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Ochako, am I cute?
The cutest in the world.
Toga sat curled up, knees drawn tightly to her chest. Her arms wrapped around them as if seeking comfort from her own embrace. The cracked mirror before her, the only piece of furniture in the dimly lit room, reflected a distorted image. She gazed into it, watching how the fractures warped her reflection.
She looked terrifying like this. Monstrous. Broken. Like she could shatter into a thousand pieces at any moment.
Perhaps that's why she came back, night after night.
Maybe the mirror offered some strange comfort. A silent witness to her inner chaos. Or perhaps it was that she couldn’t bear to face herself fully.
Tell me what’s on your mind. Your hopes. Your fears. Everything.
It was always her. Always Ochako.
Every thought that passed through Toga’s mind echoed with the memory of the girl she loved. She could hear her voice. She spoke to her in her dreams. And in rare moments, when Toga felt herself teetering on the edge, she’d see her.
It was wrong. She knew this. What right did she have to seek comfort from the girl who had died because of her? It was her knife that had ended Ochako’s life.
I need to tell you how special your smile is.
And yet, she couldn’t stop.
Reaching into her pocket, Toga pulled out a small vial filled with dull red liquid. Time had passed, and the blood inside had long since lost its vibrancy. One day, it would run out, and then Toga would be forced to face Ochako’s death for a second time. But that thought was too much for her now.
Instead, she closed her eyes, bringing the vial to her lips. As she drank, warmth spread through her, her quirk activating. When she opened her eyes again, she no longer saw the monster in the mirror.
Her eyes weren't sharp and yellow, but round, soft, and a warm honey brown. Her hair had changed too. It was short and cherry brown, bouncy in a way hers never could be. But what caught her most was the smile. Gone were the devil like sharp fangs, the blood red lips. Her lips were full, pink, curved upward in a gentle smile that seemed…right.
She wasn’t herself, but in that moment, she was staring at the cutest girl in the world.
The only thing I don’t want to lose right now is you.
It had been a year since she lost Ochako.
Yet it felt like a lifetime. Or perhaps it felt as if it had happened yesterday.
Toga had tried to save her. Held her close. Used her quirk to try and undo the damage. But in the end, it didn’t matter.
She wasn’t a hero.
Ochako had died on that battlefield, one of many lost. And Toga was left with nothing but guilt. She couldn’t blame anyone but herself.
She didn’t want to live without her.
Toga wanted nothing more but to join her, to be with her once more. But she didn’t deserve that.
It wasn’t fair to Ochako.
She would carry this weight, the consequences of her actions. She would spend the rest of her life longing for something she couldn’t have. Half of a whole, forever incomplete.
This was her punishment.
But it would never be enough to make up for what she had done.
Toga stared at her reflection as the rain began to pour, droplets sliding down her cheeks.
She would do anything to turn back time, to undo the mistakes that had torn her life apart. But fate was cruel and had already decided her path long before she was born.
Toga would never get the girl. She would never get the happy ever after.
Villains never did.
The rain soaked her through, the droplets blurring her vision, but she didn’t bother to wipe them away. Each splatter against her skin felt like a memory. An echo of moments she wished she could forget, yet knew she’d never be able to escape.
Follow her heart and live her truth, but how could she do that without Ochako?
To the world outside, the skies may have been clear, but within that room, the storm raged on, dark and unforgiving as Himiko Toga mourned.