The next day, Uraraka was back in class. They recieved both guilty looks as well as stone cold ones, and, in the end, it was diffused by Aizawa. He gave a BS excuse about quirk evolution and not to bug her about it. This didn't really work, as she still remained isolated from the rest of the class. The message was clear: We don't trust you, you haven't told the truth to us.
Not like they deserved it.
Ochako didn't mind at first. To hell with the others, I'll still become a hero. However, over time, the loneliness caught up with her. It was subtle, at first. Minor thoughts that weren't directed at anyone, small, nervous glances... but then they started to become more obvious. A lack of sleep, paling complexion (even more than before), losing more weight, and an increasing... apprehension around Bakugo. He was using similar intimidation tactics against the brunette, but this time, Izuku wouldn't let her fall under his watch. He was increasingly facing his fears, but not, at the same time, hiding behind the mask of Ochako to do so. It was cathardic, but his own fear didn't help things.
A month after, Ochako had lunch by herself outside. It was barely enough to get her through the day. Besides losing weight to stress, her lack of a stable food source certainly didn't help things. Today's meal was a homemade rice pudding with a pinch of cinnamon for flavor. Not the healthiest, but the best they could afford. In an effort to figure out ways to save money, one of the most efficient was to change her diet. It wasn't the best solution, but it was one of many.
Right now, though, the quality of her food was the last thing on their minds. Izuku was pestering her as she ate.
C'mon. Just because they don't like you, doesn't mean others won't. You should try to talk with other people.
Glumly, the weeks of torment from Katsuki and isolation from the others, especially Asui, were taking their toll. She thought that she could have friends here. While her teacher had no value on them, she was more a social creature than either he or Izuku were... and it was showing. Who would want to talk with me? Class B has a rivalry with my class, that they've made clear. The others would avoid me because I'm in heroics...
Before Izuku could retort, a voice interrupted their argument, startling Ochako. "Are you alright?"
Looking up, she could see a girl with orange hair looking at her with concern. Not recognizing her, the brunette just... stared. It wasn't malicious, but she was deep in conversation with Izuku, and didn't want to sound crazy.
Who is she? Why is she here? What does she want with me?
I don't know, you could just... ask?
But... I don't want to drive more people away... what if... she's only here because Bakugo sent her?
Okay, I have to stop you there. Katsuki does his own dirty work. Always has. This isn't his style.
However, the redhead became even more concerned by the expression on the girl's face. She looked dazed, scared, confused. And none of those were good signs. If UA was not helping her, she definitely would. Repeating the question, she asked, "Are you okay?"
Well?! Don't just look dazed!
Sorry!
Ochako meekly replied, looking down. "I'm fine..."
The other girl shook her head. "It doesn't look like it to me." Then noticed her lunch... or rather... how pathetically basic and small it was. "Is... Is that all you have to eat?" The brunette was confused, so the girl continued, pointing to her lunch. "Do you only have rice pudding?"
Trying to explain, Ochako found the words stuck in her throat. I mean, it got to the core of her family's issues... and that just couldn't be explained without embarassment. "I... well..."
Understanding far more than the brunette thought she would, the redhead smiled, offering a hand. "C'mon, lets get you something proper to eat, and you can sit with me and my friends."
At first, the girl didn't want to accept, as it would seem like charity. Her pride wouldn't allow that. "I wouldn't want to bother you..."
Ochako, take the offer.
But they'll hate me too.
You have to try.
The other girl still offered her hand. "It won't bother me!"
Ochako smiled softly, and finally accepted. "If you say so."
She started to speak, introducing herself as they approached Lunch Rush. As it was halfway through lunch, the line that usually crowded his stall was gone. This allowed for additional orders. "My name is Itsuka Kendo. I'm from Class 1B."
That almost caused the brunette to freeze. She certainly stiffened. The other hero class!
Izuku, meanwhile, merely gave his suggestion: Let her talk. We don't know if she'll be like that Monoma jerk. Going along with it, the gravity girl introduced herself. "Ochako Uraraka."
Noticing the girl freeze, Kendo just ordered something... hearty... for the Class A student. After a few minutes of silence, Lunch Rush provided just the meal: Katsudon. The irony was not lost on the duo of souls, as they accepted the meal and walked with Itsuka to her class's table. Sensing the apprehension, she immediately deduced why. With a kind smile and gentle voice, the redhead, "Don't worry about the others, they're all good people."
There were a bunch of girls at this table, each with unique and fascinating quirks. One with vines for hair, another with green hair and sharp teeth like Kirishima, another who was all white, a a blond with two large horns from the top of her head, a plain looking ravenette, and one more with a brown bobcut just like herself. They were all introduced to her, being Ibara Shiozaki, Setsuna Tokage, Reiko Yanagi, Pony Tsunotori, Yui Kodai, and Kinoko Komori. Each had their own personality, from the flirtatious, to the holier than thou, to the silent, to the overdramatic... it was just like... what her class should have been. Each was kind in their own ways, and each was not judgmental. All of them talked with her about random topics as she ate the food generously given to her by Kendo, who then asked, "So, what do you think of our group?"
"They're nice... so far..."
The orange haired girl looked at her with concern. 'So far'. As if this was going to end at any time, probably why she was by herself to begin with. "Well, I hope we can keep you around. You're very nice to be with."
That surprised the brunette. The haunted one, as there were two at this table. "R-Really?"
Kendo replied immediately, and with confidence. It was befitting being the Class Rep, which she was. "Yes." At this point, the rest of the group now realized why their classmate had brought over this girl to the table. Because she had nobody else to socialize with. Not just to make friends in other courses, but to help out someone who needed it.
Tokage asked her directly, preferring a blunt approach. Not like Asui's, but more like Mina's. "Does... your class not like you very much?"
Looking away, "N-Not really..."
Shiozaki muttered a prayer for the girl, while the others were in complete shock. What class would dare hurt her like this? Isolation for prolonged periods of time is considered a form of torture, after all!
Kinoko, one of the shyer memebers of the group, was more determined to help her out. Their physical similarities assisting somewhat. "O-oh... well, then let's be better than they were! What class are you in?"
Ochako whispered a simgle name, but they all heard it. "1A"
The entire group looked at her with shock. Yet again. As if the world had played tricks on their ears. Yui, usually silent, actually asked, "1A?!"
Here it comes...
Setsuna spoke first. "Man, 1A must be garbage if they did this to you."
Ochako couldn't believe her ears. What?
Reiko couldn't believe it either. "They ostracized her from them? Why?! What foul thoughts hast plagued their mind to cause this madness?"
Pony added on... with her very rough japanese. "She's really kind..."
They like me?
If she could image Izuku's face, he'd be beaming with pride... and a hint of smugness that he was right about this group.You didn't do anything against them. You're the nicest girl I've ever met. Why wouldn't they?
Kendo asked Ochako quietly, "why did they do that?"
In response, she spoke quietly, "My quirk evolved... changed... they didn't accept that..."
While most of them had never had their static quirks change before, they could appreciate quirk descrimination more than the brunette realized. Reiko used to be called creepy, Yui bullied for her mutism, Kendo, for her hand based quirk... the list goes on. However, the redhead who was sitting next to her, gave a hug and affirmed: "Well, we're not them."
Tearing up, Ochako said quietly: "Thank you... when you said you were from Class B... I thought you would be like that blond..."
Setsuna grimaced, clearly irritated by that stain on their reputation. "Monoma's the exception. We're all one big family. If you want, you can join us for lunch."
Fully crying tears of joy, she hugged her back. "Thank you!"
Toru Hagakure saw the encounter happen, watching out for her ever since that day. She'd been filled with regret, knowing that their class did and continued to go too far. Quirks change people. It's how its always been. She knew that personally when Toru turned invisible during school when she was 4. So, when Ochako's quirk changed her eye color and personality, she didn't judge. She tried to reach out, but it didn't quite work. So, tonight, she would go and try again.
Everyone was in their dorm rooms now. It was late enough everyone should be asleep. But when she approached Ochako's room, she heard what sounded like a conversation between two people. From one voice.
The first sounded more like the brunette at the beginning of the year. "I don't know how you understand this problem..."
However, the shift in her voice for the next part, interrupting her original thought, was more... analytical. Different. More in line with what Tsu had described at the USJ. "Ectoplasm explained this, you carry the 4 here..."
The original Ochako complained, "But that doesn't make any sense!"
"Look, I get that geometry is hard, but our quirk relies on it."
"Ok, start from the beginning..."
Homework? This late at night? And who is the other person...? She kept listening. It was a practiced skill, especially considering her quirk. A passive light refraction, which resulted in a constant invisibility. They sounded like two distinct people in a tutoring session, but also acted like they were the same person. Eventually her curiosity got the better of her and she knocked quietly on the door. Their voices hushed and eventually Uraraka opened the door. One eye was green, the other wasn't.
She was afraid, however. "Can... can I help you?"
Toru, gathering her courage, asked outright. "May I come in real quick? I just want to say something."
"S-sure..."
When Toru entered, her room was a bit disorganized, but there wasn't a lot. On the bed was a bunch of materials for Math class. When it was cleared off, the two sat, opposing each other. The invisible girl stated first, wanting to clear the air as much as possible. "First things first... I'm sorry."
Ochako didn't know what to say. Her face told the invisible girl everything she needed to know. Mistrust, apprehension, and a fear of her. Of the class.
And so, the invisible girl said again. "I'm sorry I never stood up for you, or that I hid from you. You're a good person, and I... I failed to help when you needed it."
The gravity girl still didn't know what to say. So, she asked the first thing that came to mind. "Is this... is this some kind of sick prank?"
Horrified by the implications of such, the invisible girl leapt over, grasping the brunette's hands with her own. "What? No! I'm being honest!"
Ochako started to tear up. First there was the group of friends at Class B, and now Toru from her own class wanted to be friends with her. It was almost too much.
Toru, seeing her start to cry, hugged her in support. "I know it's been tough for you. C'mon. It's ok." She reciprocated the gesture for a moment, before she calmed back down.
"I do have a question for you, though..."
"Hm?"
The question did make Ochako freeze up almost entirely. "Who were you talking to?"
Ochako immediately paled. Toru, sensing her discomfort, immediately clarified, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."
However, the two knew that she would have to tell someone. Better somebody in the class that they could trust. I don't think there's a choice...
No... I don't think so either...
In agreement, Ochako decided to start where she did with Aizawa. "Um... it's complicated... so I'll start from the beginning. Can you promise to not tell anyone?"
Sensing the seriousness of the coming conversation, Toru agreed immediately. "Ok. I promise."
"So... my quirk actually is zero gravity. However... when I was walking home before the year started... I was the witness to a suicide."
The invisible girl didn't speak, letting her continue.
"Through some kind of paranormal shenanigans, his soul attached to mine. I think. That's how he explains it."
Toru realized that this must be why everyone always seems on edge near her. She's haunted by a ghost at all times. "So, uh... who is he?"
She angled her head so that only the green eye could see. It glittered as an emerald should, but there was clearly a nervous intelligence behind it that was different to Ochako's brown chocolate eye. "I'll... I'll introduce myself... I'm Izuku Midoriya."
Laughing slightly, she poked fun at his last name. Not maliciously, of course. "Ok... that explains the green eyes, then."
He agreed with that sentiment. "Y-yeah..."
But... she had to know. "Why did you do it?"
Izuku explained, the pain conveyed through the brunette's voice was enough to almost bring the invisible girl to tears. "I... I had nothing left. Kacchan... had given me advice to get a quirk... in a way, it worked..."
Ochako turned her head the other way, clearly it was her speaking now. "Don't worry about the firecracker. He won't win the sports festival." Even though her statement was confident, her voice was not. The invisible girl understood immediately who they were talking about, through the nickname alone.
Toru sighed, and wrapped her arms around the double souled girl. "Don't lie to yourself, Uraraka. You're both nervous around him. At least today you'll have friends to support you."
"Thank you."
The next day went by smoothly, with Kendo inviting Ochako back, and insisting on getting her a better lunch. Hagakure stopped by, and the class B girls almost got into a fight with her until Ochako explained the situation. They apologized immediately, and allowed her to sit and have lunch with them.
But then the worst happened. When it was just Uraraka, Class A could ignore it. But now that Hagakure joined them, they had to intervene. And who better to send than Katsuki? That was a rhetorical question, of course, but Class A, to their credit, did try to stop him from going. "Why the fuck are you with these extras, Invisibitch?"
Hagakure tried to defend herself, "I..."
However, Kendo intercepted them. "Bakugo, where they sit is none of your business. I find the fact that you do this detestable. Please leave."
He sneered, to the consternation of the other girls at the table. "I go wherever the fuck I want."
The ginger was seething. He was way worse than Monoma. At least Monoma had the decency to only be antagonistic for an arbitrary reason. Outside of that, he was decent. But Katsuki? He was a bastard all the damn time. "Yeah, no. Not when you're being clearly disruptive towards everyone. This bullying behaviour must not be allowed to continue. I will take this to Aizawa if you make me."
He smirked, "Not if I beat you down first, Handjob."
She hated that nickname. It was what people called her in middle school, and she hated it. However, before she could respond, Kinoko, in a stunning bit of bravery, demanded to know. "How did you get into the hero course with an attitude like that?"
Turning to the smaller girl, he stated, "Because I'm obviously fucking better than you."
Now composed, Kendo continued, "You may be good at combat, but you suck as a human being. Leave now or I will go straight to Aizawa."
"What, not going to go to your own?"
Kendo didn't respond, maybe because she didn't have to. After all, she had seen the man she was waiting for. Before the explosive boy could say anything else, a metal scarf looped around his mouth.
Aizawa's voice was calm, yet clearly done with the boy. "Bakugo, you've been causing a distraction to all other classes. That and you're very, very close to strike two. You will leave or I will make you."
Bakugo stopped struggling and walked away. The teacher unwrapped his scarf from the blond. "I apologize, I need to start working on his attitude. It's my responsibility as a teacher. Just like it is for Vlad and that nuisance in your class. Uraraka, Hagakure, a word."
They followed their teacher into a private room. Closing the door, he spoke frankly. "Alright, I've been monitoring the class, and it's clear that you two will only suffer due to their actions. Do you want to transfer to class B?"
Uraraka didn't answer, while the invisible girl was unsure. That allowed Aizawa to continue: "I will warn you, Uraraka, that people in class B may have questions... especially about your... quirk."
Uraraka interrupted her teacher, making sure that he was aware of who was aware. "Toru knows."
Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "How much?"
"Everything."
"Hm... well, that makes this easier."
Hagakure was confused, "Easier?"
"She's referring to the ghost." Aizawa said. One of Ochako's eyes turned green. He frowned. When the year first started, it was just on and off, now it's becoming more half & half. He won't be able to hide himself...
Aizawa continued, explaining his thoughts. "Yeah, you won't be able to hide him for much longer. Your left eye keeps turning green on its own. It'll be obvious during the Sports Festival. I know it's related to the amount of control he has. Even if he doesn't mean to, it's becoming more obvious." Looking at where he guessed the invisible girl's eyes were, he asked, "How did you find out?"
She didn't meet them. They were honestly pretty scary when activated, and didn't look nice without the quirk either. "She was talking out loud to him. I was going to apologize... because I couldn't do anything to help..."
He gave a sharp nod in acknowledgement. At least it wasn't forced out like with the others, and considering Ochako's mental state, he supposed that she had been genuine enough to win them both over. "That's fine. Just think about this for now. I may have to tell Nezu about this situation today, so be prepared."
"I will, sir."
"Good. Go, get ready for math. You shouldn't keep Ectoplasm waiting."
"Sir!"