Ignoring the sharp, relentless pain still piercing my shoulder and the creeping fog threatening to swallow my consciousness, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to sit upright. My body protested every movement, but I couldn't afford to falter now - not with Toga so close, so vulnerable. Gently, I pulled her into my arms, cradling her trembling form as though she were something fragile, something worth protecting. My voice softened as I began to murmur every sweet, comforting word I could dredge up from the depths of my exhausted mind, my hand patting her back in a steady, soothing rhythm.
"Just be yourself, okay? Life's already thrown enough crap your way - let it all go for now. No one's going to hurt you anymore…"
At first, Toga's reaction was predictable. She squirmed against me, her instincts screaming to break free. It made sense—why wouldn't she resist? The idea of a victim flipping the script like this, offering comfort instead of condemnation, was absurd, illogical even. But I didn't let up. I kept talking, kept stroking her hair, kept pouring every ounce of calm I could muster into my voice.
Gradually, her struggles weakened. The tension in her body ebbed away, replaced by uneven, shaky breaths. Her eyes, wide and glassy, shimmered with something strange - sweat beaded on her forehead, her skin flushed and feverish.
Was she… enjoying this? Maybe it was the drugs surging through her system, hitting their peak just as I'd calculated. That was the plan, after all: use the chemicals to lower her defenses, to pull her into my orbit before she could slip away entirely.
Sure, taking in a future villain - someone with the potential to turn this whole damn world upside down—was a gamble with stakes higher than I cared to admit. But every choice has its price, and I'd already decided to pay it.
Himiko's breathing hitched, soft hiccups blending with faint, almost involuntary moans. Those hands of hers, which had gripped my shoulders moments ago in a desperate bid to push me away, now slid downward, wrapping around my waist with a possessive tightness. It was as if we were lovers caught in some twisted, tender embrace. Her gaze, once wild and unhinged with obsession, softened into something else entirely - something raw and childlike, searching for solace. Confusion, sadness, and a flicker of hesitation danced in her eyes as she stared at me, like she was begging for an answer to a question she couldn't even articulate.
"What's… this feeling?" she whispered, her voice fragile, clinging to the fraying edges of her sanity. "I've never… felt like this… before…"
"Love," I replied simply, offering her a warm, steady smile as I met her gaze with gentleness. "That's all it is, nothing complicated about it. You get it now, don't you? The way your heart's pounding, your face heating up and everything right now, that need to stay close to someone for as long as you can. That's love, just that easy…"
Carefully, I shrugged off my U.A. jacket and draped it over her shoulders, then wrapped my arms around her waist with a tenderness I hadn't expected to feel. She flinched slightly, still caught off guard, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she stayed there, perched on my lap, a faint trace of relief softening her features. It was as though she wanted to cry, but something held her back, keeping the tears locked inside.
I tightened my hold on her for a moment, studying her face. Those sharp, cat-like eyes of hers glistened with unshed tears, a few escaping to roll down her trembling cheeks despite her efforts to rein them in. The sight hit me harder than I'd anticipated, a stark reminder of just how much this girl had endured, how much pain she'd buried beneath her chaotic exterior. With my thumb, I brushed the tears away, my other hand smoothing her tangled hair as gently as I could manage.
"I know you've been lonely..." I said, my tone dropping even softer, coaxing her closer to dismantle whatever walls she still had standing. "Like… always, right? And you've kept your real feelings shoved down deep for years, haven't you?"
She swallowed hard, her voice breaking as she fought back sobs. "What's your goal with all this? What do you want from me?" Tears streamed down her face now, unstoppable despite her efforts to hold them at bay.
"Think it over and take a guess," I said kindly, lifting a hand to her cheek to wipe away more of the dampness. I leaned in slowly, so close she could feel the warmth of my breath against her skin, hear the steady thud of my heartbeat. "You just need someone to talk to, and I want to help you. That's not so hard to believe, is it?"
I half-expected her to snap back with something biting, some sarcastic jab to push me away. But instead, she surged forward, her lips crashing against mine in a sudden, desperate kiss. Her arms looped around my neck, clinging to me with a ferocity that made it clear she wasn't letting go - not now, not ever. It caught me off guard, throwing my carefully laid plans into disarray.
MOTHERFUCKER THIS IS TOTALLY COOKED!!!
With all my might, the moment she released my lips, I immediately grabbed her wrist, pinned her to the ground, and prayed to God that everything would be alright, though I was certain that was definitely not going to happen.
Now things were starting to go wrong.
Either we were going to do that damn thing here, or I was going to be exhausted and she'd drain me completely. And either way, it was terrible and would make me a complete piece of trash.
But thankfully, things were starting to calm down.
Toga's strength was waning, leaving only heavy breathing, her face and body burning hot, and occasional soft moans, so I didn't have to worry about resisting anymore and just held her close. Yeah, she was officially completely fucked up by the thing in my blood, and I was about to be completely screwed by it too.
Using all my strength to neutralize the drug in my blood with my Quirk, thankfully my condition improved a little.
And now, damn it, I have to worry about her.
Holding her close, feeling every inch of her soft skin separated from mine by only a layer of clothing, her breath full of blood and temptation, and the damn silent atmosphere amplifying her heartbeat and moans of arousal to the point where I can hear every single detail...
With great power comes great responsibility. Well, my responsibility now is to keep a girl from raping me and then drinking all my blood like a bowl of soup, and it's really hard. BOTH WAY.
Luckily, she clearly still has a bit of self-respect left, so even though she's horny, she didn't actually do anything too outrageous. The only thing she did was simply lie still in my arms, occasionally hugging me tightly, kissing my neck, and sucking when she couldn't hold back any longer.
But honestly... she smelled amazing... I don't know if she's a clean freak or if each time she deactivates her Quirk, it's like she's pushing out dead skin cells and dirt along with the Quirk's mucus. It was... captivating, to the point that I even tried to kiss her, but stopped because I knew that letting go a little more would cause a huge problem.
We lay there all night in the same position, my neck covered in hickeys and deep bite marks that were bleeding, until she gradually fell asleep.
After everything was done, I stepped outside and realized that the first rays of dawn were beginning to appear...
"Great. You just gave your first kiss to a wanted serial killer who's destined to become a badass villain. Real classy, Ryuga…" I muttered to myself, shaking my head as I trudged back into the warehouse to check on Toga.
She was still out cold, and couldn't just leave her like that, so I decided to step up and do something halfway decent. I tracked down her clothes, scattered a few feet away, and carefully dressed her again. Then I started to find the private investigator I'd hired. I needed to know if he was still alive after everything that had gone down.
The more I do this, the more I feel... disgusted with myself. What the hell am I now...?
Should I just run away? Should I go back to U.A. and pretend everything that happened never happened?
Absolutely not. You've made a mess, and even if you get kicked out of U.A., you'll just have to go through this even more, Ryuga. And above all, no matter how bad you are, running away is too cowardly...
Shockingly, he was barely scratched, just a bit of blood sucked from his arm and exhausted from being locked in his own trunk for too long. When I pried open the lid and hauled him out, at first he was screaming so loudly that his eardrums were about to burst, but after I slapped him a few times to calm him down, he realized he was safe, and then thanked me profusely, babbling warnings about Toga - still unconscious back in the warehouse. Apparently, she'd sniffed him out and botched the job he'd been hired for. He apologized over and over, but instead of chewing him out, I picked up a nearby rock, used my Quirk to turn it into solid gold, and handed it to him. Compensation for the trouble, plus a new assignment: drive me and Toga back to my place and keep his mouth shut about today.
"Hey, how the hell did you end up in this awkward situation?" I asked him to clarify things.
"I'm just unlucky. Someone knocked me unconscious right after I finished the call," he said, a mix of relief and lingering anxiety. "Then when I woke up, I found myself in the trunk of this car."
"Let me guess. You clearly and loudly repeated her name right when she was nearby, right?"
"..."
This silence definitely means it's true. No wonder everything happened so quickly...
Welp, I'd saved his life and paid him well, so he didn't argue. Although he seemed very reluctant, in the end he still clammed up, drove us back without a hitch, and sped off the second we were dropped off.
...
Back at my apartment, the first thing I did was stumble into the shower, letting the hot water wash away the grime, sweat, and lingering traces of the night. I swapped into a fresh U.A. uniform, feeling a little more human, then turned my attention to Toga. She was still out cold, sprawled across the floor where I'd left her. Carefully, I wiped her face, her arms and legs with a warm towel to clean off the dirt and blood that clung to her skin. I put my spare shirts on the table - seemed too big for her, but it'd do - and laid her gently on the couch. I prepped some food in the fridge for when she woke up, left a bag of my blood nearby in case her Quirk went haywire and she needed it to avoid hurting anyone, and plastered notes all over the place with instructions to keep things from going off the rails. I even set up a pager for her to contact me - untraceable, with my info and clear directions on how to use it.
With everything squared away, I could finally head to school. I just hoped she wouldn't trash the place while I was gone, or the lock would be broken to shit.
A one-night stand didn't make us a couple - not by a long shot. I could handle emotions when they came up, but that didn't mean I was about to throw logic out the window and let my heart run the show.
Even if I wanted to, keeping someone like her close - neutralizing her potential as a weapon - was smarter than letting the enemy get their hands on her and turn her into their trump card. That was the real reason she was here with me. The rest… maybe a sliver of sympathy had wormed its way in, too.
Screw it.
Looking back, trying to trade my virginity for a psychopath probably wasn't my brightest idea... On top of that, even with a fingerprint lock and a 6-digit code, I doubted the door hinges could withstand a rampage if she decided to break out.
And I really didn't think things would turn out this way. And no, I didn't love her at all, it was just a sliver of sympathy.
I only wanted to use her and keep her around like a decorative object so no one could turn this object into a weapon, but gaslighting her on our first meeting really made me question whether I was truly a scumbag or not. And even though we were both aroused by the drugs, that's true, but this completely changed her first impression of me. And that means everything pretty much fell apart...
As I made my way to school, that foggy, dizzy sensation hit me again, worse than before. I barely made it ten steps past the gate before my legs buckled, and I blacked out cold right there on the pavement.
The noise around me faded to nothing, my eyes grew heavy, and my body slipped out of my control, like a tide pulling me under. Before everything went dark, I faintly heard someone shout my name, but I couldn't pin down who it was.
...
When I came to, I was lying on a bed in the school infirmary. The world was a blurry mess, the harsh white light overhead stabbing into my eyes until I squinted against it. A gentle but scolding voice broke through the haze.
"Onodera, you had me worried sick. Did you know you collapsed right at the gate?"
I turned my head - slowly, painfully - and saw Recovery Girl standing beside the bed, her expression a mix of concern and stern reprimand. I tried to sit up, to get out of there, but a splitting headache slammed me back down. She caught me before I could fall, her tone firm as she continued.
"Easy now. You've overworked yourself, and you're anemic. I don't know what you've been up to, but no matter how strong you think you are, your body can't keep up with what you're putting it through. Rest, and don't push yourself too hard…"
I nodded weakly, but my mind was racing. It wasn't the warehouse chaos from last night that had me panicking - it was today. Class 1-A was scheduled for training at the U.S.J., and everything I'd warned All Might about the League of Villains was about to unfold exactly as I'd predicted. If I was stuck here, unable to move, all my plans, all my preparation, would crumble. And Toga, she was back at my place. One wrong move there, and everything could spiral into a disaster I couldn't contain. I had to keep this under control, no matter what.
"I'm fine," I said, forcing the words out with a confidence I didn't feel. "Just need a quick rest, and I'll be good for class." It was a blatant lie, and Recovery Girl's sharp, no-nonsense glare told me she saw right through it.
"You think you can fool me? Rest, Ryuga. That's an order!"