Just like I promised! I said I am working as fast as possible to get this done, and I meant it. We're almost done, and I'm looking forward to the next big project I have in store for all of you.


Guilt V2 Remastered Edition


Original version story written by: Isaac

Edited and re-uploaded with Permission by: LordXG3


Chapter Nine: Lost and Found


"Midoriya...killed someone."

Ochako gaped at the boy standing before her.

'What did he say? Killed?'

Her eyes widened in shock as everything fell into place in her mind. Izuku's recent behavior, not wanting to share what was happening, all of it made sense now. 'It isn't just that he wants to keep it from us. He hasn't fully come to terms with it yet.'

All of her thoughts were quickly overcome with a need to see him. To help him. As if she had mentally summoned him, the door had opened just as Denki had finished. The blond boy spun around and unconsciously took a step back. Looking past him, she saw Izuku standing before the group.

Standing next to Eri. She noticed the confusion in his face as his eyes traveled from Denki to scan everyone else. As Izuku's eyes finally met hers, his hand fell away from Eri's, and the world froze.

The single moment seemed to go on forever. Desperate fear took hold within as Ochako stared into the beautiful green eyes that she had fallen in love with. 'No... he can't be here. Not right now.' Ochako had heard the gasps, and she watched as Denki take a step back. She felt the fear in the room. 'Of course, they're scared. They just found out their friend took a life.'

She didn't know why, but her fear didn't share the same source. She was scared for sure, and she could feel her body trembling. But not because of that. She was worried for Izuku, probably more than he thought she did. She knew how his mind worked. She knew how he would take everything on himself. Most of all, she knew how hard it was for him to connect to people. It had been difficult just to get him to open up to everyone in Class 1-A, let alone his own friends.

'But if he sees them all afraid...of him...' she wanted to turn to the rest of them and make them calm down, but she couldn't break from his gaze. Intangible emotions traveled across the bridge their eyes made, and Ochako watched as his face change. The confusion fell away from his face, replaced by a quick look of comprehension before his face settled into a single emotion.

Horror.

Ochako knew she had to talk to him; she had to let him know they were there. She had to remind him he wasn't alone.

'Before he closes himself off again.'

She tried to call out, but before she could even open her mouth, he was gone. The frozen moment died as Izuku disappeared in a flash of green, replaced by a large hole where the dorm's door had been. Ochako stood quickly, rushing past the still frozen Denki. She spilled out onto the dorm steps, closely followed by Tenya, Shouto, and Katsuki.

She watched the small green speck rapidly disappear into the night, only for the trio to blast forward, trying to follow him.

Ochako collapsed into the grass.

'I failed him.' He needed her right now.

'He probably thinks it's going to change everything. He probably feels completely alone right now.' She needed to wrap him into her arms and do whatever it took to convince him that she was there. But she couldn't. Her hands curled into fists as she cursed her delayed reactions.

'Why couldn't I say something fast enough?' Tears formed in her eyes. She felt two hands lay on each shoulder. Looking up, Ochako saw Yūga, with the most solemn expression on his face, and Tsuyu, the frog girl who looked like she was doing everything she could to be strong for her.

'They both look so scared too.'

"Come on, Ochako," said Tsuyu helped her to her feet.

"Indeed, mon amie," Yūga followed up, helping Tsuyu."We need to-" However, he was cut off by a small voice.

"Mommy?"

Ochako managed to escape her thoughts and remembered she needed to stand tall for Eri's sake. Looking at her two friends, both nodded as they let go of her and allowed Ochako to turn with her arms out. Eri quickly ran up and jumped into her arms, holding on tightly.

"It's gonna be okay, sweetie," Ochako answered, finding renewed resolve as she had done before. The instincts to be there for Eri, even when she felt like she was ready to fall apart herself. "We're going to find him, and then it's all going to be okay." She kissed her cheek and then her horn. Pulling back slightly, she met Eri's eyes. Using every bit of strength she had, she smiled at the girl. When the girl managed to return it, Ochako kissed her horn once more and started making her way back inside, with Yūga and Tsuyu by her side.

Entering the dorm, Ochako saw several students had gathered around Denki. He was still pale, the shock evident on his face. "I...I didn't know he was there. I didn't know he was there." He muttered to himself.

Several of the other boys were trying to wring details from him, albeit in vain. Their voices mixed into a small roar, building off the various urgent conversations that had sprouted around the room.

"Hey! Kaminari! Hey!"Said Eijirou as he shook the boy's shoulders. "Where did you hear this? Who did he kill? Talk to us, man!"

Ochako grimaced, she knew that he meant well, but he was being too rough.

"Leave him alone!" Kyouka's voice broke through the din. Pushing Eijirou away from the electric boy, only to kneel down, wrapping her arms protectively around him. "He's obviously not in any shape to he interrogated!"

"Interrogated?! I'm just trying to figure out what's going on!" Eijirou yelled back with Mina gently holding him back.

"Kiri...we need to calm down."

"Damn...it all makes sense now," said Hanta rubbing the top of his forehead, piecing everything together. "Why he's been acting weird."

"You think that's why he snapped at Bakugou during training?" Minoru questioned with a surprisingly genuine expression on his face. "Cuz he always tells people to die...or that he'll kill one of us and what not...I guess this time...it hit too close to home..."

Almost everyone grimaced at his words.

"Wait...how could we be sure of the details?" Momo questioned. "How can we even be sure that is what actually happened?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" Eijirou roared out, despite Mina's attempts to calm him down.

"Not like that you're not!" Kyouka answered angrily, actually lifting up her earphone jacks in a threatening position. Denki almost seemed to shrink as the shouting matches continued, panic starting to settle in.

Finally, Ochako had enough she needed to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. Thinking on how Izuku would try to handle something like this, she drew in as much inner strength as she could, placing Eri down on the couch and began walking forward.

Placing a calm hand on Eijirou's shoulder, she flashed the widest smile she could muster.

"Let's all calm down, okay? Heroes need to be calm at times like these," she spoke up in a surprisingly gentle and yet strangely firm way. "We won't get answers going at each other like this."

Everyone in the dorm went silent as Ochako projected this calming aura, similar to how Izuku or All Might could have done. Removing the hand from Eijirou, Ochako knelt down to Denki's and Kyouka's level.

"Jirou...We do need to find out what happened."

The girl looked ready to respond angrily, but Ochako cut her off and continued. "I promise, I'll ask as sensitively as possible."

Kyouka seemed hesitant, but Ochako's tone contrasted with Eijirou put her at ease.

"Just make it quick," she answered, rubbing Denki's back.

With a nod, Ochako turned to Denki, who, like everyone else, had been able to ease up once Ochako started speaking.

"Hey...Kaminari? Are you okay?"

Denki shook his head, "I'm so sorry...I didn't know he was there. I didn't mean to-"

"Hey, hey. It's okay, Kaminari, it's okay." Ochako stopped him before he could spiral any further. She tried to keep her voice as level and calming as possible. "Can you please tell us what happened?"

It took him a minute, breathing deeply, and having Kyouka by his side helped ease his thoughts to answer.

"I went to go turn in the monitor duty sheets," Denki started as the color returned to his face. "After Mineta and I finished the classroom chores."

Everyone nodded, listening carefully.

"When I got there, I heard Ms. Kayama and Mr. Aizawa talki-" Denki gulped as he interrupted himself. "No...they were arguing. About how they made him confront it." He paused to take another breath. "I didn't know that they were talking about Midoriya at the moment. I was just standing there, hoping that they would finish up so I could go home, ya know?"

Ochako nodded, remembering that she had done something similar on the day that the announcement was made.

"Then...All Might got involved..."He trailed off, growing pale again. "I didn't hear them say what really happened, or like...who it was. But after Mr. Aizawa said that Mr. Hound Dog was worried that Midoriya was still in denial. All Might yelled at him. I heard him say it. "Of course, Young Midoriya is still in denial! He isn't a hardened killer!" He quoted with a surprisingly good impression of All Might. "Then and he asked Mr. Aizawa how many people had he killed in his career...After that..."He exhaled loudly; as he looked around the room."I dropped the binder and just ran..."

The room was filled with stunned silence. It seemed that everyone had been sharing a faint hope that Denki had been mistaken. But there was no other way to explain that. Ochako was the first to move. She stood, making for the hole that had previously been a door. Reaching it, she turned back to her classmates.

"I'm going to talk to Mr. Aizawa, I'm going to get all of the facts, and then we can go from there." Turning back once again, she tried to exit but felt a small hand grasping her own.

"Mommy...I want to come too." Ochako looked down in surprise at the girl's question.

"Eri, sweetie, no."

Tears threatened to fall as she realized Eri had just heard everything.

'We couldn't keep her from it.' Kneeling, so their faces were level, she placed a hand on the girl's cheek. "I would've liked to be able to talk to you about all of this later, but..." Her resolve failed, and a tear journeyed down her face. "I'm going to get the bottom of what happened, and I don't want you to have to hear that."

She almost recoiled in surprise when Eri matched her gesture, placing a hand on Ochako's cheek. Meeting the girl's eyes once more, she saw the determination burning within her. She had to remind herself that Eri wasn't actually Izuku's biological child, as she swore at that moment, her eyes shined just like his. "Mommy...I want to help."

Ochako could almost feel her heart swelling up with pride. 'She growing because of you, Izuku...' A few more tears fell from her eyes, but now they were tinged with joy. Pulling the girl in as tight as she could without hurting her, Ochako kissed her horn once more.

"Okay, then, Eri. We'll help him, together this time." She answered, lifting the child up and making her way to leave the dorm. She heard sounds of movement behind her, and she was quickly joined by everyone several of their classmates. The fear on their faces was replaced with concern.

The rallying cry had been called, and all of them decided to answer.

'Everyone...Thank you,' said Ochako as she managed a wobbly smile as they approached, only to turn and lead them to the teacher's quarters. As the Class 1-A began crossing the grounds, they saw Katsuki and Shouto slowly walking back towards the dorm. The former was wheezing heavily as his hands were left burnt, continued without a word. Shouto, however, stopped to join them.

Meeting his eyes, Ochako silently probed for any information on Izuku.

Sensing the question, he slowly shook his head. "They're too fast." He spoke up, "we lost sight of him quickly, but Iida was able to continue to follow him. I'm unsure if he's managed to catch him or not."

Ochako took a deep breath; she wouldn't let the update bring her down. 'I can only hope that Iida will be able to get him...'

"We're going to go see Mr. Aizawa," Ochako announced, with Shouto nodding his head.

"I'll meet up with you. I forgot my cellphone inside and was planning to head out again once I have it."

"Alright," Moving again, Ochako led her group towards the teacher's quarters.

A few minutes later and Ochako was pounding on the door of their teacher Shouta Aizawa.

At first, they got nothing in response, but Ochako was undeterred. No one dared suggest to Ochako to stop; everyone present all stood with nervous energy. Ochako banged on the door again, hard enough to actually make the frame shake.

Finally, the door was pulled open and, their teacher answered, looking tired and angry.

"WH-" The man was stopped in his tracks as the sight of almost everyone in Class 1-A standing in front of him; made him pause. His anger was quickly replaced with concern as he read the expressions of his students. "What happened?"


Shouta sat in silence as the situation was explained to him in the middle of his living room. He was angry...Angry at himself.

'The day that Midnight and All Might proved themselves correct...' He thought as his jaw clenched as Ochako finished up.

"I see," he sighed as he got up and moving towards his work desk at the corner. "Yaoyorozu."

Momo quickly shot up at attention as her teacher addressed her. "Yes, sir?"

"I want you all to divide up and get into teams of four," he answered as he began shooting rapid-fire texts to the UA staff. "It's going to be a late-night, and we have little time to lose. The two slower teams will stay inside the campus and double-check that he's not hiding around here. The rest of you will join up with a teacher and help search outside of campus. No arguments."

"I understand," answered Momo, bowing to her teacher, before taking charge of the rest of the Class 1-A. Ochako remained seated as she gently laid Eri on the couch as their teacher made one final call.

"All Might. It's me. It happened. Yeah. Yeah, I'm dividing my classroom up to help in the search...You and the Detective?" Shouta turned to see that Ochako remained with Eri fast asleep on the couch. "I think I know who to send your way."

As he hung up, he turned to face Ochako. "I'm surprised that you stayed. I would have thought you would have been the first out the door." The man was more than aware of the nature of the relationship between the two had, mostly thanks to Nemuri's shipping antics and general observations.

"I'll be leaving once I have answers," She answered with surprising determination, "just...how did this happen?"

Ochako knew she was pushing it with her homeroom teacher. But if she was going to help Izuku, she needed to learn as much as possible. After a short pause, he let out a tired sign. Settling back onto the couch, as started to softly stroke Eri's hair.

"Okay," He said with his voice low. "Uraraka." He looked up and met her eyes. "Do you remember the group who attacked you in that alley?"

Ochako suddenly felt cold as the memories of that night came flooding back. 'Of course...it all started there...'

"From the testimony collected by the police, you were initially attacked by two men; before being chased by a larger group." He paused to collect himself. "According to the report, Midoriya subdued them with a kick. A kick that broke both of his legs; is that correct?"

Ochako nodded as she recalled the moment, remembering the pain the poor boy was in and the effort she made to carry him afterward.

"Well... one of the men was only partially hit and lost consciousness. The other...however" He examined his hands, taking another breath. "Was kicked through a solid brick wall headfirst, by the time medics got to him... He was already..." He didn't finish. He didn't need to. Ochako's mind overflowed with the implications of Izuku having killed someone to protect her. But she somehow found the strength to push them away.

'I can worry about that later. We need to find Izuku now.'

She stood up and bowed. "Thank you, Mr. Aizawa...and, I'm sorry to ask, but can you watch over Eri for me?"

Ochako swore she could see a shadow of a proud smile at the edge of his mouth.

"I have it covered; meet up with All Might at the entrance. I think he had a good idea on where he might find him."

"I will, thank you again, sir!" And with that, Ochako made her exit and towards the entrance of the campus.


Ochako arrived to find just the people she wanted to see: All Might, Detective Tsukauchi, Tenya, Shouto, and Yūga all standing by and waiting for her, next to a larger than an average patrol car.

"There you are, young Uraraka," said All Might, relieved. "I was just about to call Aizawa again."

"I'm sorry, sir, I had to make sure Eri was in good hands before I left," she answered before noticing that Tenya was hurt. "Iida, what happened to you?!"

Tenya shook his head, cleaning off the remaining bits of grass and leaves on his person. "I am fine, Uraraka. I was merely caught off guard when chasing Midoriya. I lost track of him, but I was able to determine that he was heading towards Shizuoka once I got my heading." Tenya purposely left out the detail of Izuku striking him, as he did not want to add fuel to the fire.

"We believe that Midoriya might be going somewhere familiar," said the Detective as he opened the door to the patrol car for All Might. "I've already gotten reports of someone fitting, Midoriya's description in the area. If we're quick, we might be able to catch up."

"Once we arrived, we'll split up. But remain close, alright?" Said All Might as he entered on the front side passenger seat.

"Yes, sir," the four said in unison before climbing into the car. As the Dekusquad found themselves together again, the four look at each other, nodding and silently pledging that this time, there was no holding back. This time all four of them would step in to help their friend.


The city streets were deathly quiet as they searched.

It had been almost an hour when the team divided themselves; it took everything Ochako had in her to resist panicking. With every corner, she turned, was met with disappointment. Thankfully, they had been joined by the remainder of their classmates, with all leads pointing to Izuku being in Shizuoka. Having more hands-on-deck did increase the chances of finding him.

As she passed through another alleyway, heading towards the coastline. The silence was suddenly broken by Eijirou's voice. "Whoa, ugh! Did someone throw up here?! I almost stepped in it!" She heard his shoes slide and land as if he had hopped back. Had the situation been different, Ochako might have giggled at him, but now it only worried her further.

'What if that was Izuku's vomit? Is he getting sick?' She thought as she continued down side streets.

'Izuku, where are you? I need you...don't you need me too?' She questioned, hoping that she would find him soon. Finally, as if the universe had listened, she stumbled across a small crater in the ground. 'What... what is this?'

Kneeling by the edge, she held her phone up to illuminate the bottom. She quickly fell back, gasping.

Blood.

A small puddle of blood had formed in the bottom of the crater, and there seemed to be a visible trail leading away.

'Izuku...' She knew it would need to be someone powerful to make a dent into rock hard pavement. Worry overtook her as tears fell from her eyes. 'You idiot... please be okay...' Breaking into a run, she held her phone above her head, tracking the blood the best she could. After following the trail for a while, she came to its end as pavement met the sand. Looking up, she found herself at the beach. Moving her phone around, she caught sight of a sign.

Dagobah Municipal Beach Park.

Ochako quickly entered and scanned the area. It helped that the clouds had started to part, allowing moonlight to bathe the beach. She shot a quick text in the group chat, telling them that she might be on his trail, before closing it. Ochako looked over the beach again as she walked along the edge. Finally, after a couple of minutes, she spotted something over the distance. It looked like a tent had been propped up and left behind, but she swore that she could see a figure under it.

'It's him...' Without another moment, she started running as hard as she could. She couldn't explain it; she could just feel it. 'I know it's him! I just know it!' Once she heard his sobs, she knew she found him.

"IZUKU!"

Ochako broke into a sprint as he turned to look at her. She could -No, would not, allow him to escape before Izuku could even react, Ochako threw herself into him. Squeezing him as if to ensure he'd never leave her grasp again, she finally let her resolve drop. Sobbing into his shoulder, she pulled him even closer and felt his hands drift to her back. As the warm pressure cemented against her senses, she realized the back of her shirt felt wet.

She remembered the crater. Pulling back, she placed her hands on his shoulders. Their eyes met once more, and he opened his mouth. "Och-"

SLAP!

His head jerked to the side as Ochako slapped him for everything she was worth. He looked back at her, shock in his eyes, as he saw the anger in hers.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Moving her hands to his collar, she pulled with all her strength, and their lips met. As she kissed him, she tried to muster all of the passion, all of the emotion, everything inside her. She put her heart into the kiss, and she knew he had received it. After an eternity, they finally broke apart.

Energy suddenly sapped, Ochako collapsed back into his chest. "You idiot..."

She felt his neck bob as he gulped. "Ochako..."

"Shut up...please..."She sobbed as she squeezed harder before leaning up and kissing his cheek. Sitting back on her feet. She took his hands in hers. She could feel the blood seeping from them, but the moonlight wasn't enough to see. Turning her phone light on again, she gasped. Chunks of flesh were missing from his fingers, and in several places, she could see parts of his knucklebones.

Thinking quickly, she tore a section of her shirt and began gingerly wrapping his wounds. As she worked, a small giggle bubbled past her tears. "How many shirts have I ruined for you?"

Meeting his emerald eyes once more, she giggled harder. To her surprise, his mouth parted slightly, and a small chuckle escaped. As the moments passed, the noises grew until they were laughing. For the first time in what felt like years, they laughed. Finished the field dressing, Ochako's hand returned to his face, and her lips returned to his. Relaxing against each other as the kiss deepened.

A small grumble in Izuku's throat indicated he wanted to speak. Pulling back, Ochako looked at him expectantly. "Ochako..." He shuffled nervously. "I'm sor-"

"Stop..." Ochako didn't mean to keep cutting him off, but she had to straighten his thoughts out. "Izuku, I love you."

The boy froze.

"I love you, Eri loves you, everyone back in our class loves you...I know we seemed scared of you before because the news was scary. But we're not scared of you. We're scared for you." She pulled him back into a hug, although it was as gentle as her tone. "I know you feel like this changes everything, but it doesn't. You're still you. I'm still me. Nothing could stop me from loving you." She felt his hands tighten across her back as his tears resumed. "I just...you don't have to process this alone. In fact, I won't let you. We're going to get through this." Ochako wasn't sure which of them she was reassuring. "We're going to get through this."

"Thank you..."Izuku answered as he held her tight.

"MIDORIYA!"

The two turned to see almost everyone in Class 1-A was running at them. Tenya, who had been using his engine legs, was the first to reach them and wrapping them both in a wide bone-crushing hug.

"OH, THANK GOODNESS URARAKA FOUND YOU!" Said the tall boy as tears ran down his face. Neither Izuku nor Ochako had a chance to answer as the rest of the class; arrived to join in the group hug. Even classmates who weren't known for their displays of emotion like Fumikage or Mezou joined in the group hug.

Izuku allowed himself to cry once again. Only this time, these were tears of joy.

Despite what he had done. Despite everything that had happened. He had not been abandoned. No, his friends -No, his family had come to save him when he needed them most. Even as crowded as they were, Izuku could still see Ochako right in front of him. The look on her face said everything he needed to hear.

We're going to be okay.

That's right, together they would be able to overcome anything.

As long as they were together.


Editor's Notes

Readers familiar with the original might have finally noticed how much more involved Class 1-A is in this story versus the original. As much as I love Izuocha (And I do.) I found the lack of other character's involvement in the story to be out of character.

Then there are the more personal touches. People forget that both the "Dekusquad" and the "Bakusquad" are fanmade ideas. You can argue for the Dekusquad, but for the most part, only Eijirou actually hangs out with Katsuki. That being said, when it comes to the "Dekusquad." I can never understand how people keep adding Tsuyu to it. (Aside from fan bias)

Looking at canon material, Tsuyu actually doesn't hang out with Izuku's group except on one or two occasions. While Yūga more or less starts being more of his own character after speaking with Izuku in the more recent chapters. And finally, I just prefer Yūga over Tsuyu. I honestly find him to be a better character, in my opinion.