It only takes a few days to wear Shiggy down enough to agree to let them go shopping after Eri's kidnapping/rescue/theft. Himiko works hard to be just persistent enough to make her point but not so persistent as to ruin her chances. She's very careful, Shiggy's been especially irritable lately now that they've lost Kurogiri too, and unlike what people might think, Himiko does know when not to push.
Finally she triumphs as he throws up his hands and says "FINE, but you're on your own, I'm not wasting league money on glitter skirts or whatever!" Eri looks quietly excited and Himiko enlists Jin to come with. He's been hyping himself up ever since they were introduced but hasn't managed to actually try talking to Eri outside of their initial introductions. Himiko knows he's scared she won't like him, but there's no need to worry! Jin's her friend and he wouldn't hurt Eri, they'll be fine.
Himiko's been stealing blood from random men passed out drunk in alleyways in preparation for this ever since she brought Eri back with her. She hates the taste of it but if they don't realize what happened they won't report anything to the police. She could just kill them but if the body gets found too soon there's a possibility she gets caught. So, gross alcohol blood it is. Eri's worth it anyway.
She helps Jin disguise himself, it's a little difficult since he needs to cover his head to feel stable but they manage to make him look only mildly suspicious and not is that Twice from the LOV suspicious. She puts Eri's hair in a low bun and finds an old straw hat and a little cloth mask to hide her face from security cameras in case anyone's still looking for her. Satisfied, they head out and make it to the mall. One benefit of her current disguise Himiko is loving is how easy it is to balance Eri on her shoulders.
-
Eri looks at everything in awe, her eyes wide with excitement and flicking back and forth. She shyly asks about all sort of things, slowly coming out of her shell.
"What's that?" She gasps suddenly, pointing at a colorful street vender.
"They're selling sweet treats! Do you want one Eri?"
She nods shyly.
"Do you know what you want?"
"no, I don't think I've ever had one." she shakes her head.
Himiko's eyes widen as she gets a great idea on how to get Jin and Eri to open up to each other.
"Jin! Get Eri a treat!" She points dramatically at the cart.
"What!?"
"You'll be fine! Go!"
Eri looks at the cart longingly.
"Fine! I'll get her something amazing! She'll hate it, this sucks!"
They watch from the side as he deliberates and debates with himself over what to get, trying his best and failing to be subtle as he puts all his efforts into finding something Eri will like. Once he seems to come to a conclusion, Himiko covers Eri's eyes and waits for him to come back over.
"Tada! Look Eri, Jin got you a candy apple!"
Her eyes sparkle as she delicately takes it and shyly thanks him.
"I hope you like it Eri! Eat dirt for all I care!"
Her eyes are huge and happy as she munches on her treat. She hasn't smiled at all since she was rescued but Himiko doesn't mind. She used to have trouble smiling too. She much prefers Eri expressing her joy with her eyes over a fake approximation of a smile. They'll help her find her real smile, even if most people think it's a little scary. Jin seems to agree as he celebrates his success in his own way.
Eri leans over and pats him on the head from Himiko's shoulders and offers him some of her apple only a little reluctantly. When he declines she tells him all about how good it tastes and they start to chatter comfortably. Himiko's so glad they get along! She knew they would!
-
Finally arriving at a clothing store they head straight to the children's section. Himiko goes wild, cute girly outfits, practical outfits to play in, casual clothes. She makes sure to ask Eri what she thinks often, she still has trouble expressing her opinions and Himiko would hate to pressure her new little sister. Her comment about red seems to have really gotten through though as Eri agrees to lots of pretty red items.
Jin keeps Eri entertained while Himiko hunts for the perfect selection. They get a few glances but no one's concerned enough to do anything about the strange trio, especially after seeing how obviously doting the "adults" are.
Eventually, Himiko is satisfied with her choices. She's mapped out all the exits and stuffed their items into some bags Jin brought. She just needs to figure out how to get their bags out of the store without paying or attracting attention. Eri begins to lean on Jin in exhaustion as they hide out in one of the changing rooms, struggling to keep her eyes open.
Without warning the power goes out, perfect! Himiko doesn't know why that happened but she's not about to question it. She quickly gives her companions instructions to go out the back door near the break room. She needs to grab some hair ties before they leave. They're easy to lose and Himiko's running a little low. She drinks a new vial of blood since there's no need to worry about security cameras right now and heads back out.
-
Unfortunately, the situation is a little more complicated than a lucky power outage. There's a group of 3 men with a gun holding up the clerk and leering at the customers. There's another guy holding a little girl hostage nearby. A little girl who looks an awful lot like Tsu! Maybe Tsu has a little sister too! She should ask her the next time they talk! They could bond! Hopefully she won't be as uncooperative next time they see each other.
She could probably just leave and meet up with Jin and Eri, no one's spotted her yet. But she doesn't like little girls being hurt, those guys are totally out of line and maybe Tsu would like it if she saved the little frog girl. Friends save other friend's maybe sisters right?
Cataloging her knives she comes to her decision and sneaks off to the side, dropping her transformation among the clothing racks.
"WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG!"
"I'm sorry! I'll go faster!"
"You better!"
The clerk is shaking and crying so hard she's having a hard time opening the cash register. The men holding her up are getting dangerously impatient and the other hostages aren't doing anything beyond whispering about how long it's taking the heroes to arrive. Himiko can't get close to them, they're too out in the open, but she can get over to the little girl and the man holding her with electricity dancing between his fingers. He must have caused the power outage. The little girl is crying too but stills when Himiko catches her eye. She smiles and waves at her before putting her finger to her lips and making a shushing motion.
She gets a subtle little nod from the trembling child in return and smiles a little more genuinely in response.
There's a commotion as the clerk finally gets the register open and the hostage taker turns just enough that Himiko makes the final dash over without his noticing. Her first action is to yank the kid out of his hands and throw them behind her. She's pretty sure she remembers someone saying plastic doesn't conduct electricity so she uses a knife with a plastic handle to stab him before he can fully retaliate. It works! He stumbles, clutches the wound in his side and she easily dodges his clumsy attacks.
Electricity guy is pretty much out of the picture now but his friends have started to close in. She takes a second to check on the little girl and finds her nowhere to be seen, good, she's a sensible kid. Refocusing on her opponents she sends out a couple of her throwing knives, aiming for a guy with a cheetah mutation first. If there's a speed aspect to his quirk, he'll need to be dealt with quickly. Her aim serves true and she hits his leg and shoulder.
Next she needs to deal with the gun.
"Wait a second, I know you! you're with the league of villainy or whatever right? Why are you tryna to stop us? You gone soft?"
Himiko pulls her most innocent expression, putting a finger to her chin and seeming to consider it. She stays alert at all times and sees the moment his expression turn triumphant. Choosing that moment to respond.
"I just think you guys are totally lame! like, robbing a retail store? that's so boring! Try a bank. Besides, the heroes haven't even shown up yet and the league is all about shaking up society, right? Maybe I want to show all these nice people how incompetent they are. Maybe I just want to drink your pretty blood. Maybe I'm pissed you interrupted my shopping. Quite frankly it's none of your business why!"
He's clearly a little thrown by her answer and giddy smile but maintains his confident aura. As soon as he makes a subtle signal to his partner she jumps to the side, avoiding a rather nasty looking beam of energy the other guy must have been building up. He starts to panic and tries to get a shot in, aiming wide and hitting a pillar instead.
Dropping into a roll Himiko dashes forward and slashes at the apparent leader with the gun, cutting a deep gash across his chest. He must not have a physical quirk if he's relying on his partners and a gun.
His remaining partner is clearly panicking as well, unable to send another blast with his buddy in the way. Another knife has him surrendering and begging for mercy. What an amateur outfit. Oh well, That just makes Himiko's life easier. She bounces over to the check out and finds something to tie them up with.
Finally, she grabs the hair ties she was looking for and makes her escape out the back leaving a group of bewildered shoppers and would be robbers behind.
"Bye-bye! Tell the heroes I said hi!"
Before meeting back up with Jin and Eri she makes her way to a nearby security room. It's empty, probably because of the robbery and after checking labels and ensuring it connects to the store they were in, she destroys the security equipment. The cameras stopped working after the blackout but she wouldn't be surprised if the heroes went back and tried to figure out what she was doing in a clothing store and who she was disguised as. There's no need for them to find out about Eri or gain any clues just because she was feeling a little impulsive.
-
By the time she makes it to the meeting place, Jin is obviously distressed. He's arguing with himself about whether to go back or leave her and growing more agitated by the second. Eri's not doing good either, looking to be on the brink of tears. She's quick to reassure them and try to calm them down, feeling terrible for stressing them out. She winds up promising Eri more candy apples and Jin to be more careful.
To make up for stressing them out she runs off and gets Takoyaki from a nearby street vender, on the way she chances a glance at the store and sees the little girl she saved standing next to a relieved looking older woman who must be her mother and Tsu! It takes all her willpower not to go closer. She was right about her being Tsu's little sister! How exciting! But she must not draw attention, so pouting a little, she leaves them be.
She satisfies herself with regaling her companions with tales of fighting off the robbers, toned down slightly for Eri's sake, and her exciting discovery of Tsu's little sister. Eventually moving on to how cute Eri will look in her new outfits. Somewhere along the way, Eri drifts off on Jin's shoulder and she giggles at the sight. So cute!
-
Less cute is an obviously less than pleased Shigaraki meeting them at the door with his arms crossed.
"So... I let you go shopping right?"
She does her best innocent nod with her hands clasped behind her back. Jin steps around her to take Eri up to her room, the traitor.
"What part of that and lay low for a while didn't get through to you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about Shiggy."
"don't fucking-" he narrows his eyes at her, "you know exactly what I'm talking about Toga. Why am I hearing about you stopping robberies from Spinner? I told you not to draw attention to yourself."
"But Shiggy..."
"Don't you but Shiggy me."
"I saw Tsu's little sister and I couldn't just leave her, that could put a strain on our relationship!"
"What relationship!? I don't care about your obsessions Toga-"
"Meanie!"
"Whatever, you need to be more careful! We can't get caught just because you saw some random kid!"
Himiko grumbles some rather unpleasant things about their leader as he throws up his hands and stalks off. He just doesn't understand!
At least they got Eri clothes. She walks up to her room where Eri's been staying on a spare futon and makes sure Jin tucked her in properly. She'll have to make sure to lay low for awhile to keep Shiggy happy. Maybe she can convince Mr. Compress to sneak them a cat, that might be fun.