Ochaco took a deep breath as she finally stopped crying and pulled back from Tsu. The frog girl let her go to collect herself as she thought about what Ochaco had told her. She had no idea that all this had happened to her best friend. "So, Toga was responsible for everything?" She asked as Ochaco grimaced but nodded.
"Yes, she was stalking Izuku and making it look like he was cheating on me, and when I left him she made her move. After we broke up I moved to Hokkaido to be a hero there. I wanted to get as far away from Izuku as I could." She said wiping her eyes.
"I didn't even know anything had happened until Mina sent me a picture of Izuku and his new daughter. After I saw that I came back. I was still furious, but I wanted to at least put it all behind me and wish him well with his daughter."
Ochaco stood outside Izuku's new home. Apparently, he had moved as well no doubt he and his wife or girlfriend needed a bigger space now that they had a baby. "Maybe I shouldn't do this." She said to herself before slapping her cheeks. "No, I need to face this and move on." She said knocking on the door. It took far longer than she would expect for Izuku to open the door. When they were together he was always prompt in answering the door.
The door slowly opened and there stood Izuku. He looked in one word…terrible. There were deep bags under his eyes like he had just stopped sleeping. His clothes were wrinkled and she could tell he hadn't exercised in a while. In his arms was a small bundle with blonde hair sticking out of it. She looked down at the baby seeing she was asleep.
"Hello?" Izuku asked rubbing his eyes before seeing who was at his door and his eyes shot opened and he jumped a little and to Ochaco's surprise, Izuku's quirk activated as he stared at her with this intense fear as if she was a monster at his door ready to attack him. She couldn't fathom what he was doing. Was he that scared of what she had to say that his quirk activated on instinct?
"At the time I thought he was just shocked to see me and thought I was there to beat him up or something if only that had been the case," Ochaco said sighing as she recalled the terror on Izuku's face and how callous she had felt towards it.
"It's just me your Ex Izuku." She said looking at him as Izuku calmed down and stood up straight.
"S-sorry Ocha-Uraraka." He said looking at her as he rubbed his eyes. "I thought you were…someone else." He said before waving her in. "Come in, come in," he said letting her inside his home. It wasn't as clean as she would expect Izuku and his girlfriend to keep it. She knew Izuku had an intense desire to keep things neat and orderly bordering on OCD.
"Look I'm not here to fight or anything. I just came by to say congratulations to you and your partner on your first child." She said looking at Izuku as he began crying.
"I'm sorry Ochaco. I-I thought she was you." Izuku said as he passed her to sit the baby in a bassinet in the corner. The relief on Izuku's face in not having to hold his daughter was disturbing to Ochaco. What was wrong with him? Sure they had never explicitly talked about having kids, but she always knew that Izuku would be an amazing father, but the way he so eagerly put down his daughter like holding her physically hurt him.
"What are you talking about Izuku?" Ochaco asked crossing her arms as Izuku ruffled his hair and then began to fiddle with his fingers. She knew all these mannerisms. She'd only seen Izuku get this fidgety right before he told her the secret of his quirk. "Just tell me Izuku. It's not like we're together anymore." She said as Izuku looked at her with shock.
"That's just it, I- well she made me think we were." He said as Ochaco sighed getting a little frustrated. She had no idea what Izuku was talking about.
"Who is she?!" She asked with more force before Izuku shouted back.
"TOGA!" He shouted as the baby woke up and immediately started crying. Izuku turned his head to look at her just staring at the crying baby. Ochaco stood there silently as she processed what Izuku had told her. "I thought she was you, she made me think we were back together." Ochaco slowly walked over to the child until she looked over the railing of the crib and stared at the blonde hair and Izuku's freckles before the baby opened her eyes and Ochaco looked at those golden-green eyes.
"Toga transformed into me and you got her…pregnant?" She asked slowly turning to Izuku who was full-on crying as he stared between Ochaco and Hinako.
"I-I-I thought she was you." He whispered. Ochaco couldn't stand it anymore as she raced from the house slamming the door behind her.
"I didn't stop running for entire city blocks." I couldn't believe what Izuku had told me, but as I ran so many things started adding up about our break up and I knew I couldn't blame Izuku for that. It was all Toga well it was me and Toga. I fell for her trap and gave her what she needed to take Izuku from me. I practically pushed him into her arms.
"I can't be with him again Tsu there's too much between us now. Most of it is my guilt at letting this happen. There's nothing there for us, but that doesn't mean it's the same for you." She said grabbing Tsu's hand. The frog hero was startled by Ochaco's words.
"What are you talking about Ochaco?" Tsu asked feeling nervous as Ochaco shook her head.
"Tsu you don't have to hide your feelings anymore." She said simply. "I know that you liked Izuku too. I know you would never do anything to get in the way of the relationship we had, but that's beyond repair. Now if you don't still have those feelings for him forget I said anything, but if you do, don't worry about me. I know I and Izuku are over, and I'm sure he knows that too." She said as Tsu blushed at Ochaco's words. She wasn't wrong she did have kind of a crush on Izuku after the USJ incident in high school, but at that point, Izuku and Ochaco were an item.
She wasn't the type of girl to try and take another's boyfriend so she stayed a respectful distance away. The feelings had dulled over time, but when she heard that Ochaco and Izuku had broken up she was ashamed to admit that she kind of thought she might have a chance, but the thought of betraying Ochaco like that stayed her hand.
"I don't know Ochaco Izuku has a lot going on I don't want to take advantage of that for my own gain. Besides I don't think Izuku sees me like that anyway." She said as Ochaco shook her head.
"Look I don't want to pressure you or anything Tsu. Just think about it. Izuku isn't the best at seeing what he wants or more importantly what he needs." Ochaco said with a sigh before leaning back against the couch. "Ugh, I don't think tea is going to cut it." She said standing up and heading for the fridge to pull out a pair of beers. "This is what I need." She said smiling. Tsu looked up at Ochaco and gave a weak smile. Her mind was a million miles away.
Izuku sat down on Dr. Nabe's couch. "So Izuku this will be our third session. Now that you've been here a few times tell me how do you feel?" She asked looking at Izuku who in her eyes looked a little better. The bags under his eyes had grown lighter and his eyes were brighter as well. In her opinion, it was now time to get into the difficult stuff.
"I do feel somewhat better. Hinako and I have been talking more and spending time together. It's so much better than ever before. Hinako and I actually went out to dinner the other day. It wasn't anything special, but still, the two of us spending time together outside the house. It's more than I could ever have hoped for before." Izuku said with a genuine smile. For so long he and Hinako had lived in the same house, but it was like two strangers living together.
He and Hinako had rarely spoken with each other back then and when they did it often turned into an argument, but now they were talking he was learning about her and she was learning about him. He had learned that Hinako's favorite color was red, she liked rock music and her favorite food was carbonara. Where she had eaten that he had no idea.
"I'm glad to hear that Izuku you and Hinako have started bonding and are slowly becoming a true father and daughter. Now that you and Hinako have started building a healthy relationship I think it's time we talk about how another of your relationships started and ended." Izuku cocked his head slightly in confusion, but slowly she saw him put her words together and the change was immediate.
Izuku's eyes grew dark as his pupils shrank to pinpricks and his breathing shifted coming out as heavy panting. Izuku's fists clenched on his legs so hard she could hear his knuckles crack. "Izuku take a deep breath and calm down. Breathe with me." She said before taking a breath and holding it for a moment and released it slowly. Izuku stared at her before taking a shuddering breath and holding it and then releasing it slowly. "That's good come on a couple more times." She said as the two breathed together until Izuku was able to relax slightly.
"I know this is incredibly uncomfortable possibly even frightening, but you need to talk about this. You've come far, but this is necessary Izuku. You need to talk about this only then can you move past it." She said looking at Izuku who bit his lip before speaking.
"Ok…where do you want me to start?" He asked. Dr. Nabe looked at him and nodded seeing Izuku now had the will to move forward.
"Start from the point after Uraraka left you." She said and saw Izuku flinch at that, but then sighed.
"I didn't handle it well." Were Izuku's first words.
Izuku sat on his knees in the hallway as he stared at the front door. Ochaco had left hours ago or maybe it was only a few minutes he wasn't sure. He hadn't moved from the spot where he'd proposed to her. He could feel the now dried tear tracks on his face. His eyes felt so dry. As Izuku sat on his long numb knees something jolted him from his paralyzed state. It was the sound of his phone. "A phone call is here! A phone call is here! A phone call is here!" Izuku's phone continued to shout All Might's signature ringtone over and over from his pocket.
Izuku was on autopilot as he instinctually pulled his phone from his pocket. He accepted the call but didn't speak. "Izuku….hello Izuku are you there?" Mirio's voice came from his phone. He just stared at the phone staying silent. "Izuku if you're there say something!" Mirio shouted. The worry in Mirio's voice was the only thing that got through to Izuku and made him speak.
"I'm here Mirio." Izuku's voice felt like sandpaper in his throat and sounded just as rough.
"Oh good, you scared me there buddy. Were you still sleeping your voice sounds like you were?" Mirio asked as Izuku licked his chapped lips.
"N-no I wasn't asleep." He said finally beginning to rise, his knees screaming in resistance before eventually popping as he stood to his full height. "Look Mirio I-I don't feel all that good. I don't think I can come in." He said hanging up. The immense guilt he felt at lying to his friend couldn't override the sheer shock and pain of Ochaco leaving him.
Izuku stood up and put his phone away. He wandered through the house looking at everything he and Ochaco had filled it with. This was their house. He looked at the pictures they'd put on the walls the pieces of furniture they'd picked out. All of this was theirs, but now Ochaco was gone. "How could this happen? What even happened? I-I didn't do anything I told her I didn't cheat on her, and she didn't believe me." He whispered to himself.
How could Ochaco not believe him when he told her something? He would never lie to her. He loved her with every part of his being, so why? He asked himself again as he lay on the couch. He heard his phone going off in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was Mirio calling again. He knew his senior wouldn't stop calling so without a second thought he crushed his phone and dropped it to the floor. Izuku curled up on the couch as he felt his eyes burn with tears building up inside them before running down his face.
He cried lying in the fetal position on the couch. He didn't know how long he cried before falling asleep, but at some point he had. Izuku was torn from his sleep as he heard knocking at the front door. "Izuku it's me Mirio open the door!" Mirio shouted as Izuku lay there not saying a word and ignoring Mirio's words. There was more knocking on the door as Mirio shouted again. "Izuku open the door if you're in there!" He shouted again before going silent.
For a moment Izuku had thought that Mirio had gone until he heard footsteps and then felt someone's presence behind him. Izuku hardly ever let people stand behind him the life of a hero had robbed him of that ability, but right now he didn't care if All for One was standing over him right now. Maybe that was for the best. Someone should kill him. The love of his life couldn't trust him so what was the point?
Izuku was torn from his apathy as a hand roughly jerked him up to face a pair of angry blue eyes. Mirio had probably heard from Nejire who had no doubt heard what Ochaco had said about him. Was Mirio here to shout at him too? To tell him how much of a piece of shit he was for something he hadn't done. Izuku should be furious at that thought, but he had no feeling to give to such an emotion.
Mirio stared at Izuku before shouting at him. "I've been calling you why didn't you answer? I was banging on your door why didn't you open up? I thought something had happened to you. I was worried, man!" He shouted letting go of Izuku who collapsed bonelessly onto the couch. Mirio just stared at him before sitting heavily on the couch next to him. "Tell me what happened with you and Ochaco," Mirio said.
Hearing her name on someone else's lips brought forth a fresh stream of tears Izuku had thought himself incapable of producing. Mirio turned to Izuku seeing him crying silently as his eyes stared at nothing. Mirio sighed and sat up straight. "Ochaco called Nejire and I heard you two broke up."
Izuku looked back at Mirio as something other than despair came into his eyes. "Is that all she said?" He asked before coughing in his rough voice. Mirio looked at him for a moment.
"Yes she just said you two broke up and she couldn't stay here anymore. I'm sure there's a lot more to this than that, and I'd like to hear your side of things if you want. I know breakups aren't easy Izuku especially after you've been together for as long as you two have. I want to help if I can, but I can't force you to talk if you don't want to." He said with a shrug before standing up. "Either way I'm going to get you some water, your voice sounds terrible," Mirio said before heading into the kitchen.
Izuku watched him go as his mind spiraled. "Maybe I should tell him. I'm sure Mirio can help me explain this to Ochaco and make her believe me." One part of him said. "Oh yeah, it'll be just that easy. Face it, as soon as you tell him what happened he's going to believe you cheated too. Look at the evidence we're guilty in anyone's eyes." Izuku shook his head. "Besides do you really want to tell Mirio that Ochaco thinks you're cheating on her? How could he even help! Face it we're screwed six ways to Sunday!
Izuku clutched his head as Mirio entered the room again. "Here drink this and just take your time." He said sitting the water on the table. Izuku stared at the water glass for a moment then looked at Mirio. He had to tell him something, but he didn't want to lie to Mirio.
"We've been having troubles for some time. Ochaco doesn't trust me." He said simply which was the truth. Strange things had been happening which Ochaco had blamed him for and when he defended himself she didn't believe him. That thought burned in him. Mirio just looked at him plainly not expecting more, but willing to listen if there was. "I proposed to her last night and she said no before breaking up with me. That's what happened and it hurts." He said leaning forward and clasping the glass of water. It hurts those words didn't begin to cover the gaping wound in his heart. Izuku started chugging the glass of water. Mirio continued to look at him and nodded.
"I'm sorry to hear that Izuku I really am. Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe if Nejire talks to her you two can work this out?" He asked. Izuku looked at him and shook his head.
"I don't think that'll work. I-I'll go to Ochaco in a few days and see if she'll talk to me. I don't want to give this up unless I absolutely have to." Izuku said gaining some determination back into his eyes. "I need to make her believe me."
"So you still believed that you could save your relationship with Uraraka?" Dr. Nabe asked as Izuku nodded.
"I did, or well I hoped I could. I thought that if I could convince Ochaco that I didn't cheat on her she'd come back and we could move past this. I was willing to do anything to get her back." Izuku said as Dr. Nabe looked at him.
"I understand you wanting to fix your relationship Izuku, but after all these years can you see that Ochaco was in the wrong?" Dr. Nabe asked looking at Izuku who shook his head.
"What, no she was being tricked just like me. It wasn't either of our faults." Izuku clarified as Dr. Nabe tapped her pen.
"That's not true Izuku. Himiko Toga set this all in motion, but she couldn't have without Ochaco. You said you and Ochaco had dated for years in that time did you give her any reason to believe that you would cheat on her?" Izuku thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"I mean not that I can think of but obviously I did somehow why else would Ochaco not believe me? Maybe I wasn't as attentive to her, or maybe I made her feel insecure." Dr. Nabe shook her head.
"Izuku if you didn't do anything to make her think that, then Ochaco's actions were her own. You're blaming yourself for Ochaco jumping to conclusions. It's true that better communication could have avoided this, but the decision was Ochaco's and Ochaco's alone." She said as she looked at Izuku. He looked guilty still as if he was still unsure about his part in this. She couldn't make him believe what she said, but she hoped that with time he would come to believe her words.
"I don't know Dr. Nabe. I mean yes Ochaco's decisions are her own, but I can't help but feel that there was something I could do to stop what happened next." He said clenching his fist. Dr. Nabe nodded at his words. Izuku was a hero his mind was geared to try and stop bad things from happening, so when they did he couldn't help but blame himself.
"I understand Izuku, but just think of what I said here. Please continue with your story." She said as Izuku took a deep breath. This next part was painful to think about let alone speak on. It was like the memory was covered in razor blades that sliced at his emotions reducing them to crying shreds.
Izuku spent the next week at home lying around and trying in vain not to think about Ochaco. She was always on his mind and the more he thought about her the more he wanted to see her. He wanted to hear her voice and hold her in his arms. As he fell deeper and deeper into his memories the look on Ochaco's face the last time he saw her tore him from his reverie. Izuku sat up from the couch where he'd spent the last week only leaving it to go to the bathroom or answer the door for takeout. He needed to see her talk to her and try to fix this. He'd told Mirio he would give her a few days, but an entire week had passed already. He needed to do this. Even if Ochaco still didn't believe him he had something to say.
He looked towards the kitchen and the trashcan filled with takeout and pizza boxes. He growled as he stood up and walked to the bathroom. He looked at his reflection and saw the green stubble slowly taking over his face. He ran his hand over the rough five o clock shadow. He'd never thought about growing facial hair honestly. His father didn't grow any and neither did All Might, and Ochaco had preferred him clean-shaven.
He shook his head and grabbed his razor from the cabinet and shaved his face. "Todays the day." He said simply.
Izuku exited the house freshly shaved and wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans with black sneakers. He began walking down the sidewalk. Sure he could use Float and Black Whip to get around, but he wanted to stay grounded both physically and mentally. This wasn't going to be easy, but he needed Ochaco to understand or at the very least hear his side of the story. That was the least she can do…right?
Izuku walked completely absorbed in his own thoughts as he rounded the corner and felt someone bump into him, but before he could react to them falling they latched their arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. "Wha-?" He said looking down into the teary brown eyes of Ochaco Uraraka.
"Ocha-!" He was about to say before Ochaco placed her lips on his fiercely kissing him. Ochaco had never been one to hide her feelings, but public displays of affection were never this passionate. She usually saved this for when they were alone, but all that didn't matter. After a week of not having her next to him not hearing her voice or feeling her warmth next to him, he didn't care about anything else.
Izuku wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet to return her kiss with just as much passion. They both held the kiss for as long as they could before their lungs screamed for air. Izuku was the first to break the kiss dragging in fresh air and hearing Ochaco panting against his ear. "Ochaco I-." Once more Ochaco interrupted him.
"I'm sorry Izuku!" She shouted as he let her down on her feet. He looked at her as she barely held back tears. "I'm so sorry I-I shouldn't have said those things. I'm so stupid. You would never cheat on me I-I don't know what I was thinking. Please, please take me back! I know I'm stupid and I know you're too good for what I've done to you, but…please don't leave me!" She shouted.
Izuku looked at Ochaco for a moment. A part of him thought that they should talk about this and really get to the bottom of things. Ochaco had said some things that cut far too deeply to just overlook. She didn't trust him and he should say something about that. She needed to know what she did was wrong he needed to tell her she was wrong but the other part just wanted to take her back and forget this ever happened and that part quickly drowned out everything else.
"Of course Ochaco I love you." He said as he grabbed her hand and smiled. "Let's go home." He said turning away from her to head back to their house.
As Izuku turned away Ochaco opened her eyes revealing that they weren't her trademark chocolate brown but instead were bright yellow and zeroed in on Izuku's back. "Sure thing Izukun!" Himiko Toga shouted excitedly.