Chapter Text
Not everyone is born the same
“She’s such a freak.”
“Why won’t you just be normal?”
That’s the truth Himiko didn’t learn until it was too late to pretend to be normal.
In a world filled with quirks, where 80% of the population have some kind of quirk that gives them amazing powers. Though quirks made people unique, it was people like Himiko, who showed affection in a way that many thought to be different. Himiko loved blood. She loved the taste, the texture, and above all, she loved to see the ones she loved covered in their own blood.
Her quirk was transform, which gave her the ability to turn into anyone if she drank their blood. But for her, drinking blood itself was the greatest experience of her life. If only other people could understand that. Her parents called her a demon ever since they realized what she was like. Her love of blood. Even her smile they thought was horrible.
Her classmates at school weren’t any better. Calling her a freak. Never playing with her.
The worst thing was how quickly Himiko fell in love. It could be anything from a smile, to seeing them cut up, but once she loved someone, she couldn’t help but think about drinking their blood. Just the thought of biting down on their neck and sucking.
The boy she loved most now was a boy named Saito. He was a nice boy who stood up for others when they were being bullied. The first time she saw his blood was when he fought a bully who was making fun of a quirkless classmate. The fight was quickly broken up by a teacher, but not before Saito had a cut on his lip. She had to bite down on her own lip to keep from running up to Saito and drinking his blood right then.
For years Himiko had done her best to pretend to be normal. She acted in the same way other students did. She hid her real smile, the one that her parents called demonic, behind a fake one that looked like everyone else’s smile. She thought that, maybe, if she pretended to be normal, Saito would like her.
It was ten months until they were set to graduate from middle school did her life change. She had made up her mind to ask Saito out after school. Before that however, it was announced that they were getting a new student. In walked the biggest boy Himiko had ever seen. He was at least 6 feet tall, with shoulders wide enough to support his six arms, though only two of his arms had hands. He wore a mask over his face, but it was clear that his face was misshapen.
“I can’t believe they’re letting in Heteromorphs now.” Saito mumbled.
Himiko’s stomach turn. Saito had always seemed like a nice boy, but just from that one comment did she realize he would never actually accept her.
The new boy, Mezo Shoji, reacted to the comment by sprouting appendages on his extra arm and at the end of it a mouth formed.
“Is there a problem with Heteromorphs?” Shoji asked.
Himiko couldn’t surpress her giggle. “That’s so cute!” She said.
“Yeah of course the freak think he’s cute.” Saito muttered loudly, causing the rest of her class to laugh at her.
Himiko buried her hands in her face, hiding the tears that formed in her eyes. Saito had always seemed so nice. Standing up for people. She guessed that didn’t include demons like her.
Later that day, Himiko was sitting alone at the lunch table when Shoji walked over to her, carrying a tray of food.
“Do you mind if I sit here.” Shoji asked using a mouth formed by his appendages.
Himiko felt a smile grow within her and suppressed it, letting her fake smile through rather than show how she really felt. She had never had a friend before.
“Not at all.”
As Shoji sat down, Himiko tried to think of normal things friends talk about. She got in a lot of trouble for asking kids what blood type they had, explaining just how deep someone could get cut without it scarring, and explaining her dreams where a bird pecked at her stomach and crawled inside. She didn’t want Shoji to be scared of her like everyone else.
“Do you like the new school?” She asked.
Shoji was eating not with his face, but rather formed a mouth from his appendages. From another one he formed a second mouth that he spoke through. It was an amazing sight to see.
“It is decent.” He said. “The other students here only mutter things about me. At my last school it was a common occurrence for them to throw rocks at me.”
Shoji formed a third eye that scanned the surrounding area as though expecting someone to throw a rock at him. Himiko changed her expression to one of sorrow that she learned, but part of her would have loved to see that. A crowd of people throwing rocks at him, jeering at him. She already loved him so much, she just wanted to see him in so much pain.
“That’s so sad.” She said. “You don’t deserve to be treated like that.”
He shrugged his massive shoulders. “I’ve grown used to it. People have a hatred of heteromorphs. That’s why I’m going to apply for the hero course at U.A..”
“Why?” Himiko asked.
“Because I want to show people that heteromorphs aren’t monsters. That just because we’re different doesn’t mean we deserve to be treated with decency and respect.”
Tears welled up in Himiko’s eyes. “That’s such a wonderful goal. I really hope you become a hero and help people. I know what it’s like. People say things about me too. Because of my quirk. Because I’m different. I like things that other people don’t like. I just wish I could express myself without people calling me a demon.”
“Why do people say that about you?” Shoji asked.
Himiko knew she should keep it quiet. Not tell him. He would just hate her. Just like everyone else. He would be so disgusted by her. He was a decent person who just looked different. What kind of hero would like someone like her? On the other hand, it would only be a matter of time before he found out. It might as well be her who tells him.
“My quirk is transform. When I drink someone's blood I can turn into them.” The words came out and couldn’t stop. “But I love blood so much. I love seeing people hurt and bleeding real bad. And when I love someone I want to be just like them and drink their blood and become them. I just want blood so much. I try to be a good girl so my parents don’t get mad at me anymore, but it’s so hard. I just want to be who I want to be.”
Shoji was silent for some time. Himiko was looking down. She didn’t want to see him when he walked away from her. Instead, Shoji placed a hand on her shoulder.
“You don’t deserve to be treated terribly because of that. And if you want to drink some blood, you can have some of mine.”
Himiko looked into his eyes. There was no hate. No fear. He didn’t think she was a demon.
“Yes please.” She said. “I want to drink your blood so much.”
Shoji extended his arm, growing his appendages so that he could reach her without leaning forward, holding the tentacle beneath her mouth.
Himiko hesitated. She knew it was wrong. Her parents explained to her how wrong it was for her to like blood. But it had been over a year and she was burning with desire. She bit down on Shoji’s tentacle and drew blood. She couldn’t let him see her smile, which is why she kept her face down as she drunk. It lasted for a few moments before she managed to break away.
She knew she couldn’t hide her smile. Not with how happy she was at this moment, but she did have a way to hide it. She triggered her quirk, taking Shoji’s appearance. Because of the mask over his face, he couldn’t see her face.
“This is an... unusaual perspective for me.” Shoji said, looking her up and down.
Himiko tried to wave her arms, but having six arms was confusing.
“How do you move different arms?” She asked, before breaking into giggles at the sound of her voice.
The sound of Shoji’s giggling made her laugh even harder. It took a minute to calm down.
“How do you move different arms?” She repeated. “It’s so hard to know which ones to move. It’s so confusing.”
“I don’t know. I’ve had the arms my whole life. It’s natural for me.”
Himiko struggled until she found the right way to control Shoji’s body. She waved his arms, carefully focusing on which arm to move. “I think I figured it out.” She said.
The effect of the blood faded until she shifted back to her real body. Her school uniform was stretched from Shoji’s body. She had gained enough control to hide her real smile behind the mask. It was so good to have someone who would give her blood. The feeling of love burned inside her. She wanted to be just like Shoji. He took all the pain people threw at him and was working so hard to make other people wouldn’t grow up to feel that pain.
“I’m going to try out for the hero course too.