(no subject)

[wrecking_yard]

Somehow, I managed to be the first person Nezu saw while trying to herd All Might out to do something resembling a break, which led to the Not Suggestion of taking him with me while I slipped out for coffee in the early part of the day; he saw I was wearing "civilian" clothes and it was all over. The first part of leaving the grounds was awkward-quiet - All Might's still not sure what to make of me and I think I rattled him by figuring out One For All as fast as I did.



Thankfully he started making some attempts at conversation about the students and trying to catch up on the years between when he'd left for America and now - Minor Social Niceties are not my strong suit and it's not like I have Mic with me to tug me into things. By the time the train's stopped at the area around the agency, we've drifted off into contacts and habits, which with me includes things like the blurry line between "hero" and "villain".



"I know at least two groups that come from crap circumstances and couldn't afford to try for schools or licensing. They live in areas that aren't well funded for police and emergency services, so they're trying to cover for it - deal with shit nobody else is getting to." The conversation's not very loud and it's the kind of busy street where almost nobody's going to be listening to conversations passing by anyway; he's giving that a sober nod and is being quiet and thoughtful about it. "Thing is, the ones like that either spook easy and vanish if some flashy official hero comes into their territory, or they're so used to being treated poorly they treat it as an intrusion."



Something nags out of the corner of my eye - a flicker of movement off to the side by the coffee shop and a familiar figure; I didn't expect them to be out today, and try not to react to or acknowledge it. "You've either probably never met some of them or ran into them on a bad foot from the start - I've seen the ones I work with sometimes bristle up the first time Mic went with me, expecting the usual from him, and the ones that don't flinch have come damn close to getting arrested a few times....and I want to make sure the kids understand that - it might not be the strictly legal way to go about it, but we've got enough real problems without making more getting into fights with people who aren't doing anything actually wrong."



"Have you talked to them about it?"



They're definitely still watching; All Might hasn't noticed them.



"Not this early in the year.... sometimes it doesn't come up seriously until a class is second or third year, depending on the group."



"Ah, there you are, Aizawa-san!"



At least they kept the honorific. At least they didn't call me by my given name. They could've been worse. I'm repeating it to myself while All Might just startles and blinks at them; he's pretty clearly just reading it as some local friend of mine flagging me down, which...isn't... exactly wrong, just missing a huge amount of context. I just sigh and wave back at them tiredly; I'm not sure how to get across that this is not the time without tipping All Might off to more than I want him asking about. He may not be subtle most of the time, but he's not stupid, and you don't survive in this business without learning to pay attention to surroundings and people.



"We were hoping you'd be out for your usual routine."



Crap. They're using plural openly.



There's a small voice and a faint gleam of eyes inside their shirt collar, a black snake head just visible. "We were wondering if you were open for coffee - we'll cover it, and of course your friend is welcome too."



All Might definitely notices the voice coming out of the shirt collar, and is blinking even more confused, head tilting as he motions to them. "Are they - family?" He nods off vaguely; he's been around Tokoyami enough to make the obvious parallel to Dark Shadow there.



"No." Except - "...Not that I know of? I don't think so."



Orochi has their own moment of pausing to think. I don't talk to them about our students, but the Sports Festival was public and Tokoyami definitely drew attention enough for them to put it together pretty fast. "....We don't know either? It would have had to have been our source host...." The voice comes from the other side of the collar, another of the snake heads talking. "And it wouldn't be on record if there were, so - wouldn't know without a DNA test or something-" That head trails off. "And that's not really an option," the first head finishes.



I hunch over to point a glare straight at the snake heads. "Are you supposed to be talking like that in public?"



"Fsssssst." The first one to speak pops up just enough to visibly flick a tongue at me. "Nobody's paying enough attention to notice, and if you were talking that openly with this one, I'm sure it's fine."



I don't know who they think All Might is, but I'm dead sure they've greatly misjudged; he's probably not helping, getting more and more confused and looking to me helplessly for some idea how to handle this.



And clearly reconsidering if I'm a good example of how to handle any kind of social situation to begin with.



Yoshida sighs, ignoring them. "So about the coffee?"



I narrow my eyes at them, leaning back. "Any particular occasion?"



"We were feeling generous."



"And bored," one of the snakes adds.



All Might just shrugs, clearly okay with whatever this is; he definitely has no clue who's making the offer.



I grimace, closing my eyes and shrinking into the scarves poking out of the hoodie, and push into the door of the shop; the owner's at the counter, and is trying to gauge how irritated I am.



"Is the back room free?"



"...Yes?"



"Can I book it for oh, a half hour, maybe an hour?"



"Of course." He motions to the back, and I hunch more and grab the sleeves of the other two(ish) to follow, rattling off a set of orders to the owner. Like Hell am I having this conversation in the lobby of the shop.



It's still manageable. All Might does know I still keep some criminal contacts for intelligence besides a good handful of vigilantes, I think, and even if he didn't before it's not that hard to introduce Yoshida The Tea Shop Owner And Information Broker. Orochi built up such a mythic reputation being flashy that it's unlikely All Might will connect the extra sources of snark to the records and history as long as they just stick to being conversational.



They're quiet until the tea and coffee gets handed in; they're waiting for the drinks, All Might is watching me for some clue and awkwardly keeping quiet, and I'm not going to be saying anything until we're assured of privacy.



Unfortunately, today I clearly overestimated them; as soon as the door's closed solid to ensure we won't be bothered without ample warning, eight of the snakes slip out around Yoshida's suit jacket, with enough size to them to be a pretty identifiable sillhouette, a couple of them yawning and stretching. Yoshida's just blowing steam off the tea, studiously ignoring them. "Thank you for that - we have been so busy and cooped up lately." Yoshida sets the tea down, holding a hand out to All Might. "Orochi. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."



God fucking damnit. They're ignoring the daggers I'm glaring at them.



All Might's eyes are wide and he's gone full blue screen, accepting the handshake mechanically. "Toshinori," he blurts out, and for a brief instant I'm just praying that All Might's real name being not-well-known will hold.



Except now seven of the heads have stopped their languid coiling to snap around and return his bluescreen stare, along with Yoshida, and the last snake head is shooting me a 'WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN US' look, which I answer with a very frustrated hand gesture at them; they didn't give me a chance.



For a few long seconds, the only noise in the back room is me with my head buried in my hands, cycling through every language I know any profanity in.



"...We have many questions, and all of them are out of bounds of the current agreements unless freely volunteered," Yoshida finally says, pointedly returning his attention to his tea in some attempt at being less awkward, the snakes still staring and staying more behind him.



All Might has an eyebrow raised almost into his hairline and is staring at me with a look of panicked confusion, pointing at them.



"They're retired. Sort of. Mostly." I don't care if the scarves are shifting a bit, they've both been around me at least enough to not read "making it easier to half disappear into the scarves" as a threat. "They live two blocks from the agency, we've been keeping an eye on them."



All Might stares at them, then at me, and back at them, echoing the 'many many questions and not sure any can be asked' face.



One of the snakes hisses a heavy sigh. "Yes, we're supposed to be dead, our source-host definitely is, we were desperate-"



"And they found me trying to kill myself," Yoshida continues -



"But we weren't dumb enough to poke our heads out after that, and he was squeamish anyway-"



"I WAS TWELVE!", he protests -



"So was our source host once and he didn't have that problem!", from one on the other side of him -



"So we laid low longer and realized we could do so much more with money and politics than we'd ever accomplished with violence," finishes the first one that'd spoken up.



At first All Might looks incredibly unsure of all of this and a little daunted; there's a sideways glance at me, then he's looking to them sideways, more cautiously. "And what are you trying to accomplish, if it's alright to ask?"



A couple of the snakes give little rattling hisses, not aimed directly at either of us. "Fighting back. Not everyone can be you, after all." A second snake, lower, continues. "We had nearly been killed several times before we were ten the first time, we ended up with nothing;"



"We were dangerous, so the nicssssssssse government men who collected us were going to keep us locked away, and we ran."



"And that made us monsters, so what were we to do but give the world what it wanted?" That one had teeth showing, tone bitter.



"So we decided to rip apart all the illusions at the seams to expose how ugly the world and all the good law-abiding societies were, and how they really treated anyone who wasn't pretty or good enough or lucky enough, how easily they'd turn on the vulnerable, and when our source host died, we found this one..."



Yoshida sighs, and while he's less toothy than the snakes, there's still a definite bitter cast. "I was trying to kill myself - I would've been a target anyway, and fear of 'dangerous' quirks just gives people who want excuses another reason to target people like me that don't fit their idea of what a person is supposed to be...."



"And it's so easy to find blackmail or dirt on most of the leaders who most push for fear and hate of anyone they think 'doesn't deserve' to be treated like a person," One of the snakes adds smugly.



"Put money to the right people with the right goals, lean on the worst to weaken their power, and it works so much better and faster for improving things than murdering them all." That snake gives a self-satisfied nod.



"Although it's still too slow and there's still too many of the real monsters," one of them that's almost under the table adds.



By that point, All Might is staring into his coffee thoughtfully with a frown, setting it down. "I know. I know I've never lived through it to know it the way someone like you would." He closes his eyes, shaking his head. "But I know there's people suffering because of fear. It's one of the things I hoped for, really....that if I could make enough of an impression, teach people enough to see this sort of power as a force for good and not just something to fear...." He trails off at first, staring at one of his hands, flexing fingers; his bone structure hasn't really decayed any, leaving him looking almost oddly proportioned for something like that, broad hands on a scarecrow. "But it is too slow - sometimes it's like I'm trying to shovel an avalanche with a paddle full of holes."



The table's quiet; he's not even really paying attention to the way they're studying him, but after a moment Yoshida's sipping his tea and the snakes are settling around him, coiling over his shoulders and draping over the booth on that side.



"See? We told you it would be fine if it was someone you were talking to the way you were," comes a mutter from under the table. I'd kick them in the shins, but there's not much point to it.



"Although we did think he was one of the paramedics or something," comes another grumble from under the table. All Might just looks up from his coffee in exhaustion, like he's debating if he should protest or leave it be.



"Do you really think I'd be talking about the students and Hero Business like that to someone who wasn't another hero?" I finally hunch back in the seat, leaning back and wrapping around my coffee, still glaring at them.



"Well, point, but we weren't expecting it to be All Might himself." Yoshida just motions at All Might. They're sticking to their word and Not Asking, although knowing them, they've probably already figured out the basic outline of it. The general guess about him is that he's got an enhancement quirk, and those are active abilities that aren't always in effect far more often than heteromorphic traits. They're just usually not as dramatic as the change between what he looks like with his power active and what he looks like normally now. Of course, with their information base, they can also pretty easily find photos and footage of him as a student back at UA, assuming they haven't already gone over the public press releases from the time.



All Might is tapping a finger on the table thoughtfully. "...You know, the way the laws are right now... legally, your original host was 'Orochi'. It'd be a legal mess, but as currently written, since the original quirk-user is dead and it was his record, you can only be held responsible for anything - you've - done since, ah, finding a new host." He shrugs. "It's relying on the fact that there's really nothing in the laws to account for a separately sentient 'quirk', but it's something."



"We like him already," quips one of the snakes from under the table.



He's still looking between us like he's not sure what he just walked into, but he's noticeably relaxed from the way he'd tensed up as soon as he realized who we were having coffee with. "So, if it's okay to ask... how did you find them?"



"I didn't. They found me." I'm trying to tune out exactly how awkward this has all been to focus on my coffee. All Might raises an eyebrow and turns the questioning look to them.



"We live close to Present Mic's agency, and our 'territory' overlaps with the area he staked out when he had his own agency," Yoshida starts. "We keep track of the heroes that are regularly in our area, for obvious reasons. He wasn't flashy, but he wasn't hard to keep tabs on, either, and he was as likely to spend nights talking down potential suicides, stepping in on petty domestic abuses, and shooing off people that were acting out minorly with a warning rather than arresting them. The first one we actually approached was Yamada." He leans on the table, pausing. "I've been in some similar circles for civil rights, so when he started planning in earnest to restart a Pride celebration, I sent a rather large donation to support that effort. Of course, there wasn't much clue where it came from, so he nudged Eraserhead here to investigate it, at which point it was easier to just introduce ourselves."



All Might nods quietly, thinking. "Most of the attempts had been shut down because of concerns about safety and security after what happened, but if Present Mic could get some of his connections among other heroes to help out..." He's frowning, thinking too hard on it, and I'm giving him a warning glare before he even starts to offer. "You know, I could-"



"No. And you know damn well why." Sure, it'd be GREAT to have All Might there... but like Hell am I going to let him volunteer for an event that would last for two days when he can barely keep his powered form for a little over an hour, and even that's pushing it.



There's a quiet little "hm" from Yoshida's side of the table and he's pointedly turning his attention down to his tea, and All Might gets nervous again, aware of what subject we'd just skirted right against.



"If you ever need a place to duck out of sight away from more than you can handle...," Yoshida sets down his tea, and sifts through an inner pocket, handing All Might a card. "Show the front desk this and ask to see me. I may not be available immediately, but anyone or anything that tries to follow you will run into more than they bargained for."



He stares at the card, and gives Yoshida a questioning look.



One of the snakes curls to be matching Yoshida's line of sight and in easy field of view with him. "There are far too few 'Heroes' that both respect the perspective of those less fortunate and understand the value of context."



"And we'd rather not see that destroyed because someone wants to show off how dangerous they are and tear down so much everyone at this table has worked towards," Yoshida finishes.



All Might nods slowly, slipping the card away. "Thank you." He fidgets, looking away. "I guess it's not hard to figure out, is it."



"Seeing you like this? No, it isn't." They just motion at All Might as he is most of the time, practically a scarecrow. "And it explains why your public appearances have steadily growing shorter and less frequent."



He grumbles something unintelligible into his coffee. Of course they figured out he's burning himself out.



"We're all looking out for him as best we can, and Nezu's hoping teaching will mean he can do more good without pushing himself as hard." Orochi's decided they like him enough to offer sanctuary, his condition's not a secret, so I may as well not dance around it as much.



"Well, we hope you two can instill some of your good sense in the next generations." Yoshida raises his mug, and after a few minutes of silence, it just turns into a weirdly mundane conversation - minor dumb school stories, the tea house, Yoshida having a few tangents expanding on some of my work while I was avoiding everything and both of them ganging up on me over it.