Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A large feral dog convulsed its last moments, twitching as blood pooled on the pavement, while the girl with a bloody mouth tried to calm down the victim still bleeding from a vicious bite.

"Hey, don't cry, the bad dog won't hurt you anymore." She forced a smile on herself with her fingers. "See? I'm smiling, things will be okay." They heard the adults finally arrive, took them long enough. His parents were quick to thank her and take him to the hospital.

But her parents weren't understanding, ignoring her explanation that she just did it to try and make the dog let go, and dragged her away. "First you bring dead birds, and now you killed a dog. What's next, me? Your mother?"

Her father looked at her with disgust. "Enough. I'm not keeping something like you in my house." He held her arm in an iron grip as he shoved her into the car to dump her away from his family.

The young girl watched from an alley as hero and villain caused a commotion. Property damage wasn't an unusual sight in the age of quirked heroes, especially after the rise of flashy showmanship ushered by All Might. She listened as the noises of fighting became distant, not moving from where she was huddled in. Would anyone even care if she got caught in the crossfire?

A few clinic employees came out in the aftermath to check if any civilians got wounded and to offer services before they went to the hospital. One nurse found the girl in the alley, her bloody state and the bruising on her arms had them worried. The young blonde refused to answer their questions about parents or family and stayed curled into herself, struggling when they brought her into the building and assessed her state, finding out that the bruising was superficial and the blood came from another source.

Despite biting the doctor's fingers, the girl had her mouth opened and examined with a penlight. "She has fangs, dentition type suggests vampirism. Harada, go fetch a feeder unit." One nurse left for the storage and returned with a weird bag. The girl watched with suspicion as the doctor tried offering the bag to her. "Oh, maybe she didn't get any chance to tend to her diet the usual way." The nurse took back the pack and poured some of the contents in a cup.

Golden eyes sharpened at the good smell and the pretty red, they noticed that she was interested but still didn't leave the corner claimed for herself. "Leave it on the table, I'll stay here to watch her." Harada placed both cup and bag close to girl and left the room, leaving her alone with the doctor. "Go on, drink. Children should eat often." She eyed him with suspicion, but her hunger won out and she approached the meal, taking it and retreating back into her corner.

The man just watched her as she drained the cup then bit into the bag, getting more than enough blood into her system. "What is your name?" The doctor waited patiently for her answer. "... H... Himiko." The doctor took note of her behavior and defensiveness over her meal, she was acting like a skittish alleycat, untrusting of adults. If she had been abandoned for her diet needs, then it was likely the locals would share similar prejudices regarding blood.

What a pity, children like her were handicapped compared to their peers, and if this was how she was acting at that age, then it was likely she'd face worse hardships in the future. "Harada, place a call with social services." They couldn't keep a kid at the clinic, but if the government was unable to find her relatives, perhaps their organization could take her in. "I'll have to contact the Chinese branch. Vampirism faces less rejection in the mainland."

While the adults talked about finding her parents, Himiko knew deep down that they wouldn't come, remembering how they looked at her, and the area around a villain attack was the perfect place to accidentally lose a child in the mayhem. Besides, why would anyone want to raise a kid with a quirk as disgusting as Himiko's? When her parents looked at her, they saw a monster, they thought her cravings for blood were unnatural. Even this clinic's aid was temporary, she should drink everything while she still could.

The orphanage was a boring place for Himiko, the social workers didn't bother looking too hard for her family, dumping her there for someone else to deal with or to go her own way. "I want to drink more..." She was unable to get access to more blood, there were too many kids around and they'd catch her hunting birds. How long did she have until the cravings came back?

Then, a few weeks later, a pale woman with blood-red eyes arrived at the orphanage. "Himiko, right? I'm Warfarin." The girl stared at the lady, feeling something strange in her presence, those eyes were similar to hers. "Why are you here?" When she smiled, Himiko saw the same fangs as well. "I came to pick you up. Do you want to leave?" Himiko took the offered hand.

While they went to purchase clothes for Himiko, she asked the most pressing issue. "Why did you choose me of all them?" Warfarin smiled at the blunt question. "Remember the clinic? Those busybodies didn't want to leave you alone. Thus I was sent to get you and make sure you'd be okay." That had Himiko wonder for how long this kindness would last. "You're stuck with me for a while, gotta teach you how to be a proper vampire, after all."

After a plane trip to China, Himiko started living with Warfarin at Lungmen. There the woman hashed out the details of her new life, Himiko was to learn from her for a year, then she'd be moved to communal living as a ward of Rhodes Island. "Is it temporary?" Warfarin shrugged at the question. "You'll receive proper schooling. You can choose to work at Rhodes Island permanently or hack out your path once you're old enough."

"By the way, do you know what your quirk is about?" Warfarin intended to teach her how to control the blood cravings, if her quirk was related to it that would change how she should approach it. "Dunno. What is yours?" Himiko kicked back the ball to her court. "I manipulate blood. I can control its flow and alter some of its properties." She usually did high-risk surgeries that involved elevated blood expenditure, limiting the hemorrhaging from the patient and lowering the need of transfusion.

After a few more questions from Himiko, Warfarin stopped her. "Enough about me. Let's find out what you can do." Himiko had let slip that her parents each had an appearance manipulation quirk and a quirk to copy other people through observation. "Transformation, uh. Try picturing yourself with red eyes like me." Himiko tried reaching for a weird feeling in her chest as Warfarin instructed, but no dice. "Let's try it again, but you will drink my blood." The woman took out some and placed it in a vial for Himiko.

Until now, Himiko had only drank from old blood bags and from animals she hunted, this would be a first that she had fresh from another human. She popped the cap and downed it, closing her eyes as a warm feeling filled her body. "Oh, that's better than I expected." Warfarin was impressed to see a clone of herself in place of the girl, Himiko even managed to copy her dress under the clothes already on her, which she had to take off before they ripped. "You got an interesting power there."

Besides teaching Himiko general subjects and some commonly used languages, Warfarin drilled certain manners around their diet into the girl, as her quirk made her crave fresh blood for transforming. "Separate people from meals. If you want to live decently, don't visualize everybody as walking blood bags." She had chided Himiko on her hunting habits, having caught her laying traps for pigeons. "You're risking catching a disease that way." Besides, the bags sourced by Rhodes Island were more filling than any amount of birds she could catch.

Warfarin also taught medical aid and how to harvest from a person without accidental murder, despite Himiko being a bit young for the subject, using anatomy books and dummies to drive in the safe practices. "On that matter, be careful before asking people to provide for you." Warfarin had a friendship circle that catered to her craving for fresh donations, but Himiko would have to build her network from scratch. "Let them know about your diet first and ease them into the idea of consuming blood."

Depending on where she sought her relationships, Himiko would have to work on it for a long time before asking for it. "Don't try to force people to 'donate', it'll blow on your face." The grimace as she said that told Himiko that the woman had personal experience with that, along with the consequences. "Tch, I was just sampling them..." Warfarin cleared her throat at the slip-up, she shouldn't teach bad habits, the old cat would dock her pay at this rate.

The girl enjoyed her time with the woman, but the year with Warfarin soon came to an end and Himiko was now to live as a ward of Rhodes Island until she was of age.

Chapter Text

Warfarin had learned many things about Himiko in one year, which she compiled and fed into the Rhodes Island database. While the girl was a bit feral at first from the involuntary fasting, she had mellowed out with a regular feeding schedule. "Her appetite should plateau upon puberty. Or even diminish." The doctor had seen her fair share of vampiric quirkers who were forced to fast until the breaking point, it wasn't pretty.

She also made sure to deal with everything Himiko would need during her stay at Rhodes, such as setting up internal passes and ordering the basic uniform in her size. "I wonder who will call dibs on her." Depending on who did it, the girl would be put through the wringer. “It’s a pity she can’t stay at Lungmen. I should have pushed for budget increases here.” Warfarin prayed for Himiko to integrate without too much grief.

As soon the data on the newest ward was available, some branch heads checked it out to see if the newcomer was a good fit for future employment. "A shape-shifting quirk?" The woman studied the file, she was also to be placed with one of Kal'tsit's wards. "I will evaluate her personally." The instinct for hunting and the resourcefulness to obtain tools for that end had potential, one that could be refined to defend Rhodes Island's interests.

The transfer to Rhodes Island was hassle-free for Himiko, all the clothes and stuff Warfarin got for her were sent ahead into her future living space, and it seemed she would share only with one other person as the other rooms were already at max capacity. That was good, living with too many people at the orphanage had her burned at facing big groups.

While the main entrance was a hospital, Himiko was guided to a side entrance where she could see the dorms and what seemed to be a gym or stadium. The lizard guy was using a keycard as they got past gates until they reached the dorms, where he handed over a card with her name and photo, she even remembered when Warfarin took it.

Following the instructions, Himiko navigated staircases and hallways until she reached the correct door. "They said my things are already inside." She went in to see that her roommate was lounging on a bed and had claimed the left side of the room, forcing her to place the luggage on the other bed. She could see wolf ears and tail, but the face of the stranger was weirdly inexpressive. "... Hi? I'm Himiko." The girl's ear twitched briefly at her words.

"I'm Red. Use that one." Red pointed at the remaining closet. While Himiko put away her clothes and spread her stuff on her side of the bedroom, she found a few sets of boring uniform and footwear, making a face at the abundance of black. "These aren't cute." When she asked Red about the uniform, the wolfgirl clarified that it was for physical training.

"Training?" That explained why Warfarin had been insistent she keep up with her fitness, Himiko figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it on and see if it wasn’t tight, picking up a set and shoes to change in the bathroom. "If it doesn't fit, go to Logistics." Red thought back to her instructions, be civil, show her around, then decide whether to ignore her or not.

"I will show you where, later." Once Himiko changed into fresh clothes, still fiddling with the black and blue coat, Red went to show her around the place. First thing was to hit the mess hall, where Red showed Himiko how to ring up with her card to get past the turnstiles. “Go there for blood.” That had Himiko rushing over with her tray before taking a seat with Red at a table away from the crowd.

“Keep your card, don’t lose it.” While they ate, Red told Himiko about the study area and the physical training area, tutors would assist them with both. “They might call you for operations.” Who knows if Himiko would actually be drafted, though if Popukar was anything to go by… “Train hard to not die.”

“You keep talking about training, I want to see what’s it about.” Himiko was bouncing her leg at the idea, wondering what they did there. Would they let her practice with blades and traps? She liked practicing her hunting skills, who knew if she’d find herself needing to catch small animals for blood again. “Fine. Come.”

Himiko followed after the wolf, racing to match her pace as she vaulted over railings, it felt nice to not worry about putting up appearances. Here there was no adult to tell her not to run, not to drink the nice red stuff, not to act like a wild animal. She wanted to stay as long as she could, she wanted to fit in as Red did.

Himiko stared at the people undertaking mock combat scenarios, her heart raced as she focused on a pair using huge swords as red covered their bodies, each slash revealing more. Red glanced at her roommate, most newcomers got scared of seeing injuries and wanted to avoid the mock exercises, it was already a plus that she wasn’t averse to getting roughed up.

“You want to spar?” Red offered to Himiko, getting her to turn in her direction with sharp eyes. “Do you mean like everybody, or those two?” Himiko glanced at the sword wielders who were done with their bout, wrapping up their cuts and leaving for the day. “Those two, until you get tired.” She nodded at that and followed Red into a circle on the floor.

Red handed over one of her daggers and gave her the opening turn. Himiko imitated her grip and thought of how to attack her. They shouldn’t leave the circle and she was allowed to try and make Red bleed. “I would have liked to ambush her.” The wolf was watching her every move with caution, not underestimating her.

She tried charging headfirst, but Red easily stepped aside and tripped her. “Whoa-!” Himiko barely caught herself from rolling off the ring and turned to her target with a hungry look. She was clumsy at first, but as she watched how Red moved she managed to emulate the wolf. “Ouch!” Himiko felt the graze of steel on her skin, any harder and her blood would be flowing, Red was showing the gap in their experience and muscle memory.

The spar slowly turned into an attrition battle, Himiko wanted a taste of her prey and Red was intent on making the newcomer back down, every time the vampire managed to dodge a scrape the wolf increased the pressure. The other people increased the berth around the girls, not wanting to get pulled into their spar and get stabbed for their trouble.

Neither noticed when the stadium fell silent as a woman approached them, the crowd either vacated the area or waited with bated breath for what would happen. A fog swirled around her feet, agitated further by her tail, and flowed around the ring where the girls were sparring in. The billowing mist circled them and claws came out to hold the duo to end it.^[1]

The wolf was quick to raise her hands in surrender and loosely hold the blade, which had her released and ready to stand at attention, while the vampire attempted to stab a claw only to have two more hold her wrists still. Seeing Red bow her head to the horned woman had Himiko stop struggling and wait to learn how to act.

The woman approached her with an analytical gaze, frowning minutely when she attempted to wriggle free again. “Will you stay put if I let you go?” Himiko wilted at the tone but nodded, feeling the claws lower her until she could get her footing back. Where Warfarin had been a familiar and comforting presence, this woman had a pressure around her that had Himiko as still as Red, waiting for her orders.

The girl was wary of her gaze, weakly clutching the dagger for security. "A wild child. No matter, you will learn." Her tail had Himiko look up into her eyes. “You are under my command now. Red, collaborate with her and help her train.” Starting today, she was now part of S.W.E.E.P. just like Red.

Himiko's shape-shifting quirk had caught the attention of Ascalon when her file was submitted by Warfarin, which scared off any other branches from making moves. Vampiric mutations modified the response to blood and lowered inhibition towards attacking a fellow human. Those factors alone had her considering to take the girl into her ranks.

Then came the impromptu spar showing Himiko had potential despite Red's sandbagging, she fared better than a complete amateur would and didn’t lose her nerve when faced with threat of injury. “Good reflexes and reaction times, though she needs to learn how to behave.” It wouldn’t do to let Himiko rely only on instincts for decision-making.

Warfarin was diligent in discovering the time limit on her blood transformation, one dependent on volume ingested. "She also needs to be taught how to navigate social interactions." Red only had to go in and eliminate a target or retrieve goods, Ascalon was already tracing simulations and coming up with scenarios to train Himiko, all to mold her into a suitable agent.

Nevertheless, as long they learned her limitations, this girl was a blank slate with the perfect quirk for infiltration. "But first, commission Engineering for a suit to address her issue with clothing." It would be foolish to leave her at the mercy of temporary clothes made by the quirk. "I should also schedule a meeting with Warfarin and get the details she thought irrelevant."

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku had a dream, he dreamed to be a hero, to be a person who stood in the face of adversity and brought smiles to the masses. But a lesson was hammered into his mind since he turned four, being born quirkless in this age was a burden and made being a hero impossible. Since that doctor’s visit, most people either had pity or disdain for the quirkless useless boy who was the furthest from ever achieving his dream.

That message bled over even to his mother and friend. Kacchan had been protective at first, defending his future sidekick from bullies. He admired his friend, who was born able to make explosions from his sweat, the blond even fought off older kids off Izuku. Kacchan could be rough and sharp-tongued but he never let size or age make him back off from what he perceived as unjust.

But as time wore on the chore chafed him, and Katsuki began ignoring him. Izuku couldn't fault him, it was one against many, Katsuki only had so much time to be around Izuku as they drifted apart in different classrooms, and he also had to train his quirk if he wanted to get into a good hero university like Yuuei.

As the pressure of middle school occupied his time, Izuku began letting go of his dream, even his hopes of being a late quirk bloomer wilted and died with each passing year. “What can I do…” He wondered if he’d be able to bear a desk job, having grown desiring to patrol the cityscape like most daylight heroes. How Izuku wished he could be friends with Bakugou again, at least he’d have a hero friend.

And his mother, his heart tightened as he thought of her. Inko always worried for him, which only worsened after his definite quirkless diagnosis, seeing him as a fragile child who was outmatched before bullies with powers he lacked. Although he understood her worries, he felt smothered under her concerns, resenting his powerlessness and uselessness.

Izuku was walking home after school when he ran across a pop-up stall with many strange things for sale. The foldable shelves were piled up with masks, string puppets, books with illegible spines, and... Was that a coffin propped on a crate? With a body inside? Still, his curiosity won out and he rang the bell to call the shopkeeper, wherever they were at.

He almost jumped out of his skin when the body got up, stretching their back with too many crackles and pops with a rusty squeak from the helmet for good measure. "Good morning, good afternoon, and good night, dear customer." Izuku tried not to stare at the tentacles peeking from under their cape as the seller slunk closer, tentatively looking around the shelves and boxes for anything of interest.^[2]

"Um... Sir? What do you sell?" The barrel helm tilted to one side as the stranger hummed pensively. "Good question, buy anything and find out." They pushed a bin aside so Izuku could come in and examine the goods better, chiding him to not pick up anything he didn't intend to purchase. "Hand me the cash first, then you can touch that all you like." The boy shoved his hands in his pockets, unwilling to find out the consequences.

But none of the trinkets caught his eye. "Do you... well... have anything for..." Bucket-head loomed over him while a tentacle adjusted his blazer's collar. "For?" The boy swallowed his nervousness, hoping the guy wouldn't get mad if he got out without a purchase. "For getting stronger. I want to be a hero..." He waited for the jeering he was too used to hear, but the man just turned around and rummaged in a bin.

The merchant offered a folded parchment with ratty twine holding it closed. "Just for today, for the first customer of the day, this is 99% off, just 500 yen." Izuku frowned at the sketchy mark-down, this was sounding too much like a scam. "It's alright, I can afford it, think of it like a promo magazine." He handed over the coin and took the suspicious item.

Izuku tugged off the twine and unfolded the parchment, watching in wonder as lines bloomed on the empty space. "It's a real map..." He recognized the streets that crisscrossed the map, it even seemed to be picking up some hero battle as a building vanished at the city limit. "A piece of advice, no journey is to be undertaken on an empty stomach." Izuku scratched his head at the nonsense, dipping into a konbini to get some sweet bread just in case.

From what Izuku deduced by studying the map, it was updating slowly to keep him around the center of the parchment. "This red dot... Is it about danger, or is it a destination?" He followed the map to a small shrine, the worn stone steps crunched with old foliage as he delved deeper. "He didn't prank me, right? Well, it's just one coin, it'll be fine, I got plenty more saved, I'll just check the place and go home, mom will get worried if I get back late-"

Izuku found a person meditating in front of the offering box, the weapon peeking from behind her had him wary. "He didn't send me to a villain, right? That would be bad for business, or maybe not, it's not like anyone else knew I bought from him." He saw dog ears atop her head, pricked up in alert in his direction, then the woman opened her eyes and watched him without moving.

Was he supposed to offer the bread? Well, better get moving before she got annoyed. "Uh, hello? Are... Are you hungry?" He nervously trudged closer and held out the packet, which she accepted. “What brings a young soul here?” He took a seat on the wooden steps while facing her, wondering if she’d entertain his childish dream. "Do you think a quirkless person can be a hero?"

As the breeze made her hair flutter, she looked at him with a neutral expression. "What is a hero to you?" Izuku thought long and hard about it, he hadn’t ever stopped to put his beliefs to words before, nobody gave any mind to a quirkless nobody. “Well, do you know All Might? He’s the perfect hero, he saves so many people every day, he does all that with a smile on his face, I want to be like that, to save people and cheer them up just by being there.”

“I want to be a hero, but everybody says I’m too useless for that.” She waited for him to stop explaining to reply. "In your mind, to be a hero is to sacrifice thyself for the people. Who said only people with quirks have that right? To be selfless is a state of mind independent of your constitution." He marveled at these words, never before did he hear someone say even quirkless people could be heroes.

"I am Saga, a wandering monk. As I traverse the realm, people who need aid abound. Even now there are ruffians prowling after the weak.” She pulled out the naginata on her back and placed it on her lap, making the blade catch the light. “I fight for those unable to defend themselves. I do not require the laurels of heroism to take action." Izuku never heard of her, and from what she said she didn't seem to be an official hero.

But violent vigilantes become infamous fast, maybe she didn't fight to kill, just to scare villains off or until police or an actual hero arrived. "What's your quirk, that is, if you don't mind me asking, I noticed your ears, does it involve heightened senses, or a transformation you can trigger-" He caught himself rambling and slapped a hand over his mouth, but she wasn't bothered.

"I was born without wondrous powers, this body you see was inherited from my ascendants." If he understood it right, Saga was a case of quirkless heteromorph, her parents held canine quirks and passed on physical traits without any meta-factors. "Could... Could you teach me? I want to help people, I want to keep them safe, even if I'm quirkless, well, that's only if you have time for that, I don't want to impose, nor anything like that."

He blustered out apologies as she approached him, but she just patted his shoulder with a kind smile. "If you desire to learn, I will be here." It depended on Izuku's determination if he wanted Saga to instruct him.

The boy went home with a head full of questions, barely arriving before his mother and holing himself in the bedroom. Could he trust Saga? Was it really possible to become a hero, despite him being, well, himself? Izuku looked at his All Might poster, at the hero greater than any other. “She’ll be there, right? She wasn’t lying…?”

He waffled for a few days, uncertain of what he should do, but decided he had to go. He tried to picture himself as a hero the way he was now, painting a disappointing picture, he’d be too incompetent to even catch a purse-snatcher. “Everybody else has quirks to make them good enough, I need to get something that will help me in this career.” From what he had read on Knuckleduster from Naruhata, even vigilantes had strength and skills on their side.

Izuku arrived to the sight of the monk practicing with her naginata, swinging as if it was weightless and stirring up swirls of fallen leaves. “Aburaage!” She shouted as she performed a powerful straight slash. “What kind of battle cry was that?” He couldn’t help the chortle, cracking up in a giggling fit, while Saga smiled, glad that her attempt to have him unwind work.

As they stood on the clearing, she looked at his expression for any signs of hesitation. “Have you steeled your resolution?” He nodded in affirmation, he couldn’t stay at the start line, Bakugou and his peers were already too far, he had to run to catch up. “Very well. I shall aid you in tempering thy body for the trials that come.”

Saga taught him exercises to build up his muscles and flexibility, he’d need lots of it if he wanted to match her skill with the polearm. “A properly laid foundation precedes all. Before you start learning the staff, become as sturdy as the oak and as yielding as the reed.” Izuku saved up to buy some elastic straps to train at home, every moment counted and he wanted to learn more as soon he could.

Once Saga gave him the clear to learn the basics of her martial arts, Izuku improvised with a sturdy pipe scavenged from the beach, stashing it in the bushes by the stone steps when he had to go home. “Do not overextend, you are only wasting movements and leaving thyself vulnerable for counterattacks.” The monk demonstrated first then corrected his posture, making his body learn the stances before he applied them in combat.

While his body protested the activity at first, Izuku visited her every day after school and in the weekends, racing to the temple with excitement and anticipation. He could feel his runs decreasing in time as his conditioning improved, what used to be less than an hour of practice before he had to rest grew into entire afternoons swinging his staff and practicing with Saga.

One day Saga squinted while he did his exercises and had him try to do splits. "Your body is rigid, did you forget to practice your stretches?" Izuku had no answer, he was a bunny caught in the dog's mouth. "Uh..." She sighed in disappointment, which cut deeper than any amount of anger. "Were you skipping on them?"

Izuku could only lower his head in shame, he had been too lazy and only practiced swinging the staff. "Sorry." Saga hit her naginata’s end on the stone paving for emphasis, if this boy was to learn from her, he couldn’t neglect any of his facets. "Listen, even the strongest in the world will be useless if their body is as stiff as a wooden dummy."

She wondered if words were enough, they sure weren’t for herself, she’d have to make his body learn the consequences of indolence. "Come on, young rabbit, let's go for a walk." Izuku had heard that nickname many times, wondering where it came from. "Why do you call me that?" From what he could see in the mirror, there was no rabbit mutation on him.

"You are as the jade rabbit, desiring to sacrifice thyself." Just like in the tale, Saga would ensure Izuku wouldn't be burned by the worldly plights by training him. “Every day is a journey. Do not neglect your body in your pursuit of dreams.” Izuku followed her up a mountain trail, finding one of the many streams that cut the landscape. "Today we shall practice your mobility."

Saga hopped on the slippery boulders and rotting trunks as easily as a child playing hopscotch. “Try and follow my steps.” Despite lacking a quirk for balance or speed, she kept herself steady with the naginata, treading on precarious footholds as example for Izuku. “Okay…” Izuku tested how to hold his staff to balance himself as she did while gathering his wits to jump on the first stone.

His lack of flexibility was all the more apparent when he tried to extend himself for the next step, feeling cramps in muscles he couldn't name. “How do you know where to go?” Saga was letting the environment teach Izuku the foolishness of not listening to her. “An unclouded sight reveals all, even the darkest night shan’t be a deterrent.” His brain was split between her statements and his footholds.

“The stones are slippery!” The boy was scanning the boulders for any safe enough to step on while balancing on a foot, his thigh and calf was screaming for relief. “As long you keep a tranquil heart as an undisturbed pond, no path shall be a treacherous one.” The monk was keeping herself steady on a rounded stone covered in moss, her back was perfectly straight as she twirled her weapon.

He was struggling to even take a single step, how was he supposed to still his heart? “Aah!” He miscalculated and had to be rescued from his misstep. “Keep trying, even a fledgling has to fall before soaring.” Even if Izuku slipped and was about to eat mud or take a dip, Saga was always close enough to grab him and keep him from landing on his face.

Inko had noticed her son was changing. “He never mentioned a club.” Her boy had been acting strange lately, he even refused to trim his hair as usual and was starting to braid some of it with a ribbon. “It can’t be something with Katsuki, Mitsuki would have mentioned it.” Izuku was working an increasing appetite that had him taking bigger portions at every meal and buying protein bars with his allowance.

There was also a subtle shift in his bedroom, he took down some of the flashier All Might posters and memorabilia in favor of some simple exercise gear, handwritten motivational quotes, and more of his analysis notebooks. “Is someone influencing my boy?” There was nothing out of the usual during his daily chats with Hisashi, so it couldn’t be a change inspired by her husband.

Inko couldn’t help but worry for her son, he told her nothing of what had him out after school and leaving the house on weekends. “I will have to follow him, if he’s keeping it a secret.” She trailed after him during a weekend, thankful that he seemed to be going at a leisurely pace, the rain the day before had the pavement a little slippery still. Inko did remember there was a temple in this area, but she never visited it in person.

Sure enough, Izuku turned to go up the stone steps, making her wait a little before following. “Chilly…” The woman slipped on the steps, letting out a cry in surprise and fear. “Mom!” Izuku was too slow to reach her, only able to futilely reach out. “Oh dear.” Firm arms caught her, as the monk was quick to reach her, then helped her stand steady on her feet.

Mother and son were quick to hug after the scare, reassuring each other with rapid-fire apologies. “I’m sorry for scaring you, Izuku, I should have called your attention.” He rubbed her back to remind himself that she wasn’t hurt, that his slowness didn’t have consequences. “I’m sorry, mom, I was the one to keep this secret.” Saga hadn’t told him to not tell anyone, he just thought his mom would keep him from meeting Saga if she heard about it out of worry.

Once the Midoriyas were done, he started on his stretches while she approached the monk to inquire her. “What are you doing with my boy?” Inko watched her son do some warm-up exercises, but was still skeptical. “I show him exercises and teach how to wield the staff.” Saga motioned for Izuku to stand on the clearing and demonstrate the moves he learned, using a branch to tap his limbs and correct each posture, and explaining how to better weave the motions together.

As he redid the exercises, Inko still had more questions. “What do you do for a living?” There it was, Saga had met her fair share of people wary of someone who seemed to live like a hoodlum. “I work seasonally and have my share of money. My place of employment provides sleeping quarters.” With her frugal means, she wanted for nothing. “Rest assured, I will never demand he pay for his lessons.” The only payment she required from Midoriya was diligence.

Once today’s session was done, Saga gave them space to talk, sitting in the shade to meditate. Inko saw how Izuku smiled while receiving instructions, it was a smile she hadn’t seen in years. “I worry about you, Izuku. But she doesn’t seem to be a bad person.” She couldn’t bear with tearing him apart from this new source of joy, even though she knew this was only encouraging his hero dreams.

She smoothed the wrinkles on Izuku’s shirt and held his face tenderly. “I can see how much this helped you, you’re happier now, you can keep meeting her.” Inko then approached the monk to thank her for teaching her son. “You are welcome to come and watch whenever you have time.” That reassured her decision to trust Saga.

Chapter Text

The sudden hiring by Ascalon had Himiko on pins and needles, uncertain of how to act around the woman. "I only have three directives: train diligently, don't engage in trivial arguments, and finish your missions." That's all she'd ask from the girl, what she did on her free time didn't concern Ascalon, unless it put Rhodes Island in jeopardy or caused undue conflicts.

Red had been unusually nervous when Himiko asked her what counted as punishable arguments. "Just don't start them. If the others swing first you can finish the fight." She didn't reveal anything further despite Himiko's prodding, which only convinced her further that Red did something to get a harsh scolding in the past, and cemented Himiko's resolve to not get in Ascalon's bad side.

At the start of a new month, Himiko was issued a set of workbooks and writing supplies, along with a schedule for the tutoring and homework turn-in. "Follow me." Red led her to the South Wing into a building that resembled a school, but with more floors. "Your class is at the first floor. Recess meals are at the mess hall."

A girl with horns and lizard tail and a fox girl were loitering by the entrance until they spotted Red, from what Himiko could see they were around the wolf’s age. "Hey girl, who’s the shortie with you?" They greeted Red cheerfully and were staring at Himiko with interest. "Ifrit, Frostleaf; – Red pointed at each one. – This one is Himiko, my roommate."

Ifrit spat out a plume of fire and scoffed. "Girl, is that how you introduce your friends?" Frostleaf stayed silent as she blew out a gum bubble. "You have friends?" Himiko turned to Red in disbelief, this ice-block actually could behave like a human being? "… Rude, but fair." They couldn’t chat further as the first bell rang, forcing them into their respective classrooms.

While the older group went upstairs, Himiko found her class door and went in to face a few girls and boys closer to her age. There were already a few cliques, but a group approached her, two foxes and a rabbit. The rabbit was the first to greet Himiko, pulling her into a joint cracking hug, while the other two settled for a simple hello after seeing her pained grimace.

The ones who welcomed Himiko into their circle were Lisa, Shamare, and Popukar. "If you need help with the lessons, just ask me." Lisa offered her help in catching up with the material to Himiko, figuring that a latecomer may struggle with how things worked. "Thanks, I’ll ask you about some of this stuff later." It felt nice to be so welcomed for a change.

Shamare had been staring at Himiko’s mouth as she doodled some gruesome stuff on her notebook. "You smell of blood like mister Midnight. Are you a vampire?" She also pointed out the fangs, causing Lisa to chide her for the bluntness, but Himiko didn’t mind it. "I do have to drink it." While the other desks were visibly tense at the chatter, these girls were just curious about her.

Popukar looked up from the math problems with a glint in her eye. "I heard from him that friends of vampires give blood. Do you need it now?" Miss Orchid was the one who gave most blood to him, Catapult and Spot only gave a little to him, and Midnight refused any offers from Popukar and said she was too young for that. "Or do you only take from… what did he say… paramers?"

Lisa blushed at the mistaken wording. "It’s paramour. And it’s too early for any of us to think about that." Any further discussion about Himiko’s diet needs was pushed for later as the teacher had arrived and told the class to quiet down and pay attention.

Himiko zonked out at the absurdly dull droning from the teacher, only waking up when Lisa shook her shoulder, they expected her to stand it for however many years? “It’s not that bad. It’s just that his tone is a bit…” Lisa tried to smooth over things when Shamare brought up the same topic from earlier. "So about your vampire thing, are you like Midnight then? Do you want to drink it from us?"

Himiko mulled over the offer. “Well, I want to drink from friends. Are you willing to be my friends?” The girls were quick to accept, Lisa even stated they already were friends. “Okay, when I get cravings I’ll ask you for some.” She had to make Popukar pull her sleeve down, she wasn’t thirsty yet. “Another day, alright? I’m serious.”

Ifrit barged in by patting Himiko’s shoulder. "Already making friends, little bat?" Himiko rolled her eyes at the nickname and shrugged off her hand to stand by Red, who gestured for her to follow while Ifrit distracted the others. “Let’s go, seats fill fast.” Frostleaf just watched them leave as her friend roughhoused with the younger girls while avoiding Shamare, that doll seemed cursed.

Ifrit invited Himiko’s friends to tag along. "We’re going to the mess hall. You coming with us?" She rubbed Lisa’s head, messing up her hair and grinning at the grumpy face. “What? You mad, shortie?” Frostleaf elbowed her to stop messing with their underclassmates. "I’ll tell Silence you’re bullying the kids." She huffed at the threat, she was just playing around. "Tch, whatever. Wait, did Red and the bat ditch us?"

Red and Himiko were quick to get their meals and saved seats for the others, using the brief time away to chat. “Was it nice?” She tried to gauge how Himiko was faring. “Yeah, they’re nice. I can get used to this.” Red felt some relief that she wasn’t facing difficulties. “Then?” Himiko watched as Ifrit messed around with Popukar by the serving area while ignoring the protests and earned a jab to her side. “I want to stay here, with all of you.”

One day Himiko was ordered to don the Rhodes Island standard uniform and show up at Ascalon’s quarters. “Is it a mission? You said I’d go with Red until I was experienced enough.” Himiko usually tagged along for low-pressure operations and the wolf was still out in an interception errand. “I have something else in mind for you.” Was Ascalon about to train her personally? The thought had Himiko dreading it.

“It’s time you met your direct superiors besides myself.” She got guided by Ascalon into the main building, past some high clearance doors, until they arrived at an office. A bunny girl older than Himiko was being assisted by a cat woman with stern eyes. "Is that your new recruit, Ascalon?" The woman was the first to speak up as she stood between the pair and the bunny. "She lacks prior field experience nor was she trained to standard, yet you already believe she is a good fit?"

Ascalon pushed the girl to stand in front and kept a hold on her shoulder. "Yes, miss Kal'tsit, my decision to recruit Himiko is final." A nudge forward had Himiko bow along with the woman towards the girl. "Meet Amiya, our leader. Her safety is paramount." Himiko stared at the bunny girl, she didn't seem much older than Red. "Hello. I'll... uh, finish any mission you give me..." She hesitated at the silence that followed, thinking that she had messed up by speaking up, was she supposed to wait for permission or something?

Amiya broke the stillness by getting up and circling the table, standing before the blonde with a gentle smile. "It's a pleasure to know you, Himiko." She offered a hand to Himiko, waiting for her to close the distance or turn away. The blonde glanced up at the still stern-looking Kal'tsit, who just stood ready to intervene if necessary. "It's good to know you too." Himiko shook Amiya's hand briefly then stepped back to stay beside Ascalon.

Ascalon just gave a slight nod in approval at Himiko's manners and dismissed her. "Go to Engineering, it's the building at West Wing with signage." She waited for the girl to confirm she understood before instructing further. "Inform your name and affiliation at the reception, they are expecting you." Himiko was quick to say her goodbye in a quick bow and leave the suffocating room.

Once she reached the reception at Engineering Himiko was greeted by a white-haired woman who introduced herself as Weedy. “Himiko, correct? Follow me.” The girl was led to a workshop where some suits her size were lined up. “These are made with material that can grow along with your body, try them on and use your quirk.”

Himiko took one of the samples in red and pink, as the others were in boring colors, behind the changing curtain. “How do I wear this?” Weedy explained there was a zipper tab on the front secured by a button, which the girl figured quickly and got dressed easily. Himiko stepped out so the woman could see the effects of her quirk.

She tried turning into a tall dog woman who directed the training drills, feeling the material stretch along with her. “Good, it’s adapting to the height and figure change.” Weedy instructed her to try and make clothing, but Himiko soon found the issue. "My quirk is still making clothes under it." Even though it used her DNA, it seemed that her power still considered it a separate object to be shed.

Weedy looked like she was force-fed a frog. "Ugh… I’ll have to call him for this." She apologized to Himiko for being unable to provide specialized equipment in the meantime. "I will need some quirk samples." The ooze that melted off Himiko was simple enough to store, as it only disappeared in the presence of nitrogen. "Keep an eye on the institutional mail, once we manage to create a prototype, you will be informed."

Still, Himiko was curious, who could achieve what Weedy couldn’t? "Who will make my suit?" The woman was still moody at the idea of the unknown person. "Operator Thorns. If I remember it right, he’s taking a break, so he should be available…" Weedy dismissed her as she turned to the PC and began typing an e-mail at lightning speed with a foul look.

Thankfully there were no classes today, and the group had messaged her to meet at the central garden, today there would be a cookout. “Where were you, little bat?” Ifrit looked up from the grill as the girls got their share of skewered meat and veggies, handing over a paper plate to Himiko. “C’mon, serve yourself, I got plenty more in the cooler.”

“I went to Engineering earlier, but they’ll have to get something more custom for me.” Frostleaf perked up her ears at the news. “Your quirk’s that temperamental?” Himiko shrugged, that sounded about right. “Miss Weedy was annoyed, I wonder if he’s someone grumpier than instructor Dobermann.” If so, she hoped she didn’t have to meet the person.

"Did the egghead tell you who she’s calling?" Himiko told them the name she was provided, but why did it matter? "Thorns, right? Then we're sure to get fireworks." Ifrit rubbed her hands in anticipation. "I'll get the blast shield ready." Frostleaf sighed after her last bite and tossed the skewers and paper plate in the grill, stretching her arms and back. "I’ll get a picnic blanket for us to sit. Though, it’s too bad that Red isn’t here yet."

“Y’all welcome to tag along, the more the merrier.”

The older girls had their ears sharpened for any mention of the Iberian Operator, who arrived a week after Himiko went to Engineering. The mood had a noticeable shift as the adults were on edge, which also had Lisa second-guess her decision to tag along for the viewing party. "I’m not so sure about this… Aren’t we making a show of him?"

Frostleaf patted her shoulder in encouragement. "Girl, he pulls the explosion shtick every time he tinkers in the lab, we’re just enjoying the show." Shamare hooked an arm into Lisa’s and displayed puppy eyes. "Come on, they invited us, let’s have fun." Lisa gave up protesting, hoping that he wouldn’t get hurt in the process.

Ifrit set up the blast shield by the Engineering workshop, where Thorns was last seen entering, at a distance she deemed far enough from prior incidents and away from the possible shrapnel path. She also gave the others gas masks just in case. “It doesn’t take long for him to make things go boom, don’t worry.”

Sure enough, they soon saw yellow fumes billowing out a window, starting out as barely visible wisps before thickening into plumes. Ifrit was the first to start praying for it to blow up, followed by the other girls. Shamare stayed seated, but her wagging tail betrayed her mood. Only Lisa was nervous at what was about to happen.

A few minutes later the peanut gallery saw a flash from the window that promptly turned into an explosion, ripping out the entire side of the building and sending concrete and yellow smoke everywhere. Ifrit cheered the loudest among the watchers, even Shamare let out a giggle before a look from Lisa had her cough into her hand.

A Thorns in burned clothes ran out the ruined wall with Weedy hot on his heels screaming his name in outrage. The girls watched in earnest as he dodged the furious woman, cheering every time he escaped her grasp, until she managed to tackle him and dragged the man by the leg back into the building.

While Thorns did manage to craft a compound that helped Himiko’s quirk interface with the suit as an extension of her body, his refining station was relocated to a demountable warehouse to avoid further damage to the foundation and allow Engineering to fix the blown out wall, and got booted back to his original placement once he was done crafting enough for a suit and a few repairs.

Despite the issues, Himiko now had a fully customizable outfit, with the added benefit of not having to worry about duration nor tracking quirk byproduct every time she changed disguises. As long she could remember the details of an outfit, her quirk could produce any sort of clothes by directly altering the suit with minimal wastage, which also helped her stamina.

One look she liked to imitate was Red's downsized to her measures, with all the knives under the coat to use as she pleased. Granted, she couldn’t throw them as they melted after a distance. Still, it felt exciting to have something specifically tailored for Himiko alone, something she could say belonged to her without a shadow of doubt.

But now that she had proper quirk gear, that also meant Ascalon could ramp up the training intensity to test and define the new limits of what she could achieve. Himiko was subjected to hell before being officially released into S.W.E.E.P. missions, no longer limited to standard operations.

News about operators with interesting quirks were fast to spread across the Rhodes Island branches, and Himiko was no exception as people theorized about her quirk in earnest, to the point that she reached the ears of some less pleasant people. «She can copy people perfectly? Interesting. I was getting bored of Lungmen, anyway.»

Chapter Text

Katsuki Bakugou felt that school life was getting duller by the day. He was already ahead on his studies, acing the tests without effort, and nobody had the balls to face him seriously during the brief quirk spars at PE classes. He felt like he was stagnating in his skills, craving some challenge be it physical or mental. The gym was productive at first, he could feel his muscles filling out as the weeks passed, the strain had him feeling a euphoric rush. But now he was at a point he couldn’t build up without some boosters, which he would rather not use.

What remained was his quirk, but he could only use harmless pops, the big blasts would get him arrested for blatant illegal quirk use. “Can I afford renting a facility…” A quick search in his phone had him conclude it was a no, the ones available were all hogged by heroes, which drove up prices. Not even the extras who glued themselves to him like suckerfish had any interesting stuff to talk about to ward off his boredom. “Idiots, why can’t they even get right who was in the news…”

When his mother mentioned meeting Inko and chatting about something he didn’t care for, Katsuki finally realized what he was missing. He missed talking with the nerd about quirks and heroes, the extras around him could barely follow the things he mentioned or the news. He tried to remember the last time he chatted with the nerd about something, anything, the distance between himself and Izuku making itself stark. Katsuki made his mind up to try and talk with Izuku, hoping that he wouldn't be turned away.

From what he could remember, the nerd wasn’t in any clubs, so he should be at home with Auntie. “I just gotta say it straight, no making excuses, and don’t cuss at him.” Katsuki wondered if Izuku would like to hit the arcade or a bookstore to hang out. “It’s almost noon, they should be making lunch by now.” He rang the doorbell and was greeted by Auntie. “Katsuki! What a surprise. Did Mitsuki send you?” He shook his head and asked if her son was home. “Oh, you came to see Izuku? He’s out training.”

“Really? Shoot, I thought he’d be home…” Katsuki was confused, Auntie would never let the nerd do these things willingly, it must be a trainer he found alone. “Can you give me directions? I need to talk with him.” Inko smiled kindly, happy that one of the boys seemed to want to mend the friendship. “Just a moment, I’ll get a pen and paper.”

The one thing of interest Katsuki found from the directions was a warehouse, which had the shutter cracked open and light was coming through from the gap. “I can hear people inside, is he here?” After squeezing in, he found Izuku racing across an obstacle course while a dog woman chased him from the sidelines and hurled chalk beanbags, the ones that struck the boy left clear white patches. Katsuki waited for Izuku to notice him, which took a while until he was close enough, stopping by a vaulting horse. “Bakugou?” He cringed at the surname, he’d have to put in the work to resume this friendship.

Izuku turned to his trainer, making her drop the beanbag into the bucket. “Hey, can I have a break? I want to talk with him.” The woman waved dismissively as she walked to a bench and took out a soda from the ice box. “So… Why are you here, Bakugou?” Katsuki grumbled under his breath as he walked along with the nerd to another bench. “Just call me Katsuki, Izuku.” He sighed in relief at the permission given. “Well, I wasn’t sure if you still considered me a friend.” That only had the blond get a fouler mood.

“Look, I know I fucked up by ignoring you, and I regret it.” Katsuki struggled to put out his feelings, but he knew Izuku deserved honesty. “I wanna be friends again, for real. The extras in my class are boring, they only talk about mundane or useless shit.” While getting put on pedestal felt great and all, the shine was long gone, he wanted company who could match his enthusiasm for heroics and his future ambitions. “If you’re training like this, then you still want to be a hero, right? Let’s work together and leave everybody else in the dust.”

“Haha, I’m glad that you haven’t changed.” Izuku accepted his request to be friends again. “Let’s be partners, because I won’t settle for being a sidekick.” Katsuki grinned at the reply, that’s what he expected to hear. A beanbag hit the floor near them. “Yo, you two done with the sappy talk?” Kichisei was tossing up a chalk bag with a bored look, while Katsuki walked up to her with a determined look. “Yes. I want to participate, may I?” She shrugged, if the blondie wanted to get pelted as well she’d just enjoy having two targets.

Katsuki thought of using his blasts to speed up his trajectory between the obstacles, mindful to not place his hands on the chalk smears. “Alright, I got enough sweat.” The second she heard the pop, Kichisei beaned Katsuki right between his eyes, making him fall while cursing in pain and sneezing from the dust. “Fuuck- Bitch…!” Why was he feeling numb all over? Was this her quirk? “No flammable quirk use indoors, what if something catches on fire?” Katsuki rubbed off the chalk on his face once the stiffness ran off, he really wanted to use his blasts on the bitch, but he also wanted to stay and train, the course looked fun.^[3]

After a while Kichisei told them to go rest, her arms were tired from all the flinging. “Half-hour, you can do whatever until my phone rings.” She dismissed the boys then picked up a fan and mat to have a breezy nap. “Wanna come with me, Katsuki? I know a vending machine nearby.” They got some drinks for themselves and the instructor, taking the time to catch up on what they did in the time apart. “I didn’t get to train in a gym like you, Katsuki, but my master sure made me work to keep up with her.”

“That crazy chick’s the one who trained you to be this jacked?” Katsuki could tell that Izuku had filled out with muscles as well, getting on his level of fitness. “Haha, I was taught by someone else, her name’s Saga. And while she’s absent, Kichisei helps me train agility, that’s my weak point right now.” Izuku noticed his friend was pensive and was staring at his palm, was he itching to use his blasts? “You think she minds me tagging along after today? This workout is way better than just pulling iron.” Katsuki couldn’t ignore the burn in some of his muscles, there was merit in this training and it would build his mobility skills as well.

Izuku scratched his head, it wasn’t on him to decide. “Dunno, ask her. She’s the one who got this warehouse and fitted it.” Katsuki huffed as he approached the woman taking a snooze by the fan, nudging her awake with his foot. “Hey, will you let me join the training sessions?” Kichisei lifted the sleep mask with an uncaring look. “Fine by me, but I got conditions.” She explained that she was renting the time in the warehouse from Rhodes Island and also had to buy more chalk bags after a few uses. “His master paid for all his expenses. You’ll have to pony up your share.”

Katsuki had no complaints, all his allowance went to his gym membership and study materials, if today was any indication she would put up interesting training regimens, which he liked. “Money’s no issue, say the price and I’ll wire it to you.” Plus, she didn’t treat him with kid gloves and would work him to the bone, he needed a proper challenge if he wanted to get into Yuuei. “Hm… I confirmed the deposit.” Kichisei placed aside her phone and got up to stretch her body. “I got free time every weekend, Now, let’s go for round two.”

One of the activities Kichisei had them do was tag in different states of encumbrance, having provided the full Rhodes Island field gear and weighted packs and dummies. "Dunno how things are for you heroes, but headquarters usually does this kind of drills." Depending on the scenario, they could add or shed gear and tools. "Though they have a bigger space for team stuff…" Oh well, they'd make do, and the boys were great at challenging the other. 

She had them accompany her to a wilderness trail, ordering them to wait at the entrance. "Today's a contraband scenario, Izuku was the chaser last week, so it's Katsuki today." The blond had a feral grin as he put on minimal gear, zipping up the chest armor and wrapping up some rope around his arm for the takedown, while his opponent picked up a large backpack and strapped it tight to his body, taking a few hops to check for looseness. "You can brawl as much you like, just don't bleed nor rip the equipment."

Izuku was granted a headstart of thirty seconds, setting off the moment Kichisei's stopwatch beeped, then Katsuki bolted at the touch on his back, chomping at the bit to catch his target. Katsuki loved to play pursuer roles, already thinking up scenarios where he chased villains across the city. He glanced down to examine the footprints, quickly deducing that the nerd had dippied between the trees to lose him. 

Katsuki spotted some trampled mud and disturbed foliage, tracking down Izuku in silence. "Nice attempt." He focused his eyes for any sign of the blue backpack, prowling in a lowered stance and taking care not to step on anything noisy. Katsuki paused, having heard something close by. He lowered further into a crouch, looking around for the source.

Once the noise was close enough, Katsuki identified his quarry, breaking into a chase after Izuku, who fled like a hare despite the weight. "Give up! I'm not letting you go!" Katsuki managed to tackle him, sending both into some river mud. "You're not taking me alive!" Izuku struggled against his captor, keeping him from using the rope properly as they rolled around. They were distracted when Kichisei hit their faces with a spritzer. "Hey piggies, playtime's over." She held up the stopwatch, it went way over the first hour mark.

Their parents were shocked at the sight of their kids covered in mud. Any questions they had went unanswered, though the boys were banned from a certain bus route.

“Do any of you have stuff planned next weekend?” After both replied no, she handed over papers to them. “I’ve been thinking that you’ve been cooped up too long, we’re getting fresh air this time.” Kichisei had a new challenge for the boys, making them memorize a path along a neighborhood that was emptied for development and set for demolition soon. “Wear something light, you’ll be running for your lives there.” Katsuki scoffed at the threat, but still counted the days until the race.

On Saturday they both had a quick breakfast and rushed over to the rendezvous point, Kichisei had said to be there before nine o’clock. She rolled into view on skates and a satchel, reaching to pull out a weird pistol and beads. “We’ll be doing a dodge race. You run, I shoot.” Katsuki and Izuku traded glances, maybe they should have worn more layers or some padding despite the heat. “I’ll be using paintballs, so no worries there.” The one who got hit the most would clean her shop next week. “Well? Start running!”

The canister hiss was their set-off cue as they followed the pink chalk dotting the pavement with the woman hot on their heels. “Eenie! Meenie! Mo! Just kidding!” Izuku was already used to being made a shooting target, wincing slightly when the balls splattered over his clothes, while Katsuki punctuated every shot he took with grumbling and hissed cursing. One strike to the back to the knee had Izuku take a misstep that had him rolling onto the pavement to not get hurt, a moment that Kichisei took to take a potshot to his back before he recovered and caught up to Katsuki.

“Dumbass-!” In the time the blond took to gloat, the woman flitted past them and hit his sternum, causing him to choke on his spit, but withstood it without a tumble. “Less chatting and more running!” She kept circling them them by alternating whether she was in front or behind, keeping them guessing as to when she’d try to hit them, and forcing them to steal glances at her to find out while vaulting or weaving past the obstacles she placed, mindful to not lose the path and corner themselves in an alley.

Katsuki noticed a doggy scrawled on a wall. “Second third!” They glanced back to see Kichisei take an alternative path, now they wouldn't have the luxury of foresight, having to rely on their ears for the noise of rollerblades and the occasional taunt. “Heads up!” Kichisei would jump out from some alley they barely noticed and a new splatter would appear on them, they wondered what she had in store to make the course even harder. “Stay sharp, boys! There’s plenty of distance to cover!”

Izuku saw a grinning face flit by them. “Last third! Good luck!” They groaned at the sight of bigger obstacles, these would have to be climbed over or crawled under. “Fuck, I’m aching…” Katsuki powered through the stitch on his side, resisting the temptation of propelling himself with blasts, the bad habit was kicked off his body by force. “This’ no joke, haah…” Izuku was no stranger to physical strain, but the paranoia was getting to him, he kept flinching at the sight of glints and noises, before seeing that he was seeing window flashes and hearing wind rustling.

They arrived at the pink checker line to find Kichisei with a few foldable chairs and a cooler, one half-eaten ice pop already on her hands. “Congrats. Get your refreshments.” The boys were too tired to complain, simply picking a flavor they liked and collapsing on the chairs. “Just for the record, I shot the blondie more times. I’ll be expecting you Monday after school.” Katsuki took a while to count the splatters on himself and Izuku. “Fuck. Do I get to wear an apron or gloves?” Kichisei shrugged. “You can bring anything you need. I usually just sweep the place.”

He cursed even harder, this meant there was grime and similar crap to be battled.

While Katsuki was scrubbing the cash register off the caked-on grime, Izuku was perusing the magazines Kichisei had on display, silently offering his company. “By the way, you got plans for high school?” Kichisei put out ramune bottles for them, she wasn’t a monster to make them stay thirsty during a heat wave. “Why do you ask?” Izuku thought they could remain with this regimen until Saga returned for stricter training all the way until the Yuuei entrance exams.

“Sorry to pop your bubble, but she’s not returning anytime soon.” Kichisei told them that the monk had planned to keep wandering the country on Rhodes Island errands and some sort of soul-searching. “Saga got you a full training course at one of the branches.” She addressed Izuku about the arrangements he could enjoy. “They’ll provide the PC if you go for online schooling, and the other stuff if you go for tech courses they provide.” Katsuki was quick to turn to face her, but she held up a hand to keep him quiet.

“Nah, that only applies to Izuku, too bad.” Kichisei was quick to shoot down their hopes of moving together. “Saga’s the one with rank to indicate peeps to Rhodes.” She was just a Logistics bottom feeder and she liked it that way. “The most I can do is ask around for anyone wanting an apprentice, or find a program.” The only way that Katsuki could tag along with Izuku is if he met the monk somehow, but the deadline was tight and there were no news from the Shiba for him to chase after her.

Izuku scratched his neck, feeling bad for leaving Katsuki behind, but he couldn’t let this opportunity escape. “Well, I will need permission from my parents. I’ll talk with them first.” Katsuki took off his gloves and apron and stomped to stand in front of her. “Oi, what can you find for me then? I’ll take anything to gain an edge.” Kichisei huffed at the demands, but still pulled out her phone. “I’ll make an apprentice profile for you, whether anyone picks you is out of my hands.” Katsuki rattled out any data she asked to fill it out, even explaining his quirk in case it helped his chances, resuming his cleaning once she hit send. “Now it all depends on your luck, firecracker.”

Chapter Text

Saga was wandering the countryside after finishing up the latest errand from Rhodes Island, petting the inky creature on her shoulder that was nipping at her rosary. Who could have guessed that one of many Dusk’s scrolls would be stolen from the Sui museum and used to cause mayhem in Japan? Most of the apparitions could be dealt with even by civilians, but the Furies and Envies had fought off the local heroes, until Saga arrived to dispatch them.

The little Bitey was the last apparition to escape the scroll once she recovered it and handed over to a Rhodes courier for proper handling. “I am grateful that she didn’t paint a Free into the scroll as well.” She supposed that it wouldn’t hurt to keep the creature by her side until the quirk dissipated. It would be nice to have a little companion as she toured the rural landscape, reminiscing her time at the temple.

The monk could see by the signage that she was nearing a settlement, hoping to restock her rations and water bag. Her shoulder buddy seemed to notice something in the air, raising its head and sniffing, only for its skin to ripple in a simile of a hackled cat. Saga caught the same scent when she got closer. “Blood… I saw no livestock signs for there to an abattoir.” Saga placed Bitey into her pouch and picked up her pace, praying for it not to be the worst case scenario.

Soon noises from a fight reached her ears, making her break into a full run and take her naginata on hand. Destruction and corpses led her way to a large man rampaging in the city’s center, half-blind from a fresh wound, and holding up a grotesque lump of muscle against a fallen couple. She dashed in and slashed at his spine, causing him to roar in pain and whirl around to face her, his prey laid forgotten and broken.

Saga glanced at the victims, the couple in hero costume seemed to be still alive, even if barely. “Halt, villain!” The man sneered at her and waved the lump of an arm threateningly at her. “You think you can take on me?! I’m Muscular!” She didn’t react at the name, focusing on a way to draw him away from the civilians and wounded. Saga noticed that he advanced when she took a step back, was this man already considering her prey?

"Hah? You wanna save them? You'll have to go through me first." Muscular scoffed at the Shiba playing hero and grinned when she turned to run away. "Come on bitch, do you think that toothpick can do more than scratch me?" He glanced at the fallen heroes, neither were going far anytime soon, he would just crush the mutt and return to finish the job.

This was supposed to be a simple job, they had answered the call expecting to restrain some small-time villain until the police arrived to pack them up. Instead, Kota Ajisai could barely move through the pain of shattered ribs, but her husband Souma took the brunt of the punch and was unconscious. “We should have waited to come with the reinforcements…”

The one thing she regretted the most was that they would leave their boy alone. “Forgive me… Izumi…” Muscular was about to kill them when someone had attacked the man from behind. “Halt, villain!” Strange, had enough time passed for backup to arrive? Ajisai didn’t recognize the voice, did this person come from another prefecture?

As the villain turned to face his attacker, she barely glimpsed dark hair and clothes before Muscular gave chase, figuring his prey was too crippled to escape. Ajisai watched with dread as villain and rescuer ran into the distance, silently praying for her benefactor to survive and repel Muscular away from the city.

Saga traversed the alleys while avoiding the large fists and hurled objects, musing on how some quirks had the user revert to the basest tactics. “What a dull man.” His attacks were akin to some of the less experienced Acahuallans, all wild strikes with no technique, which let her dodge easily. As she turned to test his resilience, Saga pondered over the options. "How should I deal with him?"

Muscular was getting frustrated with this stray mutt, while her scratches were nothing special, they sure were irritating. “Aren’t you getting tired of moving around?” He tried hurling insults at her, but she seemed to be deaf and just stared at him with a blank face. “Come on, I was just playing with them, the feel of bones snapping is just so addictive!”

She kept her slashes superficial, watching as the villain patched any cuts with grotesque muscle fibers. “Every move teaches him what to avoid.” Saga had to finish the pursuit with a single strike, lest he staunched the wound and learned to be wary. “He takes pride in his cruelty…” She took a deep breath and let her reservations disperse with the wind.

The villain hadn't seen her use any quirks, was she just a dog form quirker? "How did she manage to dodge everything?" Muscular noticed something was off with the damn Shiba, finally managing to catch up to the slippery eel, she had lowered the toothpick and seemed to be distracted. “Be a nice mutt and stay still, I’ll make it quick for you, as a treat.” He lunged at her, grinning in anticipation when she didn’t make a move to dodge again.

Saga sharpened her eyes, emptying her mind of all but her task, this man relished in violence and murder. “To spare him is to kill many.” This wasn't a human anymore, it was better to call him an evil spirit deserving of cleansing. "Thou shall not see a new day, scum." She readied her weapon, taking a life wasn’t something to be done with a wavering hand.

He felt chills when she turned those fierce eyes at him, but he didn’t falter in his charge. "Is that your quirk?! Party tricks won't work!" He raised his arm and coated it with several layers of muscle, creating a flesh sledgehammer to ensure nothing remained of this mongrel. "See you in hell!"

As he bore down on her, Saga simply raised her naginata. “Evil will not be tolerated!” A swing and a punch.

Muscular could swear a breeze hit his throat, then the ground seemed to be coming at him-

Her ears barely twitched at the falling noise. “This is where your bloody path ends.” Saga flicked off the blood on her blade and turned to see the beheaded body collapse, watching intently for any signs of recovery. Once she was sure of his demise, Saga recited prayers both for the slain villain and citizens.

She heard incoming steps, some of the civilians had come to check on her after the noises of a rampaging villain ceased. “Thank you for saving us.” Some came over bearing food and others told her of a bathhouse nearby. Saga thanked them for the generosity, taking some of the onigiri to eat on the way to washing up.

Ajisai woke up to a hospital’s ceiling, feeling bandages around herself and spotting an IV tube. “Hello, sis. You and Souma gave us a pretty big scare.” She turned her head to the side to see Shino, smiling despite the pain. “Sorry. How long was I under?” Shino explained that an emergency backup had found them unconscious and transported them to a bigger city for treatment.

She relayed the state the couple was in before internment, at least the details the hospital told her. “Souma’s still under observation, his injuries were much more severe.” While Ajisai only stayed three days under sedation before getting cleared, her husband wasn’t as lucky. “The doctors are waiting for him to heal a little more before lowering the meds.”

Still, Ajisai could feel that something wasn’t adding up, her memories were clear enough to make her sure of it. “The backup arrived after the fight was over?” Shino frowned at the confusion, did the report get fudged details? “That can’t be. Souma was hurt protecting me, and I couldn’t face Muscular alone.” Who was her savior?

Shino took her hand gently to get her attention. “Ajisai, what do you remember, specifically?” She listened to the tale of the stranger who was chased by Muscular, paying close attention to the description of purple clothes and long hair. “I think it was a woman, it was the voice of one.” And there was something in her hands, a pole…?

The woman stared at her sister, the report made based on the testimonies stated that Water Hose had killed Muscular, not some other person. "Ajisai, if you're recalling right, then the witnesses lied." Shino explained what the news and reports assumed to have happened. "There’s no way. Muscular was ready to kill us." Ajisai looked at her pleadingly. "Shino, could you look the other way, just this time?"

Shino struggled to answer, torn between family and duty. "They are hiding vigilante activity. If the Commission hears of it-" Ajisai shook her head, feeling her eyes sting with the start of tears. "Then don't tell them. Please. We owe my and Souma's savior this." Shino swallowed a lump in her throat, how could she refuse such an earnest request? “… Fine.”

Shino waited a few more days until Souma was also awake, ensuring her family survived the ordeal, before taking a personal trip. She wanted to verify Ajisai’s story, if it was factual then it explained the discrepancy in the killing blow, the Water Hose duo couldn’t make such a sharp and thin stream to make a clean cut, only the gouges on the villain’s arms and face matched their attacks. Muscular had been beheaded with a single strike.

“Here goes nothing.” Shino had visited the city as a civilian, hoping someone would blab about the vigilante. But a stranger was easily identified in a small city, and the tight-knit community was quick to clam up. Those she met deflected her questions, and those who had security cameras claimed that the data was already overwritten. Shino was turned away at every corner without recourse, there weren’t even crumbs about the vigilante.

“Sheesh… If only my quirk was two-way…” She passed by a craft shop and something caught her eye. A lucky charm in the shape of a black and tan Shiba with an indigo scarf was sitting unassumingly among the ceramics. “She mentioned black hair and purple clothes…” While nobody volunteered the description of her target, she wondered if the stranger was a heteromorph.

She checked the maker’s stamp, finding out it was made the other day. Maybe the mystery vigilante had a dog head like Tsuragamae, that would explain the modification to the typical maneki-neko. Shino sighed, if anything, those two would appreciate having a memento of their savior. “How much is this dog?”

Chapter Text

The concept of developing quirks is a rather murky subject. Some schools of thought considered the potential of a quirk something static, you had to settle with what you were born with. Others instead believed that constant effort to push the quirk to its limits led to a shift in output and in rare cases new features, using veteran heroes as proof of concept.

In Himiko’s case, her transformation was growing more efficient, even random mission issued disguises were lasting longer compared to a few months ago. But the bigger change came from her interaction with fresh blood, she could assume the features of her friends for longer and managed to do it even if the feeding happened weeks ago.

But there was a secondary change in her quirk triggered by Ifrit and Frostleaf. Both of them had additional invisible mutations that allowed them to use their quirks without self-harm, granting traits such as immunity to fire that appeared spontaneously on their skin and resistance to subzero temperatures.

The first visible sign that something was changing was the time Himiko used Frostleaf’s blood to mingle in some southern Russian city, noticing condensation on the things she held despite the warm weather. “Weird.” The fox did have a frigid body temperature, but Himiko’s transformation lacked that aspect until now.

She omitted it from reports, figuring that outing this new development would see her dragged back into training hell. And things didn’t stop at that, whole blood had gained a new dimension to her tastebuds, like finally figuring why someone liked bitter chocolate, noticing subtle differences between Shamare’s and Lisa’s blood despite both being fox heteromorphs.

While she couldn’t use their quirks, Himiko found out that some of these additional traits helped make her life easier, using fox hearing for ambushes and Ifrit’s body for fire-based strategies. Nobody expected an incendiary grenade at point-blank.

Then things came to a head when she was out with Shamare during a heatwave, using Ifrit’s guise to withstand the weather while her friend guided her through the shops, searching for a gift for Lisa. They had stopped at a cafe to get refreshments and allow Shamare to recover from the high temperature.

Himiko had gotten a soda and was about to down it when she sneezed, unfortunately Shamare was in the right place to get a plume of fire to the face, which was doused by the drink. “Uh, Shamare? I’m sorry…?” The employees came over to check and clean the mess, kicking them out for the incident.

Shamare shook off the soda like a dog and took out a compact mirror to check the damage. “... Porco dio, you burned my eyebrows.” While her skin suffered some less than superficial burns, her brows were singed and patchy. Then she thought over what just happened. “Himiko, did you copy Ifrit’s quirk?”

Himiko nervous at what just happened, she had to be careful with her transformations starting now. “Maybe? It was an accident, I didn’t even know I could do that.” After getting the gist of the situation and promising to keep quiet about it, Shamare took revenge by taking a razor to Himiko’s brows. “Now we’re even.”

She could only take it obediently, as thwarting Shamare’s pettiness led to greater payback down the line, and she’d rather not get cursed by Morti. Though the accident with Shamare did have Himiko wonder if her quirk was undergoing the so-called awakening by constant exposure.

Himiko wandered through Bunkerhill after finishing some intel gathering into Hydebro, using Closure’s face to not draw suspicion, when she heard someone behind her. “Found you~” She turned around only to get tackled, her attacker’s strange quirk was interfering with her attempts to create knives and they didn’t let her reach for the real blades on her.

A white wolf had pushed and grappled her down to the pavement, forcing her own forearm into Himiko’s mouth and grinning when fangs pierced skin. “Go on, be a dear and drink.” The blood flowed into her mouth as Himiko grudgingly complied, only being set free after a few minutes, she wondered from where this crazy lady crawled out from.

The scar over one eye caught her attention, maybe she read about the woman on some file. “Where did I see her before?” Himiko wiped her mouth off excess blood as she regathered her bearings, seeing her attacker already standing up in front of her. “Hey now, don’t waste my blood, transform into me. Himiko.” She felt the sword’s point on her neck and looked up into a feral smirk.

“By the way I got permission from your boss to bother you.” The nutcase pulled out a Rhodes Island id card, flashing it long enough before pocketing it. “I even waited for you to finish your task, now it’s time for entertainment.” Himiko held back a groan, when did she get the attention of this madwoman?

Ascalon didn’t look up when her door slammed open, that nasty accent was enough for identification. “What do you want, operator Lappland?” She lifted her head once the intruder stood before her desk. “Aww, don’t act like a stranger, I just wanna know where operator Himiko is.” Lappland leaned over the table with a grin, purposefully sweeping some papers aside.

Some mist wafted off Ascalon’s shoulder while Lappland wiped her eyes in mock grief. “You’re so mean, sending the vampire out so often, I didn’t even get to meet her.” The wolf didn’t mind the claw around her neck, despite the nails piercing skin and drawing blood. “State your business with my subordinate.”

“Calm down, mama bear, I want to test something, I don’t plan on killing anyone.” The wolf huffed at the slight squeeze, feeling wetness trickle down her skin. “Oh, right. What about a sweet offer?” Lappland pushed further into the claw to look into Ascalon’s eyes. “Next time you need someone to put up a big distraction, call me.” She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

“I won’t even pick a fight with your pet riding hood.” She watched smugly as the woman let her neck go and sat back on the chair. Ascalon pondered over the offer, the lunatic still planned to harass Himiko whether she accepted it or not. “On one condition, do not interfere with her ongoing mission.” This loose cannon could be the greatest asset in certain situations, the obstacle was her willingness to cooperate.

Himiko got up and let her original disguise be overwritten by Lappland’s body. “You’re not letting me go until we fight?” The wolf simply held up her blades, making her sigh at the insistence. “Okay, let’s spar.” Lappland showed off her twin blades for Himiko to copy them properly, watching in anticipation as the ooze solidified into metal. “That’s a handy quirk you got there.” Gray eyes watched every minute detail of the doppelganger, circling the girl and tilting her head to admire the transformation. “Come on, didn’t you ask for it?”

When Himiko smirked in challenge, she saw that the vampire could imitate even her subconscious tells, imitating a quirk wasn't far-fetched. “First things first, watch me closely.” Himiko mirrored how Lappland moved as she swung the blades for a warm-up, though she was unfamiliar with large weapons. “You catch on fast, hold it lower on the handle, you need space to move it.” The wolf helpfully instructed her how to hold the swords, a skilled opponent was much more fun. “Don’t grip it like a dagger, you’re not throwing it.” She waited until Himiko got to a satisfactory level of handling to start the duel.

“Let’s see how well you can learn my fighting style.” The woman was insistent, hacking and slashing with heavy swings that left Himiko's arms stinging. “Come on, darling, try using my quirk, then I’ll let you be.” Lappland’s body was enveloped in a silver aura, the same one that had kept her quirk from activating properly. “Here’s a demonstration.” The shimmering energy came off the blade as a ranged slash, tearing Himiko's sleeve as she dodged aside.^[4]

“You’re crazy, why did you even think I can do that?” Himiko had no idea of how to do that, until where she knew she only copied appearances and fitness. “Yeah, I can copy your body and weapons, but that’s it.” While she could defend herself from the slashes, dodge some projectiles, and barely parry some heavier swings, the power mismatch from Lappland’s quirk meant she was firmly in the defensive and unable to find openings to exploit. “The night’s young, we have plenty of time for you to learn.”

“If you can copy my body, then why can’t you copy my quirk? Just let the feeling guide you.” Himiko decided to humor the lunatic and tried to sense anything out of the norm with her body. "What does she mean? What am I supposed to feel?" She thought back to the first time Warfarin coached her on using quirks, focusing on her breathing. “… Nothing.” No matter how much she focused, she only had the usual changes, like Lappland’s muscles and hearing. “Ah, you can’t? Then we’ll continue until you’re out cold.”

A failed dodge had her leg gain a thin red line, Himiko felt how the energy made her skin tear, there was a tingle that no blade could cause. “Is this what she feels while using her quirk?” She didn’t have time to dwell on it as a kick to the chest sent Himiko colliding with a dumpster, making her cry out in pain as the corrugated metal dug into her back, and she fell to her knees. “If I try to get this feeling around my body…?” Despite the commotion, nobody cared about what went down in the alleys, preferring to pretend that thugs didn’t exist and stay away from trouble.

She glanced at her leg, the slash was superficial and didn’t get to the muscle, but every move pulled the wound apart. “Damn, can’t you give me a breather at least?” Lappland nudged Himiko’s side with her foot as the vampire struggled with the many aches and bruises. “Get up. It’s not over until you use my quirk.” She grinned in sadistic enjoyment when Himiko grunted in pain and wobbled up to her feet. “Use my quirk if you want me to stop.” 

Himiko lifted the blades to block a frontal thrust, locking the sword as it barely grazed her face. Something thrummed under her skin, like an animal clawing its way out. It felt like millions of teeth digging into her skin as the emulated quirk protested being used by a stranger and bucked her attempts to rein it in for an attack. “Oho, I saw something in your eyes.” Lappland had noticed her pained look and abnormal breathing, smirking at the possible success as she pressured Himiko even more.

Lappland watched in anticipation as Himiko focused on handling the quirk to fight back properly. “Are you struggling to use it?” She was forced to take a step back as Lappland pressed on their locked blades. “Pay attention, dear, you can’t play nice with it.” She forced out more of her quirk out, pushing Himiko back a few steps. “Take a hold of the energy within with an iron grip, and once you do it…” The wolf readied an overhead swing that would wound severely if the vampire failed to react. “Unleash it!”

Himiko barely managed to bring the swords up to block it. “Look, you could do it after all.” Ears ringing from the clash, Himiko was struggling on one knee after the wild swing, her arms hurt as she held Lappland at bay with her imitation swords, barely registering the shimmer around the blades that mirrored the wolf's quirk. “Bravissimo, you copied me, down to my quirk.”

She didn't have the energy to reply as Lappland’s quirk recoiled in her body, her guise and weapons melted into nothing as the blonde puked the ingested blood onto the pavement and her body protested the foreign quirk. “It's like someone stuck a blender in my guts.” She ignored further provocation from the crazy wolf as she heaved out and tried to control her breathing.

Ascalon scanned the report, the sender had submitted it within a week of receiving the information. “That was quite efficient.” It had been a gamble to allow Lappland to collide with Himiko, but just the promise of future collaboration sufficed to get her permission, and it paid out with a quirk evolution. “I will have to contact Medical to obtain adequate quirks for her.” And, of course, more training.