Chapter Text
Toga stared at the mirror, and the first thing that came to mind was that it wasn’t her. Which is strange, really, because it was her.
Maybe she just didn’t like who she became.
She hummed as she gently let down her hair, only to roughly grab another pair of scrunchies to tie it up once more. She didn’t like having her hair down much, perhaps it reminded her of who she was, she didn’t really know. Toga glanced at the clock, 11:45PM. Nearly time to do yet another mission assigned to her - by the same organization.
The Garden.
It was like she could never truly escape or get away. She envied Marigold and Hyacinth for they were able to get away…
But when you’re talking about the Garden, the bonds aren’t truly cut.
There’s no way to forget your roots, and that’s something Toga had long come to terms with.
She suspected that Marigold and Hyacinth had too, after all, they’re not stupid. And maybe that’s where she made her mistake, by assuming they were.
Toga grabbed her utensils, which really were just various knives; and walked off. As she stared up at the blank building, she belatedly realized that this was one of the competitors with The Garden. Once upon a time, she knew what they were called - but now it just flies from her memory.
But, it’s not like she really cares.
( Right?)
Toga unlatched the back door lock quite easily, making an easy way in as she readied her knives and her mind for a very similar mission.
( “Why’d you kill those kids?”)
There were quite a few adorable eyes staring up at her. They were filled with such innocence that she wishes she could protect. Toga stared back at them, debating if she even wanted to do this -
(She already has, so why is it still a big deal?)
Maybe she just didn’t want to be a child killer.
(She already is.)
A smile made its way onto her face as she muttered the exact same words, “You can trust me…”
(“ “Why’d you kill those kids?” Hyacinth asked. “You’re good with kids, you love kids; so why’d you kill those kids?”)
She paused.
Toga took a deep breath as she repeated yet a bit louder, “You can trust me.”
She solidified her will and -
She couldn’t do it.
.
.
.
Why couldn’t she?
( “...You love kids, so why’d you kill those kids?”)
Can she even be trusted around them anymore?
“Big sister?” One of the kids asked. She was petite and clearly the midget of the pack - seemingly malnourished and mistreated like a runt. “Are you here to save us?”
Can Toga really? After all she’s done, after the fact that she can’t even save herself - can she really?
All odds were pressed against her and her logical side was telling her to do as she had always done, get the mission over with and walk away.
But she didn’t tend to think logically.
What was making her stumble? She doesn’t know. Why can’t she do this as easily? She doesn’t know. It’s been so long since she knew something that this was commonplace for her although it didn’t mean she had to like it. Toga sighed, she was a predator in a room of prey, but somehow she can’t bring herself to be the predator and it’s pretty fucking stupid, she has to admit.
Did Hyacinth really affect her that much?
Toga hummed as she considered her answer to the child, she didn’t want to crush the child’s hope and dreams - a bit too familiar to someone she once knew, that someone that thought he knew her.
( “Do you really want to be this? To go down this path?”)
No. But she doesn’t have a choice, does she?
All she knows is that she wants to royally fuck up the Garden, that never changed.
And that’s my answer, She thought dryly, Maybe I do have some fucking morals left… “Yes, yes I am.”
The way the kids’ faces lit up was something she’d see in her dreams for the rest of her life.
She didn’t get to make much of a plan nor had time to think of one because before she blinked, the building was burning around her.
“Fuck!” Toga tried rounding up all the kids as she ran over to one of the two exits in the room and tested the doorknob. Luckily, it was cold. Deeming it safe, she pushed the kiddies out the door, jogging to the front of the group as she maneuvered them towards the escape.
Smoke clogged up the air, her vision was getting darker and darker as she pushed the kids out the fire escape, telling them to climb down. Her lungs stung and her throat hurt. Her vision might’ve been filled with cloudy spots but there was one thing she saw clearly.
“Big sister?” The runt of the park was right there. Her brown locks upon her shoulders as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Her blue eyes were watering but Toga didn’t understand why she wouldn’t just fucking move -
“C’mon, you’ve gotta go,” Toga said, her voice coming out croakier and raspier than intended. “They’re all waiting for you, c’mon. C’mon - “
“Big sister,” She interrupted, “There’s fire behind you.”
What the fuck is wrong with this child ? “Can’t you understand? We’ve got to go.”
The child took a step further, the flames nicking her hair, and leaving Toga astonished with the lack of reaction. And then, she fell.
Toga nearly rushed to her but the flames were on her already.
The screams ringed around Toga as her vision sharpened, she watched as the girl just burned.
( Wow, you always fail at least one objective.)
She left.
She woke up with a bang of two of the kids fighting. “Hey, hey, break it up, 6 and 12,” She had recently learned that they were all named after numbers. There were certainly a lot of numbers to keep track of, but she only bothered to memorize the last one or two numbers of their ‘serial code’. “I said break it up .”
The two kids quickly broke apart from each other, and ironically, this made Iris truly realized she fucked up.
Because damn, she couldn’t provide housing for all of them, hell, she could barely provide for herself.
Ding! An idea popped into her head. UA has an orphanage! “Perfect…” She muttered before turning her attention to the kids. “Ayo, pack your bags, we’re goin’ on a trip!” Toga said.
The kids did their due diligence without much of a fuss. That’s what you get after being raised in an assassination situation, Toga mused, Well-behaved kids out of fear. And with that, they were off.
The look on the lady’s face when she walked in with 40 or so kids was preposterous but Toga much enjoyed it. Leaving, however, was a totally different matter as the place happened to be surrounded by heroes. (Again, it was UA, as expected, but she didn’t expect it because this place also happened to be an orphanage.)
But, it’s Toga, so she escaped anyways.
Not without her fair share of cuts and bruises, but she was in one piece and that’s all that really mattered.
“God…finally home,” Toga much missed her home after those two fun days of adventure. While this place might be a fucking dump, it is Toga’s and it’s practically all she got, so she did love it.
And her heart immediately sank as she saw the note plastered on the wall.
“...Fuck.”
Again, Hyacinth? That’s all she could really think as she found herself going to the place again - regardless of their war declarations on each other just three nights ago. She doesn’t understand what she’s holding onto, perhaps just the lucky chance that she’ll get the chance to be let into their circle again? She doesn’t really know.
Arriving at the place was a lot less nerve wracking than she expected - or maybe it’s because she’s just tired. Either way, Toga doesn’t really think it makes a difference. The air was heavy, but not tense. Figuring out why it was heavy though, was a totally different subject. It wasn’t just figuratively and socially heavy - it was quite literally physically heavy as well. It felt staticky and uncomfortable against her skin, as if she’s one step away from…
...electricity.
It seems Hyacinth wasn’t the one that wrote that note.
“Marigold,” Toga said, “I know you’re here.”
“Surprising, and that certainly took you a while more than anticipated,” He stepped out from the shadow, those familiar eclectic eyes looking straight into Toga’s, “You rusty or something?”
“Cut to the chase."
“I managed to convince everyone else to give you a second chance, but you have to promise not to run away,” Marigold said.
“Are you motherfucking serious?” She found herself saying, “I already told Hyacinth to fuck off with this redemption shit, must I have to tell you too?”
Marigold’s smile was nostalgic and bittersweet, the corner of his eyes crinkling in what seems to be delight, “Are you sure? He hasn’t told me any of that.”
“Of course he didn’t,” What more could she expect from Hyacinth? “Whatever just - fuck off, seriously. I already did my due diligence with you.” She wasn’t really in the mood for bullshit, much less Marigold's altruistic bullshit. Toga just wanted to go to sleep, not talk with these bozos. “Why are you still coming after me, anyways? There’s nothing left that you’d want.”
Marigold didn’t answer, instead, he stared. His lips were pursed and his eyes seemed cloudy; as if deep in thought.
“There’s nothing left that you want, so why keep calling me here?” The fact that Hyacinth didn’t tell Marigold about his midnight escapes was total bullshit and she knew it. Otherwise, why would Marigold appear? Hyacinth failed, so they bring in someone who she had a weak spot against — Marigold.
He sighed, “Because I want to give you a chance, but you’re not adamant on taking it.”
“Fuck your chances!” Toga said, “I really don’t care anymore. I don’t want to be restrained to your comforts of society.”
Marigold tilted his head in confusion, which set Toga off somewhat. “So why not just drop off the grid?”
“What?”
“Why not leave Japan or drop off the grid? You’ve got the skills to do so,” Marigold said, “Sneak onto a boat, forge documents, and you’re away from Japan,”
“So why don’t you do it?”
He kept going, “Why don’t you? You made sure you had nothing left here, so why not leave? The Garden taught you all your language skills so Chinese, English and a lot others wouldn’t be an issue for you. So why don’t you just leave?”
Toga’s world paused as she pondered the answer. What is she clinging to? Why doesn’t she go?
“Because you still have something here,” Marigold interrupted her thought process, “And it’s us. And you’re trying to cut us off.”
No, it’s the League, Toga found herself thinking, “What makes it so sure that it’s you? And not just some other organization I joined or something?”
His grin was something she should’ve felt honored to see after so many years — but now she only felt distaste, “Because even if you’re in those organizations, you can still drop off the grid,"
“They wouldn’t waste their resources on you.”
Toga’s anger sparked, Is he implying I’m useless? I’m worthless to them so they wouldn’t come looking? “If you’re trying to convince me to come back, it’s not fucking working.”
“Nah,” He shrugged, “You said you didn’t want ‘altruistic bullshit’ from me, so I’m not giving you any.”
“You’re trying to get me to leave Japan.”
“It’s not like you can make anything of yourself here anyways, not with the court on your back, so why not leave?”
“Why the fuck are you so insistent?” Toga clenched her fist, trying to stave off the anger.
“You said, you didn’t want to be restrained to the comforts of society,” Marigold parroted her words back at her, “Then just leave this society.”
“It’s not that fucking simple!”
“But it is, ” Marigold took a step forward, “The Garden literally taught you all the skills you need to have in case you need to move countries or drop off the map. It’s not simple for you because you don’t have the courage to do it! You can pretend you left everything behind, but have you?”
She couldn’t think. She saw red, and before she knew it, Toga had thrown a punch. Of course, Marigold was everything but rusty. With her outstretched hand, he grabbed it and redirected the punch. The action whooped Toga through the air, and threw her on the floor roughly.
The move had knocked the air out of Toga’s lungs and simultaneously, the energy out of her body. She wasn’t very energized when she came in the first place — if anything, she was dead tired.
Marigold stared down at her, his eyes reflecting the light of the electric bolts coming off of him. Toga should’ve known that even a measly punch would set off Gold's defenses, but she never expected to see it towards her. She held her breath as Marigold —
— crouched, and smiled? He offered a hand to Toga, expecting her to take it.
Or not.
After Toga stared at the hand, Marigold quickly retracted it, his smile wiping off his face. “Care to tell me what that was for?”
“Leave me alone,” Toga put as much venom into the words as she could. Marigold might’ve been a friend once upon a time, but now he’s an enemy.
And it’s time for Toga to face that.
“You have two choices, Toga Himiko,” The reality of the situation was further enforced with the mention of her name, “Come with me, or leave Japan.”
“What the fuck.”
“You said you didn’t want us annoying you, that’ll only happen if you leave.”
Of course the fucking talk about me leaving was all for his benefit, it always is. She doesn’t know what hurt more, the fact that Marigold genuinely wouldn’t help her if it weren’t for his benefit too or the fact that he genuinely wished for her to leave Japan. “I don’t choose any of those blasted options.”
“So should I choose for you?” Marigold inched closer, he was only a foot away from Toga now, easily able to grab her if he wanted to. “You’re lucky we gave you a choice at all.”
And Toga knew that. But both of these choices were damning. “Fuck. You.”
“Too late for that, don’t you think?” The corners of his mouth tipped upwards in a parody of what once was a flirtatious smile, that soon dropped as he came back to the grim topic at hand, “Choose.”
She grit her teeth as once again she spat, “Fuck you.”
Marigold let out a dry chuckle, “Is that your decision?” Electricity sparked around her as the air thickened. The pressure set on Toga was at an all time high. “Is that your decision?”
“What?”
“Is that what you choose?”
“I don’t fucking choose any of your damned choices!”
Marigold stood up from his position as the electricity promptly vanished. “Okay.”
“Okay…?” She was astonished by the sudden change in atmosphere.
“If you don’t want to choose, that’s fine.”
“What…?” Toga stared at Marigold.
“We’ll just have to choose for you.”
There was a sharp intake of breath as the electricity overwhelmed her senses.
Then she didn’t feel anything.
It went dark.
Staring at the body on the floor felt incriminating, Marigold has to admit. With a sigh he crouched and took Toga’s phone from one of her pockets and pocketed into his own. He got up again and took out his own phone, dialling a specific number. “Yeah so,” Denki glanced at Toga’s body, “Safe to say she didn’t really co-operate…”
“No she’s not dead ,” His tone rose in pitch, offended that someone would even assume that, “Just out cold. Like you said.”
He turned his gaze towards the sky, seeing the briefest of glimpses of light on the horizon, “It took too long? Well sorry I actually tried to make her pick one of the choices.”
There was a moment of silence before Denki responded again, “You’re coming? Yeah, okay, I’ll just stay with her until you do. Also come quick - sitting next to what everyone assumes is a dead body is kinda incriminating.”
The Sun steadily rose from the horizon, its light basking the former darkness and causing Denki to squint.
“Yeah, okay, bye.” And now he’s stuck waiting, yay.
Denki sat with Hyacinth as they waited for Toga to wake up. Hyacinth was seemingly impressed when he actually came back with her, even if she was out cold. He had smiled dryly at Denki and said, “Wow. She didn’t run away from you.”
Denki rested his head on Hyacinth’s shoulder, “I’m tired…”
Hyacinth playfully pushed Denki off but Denks kept coming back, “You ain’t sleeping on my shoulder, no sir.”
Denki smiled, “Yeah yeah.”
Toga woke up with a bang and immediately knew where she was. The realization of the situation dawned on her quite slowly though. Scanning the room, her eyes landed on two specific people.
“Fuck.”