Chapter 33: On the Bloody Knife's Edge
"Well, that's that." Izuku commented to himself as he ended his call with the police. He threw the phone off the rooftop next, knowing he no longer needed it due to it belonging to a certain snake-headed thug he had just beat. The teen then pulled out his notebook again, taking out a small flashlight as he shined a tiny light on it.
'Hmm...didn't figure out any new moves there. Guess it was too fast of a fight.' he thought to himself as he reviewed the pages before closing the notebook, 'Maybe I can-'
Danger!
Spider sense buzzed at him at this, making him quickly put away his notebook before leaping backward. And as he did this, he saw a tiny shining knife almost strike him in the dark of the night, the sound of footsteps just now ringing out on the rooftop. The teen glanced up at the knife's owner, only for the light of the moon to shine down on her, showing half of her body while the night shadowed the rest.
The knife's owner had golden hair that was tied up into two messy buns, pale skin with a big, fanged grin and feral cat-like eyes. She was wearing a schoolgirl-like outfit, her hand going up to her face as she put her knife up to her mouth, licking it for a second. "Hello Spider-Man..." she giggled, a red blush appearing on her face.
"Uh...hi?" Izuku muttered out, feeling himself now backpedal as the girl pointed the knife at him. "Who are you?"
"I gotta say, you look really good in dark green there..." She responded, ignoring his question.
"Oh, um...thank you?" Izuku replied, his spider sense slightly tingling now.
The girl shined an even bigger grin as she fiddled with a knife in her hand before slowly switching to a charging stance, "But I think you'd look better covered in blood!" She exclaimed as she leapt at him. Izuku's spider sense screamed at him, making the teen quickly backpedal as he dodged a landing downward knife swipe. This was followed by her thrusting her knife right at his face, Izuku's head shifting left, the blade almost nicking him.
Izuku then pointed his wrist at her, pushing the triggers as webbing shot out at the girl. But just as the webbing came out, she hopped back...and disappeared into the dark of the night. The webbing completely missed as it flew off the rooftop. "Huh?" Izuku muttered out, his eyes darting back and forth. 'What the heck?! Where'd she go?!'
Danger!
"Uh-oh." Izuku whispered before spinning around, only to see the girl now thrusting her knife right at his face again. Izuku began to backpedal again, reflexively pointing his wrist at her, only for her to disappear again. "What?!" He yelped as he rested his fingers on the web shooter trigger, this time not firing any webbing. He motioned his wrist around, his eyes darting around again. "Where did she-"
Danger!
Izuku didn't spin around this time, instead leaping forward as heard a swishing noise behind him. He then rolled on the roof's floor before shifting onto his knee, spinning around after this while pointing his wrist...only to find she had disappeared again. 'Darn it, she's gone again! How is she doing that?!' He kept his wrist pointed out, his eyes glancing around, 'Wait...why is she attacking me?! Why-'
Danger!
Izuku began to roll forward again, not even looking back as the girl thrusted a knife downward, the blade almost hitting the roof floor. She then charged at him again, Izuku glancing back at her and pointing his wrist. But as he pressed the trigger, he saw the girl side-step to the left...only to disappear again. The sight made him go wide-eyed, only to glance down at the floor, seeing that part of the roof was lit up while the rest was in the darkness of the night.
Blinking for a split second, he looked up at the sky, seeing a slightly cloudy sky over a half-moon. 'The light from the moon...she keeps hiding from it! That's how she keeps disappearing!'
But as this revelation hit him, the teen's spider sense rang out again. Feeling this, Izuku turned his head and leapt off the roof's side. He heard a "Huh?" from the girl as he began to descend, his eyes now staring at the street below before firing a web line, yanking himself upward and onto a rooftop just a building over. And as he landed, he glanced back at the previous roof he had been on, only to see that the girl was gone again.
'Think Izuku, think!' he thought as he stared at the rooftop, 'She's really fast, maybe faster than Stain. If that's the case, I have to use my webbing to slow her down.' his eyes slightly closing as he took a deep breath, 'Calm down. I need to-'
Danger!
Izuku went wide-eyed for a second before spinning around, the girl appearing again as she thrust her knife at him. And as the blade came down, Izuku leaned back, the knife just nicking his chest. It cut the strands, about to reach flesh before Izuku pointed his wrist at her feet.
Thwip!
Webbing instantly struck her, sticking her to the rooftop as she let out a: "Huh?!" She glanced down and slashed the webs with her knife, only for Izuku to fire some more webbing. "Hey!" She yelped as the webbing hit her arms, Izuku then firing webbing at her feet again before shooting out more. Webbing covered her from chest to toe in the next few seconds, only her head remaining as she kept trying to get free.
"Grr...urgh..." She growled as she squirmed, "No...let me go!"
"Uh...no." Izuku retorted in a snappier motion than he expected. He almost flinched at his words, the teen muttering out, "Er...sorry."
"Urgh...rgh..." moaned the girl as she kept squirming for a minute, only to let out a sigh before glaring at Izuku, "Let me go!"
Izuku opened his mouth to reply, only to see the girl start squirming again. No words would come out at this, the teen just staring and waiting as she kept trying to get free. And after a minute, she seemed to give up as she slumped over. Seeing this, Izuku muttered out, "Um..."
She glared back at him, "Let me go! Now!"
Izuku bit his lip at this, "But...if I do that, you'll attack me again."
"Well of course I will! I want to cover you in blood!" She barked back, making the teen blink.
'That's the second time she's said that. Does she have some thing for blood? Maybe its related to her quirk? I don't think I saw her use it...' He thought before asking, "Say, um...what's your name?"
She blinked at him for a second before replying, "I'm Himiko Toga."
"Right. So, uh...listen, Miss Toga. It's not nice to attack people with a knife."
"But if I don't, they won't be covered in blood!" She instantly responded before her face showed a big frown and puppy dog eyes, "The red would look so good on you!"
"Um...and if they don't want that?" Izuku replied before pointing at himself, "I mean, I like my dark green. I don't think red would go well with it. It uh...clashes a bit too much."
"But...but..." She stuttered out, Izuku now seeing her mumble as it looked like her brain was now rapidly turning.
Seeing her now slightly calm down, Izuku's mind went back to a thinking montage, 'Okay, take a second here Izuku. She suddenly attacked you and seems to be obsessed with blood. Does she have a blood quirk? That could explain it...but now that I can see her, she looks really pale. Is she low on blood? But if that's the-' He shook his head at this, 'Focus Izuku, focus! Don't get distracted! She just attacked you, so she's obviously a villain, but...'
That last thought made him stare back at her, remembering what he had declared he would do earlier. He continued to stare at her, seeing the tired look on her face as she squirmed, but also showed she was slightly out of breath. And as the moon shone down on her more, he saw she was quite dirty compared to the usual thugs he would fight. 'I need more information.'
"Um...Miss Toga?" She blinked at him, getting her attention as he added, "If you don't mind, can I ask you some questions?"
Her expression turned into a glare as she replied, "Why?! Why you'd you stop me?! Are you gonna ask me why I'm not normal, or why I'm a monster?!"
'That's not what I was expecting.' he thought before responding, "Uh...no. I was gonna ask why you're here." Her glare softened at this as he continued, "I mean, you suddenly attacked me, and I wanted to know why."
Himiko bit her lip at this, "Well...you beat Stainy." Izuku went wide-eyed at this, only for her to add, "I wanted to be like Mister Stainy, and when you beat him, I wanted to see you." Her cat-like eyes tensed up as she began to blush, a look of lust seemingly trying to appear on her face, "I want to become you. I wanna be you."
"I...see." Izuku muttered out, his brain slightly shorting at this, 'Okay. So she's here because she's a follower of Stain. That explains her fighting style...but what do I do now? She says she's a monster, keeps talking about blood, and wants to become me...'
The girl's blush disappeared as she saw Spider-Man just stand there, making her growl, "Let me guess, you think I'm some monster now, don't you?!"
"Huh?" Izuku muttered out, still lost in his thoughts.
"You do, don't you?!" She hissed, the girl now squirming even more, "You're just like the others! You all think I'm a monster cuz I'm not normal!"
Izuku just blinked at her, though Toga couldn't see it. "I...never said that. And I don't think that. I'm just uh...confused." Toga raised her eyebrows at that, Izuku's mind racing again, 'What do I say now? What do I do?' He then saw her slightly squirm again, the sight reminding him of someone else, 'I wonder...is she like Spinner?'
That thought made him go back to the past few days, and how he had fought Mister Negative and Spinner, both in situations where he felt he could have do more. Instead, all he did for them was get them arrested, even if he gave Spinner advice. That alone made a big frown form on his face, only for a new thought to enter his head. 'I...I can't just get her arrested. I wanna help her.'
"Um...Miss Toga?" The girl stopped squirming at this, soon glaring back at the vigilante. The teen gave her a small wave, "So uh...here's the deal. You told me that you attacked me because I beat Stain, right?" The girl blinked at him before nodding, "Okay. So, are you a follower of Stain or something?"
"Uh-huh." Toga replied while nodding again, "He's right about all those fake heroes and how society is all messed up!" She raised her head slightly as she shined a small smile, "I totally agree with him! Life is hard and all those fake heroes make it harder! They push us down and make us suffer all because of who we are!"
Izuku didn't respond to that. He couldn't feel a word form as he just stared at her. And as he did this, the girl's face started to go red again, blushing as she added, "And then there's you." Her tongue stuck out at this, licking her lips, "You beat Stain, and you're not a hero! You're not a fake like all the others!"
"I...see." Izuku responded, his words almost coming out as a whisper, only for him to tilt her head at her, "But...if you admire me now, why'd you attack me?"
"Cuz you'd look good covered in blood!" She instantly exclaimed.
Izuku almost flinched at this, 'There's that thing about blood again.' The teen took a deep breath before asking, "Um, can I ask you another question?"
Her blush started to fade as she responded, "Sure."
"Are you...okay? Like, you're really pale." Toga went wide-eyed at this, her eyes darting away.
"Um...I'm okay. I'm not hungry or anything." She muttered out.
Izuku opened his mouth to respond, only to close it. 'I think I'm right. She has a blood quirk.' He reached into his hoodie and pulled out his phone, 'I need some help.'
In an undisclosed location...
The sounds of sparks flying out of a welding torch rang out across the room as its user glared through a purple glowing mask. The individual had been working on the device in front of them for hours now, grumbling and sighing as the work continued. And as another hour passed, a long sigh left the person's breath before the torch went silent. The individual's mask disappeared a second later, another sigh escaping their breath as they leaned back in their seat.
"Finally..." moaned a low, slightly groaning voice.
"It is finished?" asked a new voice, the one at the desk turning to the voice's owner. They now found themselves staring at a man in a certain long scaly green jumpsuit, complete with a purple cape and what looked like an upside down fishbowl for a helmet.
"Do you seriously have to be here in that outfit?"
The helmeted man fake gasped at this, "Of course I do! I am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!"
"Suuuure you are."
"Do not get cocky with me, Tinkerer!" Mysterio barked back as he pointed at the individual at the desk. "Now, it is finished?"
"Do you have the money?"
"Of course I do!" Mysterio repeated, "I had it before I asked you to do this for me!"
"Yeah yeah..." Tinkerer sighed as they got up from their seat, showing their full form. The Tinkerer was a girl just shy of seventeen years of age with an ivory complexion, a brown-haired ponytail and a long frown on her face. Her clothes were a black jacket over a purple hoodie, which had a black sweater underneath it. Mysterio still didn't know how she was never hot under all that, but she seemed to move with ease with it on.
The Tinkerer then reached for the device she had been working on, which looked like a small camera. "I gave it the modifications you want." She put the gadget into a bag, "They're all the same...but in exchange, I need the cash and the tech you promised me."
"I know." Mysterio replied before snapping his fingers. A puff of smoke came out of his palm next, which then revealed a duffel bag full of money. "Here."
The girl took the bag and glanced down, blinking at the sight before looking back up at him, "This better not be one of your illusions. If it is, I'll rip you in half."
"Nonsense! I would never do such a thing!" Mysterio instantly responded, only to see the girl's glare increase, making him wave his hands, "Seriously! Its not an illusion, Phineas!"
"Yeah yeah...and call me Tinkerer. Don't use my real name." Phineas grumbled as she put the bag of money down before handing him the drone. "Anyways, I want that tech you promised me by the end of the week. I need it for my operation."
"You're seriously still considering that?" Mysterio asked, only to shake his head despite no one able to see it due to his helmet, "That is a fool's errand. Same with your beef with...him."
"And yours over your 'revenge against Spider-Man' isn't?"
"He humiliated me!" Mysterio barked as he pointed at her, "No one humiliates Mysterio!"
Phineas rolled her eyes, "You don't have to try when you dress like that."
"You..." Mysterio growled before taking the drone out of her hands, "You're lucky you're so smart! Otherwise, I would destroy you with my Arcane Arts!"
The Tinkerer let out a snort, "Sure you will. Now leave me alone."
Mysterio glanced down at the bag of cameras before smoke covered it, making it instantly vanish. He then looked back up at her, "I'm serious Phineas. Don't do it. You'll just be throwing your life away."
Phineas closed her eyes at this, glancing away as she growled, "I don't have a choice. Now get out."
A long sigh exhaled itself from Mysterio before he raised both hands upward, "Very well! I shall return with the gear you want shortly, and then...Spider-Man shall pay tenfold! Farewell, O Tinkerer! May we meet again soon!"
And with a giant puff of smoke, he was gone. The sight made Phineas roll her eyes before sitting back down. A glowing purple mask covered her face again, the girl biting her lip before she turned on the welding torch. "Whatever. Just get back here with the gear and we'll call it even." The torch began to spark against a rod of metal at this, "Just need to finish this up."
Meanwhile...
"So let me get this straight." Inko said in a low, slightly deadpan like voice over the phone, "While I went to FEAST today, which we still need to talk about later, you went and stopped a drug deal, only to get attacked by a girl that looks like your age that seems to worship that hero killer you fought a few days ago, and she's obsessed with blood?"
"Yeah. And she's like...really pale." Izuku replied as he glanced back at Toga, the girl still trying to get out of the webbing covering her arms and feet, "I think she has a blood quirk and...she seems pretty starved."
"Okay..." Inko quietly sighed, "Well, what do you want to do with her?"
"I mean, I don't really know if she's a villain or a criminal. She just attacked me with a knife, and I fought back. Heck, she seems more confused than anything...I think."
"You think?"
"I'm not good at reading people."
Inko let out a hum at this, "True. Still, what do you want to do?"
"I'm...not sure. I want to help her, but I don't know how. I mean, when I was talking to her, she seems to be obsessed with me...but she's also obsessed with hating being 'normal' and..." Izuku began to scratch the side of his mask as he added, "I don't know. It sounded like she's been hurting for a long time." There was a beat of silence at this before he added, "I don't know what to do, so I was thinking maybe I can do the obvious part first. She seems to be starving, and I thought you could help me with the blood quirk part of that. Do they have something for that kind of problem at the hospital?"
"Err...not exactly. More like, regulations than anything. I could pick up some stuff she could eat that is designed for blood quirks." There was a small pause at this, "But if I do that, you'll have to bring her here, and she'll probably figure out who you are."
"I know."
"Still...are you sure about this? I know you said you want to help people, but you haven't done anything like this before." Izuku opened his mouth to reply, only for his mother to continue, "Is it because of Mister Li?"
Izuku could feel the words coming out of his mouth freeze in his throat. Hesitation consumed him for a few seconds before words began to form, "Yeah. That and...remember that gecko guy I beat a week or so back? You know, the bank robber?"
"I remember. What about him?"
"Its just...looking back at it, I think I could have done more. Instead, I just told him to go to jail and come to FEAST later." Izuku stared at Toga as he saw her continue to squirm, her face clenching up as she struggled, "I think...I think I should have done more. With him and Mister Li. I keep feeling like I don't do enough, and this is an opportunity to do more."
Izuku could feel his mother shaking her head as he heard her let out a small chuckle, "You truly have a wonderful heart, you know that?"
"Well I uh-"
"I know." Inko interrupted before the sound of her walking around began to quietly ring out through the phone, "Bring her here. I'm going to go get some stuff that will work with her blood quirk."
"Okay." Izuku barely replied before adding, "Thanks mom."
"Anything for you." She giggled, "Just be careful getting her over here, alright?"
"I will." Izuku responded before ending the call, glancing back at Toga. The girl was still squirming, only to look up at Izuku as he walked over to her. "Alright. We got a change of plans. I think I have a way to help you...or to begin helping you."
"What do you mean?!" She snapped back, only to see Izuku reach out to touch her, "Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Don't worry. I'm just...gonna knock you out for a bit."
"What?! But-"
Two fingers tapped her shoulder, a tiny bit of electricity coming out of them. Her eyes went wide-eyed before slumping over, the sight making Izuku flinch. "That...looked like it hurt a bit. I hope she doesn't hate me for that." He then grabbed the webbing covering her and lifted it, the end strands around her feet breaking from the roof while the rest kept her tied up. He made a web strand at this, attaching it to the girl's webbed up form before putting her on his back. The teen reloaded his webbing at this before leaping off the roof, quickly swinging through the city.
'Here's hoping no one sees me as I...webswing across the city with a webbed-up girl on my back.' He shook his head at this, 'That sounded so wrong. Glad I didn't say it out loud.'
And as he began to swing away, the sound of police sirens rang out in the distance. The teen glanced back for a split second at this, noticing they were going to the drug deal he had just stopped. It made him slightly smile, knowing that he had done some good tonight, and possibly more soon.
The next day...
Nezu's cigarette twirled in his hand, over half of it already gone. The stoat was currently riding in the passenger seat of Naomasa's car, the detective staring straight ahead as he drove down Tokyo's roads, his fingers tapping the wheel. Nezu glanced up at him at this, "Nervous, detective?"
"No." Naomasa replied, "Just...surprised. You don't usually come to crime scenes."
"Regularly, that is true. However, I must say, I am very interested in this case." Nezu chuckled, the detective trying to hide a grimace at this. He and Aizawa had a long discussion about Nezu after the hero commission had told him to join the investigation. This was followed by Aizawa telling Naomasa that if Nezu is on the case, it's best to let the stoat do whatever he wants and they follow, as it will probably lead to the conclusion that they're looking for. That notion made him glance back at Nezu for a second as the principal added, "Its been a long time since I've had a puzzle that actually stumped me."
"Is that why you're coming with me to the crime scene?"
"Oh yes." Nezu took a last smoke before putting the cig in a tiny ash tray he had brought with him. "I believe this particular endeavor me and you are about to do will definitely allow us to go leaps and bounds into the Spider-Man case."
The principal's wording made Naomasa almost shiver, now seeing the big smile on the stoat's face. Aizawa had warned him what happens with Nezu is happy, as the stoat very presence would make someone feel a shiver down their spine. The detective was now feeling it, the sight making him look back at the road, only to spin the wheel to the right as he commented, "We're here."
"That we are." Nezu added as Naomasa drove up to a lot and parked in the nearest space. The stoat quickly hopped out of the car, shining a small grin as he walked around the car and looked up at the building before them. It was the one that Spider-Man had just been at a few days ago, the one where he had found out Martin Li was Mister Negative and ended up in a car chase with the villain, though the duo that had just arrived didn't have that knowledge on hand.
Instead, Naomasa turned to Nezu to ask, "I apologize for asking this, but what are we looking for? The police have already combed this place."
"I know." Nezu responded as he began to walk past the detective, "And I know they've probably checked every nook and cranny thanks to the chief of police telling them to due to being under pressure thanks to the commission. That's not why I wanted you to bring me here."
"Then why did you want me to bring you here?"
"Simple." Nezu glanced back at him before pulling out another cigarette, "I believe there is something you all overlooked."
Naomasa blinked at him for a second before replying, "Okay. What did we overlook?"
Nezu responded by taking out a lighter and lighting the stick in his mouth, exhaling a puff of smoke a second later, "Naomasa, when I first joined your investigation, what did I propose we do in terms of searching for Spider-Man?"
"You said we should look at it based on his psychological profile."
"Exactly." Nezu chucked as he tapped the cigarette in his hand, making a bit of ash drop onto the pavement. "When I gave you and Aizawa my profile of Spider-Man, I suggested he was a teen that has somehow been given power very recently, yet at the same time believes the world is against him. Now, that is a good starting point, but what is the other part I told you two about?"
Naomasa tilted his head at this, "You said he had true heroic qualities...and he's intelligent."
Nezu snapped his fingers at this, "Bingo. That is why I want to investigate this scene myself." He put the cigarette back in his mouth as he walked around the building, slowly striding up to several cars that were covered in yellow tape.
"You wanted to come to the crime scene because Spider-Man might be smart?" Naomasa asked as he followed Nezu, "I don't get it."
"Its simple, really. Tell me, how does a vigilante gain information compared to a hero?"
"Well...heroes work with the police, so they get most info from them." Naomasa replied before crossing his arms, closing his eyes for a second, "I'm guessing vigilantes probably do the underground hero route. That's trailing, observing, going into the darker alleyways and places in the city...those sort of things."
"Normally, I would agree, but I don't think that is Spider-Man's MO per-say. Instead, thanks to the footage I've reviewed that you and Aizawa gave me, I believe Spider-Man to be more...hands-on. In fact, I'm certain he could be more than just someone with multiple quirks." Nezu remarked as he walked up to one of the cars and pushed the tape away. "Let me ask you another question: How many quirks do you think Spider-Man has?"
Naomasa put a finger to his chin, "Um...I think he might have four."
"And what would those quirks be?"
Naomasa began to count on his fingers, "Well...he seems to have a mutant spider quirk, along with a bio-electricity quirk, an invisibility or camouflage quirk, and though I can't confirm it, I think he might have some kind of danger sensing quirk."
"I agree with those four." Nezu replied as he crossed his arms, "Now, if that's the case, and if you look at his history, Spider-Man has fought the Inner Demons multiple times, yet only now tracked down their leader. How did he do that?"
"I...don't know." Naomasa responded before shrugging, "I mean, we've found no evidence on how he did it."
Nezu snapped his paw, "Exactly. That means he doesn't have a quirk that lets him hunt down villains, but that also means he has to have something that would allow him to find his prey. As such, I believe that very thing will be at this crime scene."
"But we already checked everything. The guys looked through each car. How could there be anything else?"
"Oh, there is always a way to hide things, Naomasa. After all, ask yourself this: If the Lurkers fought Martin Li on a moving semi, how did Spider-Man track him down? The Lurkers claimed that Spider-Man had fought Martin Li before they encountered him and after, meaning he had some way to track him...and I believe that this is the true first step in finding Spider-Man."
And before Naomasa could ask what that meant, the stoat bent over and glanced under the car, hiding a certain grin now widening on his face.
Chapter 34: That First Step
It turned out that the little zap Izuku gave Himiko Toga did more than he thought. She was knocked out for several hours, confirming his theory that she was in even worse condition than he originally hypothesized. When he got home, he put her on their couch, webbing her up again as his mother got home. Inko wasn't happy with all the webbing, but knew it was necessary and the webbing would be gone in a few hours.
"You really jump into everything, don't you?" His mother commented, Izuku glancing away.
"Yeah." He let out a long sigh, "Sorry."
"Its fine." Inko replied before walking over to the girl, taking a chair over and sitting down in front of the couch. She glanced back at her son, "We need to talk about FEAST, but considering what you just brought home, we'll talk about it later, alright?"
"Okay." Izuku responded as Inko spun back to the girl, "Um...thanks for this mom."
"You're already a repeating patient Izuku, and you just brought home another. Just be glad I'm a caring nurse."
"Sorry..."
"Its fine. I suspect you don't want her to see your face yet?" Izuku nodded back, "Alright. Let me check up on her." Izuku removed some of the webbing for her, Inko taking a deep breath before examining the girl, soon confirming Izuku's theory. Inko surmised that the poor girl was in horrible condition, mainly malnourished, and after asking Izuku to leave the room, she looked under her clothes and saw tons of cuts and bruises. His mother told Izuku that she should take her to the emergency room, but since she attacked Izuku, they both knew that could be a problem. Izuku then went to his room at this, Inko taking a few more minutes to examine the girl.
After this, she went to Izuku's room, the teen setting up his desk as she walked in. "Yes?" He asked as he saw her come in.
"Well...she's definitely not in good shape." She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, "I'll help her."
Izuku went wide-eyed for a second before giving her a smile, "Thank you."
Inko shook her head, "Its fine." She then put her hand on his shoulder, "Also, I know we said we'd talk about FEAST later, but considering she's still asleep, we could talk about it for a bit."
"Okay." Izuku nodded as his mother sat down on another chair, "So...what happened? Do they know about what happened to Mister Li?"
Inko shook her head again, "Not quite."
A few hours ago...
Inko slowly opened the doors of FEAST, the woman's feet quickly making their way to the nearby staircase. She zipped up to the second floor, her eyes glancing around before seeing what she feared the most. It was Gloria arguing with a police officer as a few of the FEAST residents stood around her. Thanks to her time hanging out with the woman, Inko could tell that the snake lady was not happy, though her tone was enough of a sign.
"No, I don't know where Mister Li has been over the past few days! How many times do I have to tell you that he left almost a week ago and didn't tell me where he was going?!" Gloria yelled at the officer, only to see the policeman snarl back at her.
The officer then pointed a finger at her, "Listen here snake freak, your boss is a villain, and you have information! Don't make me drag your hide to the station!"
"Mister Li isn't a villain!" She yelped back, "Who do you think you are?!"
"I'm the one interrogating you, you-" One of the FEAST residents then grabbed the officer's arm, one that Inko recognized as a retired hero. "Hey! Let go of me, you old-"
"I suggest you leave before we call a real officer." The elder hero growled, "Or better yet, a hero."
"What did you just say?! Let go of me now or-"
"Leave." Gloria hissed as she leaned up into his face, "Leave right now or I'm calling the police."
"I am the police, you-urgh!"
The elder hero tightened his grip on the man, making the officer flinch before the retiree grumbled out, "You heard the lady. Get out or else."
The two began a stare down at this, only for the officer to yank his hand away. "You'll be sorry for doing that." He hissed before spinning around and walking away, quickly stomping by Inko as the woman watched him leave before glancing back at Gloria. Multiple residents were asking if she was okay, the snake lady telling them she was fine.
A few minutes later, the residents dispersed as Gloria walked up to Inko, "Hey. Sorry you had to see that."
"Its alright." Inko replied, slightly gulping as she added, "So um...what exactly is going on?"
Gloria let out a long moan at that, "I...don't fully know. That jerk suddenly walked in here, demanding to see who was in charge." Inko saw the snake lady try to roll her eyes at this, "That's me of course, but then he said some nonsense about Mister Li being a villain and he was arrested and...I don't know."
Inko put her hand over her mouth, trying to show extra surprise, "Oh dear. Why would Mister Li be arrested?"
"I...have no idea." Gloria responded while shrugging, "I mean, I know I haven't seen him in a few days, but...I honestly have no idea."
Inko opened her mouth at this, about to say what she knew, only to stop herself. Her brain then told her to do something else, an option she knew would work a lot better. "Say Gloria, why don't you take a break? Would you like me to make you some tea?"
Gloria stuck out her tongue for a second before shrugging again, "Sure, why not?"
The two then headed to the kitchen, the snake lady calming down as Inko made the tea. And as they sat down to drink and talk, Gloria told Inko that yesterday a few police officers came and demanded information on Martin Li, saying he had been arrested. However, Gloria told them she couldn't give them anything, and convinced them she and the others didn't know a thing. This made Inko go wide-eyed, the mother asking small questions over why this was happening, only for Gloria to tell her that the police had just arrested Li, and were now searching all his known properties...and that somehow, Spider-Man was involved.
And after a bit, Inko asked her that if it was true about Li, would FEAST be okay. She responded by saying what was left should help, and she was ready to keep FEAST going if Li was now gone. However, Inko could tell she wasn't happy about it, and for very good reason.
"And then I came home." Inko sighed as she saw a huge frown on her son's face, "I know. Its a mess, and...honestly, I felt really bad about lying to Gloria, but I also have no idea how I would tell her the truth."
"Yeah..." Izuku mumbled, glancing away for a second before looking back at his mother, "So, do you think I shouldn't have gone after Mister Li? Maybe...maybe I should have just let the heroes handle it."
Inko took a deep breath, "I don't know. I don't know what the right choice would have a been." She then put her hand on Izuku's shoulder again, "But what I do know is that after what you told me those masked men did...he did need to be stopped."
Izuku bit his lip at this, only for a few minutes of silence to follow. Another minute later, they agreed to figure out the FEAST situation later, even though they both agreed all they could probably do is just help volunteer there and not much else. As such, Izuku took a quick nap, making sure Toga was webbed down with a second wrapping before drifting off. It wasn't long till morning, Inko waking him up to apply the webbing again. And after a third time, the girl began to wake up, Inko then telling Izuku to go to his room and close the door, saying she would handle what happens next. After making sure Toga was secure and couldn't attack his mother, he agreed, commenting that this was where he got his recklessness from, making his mother smack his shoulder before leaving.
And as Toga's eyes began to open, Inko shined the warmest smile she could muster. That is, till the girl fully opened her eyes.
"What the-" She whispered out as she saw Inko standing over her, the girl then trying to move, only to feel herself unable to do anything. She glanced down and saw she was webbed up again, her breath soon speeding up as she began to try and thrash around. "AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Izuku hopped in his desk seat at the noise, making him glance at his room's door. He quickly walked up and creaked open the door, peeking inside as he saw his mother put her hands on the girl's shoulders.
"Calm down, its okay. Its okay." Inko said as Toga began shaking her head back and forth.
"No! Let me go! Stay away!" She screamed, "Go away!"
Inko grimaced at this, seeing the girl's eyes tear up, her breathing going fast and unfocused. The sight was familiar to the nurse, though it did make her almost flinch. It meant only one thing: The girl in front of her was having a panic attack.
"Hey, hey! Its okay." Inko leaned down in front of Toga's face, the girl's head no longer thrashing as she then stared up at the mother, "Just breathe. In and out. In and out."
Toga stared at her, her eyes twitching as tears began to go down her face before doing what Inko said. Seeing this through the crack of his barely opened door, Izuku bit his lip, but remembered his mom telling him to not do anything. He closed the door, glancing back at his desk as both the vial of trigger and the bullet from yesterday sat on it. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and took out his microscope that he connected to his computer.
And as this happened, Toga's breath began to slow down, soon going to a regular rate. This was followed by a long warm smile from Inko, the sight making Toga gasp. As this happened, Inko glanced away and reached over to a nearby table and grabbed a red bag. Toga watched her gesture the bag over her, the girl's nose twitching as she could smell what was inside...and it made her want to drool.
"Here. I was told that you have a blood quirk. Is that correct?"
Toga blinked at her, her eyes darting between Inko and the bag, "Um...yes?" she muttered.
"I thought so." Inko then put a straw in the bag, "Now, I want you to drink this slowly, okay?"
Toga stared at the straw, her eyes going up at Inko for just a second before taking it in her mouth. She began to loudly suck on it, Inko telling her to take it slow again. And as she emptied the bag, Toga began to lick her lips as Inko put the bag away before sitting on a small chair by the couch.
"Now, you feeling better?"
"Um...yes." Toga whispered out.
This was responded with another warm smile from Inko. "Good. We have more blood bags you can drink later." She looked back at the table for a second at that, seeing the few bags she had bought last night before glancing back at Toga, "To start, my name is Inko Midoriya. I'm a part time nurse, and you're at my house. You can trust me. However, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions."
Toga just blinked at her, the fangs in her mouth lightly tracing on her lips. "Uh...okay."
Inko shook her head at this, "Don't worry, its nothing bad. Now, when you were brought here, I checked you over and...I suspect you're very malnourished. Since you have a blood quirk, you need regular consumption, or it will affect your body. When was the last time you had any blood?"
Toga's eyes darted away at this, her mouth unmoving. The sight made Inko sigh, "Does that mean you haven't had any for a while?" A few seconds passed, no response coming from the girl as Inko shook her head, "I see." She then grabbed another bag. "Do you want some more?"
Silently, Toga glanced back at her, seeing that warm smile again as Inko held up another bag with a straw. The girl bit down on the tube and began to slowly drink, this time taking even longer to finish the bag. And when she was done, Inko spun around to put the bag away as Toga spoke up and said one word, "Why?"
Inko glanced back at her at this, her smile slightly faded, "Hmm?"
"Why?" Toga repeated, the word now fully hitting Inko's ears.
The mother shined another smile, "Why, because you needed the blood. No one should go hungry."
Toga just blinked at her at this, only to mumble out, "Thank you."
Inko nodded back, "You don't have to thank me for something like that, but you are welcome." She then slightly shifted in her seat, "Now, I was told your name is Himiko Toga, yes?" The girl nodded back, "That's a lovely name."
"Thank you." She said again, only to whisper out, "Can...can I ask you another question?"
"Sure."
"Are you...related to Spider-Man?"
Inko blinked at this, only to nod, "Oh yes." She leaned down and winked at her, "You could say I'm his...'sidekick'. The boy lives on getting himself beat up and I have to bandage him up all the time. It's like he's a car I have to keep repairing."
Toga giggled at this, Inko glad she was now smiling. "Now, do you mind if I ask you a question? You can say no or not answer if you want to."
"Um...sure."
"Good." Inko replied, the woman taking a silent breath before asking, "Where are your parents?"
That made Toga grimace, glancing away as her smile turned into a dark frown, "They don't care about me. They hate me."
This made Inko's smile fade, the woman almost flinching as she heard Toga say those words with a tone seeping with venom and hatred. She could tell in that one moment that this was going to be difficult. As such, she took a deep breath before saying, "I see. I'm sorry I brought that up."
"Hmph." Toga grumbled, "I don't care. They think I'm a monster."
Inko shook her head at this, "You're not a monster."
Toga glanced back at her, fully glaring at the woman, "You're just saying that. I bet you think I'm a monster too!"
Inko tilted her head, "Now why would I think that?"
"Cuz I drink blood!"
Inko raised a single eyebrow at that, "That just means you have a blood quirk. There's nothing wrong with that."
"What are you-of course there's something wrong with that! I have to drink blood!"
"So?" Inko instantly responded, "I work with people that have blood quirks all the time. It's part of how quirks work."
"But...but..." Toga sputtered out, the girl noticing her glare didn't do a thing on the woman. Usually, that glare was enough to make grown adults run in fear, thinking she was some crazed blood sucking monster...but not the woman sitting right by her. There wasn't a hint of fear on Inko's face. Toga glanced down at herself, seeing she was still webbed up, thinking that might be why Inko wasn't showing any fear, but as she looked back up at the woman, she realized she was wrong.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Toga whispered out, only to realize she had accidentally asked her own thoughts.
Inko shook her head, "I'm not afraid because there's nothing to fear. Even if you weren't tied up like you are." She leaned over Toga, showing her warm smile again, "The only reason I have you tied up like this is to help you. That and I am known for being way too cautious at times."
"Oh..." Toga muttered, glancing back down at the webbing, "Um...how long am I gonna be tied up then?"
Inko opened her mouth, only for it to pause in an open motion, "I...don't know. I think it lasts two hours. I know Iz-er, Spider-Man tied you up over an hour ago."
'Iz?' Toga thought as she stared back at Inko before saying, "Oh, okay." She looked back at the webbing, "Um...will you let me go when it...goes away?"
The girl glanced up at Inko at that question, only to see an unsure look on the woman's face, "Well...that depends. For one, I want to ask you a few more questions, if you don't mind."
Toga blinked at her, the girl feeling like she knew what Inko was going ask, but as she saw the woman stare at her, Inko's face summoned that warm smile again. She couldn't help but feel off guard at the sight. She didn't know what to do. No one had ever treated her like this before. That very thought made her ask a single worded question again.
"Why?"
Inko tilted her head at this, "Why? Well, I want to help you and-"
Toga shook her head, making Inko stop talking as she added, "No, I don't mean that. I mean...I mean...why?"
"Why what?"
"Why help me?!" Toga suddenly exclaimed, "I'm a monster! Why help a monster?!"
Inko stared at her as that warm smile turned into a worried frown, "Dear...you're not a monster."
"B-b-but I am!" She screamed before thrashing again, "Lemme go! Let me go!"
Inko quickly grabbed her, "Hey, hey! Its okay! Calm down!" Toga closed her eyes as she continued to squirm, only to feel Inko grip her shoulders, "Please! Its okay! Its all okay! You're safe here!"
Toga continued to thrash for another minute, only to start to slow down. Her eyes slowly creaked open at this, tears slightly forming in her eyes as she saw Inko right above her, "You...why..."
"Because you need help." Inko instantly replied. "So please...let me help you."
Toga's lips trembled at this, her whole form shivering as she whispered, "Why...why...why..."
"Its okay." Inko showed her warm smile again, "Its okay. Everything will be okay." The woman put her hand on Toga's head and began to rub it, "See? Nothing bad will happen to you here."
Hearing this, tears began to pour down the girl's face before she muttered out, "Thank you."
The next few minutes were one of silence, only for Inko to notice that the webbing beginning to fall apart. She almost flinched at this, but as she glanced back at Toga's face, she saw the calm look on the girl's face. And while it began to disappear, Inko spoke up, "May I ask you those questions from before?"
Toga almost bit her lip as she responded, "Um...what are they?"
"Well...for one, do you have somewhere to stay?" Toga blinked at this, only to shake her head. "I see. I had a feeling." She then patted the girl's shoulders, "I guess you're staying here for the night."
Toga went wide-eyed at this, "Huh?!"
"Yup." Inko replied, Toga opening her mouth to respond, only for Inko to put a finger over her lips, "Don't question it and just accept it. Now, I know there are certain things I can't ask you yet, but can I ask you to keep a secret?"
Toga's brain tried to keep up at this, the gears inside grinding before replying, "Um...what kind of secret?"
Inko let out a long sigh, "The...secret identity kind."
Toga blinked at her, only to realize what she meant. She quickly nodded back as she exclaimed, "YES!"
"Thank you." Inko giggled before glancing back at a closed door in the living room, "Cuz I have a feeling he'll need to talk to you more than I do."
Izuku put the vial of Trigger over the scope, switching the screens on his computer as he began to zoom into the vial. "Hmmm..." He hummed to himself as the scope slowly zoomed in, "So this is Trigger."
The sight before him was something he had a feeling he didn't know enough about. Now, Izuku would admit he's not a chemistry expert despite inventing the web fluid. Izuku always preferred software and hardware science, not chemicals and elements. Despite this, he felt had a basic understanding, at least for an extent.
He pulled up another screen, this one pulling up a program he made for the scope to take pictures of what's under the scope. And as he began to take a few, he rubbed his chin in response. And after a few minutes, he slumped back in his seat, humming as he glanced back at the vial, 'Its close to what I thought it would be. I mean, if its a quirk enhancing drug, it has to look like a stimulant...but that's all I have here. Looks like this is another dead end.' He pulled out the tracker device at this, 'Maybe this is the only way for me to find villains.'
And as he thought this, he turned to the other thing he had gotten from the drug deal: The bullet. The teen blinked at the tiny object, soon picking it up, 'Still, why were they trading drugs for this?' He thought before fiddling it in his hand, 'It just looks like a regular bullet. Why...'
His thoughts came to a stop as he saw the top of the bullet, now seeing it had a tiny needle at the end. He squinted his eyes at this, only to spin it around, 'Wait...is this a bullet? I mean, I saw that guy loading it into his gun, but...' He then put a little spider-strength into his fingers, only to find himself able to open the bullet in half like a capsule. There, he saw what was inside the metal casing, a vial with a needle at the end. 'Its not a bullet! Its a dart!'
Detaching the needle from the vial, he quickly put the new liquid on the scope and zoomed in, only to go wide-eyed as he stared at his monitor, 'This looks like...blood?' He glanced back at the vial, 'Why is blood the injector for this dart?'
Chapter 35: To Change Another's Nezu liked walking down the main path into his school. It was something he knew most students or even the teachers wouldn't even think about, but going down the path in a brisk pace was something to enjoy in the stoat's mind. He had just finished the last cigarette for the day, and felt he was about to get the next piece to his most favorite puzzle in a long time. The puzzle known as Spider-Man.
And as he went through the main doors, he fiddled with his right pant pocket, making sure a certain object was still inside. He then took a right, walking up to a pair of big metal doors...only for an explosion to ring out right in front of him. This was followed by the doors flinging open, a pile of smoke spewing out as two voices began yelling at each other.
"Hatsume! What did I just tell you?!" exclaimed a teacher Nezu was very familiar with.
"Sorry Power Loader!" replied a student, the smoke soon fading to reveal them. It was a pink-haired girl, one Nezu had been hearing Power Loader complain about for days now, along with her doing a crazy performance in the UA sports festival. He had to admit, she was definitely a highlight, especially since the festival had been such a disaster.
"Hatsume..." the teacher grumbled as he walked up to her, "I told you to not-" He then saw the principal standing there, staring at the two. "Oh. Sorry about her, Nezu. She's-"
"Its fine." Nezu interrupted while walking up to them, "You are Miss Hatsume, is that correct?"
"That's right!" Hatsume pointed at herself, "The future CEO of Hatsume Industries, at your service!"
Nezu chuckled at this as Power Loader sighed, the principal then saying, "My apologies Miss Hatsume, but I need to borrow your teacher for a bit. You don't mind going back to class, do you?"
Power Loader opened his mouth at this, only for Hatsume to exclaim, "Nope. I'm off to make more babies!"
The girl quickly sprinted off, Power Loader sighing again before glancing down at his boss. "You do realize you just made another headache for me, right?"
"Oh yes." Nezu laughed, the support hero now seeing the stoat's tail was wagging. That was never a good sign.
"Alright Nezu...what do you want?"
"I need you to check something." Nezu then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device that looked just like a tiny spider.
Himiko Toga didn't know what to do. She had never felt like this before. For one, she had never drank so much blood in such a long time. Like, blood was so hard for her to get, and since her...parents didn't want her to have any, she couldn't remember half the time what it tasted it like. All they wanted was to be normal. Just...normal.
That alone cleared up her head a lot. She had never felt like she could think this well in a long time. There was no hunger, no craving guiding her every thought. Instead, she felt full. The blood had done what it was supposed to do. She no longer felt this haze in her head, pushing her to what she always thought about: Blood. There was no haze, no voice in the back of her head telling her to find more blood, no hunger...it was calm.
She had never felt so much...calm. It felt good.
But that wasn't what she was thinking about right now. It was the situation she was in that occupied her now calm mind. After all, she had suddenly woke up here after attacking Spider-Man. She had wanted to meet him after she saw that he beat Stainy. I mean, Stainy was her idol. He showed others what society really was now, a bunch of fake heroes saying they'll help you, only to help the ones they want to help and throw away the rest. And she was doubly excited when she saw it on a random television the moment the news crew got of Stain admitting that 'the word hero had lost all meaning', only to show he accepted defeat from Spider-Man!
That meant only thing to Toga: Spider-Man was the next part of Stainy's plan.
It made sense to Himiko. After all, a vigilante, not a hero or villain, had beaten Stainy and showed the world that the ones outside the law could make a difference. That alone was so appealing to Toga, it was something she wanted more than anything. To become someone like that? To drink that person's blood? It sounded like a dream come true.
But now reality had shown her something completely different. Instead of encountering Spider-Man and becoming him, he knocked her out, webbed her up, and she was now...in some kind of small home. As her eyes glanced around, she found she was in a really tiny apartment, much smaller than her old house. That fact alone confused her, but not so much as the woman she had just been talking to.
Inko Midoriya. A green haired woman with the warmest smile she had ever seen. Not only that, she just...gave her bags of blood to drink. Actual blood! And she wasn't disturbed by it or looking away like all the others. No demands of "Forget blood and eat normal food!" or anything like that. Instead, she just gave her some blood to drink and that was that.
The girl couldn't understand what had just happened. Part of her was convinced she was dreaming. Another part of her was convinced she had died in that fight with Spider-Man and somehow the afterlife was where they accepted people like her...that is, till she remembered the webbing covering her, telling her it was still real.
As such, she was now staring at the room around her as Inko had left to get...well, she suspected she was getting Spider-Man. At least, what Spider-Man looked like under his mask. That was another thing she really wanted to see. She was betting he was like her, rejected by society. Though with him, he was probably some crazed looking spider-headed monster, though one that luckily found a place of solace here. That sounded like the most logical outcome in her head right now. Though to be fair, she was also really hoping that Spider-Man turned out to be a total cutie. That would be fun.
Thinking this, she glanced down at the webbing still covering her body, showing she technically was a prisoner right now, though it didn't feel like it at all. That feeling was strange as well, as she was used to tons of paranoia that came with the blood craving. The haze that made her not trust anything...but that was gone. And that warm smile from Inko was enough.
That is, till her eyes drifted over to the drained blood bags, the sight making her lick her lips. "I wonder where she got those." She looked back at the door Inko had disappeared behind, the girl slightly squirming in her webbing-based bindings, "Hope she comes back soon. I'm thirsty."
The sound of typing rang out through the room as Izuku's eyes switched between the scope that had the blood bullet under it, and his computer screen. He then pulled out a notebook, this one called 'Spider Experiments', which was his original notes over making webbing, and he was now writing down several new calculations. The teen had pulled up several sites over studies on blood and their effects on quirks, his eyes going back and forth as he kept writing down page after page.
'Thank goodness I took notes on my blood after getting bit by the spider.' he thought as he glanced back up at the scope. 'Hmm...its definitely different from my blood after the spider bite.' He bit his lip at his next thought, 'But I can't really tell anything else.'
He leaned back in his chair at this, "I need better equipment." He thought aloud before glancing down at his notes, several pages now showing a few basic chemical equations. 'Then again, even if my stuff was better, I'm not sure I would be able to figure this out. This blood in the bullet is so...different. I can't find anything like it in any of these studies.'
Izuku put the notebook down on the desk before taking the vial of blood out from under the scope, 'The blood has a quirk factor in it, but that's all I can find. It must have something else in it or...something. Why would those drug dealers want it? I mean, they put it in bullets...is it a special kind of tranquilizer? The chemical makeup of the blood doesn't seem to be that though.'
He put the vial down next, only to hear a knock at his door. Turning to it, the door slightly opened up before his mother peeked inside, "Hey." She whispered.
"Hey." Izuku quietly replied, "Um...is everything okay?"
"That depends." Inko remarked before glancing back at Toga, the girl just sitting on the couch as the webbing began to disappear around her.
"I...see." Izuku responded as he got out of his seat, "Uh..."
"Don't." Inko closed the door behind her as she entered the room. "I will say again that what you did was super reckless, but I will now admit that the girl needs...a lot of help. Probably more than I can do."
Izuku bit his lip at this, "I didn't think again, didn't I?"
"Yup." Inko instantly remarked, shaking her head. "But, I think you did the right thing." She glanced back at the closed door, "I think she's been rejected by a lot of people due to her...thinking she's a monster." Izuku went wide-eyed at this, his mother shaking her head again, "The poor dear is convinced she's one."
Izuku opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He didn't know what to say, only for his mother to put his hand on his shoulder. "She needs help...and she admires you. I think you can help her, but-"
"But you need me to reveal myself."
"Yes." Inko instantly said, Izuku biting his lip at this. And seeing that her son wasn't going to respond, she added, "She needs therapy, and we'll probably have to talk to the police at some point. Also, she's starved and...I suspect her parents are not feeding her what she needs for her quirk."
"Oh." Izuku barely replied, the teen blinking as his mind went over everything that had just happened in his head. The bullet he had been examining had made him forget, and now it was all rushing back in. And as this mess muddled itself into his brain, he took a deep breath before saying, "Well, I can't run away from this. What do you want me to do?"
His mother smiled at his response before saying, "For starters, why don't you go introduce yourself? Then, all three of us will figure out an...arrangement."
Izuku did a small nod at this before getting up, Inko then slowly opening the door before gesturing Izuku to go first. And as he walked into the living room, Toga glanced up to see the teen, who was in casual clothes. She blinked at the sight, the boy in front of her almost looking like someone else she knew before he spoke up.
"Hello." Izuku almost quietly said, the girl blinking at him in response.
"H-h-hello." She squeaked out, "Are...are you-"
Izuku did a small nod before sitting down on the chair Inko had been using earlier. His mind raced for a second, yelling at him, 'Don't stutter! You've been doing better at FEAST with that, so don't stutter.' He closed his eyes for a split-second before saying, "I'm Izuku Midoriya. Its nice to meet you without the mask."
Toga's eyes went fully wide at this, a tiny blush appearing on her face as she stuttered out, "Y-y-you're Spider-Man?"
Izuku responded with a small smile, "Not what you were expecting?"
The girl flinched at the question before rapidly shaking her head, "No! I mean, um...just...wow."
Izuku then leaned down and grabbed the now fading webbing that was constricting the girl before giving it a tug, ripping most of it with a single motion. The girl gasped at this, only to glance back up and see Izuku still smiling at her, "So, me and mom talked about it and...well, we would both like to help you. Will you let us do that?"
Toga blinked at him at this, "Help...me?"
Izuku nodded back, "Yeah. Mom told me about your...circumstances." He glanced back at Inko for a second before adding, "And while I'll admit that we don't completely know what to do..." He turned back to Toga, "We do know we want to help you. Will you let us?"
The teen gestured his hand forward at this, Toga glancing down at it for a second before biting her lip. She looked back up at the teen, then to his mother. The girl felt a rush of emotions in her mind, as if time itself stopped just so memories and thoughts could invade her head before thinking just one thing. She had never had someone be so kind to her like Inko, and she could tell Izuku was the same just by his face alone.
And with a second of hesitation, she took the hand.
Meanwhile...
The Tinkerer rubbed her eyes as she let out a long sigh before staring down at her hands, seeing the metal armaments. The armor instantly disappeared a second later, turning back to her usual purple and black jacket. But as she did this and got out of her chair, a voice behind her spoke up.
"I must say, that never gets old to look at." Tinkerer spun around at this, seeing the voice's owner to be Gentle Criminal as he added, "I know my partner understands it more, but I must say, that...'programmable matter' or what you call it, is so fascinating to watch."
"Its just basic science." She grumbled as she crossed her arms.
"I doubt that." Gentle chuckled before doing a small bow, "My apologies for taking so long, Tinkerer. I have what you requested."
"You mean what your partner created for me." She corrected him as Gentle extended his hand, showing a small flash drive. She quickly grabbed it and spun around, putting the device into a nearby computer. A file appeared next, the girl scanning over what was inside before closing it.
"Is it to your liking?"
"Yeah, it is." She said in a bored tone. "I suspect you want your part of the deal?"
"Indeed." Gentle responded while tapping his cane, "I have been away from the public for too long, and according to you, this device will help with...vigilante issues?"
"It won't fully solve the problem, but it should help based on what little studying I've done on him." She replied while letting out a yawn, "Though if I'm honest, you might not even need this now."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Because Beck is also after the bug."
Gentle raised an eyebrow at this before humming, "I see. I hope that doesn't become a problem. The man understands the need for theatrics...but he's also a distasteful performer."
The Tinkerer rolled her eyes at this as she whispered, "Why are all my customers a bunch of theater freaks?" She then walked over to another desk and pulled out a small device, handing it to Gentle, "Here."
"You have my thanks." Gentle replied as he took the gadget.
"Whatever."
"No need to be rude. This is just a normal-"
"Go away." Tinkerer moaned as she turned around, waving her hand. "I'm going to bed, so get out."
Gentle opened his mouth to do a response, only to take a small breath before saying, "I understand. Once again, thank you. I shall now take my leave."
The man walked out of the room at this, leaving the girl alone as she turned off the lights and went into another room. There, Tinkerer stared at a blank room that had nothing in it but a bed and an alarm clock. "Oh yeah. I still have that project to do for school. Eh, I'll do it at the support lab tomorrow."
It had been a few minutes after Toga had shook Izuku's hand. As such, she had a few questions for the teen, mainly over his fight against Stain. He responded by telling her he didn't have much to say, but rather he just went after the man, and after a first loss, he fought him again and won. However, the battle was super engaging for the girl, loving every second as Izuku learned of her super admiration for the hero killer. Despite this, even though Izuku knew he wasn't the best at reading people, he could tell it was the ideals of the hero killer that pushed her to be a fan of the villain.
And before her was the person that beat him. Izuku had taken on and beaten a monster in his mind, but to her, it was something completely different. It was here that both him and Inko realized what this meant. Toga thought that Izuku was Stain's successor, solely due to beating him. The very thought made them want to grimace, but they were able to hide it. Not only that, they knew now that Toga was in full follower mode when it came to Spider-Man, something that was reassuring for secret keeping, but worrying in other ways.
That is, till Toga asked, "So...why are you a vigilante? I mean, you're using your quirk freely! Why do you do it for something like that?"
Izuku blinked at this, staring at the girl on the couch. (The webbing was now gone, but she decided to stay sitting there) He almost bit his lip at this, thinking for a moment, only to get up from the chair he was on. "Hold on one moment." He spun around and went to his room, Toga turning to Inko.
"Was it something I said?"
Inko shook her head, "No. I think he needs to grab something before telling you about it."
A second later, he came back into the room, sitting down and taking a small breath, "Sorry about that." He stared deep into her eyes at this, "Now...before I tell you, will you promise me something?"
Toga tilted her head at him before nodding, "Sure."
"I need you to not tell anyone anything about me." Izuku replied, the girl opening her mouth, only for him to continue, "I know that may sound strange, but what I'm about to tell you...I don't fully understand it myself."
"What do you mean?"
Izuku glanced away for a second before responding, "You see...for starters, I'm quirkless."
The sound of a pin dropping could have been heard at this, Toga staring at him like she had been told he had grown a second head. A second later, she slowly replied, "Huh? But...but I saw you beat up those thugs! You did that electric thing, and you can go invisible! And you beat Stainy! You beat all of them without a quirk?!"
Izuku shook his head, "Not quite. You see, I'm quirkless...or at least, I used to be." He raised up a small bottle in his hand at this, the girl seeing a small insect inside the glass, "But then this little guy crawled into my life."
"A...spider?" she replied, squinting her eyes. He then spun the bottle around, Toga tilting her head slightly as she saw the tattoo on the dead insect, "Forty-Two?"
"Yup." Izuku put the bottle on the nearby table that had the previous blood bags on. "I don't know why it has that tattoo. But as to why its important...it bit me, and gave me a quirk."
"Gave you...a quirk?" Toga responded, her face and tone making it look like she was told that the sky was no longer colored blue.
"Yeah, I know. I still don't fully get it either."
"I wish you would figure it out." Inko instantly chimed in, her arms crossed. "That spider has caused me a ton of stress."
"I know." Izuku lightly chuckled before shaking his head, "Anyways, that's how it happened. It gave me a quirk and...now I'm Spider-Man."
Toga stared at the bottle, blinking several times before glancing back at Izuku. "Then why are you a vigilante?"
Izuku and Inko shared a glance at this, his mom nodding to him before he looked back at Toga. "Well, that's a bit longer story. You see, I always wanted to be a hero." Toga blanched at that, fear appearing next as the two instantly noticed her expression. Seeing this, he quickly added, "But...I failed to become one."
Her expression showed slightly less fear at this, Izuku then continuing his story after a second, "You see, I got this quirk just a few days before the entrance exams for hero school. I took them and..." Toga's expression faded more as she saw sadness appear on Izuku's face, "I failed. Badly."
That made Toga go wide-eyed, "How...bad?"
"Let's just say they told me to look elsewhere." Izuku sighed, his eyes glancing away again. "It made me want to give up and...let's just say it was bad." His face showed a look of almost pure despair, the sight making the girl go wide-eyed, only for the teen to glance back at her, his face morphing into an expression of determination, "But I decided I wouldn't give up! If I was gonna be rejected by the hero schools, I decided I would go into vigilantism instead. So, I made myself a hero costume like I always wanted and...well, I began try and fight crime." He raised his fist at this, Toga's eyes shining at this as he began to explain some of the fights he had gotten into.
Himiko listened with bated breath as Izuku went over his first few encounters, the teen seeing the pure admiration in Toga's eyes. It made him blush slightly, shocked that someone would be so interested. But then got to his fight right before Stain before stopping, not wanting to go into the Martin Li stuff before his head drooped down and let out a long sigh. The sight made Toga's eyes twitch, unable to figure out what to express as she saw Izuku now be depressed as he added, "But despite all I've done, I'm still nowhere near close to my goal. I still want to be a hero, but...I'm just a vigilante. Heck, I'm still just as worthless as I was when I was quirkless."
"Izuku-" Inko started, only for Toga to yell.
"That's not true!" she exclaimed, waving her hands, "I mean, I saw you whoop those thugs like they were nothing! And you beat Stainy!"
"That's nowhere near enough. Any hero could have done what I've done." Izuku replied, shaking his head. The statement made Toga flinch, her mind unable to comprehend what he was saying, only for Izuku to add, "I've only been able to do small stuff. I've...barely done anything really."
Toga blinked at him at this, those words entering her ears. She had always thought that heroes were just lies, people that don't really help others, as she had never had people like them help her. I mean, she was tormented by her parents and peers for years to be normal. Not allowed to be who she really wanted to be. To be who she was supposed to be. No one would help her. They always said heroes help others, but that was a lie. They wouldn't help a monster.
But then Inko had helped her, and the one she admired just...confessed he wanted to be a hero, something she knew she didn't like or believe in. And yet, he made it sound like he was in the same boat. He was rejected by society just like her, and had always been. He had been born wrong like her, this time with no power, and when he had the ability to no longer be rejected, he ended up getting rejected by society anyways.
She slightly slumped back at this, her world shattering just a bit in her mind. The girl honestly didn't know what to do now. It was nothing like she thought it was going to be. There was no longer that blood hunger in her right now, hazing her mind. Instead, her mind was clear, which made her stare at the two with a slight frown. She had never felt this before. It was so odd to her, something she knew she just didn't understand.
That is, till Izuku spoke up, "So...that's my story." Her eyes went back to him, "Could you tell me yours?"
She went wide-eyed at this, her whole body shaking for a second. Her mind battled between two thoughts, one saying, 'Don't tell them! They'll hate you!' and the other, 'I think...I think we should. I think they can help us.' But as that thought went through, her mind kept arguing, 'No! They'll hate you! Everyone hates monsters like us!' her head slightly shook at that, 'But...but...he's Spider-Man! Stainy approved of him, and...and he wants to help me. No one's ever wanted to help me! Maybe...maybe that means he will.'
She wanted to grip her head at this, the two thoughts fighting a full war in her brain now. Her eyes shook at this, the cat-like pupils dancing around as she tried to respond. And after a minute, she slowly said, "Um...can you promise me something if I tell you?"
Izuku and Inko shared a glance before looking back and nodding, "Sure."
"Promise me...you won't hate me if I tell you."
Izuku went wide-eyed as Inko gasped at this, the mother instantly responding, "Dear, we would never hate you!"
"Yeah!" Izuku added, nodding again, "W-w-we just want to help."
The teen flinched, noticing he stuttered, but Toga didn't seem to notice. She just stared at them with slightly dead eyes now. "Well...you see..." she started, biting her lip as she glanced away next.
Inko reached out and grabbed her shoulder, Toga looking back up at her, "Don't worry dear, take your time." She shined her warm smile again, "We just want to help you."
Toga's eyes darted between the two, her form squirming as she looked like she wanted to shrink into the couch. The sight made Izuku and Inko share a glance, both frowning as they now wondered if asking this quickly was a bad idea. But as they thought that, the duo looked back at her as she bit her lip with her tiny fangs, just barely making sure no blood was drawn. And as they were about to speak up, saying it was okay, the girl spoke up, "Um...I'm ready."
She began to twiddle her thumbs, Izuku blinking as Inko patted her shoulder again. Toga glanced up at her, seeing that smile, "Just take your time. Go as slow as you need to."
The girl blinked at her before glancing down at her thumbs, her eyes shaking as her mind tried to tell her this was a bad idea. But as she thought this, she looked back at Inko again, and that all faded away. It was so strange to her. She wasn't sure if was because the haze was gone, that craving of blood no longer distracting her mind. Or maybe it was the fact that she had never met people like this before, ones that would actually listen...and they looked like they cared. No had ever cared before.
She stopped her thumbs from moving, instead squeezing them together along with the rest of both hands. Her eyes glanced away as she began, "So uh...I don't know how to start this."
The statement made the two just nod in understanding, Izuku speaking up this time, "Don't worry. Just...start where you need to."
Toga inhaled a small breath at this, only to see Inko sit down beside her on the couch. The sight made Toga smile, a tiny one, but one that made her release her breath before saying, "Okay. So uh...my whole story revolves around my...my quirk."
"Your blood quirk?" Inko asked, Toga nodding back.
"Uh-huh."
Izuku slightly leaned in at this, "If you don't mind, what exactly does your blood quirk do? I've read up several, and they always have different properties."
Toga glanced up at him, seeing the teen lean up to her face. She felt a tiny blush appear on her face, only for Inko to gesture to her son, silently telling him to lean back. A second later, Izuku went back as Toga replied, "Um...when I suck people's blood, I can...I can transform into them."
Izuku went wide-eyed at this, gasping, "Like shapeshifting?!"
The girl flinched at the slight outburst, "Um...yes?"
"That's amazing!" Izuku exclaimed, Toga going full wide-eyed as well.
"Huh?"
"That quirk is amazing! The implications of being able to transform into others is almost limitless! So, can you fully transform, clothes as well? Can you copy their voice? Can you copy their quirk? Does it include animals?"
"Huh?" Toga repeated, her face showing nothing but confusion as she saw the stars suddenly appear in Izuku's eyes. Inko giggled at the sight before patting Toga's shoulder, the girl turning to the woman.
"Don't worry, this is normal for him." Inko winked at her, "My son loves quirks." She glanced back at Izuku, "Now Izuku, you can ask her about her quirk later. Let her tell us her story first."
"But-"
"Izuku..."
The teen glanced away, a slight pout on his face that made Toga want to giggle as he muttered out, "Fine."
And after a few seconds of silence, Himiko took a deep breath and began to tell them her story. It began when she was little, figuring out her quirk after she found a hurt bird. She didn't understand it, but she knew she wanted the blood of the bird. But as the girl told this to the mother and son, she expected them to show nothing but disgust on their faces...only to see curiosity on Izuku's face while Inko showed an expression of worry.
Seeing this, she took a moment before continuing her story. She told them how her parents hated seeing that, and began to tell her to suppress her love of blood. This was followed with them telling her to be 'normal', something she said with pure venom in her voice. Izuku and Inko both saw this, the teen frowning while Inko's face showed a tinge of anger. But Toga didn't notice this as she continued, telling them she started to be an 'ideal young school girl expected of society'.
The two could feel the anger radiating off of her as she said those words, Izuku and Inko sharing glances as they both showed frowns. The looked back at her as she closed her eyes, telling the final part of her story. It was when a student covered in blood and bruises appeared in front of her, her quirk activating after having not drank blood in so long. She shivered at this next part, telling them that she attacked him so she could suck his blood.
Her eyes reopened at this, staring up at the duo. She expected this to be it. There's no way they wouldn't be disgusted or angry or scared of her. They would reject her, just the like the rest. But as her eyes saw their faces, her mouth stopped moving. What she saw wasn't any of those things. She could see a bit of fear, mainly from Inko, but she showed an expression that was a cross between fear, compassion and sadness. As for Izuku, he showed nothing but sadness on his face. The sight made her jaw almost go slack, unable to respond.
"And...did you go on the run after that?" Izuku asked, Himiko blinking at him instead of responding. She tried to form words in her mouth, but she couldn't find any.
"Are you okay?" Inko added, Toga turning to her. The girl's expression was a mix mash of confusion and sadness, Inko feeling her heart clench at the sight.
Himiko's eyes darted between the two, only to ask, "Um...why are you two looking at me like that?"
"What do you mean?" Izuku replied before they shared a glance.
"Well..." Toga looked down and began to twiddle her fingers at this, "Aren't you disgusted with me?"
The mother and son looked back at her, Inko speaking up first, "Why would we be disgusted?"
"Cuz...I attacked someone and...you know, drank their blood."
Izuku just frowned at this, now truly realizing he had no idea what to do here. 'I really went in over my head again, didn't I?' he thought, 'Gran Torino was right. I just keep jumping into things without being prepared. I have no idea what to do here...'
Thankfully, Inko was there to help as she got up and sat down beside Toga. She put her hand on the girl's shoulder, Toga turning to her to see that smile again. "Dear...we could never be disgusted by something like that. All that is is your quirk reacting to not being used. Granted, I'll admit that what you did was wrong, but what your parents did to you was much worse." The girl went wide-eyed at this, only for Inko to add, "No one should go through what you did."
And as she said this, Izuku stared at his mother silently thinking how glad he had her in his life. She was able to just...help this situation that he had stupidly thrown himself into. Even now he couldn't believe how reckless he had been. 'Thank you mom.' he thought before his eyes turned to Toga, the girl just blankly staring at the woman.
Himiko Toga kept staring, only for it click. Her brain told her one thing: 'They really don't think I'm a monster.' That line of thought shattered her mind, her head racing as this one thing broke the world around her. Water began to appear under her eyes, though she didn't notice it. All she knew was that her world had been destroyed in a single moment.
As for Inko, the sight of the girl crying made her instantly hug the poor girl. Toga stiffened up at this, now feeling those two arms embracing her. It was something she had never experienced before. She couldn't remember the last hug she had gotten. She wasn't sure if she had ever been hugged...or she had blocked that memory out. She didn't know.
But that was enough to break the dam. Water poured out of her eyes. A bawling cry came next, the noise making Izuku flinch, only for him to get up and lean over, hugging her as well. They weren't sure how much time passed as they did this, but it didn't matter. They knew one thing: They wanted to help this girl.