Chapter Text
The sun beat down on the streets asphalt, heat practically radiating off the ground. Two yellow eyes couldn’t help but find themselves glued to the ground. The warmth. The sun. The sky. Their focus, however, was broken by the ratting of cuffs and sounds of gates opening. For the first time in two years, Himiko Toga was free.
Wearing the standard issue clothes she was given by the prison, her old clothes were all but destroyed, she stood there a bit dumbfounded,
“What now?”
She stared into the sky as if it would give her a response. Years in prison without it had certainly dried her of her thirst for blood, so she didn’t really want that anymore, and with the rest of the league dead or imprisoned for much longer sentences than she got, Toga was all but clueless where to go. She’d never really lived on her own, it was just her parents, then the league. She absent-mindedly reached into her pockets expecting something.
“Wow, 200 yen.”
She stared at the few coins in her hands, maybe it was a mistake, maybe it was meant to be some kindness.
“I can buy a bar of chocolate with this. What a great thing to do before I starve.”
She thought, because now she was homeless, broke, unemployed, and meant to meet parole when she was probably about to dry up in this heat.
It wasn’t too long before she realized that she was crying, it only took hearing a small sizzle as her tears hit the ground for her to notice. And when she did she only felt more helpless, she was free, but free to do what? Starve in an alley, devoid of the friendship or life she had? She considered going back to villainy, she was happy then, she thought.
“Hey! Are you going to stand there or what?”
Toga’s train of thought was offset by a penny set on the tracks which sent the train of thought careening into a building. Oh my.
“Uraraka?!”
Toga yelped out, she turned her gaze off the ground to a friendly face leaning out a car window, smiling and waving.
Togas heart almost leaped out of her chest, Uraraka was just as she vividly remembered, the same girl Toga was fully willing to sacrifice her life for, the same girl Toga spend nights in prison dreaming off, she thought the idea of Uraraka remembering her had as much of a chance of happening as her friends coming back to life to throw her a birthday party. But there she was.
Uraraka waved.
“You look surprised! Thought I’d forget you?”
Uraraka patted her cars side door, inviting Toga in.
Without a second thought Toga got in, she didn’t care if all the evil of the world was in that car as long as she got to sit next to Uraraka.
“Uraraka I… why are you here?”
Uraraka giggled, a sound that made Togas heart skip a beat.
“Because I’m sure you don’t have anyone else to pick you up, right?”
Toga blushed
“Well I’m sure I could’ve figured it out on my own.”
“Well now you can figure it out with me, okay?”
“Why? Aren’t I dangerous?”
Urarakas expression turned serious as the word “dangerous” left Togas mouth.
“You saved my life. And from what I’ve heard from your parole officer, you’re doing really well off then when we last met.”
“Is that why you’re helping? Wanna repay a debt?”
Toga spat out, Toga didn’t want to be seen as some charity case, some sympathy sack who was begging for help with her existence.
“Because I want to help.”
The response shocked Toga, she… wanted to help? That’s impossible, she’s been convicted of several murders, not including the attempted ones, many of which were Uraraka and her friends!
An uncomfortable silence befell the car, the only sounds being that of its movements through the city streets.
“So, where are we going?”
“My house”
“You own a house? In this economy?”
“Well it’s more of a penthouse, but yeah. You do need a place to stay, right?”
Toga couldn’t help but let out a small “oooh”, she’d never been in a penthouse, or anything luxurious, just the thought of it, lead along living in one, felt like a strange idea for her.
Uraraka couldn’t help but giggle at Togas small sound of curiosity.
“I’ve got my own hero agency, as well as a program to help kids learn to handle their quirks, keeps me busy a lot, but I can’t say it doesn’t have its rewards.”
“So you help kids learn to do what?”
“Handle their quirks, it’s, well, it’s something I made with you in mind. So kids who may have ‘villanous’ quirks have people to go to and learn how to use their quirks safely in society or even as heroes, so nobody goes through what you did and…”
“… and so nobody turns out like I did?”
Toga finished Urarakas sentence, her tone somber.
“That’s… that’s really thoughtful of you. I like it.”
For the first time in a long while, Toga managed a smile.
“I’m happy to hear you approve. Oh, we’re pulling in just now.”
The car stopped and pulled into into a dark garage, lit only by bright lights that lit a path towards an elevator, the pair stepped out of the car and began moving towards it.
“So how’re your hero friends, Uraraka?”
“They’re doing great, all good heroes, my friend Tsu helps with assistance at my company I mentioned earlier.”
“Have any… romantic relations?”
Uraraka laughed and blushed a bit at the blunt question
“No, I haven’t quite had the time for anything of that sort.”
Toga silently celebrated this new information.
As the pair stepping into the elevator Toga stared in awe at the sheer number of floors the building had, crowned with a button labeled “Penthouse suite”
The elevator began its climb while pop music played from speakers Toga couldn’t find anywhere in the elevator.
“So Uraraka… you mentioned you spoke to my parole officer earlier?”
“Yes, why?”
“Well I mean… why did you speak to my parole officer? That’s not like, a normal thing you do.”
Uraraka couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“It’s a surprise for later.”
Toga hated surprises normally, they come out of nowhere and you don’t get to prepare for them. But when Uraraka said it, Toga couldn’t help but, albeit impatient, feel excited for this mystery surprise.
The tension was broken by a small ding as the elevator reached the top floor, causing Toga to jump a bit. In response, Uraraka gently placed a hand on Togas shoulder, and spoke 5 words that flipped Togas world.
“It’s gonna be all right.”
While Togas would regularly discount that string of words as an empty platitude, devoid of real intent for action or truth, Urarakas words contained a sentiment that seeped past Togas defenses and she found herself relaxing, even agreeing, because when Uraraka smiled, Toga believed those words.
The elevator doors opened and Toga stepped into Urarakas home, a large penthouse, despite its size it’s been decorated…. Modestly. Theres a few small trinkets and necessary furniture, but besides that Urarakas penthouse was bare-bones.
“Toga, ready to see your surprise?”
“Yes! Yes!”
Togas focus instantly snapped to the aforementioned surprise, her curiosity quickly overtaking all other senses.
Uraraka led Toga through the suite towards an island table, on it a single manilla file.
“Go on, open it!”
Uraraka said with a wide smile, Toga noticed that she was excited, and poorly hiding it, which only made Toga even more excited for the contents of this file.
Toga eagerly opened the file to… legal documents?
“Suprise! I got you off your parole and instead you just have to stay here with me for exposure therapy rehabilitation! …tada!”
“Uraraka… you shouldn’t have…”
“Why? Do you not like it?”
Toga hugged Uraraka tightly, barely holding out tears.
“I love it.”
“Toga… I really want to help you, and to be by your side… after the war I-“
Toga cut her off.
“Let’s just savor the moment…”
Uraraka and Toga savored the hug, Togas heart swelling with affection and joy at the feeling of being cared for, which made Toga feel like she was the happiest girl who was ever alive.
“So… guess I’m stuck with you, huh?”
Toga said teasingly, her playful demeanor returning.
“Yep, stuck like a fly in my web”
The pair giggled at the simile.
“Where should I sleep?”
Toga oh-so-graciously thought to herself
“In your bed. In your bed. In your bed. Oh god please say that”
“I have a guest room ready and prepared for you!”
Uraraka replied, striking down Togas dreams.
“Alright, I’m going to turn in for the night then, if that’s all right.”
“Goodnight Toga! We’ll go over house rules and such tomorrow, okay?”
“…that sounds perfect.”
Toga turned and headed through the suites barren halls towards the room pointed out as her own.
Inside was a large-ish room, a single bed with a yellow quilt cover, a wardrobe Toga hadn’t the energy to check, and a door to where she only could assume was a bathroom.
Toga fell onto her bed, the days emotional toll tanking her energy, she quickly snuggled into the pillows, which were softer than she imagined a cloud could be, which was very soft.
Toga shuffled into a comfortable position, her head faced upwards to face the stars, which was odd, because she expected a roof. She noticed there was some fancy glass roof installed, so she could see the night sky, which was absolutely breathtaking tonight. It’s like light pollution didn’t exist, the way Toga swore she saw into the cosmos themselves. The moon was full and its usual creamy pale yellow, but what truly interested Toga was the stars, in which she saw a beautiful purple hue, the black, purple, and white reminder her of Uraraka. Most things do, but this felt different. Maybe it was a message. She was too tired to think of it, she chose to bask in tonight’s relaxation to prepare for the work she anticipated for tomorrow.
Toga shut her eyes, and for a moment, she was flying, and then she was asleep. Marking the beginning of a beautiful new chapter in the life of Himiko Toga.