When Toga Himiko woke up in the past, she knew what she had to do: make sure Izuku and Ochako learned to love her and that Heroes aren't really good, and then have them join the League of Villains with her. Even if she had to enroll UA's Hero Course to meet them.
Toga Himiko's Guide to Time Travel and Convincing Your Friends and Crushes to Join the League of Villains is a My Hero Academia fanfiction by TequilaBard
based on the "Future Toga" AU on DeusVerve's writing blog, and can be read here.
This fanfiction provides examples of the following tropes:
- Achievement In Ignorance: During the entrance exam Himiko attacked multiple robots that were attacking other examinees, and accidentally scored enough Hero Points to rank first.
- Accidental Truth: As Class 1-A was wondering why Himiko acts as she does with Izuku, Mina jokingly suggested that she's from the future and came back to save him from a terrible fate (and Himiko thinks she's doing just that).
- Adaptational Karma: In canon the Togas got away with their abuse by blaming Himiko after she attacked Saito. Here, however, her sudden disappearance and their failure to report it got them investigated and arrested for child abuse and endangerment.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: Inko and Mitsuki, in canon, are described as close friends who maintained their friendship in spite of Katsuki's growing antagonism towards Izuku, and it was never implied that the two dated in the past. Not only are the two exes here, but their friendship is shown to be a lot more strained due to the two being part of a failed polyamory, with Mitsuki being the main reason the trio spilt up.
- Affectionate Nickname: Himiko calls Vlad King "Breakfast-Sensei" because he feeds her some of his blood diet.
- Ascended Extra: Most of Class 1-B, as Himiko was assigned there (taking Kuroiro's spot).
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Invoked. After learning Himiko is a runaway, UA's faculty make sure to treat her nicely to not scare her off.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Mei maintains her No Sense of Personal Space, poor people skills, and technical expertise as in canon, but also can offer useful insights about Izuku and Ochako's Quirks that he figures out Full Cowling and she can use Zero Gravity much better after talking to her once during the Sports Festival.
- Cat Girl: Himiko has a few cat-like traits, such as feline fangs, increased sense of smell, improved night vision that includes a tapetum lucidum, and the zoomies.
- Character Development: Thanks to the impression his encounter with Himiko did during the Entrance Exams, Mineta was inspired to become a better person, and by the Sports Festival he's much more motivated and less perverted.
- Content Warnings: Chapter 2 begins with the warning that it contains disassociation, panic attacks, and Iida Tenya.
- Crash-Into Hello: Himiko was about to visit the Support Department when an explosion threw Mei at her, boobs first.
- Demoted to Extra: Kuroiro plus all of Class 1-A except Izuku and Ochako, as Himiko is in class 1-B in Kuroiro's place. In particular, Mineta didn't pass the Entrance Exam and until the Sports Festival only had a cameo during it, expressing admiration after she saved him from some bots.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Himiko took the fake name of Naomasa Himiko from Naomasa Tsukauchi's calling card she knew came from All Might. It didn't occur to her that by enrolling a school she knew All Might would teach she could meet the actual Naomasa Tsukauchi, and it hasn't occurred her that everyone at the school would connect the name to him (the only reason they haven't looked into it is that Nezu told everyone her real identity before they could muse about not knowing Tsukauchi had a niece).
- Himiko also entered the Sports Festival knowing it was broadcast live without thinking that her old classmates could see and recognize her.
- The Dreaded: In the previous timeline Recovery Girl was this to the League after All for One and Garaki informed them she could use her Quirk to heal someone into a messy and painful death. Himiko identifies her voice as "the voice of terror".
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- Played for Laughs with Himiko's reaction at the Zero Pointer during the Entrance Exam.
- For as much as Himiko loves every member of the League and wishes to join back up with them(at least at first), even she dislikes pre-Character Development Shigaraki for how much he lashes out at everything, and admits to herself that she would have stabbed/killed him if she joined the League a little earlier.
- First-Name Basis:
- Himiko is very quick to call people she likes by their first names, most notably doing this in her first meetings with Setsuna, Mina, and Tooru, whom she never interacted with in the previous timeline. And of course, Himiko instantly calls Izuku and Ochako by their first names the moment she reunites with them, successfully getting them to do the same to her.
- Himiko's interactions with them have also led to Izuku and Ochako calling each other by their first names, a level of closeness they never achieved in the original timeline.
- Zigzagged with Pony. Like Tsuyu, she asks her classmates to call her by her first name, even getting rather annoyed when Setsuna attempted to call her Tsunotori, and ultimately the majority of them follow her request. However, both Monoma and Shiozaki still refer to Pony by her last name, the latter even doing so while talking with her.
- Fish out of Water:
- Himiko is used to a world where "normal" people and Heroes hate people with "villainous" Quirks and attitudes that aren't "normal", so she's completely out of her depth as a UA student, where the most anyone cares about her Quirk's dietary requirements is because they need to procure the blood she needs to eat, Tokage apologizes for getting her so uncomfortable she drew a cutter and ran and her classmates don't hold against her the fact she stabbed Tokage during a panic attack, and the teachers are actually helpful.
- She's also used to the personalities of the League of Villains' members from after she joined it, and can't reconcile her memories of Shigaraki with how he acted at the USJ.
- Good Is Bad And Bad Is Good: Himiko's perspective on Heroes and Villains is heavily warped, recognizing the former as oppressive and "fakes" and the latter as friendly, to the point she's repeatedly surprised when UA's staff acts nice instead even after discovering her Quirk. UA's faculty notices this tendency in her exam answers and decides to take steps to correct this mindset.
- Hates Their Parent: Himiko's internal thoughts make it clear that she despises her parents for everything they did to her.
- Hypocrite: Played for Laughs. Setsuna, in a group chat with Shoda and Kendo, teases the former for liking old media due to him being a massive Dragon Ball fan, in spite of her username being a Jurassic Park quote, which would be of a similar age. Once Shoda figures this out, he is quick to call Setsuna out.
- I Am Not Left-Handed: Turns out Monoma isn't completely dependant on copied Quirks, but has ninja training that allows him to disappear as Himiko does.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Power Loader's reaction to the things Mei has decided to build for Himiko.
- I Reject Your Reality: At least at the start Himiko rejects the idea cops, Heroes and Hero students (aside for uncorrupted first years) may be genuinely good people trying to help, leading her to look for ulterior motifs for any help they give her, not realizing that when she ran into All Might in skeleton form it was him who slipped the money in her pocket and that he had no intention to drag her to some orphanage, and not realizing Naomasa Tsukauchi knows her situation and gave her his calling card because he wants to help but doesn't want to scare her.
- Internal Reveal:
- Himiko's middle school friends find out she's alive and okay when they see her at the Sports Festival.
- Himiko learns her parents are in jail for their crimes while she is staying with Vlad King after the sports festival without being told the crime is their abuse of her.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Himiko has taken the pseudonym of Naomasa Himiko from Naomasa Tsukauchi's calling card given to her by All Might.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Turns out that nobody in the previous timeline told Himiko about One for All, and she still doesn't know.
- Make Wrong What Once Went Right: Himiko's plan after she discovered she is back in time is to corrupt Izuku and Ochako into joining her as villains. The tags reveal she will not only fail, but accidentally become a proper hero herself.
- Never Mess with Granny: According to what Garaki told the League in the previous timeline, Recovery Girl can use her Quirk to "heal people to death".
- The Nicknamer: Himiko uses nicknames for pretty much everyone. For her classmates it's initially because she hasn't learned their names yet, but she still has one for Izuku.
- The Nose Knows: Himiko's sense of smell is much more advanced than most people, enough to know when eggs are properly cooked from smell alone.
- Obvious Rule Patch: How a class representative is elected is up to the class... But Nezu banned death matches, excessive Quirk use, and anything that could cause permanent disfiguration. The latter means Himiko can't have the knife plays she suggested.
- Only Friend: Himiko, much to her surprise, is the closest person to Mei after they talked one time. Doesn't continue past the Sports Festival, as she's quick to befriend Izuku and Ochako.
- Open Secret: The entire UA staff knows that "Naomasa Himiko" is the runaway and potential Villain Toga Himiko, as Nezu saw through her act and informed them so they could show her Heroes can be good and prevent her from going full villain.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: What is the extent that Himiko takes to hide her identity from the U.A staff, which includes Nezu? She changes her last name. Not only that, but she changes it to the first name of a well-known detective close to several U.A staff members. Nezu is able to see through Himiko instantly, only entertaining her disguise so as to not drive her away from U.A and into villainy.
- Peggy Sue: Himiko went to sleep one night during the "Dark Deku" arc and woke up back in her bed a few days before stabbing Saito.
- Polyamory: Aside for Himiko planning a three-way relationship with Izuku and Ochako, which would increase to a four-way thanks to Mei Hatsume, Inko used to be in one with Mitsuki and a currently unknown third party - and wants to help her son make it work with Himiko, Ochako, and Mei.
- Shipper on Deck: Inko toward Izuku with Ochako and Himiko.
- Spotting the Thread: Four times so far about Himiko:
- Upon first meeting her, All Might identified Himiko as a runaway from her attitude and dirty clothes - and gave her Tsukauchi's calling card so she could find help from a cop he trusted and slipped her a lot of cash.
- Both Kan and Nezu identified "Naomasa Himiko" as Toga Himiko and recognized her villainous tendencies and that she had some bad encounters with Heroes well before the exams are scored by what she wrote in the written part and the fact she's using the name of someone they know personally.
- All Might has realized Himiko is a time traveler after seeing her Hero costume is pretty much Izuku's and Ochako's mixed together with a skirt.
- Tokage, Kendo, and Shoda have figured out Himiko has a blood-fueled Quirk and abusive parents, that she's ran away from home, and at least Lunch Rush and Kan know it from how she acts in general and the two teachers act toward her.
- Related in the Adaptation: Setsuna and Spinner are distant cousins in this fic when there was no indication of such in canon.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Himiko delivers one to Shinso as she crushes him in the Sports Festival, deconstructing how he felt persecuted for being teased by pointing out how she was treated for her Quirk and that she passed the Entrance Exam with nothing but knives.
- The Tease: Himiko to everyone she finds cute, but especially to Izuku and Ochako. Backfires on her when Izuku and Ochako initially believe the rumors about her and her run-in with Mei.
- Through His Stomach: Non-romantic variant. Vlad King's and Lunch Rush's personal actions to show Himiko she can trust them is to give her the blood she needs to feed on to survive.
- Villain Has a Point: Himiko's cynical viewpoint on Heroes happens to be correct from time to time due to the experiences that shaped it:
- Shortly after escaping from home Himiko runs into All Might in his normal form, and thinks that if he were to realize she's a runaway and/or homeless she'd drag her back to her abusive home or to an orphanage... Because she has seen other Heroes doing just that. Thus she fails to recognize he identified immediately as a runaway and gave her the space to choose if to stay on the streets or go to his friend Naomasa, that it was him to put hundreds of thousands of yen in her pocket, and to even suspect the reason UA's staff is especially caring to her is because they already know she's the runaway Toga Himiko.
- During the exam Himiko recognizes many examinees as people who want to become Pro Heroes for the fame and the money, exactly the kind of "Fakes" Stain wants to kill. She hopes they fail the exam so Stain and her can spare time and blades. Mineta is among their number, but his run-in with Himiko inspired him to be a better person.
- What Is This Feeling?: Mei has a quite obvious crush on Himiko, but her utter lack of experience in socializing means she doesn't understand that.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Subverted. Himiko's parents attempted to turn her into one of these, emotionally abusing her to suppress her interests and wants, forcing her to know and only care about traditional feminine hobbies, all to make her the perfect housewife. To say the least, they failed horribly, as while Himiko is a more feminine girl, her love for violence and desire to change the world would break the mask her parents forced on her and lead her to become an A-rank villain in the original timeline and a hero in training in the current timeline, rejecting what her parents attempted to turn her into.
