New story! Yay! New fandom too! Hurray!
Chapter ONE
Uraraka Ochako grows up wanting to be a hero.
She is born to two loving, doting parents who are honestly the best parents anyone can ask for. They might be on the poor side financially, but Ochako finds she does not mind, not when they are there to greet her in the morning with wide smiles on their faces and tuck her into bed at night with said smiles still unwavering.
Her family owns a construction company, and things had been rough for years. She is gifted with a quick which allows her to control gravity, and when she first learns this she is ecstatic because it will be very useful for her parents' line of work.
Her parents, however, tell her that she is free to do what she wants, that she does not have to continue their family business, and Ochako stops and thinks because perhaps there are other ways to help.
Then, one day, she sees a particular interview on the news. The man being interviewed is a hero, who just saved a bunch of people who had been held prisoner by a villain trying to rob a bank.
A hero, she knows, is someone who uses their quirk for justice and the good of others, and because it is a job, they get paid for it.
Ochako's chest warms and she just knows that this is what she wants to do. She will become a hero so that she can help her parents and everyone else who needs help. She does a little research, and all she needs is a few years, to grow a little older, so that she can enter a school to become one.
But the world is unfair and slightly crueller than Ochako realizes. It isn't patient enough to give her just a little more time, and doesn't discriminate who it sinks its fangs into. Her parents, who are nothing but loving and supportive and just want to live a good, happy life, slowly but surely become its latest victims. It is the cruellest murder of all, one where everyone knows death is coming, but they can do nothing about it.
Their lives come crumbling down around them just like the walls of their house and Ochako can do nothing but watch as soon, the only thing holding up what remains of their world are the smiles of her parents as they tell her, promise her, that things will become better one day.
Ochako smiles back and agrees, but she becomes tired of waiting for 'one day', because 'one day' will never come, not to her household, not if she does nothing but wait for it.
She loves her parents and does not doubt they love her, but they are wrong . Nothing will become better if they wait for it, she has to make it better.
She has no time to wait, no time to waste waiting, not when the world is already at their doorsteps with a knife. Her quirk might not be the most impressive thing around, but she knows that if she can utilize it properly, she will be a formidable force.
Gravity is what roots everything to the very earth they all stand on, after all, and she can negate it.
The first time she does it, it is largely curiosity. She is at a dagashiya, one she often stops by to look through but never actually buys anything. She has been hungry all day, because her parents had had to rush out to work early in the morning, and while they told her to eat anything in the fridge, she feels bad because she knows they haven't.
The store is run by an old woman who is mostly unaware of what goes on, and the packet of mochi she takes is past the expiry date. She still feels bad, her steps slowed by fear and the stolen goods a little heavy in her pocket.
A few more times and she learns that her quirk helps. It reduces the weight of the loot in her pockets and makes her steps lighter as she skips out of the store.
The first time she almost gets caught is also the first time she attempts at another store. She does not know that the things standing on either side of the doorway are anti-shoplifting alarms, and she triggers one when she steps out, a bar of chocolate hidden in her hoodie.
She was careful to pick a time where there are little people around, and the storekeeper blinks when he rushes over and sees her frozen on the spot because she hadn't thought this through.
"Uh, hey, kid, did you take something?"
Ochako's hands feel clammy, but she shakes her hand. "No," she says. "The alarms just started ringing." Then, in what she hopes is convincing childish panic, she widens her eyes and bites her lip. "Did I do something wrong? Am I going to be arrested?"
The man looks like he doesn't know whether to trust her or not. "I'm just going to pat you down, okay?"
Ochako nods, and the guard does just that. He finds nothing, and he stands up. "Welp, must have been a malfunction," he says, and he sounds a little more friendly. "Where are your parents, kid?"
"At work," she tells him.
The man nods sympathetically. "I see. Stay out of trouble, okay?"
Ochako grins and waves him off, then makes sure there is no one else around before she presses her fingers together. The chocolate bar falls into her grasp from above and she hurries off.
Once she has started, she finds she cannot stop. No one suspects much of the cute, cheerful girl and she becomes good, too good. A part of her mind is always thinking about values and escape routes and targets , and she has to consciously stop her hands from reaching out towards the pile of apples that could probably feed them for days if they are as careful with them as they are with everything else they own.
She is careful to keep her targets to products they already own, or stuff they usually buy, so she can sneak small quantities of her steals to the small supply of it they have at home.
She never gives in, however, not when her parents are around because they are trying so hard for her and she doesn't want to know how they'd feel if they find out she has given in to stealing, even if she, too, is doing it for them.
The local museum is open once everyday months for free, and Ochako often finds herself going. Her parents had been called out on an emergency at work so this time she is alone, but the people at the doors let her in without much trouble.
There is a limited time Egyptian exhibition, and as she walks around the showcases holding artifacts made of pure gold, all she can think of is how much that'd be worth.
Not that she is in any position to even attempt to steal it, but the thought of the money she could get from selling something so sparkly makes her stomach lurch in ways she doesn't know is good or bad.
She clears her head and tries to simply enjoy the cultural significance and the sheer history on display, but the thought dances teasingly at the back of her mind.
She is on the third floor, in one of the gift shops, when the ground suddenly crumbles without warning.
It is not an explosion, more like a sudden sinkhole, and Ochako just manages to cast her quirk on herself as the entire building crumbles down.
When Ochako comes to, she is caged in by two large slabs of metal that probably saved her from the smaller pieces of debris raining down on her. She is small and manages to crawl out from the gaps between the metal, and finds herself on top of crumbled walls and floors.
She does not see anyone else around, but she can see the sky from where she is. The sun is still up, so unless she was unconscious for a day, it has barely been a few hours at most.
She feels tears well up in her eyes as she feels herself beginning to panic, and she forces herself to not cry.
The heroes will be here soon, maybe they are already here.
She does not know how long she had been down here, alone. She considers using her quirk on herself multiple times, but it makes her so queasy she doesn't know if she'll be able to get to the top before becoming sick anyway.
She begins looking around, and when she finds a part of a shelf from the gift shop lined with snacks, she grabs a packet and wolfs it down. Something red and shiny catches her eye just as she has finished stuffing a few extra packets into her pockets and she carefully digs through the small bits of debris, almost cutting her hands on shattered glass, and picks up the large, red gem the size of her palm.
She had seen this in the exhibition. Was it real?
Suddenly, she hears footsteps and voices. Panicking, she shoves the stone into her pocket. The sounds go quiet for a moment, and then there is a sudden rush behind her.
"Don't move!"
Ochako freezes at the sharp warning and spins around. The man's firm glare widens in shock when their eyes meet. A second hero, a woman, appears behind him and she, too, goes stiff.
"What-you're just a kid !"
They're heroes .
Ochako stumbles back, relief and fear gripping her. Had they seen her stealing?
The man finally seems to shake off his shock. "Did anyone mention a missing girl?"
Ochako takes in a sharp breath. They hadn't.
"No one reported a missing kid," the woman says. "Unless, of course, there was no one to report her."
"You okay, kid?" The man slowly reaches out towards her and Ochako forces herself to stay still. "Hurt anywhere?"
Ochako shakes her head. "I'm okay," she says.
The man smiles kindly. "That's good," he says. "We're going to come over there, okay? We're heroes, we're not going to hurt you."
Ochako nods. "Okay. What happened? The ground suddenly started shaking and the whole building exploded!"
The woman hops over the debris first and crouches down in front of her. "We suspect a villain raid," she explains. "Probably after the Egyptian stuff."
Ochako keeps silent. Probably. She's only ever shoplifted before, and they had still caught her attention.
"Anyways, I'll call this in, okay?" The man raises a hand to his earpiece. "Hopefully, we can get someone in here to get-"
Suddenly there is a small explosion above them, and in the next second, the two heroes in front of her are impaled cleanly through by large tendrils of what looks like metal. Blood splatters onto the ground in front of her and Ochako stumbles back in horror.
Someone lands heavily in front of her and Ochako slowly looks up.
The man looming over her has dark red hair and piercing yellow eyes. His face is covered by a metal mask and he wears a long, white coat that slowly settles from its flailing as he straightens himself.
"Never expected a brat to try an' snatch our loot," the man mutters thoughtfully. He leans down and grabs her by the front of her clothes. Ochako gasps and instinctively grasps at the hands as they lift her up like she weighs nothing.
"Let me go!" She plants all five fingers firmly down onto the limb holding her up, and the surprise is just enough to make the man release her. Ochako lands on the ground with a grunt and lets out a scream when the metal tendrils from before stabs into the ground beside her.
The man now has a thoughtful glint in his eyes as he stares down at her. The other end of the metal is firmly held in his grasp, and he uses it to drag himself back down to the ground. "Your quirk, brat?"
Ochako hesitantly nods.
"Huh. So, what're you doing here?"
Ochako panics, and the fact that she hadn't actually meant to take anything flies from her mind, leaving behind the fact that she had considered it, if only for a second.
"My parents-my parents need the money-"
"Your parents sent you in?"
Ochako desperately shakes her head, suddenly scared the man would go after them after he kills her. "No! I didn't actually mean to take anything! They don't know anything!"
The man continues to look down at her like he does not know what to make of her. His quirk obviously allows him to control metal, though there is no saying that that is all he can do. Even if he is floating, he can easily kill her.
Ochako cannot run. She steels herself and meets his yellow gaze as best she can.
"How old are you, brat?"
"Eight," she replies honestly.
"You really are a brat huh."
If this conversation had been between her and one of the neighbours, Ochako might have made a comment about the number of times the man repeated the word 'brat'. It isn't, though, so she bites her tongue and prays that whatever he is thinking, it is enough for him to let her live.
He killed the two heroes like it was nothing, she does not doubt for a second that his current gravityless state will stop him if he decides to get rid of her too.
"I lead a small group of thieves," the man tells her after a while. "We run heists like this once in a while." He continues to stare down at her. "Tell you what," he finally says. "I'll buy your loyalty."
Ochako blinks, confused. "What?"
"You want money for your parents, right? We don't have anyone with a quirk like yours, might be useful to have around. We're thieves, an' good ones at that. You'll earn way more than if you run around by yourself."
"Hence buy my loyalty." Ochako tries to think, but her brain cannot keep up with anything going on around her at this point. She had gotten caught by heroes, only for said heroes to be killed by the actual villain, who is now offering her membership into his band of thieves.
Still, she knows there is only one answer. Everything she has done up until this point has led to this, and sooner or later, she will be caught and be forced to stop forever. She cannot pretend it didn't happen, after all.
Or, she can tuck herself underneath the wing of a man who clearly knows what he is doing.
If he plans to kill her anyway, there is no reason for him to offer her such an opportunity, right?
"Okay," she says. She swallows, then repeats a little louder, "Okay." She presses her fingers together. "Release."
The man lands neatly on his feet and smirks. "Your name, brat?" He asks.
"Uraraka Ochako," she tells him.
"Huh." The man fiddles with his mask, as though wondering whether to take it off or not. Finally, he decides on taking it off, and Ochako stares at the dark markings covering the majority of his face. Scars, perhaps.
"Keep that stone, we'll say it's a welcome gift," he tells her. So he had seen her. He had been watching the entire time. He smirks. "The name's Wolfram."
Ochako always wanted to be a hero, but she finds out a little too late that the world is just slightly not patient enough to wait for her, and she blinks, and realizes she has become anything but. Still, she won't let it stop her. If she cannot become a hero for everyone who needs help, well, she'll settle with being a hero for her parents. She will do anything to give them the nice, untroubled lives they deserve.
Anything.
Wolfram is a villain from the movie My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, just a note.
So, I mostly write Naruto stuff, mostly Sakura centric, but I've recently gotten into the MHA fandom, and I was hit with an idea...I've already more or less written nine or so chapters, so updates shouldn't be the slowest, though I know I've said that plenty of times before...
Thanks for reading!