Unedited.

control, whether it be by physical force or by metaphorical torture. She understood that very instinctual part of herself from the tender age of ten.

It began with her parents. Once she found out how to get her way with smaller things, she began to polish that skill with much larger things.

She was a master of manipulation and perception, always managing to weave her way in and out of people's consciousness. The very feel of it thrilled her and pushed her further into her mental darkness. For a while, she wasn't sure of who she really was. She didn't know how to be genuine.

But well, when she became friends with Camie, a part of her became more open. Freer.

And a part of Camie learned to become more manipulative.

Upon entering Yueei, her aunt had made it clear that as long as she steered clear of trouble, she'd be able to graduate.

An unrealistic standard, really. Toga was trouble incarnate.

The first half of her first year was spent establishing her dominance and status. She became famous on campus for the dorm parties she oftentimes funded, and with her charisma, she quickly made a lot of friends.

The second half of that year was spent balancing her decent enough grades with her social standing. Toga found herself in every social circle, freely sleeping with whomever she pleased. It was freeing and flattering to be so widely desired by so many people.

And with that honor came inevitable infamy.

Toga was no stranger to drugs; it's what made her meet Camie and Katsuki in the first place. So when a friend of hers needed help with his slinging, she was happy to help. With her aforementioned influence, she ended becoming the face of the business.

She began to experiment further- partying harder, living more recklessly, and making a habit of slipping ketamine into cutie's drinks and having her way with them later. It was a win-win; her interests never seemed to remember the encounters, and it freed Toga of any strings of commitment.

Himiko remembered the first night she saw Izuku Midoriya. Such a cute little thing. She found herself watching him for the entirety of the night. God, what she'd do to shred him up.

So naturally, when Jirou and Denki approached her friend group for drinks, she took the chance.

"Vodka? We're all out." she had hummed, not missing a beat. "I could shoot you some rum instead but by the looks of it, your little group over there wouldn't handle it."

Denki had chuckled. "It's just for two." He turned to his girlfriend. "But she's right, I doubt Izuku would dig it."

"Izuku, huh?" Toga tilted her head, her tone easygoing and unassuming. "Is that the curly-headed one?"

Jirou had pursed her lips, squinting at Toga's curiosity. "Yeah. We'll get the rum then."

"Dabi! Get me two cups of Angel's Half." Toga paused for a bit. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I got you."

After handing the drinks over, Toga continued to watch carefully. Camie leaned in, sipping her own cup.

"You sent two of 'em over. Do you like the brunette too or something?" Camie hummed.

"She's pretty cute," Toga acknowledged. "But nah. I'll let Dabi or Kai have her this time. I just want Freckles."

Ochako ended up spilling the majority of her drink, thanks to Katsuki.

Izuku wasn't so lucky.

__________

"You sure this is accurate?" Katsuki whispered, his toned full of doubt. Kirishima nodded enthusiastically.

"Dude, I'm sure. If anyone knows about this shit, it's Tetsu. He got Kenji to tell him where to get the opioids and everything got much easier from there, honestly."

Tetsutetsu sighed. "Look, all of this shit's been connected to the same five or six people for a while now. Dabi's in charge of the bricks. Kenji's got the Zs and Amps, Jin's got some of the White on him, and Yuu's got the Soap. Himiko keeps everything else and then some. I got sources, bro."

Katsuki nodded, tucking his bottom lip in. "Fucking finally."

"Hey man, once we let Todoroki know about the full details, he can get his old man in on it and everything will go over smoothly," Kirishima reassured, resting his hand on his friend's back.

"Lots of fucking people are gonna be pissed." Tetsu chuckled. "But they'll have to find some other plug."

"I appreciate it, man," Katsuki said sincerely. "I owe you big time."

"It's all good, don't sweat it. I never liked that Toga bitch anyway."

______________

Life had gotten a bit hectic for Toga after that Katsuki fuckwad forced her out of her dorm. Does that shithole have any clue how hard it was to transport all the drugs and shit to new locations? Or the dent it put in her reputation? All that trouble and she didn't even end up doing everything she wanted to do to Izuku fucking Midoriya. What a shitfest.

Nevertheless, she spent her weekends collecting from her associates and then slacking off in her room, sometimes with Camie to keep her company.

Today was no different. The evening was approaching steadily and Toga fell unto her plush dorm room bed, exhaling deeply.

"Are you okay?" Camie asked, pursing her lips.

"Yeah, just fucking exhausted. Jin had to lay down the law on Kenji for fucking shit up." She stared at the ceiling, her auric eyes fogging over with drowsiness. Camie hummed.

"Got any wheels on you?"

"You're such a leecher, Cam. Jesus. I'm all out of that shit, anyway."

Camie huffed, offended. "Well, excuse me. I always pay you back anyway so don't give me an attitude."

"Blah, blah, blah. Save it." Toga groaned in annoyance. "I'm in a shit mood okay?"

"You're always in a shit mood."

Meanwhile, on another side of the campus, two lovers were seated under the openness of the evening's sky.

Black paint smeared the papery blankness and Katsuki leaned back, his eyes squinted in scrutiny. "Hm."

Izuku, beside him, raised his head from his own canvas, his brows shooting upward. "What is it?" Curiously, he leaned over to see his boyfriend's unfinished work. "Ah, that blend is really pretty, Kacchan! You're a natural, huh."

Katsuki leaned back a bit, folding his lips. "You need to stop being so sweet about everything. I'm not even halfway done, and I have no clue what I'm doing, Deku."

Izuku laughed. "That's exactly why I'm giving you credit. If you don't know what you're doing and that's the result, then it's pretty cool."

The two were painting in an isolated seating space with Katsuki's car parked nearby. It was Izuku's birthday, and despite Katsuki wanting to do something much nicer for him, Izuku insisted that he'd rather get a smoothie and paint.

A comfortable silence sat in the air.

"I told mymum about you," Izuku burst out of seemingly nowhere. Katsuki glanced up from his canvas, a singular blond brow cocking in curiosity.

"Did you, now?" He smirked, his tone teasing and a bit smug. Izuku rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. I forgot to mention it, but I finally came out to her," Izuku chuckled a little to himself. "She reacted exactly how I hoped she would."

There was a knock at the door, followed by a flurry of them.

Katsuki smiled a little. "I told my old folks about you, too." He turned his attention back to his painting, picking up where he left off. "So you better prepare for when they inevitably meet you and embarrass the fuck out of me."

Izuku chuckled before taking a sip from his smoothie. "My mum is pretty embarrassing too, so we're even."

Katsuki leaned back, drinking in the work he'd just finished.

"Oooo, are you done already Kacchan?" Izuku asked. "Lemme see!"

Himiko scowled in annoyance, grunting as she headed towards the door. Camie felt her chest constrict uncomfortably.

"Okay, okay." Katsuki sighed, gently removing the canvas and turning it around. Izuku's eyes widened.

A painting of two black and gold rings.

Izuku's voice broke. "Kacchan...?"

"I'm only in my second year, so I'm willing to wait it out," Katsuki cut in, gently placing the canvas back on the easel before reaching into his pocket, "But I wanted to get you this."

In Katsuki's hand was a little box. In the box were rings identical to the ones he painted.

"It's a promise ring." He smiled just a little. "It's cheesy as fuck, but it's a guarantee that I'll propose to you when we're a bit older."

Izuku broke down into tears, his lips wobbling as he sniffled messily.

Toga squinted, peering into the peephole of the door before scampering back.

"Himiko Toga, this is the Musutafu Police! We have a warrant to search your dorm room, on account that you have illegal substances within your possession. Please allow us to enter. If you resist, we will enter by force!"

"Fuck! Fuck-" Toga rushed over to the small opening in her floor, retrieving a bag of pills. She ran to the toilet, hurriedly crushing them before flushing them down. Her neck snapped to Camie, her expression furious. "What the fuck, Camie! Help me out you fucking-"

Camie froze up, her hands shaking. Was...was this seriously happening right now? Was she about to get tangled in this mess? "What-"

"Oh my god," Izuku sniffled, his hands shaking as Katsuki eased the ring unto his finger.

"Stop crying already," Katsuki said with faux annoyance, the gentleness in his voice betraying him. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his partner and pulling him in close.

"You should've expected this. This isn't even the official thing yet and you're already blubbering like the mess you are."

Izuku closed his eyes, basking in the warmth that was Katsuki. "I love you so much."

For him, Katsuki represented strength, freedom, and victory.

His nights with him were everlasting and free. The drives were long and varied from comfortable silence to talkative insight. Izuku found himself to be completely consumed by Katsuki in a way that was different from before. Now, unlike before, he knew that they were enough for each other. Now, they were completely balanced. And now, more than ever, they were finally free from an endless streak of muted suffocation.

And this night, in particular, felt like the peak of it all.

"Himiko Toga! We will be entering the room by force now!"

"Jesus fucking Christ!"

With a loud thump, the sound of heavy boots hit the wooden door, sending it flying.

Delirious, Himiko grabbed for her pink butterfly knife and flipped it open, pushing Camie behind her. "Get the taser, dumbass." To the police, she screamed, "Back the fuck up-"

At blinding speed, Himiko and Camie had been pinned down to the floor and rid of their weapons as the latter of the two squirmed in panic.

"I'm innocent!" Camie wailed. "I have no fucking clue about anything, so let me go!"

Toga grunted in pain as her head hit the concrete, allowing the other officers to inspect the area. One, in particular, stared the two girls down, his stern blue eyes, massive facial scar, flaming red hair, and bulky figure radiating intimidation. Was he the chief?

"What... What the fuck!" Toga screamed in a fit of panic and anger, lashing out wildly as an officer tightened his hold on her.

"I love you more, dork. Happy birthday."

Izuku leaned back, grabbing the ring box as he wiped his tears away. "Let me put yours on."

"Sure, sure."

He steadily eased the golden band unto Katsuki's finger and smiled, his eyes swirling with an immeasurable amount of happiness and gratitude. He chuckled. "I know you hate it when I say thank you, but thank you."

Katsuki returned the smile, the stark red of his eyes losing its usual sternness for a moment. The way it did when he was with Izuku, and only Izuku. "And thank you for being you."

Izuku laughed, his cheeks reddening. "You've gotten so smooth, Kacchan. I can't keep up with you."

"MDMA. Crack cocaine- pounds of the stuff. Fentanyl. Xanax. Morphine. Codeine. Psilocybin," one of the officers listed off, his face contorting in distaste. "That's all we can identify so far between this and the other location. Search the floors."

'They searched Dabi's dorm? Or was it Jin's?' Camie thought, panic spiking in her chest. 'Fuck. This shit is fucking fucked!'

"Jesus Christ," the officer pinning down Toga chimed in, his lips pulled down.

"Fuck you, you fucking pig," Toga spat venomously.

"You attempted to attack an officer with that knife and taser, you know. This isn't looking too good for you, kid."

"Now that the rings are on and the tears and snot are wiped away, I can continue," Katsuki teased, his tone feigning annoyance again. "I promise to be the one person who never hurts you."

Izuku reddened. "You really don't have to-"

"Shut up."

"Fine." Izuku huffed. "Then... I promise I'll love you like no one else ever will."

Katsuki whistled. "You said I'm smooth, but you're too smooth for me at this point."

Izuku laughed. "Yeah?"

The officers lifted the floorboards and tore into the mattress, eventually retrieving more packets.

"Seems like we've found even more than we were looking for," the chief of police said. 'How did Shoto get the jump on this?'

"Take them to the car and leave a copy of the warrant on the desktop. We're heading to the next location."

"I have dreams, you know," he went on, looking away as he presented his painting to him. It was an image of a tree with wispy clouds as the leaves. The grass below, upon closer inspection, was money. He laughed. "Sounds ridiculous, but...I wanna live like rappers do. When you become a superstar from your music, I'll get that too, don't you think?"

"You're so corny."

Izuku snorted. "But you love that."

"True. So what's stopping you? That dream isn't a reach, you know." Katsuki grinned, and Izuku grinned, too.

"You're right." Izuku swept his fingers over Katsuki's bicep, admiring him.

"We deserve the world anyway. Don't we?"

____