Villainous

Chapter Seven - Nightmare

"How much farther did you say it was?" Toga asked Ochako, who was leading their expedition.

"We're almost there." The hero replied, scanning the addresses they passed by. Ochako was taking her to the location Twice wanted to meet at, which happened to be near where the gravity hero had grown up.

"Ta-da!" She pointed towards a run down apartment complex. It was definitely older than she remembered, but the layout was unmistakable. Vines ran rampant up the outside of the building, uncontested in their growth. The apartment still had tenets, though none of them would cause an issue if they saw the League walking around.

"Good work, little hero." Toga smiled as she walked past Ochako, heading towards the stairs that led to the room they were looking for. The latter couldn't help but smile back.

"Was it really necessary to rent a place here, just for this?" Ochako stepped around a suspicious stain on the carpet, almost falling into a hole in the process. Looking down it, she could see the hallway of the floor below them. Definitely a safety hazard.

"Oh, I don't think he payed. It's really easy to get into these places, and no one cares enough to cause a commotion unless you're messing with their stuff." Toga filled in, stopping next to the door labeled 207. The white paint was chipped, and the numbers were bound to fall off any day now. Toga reached for the door knob, but upon seeing how dirty it was (and that probably housed several bacterial diseases) she opted to knock.

They stood in silence, listening for any footsteps or voices on the other side. When the door remained closed, Toga knocked harder. "Hey Twice! We've got your bag back, and you aren't making a good impression with our new friend!"

Still nothing.

"Is he alright?" Ochako asked, straining to listen for anything. The door to the left of them, room 208, opened, revealing a tall figure with a gray and black mask.

"Oh. I gave you the wrong number." He laughed awkwardly, causing Toga to roll her eyes.

"C'mon in."

- - - - -

"Here's your cash, Twice. Now cut us in." Toga tossed the duffel bag to the table, sending up a cloud of dust. "All seven thousand is there, you don't need to count it."

Twice coughed, despite wearing a mask that probably semi-filtered the air. "What did you do to my bag?"

"That old lady who stole it buried it. Luckily, the hero here saved the day and took her out." Toga slung an arm around Ochako's shoulder, smiling proudly. The blonde was proud, she had scouted Ochako, looked into her, and weighed her options. The League didn't want her in, and it took some convincing, but it seemed like it would pay off. She had fighting potential.

Not to say the hero didn't have her cons. U.A had drilled a perfect hero's morale compass into Ochako, causing for a little bit of trouble with doing practically anything villainous. Or maybe the strong sense of justice was natural? Toga wasn't sure. She just knew that the hero would have to warm up to her before the rest of the League, lest she get completely overwhelmed and cause a repeat of the breakdown today.

Ochako, on the other hand, stood awkwardly. She tried distancing herself with the memory, breathing deeply and focusing on counting the money that Twice shuffled in his hands. The mere thought of what'd she done, the blood on her hands, made her stomach twist and clench in ways that made her want to throw up.

"Uh-huh. Good job then, hero." Twice tossed Ochako a stack of bills held together with a rubber band. "$500 for your trouble." He tossed another to Toga, who caught it in her free hand, still with her arm around Ochako.