Chapter Text
Himiko was aimlessly wandering the streets. Two days ago, she had slipped up with her urges and drained a bird of its blood. She couldn't help it. The bird was just so cute, and she always felt better after drinking blood. Her mind would get kinda foggy after a while without it. It made it so hard to think about what she was doing.
When her parents found out about her slip up, they locked her out and said she could come back in a few days when she learned her lesson.
That left her here lost, wandering, and hungry. She was looking for something to eat or somewhere to lay down when she saw a building with a strange name.
The Cozy Crypt
Himiko didn't know why, but she was drawn to the building. It might have been the fact that the name offered something soft to lay on.
Or maybe it was the smell coming from the building. It was warm and sweet, making it seem more welcoming.
Himiko walked into the building, a small bell chiming when she opened the door. When she entered, the first thing she noticed was how soft and cozy everything was. The second thing was the glass case full of pastries and cakes.
She approached the case to get a closer look at what was inside. “Could I get you something dearie” a gentle voice.
Himiko looked over to the direction the voice came from and saw an old woman that she didn't notice before standing behind the counter.
“No I'm fine, I don't have any money on me” Himiko replied
“That's fine, dearie. You look like you need something to eat” the old lady said gently
Himiko considered her words. She was probably just being nice and didn't mean it, like when her parents said that if she was good and didn't drink blood, they'd take her somewhere fun.
“Really I'm fine, I don't need anything” Himiko said quietly. She didn't want to burden this nice old lady.
“How I just make you some tea we don't charge for that if that's what you're worried about” the old lady said in the same gentle tone
Himiko thought about it for a bit. She didn't want to make the lady go through the trouble of getting her the tea, but she'd said they don't charge for it so it wouldn't be as bad as accepting the baked goods that they did.
With this in mind, Himiko answered “If it's not too much for you to make it for me”
“Of course not dearie” the old lady said “My name's Ethel Kan. What's your dearie?”
“Himiko Toga”
“Well Toga, why don't you go sit at that empty table over there and I'll bring you your tea in just a few minutes” the old lady, Mrs. Kan said, pointing to a table not too far from the counter.
As Himiko was walking to the table, she observed the other people there. They looked normal for the most part, but there were a few people that stood out.
One woman had bat-like mutations. With her was a man with very long fangs. Another person a few tables away from them was wearing sunglasses and a very large sun hat.
It was a bit strange to see, but Himiko just minded her business and sat at the table Mrs. Kan pointed to.
When Himiko sat down, she was a bit surprised by how soft the chair was. It seemed pretty worn down. She was expecting it to be stiffer or to feel the frame of the chair, but I was so soft. She had to force herself not to get too comfortable.
She was just staying for tea, then leaving. She did want to burden Mrs. Kan more than she already was. She was nice, unlike most people, then again, most people knew her quirk and how creepy it made her. Maybe if she could get away with not telling Mrs. Kan about it, she could come back if parents locked her out again.
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Ethel was worried, to say the least. It wasn't often they got new customers, especially with how niche their intended audience was. Much less young children without a parent, and Toga looked no older than eight.
Her clothes were dirty, and she seemed like she hadn't eaten in a while, but when she offered her food, she declined. That wasn't a good sign for many reasons, but she didn't have time to think about that. Right now, her priority was making sure Toga felt comfortable.
Maybe then she could convince her to eat something and tell her why she's here alone. But if she was going to sit and talk with the girl, she'd have to wait for Tomoko to get back so someone would be watching the counter. Or maybe if Sekijiro came in today, she could have him sit with her instead. He is a hero, after all.
♥︎★♥︎★♥︎
After a few minutes, Mrs. Kan came by the cup of tea and set it in front of her.
“It's camomile with honey, I hope that's okay since I forgot to ask what kind you'd like before making it” Mrs. Kan said with a gentle smile on her face “I guess my age is catching up to me.”
“It's fine. You didn't have to make me tea. It would be rude of me to be picky about it. Thank you for making it for me” Himiko replied, remembering what her parents said when she asked for things.
Mrs. Kan was so nice she didn't want to come off as rude. She liked it here and wanted to stay for a while. She put her hands around the warm mug and took a sip of her tea.
“No need to thank me dearie” Mrs. Kan then gently patted Himiko's head.
Himiko leaned into the touch. It'd been a while since anyone gave her a positive, loving touch. Her parents hadn't hugged her since her quirk came in, so it was nice to have someone make it seem like they cared. She almost smiled at the thought but didn't. She didn't want to scare Mrs. Kan away. After all, everyone always told her her smile was creepy. Why would Mrs. Kan be any different?
Himiko felt Mrs. Kan remove her from her head. She frowned at the lack of contact.
“Sorry Toga dear, but I have to go. I'll come sit and talk with you more once my wife is back.”
Himiko was sad that Mrs. Kan had to go back to the counter. She knew Mrs. Kan had a job to do. It would be selfish of her to ask her to stay with her. After all, Mrs. Kan was just trying to be nice. But she was still a bit sad.
♥︎★♥︎★♥︎
Ethel was sad to leave Toga. Her response to the tea and her patting her head. Sure, it wasn't that strange for children to enjoy physical contact. But with everything else, it was a worrying being painted.
She wanted answers to the questions she had, but it would be a while until Tomoko would be home, and Sekijiro jobs were a bit hard to work around.
Hopefully, one of their schedules would open up and allow them to come back earlier than normal. But what were the odds that that would happen? Her wife is a busy quirk scientist, and her son was both a hero and teacher. But it doesn't hurt to hope.
♥︎★♥︎★♥︎
Himiko was taking in the café as she sipped her tea. There was something slightly off about it, not in a bad way, but it was strange. A few things were just not what was expected from the first glance of the café but now that she was looking closer, she noticed some things.
Such as the decor of the place. While it mostly had an old cozy pastel theme with the stuffed animals in one corner and the majority of the furniture. There were paintings of skeletons, ghosts, vampires and other monsters on the walls. Along with little coffin coasters on the tables along with vases of dark red roses.
Then there was the smell of the place. Over all it smelt like what she expected a café would smell like, but there was a hint of iron mixed in. But that was probably just because of one of the pastries they served.
It was kinda a strange place, but the strangeness kinda made her feel safe in a weird way. She herself was considered strange so maybe it was the way that the place felt like her in a way or at least how she wished she could be.
The place was cute but had parts that could be considered creepy, but it didn't have to hide that piece of itself. It just got to exit as it was and people not only expected it but enjoyed the way it was.