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The tears spilled out of her eyes like a waterfall. Himiko sits on the sidewalk, knees pressed against her chest and skirt bunched up on her knees as the tears fell and wet her face. She tried so hard to be normal. She tried!
We gave birth to something inhumane!
Why is your face so scary, Himiko-chan?
Why can't you be a regular girl?
She wanted to be regular! She wanted to be a cute, regular, normal girl! But she had these urges that she could barely control and Himiko knew that something was wrong with her. Her parents said it, her therapist, her classmates and everyone she's ever met. They're all the same. They all think she's weird.
Weird. Not cute. Scary. Inhumane.
She wanted Saito. She wanted to tell him she liked him so bad. But she couldn't have him. Because all she was— was a freak.
Himiko begins crying harder, body shuddering as she hides her face with her hands. She's unable to acknowledge anything else, not even the cars driving on the road nearby. The pain and hurt of the constant rejection was just too much.
She wished she didn't have these disgusting urges, that she kissed normally like everyone else. The girls in her class were cute, normal, with regular quirks, but Himiko could never be that. Because of a dumb mutation she was born with.
“Hey, hey!”
Himiko is startled. She looks beside her to see a girl sitting beside her, setting her bag beside her leg. Himiko scans her— a middle school uniform and blue hair, maybe a little older, and the friendliest eyes she has ever seen.
“I saw you crying!” The girl said as Himiko stared at her in awe, surprised at her boldness. “You looked like you needed a friend!”
She's still stuck in silence. But the girl doesn't let up, instead scooting closer and looking at her. “Ooh, your hair is so pretty! Is it natural? Do you straighten it?”
“I— Um..” Himiko stumbles over her words. “I-It's natural.”
“That's so cool! I style my hair every morning. It gets really frizzy and messed up when it rains.” She continues, “I like your eyes, too! The yellow is super pretty! They remind me of a cat!”
“Thank.. you?”
She was full of energy, and Himiko is so stunned that she realizes she's stopped crying. “Do you have fangs? I wish I had fangs! Are you a cat? Do you have a cat quirk?”
“N-No,” Himiko mumbles, shaking her head, ashamed.
“Oh. What's your quirk?”
“You're gonna think it's weird..” Himiko whispers, but the girl shakes her head rapidly.
“Nope! I don't think any quirk can be weird!” She says. “My quirk is that I can make spirals come out of my hands!”
Himiko wonders if she wants to be honest. If she wants to lie and say it's something mundane, something normal. But the other girl's energy is so infectious. She feels like she can trust her. “Um.. I can drink someone's blood and turn into them..” She whispers, preparing for the shame and disgust.
But it doesn't come.
“That's awesome! Hey, hey, you could be, like, a really cool spy. Or even a nurse! When you turn into somebody, do you get their blood type too?”
She blinks. “I-I never found out.. Everyone thinks my quirk is weird.”
The girl pouts. “Well, I don't think it's weird. People who think it's weird just don't get it. You're not the weird one!” She takes Himiko’s hand excitedly, and Himiko gasps.
“I almost forgot! My name is Nejire!”
“.. I'm Himiko.”
“Can I call you Himiko-chan?”
“S-Sure.”
Nejire grins. “Okay, then, Himiko-chan. We're friends now! Would you like that?”
“B-But you hardly know me.” Himiko says in surprise, unable to comprehend Nejire’s easy confidence and bubbly demeanor. “Why— Why be friends with a freak like me?”
“You're not a freak!” She frowns, squeezing Himiko's hand, “Just because you're different doesn't mean you're a freak!”
“..R-Really?”
“Uh-huh. Hey, I— Himiko-chan! Are you crying again? I'm sorry!”
Himiko realizes her face is getting wet again, but this time— it feels different. Warm. “N-No, it's happy tears this time, Nejire-chan. I.. I feel happy.”
“Ooh, I get it.” She reaches and wipes her tears away. “Crying is healthy, did you know? It's good for your eyes!”
Himiko composes herself before she speaks. “For so long.. I never got why people thought I was weird. Why didn't people kiss like me?” Himiko says. “I thought— I was weird. ‘Cuz by drinking blood.. That's how I show my love to people. But everyone is different. They don't do it like I do.”
Nejire is silent. Her expression shifts into something determined, before she rolls up her sleeve and offers her arm. “Here!”
“H-Huh?”
“You can drink my blood! I have a bunch of it already in my body, right? It's kinda like doing a blood drive!”
Himiko is— stunned. Right as she reached the end of her rope— she meets someone who doesn't think she's weird. Who sees her as human, who accepts her as she is. And it feels like she's entered an alternate dimension entirely. Like this girl was an angel from above, reaching out a hand for Himiko to take.
“Do you— really mean that, Nejire-chan? Is that okay?”
“Mhm! Of course! I wouldn't have offered if it wasn't!”
Himiko is frozen, hesitant, before she gently takes Nejire's arm and brings her fangs towards the skin. She watches Nejire, who— doesn't look afraid, but curious. As if she found Himiko the most interesting thing in the world.
She bites down, and the metallic taste seeps into her mouth. She drinks it up, a little desperately, but Himiko's far too gone to feel embarrassed. She was getting what she needed, without any shame or judgement.
When Himiko licks the wound clean and pulls away, Nejire giggles. “Himiko-chan, you got it all over your mouth! Don't worry, I have napkins.”
Nejire digs into her bag and pats at Himiko's face with a wipe, and Himiko is unable to stop herself from smiling.
For the first time, she felt normal. She felt loved. For who she is, rather than who she pretended to be. When Nejire looks away to stuff the dirty napkin into her bag, Himiko is unable to stop herself from leaning on her.
“Oh! Himiko-chan? Are you sleepy?”
“No,” Himiko says, truthfully. But she didn't want this moment to end. Call her selfish, but— She wanted to sit here with Nejire forever. “But I like you here, Nejire-chan. Can you stay with me, just for a while?”
Nejire's expression softens, she smiles, and she runs a hand through Himiko's messy hair.
“We can sit here for as long as you want, Himiko-chan.”