"Toga-san!" Spinner wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly the moment he noticed she was being pushed into the cafeteria. He'd genuinely been more worried during her trial than he'd been during his own, and because of his status as a prisoner, he hadn't been allowed to even talk to her to check in and see if she was doing okay. At least now they could speak freely… Mostly. Thankfully it took less than a minute for the guards to get tired of personally escorting Atsuhiro and Himiko and take their positions with the rest of the guards in the cafeteria. They weren't exactly ecstatic to spend so much time among the prisoners to begin with, even if it was for the health of any of them.

"It's okay, Spinner," Himiko said quietly, gently ruffling his hair until he pulled away. She was genuinely happy to see him, if not a little reserved after… "I'm okay." She did her best to smile, but it'd been obvious to everyone she'd talked to today- even Kaina- that something had happened since they'd last seen her. Atsuhiro had tried to ask her if everything was alright, but Himiko hadn't responded and had instead doubled down on finishing her work as quickly as she could. Spinner looked at Atsuhiro worriedly, but only received a small shake of his head in response. Whatever had happened, Himiko wasn't going to talk about it.

"What's for lunch today," Himiko asked curiously, trying to move the conversation along as she wheeled herself into the line. The last thing she wanted was her friends worrying about her. She'd already imposed on them enough and it was only her second day at Tartarus. She had another… long, long time to go.

"Chicken katsu. I'm pretty sure Tobita-san's cooking, so it's bound to be pretty tasty," Spinner explained, grabbing a tray for her as he spoke. He hadn't been here as long as Atsuhiro had, but he'd already learned how to take joy in the small pleasantries Tartarus had to offer. It was the only way to stop oneself from going crazy in the monotony of it all.

"... Gentle Criminal," Himiko asked confusedly as she turned her gold gaze back to Spinner. She was positive she'd seen the man at her trial- oddly enough, on her side of the courtroom. But she wasn't sure why he'd be at Tartarus of all places. He hadn't even been in Tartarus after his initial arrest! And he'd helped the heroes during the war. He'd stopped an entire jailbreaking and hundreds of inmates that'd been locked up in Mizuku prison with him. He'd caught UA's Coffin in the Sky and prevented it from hitting the ocean and freeing Tomura! As far as she knew, he'd never even taken a life, and the worst he'd ever done was embarrass some heroes that'd tried their hardest to capture him. Hadn't his heroism earned him his freedom?

"Just Tobita-san here, Toga-san. No villain names, remember," Atsuhiro said, gently patting Himiko on the shoulder to remind her of the rule. He knew the guards wouldn't be so kind if they heard her using their villain names.

"No villain names. No Quirks. No escape attempts," Spinner hissed, placing a bowl of food on each of his friend's plates before serving himself.

"After the war Tartarus started looking to America and implementing some of their prison policies in an attempt to ensure a jailbreaking never happens again," Atsuhiro explained, gratefully taking the tray Spinner had prepared for him. "Apparently those are the most important rules they have in their prisons."

"Also explains why the guards are so aggressive. Less heroes. More corrections officers. Half of these guys don't even speak Japanese." Spinner pushed his friends along the line, keeping them at a steady pace to get their food. Himiko was going to ask a question when she realized her friend had stood up straighter, eyes narrowed as if he were ready to fight.

"Why the hell is he coming over here," he hissed, taking a step forward to put himself between his friends and the approaching threat. Himiko searched the crowd to see who it was he was talking about. She felt so naked without a knife by her side. She locked eyes with a familiar face almost immediately. Mustard?

"Well if it isn't Toga-san! Looks like the gang's finally all made it to Tartarus!" He spoke like they were friends. Like they knew each other. Truth be told, he'd been captured so quickly, Himiko had barely even gotten the chance to learn his actual name. "Well, everyone who's still alive."

"... who are you again?" Himiko kept her voice flat and monotone. She knew Mustard was trying to get under her skin almost immediately. She doubted she'd be rewarded for taking the bait.

"Haha! Oh so very funny! I guess I can't blame you for not recognizing me, that hideous eyepatch must really get in the way," he said smugly. "Well you're gonna get to know me a lot better now that you're finally in here with the rest of us. I'm sure Moonfish wouldn't mind seeing you again either." The boy sneered at her, trying his best to intimidate her with the not-so-implied threat.

"Get back to Imasuji-san before I send you back to him in a box," Spinner hissed, taking a step towards the other villain. He wasn't at all intimidated by the high-schooler, and he was positive he wouldn't need any of his new Quirks to put the boy in his place. Mustard was about as intimidating as the average high-schooler with his Quirk. That's to say: not at all.

"Whoa, whoa! Relax, big guy! We're all on the same team, aren't we? Or, we should've been, at least," Mustard said with a sarcastic grin. Still, he took a step back, and then another, his eyes locked on Himiko before making his way back to the other side of the cafeteria.

"He's been doubly annoying ever since he started hanging out with Imasuji-san's crowd," Spinner sighed, returning to his position behind Himiko and Atsuhiro and pushing them along the rest of the line.

"Apparently he's under the assumption we abandoned him during the Training Camp Raid. As if it were our fault he got captured by a couple of amateur students," Atushiro sighed, collecting his drink before allowing Spinner to direct them towards a table. "Impudent little brat, that one. No surprise he was captured during our first real attack on UA."

"Mus… Imasuji's here too? And Haken," Himiko asked curiously. After what'd happened to Twice, she'd kind of just assumed heroes didn't mind killing the villains they deemed out of control or dangerous. Muscular easily fit that description- he'd already made a name for himself jailbreaking thousands of other villains just a few months ago during the war. Moonfish definitely fit that description, but for… different reasons.

"Indeed. Imasuji-san's as violent as always. The only reason he hasn't gone out of his way to attack either of us yet is his own recognition of mutually assured destruction. Spinner's a formidable opponent these days, and Imasuji-san's unsure if he'd win that fight," Atsuhiro explained. He lifted his tray as he was wheeled up to the table and began to eat his chicken katsu. Himiko doubted that was the entirety of the explanation. Muscular was never above a fight, even if he thought he'd lose. Backing down just because he was unsure if he could beat Spinner in a fight? That sounded… off.

"Haken-san is locked in the basement level with the other… unwell prisoners. No one's really seen him, but every couple of weeks there's some disturbance that comes from down there," Spinner explained. "He's not sane enough to care about the consequences using his Quirk."

"What happens if someone gets caught using their Quirk," Himiko asked, taking a bite of her own food. She doubted the explanation would be good but she at least needed to know the stakes. Just in case. She'd be in Tartarus for a long time, after all.

"Solitary confinement. One month minimum," Spinner responded with a gruff tone. "You don't want to end up in solitary. The guards tend to forget proper feeding times. You can't work so they drain your account paying for your food, and you usually leave solitary in debt you need to pay back before you can get regular meals again. Plus… the American guards feel a little too at home with solitary prisoners." Spinner left that part of his explanation as vague as possible. He didn't need to explain any further. Himiko could let her imagination fill in the blanks.

"So they won't attack us on their own," Himiko pressed, looking into the crowd at where Mustard had disappeared. She hadn't seen Muscular at all since she'd arrived- he wasn't exactly easy to miss either- and she decided that was for the best… for now.

"For now. But it's not as if Imasuji-san's well well known for his impulse control. And with Sando-san antagonizing us, it's only a matter of time before something snaps," Atsuhiro sighed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we just need to focus on our translations. Himiko, I purchased a keyboard at the commissary yesterday so you can practice typing while in your cell! It should be delivered to your cell before our shift is over."

"Oh, they have her doing translations? That's perfect! They've had us mixing concrete and making bricks and it's frustrating work," Spinner said with a huff.

Tartarus wasn't perfect. People who wanted to start fights for no reason. The constant threat of solitary confinement hanging over her head. Tedious working conditions and long hours. But at least she had friends. A lifetime in Tartarus- at the very least- wouldn't be lonely.

The days seemed to all blend together fairly quickly, with the only variation between them being whatever Himiko was translating for her job, and whatever meals were on a given day. Wake-up at 6:45am. 15 minute shower. Breakfast. Work from 8am to 10am. Skip exercise to focus on translation work. Work from 10am to 12pm. Lunch. Work from 1pm to 2:30pm. Skip break to focus on translation work. Work from 2:30pm to 4:40pm. Dinner at 5pm. Free time from 6pm to 9pm. Locked in your cell at 9pm sharp to do it all over again the next day. It was monotonous and depressing, but at least she had Atsuhiro and Spinner to keep her company and make the days less unbearable.

She'd arrived at Tartarus on a Tuesday. She was somewhat certain Dr. Ishida had said something about weekly sessions, so she had no reason to look forward to the days passing by. That was… until Monday.

Himiko, Atsuhiro and Spinner were in Atsuhiro's fairly comforting cell after their work day. His cell was furnished with a small computer, an entire bookshelf full of books, and fairly comfortable bed sheets. The small comforts of his room gave Himiko some hope that maybe spending the rest of her life in Tartarus wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

"You're learning that keyboard pretty quickly, Toga-san! It won't be long now before you're typing without even looking at the keys," Atsuhiro said encouragingly, watching as Himiko typed out a small passage from a book she'd been working on. It'd been less than a week and she was already improving.

"Yeah, but… I'm only a burden to you unless I can read English on my own," Himiko mumbled, still feeling pretty frustrated as she readjusted her eyepatch on her face. Atsuhiro had at least managed to find a way to split his own work and still help Himiko, but it was obvious that he'd be able to get so much more done if he hadn't been spending so much time helping her. He'd be able to afford so many more amenities in his cell if he'd just give up helping her. He'd be able to actually rest during his breaks instead of using the time to catch up on his own work. It wasn't fair to him, and it made Himiko feel gross. She wasn't above doing what she needed to get what she needed from people, but usually those people weren't her friends.

"Dear, there's no need to concern yourself about such trivialities. When you're ready I'll give you my dictionaries so you can start learning. I'm sure you're already familiar with the English alphabet. Their words are-"

"Inmate 24601! You have visitors." A guard had appeared outside of Atsuhiro's cell, arms crossed as if he'd rather be doing anything else than this.

"... visitors?" Himiko didn't believe him. This felt like a set-up to some sort of trap. Who would want to visit her?

"Let me get you back in your chair," Spinner offered, standing up from his own seat and helping Himiko off the bed and into her chair. The feeling in her legs was returning, but they still had to pretend she couldn't walk or else the guards were likely to throw her into physical labor before she was ready.

"We'll see you in the morning, Toga-san," Atsuhiro called out as she was wheeled away by the guards.

Himiko made sure to pay attention to the path they were taking as she was wheeled towards the visitor's wing. She imagined that whatever visitor wing existed would be closer to the edge of the Tartarus campus, so civilians wouldn't have to travel too far into the facility. It'd likely be well protected, to shield innocent civilians in case of a jailbreak. It was also likely to have the fewest guards, as only the best behaved inmates were likely to even be allowed to meet with visitors in the first place. If there were ever a chance to escape…

She made sure to keep her expression neutral even as all of those thoughts swirled through her mind. She didn't need the guards getting suspicious of her. Still, she'd never been through this section of Tartarus, and by the look of it, it wasn't frequently used.

"Things are looking better every day out there. I know you said you wanted to give it time, but it's been almost a year. The food here can't be that good," a man said with a playful chuckle. Himiko narrowed her eyes as she realized who was talking. Keigo Takami- Hawks- was sitting with his feet up on the table as he spoke with Kaina Tsutsumi. The older woman turned to lock eyes with Himiko for a moment before turning back to Keigo.

"There's something else I need to do before I can leave," she said vaguely as she smacked Keigo's feet off the table. They seemed close, but Himiko couldn't imagine how. Hawks wasn't much older than herself- he'd made waves by being the youngest hero to make the #2 spot on the leaderboard, after all. Meanwhile Lady Nagant's scandal had happened long ago- so long Himiko wasn't sure if she'd even been born when it'd happened. She'd just kind of grown up in a time where Lady Nagant's betrayal was the hot thing to talk about. How could these two ex heroes possibly know each other?

Himiko pushed the thoughts from her head as she was pushed beyond Kaina and Keigo. She had not just one, but two visitors! Pale gold met warm, rich brown and deep, vibrant green. Her heart started racing as she realized who'd come to see her. She honestly hadn't even believed them.

"Hi, Toga-san." Izuku's soft smile lit up his face as he called out to her before the prison guard had even wheeled her to the table properly. Somehow even the depressive bleakness of Tartarus hadn't dulled his cheerful spirit.

"... what… What are you two doing here," Himiko asked confusedly as she looked at the two heroes. She'd honestly thought they'd forgotten about her. Abandoned her. Found literally anything better to do than worry about the supervillain criminal murderer they'd helped put away. But they hadn't kept their promise! They hadn't sent a single letter. They hadn't visited. They hadn't gotten her out of here! They hadn't-

"We came to visit. We promised we'd be over every week, remember," Izuku explained. He wasn't sure how to read Himiko's expression. Was she upset that they'd come to visit her? Was she frustrated? Or was she having trouble adjusting to life in Tartarus?

It hadn't even been a full week yet. The realization hit Himiko like a bag of bricks.

"We haven't received any letters back from you… We each sent one every day. A couple packages too. Did you like the cookies? I made them myself," Ochako asked, her warm, brown eyes glancing over Himiko to see if she was okay. Himiko opened her mouth to speak, but she could hardly even believe what she was hearing from the heroine.

Himiko looked from brown to green and back again, an ache in her heart growing that she hadn't even known had been there in the first place. She missed Ochako and Izuku. And she'd honestly believed they'd forgotten about her.

"I… thought you guys stopped caring," she said sincerely, looking down at her lap as she fought back a couple tears. She hated looking so weak in front of these two. They'd gone through so much trouble to help her. They'd gone through even more trouble to visit her today. And how could she even begin to repay them for their kindness?

"Wh- what? No! We- we sent manju cookies," Ochako stuttered, desperate for Himiko to understand. Himiko met Ochako's gaze again, and she could see the younger woman had dark circles behind her eyes. She still looked tired. Like she wasn't getting very much sleep. Himiko couldn't be sure why. Ochako had never looked like that the few times they'd met before the war. What'd been keeping her up so late into the night these days?

"W-we sent books! And letters! D- didn't you-"

"There's a delay on the letters you send. It's to prevent inmates from coordinating with people on the outside," Kaina explained, her voice carrying across the room to the table they were sitting at.

"Five days. Packages take a week. I can talk to the warden for you and get correspondence between the three of you expedited. Just don't send anything dangerous," Keigo explained, holding a toothpick between his lips as he spoke. Himiko felt her skin itch as Hawks offered to help her. She'd been so close to gutting him during the final battle. For Jin! Now he was trying to help her?

"Oh… well, then the first letters we sent should be getting to you tonight? Maybe you'll see them later," Izuku said hopefully. His smile didn't falter for even a moment. How he could be so optimistic, Himiko couldn't be sure. It was just something else that made him so attractive to her. She had to shake those thoughts out of her head. He'd already turned her down. There was no way he'd offer to date a Tartarus inmate. Plus… Ochako was likely days away from winning his heart if she hadn't already. There was no way Izuku hadn't understood what Ochako had said during her speech at Himiko's trial. She'd basically confessed to him in front of the entire world! She'd won fair and square.

"... yeah… maybe…" Himiko took a deep breath, calming her nerves as she did so. Whatever she'd thought of them before, Ochako and Izuku were here now. It hadn't even been a week since they'd last seen her. For Himiko… it'd felt like months. A few moments passed before Himiko could swallow her emotions and think of something to say. Now that Ochako and Izuku were here she just wanted to hear about anything that was happening outside of Tartarus' bleak campus.

"What's… what's life like out there for you? Are you… How are your classes going? You guys should almost be done with your second year, right?" If there was one thing Himiko missed while being on the run her entire life, it was school itself. Not necessarily the students or the teachers- she didn't care much for them- but the smell of chalk and erasers and old books was… comforting. Remembering everyone's excitement during spirit week also made her heart ache, and she even missed those brisk spring and summer days her school had set aside for marathons and sports tournaments. It was part of why her villain "costume" had always just been her old school uniform. To remind herself of what she hadn't been able to have because she'd been deemed too different to have a normal life.

"Oh! Um… all the hero schools agreed to taking a year break while we help rebuild. UA, Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu… classes won't start up officially until April," Izuku explained, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. "So technically we're still first years."

"... that… doesn't seem fair," Himiko said confusedly.

"Oh, it's not that bad. It gives us time to catch our breath after the war, and we can help the prospective students get ready for their first year too! I don't think anyone minds graduating late as long as it means we can help people who need it."

That made Himiko frustrated. Almost angry. Did Izuku and the rest of his friends really not care about their own lives? Was being a hero so necessarily sacrificial? Did they constantly have to lay down at the feet of society and beg for more? What was their breaking point? Did they even have one? Is that what made them heroes? The masochistic desperation for less from the people who owed them everything?

"What about you, Toga-san? I hope Tartarus hasn't been too harsh." That was Ochako, her voice soft and sweet like warm honey. Unfortunately the question felt like ice water on a cold day.

Himiko had never been the kind of person to just respond with a fake I'm fine when asked if she was okay- especially if she wasn't okay. But what would telling the truth even accomplish here? She was lucky enough to even be alive. Judge What's-his-face had wanted to execute her right after the trial. She could still remember his words like scars on her heart. And Ochako and Izuku were already sacrificing so much in order to rebuild the country that she'd helped to break. They'd both nearly sacrificed their lives…

"I… I'm fine," Himiko said with a small shrug. What did it matter that she could hardly afford her meals every day? What did it matter that the guards dictated everything from the time she ate and showered to the food she ate? What did it matter that she had a meeting with Dr. Ishida tomorrow, and that thought alone was enough to nearly send her spiraling into a panic attack? She should be grateful she was alive! Grateful to Ochako and Izuku and those three genius girls for bringing her back.

She should be grateful.

So why did she feel so awful?

"Are you sure? We can help make you more comfortable here! We can-"

"I said I'm fine, Ochako-chan," Himiko said flatly. Her golden eyes held Ochako's brown, practically daring the younger woman to push any further. She didn't want to talk about Tartarus. She didn't want to talk about her life. She didn't really have one anymore. She just wanted to hear about Izuku and Ochako. They were the ones actually doing anything.

"W-Well, if there's anything else you'd like us to send, just send us a letter and we'll get right on it," Izuku replied, desperate to do anything to help.

"... thanks," Himiko sighed, resting her chin in her arms. She felt so… odd. She was here talking with some of the people she loved most in the whole world. Ochako and Izuku… they were both in Tartarus for her! But as exciting as that was, all she could think of was how temporary this was. And how permanent a life sentence was. Is this all she had to look forward to for the rest of her life? Nine hours a day of work, just to be capped off with meeting friends once a week?

It was likely more than she deserved.

"... Toga-san?"

Himiko's eyes glanced up to meet Ochako's again. They were wavering, as was her voice.

"Yeah," Himiko answered, her head cocked to the side in curiosity. She wasn't crazy about seeing Ochako on the verge of tears like this, but she wasn't even sure why the younger woman was so close to crying anyway.

"Do… do you still wish that we hadn't… That I hadn't…" She could hardly even get the words out. How could she ask this? What if the answer was what she'd been fearing most. What if she'd heard the answer that was the reason behind the tired dark circles behind her eyes?

"... I don't want to die again, Ochako-chan…"

The guards wheeled Himiko to her cell at the end of their two hour visiting period. Normally visitors could only come see an inmate once a month, and Himiko was in a special class of inmates that technically couldn't be allowed to see anyone outside of a once per month religious visit. Izuku and Ochako were able to bend the rules as much as they could only because they were the heroes that saved Japan, and thanks to Hawks they were going to bend the rules even more to get their letters to her a bit faster. Even with all the rule-bending in the world though, she was still just an inmate in Tartarus.

Himiko didn't have it in her to plot the course back to her cell. Her head was too full of sad and frustrating thoughts. Too busy counting down the minutes before she'd get the chance to see Ochako and Izuku again for their next two hour conversation. Too busy thinking about what those young heroes might get up to on their own now that the League of Villains had been disbanded and they weren't being thrust into life or death situations every month anymore.

Her eyes narrowed as she realized there were a couple of guards stationed outside of her cell, and she could distinctly hear the sound of someone rummaging around. The guards did checks every morning, but this kind of surprise check seemed off. Targeted. Even more confusing, the guards all seemed to be snacking loudly on something.

"Inmate's back, guys," one of the guards said gruffly, wiping her face of a few crumbs as she called out the guards currently in her cell. Two more guards left her cell, wiping crumbs off their own faces before walking away with the rest of their group. Himiko looked into her cell and could see it'd been left a mess. They hadn't taken a moment to put things back in order. Everything was out of place, except for two boxes on her desk that hadn't been there this morning. She looked over her shoulder as she was wheeled into her cell, hoping- however foolishly- that the guards pushing her would at least try to help her clean the cell. There was no way she'd be able to easily navigate the mess the other guards had left behind without help!

The guards wheeling her locked the door to her cell and joined their peers without even meeting her gaze.

Oh well.

It took Himiko a few minutes to fix the room well enough for her to even make her way to her desk. The few clothes she had were strewn around the place, her bedsheets were on the floor, and the one book she'd managed to buy was lying facedown on the floor. It was hard picking things up from her wheelchair, but she managed. She put everything back in its place before she made her way to the desk to see what had been left for her.

She inspected the boxes closely. One was addressed from Atsuhiro and had a big TARTARUS SUPPLIES logo stamped on it. It was the computer keyboard he'd said he'd bought her! She had nothing to plug it into, and computers were likely incredibly expensive, but at least she could practice typing.

The second box had been forcibly opened, and carelessly resealed. Himiko frowned as she opened it, letting its contents spill out onto her desk. First came two letters- one from Ochako, and the other from Izuku. Himiko excitedly tore open the resealed envelopes, excited to see what they'd wanted to tell her. Maybe things could be a little more bearable if she at least had some correspondence with Ochako and Izuku! Her heart sank as she looked over the letters. Most of the pages had been highlighted with a black marker, blocking out almost everything except for a few odd sentences that made no sense out of context. A red pen had scribbled a note on the backs of them.

Redacted on behalf of Tartarus Corrections.

Even her letters were scrutinized by the officers at Tartarus.

The second pile was a box of manju cookies, torn open and left empty with nothing but a few familiar looking crumbs at the bottom of the box.

Himiko chewed her lip, forcing herself to choke back her tears. She knew she'd failed at that when she realized the letters she was holding were collecting wet spots. It wasn't fair! She was already here trying to repay her debt to society! Did Tartarus as an institution gain ANYTHING from making her life a living hell?

She hated Tartarus.