Chapter 26

"Demon child"

Those two words were associated with her since the day her quirk manifested. To think that it was her own parents who branded her that name. They hardly call her by name. It's always demon child. Nothing changed over the years. She did everything they wanted her to, but it didn't matter. The name still remained. Their cold attitude towards her remained. The distaste remained. Their love was something she never regained. It was something she craved. She wanted their approval. Their support. Their trust. Their affection. Their love. She never received it. Even when she buried the urges of her quirk. Even when she did her very best in school. Even when she followed their rules of normal. Nothing she did was ever good enough for them. She was always lacking one way or another.

She sighed as she hugged her pillow. She'd never get what she wanted from them, would she? She would forever be the demon child. The child they wish they never had. The realization wasn't very pleasant. It hurt more than anything. It was a pain she felt constantly, but one she pushed away. She was fine. She was perfectly fine. They couldn't hurt her. Their words meant nothing. She didn't need their love and support. She was not miserable.

How much longer could she lie to herself?

She should just leave. The amount of times she has thought about running away was uncountable. She never went through with it, because she still had a tiny sliver of hope left. She knew better now. They didn't want her so why was she still here? Why was she still in a cage. Why was she still with the people that cut off her wings before she could even learn to fly? She wanted to be free. Freedom is what she yearned for. It is something she never fully experienced. It was something that was so very appealing to her. She needed it. She wanted out of the cage. She wanted her wings back.

What's so bad about her quirk anyway? So what what she needs blood? Just because it involves Blood doesn't make it bad. And how can her quirk be abnormal in this world. You would think that people would be more open minded and less judging in this world. In a world where super powers are normal they still found those that are not? What kind of sense does that even make. Even if her quirk seems disgusting and abnormal, she could still be a good person. Having such a quirk doesn't make her a bad person. It doesn't mean anything was wrring with her. It didn't make her any different from anyone else.

Right?

She didn't know. All her life she was told otherwise. Such a quirk made her different. She wasn't normal. The quirk was bad. She shouldnt ever use it. All of them. They were constantly telling her not to be herself. If she couldn't be herself then what's the point. Who was she supposed to be then? She didn't know and because of that she let herself be molded into what was wanted of her. Even then it was never enough.

She liked being herself. It was better. She felt free. She liked that feeling. She wasn't constricted and she didn't need to pay attention to what she said. She didn't need to be careful with her words. She didn't need to ignore her quirk and its urges. She didn't need to pretend to like things she didn't . It was liberating and she loved it. She hardly cared that she could only taste that feeling whenever she's around Kuriko. That little taste was more than enough to keep her content.

But now.

She sighed again. Kuriko was right when she said humans are greedy creatures. They can never be satisfied with what they have. They always crave more.

She craved more. She really wanted more. Was that so bad? She just wanted what everyone else seems to have. Even Kuriko has the love of a parent. She didn't. Kuriko wasn't told to ignore her quirk. She was. Kuriko didn't need to see a counselor. She did. Kuriko could be herself. She couldn't. Kuriko was free. She wasn't.

She had what she didn't. She wanted it too.

At least Kuriko didn't judge her in anyway and just let her be her crazy self. She was very nice even if she didn't come off as such. She tends to be annoyed by her a lot but she still helps her. Most of the time she get angry when Himiko won't stop pestering her for blood, but she never left. She may not give her as much as she wanted anymore but at least she still stuck around. She still offered her blood. She still ate lunch with her. She still listened and talked to her. She never once judged anything she did or said. She accepted everything about her. She did that despite everything about her being completely wrong.

She eyed her phone for a long while. She knew how annoyed Kuriko gets when she messages her, but she liked talking to her. Besides, despite her annoyance she still messaged back. Himiko could practically see her angrily tapping away on her phone. Getting Kuriko's number was a great achievement. She would, of course, not tel Kuriko how she got the number. Don't need her knowing what she didn't need to.

To distract herself from her thoughts Himiko pulled up Kuriko's number and wrote her a message. It wasn't hard to predict what the girl would send back and how long it would take for a second response. She's been doing this for a long enough time to get used to it by now.

If only she could escape to Kuriko's house. Sadly she has no idea where she lives. She knows her last name and all. You would think that the internet would tell her what she needed to know. The Sano family is well known after all.

Oh well. She'll just lock herself in her room as per usual. It's not like her parents ever come up to see her. It's a wonder they still feed her.

She should really just leave. Where would she go then? Maybe if she asked really nicely, Kuriko would let her come stay with her.

Just maybe.

~~~~~~~

Nozomi had a look of interest on her face as she watched Kuriko type away on her phone. She looked annoyed as she did too. It's a wonder she didn't throw her phone with the air she was letting off. Since when did Kuriko ever message anyone other than them? Was it that friend of hers?

"Look at that , she's a normal teenager" Nemuri joked. As always the woman was with them. She never really leaves. She would be away be three days at most. She would return soon after. The woman had a guest room that she completely made her own. She had it painted purple and everything. Nozomi didn't have it in her to scold her friend anymore. At this point she just handed her a key and accepted her as part of the house. Not part of the family. But the house itself . When she first bought the house Nemuri was in it before she even stepped foot in it. She never left.

"She really has a friend" Nozomi sighed in relief. It was good to have that confirmed. Kuriko may have admitted it but she was hesitant and didn't seem to know what to do.

"A relief, huh? "

"Yes, a big relief"

The two friends were silent as they watched Kuriko type away. She was sucking on a popsicle and her annoyance seemed to have faded. She instead seemed very focused on whatever it was she and her friend were talking about. Nozomi really wanted to meet this girl, but Kuriko didn't seem to like the idea. Everytime it was brought up she would dismiss it.

When Kuriko looked away from her phone and instead directed her gaze to her mother and Nemuri, she seemed very pensive.

Nemuri chuckled when the girl signed a question. She really didn't know what being someone's friend means if she's asking such questions. It was really adorable.

"Well naturally a good friend would want to protect their friend" Nozomi chuckled as she answered the question. Kuriko furrowed her brow. She seemed conflicted. "Ah, and you have a problem with caring"

"I see how it is" Nemuri nodded. "You didn't see this girl as a friend in the beginning did you? "

Kuriko nodded.

"A project. Someone you took interest in purely for your study on human emotions and such"

Another nod.

"But.. " Nozomi smiled. She was very happy that this girl managed to earn Kuriko's affection. Somewhat. She cared at least and that was great. Kuriko was starting to grow out of her questionable mindset.

Kuriko glared at the smile she had on her face. It took everything Nozomi had to not burst into a fit of laughter. Kuriko's confusion with her new relationship was amusing. It was like dealing with a teenager who just entered a romantic relationship. To think friendship would be so confusing to her. Nozomi couldn't help but laugh.

"Well I'm glad you let your guard down" Nozomi pushed the urge to laugh away, miraculously. "I'm glad you care even if you don't like that crucial factor about yourself. "

Kuriko still glared. It only lasted for five seconds. Her attention was returned to her phone. She stared at the screen for a time. Her pensive look returned. That pensive looked turned into one of conflict. She seriously didn't know what to do. She was angry about the way Himiko's parents treated her. She was angry about practically everything she had to go through while growing up. She was angry about a lot and that made her angry with herself. She was very confused with her feelings. She cared and she didn't know what to do with that emotion. She wants to help but she doesn't do anything. And the longer she went without doing something she just got angrier. It was confusing and frustrating. She should just accept it. It shouldn't take her days upon days to think about such things. It annoyed her to no end.

Himiko didn't want to stay with her parents. She knew that already. She had considered getting Natsumi involved, but of course she did nothing. Staring at the screen she didn't know what to do. Should she let Himiko come over? She was trying to keep her away from her family for so many reasons. Letting her come over will just make things more annoying to deal with.

She sighed in frustraction and typed away. Even as she wrote the words she felt regret creep up on her. She already regretted her decision. She cursed.

Caring about others is bothersome.

"Awe, why so angry? "

Kuriko glared at Haru. She thought the boy left with his father. Why was he still in their house.

"I'm spending a few days here" Hsru said, answering the unasked question. "Might as well get used to me"

Kuriko pushed the idiot away when he tried to get a glimpse of her phone. She then proceeded to harshly kick him off the sofa they were on.

"Hey! "Haru shot up and dusted himself off. "Stop being so mean, I just want to know what you and your friend are talking about"

That's none of his business and Kuriko told him so, before getting up and leaving the living room.

On her way up the stairs she kept glancing at the phone. She was constantly reading her reply and constantly regretting it.

Why did she write that?

~~~~~~~

Himiko squealed in excitement and joy when Kuriko replied to her question. She practically fell out of bed in her hurry to get to her closet. Kuriko actually agreed to letting her spend the night. She gave her her address. She could hardly believe it. Kuriko actually agreed. Even as Himiko packed her bag she kept looking at her phone just to make sure she didn't misunderstand. Maybe her eyes were deceiving her and just letting her see what she wanted to.

But her eyes saw correctly.

Her excitement was temporarily dampened when she heard feet climbing up the stairs. She frowned and closed her packed bag. She forgot to keep quiet. She was too excited to pay mind to how loud she was. She couldn't help it though. She sighed. She did not need either of them coming to her room now. They would just bring back the negative thoughts she was trying to push away. She didn't like thinking about such things. It made her miserable and she would not let herself be miserable.

She gripped the straps around her shoulders, ignoring the angry bang on her door. She ignored the angered shouts for her to open said door. She didn't even look at it as she climbed out the window.

She easily balanced on the branch right outside her window and jumped over to another. She has sneaked out of her house multiple times before. She has had to scale the familiar tree many times. It's become easy enough. She could balance herself on the most untrustworthy branches. She could move from one to the other with incredible reflexes.

It didn't take long for her to land on the ground and leave her property. The smile returned to her face as she did and she happily walked the streets.

A night away was something she only dreamed of. It was a relief. She needed to get away from everything.

She looked to the sky in thought. Her parents were furious today. Some very unsavory words were directed at her because of what she did. Whats the big deal. She didn't kill anyone. All she did was stab the bastard twenty seven times. Her so called counselor had it coming. At least she didn't kill him, although she wished he had bled to his death. The sight if him covered in blood was marvoulus. Such a beautiful color blood has. So very fascinating. Everyone is so much prettier when they're bleeding.

A bloodthirsty smile was soon on her face. She giggled as she thought of it all. Blood. Oh how she loved the substance. She loved seeing others bleed. She loved seeing Kuriko bleed most of all. She could cut her as much as she wanted to and she would bleed so much. She never ran out. She always healed. She could always do it again. It was an endless game that pleased Himiko greatly. She loved it.

She giggled again.

Her fascination with blood is what disgusted her parents in the first place. That was the most prominent thing. That was the thing she was supposed to suppress. Her fascination with blood.

Too bad, all those years were wasted.

She was still fascinated. She stoll loved to see blood. She loved to make others bleed.

Abnormal? Yes, but it was her normal