Mala Fama
“PRO HERO PERSEPHONE SPOTTED ON OUTING WITH PRO HERO SUNEATER AT A LOCAL BAKERY: Pro hero’s Gaia and Suneater A.K.A Santos Tsubaki and Amajaki Tamaki were seen earlier today at Local Bakery on what seemed like a date, sources say- “
“PRO HERO PERSEPHONE WAS SEEN WITH MYSTERY PERSON LEAVING-“
”IN OTHER HERO NEWS, PRO HERO PERSEPHONE HAS BEEN SEEN AGAIN GETTING COZY WITH PRO HERO GROUND ZERO AT MOVIE THEATER-“
Channel after channel were all talking about her so- called ’promiscuous‘ love life as if it actually existed. Tsubaki finally decided to shut the tv off and laid facing to the ceiling of her apartment.
”How’d your date go last night?”
Tsubaki let out the ugliest laugh as a male’s chuckle boomed through their shared apartment.
”Which one? The one with Katsuki, the one with Amajaki-senpai, or how about the one with Monoma?”
”Oof, they even got you with Monoma?”
Tsubaki sat up to face the male, his bright green eyes held amusement and sympathy for his close friend. She sighed and had her back to the arm rest as she took the cup of tea being given to her.
”Izu...you know, Katsuki and I wouldn’t-“
Izuku waved her off and smiled, he took a sip of his cup. ”I know. Katsuki even had assured me in many...many ways.” He chuckled running a hand through his curled jungle of hair. ”But I’m not worried, I know that the media exaggerates especially since you were there with us at the movies that night.”
”It gets worse, Izuku, the have me with everyone in the hero world. They might as well start calling me the hero whore.” Her tone was filled with bitterness as she set her cup down onto the coffee table. Another sigh escaped her lips. ”Honestly the only one that I didn’t mind, was the one with Miriko, I mean have you see that woman?”
Izuku shook his head with amusement at her words but he could see that she was hurt from all the rumors and the nasty names that were being thrown at her by the fans of some of the other hero fan.
”There’s something else bothering you.” His voice was soft as the amusement left his voice.
”Hitoshi won’t talk to me anymore.”
”What- why?”
“Said he wants something serious, something I can’t give him. Izu- Izuku, he believe all of those rumors about me. And when he saw the one with Katsuki, he called me a home wrecker.” She wrapped her arms around herself, as if protecting herself from anymore damage that would come her way.
”HE WHAT?”
”Well, he implied it and it was loud and clear, you’d have to blind and deaf not to have put it together.”
Tsubaki stood up as she paced back and forth while Izuku watched his friend and roommate go through her struggle.
”I sleep with Hawks once by drunken mistake and they ruin my reputation.” Her voice was wavering she wanted to cry out of frustration but the tears wouldn’t come out. ”I don’t want everyone Izuku, I want Shinso and I want him to want me back but he won’t even give me the time of day anymore.”
Izuku stood up and wrapped his arms around the girl, he had never watched someone break like this. It was all too much for her to take, but he couldn’t do anything to help her. It sucked ass.
”Shh...it’s going to be alright. I hope.”
THE NEXT DAY
Tsubaki hadn’t been able to sleep the whole night, by the time she tried to close her eyes it was time for her shift but she knew that she couldn’t run on a minute of sleep, so she called Iida and asked if he could take her shift for the day. After a couple minutes of his scolding, he agreed.
It was 11 am when she finally got up and went to go make something to eat. Rummaging through her fridge, she found nothing except some milk and some cookies in the cupboards. ”Whatever I’ll go shopping later.” She spoke with a hoarse voice and turned the tv on as she watched it from the counter of her kitchen.
”IN HERO GOSSIP NEWS, PRO HERO MINDJACK WAS SEEN WITH MYSTERY FEMALE AT CAFE-“
That got her attention and turned up the volume, she watched the clips of Shinso kissing some girl- wait, that wasn’t just some girl, she knew her. It was....
”Ochako?“
Her voice barley above a whisper, her heart felt like glass that had been shattered into a million tiny pieces that wouldn’t be able to be put back together. Tsubaki blinked a couple of more times trying to process the information. She couldn’t bare it anymore so she shut off the tv,Tsubaki stared a bit longer at the black screen, looking down at her cup of milk and cookie pack. Suddenly she wasn’t feeling that hungry anymore, she just wanted to get out of the apartment building and clear her head.
Shaking her head, she walking into her room and changed into a pair of shorts and a loose t shirt with some converse and headed out, grabbing her keys and she locked her door. Tsubaki started heading toward the elevator when she paused infront of the doors, going out there, might have a chance where she would run into Shinso or Ochako because from what she saw it was both their days off. She took a deep breath and press the down button, she knew she had to do it.
When the doors open, she was met with a surprise.
“Hey Hime, I brought you breakfast.” He held up a brown paper bag with a styrofoam cup, with what she guessed was coffee.
“Hitoshi.” Tsubaki could feel her resolve break in two and now all she wanted to do was hide under her blankets and extra lock her room. “What are you doing here?” She took a step back as the purple haired male stepped out of the elevator. She looked at the male up and down, it was the same outfit he had been wearing on his date on the tv. Shinso stared at her with a curious stare as he studied her outfit, it wasn't for someone that was going to stay in bed all day after being sent home for a near death injury.
“Were you going out? I thought that you might’ve been sick since I didn’t see you at the agency today or on your usual patrols.” Hitoshi’s voice grew hard slightly. Tsubaki could tell what was going through his mind but it only served To fuel her anger that came from the hurt.
”And if I am? Did you need something? You could’ve waited til tomorrow to ask me if it wasn’t important, when I came back from mandated home leave.” Tsubaki could feel herself losing control of her quirk slightly as she felt small yellow carnations on the side of head growing as if it were a pin in her hair.
“Do you have time to talk, I even brought you-“
Tsubaki held up a hand to stop him from continuing talking. Her eyes were cold and her next words were even colder, “I don’t have time today, I have important things to do. Please if you can excuse me, we can talk more tomorrow at the agency....Mindjack.”
Hitoshi frowned as felt a sting in his chest as he watched the white hair girl step into the elevator without even glancing at him. He was confused about her sudden mood change toward him, he wasn’t one to just let it go so he hopped into the elevator just as the doors closed.
Tsubaki didn’t glance his way, only plucking the newer flowers that were sprouting in her hair from her emotional turmoil. God, sometimes she hates that her quirk could give away her emotional state.
“Tsubaki, I-” Shinso paused, he wasn’t sure what he was going to say to the girl in front of him, not after what he said to her.
It had been a normal day like any other, she had been looking for Hitoshi throughout the whole agency, she wanted to go to a new place nearby but she hadn't wanted to go out alone. She had finally found him, he had been chatting with one of the sidekicks, but the said person had been dismissed when Tsubaki came up to intrupt their converstation. The young female had a widened smile as she greeted both of them as the sidekick walked off, she turned her attention to Shinso and spoke,
“Hey Hitoshi, I was thinking if you weren’t busy maybe-“ Tsubaki was cut off by the purple haired male in front of her.
“No and you know, I find it unbelievable that you still have the nerve to try and ask me to go anywhere with you after you were with Bakugo. Do you know what that’ll do to Izuku?”
Tsubaki was left confused by his words, what was he talking about? She hadn’t done anything with Bakugo to hurt Izuku. She chuckled, trying to understand the whole situation in front of her. “Wha-What are you talking about? What about me and Bakugo?”
“God, you really have no shame do you? Betraying Izuku’s trust like that then acting like you don’t know what’s happening? Unbelievable.” He shook his head, his tone slightly raising in volume. Tsubaki hadn't noticed that she was being backed up into the desk behind her until her legs had hit it.
“What are you-?” Her eyes widened slowly putting two and two together. “The movies? Were you watching the hero news? You do know that they just exaggerate without having the whole story right?” Tsubaki tried to stand straight but found it impossible with shinso towering above her.
”They have proof, I didn’t believe but it was pretty hard to deny the pictures of you and Baku-“
*SLAP*
The office stood still, nothing but silence as the others waited for them to move. They could basically see the steam from the girl's ears coming out. In her hair dead rose petals began to fall onto the floor.
“Fuck you, Hitoshi...." Tsubaki could feel her eyes began to water, it broke her heart that the one person she thought would haver her back after everything they had been through was the first one to turn it to her her.
It was in that moment that he knew that he had fucked up, he could see the emotions flash through her lavender colored eyes. Never staying long on one emotion for too long, it was after she was still trying to process what to say next and what had just been said all at the same time. Sure, he was pissed at her for what he saw and hurt. Every single day seeing her on the front page or the top story on the tv, he was afraid that one of them would end up being true. Shinso found that he wasn’t ready to find the truth under all the stories. Though something had snapped in him when he saw Katsuki with her, and for some reason it scared him to think that would be happier with someone other than him.
“Screw you, Mindjack.”
With that she stormed out of the agency with nothing else said.
“Look Hitoshi, just let it go. You made it clear that you never wanted to speak with me again.” Tsubaki turned back to him and clicked the button to go down to the lower levels, throwing the flower to the ground and pushing it to the side with her foot. "I get it, I'm not someone that you think can handle being serious with you, and it's whatever. Just-" She paused and stared him dead in his eyes. "I thought you'd be the one person that wouldn't believe the lies that were spouted about me, no matter what."
"I did- still do. I am that person still, Tsubaki. Give me a chance to make it up to you, please.." Shinso stepped into the elevator before it could fully close. He tried to give her coffee and the food he had brought her. "Look I know I fucked up but let me do something to make it up to you please."
Tsubaki watched him as he pleaded with her for forgiveness and she was tempted to do so, yet when she tried to let the words out she could still picture him kissing Ochako, she knew she was the last person to believe what she saw on tv especially about other pro heros. "..."
"Please Tsubaki."
The plant quirk user kept quiet, her gaze stayed on the metal elevator doors. She didn't want to let him know how hurt she was in reality, Hitoshi had scarred her deeply that she didn't know if she could be in the same place as he was without breaking down. She took a deep breath in and kept it steady,
"What about Ochako? Does she know that you got those treats for me, while you were with her?"
Hitoshi looked stunned, looking down at the gift for her in his hands, he hadn't realized that people saw them together. Unlike when they saw Tsubaki with someone, this time in his case, it was true. "You saw?"
She chuckled, shaking her head as she pushed her hair back, the elevator coming to a stop at the first floor. "Unlike you....I ask first before I make assumptions."
She walked out of the elevator leaving the Mind Control user alone, watching her walk out, it felt like something broke and it wouldn't be fixed anytime soon.
Part 2(?) in the future? What do yall think?