Disclaimer: The following story is a fan-based work of fiction. My Hero Academia is the creation of Kohei Horikoshi.

Please feel free to review. Always looking to improve.

"Talking"

"Talking on the Phone"

'Thought'

Text: Message

"Plantagonizor Voice"

Chapter Seven: The Young Heroes vs. The Plant-Legion

Endor Community Park, early afternoon….

Eri wasn't expecting something like this. Today was supposed to be about her and Big Brother Izuku making friends with a few of Ochako's classmates from UA and spending the day having fun getting to know all of them.

Tsu and Eijiro were very nice, just like Ochako. At the arcade, Eijiro would play any game she wanted. And she and Tsu would draw pictures together. And when they got to the park, Tsu gave her a ride on her back and hopped around the playground. That was so much fun.

Then there were Mina and Toru. Since she met them, they were constantly showering her with affection. Mina even told her that because of her horn, she reminded her of a Unicorn. Eri didn't mind that at all. She liked Unicorns. At one point, Eri asked Toru if she was a ghost and if that was why she couldn't see her. But Toru told her that it was just her Invisibility Quirk and that she couldn't turn it off. Eri couldn't help but notice that Toru sounded a little sad when she told her that, which the little girl couldn't help but give her new friend a hug for comfort.

Tenya was very nice…. but weird. The way he used so many fancy or big words and chopped the air made her think he might be a robot at first. But Eri got used to it and thought he was funny. She also thought it was cool that he was the little brother of a real Superhero! Since she saw Izuku as her Superhero, that made her think she and Tenya had something in common!

And up until a few minutes ago, things had been great. But then….

"EVERYBODY RUN!"

"THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!"

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

"WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?!"

"THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

A villain attacked. Everyone in the park was screaming in terror and running for their lives. And now, she was being carried to safety by Toru while the others either fought the plant monsters or helped the people evacuate.

But all little Eri could think about at that moment was whether or not Izuku and Ochako were safe. She knew Ochako was an amazing Heroine-in-training and Big Brother Izuku could fight these things off if he needed to thanks to his martial arts training.

But she was still scared and worried about them. Even if Toru and the others had told her everything was going to be alright. She could only hope they were right and that her big brother was safe. He just had to be….

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!"

A large humanoid plant/soil-man-creature let out a terrifying roar, causing fear and panic among the park-goers.

"OH MY GOD! SOMEBODY HELP!" A man in a business suit was cornered by a group of the Plant-Monsters. He was so frightened, he couldn't do anything to defend himself. But then….

*THUD*

*SPLAT*

Several of the creatures fell over and crumbled into pieces! Eijiro arrived just in time! Using his hardening ability along with a series of chops and punches to cleave through the creatures like they were tissue paper.

"I'll getcha outta here!" The young hard-skinned Hero picked the man up and carried him over his shoulder away from the creatures.

Meanwhile, Mina was busy saving a small family from another hoard of the monsters. Using her acid to melt them while being careful to keep the family behind her so as not to accidentally hurt them with her power.

"Don't worry folks! I'll clear the way for ya!" She said, as she sprayed even more acid, making a path right down the center of the hoard! She moved slowly, allowing the family of four to follow closely behind her.

Another group of Plant-Monsters surrounded a young couple, leaving no room for them to run. Tsu leaped at three of the creatures and delivered a spinning kick to their heads, causing them to fall over and crumble!

"This way! Hurry! Ribbit."

The pair ran over to her, past the remaining creatures. Tsu wrapped her arms and tongue around the two and took one great leap away from the creatures.

Ochako and Tenya arrived as more of the creatures emerged from the ground. Since she was still weightless due to using her Quirk on herself, Ochako had Tenya toss her at a small gaggle of the Plant-Monsters. She positioned herself to deliver a flying kick and deactivated her Quirk. She made contact, knocking several of them over!

Tenya zoomed past Ochako, destroying several more creatures with a series of punches as he ran by them. He noticed three young boys cowering in fear near a water fountain. "Fear not, children!" He dashed over, picked the kids up, and ran towards the park entrance to get them to safety. "You are safe now!"

Luckily for the young Heroes-in-training, the Plant-Creatures weren't sentient and went down easily, so there was no need to hold back. The problem was, there were too many of them and there were still civilians to save. Plus, the closest Pro-Heroes were preoccupied with another villain attack and a fire several blocks away, which meant they had to deal with the situation themselves.

Just a short distance from them, the villain stood there, looking menacing, conjuring more Plant-Creatures from the ground, and shouting out to the park.

"THAT'S RIGHT, COWARDS! RUN!"

More people ran in fear at the sight of more creatures emerging from the ground.

"WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?! ARE MY POWERS A JOKE NOW?!"

More and more creatures sprouted….

"IS THIS COOL ENOUGH FOR YOU?! AM I STILL LAME?!"

In greater numbers each time.

"NOBODY WILL MESS WITH ME EVER AGAIN! NOBODY WILL MESS WITH…. THE PLANTAGONIZOR!"

Ochako turned and looked at the giant plant/soil-man-creature. She had a feeling this guy wasn't your typical Supervillain. 'He sounds almost like…. a kid...'

His appearance was quite something. He was about 12 feet tall and had a very thick build. He resembled a pile of dirt, grass, sticks, and shrubbery that was molded into a humanoid shape, with two arms, two legs, a head, and a torso. He had glowing green eyes and a large gaping toothless mouth, but nothing else in the way of facial features. His distorted voice however resembled that of an angry child lashing out at the world.

But nevertheless, people ran from him in terror as he conjured up more smaller humanoid creatures made of dirt and grass from the park's soil. But still, the young Heroes-in-training pressed on! Rescuing the civilians and getting them to safety, all the while fighting off the villain's mindless minions! This was what they trained for after all.

Meanwhile, just outside the tunnel the center of the park….

Izuku had just finished putting on his costume and ran out of the opposite side of the tunnel, ready for action! And just in time, too. A mother and her little boy were cornered by a trio of Plant-Creatures near an art sculpture! He ran towards them and delivered a flying roundhouse kick to the creatures' heads, causing each of them to fall over and crumble!

"Are you two OK?"

"We are now." The woman stood and picked her son up, holding him close. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem, Miss." Izuku smiled at them. "There's a maintenance shed over there." He pointed at a small wooden shack next to the sidewalk. "You should be safe there. I'll send someone to find you when this is all over."

"OK." The older woman started making her way over to the shack with her son, but stopped to look back at the green-clad boy with a grateful smile. "Thank you so much, Rabbit Man!"

"Go kick their butts, Green Guy!" Her son exclaimed, excitedly pumping his fists.

Izuku nodded and flashed the kid a thumbs-up. He turned and ran to assist Ochako and her friends. 'Ochako! You protected me and stopped the Jaguar Villain by yourself last night! Now, it's my turn to help you!'

Meanwhile, with Ochako and the other young Heroes….

"HAI-YAH!" Ochako exclaimed as she kicked one of the Plant-Creatures in half. She'd made several of them float and was going all out with her martial arts on them! After they were all broken into smaller pieces, she canceled her Quirk and moved onto the next bunch in her sights.

This had been going on for several minutes now and there seemed to be no end in sight, as more of the Plant-Monsters erupted from the soil and started marching. Luckily, all of the civilians had been evacuated thanks to the police and park workers.

"HELP ME!"

Or so they thought. Ochako looked over in the direction of the voice she heard and saw a frightened little girl with blond hair, pointed ears, and a set of wings on her back, huddled against the water fountain. She was cornered by a Plant-Monster twice the size of the others.

Ochako sprinted towards the monster from behind, tapped it with her fingertips, causing it to float with her Quirk. She then grabbed the creature by its leg and tossed it, canceling her Quirk and causing the creature to hit the ground and fall apart! She then turned to the little girl to make sure she was alright.

"Don't worry, Sweetie." Ochako flashed the girl a bright, reassuring smile. "Everything's gonna be OK."

The little girl smiled back as Ochako picked her up. "Thank you, Ms. Hero-Lady!"

"OCHAKO! BEHIND YOU!" Tenya shouted, occupied with several of the creatures himself.

The Zero Gravity Heroine turned around to see the creature she'd just beaten reconstitute itself and stand up, raising its arms, ready to attack. Ochako held the girl close, ready to shield her from harm. But then….

"HAH!"

A familiar green figure charged at the creature, knocked it over…. and it fell apart again. Ochako looked up to see the green-clad "local legend", legitimately happy to see him.

"Are you two alright?"

"We're fine now thanks to you!" Ochako smiled at the boy who'd come to her aide yet again.

The little girl smiled in awe of the young green Hero before her. "Thank you, Mr. Bunny-Man!"

Izuku grinned at the little one. He knew that smile. It was the same kind of smile Eri gave him. The same smile he had as a kid whenever he watched All-Might on the computer or TV. A smile that came from seeing a Hero.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!"

The moment was disrupted when the Plant/Dirt Villain let out another roar. This one, however…. made him sound more like he was in pain!

"I just wanted to make the flowers grow…."

He fell to his knees….

"I wanted to make something pretty…."

He hunched over, holding himself up with his hands….

"So I could make her smile…. for being my friend…."

Izuku observed the villain's behavior and then heard what sounded like…. sobbing. 'Is he….'

'...crying?' Ochako had the exact same thought.

"Shiro…."

Izuku looked at the little girl in Ochako's arms. Tears were forming in her eyes as she stared at the humanoid creature made of soil and plants. 'Wait….'

"But…."

The creature clenched his huge hands.

"they just…."

He slowly rose to his feet.

"had to…."

He stood up straight.

"push me!"

His eyes glowed brighter than before.

"Now…. THEY'RE GONNA PAY!"

The figure raised his arms with his hands wide open! This time, all of the pieces of the defeated creatures converged into ten large mounds. Once they stopped, they formed into even bigger and bulkier Plant-Monsters, each at least twice as large as the one Ochako and Izuku had just defeated. At the same time, several chunks of the other defeated creatures reconstituted into their previous forms, as if they hadn't been destroyed before!

"THEY'RE ALL GONNA PAY!"

The young Heroes looked around at the site before them. They were completely surrounded and outnumbered by the Plant-Monsters, none of the Pros were able to come help them, and they had to keep this frightened little girl safe because there was no clear path to get her to safety! The best they could do was hope they could hold out long enough for help to arrive.

Meanwhile, just outside the park….

Toru held Eri close as she and all of the evacuated civilians watched closely as the police tried to figure out what to do about the situation inside the park. All the transparent girl could think about was how her friends were doing.

She knew Ochako and the others could take care of themselves and were more than likely dealing with the situation until the Pros arrived. Luckily, Ochako had sent a text to let her and Eri know that Izuku was safe and out of harm's way.

"Toru?"

The transparent girl looked at Eri. The little one looked so worried.

"Do you think Izuku, Ochako, and the others will be OK?"

Toru felt so helpless. She wanted to go back in and help the others, but she couldn't leave Eri alone. She couldn't even offer a reassuring smile due to her inability to turn off her Quirk. All she could do was hold her close and try to comfort the little one as best as she could.

"Don't worry, Eri. I'm sure they're fine."

She looked back at the park entrance. Despite reassuring the little girl in her arms that everything would be alright, she was still worried for her friends. They might have been Heroes-in-training, but she was still scared for them.

'Please be safe, guys….'

Inside the park….

"HAH!"

Tenya delivered an engine-powered spinning roundhouse kick to one of the larger Plant-Creatures, causing it to fall over and break in half. Once he landed however, both halves of the creature reformed into two smaller ones!

The others were having similar problems. Eijiro and Tsu broke several of them into pieces, but they just reconstituted! Mina melted three with her acid, nine more sprouted from the ground to replace them! Ochako made a larger one weightless, then dropped it and crumbled it when she returned it's gravity, it just split up and formed several smaller ones! Izuku punched, chopped, and kicked four, causing them to break apart, the pieces just came together to form a bigger one!

"This is getting us nowhere!" Tenya yelled to the others. "We have to subdue the villain!"

"He's right!" Izuku turned to Ochako. "It's the only way to stop these things!"

"LOOK OUT!" Ochako shouted and pulled her green friend out of the way of one of the larger creatures trying to swipe at him. It tried to hit them both again, but….

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

An extremely loud shriek came out of nowhere, making them cover their ears as several of the creatures, including the one attacking them, crumbled and fell apart! The two young crimefighters looked over to see the little winged girl they were protecting drop to her knees, placing a hand on her neck as she breathed heavily. They both got up and ran over to the girl.

"Are you OK?" Izuku asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah." The girl responded with a hoarse voice as she looked up at her protectors. "B-but I c-can't…. d-do that…. again." She said breathlessly. "It…. it h-hurts my…. th-throat."

"It's fine. You did great!" Ochako gently placed her hand on the girl's back. "Thanks for the save." The girl smiled up at her. "What's your name, Sweetie?"

"M-Michiru."

"OK, Michiru." Izuku said. "Can you answer a question for me?" She nodded. Izuku looked over at the villain. "Earlier, when the plant guy seemed to be crying, you said the name "Shiro"." He looked back at the girl. "Do you know him?"

"I-I do." She got up to sit on her knees. "His n-name is Shiro. He's my f-friend."

"OK." Ochako chimed in. "What else can you tell us about him?"

Michiru spent the next few minutes telling the young Heroes everything about her friend while they took turns fighting off more of the Plant-Creatures. Both she and Shiro were in elementary school, and the boy apparently had two Quirks. He was a minor Geokinetic, allowing him to control soil and dirt, but nothing like rocks or stones. He was also a Botanikinetic, meaning he could control plant-life and help them grow, but this power had just recently manifested, so he had little experience with it.

Because of his limitations with his Geokinesis and his lack of experience with his Botanikinesis, Shiro was bullied by several of their schoolmates. They'd harass him, shove him around, call him names, and make him cry. And Michiru would come to his rescue every time. She would play with him, be his friend, and encourage him to keep practicing with his powers.

That was why they were at the park, so he could get a better handle on his Botanikinetic powers. But then the bullies from their school showed up to ruin their day. Their harassment caused Shiro to snap and let his powers run wild. Forming a shell of soil, dirt, grass, and shrubbery around himself, and then conjuring up the creatures they were now fighting off.

As Izuku listened to this, he remembered how hard kindergarten and elementary school had been for him and other kids who were either Quirkless or had "weak" Quirks. They were always easy targets for Katsuki and other kids with powers that could inflict physical harm. And things got even worse when he got into junior high school and ended up the only Quirkless kid in class. No one would stand up for him, with a few rare exceptions. But it wasn't enough to make his time there any easier. He had no one to turn to but his mother and aunt. No one to call his friend.

Right now, this boy Shiro was going through a similar experience and it was causing him pain. But at least Shiro had something Izuku didn't have at that age. He had someone to be there for him when his parents couldn't be. He had someone who cared about him and encouraged him. He had a friend. And Izuku knew this kid needed his friend now more than ever.

But the problem was getting past all the Plant-Creatures to get to the boy. The others were being overwhelmed by the Plant-Monsters. Ochako and Izuku were in no position to do anything either since they also had their hands full with a whole gaggle of them.

Suddenly, Izuku had an idea, but he would need help to pull it off. He turned to Ochako. "Hey! Can you call your friend over? The girl with the long tongue?"

The Zero-Gravity Heroine looked at the green boy in confusion. "I can, but why? Do you have an idea?"

"Yeah!" He nodded at her. "And in order for it to work, I think I'm going to need her help. And yours." He looked back at the little winged girl. "And we're also gonna need your help too, Michiru."

"You aren't gonna hurt Shiro, are you?" The little siren suddenly looked very worried and tears started to fall from her eyes. "He's not a bad guy! He's just…."

"I know." Izuku kneeled down, placed his hand on her shoulder, and smiled. "I know he isn't really trying to hurt anyone. Not intentionally. He's upset. And confused. And scared." He looked over at the large plant-man-creature. "But we need someone to calm him down. And I think you're the only person who can do that." He gave the girl's shoulder a light squeeze. "He needs you right now. He needs his friend."

Michiru looked up at the green-clad boy. His eyes were full of compassion and that smile of his told her she could trust him. And he was right. Shiro needed her help. And she had a feeling these nice Superheroes who came to her rescue could help her friend, too.

"OK!" She nodded at the boy with a look of determination on her face, despite her fear at the current situation.

Izuku smiled at her then looked at Ochako who nodded and she called for Tsu to hop over to them. As the frog girl arrived, Izuku asked how their powers worked, keeping up the act of not knowing much about them while he was in his costume. After the girls gave him a quick rundown of their abilities, he explained his idea to them.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Ribbit."

"Yeah. It just might work!" Ochako nodded.

"I hope it does." Izuku was a bit worried his idea wouldn't work. But it was all he could think of on the spot. He turned his attention to Michiru and smiled. "You're being very brave, Michiru. I'm sorry to ask you to do this."

"I'll do it! For Shiro!" The little winged girl raised her fist and gave the green bunny boy a confident smile. "He's my best friend and I know he would do the same for me!"

The three young Heroes smiled at Michiru and they set Izuku's plan into motion. Ochako made herself, Izuku, and Michiru weightless. The frog girl held Michiru close and tight and the other two teens wrapped their arms around Tsu's waist.

"Everybody ready?" Tsu asked as she wrapped her tongue securely around Ochako and Izuku. All of them confirmed.

With a mighty leap, Tsu carried all three of them over the legions of Plant-Monsters! She hopped off of the creatures as she went, getting closer and closer to Shiro. As they hopped, Izuku was reminded of that day he flew through the air when he grabbed onto All-Might's leg two years ago. Only this time, he wasn't freaking out as much, since he wasn't up so high. But he was still a little scared.

When they reached Shiro, they all let go of Tsu, she unwrapped her tongue from around the other two teens, and Ochako deactivated her Quirk, returning their gravity. They landed right at the feet of the humanoid shell Shiro had formed around himself. The plant-man-creature looked down at them, hunched over, and-

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!"

He let out another monstrous roar, trying to intimidate them. It worked of course, but the three young crimefighters got to their feet and stood their ground. Michiru hid behind Izuku, terrified by the sound of the roar.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?! ARE YOU GONNA MAKE FUN OF ME, TOO?!"

"No, Shiro." Ochako was the first to step forward. "We want to help."

"WHY?! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME!"

"True. But that doesn't mean we don't care." She refused to give up. She knew they had to get through to the boy.

"Please talk to us? Ribbit." Tsu chimed. Being an older sister herself, she had experience calming down her younger siblings when they had an emotional episode. "Let us help you?"

"NO! GO AWAY!" The plant/soil-humanoid shouted, taking a swipe at them with his huge hands.

The teens ducked to avoid it and then took a few steps back in case Shiro tried to swipe at them again.

"If you don't want to talk to us, that's OK." Izuku spoke up. "We brought someone with us. Someone you know." Michiru stepped out from behind the green-clad boy and looked up at him. "It's alright, Sweetie." He said with a reassuring smile.

Michiru stepped forward and looked up at Shiro's massive dirt/plant-shell form. She was still scared, but she stood strong. She wanted to help her friend. When the huge shell looked at her, it's facial features softened.

"Michiru….?"

"Hi, Shiro." The winged girl smiled up at her friend's shelled form. Shiro's shell lowered it's arms, indicating that he wouldn't intentionally harm his friend, just as Izuku predicted. Now it was all up to Michiru.

Suddenly, the Plant-Creatures halted their attacks on Tenya, Mina, and Eijiro. It was as if they were frozen in place. The three looked around to see that it wasn't just the ones they were dealing with, but all of the other creatures were paused, too.

Mina was a bit weirded out by this. "Wait. What…."

"...the hell?!" So was Eijiro.

They all looked over at Ochako and the others. The little girl they saved was talking to the one who conjured the rest of the Plant-Creatures. He seemed to have calmed down. Whatever their plan was, it seemed to be working.

"I see…." Tenya thought out loud, seeming to have caught on to what Ochako's group was doing.

Mina and Eijiro made their way over to Tenya, cautiously looking around at the Plant-Creatures as they stayed frozen in place.

"Uh, Tenya….?" Mina was the first to reach the young speedster. "What's happening?"

"It would appear the others have figured out how to end this madness." He surmised.

"That's great!" Eijiro chimed as he reached the other two. "So, what should we do?"

"Hmm…." Tenya kept his eyes on Ochako's group and thought about it for a moment. "They seem to have the situation under control." He turned to his two companions. "I suggest we stand by and wait for them to give the word. Let them handle this." Mina and Eijiro looked at each other, then back to Tenya.

"Alright. We wait." The redhead confirmed, Mina nodding in agreement.

"In the meantime, we should call Toru to let her and Eri know that we're alright." Tenya added.

"Right!" Mina pulled out her phone and called their invisible friend.

Tenya looked back over at the other group. Specifically, his gaze landed on the little girl they saved as she spoke to the large humanoid pile of soil and grass that called itself the "Plantagonizor" at the beginning of all this. The creature seemed to be calmed by her presence. 'I really hope this works….'

'I really hope this works….' The same thought went through Izuku's mind as he, Ochako, and Tsu silently watched Michiru talk with Shiro. It seemed she was able to calm the boy down on some level, but he was still encased in his large soil/grass-shell. At least the Plant-Creatures had ceased their attacks for the moment.

"Shiro, I know you're upset." Michiru said. "But you need to calm down."

"Why should I?!" The plant/soil-humanoid demanded, clenching his massive fists. "Those jerks'll just go back to pushin' me around again!"

As the creature clenched his fists, Izuku noticed the grass and shrubbery around them started to grow at a rapid pace. From this, he concluded that Shiro's powers were affected by his emotional state. And considering he was an elementary schooler who was constantly bullied, it was no wonder he was able to do all of this. Conjuring up a hoard of humanoid monsters made of soil and grass might have been only a small sample of what he could do.

"They always use their powers to hurt me!" He said, still very much angry. "Why shouldn't I use mine to fight back?!"

"Shiro." Michiru stepped forward and placed her hands over one of his shell's giant ones. "You know you can't do that."

"Why not?!"

"'Cause you know it's not right." Michiru explained calmly. "And you're scaring a lot of people. People that didn't hurt you."

The facial features of Shiro's shell softened once again.

"Please, Shiro!" Michiru pleaded once more. "Don't be a Villain! Don't bully people with your powers!" Tears started falling from her eyes. "You're better than that! I know you are!"

Izuku, Ochako, and the others watched closely, keeping their guard up in case something else happened.

Shiro's shelled form looked down, the face resembling one of shame. "All I wanted to do today…." The humanoid shell fell to its knees. "was make the flowers grow for you." The eyes started glowing green again.

But instead of spouting more Plant-Creatures, all of the ones he conjured crumbled into piles of dirt and grass. The young crimefighters were in awe of the sight. The creatures they'd been fighting endlessly until a roughly ten minutes prior to them halting in place, were now falling apart. Only this time, they weren't reconstituting.

After the last of the creatures broke apart, the humanoid plant/soil creature that called himself "The Plantagonizor" started to fall apart as well. As the creature fell apart, the pieces fell away to reveal the form of a small boy. He had pale-green skin, brown hair, and light-green eyes. He was on his knees, crying and covered in dirt.

Michiru kneeled down next to Shiro and engulfed him in a tight hug, letting him cry into her shoulder, as she cried with him.

"I…. I-I'm sorry!" The boy said in his true, undistorted voice. "I'm so sorry, Michiru."

"It's OK, Shiro." The winged girl replied as she held her friend close. "It's OK."

Ochako walked over, took off her hoodie, and wrapped it around the pair of crying children. Then Tsu walked over, knelt down next to the kids, and pulled them both into a comforting embrace. Mina and Eijiro ran over to check on their friends as Tenya ran to the park entrance to let the authorities know of the situation.

Izuku pulled down his mouthguard, hunched over, and let out a sigh of relief. His plan had worked. 'Thank God!'

"Hey!"

The green-clad boy looked up to see Ochako standing in front of him, smiling brightly. "Oh, uh…. hi."

"Thanks for all your help." She walked over and placed her hand on his uninjured shoulder.

"Oh, well…. I'm just glad my plan worked." He rubbed the nape of his neck nervously. "But it wouldn't have worked without you. And your friends, too."

They looked over at the other young Heroes as they spoke with Michiru and Shiro, reassuring them that everything would be alright. Tsu was still holding them close, as if she were a mother caring for her children. It was a very touching sight.

"Hey. It was your idea. Me and Tsu just helped you." The gravity girl smiled. "Besides, I think Michiru deserves a lot of the credit. It wouldn't have worked without her."

"Yeah. That's true." Izuku nodded. "Shiro has a great friend." 'Something I wish I had at his age.' He thought sadly.

Ochako looked at her green friend, noticing he looked a little sad. She wanted to ask him what was wrong. But before she could he turned to leave.

"I have to go." He turned to the brunette. "You and your friends can take it from here, right?"

"Yeah. We'll take care of them." Ochako nodded, knowing why he had to go. The police and possibly a few Pro-Heroes would be coming along any minute.

"Good." He turned to leave again, but then he remembered…. "Oh! I almost forgot." He turned back to Ochako. "There's a small maintenance shed over that way, next to the sidewalk, near the hill." He pointed. "A lady and her son are hiding in there and I told them I'd send someone to get them when things calmed down."

Ochako looked off in the direction he was pointing. "Don't worry. I'll go find them."

"Thank you." Izuku nodded.

"Seeya 'round, Mr. Bunny-Man." She smiled at the boy and winked.

Izuku felt his cheeks heat up a little, remembering how Michiru called him that when he came to their rescue. "Alright. See you later." As he turned to leave, he felt Ochako place her hand on his shoulder once again.

"Before you go, I've got something for you." She told him, rummaging through her pocket.

Izuku's eyes widened when he saw her pull out a small notebook. HIS notebook. The one he used for his field notes. He quickly looked in the pouch on his utility belt where he usually kept it. To his surprise, it wasn't there. And there was a hole in the bottom of the pouch! 'Must've happened when I was fighting the Jaguar Villain last night.' He looked back up at Ochako as she held the notebook out for him, which he took and stuffed it into one of his undamaged pouches. "Thank you so much for finding it!"

"No problem." Ochako beamed at the boy. "But…" She suddenly looked a little nervous and guilty. "I, uh, took a little peek inside. Sorry…."

Izuku's eyes widened again.

"I only saw a little bit. Your sketches look nice. And the notes are very informative!" She complimented. "But I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have looked!"

"Oh, no! It's OK." The boy tried to put her guilt to rest, hoping she didn't recognize his handwriting from when she read the notes. "I'm glad you found it. Thanks again."

Ochako let out a sigh of relief, happy he wasn't mad at her. "You're welcome."

Izuku turned to leave again so he could change back into his street clothes. But before he could take another step….

"Hey!"

He turned around again to see Ochako smiling at him once again.

"Thanks again. You were amazing!" She told him confidently.

He blushed as he smiled back at her. "Thanks, but..." He replied, looking down at the grass for a second, then he looked back up at Ochako, his eyes meeting her's. "You're more amazing than I can ever hope to be."

Ochako stared into his green eyes and suddenly found herself at a loss for words. The moment she processed what the boy had said to her…. 'Thank you, Ochako. But…. You're more amazing than I could ever hope to be….' The same words Izuku had said to her the night before…. Luckily, she managed to find her voice before the moment got weird. "Oh! I, uh…. th-thank you!" She nervously chuckled. "S-seeya later!"

The green-clad boy nodded as he turned and ran off towards a large grouping of trees, disappearing under the cover of their shadows. As Ochako watched the boy depart, a single word, a single name passed through her mind….

'Izuku?!'

To Be Continued….

Author's Notes:

OK... FINALLY! I got around to finishing and posting this chapter. So, so, so super-mega-ultra-sorry for the longer wait. I've been going through a lot of stuff lately. Dick-head roommate giving me shit for everything (while failing to acknowledge his own shitty shortcomings, the hypocrite), work being slow (and just now finally picking up), trying to handle responsibilities at work, trying to catch-up on a bunch of movies and shows I've been meaning to get to for a while, trying to get back into drawing, trying to make time to read my comics again, trying to figure out a diet that works for me, and trying to make time for my family and friends (especially with my sister having another kid on the way, due in December). It's been a busy couple of months.

Also, sorry for all the false hopes with all those update messages. In between my bouts of writer's block, I've been going back (yet again) and George Lucas-ing my previous chapters in addition to writing chapter seven as well as chapter two for the Deku: Secret Origins prequel (hope those of you following this story as well as that one enjoyed that chapter). And in the process, I effed up once or twice by accidently making a duplicate of chapter three last month. Sorry about all that. I'll try and make sure that doesn't happen again. Also, speaking of my Deku: Secret Origins prequel, I've been thinking of doing one for Ochako, too. Telling the story of her first year at UA without Izuku. But I'll need some time to figure that one out. I've also had ideas buzzing around in my head for a MHA/Kamen Rider crossover story for a while. I have an outline for it in my head, but I'm not sure how to start it.

Speaking of followers, I'm actually amazed at how many people are following (297) and favoriting (222) this story! Thank you all so much for showing your interest in my story. It means a lot to me that I've made something that people enjoy so much. Also, this chapter was beta-read by my buddy, K-Rock 1315. The new cover image was done by the incredible artist, Trubwlsum! Go check out his work on Twitter. You won't regret it! Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my new friend, Althea Sirius, for giving my a very insightful new understanding for Bakugo as a character. I've worked passed most of my issues with the character, but I'm still not a fan. But I now understand the character better and will do my best to portray him accurately in this story, albeit my own take on him in this timeline.

Anyway, onto the notes!

1: I took a lot of inspiration from several Superhero franchises for the original characters in this chapter. For Michiru, I based her on a combination of two of my favorite DC Heroines (two I got to know as a kid thanks to Justice League: The Animated Series and Justice League: Unlimited); Black Canary because of that sonic shriek and Hawkgirl because of the wings. And Shiro, or "The Plantagonizor" (I am so proud of that lame villain name), is basically a combination of Poison Ivy (Botanikinesis) and Earthmover from Batman Beyond (Geokinesis) in terms of his powers. I imagine the appearance of his plant/soil shell would basically look like Clayface from Batman: The Animated Series, only a darker shade of brown and covered in grass and shrubbery. The Plant-Monsters are a nod to the Putties from Power Rangers, in the sense that they're non-sentient humanoid minions that go down easily. And the parts where they combine into larger monsters is a slight nod to the whole "MAKE MY MONSTER GROW" thing the monsters from Power Rangers do all the time. Can you tell I'm a big Nerd by now?

2: I decided to open this chapter from Eri's point of view to make things interesting. Her perspective on all of Ochako's friends and all the fun she's had with them so far, the fear from the Villain attack, her worrying over the safety of her big brother Izuku and all their new friends. I just thought it would be appropriate given the situation.

3: I tried to make sure to utilize all of the Class 1-A students in this chapter properly. Fighting off the Plant-Monsters, saving civilians, ect. Yeah, I put Toru on babysitting duty mostly because someone had to watch Eri. Don't worry, I'll give her a part in a future Hero-action chapter.

4: I decided to make it so the Villain... wasn't actually a Villain at all! This kind of thing has happened in Superhero fiction before, where the threat doesn't come from an actual evil-doer, but rather someone who's misunderstood and needs help. In this case, a distraught child who was bullied to the point where he finally had enough and decided to lash out, losing his focus in the process. I picked this direction because a lot of the best Superhero stories aren't about the Heroes punching bad guys, but showing the kindness and compassion they're capable of, even towards the Villains. An example that comes to mind for me is the Superman short story, "Glasses", where Clack Kent is shown comforting a crying little girl who just lost her father. Another example is the scene at the end of the Batman: The Animated Series episode, Feet of Clay, where Batman offers to try and help Clayface regain his humanity (God, I miss that Batman. Remember when Batman wasn't such a dick? Those were the days...)

5: The ending of this chapter... Yup! Ochako realized that the brave young Hero who saved her and the kind boy she's come to consider a dear friend are one and the same. I had this planned for a bit and I have ideas for it. Don't worry.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully the next one won't take so long to write out and finish.