A/N: Where should I start... Okay. First of all, I went through what felt like a hundred drafts until I came up with this flow. I wouldn't be able to update this fic without my co-writer, Sam. Bro, you're the best best friend in the world. I hope you know that. I'm just a simple human being that sometimes want to write without you. Thank you for giving me a hand despite your busy schedule.
For those who leave reviews:
Grimnack : I'm glad I piqued your curiosity. I hope this update will suit your taste. :]
Alexzander95: Thank you for the encouragement. I shall do my best.
RumpCrunch: I'm grateful for your kind words. Hopefully, this update will also excite you. :)
It's Hawk & luisAM21: Yes. There's always room for improvement.
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Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academy.
Chapter One
"Losing your balance will not cause you to fall. Gravity will."
..
Two years later prior the Tsunami incident. . .
The sky was black in town when Ochako Uraraka arrived.
It sounded as though there were sirens everywhere; an ambulance roared past her, agonized screams filled the air along with heart-wrenching cries. A huge crowd of spectators hindered by the police's yellow tape gathered, taking pictures with shaking hands and uncertain feelings. A reporter was talking to the camera with practiced efficiency to convey the situation, unperturbed by the noises. The police were telling people to evacuate; the medics yelling to make way. Yet with all these commotions, Ochako's gaze drifted to Sero. He was helping a civilian into the ambulance on a stretcher. The woman was bleeding and her leg looks badly injured. Ochako felt her whole body trembling as she ran to him.
"Cellophane! What's the situation?"
"Uravity! Thank goodness, you're here!" His face lit up upon seeing her. He sported a gash on his cheek and his costume seemed to be decorated with ash. "We need your help. There's still a lot of victim inside the stores. Could you—"
"Got it!" And as soon as she uttered those words, she sprinted towards the burning town.
"Wait! There's still some undetonated bombs so be careful!" He yelled after her. She raised her hand to let him know she heard him.
"I will!" She yelled back and as she entered the burning vicinity, it hit her with full force.
It was vivid. The smell of smoke, of burning wood and burning flesh—and the smell of blood. That familiar metallic scent of blood. It was almost unnoticeable but the presence was there - silent and horrifying, and just waiting to be acknowledged. The common folk won't recognize it unless they have memorized the scent of it; unless they memorized the taste of it. Ochako swallowed back the vile in her throat and sauntered forward.
A villain wreaked havoc in the city, the foe was already apprehended but a massive fire began. It seems that the villain planted numerous explosives in several stores in the city which he activated when he failed on his escape and got detained by the heroes. They didn't know how many bombs remain inactive or how the villain activated it in the first place, and they needed all the heroes they could reach.
Her quick - Zero Gravity - is very efficient during these times. The victims who were stuck underneath different kinds of debris could be lifted up out of harm's way in no time. Getting the civilians back to where the medics are waiting is easy as well. Using her quirk takes a toll but none she hadn't experienced before.
She was searching around the second floor of a restaurant in haste when suddenly there was a loud explosion that renders her deaf for a few seconds. The impact threw her against a pillar made of metal, her stomach receiving the blow. It was as if all air from her lungs were forced out of her chest. Multiple shattered glass pieces had pierced her right leg. She fell on the floor, clutched her stomach, the sharp taste of blood on her mouth. The air burns, she can feel how it slowly ate the fabric of her costume nonetheless she stayed on the floor for a few seconds, quivering.
Sero had warned her. She gritted her teeth as she tries to stand yet she couldn't. She was aware yet she let her guard down. It was an amateur mistake - one she hadn't had the time to consider upon hearing a not-so distant cry of a child. With renewed determination, she began to pull out the glass from her leg. The cuts are deep yet she stood and began to saunter the place to look for the source of the sound. Her left eye hurt like hell yet even though her vision began to blur, she found the young girl under a table, near the now wrecked cashier register.
The girl has wide scared cobalt eyes and her short blonde hair was matted with blood. She seemed a little dazed at first; her tears silently pouring down her dirt-smeared cheeks, but when she saw Ochako she started to cry harder. Uraraka crouched down and the girl wrapped her small arms around her savior's neck and the scared child sobbed. She silently admired the young girl's perseverance.
Ochako leans her face down next to the young girl, both to comfort and from exhaustion. "Everything will be okay. Don't worry, you're safe."
"Where's mommy and daddy. . ." The young girl whimpered.
Ochako pulled away. She held the girl's shoulders to look at her straight in the eye. "What's your name and your parent's name, sweetheart?"
"My name is Alice. My dad is James and my mom is Atsuko."
Gently, Ochako tucked a strand of the child's hair behind her ear. Alice leaned at the warmth of her hand and Uraraka's eyes softened. "Well, Alice. I'll bring you back to your parents. I promise."
She carried the girl on her back, hoping that they'll reach the ambulance in time despite the condition of her legs. The child draped her short limbs around tightly at her waist, her arms wrapped around the hero's neck with trust. A silent gasp escaped the brave girl's lips as she walked. The next few steps were pure agony yet her pace didn't change. She blinked once, twice, and gritted her teeth. Her left eye was starting to see blurry. The young girl that she was carrying on her back grew quieter, and although the gravity girl knew it was because of exhaustion and relief, Uraraka still felt the swift panic. Her heart rammed against her ribs painfully.
The little girl was not dying yet her savior felt like the child just might. The whole scenario was a grim reminder of what happened two years before—a teenager trap underneath a fallen wall yet with all of her credentials, she couldn't save him—she shook her head to diminish the thought, yet the memory haunts her with her every shuddering exhale, with her each excruciating step.
The priority was to keep the girl safe. It didn't matter if her lungs screamed for oxygen. It didn't matter if she couldn't feel her legs anymore. Deku has been the symbol of peace for some time now but the world is too vast. That's why other heroes like her existed, to fill in the small gaps he couldn't seal.
Ochako searched along the burning second floor, her vision wavered. She touched a table and made it float to create a make-shift haulage to get both of them out of the scorching establishment. When she was about to place Alice atop the table, nausea rose up so fast, so sharp, it stole her breath. Her hand reached for something to hold on blindly. Her attention was stolen however when the glass wall beside her suddenly shattered and someone came tumbling in. She saw his body glowing with vein-like lines crossing through each other and knew it was him.
Izuku looked around and when his gaze connected with hers, his eyes cleared, the frown in his brow vanished. "Ochako!"
She felt the instant relief, shock, joy, longing, all so intense, all so immediate, it made her dizzy. And that look - that one look from him - sliced her into a thousand pieces. She wanted to laugh because what kind of twisted fate is this but she couldn't since the smoke is filling up her lungs.
She shoved the girl to his arms. "Take Alice and jump."
His jaw clenched as he carries the girl in his arms. Ochako's wounds didn't escape his scrutinizing gaze nevertheless. "What about you?"
"I'll follow after."
"I'm not leaving you behind."
'History likes repeating itself' she thought, her face grim. "Look, Deku—"
Izuku gave the young girl back to her arms which left Ochako confused. He hitched his female companion up which resulted into a squeal from her, and gave her legs a little swing so he could get his arm under them. Deku ran towards the window he came from and jumped. Along with his quirk and hers, they were able to fly for a few minutes. She didn't struggle any further, bad for the image.
They floated in mid-air for a while, the unconscious little girl sandwiched between. Her gaze met his, and yes, it's still there - that startlingly warm, kind, green eyes that she fell in love with. His determination made them gleam brighter; a whole universe in just one person.
Suddenly, she had a thousand things she wanted to ask and tell him.
How are you?
Is life treating you better?
Are you eating healthy?
Do you still keep the lights on when you sleep?
You're not overworking again, aren't you?
I have a new apartment. Remember the orange one? The one I tell you about when we are eating ice cream in our front door?
Your hair is long once more. Did you forgot your appointment again?
I'm sorry I couldn't send you a birthday greeting exactly on your birthday. I just recalled a lot of things, my eyes felt heavy with crying and I fell asleep.
She still remembered how they started talking, with carefree smiles, red cheeks and enthusiastic laughs. Now she bit her lower lip to not utter a word.
Two years had passed since she broke up with him.
..
..
..
Living with Izuku felt like having a sleepover every night with your best friend.
They started living together when Ochako proposed it over one dinner night in an Italian restaurant and Izuku choked on his pasta. They've been dating for four years and both of them are consenting adults already so she didn't see anything wrong with it.
Money was easy by the time they became heroes and Izuku's dad finally went back home to live with them once again. Her mom wouldn't be as lonely now if he moved, Deku thought, and with that he agreed. It will give them time for each other anyhow. These days it felt like the only day these lovers met was when they had the same mission or when they accidently bought morning coffee at the same coffee shop at the same time. Of course, there's their usual Friday date night but times where something urgent came up seems to increase as time passes and their get-together suffers.
Soon, the couple were checking up brochures and apartments together. Their colleagues teased them how they seem like newlyweds, and how they just need a ring to make it official, which often made the pair flustered. If asked when was the wedding, Ochako shook her head, her face aflame. Izuku was no better. Whenever the issue was brought up, he was a stuttering mess. Their answers were the same though. They did not need to rush. They had time and this was fine.
Their first kiss was perfect and both of them were nervous. They went from that to now where she tickled him awake because he slept on his computer by working too hard again, and he started to nag her when she didn't eat her vegetables or when she didn't dry her hair before she went to sleep. It's a balance they didn't know they needed until they had it.
They messed up their first grocery trip. The problem with being famous was that they had to be discreet in public. They had to wear these huge, lame, tinted glasses and caps but when they were fighting over which kind of fish to buy, Izuku took his glasses away to see the fish better and a kid recognized him. It was a disaster to say the least. They had to stay at the supermarket's ceiling for a while until the commotion died down and hiding was hard when both of them are trying so hard not to laugh.
Sometimes when both of them couldn't sleep, haunted with memories only they understood, they talked until dawn.
When they had missions where both of them were almost killed, once they've reached the safety haven of their home, they chased each other's demons away. She'd kiss him with desperation, with earnestness that left him breathless, to convince herself that she was alive—that he was alive - and he will answer with the same fervent passion. It was as if in each other's rawness they can dig deeper to find scars to heal and hearts to kiss.
There are also quiet mornings where Uraraka would smooth his hair away from his face and quietly say good morning. Izuku would wake, his eyelids fluttering gently and she would smile slowly, leaning close to him to offer him a kiss in the forehead.
There were days where Izuku would be gone for a week and when he got home, she'll whisper in his skin how she misses him and he'll sigh against her lips how she remains in his dreams.
They spend two years like that until an incident occurred.
Ochako pushed herself too hard on a rescue mission like what she did in the Tsunami accident, and she fainted amidst a burning establishment. She is saved by Deku. She was well and okay though gained a slight injury in her left eye and it wasn't the same anymore, but even so she was fine.
But a 19-year-old quirk-lesskid wouldn't be able to walk anymore.
The great symbol of peace chooses who he saves first.
It's a defaming statement that caused hundreds of reporters to burn their office's phone with calls. News about that incident spread like wildfire. Suddenly everyone questioned Deku's loyalty. A blog against her was created.
Who is Uravity to Deku?
Why is she hogging the symbol of peace all to herself?
The world needed its hero, why is she depriving us of our salvation?
It created a certain mayhem, a chaos that was not easily vanquished unlike how easy Deku keeps the villains away. A press conference was prepared for the new symbol of peace. Izuku answered the media's questions with honest answers but it was not what the people wanted to hear. Todoroki and Bakugou were with Ochako and Toshinori at the back room, just in case the situation gets out of hand.
At first, the questions were harmless.
"Who is Uravity to you?"
"Uravity was my special someone." Izuku answered immediately, unfazed by the question. "We've been looking out at each other's back since high school."
"The public stated that she was on the way of your hero work. What can you say about that?"
"She's not in the way. Uravity helps me—" He calmly explained but was interrupted instantly.
"What if someone needed your help but you're on a date? Will you ditch her for your work?"
"Uravity and I have an arrangement—"
"What if that is not enough?"
"What kind of arrangement exactly? Everyone started to worry that your priorities are not straight as All Might's had been. What can you say about that?"
"Where does your loyalty lie?"
"What if breaking up with her will make your job easier and you'll be able to help lots of people you hadn't before because you've been with her?"
"I will never leave Uravity until she tells me to."
It leads the reporters asking too personal questions and people screamed words of protests outside the establishment. It was an ugly picture of the people's desperate attempt to assure themselves that they will be saved whatever the circumstances. Ochako gnawed her lower lip until it bled as she watched from the back stage, her knuckles white from gripping her shirt too tight. Toshinori pulled her into his arms as she stood there with new emotions she hadn't felt this strongly before. Guilt slowly devoured her whole being and the sense of helplessness left her trembling with frustration.
Bakugou stood up abruptly. "What the fuck do these people want? I'm gonna show them how hard it is to do our job!" He started to walk with the intention of burning away the protestors outside and was surprisingly stopped by Todoroki laying a hand on his shoulder.
Shoto gave Bakugou a long stare then shook his head slowly. Bakugou stared back for a while and shrugged the hand away. He left the room nonetheless.
"I'm going out. I'm not gonna watch this shit."
She received a lot of messages from heroes raving that the public was too selfish and mean. The hero's secret sentiments buried deep inside every one of them all bubbled up into the surface, of how they were all just humans, how they can't save everyone, and how this job is a lot sacrificing than they thought and the masses should be. . . at least, grateful.
The heroes started to hate the people they were supposed to protect. All the while, Deku's emotions were contained and he ended the program with a warm smile and a promise that he will be there for everyone no matter the circumstances.
However, Uraraka had enough.
Before the trust between the heroes and the civilians could break any further, she had to come up with a plan that will heal both parties and it wouldn't be as easy as sending a villain into infinity.
..
..
..
Several days had gone and still her every plan to make the situation better failed.
When Ochako visited the teenage kid who will never walk again because she couldn't save him in time, she knelt in front of his parents with tears in her eyes begging for their forgiveness. She learned that the kid's name was Michael and he was a shut-in who has a job as a web designer. His parents are kind and said it was no one's fault and it left her frustrated because everyone deserve to be saved. She swore, her head on the floor, that she had to be stronger.
Michael was in his computer at his hospital bed when she arrived and at first, the female hero didn't know what to say. He didn't blame her and instead joked around that he didn't use his legs in the first place. He was a good kid with brown clear eyes who should have had more choices for his future if only she wasn't caught in that accident. . .she cried and upon seeing her tears, Michael cried for the first time.
For a few days, she filed a leave and just sat at the same chair for a long time and read letters that was meant to hurt her.
The hatred for her grew after Izuku's press conference and she received hate mails every day. However, she didn't leave each one unread wanting everyone's feelings to get across, and when she felt the urge to cry, she went in the shower so Deku won't see. No one has to know.
The next day, Izuku invited her to go to the ocean.
The drive was short and when they arrived, he dropped her off near the beach to find a parking space. She walked towards the edge where the shore reaches the water, the sand filled in the gaps in her toes.
The sun was setting and surprisingly, this part of the ocean was deserted. The sound of waves crashing against the shore filled the air. Aside from that the beach was quiet. She embraced herself, seeking comfort from the cold breeze. She watched the water glisten underneath the sun, her face impassive.
The peaceful silence made her remember every letter she read. Did they mean it? Or did they just send it to me just because? She will never know.
What hurt the most was that it hurts Deku as well. The days where he came back from work, with bags under his eyes, working at the middle of the night, his laptop screen only the light on their living room. He was pushing himself too much to solidify his promise and at night, she traced new scars on his back when he was asleep, guilt overwhelming her whole being that sometimes it's getting hard to breathe.
She looked at the ocean and she felt tired, but it was more than that. Her stomach was churning with some new feelings she couldn't put a finger on. It's the same feeling as when she was about to throw up, but this is different, for she felt the abyss of emptiness within her yet she wanted it out. It was not there yet it exists. For the first time, she didn't know how to make it feel better, and she just . . . wanted it to end. She just wanted it to go away to end this to escape this to able to breathe—
"Ochako." Izuku came back with a huge red balloon and an innocent child-like grin on his face. "I saw an old man selling these." He told her, then gently looped the string around her wrist.
She looked at Izuku for a very long time. Slowly, her tears came.
There are dozens of people who took her breath away but he was the only one who reminded her to breath. She threw her hands around him and whispers. "Thanks."
It was only rubber filled with air. She knew, but as symbols went it was the best. The time when all the air left the balloon, she would definitely press the remains in a book as sentimentally as she would a rose.
Izuku hugged her back hesitatingly, concerned that his gesture put her in tears. He expected her to laugh. Her hold tightens, her body flushed against him perfectly as she sighed against him. In that time, Ochako felt like everything was better again, like everything will be okay. He kissed her temple, hoping that it'll ease her pain away. "You're welcome."
"I love you, Deku."
A rare slow smile appears on his face. "I love you too."
...
...
...
She woke up earlier than Izuku on their day off one Sunday morning.
He likes to make breakfast after his morning run which left Ochako to sweep the floor and water the plants. But this day would be different. She prepared his favorite meal—which confused Izuku, but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. They chatted over breakfast and washed the plates together afterwards. She did the laundry, he hung the clothes to dry, they cleaned different parts of the house and when all the chores were done, watched the city from their apartment's balcony in peace.
It's a kind of routine they just fall into even though they didn't set up anything and it was nice, everything seemed so easy. She wanted this, wanted him, wanted her life with him.
She already came up with an answer.
She looked at Izuku beside her. His shoulders touched hers, his eyes distant, he was distracted—deep in thought. Even though he was beside her, he was a thousand miles away. It haunted him. She knew - out of all people - she knew, how dilemmas can linger in your head. She knew it was getting harder for him to sleep. She knew it was getting harder for him to eat. She knew, just by idly standing here—knowing that the masses are uncomfortable and pained but he couldn't do anything to ease their mind, the knowledge that he couldn't grant them what they wanted—how hard it actually was.
And she also knew how to end all of this. She took a deep breath and called his name. When he didn't hear her, a lump started to form on her throat. She swallowed once, twice, then called his name again.
"Deku."
Izuku blinked and looked at her. The clouds in his eyes vanished and his lips quirk into an easy smile. "What is it, Ochako?"
She touched his cheek, his green eyes darkening by the contact. Her lips trembled as she whispered. "I'm leaving you."
At first, he looked lost. Like he can't believe what she just said. It was maddening how his eyes conveys his emotions. She saw the swift surprise, morphing into quiet disbelief then eventually, hurt.
"The world needs you first." She said, adamantly sure, her hand falling back to her side. It was the harshest thing she had ever said but they both know it was the truth.
He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.
"I want to protect you. I want you to live your life." She continued. Her decision was final and whatever he was about to say, he wouldn't be able to change her mind. "This is the only way."
"Wait, I-I think I can come up with something!"Izuku cried out in a panicked voice when he can finally speak."I can come up with another way to solve this matter. Trust me. Just give me time. Uh—I, uh—First, we'll ask our friends for any suggestion—" Izuku covered his mouth with his hand, his finger tapped in a gesture of restrained impatience as he thinks. His mind went overdrive, and it hurts Ochako to see his usual charming gesture used for a situation like this. "I know we will be able to change the situation. We just need a plan—"
"Deku—" She started but he ignores her.
"W-we can do something! We will find a way—" He began desperately and she shook her head, held both of his cheek, careful not to touch his cheek with all of her fingertips. He whined, holding her hand with his. "Ochako—"
"Listen," She stared up at him, her eyes as they clung to his were young, glacial and devastated. "You know it won't be enough."
It left her breathless as the words passes her lips but she didn't bite it back, didn't regret it. She'll do anything for him. She wanted to make him happy. To achieve his dream that had his eyes glisten like the way a thousand stars glimmered in a pitch-black sky. She wanted him to fly and he couldn't do that beside her anymore. She became his gravity, dragging him slowly back down the ground where he could shine down on no one.
She had to let him go.
"We've been together for six years. . ." There were tears in his eyes and the lump started to form on her throat again.
He wanted to ask her why, but he already knew and he grievingly uttered her name. "Ochako. . ."
"I'm so sorry."The words drifted away, spoken so softly, Izuku barely heared them.
He rested his forehead against her shoulder and she felt his tears on her shirt. She began to strike his hair slowly, willing herself not to cry, but it was so hard not to. Tears collected in her eyes and trailed down on her cheek until she could taste them. Still, she tried to be strong, for him and for herself. "E-everything will be okay again. I promise."
"Don't leave me. Please." He pleaded and she couldn't deny him anything he'd ask but this is different. She embraced him instead and kissed his head as they cried. She didn't want to kiss him goodbye—that was the trouble. She wanted to kiss him and bid him goodnight and there's a huge difference between the two.
..
..
..
That was two years ago. Ochako thought that was the last time she'll see him and no words passed between them afterwards.
She heard he went to a secret mission with Fumikage and some other heroes two months after their separation. He didn't tell her what the mission was for unlike before. The gesture hurt her more than she thought it would.
Now, he had saved her again.
She woke up seeing the familiar ceiling of a hospital room. She must have fainted. Her mouth was dry yet bitter taste filled her mouth, her jaw clenched.
She was not strong enough again.
She didn't know she was gripping the sheets until her phone rang and she flinched. Her gaze fluttering at the small table beside her bed. A single sunflower occupies the vase atop the table and it didn't take her long to guess who left it.
The thought of seeing Izuku again makes her stomach churn.
She reached for her phone and frowns when the caller's number is unregistered. She cleared her throat before answering the call. It must be her agency or some of her friends asking her if she was fine.
"Hello? This is Uravity. Who's this?"
"Hey, Uravity. Long time no see."
The voice had her straightened, had her fist clenched once again. "Shigiraki."
"I know you're smart!" He laughed and it was the hollow kind of laughter that she became familiar with and that disgusts her.
"What do you want?" She spat, hatred leaking on her every word but he only hums.
"Remember my question? What's your answer? My offer still stands. Want to join the league of villains?"