Chapter 13
Windows (Are For Peering Into Your Soul)
It's official. Her life is a trainwreck.
She's staring herself down in the bathroom mirror (doing her best to ignore Nagant softly singing in the shower next to her) and trying to decide if the bags under her eyes are really that dark. For that matter, she's not completely sure what language Nagant is singing in either. It's either French or Japanese, but every time Ochako strings the lyrics together, it seems the woman is pulling from both languages and either hasn't noticed or decided she doesn't care.
Ochako washes her face, scrubbing at it as she hears the bathroom door creak open behind her.
"You know you don't have to do this right?" Hisashi pushes softly as he sets a hand on her shoulder.
She knows he wants the best for her. She even agrees with him. She's about to go march into enemy territory, reveal all her secrets, beg for their forgiveness or understanding, and then go and do the same to a man that's been officially labeled as a superpower by thirteen nations.
Saying it's suicidal would be an understatement.
She grabs a washcloth, wiping her face dry before tossing it over the shower curtain. There's a thud as what's probably a shampoo bottle hits the shower floor. Nagant whines in response, and the now-wet washcloth thwaps against the floor as she tosses it out.
"Sing in one language, woman." Ochako complains as she marches out of the room.
She doesn't answer Hisashi's question.
She knows he disapproves in a plethora of ways.
She shuts him out of her bedroom though, stripping off the towel and methodically picking out an outfit for today. She doesn't go with flirty, or cute, or even 'contractor'. She goes with utilitarian and murder as the theme for her outfit.
She pulls on tactical pants that have rear pockets that can carry a full assault rifle mag of any type. There's a belt that comes with a knife sheath, and it's already rigged to have molle webbing attachments added on at any point. Her shirt is dry-fit and form fitting, and she pulls on a long-sleeved shirt over it that's loose enough to conceal whatever she decides to hide in her waistband, but fitted enough to not get in the way of any extra movements.
Weapons are just as important as apparel, and she goes fully loaded. Her .45 goes into a concealed holster that she clips behind her back, and then her spare goes beside it. She hates carrying two guns at once behind her back. The normal issue of the weapons weighing down her trousers is solved with a quick five-finger touch, but she always feels like it's obvious that she's carrying when she goes double. A guitar case is her next addition, and she pulls out the foam that was previously in it to house an actual guitar and instead puts in harder foam that's been cut out for a disassembled assault rifle. She packs it up, slinging it over her shoulder as she marches out of the room.
Nagant has finished her shower by now, and she shamelessly wolf whistles at Ochako from the bathroom doorway. "Mon petit monstre semble prêt pour la guerre." (My little monster looks ready for war.)
"Mom, please put some clothes on." Ochako huffs back, but she can't help the flush of pride that comes from Nagant's approving look.
Hisashi is giving her a disapproving look though, experienced eyes going over her attire. "You're carrying an awful lot for just a casual introduction."
Ochako shrugs, setting the guitar case down as she grabs her favored K-bar and pulls on her boots. The knife goes in the back heel of her right one, and she laces it tight and then shucks her pants cuffs over the laces.
"Go big or go home." Ochako reasons, shuffling her feet back and forth in the boots.
They fit a little bit better today for some reason. Maybe she's finally broken the insoles in. They feel a bit firmer in their grip, or maybe it's just Ochako feeling firm in her stance.
"Go get them, my little starfire." Nagant winks at her, still wrapped up in a towel and shameless about it as Ochako picks up her 'guitar' and cracks open the door.
Ochako smiles. "Love you, mom."
Nagant laughs, blowing her a kiss. "Love you too. Go make some friends."
It seems a bit odd to leave the house going to make friends when Ochako has enough firepower on her to kill a full platoon. It also seems a bit odd for there to be so much hope bristling in her chest as she jogs down the steps to her truck. She feels light, suddenly. Like a weight has been lifted, or is starting to, and while she doesn't know what words she will use to explain herself, she has a strange hope boiling in her stomach.
Yesterday, she tried to kill Izuku Midoriya.
Today, she has resolved to be his friend and lay her whole life out to him and all of his friends.
It is mind-blowing how fast the world seems to spin around her.
Fear still gnaws in the back of her mind.
What if they hate her?
What if Izuku hates her?
What if they already know?
What if they arrest her?
What if something goes wrong?
What if?
She has more. She has dozens of questions ping-ponging around in the back of her head, but she pushes it all out of her mind. Anxiety can drown her tomorrow; today she has to face the present. She had come to the bridges, and she was determined that she would cross them and wouldn't let them burn.
It's a quick drive to Sir Nighteye's Agency. Maybe it's nerves or maybe it's just the giddy nervous feeling bubbling up her throat that has the fifteen minute drive feeling like a four second one, but she pulls her truck into one of the only available parking spots and throws it in park.
She grabs the 'guitar' and slings it over her shoulder, running the remaining distance to the door.
She startles when it opens for her, looking up to find the opener is one of the few people she's actually scared to meet.
Sir Nighteye himself stands in the doorway, giving her a quick once over as he steps aside.
"T-thank you." She manages, squeezing past him and into the building.
She thought he was going out, but instead he closes the door behind him and follows her into the building. She hits the elevator button, and he takes one careful step behind her.
"Midoriya isn't out of the hospital yet, if that's who you're looking for." He informs her, glancing down at her through his glasses.
"I-I was actually h-hoping to talk with his friends." Ochako says, swallowing with some difficulty. This man has an intense feeling about him, and even just looking him in the eye seems like a challenge.
The elevator dings, and they both step in.
Sir Nighteye hits the button for their floor, and Ochako isn't sure if it's on purpose or if it's an accident when his hand grazes the back of hers before he tucks it into his pocket.
The ride is silent as the elevator rises.
She checks her phone, noticing a missed text and call from Mina. The text is a simple 'Hey', and she didn't leave a voicemail.
No matter. Whatever it is, she'll be seeing her shortly anyway.
It dings, and the doors slide open.
He doesn't accompany her when she exits the elevator, and instead, his gaze has turned to one of confusion as he examines her.
"I never would have guessed." He says suddenly, and Ochako freezes as he finally steps out.
He doesn't confront her though. He takes an abrupt left turn, heading straight to a whiteboard mounted beside the elevator. There is no identifying information on the board, but a host of names and assorted dates and numbers on it. He goes to his name, scrubbing out a date that's two years into the future, and instead jotting one down that's a little over a year away. The number by his date '140,000,000' is increased to '250,000,000 + 2 days'. She frowns at him.
"What's the board for?"
"A running bet." He informs her primly, but there's a sliver of a smile on his lips as he caps the marker.
She has a feeling he isn't going to tell her what it's about either.
"Ochako?"
She peels her gaze away from Sir Nighteye, finding Mina standing in front of her. Anxiously, she jingles the charm bracelet on her wrist, and the giddy bubbles in her throat drop to her stomach like stones.
"H-h-hi." Ochako manages, weakly giving her a smile.
Mina tilts her head to the side, considering the guitar case. "Do you… need something?"
"More like I have something to tell you all." Ochako mutters back. "Do… do you know if the others are…?"
Mina shuffles her feet, and Ochako doesn't know if she's seen the woman so uncertain before.
"Y-yeah, they're in the break room." She gestures towards the opposite side of the room where a door sections off the area. She can see Shoto standing in front of a coffee maker. "But I… can I ask you a question first?"
Ochako frowns, "Yeah? Of course."
"Would you like to use my office for privacy?" Sir Nighteye suggests.
Both women hesitate, but the man doesn't look like he's moving, and so Mina nods and takes Ochako from the area and into Sir Nighteye's office.
She shuts the door behind them, and Ochako shuffles anxiously as she looks around the room.
It's filled with All-Might memorabilia, but it's clean and tidy despite the obvious fanboying going on. Mina circles the room, leaning against the desk.
Her rifle is on the desk.
The sniper rifle from that rainy day four days ago when Izuku and her life crashed together, and everything fell apart.
The bag it had been concealed in is bundled up on the side of the desk, yellow paint dried and flaky on the neoprene bag.
Mina reaches out, spinning the zoom dial on the scope. First out, and then in, as silence permeates the room.
"Can you…" Mina starts, stops, and hesitates before she takes her hand off the weapon and crosses her arms instead. "Can you explain why Tsuyu found this on your jobsite?"
This is it.
This is the moment.
The moment she officially blows her cover and tells Mina everything.
"I… well…" Ochako shuffles her feet.
"Ochako, you… tell me this isn't yours…" Mina pleads.
She swallows, uncertain as the words fumble on her tongue.
"It is-kero."
She startles, nearly jumping out of her skin as Asui walks in. The frog girl walks around Ochako calmly, eyes combing Ochako's frame slowly before she stops, an arm's length away.
Her tongue shoots out, curling around the grip of one of Ochako's .45's. Ochako doesn't think about her reaction. Her response has been conditioned to be second nature as she grabs the captured weapon- tabbing the magazine release and spinning away. One pistol clatters to the floor, the other she holds steady, aimed at Asui's head.
"She's a killer." Asui mutters.
It's spinning out of control.
This isn't how she wanted to tell them. This isn't what she wanted to happen. This isn't-
"Ochako…" Mina pleads softly, gently. Not like she's dealing with a murderer, but like she's dealing with a frightened animal.
Asui takes a step forward, surprisingly calm despite the gun pointed at her. "What do you want with Midoriya-chan -kero."
Ochako hesitates, and she swallows anxiously. Her sightline shakes, and she finally takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as she tries to get her emotions back under control.
The room is silent, waiting for her.
Ochako drops the magazine on her pistol, catching it between two fingers as she cycles the slide, catching the bullet that had been in the chamber. She tucks the pistol under her arm, putting the bullet back into its magazine before she holds both out to Asui.
"I am a killer for hire." She says, "and my contract up until two days ago has been to keep Aegis… Izuku Midoriya… safe."
Mina doesn't seem to know how to feel about that, but Asui readily takes the pistol from her, loading the magazine back into it and walking it to Sir Nighteye's desk.
"Up until?" Mina asks.
"My contract changed yesterday evening." Ochako informs them, and suddenly she's shaking. She swallows, forcing her nerves down as she takes another deep breath. "I… I was s-supposed to k-kill him."
Asui bristles at that, and Mina's response is audible as acid drips from one of her palms, burning a hole straight through Sir Nighteye's desk.
"Stop!" Ochako shouts, holding up her hands. "I… It's a cover okay! There's someone after him, and my employer put me on the job to buy time!"
"Buy time for what-kero!?" Asui demands.
"To find out the source and the backer."
She has to keep this under control. She has to keep her emotions in check, and she has to keep this on track. She can't let this go wrong. She can't lose what she's only just beginning to have.
"So why did… why did you get the contract?" Mina asks, and where Tsuyu is furious, she is… she is quiet. Her voice shakes when she asks the question, and Ochako can tell with one look in her eyes that it hurts to look at her.
"Because I can't pull the trigger on him." Ochako whispers. "I tried. I can't. He's…" She swallows. "He's my friend."
"A friend you lied to." Asui snarls back, and it surprises Ochako that her usual frog-like ribbit changes to a rumbling croak when she's angry.
"I never lied to you." Ochako whispers. "I am a contractor. My parents are dead. Uraraka Construction is the only thing I have to remember them by, and I…" She swallows. "I really do want to be friends… with him… with you…"
"And how do we know you aren't lying to us now? Trying to get in close so you can hurt him once you have our trust?" Mina pushes.
Ochako takes another shaky breath, steadying herself as she slowly steps forward. The Heroes don't stop her as she drops into one of the chairs in the room. She hands over the guitar case, then bends down, producing the knife from her boot. She sets it on the desk in front of her, followed by the one concealed in her belt.
"I had your trust a moment ago. Didn't I?" Ochako asks, and while Asui doesn't agree, Mina looks away, her eyes teary. "And I had my chance to… to hurt Izuku. But I…"
Her heart is in her throat, and she wants this to work so badly. Why can't she get this right? Why can't she find the right words?
"Boss? What are you doing here?"
She whips her head around, shock and confusion overlaying fear and nervousness as Kiri walks into the office.
"Kiri, it's not… it's not a good time," Mina mutters. "Could you give us a moment?"
"Moment for what?"
And then Shoto and Momo come in. Momo is the one that had the question, but her eyes are suspicious as she stares at Ochako. It doesn't go to the rifle. Which means…
Which means they all already discussed it.
"I believe it would be good to allow Ms. Uraraka to voice her story, instead of leveling accusations and anger at her." Sir Nighteye is the last to step into the room, and he closes and locks the door behind him.
She's locked into a room with five ProHeroes and her foreman.
Fuck, this is a nightmare.
This is the worst possible option.
She hiccups, and she scrubs at her face to try and stuff the tears that are prickling the corners of her eyes back down.
"Tissue?" Momo proffers her arm, and an entire box extrudes from her forearm.
Ochako takes it, blowing her nose into the tissue and then selecting another to wipe at her eyes.
"I think I've cried more in the last two days than I have in my entire life." Ochako grumbles softly. "God, I'm a fucking trainwreck right now and this is a terrible idea. I just…"
"Start from the beginning." Momo advises gently and Ochako cannot understand why she's being nice.
She already knows. She has no reason to be nice. Ochako lied to her. She lied to all of them.
"The beginning?" Ochako asks, wiping her eyes with another tissue.
These were a lot better than Nagant's shirt, but they didn't feel quite the same. They didn't make her feel as cozy.
"The beginning is that when my parents died, I couldn't support myself." Ochako mutters. "The company they started was foreclosed on. I didn't have any money, and I didn't… I didn't have anyone else to care for me. So, I lived on the streets. I starved. I fought. I got beat up. I… I got by."
"This is true?" Asui asks, and Mina slaps her arm. She simply shrugs, "Just checking."
"Yeah." Ochako swallows and nods. "It's true. My…" She produces the three rings around her neck, spinning them slowly around her fingers. "I kept these. It was the only thing I could keep when some of the bigger kids or the other homeless came looking for things. I got lucky, I guess. I was too young at that age to get anything more than a kick or my food stolen. And then… my current employer picked me up."
"Current employer?" Sir Nighteye probes and Ochako simply shakes her head.
"I can't… he's not a topic I can discuss." Ochako mutters.
"Is it because he doesn't know you're here?"
Ochako chuckles at that. "Oh no. He knows I'm here. He doesn't like it, but… when your little girl decides she wants something… a good father does their best to let their dreams come true." She smiles a little ruefully at that, and it gives her the steel she needs to push through the story.
"He trained me. I went to France and Germany. I went to Russia, Australia and America. I learned how to shoot. I learned how to fight. I learned… I learned how to kill."
"Who do you kill-kero?"
"Whoever my contract says." Ochako answers truthfully. "But Maman and Dad mentioned they weed through my contracts to…" she shrugs, "keep my hands clean."
There's a moment of pause, because truthfully, that's Ochako's whole life story.
She had parents, then she lost them. She gained Hisashi. She gained Nagant. She grew up in a world that was kill-or-be-killed, and she learned from that.
"Who was your last assignment?"
"A killer named Cross." Ochako replies. "Four days ago, he tried to kill Izuku, and I… killed him after he took the first shot."
"So that was you that sent Izuku into a tizzy…" Mina mutters.
Ochako flinches at that. "I… Yeah. I…" She shivers, wrapping her arms around herself. "Izuku cares so much for people. I just… I can't wrap my head around the fact that he was angry that he couldn't save someone trying to kill him. That even though Cross had tried to shoot him, Izuku still wanted to save him."
"What about Toga?" Momo asks. "We got an envelope with a pile of ash in it. Was that…?"
Ochako shakes his head. "Dad, but I'm not sure. He… just said she wouldn't ever be an issue again."
"How long have you…?" Kirishima is the one that asks that particular question. "Were you… when you hired…?" That breaks her heart a little bit more.
Ochako grimaces. "Kiri, you are… you are the greatest friend I have ever had. Possibly the only friend I have ever had. Please… this doesn't… I don't…"
"You never told me the truth." He whispers back. "And I… we've been friends for how long?"
The hurt in her chest is only made worse by the look in his eyes.
"Long enough that you are right to hate me." Ochako mutters back. She doesn't want him to hate her. She doesn't want to give up on the friendship they've cobbled together. She doesn't want him to call anyone but her on the nights his nightmares resurface, but she knows she cannot build their friendship on a faulty foundation. To even attempt to would be an insult to him.
He stares at her for a long time, hands shaking and sparks popping softly around his fingers. Then, he takes a deep breath. "I… I need a moment." And he unlocks the door and steps out.
"You stayed in my apartment." Mina says once the door shuts. "You told me about Kirishima. Was that all just part of your cover?"
"Some." Ochako admits. "But not all. Telling you about Kiri was… it was me. That had nothing to do with my contract." She purses her lips. "Nothing in my contract said I had to get close to you, actually. It just… happened. You all care so much for Izuku, I just… fell into it. And then Uraraka Construction landed the UA job, and I… I got too close."
"To Izuku?" Momo asks.
"God, he's just such a fucking dork." Ochako groans, and that draws a snort of amusement out of Shoto.
The others glare at him.
"What? He is."
"Not the time, Shoto." Momo mutters, one hand rubbing his shoulder. He shrugs, seemingly unbothered by Ochako's entire confession or anything else going on in the room.
"I got close." Ochako continues, "I got close in a way I've never had to before. The UA job forced me to, and I had been assigned to keep him safe at the same time, so… I learned his hours. I learned that he works late nights and starts early mornings and that matching his schedule is basically asking for your body to shut down after a week. And yet somehow, he keeps going. He keeps trying to save people, most of whom he doesn't even know, and he keeps burning himself out doing it. I… he would walk me home." Ochako takes another tissue, blowing her nose. "Like every day."
"He mentioned that." Mina says gently, "that he was walking you home. But that it was just as friends."
"I invited him in." Ochako counters. "Every time actually." A good chunk of the room bristles at that. "I didn't know about his aversion to… that he was… that Toga had…" She shivers. "And I just… I wanted to find a crack in that armor. I wanted to figure out at least one thing that had to be wrong with him. Because there was no way that he could run himself ragged day after day and not. I know that everyone has their vice. That's how I… that's how I…" Ochako trails off, glancing up.
Mina is the one that seems willing to meet her gaze at the moment, so Ochako holds it, feeling the ugly truth boil up in her throat.
"I kill people with that knowledge. I killed Overflow, that Hero you guys found at my jobsite. He was embezzling funds and using it to pay girls to keep quiet when he fooled around with them. There was a Hero before that in Australia that was in the drug business. They all had vices, things that I could exploit or locate them with. Things I could justify their death with when I pulled the trigger or sunk the blade in."
"Izuku has none of those." Shoto says. "His vice is working himself to death."
Ochako snorts. "Yeah. I learned that." She takes another deep breath, combing her fingers through her hair. "Yesterday, everyone made a point to tell me that." She glances over at Momo. "You. This kid Katsuma at UA. Kirishima at the end of the day. I couldn't catch a break, and then my contract updated. I didn't get briefed that it was a fake out, and I…" She huffs, shaking her head.
"How close did you get to pulling the trigger?" Shoto asks, surprisingly calm despite the context of the question.
The room is quiet as Ochako recalls that moment.
The moment where Izuku's life teetered in the balance.
She can still see him, curled up in that hospital bed as the news reel plays and the first tear treks down his face.
"Two pounds."
Momo frowns. "That rifle has a five-pound trigger pull. I checked."
"Two pounds." Ochako repeats.
She knows the amount of pressure it takes to squeeze that trigger. She knows that she had been right on the edge of it.
"What made you stop?" Shoto crosses his arms over his chest.
"He's my friend, and…" Ochako feels the emotion clog her throat and she has to take a shaky breath to swallow it back down. "What kind of monster would that make me if I killed my best friend?"
They shuffle about the room slowly, unsure of what topic to bring up next in the wake of Ochako's statement.
"What are your plans now?" Sir Nighteye asks when it seems the silence will overwhelm them.
Ochako shrugs, shifting in the chair as Momo walks around the room, taking stock of the rifle on the desk.
"I… I didn't really think that though. Dad gave me an out. He's giving me permission to leave that…" She gestures at the rifle, "life behind. To really step into the civilian world, and I… I couldn't pass that up."
"Why?"
"Because it would give me something I never had before. Friends. People that care about me. And…"
"Izuku?" Momo guesses.
She bites her bottom lip instead of answering.
"No one was ever there to save you." Mina mutters, one finger playing at her lip as she considers Ochako. "You really weren't lying back then. Were you?"
Ochako shakes her head. "No. No no no. I… I might not have told the full truth, but I've never lied to you. I…"
"Hey hey." Momo's voice is gentle and soothing as she bends down, plucking a tissue out of the box and dabbing at Ochako's eyes. "I'm not mad. I understand."
Ochako hiccups. "You're a Hero, you can't."
"You protected Izuku." Momo counters. "When none of us could, when no one else was able, and when no one would have blamed you for not being able to. You saved him from Toga."
"You got him back home." Mina adds. "And while you might have put him there… you were there to protect him. And when you had to make a choice for his life or your own… you chose his."
Ochako hiccups again.
"You've been looking after him just like we have." Shoto adds.
"And you cared about him." One of Momo's hands finds the charm bracelet on Ochako's wrist, jingling it playfully. "You listened to our stories; you were kind to him when you didn't have to be. And now you're coming to us with your heart on your sleeve and asking us to understand. How could we- as Heroes that should have saved you- not?"
"Because I kill people for a living?" Ochako suggests through the tears.
Mina hums and shrugs, a smirk playing at her lip."Yeah. But if they're all like Toga or Overflow, then I don't think I'll have too much of a problem being your friend."
Ochako is shaking again, but instead of Nagant's arms around her, it's Momo's. The Creation Hero is tentative in her touch, but she's there as Ochako quietly sobs.
"I want to be your f-f-friend." Ochako mutters.
"You already are." Mina assures.
"I'm still on the fence." Tsuyu admits with a huff.
"Friend is certain." Momo says, tucking Ochako's bangs behind her ear as she straightens up. "But I hope you aren't too offended when I request you earn our trust back."
Ochako shakes her head. "N-no. I… I get it. I knew that I wouldn't just g-get a f-free pass." She sniffles, taking another tissue to blow her nose. "Ugh. I hate crying. I feel like a mucus bag."
"Izuku cries a lot." Shoto puts in.
"Shoto?"
"Yes dear?"
"Not helping."
"Sorry."
Ochako chuckles a little at their exchange, allowing Momo to pull her up a little straighter in the chair.
"What can I do?" Ochako asks, "To set things right again."
Mina shrugs, pursing her lips at the thought, and Momo carefully picks at the charm bracelet on Ochako's wrist. When she pulls away there's a new charm hanging there. It's a small bullet, perfectly sized to match the other charms there. Momo smiles at her as she stands and maneuvers back to Shoto's side.
"I believe that whatever our grievances are with your prior occupation… there is someone you need to talk to first and foremost." Sir Nighteye casually pushes up his glasses. "And I trust you to talk with him."
"I can-" Mina starts, and then falls silent under Sir Nighteye's sharpened gaze.
"I think Ms. Uraraka needs to talk to Izuku alone. And I can assure all of you that she is no danger to Izuku." His little smirk is back despite the circumstances.
Had he…?
Ochako swallows, suddenly nervous as she considers the possibilities. What if Sir Nighteye had used his Quirk on her? What had he seen? What did he know?
He glances at her as she stands. If there are any clues as to what he saw in her future, he doesn't share them. He simply pushes the door to his office open and sweeps a hand out towards her. She hesitates, but no one else in the room moves to stop her as she stands.
"Are you… sure?" She asks, and he gives her a slightly confused look. "That you want to trust me with talking to Izuku on my own? I mean… I basically just cried my way through the confession with you all."
"I trust you."
Ochako nods, unsure of what else to do as she steps out the door.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Shoto asks.
Ochako startles at that, turning around to find that he has picked up her two pistols.
"Are you sure you want to give those back to me?" Ochako asks as Shoto carries them over to her.
She takes them slowly, but Shoto doesn't pull them away or even flinch when she holsters them again. She adjusts her shirt to cover the grips. Momo presents her both knives, and Ochako slowly takes those as well.
"Are you… sure?" Ochako asks again as Mina carries the 'guitar' out of the office.
"I didn't actually check this one, so I have plausible deniability." Mina grins at her.
"It's a rifle-kero." Tsuyu informs her. "I did check it." She gives Ochako a long once over before taking a deep breath. "I'll trust you since the other's seem to."
"Thank you." Ochako doesn't know what else to say, then hesitates and sets the guitar down. She won't need it.
"You can thank us by getting Izuku to slow down."
"As his partner, I'll allow you to shoot him once in the leg."
"Shoto!" Momo shouts.
He shrugs. "Probably wouldn't even feel it."
"I'll…" She hesitates, trails off because she isn't sure what to say now.
"I'll text you." Mina offers, and that's probably as good as Ochako is going to get.
"Mm." Ochako agrees. It's more than she can really ask for. It's more than she has any right to ask for, and yet… she can't help but feel like it all couldn't have gone any better.
It had been a mess, an absolute trainwreck, and almost as soon as she had walked in, it had gone off the rails. Somehow, it still worked out. Somehow, she didn't end up in a pair of handcuffs or fighting for her life against five ProHeroes and whomever else was in the office.
She had walked out with her life.
Her phone rings just as she gets out of the elevators.
"Hello?"
"Heyya, 'Chako." Mina hums into the line. "Sooooooo we forgot to tell you where Izuku is. And I am somehow the only one in this office that has your number, and you didn't even give it to me. Kirishima did."
Ochako wants to joke back that it's just a 'contract killer' thing, but she can't bring herself to do so yet. She doesn't feel like she's reached that level of friendship. She might have once occupied that zone where inside jokes and other hidden things could be laughed at, but now she's starting from the bottom and making her way back up.
"You know his location? He checked in?"
"Nah, he wears a necklace that gives us his location. Momo made it for him."
Ochako frowns at that. "Like one of those old person life alert necklaces?"
"Basically yeah, but we call it either his Toga Alarm, or his 'I've forgotten to sleep for the past nine days, someone put me in a coma' button." Ochako can hear keys clicking on the other end of the line, and then a ruffle as the phone is transitioned from Mina to someone else.
"He's crossing 34th Street by rooftop, Building A… C… F… 35th Street." Momo's voice is steady in the line as she gives her directions. "On UA's campus now. Slowing down." There's a pause as Ochako reorients her direction.
She has a feeling she knows where she'll find him.
And she's right.
He isn't in his office or patrolling the halls, though. He isn't standing on her jobsite, watching the kids or trying to make sure they're safe.
He's on the track field.
He's already drenched in sweat. The blue tank top is sticking closely to his chest and the black joggers he's got on aren't helping the heat. She cancels her Quirk, waiting and watching as he takes another lap.
He's pushing himself, legs stretching and arms pumping as he throws himself down the artificial turf. When he turns the corner of the track and starts heading back, he somehow locks eyes with her.
He stumbles, recovers, and skids to a halt.
His chest heaves up and down as he stares at her. His arms hang limp at his sides as he stares at her.
Part of her expects him to start running again. It wouldn't surprise her exactly.
He catches his breath suddenly and starts jogging over though. It's a turn of events she hadn't expected, but she holds her ground as he approaches. He reaches the fence, slowing slightly as he reaches it.
The chain link rattles as he leans against it, his breathing catches and transitions to a soft inhale and a heavy exhale.
"Momo tracked me?" He asks, and despite him looking winded, his voice is smooth and steady in his question.
She finds that she's missed hearing it. She's missed listening to the soft tenor of his voice that borders on being a bass. She's missed hearing his voice rumble in his chest with certain words or when he laughs.
"She did." Ochako flashes her phone at him.
Mina's voice is muffled coming through the phone, but she can hear the, "YOU BETTER GET BACK IN BED RIGHT NOW!" just fine despite it not being on speaker phone.
Izuku hums, taking the phone out of Ochako's hands. She startles a little at his casualness of the gesture because she's sure that Hisashi saw him, and that means that Izuku should know even just a little bit that she isn't what she's supposed to be.
"Yeah. I know." Izuku hums into the receiver. "I will. I promise." He hesitates at the next response, his eyebrow furrowing slowly.
They've told him.
He knows.
He hates her.
He knows.
"Okay." Is all he says though. "I'll do my best." And he hands the phone back to her.
"What uh… what did they… s-say?" Ochako asks, and her nerves are getting the better of her, but her heart is in her throat and her stomach is doing flips.
"To trust you." Izuku says. He smiles a little at that. "Which, actually, isn't that hard."
She feels like that's both reassuring and terrifying.
"Oh."
She keeps the phone call going.
Izuku's hands drum softly on the metal fence separating them. The silence builds, and Ochako feels like it needs to be her that breaks it. She doesn't have any idea what to break it with though, because she can't imagine it's appropriate for her to blurt out, 'hey Izuku guess what I kill people.'
"My dad visited me yesterday." Izuku pushes off the fence, taking a few steps back towards the track. He waits for her, so she vaults it and jogs to catch up to him. "He said he… well… he uh…"
"Works with me?" Ochako suggests the phrase, clasping her hands behind her back to hide the phone.
She feels like she should keep the call going for the sake of honesty, but she also feels like this is a private matter. It's not just her past, but it's also Izuku's father's.
"Kills people for a living." Izuku stumbles over the words, looking over at her. "And that he… when left me and mom, he… found… you."
Ochako nods. "When my parents died, he was the one that picked me up. He… trained me to…"
"Do what he does?" Izuku is now the one suggesting the phrase, and Ochako nods in agreement to it.
"I had different teachers for all of it. He taught me close combat, judo…" Ochako jingles the charm bracelet and holds it out towards him. "I never actually went to any dojo, but I didn't have the heart to tell Momo that when she made the charm."
"What else did you learn?" Izuku asks. He's not pushy with the question. He sounds genuinely curious, like it's something he wants to know for himself instead of for a report he's going to file for her arrest.
"Knife work, detective work, how to shake a tail or surveil someone, salat," Ochako shrugs. "S… sniping." She glances up at him, and he doesn't flinch or jerk at her confession.
Izuku just nods.
"I… Do you remember…" She starts.
"The rainy day you took me home?" He interrupts.
She nods. "I was… I was the shooter that… that killed that man."
Izuku nods again, and she wonders if he's really listening. They walk in silence for a while, and Ochako's nerves are slowly fraying with each step around the track. Her heart is hammering in her chest as they round the corner. She thinks she's going to drop the phone because of how sweaty her palms are becoming.
"Did you… did you know him?" Izuku asks finally.
Ochako nods. "Cross was his codename. He was…" She shrugs. "He wasn't a bad man. He had standards for his contracts. No women, no children, but he didn't care past that. He was…" She doesn't know how to describe him. "He was a man looking for the end." She settles.
"Why?"
She shrugs again, uncomfortable with the subject. "Way I heard it, he lost his wife and kid. Went to war and came back to find out that some gang had killed them or something. So, he went back to war. And when war ended, he found other things that he could put a bullet into."
"Do you think he deserved it?"
"No." Ochako shrugs. "Out of everyone… I think Cross was the one that deserved it the least. He's killed some good people filling his contacts, but… he wasn't a bad person. He wasn't a monster."
"Like Overflow?" Izuku suggests the name, and Ochako purses her lips.
"Figured that out?"
"It was your jobsite. I figured if you were… you wouldn't let someone put a body on your turf."
"No. I wouldn't."
They walk a bit farther around the track before Ochako asks, "Do you… do you hate me for that?"
"For shooting him?" Izuku clarifies and Ochako nods. "Not hate. But…" He trails off, stopping as he looks at his hands. "Did you know that I… I killed Shi-Shigiraki?" He stumbles over the name, like it pains him to bring it up.
It probably does.
"I did."
"Then you know my hands aren't exactly clean." Izuku flexes, licking the front of his teeth as if he's trying to pry his next words off them.
"No one blames you for that." She says gently.
"I do." He rebukes, and he fixes her with those emerald eyes she has missed looking into. "I should have been strong enough to save him. He was… he was All-Might's mentor's grandkid. What kind of successor am I if I…?" He trails off, grimacing.
"One that tried his hardest."
Izuku snorts at that. "If I was better, then—"
"If nothing." Ochako interjects. "Can you change the past?"
Izuku hesitates, then shakes his head.
"Neither can I. I can't change the fact that you lost classmates, and neither can you. I can't change the fact that I've killed people. The only thing I can change, and affect is right now. And so, I'm changing it. I didn't want to do contract work anymore so I'm walking out and fully committing to Uraraka Construction. You can't change the past that put you here, but you don't have to let it control you, Izuku."
She feels a bit proud of that outburst. It's all her thoughts boiled down into a neat little thesis. She didn't like who she was becoming, so she made a choice to change it.
She didn't like lying to Izuku and his friends, so she told them the truth.
She didn't like killing for a living, so she decided to build lives instead of end them.
She didn't like seeing him cry, so she decided to make him smile.
Izuku drums his fingers lightly against his thigh as they walk. They've made one lap around the track, but Ochako feels like the physical distance is a poor standard to judge the emotional gap that's been bridged.
"So, you're quitting?" Izuku finally says.
She nods, "I… I am."
"Hisashi's okay with… with that?"
She hums and shrugs. "I don't know, I think so? I just… I knew I couldn't keep doing this. And I knew that I wanted to be real with you and the others. This was what my heart settled on I guess." She stops and looks at him. "Is that okay? That a killer like me wants to become a better person?" And then the big question. "Can you forgive me for what I've done? I know I don't deserve it, but I… I want to be your friend."
Friend is an awfully big word considering she was two pounds away from pulling the trigger and killing him last night.
It's an awfully big word considering the ache in her chest that accompanies his presence. It's too big a word to use so soon, but it's also not quite enough to convey how much she enjoys spending time with him.
"Of course." Izuku doesn't hesitate in his response. His eyes are fixed forward for just a moment before he looks down to her. "What kind of Hero would I be if I didn't forgive those that are trying to become better? We're supposed to save people, not to specify which ones are worth saving."
"But can you really?" Ochako challenges. "It's all well and good to say you can, but Izuku, you have to face the facts that I've killed people."
"And I've killed one." Izuku counters, like his body count could ever stack up to her's. "Do you forgive me?"
"Izuku, you saved the world. I filled a contract!"
"But do you forgive me?"
"There is nothing to forgive!"
Izuku smiles at her, and it's one of those real genuine billion-gigawatt smiles that really showcases just how pretty his eyes are. "Then if you can forgive me, then there's no reason I can't forgive you." He hesitates though, and suddenly takes her hand. "But I just want… I want you to talk to me about stuff like this. What hurts me isn't what happened, it's that you didn't trust me enough to tell me."
It's heartbreaking.
It makes her chest ache as she stares into his bright emerald eyes. The way she can tell that all of his attention has been focused completely on her. It's a little startling. Her lungs freeze, whatever air that has been in them evacuates as she feels her cheeks heat up.
"O-okay." She barely manages the whispered response, too caught up in the idea of how close he is to her, and how he's somehow managed to forgive her.
"I almost killed you." She blurts out and she immediately wants to punch herself for being an idiot.
Smooth Ochako. Smooth.
"I was wondering why Danger Sense was acting up when I first met you."
Well. It's out there now. Might as well commit…
"No no no. Like. Last night. When you were watching the news. I had a rifle and almost shot you. Hisashi updated my contract to kill instead of protect."
Izuku frowns, pulling back a little. "You were going to shoot me?"
"I had a mental breakdown instead and basically cried for twelve hours as soon as I thought about it. Don't worry."
He snorts a little at that. "Well, I'm glad that you're opposed to putting bullets in me." And then he frowns. "Did you…"
"Line up the shot?" Ochako asks. "Yeah. I thought you would have felt it, but you also just…" She hesitates, and he seems to know what she's implying.
"Last night was a rough night." Izuku mutters, taking his hand back and combing his fingers through his hair. "I guess Danger Sense was out of whack with everything…" He trails off again, mind no doubt cycling to what he had been looking at last night.
"Do you think…" He hesitates, and Ochako takes his hand and squeezes it affirmingly with four fingers.
"Do I think it's okay if you have a hard day or a kryptonite?" Ochako guesses, smiling.
It's good to talk with him again. It's almost like it's normal again, but this time everything's out in the open and she feels like she can breathe and laugh and really be herself. She could make a crude joke, or chance introducing him to Nagant and there wouldn't be a… a disconnect between her secret and his world.
That was a novel idea. Her being in his world.
"Y-yeah." Izuku mutters. "I mean, I'm supposed to be a Hero, and I chose the name Aegis to replace Atlas because I… I wanted to protect people, but how am I supposed to do that if I can't protect myself?"
"Well, you have friends for that right?" Ochako teases, hip checking him as she starts walking around the track. "You have Shoto and Mina— who, by the way, definitely were suspicious of me, like, right from the start— and you have Momo and Asui. You have all your other classmates too. You have people that have your back."
He tilts his head, and she knows him well enough by now to know that none of her words have escaped his mind. She wonders if sometimes he can see the dialogue written out before him.
"What about you?" He asks as he follows after her.
"Well, I did quit my job just to be your friend."
He frowns at that. "Was that the only reason?"
Maybe.
"No."
Even if it is, she doesn't think either of them are ready for the connotations of that truth.
"So why are you here?" Ochako changes subject, spinning around on her next step to survey the area.
She hadn't ever actually been on the UA track. She's seen it, passed it, walked right by it, but she's never actually set foot on the AstroTurf. It squishes under her feet as they walk, the little rubber pellets scraping as she walks.
"It's where I first started training." Izuku replies after a moment. They've completed a second lap, and the sweat on Izuku's arms has slowly dried or been whipped away by the wind. "And I had All-Might, and it's where all my best memories are of my classmates.
"Do you want to tell me about them?" Ochako prods.
He shakes his head. "Not today…" he clasps his left wrist with his right hand, thumb rubbing his forearm a little. "Not right now at least. There's a lot of memories here. Some good, some bad, and… that's the reason a lot of my friends won't come back here."
Ochako nods and lets him have that emotional space.
"But this place has always been where I come to think." Izuku clasps his hands together, squeezing them hard enough she can see his knuckles turn white before he spreads them out wide and clasps them behind his back instead. "Me and All-Might used to train here after class to get a handle on my Quirk. I- I was a late bloomer actually, and… well… I had a lot of catching up to do with learning how to use it."
"Mmm. I heard you sponsor a lot of Quirkless charities." Ochako flashes him a smile.
"I think it's a worthy cause."
"Never said it wasn't."
He smiles at the exchange, and Ochako can't help the bolt of joy that shivers up her spine at the way his eyes light up and his lips peel back to show just a hint of teeth.
Ochako scuffs her foot at the ground, ignoring the flush of heat on her cheeks as she considers the feel of the rubber pellets beneath her shoes. "So… are you really okay with me?"
"Yes." Izuku pauses, then shrugs. "I mean. With the idea? Yes, of course. You're my friend and I should trust you. I'm sure there's going to be issues, and I'm sure we'll have arguments about some things, or I'll remember something, and it'll be an issue until we talk about it but… I'm going to talk to you about it."
"And what about… Hisashi?" Ochako asks.
His expression darkens at his father's name. "I need to talk to mom about that."
Which is fair.
And totally understandable given she's probably the most hurt or impacted by Hisashi's life choices.
"And… me and him?"
Izuku shrugs. "I… I need to think about that… but you… with you I'm okay with. Everything else I still need to wrap my head around."
Ochako nods, unsure where else to lead the conversation. She plays with the phone in her hand, still silently counting the duration of her call with Momo. She bets they're huddled around the phone and listening in. They probably muted themselves so as to not interrupt.
"Did you…" She tilts the phone towards him, and he shakes his head.
"How about lunch?" Izuku says instead. "I'm famished. I don't think I've eaten since Toga, and I don't think anything is going to explode in the next three hours. Would you like to join me?"
"I can invite the others." Ochako offers easily, knowing that she has to give him space but also security.
"No. I think I'd like it to just be you." Izuku dismisses the idea of company, smiling a little. "We do have a lot to talk about, and as I recall we never finished our discussion on your thoughts on Villain Rehabilitation."
Ochako rolls her eyes at him. "So now that you know what I really do for a living, does that mean you're going to go back through all our conversations to see if my opinions have changed?"
"Only on what I think may have changed." He pauses, "Hisashi said that this…" he points at them, looping them together in the gesture, "was real to you… how… how much was…?"
"All of it." She's already thought about it. She already weighed her soul and learned just how much of it she'd been allowing to pour out into her relationship with him. "There are some people you don't have to be real with in... in what I used to do. They're not looking for anything real because what they're selling as themselves is a lie to begin with. I didn't… I couldn't do that with you though. So, you and Mina and everyone else got the real me. As much of me as I could reveal without blowing my cover and sometimes a little bit more."
"So, your mom and dad…?"
"I told Mina that story when I stayed over at her apartment."
Izuku nods, humming softly. It's sometimes strange watching him think. It's like watching a supercomputer lag out or reboot. She can practically hear the gears turning in his head and the fans whirling around to cool off the overheated system.
"Race you there?" Izuku asks suddenly.
She startles, "W-where?"
"Sandwich shop on 32nd. You know the one, right?"
"Yes?"
His Quirk charges suddenly, green lightning crackling to life in the corner of his eyes as a network of red veins crisscross his exposed arms. "Race you there."
There is a seventeen-hour difference in time zones from Japan to California, so when Hisashi calls Faolan at a little past eleven in the morning here, he knows it's somewhere around seven in the evening the previous day in Cali. So, it doesn't particularly surprise him when the phone rings a few times before Faolan answers.
"You better have a damn good reason why you're interrupting me, or I'm going to claw my way through the phone and eat your heart out."
Nor does it surprise him the sheer animosity that Faolan answers the phone with. It's well past working hours.
"Faolan." He greets calmly.
"Yes sir." The animosity drops, the realization that he's just threatened his boss overcoming the anger and replacing it with embarrassment.
"I won't take long. I assume you're in bed?"
"Was going to be!" Someone- probably Faolan's wife- shouts from somewhere in the room.
"Do you have an update on the contract?"
Faolan huffs, and he can hear the man walking through his house and opening a series of doors.
"Just about to…." The man grumbles. There are a few minutes of silence before Faolan huffs. "I'm checking it now."
"Apologies to your little Beta for me when you get back."
Wolf dynamics always amused Hisashi. Especially when Faolan leaned into so many of them. He was overly protective of his wife, he used terms like 'mate' or 'alpha' or even 'beta'. He was such an interesting character.
Hisashi was lucky to have saved him from getting his skull caved in all those years ago. A few more minutes and he wouldn't have a top-notch information broker, he'd have another dead gang he could add to his tally.
"A few weeks off would really ensure she knew the depths of your gratitude." Faolan quips back.
"We'll discuss it later, but we both know you're not ready for pups yet."
"Says you." He can hear keys clacking on Faolan's end of the line before a soft hum.
"Well, that's a problem."
"What is the problem?."
"Contract's been updated unexpectedly." Faolan clicks his tongue softly, and there must have been another moment of digging before he adds, "It's been opened from a contract to an open bounty."
Which meant Ochako taking the contract had only bought him a day's time. Now it's open season on Izuku.
"When did it update?" Hisashi demands. If it wasn't until a little bit ago there was a chance that no one had noticed. He could squeeze out a little more time to dig into the backer. He could make a plan, get Ochako and Izuku out safely. He could-
"Twenty hours ago."
Hisashi's thoughts grind to a halt.
What were the chances that no one had noticed that contract change? What were the chances that Ochako and Izuku could get one day before it all went to hell?
"I'll give you a month off if you work tonight and tomorrow and get me that backer." Hisashi offers the deal, pulling out another phone and frantically dialing Ochako's number.
He hears a scuffle on the other end of the line, before a woman- Faolan's wife- Victoria answers the offer. "You're booking us plane tickets to Spain, and you will not call him until I call you. Fair?"
"Fair. Just get me that damn name." Hisashi snaps the phone closed as his call to Ochako connects.
"Dad?"
"Contract is void. It's open season on Izuku."