A cloudy afternoon greeted the couple as they left their recent hideout overlooking Tokyo Bay. Tooru didn't feel much better than when she entered this place, so she couldn't imagine what Izuku felt as he only slept for about three hours. His suit was looking worse for wear, too. It had been a few days since they left to investigate all the Nomu sightings to their south. They had just arrived back at Yokohama this morning before taking a break.
"We're ready, Prime." Izuku stated before yawning.
"Roger. Just reading through a police report All Might just sent me. We got some activity to our west, it seems."
Tooru asked, "Nomu?"
A few moments passed before it responded. "Looks like it. A big one, and it's just flying around and hasn't done anything notable yet."
"I'll deal with it. You and Tooru are on stand-by if anything else comes up."
A nearby garage door rose and out rolled Baby Prime. "Roger."
Hagakure turned to her boyfriend and said, "Stay safe, Izuku."
Midoriya nodded and used black whip to bring him to a rooftop before heading west. The girl's shoulders sagged. Not even a hug goodbye. Though, on second thought, she noted he was starting to smell pretty foul. Tooru also noticed he had become more irritable than usual since they got closer to Yokohama. Though the boy didn't say why when asked.
The bot groaned. "Wish I could go."
Hagakure walked over and placed a hand on Prime's arm as she said, "I'm sure he would call on you if he needs the backup."
"I don't know. Sure, there's been a bunch of these Nomu the last few days, but we keep running into weaklings. I feel overqualified."
"It's something, at least. The pros only found another dead end in Chiba."
"And now they're in Saitama because of some fire outbreaks. I guess in the end, we got the better deal."
"Even punching even weaklings is more fun than putting out a fire for someone like you."
"You know it." The bot then rolled back into the garage, ducking as he went. "Welp, I guess I'll keep listening in on the police unless All Might has anything for us."
The former pro hero's voice answered back, "Nothing else, really. You three have really been on a roll these last few days."
Tooru lowered her helmet to speak to her communicator. "We are sort of retracing our steps but in the opposite direction." She recalled how they had come by here during their first week of this whole thing.
"We have them running scared even after being gone for a time. There's not much activity besides all the Nomu."
"Not really into waiting around for something to happen, though," Hagakure stated as she activated her suit's invisibility before leaning against the house they were staying at.
The retired pro hero argued, "Well, something else is definitely happening here. They wouldn't let these many Nomu roam for no reason, even if they are not strong. Our enemy has a limited amount left and no way to create quickly now that we have their creator, Dr. Garaki, in custody."
"Just wish we knew what that was," Tooru stated. She didn't like that they had yet to progress on whatever this all meant.
Prime spoke excitedly, "Hatsume-sama's drone has located the flying Nomu. That's a big one, alright!"
"Yeah, I can see it in the distance. It's still just circling, but my Danger Sense is starting to act up," Izuku said with concern.
All Might added, "If it ends up being a High End, we should-." The message was cut off.
Hagakure asked, "Hello?" Nothing. "Anyone?" Only silence. She then heard the garage door roll up.
Prime rolled out and roared, "Damnit, our communications are being jammed! The last thing I noticed before All Might was cut off was the drone started to dip in altitude before I lost visual."
"You should go assist Izuku; something is up."
The bot's head looked past the girl and then punched a fist into its other hand. "Looks like I'll need to take care of this one first."
Tooru turned around to see a large Nomu about as big as Prime with two white horns protruding from either side of its head. They were flat and broad at the base but extended long and sharp at the end. Its forearms and body were much more significant than its standard-sized legs, making them look relatively small. The girl ran to the side of the street as Prime rolled forward with a boost from his jet pack. However, before reaching his target, a long dark appendage stretched across the block. The bot hit it and slowed as the thing got longer and thinner until it stopped. Prime then was flung back and crashed into a small shop, caving its wall in. Hagakure couldn't see her friend through all the smoke. She then felt a chill as a creepy laugh echoed from the alleyway of the stretchy object. From it came a stringy-looking Nomu with long limbs but a small body. Its cackle was made even more disturbing as he slobbered drool everywhere. It retracted its right arm, which had previously stopped the bot.
From the rubble, Prime yelled, "Now we're talking!" It emerged from the smoke and dusted off bricks from its shoulders. "Try and meet up with your boy; I'll handle things here!" Prime's left arm then morphed into a cannon, firing off a smoke bomb at the Nomu duo before again charging in.
Hagakure left, running in the direction she saw Midoriya go earlier. Her mind raced with what just happened. Just what kind of Nomu were those? They looked stronger than the low and mid-tier Nomus they had been running across. That couldn't be a coincidence; they were here just as their communications went off. Could it? Could Izuku have run into more? Just as Tooru ran past another street with this thought, a loud growl to her right stopped her immediately. She saw a giant eight-limbed Nomu from a building. Looking directly at her. And on its back rode Himiko Toga.
"Looks like Gankyu-kun sees a Tooru-chan! Now don't attack her but keep her in sight!" The Nomu let go of the structure's side and landed gracefully before slowly strolling toward the invisible girl.
Tooru tried to keep moving to confirm she was actually being watched. To her horror, one of the creature's eyes darted around, following her every move. She could see its many eyes as it came closer in view and counted 7. Two large ones were positioned like humans, and five smaller ones were in a straight line between its mouth and large eyes. Its lower body was that of an abdomen of a bug, with everything above the waist more human-like. The lower four limbs were insect-like legs, and came out from the waist. The upper four were humanoid arms and had hands that were quite large; they could easily wrap around a person.
Toga said with a wide grin, "I wonder which wavelength my Gankyu-chan can see you with? X-ray? Ultraviolet? Maybe infrared."
They were now in range, and Hagakure unleashed a blast of her Warp Refraction. She immediately began to book it away from them, but the Nomu leaped over her and blocked her path. All its eyes had a transparent membrane that then retracted sideways.
"Like the nictitating membrane? A little detail that All for One added upon my request. Looks like the info I gathered from your internship during the new year wasn't wasted."
Tooru thought, "Now what?" Her stealth was compromised. Her escape tactic was rendered useless. What combat she had been taught couldn't deal with something this big. Really all there was left was Stun Punch, but even at full power, she wondered if it could take something down this large.
Then an idea hit her. Of course! Though how would she get an opportunity, she pondered.
Himiko hopped down from Gankyu and lowered its head. She leaned against it and said, "You might as well drop the invisibility act. You're not getting away."
Well, maybe I'll get a chance if I humor her, Hagakure thought. She became visible and put her visor up. "So, how long have you been gunning for us?"
The villainess smirked as she answered, "Hmm, that depends. In general or specifically today?"
"Both."
"Good answer. Well, for the first question, since your second term. Shigaraki-kun told me about his run-in with you and Deku-kun at the mall, and I figured you two just had to be a couple. Back then, from the bottom of my heart, I needed to see what drew you to him. Uraraka and, to a lesser effect, Tsuyu-chan interested me too, but now I know I should have focused on you from the start." She spoke with disdain when mentioning Uraraka's name.
So our little handshake greeting wasn't just us being paranoid, Tooru mused. "Ochako-chan told me about your little talk you had last month." She recalled Ochako explaining it while Izuku was still unconscious. The villain asked her friend if Heroes truly saved people after witnessing Twice being killed by Hawks. Uraraka stated she agreed that heroes should protect civilians, but Toga needed to live with the consequences of her actions as a villain.
Toga drew out a knife and started to inspect it as she said, "So disappointing, right? Even if she fell in love with another boy, she still admired Deku-kun enough to want to be more like him, like I do. But she is just like every other terrible, horrible hero who wants to lock us away or kill to 'deal' with my kind." She pointed her knife at Hagakure and asked, "Now all that leaves is you and Deku-kun. You two are the only ones left that I need to ask."
Suddenly a building to their far right collapsed, and the Nomu plus the villain looked toward the noise. The heroine thought it must have been from Prime's battle, but now was her chance. Tooru brought her hands together and squeezed twice to activate the more potent version of Stun Punch and lunged forward. However, one of Gankyu's smaller eyes shifted towards its attacker without moving its head and grabbed the girl with its upper right arm in a flash. Stun Punch still went off, and the creature yelped in pain; it let go but then caught her with its lower right arm. Hagakure groaned. Its grip wasn't painful, and she was glad to learn her suit was immune to the shock; however, she still couldn't break free from its grasp.
"Naughty naughty." Himiko then looked back at the Nomu. "Oh, it was the infrared eye, after all." She motioned towards the creature to follow, and the two began to walk away from the commotion from Prime's fight. "Each eye specializes in a certain wavelength. The left big one is visible light, and the right is ultraviolet. All the small ones do the rest." The girl began to pet the arm that had been shocked. "And to think they called you a weakling. Just cause they aren't big bruiser high tiers like the ones I sent after her little robot bodyguard doesn't mean you can't be useful to us." Gankyu made a poor attempt at a purr, but it still caused Toga to giggle.
"Oh yeah, where were we?" The villainess paused before continuing, "Oh right, why am I here today. I needed some time to myself after our little war, and once I got back, I learned that our precious Deku-kun had beaten up all the thugs that All for One had sent after him. I proposed a plan to lure you away from the other pro heroes with some small-time Nomus while our new ally Skeptic from Detnerat could easily manipulate them with false rumors across the web."
"So those fires in Saitama were also your doing."
"Yup. All I needed then were some strong High-End Nomu to keep Deku-kun busy. And." She proceeded to hug the Nomu around the neck. "This special one to track you down."
Hagakure was confused. She went through all this just for something so simple. Why? "All so you could ask me a question?"
Toga approached her captive; she said, "Well, I told the boss's boss I would just become you. He loved the plan." Himiko then licked her blade before pointing it again at Tooru.
"He won't fall for it. You can only copy someone's appearance, and he's never seen the real me, and no one has." Those last two lines hurt, but she didn't let them affect her tone toward her enemy.
The villain laughed before shaking her index finger in her free hand. "That's where you are wrong. Back in December, I learned that if I drank the blood of one I hold dear enough, I could also access their quirk. You should have seen it as I transformed into Uraraka and lifted those giving me trouble high into the air, only to send them down to their death on the concrete. But now she is nothing to me. But you, I can copy that quirk of yours easily. You love my love, after all." A fierce blush and demented grin came upon the girl's face. "I'll lure him into a false sense of security and go in for the stab. And as he bleeds out I'll ask him if he will be my boyfriend."
"That's not how any of that works!"
"Maybe not to you, but it does for me! I love them! I become them! There is no greater bond!" Toga stopped walking and started to breathe heavily after her outburst, and Gankyu also stopped moving forward.
Tooru wondered just how warped was this girl's perspective on love? And why Izuku, of all people? They interacted only once before her obsession set in. In the middle of battle, even in the dark!
"Why are you so dead set on Izuku?"
"Enough questions! You need to answer mine now." Himiko placed a hand on the Nomu's arm holding the captive, which lowered so the two were now at eye level. "What do you want to do with me? What course would you take if you had the power to stop me right now? Lock me up? Kill me? What is your answer, Tooru-chan?"
Hagakure had agreed with Uraraka's answer back when she learned what happened. And had she met Toga anytime before that, she felt a similar response that had escaped her lips. But now? After everything she had been through. After everything Midoriya was going through and hearing how he wanted to go forward with their primary goal. She had her answer.
"To try and save you."
Toga looked dumbfounded. "Save?"
"When Izuku came to after the war, he mentioned wanting to try and save Shigaraki. I didn't understand it initially and struggled to rationalize it in the following weeks. He mentioned seeing your leader's true self as their quirks fought for control over one another. A sad little boy was crying for help." Tooru paused. "Are you the same?"
Tears came down the villain's face. But she said confidently, "My parents were disgusted with my quirk and obsession with blood. They wanted me to be 'normal.' And I tried to be for a time. But then." She placed a hand on her face. "I saw Saito-kun get all bloodied up fighting at school. And it just all came back. I stabbed him. I drank his blood. I was one with him." Toga then shook her head. "I was disowned. Labeled a demon by my parents. And ran away before joining up with the League. Then that summer night of our raid, I saw Deku-kun. All bruised and beaten from his fight with Muscular. He looked so much like Saito-kun. It was love at first sight." She leaned in and whispered, "Was it the same for you too?"
It took Hagakure a few moments to take in everything she had just heard and make a response. "Things took a bit longer than that. Though I guess by most standards, I quickly fell in love." Tooru then groaned internally. She was making small talk with a murderer. For what? To buy time? For either Izuku or Prime to rescue her? Could they considering who they were fighting? And then there was everything she said before. Was that truthful, or did she say it to please Himiko? She wasn't too sure at the moment.
"Thank you, Tooru-chan. I was right to hope you would be different." Toga wiped away her tears and placed her knife on Hagakure's exposed left shoulder.
Panicked, the invisible girl shouted, "Wait, what are you doing? We can still talk this out!"
"I still need to ask Deku-kun, which requires your blood."
"But I can't save you if you leave Toga-chan!" Tooru didn't care that she was hamming it up. She couldn't let this villain take her blood and potentially hurt Izuku. She couldn't second guess if Danger Sense worked. She couldn't second guess that her boyfriend would do their special greeting, considering they hadn't used it once during this ordeal.
"I appreciate the Flattery but I can't keep Deku-kun waiting too long. Considering his state, he might die fighting the two High Ends engaged with him at the moment. And that would make everything such a waste if it wasn't done by me." Toga then began to cut into Hagakure's suit. The material resisted, but the villain eventually got through as the heroine felt a sharp pain. "Don't worry, I only need a little to keep up my act. You can't die yet until I know his answer." She then looked at her blade in confusion and felt it with her free hand. "How interesting, even your blood is invisible. I wonder if it tastes any different."
"Please don't do this." Tooru hated how pathetic she must have sounded.
"Don't worry; I'll be sure to wait to activate your quirk so you get a good look at your face."
Hagakure screamed out, "But I don't want to know!"
The outburst seemed to give Toga pause, but she brought the knife closer to her mouth as she said, "I'll be sure to do the same for Deku-kun. He deserves to see your face too."
Just as the villain's tongue was about to make contact, the Nomu's eyes shot to its side, and it used its free hand to shield its master. Tooru heard two clanks and watched two knives hit the floor. Gankyu then brought both its left arms to protect its face, and four blades flew towards it in a blink of an eye. Three bounced off, but one made its mark. The ultraviolet eye had been hit. The Nomu's nictitating membrane had been engaged, but the object still pierced it. The flap of skin kept trying to move back and forth but was caught by the knife, making the creature howl in pain and drop its captive.
It was now or never. Tooru howled in desperation as she activated her last strong charge of Stun Punch and used her left hand to touch the infrared eye and her right the visible eye. Both eyes started to bubble and sizzle; however, the sparks of the Stun Punch from her right hand traveled upward towards the Nomu's exposed brain. Hagakure jumped back from the creature as it convulsed for a few moments, and coughed up blood before falling to the ground, limp. Some of the liquid had been spat on her gloves and chest. And the heroine fell onto her knees as she realized what he had just done.
"Gankyu-chan!" Himiko ran forward and passed Tooru as she looked over the dead Nomu. However, before she could do anything more, a thud was heard to both girls' right. There stood the Hero Killer Stain. The villain asked in a bewildered tone, "Stainy?"
"I've heard about you, Himiko Toga. You're linked to a bunch of murders of blood-letted victims. That was not long before I made my grand return to the world. To think I would have the chance to vanquish you after all this time."
Toga's face became a twist of excitement and anger as she stated, "But Stainy, I'm your biggest fan! You are the one who spurred me to join the League of Villains in the first place! You killed all those fake heroes and showed me that the hero society is broken and needs to fall!"
The Hero Killer brought up a katana and pointed it at his target as he proclaimed, "No evil escapes my justice. Hero or villain. And besides, adoration is the state furthest from understanding."
Himiko gave a slow laugh that escalated into a shrill. Afterward, she brought up her mask before saying, "Today, I got my answer from Tooru-chan. Deku-kun's answer is just in my grasp. And I get the chance to kill Stainy and become him. What more could I ask for today!"
The two then launched forward and exchanged blows. This all happened behind Tooru's back, as she was still kneeling on the ground. She could only look at her blood-stained gloves in horror as the fight continued. She had killed. Even if it was a Nomu and even if it was by accident. She ended a life. And it was eating her up. The fact that it had started to rain didn't even phase her. The fact that there was a death battle going on didn't concern her.
Minutes passed before the girl was brought back to reality by being suddenly grabbed from behind. They lunged to the side just as a large shadow plucked the dead Nomu into the sky. Tooru looked back to see a massive winged Nomu with Gankyu in one claw and Himiko in another. She then looked over to see her savior had been Stain. The man sighed, "Well, at least a troublesome Nomu is dead, so not all was lost." He then stood up and kept his back to the girl as he unzipped a side pocket on the shoulder of his jacket to pull out what seemed like first aid supplies. The man had a few cuts here and there, mostly on his arms.
It took a moment for Hagakure to form words but eventually asked, "W-Why did you save me?"
"Just instinct, really. Couldn't let a true hero die to a Nomu. Abominations, the whole lot."
Tooru stood up and considered what was said. "Is that why you saved Deku as well? Despite your injuries?"
The statement gave pause to the Hero Killer. "That was some time ago. But yeah. The boy showed promise. And I couldn't let that happen, even if my ribs were broken and had punctured my lungs. If I have the power to do something, I will try my hardest to do it. My body be damned." He turned around and looked at the girl straight on, "Just like you three have been doing these last couple of weeks."
Before Hagakure could respond, she heard a distant yell.
"Back off from her, you villain!" It was Prime. He looked pretty damaged. Both the shields on his arms were cracked and missing parts. The jet pack was gone. And it was definitely sporting a few holes in the chest. The bot rolled behind the girl and raised both arms, now switched to cannons. "I got these set on concussive shots, and I am not afraid to use them, pal."
Stain smiled with glee and readied himself. "Let's see whose resolve is stronger then, robot!"
"Stop you two; now's not the time!" Tooru proclaimed as she ran up and held her hands between the two. "Prime-kun, Stain came to rescue me twice from Toga and her Nomu!"
"But you are bleeding, Hagakure-chan!"
"It's not my blood. Mine's invisible. Anyways, go assist Izuku. I'm fine! If he hasn't returned yet, then he's still fighting another High End."
Prime seemed conflicted, but then he turned and said, "I better find her unharmed, Hero Killer, or I will break my oath to my master to not kill a human."
"That's quite the threat. Duly noted, bot."
And just as quickly as it came, it was gone.
Stain groaned before saying, "I would not have objected to being killed. I am up to forty hero kills by now. I deserve to die for my sins from a true hero."
"I know quite well. You attacked a good friend of mine after incapacitating his brother."
The Hero Killer returned to addressing his wounds as he reminisced. "Ah yes, Ingenium. I met Deku there, too, after the pro's younger brother sought revenge against me."
There was silence between the two for a few moments until something just said caught Tooru's attention. "You consider the robot a true hero?"
"Robots are always just chained to their programming; I have observed that thing is unshackled, yet they chose to fight the right path regardless. That's something to greatly admire. The same goes for you and Deku. Students who brave this twisted hero-less Japan to fight for their own justice while the so-called pros quit left and right as the going gets tough just cause the general public has lost faith in them. Cowards. If anything positive has come from all of this is that it's weeded out the fake heroes more than I could have ever hoped to dream."
"Uh, how long have you been following us?"
"Ever since you struck out on your own. I witnessed the boy argue with his mentor. I grew interested in his growth once more and kept tabs on you three as I did my work. But this last week, as you encountered the Nomu, I noticed the Toga girl also following your trail. I knew then this was a trap, but I kept my distance until I deemed it necessary. The High Ends were too much for me to try and assist Deku, so I backtracked to find the scene here. So I bid my time, hoping to strike both down. I didn't expect you to be the one to bring the Nomu down, though."
Tooru looked down again at her hands. The rain had washed it all away, the foul blood. But it didn't change the fact of what had happened.
"Death is a hard pill to swallow at first. Even I hesitated after I made my first kill. But you need to decide how this defines you. I chose it as my tipping point to better apply my justice. Is this going to be your tipping point? Will you kill to protect what is dear to you? Will you instead 'save' the girl despite that? Or was that all talk?" Stain then handed the girl his pack of first aid. "Take it; I can always get more."
Hagakure took it before saying, "Thanks, but I am no killer. I don't want that to happen again."
"I see. Well then, what happens now? Will you continue the fight?"
"I don't know. It's up to Deku. I want him to come back to U.A., but who knows." She hoped this incident could change his mind, but there was no telling until she knew he was alright. A thought then came to her, and she asked, "Why did Toga flee?"
"Despite her resistance to my quirk, I had the upper hand and cut her pretty badly on the leg and back. Once backed into a corner, she pulled out some device to call that flying Nomu to her."
"Resistance?"
"My quirk works varyingly depending on the blood type of my victim. The girl's blood type is O, my worst combo." The Hero Killer turned and said, "I am going to try and find whatever is jamming your communications. It's the least I can do. From there, you are on your own unless you rejoin the fight. And if you do, see you on the battlefield, ma'am." And with that, the man ran off into the rain.
Hagakure stood in the rain for some time as she tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. Eventually, the pain in her shoulder reminded her of the need to patch it up. She walked over to some cover to dry the area around the wound before addressing the cut. Not long after she finished, she was surprised to see Prime return with Midoriya in his arm. Yes, arm singular. Its right arm was gone. Both its eye light and roller were cracked, the latter made his speed much slower. What arm remained no longer had its shield. But once she noticed Izuku wasn't moving, her thoughts turned to dread as she ran up to the bot.
"What happened?!"
"It's alright; he just collapsed to exhaustion."
"And you?"
"A High End turned out too much for me. I eventually subdued and cuffed those two high-tiered Nomu, but as you can see, I am no match for the strongest ones." The bot looked down at the boy he was carrying. "To think he fought two of these things in the state that he is in. I was a fool to think I could fight him seriously."
Tooru climbed up and pulled off her boyfriend's mask. Sound asleep. She let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks so much, Prime-kun. Now you can brag you saved his life."
"I'll let this one pass. Our boy here must have fought for his life. It was only luck I even stood a chance."
"What happened to the last High End, though?"
"The dog thing? Just up and left not long after the winged one flew off."
"The winged one came to rescue Toga."
"And Stain?"
"Left to go destroy whatever is blocking our communicators."
Prime sighed. "I am so confused at his involvement here."
"Even after he explained why, I am too." The Hero Killer felt much more complex than Hagakure ever figured. She still hadn't forgiven him, but she couldn't deny that things would have ended worse for her if not for the man.
The girl nearly jumped as they heard static on their communicators, followed by the voice of All Might. "Anyone alive out there!?"
Tooru sat on the bath stool and still shivered after the last tub of ice-cold water she had poured over herself. She much preferred a bathtub, but she needed to stay awake. That was why she was using such cold water, something she really couldn't use in a tub. The girl rubbed her eyes. She had some tears escape every once in a while. She didn't know precisely why; she wasn't distraught. Just tired and full of anxiety. Hagakure shook her head to try to shake away such negativity. She then stood up and dried herself before walking to exit the bathroom. Before leaving, she hung her wet towel and wrapped herself in a dry one.
The invisible girl entered the bedroom but groaned at what she saw. Izuku was still unconscious on the bed. He was at the end of it, with his legs hanging off and barely touching the floor. She had hoped he would have woken by now. The safe house they had been in last had been destroyed in Prime's scuffle with the Nomu. All Might had directed her to this location before leaving to try and deal with the Nomu, who had been cuffed, and the police, who had witnessed her boyfriend's fight. Hagakure planned to bathe and let Midoriya do the same if he had awakened, with her to cook them something to eat during his turn. But the boy was still out cold. Even after addressing his wounds, while minor, he still hadn't stirred. And she couldn't take the smell anymore.
Tooru went back into the bathroom and grabbed another dry towel. She re-entered the bedroom and hesitated for a moment. "No, this needs to be done."
The girl approached Izuku and tossed the spare towel to the side. She started with his gloves and gauntlets, then moved on to his top, which was already loose from her previous medical aid. Next came his boots. She then grabbed the towel at the side and covered his lower body. With Hagakure's left hand, she held the towel down firmly, and with the right, she grabbed the waist strap of Midoriya's pants. She felt around to make sure she had a grasp of his undergarments before slowly working off everything. Once everything was down around the boy's ankles, she flipped him over, covering his backside with the towel. Now with what was left of the towel, she tied a knot. Tooru brought him back and removed the rest of the clothing by lifting his legs slightly. She grabbed all the discarded clothing beside the boots and gauntlet and entered another room. This one was small and had a washer and dryer. After guessing whatever settings and detergent a hero costume would require, she put it all in the washer.
Hagakure started to fan her face with both her hands. She didn't expect to get that flustered doing that. Sure, they had been intimate before but had never taken each other's clothes off. And even if she didn't see anything, it didn't stop how flustered she was currently feeling. Once the girl cooled down, she left the room.
However, she stopped in the doorway.
Izuku was up. He was sitting on the bed and still looked barely there, but he was awake. He looked back at his girlfriend and lifted a hand as if to shake. "Nice to see it's you, Tooru." She approached and instead placed a fist into his palm. The boy sighed in relief and let his hand down.
"Why now of all times?"
As Midoriya laid on his back, he answered, "Cause the last thing I remember was fighting two Near-High End Nomus before losing consciousness, and then I find myself almost naked on a bed. Couldn't rule out the possibility that Toga was behind this."
Hagakure held back a snicker considering everything that just happened with the girl. "I guess you're right."
After looking away, Izuku asked. "So, are we both in just a towel?"
"I just bathed, and it's about time you did too. I wouldn't have you sleep for hours in that gross thing you called a suit."
The boy gulped but said nothing.
Tooru sighed and stated, "I was modest about it, and I did it in a way so I saw nothing unmentionable." She cleared her throat, "I couldn't risk you waking up in the middle of me undressing you, for both of our sakes."
"Thanks. Considering the circumstances, I would have understood if it was necessary."
This surprised the invisible girl. Should she have just shoved caution to the wind? No, she had already felt embarrassed enough before; however, the fact that her boyfriend would have been okay about it made her appreciate the thought.
"I'll get washed up then." Midoriya tried to stand up but fell to his knees and nearly fell onto his face.
"You're running on fumes, Izuku. Let me assist." Hagakure knelt down and pulled him up. The boy gave weak resistance as she brought his right arm around her neck. "You can't even properly fight back against me. The literal strongest hero in Japan right now. Let me help you before you hurt yourself."
"That bad, huh." Izuku sighed. "Go ahead then." The two entered the bathroom, and Tooru sat the boy on a stool and left to get a shower head from the bathtub as well as turn on the water. As she brought it over, he asked, "Your arm is bandaged; what happened?"
"Well, for context, after we couldn't contact you anymore, two strong Nomu appeared and fought Prime-kun. I left to go find you, and I ran into Toga." Midoriya tried to stand, but Hagakure grabbed his shoulder and sat him back down. "Calm down."
"But that means she got your blood, no?"
"She did cut me, but," Tooru stopped as she realized, whatever did Toga do with that knife that got her? She couldn't have been able to save the blood, considering her fight with Stain and all the rain, could she?
"Tooru?"
"Sorry, I meant to say she couldn't drink my blood, and the rain washed it away before she got a chance. Just got lost in thought, that's all." Hagakure then aimed the shower head at her boyfriend's hair and pressed a button to let the water flow. "Now, enough about that; let's get you cleaned." She reached down to grab a handful of shampoo with her free hand. Once wet enough, she placed the fragrant liquid into the boy's hair and put down the shower head so she could lather it up with both hands.
Just before the girl was about to reach down and wash off the suds, Midoriya spoke up once more. "I think we should join back with All Might-sensei and Hatsume-chan."
Tooru held her excitement. It was a step in the right direction, but she couldn't push it right now. "I agree. I'll let them know after this."
"I was stupid to think we could do this alone, the three of us." Izuku turned around and, with a slight bow of his head. "I'm sorry I dragged you and Prime around these last few weeks for nothing."
Hagakure laughed, bringing much confusion to her boyfriend. "You look so silly trying to be all serious while having all these soap bubbles on your head." She then proceeded to spray it all off. As she did, she stated, "It wasn't for naught. Think of all the people we have helped."
"But we're no closer to finding Shigaraki."
"And we'll discuss our options once we meet back with Toshinori-sensei. For now, we must focus on one thing at a time." Tooru walked behind the boy and began to wet his back. "And that focus is getting rid of your funky odor."
"It's not that bad."
"Oh yes, it is." Hagakure then blasted the boy's face momentarily, causing him to cough. She then sat up and walked over to grab a shower loofah. Once wet and had some body wash, she started wiping Midoriya's back. Things remained quiet between the two as the boy's back and arms were cleaned. That changed once Tooru began to soap up his chest. She leaned her chest against Izuku's back and had her arms under his as she worked.
"Now that's not fair."
"Can't fault me for having a little fun."
Midoriya just gulped but let her continue. Though it didn't help how slow and deliberate her motions were. Hagakure finished and rinsed his chest before dropping the loofah into the boy's lap.
"You can finish that part and your legs on your own. I think you can handle that much."
The boy sighed in relief. "Thanks."
Tooru stated, "I'm going to get you a change of clothes while you finish up," before exiting the bedroom. She took some of her clothes from a bag by the door, dropped her towel, and changed into fresh clothes. As she did, a snicker escaped her lips here and there. Hagakure felt proud of her teasing. It would have felt like a missed opportunity if she hadn't done something. She enjoyed pushing his buttons.
The girl then walked over to Izuku's pack and grabbed his only pair of pajamas. Though she was disappointed to find such boring underwear. A few pairs of green boxer briefs. Though she figured boys really didn't care about such stuff. Tooru returned to the bathroom door and opened it ajar before saying, "Am I good to set this by the door?"
"Go ahead."
"Tell me when you are done."
"Right."
Hagakure did as such and closed the door. She walked over, sat on the bed, and began thinking over her strategy of what to do next. Get Midoriya some sleep, have some food ready for him when he wakes, then show him the notebook. Hopefully, by then, All Might will be around. It could add more emotional weight to the talk, she figured. Speaking of which, Tooru got up and grabbed her phone, and began to type a text to the former pro hero. Before she could finish, she heard her boyfriend from the other side of the door.
"I'm done."
The girl opened the door to see Izuku with a hand on the wall. She came over, put his opposite arm over her neck, and helped him towards the bed.
"Sleep?"
"Yes, for an actual decent amount this time."
"But what if All-." Izuku was interrupted as Tooru stopped supporting the boy, and he fell face-first into said bed.
"He'll be more than willing to wait for you to rest before talking." The girl then proceeded to help him get in position and tuck him in. But before she sat back up, a hand grabbed her left wrist.
With a look of uneasiness Midoriya asked with a similar tone, "Would you stay with me?"
Hagakure experienced what felt like a brick wall hitting her. Did she hear that right? He wanted them to sleep together? A large part of her very much desired that. She almost said yes right then and there, and Tooru instead sighed. The back of her mind stayed firm. "I would be too distracting to you to sleep, Izuku. Maybe another time."
Izuku nodded with no hint of disappointment on his face. He quickly shut his eyes and was out before his girlfriend could speak.
Hagakure left to put the boy's clothes in the drier and then started to leave the bedroom feeling baffled how not only had Midoriya asked such a thing but that she also turned it down. These are weird times, she thought. Though her surprises weren't over, she was met with another one as she opened the door and saw All Might sitting on a couch in the living room.
Yagi stood up and asked quietly. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he just fell asleep. How long have you been here?"
"Not long." Toshinori rubbed the back of his neck. "When I entered the bedroom and heard your voices from the bathroom, I then decided to leave you both be."
"Oh, um, he needed help getting washed since he was so tired. Thanks for the privacy." She was glad that All Might didn't walk them on them, and they both would not have survived that embarrassment.
The former pro hero then walked over and gave his student a hug. "I heard about what happened from Prime, and you shouldn't have been put through all that."
Hagakure was sure not to mention the part about killing the Nomu, and she still returned the embrace. "In the end, it was worth it. Izuku is okay with us working together like before."
"That's great, but no word on returning to U.A., right?"
"Nah. After he wakes up and eats, I plan to bring it up to him. I might need your help convincing him."
"I'll help in whatever way I can. Though is this too sudden? He only just agreed for us to tag along again."
"It's best we try before he gets back to full strength. Less likely he'll just run away. You should have seen how limp he is right now."
"Fair enough." Yagi stepped away and walked over to a backpack on a table. "Speaking about food from earlier, though, I got you both some grub." He then pulled out a bento box.
Tooru quickly came over and took it. Upon opening it, she could feel the drool form in her mouth. It was divided into three sections, tamagoyoki (rolled omelet), korokke (Javanese-styled croquette), and inari sushi (sushi rice wrapped in fried tofu pouches). So much more varied and delicious than their meager food the last few weeks.
Toshinori watched with some concern as he saw the meal he had prepared disappear at a rapid pace. As she was about to finish, she asked, "Is Prime still downstairs?"
"Keeping watch while Hatsume-san does what she can to repair it. Though there is only so much she can do considering how much damage was done." Yagi then stood up. "I should go help; I've been away long enough. I just wanted to check in on you two anyways. Are you going to try and catch some shut-eye too?"
Hagakure swallowed the last of her meal before saying, "Yeah, I'm bushed." She then got up to grab a bottle of water from her pack.
"Well, whenever Midoriya-san wakes up, be sure to give him this bento." All Might placed the box into the fridge. "It's got the same stuff yours did." He then left the apartment.
Tooru finished her water and grabbed a folded blanket and pillow she had prepared earlier after dropping Izuku on the bed. She had no intention of letting him rest unconscious on the couch and didn't mind taking it herself. Midoriya usually let her sleep in the more comfortable option anyways, so she didn't mind this one time. As Hagakure laid back and got comfortable, the rain hitting the nearby window helped relax her. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a blue sleeping mask. After putting it on, her last thoughts before drifting to sleep were of the notebook that hopefully would bring Midoriya back home.
Hagakure stirred. Something was bothering her, but she didn't want to wake up. It didn't sound anything like her alarm, so why bother. Whatever it was, though, was being persistent, and eventually, the girl rose from her slumber. As she did, her senses sharpened, and she finally could understand what she was hearing.
"Took you long enough, Hagakure-san."
Tooru quickly removed her sleeping mask to confirm what she had just heard. "Bakugo-kun!?"
"It's weird hearing you call me that." The boy was in his hero costume, standing over his groggy and confused classmate. He was quite wet, his hair was still dripping.
"Same goes for you. Though would you prefer I call you firecracker?"
The boy looked in disgust. "Damn, that was your first name for me?"
"Yup. I put it at the same level as you calling me Noface."
Katsuki seemed confused as to whether that was a compliment or an insult. Tooru wasn't going to give him the answer though and instead stood and looked around, and there wasn't anyone else around.
"How did you find us?"
"Don't care to explain. I am sure the others will be happy once they get here."
"Others?"
"Yeah, all of 1A, but that's not important right now." Bakugo's face became more serious as he asked, "Where's Deku?"
"Sleeping in the bedroom." Hagakure checked her watch. Almost five hours. She then looked outside. Still rainy, though now in the later afternoon.
"Is he hurt?"
"Just exhausted."
Katsuki produced a few sparks from his hand and grinned. "That makes this easy, then."
Before Tooru could ask what he meant, Ochako's voice came yelling from the front door. "Katsuki-kun, we told you to wait with your partner!"
Katsuki? The girl was confused but her attention didn't last as he saw Tenya walk inside. The boy's costume looked damaged but he still held a soft smile on his face.
Bakugo barked, "Like hell, I couldn't wait any longer with us so close. We are not letting Deku leave again."
Hagakure said softly, "Shush, Izuku is still trying to sleep. This is the most he's had in weeks."
Ida walked over and placed a hand on his blonde classmate's shoulder. "Let's not upset our host."
With a groan, Katsuki backed off.
Ochako was quick to give Tooru a hug. "I'm so glad you both are okay."
Hagakure stood there, still wanting answers. "Can someone please tell me what is going on."
Ida replied, "We're here to bring Izuku-kun back. And by association, that means you too, Tooru-chan. We've been fighting for days to get here, and once we got close, we decided to come in groups of two going different routes to ensure you couldn't escape."
Uraraka continued by saying, "And so we didn't draw any attention to your position. You hadn't moved for hours, so we figured you were resting. However, eighteen of us walking down the street would have been a bit much to keep a low profile."
"Katsuki-kun was supposed to be part of group three with Aoyama-kun, but well, here he is," Tenya stated while making a few gestures.
Said person then stated with agitation, "I get here and there's a giant robot downstairs being tinkered with. And they tell me there is nothing to worry about, like our entire journey meant nothing."
Hagakure was quick to ask, "Wait, is All Might-sensei still down there?"
Ochako spoke up and said, "Just Hatsume-san and a smaller robot working on the villain bot. They said he left a while ago to check on something. What's that about all the others though?"
Tooru didn't want to explain right now; however, another pair showed up at the door. Momo and Mashirao.
"Of course, Katsuki-kun is here early," Ojiro stated before sighing.
Katsuki walked over to a chair and sat down, and said nothing but was obviously not happy.
Momo shrugged, "Let's just get in what we want to say before everyone else arrives. It's going to get crowded here rather soon."
Tooru asked, "Before that, why did you never answer my videos I sent you Mashriao-kun?"
Mashirao walked in and explained. "The others thought I would be a lousy liar and would give away that we were up to something. Regardless, thanks for sending those, even if it was only for a week."
Hagakure couldn't argue that her friend would have easily given away that something was wrong. "I see. Well now what's going to happen?"
Ojiro put a hand on the invisible girl's shoulder. "There's a reason we asked to come first before everyone else." He pulled her forward before saying, "Now, let's get to it."
Ida asked, "Do you mind keeping the others occupied until then Katsuki-kun?"
Without turning around, the blonde teen waved a hand and grunted.
"Good enough, I guess," stated Ochako with a sigh.
"If he tries anything funny, let me know, though. If it's a fight he wants, he'll get it."
Tenya nodded. "Of course."
Tooru was brought into the bedroom with her friends, and the door was closed from behind by Momo, who then turned on the lights. Ochako approached the bed and grabbed the bedsheets. Before she did anything she turned and asked, "Uh, he's in a decent state right now, right?"
"Yes." Hagakure first questioned why her friend asked that, but considering her sleeping habits and what had happened earlier, perhaps it wasn't such an odd thing to ask.
Urakara pulled at the sheets, pulling them half off the bed, which stirred Midoriya.
"Is All Might-sensei here, Tooru?" The boy didn't open his eyes and turned over in bed.
Ojiro smirked as he answered, "Nah, he left some time ago. I'm sure he'll come back soon enough, and boy, will he be surprised to see all of 1A here, though."
"That's nice," Midoriya stated. There was a short pause before the boy jumped up wide with a wide-eyed expression. "What? How! Why? But-."
"Calm down, Izuku-kun, we are just here to escort you back," Ida stated while holding up both hands.
Izuku sat down and hung his head. "I can't go back. I'll endanger you all."
"Then we'll fight back whatever comes regardless," Ochako stated. "But you can't stay out here alone."
"I have Tooru, All Might-sensei, Hatsume-chan, and Baby Prime. We'll get this done, so you all can stay safe. So Japan is safe."
The last name seemed to confuse his friends, but they persisted anyway. Momo then added, "But what about your safety?"
Mashirao was next and said, "I don't know what you've been through this last month, Izuku-kun, but it can't have been easy. Even with your level of strength, this has to be very dangerous for everyone with you too."
The last sentence got to Deku, and he gritted his teeth and couldn't respond. Breaking the silence, Tooru asked, "How did you even track us down?"
Ochako happily stated, "Oh, we acquired Endeavor's phone a week after you left. We used it to track Izuku-kun's movements and trained as we made a plan. Once we saw you start to head south again, we knew it was our chance."
"Acquired?" Izuku's head had risen to say this.
"Principal Nezu tricked him into coming to U.A. so we could discuss your whereabouts, one thing led to another, and we had our way of tracking you down in our possession," Yaoyorozu explained.
Midoriya put a hand over his face. "Even our principal is in on this?"
"And the Wild, Wild Pussycats! They have been assisting us in our training as we prepared," Ojiro said.
Ida nodded before saying, "I then worked with Momo-chan to produce a formation that could encompass our entire class. We would fight villains in the streets and potentially even you, so we needed a foolproof plan, and a haphazard strategy would lead to more tragedy."
Momo reached behind her to pull out a notebook. "Your notes were beneficial in that regard."
Both Izuku and Tooru both yelled, "What?!" The couple then looked at each other. The latter then proceeded to run out of the room and head towards her backpack, ignoring the other students that had arrived, and grabbed a notebook from inside. She rushed back and, after closing the door, held it up.
Midoriya asked, "How are there two of them!?"
Ida explained, "Tooru-chan has a copy that Hatsume-san made; the former left the original at my door with a note saying as such. I figured it was her way of apologizing for our prior history."
"I didn't want the original to get damaged, so I had Hatsume-chan make a copy for me to bring along," Hagakure explained.
Izuku turned to Tooru and asked, "But why do you have it?"
The invisible girl fidgeted. This wasn't going how she had planned at all. However, she couldn't not use it now. She took a deep breath and said, "I wanted to use this to convince you to come back home. All those things you said you wanted to implement as All Might-sensei's successor are here. The multiple pillars of peace. The large team-based heroes could tackle more difficult threats without relying on a singular pillar of peace. Everything we learned from our T.A.C. meetings. Your-" She paused. "Your plans for you, me, and all our friends when we became pro heroes. A six-man pro-hero team where we were all equals. This is a reminder of who you want to be. Not what you became this last month. Becoming another All Might trying to solve everything by his lonesome. And all the burdens that brought, including to those close to you."
The others remained silent upon hearing this. The only thing that could be heard was Tooru trying to clear her nose a few times in an attempt not to cry. Her speech started with zest, but she quickly got emotional as she continued to talk. The floodgates were holding but barely.
Tenya broke the silence by saying, "You should have shown us your work Izuku-kun. We adapted many of the formations and tactics in this for our class these last few days, and it's been vital to our success. We even took out one of All for One's lackeys with a bounty for your capture just before we came here."
Ojiro said with disdain, "Yeah, some sicko using citizens as puppets with his quirk at All Might's statue in Kamino, of all places. We left him tied up there."
"Not before notifying the authorities, of course," Ida added.
Hagakure forgot they were that close to it. She wondered if that was what was bothering Midoriya yesterday.
Midoriya asked, "It was really that helpful for you all?"
"Invaluable," Yaoyorozu stated.
Tooru didn't expect her boyfriend to cry before her. They were quiet tears.
Izuku looked up to his close friends and gave a weak smirk as he said, "I am so sorry, everyone. I really screwed up, huh?" His girlfriend leaped onto the bed and hugged his side but said nothing as she released the floodgates into his shoulder. These were not quiet tears, and Midoriya put an arm around Hagakure to comfort her. Once she calmed down, the couple pulled themselves to the side of the bed.
Ojiro asked, "Just for clarification, we're not dragging your ass back, are we?"
"No, I give up. You all are right, and I need to head back." Izuku yawned before saying, "You all really were going to try and fight me?"
Hagakure sniffed before answering, "Let's be honest; if they all fought you as if this morning hadn't happened, I think they would have a chance."
Midoriya sighed, "You might be right. I still feel like I could sleep another ten hours."
Ida put a hand to his chin as he asked, "What happened this morning?"
"A long story for later," Tooru replied.
"Well, we have a long trek back, and let's save it for that," Mashirao stated.
"I should get dressed and see everyone else. They worked too hard for me to delay any longer,"
Hagakure pointed to the back room, "Your suit is in the dryer. Though I don't know if they are in the best condition."
"They are pretty much rags at this point. Thanks though."
"Before that, ever since I saw that notebook, I couldn't get over its name. What does Cubicity even mean?"
"Oh, that," Midoriya rubbed his neck. "It's really dumb."
Uraraka raised her arms as she said, "I don't care! I want to know!"
"I know us becoming a six-hero team was all hypothetical, but I still wondered what a name we could call ourselves would be. At the beginning I didn't mean it to be symbolic or anything, just something that involved all of us. So I went with our hero names. The first letter of each. Creati. Uravity. Deku. Ingenium. Invisible Girl. Tailman. I tried to make words with it, and nothing came up. So I tried looking up words that used all the letters, but nothing came up again. But there was one word that came close. Cubicity. It lacked the D for my name, and the Y didn't fit anyone, but the definition of it stuck with me."
Ida answered, "The state of being cubic." Then the realization hit both his and Yaoyorozu's faces. They both said in unison, "The team formation!"
"Yeah, the one I had thought up was square and three-dimensional. Like a cube, each person was a side of said cube."
Momo put a hand to her forehead as she explained, "Right. The element we never added to our own in T.A.C. was the top side of your cube. And in your notebook, that position was taken by yourself, Ochako-chan, or Tenya-kun, depending on the situation."
"It's more nerdy than dumb, though," Mashirao stated with a shrug. "But I can't fault you; it certainly is unique."
A loud knock followed by Katsuki's voice suddenly came from the living room, "Hey, you done in there? Everyone's here, and how long you're taking is getting on my damn nerves!"
Izuku yelled back, "Just a minute!" He then stood up. "I'll go change then."
Hagakure instead went towards the door and opened it. Bakugo and all her classmates in the crowded room came into view.
The blonde teen sighed, "Took you long enough, Hagakure-san."
"What's the rush?"
"I got to tell Deku something while everyone else is here and waiting."
It took Tooru a moment, but she started to shake in excitement once she realized what Katsuki meant.
"You're not making this any easier, you know. And it's not like I am the only one with something to say to that damn idiot."
Almost a week late in releasing (though nothing compared to the last chapter ;p), but that's on me trying to send this out to my editor at the last minute only to learn they were going to the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo all weekend. I then made some of my patented last-minute typical changes that delayed it being finished.
One positive of the late release was that the new cover art for this fic was made ready by the phenomenal Krumbs. There is another version that's a spoiler for anime-only watchers, so even though I know most fanfic readers are manga readers, I will delay using that one until the anime reveals it. That version will stay as the final cover art for this fic. If you are up to date on the manga, feel free to check my Twitter for the spoilers version.
What a hefty first scene, both in length and subject material. Nailing the characterization of Toga and Stain was my greatest challenge, and I still think I have made the latter more heroic than canon. Especially since this might be the only shot to include them in this story unless canon going forward provides me another opportunity. Still writing Himiko was a delight despite the difficulty, as this is my first time tackling writing with such a personality. The Nomu's name, Gankyu, is translated to eyeballs in Japanese.
The bath scene was something I had long thought about doing. Even before the whole Dark Deku arc, I always desired that the two share a similar moment. Awkward but necessary interaction due to one of them being incapacitated. Though I had always wanted Midoriya to be the one who did it for Hagakure, however the perspective flip I started in Chapter 44 meant the roles needed to be flipped. Ultimately, this worked better with her being the one doing it. Funny how that works.
And now, the final scene. Is the fic's title silly to you now that you know why? Izuku's explanation was my exact logic in choosing this title for the fic. It was unique and would stand out, even if its explanation took nearly six years to reach. I got the idea of the team name as the fic name from my original inspiration for the entire fic, Awkward Energy, which was just a IzuMina duo (and even in that example, it was explained much earlier, like chapter 24 or something). Even if, due to how canon changed over the years, making such an idea not come to fruition, the theme of these six becoming a team still stuck through.
And with that, the Dark Deku arc is over. Yes, the fight in the manga/anime makes my "let's talk" ending seem like small potatoes, but concerning how this fic has handled things, a big fight just didn't feel right. Plus, it would just be canon all over again. Anyhow, the The PoV will be switching back to Izuku going forward. The next chapter will deal with the return to U.A., Star and Stripe, the true U.A. traitor, and the move to Troy. Chapter 50, holy shit look at that number, will then cover the aftermath of the main series. Will it end there? Nah, I still want to cover some stuff, even if canon stops there. While Chapter 49 is planned for a June 1st release, Chapter 50 depends on when this arc in the manga ends. Another hiatus is possible, but we will have to wait and see.