The call came out of nowhere. She'd been expecting some days off anyways, so she took one as soon as she could and headed off towards one of the more high-end portions of the city. Momo accompanied her, to her delight. It was hard not feeling small around those massive houses.

"Ah! Uraraka-san and Yaoyorozu-san! Punctual as ever!" Tenya opened the door with a small smile, gesturing for them to head inside. Ochako and Momo each gave him a brief hug once they entered, which he returned a bit stiffly. His home was large, but there were touches here and there to make it feel warmer. No matter how many times she'd been there Ochako couldn't help staring.

"What caused you to call us up so out of the blue, Iida-san? It has been a while since we all heard from you, outside of mail." Tenya showed them to the sitting room and let them get comfortable. His hands jutted outward as he began speaking.

"I simply realized I hadn't spoken with any of you in some time. You're all my close friends, even if we weren't able to graduate together." Ochako smiled, even though it hurt a bit for him to say out loud.

"Yeah, it has been a while huh?" Ochako was never sure how far she could go. Tenya was barely mobile, even if he was in ridiculously good shape. She wanted to go out and do things with him, but the cane sitting on the couch always made her stop before inviting him out. For a while they sat and made small talk about the weather, movies and drama amongst their friends. Anything to fill the silence. Silence in the Iida house wasn't so comfortable as it was in other places.

Tenya and Tensei were special cases amongst the hero community. While they weren't the first to be injured in the line of duty, but the tragedy was one of the worst the family had seen. In Tensei's case, it was heartbreaking. Losing Tenya's budding career so soon after had been… Ochako didn't have the words to guess how hard that was. She'd lost a classmate, and a friend, and the hurt was still fresh. He still smiled though. Somehow, they were working through it.

"I've been watching out for all of you in the news. Uravity and Creati seem like they're doing very well! As expected of my friends!" Momo grinned. Ochako wondered how she always looked so bright and cheery in the face of things. She didn't seem like the type to fake happiness, but she was always so talkative. She even managed to dance around things like invitations without making things awkward. It wasn't the first time Ochako envied the woman.

"Of course, we're all trying our best. It's only natural. Though it has been rather hectic recently. That mall attack last week was especially large." Ochako snapped out of her trance and smiled towards Tenya.

"That was masterfully handled by the way, Uraraka-san! You all settled the matter very quickly." She brushed him off with a wave of her hand.

"It was nothing. We had details on what was happening inside, anyways. A friend of ours got caught up in it all." Tenya blinked in shock.

"You mean one of our class?"

"Ah, no, a civilian friend of mine." Momo smiled.

"He's been making some real headway in our class, actually. Mina, Kirishima and Todoroki are all very fond of him as well after the incident." Ochako grinned. Deku had been nervous during their lunch, but according to Momo he and Todoroki had hit it off surprisingly well.

"Really? That's surprising, if you don't mind my saying so. Todoroki is a tough judge of character." Ochako nodded, though Momo would probably disagree. "I'd like to meet him if he's gained that much popularity. I'm sure he's someone upstanding!"

"De- Midoriya-kun would probably like that! He's a bit of a hero nerd. You should have seen him when Todoroki, Kirishima and Mina all visited him." Ochako almost laughed. Instead she and Momo both stared as Tenya's face warped. It almost seemed as though emotions were turning over too quickly… "Eh, Iida-kun, did I…"

"You said his name was Midoriya?" Tenya's eyes narrowed. He wasn't glaring, but he seemed suddenly interested.

"Uh, yeah… Midoriya Izuku. Do you know each other?" Ochako felt a pit open in her stomach and begin to stretch.

"No, we…" Tenya pushed his glasses up his nose and leaned forward. "But the person who called the police and heroes after my incident in Hosu was named Midoriya."

"Well, I'm sure that's a coincidence…" Momo stammered. She was looking back and forth between them, frantically looking for some way to defuse the situation. Tenya seemed… grim. Ochako felt like she was going to be sick.

"Iida-kun, I… I've never asked but do you remember anything from Hosu?"


"Okumura-sama, do you mind… Um, I mean, would it be okay…" The old man smiled and sighed.

"Is everything all right, Midoriya-kun?"

"Ah, well, I… C-could I take a bit longer f-for lunch today?" Okumura Sr. grinned.

"Take all the time you need, my boy. I'll man the register. If I might ask, though… Do you have plans?" Deku blushed. Okumura had gotten far too happy after hearing about Uraraka, and now every time Deku mentioned her the old man smiled in just such a way…

"W-well Uraraka asked me to m-meet a friend of hers. A hero named C-Creati."

"A lunch date…?"

"N-no! Nothing… It's n-not like that!" Deku's face burned.

"Well, have fun Midoriya-kun." Okumura Sr. chuckled. His nephew didn't even bother hiding his snickering at Deku's expense. "I hope it goes well."

After more assurances that it certainly wasn't like that, Deku managed to head towards the train.

It was a silly thought. Uraraka was a hero. No one like that would ever admire someone like him. Dating a part-time cashier was too far beneath someone as incredible as Uraraka. He shoved the thought as far out of his mind as he could and left it at that. There was no point in wishing for things that were impossible, right? Of course. Okumura-san didn't understand. She was too good for someone like him. Besides, she was just being his friend to help him out with his… issues. Not that he hated her for that. If it wasn't for Uraraka, he'd be alone.

Lunch was further than he would have liked, but it wasn't surprising. Creati was a high-class person and meeting anywhere he was used to was out of the question. He'd worn a long sleeve shirt that was passably nice, in place of his usual baggy clothes. It bothered him more than it should have but wearing his sweatshirts to a place like that would embarrass Uraraka.

He wouldn't dare do that, after everything she'd done for him.

The café was nice. It had a receptionist. He fought off the suspicion that she was disapproving of him as she headed down the hall to a private room. A spike of fear and nausea pierced and rolled through him as he stared at the door. She opened it with a (suddenly nefarious seeming) smile and bowed politely before leaving him in the hall. Once he'd gathered up the courage, he stepped inside and began a greeting, only for the words to turn to ash on his tongue.

Uraraka's expression was strained, but pleasant. He knew that expression well from when she forced herself not to ask about him. Despite that, she seemed well.

Beside Uraraka was a woman who was, without a doubt, more beautiful than anyone he'd ever seen in person. She wore a nice blouse and a skirt, tailored and nicer than anything Deku had ever owned before. Her long black hair was pulled into a bun, leaving her bangs to drape across part of her face. Dark brown eyes took in everything about him in an instant, and he was written off as quickly as ever. She was more worried about the other two people in the room, and he didn't blame her at all.

The third person was a young man, broader than Deku but roughly the same height if not shorter. Glasses sat perched on a squarish nose, hiding dark blue eyes beneath gleaming dark blue hair. His jaw was firm, and clenched tightly, despite the small smile he was forcing. Muscle was bound tightly to his wide frame, obvious despite his loose-fitting short sleeved shirt and slacks. A cane sat close by. Most people may ask about the cane or ask after Iida Tenya's health. Deku didn't need to do either.

Iida Tenya was someone Deku kept a very close eye on. He was certain that Iida didn't know him, and shouldn't know him, and definitely shouldn't be in the room looking at him with that tense expression. He would have run, if any part of him would listen to his brain. A foot rested on the raised floor of the private room, poised for him to step up. Everyone in the room could tell he'd frozen after meeting eyes with Iida.

"Deku-kun… Um, sorry, but…" Uraraka trailed off as Iida grabbed his cane and stood, limping towards the door. They never broke eye contact. Deku's paralysis ended with the first motion, though, and he'd slowly retreated towards the closed panel behind him.

"You're… Midoriya-san?" Iida's voice wasn't like he remembered. It was normal, if a bit dry. As if Iida was nervous. Deku wet his own lips on instinct. He didn't nod or move in response. "My apologies for intruding on your friendship with Uraraka-san, but I couldn't help myself. I felt that I had to meet with you."

Deku felt the world going dark around him. Iida's expression wasn't unreadable, but it was damn close. There was no kindness or fondness in that expression. He was in pain from looking at Deku, and Deku couldn't blame him for that. Black caved in around his vision.


Ochako was terrified.

When she saw him go still, she rushed across and tentatively touched his shoulder. He was unresponsive and beginning to hyperventilate. Momo appeared by her side, ushering Ochako out of the way and moving Deku so that he was sitting down.

"This was a bad idea, Ochako. He's having a flashback! Iida, stay where you are." Iida froze in place. The emotional turmoil on his face cut Ochako like a knife.

"What do you mean a flashback?" Ochako slid just out of the way, ready to be of use when Momo needed her. Momo looked shocked when she turned to face her.

"Ochako… You didn't know?" Ochako's eyes widened. Momo shook her head and kept moving. "Of course not… You wouldn't have let this happen if you'd known. I think Midoriya is having a PTSD flashback."

Ochako's world lurched sideways.

Why didn't I think of that…? PTSD fit almost all of the symptoms. She knew from experience that he was wrapped up in attacks almost once or twice a week. Being subject to discrimination, getting caught up in attacks like that, the scars

Why didn't I make that connection?

For ten long minutes Ochako watched Momo tend to Izuku. His eyes were like black pits, with barely any green in them. Iida watched from the table in obvious anguish. Suddenly Momo startled Ochako by grabbing her hand gently.

"Try talking to him. Maybe it will help bring him out of it." Ochako swallowed. Her throat was dry, she realized.

"Deku-kun…? Deku-kun!" She gently gripped his shoulder. Tears well in her eyes, still unbroken. "Please…"


Hosu was in flames. Sidekicks and heroes were evacuating the citizens, and beasts like that monster he'd seen on the news were terrorizing the area. Deku ducked through alleyway after alleyway. No one would listen to him, but these were the perfect conditions for another attack…

A scream cut through the night. Izuku's legs carried him toward it without any regard for what he would find, as always. He tripped, stumbling into the alley just as a bony man in rags pulled a katana from a body dressed in armor. Stain grinned maliciously. Trembling, watching as Stain licked the blood from his weapon, Izuku pulled out his phone and called the emergency hotline. Stain turned towards another person, a man dressed in brown clothes, and pulled his blade back, ready to stab down and end him.

"No…!" He ran out again, throwing his bag and charging into the alleyway without a second thought. Stain was no sludge villain. One hand caught the bag while the other blurred forward and slashed with his sword. That kind of speed was inhuman. Izuku trembled on the ground, staring up into the eyes of the Hero Killer. Luckily, he still clutched his phone and at some point he'd put it on speaker.

Words came from the phone, but they didn't sound like words. He said something, but the feeling of his jaw moving didn't make any sound he could understand. Stain pointed the katana at him with a leer. After a moment the villain walked off into the darkness, leaving Izuku there to watch Iida Tenya and Native to bleed out. Tears poured down his cheeks as he turned Iida over and began checking his vitals.

"You're not a hero…" Native's words cut Izuku enough that he paused while checking Iida. A second later his hands began the motions again, but static invaded his mind until he thought he would pass out.

"Deku-kun…? Deku-kun!"

He blinked. Someone had pushed his hair back and the light was too bright for his eyes. They weren't in an alley, smoke wasn't choking the city and Iida-san wasn't bleeding out. Yaoyorozu and Uraraka were staring at him with concern. It took him a moment before he realized that both of them were touching him and suddenly he was very aware of how close they were and that he'd probably just had another breakdown and…

"Deku-kun!" His hand jerked forward as Uraraka grabbed it. He hadn't even realized he was moving, probably to yank on his hair or bite his nails. Uraraka's eyes were full of unshed tears, though one or two were leaking out now. "I'm sorry Deku-kun…!"

"Eh… Uraraka-san?" He flushed as she threw herself forward and wrapped him in a hug. "Eh?! U-U-U-Ura…!"

Deku sat on the empty side of the table, flushed and hiding behind his bangs again. Uraraka looked drained, and though she wouldn't meet his eye she wasn't crying anymore. Yaoyorozu looked sufficiently drained and stressed that he was sure she'd hate him after such a meeting. Iida… Iida looked about as grim as before and then some. When Iida finally jerked onto his feet (as much as he could, given his injuries) and shuffled around towards him, Deku nearly leapt out of his skin in fright.

The bow took him by surprise.

"Thank you for everything!" Light slowly returned to his eyes. He blinked. "Without your assistance that night I may not be alive today. I should have met with you sooner and said as much, but… Thank you, Midoriya-san."

"Eh…?" Deku managed a squeak. Iida straightened up and extended a hand. The motion was sudden and jerky and all in straight lines. Was he...

"I'm sorry! Uraraka warned me that you're not one for surprises but I had to meet with you and thank you for being there that night."

"T-thank… me…?" Deku swallowed the block in his throat. "I-I didn't do anything…!"

"You called the paramedics and kept me stable. My memory isn't that great, but Native-san mentioned a young man leaping into the alley soon after I received my injury. Wasn't that you?"

"I…" Ice rolled through Deku's veins. It gripped his heart until it felt as if his chest were empty.

"Deku-kun." His eyes slid to Uraraka. She was glaring at him. "You can talk to me. To all of us."

"I agree. Iida-kun has only the best intentions." Yaoyorozu spoke up. She looked conflicted. Deku took a breath, counting silently to himself. After a few more tries, he managed to calm down enough to look Iida in the eye again.

"Y-you don't have to th-thank me." It was hard to look the other man in the eye. Deku felt like his spine would snap in half from the weight. The pained look on Iida's face deepened.

"Thanking you is the least I can do for saving my life." Deku wanted to say that it wasn't. Words formed in his brain, then froze and melted to nothing the next moment. He couldn't say anything against it, or he knew Iida and Uraraka wouldn't want him to say anything against it, so he didn't. Iida nodded and swallowed, apparently satisfied to have said his piece. Now they waited for the silence to clear.


The silence lingered and threatened to choke her. Deku looked like a scared rabbit even after Iida returned to his seat. Ochako wanted to help, but… She was still dealing with the hurricane in her gut. Every time she thought Deku couldn't get any more worrisome, or any more amazing, she stumbled upon something else that only made it worse.

"Sorry for surprising you like this, Deku-kun."

"I-it's… Uh, Y-you didn't d-do anything wrong." He forced a horrible smile. Part of her wanted to laugh and the other wanted to cry.

"Uraraka-san and Yaoyorozu-san had nothing to do with it, Midoriya-san. I asked them to set this up despite Uraraka-san's assurances that you may be uncomfortable. My apologies…"

"R-really it's f-fine…" Deku broke in. "I c-can't b-blame… Y-you must have really f-felt like- You wanted to meet me…"

"Yes." Iida breathed. Ochako watched carefully. A few little signs of tension began to disappear from his expression. "Very much so. I was amazed that such a coincidence arose."

"I-I, p-p-pretty m- It is weird, isn't it…" Deku chuckled weakly. He was trembling now, which sent up an alarm flag.

"Deku-kun, are you…" He nodded.

"I… Th-there's times w-when I get flashbacks… The d-doctors say it's minor P-PTSD. N-normally I'm okay unless, unless- Trains are b-bad. B-but I'm okay. Th-the shaking will p-pass."

Ochako felt her throat tighten up. Maybe she'd been against the plan, but Iida…

No, I'm the one who asked him here. I did this. She turned her eyes to the floor.

"Uraraka-san, I'm fine! P-please don't look like that…"

"I should've guessed that… I've seen the scars…" She murmured. A hiss escaped Deku. Ochako felt the knot in her chest tighten even further.

"Todoroki-san mentioned that." He sighed. Ochako chewed her lip.

"Ah, Midoriya-san, your stutter…" Momo piped up.

"It comes and goes… I, Todoroki-san and- He brought it up before our lunch. That you'd all seen the scars, I mean. He was curious." Deku paused, let out a little breath. Ochako thought it was a laugh. "You're all really nice… I'm not used to that."

"Midoriya…" Iida choked.

"Ah, sorry. That got a little odd. Eh, what I should be saying… Um… I'm not surprised that Iida heard about me. I worried about it for a while. Y-you guys don't know me b-but one of your classmates was an a-acquaintance of mine. I thought it would be him first. Honestly I'm not sure if this is better."

"You knew one of our friends?" Momo asked.

"Bakugo-san. We grew up together. I doubt he'd remember me at all. B-but that's not important! Um… Iida-san, I wasn't able to do anything for you. You would've been fine without my interference. All I did was get another scar and get scolded by the police. Native-san, as well." Deku sniffed. Ochako looked away from the floor. Across the table Deku was smiling, but there was something fragile and miserable about that smile. It was the kind of smile that had piqued her interest the first time, every time she'd seen him before they were actually friends. That smile cracked her heart. Judging from the way the temperature dropped around the table, she wasn't the only one who felt that way. "I'm not a hero, Iida-san. You all are heroes."

"Deku-kun, what do you mean you got a scar?" Ochako blurted. She pictured the map of scars that she'd seen, and one long one across his chest. "You- You mean Stain…"

"Midoriya-san, if you were injured…"

"I'm fine!" Deku blurted out. One hand idly gripped his shirt over the left side of his chest, confirming her suspicions. "I know some first aid… Enough to take care of myself. That wasn't supposed to be the point…"

"Midoriya-san, if you were hurt in my defense then I owe you an apology…!"

"Iida-kun, I don't think Midoriya-kun would like that." Ochako, Iida and Deku all turned to look at Momo in surprise. She gave them a little smile. "Well, he already had one difficult time today, so it seems someone should be listening to what Midoriya-kun is saying."

"Y-Yaoyorozu-san…" Deku breathed. Ochako felt a little heat in her cheeks at the way he said it.

"I suppose I haven't been listening to Midoriya-san's words entirely, have I… I may not agree…" Iida stiffened and gestured as lightly as Ochako had ever seen, as if trying to hold himself in check. "With your opinion of yourself, but I will do my best to respect your wish to avoid any more ceremony!"

"Thank you…" Deku laughed. This time it was a little more honest. Ochako felt the darkness dissipate a bit.

"On that note, Midoriya-san…" Iida swallowed and bowed his head. "May I ask for your friendship? Hearing that you get along with the others in our class has made me hope for that same relationship with you."


Momo and Ochako parted at the train station. She was exhausted from the whirlwind of emotions, but the ache in her cheeks told her it was worth it. As they broke their hug, Momo grinned.

"Midoriya-kun is special, isn't he?" Ochako tilted her head.

"What do you mean?" Momo's grin waned as her expression turned wistful.

"He seems… different. At first, I thought he was just somebody who needed a helping hand. But after hearing Todoroki-kun talk about him, and now Iida-kun seems different too. I can't deny I'm a bit curious as well! There's just something about him." Ochako grinned.

"Yeah. He's something else. I'm not really sure what it is, to be honest." Momo pulled her into another hug suddenly and whispered in her ear.

"I hope you find out, Ochako-chan." Ochako stared as her friend drifted towards her train line with a mischievous smile. Her cheeks burned a little, but she smiled nonetheless.

"They really aren't going to let this go, huh?"