Izumi and Giran walked through the streets of Miriaru City. They walked into the shady parts of the city, feeling natural to them, after all, they were also villains. The murder followed them, vigilant, looking ahead for them for any sort of trouble that may arise, but not so close as to give away they were working together.
The two villains finally reached their destination, a deserted street leading to an alleyway, where there was nothing but a dead end, garbage, dried blood stains and overfilled dumpsters. Giran puffed on his cigarette, blowing smoke into the cold night air.
"So, this is the place?"
Izumi went over to one of the dumpsters, opening it up and moving some trash bags out of the way, to reveal a headless body with a deep bullet wound in its heart.
Giran whistled at the sight, smirking.
"Really went all out on him, huh? The smell could be better though"
"I'm surprised you can still smell with how much you smoke"
"Hey, taste isn't what it used to be, but I haven't lost my sense of smell yet" Giran said, while texting 'cleaner' the location of the body to get rid of.
Izumi looked over to the sides and up, looking for any signs the crows may be making her, and was satisfied after not finding any sort of problem. The deem light from the poor street lights in the area reflected on her helmet as she turned around to face Giran.
"Is this cleaner really going to make it in time, Giran? I already declined Trickshot's help to get rid of the evidence, so I rather not be disappointed"
"Don't worry about that~ He may be a bit odd, but you'll be surprised how good they can get rid of evidence~"
Izumi hummed disinterestly, closing the dumpster to not have the headless body out in the open.
"Honestly, I'm kinda surprised how quickly you got into your villain gear to come lead me here~ You were at the meeting in Kyoto just a few hours ago"
Izumi tightened the leather gloves in her hands, looking away from Giran.
"You know how fast the Shinkanshen is, getting my gear and rifle wasn't much of an issue thanks to the murder"
Izumi tilted her head, completely expressionless thanks to the helmet, to point to the crows on top of the buildings around them, looking down on the two. Giran had to narrow his eyes to even be able to distinguish them against the black night sky.
Izumi didn't emote much, but with the helmet on, he could barely tell what she was thinking, only years working together and knowing her allowed Giran to get anything from her when she was in full gear.
"You know, you should make some sort of update to your gear so you are able to emote easier"
Izumi deadpanned on him, looking straight at him with the featureless face of the helmet. She held her stare until Giran started feeling uncomfortable, then slid the visor of the helmet up, so he could see her deadpan stare directly.
"No"
Izumi put the visor back down. And took the rifle out of her bag, to inspect it, though it wasn't necessary. Having the weight of the weapon on her hands made her feel more secure, as they waited for Giran's cleaner to show up.
Giran noticed the other bag Izumi was carrying. It seemed to hold something round, like a ball, but he knew that was definitely not what was inside it.
"Aren't you going to put the head in the dumpster as well? I get you used it to threaten the Order, but you can get rid of it you know?"
Izumi patted the bag, resting the rifle against her shoulder.
"No. I'm not usually able to take trophies from the people I hunt, you know, for safety tracking reasons, so I wanted to take something this time, now that I hunted for myself and am going to get rid of the evidence. Also, the murder deserves a good treat~"
Once again, the fact that Giran couldn't see her face right now made it very difficult to tell whether she was joking or not. But from her cheerful tone… Giran decided not to ask for confirmation and just forget about the image burning inside his brain.
At that moment, the air at the end of the alley rippled, and a black vortex spread out. Izumi instantly turned and pointed her rifle into the strange black cloud that was growing in height. Giran pulled her rifle out of the way with his hand.
"It's alright Karasu-chan~ The cleaner is here~"
Izumi relaxed, steadying her breath and clicking the voice changer inside the helmet on, pointing the rifle upwards into the sky.
A man with a severed hand in his face came out of the dark cloud, stepping out of it as if it were a mere curtain on his way. He was wearing a black shirt and pants, with deep red sneakers. His dry light blue hair waved because of the wind kicked up by the sudden portal, making Izumi realize that the dark cloud transformed into a man, wearing a waiter's uniform over his misty body.
A warp quirk? Seriously? Giran always had contact with a guy with a warp quirk?
Izumi was broken out of the thoughts of how someone like that misty waiter could have flown under the radar of the murder for so long by the guy with the hand on his face.
"Giran, what did you call me?" His voice was coarse and irritated, and he scratched his neck in a way Izumi could tell shouldn't feel pleasant at all.
"Sorry, sorry~ Wasn't my intention to offend you, Shigaraki~ I was just telling my partner how good you are at these cleaning jobs"
Shigaraki glared at Giran, scratching his neck still. His red eyes sneaked past the fingers of the severed hand grabbing his face, and dug deep into Giran, then Izumi.
"I'm getting tired of getting called for this stupid side quests, Giran"
Under her helmet, Izumi furrowed her brow, glaring down at Shigaraki. He seemed young, not younger than her, she hasn't found or heard of any other villain her age or Toga's for that matter. Still, he had been called for a job, and the first thing he did was complain like a brat. Izumi didn't like that bit of childishness.
Then again, Izumi recognized the possibility of Giran and this 'cleaner' having a closer relationship than she thought, and that they are on a basis where they can skip formalities and act more familiar around one another.
So she decided to give this Shigaraki the benefit of the doubt (and totally not because she realized that she hadn't been acting that professionally around Giran for a while so she had no excuse to complain, yeah, totally not because of that).
"Haha~! Sorry, it's just that you are so good at it~ and I got you a good deal out of it this time~" Giran sidestepped and pointed at Izumi like a salesman would pitch his product to a future investor. "Meet Karasu, the Black Bullet Killer~ she's the one that needs of your services"
Izumi stepped up, right as Shigaraki eyed her up and down.
"Is this grunt NPC looking pipsqueak really the Hero Hunter?"
Izumi didn't get mad or annoyed at him, and merely tilted her head, whistling a long and high pitched whistle, lowering her rifle and pointing it at Shigaraki open handed.
The black misty waiter tensed, leaning forward, ready to intervene. Crows started flying down from the top of the building, making themselves known and surrounding Shigaraki and the warper-waiter.
"Shigaraki Tomura," the waiter finally said, "I advise you not to antagonize Giran's associates. He wouldn't deceive us"
"Damn sure I wouldn't~ listen to him Shigaraki~"
Izumi eyes the waiter. She was glad he seemed to be more polite and professional than Shigaraki (and even Giran). If she was honest with herself, she didn't actually know how to handle that man if Shigaraki decided he didn't want to be friendly.
Meeting a warper wasn't on her plans, mainly because she didn't know of anyone, which was strange ever since she became one of Giran's main information sources. She'd learned a lot about the Underground and Japan at large thanks to the crows paying more attention to it, and she'd never even heard of this Shigaraki Tomura and the warper-waiter.
The only reason Izumi didn't get serious and grab the rifle with both hands, was because Izumi trusted Giran to not have called someone that would attack her. She was valuable to him after all.
And as much as the possibility of facing off against a warper disturbed Izumi, she was surprised about Shigaraki's reaction. He was scratching his neck again, looking annoyed despite the severed hand blocking most of his face. But even though he'd childishly—no, that's too uncharitable—unprofessionally complained earlier, the moment Izumi had proven herself to not be just some 'pipsqueak', he reacted unlike she'd seen anyone else do.
Instead of feeling intimidated or their attitude changing after having a weapon pointed at them, with so many crows showing up speaking up to her name, Shigaraki was surprisingly calm about it.
He was still scratching his neck, and clearly annoyed, but his eyes had looked around analytically the moment the crows started flying down. He had also zeroed on Izumi's rifle the moment she had brought it down to point it at her, and after a few seconds, she actually realized he relaxed.
Did he… did he just see through and notice I'm not putting my all?
Maybe this Shigaraki Tomura, despite seeming unprofessional, was very capable. More than the Order of Orion had shown her to be earlier that day. That along with seemingly having the warper work for him… Izumi had seen the way sidekicks acted along their agency heroes, and the waiter had a similar body language towards Shigaraki.
Having powerful and capable people alongside you spoke to your capability, Izumi could not, would not deny it. She raised the rifle again, leaning it against her shoulder and witling again.
The crows relaxed, flying off, and breaking the circle formation around Shigaraki and the warper. Izumi noticed Giran relaxing, alongside the waiter.
Shigaraki and Karasu eyed each other. Or well, as much as they could with a helmet and a severed hand blocking their faces. They had earned each other's acknowledgement.
"So, what is that the Hero Hunter wants me to get rid of? And what would I get in return?" Shigaraki said, leaving his raw neck some room to breathe.
Izumi went towards the dumpster, opening it up again and showing the two new men the headless body of Bullseye.
"There's some garbage I want to disappear. A personal slight, not from an oversight in a job. I can assure you I don't do those. You can fact check with Giran if you'd like" Giran twirled his fingers and smirked at Shigaraki. "As for your reward, I can either pay you for your services right now, or, should you ever hire me for a fitting job, you'd get a discount from it"
Shigaraki walked closer, towards the dumpster and Izumi, and leaned over to look more closely. He was taller than her, almost a head taller. His posture leaned his face forward, a sign of someone spending lots of time behind a screen.
But his movements weren't lazy or dragged out, pointing out that even with that posture, he didn't overlook physical exercise.
"Huuuuh. I like your style. Your equipment must max in stealth, perfect for a rough and assassin type. I'm curious though, how come a build specialized in long range managed to remove his head like that"
Izumi was stunned for a few seconds. What kind of way to talk was that? Max in stealth? Did he mean she specializes in that? Rogue? Assassin?
"I'm not a rogue, I'm a hunter"
"Yeah, yeah, hunters are long range, rogues are melee, whatever, you get my point"
Izumi was even more confused.
"I… don't"
Shigaraki looked at Izumi, his deep red eyes trying to find a feature of her helmet to focus his glare into. He clicked his tongue and looked away, annoyed and scratching his neck again.
"Whatever. Fucking normies" He got closer to the dumpster, moving his hand forward, but hesitated for a moment. He looked back at Izumi, and then at the small round bag she carried. "You want to get rid of the head as well?"
Izumi widened her eyes a little, surprised that he could tell that easily.
"No. I'll handle the head by myself"
"So taking it as his loot drop, eh? I see then. Now get away. I don't want to put my hand inside the dumpster"
Izumi furrowed her brow, still a bit confused by the way Shigaraki talked. She stepped back, confused as to what exactly he was going to do. She had put the corpse in the dumpster to conceal it while she went to the meeting of the Order, but still, not putting his hand inside the dumpster?
Shigaraki seemed competent, but sure did complain a lot. Was he going to have the warper take the body out? It wasn't that dirty or disgusting, Izumi had managed nastier looking corpses and gore.
Instead of calling out for the misty man, Shigaraki merely put the palm of his hand into the side of the dumpster. That side of the dumpster quickly cracked, the damage spreading quickly around the entire container.
But the garbage didn't start leaking from the cracks, or the structure of the dumpster fall apart after cracking all over itself. Instead, the dumpster started to disintegrate around those cracks and the spot that Shigaraki was touching.
In the manner of a single minute, the entire dumpster and its contents had been turned into dust and blown apart by the wind, not leaving anything behind. Izumi couldn't even see the dust particles that had come off the dumpster as it disintegrated, even those having faded away into nothingness.
Izumi was impressed by Shigaraki's quirk. Giran didn't exaggerate at all when he said that there wouldn't be any trace left behind.
"I'll take you on that offer for a discount for a future job then, Karasu"
Shigaraki said, as he walked back towards the warper. He stopped, turning around to face Izumi and Shigaraki one last time.
"I'll give Giran a call when I need a rogue in my party. Until then"
Izumi could tell he was smirking under the severed hand. The warper turned and twisted, transforming again into the dark swirling vortex. Shigaraki walked through it and then the portal closed on itself as quickly as it had appeared.
"Well, what did I tell you? No trace of evidence, is there?"
Izumi clicked the voice changer of her helmet off. "He did make the entire dumpster disappear, but yeah, no trace. Also, why didn't you mention he had a warper? I didn't even know there was a warper in Japan?"
"Heh, well, I'm not going to give away all my secrets, am I now~?"
Izumi huffed, and signaled to the crows that they were leaving.
"By the way, what the heck was he saying? He talked in a very strange manner"
"You don't know? It's video game lingo. I thought every kid liked video games"
Izumi looked at Giran a bit bewildered, and decided to ignore him. They got out of the dark alley, and went on their ways, with Izumi taking a note to look up some video game forums to better understand what Shigaraki said beyond the context clues she had.
14 - First name basis
A few months have passed since the meeting at the Order of Orion called by Izumi. Overall nothing important had happened in the meantime. There were no more Bullseye called meetings, and Giran seemed happy about that.
Izumi kept on getting jobs from the SASC to take care of some quirked animals in her territory, as well as the usual hero jobs. Thanks to the information network the murder had created, it had become even easier for Izumi to stalk and learn everything about her prey than ever before.
Some of her jobs had even started appearing on the news, with the media struggling to keep everything hidden. Izumi suspected that the moment she took down a renowned hero too high on the rankings, they would start considering her a major threat.
The term Hero Hunterhad started popping up in the Underground more and more, clearly derived from Stain's Hero Killer. Izumi had noticed how the mainstream media avoided using that term like the plague. It didn't mean anything to her, sure, it was very accurate, but not being known benefited her more than it did not.
Her second year at Railosu had ended, and after the spring break, her third year had started uneventfully. Lanbosu was as annoying as ever, and the rest of the students had already learned to keep themselves away from her.
Not even Samehada was bothering her anymore. The topic of picking a good high school had come out a few times, with most of the students in her class wanting to be heroes.
Izumi didn't care at all about their aspirations, after all, if they somehow managed to become heroes, they'd just become prey she wouldn't have to prepare much for, they weren't threatening at all after all.
Izumi just ignored Lanbosu and Inko whenever they became annoyed about choosing a high school. She couldn't care less about that, after all, she already had a job she was great at, why keep diverting time to not pay attention in another school?
She was using all the time of the summer break to the fullest, spending most of her time at the Hunter Cabin or at the Nest, if she wasn't busy hunting down any prey.
The only thing bothering her was this unusually hot summer. It made working in the furnace at the Hunter's Cabin a pain in the ass, and Izumi had started wearing a loose tank top whenever she turned on the furnace, as zoomCEO had advised her in one of their many online conversations.
Clang! Clang!
Izumi was currently hammering down a slab of metal into an anvil. The metal was melted from Kuro's feathers, but this time, Izumi didn't make a mold to pour the molten metal into, and was hammering down the metal like a traditional smith.
The reason she was doing this was because she wanted to create an actual working blade from Kuro's feathers. The molds worked well enough, and Izumi had made a sharpener using Kuro's feathers themselves, but she was dissatisfied by the end result.
Clang! Clang!
Sure, yeah, it was still a blade made from Kuro's ridiculously strong metal, but making it thin and elongated into the shape of a blade have made it more fragile. The first prototype had been good enough to give Izumi the trophy that decorated the entrance of the furnace, Bullseye's skull, the tattoo that he has on his forehead carved into the skull.
But Izumi knew that Kuro was able to fly through branches and cut them as if they were butter, and the knife she had used was nowhere near that level. Brute forcing the hardness into the unstoppable Black Bullets and Black Arrows was one thing, but Izumi was Japanese, the land of the katana.
Clang! Clang!
With such a rich history in blade smithing, Izumi refused to make some half assed blade that any actual person knowing anything about blades would frown upon.
And as such, she was giving the slab of metal the desired shape by hammering it down, like old blade smiths used to do.
It was incredibly hot, with all the crows except Shiro having gotten out of the cabin from how absurdly hot it got. It was Kuro's metal, so it took extreme heat to make it bend and melt. Izumi had Shiro rest inside the furnace, roaring at full power, and come out whenever the slab started getting too hot for her hammer to dent it.
Shiro was immune to heat and fire, and thus, completely ignored being engulfed in white flames as he flew out from the furnace and on top of the metal. Izumi had a welding safety mask on, that shielded her face from the extreme heat, but otherwise, she was wearing some shorts and a tank top.
It wasn't the safest of working environments (the Hunter Cabin never really was), but it was enough for Izumi to bear that heat. Her arms complained from hitting the slab for a long time, and even though she was drenched in sweat, Izumi ignored it and kept on going.
"Holy crap, did you invite Endeavor over? It feels like the sun is right over there"
Clang! Clang!
"What is it, Giran?" Izumi didn't even turn around, and kept focused on hammering down the slab.
Clang! Clang!
Shiro peeked out from the furnace, his body cloaked in white flames, and cawed at Giran.
"It's something concerning the client from last job but forget that for a moment- I'm dying over here. How can you take this heat? Are you alright"
Clang!
Izumi stopped, and grabbing the handle of the slab with a special welding glove, turned the slab around to check its shape.
"Don't be a pussy, Giran"
"Not everyone can regulate their body at will and not feel anything, you know?"
"Ok, so," Izumi said, sighing loudly and pulling the welding mask over her head to look at the still glowing metal directly, "I just keep my heartbeat still and my breath steady. It's a skill that merely requires practice, but it's not like I don't feel the heat. I just grit my teeth and endure it. So stop crying and just tell me your business"
She was satisfied with the shape, finally a thin and actually durable blade, just like she knew Kuro's metal was capable off. Now the last step was to sharpen it.
"Geez, you don't have to be so harsh~"
Giran pulled the collar of his shirt, his face already being covered by sweat just from staying inside the oven of a cabin for a few seconds.
"Can't we take it outside?"
"I'm working right now"
"I can see that. What are you even doing? Another knife? How many have you done at this point? The first one already worked fine"
"Working fine isn't enough. It has to be perfect" Izumi set the edgeless blade into the anvil carefully, and grabbed the sharpener containing bits of Kuro metal, the only thing capable of sharpening Kuro metal itself.
"I know, and I love your work ethic, but seriously, my lungs aren't what they used to be. I'm choking on this air"
Izumi sighed, rolling her eyes and setting the blade and the sharpener down.
"Alright. You are lucky I need to wait a bit until it cools down in order to sharpen it, let's get outside"
"Thank God"
"You don't believe in one"
"I will once I get out of this sauna"
Outside of the cabin there wasn't much difference. Sure, there wasn't an industrial level heat, but it was still a hot summer day. Izumi didn't even bother putting on her flip flops, and just stood barefoot in the warm ground. Giran grimaced after seeing that, but didn't say anything.
Izumi held her arm forward, letting Shiro fly onto it. She was still wearing the special welding gloves, so she didn't get burned, as she patted Shiro lightly so the flames off his body died down until he was just an overheated albino crow.
Still, he needed to exercise and to "burn" up all the heat that he had accumulated, so Izumi lightly threw him upward, and Shiro flew away, to burn up all the excess heat in his body.
There were a few other crows around, but didn't get much closer because of the heat.
"So, what's up with the client? I took out the hero bothering them no issue, did they not pay you?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that, they paid alright." Giran put a cigar on his mouth and leaned closer to Izumi. She held her gloved hand closer, and snapped her fingers, creating a spark directly into Giran's cigar.
Izumi had laced some of Gorogoro's feathers into the fabric of the gloves, mainly so she could snap her fingers and quickly start fires inside the building. Giran had begged her to make him gloved like that so he could stop buying lighters.
Izumi refused to indulge him in destroying his own lungs stupidly like that, and had refused each time. The most she did was light cigars when asked if she was happening to wear the gloves.
"Then what is it?"
Giran blew the smoke away from Izumi, not eager to annoy her and stop getting his cigar's lighted for free.
"They said they wanted to keep 'a closer contact' with you"
"A closer contact? Like, an extended job?"
"Ehhh, don't think so. It seemed like they wanted to recruit you to their group"
Izumi raised an eyebrow incredulously at Giran.
"Yeah, I thought that as well"
"Did you tell them that?"
"Of course I did. But they still insisted on me giving you the invitation"
"Let me guess, you charged them for it"
"Heh, it was such easy money"
"They may get angry about the response. Me and the crows work alone"
"What about little ol' me~?" Giran pointed over at himself dramatically. "Don't I count~?"
"No." Giran tripped over nothing after hearing that response. "You give me jobs, but it's me and the crows on the hunt"
Giran puffed his cigar and shrugged his shoulders.
"I guess that's true. But what about Toga?"
"Eh?"
"You went on a hunt with her once"
"Hmmmm… That was… a one time thing"
Giran smirked that infuriating smile, as if she knew something obvious that Izumi didn't get. It had been years since he smirked like that, but it was just as annoying as Izumi remembered.
"What." She frowned.
"Nothing, nothing~"
Izumi narrowed her eyes on him, but didn't insist for him to explain himself.
"So, what do you want me to tell them?"
Izumi thought about it. She had accepted jobs from some gangster looking villains before, but these were actual yakuza. They were a weird bunch that even surprised the crows after seeing them, the ones wearing beak-like masks.
The crows had seen them move around the Underground all over Sakura over the past few months. She had of course notified Giran of this, as per their deal with their information network, and Giran had managed to get in contact with them.
The Shie Hassaikai they were called. Not the worst villain group Izumi had ever heard, even for some wasted up yakuza. Still, they were dealing some kind of drug in the underground. Izumi couldn't care less, but Giran had salivated after being told.
Izumi didn't care what their business was, but it seemed that the crows weren't the only ones to notice weird behavior in them, as they used Giran to get to Karasu and had her eliminate a hero that was getting too close to them.
She had done the same job of hunting a hero that was hunting her client for a long time. It was nothing special. The thing is, that doing that brought attention to the clients. It seemed that the yakuza weren't as dumb as her other clients, as they had recognized that point and wanted Karasu with them to do pest control whenever a hero started getting close.
"Tell them that I'm not interested in becoming yakuza. If another hero starts snooping around, let them contact you and you can bleed them out all you want. Let's hope next time is someone more challenging than fucking Blue Mantis"
"Heh, sounds good to me~ More money to be made~"
Izumi rolled her eyes, and went back towards the cabin, wiping the dirt off her feet on the side of the doorframe.
Giran peeked from outside, not wanting to get inside of the still hot cabin. The fact that no other crow went inside because of the heat told him enough.
"Remember to stay hydrated! You wouldn't want to worry those sweet old crows, would you~?"
Izumi stopped, suddenly noticing how dry her throat was and feeling the drenched state of her clothes.
"I have cool water on the tunnels, so the furnace doesn't warm it"
"Well, go get it then"
She turned around to glare at Giran, her cheeks puffed in a pout.
"Shut up, god, you make me not want to have a drink even if I'm thirsty"
"Suuuure~ ooooor~ you are just mad you didn't realize you were thirsty until I reminded you"
Izumi threw an empty can of soda that Toga had brought a month ago, but that the crows didn't let Izumi get rid of at Giran. The can passed right beside his face, and his grin widened.
He knew that she didn't miss, so her not hitting him was on purpose.
"Wipe that grin of your face or next time I'll hit for real"
"Alright, alright~ you win~"
It sure didn't feel like it, but Izumi was feeling a bit too childish and didn't want to keep giving Giran ammo to make fun of her.
Giran looked around the cabin, noticing the spot with the selves Izumi had set up was full of that strange tube-like support item with needles at the end of the tubes that Izumi refused to elaborate about and that suddenly disappeared whenever Toga was around.
It seemed like Izumi had finally finished it, and judging by the way that Izumi looked at the blade she made, checking if it had cooled enough to be sharpened, she was eager to keep working on the blade.
"Heh, well, I'll be going then, tell the yakuza boys your response. I'll handle telling them that you aren't interested in joining them, and only sucking them dry whenever they need a job~ Remember to drink the water, and good luck with your girlfriend~"
Izumi gave Giran a hum in acknowledgement, as she grabbed the blade with her welding gloves to look if there were any imperfections on it she had missed before.
Giran had already left the Hunter Cabin and was on his way back to the city when Izumi's brain finally clicked and realized what Giran had said.
She dashed to the door, and yelled at Giran.
"Senpai isn't my girlfriend!" She kicked the can, hitting Giran straight in the back of his head, and making the crows around the cabin fly to grab the can.
Giran didn't wipe the smirk of his face, and merely waved back at Izumi.
She used to scream that they weren't friends before~ Heh, when you act like a teenager it's easy to read you, Izumi.
Himiko was bored. The summer was annoyingly warm this year, and it just made her lazy and not want to do anything. Back when she pretended to be a normal girl, summers were the worst. Her parents insisted on Himiko to stay at home, to just stay put where they could look over her.
Thinking about that made Himiko sick. She hated that feeling. She hated the heat, not doing anything, and just not moving her itching body and not feeding her urge to hunt and feeling the warmth of blood spilling into her mouth.
She didn't like the sticky warmth of the air, how everyone, even heroes and villains, seemed to crawl back into their holes, not wanting to be under the unforgiving sun.
Himiko was transformed into a mix of two of the girls she hunted down a while ago, still having enough of the mixed blood to be able to sit down on a bench in a park without any worry.
She wondered what Izumi was doing right now. She smiled, thinking of her skinning her prey, staining her hands in blood, or working on another of her gadgets in the Hunter Cabin, or petting the silly crows wanting her attention.
It had been a while since her last visit, and Himiko was missing her already. She was grateful for everything Izumi had done for her. Accepted her, given her a place to stay whenever she wanted, listening to her, and just being allowed to be herself around her.
Himiko loved Izumi. A hunter, just like her, stalking her prey, learning how they moved, what made them tick, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike, to splash their salty blood all over the floor.
She loved Izumi so much, she wanted to become her. But there was a problem. As much as Izumi had shown to respect and accept Himiko, Himiko was still scared of showing her true love.
It was too much. She knew that she hated how she couldn't just tell Izumi with words how much she loved and was thankful to her.
Words were hard for Himiko. When she pretended to be normal, she could just spew whatever the other person wanted to hear. It was easy, but being Toga Himiko isn't easy.
She had seen Izumi, Karasu, work firsthand. Karasu didn't take any chances, was ruthless, and was always on high alert.
Himiko knew that someone like Izumi wouldn't want to risk herself and have another hunter all over her. Any other person that Himiko saw that found herself liking and wanting to become them? She could do without a second thought.
Izumi though? Himiko was afraid that she'd undo everything that Izumi had done for her if she showed her love to her.
Thinking about wanting to truly love Izumi had made Himiko thirsty. Her throat complained, and craved to feel the metallic aftertaste of blood flowing down into it.
Himiko licked her lips, looking around from the bench she was on. There were a few normal people in the park. Little kids and adults exercising themselves.
Her trained eyes traveled from person to person, searching for the best possible target, and the person she would turn into next.
The heat didn't bother Himiko anymore. She wasn't idly going through the motions, filling her head with stray thoughts of love. She was a predator, looking for her prey.
And she found it. A woman taking a jog and going through the park. She seemed to be in her twenties, fit and athletic, her shiny green hair tied in a ponytail.
Green, like Midoriya-chan~
Even though Himiko was transformed, her pupils thinned into slits at the thought. Her mouth felt dry, and she couldn't help but make a face splitting smirk.
The blond vampire quickly got up from the bench, and leisurely got herself out of the park. To any bystander, she looked like a normal girl walking out of the park, but Himiko was walking much faster than anyone noticed.
She managed to outrun her prey, getting in front of her and hiding in an alley. She let her transformation melt off her body, feeling the hot, suffocating air on her bare skin. Himiko was carrying a boxcutter that she had been using for over a few months now, having taken it out the pocket of her transformation before it melted and let it fall into the ground.
The boxcutter clacked as Himiko pulled the blade out.
She was so close, her prey was just about to run across the alley, then Himiko would be able to grab her and shower in her blood. Her breath was uneven, tongue sneaking out of her mouth, hungry and eager to feel the sticky metallic liquid on it.
She was so close! Just a little bit more and Himiko would finally be able to become her! To have the same green hair, the same toned and worked out body! She was just about to get in front of the alley-
BWAAAAAAAAAH!
Himiko was suddenly ripped from her own thoughts, as a stupidly loud horn blared from the other side of the street. The woman she was stalking jumped, clutching her hand and looking around, searching for the source of the horn.
Himiko had enough time from the horn to when her prey started looking around to properly mask her presence and retrieve to the dark side of the alley, hiding her body in the shadows. Her prey and other people around the street tried to and failed to see the source of the horn.
Eventually, they gave up, grumbling about probably being a kid messing around with their quirk or something, and kept on their way, including Himiko's prey.
But Himiko was no longer in the mood to hunt her down. Why? Because the culprit of ruining her hunting was flying down straight into her head.
Himiko swung her hand with the boxcutter in an upward arc, which Urusai dodged by changing his flight at the last moment.
The crow landed a safe distance away from Himiko, and started cawing at her, wings extended.
"Oh, shut up, you ruined my hunt on purpose!"
"Meeee~? No wayyyyy~"
"Don't use my voice to talk back to me! Geez, you are so annoying!"
Urusai laughed, imitating different voices Himiko didn't recognize as he started flying in circles around her.
Himiko and Urusai had gotten along surprisingly well, at least that was the opinion of Izumi and according to her, the rest of the crows. Himiko didn't exactly understand why, yes, she and Urusai had spent a lot of time together, with him flying over and hanging around with Himiko a few times, even when she wasn't in the Hunter Cabin.
One of the times both Himiko and Giran had coincided at the Hunter Cabin at the same time, he said that was because they were both mischievous gremlins that loved chaos and to annoy others, which, rude!
Himiko could be even more annoying than Urusai if she wanted to! Urusai just repeated the same thing over and over, being loud!
Either way, Urusai had come over with Himiko in a few of her hunts, but he had never sabotaged one hers. And despite chasing him around the alley screaming about getting vengeance, the swings of her arm weren't serious whatsoever.
She didn't want to cut up Urusai after all. He was her friend. Izumi's friend.
"Can't hit me! Can't hit me!" Urusai mocked her while finally going over and landing on his favorite spot: Himiko's head.
"Don't tempt me, you flying megaphone"
Urusai pulled Himiko's hair, making himself comfortable on her head. She had enough hair for his claws to not dig into her head, but she didn't like him messing around with her hair.
"Oi! You know the rules! Not messing with my head!"
"Blonde-Nest!" Urusai replied, using a different voice for each word.
Himiko finally gave up, letting herself drop into the ground, sitting on it. She didn't care at all the fact that she was butt naked, and rubbing said butt into who knows how dirty concrete.
"So, what is it? You want something, Urusai? Or did you just ruin my hunt because you felt like it?"
"because you felt like it"
Himiko sighed dramatically, rolling her head back and making Urusai fly off her head to not fall down.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh… so this heat is also boring you to death, huh? Didn't think it was possible to make you bored"
Urusai made the distinctive noise of blowing a raspberry, a jarring sight as he had no lips to do so, and the sound came right out of his open beak.
Himiko sighed again, not being in the mood to do anything, if she was being honest. She crossed her legs and lowered her body, bending down and stretching as much as she could in that position.
She didn't even fight back when Urusai grabbed the boxcutter still in her hand, and took it. Himiko bent her body into a normal sitting position again, stretching her limbs. She didn't bother asking for the boxcutter back, at least not at the moment. She knew what a pain it was to get something back from a crow from experience at this point.
"This. Knife. Sucks. No edge" Urusai said, in a mix of imitated voices that ended with Izumi's.
"Yeah well, I've used it a lot. The sharp point wears out, you know?"
Whether he understood or not didn't really matter. Maybe it was time for Himiko to look into 'acquiring' a new knife.
Himiko stood there, just looking at Urusai mocking the boxcutter, saying 'no edge' with Izumi's voice. A part of Himiko's brain wondered what was the context of Izumi saying that exactly, it seemed like she missed quite an interesting conversation.
Another part of her mind was jealous of Urusai. Urusai who was so similar to Himiko. Urusai who was loud, annoying, and got on everyone's nerves. Urusai who was allowed to use Izumi's voice.
Himiko touched her neck, feeling her throat. She wondered how it'd feel to speak with Izumi's voice. Unlike Urusai, who just repeated any word he heard and rearranged them to form sentences, Himiko could be able to say anything she wanted if she had Izumi's voice.
Use any and all of the sweet and serious tones in her throat. She felt her throat itch, and swallowed out nothing, reminding herself of the dryness and lack of blood flowing inside her throat.
Wouldn't it be just wonderful to see Izumi covered in blood? Himiko loved seeing her work on the dead prey she brought to the cabin when she went hunting in the forest. Blood sticking to her hands, the crows making a mess in the table that splattered Izumi of blood.
Wouldn't it be just the best to be Izumi's own blood? Himiko swallowed nothing again.
Izumi-chan… covered in blood…
Urusai's loud caw brought Himiko back to her senses. She blinked away, feeling her pupils adjust and her vision broaden back to normal. When had her pupils narrowed into slits? She wasn't even hunting, was… was thinking about Izumi covered in her own blood tingling her hunter instincts?
What's wrong with me? Thinking of Izu- of Midoriya in pain after everything she's done for me…
Just thinking about Izumi bleeding was… wrong. She had never seen a single scratch on her, no matter the hunt she had come from, quirked animal or stupid hero.
"Oh, senpai. You are here" "This? It's a special vest I made from the hide of a quirked deer I hunted." "I'm happy you get along with the crows." "Do you need anything?" "I cleaned up your sleeping bag while you were away." "It's fine, you can stay while I work. It'll take more than you to distract me." "H-hey! Stop messing around! I'm holding scalding hot metal over here!"
Izumi was always so nice to her. She truly accepted Toga Himiko, and in return, Toga Himiko wanted to see her bleed. She couldn't help it. It was in Toga Himiko's nature to want to see the person she loves bleed, and wear their skin. She had promised to herself that she would live as Toga Himiko, and do whatever she wanted and become whoever she loved. That is what being Toga Himiko means.
But Himiko didn't want to upset Izumi. She was her friend after all. Toga Himiko's first real friend.
Himiko shook her head trying to clear her mind and brush of every problematic thought.
"Calm down, Himiko! You are still living true to yourself! You are just feeling down because of what day it's today!"
"Day?" Urusai tilted his head, with the boxcutter in his beak.
"Yeah, day, don't worry about it, I'm fine now! Also, give me back that"
Urusai tilted his body. "Not. Sharp. Dull~" He said that last part with Himiko's voice.
"I know it's not sharp, but it's the only knife I have on me right now. Give it back"
"Caw!"
Urusai flew off with the boxcutter in its beak.
"Oi! Get back! Dammit!" Himiko couldn't help but smirk, realizing what Urusai was doing. "Oh, you want me to chase after you~"
Urusai stopped on the other side of the street crossing the alley ,looking back at Himiko.
"Knew it~ you want me to follow you~" Himiko giggled, raising her fists to her face, covering the huge grin splitting her face. "You wanna play cat and mouse~? Or I guess it's cat and birdie~ Alright~! Sounds like fun~ ready or not~" Himiko lowered herself, bending her knees and putting her fingers against the floor, ready to spring up and launch herself at any moment. "Here I go~"
Himiko stretched her legs, pushing her weight against the floor with the help of her arms as well, launching herself in full sprint towards Urusai, her yellow pupils narrowed towards him.
Urusai barely had time to fly up to avoid Himiko, after suddenly seeing her launch herself up at him. He got into the branch of a tree nearby, and looked down, but didn't find Himiko anywhere.
"Got you~!"
"Ca~bwAAAAA-"
Urusai dropped the boxcutter and wailed like a horn when he suddenly felt himself get grabbed, but his aggressor quickly snapped his beak shut.
"Geez, don't do that when I'm so close. Aw, my ears are still ringing"
Himiko complained, having gotten to the tree as well. Urusai relaxed a bit, after realizing it was Toga, but then, started fighting to get free from her hold.
"Let! Go! Die! Meanie! Stinky!"
"Alright, alright~" Himiko gave Urusai a grin with too many teeth and let him go.
He pecked her head and pulled on her hair.
"Aw! Aw! Hey now!"
Himiko waved him away, but she was giggling as she did so.
"Ahhhh~ I feel so much better now~" She had gotten to stretch her muscles itching for action and "hunt" a bratty crow and felt much more refreshed.
Urusai meanwhile was annoyed and repeated as many insults as he had heard. Himiko found it kinda amusing how he didn't use Izumi's voice once.
"Excuse me, are you alright?"
It seems that she had gotten a bit of attention thanks to Urusai, because Himiko had made sure to completely hide her presence when going after him. Himiko then was reminded that she was a fugitive, and put on one of her disguises, a fusion of two siblings that made Himiko into an androgynous looking teen. She didn't want to bring the hero's attention! (She also was still naked, but covering her nudeness wasn't that important of a thought for her).
"Yep, yep. Don't worry"
Himiko said, in a new voice, that it was difficult to say if it was masculine or feminine.
"Thank goodness. How did you even get stuck there young ma-girl?"
"I'm not stuck! I just got here from a quirk accident! That's all"
To prove their point, Himiko let their body weight shift to the side to fall off the branch of the tree, grabbing it to get their feet facing the floor and then let go, landing perfectly on the floor.
Himiko was thankful the siblings she had drank the blood from were athletic enough to allow them to maneuver like that. That's why she loved them and sucked them both!
"Ah, I see then. Well, take care"
And with that, the woman that had come to check on her left. Himiko wasn't surprised that they left like that. Normal people didn't care about others, if anything she would have called for a hero to deal with Himiko and then move on.
Urusai landed on Himiko's head, recognizing them since he had seen them transform unlike the civilian woman. He dropped the boxcutter in front of Himiko, which they grabbed without issue out of the air.
Himiko pulled the edge of the boxcutter out, the familiar clack, clack, clack of it putting her at ease.
"Hmmm, it really has become dull"
They said, while passing a finger through it and not cutting themselves.
"Well, whatever, I'll have to get another one" Himiko shrugged their shoulders, and looked up, meeting their eyes with Urusai, looking down on them from Himiko's head. "So? I can tell you wanted me to follow you. Where are we going?"
"Come!" Urusai cawed with Izumi's voice, and flew off, heading for the nearest Shinkanshen station.
"Oh~? Midori-chan wants to see me~? Why didn't you start by that~"
Himiko followed the crow, skipping on the street carelessly like a little kid. If Izumi wanted to see her, she'd come right away. She'll figure out about the voice of Toga Himiko telling her to drink her blood later on.
For now, she decided to follow Urusai and get into the Shinkanshen. Time to go to the Hunter Cabin.
By the time Himiko got to Konukoru in the Shinkanshen, the sun had already set. Thankfully, she had gone from the station to the Hunter Cabin in Tia forest so many times, not even the darkness of the night could drive her off course.
What kind of hunter would Himiko be if she didn't hone her instincts to follow paths she'd traversed before. There was Urusai and a handful of other crows in the forest going along with her, so it was fine either way.
The moment Himiko had left civilization, she took out the boxcutter and the special unlimited Shinkanshen card that Giran gave her from her pocket, and melted off the transformation. The air had cooled off in the night, but not enough for her to feel cold.
Himiko hopped from known roots on the way, a few of the crows landing on her shoulders and arms when she extended them to her sides. She giggled, feeling them caw on each side of her, taking Himiko as a ride to the cabin.
Himiko reached the cabin shortly after. It was dark now, the middle of the night. Were it not from the light coming from windows of the cabin, Himiko's eyes would reflect the moonlight in a bright yellow glow.
Izumi had been pretty cute when they found that out, mumbling out about it and wondering how they never realized it until then. Something about Himiko's new diet of plenty of blood powering up the innate traits of her quirk that had been sealed off for so many years.
Thinking about Izumi made Himiko blush and grin, feeling her heart with love. The crows on her arms flew off towards the cabin when Himiko lowered her arms, as the girl went to the door, and kicked it open.
"Yo~! Midori-chan~!"
"Ah, Toga-senpai, you made it." Izumi said, as she looked at her phone. She was wearing a simple tank top that didn't hold her unbinded chest tightly, and some shorts. Himiko grinned with a blush on her face, deciding that maybe she shouldn't be to harsh to hot summer days if Izumi was going to show off so much skin.
'Wouldn't it be great if her legs were covered in blood?'
Himiko froze in the entrance, her eyes narrowing into thin slits.
Where did that come from?
"You aren't wearing anything, could you wipe the dirt off your feet in the entrance, please?"
Pushed the chill that had spread throughout her body down under control. Yeah, it must have been just a sudden chill, nothing to worry about.
"Sure thing~" Himiko forced a smile and did as she was told, not minding being told what to do. This was still Izumi's place, and Himiko didn't mind walking barefoot in the forest, but she wouldn't get Izumi's place dirty on purpose just like that.
Her feet weren't covered in dirt that much, as she had kept a thin layer of the sludge from her undone transformation to cover her feet from the elements while traversing the forest. Still, the heat from the day had dried off most of the mud, so the sludge wasn't that dirty, but Himiko dragged her feet into the worn down part of the door frame that both girls used regularly to clean off the dirt from their feet.
After peeling her feet completely off the sludge and leftover transformation, she hoped inside the cabin and striked into a cute pose.
"Yo~! Toga Himiko present and ready~"
"Welcome back. Sorry to call you here all of a sudden"
'You should pay with your blood'
"It's fine it's fine~ Himiko said, ignoring the cold sweat running on her body, and waving her hand dismissively. She ignored the voice in her head and went to grab a spare pair of panties and bra she had on her sleeping bag. "I figured that Urusai wanted something when he was being more insistent than normal, so I figured he wanted me to go somewhere, and boom! I was right~"
"Wait, you had to figure it out?"
"Yeah, now that I think about it, why didn't you have Urusai record a message"
Izumi deadpanned at her.
"I did"
They both looked at Urusai, as more crows looked at him with tired expressions (Himiko internally gasped that she was able to tell that, 'You are becoming more and more like her~ don't you wanna go further?') and Urusai didn't even look the least bit sorry for not delivering the message Izumi had him record.
Izumi sighed. "At least you deliver good the information to Giran, but please, do so as well with Toga-senpai"
"Maybe, caw!"
"Pffff, haha! Well, who cares? I'm here as you asked! Isn't that good enough~?"
Himiko said, after sliding the pair of panties on, and going for a hug towards Izumi, her boobs unrestrained by the bra still on her hand. She desperately tried to ignore the voice in her head.
"Se-senpai!?"
Since Izumi wasn't wearing the binder, Himiko wasn't going to waste an opportunity to hug her close, especially when her breasts were barely contained in a sweaty tank top.
'How about painting the tank top red~? It'd feel much better than sweet sweat~'
Himiko squeezed Izumi tightly, doing her best to ignore the voice that seemed to crawl closer and closer to her ears. She wasn't thinking very clearly, but since Himiko had gone this far already, she raised Izumi from the floor, much to the younger girl's protest, and spinned around in her hug.
Izumi's sweat and scent filled Himiko's nostrils as she held Izumi close.
'So close~ she's so close~ you are holding her so close~ you can slip into her skin and become her so easily~'
Himiko's eyes narrowed, her pupils turning into thin slits. She gulped down, feeling Izumi's heartbeat calm down with the contact of her skin against hers, as she quickly calmed herself like she always did.
Himiko could tell that Izumi had probably spent most of the day working in the cabin, even with all the heat.
'You know her so well~ no one would notice if you were her~'
Himiko felt the voice closer, looming behind her, whispering into her ear. Maybe hugging Izumi without wearing the bra wasn't a good idea, as Himiko could feel the closeness with Izumi's body through the wet sweaty tank top easily.
'You are Toga Himiko~ you promised that you wouldn't hide your true self anymore~ you promised that you would do what's normal to Toga Himiko~'
The presence was leaning into Himiko. She stopped spinning, putting Izumi down but without breaking the hug.
'You promised me, Toga Himiko' Himiko felt the presence lay a hand on her shoulder. 'You promised me I would be me~' The presence inched closer and closer, revealing itself.
Everything surrounding Himiko and Izumi seemed to disappear, and Himiko could see it from the corner of her eye. An amalgamation of flesh, twisted, stretched together, different people melded and twisted, into a figure with long arms twisted with bloodied skin and muscles, and a sharp head with even sharper eyes, looking down on Himiko and Izumi.
The presence's blonde hair was neatly combed into two messy buns, and its sharp teeth seemed to glow, hungry.
That was the real Toga Himiko, and it demanded to be let out, exist, and not be restrained anymore, just as Himiko had promised.
'Be normal~ My normal~ Toga Himiko's normal~'
Himiko opened her mouth, fangs glistening with her tongue dashing out, covered in saliva, eyes deadly set into Izumi's exposed neck. She was so close, her scent was driving Himiko's instincts nuts.
'Love~ let me see your blood~ I love you so much~ let me become you~'
Izumi was so close. So very close. Closer than they were ever before, Himiko gripped the back of Izumi's tank top tight. She could feel her heartbeat against her own skin, feel Izumi's body, unrestrained by a binder or bra almost as if there wasn't a cloth in between them.
'I'm Toga Himiko~ This is my normal~ I wanna become you Izumi~! Karasu~!'
It'd be so easy, closing her mouth along Izumi's neck, feeling her blood mixed with sweat and finally becoming Midotiya Izumi. Her very self demanded it. She wouldn't be Toga Himiko if she didn't show Midoriya Izumi her love and become Midoriya Izumi.
The amalgamation of flesh circled its arms closer to the two of them, as Himiko's teeth got closer and closer to Izumi's neck.
This is it, I'm going to become Izumi-chan!
Then, Izumi returned the hug, and Himiko stopped on her tracks.
The world returned around them, and the real Toga Himiko disappeared. Izumi was fine, and had returned Himiko's hug, rubbing those delicate but rough fingers of hers from working on the furnace so much gently rubbing against Himiko's naked back.
Himiko had learned a lot about Izumi the last few months they had hung out together. She was cool, calm, collected, had amazing accuracy with anything that she threw or shot, and could be very silly when taken by surprise. She mumbled a lot when talking about quirks, her hunts, the crows or her gadgets.
But Izumi didn't open herself to close contact. Himiko was touchy by nature, and liked to hug, pat, and cuddle with her, which she often did with Izumi who just awkwardly let her. But she never returned the gesture.
Himiko understood that it was just Izumi's nature. As much as Himiko loved close company, Izumi took a whole lot to return that back. She had seen her pet the crows, so Himiko knew that Izumi could get that close to someone.
And she had just returned the hug. She had embraced Himiko like Himiko had embraced her. Izumi had accept Himiko, no, the entirety of Toga Himiko. She had left herself vulnerable and returned the hug.
She knew Izumi enough to know what that meant. Izumi was as comfortable around Himiko as she was with the crows, which she treated like family.
Himiko's her eyes got watery, and she realized that her mouth was still open, and that she had never closed it.
What was she doing? Izumi had accepted Himiko as a fellow hunter. She respected the real Toga Himiko, and had offered her help to her. Himiko closed her mouth, retrieving her tongue inside of it, and leaned her face against Izumi's neck, hearing her calm and soothing heartbeat. She was relieved from feeling her warmth and the vibrations of her beat against her neck and her chest squeezing into Izumi's.
Himiko had promised herself to live without regrets, to live as what it meant to be the real Toga Himiko. But Toga Himiko loved Izumi, to the point the need to show her love by becoming Midoriya Izumi was overwhelmed by the feeling of not wanting Midoriya Izumi to die.
She never wanted to see Izumi reduced to a cold, unfeeling and unmoving dry husk. Becoming Midoriya Izumi wasn't worth it. Toga Himiko would hate it.
"You alright, Toga-senpai?"
Izumi said while rubbing Himiko's back softly, worry in her voice.
Himiko brought her hands towards her face, still hugging Izumi, and wiped the tears from her face with her bra.
"Yeah~ hugging you feels nice~ love your scent~"
Izumi pulled Himiko off of her, a blush on her face. Himiko loved that embarrassed expression on her face, and the way Izumi's heartbeat had skyrocketed after she said that.
"My scent?! But I'm all sweaty!" She tried to argue, covering her body with her hands, and failing at that.
"Oh, Midori-chan~ that's just your natural scent~ no need to be embarrassed about it~"
"I'm not!"
"Uh huh~"
Himiko smiled, a genuine, warm smile, splitting her face, but without the manic grin on her eyes. She put on the bra, slipping it through her arms and finally covering her breasts
"Well then~ since Urusai didn't send the whole message~ what do you need me for~?"
Himiko said cheerfully, ignoring the plastic chair and sitting directly on the table, swinging her legs innocently.
"And why are you checking your phone so much?" Himiko said, tilting her face with curiosity brimming in her eyes.
"Just checking the time… Aaaand… alright, it's midnight"
"Hmm? Midnight?"
"Give me a moment"
Izumi went over to the wall on the opposite side from the door, and shifted a plank, revealing the hidden door that gave her access to the underground tunnel. She took out a box with a ribbon wrapped around it, and put it on the table, beside Himiko.
"What's that?"
"Well, hum, forgive me, it's just my first time preparing a gift like this"
"A…gift?"
"Yeah, It's a bit embarrassing, but I don't have much experience setting up gifts"
"I don't… Are you giving me this?"
Himiko got off of the table, and grabbed the box, big enough that she had to use both hands.
"Uhm, yeah. Wait, do you prefer to celebrate your birthdays without presents? Ah, sorry, I should have asked you beforehand"
Izumi looked down, disappointed and reached for the box, but Himiko instinctually moved it out of Izumi's reach.
"Birth…day?"
"Uhm? Yeah, it's midnight, that means it's already August 7th"
"Eh?"
"That's… that's your birthday, right?"
Himiko blinked a few times, looking at Izumi with a stunned expression.
"Yes?"
"Oh, thank goodness, I thought I messed it up for a moment" Izumi sighed in relief.
"You… got me a present?"
Izumi rubbed the back of her head and looked away, blushing a bit. It warmed Himiko's heart to see her like that.
"I didn't get it, I uhm, made it"
Himiko widened her eyes, looking at the box and then at Izumi. Then at the box again and to Izumi and the box, and Izumi and kept going and going until she finally stopped at Izumi.
"WHAT!?"
Izumi closed her eyes from the force of Himiko's voice, a few of the crows around them inside the cabin cawing and flying around, startled.
Himiko slowly pulled the ribbon from the box, and opened it. Inside, there were an assortment of wires with pointed ends attached to some sort of vest and connected to a large transparent back and two large bottles.
Himiko slowly got it out of the box, to look at it better, and her eyes widened.
"This is–!"
"You can call it a support item, if you want." Izumi said, getting closer to Himiko to begin her explanation. "It's a vest with six transfusion wires attached that immediately start sucking up blood when inserted on someone. The wires immediately send the blood to the back of the vest, here. This transparent part is actually a sterilized plastic 'bag' that will fill up the more blood you suck with the needles in the wires. Each wire connects to different compartments of the bag, so you don't have to worry about incompatible blood mixing in."
"You can also click this side on the end like this…" click "to pull off the wire and connect it with the additional tanks on the sides. They are made from polycarbonate, so they're pretty strong and not very heavy, but watch out for the bag on the back, it's not as resilient. Decided on a bag like this instead of more tanks because I felt like you would enjoy more to 'wear' the blood, as a sort of cape so it doesn't bother your forward movement. Also, if you were to transform while wearing the vest, the straps attached to the bag would open the moment your quirk eats one, so you wouldn't lose the needle wires or the bags and bottle tanks. Don't worry about the vest, it's easy to replace."
Izumi stopped for a moment, breathing in air and then continued her explanation.
"The vest, needles and bag can be worn below other clothes as well, though the tank bottles may be a bit more difficult to hide if you aren't wearing a dress or skirt. I hope you don't mind, I compared the right size of the vest with the clothes you left here. Do you have any questions?"
Himiko blinked a few times, processing all the information that Izumi had laid out for her. She knew Izumi could mumble and speak fast, but this time was the fastest she had seen her.
"You made all of this? For me?"
"Yes, don't you like it? I have something–"
"No! I love it! You took into account the fact that my quirk eats clothes as well… I love the blood cape! I can't wait to turn it red! Thank you, thank you thank you!"
Himiko wrapped Izumi in another hug, squeezing her hard with the gift in between the two girls. This time, there was no bloodlust in Himiko, just love and gratitude.
"Just when did you have time for this? And how did you know when was my birthday?"
"W-well, the crows went around different hero agencies and police departments that were after you, and managed to get a file on you, and your birthday was there. I have been working on this for a few months now."
"A few months…" Himiko hugged the gift, bringing it closer to her.
When was the last time anyone had done something like this to her? To spend however time Izumi had in making something for her. Something she'd like, thinking on her preferences, how her quirk worked, and even taking into account things like how she loved seeing blood flow.
"W-well, what do you think? Do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it!" Himiko laughed, and immediately put the vest on, flinging the cape over her back. "Tehee~ I can put clothes over it, and the cutest part, the blood cape will be visible~!"
Himiko covered herself with the cape, in a pose stereotypical of vampire media, though since it wasn't filled, the transparent plastic didn't end up covering anything.
"The cape is resilient, but it's not very resilient. I would have made more canisters and bottle tanks, but figured you'd want something flashier and that could make you feel like you are 'wearing' the blood without transforming"
Izumi explained while going over the cape and handing Himiko the wires so she could experiment holding them.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of it~ woaahhhh! I love it so much~! Thank you again Midori-chan!" Himiko hopped in place, the wires in her hands and making the plastic cape bounce against her body.
Izumi sighed in relief.
"I'm glad. I had something else- let me go get it"
"Something else? Hmm?" Himiko felt something poke her calf, and looked down, to find Urusai holding a small pack.
Himiko's eyes narrowed. A red pack.
"What…?"
"Gift" Urusai said using his quirk, so he didn't have to open his beak, and Himiko realized that a few of the crows also had red packs on their beaks.
"Oh, that's their gift to you. I know you prefer to hunt, but they went by themselves and ransacked an ambulance" Izumi said, while she went over to the tunnel again.
"Wait, that was you guys!?" Himiko said, remembering overhearing a few details of the incident of stolen medical equipment in an ambulance in Kyoto a few days ago. "You got blood for me?"
They left the blood packs at Himiko's feet, and cawed at her. Himiko recognized a few of the crows. They were the ones that she had seen while hunting a few times, and had talked and played with them whenever they happened to be in the same city.
"Urusai, guys… thank you! You are the best!" Himiko grinned, and tried going over to them to hug them, which the crows responded by flying out of the way and trying to avoid her.
"Don't be shy~ let me give you some smooches~"
"Caw! Go, away!" "Sharp teeth!" "Take, the red!" "Caw!"
"Take the red~? Good idea~?"
Himiko reached for the wires on the cape, feeling them on her hands. She poked at the syringes with her fingers, testing their sharpness, before looking at the pile of blood packs that her crow friends had gotten her.
Her grin stretched on her face, pulling her cheeks upwards. She could feel her face heating up with a blush, but Himiko calmed her heart. She needed to focus, after all, when Izumi prepared to accurately throw something, she calmed herself ice cold.
And Himiko knew it all about Izumi.
She flicked her right hand, throwing three of the syringe-wires into the blood packs, and then doing the same with her left hand.
Four of the six needles landed into the packs, which after feeling the flow of blood on their tips, quickly painted the inside of their wires red as they sucked the blood.
"Suck~ suck~ chew~"
Himiko plucked her lips, seeing mesmerized, how the blood traveled from them and started painting her cape red, each of the wires putting the blood into its compartment of the blood bag of a cape.
"So cuuuuute~" Himiko moaned with a blush on her face.
"Four out of six? Not bad, you've been practicing your throwing?" Izumi said, as she came back with a smaller wrapping on her hands.
"Yep~ yep~ though I'm still not as good as you~ and my knifes keep getting duller when I miss"
Himiko pouted, pointing out to her boxcutter. Where was she holding it while out of transformation, with no pocket on her, Izumi had stopped asking herself that question. As much as Izumi had mastered her accuracy, Himiko was an expert in concealment and hiding, which also included her weapons.
"Well, funny you mentioned that" Izumi said, with a soft smile on her face, "because I had also been working on another thing"
She held the wrapped item on her hands, and extended it to Himiko.
Himiko's face lighted, as she realized what it was, the wrapping too tight on its shape to be able to properly conceal what it was.
She slowly reach for it, grabbing the obvious handle, and pulling at the wrap so it rubbed on the edge of the knife.
The first thing that caught Himiko's attention was its weight. It was surprisingly light, to the point that at first it had made Himiko doubt her assumption that it was a knife. Then, it was its color.
The knife was pitch black, but still reflected light in a pleasant way, giving the knife a strong and sharp and shiny looking edge.
Himiko stepped back from Izumi, and gave a few experimental swings in the air with the knife.
It felt absolutely amazing. It moved so well, so easy, it seemed as if it was cutting the very air itself.
Curiosity took over Himiko's mind, and she brought one of her fingers close to the edge of the knife.
"Careful," Izumi warned her, "it's incredibly sharp"
Himiko nodded, and slowed down, bringing her finger to the point of the edge, and lightly poking at the point, not even applying any bit of pressure on it. Her finger immediately got cut, a small prick of blood coming off it.
Himiko licked the blood from her finger, which in any other circumstance would have made her blush uncontrollably, but this time, she was too mesmerized by the craft and sheer perfection of the knife to dwell over licking her delicious blood.
"How, no, what is this?" Himiko asked in awe, holding the knife with both hands.
"It's a Black Knife"
"Black? You mean from Kuro?" Himiko looked at the metallic crow, as she puffed her chest, making her metallic feathers reflect the light inside the cabin.
"Yes, you know how I make my Black Bullets from her feathers, right? Well, the Black Knife is a bit more special. Instead of creating a mold and then using the sharpener I made" Izumi explained, pointing at the sharpener that was currently beside the furnace, "I actually forged it like a swordsmith of old, using similar methods to how smiths made katanas in the past"
Himiko just looked at Izumi, in complete awe, as she enthusiastically explained the process in which she continuously hit at the metal, working with the intense heat, discarding failed attempts that weren't perfect, until she finally got the perfect blade, which she then properly sharpened using the Kuro feather laced sharpener.
"It should be on the level of Kuro's claws, and cut through mostly anything like butter. I haven't found any material that can resist Kuro's quirk, and even defensive quirks have failed to stop her of my Black Bullets and Arrows, but there may be a quirk that can take it, so don't think it's infallible"
"Caw!" As if. Kuro said, while grooming her metallic feathers to show off a little, now that Izumi was praising her.
Himiko was ecstatic. Not only did Izumi spend months making her blood cape, but she had also learned how to smith to make her the most beautiful knife she had seen in her entire life. Kuro's metal was always very pretty, for something black instead of red, but the Black Knife was amazing.
"Thank you so much, Mi–no, Izumi-chan, Kuro-chan, everyone~! This is the best birthday ever!"
Himiko blushed, bringing her fists to cover her mouth, as she couldn't contain all the excitement over the amazing gifts that they gave her. Izumi meanwhile, was now worrying about a different thing, now that she had seen that Himiko liked the gifts.
"I-Izumi?"
"Yup~ you are my bestest friend ever~ so it only makes sense that I call you by your given name~ That means you also have to call me by my given name~"
"E-eh? Me too?" Izumi looked stuck after hearing that proposition.
"Yeah~! Come on~! I wanna hear it~"
"O-ok, if you are ok with it, Hi-Hi–Himiko-senpai!" Izumi closed her eyes as she let her voice out in a burst, as if she were saying something naughty after being egged by a friend.
"Cute~" Himiko couldn't help herself to point out, making Izumi blush harder. "Now, let's have a sleepover and celebrate!" She cheered, bringing her arms up ,the knife still in her hand.
"Sleepover? I've… never actually been in a sleepover?" Izumi admitted. She had worked out at night, but that didn't even begin to qualify for a sleepover with the crows.
"You haven't!? Then we have to fix that right now! No friend of mine isn't going without a sleepover!"
Himiko put the knife on the table, and hugged Izumi close. Again, Izumi awkwardly returned the hug, and Himiko couldn't be happier over having met Izumi ,and being accepted by her. She was too silly to ever consider the possibility of Izumi being scared of her true self. She knew Himiko as well as Himiko knew her.
Though there were still a few things about Izumi that Himiko wanted to discover, but that was fine for now.
Toga Himiko had promised herself that she would live life without regrets, that she would be Toga Himiko no matter what.
As Himiko started listing all the things that a good sleepover must have to Izumi and the crows, there was not a single regret or doubt on her mind.
She loved Izumi, and she would cherish that friendship like she cherished being Toga Himiko.
Somewhere else, in the city of Musutafu, an underground hero followed a goon through one of the edgy streets of the city. That goon had been a thorn in the side of the Death Arms agency, and the underground hero had been asked to help bring the villain down.
Honestly, it was a little below the usual requests he got, but crime was slow lately, so the hero had taken the job. He had been stalking from the rooftops of different building looking for the goon, a member of a gang that Death Arms had been tracking down, and he had finally located it.
He decided to follow the goon, to see if he hopefully led him towards their base. What he didn't expect was for the villain's face to light up after seeing a crow.
"Fuck! Yes! Ok, you one of Karasu's pets?"
The hero stopped breathing, suddenly the situation had gotten much more interesting than simply being led into the villain's hideout. The crow didn't respond, but looked right at the criminal.
"Well, whatever, going to throw my shot anyway. If you are, tell Karasu that I want to call in to offer a job. I want Death Arms gone"
The crow cawed, and flew over the villain. The hero hid on the rooftop, not wanting to be seen by the flying bird.
As far as he knew, he was the first hero to ever witness a hit request for Karasu. Such an opportunity of knowing Karasu's possible whereabouts and target may never appear again.
He picked his phone, and dialed the number of Death Arms' Agency.
"Eraserhead? Did something happen? You found the bastards?" Death Arms' sidekick's voice came out of the phone.
"Something even bigger. We are going to need to call in more heroes"