Ochaco dreamed of home.
Her visions as she slept were filled with warm hugs and loving words for her parents. Wide mountain ranges stretched across her mind as well as dazzling waterfalls that led into sparkling lakes. Her dream had her running down expansive hallways, much younger than she was now. How in those days nothing mattered except for playing with her friends and trying to escape the watchful eye of her caregivers.
It was all so beautiful.
Ochaco wished she wouldn't have to wake up.
But sadly, she felt herself fade into consciousness and became increasingly aware of her surroundings.
The first thing Ochaco noticed when she awoke was the sunlight streaming into the room. The rays of light warmed her skin and the brunette smiled contentedly. She would much rather wake up to the sun than a loud alarm clock.
Ochaco blearily opened her eyes and was expecting the normal sight of her dorm ceiling or her small desk. She was instead greeted by the beeping of a heart monitor and her sitting on a chair in the corner of what Ochaco now recognized as a hospital room.
"Mr. Aizawa?" she softly questioned.
Said man looked up from a book he held in his hand, Ochaco didn't get a chance to look at the title before Mr. Aizawa placed the novel in a bag near the chair. The raven-haired teacher made his way towards the hospital bed, a rare look of concern on his face.
"Glad to see you're awake. Do you remember anything that happened before you came here?"
Ochaco tilted her head in confusion. "Before I got here? The last thing I remember is me and Deku talking about my new gear and..."
Memories of getting pink gas shot in her face in the alley and how useless she had been when she didn't get the chance to warn Deku before she was already passed out.
Oh no, Deku. Was he okay?!
"Is De-"
"Midoriya is fine," Mr. Aizawa spoke, holding up a hand to silence whatever Ochaco was going to say. "He's still resting from whatever quirk-induced sleep you two were in. Speaking of, do you remember what the villain who attacked you looked like?"
Ochaco felt ashamed to say she didn't know the slightest thing about what happened in that alleyway. One minute she was right behind Deku, looking for what caused the loud noise, and the next she had a pounding headache and then proceeded to pass out. Some hero she was.
Unable to speak about her failure, Ochaco merely shook her head.
Mr. Aizawa seemed to notice the guilt on her face and gave her a small smile, something the gravity girl thought would have been impossible at one point.
"Don't beat yourself up too much. Sneak attacks happen. Hell, I've fallen prey to a few myself. But feeling guilty isn't going to help you stop it from happening again. Hard work will. So quit moping so you can do better."
Ochaco felt a weight leave her shoulders at the small pep-talk. Though she was still upset at herself for not reacting quicker, she was more determined than ever to train harder.
"But you're still under supervision right now. While we still don't know exactly what the quirk did to you and Midoriya, the doctor confirmed that your brains are working in overdrive trying to fix something," her teacher explained. "I already made a few calls to find out who attacked you and Midoriya, so we should find out more information soon. For now, however, the both of you will stay here until the doctor gives the 'okay' to head back to the dorms. But are you sure you're alright?
"I…" Ochaco paused.
Was she really okay? She didn't feel any effects from the gas except maybe being a little more nauseous, but nothing too serious aside from a slight headache.
She gave the biggest smile she could muster. "I'm alright. I have a small headache and maybe a little light-headed, but alright."
"That's good. It looks like you can function alright so we'll take that as a good sign. While you still need to be kept in the hospital, the doctor has given you the all-clear to walk around. If you would like, you can come and see Midoriya with me. I know the two of you are close and you probably want to check up on him."
Ochaco nodded fervently and began stepping off of the hospital bed she was in. As she placed a foot onto the tiled floor, she noticed she was changed into comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt.
Mr. Aizawa must have noticed her confusion because he stated that Tsu had brought a change of clothes after hearing about what happened with the villain and that the nurses opted for those rather than the typical hospital gown.
Shuffling into a pair of slippers (also left by Tsu), Ochaco followed after her teacher into the hall and was steered towards a room that was only a couple of doors down from her own.
Ochaco desperately hoped Deku was okay. While she knew that he could more than handle himself in a fight, the brunette was still worried. Deku had always been prone to injuries while fighting and she prayed nothing serious happened while she was incapacitated.
'Izuku, please be alright.'
Wait.
Izuku?
Where did that come from?
A blush started making its way onto Ochaco's face. While she and Iz- Deku were close, neither of them had used their given names to each other. But it didn't explain why she was using his name all of a sudden. Even if she did have a crush on him, it was still odd.
Even stranger, 'Izuku' sounded much more natural to Ochaco than 'Deku' ever did.
Pushing those thoughts aside and trying to refocus her attention back on making sure her friend was alright, the teacher and student made their way into Mr. Midoriya's room.
Mr. Aizawa creaked the door open to the boy's room and Ochaco half-expected to see Deku awake. He never did like to stay put.
But instead of the greenette up and moving, he was just as her teacher said he was: asleep. As Ochaco continued to walk into the room, she noticed how Deku's eyelids kept fluttering.
'Must be dreaming.'
Ochaco didn't realize she was staring until Mr. Aizawa cleared his throat.
"As you can see," he began, "Midoriya is fine. Besides the rapid brain activity, he shows no sign of sickness fr-"
A knock on the door sounded out.
Both Ochaco and Mr. Aizawa watched as Detective Tsukauchi walked into the room with an awkward smile.
"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I've found some information on the quirk user who attacked you this afternoon," the detective declared, holding up an envelope.
Mr. Aizawa got up from his spot on the hospital chair nearby and motioned his head back towards the door.
"We can talk more outside. Uraraka, please stay here with Midoriya until I return."
Ochaco wanted to protest. After all, she and Izuku were hit with the quirk, and shouldn't that mean they get to hear what information they found? But before she could retort, her teacher sent a pointed look towards his student. Clearly, this information was not up for discussion outside of adults.
"I need you to watch over your classmate and let me know or a nurse know if anything goes wrong. Before you start complaining about not being in the conversation, the information the detective has gotten could be wrong and I would rather verify it and then discuss with you; it's illogical to get you worried over something that could be incorrect."
With that said, the two adults exited the room, leaving behind the two students.
Ochaco glanced at Izu- Deku again. (She really needed to get a grip). Her dear friend was still sleeping. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest gave Ochaco a strange sense of calm. It was a reminder that they were both okay.
Ochaco was almost lulled back into slumber again before the sleeping boy began to stir.
"Deku?" the brunette called out.
The green-haired teen's eyes began to flutter and eventually, Izuku was sitting up, attempting to blink away the sleep in his eyes.
"Ochaco?" Izuku blearily asked, now rubbing at his eyes with the palm of his hand. "Are we in a hospital? What happened? All I remember was the alleyway and then-"
Before Ochaco could register what was happening, Izuku had swept her up into a tight hug, tucking her head underneath his chin.
"I'm so glad you're okay and I'm also so sorry I couldn't get us out of there," Izuku said clutching onto his friend tighter.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Ochaco said quietly. "I should've been on higher alert. But we're both okay now, yeah?"
She felt Deku nod slightly and it was then that she fully registered her situation. Ochaco felt her face begin to flush, but she did nothing to move away from the hug. They were friends. Friends hug each other all the time. This was no different.
"I'm still sorry, Ocha."
Wait. Ocha? When did she get that nickname from him? Better yet, when did Izuku start using her first name.
Deku must have registered what he just did because a split second later, he was holding Ochaco at arm's length, face just as red as hers. "I'm so sorry Uraraka! I have no idea where that came from and I totally get if you never want to talk to me again and-"
"Deku," Ochaco said loudly, nervously playing with one of her longer hair strands, "It's okay. We've been friends for so long now and we're close so I don't see a problem with you using my given name. Besides, I think Ocha is a cute nickname."
Oh no, what was she saying?!
But her friend/crush's green eyes lit up and a smile made its way onto his freckled face. "In that case, I'd like it if you call me Izuku."
Ochaco felt like her heart was going to explode.
"What?"
The smile didn't leave Izuku's face. "I said I'd like it if you called me Izuku. Like you already said, we've been friends for a while and you're one of the first actual friends I've had since coming to UA. Not to mention, you're pretty special to me."
Izuku clamped a hand over his mouth and his face began to turn red.
"Sorry, that probably came out really weird," the greenette mumbled behind his hand.
"Not at all," Ochaco reassured, her own blush rising. "You're special to me too, Izuku."
Ochaco watched with amusement as his face grew a few shades darker hearing his given name spoken. She couldn't help but let out a small giggle.
'He's too cute.'
"So, um," Izuku stumbled, "What exactly happened? The last thing I remember is seeing you unconscious and then getting hit by the gas quirk."
"Right. Well, Mr. Aizawa said that the quirk is making our brains work a lot harder which might explain the headaches. The detective showed up with some more information that he's discussing with Mr. Aiawa in the hallway. Other than that, I know about as much as you do," Ochaco explained with a shrug.
Izuku hummed in thought.
Ochaco took the moment of silence to try and slip into the comfy chair in the room, feeling a little bit light-headed again. It was just a couple of steps away from where she was standing, but that was enough distance as her feet decided to slip over nothing.
Not thinking to use her quirk right away, Ochaco braced herself for impact as she began to fall backward.
A beat.
Instead of plummeting into the floor, the brunette found herself suspended in mid-air.
'That's weird. I didn't use my quirk so how could I be floating?'
It was then that Ochaco realized that there was a hand around her waist and another entwined with her right hand. Looking up, chestnut eyes met emerald.
Izuku had caught her in a dip of sorts to keep her from falling. His freckled face was filled with concern as he stared down at Ochaco. The position felt oddly natural to both of them.
"I'm sure it's bad luck to fall in a hospital, right?" the green-haired boy awkwardly chuckled.
Ochaco could barely formulate a response. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that she could barely process it all. But there she was, getting dipped by Izuku Midoriya, the guy who not only motivated her to be a better hero but who had also stolen her heart.
Izuku and Ochaco seemed to only stare at each other now, neither of them moving away from the position.
The moment, while seeming a lifetime, ended quickly as the door to the hospital room opened, revealing a disgruntled Mr. Aizawa and equally tired detective.
"Problem Child, what are you doing?"
The sudden appearance of the teacher startled both teens out of their stupor. Ochaco scrambled to stand up alongside Izuku.
"N-Nothing, Sir," the greenette stammered out, "Just making sure Oc- Uraraka didn't fall."
Mr. Aizawa only raised an eyebrow while Detective Tsukauchi looked as if was trying to hold in a laugh.
"Though I'm glad to see you up and moving Midoriya, we now have information regarding the quirk that was used to attack the both of you," the erasing hero announced.
"The man who attacked you is Ryota Tanaka," Tsukauchi chimed in. "His quirk is called Remembrance; it allows him to help restore forgotten or altered memories."
"Then we have nothing to worry about," Ochaco grinned. "I don't think either of us has any long-lost memories, so we should be fine."
The detective's face fell and Ochaco's heart grew heavy.
"As a precaution, the hospital ran a multitude of tests on you both to try and find anything out of the ordinary. With what we know about Tanaka's quirk, it's safe to say that it wouldn't have much effect on someone who has not been affected by a mind-altering quirk. But with your tests showing a rapid increase in brain activity for you two, it looks like your minds are trying to recover a lot of missing information."
"Which means…?" Izuku drawled.
Mr. Aizawa's face was grim when he addressed his students. "With what your brain scans are showing and what we've gathered from Tanaka, this won't be something you'll be able to just get past. It looks like your memories have been previously altered and are going to start being corrected. Your lives are going to change."
Ochaco wished she had never woken up from her dream.