Hell of a month, eh? A lot of people voted on who Izuku should talk to and it was really close. A bit of a shorter chapter this time because once I hit a certain point my instincts told me "end it here" so I did.

Review time:

ronnambi, Thomaster, Renegade Remade, Inquisitor Fenharel, StorySmith405, uchihaNaruto247, Peregrine123, musicalwatcher99, Death of Snipers, Ramses II, ProjectIceman, Alceric Illixidor, D3lph0xL0v3r, Dright Lore, Dragon Man 180, Animeguy1101, The Incredible Muffin, ILiekFishes, Melancholy's Sunshine, The Keeper of Worlds, Brankinovich_sama, jaciro500, Batmarcus, DragonStorm88, Radical sandwiches, Constipated Genius, StandupSitdown, heroman45, Malchior, YupityYupYup, tacktician, sunsetskywrites, Bay Pipefish, Aguion12, Eramis8, Kaiser Chris, The 0bservanc3, SnarglebossXD: Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. There were a lot of really well-reasoned points that people made and I'm always pleased at the level of community feedback that I get when I ask for it. The actual tally will be posted in the post-chapter A/N for those who are interested.

ronnambi, Thomaster, Inquisitor Fenharel, Peregrine123, Death of Snipers, ProjectIceman, Dragon Man 180, Animeguy 1101, The Incredible Muffin, Batmarcus, Constipated Genius, StandupSitdown, tacktician, Bay Pipefish, Kaiser Chris, The 0bservanc3, AuthorOfTheFall: There are characters who will just eat up an entire chapter if you let them and Denki is certainly one of them. If anyone had told me when I first started this fic that he'd be where he is now, I'd have laughed at them. He's really come into his own and I'm pleased to see that my readers enjoy him as much as I do.

Renegade Remade: I actually have an idea for one of these techniques. I almost had him use it in the Stain fight, but then I realized it would've given him an out and he needed to lose that one.

Death of Snipers: Denki's hacking of the P.A. system was more due to his equipment than his Quirk, but he is certainly getting better at precise control. I don't think he'll ever really be able to use it at a distance without assistance from gear though, since that's one of his main weaknesses.

Animeguy1101: Denki and Izuku being voted in as Class President/Vice President was not planned. I tallied up votes based on how I felt the characters would vote at that point in the story, first for nominations then for voting. I was as surprised as everyone else with how it turned out and it ended up with Denki being one of the fic favorites, for the readers as well as myself.

Frogboss1101: The reason why he doesn't do more with his lighter is because it's not actually necessary unless he wants to start a fire. He uses it as a front for why he can use his 5% no-fire smashes, since OFA is still a secret. He pretends that it just takes a really, really small amount of fuel to use them, hence the lighter.

StandupSitdown: Kyoka was indeed listening to Denki's heartbeats.

The 0bservanc3: This was the first reveal as to who Denki was interning under. I deliberately didn't mention it so it would be a surprise (also because I hadn't decided yet). Insofar as I'm aware, Akihabara's nickname is something like "The Electric City." A bit on the nose maybe, but were else would he be from, right? I would imagine that plugging her Earphone Jack directly into a device gives Kyoka the best audio quality, yes.

Based on the research I did regarding apartment sizes in Japan, 380 sqft is one step above the smallest, which is about 290 sqft. If you google "japanese apartment size" the first result should show the page I looked at (aptsDOTjp). It even has floor plans! The leopard-print blanket is actually canon. You can see it when he's showing off his room. In fact, pretty much everything I described about his room is canon. Kyoka did indeed intern with Death Arms in canon. We get to see a scene with her helping him rescue people.

Brightwizard21, dragonfox123, zorgon873, 808Joker808, Guest, Notsae, Curse Of Kings, Korog the Oversoul, annea101, Batros940, Blaze1992, mattywilkss, LegendaryMob, White Keyblade Oathkeeper, chickenbass and everyone else: Thank you and I hope that you continue to enjoy!

Now to see who Izuku has decided to talk to.


Chapter Sixty-Two: Déjà Vu

The last couple days of Izuku Midoriya's internship were something of a muddled blur. Given the round of injuries that had been accrued during the Hosu incident, Endeavor elected to spend the remainder of their time at his agency where he showed them more of the administrative side of things. He covered topics such as following up on leads, coordinating with law enforcement, how to tell small-time criminals from those worth pursuing and other such areas of interest.

Really, it was all very educational and highly useful. Izuku dutifully paid attention and added to his notebook during breaks and when the day was over.

But none of it really stuck with him. He would learn something and only the next day find that he needed to scan his notes to recall it. Each time this happened, he remembered Kaminari's advice and resolved to follow it at the soonest opportunity.

Endeavor had apparently noticed that something was amiss too, as he told Izuku he would be letting him off Sunday morning instead of Sunday evening in order to give him some time to recover.

Izuku had spent a good deal of time trying to decide who he would go to first. He would likely end up discussing his encounter with the Hero Killer with multiple people when all was said and done, but he knew that the first time he did so would be important. This would be different than with Endeavor or the police, where he was simply stating the facts as they occurred and was able to maintain a certain level of emotional disconnect. This time he would be just…letting it all out.

Among the first people he thought of were his mother and Kacchan. They would each be there for him if he asked; Izuku had no doubts. Hell, Kacchan had barely caught wind of the situation when he already knew that something would be wrong and the first thing he did was reach out to see how bad it was. As for his mom, well, she was his mom. He would never need a reason to go to her about something. Anything.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't go to either of them first for the same reason: It would be too much. Kacchan had been freaking out even without knowing the specifics. There was no telling what he would do if he had to deal with Izuku's emotions on top of his own. As the more level-headed of the two, it was historically Izuku's place to calm his friend down, which he would be in no position to do this time.

When it came to his mother, well…they were too much alike. When she heard what had happened and saw how deeply it had affected her son, she would burst into tears and, once that was done, she would want nothing more than to prevent such a thing from happening to him ever again. This would lead her to question his desire to head into Heroics, which would in turn lead him to having to convince her to let him continue. He could do it, but the overall results would be much better if he was able to talk to her about it when he was in a better mental and emotional state.

After all, traumatic though the experience may have been, Izuku had never once considered changing career paths. If anything, it had only reinforced his conviction that being a Hero was what he wanted to do. He could not, would not put someone else in the same position he had been in through his own negligence. It came with the job and he understood that.

He just…needed help coping with it.

That line of thinking had brought him to a different set of people: Heroes. His teachers. His mentors. Endeavor was the most immediately present, since he was currently interning under him and spending his nights in the man's home. It wasn't as thought he man refused to speak about the event either. To the contrary, he had made sure that Izuku and Shoto knew that they had acted according to their responsibilities and had done well for themselves.

"There is nobody in their right mind who would have expected anything more. You survived, passed along important information and prevented the Hero Killer from claiming more victims that night. The first alone is more than many full-fledged Heroes can claim. What you must do now is take this experience and learn from it."

It was clear that the Number Two Hero understood. At the same time, he was not the sort of man who was likely to provide what Izuku was seeking emotionally.

All Might was the obvious choice, really. The Symbol of Peace had more than his share of experience as a Hero and had dealt with his share of hardship over the years, much like Endeavor. Unlike the Flame Hero, however, he was more than willing to get down on his knee and have a heart-to-heart with his protégé. He would be able to provide the fatherly touch that Izuku hadn't known since he was small.

He was the obvious choice. He was the objectively correct choice.

Yet Izuku hesitated. For half a day he struggled to understand why he was reluctant to go to his mentor once his internship was over and have this talk with him.

Then he realized what it was: nerves and pride.

He's seen me too weak too often. We met that way, then I trained and made it into U.A. I went to him after USJ and broke down, then I got stronger and got this internship. After that, I'd be going to him again, arguably worse off than I've been before. It's a pattern. I have a moment of weakness, rebound, then have one that's even worse. I know he doesn't see it that way. It's just me being dumb. I know that.

I know that but…if I go to him now, I'd hold back. I'd be worrying that he'll see the pattern and start to second-guess things. I can't do that. I can't go to him like that.

He needed someone who wouldn't fly off the handle. Someone who wouldn't try to protect him. Someone who wouldn't try to fix him. Someone who wouldn't try to teach him.

Someone who would just be there.

So it was that Izuku excused himself after dinner Saturday evening, saying that he was going to go for a walk around the Todoroki estate and get some air before bed. When he was reasonably out of earshot, he pulled out his phone, selected the person he needed and held it up to his ear as the call connected.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ochako. Are you busy?"

"Izuku, hi! No, I'm just clearing my stuff out of the locker Gunhead's been letting me use. He's giving me Sunday off, saying I've done a good job and earned a break before I go back to school."

"Oh wow, really?"

"Yep! Just you wait, I'll be kicking all kinds of butt at our next club meeting! But enough about me, what's up with you?"

"Well, it just so happens that Endeavor is letting me off a day early too, so I was wondering if we could get together and…talk."

It had come out forced. He could feel it as soon as the words left his lips. The silence on the other end told him that she had heard it too.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, we need to take our costumes back to U.A. within twenty-four hours of our internships ending, which for you and me is tonight. Since we have to make a trip there tomorrow anyway, why not meet up there?"

"Sure. When were you thinking?"

"I was planning on going in the morning, since I'll be leaving from Todoroki's house."

"Same time as we'd usually get there then?"

"If you don't mind getting up that early on a Sunday, that is."

"I'll make an exception. Just for you." she joked.

"I appreciate it. See you in the morning."

"Izuku?"

"Yes?"

"Are you…is everything alright?"

He wanted to tell her. Right then and there, he wanted to tell her everything.

But if he started, he wouldn't be able to stop and he didn't want to do that over the phone.

"Goodnight, Ochako."

"Yeah. 'Night."

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

Ochako Uraraka was having an uncanny sense of déjà vu as she exited her apartment that morning, suitcase containing her Hero Costume in-tow. She was filled with a sense of foreboding. A tension that made her want to rush to her destination because she knew in her gut that it was serious, no matter what Izuku said.

Regardless of what she wanted, the train's schedule wouldn't suddenly change, so Ochako forced herself to maintain her usual pace.

It felt a bit strange to be heading to U.A. without her uniform and backpack. She tried to distract herself by focusing on idle thoughts like that, but it didn't really help.

Once she had arrived at her station, Ochako took off towards U.A. at a run. She even used her Quirk on her suitcase so it wouldn't slow her down.

She arrived at the Hero Academy early. That was fine. She would rather wait for Izuku than make him wait for her. Her gaze drifted across the empty grounds as she looked for a good spot, but when she reached the edge, she froze.

It was then, as she saw a boy sitting on a bench underneath a large tree, elbows on his knees and face in his hands, that Ochako realized where her feeling of déjà vu was coming from.

How long had he been there? How early had he arrived? How little sleep had he gotten?

Ochako walked hurriedly over to Izuku, deactivating her Quirk and dropping her suitcase on the ground by the bench as she knelt down to put her hands on his shoulders.

"Izuku?"

He looked up at her and Ochako felt her heart clench. He was exhausted. His back was hunched, his shoulders were slumped, his smile was barely there, but it was his eyes that said the most. They looked dull and distant with bags under them and it took him a moment to focus on her.

"Ochako…good morning."

"Izuku, I need you to tell me what's wrong and I need you to tell me right now, okay?"

"Uraraka-san, I need you to tell me what's wrong and I need you to tell me right now, okay?"

"How much do you know about what happened in Hosu?"

Of course it was going to be about that. She should have known from the way he told them all not to worry that something had happened. As she recalled what she had been told about the incident, she became aware of a strange sensation coming from his left shoulder.

Bandages. He's bandaged up under his shirt!

"Not much, if I'm being honest." she replied, "I saw the news and asked Gunhead about it. He showed me the police report, so I knew that you were involved, but you had already messaged everyone saying you were okay, so I was more or less prepared for it."

"And the video?"

There it was.

"I've heard rumors about it, but I haven't seen it. From what I'd heard, well…I wasn't sure if I wanted to." she searched his gaze for a moment before adding, "But, if it'll help me understand, I'll watch it."

She didn't ask him if he had it. It was obvious that he would. He'd probably forced himself to watch it at least a dozen times.

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded and pulled out his phone, fiddling with it for a bit before handing it over.

Ochako kept her face deliberately expressionless as she watched the recording. Izuku couldn't see it, but the way his lips pursed or his eyes twitched at certain points told her that he had memorized it to the point where he knew it by sound alone. Before long, it was over and he took his phone back, stowing it in his pocket as she tried to figure out what to say.

"I failed." the words were flat, devoid of all inflection.

"No, you didn't-"

"Everyone keeps saying that!" he snapped, apparently unable to keep his façade going, "'You did everything you could,' or 'nobody blames you.' I blame me and so should everyone else!"

Ochako was momentarily stunned by his sudden outburst and found herself unable to respond as he grabbed her shoulders and gave her a pleading look.

"I was there. It happened right in front of me. I let him die, Ochako!" he released his grip and held up his hands, looking at them with a grimace, "There was nothing more I could have done? Nobody would have expected it? Tell that shit to Native! To his friends! To his family!" his breathing had gotten quicker and his voice was starting to crack, "There's always something else…always! That's what Plus Ultra means! A Hero, a real Hero, always finds a way! Even if it means getting hurt! Even if it means choosing between their own life and the people they're trying to save!"

*Smack*

Izuku found himself cut off, and subsequently made weightless, by the sharp slap Ochako had delivered to his face. She seized his wrists to stop him from going too far and fixed him with the angriest look she could muster while trying not to cry due to hearing him talk like that.

"Don't say that! Don't you ever say that! What good can you do if you're dead?! What about your friends?! Your family?!"

He stared dumbly at her, still in shock.

"It happens sometimes. I'm not stupid enough to think it doesn't." Ochako continued, "Heroes get hurt. Heroes die. Sometimes it's because of a Villain and sometimes it's because they sacrificed themselves to save others. But," she tugged him down and gripped his head, making sure he was looking at her, "I refuse to believe it's ever on purpose. Everyone wants to live and it's their right to fight for it. For a Hero, though, it's their duty. They need to be the ones who get up again and again and fight until the fighting's done. So…" she released her Quirk and Izuku landed awkwardly on the bench, "don't say things like that. Don't let it even be an option."

She wrapped her arms around him, not knowing what else to say. All she could do was hope that she had reached him.

For a few moments. A few terrible moments, he didn't react.

"I'm sorry."

It came out quietly. If she hadn't been so close, she wouldn't have heard it.

"I'm sorry."

Shaking hands found her back and pulled her close.

"I'm sorry."

A wet patch began to form on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

He said it over and over and Ochako knew he wasn't just saying it to her. He was repenting in the only way he knew how and he would keep saying it until he felt he had said enough or his throat ran dry.

She would stay with him for as long as he needed.

Just like he had done for her.

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

A long while later, Izuku felt drained, but in a good way. It wasn't the sort of haunted exhaustion that had been plaguing him since Hosu. Rather, it was that he had finally managed to let it all out.

After his initial bout of tears had subsided, he had relived the events for Ochako as he had originally intended to do. He told her how afraid he had been, how much he had struggled, how helpless he had felt and everything else about the incident.

The whole time she had been there, maintaining contact either by having an arm around him or just her hand in his. She had anchored him enough that he could just vent.

His sudden surge of anger had been something he hadn't realized he had been holding on to, but once it had passed, he understood it: With nobody blaming him and no consequences for his failure, he didn't have any outlet for the guilt he felt. Being praised only for surviving when he wanted to become someone whose job it was to protect everyone didn't sit right with him. So, with a lack of anyone who was angry with him, he became angry at himself.

Ochako, knowingly or not, had given him exactly what he needed when she slapped some sense into him and gave him an earful.

"I'd originally planned to spend the day together, but I think I need a nap." he half-joked.

"You could come over to my place if you want. Wash your face, have a nap, let me make you lunch? We could watch a movie or something."

"That sounds really, really nice right now. If you don't mind, that is."

"If I did, I wouldn't have offered." she chuckled and gave him a small shove, "Come on, let's get these costumes back to the lockers and then we can go."

They didn't run into anyone else, which Izuku was grateful for given how he must have looked. They took a detour to the restroom so he could splash some water on his face before they made their way to the train station.

"Is your mom going to wonder where you are?" Ochako wondered as they waited.

"Actually, I haven't told her that Endeavor let me go early. She's not expecting me back until evening." he admitted, "I didn't want her to think that anything was wrong."

"Was I…the first one you talked to?"

"Well, I had to make a statement to the police and before that Endeavor wanted a rundown of what happened, but…"

"Those were more fact, less feeling."

"Yeah. Honestly, in the immediate aftermath, it didn't feel all that bad. I was hurt, obviously, but I always had something that needed to be done. Something else to focus on. I even slept pretty well that night, as bad as that sounds. It wasn't until the next day that it really…hit me."

"You shouldn't have waited that long to talk to someone."

"Yeah, I know. I spent a while just trying to figure out who would be best. I thought of you after a day or so, but I didn't want to bother you while you were still doing your own internship."

"…Dummy."

"Yeah."

They arrived at Ochako's apartment shortly thereafter and Izuku took a moment to clean himself up before she pointed him to the bed, saying she was going to go stock up on food and she'd wake him up when lunch was ready. He was too tired to argue and within a minute of taking his place on the bed, he was dead to the world.


Like I said, short chapter, but when I got there my gut just said "stop here." I tried to write more but none of it felt right.

The results of the votes, in order from most to least:

Ochako - 12

All Might - 11

Katsuki - 8

Endeavor/Inko - 5

Aizawa - 3

Mitsuki/Fumikage/Shoto/Tenya - 2

Fuyumi/Hound Dog/Other Izuku/Mezzo - 1

Endeavor had an early lead, then it was a three-way tie between Katsuki, Ochako and All Might, then All Might and Ochako were neck-and-neck right up until the end. Izuku will absolutely still be talking to other people, All Might and Katsuki included, and hopefully the reasons I gave in-story for him not going to them first were believable.

Like my writing? Want to see what I can do with an original work? Consider supporting me via my Pat_reon, Fires of Creation. Just google "fires of creation pat_reon" with the underscore removed.

Special thanks to The 0bservance, Fallenasgardian, Hyper and everyone else who is already supporting me in this way!

Next time, it's back to U.A. and Izuku has an important talk with All Might. It's also the start of a huge time gap in canon, so I'll have to figure out something to do with that (seriously, basically nothing happens until the last week of June). I won't cover the whole month in detail, since I want to keep things moving as much as everyone else, but I won't be skipping it either.

And as always, thank you for reading!