Chapter 2: Love REALLY Hurts: Ochako Uraraka (Uravity)

Pain, overwhelming and insurmountable, that was the first thing that greeted Ochako Uraraka as consciousness returned to her, she did not even get the chance to open her eyes before she hissed and clenched them tight in some effort to stave off the excruciating pain that coated her head, arms and leg. She would at most groan softly as she rested, she could feel the slight tug on her arm, the sign of the IV and blood she was being given. She expected that another Pro-Hero had shown up and taken down Toga and the sniper as well as rescuing Ochako and delivering her to a hospital, even the mittens on her hands were a reassertion of this theory as her few times sleeping in a hospital, she had been supplied with just those mittens but the tightness on her wrists was certainly a new addition but one she didn't pay an awful amount of attention to.

Slowly her eyes would blink open, thankful for how dim the lights were as her head likely wouldn't manage too well with the concussion she had and the migraine she was nursing. But then, just before her eyes could open, she'd notice she couldn't hear a beeping...there was always a beeping, rapid or slow, in her hospital room it was always there. Then her eyes would open to a room that was very clearly not a a hospital room and to a sight that was very clearly not safety. She could feel something warm curled tightly around her body, she didn't even want to believe it, it was all some nightmare that she found herself stuck in. Partially out of a desire to just rest and the rest out of fear, she hesitated to turn her head to the side in order to find the source of the warmth against her skin. As she'd crane her neck over, turning to place her other cheek against the pillow, she came face to face with a monster, granted it was a monster that wore the visage of a peaceful young woman who was resting happily in the arms of some one they loved but Ochako knew what laid beneath that visage. It took every last drop of her depleting composure to avoid screaming out in terror and attempting to flee, she was rational enough to know that the longer Toga slept for, the more time she'd have to plan and make some kind of escape.

Rather then focusing on her pain and fear, she knew she had to prioritise, go full hero in order to keep herself alive, once Toga awoke, she knew a ticking clock would begin until the woman escalated to violence, it was her modus operandi and had been for every one of their encounters. Toga was curled around her tightly but it was mainly just her arms and legs, she didn't even have enough strength to pry herself free, despite being asleep, Toga's hold was like a death grip of sorts, even when sleeping, even when resting, Toga would not allow her love to escape her, it would be almost romantic if it wasn't coming from a serial killer. She wagered that she couldn't convince Toga to set her free, the odds were high that her intentions were some form of torture or...Ochako didn't want to think about it but Toga had always had a twisted and distorted view of love, she was thankful she could feel her clothes still wrapped around her body and that Toga had not done anything untoward to her body, at least to her knowledge and frankly, she'd rather keep it that way.

A small shift from Toga's sleeping body was enough to make all the hairs on the back of Ochako's neck stiffen, like the sleeping beast was about to awake and devour her. She needed to focus elsewhere, she knew if Toga woke up, things could end or escalate immediately, she couldn't make a mad dash, her right leg was ruined and her quirk was out of reach, her body was weak but she could maybe try and fight, she hadn't been able to do as much damage to Toga so that meant the odds were likely that she was strong enough to hold off Ochako in a fight. She had no real options, things were looking dire and bleak. She gazed about the room, the best she could do was distract herself. Looking beyond Toga, she'd catch a glimpse of the Frankenstein's monster that was the thick blackish tome on the desk...surrounded by a bunch of merchandise with her face on it, that was certainly enough to get a shiver out of Ochako. She had surmised that the obsession was intense and had been present for long before the war, probably since the first time they met at that training camp roughly six years ago...maybe before that? She couldn't know without asking Toga and the nature of her obsession wasn't the most thrilling idea of conversation for her.

She tried to put her focus elsewhere, perhaps if she could get a better idea of Toga's fixation she could use it against her? She gazed around the room, trying to find something that would aid her. She did catch sight of the little diorama of plush toys, a collection of her school friends in their usual groups, alongside her and the crudely made Toga toy up at the front, she had expected Izuku to be beside Toga or Ochako but as she glanced up, seeing just the severed head of Izuku's toy, pinned through the forehead by a knife, it explained an awful lot. Izuku had taken Shigaraki away from Toga, he had won the war for them, alongside AllMight fighting against All For One, it stood to reason that Toga's love would die off for the man who stole her perfect world and her revenge from her. Though all this just led Ochako to question her own place in this, why she had been chosen and why Toga had such affection for her. In their past, Ochako had always rejected her and Toga seemed like she'd been able to take it sure, but it had been during the war, with the question that Toga had asked that seemed to have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Was it because she had not given Toga the answer she wanted that things had gone this far? That Toga had rejected the olive branch that Ochako extended to her in their last encounter?

Ochako had thought endlessly about that day, it was like some one had taken their life before her and she would just constantly think about what she should have done, how she could have saved them, she had a lot of those situations as a hero but none were as persistent as the memory of Toga's anguished face. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't seen it coming, she hadn't been prepared for it when it happened. She'd feel a hand against her face, pushing her into the pillow and keeping her looking away from where Toga had been sleeping, she'd feel a pressure on her stomach, something pinning her down and making it hard to breathe "It's super pervy to look at me while I'm naked" She thought she could have been ready but Toga didn't give her a chance, her eyes flicked to look to the figure above her, Toga wasn't grinning, she was shooting down that same cold glare she shot to every object of her disdain and it just seemed to harden as Ochako's eyes fell on her. Toga's hand pushed hard, exacerbating the migraine Ochako had "I said not to look at me" And Ochako, to avoid further escalation just kept looking onwards at the plush toys, she didn't like the idea of taking her eyes off of Toga, that's how you end up dead, but she wasn't going to push Toga's buttons when she held all the cards. "I-" She'd grunt, her mouth dry and head pounding "It's hard not to look at you when you're sat on me!" She couldn't hold back the anger she felt, a small shake of fear in her tone but layered under heavier emotions. "You're still managing it" Toga would retort in a detracted tone "So keep managing it" Her pinkie would shift around Ochako's face till the nail hung above Ochako's right eye, just out of sight, it was a serious threat even if Ochako couldn't see it. "Or I'll make it easier for you" There was menace in her voice, Toga wasn't in a playful mood and as much as Ochako didn't want to play along, she had no choice "Calm down, I'm not looking" Her tone was much shakier, not wanting to pull at Toga's hair trigger "I'll keep looking away as long as you want" Trying to make some gesture of appeasement in order to keep the powder keg that is Himiko Toga from going off.

Toga sat there for a good while, her pinkie's nail pressing gently against Ochako's eyelid, causing her to clench her eye tightly shut in order to protect it "Good" She said simply before pulling her hand away "Don't peek, I'm going to get dressed" She climbed down from Ochako to go do whatever, presumably get dressed, Ochako could hear the soft creek of wooden hinges so it was easy to assume she was opening the wardrobe she had clocked sight of previously. "Are you going to kill me?" Ochako had to ask, she knew she wouldn't like the answer either way, it was death or torture in her mind, no alternative. Toga didn't answer for a long while, possibly wanting to get dressed first or possibly wanting to let the question and tension linger in the air for a while longer. When she did eventually answer, it was accompanied by more hinges creaking and the soft slamming of wood as it closed. "I don't know" That had not been the answer Ochako had been expecting, of all she had anticipated she couldn't have prepared for that. Though it was a risk, she had do question it "Y-you don't know?" She asked back with scepticism and concern, an indecisive Toga was something to be feared, you couldn't prepare. Toga would shoot back with "Yeah! I don't know!" Offering no explanation beyond just repeating herself "If I don't know something, it's because I haven't figured it out yet!" Okay, that was something to work off of, Ochako went quiet for a moment, Toga was admitting to not having a plan here, that gave Ochako some kind of advantage, she just needed to figure out how to utilise it.

"You know you don't have to..." It was weak but it was an effort to buy more time but the payment came up short "You can still stop, To-" And she ended up cut off by Toga "We're not talking now" As if her word was law. Ochako followed this law, she didn't have much to say to Toga beyond pleading with her to end the insanity in a more peaceful way, she had long given up trying to save Toga, she was beyond saving. Toga made her way back over, laying down on the bed behind Ochako and just staring at her for a moment, Ochako was able to figure that out swiftly, the sudden shift of the mattress and the sound of the springs and the strange sensation that a serial killer was staring at her. She'd look back, concerned that Toga was preparing something but would just find Toga, now dressed with her hair up in her iconic buns, with her eyes trying to burn holes in Ochako, thankfully that wasn't her quirk.

Ochako laid there awkwardly for a moment on her back, looking at Toga as she glared at her "What ar-" Toga would butt in again "Not talking" Ochako kept trying "If we do-" But Toga was persistent "Not talking" Ochako was growing frustrated with Toga's antics now "Could you sto-" And Toga persisted "Not talking" Which just made Ochako go quiet as her face screwed up in annoyance "So what are we doing?" And this seemed to be the secret code to get an answer out of Toga, not that it was a worthwhile answer "What we're doing, is not talking, I'm thinking, let me think" Ochako sighed softly, she didn't like the idea of leaving Toga to figure things out on her own, her conclusions had seemed dangerous on a regular basis but one supposes that's what you get with a psychopath. Toga had eventually come to some kind of conclusion, presumably, as she pushed up from the bed and declared "I'm going to make you breakfast" Before walking out of the door, bewildering Ochako as she just laid there stunned and parroted back "B-breakfast?" With a confused inflection "W-wait!" But Toga was already out of the room and not responding.

Ochako decided to use this time as a chance to test her body, she could use her hands to push herself back and up into a sitting position, grunting softly as the cuts on her arms strained and her leg was moved along with her body, she'd rather not give Toga an easy way to kill her by making her choke on pancakes or something ludacris like that. Her body strained but soon enough she was able to sit up against the headboard, taking a moment to catch her breath and check that she hadn't pulled out the IV or blood feed, she knew it would be a match for her, Toga didn't seem the type to kill some one in such an impersonal way and she figured Toga would know her blood type, likely having stolen medical records or just checking the her sheet when she was hospitalised for the shotgun wound.

Ochako could hear a quiet sizzling coming from elsewhere, beyond the hallway Toga had slinked down. Ochako couldn't help but catastrophize, as if the situation could somehow be worse, envisioning Toga flaying some poor civilian live and serving it to Ochako disguised as bacon along with a glass of orange juice, somehow also of dubious nature, perhaps from stolen oranges, truly, that was the worst possibility, stolen oranges. She would be left in that state of anxiety and worry for quite some time, testing the limits of her body and how much she could move, with Toga's eyes off of her she could size up her capability for escape, the mittens made things difficult, no use of her quirk or her right leg, her left leg had managed to survive fully intact so there was the option of being able to kick with it but without her quirk and without her other leg, she wouldn't be able to support herself in order to get a good hit in. Her arms weren't exactly useless, just next to useless, the various cuts had weakened the muscles and if she pushed herself too far with them, the cuts would likely get worse and she'd begin to lose blood, she couldn't even headbutt Toga due to the overpowering migraine and potentially cracked skull...maybe that was a way out now she thought about it, if Toga didn't want her dead yet, she'd need medical treatment, no way something wasn't broken either for herself or Toga.

When Toga did eventually return, she was heralded by the smell of something fried, something a little burnt and thankfully, that same something didn't smell like burnt flesh, it smelt like eggs. Toga turned the corner with a cheery smile, a tray in tow and on top of which was a plate with a sizeable, burnt around the edges, omelette. The tray was brought over and laid on Ochako's lap, the weight of it causing a bit of pain for what did rest on her leg, she didn't complain though, she could endure that small indecency. Toga would kneel beside the bed and grab the cutlery, beginning to cut up the omelette but before she could even get a segment ready for her captive, Ochako voiced her complaints "I'm not hungry." It was likely going to upset Toga but possibly a bit less than "I'm not going to let you poison me" though with how things were proceeding, Ochalo didn't really expect that to be Toga's intentions, she was just cocnerned and tyring to play it safe. Toga didn't seem to take it particularly well, stopping mid cut as she was almost finished slicing it up into bite sized chunks "Don't be mean." Before she continued the cutting, as if trying to ignore what Ochako was saying. "I'm not being mean," Ochako would counter "I can't trust you, I don't know what you've put in that thing!" Raising her voice ever so slightly in irritation that Toga wouldn't listen to her or even take her concerns into consideration.

Toga was listening, it was clear by the ways her muscles would twitch and her face would darken, that she was hearing what Ochako was saying but by her actions she didn't seem to much value what Ochako was saying as she continued to cut apart the omelette, now finishing up. "it's just eggs" She then looked to Ochako, a thin veneer of a smile as she picked up a portion with the fork and offered it to Ochako, trying to feed her the at least adequately cooked meal. Ochako would panic somewhat at the offered food, her suspicion and fear of Toga getting the better of her as she swiftly reached out with her sliced and weakened arms, having enough strength to strike the fork from her hand, sending it clattering to the soft carpeted floor below. Ochako's gaze watched it as it flew before she'd look to Toga with a face of strength and composure, to stand her ground once more and protest her strength to her kidnapper. Whilst she had expected fire and fury, anger and violence, things she could prepare herself to fight against, Ochako was instead met with a far more fearsome opponent. Toga's face was not a visage of anger but instead a picture of sorrow, an old one drawn out from the scrapbook of their joint memories. It was THAT look, that same look when Ochako and Toga had talked of life and death, of their values...so why was Toga wearing that face over a piece of omelette.

"You're really mean..." A single tear would begin to streak down the girl's face, she didn't even seem aware of it as she looked to be trying to hold together her swiftly crumbling composure. "It's just an omelette...that's all it is." She began to shake a little, letting out a hitched breath as her eyes grew glossy and wet. "I'm doing something nice for you, that's all." Ochako tried to hold her ground, reeling back from her pause that Toga's expression had given her "How can I trust you?! You tried to kill me!" There was doubt, there was a concern things were just going to end up like last time, with Toga resenting her more and refusing the olive branch, but that branch had withered and died five years ago. "If you want to do something nice then stop this! Turn yourself into the police, that's how you can make me happy!" She had intended it to mean she wanted Toga to stop hurting people but one could easily see it as her just saying she wanted Toga out of her life, that was the case but it would be dangerous to say something like that to Toga directly. Toga reached up, brushing tears from her face as they came in droves to her eyes, trying to subdue them. "I was hoping you'd miss me," She managed to get out through sobs and hitched breath, she was beginning to come apart at the seems "I know you're angry I didn't do what you asked, I didn't stop before...but I was hoping we could talk now, about love." She sniffled slightly, wiping her eyes constantly as she tried to compose herself and be able to actually see Ochako so she could look into her eyes. "I wanted to take your hand...I really did." That rang out like a shot for Ochako, all this time she thought that Toga had just hated her, that her supposed love was just an excuse to rationalise her killing but it didn't seem that way anymore. It didn't look like Toga was making excuses anymore, she was genuinely sad and perhaps even regretful of her actions, that she had cast aside Ochako's efforts.

unfortunately, the potential breakthrough would be short lived as some one broke through the wall behind and somewhat beside them, the sudden gust as the wall was blown through blowing both girl's hair and nearly knocking Toga off the bed but she managed to hold on to the bed frame. There were very few people who could achieve something like that and Ochako was intimately familiar with just who was likely to have done this. There was a GPS tracker built into her suit that she could switch off at the end of her patrols but she always made sure to keep on in case of the worst case scenario so HE had likely gotten the information from Gunhead and shot right towards the abandoned parts of town, it was honestly a surprise it had taken so long. Standing there, in the hole he had created was the nightmare of villains, The green blur, The symbol of peace and number one hero, Izuku Midoriya, Deku. "Deku!" Ochako cried out, renewed enthusiasm and joy as she was about to be saved, right now she needed to help him deal with Toga though. Toga herself had seemed to take her eyes off of Ochako as she was transfixed by Deku, as hard as it usually was to decipher Toga's emotions from expression alone, this time it was crystal clear what emotion was rippling through Toga, pure, blind, unadulterated HATE.

From the deepest pit of whatever thing Toga could call a soul, a roar rose up, like a monster bellowing out from the gates of hell itself "IZUKU!" She cried out, a demon calling its prey's name. She leapt forward from the bed, no weapon in hand and by the looks of it, not grand strategy, she had simply cast herself into the fray with no means to protect herself. Ochako wouldn't sit idly by and whilst she knew that Izuku could handle the situation in any number of ways, she didn't wish for anyone to get severely injured, it was the job of a hero to make sure that everyone came out of a situation unscathed. She didn't see it as helping or saving Toga, she saw it as stopping her from causing anymore damage. As Toga had turned to leap towards Izuku, Ochako reached forward, using all her remaining strength to wrap her arms around Toga's legs and arrest her momentum, causing her to fall back down onto the sheets. She then dragged the villain in close, leaping on top of her and forcing her into a triangle hold with her throat being tightly squeezed "You have the right to remain silent!" Officially beginning the arrest but Ochako wasn't even sure that Toga heard the rest as she just continued to scream out Izuku's name no matter how hoarse her throat became or how much she could breathe. Toga just flailed wildly against the hold Ochako had her in so that she could continue her assault on Izuku despite the fact she would likely accomplish nothing against the indomitable beast that Izuku Midoriya had become.

Izuku stepped in, seeing that Ochako needed help and that Toga was still a threat, reaching out with one hand as his black whip slipped under Ochako's stomach and coiled around Toga and eventually pushed against Ochako's arm to show that he had her. Toga was left cocooned by a dark writhing shadow that kept her completely captive, only able to scream and writhe in anguish as everything was being taken away from her again "NO! STOP! IT WAS ALMOST PERFECT!" She was practically ignored, Izuku rushing to look over Ochako's injuries "Uraraka!" He'd cry out as he saw the damage. "I'll be fine, nothing a few kisses won't make better" She laughed awkwardly, trying to lighten the situation, it should be a celebration, they had caught the last remaining member of the league of villains and she was safe...so what was this pit in her stomach that rolled around with every small motion.

With the speed one had come to expect from the number one hero, both women were rushed to where they needed to be, Izuku had to hand Toga over to the authorities who had to sedate her before she could even be put in an iron maiden and Ochako was delivered to a hospital that had a licensed user of a healing quirk in order to speed up her recovery and recover from any muscle or nerve damage and it was well warranted. Ochako's leg was in complete and utter ruin, though it hadn't been the focus of Toga's attacks, the stab into Ochako's thigh had ripped through muscles and nerves, causing serious damage and what had been the centre of her attention, the stab into her shin had annihilated muscle nerve and even splintered bone due to the stomp against the knife. If it wasn't for the use of a healing quirk, she'd likely have had a limp for the rest of her life which was something that Ochako was thankful to have avoided. Even after everything she had endured, she had no intention to give up her career as a hero, the fans who rallied outside her hospital to cheer on her recovery were a reminder of why she still did the job and why she still wanted to protect people.

Once Ochako had recovered enough from her injuries, she was questioned on the whole encounter and she gave an honest and straight forward retelling of what had occurred and everything Toga said to her, she could only speculate what had happened while she was unconscious but she decided to be optimistic and attest that she "Doubted Toga did anything to me while I was unconscious...she seemed like she was trying to get something across to me and I think that would go against her intentions." Ochako spent a lot of time in her hospital bed recovering and thinking about what had transpired, how it reflected their past "I wanted to take your hand...I really did" Those words echoed in her memories, the faces of anguish Toga had been made every time she got rejected but how she still persisted and tried to explain herself and get answers from Ochako. Was it insanity trying to force some twisted kind of affection or was it love trying to crawl and claw its way out through insanity to make itself known, to prove that it is real...She didn't know. As the sun set one night, she found herself pacing in her room, she needed to exercise her leg regularly now it was healed in order to strengthen the muscles, they were in a state where the injury wouldn't cause trouble, it was just painful to walk. The light wasn't even on, only able to see where she walked as the moonlight shone in through the open window, a cool breeze helping to soothe the heat of the anxiety Ochako felt.

Ochako would walk back and forth in her hospital room, from different furniture with a soft slapping of her bare feet against the floor "She wanted to..." The question would not leave "If she wanted to...why didn't she?" Was this the secret to figuring it all out? Had it been Ochako's attempts to reach out that defined everything? "Was it because of what I said to her?" She'd continue to mutter aloud, each word caught between foot steps as she tried to place these thoughts, each section of her room, each rotation seemed meant for its own question "Is any of this real, does she really want me to help her? Or is she just trying to make me complacent with her?" The questioned burned a hole into her mind until the one above all, the one that she TRULY had no answer to reared its head. She limped over to the open window and gazed out to the cloudy sky, spots of white twinkling through grey murky clouds to illuminate the black backdrop they lie against, a bunch of disconnected dots that different people valued in so many strange ways and against this black backdrop, an ineffable and grand splendour that no one could claim to understand, Ochako posed her own question "Why am I still thinking about her?"

The trial came not long after, about four days after Toga's arrest, it was likely that the prosecution wanted to get all their ducks in a row. It wasn't a matter of making a conviction, it was a matter of making sure they had everything at their disposal in order to get the death penalty, that's what everyone was clambering for, a permanent end to the league so that monsters like Toga couldn't claw their way back out from the shadows. The trial was also of course a complete media circus, the trial of the century and all that, so of course the media would flock to it, they hadn't had anything really worth reporting on since the final war. Ochako was not too heavily involved in the trial, her debrief of what she had endured was submitted as evidence and of course would help to get the sentence that the prosecution was almost certain they would obtain. Ochako was brought in to speak as a witness for both the war and Toga's more recent crimes, including the ones perpetrated against her. Most of the UA graduates and now pro-heroes were brought in to give their testament to Toga's crimes and character, they all had basically the same thing to say to the point that it became repetitious, the only slight deviation was that of Tsu and Izuku who had more direct interaction with Toga and had more of an insight.

Then there was Ochako's testament. Ochako had been picked up and dropped off at the courthouse, escorted through the roaring crowd of reporters and civilians who wanted nothing more than to storm the gates and tear Toga apart themselves. She limped her way up the stairs, it wasn't severe but she did have to use her quirk occasionally to take the weight off of it, she was sure her injured state would likely add weight to her testament though. She'd been following the trial closely, Toga of course was not present at the courthouse, she was far too dangerous, she had no idea what was going on most likely unless there was some kind of video feed. Once debriefed and ready, she was called forward and made her way through the court room, thanked for her time and seated at the witness podium. As she gazed out into the crowd of reporters, cameras clicking and voices murmuring, her eyes fell on Toga's lawyer, public defence and clearly sweating bullets. She didn't know if what she said here even mattered, as she was asked the general questions "How long have you known the defendant?" and to confirm events she had been said to be apart of by other students, she continued to ponder the questions she had in her hospital room as she was asked. Even as the prosecution asked their questions "So, you are the most recent victim of Himiko Toga's heinous tirade on Japan its good people?" and she answered honestly, almost robotically as if she was elsewhere and distracted because her mind truly was.

As the questions came to a close, a horrifying picture of Himiko Toga once more painted, Ochako was about to leave the stand when she paused for a moment "if...If I may, your honour" She wasn't even sure about what she was doing anymore as her hand left the chair and she sat back down "I'd...I'd like to give my own statement" Which of course the reporters all clambered at, the headline was beginning to form "PRO-HERO SHOWS NO FEAR IN FACE OF KIDNAPPING!" but that isn't what Ochako had ready for them, she didn't have anything ready for them. She sat there awkwardly for a moment as she was permitted to give her statement, she cleared her throat to try and cut through the silence as she began "I..." Words caught in her throat as doubts settled in about what she was saying "I've been asked to confirm events I've been a part of and the presumed intentions of the defendant but I do not feel I am qualified to do the latter." Her confidence was shaken, she felt she needed to say something, something to get rid of the burning feeling inside her brain that was begging for answers, even if she had to come to her conclusion "Throughout my encounters with the defendant, she has made constant attempts to communicate with me, I believe to form a friendship or kind of relationship which of course I rejected." She was thinking back on it now, she'd never entertained Toga in anything she wanted, not until the end did she even try to talk about love "There is very little I understand about Himiko Toga, there are a few things I know. I am well aware and will attest that Himiko Toga has committed countless heinous crimes that have taken or severely harmed the lives of many, civillians and pro-heroes alike. I am well aware and attest that I too am one of these people that Himiko Toga tried to kill and I do not understand what possessed her to allow me to live when she was very much capable of killing me" Her confidence was beginning to return, she was nervous but she had to put on a brave face, she had to get it out of her.

"But Himiko Toga should not be put to death" She rose from her seat, pushing off the stand to support herself. The reporters clambered, practically falling over each other to get photos "Himiko Toga spared my life and no, this does not make me forgive her but it shows she is capable of restraint and perhaps bettering herself, we should not just take mindless vengeance on a woman who is capable of regret and morality but who is not in a position where they are capable to act on it" She wasn't even sure of what she herself was saying, it wasn't any kind of morals that had stopped Toga but regret? There was that, there was plenty of that in Toga and Ochako wanted to understand it, the burning desire to answer her questions was fuelling her, maybe what she was saying wasn't rationale, it wasn't responsible for a hero, it wasn't her place but she knew in her heart it was what she had to say.

It of course sent the media into a frenzy, speculation of Stockholm syndrome and secret love affairs ran rampant through the tabloids but Ochako didn't put much stock in what the tabloids hat to say, any hero worth their salt didn't. Thankfully, before the trial came to an end Tsu was out of her coma, it was certainly an ordeal catching her up and explaining everything was fine, well, everything was fine physically, mentally? Ochako was still all over the place. The two both returned to the home they shared, it was purely platonic, they both patrolled similar areas and had been best friends since UA and had already experienced living together in the dorms so it was just a natural move, Tsu also helped to keep some of Ochako's messy habits in check, Ochako would always get hell if she ever left beer cans on the coffee table for too long.

Ochako would be glued to the TV for the next two days, the trial didn't go on particularly long, they wanted a swift verdict to appease the media who wanted Toga's head on a pike. There wasn't much left, not many high profile testaments, just closing statements to be made and a verdict rendered. On that final day, Tsu couldn't get Ochako to budge, she was stuck on that couch and watching the tv like a hawk, she was a hero and it was her job to save everyone she could, even if they didn't deserve it, even if they'd rejected it in the past, everyone deserved a chance to be happy. The final verdict was in, Guilty, as the whole world expected but it was just what the sentence would be that made Ochako's heart race and wait with bated breath. Toga had narrowly escaped the death penalty, by what was probably just a hair and instead got the exact kind of punishment Ochako had hoped for, Himiko Toga would be sent to a mental institute until she was given a clean bill of health, after which she would be transferred to Tartarus for the rest of her life. It wasn't that she delighted in Toga being given a life sentence, more she was thankful to have saved her from death, it made some small part of her feel a bit more complete, like she'd taken steps towards some long standing goal she had never been able to finish. The relief was enough to melt Ochako and she couldn't help but feel like she'd saved Toga in some way. Maybe it was the hero complex everyone said that heroes sometimes got wrapped up in, it probably wasn't all about her but she still felt like she had some part in it and it made her happy.

The next two months honestly melted away in a blur, it was back to the same routine but she had taken at least a week to retrain her leg to move properly. The muscle had been healed but a side effect of the quirk was that it had lost a lot of its strength so she had to take her work out routine to the next level for a week once the pain died down. Aside from that it was just the usual, small crimes and the occasional instant villain, the life of the number seven hero wasn't boring but it could get repetitive. It was to the point that Ochako found her mind wandering quite often on her patrols. There was one key instance when she was by herself on a rooftop, her meal in her lap as she took a break to eat, her legs dangling off the side as she watched the city street. She was pondering how different things were without Toga, she'd always had to look over her shoulder when she was on the run and that had gotten exacerbated to paranoia, she'd have to check every face she saw on the street in order to make sure it wasn't plastered with that wide creepy smile of Toga's. Thinking about that smile, the energy and excitement behind that smile, it got her back to worrying about Toga. She didn't want to admit it was worrying, some part of her felt it was unprofessional to think so much about a villain's wellbeing, to the point that she was worried she was sympathising and that was a road she never intended to walk. She'd pick at her food with her chopsticks, not even really eating what was honestly a very nice meal as her eyes stopped being so observant and lifted up to the sky, thinking back to the endless darkness she'd stared out from her hospital room as once more, the question that had been seared into her mind returned "Why am I still thinking about her?"

At the end of those two months, the question had become unbearable for her to ignore, she needed to understand it, the gnawing in her mind that would keep her up every night she would remember it was there, like a bad rash it had been spreading and becoming much more persistent. It's why one morning she revved up her bike to do something...irresponsible? Maybe, Reckless? Definitely, necessary? She didn't know. She darted through the roads, having to pull aside for a second to direct a pair of hung over young men to a café they could get breakfast in before she came to a more sequestered part of the city where the institute that was housing Toga was in. It was a high security place, with several check points for Ochako to make her way through as well as of course needing to present her hero license to verify she was who she said she was. Ochako couldn't help but find it funny, people still checking her for ID even though Toga was incarcerated, she had hoped that would stop being so common place for heroes now Toga was locked up.

Ochako made her way through, informing the staff she wished to see Himiko Toga and she got, quite the response. The security and doctors believed it would be a bad idea and when questioned they would inform her "Well you see, we've hit a bit of a wall with Toga" To which a guard abruptly included "You started with a wall" And the doctor continued "She has an infatuation with you, Uravity and owing to her violent behaviour we believe she may become...overly enthusiastic in your presence" Ochako had to stop herself from smiling but still just shook her head dismissively "That's nothing new, it's what I dealt with before, I can handle her" And although they were concerned, the doctors and staff weren't about to sit around and argue with such a high ranked hero, it was one of the many leisures afforded to Ochako given her position. She was walked through the commons area and towards the back of the facility, where the high risk cells were, the place wasn't exactly what Ochako had expected, she'd thought of some kind of dingy and poorly lit place with a constantly flickering lightbulb, the common depiction of asylums. Instead the place was brightly lit and sterile with stark white hallways and gun turrets mounted to the ceiling, the place was intended to hold high risk villains who were less then stable so it made sense.

The high risk cells were cell blocks all to themselves, a single cell held behind yet another security checkpoint and at the end of a particularly long and particularly well guarded corridor. Ochako walked that very corridor, the click of her boots against the floor joining with the shoes of the doctor who escorted her, Toga's personal doctor, he had a scar that ran up his cheek and almost reached his eyeball, Ochako in all her scepticism assumed that it was Toga but one could never tell with places like this. Once they reached the cell door, the doctor reached up and opened the viewfinder, permitting Ochako to gaze in on whatever was inside, what being the operative word. Ochako didn't know what she'd find inside, she knew it would be Himiko Toga, what else could it be? But she didn't know what she'd see, would she see a raving and depraved monster that she always saw or would it be Toga's efforts at being cute, sitting there and doing something ridiculous just for appearances? No...It wasn't that, it wasn't either and it absolutely wasn't something that Ochako had been able to expect.

Looking inside was in fact Himiko Toga but she could scarcely be called that...she was more of a thing. Inside, Toga was resting on her side, her body confined within a straight jacket that left her legs unbound but still coated them down to her ankles, the straight jacket was tight and permitted barely any movement of Toga's arms, she was at most able to move her hands and slightly jiggle her forearms against one another. Toga was also muzzled, it was likely she had done something violent involving those pointed canines of hers but to see her be restricted the chance to even properly open her mouth was...bizarre, something Ochako hadn't been prepared to stomach but she managed to, just. But it wasn't the clothes or the restraints that caught Ochako's eyes and made her stomach churn, it was Toga's face. Toga had always had eyeliner to hide away the bags under her eyes and keep herself cute but those weren't there anymore and it seemed almost as if the bags had gotten worse, leaving a perpetual expression of exhaustion compounded by her eyes. Those eyes, those eyes that were often overcast with exaggerated enthusiasm and joy were muted, dark and dismal like all life had been drained from them. Ochako felt like she was looking at a corpse that had been left to rot, even Toga's hair was loose and long, clustered around her head in strands that covered small portions of her face.

Forced to look upon the situation Toga was in, Ochako felt her stomach well up with...pity? No, she did not pity what happened to Toga, she had said it before that Toga deserved the consequences of her actions but then again, wasn't those words the exact reason why Ochako was here? She found the words she meant to say in this moment caught in her throat, almost choking on them as she sputtered before finally speaking, a call to see if the creature in the cell still yet lived "T-Toga?" The corpse flicked to life, a fire igniting in those eyes as they shot to the door where as prior they had just been gazing aimlessly. Toga sat up slowly, unable to use her arms so all she could do was just shift her hips quickly and push against the wall to arrest her momentum, it looked rather strenuous "Can you hear me?" It was basically a rhetorical question, the response had already answered it, she was just trying to find some way to get started. Whilst she had expected energy, an explosion of joy from Toga, she was once more surprised as she just got out a meek "...Yeah" from the deflated Toga.

"I wanted to ask you some questions." Ochako decided to go with a direct approach, thankful Toga couldn't see her fidgeting hands, from the angle she was at she was pretty sure that Toga couldn't see her at all really. Silence hung in the air for a while before Ochako decided to take the lead and ask her first of oh so many questions "Why didn't you kill me?" She wanted that one out of the way, she doubted it was because of some sudden burst of morality and self reflection that had lead Toga to decide it was immoral but some kind of answer was better then the endless and unwavering confusion. Alas, Toga always had to be difficult, so in response to the question, she just shifted to the side and fell back down to the floor. Ochako gave a soft sigh "Still figuring it out?" It was half an honest response and half an attempt to try and goad Toga into answering but it didn't work so she decided to move on. "You said you wanted to take my hand, why didn't you?" That was the other burning question for Ochako, the one that had in all honesty been the most present in her mind but wasn't really as pressing as the first question. Toga was as awkward as ever, the only answer given being a shift of her feet, lightly kicking against the wall. Ochako was growing frustrated but she felt there had to be some way to move forward, Toga always wanted to talk to her so she was going to drag that out of her. "What made you change your mind about loving me?" That question managed a response though as Toga's face shifted suddenly, almost violently into a glare "Stop mocking me." It was sudden and once more unexpected by Ochako, all she could return was a direct response "I'm not mocking you."

Toga once more sat her self up before pulling her legs under her and beginning to push up from the floor "Yeah, you are," She stood with a somewhat faltering posture but was able to maintain herself with the help of the wall "You're asking all these dumb questions, all these questions I don't know the answer to." Well, that was somewhat of an answer. Ochako couldn't help but sigh as things seemed to be escalating but she tried to make an effort to calm Toga down "I didn't know that you don't know how to answer, I'm just trying to understand." That prompted a weak giggle from Toga "N-now you want to understand?" Her eyes went wide, that manic fire lighting up once more. "So not when I tried to be friends, not when I wanted to talk with you...not when we were reunited, no." She pushed off from the wall and began to stumble forward, struggling to stay upright but just about managing it "You want to understand me now, after abandoning me here and leaving me all alone, when you're on the other side of this door and I'm locked up." It might not have been the best thing to say but her hero mindset was telling her it needed to be said "This is always how things were going to turn out, you decided that in the end, I'm trying to understand why." Toga's eyes fixed on the glass partition, the small window into her cell, they buzzed and pulsed with a certain crazed enthusiasm as she suddenly rushed the door "Ochako-chan, you don't get it, you never did, you hurt me, you reeeeally hurt me, I tried to be friends with you, I did everything I could but you..." Her face flashed from excitement to rage in an instant "You just had to make everything so hard!" She then brought up one of those weak legs, strength returning to them in her hysteria as she slammed it against the padded door "You just made it worse!" She'd kick once more and then over and over again "You threw me in here! You made my life even worse! Now you want to be friends?! Now you want to talk?! W-well screw you!" Ochako was honestly taken aback by Toga's words, the anger was nothing new but Toga was often dismissive, she'd tease and taunt or just disregard something with a casual mention of her disinterest but in her experience, she never outright insulted some one or expressed her rage in this kind of way.

"You made your own life worse!" It wasn't professional and it definitely wasn't the right call but Ochako couldn't stand the hypocrisy Toga was venting at her "You never wanted to be friends! You wanted to kill me!" The fact Toga had stopped when it had gone that far was lost to her. In her anger, she didn't have the energy to continue the argument, this time she could just walk away and so she did that, frustrated that things had gone this way, she had hoped the institute had somewhat mellowed out Toga but that seemed to be a deed no one could pull off. She stormed out with a huff, the doctor trailing behind her as Toga continued to scream through the door, the distance muffling it well enough that Ochako didn't catch any of it. Ochako was frustrated, she hadn't made any progress and she honestly felt like she had made things worse, not for Toga, no, for the doctors, she honestly was running out of pity for Toga.

Ochako was on her way out, wanting to be rid of the irritating nightmare that was Toga when suddenly, she felt something collide with her, knocking her off her feet and causing her to fall to her backside with a loud "umph!" Looking on to the source of the impact she'd catch sight of one of the prisoners who was passing through the hallway Ochako had been making her way through. Said prisoner was a slender young woman, likely in her late twenties and a little over 5'5" with dark red hair and a single red eye as the other one was covered by an eyepatch. Said prisoner groaned and pushed up from the floor "Hey, look where you're going, you have two eyes, use them!" Which immediately put Ochako into an apologetic state, waving her arms around, embarrassed about how much of a clutz she'd been "I'm sorry! I didn't see you there! I was distracted!" The red head just paused as she looked over the woman she had bumped into then grinned "Oh hey, you're a pro-hero aren't you?" Then she reached out a hand to help her up "Gravity, something like that." Ochako took the hand, allowing the inmate to help her up before correcting "Uravity, yes, I'm sorry, I was just on my way out."

Ochako went to turn to walk away but before she could, the inmate reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder "Hey hey whoa there, you we don't get a lot of visitors in here, definitely not one as interesting as you, what brought you here?" Ochako managed to hold back a sigh, looking uncomfortable but honestly, she was welcoming anything to get her mind off of Toga "I was here to visit an inmate, I wanted to ask her some questions" The inmate just smiled and nodded "Let me guess, Himiko Toga?" She was spot on for whatever reason and it definitely surprised Ochako. "Y-yes," She answered, somewhat unnerved by what she was hoping was just a lucky guess "How did you...figure that out?" The inmate just grinned and leaned against the door "You were heading out from the max security wing, only person I know who's even still capable of speech back there is Toga, I had a chance to chat with her in her first few days, when she was...well I wouldn't say relaxed but she wasn't biting tearing off ears and scratching eyes out in those first like three days" She snickered a little and smiled softly "Judging by how much of a rush you seemed to be on getting out of here, I'm guessing it didn't work out? You trying to get info out of her on some villains?" Ochako nodded along somewhat with the explanation, she didn't know much about the institute or Toga's stay in it so the story sounded plausible to her "I wanted to ask her some questions, personal questions, we have history and I wanted to figure some things out, I'm sorry but who are you?" The redhead smiled "Name's Birdie and no, not my real name, just a nickname everyone calls me by, guessing she wasn't in a talkative mood?"

Ochako sighed and shook her head in response, resting against the wall opposite Birdie, she was getting the feeling this would go on for a little while but it was probably better then venting about it all to Tsu who would just be honest and tell Ochako it was a bad idea from the beginning "No, she talked plenty, took a moment to get her talking but she talked..." She looked away, thinking about her answer and thinking about what exactly her and Toga had managed to talk about, then considering if she should even be saying this to another inmate but she felt she'd already thrown professionalism in the grave by coming here in the first place "We didn't get anywhere though, she blames me for everything and hates me because I didn't talk to her before." Birdie nodded along, seeming to be taking in the information she was given "She seems like the stubborn type, probably gonna latch onto that shit for as long as she can, seems like you're shit out of luck if you want to get anything out of her." Ochako lowered her head, she didn't suspect Birdie was an expert on the topic but her words still reflected what Ochako felt well enough to hit her hard "yeah...It feels that way" Birdie smiled softly and moved over, resting on the wall beside Ochako and nudging her shoulder "Then all you gotta do is persist" Ochako raised her head, looking back to her with mild confusion "I'm sorry?" Birdie grinned a cheeky smile as she leaned in "Everyone has a limit, all you gotta do is break past hers, she doesn't want to talk to you? So what, you talk to her until her only option is to talk back."

Ochako laughed nervously, half thinking it was a joke aside from the fact it had some merit to it "I uh...I don't know if I can compete with Toga when it comes to stubbornness, I've learned that she only really talks when she wants to talk." Birdie just nudged her shoulder once more, like she was trying to force those negative feelings out of Ochako physically "Then you just keep going, you can recover, she's got no choice but to sit there while you talk, she'll crack eventually." Ochako almost managed a smile at that, the efforts to lift her spirits succeeding and the idea resonating with her somewhat "No wonder you're in here, you really are crazy." She laughed and Birdie laughed too "Well damn, if the all white threads didn't spell it out." And they both just laughed, it had been a long time since Ochako had laughed like that, able to just relax and be ridiculous again, it was good for her. Ochako pushed off from the wall and looked to Birdie with a much more enthusiastic smile, giving a fist bump as her face turned more serious "You're right, Birdie! I'm not going to give up! She'll answer my questions no matter how long it takes!" Then her phone started buzzing and she swiftly looked down to it "Oh, shi- shoot! I'm sorry! I've got to get to work, they need me for something! seeyounexttimeI'mherebye!" She'd rapidly exclaim as she hurried out of the institute...A devious smile on Birdie's face as she saw the hero run off.