The next few hours were a blur for Himiko.
Not only was she not sent with her parents, but they were also barred from going anywhere near her lest they risk being arrested and sued harder than the froggy lady had already promised.
She didn't really come to until she had been sat down in the back seat of a car with Izuku and another girl that looked like the woman that chose to bring her parents to court.
She realized that they had been well into a conversation as the car pulled out of the parking lot, driven by the woman named Beru.
Izuku had just been finishing the tail end of the story involving her rescue.
"-then mom and I convinced her to let us take her to the hospital, with a promise that she wouldn't have to leave with her parents!" He finished with a bright smile on his face.
The girl sitting next to him had dark green hair long enough to tie in a bow at her waist. Her face was wide and seemingly inexpressive, yet it was obvious that she was focused on every word the green haired boy was saying.
Izuku was sitting between the two girls, so it took Himiko a moment to realize that the other had a long pink appendage sticking out of her mouth, "must be her tongue", with the end sticking against Izuku's cheek. Not that he seemed to mind. His lack of reaction made it seem like it was a natural occurrence.
"Odd thing to do. I wonder if she likes him too. She is pretty cut-"
Himiko snapped herself out of that train of thought with a shake of her head. Before she could process what those thoughts implied, she heard the other girl speak.
"So, Ribbit," Himiko struggled hard to not squirm in the face of such an adorable verbal tick. "You just ran in, with no plan?"
Izuku froze, a blush making its way onto his cheeks.
"W-well, I had a plan! S-sort of…" He curled in on himself a bit. "I-I figured that anyone who would enjoy kicking a girl while she was on the ground wouldn't want to get into an actual fight. I-I know how sca- intimidating my wolf form can be, so I took a calculated risk."
Himiko saw a glare forming on the other girl's face at his slip up, clearly not liking Izuku referring to himself as "scary".
"Hmm, Ribbit" Tsuyu let her glare slowly fall away. "I'll let it slide this time, considering her background."
Izuku let out a sigh of relief, if a premature one. The frog's tongue lifted from his cheek and landed hard on the back of his head, before sticking right back onto the side of his face.
"Just don't let it happen again, ribbit. You could have gotten hurt."
Izuku lowered his head, chagrined. "I'm sorry… I-I promise I'll come up with an actual plan next time!"
The determined smile that grew on his face almost drew a retort from her, but she just let out a frustrated sigh. "I suppose that's the best I can expect from you, ribbit."
Himiko watched on with a giggle, enjoying the byplay. She felt a knot in her stomach lessen, one that been around for years.
She felt herself swaying back and forth, actually enjoying being with the first group of people that may actually be accepting her.
"Woah…"
Her head snapped to her side, seeing Izuku looking her in the face, eyes wide.
She was confused, until she looked to her other side, and saw her face in the window's reflection. Specifically, her smile.
Her smile was so large, it was practically ear to ear, showing all of her teeth, especially her sharp fangs. Her cheeks were flushed to the point of looking feverish, and her eyes were scrunched to the point of practically being slits on her face.
She frantically threw her hands over her face letting out a panicked, "D-don't look at me! I-I look c-creepy!"
With her face covered, she couldn't see the other's reactions, but she heard Izuku stutter out a response.
"I-it's not creepy! It's um-It's-"
"It's cute, ribbit."
This proclamation had Himiko peeking one eye out from between her fingers, peeking to her side. She saw a large blush on Izuku's face, him struggling to spit out the words on his mind. Next to him, she saw Tsuyu looking at her with her lips quirked up, a small smile on her face.
"W-what do you mean, c-cute?"
Tsuyu's smile grew wider as Izuku stopped trying to stutter out a response.
"I mean what I said, ribbit. Your smile is cute. I don't know if you noticed, but my quirk makes it hard for me to express my feelings on my face. This means that I have to be very blunt when I talk to most people." Tsuyu made sure to have direct eye contact. "So, believe me when I say that your smile is cute, that I mean it."
Himiko started squirming in her seat as Izuku added on.
"Yeah. I have to maintain a hard level of control on my quirk to keep my emotions level. Seeing such a free showing of expression, I can't help but think it looks amazing!"
Himiko struggled so hard to contain herself that she turned, wrapped an arm around Izuku's, buried her face in his shoulder, and started beating her free hand against his chest.
While it didn't hurt him, he still flinched at her reaction. "H-himiko, I'm sorry. Did something I said-"
Himiko silenced him by shoving her hand into his face, burying his words into the sleeve of her cardigan.
The two teens watched as the blond girl turned her head, one eye peeking from his shoulder. It was wet, clearly trying to hold back the burgeoning emotions.
"S-stop it, otherwise I might start believing you." Her legs started kicking at the mere possibility of them speaking the truth.
The two green heads looked at each other, having a silent conversation through eye contact, before looking back at the clearly vulnerable girl. Speaking as one with smiles on their faces.
"Your smile is cute!"
Himiko buried her face back into Izuku's arm.
He never made a fuss about the growing wet spot on his shoulder, nor did he bring up the clear pressure of her teeth digging into his shirt. He just smiled wider, hoping he could see that unrestrained smile again.
The front door of the Midoriya family home opened, letting in Midoriyas and guests. A show could be heard on the TV in the living room.
As the five were removing their shoes, thumping from small figures could be heard speeding towards them.
"AUNTY INKO!"
Himiko's head snapped forward as a small green blur flew at the addressed woman.
She saw Tsuyu's tongue shoot out to catch it, but before it could catch the flying thing, Izuku was there. Catching what looked like a little girl, with hair matching the two Asui's she had met, tied up in two bun-like pig tails at the back of her head.
Izuku held the young girl by the armpits, an admonishing look on his face.
"Satsuki, you know my mom can't take a full-force leaping hug without getting knocked over. She could have gotten hurt" The girl sagged in his arms, clearly worried she could have hurt someone.
She looked into his eyes, tears forming at the edges of her own. "I'm sowwy… but it's been so long!"
Izuku changed how he was holding her, transferring her to his hip while he held her with one arm.
"I know, things have been pretty busy lately, but you know you have to be careful." He took a second to take in her sad expression. A smile grew on his phase as he raised his free hand to boop her on the nose. "I gotta say, though, that was an incredible leap! I think that was the most accurate one yet! Have you been practicing?"
Then Izuku put on a faux look of seriousness on his face.
"I hope you had someone watching you while you did it!"
The little girl started giggling, any chance of tears forgotten.
"Yeah, Daddy watched me pwactice!"
Izuku's expression broke into a wide smile. "Pretty soon you're gonna being flying all over the place. Maybe we'll have to put a bell on you, to know when you are coming!"
He finished with a laugh, his free hand reaching over to start tickling her sides.
Satsuki's giggling grew in both pitch and desperation. "N-no! Hahahahaha, stop it! Hahahahaha"
She noticeably did not struggle very hard.
Himiko looked at the other three she walked in with, a look of awe on her face.
She saw smiles on the two Asuis, the biggest she's seen on them so far. While Inko had her hands in fists covering her mouth. Himiko could swear she heard her muttering something about grandbabies.
"He's my age. How is he so good with kids?"
"Who are you?"
She was startled by the voice. She looked down to see another child. This one a boy a few years older than Satsuki. His hair was styled such that one of his eyes were covered by longer bangs on one side.
Before she could respond, lumbering footsteps drew her attention. A large man, with heteromorph features far more pronounced than any of the other froggy folk there walked over.
"Croak, you must be Ms. Toga. Pleasure to meet you." The man took in a moment to watch Izuku getting along with his youngest daughter, a faint smile on his face, before it morphed back into a more professional one. "Nasty business you've had to go through. My name is Asui Ganma. Beru and I will do everything we can to assist."
"P-please, call me Himiko." She looked down, a frown growing on her face. "I-I don't really like my family name…"
The large man blinked before bowing his head to her with a grunt. "Hmm. I will keep that in mind from now on."
Beru interjected at this moment. She looked over the older Midoriya, still distracted by Izuku and Satsuki. "Inko. I don't mean to impose, this being your home and all, but I figured we should move this over to the living room? Proper introductions would probably be more comfortable there than here, clogging up the entryway."
Inko snapped out of her daydreaming. "O-oh yes. You all go relax in the living room while I go get some Katsudon going. This is a celebration for Himiko after all!"
Himiko gave her a bemused look. "A celebration?"
Inko gave her a smile that almost blinded her it was so bright.
"Of course! We have to celebrate getting you away from those awful people." She suddenly had a put-on expression. "I mean seriously, all that over something she needed to eat? My baby eats his meat rawer than most, but you don't see me complaining."
"M-mom!"
"Oh hush Izuku, don't think I haven't noticed how much faster you wag your tail, the more raw the meat is. What is it you keep saying? 'The bloodier, the better'?"
A round of laughter was had at the young man's expense.
"Alright, off to the living room!" Izuku stiffly lead the rest of them on, Beru and Inko splitting off to the kitchen to get started on dinner.
As they entered, Himiko paused at the entrance. Something caught her attention, almost… calling to her. She pointed to it.
"What's that?"
Izuku looked to where she was pointing, a light blush growing on his face. What she was pointing at was a large pile of pillows and blankets atop what looked to be a large dog bed.
"T-that's uh…"
While Izuku stuttered out a non-response, Satsuki gave a more(or less depending on who you ask) helpful response.
"That's Zuzu's doggy bed!"
Himiko tilted her head. "His doggy bed?"
"Yeah! He weally likes it when he's big and fwuffy!"
Izuku raised his head, wishing the world would swallow him whole… or he would, if he wasn't holding Satsuki. No point taking her down with him. "Y-yeah. When I'm transformed, I like laying down there, where it's really cozy. At some times of day, the sun hits it just right, making it nice toasty, too!"
Realizing that he spoke the last part out loud, he had started muttering out excuses, trying to downplay how silly he thought he sounded, when Himiko pounced onto his aforementioned "doggy bed".
Everyone watched on, stunned as she started tossing and turning, throwing everything around.
Izuku felt a growl burbling up from his stomach, angry about how she was messing up hismeticulously place furnishings, clamping down on the instinctive response.
It became much easier after he watched her settle down. He practically melted at the sight.
Himiko had managed to wrap herself up in one of the blankets in such a way that she looked like a roll of sushi. How she had wrapped herself so tightly was a mystery, but the look on her face washed away any need for answers.
She had her head sticking out of one end of the Himiko sushi roll, resting her chin on a pillow. Her eyes were closed, with the most content smile he had seen on her. He decided that it was worth sharing, if only to help her get more comfortable with them. The more she smiled, the better, in his mind.
Izuku reached out and pat her head between the messy buns she had styled her hair into, ignoring how adorable her purring sounded.
He moved to sit between the younger Asuis, gaze flickering towards the cartoon they had been watching.
Izuku spent the next while watching an anime about magical girls that Satsuki really wanted to see, playing along with her excitement.
Izuku had to shake Himiko awake once dinner was called and help unwrap her from her self-made blanket prison.
She groggily followed him to a surprisingly large table that fit all 8 of them with enough room for an extra person or 2.
Her eyes widened at the size of the thing. Now that she thought of it, the house itself was pretty large as well. "Dang Mrs. Midoriya, that table is huge. You have a pretty nice house too, does your husband bring in the big bucks or something?"
The following silence drew her to a stop. The dour expression on everyone's faces had her worried.
She looked to Izuku, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong? Y-You don't have to answer the question if you don't want to, I know I'm a stranger in your home-."
Izuku put a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't say anything wrong. My dad is… a touchy subject."
She saw Izuku turn his gaze towards the living room. Following his gaze, she gasped.
Behind the seating area sat a stand, on top of which held some flowers, incense… and a picture.
It was a shrine. The picture on the shrine showed an average looking man with a familiar smile on his face. He had messy black hair and a similar pattern of freckles on his face that matched Izuku's.
She spun her head back to Inko, watching as she spun a ring on her finger. "I-I'm so sorry! I d-didn't notice it when I first entered, please forgive me!"
She bowed to Inko in apology. "They let me into their home and I'm already messing things up."
She watched as Inko blinked several times, coming back to herself. She stood as the woman smiled sadly to her.
"It's fine. It was many years ago, when Izuku was still young." Inko looked at the table covered in food. Wiping her eyes to clear the tears, she continued. "Please sit. We don't want the food to get cold. I'll tell you the rest after we've eaten."
The rest of dinner was a somber affair. Some small talk was passed around. Izuku even tried to lighten the mood by talking about the anime he been watching with Satsuki.
After dinner was finished, the Asui parents offered to wash the dishes while Tsuyu kept the smaller kids busy in another room.
The Midoriyas and Himiko were sitting in the living room. Izuku and Inko were sitting next to each other on the couch, Izuku having one arm over his mother's shoulders, while Himiko sat across from them.
Himiko watched them, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation to come. "Y-you don't have to tell me, you know. I-If it's too much to talk about, we can just pretend I didn't ask."
Inko took in a shuddering breath, leaning into her son for support. Her eyes meeting the worried gaze on the blond girl, "No. You were going to find out eventually. If you're going to be living here, you might as well find out now."
Something about what the woman said bothered her. She wasn't sure exactly what it was, but she let it slide, letting the woman speak.
"His name was Hisashi. It was many years ago, when Izuku was still a child." Fresh tears were coming to Inko's eyes. She raised a handkerchief to wipe them away. "He had been working over in America at the time, trying to sign on a deal with another company when a villain attacked some heroes near the office building he was in. H-he didn't make it!"
At this, Inko broke down, her tears flowing freely.
Himiko, not sure what to say to any of this, moved to the distraught woman and wrapped her in a hug. The two teenagers comforted Inko as she relived losing her husband. Inko hugged the two, taking strength from their presence.
After a prolonged period where the three comforted each other on the couch, the green haired mother took in a ragged breath.
"His body was brought back to Japan so we could hold a funeral for him. A few days after the funeral, the company Hisashi worked for sent someone to our home and informed us of a life insurance policy he had with them."
Inko smiled weakly to Himiko.
"That's why we've been able to afford a home of this size. My husband, gods rest his soul, has been providing for us even after he lost his life."
Himiko watched as the two Midoriyas smiled to each other, glancing over to the small shrine in the room. Then she looked back to the two of them, a smile growing on her face.
"I'm sorry you lost him, but I'm sure he'd be proud of you two!"
Izuku and Inko's eyes widened, confusion clear on their faces.
"It's only natural he'd be proud. Mama Inko, you have to be one of the kindest women I have ever met!"
"M-Mama Inko?!"
"And Izu-kins!"
"I-I-Izu-kins?!"
"Out of all the people in the world, you were the first person to ever help me. To ever want to help me. If it weren't for you two, I'd be lying out in an alley, dying. Or even worse. You two are my heroes! Who wouldn't be proud of you two?"
The two of them stared at the girl, processing what she had said. Then an absolute deluge of tears poured from the two as they started to cry.
Satsuki bounced into the room, curiosity drawing her attention to the noise.
She turned back to call, "Daddy! Aunty Inko and Zuzu are cwying again!"
A resigned croak was heard in response. "I'll get the mop and shop vac. Tsuyu, will you please open the back door so the water has somewhere to go?"
"Ribbit, sure thing, dad!"
Inko woke the next morning, her steps a little lighter than they usually were. She looked over to the night stand on the other side of the bed, atop which sat a photo of Hisashi Midoriya.
A smile grew on her face. "I'm sure you'd be so proud of him Hisashi. Only 16 and he's already saved someone. He's going to be an amazing hero."
After completing her morning ablutions she went to check on how Izuku was doing, only to find that he wasn't in his room.
This wasn't that unusual. He sometimes got up early or slept in his little nest in the living room.
It was there that he found him sleeping. Unsurprisingly, Satsuki slept on Izuku's back as he slept in his wolf form. What was surprising was that she found Himiko laying against him, purring like a kitten laying down in a warm ray of sunshine, a huge fang-gilled smile on her face as she drooled into her pillow.
Apparently the girl had moved to lay with the two of them instead of the couch she was given to sleep on, while the guest room was cleaned up.
Doing the only thing she could possibly do in this situation, she pulled out her phone and took a picture, a hand over her mouth as she struggled to suppress a squeal.
Seeing young Satsuki laying on his back always gave her ideas about grandbabies between her son and a certain froggy young lady. Seeing the young blond lying against him gave her even more ideas.
Any thoughts of him having more than one paramour never even bothered her. After all, her son deserved all the love in the world in her eyes. What's him having multiple ladies when love is involved.
Moving to the kitchen to start on some breakfast, she found Tsuyu already there drinking some tea to get the morning rolling.
"Tsuyu, dear, would you mind helping me make breakfast for everyone?" Inko spoke softly, hoping to avoid waking the three sleepers in the next room.
Tsuyu set her cup down, moving to the fridge to grab some ingredients. As the two started prepping the food, Inko spoke up again.
"So, what do you think of Himiko?"
Tsuyu glanced over at the woman. "She seems nice, ribbit. Something tells me she'll be a little extra once she opens up to us, but I don't mind. It sounds like she's been devoid of friends, and I don't mind being hers."
Inko smiled mischievously. "And you're not worried her being friends with Izuku? After all, she'll be living with us for the foreseeable future. There's no telling how close they will get while you're away."
If Inko had been hoping to get a rise out of the hard to read girl, she was sorely mistaken.
"I don't mind."
Inko reeled in surprise. She knew that Tsuyu liked her son, so she was shocked to hear that she would be ok with Izuku and Himiko getting close. While she was recovering, Tsuyu spoke again.
"She's cute and has a wonderful smile. The thought of being sandwiched between the two of them to keep warm at night is very appealing. To top it off, if my experience with having a heteromorph quirk means anything, I'll need help in the bedroom with him, considering how big he's going to be."
Inko's face lit up in a heavy blush. She wasn't some unexperienced maiden, but the bluntness of the words had her reeling. "T-Tsuyu!"
"What? You asked if I was worried. I say what I mean and mean what I say." Tsuyu continued with same placid look on her face as she always did. She looked over to Inko. "Also, the rice is burning."
Inko scrambled to recover the dish, only to realize that the frog had played a trick on her. The food was not, in fact, anywhere close to burning.
At first she had worried how her son would deal with two girls being attracted to him. It was clear how quickly Himiko got attached to people. She herself had revealed how easy it was while explaining her quirk.
It was obvious that it wouldn't take much to get the girl head over heels for him. He was too kind, too honest, and honestly, just a little too dense.
No, she wasn't worried about him dealing with two jealous girls. The issue now was him even realizing they liked him. And when he did?
She was worried they would eat him alive.
Inko and Tsuyu were setting the food down on the table, the rest of the Asui's having already gathered, when Izuku padded into the dining area, still in his wolf form.
Satsuki was sitting atop his large head like it was a princess' royal throne. Himiko was laid over his back with her arms and legs hanging down the sides of Izuku's torso, trying to get a few more moments of sleep.
Satsuki waved a hand to everyone, letting out an excited "Mowning, wibbit!"
A smile lit up on Inko's face at the siight. "Morning Satsuki, sweetheart! Morning Izuku! Himiko, I know you're probably still tired after everything, but it's time to eat."
Himiko let out a tired groan before she flopped off of Izuku and practically crawled into a chair at the table, rubbing her eyes to try and get the last dregs of sleep to leave her be. She didn't notice Izuku sit between her and Tsuyu.
She blindly grabbed some food and shoveled it into her mouth, her eyes snapped open wide.
Everyone watched as her eyes widened, throwing her arms forward and flapping them up and down rapidly.
"Oh my goodness, Himiko are you alright? Oh no, I did burn it didn't I?" Inko asked, only to be surprised by the blonde's response.
"IT'S SO GOOD! Mama Inko how is your food so good?! I've never had anything this delicious!"
What they were eating was something simple. Steamed rice with eggs, fish, and a few other side items.
Izuku had a beaming smile on his face. "All the food mom makes is the best! Especially her Katsudon. No one beats it and trust me, I've tried looking."
Inko was a blushing mess in her chair. "Oh, it's nothing special. I just put all my love for my darling Izuku in every dish I make!"
"M-mom!"
Smiling slightly at the small byplay, Tsuyu looked around Izuku to Himiko. "Ribbit, did your parents not make something like this for you?"
Himiko, still happily engrossed in shoveling down the delicious food, responded. "Nah, I usually never ate breakfast. They always brought whatever they had left over for dinner to my room after they ate."
Inko, her opinion of Himiko's parents somehow continuing to worsen, fumed in her chair. "Well that just won't do! I'll make sure you eat plenty here! If there are any specific dishes you'd like to try, you let me know."
"Ok!"
After breakfast, Himiko and Tsuyu were sitting in the living room with Ganma, Satsuki, and Samidare watching TV while the other three cleaned up the table.
Tsuyu looked over to the blond girl sitting next to her, a content smile on the vampire's face. "Himiko, Ribbit. You mentioned that you need to drink blood, right?"
Himiko turned her head to face the inquisitive girl, a nervous expression replacing the smile. "Yeah…"
"How often do you need to drink it?"
"The doctors said I need to drink at least a little bit every day, kind of like how we need to eat and drink water every day? They recommended I drink some every morning at least for a few weeks. Something about how my stomach wasn't used to getting it as often as it should."
The froggy girl tilted her head. "Sorry if my next question is a bit rude. I tend to be very blunt. Why didn't you drink any with breakfast, did the hospital not give you any to take home?"
Himiko looked away, wringing her hands nervously. "N-no, they gave me some. Just didn't think anyone would want to see me drinking it."
She looked back when she felt a large hand cover hers, seeing a small smile on Tsuyu's face.
"I don't mind, and I doubt anyone else would. Izu and Inko don't mind when we have dishes with bugs in them. Inko doesn't eat them, but Izuku tries them if we ever make any. Drinking a little blood doesn't seem like much compared to that."
A large and fang-gilled smile grew on Himiko's face, before she lunged at Tsuyu, grabbing her in a tight hug. "Thanks Asui! That means so much to me! Can we be friends, I bet we'll be the best of friends!"
"Call me Tsu." Tsuyu was taken aback by the blond girl's behavior. She went from nervous to this excited at the drop of a hat. All she could do in response was hug her back. "That smile is dangerous. And not in a scary way"
Izuku walked in, holding what looked like a metal thermos. "Glad to see you too getting along. I figured Himiko could do with a girl friend our age."
Izuku held the thermos towards them.
"Here Himiko, I saw you didn't drink any with the food, so I figured I'd bring it over. I even brought a straw if you wanted to drink it that way."
Himiko looked at him, hesitating before taking them from him. "Thanks. How did you know I liked using a straw?"
Izuku smiled and pulled a notebook from… somewhere, and opened it. At some point, Tsuyu's tongue had stuck itself to the side of his face.
He spoke as if the act was totally normal.
"Well, based on your quirk needing blood, and the fact that you have a minor cat mutation giving you fangs, it would be pretty likely that you would use those to bite your prey and suck blood from the wound. Similar to how a vampire would suck blood from their victims. I figured drinking it using a straw would feel pretty similar."
Himiko stared up at him, shocked that he could have come to that conclusion with so little information.
"O-oh, thanks. You… You don't mind if I drink it here, in front of people?"
Izuku blinked, before looking at her in confusion. "Why would I? You're just drinking a snack, nothing wrong with that."
Himiko felt her eyes start to burn a bit, so she distracted herself by opening the thermos, depositing the straw, and taking a sip.
It wasn't the best. While it was far better than the animals she had drank from, it certainly wasn't even close to fresh blood. Now that stuff is delicious.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying having the moment to relax.
Izuku paused his note taking, a question popping into his head. "Hey Himiko?"
She looked to him, laying back against the couch cushion, straw still between her lips. "Mmm?"
"Does fresh blood taste better to you? I can't imagine that stuff, having been kept a freezer for long periods of time, being that great."
Himiko let the straw pop out of her mouth to respond. "Y-yeah. But I don't mind this! At least it's something to drink. I couldn't have any before you guys took me in so…"
"Would you like to try mine?"
The question stunned her. She almost dropped the thermos in her hand, she was so surprised by the question.
"W-what? Try yours? What do you mean?"
"Well, I figured it would taste better than that stuff, and I heal pretty quickly because of my quirk, so there wouldn't be any lasting damage from a bite."
She was so stunned that she barely registered the squeaked out "Yes!" that escaped her lips.
Izuku sat next to her and offered his arm. "Will my forearm work?"
She barely registered his words before she bit down on his arm.
He winced, expecting some pain, only for him to barely feel a pinching sensation as she licked his arm and bit down. "Possibly a numbing effect from her saliva?"
As she bit down, Himiko groaned as the most delicious flavor she had ever tasted touched her tongue. Her eyes rolled up into her head as she fell into Izuku, laying against his chest as she drank. It only got better when she felt him put his free hand on her head, scratching right next to her messy hair buns.
There was no way she could ever go without this flavor ever again.
"Is she purring?" Tsuyu asked, attention fully on the event happening before her.
Izuku smiled as he looked at the girl draining his blood, chuckling as he watched her blissed out expression. "It sure sounds like it. Didn't think my blood would taste so good. I wonder if the taste differs from person to person?"
It was then that Inko and Beru walked into the living room, Inko eyeing them on the couch. "Well you'll have to find out some other time. We can't have her drinking too much right now. She's been suffering from severe withdrawal, and if she drinks too much at once she risks getting lost in it, so it's best you stop now."
Izuku looked almost… disappointed at that. He reached down and poked her in the cheek. "You heard her, Himiko. It's time to stop."
She let out an almost agonizing sound as she was told to stop drinking his blood.
"I know, but you can always have more later, ok?"
She pulled away from his arm, licking over the wound to clean up any excess blood. "Ok…"
"Cool…"
They looked over to the voice, seeing Samidare staring at Izuku's arm. Seeing them looking at him, he snapped his head back to the TV. "W-what?! I didn't say anything!"
Beru sighed. "Sorry about that. He's hit his rebellious phase, thinking he needs to be 'cool'."
"That's not it at all mom!"
Everyone had a good chuckle at the mother having a moment to tease her son.
Laughter dying down, Izuku turned to the two girls sitting on the couch, trying to ignore the fact that Himiko was still sitting in his lap.
"Well, now that breakfast has probably settled in our stomachs, why don't we go for a walk? I can show Himiko the area since she'll be living here from now on. Oh! I'll even show you two where I've been doing my hero training for the last couple of weeks!"
Tsuyu looked at him, a finger finding its way to her chin as she tilted her head. "You've started going to the gym?"
"Well, not a gym, per se…" Izuku reached his unbitten arm up to scratch the back of his head.
Himiko leaned her head back from where it was laying against his chest, getting an upside-down view of his face. "If it's not a gym, then what is it?"
Izuku looked down at her, a proud smile on his face. "It's a beach!"
The three 16 year olds were walking the streets of Musutafu, enjoying some light conversation.
"He actually dove into the water after the ball, knowing he couldn't swim?!"
Or Izuku wished it was a light conversation. He sighed in exasperation while listening to Himiko cackle at the naivete of his younger self.
"Tsuyu, did you have to tell her about that?"
"Ribbit, she asked me how we met, so I told her."
"We met at the doctor's office!"
"But became friends at the campsite."
Izuku tried to come up with a retort, but he couldn't. He just sagged in defeat at her smug tone.
"Alright already, enough bashing me. We're here."
What lay before the trio was what had at one time been a beautiful beach for families to visit. Now, it was a veritable dump.
It was filled with all kind of detritus, from trash bags to appliances. There were even a few cars buried in the mess.
At the bottom of the stairs leading to the ocean was a small clearing. Signs that someone had been trying to clear up this affront to nature, even if it had a few random cans that someone had decided to dump in the spot.
Izuku stood in front of the two girls, hands on his hips.
"I decided that I would use cleaning this beach as a means to train my body. It even counts as community service."
"You don't seem to have gotten very far, Ribbit."
Izuku sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "W-well, I've only been doing it for a few weeks, and there's only so much I can about the big stuff. I don't really have a way of getting rid of it."
"Maybe I can help with that, young man!"
Izuku whirled around at the familiar voice, seeing a skeletal man with blond hair, a wide smile on his face.
"A-a-a-a-a-a-al-"
"Good day, you three. I am Yagi Toshinori." The man looked to Izuku with a quick wink. Pulling out some business cards, he continued. "I am All Might's personal secretary."
The two beside Izuku were staring at the man with shock on their faces.
"It's quite convenient I found you here, young man. I happened to be passing by and, having seen that someone had taken the time out of their no-doubt busy lives to trying cleaning up this once-beautiful beach, I was hoping to find the person responsible."
The blond man who Izuku knew to be All Might, having now revealed his name to the boy, looked him dead in the eyes with a hopeful smile on his face.
"Is that true, what I heard you say? That you've been the one cleaning the beach?"
Izuku stared at the man, barely able to mutter out a "Y-yes sir!"
Toshinori stood straight, arms wide as he looked between the three of them.
"Splendid! Then this chance meeting is even more fortuitous than I had originally thought!"
Himiko stepped forward, a suspicious look on her face. "And why is that, sir?"
He looked to the fellow blond. "Why, young miss, it is fortuitous because All Might had told me to keep an eye out for this young man!"
"Y-H-he said to keep an eye on me?!"
"Why of course, HAHAHA" He let out a boisterous laugh that sounded suspiciously familiar to the two girls. "After all, it's not every day that the Number One hero gets inspired by someone like this young man did the other day!"
Himiko looked over to Izuku, who seemed to be short-circuiting. "You met All Might?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
She proceeded to grab him by the front of his shirt and shake him back and forth at such a slight.
Tsuyu, however, remained cautious. "This sounds great and all, ribbit. But why should we believe you. I don't think I've ever seen you mentioned before whenever All Might does interviews or has a press conference."
"That's by design, miss. We at All Might Tower do our best to maintain privacy on the identities of all of our employees. Wouldn't want any of our employees to be harassed in their day to day lives by people wanting to ask questions about the Number One hero, after all!"
"Ribbit." Tsuyu narrowed her eyes, not entirely satisfied with that answer.
Izuku placed a hand on her shoulder, shirt still being shaken by Himiko.
"He is telling the truth about me meeting All Might, though."
Himiko grabbed his face and pulled it down, so he was facing her. "What?! When?!"
"It was two days ago. Right before I met you Himiko." He looked back to Tsuyu. "No one else should have known about it. Only All Might and I knew."
Tsuyu let out a mollified "Ribbit".
The tall man clapped his hands, bringing their attention back to him. "Now that that's settled, I would like to extend my offer once again. You mentioned you were struggling with removing the larger items? I, and by extension All Might Tower, would like to offer you assistance with cleaning this beach."
Izuku was stunned. "What do you mean, 'offer your assistance'?"
"As you likely already know, our agency does many charity events, from food drives, donations to help the sick, etc. We also on occasion commit our time to community service. Something like helping clean this beach, even if it simply providing a method to remove larger objects like those buried in this beach, is well within our means as a hero agency."
Izuku was flabbergasted.
"I-I would love the help, Mr. Yagi!" Izuku's excitement fell from his face as he looked back over the piles and piles of trash covering the beach. "I… I was actually starting to get worried. Mom always told me about how my dad brought her to this beach all the time when they were younger. I wasn't sure how I was going to clean it all."
He felt the two girls each place a hand on either arm, sympathetic looks on their face. Before he could thank either of them for their support, he felt the large hand of All Might land on his shoulder.
"Worry no longer, for when we're done, this beach will be cleaner than it ever was!" He then looked to the two girls surrounding Izuku. "Tell me, you two. Are you also looking to become Heros?"
Tsuyu stood tall… or as tall as her froggy spine would let her. "Yes, ribbit."
Himiko felt everyone's gaze land on her. She hadn't really put any thought into her future, let alone becoming a hero.
She was never a huge fan of heroes if she was honest with herself. Well, aside from All Might, but who wasn't a fan of All Might!
She took a moment to think, when a specific memory sprang to mind. Of her, in an alley. A green haired beacon reaching a hand out to her. She tightened her fists and looked to the taller man with a look of determination on her face.
"Yes! I want to help the people that most overlook. That most people look at and continue on, ignoring their pleading for help. I want them to know that 'I see you, and I will help!'"
Izuku had a look of awe on his face, before a proud smile grew. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and they exchanged smiles.
All Might's own smile grew wider. "That's splendid to hear! I will have All Might adjust his training plans as soon as possible!"
Izuku looked to the man, confused. "Training plans?"
"Of course! We've got two years to get you ready for entrance exams, and we have a lot of beach to cover! I hope you're prepared to put in the work."
All Might lowered his head, staring Izuku directly in his eyes. All Might's eyes almost gleaming. A smile that had Izuku feeling sweat drip down his back growing on the man's face.
"Because it's going to hurt."