Chapter 1: A Girl And Her Shadow
Chapter Text
"Mama. Mama," spoke two years old Toga Himiko to her parents. "Can I hold?"
"Of course Himiko, here gently now," Toga Aki spoke as she handed a seven month old baby to her daughter, then addressing her husband, "Daichi help her will you? We don't want to drop little Neito."
Toga Daichi spoke in an even and caring tone, "Of course. Here Himiko, on the bed just in case."
"He has your eyes daddy!" Himiko exclaimed. "Blue like you!
Daichi smiled softly, "I heard that if your child has your eyes then he will take the quirk of the other parent.
"That's just unfounded speculation," chided Aki.
"Oh well." Daichi chuckled patting Himiko on her head. "We'll just have to wait and see."
For some, two years may be a long time but for parents time passes by much quicker.
"Next!" called the doctor.
"Good luck Himi," said Neito to his sister as she left to have her quirk examined.
Toga Neito had taken to calling his sister Himi instead of Himiko as a sign of affection. To him Himiko was a light, a guiding path that taught him right from wrong, yes from no. As she went into the office, Neito wondered what Himiko's quirk was, perhaps when he was a bit older he would have a similar quirk to hers. Perhaps they would both be heroes and fight crime like All Might.
Unfortunately reality is not so kind and neither were Neito's parents. On the car ride back hushed and worried whispers arose.
"What if she can't make friends?" Came the worried voice of Daichi.
"I'm more concerned about her becoming villain," Aki stated.
Himiko looked down, tears brimming in her eyes, "I don't wanna be a villain," she whispered to herself.
"Don't worry Himi." Neito reached over from his car seat and gripped her hand. "You can be a hero, I believe in you, you're gonna be my favorite hero."
The rest of the car ride was silent, as was dinner. When it came time for bed, Himiko slept in her own room and that night Neito slept with her.
The next day Himiko brushed her teeth and got ready for school. A few weeks ago her canines became sharp and pointed. Before they left the house her mother fussed over her. When they began the drive to school Himiko's mother finally spoke.
"Don't smile at anyone," said Aki.
"But why?" questioned the young girl.
"Because we don't want people to see your teeth,"
"Why?"
"Because we don't want people to ask questions,"
"Why?" asked Himiko, her voice a broken record.
"Because you'll get in trouble if someone finds out about your quirk,"
"Why?"
"Because you have an evil quirk!" blurted the young girl's mother. "Promise me you won't smile ok?" The car came to a stop and Aki got out. She unbuckled Neito and Himiko, taking them out of the car and walking them to the school's entrance.
"I promise," Himiko finally said.
"Good," Aki said smiling at her daughter.
Himiko smiled back.
Aki frowned.
Himiko stopped smiling.
Neito held his sister's hand and smiled at her, teeth bared for the whole world to see. Himiko let out a little smile of her own, no teeth, but her face showed joy.
A year and a half later, Neito got his quirk. It was a troubling thing at first, especially when he came home from school with his classmate's horns and hazel eyes. Daichi had been angry at first but then calmed down a bit when the horns disappeared and in the place of a greenish brown was the same blue he had. Daichi realized joyfully that his son's quirk had come in. They took Neito to a doctor and he handed them a form pertaining to Neito's quirk. It was touch based and not at all creepy like Himiko's was. He could copy the eyes of anyone he touched and their quirk as well. The Togas were overjoyed. 'Finally,' they thought. 'Finally a normal child!'
Neito kept copying his sister, he matched her pointy smile with one of his own, her eyes matching his, if it weren't for the slight difference in height and their hair, they might have passed for the same person or at least identical twins. Neito copied the quirks of everyone in his class. He copied the lunch lady's, his teachers', even the principal's. He wasn't quite as skilled as the original users were but he was close, especially since none of the children had even had their quirks that long.
At recess Himiko's friends crowded around her.
"Hey Himiko what's your quirk?" questioned a girl—Tanaka Mari—with literal stars in her eyes. Apparently she could make them glow and when she cried a glowing mucus came out. Neito had known since he copied her quirk too.
"Um it's um," Himiko struggled to find the words to explain, to explain that 'mama said I shouldn't smile, mama said my quirk is evil,' so instead she settled for a lie. "It's a cat quirk Mari." Himiko pulled down the surgical mask her mother had gotten her to hide her face, and bared her fangs. "See my eyes are yellow like a cat's too."
"Wow!" another girl exclaimed, she had antennas on her head, black sclera, indigo irises, and thick striped fuzz along her forearms. Fudeshi Haruka's quirk was talking to and controlling honeybees, Neito had almost cried when he copied it.
"I'm super agile as well." Himiko said as she crossed the monkey bars with ease. This was only possible because Himiko and Neito had taken to scaling the fairly large tree in their backyard as their mother had refused to allow Himiko to take gymnastics or any other afterschool activities.
Four an a half years later; Himiko was ten and Neito was eight and a half
"Mom I have a tummy ache," whined Himiko.
"No you don't," Aki sighed, "Now hurry up I have to get to work."
"Mommy my tummy hurts too," Neito complained. Of course it didn't, but if his sister was sick then so was he.
"Ok fine, Himiko both of you will stay home, I trust you to take care of your brother, you're old enough now." With that Aki left the house closing the door behind her
"I don't really have a tummy ache," Neito confessed to his sister once their mother had left.
"I know Nei, I know," said Himiko with a smile.
After a few hours Himiko had gotten used to her stomachache and decided to get some fresh air in the front yard. Neito however, thought that it meant they were going to play outside.
"Raceyouupthetree!" Neito blurted out all at once as he began to scale the medium sized oak tree they kept in the front yard. It was old and frail thing, but still good enough for young Himiko and Neito to climb.
"Nei be careful," Himiko warned, "Don't grab the red branch!" A year ago the two had wrapped some red yarn around the length of a particularly weak branch and had promised each other to never touch it.
Neito continued to climb as Himiko watched the ground, she was feeling much too tired to climb with him. Suddenly she heard a cry, she looked up quickly to check on Neito but saw that he was fine. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small dark blob fall. She turned and began to walk towards it curious as to what fell out of the sky. When she finally reached the blob she discovered a small bleeding sparrow, already dead from the impact. She looked up to see a hawk circling the sky before she picked the poor bird up.
"Go find something else to eat mean bird," muttered Himiko as she scowled up at the sky.
When she laid her eyes on the bird in her hand once again she saw how beautiful it was, and even more so when it was covered in blood. She couldn't describe the beauty but it was like looking at the most beautifully decorated cake in the world, and the only thing she could do to appreciate it was to eat it.
As Himiko sunk her teeth into the sparrow, blood gushed out of it's body and into her mouth. The only way Himiko could describe the blood was delicious. Himiko liked sweet flavors, she liked sour flavors, and she liked savory flavors. The blood she had drank was delicious and didn't at all taste like chicken despite the blood coming from a bird, it tasted like all of Himiko's favorite flavors mixed into one but without being ruined.
"Himiko what are you doing over there?" Neito questioned upon his perch in the oak tree.
"Nothing Nei," she lied as she finished licking her lips and gently set the now bloodless bird down on the ground.
"Lemme see." Neito said as he began to descend the tree.
"No, I said it was nothing, its really gross," Himiko said to her brother who was steadily getting on her nerves.
"I'm coming down Himi," replied Neito. By now he had almost reached the bottom.
HImiko turned around to berate her brother but soon caught sight of the next branch he was aiming for. Words of warning died in her throat as she watched Neito step on the branch. It wobbled for a moment and thankfully didn't break, but Neito lost his footing with the increasing shakiness and fell. Himiko ran forward to catch her brother but it was too late. When she finally reached him he has scraped his knee on an aboveground root and was bleeding.
"Himi!" Neito wailed, "It hurts!"
"Shh shh, its okay Neito its okay," Himiko did her best to comfort her brother who was crying into her shirt uncontrollably.
"C-can you kiss it better?" asked Neito.
"O-okay." HImiko said as she bent her face down to his knee, "And then we'll get a band-aid for it."
As Himiko's face neared Neito's knee she began to take in the smell of his blood, her heart filled with longing, 'what would it be like?' she wondered, 'How would Neito's blood taste? How would it make her feel.' Her urges overtook her and when her lips finally met her brother's knee, so did her tongue, a small taste was all it took for Himiko to begin licking the entirety of Neito's wound.
"Himi, that tickles!" Neito said as he began start squirming.
Quickly Himiko snapped back to her senses and began to apologize to her brother, "I'm so sorry Neito, I shouldn't have done that I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorr-"
Neito cut her off. "Thank you Himi."
Then Neito burst out into laughter, startling his sister.
"Neito are you ok? what's wrong? Why are you laughing like that?" she questioned.
"B-because," Neito said in between giggles, "You look like me!"
Himiko hurriedly ran inside and into the guest bathroom. As she stared in the mirror she noticed instead of her usual catlike golden eyes, they had taken on a light cobalt blue color reminiscent of her brother and her father. As she continued to look she realized she had gotten shorter as well, exactly the height of her brother. Himiko soon began to panic, she couldn't look like this in front of their parents, they would kill her if they found out she used her quirk.
"Go away, go away, go away," she muttered to herself trying to will the transformation into turning off. Finally it did and she was left naked and surrounded by an off-white sludge. Quickly she got a trashbag and scooped up all the goop; when Himiko had finally cleaned up everything she put on some clothes, went outside to the trashbin, and threw the bag inside.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, I'm so stupid!" Himiko said as she berated herself, hitting herself with her hands. "I never should have drank that bird's blood, I never should have drank Neito's blood! I'm a villain...I'm evil. I can't be like All Might, It would be better if I wasn't around." Sobs pooled from Himiko's throat as she felt increasing guilt and sorrow build up in her chest. She quickly wiped her face as her brother came into the house looking for her.
"Himi!" he called out, "Where are you?"
Himiko quickly composed herself and went into the bathroom, grabbing a box of Edgeshot band aids before she went to see Neito who was standing by the front door taking is shoes off. Guilt continued to fill her as her eyes fell on Neito's knee which hadn't stopped bleeding. Himiko breathed in as she approached her brother with the Edgeshot band-aid in hand; she then realized it wouldn't be enough and rushed to the bathroom returning with a much larger Crust band-aid. Carefully she wiped away the blood with a tissue and applied the band-aid without breathing, so as not to accidentally smell her brother's blood again.
"Thank you Himiko." Neito said as her embraced his sister in a tight hug.
Himiko hugged him back with wide eyes, she realized that no matter what her parents told her, no matter what she told herself, she would always be her brother's hero. "You're welcom Nei."
Soon their parents returned home and Himiko's stomach ache had also disappeared. Shortly after eating dinner and taking a bath, Himiko and Neito put on their pajamas and clambered into their bunk bed. When their parents left after saying goodnight to Neito and kissing him on the cheek, Himiko peered over the top of the bunk down at her little brother.
"Neito," Himiko called, her golden eyes glowing in the dark slightly, "Am I weird?"
"Of course," Neito saw the troubled look in his sister's eyes and quickly continued, "But being normal is boring, I want to be like you."
"You don't want to be like me Neito," confessed Himiko, "Its not fun having to hide who you are. I just want to be a normal girl, in my book boring is good."
"But you get to special Himiko, unique, without others around I'm basically quirkless. I can't be a hero if I'm just a ripoff of everyone else"
Himiko frowned. To Himiko her brother was the entire world, he wasn't a ripoff of anyone, nobody could match his kindness or that shine in his eye whenever he looked at her, nobody could replace him, nobody could accept her the way he did, nobody could be Toga Neito. Himiko went back to bed and thought about her brother's words. "You'll always have me though Neito," she whispered to herself, "Always."
The next afternoon Himiko approached her brother with her hands behind her back. "Nei I have a present for you."
"What is it Himi?" the youngest Toga asked as he looked up from his drawing of what looked to be him and his sister Himiko both wearing capes.
"Its a bracelet," she said as she looped it around his wrist before tightening it. "You said last night that you couldn't use your quirk if you were alone, so I made this so you'll never be alone, so I'll always be by your side. Since your quirk works with DNA I put some of my hair and an old baby tooth in it."
Neito looked down at the bracelet, it was a braid of red black and gold, a tooth was threaded into the center of the bracelet and was visible from both sides.
"Thank you Himiko," Neito said as his eyes changed color and his canines became longer, of course Neito would have to hide the bracelet from their parents but at that moment the only thing that mattered was how happy he was.
"You're welcome Neito," Himiko said softly.
Then both siblings looked at the other and broke out into toothy grins. They smiled and smiled until their face hurt and then they smiled some more. So, to make up for all the smiling that Himiko was unable to do for years because she was told not to:
They smiled.
Chapter 2: Run, Run, As Fast As You Can
Summary:
Kids are cruel, and I'm very in touch with my inner child. In fact they're punching me in the kidneys right now.
Notes:
WARNING!! Sexual Harassment, Suicide Baiting, Verbal Abuse.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The first time Himiko ran away was when she was 12. She had been attending middle school at Rokugatsu Junior High, and she had started without her brother, for the first time in 10 years, 5 months, and 27 days, Himiko Toga was without her brother. For years they had been together, when Himiko had transferred over to the first grade, Neito had been only a yew yards away, the kindergarten Himiko had previously attended was a short walk away which was made nonexistent considering the fact that their mom had always picked them up from school. After school Himiko and Neito always did their homework together and Himiko could help Neito with the things he didn't understand. But when middle school started, Himiko could hardly keep up with her own homework let alone help Neito with his, and her parents were constantly scolding her whenever she took even a small break from her studies. That wasn't even the worst part of her middle school experience, at school all the other kids teased her because of her quirk. They were especially mean since these two years were the last years before choosing a high school to go to, it was either hero or zero, in this society there was no in-between. Himiko avoided any and all questions about her quirk, and there were many. Theories around her quirk started sprouting out of nowhere, to her classroom she was the biggest mystery since Lady Nagant. Himiko heard whispers of laser eyes and telekinesis, some said flexibility since she was so good at the flexibility tests during P.E.. Her favorite though was the cat theory, the lie she had made up in kindergarten and elementary had somehow manifested itself her new school and she loved to to support said theory by sniffing some of her classmates or licking the back of her hand in class. Once in a while she even let out a small meow when she was pleased or hiss when one of the boys tried to grab and snap her pencils to test their strength. Once, she was feeling particularly pleased after acing a math quiz and decided to lay down her head on her friend's shoulder, her friends were confused until she let out a fake purr and absolutely melted their hearts.
"Toga 100% has a cat quirk!" cried Mimura Aika. She was one of Himiko's close friends and had an interesting tree quirk, apparently Kamui woods was also her dad's cousin or something. HImiko had once brought a leaf from Aika's hair home and laughed as her brother's head transformed into a bush that was reminiscent of an afro. The entire time Himiko was rolling on the ground laughing while calling Neito names like "Marimo" and "Bush Head".
"No she has some kind of control quirk, have you seen the way she spins her pen? I swear its like magic!" exclaimed one boy who had a white tiger mutation.
"Why don't you all sit down and you can ask Toga after class," came the jaded voice of their history and homeroom teacher Mr. Goya. He had a emitter quiirk which allowed him to cause people to fall into a state of uncertainty. Himiko swore he used it on the class while they were taking tests.
"But then we'll have to wait forever," tiger boy moaned.
"She probably won't even tell us," said a boy with yellow scales creeping up his neck.
Himiko kept silent throughout the entire class and watched the clock. She couldn't decide if she wanted it to go faster or slower. A minute before the bell rang Himiko had finished packing up. Once she heard the chime, Himiko leaped from her seas and was out the door. As she made a beeline towards the school's exit she heard claims of teleportation and super speed but she ignored them as she began her walk home. Himiko came home that day tired and exhausted, but she came home that day.
After a pained Himiko had sucked the blood from a papercut he had gotten; Neito realized that his sister's stomach aches were a result of a lack of blood, and so to do everything in his power to help his sister, he let her bite him. The bites didn't hurt of course, but they still left marks, marks that of course could easily be hidden from their parents with a simple long-sleeved shirt, but unfortunately not from the nosiness of Neito's classmates and teachers. His teacher asked if he was ok at home and he had responded with a "Yes" but for some reason she didn't believe him and called his parents in for a meeting. The talk was long and awkward and by the time they reached home Aki was furious. That Friday night, Neito went without dinner, and the next week so did Himiko.
"Himiko! How could you?! How could you steal the very life from your own brother?!" Himiko's mother asked with horror in her voice.
"I'm sorry," Himiko whispered.
"It's okay Mama I was fine with it, I told her to do it, please don't be angry," pleaded Neito
Daichi spoke up, "Aki lower your voice. What will the neighbors think?"
"What will the neighbors think?" Aki parroted in a bewildered tone, "They probably think we're bad parents, they think our son is hurting himself because of us, but no, we've been cursed Daichi! Cursed!"
"I'm sorry," Himiko whispered.
"Don't speak to me," Himiko's mother said darkly.
"I'm sorry," Himiko whispered.
"I said don't talk to me ever again!" she said, raising her voice.
"I'm sorry Mama," Himiko whispered once again.
"I SAID DON'T TALK TO ME YOU EVIL CHILD!" screamed Aki
Himiko stood there trembling with tears in her eyes. Neito was crouched behind the sofa with his hands covering his ears, tears began to prick at his eyes as well. Neither of the children had ever heard their parents raise their voice before, and especially not their mother, even when she was scolding them. So it came as a surprise when their father did so as well.
"Himiko, Neito, go to your room," instructed their father.
Both children stood still, too afraid to move.
"GO TO YOUR ROOM!" he roared.
The two children held each other as they raced to their bedroom and shut the door behind them. They tucked themselves in on the bottom bunk and held pillows over their heads, hoping to at least muffle the sounds of their parents yelling.
"H-Himi, I'm scared," hiccupped Neito
"It's going to be ok Nei, its not your fault, they don't hate you." Himiko said as she held him close in her embrace, rubbing circles on the back of his shuddering form.
For two days not a word was uttered in the entirety of the Toga household. When the silence finally broke it was only to wake the children and say goodbye, Himiko of course had still not spoken to her mother, but had said a few short words such as "Yes" or "No" to her father. Himiko and Neito soon left for school, Daichi left for his job, and Aki went to work soon after, and then the house was filled with silence once again.
The day continued and Himiko went through the motions. By the time lunch arrived Himiko was already bored out of her mind, she wished something would happen, anything at all; Unfortunately something did. When Himiko arrived at her math class she could hear whispers, and as she opened the door to go inside, those whispers only increased. She sat down and pulled out her books waiting for class to start. Math came fairly easily for Himiko so once again she sat bored inside of the stuffy classroom. She picked up her pen and began to spin it around, she had managed to ease her boredom a bit before a piece of paper suddenly struck her in the head. Himiko's head shot up and she looked around the classroom. none of the kids were looking at her though so she didn't know who it was. The paper had been sloppily folded into a square, and seemed to be for her since one side of the paper had the words "Pass to Toga" written in red pen. Himiko looked to some of her friends to see if they had passed the note but her questioning glance had been met with a scathing glare and an apprehensive almost fearful look. Confused, Himiko opened the note to find only one word inside, one word, written in bold red marker, "LIAR!". Himiko sucked in a breath and shuddered, her face flushed and the tips of her ears burned with shame. She looked around once again and this time half of her classmates were staring at her. Bile rose up into her throat and her stomach threatened to throw up the little she had gotten to eat to eat that day. Himiko looked at the paper again, the letter seemed bolder than before, louder, accusing, angry.
"LIAR!"
'What lie? Maybe its about something else,' the hopeful part of her mind supplied.
"LIAR!"
No, it was about her quirk, it had to be.
"LIAR!"
'Maybe they don't know what it is' she thought hopefully.
"LIAR!"
Of course they knew, there was no way her friends would be avoiding her eyes otherwise.
"LIAR!"
'Maybe if I apologize for not telling them, they'll still want to be my friend,' Himiko hoped.
But Himiko knew better.
"LIAR!"
"LIAR!"
"LIAR!"
"LIAR!"
Himiko violently flinched as another note hit her in the head. She looked around to see who had thrown it at her and this time caught a small hand retreating through a small portal. She looked to the back of the class and found the culprit. Arata Mochizuki was famous for playing pranks with his quirk that allowed him to create portals around the size of a basketball. When she laid her eyes upon him his face what twisted into a scathing glare that threatened to burn her alive like she was some sort of evil witch. Once again Himiko looked down, unfolding the second note and dreading what she would find.
"I looked at your student registry," The note read. "You can't have any of my blood villain."
'So that's how they found out,' Himiko realized dejectedly.
Then her eyes locked in on the last word on the note.
"VILLAIN."
No, Himiko wasn't a villain, she never hurt anyone.
"LIAR!"
Neito. Neito had been hurt by her quirk one too many times. It wasn't her fault though she couldn't control it! Neito had just been helping her.
"VILLAIN."
'No, no, no, no, no, NO! She wasn't evil!'
"LIAR!"
Himiko could feel the glares of every one of her classmates on her. Their judgment choking her and building up unnecessary guilt within her stomach.
"VILLAIN."
Himiko looked for one friendly face or even a look of pity but she found neither.
"VILLAIN."
It was like everyone was surrounding her, crowding her, yet she felt so alone
"VILLAIN."
"VILLAIN."
"VILLAIN."
"NO!"
Himiko looked up to find everyone staring at her, this time in shock. Realizing she had just yelled in class, Himiko silently put her head down while her teacher asked her if she was ok before continuing the lesson awkwardly.
The moment all of Himiko's classes were done and the bell had rung, Himiko once again dashed out of the classroom and ran. She ran and ran until her legs couldn't carry her any further, and then she collapsed right there on the sidewalk. She collapsed under the shame and the guilt she felt simply for having her quirk.
Once she had composed herself, Himiko got up and dusted herself off, making sure to get every single twig, leaf, and speck of dust off her skirt before she reached home. And once she did reach home she entered into the house, depressed an downtrodden. But it was ok, because Himiko came home that day.
It only took one day for everything in Himiko's life to go to shit once again. When she arrived in school, people would edge away from her or throw things at her, pieces of paper, pencils, anything small enough was thrown at her. From then on and into the rest of her life, Himiko was labeled a villain by society. Her friends stopped talking to her and even the teachers stopped coming to her defense. Truly she was all alone; Except for her brother that is he would never abandon her, never. Himiko wished selfishly that everyone could be like him, as kind and understanding as him, but sadly that could never be true.
"Ahh don't drink my blood!" screamed a boy Himiko didn't recognize, It seemed as if the whole school knew.
'You don't even know me,' Himiko thought bitterly as she continued to walk to the cafeteria.
As Himiko reached for an empty lunch tray, a second year stepped in front of her.
"When I become a Hero, I'll be the one to arrest you when you become a villain," He proclaimed proudly.
Silently, Himiko looked down at the ground and clenched her fists she felt anger well up inside her but it was short lived as he just let out a "Hmph" and shouldered past her. Himiko ate lunch quickly and then headed outside to find somewhere to be alone. As Himiko sat peacefully in a corner on the roof, she closed her eyes about to take a short nap, when suddenly the doors to the stairwell burst open and two boys and all three of her former friends sauntered out onto the rooftop.
"Oh God! A Villain!" yelled one of the boys dramatically-Nakagawa Yukito-he laughed with the rest of the group as Himiko tucked her knees to her chest and tried to make herself smaller. His laser finger quirk was great for heroics so he always acted like he was better than everyone else.
One of Himiko's (former) friends, a girl with a camouflage quirk, spoke up in between giggles, "Watch out Nakagawa, she might kill you for that one."
"I'm not a villain." Himiko said softly as picked herself off of the floor.
"Huh? What did you say creep?" questioned Mochizuki with a disgusted tone.
"I said, I'm not a villain!" said Himiko defiantly, getting in the face of the portal creating boy and staring him down.
"There's no way you think you're actually gonna be a hero with a quirk like that," Nakagawa said with a mocking lilt in his voice.
"Just shut up and leave me alone," cried Himiko.
"My little sister said the teachers at her school found marks on your brother's arms Toga, that means he's getting hurt, did you do that to him?" questioned one the girls that Himiko used to talk about boys with, she had a tongue lengthening quirk which was still somehow more heroic than Himiko's.
"Or maybe," Nakagawa suggested, "He was so ashamed of having a villain for a sister that he wanted to kill himself, maybe you should do the same Toga."
As the group laughed Himiko processed what Nakagawa had just said and an intense fury built up inside of her. Himko looked up at the group to find all of them laugher, the disgusting sound filling her ears and sickening her to her stomach. She turned to her (former) best friend Mimura and saw her laughing as well. Himiko's breathing accelerated and she clenched her fists so hard blood began to seep out from the crescent shaped cuts.
'How dare they say that about me, about my brother!' Himiko internally fumed.
Himiko cocked her fist back.
A spurt of blood came from Nakagawa's freshly broken nose.
Himiko pounced on top of him and started beating him senseless.
A scream and the rest of the group ran down the stairs
A minute later a teacher appeared to drag her off of the bloody and messed up boy
"Help! She's trying to kill me!" Nakagawa screeched, "She wants my blood!"
'Why would I want your blood?' Himiko thought disgustedly.
Himiko flailed around in the arms of the teachers that were holding her back, wishing for the chance to hit the pompous boy once again.
"You don't deserve the shiny cape and bright costume!" Himiko yelled, smiling as she licked a bit of blood from a good hit that the laser finger boy had gotten on her nose, "You look much better this way, beat up and bloody, that's what you deserve!"
Himiko spat blood on the ground in front of him and stopped resisting as she was hauled off to detention.
She didn't stay for long though. They had probably already contacted her parents so she had to leave quickly. Quickly packing up her school things. she quietly left detention while the teacher sat working and listening to music. Quietly slipping out of school, she ran until she got to the familiar road that would take her home. Pausing for the first time since she began middle school, she looked down the other road and spotted a bus stop in the distance, one heading to Royuto. She approached and nervously waited for the vehicle to arrive, a few minutes later it arrived and she boarded. She was heading to the back before she was suddenly stopped by a large meaty hand. Fearfully, Himiko tried to wrestle her way out of the hand's grip before she whipped around and saw that the hand had belonged to the bus driver.
"You didn't pay," the driver said plainly as he pointed to the machine that was supposed to take her money or scan her card.
"Oh um of course," Himiko said nervously as she made a show of looking through her pockets trying to find a nonexistent wallet, full of nonexistent money, that her parents had never given her because they didn't think she deserved an allowance.
"If you don't have money then you gotta get off the bu-" the driver was cut off as a couple of bills were shoved in front of him by a elderly woman with crow's feet around her eyes and a smile brighter than the sun.
"I've got her covered," said the kindest, most nicest old woman in whole the world.
"Whatever," grumbled the bud driver as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, signaling them to sit down.
"Um, why did you help me?" Himiko asked. Because other than Neito nobody had ever helped her ever.
"Well that's just what heroes do," the old lady replied simply.
"Woah, You're a Hero?" Himiko questioned in awe.
"Oh no, do I look like one? I'm far to old for that." she said with a wave of her hand.
"So then why did you help me?" Himiko asked again, wondering why this complete stranger was offering her kindness.
"Because it is the right thing to do," said the old lady as if it were a fact or law that was known by everyone in the world. "You see I was born quirkless, so I didn't have what it takes to become a Hero. But that didn't mean I didn't still want to help people, and so I make it my policy to help anyone in need."
"That's so kind of you..." Himiko said, trailing off as she realized she didn't even know this old lady's name and she hadn't introduced herself. "Um, what's your name?"
"Shiraishi Kamiko," The old lady responded
"Toga Himiko" the young girl said in kind.
The rest of the bus ride was comforting. Miss Shiraishi and Himiko shared many of the same childhood experiences and talked about what quirk they would prefer if they had the opportunity to be granted one, that led into the conversation of an old boogeyman called All For One who used to take quirks and give them to other. Himiko laughed it off but Miss Shiraishi seemed to take it with a bit of seriousness.
Once Miss Shiraishi got off the bus, Himiko was left in silence. She slowly drifted off to sleep. As she slept, she dreamed of being a hero, with a shiny costume and an All Might worthy smile that her parents could be proud of. She dreamed of Neito as her sidekick, copying villains' quirks and taking them down. Just as she was about to become the president with Neito as her vice, an arm shook her awake. It was one of the last passengers telling her that she had to get off because the bus was going back to the station. Hurriedly grabbing her bags she hopped off the bus and breathed in the city air.
Royuto was a fairly large city and that meant it was easy to get lost in. Himiko shuffled through the bustling crowds that seemed to wind throughout the entire city, her small frame was jerked from side to side as the adults around her walked swiftly and with purpose, not noticing the small lost girl who had nothing but a schoolbag and the clothes on her back.
Quickly deciding to stray from the biomass that never stopped moving, Himiko stepped onto a street corner and and clutched her schoolbag to her chest before resting her back on the side of a building and eventually sliding down it to sit down and rest her eyes. Unfortunately, the world wouldn't even let her have that.
Just as the people constantly passing by her began to fade into part of the background a man with slick hair and a crisp suit walked up to her.
"Damn baby you lookin fine!" the man exclaimed.
Himiko looked around to see who he was talking to before realizing it must be her.
"Aww don't be like that honey, c'mon, don't you wanna have a good time?" the strange guy said.
Himiko raised her eyebrow in confusion, a bit...no very much disgusted by what he was implying.
Apparently he took that as intrigue because he introduced himself, "They call me Shaker on account of uh, heh." Shaker began vibrating his whole body at an incredible speed blurring his face out of focus. "Now what can I call you other than sexy?" he asked.
Having enough Himiko quickly got up, dusted off her skirt and quickly started walking away.
"Damn, playing hard to get I see." the pervert commented before he snuck up behind Himiko and lifted up her skirt.
Abhorred, Himiko whipped around and kicked him in the shin before crying out, "LEAVE ME ALONE CREEP!" and walking away as fast as she could.
"Nah! I'm not letting you get off so easy after that one!" Shaker said as he began following after her.
Himiko shuffled through the crowd faster, fearful of what happen if she stops or slows down.
"Come back here!" he yelled not so much weaving through the crowd so much as shoving his way through it.
Himiko looked around for a hero, someone to help, a weapon, anything. She was beginning to panic and bout to lose hope when she spotted an alleyway and quickly ducked into it.
Walking a bit further into the alley, Himiko felt safe until a hand grabbed her wrist and turned her around. It was Shaker, he had a huge smile plastered on his lips and was breathing a bit heavy.
"Damn, all that effort, this better be worth it," he said as he shoved her into a wall and began to make his way towards her.
Shutting her eyes Himiko braced for the worst, then suddenly he stopped. Himiko looked up to find a knife embedded into his shoulder. She heard him scream and curse in pain as he cradled his shoulder. A figure jumped down from the fire-escape of a building before ripping the knife out of her assailant's shoulder and kicking him into a wall. Himiko sat there terrified as she watched the mysterious figure lick the knife and pick up Shaker's body which had stopped moving completely for some reason.
'Oh god, I'm going to die,' Himiko thought darkly as the strange man turned to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Wait what? Did he just ask if she was okay? Now Himiko was puzzled. Who was this guy.
Fortunately, she found the courage to speak, "Y-yes, I'm okay."
"Good," the man said plainly.]
"W-who are you" Himiko asked nervously.
"I'm nobody" the strange man replied. Himiko looked closer into the darkness and saw that what little light illuminated his body revealed ragged clothes and an excessive number of knives.
"So are you a Hero?" Himiko asked
"No, I'm a Vigilante, I desire to rid society of it's stains," nobody replied.
"O-oh, Okay, that sounds cool," Himiko responded awkwardly before she let out a loud yawn.
"You need to get home kiddo, I need to drop this guy off at the police station." the raggedy man said calmly as he began to leave the alley with the body in tow.
"Of course, I will" Himiko lied as she headed to the back of the alley and put her bag down. She rearranged some trashcans and used some cardboard to make a roof, then she took out a jacket from her schoolbag and draped it over her body to keep herself warm.
That day Himiko had ran. That day Himiko didn't come back home.
Notes:
It only gets worse from here.
Chapter 3: Lost and Found
Summary:
Himiko doesn't like living on the streets, fortunately someone picks her up.
Chapter Text
Himiko woke to a loud car horn and the sound of the bustling city. She stretched her arms, let out a yawn, and turned to where Neito would usually be tucked in beside her, but he wasn't, to the right of her, instead of her sleeping brother, there was a grimy brick wall that reminded her of where she was; alone in the city with nobody to help her.
"It's fine," Himiko assured herself, "I'm fine, and this is fine and everything is going to be great."
Putting on her jacket, Himiko got up and moved the cardboard boxes as well as the trash cans. Moving away from her smelly makeshift shelter, Himiko scrunched her nose up in disgust when she took a whiff of the alley and realized just how disgusting it was. Grabbing her bag, Himiko exited the alley but found herself frowning once she realized she still smelt the disgusting smell. 'Maybe the entire city is just smelly' Himiko thought as she continued walking to who knows where. The notion of an ever stinky city was squashed when Himiko saw a few people edging away from her. Frowning, she sniffed her own clothes to find that they smelled like cat pee. Himiko internally groaned and picked up the pace, hoping to find a gym or some public place that would let her take a shower. Unfortunately, Royuto city was very hard to navigate, so Himiko easily got lost.
Neito was a mess, his sister got in trouble at school and now she was missing. She didn't come home yesterday. Himiko always came home at almost the same time everyday, rain or shine, she came home. But not yesterday.
Of course, Neito wasn't crying over it, Himiko had said that around his age girls would start finding him interesting and supposedly, crying wasn't very cute. So every once in a while, when Neito's eyes began to sting and blur, he quickly wiped his eyes, rubbed the bracelet his sister had given home, lifted his head and put on a brave face.
Because Himiko was missing, Neito's parents decided that until they found her, he would stay home. This was done to keep Neito safe, but also to cover the Togas' hides in case anybody asked questions. Staying at home was boring, so Neito spent most of his time on the computer, researching Heroes, quirks and whatnot. So far Neito's top three favorite Heroes were: All Might, an underground Hero named Bootleg, and the American Hero, Stars and Stripes. Neito liked these heroes all for different reasons. He liked All Might because he was strong, the symbol of all things good. He liked Bootleg because they could use their quirk to replicate a person's lineage and thus gain a variation of their quirk or something similar. He loved Stars and Stripes because she was like some sort of fairy godmother, she could make anything come true, she could perhaps even change the Toga siblings' quirks. That was irrelevant however and Neito's only wish right now was to make sure his sister came home safe. That wish was granted when a ring came from the front door.
Himiko was tired and smelly and a bit cold, but mostly very very hungry. The last time she had blood was over a week ago and she was beginning to feel the symptoms of withdrawal, she felt woozy and tingly, like she had just taken some form of hallucinogen. Retreating once again into another alley,(Honestly, what was it with her, this city, and alleys?) Himiko steadied her breathing and leaned against the wall hoping to somehow relax.
Taking a moment to catch her breath she tried to clear her mind before she was interrupted with a small "Coo," Looking up, Himiko saw a flock of pigeons sitting on the roof of the building to her right. Her mind flashed back to the first time she had gotten to taste a bird's blood.
"Birdie blood, human blood, they both still taste good," Himiko said to herself.
Exiting the alley, Himiko looked for the front door of the building until she realized it was a hotel and the owners probably weren't too fond of a smelly girl waltzing through their lobby. Sighing to herself, she went back through the alley and looked for a door that would lead into the building without getting her spotted. She finally found a grey door that looked like it might lead to the very back of the hotel, unfortunately it was locked. However, the young blond didn't have to wait long as the door swung open and a young man who seemed to be in his early 20s swung open the door and pulled out a cigarette. Seizing the opportunity Himiko quickly slipped into the building before the door could close.
"Excuse me." she squeaked out as she bumped into the man.
"Hey! Wait get ba-" the young man protested before he cut himself off and resumed smoking, "Eh it's my last day, and they don't pay me that well either way."
To her right Himiko spotted a stairwell and began flying up the steps, her untrained legs skipping steps and going as fast as they could. Finally, she made it to the top and pushed open a door to reveal the bright light of the rooftop and city skyline. Himiko stared in awe at the sight before sucking in a breath. She didn't stare for too long because her stomach let out a growl as she refocused her attention on the plump and pudgy pigeons. Himiko slowly approached the birds, walking as silently as she could and hoping not to startle them. The young teens eyes locked in on a bird that was standing in corner.
'No room for escape.' Himiko thought devilishly as she slowly creeped in on the dumb isolated bird.
Himiko crouched low to the floor like a cat about to pounce and then sprang forward toward the pigeon quicker than a bullet.
"Gotcha!" Himiko exclaimed as she held the pigeon in her hands.
Mimicking what she had seen on T.V. before, Himiko quickly snapped her prey's frail neck before plucking away some feathers from a random spot an sinking her teeth into its flesh. Delicious nectar soon filled her mouth as the lifeblood of the bird soon trickled down her throat. Himiko drank thirstily like a man who hadn't drank water in months. She licked her lips to make sure she hadn't missed any blood before softly laying the bird down on a corner near the edge of the roof.
"That was tasty, but now for some real food!" Himiko exclaimed as she turned towards the roof's door. "Maybe I can steal something from the breakfast area."
Himiko's hopes were quickly dashed when she tried to open the door to the stairwell to find that it was locked.
"No, no, no, no, NO!" Himiko panicked as she began banging on the door. Unfortunately it was of no use as it didn't budge.
Looking over the edge of the building and back down into the alley where she previously was, Himiko debated descending the rooftop to get back to ground level before quickly deciding against it and backing away from the edge. Walking over to the place where she had previously killed the pigeon, Himko sat down and pulled her jacket over herself in order to protect herself from the wind which was blowing much harder considering the fact that she was so high up. With nothing to do, Himiko thought about home, but mostly about Neito. Was he going to be ok without her? Hell, was she going to be okay without him? Himko pushed those thoughts our of her head and tried to think of something more positive but it was impossible. She tried to find shapes in the clouds but that wasn't possible either, not when the blue sky in the background reminder her of Neito's eyes.
'I can't do this,' Himiko thought somberly.
"I just want to go home." she said to herself before closing her eyes and trying her hardest to fall asleep.
Fortunately; Himiko's wish was granted, but not before nightmares plagued her slumber.
Himiko was back home, she was lacing up her shoes and preparing to go to school. She slipped on her backpack and walked out the door with her brother's hand held tightly. Together they arrived at Rokugatsu Junior High and walked in sync to the same classroom. When Himiko opened the door, a burst of cheers arose.
"Oh my gosh! It's the Togas!" a student cried out.
"Their quirks are so cool!" another exclaimed, "I can tell they're going to be Pro Heroes one day!"
Himiko beamed with a beautiful fanged smile as she walked into the classroom while her classmates gave her and her brother pats on the back and words of encouragement.
Never before had Himiko felt such happiness, such belonging. It felt like a dream. Basking in the warmth of it all, Himiko didn't even notice the fact that none of the other students or the teacher had faces, she was too busy living in bliss. Then the teacher called for the class' attention and motioned to the door.
"Now students, I need you to behave, today I managed to call in a very special guest to give you all advice on becoming heroes. Please welcome the Number One Hero!" the teacher presented as the door flung open.
Fully expecting to see All Might, Himiko was pleasantly surprised to watch herself walk through the door in an old hero costume she and Neito had designed. It was a red long-sleeved shirt with white vampire fangs on each of the shoulders. She had on black stockings and an almost knee length red skirt. A utility belt was present around the waist area and it contained a knife holster, a medical kit and a couple syringes. Then Himiko blinked and suddenly she was at the front of the classroom, fully dressed in hero gear. Himiko looked at the group of children assembled before her and smiled her beautiful smile once again.
'I've made it!' she thought happily.
"If you wouldn't mind Ms. Villain, could you please show us your quirk?" the teacher asked.
"I'm sorry what did you say?" Himiko asked confused.
"I asked if you could demonstrate your quirk for the class." the teacher stated calmly.
"Oh of course," Himiko replied
'I could have sworn he said something else, but oh well' thought the young girl before bushing it off as nothing.
"I need a volunteer though," Himiko said before almost every hand in the classroom shot up, "Oh jeez that is a lot." Himiko pointed to a boy calling him over. "Okay you then."
The boy eagerly skipped over to stand in front of the vampire-esque girl before waiting for instructions.
"Okay hold out your hand," Himiko instructed.
The young boy held out his hand and as soon as Himiko cupped it in hers...
POP!
Like a water balloon exploding the boy in front of her exploded into a shower of blood.
VILLAIN!
Cheers erupted from the back of the classroom as students got out of their desks and rushed towards Himiko.
"Do me next! No, do me! Me first!" the children cried as they all came up to touch Himiko and consequently exploded into more blood showers.
For her part, Himiko stood there dazed and confused as the children around her threw themselves to their death.
'What a waste,' a part of Himiko thought darkly.
'Of what?' her mind countered, 'Blood or innocent lives?'
Himiko ran out of the classroom as quickly as she could. All around her the hallways faded to black and she was left running endlessly in the void. She kept running and running until she could no more. Then she heard a faint voice from behind her.
"Himi! Himi, come back!" it was Neito, the only person in her life who truly loved her, "Don't leave me!"
She wouldn't leave, she couldn't leave, how was she ever supposed to leave her brother? Himiko turned around and ran towards her brother, they crashed towards each other and became a tangle of limbs as they held each other in a warm embrace. Pulling apart, Himiko looked down at her brother to see him looking up at her with tears in his eyes.
"Don't leave me," he whimpered.
"I won't silly," Himiko responded, "Jeez, don't cry, girls wont think you're cute if you cry all the time."
Himiko reached for Neito's hand and held it in her own. It didn't explode, much to Himiko's relief, but instead to her horror, Neito melted. Himiko quickly stepped back as Neito transformed into her.
"Am I cute now?" her doppelganger asked with a hideous fanged toothy grin and piercing yellow eyes that seemed to stare at her like she was prey.
Toga stumbled back some more and took in what her alternate form looked like. She was wearing school clothes and Toga's favorite beige hoodie, this would have been normal if not for the fact that erratic splotches of blood covered Himiko from head to toe.
"Don't I look so pretty?" the real fake Himiko asked, "Don't you want to be pretty too?"
Suddenly Toga let out a gasp as she looked down to find that Himiko had stabbed her with a knife which jutted out from her side, and allowed the life to flow out of the young girl. Despite the situation, and the fact that Toga was about to "black out", the blond couldn't help but think: 'How pretty.'
With that Toga closed her eyes and Himiko opened them in the real world.
SideSlider wasn't expecting to find a child stuck on a roof, so color him surprised when he encountered a little girl who was shivering and smelled like cat piss. Carefully he approached her, making sure she was okay. As he walked up to her however, her eyes suddenly snapped opened and latched on to him. He decided not to approach any further and instead held out his hand which the young girl took...in her mouth.
An "Ouch," was all that came from the hero before the pain in his had quickly subsided and he carefully moved his hand away from her mouth.
The girl before him blinked and her eyes lost the predatory gaze it had before. She looked him up and down, her eyes settling on his emblem, and thrust herself into his arms before crying. Not knowing exactly what to do with crying children (jeez, hero school didn't cover much of this!), he slid down the side of the building with her before taking her to a nearby police station. He had considered leaving since the girl was safe with the police, but it seemed like she wouldn't answer any of their questions.
"Um, can you tell us where you live?" SideSlider asked, "We can get you home that way."
The young girl wrote an address down before wiping her eyes and curling in on herself. The police officers were nice enough to let her borrow a sweater that didn't smell like cat pee. SideSlider arranged for a car from his agency to arrive in the morning so that he could drive her home in the morning. In the meanwhile, she stayed at the station and slept in one of the empty cells. When the girl woke up in the morning, a police officer offered her a donut to eat on the way to her house. It was a bit of a drive but they finally made it to the young girl's house and SideSlider rang the bell.
Neito scrambled to open the door when he had caught a glimpse of his sister in the peephole. Finally unlocking it, Neito threw himself into his sister with complete disregard for the Hero next to her.
"Um are your parents home by chance?" asked the Hero as he spoke up.
"No," Neito said, "They're at work right now." He didn't miss the look of hurt in Himiko's eyes when he said this.
"Ok," the Hero replied, "Alright, when they come back just uhh...here," he handed Neito a card with a name and phone number on it, "Tell them to call me."
Neito took the card and waved the Hero goodbye as he pulled his sister inside the house. Once he had closed the door he embraced her once again.
"You smell like pee," Neito commented.
"I'm sorry," Himiko apologized.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Neito assured her, "Now go take a shower because you stink and mom and dad won't be very happy."
"I love you Neito," Himiko said as she pulled back from the hug.
"I know," Neito said jokingly as he flashed her a brilliant sun-bright smile with sharp adorable fangs and beautiful dandelion eyes, "I love you too Himi."
And in her heart and soul and mind; Himiko knew that it was true.
Notes:
Don't worry, no more nightmares for Himi, but that's only because Nei gets angst moving on.
Sorry for the slow updates. I'm getting writers block like every time I blink and I want these chapter to be long so yall will enjoy them.
Chapter 4: Final Straw Part I
Summary:
Toga is a bit different after coming home and Himiko does something that spirals into a life changing turn of events.
Chapter Text
When Neito's sister came back she wasn't the same as she was before she left. She was his sister of course, but there was something off-putting about the way she now behaved. Her jokes were darker and her eyes had a predatory glint in them that revealed themselves whenever she was craving blood. Himiko was a bit more demanding with her need for blood as well, she'd often suck a little longer or ask him directly, something she never used to do. When they would walk together, she would point to shards of glass and ask him to pick them up for her, or sometimes she would lead him to a rocky trail near his school and push him around a bit, hoping he would fall. The worst part however was the biting. They were usually disguised as playful kisses around his body that occasionally came with small and swift pricks that left him terribly itchy. One day though, Himiko took it a bit too far. Dropping all pretenses, Himiko grabbed Neito's arm, both of them sitting on the sofa watching T.V. at the time, and bit down hard. Himiko had heard her brother gasp and turned to look at his face which was etched into an amalgamation of shock, confusion, and fear. Quickly Himiko got up and raced to the bathroom, she hunched over the sink and dry-heaved. It seemed as though her stomach refused to give up the precious blood she had just gotten. Looking in the mirror, the eldest Toga sibling felt only disgust as she studied her face and blood stained lips. She felt ashamed of herself, she felt disgusting she felt-. Gazing at Toga in the mirror was Himiko, and she looked so...pretty.
Himiko exited the bathroom and found Neito bandaging himself up while pulling out a kitchen knife and some ingredients for a stir-fry. That was one thing Himiko loved about her brother; he never ratted her out to their parents. No matter what Neito was always on her side, and her side alone. Right now he was cooking so he would have some kind of excuse for why his arm was all patched up. Silently, Himiko walked to Neito's side and started helping him prepare the food. The whole time they enjoyed a comfortable silence that was only broken by small laughs from Himiko when Neito jumped away from the oil that popped out of the pan every once in a while. By the time they were done, Aki and Daichi Toga had come home. The entire Toga household sat down and began to eat.
"Wow Neito this is really good, great job!" Daichi complimented. Himiko had worked on it too but didn't say anything. Her parents didn't expect anything out of her and she wasn't going to try to get their attention. It just wasn't worth it.
"Indeed, maybe we should let Neito do all the cooking," she joked. Then her eyes locked onto Neito's arms and her voice dropped low and her eyes darkened, "Neito, what happened to your arm, don't tell me she-"
"No!" Neito said quickly, cutting his mother off before she could finish her accusation, "It was my fault, I was watching T.V. while cutting and I accidentally cut myself. Himiko was in her room the whole time."
"Oh. Okay," Aki said before going back to eating. She didn't say a thing to Himiko. They still weren't talking, something Himiko found extremely childish, but was silently grateful for nonetheless.
"Himiko, you should help your brother out more, you're the oldest, you've got to start showing some responsibility," her father reprimanded. Himiko didn't grace him with a response. Instead, she shoveled the rest of her food in her mouth, stood up, dropped her plate in the sink and walked to her room before shutting the door.
The eldest Toga child knew dinner was over when her brother silently opened the door to their room and slid inside. They regarded each other silently before she went to the bathroom to have a shower and brush her teeth before retiring to bed. Once she was back in bed, she closed her eyes and attempted to sleep. A few minutes later she was aware of her brother entering the room and softly laying down on the bottom of the bunk bed, the same one they had slept in since they were little, a bit strange but weirdly nostalgic.
"Goodnight Himi, I love you," Neito said before drifting off to sleep.
"I love you too Nei," Himiko responded, trying not to choke on her words.
'How can you say that you love him when you've hurt him so much?' Himiko's mind was torn in two, was it love, or was it abuse? Was Himiko just like her parents? Did she justify hurting Neito by saying she loved him, like her parents "loved" her?
"No it's different," Himiko said out loud to herself, "They don't understand me, but I understand him, and he understands me!"
'You don't even understand yourself," her mind shot back.
'No, I do.' she retorted.
Then she softly declared, "I don't care what anyone else says. I'm Himiko Toga, and I will live exactly how I want to. I will love, live, and die normally according to my standards."
At school, Himiko was treated no differently than she was from home. Nobody approached her in the halls and in the classroom the teacher never picked her even when she was the only one raising her hand. A few weeks ago a plain looking boy named Saito had transferred schools. Often Himiko caught him staring at her before he eventually looked away bashfully when she turned to look at him. Unfortunately the rumors finally reached him and he stopped looking at her with adoration and more so with disgust. Unluckily for him, Himiko latched right onto that love and started following him around like a stray cat.
She was always right behind him, admiring him from a distance and analyzing his every move. She loved the way his nose twitched whenever he had an incoming sneeze, the way his leg bounced when he was talking about something he enjoyed.
Himiko had gushed to Neito for hours on end about how perfect he was. She told him about the softness of his hair, his hilarious jokes that weren't meant for her bust still tickled her all the same. She told her brother about how Saito used to look at her like she was the most beautiful thing in the world. Neito of course said she was, and the eldest Toga child had replied with: "It's not the same when you say it Nei."
Himiko wanted to Saito to be hers, she wanted them to become one together, joined in holy matrimony like she saw so many times while watching romance dramas on the T.V..
Eventually the constant following of her crush allowed the young blood-sucker the most perfect opportunity to love him in the only way she knew how. Saito had gotten into a fight, Himiko had been watching and knew it was over something dumb and petty, but Saito had taken it as a matter of pride was the one who swung first. Because of the school rules stating that quirk use was prohibited on campus both Saito and his opponent fought quirkless to avoid getting into any more trouble than necessary. Blow after blow, Himiko began to feel worried for Saito and was about to step in when...
Crack!
The sound wasn't that loud, but if you listened closely you could hear the telltale noise of Saito's nose breaking. His opponent stumbled back and asked if Saito was okay before doubling over from a punch Saito had landed to his gut.
"I can still fight!" Saito exclaimed, "Don't think this is over, don't think I'm going down that easily!"
Blood flowed like water from his nose and Himiko watched as the crimson liquid dribbled to his chin before forming small droplets that caught Himiko's eyes like sparkling rubies. Himiko swooned at Saito's defiance and stared at her crush with heart eyes that were framed by rose tinted glasses. Those glasses were shattered when some of the teachers stepped into the middle of the fight to break the two boys apart. Himiko sulked and headed back to class as the teachers escorted the two boys to the principal's office, but not before catching one of the teachers telling her crush that he would be having a detention after school.
Himiko miserably sat through all of her classes and impatiently waited for them to end. Butterflies filled her stomach as the blonde girl thought of how she was going to confess her love to Saito. Once school was officially over, Himiko skipped through the empty hallways eagerly as she headed to the craft room and picked her weapon of choice, a box-cutter, then headed over to where detention was being held. Himiko stood eagerly outside the classroom for an hour before Saito walked out of the classroom.
In her mind Himiko fantasized about how the plain looking boy's blood would taste on her tongue, how it would feel to love him, to be wrapped in his arms. Creeping up behind the unsuspecting teen, Himiko shoved the box-cutter into his side before tackling him to the ground. Saito let out a shout of pain from the box-cutter and a grunt from the fall before falling silent. The medical report would reveal that Himiko had managed to miss his organs but the fall had managed to give him a head injury which was the reason for him being unconscious and ending up with a concussion.
"Don't worry, Saito-kun, I don't hate you," The bloodlusted girl said, twisting the knife a bit to pull it out, "No, I love you, I love you so, so, much!"
From the pocket in her skirt, Himiko pulled out a juice-box which she quickly discarded but kept the straw. Sticking the straw into her prey, Himiko drank thirstily, letting out a satisfied moan after the second gulp. Himiko was ecstatic, finally, finally, she got what she wanted, she could love Saito and be one with him and nobody could tell her otherwise. That was until a high-pitched scream rang throughout the hallway causing the feeding beast to whip it's head around towards the person who dared to interrupt her. Behind her was a girl carrying a musical instrument. Cursing herself silently for failing to remember that there might have been other people staying late after school, Toga stood up shakily, and with wide and fearful eyes looked slowly looked at her victim's body laying on the floor in horror before turning to meet the face of the witness who stood there, looking shocked, but not as shocked as Toga felt.
"Wait...I-" inching forward, Toga attempted to explain herself to herself and the girl in front of her but before she could get the words out, before she could explain and say-'I couldn't help it. It was my quirk. I'm not a villain'-the girl ran off screaming bloody murder which was sort of what it looked like. Himiko thought of chasing after her but that idea was quickly shot down by her own head.
"I have to leave," Himiko realized with a whisper.
'Not again, not without Neito, we can't leave him behind!' her mind wailed at her.
Rushing home, everything was a blur as Himiko ran with only questions on her mind.
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why did she do it?
.Delicious blood on her tongue
Why did it feel so good?
.His warm smile and gentle eyes
Why did she hurt everything she loved?
!Villain
Why was she born a villain?
.Evil Quirk
Why was she given this quirk curse?
What had she done?
Himiko knew there was no going back, no do-overs, no second chances. Her parents would never forgive her.
This was the final straw.
The straw that broke her.
Notes:
I luv comments, If I messed up anywhere on punctuation or spelling feel free to tell me.
Chapter 5: Final Straw Part II
Summary:
Himiko & Neito. First rule to living on the streets, trust no one except your slightly crazy older sister.
Chapter Text
Neito paced around the house anxiously. Himiko was late, an hour and 12 minutes late to be exact but who was counting? Ok Neito was counting but nobody needed to know that.
He was worried, the last time Himiko was late, she ran away. Morbid thoughts raced dangerously through his head. What if she ran away again? What if nobody found her? What if she didn't come back?!
Just as Neito's pacing began to wear a hole in the floor and his brain was about to overload, his sister burst through the door like a knight in shining armor and scooped him up in a bone crushing hug.
"Do you trust me?" Himiko Toga held her brother and waited for his response with her breath held.
"Of course," Neito responded easily even if he was a bit confused.
"Then let's go,"
"Huh?"
Toga, on the verge of hysterics, told Neito about her plan to run away, "Lets run away, be free, live how we want! We don't need those lousy excuses for parents, we only need each other. we can take a train to another prefecture, hang around in the city. And we don't even need to go to a hero school to save people. We could be vigilantes! Last time I-" Toga trailed off and looked at her brother who refused to make eye contact.
Neito was apprehensive, he wrung his hands together and stared at the ground. "What if something bad happens? What if a murderer finds us? What if we get kidnapped? What will we eat? What-"
Toga held her younger brother's face in between her hands, squishing it to shut him up, "I'll take care of us, understand? I'll keep you safe from villains, I'll keep you warm, I'll find food for us to eat so just follow me. Follow me through the cold, follow me through the rain, follow me in the sun, follow me through hunger, follow me as I bleed, follow me even when it looks like I don't know what I'm doing, because I am here, for you. Do you trust me?
Neito's eyes began to water as he nodded to his sister.
Toga let go of her brother's face before quickly walking to her room to grab a bag and a few essentials, "Make sure you dress warm, then grab a bag with a few things you'll need. We won't be coming back here."
Himiko slipped on her favorite beige sweater before turning to her little brother who had stepped up beside her, "Ready to go Nei?" she asked, gripping his hand firmly in her own.
"Yes," Neito's voice was barely a whisper as he stared at his house for what he assumed would be the last time. His older sister squeezed his hand and looked at the rest of the house with disdain. That's all it was; a house. Not a home, no, home was with the two of them, as long as they had each other, home could be anywhere.
With no regrets Himiko and Neito Toga left their old life behind.
Neito wasn't used to wandering the streets and especially not in such a big city. They had pooled up whatever money they could from Neito's piggy bank to buy a bus ride to the city. It was long but filled with Himiko's animated talks of the latest book she had read or a trend she had seen on the internet.
When they arrived in the city, Neito realized his sister was not as familiar with the streets as he had previously thought, but she did know a few locations from the first time she had run away.
"There's that alley where I slept after that vigilante saved me. He had a blood quirk I think, isn't that cool? Oh! and there's the building where I locked myself on the roof before I got saved by that hero guy."
Disturbed by her facetious retelling of what might've been the scariest few days of his life, Neito clutched onto his sister's sleeve for dear life, fearing that for some reason she would run into the alley, scale the wall, and get herself trapped on the roof again without him. Himiko however, just took it as affection and kissed her little brother on the cheek.
After an hour of walking, Neito's stomach began to grumble. Without a word Himiko handed him a chocolate bar that featured the pro Hero Kamui Woods on the wrapper. Neito took it gratefully as Himiko winked at him. Winked, as in one eye open and one eye closed.
Neito's eyebrows bunched together, puzzled. 'Himi never winks,' Neito recalled, 'She thinks the flirty female Heroes are the dumb ones.' This was definitely strange. Neito took one last bite of the chocolate treat before coming to the conclusion that while the nougat inside was great, the peanut brittle chunks inside were not. He handed it to his sister who winked again before letting it hang out of her mouth as she chewed it. Seriously what was it with the winking. Neito tried to wink at the next person who passed them by, a highschool girl with four arms and spikes on the base of her knuckles, it came out more like an exaggerated blink and Neito was promptly flipped off by her two left hands.
They finally arrived at wherever Himiko was leading them which turned out to be some sort of run down apartment complex in the downtown area of the city. The Toga siblings walked to the side of the building and scaled the fire escape. By the time they got to the top, Nieto was out of breath, so he couldn't afford to release a gasp when Himiko slammed a brick into the window.
"Why would you do that?!" asked the very alarmed Copier.
"Half the windows in this place are smashed already, what's one more? Besides," Himiko reasoned confidently, "This place is only used by freeloaders anyway."
"B-b-but this is breaking and entering!" Neito complained, "This isn't what heroes do! We're going to get arrested! Oh God! We're too young to go to prison!"
The youngest of the two children began to hyperventilate, much too overwhelmed to be thinking properly.
"Hey, hey, hey, Neito. Just listen to me, look at me."
Neito gulped in breath after breath, trying his hardest to control his breathing and regain what air he had lost on the climb up there.
The eldest Toga child tried her best to reassure her brother that everything was going to be okay. "Remember Nei, I'm going to take care of you alright. So all you have to do is follow my lead."
Neito nodded his head in understanding and carefully followed his sister through the broken window of the apartment building.
"Ahh. Home sweet home!" Himiko explained, breathing in the dusty air of the abandoned apartment.
"There's a dead rat in the corner," Neito pointed out.
Himiko ignored him in favor of collapsing on a rugged couch that had a large gash in it.
Neito set his bag down on the floor and took a quick scan around the room. Looking up, he saw that the ceiling had a giant yellow and blue smiley face on it. "Well it has personality I guess," said the apprehensive boy weakly.
"Let's get started on dinner, I'm starving," Himiko said, switching the topic.
By some strange miracle the gas and water were still running which meant that they could use the stove and this sink. Himiko found a large pot with only a small dent in it and began to cook the instant ramen she had taken from their previous place of residence. Unfortunately there were no bowls so the siblings were forced to share takeout chopsticks that were fond lying on the floor. When they were done eating, Neito was feeling tired, but Himiko wasn't. She had just gotten freedom from her parents and wanted to spend it.
"If we go out at midnight, then maybe we could see some vigilantes," said Himiko excitedly, "Or maybe we could be vigilantes!"
"I don't know, what if we get lost or split up?"
"It'll be okay Neito, I'll even hold your hand if you want."
Neito was apprehensive but he still took his sister's hand as she led out of the apartment through the window.
Himiko led her brother around through the chaotic streets of Royuto city before stopping in front of a particularly dark alleyway. She had been hoping to find the vigilante who had saved her the day she had run away and was unfortunately having no luck, and so she decided to try some shadier places since he was around those areas last time.
"I'm not sure about this Himi," The youngest of the two said apprehensively, "What if we get mugged?"
"No one's going to mug us Nei, and if someone tries, then Nobody will save us!" the young vampire said confidently.
"What!" the boy exclaimed, very much troubled by this news
"I meant the vigilante," Himiko clarified, "He saved me from this really gross guy and he said he was Nobody so I just started calling him that."
That night no mystery vigilante came to save them.
From the alley came a fairly disheveled man with a suit and an unbuttoned dress shirt. He kicked a trashcan that was in the alley and caused it to fall over which made it's cover roll and roll...and roll...roll...roll, before it finally came to a stop in front of the two siblings. The man looked up at the both of them and narrowed his eyes. A look of anger passed briefly over his face which made Neito flinch, and the malicious smile he gave made Neito's skin crawl.
"Hey, you, I remember you," said the stranger stepping forward.
Himiko took an unconscious step back as she pushed Neito behind her. Then her eyes narrowed as she recognized the mystery man. It was Shaker, the man who had nearly assaulted her. All that was going through Himiko's mind at that moment was rage, she would die first before letting that creep touch her brother.
"Yeah, I see that nasty look on your face," Shaker sneered, "Because of you and that vigilante blood freak I spent ten days in a damn hospital!"
Before shaker could do anything, Himiko dashed foward with a burst of speed and fury Neito wasn't aware she had. She managed to stab him in the leg and side with a knife she had stolen from their old kitchen before backing away to stand in front of her brother again.
"Argh! Get away from me you little freak!" Shaker said hobbling away from the pair of siblings.
Nobody but him could see the sadistic grin that painted Himiko's face at that moment.
Himiko stalked after the man who's speed wasn't all impressive and stabbed him in the back twice. He fell and Himiko went for the kill, she drove her knife into where his heart was and twisted. Instead of being fearful or shocked by her first kill, Himiko relished in the euphoria it brought her. She licked her sticky fingers and let out a groan of delight before biting down just above his collar bone and drinking his blood like it was water.
Himiko turned and caught sight of her brother staring in horror. Then it dawned on the girl named Toga Himiko; she had just killed a man.
And she liked it.
Notes:
Thx for reading and sorry for the slow updates.
Chapter 6: Final Straw Part III
Summary:
Goodbyes
Chapter Text
For Himiko Toga, being happy is apparently wrong. That's how she knew that killing Shaker(who very much deserved to die), was wrong.
'But if its wrong,' Toga Himiko thought, 'Then why does it feel so good?'
She knew it was wrong but it felt so good. Maybe that was because she was wrong. Wrong quirk, wrong family.
'Oh but he looks cuter this way,' Toga Himiko's mind supplied. Shaker's dead body was splayed out in front of her and he looked so delicious.
Himiko would do it again of course, no questions asked. To defend her brother? To see the blood pour from his chest, and to have it's heavenly taste in her mouth? She would do it again, 100%.
Himiko licked the blood off of the corners of her mouth and grinned. Perhaps to an outsider she looked crazy, and maybe she was just a little bit, but this was her, and she wasn't going to change who she was. She wasn't going to hurt herself for someone else's comfort. She was done being the doll. She wanted to be seen and heard. She wanted to tell the world that she was Toga Himiko, Himiko Toga and they had to deal with it because from this point forward, there was no going back. Turning around she caught sight of her brother, shivering and eyes wide in fear. 'Oh, he must be cold,' she thought simply. Himiko took a step towards Neito only for him to take a step back. Dumfounded, Himiko took another step forward only for the youngest Toga to take two steps back. She then employed reverse psychology only for Neito to remain where he was although visibly less tense.
"Neito?" he flinched when she spoke, "Are you cold? I can give you my hoodie if you w-"
"He's dead," it came out unexpectedly, even to Neito. He had said it just loud enough to interrupt his sister but too quiet for her to actually hear what he was saying
"He's dead," Neito repeated, a little louder this time so that his sister could hear, "You killed him."
It wasn't an accusation, more so an observation. The vampess studied her little brother's face to find thankfully not fear, nor anger but...confusion. Perhaps he was wondering why she killed him.
"I had to Nei. It was him or us, he was going to hurt you, I couldn't let that happen," explained the now murderess.
Neito considered this, his brows furrowed in contemplation before he nodded his head in understanding, but unfortunately a terrible look appeared on his face. Worry etched itself into every facial muscle as the young copy-cat boy came across a crisis
"Heroes don't kill," he said.
There was silence that seemed to be deafening and a tension that couldn't even be cut with an industrial grade laser.
"Nei-"
"It's not right!"
"It's self defense, I had every right to-"
"It's not about right! It's about what other people think, nobody likes a hero that kills."
For the first time in her life, Toga Himiko understood her brother. Truly understood him. Neito Toga was a creature filled with doubt and worry, constantly torn between staying in the herd and straying away from it to be recognized as an individual. But Neito was a coward, and that meant that right now, he thought he had strayed too far from the herd. She understood him, truly, and it made her angry.
"For once in your life Neito; think for yourself!" Himiko growled.
Neito stood there in shock, his sister had raised her voice at him, but he could't get any words out because she wasn't finished.
"I thought you were like me, I thought we were one and the same, that we understood each other! But all you want to do is hide yourself away! I thought that by copying my quirk, you could understand what it was like to be me, to crave blood like me, to be different from birth. I love you Neito, no matter what, I will sacrifice anything for you, so why is it so hard for you to do the same?"
"But I do, I give you my blood-"
"I'm not talking about the blood! I'm talking about you," she lamented, "Why is it so hard for you to sacrifice a piece of the normal Neito and embrace something different and strange and beautiful?"
"I can't, I-I-I just can't. It wont be Neito, It won't be me, I can't be different," he argued, "my quirk won't let me be different, I can only be the same as everyone else! I'm just an inferior copy!"
At this point, Neito was starting to cry and Himiko knew in her heart that he was right, He couldn't change and she couldn't force him, she had to let him become his own person, even if that meant letting him go. To discover who he is on his own.
With a heavy heart and a terrible crack in her voice, the words Himiko would live to regret for the rest of her life spilled out of her mouth.
"Go home Neito."
The tension in Neito's shoulders fell like a dumbbell and the young boy released a breath he didn't know he was holding in.
"Oh thank God Himi, I was scared," Neito said with tears of relief pooled in the edge of his eyes, "For a while I thought that we weren't ever going to go home and I thought we would die out here, maybe if we get home before tomorrow, mom and dad will forgive-"
Himiko turned away and walked further into the alley. Neito followed her.
"Himi, you are coming home with me right?" Neito asked worriedly.
Without any warning Himiko pivoted on one foot and shoved Neito backwards so hard, he tripped on the hand of the corpse that was now in between them and fell on his butt. Brandishing her knife, Himiko pointed it at her brother and stalked closer. Before she could take even pass half of the body, she was stopped by a figure which jumped down between her and her brother and announced it's name.
"Don't worry kid, I'm Black Eclypse, I'll take care of this murderous psychopath." the figure said. It was a man that sounded to be in his early thirties and wore a full black body suit, sporting a frankly ridiculous cape that was as pitch black as the equally ridiculous goggles he wore.
Neito would have responded by saying she wasn't a psychopath but he was still reeling from the shock of his sister pushing him away and attacking him. Or maybe it was the fact that she had just killed someone. Had Neito been afraid? Had he thought that she might've killed him next?
Himiko fought Black Eclypse bravely, she had managed to put him on the defensive, which Neito didn't expect because had never known his sister to be any good at fighting, or even being violent. It was a shock to both Black Eclypse and the young Toga boy.
Unlike with Shaker, she didn't seem to be going for the kill, she targeted his shoulder to limit the range of movement in his arm. Once he almost took her out with a kick, but it merely winded her, and so Himiko threw herself backwards along with the momentum, rolling into a reverse somersault and popping back up on her feet with a renewed vigor, ready to go again. For now, Himiko had the upper-hand, it was like the saying, 'Never bring a knife to a gun fight' except in this case Himiko had the knife, and Black Eclypse, who Neito previously thought was going bare-fisted, was in fact wielding a pair of knuckle-dusters. A quick jab managed to violently twist Himiko's head to the side, sending her into a wall. Unfortunately for him, his outstretched hand allowed Himiko to tear a gash in his bodysuit, not drawing blood, but opening the padding and causing him to step back giving her more room. His quirk must have activated or something, because she started swinging around her knife as if she couldn't see, which was exactly what was happening. Himiko managed to get a lucky swing in, which grazed him and hurt enough to get him to deactivate his quirk for a second, allowing Himiko to quickly use the various trashcans and fire escapes to get on top one of the lower roofs in the alleyway.
"Shoot, she got away," complained Black Eclypse, "Get yourself to a hospital kid."
"No! Wait! Please don't leave me here, I'm scared," Neito said. But that was only half the truth, in reality Neito didn't want his sister to get caugght. If she was cought, she would never be free, she would never be happy, and it would be all his fault. Himiko had suffered enough throughout her life and Neito would be damned if his sister didn't get the freedom she deserved. So with a shuddering exhale and a final steeling of his resolve, Neito let Himiko go.
He grabbed Black Eclypse's costume to stop him from leaving and sobbed into the fabric, not fake crocodile tears, but real tears, because he had just lost his sister. His best friend in the entire world.
After the alley, most of everything was a blur. He didn't go to the hospital because he wasn't injured, but he did go to the police station to give a statement. Black Eclypse had checked on Shaker's pulse to reveal that the piece of crap was truly dead. Turns out he had a bit of a criminal record, his earlier arrest via Stain didn't reveal anything because he was brought what was thought to be a crazy vigilante, but once they identified the body via fingerprints, he was stuffed in a body bag and hauled to who knows where. Likely a morgue where his body would be burned and then dropped in the trash or something. Neito thought about all these things while he waited for the police officer to step into the room and start asking him questions. Finally the door to what Neito could only describe as an interrogation room opened. Into the room stepped a short looking man with the head of an Anteater.
"Hey kiddo," said the Anteater man as he sat down in front of Neito, "Heard you've been through a lot, can I get you anything? A snack, maybe some water?"
Neito didn't feel like speaking, he didn't feel like eating. No, he felt like throwing up, but he couldn't say that because that would be rude, so he simple settled for a quiet, "Water please," and allowed the Anteater man to leave him in the room once more with nothing but his treacherous thoughts to keep him company. 'You don't know loneliness, his thoughts chastised, Himiko is lonely right now, she's out there by herself, and it's all your fault.'
Once the Anteater man, (Neito should really come up with a better description) returned with the water, he started asking dumb questions that Neito barely even remembered.
"Do you know who attacked you?" the man with the longest mammal tongue asked.
"My sister," the young copy-cat answered.
'She didn't attack me, or well, she would never hurt me, at least not on purpose.'
"Do you know why she attacked you?"
"She's struggling with mental problems, it's her quirk making her go crazy."
'She wanted to protect me, she wanted me to be safe and happy'
"Do you know what her quirk is?"
"She drinks blood to impersonate people"
'It's actually a really cool quirk! It works right down to the clothes, and even disguises her voice as well.'
"Blah, Blahblah Blah Blah?"
Neito was tired of these stupid questions.
They asked him If he knew where she might go, he said to their little abandoned apartment building, about half an hour later, they had a team search the entire building. They found roaches, and rats, and a bunch of homeless freeloaders, but no sign of the girl Black Eclypse had seen.
They asked him where his home was, with Himi, and he gave them his house address. They called his parents who were there to pick him up by 3:00 a.m. in the morning. When his mother had grabbed him a bit too tightly and squeezed him in a hug that was a bit too strong, Neito felt the need to throw up again. Why was he seeking the approval of someone who didn't even love him?
Long tongue guy gave them some room to reunite, and the previously family of four spent that time in a room filled with he thickest tension and the loudest silence until finally, Aki broke the silence with a question.
"Where's Himiko?"
Daichi left the room to ask one of the random officers and when he returned about four minutes later, he told Aki the news.
Her mouth split into a grin that Neito would have never expected to see on his mother. This smile was full of malice, like a demented mix between the Cheshire cat and the devil. It was unnerving to say the least because on the face of the person he hated the most, was the smile of the person he loves most of all in the whole wide world. Now Neito knew where his sister got her infamous smile from.
On Toga Aki's face was the smile of one Toga Himiko.
Notes:
Next chapter should come out in March, or maybe sooner bc I'm getting to the parts k want to write, don't get your hopes up though, I'm going to be very busy.
Chapter 7: Dead and Gone
Summary:
Children are still cruel, I hope you didn't forget that since last time.
Chapter Text
His name was now Monoma Neito, not Toga anymore. The Togas were embarrassments to their family name so they needed a new one. Or that's what Neito's father had said on the drive to their new city hall. New? Oh that's right, the Togas Monomas had moved to an entirely different city. Daichi had just barely been able to stop Aki from moving them to a different prefecture or even another damn country.
For a while they had searched for Himiko, or at least pretended to, no signs were put up and Aki quickly gave up on any chance of her daughter returning. They only put up a few poster to keep up appearances, and rather than saying "Missing", the text read, "Kidnapped." When Neito asked why his mother lied about what happened to his sister, she simply said, "If people think she was kidnapped, then we don't have to pay the consequences for giving birth to that psycho. We'll get pity, even after what she did to poor Saito,"
The moment Neito finished elementary, they moved to a city at the edge of the prefecture a bit closer to Shizuoka prefecture, 'Where U.A. is,' Neito thought briefly. His parents fought for a bit on whether to homeschool him or not, and his father said it was ultimately his choice, and so now Neito was going to a new school, with a new name, in a new neighborhood, with no friends. Often he considered going back to his old house, his old neighborhood, incase Himiko had come back, or just to see if he could find her. But those thoughts were quickly erased when Neito and his father had returned to the old Toga residence to grab a toaster they had forgotten to pack. Once there, they found the entirety of the house's exterior defaced. Hateful words covered the front of the house, some even spray-painted in reverse on the partially smashed windows.
Psycho Bitch!
Blood Freak!
Kill Yourself!
Just Die!
Monster
Neito tried his best to ignore the words as he stepped into his former home house. Glass crunched beneath his shoes the moment he crossed the threshold into his sister's personal hell. The glass, Neito realized, came from the broken windows, each of which had a brick sitting below the windowsill. Each of the bricks had the same word written on it.
Justice.
'Well isn't that ironic,' Neito thought bitterly, 'why do they only want justice when they're the victims?'
The young boy (Saito) that Himiko had stabbed was still alive, albeit a bit injured. After being given his diagnosis, his parents revealed to the school that he had only suffered from blood loss and a concussion, and he was expected to make a full recovery, barring his mental state. His family had wanted justice for what happened, but since the police were unable to locate Toga Himiko, their options for closure were limited, so their decision ended up being to rile up the members of the community and ostracize the Toga Family. Of course if someone went as far as to vandalize the Toga household, they wouldn't be opposed.
As Daichi went to the kitchen to get the toaster, Neito stepped further into the house, and made his way towards his sister's room. Compared to the rest of the bare house, Himiko's room was practically untouched. It seemed as though she was still living there (if not for the dust that had settled over most of the surfaces). Leaving their old life behind meant leaving Himiko behind, and that included all of her possessions. All her things were still in the house. Her toothbrush, her books, her clothes which weren't even given the decency of being donated to charity. All of it was here, and it was hers. But it was also theirs. Before Neito had been old enough to move into the guest room and sleep by himself, him and Himiko shared the room.
Crawling on the bed, Neito reached over and touched the wall to the right of the bed. Carved into the wall with pen were the words:
Nei and Himi BFFs fourever
Being so young when they wrote this, the two didn't know that the second F in BFFs meant forever, nor did they know how to spell forever. Nevertheless, Neito cherished the memories it brought, of them climbing the tree, helping snails cross the sidewalk, drawing themselves in different costumes, or even just watching quirk parkour compilations on their mother's computer. With the memories came a sadness. Tears pricked at Neito's eyes and he buried his face into the pillow to try and stop the tears from flowing, but the pillow still smelled like her. The earthy, and faintly lemony scent brought Neito to tears. He cried into the pillow; for the first time since the alleyway he cried.
Removing himself from the soaked pillow, Neito looked around his sister's old room with a feeling of regret. 'Maybe if I hadn't argued with her, we would still be together,' He thought, 'Maybe if I had followed her, they would have looked for us both,' The thoughts swirling around Neito's head were interrupted by his father calling him to leave. Taking a quick glance around the room one more time, Neito's eyes fell on a small teddy bear that had been stitched haphazardly, and a strip of pictures from Universal Studios Japan which featured both of the Toga children smiling so wide it made the young Monoma's cheeks hurt. The two of them had fangs in the picture and were proud to show them off. Looking down at the bracelet on his wrist, Monoma used his quirk. His eyes changed from cobalt blue to Himiko's beautiful amber orbs. Toga tried his best to match the smile him and his sister made before Daichi called out for him again. Stuffing both the bear and the photos into the pocket of his hoodie, Neito Toga made a silent vow: He was going to find his sister. No matter what.
The name Monoma felt odd on Neito's tongue. He didn't hate it, but it didn't feel comfortable, like the real Toga Neito was trapped in body. It was Neito of course, same hair, same eyes, same quirk; however it was an entirely different persona. Monoma Neito had just moved into a new city. Toga Neito had just lost his sister. Monoma Neito had no siblings. Toga Neito was looking for his. Monoma Neito had no friends yet, but he was eager to find some. Toga Neito had one friend, his sister. Monoma Neito was carefree albeit a bit reserved. Toga Neito was bitter, and brash; a sudden and unexpected anger burned within him, and he lived through the bracelet he wore on his wrist. The bracelet that even Monoma wouldn't take off. Whenever Himiko's quirk was copied he felt alive, real. He felt like Toga Neito. The further his life drifted away from Himiko, the more Monoma Neito and Toga Neito were defined.
After having her quirk for so long and using it often, Neito could now hold it for longer. With other quirks, he could only hold them for five minutes, but with his sister's he could hold them for twenty, allowing for Toga Neito to take the stage for a while. Only when he was all alone of course. He didn't want to have to explain how he still had his sister's quirk to his parents. Of course, he hadn't felt the cravings...yet. But he was sure that turning the quirk off and then eating regular food would sustain him and stave off the cravings. He wouldn't end up like his sister. Even if his parents didn't know about his copied quirk, they were still glad that he was normal, so they decided to continue sending him to school. Unfortunately they didn't know that in this school, in this neighborhood, in this life, he would be the freak of nature.
Neito had finished the rest of his sixth grade courses online, and Aki would have preferred for Neito to stay home where they could show him off only when neighbors came around, but Daichi had told her that a growing pre-pubescent boy needed to interact with others his age, so they sent him off to Shonan Middle School. It wasn't too prestigious but it was an upgrade from the school Himiko had went to previously. With one less child, the Monomas had a bit more money than the Togas, which they used to improve the house and spoil Neito. They bought him his first phone, something he was sure he would never have, especially with Himiko around, though not for monetary reasons.
Making friends at Shonan was hard for Neito. All the other kids at school knew each other from middle and had already formed their own little groups. Neito was one of the odd ones out. Sure he wasn't the only one, but he was the soon to be outcast. Neito wasn't looking for friends before, but after class introductions, it seemed like even if he wanted one there was't any chance he would get one now.
The teacher called them up one by one depending on the seats they chose, meaning the ones at the back went first and the ones at the front went last, and since unlike Toga, Monoma wasn't a brooding and spiteful middle schooler, he sat closer to the front of the class, not directly in front of the teacher, but in the middle where he wouldn't stand out. Any hopes he had for not standing out were quickly dashed when the teacher reached him. Once the boy with the spring quirk introduced himself, Monoma realized he was going next.
Stepping up to the front of the class was easy.
"Go ahead and introduce yourself," The teacher said, smiling gently at him like she had done with every student.
Introducing himself was easy.
"Uh, Hello, It's nice to meet you all, my name is Monoma Neito," Monoma said, but then a bit more quietly, and in a trailed off whisper, "I hope we can have a good year together,"
Telling them his quirk was easy.
"Oh, and uh my quirk is copy, when I touch a person I can copy and store up to fo-," Neito hesitated, then lloked down at his wrist and fiddled with the bracelet his sister had given him as a child, he knew as long as he never took it of, she would be with him and her quirk as well. So he lied, of course it wasn't a lie to him but he still told his future classmates, and anyone who asked really, that he could only store,"-three other quirks at a time and use them for five minutes,"
Walking back to his seat was not so easy.
The walk back to his seat in the middle of the class was awkward, the other kids flinched as he walked by their desks and continued to stare at him like he had just announced he had contracted a deadly and contagious disease, which was only partially true. Social Outcast Syndrome was only transferrable by association, not by touch, at worst, touching Neito would give them cooties. When he returned to his desk, the gods decided to punish him by giving his seat an unnecessary screech as he tried to sit down. All eyes in the classroom were on him, some filled with fear, and others with loathing. They were looks that the Toga siblings had long since gotten used to. While not usually directed towards him, whenever Neito looked into the eyes of his parents or his sister's teachers, he saw that look in their eyes, the look that said, 'Disappear, we don't want you here'. Neito looked back to the front of the class to see the teacher smiling tersely.
"Remember to clap after someone finishes," The teacher reminded the students. A scattered applause rose in response to her request, as if the students had just tried clapping for the first time.
When the next person went up, the atmosphere was considerably less awkward, though a faint cloud of unease hung over the room. When the teacher began going over the syllabus, whispers arose. Neito only caught faint traces of the word spoken but they didn't sound good. Words like: Boogeyman, Thief, Underground, Myth, and All For One, floated around the room. Neito had no idea what they were talking about, but he would like to think it wasn't about him, so he minded his own business and kept his head down for the rest of the day. He wasn't going to go looking for unnecessary trouble on his first day. However, he should have been smart enough to realize that trouble was looking for him. After all, someone had to inherit the family curse, and he was the prime candidate.
Back when Himiko was being bullied. the youngest Toga had been picked on because his sister was apparently quote, "destined to be a villain with a quirk like her's,". The boy who said that went home crying. Of course, Neito couldn't fight, so instead he picked out every single detail of the boy's seemingly mediocre quirk and revealed all the ways he could kill him with it just by copying him once. Monoma on the other hand, had no experience dealing with bullies and was new to the school and everyone's quirks. So when the bullies cornered him and wanted to have a little "chat" with him after school he had no idea what to do. He didn't pick up on the signs at all, which was entirely Toga's fault, he should have known how cruel kids could be.
"Hey you're Monoma right?" said a boy with a boy with eight eyes and a spider mutation.
Monoma lacked the confidence,(slight insanity,) determination, and people skills which Toga had built up over the years while hanging around Himiko.
"Y-yeah, uhm, what's your name? I'm Monoma Neito," said the copier before inwardly cursing himself for repeating what they had already said.
The boy smiled innocently, introducing himself as Junji Ito (No relation apparently), perhaps this was a new friend, maybe that nagging voice in his head that spoke, 'don't trust him, don't trust anyone,' perhaps that voice was wrong. Perhaps he had judged others to quickly, perhaps what had happened to Himi was an isolated experience.
"Me and some other kids were secretly testing out our quirks behind the school, wanna join?"
"Ok sure!" Monoma said, a little bit too cheerfully.
"Cool, as long as you don't tell anyone, it's our secret," with a grin that seemed slightly pernicious.
Somehow, despite having eight eyes, Junji didn't notice someone following behind him. Junji led Neito to the back of the school where four more kids with different bug-like appearances stood against a wall. One was shuffling nervously before he was deemed a coward by the rest of the group and sent away. Oblivious, naïve, and idiotic Monoma smiled dumbly. His hands were slick with sweat and his leg bounced unconsciously as all the nervousness seemed to repeatedly coil and uncoil in that limb.
"So what are all your quirks?" Neito asked obliviously, hoping to break some of the tension in the atmosphere.
Instead of an answer he was met with sharp flinches from the other boys. Neito tilted his head to the side; confused as to what would cause such a reaction. Junji scoffed and turned up his nose in disgust.
"Of course the quirk thief wants to know what our quirks are," he sneered.
Neito was confused. He had never heard of a quirk thief before.
"What are you guys talking about?" Neito asked
Junji turned and addressed the other boys, ignoring Neito's comment, "Listen," he said to his friends gathered there, "We have to be quick, make sure he can't react, don't let him touch you, that's how he copies quirks. Are you guys ready?"
Junji's little speech was met with a few shouts of approval. The boys then surrounded Neito, forcing him back into the wall. Junji threw the first punch which slammed into Neito's gut. Another boy, this time with what looked to be a beetle mutation, hit him square in the chest, and Neito's back slammed into the wall. Neito wasn't sure if one of his ribs were broken,(it sure felt like it) but he knew that the blow would certainly leave a bruise.
"Wait!" Neito wheezed out, "I thought you invited me so we could practice our quirks."
One boy with a mantis mutation scoffed, "Uh yeah, we are practicing, we're practicing on villains like you," Then he pushed Neito forcing him to the ground.
Neito caught himself with his hands, preventing himself from faceplanting on the concrete.
'Is this what Himi felt like?' he wondered, 'Was this what she had to go through every day? Is this what it's like to be unwanted? Because of my STUPID QUIRK!?'
Slowly a giggle bubbled out of the boy's throat, then it turned into a small mirthless chuckle. Junji gave him a look of discomfort that he couldn't see before punching him in the face. The boy's head snapped to the side before whipping around again to face Junji. Toga's golden irises stared into the boys eyes; a violent and silent rage simmered inside them. Toga placed his hands on the wall behind him for support and slowly pushed himself up. Junji's last punch must have broken his nose because there was a warm liquid dribbling down Toga's nose. Touching a finger to his face revealed blood...
Blood
Blood
BLOOD!
That's what he needed. Blood, to right the wrong that had been done to him, yes blood. Not because he was hungry, no he hadn't even been Toga for a full minute let alone three hours. No he needed retribution. Yes. He needed blood.
The quirk thief wiped the blood from his face, not caring if it stained he sleeves, and once more looked up at the spider boy with unbridled rage.
Junji sneered at him in response but his voice and eyes were full of fear. "Y-you think you're tough huh? All villains do until the Heroes get them,"
Toga stepped forward and Junji took an unconscious step back before realizing what he'd done without meaning to. A bit embarrassed, the arachnid boy raised his leg and swing it into the young blonde's side, shaken out of their fear, the boys surrounded Toga again. This time one of the boys who looked like a cockroach managed to hit Toga's head, causing him to feel dizzy. A boy with a grasshopper quirk kicked him in the shin and the now bruised boy couldn't orient himself in order to at least get in a fighting or defensive position. Spots danced in his vision and he tried to regain his balance after the grasshopper boy had kicked him again, this time in the back of the knee, causing his legs to buckle. Even with the rage supporting him, Toga felt like collapsing, the world was spinning, his nose was leaking like a faucets, and 'why are there so many polka dots in the air' he thought to himself as he struggled not to pass out.
Then like a miracle, like an angle sent from heaven, his very own hero appeared.
"Hey!"
The boys turned to a girl standing at the corner of the building, her hair seemed to be set ablaze by the setting sun that framed her silhouette but that could also have very well been her quirk.
Toga Neito wouldn't know, because shortly after the girl made herself known, he passed out.
Notes:
Location: Neito is from Kanagawa, U.A is in Shizuku. Hosu is in Tokyo
I am so sorry, I said march but then i was REEEEEEAAAAALLLLY busy. And I Hoped to put out at least 3 updates this summer but I was out of the country for most of it. But thats no excuse so here's the chapter.