17. Confessions and confirmations.

"Can we talk?" Himiko asked, giving me a puppy eyed stare.

"Uh sure. What about?" I replied, taking a seat by the sofa.

Himiko sat back down and shuffled in her seat blushing.

"I....." she began before choking up on her words as she reconsidered.

She slapped her cheeks and let out a 'hiyaah!' sound.

How cute!

Himiko looked me in the eyes, with an intense stare.

"I dwuv you!" She said, accidentally biting her tongue.

"Wha- oh..oh, right." I replied, blushing.

Damnit!

Yuji, focus!

You're a 20 year old. You cant be acting like this!

Fucking teenage hormones!

Making me all happy and jittery!

"So....?" Himiko asked, looking at me expectantly.

Why are you so cute, Himiko!

My heart almost skipped a beat!

I became lost in thought for a moment, before pulling out my book and forcefully calming down my emotions to a more manageable degree.

I would rather not split my attention right now. I have a revenge to exact on an extradimensional entity.

More relationships or any relationships for that matter will just end up being a weakness!

Taking a deep breath, I returned her gaze and asked.

"Why? I literally beat you half to death? Are you sure this is the right choice?" I asked, trying to plant doubts in her mind.

"You brought me back from the brink of madness. Sure, you're no hero. You're not even a good person. But no hero reached out to me. The police didn't reach out to me. My parents and friends didn't reach out to me. You did, Yuji!

So you want to know if I'm sure?

I'm surer now than I've ever been!

All my life I've lived a lie. I've worn a mask. Himiko Toga, the genki girl. Happy go lucky, reliable and straight laced.

No more!" She cried out happily, crawling over to me.

"I know I'm not the best person. And my quirk makes me crave blood. And I can't control myself sometimes.

But...but...." she stuttered, "you make me want to be better, Yuji. When I'm with you, I .... it feels right. Like I don't need anything else. Just you!" She said, grabbing my head in her hands.

"And my blood." I joked.

"And your blood." Himiko said, rolling her eyes.

"Now will you stop ruining my confession? I'm having a moment here!" Himiko complained playfully.

"Oh, I'm very sorry about that. I'll just leave now and leave you to your 'moment here' then!" I replied, getting up.

Himiko dragged me back onto the sofa with a vice grip.

"You asshole!" She laughed, planting a kiss on my lips.

One I reciprocated wholeheartedly.

The feeling was intoxicating.

As I pulled away from her embrace, a string of spit trailed between our tongues.

"Wow. I thought that only happened in hentai!" I wondered out loud., wiping my lips.

"Oh? Why don't we try something else then and see?" Himiko suggested, as she pulled me into the bedroom.

And that is how the night ended, with a very sloppy makeout, and me losing my virginity for the first time, in either life.

Come next day, I awoke to a message from Aiba.

There was something I needed to see.

I cleaned up and got dressed as Himiko stirred from her slumber.

"Where are y-awn-ou going?" She asked, stretching.

"Aiba called. She found something important. The breakfast is yesterday's leftovers so heat it up. I'll be back soon." I explained, as I kissed her goodbye and rushed over to the cafe.

As I entered, the owner gave me a side eye and opened his mouth to say something but ultimately just sighed and shook his head.

I smirked triumphantly, and walked over to the table in the corner where the idiot couple was waiting for me.

"Good morning! How's the teeth situation?" I asked cheerfully, sliding into my seat.

"Good. The dentist gave me some painkillers. I will be fine in a couple of days. But boss, what's got you all happy and uh....?" Gentle asked, rubbing his cheek.

"What? No. Nothing." I denied, waving my hand, trying to suppress my smile.

"Oho! Did Himiko confess? She confessed didn't she?" Aiba chirped, poking at my arm.

I gave her my most sincere glare, but my blush couldn't be hidden.

"She did!" Aiba snorted victorius.

"Yeah." I cut in, pointing to her laptop,

"What's that important matter you were getting to?"

"Cheh, you're such a spoilsport when you're shy! But alright. Let's get to the important part first.

Remember the drive you left in?" She asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" I replied.

"I used that link to upload a ransomware keylogger of sorts and this...." she said, turning the laptop over to me, "...came on today. Director's terminal. Encrypted."

I read through the report as the smile drained from my face.

The HPSC knew that we had infiltrated their offices, and I knew that they knew. And now, it seems they know that I know that they know too, courtesy of the razor sharp mind of one Hawks, assigned to our case.

"Well....fuck!" I muttered.

"That was the last message before they scrubbed their servers clean.

Installed a whole new system. We're officially out of their network now." Aiba explained.

"Did they make any announcements?" I asked.

"Not yet." She replied.

"Then they're smarter than I had initially pegged them to be.

They know it would hurt their reputation to admit that someone broke into their castle and stole their dirty laundry from right under their noses. And apparently they're mature enough to overcome their hurt egos and play it safe." I admitted.

This was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with.

I looked up the two, finding them looking back at me, waiting for instructions.

I sighed.

"Lay low, destroy all traces of us being there. And no more UTube shenanigans. Stick to the news channel." I ordered.

"Will they...are we in danger?" Gentle asked.

"You were in danger from the day you accepted my proposal. But this...this a whole new level of danger. Hawks is a beast of a man. He's good looking, powerful, manipulative and completely brainwashed by the HPSC. You guys have no chance against him as you are now. Continue your training in secret. Keep to your civilian identities and be extra cateful with whatever you do." I said, getting up.

"What will you do?" Gentle asked.

"If I told you, you'd be a liability. Just trust me on this. We just need yo weather it out for a while. By the time spring rolls around, this'll be long gone." I explained.

"How can you be so sure about that?" Aiba asked.

I smiled.

"Because I will make sure they have something else to consume their attention entirely."

"You're playing up this mysterious character again, boss. It's weird!" Aiba replied concernedly.

"It's not weird! It's cool and ...dammit, just do what I said. And don't contact me unless I contact you first. Got it?"

"If you say so." Aiba said, as Gentle nodded.

"Good." I replied and walked out.

It was time to shake things up a bit.

And Deku was going to be the chisel I'd drive deep into the stony heart of hero society.

But before that, I needed to break him first.

I pulled out my phone, and made a call.

"Deku? Meet me. Tomorrow, yes. At the beach. It's time you knew the truth."