Echo Chamber

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Izuku."

"Yes mom?" the teen asked as he ate his breakfast.

"Why is there a strange girl sleeping in your bed?"

"Well, I couldn't give her the couch last night," Izuku shrugged, "She's a friend."

"From school?"

"Not exactly," he replied, glancing at his bedroom door, "She...needed help. So, I helped her."

"Of course you did, sweety," Inko hummed as she reached out and took his hand, squeezing it, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You're already doing plenty, mom," Izuku said as he got up from the table, hugging the woman, "I love you. See you later. Oh, and tell Himiko I'll be back this afternoon!"

"Aizawa-sensei."

Shota looked up as Midoriya stood beside his desk, despite the class having ended five minutes ago.

"Yes, Midoriya, how can I help you?" he muttered, remembering Nedzu's words from the previous day.

"I have a friend..." Midoriya started, making Shota perk up, "She...she needs help. But she doesn't really trust adults."

"Himiko Toga," Shota said, blinking when the teen didn't react, instead relief washing over his face.

"Okay, so Nedzu knows about her, that helps."

"Yes, he does," Shota growled, "Midoriya, you do know that she's a suspected murderer, right?"

"I had my suspicions," the teen sighed, looking away, "It's just...I want to help her. Her quirk is...it's so cool! And interesting and useful and...I just want to help her before she falls any deeper."

"Deeper?" Shota asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"She has to drink blood for her quirk, she gets...weird when she hasn't drunk for a while," Izuku answered.

"That explains one thing," the man muttered, making Izuku raise an eyebrow, "The victims were partially exsanguinated. They had most of their blood drained out."

"Oh," Izuku muttered, "Yeah, she uhm...she probably did that."

"Midoriya, where is she?"

"At my apartment," the teen answered, "With my mom. Don't worry though! I'm sure Himiko won't hurt her! I gave her some blood yesterday and she calmed down a whole lot!"

"You gave her...of course you did, damn problem child," Shota sighed, before getting up from the desk and walking out of the classroom, calling to Izuku to follow him, "Come on, we're going to see Principal Nedzu about this."

Himiko woke up slowly, stretching in the comfortable bed as she looked around the room, frowning at the unfamiliar space, and the myriad of Hero posters staring down at her. She pulled the covers to the side, looking down at the slightly too large t-shirt she was wearing, the Kanji for "pajamas" across the front as she tried to remember what was going on. The memories of yesterday suddenly flooded back, the girl letting out a quiet gasp as she remembered what had happened. Meeting Izuku outside UA. The café. His friends. Slipping up.

Running away.

Being found.

Izuku letting her drink his blood.

Himiko couldn't help the moan that escaped her throat as she remembered the sweet taste of his blood. So much better than any animal's, or even that one guy she'd liked. If only he hadn't fought back, she wouldn't have had to hurt him so much. His blood didn't taste as good when he stopped moving, it made her feel a bit weird to.