Chapter 5
Who is Who? [103]
As life would have it, [.ku]'s email sat in Ochako's inbox for three days in total. She knows because when she opens it, she immediately gets a chat box message that says:
You were discharged yesterday, where the hell have you been?
She promptly ignores it, and instead opens the email and the attached folder. Yaoyorozu swings by, onyx eyes ghosting over her screen before narrowing at the chat box. Ochako can see it in the reflection of her screen and feel it in the way the air suddenly shifts.
Instead of drawing away, a small tin drop into Ochako's lap. She blinks, looking back at the hero as she walks away.
"I'll inform Ryukyu," Yaoyorozu says with a huff. "Those are for stress."
Ochako pops the little tin open- cutely decorated with a chibi version of Yaoyorozu in a nurse outfit and 'Rescue Pastilles!'- to find it filled with small purple candies.
"What are-?" Ochako asks, looking back only to find the Hero gone.
She sets the candies aside, deciding she can ask later. She assumes they don't have anything fishy in them, Yaoyorozu is a Hero after all, but then again, she can manufacture a stapler with a flick of her wrist and a blood-clotting agent with a flex of her finger. She shoves the candies in a drawer with her private horde of pens and pencils.
She starts going through files.
[.ku] did his research, and it shows in the extensiveness of the first file she opens.
It's a manifesto. Neatly typed up with dozens of comments- snarky ones for the most part by the look- littering the document. She skims the article, and it immediately calls back to the old manifesto of the 'Meta Liberation Army'. She grimaces, digging deeper through the text. A lot of the text actually calls back to both the group and the book 'Meta Liberation War', and it shows in how the author calls for the Quirkless to be put down.
"What have we got, Uravity?" Ryukyu demands, and the click of her heels mark her approach.
"Information on the Dead Hands. This is the manifesto…" She trails off, idling for just a moment longer on [.ku]'s comment about Quirkless.
Why does it look so… personal?
Like he himself is being attacked as opposed to another group…?
One Quirkless person would fucking kill the lot of you.
But it feels like one is…
She shakes her head, minimizing the file and instead glancing at the other documents.
Her chat updates.
This is time-sensitive information.
Check the AOO file. Page 17 has suspected hideouts.
Understood.
One double click later, she and Ryukyu are looking at a list of possible locations, and a very neatly made chart of the city marking areas of influence, control, and a triangulated area of assumed hideouts. There are a few other gangs that are marked on the map as well, and a color-coded legend decorates the top left of the screen.
"Huh. Who knew the guy had a degree in arts and crafts too- Ribbit." Froppy must have joined them.
Ochako hoped she was back from patrol with that coffee she promised… They were becoming fast friends, and while Ochako had only lingered in the hospital for another day or so, Froppy- Tsuyu (she kept insisting she call her by her first name) had visited her whenever patrol allowed.
Usually it wasn't for long, but it was… nice… to have a… friend…
The chat box updates in response to Frop-Tsuyu's quip.
Better than your master's degree in toad song.
Ochako snorts before she can catch herself, and the look of utter betrayal Tsuyu sends her is ruined by the flush of red running up her neck and onto her cheeks. The frog girl turns away abruptly, and the squeaky tune of her boots on the laminate floor confirms the weather outside.
No wonder she was in a good mood.
Well.
Was being the key word.
"How accurate is this information?" Ryukyu demands.
If you asked when I sent it? 97%
Now?
You'll have to find out.
"He's stringing us along. It's probably bad intel," Creati mutters.
"It wasn't last time."
I don't lie, Creati.
But please, continue to contemplate my allegiances while a renegade gang tries to resurrect Shigiraki and All for One's lifelong goals.
I do ever so love a good apocalypse.
And getting murdered in my sleep by my asshole neighbors.
"I'll grab Nejire-chan and verify the location," Ryukyu says, breaking from the group as she unclips her cellphone. Ochako hears the dial tone.
"I can go too-"
"You're resting!" Ryukyu denies her request, and Ochako groans and shrinks in her seat.
"It's fine. We'll provide tech support for them and stay in contact. We can also keep in touch with [.ku], since he only appears to talk to you," Creati offers the suggestion to Ochako with a smile. "It's what I tend to do."
Ochako matches the smile but finds that it doesn't quite feel like it reaches her eyes. She knows it must hurt Yaoyorozu to not be able to join the field. To be restricted to easy going missions and office work. She knew the woman's Quirk was powerful, monstrous even in some cases, and yet she was stuck here. Shackled to the office due to one mistake so, so many years ago…
"Keep in touch," Froppy says, running out the door. "Wait for me Ryukyu!" She shouts, and with that the frog and dragon Heroes are out the door and rushing back into the foul weather.
The door slams shut with a gust of wind, and Ochako can't help but feel like she and Yaoyorozu are stuck back at the hospital. In a different setting, but still stuck in a room without anything to do but watch. Forbidden to participate.
Stuck on the sidelines.
Remember to be mindful of traps and bombs.
[.ku] helpfully adds to their chat.
Ochako huffs, staring at the chat box for a while. Yaoyorozu pulls her chair up next to her, a fresh cup of tea suddenly in her hands- though she doesn't know when the Hero made it. Only that she seems to have a constant supply of the drink.
"It's not so bad. You'll be back to full activity duty soon," Yaoyorozu assures, taking a sip.
Ochako hums back in response, moving her laptop to the center of her desk so they both can see the screen.
She knows that.
She knows that by next week she'll be released to hit the streets again and resume regular patrols- or coordinate with Ryukyu on tracking down the Dead Hands Gang. She will return to her normal activities, chasing down thugs and arresting villains and thieves.
And Yaoyorozu will remain here, stuck in the office on a chain by her faulty pacemaker. Ironically a chain of her own making, but a burden and a punishment that she shouldn't have to bear for the rest of her life. She was just a student when that happened, and yet here she was… years later still paying the price for one mistimed action.
"It's okay. I'm used to it," Yaoyorozu says, but her smile is forced, and it doesn't reach those brilliant onyx eyes.
How smart must she be to balance all those equations? To know how something is formed and structured down to the individual molecule? How intelligent did someone have to be to look at you and know your chemical and molecular breakdown?
It was a scary thing.
"You're better than this," Ochako says, unsure of what made her declare that statement, but she stands by it. Yaoyorozu blinks, wide-eyed and confused. "I haven't known you long, but I know you're better than just this. You are more than what that… that thing," and she gestures at Yaoyorozu's chest, "forces you to do."
"T… Thank you. I… I don't know what to…" Yaoyorozu breaks off, but the smile on her lips is genuine now.
Naturally Ochako's laptop pings, signaling that [.ku] has likely contributed to their conversation.
She turns back, huffing out in exasperation. No doubt there's another quip, but she turns her gaze back to her laptop anyway.
She gets a wall of text instead.
Creati is perhaps one of the Heroes capable of the most casual mass destruction possible with the least amount of effort. Freshman year she was capable of creating a fully working and operational mortar system, along with a dozen artillery shells. Since then, her understanding of weapons, structures and her grasp and understanding of her Quirk has only improved. The only thing she lacks is the time and availability to utilize her abilities.
Creati is an incredible Hero.
And one mistake should not have cost you your career, nor Chargebolt his… mental health…
Chargebolt?
Ochako wasn't familiar with that Hero name.
"Chargebolt…" Yaoyorozu hesitates, then sighs and takes another sip of tea. She shifts in her chair, staring at the computer screen for a long moment. "I don't think he could ever get over the idea that he hurt me. His demons are harder to fight than my own."
Who was Chargebolt?
Ochako knows better to ask though.
She can see that it's a loaded question- one with a heavy painful explanation
So she redirects instead. "Looks like you have a fan, Yao-Creati." She stumbles over the name- suddenly all too aware that this hacker could use their real name and track their personal life.
Yaoyorozu laughs and smiles. "I think it's a bit odd getting encouragement from a wanted man, but I suppose there are worse things in life."
You flatter me, Creati.
Uravity- I use hero names exclusively.
I might be a hacker, but I do have boundaries. This is exclusively work related. I don't care about your, or about any of the other hero's civilian names.
Ochako grimaces, making a face at the last line. So, he'd noticed. Hell, he could probably just roll whatever audio he had of their conversations back and play it over a few dozen times whenever he did.
"Is it safe to assume you know our civilian names then?" Creati asks, reclining in her chair. She's surprisingly calm for the response [.ku] had.
Of course.
But the moment I express interest in a Hero's personal life is the moment they should be concerned about what demons I will pull from their closets, and what monsters I will raise to destroy them.
Assuming of course that the reason I express interest is because a Hero is guilty of being a false Hero.
"You realize that puts you somewhat in line with Stain's ideology, correct?" Yaoyorozu replies, taking a sip of her tea.
I do.
Stain's approach to societal corruption of the Heroing industry was juvenile and naïve. It certainly generated a response, but it was a negative one that opposed his ideology. This was because he never exposed Hero's for the frauds they were.
He served as judge, jury, and executioner- if we wish to steal an American phrase.
The better way is to instead turn the public on a Hero and expose their corruption. The people will take care of it after that… And if not? Then it simply means that alternative methods need to be taken.
This is something that I am finding out even now.
Yaoyorozu frowned, something in her expression shifting. "Stain crippled one of my classmates."
Iida Tenya didn't deserve the punishment he got, and his work since that injury- starting his charity, creating more jobs for ex-Heroes, and even just spreading awareness- proves out that Stain was wrong in his collateral attack of the young Hero.
You've proven that Stain's thought process was wrong.
Not necessarily his ideology as a whole.
Look at me. I believe there needs to be a … culling?- I believe that's the word he used- of Heroes, but killing them is not the answer.
Ochako pursed her lips, a sick feeling suddenly settling in her stomach. [.ku] was talking about lives here. Casually discussing ruining lives, and certainly he was knowledgeable, and if his ability to hack into DiamondEdge, and all the other villain associates was anything to go by, he didn't do so recklessly. But it was still the life of a person he was tearing down.
"Don't you think that's a little… much?" Ochako asked.
Tell me it's 'a little much' when you can pull files and reports of Heroes sexually harassing women on the streets and using trillions of yen to cover it up. Tell me it's 'a little much' when you see evidence of Heroes neglecting house fires and missing children's reports in favor of chasing a bank robbery because it will have 'more coverage'. Tell me it's 'a little much' when the people you trust to save you are the ones that condemn and torture you. Physically, or emotionally.
You dipped your toes into this realm of filthy corrupt Heroes, but I have dived in headfirst. I am not a murderer. That's too good for these degenerate pieces of shit. Stain's ideology was childish. You do nothing but create a martyr when you kill a Hero- even a corrupt one. You have to shatter everything they are and burn down their reputation so that nothing is left but the ashes of their career.
Ochako sat in her chair, staring at the wall of text.
Her computer hummed.
The chat remained open.
And her mind struggled to understand the points he had produced. There was just something so fundamentally… wrong… about what he said. Heroes allowing people to get hurt chasing fame? Or worse, Heroes… hurting…? People? That wasn't what they stood for. That wasn't what any of this was supposed to stand for.
Her stomach shifted and flipped, and suddenly she felt bile rising in the back of her throat.
"I'm going…" She trailed off, throwing herself out of her chair and rushing to the bathroom.
The door hadn't even closed before she was bent over the porcelain rim of the toilet and puking into it. She dry heaved twice, and then the contents of her lunch reappeared. Her stomach heaved a fourth time, and the rest of it joined the first bit.
"You okay?" Yaoyorozu's hand came around the side of her face, pulling her bangs back. A moment later a hairclip did the job for her, and Yaoyorozu's hands instead held back the rest of Ochako's hair.
Ochako groaned in response, spitting the residue out of her mouth. She nodded weakly but remained over the toilet. Oxygen wheezes in and out of her lungs, bringing with it the acrid taste of bile in her mouth and the rolling of her stomach again.
She pulled away, and Yaoyorozu kindly flushed it. Ochako slumped against the wall, trying to work out the taste in her mouth as she looked at her coworker.
She was concentrating, brow furrowed as she thought for a moment. Her hand was outstretched, her eyes cocked to one side as she tried to recall something. A peppermint, wrapped in plastic, popped out of her palm, and Yaoyorozu smiled, handing it over.
"Took me a moment to remember peppermint," she explains as Ochako take the mint.
She unwraps it, amused at the chibi graphic of Yaoyorozu on the wrapper, before sucking the candy into her mouth. It helps wash the taste of bile out of her mouth. It helps sooth Ochako's frazzled nerves and let her calm down.
It helps her focus.
"Do you… think…" She trails off, wincing at her own thoughts.
Luckily she doesn't have to finish the thought.
Yaoyorozu is smart enough to guess where the question is going.
"I don't think he's wrong," she allows, crossing her arms and moving back to lean against the opposite wall. "But I don't think .ku is right either."
Ochako settles back against the wall, pressing her fingertips together, feeling the pads on each of them squish just a little before she pulls them back to do it again. There's something soothing in the gesture, in the feel of her callouses squishing against each other.
"But… if he's got all the evidence to prove that…" Ochako mutters.
God. She just wanted to be a Hero. She wanted to save people, put a smile on their faces and let them keep going about their day. She wanted to see people smile and laugh at their favorite Hero. She wanted to make them happy in the same way. She wanted everyone, every Hero, every civilian to return home at the end of the day. But if Heroes were the ones that were hurting those they swore to protect…
"I think there are bad apples in every bunch." Yaoyorozu finally breaks the silence that crept in between them. It was only for a moment, but apparently, she could see Ochako spiraling. "I think that there does need to be a more critical eye leveled at Heroes. We learned nothing from the MLA, or apparently from the entire Kamino Ward incident. We continue to leave Heroes unregulated, make cursory glances at reports, and do little policing of our own ranks. And while new generations get PowerPoints and class plans and courses dedicated to corruption and ethics… older generations do not have that same training."
"So are we just supposed to… have them retire?" Ochako asks, suddenly thinking of Thirteen and Gunhead. They were an older generation. They hadn't gotten the same experience, or the same training as Yaoyorozu, or even herself had gotten. Did that mean… did that mean they might… might also…?
"I think every Hero needs to be inspected," Yaoyorozu shrugs at the suggestion, and Ochako watches as the Creation Hero suddenly presses a thumb against her chest, digging into it. As if she's trying to soothe the beating of her own heart.
But it's thought provoking, and it makes Ochako consider that. "You mean like how construction companies are audited yearly, and examined quarterly by safety organizations?"
"Exactly." Yaoyorozu flashes her a smile. "Heroes don't really do that. We have awards, we have recognition, but we lack accountability for our actions. No one follows back up on our collateral, or on our impact to civilized life. It's left unchecked, unquestioned. We can get away with anything- so long as the public supports us."
"We need to be held accountable for our failures, just as we are praised for our actions," Ochako concludes.
Yaoyorozu nods, stepping back across the room. She huffs, shaking her head a bit to clear some lingering thought from her mind. "Exactly." She stretches out her hand. "Lets check in on Ryukyu and Tsu. Make sure they're alright."
It's a distraction from their current topic, either because Yaoyorozu doesn't want to keep talking, or because it upsets the both of them too much. But Ochako allows that distraction to invade the conversation, taking the proffered hand and pulling herself to her feet.
"Of course."
Ochako's computer remains open, their chat still up, but on the screen is a game of Tetris- downloaded from somewhere and played for [.ku]'s amusement as he waits. His well set up is impressive, as are his block placement skills.
The bricks change color and the blocks start falling faster. His placement doesn't suffer for it, but as she and Yaoyorozu return to their seats the game closes out.
You've returned.
Shall I order dinner to make up for you puking out lunch?
"Shove it," Ochako growls back. She taps her comm, flipping to Ryukyu and Froppy's tactical channel. "What's it looking like? .ku isn't being very helpful on our end."
It obviously hadn't been eventful if they hadn't relayed anything back or asked for back up but…
"Bust- Ribbit," Froppy replies after a moment. "Hideout was cleared out. Working with Ryukyu to secure it with police, but they cleared out days ago."
Ochako and Yaoyorozu groan, slumping back in their chairs. The chatbox produces a series of bubbles at the bottom, and Ochako cocks an eyebrow at it.
Did he really bother to program in a 'I'm typing' indicator to his own chat system?
I told you that information was time sensitive.
I'll get back to digging.
".ku said he'll start digging, see if he can't find out where they went." Ochako huffs into the comm. "Want me and Yaoyorozu-"
"Call me Yaomomo-, we're friends now!" Yaoyorozu interrupts suddenly, and Ochako stutters- suddenly uncomfortable with that familiarity.
"Ya-Yaomomo to start the reports," Ochako finishes, heat running up the back of her neck.
Oh god. She was friends with her coworkers now. What was that even like? Did that mean they hung out? Did that mean they came over after work? Please no- her apartment was a mess! It would be so embarrassing if they did! Oh noooooo…
"How does Thai food sound?" Nejire-chan cuts into the line. "I'll call in while we wrap up here!"
Ochako laughs, smiling as Momo gives her order. She hesitates, but caves to peer pressure and orders Pad Thai. It's cheap, easy and simple. "I'll pay you guys back."
"Eh- it'll go as a company expense," Ryukyu mutters. "Group bonding."
Yaomomo suddenly grabs Ochako's shoulder, and Ochako jolts, surprised as she points frantically to the computer screen.
Tell Nejire-chan the order is under Uravity.
It's paid for.
Consider it payment for wasting your time, but keep in mind you also wasted my info.
Ochako stalls, mouth open as she considers the words. She looks to Yaomomo- who looks equally at a loss for words.
Did.
Did an infamous hacker just buy them… dinner?