Chapter Text
Everyone has secrets, that much, cannot be denied. Never trust he who claims to speak only the truth, for he is a liar.
Uraraka could understand this. Even she had secrets. She was a teenage girl, after all. She had a dumb crush on her friend Midoriya, she thought trashy dramas were entertaining, she had a collection of BL manga at the back of her closet. She could respect that there were some things that people just didn't want others to know. But Tsuyu, she was different.
Uraraka knew it was almost wrong to hold her friend up to such a high standard, but she simply couldn't help how she felt. Tsuyu was one of the most honest people she had ever met. She was blunt and never hid things away. Yet, she had been so distant as of late. in the past couple of weeks Tsuyu had disappeared every Saturday under the guise of "taking some time to herself." But Uraraka knew better.
At the end of every one of these trips, Tsuyu would go straight to her room, not talking to anyone. More than that, Tsuyu had been careful not to let anyone into her room and Uraraka could swear she had seen bite marks on the frog girl's neck on more than one occasion.
Uraraka didn't mean to be nosy, really, she didn't but she was worried for Tsuyu. Something was wrong, and what kind of friend would she be if she didn't try to help? A bad one.
"I'll be heading out again," Tsuyu stated, rising from her seat. It was to be expected, as it was the weekend. Yet, Uraraka could never quite shake off the strange feeling she got.
She later realized it's because Tsuyu didn't look her in the eyes.
Her friend had a habit of constantly maintaining eye contact, even when not totally socially acceptable. For Tsuyu to look away was just plain odd. Like she was hiding something.
"Hm, yeah I think I may just chill out today. Maybe I'll bother Bakugou...ooh, or I could destroy Mineta's room since he's out today!" Ashido peeped, lips already spreading into a grin.
"Ugh, I'd help but something tells me he wouldn't hate that," Jirou scrunched up her face.
Uraraka turned to Tsuyu, who was already walking away, "Bye, Tsu."
Tsuyu jumped, as if startled, "Bye, ribbit."
The response was too formal, too strained.
Once sure Tsuyu was long gone, Uraraka turned to the rest of her friends, "I'm not the only one who sees how strange Tsu's been acting, right?"
"How do you mean?" Momo looked confused.
"She's been," Uraraka sighed, "different somehow. Distant maybe."
Ashido nodded, gripping her chin, "Yeah. I didn't want to bring to up but "
"She seems like she's hiding something! Ooh, maybe she has a boyfriend!" Hagakure interrupted, clearly excited by her idea.
"That's what I was gonna' say!" Ashido looked amazed.
Jirou coughed awkwardly, "Um, anyway..."
"I know...I mean, it's probably nothing," Uraraka swallowed, her throat dry, "but what...what if it isn't?"
"What else could it be?" Momo asked, gasping. "Do you believe she may be...?"
The traitor.
"No! That can't be it!" Uraraka was embarrassed at how defensive she was.
Hagakure put an arm around Uraraka, "Hey, hey. It was just an idea. It's okay."
"Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry."
Ashido shook her head, "We're all on edge. It's cool."
"What should we do?" Jirou asked, seeming sick.
"It could be a bad idea," Momo started, and Uraraka felt her heart drop into her chest.
"But?"
"We could go into her room. Look around for anything out of place."
A silence came over the girls as they mulled over the idea. It wasn't a a bad one per say, but was it a good one?
"I-I'll do it." Hagakure said with finality. "If anything, I'm least likely to get caught so..."
Uraraka heard someone reply, but the knot of anxiety in her chest made it impossible for her to hear. Was she in the wrong? Maybe she was over reacting. But what if she wasn't? Uraraka felt her knees restlessly bounce up and down, her eyes feeling as if they were to tear up, but not enough to cry. Her breath was getting short. This was too much.
" chako? Ochako? Can you hear me?"
Uraraka jolted up, "Yes!"
Ashido nodded, "Oh, well, I was just saying that we're gonna' all go."
"It wouldn't be fair to have one person take the fall," Momo affirmed.
Uraraka felt herself nodding, yet felt out of control, "Yeah...let's go."
The girls threw out remnents of their food, traveling to Tsuyu's room.
"Stealth mode!" Ashido cheered in a anything but stealthy way.
Jirou put a finger to her lips.
"Ah, my bad. Stealth mode," Ashido corrected.
Hagakure moved forward, pushing the door ever so slightly open. It was unlocked, and Uraraka wondered if Tsuyu had forgotten, or simply trusted them enough not to.
She hoped very dearly for it to be the former.
"Well, it all looks normal," Momo declared, clearly antsy, "Let's go!"
"Oh, c'mon. We've hardly looked around," Hagakure plopped onto Tsuyu's bed.
Jirou frowned, "But maybe "
"You're not getting into the spirit of this!" Ashido whined.
"There's nothing 'fun' about this! Nothing to get into the spirit of!" Uraraka snapped, instantly embarrassed.
After an awkward silence, Jirou spoke up, "Um, hey. i think I mighta' found something."
Uraraka took a paper from Jirou's hands, clearing her throat, "Dear my lovely Tsu, to remind you how much I adore you, I wrote you a little poem."
"So she does have a boyfriend!" Ashido looked excited.
"Read the rest!" Hagakure encouraged.
Uraraka felt put on the spot.she never liked how her voice sounded when she read, always so stilted, "Oh, um, alright. 'You are a light in my dark nights, a ruler bringing order to my chaos; I am a vampire, you the sun, yet you are the blood sustaining me; I am fire, you the rain, In the same way you're my gasoline; You are a pure ocean deep, and I a tar, an oil; I mean not to sound fanatical, but do tell me: what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?'"
Momo looked off-put, "It is...interesting."
Uraraka nodded. It really was.
"There's more stuff in this box," Jirou said, continuing to loot around.
Ashido was over by her in a second flat, all but shoving herself into the box, "Ooh, it's a little stuffed frog."
"A box of Tsu's favorite chocolates!" Hagakure cheered.
"He seems rather sweet," Jirou mumbled, "I wish someone would write me a poem..."
"Eh? Even one like that? But was so bad! Kinda' creepy too," their invisible friends seemed shocked. It was never quite clear with her.
Jirou twisted an ear jack around her finger, "Well..."
"We should head out," Uraraka says. This whole thing is giving her bad vibes.
Wordlessly, the other girls return their items, and leave.
It's not until a few hours later that Tsuyu returns, and honestly, Uraraka is almost ashamed for being surprised when Ashido runs up to her.
"How was your date?" she asked, shaking Tsuyu, "Tell. Me. Everything."
"Forget her!" Hagakure is right behind her in mere moments, "Tell me everything!"
"Agh, Tooru, you traitor!"
"Sorry babe!"
Tsuyu blinked slowly, "What are you two talking about, ribbit?"
"You were on a date today weren't you?" Ashido asked.
Tsuyu looked nervous, "Well...yes, but "
Hagakure seemed shocked, "You mean she doesn't know?"
Ashido shrieked, "Wah! I got excited, okay! Besides, you did the same!"
"I thought you told her!"
Some other students had gathered around to watch the hot mess. More specifically, Kaminari and Kirishima, who were taking a break from blowing up hot dogs in the microwave, Uraraka's heart was hammering in her chest as Momo put a hand on her shoulder. At the same time, Jirou grabbed her hand.
Tsuyu no longer seemed confused, but instead very angry, "What did you do?"
Ashido chuckled, "We may have possibly, kinda' "
"Because we were worried about you," Hagakure intervened.
"Yes! We may have...snuckintoyourroomandsnoopedaroundsorry! "
"How could you?" Tsuyu was livid now.
"It was my idea," Uraraka jumped into the cross hares. "I was...you had been acting so strangely."
Before Tsuyu could respond, someone else approached.
"I...cannot allow Uraraka to take all of the blame. It may have been she who brought it up, but it was my idea and in my worry I participated," Momo looked ashamed.
"Me too..." Jirou stood beside her friend.
There's silence for a long time and Uraraka can hear Kaminari whispering something to Kirishima about popcorn.
Tsuyu opens her mouth, but is once more interrupted, this time by a large crash as the door is kicked open, "Hair for brains! I just finished beating the crap outta' Deku and I need a new punching bag!"
There's a weak 'We were training, Kacchan,' and Uraraka doesn't think this could be any worse.
Kirishima draws his hand over his neck, "Not now man."
Bakugou doesn't take the hint, "What's wrong with you losers?"
"The girls broke into Tsuyu's room and found out she has a boyfriend," Kaminari shrugged.
Midoriya's mouth went into an 'o' shape.
No one moves for a long time. Strangely enough, Bakugou then walks right over to the girls, pointing a finger at them, "Listen up, cause' I don't repeat myself! If frog-face wants to get it on with some extra, then it's none of anyone's business but hers! Now get out!"
'Frog-face' looks surprised at Bakugou's words, (not that she was the only one, Midoriya seemed to be the only person unfazed) but nods, "Yeah. What she and I do is none of your business."
Kaminari played with his hair, "A 'she,' huh? Wouldn't have pegged you for the type. Nothing wrong with it though."
Impossibly, that seemed to get Bakugou even more angry, as he launched a small explosion Kaminari's way, "There better not be!"
Kirishima instantly jumped into damage control mode, "Bakubro "
Alas, Kirishima's valiant effort came too late, and Bakugou had already kicked over the couch, "I could not imagine you having an issue, anyway! Since all you and hair for brains do is eye fu !"
"Why don't we all head back to our rooms?" Midoriya slides in easily.
Tsuyu doesn't need to be told again and strides away. Then again, neither did Uraraka, and she was in her room before she even realized she was moving.
Uraraka face planted onto her bed, tired emotionally and physically. Why did she think that was a good idea? She was paranoid and had probably ruined one of the best friendships she had. She was so, so stupid. Uraraka didn't realize she was crying until she shifted, feeling the wetness of her pillow. How was she ever to face anyone ever again?
Uraraka was knocked out of her crisis by a soft knock upon her door, "Ochako?"
Midoriya
"Hey, Deku," she tried to hide how sick she felt. "I'm a little tired. Come back later?"
A few moments of silence and then, "Ohcako, please talk to me."
How could she refuse him when he asked like that? "...The door's open."
Uraraka just barely noted the sound of the door clicking shut, as extra weight shifted her bed.
Midoriya petted her hair softly, "Are you alright?"
She simply gave a small grunt.
"What you did was wrong," he says simply. All he needed now was a bright red helmet reading 'Captain Obvious.' We salute you, captain, we salute you.
Uraraka adored Midoriya, she really did, but in that moment she was just about ready to kill him, "I know."
"But," Midoriya continued, "Tsuyu is nothing if not understanding. I-I know we're not super close like the two of you! I'm not trying to act like I know everything...but if you explained yourself..."
"You think she would forgive me?" came the muffled question.
"Yeah! Well, not that I know for sure or anything. Ah, not to say that it isn't likely, cause' that wouldn't be very encouraging but "
Uraraka silenced him by bringing herself up from her bed, and giving him a hug, "Thank you."
In the moment, Midoriya didn't have to be her crush. He didn't need to be someone she would constantly fawn over. All he needed to do was to be a friend, and he was more than willing to do just that. And you know what? He was damn good at it.
"I'm going to go take your advice right now!' she declared, and was out of the room before she could hear his response.
Tsuyu wanted oh so desperately to mad at all of the girls. They had disregarded her privacy, snooped in her room, and been all around rude under the guise of worry. Or course, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't be upset. Why?
Because they were right.
Sure, she could act all offended at the notion that she was doing anything wrong, but the truth of the matter was that she was seeing (was seeing the right term? Dating? No, seeing) a villain who had tried to kill them. She had no right to be mad, yet she was trying to fume. Worst of all, she had disrespected her friends who did nothing wrong. Okay, so they did, but it wasn't like they were wrong in their being wrong, right? Ugh, it's enough to make her head explode. Tsuyu would have continued to contemplate the intricacies of the situation if not for the harsh knock at her door.
"Tsu? It's Ochako. Ha, but you probably knew that. Um, m-may I come in?" she was clearly nervous.
Tsuyu couldn't find it in herself to decline and let out a hesitant 'yes.'
Uraraka all but barreled into the room, looking like death, "Hiya."
Tsuyu simply stared.
"I just wanted...I," Uraraka began to float herself, an endearing habit she acted upon when flustered, "I'm sorry! I was worried, but I should have just talked to you instead of gong through your stuff. I know, I'm an awful friend. I hope you can forgive me."
The green haired girl felt her face flush with shame, "You're...you made a mistake. But you..."
Tsuyu cupped Uraraka's face in her hands.
"You are an amazing friend."
Uraraka burst into tears, yet was smiling, "T-Thanks, Tsu."
"Hey, it's all right."
The other girl composed herself wiping her face, "If...if you don't mind, I would love to meet your girlfriend. We could invite her over to dinner tomorrow. I'm sure Aizawa wouldn't care all too much."
"Um, okay. I'll invite her and see what she says, ribbit," Tsuyu felt her blood pumping. There was no way Toga could meet her friends. Everyone would recognize her. Yet, as she looked into her friend's eyes she just couldn't say no.
"One condition, though," Uraraka said.
"Um, yes?"
"Mineta stays locked in his room."
Tsuyu let out a genuine laugh at that, "That...heh, that's a good idea."
"Yeah...Ah! Look at the time! I better be heading back to my dorm!" Uraraka gave Tsuyu a bright smile, "Goodnight honey!"
Tsuyu forced herself to do the same before slamming the door shut. What had she been thinking? She let her guilt get to the best of her, and made a huge mistake.
Instinctively, she grabbed for the burner phone Toga had given her and shot out a text, We have a problem.
A minute or so of silence and then, geez hi to you too
Not funny. My friends want to meet you tomorrow for dinner. I need a valid excuse, they're getting suspicious.
Ooh i wanna go ;) tell your friends i cant wait to see them tomorrow
Tsuyu thought her head might just explode. Toga was reckless sure, but she had never seen her be so stupid, Are you insane? They'll recognize you.
The text from Toga comes immediately, No they wont. feel free to tell them i'll be there. I can take care of the rest
What?
A couple seconds later and a new message shines on her screen, Silly me...I never told you about my quirk, did I?