"Sorry." She sighed. "I didn't mean to say all of that. I'm gonna wait in the car." She reached forward and grabbed the keys from Ochako's pocket before heading out the door.
"..what...?"
Ochako stood there, back still against the cold pillar as she watched Toga walk away. Her eyes fell to the ground, and the blonde's words echoed around her head. Had she really acted that way? No. She was clear about her feelings, that she only wanted to be her friend.
Had Toga misunderstood her? Ignored the blatant attempts at friendship and opted to project romantic feelings onto them? But, Ochako had wanted to kiss her.. Maybe it wasn't black and white, but shades of gray they were stuck in. With the world so dull, no wonder it was hard to see the truth.
The hero sighed and slid to the floor, resting her head on the pillar. She was ready to leave, but felt like they both needed a little space to let the air clear. Forget arguments, just sitting there in the car together would be awkward after that. Could they work it out? Make it better? Maybe..
It might be a good time to figure out what she was feeling for the blonde anyways. The pull towards her, like a magnet attached to her heart. The comfort that she got from holding her hand, and warmth that came from leaning on her shoulder. And how she longed for that warmth now. That, worded so openly and forward, didn't seem merely platonic. She couldn't begin to unpack why she wanted to kiss the blonde..
Well, it wasn't much a stretch to envision why.
Toga, on the other hand, sat listlessly in the car. She'd developed a habit from a rather young age, perhaps due to her less than ideal upbringing, to simply stop caring. But she cared about the hero, far more than she ever wanted to especially after the first betrayal. Wasn't this a form of betrayal too?
She got out the car, slamming the door a little harder than she intended to, and walked off towards the busy streets. Pedestrians were scattered about, talking to others as they made their ways across the sidewalks and through the roads via crosswalks. Few cars came by, the ones that did were slow, almost lethargic in their crawl through the populated area.
It was almost 6:00pm, and most people were headed home this evening. They'd return to their families or pets, their children or lovers. Then they'd go to work the following day and repeat the cycle until they died. Toga mused the idea of such a boring life, the repetition probably taking it's toll on the people. She couldn't see herself ever working an actual job, or a legal one. Especially not desk work.
"Heya girly." Said a voice as Toga strolled past the alley. The purpose of this walk was to kill time, and any feelings for the hero if possible, not to talk to strange men who catcalled from alleys outside of the dimming sun's light. The average girl would've sped up and left, but could one consider Toga average? No.
"What?"
"Why don'tcha come'ere and-"
"Weirdo." Toga said under her breath as she entered the alley. She saw a man reach for her shoulder and grabbed his wrist, twisting it around and forcing him to spin with it. With his arm tucked tightly behind his back, and possibly almost dislocated, Toga pushed him deeper into the alley.
He was dispatched quicker than he could comprehend, his body dumped beside a dumpster for the rats and cats who lingered there. Toga wiped the blood from her knife onto his shirt and tucked it away again, feeling a little better now. Maybe this was the cure-all.
She stepped back into the light of the sunset, which was set to start fading off into a black sky soon. The street had cleared miraculously quick. The stragglers left behind seemed to be window-shopping or dragging their feet as they spoke to friends. With a slowly drawn in breath and smile that only Toga could make work, she began approaching the nearest citizens.
- - - - -
"Hey.." Ochako mumbled as she approached the car. It was 6:25pm, and she figured now was a good time to leave. She opened the door and peered inside, ready to hesitantly greet the blonde. Instead, she was met with an empty seat. Furrowing her brow and looking around, Ochako couldn't catch sight of Toga.
She slumped down into the seat, a wave of relaxation settling over her. Though hopefully Toga didn't walk home and take the keys.
Before she could think about her possible stranding for very long, the hero's phone began to ring. Pulling out the burner and flipping it open, she was met with an unknown number. She only had Twice and Toga's saved, so she assumed it was Kurogiri or Shigaraki.
"Negate, is Toga with you?" Came the raspy voice from the other line. It was Shigaraki.
"No, why?" Ochako asked curiously.
A drawn out sigh. "She isn't picking up her phone. I hoped it was dead, but it seems she went off on her own."
"Should I go look for her?" Ochako was panicked now. She'd rather endure the awkward ride home together than leave here by herself due to Toga's unseen mishap.
"No, she's an adult, and can look out for herself... Why'd she leave you alone? Did you do something to her?" There was a questioning malice in his voice, a clear threat.
"No! It got a little, uhm, awkward between us and she said she'd go wait in the car, and when I came back she wasn't here. I've been waiting in the car for a few- oh! Oh, there she is! She's walking this way now."
"Good." Ochako could practically see the relief through the phone when he spoke. "Hand her the phone, would you?"
"Sure, she's still a little far away." Ochako got out the car and began walking towards the blonde. Toga gave a slight wave, and tucked something into her pocket with the other hand.
"Shigaraki wants to talk to you." Ochako held the phone out to Toga once they were close.
"Damn." She grumbled, grabbing the phone.
The sky was dark, and Ochako took the time to observe the stars rather than eavesdrop on the conversation. Within a minute, the street lamps kicked in and flooded the parking lot with a yellow glow. It reminded her of spending time atop the run down factory building. The hero's gaze fell back down to Toga, who was listening to the pale man speak. More accurately, her gaze fell to the blonde's clothes, which were splattered and splashed with shades of red.
"Guess I know what she was off doing."
Ochako was almost startled by the nonchalantness of that thought, but felt the desensitization to it was probably a good thing. More so for her sanity than her morales.
"Here." Toga offered the phone back to Ochako, who grabbed it back after a moment.
"Are, uh, are you alright?"
"Perfect."
- - - - -
The drive home was cold and silent. Toga was behind the wheel, and seemed to want to get back as fast as the car would allow her too, not caring about any traffic or safety violations in the process. Ochako only seemed to get the gravity of the situation then. How much this bothered her, affected her mentality. She supposed from the other's perspective, Ochako had hurt her, even though to herself the hero hadn't done anything wrong.
"I'm sorry." Ochako said as they got out the parked car. The lack of lamps made it dark around the League's hideaway, though that was likely a good thing.
"For what?" Toga didn't spare her a glance.
"I- uhm, I guess for-"
"You guess?" Toga raised an eyebrow. "Let me know when you've got it figured out." She went inside, leaving Ochako in both the figurative and literal dark.
- - - - -
"Hey, Negate." Dabi knocked as he spoke, despite the door being open.
"Huh?" Ochako looked over at him. She'd spent the late evening bringing in her dresser and nightstand, stopping only to eat dinner. Now, she'd begun assembling the bed frame, although she hadn't picked up a mattress, rendering the wooden support useless.
"Shig and Portals want you downstairs. Got a mission or something." Dabi said. He turned and walked away, stopping at Toga's door. Ochako overheard the same conversation, about Shigaraki and Kurogiri wanting Toga for a mission too. As the hero descended the stairs with Toga behind her, she contemplated using this as an opportunity to make up.
"Hey." Shigaraki said from his seat. He gestured to the stools beside him. "Take a seat, we got some information."
"Indeed we do." Kurogiri nodded. "We've been informed of a supply truck restocking the ATMs outside of the Neway Park Bank. In and out, just grab the money."
"You and Negate are going." Shigaraki said to Toga. "You're the best lock pick here, and Negate'll help with carrying the cash since Muscular isn't here. Twice also informed me she's a damn good driver already."
"Fine." Toga begrudgingly accepted. "When and where do we intercept?"
"It'll be unattended in the parking lot of Port Stop around 4:30 tomorrow morning, when the drivers leave for a break. Be ready." Shigaraki said. "And be careful."
"I always am." She stood up and walked away, heading back up the stairs without another word.
"I-I'll do my best." Ochako said weakly as she watched the blonde disappear around the corner.
"Good." Shigaraki took a shot of whatever he was drinking. "But you should talk to her first. If you aren't getting along, it'll get both of you killed."
Ochako looked towards the floor, swinging her feet absently. Was it really her fault? Toga wasn't really trying to make anything better either, at least Ochako gave an apology! Why didn't she accept it? Why not try to help? No, she'd sit in her room and sulk about the situation until Ochako solved it all for herself..
The hero balled her hands tightly, squeezing them. She stood up and marched upstairs, straight to Toga's door. Her fist was poised to rasp aggressively against the wooden door, but she paused. Taking a breath, she shook her head. This wasn't what she should be doing. Somewhere along the way she might've misplaced her moral code, but she found it.
Blowing up at the blonde about how she wasn't helping wouldn't help either. They had fought mere hours ago, and it wasn't so much of a fight as a confusing speech. It would settle down if given the time. Hopefully.
- - - - -
It was 4:15am, and Toga sat silently behind the wheel of the old yellow rust-bucket. Ochako opted to ride in the backseat to avoid any accidentally eye contact when Toga looked to the right. The hero was dressed in her new villain suit, something Twice took great pride in seeing. The visor was open and Ochako observed her surroundings while they were still clear.
"15 minutes, then we move out." Toga said, checking the time on her phone's display.
"Alright." Ochako paused, unsure. "Could you elaborate on what you said earlier- er, yesterday?"
"Not the time." Toga replied. She sounded mildly irritated, and tapped against the steering wheel with one hand.
"Then, later? I just want to understand." Ochako said softer. Toga met her gaze in the rearview mirror, and her expression soften a bit.
"Yeah. We'll talk later."
Their moment was cut short by the driver's side door of the cash truck swinging open, and the driver stepping out. "Weird." Toga mumbled as the man went inside. "He's not supposed to leave for another 10 minutes."
"Should we go now?" Ochako asked, preemptively putting down her visor.
"Yeah, don't wanna waste a perfectly good window." Toga said, although she sounded a little skeptical. "Cover me. If he starts coming out, honk." She said before pulling her mask up and hopping out the car. Ochako watched the front door of the place carefully, but saw a familiar face in the side window. Tsu, or rather Froppy by the way she was dressed, stood with a device in hand. As Toga crouched down beside the lock, she raised it to her face.
"Shit!" Ochako muttered as she hastily honked the horn. Toga turned quickly, and began running back. Tsu was startled by the noise and fumbled with the device before shouting something into it. The back door of the truck flew open, Deku leading Bakugo and Todoroki out of the truck.
"Stop villain, and we won't have to physically fight! Please turn yourself in, and do no one any harm!" Deku called out as he stopped Bakugo from chasing Toga.
"Dumbass! She's a murderer, she's not gonna just let us catch her! Let me fight!" Bakugo shouted far louder than necessary. Tsu ran outside, trying to cut off Toga, but was too slow. The blonde made it back to the car, and slid cleanly into the driver's seat. She pulled away hastily, slamming her door shut as the car accelerated, but that victory was short lived. Todoroki created an ice wall in front of them that flipped the car to it's side, blocking their exit and wreaking their transportation.
"Do not flee." He said quietly.
"Talk louder, half and half!" Bakugo yelled at him, getting in his face. "No one can hear your stupid self talk if all you do is mumble! You're as bad as damn Deku!"
"This isn't the time." Deku whined, trying to separate them. "We're against the League right now! Our first big mission!"
"He's right." Tsu agreed, hopping over to the trio. "All Might and Mr. Aizawa put him in charge for a reason. We need to find her!"
"For the wrong reason." Bakugo said sternly, though he didn't object further.
"Midoriya, what's the plan?" Todoroki asked.
"Uhm, let me see.." He trailed off, looking around.
In the meantime, the pair of villains had been having their own discussion. After the car skidded onto it's side, both climbed out with minor injuries at worst, nothing more than scratches. Ochako sat with her back to the bottom of the car's suspension, breathing heavily. Who knew having your car flipped by you ex-friends while you were in it was so stressful?
"You." Toga growled, grabbing Ochako by the collar of her suit. "You planned this! Traitor!"
"No! No I didn't, I swear." Ochako raised her hands in front of her. "Seriously!"
"Yeah, sure. Your hero friends just happened to be the back of the first truck you're gonna rob? They get lost or something?" Toga yanked a knife out of her pocket and raised it to Ochako's neck. "Spill the details, and maybe I won't spill your blood."
"Hey, hey, c'mon! I'm not with them anymore! I haven't talked to them since before we got your mask back! Honest!" Ochako hit the button on the side of her helmet and the visor rolled back. "Look at me, Himiko, you know I'm a terrible liar, I really didn't have anything to do with this."
"Himiko Toga and unidentified League member, we have you surrounded. Please turn yourselves in now, and there will be no use of force." Deku shouted towards the flipped car.
"Please, just let me help you. We can get out of this." Ochako said, looking her in the eye. Toga hesitated for a moment, eyes flickering between Ochako and the knife she tightly clutched.
"I'll kill you if you don't actually help." Toga stood up, removing the knife from Ochako's throat.
"What's with you and knives and my neck..?" Ochako muttered, though she quickly realized jokes weren't what Toga considered helping.
"Nope!" Toga called over the wreckage. She lowered her voice and turned to Ochako. "There's probably no cash, we just need to fallback. They won't let us leave, and if we get past them, we'd just lead them back to base. Gotta take them out first, there's three."
"Four. Froppy was inside, there might be more."
"Damn it. Where's my phone?" Toga looked towards the flipped car. "Must be in there. You got yours?"
"No, I left it at home."
"Can't even call Kurogiri now." Toga muttered, peering over the top of the car. "Hey, those are your hero buddies, right? They know you."
"Yeah, why?"
"You got something on under the suit?"
"Yeah.. why?"
"Take it off."
"Huh?!"
"Take your villain suit off, so you're just wearing your normal clothes. I'm taking you hostage!"
"Please don't say that so enthusiastically." Ochako said as she removed her helmet.
"Hey! Dumbass 1 and 2! This stupid broccoli says we have to give you five minutes before we blow you sky-high! You've got two left before I kill you!" Bakugo shouted, and Deku cut in.
"We're taking you into custody for a fair trial, we'll only use extreme force if you threaten our lives!"
"Ready?" Toga said, moving into position behind Ochako.
"Yeah." The hero sighed, watching the knife level against her neck again.
"I'm a professional, you won't get hurt unless I think you're in cahoots with them." Toga said quietly as they began to walk forward.
"Hey heroes! I'm coming out!" Toga shouted, as she rounded the corner. "With a hostage!"
"Uraraka!" Deku shouted, his mouth falling open. Todoroki looked shocked, and Bakugo just stood confused.
"Ochako!" Tsu looked like she was about to cry. "Are you alright? What did they do?"
"That's where you've been? Dumbass! Why'd you get kidnapped?" Bakugo asked, his brow furrowed and tone just as sharp as before.
"I, uh-"
"Shut it." Toga pressed the knife closer to her throat. "I wanna negotiate her freedom for mine."
"What?! No!" Deku said firmly, though when the blade came close enough to potentially draw blood, he began to wavier. "If you kill her, nothing will stop us from killing you!"
"Yeah, I know!" Toga grinned. "But wouldn't that be fun?"
"You're sick." Todoroki spoke, shaking his head. "Give her what she wants, Midoriya." Tsu nodded in agreement.
"No! Are you really that stupid?!" Bakugo grumbled. "There's no way in hell you're getting shit, so just give that loser back to us and die!"
"Hmm, no!" Toga pressed the knife harder and a thin line of blood dripped down the blade.
"If you actually kill me I'll never forgive you." Ochako hissed.
"Aw don't worry, 'Chako! You'll be with your friends if they give me a phone and let me call my friends!" Toga giggled, and damn, Ochako was worried about the fact that she found this psychopath to be so cute.
"Don't give her anything! I'm fine!" Ochako called out, and she saw Deku's expression turn sadder.
"No, don't say that! You deserve to be saved too! Just because you're a hero doesn't mean you have to tough it out alone.. we'll give her a phone." The green haired boy sighed in defeat.
"Nice touch." Toga whispered happily.
"Thanks." Ochako replied in turn. Surprisingly, she didn't feel bad for tricking the four that stood by the bank truck. She'd only been away for mere days, but had become accommodated to the League's lifestyle quickly.
"Here." Deku took his phone from his pocket and slid it across the ground.
"Think carefully! If it's tapped, I'm killing her." She gestured to the knife grandly. "And your so very close to getting her back too! It'd be a real shame!"
"It's not tapped, I promise!"
"Once I pick it up, I'll know if it is. I'm not a member of the League for nothing." Toga giggled.
"It really isn't!"
"Okay, I'll trust you, Deku." Toga said his name in a way that irked Ochako, and she had quite the idea why.
Toga grabbed the phone and dialed a number, before holding it up to her ear.
"Hey Kuro, the heroes are here. Some U.A kids. It wasn't our hero though, some scumbag from that gang we wiped out was probably off-call that day, and tipped them off for some easy revenge."
"Yeah, we're fine. Got one of their phones by using 'Chako as a hostage."
"Hi, Kurogiri." Ochako whispered.
"Anyways, need a portal at Port Stop, they totaled our car. Maybe I'll ask for reimbursement." Toga giggled.
"Thanks!"
Toga dropped the phone onto the concrete and stomped on it a few times. "Makes it harder to trace, well it would, if we didn't already have scramblers at HQ." She explained.
"Okay, now, let her go!" Tsu called from the side, ready to fight.
"Not yet, froggie!" Toga made sure the knife was still tight against Ochako's neck. "I said my freedom for her's. She's my ticket out, if I give her back now, I won't be able to leave as easy!"
A portal whooshed open behind the car, and Toga began to back up towards it. "Well, it's been fun heroes!"
"Let her go!" Deku demanded, balling his hands into fists.
"Aww, you're so cute when you're angry! Fight me, and I'll kill her! Unless you wanna see her bleed? I know I do!" Toga smiled and kept walking backwards, nearing the portal. "Don't worry, I'll let her go before I go through."
No hero moved as Toga disappeared behind the flipped car, the portal still visible. She loosened her grip on Ochako, who grabbed her suit and ran through the portal first.
"Just kidding!" Toga called as she went through too, and the portal shut hastily.
"Damn it!" Deku raced over to the car, but didn't find either of them. "Why'd I believe her?!"
Tsu hopped over and put a reassuring hand on his back. "We'll get her back! I know she's doing her best to gather information and get back safely to us!"
- - - - -
"Why'd you actually have to cut me?" Ochako complained as she used a towel to wipe the blood from her neck.
"Because it needed to be realistic, and because I wanted to." Toga shrugged. "We got away safe, and that's all that matters. Oh, and there was no cash, we were completely set up."
"Yeah, and I know by who." Dabi grumbled. "We can't trust her." A blue flame flickered in front of Ochako's face.
"I don't think so." Kurogiri mused. "She would've used the opportunity of a 5 on 1 to capture Toga and lead the heroes back here. I believe it's as Toga said. It's a revenge tip."
"Maybe the RSR. You framed them at the museum, correct?" Shigaraki asked. He'd been quieter than usual as the other's spoke.
"Yeah." Ochako nodded. "How'd they know it was us that framed them?"
Kurogiri sighed and shuffled through newspapers on the bar top. "Well, Toga's mask was stolen from there, and she has it back now." He laid a clipping out for them to see. "As you can see in yesterday's breaking news section." There was a shaky photo of Toga standing over a body, mask pulled over her face and knife held readily.
"Heh, whoops." She chuckled awkwardly.
"Heh whoops! Almost got myself killed!" Dabi rolled his eyes and extinguished the blue flame that still sparked in front of Ochako.
"And Negate too!" Twice defended the hero.
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Dabi waved his hand noncommittally. "Be more careful, Crazy."
"I agree!" Twice seconded the vote.
"It goes without saying, but you shouldn't run amuck so close to a mission date. You're just asking someone to tip a hero off." Shigaraki said. "I'm glad you both made it back with minimal injuries."
"Yeah." Ochako raised a hand to the side of her neck.
"Hey, I didn't kill you, so all's well that ends well!"
"Sure." Ochako muttered sarcastically. "Hey, Toga, could we talk upstairs?"
"Yeah, sure." Toga got up from the barstool and followed the hero up the stairs. "Why'd you stop calling me Himiko? You did earlier."
"I don't know, I just said it I guess." Ochako replied.
"You sure 'just guess' a lot of things." Toga remarked passive-aggressively.
"Don't start with that, you literally took a gamble on my life 5 minutes ago! The things I guess on don't matter!" Ochako spun around to look at her.
"Oh so earlier when you guessed about your apology to me, it didn't matter? What about now? I was happy when you called me by my first name, you never do! But does that not matter? Stop being so back and forth, just go ahead and tell me my feelings don't matter, and end this whole game." Her voice cracked towards the end, though she feigned confidence. "Go on."
"That's not what I meant and you know it! Stop playing the victim card for once and listen to what I want to say! You're taking my words as something they aren't, then getting upset over something that didn't even cross my mind! I say one thing and you're suddenly making mountains outta molehills with it!"
"Oh, I'll show you the victim card." Toga growled, and shoved Ochako backwards. "Before you want to tell me what I'm doing and what I'm thinking, maybe you want to figure out what you think. I'm not joking or blowing things out of proportion when I say that this your fault! You just don't know how to be clear! Did U.A give free lessons on How To Make A Villain Feel Bad For No Reason? Or did you apply for Oblivious to Feelings 101? I need to sleep, I'm so done with this shit." Toga stalked back to her room, hands jammed in her pockets as she left.
"Damn." Twice rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I just came to use the bathroom, but uh, I'll talk to her if you want."
"No! Just- uh, I'm sorry, Twice. I'm just not in a good mood. Sorry." Ochako said, turning to leave.
"It's alright." He muttered. "Oblivious gays." He rolled his eyes behind his mask and headed to the bathroom.
- - - - -
A/N:
Twice being comedic relief / kinda 4th wall breaker fits to me. He's just a great dude lol. So, this is troubling, but it seems they've found the root of their problems!
Maybe!
Hopefully..!
Anyways! U.A is back! What are their plans now that they've seen that Ochako was "captured" by the League? Will they try to track her down, or wait for a better opportunity?
I swear I made some stupid jokes in this chapter, but it's 1am so bear with me please.
See you next week!
Thanks for Reading! Have a good one!
- - - - -
Word Count: 4437