The flame has a living heart? (Yamata, Overdose)

Orochi sat on a chair in the laboratory room. Her slitted eyes showed signs of boredom and a foreboding emotion. She tapped her fingertips against each other, her hydras on high alert.

Their black lifeless eyes had a faint glimmer of intelligence, and danger in them. Orochi tapped her fingertips with more strength, she was impatient. She licked her lips, they felt dry, but she was hydrated.

Her heart raced, but no danger was near her. Orochi looked down, at her feet, at her hands. She knew their peace would not last, whatever reprieve they had since Sandatsu’s last attack was not to last.

The danger was there. His ideals were spreading, he was not just another psycho in town. The Reaper had a big presence, many in Quirkchan talked about him, and as someone so powerful and notorious, soon people would want to follow in his footsteps.

An idol for villainy, like what Endeavor meant for heroes. Soon his ideals would hit the delinquents, and like a disease it would spread, those down on their luck, and unfortunately, would turn to Sandatsu’s destructive ideals and presence for guidance.

An Idol of Death.

Orochi raised her head and stared at the room. The laboratory was empty, it made sense since two members of the infamous “1-D” were there, even if they weren’t the “1-D” anymore, the nickname stuck.

Misfits, monsters, team killers, words the 2-E used to describe them. Orochi would laugh at their accusations and defamation ever since Genma’s death.

Blaming and belittling 2-D would not bring the dead back, it wouldn’t reverse what happened that night, and yet, they were right about one thing: the one who caused all that pain came from 1-D, they failed to help him, they couldn’t see the signals.

Orochi clenched her fists. ’We failed to act.’ She chewed her inner cheeks.

Their lives had become a great powderkeg, and the fuse was burning up.

Her hands clenched into fists.

Even if everything were to explode, all the bridges burn up, Orochi knew she was strong enough to endure it and take up the fight. “Sorry about letting you wait.”

Hiro’s voice broke through Orochi’s stupor. His eyes with heavy black bags under them and tiredness was reflected in his look.

She felt about letting him work himself to the bone, but she hoped it was for a better future. “Here, take it.” Hiro extended a hand- A bottle filled with red spheres the size of red marbles.

“Those will, hopefully, trigger that on-fire state you spoke of. It is experimental, so it may not work. I hope you don’t need to take those.” Hiro spoke with some difficulty, he struggled to keep his eyes open.

He was concerned about Orochi, her callousness, her distance from others, and how Orochi dismissed others, Hiro feared for her.

He was scared that she could become cold and apathetic to the plight of others, numb to the hurt she caused, but he still helped her. Hiro had hope that Orochi would not give up her heart.

Purple eyes looked into his. “You suck at hiding your fear, you know?” She said with a pale smile on her face. The hydras looked back, their best attempt at giving them “privacy”.

Hiro clenched his fist, his eyes strained to their limits, fighting to not close. “Don’t think I can’t see it, you know. This is my body, my mind. I can feel those changes better than anyone else.”

The one who glanced away was Orochi. “It is not as if I can help it. Everyone is so on edge. Our friends are close to breaking down, you are working yourself to the bone, and yet I am the one who feels good with herself.”

For a moment, Orochi could see blood on her claws. Everyone had their demons to fight, and those demons were catching up to them. Orochi’s foe was different. She had no demons, not anymore. She wanted to bare her teeth, she desired to unsheath her claws and take the fight to where it mattered.

She wanted to draw blood and settle the score.

Maybe she lost her humanity already, her heart lost the moment Feral pierced it.

However, the fire, the sword in her, and the wish to see her friends smiling, and happy, were there.

Her world, her family, her friends, she wanted to keep them safe above all else, as she also wanted to destroy the evil that threatened those who couldn’t protect themselves.

The uncaring, crass, and without-a-filter part of herself was also there. Someone who was failing to understand others, dismissing them, much like a tyrannical dragon. Self-absorbed? Not yet, but she knew she was distancing herself from others.

She couldn’t care about the small army of scientists trying to understand her quirk. She failed to care about 2-E’s opinion because they were wasting their energy on the wrong target, but if they dared to do something to her friends?

Blood would be spilled.

Egoist. Violent. Unchanged. Animalistic. Hateful.

Orochi.

Yet, if she ever walked out of the line, there would be those to stop her, force her kicking and screaming to her path.

A blond young man. A sharp-teethed delinquent. A try-hard young man. An explosive gung-ho american girl.A gorilla of a girl. Her friends back in the gang… She looked up to Hiro.

He would also stop her.

She had nothing to fear, the moment she walked out of her path, someone would bring her back.

“I know I am changing, but I will not lose myself.” Orochi got up, and her left hand held Hiro’s chin, she forced himself to look at her eyes. “No matter what happens, my soul still is that of a Hero, and that won’t change that easily.”

Her heart released a strong beat. Her hydras moved to her side, motivated by her thoughts and heartbeats, they resonated with her words.

Her temperature rose. Hiro met her gaze, full of life and light.

He felt strange, despite the darkness surrounding her, she felt warm and bright as a torch in the dark of night. He couldn’t shake the doubts out of his heart, but he could have faith that Orochi wouldn’t fall so easily in the dark.