Clouds of gray
Life has not been the greatest for Shirakumo Oboro. One minute he's a teen living his best life trying to become a hero. Next, he's dead, reanimated, and brainwashed as a bioweapon made up of other dead people and their quirks for a villain organization. Finally, the cherry on this already shit cake, thanks to his best friend Shouta and intense medical treatment Oboro's mind was his again, though he would never look 100% like his old self.
But that's not the crap part.
No, the issue had to do with what came after being set free and trying to reintegrate back into society. Apparently pleading your case about being brainwashed to be a villain against your will isn't a valid excuse for people to not treat you as if you were still a villain or find solid work.
At least he still had his friends from high school. Sure, they were a bit older than he remembered after waking up but they were still the same lovable chaotic bunch.
Speaking of his friends. Oboro waved the most tired one of the group over to the booth he'd occupied in the far corner of a cafe he liked to occasionally frequent. "Shouta, over here!"
"Obo!" Shouta's face lit up with a slight smile as he walked over. "How's it going?" The duo sat across from each other on opposing red velvet seats. Oboro quickly explained that he ordered for them already. A straight black coffee for him and an overly sugary abomination for Shouta.
15 years. 15 years and his friend still had a ridiculously high sweet tooth.
"Same old, same old. No offers from hero agencies to work under them and apparently having a history of being a living weapon/villain doesn't sit well with people when I go for civilian jobs. I'm starting to think that being dead might have been better." He half-heartedly laughed
That last comment earns him a harsh glare from the older raven-haired hero.
“Don't say that. It's their loss." Shouta sighed. "If I hear of anything and you want to try something new I’ll let you know.” He paused before continuing. “I can always ask Nezu if they know anyone in the hero association who could help out. I'm sure there's an Agency that would be happy to have you.”
“Actually, I have thought about that, but I don’t want to rely too much on you and the others. I’m still trying to find my way in the world and you all have done so much already." In truth, he loved his friends dearly, but he was tired of being treated like something fragile. like, if they took their eyes off of him for more than a minute that he was gonna disappear…again. ”But that's not why I called you here. So after all that bust, I kept looking and overheard a conversation for some kind of club wanting a bartender. Lucky for me I retained all of Kurogiri’s drink-making skills."
Shouta’s eyes widened before a grave expression came across his face. "I see. Why would you want to do that? leaving aside the fact that your track record when it comes to villain groups is none too great, even considering the fact that they brainwashed you, why on earth would you want to work in a place that reminds you of that?"
"I understand your concern and trust me it is a valid one, especially considering what happened to me, but I kinda need the money." Oboro threw his hands up in defeat, slouching in his seat. "Plus, the interview wasn't that bad, if not a bit weird, and the place isn't in a shady location. It's local. Really nice, I think Nem would adore it."
"You already had an interview?" Shouta questioned.
"Yeah, late in the evening yesterday. The boss was pretty cool. It’s called ‘The Gospel of Dismay’ and is a pretty popular place. I’ll have to get the job first before I can say more about it being good or not."
"And it went well?"
Oboro shrugs. "Well enough for me to get a follow-up next week around the same time."
"...Obo, have you ever considered getting a degree in something so that you can have a proper job, something other than letting people possibly throw drinks in your face?"
Oboro's eyes narrowed at the remark. "That would take money and I’m still trying to find a job." The last thing he wanted to do was to ask his friends for money, even if they could afford it, since they'd already done so much for him.
Shouta sighed and rested his elbows on the table. "It's your choice. I can't stop you. Just... promise me you'll be careful."
Oboro sighed along with him as he stared down at the table. "Fine. I promise I'll be careful."
Shouta gave him a relieved smile. "Good."
Oboro sipped his coffee, moving the subject forward. "But enough about me. How about you? Anything going on?"
Grateful for the subject change, the eraser hero decided to tell his old friend about last night's patrol and complain about how it is possible for one blonde loud idiot to constantly keep escaping police capture.
"Haha, sorry for laughing but that's hilarious," Oboro laughed. "Big bad Eraserhead having trouble detaining one little pick pocket. Losing your touch in your old age sho?” He teases.
Shouta scowled. "I'm not losing my touch. That guy just keeps finding ways to avoid arrest."
"Right, right. Still, if you're worried about him, maybe we should call in some favors and have him monitored the next time he Houdini's his way out of being arrested.”
Shouta paused in thought. "That's actually a good idea.”
Oboro was mostly joking. He didn't really care if this poor idiot got caught or not. But he knew that Shouta did so he figured it wouldn't hurt to see if he could help.
"So besides great escapes, what's on the agenda today?"
Old friends continued to talk and catch-up until the place started to fill up. Shouta, not being the most sociable in large crowds, excused himself with the promise of meeting up again and left Oboro alone with his thoughts.
He wondered if not telling Shouta everything about his new job was the right choice. His friends had gone above and beyond for him already and the least he could do is stay out of trouble and make sure they weren't constantly worrying about him. But this was the only place that even looked at him like an actual person and not judged based on his past. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that he was hiding things from his friends.
Noticing that he was staring at nothing, he shook his head and stood up, taking his cup with him. "Ah, I'm just overthinking things." He said to no one in particular and went to leave. He had a follow-up next week so it’s best he is mentally and physically prepared for that.
_ _ _
-Oboro Shirakumo
- ex-villain
-30
-Born May 5th
-Quirk: Warp gate, allows him to create and manipulate a dark fog that acts as a portal that can transport anything it comes in contact with to another location.
-Can sometimes still hear the other voices that were forced into his body.
-Relationships: Tensei, Nemuri, and Shouta are and still are his best friends.
-Shouta Aizawa
-Underground hero
-30
-Born February 15th
-Quirk: Erasure, which allows him to temporarily cancel other individuals' quirks that aren't mutations by making eye contact.
-Chronic pain
-Relationships: Class 2-A’s number one dad! Tensei, Nemuri, and Oboro are and still are his best friends.