Chapter 22

It's hard to avoid someone you are classmates with. Izuku sighed as he stood face to face with the one and only Katsuki. Was he here to apologize again? How many times would he try to be forgiven? Hasn't he gotten through to him? He doesn't want anything to do with him anymore. He would not accept any of his apologies. It's too late. Ten years. He had ten years to see how wrong he was and it only now registered? He was just as pathetic. Look at them, two pathetic losers.

"What do you want Katsuki? "

"Y-you have a quirk? " He asked, his expression serious. He had his fists clenched at his side and looked very conflicted. Since when did Izuku have a quirk? He didn't believe it when he saw it. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it. It couldn't true. Izuku was quirkless. And yet he pinned a boy to a wall with a look alone. He stopped his fist from hitting him. He did that. It was no one else. It could be no one else. No one would defend him and risk the wrath of the school jock.

"Yes, I have a quirk, is that all? " Izuku seemed very disinterested. He came outside to be alone and look who followed him.

"Since when? You.. You were quirkless"

"I was, wasn't I? "Izuku stared down at his hands. "A quirkless Deku"

Katsuki flinched at the mention of the name he had branded the boy. Everytime he heard the name he felt terrible. He was constantly reminded of everything no matter how hard he tried to get over it. And then Izuku was looking at him. Green meeting red. He smiled and Katsuki was uneasy. Izuku never smiled as kind as he did before. It would never reach his eyes. The smile always meant something different now

"I guess taking a swan dive off the roof was a great idea, wasn't it? " Izuku chuckled dryly and turned his back on Katsuki. He should find another place to relax. "I'm glad you suggested it. The only downside is that it didn't kill me. That was something we both wanted but sadly I failed. I really live up to my name, don't you think? "

Why would he say that? Why did he say that so casually? It was wrong . Everything he did was wrong. Why didn't he tell anyone? Why didn't he do something? Why was he just letting him roam free?

"Why didn't you tell anybody?"

Izuku stopped and tilted his head at the question. Why didn't he tell anyone? If he did Katsuki would get into an immeasurable amount of trouble. His dream of being a hero would be crushed immediately. A criminal record wouldn't look good to UA. His life would be ruined as easily as that. Izuku knew this. He thought about a lot while he was in the hospital. There were times where he almost spilled everything, but he didn't.

Why?

He didn't really know. Maybe he just wants to see the boy struggle with his guilt. Maybe a part of him still wishes to be friends. He wasn't sure. His life was very confusing these pass few day.

He then turned to face the devastated looking Katsuki. The blonde was very guilty. It was genuine. Izuku knew this. This is why he refused to forgive him. It must hurt. He himself would not be strong enough to carry that guilt around.

"I don't know and I don't think about it too much. You're not worth it sometimes" Izuku admitted. "Who knows, you might tell on yourself "

He might. He wanted to tell Inko. His mother already knew, but she did nothing but comfort him. She would not tell Inko because he was the one who had to do it. Even his father didn't know about it.

Izuku turned to leave again. He didn't have anything else to say. Lunch was almost over and he got zero alone time. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He's been very indecisive lately. His mood also takes a change very abruptly. Sometimes he could care less about the blonde. Other times he wishes to see him suffer more. Sometimes he wishes to be a hero. Other times he wondered if it was worth it. It was all confusing and it felt as if everything was on repeat. He always thought about the same thing and always asked the same stupid questions.

Despite that he didn't change his mind about UA. He still wished to attend the school.

His reasons for joining the school is what keeps changing. He'll just go with it. He wonders how things will turn out for him.

Either way life kinda sucks.

~~~~~~~

Lunch is the one time during school hours when Kuriko could get some alone time. She sighed to herself as she poked at her food. That was gone now. She was now "friends" with Himiko and the girl stuck around. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, but it attracted the attention of the others. Attention is not what she wanted.

"Kuriko? "

The girl shook her head before the other could even ask her question. This earned her a disappointed wine from the childish Himiko, who proceeded to stare at her. She ignored the girl and continue to eat.

"I'm hungry"

Kuriko pointed to the bowl of food in front of the girl. She hadn't touched it at all. She can't live off her blood. That was hardly any good and Kuriko would not encourage it. If she continued to constantly feed her her blood she would get addicted, if she wasn't already. Addiction spells bad news. She decided to withhold her blood for two days, just to see what Himiko would do. She did not stop offering her blood, she just offered less than usual. She used to let her take as much as she wanted and now she gave her a limit.

"You're being mean again, why are you doing this? "Himiko asked in her disappointment while she rubbed her thumbs across Kuriko's wrist. She was staring and Kuriko had to force her out of her trance before she bit her out in the open. "Did I do something wrong? "

Kuriko shook her head no, but did not elaborate further. Pressure on her pulse increased and she flicked Himiko on the forehead with a glare. She returned the glare with her own before letting go of her and finally eating her food. She was angry and Kuriko didn't care. She did however wonder if she would hunt down someone to scratch her itch.

"Which high school are you going to? "She suddenly asked. She still looked angry and she certainly sounded as such.

Kuriko signed two letters, a look of distaste on her face as she did.

Himiko's anger seemed to evaporate almost immediately, leaving nothing but curiosity on her face. She didn't think Kuriko would want something like that. She had only officially known her for a couple of days and it was obvious enough how much she despised heroes. Finding out that she would be attending UA was shocking.

"Why? "

Reasons.

"Tell me"

A shake of her head.

"But I want to know"

Kuriko's response was her chewing on some octopus shaped sausages. Her reasons for attending UA was none of Himiko's concern.

Himiko was staring at her again. Her mouth was a tin line and she seemed pensive. If Kuriko was going to UA then she was going too. It's only natural to want to follow your friend, isn't it? Even if that friend doesn't see your relationship the same as you. At least Kuriko understood. She wouldn't mind her following her. What was she supposed to do if she was gone? If there was no more Kuriko there was no one who let her be herself. She would be alone again.

Besides being accepted into UA would get her parents off her back even if it is just a little. They're always telling her to do this and do that. She must always get the perfect grades. She never did anything right. Nothing was enough .They are never satisfied. If UA doesn't suit their taste then nothing will.

Maybe she should just run away to live with Kuriko. Where does Kuriko live anyways? She never told her . She had asked but Kuriko never said anything. Why didn't she want to tell her. She just wanted to know so that she could visit. What's so wrong about that?

"Hey Toga"

Said girl had to pull her eyes off her quiet friend at the call of her name. She eyed the group of girls at her table with interest, a smile plastered on her face. Just smile like she always does and no one suspects a thing.

"Wanna come sit with us? "

Why would she want to sit with them? She had Kuriko. They would just talk about stuff she was not interested in and she would have to nod and agree, because a normal teenage girl is supposed to talk about certain things. About boys, the latest fashion , gossip about other girls, complain about this and that. She's gotten used to it but it was a

bit annoying. Having to agree with what they said and pretending to genuinely like these things. She didn't care about any of the boys. She did care about fashion. She would rather not spend her time talking about other girls for no reason.

But hanging out with those girls makes her normal while being friends with Kuriko makes her weird.

How did that work?

"Sorry" she smiled her usual smile. "I'll stick to Sano today"

It was only then that the group of girls looked at Kuriko. Their look of distaste was wiped off their faces when they shuddered under her ice cold gaze. They looked away from her immediately, feeling uncomfortable. They could still feel her eyes boring into them and it sent a chill up their spines. They didn't know if they were imagining it or not but they felt themselves getting colder the longer her gaze lingered.

"Why would you want to hang out with her? She's weird"

Kuriko propped her chin in her palm and eyed them with interest. There are a lot of ways this could go. Himiko got attached to her very quickly and is most likely in love with her blood. She sees her as a friend and the one person who understands her. Kuriko has noted the look she would get if anyone said something she didn't like about her generous blood donor. Her eyes flashed with that same look before she plastered her usual smile on her face.

"Because I want to" is what she replied with.

The girls left at some point. They couldn't handle Kuriko's stare. Said girl fished another sausage out of her bento and casually chewed on it. Nemuri was a great cook. She would have to compliment her when she returned. She thought that absentmindedly while she stared at Himiko. She was angry again. It's interesting how she gets mad on her behalf.

It's like she cares.

Kuriko thought about that. She just wants to protect her blood donor is all. That is what she would tell herself if she didn't know better. Himiko isn't a bad person. She's actually pretty nice in her own messed up way. She says some questionable things very often,but that is to be expected. She's odd and would kill without a thought. She would actually enjoy it. Kuriko witnessed this first hand when she left the house at night and happened to stumble upon her digging a knife into her poor victem with the biggest of grins on her face.

Murder is bad, but Kuriko doesn't care about morals. She did prevent the person from dying and altered their memory. She had given Himiko some blood and made sure she returned home. On her way back she knew the girl was following her and teleported her back to her room to her dismay. She was not letting her learn of her address.

Despite all her messed up tendencies she's nice. Genuinely nice, at least to her. She sometimes gets angry when she refuses to feed her and would bite her fingers in spite, but she would apologize after some time and bandage each finger despite her not needing to. Kuriko wore gloves after all

And then there were times where she would cut Kuriko open for the fun of it. Kuriko noticed that her ability to heal only makes Himiko enjoy her game even more. She would giggle when the blood left her wound and would watch it pool on the ground in pure delight.

In her very own words.

"I love to see you bleed"

Questionable to most, but Kuriko let her be. No harm done. She hardly feels the pain, being so used to the feeling to begin with.

She's an odd character with a surprisingly nice side, that is what she has learned during her time of observation.

Kuriko glanced at her when she was back to tracing her pulse.

"Why can't I have as much as I want anymore? "

Reasons. Kuriko focused on her food. She couldn't get addicted. Maybe she already was, she didn't know. She was just trying something out and seeing how the girl would handle it and how much of an affect it had on her.

Himiko sighed and rested her head on their shared table. She really wanted more, but Kuriko wouldn't budge. What was she supposed to do? She didn't feel like going after someone else. No other's blood can match Kuriko's. It would be a waste and she wouldn't be able to take as much without the person dying. Even then it wouldn't be enough. Only Kuriko's blood satisfies her.

She'd just have to wait, she'll get some more eventually.

"Wanna go out later? "

Kuriko shook her head no.

"You always say no. Friends go out together. " Himiko pouted in her dismay.

Kuriko raised an eyebrow at that statement. The two were not on a level of "normalcy". They did not have to do that. Next to that was the fact that Kuriko didn't like going out in the first place. Then only places she goes is to school, the ice cream shop, the grocery store and home.

"You're no fun"

Kuriko shrugged.

"Can I see your scars"

And they're back to this. How many times does Kuriko need to tell her no? She can add her own as many times as she wants because Kuriko just heals them before Noriko can find out. Adding is ok, seeing is not.

"But I want to see them" Himiko whined.

She was being a child now. Kuriko ignored her whining but it was starting to annoy her to a degree. She stared at her bento, having nothing but sliced carrot remaining. She was not a fan of carrots, why do they keep putting it in her food?

Himiko suddenly had a mouth full of carrots. Kuriko eyed her bowl, gathering the little bit that was left and proceeded to feed her that as well. She seemed content with herself. She got rid of her carrots and shut Himiko up. Two birds with one stone, if she's correct.

"These taste really good" Himiko said, looking slightly surprised by her statement.

Kuriko looked at her as if she was a fool. Carrots taste good? She then shrugged. To each their own. She now had someone who would rid her of the horrendous vegetable. She could eat broccoli, but not carrots.

"Can I have some blood, now? "

Kuriko sighed as she packed her empty bowl away. She knew this day would be excruciating.

~~~~~~~

It was the end of the school day and Kuriko was silently walking next to a moody Himiko. She had been annoying her the entire day. She would not give her more blood and she needed to get it through her head. She seemed to have given up asking but she didn't go after anyone else. Kuriko would know. But now she was following her.

Another sigh.

Himiko and her mother must not meet. Her mother would want to invite her over and Kuriko did not want her knowing her address. If she did the other would be waking up in the night to find a blood thirsty blonde. That was not happening.

It was exhausting having a friend.