Good news, I'm not dead. Not yet anyway. We'll see how I'm doing in a few months. I'm honestly not sure if I'll survive this Summer heat or not.

Anyway, I want to get real with you guys for a second. I'm sure most of you want to skip past this, but just do me a favor and bear with this for a second.

Basically, I just want to say thanks. When I started this story 6 months ago, I was bored. I had just started Winter break and I got tired of reading other fanfics on this site, so I decided to make my own. I figured I'd be lucky to have 10 people reading this story after a year, but in just 6 months, this story has reached over 400 followers and nearly 400 favorites.

So yeah, this is just a thank you. To all the good people who've stuck with my imperfect, cringey mess of a story all this time, thank you. It means a lot, especially since I know I'm not the best writer. I've said this before, but I'll keep doing my best to make this story as enjoyable as I possibly can for all of you.

Well, now that I'm done boring all of you with my generic thank you letter, you know what time it is.

It's time for a completely unfunny recap that nobody cares about.

Oh, and by the way, I will be slightly diverting from canon, so if all the details in this chapter don't perfectly match the canon MHA story, please don't correct me in the reviews.

Sup? As many of you remember, we had to skip the last recap because of… reasons. I thought about doing it here as well as covering the scheduled recap, but then I remembered I don't like any of you. Now then, I would love to get started on this chapter's recap, but I seem to be missing my co-host. Well, whatever. Guess I'll just start without him.

Okay, so, uh… basically the last chapter was completely pointless. It started with Spider Boi waking up in a crappy bar and finding Tim passed out after he hit the bottle too hard the night before. After that-

"HE STARTED CREEPING AROUND IN EVERYBODY'S ROOM! Man, I really did a good job teaching him the art of stalking."

JESUS! Where did you even come from Wade?

"I'm always close by. Anyway, my boy Peter started marching through the hallways, creeping into everybody's rooms. He even grabbed some 'souvenirs' from the ladies, if you get my meaning. Wink, wink."

I-... no. None of that happened.

"Then he found this really creepy room where Tiffany performed his hand worshipping rituals. Still, it could have been worse… Staaaaaaaarrree."

Did… did you just say the word "stare?" What are you even looking at?

"Somewhere on the other side of this screen is somebody with a foot fetish. Can they see me giving them the finger?"

Wade, you like feet.

"Why do you think I'm using my other hand to give myself the finger silly?"

… Moving on. So according to the script, Spider Boi got high on coffee, because apparently caffeine gets spiders drunk.

"Yup. After that, he stumbled into my man cave like a drunk uncle at a wedding and found my secret stash of movies."
They weren't secret. You left them in plain sight.

"Exactly. Why would anybody look for something that's supposed to be secret in plain sight? It's the perfect hiding place. Seriously, what's this guy's deal? It's like I gotta explain everything to him."

Oi, don't shit-talk me to the audience, that's my job.

"Just ignore him. He doesn't even get quotation marks when he talks. This guy's such a loser. So after Peter totally stole my movie collection, Geoff and the hot vampire chick walked in. Damn, she really is hot."

Wade, she's half your age. Don't even think about it.

"YOU CAN'T CONTROL MY FANTASIES!"

Ugh… So they sat down to watch some movies while-

"While some totally boring stuff happened. Like, we get it Aizawa, you're even edgier than Batman. Just get out of here so we can get back to the cool stuff! Anyway, after discount Batman dipped on the super lame meeting, the loser squad started talking about their feelings while wearing nothing but hospital robes. Seems pretty sus to me."

Wade, don't even start. Now the comment section will be filled with Among Us references.

"Anyway, after the loser squad had a totally-not-gay heart to heart conversation while half-naked, they agreed to go looking for my boy Peter. Yay, friendship! Oh, and also some really dark stuff about withdrawal symptoms and hopeless addictions and other stuff I probably shouldn't make jokes about. Professionals have standards. Then Peter, because he's such a nice guy, decided to help his hot girlfriend with her problems."

That's… actually a pretty good description of what happened.

"I guess I'm getting the hang of this announcer stuff. So, can we skip to the part where Tiffany and black camped out in a warehouse to meet some really thicc guy for a secret rendezvous?"

Yeah, there it is. Ugh, I need a raise. Recap's over assholes. Now leave me alone.

(Disclaimer: Aren Swanson does not condone his employee's referral to the audience as "assholes.")

Back to that Story:

Peter felt nervous staring at the dark brown door before him, and that could be attributed to a number of things.

For one thing, this would be the first time he entered Toga's room, though that obviously held less significance than the other… reasons.

What was Peter supposed to do in this situation? Peter had been through a lot for someone his age. He'd taken down criminals, traveled to space, died, and fought people who bordered on being gods. But this was a totally new experience.

The young hero wasn't a psychologist. He didn't know what to do or say to help somebody suffering from withdrawal symptoms, especially in a close scenario like this. What did psychologists usually say to their patients? "Oh don't worry, it's not your fault, it's the world's fault."

… No, that probably wouldn't work. Plus, that information was most likely inaccurate.

Peter released a deep breath. There was no point in standing out here doing nothing. Sooner or later, he'd have to go in there and talk to Toga.

Extending one hand towards the door, Peter took a final deep breath before knocking twice.

"Toga? Can I come in?" Peter asked gently, though loudly enough for his voice to travel into the other room.

"... Go away." A muffled voice came from the other side. It didn't sound distorted by anger or sadness or… anything. Toga's voice was simply hollow.

"I… I can't do that. You're clearly not okay and this isn't something you can solve by yourself. You can let me in or I'll let myself in."

No reply came, nor were there any sounds suggesting movement in the room. Honestly, Peter kind of expected that, but that didn't mean he was happy about it.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Peter grasped the doorknob and pulled the door open.

The room was… both what was to be expected, yet also the exact opposite.

Unsurprisingly, there were many posters all over the room, each one with copious amounts of blood designed on them. There was no real relation between any of them though. Some posters displayed video games, others movies, and others metal band covers. The only similarity between each of them was that blood was on each of them.

Or at least, there should have been.

The strangest thing about all of this was that large tears had been made in the posters. The only reason Peter even knew blood used to be in the missing pieces of the pictures was because there were bits of red on the edges of the poster near where the material had been torn away.

Peter was no detective, but he was pretty confident he could figure out what happened here. If Toga really was attempting to stop ingesting blood, she probably tried to take her mind off of it by removing anything blood related from her living space.

As for Toga herself, she was obviously miserable. Peter couldn't see her face courtesy of the pillow she was mashing her head into. One of her messy hair buns had come undone, causing a large amount of uneven strands to hang limply off the bedside.

Still not entirely sure what to do here, Peter decided to not say anything. Doing his best to be quiet, he slowly walked over to the bedside and sat down softly.

"... Toga." He began.

"No." The vampire girl immediately shut down Peter's attempts at conversation.

"... I won't pretend to know what any of this is like. I don't have a power like yours, and I don't want to, but-"

"POWER?!" Toga snarled, shooting upright and whipping her head around to face Peter. Her usual cheery expression was missing. Just like in the TV room, her eyes were wide and slightly red while her pupils had noticeably shrunken. Her mouth was set in a snarl, revealing her long canines.

"Don't call it a power. Don't make it sound like some amazing thing I'm lucky to have." Each word was spat out fiercely, as if Toga hated having to speak them.

"R-right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Peter," Toga growled dangerously, seeming more and more like a rabid animal by the second. "Why are you here? I don't want to talk to you right now and you have no idea what to say. Please just leave me alone."

Peter wanted to. The dim lighting in the room made Toga's eyes seem as if they were glowing, which only made her glaring visage even more unsettling. The door was only a few feet away. It would only take a few seconds to walk out of the room, close the door, and leav Toga to herself.

And yet, he didn't.

It came down to two choices, leave or stay. Simple at the surface level, but much more complicated in truth.

If Peter left, he'd effectively abandon Toga. How could he consider himself a hero if he wasn't even willing to sit down and have a talk with somebody he cared about who was clearly in a dark place?

Naturally, Peter chose to stay. He chose to linger, to not be deterred by Toga's insistence that she would be fine on her own. She was important to him, and whatever this conversation led to, that wouldn't change.

"I can't do that." Toga's eyes narrowed even further. "Toga, this isn't just your problem. Your pow… your quirk has always been a part of you. You did your best to get by with the hand you were dealt and it worked. Then I came along, and suddenly you stopped everything you had been doing to take care of yourself. You're like this right now because of me, so this is my problem too."

For a second, Toga seriously looked like she was about to attack Peter. Her eyes flashed dangerously and she had raised both her arms slightly, her fingers bent like claws. However, Peter didn't flinch. He continued to stare her dead in the eyes, seemingly not the least bit afraid.

Why wouldn't he leave? She didn't want to be seen, not like this, not by Peter. He shouldn't be here right now.

Toga's glaring expression persisted for a few more seconds, seemingly growing harsher the whole time. It was clear Toga was trying to intimidate Peter into backing away.

Of course, it didn't work.

Peter refused to turn away. If the vampire girl thought she could scare him away so easily, she was dead wrong. Peter would be willing to go to hell and back if it meant helping the people he cared about, and she was no different. Without any sign of hesitation or fear, he met Toga's furious expression with his own soft yet stern expression.

Faced with the unflinching hero, Toga ended up being the one to back down. Her fierce expression melted away. While her eyes remained wide and red, the rest of her face seemed to pull itself back to normal. The frown turned into a sad, upturned expression, the wrinkles above her eyes disappeared as Toga's glare vanished, and her fingers returned to their normal position.

Neither of the teens said a word. Peter continued to stare at Toga with a soft expression while Toga herself was staring at the floor, the wall, anywhere Peter wasn't. She didn't want to talk. She didn't want to say anything, not to him or anybody. All Toga wanted was to be left alone right now.

"... I… used to have an uncle." Peter started. Toga still didn't look at him, but she was clearly listening.

"He was a great guy. My… my parents died when I was really young, so he and my aunt ended up being the ones to raise me. Their names were Ben and May. They raised me, taught me to always be the bigger person, to look out for others when nobody else would. They were my parents in everything but name."

Toga nodded her head slightly to show she was listening. Why was Peter telling her this? Was he rubbing in how great his family was?

"Uncle Ben… he died almost a year ago." Toga finally looked at Peter. He looked calm and composed, but she could see the hurt in his eyes. "After I lost him, I shut down for a while. I stopped going to school, I didn't even leave my room. Aunt May would always try to get me to come out, to talk to her about what happened, but I didn't. The problem didn't go away and it didn't get better. I tried to sort through everything on my own and ended up worse over time."

Peter took a deep breath. Emotion was beginning to leak into his voice and he needed to calm down.

"I know these aren't similar situations. Losing Uncle Ben hurt, it still hurts, but it happened already. I'm sure it'll hurt for a long time, but I also know it will get easier to deal with over time. But this… this is something totally different. Your quirk is a part of you, something you'll deal with your entire life. You can't deal with this alone forever. I know it feels… hard, to say the least, but please, talk to me Toga. Nothing good comes from trying to deal with this stuff on your own."

Despite his efforts, Peter couldn't keep the emotion out of his voice. He had his feelings about Uncle Ben under control for the most part, but it was still painful talking about him like this. His vision blurred slightly from the tears gathering in his eyes, but he was quick to blink them away. This was about Toga, and if tears started falling, all her attention would be on him.

Toga herself was in the middle of a fierce inner debate.

"He shouldn't be involved! This has nothing to do with him!"

"That's only because we're choosing to lock him out. He could help us."

"Oh really? The big, strong hero with the amazing quirk can help the cursed little girl with the villain's quirk? Grow up!"

"He's not just 'the hero,' he's our friend! Peter can help us if we just give him a chance."

While Toga wrestled with her thoughts, Peter waited patiently. The last thing the young hero wanted to do was to rush her into making a decision.

Toga had begun lightly biting her thumb, her eyes darting all over the room as she continued to think about what to do. Every now and then, she would growl to herself, only to calm down shortly after taking an extra hard bite into her thumb.

Finally, she stopped. Toga pulled her somehow uninjured thumb out of her mouth, her eyes finally resting on a single thing; Peter.

"... Peter, what do you know about my quirk?" Toga asked softly.

"Wh-what?" Peter questioned, not fully understanding the question.

"Just answer! What do you know about my quirk?

Peter thought for a moment, recalling everything he knew about the vampire's powers.

"Well… I know you drink blood and can shapeshift into the person whose blood you drank, but you can't copy their quirks. Plus, the time limit depends on how much you drink."

"I'm not talking about the effect of my quirk Peter. I don't want to know what it does, I want you to tell me what it is." Toga explained.

Peter just stared with a confused expression. He genuinely had no idea how to respond.

Toga looked like she expected silence to be the response, based on her unsurprised expression.

"... My da… my mo…" Toga paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "The people who raised me were both heroes. They weren't big shot, 'top 100s' or anything, but they were heroes. I remember thinking they were so cool when I was younger. Funny thing is, I don't even remember what they look like anymore."

Peter took in every word, allowing Toga to speak at her own pace.

"Of course, being the great heroes they were, they spent every day encouraging me. Things like "Oh Himiko, you'll be an even better hero then we are someday. I'm sure your quirk will be wonderful."" Toga snorted, as if finding the memory hilarious. "Yeah, that didn't age well. Do you know what a quirk mutation is Peter?"

"Uh, I think I learned about it in class. It's when a child has a quirk unrelated to both of their parents' quirks, right?"

"Yup. I don't remember… those peoples' quirks, but I guess mine isn't anything like either of them. After 4 years of love and praise and hearing all about how proud they were about their little hero-in-training, I sprouted fangs, my eyes turned to slits, and everything changed."

Toga smiled, though she clearly wasn't happy.

"Yeah, I still remember that conversation. 'He' got really angry at 'her,' saying it was her fault I ended up with such a disgusting quirk, a villainous quirk. He left the next day. No note, no good-bye, no nothing. I guess he couldn't stand the idea of raising some villainous little girl and the woman who brought her into the world."

Peter remained silent, but he was unable to keep his expression neutral. His mouth began twitching slightly and his hands were clenching. Peter absolutely hated people who abandoned their families, and this guy was no exception.

And the fact that Toga refused to call either of these people her parents or acknowledge she was their daughter was not lost on him.

"Well, to 'her' credit, she didn't just dump me in some orphanage and forget me, though I wish she had. For nearly 10 years, I was just the weight she had to drag around. Sometimes she would 'forget' to feed me. Most of the time, she was either ignoring me entirely, and when she did pay attention to me, it was just so she could yell at me for being worthless. Looking back, I'm surprised I never got hit." Toga chuckled a bit as if it were funny recalling all of this.

Peter, however, was seething.

Were these people really heroes? No, of course not. To hell with their titles, to hell with what was written on the piece of plastic they carried around, these people didn't deserve to be called heroes. What kind of monster did you have to be to treat your daughter like a curse just because her quirk wasn't what you wanted?

"Peter… do you see my point? My quirk isn't some blessing. It isn't a wonderful power everybody wants to have. At best, it's a curse. My par… they were right. I mean, look at me. I'm telling you this story, and where am I now? Hiding out in a bar with a bunch of other villains. Himiko Toga, the horrible villain with 13 kills under her belt. What a great person, huh?" Toga pointed at herself and started laughing loudly, a laugh that was clearly being forced out, unlike her tears, which were falling naturally.

"Toga, stop. You shouldn't even think for a second that those people were right about you. They decided you were a lost cause as soon as they found out what your quirk was, without even giving you a chance to use it the way you wanted to. With some time and practice, you could easily-"

"Peter, just STOP!" Toga immediately stopped laughing. "Why don't you get it!? I don't want to 'get better with it!' I don't want to 'get used to it!' What don't you understand!? Peter, I NEVER WANTED THIS!" Toga screamed, standing up and thrusting her face towards Peter's, glaring directly into his eyes even as she continued to cry.

"I… I never asked for this. I hated blood when I was younger. Even after getting my quirk I hated it. I didn't like having to hurt people for it. I didn't like how messy it was. I didn't like anything about it. But over time, my quirk… forced me to like it. I began to think about blood constantly. I always felt like I needed it, and that feeling only got stronger the longer I went without blood."

"I thought it wouldn't be permanent, that I would eventually lose interest. But I didn't. Even when I don't have a strong urge for it, I love blood. The color, the texture, the taste… I love it. I… never wanted that either. When I'm hungry, it's harder to control myself, harder to think rationally. So hard, I start to wonder, 'what's wrong with stabbing somebody to get some blood?'"

Toga began breathing heavily, even more tears streaming from her eyes than before.

"But for just a little bit after I drink blood, it gets weaker. I feel more like myself and not like I'm being driven around by my quirk. For just a little bit, there are no urges, no pain, no itchiness," Peter's gaze shifted to the scratch marks on her arms. "No nothing. Just… me."

Unable to keep up her rant as she was, Toga collapsed to the ground, resting her body on her legs. Peter was growing more concerned by the second, but something told him not to say anything. Not just yet.

"That's why I tried to stop, to stop letting my quirk control me. Because of you. The others… they tolerate me, treat me a little better than anybody else would, and Big Sis Mag cares about me, but… there's something there. They think I don't notice, but I see the look in their eyes, the way they turn away just a little when I go near them. Compress doesn't trust me, Dabi thinks I'm a freak, Twice… who knows what Twice is thinking. But you? You don't care. Right from the start, you weren't scared of me. Even when I was attacking you with a knife, you still looked at me normally and had a normal conversation with me." Despite herself, Toga chuckled for a brief second. "I mean really, who does that?"

At this point, Peter wasn't even sure how he was supposed to respond once he finally started talking. This… was this really Toga? The cheery, energetic little vampire who was always ready with some random retort or odd statement to brighten the mood. The girl who didn't seem to care what anybody said about her and happily kept doing what she liked.

This girl crying in front of him… this was the same person?

"Peter… I hate my quirk. I hate everything about it. I just want to stop drinking blood, to stop enjoying it, but I can't even do that. I know that no matter how much I fight it, sooner or later my urges will take over and I'll start drinking blood again. All I'm doing is prolonging the inevitable."

"Okay, that's it. I've listened long enough, now I need to say something." Peter stood up from the bed and walked over to Toga, kneeling in front of her. To his dismay, Toga actually flinched away when he kneeled before her, hiding her face in her hands so as not to look at his face.

It would be incredibly difficult to not say the wrong thing in this situation. Peter thought long and hard about what to say before he finally opened his mouth.

"Toga…" Peter gently took hold of Toga's hands and slowly pulled them away, revealing her tear-covered face. "What do you want?"

Toga looked taken aback.

"What do- what?"

"I can't get rid of your quirk for you. I can't change the past and give you a better childhood. There are so many things I can't do for you, but there's a lot that I can do for you. Toga, be honest, how do you feel about blood?"

"I told you, I hate-"

"Right, you did say that, but you also said you love it. You said that because of your quirk, you like blood, and you think that just because your quirk causes that, it's something to be ashamed of. Am I wrong?"
Toga immediately began nodding her head up and down, her response clear.

"Well, I don't agree. Toga, I know it's hard. I know you didn't ask for this quirk, but it's a part of you. Fine, maybe it isn't pleasant, and yeah, I know that's an understatement, but it's still a part of you. I don't want you to tell me what you want me to hear. I don't want to hear what you think you should say. Just be honest with me. Himiko Toga, do you like blood?"

"I… I... " Toga glanced all around the room, as if searching for the answer. "YES! Yes, I do! I love blood more than anything else. I love how it tastes, I love the color and the way it splatters. I love how no matter who you are, your blood is just like everybody else's, yet there's always something unique about it. I… I love blood." She admitted, hanging her head low.

"So? What's wrong with that?" Toga glanced up in shock. "Toga, you don't need to hate who you are. I know your quirk seems evil, so you try to convince yourself that everything about it is evil. I mean, sure, it's not to the same degree as you, but think about all the people out there who like the taste of blood. That doesn't mean they're evil."

"That's not the point! What can I do with my quirk Peter? You're talking like this isn't some evil quirk, but what good can I do with it?"

"Well, that's easy. You could be a spy for the heroes. Or you could investigate crime scenes for blood belonging to whoever committed the crime and give the police somebody to search for. I know it's hard to see the positives to your quirk, but there really is a lot of good you can do with it." Peter pressed, not budging on his stance.

"And the urges Peter? What good comes from going crazy and attacking people?"
"I'll admit, I can't find a plus side to that. But I can find a counter. All powers have negatives Toga. I could easily kill people if I hit them too hard. You losing sight of yourself can be prevented easily as long as you don't deny yourself what you need."

Toga still looks unconvinced, so Peter decided it was time to play his trump card.

"Toga, you said this was for me, right? You tried to stop drinking blood recently because you're afraid of what I would think of you?"

Toga wordlessly nodded her head.

"Well then, listen very carefully to what I'm about to say. I. Don't. Give. A. Damn." Peter said slowly, earning him a curious glance from Toga. "If you like blood, it isn't my place to tell you to stop drinking it. You need it to be happy, so it would be selfish of me to keep it from you."

Toga didn't exactly look happy, but her expression did noticeably brighten. However, it darkened again shortly after.

"That's not the only problem though. I don't like hurting people, Peter. I like seeing blood, I like watching it flow from injuries and make a pretty design, but I don't like causing pain. I'm happy you understand I need blood, but that doesn't solve the issue of getting it."

At this Peter smiled. Slightly tightening his grip on Toga's hands, he helped her to her feet.

"I actually do have a solution to that." He revealed, causing Toga's eyes to widen in shock.

"WH-WHAT!?" She yelled, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Peter reached down and unrolled his right jacket sleeve, exposing his arm.

"Toga, bite me."

"..."

"..."

"... What?"
Just listen. Toga, you saw the sports festival, so you know about my healing factor. I don't just heal injuries, I also replenish lost blood at an enhanced rate. As long as you don't take too much all at once, I'll be fine."

"I- wha- Peter, I can't bite you."

"Yes you can. Toga, I already told you I don't care if you need blood. This is a solution to everything. You get the blood you need, nobody gets seriously hurt in the process, and I'll be perfectly fine in the end. Everybody comes away happy."

"I… I can't just-"

Toga stopped when Peter placed his free hand on her shoulder.

"Toga, you said you wanted to make me happy?"

"Y-yes." Toga admitted.

"Well I can't be happy knowing that you're miserable. So please, do me a favor and bite me." Peter flashed a bright smile, showing everything was alright.

Toga looked at Peter's exposed arm hesitantly. The offer was there and it was tempting, but was it really okay? It couldn't be serious. As soon as she bit him, Peter would get angry and leave. He'd call her a monster and leave the bar.

Toga was about to refuse once again, but caught herself.

"Hold on, what am I thinking?"

Angry? Monster? This was Peter, the same hopeless guy who was always ready to do whatever he had to in order to make people happy. If he was offering something like this…

There was no way Peter would react the way Toga was imagining.

Nervously, Toga reached out and gripped Peter's wrist, pulling it closer to her mouth. One last time, she sent a questioning glance at Peter. All she got in response was a nod and another bright smile.

"Screw it. If he says it's alright, I'm sure it's alright."

Throwing away the last of her fear, Toga opened her mouth and bit down on Peter's wrist. The young boy winced slightly when her sharp teeth poked through his skin, but the pain only lasted for a second.

It felt… odd having his blood sucked. It was like getting blood drawn, only… different somehow. It was kind of like that feeling when you stick a vacuum wand on your finger and feel it tug on your skin, only instead of skin, it was his bloodstream.

The important thing though, was Toga. Peter kept his eyes on her the entire time. At first, she looked apprehensive, then calm, and now she looked happy. Color was returning to her face, her pupils began growing bigger, and the red in her eyes lessened dramatically. With every passing second, she looked more and more like the Toga he knew and loved.

"Wait, love?" Peter caught himself, slightly perturbed by his last thought. "I'll… think about that later."

Toga, he noticed, had begun smiling. Another 5 seconds passed, then, finally, she released Peter's arm and stepped away. Peter's arm was noticeably paler and it was really hard to move it, but it would be fine. Soon enough, the wound would close and his body would replenish the blood he'd lost. Still, the light-headed feeling was a bit uncomfortable. Peter had to stumble over to the bed and place a hand on one of the bedposts to steady himself.

"WOW! That was great! Peter, you have the most delicious blood I've ever tasted! It was like… I don't even know how to describe it! That was the best thing I've ever tasted. I don't think even-"

Peter smiled listening to Toga rant about blood. This was the Toga he knew, the happy girl who casually talked about blood like it was the greatest thing in the world. Maybe it wasn't the most common interest, but it was hers, and it was what made her Toga.

While Toga continued speaking to herself, Peter padded over to her. It took a bit thanks to the dizziness he was currently experiencing, but he managed to make it without falling over.

"You're okay now?" He asked.
Toga nodded her head enthusiastically, her trademark cheshire grin plastered on her face.

"Yup, yup! I feel better now! I feel...kind of weird. Sort of… tingly. My fingers itch for some reason. That's never happened before. Still, I feel really good. I think I could-"

Not letting her finish, Peter used his functional arm to pull the vampire girl into a tight hug.

"I'm glad you're better." He said happily. Toga, however, did not return the hug. In fact, she placed both hands on Peter's chest and pushed him away.

"I don't want a hug Peter." Toga's face was a bit cross, annoyed even. For a moment, Peter worried that he may have made her angry.

That concern didn't last long.

Before he could apologize, Toga grabbed Peter's shoulders and pulled him back to her, planting a kiss on his lips. The teen's eyes flew open in surprise, but he was quick to relax and kiss her back.

The two of them stayed just like that for a full ten seconds before finally breaking away. It was a bit odd thanks to the bit of blood still on Toga's lips, but Peter couldn't find it in himself to care.

"We've been in here for kind of a while now. You want to go find Spinner?" Toga suggested, acting as though what just occurred did not, in fact, actually happen. Peter needed a few seconds to calm his nerves and get his blush to disappear.

He still wasn't used to being kissed, alright?!

"Y-yeah. Let's do that." Peter pulled the bedroom door open and together, he and Toga walked out of the dark bedroom.

It was only now, as they walked down the hall towards the main barroom, that Peter considered Toga's earlier words.

"What was she saying about tingles and itchy fingers?"

Well… this chapter was way longer than I thought it would be. I expected to finish the Peter/Toga stuff pretty quickly and make some time for stuff from Aizawa and the DekuSquad's perspective, but that obviously didn't pan out. Once I started, I just couldn't stop, and this section ended up being way longer than I planned. I understand this chapter was pretty "angsty" but like I said last chapter, that's kind of the point of these chapters.

And yeah, there was probably a better way to resolve this situation, but this was the one I was happy with, so I stuck with it.

I don't have much else to say. As I said in the beginning of this chapter, I'd just like to say thank you one last time to all of you who have made it this far. It really does mean a lot that you've continued to read my story to this point.

Thanks for reading and remember to leave a review.

Aren signing off.