Chapter 226

Bloody Love (の) is the two hundred and twenty-sixth chapter of Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia.

Summary
A newscaster covers the incident of how a middle school girl attacked and heavily injured her classmate. She remarks that the assailant is still on the run and that police investigation are underway. Several people who are acquainted with the victim and assailant along with a witness are interviewed on television with their faces cut off. The witness confirms that she saw the assailant, Himiko Toga, stick a straw into Saito, the victim, and drink the blood from his body. She adds that Himiko had a sickening look on her face as she was doing so.

In a flashback, a young Himiko holds up a dead baby bird to her parents, excitedly telling them how cute she finds it.

The confrontation between Curious and Himiko continues, the former remarking on how fascinating it is that Himiko thinks she lives a normal life. Chitose tells Himiko that she's the embodiment of the dark side of the hero society. A beaten-up Himiko falls to the floor and Chitose pityingly walks over to her and sits beside her, beginning to talk once again about how unfortunate Himiko has been because of her Quirk. As she pats the villain's head, she explains that people, such as Himiko, who had to undergo Quirk counselling, always end up feeling more distant from others as a result of the admonishment they received. Chitose says that she understands that, because of her ability to transform into people after drinking their blood, Himiko has always been drawn to it.

As the flashback with Himiko and the baby bird continues, Chitose explains that admiration is a natural feeling that everyone gets, and how unfortunate it must be for Himiko that the thing she has the most admiration for is blood. The younger Himiko bites the baby bird that she's holding. Chitose connects this to the reason why the villain hid her true self, put on a mask, and suppressed herself. In the flashback, Himiko's parents find her with the bird and tell her to stop what she's doing, calling her a deviant and saying that she looks creepy. As that memory fades, a slightly older Himiko appears, and is asked why she can't just be normal.

In the present, Himiko yells at Chitose to be quiet while lunging at her with a knife. The Detnerat bracelet Chitose is wearing swiftly transforms into a protective block around her hand, the Curious Flattener, and she uses it to hit Himiko in the face before her knife can land a hit. The Meta Liberation Army leader continues her speech, saying that Himiko's "normal" and the ideals of the Army aren't much different. She says that that's why Himiko will become a martyr to show the world the cause of the Meta Liberation Army, and as the other members of the Army surround her and Chitose, the leader tells her to die so that she can become a tragedy. Chitose asks Himiko if any of her hypotheses are correct.

Himiko turns around and hits Chitose, before getting back on her feet and attempting to run away. Chitose calls after her, saying that she can't run, and, as she pulls a sample of blood from her belt, an annoyed Himiko wonders why Chitose would even begin to think that she's unfortunate. As she's attacked by the perusing Army members, Himiko drinks the blood and transforms into Ochaco Uraraka, thinking to herself that, just like everyone kisses the people they love, she drinks the blood of the people she loves. An excited Chitose noticed the transformation, and exclaims that Himiko's going to make her cry. She starts listing the details of Transformation, and adds that Himiko must have transformed into Ochaco because she wants to die looking cute. Chitose asks for a word from the villain, but Himiko screams her rejection, reaching out and touching the Army leader as she thinks about the trust Izuku Midoriya and Ochaco share, and the fact that she also wants to be like that.

Suddenly, Chitose starts rising upwards. A member of the Army calls out to her in confusion, and Himiko begins to dart around the members, touching them all with the pads on her fingers. She thinks about her days being chased by Heroes and the police, and the fact that them chasing her has made her into the villain she is. She explains that the reason they are all floating is because Himiko has access to Ochaco's Zero Gravity. Chitose is astonished, and wonders if her Quirk has just evolved because of her fear of death. Himiko denies that being the case, and says that she's going to live normally, die normally and fall in "love" even more. As the transformation fades, Himiko releases Chitose and the other soldiers from Ochaco’s Zero Gravity, and they all fall to the ground.

As Himiko walks away, she laughs to herself about how beaten up she is, comparing herself to Izuku. She feels that she should have left them alive so Gigantomachia has more to contend with when he arrives. She also believes she wasn't given a choice, citing Tomura Shigaraki's philosophy of destroying everything one hates.

Chapter Notes

 * Himiko Toga underwent an "awakening", and is now capable of copying and using the Quirk of the person she's impersonating with Transform.

Author's Comment
"I received an art contribution from Akutami Sensei for volume 23! I’m so happy! It goes on sale next week in Japan! Please check it out!"

- Kohei Horikoshi

Trivia

 * Prior to this chapter, Himiko's capability of copying and using Quirks was first mentioned in the Volume 19 Extras. She was also seen doing so in the video game, My Hero One's Justice.

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