Chapter Text
Chapter 1 — You Never Asked Why
Ochaco hadn't heard the name Himiko Toga spoken aloud in three years.
Not properly.
People still talked about the war, obviously. They talked about the heroes who had fallen, the villains who had disappeared, the cities that had been rebuilt.
But Toga's name rarely came up.
Ochaco had made sure of that.
Not because she'd forgotten.
Because she hadn't.
She was twenty-one now.
Old enough to have her own agency.
Old enough to make decisions without someone immediately telling her what she should think.
Old enough, apparently, to still dream about a girl she'd lost when she was eighteen.
She was sorting through old case files when she found the drawing.
A tiny heart.
Uneven.
Almost childish.
Ochaco stopped breathing for a second.
She knew that heart.
Her fingers trembled as she picked up the paper.
There was writing underneath it.
Four words.
You never asked why.
Ochaco stared at them.
Then she laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because there was absolutely no way.
"Toga..."
The name sounded strange after all this time.
She folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket.
She should have given it to the police.
She should have told her colleagues.
She should have done approximately a hundred sensible things.
Instead, she went home.
And waited.
At 11:47 p.m., someone knocked on her window.
Ochaco's heart nearly stopped.
She turned.
A figure was standing on the fire escape outside her apartment.
Blonde hair.
Yellow eyes.
A familiar smile.
Older now.
Softer somehow.
But unmistakable.
Ochaco opened the window.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Toga looked at her.
Ochaco looked at Toga.
Then Toga smiled.
"Hi, Ochaco."
Ochaco's eyes filled with tears.
"You died."
Toga's smile disappeared.
"I know."
"You died."
"I know."
"You weren't supposed to be here."
"I know."
Ochaco didn't know whether she wanted to scream, cry, or slam the window shut.
Instead, she whispered:
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Toga looked away.
"Because I thought you'd be happier."
Ochaco's chest hurt.
"Without you?"
Toga didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Ochaco stepped aside.
"Toga."
Toga looked back at her.
"You can come inside."
For the first time, Toga looked genuinely afraid.
And Ochaco realised something.
The girl standing in front of her wasn't the villain she'd spent years remembering.
She was just Himiko.
Twenty-one.
Lost.
Terrified.
And still looking at Ochaco like she was the only person in the world who might let her stay.
Toga stepped through the window.
Neither of them knew it yet.
But this was the moment everything started again.