Chapter Four
[425] But for What?
Consciousness comes in flashes and blips.
She doesn't wake or crash back into reality.
Ochako slips in and out, like she's floating on the surface of consciousness and barely coming up for air before she drowns. It's a fleeting experience, but when she finally stays, she doesn't so much come to as she realizes her existence has continued in the mortal realm.
Consciousness is groggy at best, and it's accompanied by flickers of moments. As if time has been captured and retained for some reason.
"You weren't supposed to be so stupid," someone growls, the words sound like they're garbled and spoken through water. "What kind of Hero would you be as a stain on the concrete?"
Her next memory is of eating an orange jello cup. Someone is spooning it into her mouth. Her tongue feels fat and heavy, but she slurps it out of the spoon anyway.
"You're so going to wish we weren't recording this-Ribbit."
And then darkness.
Swirling in and out before suddenly she cracks her eyes open to see someone adjusting the blinds in her hospital room. Pale fingers slowly rotate the rod, bringing less light into the room and casting it in shadow.
"W-who?" She asks.
"A nurse." But they aren't dressed in scrubs or any sort of doctor's clothing. They are in dark-wash jeans and a sweater. They walk over, and Ochako can't remember if she lifts her head up any higher to see their face before she slips back under.
The next time she wakes it's dark, and the lights in her room have been dimmed. She feels more awake this time, like time and reality have settled the rest of the way in place and she's no longer lost in the drift of space.
Everything aches.
Her skin feels raw, and there's a pain in her left hip that feels particularly nasty. Her knees hurt, and a cursory glance down reveals that, not only is she in a gown with probably nothing underneath, but her legs are wrapped in a horde of bandages. There's also an ache in the back of her head, down her neck and shoulders.
She hisses as she sits up, and that noise must have been what summoned a passing nurse in.
"Woah, easy there." A gentle hand presses against her shoulder, another on her chest to ease her back down. "You might want to take it slow, Ms. Uravity."
She nods, taking it slow as the female nurse eases her back down. A cool chill seeps from the hand to Ochako's shoulder, and it soothes the ache that persists in the back of her neck.
"Wha-what happened?" She asks.
The nurse hesitates, but only long enough to pull back and sweep her bangs of white hair out of her face. "You and Ryukyu were in an explosion. According to Ryukyu, you threw her out of the worst of it, and her scales deflected the rest of the shrapnel."
"And…?" Ochako glances down at her legs, a new fear suddenly blooming in her chest.
Her legs were bandaged, not in casts, but bandages. That meant they were fine- right? She wasn't…? But she had pain in her neck. But she could feel her toes. Right? Right?
She flexes and wriggles them, and that soothes the sudden burst of anxiety and fear.
"You took shelter behind a metal table. The explosion pushed you and the table away- your Quirk probably saved you from dying from the concussive blast, and the metal table saved you from the worst of the shrapnel…" The nurse pauses, then smiles weakly. "Though not all of it. You sustained eighteen different puncture wounds, mostly in your limbs, though a few nails seem to have pierced the table and injured you elsewhere. Nothing life threatening, though."
"But you said I was touch and go?" Ochako's voice quivers and cracks, and she winces at the noise.
She really should ask for a glass of water.
The nurse reads her thoughts though- or seems to- and reaches over to a bedside table, picking up a glass full of crisp clear water. "Here," she prompts, and together they manage to get Ochako to sip and not spill it all over herself.
The glass returns to the table, and the nurse circles the bed, checking the various machines and Ochako's chart before returning to her bedside.
"The concussive blast was the main issue," the nurse explains. Ochako frowns, but the nurse doesn't seem to want to elaborate. "What's important is that you pulled through. You had perforated eardrums- and while we sped up the healing, sounds might be different for the next couple days."
Ochako nods, unsure what else to ask, or say, or even do, as the nurse walks out.
She rests in the bed, staring at the ceiling tiles and counting them one by one as she contemplates the chain of events.
She was in an explosion.
She and Ryukyu uncovered a possible terrorist group, or villain group.
.ku had notified them.
.ku had tipped them off.
She lingers on that thought for a moment, staring at the ceiling tiles and counting them. Twelve tiles wide, fourteen tiles across.
A total of one hundred and seventy-eight tiles.
She counts them again, back and forth in different ways as her boredom increases and her mind refuses to calm down.
It's only when she's finished counting them diagonally that she realizes there's something else on her bedside table. An ugly little pink device, scorched and chipped in new places. She reaches for it with her free hand, the other plugged into an IV.
Her index finger taps it, dragging it just a hair closer before she manages to scoop it up.
She flips it open, surprised to find that her screen lights up- the battery blinking on the last bar. She has three missed texts.
She navigates the screen with a few clicks of her thumb, pulling up the thread of messages.
It's with a specific amount of confusion and distaste that she opens up the [.ku] messages. All of the missed texts are from him.
Careful in there.
-11:17
I'll have information on the Dead Hand group soon.
-11:23
YOU TRIPPED A FUCKING BOMB?
-11:41
She stares at the text for a while, then closes it out, riffling through her phone before loading up 'Tetris'. Playing with one hand is a feat she hasn't done in a while, and while her first few rounds suffer, she soon gets the hang of it.
Her phone pings as she plays, but she ignores it and instead focuses on lining up a long piece with her well.
Her phone pings again. Two more times and the messages fill the screen.
Then her game pauses, and forces itself closed as her messages pull up.
So I see you're back in the realm of the living.
Don't ignore me.
You missed a chance for a tetris.
Your well set up disgusts me.
Uravity answer me.
What
She snaps off the text, but her phone refuses to exit the application. She futilely mashes the 'back' button but her phone refuses to listen to her.
You almost died.
Heroing is dangerous.
It was my intel.
My fault.
She stares at the phone, unsure of what to respond with as her phone closes the application and her game of Tetris resumes. She watches the blocks pile up, stewing on the information, and what it likely meant.
Her game ends.
The high score on her phone- tagged [.ku]- remains unbeaten.
Her phone blinks one last time, then powers off with a doot doot doot!. It leaves her staring at her reflection on the dark screen, the crack cutting her face in half.
She wonders if this is what she has to look forward to. She knew that dealing with .ku would be dangerous, and any contact with him likely put her in harm's way, or adjacent to it. She just didn't expect that harm to be quite so literal.
Then again. Nail bombs aren't really one of those things she got briefed on in school. General explosives? Yes. Improvised explosives? Nah. Not even close.
She idles, listening to the beep of her heart monitor and whirr of the AC. It must have lulled her to sleep, because the next thing she knows is that the sunlight is peeking through the blinds and someone is walking in with coffee.
She groans, squinting at the visitor as they move to the blinds, closing them.
"Wh-who?" She croaks.
Her visitor turns, and it takes her a moment to realize that she even knows them. But once she does she's all the more confused for it.
It's the boy from the coffee shop.
His hair is still contained in a beanie- brown today- and his eyebrows lifted up until they almost disappear into it. He's carrying a small to-go cup of coffee, the steam and scent of it wafting out of the sip top. He approaches the bed quietly, then abruptly pauses, considering for a moment.
"You're awake," he finally says, and his voice is a soft baritone. It's not deep or growly, but instead sounds… small. Like… like it belongs to a meek person, hiding from their own shadow.
"Mmm." She agrees, unsure of what else to say.
"Do you… remember me?" He offers slowly.
It's the most awkward exchange she's ever had in her life, with the exception of that one-time GrapeJuice presented during a meeting, and his browsing history had flashed up on the screen.
That was traumatizing.
"The barista, right?"
There's a moment of hesitation, something calculating behind those intelligent green eyes, then he nods and smiles. It's a small smile, like he's amused she even remembered him, not that he's pleased or excited.
"Detective Tsukauchi mentioned you were here. I thought I'd visit. See how you were doing," he explains, "but it looks like you're awake now. So I'll be going."
"O…okay?" She isn't sure what would have even brought the man here, much less why he would want to visit a hero that he didn't seem all that invested in seeing. "T-thank you for visiting."
He nods again, heading towards the door. He slips out, but peeks back in, slim fingers curling around the door edge as he unexpectedly adds, "I'm glad you didn't get blown up."
Ochako waves a little, frowning as the strange experience sinks into her. That was…
Odd.
She doesn't get much time to dwell on it though. A quick game of Tetris, one round of Brick Breaker and after her breakfast, she gets another visitor.
Creati walks through the door, humming softly to herself as she carries a small bag. She's lost in her own thoughts, but when she realizes Ochako is awake, the bag hits the floor and suddenly Ochako finds herself wrapped up in a hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Creati cries, squeezing her hard enough that Ochako taps her arm with three fingers for a breather.
She draws back immediately, letting out a sigh of relief. "We were so worried about you. The blast knocked you out, and Tsu said you had a… a… a few puncture wounds…"
"Nail bomb," Ochako explains. She reaches for her glass of water, and Creati meets her halfway with it. There's a tentative moment where they both war with- does she need help drinking, or just getting it?- before Creati trusts her enough to release it.
Her hand shakes a bit, but she drinks enough to soothe her throat before Creati takes it back and sets it on the table.
"Ryukyu said you threw her out of the way."
Ochako shrugs carefully, unsure of what to say to that. She hadn't really considered it. It had just been a reaction, some instinct that told her to do it.
"I didn't really think about it," she confesses.
Creati huffs and shakes her head, but smiles all the same. "I guess that's what makes your real Hero material then." She laughs a little, but there's something sad in her eyes. A hand drifts to her heart, rubbing it in a small soothing motion.
"Do…" Ochako hesitates, and the rest of her sentence slides down the back of her throat when Creati looks up at her, onyx eyes focusing on her. She swallows. "I don't think I ever got your name," she says instead, unwilling to commit to such a personal question.
Why would someone like her have a heart monitor?
Had she just heard Ryukyu wrong?
"Momo Yaoyorozu," Creati replies, "Though most of my friends call me Yaomomo," and she laughs as if there's a fond memory behind it.
Ochako does as well, smiling at the creation hero.
It's small talk after that. Yaoyorozu asks her how she's feeling, and Ochako assures her that she's doing better. The doctors apparently think she'll be fine after another day of rest. Ryukyu mentioned that she might be on desk duty for a little bit- after the stunt she pulled, and just to make sure she's recovered- but Yaoyorozu assured her she'd help her out.
Ochako asks what Yaoyorozu mainly does, since she doesn't seem to patrol a lot.
The topic is a sore one, based on the grimace that flashes across her face, but she answers all the same.
"My heart rate is a bit of a tricky subject," she explains, and once again her left-hand ghosts over her chest. "But the long and short of it is that there was an… accident… in training. Villains were there, and students were forced to fight. I… I made a… an insulated blanket, to protect us from electricity, but it didn't… hadn't quite sealed yet. And my classmate released his Quirk. Jirou was fine. I… I stopped… My heart…" She trails off.
Ochako grabs her hand. It takes leaning out of the bed and straining her arm to reach as far as it can for her to do so. Yaoyorozu grasps it, squeezes back and smiles.
"Thank you," she whispers. "It's just…" She trails off suddenly as she floats up from her chair. "Uh…"
They both laugh, and Ochako pulls her back down before releasing her Quirk. Yaoyorozu lands on her feet but doesn't move to sit again. Instead, she leans against the bed frame and huffs out a small sigh.
"He didn't mean to do it," she finally says. "In fact, it had been my plan. I was just slow on deploying the blanket." She drums her fingers against the bed frame, and suddenly a matryoshka doll joins Ochako in the bed. "And I paid the price for it."
Ochako takes the doll in both hands- minus the thumbs so it doesn't float to the ceiling- before spinning it around in her hands. It's a replica of herself, full heroing gear and everything. Her helmet is a bit bulkier than she thought it would be- maybe she should change it?- but it's a near perfect replica.
"And the price is you have a pacemaker," Ochako replies, handing the doll to Yaoyorozu.
She takes it, spinning it in her hands before cracking it open. Little play organs tumble out, and it makes Ochako wonder how much thought she put into the creation of the little doll. She picks one up, spinning the little heart between her fingertips.
"My Quirk creates things based on my knowledge of molecular and atomic structure. Anything I can remember the atomic construction of I can replicate using the lipids in my body. The issue comes in when I try to replicate something without full understanding."
Suddenly Ochako sees where this is going.
"When I was unconscious… or dead… depending on how you want to consider that…" She drops the little plastic organs back into the doll and closes it. "My Quirk tried to save me by creating a pacemaker. It worked and restarted my heart. But because I didn't make it correctly, it tries to regulate my heart any time it gets too high. Sometimes it will stop my heart, sometimes it restarts it."
"Doctors can't fix it?" Ochako asks, watching as she carefully sets the doll on the bedside table.
"Haven't tried yet. Scared that my Quirk will create a new one, or that it will act up and I'll… I'll…" She trails off, looking away.
Silence sets into the room.
Thick, heavy and uncertain.
There's nothing that Ochako could tell her that would make it better.
Nothing that would bring back the career Momo Yaoyorozu wanted to have- working in the field as a Hero that saved lives, or being a Combat Hero, or a Rescue one. Nothing could bring that back.
"I think that's really brave," Ochako finally says.
Yaoyorozu flinches, purses her lips and shakes her head. "I run paperwork for Ryukyu, I do office work, I balance budgets and make additional supplies or costumes. I reduce general overhead. I don't… I don't save lives," Yaoyorozu replies. "That's something I could never do."
"But you saved your own." Yaoyorozu startles at that, looking shocked at Ochako's response. "You saved your own life, right? And the gear you make for us, it lets us get back in the field quicker, and with better stuff. So I think that's saving our lives."
Yaoyorozu offers her a small smile and shrugs. "I suppose."
"I think you're a wonderful Hero, Creati." Ochako smiles, taking her hand once again- careful of her pinkies this time- and squeezes it. "I really do."
That seems to be the words she needs to hear, at least today and at least for right now. Her smile is still sad, but her eyes are wet and as she turns away Ochako catches a tear streaking down her face. She wipes it off with the back of her hand before going, "Ah- I hate crying." She laughs. "It makes my eyes too puffy!"
They both laugh at that, and Yaoyorozu gets up shortly, going to the bathroom to clean up. It leaves Ochako alone in the room again, fiddling with the little doll Yaoyorozu made.
She cracks it open, pulling out the play organs one by one before getting to the heart. It's the cartoon version instead of the realistic one, coated in muscle and veins that violently twists itself in order to pump blood throughout the body.
She rotates it, and the bump she felt on the back wasn't her imagination. It's small- likely matching in size to the scaled down plaything- but Ochako recognizes it.
A little tiny pacemaker on the back of the heart.
Her phone rings, startling her as she looks at it.
Wasn't it dead at this point?
She grabs it, frowning as she realizes someone one plugged it up, but that she doesn't recognize the charging cord. Nevertheless she flips it open, pressing the phone to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Uravity? .ku just informed me that you'll be his contact in the Dead Hands gang case. Have you received any intel yet?" Detective Tsukauchi wastes no time in introduction, and it leaves Ochako fumbling for her bearings.
"uhhh…" Her phone buzzes in her hands, and she pulls it away to see a banner notification that says 'In your email.' "Just sent me an email. I'll be in the office tomorrow."
"Understood. Get back to me when you get a chance. I'd like to know what .ku said to you first hand."
She adjusts the phone in her hand, wincing as her IV shifts in her wrist. Ahh- that hurts. She hisses softly at the pain. "I'll be in touch."
"As will I. Good luck. I'm glad. Take as much rest as you need, getting blown up isn't exactly something that you can walk off."
Ochako purses her lips at that, feeling her expression sour. If he knew that, then why did he call her and expect her to have an update?
"Get well soon, Uravity." The detective bids her farewell, and then ends the call.
When Yaoyorozu walks back in, she finds Ochako reclined in the bed, her free arm thrown over her eyes.
"You alright?"
"I'm not interesting enough to be tangled up between a master hacker, the police and a criminal gang," Ochako grumbles back. "I just want to have enough money to pay my parents back."
Yaoyorozu chuckles at that, and if she makes a gesture Ochako can't see it. "Sometimes we don't get to choose what hazards get thrown in our way, Uraraka. Sometimes it's just… something we have to live with."
The line is bitter from her lips.
But Ochako supposes that she has the most reason to be bitter about unfortunate twists in life out of anyone. Her entire future career ripped away and replaced with a shadow of itself? Ochako huffs and shakes her head.
No use feeling sorry for herself. It is too early for that.
She has to track down the Dead Hands Gang, corner .ku, get Detective Tsukauchi off her back, pay back her parents, and maybe somewhere in between there she could get her life in order.
At this point though, she'd definitely like to start with getting some pants first. Hospital gowns are drafty…