Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction in dedication to a much grander work. As such, the author does not own the rights to any characters within this story, and any correlation between any original characters that may appear and people in the real world are merely coincidental.

Domestic Heroes: The Early Moments

1st Moment: An Average Day for Average Heroes

"Good work today, everyone. We have managed to apprehend nearly every escapee. There are a few stragglers out there, but they will be apprehended by the underground heroes soon enough. Now you are all free to go. Get as much rest as you can. We have been quite busy lately with the rise of attacks. Make sure you are at one hundred percent when you show up tomorrow and be prepared to give it your all. Am I understood, everyone?"

"Yes, Lady Ryukyu!"

"Very good. Dismissed."

Ochako 'Uravity' Uraraka, sidekick and recent graduate of the prestigious UA Hero School, saluted and nodded with the rest of her fellow peers before walking out of the large meeting room. She then let out a tired sigh as she gently bobbed one of her shoulder blades. She knew the hero business was going to be rough, her first year of UA was prime evidence of that, but even now she still underestimated just how bad it could be at times and how quickly things could go south. She figured she'd be used to events going ary, especially considering who her precious people are, but life still has a way to surprise her, it seems.

I'm just happy that Deku didn't get caught in this whole mess. Things would've probably escalated if he was involved. He's such a trouble magnet. The tired woman thought with an amused giggle while shaking her head. I hope he's enjoying his day off. He works so hard in both the agency and for Gran Torino that he barely has any time to relax. Then again, I can't really talk now since I help with Gunhead's new dojo here in town. Speaking of which, I still need to decide who to pick for that martial arts tournament that's happening soon. I probably need to consult Gunhead himself to figure that out. Either that or-

"Ribbit. Are you okay, Ochako? You're acting like Midoriya right now without the mumbling," A croaky voice spoke up from behind the distracted brunette, causing her to turn to see her best friend, the Rainy Season Hero Tsuyu 'Froppy' Asui, looking at her with concern in her eyes.

"Oh I'm fine, Tsu. Just thinking about my other job at the dojo. Tournament's coming up and I still need to decide who should participate. I was thinking of getting Gunhead to help with the decision. Feels a bit too much to do it on my own," Ochako admitted while bashfully rubbing the back of her neck.

"That's smart, ribbit. No need to overwork yourself. We're busy enough here as it is. And you don't want Midoriya to get upset at you again," Tsuyu nodded, her statement causing the gravity hero to wince in response.

"Don't remind me…" She muttered as she recalled the recent argument the pair had. They've made up since then but it was something that she wouldn't forget for a while, especially since it involved people they both cared for deeply.

"By the way, how are you feeling physically? You look more roughed up than usual, ribbit. Did the escapees you and Nejire dealt with cause a lot of trouble?" The froggy girl asked, causing Ochako to look at her oddly before smiling lightly at the much needed subject change.

"Oh it was rough. I'm feeling sore and grimy all over right now. I'm gonna need to take a long bath when I get home…" She groaned while shifting her shoulders around to alleviate some of her stiffness.

"A bath sounds good. Especially for you. Might want to focus on your hair when you're home," Tsuyu croaked while holding a bit of Ochako's hair, which appeared to be scorched at the bottom.

"Oh… No wonder I've been smelling burnt hair all day. Damn walking matchstick of a villain," She groaned as she looked at her ruined hair. "It's stuff like that that keeps me from growing my hair out. I don't know how you and Yaomomo maintain it, Tsu. Must be really expensive, too…"

"It's a commitment," Tsuyu said with a shrug, getting a light giggle out of Ochako as they entered the building's locker room and changed out of their worn and torn hero costumes.

Now changed into a simple, but comfortable white shirt, pink hoodie and a pair of dark blue pants, her hair looking slightly less singed thanks to Tsuyu's help, and carrying her dirty suit in a case, the off duty hero bid her friends and peers farewell from the agency and made her way to her apartment with a smile on her face. Despite how tiring her jobs were, she couldn't help but feel proud and satisfied with her performance. It took a lot of hard work and perseverance for her to become who she was now, and she was glad that it all paid off. She still had a lot to learn before becoming a full fledged hero, yes, but she knew she was well on her way to becoming the best she could be and was getting the help she needed to climb the ranks.

Both at work and at home…

"Hmm… I wonder what's gonna be for dinner tonight. I should send a text and ask-"

"Hey lady, fork over your money or you're gonna ge-HURK!"

Ochako blinked a couple times as she gathered her surroundings. One moment she was reaching into her pocket to grab her phone and the next she was pinning a hooded individual to the wall beside her. She looked forward to the struggling assailant in her grasp before letting out an annoyed sigh. Ever since she graduated and started her own life, she was often targeted by random criminals hoping to get either her money or her...services, so to speak. They never succeeded; Gunhead's training was so ingrained into her that she instinctively pins almost anyone that sneaks up on her, but it was still a little troublesome to deal with almost constantly. She couldn't help but wonder if the other girls ever had the same trouble… Or did she look that unassuming when out of her hero costume.

"Hey, you stupid bitch! Let me go!" The criminal exclaimed before shouting as Ochako pushed him further into the wall.

"You're the one who tried to jump a professional hero who is also a martial arts blackbelt. Who's the stupid one here?" She deadpanned at the rapidly pailing man before gripping him with all of her fingers. She then let one arm go to reach into her fallen case while the other one held the now floating, and flailing, assailant. "You might want to stop struggling, ya know. I might end up losing my grip and accidently send you to space if you don't stop."

"Dammit, why did this have to happen?! I finally managed to break out of prison and the first person I jumped had to be a bloody hero! Screw my life…" The hooded assailant said in a defeated tone as Ochako looked at him with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh? You're one of the leftovers during the breakout this morning? Huh. No wonder my boss said to not worry about you guys," She said while pulling out a large piece of rope and walked over to a nearby lamppost. "I'm surprised you didn't try and use your quirk on me. Most of your friends used theirs when they tried to fight back."

"Tch, like glow-in-the-dark eyes would anything except creep someone out in a dark alleyway. Hell, the only reason why I turned to crime was because my dumb Quirk is useless for anything other than that..." The now tied man grumbled as his eyes began to glow a menacing red.

"Oh I'm sure a Quirk like yours is useful. No power is worthless. I know someone in particular who can come up with a slew of jobs and such for you," Ochako assured with a gentle smile as she tightened up her knot before pressing her fingers together and pulled out her smartphone. "There. Now behave until the police show up to put you back in your cell. And thank you for being more or less cooperative. You're much better than that weird boxing matchstick guy I dealt with earlier."

"You took down Zippo? No wonder your hair's crispy. Hope you were rough with him. Guy's a dick, even by criminal standards," The hooded man said with a weak chuckle, causing Ochako to look at him in surprise before chuckling herself.

"Oh he's roughed up alright. No worries there."

After waiting for the police to show up to pick up the straggler, Ochako continued on her way home. It didn't take her long to reach a rather nice looking apartment complex, one that she never thought she'd live in back in her younger days. Even now she felt like her new living arrangement was a bit too much at times, since it was a complex with a den, kitchen area, a fairly large bath and two bedrooms, one of which was almost never used. She ended up getting the place in the end thanks to a few factors, the main one being it was the closest complex near her work places at a reasonable price.

It helped that she got a roommate to help split the cost of everything, even if she didn't exactly approve of how they paid the rather pricey deposit and first rent.

"Still can't believe he went and did that. I mean, it was sweet and all, but it was completely unnecessary. At least he managed to get some of his collection back…" Ochako said to herself as she walked past a few of the doors and reached the one that belonged to her, glad that she got a home on the bottom floor. She'd rather not make herself sorer than she already was. Just as she was about to open her door, it suddenly swung open, revealing a certain mop of green hair that she had come to know and love.

"Ochako! Welcome back! I saw everything that happened on the news today! You were absolutely amazing on the field! The way you subdued the criminal Zippo so easily was incredible! You and Nejire were the perfect combination! And then there was the moment where you and Ryukyu-"

"Deku, slow down. I know you get hyped whenever you see me work, but could you save it until after I take a bath and get some food? I want to get a bit comfortable first before listing to my boyfriend mumble up a storm. And how did you even know I was nearby?" Ochako giggled, more than a little amused at the sight of Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya, clad in a pair of dark green sweats and one of his usual character shirts, looking at her with that starstruck expression that always made her heart flutter.

"Ah… Um, sorry. I was doing a bit of cleaning nearby when I heard you talk to yourself just now. Come on inside. I already have a bath drawn for you when you sent me that text after you clocked out," Izuku said bashfully, cheeks tinged red as he moved out of the way to let her in.

"Oh, thanks, Deku! That's so sweet of you! You really know how to treat a girl right!" Ochako chirped as she entered the complex and gave the young man a quick peck on the lips, snickering when his face started to glow a fiery crimson.

"N-No problem! I'm gonna go finish dinner! We're having curry tonight! E-Enjoy your bath!" Izuku managed to stutter out before bolting out of the entryway, leaving behind a very amused Ochako.

"We've been together for so long and are even roommates and he still gets flustered whenever it comes to affection sometimes. Some things never change, I suppose," Ochako said quietly to herself as she took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh smell of curry in the air as she slipped her shoes off and quickly made her way to the bathroom to freshen up, pausing when she saw a scruffy looking orange cat trot towards her with a slight limp. "Hi Mikan. Hope you had a good day here with Deku. You didn't burn anything this time, have you?"

"Myo."

"Good." She giggled, scratching the bundle of fur behind the ears before heading into the bath to relax, the cat following her inside and even hopped into the warm bath, much to her amusement. "You really are an oddball of a cat, huh?"

"Mii."

After a few long minutes, Ochako left the bath in a pink robe feeling very refreshed, followed closely by her furry companion in a cat-shaped orange robe of its own, a gift from Momo a few months back. She took another deep breath, salivating slightly at the scent of fresh curry, and scurried as fast as she could to the kitchen to see Izuku placing food filled plates on the table, much to her delight.

"Just in time! I just tasted the curry and it came out really well! You're gonna love it, I'm sure," Izuku said with a bright smile as he sat down.

"Marry me…" She shuddered with wide eyes staring at her meal as she sat down as well, her response causing a bark of laughter out of Izuku and causing her to blush when she realized what she said.

"Not yet. Soon, though. We promised to make your dream come true first before anything, remember? Your family takes priority and I want to help you out in any way I can," Izuku said softly while reaching over to place his scarred hand over her own slightly rough hand, and Ochako couldn't help but tear up at his statement.

"...You always know what to say, don't you, Deku?" She muttered as she wiped away her tears with her free hand.

"I learned from the best," He responded with a grin just as an impatient meow was heard by the two. "Hey, Mikan. I didn't forget about you. I got a small plate of curry here just for you. It's spicy, just how you like it. Enjoy."

The cat chirped in joy in response as a tiny plate was set on the floor before it and proceeded to chow down in a ravenous manner, causing the couple to laugh at the sight.

"It still baffles me to see him eating human food like us and not get sick from it. I'm glad we were able to rescue him," Ochako said fondly.

"He's a memento of our first joint mission together as official heroes and is as stubborn as us when he wants to be. I have a feeling he's going to be with us for a long time," Izuku said with a nod before focusing back on her. "So how did everything go today? I've seen a lot of what happened on the news but I'm curious about the details. Are you able to share or is it all confidential?"

"I can share it. And expect to get busy once you're on duty. Breakouts have been happening a lot lately and we need to be on top of everything just to make sure we wrangle everyone. Make sure you and your group are all prepped up before you head out," Ochako said seriously before taking a mouthful of curry and squeaked in surprise. "Oh wow, you weren't kidding when you said this is good! What recipe did you use for this?"

"I got a new one from Ashido when she and Kirishima came over to visit earlier today. They told me to tell you hi and that she wants to know when you're free so you and the girls can hang out," Izuku explained, Ochako nodding along as she continued with her meal.

As the two talked, Ochako couldn't help but think how things have changed so much for her over the years. Some for the better, some for the worst, but in the end, she wouldn't change it for the world. She worked hard to get to where she was now and while it might be a bit early to say for sure, she was happy where she was. She had a home close to her two jobs, a loving and supportive boyfriend living with her to make life a bit easier, and she was slowly but surely making a name for herself as a hero under her boss's guidance. She knew things will still get rough down the road, especially in her line of work, but she was ready for it. With that in mind, she allowed herself to become more comfortable as she listened to her boyfriend go on about his day and chimed in when asked about her own and occasionally scratching her cat's head whenever it walked up to her.

Just an average way to end the day for a young hero in training. Just how she liked it.

Author's Notes:

Welcome, Heroes, to my new work for IzuOcha week and the Prequel to Domestic Heroes! I hope you all haven't been waiting long for some good old IzuOcha content. My apologies for not being active here, lately. Things have been quite busy for me, recently. Hopefully, a week's worth of domestic fluff would be enough. I hope you lot will enjoy what I have managed to come up with as much as I enjoyed making them. Cheers, everyone, and I will see you all tomorrow for the next update. Farewell, and remember: Go Beyond, Plus Ultra!