Chapter Text
“Hey, Ochako! You’re coming right?”
Momo sighed as she hit send. “I really have no idea what’s taking her so long.” She says as she stretches a bit, wearing a loose fitting T-shirt and some sweatpants. “Ah, it’s no big deal.” Mina says, pouring a bag of cheese puffs into a large bowl before plopping herself down on a bean bag chair. “She’s prob’ly just freshening up or something.”
“I would’ve thought she’d be the first one here, kero.” Tsuyu says, legs crossed as she sits on a couch, which had been draped over with a handful of different blankets. She’s wearing green pajamas with white stripes. “Maybe something important came up?” she suggests, putting a finger to her bottom lip as she thinks about the possible explanations. “That’d be a real shame, seeing as we were all so psyched up to do this once finals ended.” Jiro says, stepping out of the bathroom with a towel hanging around her neck.
“Oooh, Jiro! You look cute!” Mina blurts out, quickly making the punk rock teen blush. “T-thanks, I guess.” She says as she lays down on the couch, leaning against the side opposite of Tsuyu. To be fair, she did look cute, wearing a tank top and some comfy shorts. Momo smiles as she sits on the ground with her back against Mina’s bean bag chair, smiling towards Jiro a little.
*Ting!* “Ah! That’s-“ Momo jumps as the sound of her phone going off jolts her out of her little world. She reaches to grab her phone but, “Yoink!” Mina snickers as she scoops it off the ground before Momo could grab it.
“H-hey, Mina! Give that back right now!” Momo says as she holds her hand out, not wasting the effort of trying to grab it back, knowing that it would just amuse the little pink devil more. “Relaaaax, just gonna check what that was- Oh! It’s from Ochako!” Mina says as she holds Momo’s phone out for the others to lean in and check the message.
“SRRY!! Headed ur way now!!”
Jiro sighs. “Phew, at least she’s on her way. What took her so long…” Tsuyu keeps her eyes on the screen, looking at the little bubbles indicating that Ochako was still typing. “Look, she’s not done.”
“Btw, i’ve got someone important i’m bringing, plz don’t freak out when u see her!!”
“…huh.” Momo said, biting one of her nails as she took back the phone Mina had swiped from her. “…who could it be?” “It can’t be a big deal, maybe it’s a friend from her old school?” Tsuyu says as she sits back. “Or maybe someone from another class? She called them important… Nejire maybe?” Jiro remarks, crossing her arms behind her head.
“Oh! Oh! I wonder if Ochako’s got a secret girlfriend~!” A voice speaks up that everyone recognizes but nobody can seem to tell the source of. Meaning it could only be one person…
“H-Hagakure?! How long have you been here?” Momo yells as she shoots up. The other girls have varying reactions. Jiro is somewhat dismissive as Tsuyu faintly blushes, Mina snickers a little. “Wooow, must be nice being able to go naked anywhere you want.” She says. Tooru giggles. “I was waiting to try and scare you all, please forgive me~!” Momo crossed her arms. “J-just put some clothes on…”
Hagakure picked up a onesie off the ground- her own that she’d set down while no one was looking. -and quickly put it on. It was a bear onesie with a cute hood that she drew over her head, making it easier to realize she was there. She laid down on the floor on one of the blankets, idly picking a small bag of chips up and pulling it open.
“A-anyway, uh. I don’t think it’s anything like that…” Momo trailed off as she regained her composure. “I mean, she obviously has a uh… fixation on Midoriya, right…?” she muttered the last part almost like she was looking for some sort of approval. Mina leaned over, hanging upside down off the end of her chair. “I think ya mean she’s head over heels~” She says a little teasingly.
“I mean, we’ve all noticed it. Kero.” Tsuyu says as she giggles a little. “I was the first though. I had a feeling from day one.” Jiro scoffs a little. “Pff, yeah. I bet.” Tooru chimes in, “Tsu is a pretty good judge of character…” prompting Jiro to nod in agreement and Tsuyu to smile a bit more.
“Aww, but doesn’t that just make it even more interesting~?!” Mina passionately yells out, rising to her feet with her hands on her hips. “Ochako is down in the dumps of rejection, refused her one true love!” she dramatically says as she raises a hand to her forehead and feigns a false tear. “Ah, but wait, a charming girl arrives who sweeps her off her feet and makes her forget all about him!”
Momo laughs out loud a little, something she doesn’t typically do but is forced to by Mina’s cartoonish, overdramatic display. Jiro snickers. “Yeah, like that’d ever happen…” Tsuyu just shrugs. “Guess we’ll have to see when she-“
*Knock knock!*
The sound of someone at the door alerts everyone in the room. Momo speaks up. “Ochako? Is that you? Come on in!”
There’s what sounds like a little muttering behind the door. Suddenly a familiar voice speaks up. “Y-yup, it’s me!” a voice says in a tone that’s distinctively Uraraka’s. “I-I know I already asked, but please don’t freak out! Someone else is with me…” Momo suddenly looks a little wary. “Um, that’s fine… why are you so worried about this? Is there a problem?” Mina speaks up as well. “Worried there aren’t enough snacks for one more? This is Momo’s house! She’s loaaaaaded!” she yells, making Momo blush.
“It’s just… nothing, nothing. I’m coming in…” Ochako says as the girls lean in. The door opens very slowly, at first just by a hair’s width and then enough to see Ochako starting to come in. The others cheer a little at her entry, welcoming her in. She smiles, but clearly looks incredibly nervous. And it doesn’t take long for the others to realize why.
Because the figure behind Ochako is a very, very distinct one…
Blonde, wavy hair done up in spiky buns, a smile that seems just a bit too wide with teeth that are definitely more than a bit too sharp. And cat-like eyes, a shade of yellow that almost seems to glow. She steps into the room in that all too familiar big comfy cardigan and skirt…
A blood sucking menace who’d violently encountered a few of the people here before, and who’d disturbed the others when hearing accounts of her activities.
Himiko Toga, a villain.
“Heeeey~!!” She says with a massive grin. “Sorry to crash your party, but Ochako said I could come~ So i’m here!”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The room was uncomfortably silent.
“U-uh, so- hey!” Ochako chuckled nervously as she raised her hands in front of her. “T-this is Himiko Toga, and-“
“You don’t have to introduce her, Ochako.” Tsuyu flatly said, not necessarily looking angry but very much on edge, “I’m familiar.” Momo had an intense look in her eyes, trying to assess the situation. “A-are you armed?! Step away from Ochako, you big creep! I bet you’re threatening her into this!” Mina says as she rises to her feet and points accusingly. So THATS why Ochako was taking so long. She was being coerced by this little fiend!
“N-no, that’s not it! And she doesn’t have a weapon, promise!” She says as she steps forward and turns all the way around. Letting everyone see that Himiko isn’t threatening her with anything and that she’s unarmed. “See? No knife! Promise!”
“Ochako, you’re insane!” Jiro says sitting up straight. “This is crazy, you can’t just let a villain into this house- you’re putting Momo’s family in danger!” Jiro was clearly provoked by the idea that what Ochako was trying to pull might get Momo- or worse, her family, hurt. Or worse.
“She’s not here to hurt anyone- would you just calm down and look at her?!” Ochako practically yelled out. And the others didn’t respond, they looked in Himiko’s direction.
She had walked in with exactly the kind of attitude associated with her. A little too chipper, a little too eager. Bubbly to the point of being somewhat threatening, but her face had softened significantly, very quickly. First to a very neutral, even mildly annoyed expression, and then to a sullen one, subtly looking down.
“P-please just give me a chance to explain myself…” Ochako says as she steps back a bit. “I… made a promise when I last saw her, that I would give her some of my blood whenever she needed it. I felt bad for her… I feel like she has more in common with us than she realizes- and we all have more in common with her than we realize! She didn’t… ask to be like this…”
“I- Ochako, she’s killed people!” Momo says, rising up a little. “We can’t just overlook that!” “I know- I…” Ochako stammers a little as she tries to respond. “But what’s locking her up going to fix? What’s killing her going to fix… what’s done is done… I wanted to know why she did it… how she feels…” She says as she steadies herself by raising a hand to her chest. “If… we can turn her around, make her realize that she doesn’t have to keep living like this, and maybe even get her to help us help others like her… then we’re making the world a better place by listening to her. If she’s not a threat to us then… we can at least try and hear her out!” She says with a newfound resolve.
“Ochako, are you sure?” Tsuyu says, her face having softened a little out of consideration for her friend’s feelings. “Are you sure, about this? This could be dangerous. And if the wrong person finds out we can all be in a lot of trouble.” She would know, she’d been attacked by Toga herself. Ochako had been the one to protect her back then. “I don’t see how this is anything good…” Jiro says as she sits back a bit, still on edge. “And what’s this about making a promise to give her blood? You’re just feeding her habits by giving her what she wants-“
“Need.” A quiet voice causes everyone to fall quiet. Toga says the word quietly. “I… need blood, it’s complicated…” her tone was glum and her voice was unlike anything anyone had heard from her before. She scratches at the back of her neck, stepping forward a little. “Thank you for sticking up for me, Ochako, but you don’t need to protect me… let me speak for myself a bit, m’kay?”
Ochako steps back. Toga takes a breath before sighing and looking at the ground “I’m… not really comfortable talking like this, it feels wrong. It’s not the tone i’m used to. Talking to Ochako made me realize that i’m… really scared of being vulnerable. I’ve got a lot of insecurities i’ve been masking. But, I don’t want the effort she’s put in for my sake to go to waste.”
“I had a hard childhood… scared a lot of friends away, freaked out my parents… hurt a lot of people I used to like. Ever since my quirk came in everyone i’ve ever shown has treated me like a monster. I’m not just fascinated by blood… I crave it… I need it. It’s an itch that doesn’t go away even if I indulge. It’s how my powers work, after all… I used to think there was something special about it. Intimate, even. But everyone I told was grossed out by it. So… I got fed up waiting… and decided to start taking it.”
“It’s hard to say I… regret, anything I did before. I’ve done so much at this point even trying to say that feels phony. I’ve been justifying it for so long. But… I realize that it’s wrong. I guess what i’m trying to say is… i’m sorry. I won’t try to hurt any of you… and i’ll try not to hurt anyone else either.”
Ochako comes to her side. “Toga’s just human, she was like us once. It’s not her fault that she ended up with a quirk like this.” She says with a light smile as she starts to tear up a little. “She just needs a push from the right person- or maybe a few people. Won’t you at least give it a chance? We can all be good friends…”
Jiro looks to the side. Momo has a sullen expression. Mina looks about ready to start crying herself, and Hagakure- actually, it’s hard to tell with her, but she’s having her heartstrings tugged nonetheless. Tsuyu breaks the quiet, standing up and sticking out a hand to Himiko. “Hi, i’m Tsuyu Asui, but call me Tsu.” She says with a slight smile. Himiko sticks out hers and lets Tsuyu take it. Shaking it a little. “If Ochako’s still safe after giving you the benefit of the doubt, I don’t see what’s so dangerous about us trying, kero.”
“Asui…” Toga looks like she’s about to choke as she limply shakes Tsuyu’s hand. “No, Tsu.” She says with a bit of a chuckle. Just like that, someone Toga had once attacked on sight and even injured was shaking her hand as a friend.
“Um… i’m Momo Yaoyorozu. I own this place, and i’m our vice class representative. Let’s get along, at least for tonight. I promise i’ll listen if you try to explain yourself.” She says with a slight wave. “…sup’? Im Kyoka Jiro… these earphone jacks are my quirk. No funny business, alright?” She says as she fiddles with one of the cords hanging from her ear.
“M-mina Ashido! Nice to meetcha… uh… Toga. Can I come up with a nickname? Yours is hard- uh… Toges? Himi? I’ll figure it out.” She says chuckling. “Here! Here. Tooru Hagakure. You can’t see me but I can see you! And between you and me, I think your hair is cool looking…”
Toga’s mouth warps into a smile, the same one that in any other context looks twisted. Her eyes squint together a little as tears start forming in the corners of her eyes. She wipes them away with the sleeve of her cardigan. “Um… I know you said I don’t need to introduce myself, but i’m going to anyway… this is the first time i’ve properly met you all… so…”
“Hello, my name’s Himiko Toga.”
“I’m 17, same as most of you.”
“I like cute things and clothes a lot.”
“I love to talk about romance.”
“I have a lot of people I look up to and want to be like.”
“And… I happen to like blood.”