There weren't really words to say how worn out Mina was at the time. She had pulled a double shift yesterday due to some petty gang dispute between some drug pushers that put her and every other hero in the area on alert just in case things got out of hand. Thankfully she could just stick some to the pavement with her glue shots and beat the rest with legal impunity.
It was hard, annoying and ugly work that she largely had to do by herself. Sure she had professional help from the other heroes, but there wasn't anyone she personally knew. There was nobody to crack jokes with or vent to. Thank god Tsuyu was on dry land again for a while since that let her barcrawl with a friend even if she was a prude.
It was times like that where she missed Kiri Boy the most. She remembered how they'd hop to bar after bar together after a hard shift and bullshit the night away. He'd always get so sauced up that it was guaranteed he would throw out some inspirational speech to whoever was around or challenge anyone to an arm wrestle. It was their pattern of hard work and hard play, he'd be the hardass with a smile and she'd be the goof ball with the eyes of steel, she'd make jokes and he'd laugh until he couldn't breathe.
But that was a long time ago and now she was alone with only her friends who were as messed up as she was. It was the same thing of getting up every day and putting on a smile for the public even when she wanted to curse them out and cry. She had a support system from her friends and she was grateful for that, but it reminded her too much of the past, of the bad times as well as the good.
Of course she loved them and cherished seeing them when she could, but without Kiri around it just felt...empty. Like a piece that held her world together was lost and it always nagged at her. Even after all this time she still woke up reaching for him now and again only to find empty space where the man who swept her off her feet should be.
She wanted to mourn what she lost, but now she was numb to it, just like she was to the nightmares. Now the thing left to do was move forward and try and put the pieces of her life back in order. The mutant sighed as her walking continued, it was always so damn hard all the time when she didn't have the strength to summon that bubbly teenaged persona she used since middle school.
There had been enough time smiling and enough time crying that she only wanted to talk to someone and vent. Momentarily Mina felt her mind drift to the image of Riki's sidekick and had a sense of calm about her. She hadn't talked to Izuku in a while and he'd been missing from the bar too.
He was a nice guy to chat with, someone who she just naturally felt like she could tell anything and he'd listen. She hadn't had that since Kiri and the green guy had the muscle to boot. It was weird listening to his issues about his girlfriend, whoever that kinky bitch was, since he sounded so...innocent while this woman was a whole other kind of interesting. An odd pairing if she was to judge, but he seemed okay enough and he sounded like he genuinely loved this woman.
It interested her to see where that relationship was going and she made a mental note to hit the green bean up for a drink later on this week. Except right now the mutant had more pressing matters as she strolled alongside Momo up the halls of Ochako's apartment complex.
Apparently the girl had gotten herself wrapped up in some kind of trouble and they were the only ones on hand to deal with it at the moment. The rest of the girls were busy with life so it fell on them to help their wayward friend. This was fine to Mina, but she wanted to know more, it was why she decided to spend one of her few days off on this since the angel rarely got in any drama.
The two heroines made their ways down the corridor and the shorter, pinker of the pair spoke up while Momo continued to cradle a wooden case that doubtlessly was an overly fancy tea set.
"So remind me what kind of problem is little Ms. Heavenly in?"
The taller woman pursed her lips and paused as an answer came to her mind.
"A romantic one."
Mina smiled at that, it hadn't been since highschool that any good drama had gotten stirred up, much less with the class queen. Hell, she expected Bakugou to be all over this, in fact…she leaned close to the black haired heroine and whispered to keep outside attention low.
"Did she get back with Bakugou?"
Momo shook her head with her gaze fixed firmly forward.
"No, she's supposedly with someone else...two someones if what I heard was correct."
The mutant froze, nearl stopping in her tracks. There was no way Ochako Uraraka, the most innocent, kind and warm-hearted out of all the people they knew, would be in a situation where that could be a possibility. There had to be some mistake.
"You gotta be kidding here, Ochako isn't the sort to be that freaky. I mean is she dating two guys at the same time or something?"
Again Momo paused as she weighed her words.
"Not quite, it's supposedly a man and a woman who are also dating each other."
Mina balked at the words and looked to her former classmate like she was some kind of oracle. Of all the things she expected to hear, those were not it. The mere thought of her doing something so out of character was insane.
"There's no way, this is Ochako we're talking about. Yeah she'd made weird choices in the past with people...namely Boom Boy, but she'd never be that out there."
The Everything Heroine scoffed in agreement as they neared their friend's home.
"That's not even the worst part, supposedly this woman she's seeing is a reformed villain who did a stint in Tartarus."
So there was even more craziness going on in the lady's life. It would seem that her peachy clean life had finally fallen to the dirt like most of them(not that it was worth much when that came with being attached to Katsuki Bakugou of all people). Yet there was little to say about it when they had finally reached the door and knocked. Moments later the locks were undone and the entrance swung back slowly, revealing a tired, ragid Ochako dressed in a fluffy purple robe who looked like she had issues sleeping.
The brunette glared at them with worn out eyes and a voice that sounded like the eve of the dead as she spoke with ire at their arrival.
"What do you two want?"
Both the women stood with reluctant silence at the harsh greeting, but soon threw it off as they smiled at their classmate with Momo going first in that overly pleasant way they had all grown to expect.
"And a good afternoon to you as well Ochako, we decided to drop by after some news started spreading around and figured you wouldn't mind some company."
The anti-gravity user continued to glare at the two, but moved out of the way and ushered them inside.
"Come on, just don't break anything."
Mina was taken aback by the abrasiveness of the woman, but got over it when she entered with Momo and found a whole apartment that barely looked lived in with dust covering some furniture. The general aura of the place was empty and lacking while at the same time frustrated, like it had taken on the soul of its dweller for however long she remained here and shared in her annoyance. Taking a seat at the dining table Mina watched as Ochako brought out little cakes for them while Momo began to prepare the tea.
It was strange seeing the one person who practically carried the entirety of their class with her happiness and optimism for damn near a decade be so down in the dumps. Hell if anything, the girl looked pissed, perhaps not at them, but certainly at something. That in of itself was rare, she only got angry in the most extreme of situations like that one time Bakugou tried to pick a fight by insulting Shoto's mother, she cursed him out like nothing else.
So for her to be this exhausted and mad it had to be taxing for her. Then it was the way her face scrunched up into this glaring scowl that made her seem completely done with everything that made it worse. Mina had always assumed the girl had something wrong with her, not in a malicious way, but more in that she was so easy to manipulate. There were plenty of times she, Jiro and Toru did just that to copy Ochako's homework or make her help out with their chores or have her cook dinner in the dorms. Then was the whole way Bakugou controlled the woman's life for the majority of it when they met.
Though right now that submissiveness was gone from her and she looked ready to start a fight over something.
"So you are both here to criticize me, is that what's made you pay me a visit?"
Mina shrugged at the question as Momo continued to prepare the tea in that slow way she always did.
"We're not here for any of that. It's more that your license got suspended suddenly and we wanna make sure you're okay."
Ochako inhaled and took an offered cup as she visibly fought to relax.
"I'm fine. It's just that the Commission is reviewing a few things to determine if I can continue to play such an active role in the outreach programs I'm a part of. I'm still high up in the ranks so I need to wait until this passes and then everything can go back to normal."
The jet black haired woman pursed her lips as she listened with the attentiveness of a doting mother.
"But that's the thing Ochako, what you're doing isn't...usual for you, if that is the case at all. You've been quiet for years ever since Bakugou had his meltdown and suddenly you're in this relationship with a former villainess and a man. That doesn't show good mental health on your part."
The brunette glared at the taller woman with a sharp, resentful annoyance before standing up from the table and walking to a cabinet next to the kitchen counter. Opening it, she pulled out a bottle of rum and a half glass before pouring herself some. Turning back to the pair at the table she took a swig that emptied half of it as she started to speak.
"Well excuse me for wanting to have a bit of joy in my life, little Ms. Princess. I've been celibate for damn near five fucking years because Katsuki scared off anyone who wants to approach me and the rest just see me as this big fucking hero. I'm fucking tired of being everyone's shoulder to cry on, I never got a chance to be anything else and all it got me is this fucking money."
She jabbed a finger at the pair like they were guilty.
"You both got your happy endings. Momo, you're fucking married to the man you love with a new baby...congratulations on that again by the way, and Mina you got to actually live a happy life with the same guy you were with since middle school. All I got was a fucking mess of a life because I have a thing for broken people and now I finally got something akin to joy, even if it is weird and everybody has an issue with it."
The heiress sighed and sipped her tea as she remained calm and collective.
"Ochako...what you choose to do is your business, but when it affects your safety then we have a moral obligation to step in. Now we aren't forbidding anything, you're an adult but-"
The shorter woman finished her glass and tapped in on the counter with anger in her eyes.
"Oh fuck off with that bullshit! You're not my parents and I've done more then enough for everyone that I can be stupid if I wanna be without everyone butting in!"
Momo leveled her eyes without a hint of malice.
"You would do the same for us, you know you would."
Ochako flinched at that and threw a hand in the air as defeat entered her.
"Ah...fine. Even I'm not dumb enough to think I wouldn't help you guys if you did this shit. But it isn't like I'm against what I'm doing. They're both wonderful people and...admittedly I was drunk when I made the decision to get involved with them and yes it was unprofessional of me since I was her sponsor at the time, but…"
A smile crossed her face as she began to think out loud.
"I don't regret it. In the time I've had with them, I haven't felt nearly as bad as I usually did. They check on me, they comfort me, they do everything they can to make me happy. I admit I'm being selfish, but after being the fucking hero for so long...I just want a happy life free of the weight of the world and they give me that, even if only a little bit."
Mina raised an eyebrow at this and sipped her tea, not used to hearing such sappy things from the woman in a long time.
"Okay that's nice and all, but why the hell did you suddenly decide to go bi? Like no problem if you are, but you never had those signs about you before. And just why the hell didn't you go for someone that isn't a criminal? There's bound to be plenty of people out there willing to do the stuff you want."
Ochako pursed her lips and shrugged as the rum made her a bit too honest.
"To tell the truth it was originally about jealousy. This woman I've been sponsoring for years was a violent felon and while she'd been a model reformer, she still had some pretty bad stuff on her record before she went straight with the law. One day she calls me up and explains how she has a boyfriend who knows accepts her and her past and her weird ass kinks and...I got so mad that it went to my head."
She glared in contempt for her anger.
"I had been a good person all my life, done everything right, never asked for anything and helped everybody. The only thing that got me was a hard, dangerous job and an empty house because it pushed everyone normal away. Then this woman who literally did everything wrong gets a boyfriend who loves her damn near unconditionally and I've seen that guy who is pretty damn handsome. If it wasn't for us both running into each other while I was at the bar then it never would have happened, but it did and...frankly it turned out way better than I could have expected."
Mina listened and blinked, unsure how the class angel got this way. But soon relaxed as she found it rather amusing.
"You have problems Ochako, you know that right? Though nobody can blame you when you never got to be free enough to think about it. That said I am wondering what weird fetish this chick you and mister whoever shacked up with has."
The heroine blushed as if embarrassed, then on the drop of a pen went stone cold as realization came upon her. Pausing for an uncomfortable time she spoke up with a certain distance to the words from her emotions.
"...I'd rather not say."
A mischievous smile came over the mutant as she continued to jab at her peer, not letting the more successful woman to her left speak just yet.
"Oh come on, what's the big secret? Is she into some really messed up stuff?"
A defensiveness came into the antigravity user's person as she crossed her arms defiantly at the questions.
"I said I don't wanna talk about it."
Laughter came from Mina as she continued to tease, nearly rocking back and forth in her chair during the process.
"Is it really that bad? What is she into blood or some nasty shit like that?"
The Acid Heroine expected more refusal and even a bit of outrage from her friend, but to both her and Momo's shock, the woman simply dragged her eyes to the ground in shame. Then something began to turn in Mina's head. However, the black haired mother decided to take the chance to vent her own frustrations on the matter.
"Ochako, you can't be serious. You're in a relationship with someone...no two people with such disturbed sexual tastes when you have so many other options. There has to be something else going on here."
Ochako shrugged as her response came in a far more calm manner than what most would have in this situation.
"I don't really take part in that bit of it. Usually they let me sit it out and don't involve me, and as for why...Momo, you need to understand that I'm the only connection this woman has to anyone other than her boyfriend and I've pretty much signed my life to be her overseer since I helped her recover on the Commission's paperwork. Meaning that if she breaks her terms at all then I get the book thrown at me and her boyfriend isn't much better. Sure he isn't a criminal and he's a genuinely sweet guy, but he's broke as hell with no actual future in sight."
Ochako went on as a certain frankness took over that washed her persona away.
"The way I see it, we all get the best of both worlds. She gets security and love, he gets a future and someone to help manage her issues and I get taken care of. Win-win all around."
Both of the visiting heroines stared at the woman like she had suddenly morphed into a very different person. Then as if to grant them a diversion, Momo's phone *dinged* and a text message popped up that instantly took all her attention as she became stern faced and shockingly determined as she stood up and packed up her tea set in seconds.
"I apologize, but Shoto said that our son needs me, so I unfortunately have to cut this short. I love you both and I'll get back as soon as I can, okay?"
She reached out and embraced Mina and then Ochako who returned the hug despite her gruff exterior and smiled.
"I wish you guys the best, and tell Toya he's a good boy for me okay?"
Momo was already one step out the door by the time she responded.
"Will do."
In a second it suddenly just Mina alone in the room with Ochako who still radiated such an unusual energy around herself that it made the pink skinned woman uncomfortable. Pointing to the door she began to shuffle awkwardly as she spoke.
"I'm just gonna...go now."
Ochako nodded in agreement with another glare.
"You do that."
Taking the rest of the way to finally leave the apartment Mina found herself curious and confused as she contemplated what happened. Then pondered what to do about it with her mind drifting back to Izuku and his relationship with someone so "unique". Taking a mental note the pink skinned woman was sure that she would have quite a lot of questions to ask the man come saturday.