not going to let something silly like a crush get in the way of that, are you?"

Watching the sign light up, she crossed the street and continued onward.

A smile still on her face, Himiko opened the door to her family's apartment.

"I'm home!" She called out.

Seconds later Inko came flying toward her, crashing into her as she wrapped her arms around her. "Welcome home!" She felt her daughter wrap her arms around her, hugging her back and keeping her from crashing to the floor.

Himiko gave her mom a fanged smile before she lowered her to the ground. "Izu's feeling better?"

"Mhm," Inko smiled back as she let go, one hand resting on Himiko's arm. "Much. How about you dear?"

Himiko bobbed her head. "I think tonight was exactly what I needed."

"I'm glad," Inko said as she gave her daughter's arm a gentle squeeze. "We bought a cake to celebrate but I wanted to wait until you got back."

"That sounds great!"

Slipping off her shoes, Himiko followed her mom into the living room, where she saw Izuku sitting on the couch, looking intently at his phone. Quietly disappearing, she snuck around the couch only to crash into her brother, wrapping her arms around him. His shout of protest was exactly the reaction she was looking for, and she relaxed as she leaned into his side.

Things are going to be different now that Izuku has a quirk. And that's okay!

She just needed a reminder.