23A few weeks have passed since the USJ. By Master's orders, The League was told to hunker down and let the search party die down. During that time, the Sports Festival had continued despite controversy saying it should be canceled due to UA being invaded by villains.
Rei watched as her son almost won the event, but was just shy of first place when he was bested by Katsuki Bakugo in the final round. Rei was amazed by her son's performance, but was left speechless and nearly in tears when he used his fireside against Izuku Midoriya in the second round. It wasn't tears of anger or frustration that Rei was feeling. No. She was proud. Rei was proud of Shoto for using his fire. When she was still in the hospital, Fuyumi and Natsuo had informed her of Shouto never using his left side because he wanted to spite his father by becoming a hero without using his fire quirk. Rei understood her son's anger, but she would have told Shouto to use both of his quirks. If Shouto wanted to spite Enji the right way, he would accomplish everything he wanted too without fulfilling his father's wishes. Take everything you can from Enji, but slap him in the face as a thank you.
Currently, Rei was in Hosu City. She was tasked with finding the infamous Hero Killer. A task Rei wasn't so eager to perform for various reasons, but swallowed her fears and went anyway. Due to Rei's face being quite known because of Endeavor after her escape, Rei was forced to cover herself when she walked amongst the crowd to blend in. It was moments like these that made Rei wish she was able to feel normal again.
It was nighttime, and Rei was walking in the alleyways trying to see if she could catch him. The hero killer was hardly ever caught on camera, and when he was, he was usually in the shadows and off the streets. According to sources, he used to be called 'Stendhal,' but changed his name and attire after a one-sided fight that left him on the floor. It also changed his entire personality and views on society. His real name is still unknown, but that did not matter because it's his abilities that the League wants to recruit.
Rei was on her guard during her search. Alleyways are always dangerous, especially at night for that is where most fatal crimes happen. Rei was about to turn a corner when she heard voices talking. Quietly, Rei planted herself against a wall and listened in.
"Awww come on, babe, I'm willing to pay ya whatever you want for some fun." An older male voice said.
"No way. I already make enough money to live a good life." A disgruntled woman responded, "Now get away from me, creep." The woman said.
"Oh don't be like that," The male said with some aggressiveness in his voice, "You look like you could use some stress-relieving too."
"Hey!" The woman screeched, "Let go of me!" The woman grunted as her voice was suddenly muffled. Rei peaked the corner and saw the man had a hand over her mouth and was using his body to pin her against the wall. Not a second later, Rei stepped out of the corner, pointed a finger at him, and released a beam of ice. In a split second, the man was frozen still and encased in ice from head to toe. The woman was in shock as Rei walked over and moved the man from her.
"You okay?" Rei asked.
The woman looked shaken, but recovered enough to answer, "Uh yeah!" The woman quickly grabbed Rei's hand and shook it, "Thank you so much!"
Rei smiled back lightly, "Happy to help." The woman smiled back and left. When she was out of sight, Rei picked up her phone and called Kurogiri.
"Yes, Rei?" Kurogiri answered.
"I froze another one. You could take him to the lab." Rei said as a portal quickly opened and swallowed the frozen man whole. Rei hung up the phone and continued her search. "Damn, where can he be? I mean, he kills heroes, but what's his game? Does he kill at random, or is there a meaning behind his murders?" Rei asked herself before stumbling across a corpse. Rei backed up because she was still not used to seeing the dead in person. "Oh boy, what happened to you?" Rei asked before she noticed another body up ahead. Rei ran to the body and checked the pulse. Another dead person.
"Who killed these people?" Rei looked around and saw no one. The area seemed to indicate there was a struggle, but the amount of blood that was splattered around indicated that the fight was rather short. "Maybe the hero killer killed them. Probably got in the way." Rei flipped the body over and checked around for any slices in the skin. The file on the hero killer said he operated with blades, and the body had cuts all over him. It was when the moonlight passed over the body that Rei noticed something. The body was incredibly pale; almost pure white. Rei then noticed two little dots on the body's neck and inspected them. The dots were puncture wounds and had a small trace of blood coming from it.
Rei got up and backed away from the body, "Okay, that is not the Hero Killer's MO. This was someone or something else's work." Rei's senses suddenly flared as she activated her ice quirk and protected her back with a wall of ice. She felt something hit against her ice and a whine coming from the outside.
"Awwwwwww those were my favorite knives!" A young female voice said.
Rei ran out of the corner to face a new threat. It was a young girl dressed in a bloodied schoolgirl outfit with her hair styled in two buns and strands sticking out. She had eyes that resembled that of a cat and with a blush on her cheeks.
"Oooooh~" The girl cooed with a knife in hand, "Aren't you quite old to be looking for Mr. Stainy~"
"Excuse you?" Rei looked at her aghast, "I know I'm old, but that's rather rude to point it out."
The schoolgirl rolled her eyes along with her knife, "Easily offended, eh?" The schoolgirl then smiled crazily, "Well, you won't be offended for much longer~!"
Rei then pointed to the two bodies laying around, "Did you do this?"
"Yup~!" The girl proudly acknowledged. "Their blood was meh but still better than others I drank before."
Rei almost called her crazy, but after seeing too many cops show in her time in the hospital, she knew a little better than most. "Does it have to do with your Quirk?"
The girl looked surprised, "Wow! You guessed that right. Normally people just call me crazy, but I'm just lusting over blood 'cause of my Quirk." She then squealed, "I like you!"
"Uh…." Rei looked around for a moment, "Thanks?"
"You're welcome!" The girl then suddenly threw a knife at her, "Now I wanna taste your blood even more!" Rei quickly dodged the knife and fired ice at the girl. During the time in hiding, Rei underwent harsh training with Kurogiri to tighten up her skills. Though Rei is quite old and out of her prime, that didn't mean she couldn't learn how to fight.
The girl dodged the ice attack and ran up to Rei with two knives in hand. Rei dodged the attacks as best she could with some hits being able to slash her skin. The girl kept pushing her attack and changed her offense into stabbing motions. Rei took advantage of the opportunity, grabbed the girl's wrists, and froze them. Rei let the girl go as she looked at her hands and pouted.
"Damn it," The girl grumbled, "And I was sooooo looking forward to tasting your blood~."
"I know you said your Quirk makes you lust for blood, but that doesn't make you any less crazy," Rei said to her.
"I live life how I want to ~," The girl stated, "I'm given that right~."
"Like how I'm given the right to misuse my hand upside your head!" Rei remarked as the girl giggled.
"Awwwww did I scare you~?" She giggled, "I didn't mean too, I'm just jumpy~"
"Whatever." Rei signed and turned around to walk away.
"Wait, you're just gonna leave me here?" The girl asked.
"Yeah," Rei responded.
"But I'm defenseless now!" The girl shouted.
"And that's my problem, how?" Rei rhetorically asked.
"Um, look at me," The girl said, "A young, attractive girl, in a schoolgirl outfit with a short skirt mind you, unable to defend herself in an alleyway at night." The girl clicked her tongue a few times, "Many males, and some females, find this to be a dream come true."
Rei turned her head back to the girl and stared at her for a brief moment. On one hand, she didn't want to take the girl with her because she was a threat, but on the other hand, someone could violate her, possibly even kidnap her and who knows what other horrible deeds could happen. "Alright, fine," Rei said with a sign and motioned for her to follow her.
The girl squealed in delight and ran next to Rei with a big smile, "Yeeeeee! Not gonna get misused today!" Rei shook her head and walked down the path with this hyperactive bloodsucker next to her.
"So," The girl said while waving her frozen hands around, "What's your name~?"
"None of your concern," Rei responded
"Okay, fine, I'll go first~," The girl said, "My name is Himiko Toga~!"
"Himiko Toga?" Rei asked, "I think I heard a report a few years back about you."
Toga blinked in surprise once again, "Really?"
"Yeah, on the news." Rei answered, "You were reported as 'lost' by your parents, but some of the other parents spoke out against yours saying they were raising you to be a bloodsucker." Rei explained to her. "I thought that was just some kind of insult."
"Well, now you know that is true~!" Toga said with a happy sign, "I had a crush on this cute boy in middle school named Saito~! He was so handsome when he was covered in bruises and blood~! One day, I decided to get closer to him~."
"And you drank his blood?" Rei guessed.
"Yes~," Toga was now ecstatic, "I cut him with a box cutter, put a straw in his wound, and drank away~! I didn't kill him, but damn was it hot~!"
Rei took a couple of steps to the side as she was now very uncomfortable with this girl next to her, "Not the ideal way to express your love to someone."
"Oh, definitely not~!" Toga replied, "But it's how I wanted to do it~." Toga got closer to Rei with her smile still intact, "Soooooooo have you ever had a crush on someone~?"
"I did." Rei coldly replied, "I prefer not to talk about it."
"Okay then~." Toga said and began to hum to herself. "What are we doing exactly~?"
"Looking for the Hero Killer."
Toga gasped and shrieked in delight and began to jump in place, "So I was right! We're looking for Mr. Stainy~?!"
"More like me," Rei replied, "You're just with me because I would feel terrible if I let you be used without consent."
"But I'm here, soooooooooo…" Toga got uncomfortably close to Rei, "We're looking for him~"
"I'm two seconds away from freezing your feet and leaving you."
Shouto was dreading this decision but knew it was one he had no choice in the matter. When Midoriya made him realize that his fire was just as his own as his ice, he knew, at that moment, he had to get better with his fire. And, frustratingly, there was no better person than his father to show him how to utilize it to its fullest potential.
Shouto laid in bed thinking about his performance at the Sports Festival. He could have won easily outright if he had done his best, but the refusal to use his fire was holding him back, yet that wasn't the biggest factor in his loss against Bakugo. No, it was his family, specifically, his mother.
It has been weeks since her escape and the police have had no leads as to where she could be. That was; however, until the USJ.
Shouto felt chills sent down his spine and his mind only focusing on the figure who used their ice Quirk to get away with the other two.
After everyone was accounted for and taken for treatment, Detective Tsukauchi started to question everyone about the incident. When it was Shouto's turn, the very first question he was asked was about his mother and if they had heard from her. Shouto answered honestly and said no that neither his family nor himself have heard from her. As the questioning continued and more questions about his mother were asked here and there, Shouto said what he knew, but felt no were helpful in the slightest. Detective Tsukauchi revealed to Shouto that Hagakure and Ojiro were the only two students to be physically attacked by the ice user, but what caught the detective's attention was when Ojiro said that the villain was a person 'wanting to make up for past sins, but got caught up with the wrong crowd,' and Ojiro stated that the person sounded like an older woman.
Shouto couldn't finish the conversation and the detective excused him. Shouto's mind was falling apart. A woman with an ice quirk that was trying to make up for past deeds? It sounded too much like his mother.
When the news reached his siblings, they were just as stunned and hurt as Shouto was.
"No," Fuyumi desperately said, holding back tears, "It can't be her! It isn't mom! She wouldn't do anything like this!"
"Mom would never join villains!" Natsuo said, rubbing his hands through his hair, "She was never evil! She never did anything wrong other than hurt you, Shoto! What sins does she have to make up for?!"
Of course, their father wasn't the least bit disturbed by this news.
"Hmph." Enji scoffed, "I doubt it's your mother. She's too weak to be a threat; let alone be valuable to villains. And if it is her, then I'll treat her like the rest of them. A criminal."
Things were already tense in the family when Toya disappeared, and now the disappearance of their mother added so much turmoil to the three siblings. If there were any benefits from all of this it was that Natsuo got closer to Shouto and made more frequent calls and visits for him and Fuyumi.
"Mother…" Shouto whispered, "Where are you?"
Rei and Toga were back to back as a group of thugs surrounded them. The girls had walked into the wrong side of the alley and were met with rather crude comments. One of them was lewd enough to get Toga to smash her hands over one's head with such force that she freed herself from the ice and smashed the thug's skull in. That prompted the rest to become hostile and corner them.
"Ooooooooo looks like we're going to fight~," Toga said and whipped out her blood-stained knife with her left hand.
"Why did you have to provoke them?" Rei asked as the two women were back to back.
"He talked about my boobs," Toga growled, "They provoked me first."
And with that, the brawl started. Toga jumped on one of them and repeatedly stabbed him in the chest area. Rei froze one's feet and used his body to swing off and ram her feet into another thug. Toga leaped from the dead member and onto someone else's shoulders. She did a head-scissor leg lock, but instead of taking him down, she stabbed him in the head and jumped off quickly. Toga was then grabbed from behind. Toga flipped her knife in her hand and tried to stab the person behind her, but the man grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"Damn it!" Toga looked to Rei, who was busy freezing others completely, "Need some help!"
"Give me a second!" Rei replied and smashed two frozen thugs together as the ice shattered along with their bodies. Rei was then sucker-punched and fell to the floor. "Crap!" Rei tried to get up but felt a boot stomp on her back. Rei shouted and writhed in pain.
"Damn, you ladies are tough," A thug said, "But not tough enough despite having quirks. Time to die." The thug whipped a metal pipe out and ready to smash Rei's head in, but yelled out in pain as a knife suddenly went through his hand. The thug dropped the pipe and looked to Toga who used her other hand to throw it at him. Toga grimaced because that was her last knife, but had to save Rei if they had a chance to get out of here alive.
"Kill that b****!" The thug said and ripped the knife out of his hand. The one holding Toga wrapped his arm around her neck and began to choke her.
Rei looked over and saw what was happening. Rei focused a finger and shot an ice beam that narrowly missed Toga, but got the thug in the head. The frozen thug released Toga and fell back as Toga gasped and coughed for air.
"Shit!" The last thug said and unsheathed a machete from his back, "You b****** are going to pay for this!" He ran to Toga and viciously swung his blade. Toga swiftly dodged the blade and sliced the man on the side with her knife. Toga rolled to where Rei was and grabbed her other knife on the floor. Toga looked up as the two enemies faced one another and quickly ran to each other. The man swung his machete down to Toga and Toga blocked it with her knives as they surprisingly didn't break.
"Huh, more durable than I thought," Toga commented and broke the struggle. With speed, Toga sliced the thug in the stomach and chest. The thug curled inwards in pain and Toga twirled around him to his back. Toga jumped onto his back and stabbed him in his shoulder blades, twisting the knives in the process. The thug screeched in pain and reached back to Toga.
"Toga!" Rei shouted as she was now on her feet, "Jump!"
Toga ripped her knives out and jumped away as Rei froze the thug solid. When Toga landed, she noticed a brick next to her, picked it up, and chucked it at the frozen thug, breaking him into pieces completely.
"Pheeeeeeew~!" Toga giggled and licked her blades, "That was fun~!"
Rei was panting lightly as the fight took a toll on her body, "I think our types of fun are just slightly different."
"Really?" Toga asked with some hope.
"I was joking," Rei looked to Toga, "They are vastly different."
"Awwwwwww," Toga pouted, "You had my heart warmed up, but then 'froze it' solid."
Rei blinked, "Did you just try to make a pun out of me?"
"Mayyyyyyybe~" Toga giggled frantically.
Rei shook her head, "It was terrible." Rei wiped her forehead and looked to the dispatched gang. "Why did they rely on weapons and not Quirks? Were they all Quirkless?"
Toga grimaced slightly, "There have been rumors going around the underworld that people are being shot and are losing their Quirks. Apparently, someone's been able to figure out how to take away Quirks with a bullet." Toga's face then returned to its maniacal look, "But that's all it is, just a rumor."
Rei took note and made sure to tell the others when she gets back, but right now, Rei continued her path down the alleyway with Toga walking next to her. "They sent me out here to find the Hero Killer, but how do they expect me to find him when, according to our sources, no one's been able to find him?"
"You're probably taking this the wrong way." Toga said, "When I look for people, I tend to think of things they desire the most and look around in those places~." Toga licked her lips, "Then I suck them dry~! Literally~!" Toga's mouth drooled for blood.
"All he does is kill heroes!" Rei shouted, "What kind of heroes?! I don't know!"
"Lady," Toga looked at her and lost her lustful look, "Every villain has a reason to be what they are. We aren't mindless brutes…Well, not all of us, but those like Stainy have a reason. There is something we hate and we just want to destroy it. Those 'heroes' had done something to earn Stainy's attention. They all had something in common, but what is it? I don't know and I don't care to know, but if I were you, I'd try to figure that out. Why did Stainy hunt them down specifically?"
Rei was surprised by Toga's logical thinking. Regardless of being a psychopath with a bloodlust that will never be quelled, she had a brain. That made Rei a little terrified of Toga. The most dangerous kinds of villains are the ones who want nothing more than destruction but are intelligent too. She'd probably be a perfect fit for the league if Shigaraki takes her in.
Rei stopped and began to think to herself about what all the heroes had in common with each other. All of them were of different ages, some were veterans and some were just getting their careers started. The Hero Killer didn't discriminate either as some were of a different color, different culture, different gender, and either had or did not have a mutation. All were famous, but for the wrong reasons too.
Rei's eyes lit up. Each of them was coated in controversy, and not just any run of the mill that comes with every hero, they each had a major controversy such as robbery, battery, abuse, sexual crimes, and even casualties whether they be villains, civilians, or other heroes. They all had done something horrible that they got away with or given light sentences.
That was the common denominator! They all had some sort of criminal record!
"I figured it out!" Rei said and turned to Toga, who was drinking blood from a dead carcass that Toga had just killed.
"What?" Toga looked up to Rei and held the neck of the body closer to her mouth like a child would with a cookie.
"Can't you go one second without killing someone and drinking their blood?!" Rei vexed.
"Nope~!" Toga responded and continued to drink.
Rei let out an annoyed sigh and rubbed her temples, "Regardless, I know how to find the Hero Killer now."
Toga dropped the body and was now in Rei's face, "You do~?!"
Rei gently pushed Toga away from her, "Yes, but finding him is going to be tough. We need to find a hero with a criminal record and hope Stain targets him or her."
"You mean like Endeavor?" Toga asked.
Rei froze up at the name and her expression quickly turned to anger, "Oh he better not go after Endeavor! That's my kill!"
"Your kill?" Toga curiously questioned.
"Yes!" Rei growled, "My kill. I will kill him. I hate that man with a passion you would not understand. He ruined everything in my life." Rei quickly let her anger go and refocused on Stain, "Go back to your body; I need to make a call." Toga happily skipped back to the body to drink from it again as Rei pulled out her phone and called Kurogiri.
"Yes?" Kurogiri answered.
"I know how to find the Hero Killer, but I need help." Rei said, "I need to know the whereabouts, time tables, and whatever you can give me of every hero with a criminal record. The singular common factor in the Hero Killer's kills is that all of them have had run-ins with the law and all were pretty heavy crimes."
"How did you figure that out?" Kurogiri was impressed and stunned, "Shigaraki and I haven't been able to find the answer, yet you were able too."
"Every villain has a reason to be what they are. His was to kill every hero that wasn't pure." Rei stated.
Kurogiri hummed at the response, "We all have reasons, that is true. I won't say you're right about your guess, but I can't say you're wrong either. Alright. I'll bring you back because this is going to take a while to gather and we can't risk you getting into trouble."
"Then why did you send me out in the first place?!" Rei rubbed her face and let out a big sigh, "Okay." Rei turned to Toga, "Oh, and Kurogiri. I think I found a possible candidate for the League. She aided me in a fight against a gang and she was able to hold her own. This girl is insane but collected enough to be cooperative and a team player. I may not have been a villain for a long time like you two and Master, but I can see this one has the potential to be a prime member of the League."
Kurogiri was silent for a bit, but then spoke, "Master says to convince her to come, but if you can't, then leave her."
"Master said that?" Rei was surprised. Master wouldn't involve himself without reason, but Rei wasn't going to question his word, "Okay. Make me a portal in a minute." Rei hung up and turned to Toga as she was finishing up her meal. "Toga." The young girl looked up from her kneeling position, "I'm going to be teleported away by a friend of mine, but I want you to come with me. We're a group and we could use someone with your skill."
Toga looked to be in thought before shaking her head, "Pass."
Rei turned her body towards Toga, "I haven't even said why I do."
"And you haven't even told me your name." Toga retorted. "How do you expect me to follow you if you won't meet me halfway? I told you my name and you didn't give me yours."
"Would it make you feel better if I did?" Rei rolled her eyes once again.
"Yes~," Toga placed her hands on her chin and watched.
Rei knew Toga was enjoying this but decided to go with it regardless. "My name is Rei Todoroki."
"Oh, I know that already~" Toga responded.
"What?!" Rei took a step back and grew furious, "If you knew my name then why did you ask for it?!"
"To see if you trust me~." Toga let out a pleasing sign and stood up, "And you never did, not even now you do. You're just saying it now because you really, really want me to join you~." Toga skipped to Rei and stopped several feet in front of her, "Right~?"
Rei glared at Toga for a moment before letting her anger go and waving Toga off, "Yes, fine, but how did you know who I was?"
"It's kinda hard to miss when you're being hunted for by not only the police," Toga then got closer, "But even by your hubby~." Toga's lips grew into a maniacal grin, "He's mad looking for you, Rei~."
Rei has heard what Enji has had to say about her in the news. It pisses Rei off so much by how much he bad-mouthed her to the public, but it makes her even angrier to see the populace believe him when he says Rei is a crazed woman on the loose and should be treated with hostility if found.
"Tell me, Rei," Toga got closer to Rei, "Does the League want me, or do you want me~?" Toga questioned, "Because I'm leaning towards the latter~."
"I want you," Rei admitted, "I want you to aid me in subduing Endeavor." Rei then pointed to herself, "But I get to kill him!"
"Fine~" Toga said as a portal opened near the two. Toga looked to the portal then back to Rei, "But there better be lots of stabbing and killing~"
And with that, both females walked into the portal, not noticing a figure watching from above them.
"The wife of Endeavor?" The figure spoke with disdain when the hero's name left his mouth. The figure watched the portal close before looking over his shoulder to the dead hero he had killed before the duo walked into his sights, "She could be the key in taking him down."
I honestly don't know what curse words I can use and cannot use on a Rated: T story on here. If someone could give me a list or help me in anyway, that would be most appreciated.