But when he peeked between his fingers and saw Himiko trying to explain to Inko why the word "stab" was completely normal in a casual conversation, something told him his life had just gotten exponentially more complicated.
"I'm serious, Mrs. Midoriya! Knives are really useful tools! You can use them for tons of stuff! Like chopping vegetables, for example!"
Inko blinked several times.
"I guess... you're right," she admitted slowly as she tried to process this strange girl's logic.
She cleared her throat and headed toward the kitchen.
"Well, since you mentioned chopping vegetables, let me make some dinner. Izuku, are you hungry?"
"No, Mom," Izuku answered quickly as he set the shopping bags down on the floor. "I took Toga-san out to eat before we came home. I'm completely stuffed."
"Are you sure?" Inko pressed. "I can whip something up real quick."
"Totally sure," Izuku confirmed. "I ate enough food for three people."
Inko sighed but nodded, heading into the kitchen anyway.
Himiko followed her with a curious expression, watching every movement as Inko pulled vegetables out of the fridge and placed them on the cutting board.
"What are you gonna make, Mrs. Midoriya?" she asked with interest.
"Just a simple salad," Inko answered while she washed the vegetables in the sink. "Nothing complicated."
Himiko watched with fascination as Inko picked up a kitchen knife and started chopping carrots.
This is all new to me, she thought as her yellow eyes followed every cut. It looks... kinda fun.
"Mrs. Midoriya," she began in a thoughtful tone, "cooking's gotta be pretty similar to stabbing someone, right? I mean, the motion's about the same..."
Inko's knife slipped slightly.
Where on earth did Izuku find this girl? she thought with growing concern as she looked at Himiko.
"N-not exactly," Inko answered with a shaky voice. "Cooking is... different. A lot gentler."
"Can I try?" Himiko asked excitedly, reaching out toward the knife.
Inko hesitated for a moment before handing her a cucumber and letting her use the knife under strict supervision.
Himiko took the knife and started chopping the cucumber with aggressive, rapid movements, as if she were attacking an enemy.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
"Himiko-chan!" Inko exclaimed, gently stopping her hand. "Not so hard. Here, do it like this."
She placed her hands over Himiko's, guiding her into more controlled, delicate motions.
"Slow, careful. You're not fighting the food, you're preparing it."
Himiko felt something strange in her chest at the gentle contact of Inko's hands over hers.
How weird, she thought as she followed the instructions. Mom never touched me like this... she always told me I couldn't use knives.
"Is this okay?" she asked in an unusually soft voice.
"Perfect," Inko smiled. "You're doing great."
They kept cooking together for several more minutes. Himiko learned to chop vegetables with the proper technique and to measure the ingredients before carefully mixing the salad.
When they finished, Himiko remembered her pomegranate cereal.
"Oh! I can eat my cereal!" she exclaimed excitedly as she ran toward the shopping bags.
She pulled out the bright red box and looked for a bowl in the cabinets that Inko pointed out to her.
She poured a generous serving of cereal and added milk. The result was a bowl of deep red liquid with small pieces floating in it.
It looks beautiful, she thought with satisfaction as she studied the contents.
She saw Izuku sitting on the couch watching the evening news, so she poured a second bowl and walked over to him.
"Izuku-kun! I brought you cereal!"
Izuku looked up from the TV, surprised.
"Toga-san, I told you I already ate."
"But it's cereal!" Himiko insisted as she held out the bowl. "It's different! Plus, look how pretty it looks! It's like milk with blood!"
Izuku sighed deeply.
Weaning this girl off blood is definitely not gonna be easy, he thought with resignation as he accepted the bowl.
"Come sit at the table," Inko called from the dining room. "Let's eat together as a family."
As a family? Himiko thought as her heart started beating faster.
They sat around the small table: Inko with her salad, Izuku and Himiko with their bowls of red cereal.
Even though Toga's a wild girl, Inko thought as she watched Himiko eat with unbridled enthusiasm, it's kind of like having a daughter in the house.
She paused mentally.
A slightly... hyperactive one, she added with a nervous smile.
"Alright," Inko began in a serious tone as she set her fork on the table, "I think it's time for a proper explanation. Izuku, how exactly did you meet Himiko-chan?"
Izuku swallowed his bite of cereal slowly, mentally preparing himself for the edited version of events.
"I ran into her on the street on my way home," he began carefully. "I accidentally used my Quirk on her, and... well, now we're here."
He paused dramatically before continuing with all the emotional weight he could muster.
"Mom, Toga-san has a blood addiction that's way too strong. She was abandoned by her parents when they found out about the nature of her Quirk. Now she's wandering through life with no home to go back to, living on the streets, with nobody to take care of her."
His green eyes shone with conviction.
"My heart couldn't handle seeing such a cute girl living like that. If I can help her thanks to my Quirk, the best thing to do was bring her here and offer her a home."
Himiko nodded along to everything Izuku said; then her mouth moved before her brain could stop it.
"Yeah! All because my butt landed on his..."
Izuku acted on survival instinct.
His hand slid under the table and found Himiko's inner thigh through the sweatpants. He squeezed gently, massaging the area with his fingers.
"Ngh..."
The moan that escaped Himiko's throat was barely audible, but enough to cut her off mid-sentence.
Her body relaxed completely like a cat getting petted. Her eyes closed halfway as she kept eating her cereal with slow, satisfied movements.
Inko watched the scene with obvious suspicion.
What just happened? she thought as she observed Himiko's sudden change in behavior. She was about to say something and then suddenly stopped and got... strangely calm.
But when she saw the pleading expression on Izuku's face, she decided not to push the subject.
She sighed as she felt sorry for the girl's situation.
"Alright," she said finally. "Himiko-chan can stay with us."
Himiko's eyes went wide.
"Really?"
"Really," Inko confirmed with a gentle smile. "But there are conditions. Since we only have two bedrooms, mine and Izuku's, we're gonna have to make some adjustments."
She looked at her son directly.
"Izuku, you'll sleep on the futon I have stored in the closet. Himiko-chan will sleep in your bed."
Izuku blinked several times, processing the information.
"My bed?" he repeated in disbelief. "What do you mean I'm giving up my bed?"
"Exactly what you heard," Inko answered in a firm tone. "Himiko-chan is our guest. Guests sleep in proper beds."
"I accept!" Himiko exclaimed excitedly, bouncing in her chair. "I'm gonna sleep in Izuku-kun's bed!"
How ironic, Izuku thought with resignation as he finished his cereal. I bring a girl home and I end up sleeping on the floor.
An hour later, Izuku lay on his futon on his bedroom floor, staring at the ceiling with a pensive expression.
The futon was comfortable, he couldn't complain about that. His mom had kept it in excellent condition for years.
But it's definitely not the same as my bed, he admitted internally.
His bedroom door opened slowly.
Himiko walked in wearing an old All Might t-shirt that was way too big on her, along with a pair of Izuku's shorts that were barely visible under the shirt. They hadn't bought proper clothes for her yet, so she was wearing whatever they'd found in the closet.
Her blonde hair hung loose and slightly damp, with water droplets shining under the bedroom light. A towel draped around her neck.
She'd clearly just gotten out of the bath.
Seeing her from this angle, Izuku thought with appreciation, Toga looks incredibly attractive.
Her loose hair framed her face in a completely different way than her usual buns. Her yellow eyes shone with a softness he hadn't seen before. The baggy shirt revealed her delicate collarbones and part of her pale shoulders.
Himiko smiled and lay down on her side next to him on the futon, completely ignoring the empty bed a few meters away.
"What are you doing?" Izuku asked curiously.
"Going to sleep," Himiko answered simply.
"Your spot's on the bed," Izuku said, pointing toward the raised mattress.
"Oh, right."
Himiko got up cheerfully and climbed onto the bed, lying down on the sheets with her arms spread out.
She looked around the room for the first time with real attention.
The walls were covered with posters of professional heroes. But she noticed there was a disproportionate amount of Mt. Lady posters compared to other heroes.
"Izuku-kun," she called his attention, "is Mt. Lady your favorite hero?"
"She's an amazing and attractive hero," Izuku answered enthusiastically. "I saw her debut live. It was incredible... I decided to become an official fan after that."
He propped himself up slightly, leaning on his elbows.
"Do you have a favorite hero, Toga-san?"
Himiko stayed quiet for a moment, looking at the ceiling.
"Honestly," she began in a thoughtful voice, "heroes never really appealed to me. They all seemed fake to me. Smiling while they tell you you're a monster."
She turned her head toward him.
"I don't have a favorite. But..."
She paused.
"If Izuku-kun becomes a hero, then he'll be my favorite. Because you're the only hero who hasn't rejected me."
Izuku stayed quiet for a few seconds, thinking about what to say; the dramatic and emotional stuff wasn't something that came naturally to him, but when it came to a girl like Toga...
"I'm gonna become a hero," he promised with conviction. "And I'm gonna prove to you that not all heroes are fake."
Himiko smiled slightly.
"You already did, Izuku-kun."
They stayed in comfortable silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Good night, Toga-san," Izuku said finally as he settled into his futon.
"Good night, Izuku-kun," Himiko answered from the bed.
The lights went out and darkness wrapped around the room.
Izuku slept peacefully on his futon, his deep and steady breathing filling the silence of the room.
On the raised bed, Himiko opened her eyes slowly, revealing her yellow irises glowing in the darkness of the room.
She stayed completely still for a long moment, her head still buried in the pillow. She listened to the steady, deep breathing coming from the floor.
Then, with silent movements, she slid out of the bed.
She walked barefoot toward the door, opening it without making a single sound.
The apartment was completely dark. Only the faint moonlight came in through the living room windows.
Himiko headed for the kitchen.
Her yellow eyes glowed in the darkness as she opened one of the drawers where she'd seen Inko store the kitchen utensils.
There it was: her knife. The same one Izuku had confiscated from her when they got home, the same one she'd used to attack him and had decided to bring with her.
She picked it up carefully, feeling the familiar weight of the handle in her palm.
It feels like coming home, she thought as she ran her finger along the blade with unexpected tenderness.
She closed the drawer silently and went back to Izuku's room.
She stood next to the futon where Izuku slept, looking down with her eyes fixed on his peaceful face.
He slept peacefully, completely vulnerable and unaware of the potential danger hanging over him.
Himiko held the knife in one hand.
The moonlight came in through the window, reflecting off the metal blade.
Her yellow eyes traced Izuku's exposed neck and the line of his jaw, settling on the subtle movement of his chest as he breathed.
The knife gleamed in the darkness.
And Himiko Toga stayed completely still, watching the boy who had offered her a home.
*******
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