Himiko hates being cooped up in the Shie Hassaikai base. It's awful and they hardly let her go anywhere and she can tell they're watching them. It is so not cute. So she convinces Twice to clone her and sneaks out of her room to wander around late one night. She's very good at stealth and people underestimate how much of it is genuine skill, instead attributing it to her quirk, which is stupid. Her quirk just makes her look like other people, the stealth and acting is all her.
Even with her skills it's foolish to wander around a place she's unfamiliar with in her own skin for very long so she makes a pit stop at one of the member's quarters. She doesn't make a noise as she sneaks up to the bed of one of the grunts and makes quick work of drawing some blood. She keeps needles for more delicate work hidden among her knives. He doesn't even stir.
Pleased with the success she finally begins her exploring proper. Shiggy said to play nice and everything but if she gets an opportunity to mess with something small and petty that can't be traced back to her she'll jump on it. She bets they have some nice knives, she needs a new one after she lost her third favorite one down a storm drain when she threw it at Spinner and it bounced off a wall last month. Plus, it's important to have as much information as possible without the enemy knowing you have it. That, and well she is bored...
Wandering around doesn't produce any results for a while, everything is really clean and tidy. No convenient knives to be found. She's not having much success mapping the place out either but she is feeling less restless. She's much less likely to snap and stab one of their "allies" now and is about to call it a night when she hears something coming from one of the doors down the hall.
Further investigation shows that it's muffled crying, it's a bit of a risk to show herself but she still has a little blood left and she's curious. She manages to open the locked door and peers in. She finds a little girl sitting up on a bed desperately trying to hide that she's still crying. Why is there a little girl? Why is she crying? Little girls shouldn't be awake in the middle of the night crying, and they definitely shouldn't look so scared.
"Hi there, who are you?"
The little girl doesn't respond only hiding her face further in her arms. Considering that the little girl is locked in a room filled with unopened toys and is covered in bandages Himiko decides to change her approach. It's a pretty big risk but Himiko doesn't like little kids to cry, it doesn't look cute on them. It's looking likely that this girl is trapped here for some reason and isn't likely to confide in a Yakuza member. She lets go of her transformation and tries again.
"I'm Himiko, I like cute things! what's your name?"
"...Eri"
Eri still looks apprehensive but she seems a little curious and she's hiding her face a little less.
"That's a really pretty name Eri! Are you ok?"
"I'm fine."
"Hmmm, I was wandering around cause I'm bored but this whole place is boring. Not cute at all! Can I stay here with you for a little bit? You're way more interesting than the empty hallways. Just don't tell anyone I was here please, they've been trying to keep me cooped up." She punctuates her plea by making a dramatic show of kneeling and clasping her hands together.
"Is he hurting you too?"
"Chisaki? No, but he hurt my big sister. I hate him."
That brings a little spark into Eri's eye.
"Umm, you can stay if you want."
"Yay! Can I do your hair? It's really pretty!"
"What?"
"Like my hair! I can give you buns! or braids! I'm not really good at it but that's what practice is for!"
Himiko smiles wide, Eri doesn't return it but she does nod and give a quiet ok. Her eyes shining with what Himiko hopes is excitement.
"Have you ever had a braid Eri?"
"I don't think so."
"Well, we have to change that! I wish I had some cute clips for your hair but I didn't bring any. I think red would look great on you!"
"really?"
"Of course! It matches your pretty eyes!"
They fall into a comfortable silence as Himiko focuses on braiding her hair and Eri seems to relax more and more. She has to start over a couple times to make sure it's perfect but she's satisfied once she's done. She's a little surprised when Eri speaks up quietly.
"He says he's going to use me get rid of everyone's curses but it hurts and they're so mean. I don't want to! I tried to run away but he found me and made me come back."
"Hey, when you says curses, do you mean quirks?"
"I think so..." She doesn't sound confident but Himiko is too busy remembering what Shiggy told her about the quirk erasing bullets and Overhaul's plans to notice. If Eri was to disappear that would probably cause the Shie Hassaikai a lot of problems. She's not sure exactly how Eri fits into it but at the very least she's important enough to their production to keep locked up and for Chisaki to hunt down personally. This is a golden opportunity! She hates to see little girls suffer. She hates Chisaki and wants revenge but Shiggy thinks it's important to work with him for now. Himiko's pretty sure she can convince him of what a perfect chance this is even if he gets mad at first. This is a delicate situation, she needs to convince Eri to come with her, actually get off the compound without getting caught, get to the base and convince Shiggy not to dust them both for messing up his plans. She can do that.
"Eri, do you still want to get out of here?"
She startles a little at that and searches Himiko's face, she tries her best to put on her nicest and least bloodthirsty smile, eventually she nods. Chisaki stole her big sister from her so she's going to steal herself a little sister from him. The best revenge, other than stabbing him, maybe.
"Alright, I'm going to carry you and you have to be really quiet, ok."
"ok."
-
Himiko starts to make her way out of the compound. It's getting to be early morning now, the early risers in the Yakuza will likely be stirring soon and she only has enough blood left in her syringe for less than a minute of disguise. She needs to be careful enough not to draw any attention and quick enough not to take too long. She can't depend on Kurogiri right now, she's got one shot and there's no going back if she screws up.
She's nearly to the surface when things start to go wrong, she hears footsteps and dashes into a nearby storage closet. Listening in reveals that they've realized Eri's gone again and are rushing through the compound trying to find her. She quickly takes stock of her surroundings and finds a small vent, not large enough for an adult but they're both just small enough to fit. She coaxes Eri in first and follows close behind. After getting thoroughly lost and uncertain how to proceed she manages to find a vent cover near a hidden stairwell and hurries Eri up the stairs. There must be a dozen secret exits and entrances around the seemingly innocuous home. Once she gets to the surface she can come up with a better plan. She uses the last of the blood to transform and peaks out the door, there's a dozen Yakuza standing around in the front yard and searching the bushes. Himiko's still formulating a plan when a boom shakes the surface. There's a massive commotion and suddenly the heroes are raiding the facility. A perfect distraction!
As the lackeys fight off the cops and heroes she takes her little charge and scrambles up the outer wall using all her skills to avoid being noticed. She spares a thought for Jin's safety and continues on her way.
-
Eri can't believe this is really happening. She can't remember anyone being so gentle to her as Deku was when he held her but she had to go back. He was going to kill the nice heroes and it would be all her fault! So she went back even though she didn't want to and cried when she remembered how kind he had been. She was scared when one of Chisaki's men came in only to reveal themselves to be someone named Himiko. She was nice too, she braided Eri's hair and said she hated Chisaki and offered to take her away.
Eri wasn't sure she really would but maybe if she's quiet and good at sneaking Chisaki won't find them and he can't hurt what he can't find. Her heart pounds so loud as they sneak around the compound, if he finds them he'll kill Himiko! So Eri wills her heart to be quiet.
Her stomach drops when she hears they know she's missing, they're not far enough, they'll be found! Maybe if she goes back Chisaki won't hurt Himiko. Before she can start to squirm Himiko urges her into a vent. She can't go back now so she hardens her resolve and tries to be brave.
-
She can't believe they made it out! Really out! She's never been this far from the compound before, it's amazing! Now that she isn't desperately running barefoot across the asphalt she can see so many things! Himiko carries her on her back through back alleys as she looks at her surroundings in awe. It smells kinda gross and it's really dingy but there's a scraggly cat on top of one of the dumpsters that hisses at her! She wants to pet it but Himiko keeps moving. There's a bird picking at something Eri can't identify in another alley, she wishes she knew what kind it was.
She's still afraid this is all a dream and she'll wake up alone in her room or that Chisaki will track them down but she feels safe on Himiko's back and she's asking questions to distract her. How old is she? Does she have a favorite color? Is she hungry?
The answer to the last question is yes, now that she thinks about it, she's hasn't eaten yet today and she's very hungry. Himiko smiles wide and shows off her fangs. It isn't a scary smile, it's nice. Himiko promised to bite anyone who's mean to her, no one's ever done that before. She sets Eri down next to a dumpster outside a convenience store and promises to be right back. Eri's nervous and scared to be left alone but she is hungry. Thankfully, Himiko comes back quickly with a prepackaged container of Onigiri. Eri gets first pick and It tastes amazing! If this is what being free is like she loves it!
Himiko keeps up a steady stream of chatter about all the fun things they can do together as they move on, Eri doesn't respond much, the stress of the escape finally getting to her and leaving her worn out and sleepy. Himiko doesn't seem to mind though, just speaks a little quieter, it's nice. Eri feels safer than she has in a long time. She could get used to this.
-
Tomura really isn't sure what he was expecting when he sent Toga and Twice to the Yakuza compound, it certainly wasn't Toga showing up on their doorstep when she is supposed to be with Overhaul with a small sleepy-looking child on her hip and a proud grin.
"I found a little sister!"
Oh, he'd better be getting a better explanation than that.
"What the fuck?"
Toga covers the kid's ears and lets out a scandalized gasp.
"Shiggy! No swearing around the little one!"
"Stop calling me that! Why are you here!? What have you been doing!? You're supposed to be with Overhaul! Did you STEAL a toddler!?!"
"Eri's not a toddler! She's six!"
"Same difference! Talk."
Tomura is slightly mortified to see the little girl flinch and hide her face in Toga's shoulder.
"Your scaring her! Shigaraki Tomura you apologize to Eri right now!"
Tomura doesn't have the presence of mind to be proud she said his name right as he scratches his neck and begrudgingly apologizes. This is ridiculous! He isn't good with kids. Toga nods, apparently satisfied and starts her winding tale of discovering the truth behind Chisaki's bullets. He only has to pull her back on track a couple times as she gets distracted talking about how "not cute!" something was or whatever goes on in her brain. Hearing about the abuse makes him start to scratch irritably again. He's honestly a little bit impressed she managed a difficult extraction mission on her own pretty much without her quirk. He'll have to keep that in mind for future missions.
"So you did steal a toddler."
"Details, details. Can we keep her? Pretty please!"
"She's not a stray cat! You can't just keep her!"
Fortunately, her attempts at puppy dog eyes are less effective when he's seen her stab multiple child abusers with nothing but a manic grin and a fork. Not to mention the fact he has had to hold her back from blowing their cover and stabbing a random cop so she could drink his "pretty blood." twice. Unfortunately, Eri studies Toga's face for a minute and attempts to copy her expression to much greater effect. Fuck.
"Ugh, fine, but only if Eri wants to."
She nods and he thinks he hears a quiet mumble about liking braids or something. If Toga's squeal and triumphant expression is anything to go by he did. Is this good leadership? Has he been undermined? Is he crumbling too quickly to his subordinate's demands? Whatever, something to think about later.
"I need to head out and meet with the others to deal with some... things. Stay here and try not to stab anything or steal any more kids."
As he turns to leave he hears a quiet whisper.
"Thank you Mr. Shiggy."
He turns back and awkwardly pats her head with four fingers, tries to think of a good response, gives up and just walks out instead. Well, there's another addition to the "reasons to fuck Overhaul up" list he supposes. No one in the league can stand child abusers. Ugh, what a disaster.