Hello, heroes. Rio here with the next part of Domestic Heroes for you all. Say, remember when I said back at chapter 11 that wouldn't try and attempt rewriting a chapter by scratch at the last minute again? Well, I guess I proved myself wrong again. I ended up doing this chapter over again last night, but not because the previous rendition was bad. I thought it was ok, admittedly. However, I was struck with a bit of inspiration the previous day on how this story will turn out, and in order for that idea to come to pass, I had to rework this chapter before uploading it today to make it work. Thankfully, I manage to get it down last night, and now it's here and ready for you all to read. It helped that I was able to move parts of my precious variation of this chapter over to the current one. Really helped. With that said, enjoy the story, everyone, and I will see you all in the author's notes.

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.

My Hero Academia: Domestic Heroes

Visiting Home, Meeting Family

"Alright, girls…and cat. We're here. That didn't take too long, huh?"

"Not at all, Deku. Train ride went pretty smooth, too. No fans or pet fanatics hounding over us this time."

"Yup! Didn't have to worry about Mikan getting into trouble either! He was really well behaved. Right, Mikan?"

"Mow."

Izuku could not help the massive smile on his face as he led his little group down the path to his old apartment, Ochako and Eri standing on either side of him while Mikan was trotting along beside Eri, wearing a small black vest that was worn for whenever he went out with everyone. Today the quartet were making their way to go and visit Izuku's mother for a while, and all of them were excited to meet up with the emotional woman. Even Mikan. Every time she visited or they came over to her was a pleasant time for them all, and a precious one to boot. With how busy the couple were becoming, it has been getting more and more difficult for them to meet up with her, so whenever they did get the chance to visit or invite her, they were sure to enjoy every second of it.

The fact that Toshinori Yagi, the former All Might, was also staying with her for his retirement was also quite the boon for everyone. Izuku especially, since the man's essentially a second father to him…

"Hmm… Probably should've brought a gift or something for Mom and All Might for our visit. It's been a while since the last one and they deserve something for putting up with me for so long…" Izuku mused, adopting a pondering expression with his head down and fingers holding his chin, when he was gently shoved out of his thoughts by a mildly annoyed Ochako.

"Don't start, Deku. We're already at your mom's right now, there's no need to turn back to get her and All Might a present when we're already at her front door." The woman chided while gesturing to the familiar door that was the entrance to Izuku's old home, much to his embarrassment. "Besides, Eri's got it covered. Remember those brownies she made for school today? The super tasty ones? She's got the rest of them stuffed into her school bag to share with Inko and All Might."

"Yup! Got them in my bag! Grandma Inko and Grandpa Toshi are going to love them! Just like you two and Mikan did!" Eri chirped as she reached into her bag and pulled out a sealed plastic container full of said dessert, with the vested cat nodding along in agreement.

"Haha. Well, I guess that settles that then. Let's go and say hi to them." Izuku suggested as he reached into his pocket and grabbed his old key. Smiling at the happy and eager looks on his girlfriend and daughter respectively, the young hero opened the doorway and allowed the girls and cat to enter first before entering his previous home himself.

"Izu, honey? Is that you!" The kind voice of his mother called out to him, making his smile slightly bigger as he and the others proceeded to remove their shoes.

"Yeah, Mom. It's us! Made it here safe and sound! Even brought Mikan, too! I know how much you like him!" Izuku responded while making his way further inside, only to pause when a boisterous laugh that was definitely not from his mother echoed the apartment.

"Excellent, Young Midoriya! Miss Inko here has been missing the little bundle of fur since our last visit to your home!" The all too familiar voice of his mentor followed, further boosting Izuku's mood. "We are in the kitchen getting dinner ready. You and the others feel free to relax at the table while we prepare."

Izuku's smile was practically splitting his face as he proceeded to head towards the kitchen, ignoring the teasing giggles he was getting from his girlfriend, and found both Inko and Toshinori working diligently on what he knew to be his favorite dish, katsudon, while chatting amicably with one another.

It wasn't often that he would see the two, but his mood always seemed to grow whenever he saw them interact well with one another. Inko and Toshinori had grown considerably closer as friends over the past few years despite their rocky beginning, much to Izuku's pleasure, and the fact that the two were also living together now, with Inko becoming Toshinori's pseudo-caretaker, was still quite a shock to him. Oddly enough, it was his father, Hisashi Midoriya, that suggested that the former hero and housewife stay together. Apparently the two older males had hit it off quite well during their phone conversations, much to the surprise of the mother and son, and the two spoke to each other often whenever they get the chance. As time went on and Toshinori's health steadily declining even with the new medicine he obtained, the overseas worker suggested that the former hero move to his apartment and stay with his wife so that she could help watch over him. The fact that Toshinori still had his reflexes and even a bit of fighting prowess in him also meant that the man could protect Inko if it was necessary. It was a win-win situation in fire-breathing father's eyes, and with no real reason to deny the request, the mother and mentor agreed to the plan, which was something that Izuku couldn't help but appreciate.

Despite not being with his father as often as either of them would've liked, Izuku knew that Hisashi constantly thought of his ever-growing family, and the fact that the man went so far to help them all out was something he will always be grateful for.

"Hmm? Oh, Izu!" Inko exclaimed happily as soon as she noticed her son and proceeded to drop what she was doing before rushing over to her son and gave him a tight embrace. "Oh, honey, it's been way too long since you visited. You're starting to get as bad as your father at this point."

"Indeed. As good as a man as Hisashi can be, his attendance record isn't really up to snuff." Toshinori joked, laughing at the light slap he got from the semi-amused mother, before making his way over to Izuku and planted a hand over his bushy head. "Still, you really should come over more often, Young Midoriya. Your mother misses you and Uraraka dreadfully, and Eri is truly a dear when she's around. I still recall the day she called the two of you Mom and Dad in front of Inko. Oh, the tears that woman shed on that day…"

"I know, huh. I hadn't seen her cry that much since Eri called her Grandma Inko for the first time. Then again, I wasn't all that different when it happened either. On both accounts." Izuku grinned sheepishly as he watched his mother move from him to Ochako, Mikan and Eri, eyeing them fondly as he saw his mother dote on the two girls while cradling the old cat in her arms.

"She might be a while. You know how she gets when it comes to the other two most important women in your life…" Toshinori said sagely before gesturing to the kitchen with his thumb. "Come. We can set up dinner while she catches up with them. The food is already complete. All that's left is to place it on the table."

"Alright, All Might." Izuku nodded with a smile before following the skeleton man to help with the food, before noticing the odd glint in his mentor's shadowed eyes. "…What is it?"

"Just curious, boy, but when are you planning to ask Young Uraraka that question? Your mother's been getting quite impatient lately and your father's wondering if he should hire a planner yet." The former hero questioned with a knowing look in his eye, causing Izuku to turn bright red when he realized what he was asking. The young man looked away from him, focusing his attention at the tray of katsudon before him, until he let off a deep breath, and turned to the elder man with a mixed expression of determination and nervousness.

"…Soon. I…want to surprise her with something first before I ask. You know what's coming up, don't you? I'm planning on asking her then. Seems appropriate, don't you think?" Izuku whispered softly, making sure that the girls did not hear his words.

"Ah… That makes sense. I believe your father did the same thing with your mother when they were in the dating stage, according to them. I'm sure he will be quite amused if we told him your plan." Toshinori stated with a proud smile while patting Izuku on the shoulder, causing the young man to beam back at him in response before the two left the kitchen with dinner in tow.

"Oh! Izu! Toshinori! You two didn't have to go through the trouble! I could've done it, no problem!" Inko said with a hint of guilt on her face as soon as she noticed the men approach the table with dinner in hand.

"It's fine, Mom. Don't worry. Besides, it gave me a chance to catch up a little with All Might, so it's all good." Izuku assured, giving his mother a happy grin while his mentor simply nodded with a matching smile.

"…If you say so, honey," The mother sighed as she watched the two prep the table when she suddenly perked up. "Oh, I almost forgot. Your father called earlier today about your plan. He said he manage to find what you and Ochako were looking for. Reasonable price, too. He wants to talk to you as soon as possible so that you can set everything up."

"Really! Mr. Midoriya managed to find it!" Ochako exclaimed eagerly, looking even more energetic than usual while Eri and Mikan looked at the excited brunette in confusion.

"…What's going on, Mom? Did Grandpa Hashi find something that you lost somewhere?" She asked in confusion.

"No, sweetie. He just found something that I've had my eye on for a very long time. I'll tell you more about it when the time comes, though, so don't worry about it." Ochako insisted with a kind smile while gently rubbing the girl's head. "How about we have dinner now. Deku and All Might just finished with the table, and the sooner we're done with our food, the sooner we can get started on those super brownies that you made."

"OK!" The child chirped happily before hopping off the couch and towards the dining table, her mother-figure close behind while giggling at her enthusiasm.

Dinner was a pleasant affair after everything was set and ready. Izuku and Ochako regaled their hosts about some of their missions and outings with Eri while Inko and Toshinori spoke of their relatively peaceful days. Occasionally Eri would chime in, and at one moment, Mikan had jumped onto the table to steal a bit of Izuku's katsudon, much to the frizzy man's annoyance. Nonetheless, the visit itself has been quite entertaining for everyone involved, and Izuku couldn't be happier that the most important people in his young life were all in one room and enjoying each other's company. It was truly a rare moment in his life…

"Oh my, that is so cute. And the fact that you and Izu worked so hard to help her recover is amazing as well! I am so proud of you both!" Inko gushed after Ochako told her and Toshinori the tale of how Eri began calling her guardians Mom and Dad, turning to said child, who was calmly munching on a brownie, with a bright smile etched on her face.

"It is indeed. I'm happy that the three of you have gotten so close in such a short amount of time. It's quite impressive, to say the least." Toshinori said calmly, a serene smile on his face as he drank a bit of the tea that Inko had prepped ahead of time.

"Well, it hasn't really been a short time, if you think about it…" Izuku spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "I mean… Eri's been technically a part of our lives for nearly five years now, so we had plenty of time to bond. Even when she was still with Mr. Aizawa, she would visit us or we'll check in on her when we were able to. With all that time spent together already…I guess it's only natural that we'd see each other as family after taking her in. I…can't really think of her as anything but my daughter at this point now. And I know Ochako feels the same."

"…I do." Ochako said after a moment, giving Eri a bright smile as the child looked at her father-figure in teary awe before walking over to the girl and softly embrace her. "I'll admit, it was a bit hard to get through to Eri initially, what with her being so timid to everyone but Deku and Togata, but she managed to open up to me little by little over time. The more we spend time together, the closer we became, especially after Deku and I got together. She was so sweet…so precious, and it hurt to know that so much was done to her… I wanted to protect her…to keep her safe from harm until she's able to defend herself, and when Aizawa gave us the opportunity to do just that, we jumped at the chance. She's been a ray of light to us ever since, and I am proud of every little thing she's done. She's not just a little girl anymore…she's my little girl. Mine and Deku's… She's our daughter, and we're her parents, and there is nothing out there that is going to change that."

The moment those words escaped Ochako's lips, Inko, Toshinori, and Eri looked at her in surprise and awe, while Izuku simply smiled at her with eyes shining with pride. He was well aware of the struggle Ochako had when it came to befriending Eri. The little girl was so scared of getting to know people if he or Mirio weren't available. In fact, the only reason why Eri didn't completely close herself off from Ochako at the time was because the child knew that she was one of the ones who helped rescue her. Eventually, though, the two bonded through their mutual respect and admiration towards him, which embarrassed him greatly when he was told about it, but couldn't be happier to have seen them starting to get along. It was moments like these that made him glad that those two decided to be a part of his life, and the fact that his mother and mentor approved of them so much touched him as well.

"Oh, Ochako… Izuku… That was beautiful…! You three…you really are a family…! It's so amazing… My baby boy's finally has a family he can call his own…!" Inko wept softly, tears of joy streaming from her face as she continued to stare at scene before her.

"Indeed. To think that you have went and obtained such a precious treasure like a family at such a young age, you two, while keeping up with your duties as professional Heroes. Not even I was able to accomplish that. You two have surpassed this former hero in more ways than one, and I couldn't be any prouder of you both…" Toshinori praised, giving the two the brightest smile on his face and causing the couple to grin back at him bashfully.

"Ah… Thanks, Mom, All Might. That really means a lot to us to hear you say that." Izuku said softly, both happy and slightly embarrassed by the praise.

"No kidding. It's pretty cool to be complemented by someone as amazing as you guys." Ochako agreed with a hand scratching the back of her neck out of habit.

"Think nothing of it, sweetie. We're just telling the truth. All that's left is for you and Ochako to get married, and everything will be perfect." Inko stated, a hopeful smile on her face and ignorant of the blushing expressions of shock that formed on the couple's faces.

"…She got a point. You two have been together with quite some time. And with Eri in the picture, you are all more or less the image of a happy family. Marriage will simply make it official." Toshinori stated with an amused smile and a wink at Izuku specifically as he and Ochako began stuttering once more at the mention of marriage talk.

"…Can I be the flower girl for the wedding? Or am I too old for it?" Eri asked innocently, staring at her parental figures with curious eyes and immediately silencing them with her words for a few moments.

"Ah… S-Sure, Eri. You can be th-the flower girl if you want…" Ochako muttered, her face practically glowing before shaking her head furiously. "I-I mean, wait! Can we not talk about marriage right now! I know all of you want us to make it official already, but we told you we're going to wait! It's too early for that stuff! Seriously!"

"Nonsense, dear! It's never too early for marriage! I know plenty of good folks who got married at a young age and are still going strong! It's not strange at all!" Inko insisted, smiling despite the growing embarrassment from the couple before them while Mikan, who was resting on floor, hopped on to the woman's lap and proceeded to watch the scene before it with amused interest.

"Mom… All Might… Can we please drop the subject? You know a wedding is too much for us to even think about doing at this point. We're saving our money for something really important first before we can even think about planning something that big. Ochako and I made an agreement, remember? We told you this…" Izuku sighed as he willed his blush down with little success, wanting nothing more than to simply end the talk. If the marriage talk continued, then it would only be a matter of time, until…

"We're aware of this, Izu, but it doesn't hurt to at least propose. You don't have to get married immediately, you know. Just simply giving her a ring to show how committed the both of you are will be enough at this point. Your father and I were engaged for a good year before we got married, so there's no reason for you to not be engaged as well." Inko pointed out, either missing or ignoring the couple's embarrassed groans and Toshinori's wary look at her direction as she continued. "In fact, I'm surprised that you've yet to pop the question to her. You love Ochako with all your heart, don't you? Not to mention you already have the r-"

"MOM!" "INKO!" Both Izuku and Toshinori exclaimed, staring at the elder woman in horror and startling her and Mikan in the process while the Eri and Ochako jumped at the dual shouts from the men before staring at the three with no small amount of confusion showing on her face.

"What?! Why did you two…" Inko trailed off as soon as she saw the curious gaze aimed her way by Ochako, and slowly started to recall what she was about to say. Once she realized her near mistake, she immediately turned red in the face from her almost blunder, and tried to correct it as well as she could. "Ah… F-Forget what I said! I didn't know what I was talking about! I-In fact, I already forgotten what I just said! Price for being a grandmother I suppose, hahahaha…"

"Mom…" Izuku groaned, hands covering his face at hearing his mother's nervous laugh while Toshinori gave the man a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and Mikan staring up at the mother in disbelief. Ochako, however, was looking back and forth between the three adults, looking even more lost than before, while Eri was still sitting by the table and calmly finishing her brownie, having stayed quiet since making her request to be a flower girl, before looking up at her mother figure curiously.

"…Mom? Why is Dad's family so weird?"

"I wish I knew, sweetie. I wish I knew…"

Prompt 15: Family Visits

Author's Notes: And here we are, everyone. The half-way point of the story. can't believe I actually made it this far, to be perfectly honest. Normally when it comes to big projects such as this, I usually burn out or lose interest partway through and end up leaving the tale unfinished, like with what happened with a couple of my previous stories in the distant past...and Trials of the Trickster. In fact, my motivation for this story has been waning considerably for a good while now, mostly due to my own insecurity. I feel overshadowed at times, because while I like to think myself as an ok writer for the most part, there have been a number of talented writers out there lately that have been pumping out some amazing stuff that I can't even begin to compare my stuff to theirs. Biggest example is the current number 1 MHA fanfic that's been gaining a lot of steam since the beginning of the month: Viridescent by darkfire1220, but there have also been a number of good fics coming out as well, especially in the IzuOcha department. Air Quiet Reader's Hearts vs Heroics, You Are My Hero by Bakufan15 (who is not a Bakugo fan by the way), and Timewarp by Relen are among the new works that have appeared lately that are incredibly well written, while some older works, such as Writing and Drawing, Books and Love by Arawn-Tolbert, DevilTito's Seeking Comfort, and Family Matters by AnimeFan299110, have been updated recently and are amazing as always, with AnimeFan299100 in particular starting up a community recently as well for multiple ships, which I am a member of; called IzuOcha, KiriMina, ShoMo, KamiKyo, MashiToo, TokoSui, and IdaSume, so if any of you are interest, give that community a follow. Heck even one of, if not the, OG of IzuOcha fanfiction, SevenRenny, published a oneshot this month that was cute and sweet: Deer Baby. I don't know whether or not if it was good timing or bad timing on my part to upload during all of this, but I am honestly surprised and happy by how much content the IzuOcha ship has been getting, barring Viridescent since it's undetermined as of this point. I was actually losing heart in continuing this piece for a good while now, and probably would've abandoned it...were it not for a few choice words from some good people in the IzuOcha Discord server.

It's those guys and girls over there that helped me move forward with this work. Some of them helping me out by looking over my chapters for any mistakes that I may have missed, while others were encouraging me with their praise, saying how much they loved and enjoy my work. I am more than grateful to them, and if any of you wish to join it, I will have an invite posted on my profile. The link itself will not work due to how FFN is, but if you type out the link, I'm sure you will be able to get the invite. If all else fails, you can google the invite. It's open for anyone who is interested and is a fan of IzuOcha, and I hope that I will see some of you there. It's a nice place with plenty of good people. Trust me, you'll enjoy it, my fellow heroes.

With that all said and done, thank you all so much for enjoying my work, everyone. It's been a pleasure writing to you all, and I will be back Monday for more fluffy, slice of life goodness staring these three cinnamon rolls. I wish you all the best of luck, Heroes, and I will see you next time. Until then...farewell... And remember:

Go Beyond.

Plus Ultra!