I didn't want to tell the others, of courses, but more and more lately it was starting to feel like whenever I was smiling, I was wearing a mask.
Even in moments when things were nice, like the beach party, I still felt sometimes like I was pasting my smile on every time someone looked at me, pretending to be ok. That question, you know?
"Are you okay?"
And over and over again, "Sure, I'm doing great! I'm doing awesome! Things couldn't be better!"
And it's just not true, not deep down.
"Congratulations on capturing those villains!" Iida told me over the phone the night after we got back from the beach. "Impressive work!"
"Yeah. It was really awesome!"
He paused, then said, "Is something bothering you, Uraraka?"
Iida's always been really perceptive like that, good at telling when someone's faking. "I'm not sure. But - I do feel a bit off."
"Is it something physical?"
"I have been sleeping kind of weird. Maybe I'm not used to the new quarters."
"You must be a bit anxious, I suppose, what with everything that's going on."
It was true. I could feel something in the air. "Maybe I'm dealing with too much."
"Well, be careful how you cope with it. People sometimes do strange things, in moments of stress, to cope…things they wouldn't do otherwise."
He sounded like he was talking about himself. I didn't ask, then.
"Thanks, Iida. I'll be careful."
"I hope you feel better."
But I didn't. That night I slept badly. I'm not sure why.
"You look really tired, Ochako," said Tsu as I came down. Nejire nodded.
"Sleeping badly, hm? You nervous? Something keep you up?"
"I'm fine," I lied. "Just a little sleepy."
I wasn't fine.
"Have some breakfast," said Ryukyu, smiling at me. "We'll be going on patrol in the area today."
I tried to look like I was having fun eating, and they all seemed to buy it and smiled and laughed. I felt my mind wandering, even while I made small talk and laughed and grinned.
What was I so upset about? I mean, everything was going fine, right? We'd beat the villains, and I was having a work study at a top hero agency. It was winter break, my family was doing better, everything should be ok. So why wasn't I?
Something was worrying me.
Maybe it was a little something in the way Ryukyu and Selkie and Sirius had looked while they were laughing with us before. I don't know. Like it just didn't reach their eyes. Like deep down they were waiting for a giant shoe to drop on all of our heads from up above.
What was it - villains? Yeah, it had to be villains.
"Ochako?"
"Hm?"
"What do you think?"
I hadn't been paying attention. "Um, what is it?"
"We'e looking into a case of a new villain. They seem to be attacking locally, but we can't figure out how they do it. Any theories?"
"Sorry, guess I wasn't paying attention!" I grinned and tried to look super sheepish.
"Well, we're dealing with what appears to be a group of three. They've been sighted from a distance - they seem to play on the imagery of three witches. One appears to have a quirk to wipe victims memories away. All of her victims seem to wander around with amnesia. Another is able to compel victims to sing and dance until they drop, and the third makes victims uncontrollably laugh and smile, like a laughing gas bomb."
"How whimsical," said Tsu.
"Whimsical, perhaps, but deadly and dangerous like any villains."
"It all sounds kinda harmless," I said. "I mean, singing, dancing, smiling - that sounds kind of fun."
"It may sound fun, but they're using it malevolently, to force people down while they rob banks and steal from local authorities. We'll have to stop them, and be on the lookout. It's not entirely clear how they use these abilities, so one of us will have to be a guinea pig of sorts so they others can observe, and stop them."
"Will the guinea pig get hurt?" Asked Tsu.
Ryukyu shook her head. "They've been able to save people be sedating them before they can wear themselves out. That will be ok."
I wasn't so sure was we suited up. I mean, be able to just forget? To sing and laugh forever? It would make everything so much easier.
Come on, don't be silly, Ochako. What are you trying to forget, anyway?
