Welcome back, Heroes. Rio here with the next part of Domestic Heroes. Sorry for the late update. Had some issues to take care of IRL that needed some attention. Regardless, I am here and with another batch of filler before tomorrow's bigger chapter. I honestly can't wait to upload it, but I gotta keep up the suspense. There's also a little hint of something here as well that will be brought up again in a future chapter. Hope you guys enjoy the fic, and I will see you 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

Season's Cleanings

Another day, another moment of respite for the residents of the Midoriya-Uraraka apartment. Typically, on such times, Izuku and Ochako would either relax at home or go out either on their own or with Eri to have a good time during their brief break from work. This break, however, was different, as it was getting close to Eri's birthday. As such, the pair decided it would be best to spruce up the place in preparation for the celebration. They already planned on having a small party after a long day out with their surrogate daughter, so they figured it would be best to fix up their apartment in preparations of the eventual gathering that will take place. Although the majority of their friends wouldn't be able to make it due to prior engagements, the important ones; namely Ochako's parents, Inko, Toshinori, Mirio, and Aizawa managed to find enough gaps in their busy schedules to attend. It would be a simple party in the evening, but a significant one nevertheless. For that, the family of three, including the resident pet, unanimously agreed to give their home a thorough cleaning.

"Hey, Mom? I finished my job. Can you let me down now?" Eri asked from her spot on the ceiling, wearing a simple white t-shirt with a pair of sweats and a white bandana on her head with a dust rag on hand.

"Sure thing, sweetie. Just give me a moment to get to where you are so that I can catch you." Ochako, dressed in her usual black tank top and pink short shorts, answered from behind the tv, carefully removing herself from behind it to place herself under her daughter's position. "Ok, I'm here. You ready?"

"Yup!" Eri nodded, grinning when she saw her mother figure press her fingers together and release her Quirk, allowing the effects of gravity to affect her once more. Giggling, she let herself fall without struggle or flailing, landing safely into Ochako's arms and looking up at her in amusement. "Hi, Mom."

"Hey, sweetie. Enjoyed your flight?" The brunette smiled back while setting the girl down, giving her a gentle pat on the head, before turning her head towards the kitchen. "Deku, you doing ok with the stove? I can help if you want."

"I'm fine, Ochako. Don't worry. There's a lot of gunk and stuff here, but nothing that a little effort and a bit of One For All can't fix." Izuku called out, his body partially inside the oven with a face mask and a bottle of degreaser on hand. He was also wearing a set of his older clothes, a light green shirt with a pair of dark blue shorts, so that he could get a little dirty without worry.

"Of course, there's a lot of gunk in there. We haven't cleaned that thing out since that pizza we made a while back. Guess we've been too busy with work and stuff to get around to it." Ochako stated before heading back to the tv with a grimace. "Same could be said around here, too. So much dust… When was the last time we thoroughly cleaned up here? I don't remember our home being like this before."

"I think it was the day you and Dad gave me your old clothes. Remember? You were wearing his current hero outfit at the time and I took his first costume to try on. I still have it, I think." Eri said with a pondering expression towards the end.

"Ah… Well that makes sense…" Ochako sighed, feeling a little foolish about herself when she heard the sounds of soft footsteps behind her. Turning her head, she couldn't help but snicker at the sight of Mikan trotting over to her with a small rag in its mouth. "Oh, hey there, Mikan. Came to help out?"

"Mow…" Mikan responded, getting closer to Ochako and placing the rag into her hands, purring when she began stroking its head for its assistance.

"Good boy. You deserve a treat when we're done. Why don't you hang out with Eri until we're finished, ok?" Ochako suggested, getting another meow out of the family pet and watching it depart to the white-haired child, before turning her attention back to the tv and entertainment system with a look of determination. "Alright, time to get to work."

Eri watched on as her mother began working on her self-imposed task while her father continued with his, a small smile on her face as she did so. She was enjoying the quiet moment she and her family were having. Things have been very hectic recently, and while there were a few times that things were calm, such as the hot spring trip and the surprise picnic, this was the first time in a while that everyone was actually home for such an extended period of time. Even if they were just cleaning the apartment, Eri was content simply being with everyone again. She'd missed this, and the fact that they were doing it because her birthday was coming up warmed her heart. Wishing to help out even more, the little girl held the rag in her hand tighter and let out a small grunt of determination before setting out to search for something else to clean, with Mikan following close by.

After a few moments of deliberating, Eri decided to work on cleaning up the couch. It was starting to look a little dirty with some of the crumbs and stuff she found on the cushions, so she decided to get it spruced up so Izuku and Ochako wouldn't have to worry about it. Smiling, she made her way over to the furniture and took off the cushions, beating and wiping them up a little to get rid of the dust and bits of food that had accumulated over time, before focusing her attention to the underside of it. She then turned to the couch itself, blinking at the sight of loose change and other miscellaneous items that were hidden, and proceeded to take them out.

"Hmm… Singed cat collar. Missing socks. Dad's lucky hero themed pen. One of Mom's bracelets. My yellow ribbon. Been wondering where that was…" Eri listed off, growing more and more incredulous as she removed the pile of missing items from on and inside the couch to the table behind her. Knowing exactly who was responsible for it, she turned her head slowly to see Mikan perched innocently on the same table, staring back at her with a blank expression. "…Seriously, Mikan? Why do you keep hiding all of our stuff? Is it really that fun, or do you get bored easily?"

"Mow." The cat stared back while appearing to shrug somehow, an action that caused the girl to quirk an eyebrow, before it proceeded to jump into the couch, digging its way inside and pulled out more and more missing items, much to Eri's exasperation.

"…I can't believe it. You seriously had all this stuff hidden inside the couch? How did you even manage that, Mikan?" The child questioned as she held an All Might keychain in front of her face curiously as Mikan continued to tunnel through the couch.

"Can't believe what, Eri?" She heard Izuku call out, causing her to turn her head over to see him and Ochako walking over to her. As soon as they got near, they stopped, their eyes wide at the large pile of missing items on the table, with more coming out from the inside of the couch, before Izuku let off an exasperated sigh. "Oh… Mikan's at it again, is he. And he's using the couch this time."

"At least it's not in our room again like in the last apartment. I swear he kept so much stuff under our futon all the time back then. My back was killing me," Ochako whined just as Mikan popped out of the couch, apparently finished with its task, and sat on the armrest with a proud expression before being picked up by the mildly annoyed woman. "You just had to be a klepto, huh, Mikan. I bet other cat owners don't have to deal with stuff like this."

"Yeah, but you know very well that he is different than others. It's to be expected for him to have a few oddities here and there. We're no different." Izuku said calmly as he began shifting through the pile of lost items, blinking at a couple that caught his eye. "Huh. Kacchan's hero mask. So, he was right when he said that Mikan hid it last time he was here. Looks like I owe him an apology…and probably a new mask since this one's full of bite and scorch marks..."

"Ah. No wonder Mr. Kacchan was so mad last time he was here… Madder than usual, anyways." Eri mused, recalling the furious expressions that the explosive hero had during his visit.

"It's not just Bakugo's mask. Looks like Mikan went and hid some of our other friend's stuff as well." Ochako spoke up as she pulled out a few objects she knew didn't belong to them, all of which possessing some bite marks and, rarely, some burn marks; including a fashion magazine belonging to Mina, one of Sato's recipe books, Tokoyami's cloak, and even one of Tsuyu's spare goggles. "…Mikan, what the heck."

"…I'll go make the calls." Izuku sighed as he reached into his pocket to grab his phone while Eri proceeded to put the cushions back on the couch, having cleaned them while her caretakers were working through the pile.

"You do that, Deku. I'm going to organize all this stuff here so that the others won't have a hard time finding their stuff when they get here. At least the damage Mikan's caused them is negligible." Ochako offered as she started going through the pile of items again before turning to Eri apologetically. "Eri, sorry for asking you to do this, but would you mind finishing up the rest of the cleaning? All that's left is to dust the counters and photos. That ok, sweetie?"

"Sure, Mom. I'll take care of it." Eri nodded with a kind smile, getting a grateful expression from both Izuku and Ochako, before heading over to one of the photos with a duster in hand, pausing briefly to stare at Mikan, who was looking at the pile of goods it had hid with a hint of pride reflecting in its eyes. Shaking her head at the sight of the cat, the child proceeded to finish up the chores with the photos, starting with her favorite one: a picture of her, Izuku, Ochako, and Mikan all holding one another inside the living room, taken shortly after first moving in.

Well, looks like we're going to have some company today after all. Hope they're not too mad with Mikan hiding and burning all of their stuff again. Hard to tell with Mr. Kacchan, but we'll see.

Prompt 24: House cleaning

Author's note: And that is number 24, everyone. Not entire the best thing that I've written, mostly due to what the prompt was, honestly, but hey, it works. The guys at the discord seemed to enjoy it, and really helped me out with refining the piece. I really owe them a lot for all that they've done to help. Big chapter coming tomorrow everyone, like I said before, so look forward to it! With that said, thank you all so much for reading my stories. Have a wonderful time, Heroes, and I will see you in the next update.

Farewell, and remember: Go Beyond. Plus Ultra!