One week after the exam.
I'm sitting next to Himiko on the couch, each of us holding a letter from U.A.
We look at each other, and with a nod, we open the letters at the same time.
Inside the letter there's a small coin-shaped device. The device blinks, and a hologram of All Might appears.
The audio overlaps as the man talks about becoming a teacher at U.A. Himiko grabs hers and goes to our bedroom.
"Congratulations, young Kaneki! You placed first in the practical exam with a total of 83 points! In addition to achieving an excellent score on the written exam! Welcome to U.A., young man!"
The hologram blinks, showing the scoreboard. I see my name at the top, with 52 villain points and 31 rescue points.
I search for Himiko's name on the board, and I find myself smiling when I see her name in sixth place.
At the same time, Himiko comes back into the living room with an equally radiant smile.
"We passed!" She jumps and hugs me happily.
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POV of Nezu – Principal of U.A.
While analyzing the documents of the new students, I notice something strange in the paperwork of this year's first place, Ken Kaneki… The documents are official and reliable, but why did he have no records until the age of three?
I remember Midnight getting very excited when she saw the boy on the screen, not her usual perversion, but something almost nostalgic, even proud.
She didn't take her eyes off the screen for a single second.
I'll call her to my office, since she seemed to know the boy. I might get some answers.
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After the conversation with Midnight, and a thorough search through the hidden data of the Hero Commission…
"Abusive family members, sold to human traffickers…"
Remembering the conversation with Midnight as she spoke about the boy's conditions made my chest tighten more and more.
"Used as an experiment and tortured by a psychopath…" I look at the images of the macabre drawings found in the office of the man who kept the child captive.
His story deeply affects me, even more so because I went through something similar myself, having been used as an experiment.
"He was recently emancipated… probably couldn't get a family due to the trauma."
Despite everything, he still said he wanted to be a hero. Midnight commented on the light in his eyes when he said those words to her, even though he had just gone through something terrible.
I hear a knock on the door and glance at the clock.
Right, Toshinori should be coming by around this time.
"You may come in," I say without taking my eyes off the computer.
All Might's skeletal form enters the room, closing the door behind him. He quickly notices my unease.
"Something wrong, Sensei? It's unusual to see you like this," he says as he walks over to sit in front of my desk.
"It's about this year's first place."
"Is there a problem with him?" I see the concern on his face.
I turn the monitor toward him. All Might starts reading and viewing the documents, and with each line, his expression worsens.
"Research…?" He furrows his brows.
"Apparently, the former doctor wanted to find a way to regenerate limbs. He himself used a prosthetic leg."
"I don't remember any news about a child being tortured and held captive…" He rubs his eyes.
"It was covered up by the Hero Commission, after a request from the hospital where the doctor worked. It would have damaged the hospital's reputation," I say in a dark tone.
All Might continues reading the report.
"Refused psychological assistance?"
"The treatment would have been deducted from the money the hospital itself gave him."
"…"
"I want to help this young man. It's a miracle he didn't lose his mind and become a villain," I say, now in a softer tone.
"With the Quirk he showed during the exam… he would be extremely dangerous if he became a villain" All Might says, and I agree, remembering how the red tentacles pierced the robots' defenses with ease.
"I'll talk to him when he joins us… I think he'll be happy to see Midnight again."
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POV of Kaneki
Three weeks before the start of classes.
Seated, I observe the papers on the table, which require us to submit our request for our hero costumes.
Himiko, sitting across from me, is also reading a copy of the same papers.
"Hmmm… I think I'll go with something more discreet, kind of stealthy… I think a mask would be cool too…"
"Or a cape?"
"Maybe a utility belt? … maybe a—" I freeze when I notice the look Himiko is giving me as I passionately talk about my costume.
She's leaning slightly forward, both arms resting on the table, holding her face with both hands as she watches me with a dreamy expression, eyes shining with affection and a soft smile on her face.
"W-what?" I feel my entire face turn red, my posture completely destroyed by the way she's looking at me.
"You're really cute when you talk about what you like, teehee." Her smile widens, and she lets out a soft giggle that tugs at my heart.
"Unfair…" Then I give a mischievous smile.
I quickly stand up and go to her, grab her, and start tickling her.
She squirms, and we roll around on the floor, laughing and playing.
"Hahahahaha!" Her hysterical laughter echoes through the small apartment like a soft melody to my ears.
We stop rolling around the living room, still lying on the floor, with her on top of me. We look at each other's faces affectionately.
Himiko caresses my face and gives me a long, lingering kiss on the lips.
"Come on… we still need to draw the costumes." I stroke her head as she rests her face on my chest.
"I want something matching in our costumes," Himiko says, her voice muffled.
"Okay, okay, we'll put something matching."
"Yipee!!"
I chuckle a bit at the little victory squeal she lets out after my confirmation.
My thoughts return to the costume, how should I make it? I need to think of something that won't interfere with my Kagune.
Besides that, for Himiko, the idea I had to solve the problem of her clothes being dissolved by her Quirk seems to work.
It's basically using my Kagune to form a temporary outfit.
I can now program my Kagune after discarding it to do some simple things, like restraining the nearest individual, or, in Himiko's case, quickly forming an outfit for her.
It ended up in the shape of a ring, which isn't dissolved by her Quirk.
When activated, it forms a layer of Kagune over her skin, while the sludge from her Quirk is still on top.
After the first layer over the skin, it forms a light segmented armor on top. It can last for quite a while and returns to the ring after some time, or whenever she wants it to.
It was a lot of work to make, but it was worth it.
Himiko couldn't use it during the exam, so she didn't even use her transformation.
I'm still discovering more about my programmable Kagune.
It seems to work well as support items, since when linked to a user they can perform more complex actions, like, in Himiko's case, forming a complete outfit.
One problem is that after a few uses, I need to recharge it with my own fresh blood.
But since Himiko is always with me, it's not such a big problem.
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[A/N]: More information about the disposable Kagune in the next chapter... Teehee.
Also, this chapter has a different format, without the larger spaces after the paragraphs. Do you prefer it this way, or the way it was in previous chapters?