Chapter Text
Himiko Toga was the furthest thing from a hero.
At the ripe age of seventeen, she had already taken the lives of many and severely injured others, all over the course of her teen years and childhood. Her actions were not mindless, no, she enjoyed the sounds of her victims and the feeling of their blood in her hands. Toga’s murderous sprees were often fueled by her awry emotions and love for blood. Blood, it was a beautiful thing in her eyes. Something that everyone shared, a common trait that more people should consider worthy of bonding over. All hearts bled the same. Not to mention that it allowed Toga to become those she fancied. Why couldn’t they see that this was the epitome of love? Why couldn’t it be considered “normal”?
Whatever that meant.
All her life the labels followed her around. Insane, disgusting, horrible. A monster. Words such as these fogged the air and they clouded people’s brains. It was sickening to succumb to. Even if they all justified it with fear, it was still annoying at the least. So, that’s why Himiko Toga: the world’s cutest little bloodthirsty monster, didn't try to fit the mold anymore. It was easier to have the will to live that way, and it wasn't like the world would be open to her ideals any time soon. Her quirk, Transform, and its side effect of a lifestyle only paved the way for a treacherous life from birth.
So, she would have to make society understand, whether they liked it or not. They would suffer just as she had.
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Toga’s heavy eye lids fluttered open as she lay in what was presumably a hospital bed. Her vision was too unfocused to reveal much, not like she could really move her body to look around anyways, and the dim lighting was still too bright. A gentle beep from a monitor filled the otherwise silent room. This didn’t look like any of the medical rooms they had back at the League. No, for those rooms at the base were much less developed than this. Not to mention the fact that there was peace and silence here. That was relatively foreign back home at the base, especially in modern times where they had been planning the Final War. A sharp pain in her stomach snapped the injured villain back to reality. She hadn’t remembered getting that hurt during the war, but the obvious current state of the girl was questionable at best. That much was clear from the amount of bandages on her aching body, mostly her torso. As she settled into consciousness, it began to come back to her.
The fateful day she went against everything she had ever stood for.
Before Toga could continue recollecting events, a voice spoke up from beside her bed. The villain would’ve flinched had she had an ounce of energy in her body.
“You’re awake?” the voice sounded tense, maybe even on edge.
“I’m sorry.”
Apologies were pathetic and useless. Yet, it still formed in Toga’s mouth, leaving behind a bad taste the second it left. Her voice was as weak as the word “sorry” itself.
“What..?”
“I said… I’m sorry,” she wished she could make out who she was talking to. Honestly, it was probably a start that she apologized to anyone at all.
“Sorry? For waking up, or-? But, you saved me. Kinda? I mean, you didn’t have to, you really shouldn’t have based on the… circumstances, but you did."
Right. By the context, and the obnoxiously kind voice, this was none other than Uravity: The hero responsible for Toga being in this helpless state. Ochaco, or known by her hero name Uravity, was at some point Toga’s biggest enemy and rival. The first reason for this rivalry being that they’d both had simultaneous crushes on Izuku Midoriya at some point, the second reason was rooted in the fact that they had polar opposite ideals, and the third being that Ochaco was everything Toga (secretly) wished she could’ve been. Ochaco was sweet and caring, but she wasn't a person to be underestimated. The name Uravity really had some respect to it, for the class 1A student was braver than even some of the most successful heroes in the entire world. Not only was she admirable as a human being, but she also had great morality. Toga had heard an interview on tv once where Ochaco stated her reasoning behind wanting to become a hero. She’d declared that all of her training at UA was dedicated to giving her parents a better life, that all her initial earnings from being a pro would go to them.
How sweet. It made Toga jealous. And, still, it all made perfect sense. Toga willed herself to turn her head slightly to see Ochaco. Surely, Ochaco must be in a relatively similar state to Toga. After all, their fight had been near death for both of them. Ochaco had just gotten lucky enough to catch the villain’s mercy. Or rather, Toga had been lucky enough to have been enlightened that day. Whichever had come first.
Toga squinted at the girl beside her bed, trying to assess her current state as well. Surprisingly, Ochaco looked rather rested. Other than a bandaged torso and arm, and a few sparse bandages on her face, the hero seemed to be her normal, friendly self. Just the sight would’ve driven Toga mad any other day. While the poor monster was here, pathetic and useless and weak, the perfect hero got to heal and move on, but that was besides the point. Himiko Toga had sacrificed her blood, her life, and everything she ever stood for in that battle. Maybe even her titles and status in the League were at risk of crumbling apart, too. Heck, the status she'd gained was probably already diminished due to the act of heroism she had dared to commit. Everything was breaking apart and falling into place, all because of the one time Toga had found herself in a vulnerable position. Love had always blurred the lines of reality for the villain, but this had to have been the worst case yet. Memories from that singular, final fight between the girls started to become clearer than ever. It was dizzying, to say the least. Thankfully before these racing thoughts could heighten Toga’s heart rate too much, Ochaco began to slowly rise to her feet. The chair made a screech as its metal legs scooted against the hospital room floor. It was a horrible noise that caused both of them to wince.
“I think I should go. My friends will start to get suspicious and wonder where I am… and I don’t think they’d be happy to know I've been coming here in my free time,” she pauses before adding with a small smile, “I’ll be back?”
Who in their right mind would ever do such a thing as come back to visit a deranged person such as Toga herself. Not to mention the fact that they were indeed still hero and villain, bound by fate to be at each other’s throats. Thinking about it now, maybe the naive hero should've been put out of her misery when the chance had initially arisen. Sympathy was a highly contagious disease only the weak suffered from after all. Despite these beliefs that remained embedded inside Toga, she couldn't help herself from wanting to be somewhat close to someone, anyone, in this moment. It was still surprising to hear the plea coming from her own mouth.
"Yes. Please."
Ochaco's smiled widened at this, "Ok then. I'll see you tomorrow!"
Toga watched with tired eyes as the door shut behind Ochaco with a gentle click, left once more with quiet and the suddenly overwhelming feeling of being trapped in solitude. Odd. The villain had never exactly hated the absence of people before. Maybe it was just the dumb hero hospital environment playing tricks on her, or perhaps it was the effect of painkillers on her mind.
That must be it.