Chapter Text
You feel your stomach sour as you lightly hold the remote control in your hand. Every morning your put on the news and no matter how many of your stories appear it still makes the guilt of it all swirl in your chest.
Minster Candidate booed off stage: Pro Hero who failed - Death Arms.
“If he abandons Japan that easily, wouldn’t he do it again? Can we trust him to lead Japan foreword?”
“The Minster needs to be strong not only in body, but of mind too. Don't you agree?”
“This will definitely push people towards candidate Minshiri dont you think. A Hero who stayed during the great war?”
And there it was, the lie that was spoken truth. As it’s true Death Arms retired as a hero during the war, Minshiri aka Nail Gun retired right after the Paranormal Liberation attack in Jaku city. He took one look at everything and ran away. You were 10 years at the time, but you remember the chaos and fear that one incident took over your country. You can still remember your mother crying as your father packed your family up to go to one of the shelters, muttering about how Hero’s failed and it’s all their fault that the restaurant they started crumbled into nothing, making the family bankrupt in moments.
And that’s what this comes down too. Money. Your quirk is Gossip, any form of gossip you spread turns into the truth, you just gotta start a sentence with ‘did you hear?’ and soon enough it’ll become the truth. Only for a little bit though and it’ll only work on “hear-say” incidents, the max it can last is a month. However, the damage is usually already done. For your family you spread a rumor that your restaurant served the best udon and tempura around, even though the hype died down after 2 weeks you still made your family business flourish after all the damage. You discovered how to make sure your family would never feel the stress of losing everything again.
So, using your quirk to make money has led to examples like this. Minshiri ran away from his duty but he wanted to have a leg up so he sought you out to gossip that he was one of the Hero’s that stayed and fought, for a price. A very generous price, and a part of you chuckles that a good chunk of his campaign budget is now sitting in your bank account. But, does the amount ease how the news anchors are criticizing the other candidate? With a groan you turn off the t.v and toss the remote on the sofa.
“Breakfast.” You croakly mutter rubbing your stomach as you make your way to the kitchen. Not in the mood to cook, you pull a bowl of ramen from your cabinet and wait three minutes for the noodles to become edible. With the free time you open up your laptop to log into your food blog. Cliche, but you can write whatever you want though and you know your words hold genuine weight. There is no persuasion, no Quirk in use, just people reading what you wrote and taking it in while coming up with their own conclusion. Nothing to sway them aside from how you write the review.. Something genuine… You swallow and the action reminds you of the soreness of your throat.
Cute Cat Cafe’s! Have you tried the adorable cafe inspired by the Wild Wild Pussycats?
Your fingers start pressing on your keyboard as you recall your time at the cafe up in the mountains. Most of the Wild Wild Pussycats are retired due to various of reasons but have opened up a resort on their land. Shino Sosaki, Hero name: Mandalay, opened a cafe shop with her fiancée Tomoko Shiretoko, Hero name: Ragdoll, within the city so her nephew could be closer to school, UA. If anyone is fighting to be the number one fan of the current number one Hero it’s currently the 16 year old named Kota. You left that part out and focused on how delicious the cookie you ate that looked exactly like Tiger went well with your Pixie-Bob latte. The sentence ended with you slurping your ramen and with a soft hum. Though your blog is super popular you wonder if you should use your quirk to get them more business, though with your last client your voice is still sore. You sigh against the warmth on your throat before rubbing your neck softly.
A soft ding across the room makes you freeze before your head whips around to the phone sitting on the charger that is slightly hidden by a vase. That phone is for Whisper.
Whisper is the name people know you as when they want you to spread your gossip power. Officially started to earn money from Whisper two years ago when you were 18 after you helped a failing brand that made stuffed keychains. The poor woman was stress eating at your family's restaurant and blub how if her marketing doesn’t pull through she’s going to get fired. At the time your parents lowered your allowance to re-save money in case the need to flee Japan ever came again. The pipes in the restaurants burst, ruining the inside and your father had to dip into the emergency flee money to fix it. You couldn’t stand seeing them so panicked, you wanted to help ease their minds. Needs met solution. The money you earned from that particular deal was scraps compared to your rate now. You wouldn’t call yourself a villain, but you're not a hero. With a sigh you make your way towards the phone and with a quick tap you are into your emails.
Subject: Whisper
Hosu city, Tofu house, @ 2:00pm, reservation for Jim.
- Jim.
You read the email as you continue to rub your throat. Hosu city? You give a soft groan as you look up tickets to Hosu city. You forgot that you reopen your emails so anyone can request you, and of course as little as possible information is required in the email, but seriously 2pm is rude. You respond:
Deposit ¥ , 120,000 into account xxx000xx000
Within moments you hear another ding with the downpayment of meeting you in your offshore bank account and with that you close the phone. You sigh as you make your way back to your laptop, slurping the rest of your noodles as you hurriedly type up your recount at the cafe before posting. Within moments the blog is being shared and you close the screen.
You wonder if one of these days you're going to be walking into a set up operation. Your quirk would be considered a manipulating power, and the government seems to have a huge crack down on those types of powers. Though the Quirk database has your power in its system the government doesn’t know how far your Quirk can transfer from person to person. You fix your wig that's the opposite color of your hair and pull your mask up a little higher to cover the bridge of your nose. You haven't shown your face to anyone in these meetings and you will not start now. You politely ask the waitress about the reservation only to be escorted to a private room. There is no one else waiting but you take a seat at the low table. 5 minutes, you’ll give Jim 5 minutes.It’s not all that uncommon for clients to show up later than the expected time, but it definitely makes you add a couple more yen to their total.
“Pardon my lateness.” an old ghostly voice says. You look to your side and see an older gentleman, Jim, being let into the room. He’s about average height with a little bit of a hunch that makes him seem shorter than he is. He seems so thin that you almost got up to help him with the black briefcase in his hand. His face is wrinkled and kind with thinning white hair. You can smell the soft after shave and chemicals coming from him and it makes you tug at your mask.
“I just got here. It’s fine.” you say as the older man comes to sit in front of you. Jim moves slower than you’d like but you comment nothing as the man gets situated.
“Thank you for meeting with me. Order whatever you will like.” he says with a calming smile. Food is always good and honestly the smells are heavenly, but it’ll make the mask absolutely useless. To Go? You haven't been here before so maybe in a month or so you can come back for Did You Eat.
“I’m not hungry.” You say instead and your stomach about protest but stays silent. The older male frowns slightly but then gives an understanding nod.
“To business then.” With a polite order of boiled tofu and some dumplings he waves the waitress off and straightens his spine. “First, I’m just a representative for my client.” typical, you think as the older male reaches for his tea on the table. “I work for a highly remarkable doctor. He’s a great scientist who has been working on an incredible study on a new bacteria.”
You stay silent and resist the urge to roll your eyes, every underling seems to want to gas up their employer and it could just be to make sure you don’t decide to back out. However, if they got the Yen you will mostly do about anything. Though most of your clients have been mostly political or works in the public eye somehow. Just two months ago an Idol hired you to spread Gossip about her rival not being able to hit high notes and her album dropped in the charts. It took your throat a month to recover from spreading that gossip around.
“This bacteria can change the science of medicine for years to come! It could cure the flu in just a couple hours, it could fight the toughest of cancers. Illness could be eradicated from Japan.” Jim says, crossing his hands on the table as you perk up a little “Unfortunately, we are still in the beginning stage and we have no sponsorship. Without the money it can’t be continued. We’ve tried and failed to garner interest.” the older male sighs softly as he turns to the case besides him.
Your eyes narrow curiously as he tugs a petri dish out of the case. Your body locks up straighter as your thighs twitch in preparation to flea. Sometimes people in this situation could do anything, what if he was planning to get this whole restaurant sick just to prove a point? However, he wouldn’t have called you out here if he was ready to get you sick…right? You can’t use your Quirk if you’re laying in a hospital room. The older man gives the dish a sigh before holding it out to show you, making you flinch.
“This is one of the test runs. It’s the common cold and within two hours the bacteria rid the other antibodies. We are calling this B-X12.”
“Where did you discover this bacteria?” you ask curiously as the older gentleman sets the dish back into his suitcase and clicks it softly shut.
“Apologises, I’d like to keep that confidential for now. Scientist and their secrets.” he says with a kind smile making you frown under your mask. Jim shift so he’s facing you completely. “I don’t wish to take up any more of your time. We would like you to spread a little rumor about a rampant cold in Yanku. Nothing serious, just a cold that won’t go away.”
“I’m sorry.” you said, shaking your head. “But I can’t just speak an illness into existence. That is not quite how my Quirk works. They won’t actually be sick but just think they are. No one would have actual antibodies.”
“That’s fine.” Jim says with a kind smile. “All we need is the extra press so we can start getting sponsorship.” You pause as the door opens and the waitress drops Jim’s food who gives her a thankful smile. With her gone Jim picks up his chopsticks. “ ¥ 500,000 upfront the rest after it’s done, is your price correct?”
You find yourself on a train heading to Yanku city a week later with your laptop open. You’re scouring the different shops in the city to do a blog on as you keep rubbing your throat. It’s healed from it’s last use but still the phantom scratchiness makes you take another drink from your water bottle. Yesterday Jim sent you the ¥ 500,000 for your deal so you’re going to uphold your end. You sit back in your seat as you watch the world go by as you feel an unhappy shiver go down your spine. Yanku city, it’s right next to Jaku city where that crazy doctor conspired with AFO to destroy Japan. That city hasn’t fully recovered from the trauma and many people have relocated to not be associated with the place. There has been rumors that some anti hero cults have sprung up there as well.
Approaching Yanku city…
“Ok.” you say reacting to the intercom on the train as you shove your laptop back into your bag. You wander the streets causally for a bit, soaking the atmosphere in as you explore a new city. It’s clean and very modern looking despite being further out towards the mountains. But with the great war a few years back there was an urge to have a new Japan. Though many of the shops have some traditional design choices. You decide to drop by a dumpling shop that has a cute looking banner in the front that shows off their signature 3 ball red paste dumplings.
The older male who runs the shop is on the older side and he greets you with a big smile. You can’t help but smile back as a cute teenage girl bounces her way towards you with a menu and a gummy smile. You can’t help but see yourself running around your parents restaurant as you look at her. She talks you into buying way more dumplings then one should eat in one setting and order their special honey ginger tea. Being one of the only customers in the shop you poke and prod the father-daughter duo about their dumpling shop. Been in the family for years, recipe was served to the old Lords of Japan, he has spiced it up to sell more, and she is planning on going to culinary school to expand the restaurant. They’re so kind and you hold off on your mission to write a wonderful blog on their restaurant.
Your next stop is the mall. Yanku is a smaller city but with a large mall so there are plenty of people wandering around and shopping to pass the time. Here, is the perfect spot for your mission. You do some window shopping until you decide to go into a shoe store. Instantly a young woman about your age greets you and asks about your size. You entertain the rows of heels for far longer than you should have and keep trying to remind yourself that you’d have to carry 5 pairs of shoes back home if you buy them all. You fall for 2 and the woman is pleased to ring you up with polite conversation.
“You’ll have to buy something red to go with these.” she says with a smile as she scans the box in hand. You rub the back of your neck with a sheepish smile.
“Yeah, though I should probably go to the drug store.” you say, “ Did you hear? There is a nasty cold going around that has been lasting for weeks. ” The lady looks at me shocked as I see her eyes glassen.
“Really!? That sounds awful.”
“It is. Make sure you stay healthy now.” you excuse yourself with your purchase in hand. You do go find something red to match your new heels and make your way into the next clothing store. A couple of ladies request to help you look and you definitely couldn’t pick between the red blazer or the red jump suit.
“The jump suit would look wonderful on you.”
“Sold. I’ll happily take this along with those white pants. Though I don’t know if i’ll be going out as much. Did you hear? About that cold that’s going around that lasts for weeks ?” Their eyes gloss over and you swallow down some water.
Quirk: Gossip. After using the phrase “did you hear” any form of gossip spoken afterwards makes the person believe it’s real and if the victim shares the information the ‘believability’ gets spread. It weakens from person to person but it can last up to a day all the way to a month. It works even if someone just over hears you using your power on someone else. The more You use it per person, the more strained your vocal cords get, giving you a croaky voice and a sore throat. You can’t talk something into reality but you can make people believe something.
“A cold? That sounds terrible.” The man at the ramen bar says shaking his head. You give a nod as the couple of older ladies beside you gasp in soft shock before whispering to each other. You went to every store in the mall and now have made your way to the other vendors. You made sure to speak loud enough that people will over hear your power and you can already feel the scratchy ick in your throat.
“Yeah, stay healthy out there sir.” you say paying for the meal before making your way back to the station and pulling out your phone. You got 45 more minutes until your train arrives so you got a little bit more time to spread the gossip of a cold. You turn a corner when you feel someone push you into the wall, causing you to scream in fright!
“Give me your bag!” A male voice hisses at you as you feel your purchases hit the ground and your laptop bag get ripped off your shoulders. Your heart is pounding in shock and fear as two more men appear out of nowhere to scoop up your belongings with howls of laughter. You can see other bystanders in shock around you while others pull out their phones, either to record or call the police. Your stun fades as the men take off running down the street. Your laptop, he took your laptop!
“Hey!” you call out, chasing after them but their laughter rings to loud compared to yours. “Thief!” There haven't been many petty villain attacks in populated areas for years so you didn’t feel the need to be on guard. After the war and the great battle at UA most villains were arrested or changed their ways to fit in society as it is now! So where the hell did these punks come from!? Your heart pumps as you watch them turn a corner as you chase them. You need to get closer than you could use your Quirk on them! “Thief! They stole my stuff!”
“What you think you’re some hero or something lady!?” one of the three barks in laughter as he turns to face you, fingers spinning like drill heads making you stumble. “If you wanna act like a hero! I’ll treat you like one!” your stomach sinks as the man points his hand at you!
“Enough.” a new calmer voice makes everyone pause before looking up. With a gentle leap and male lands in front of you, wearing green and curly hair. You gasp in surprise as Deku, the number one hero, blocks you from the villain's view. There's a pause before bystanders start getting excited.
“No way! Is that Deku!”
“It’s Deku!”
“Deku! Deku is in Yanku city! Oh my god, where is my phone!”
“He’s much cooler in person! Deku!”
“Deku.” you whisper as the number one hero looks over his shoulder with a kind smile. His hair is a curly undercut and this close up you can see the freckles on his face. It’s a lot kinder and cuter looking that gives a contrast to his body, though covered in his iconic green black bunny suit with the yellow scarf you can see how well trained and toned his muscles are. He’s taller than expected too. He has a confident mature-ness that only the 26 year old number hero emanates from his body which gives your racing heart a sense of safety.
“It’s ok now, I’m here.” Deku says before he turns to face the villains who are frozen in awe. “Return the lady her items and turn yourselves in quietly. There is no need for violence.” One of them seem spooked enough to drop your shoes on the ground before backing up. The one with your laptop is still frozen while the drill hand man seems to be wavering.
“C-come on, put it down.” the spooked one trembles, “that’s Deku, we can’t fight him.” the one with your laptop seems to jolt to life and makes a move to set your items down but the other one shakes his head.
“Shut up! We can take him!” is all drill hand gets out before a Deku holds up his arm, Black Whip shooting out of his costume and snatching all the males in its hold. You give a soft gasp of surprise when he flicks his wrist making all three fall face first into the sidewalk. Simple and quick, but the whole crowd goes into an uproar of claps and awe. Being so close you can see the pink of Deku’s ears redden and your heart skips a small beat. Adorable, Deku the number one hero is actually adorable. You’ve seen his interviews durig his time teaching at the UA festivals where he's a stuttering mess but a part of you assumed he was just playing it up.
“Here you go ma’am.” Deku says with a friendly smile as he uses black whip to gather your items to give back to you. You blink in surprise before reaching for your items.
“Th-thank you. Wow, ok yeah. Thank you so much!” You say getting a little excited as you shuffle in your laptop bag, letting the other items hit the floor. “Can I have a photo with you? I write a blog. A food blog but-wow- ok sorry, i’m sure you’re, like, super busy and stuff so never mind.”
“A food blog?” Deku perks in genuine curiosity, “do you have any recommendations for good katsudon? The place I went to shut down for repairs.” You almost drop your laptop bag as you got your phone in hand.
“Oh of course! There is actually an amazing place in Tokyo.” you stumble out. “Round House. It’s on my blog. Did You Eat, is my blog name.” you almost go into a fit of starstruck giggles. You’re talking, you’re literally talking to Deku! The number one hero! The one who saved Japan ten years ago! About your blog! Deku gives a kind smile.
“I’ll have to give it a try. You stay healthy, alright? There's a bit of a cold going around.” All your warm and fuzzies chill as Deku gives a wave to the crowd before using his other ability to float himself and the villains away. You gather your items quickly as a couple of teenage boys run up to you to talk about Deku coming to your rescue, however with a polite nod you excuse yourself back to the train station. You feel a huge stone in your stomach as you take the train back to your city before taking a deep inhale.
It’ll be fine. It’s just a little bit of Gossip. No one will actually be sick. You remind yourself as you look at the pile of bags across from you. The shoe boxes are bent but you don’t mind. An untouched offshore bank account holds the price of your sins but somehow you can feel it burning your pocket. With a sigh you scroll on your phone and you come across the video of Deku saving you. You smile as you shamelessly save the video as the urge to eat some katsudon takes over.
Breaking News: Virus takes over Yanku city in a frightening wave.
Breaking News: Hospitals in Yanku city are overflowing with people with a strange new illness that’s leaving people unable to breathe.
Breaking News: Hospitals in the surrounding cities are starting to see signs of strange new virus, leaving people unable to breathe.
Breaking News: All transit heading towards Yanku city stopped. Anyone who came to Yanku in the last month and feeling unable to breath are requested to head to the hospital.
You stare at the T.V screen 2 months later as more headlines appear. You’re stunned as you read every single one and feel your stomach hallow out. Yanku, strange illness? You swallow painful even though your voice recovered from that job a month ago. You drop the remote as you start pacing your apartment. This has to be a joke right? You didn’t have anything to do with this… right? No way! You said a cold! A Cold ! Not some full blown illness that's putting people in the hospital! Your Quirk can’t do this, no one would actually get so sick they have to be hospitalized!
“Oh my god.” you tremble as you shake out your hands. “That bacteria that stupid old man-” you curse as you pace your apartment again as more talk about the strange new illness causes the host to go into seizures. Jim! Jim and his stupid doctor employer! You shouldn’t assume old men know what they’re talking about! Bacteria to help! What a load of shit! You curse again and you rub your hands together. What do you do now?
You can go to the police and tell them everything you know about Jim and the bacteria. However there is a possibility that you’ll get arrested. Your whole underground persona would get exposed and not only that, your clients too. If that came out it’d be a huge scandal and your parents. Gosh your parents assume you’re just some blogger! You curse again as you keep pacing. You can’t just not tell someone though, who knows what those crazy scientists are doing! They could easily infect the whole country with who knows what!
A knock at your door halts your steps but spikes your heart rate.
“Package!” is the call from the other side and you frown. You didn’t order a package, right? You make your way to the door and look through the peephole. It’s a man and in the typical delivery man attire however his face is obscure thanks to the hat with a delivery logo. You swallow.
“I didn’t order a package.” you respond. The male pauses before looking at the package to read the label.
“This is unit 204. Yor Namae?” he reads and your stomach drops. That’s your name all right. With a silent intake of breath you open the door and the normal looking man smiles at you. “Your package ma’am.” You pause to look at the normal mid size box. You get promotional boxes sometimes from different food brands to try for your blog, however those have always been discussed in an email beforehand. You already received a promotional package this month...
“Stun gun!” the raspy deep voice shocks you as much as the bright light does coming from your right! You yell in surprise as you shield your eyes as the package man does the same, dropping the box in the process! Your mind whirls as your eyes adjust, and you barely register the light boom in the hallway as a black and orange figure tackles the postman down. You blink rapidly as you stumble back as your mouth drops open.
Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight! Dynamight ! The number 2 hero is in your hallway, pinning the postman onto ground and he holds the package in the other hand. You’re frozen as your heart skips over every detail of the hero. His blonde hair spikes on the top of his head and his red eyes harden at the man below him. His hero costume is tight on top yet baggy on the bottom exposing the muscle on his arm. You’re in awe as Dynamight shifts on top of the man with a snarl on his face.
“Don't move an inch or I'll blow your head off!” he hisses, “Riot hurry up you idiot!” your head swims as you watch as Red Riot, the number 8 hero, appears in the hallway right in front of your door. His red hair is pulled back into a spiky ponytail and his costume shows off every muscle in his abs and arms. Your head becomes fuzzy in shock as you find yourself sinking to the floor. What in the world is happening?
“Don’t worry we got this under control.” Red Riot says, flexing his muscle at you in a show of strength. Oh, you must have said that out loud. Dynamight snarls a insult making Red Riot jump back into action and man handle the guy from under the number 2 hero into his own hold. The postal man starts to snarl and kick as his skin shapes in spikes but against Red Riot’s hardening it doesn’t do anything. You let out a shaky sigh as the number 8 hero walks the man down the hall.
“Yor Namae.” you perk up at the voice and is stunned again by Dynamight’s overwhelming presence. The hero is reading the box label before his red eyes lock on to yours. You swallow as your back straightens, its amazing how different he feels compared to the number 1 hero. Deku made you feel warm and safe but Dynamight, he made you feel hot. Blood pumping as a shiver runs down your spine as the feeling to run takes over. With a unmoving glance Dynamight touches his free hand to the side of his head. “Send the email.” you blink before another shiver crawls up your spine.
Your phone. Your Whisper phone, chimes behind you. Dynamight narrows his eyes at you before stomping into your apartment, causing you to jerk up in fear. The man walks in like he owns the place as he demands his request again, setting the phone off once more. He pivots towards the kitchen making you shoot up from your spot.
“Wait! Hey! You can’t just barge in!” you snap, heart pounding as the blonde male starts typing away at your computer screen. You scowl as you come up right behind him. “Don’t touch that! What are you doing!?”
“Send another!” Dynamight snaps again and once again your Whisper phone goes off once more. Your heart sinks as the number 2 hero locates the phone with his narrowing dark eyes. Oh no! Oh no! Oh god ! You breathe quickens as he shifts to go towards the call phone. You swallow as you come up right behind him! Too much, too much is happening to fast! You gotta stop him right!?
“Did you he-” your cut off as Dynamight turns so fast you barely saw how his hand shot foreword to cover your mouth. You go into shock as the feel of his gloves press against your lips, tasting like burnt fabric and smoke.
“Don’t you try it, Whisper .” Dynamight hisses, gripping you by the cheeks to pull you closer to him. Your eyes widen as his red eyed darken in anger. “Your quirk has to do with your voice right? I should blow your tongue out.” You give a terrified squeak as you shake your head, tears coming to your eyes. Dynamight fixes his grip on your face as he backs up against your counter. “I have some questions that you’ll answer so I won’t, for now. Not until you fix what’ve you done.” You stare at him in confusion as your hands come up to grip his wrist.
“Bakugo! I’m here!” another male voice echos in the room but Dynamight’s eyes doesn’t leave yours. “Whoa dude! That’s not how you should handle a lady!”
“Shup up dunce face.” the crimson male growls as he tosses the package without looking. The other male curses in surprise at the sudden movement but all it does is makes you swallow nervously. Dynamight turns just enough to snatch your phone out of it’s hiding place before pulling you closer to his face, making your squirm. “You’re coming with me. One sound and i’ll blow your mouth off. You’re going to tell me everything and how to cure Deku. Got that?”
Cure Deku? You’re eyes widen in shock as you take that in. Deku? Something is wrong with Deku? Wordlessly Dynamight whirls you around, pressing your back against his chest as the grip on your mouth doesn’t loosen. Without shoes, you’re escorted out of your apartment.