"Why did you help me?"
At Himiko's question, Michikatsu gazed down at her.
Himiko Toga was a monster born from the world's discrimination and the systematic abuse that began with her parents' twisted repression. She could have been something else, but they had forced her into the mold of a literal monster.
Michikatsu, knowing this, had wanted to reach out to her.
He wanted to prevent her from falling down a path of darkness... though he knew he couldn't stop every tragedy in this world. However, having stumbled upon her by chance and being in a position to save her, he made his choice.
"It was a mere whim. Do not trouble yourself with it."
Himiko lowered her head, lost in thought.
A monster... A monster loathed by her parents and cursed by everyone around her. That was why she had been discarded. Even now, she couldn't forget the expression on her parents' faces when she had first tried to explain her Quirk.
It was an expression of pure horror—as if they were looking at something repulsive that should not exist.
"Stop it this instant!"
She hadn't been understood. They hadn't even tried to understand.
She simply couldn't fight the bloodlust that came with her Quirk, and it was only a dead bird—she hadn't even harmed a living thing. Yet her parents looked at her like a freak. They cursed her, hit her, and demanded she simply "repress" it. When that failed, she was kicked out to rot on the streets.
Himiko had been rejected by those who should have mattered most.
"What... what is to become of me now?"
"They would not answer the call... those people you call parents."
Michikatsu had explained the situation to his father, the head of the Tsugikuni household. When his father attempted to contact the Togas, they had heartlessly hung up the moment Himiko's name was mentioned.
A total severance.
At his words, Himiko gave a bitter, hollow smile and kept her head bowed.
"Will I... be sent to an orphanage?"
"What do you wish to happen?"
Michikatsu knew that even in an orphanage, she would face the same discrimination. People would treat her as an outcast simply because of a "villainous" side effect like consuming blood.
"...Are you not afraid of me? I'm a monster who drinks blood."
"Hah... To say such words while looking at me... Are you mocking me?"
Michikatsu turned all six of his eyes toward her. Himiko didn't flinch in fear; rather, she panicked at the thought that she might have unintentionally offended him.
"Ever since my Quirk manifested, I have taken on this hideous form and faced constant persecution. Indeed... as you say, I am a monster. And furthermore..."
Michikatsu grew out his fingernails and sliced his own arm. A deep gash appeared, and blood began to flow.
Himiko gasped, reaching for her phone to call an ambulance, but before she could even move, the wound began to knit itself back together. Within seconds, his skin was smooth again, as if the cut had never existed.
"A 'monster'... is a term reserved for someone like me."
"Eh? ...Uh?"
It took a moment for Himiko to process what he was saying. It sounded as though he was telling her she wasn't a monster at all.
"Do you mean... I'm not a monster?"
"There is the Number 32 Hero, the Blood Hero Vlad King. To make a fuss over a mere desire for blood... it is trivial."
"I... I..."
"You have struggled quite a bit. I understand... the pain of being persecuted. I truly understand."
As Michikatsu finished speaking, tears began to pool in Himiko's eyes. Only she knew exactly what emotion caused those tears, but they were certainly not tears of sorrow.
"Sob... I... I..."
Michikatsu reached out and pulled the trembling girl into a hug.
"It is alright now. I am here."
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
Himiko wailed. She let out all the negativity she had suppressed, all the resentment for the unfairness she had endured.
The people who had labeled her a monster had rejected her, yet here was a man who looked more monstrous than anyone, telling her she was normal. A man who had clearly suffered worse persecution than she had was now comforting her, telling her it was okay.
"Weep. Pour out all your bitterness... You have earned that right."
As he stroked her back and whispered gentle words, a small sense of ecstasy blossomed in a corner of Himiko's heart.
This was the first time she had ever felt affection. The first time she had felt true warmth. She had fallen into a deep, inescapable marsh.
She handed over the keys to her heart entirely to Michikatsu.
A man who affirmed her existence. A man who didn't deny her. A man who gave her hope and affection—the man who taught her what love felt like.
'I love you... Michikatsu... ♡'
The girl persecuted for being a monster had been saved by a boy who was one.
"As expected, then?"
"Yes. They avoid any form of contact, no matter the method."
I sighed internally at my father's words.
Truly, they were beyond saving. To discard their own child like garbage just because of a blood-related Quirk... they were nothing but cowards who refused to accept anything "different."
"Those bastards..."
My father was visibly enraged by the Togas' actions. My parents loved and cherished family above all else. To people like them—who had showered me with even more affection after I became a "monster" due to my Quirk—the behavior of the Togas was an unpardonable sin.
"My son."
"Yes, Father."
"What is it you wish to do?"
"With the child... Himiko?"
"Yes. Even if we send her to an orphanage, she will face the same hardships. Humans tend to brand anything different as 'wrong' and seek to crush it."
My father was right. My own life was proof of that.
"What if... we take her in as a member of the staff?"
"That is a possibility, but... I would rather adopt her."
"Adopt her? You mean legally?"
I was slightly surprised, but my father nodded firmly.
"If we leave even a sliver of a connection to her birth parents, they will surely crawl back once Himiko is successful or wealthy, waving 'parental rights' around to try and snatch what they can. I find the thought repulsive."
I knew exactly what he meant. Parasites who discard their children when they are a burden but reappear to suck them dry once they prove valuable. The servants of the Tsugikuni household are paid more than some Heroes and live lives of luxury comparable to corporate executives. If the Togas realized their daughter had ties to our house, they would use the fact that they hadn't legally struck her from their registry to extort us. Legal action for child abuse and neglect would be our only recourse then.
"And besides, I've always wanted a daughter, so this works out perfectly!"
"A... shocking epiphany, Father."
"Hmm? You aren't being sarcastic, are you?"
"......"
I remained silent, a bit dumbfounded, which caused my father to slump his shoulders as if wounded.
.
.
.
After that, everything moved with lightning speed.
With our family's legal team in tow, we secured a waiver of parental rights and an adoption agreement from the Togas. We also had them sign a strictly binding legal document prohibiting any future contact or interference with Himiko.
Her name was officially added to our family registry.
She was now Himiko Tsugikuni.
"I will call you 'Brother' from now on. I will spend my entire life repaying this debt, Brother."
"We are family now. There is no need for such thoughts... because that is what it means to be family."
Himiko stepped forward and hugged me tightly.
"I love you, Brother! ♡"
"I see... Himiko."
At that moment, I had no idea that the "affection" Himiko felt for me... was actually romantic love.