[Video; un: Uravity]

[floatsaway]

[It took...a while for Ochako to find the courage to really start acting like herself again after all of what happened in July. Thankfully, she has some amazing friends, an absolutely wonderful boyfriend that she would do anything for, and is as resilient as she is stubborn. Moping about and feeling remorseful will get her nothing, she has to act if she wants things to get better, so this is exactly what she's doing today, despite how she's still very nervous and really, really ashamed still. The things she did and said, the people she hurt, the one she killed... That's going to weigh heavy on her for much longer than just a month. But the first step to growing and moving on is to address and confront it. To apologize.

So the video opens up with Ochako sitting in presumably her living room, which...anyone who knows her, or has been to her and Bakugou's home before, will notice is different. Different wall colors, different arrangement of furniture, just...overall different. But she makes no note of that. Instead, she just puts on a sheepish smile to the camera and bows lightly.]

Ehehe...hello, everyone. It's been a while since I posted to the network, ne? S-Some here in Trench might know me, but I bet a lot of others don't. My name is Uraraka--...um! O-Or Ochako, if you're from the Western hemisphere of Earth. [She rubs the back of her head, mussing up her hair a little. Anyone who knows her would know, again, this is a nervous tic Ochako has. She clears her throat and laughs awkwardly.] Last month was, eeh...p-pretty crazy, huh? I know I went, um...pretty crazy. Myself.

[Her smile falls, and so does her hand in her hair, settling into her lap as Ochako sighs. She then sets her omni down on the floor she's kneeling on, looking rather somber all of a sudden as she takes a deep breath in and out, as if preparing herself.]

It's true it wasn't really me, that it was all part of The Reckoning's...stuff, but. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, and I couldn't have tried harder to fight it. Neither does it make anything better, because it was still my body, my voice, that did and said all those things. So, I just...I--

I want to apologize. To everyone I hurt in some way. I am...deeply sorry, for everything.

[She gazes downward, and then bows as low as she can, a full dogeza. Ochako said nasty things, physically and emotionally hurt people she considers very friends. She even went and killed someone in cold blood at some point, among other things. She can still see the blood, hear the breaking of a neck, the splatter of a body on hard ground... Those thing's can't be erased, but she can at least admit they happened, and apologize for them. It's the first thing to do before she starts trying to make amends for it.

She rises, just for a moment, before bowing back down again.]

And to those that helped me overcome...thank you. Even if it was just for a moment, you really saved me. I'm grateful.

Comments

[asas]

I played some baseball when I was little! i think I told you? well anyway if you don’t mind hitting and pitching back and forth until we get more players, we can do that too 👍 you might just have a bigger player pool upfront with volleyball! it’s up to you, though.

whatever gets you feeling good.

[floatsaway]

Playing as part of a team is more fun, so volleyball is fine!!
Just be gentle with a newbie like me, okay? (o´▽`o)ゞ

I'm not really up to going out today, I think I need the day to myself, but maybe in the next few days?
I like to use my hands. Oh!! Actually, speaking of, do you have gloves?
I'd hate to float the ball too high by mistake because of my quirk...

[asas]

you've got it ochako! yes to all!! you wrangle all that self-care!!

[ he doesn't have gloves for her yet, but— ]

what size gloves are you? a small?

[floatsaway]

[Ochako is laughing down at her Omni, smiling fondly. Man, Shoyo has his moments of acting almost like a kid and an older brother all at the same time... In a way, he sort of reminds her of Togata-senpai, which definitely warms her heart a bit - he was funny, and nice.]

Yeah, a small definitely.
I'm...kinda small overall, honestly. ^^;;

[asas]

hey, when i was your age i was only barely taller!
would it work if we just covered the pinky? i think i have an idea for the design, i saw it in a magazine once.

[floatsaway]

Oh, right...I've actually been meaning to ask, if it's not too forward.
How old ARE you, Shoyo-kun? I know you're older, but you always remind me of someone maybe just a few grades older than me.

[And sometimes a little kid, too. It's cute.]

Actually, yeah!! My quirk only works if all my fingers touch, so covering even one means it can't activate. I actually wear bandaids on my fingers to sleep, since I don't have my mittens here.

[asas]

I’ve got an idea, and it’s something we use in volleyball all the time!! finger taping!!

oh, and i’m 25!

[floatsaway]

Oh, that sounds perfect!! I someone wrap my hands and fingers when I'm working out on my sandbag, or in the gym back at UA.

UWEEHH?! Σ(°ロ°)
You're really that old?!
Close enough to be my sensei...

[Since most of then, barring All Might, were in their 30s.]

[asas]

"that old"???
i bet your sensei is youthful just like me!!

[floatsaway]

He looks like a vampire!! ♥

[I mean, she's...NOT WRONG......]

[asas]

exactly!! he never gets old!!!

[ shoyo— ]

[floatsaway]

[Okay, that actually gets her laughing for real - a good belly laugh that Ochako desperately needed right now. Good man, Shoyo, this is why she adores you.]

Oh, I don't know about that...
I'm pretty sure just wrangling Bakugou and Deku alone ages him by the hour!!
Me too, actually.

[asas]

then I guess i’m way more a vampire than your sensei, sorry!!!

cause i bet i can keep up with all three of you 😎

[floatsaway]

That sounds like a challenge... (￢‿￢)

I'll bring it up to the boys when everything cools down a little, ne?
Keep you on your toes a lit, since you won't know when we show up, Vampire-sensei.

[asas]

you know what i’m about. bring it!!!!!!

[floatsaway]

OKAY!! CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!!

[And that may seem like the end of the conversation, because for several hours there's no real response, even if Shoyo replies again. But after a good, long while - probably to rest some more, and gather her thoughts and emotions to a better place - Ochako shoots him another text. Just something simple, even if he can't really hear or feel the emotion she put into it.]

Thanks, Shoyo-kun.
I'm really glad I met someone like you.

[asas]

[ oh, his heart..... it's even a surprise to get it! going about his work day, focused and whatnot until he recieves— this meaningful bundle of words packed and delivered. he reads it all more than once and smiles warmly, allowing a breathy laugh to pull through. oh, kid. above all, she was a kid and needed some looking out for. ]

I'm glad I'm one of the people in your path.
If you ever need it, feel free to ring me up, okay? You've got this, but I've got you.

wrapping here!

[floatsaway]

[I've got you.

Shoyo wouldn't possibly know how important those words, specifically, are to her. It marks a promise she made with someone closest to her a long time ago, who now takes up permanent space in her heart. It makes her eyes misty, and she takes a moment to respond again.]

I will, definitely. ♥♥