AN: Thanks for all of the interest and reviews! I'm glad you're all enjoying it. Now after a bunch of heavy emotions, let's lighten things up a bit.
Step 8: Be sure to give Izuku a chance to figure things out.
It didn't take long for Izuku to stop crying, only to realize that he had gotten all of their clothes wet from his crying spree.
"S-sorry about that." Izuku apologized as he wiped his eyes before he stood up and walked to his closet, pulling out a dry shirt for himself.
"I think we all needed it," Occhan said from her spot on the bed as she wiped her own eyes.
"You just gave me an excuse to do this!" Ochako exclaimed as she shoved her way past Izuku to grab two shirts, tossing one to Occhan. "Now get out so we can change!"
Izuku once again found himself startled by her strength as Ochako easily shoved him out of his bedroom, slamming the door in his face. Looking down at the shirt in his hand, he sighed as he made his way to the bathroom, where he changed into a dry t-shirt. At the rate he was going through his clothes today, he realized he would probably have to do a load of laundry tomorrow.
Returning to his room, he knocked on the door and Ochako opened it, and he felt himself blushing at the sight of the two girls wearing his shirts. Ochako wore a white shirt with the kanji for 'socks' written across it while Occhan was wearing a black shirt with a picture of All Might emblazoned across the front of it.
"I guess this is my life now," Izuku muttered to himself, as the two girls exited the room and the three returned downstairs.
When they arrived, they saw the girls making dinner for everyone.
Well, almost all of the girls.
"Why won't you let me join?" Rara asked, clearly annoyed that she was banned from the kitchen.
"We're good cooks!" Neko insisted.
"You may be, but Mochi isn't," Mina said bluntly.
"Unfortunately, I agree," Momo said almost apologetically.
"After she managed to burn water, we held a vote to ban her from helping us when it was our turn to make dinner." Tsuyu explained.
"I've been getting better!" Mochi insisted.
"And we're not her!"
"Until you prove it, the rule has been expanded to ban all Ochakos from the kitchen." Hagakure said, and several other girls nodded their heads in agreement.
"No fair…" Rara crossed her arms and pouted.
"How could you do this to us!?"
"I can't help it. I mostly lived on instant food and bulk grains…" Mochi was pouting as she was reminded of her failures in the kitchen.
"It's ok." Izuku gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I know you're trying to be a better cook! Maybe the other Ochakos can help you?"
"Yeah! That sounds like a good idea!" Rara said, hopping up from her chair. "We'll show them!"
"Thanks Deku." Mochi smiled back at Izuku.
They were partway through dinner when the class heard the door to the dorm open and Aizawa entered, looking absolutely done with the world. Everyone sat there silently while he scanned over the class, before landing on the table currently occupied by Izuku, Tsuyu, and all six Ochakos. He glared at the group as if they had just personally offended him.
"Who's fault is this?"
Five of the girls pointed to Ochako, who was pointing at Izuku. Izuku, meanwhile, looked like he wanted to disappear under the table, while Tsuyu simply sat there with a neutral expression on her face.
"You know what? I'm not paid enough to care. You're Nezu's problem, and once this state of emergency is over and you all become second years, you become Nemuri's problem." He shook his head. "Speaking of, the principal wants to see the seven of you."
"All of us?" Izuku asked, making sure he heard correctly.
"Yes. All of you."
The seven of them stood up cautiously and began making their way to the door, not wanting to further incur the wrath of their teacher. Once they all left, Aizawa let out a sigh and turned to the other eighteen students under his care. "I'm assuming they told you that they're all going to be staying here?"
"Yes, we have already discussed that!" Tenya announced, quickly standing up to address his teacher.
"Good, then I don't need to explain anything else. They'll be taking over the rest of the fourth floor and the second floor. Ashido, if you don't want to share the floor with them, you can pick any free room on the third or fifth floor."
Mina nodded in acknowledgment, trying to decide if she wanted to get all the juicy gossip from sharing a floor with three of the Ochakos, or if she would prefer to have some measure of sanity by moving to another floor.
"Good. Now then, I'm going to lock myself in my room until this crisis is over and I don't have to deal with this mess anymore." Aizawa said as he entered the kitchen and pulled out one of his fruit pouches before heading upstairs.
After several tense moments, the students resumed their conversations.
As the seven reached Nezu's office, they saw the principal drinking a cup of black coffee as he ushered them in. "Please! Come in. I'm sorry I don't have enough chairs for everyone, but I would say this afternoon has been rather eventful."
"Yeah, you could say that," Izuku said nervously as they entered the office.
"Now then. I heard some details from the heroes, but I would like to hear it from you girls directly." Nezu said.
The five girls who attended UA looked at each other nervously, before Occhan started recapping the story. They went over Ochako's disastrous encounter at Jaku, her dimensional portal quirk, and how they have slowly been traveling around, more Ochakos joining the cause until they arrived here this afternoon.
"...and then we went out, beat up Jailbreaker, and then brought Deku back!" Mochi finished the summary.
"I see, and you just happened to recruit Lady Nagant on your way back to campus, as well."
"I owe her a lot!" Ochako defended herself. "And she's not as bad as the official reports claim!"
"She told us. And she also told us quite a few interesting things, which will be quite a headache to clean up." Nezu sighed. "Although with the HPSC in its current state, it may no longer matter as everyone responsible was killed in the attack."
"Good, they deserve it." Ochako declared. "Maybe their replacements can prevent people like me from happening."
"I certainly hope you intend to help with that endeavor then," Nezu replied.
"Of course I am!"
"The problem, of course, is convincing the public that someone with All For One can be a hero."
"Do they need to know?" Chako asked. "After all, nobody really knew about One For All either. They just thought All Might was freakishly strong."
"There's also the complication that there are now two copies of One For All." Rara pointed out.
"Indeed. You five seem to have given us new opportunities, and many new headaches." As if to emphasize his point, he took a long sip of coffee, causing many of them to wince. "Just so we are perfectly clear, what are your intentions here?"
"I am going to defeat Tenko, and take several of his quirks," Ochako explained. "And then I'm going to hand him over to the authorities to lock him up."
"And what about the fact that All For One had escaped?"
"We will capture him too!" Chako said, slamming a fist into the top of a chair. "And throw him back in Tartarus too!"
"More hyper regeneration quirks for us!" Ochako said almost too enthusiastically.
"Well, at least our goals align for now. And what do you want in return?"
"We want legal identities, distinct from Mochi," Occhan explained. "That way we can all be our own Ochako."
"We want to attend UA and become heroes! Which means we'll need provisional licenses."
"And I want amnesty for Neko and myself for any crimes we may have committed in other dimensions, as well as this dimension's Lady Nagant and Himiko Toga."
"Well, we certainly will not hold you accountable for your actions elsewhere. As far as we are concerned, all you are accountable for are your actions since you arrived. I believe it will be easy to arrange for amnesty for Lady Nagant, given Endeavor and Jeanist's interest in what she told them. All Might has also said he is willing to vouch for her. As for Miss Toga, that may be more difficult."
"I know she can't be free, and she needs help, but I owe it to her. I want her to get the help she needs, and not just throw her in Tartarus where she'll be left in her current state. Or get worse."
"I'll see what I can do," Nezu replied neutrally.
"And what do you want from us?" Neko asked suspiciously.
"Quite honestly, if you seven can solve the current crisis in Japan, I believe that will be more than enough," Nezu admitted. "This is the closest Japan has come to a civil war ever since the original Meta-Liberation Army, and Japan is in turmoil. If your actions can deal with All For One, Tomura Shigaraki, and help us restore peace in Japan, I believe that will be more than enough payment for what you are asking."
"Deal!" Chako said, a fierce glint in her eye. "This'll be fun!"
"Yeah!" Several other girls cheered.
Nezu sighed and shook his head as he downed the rest of his coffee. "Now then, we will be speaking again soon, but I have to make some phone calls. I am afraid I have a long evening ahead of me thanks to the seven of you."
Not wanting to risk the principal's ire, the group retreated from the office to return to the dorm. Nezu meanwhile, went back to the coffee machine and poured himself another cup of coffee. Time to call Yokumiru Mera and inform him of these new developments.
As they were walking back to the dorms, Izuku looked at the setting sun and the six girls surrounding him. After his earlier talk, he found himself wanting to know more about the other three as well. On impulse, he reached out and carefully slipped his hand around Chako and Rara's arms.
"There's still a little time left in the evening, would you two be up for talking?"
Both girls turned and smiled at Izuku.
"Sure!"
"I'm down."
Releasing them, Izuku led the girls to the lake, where they found a bench. Sitting down, they saw some refugees on the far end of the lake, but thankfully nobody was nearby. While the two girls sat there, Izuku examined them, noticing the small details about them. He already knew Chako was taller than the others, standing as tall as he was, and much more muscular thanks to One For All. But Rara could easily pass for Mochi upon casual inspection. It wasn't until he was sitting here that he began to notice differences.
Her fingertips were calloused and her hands were covered in small scars, no doubt from small accidents and working on support devices over the years. On her left cheek, right under her natural blush, he saw a faded scar as well. It looked like she had taken a wound there, and her body had done its best to restore her beauty. He made a note of it.
Eventually, Chako grew tired of the silence and turned toward Izuku. "I'm sorry Izu."
"For what?" Izuku asked, startled as he was pulled out of his thoughts.
"About earlier. For insulting your All Might."
"Oh."
"It's just-" Chako sighed in frustration. "I know where you could be! To know that you've been hurting yourself when you use One For All, that you're stuck unable to turn off Danger Sense! That- You deserve better!"
"I'm sorry." Izuku looked down at his feet.
"No, you shouldn't be sorry." Chako held her fist in. "You should be trained. And we're going to start first thing tomorrow."
"I'll help too!" Rara chimed in. "I've been talking with Chako, and her quirk is fascinating!"
Izuku seemed to light up at that "Wait, you don't mean…"
"Yep!" Rara grinned. "Mido and I always used to talk about quirks!"
"That's so cool!"
"You two, we're getting off-topic!" Chako said, annoyed at the topic of quirks stealing her thunder.
"Right." Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I think I'd like that. I've mostly gotten over breaking my bones, but it'll be nice to turn Danger Sense off."
"We'll make sure you never break your bones again!" Chako glared at him. "And for the second thing, as soon as this whole thing is over, you are reading a lot of comics!"
"Comics?"
"Chako's All Might was a huge nerd!" Rara explained. "He found out All For One loved comics and so decided the best way to fight him was to read thousands of the things."
"And that was how he defeated All For One six years ago!" Chako declared proudly. "He assumed AFO was fighting using comic book logic, and it hasn't really steered him wrong. After everything I've seen, I'm starting to agree with him. Which means we're all reading comics!"
Izuku thought about it before he looked at Chako. "Is that why you left?"
"W-What do you mean?" Chako asked, her permanent blush spreading.
"Your dimension. I was alive there, wasn't I? So did you leave because of something in comic books?"
"No." Chako sighed as she looked away from Izuku, her hands fidgeting. "I just- I didn't have a place there. All Might was too good at his job before he finally handed me One For All. And I just- didn't know what I was doing. Then an All For One ran right into me! Almost literally! And it turns out she was me!"
"I see." Izuku put a hand on Chako's arm. "Will you move on after we defeat All For One here?"
"That- no!" Chako said, her permanent blush spreading to cover her cheeks. "I need to watch Ochako! And…" She dropped to a whisper. "I need to take care of you."
"We both want to be heroes," Rara explained. "Just some of us had clearer paths than others. For all of her power, Chako may have had it the hardest, trying to find herself. That's why her All Might specifically told her to come with us."
"He did?"
"Yes," Chako admitted.
Izuku scooted over to Chako and gave her a side hug, and he felt her leaning into him. She felt different from the others, but it wasn't a bad thing. Silently, Izuku promised to help her find out how to be a great hero, worthy of the All Might she looked up to.
Once she had settled in, he turned to look at Rara. "You said you had a clearer path? What was it."
"You."
"Me?"
"Mido… was a villain where I came from."
Izuku felt his stomach twisting at the news. "I- how did I become a villain?"
"I don't know, you died before you told me," Rara said, scooting closer to Izuku. He held up his arm and she took the invitation, leaning into him. "I was really hurt the day the League attacked Mei and me. Not physically," she unconsciously touched the fading scar on her cheek, "but emotionally. Being taken back to the League's base only to see Mido was there. After everything we talked about- how close we got- I had to ask if it was all a lie." She sniffled. "When he freed me, he told me that our feelings were never a lie, and then he proved it by dying to protect me."
"I know it doesn't mean much, but I promise I won't become a villain," Izuku assured the girl.
"You're damned right you won't!" Rara sat upright and glared at him. "Otherwise we'll kick your butt again!"
"We've already done it once!" Chako confirmed.
"I know." Izuku gently smiled at the two, and then Rara leaned back into him. "So did Mido also like quirks?"
"He loved them," Rara said. "We spent hours talking about them together."
"I would love to do that with you," Izuku told her.
He saw the other girl blush as a smile crept across her face. "It's a date!"
Izuku felt himself blushing as Chako began laughing, and he felt his heart growing once again. Hearing how he affected these girls' lives, and how they were willing to travel across dimensions, made him want to protect them. To prove that he is worth it.
As the seeds of love for these two girls were planted in his heart, he found himself looking forward to seeing how Neko would join the other Ochakos there.
When they entered the dorm, Izuku said goodnight to Chako and Rara, before heading up the stairs to his room. He collapsed onto his bed and simply stared at the ceiling, trying to process everything that had happened today. He didn't get very far when he heard a quiet knock on his door.
"Deku? Mind if I come in?"
"No! Coming!" Izuku sat up and padded over to his door, opening it to see Mochi standing on the other side.
"I was wondering if we could talk about today?" She asked shyly.
"Sure." Izuku nodded. "I've been thinking about the same thing, actually."
The two moved back to his bed and sat on it, and Mochi leaned into Izuku's side. "Is this ok?"
"Yeah, it is," Izuku said, sliding an arm around her shoulder to assure her.
"Today's really been crazy, huh?"
"Yeah. I still have a hard time believing what happened."
"Trust me, I am too. And I saw them show up in my room!" She leaned deeper into Izuku, placing an arm on his chest. "After hearing their stories - I'm glad you're safe."
"Me too. If I had known…"
"Well, now you do!" Ochako cut him off. "If you died. I probably would be willing to hop dimensions just for the chance to find you again, too."
Izuku tried to think about how to respond to that when they heard a tapping on his balcony door. Concerned, Izuku wrapped himself in Full Cowling before he carefully opened the door, only to see Neko standing on the balcony.
"Hey, Zuku!" Neko said as she examined his room, a flash of disappointment on her face when she saw Mochi sitting on the bed, but she quickly shoved it away. "I was wondering if you wanted to have some fun. After today, I'm sure you want to relax!"
"Fun?" Izuku asked dumbly.
"Let's go to a training ground!"
"All of us?" Mochi asked.
"Yes, all of us!" Neko said, slightly annoyed at her counterpart for asking silly questions. While she was hoping to get some time with Izuku by herself, she'd still make the best of it.
"Sure! I could use some time to unwind." Izuku admitted.
Izuku and Mochi stepped out on the balcony and the three of them took off, floating over UA's campus. Moments later they had reached Ground Beta, the three of them landing on a rooftop. Before long, the three found themselves sitting on the rooftop of a building, staring up at the night sky to see the stars.
"Mochi, why did you become a hero?" Neko asked.
Mochi looked at Neko in surprise but saw her simply sitting there, leaning against Izuku's side, her face obscured enough that she couldn't read it. "I wanted to help my parents. They always had trouble finding consistent work and so we had some tight times when I was younger. But they made sure I never gave up on my dream of being a hero."
"I wish I was that strong," Neko whispered.
"What happened to your parents?"
"They said the same thing to me, but we were having a much harder time than usual when I was nine. I was so desperate to help them I, well-" She turned to look at her counterpart. "When I saw Mr. Compress, I remembered that he was a famous thief who steals from rich people! And so I chased him, begging for him to take me with him. One thing led to another and I became his apprentice, my dreams of being a hero replaced with a desire to be a master thief!"
"How did your parents take it?"
"I'm pretty sure they hated it." Neko laughed bitterly. "But they saw I was happy, and seeing the relief on their faces when I made sure they didn't have to worry about money ever again was worth it."
Mochi stood up and sat down next to Neko, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry you had to do that."
"Don't be." Neko insisted.
"Still! We had it hard, but never hard enough that I thought I'd…"
"If you think I regret it, I don't. It was fun! And exciting! And it let me meet Zuku…" Neko's face dropped at the last statement.
"While I don't agree with what you did, I think you turned out to be amazing anyways," Izuku told Neko.
"Really?"
"Mmm." Izuku nodded. "Look at what you did earlier today! Those reflexes are amazing! I think most people would have flinched but you just kept your cool and still managed to evade my attacks!"
"I had a good practice partner," Neko said, as she began blushing.
"And here you have a clean slate! You can take all of those skills and put them to use as a hero!"
Neko pushed away from Mochi's grasp, and she saw the girl was on the verge of tears. Rather than cry, however, she stood up and tapped Izuku on the shoulder. "Tag, you're it!"
"Huh?"
"I've had enough serious time today. So now we're playing tag! And you're it!" Neko said, a mischievous smile on her face as she was slowly walking backward toward the edge of a rooftop.
"Neko, the roof-"
"Try and catch me!" She said as she stepped back, disappearing from their view.
Izuku and Mochi rushed to the edge of the rooftop only to see Neko floating down, laughing as she pulled out a grappling gun and fired it, zipping further into the training ground.
"Well, Mochi, I guess we're playing tag now?" Izuku said in resignation, before tapping her arm. "And you're it!"
"Wait- Deku!" She protested before Izuku wrapped himself in Full Cowling and was off like lightning. "Argh! I don't even have my grappling hooks!" It was then that she noticed that Neko left a spare grappling gun on the roof. Mochi smiled as she realized the other girl wanted her to play as well. Her face twisted as a competitive look appeared on her face. "Fine, I'm going to give it my all as well!" Grabbing the grappling gun, she took a running leap off the rooftop, activating her quirk on herself.
The sounds of the three laughing and bantering could be heard throughout the training ground as they leaped around, all three pushing themselves to their limits in an attempt to avoid being tagged or to tag the others when they were caught. They lost track of time as the three danced across the buildings, streaks of green and pink flashing in the night.
When they were finally worn out, all three landed on a roof and collapsed, Izuku supporting Mochi and Neko as they leaned into him.
"That was fun!" Mochi admitted.
"Yeah."
"Zuku and I used to do that a lot. Although the stakes were usually higher since he was chasing me after I robbed some big company." Neko laughed.
The three sat in comfortable silence as they cooled down until Izuku finally looked down at Mochi. "Oh yeah, we never finished our conversation from earlier."
"It's ok Deku," Mochi said as she snuggled into him. "I am already feeling better. I wish I got my goodnight kiss though."
"Yo-you wanted a goodnight kiss?" Izuku asked, his face turning red.
"I said that part out loud, didn't I?" Mochi asked as she pulled away from Izuku. When she saw him nodding vigorously she also started turning red.
"You two are so cute and hopeless!" Neko laughed. "I remember when we were that cute."
"D-do you mind if we?" Izuku asked Neko awkwardly.
"No, go right ahead!" Neko jumped up and looked at them with a coy smile. "I already know my way around Zuku's mouth but the other girls need to practice."
Both Izuku and Mochi turned bright red, causing Neko to laugh again as she walked away, sitting down on the edge of the building and giving them some privacy as they turned to each other.
"I know I technically kissed you earlier, but it was in the heat of the moment and I was kind of hoping for something a little nicer? You know, as our official first kiss?" Mochi continued, still flustered from Neko. "You know, since I didn't actually hit your lips directly and all-"
"Y-Yeah."
Izuku shifted so that Mochi was kneeling in front of him, and he gently placed his hand on the back of her neck as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The two were slow and awkward and had several false starts where they both descended into giggles before Mochi finally closed the gap and pressed her lips against Izuku's. The kiss was soft and tender, but it was all they needed to confirm their feelings for each other. Mochi pulled back with a bright smile on her face before she crashed her lips into Izuku's again, and he easily matched her fervor. They had spent too long burying their emotions for each other, and it was like a seal had been broken, the two using their lips to tell the other how they really felt.
Neko was so busy trying to distract herself from what was happening behind her that she didn't notice Izuku until he was sitting next to her.
"Thank you, for tonight."
"It's nothing!" Neko said a little too quickly, thankful she was able to control her reactions.
"I think I'm starting to understand what Zuku saw in you," Izuku admitted, as he felt Neko joining the growing crowd of Ochakos that were working their way into his heart. "I can't promise to give you what he had, but someday I hope to make you as happy as he did."
"I'm sure you will." Neko gave Izuku a soft smile before she leaned forward, planting a chaste kiss on his cheek. "We should probably get back though! Don't want to get you in any more trouble today!" She said quickly as she pushed herself off the building, taking off back toward the dorms.
Izuku simply looked at Mochi who gave him a resigned smile, and they took off after her.
Once they returned to the dorm, Izuku flew to his balcony while Neko and Mochi continued onward to the other side of the building. Once inside, he quickly changed into his pajamas and crawled into bed, the exhaustion he had been seeking earlier finally finding him.
As he closed his eyes, his thoughts drifted to the brown-haired girl who had captured his heart, and the other five brown-haired girls who were, in their own ways, beginning to join her there. The smile wouldn't leave his face as he turned to his side and drifted off to sleep.
AN: After putting Izuku through the emotional wringer, I thought he deserved a little comfort to make up for it. Hope you all enjoyed it!