The adults learn more about Himiko's home life, and Toshinori gains new insight into what he must do going forward. The adults discuss the best path forward, while Izuku and Ochako try to cheer Himiko up, as she reveals some of what her life was like ever since they last were together.
The conversation that ensued in the morning was…difficult, to say the least. Himiko was not exactly in the mood to divulge the major details…not even to Izuku and Ochako. But it was enough for Toshinori to start the process he'd been prepared for, a second case for Tsukauchi to look into. He'd already passed on the information about Aldera, but it was not going far fast, because without Izuku's direct testimony…they didn't have a lot to go on. But Toshinori had a plan. Sort of.
Knowing Bakugo came from the same school, and that the two boys knew each other somehow (at least, they did according to Inko), he wondered if he could speak to Bakugo privately on the matter. Perhaps if the boy knew something, that'd be enough for Tsukauchi to move forward and get the necessary evidence to start investigating in earnest.
Of course…he wasn't discounting the possibility that said boy was one of the problems. In which case, a private conversation could still be of use…both to make sure the boy knew that such behavior would not be tolerated at UA, but also, maybe he could appeal to whatever part of the boy wanted to be a hero and get him to come forward. Not that he was comfortable with it either way…it could be nothing, the boy could have done nothing, but still, something told Toshinori he needed to be cautious.
That said, he'd spoken to Aizawa about the situation already, and the other teacher had assured Toshinori that any step out of line by Bakugo would be met by a swift response. What the response was would depend on the severity of the infraction, obviously, but both Aizawa and Nezu had said they had some possible avenues in mind for any such situation…and that was good enough for Toshinori.
But that led them to now. Himiko had spent the morning quietly explaining why she'd ran, and though she had not given many details at all, even the little she had was both infuriating to the adults there, as well as had kept the blonde teenager far too quiet and solemn for the other two to really take it well. But that was the morning. After Himiko had explained what she was up to speaking about, Inko, the Uraraka's, and Toshinori had sat down without the teens to discuss what was the best path forward.
As for the teenagers, Izuku had pulled Ochako and Himiko off with him to the beach, wanting them to run with him and maybe do some small Quirk practice, in the hopes of distracting Himiko. Toshinori couldn't help but be proud of his successor…well, successors he supposed, but right now, mostly Izuku as he was taking charge to fix what he saw as an injustice. Granted, the boy was lost without young Ochako as well, but that was more than fine for Toshinori. They could support each other through this trying time!...but for now, the pressing matter at hand.
"Well, I've spoken to my detective friend. As Himiko is eighteen, we have no worries about any form of legal troubles. So the matter becomes where she goes from here," Toshinori explained calmly.
"Well, assuming she got into UA, she'll have the dorms then, although that's only part of the issue…and that's a big assumption," Inko mused.
Toshinori chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…don't tell the kids yet, but, I can confirm, she did make it in. All three did, and are going into the same class. So that is not a worry."
"Really?! Oh, 'Chako's gonna be so happy!" Miu exclaimed, a wide smile on her face.
Toshinori nodded gravely. "Oh yes. In fact, they took the top three spots! Truly impressive, really."
"Wait…they got all three of the top spots?" Katashi asked, blinking.
"That they did! I'd go into the details and actual scores, but I know Nezu wanted to tell them personally later today when we return to UA to start working on their fused Quirks," Toshinori replied.
"Then we should figure out what to do for Himiko. We clearly can't send her back, and I wouldn't want to even if it was an option," Inko said. "The new year for UA doesn't start for almost a month, if I remember what Izu told me."
"About three weeks from now, yes. But that won't be as big of an issue as you may think. I…well, I was going to suggest having Izuku move into the dorms early anyways, so I may train him at UA further…now I'm changing that to Himiko and Ochako as well," Toshinori said, spreading his hands wide on the table.
"Hmm…so you can train all three of them at UA, yes?" Miu asked, tilting her head to the side.
Toshinori nodded gravely. "Yes, indeed. This…is unprecedented, to be frank. One For All, on its own, is powerful, as you've all seen from myself. It can be dangerous for the wielder, even. Granted, for me, I had more trouble with regulation of my power, but even back then, I often struggled, and at times I did cause myself harm. I would like to avoid that for these young ones. Not only that, but learning how it impacted the girls' Quirks is paramount. Which…I'm afraid to ask, but what even is Himiko's Quirk? Her file says it's a minor cat mutation but I can't believe that is it."
The three adults blinked in confusion, sharing a glance at one another that had Toshinori suspecting he was not going to like the answer. Inko spoke up after a moment, hesitant. "You're sure that's all her file lists?"
In response, Toshinori pulled out his phone, quickly flipped through the digital copies of the files he had, and pulled up the relevant one, sliding it over to Inko to look over. The green-haired woman stared at the file in consternation, her eyes narrowing into a glare as she looked, for lack of a better word, angry at the file contents. A moment later she shared it with Miu and Katashi, the duo looking similar to Inko at the revelation…Katashi's fist clenched, Miu looking like she'd just swallowed a lemon. Inko sighed.
"It's called 'Transform', and it allows her to shapeshift into the form of anyone whose blood she's drank. I cannot believe her parents…no, no, I retract that, I can believe those, those…"
"Shit-eating bastards?" Miu helpfully supplied, making Toshinori blink in surprise at the sweet looking lady's words.
"Yes, that, precisely, thank you Miu," Inko replied. She shook her head once more before looking back up at Toshinori. "I knew they took issue with her blood drinking requirement, but I would have thought they'd gotten over it or gone to some counselor." Inko let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. "I-I shouldn't have let that go. I didn't think they'd go so far as to falsify records."
"Me neither. I always thought they were just being a bit squeamish, but never thought they'd just lie about their daughter," Katashi mused.
"That's a crime, innit?" Miu asked, turning to Toshinori.
He nodded at her. "Falsifying Quirk Registries? Oh, absolutely. Especially if the Quirk is dangerous or has requirements of some kind. Which…does it? I know she needs to drink blood to use it, but…"
"She needs to drink blood periodically or else she thinks she's starvin', yeah," Miu replied. "The kids used to share theirs with her…granted, we weren't none too happy about that at first, but 'Chako was pretty stubborn about it."
"I was…not as supportive as I should have been either. Mostly I was worried about her getting sick, you know, bloodborne illnesses and the like. I assumed her parents would take her to a counselor and get a prescription or something, but apparently not," Inko sighed.
"Now now Inko, it weren't just you. We dropped the ball on that too," Katashi replied, reaching over the table to pat the green-haired woman on the shoulder.
"None of you did anything of the sort. It was not your responsibility to take care of young Himiko, it was her own parents, and they failed. In an abhorrent fashion, it seems. I will be forwarding this information to my friend who is opening an investigation into them as we speak. Would you three be fine with him asking you for further information?" Toshinori asked, tapping away at his returned phone as he spoke.
"I mean, sure, but it was almost a decade ago. I don't know how much help I could be," Inko said.
"Any information is enough, really. Trust me, Tsukauchi is one of my closest and most trusted friends. He's one of the few I told about One For All, and he's never failed to come through for me," Toshinori reassured. "He's also the one I got looking into Aldera, although that is more difficult until we get some statements from Izuku, or someone else with knowledge."
"Wait, what're you looking into Izuku's school for?" Miu asked, confused.
Inko looked down at the table, shame coloring her face. "...we don't know for certain, we just know they've been treating him poorly. But Izuku won't talk to me about it. I…I know I failed him when he was little, I wasn't as supportive of his dream when the doctor diagnosed him, but-"
"But nothing, you had a bad couple days, but I remember, soon as that jerkoff Hisashi left you stepped up! Don't go beating yourself up about that, Inko! He's always thought the world of you, I remember he always bragged about how awesome a mom he had. I doubt that changed since we last saw him," Miu protested.
"He was always effusive in his praise of you, Inko. I don't think that's why he doesn't tell you what's wrong. I suspect he just doesn't want people to worry about him…taking the wrong lessons from my past apparently," Toshinori grumbled, his shoulders slumping.
"What do you mean by that?" Katashi asked.
Toshinori shrugged helplessly. "When you're the Number One Hero, you have a responsibility…no, more like an obligation. I wanted to be a symbol, and I worked tirelessly to become one. To make others feel safe, and secure, and at peace…but it cost me a lot. A lot I never truly admitted to until recently. My sidekick, he still won't talk to me anymore, not since that fateful fight against All For One. I…well, I simply didn't want the public to be afraid, so I went back to work as soon as I could leave the hospital. And I've just not stopped doing so. And look at me now, a shell of my former self, able to be a hero for less than three hours a day. All because I didn't want people to worry."
After a moment, he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "I've said before that in many ways, Izuku reminds me of myself. The problem is, I mean that in both the good and the bad ways. He has a heroic spirit unlike few I've seen before. He's kind, and caring, and genuinely just wants to help…but on the flip side, he also still seems to think that sacrificing himself is the best solution to any issue set before him. And that…that is what I need UA's help to train out of him. He needs to be better than I was. And I truly believe he will be. He just needs that time to grow."
"...that's asking a lot of the school…but I hope you are right, Toshinori. I'm always going to worry about him, I'm always going to regret not being able to give him his own Quirk, not being able to protect him from those small-minded people who couldn't accept him for him…but I'm truly thankful you gave him a chance to bring his dream to life," Inko replied, her voice growing soft, eyes watering slightly as she smiled up at the pro hero.
Toshinori shakes his head softly. "No, Inko, I need to thank you, for raising a genuinely perfect successor, someone I can trust with the legacy of One For All. And now I get to thank the two of you as well," Toshinori said, gesturing to the Uraraka's, "For giving me a second one! From everything Izuku has said to me, young Ochako is someone he trusts with every fiber of his being…and if he trusts her, and young Himiko, I can only mirror that trust and faith. They sure impressed the staff during the exams, that's for certain!"
"Aww, well, I mean…'Chako's just…always been a good kid. That's really more on her than on us," Katashi said, his cheeks flushed as he looked away from the others.
"Katashi, don't be like that. You and Miu did a great job raising her, she's such a lovely young woman, and I'm so happy she, Himiko, and Izuku got to reunite!" Inko interjected.
Katashi just grumbled something under his breath, still looking a bit embarrassed as Miu giggled quietly, patting her husband on the shoulder. Toshinori couldn't help but smile, seeing such supportive parents almost made up for the rage he felt towards Himiko's 'parents'. Still…he was worried about her. Hopefully, Izuku and Ochako could help her start to recover.
Izuku wasn't sure if this was his best solution to make Himiko feel better, but it was all he had. The beach was his place now…the place where he'd fought, long and hard, for the right to take on One For All. No matter how many other people came to the beach now that it was clean, a part of him actually felt pride for his accomplishment, and somewhere deep inside he felt like he had a small stake in this beach, a tiny part of it belonging to him…and he hoped that by sharing of himself with Himiko, with Ochako at his side, they could make her feel better. He hoped.
It…maybe was working? The two of them stared at the photos on his phone of the before, then looked back up at the pristine beach…back down at his phone, back up at the beach, back down…and then Ochako just clasped him on the shoulders and spoke, staring straight into his eyes. "Izu?"
"...yeah?"
"...you know yer fucking insane, right?"
Izuku couldn't help it. It was such an Ochako thing to just fall into her accent and curse at him (she'd had a bit of a potty mouth even when they were kids), that he couldn't help the warm, fuzzy sensation that filled his chest. He started to giggle, one hand over his mouth in a vain attempt to suppress it.
Luckily, she didn't seem to take offense, smiling back at him and giggling in return…and then they heard it. Himiko letting out a small, almost chirped giggle, the duo turning to look at their blonde companion, joy filling their hearts at seeing her smile, even if it was small and wobbly. But…Izuku did kind of have to break it. He hated the thought of it, but…he really needed to understand what happened so he could help.
With a deep breath, he carefully reached out and placed his hand on Himiko's arm, drawing her attention to him. He belatedly remembered the pinky thing, only to heave a sigh of relief when he noticed the gloves Ochako had gifted him were on. This was going to take some getting used to…but for now, Himiko. "Himi? Do…do you wanna tell us what all's going on? Just us? We won't tell Toshi or Mom or 'Chako's parents if you don't want, but…I think we," Izuku gestured to himself and Ochako, "really want to know what happened, so we can help."
"What Izu said. Himi, I promise, we're here for you, we just…gotta know what you need from us," Ochako added, coming up on Himiko's other side.
Himiko's shoulders slumped, her entire body looking like it lost all its energy…but after a brief moment, she nodded. She glanced about for a moment, before spying the retaining wall behind her. She slowly walked over to it, turning her back to it and sliding down to sit on the sand, knees pulled up to her chest. At her gesture, Izuku and Ochako followed, taking seats on either side of her. With one hand, she reached out to hold Izuku's, and leaned her head over onto Ochako's shoulder, keeping contact with both of them as she spoke softly.
"You guys were right. They never accepted me. They lied about what my Quirk was, and told me not to even think about it. They made me dress how they wanted, act how they wanted, demanded I be a perfect pretty princess for them so I wouldn't embarrass them. I…I didn't even get to choose my 'friends', and they really weren't friends either. It was more like…a group of jerks who just got off on making fun of other people, and backstabbing each other when the moment came."
"So…you were one of the mean girls, the ones who are all popular and snotty?" Ochako asked, tilting her head to the side.
Himiko flushed, but nodded. "I, I didn't wanna be, but my parents-"
"You don't have to make excuses, Himi. We know you'd never want to be in that sort of crowd if you could," Izuku reassured her, hiding his own internal winces at the thought of her being one of them back at Aldera. Himiko wasn't like that and he knew it, she was just trying to survive…and if anyone knew what that was like, he did.
"...I tried not to be too much like them. I didn't really join them in bullying or anything, I just…didn't stop them when they were being mean behind peoples backs. But that's still no excuse. But if I didn't cooperate with them, didn't make friends with them, Mom and Dad would…they'd…they'd lock me in my room, and they put bars over the windows, a-and take away my phone and only let me eat like, once a day a-and-"
"Himi? Himi, it's okay, just breathe hun, just breathe," Ochako soothed, realizing Himiko was starting to get too worked up, starting to hyperventilate as she spoke. Izuku squeezed her hand, pressing his shoulder into hers to try and ground her as best he could.
She took a deep, bracing breath, then another, and a third. She needed to focus…Izu was right. 'Chako was right. They…they would never abandon her. It's why she ran to them to begin with. She trusted them, and she needed to show it. "...they never let me drink blood," she whispered, confirming what the other two had already suspected. "I-I just…I always felt so, so trapped, and so thirsty. It got real bad, I um…I had to sneak out at night sometimes and um…um…"
"We won't judge, Himi. We promise," Ochako said softly, absolute conviction in her voice.
"...I'd hunt rats or mice. Sometimes a bird. I-I hated it. I felt so disgusting! Like I'm the horror they thought I was! Some sort of sick, twisted monster killing animals to deal with my thirst and-"
"You're not a monster, Himi! Please, please don't ever say that about yourself!" Izuku protested. "You did what you had to do to survive! The only monsters there were your parents!"
"Izu's right, and if I ever see them, I'ma punt them into the fucking sun, Himi, I swear," Ochako added, a growl in her voice.
Himiko swallowed thickly, still refusing to look up from her hands. "But…sometimes, sometimes I had really bad thoughts."
"Like what? I-if you want to tell us, you don't have to if you're not comfortable with it," Izuku quickly reassured.
"...I wanted to bite people. To rip and tear into their throats, to suck out the blood from them like bone marrow. I wanted to just stab and slash and just go off, bathe in the blood of people, because I just hated everything!" Himiko's voice rose to a scream on the last words, her fists clenching tight around Ochako and Izuku's hands, the two not flinching at the pressure. "I hated what they made me, I hated how I had to act, I hated them!...and I hated me. I-I only could keep going because of my promise, but I was so afraid, so worried you'd hate me too. I don't think I can go on if you two hate me too…"
"We don't, and we never could, Himi," Ochako said, squeezing Himiko's hand tightly. "Right, Izu?"
Izuku nodded solemnly, mirroring Ochako's squeeze. "We couldn't if we tried. You're…you're very important to me, Himi. The promise got me through a lot too. And I don't think you're a monster for dark thoughts. I um,I think we all have darker thoughts sometimes, you know?" Izuku looked away for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before turning back to look at Himiko. "What matters is what we do about our thoughts…and you kept fighting to be a hero. Like I always knew you would be."
Himiko stared at him for a moment, her eyes shining, before she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tightly, nearly choking him. A moment later, Ochako's arms wrapped about the two of them, leaning into the awkward hug as the trio shared a moment together, the only sounds the soft crashing of waves against the beach and the faint cries of birds high above.
"T-thank you. Both of you. I-I was so scared, but you…you guys…you're still you," Himiko said, her voice thick with emotion.
Ochako rubbed Himiko's back. "It'll be okay, Himi. We're all together now. And…kinda linked now, heh."
"Yeah…," Izuku murmured. "Looks um, like we're stuck together, again."
"I'm still sorry, for causing you guys so much trouble, and making you come all the way out here, Chako," Himiko muttered, breaking the hug and leaning back against the retaining wall once more.
Ochako shrugged. "Honestly, I'm kinda glad you did. It…it kinda sucked being away from you guys, I really didn't feel good about it."
Izuku looked at her curiously. "I…I didn't either. Felt like, a tightness in my chest, when you two were at home. It didn't start until a couple hours after you left though."
Himiko wiped at her eyes, sniffling slightly. "Same here. Do…do you think it has something to do with the Quirk sharing thing?"
Izuku pursed his lips. "It's…possible. Then again, at this point, I'd say anything's possible," he muttered, sounding a bit annoyed.
"Guess it's another thing to tell Toshinori," Ochako sighed.
"Yeah…but we can worry about that later," Izuku said. He gestured out towards the beach in front of him. "I uh…I thought we could spend some time out here, just, forgetting about all that. Since it's so nice and all." Left unsaid was him unsure what else to do, so he figured it was a good idea to just try and distract them a bit.
"It is pretty. Really cool of you to clean it up, Izu," Himiko said with a soft smile as she looked up at the beach once more. The sight of her smile made something light up in his chest, the heavy feeling that had been a pall over him all night seeping away slightly.
"I kinda wish I had a swimsuit or something, but…it'd be fine to just go wade in the water, right? Like, nothing dangerous or against the law to do so?" Ochako asked, looking over at Izuku. Her own grin made him feel even lighter, adding onto the sudden surge of joy he felt from Himiko finally smiling.
Izuku grinned, finally feeling like they had a chance to enjoy the beach he worked so hard on. "Nope! We can do whatever!" He started to untie his own shoes as his way of proving it to them. It was difficult for him to hide the excitement bubbling up inside, actually finding the idea of getting to mess around in the water something he'd yet to do. He felt too awkward doing it alone, but a part of him really wanted to, now that it was so clean and serene and just…something he did. Something he contributed to the world, for once he wasn't Deku the useless he was just Izuku Midoriya.
As he jumped to his feet, socks and shoes off, pants rolled up, he held his hands down to Himiko and Ochako, the other two having just finished taking their own footwear off. Ochako grinned, taking his hand, as Himiko almost pulled him over from how eagerly she yanked on his arm to pull herself up with. His own excitement was bleeding over into the other two, the emotional drain of the prior evening and morning leaving them on edge enough that the slightest change was able to push them into an almost nervous excitement.
The trio managed to make their way to the edge of the water, the waves slowly coming in and washing over their feet. Himiko let out a small shiver, as the water was cool, but it didn't seem to dampen her own slowly growing excitement. With the knowledge Izuku and Ochako didn't hate her, something was welling up in her chest that made her actually feel something foreign, a feeling she didn't really remember…but she could recognize. Hope.
Ochako jogged into the surf, giggling to herself as she idly kicked at the waves. "C'mon slowpokes, water's fine!" she teased, spinning about in place.
"Oh I'll show you slow," Himiko promised, running into the water and grabbed Ochako around the waist, almost knocking the two of them over as she started spinning Ochako around to make her dizzier, the brunette still giggling as she playfully slapped at Himiko's hands.
Izuku…felt mischievous, for the first time in as long as he could remember. He didn't know where or why this feeling came from, but he just felt like he wanted to mess with his two best friends. And the best way to do so? Well…
"Izu!" two voices shrieked, as they felt themselves get splashed with a big burst of water. Both girls turned to glare at Izuku, the boy having swept his leg through the water with enough force to douse both girls with enough seawater to leave them dripping. He cackled, feeling both so unlike himself and yet still fully in control, running away from them as they began to chase after him, their feet slipping in the sand, waves being disrupted by their movement.
He let out a startled yelp as Ochako dive tackled his legs out from under him, sending him face planting into the surf as she flopped half atop his legs herself. He rolled over to get his face out of the water, blinking rapidly to clear the water, treated to the sight of Ochako laughing like a hyena as she futilely brushed at her hair. He couldn't help it, his own laughter bubbling up in his chest as well, looking at Himiko staring down at the both of them like they were lunatics.
He shared a quick glance with Ochako, almost able to feel her agreement that that could not stand…and with a quick jolt forward to grab onto Himiko's wrists, they dragged her down into the surf with them, the blonde's eyes wide in shock and then playful annoyance as she found herself falling over just in time to get hit by a slightly larger wave that managed to completely cover her for a brief moment. She popped up out of the surf, spitting out water and glaring at the other two for a brief moment…before falling over into the same bubbling laughter the rest were.
As the trio continued to splash one another with the water, laughing and giggling and finally feeling a weight fall off their shoulders, Izuku couldn't help but smile as he looked up at the bright blue sky, at the glittering blue ocean…for once, his world wasn't red, but blue, not a burning red of pain and agony, but a calming, beautiful blue that made him simply appreciate the day. Things weren't fixed, and he knew there were difficult conversations ahead, but…as he saw Ochako flick water at Himiko, her cheeks flushed with exertion and her giggles musical to his ears, as he saw Himiko smile wide, her fangs visible, playfully trying to drag Ochako into one of the waves, as he himself scooped up water to throw at them both…he could enjoy the fact his world was not red right now, but a soft, soothing blue.