Chapter 2
The next morning Himiko woke up in the hospital. So it wasn't just a nice dream. Or maybe it is, maybe I'm still laying in that alleyway, and this is just one long hallucination.
When she got her breakfast, the nurse came in and gave her a small tube of blood with a rubber stopper. "We need to get your body used to a regular dose of blood with your meals. It may take some time to get used to this, so make sure to drink it slowly." Himiko just nodded in shock, at how everyone here is just treating her drinking of blood as something normal. Where were these people all of my life?
"The Midoriyas, are they coming today?"
The nurse turned to her and smiled. "I'm sorry, but I don't know if you'll be receiving guests today."
Himiko swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "I hope they do, they were nice."
She busied herself with eating and watching a random show. Eventually, she heard a gentle knock on her door and an elderly woman came in.
"Good morning Miss Toga. I am Mrs. Mamushi, and I'm here to act as your temporary quirk counselor. I know you won't be with us long, but we can at least begin to build a file for you after you leave our care."
"Good morning Mrs. Mamushi. Please, call me Himiko. I don't like my other name right now." She admitted.
As Himiko watched, the woman sat down, pulling out a notepad and setting it on her lap.
"Now then Himiko, please tell me about your quirk. We have your previous file, but given what you have told us about your previous counselor, I thought it best if we started from scratch."
For the next hour, Mamushi asked Himiko a series of basic questions about her quirk - how it activates, how it feels to use it - trying to establish a baseline. After those questions, she began asking the harder ones - how her parents viewed her quirk, what they told her previous quirk counselor, and the activities, recommendations, and lessons the counselor had for her. Himiko found herself involuntarily wincing every time she answered a question and saw the nice old lady scowl.
Was it that bad?
Eventually, the questions began winding down and Mamushi reviewed her notes to see if she missed anything.
"Well, this is a very upsetting picture. No wonder you suffered a quirk backlash." The woman turned to Himiko, giving her a sympathetic smile. "I know that me saying it won't undo the 10 years of being told the opposite, but there is nothing wrong with your quirk. It is a part of you - no different than your eye or skin color."
"But what about the fact that it's not a harmless quirk? What about evil, bad quirks?"
Like mine.
The frown on the woman's face told Himiko that she caught the hidden meaning behind her words. She sighed and set her pen down. "Do you know much about the flame hero, Endeavor?"
"Not really, my parents weren't big on heroes, so unless it was a major story in the news story we didn't hear about them."
"Well, his quirk allows him to produce and control fire. And while there are many things said about him, he is still the number 2 hero in Japan. When he appears, do you think people are scared of him?"
"No…"
"Now then, let me tell you about another man. About 10 years ago, there was an A-Rank villain who went by the name 'Matchbook.' His quirk was a contact-based quirk that allowed him to light anything on fire with a touch. He thought that his quirk gave him free rein to terrorize people for money and power, and so he decided to abuse it. Over 6 months, he gathered together like-minded individuals and formed a gang. They would travel around, forcing people to pay them to avoid having their property destroyed, or in some cases from being burned alive."
Himiko swallowed the lump in her throat. "He sounds scary."
"He was scary, and ironically it was Endeavor who took him down, causing much celebration. Now tell me, Himiko, what makes Endeavor's quirk different from Matchbook's quirk?"
The woman patiently sat there as she watched Himiko deep in thought before her face lit up as if she solved some great mystery.
"There isn't any difference?"
"That is correct." The woman smiled. "The only difference is in the people themselves - Matchbook could have easily become a hero with his quirk, and Endeavor could have just as easily used his strength to become a terrifying villain."
Himiko nodded along with that. "And because I had spent so long associating my quirk with negative things, now I see it as villainous?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"I don't want to see myself as a villain," Himiko admitted.
"Well dear, that's a very important first step. It will take time, but for now, every time you think of your quirk negatively, I want you to stop, and look at your hand."
Himiko lifted her right hand and looked at it, then back to Mamushi in confusion.
"And I want you to ask yourself 'is my hand bad?' The goal is that eventually, you will see it as just another part of yourself. And your hands are just like your quirk - you can do good things with them, or bad things. But in the end, it is you who are choosing to do those things, rather than your hands telling you what to do."
Himiko continued to look between her hand and the lady with confusion. "That sounds absurd."
Mamushi patted her knee. "Of course it is absurd, that is the point."
Himiko groaned and leaned back into the bed. "This is a lot."
The woman smiled at her. "If it was easy, then you wouldn't need me and I would be working in a different field."
Himiko couldn't help but laugh at the woman's joke.
"Now then, as I suspected, I need to start a new file for you. Next time we can work on a more detailed plan for you, and I can begin to look for a good counselor to follow up with after you are discharged."
Mrs. Mamushi left after that and Himiko felt lighter somehow, but exhausted. Her parents had always taught her to control her emotions, so seeing someone who forced her to admit her feelings was hard.
With nothing better to do, she ate lunch and took a short nap. As the afternoon stretched on her routine was interrupted when she heard a gentle knock on her door. It began to open and Izuku's head popped in.
"Can we come in?"
"Yes!" She grinned at the two as they entered. "Thank you for coming again!"
"It's nothing, dear. We can't stay long today, but we wanted to see how you are doing." Inko reached out to put an arm on her shoulder.
"We also got you this!" Izuku held out a green stuffed rabbit. "We saw this at the gift shop last night! That way you'll have company when we aren't here."
Himiko broke into a genuine smile as she held it. Cute stuffed animals were normal, but something about this one was different - coming from the Midoriyas, it felt genuine.
"I love it."
"So how are you feeling today dear?"
"Better," Himiko admitted. "But it's going to be a long time before I'm used to it."
Inko rested her hand on Himiko's shoulder, understanding in her eyes. "You just went through something very traumatic. On top of everything else that happened to you. It will take time for things to feel normal again."
Himiko grumbled. "The problem is I don't know what normal is anymore."
"Well, what is normal is different for everyone, isn't it? You just need to find what you want."
Himiko mouthed the words "what I want" as if it was a foreign concept, and stared at her hand, deep in thought. After what seemed like a long time, she looked back up at Inko. "I just want to be myself, and I want to be happy. I- I don't want to hide who I am."
Inko smiled gently at her. "That sounds like a wonderful goal, dear."
After that, they spent the rest of the afternoon just talking. Izuku was able to do a good job distracting everyone with the latest Hero news, and both Midoriyas patiently answered any question Himiko had. As she watched Inko and Izuku interact, Himiko was filled with a familiar pair of emotions - jealousy and envy - towards Izuku. Even though he was quirkless, it was easy to see that Inko loved him and tried her best to make him happy.
She selfishly wanted to know what it was like, to be loved like that.
Eventually, it grew late and Inko once again had to gather Izuku up to leave. "Tomorrow is Sunday, so we can come by earlier and stay for longer, although Vlad King has already warned us that he will be visiting tomorrow as well. The new school year starts on Monday for Izu, so we won't have as much time to come visit you next week."
Himiko felt her face fall when she heard that. "I understand. Thanks for telling me."
They both gave Himiko gentle hugs and then left. She watched them leave and saw the rabbit on the table. She grabbed it and pulled it into a hug, feeling a spark of warmth inside of her.
It is almost how I felt about Saito, but it's different somehow?
Inko and Izuku met with Sekijiro Kan in the lobby of the hospital the next morning, and next to him was a small bear-like creature in a suit. "Good morning! Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear? It doesn't matter, for I am Nezu, better known as the Principle of UA! However, that is not why we are here today!"
"Wait, you are the principal of UA? So cool!" Izuku became excited while Inko merely smiled at her son's antics, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Please forgive my son's excitement. It's his dream to be a hero. What brings someone like yourself here today?"
"Well, one of my teachers." Nezu said, indicating Kan. "Has brought to my attention the fact that there has been a grave injustice brought against a little girl. What he described to me is a bit of a personal sore spot, so I decided to assist her in any way possible. As it turns out, the Togas are well off, and they likely have good lawyers on hand."
He suddenly gave a predatory smile that made the Midoriyas flinch. "I can guarantee that mine are better. Once we are done with them, they will never touch her again."
Izuku spoke next. "What about Himiko? Is she going to be ok? She told us she did some pretty bad things."
"Since she is still a minor, and the boy she attacked, Saito, survived the encounter, we will be able to keep it from permanently affecting her record. She may eventually be linked to several other incidents during her quirk backlash, as we investigate further. Fortunately for us, they all survived. Given the evidence available, that means she should be able to avoid any consequences for those incidents, as well."
Nezu paused momentarily before his demeanor darkened. "Her parents on the other hand… well they shall not be so lucky. You see, there are laws and regulations in place to prevent quirk suppression, and for good reason. Those laws exist to prevent exactly the kind of incident that occurred. Cases of quirk backlash are rare nowadays for good reason, and if Ms. Toga had the proper care, then this would have never happened."
Izuku sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear that."
Kan shared a glance with Nezu, then looked at Inko, before he finally looked down at the small boy. "Well come on little Midoriya, let's go see how little Toga is doing today."
Inko waited until Vlad had left with her son, and then looked at Nezu. "So, what is going to happen to Himiko after your lawyers and the police are done tearing the Togas apart?"
"An excellent question! Unfortunately, it is not one that I have a good answer for. Because the Togas are well off, we can ensure that there will be a healthy stipend each month for whoever takes her in, but it will be… difficult to find a home for her. Her past is very troubled, and as a result, she is going to need regular therapy, on top of seeing a quirk counselor, likely a specialized one. On top of that, we will need to find her a school that offers the right remedial courses for her needs."
Inko stared at him, determination burning in her eyes. "That sounds difficult."
"Fortunately I have considerable resources! Given enough time, I am sure to find someone who will be willing to take her in, it is just a matter of how long it will take."
Nezu appeared to be evaluating Inko as he examined her. "Unless you have someone in mind already?"
"I do."
"It must be hard enough raising your son alone."
"I won't claim that it's easy, especially given my son's issues."
"You mean his quirklessness?"
A sad look crossed Inko's face. "Yes. That. It's hard for me to admit it, but I failed him when he needed me the most, and it fills me with regret almost every day. To see Himiko suffering, knowing I can do something about it? Well, I'm not a hero, but maybe being a mom is enough."
"You are a very brave woman, Mrs. Midoriya. If you want to foster her, I will gladly have my people work with you to ensure that transition will be as smooth as possible for young Toga."
"Should we tell her?"
"No. Best to let the process play out before we give her the good news. Now shall we?" He swept his arm down the hallway. "I believe we have people waiting for us."
Over the next week, Himiko had adjusted to her new routine. Wake up, breakfast, light exercise with a physical therapist, lunch, a session with either a therapist or a quirk counselor, and finally visitors in the afternoon.
Sometimes the visitors were hard for Himiko, like the day when the lawyers came to talk to her, or the day Vlad King brought a pair of police officers and she was forced to retell her story. She had to spend most of the afternoon answering questions for them. That was the worst. But for most of the week, her visitors were the Midoriyas, and those days were the best.
But each day she made progress, and every evening she felt a little better as she drifted off to sleep, her arms wrapped tightly around the green bunny.
This afternoon, the first two people to visit her were Vlad King and Nezu. She was surprised, wondering why they were visiting instead of the Midoriyas.
Nezu was the first to speak. "I have good news, Himiko Toga! We have come to an arrangement with your parents. You see, they would rather not go to jail, and so they have agreed to our terms. They are giving up custody over you, and have agreed to pay a substantial child support fee for your future care."
Himiko's face fell. "I knew they would jump at the chance to discard me. Is it wrong that I hoped that they would be in jail instead?"
"I agree! However, for the sake of you and your younger sister, we thought it best to have a smooth transition. Your former quirk counselor, on the other hand, is not so lucky."
Himiko gasped. "I forgot about Hifumi! Is she going to be ok?"
"Quite! As part of the arrangement, they, along with your sister, will have to regularly attend therapy sessions with someone of our choosing. And until she is an adult herself, the police will be visiting your former family regularly to ensure that your sister does not have any negative actions taken against her."
"She should be ok, she had a cute harmless quirk, the kind my parents approve of."
Himiko felt a pit forming in her stomach. "What's going to happen to me?"
"Well, now that your parents have released you from your custody, you will be a ward of the state. You will be assigned a foster family to care for you until you are either properly adopted or you turn 18."
Oh.
Himiko's face darkened and she started curling in on herself.
And I thought things were going so well. Nobody is going to want me.
"Now, don't look so down! In fact, we have already found a foster family for you. At least let me introduce them first!"
Nezu gestured to the door, and through misty eyes, she saw two familiar figures step in.
"Izuku, Mama Inko!"
Himiko practically leaped out of her bed and ran into them, the two of them wrapping her into a warm hug.
"I wanted it to be you, but I was worried!"
"Of course, it was us, Himiko," Inko said.
"Well then, it looks like I guess we chose correctly!" Nezu chimed in from behind them. "Perfect! There are still arrangements to be made before tomorrow, so I will leave you be. The three of you probably have a lot to discuss."
"Tomorrow?" Himiko was confused.
Kan stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Now that the police investigation has concluded and your parents gave up their legal rights, we have no reason to keep you in protective custody anymore. That means you will be discharged into Mrs. Midoriya's care tomorrow."
Himiko let go of Izuku and Inko and turned around to grab Kan, pulling him into a fierce hug. "After tomorrow, will I see you again?"
She felt his hand rest on top of her head. "It will be harder since school is in session, but I think I can take some time to visit you periodically."
"You teach? Aren't you a hero?"
Kan laughed. "Of course, I'm also a hero! And that means I teach at a Hero School!"
Himiko could just imagine Izuku's face as she began to smile. "That's cool. I'll need to pick out a high school for next year, maybe you could tell me about it sometime."
Chapter 3: First steps
Himiko found herself unable to sleep that night. It was exciting! She had spent the last week with a growing longing to have a family like Izuku and Inko, and tomorrow she will be heading home with them. Sure they weren't her actual mother and brother, but she knew that it wouldn't make a difference for them.
Inko arrived early in the morning, apologizing because the only outfits she had available for Himiko were the uniforms for her new school, and the two began the discharge process. The process ended up taking longer than either of them expected, with all of the additional instructions. Himiko was worried it was going to be too much for the Midoriyas, but Inko assured her that she knew all of this beforehand.
After what felt like forever they were finally able to leave, Himiko followed Inko as she led the way back to their apartment. Eventually they made it there, and Inko opened the door. "Welcome home, Himiko."
Himiko smiled at that and stepped in to remove her shoes, before letting Inko guide her further into the apartment. "If you're tired, you can just take a nap now. Izu won't be home for a few more hours, and then we can go shopping to get some things for you."
"That sounds good." Himiko admitted, "I couldn't really sleep at the hospital last night." Inko showed her to her new room. It was a little small, and other than a bed with simple black sheets and a desk it was bare. But as Himiko lay down, the room felt more comfortable than the one she spent years in, back at her old home. As she lay down, she found herself easily drifting to sleep.
When Himiko woke up, she quietly left her room and saw Izuku sitting in the living room working on his homework. "Oh, hi Himiko! Are you getting settled in ok?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Mom said we can go to the department store whenever you're ready."
Himiko nodded, excited to go out and pick up some new things for herself.
Izuku could see the frustration radiating off of Himiko as they were walking through the clothing section of the store. At first she was running around looking at all of the options available to her, but after finding an oversized cardigan that she described as 'super comfy,' her excitement gave way to a sense of being overwhelmed, which led to frustration.
"Ugh, there's just too much to choose from. It was so much easier when I was just handed clothes and told to wear them." Himiko grumbled.
Izuku nodded sympathetically, his eyes scanning the racks as he tried to analyze all of the clothes. His style was admittedly simple with a touch of irony, and thanks to Katskui's influence he hasn't had much interaction with girls in his own age group, so he didn't even know where to begin.
Lost in thought he began wandering through the women's clothing section, mumbling under his breath as if this was a puzzle to be solved, until something caught his eye. A selection of dresses, among them one that was a deep crimson color. A smile formed on Izuku's lips. "Perfect."
He ran back to where Himiko was standing, still in the same spot. "Himiko, I think I've got it!"
He led her back to the dress section and showed her the dress that caught his eye, and saw her take it in. "I think I like it?" She said with some uncertainty in her voice.
"Why don't you go try it on?"
"Sure." Himiko found the dress in her size and they all went off to the dressing room, Izuku tracked down his mom and brought her back to the dressing area.
Himiko came out in the tasteful dress that cut off right above her knees and gave a little twirl. "So, what do you guys think?"
"I think it looks pretty good."
"Oh, red is definitely your color!" One of the nearby employees chimed in. She crossed her arms and looked deep in thought. "It seems to just be missing a little something though, come with me!" She said in excitement and practically dragged a protesting Himiko off.
A few minutes later the employee returned with Himiko holding a couple additional garments in her arms, and sent her back to get changed. When Himiko returned, she was now wearing a pair of black leggings and a small black jacket over the dress. "How about now?"
"It looks wonderful, Himiko." Inko chimed in.
"Yeah, it looks good on you." Izuku added. "Somehow it just fits you, you know?"
Himiko stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself, a smile spreading across her face. "Yeah, I think I'm liking this as well." She thanked the employee and dashed back into the booth to change back into her clothes, and then after dumping the outfit into the basket she grabbed the employees arm. "I have some ideas, can you help me?" It was the employees turn to be surprised, but she agreed and they went off with Himiko.
Izuku and Inko just looked at each other and laughed.
After that first outfit Himiko seemed to gain a new confidence and, now armed with a helpful employee, found several other outfits for herself, sticking mostly with black and reds, with the occasional blue or green accessory mixed in to change things up. Once she was satisfied with her modest wardrobe, the three of them split up. Izuku led her to find essentials and other things for her room while Inko went off to get Himiko a phone.
Picking out things for her room went far better - they started by Izuku leading her to the poster section and letting her look through the available options to pick out a few things that she liked, while he dove into the section of hero posters looking for a poster of Vlad King. They then worked their way through the rest of the store, filling the basket as they went.
Once they were finished they met up with Inko and paid for everything, and began walking home. As they were walking back, bags in hand, Himiko felt that strange warmth again, a feeling that she is quickly associating with Izuku and Inko's presence. If this is what normal is supposed to be, I can get used to this.
"Himiko, you are smiling."
Himiko blinked in surprise at Inko's comments. And she heard her parents' voices in her mind. Your smile is creepy, stop smiling all the time! With practiced ease she reset her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Why did you stop?" Izuku asked, confused.
"I was told that my smile is creepy because of my fangs." Himiko admitted.
"There's nothing wrong with your smile! I think it looks good on you." Inko said. "Just because the Togas didn't appreciate it, doesn't mean we won't."
"Really?"
Both of them gave her smiles and nodded affirmatively to Himiko. With their encouragement she felt herself drop her neutral mask and let herself smile as they returned to the apartment.
Inko set about making dinner while Izuku and Himiko went to her room to begin unpacking things. They added the mattress pad to her bed and replaced the sheets, then they began unpacking the few decorations that were purchased. Under Himiko's direction Izuku was placing things around the room, while she unpacked her clothes and put everything away. When they were done Himiko sat on her bed and looked around the room. It wasn't much - a couple posters, her two stuffed animals on the nightstand, a few scattered trinkets that caught her eye and her school supplies on the desk. But it felt like more than she's ever had before. This is mine. My home now.
They returned to the living room to prepare for dinner, and saw Inko finishing off the meal. "I forgot to ask what your favorite meals are, so I just made a Pork Katsudon. It is Izu's favorite."
"That sounds great to me. Normally I prefer meals with rare meats, or those restaurants where you get to grill the meat yourself. Thinking about it now, it seems obvious why." Himiko admitted.
"I think we can work with that. But we also have the final addition to your meals." Inko walked over to the fridge and pulled out a large container of blood. Himiko looked at the container greedily, but pushed down the urge to drink the whole container. "The doctors said pig's blood should satisfy your daily needs. We are going to have to experiment to find the best way to incorporate it into meals, though."
Himiko watched as Inko scooped out a small amount of blood and added it to a bowl, before pouring in some tonkatsu sauce and mixing it together. "Here, try this."
Himiko grabbed a chopstick and swirled it around in the mix before bringing it to her lips, her eyes going wide as she tasted it. "This is really good!"
Izuku chimed in at her comment. "Mom's cooking really is the best!"
Inko just smiled at her response. "That's good to hear, I was worried that the flavor may be odd. Just let me know if I ever mess up, and something doesn't ever work."
Himiko gently set the bowl down on the counter. "You know, you don't have to go to these lengths for me. I could just drink some blood from a cup instead - that's how they gave it to me in the hospital."
"But you're not at the hospital, you're with your family now."
Family. That word hit Himiko hard. Sure they were just her foster family, but they were still her family now. And they were trying to make sure that she was happy. That her quirk and everything associated with it was normal.
She sat down at the table, the tears flowing freely as she realized that these small acts are precisely what she was looking for. It didn't take long for her to be wrapped in a warm hug. "T-thank you."
Himiko hung her head and sighed as she was getting her bag ready for the final period. The rest of her classmates had a free period at the end of the day, but for her that was her remedial studies period. She just wished it wasn't so easy for her to slip back into trained habits. You knew this was going to be hard. There's always tomorrow.
As she entered the classroom she sighed with relief as she didn't recognize most of the students, but then near the front of the room she spotted the tall, thin girl with long blue hair from her homeroom. It took Himiko a moment to remember that her name was Atsuko Hotoko. Oh great, now she knows I'm in this class. As she stood there Atsuko spotted her, smiled and gave a small wave. She waved back as she walked to her seat and sat down.
Once class started she found herself biting the inside of her lip and trying to keep her head down in class and go over the lesson, but every so often she saw Atsuko glancing at her.
After the bell rang and class was dismissed, Himiko was hoping to quickly pack her bag and leave, but Atsuko was faster. Himiko froze up when she heard Atsuko's voice from behind her. "Toga, you came in by train right? Would you mind if I walked with you to the train station?"
Himiko couldn't hide the surprise on her face. "Sure?"
"Great! I'll see you outside the gate then in a bit?"
"O-ok then." Atsuko left with a smile on her face, and Himiko was left staring at her back in confusion. Unsure of herself, she went to her locker and slowly got ready to leave for the day, taking her time to delay the encounter for a few more minutes.
Eventually she gathered her courage and stepped out to the school gate, seeing Atsuko standing there waiting for her. "Hey Toga."
Himiko grimaced at that. "Please, call me Himiko. I… don't really like being called by my family name."
"Only if you call me Atsuko then." the girl gave her a kind smile.
"O-ok"
They began walking, an awkward silence between them. "Sorry if I ambushed you back there To- Himiko. You just looked sad in class and I know how that feels."
"W-what?" For the second time today Himiko was surprised by the girl. She stopped and stared at her.
"Your face. You seem like you are pretty good at hiding how you feel, but whenever you thought nobody was looking your expression changed." Atsuko turned away from her. "Combined with the sudden transfer partway through the semester - you just reminded me of myself last year."
Himiko swallowed the lump in her throat. "What happened to you?"
Atsuko looked over her shoulder. "I guess it's only fair, since I brought it up. My parents had a messy divorce last year. Lots of yelling, lots of arguments, lots of blame, lots of lawyers. And of course, I thought it was my fault that it was happening." She had a sad look on her face as she recalled the memories. "When the dust settled, my dad packed the two of us up and moved us halfway across the country. He felt terrible about what happened and enrolled me at Dantin - you know our school takes pride in their high school acceptance rate for students who have to go through their remedial program?"
"I didn't know that." Himiko admitted.
"My course work last year was terrible. After everything was done, my dad felt so bad about it. He didn't want what happened to affect my future. So he did everything he could to get me in here, to give me the best chance at entering a good high school."
"Did it work?"
"Ask next year?" Atsuko gave a smile and a laugh. "We're only a few weeks in, and their remedial section is brutal, but I don't feel like I'm behind as much anymore."
Himiko smiled at that. "Some school principal made sure I got into this school, I guess I now know why."
Atsuko looked at her seriously for a moment. "Look, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, I just wanted to let you know, you're not alone. There's plenty of people at school who will understand."
They began walking again, and it wasn't until the station was in sight before Himiko was able to work up the courage to speak up. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your quirk?"
"My quirk? I can make a solid barrier out of air. Why?"
Himiko stopped again and Atsuko saw the conflict on her face, as if she was at war with herself. "My quirk lets me transform into someone by drinking their blood."
Atsuko's eyes went wide with surprise, "Oh"
Himiko's face fell upon hearing that.
"No, sorry! I just thought you might have some cat mutation? Between the vertical irises and the fangs in your mouth, you give off a very feline appearance." An awkward silence descended between them as they stood there. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
"You didn't do anything wrong. It's actually my parents fault."
Atsuko's head quickly snapped to look at Himiko, a familiar look in her eyes. They reminded Himiko a lot of Izuku's when he first heard her story, and she drew encouragement from that. "My parents hated my quirk, and forced me to suppress it for years. They were trying to make me someone who I wasn't instead of letting me be, well, me."
Atsuko put a hand on her arm, encouraging her to continue.
"I am not ready to go into everything, but that's why you saw mixed signals today. I am genuinely happy with my new foster family, but it's hard to break 10 years of being told to behave like their ideal little girl."
"So that is why you don't like being called Toga huh?"
"Yeah."
"Well Himiko, if you want to see what a bunch of teenage girls actually like, instead of what some domineering parents think teenage girls should like, you could at least try joining us for lunch instead of sitting by yourself? And usually a few of us get together on weekends as well, if you feel comfortable joining us sometime?"
"Maybe. As long as you're all patient with me." Himiko frowned. "It's all confusing and hard."
"Sure. We may not all understand what you went through, but some may surprise you. Just, give us a chance? Not everyone's gonna be like your asshole parents."
"Thanks. I'm learning that."
They finished the short trip to the train station and headed in.
"Oh crap, my train is about to leave, see you tomorrow Himiko!" The girl called out and ran off, with Himiko giving a small wave and a genuine smile back.
Ok, maybe I didn't screw up today after all.
Chapter 4: The healing begins
Izuku was busy writing down notes from the morning news in his notebook, hoping that if he kept his head down like usual, he would be able to avoid drawing Katsuki's ire today. Unfortunately for him, it looks like he wasn't going to get that lucky today as a familiar hand slammed down on his desk with a small explosion, startling him out of his thoughts.
At least he didn't fall out of his chair this time.
"So nerd, the Old Hag tells me your family is now fostering some girl."
"Y-yes Kacchan, we ran into someone who was in trouble and helped her out."
"She was in trouble huh? I bet that makes you feel good about yourself, doesn't it?"
Izuku swallowed his response, knowing how Katsuki would just twist his words. Fortunately for him Katsuki continued his taunting. "I bet this girl is just as useless as you are."
I bet the girl is quirkless. Izuku mentally translated for him. "No Kacchan, she has a really cool quirk! She can shapeshift into other people."
"Of course you would think that's cool, you think any quirk is cool. From where I'm standing she sounds like she's just another extra."
"Of course you would think that." Izuku grumbled, upset enough that his usual defenses failed, allowing that to slip out.
"What was that Deku?" Katsuki growled. "Let's be clear about one thing. Just because you are helping some girl out doesn't make you any better than me. At the end of the day you're still a quirkless nobody who will never be a hero ."
Izuku winced at the comments and lowered his head, thankfully saved from any more verbal thrashing by the teacher arriving.
After school Izuku was sitting in his room working on homework, his head hung low as Katsuki's words still bounced in his head. He was so caught up that he didn't even notice when the door opened to his room and someone sat down. It wasn't until several minutes later when he heard a loud groan that he realized someone was there, and he turned to see an exasperated Himiko on his bed.
"What do you need Himiko?"
"What happened today?"
Izuku looked down at the unfinished homework on his desk, trying to act like everything was ok. "What do you mean what happened?"
"In case you forgot, I know a thing or two about putting up masks to hide what you're feeling." Himiko sounded annoyed now. "You're obviously not ok."
"It's nothing, just Kacchan being Kacchan." Izuku tried to play it off.
"It isn't nothing if it is upsetting you this much."
"Please Himiko, I just don't want to talk about it."
"Hmph." Himiko frowned at his back and left without another word.
They were eating dinner in silence, when Himiko spoke up. "I think Izuku is being bullied at school."
Both Inko and Izuku looked at her with shock on their faces. Inko was the first to reply. "Why do you say that?"
"He was super down after school today, and wouldn't tell me anything beyond it being someone named Kacchan and that this is not a new problem."
"Izu, is this true?"
Seeing the look of sadness on his mom's face, Izuku couldn't find any of the excuses he had made for himself over the years. He slumped his shoulders and sighed. "Yeah, Kacchan was talking down to me about the fact that we took in Himiko."
Inko studies Izuku's face. "This isn't new, is it?"
Izuku looked down at his plate, pushing the food around with a chopstick. "No."
"And how long has he been treating you this way?"
"Since we were 7." Izuku almost whispered, but the room was quiet enough he may as well have been shouting it.
Inko visibly shuddered at that admission. The next thing Izuku knew he felt her arms around him and her tears falling into his hair. "I'm so sorry Izu, I never noticed."
"I-it's not your fault mom. I've had a lot of practice hiding it."
"Why though?"
"Because I know I'm already a handful because I'm q-quirkless. And you are still good friends with Aunt Mitsuki and I-I…"
Inko let go and got to eye level with Izuku. "Honey, you have never caused me problems because you're quirkless, and if you ever felt that way it is my fault, not yours."
Dinner all but forgotten at this point, Izuku hugs Inko and begins crying as he tells his mom about the bullying Katsuki has done to him over the past 6 years. Now that the dam had been broken, Izuku just felt it all tumbling out and couldn't stop until he had let Inko and Himiko know everything - how Katsuki judged him for not having a quirk, how he made it sound like Izuku was at fault, everything.
Izuku was exhausted. He was still trying to process what happened a few hours ago - and what will happen next. After changing into his night clothes he just was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at nothing and trying to figure out how he felt. He didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually he felt Himiko sit down on the bed next to him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to rock the boat that much. Given how happy you are at home, I thought it was new." Izuku numbly turned to Himiko and saw how guilty she looked.
"It's fine. I just - it was normal for me."
He heard her snort. "Normalizing what you are going through is one of the first things my therapist explained to me."
Izuku winced a bit at that.
"Seems like we both have had it pretty bad." Himiko said, a distant look on her face. "Although you seem to have handled it a lot better than I did."
"Kacchan has always been like that, wanting to be the best at everything he does. Somewhere along the way, that began to change. And he started basing people's worth on the quirk that they held."
"And you just went along with it?"
"Well yeah. Since we were kids Kacchan was my best friend, and I have never been good at making new friends in school." Izuku admitted.
Himiko shifted around on the bed to sit next to Izuku and gave him a side hug. "Well I know it probably is weird to say since you're fostering me, but you've already got another friend. I just hope I didn't screw that up tonight?"
Izuku shook his head. "You can be family and my best friend as well. Tonight isn't going to change that."
Himiko smiled at him. "I'm glad."
The next morning Izuku dragged himself out of bed, and was absolutely not looking forward to the day. Of course, it was just his luck Bakugo was standing outside the school waiting for him.
Bakugo forced Izuku to stop by causing an explosion in his path. "Stop right there Deku."
"K-kachan! W-what do you want?"
"Last night my mom kicked my ass for going too far yesterday. Something about lines that shouldn't be crossed." He crossed his arms and looked away. "Looks like you get a free pass on this one nerd. Not that it's going to change anything anyways."
Katsuki left, leaving Izuku staring in confusion at his back. Izuku spent the rest of the morning guarded, waiting for him to explode and verbally tear him down as he usually does, but nothing happened. Izuku started relaxing near the end of the day, until an announcement came through the classroom speaker asking him to report to the teacher's lounge.
Izuku felt all of his classmates' eyes on him, and heard a few snickers, but once again, Katsuki didn't respond, other than glaring at him whenever he looked in his direction. He quickly left the room and ran down to the teacher's lounge, where he found his homeroom teacher and a man he recognized as a different homeroom teacher.
"Mr. Midoriya, has someone in our class been bullying you?" His homeroom teacher asked.
Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat - he knows the teachers have always let things slide with Katsuki, after all. "N-no sir, why do you ask?"
Right answer. He almost could hear his teacher respond with the way he was looking at him. "We have had an unusual request, from your mother, to transfer you to a different homeroom. Based on her insistence, we have decided to honor her request."
Because you are afraid Katsuki will go too far one of these days and you won't be able to cover for it.Izuku bitterly added.
"Starting tomorrow you will be transferred to class 1-C, and Mr. Hosoi will be your homeroom teacher. Since it is merely a class change we assume your studies will be unaffected."
"Y-yes sir." Izuku bowed to the teachers. "I will do my best!"
"Good, that is all Mr. Midoriya, I expect you to clean out your desk at the end of the day." His teacher left and Izuku stood alone with the new teacher, who briefly explained how he ran his classroom.
The next morning Izuku found himself walking towards his old classroom, before he realized his mistake, turned around, and returned to his new classroom. He didn't have to wait long for his new teacher to arrive and introduce him to the class.
"I am Izuku Midoriya, formerly of class 1-D, pleased to make your acquaintance!" Izuku bowed to the class and when he raised his head, tried to evaluate his classmates. To his relief, he only saw stares of confusion, apathy, and curiosity from his new classmates. At least nobody seems to be upset by my very existence here. Mr. Hosoi then directed him to a desk in the back of the room where he sat down and began to unpack his things.
Izuku was lying on the ground, bleeding such a wonderful shade of red, and Himiko felt herself drop the bloody knife she was holding to happily lean in and drink the blood from the wounds she caused. She was so happy drinking his blood. Unfortunately her reverie was broken by sudden yelling. She looked up and saw Inko looking at her with horror 'you monster! You demon! What are you doing!?' before running away, slamming the door behind her. In a panic she tried to follow her, only to find the door locked, and she could hear Inko yelling at her through the doorway as she tried desperately to pry it open…
Himiko woke up with a jolt, covered in a cold sweat. Unnerved, she tiptoed out into the apartment and just had to check on everyone, making sure that both Izuku and Inko were asleep in their rooms, before going to the bathroom to clean herself up. Staring at herself in the mirror, she swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing what she wanted to do, before returning to her room to return to fitful sleep.
In the morning Himiko dragged herself to the kitchen table. "I-Izuku, Inko, could you come to my quirk counseling session today?"
"Is it something important? I can come." Izuku spoke up.
Himiko looked nervous. "Yeah… we have been practicing with my quirk. A-and I was hoping you would let me try activating my quirk and transform into you."
"You want to drink my blood to try triggering your quirk?"
"Yeah. I have been getting better at accepting it, but I - I need to know what happens when I use my quirk to change into someone I know, rather than from the random samples of blood given to me." Himiko admitted. I need to know if I can control myself around you, Izuku. And I need to know Inko won't abandon me either.
Inko put a hand on her shoulder. "That is very brave of you. If Izuku is ok with it, we can go with you."
Izuku nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I can let you do that!"
The rest of the morning passed uneventfully, and when the time came Inko escorted Izuku and Himiko to the medical complex where her sessions were held. After they arrived and checked in, Himiko explained what she wanted to do. Mr. Kondo - her counselor - agreed that it sounded like it was a good idea. The group went out to the small training space in his office, where Himiko turned around to face everyone, mentally preparing herself.
"Ok, Himiko, are you ready?"
Himiko nodded, a look of determination on her face. "I think so."
Izuku gave her an encouraging smile and held up his hand for her. She gently grabbed ahold of it and examined it, before biting into his wrist. She felt the dark thoughts bubbling up beneath the surface, but seeing Izuku's trusting face helped her shove them down as she let go of his wrist, swallowing the mouthful of blood that she had and feeling her quirk activate. It felt warm and welcoming as she was wrapped in slime and transformed into Izuku.
"-are you feeling, miss Himiko?" Himiko shook herself out of her daze and looked at Mr. Kondo.
"I think I am ok?" She looked down and saw Izuku's hands where hers should have been.
"You look like you spaced out there for a minute. What happened?" He had his clipboard out and was ready to detail the effects.
"It felt - my old habits trying to creep back in. Part of me wanted to keep drinking more." She turned and smiled at everyone. "But I was able to push them away!"
Mr. Kondo smiled back at her. "That is great news! You have made a very important step today. And the more you use your quirk, if you go the Hero route like you alluded to, the easier time you should have as well. If you decide to take another path, you may have to wrestle with these emotions the rare times you do use your quirk, but you are already showing yourself capable of handling them."
Himiko smiled at that and dropped the quirk, getting an uncomfortable look from both Izuku and Inko.
"Sorry Himiko, it's just… weird seeing my face literally melting into a pool of goo." Izuku admitted.
Himiko looked down at the mess of sludge on the floor and shot a playful grin at him. "Sorry, can't help it." Then she noticed the two small rivers of blood tracing down his arm. "Izuku! You're still bleeding!"
"Oh!" Izuku saw his hand, and Mr. Kondo directed them to the first aid station where they cleaned his palm and wrapped it in gauze. As they were wrapping it Izuku began talking. "I actually didn't notice, your bite barely hurt, like two pin pricks? Although, given the size of the wound, we are having to apply more pressure than I thought we would have to stop the bleeding, even after cleaning it. You may have some sort of mild analgesic and anti-clotting agent in your saliva? We'll have to test this la.. Himiko! Stop laughing at me."
"I-I'm sorry." Himiko had to take a moment to calm down from laughing. "I'm standing here worried that sure you're ok after I literally bit you to drink your blood , and you are already in full analysis mode."
Inko watched the two, smiling at their banter before looking at the counselor. "Thank you for helping her out, if there's anything else the two of us can do can you please let us know?"
"So did anyone get anything out of this morning's lecture on careers?" Himiko had just begun her second semester at Dantin, and that meant it was time to begin focusing on placement exams for high school. So of course the topic of conversation came up during lunch.
"I actually did! I haven't really thought much about what I wanted to do yet."
"Of course you haven't" the first girl replied, much to the indignation of the second. "At least there is always the general studies to let you kick your decision down the road even further."
"Hey, that's not fair! Just because I am indecisive!" The second girl then turned to Atsuko and Himiko, trying to divert the conversation away from herself. "What about you two?"
Himiko just shrugged and took another bite of her food. "I thought I made it obvious that I'm looking at getting into a Hero course."
"Right, you're trying to get into UA, aren't you?"
"Yep!"
Everyone looked at Atsuko expectantly, waiting for her answer. "I think" Atsuko finally responded. "I am going to try getting on the Hero track somewhere."
"What? That's surprising!"
"Don't tell me Himiko's gotten to you!"
Atsuko just smiled at her friend's responses. "I was always thinking of something to help people, like a social worker maybe? And I certainly don't have the temperament to be someone who fights villains daily like All Might or Endeavor do, but as Himiko likes to remind us, there are plenty of other roles for Heroes to have."
Himiko nodded in agreement. "Like my plan to join the underground heroes, where my quirk will be super useful!"
"Yes, like that. But I've been looking into the wide variety of hero roles that exist, and I've become intrigued by the idea of being a support hero, instead? That way I can help people without being the one actually fighting the villains."
"That actually sounds kind of cool."
"Well, when you become heroes I'll be cheering you two on from the sidelines!"
Himiko smiled at her friends. "Well, you won't be able to cheer too loudly for me. If I'm in the news that means something went wrong, after all!"
"You know what I mean! Underground heroes have to have their fans too, right?"
Himiko thought about Izuku and laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Later that day, when they were walking to the train station, Himiko brought up the conversation from lunch again. "So where are you applying to high school, Atsuko?"
"I'm not really sure yet. Maybe Kenbutsu or Shiketsu? Someplace with a solid reputation."
"Why not apply to UA then?"
"UA, seriously? The school with the 0.2 percent acceptance rate? Do you think I even stand a chance there?"
"Of course you would! You're smart and you've got a strong quirk. I think you have a chance. Plus wouldn't it be great if we both got in together?"
"Someone's ambitious!" Silence filled the air for a few moments while Atsuko thought it over. "Do you really think they would accept both of us?"
"We just have to both pass the entrance exam, obviously."
Atsuko laughed. "True. But it's not like everyone personally knows one of the teachers there." She paused. "Are you serious about wanting to go to high school together though?"
"Yeah, I am." Himiko responded. "How about this, if you apply to UA with me, I'll apply to a school of your choice with you? Then we can decide after the entrance exams?"
Atsuko gave her a soft smile. "Deal."
Chapter 5: Year's End
The next weekend was when Sekijiro Kan said he could come by for his monthly visit, and Himiko had lots of questions for him - normally he stays for a few hours to see how she is improving, and then he entertains Himiko and Izuku with stories from when he was an active hero. However, this time would be different - if Himiko was serious about trying to get into UA, she had to start training!
As usual, he came promptly at noon on Sunday, Himiko already waiting at the door for him to arrive. "Hey Kan!"
"Hello little Himiko, you're cheerful today." He smiled down at her.
"Yep! I've got big news to share, actually!" Himiko was practically vibrating from excitement. "Our school started signing us up for high school entrance exams, and after talking it over a bunch with Izuku I've decided I want to become a Hero!"
"Oho? Here I thought you were just being nice to me in the hospital all those months ago." Vlad responded, sharing a toothy grin.
"At first it was, I thought I was just going to coast along into some nice office job somewhere and keep my head down. But as time went on, the more I realized that it just sounded boring. Plus, if there's even one more blood-based hero out there, then maybe someone else won't have to deal with the problems I had to, you know?"
"I see you have been thinking about this. And I happen to agree - I think you can be a fine hero with your quirk! Your ability to shapeshift is a rare and special one, and it would be a shame to see you ignore it."
"Thanks! Now for the next part - could you help me with training? The school has some basic athletic courses to help us prepare for the Hero school entrance exams, but I was hoping for a little something more? And perhapssomeweaponstrainingaswell?" She rushed out the last part, hoping to get him to agree without realizing what she was asking of him.
"Oh? What kind of weapons were you looking at?"
"Damn, of course you wouldn't let that slip by. This was actually part of the discussions Izuku and I were having. Because I don't have any natural offensive power from my quirk, and due to the nature of needing blood to activate my quirk, we were thinking I should learn how to fight with knives? I'm less likely to cause permanent damage to someone in the heat of a fight, they are easy to use, and they are easy to conceal if I'm trying to be sneaky?"
Kan thought about it and nodded. "You do seem to have put a lot of thought into this. I agree that knives sound like a good start. Unfortunately, weapons aren't something I really use, because I have my blood constructs. But I know a few heroes who use weapons themselves, I will get in touch with them and see what I can do to help."
"Yay! You're the best Kan!"
The conversation continued as Himiko peppered Kan with questions about training and how to better prepare for the high school entrance exams. Somewhere during the conversation, Izuku came into the living room as well, a determined look on his face. "Um, Mr. Vlad King sir? C-could I join in as well? I know I have a year to go before I will begin looking into high schools b-but I want to go to UA as well. I know my chances are bad, but I still want to try."
Kan looked at Izuku, surprised by the shift in Izuku's demeanor - it felt very different from their previous interactions. "I don't think it is time to give you the level of training little Himiko wants just yet, but I have a few things in mind to help you begin your own training. Learning some form of Martial Arts for example - I can recommend several good dojos, and if you enrolled in one of those, that would give you a solid foundation for combat training."
Izuku smiled in response and nodded in affirmation. "Yes! That sounds great."
As has become tradition, during the weekend Himiko and Atsuko were meeting up at a local park for an extended training session. Izuku's research into underground heroes had led to an interesting discovery. There was a technique where if you were able to hold your breath and clear your mind just right, you would enter a state where people would lose track of you - unless someone was staring right at you, it just became hard to focus on you temporarily.
This, of course, was of immediate interest to Himiko, since it lined up with her own plans of being an underground hero. It took the better part of a week of trial and error, but she eventually figured out how to perform the technique herself. Izuku was attempting to teach it to himself as well, but he didn't pick it up as naturally as she did.
So of course, for today's longer training session, Himiko was excited to show it off and wanted to try it out. Whenever they practiced, they made a game of it, always trying to come up with a friendly competition that would allow both girls to practice whatever skills they were trying to work on that week. Today the rules were simple - Himiko would try to 'ambush' Atsuko, and connect with her dull practice knife. Atsuko, on the other hand, had to wait until Himiko entered the circle they had drawn on the ground, and then force her out of it, either knocking her away with one of her barriers, or using her hand to hand skills to force her out.
Izuku as usual, has joined them as well, notebook out in his lap as he sat against a tree, alternating between scrolling through the news and paying attention to the mock combat occurring.
Atsuko frowned as Himiko managed to tag her another time. She was currently behind - by a lot. Himiko had almost twice as many 'points' than she did today. "You are way better at this than I am Himiko, I am just too slow for this sort of thing." she said, feeling a little discouraged.
Himiko frowned at that. "That's why we're practicing! You've been getting better at spotting me, which is taking away one of my advantages! We just need to build up your reaction times."
"Yeah, it's just - do you think I will be ready in time? The exams are only 3 months away now."
"Of course! And it doesn't help that I have gotten real good at spotting your barriers. Makes them easier to dodge."
"I'm going to have to do something about that, aren't I? I'm no good if a villain knows how to avoid my quirk."
Himiko shook her head. "How many villains do you think you're going to fight as much as the two of us have been practicing?"
"Um, Hotoko?" The two didn't notice, but while they were talking Izuku stood up and joined them. "Hotoko, is there a reason you always cover a large area when you create your barriers?"
Atsuko paused to think about it. "Not really? I just sort of place my hand where I want the barrier to be and imagine if I was touching a steel plate or a brick wall? And the air just responds to me.
Izuku's thumb was on his lip in thought. "I have a theory about this that I want you to try. I want you to hold your hands like this." Izuku then held his hands cupped together. "And then I want you to imagine that steel plate, but instead of being a large steel plate, imagine something about the size of a soccer ball?
Atsuko nodded in comprehension and tried it. She cupped her hands and imagined she was holding a soccer ball made out of metal, and immediately saw the telltale distortion showing the affected area. She stared in awe at it, as she moved her hands around it, feeling its size. "You're right, it is smaller than my usual barriers."
"Now try doing that again, but instead of using both hands, try doing it with one hand, and imagine a smaller ball."
"Ok!" Atsuko let the previous object dissolve, and then cupped a single hand, and almost immediately a smaller object appeared in her hand. "Wow…" she removed her hand and started feeling around it as well, looking at the smaller size.
"Ok, now one last experiment." Izuku pointed at her. "I want you to point your finger and try making a small little ball at the end of it."
Atsuko held out a single finger and tentatively thought about it, and a small object appeared, about the size of a golf ball, as she gave an excited yelp.
"So, how does it feel to make those?"
"I don't notice any real difference physically, but it feels more mentally draining? When I am just throwing up a barrier I think roughly the space I want it to be in, but for these I'm actually having to focus on the size of these balls you are having me create to make sure I keep them the size you wanted me to?"
"Assuming these hold the same property as your normal barriers," Izuku demonstrated by walking over to where Atsuko was, and wrapping his hand around the small sphere in midair, trying to pull it with no success. "you should be able to use these to surprise people who get too close to you." Izuku looked at Himiko. "Assuming, of course, they don't know the specific properties of your quirk."
He looked at the two girls and saw them both smiling at each other. "So, Himiko, want to play dumb next round?"
Himiko rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, but her smile showed she wasn't serious. "So I'm supposed to give you a handicap? Izuku's help wasn't enough for you?"
"Says the one who is up by twice as many points."
"Fiiiine. I'll play dumb so you can try your fancy new move."
Izuku walked back to his notebook and sat back down, safely away from the sparring girls. Meanwhile Himiko dropped into a loose stance, before dashing into the tree line. She found a clear space behind a tree and kneeled down, breathing out and clearing her mind, focusing on controlling her breathing and movements. She peeked out from around the tree she was hiding behind, and saw that Atsuko was slowly turning in a circle, her defenses up as she was looking for Himiko. Himiko waited until her back was turned and charged, staying low to the ground to minimize her profile. She usually only had a second or two at most before she was discovered, but in the heat of combat, that would be all she needed.
Unfortunately a stray twig betrayed her position, and Atsuko spun around to face Himiko. She saw Atsuko bringing up her hand to create her first barrier and Himiko dodged to the left, swapping her knife to her left hand as she moved. She lunged forward as soon as she landed, but Atsuko stuck her hand out and Himiko felt the knife bounce off of the newly created barrier. Atsuko then responded by dropping the barrier and trying to grab her left arm, but Himiko jumped back, barely staying inside the circle. With a grin she casually tossed the knife back and forth between her hands, waiting for her opponent's next move.
Atsuko moved in and attempted a leg sweep. Too predictable! Himiko grinned as she jumped over the move, preparing to bring the knife down - only to feel her stomach slam right into a newly created barrier - Atsuko had figured out exactly where she was going, and created a small ball right where her stomach was going to be, letting gravity do the rest. With a moan she felt herself slide off the sphere and lay on the ground, trying to catch her wind after that.
"Oh my gosh Himiko! I'm so sorry."
Himiko pushed herself up to sitting position. "It's not your fault." She opened one eye and looked at Atsuko. "The smaller size definitely hurt more. Instead of feeling like I was crashing into a wall my stomach took the whole blow. And was that faster than usual? "
Atsuko reached out a hand and Himiko grabbed it, using the leverage to pull herself up. "I don't know, I never actually timed my barrier creation time before?"
"Oh I bet Izuku's got a theory about that." Himiko looked at Izuku, who at least had the shame to look embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head at that as he was approaching them.
"Yeah, I kind of had a theory that the larger the barrier Hotoko is trying to make, the longer it takes for the process to complete." He tried to demonstrate with his hands, sticking a finger out and gesturing with his other hand to give a sense of size. "The quirk starts with a point of origin on her skin, and slowly radiates out to fill the area she is trying to create the barrier. So for a large area, it would take longer for your quirk to affect the air, whereas for a small area, it would take much less time for your quirk to do its thing. And since your quirk already breaks the laws of physics, it shouldn't matter the size of the object you manifest. It doesn't matter if it's the size of a bead or the size of a wall, your opponent is forced to deal with it."
"It certainly did the trick." Himiko grumbled.
"So, Himiko, ready to go a few more rounds?"
Himiko took a moment to stretch and recover, before flashing Atsuko a grin. "Sure, I'll give you some chances to catch up. I'm not going to play dumb next time though!"
Inko woke up early on New Year's Eve and made her way to her apartment's living room, where she sat down and began to think about the last year. She quietly laughed at herself at how boring the first three months of the year were, compared to the whirlwind of events that followed. And then at the end of March Himiko stumbled into their lives, quite literally! The next few weeks were a blur with how much happened. With the surprising help of Nezu, she had applied to be a foster parent! That was something she never dreamed would have happened - after Hisashi left, she thought it was always just going to be her and Izu.
But something about Himiko struck a chord with Inko, and led her to bring home a troubled girl with the intention of giving her a loving home. The same girl who then, merely weeks later, forced the years of bullying Izu endured out into the open. That day will continue to haunt her, almost as much as the day they discovered Izuku was quirkless.
But now, on December 31st, it all felt worth it. It had taken time, but Himiko had come out of her shell, slowly separating out what she wanted from the behavior that her parents forced onto her, and became a wonderful young lady. And while Izuku has always been her happy boy, the simple act of removing Katsuki as a constant presence in his life seems to have taken the edge off of his anxiety issues. Sadly he hasn't made any new friends yet, but there was still time for that to change!
Seeing the progress they have both made made Inko happy, and she planned to continue being there for them - both of them, as she got up and walked over to the desk, staring at a manilla envelope, and the paperwork she had prepared within. Smiling to herself, she took the envelope and dropped it behind the desk - there was still plenty of time for one final surprise this year.
She began working on breakfast, and was soon joined by Izuku and Himiko. Over breakfast she explained to Himiko the traditions they do for New Years while Izuku was busy looking at the morning hero news feed to see what happened overnight. It was cute in a way - ever since Himiko declared she was going to be a hero, Izuku had expanded his own research to help her out, on top of the research he was doing for himself.
After breakfast, the three of them cleaned up and journeyed to the market together, since most of their usual stores will be closed for the next several days to celebrate the new year, they needed to pick up supplies. Inko smiled as they had to pry Izuku away from one stall, which promised All Might themed grab-bags if they returned tomorrow, as she reminded him that he probably already owned everything they would have stuffed in the bag, much to his disappointment.
As they continued further down the street, Izuku ran off to one store to pick up another notebook - his 12th notebook was filling up, and he wanted to have the next one on hand ready to go, and while waiting she heard Himiko squeal in delight as she pointed out the plush animals filling the windows of a toy store. "Mama Inko, can we go there?"
Inko smiled at Himiko. "Saw another one for your collection?"
Himiko grinned and nodded. "Yep! There's a red bird in the window that reminds me a lot of Sakura!"
The two of them went to the store and Himiko found the plushie to be perfect, so they bought it and met back up with Izuku outside, who is proudly holding his new notebook as well. With her children's prizes in hand, they continued to the various food vendors, picking up the supplies for the evening's soba as well as tomorrow's osechi ryori.
After they had returned home with their supplies, the three of them split up - Himiko and Izuku both went to their rooms to begin cleaning them, while Inko set about putting away the supplies and began preparing the ingredients for the evening's meal.
Unsurprisingly, Himiko finished cleaning her room first and made her way to the living room, Izuku always took a while with the amount of hero merchandise he had on display. "All done mo-ma Inko!"
Inko smiled at the slip up. "Good. I'm just about done here and can help clean the living room. Can you start by pulling the desk away from the wall? I can help move the rest of the furniture."
"Ok!" As Himiko moved over to the desk Inko quietly went to Izuku's room and retrieved him, the two coming back just in time to see Himiko's confused expression as she was kneeling on the ground, looking at a manilla envelope. "Mama Inko, why does this have my name on it?"
Inko looked at Izuku and then back at Himiko, a knowing look in her eyes. "Why don't you open it and see?"
She watched as Himiko opened the envelope and looked over the papers located inside. It only took a moment before her eyes got wide and her head snapped up to look at Inko. "Is this what I think it is?"
"Yes. You've only been with us for eight months, but you've become a part of our little family - more than I ever expected to happen when we first brought you home from the hospital. Izuku already thinks of you as a big sister." Inko looked at Izuku, who smiled back at her and nodded his head vigorously. She turned back to Himiko, smiling gently at her as she noticed the tears building in her eyes. "And I have come to see you as my beautiful daughter. Since it's that time of year, what better way to celebrate than to make it official. If you feel the same way as we do, would you like to enter the new year as a Midoriya?"
"Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!" Himiko jumped up with tears flowing down her face and grabbed Inko and Izuku. With practiced ease Inko responded by wrapping her arms around her son and daughter as the three shared a warm embrace.