[attr="class","header2"]APPEARANCE

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Content Warning: Child Abuse

Hebi was born Makihara Nagako in a small rural village somewhere in Honshu, Japan. She was the first (and only) child of single mother Makihara Fuyuko (槙原 冬子) and an unknown father. Hebi didn't have a Quirk awakening, her mutations fully manifested at birth which caused very early resentment of the 'monster child' from Fuyuko. Hebi's early life was spent inside for the most part, kept out of site from the rest of the village (even the rest of the Makihara family) as much as possible. Eventually though, Hebi had her first required hospital/clinic visit (for Quirk registration and vaccinations) as a young child. While there, the young Nagako's Quirk (and particular mutations) caught the eye of a Quirk science specialist by the name of Dr. Otonashi (音無), who wanted to study her further. Fuyuko, seeing an opportunity to benefit from what she viewed as a curse, accepted on her child's behalf.
Hebi spent much of her early childhood between home and private labs participating in 'voluntary' research studies and physical tests, the limits of her Quirk pushed as far as they could go and every facet of its manifestations examined in detail. If nothing else, 4-6 years of this gave Hebi a very comprehensive understanding of her Quirk, its workings and its limits. In this environment, Nagako was often treated as less-than-human. Her Quirker body was far more important than any personality or will that inhabited it, and the other (more 'human') children always received much more attention from the researchers if they complained or cried. Nagako had learnt not to do either. While some of the younger staff & doctorate students initially took pity on the young girl, they were quickly dissuaded from giving Nagako any 'extra attention'. All but one: Chiaki Ai (千秋 愛). Then a postgrad student, Chiaki always tried her best to ensure that any children in the studies (especially Nagako) were provided for, safe and as comfortable as she could manage. As a result, Hebi formed quite a strong bond with Chiaki, the only person from her old life who Hebi remains in contact with (and regularly visits, having moved to Tokyo as well).

The few years Hebi had attended her local elementary school (as was compulsory, much to Fuyuko's displeasure) had been better than the labs in many ways and worse in a few key ways. As stated, Hebi lived in a small rural village at the time, so the kids (and, to some extent, the teachers) at her area's small school had rarely if ever seen anyone with such an animalistic appearance as Hebi. This, coupled with the tendency for these communities to be rather backwards and xenophobic (even in the 2080s, with many of the children and parents possessing Quirks of their own), led to a significant amount of teasing and isolation for Hebi. It was in this environment that both the nickname Maki-tori ('winding') and the tendency to refer to Nagako as 'Hebi-chan' ('Snake') first arose, aliases she uses today as her 'real' name. Hebi had few friends during this time, only managing to get in the good graces of a couple other outcast kids (defending them at every opportunity, often to her own harm).
Some time in the summer of her 8th year, something within Hebi broke. Years of mistreatment had worn away at her self-esteem and mental health. She couldn't take it any more. Confessing the desire to escape her poor circumstances to Chiaki (who provided her with a cheap mobile phone) in confidence, Hebi took the next chance she got to run away in the middle of the night, when her mother was asleep. Hebi spent the next couple of months on the truly rural outskirts of her area, hunting or stealing food to survive, experience which gave her stealth and combat skills beyond what came naturally from her Quirk. Eventually, Hebi was reported missing. As small and remote as their village was (with no dedicated police of its own), this had taken even longer than it normally would've. In addition, Makihara Fuyuko was glad to be rid of Nagako, and so was in no hurry to report her absence. It was only when her teachers (at least, the couple who cared enough about her) noticed the prolonged absence that anything was done about it. Seeing the police search party and fearing a return to her uncaring mother, Hebi fled. She ran in what she knew was the direction of the nearest train station and once she'd reached the tracks, Hebi jumped on the first freight train that went by. Unbeknownst to Nagako (who would never again be known by that name), that train was headed for Tokyo Prefecture.

For the better part of 2 years, Hebi lived homeless on the streets of Tokyo. Throughout this time, she was forced to further hone her skills to survive among the many villains, thugs, yakuza, thieves and bored delinquents/bigots that walked the world's largest city. The winters, when the city grew cold and frost-covered, were the hardest of all. Hebi, thanks to her Quirk making her ectothermic (cold-blooded), was often unable to find sufficient warmth to sustain her bodily functions. This meant that she'd often collapse, 'hibernating' for several days at a time before some rare concerned civilian, hero or whatever brought her inside somewhere or gave her some form of insulation. She barely survived, and in the weakened, delirious state the winter cold caused, she was often taken advantage of. Whether it was some depraved person who just sought to abuse the young girl for their pleasure, or someone so disturbed that they saw her mutant nature as something monstrous and worthy of punishment. It didn't much matter to Hebi why they did it, the action was just as evil regardless. In most cases, it was an individual. Sometimes Hebi was strong enough to fend/scare them off, sometimes she wasn't. One such instance was the 6th of January 2092. A particularly cold day, Hebi was barely able to keep herself conscious. It was multiple men this time, somewhere between 2 and 6, she couldn't quite recall the number. Had it not been for the intervention of one Takamiya Hoshino, Hebi could well have died that day, or maybe worse.

The 8 years that followed were relative bliss for Hebi. She began to follow the Takamiya heiress around hoping to pay her back for the assistance. After seeing just how bad of a state she was in though, the Takamiya family took Hebi in. A number of things were made immediately clear to her, least of which her role: to act as a companion to Takamiya Hoshino. The two quickly became almost inseperable, with Hebi offered the opportunity to attend the same schools and exist in the same social circles as Hoshino did. Hebi was always the subordinate of course, the tag-along and supporter, but she took to these roles with vigor. Behind closed doors, she studied hard to catch up and took interest in the many fledgling hobbies Hoshino started. She was ride-or-die. Hebi stood as a radical, determined to right the wrongs at the corrupt heart of the country's attitudes and offenses. She vowed to lift others out of danger and persecution, as had been done for her. Hebi wanted to be a Hero, a true Hero. So, when Hoshino expressed a similar interest and wanted to start doing good right away, how could she say no? It was only a matter of time before they had passed the UAU entrance exams, miraculously, and Hebi could not be more excited for the future.