title: Emancipation

genre: romance / hurt / comfort

pairings: past-togadeku, future-togachako

warnings: not really spoilers for BOP, i just kind of dabbled this out because i've been writing a lot of NatShig and TogaChako, but I stumbled into my love for all Toga ships. Especially, togadeku (tho, togachako is my ShIT) but the parallels of Harley/Joker were fun for me and i like to run with those. especially since villain deku is so much fun to write and villain deku with toga by his side is unstoppable.

otherwise, enjoy, and i apologize for grammatical errors that i will notice later and WEEP over.

Himiko is not sure how long the car has been sitting there, but when she looks up from her solo trip hunting down stray bullets, she notices the glossy finish of two freshly polished shoes which are connected the legs and hips and torso of one very handsome, newly available, Midoriya Izuku—son of All For One, the quirkless villain wonder.

"Izuku?" She clenches her fist around the handful of capsules she has already collected and puts her hands behind her back, least she spills the beans and derail the entire base of operations. The shock in her voice, however, is genuine. "What are you doing here?"

Although Mustafu is not exactly out of Izuku's neighborhood, last she heard Izuku was running business in Kamino with step-brother.

Izuku lifts his brows, a silent question asking if he really needs to explain, but when Himiko doesn't budge, he makes a gesture to the partially burned building behind her. "I heard Chisaki was giving you some trouble when I was out of town. I asked Jin to come and check on you." He searches her face for any recognition, brows pinching. "Did he?"

"Oh," Himiko thinks back to several hours before, when she was alone in her apartment—with an equally alone and partially naked Ochako after just getting the kid to sleep—hearing a noise down the hall. The reaction of which, led Himiko to braining one of her very good friends with a percolator, and then tucking him in on the couch, effectively killing the mood and Himiko's chances of a rebound.

But, Izuku doesn't need all those little details.

"You know, I've been a bit all over town this week. I think he had a hard time finding me." She grins to sweeten the lie, but the skin of her lip tugs a bit too taunt, pulling open her split lip. Izuku looks none too impressed.

The leather of his gloves creak when he flexes his knuckles, making a fist. "You alright, Ko?"

The question seems to settle the weight of the fight on her body. The pitch in adrenaline, the bruises forming along her ribs, the blood running down her arm beginning to dry. She feels exhilarated. Wild. Powerful. Powerful like she hasn't felt in a long, long time.

Tentatively, she touches the makeshift bandage Froppy had tied off for her from her own outfit.

"Yeah, it's just a scratch, don't even worry about it."

Izuku nods, more so to himself than to her words. He does that a lot. Trust his observations over what other people say. Not that Himiko can blame him, he made his career, his name, from doing just that. However, Himiko can feel herself shrinking under his stare. Self-conscious of her wounds and the tender pieces of her that still belong to him.

Himiko shifts her weight, her sprained ankle giving a brief flash of pain, then sinking into a dull sting. She could still run if she needed to. Still fight if she needed to. Not that she wanted to fight Izuku. She's not even sure she could fight Izuku head-on, quirk or no.

But she could.

And that's what's important.

Izuku crosses his arms over his chest, putting his well-developed forearms on display. His eyes are still distant, observant, taking in the carnage behind her. "Well, it looks like you handled it yourself."

"Yeah, I did." Himiko says.

There is a certain amount of pride there. That twinge in his voice from when he used to praise her when they were together, for helping him, for being his girl.

It still tugs those possessive string within her. The ones that made her go off the rails and slice up other girls who thought they could make a move on her action.

"Look, I heard this was all caused because people found out we called it." Izuku shifts, uncomfortable as he always is when talking about relationships. The nervousness never seemed quite right to a man of his stature; in his suit jackets and intimidating shoulders. It had made Himiko want to take care of him, protecting him, make things easier for him. "If you want, I can tell my boys to get the word out that if anyone touches you, they're dead."

And Himiko believes it. His intentions and every action adding up to the sum of his cares, but it was never enough for the love Himiko craved from him. That he could never be with her, fully with her, when so much of his mind was occupied by his plans of grandeur. But then, like magic, whenever she handled a situation, he took notice.

But, that was Himiko.

She handled things.

In the end, she was the one to openly declare their break up. She was the one who put a target on her back after torching the school where they met. She was the one who went toe-to-toe with Chisaki and got to beat the ever-loving shit out of that bird-beaked transphobe.

She looks back over her shoulder, at the carnage and cower of the men crawling out of the funhouse, back to their homes to lick their wounds. She sees the women she's met over the past few days joined together in victory. She spots Ochako with her arms around little Eri, soothing the girl after she had unleashed her quirk, a terrifying sight that left Himiko mystified and Chisaki into non-being.

Himiko flashes a smile when Ochako looks up at her, exhausted but victorious. The woman smiles back at her, mouthing something that Himiko does not quite catch, but Ochako looks cute doing it.

For the first time since the split, she feels over it. The breakup, the fights, the relationship heading nowhere.

She feels free.

"I think I'm good." Himiko says. When she returns her attention, Izuku's green eyes are curious, but a little less sparkly. "I've made some new friends. I'm starting up a business." She shifts, cracking her back against her fists. "I think I'm good."

He nods slowly, and turns back to the car that brought him. "Call me if you need anything, Ko."

And although she knows it will be a dyer consequence before she calls him again, Himiko nods, smiles because she can, smiles because she can survive without him and has proved it. "Thanks, Izuku."

hello!

hope you enjoyed! more togachako and natshig to come in the going month as this is Shigatine Week, but also FemSlash Feb.

reviews are cherished!

-cafeanna