Sorry for the slight delay, also a reminder that I have changed my username for anyone that was curious. Meant to match my username on AO3. Also I want to thank everyone who has commented, you help me keep on writing and I hope everyone enjoys.
"You can't be serious. Leaving aside the fact that that sort of behavior and thinking is incredibly inappropriate for a hero in training or a hero in general.." Iidas tone was one of a kind of angry disappointment. He felt pain and anger for what had happened to his friend at well but when the idea of such behavior entered his mind he felt the phantom aches from the wounds that Stain had inflicted. The memory that he had nearly caused the death of himself and his friends for selfish vengeful action. He knew that Ochako was frequently prone to intense feelings but for her to say it so casually and coldly was unnerving.
For her part she met his gaze "You don't understand! He won't be safe, he won't even be able to feel safe until she's gone. Not imprisoned, not on the run, GONE! She nearly killed Tsuyu and I at the camp, and since then she's tried to get close to him and managed to abduct him. He isn't safe like this, he can't be safe, not unless she isn't breathing." Her hands were shaking as she had clenched them into fists and her eyes had that same look of dark intensity to them.
Tsuyu tried to broach things a bit differently, remembering the small psychopath in the sailor suit and a propensity for blades. She hoped she might be able to talk Ochako down from something that all of them could end up regretting. "You're not just mad about that, I know you. Kerro. You're mad about something else, something a lot deeper than that and you need to tell us what it is. Is this about what happened when we fought her or is it about…" She saw the pain in her friends eyes and the wheels turned in her mind. She grabbed Ochakos shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
Ochako fidgeted a bit, she had trouble meeting Tsuyus gaze. Not least because she wasn't even sure fully how to articulate all of the anger boiling inside of her. "She..she used my face to hurt him, my voice. She let him think I was rescuing him and then turned back right after he had his highest moment of hope right when he confe…" She stopped herself from speaking further. She had come close to crying but she stood firm, she didn't need to share all of it. What she had said should be enough, Tsuyu had to undersatand.
Instead her friend just put a hand on her shoulder, "He confessed? Oh Ochako-chan." Tsuyu wrapped her in a hug, her eyes were as expressionless as ever but Tsuyu radiated sympathy. Ochako blushed, a little angry that Tsuyu had figured it out and also said it aloud. However Iida seemed to not have heard still pacing and sometimes ticking something off on his fingers, probably organizing his thoughts for what he was going to say. Tsuyu looked at her quietly, "You know he cares about you then, you know he likes you back. Do you really want to risk getting yourself killed in this, you know what that would do to him."
Ochako glared now, shoving Tsuyu away, "That's the whole reason I can't let her be around! This isn't just about what happened. She can be me, he is going to have to be afraid any time he sees me, sees anyone that they could be her. Waiting to abduct him again, waiting to torture him again. Even seeing me, beign close to me would terrorize him or would make him nervous. He deserves better than that, he deserves to be able to be happy with who he wants without having to be afraid that they're secretly that psychotic little blonde bitch!" Her hands were clenched now and the anger swelled up again in her. She wasn't sure if she had ever felt this level of anger, this level of destructive hate inside of herself but now it was there and it was burning brightly.
Tsuyu sighed, she wanted to help her friend and comfort her but more importantly she wanted to make sure that she didn't make a choice that would be catastrophic for her and others. She could tell that there were probably a lot of thoughts roiling around in Ochakos head involving this, many of which she might not even be fully aware of. The obvious concerns of what she would feel for her best friend and for someone who she had at least considered a relationship with would be there. But also there was probably envy, The idea that someone else had heard the confession of love meant for her, had been able to enjoy it. Worse yet had been able to use it to hurt Izuku further.
She paused, "Uraraka…she used my face to hurt him too. She pretended to be me to lure him into the trap. She used my face and voice. When it happened, when I found out…it was tearing me up. It made me feel like it was my fault. I remember that you were among the people telling me that it wasn't my fault, that I had no reason to feel guilty. Kerro. You need to remember that what happened wasn't your fault either. But if you go out and try to attack her and get hurt or worse that will be your fault and you know how much it would hurt him. Not to mention the rest of us." She hoped against hope that maybe her words would reach Ochako, would make her notice that she may have had other motives for this too.
Ochako clenched her fists again, she looked for a moment like she wanted to lash out at Tsuyu, and she seemed to pause a moment but she shook her head. "There's a difference, you weren't used to torture him. Yes, I'm mad at her, yes I want her to be hurt for that. But this is for Izuku, for Deku, it isn't about.." Her voice had been getting louder, enough for Iida to hear and he turned, his voice was flat.
"You're lying, maybe to us or to yourself but you're lying Uraraka-san. I know this probably better than you realize, you know what happened to my brother. You also know what happened, I rushed off with the goal of trying to confront the man I held responsible for my brothers injuries. I told myself I was doing it to avenge him and to bring justice for my families name. That I was doing something selfless, noble. I was performing an act that was equally selfish and stupid, not to mention suicidally dangerous. What I did nearly got Midoriya and Todoroki killed, what I did did nothing to protect the one who Stain had injured with the intent to kill." Tenyas experession wasn't the stern one they were used to seeing, it was one that seemed quieter and more tired, it had an odd kind of weariness to it.
"Do you understand how reckless the idea of going after a villain yourself is? Our class has managed to perform quite a few illustrious feats, and we have also been extraordinarily fortunate. However, we should not take that as some kind of ringing endorsement that we can simply face a villain head on, especially not one that was able to evade capture while holding one of our fellow students hostage!" He looked at her, he seemed afraid when he met her gaze. "I would have died then, and worse still led other people, other heroes and fellow UA students to their deaths. Please, I can imagine how you have to feel right now but I am urging you in the strongest possible way to reconsider."
She looked down and away, Iida was her friend and she knew that he was trying to help her but he didn't understand, couldn't. He might know some of what she felt, but it wasn't like he had had his face used to strike down his brother. Not like his brother recoiled in horror or fear when they saw each other. Not like the bonds that they had could have been stolen or erased by the actions of the hero killer. She took a few breaths to steady herself, she reminded herself that they were trying to help her. They wanted to make sure that she didn't do something she regretted. The problem was that they didn't fully understand. They made good points but there was an issue.
As if reading her mind Tsuyu spoke up again, "We had surprise when there was two of us and she wasn't actively going after us specifically. She also didn't have any of our blood. Kerro. She also retreated when she thought she would lose, that means she has at least some idea of how to handle herself and pull out of a fight. When we tried to rescue him she had broken him badly enough that he practically fought against the rescue and she was able to hit Tooru. Tooru who's main skill is not being noticed. Kerro."
Iida seemed to build on that. His face looked conflicted as he spoke, "Also, it may not be my place to say this…but I don't think you fully understand what losing you would do to Midoriya. He..he has feelings for you. I am sorry to bring this up and normally I wouldn't but the fact is that his actions earlier are probably still haunting him. What would happen if that was the last thing he was ever able to remember of you? You may think you'd be able to handle her but even if you were able to defeat her, you know that she has an organization supporting her. You also remember the other price for what you'd be doing, throwing away your life as a hero. You had told us how you wanted to become a hero to support your family, can you still do that if you get arrested as a vigilante? And that's assuming that you're able to do it."
That cut a bit more, she looked down and schooled her features a bit. What the two of them had said had made sense. At least a bit, she needed an actual plan before she did this and she knew that while she was better than she had been at fighting she still needed more training. She also knew that they probably weren't going to let her out of their sight unless she could convince them that she wasn't going to do this. She looked up, her expression was unsteady, hopefully they would take that as her old resolve breaking instead of it being her trying to hide her full thoughts. "I..I understand what you're saying. I promise that I won't go off on my own, but I can't just forget or ignore this either."
Iida nodded, "And no one is saying that you should. But we need to focus on supporting Midoriya while he recovers as well as making sure that we push as hard as we can to become a proper generation of heroes. Properly worthy of veneration and of the school we attend! I know that this is difficult, but I promise you that this is the better choice. Also…if you need to talk I may be able to aid you in it. I also again apologize about sharing Midoriyas feelings but I also am concerned about his mental state and worry what might happen with him."
Ochako nodded, her face had flushed a bit there, "I won't tell him Iida and I promise I have considered it." She silently hoped that Tsuyu wouldn't add anything to this and she didn't. "If you could both give me a minute to gather my things before we go?" They nodded and stepped out of the room, giving her some space to change clothing. She grabbed her phone, an older model with dozens of charms hanging off of it. She looked up the number and called, keeping her voice quiet. "Bakugo…I may need to ask you for a very big favor…"