Work Text:
Chitose was in an awfully good mood today. She finished editing a really great article about a tragic history of a family that died in their own house because of the quirk-restricting laws. And on top of that the clothing brand she liked released a new line of jackets with fluffy collars.
It will be a good day, she thought to herself, the click-clack of her heels announcing her entrance at the store. She strode to the right rack with so much self-confidence that her "do not fuck with me" aura probably shot right through the roof. It was certainly enough for the other clients of the boutique to part before her like the Red See before Moses.
She picked the red jacket adorned with black soft fluff. She tried it on, decided it fits her well and directed her steps to the cash register.
It's where she met him.
Green met gold.
Without a doubt he only glanced at her by reflex, when he heard the patter of her heels behind him, but his eyes lingered on her a second or two longer than necessary.
The man was before her in line. He had a beak — mutation quirk? Oh wait, no, at a second glance it was obvious it was a mask — and a dark green jacket with a purple fluffy collar in hand. The same clothing line as the jacket Chitose picked herself.
Huh, he got good taste.
Chitose was always extraordinarily curious — her name she used among Meta Liberation Army members was like that for a reason after all. She was eternally starved for sensation, looking for scandals and didn't take "no" for an answer. She knew a lot about everything happening in the country. That's why the man looked eerily familiar for some reason. She had seen him or heard about him somewhere before.
It was the mask. Hmm… A mask in the shape of a beak, similar to what plague doctors wore ages ago…
Was it Overhaul? The member of the dying yakuza, who's trying to bring it back to life?
Oh, how interesting!
She tapped his shoulder with her perfectly manicured finger and once he turned around to look at her, she sent him a charming smile.
"Forgive me for my boldness but wouldn't you like to go grab a coffee with me?"
The man sized her up carefully and nodded after a moment of hesitation.
Amazing. She could get to know all the interesting facts now!
Once he paid for his jacket, he stood by the exit of the shop, waiting for her as she was buying hers. Then they went to a coffee shop nearby that she suggested. The man didn't say a word the whole walk there, and while she didn't mind the silence per se (after all a little bit of awkwardness is no obstacle for a journalist!), her whole body was tingling with curiosity and questions that wanted to break free. She wanted to get to know him, to learn what made such a mysterious man as him tick. And she wanted to know it now, right in this moment, as soon as possible!
"I didn't even introduce myself!" she exclaimed, filling the silence with her vibrant voice. "I'm Kidzuki Chitose."
"Chisaki Kai," he replied and the deep slightly nasal timbre of his voice caused a nice tickling in her stomach, as if thousands of butterflies fluttered their wings.
She conducted hundreds of interviews and talked with thousands of people. Voice — and it was best if said voice was also shaking with barely contained intense emotion! — was one of the things she paid the most attention to. His voice, all collected, maybe even bored, was really attractive.
"Are you the Overhaul?" she asked, linking his real name to his villain name; her eyes sparkling with mischief. She was right after all! "There's quite a lot of rumours about you."
Chisaki sent her surprised glance but before he got any chance to ask questions and voice his confusion, she barreled on:
"I like interesting stories, you know? Looking for them and documenting them is my job, actually. I'm a journalist for Shoowaysha Publishing. Don't worry though, I didn't ask you on a date because I want to write about you. Unless you want me to," she winked at him. "It wasn't a pretext. I'm just interested in such a curious man as you. Don't spare any gruesome details. I like those," she purred.
Chisaki stared at her for a solid ten seconds, probably trying to wrap his mind around the multitude of information she dropped on him in the past half a minute. Apparently he decided it's a good opportunity for people to hear about him — not necessarily through an article, more likely hoping Chitose will simply spread the rumours — and in the end he started telling her all about the criminal underground, about the yakuza's history and how it has less and less influence. He told her about his boss who took care of him and how it's him for whom Chisaki is trying to bring the mafia to its former glory. He also explained he hates the League of Villains, but also finds them quite useful for his plans and how he intends to use them for his own gain.
And somewhere in the meantime they started to talk more about… personal things. It was just trivial fun facts at first — like them both drinking only black coffee (black like their souls, like Chitose joked and although Chisaki rolled his eyes as if irritated, she noticed his tiny smile — a microscopic tilt of the corner of his lips, really — he apparently tried to hide by taking a swig of his drink) or hating people who talk loudly on their phones in public spaces. Chisaki corrected her that he hates people, period, but her point still stands. Enjoying other people's misfortune was a nice hobby they shared. At one point they were also witnesses to a rejected proposal which Chisaki admitted was a nice bonus to his day, while Chitose dreamily sighed, imagining the curious story that had led to that.
"Pop's granddaughter, Eri, has a quirk that might be essential for my plan of yakuza reclaiming the power it had. Testing her capabilities is tiring, especially since she's afraid of me, but I'm getting closer…"
"Ugh, kids are the worst. Tragic stories starring children sell well, but the children themselves are annoying at best."
"Oh, I know. All they do is cry."
"Or beg for new toys! My niece is one of the most infuriating creatures in the world. She loves heroes. It's the only thing she talks about! She doesn't know how rotten the society is."
"I know, right? The superhero society needs to be destroyed."
"Exactly. Oh, we have so many things in common! Jackets with fluffy collars. Upsetting people. Wanting to destroy the League of Villains. Hating the hero society. Jackets with fluffy collars!"
It was at this moment that a ringtone tore through the atmosphere filled with sexual tension.
It was Trumpet informing her about the date of the next Meta Liberation Army meeting. When she was putting her phone down, her eyes briefly stopped at the watch.
"Oh my, did you know we were sitting here and talking for four hours now?"
Chisaki shrugged.
"Time passes quickly in a good company."
"You're right. It will be a pleasure to go out with you again, sometime, Kai."
"I… don't like this name. But I'll allow you to call me that."
"You introduced yourself with your real name though?"
"I didn't know you recognized me back then."
"I'm full of surprises. I hope you'll have fun discovering them. So curious, am I not?"
Chisaki looked at her with unexpected fondness.
"Well," he cleared his throat awkwardly. It was so cute how inexperienced he was. "What were we talking about, again?"
"About hating hero society. Oh, oh! Let's say why at the same time!"
It was a childish idea. She didn't do it in fifteen or so years, when she was happily in love with her first girlfriend, blurting out things they liked at the same time and laughing when it turned out they had basically read each other's minds.
"It's childish," Chisaki said, rolling his eyes, annoyance dripping from his voice, and— Yes! She agreed, actually! But it was fun.
She told him as much.
"Okay, fine. Can't really say no to you, can I?"
"Then, at three… We hate hero society because… One, two… three!"
"Because quirks are a plague and a sickness that needs to be cured," he said with some warmth in his voice, apparently in spite of himself expecting the same answer.
"Because absolutely free use of quirks should be considered a basic human right," she sing-songed excitedly.
They stared at each other in silence for a solid three seconds. Chitose's smile morphed into a confused frown.
"You want to… What, get rid of quirks?" she asked, losing him.
They were so in sync before!
"Exactly. That's what I need Eri for. I'm working on quirk-erasing bullets," he explained, knitting his brows as well.
Oh.
Uh.
Wow.
"I'm afraid we can't continue our relationship."
"I agre— Wait, what? 'Relationship'?"
"It's natural to disagree on some matters but we should have the same values for it to work."
"No! I mean, yes, technically. But we're not dating!"
"Exactly. We're not anymore. I'm glad you understand. Farewell, Overhaul. You're lucky you're cute, otherwise I'd have to kill you in the name of liberation."
"What the fuck are you even—"
She left, not looking back.
And when she heard about heroes raiding Shie Hassakai a few weeks later, and about Shigaraki from the League of Villains cutting Kai's— Overhaul's arms, she could only think it's ironic that the one who wanted to eradicate quirks ended up losing his.
It would actually be a great article! A curious story. But interviewing her ex in prison didn't exactly sound as compelling when it was her in prospect of doing it.
She would delegate someone else to do it later, once the Meta Liberation Army defeats the League of Villains. Himiko Toga's story was way more exciting after all!