Right. [it's nice knowing there are more people who believe in helping. it's for that reason, not to mention her general demeanor, that sora feels at ease around her and has no problem explaining as best as he can.]
It's not really something that only works for me, but it only works for a few of us who have really strong hearts. [it sounds. so dumb. to say out loud. but it's also true and he doesn't seem embarrassed about it.] It's something that helps us fight back against the darkness.
[as she goes on to describe UA though, his eyes widen bit by bit. sora doesn't even really like school, but the idea of a hero school is way different than normal education. there's a lot that a person could learn from other heroes.]
So it's something almost everybody has. Can you learn someone else's quirk? Or have more than one? If you're all learning together that sounds like a good way to master new skills.
[ it does sound pretty odd, but maybe it's like how not everyone has the heart to be a hero? ]
That's cool, though! Our quirks are biological, so it's not something we can just share or learn from someone else. The most we can do is maybe borrow some techniques someone uses and tweak them to suit our own quirks, though it doesn't always work out well.
So, what's the darkness? Is it like the League of Villains?
[ she thinks it's a name or a title or something, it's fine. ]
That's right. [he does not explain any further, assuming that ochako somehow understands exactly what he means.]
Even if you can't borrow someone's quirk, learning other techniques and making them your own's a great idea. Like team attacks! And if you find someone whose quirk works really well with yours you could probably figure out all kinds of cool tricks.
[but ah. hello darkness, his old friend.] It's not quite like that. It's like...everything has light and darkness in it. Every world, every heart. And sometimes Darkness becomes so strong it threatens to destroy the Light. That's what we do. We make sure that doesn't happen. [more or less. it's complicated, but that should be simple enough.]
Yeah, exactly! Part of being a hero is knowing you can't do everything on your own, and coordinating with other heroes to get the job done. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it in the end!
[ she listens patiently, a thoughtful frown on her face. ]
I... think I get it. It does sound a little like fighting villains, like how All Might was called the pillar of hope? But more... [ hm, how to say it ] ...abstract? I guess there isn't really a hero or a villain inside everyone's heart, but there's always potential for either.
[ so... maybe she understands, in a broad sense? though it's hard to imagine actually fighting what causes people to become villains... assuming ochako got that right? her head hurts. ]
It still sounds like what you do is pretty similar to hero work in our world. So I guess you're kind of a hero too, huh, Sora-kun?
[there's an enthused nod because yes! she gets it!] That's it! I could never do anything with the help of my friends. We work better together.
And that's right, too. [less enthusiastic, but it's more understanding and thoughtful.] There are some hearts that don't have any darkness at all. But some people can learn to control the darkness in their hearts. Both are pretty powerful.
But if a person loses their heart to the darkness completely they become a Heartless. Um. A monster? [he's learning that people don't understand what he's saying most of the time.] We're definitely heroes. We've helped save a ton of worlds and fought a bunch of monsters.
I know what you mean. We all have to learn to stand on our own as heroes, but I always feel a little stronger when I'm with my classmates.
[ hm. but the monster thing is... well, it's kind of new. these "heartless" that sora knows can't be the same as the monsters that ochako's seen, though. ]
...Oh. That sounds... [ she hesitates. there isn't really a word to describe it, is there? so she shakes her head. ] Can you still help them if they lose their hearts to darkness like that? Or are they just... gone forever?
[glad they're both firmly in camp "my friends are my power."]
Some of them. If their hearts were strong to begin with, it's possible. And in some cases if a person's Heartless and their Nobody both are destroyed, they'll become a whole person again. But a lot of them aren't like that.
I see. [ sort of. still, she nods, and carefully sets her hat back on the counter. ] Sounds like it must be a hard job, huh? Knowing they were people once, and not being able to help most of them... At least with villains, we can talk to them after they're arrested, and try to rehabilitate them.
Yeah...well, there are people we have to fight, too. People who use other Heartless and Nobodies to do their fighting, but I guess you could call them villains. Most of the time they don't like to listen, but sometimes we can convince them things can be different.
[there's a smile then.] Looks like we both have hard jobs, actually.
Oh... So it's almost like... [ she trails off, frowning. ] It's wrong to use someone like that. Even if they aren't people anymore, even if they did turn into monsters - they shouldn't be used as weapons.
[ she has a feeling that sora knows that, though. so instead of continuing down that trail of thought, ochako returns the smile. ]
Yeah, we do. But it's worth it in the end, isn't it? For all the people we get to help.
They shouldn't. [there's a lot of things on the worlds that should be happening, and yet.]
It's more than worth it. Not everyone can help themselves, so they need people like us. It doesn't matter what we have to do as long as people are safe. It's nice to know other people feel the same way.
[ she smiles fondly. ochako feels the same, of course, but those words almost sound like something deku-kun would say. it is nice. familiar. ]
It almost makes it feel like home, doesn’t it? [ she thinks of stain for a moment, and shakes her head. ] Maybe not everyone does it for the same reasons, but that’s okay, right? As long as they’re still helping people.
Right. If we keep that in mind? I think everything will work out okay. Here, too. [he folds his hands behind his head then.] I know a couple of people here want to help, too. It's been fun hearing about their worlds.
Right? All of them seem so different. It's really interesting to see where things overlap - like some of the constellations are the same across worlds, but I would've thought they'd all be different.
I noticed the same thing. Usagi showed me a couple that I didn't recognize, but there were others from other people that I did. But they do say that all of the worlds share one sky. It's probably just a really, really big one.
[ ochako has never heard of that before, but it sounds... nice. ]
I guess we haven't really explored enough of space to say that isn't possible. But that would mean they're all connected, huh? No matter how far away they are?
Well...[he rubs the back of his neck.] Some people do. But I agree with it.
[...this isn't the first time he's missed kairi since he arrived, but it's sort of funny what he chooses to remember now.]
That's what it means though, yeah. Even if they're far apart, there's always a way to connect them to each other. That's kind of like the Realm, isn't it? [all of them came from different worlds, but now they're all here despite how far they once were.]
I like that idea. It sounds like a relief, to know that you’re still close to a friend in some way, even when you aren’t together. And it almost makes it feel like we’re not as far from home.
[im crying, ochako please...but he doesn't seem like one who would withhold information like that and instead his features relax once more.]
Riku and Kairi. They're my best friends. [he misses all of his friends, of course, but it's always been about those two and always will be.] It's been a long time since we've all been together for longer than a day or two.
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It's not really something that only works for me, but it only works for a few of us who have really strong hearts. [it sounds. so dumb. to say out loud. but it's also true and he doesn't seem embarrassed about it.] It's something that helps us fight back against the darkness.
[as she goes on to describe UA though, his eyes widen bit by bit. sora doesn't even really like school, but the idea of a hero school is way different than normal education. there's a lot that a person could learn from other heroes.]
So it's something almost everybody has. Can you learn someone else's quirk? Or have more than one? If you're all learning together that sounds like a good way to master new skills.
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[ it does sound pretty odd, but maybe it's like how not everyone has the heart to be a hero? ]
That's cool, though! Our quirks are biological, so it's not something we can just share or learn from someone else. The most we can do is maybe borrow some techniques someone uses and tweak them to suit our own quirks, though it doesn't always work out well.
So, what's the darkness? Is it like the League of Villains?
[ she thinks it's a name or a title or something, it's fine. ]
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Even if you can't borrow someone's quirk, learning other techniques and making them your own's a great idea. Like team attacks! And if you find someone whose quirk works really well with yours you could probably figure out all kinds of cool tricks.
[but ah. hello darkness, his old friend.] It's not quite like that. It's like...everything has light and darkness in it. Every world, every heart. And sometimes Darkness becomes so strong it threatens to destroy the Light. That's what we do. We make sure that doesn't happen. [more or less. it's complicated, but that should be simple enough.]
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[ she listens patiently, a thoughtful frown on her face. ]
I... think I get it. It does sound a little like fighting villains, like how All Might was called the pillar of hope? But more... [ hm, how to say it ] ...abstract? I guess there isn't really a hero or a villain inside everyone's heart, but there's always potential for either.
[ so... maybe she understands, in a broad sense? though it's hard to imagine actually fighting what causes people to become villains... assuming ochako got that right? her head hurts. ]
It still sounds like what you do is pretty similar to hero work in our world. So I guess you're kind of a hero too, huh, Sora-kun?
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And that's right, too. [less enthusiastic, but it's more understanding and thoughtful.] There are some hearts that don't have any darkness at all. But some people can learn to control the darkness in their hearts. Both are pretty powerful.
But if a person loses their heart to the darkness completely they become a Heartless. Um. A monster? [he's learning that people don't understand what he's saying most of the time.] We're definitely heroes. We've helped save a ton of worlds and fought a bunch of monsters.
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[ hm. but the monster thing is... well, it's kind of new. these "heartless" that sora knows can't be the same as the monsters that ochako's seen, though. ]
...Oh. That sounds... [ she hesitates. there isn't really a word to describe it, is there? so she shakes her head. ] Can you still help them if they lose their hearts to darkness like that? Or are they just... gone forever?
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Some of them. If their hearts were strong to begin with, it's possible. And in some cases if a person's Heartless and their Nobody both are destroyed, they'll become a whole person again. But a lot of them aren't like that.
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friendship ]
I see. [ sort of. still, she nods, and carefully sets her hat back on the counter. ] Sounds like it must be a hard job, huh? Knowing they were people once, and not being able to help most of them... At least with villains, we can talk to them after they're arrested, and try to rehabilitate them.
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[there's a smile then.] Looks like we both have hard jobs, actually.
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[ she has a feeling that sora knows that, though. so instead of continuing down that trail of thought, ochako returns the smile. ]
Yeah, we do. But it's worth it in the end, isn't it? For all the people we get to help.
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It's more than worth it. Not everyone can help themselves, so they need people like us. It doesn't matter what we have to do as long as people are safe. It's nice to know other people feel the same way.
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It almost makes it feel like home, doesn’t it? [ she thinks of stain for a moment, and shakes her head. ] Maybe not everyone does it for the same reasons, but that’s okay, right? As long as they’re still helping people.
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[ ochako has never heard of that before, but it sounds... nice. ]
I guess we haven't really explored enough of space to say that isn't possible. But that would mean they're all connected, huh? No matter how far away they are?
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[...this isn't the first time he's missed kairi since he arrived, but it's sort of funny what he chooses to remember now.]
That's what it means though, yeah. Even if they're far apart, there's always a way to connect them to each other. That's kind of like the Realm, isn't it? [all of them came from different worlds, but now they're all here despite how far they once were.]
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I like that idea. It sounds like a relief, to know that you’re still close to a friend in some way, even when you aren’t together. And it almost makes it feel like we’re not as far from home.
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Well, yeah - my family, my friends, my classmates... But who wouldn't have someone they miss?
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[ tsunderes... ]
But no one likes to be completely alone, so even if they don't say so, there's got to be someone.
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So...? Who is it you miss, then?
[ this may be a w0 pc but she is absolutely nosy enough to ask ]
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Riku and Kairi. They're my best friends. [he misses all of his friends, of course, but it's always been about those two and always will be.] It's been a long time since we've all been together for longer than a day or two.
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