BNHA: Undying (Ch 28) (Patreon)

It’s been about a week since Himi and I have joined the League, and I’ve been stuck on a certain question she asked me. Even now, while I’m training with one of the people AFO hired to boost my combat capabilities.

I jump back, dodging the bumper that would have launched me into the wall. I know from experience that it would have at least cracked a rib. At least I still would have been able to fight, if they’d gone for my head it would have snapped my neck and killed me. I also know this from experience.

This trainer has a quirk that’s apparently often compared to pinball machines. They can transform their arms into something similar to the bumpers that the ball bounces off of. And just like those bumpers, they’ll launch back whatever they hit with a sizable force which is further enhanced by the size difference.

This trainer is supposedly training me to help deal with quirks that only affect a person’s body, which basically means that I have to hit them before they hit me. So dodging and quick attacks. And since they don’t have to hold back in fear of killing their student (well, permanently at least) I’m told that I’m progressing at an impressive rate.

Of course, that doesn’t help if I’m distracted, as shown by my now broken arm. Still though, I managed to twist it so they missed the elbow they were aiming at, so I can count that as a minor win. But instead of pressing the attack, they stop.

“Ok, what’s on your mind?” They question me. “It’s clear that something’s bothering you, and if it gets you killed here I won’t be able to enjoy my break in peace.”

I sigh. The guy training me really enjoys the fact that he’ll get long breaks every time he manages to kill me, but for some reason he won’t be satisfied unless he ‘earns’ them. I guess an outside distraction means he didn’t earn it.

“Well, now that my girlfriend-,” I blush at calling Himi my girlfriend, it just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside! Or it could be internal bleeding. “-and I have joined a villain organization, she decided that I should choose a villain name. I’ve been having a hard time deciding.”

They nod in understanding, which makes me relieved that I’m not overthinking it. “It’s good not to rush it. There’s a lot to be said for a name. For heroes, it’s supposed to give people hope. For villains, to inspire fear. Though if you go for something too ostentatious you’ll probably be turned into a joke by the internet. Especially if you don’t manage to live up to it.”

I nod, remembering one villain who called themselves ‘Ultimate Arsenal of Unlimited Weapons’. Admittedly their quirk was good: being able to conjure any kind of weapon into their hand with a gesture. The downside was that it was just the weapon, and they could only conjure one thing for each hand. And they couldn’t go farther than ten feet away from them or they disappeared.

So guns weren’t really useful, and any kind of bomb would have ended up hurting them as well. Really, they were a low-tier villain who relied on intimidation and bluffs to rob banks and scare away low-ranked heroes. When a hero with the guts to actually stand up to them confronted them, they got beat super easily. Apparently they hadn’t even been training to use the weapons that would have been useful in close-quarters!

Anyways, with the truth of their quirk revealed, the internet was quick to mock them. From editing videos to make fun of their quick loss to a rookie hero ,to memeing their quirk and name, nothing was forbidden. I won’t go into details, but let's just say that they couldn’t bear the shame of what people photoshopped them summoning and killed themselves in prison.

And that’s just one example of naming gone wrong. There are plenty of times villains have been laughed into submission by civilians after saying their name. Usually they’re practically begging the police to take them away in those cases.

I’m pulled away from the potential problems the wrong villain name could cause me when he continues talking. “Of course, you could always go simple. Like me; my quirk treats whatever I hit with it like a pinball, so that’s what I decided to call myself. Pinball.”

He chuckles. “Doesn’t hurt that it’s fun when heroes expect me to be the pinball only to find out that it’s them. Anyways, you could always base your name off your appearance if you have a certain look you always wear. Or even whatever fighting style you use. Maybe use ‘jump’ or ‘bounce’ in your name since you’re always jumping around.”

“Hmm… Jumping… or maybe hopping…” Something about that tickles my brain, but what is it? As I think about why it seems familiar, my eyes are drawn to my jacket hanging by the door. Specifically on the hood, where the ears trail down…

Suddenly, I nod, startling my instructor. Which makes me realize that I’ve been thinking for about twenty minutes. “I know what I want my villain name to be. I just hope Himi likes it.” I look at my instructor with determined eyes. I was told today’s training wouldn’t end until I manage to get one serious hit on him without dying, and now I’m more determined than ever to do so.

I ready my knife, taking a loose stance with my knees bent and ready to launch myself in any direction. If I’m choosing that as my villain name, then I should live up to it. “Let’s get this over with. I’ve got a villain name to announce.”

`~`

“I’ve decided that my villain name will be Midosagi.” Himi just looks at me, her eyes a bit unfocused and her nose twitching cutely. Now that I’ve got rabbits on the brain, I’m really tempted to pet it.

“Eep!” She lets out a cute noise and pulls her head back, squinting her eyes at me. “What was that for!?”

I giggle as I pull my finger back. “When you smell good blood, your nose twitches and wiggles. It’s adorable and I couldn’t resist.”

She huffs with crossed arms. “Maybe warn a girl next time! I thought you were going to pick my nose!”

I roll my eyes before returning to the start of the conversation. “I decided on my villain name. I want it to be Midosagi. Green Rabbit.”

She tilts her head at my choice. “How come? I could see you choosing something like Midoriya because ‘green’ describes you pretty well, or Usagi because you’re like a rabbit, but combining the two?” She shakes her head. “That feels like you’re too on the nose. I feel like Chusagi would be much better!”

I roll my eyes before grinning. “You’re just saying that because it means Blood Rabbit. No…” I grin as my mind takes me back to my childhood, to thinking up hero names with Izumi. No matter what name either came up with for either ourselves, each other, or for our team, there would always be one thing that tied them together.

Midori means green, which is the color of both our hairs. Hers long and straight like our mother’s. Mine compact and curly, which I’m told resembles my grandfather’s, though he died long before I was born.

“Midori means green, but for Izumi and I it meant much more. It meant that we’d become heroes. That we’d have each other’s backs.” I feel an odd wetness trailing down my cheeks as I explain, my grin still present.

“Midori meant that no matter what happened, we’d always be tied together in both of us being ‘green’. So now…” My hands clench into fists as my grin turns into a snarl. “Now she’ll know that no matter what happens in the future, no matter what she manages to accomplish. She’ll know that she is connected to a villain. One that she helped to make.”

I feel Himi wrap her arms around me and I cry into her hair, sobs wracking through me. “I-I-I don’t know why I’m c-crying! I hate her! I hate my parents! I hate Kachan! I hate all of the people at my school who tortured me! I hate the neighbors who would throw bottles at me! So why…”

I whisper the question before it’s ripped from my throat like a gong, filling her room and bursting into the hallway through the open door. “WHY DO I MISS HER!? IT’S STUPID! I MAKES NO SENSE! I HATE HER! BUT I MISS HER! WHY!? WHY, WHY WHY WHY!?!?!?!?”

With each word, my screams die down more and more until I’m whispering. The last words before I’m engulfed in the darkness of blissful unconsciousness barely a breath in her ear. “Why do I still think of her as my sister?”

`~`

Two days after my… I wouldn’t say breakdown, but unloading my emotions in a loud and dramatic fashion, I find Himi missing and training canceled for the day. It’s weird since I’ve had training every day since we’ve gotten here, so the sudden change is making me nervous.

More than that, Shigaraki invited me to play video games with him, but he hasn’t tried to kill me a single time! Not even when I blue-shelled him in Mario Kart! THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON TODAY AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT!!

Thankfully the weird day is almost over, but as I sit down at the bar to eat a bowl of Katsudon I can’t help but be disappointed that Himi hasn’t been around. I don’t think I’ve ever gone a full day without seeing her ever since we met. The fact that she hasn’t been around at all today is making me worried that she’s getting tired of me.

Who am I kidding, she probably is. I’m me, after all. The whole reason she originally stayed with me is because she likes how my blood tastes. Did she find someone else whose blood tastes like cinnamon rolls? Is she going to replace me!? Maybe she found someone who tastes better, or she’s just tired of cinnamon rolls! I know that people get tired of eating the same thing over and over again, so it’s not hard to believe that she’s not all that interested in cinnamon rolls anymore. Not to mention- *Thunk*

“Ow!” I turn around with a happy smile on my face which turns into a laugh at seeing a familiar frying pan in the hand of an overly muscled white-haired man. It looks like a toy in Himi’s hands already, but now it’s practically lost in her palms!

They roll their eyes before their skin starts to slough off, though the oversized clothing remains meaning that she probably took them off the guy for some reason. Not that I’m complaining, the loose clothes hanging off her petite frame is quite the sight. Not that I get to enjoy it much since I’m slapped in the face with a frame holding a piece of paper.

Having achieved her purpose, Himi runs off to her room to get changed into her usual clothes, throwing a casual “Happy Birthday!” over her shoulder as she does.

“Wait.” I blink. “Birthday?” Blink, blink.

Shigaraki puts a package in front of me, grumbling his own “Happy birthday, Glitch” before giving a quick explanation about how the League armored up my villain outfit so I’m less likely to die. But I’m not really listening as I process what they both said. I blink a few times before realization hits.

I jumped in April.

Three months have passed.

My birthday is in July.

Today is July fifteenth.

My birthday is July fifteenth.

…

“I FORGOT MY BIRTHDAY AGAIN!!”

“Again?” Questions Kurogiri, causing me to sheepishly rub my head.

“Uh, yeah. See, the Yagi family never celebrated my birthday after I was diagnosed as quirkless. Which is dumb because they always made a big deal out of Izumi’s birthday, who is my twin. Meaning we have the same birthday. So eventually I ended up just forgetting about it. Though occasionally one of them would leave some cake in front of my bedroom door, so that was nice.”

I think he nods before pulling out a notepad and a pen. “Remind me, what is the location of your previous residence?”

Before I can tell him, we’re interrupted by Himi barreling back into the room and bouncing in front of me. “Did you look at it!? Did you see it!? Do you like it!? I made sure to plan out the whole thing so nobody would notice! I didn’t even kill the guy I disguised myself as and dumped a bunch of booze on him so he would just think he was drunk! So, do you like it!?”

Taken aback by how proud she seems to be, I take a proper look at what she gave me. It’s just a framed document. But seeing what’s on the document, I feel tears coming to my eyes.

It’s a name-change document. More than that, it says that the change would be applied to my birth certificate as well! No longer am I Izuku Yagi. Now I am-

“Izuku Midoriya Usagi.” I whisper, touched at the gesture. Not only do I no longer share a name with those people, but she even took into consideration my strange interest in maintaining a connection with my sister!

“Th-thank you, H-Himi. I love it.” I smile at her through my tears, more grateful than ever that she found me that day.