In this undiscovered moment
Lift your head up above the crowd
We could shake this world
If you would only show us how
Your life is now - Your Life is Now by John Mellencamp

A three month old is a great teacher. In the hospital, there was always someone around to whisk Kai-chan away when he started to fuss, or if I got tired or stressed. Here, it's another matter completely. Maybe not entirely since Tsu was capable, and compassionate, but she also wanted me to continue making progress.

As it was, it only took three days of just sitting around home, alternately bored and frustrated for me to get what I was going to call a memory. I was woken with Kaiden's wail and the scent of toast and miso simmering in the kitchen. Tsu was humming and tasting the broth with evident enjoyment as I came in and started heating a bottle. I propped Kai-chan on my shoulder and soothed him as we waited.

"I need to get in shape."

"Mmm," Tsu dipped out a serving of the broth and buttered the toast, "I think that's why you have a jogging stroller. Ribbit."

The bottle warmer beeped, and I tested the liquid before shaking it vigorously and heading into the rocker that we'd all decided the Kai liked his meals served from. The jogger caught my eye, and I paused, momentarily mesmerized by it. Kai's squirming and low-key cry shattered the moment before I sat down, and positioned him for the bottle.

I was expecting the next twenty minutes to be the same as most of our mornings had been: feeding Kai, burping him, reading him a story and then tummy time while I ate my breakfast. What I wasn't expecting was a small spark in my mind, a headache that I couldn't ignore that left as quickly as it came on. I looked up, the jogger catching my eye again. I stared at it.

"Mr. Park makes soufflé pancakes." My eyes narrowed as I studied it, "He always compliments Kai-chan's hat..."

Tsu stood at the boundary between the kitchen and the living area, her eyes wide as she watched me talk to myself, "Where are Kai's hats?" The question was quiet as a whisper.

I looked up, the answer on the tip of my tongue before I even knew it, "Top drawer, right side." I locked eyes with her, my heart pounding in my chest, "Top drawer! I! I remembered something!" I felt like jumping up and bouncing off the walls, but instead, let my eyes tear as I rocked Kai. "The jogger. It triggered something. I remembered a bakery. Where I apparently indulge in pancakes." I laughed unsteadily, "Well, I have to go there now. Let's dress Kai and go for a jog this morning!"

"Ribbit! I have breakfast ready." She tipped her head, "That was exciting! I knew you could do it!"

"I can't wait to see what else I remember!"

It wasn't long before I regretted those words. Although I did keep having random memories, they were just that; random. I tried the visualization exercises Dr. Nakamura gave me; I could focus for hours on the sight of people in the office that I worked at just to get nothing but a roaring headache that was nothing like the tiny jolts I got when I had a memory that was nearly worthless.

I remembered the feeling of Todoroki's hand on my arm as my friends and I stood in a circle. I remembered a young woman now living in Osaka who can't use her quirk because she can't control how poisonous her skin can become. A teapot my father calls Sailor Tea because it is bright blue and white with little stars on it. Useless.

One time, I got a jolt and a fleeting headache when I was looking at my nightstand, and I didn't know why. I still don't. I looked through it, and nothing else sparked a memory. Just thinking about that still makes me worried that there is something about that nightstand that would unlock so many memories. It was enough to drive me crazy.

Ironically, it was things that used to drive me crazy that made me sane. The day after the memory with the jogger, Tsu, Kai and I went to the park, where I spent a solid hour using my quirk. I wasn't rusty, honestly, since I couldn't remember the time in between losing and regaining my quirk. It felt like I'd just taken a week off for a vacation. The only thing that had happened was that Froppy had to flash her hero's license to get us out of a ticket before we were shooed off.

As the days began to pass, I decided that I couldn't put off calling Aizawa-sensei anymore. I was back to toting Kai-chan to work at my parent's business, and that had been depressing. I want to be a hero! Even if I stuck to rescue agencies, my heart would not accept less. Froppy was a happy hero, doing her best and I wanted that too.

There were many things I needed to do, so the first thing I did was call the Hero Commission. They graciously unlocked my hero suit design and - after much persuasion - updated my provisional license to active. Which was a relief, since the new laws would not allow me to even practice at the school without some kind of license.

Then I called Shoto. I should have taken Tsu's advice, and called Aizawa directly. But, I could not shake the feeling that I should get to know Shoto better. Oh, I remembered him as the boy he was. Awkwardly kind mixed with single-minded fierceness. I remembered him as being just the same as his hair and eyes, a pleasant mix of good traits for a friend. I just wish I knew why he had helped mom and dad, baby-sat Kai-chan and basically sat by my bedside for over a week. Besides, he said he would call and I felt oddly snubbed that he hadn't.

The phone didn't even go through one full ring before a breathless voice answered, "Uraraka!"

"Is this a bad time, you sound…"

He interrupted, "Hold on," I could hear commotion in the background. A sound I remembered well, his ice wall. "It's nothing."

"That was your ice wall," I laughed, "Not nothing. I can call back."

"No! I mean, that's not necessary. Ah, wait…" I heard a rustle and then an explosion and the creak and shatter of breaking ice, "Dynamight! I'm on the phone!"

"Why the hell do I care about that?" I could hear Bakugo clearly, he apparently hadn't learned volume control. "You're fighting me, Icy Hot!"

Okay, so some kind of training? Maybe Bakugo had joined the same agency as Shoto. And he'd gotten a new name. I didn't like it, but I supposed I didn't have to. I listened…

"Damn it." Shoto's voice was barely audible, and I wondered if I were in the pocket of his vest. It made me feel awfully giddy. I heard the crackle and hiss of his flames, and I felt immediately sorry for Bakugo. With his quirk, getting blasted with flames could not feel good. A large whoosh had me staring at my phone in amazement. Shoto sounded like he'd powered up even more.

Bakugo laughed, "That's better! Say hi to your sweetheart."

"It's Uraraka," Shoto hissed, "I don't have a sweetheart." The sound of ice, I could see it in my mind's eye. A bridge, or a slope, a way to move him close enough to Bakugo to shut him up. So, I was just Uraraka. Important enough perhaps to answer the phone for, but not enough to put a stop to a training spar. I thought seriously about hanging up.

"I'm going to kill you, you stupid bomb-head." Shoto was speaking quietly, so I must have been pretty close to his body. And I hung on for the rest of the fight. I heard another fumble and "Hang on." He whispered, making me feel like I was right next to him in reality, "I'm going to finish this." I dropped back into his pocket.

"As if I would fall for that." Shoto mumbled just under the noise of an explosion. I waited with bated breath. A noise I hadn't heard very often: the hissing spit of his fire alongside the crack-tingle of his ice activating. Both at once? When had he gotten control over that? I knew he could, I had seen it, but from the sound, it was on a scale large enough to 'kill' the 'bomb-head.'

My heart dropped. Although my quirk was exactly the same as I recalled, everyone I knew had powered up. Gotten new finishing moves. A new name. New costuming. I could feel the ugly brush of jealousy painting my cheeks.

Panting. Then, "Nice game, Bakugo." The fight had ended, and Shoto pulled me free from wherever he'd stashed me. "Sorry about that. And for him."

"Sorry Uraraka!"

Oh my god. Bakugo apologized to me! "Tell him it's fine. Look, I'm just going to go. I shouldn't have called."

"Please, don't!" He sounded shocked, "I mean, I'm glad you called." I heard the click of a door, and his tread echoing in a hallway. "I meant to call you."

"That's why I figured I should call first, but you're not the same hero I remember." I chewed on a hangnail, "You and Bakugo. Just listening to you right now…" I tucked my abused fingers under my butt, "You're both on a totally different level now."

"Tsu said she'd call Aizawa-sensei. Didn't she?" I heard a click as he switched me to speaker phone and set me down on a hard surface. "If he can't, then I'll help. However I can."

The sound of material sliding over skin sent an electric pulse through my ear. He was undressing! I blushed hotly, so glad he couldn't see it. "She did, I am supposed to call him today, too."

The sound of him unbuckling his utility belt almost paralyzed me, and I knew I should hang-up before I had a stroke and left Kai-chan an orphan. "I'll call too. Say you'll let me help you?"

"Why?" I couldn't stand it one more second. "Why would you do all the things you did, Shoto? Not that I don't appreciate them! But my parents sing your praises, and I saw you handle Kaiden like you'd been doing it all his life. We were friends, but I don't think we were that familiar."

I heard the speaker turn off, "I shouldn't have overstepped. I'm sorry." I thought he would hang up, "I just remember that day. I let you down. I never want to feel that way again. I still want to be your friend, Ochaco."

I could have melted. "Okay. Okay…" I swallowed, "Shoto. If you want to help, I would like that." I paused, "Can I ask one more thing?"

"Anything."

"Did we know each other after I left school?"

He took a breath, "No. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I comforted him. "Tsu and my mom and dad tell me that I cut off all association with my UA classmates. I'm the sorry one."

I heard the gentle shhshhhhsh of a shower being turned on, "I have to go now. Thank you, Ochaco. For calling."

"Good bye, Shoto." I sat there in sensory mortification and tried to get semi-naked thoughts out of my head. It was really, really hard. Shoto in a bathing suit is a sight not easily forgotten.

I sat, holding the phone in my hands. I knew I should just call Aizawa, his contact information was taped to the refrigerator. Or I should call one of the Hero Support Centers and get someone to work on my costume. But all I could do was think about the conversation I'd just had with Shoto. Not the tingly bits, but the parts where I realized that they'd ALL left me behind.

I was demoralized, Tsu was out doing her job today, so I watched Kai-chan. He was on his back, his little fists batting at the toys hanging from his play center. He was so cute doing this, and I knelt down to his level. He turned his face toward me, a soft babble issuing from him.

"You want to talk?" I grabbed him, and smiled as his little face lit up with a return smile. "You are just too cute," I gushed, and hugged him close. I settled him on my knee to which he promptly giggled. My heart melted. He'd been making these adorable noises for a while, according to the internet, but hearing them made me feel good.

I sighed, "You probably think I'm amazing. I feed you, and smile, and let you play with Auntie Tsu." His blue eyes watched me, "I don't know," I nuzzled his hair, "Sometimes I think I can't do this. That now my dream is impossible to achieve."

He cooed again, "Right. I knew you'd get it." A burble, "Do you really think so?" I laughed at my son, "I worry too much. Yes. I've always been a little bit of a worrier." I gave him another smile, "Okay, lunch, then I am calling Support Services."

AN: So, obviously I started writing this a long time before spoilers/ Aizawa got mangled. So he's gonna be pretty alright. /spoilers I have no idea about anything else. Ugh, Bakugo's hero name is… not to my taste. Damn, this story isn't about him! My stories are horrifyingly organic most of the time. You get what you get. XC I decided that quirks and stuff would become regulated a LONG time ago. Why, you may ask? Read/watch the episodes with the provisional make-up tests. If that doesn't happen in the manga, I'll eat my husband's boots. Good lord, I just watched the swim contest again last night. I am a glutton I tell you. As always, if you have a question, hit me up! I only bite on alternate Tuesdays.

I am like the WORST friend. Mosevic is the best. No ifs, ands, or buts.