Chapter Text
Entering Tartarus, Izuku couldn’t help but scratch at his neck as he walked inside the rebuilt superprison. After everything that’d happened, the building gave him a bad feeling. Sure, they had to have some plan for the villains that were still alive, but he couldn’t help feeling that this was just perpetuating the issues that started the war.
“Maybe that’s because it is. Don’t be a noob, Izuku.” And maybe the spectral figure of Tenko Shimura that persisted in the corner of his eye helped that feeling. While Izuku had expected to lose One For All when he gave it to Tenko, it had quickly become clear that something else had happened.
He’d been told that he only had embers left, just like All Might after he passed it to Izuku, but that didn’t explain Tenko’s vestige. Not that One For All was relevant to why he was in Tartarus, and really, the only reason Izuku was thinking about it was to avoid why he was here. But that freedom was torn away as he entered one of Tartarus’s interrogation rooms.
“Izuku! Oh my god, Izuku! I can’t believe it! You’re my first visitor?” sitting in a straitjacket bolted to the table in front of her. Her mouth split in a wide, insane smile was Himiko Toga.
“Come on! Izuku get her out of those. They’re obscene, she’s not a threat to anyone.” ignoring the upset ghost haunting the corner of the room, Izuku focused his attention on Toga. Taking the seat opposite her, Izuku couldn’t help but notice the sickly pallor to her skin and the thinning of her hair since the last time he’d seen her, even as she bounced as much as she could physically manage in her chair.
“I can’t believe it! You do love me! Especially if you’re the first person to see me, nobody’s come to visit since I got here. I mean, I assume everyone else was captured already, but I was expecting at least Ochako to come.” Craning her neck as much as she could, Toga tried to look out the doorway, “Oh! Did you and Ochako come visit together? And you have to take turns, that makes sense.”
As Toga grew more and more excited, Izuku felt a weight lodge in his throat. But he couldn’t waste time with that, so, forcing out a cough to free the airway, Izuku looked up and met wide eyes that had shifted to him.
Sitting deathly still, Toga stared daggers at Izuku as she spoke with a chilling tone, “I don’t need to be treated like a child, Izuku.” Confused by Toga’s sudden shift, it took a moment before Izuku realised what he’d done.
“Oh no, sorry, Toga, I had something lodged in my throat. That was why I coughed, not you.” Speaking earnestly, Izuku hoped Toga believed him. If she didn’t, that made his job a whole lot harder. But after a moment of Toga’s silent staring passed, her manic energy returned.
“Ok! And remember, Izuku, it’s Himiko. Not Toga, Hi-Mi-Ko. Ochako can tell you if you forget again.” Bouncing as much as she could in her straitjacket, Toga again tried to look outside, while Izuku just winced at her mention of Ochako.
“Listen, To-Himiko.” As Izuku paused, Himiko smiled proudly at him. Ignoring it however, Izuku just scratched at the skin just above the collar of his suit before continuing. “Himiko, Ochako’s actually why I’m here today.”
A sudden realisation flowed over Himiko’s face as she leant back in her chair, “Oooh I see. Silly Izuku, you don’t need to worry. Me and Ochako both love you just as much as we love each other, you don’t need to be jealous.”
Ignoring the proclamation of love as his cheeks turned crimson, Izuku pulled a thick folder out of the bag he was carrying and placed it on the table. “Himiko, I need you to tell me the last thing you remember before coming here.”
“What are you gonna do if she says becoming Ochako? Do you have a plan for that, Midoriya? Cause you know what that’d mean.”
As Izuku continued ignoring Tenko, Himiko pursed her lips and looked to the ceiling, “Well, I was using Jin’s blood, but it wouldn’t work properly, then Ochako and Tsu showed up, and Ochako proclaimed her love for me and you!” Giving Izuku a wide smile, Himiko almost convinced him. But there was a twitch in her eye as she smiled. Something that made it different from her other ones.
“Himiko, I need you to tell me the truth.” Seeing Himiko open her mouth in protest, Izuku interjected, “The whole truth. Please.” Closing her mouth, Toga crumpled in on herself with a sigh.
“Uraraka was fighting me. I stabbed her, and she was bleeding out. She was gonna die.” Suddenly frantic, Toga lunged forward as much as she could manage as tears started streaming down her face, “But I saved her! I used her blood and turned into her and gave her mine! She’s fine! Isn’t she Izuku!”
As he met Himiko’s tear-stricken gaze, Izuku heard guards slam open the door. Holding up a hand to stop them, Izuku continued talking to Himiko, “You tried to save her? That’s why your blood was in her body?”
Pulling back with a sniffle, Himiko just nodded. As he blew out a breath of air, possibly relief, possibly something else, Izuku pulled a handful of paper sheets out of the folder and started writing. Continuing her sniffling, Himiko stared confused at Izuku's frantic pen strokes.
“What are you doing, Izuku? Why are you here? Where’s Ochaco?” Questioning the still silent hero, Himiko slowly grew louder, “Where’s Ochaco, Izuku? She promised me we’d be together! She promised she’d give me all the blood I needed! I need blood, Izuku! I need it!” Chomping at the air, Himiko just continued repeating her request.
Tuning out Himiko’s frantic pleadings, Izuku just tried to finish the edits he had to make to the pile of papers. Surprised by Himiko's sudden stop, Izuku looked up from the papers to see her staring at him.
“Why do you need to know Izuku? Couldn’t you just ask Ochako? I know she was unconscious, but she was there too, oh! Or are you asking me to check against what Ochako’s already said? Although why’re you doing it, Izuku? Doesn’t Ochako want to see me? I know Tsu doesn’t like me; she kept trying to get between me and Ochako while we were talking.” Looking to Izuku for a response, Himiko scowled as Izuku again simply pursed his lips. Leaning in her seat, Himiko again tried to see outside, but it proved as fruitless as the prior attempts.
“You’re gonna have to say something eventually, hero.”
Turning to face the spectral Tenko, a scowl split Izuku’s face as he glared at the invisible figure, “Shut up, Tenko.” Intrigued by Izuku looking at an empty patch of air, Himiko tried to see what he was looking at.
“You know it’s not good to talk to the voices, Izuku. Even I know that.” But then, when Toga stopped speaking, her face scrunched in confusion, “Wait, Tenko… do I know that name?” But after a moment, her face relaxed, “Eh, whatever.”
“Just spit it out.”
Doing his best to continue ignoring his ghostly passenger, Izuku leant ever so slightly forward. “Himiko…” For a moment, his mouth hung open as he clearly tried to think of what to say, but letting out a deep breath, he relaxed. “Himiko, Uraraka is dead.”
“Hah… haha… hehe… that’s a weird thing to joke about, Izuku.” Letting out a hesitant laugh, Himiko started to panic as Izuku didn’t do the same, “Izuku, you’re joking, aren’t you? Ochako’s not dead, I saved her! Did someone get to her after?” Very clearly spiralling Himiko started to ramble, “While I was unconscious? That’s what happened isn’t it? Was it Spinner? He would’ve thought I was in trouble and tried to help me.” as she kept rambling, Himiko’s tone turned more and more desperate, “Then he would’ve been grabbed by you heroes while I was still unconscious, that’s what happened, wasn’t it! Wasn’t it Izuku?”
Closing the folder, Izuku gave Himiko a sad smile, “I don’t think you need to know how she died. It’s—” pulling at her straitjacket, Himiko shook violently in her chair.
“No, no, no, no no no, no, no, it can’t, no, y-you asked about my blood. No, no, it worked, I knew it would work, and it did, she can’t, no no no…” over and over, Himiko just denied the possibility that she clearly knew was staring her in the face.
Seeing the second-worst possible outcome he’d come up with before coming to Tartarus, Izuku jumped to his feet and ran around the table to Himiko. Kneeling next to her, Izuku rested his hands against the table.
“Himiko, please calm down. Breathe in, and breathe out. In and out. In and out.” Leading Himiko, Izuku helped her slowly come back down, her breath steadying the longer it went on. Until finally, the only sound Himiko made was her sniffling. “Ok… are you alright?”
Seemingly unwilling to speak, Himiko just nodded. “Do you mind if I return to my seat? Or do you want m—” Before Izuku could even finish the question, Himiko violently shook her head. “Alright. Did you still want to know… how?” For a moment, Himiko went deathly still. But after the moment passed, she slowly nodded.
After taking a deep breath to steady himself, Izuku told Himiko what she wanted: “She bled out from multiple wounds inflicted by a bladed weapon. The coroner was confused because of the presence of your blood in her system, but going by what you said, you tried to save her, didn’t you?”
Continuing her silence, Himiko responded in a brisk nod. Tears brimming in her eyes as she looked anywhere other than Izuku.
“Your quirk… You tried to turn into Uraraka, so your blood matched hers, didn’t you?” Again, Izuku only received a singular nod. “Himiko, even if that had worked, going from what the coroner said, there wasn’t enough blood.” Finally, that got Himiko’s tear-stricken face looking up at Izuku.
“The pump in your mask was broken, so it stopped working. And according to the coroners, even if you had pumped every drop of blood in your body into Uraraka’s, she would’ve died. It’s just you would have died as well.” Almost sensing Himiko’s urge to say something, Izuku stared directly into her eyes, “That wouldn’t have been better. Even if she survived, Uraraka would’ve hated the idea of you dying for her.”
Scowling, Himiko looked away from Izuku, “Shows what you know. Uraraka’s life is worth way more than mine.” As she finished speaking, that thought started spiralling through her mind. The what-if of Uraraka surviving while she was the one to die, nothing about her current state was better than that idea.
But incredibly quickly, Himiko was ripped out of her self-hating spiral by the sound of metal cracking. Looking up, Himiko was surprised to see Izuku’s fist had slammed into the middle of the table, denting it completely out of shape.
“Don’t say that. Every life is worth something. Uraraka wanted to save you.” As he spoke, tears started flowing from Izuku’s eyes, “She’d be relieved you’re still alive, even if she isn’t here to see it.”
Before anything else could be said, a horn blared in the room, interrupting their conversation. Almost as soon as the tears started, they stopped, and Izuku wiped away the tear tracks. “Apologies, Himiko. But it sounds like my time is up.” Getting to his feet and gathering his things, Izuku almost made it to the door of the room before Himiko spoke again.
“Izuku, am I gonna see you again?” leaning over the mishapen former table, Himiko started with wide pleading eyes at Izuku. Tapping his finger on the door frame, Izuku gnawed on his lip before answering.
“We’ll see Himiko.”
“Even if I don’t, could you get me blood? I—I haven’t had any in so long, and I need it. I really do need it, Izuku.” As he made his way out of the room, Izuku was forced to pause for a moment as Himiko called out again.
Looking back over his shoulder, Izuku looked wistfully back at Himiko before letting out a sigh, “I’ll see what I can do.” As Himiko deflated in her seat at his words, Izuku fought the urge to run back inside to comfort her. No matter how much the heroic urge swelled inside him, he couldn’t break the rules; if he did, there was no way they’d let him back. And he needed to come back.
But to his dismay, in the hallway outside the room stood the ghostly form of Tenko, “So Hero, just gonna leave her all alone in there? Real heroic of you.”
Exhaling loudly, Izuku just ignored Tenko. They both knew that if he wanted to help Toga, he couldn’t just break her out; he had to do it the right way. No matter how much he hated it. So with heavy shoulders and a weight in his throat that he couldn’t quite shake, Izuku walked back down the hallway and out of Tartarus.