A second chance

The city layout had changed dramatically, that much was clear. From what Himiko could tell, the park she awoke in was the exact place she died.

Not died. Disappeared, she was still here.

It was clear she didn't go through what Shiggy went through, no one stuck her in a tank to give her immortality powers. She wasn't saved by heroes that much was clear, otherwise she’d be in jail at this point, and the park wouldn't be a park yet. 

Time had passed, a lot of it. Himiko walked with her head held high, fist holding the only thing resembling a weapon: a safety pin that held a tag to the coat she wore. Mothers talked in crowded cafes as their children played outside, fathers played cards outside a repair shop, sons and daughters manned the registers at convenience stores.

And every single one of them was confident in the fact they were safe. Shortly after she awoke, Himiko found a public restroom to observe herself, to see if there were any traces left of whoever kept her alive and unconscious for who knows how long. Nothing. She had nothing. She was slightly taller than she remembered, perhaps due to her shoes, perhaps due to the time that had passed. Somehow even though she must have been ‘asleep’ for a year or more, she still had bags under her eyes. 

Strangely, her hair seemed to be the same length Himiko tended to keep it at.

Unfortunately this was all she had besides the clothes on her back. This meant she had no weapons, no means of disguise. The only thing that let her know whoever kept her alive knew who she was, is the sizable vial of blood labeled “jin”.

So Himko did her hair up, did not hide her face and walked the streets. Every person she saw glanced at her and offered a warm smile. Not a single person did a double take with fear, a few children’s eyes lingered longer than socially acceptable but their parents quickly fixed it. 

The adults here would be the only ones who would remember Himiko Toga, so why the children looked she had no idea. Himiko didn't know how much time passed but the children whose eyes lingered couldn't possibly have been more than 2 or 3 at the time of the war. So why did they look? Why did adults smile at her?

The hero’s acted strangely as well, a few offered genuine smiles, one man in particular laughed out loud and patted her on the shoulder with a “Don't let Uravity catch you!” before chuckling and continuing his rounds.

Uravity, so this wasn't in the too distant future. Ochako was still a pro.

That is how she will find out what the date is, the pro hero billboard. Asking some random person would be suspicious. People were conscious of her, but they weren't afraid. Likely because the villain Himiko Toga is dead, and even if she has a striking ‘resemblance’ there's no reason to fear. Asking what the date was, would be incredibly concerning. 

The response would likely be, ‘check your phone’ or ‘what the fuck’ and Himiko couldnt deal with a set back. 

It didn't take a long time of actively looking to find the top 10 hero rankings, and the popularity rankings right below it. The hero rankings of 2029

Himiko was 24. Himiko Toga was 24 years old. 24? 

Years old?!

Himiko had lived 24 years, sure she was out of it for 7 but 24! Never in her life did she think she’d get past 19. She was a villain, an incredibly high ranking one at that. Even before the war, even before the league her description would rattle someone to their core. 

7 years had passed, and her likeness was now smiled at. What happened?

The billboard was just about what Himiko would have guessed. That blonde guy who could phase through walls was #1, half and half was #2 and the giant lady was #3. She didn't care much about that, what mattered to her was that Izuku, Katsuki and most importantly Ochako were not in the top 10.

The popularity scale was much different. Lemillion was still in number one, a different blonde boy took the number 2 spot, an eccentric looking guy with clock earrings, but shortly behind him was Uravity. 

Himiko’s world froze. The people who walked by her turned into blurs that momentarily obscured her view, the sounds of cars driving by were muffled. The only thing she could perceive was the glowing face of the only person who ever truly cared about her. The photo used for her popular image was one of her grinning while behind a podium. Maybe receiving an award, maybe giving a speech. It was unclear, but what wasn't was the emotion. Her smile was genuine, Himiko could hear her laugh, picture what she would say, who would have been with her at the time.

But her eyes. A glow that Himiko had admired, the glow that made Himiko fall in love was absent. Ochako was happy, but it didn't take a genius to see she was still mourning.

Himiko wasn't cocky enough to believe it to be herself. Izuku must have died, that could be the only explanation, he wasn't on the billboard, and someone as strong as him not being top 10 in strength or popularity could only be explained by his death.

What a shame, the two were cute.

At least one of her love’s was still kicking. What now? Himiko is alive, not only is she alive but she's a healthy 24 years old. No one knows who she is, no one but the person who placed Jin’s blood in her pocket. She had a second chance at life. Without any papers life would be difficult, but it wouldn't take long to find the criminal underground with her knowledge. A quick call in for some favors that those still alive might owe her and she’d have a new name.

She knew that wouldn't work, as Himiko walked down the street pinching the needle of the close pin in her coat pocket she knew that wouldn't work. As she held her head high and felt eyes on her she knew it wouldn't work. As she saw a man get ready to run at an old lady and stretch his hands she knew it wouldn't work.

Himiko toga was a villain, she still is. She is violent, she is aware, and she wont do anything differently. Maybe if she was given a second chance earlier, maybe if she didn't run after attacking her first crush, maybe someone would have helped her. Maybe someone could have helped her. Maybe if she found Ochako earlier she could have helped Himiko.

But now? After all she’d been through? Himiko had fought in a war and Himiko had lost. There wasn't any amount of fake ID’s that could take that experience away. She's constantly be on edge, she'd always be aware of the criminals around her, she would always know when someone was watching her, she would always know when someone had a concealed weapon.

She couldn't live like that and work 9 to 5. That old woman who was about to be robbed had a hand on her purse, and the other in the hands of a young girl. She couldn't be older than 5 or 6. Himiko glanced around, there weren't any low level heroes on patrol, and it didn't look like any police were around either. 

The young girl held a stuffed toy in her hand. From Himiko’s angle, she couldn't quite see who it was but it was blonde and it was a woman. The stuffed toy didn't have the horns of the giant hero, but Himiko guessed it must have been her. The thief tensed and began walking towards the two. 

Himiko leaned against the wall. She was ‘asleep’ for 7 years, but she had never felt better. It was as if she had been eating well for those 7 years. Continuing to work out those past 7 years. It was as if for every single day of those 7 years, Himiko had lived a normal life. 

She was awake, both in mind and body. 

The young girl had long blonde hair and straight teeth, she wore a flowy dress and was smiling from ear to ear. When she opened her eyes, Himiko choked. 

They were her’s.

That girl had her eyes. That girl had her hair, the only difference was she didn't have Himiko’s canines, but that was her. That was Himiko. No older than 5 or 6, long before she had given up on the world. “Grandma! Grandma look its-” even her voice was familiar. 

That was Himiko.

If she had a choice, she wouldn't have lived her life any differently. That does not mean she has no regrets. Himiko regrets having to kill, Himiko regrets her rage, Himiko regrets her childhood, regrets having those parents, regrets having a heart that beats for things others despise. Himiko regrets ever being born. But she wouldn't have lived differently.

The thief approached with a small knife in his fist. Not a single person looked at him. 

But that girl didn't have to do that. Maybe a run in with a villain would make her want to be a hero, or maybe watching blood flow from someone she loved would awaken something inside her that would be better left asleep.

The thief went to impale the grandmother in the back. She would die, it was perfect placement, the blade would go through the latissimus dorsi and puncture the back of this woman's lungs. Without any police or heroes nearby it would take someone reaching to their phone and calling an ambulance. That would take maybe 15 seconds, if the person even decided to call, maybe they would record first. Snap a photo of the assailant. Regardless it would take the ambulance roughly 3 minutes to get here, and the thief is going for the kill, he would likely drag the knife down, pull it out, take the bag and run.

She would bleed out in a matter of moments. The girl would be left crying, people would be recording. Not a single one of these people would move to stop him, that's the hero's job after all. The woman would die, and the girl would watch it happen.

Who knows what would happen then. 

Himiko did. Watching someone die changed a person. Watching someone you loved died, ruined a person.

The knife never made it to the woman's back. Himiko caught his wrist right before it nicked the woman's clothes. She closed her fist and his grip on the knife loosened and fell right into her free hand. She threw it into a reverse girl and stuck it into his forearm.

Himiko wouldn't have been able to stop herself if her life depended on it. blood. And it did, the minute someone noticed her smile as she watched the blood run from his arm, she would be done for. Blood, blood, blood.The minute someone noticed how she reveled in the man's screams and kept him from running, she'd be caught. Blood, make him bleed.The minute someone noticed how she looked at the younger girl with a longing that could only belong to a person with regrets, she'd be dead.

Make him bleed.“Move!” As Himiko shoved the man to the ground, ripping the knife out of his arm and grabbing the wound as she pinned him to the floor, the girl's stuffed toy fell into view. 

Amber eyes and messy space buns, flush face and canines the likes of which dogs envy, and her signature villain get up.

It was a stuffed toy of Himiko.

That girl's features were clear now, she had long black hair and brown eyes. That girl looked nothing like Himiko, she sounded nothing like Himiko. 

…

Maybe that didn't matter, she was a young girl who’s life was about to change for the worse. If that wasn't Himiko she didn't know what was. “Grandma! It's Miss Toga!” okay what the fuck?

Her grip tightened on the assailant, her nails now cut though his clothes and found perchance in his flesh. Dig deeper, and she did. What was at first anger became the need to see how far she could go. Blood, blood, blood, blood. Himiko heard sirens wailing, she looked around to see people’s phones out and recording. She was made, the girl recognised her. Maybe she didn't know quite what she was saying, maybe Himiko was hallucinating the stuffed toy just as she didnt the young girl's appearance, maybe no time had passed at all and Himiko was just in hell. 

Whatever the case, heroes will be here soon. 

Himiko stuffed the knife in her pocket, took the arm of a strong looking stranger and yanked him into the position she was in. She took off running before shouting “Hold him down or I'll kill you” to the confused man. She dipped down and sliced the man’s ankle, roughly where the achilles was so even if the civilian couldn't hold him down, the man wouldn't be able to run. Himiko ripped the purse from the ground and tossed it in the old lady's hands. 

To the girl's outburst, the grandmother didn't correct the girl, or chastise her for calling a stranger by the name of a notorious villain. She looked at the stuffed toy and then went back to Himiko. 

The last thing Himiko saw before turning the corner was the grandmother mouthing thank you.

________________

It was ironic really, when the rain started pouring on the otherwise clear sunny day. She had no choice but to laugh as she clung to the knife, gripping her chest bending down in a dirty alleyway as sirens blared not too far from her. 

It was ironic, how similarly her life had ended up just as it was before. In the cold and dark as blue and red blinded her vision. How quickly it took for her to maim a person and run away. Maybe it was for a noble cause, but really Himiko just wanted that knife. 

She felt unsafe without one.

It's said that a liar fears being lied to more than others.

It was true, had she never done any of this, the crippling need for violence as a method of safety Himiko never would have needed his knife. Had Himiko not hallucinated, maybe she would have just taken the knife and left.

For someone who lived exactly how she wanted to, Himiko certainly was regretting her choices. She should have stayed there, cut into him again and again. At least that way, she would have enjoyed her last moments free before the hero who silently stood behind her took her rights away.“Well well well, aren't you a hero!” the haughty voice announced itself. Himiko didn't bother to look. “I know what you did, that wasn't just some assault, you saved that girl and her grandmother. Why’d you run? Where'd you learn how to do that?”

The wall was too high for her to jump or climb it, and the flashes of blue and red let her know she was surrounded. About an hour 15, was how long Himiko was content to enjoy her new found freedom. That's how long she managed to live a normal life. 

She enjoyed the park, walked the streets, looked at heroes, looked at fellow civilians for roughly an hour and 15 minutes. She knew it would never work, living a normal life. Her version of normal was too far removed from other’s. “If you know what happened, why don't you turn around, and deal with the robber?”

It didn't matter who this guy was, Himiko would get past him, she would get past the police and she’d kill a few of them.

Just because she could. 

She enjoyed that man’s pain more than she had enjoyed anything before, her blood lust was refreshed.

There was no point in changing. 7 years had passed, surely her immunity to adrenaline would have faded by now, she'd be able to chase regular thrills again. It would take another 15 years of criminal life for her to regain the level of uncaring she had when she disappeared. There was no point in changing, her quirk made sure of that. “Ah, unfortunately i can do that miss, your in possession of a weapon that was used in a crime”

“I'm willing to trade, do you have something on you?”

“How civilised! No, I have no need for tools like that!” kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Make him bleed. Make him regret following you here, make him regret existing. Make him bleed. Make him bleed.

Himiko smiled, really she couldn't stop. She hadn't felt this way in 7 years, sure she didn't remember anything but the rush was all the same.“Then I can't give this to you” it would be smart to just hand it over, but to give this hero her only means of protection, to walk past the rest of those cops, to walk down the street without anything on her. 

A liar fears being lied to as a killer fears being killed. There's no reason to suspect anyone on the street would kill her. There is no reason to fear that, just as a liar has no reason to fear being lied to by his family.

But he does. Because he’s lied, and he's felt how easy it is. How natural it feels. What if other people feel this way? What's stopping them from lying to him?

She couldn't let go, she’d be vulnerable. 

“I could get you another knife, but it's illegal to carry it. Your not a hero, or a police officer” She should have died, whatever god decided to give her a second chance royaly fucked up. Himiko would have to relive her entire life with different parents and a different quirk to even have a chance at living a normal life. “You act heroically though, so I think i might be able to help you”

Himiko laughed, how often had she heard that? More times than she could count “No i'm serious! I have a friend who might be interested in meeting you. Count yourself lucky because you've managed to run into the greatest hero in the world!”

Himiko turned around, the clock earrings guys stood in a classy suit. “Not seeing the million across your chest blondie”

“Yeah yeah yeah semantics, who cares, you used excessive force to stop that man, and then worsened his injuries by slamming him to the ground and digging your nails in his skin. You saved that old woman and maybe if you can get her to testify in court you'll get off with a slap on the wrist. For that, you'll need a good lawyer. I can get you one, come with me to meet a close friend, and you can consider that lawyer paid for”

“You'll pay someone to save me, just to meet a friend?”

The man laughed “Oh no, I'm not paying. My close close friend-” Himiko had the sense that whoever he was talking about, was not in fact his close close friend “-will be more than happy to fork over the funds when she sees you”

“I was under the impression Hero’s did not negotiate”

Again, the man let out a hearty laugh, slapping the wall of the alleyway with a crazed look in his eye, Himiko held the knife tighter. “Thats why Im the greatest” the man took another step closer “I’d hate to see potential go to waste because of a shitty state defender”