Chapter Text
Tomura had first noticed her when he took the midnight train back home after a night of walking around the city. There was something about people-watching and just wandering around that helped him clear his head and think about his next move within the League, so he’d taken to walking out around random places and then taking the train home when he felt like it. He tended to get lost in thought and lose track of time though, so he was always coming and going at odd hours whenever he didn’t have prior plans or meetings.
They were the only people in this section of the train, and it was hard to tell who was trying harder not to be noticed. He was wearing an old black jacket with the hood up, wearing some gloves with the fingers missing on some of the individual digits so he could play his PSP without any fear of disintegrating it. His hunched-over posture made him look sketchier than he already was, and combined with his torn pants and red shoes without visible socks, it really tied together and said ‘ I’m likely a crackhead who could kill you at any moment’. The young woman was wearing an old jean jacket with random novelty pins on it, and a black tank top with random tufts of dog fur clinging to it here and there. A long gray medical alert necklace hung around her neck, and Tomura wondered what it was for. She had on a pair of black jeans that had been faded from years of use, and some scuffed boots. Her hair was lazily done up in a ponytail and from the slightly crooked way it was positioned on the right side of her head, Tomura guessed that she was right-handed.
Surprisingly, despite his look and general aura that made most people uneasy, the other passenger sat in the same row as him despite having an entire array of seats to choose from. Tomura wondered why. Was she a Pro Hero that was tailing him? Was she a potential League member who knew who he was and wanted to ask to join? He pretended to play a game on his handheld console while he watched her from the corner of his eye. She was peering down at something on her phone and frowning, and after a few seconds she pushed her glasses up to keep them from falling. She glanced over at Tomura, and hesitantly tried to get his attention with a small wave.
“Sorry to bother you,” she said with a small, nervous smile, “But I just want to double-check and make sure I’m on the right train. This one does go to Kamino Ward, right?” She held up her cell phone, which was displaying a map of the local train system.
Tomura relaxed slightly; she was just a tourist or something that needed help with directions, nothing more. Still, he couldn’t let his guard down completely. He nodded and pointed at the train line they were currently on. “Yeah,” he replied with a friendly smile, “The one we’re on goes to a few stops in Kamino. Was there a specific one you’re trying to get to?” The corners of his lips cracked a bit as he tried to appear friendly, and started to bleed.
The stranger sighed in relief. “Oh, thank God,” she breathed, “I can read kanji, but I always worry about getting lost anyway. She pointed to the stop she wanted to get off at in Kamino; coincidentally, it was the same one Tomura was planning to get off on. “This is the one closest to where I’m going. Normally I can navigate my way there no problem, but I’m coming from a different way than usual.”
“What brought you on this train, then?” Tomura grew more suspicious when she mentioned she was getting off on the same stop as him...Maybe she was tailing him and playing the role of a nervous tourist? Was she really brazen and stupid enough to talk to him though, if that were the case? To be fair, most Heroes were brazen and stupid in Tomura’s mind. Still, she didn’t seem the ‘Pro Hero’ type.
Her cheeks turned a bit pink at his question. “Well, I saw online that there was this cool restaurant in Hosu,” she explained, “The one that’s Silent Hill-themed? None of my classmates or my friends that live here really wanted to go, since they’re not really into the games. So I just went by myself since I didn’t have classes today.” She pointed at the pins on one side of her jacket: one was the red symbol of The Order, one was a chibi-styled Pyramid Head, and one was of Maria’s butterfly tattoo. “They also had a gift shop, and I got a few cool pins too.”
Tomura raised an eyebrow. If she was a Hero, at least she had good taste in games. “No way, I love Silent Hill,” he replied enthusiastically, still using that fake smile to give her a false sense of security. “I never even knew they had that in Hosu!” He decided to switch gears and probe into what else she’d mentioned about classes; if she was a Hero giving him a fake story, maybe he could poke some holes in her story and make her squirm before he finally crumbled her into dust. “Sucks that none of your classmates wanted to go. Where do you go to school?”
“Chu-kiyo University,” she replied. “Most of my classes are online though, so I only have to go in a few days out of the week and I just study at home most days. Or in this case, take the train to Hosu and eat at a Silent Hill restaurant.” She smirked. “And all of my classes are fairly small, so that’s nice; the required courses for Heroes are super crowded, but since I’m not doing anything like that I practically have my psych classes all to myself most of the time.”
Tomura’s left eye twitched at her mention of the word ‘Hero’. “Oh, you don’t want to be a Hero?” He tried to mask the contempt in his voice. “Seems like that’s what everyone wants to be, nowadays.”
The stranger grimaced and shook her head. “Ugh, hell no,” she replied distastefully. “I wanna help people, but all the social crap you have to do to be a Pro Hero is the worst ! I mean, sure, the image of being a Hero is cool I guess, but that’s the thing--it’s an image. You know how many people I know that want to be a Hero? A lot.” She leaned forward. “You know how many of those people are selfish, inconsiderate, and have no business in a job that requires saving people? A lot. ”
The more this girl talked, the less likely it was that she was a Pro Hero. It wasn’t often that Tomura met someone who criticized Heroes and Hero society so candidly, aside from other Villains. “I know what you mean,” Tomura replied, rubbing his thumb against one of the buttons on his handheld console. “I’ve never really said it out loud, since everyone really holds Heroes in high regard, but it seems like a lot of them are in it for selfish reasons.”
The stranger nodded. “ Right? And honestly, that’s not even the worst part in my mind,” she continued. “Okay, so one of my roommates last semester was in the Pro Hero course and I was helping her study. I got to reading through some of her textbooks, just to see what was in there, and some of the things I read were just…” She sighed. “There were a lot of passages about how you should interact with a Villain, and it was all really disturbing to me. You’re supposed to not sympathize with them in the slightest and despite all the different methods they have for subduing and capturing criminals, there isn’t a single sentence that references the motives Villains have.” She leaned back in her chair. “And I know that’s a really specific thing to worry about, but I had just finished writing a thesis about Villains and general things they have in common.” She raised an eyebrow. “You wanna know what I found out?”
Tomura nodded, curious to hear what she had to say about Villains.
She counted off on her fingers with each sentence. “Over half of them have a diagnosed mental illness-and that’s just ones that have been diagnosed--and over half of those people with a diagnosed mental illness didn’t have access to adequate treatment or counseling. Over three quarters of them are either homeless or have been homeless for most of their lives, and most of them have a history of family instability: child abuse, being orphaned at a young age, divorced parents, being raised in a family far below the poverty line, stuff like that. And ninety percent of them have a Quirk that was viewed by most people as villainous, even before they ever committed a crime!”
Tomura listened intently as she continued to rant. “And nowhere in those Pro Hero textbooks did they ever suggest reducing higher rates of crime by providing better mental health care, ways to increase employment, or just, I don’t know, not classifying people as potential criminals just because of their Quirk? Imagine being a kid and having to hear that at school for years on end!” She rolled her eyes. “All the textbooks had to say were about how to subdue them and focus on getting high criminal suppression rates so that fewer people try to commit crimes. But obviously, that isn’t working.” She ran her hands through her hair and sighed, and was silent for a few seconds. “Wow,” she remarked, almost to herself, “That’s the longest I’ve ever talked in...a long time.” She looked up at Tomura with an apologetic smile. “Sorry for going on a tangent out of nowhere.”
Tomura blinked, silently staring at her. This...this was not who he expected at all when she first sat next to him. He’d never heard a civilian express any real level of sympathy for Villains, aside from the generic “Oh, that poor thing, but he really didn’t have to go that far and make such a bad decision” dialogue that so many NPCs would spout; pretending to care was worse than not caring at all, in his mind. “Don’t apologize,” he said quickly. “You shouldn’t have to say sorry just for speaking your mind.” He stared at her for a while before he realized he should probably say something instead of just...watching her. “My name’s Shigaraki, by the way,” he finally said.
The stranger’s eyes widened. “Oh God, I didn’t even introduce myself before I went off like that,” she remarked. She held out one of her hands. “I’m Bella. Well, Arabella, but everyone just calls me Bella.” Tomura froze when she held out her hand, but then remembered that he had his gloves on. Even though he knew he wouldn’t hurt her with his touch, he still felt a strange lump in his throat whenever he touched her hand to shake it. He wasn’t used to handshakes, or someone he just met being this friendly with him, so he chalked up the strange feeling to just be anxiety at something he didn’t normally do. She smiled at him as they shook hands, but Tomura didn’t smile back; he was too focused on how long he should hold her hand, if he should make eye contact, and...he was distracted by how soft her skin felt.
Bella noticed that Tomura’s hand was lingering a bit longer than a normal handshake would last, and she awkwardly ended it by moving her hand away and pretending to check the time on her phone. She slipped her phone into her pocket and faced Tomura again. “So, what’s your favorite Silent Hill game?”
Tomura was confused by the sudden topic switch in their conversation. “Um...hmm, I’d say 3,” he replied. “Why?”
Bella shrugged. “I was just wondering, since you said you liked them too,” she replied casually. “After all that time I just spent talking about myself, I thought it’d only be fair to listen to you for a bit.”
Tomura was glad to take any opportunity to talk shop about his favorite games, so he was definitely happy to talk about that. “I also like 2 because it has the best story, but I think the gameplay is better in 3,” he continued. “I know the combat isn’t the main focus of Silent Hill as a series, but it just feels less clunky. Plus, it’s more of a sequel to the first one instead of its own thing, and...”
They spent the next few minutes chatting about various games they were into, with Tomura occasionally asking other questions to learn more about her: “How long have you been going to Chu-Kiyo” (so he could look up her school records later), “Are you still roommates with that Hero course student” (to see if she lived alone or not)...Things that were subtle enough to not rouse her suspicion as to why he was asking but enough information for him to learn more about her on his own. To Tomura’s delight, she didn’t have anyone living with her (except for a small dog, which explained the fur on her shirt) in her off-campus apartment. Whenever she asked him about himself, he would give half-truthful answers; he was homeschooled and tutorted for most of his childhood and wasn’t currently attending university since he wanted to focus on other parts of his life, and even though he lived by himself his father wasn’t too far away from him.
When the train arrived at their stop in Kamino Ward, Tomura noticed Bella rising from her seat very slowly and carefully as she eased her way into a standing position. “You alright?” he asked. She nodded.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied. “I just have this...this um, medical thing where I can’t get up too fast.” She pointed at the medical alert device around her neck. “You know how if you jump out of bed, all the blood rushes to your head? I’m like that all the time, so I have to be super slow when I move around.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I won’t die or anything if I do go too fast, I just get really woozy and I usually pass out for a little bit.” She smirked. “My dad says that with how slow I have to get up and how I always wear my necklace, I act a lot like my grandma.”
Tomura stared down at the necklace dangling on Bella’s chest. She lived alone with a condition like that? Who would help her if she fainted at home? She really needed someone to look out for her. “So, you press it and an ambulance comes or something?”
Bella nodded. “Yep, it tracks where I am and my information’s on the back,” she explained. “The EMTs in Kamino Ward are on a first name basis with me at this point, haha.” Tomura made a mental note to look into Kamino’s hospital records to learn more about her as well. “You ready to head out? The doors are about to close soon.”
He nodded, and the two of them stepped out onto the train platform. He thought about asking which way she was heading to get back home, and maybe offer to escort her back if they were going in the same direction...Just to make sure she wouldn’t be vulnerable and alone if she started to feel faint, of course. Before he could ask, Bella spoke up first.
“Hey, it’s not weird if I ask for your number, right?”
CRITICAL HIT.
Tomura stared at her, unblinking. This was actually happening. A girl was asking for his phone number. She was asking for his number. That must mean she likes him, right?
“I know we just met, but you’re the first cool person I’ve really talked to that actually talked to me too,” she continued. “And I like being alone most of the time, but it’d be nice to have someone that lives nearby who’s into the same stuff I am so we can just text and talk about it.” She smiled at him, and Tomura felt that strange lump in his throat again. “Plus, you’re the only person I’ve met who doesn’t just call me a ‘bleeding heart’ or a Villain sympathizer when I talk about my thesis and the stuff I want to study.” She rubbed one of her arms absentmindedly. “I mean, I don’t mind debating about it with people who disagree with me and I don’t want to just be in my own little echo chamber with someone who agrees with me; it’d just be nice to have at least one person who sees where I’m coming from.”
Tomura tried to hide how heavy he was starting to breathe from the excitement of it all. He met a cute girl who really liked him, and if that wasn’t enough, she wasn’t a mindless Hero-worshipping drone. Hell, she’d probably love him even more than she already did if she knew he was leading the League of Villains. His fingers tingled at the idea of having her by his side, spending hours together talking about the flaws of Hero society and how it should all just be torn down. Who else could he be with? The chance of finding someone so open-minded who was also interested in him was pathetically low, but he had a potential Player 2 standing right in front of him. Hell, them meeting tonight had to be fate. Fate, kismet, true love...It was definitely something more than chance, and he couldn’t let it slip through his grasp.
“...H-Here,” he said quietly, taking out his phone and typing out his number for her to see. “You can just add me to your contacts.” Bella quickly added the number he’d given her into her contacts, and when she finished she gave him a thumbs-up.
“Sweet,” she said cheerfully. “Thanks, Tomura!”
The sound of her saying his name made his mouth water. Some primal, stupid, impulsive part of him wanted to tell her right now who he was and what goals he had within the League, and convince her to leave her life behind to do something real with him. He could tell her about his life before All for One saved him, teach her more about Villains and Heroes than any textbook, and really open her eyes. Her eyes. Her eyes, her eyes, God, her eyes were pretty. So bright, so innocent, and so vulnerable. And she chose to set those pretty eyes on him, of all things.
He snapped back to reality when Bella spoke again. “Um, Tomura” she said uncertainly, “You okay?” Tomura blinked and nodded, trying to regain his composure.
“Yeah, sorry,” he replied with a small smile and a well-acted yawn. “I tend to zone out when I’m tired, and it’s getting kinda late.”
Bella nodded understandingly. “I stare off like that too when I need some sleep,” she replied. She checked the time on her phone. “Ugh, speaking of which, I should head home now. I’ve got a test tomorrow morning that I don’t wanna take with only a few hours of sleep to get me through it.” She turned around and started to walk away with a quick wave to her new friend. “Good night, Tomura; see you around!”
Tomura watched her walk away, and once she was out of sight he walked in the opposite direction towards his own apartment; he quickly dialed one of his underworld contacts and shivered with delight when he thought about how wonderful his name sounded whenever she had said good night to him. After a few rings, he heard the drawl of Giran, his sensei’s top info-broker. “Whaddya need, kid?”
“I need you to look into someone for me,” he said. “A... A person of interest for us.”
“Sure thing, just give me a name and I’ll see what I can find.”
“Her name’s Arabella,” Tomura replied. “She’s a second-year transfer student from the US at Chu-Kiyo University, psych major. She’s also had multiple visits to a few hospitals in Kamino Ward due to some fainting disorder, if you can get her medical records.”
“Hmm...Doesn’t sound like the kinda people you usually ask about. You think she’d be a good fit?”
Tomura stared off in front of him as he imagined Bella sitting by his side during a League meeting, offering suggestions, comforting him when he started to feel the itch on the back of his neck, wishing him luck on a mission by squeezing his arm with those soft hands of hers… He smiled widely, and he felt his cracked lips begin to split open and bleed again.
“Yeah,” he replied. “I think she’d be perfect.”