Magical Hero: Equinox. Chapter 5

Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture, Musutafu City, Year 2251.

Hari mentally berated himself for being so stupid to think nothing would go wrong. He had known Himiko's parents were assholes very similar to the Dursley family, absolutely obsessed with normalcy and their social status. Which was why his plan had involved them being away on a trip for a week to somewhere he didn't care to remember. For once the disregard of their daughter being a boon rather than an extreme annoyance.

'Of course something had to go wrong that saw them return early, cancelling the rest of the trip.' he thought furiously as he flew away from Himiko's former home, having gotten the truth from them with the aid of some spells. Followed by him taking a pair of Himiko's clothes and removing his visit from their memories before going on his search. Right now he was absolutely tearing through the night skies as fast as he could, flying on a cloud of shadowy smoke. Himiko was unstable enough as it is and this dilemma hopefully didn't exasperate that.

His rather obvious action alerted one or two underground heroes to him, but none present could do anything to interact with a flying object. Luckily it was night and so there weren't too many people about that would notice a dark cloud move across the sky.

A stick hovered above his hand, acting as a compass that pointed him directly to Himiko. Clearly charmed with a Point-Me spell to achieve that effect, even if that only worked on people the caster was familiar with and could picture clearly.

One part of him hoped that she simply went to the Midoriya residence, possible fallout be damned. Sadly, the stick was leading him not in the direction of his home, or even Saiko's. Instead it led him straight to a deserted industrial complex full of rusty pipes and abandoned equipment.

“Himiko!” he called out, voice filled with worry and still following the stick's direction. “Are you here?!”

Further and further he went into the dark corridors, conjuring floating blue-bell flames to illuminate the surroundings around himself properly.

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A few minutes earlier.

Himiko's day couldn't get much worse, the girl decided as she stumbled aimlessly through the industrial complex. She had done as Hari requested, using his blood to imitate him and talk to his mother on the phone. 'It had been so much fun, too!' she thought, sniffling in despair as fat tears ran down her transformed cheeks.

The young girl had briefly thought about going to the Midoriya residence, but in the end decided to not ruin the surprise Hari had planned by discovering and hopefully developing his Quirk. Even if she could've easily posed as him by staying transformed. That was wrong though, not to mention that he was her best friend. Neither could she go to Saiko's house, the family being away on vacation during the summer holidays. Perhaps predictably nobody offer to help her, despite her asking multiple people and more than one time. Either they ignored her or told her to go away. Evidently always assuming a hero would show up to take care of it.

None did.

She could still hear the words and insults hurled at her from her parents and other people who didn't understand or accept her. The words and accusations echoing in her mind and bouncing around in her skull.

Deviant freak!

Demon!

We gave birth to something... inhuman!

So in a futile effort to escape from the voices in her head she ran away. Without her noticing Himiko had soon found herself in this abandoned lot, being forced to seek shelter for the moment her transformation ultimately ran out and she'd be in her birthday suit, not having been given the grace of her belongings before being thrown out.

“Why... is how... I show love... wrong?” she hiccuped, huddled into a ball of sadness as she tried to wipe her tears away. She hoped Hari would return soon, he understood her like no one else did. Not to mention those beautiful blood-stained eyes full of compassion mixed with fond exasperation.

A sound of metal meeting concrete brought Himiko out of her stupor, making her perk up in fright and instinct. A clangour echoed throughout the structure, the sound of pipes hitting the ground making itself known. Soon followed by voices trying to be quiet and failing.

“What're you doing, idiot?” one voice hissed. “Do you want Heroes to come here?!”

A sound of flesh roughly hitting flesh could be heard then, reminding Himiko of her parents' frequent rows. “Shut up!” another snarled viciously. “I'm the one you should be worried about! Do you have my money or not?!”

“H-hey, hey!” the first stuttered, his bravado gone as he shuffled backwards from the sound of it. “I'll have the money in a few days, Kugisaki-kun!”

As things progressed Himiko sneaked past a few half-empty and cracked beer bottles, avoiding the shards and looking around the corner. She saw two men illuminated by the street lamps from outside, one gripping the other's shirt tightly with his right as their noses nearly touched. The smaller one was a salaryman from the looks of him. Balding, portly, sweaty and a nervous wreck.

The other one – presumably Kugisaki – was tall and wiry young man with wild spiky turquoise hair, a short goatee, and notably inward-slanting yellow eyes and very small eyebrows. His front teeth were sharpened to a point. He wore a tank top with a sleeveless vest over it, jeans, leather shoes, and a plaid shirt tied around his waist. A glass cylinder was held in the aggressor's left hand, dangling by his side and full of a bright crimson liquid.

It looked like blood and fascinated Himiko.

The meek salaryman was pressed against the wall, struggling and trying to reach the jar desperately. “I need it, please!” tears were pathetically falling down his face as he flailed around.

Her own current situation and the reason for it combined with her innocence, thinking the bullied man was like her, made Himiko decided to intervene. It's what a hero would do and if no one helped her, then she'd help another. “Hey, meanie!” she called out, trying her best to produce a smile like All Might. “Leave that mister alone!”

“Huh,” the punk said, pushing the struggling junkie onto the ground and keeping him there by putting a foot on his stomach. “why you grinning at me like that?” he growled, his brow furrowed heavily as his anger began to boil to unreasonable levels. “You looking down on me, little punk?”

Caught off guard by the disproportionate reaction, the blonde girl stuttered out, confused. “N-n-no?”

“Always looking down on me.” Kugisaki growled out, approaching the petrified girl menacingly. Only seeing a mockingly smiling spectre before him. “I'll show you, boy!” three long and slightly curved claws made of sharpened bone erupted out between each knuckle threateningly.

His words caused her to remember that she still looked like Hari wearing his school uniform right now. Her transformation still in effect, and having been used to protect her from the elements with the sludge's insulating properties. As she backed up rapidly, Himiko soon had her back against a wall. Heart hammering in her chest so fast it felt like an imprint was left on her ribcage. “S-St-Stop!” she begged with Hari's voice wishing he was here right now, turning away and closing her eyes in anticipation of pain as she crosser her arms in front of her face.

Unexpectedly she heard a grunt followed by a short scuffle, causing Himiko to peek through her eyelids. The sweaty old man had briefly surprised Kugisaki, pushing the delinquent to the ground via a tackle and snatching the container, giving her a brief glimpse of hope. Only to crush it shortly afterwards.

“Thank you, little boy!” the old man called out as he fled while clutching the vial in one hand, not even looking over his shoulder. “I'll repay you someday!”

Words failed Himiko at that, still having the threat in front of her. She didn't understand. Why couldn't he repay or help her right now? Because as it stood there seemed no tomorrow for her.

“Fuckin' junkies!” the spiky-haired punk spat out, standing up and seeing his wares gone. “If he doesn't, then you're gonna pay for that!” Kugisaki growled out, utterly incensed right now as he lunged for his target, claws outstretched to dismember her.

“I don't think so!” a new voice – a familiar one to Himiko, but with an unfamiliar tone of command to it – echoed through the corridor. Shortly followed by a wave of power that flung Himiko's charging attacker roughly against the wall, knocking the wind out of him and causing dust and debris to fall down from the ceiling through the impact's sheer strength. Kugisaki was seemingly knocked out at once.

Luckily Himiko could see perfectly in the dark due to her cat-like eyes, letting her make out the newcomer easily. “Hari!” she called out in relief, tears of joy running messily down her transformed face. It didn't matter that he looked like a wraith, floating on black smoke and surrounded by mournful blue flames resembling will-o'-wisps. Questions as to how managed to do this or even find her didn't even enter her mind.

She ran to him fast, reaching him just as he landed and the dark mist he rode on dissipated into nothing. Immediately she latched onto him in a strong hug, clinging to Hari and sobbing into his chest as all of today unloaded. Utterly relishing the warmth that embraced her from the floating flames, but even more so as he returned her hug and rubbed her back.

As he did so her disguise finally ended, dissolving into its usual sludge and running down her body to pool at their feet. Of course she was naked outside of a thin layer of it; her Quirk didn't work well otherwise. With her skin producing the substance and layering it over her body, clothes would act like a sieve and utterly ruin the transformation and make it look ridiculous.

Out of sheer instinct Himiko drove her fangs into his neck, seeking the familiar warmth and taste of his blood. Her textured tongue swirling over the wound to lap up the delicious sanguine fluid, reminding her that her friend was right here by taking in his unique scent. That inhalation of joy reminiscent of a floral aroma played lightly about her nose, as gentle as the flutter of butterfly wings or the momentary trace of a lover’s lips. As she took another, deeper breath, the scents – the likes of which she had sparingly experienced before – totally enveloped her senses. She felt the soft petals trace over her cheeks – more of those gentle kisses.

It worked extremely well to calm her down.

“What happened, Himiko-chan?” he asked once she was calm enough, hoping the usage of her loved suffix would coax the truth out.

The question only brought a fresh wave of tears from the girl, now now longer biting his neck. Her little hands curled into firsts, gripping the front of his shirt tightly as she painfully and messily sobbed into his chest. A potent mixture of sadness and relief flooded her being. Once – after about five minutes – she was a little calmer the words poured out of her. How she had done as he asked and impersonated him on the phone by transforming. Followed by a little innocent playing around, pretending to be him.

The problem occurred once her parents unexpectedly returned, catching her in the act. Predictably they reacted poorly to her protestations and explanations, not believing a whit of it either way. Of course they berated her something fierce, throwing all manner of insults at Himiko before throwing her out permanently.

“Why does everyone hate me?” she questioned no one in particular. Everyone outside of Hari hated her, even Saiko simply tolerated her sometimes. Everyone was either freaked out by her Quirk or her behaviour. Himiko didn't understand why it was wrong to do what she did. It's not like it hurt anyone.

“Oh, Himiko.” Hari sighed, once more foregoing the suffix while rubbing her back in consolation. “I don't hate you. You're my best friend.” he told her truthfully, separating and putting his hands on her tiny shoulders. And wasn't that a revelation? While Saiko was his friend as well, the genius wasn't as close to him as Himiko by a long shot. He simply couldn't resist Himiko's upbeat attitude, her energy and bright smile.

Himiko looked at him with an intensifying blush, a wobbly smile tugging at her lips. When she saw the mess she made of his neck and clothes – her Quirk's sludge and the big tear stains on his shoulders – she frantically apologized, a habit born out of her too strict parents need for perfection. “I-I'm s-so-sorry. I m-made a mess...”

“Stop, Himiko.” he told her with a small but reassuring smile, wiping some tears away. “It's just clothes.” Internally he had been debating if he should conjure some clothes for the girl or simply use those he took from her home. In the end he decided to do the former, having already showcased abilities to her that for most people couldn't be explained by one Quirk alone. With a flick of his wrist a simple white sundress materialized out of thin air, followed by a snap of his fingers that vanished the sludge on her body and his clothes.

“Ooh.” the girl marvelled at the happenings, putting the falling dress on quickly. “Your Quirk is weird!” she stated with small giggle and a subdued but growing sparkle in her slitted eyes. She immediately stopped doing that, thinking she'd insulted the one who always helped her like her parents did to her.

Hari simply chuckled, dispersing her anxiety as he nodded. “Indeed, it is.”

“Not as weird as you're gonna look once I'm through!” came a snarling voice behind them and coming closer. “I'll kill you, you little shit!” the drug dealer snarled, claws extended and ready to strike.

Only for Hari's reaction to be to stand in front of Himiko and hold out his hands in front. However, instead of an instinctive spell a thin barbed thread once more shot out of his right palm, driving itself deep into the aggressor's cheek, drawing blood and making him flinch.

With a scowl at his interfering new feature Hari then prepared to send another more conscious banisher the thug's way and hopefully be quick enough. Only for it to be over in a flash, literally. One moment their assailant was in the air and another heartbeat later he was on the ground. Someone had evidently run interference and punched the attacker's face in. Followed now by a rather brutal beating once the thug was down.

The new arrival was a young man with plain looks and a fairly athletic physique. Long black hair was gathered in a ponytail, and a large confident smirk on his face. His most distinctive feature was a long diagonal scar that jutted across his face and over his nose. he wore a black full-body suit with blue and yellow accents, with a trench coat and a black fedora hat of all things.

“Got you now, punk!” the man growled, holding the thug's shirt with his left while rearranging his face a good bit with his right. The more it went on the more disappointed he got, obviously wanting strong opponents to fight. Once he seemed satisfied, the vigilante turned to the children. “You kids are lucky that I arrived. What're you doing here anyway?”

“We explored, mister.” the wizard told him hesitantly, doing his absolute best to make his eyes big and innocent and vulnerable. He added a sniff for god measure.

Himiko, seeing where he was going with this, added. “Hmm.” her face buried into Hari's chest as she nodded into it shyly. She had much experience with trying to appease her parents. Even if most of it didn't work on them anymore, if it ever did.

“Mister?” the man's smirk vanished as if it had never been there, replaced by a frown that was threatening to evolve into a scowl. In Hari's arms Himiko stiffened in alarm, recognizing the change. “I'm a hero!” the adult said and emphasized dramatically while posturing. “The Great Hero: Rock!” he stalked closer to the pair, now towering over the children menacingly and getting into Hari's face. “You should be a lot more grateful for me rescuing you, boy!”

A normal child would've been terrified, become tongue-tied and tried to get away without provoking the adult. However, Hari had never been normal, despite his protestations. Even the version in his memories would not have minced his words. “Never heard of you.” he said without thinking, staring him straight in the eyes. Already planning to flee, not having any intention of fighting the dangerous unknown before him with Himiko there.

“What did you say, boy?!” the self-proclaimed hero snarled, making to grab onto Hari with his right hand. Only to be flung away by an unseen power like a leave blown away by a fierce wind. He had activated Overclock in an instant while airborne, but couldn't reach the pair in time before they vanished with a quiet pop before his blurred vision. Seemingly collapsing in on themselves.

All the so called hero could do was scream in frustration.

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'Wonder what that was all about.' Hari thought once the pair was safe. He definitely hadn't expected to run into a hero, much less one acting more like a villain. Though, he banished the thought from his mind and returned to the present moment.

The blare of what could be described as music – but not to Hari's ears – filled the neon-lit emporium full of blue, white, red and yellow. An aroma of oils, frying foods, and tantalizing, odd spices he couldn't quite place drifted through the air, pulling one toward the electronic counter to the side. Yet, the centre of attention to those who already placed their orders was a multi-armed cook, whose purplish tentacle-like limbs swirled in the air as they simultaneously chopped, seasoned, fried, and served the delectable treasures on offer.

Himiko sat beside Hari inside a so called Might Burger restaurant, swinging her legs and humming along to the noise masquerading as a song. All the while munching on her Smash Burger and Freedom Fries as they sat in the booth. Using the establishment's policy of being permanently open and giving food to the needy to recuperate somewhat. Even if the employees probably already alerted the authorities to two children roaming about during the night. At least they would've, if not for Hari's meddling, courtesy of his liberal application of the Confundus.

Hari pondered the situation some more, wondering how he could keep Himiko from being taken away to some orphanage that'd surely be just as ill-equipped to handle her as her parents were. After all, their aversion to anything abnormal came from Japanese society itself. Basically deeming anything 'abnormal' as something to be curbed. What was seen as abnormal or not was rather subjective and often varied from individual to individual. Exceptions being most Heteromorphs whose Quirks made them look hideous or simply unappealing. Beauty standards by and large hadn't changed too much.

It was doubtful that his mother would take Himiko in. Not because she was a bad person, but rather due to their own financial troubles. Being a single mother with a part-time job and two children to take care of didn't leave too much in terms of disposable income. The damn bureaucrats also would make a terrible nuisance of themselves, like they always did. It was like some immutable law; bureaucrats always sucked.

'What to do?' he wondered, one elbow sitting on the table with the hand belonging to it supporting his head.

“A customer is here!” a recorded voice of All Might cried out once another guest walked through the door. The obnoxious voice of the Number 1 hero grated on Hari's nerves something fierce right now, but he ignored it and returned to the matter at hand.

He could probably create some kind of hideout for her with magic at his disposal. Food and other necessities were equally no problem to procure with it. Of course there would be bureaucratic problems, largely coming with her presence in the various systems that depended on Himiko's parents participating in her life. School and insurance to just name two.

In the end it didn't really matter what he thought as long as he hadn't asked Himiko. Not wanting to be so presumptuous as to simply decide for her.

“What do we do now, Himiko-chan?” he asked as she finished her fizzy drink, taking deep pulls from the straw. Upon her questioning look, he elaborated. “Do you want to try and go back to your parents or...” he ventured, but upon her stiffening and frantically shaking her head he stopped. “What then?”

She set the cup down, followed by fiddling with her fingers. “Can't I move in with you, Zuzu and Mamadoriya?” she ventured hesitantly but hopefully, using her nicknames for the other two members of his family.

The girl had seen their family dynamic first-hand and was envious of him having Inko as a mother. It was a novel feeling to be on the other side of that for once, the reborn wizard found.

Hari sighed at that, but decided to be honest with her. “Mum would probably not turn you away, but we also don't have enough money to feed another mouth.” seeing her crestfallen expression, Harry quickly took her hand and squeezed reassuringly. “Do you really think I'd let you live on the street?”

Blushing in embarrassment and happiness at his care, Himiko shook her head. “No.” she squeezed his hand back, briefly flinching as something sharp pierced her skin. “Ouch!” she exclaimed, pulling her hand back and examining the small cut on her palm.

“Sorry.” The wizard apologized sheepishly. He held one of his hands up to show the holes in his palms where a thin and barbed tentacle dangled before retreating inside. “Still don't have much control over those things.”

Himiko didn't complain any further, aware that she pierced his skin all but daily. “It's alright,” she claimed, licking up the blood with her tongue before a sly smile formed on her feline face. “but I get a favour as compensation, OK?”

Hari simply snorted at that in good humour, smiling at her honestly. “Sure, anything you want.” His words caused Himiko to blush shyly and bashfully, her cheeks glowing crimson now due to him not showing any hesitation to help her in any way he was capable.

A pleasant silence enveloped the pair, Himiko finishing her meal with her face cutely scrunched up in concentration from time to time. Many obvious glances were sent his way, slitted golden eyes darting to and from his face. Apparently unsure of where to settle in their endeavour to map out his being.

“What's on your mind?” he inquired, taking a sip from his own fizzy drink. He could confidently say he didn't like fast food, but the drinks were tolerable.

The blonde seemed to gather all her courage and exclaimed. “If I can't go live with you, Zuzu and Mamadoriya, then I want us to make a Blood-Pact!” she'd get her family, one way or another. A real one this time, together with a place to belong.

Hari raised an eyebrow at the girl. “Already cashing in your favour?” his words held amusement in them, blood-stained eyes glittering softly in the artificial light of the burger joint. He then thought about it seriously and decided to go along with it. Already having an idea that'd most definitely help in keeping track of Himiko.

“Sure.” he began. “Just give me your injured hand, put it in mine and follow my instructions.” he told her and explained everything else they needed to do. Followed by Himiko drawing blood from his palm without an ounce of hesitation and gripping his right tightly with her left. Wound on wound and blood on blood.

The spell had no words – the book from the library in Grimmauld Place had been downright derogatory towards the idea of 'putting words unto such a sacred act of trust' – but required an unnerving familiarity with soul magic. Harry was uncomfortably aware that if it hadn't been for his unwilling experience with Horcruxes, possession and rebirth he would've been unlikely to be able to cast it without considerable practice. Not to mention being the Master of the Deathly Hallows for so long.

It wasn't something as invasive as a Soul-Bond or Dark Mark. Not intertwining his soul with hers, but more along the lines of their souls simply touching briefly. Much like the mind could remember a scent, view or noise, so too could the soul remember things. In this case it'd allow them to vaguely feel each others presence when near, growing weaker with greater distance.

With closed eyes he went through the spell, one wordless step at a time. Harry felt the magic gather between his palm and hers, felt his own body as a glowing entity next to Himiko's distinctly different one and, felt the touch of magic in their joined hands. The strange union of the two of them held between their palms laced together so intimately melded further until it glowed like a small invisible sun.

Then it was over, leaving the pair with an awareness not previously present.