Blood-Red Rose

by V_Anon

Summary:

"...I don't really, um, feel a spark with any of the contestants? I usually fall fast and hard, so I'm not feeling very optimistic about this."

"Oh, same here!" Himiko said eagerly, hopping forward. "It only takes me one conversation to know if someone's right for me." She leaned in closer as she said this, and her smile grew wider. Ochaco swore Himiko got brighter, or perhaps the room got dimmer, until all she could focus on was Himiko's smile and wide-eyed stare.
-

Uraraka Ochaco is a popular rescue hero who has signed up to be the latest Bachelorette on the hit TV show 'The Bachelorette' after she and her fiance, Izuku Midoriya, broke up. She's here to find love, but that might be more difficult than she imagined.

Himiko Toga is a freelance villain who hops from place to place, pursuing whatever her heart desires after her old gang, the League of Villains, broke up. Ochaco has caught her attention, and Himiko has plans. However, a chance encounter might complicate things…

Notes:

• Inspired by By Any Other Name by SatelliteBlue

I realised that I had to write something w/w before my lesbian card gets revoked at the same time my brain decided to fixate on The Bachelorette AUs so. here you go.

this fic was a challenge to myself to write something in two days. or three days. or maybe a week. I failed at that (this first chapter took ~10 days), but if some parts are a little awkward, that's why. I plan to continue this, but it also stands relatively well alone! the yuri will get a LOT more toxic in the next part(s).

shoutout to Wordy for being my hypeman for this fic & also for being amazing in general :)

Chapter 1

Uraraka Ochaco wasn't a very good bachelorette. The cameras, the editing teams, and her fans would disagree with her, but sitting alone in the bedroom provided to her, Ochaco was quickly coming to the realisation that she never should have taken up the offer to be on the show.

She'd made it no secret throughout her years as a rescue hero that she was a fan of the show, so when she and Izuku finally gave in to the reality staring them in the face that whatever romantic spark they used to have had left a long time ago and broke up, the showrunners had immediately swooped in like vultures. It had seemed like an obvious choice at the time. A way to distract from her feelings, to get back into the dating pool, and to bolster her ratings in the hero rankings. A holiday from hero work, surrounded by handsome men, all of whom wanted to date her.

In retrospect, Ochaco thought glumly, she may have been a little stupid.

She was only three weeks into the whole affair, with eighteen men still trailing at her heels, and she was interested in exactly none of them. Sure, some were nice enough, but whatever attraction she might have felt was quickly squashed by the competitive and facetious nature of the whole affair. It wasn't hard to pick who to send off the show and who to keep, but there was no way in hell she was marrying whoever won this season of the show. No, instead she had to break eighteen hearts on live TV, and get nothing for it.

At least the outfits supplied to her were cute enough, she supposed. She'd look good in every episode, and she wondered idly if they'd let her take the dresses home. Momo and Toru would have great ideas on how to style them, Ochaco was sure. They'd also be kind enough to commiserate with her about how badly this had ended up. Jirou wouldn't pull any punches, Ochaco knew, and would tell her straight to her face that she'd been an idiot for ever going on the show, before pulling out the futons and helping set up for everyone sleeping over.

She missed her friends. She couldn't talk to them until this whole thing was over, and she missed them so badly. Even Izuku, who she'd been avoiding while they both worked through their complicated feelings about the break-up. He'd understand her hopes and disappointment better than anyone. She wouldn't have accepted his proposal if he hadn't. She'd kill to hear his voice right now, too-quick and stumbling over his words as he reassured her that she wasn't a complete idiot for hoping for something better from this show.

She'd had enough of thinking about this for one night, she decided. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she grabbed a cardigan off of the dresser, and headed out of her room.

The moment she opened her door, however, she bumped face-first into one of the crew members.

"Sarah?" Ochaco asked in confusion, "What are you up to?"

Sarah had a heteromorphic quirk that resulted in her skin being folded in pleats, and she was one of the many members of the film crew that followed Ochaco around constantly. She was a nice woman, and Ochaco had found herself chatting with Sarah on more than a few occasions when they were both bored.

"Hi, Uraraka! I was just heading to the bathroom. What about you?" Sarah smiled.

That wasn't right. Sarah didn't talk like that. Her inflections were wrong, somehow. Sarah was a mother and a veteran crew member, and she didn't talk to Uraraka with that brightness in her voice, nor was she that polite. She wouldn't stick around to ask Uraraka what she was doing if she had somewhere to be. This wasn't right.

"...Sarah?" Ochaco asked again, less confident this time. She stepped back a little, her shoulders stiffening against her will.

"Of course you noticed something was off!" Sarah squealed, "You really are an attentive one, aren't you! I bet you're friends with all of the crew! You're not supposed to make friends with them, you know. It makes my job sooo much harder!"

Ochaco blinked, staring at the person in front of her, who was definitely not Sarah. Getting into a defensive position was as instinctive as breathing, as she scanned the area around them. Who was this intruder? Were they a superfan of the show? A superfan of her? A hired assassin? She had no way of knowing, and that made figuring out how to approach the situation a lot harder.

"Oh, chill out. I'm not here to hurt anyone. I'm just Sarah's replacement. She's sick, and the studio didn't want all you hero types to freak out at an unfamiliar face. See, now you've realised I'm new, you're going to want documentation and confirmation and everything, right? That quickly gets to like, privacy breach levels when it's everyone in the mansion."

Ochaco frowned. The imposter was right about one thing. She wanted evidence that this person was a genuine part of the crew, and she wanted it now.

"In that case, you must have something planned in case one of us figured it out, so can I see some ID?" She said firmly, staring the person in front of her down.

"You could just ask for my name, you know. I'm Toga Himiko, but you can call me Himiko! I'd detransform for you, but I don't know how long it'll be til Sarah's back, and I don't have that much of her blood." The imposter beamed, digging around her pockets until she finally pulled out one of the identification cards every crew member had hung from their neck. Her tongue poked out the corner of her mouth as she did so, and some part of Ochaco couldn't help but find it cute, despite her distrust.

True to her word, the name Toga Himiko was printed on there, along with the position of "Backup Film Crew". Ochaco studied the photo with interest. The woman pictured had blond hair done up in two half-buns, yellow cat-like eyes, and a beaming smile that matched the one Himiko had shot her a moment earlier. Ochaco was still a little on edge, but security was decent on the Bachelorette, and Himiko's explanation made sense.

Nearly every single one of the twenty-seven competitors on Ochaco's season was some kind of hero. It was difficult for heroes to date outside of their profession, considering power imbalances and parasocial relationships. Even friendships with civilians could be difficult, and as a result, heroics was a very insular community. Ochaco had tried her best to weed out any competitors who were rude to the staff as quickly as possible, but it wouldn't surprise her if some of the remaining men would react aggressively to a new face without actually listening to them.

The remaining fight drained out of Ochaco. It was late, she was tired, and Himiko had been nothing but friendly and polite. Even if she was a villain or a stalker, Ochaco didn't have the proper grounds to try to fight her on it now. She'd check with the rest of the crew later, but for now, there was no need to be rude. Besides, Himiko seemed to be around her age, and it would be nice to have another friend behind the cameras.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Himiko. Sorry about that, working in heroics tends to make you suspicious of everything." Ochaco said with a smile, offering a hand out as a peace offering. Himiko took it eagerly, shaking it hard and sending her another wide smile. No matter her quirk, Ochaco thought, Himiko could probably be recognised by her smile alone.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I totes get it. People always complain about how weird it is to see me wearing their friend's face," Himiko said, rolling her eyes as she spoke, "But since we've officially met now! I want to know how you're doing as the Bachelorette! I'm only a replacement, so I'm missing out on all the hot deets!"

Ochaco laughed. Himiko's way of speaking was unprofessional and a little childish, but it was a breath of fresh air. It reminded her of Mina, to an extent. She couldn't help but wonder if Himiko was placed on the back-up team to make sure she didn't leak any of those 'hot deets' to her friends before the show aired.

"I think I'm doing alright! The stylists are definitely keeping me looking pretty on camera, and everyone's been lovely." Ochaco said with a genuine smile. Talking to a friendly face had put her in better spirits, and it was true that her experience so far had been good, even if she wasn't going to fall in love here.

"Oooh! I'm so jealous, I bet you get to wear so many pretty dresses!" For a second, Himiko's voice seemed a little sharp and forced, and that impression lingered in Ochaco's mind even as the moment passed. "But what about the guys? Who's your favourite?"

Ochaco grimaced involuntarily at that. She didn't want to think about the contestants right now, or preferrably, ever again. "They're all nice, and it's too early in the show to pick a favourite, really-"

"Sure, sure. Who's the hottest, then?"

"I don't know, Togaru I guess? His fashion's pretty good when he's not in costume," Ochaco said, feeling her cheeks heat up at the brazen question. "But physical looks aren't-"

"Oh, shush," Himiko said dismissively, "It's just as important as anything else in a relationship, isn't it? If you're going to date a bunch of guys at once, they might as well be hot."

"I guess that's true," Ochaco giggled, "I'm just not used to thinking about it like that. I don't usually get this many options!"

Himiko giggled right back. "Take advantage of it while it lasts! Soon you'll be back to being engaged with one guy, after all!"

Ochaco crashed right back down to reality with that. Another loveless engagement. She hadn't really thought about that, but it was true. It wasn't like any of the relationships that came from the show tended to last, so it wouldn't be shocking when she broke up with the lucky guy quickly after the show ended, but it still wasn't something she was looking forward to. She could avoid the engagement part this time, tell them that she wanted to try dating first, but even that felt unfair to the contestants.

"Huh? Isn't that what you came on the show for?" Himiko's voice brought her back to reality, and Ochaco scrambled to explain.

"It was! I knew what I was getting into! But, well…" Himiko looked intrigued, Sarah's blue eyes dilated in a way they never normally would be, "...I don't really, um, feel a spark with any of the contestants? I usually fall fast and hard, so I'm not feeling very optimistic about this."

"Oh, same here!" Himiko said eagerly, hopping forward. "It only takes me one conversation to know if someone's right for me." She leaned in closer as she said this, and her smile grew wider. Ochaco swore Himiko got brighter, or perhaps the room got dimmer, until all she could focus on was Himiko's smile and wide-eyed stare.

"One conversation?" Ochaco breathed, her throat feeling tight, and her heart beating out of her chest. Himiko nodded, tilting her head to the side, and not moving an inch. "That's… fast, but…"

Ochaco's first instinct was to say it was too fast, too presumptive, but as she thought about it, her comments died in her throat. Wasn't it true that it usually only took her one conversation to fall for people as well? She might not call it a crush until she'd had time to get to know the person in question, but her heart latched on to people faster than her brain did. Hadn't she been doubting her place on the show since the first night, when none of the men had her heart fluttering from their opening lines?

"...Maybe that's not a bad thing. It means you're passionate and you know what you want, right?" Ochaco said, growing more confident with each word. Before she even reached the end of her sentence, Himiko was bouncing forward again, and crushing Ochaco into a hug.

"You get it! You don't think it's weird! You understand!" Himiko squealed, and Ochaco winced from the shrill sound right next to her ear. The hug wasn't particularly comfortable, Himiko was hugging her too tightly and breathing too loudly, and Ochaco's head was tilted at a weird angle that made her neck hurt, but Ochaco couldn't bring herself to complain. It had been too long since she had last gotten such a genuine hug, and it reminded her of how much she missed her friends.

Soon enough, Himiko was dropping her, and skipping back into the hallway.

"I've really gotta get going, but I'll see you later, okay Ochaco?" She said in a sing-song tone that didn't suit Sarah's voice in the slightest. "You're not getting rid of me now!"

Ochaco blinked, and Himiko was gone.

The next time she saw Sarah, a casual nod of the head confirmed it wasn't Himiko.

"I heard you were sick yesterday," Ochaco said, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Hm? Yeah, just a tummy bug. Caught it from the kids, didn't need it going around set too." Sarah said dismissively.

"I met your replacement. She was nice."

"Replacement's a strong word, substitute is more like it," Sarah waved dismissively, "I thought they'd just have someone else already on set cover for me, saves them the hassle of paperwork."

Ochaco nodded politely, her head still lost in thoughts of Himiko. Everything Sarah said confirmed Himiko's story, but something still felt off. She felt sick to her stomach, looking for the final piece of evidence that would prove nothing was wrong, yet almost hoping for the opposite. Nothing was ever this simple, as a hero, and the sooner the other shoe dropped, the sooner she could get to the bottom of the situation. It was a feeling Ochaco was very familiar with.

It wasn't long before she got what she was hoping for.

The night of the third rose ceremony. Ochaco had known exactly who was staying and who was going by the end of the first date this week, and she was feeling decidedly bored by the whole affair. She plastered on a fake smile, made all the right faces, and planned in her head what would sound best for the confessionals.

She'd come onto the show prepared to do a bit of acting for the cameras, but at this point, there was very little reality left in this reality TV. Maybe it was different for the men, but Ochaco was fairly sure the only real emotion she'd shown this week that would make it onto TV was the relief she'd felt when the second half of one of the dates had to be cancelled.

"Togaru," Ochaco said, forcing a smile, "I think we really connected on the group date this week. Will you accept this rose?"

Togaru stepped up to face her, and she fiddled with the rose as she prepared to pin it onto his lapel. She looked up, meeting his eyes, and Togaru smiled.

Oh, Ochaco thought. She was right. Himiko really was recognisable from that smile alone.

It was only the cameras and her experience keeping a smile on her face during natural disasters that prevented Ochaco from giving it away. She wanted to yell Himiko's name, or ask her why she was here, but Ochaco remembered Himiko's earlier words. The other men probably didn't know she was imitating Togaru, and there was no use causing a scene when they still had hours of filming to go.

Instead, she pinned the rose to Togaru's lapel, and wondered if her own smile would show up on the cameras as a bit more genuine.

Chapter 2

Summary:

Ochaco couldn't help but scan every face for that smile in the days following that. Togaru would probably recover before the next time she was scheduled to see him, so Himiko wouldn't have to keep covering for him. It was more likely that she'd be substituting for another staff member, or doing something else entirely.

It was a test of her skills to see if she could find Himiko in the crowd, copying someone else, Ochaco told herself. It was curiosity. It was a game. It didn't really matter.

She knew that wasn't the truth.

Notes:

Okay, quick note, all suitors are based off of heroes from canon, but because it's a dating show, they're all using first names. Which some of them do not have in canon, so I'm picking names based off of voice actors or random trivia. The only one who really matters is Togaru (Jack Mantis), because he is bug-like and jokes are made about that.

Kensuke = Mr. Plastic
Ghido = Godzillo
Masaki = Mr Brave
Juzo = Centipeder

Himiko Toga-typical TW (Spoiler)

Animal death

This chapter took me ~14 days to write, once I finally got the motivation to! It's also pretty clear that this "oneshot" will need at least another 3 chapters to be complete. Whoops.

Ochaco couldn't help but scan every face for that smile in the days following that. Togaru would probably recover before the next time she was scheduled to see him, so Himiko wouldn't have to keep covering for him. It was more likely that she'd be substituting for another staff member, or doing something else entirely.

It was a test of her skills to see if she could find Himiko in the crowd, copying someone else, Ochaco told herself. It was curiosity. It was a game. It didn't really matter.

She knew that wasn't the truth.

Talking to Himiko had been nice. Uraka had been able to drop the pretenses for a moment, and now that she had gotten a taste of it, the fakeness only felt more constricting. It was temporary, of course, and she had signed up for it, but it still frustrated her. The other crew members were too polite, too invested in selling the show's fantasy to truly confront Ochaco as to if this was something she really wanted. It seemed silly with how shallow Himiko's questions and opinions had been, but at least Himiko didn't pretend that Ochaco would find true love here.

So, she wanted to talk to Himiko again. Ochaco had been prepared for their conversation to be a one-off, to never see Himiko again, but seeing her at the rose ceremony had made her think that maybe Himiko meant that cheerful goodbye. Maybe Ochaco was 'not getting rid of her now' after all.

But that wasn't all that seeing Himiko at the rose ceremony had made Ochaco think.

The unsettled feeling in her gut had only grown stronger. Her initial concerns lingered in her mind and haunted her thoughts. Was Himiko really that innocent? Had Ochaco accidentally given a parasocial superfan or stalker with a powerful shapeshifting quirk a reason to think that Ochaco wanted to be her friend? If so, Himiko would probably take every chance possible to stick close to her, to watch her every move.

The lack of Himiko's smile on the faces around her didn't reassure Ochaco. She kept searching, kept watching their lips for the moment Himiko finally slipped up, and Ochaco would know where she was.

When the next group date came, Ochaco itched to check Togaru's face. When he walked into the room, she snapped around to stare before she could stop herself.

Togaru smirked, then sent her a flirtatious wink. It looked exactly like every other stupid grin he'd ever sent her, and Ochaco's heart dropped. If Himiko wasn't here, where was she? Had she left The Bachelorette entirely? Was she just a normal person after all?

But, as the cameraman behind her turned away to talk to another of the men, Togaru's smirk slipped for a moment, and turned into a small, but distinctive smile. He winked again, but this time Ochaco felt it looked more mischievous as her heart soared back up and she felt a wave of relief wash over her. She smiled back.

Himiko was a better actor than she'd thought.

The date was the most interesting one she'd been on yet. They were at some petting zoo, feeding ducks and sheep. According to her team, it was supposed to encourage conversation about if the men would want pets in a long-term relationship, and help her to weed out any men who were dismissive of her interests. None of that really mattered, though.

Kensuke accidentally scared off the cows with his posturing, Ghido tried to joke about eating the chickens whole and Masaki took it too seriously, and Juzo got upset that mud got on his much-too fancy outfit. Ochaco could have told you that before they had even arrived at the farm. They weren't making it to her final three.

No, what Ochaco was focused on was Togaru's admission that he had a 'soft spot' for cute animals, and Himiko's excited smiles that she shot Ochaco every time the cameras turned away. Himiko had a role to play, and a hero's reputation to maintain, but it was clear that she wanted to spend a lot more time cuddling the animals.

Ochaco helped her out a little bit. She beckoned Toogaru over, hiding her gift in her shirt with her other hand.

"Here, can you hold onto them while I chat to the others? I've grown a little attached, I don't want to get them mixed up." Ochaco said with a smile and a wink as she handed over the three very fluffy yellow chicks.

"Of course!" Toogaru said quickly, his voice breaking into a squeak with excitement. The cameramen focused in on them, taking shots of different angles of the chicks cradled in Toogaru's hands, and being pressed against his chest. One of the chicks started to fall asleep, blinking slowly, while another chick instead struggled as it tried to escape. Ochaco smiled at the sight.

She had to make good on her words though, so she turned away and forced herself to mingle with the other men. She laughed at their jokes, politely listened to their bragging, and smoothed over their awkward comments. Internally, she reasoned out who she would get rid of next. Masaki reminded her a little of Izuku, so she should keep him around to please the fans. Juzo dressed well, but he didn't have much going for him, which ironically made him a good pick to fill out the roster. Ghido almost had a villain arc going for him, but it was purely due to his own awkwardness. Kensuke was a better pick for that.

Togaru had always been one of her tentative picks for top three, but Himiko was helping him secure his place for the moment. When he recovered and Himiko stopped covering for him, he'd have to fight for his place, but right now there was no way Ochaco was letting Himiko out of her sight.

Eventually, Ochaco had had enough of placating the cameras and the other men, and went to find Togaru again.

"Thanks for holding onto them for me." She said, reaching out to grab the chicks. Himiko let her take two back, but held onto the third one, who was dozing in a pocket against Togaru's chest.

"Let's not wake him up!" Himiko whispered theatrically, then flashed her that smile. Ochaco nodded and smiled back, more than happy to let Himiko continue to indulge in her love of cute animals. They chatted for a bit about keeping chickens, the price of eggs, and joked about chickens eating insects. Ochaco's family had kept chickens in the past, since they were easy to raise and quite economical, so she knew a lot about the subject. It was something she could be honest about, and every awkward joke or stupid comment Togaru made felt more like an inside joke between Himiko and Ochaco, which made the conversation so much smoother.

Ochaco was a rescue hero. She was used to cameras. It had only taken her an hour or so on the first day to adjust to the cameras around her. However, as a hero, it was her job to be aware of her surroundings at all times, so she could never completely forget they were there. She took advantage of that awareness to pose for the cameras, usually. To drag the men into frame and to hide the stain on her dress from view. It was fine.

It was different with Himiko around.

She was hyper-aware of the position of every camera around her, taking advantage of every time they moved away to look back and see Himiko instead of Togaru. She couldn't help but curse her faithful crew in her head as they hovered around, Hiroshi giving her a thumbs up as he darted in to fix her microphone and Reiko repositioning the boom mic. She couldn't tell them to go away without raising suspicion, but she wished she could.

Ochaco wanted to know what Himiko thought about raising chickens, not what Himiko thought Togaru thought about raising chickens.

She wondered how many members of the crew knew that it wasn't Togaru they were filming.

At first, she'd assumed it was all of them, but she was starting to doubt that. She had split off for a moment earlier to use the toilet, and Akio, one of the producers, had taken the opportunity to needle her.

"So, Togaru's your favourite, huh?" They had said, wiggling their eyebrows, "You keep sneaking glances at him! What happened to 'I'm not sure if I like any of the suitors that much', huh?"

Ochaco opened her mouth to correct them, to remind them that it was Himiko playing Togaru, and that's why she was interested, but Akio cut her off.

"Well, I'm just glad to hear you've settled on a top candidate. It makes filming and editing easier. Just remember to spend some time with the other guys, yeah? And next time, let the crew know earlier. We could have scheduled you on a single date with him this week, but it's too late now," They said with a shrug, "I'll let you go this time, but keep on top of it if you don't want another lecture, yeah?"

And just like that, Akio was walking off, and Ochaco could feel the cogs in her brain turning. For someone who was lecturing her on keeping the crew updated, they seemed rather uniformed. But they were a producer focused on setting up the dates and scheduling, not someone involved with managing the cast or crew. Was it possible that the fact had just slipped them by?

The rest of the date seemed to slip by quickly after that. Ochaco forced herself away from Himiko again, instead giving the other men the chance to hold the two chicks she had claimed as her favourites. Then she fed some pigs, and giggled as Ghido nearly fell into the pig pen when he tried to climb the fence. Then they were all being led back into cars and vans, and back on their way towards the mansion.

But before they could leave, they were interrupted by a staff member of the petting zoo.

"Hey, uh, we seem to be missing a chick. It happens, they're small, they escape all the time. I'm just checking that it's not in a pocket or anything. I don't think anyone intentionally stole a chick, but if you did, please just wait until your show is over and come back and buy one. Please."

There was rustling as everyone checked their pockets and under the seats, but the chick wasn't found. The poor staff member sighed, shrugged, and let them go after a few minutes.

"I guess I'll search the barn again. Wouldn't be the first time we lost a chick to the hay bales in there."

It was a bit of a stretch, but Ochaco couldn't help but think of the chick she left with Himiko. Perhaps she was being paranoid, but she had wanted to talk to Himiko alone anyway, so it was as good an excuse as any.

"Huh? Chica? I put her back with the rest of the chicks when she woke up. She started getting a little squirmy then," Himiko said, looking at her with wide eyes. "Is this about the missing chick? It's such a shame, isn't it? They're soooo adorable! I can't bear to think of one of those cute little babies wandering around in the cold, away from their friends!"

"You named her Chica?" Ochaco asked, a smile tugging at her lips. It reminded her of something Mina would name a chick, or even Kirishima. Unimaginitive and childish, but… "It's a cute name."

Himiko beamed at the praise. "I know, right?! She's so small and cute, and the name's short and cute! It's fitting!"

"Oh, right," Ochaco said, "I was really surprised that you were so good at covering for Togaru. Did he give you pointers? How sick is he, anyway? It's been like, four days."

Himiko frowned a little, waving her hand dismissively. "Togaru's fine, don't worry about him. He's just got a cough, but it sounds like it'll take a while to clear up. He didn't give me any pointers. He was quite rude, actually, I don't know why you like him so much," She pouted at Ochaco and rolled her eyes. "I just reviewed the recordings. My job is sooo much easier when there's people everywhere filming the guy I'm supposed to imitate. Seriously."

Ochaco did smile at that. She liked talking to Himiko like this so much better than she did when Himiko was pretending to be Togaru. Himiko was so expressive, so bouncy, and it was infectious. Ochaco had put effort into maturing, into being a perfect idol for the camera. She had learnt how to talk calmly during an emergency, how to give a statement to an interviewer that sounded like it meant something, while being devoid of substance or genuine emotion. Himiko didn't bother with any of that, and Ochaco couldn't help but fall in line.

"You asked who I thought was hottest, not who I thought was nicest." She reminded Himiko. Himiko just giggled at that, and soon the conversation devolved into discussing the other men, poking fun at their posturing and attempts to impress Ochaco.

"I understand why you don't like any of them now," Himiko said, rolling her eyes again. "None of them are good enough for you. Honestly. Half of them aren't even hot."

"They're hot enough for the cameras, that's what matters." Ochaco shot back with a shrug as Himiko laughed. She didn't agree with Himiko, not really, but she knew how girl talk worked. There was no point in arguing that the men were fine and just not her type, because no man would ever be good enough for Himiko. Maybe it was a little odd to say such a thing when it was only the third time they had truly talked, but, well, Himiko had said that it only took one conversation, and Ochaco believed her. Even if Ochaco didn't trust Himiko just yet, conversations with her were easy. Fun. They felt like conversations with a friend.

"Oh," Ochaco noticed, leaning towards Himiko, "You have a feather stuck to your mandible."

"Aw, really? It must have gotten caught there when I was cuddling Chica. She was so soft, can you blame me?" Himiko said with a giggle as Ochaco plucked it off. Just as she leaned back again, she heard loud footsteps and soon a familiar face entered the room.

"Hey! There you two are! Keep the flirting to in front of the cameras, we've got to get moving again. We're filming confessionals next." Sarah barked. Himiko startled, though Ochaco simply smiled and nodded, having heard her coming.

'Got it!" Himiko called out, quickly slipping back into her Togaru persona. "Where do you want us for the confessionals?"

Ochaco listened as Sarah directed them to different rooms, but she was lost in her own thoughts, rolling around theories and feelings. Himiko shouldn't need to act in front of Sarah like this, should she? Sarah thought they had been flirting. Did Sarah think Himiko really was Togaru? Sarah wasn't Akio, she had much closer ties to the cast. Surely she should know. But Sarah was on Ochaco's crew, not Togaru's. Maybe it was strictly a need-to-know basis.

Just who was Himiko?

…And had they been flirting?

Notes:

Ochaco girl please focus on the fact that Himiko might be replacing a contestant without permission. Ochaco please.

RIP Chica :( Yes her name was a reference to FNAF, but mostly it just sounded like a name Himiko would come up with. In case it wasn't clear: Himiko ate her :( The moment a petting zoo date came to mind I knew what had to be done...

Notes:

here's a spoiler: Himiko is NOT crew member and she is NOT here for the right reasons.