AMP Chapter 49 Sneak Peek

Yeah, sorry. Chapter's still not done yet. Getting there though. By the end of the month.

But, I do want to share something.

I want Tomura to have moments like these with all of the main League members. I want to showcase him not just growing as a leader of these outcasts, but show him growing to legitimately care about them.

Originally I was gonna have a lot of them happen during the License Exam, because I'll be honest, that arc isn't particularly interesting. Having all this other good stuff to cut to will definitely help me actually fill out the chapters with meaningful scene.

That being said, Toga is clearly busy during that time, so hers is coming in the next chapter. This moment actually will lead to Toga (as Camie) asking Izuku and Kyouka about how they see quirks with negative side effects, could possibly be viewed negatively, discrimination, etc.

And, when they obviously answer perfectly, it'll just drive her love (obsession) for them further.

                                                                                    …~AMP~...

(Unknown Location: Abandoned Satellite Base)

Tomura yawned, cracking his neck as he reached the balcony. He looked down at the rest of his compatriots, those who were awake anyway. Twice, Spinner, and Compress sat around the center table, eating whatever food they had scrounged together from their grocery run (robbery).

Kurogiri had set up crates, tablecloths, and cutting boards in his own little corner of the main floor, creating a surprisingly decent kitchen area. Unfortunately his “stove” was four hot plates shoved together, and his oven was an air fryer, but it would do for now.

Tomura made it downstairs, grabbing a box of cereal as he walked past their pile of goods. He opened it up, pouring some into his palm as he sat on the back of their couch, “Kurogiri, did you manage to find Giran?”

Kurogiri pulled a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket and sent it through a small portal, letting it drop onto the table. 

Tomura set the box down and picked up the paper, smiling at the contents inside once unfolded. “Perfect.”

Twice put his plate down, nodding up at the paper, “What’s that, boss?”

“The files of the Tartarus guards you’ll be replacing. Compress, when we’re ready, I’ll need you to go with Twice and Toga to their addresses. Once blood has been taken and measurements made, keep ‘em sealed up. At least until our new potential friend has been broken out. And...Speaking of which, where is Toga? She’s always up early.”

While the rest shrugged, Kurogiri called over from his kitchen, “I believe I heard her step outside.”

Tomura hummed in thanks, setting his box down and walking towards the front entrance. Once through the front office and the door, he took a breath of fresh air. Kurogiri, Compress and Magne had done a pretty good job cleaning up the place, but he wasn’t sure anything was gonna get rid of that musty smell. He looked around the opening of their little base, the massive radar looming above their concrete brick of a home. They were surrounded by miles of forest, so chances of any random citizens showing up was slim-to-none.

It was a good spot. He had already spent years living in a forest, so it was comforting in a way. At night, even through thick concrete walls, he could hear bugs and rustling leaves, animals crying out in pain…

Wait, what?

Tomura turned towards the sound, heading into the forest. The squeals were getting closer, but weaker. It could be an animal taking care of its prey, but he had a strong feeling it was something else. Or, someone.

So, really the same thing.

He pushed his way through the bushes, finding another small clearing. Only this one was occupied. 

He found Himiko, drinking the blood from a very recently killed deer. Her fangs were sunk into a portion of its neck where she seemingly had cut away the fur to better reach the skin. She seemed to be breathing heavily as she drank, almost like she was desperately trying to chug it down.

“Those are considered sacred, you know?” Tomura didn’t even flinch as a startled Himiko’s knife flung back and hit the tree next to his head. “Not to mention diseases and all that.”

“I could’ve killed you!” Himiko growled, wiping blood away from her chin. Her typical blushing was different than normal. Was she…embarrassed?  

“Nah, you threw the knife early once you realized who I was. You’ve got crazy reflexes. Speaking of your unexplained skills, you’re always the one silently sneaking around. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you startled before.”

Himiko grumbled, turning back to the deer, but not continuing her feast, “I was distracted, okay? I didn’t expect anyone to follow me out here.”

Tomura stepped closer to her, looking down at the deer, “And I didn’t expect to find this. But, I was looking for you. We were going over some details about the Nagant Heist.”

“Mm…”

Tomura raised a brow, peering down at her noncommittal response, “...Is that okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“...Uh-huh. You know, looking back on it, you barely said a word when I introduced this plan. You’ve been surprisingly disinterested this time around. You’re usually more excited. Got something against it?”

“What? No.”

“Is it Nagant?”

“No!”

“The HPSC?”

“...No.” Well, there it was. Interesting. Very, very interesting. He’d let it slide for now, you couldn’t push too hard. Especially not with this colorful cast of reprobates. But, it seemed his files on Toga were more incomplete than he thought. “Can I please get back to my deer? I have to finish this.”

“You have to? Wait a second, why are you doing this in the first place? I thought your quirk only worked on people.”

“It does.”

“But-? Do…Do you need blood?”

Himiko squinted at him, not quite sure how to respond, “Uh…Yeah?”

“No, I know you need it for your quirk. What I mean is, do you need blood to function? As in, you crave it? If you go a while without blood, do you start going crazy…-er?”

“Kinda, yeah.” Toga wiped away the blood on her hands, throwing her cardigan back on. “I’ll be fine, though. I won’t get in the way of your plans or nothing. I’ll find some more animals.”

“No, no, hold on. If you need blood, I’ll get you blood. I can get Giran to divert some stuff from a blood drive, maybe? Hospitals? Or-”

“I’m fine,” Himko cut him off, a bit curtly and out of character. “I can handle it.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Tomura rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, though. Not a fan of animal blood? Just doesn’t quite suit your needs?”

Himiko sighed, looking back down at the dead dear. She shrugged, reaching down to pet the carcass, “It gets the job done.”

“That’s a resounding ‘no’. Listen, I can help. Besides, I don’t want you killing any more animals.”

Himiko seemed to tense up, just barely. If Tomura had blinked, he would’ve missed it. “You like animals?”

“I like dogs. And…And, they’re innocent, I guess. They didn’t do anything, hurt anyone. They’re better than us, that’s for sure.” Tomura dared to walk closer, pocketing his hands as he looked down at the deer, “Something the matter? You’re not being your usual bubbly, psycho-crazy.”

“I don’t…like people seeing me drink blood.” Himiko nodded down at the deer, “Not like this, anyway.”

“You bit Dabi in the first week of joining us.”

“That was different. He was being an asshole.”

“If that’s the case, then I’m surprised he’s not covered in teeth marks twenty-four/seven.” 

Himiko giggled, but her look turned vacant again. She pulled her knife– one out of God knows how many— out of the carcass, twirling the blade in her hands as she stared at the crimson staining the metal. “When I was little, I would kill animals and drink their blood. At the time, I didn’t realize it was a craving. My parents got mad, or…disgusted, more like. I always felt ashamed. I guess that feeling never fully went away.”

Tomura pursed his lips as he dug his foot into the dirt, “I get it. You got no fucking idea how much. I’m not gonna go into that story. But, to be fair to the Sharing Circle, I’ll say one thing. When I was a kid, I was moved to the woods to live and train in secret. My master had me train my quirk on animals he caught. I would beg to just train on objects, or already dead animals. He refused, I relented. Sometimes we do things we’re ashamed of, but sometimes we don’t have a choice. Sometimes our choice is taken away. You came here to live in a world that’s easier for you to live in, and that starts here. You don’t have to be ashamed of a damn thing. Not around us.”

Himiko looked up, no longer spinning her knife. A smile slowly grew on her face as she nodded, “...Thanks.”

“Not a problem.”

“...Do you think Izu-kun and Kyou-kun would find it gross?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.”

“I’m just asking!”

“I don’t eve-...Anyway, there’s another guy I can go to. He…He doesn’t really like me, but he’s the one who helped create the nomu. No doubt he’s got plenty of ‘em still on standby. He won’t give us a bunch, but I think I can convince him to give us one. I’ll see if we can get one of the failures, completely brain dead. Maybe he’s got a blood quirk or something lying around.”

Himiko tilted her head, a brow raised, “Lying around?”

“Uh, it’s complicated. Just hold tight, I’ll see what I can do.”

Himiko watched as he began to walk back to the base. She furrowed her brow, peering at him, “...Why are you so nice?”

Tomura scoffed, looking back over his shoulder with a confused smile on his lips, “You have a very strange definition of nice. Now, finish up and meet us inside. We’ve got work to do.”

                                                                    …~AMP~...

—————

(Little Bonus Scene. This will happen during the beginning of the Lincense Exams)

—————

The blonde in the black jumpsuit turned to Izuku, winking as she blew a kiss his way.

Kyouka scowled, glaring a hole through her head, "He's taken, bimbo."

"The kiss was for both of you, sexy."

Kyouka’s face bloomed with a deep pink, her eyes wide, "Wh-? I ju-! Wh-...I…I don't know how to respond to this."