Chapter Three
[413]- Almost
It's all going just a little too well for Ochako to be comfortable with.
Has been for weeks now, and she's been waiting for the ball to drop.
She got to train with Thirteen for a week thanks to her sudden unemployment, and the ProHero had graciously extended their training period and offered the newly upgraded USJ area to train in. The excuse was that Ochako could use it for training, and Thirteen could use it to help dial in the simulations before they unleashed it on the UA students.
It was hell.
Ochako loved it.
Then there was her training with GunHead. The rough and brusque Hero had greeted her roughly, but quickly warmed for some reason. Emi said it was just her natural personality and her work ethic, but Ochako was still just a bit suspicious of it. He worked her a bit harder than any of the other sidekicks or participants in the training hall but gave her praise on some of the harder maneuvers.
He didn't extend their training like Thirteen did, but he did offer to coach her for longer. And in a three-day course she spent a grand total of thirty or more hours in his dojo, despite him only offering a quick three day- four hours course in the email. She took it as it was, and he said if she hadn't found a job in a few weeks, she should email him, and he'd be willing to find something for her to do.
She had laughed it off.
It sounded like a genuine offer, but as luck would have it, it turned out she didn't need it.
Ryukyus' agency called her back, and after three rounds of interviews- once with the HR department, once with Ryukyu herself, and a third time with the sidekicks she would be working with- she'd gotten the job and landed a cushy sidekick position that came with a cubicle and a salary that was (admittedly) about double what she had been making working under DiamondEdge.
It's all going far too well and Ochako feels like it's all going to shatter as soon as she expects too much of the situation.
"Uravity~! What kind of tea do you like?"
She blinks, stirring herself out of her thoughts as she looks at the black-haired beauty that was Ryukyu's favorite.
"Uh. Green?"
It takes a moment for Ochako to even remember the woman's name, and she has to muddle back through her own thoughts before she eventually lands on her Hero name. Creati.
Right. She has a creation Quirk. Something about food and carbs and turning it into stuff.
"Imperial Tipped or Yameenan?" Creati's smile is dazzling and Ochako has no place to run since she's been cornered in her little cubicle.
"Either?" Were those brands? She knew there were preferred brands of green tea, but usually she just drank whatever was in the cans in the vending machine, or barley tea. What the heck was Imperial Tip?
"I'll do Imperial then!" She beams at Ochako and it's nearly radiant as she bounds off.
Ochako lets out a sigh of relief, unsure if this was some weird newbie hazing ritual for Creati to quiz them on tea brands. She spins in her chair for a moment, marveling at the smoothness of the swivel.
"So, this is what it's like working for a Top 10 Hero." Ochako marvels, drumming her fingers on the arms of her chair. And according to the other sidekicks her chair was the worst- no back support.
Not that Ochako was going to complain about it. It was a rolling chair that actually swiveled, didn't squeak, and had soft fabric arms and a headrest. Compared to her little chair back at DiamondEdge's, this was a throne. Plus, her new company laptop was so fast! It was amazing!
"Careful, you'll get nauseous- Ribbit."
She stopped her wild spinning with her feet, her vision snapping back into focus on the sidekick leaning over her cubicle wall.
It was another of the many female heroes that Ryukyu's agency employed, but she hadn't met this particular individual yet. So, she flashed them a smile, got up and proffered her hand.
"Don't worry about it, I've got a strong stomach since my Quirk affects it! I'm Uravity."
"Froppy- Ribbit. What's your Quirk?" She asks, taking Ochako's hand and shaking it.
"Zero-Gravity, so it used to unsettle my stomach." Ochako laughs, and Froppy hums in response. "So, what's yours?"
"Frog." She replies, and suddenly the length of her fingertips and the slightly sticky feel of her hands makes sense.
"Oh, that's cool! I bet you can stick to walls and stuff!"
Froppy shrugs but smiles all the same and nods. "It's pretty useful- Ribbit. But it's not as flashy as Yaomomo's. She can make just about anything."
Froppy leans a bit more over the cubicle wall, and Ochako notices that she's dressed ready for patrol, a thick helmet on her head with flashlights. Her hero costume looks more like a dive suit, mostly black with streaks of green. A slim vest that's strapped tight over her chest that holds a few pockets, handcuffs peeking out of one of them.
"About to go on patrol?" She guesses.
"I like the rain." Is Froppy's response, and Ochako frowns, glancing out the window to see that it is indeed raining.
Huh. She hadn't even noticed. Whoops.
"I bet it comes with the Quirk huh?" She jokes, and Froppy's response is a sort of chortled laughter that reminds Ochako of a chorus of frogs. It's surprisingly soothing when accompanying the pitter patter pitter patter of the rain.
"Gotta hop, it was nice meeting you- Ribbit." Froppy says, "Let me know if you need a hand around the office; Ryukyu is a bit of a slave driver, but you seem like you can handle it."
The frog-themed Hero heads out the door and Ochako swivels back in her chair to find Creati coming back with a steaming cup of tea.
"Here you are! I hope you enjoy it here! Let us know if you need anything." She smiles, and then is off once more, slipping around the corner to attend to her own tasks.
Ochako spins back to her new work computer, setting the tea down beside it as she logs back into it. It hums and loads quickly, and she has her email and the orientation file HR sent her up in only a minute.
She pushes the laptop back, stretching slightly as she prepares herself for a few hours of orientation videos and ethic choices and everything else that came with enrolling as a sidekick. She ques up the first one, watching the video player load before launching into a discussion about 'Victim vs. Villain Identification on The Streets'.
It's a video she's seen before, not just when she started at DiamondEdge's but also just about every year starting practical training classes. She zones out about halfway through, picking up her tea and sipping at it.
It's a good flavor, but it's one she's never had before and whatever the intricacies there are in it are lost on her inexperienced tongue. She sips it all the same, lost in the wandering of her thoughts before her laptop suddenly pings.
She jerks, frowning for a moment before scooting forward to the display. She has a new instant message.
Interesting.
She sets her tea aside, tapping the notification. In response her laptop hums a touch louder, then a secondary popup in the bottom right corner of her screen appears.
[.ku Instant Messenger!] is the program's name and upon reading it Ochako's heart immediately drops into her stomach.
What was this about?
Was he going to blackmail her?
Did he have some plot to take her emails and send them out to someone- the media, or villains or- or -or. She didn't even know.
She stares as a chat bubble appears, just for a few moments before it updates and a cute ping signals that the new message has arrived.
Ryukyu made a good decision hiring you.
Glad you took my advice.
She stares at the words for a moment, then turns and looks back around the office. Creati swings through the office, carrying a stack of papers. She waves, and after a moment the Creation Hero waltzes over, frowning.
"Something I can help you with?" She asks.
"Yeah I just go-" Ochako freezes, blinking for a moment as she finds the bottom right of her screen suspiciously empty of [.ku]'s IM program. She frowns, then tabs out of the video player. "I had a popup…" She mutters.
"Oh it's probably just an update! Ryukyu is pretty good about making sure our laptops are secure. She spends a good deal on firewalls and encryptions." Creati laughs.
Ochako's laptop pings in response.
Not good enough.
The words do not appear in the small messenger app on Ochako's desktop. Instead, they scroll across her screen, taunting both Ochako and Creati with the declaration.
"Is-was-did you-"Creati pauses, staring wide-eyed at the screen.
".ku." Ochako replies, breathing in deep and exhaling. She picks up her tea, taking a sip as the chat box reappears. "So, you can hear us?" She asks.
Of course. But it's impolite to eavesdrop on conversations that are not mine, dear Uravity. Just like it's rude to invite people into a private conversation.
Creati- if you'd be so kind as to inform Ryukyu there's been a security breach?
The Creation Hero doesn't need to be told twice, and before Ochako can turn around she hears the stack of papers she'd been carrying slap into the floor and her running footsteps. Ochako spins, cocking an eyebrow at the paperweight that has appeared on the papers to hold the majority of them in a pile, and catches Creati pulling Ryukyu's office door open.
"We have an issu-" Creati's voice is cut off by the slamming of the door, and punctuated by an additional ping of Ochako's laptop.
"Could you give me a break?" Ochako asks, turning back to the screen.
Ryukyu will be here shortly.
And why would I do that?
"Because I'd like to have my first week of work not include a hacker infiltrating my brand-new company laptop." Ochako grumbles back.
She isn't sure why she's conversing with the entity on the other side of her computer screen, but she's been having a good last few weeks, and this is just not how she wants to start the downhill slide back into misery.
Ryukyu will not fire you.
Ochako frowns, uncertain if that's an assurance or a threat.
I have a case for you.
And that's when her new boss's hand slaps down on Ochako's shoulder and Ochako dies a little inside.
"This looks interesting. Why's .ku messing with our new little astronaut?" Ryukyu asks, and Ochako's heart hammers away at her own ribcage as her boss leans over her shoulder to examine the computer screen. "What case hacker?"
Ochako's computer pings again, and Ryukyu leans back, allowing Ochako to see the message.
Check out the Riveria Fishing Warehouse.
There's a frustratingly inconclusive silence that follows the collective reading of the request. Ryukyu's fingers scale, one finger morphing into a claw as it taps idly on Ochako's desk. Creati hums, and then pulls away, returning momentarily with a cup of tea.
She sips it carefully, one hand to her chest.
"Suit up Uravity. We're taking a look at this," Ryukyu says. She pulls away, then stops, approaching Creati. "You…"
"Just got my adrenaline pumping." Creati dismisses with a tight expression. "The pacemaker is fine." She waves the boss away, leaving Ochako confused on what a pacemaker has to do with anything, and why Creati isn't moving with the same frantic intensity that Ochako finds herself in- ripping her desk drawers open to pull out her belt and head gear.
"Hold down the fort then, Creati." Ryukyu flashes her a smile, then rushes off to her own office- no doubt to change from the neat black dress into her Hero uniform.
Ochako luckily didn't have that problem. She wore her uniform to work.
"Ready!" She shouts to Ryukyu as she clips on her belt. "Should I call Froppy?"
"Have her meet us there. I want this settled yesterday!" Ryukyu calls back.
"You go, I'll call Froppy." Creati replies, setting her tea down and marching off to the phone. "It's the least I can do. Let me know if you need anything else."
Ochako is already out the door by the time the rest of what Creati has said reaches her ears. Her feet pound the pavement, mentally mapping where Ryukyu's agency is and where the Riveria Fishing Warehouse is. North, two blocks south then six east.A Cab would be faster. But rooftops would be straighter.
Her hands skim her own hips, and she launches herself into the air. Rain slicks off her costume, the water-resistant material keeping her dry as she vaults onto the nearest roof. She jumps to the next roof, floating part of the way before dropping onto it.
It's not the fastest method of travel, but it's one that she's gotten good at by working at DiamondEdge's. The faster you could patrol an area meant the faster you could go around for a second lap, which means the safer it usually is overall. Ochako wasn't the fastest, but she knew she was getting better at maneuvering.
She lashes out with her newest support item, and from the thin wristlet on her right arm a grappling hook shoots out, burying in the concrete across the street. She pulls, launching herself across the street. She pulls the hook out as she passes and repeats the move with the left wristlet. It speeds up her travel, but not fast enough as she lands on the rooftop across from the warehouse.
Froppy is already waiting, her helmet low on her head, the oversized flashlights off as she peers at the warehouse doors.
"Fancy meeting you here," Ochako whispers, taking the last few steps of her run across the rooftops to slow down before dropping into a crouch beside her.
Froppy jerks, but calms instantly, sticking her tongue out at Ochako. "Scared me there, Uravity." She whispers back. "I haven't seen anything yet. Ryukyu coming?"
"Already here kiddos." Their boss chimes into their comm link, and both sidekicks whirl, but fail to find the dragon-morphing Hero. "Get ready for combat!"
They look up.
Ryukyu comes down.
Like a bolt of lightning, she descends from the heavens, and like a crash of thunder she lands at the gates of the warehouse and slings it open with one massive claw. The steel screeches and squeals as it rattles back on its track. Ryukyu shrinks and goes in before Ochako or Froppy can get off the rooftop and join her.
"How's it looking- kero?" Froppy asks as she slides down the wall, keeping pace with Ochako as she descends.
"Clean," Ryukyu responds. "Crates, boxes, lights are off. Could be the rain, but no one is here."
The sidekicks rush through the rain to join their Hero inside the building. Ryukyu is waiting at the door, lips pursed and fully human. A flashlight gleams in her hand, the beam trained on a crate that has been pulled to the middle of the floor, the top ripped off. Likely by the effective usage of a dragon claw.
"Black market shipments." Ryukyu says, gesturing towards the boxes. "Assault rifles, china white heroin." She snorts. "And that's just the first box."
"So .ku's tip was good," Ochako murmurs. "How does he know?"
Ryukyu shakes her head. "There's no telling. But whoever this .ku is has always been a step ahead of us, the police, and the villains. We think their Quirk is that they're plugged into the web- literally."
The theory makes sense.
But only just.
Ochako thumbs her phone, clipped to the side of her belt and so outdated she doesn't think any Quirk would be able to interface with it. It was ancient, to the point that the 'browser' service no longer worked, and she didn't even get updates on the system anymore. It was probably a miracle she got 'Tetris' and 'Brick Buster.'
"So, what do we do?" Ochako asks as Ryukyu heads to another box, morphing her hand into the clawed weapon of destruction many fears.
She swats the crate top, and it cracks and rips free. Ochako joins her, and together they peer into the crates. She's never seen a gun before, but she recognizes it all the same. The sleek black of the barrel and the lengthiness of the weapon. A rifle. A long rifle. Several green boxes are stacked next to it, a dozen short magazines.
"Is that…"
Ryukyu pulls it out of the case, rotating the rifle around in her clawed grip. "Sniper rifle," she confirms. She reaches out, pulling one of the magazines out of the box. One bullet is pulled free from the clip, and she examines it for just a moment before setting it back down in the box. "High powered munitions, too."
"Someone means business- kero," Froppy supplies.
A clatter somewhere in the back of the warehouse has Ryukyu discarding the rifle back in the box. Her forearms ripple, hardened scales covering smooth skin as she half-shifts. Ochako whirls to the sound, and Froppy immediately extinguishes her flashlights and jumps. She lands somewhere on the wall, and Ochako doesn't risk turning her gaze away from the back wall.
"Uravity, flank. Froppy, overhead." Ryukyu whispers, and Ochako creeps off as Ryukyu darts forward.
The crates and shelves make it difficult to keep pace with Ryukyu, but Ochako manages switching between floating herself over crates or swinging through open shelving. The scrambling that alerted them suddenly picks up, a smash as a wooden crate is torn open.
"Take cover!" Froppy shouts from the ceiling, and Ochako just barely squeezes behind a metal girder before hot lead rips through humid air.
Bullets ping and spark as they catch steel and glance off concrete. Ryukyu snarls suddenly, and Ochako peeks out of her cover just enough to see that the Hero is shielding herself with her scaled arms. A bullet glances off as she watches, a spurt of blood and a growl as a scale is ripped free by the projectile.
"Got visual." Froppy's voice comes in clean through the comms despite the gunfire.
"Drop him." Ryukyu snarls, another bullet cracks off her face, and Ochako can see the horn crack as it impacts and skates off her scales. "Shit!"
"Rain-Drop," Froppy replies.
There's a loud slam that Ochako can only guess is Froppy falling from the ceiling and body slamming the gunman into the concrete floor. The gunfire immediately stops, and Ochako rushes from her hiding.
Ryukyu has retracted her scales and Ochako can already see large welts where the bullets had hit. She fumbles for a moment with her belt before producing a wrap of bandages.
"S' fine," Ryukyu hisses, wincing as Ochako wraps the two worst ones. "Nothing broke the skin."
"I saw scales rip off," Ochako replies, and her suspicions are confirmed as she sees a patch of skin ripped free from Ryukyu's elbow. She wraps it in deft movements, then combs Ryukyu's hair back and dabs at a stream of blood. "You took the damage. Froppy took the takedown. Let me take care of the aftermath," Ochako reasons.
Ryukyu snorts, then smiles and relaxes. "I guess you're right."
Froppy arrives just as Ochako finishes dealing with Ryukyu's minor injuries, dragging their gunman behind her by his foot. She pauses just long enough to check on Ryukyu- a cursory glance and a frown and a wince at the blood, before she continues dragging the man across the rough concrete.
"Police should be here shortly." Ryukyu breaks into Ochako's thoughts as she packs away her medkit. "Let's check the rest of the facility." She taps her comm link, bringing Froppy into the conversation. "Keep an eye out for police, Uravity and I are going to check the rest of the warehouse."
"Understood- Ribbit." There's a pause, and then the sudden addition of rain in Froppy's com. "Hope you don't mind me waiting outside with our perp. I like the rain."
Ochako pauses, but the slight grin Ryukyu has doesn't tell her if Froppy is serious about the rain, or if she's just being petty towards the man for firing upon her boss and coworker.
Froppy graduated from UA…
Surely, they didn't allow that type of behavior to permeate their graduates…
Ochako decides not to ask, and instead follows Ryukyu deeper into the building. They stuck together this time, Ryukyu still in front with her arms scaled and a vicious tail swinging back and forth behind her. Ochako trails behind, flicking her flashlight back and forth as she scans the shelves.
"What do you think this is all for?" Ochako asks.
She bumps into Ryukyu- who has stopped at the end of an aisle- and looks around her to see what caught the Hero's attention.
A stainless-steel table shoved into the corner, an array of papers and drawings lain across its surface. A poster flutters on the wall- a hand grasping an old symbol that is still known and loved- and beneath it a spray-painted mural.
All-Might's symbol crushed in a large meaty hand.
The mural is sloppy, but there is enough red for Ochako to identify the tragedy without qualm. A skull is carved- dozens if not hundreds of nicks and scraps into the metal wall with a knife- underneath the poster, red dripping down over it.
"Someone who wants to start a revolution," Ryukyu says softly, stepping into the room. She sweeps through it, scanning documents while Ochako lingers at the threshold of the area.
Her phone chirps, and Ochako flips it open to check it on instinct.
Aren't you glad I tipped you off?
They call themselves the Dead's Hands.
".ku just contacted me," she says, and suddenly Ryukyu is right next to her, reading the message over her shoulder before stalking away.
"What a shitshow," The Hero mutters, glancing at the poster. She swats it as she passes it with her tail, ripping the flimsy paper off the wall.
Ochako almost misses it.
Only half the poster tears off, but the other half flutters and shakes. She gets half a glimpse of the object. One second to digest and process what that object- so carefully hidden and obscured behind a poster never meant to be removed- is before she reacts.
She only sees it for a moment.
Just a flicker of the poster as it shifts. And the ever so faint beep as a timer ticks over. She reacts on instinct. Adrenaline is dumped into her veins as her heart kicks into overdrive.
Ryukyu flicks her tail back, and the movement creates another snap of wind. The torn poster flutters up, and Ochako's suspicions are confirmed.
A bomb. Hidden in a recess behind the poster, small but deadly. The wires of the detonator run between jars of nails, but Ochako can still see the iconic packaging of a homemade explosive.
"Move!" Ochako yells, diving for Ryukyu.
Five fingers hit her boss' tail and she yanks and whips it around, throwing her out of the area as hard as she can.
"Uravity!" Ryukyu roars, but Ochako can't respond as the Pro tumbles through the air, movements too frantic to grab anything as she sails between the shelves.
Ochako dives for the stainless steel table, heavy and hopefully strong enough for her to survive. She flips it, sheltering behind it and hoping that this will be enough to keep her alive.
It's a small decision, but one that she barely considers.
She uses her Quirk on it, jumps just a little off the ground as something clicks and her eardrums pop.
Then the world becomes a blur of heat and pressure, muted colors whipping around her as metal pings against metal. Pain bleeds in through the rush of sounds and feelings, but only because Ochako finds herself on her back, staring up at the ceiling of the warehouse.
Something is on fire.
Heat blooms in her thigh.
She doesn't remember touching it, but she pulls her hand back up and finds the black gloves of her suit coated in red. Her hand shakes and gives out, slapping wetly on her stomach.
"...ura… are… ee…. Wh….. yo…?" Her headset has somehow stayed on through the explosion, but it crackles and fizzes as someone talks.
Rain is leaking through the ceiling.
A hole has appeared above it, oblong and jagged. Rain pours in, pitter pattering on her chest, on her cheek.
It cools the heat. It soothes the pain in her thigh.
She inhales, exhales. Closes her eyes.
A laugh creeps into her throat, bubbling up and no doubt into her comm. They will think she is crazy.
But all she can think about is that this makes more sense for her life. A chain of good things must always end in a crushing defeat, a tragic end.
Her phone buzzes on her hip. It pairs with the buzz of her comm, but the feeling fades as the heaviness on her chest and in her eyes takes over.