Work Text:
“I can’t help but imagine
What maybe could’ve happened
If you weren’t just an online love”
– Conan Gray
Soft sync beats blasted from the miniature speaker Mina had perched on the corner of Ochako’s bed in the small apartment her parents’ had rented for her near UA. It cost the Urarakas a significant chunk of what they made in a month – but ironically the cost was lower than the train fare if Ochako had to commute to school every day.
Perched on a chair beside her desk, Ochako bobbed her head to the music. Biting her lip, Ochako slowly traced polish over her nails. She held her breath as she ran the dainty brush over the nail on her index finger – she’d be damned if she had to dunk it in acetone yet again.
All the while Mina lay on Ochako’s carpet and held her hand up over her head as she haphazardly lathered her nails in glitter blue nail polish. Giggling to herself, Mina awed over how the nail polish flickered beneath the fluorescent overhead lights.
“Where did you get these? They’re so pretty and have enough glitter to give Aoyama a run for his money.”
Ochako swallowed hard. She had carefully filed off the labels on the nail polish bottle for a reason and had thrown away the price label the second she had made her purchase. Ochako’s gaze landed on the silver Tiffany necklace around Mina’s neck that likely wasn’t a knockoff like the one Ochako had found at a flea market.
Her classmates didn’t know what it was like to have the power go out for a week because their parents’ couldn’t get the payment in on time. They never had to water down their ramen just so everyone in the household could get a portion of dinner. Ochako could already picture pity swelling in Mina’s dark sclera. The last thing she wanted was to be looked at like a charity project. Like yet another person the hero students felt like they had to save.
Still, words spilled from Ochako’s lips before she could fully process them.
“The 100 Yen store.”
“Nice! What a steal!” Mina attempted to pump a fist in the air but wasn’t able to curl the fingers with nail polish that was still drying into a fist.
Ochako let out a sigh of relief. Mina went back to humming to the chorus of the song playing in the background. No pitying glances. No taunts about how she was cheap. No comments about the stains on a ragged shirt that she likely should have thrown out by the now.
As the next song started playing and dipped into a lowkey crescendo, Mina flexed her fingers and stretched. “Hmm, I’m lowkey kinda bored.”
“Manicures aren’t fun enough?”
“Not exactly. Just gotta multitask to keep things interesting, you know.”
Ochako snorted. “So listening to music while doing our nails isn’t enough multitasking?”
“Yup!” Mina popped her lips. She shook her hands for a bit, drying her nails a little faster. Then, her eyes lit up like lanterns and Ochako could practically see the mischief brewing in her expression. “Oh! I have a fantastic idea! What if we downloaded a dating app to make fun of people’s profiles?”
Countless hours of watching YouTube video essays on catfishing scandals flashed through Ochako’s mind. “Is that really safe?”
“You bet.” Mina grinned as she closed the bottle of nail polish she’d been using and fished out her phone. “We’ll use fake names and pictures of plushies and everything. So no need to worry your pretty little head off.”
“I guess that does sound like it’ll be pretty funny.”
Mina plopped herself on Ochako’s bed and Ochako nestled herself down beside her. As Mina hecticly typed away after downloading the app in record time, Ochako kept finding herself staring at the account information. She turned toward the strawberry plushie by her pillow and snapped a photo for her profile picture. But she remained stumped on what fake name to use. All she knew was that Uravity was most definitely a no-go.
“What did you pick for your fake name?” Ochako asked.
“Ripley! Like from the Aliens movies. What name are you picking?”
“Hmm, let me Google some ideas. I was thinking that a Greek mythology reference would be pretty neat.” Ochako typed Greek mythology sky deities into a search engine. Countless wikipedia articles stretched out before her. Ochako held back a chuckle as she spotted Uranus among the listings – she most certainly was not going to set herself up for the barrage of puns bound to follow that sort of nickname.
At last she scrolled toward the name of a sky titan. “How does Asteria sound?”
“Oh that’s super pretty and it totally fits your space vibes!”
Taking a deep breath, Ochako entered Asteria as her name and completed her profile. Countless images flowed together into one indistinguishable mess as Ochako leaned back against her strawberry plush and flipped through dozens of profiles.
A yawn escaped Ochako as she became entrenched in the monotony. There were an awful lot of people holding up fish that had clearly been photoshopped in. The only thing to break the repetitiveness was someone who had photoshopped in an octopus they had supposedly fished which made Ochako snickered. If someone had actually taken that particular octopus out of its natural habitat Ochako would have reported them to the authorities rather than date them – because if memory served, that octopus was an endangered species.
No other profiles broke the repetitiveness until Ochako landed on a profile picture featuring a bat plushie instead of a person. Carmilla flashed on the screen – mostly definitely a fake name but pretty nonetheless. Ochako skimmed over the sparse profile description. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Because it sure hurt when I did LMAO <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Uncontrollable giggling burst from Ochako’s chest. Laughing so hard that her sides ached, Ochako passed on her phone to Mina who shorted as her eyes widened with surprise. “Huh? Looks like someone had the same idea as you. How about that?”
“Are you sure that they aren’t being serious?”
“Not with that many heart emojis and being snarky about the cheesiest pick-up line in the book.” Mina passed Ochako back her phone and stretched her arms over her head before making a beeline for the door. “Anyways, I’m going to head home and get some beauty sleep. Looking this gorgeous takes a lot of work.”
“Goodnight!”
As the door shut behind Mina, Ochako continued to stare at the bat plushie. Was Carmilla really on the same page as her? Insatiable curiosity burned in Ochako’s head and before she could second-guess herself she swiped right. A match notification flashed across the screen. There was only one way to find out whether Carmilla had the same idea as Ochako and Mina. And with the fake names and everything reaching out had to be harmless, right?
Asteria
did u make an acc to make fun of ppl’s profiles?
Carmilla
OMG YES! I’ve been doing it for a few weeks
it’s so much fun
Is that what you’re doing too?
Or is Asteria actually your real name
Asteria
No it isn’t
Carmilla
I figured
it’s still super cute tho
carmilla def isn’t my irl name but i’m a huge fan of the book i took it from
Asteria
i heard abt that one
wasn’t dracula based on it?
Carmilla
you bet!!!
And honestly what’s not to love abt a story with a sapphic vampire?
the story didn’t have enough blood and guts in it for my taste which was kind of a bummer
but lowkey the twist in the story was pretty cool
Asteria
maybe i’ll check it out sometime
Carmilla
HELL YES PLS DO
i promise you’ll love it and won’t regret it
Asteria
hmm that’s setting my expectations pretty high
are you sure that isn’t too big a promise to make?
Carmilla
Nope! In fact i swear on my favorite kitchen knife
Asteria
well i really hope i love it then so your knife doesn’t suffer the consequences
also the plushie in your photo is adorable
where did you get in? I might want to get one if it isn’t too pricey
Carmilla
oh actually got it from a claw machine
Asteria
you’re kidding?????? aren’t those things rigged????
Carmilla
they absolutely are
it took me EONS to figure out how to beat the system
Asteria
it doesn’t matter how long it took? you still somehow figured it out
you wouldn’t believe how much of my childhood allowance claw machines have eaten up 😭
Carmilla
Oh noooo how awfulllllll
well it was pretty simple honestly
after i got mad at the claw machine over it making my wallet empty one of my roommates to set the claw machine on fire
Asteria
Wait what???? That’s horrible
Doesn’t that mean that so many plushies burned alive
Carmilla
Yeah it was an absolute tragedy
they don’t even have blood so they weren’t even bleeding out all cute
Asteria
Huh? Why would blood be cute?
Carmilla
well you know blood is this really rich shade of red
and it’s the color of red
the color of all of our insides so it’s sort of a thing that connects all of us
so i think it’s pretty cool
Asteria
i guess it’s kind of neat when you put it that way
but how did you manage to get a plushie when the claw machine was literally on fire?
Carmilla
well thankfully one of my other roommates with a warp quirk managed to teleport a plushie that wasn’t on fire yet
And OMG i was so lucky that the plushie i managed to rescue was a bat plushie
they are my favorite animal ever! Especially vampire bats
Asteria
sure looks like you’re going for a particular theme here XD
Carmilla
I guess so teehee
i always love me a consistent aesthetic
anyways i hope that i find a way to beat the claw machine without a bunch of plushies dying in the process
i mean i guess there’s my roommate with the warp quirk – but that sort of quirk is really rare
Asteria
I hope you find a better way too!
though now that i think abt it i do have a friend with a fire aspect to his quirk
so technically i could ask him to set a claw machine on fire
Carmilla
Omg what are the odds???
Anyways i need to get to bed bc i’m not actually a nocturnal vampire
Ttyl????
Asteria
yeah i think i’d like that
Chatter echoed through the cafeteria as the 1A girls sat clustered around a table, calling out the names of random small objects for Momo to create. Hagakure squealed with delight as an iridescent computer mouse rolled out of Momo’s elbow. But Ochako paid little attention to the glow-in-the-dark stapler Momo had just formed. Instead her gaze kept drifting toward the newest notification on her phone.
Not missing a beat, Ochako hurried to chug down the last of her carton of milk so she could devote her full attention to her messages. As Ochako opened the dating app, Mina peered over her shoulder and grinned from ear to ear.
She gasped as she spotted the DM notification. “Oh wait! Did you actually meet someone you’re into?”
Flushing bright red, Ochako elbowed Mina in the side. “No, this is just the profile that had the same idea as us.”
Mina wiggled her brows at Ochako. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not into them.”
“Go meddle in the love lives of someone who is actually hopelessly pining!”
Laughing, Mina threw her head back and turned back toward the cluster of Momo’s random creations. “Fine, I’ll do what I must.”
Carmilla
ughhh my boss is being a massive party pooper
Asteria
wait are you like a full grown adult with a job and everything?
Carmilla
oh dear god no 😭
I’m 17
Tho i guess even if i were an adult i’d still be a mess
especially bc i never graduated middle school
Asteria
OMG what happened???!!!
sry u don’t need to explain if u don’t want to
Carmilla
thanks i appreciate it
lets just say that my home life was sth else
Anyways i think it’s miracle i managed to find a gig with my education background
Asteria
well i’m glad u found sth
Carmilla
sameeee
Tho maybe it isn’t all the surprising since my boss is technically an elementary school drop out
tdf tho i think his nanny/butler/taxi/bartender did home school him
Asteria
nanny/butler/taxi/bartender?????
Carmilla
eh it’s too complicated to explain
all you need to know is that he’s the same person as my warper roommate
and that he makes a mean virgin bloody mary
(even though he sadly doesn’t add any blood in it)
Asteria
Wait are you one of those ppl with a vampire goth aesthetic who drink blood for the vibes or sth????
Carmilla
I wish! Their outfits are really nice!
but no me drinking blood is mostly a quirk thing
Asteria
Oh? Do you get anemic if you don’t drink blood?
Carmilla
Eh sure sth like that
Asteria
Ah sry for asking all these personal questions
Carmilla
No worries! It’s no big deal
besides i’m the one who started all this personal talk by bringing up my boss
Asteria
why are you calling him a party pooper?
Carmilla
bc shiggy is one is EVERY possible way
he saw me scrolling through dating profiles and then he started ranting abt how stupid dating apps are and how he would destroy them if he had a choice
Asteria
did he get catfished or sth?
is that why he feels so strongly abt dating apps
Carmilla
nope i don’t think he can even name a single dating app tbf
Minecraft and other apps like that kinda take priority for little old shiggy
Asteria
i guess that’s not exactly a bad thing
at least he doesn’t need to see all those profiles with people holding up their fish
Carmilla
IKR????!!! They are literally everywhere
And ppl aren’t even showing off the fishies pretty blood
How boring :((((
Asteria
i did see a more interesting one though
They photoshopped in an endangered octopus
Carmilla
LMAO at least that’s sth different
Asteria
you wouldn’t believe how relieved i was when i saw your profile picture
the bat plushie finally gave my eyes a bit of a break from staring at all of those repetitive photos
Carmilla
Awwww i’m glad that Mini-Asteria brought you some joy
Asteria
You named your plushie after me?
Carmilla
yeah i’ve been trying to think of the perfect name for her forever
And even though asteria isn’t your real name i still think it’s one of the cutest things out there
Asteria
Oh! Ty!
I’m glad that your plushie doesn’t have to remain nameless anymore
Carmilla
Does your strawberry plush have a name?
I love fruit plushies that have silly faces on them
Asteria
His name is mochi :3
Carmilla
A strawberry plushie named mochi???
Asteria
yeah it’s bc my fav food is strawberry mochi
Carmilla
ahhhhh that sounds so yummy
My fav food is pomegranates
I don’t eat it often bc i like picking out the seeds myself which takes forever
but there is nothing more satisfying than shoving a fistful of seeds in plucked out myself into my mouth
plus cutting open a pomegranate is the perfect opportunity to use my fav kitchen knife
Asteria
i don’t eat pomegranate often bc it’s kinda pricey
but i love how sweet yet tart it is
Carmilla
EXACTLY! You get it!!!
Where have you been my whole life?????
Asteria
One dating app sign-up away i guess XD
Carmilla
well i’m glad i found you here, cutie <3 <3 <3
Asteria
how do you even know whether i’m cute or not if u can’t see me?
Carmilla
Trust me
I have a fifth sense when it comes to cute things
Asteria
u mean a sixth sense????
Carmilla
Whoops yeah that
not finishing middle school means i’m not exactly the brightest crayon in the crayon box
which is a real shame bc i really LOVE the bright red crayon
Asteria
hey don’t talk down on yourself like that!
u seem pretty smart to me
Carmilla
How so?
Asteria
well there are different kinds of intelligence
and clearly you managed to find a stable job and housing despite dropping out of middle school
So clearly you have some street smarts to have managed that. Srsly that’s super impressive, Carmilla!
Carmilla
Aww shucks, cutie <3
i’m def gonna take that compliment to heart
anyways back to my boss
i think he’s a just a big old scaredy cat
and not bc of catfish
Asteria
is he just scared of regular fish then?
bc the app sure has a lot of fish and cat fish
Carmilla
LOLLLLLL
it’s not that though
i think he just thinks he’s undateable
He grew up as kind of a loner so he’s not really the best with people
(i swear he’s super funny though – i always get a good laugh when he rage screams abt video games)
And he also has like this skin condition bc of his quirk
so i think he’s scared that no one will swipe right on him
Asteria
But that wouldn’t happen
there’s someone out there for everyone… even ppl who photoshop an octopus into their photos
Carmilla
that’s what i’ve been sayinggggg
But no shiggy is just so stubborn and won’t listen to my brilliant intuition
Asteria
well i’m sure that you could prove him wrong by like setting up a dating app without him knowing and later showing him how many ppl swiped right on him
Carmilla
OMG THAT IS A BRILLIANT IDEA
I’M GOING TO DROP EVERYTHING TO MAKE A PROFILE FOR HIM RN
Asteria
Wait carmilla! That wasn’t a serious suggestion
And isn’t that a massive invasion of privacy
Carmilla
Desperate times call for desperate measures
Besides i really don’t want shiggy to have a boyfriend or sth to play video games with bc it’d be super nice for him to have sth he didn’t want to destroy
Asteria
Still
Idk
Carmilla
Anyways tata for now
I have a plan to set in motion ASAP!!!
Carmilla
Wahhhhh asteria everything is going wrong
The brilliant plan is failing 😭
Asteria
crap, what happened?
i knew that setting up that profile was a bad idea
did your boss find out? Did he fire you?
Carmilla
no but it’s so much WORSE
it’s been 24 hours and no one has swiped right on him yet
Asteria
Well that’s probably normal
I bet it takes a bit to swipe right on ppl
Carmilla
I dunno
But either way it takes days for shiggy’s profile to get a match he’s going to think he isn’t a hot commodity
For him to see himself as datable i think ppl would need to be swiping right on him like hourly
Asteria
That’s a very high bar
I don’t think that the dating profile plan is going to fare well in the long run
Carmilla
But i REALLY want it to
shiggy gave me a home when no one else would
A place where i could just be myself without hating who i see in the mirror
I owe shiggy a solid bc he changed everything for me
I need to show him that no matter what happened back when his quirk awakened that being loved isn’t out of the cards for him
Asteria
You seem to care abt your boss a lot
Carmilla
Yeah he’s like the brother i never had
The bar where we live is always so lively with bickering over the pettiest things
It’s miles away from the quiet house i grew up in, the silence was suffocating
Asteria
Are u an only child?
Carmilla
Yeah and it sucked
Tho tbh i wouldn’t want to have any siblings who’d get subjected to my parents
Asteria
Well at least you live in a better place now
Carmilla
Thank goodness for that!
Asteria
Anyways i think it might be best if you delete shiggy’s profile
How do you think he’d feel abt you going behind his back like that?
Carmilla
he’d murder me
Asteria
Uhhh i don’t think he’d go that far
Carmilla
if that’s what you want to think
but i probably shouldn’t take any chances
I’ll go delete his profile rb
Asteria
good, that’s for the best
Carmilla
okay it’s done
i just was hoping shiggy could find someone
It’s just so sad that his sims have luck dating but not him
Asteria
I’m sure he’ll find someone eventually
just let it happen naturally without stepping on his toes
Carmilla
i’ll try
And i just shiggy having an unexpected meet cute irl would be even better than matching on an app
Steam rose for the pot on the stove in the Uraraka’s family kitchen. Ochako reveled in the familiar scent of porridge as Mom set a bowl down in from of her. Lifting a spoon to her lips, Ochako savored the broth, not knowing when the next chance would be for her to visit home over the weekend.
Half-off leaks, slightly stale rice and a whole armada of leftovers swam in the stew but it remained filling nonetheless. Still, Ochako’s attention was drawn away from the rich flavor of the food when a notification rang from her phone.
Not missing a beat, Ochako fished out her phone and started typing out a reply. An amused chuckle sounded from Dad who was sitting on the opposite end of the table?
“Who are you texting?”
Heat rushed to Ochako’s face, making her rosy cheeks several hues darker. After all, how was she supposed to explain to her father how she met Carmilla? A friend she felt more comfortable talking with than even her fellow classmates and close friends. But was Carmilla really just a friend?
Her heart fluttered over the thought of how electricity crackled through her nerves every time Carmilla sent her a message. She always found herself about every little piece of herself Carmilla shared with her. Like how much Carmilla cared about the people she worked with. Or how satisfying she thought cutting open a pomegranate was.
No. Even if Ochako did want to feel something more it wasn’t right. Heck, she didn’t even know what Carmilla’s hair color was? Or even if she had hair. Either way she was probably cute though. Snapping herself out of picturing what Himiko’s smile was like, Ochako faced her father.
“I’m chatting with a friend.”
“From school?”
“Oh. No. Not from school,” Ochako choked out.
With brows furrowed with worry as Dad stared at Ochako as if trying to inspect what thoughts were going through her mind. Ochako noticed her mother biting her lip with concern while she stood by the stove stirring the porridge.
“Is this someone you met online? There are a lot of catfish out there, Ochako. It’s dangerous,” Dad said.
“Don’t worry, Dad. Neither of us are sharing photos or real names. I’m being cautious.”
“Still, you never know what someone could do with the smallest bit of personal information about you. You don’t know who is behind the screen.”
“It’s just chatting though. It’s harmless.”
“That doesn’t change that there is a risk,” Dad said.
“We know you have a dangerous career ahead of you with heroics.” Mom reached out from “We don’t want you to add more dangers to that list if you can help it.”
Sighing, Ochako wrapped her fingers around her spoon. “Well, thank you for worrying about me.”
Really she did appreciate that her parents cared. Maybe they weren’t rich but they had a lot of love to spare. Not everyone was that lucky – Carmilla included. But just because Ochako didn’t know who Carmilla was didn’t automatically mean that Carmilla was secretly a horrible person, right?
Carmilla
You are literally the best, cutie <3
I love you so much!!!!
Asteria
Huh? Why?
I didn’t do anything amazing
Carmilla
Except you did!!!!
Your advice was on point
shiggy found someone without me interfering at all
Asteria
That’s amazing!
Carmilla
IKR?
I was at the arcade with shiggy and some of your other roommates
and there was his one guy (kinda cute looked athletic – maybe a volleyball player?)
anyways he was really good at this fighter game kept beating shiggy at it
so they kept having rematch after rematch and the git just kept winning
Asteria
Wait, your boss didn’t win even once?
Carmilla
nope and normally he would have had a huge meltdown abt being constantly beaten like that
But this time i caught him smiling at the guy
A real genuine smile
Not one of the creepy ones that he makes when he takes all the chicken nuggets papagiri has made and refuses to share them
Asteria
who is papagiri?
Carmilla
that’s just the nickname i like to call the nanny/butler/taxi/bartender
Asteria
I guess the nickname is definitely more concise 😂
Carmilla
You bet XD
Anyways the guy asked shiggy if he wanted to come to his dorm sometime and continue their rematches with mario kart or sth
And they’ve been hanging out ever since
Asteria
Good to hear that shiggy found someone on his same wavelength
Carmilla
FOR REAL
and the guy from the arcade is a med student so maybe he’ll even have some advice to help shiggy with his skin condition
apparently quirks side effects are his speciality
Asteria
Wow! That’s super cool!
Carmilla
And all of this bc of you
Asteria
come on you can’t give me the credit for a chance meet cute
Carmilla
I sure can
If you hadn’t stopped me from meddling i might have made shiggy even more closed off
Asteria
I guess we can’t know what exactly all the hypothetical outcomes would be
Carmilla
Anyways there is another thing on my mind
And it might seem like this is coming completely out of left field but i just wanted to be upfront about stuff
Especially bc i feel like we can talk abt anything
Asteria
we definitely can
i mean didn’t we cross the bridge with venting and asking too many personal questions ages ago?
Carmilla
I guess we did
Anyhow it might just be me
But i like really like you asteria
Asteria
I like you too carmilla
Carmilla
I meant as more than a friend
Asteria
Ohh…
Carmilla
It’s fine if you don’t feel the same! I just to get it off my chest bc i think you’re super cute
And i mean i thought with confessing i’d having a chance that you’d feel the same and would want to be girlfriends
Asteria
Sorry i can’t be your girlfriend
Carmilla
Oh that’s kind of a bummer
But it’s not like anyone can control how their heart feels
don’t worry about me it’s not the first time that someone hasn’t liked me back
Asteria
But i do like you back
As more than a friend
I just don’t think we can use that kind of label
Bc i only see one specific version of you
I don’t know who you are in real life
Carmilla
Well i guess it’s good to know that the spark between us weren’t all in my head
Asteria
yeah they aren’t
and it’s not a never per say
i’d be lying if i said that i didn’t feel the same way as you
I guess it’s just a ‘not right now’
Carmilla
That’ll be enough for me
Even if later ends up being never i’ll always be happy to stay just friends
Because there is no one out there more fun to talk to than you
As Ochako left the mall, cops swarmed in around the building. With sirens flashing as she walked along the sidewalk, Ochako clutched onto the bottle of bug spray she had purchased before the trip to the mall had gone to shit.
Goosebumps ran up her arms as she recounted how close Shigaraki had been to reducing Deku to dust. Steadying her breaths, Ochako fished out her phone and scrolled through the backlog of messages and tried to find comfort in Carmilla’s upbeat tone. Anything to distract her from the nausea that was twisting her gut even though she hadn’t used her quirk all day.
Carmilla
hey cutie!
Uh you haven’t responded to by messages in a while
And it’s totes fine if you’re busy
I just wanted to check in and ask if you’re okay
Asteria
I’m okay
Well i’m safe at least, not sure if i’m feeling entirely okay
Carmilla
Well if you need someone to spill your guts to, i’m here
Asteria
Are you sure?
Carmilla
absolutely
and with all the times I have vented to you i especially don’t mind
Asteria
There was a villain attack at the mall today so i’m a little shaken up
Carmilla
oh i heard that was happening today
Asteria
You mean "had happened”?
Carmilla
Oh. Yep. totally. Ha ha
Sorry for the mistake
Grammar isn’t my forte
Asteria
No worries
Grammar is a major struggle
Carmilla
But PLEASE tell me you didn’t get hurt though
Asteria
I didn’t and neither did anyone else
It just was just kinda terrifying
but i’ll be going to summer camp soon so before i know it i’ll have a distraction for the incident
Carmilla
Oooh you’re going to camp too! Sweet!
i have a work assignment at a camp over the summer
Asteria
as a summer camp counselor?
Carmilla
no not as a counselor
Asteria
Well now you’ve got me curious 👀
Carmilla
Sorry i can’t tell you more 🥲
the information is confidential and i don’t want to make my boss mad
Asteria
Oh that’s perfectly okay!
Don’t worry abt it
Carmilla
Anyways speaking of my boss he got me a cute keychain from the mall today
I really like it bc it reminds me of you
Asteria
how so?
Carmilla
well it’s a strawberry
Except some of the paint got chipped and some of it is red and some of it is pink
so now it has the colors of both our favorite foods
Asteria
Aww that does sound cute!
Anyways it might be hard for you to reach me over the summer bc my camp has a strict no phones policy 🙁
Carmilla
Ughhhh what bummer that really sucks
But i’ll be eagerly waiting to chat w you once you get back from camp cutie <3
Asteria
Same here :D
Humidity weighed heavily in the air as purple mist swirled past the canopy of trees. Sweat gluing her shorts to her skirt, Ochako sprinted through the forest with Tsu by her side. The sound of clashing metal sounded in the distance. Ochako heard Shouto’s icebergs crumble a couple miles ahead.
Panting, Ochako pressed through the pain piercing her sides as she ran. Because she sure as hell wasn’t going to fall at the hands of a villain and become yet another person on the list of injured.
Ochako jumped over some roots in her and Tsu’s path and pressed her lips together with determination. She’d keep on pushing forward no matter how many beads of sweat formed on the back of her neck. After all, she wanted to live long enough to finally have a class trip that the League of Villains didn’t end up derailing.
Suddenly, a blade soared through the trees, cutting Ochako’s upper arms. Tsu instinctively jumped in front of Ochako as she reached up to stop the bleeding. Across from them a petite girl emerged.
Wisps of blonde hair escaped space buns that looked effortless. A sharp grin flashed in Ochako’s direction, making her heart skip a beat despite her better judgment. And she could stop the blush from crawling across her face as enchanting gold eyes looked toward her. Against all odds, she looked impossibly cute despite the long knife flashing in her grip.
Blushing, the girl cooed. “Aw, you’re cute! But I’m afraid my heart belongs to someone else.”
Ochako flexed her fingers, ready to jump forward and send the girl levitating across the woods when she had to. Until Ochako’s eyes fell onto a certain strawberry charm fastened the gear around the villain’s face. The paint was chipped in certain places, making the enamel key chain chain shine pink and red in the moonlight.
Ochako’s eyes widened with realization. “Carmilla?”
The knife in Carmilla’s hand clattered onto the ground. “Asteria?”
As Carmilla stood there stunned, Tsu’s tongue lashed out after her. Not reaching for another weapon, Carmilla paled and sprinted off into the woods. While she disappeared into the woods, Ochako noted Carmilla sending a mournful glance over her shoulder.
Even as Tsu leaped after Carmilla, Ochako remained anchored in place. A thousand little realizations hit her. The way Carmilla had mixed up her tenses when talking about the incident at the mall. How she never shied away from violence and how casually she had talked about it.
Even though the purple fog was well out of Ochako’s periphery she found herself choking on her own breath. Her mouth fell agape as it dawned on her who Carmilla’s boss was. Was the med student from the arcade even aware that he was dating the leader of the League of Villains?
Part of Ochako wished she had her phone on her so that she could shatter it into a million pieces. So she could get rid of the reminder of how blind she had been to all the blatantly obvious signs.
Falling onto her knees in shock, Ochako dug her nails into her scalp. Denying was impossible. The truth was screaming in her face. Her parents had been right to warn her about the person Ochako had grown closest to.
And as blue flames continued to crackle through the trees, Ochako found herself unable to stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks.
Ochako hadn’t even noticed the mug Momo had set down in front of her until the tea inside it had gone cold. Numbly, Ochako held the cup to her lips and took a sip as she stared off into the distance via the window of the dorms’ common room. She could hardly even remember the way her nerves used to crackle whenever a message from Carmilla popped up on her phone. But now Ochako’s felt like her chest had gotten as empty as her new dorm room with its sparse decorations.
Picking at her nail beds, Ochako stared at her phone. As soon as she had stumbled back home after being carted back from the training camp in a panic, she had scrambled for her phone. But there was no barrage of messages in sight like she had expected. No million apologies or excuses about how Carmilla’s presence at the summer camp was just one huge misunderstanding. Not a single notification from the dating app.
Was Carmilla trying to go by Ochako’s pace and let me choose when to reach out?
Chewing the inside of her lip bloody, Ochako took a long sip from the mug. She figured that she probably couldn’t call her Carmilla anymore. Not with all the information released about the newer League of Villains member.
Now, Ochako wasn’t blinded by a cute profile with a plushie of a bat anymore. She knew better now. Toga Himiko was a League of Villains member. The throbbing wound on Ochako’s arm encased in bandages was the living proof.
Still, Ochako found herself digging crescents into her palms into her nails and trying to drown out the words she’d seen in news reports over and over again. Did Himiko really deserve to be reduced to a caricature of a person? It couldn’t possibly be black and white where Himiko was simply a villain with nothing more to her.
Maybe she didn’t know everything about Himiko. After all, she’d been looking at the girl who made her heart race through a filtered lens all along. But still Ochako knew the things that really mattered about Himiko – not just the surface level factors like Himiko’s status as a villain.
She knew Himiko’s sense of humor and how she’d say the most out of pocket things nonchalantly just to make Ochako laugh. She cared about her newfound family to the extent she would go to meddlesome lengths to make them happy. No matter how much she brought up how limited her education was, Himiko could still say the most profound things. And she was tight-lipped about a childhood so bad she struggled to talk about it.
Pulling open the dating app, Ochako opened the direct messages log. Perhaps Himiko had never chosen to be a villain. Maybe it was because her quirk involved blood and she had been sequestered to the outskirts of the society. Shutting her eyes, Ochako pictured her parents hauling beams at her construction site.
In a way maybe villains like Himiko were just like the Urarakas. Just people trying to make the best out of the cards they had been given and find a way to make their way in the world.
Before she knew it Ochako had sent off a message.
Hey, it’s been a while.
And an app notification followed only a few minutes later.
Hey, cutie. Yeah, it has.