Ignited Spark

by 3PeopleInACoat

When Midoriya Izuku was four years old, his quirk finally manifested - not a combination of his parents' quirks, but an entirely different mutation of its own. With the ability to blast lightning out of his body, a horrible accident convinces Izuku to give up his dreams of becoming a hero. But with the help of two girls, Izuku finds the inspiration to fight and become a true hero!

18. Realization

"And … you're absolutely sure it was her, Uraraka?"

"Yes," Ochako nodded, leaning back slightly against the stiff pillows and looking up at the police detective's face as he scribbled down a few more notes on his pad of paper, "the woman that was with the Consortium - Slice - she was the one I ran into outside the gate a few days ago, before the break in. She pretty much all but said that it was her."

"I see," Nezu hummed with a small smile as Tsukauchi wrote down what Ochako had just told him, Midnight putting her hands on her hips as she scowled to herself, "we had suspected that someone with more sinister purposes could have tried to sneak into the school during the chaos … and based on the timing, these villains arriving literally the next day ... yes, it would make sense that they sent in an agent beforehand to take the schedule so they could plot out their attack. It would also explain how they knew where All Might was supposed to be today."

As Nezu quietly mused to himself, Ochako felt her brow furrow as she tried to make herself a bit more comfortable on the stiff hospital bed as Itsuka likewise did the same on her own bed, moving carefully so as not to disturb her leftover injuries. At the current moment, they were in one of Recovery Girl's waiting rooms, speaking with the police detective while Principal Nezu, Tensei and Midnight stood alongside him. The sun was gently setting through the windows, all of the dark storm clouds that Nine had summoned to cut the school and the USJ off from each other having dissipated now that he was long gone, and the weather outside was calm, with a gentle breeze blowing through the trees - but at the moment, they couldn't quite concentrate on that.

When they had arrived back at the school, they had been sorted into different rooms - Izuku and All Might taking one room to share, and Ochako, Itsuka and Nejire being placed in the other, much to the two conscious girls' protests. When they had tried to ask Recovery Girl not to separate them, the elderly nurse had explained that she needed a lot more time to heal Izuku than she needed to heal them, so they had reluctantly relented. After their injuries had been inspected by Recovery Girl, during which Yuuyu arrived and pretty much shocked Nejire awake with her quirk, they had watched as Nejire chugged down some kind of energy drink while the elderly nurse reprimanded the Class 1B representative, watching with worried looks as Nejire briefly bounced off the walls and then took off to go find the rest of their classmates while Yuuyu chased after her.

Once the two girls were gone, Recovery Girl began her healing, heading over to Itsuka first to take care of her. Both girls had tried to insist that the elderly nurse tend to Izuku before them, only for her to shut that down by explaining that since their injuries were less severe than his but still needed tending to, it would make sense to heal them first before heading over to devote her quirk's energy to Izuku, as he was currently in stable condition and just needing a bit of time to rest before she began the healing process. Once they had been told that, the two girls offered no more complaint, although it was clear that they weren't entirely convinced.

After about twenty minutes of both of them getting smooched on the cheek, Ochako was pretty much back to regular form, albeit feeling absolutely exhausted and sore all over her body, and Itsuka, who had been in a battered state much worse than hers, would have to wear a cast on her arm for the rest of the weekend, and at the moment was looking like she was struggling to not fall asleep, her eyes drooping and her head swaying a bit where she was sitting up in the bed, occasionally dropping her head and then snapping it back up as though she was fighting not to pass out.

Once Recovery Girl left to finally attend to Izuku, Detective Tsukauchi, Midnight, Tensei and Nezu arrived to ask the girls questions about what happened at the USJ, and Ochako powered through her own exhaustion to describe the woman who had held them hostage, and where she had seen her before.

"So this Slice woman disguised herself as a reporter," Midnight shook her head, furrowing her brow, "and managed to sneak into the school to get the schedule for today while we were distracted with the crowd of actual reporters. This was our fault - we got so distracted with the reporters we never considered having a few teachers patrol the halls in case anyone slipped in. Not to mention that all of our third year hero students were out in one of the zones on campus - if they had been on site, they might've been able to stop the rest of the students from panicking, and helped catch Slice before she snuck out with the rest of the crowd."

"Well, we have an idea of what she looks like now," Tensei assured her, patting the beautiful woman's shoulder with a smile, "so we'll be able to look out for her. And now that we know how they initially got in, there's no chance that they'll be able to repeat it - she might've been able to slip in through the gate, but the rest of hte school's defenses will prevent a possible repeat."

"Not to mention," Nezu tapped his foot against the ground, "they had the benefit of one villain that could block off our communications and let them slip in unawares. Now that we've captured that villain, they won't be able to easily get back on campus - not without alerting the entire school."

"And now we know how to identify them." Tensei continued. "The heteromorph villain they were with can be easily identified, and if Slice's quirk is based on her hair, she won't be able to make any major changes to it to disguise herself - not without depriving her of what makes her a threat."

"Regardless," Tsukauchi finished writing down what he had picked up from Ochako, putting his notes and pen back in his pocket while frowning, "There's only going to be so much that we can do. I've been talking with our rep at the HPSC - the chairwoman has officially taken the Trigger case out of the hands of every hero previously involved and given it solely to Endeavor to combat this Villain Consortium. At the moment, all we can really do is help you cover the repairs of the USJ and increase the defences of the school."

"Of course!" Nezu nodded happily. "Now that we know how they got in, we'll be able to come up with ways to more easily combat them. This is the first time in years that someone without a pass infiltrated our school - we be making sure that it's the last time. And once your officers have made sure that there aren't any more villains hiding in the USJ or anywhere else on campus, we'll have Cementoss go in to start repairs - and once she's up and about, hopefully Thirteen will be able to join him sometime soon."

"H-how is Thirteen?" Ochako asked, feeling worried for her favourite hero, but Midnight merely shook her head with a smile as she reached down and patted her shoulder.

"It'll take more than getting her own quirk redirected at her to keep her down," She assured her, "Thirteen'll be back on her feet in no time. Aizawa too - we've been talking over the phone with the doctors at the hospital, they're convinced that they can fix him up just enough that when Recovery Girl comes to see him tonight, she'll have a better chance of healing him right up."

"Good …" Ochako slowly nodded, "... that's - that's good."

"In any case," Nezu turned back to Tsukauchi, "I do know that UA's staff might receive some backlash for letting the Consortium escape after they made such a big show of trespassing. Did any of your officers report villain sightings around the campus, Detective?"

"Nothing," Tsukauchi shook his head as he put his hands in his pockets, "from what we've found, the villain with the warp gate only transported himself, Nine and Slice out of the facility and left the rest of their henchmen behind. They were concentrating all of their forces on the USJ - as of right now, the only villain we found on the campus was the Nomu one that the students told us was punched away from the USJ by All Might, and from what we could gather, it had no apparent injuries and appears to be docile, it didn't resist capture at all. As far as we know, it was only the Consortium's leaders who escaped through the warp gate."

"I see … and what will happen to the ones who took the Trigger and got captured?"

"They're being processed and going through interrogation right now - we still don't have an approximate number on how many there are right, but it could well be near a hundred of them. The HSPC's chairwoman wants them put in Tartarus, but we're trying to talk her down from that while we interrogate them, see if we can put them in Sian of Ba'Ku while we try to figure out how the Consortium recruited them."

"Very good," Nezu nodded, "and hopefully we'll be able to figure out if the Consortium had any outside help as well."

"Indeed. So just to confirm, Uraraka," Tsukauchi turned back to look at the small girl on the bed, "The Consortium's leaders - Nine, Slice, Kurogiri, Mummy, and Chimera. Those were their codenames?"

"Yes, sir. Nine was the - the leader, and Slice seemed to be the one closest to him, like - like a bodyguard. And - and there was another hooded guy, but they never gave him a codename, at least not one I heard, and he was forced to leave just when All Might arrived - he got warped out."

"Chimera was the one who attacked us at the mountain zone," Itsuka spoke up for the first time in a few minutes, everyone looking over to see her rubbing her eyes to try and stay awake, "we're not sure if Mummy was in another zone, though."

"We spoke with Tsunotori and Awase," Tensei quickly added in, "they said that they spotted him in the conflagration zone."

"Right. And - and Kurogiri was their warp gate, they specifically called him that a few times."

"A warp quirk is already so rare," Midnight pursed her lips as she looked over at Tensei, "but for a villain to have one …"

"We'll have to prioritize his capture," Tensei patted her shoulder again, "Tartarus has the technology to hold villains with teleportation quirks - take him in, and the Consortium won't be able to move around as freely."

"With that said," Tsukauchi put back on his hat from where he had been holding it under his arm, smiling down at the two girls, "I believe that's all the information I need right now, thank you both. We'll have our officers continue to investigate every corner of the school, including the USJ - we just dug out the rest of the villains that had been trapped in the mountain zone, but we want to make sure that we've double checked every spot before clean up crews can go in. I also heard that there'll be a few heroes coming in to inspect the damage as well, if that's alright."

"Of course it's alright!" Nezu agreed, smiling as he threw his hands into the air, "I hardly blame the hero community for wanting a first hand look at the USJ, to see what we're now dealing with, even if the HSPC is handing over the Consortium's investigation to Endeavor. And the police are more than welcome to continue conducting a clean, thorough search - better to be safe than sorry. In any case, thank you both, Uraraka, Kendou," The principal turned back to the two girls on the hospital beds, reaching out and patting Ochako's hand with his paw, "both of you did very well telling us everything you remember. Hopefully, the HSPC and Endeavor can use this information to track down the leaders of the Consortium and bring them swiftly to justice."

"Of - of course, Principal Nezu," Itsuka nodded, "anything we can do to help."

"With that, I believe you both are free to leave the school now - you can use the showers here to clean up and get changed. I'm sure that you both don't want to be here any longer than you have to - your parents must be worried sick."

"I …" Ochako hesitated, glancing between the principal and the door to the nurse's office for a moment - and then she timidly shook her head, looking awkward as she sat back up.

"... I'm … if it's alright, Principal Nezu, we - we don't want to leave just yet. A-at least, not yet for me, I - I'm not sure about Kendou -"

"Both of us," Itsuka confirmed, also sitting up and looking as awkward as her friend, "I think we both want to make sure that Midoriya - that he's alright. We - we don't think he should walk home alone, anyway, so we - we don't mind - uh -"

"Ah," Midnight nodded, making both girls quickly look around at their teacher - and gulp nervously at the suddenly knowing look on her face as she smirked, "I see. In that case, both of you are fine to stay outside in the hall if you want to wait for Midoriya - he might not be done for a little while, I know that Recovery Girl had to do a bit of work on you both before going over to do a thorough examination of him and starting the healing process."

"That's - that's alright," Ochako slowly moved to put her bare feet down on the cold floor, having taken off the shoes that Momo had made her along with the rest of her equipment so she was just left in her jumpsuit, "we can wait, we don't mind."

"Still, be sure to call your parents, alright? Like Principal Nezu said, I'm certain they're worried sick right now, and would appreciate a call from you so that they know where you are. As for your costumes, just leave them on the bed for us to collect later - they're pretty banged up, so we'll send them to the support studio for repairs."

"Alright, we - we will."

With that, Nezu, Midnight, Tensei and Tsukauchi made their way out of the room, Midnight being sure to leave behind their school uniforms that Tensei had collected from their homeroom for them to change into as she slid the door shut. After a quick draw of the curtains, Itsuka and Ochako slid out of their wet, miserable-feeling hero costumes, leaving them in their underwear, and then headed to the back room where the showers were, not even looking at each other as they went into the stalls and not waiting for it to warm up as they went under the cold water, shivering and wincing as they washed off the leftover blood from before, trying hard to not think of whether the blood on them was theirs or …

… no. No, they weren't going to think about that.

Once their miserable showers were done, they slowly came back out, drying off their bodies with the white towels left in there before dropping them into the basket while not bothering with combing their hair, and walked out to get changed into their school uniforms. Neither girl looked or spoke to each other as they put their uniforms back on, their minds clearly on the boy next door as they slipped into their blazers, and together, they walked out of the room and back into the hall, letting their crinkly, stiff hair hang loosely around their shoulders and dampen their clothes as they slid the door shut behind them.

Silently, Ochako and Itsuka made their way to the opposite side of the nurse's office, seeing a few chairs that they could have sat down on a bit further down the hall, but they didn't want to be any further from the room than they had to be. So they ended up sitting down together on the floor near the window, both of them grunting stiffly as they sat down. To be honest, both of them were absolutely exhausted, barely having the energy to stand up, so they flopped down on the floor, not quite caring for how they might look as they stretched their legs out, and closed their eyes for a moment as they inhaled, then exhaled.

For a moment, they were both quiet, staring blankly at the opposite wall, before Ochako glanced at Itsuka, seeing her eyes continuing to droop, looking like she was fighting to keep herself awake.

"You can sleep for a little bit, Kendou," Ochako quietly told her, feeling her heart sink as Itsuka hummed in disagreement.

"N-no, I'm … I'm okay …"

"It's alright, Kendou, just - just rest your eyes for a minute," She assured her, and watched as Itsuka's head drooped again, slowly moving down, "I'll … I'll wake you up if anything happens. You can sleep."

"I …" Itsuka seemed like she wanted to protest, but evidently her body wasn't quite complying with what she wanted. Slowly, her head came down to rest on Ochako's shoulder, the smaller girl adjusting herself so that it would be more comfortable - but then, before Ochako could make sure the position was okay, Itsuka continued to move down. Ochako watched, her face feeling a bit hot for some reason, as Itsuka slowly came down to rest her head on her lap, closing her eyes and curling up a bit.

Unable to stop herself, Ochako reached down and gently brushed some of Itsuka's hair out of her eyes, smiling gently as Itsuka's breath began to escape in quiet inhales and exhales, obviously asleep. Now that she had a moment to herself, Ochako let out a small sigh as she leaned back up against the wall, absently stroking Itsuka's hair as she slept, and felt her small smile from before drop as she closed her eyes briefly, and then opened them back up as she sighed again.

There was … honestly so much to think about, Ochako reflected as she stared down at her slumbering friend. About Izuku and his injuries, and what state he might have been in; the Villain Consortium, Slice, the hooded man who had beaten all three of them; and …

… and the fact that they had …

Glancing down at Itsuka's sleeping face, Ochako felt her face turn a bit red as her gaze flickered down to her lips, and she was quick to glance away, gulping and trying to look anywhere else but the girl slumbering in her lap.

They … really kissed, hadn't they? There was a part of Ochako that was kind of convinced that she had somehow imagined that happening, like it was some kind of really detailed part of her imagination that she couldn't quite forget, but … but no, she knew that she couldn't have possibly imagined the feeling of Itsuka's lips on hers, her hand clenching her hair tightly, the feeling of her tongue -

- oh, god, nope, there was no way she imagined that part, that had really happened, Ochako thought as she shuddered a bit and went even redder.

So the question was … why did that happen? Why did Itsuka kiss her? Ochako felt herself frown as she glanced back down at Itsuka as she slumbered on, still absently stroking her hair and feeling suddenly self-conscious of how intimate they were at the moment. For some reason, she kept thinking back to all those times from the last year or so while they trained, the times that they hugged each other, or cuddled while sleeping in the same bed at the slumber party, or that time during Itsuka's first spar with Gran Torino, where she had asked her - she had asked her -

"What, no kiss for good luck?"

Ochako knew that Itsuka had been joking then, but she couldn't help but rethink every tiny interaction that she had with the girl in her lap, Ochako furrowed her brow as she felt her blush keep her face warm. Was it possible that ... that Itsuka had a ...

.. no. No, she was overthinking things, Ochako shook her head. There was no way that Itsuka would have a - that she had a - what, a crush on her? No freaking way, she shook her head - Itsuka was way too cool and popular for that. She was awesome with her friends, she had the respect of their entire class (sans Katsuki, but he didn't count in Ochako's book). She was confident, and awesome, and a great hero even a week into their first year. She was beautiful, and perfect, and -

- and what, Ochako thought that she would crush on her? Plump, dumb, unattractive Ochako? She remembered all of the insults that her former classmates at Aldera had thrown at her. Calling her ugly, and frumpy, so poor that she couldn't even afford cheap store brand make up to cover up how unattractive she was. That she would have to spend all of her money on clothes that fit her because she was so fat ...

Ochako sniffled, and shook her head, glancing away while wiping her eyes. No, there was no way that Itsuka would look at her like that. No way. Besides, she - like she had thought before, she must be overthinking things. They had just barely escaped the mountain zone with their lives, and Itsuka had to have been running on some serious adrenaline. That had to be why she kissed her.

That had to be it.

Soon, the minutes began to pass by while Ochako internally debated with herself, and eventually, her mind began to move away from the girl sleeping on her lap, and back to her other best friend who was probably being looked over by Recovery Girl at the moment. When glancing out the window behind her shoulder, she could see a few of her classmates heading towards the gate, with Mezo and Pony walking together, Dark Shadow happily chatting with Reiko while Fumikage slapped a hand to his face, and Tsuyu and Mina walking with a police officer to a vehicle to get them home.

So ... so they were alright, Ochako slowly nodded to herself, closing her eyes and breathing out a small sigh. That was good.

She had … no idea what time it was, whether or not everyone else in the school had left already or not, and what the police were doing right now. Her mind kept going a mile a minute, bouncing from one thought to the next with no end in sight - from Itsuka, to Izuku, to Slice, to All Might, to her parents, to Inko, to Nine, to the hooded man, and back around.

As she sat there stewing in her thoughts, she could feel several different emotions burning inside of her.

Fear, even though the threat was now over and the Consortium was on the run.

Shock, at remembering the state Aizawa and Thirteen had been in while they were being loaded into a separate ambulance.

Horror at the close up she got of Izuku's injuries, of his burned arms from the lightning he had blasted out, the blood drying from the various gashes and slashes littering his body, his face a pulverized mess with a deep scratch near his mouth.

Relief that Recovery Girl was tending to him now, and would ensure that he would be able to walk out of there in one piece.

Anger towards the villains that had endangered them, towards Nine who had orchestrated the madness, towards Chimera for smugly attacking them with the crazies, towards Slice who had held them hostage and taunted her, towards the hooded man and what he had dared to put Izuku through.

But most of all, she felt guilt. Shame. Fury. Uselessness. Disgust.

She felt all that for herself.

However, before she could dwell in those feelings even more, she suddenly felt her cell phone, the device having been retrieved by Tensei when he had visited their classroom to gather her and Itsuka's things, vibrate in her pocket. Blinking in surprise and jumping a bit, unaware of Itsuka groaning slightly in her sleep, Ochako reached into her pocket and grabbed it, pulling out the flip-phone and glancing at the name on the screen, wrinkling her brow at the word 'DAD' incomprehensibly -

- and then she let out a small squeak of horror and shock as she realized what she had completely forgotten to do.

Oh, shit! I forgot to call home!

Hurriedly, she opened the phone and pressed the green button, and lifted it to her ear.

"H-hello? Daddy?"

"Chipmunk!" She heard her dad's panicked voice, making her tense up with tears immediately welling in her eyes - god, she had never heard him sound so scared and relieved at the same time. "Oh, thank god - I - we though' somethin' happened! Are ya alright? Where are yeh?!"

"I'm - I'm okay, Daddy, I'm fine. I'm - I'm still at the school," She explained in a quiet voice, not wanting to wake Itsuka up as she explained. "I'm - I'm really sorry, Daddy, I - I meant to call you back after we got cleared and the detective was done talking with us, but I - I forgot -"

"It's alrigh', Chipmunk, we're jus' - we're jus' glad that yer okay," Taiyo let out a shuddering breath, and Ochako suddenly heard the sound of Inko sobbing in the background, making her heart hurt when she managed to pick up her own mom's quiet, shaking assurances. "H-how abou' Izuku? Where's he?"

"He … he got hurt too," She mumbled, tearing up more as she absently stroked Itsuka's hair, unaware of her soft breathing slowing, "he's - he's with Recovery Girl right now, she's - she's looking him over. Kendou and me - we're waiting for him"

"God … is he …?"

"I - I don't know, Daddy, but … but Recovery Girl said that she'd fix him."

"Okay … okay, that - okay. An' - an' you're there righ' now? Yer still at tha' school?"

"Y-yeah. Me and Kendou. We - we already got cleared, but … but we're gonna wait until Deku's okay and ready before we come home."

"Alright … alright, Chipmunk," Her father still sounded worried, but she was relieved at least to hear that he was trusting her as she heard the sound of him moving out the door of whichever apartment he was in, sliding it closed behind him so that they could talk privately, "but yeh need ta text me th' momen' he's up and abou', I'll come getcha all righ' now, even if I have ta wait outside th' gate. I'll call ta Kendou's too and let 'em know that I talked tah ya and she's with ya, and I'll drop her off -"

"Daddy?" Ochako suddenly interrupted him, sounding a bit small and unsure, and Taiyo stopped speaking so that she could talk.

She glanced back down at Itsuka as she slept in her lap, feeling her heartbeat quicken in worry at the thought of being separated from her after - after everything that happened today, and asked, in a quiet voice, "Is it - is it okay that we don't have to - to leave Kendou alone tonight? I just - I don't wanna -"

She tried to find her words to explain herself fully, to somehow tell her dad that after everything that happened between them and Izuku, she didn't want to leave Itsuka alone tonight any more than she would want to leave Izuku alone after what happened at the USJ - but thankfully, Taiyo seemed to understand.

"Alrigh', Chipmunk," He said softly, making her let out a shuddering sigh as she continued to tear up, and raised a hand to hold over her eyes as some of her tears finally escaped and began moving down her cheeks, "I'll … see if it's possible if we can all stay over at tha' Kendou's tonight, they got th' room. It's just … ya can't just stay over there by yerself, ya know? Your mom needs ta … she needs ta see you before she loses her mind."

"I know, Daddy," She mumbled, continuing to cry a bit, "and … and thank you. I love you."

"I love ya too, Ochako," Taiyo briefly choked on that, succeeding in breaking her heart even further than it already was, "yer ma and me ... we love ya so much. But … are ya sure that yer okay?"

"H-huh?" Ochako blinked, lowering her hand from her eyes to glance at the phone pressed to her ear. "W-what do you mean, Daddy?"

"Kiddo, I can hear ya voice catchin'. Are you sure that everythin' is alright?"

Ochako stared blankly at the phone next to her ear for a moment, not aware of Itsuka shifting in her lap - and then she closed her eyes and bowed her head, letting out another shuddering breath.

"... y-yeah. I'm - I'm fine, Daddy," She tried to lie as confidently as she could, "just … no need to worry about me, okay? I just need a bit of time to - to think."

"A-alright, Chipmunk, if - if tha's what ya want. I'll … I'll be outside th' gate when yer all ready."

"Okay, Daddy. I'll … we'll hopefully see you soon."

With that, Ochako brought the phone down from her ear, pressing the red button to disconnect the call, and let out another shuddering, tear-filled breath as she kept her eyes closed, biting her lip slightly. She felt awful for lying to her father about how she was, but at this point -

"Uraraka."

Ochako couldn't help but jump a bit in surprise at the sudden voice coming from below her, letting out a small squeak. Opening her eyes, she quickly looked down, and to her shock saw Itsuka rolling onto her back, staring up at her from her spot on Ochako's lap while her cheeks went a bit red, but it seemed like she was too busy feeling comfortable about her current position to really get embarrassed or move away.

But what Ochako felt suddenly panicked about was the look of understanding and pity on her face. Which must've meant that she saw how Ochako had looked while lying to her dad.

"Uh - K-Kendou," She managed to calm herself down a bit, staring down at her as Itsuka yawned, "I - I thought you were still asleep."

"I was kinda in and out," Itsuka shook her head, grimacing slightly, "and I'm still kind of tempted to try to go back to sleep, but … well, honestly, I'm feeling a bit too anxious to try and actually sleep. Just had to rest my eyes for a few minutes there."

"A-ah. I see." Ochako slowly nodded, at the very least sure that the 'minutes' Itsuka had slept had probably been around an hour, at the very least.

"Yeah. So … do you wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"Huh?" Ochako blinked, staring down as Itsuka let out a small grunt and started to sit up, both girls missing the intimacy but soon remedying that as Itsuka moved to rest her head on Ochako's shoulder again, leaning against the wall. Despite her initial embarrassment earlier, Ochako didn't mind at all, letting out a sigh as Itsuka scooted up to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders so that they could cuddle for a bit, both of them clearly needing the closeness despite how embarrassed they both felt.

"Like I said, I was pretty in and out," Itsuka admitted, turning red, "so I was … I kinda listened in on your phone call with your dad."

"... oh."

"Yeah. And … and I heard you say that you were fine," Itsuka glanced up at her, seeing Ochako staring down at her knees and looking guilty, "and … well, in the end I know that it's not any of my business, but … but I know that's not true."

There was a small pause as Ochako didn't look over at her, and then she let out a small sigh.

"It's … seriously, Kendou, it's nothing. Please don't worry about -"

"Uraraka," Itsuka spoke in a slightly sharp tone, making her friend stutter to a stop, "don't."

Ochako said nothing to that.

"We both know that … you telling me that everything's fine and - and to not worry about you is just gonna make me worry even more." Itsuka sat up a bit more properly, raising her head so that she could stare at Ochako as she continued to look anywhere but her, "You're my friend, and - and if you're just gonna sit there and stew in your thoughts, I wouldn't want that. Just … I know if you don't want to, I can't make you, but whatever you say to me, I won't tell anyone else. Whatever's on your mind, you can just tell me. I'm here to listen."

The hall fell silent again, with Ochako staring blankly at her knees for a moment while Itsuka fell silent, giving her a chance to think as she moved to rest her head back on her shoulder. They sat there for about a minute, letting Ochako sort through her thoughts -

- and then she let out a small, shuddering sigh.

"... I was useless."

Itsuka stared off to the side for a moment as she digested what Ochako said - and then she blinked.

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"I was useless," Ochako mumbled, her voice shaking, and Itsuka lifted her head off her shoulder again to stare at her in shock, "nothing I did today - nothing helped. When we were at the top of the stairs, I let go of Deku when Kurogiri teleported us all - and the next time we saw him, he was - he was almost dead. My best friend almost died today, and - and there would've been nothing I could've done to make sure he didn't end up being beaten to death."

"Uraraka …" Itsuka started to protest.

"On New Year's Eve," Ochako shook in Itsuka's hold, "when we were - when we were talking in the changing room, I said that - that I'm not like you or Deku. And today … today just proved that."

Itsuka faltered again, staring at her while her lips fell into a frown.

"I was useless," Ochako felt tears escaping her eyes again, staring blankly ahead while her voice broke, "all I did was … was be saved. Saved by you, saved by Deku, saved by All Might. But I - I never saved anybody. You saved me from the villains in the mountain zone, All Might saved me from the hooded guy, Yanagi saved me from that Slice person, Deku - Deku literally woke up from the brink of death to save me. And I … I couldn't save anyone."

"Uraraka, that's -"

"I'm not like you or Deku. You have - you both have amazing quirks, and - and all I can do is float things." She scoffed a bit at herself, shaking her head while tears continued to move down her cheeks, "You're both amazing, and I'm just … me."

Once again, silence fell in the hallway, only broken by Ochako sniffling and wiping her nose with the back of her hand. While they both sat there, Detective Tsukauchi walked past where they were sitting so that he could enter Izuku's hospital room, glancing down at the two girls in pity before entering through the door and sliding it shut behind him, both of them hearing the sound of muffled conversation behind it as they sat in relative silence.

And then Ochako felt a hand gently cup her cheek, and begin to turn her head.

She didn't do much to resist as her face was turned to Itsuka, making her falter as her friend kept her hand there and rolled her thumb against another tear as Itsuka stared into her eyes.

"That's … quite a selective memory you've got," She couldn't stop herself from giggling a little bit, "because I seem to recall that you and I would've been buried underneath a mountain that I broke apart if it wasn't for you."

"I -"

"Mm-mm." Itsuka shook her head, looking unamused. "No. You shut up and listen to me, okay?"

Ochako paused, and then tried to turn her gaze away, only for the hand on her cheek to keep her face looking at Itsuka's as she leaned in slightly.

"Listen to me," She said softly, "you're amazing, Uraraka. You did - you did everything you could today. If I had to go up against that hooded guy all by myself, I would've ended up just the same as Midoriya. You were there to stop him, you - you literally drove your fucking thumbs in his eyes! Do you realize how freaking hardcore that is? You did that. Midoriya might have saved you from that freak, but - but we saved him. You saved him."

"But I didn't," Ochako's voice broke, averting her gaze but unable to turn her face as Itsuka's hand prevented her from looking away - that, and the feeling of her warm hand stroking her cheek was making her blush bright red, but not in an uncomfortable way.

"You did. It doesn't matter how much you think you didn't, you did." Itsuka insisted. "You saved me from getting buried underneath several tons of rock, and you made sure Izuku didn't get crushed by the hooded guy. You kept using your quirk, and that must've been exhausting - but you didn't puke once. You still threw yourself at that guy. You helped, Uraraka, and I won't let you think otherwise."

"I'm not … Kendou, I don't …" Ochako faltered again, glancing back up into Itsuka's green eyes - and then the orange-haired girl shook her head, smiling.

"No," Her face went a bit more red, "not 'Kendou'."

"H-huh?"

"You and I have been working together for a year now," She smiled, "so no more 'Kendou', okay? Just … call me Itsuka."

Ochako blinked at that, staring at her friend in shock for a moment as she slightly sat up. Honestly, this was the first time she'd been asked to call a friend by their first name, with Izuku's own nickname being the only way she'd addressed him for years and 'Occhan' being the only way he addressed her, so she was a bit taken aback for a moment.

Finally, once she got over her brief surprise, she let out another shuddering breath, using her hand to wipe her face one more time, and then looked back up at Itsuka with a small smile.

"Okay," She nodded a bit, "I-Itsuka."

"Great," Itsuka smiled back at her, "Ochako."

Both girls shared a small moment smiling between each other as Itsuka absently stroked her cheek - and then both girls blinked at the intimate action, and became aware of how close their faces were. Both of them stiffening up and going very red, Itsuka cleared her throat awkwardly as Ochako slowly slid away from her so that they were at a respectable distance, both of them averting their gazes and trying hard not to think about the fact that a few hours ago they had both been trying to shove their tongues down each other's throats.

"Er - yeah," Ochako nodded awkwardly, staring down at her knees, "you can - you can call me 'Ochako', Ken - I mean, Itsuka."

"Y-yeah, same here." Itsuka clenched her hands together a bit tighter than she intended, wincing. "Er - you can - you can call me by my first name, and I - I can call you by yours."

"Yeah."

"Mm-hm."

"Right."

"Yyyyep."

There was another short, awkward silence in the hallway - and then Itsuka sighed, neither of them noticing the sound of the nurse's office's door beginning to slide open again as she unclenched her hands.

"I … guess we need to talk about it, huh?" She muttered, absently raising her hand to smooth out her crinkly hair.

"Uh … it?" Ochako tried to play dumb while her face went redder and redder.

"Yeah … you know," Itsuka glanced awkwardly at her as her own face likewise began to heat up, both girls looking very intimidated at the words escaping Itsuka's lips, "what happened back at the mountain zone -"

"Huh? Something happened at the mountain zone?"

Both girls stared blankly at each other for a moment at the sound of a very familiar voice in front of them, right where the door was - and then quickly whipped their gazes up, moving their heads so fast that their necks cracked, and Itsuka's hair accidentally whipped Ochako in the face.

Standing in the doorway, bandaged up and in his school uniform, with a small bandage on his cheek, one wrapped around his head, and staring down at them in concern and confusion, was Izuku.

"Uh … guys?" He glanced between both frozen girls as his brow furrowed. "Are - are you okay? Why are you sitting on the floor?"

---

"Midoriya? Can you hear me?"

About ten minutes before he went out the door of the nurse's office, Izuku let out a small noise.

His body felt stiff and tired, a low throbbing pain pulsing throughout him and making him wince slightly in pain. It was almost like there was a fog in his mind, preventing him from fully registering where he was, or what was going on. But all he really knew was that there was some kind of light poking him in the eyes through that fog, making him grimace as he shifted on the soft but stiff thing that he was on -

- wait, was he laying on a bed? Why did it feel so uncomfortable, then? And why did his entire body feel like that time Teko had made him run two hundred laps in the dojo?

The light that was bugging him moved in a bit closer, making him groan again and wish he had enogu strength in his arm to cover his eyes, and with a small grunt, he began to try and focus. After a few moments of trying to pull himself together, his eyes cracked open, although from how bright everything was and how blurry it looked, he immediately closed them, wincing.

After he cracked his eyes open again slightly, relieved that the light didn't hurt him too much this time, he tried to focus on the weird, blobby shape above him, wincing again as the bright light flickered in his vision - and then slowly, clarity began to return as the bright light was brought out from his eyes, and his vision cleared enough that the weird yellow blob hovering above him began to fade back into a familiar nurse smiling at him with a catlike-grin.

"Well, well, well," Himiko giggled, leaning in slightly closer so some of her bangs tickled Izuku's forehead, "look who's come back to life, cute kohai! For a second there I thought I was gonna have to wake you up Briar Rose style."

WHACK

As the syringe-shaped cane came down on the top of Himiko's head, Izuku jumped a bit in surprise - and immediately regretted it, pain suddenly ripping through his tired body as he let out a small grunt of pain and squeezed his eyes shut as he gritted his teeth together. His mind was still a bit foggy from probably being asleep for so long, but he knew that everything hurt, so the best thing he could do at the moment was just … stay on his back and not move as much.

After managing to calm himself down, and the pain somewhat faded away, Izuku opened his eyes again, and looked around to see Recovery Girl continuing to jab Himiko with the end of the cane as the nurse climbed up onto one of the desks and swiped at her like an annoyed cat, hissing in pain as she hiked up the red and black hero costume she was still wearing, the mask shaped like a sharp grin hanging around her neck.

"What did I tell you?!" The elderly hero barked as she gave Himiko a particularly good poke to the side, making her whine, "Don't shine light into our patients' eyes when they're asleep! That flashlight is for concussions, young lady, and I cleared him for that twenty minutes ago!"

"Ow, ow, ow, grannie! Now I'm the one who's gonna be bruised!"

While the two of them argued, with Recovery Girl threatening to whack her nurse over the head again, Izuku let out another small grunt as he began to slowly sit up, trying to move carefully this time so as not to disturb his injuries. Wincing from how sore his back felt, he took a small glance around - it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was currently in the nurse's office, the sun gently setting in the distance out the large window. From the setting sun and the dark clouds from the USJ not being anywhere in sight, Izuku wasn't sure what time it was - or even if it was the same day - until he heard a familiar voice to his left.

"I'm glad to see you're finally awake, Young Midoriya."

Izuku blinked, and quickly looked around, wincing a bit. To his surprise, All Might was currently lying in the adjacent bed, watching with a small smile as Himiko was whacked in the head again for her foolishness, looking a bit amused by the antics of the healing hero and her nurse. Turning back to look at his pupil, All Might raised a hand in greeting, giving Izuku a good look at the bandages he was wearing, with his shirt off and his weakened form horribly frail as he adjusted the wrappings around his stomach and forehead.

"It looks like everything's ended up working out just fine, young man," The older pro hero adjusted himself on the uncomfortable bed, staring back up at the ceiling with a small sigh, "Recovery Girl finished your treatment about ten minutes ago - I'm sure that once she's finished reprimanding Young Toga there, she'll have another look over you before we decide if you should stay overnight."

"I … guess," Izuku slowly nodded, taking a small moment to lean back against his own bed, "Are - are you okay, though, All Might?"

"I'll survive, Young Midoriya."

Izuku wasn't quite sure what to make of that answer, nodding awkwardly as he turned back to give himself a look over. At the moment he was still in his hero costume, albeit with the broken Full Gauntlet shrunken back down to a cracked wristband, and both his glove on the other hand and his shoes had been removed to show his bare hand and feet. He winced at the sight of all the dried blood mingled in with his green costume in odd places, but when lifting his shirt to have a look underneath, he saw each of the slashes had been carefully wrapped up with gauze, so ... he supposed that he at least had proof that he had been treated, at least.

As he laid there staring up at the ceiling briefly, memories of what had happened were slowly coming back to him. He felt himself stiffen up a bit, closing his eyes at the sudden horrible memories that came to him - memories of a deranged hooded man striking him in the face with unnatural strength and throwing him everywhere, of villains crowding around him and sneering down at him, of a cloaked man throwing his hands up and making the skies themselves explode with lightning - but he was quick to shove those thoughts back down.

He refused to think about those terrifying things just yet - he had no idea how everyone was, and that had to take priority.

Slowly, Izuku opened his eyes again, glancing around to see Himiko pouting and sitting up on the surface of the desk she had been hiding from Recovery Girl on while the elderly nurse huffed and returned to her desk -

- and then Izuku blinked suddenly, something clicking in his mind.

He stared blankly at Himiko for a moment, and then turned his gaze back to All Might, who was still lying there in his weakened form. And then back to Himiko, and then back to All Might. Then back to Himiko, then back to All Might. Back to Himiko, and then back to All Might. And that was when it properly registered for Izuku, and he began freaking out.

"A-All Might!" Izuku squeaked loudly, drawing everyone's attention as his eyes filled with panic as he glanced between the nurse and his mentor's true form once again in shock and terror. "Is - is it alright for you to - to be -?!"

"It's alright, Young Midoriya," All Might waved his concerns away with a chuckle, smiling gently, "Young Toga here has seen this form more times than she would probably like. Like Tenko, she's a part of the supplementary at risk course here - she's been at UA far longer than any other student has, since she was much younger than you are right now, and she's well aware of my true form since I've had to come visit Recovery Girl more than a few times over the years."

"Yeppers!" Himiko cheerfully giggled from her spot, swinging her legs back and forth on the desk, "I've seen more of this guy's skinny mode than his actual form. It's alright, cute kohai, his secret's safe with me."

"To my surprise," Recovery Girl snarked, but still put on a kind smile as she returned to Izuku's bed, patting his hand as she looked up at him, "In any case, Midoriya, I'm glad to see that you're awake - you weren't in very good condition when you came in here."

"Y-yeah," Izuku nodded, feeling his face fall at the reminder - but he was quick to shake his head, trying not to think about it at the moment while looking around at All Might, "a-anyway, All Might, are - are you okay? That fight with the - the Nomu guy -"

"Like I said, Young Midoriya, I'll survive," All Might chuckled, turning his gaze back to the ceiling while his smile fell somewhat, "I just got roughed up a little bit more than I was expecting - I wasn't quite ready for that level of strain. I'm not too sure yet, but … I think I might've shortened the time limit of my hero form again. I hope I still have at least an hour …"

"All Might -" Izuku tried to sit up again to look at his mentor in concern, only to let out another small gasp and wince of pain as his body sharply protested any kind of quick movement, making him flop back onto the pillow with a groan.

"Easy, sonny," Recovery Girl tapped her cane on the floor as she gave him an unamused look, "I haven't healed you all the way back to being fully recovered - my quirk can only stimulate a person's healing ability. Ordinarily I couldn't treat you all at once, due to my quirk's healing capabilities drawing on your stamina, so I had to do a bit of first-aid treatment. You still have a few gashes and slashes along your torso, so moving around will be a pain for the next few days, but I had to make sure I didn't draw on so much of your stamina to heal your arms and legs that it would've been bad for your health."

"Er … and by that, you mean …?"

"That means that you would freaking die," Himiko helpfully said from her spot on the desk, crossing her legs as she raised an informative finger up to make her point, "since you had some major injuries, she couldn't use up so much stamina that you would just keel over and die. And that would be bad for your health, wouldn't it?"

"Uh …" Izuku paused, not entirely sure if that was a rhetorical question as he paled a bit, "... I would … assume so? Yes?"

"Normally, I would be scolding you for using your quirk enough to cause yourself such injuries," Recovery Girl shook her head as she moved back to sit on her chair, tapping Himiko with her cane to make her move a bit, "but because of the circumstances, I can hardly fault you. But still … you had several broken bones in both your arms and legs from all the jumping around you did in addition to the beating that you took from the villain, as well as a few shattered ribs, and not to mention the electric burns from your quirk."

"R-right."

"Well, I healed up your bones so that you'll be able to walk around and pick up things, but they'll be stiff for a few days - so I expect no exercising, no strenuous activities, nothing like that. You are allowed to change out your bandages over the weekend so they don't get infected, but make sure to keep them covered. I healed your body up to about 80%, just so you're out of the woods. As long as you do no big exercises, or training, nothing that would stress your body, you'll be fine for the next two days. And when you come back to school on Monday, we'll do a quick session in the morning to heal you up the rest of the way."

"I … alright." Izuku nodded, frowning a bit but raising no argument - there was a part of him that was upset that he would essentially have to sit around for the weekend, but he should be probably considering himself lucky that he was still alive to begin with, so he shouldn't be complaining about not being able to do anything for two days.

"As for any potential leftover scars," Recovery Girl pointed to his face, and Izuku raised his hands up and blinked at the feeling of a bandage on his cheek, and another wrapped around his head, "The healing managed to close up a few of the slashes on your upper torso, but … well, as I said, I couldn't draw too much on your stamina, so you may have a few scars on your forehead and cheek, and on your chest and stomach from the big ones."

Izuku slowly nodded again, frowning as he lowered his hands back down and stared down into his lap. He knew what he had thought before about not complaining, but … well, to have a permanent reminders of what had happened to him on his body, giving him permanent marks to show what Nine and the hooded man had done to him …

Before he could angst about it more, however, he felt a hand tap his, and looked over to see All Might sitting up, giving him an understanding smile as he reached out to pat the back of his hand.

"It can't be helped, Young Midoriya," He closed his eyes, bringing his hand back, "I know that it seems like small comfort, but eventually you'll be able to look at those scars and be reminded of the good that came out of today instead of the bad."

"I …"

"Young man, I realize that I probably shouldn't be saying this, but I'm proud of what you did today." All Might's words stopped Izuku's self-doubt in his tracks, making him blink. "Battling against someone who outclassed you in speed and power and surviving is … well, like I said, I probably shouldn't be praising you too much, and I'm sure that Aizawa will be more than eager to lay into you once he's back on his feet … but you did well."

"I'm …" Izuku found himself pausing again, staring blankly at his mentor - and then he let out a shuddering sigh, glancing back down at his knees, "... but … your time …"

"These things happen, Young Midoriya." All Might waved his hand in the air, turning away and giving Izuku a good look at how securely he was wrapped up in bandages as he stared down at his feet, both of them sticking out from the blanket and hanging off the bed. "I was foolish today - I wasted my time limit this morning going around and helping people out, so if I had been there … but like I said, what's done is done. We can't change the past, and in the end, I was able to defeat the villain, and you sent the rest packing. If me not being able to maintain my muscle form for an extra half hour is the most damage that comes out of today, then I won't complain."

Before Izuku could protest that, however, there was the sudden sound of someone knocking on the door, and the four occupants of the room looked around as it slid open.

"Pardon the intrusion," Tsukauchi took off his hat, smiling at the pro hero in the bed as he walked into the room, "it's been a while, All Might."

"Tsukauchi!" All Might straightened back up, smiling at the police detective, before turning back to Izuku, seeing him looking panicked about this random cop casually revealing that he knew about All Might's skinny form as well. "Young Midoriya, this is Naomasa Tsukauchi - my friend on the police force. He's also known about my current form for a few years now."

"Oh, come on now, what's with that introduction?" Tsukauchi laughed, walking over to All Might's bed and putting his hand down on his thin shoulder, "I'm glad to see that you're alright, though - from the interviews my officers conducted on the students, it sounds like you had a rough time at the USJ."

"They certainly caught me off guard," All Might slowly nodded, his smile fading a bit before he shook his head, "but that's not important right now. You just said that you've interviewed Class 1A - are they all right? Any injuries?"

"Most of them only had a few bumps and scratches from the fights," Recovery Girl said as she returned to her desk, sitting in her chair while Himiko aimlessly kicked her legs out, "and I've sent Toga here with some of my gummies to accelerate their healing. The students that did need my attention have already been attended to before you both woke up. I'm sure that you're curious, sonny, and Kendou, Hadou and Uraraka have already been treated - they're already up and about."

"Oh … oh, good," Izuku sighed a bit in relief, slumping back onto the bed and closing his eyes, raising a hand to rub them. There had been a part of him that had briefly feared for them when Tsukauchi came in with word about his classmates, remembering that they had been involved in his fight with the hooded man and the Villain Consortium, and had felt his heart briefly hammer in his chest at thought of Ochako and Itsuka being attacked with the same ferocity he had been attacked with - but to hear that they were alright was a relief.

"... and both Eraserhead and Thirteen are in stable condition," Tsukauchi continued to explain while Izuku zoned briefly out, coming back into the conversation and looking up at the detective, "and from what the doctors were discussing over the phone, they'll both make full recoveries, albeit with some scarring and needing some time to recover. And the students will probably need a few sessions with Hound Dog, but I believe Midnight will be helping him cover that, and Ingenium will be more than happy to step up to help in case Aizawa needs more time to recover from what happened. With that out of the way," He turned his gaze to Izuku, making the younger boy blink, "Midoriya, if you're alright with it, there are a few questions that I need to ask you."

"M-me?"

"Yes. From what your fellow classmates described, you directly interacted with the villain that was mentioned to be the leader of the Villain Consortium."

Izuku's face fell at that, slowly blinking at the question - and then it suddenly clicked to him what the detective was talking about. Remembering the cloaked man that had thrown the villains at him, insulted him, watching eagerly at the prospect of the hooded man tearing him apart.

Feeling himself frown, Izuku sat back up, his eyes narrowing slightly and unaware of All Might giving him a look of concern.

"Right," He slowly nodded, "Nine."

"Nine," Tskuachi nodded in confirmation, moving around to stand at his bed and fetching his notebook and pen from his coat pocket, "We interviewed the rest of your classmates about what happened when they jumped into the fight between All Might and the villain they called Nomu, and Tsunotori and Awase confirmed that you had stayed behind to distract Nine while they got Eraserhead to safety before All Might arrived at the USJ. We've learned more about his quirk and how it seemed to hurt him over time, but when you were facing him, did Nine say anything to you? Anything specific, or something that caught your attention?"

"I'm …" Izuku faltered for a moment, the word 'no' on his tongue, mostly due to having no memories of the villain other than his hypocritical taunting and boasting - but then something clicked in his head when he ran over what the detective said. Something about …

"We got to learn more about his quirk."

Blinking, he glanced back to the covers of his bed, and aware of everyone in the room staring at him intently, all of them knowing that he had just thought of something by the look on his face.

"Young Midoriya?"

"I …" He paused, thinking, "... there was … something he did say that got my attention …"

"Yes?" Tsukauchi nodded, putting his pen to the paper and getting ready to write.

"When … when I used my quirk to blast myself, Tsunotori and Awase out of the conflagration zone … and - and I was holding him up with my quirk - he - he complimented it." Izuku scrunched his brow, trying to recall exactly what the villain said, "He said that it … it reminded him of … of one that he had been refitted with? And that he had to trade it for a shield quirk. But … but it didn't really make any sense, and he - he threw that other guy at me right after, so - so I just kind of forgot about it."

When he finished his small explanation, cringing slightly from how lamely he finished it, silence fell in the room, with Izuku staring down at the covers for a moment before realizing that no one was saying anything. Wrinkling his brow, he glanced up, seeing Himiko raising her eyebrow while looking confused and skeptical - but upon glancing over at the adults, they had a far different reaction that caught him off guard.

Recovery Girl, sitting in her chair, was slowly blinking as she stared at him in shock. Tsukauchi, meanwhile, seemed to have a similar reaction, crinkling his brow and his pen pausing where it had been scribbling notes as he stared blankly down at the teenager. And All Might … he was staring at Izuku like he had never seen him before, his dark eyes widening and sitting up straight in the bed, his jaw hanging slightly while his blue pupils shrunk.

"Uh … All Might?" Izuku leaned back a little bit, feeling nervous for some reason - he had never seen such an expression on his mentor's face, and it unnerved him. "Are you -"

"Trading in quirks?" All Might suddenly asked in a quiet voice, stopping his pupil in his tracks. "Are - are you sure that's what he said, Young Midoriya?"

"I … uh …" Izuku hesitated for a moment, taken briefly out of it by the utter seriousness in All Might's voice as All Might stared at him - and then he nodded. "Y-yeah, All Might. I - yeah. That's what I heard."

All Might studied Izuku's face for a moment as though trying to figure out if he were lying, his expression falling into a far more serious look than Izuku had ever seen - and glancing down, he felt himself blink at the sight of All Might's hand clutching the blanket his was under in a tight grip - and then the pro hero let out a small sigh, rubbing his face and trying to put back on a smile for the young student.

"Ah - my apologies, Young Midoriya," He chuckled a bit awkwardly, "I was just … er … was taken aback by that statement. Being able to trade in quirks is … well … anyway, I - I believe that's all we really needed to hear from Young Midoriya, isn't it, Tsukauchi?"

"H-hm?" Tsukauchi blinked, briefly shaken out of his small shocked silence, and then quickly got a hold of himself, nodding a bit stiffly, "Oh, uh - yes, of course, All Might, we should be done here. There's still a few things that I'll need to ask you, mostly in regards to - er - well, anyway, we don't want to bore you with that, Midoriya, so you should be alright to go if Recovery Girl doesn't need to keep you here overnight."

"He'll be alright," Recovery Girl confirmed, seeming just as shaken as the other two adults but managing to get ahold of herself faster, "you can head on home, Midoriya - I'm sure that there's two young ladies outside that want to make sure that you're okay."

"Two young -?" Izuku repeated, feeling confused - and then he got it, his eyes snapping open in shock and a bit of horror. "Oh! Occhan! Kendou! Oh, crap!"

Quickly, but not quick enough to disturb his sore body, Izuku managed to sit up and swing his feet from under the covers and onto the floor, wincing a bit at the cool porcelain, and looked around to see his school uniform folded neatly on the end of the bed and waiting for him to put back on. He was in such a hurry to get out of the room and see his two best friends he didn't even register the flirty pass Himiko made at him as she slowly slid the curtains shut for his privacy, only really hearing her getting whacked on the head by Recovery Girl again ("I'd fire you if I could, Toga!").

Once he had taken off his ripped up suit and folded it neatly for the support studio to take care of, and making sure that his school uniform and tie were on correctly, he carefully and stiffly made his way to the door, bowing in thanks to Recovery Girl and Himiko for treating him, and then turned to leave the hospital room.

As he approached the door, he could pick out the sounds of two voices muttering, not loud enough for him to hear what they were saying, but enough that he recognized them, and felt his heart skip a small beat in his chest as he smiled in relief. They sounded … okay. Like they weren't in pain, or beating themselves up, so … so they were fine. They were fine, he was fine, so everything was fine.

With that thought, Izuku began to slide open the door.

"... guess we need to talk about it, huh?" Itsuka was muttering in a quiet, embarrassed tone as Izuku slowly slid the door open, his smile widening slightly at the sight of her and Ochako sitting on the floor and not looking at each other at all. His eyes, however, found themselves zipping up to their faces, and he felt himself blink at how red their cheeks were as they avoided looking at each other, leaving Izuku feeling briefly confused about what exactly they were talking about.

"Uh … it?" Ochako asked in an equally quiet tone, tapping her fingers against her knees as her face turned even redder.

"Yeah … you know," Slowly, both girls turned t o look at each other again, their faces still flushing more and more by the second, "what happened back at the mountain zone -"

"Huh? Something happened at the mountain zone?"

Izuku didn't mean for the words to spill from his lips, making him squeak a bit as he caught himself, but alas, it was kind of too late to pretend like that didn't come from him. Both Ochako and Itsuka stopped at the sound of his voice ahead of them, staring blankly at each other for a moment, before both of their gazes snapped to him, so fast that Itsuka accidentally slapped Ochako in the face with her hair.

Izuku gulped nervously as the two girls stared at him in shock, watching as he slowly slid the door shut behind him.

"Uh … guys?" He glanced between the frozen girls, and then his gaze flickered over to the few chairs lining the wall beside them. "Are - are you okay? Why are you sitting on the floor? There's - there's chairs right there."

He pointed weakly at the few chairs, not entirely sure why they were just sitting there on the floor - but at that moment, it didn't matter as he continued to flicker his gaze between them. They were staring at him as though they were being approached by a ghost, Ochako's gaze flickering between the bandage on his cheek and the one wrapped around his head. Itsuka, meanwhile, let out a small, shuddering breath as both girls sat up, staring at him wordlessly while their jaws dropped somewhat.

And then, for some reason, both of their gazes darkened. Izuku faltered as they slowly began climbing to their feet, moving carefully so as not to disturb their own presumed injuries as their frizzy hair covered their faces, not giving Izuku a hint as to how they might be feeling as they managed to stand up and face him.

"Uh … guys?" Izuku asked unsurely, glancing between Ochako and Itsuka again as both girls looked blankly at him. "Are - are you okay? Do you need me to get - ah!"

The reason he yelped out, however, was due to Ochako suddenly rushing forward. Izuku did little to resist, his eyes widening in shock, as Ochako suddenly grabbed the front of his blazer in a tight grip, yanking him forward, and twirled a bit as she moved to pin him up against the window, making him grunt slightly as he was pressed against the glass, and stared down in shock and a bit of fear at his best friend.

For a few seconds of silence, Ochako stared blankly at his chest - and then her gaze whipped up, and Izuku felt himself falter at the sight of tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

"You - you -" She said in a choked voice, her face screwing up, and then she collapsed into Izuku, the taller boy letting out a small noise of surprise as he quickly wrapped his arms around her so she didn't slide to the floor, as though her legs were unable to support her, and stared in shock as she began sobbing. Her hands clenched the back of his uniform as she hugged him tightly, tight enough to make him wince, as though she were afraid that he would vanish if she were to let go.

As she cried, Izuku felt his shock at what had happened begin to fade, and his face fell as an unexpected shot of guilt ran through him, staring down at the sight of his best friend sobbing like he had never seen her before.

He did this. He … he made her worry.

Tentatively, Izuku slowly wrapped his arms firmer around Ochako, supporting her weight as she clung to him, and pressed his face into the top of her head as he comforted her. Feeling himself shake a bit as tears built in his own eyes, he turned his gaze upwards towards Itsuka, who had been standing there in silence for the last minute or so.

She was staring straight at him with an expression that he had never seen before, filled with barely suppressed sadness and anger, and looking like she was trying to work herself up so she could berate him - but he could see her hands shaking and the telltale sign of tears in her own eyes. Feeling himself shake, and taking a deep breath, Izuku tried to push down the slight hammering in his chest, of both embarrassment and a bit of fear - and then, moving his hand from the back of Ochako's head, he reached out to her.

Itsuka only paused for a moment, her gaze flickering from his face to his hand - and then her own face scrunched up, her own tears escaping, and she quickly hurried in to join Ochako in hugging him tightly, tucking her face against his shoulder as she quietly gave herself over. It wasn't tight enough to hurt him, but it was enough that Izuku felt himself quietly break down as well, as his felt his own weight give out, and the three of them slowly sank to the floor, Izuku running one hand against the back of Ochako's head while his other arm wrapped around Itsuka's back, and both girls clung tightly to him as they sat there and just cried.

For a few minutes they were quiet, Ochako squeezing his waist a bit tighter and Itsuka continuing to press her face against his shoulder, and Izuku slowly tucked his face against the top of Ochako's head as he let out a shuddering sigh.

"I'm … I'm sorry," He muttered, feeling both girls squeeze him a bit tighter, "I'm sorry about worrying you both."

"..."

"..."

"... no," Itsuka mumbled, her hand grabbing his side and squeezing it gently, "it's … it's not your fault, Midoriya. I'm the one who should be sorry … I'm sorry we couldn't save you from - from that thing."

"Kendou -"

"And I couldn't save you," Ochako sniffled, her voice coming out muffled, "I … I couldn't save you, Deku. You had to save me."

"Occhan, no!" He protested weakly, finally moving his head back, and both girls finally came out from where they had been pressing their faces against him, leaving tear marks on his clothes as they all sniffled. "I … no, you - you did save me. You both saved me. I was … I was going to die if it wasn't for you two." He felt himself shudder at that, feeling himself shake, but tried as hard as he could to push those feelings down.

"You both saved me, and … and …" He faltered again, and then let out another shuddered breath as he moved back down, pressing his eyes against Ochako's shoulder as he spoke in a whisper, "... thank you. Both of you. I just … thank you."

Ochako and Itsuka stared down at him for a moment, taken aback as he let out another quiet shudder - and then both girls, as though having the same mindset, moved down to embrace him, Ochako hugging his head to her shoulder and Itsuka wrapping her arms around him more firmly as -

"Um."

At the sound of a taken aback voice above him, the trio jumped a bit in surprise, wincing slightly in pain, and quickly looked around. Standing above them was Nejire, staring down at them in surprise as she tilted her head somewhat - and then she blinked.

"Oh! I'm interrupting something!" She quickly realized, quickly taking a step back as the three of them straightened up, tears and snot running down their faces and making her quickly reach into her bag for some napkins. "Sorry, I just kinda saw the wiggling mass of flesh and our school uniform, and thought - er - that it was some kind of guy with his quirk going nuts, I thought I could come over and help in case they were trying to get to Recovery Girl, and I know that I'm on thin ice with her already, but - but it was just you guys! A-anyway, I'm interrupting something, here, have a few tissues, your faces are kinda gross."

Izuku stared blankly up at the blue-haired girl as she helpfully held out a handful of napkins, staring at her blankly - and then, with a shuddering sigh, he reached out and accepted them from her, feeling himself smile a bit shakingly as he shuddered again.

"I … thank you, Hadou," He said in a choked voice, handing the other napkins to the two girls wrapped around him as he raised one to his face, "I … yeah."

"Mm-hm. Yeah," Nejire nodded, staring down at Izuku with an odd look, but before he could decipher what it could possibly mean, there was the sound of shoes running down the hall, and they looked over to see Yuuyu staggering over, panting heavily while glaring at Nejire.

"You … you …" She wheezed, clutching a cramp in her side, "... fucking hell, Nej … I'm … I'm gonna … I'm gonna kick your ass … makin' me run …"

"Oooh! I'm sorry, Yuuyu!" Nejire seemed to realize, letting out a gasp of shock and remorse as she quickly hurried over to pat her shoulder. "I was in such a rush, I didn't - I completely forgot to - you know - let you know that I was going. I - I didn't mean to lead you on a wild goosechase, but I thought you were chasing me, and it really hurts to get zapped, so I just kinda ran around and hoped that I could lose -"

ZAP

"Ow!"

As Yuuyu began poking Nejire repeatedly with both hands, the sounds of zaps sounding throughout the hall to accompany Nejire's yelps, Izuku glanced back down to Ochako and Itsuka as they sat up, wiping their faces with the napkins the blue-haired girl had given them. Now that they had calmed down, both of them slowly moved away from him, making Izuku breathe out a small sigh of relief but feeling suddenly lonely as they gave him some space, and slowly, the three of them began to get back up to their feet. Thankfully, Ochako didn't seem to be in the mood for having some space to herself, moving forward to wrap her arm around Izuku's shoulders, and he responded by holding her waist.

"C'mon," She muttered, resting her head against his shoulder, "let's go, Deku - my dad's probably waiting at the gate."

"Okay," Izuku nodded, feeling himself stiffen slightly as Itsuka wordlessly moved forward to imitate Ochako and wrap her arm around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder - but he couldn't quite complain about the sudden warmth.

Of course, he was unaware of Nejire glancing around after Yuuyu decided that she had been punished enough, blinking at the sight of the three of them wrapped up together - and then trying to fight down a small pout.

Together, the five of them moved away from the nurse's office, Izuku, Itsuka and Ochako keeping their arms wrapped around each other as they went, and Yuuyu finally decided to give Nejire a break and giving her a one-armed hug. As they moved away, Nejire lowered her voice to ask small questions about how they were feeling, with Ochako at least cohesive enough to answer her as they spoke in quiet voices, moving down the hall towards the door to the stairs, and heading towards the entrance of the school so they could meet up with Taiyo at the gate.

As they quietly made their way down the stairs, Izuku knew, at least, that he should be feeling some kind of embarrassment with his two friends clinging to him, but … but deep down, he knew that he needed this. This warmth, this comfort, this assurance that they were still there with him. So he swallowed whatever embarrassment he might be feeling and wrapped his arms a bit tighter around his best friends as they made their way through the school and out the door, the sun setting in the distance and causing the sky to turn a dark purple color.

Out front, Taiyo was pacing around his truck, straightening up when he saw the five students heading towards him. It was clear that he was barely restraining himself from charging through the gate to get to his kid, standing there and tearing up, and it was only when they made it through that he ran forward to hug Ochako tightly to him, running his hand through her hair as he lifted her off her feet.

"I … I'm so glad you're okay, Chipmunk," He managed to get out as tears streamed down his cheeks, letting Ochako cling to him as he ran his hand up and down the back of her head. "I don' know wha' we woulda done if you were … if you were …"

"I know, Daddy," Ochako mumbled, feeling herself tear up as she let her dad keep her up in the air, "and … and I'm okay. I'm okay."

After a few more seconds of the two Urarakas clinging to each other, Taiyo finally put her down, pausing so he could kiss her forehead, and then moved around so that he could hug Izuku as well, the boy grunting slightly in pain as he got wrapped up in a tight grip.

"Oh, shit!" Taiyo yelped, letting him go at once. "I'm - I'm sorry, you okay, kid?!"

"I'm okay, Taiyo," Izuku grunted as he was put down, patting the man's shoulder weakly, "just … kinda stiff."

"Alrigh', kid. And - and Kendou," He turned to the other girls, seeing them standing there awkwardly, "I talked to yer folks too, I'mma drive us over there so we can stay there for the nigh'. I've already got Miwa and Inko there, so - so I'll getcha home."

"I … okay. Thanks, Taiyo."

"An' - an' if you two need a ride home too -?" He turned to Nejire and Yuuyu, but the pink-haired girl shook her head and smiled gently.

"That's alright, Mr. Uraraka, we'll be fine," She assured him, "Nej here probably needs to burn off some of her energy, so we'll be alright walking home. Thank you so much for the offer, though."

"Alrigh', if - if yer both sure," He nodded, rubbing his face briefly before turning to the other three teenagers, "in tha' case, let's - let's get goin', you three. Yer moms need to see ya before they lose their minds."

With that, the four of them moved into the truck, all three teenagers moving into the back so that they could sit together, and after Taiyo waved to the two girls on the sidewalk, Nejire and Yuuyu watched as they drove off back down the road.

As the truck moved away, Yuuyu let her gaze flicker to her side, glancing up at Nejire's face - and feeling herself blink at the sight that greeted her.

Nejire, for once, had her entire attention focused on the truck, staring at it with a weird intent, and the look on her face took Yuuyu aback. There were so many emotions there that she really couldn't keep track - shock, probably from the fact that Izuku was up and about after getting his shit kicked in, relief, obviously from the fact that he was okay, and …

… and there was something else there, something that made Yuuyu blink. Almost as though …

"Nej?" She asked quietly, poking her shoulder. "You good?"

"H-huh?" Nejire blinked, looking back around at her pink-haired friend with surprise, as though she had forgotten she was there. Luckily, that seemed to shake her out of whatever funk she had been in for the last minute or so, managing to disguise her conflicted face with the usually preppy look. "Oh, uh - sorry about that, Yuuyu, got - got caught up in my thoughts! Was just a little shocked that Midoriya was - you know, that he was up and about. But maybe I shouldn't be, though! Recovery Girl's awesome! You know, when she's not trying to stab people with her cane."

"Uh-huh." Yuuyu slowly nodded, wincing as she moved a hand to rub her side where the bruise from earlier was.

"A-anyway, I guess - well, I guess that if Kendou and Uraraka are with him, he's gonna be okay! I'll try giving him a call tomorrow, though - just to make sure that he's totally fine. Yeah." Nejire quickly nodded to herself, turning on her heel to start walking down the sidewalk. "C-c'mon, Yuuyu! Let's go home."

"I … yeah," Yuuyu nodded to herself, glancing back at where the truck had vanished from sight as she sighed, "let's go home, Nej."

With that, the two girls began walking down the sidewalk together - with Nejire glancing back down at her feet, trying hard to swallow the small smile on her face from the sheer thought of Izuku, and Yuuyu glancing at that smile and feeling her heart thump in her chest.

---

The mountain zone, broken with one of its massive summits laying in a landslide outside of the zone.

The flood zone, its water slowly continuing to seep back in and fill up the empty hole.

The conflagration zone, with a massive hole blasted out of it.

The foyer, laying in ruins with massive cracks in the floor and the fountain broken.

Two large holes in the roof of the USJ, one on its side and the one above the facility with the glass laying smashed up against the ground.

"Jeez, Sir," Bubble Girl gulped nervously from their spot at the top of the stairs, her yellow eyes flickering around, "kinda looks like a warzone, doesn't it?"

Sir Nighteye didn't respond to that, turning his own gaze towards the other zones as Centipeder likewise adjusted his white glove. They weren't the only heroes currently in the broken remains of the USJ - there were several heroes already moving around down there to inspect the damage, working with the police to uncover any villain that might've tried to hide.

So far, they hadn't found anyone else, digging through the mountain zone for those who had apparently been buried underneath it, and inspecting the ruins zone to their left for anyone who might've been trying to hide in the simulated broken city.

"It appears that our presence here was unnecessary," Centipeder said in his high-pitched voice, "the police and other heroes seem to have it covered."

"No," Nighteye shook his head, "I was summoned here for another reason. I just wanted to have a look around here before heading back to the main building. While I do that, I want you both to head down and begin taking pictures of the various zones - this attack is linked to the Trigger investigation, so I'd like to have another look before we have to hand off all the evidence we found by ourselves to the Endeavor agency."

"A-ah," Bubble Girl slowly nodded, looking nervous as she glanced up at her employer, "and - and by that, you mean -?"

"You know what I mean, Bubble Girl." He shortly said. "Go down to the mountain zone and crawl in to take pictures of the damage."

With that, Nighteye spun on his heel to head back out the door, heading to his car so that he could drive back to the school. As he moved out of the broken doors, Bubble Girl sagged over, mumbling under her breath, "I hate this job." as Centipeder patted her shoulder in sympathy and a bit of amusement.

Outside, Nighteye sighed as he got back into his car, turning the key in the engine, and taking off, furrowing his brow. It was one thing to come all this way to UA to have a look at the site of the attack - he had plans to do that anyway, since he would have never suspected that this place of all places would've been linked to the Trigger investigation from the last half year everyone had been looking into it - but All Might himself had reached out, asking to meet with him at the nurse's office. That had taken Nighteye aback, seeing as this was the first time in months that All Might had asked to meet after that disastrous day at the beach, and made him push his foot to the petal to hurry himself over to the school to meet up with his old friend.

He wasn't quite sure why All Might wanted to meet, but there was a small hope in Nighteye's chest - the hope that somehow, All Might had changed his mind. Mirio was more than ready, Nighteye was sure of it - his work in Nighteye's hero office, his high marks, his expert command over his quirk … it was more than enough for All Might to finally step down as the Symbol of Peace and let Mirio take the reigns. He'd heard nothing about Itsuka for months, so perhaps … perhaps All Might had finally given up on her, and come around to Nighteye's thinking.

As he pulled into the parking lot after the five minute drive, Nighteye jumped out of his car, and began speed walking through the main doors. He passed by Ingenium and his brother, the older man poking his younger brother and teasing him about something, but Nighteye paid it no heed as he hurried up the stairs. It had been a while since he had been at UA, but he knew his way around somewhat, so he at least knew where All Might would be waiting for him right now, and hopefully it wouldn't be too late to ask Mirio to come back to the school for a talk.

Soon enough, he was outside of Recovery Girl's office, knocking on the door sharply as he finally came to a stop, breathing a bit more erratically.

"All Might? It's Nighteye."

"Come in, Mirai."

Nighteye faltered at that, staring blankly at the door - there was such seriousness in his friend's voice, it took him aback. Still, he straightened his shoulders, and pulled the door open as he stepped insidde.

To his surprise, All Might was not the only one in the nurse's office, the pro hero sitting on the bed with his torso wrapped up, and looking so frail it made Nighteye frown. Standing at the edge of the bed was Tsukauchi, looking uncharacteristically serious, and standing near Recovery Girl, who was sitting on her own chair at the desk, was Principal Nezu, his beady eyes scanning a few notes on his tablet while he likewise frowned.

Glancing between the four of them, Nighteye furrowed his brow - what was going on here?

"Hello, Mirai," All Might nodded, straightening up and frowning, "thank you for meeting with me on such short notice."

"Of course," Nighteye slid the door shut, walking into the room and glancing around uncertainly. "What's going on?"

"Well …" Tsukauchi sighed, and extended the hand he held his notebook in, offering it to Nighteye. Wrinkling his brow, the pro hero accepted the notepad, turning it so that he could begin reading the notes.

"These are the notes that I took from the students of Class 1A today," The detective explained shortly, "that goes into the details of the villains that attacked them today.

"Alright ..."

"As you know, Nighteye," Nezu said from his spot, looking up at the taller man as he read through the notes, "today, we were attacked by a villain organization calling themselves the Villain Consortium. From what we discovered, they were the ones who organized the Trigger theft half a year ago from the Humarise cell up in Hokkaido, all in an effort to assassinate All Might."

"Yes, yes," Nighteye nodded, his eyes scanning the detective's notebook as he flipped a page, "I heard about it from another few heroes who had come to inspect the USJ damage."

"Well, they were led by a specific villain," Tsukauchi sighed, "calling himself Nine. He had an interaction with one of the students in Class 1A, where he said something that … well, if you flip the next page, you'll know."

Furrowing his brow, Nighteye flipped to the next page, his eyes scanning its contents. The four others in the room watched as he read over the notes, All Might uncharacteristically silent as he clenched a fist - and then they saw Nighteye's strict face flicker.

Reading over the note, Nighteye blinked slowly, and then reread the note at least two more times, feeling his eyes widen and his jaw dropped.

"... is this accurate?" He said in a quiet voice. "Are - are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Tsukauchi nodded stiffly. "Nine boasted about somehow trading his quirk for another. And All Might told us that he was …"

"I didn't notice in the heat of the moment," All Might finally spoke up, his voice surprisingly tranquil, "but at the USJ, Nine had the ability to command the storm above us - and when I moved to attack him, he created some kind of shield. I had thought it was an extension of his quirk, but …"

"But from what Midoriya told us he heard," Nezu finished for him, tapping his foot against the ground, "Nine was somehow outfitted with a quirk he traded in - and at the USJ, showed that he was capable of using more than one quirk. From there, I made my own connection with another separate case." The principal flipped his tablet to show the others two pictures of heroes.

"Two separate attacks on two separate heroes from two separate parts of Japan, all within the timeframe between the Trigger theft and the invasion of our school. Two heroes that had lost their quirks. I had thought that they were somehow erased by a villain's attack, but if what I'm thinking is accurate … and this Nine character was involved ..."

"They were taken." All Might glared down at his lap. "Stolen."

There was a silence in the nurse's office, Recovery Girl frowning, Tsukauchi biting the inside of his cheek, Nezu staring down at his tablet, and All Might glaring at nothing.

"This … this can't be possible," Nighteye muttered, feeling his hand shake as he raised it to adjust his glasses, "we saw the body ourselves. I was there when we cremated it. There was - there was no way that he could have - the state it was in -"

"All for One is dead," Nezu sighed, his normally happy expression nowhere in sight as he looked around at the others, "and yet, somehow, this Nine villain is able to find a way to trade in his quirk? And potentially steal others? I'm still reaching out to the hospitals that these heroes are in to find out more about their quirks, but I imagine that at least one of them will have had the ability to create a shield out of air. And his name - Nine. An odd choice of a villain name - unless it's some kind of hint."

"A hint of what? Being able to have up to nine quirks?" Recovery Girl finished for him, tapping her cane against the ground as she frowned and scoffed sketically. "It shouldn't be possible, Nezu - those found during All for One's reign to have more than one quirk were only given one extra in addition to their own so that they didn't succumb to the strain. The possibility of one person having up to nine quirks is medically impossible - if what you're thinking is true, Nine would be comatose."

"And yet," Nezu tilted his head, "we should also find it impossible that this villain has more than one or two quirks in the first place. This means that either All for One left behind ways that villains can take on more than one quirk -"

"Or somehow," All Might clenched his fist tightly, "against all odds - he survived."

Silence once again fell as the five adults slowly came to grips with that - and then Nighteye let out a small sigh.

"All Might," He turned his gaze up to the pro hero, seeing him continue to stare down into his lap as Nighteye took a step forward, "at this point, you have to see - if All for One survived, this means that my vision - it's very much possible that it's him that I saw. You can't deny what I've been saying anymore! Mirio is ready for One for All! He can take it, so -"

"No, Nighteye."

"This isn't the time for you to be stubborn!" Nigheye suddenly shouted, making Tsukauchi jump a bit in surprise as the thinner man took a step forward. "If All for One is alive and is backing up this Nine villain, both of them are threats to you! Either one of them could be the one that ends your life! So before it comes to that -"

"Mirai, no," All Might shook his head, frowning, "it's too late to give Young Togata One for All."

"It's not -!"

"Mirai," All Might looked up at him, looking him dead in the eye, "it's too late."

Nighteye stopped in his tracks there, blinking in confusion and anger as All Might gave him a knowing look - and then he understood it. He quickly straightened his back, staring down at the frail man in shock as All Might sat back. There was a long moment of silence as All Might stared up at Nighteye, keeping his expression neutral until his former sidekick found his words.

"You …"

"I gave One for All to Young Kendou a few days ago." All Might shortly explained. "You've already been to the USJ, Mirai - the mountain zone that you saw in pieces? That was her doing. One for All has already been successfully passed on."

Nighteye felt his jaw drop, staring at All Might as though he had never seen him before as the pro hero stared back up at him - and then he snapped his mouth shut, feeling himself frown.

"... you need to convince her to give it to Mirio."

"I will not -"

"All Might, you may not take your life seriously, but I do!" Nighteye punched the wall, glaring down at his former friend as the other three members of the room stared at the argument with their own frowns. "You're trusting your survival in the hands of a girl who has no experience, who isn't even able of defending herself, much less you if the time comes! I've seen her in action, we both have! Against someone like All for One, she'll die the moment he even glances her way! Mirio is the more suitable candidate for One for All, and if he has it, he'll be able to take up your sword! This girl will waste it!"

"Mirai, I will not rob Young Kendou of what she's been fighting for for the last year," All Might refused point-blankly, making Nighteye grit his teeth, "she is just as worthy of One for All as Young Togata is. He'll grow to be a great hero, and so will she. Instead of you trying to pit them against each other -"

"No, All Might." Nighteye shook his head, spinning on his heel and gritting his teeth, "You won't be convincing me anytime soon. I refuse to accept Kendou as your successor, and I will show you that you made a mistake choosing her. If you really have passed on One for All, it means that soon enough the people will be robbed of their symbol. They don't need a small spark, but a bright and burning light."

Pulling open the door, Nigheye turned to look All Might in the eye, furrowing his brow angrily, "And if I have to make you and her aware of who is best suited for that responsibility, then so be it."

With that, Nighteye stepped through the door and closed it sharply behind him.

---

"Y-yes, Hisashi, I know," Inko nodded as she paced back and forth in the Kendous' kitchen, massaging her forehead, "I just - well, Izuku said that he doesn't want you to miss work on his behalf, and - well, if they are insisting - I - alright, I suppose, if they're pretty much nudging you out the door. Just - alright, yes, Hisashi, I understand, you don't need to raise your voice. I won't mind having you on the couch for a week or so. Alright. Yes, just - just let me know when you arrive at the airport tomorrow, Taiyo can drive out and pick you up. Yes. I'll give Izuku your love. See you tomorrow, Hisashi."

With a small sigh, she hung up the call, sliding her phone back into her pocket, and moved back into the living room. The mood of the room was the same as when she left it - Ochako was being cuddled by Miwa while Taiyo hugged them both to him as they sat on the couch; Itsuka was sitting on the floor and stroking Gūdo's head as the dog whined and cuddled against her, both her parents still cleaning up the kitchen table from dinner; and Izuku was sitting against the couch, with Miwa reaching out and stroking his hair, and he looked up curiously at his mother as she moved back into the living room with another sigh.

"Well," She shrugged, "I guess that's that. I tried to tell your father that you were alright, Izuku, but he's insisting on getting the first flight back to Japan as soon as he can."

"I - oh, no, he - he doesn't need to do that, Mom," Izuku sighed, rubbing his own forehead slightly as Inko sat back down beside him, kissing his cheek, "did - did you try to tell him -"

"I told him everything you told me to say," Inko smiled, hugging Izuku again as she sniffled, "I told him you were fine, that he didn't need to worry about you, and he still insisted on coming back anyway. I don't blame him, sweetie - it was hard enough for me to hear about it, and I'm in the same country as you are. I have no idea how he's feeling being all the way across the world from you. He needs to see you, and in person this time - not through a phone screen."

"I …" Izuku hesitated, not entirely up to the idea - he didn't like the idea of his father missing an entire week of work just for him - and then he sighed, and sat back as he suppressed a small yawn, "... I guess so, Mom. I just … don't want him to … ah, forget it, I - I understand."

Nodding, Inko kissed his head again, sniffling as the Kendous returned to the living room and sat down, glancing at their daughter as she hugged Gūdo. The last few hours had been … quite hectic, to say the least. Once they had been driven back to Itsuka's house, the three of them had been enveloped into tight hugs by their mothers, chaos immediately ensuing with Inko bawling her eyes out hugging Izuku while Miwa and Tenohira refused to let go of their daughters for even a second, with Hakushu, Taiyo and Teko having to hurry into the kitchen to make sure that the food that the mothers had been stress cooking didn't burn down the entire house.

Once everything was sorted and everyone calmed down a bit, they sat down in the dining room for dinner, eating lots of food that would still go into the fridge for leftovers that would last for days. Inko had tried to concentrate on her food, but was unable to stop herself from hugging Izuku every few seconds while he tried to assure her that he was okay, although how stiffly he was holding his chopsticks and the occasional wince of pain definitely didn't help. Ochako sat between her own parents, letting Miwa cuddle her a bit while trying not to show how hungry she really was after all the stress of the last few hours, while Itsuka did not begrudge Gūdo any of her foot, occasionally giving something from her plate to her dog while her gaze would sometimes flicker to Izuku and Ochako, as though trying to make sure that they were still there.

Teko, meanwhile, remained quiet throughout the entire evening, other than asking the three teenagers if they were alright in a quiet voice. He stared down at his plate for the entirety of dinner, staying quiet as he picked at his food, and once everyone was excused to the living room, merely opted to head off to his own room and slid it shut. Izuku had thought that the older man had just decided to head off to bed for the evening, but when Inko had sat down with him after returning from the kitchen, he heard the sound of the dojo teacher's door sliding open again.

"Hm?" Tenohira looked around, and blinked at the sight of her father putting on a raincoat, straightening up. "Dad, are you heading out? It's late, and it's about to rain."

"I'm aware," Teko grumbled, moving around her to pat Itsuka's head, "I just need to take a bit of a walk, daughter. I've been holed up inside all day, I'm just going to walk around for a bit to relieve a bit of stress. I'll be back in an hour or so - you don't need to leave the door unlocked, I have my key. I'll see you all tomorrow."

With that, the teacher moved towards the door leading down to the dojo, pulling it open and closing it behind him as he went downstairs. Tenohira stared after him with a conflicted look as the sound of his footsteps moving down the stairs faded away, and she let out a small sigh as she walked over and kissed Itsuka's cheek as well, the orange-haired girl grumbling a bit at all the affection her parents were giving her but not complaining.

"Alright," The Kendou matriarch straightened back up, looking around at everyone, "I … well, I'm not sure about everyone, but we should at least try to get a little bit of sleep. Inko, are you sure that the couch is alright? Hakushu and I don't mind sharing the pullout if you want to take our bed."

"No, no, the - the couch will be fine," Inko shook her head, smiling as she reached out and stroked Gūdo's head, the dog wagging his tail against Itsuka, "I don't want to kick you both out of your bed, I'm just a guest. As long as Izuku is fine with the futon, I won't be complaining."

"Mm-mm," Izuku shook his head in agreement, smiling up at Tenohira as her gaze flickered to him, "I don't mind either, Mrs. Kendou."

"Tenohira," She pouted, reaching out to poke his cheek, "I have told you a thousand times. Te-no-hi-ra. Say it, Izuku."

"Er - uh - T-Tenoh-hira," He mumbled, blushing, "sorry."

"That's more like it."

With that, the three families decided to adhere to what Tenohira said and start heading to bed - while the two families would've liked their children to stay in the same room as them, they accepted that Ochako and Itsuka wouldn't have anywhere comfortable to sleep, and probably needed a bit of time to themselves to destress from everything. As such, the two girls would share Itsuka's room again, while Izuku slept on the futon out in the living room with Inko, and Miwa and Taiyo would take the guest room. Gūdo, meanwhile, was selected to stay with the Midoriyas, the dog happily bouncing up onto the couch as Hakushu pulled it out for Inko to sleep on as she went to brush her teeth and change into her pajamas.

As everyone began moving around to get ready for bed, Izuku laid down in the futon, sighing as he leaned back. Itsuka, meanwhile, seemed conflicted as she stood in the small hall that would lead to her room and the guest room, Ochako having gone on ahead to get changed into her pajamas after Itsuka was done changing. Hakushu and Tenohira seemed to notice their daughter's hesitation, both of them looking around from where they were returning from locking the downstairs doors.

"Itsuka?" Hakushu patted her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"H-huh?" Itsuka blinked, glancing around and shaking herself out of her small pause, "Oh, no, I'm - I'm fine, Dad. It's just … uh …"

The small group, with Taiyo, Miwa and Inko looking over at the teenager in confusion as well, watched as Itsuka glanced down at her bare feet - and then sighed as she nodded to herself, her mind apparently being made up as she strolled over to the foot of Izuku's futon, the boy inside blinking in confusion at the certain look on her face.

"Mom, Dad," She sighed, "punish me for this tomorrow."

"H-huh?" Izuku crinkled his brow, looking up at her from his spot in the futon as Inko also looked around curiously, patting Gūdo's head, "What are you talking abouAH!"

The reason for his yelp, of course, was due to Itsuka suddenly bending over, grabbing the end of the futon tightly with the one hand that wasn't in a cast growing out slightly with her quirk, and then began dragging it, and by extension Izuku, out of the living room. Izuku had no real option to try and stop her, stuttering and only managing to stay inside due to him grabbing the blankets to prevent himself from flopping out.

The adults watched with raised eyebrows as Itsuka dragged him all the way down the hall towards her room, ignoring Izuku's nervous inquiries about what she was doing, until she dragged him fully inside, and then firmly shut the door behind them.

There was a small silence in the living room - and then Tenohira, feeling herself smirk smugly, turned to look at Miwa.

"I believe that's one point for Team Kendou," She giggled while Miwa pouted at her and Taiyo patted his wife's shoulder with an amused sigh.

Inside her room, Izuku still wasn't quite sure as to what might have been going on as Itsuka dragged him closer to the bed, where Ochako was already sitting in her pajamas and blinking at her best friend's sudden appearance. With a grunt, Itsuka put down the futon at last, but then moved around it to grab the blankets and throw them off of Izuku, ignoring how blankly he was staring at her as she grew out her good hand, and wrapped it around his body.

Izuku was a bit too shocked to resist as she effortlessly lifted him out of the futon, turned him around, and then dropped him unceremoniously onto her bed, shrinking back down her hand as she moved to get into the futon.

"... uh." Izuku managed to squeak out while Ochako likewise looked around him in surprise at Itsuka as she sat down in the futon.

"Midoriya," She sighed as she threw the covers over her legs, "you can't just sleep on a futon after - you know - what happened today, it wouldn't be good for your injuries. I'll take it."

"But - wait a second, you were injured too!" Izuku protested, attempting to stiffly get out of the bed, only for Ochako to quickly hold down his shoulders and prevent him from getting up. Izuku only had time look around at her in shock and betrayal before she got up from the bed as well - and then moved down to get rid of Itsuka's covers as well, making the orange-haired girl blink as Ochako tried to lightly push her out of the futon.

"W-well, if that's the case, Itsuka," Ochako lightly pushed her, furrowing her brow as Itsuka quickly took her wrist in one hand, "you - you can't sleep in the futon either, you broke your arm. Let me sleep in the futon and -"

"No, Occhan!"

"Ochako, get back in the bed, I'll be fine here."

"W-well, I can't let you stay in there either!"

"N-no, neither of you, you guys can sleep in the bed, I don't mind sleeping in -"

"Deku, sit your ass back down."

"Midoriya, I will tie you to the bedpost, I swear to god."

Whan then ensued was about another minute of the three of them arguing, with Izuku trying to get out of the bed only for both Itsuka and Ochako to hop up and restrain him, pushing his hands carefully up so that he couldn't get up so easily, while Ochako attempted to push Itsuka out of the futon with her foot while Itsuka lightly kicked her back. Pretty soon they were at a standoff, with Izuku trying to resist them pushing him back down, Ochako and Itsuka working together to ensure that he stayed on the bed, and Itsuka trying to keep herself in the futon while fighting off Ochako with her feet.

And then, after a brief moment of glancing between each other at the odd positions they were in - Izuku with his hands restrained by Itsuka, Ochako half on the bed and sitting on his legs, and Itsuka's leg slightly up and pushing against Ochako's stomach - Izuku couldn't help but snort a little bit.

"I - sorry -" He wheezed, shaking his head while the two girls gave him a mutual look of confusion, "- I just thought that things would be less stressful once I got to bed, but - heh."

"I … guess so," itsuka shrugged, smiling weakly at Ochako as she finally let go of Izuku's wrists, and turned to sit down on the edge of her bed, while Ochako slid back a bit from Izuku so she could somewhat sit back down too, the three of them sitting together on the edge of the bed, "but I'm serious, Midoriya - you've still gotta be sore from today, so you shouldn't be sleeping on the floor. Just sleep in my bed, I don't mind taking the futon tonight."

"But Itsuka, you're also injured," Ochako insisted, glancing between her two friends, "you need to sleep in an actual bed too - I'm pretty much fine, let me sleep in the futon."

"Yeah, and normally I might not complain, but you aren't thinking of one thing," Itsuka smirked, pointing at Izuku as he went a bit red, "I don't think Midoriya here would be able to sleep if I'm in the same bed as he is. You two at least have had sleepovers before, so you're used to each other - I don't mind being on the floor for a single night while you two rest."

"Peh," Ochako returned her smirk, patting her best friend's shoulders, "I don't believe that. Deku can do it, he's a big boy."

"I protest that," Izuku muttered, going redder, "I am not a big enough boy for that."

Both Itsuka and Ochako giggled at that, with Itsuka leaning back slightly to smile at her two friends on her bed.

"Maybe in that case," She joked, "we might as well all sleep in the bed together, just so no one's uncomfortable on the floor."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... that - that was a joke, guys."

"O-oh," Izuku blinked, letting out an awkward, stilted laugh as he scratched the back of his head, and Ochako glanced between the two of them while gulping nervously, and Itsuka went a bit red, "Y-yeah, of - of course, Kendou, I was just - uh - you know."

"Uh …" Itsuka trailed off, not exactly sure what to say here. Ochako coughed a bit, glancing down at her knees, and Izuku folded his hands together, looking anywhere but them.

Silence fell in the small room as Izuku continued to stare down at his knees, Ochako glanced between the two of them with her face turning redder by the second, and Itsuka stiffened up, glancing between them while shaking a bit nervously as well for some reason - and then she let out a small sigh, and put her hand down on the bed so she could better get on it.

Both Izuku and Ochako quickly looked around as Itsuka swung her legs up, leaving all three of them on the bed and making them both go much redder as she began moving towards the front of the bed.

"Uh … Kendou?" Izuku squeaked a bit. "What are you -?"

"Move over a bit," She smiled at him, poking him in the shoulder with her finger, "you're gonna be in the middle."

"I - huh?!" Izuku felt himself go even redder, looking around at Ochako as she likewise went red, watching as Itsuka moved to lay down on the edge of the bed with her own cheeks looking rosey.

"Well … you put the thought in my head," She shrugged, glancing away, "and at this point, I'm feeling a bit too tired to think things through properly. So yeah, fuck it, let's all sleep together - it'll definitely be tight, but we'll be comfortable, I think. Ochako, move to the wall, and Midoriya - if you keep your head up, we'll move a few pillows."

Both Izuku and Ochako gulped nervously, clearly having reservations about this, but one eyebrow raise from their friend made them immediately comply with her instructions. Ochako moved back so her back pressed against the wall, and Izuku awkwardly slid up beside her, both of them red as Izuku's arm accidentally pressed into her own, and filled them both with the need to get away from each other.

Alas, it was too late to do so, what with Itsuka grabbing the pillow from the futon with her toes, and once she got a hold of it with her hand, moved to put it down under Izuku's head, and then used her foot to grab the sheets. Once they were all tucked in, Itsuka turned to turn off the lamp beside the bed, casting them into darkness.

Soon enough, all three of them were laying beside each other, having little to no choice but to stare at each other as silence fell. At once, all three of them realized the biggest flaw here - the bed was somewhat big, but definitely not big enough for three people, so they were all somewhat pressed together and touching whether they like it or not, both girls trying hard to avoid touching Izuku with any ... girl parts that might make him explode into a blushing mess. Itsuka immediately cursed her decision to lay on her side facing Izuku, giving her a good look at him laying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling in terror, and Ochako likewise imitated her, not wanting to face the wall as both girls stared at Izuku's blood red face.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... this was a much better idea in my head," Itsuka muttered, her own cheeks feeling very hot.

Both of them turned to stare at her blankly for a moment - and then Izuku let out another soft chuckle, one that made their hearts thump happily in their chests for some … unknown reason, as he sighed and raised a hand to rub his face.

"It's … well, I'm not gonna say that I'm cool with it," He muttered, "but … it's nice, I - I think. I'm - I'm not feeling like I have to get up, anyway. It's very … uh …"

"Snug?" Ochako guessed for him, smiling as Izuku covered his face and let out a weak groan. Both girls giggled a bit, feeling the small awkwardness break, and adjusted themselves somewhat so that they could get comfortable, laying in the dark room as the three of them closed their eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"So … uh …" Izuku lowered his hand, glancing between both girls with a questioning look, "I … might have misheard this, but … were you two referring to each other by your - by your first names?"

"Huh?" Itsuka wrinkled her brow, and then blinked as she realized what he was talking about. "Oh - oh, yeah, I … I guess we were, huh? Yeah, we, uh - well, we had a talk while you were … indisposed … and, y'know, decided that since we've been so close for - for a year now, why should we be so formal?"

"I … guess that's true," Izuku slowly nodded, seeing the logic in that statement and not noticing Ochako conveniently glancing away to hide how red her face had become.

"So … uh … I guess in that case, if you want, you can call me by my first name too, Midoriya. N-not to say that you have to," Itsuka quickly added in, glancing away with her face turning red again, "or - or that I'm feeling pressured to let you call me that, it's just - uh - I'm just - throwing that out there, I guess. It's cool if you - yeah."

"Uh …" Izuku stopped for a moment, staring at the ceiling as he thought about it - and then he gulped nervously. "... I'm … not sure if I have the mental fortitude to do that."

"... you don't have the mental fortitude to call me 'Itsuka'?"

"Er … no."

"Hm," Itsuka raised a teasing eyebrow, smirking a bit, "I see how it is, Midoriya … okay, okay. I don't get the privilege of having a cool nickname, huh?"

"Huh? W-what?"

"Yeah, 'Occhan' is apparently okay," Itsuka smirked as Ochako began giggling, "and 'Kacchan' too apparently, but nothing for me, it appears. No 'Icchan', no 'Kenchan', nothing. I'm disappointed, really disappointed."

"I - you -" Izuku stuttered, glancing around desperately at Ochako for help, only for him to falter at her increasingly difficult attempts to hold in her laughter, and let out a small sigh as he crossed his arms carefully across his chest, pouting adorably. "- you're mean. I'm going to sleep."

"Oh, come on, Midoriya, I'm just kidding!"

"Nope."

"Midoriyaaaaa …" Itsuka said in a giggly sing-song voice.

"Nope." Izuku repeated, and with that, he managed to roll over onto his face, making Ochako break into laughter at his immature pout and Itsuka beginning to giggle as well as she laid down a bit more comfortably so as not to disturb her arm. Once she got control of her laughter, Itsuka let a more natural smile grace her face as she poked Izuku's arm, sighing as he jumped a bit and moved his head to look at her from where it had been smushed against the pillow.

"Seriously, though," She leaned against her own pillow as her hand back down to her side, pressing the side of her face against her pillow, "you can take your time calling me whatever you want. If you wanted to just call me 'Kendou', that's fine, but when you wanna call me by my first name, just go ahead."

"Oh, uh …" Izuku rolled over so that he was on his back again, and both girls relaxed and smiled at the sight of the blush on his cheeks as he shrugged, "... I … guess so, I - I guess that sounds good. And … well … I guess if you … if you wanted to call me by my first name …"

Itsuka raised her eyebrow at that unspoken invitation, trying to pretend that her heartbeat didn't just accelerate at the sheer thought of that, and slowly nodded.

"Alright," She smiled, "Izuku."

His name on her lips just made him go even redder, letting out a groan as he rolled back around and pressed his face back into the pillow. Itsuka let out a small giggle while Ochako smiled at their antics, and both girls took that as their cue to finally try and get some sleep, rolling over and closing their eyes -

- and yet, Ochako couldn't help but feel her smile falter.

As the minutes ticked by, and she heard Izuku shuffle next to her as his breath began to slow into an even pace, signifying that he had fallen asleep, she couldn't help but curl into herself a bit, relieved that she was facing the wall so neither of them could see the small frown on her face as she thought, slowly bringing her knees up so she could wrap her arms around them.

The way that Itsuka had smiled at Izuku just now … for some reason, she couldn't just … get it out of her mind. It wasn't the first time she had seen that kind of expression on her friend's face; it was back at the - the New Year's Eve party, when they had been sitting on the porch. Staring at each other as though there was nothing else in the world besides each other, as though Ochako didn't even exist.

At the time, it had confused her, and … and she couldn't understand why. She didn't understand why she felt so … off when Izuku had pointed out Itsuka's hair being down, and why it felt like she had been forgotten about at that moment. She didn't understand why, whenever Nejire got into Izuku's face, she felt like her heart was about to slam out of her chest, why she felt like she had to go over and physically separate the two of them. She wasn't sure why she felt so … off whenever Itsuka and Izuku had a moment, why she felt weird when Izuku and Nejire got together to hang out at lunch.

Why? Was she - was she jealous of him spending time with other people? She knew she didn't have any right to feel that way - after years of just having her as a friend, he deserved more than just her. But why was she so … uncomfortable with Izuku getting closer to Itsuka and Nejire in general? She didn't feel this way about Setsuna and Yui being friends with Izuku, or him being friends with Tenya and Eijirou and Momo and Yuuyu. Why those two?

Why would she -

"Either of you two still awake?"

Ochako blinked at the quiet voice behind her, hearing it come from somewhere behind her. With a small grunt, she managed to roll over, and blinked when she saw Itsuka's eyes still open, glancing behind her shoulder to see Ochako still awake as well, and she let out a small sigh as she likewise rolled over.

Both girls glanced to see Izuku asleep, looking tired even when he was out of it, and Ochako couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Out like a light," She giggled quietly.

"That's our boy," Itsuka shook her head, smiling gently, "not that I can really blame him. Today was …"

"Yeah."

There was another silence in the room, both girls staring at Izuku as he slept - and then Itsuka felt her smile fade.

"... we almost lost him today, didn't we?"

Ochako blinked at that, looking up from Izuku's face to look at Itsuka. Her entire happy mood from earlier had vanished - now there were small tears gathering in her eyes as she stared down at him, shuddering a bit as she raised a hand to wipe her face.

"I just … sorry," She sniffled, shaking her head. "I'm … I've been lying here for minutes, and I just keep thinking about …"

Ochako stared at her for a moment, shocked - and then she began quietly sitting up. Adjusting herself so that she was up on her butt, she moved around Izuku (and mentally apologizing for somewhat laying on top of him) so that she could give Itsuka a small hug. Her friend sniffled, and quickly sat up so that Ochako wouldn't wake Izuku up with her weight on top of him, and the two girls embraced a bit, Itsuka tucking her face into her shoulder.

"Fuck, I suck," She giggled lowly, "here I am breaking down over …"

"It's okay," Ochako mumbled, "I've … just been trying not to think about it, honestly."

"Yeah."

"..."

"..."

"... so, uh …"

"Yeah, Itsuka?"

"If ... if we're trying to take our minds off it ..." Itsuka tucked her face a bit firmer into Ochako's shoulder, but there was a weird catch in her voice that made Ochako blink, "... then ... I guess we can ... talk about it?"

Ochako went a bit still, blinking in confusion - it? What was 'it'? What could she be -

- and then it clicked, making Ochako's eyes widen and a sudden hot feeling begin crawling on her cheeks. She was talking about …

"Oh. You ... you wanna talk about ...?"

"Yeah." Itsuka nodded a bit, sounding very small. "Our ... kiss."

"Oh. I ... uh ..." Ochako faltered, feeling heat returning to her face - and then she let out a small sigh, closing her eyes, and nodded against Itsuka's shoulder. "Okay. Yeah. Let's … yeah."

"Not … right here, though. Do you wanna …?"

"Y-yeah."

Together, the two girls slid out of the covers, careful not to shake Izuku out of his slumber, and slowly got to their feet - they were still exhausted after today, of course, so they both had to move a bit stiffer than they were used to. They managed to get off the bed, and slowly sank down so that they were sitting on the abandoned futon, glancing away from each other as Itsuka scratched her cheek, and Ochako gulped.

"So," Itsuka started, already beginning to blush, "we … kissed."

"U-uh-huh."

"Yeah …" Itsuka slowly nodded, "... or … you know, more accurately, I - you know, I kissed you. That's … yeah."

Ochako nodded a bit stiffly.

"So … uh …" The orange-haired girl faltered then, staring down at her knees - and then she let out an awkward giggle, using her good hand to cover her face. "... I'm sorry, I have - I have no idea what to even say about this."

Ochako let out a small sigh, smiling reluctantly, and glanced back up at Itsuka as she settled back on the back of her thighs, glancing through her fingers at her friend. There was another silence in the room as they stared briefly at each other - and then Ochako let out another breath as she leaned back on her hands.

"Uh … yeah," She nodded, "we … kissed. That … definitely happened, didn't it?"

"That it did."

"Yeah," She bit her lip, "it wasn't … exactly how I imagined losing my first … you know."

"Me neither," Itsuka chuckled, "I kinda imagined it would be like … I don't know, some big romantic date where the guy of my dreams just kind of … sweeps me off my feet. I didn't imagine it would be … you know, me shoving my tongue down one of my best friend's throats."

"Egh," Ochako groaned, covering her own face while Itsuka giggled. "God, we really did - oh, my god, it was a French kiss too! I'm - I'm so sorry, I - I had no idea what I was doing!"

"Me neither!" Itsuka shook her head, her quiet giggles increasing. "I had no idea what I was even doing with my - you know! God, I just - I'm sorry for just - you know - planting one on you."

"I mean … I did … kiss back," Ochako pointed out, blushing harder, and Itsuka let out a small noise at that, "and … and it wasn't like …"

"L-like what?"

"I …" Ochako paused, feeling her gaze trailing down to the arm Itsuka had in a cast. There was a small silence, as Ochako stared down at the sling and Itsuka stared at Ochako's face, looking very conflicted and curious as to what she would say about their kiss - and perhaps feeling a small increase of her heartbeat as to what she could possibly say here - and then Ochako blinked.

Itsuka blinked as the embarrassed, awkward look on Ochako's face vanished as she stared at her arm, tilting her head somewhat.

"Uh ... Ochako? Are you -"

"Itsuka."

Itsuka blinked at the sudden seriousness in her voice, feeling herself begin to shake slightly. She had no idea why she was looking so serious at the moment, but she could feel her knees suddenly begin to shake as a shot of something hot but not unpleasant shot through her.

"Y-yeah, Ochako? What is -"

"Why was your arm glowing?"

Itsuka's thoughts, which had been beginning to move around a mile a minute, grinded to a stop, staring blankly at Ochako for a moment as her brown eyes returned to her cyan ones, looking at her curiously and worriedly. After a few seconds of confused silence, suddenly, it clicked for Itsuka, making her blink as her jaw dropped slightly, her thoughts about the kiss immediately evaporating.

"I … huh?"

"Today," Ochako said in a quiet voice, "when you … you destroyed that mountain. Your arm … it was glowing."

"I … uh …" Itsuka stuttered, completely taken out of it and unable to mask the shock and fear that suddenly shot through her at what Ochako was realizing.

"Your quirk … it's never done that," She pointed out, noticing Itsuka paling even more in the low light coming from her window, and how she had begun shaking, "you've never glowed using your quirk. And - and the strength that came from the hit - you've - you've never done something like that before. Destroy an entire mountain."

"I - O-Ochako -"

"Itsuka, what was -"

"N-no ..."

Both girls blinkedat the sudden mutter - but it didn't come from either of them. It came from somewhere on the side, up on the ...

... on the bed.

"P-please … please no …"

Feeling their eyes widen, and the awkward conversation that they were having immediately fade from their minds, they both sat up on their knees, quickly looking back around at the bed in slight alarm. Inside it, Izuku's head moved quickly to the side, and even if it was dark, they could see his face twisting into a grimace, clenching the bedsheet tightly in one hand.

"D-Deku?" Ochako muttered towards him, feeling her heartbeat begin to quicken as she rose to one knee.

"Please don't … please …!"

At the sound of tearful panic in her best friend's voice, Ochako quickly got up, moving back to the bed and sitting back down beside him as she stared down at him in alarm. Itsuka likewise scrambled up, staring down at Izuku in shock as Ochako gently shook his shoulder, realizing at once what was happening.

It was clear that Izuku was dreaming, muttering to himself, but the way his voice sounded panicked, and the way he sounded almost pleading … it was like …

"Don't, don't, please don't -!"

"Deku!" Ochako said in a slightly sharper voice, giving him another quick shake - and then Izuku's eyes snapped open. He let out a quiet gasp as he stared blankly at the ceiling for a second, his eyes hazy as he registered that he wasn't dreaming anymore, and after a few moments of silence where he panted a bit heavily, he slowly turned his head to where Ochako was sitting beside him, staring down at him in worry.

"Deku …" She leaned down, staring at him with a kind, assuring smile, "... you were dreaming."

"I …" Izuku shuddered again, and slowly began to sit up. The two girls watched him as he managed to sit up so his back was leaning slightly against the bedframe, and both immediately noticed that he was shaking, small tears building in his eyes.

"Deku?" Ochako asked quietly, "What is it? Are you okay?"

"I …" Izuku hesitated, and then quickly brought his hand to his eyes, letting out a shuddered, choked breath, "... I just …"

At the sight of him beginning to break down in tears, letting out another tearful breath, Ochako didn't hesitate to lean in, wrapping her arms around his head and bringing him to her. Itsuka watched in concern as Izuku had a quiet breakdown, Ochako stroking his hair and letting out a few shushing noises as she stroked his hair.

"I'm - I'm - I'm sorry," He shook his head, letting out another choked noise, "I - I wasn't - I - I t-tried not to think a-about it, but -"

"Shh, Deku," Ochako mumbled, rocking them back and forth a bit in order to soothe him, "just let it out."

Itsuka nodded, and reached out to put her hand over Izuku's, rubbing the back of his hand and letting him shudder and cry quietly to himself.

For a few minutes, the two girls let Izuku quietly cry to himself, wrapping his arm around Ochako's waist to somewhat return the embrace. They knew that he was trying to keep himself quiet so as not to disturb the rest of the house's occupants, something that made their hearts break as Itsuka scooted closer, taking off the blanket so she could take Izuku's legs and raise them, slipping in and letting them rest overtop hers. Ochako continued to gently rock him, and Itsuka, after a moment of hesitation, reached out to run her hand through his hair, Izuku not even minding as he quietly cried into Ochako's shirt.

Finally, he let out another shuddering breath, and slowly began to raise his head from her shoulder, both girls letting him move back, and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, Itsuka quickly turning to grab a few tissues from the box next to her bed, and gave them to him so that he could wipe his face and blow his nose.

"I'm … I'm sorry, guys," He apologized quietly, blowing his nose again and throwing the used tissue into the trash bin, "I just … I couldn't keep it in. I was trying not to - to think about it, but - but - I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Deku," Ochako shook her head, using the back of her fingers to absently stroke his cheek, "it just happens. But … but what happened? Did - you had a nightmare, didn't you?"

"I … yeah," He muttered, looking down in shame, "I … I tried not to think about what happened today, but … but I … I had a dream about … about them."

Both Ochako and Itsuka went still at that, staring at Izuku in shock as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand again, and let out another shuddering breath.

"I thought … I thought if I just kept thinking about how you guys were holding up, and … and concentrated on my mom, I wouldn't … I wouldn't have to think about what happened," He mumbled, "and about … and about them. But … but they came to me in my dreams and … and I'm …"

"Deku …"

"I almost died today," He blurted out, trying to keep his voice even as Ochako and Itsuka winced at the reminder, "I almost died, and … and I hate that it just came to me and won't leave me alone. I thought that - that if I just kept - if I just kept thinking about you guys and kept my thoughts happy, I'd - I'd be fine, but I just … I just remembered -"

Before he could even finish his rambling thought, however, Ochako moved back in. Grabbing the back of his head, she guided him back against her shoulder, hugging him tightly and putting her head down on the top of his head. Izuku, for his part, didn't resist and immediately gave in, releasing another shuddering breath as he carefully wrapped his arms around her.

"I closed my eyes, and I just … I saw them," He mumbled, "The hooded guy. N-Nine. Slice. I don't think … I don't think I …"

"Deku," Ochako muttered, "it's okay. It's going to be okay."

"I don't …"

"Deku, you're going to be okay," She insisted, taking her own shuddered breath as she nuzzled his hair, "I'm not gonna let them get you. I … I messed up so much today. I - I was weak, but … but I'm not gonna let them do that to us again."

Both Izuku and Itsuka remained quiet, letting Ochako speak - from the emotion in her voice, they both knew that she needed to say this to get it off her chest.

"I was weak, and I wasn't able to save you." She vented, squeezing him a bit tighter, "But … but that's going to change. I'm going to get stronger so that I can - so that the next time any villain so much as looks at us, I can save you. Just like you saved me."

The three of them were quiet for a moment, letting Ochako duck her head against his for a moment - and then she let out another breath, and slowly began moving to lie down with Izuku. The boy, for his part, merely let her carry him down, laying on their sides as Ochako tucked her arm under his neck, and held him to her.

"Uh … Occhan?" Izuku said quietly, confused for a moment while she smiled.

"You know the drill," She giggled a bit as she hugged him, "cuddle time. Just like when you had nightmares when we were kids."

"I …" Izuku hesitated, glancing away with his cheeks going a bit red - and then he sighed as he complied, moving to get himself comfortable and trying not to crush Ochako's arm under his head, and let her hug his waist, his face continuing to burn.

Itsuka smiled down at the both of them, and took her cue to get back into bed as well, sighing as she rolled onto her side facing away from the two friends, letting them quietly comfort each other -

- and also to hide the small frown on her face as she curled in on herself.

There was something about … about how Ochako had been holding him, comforting him, that had made Itsuka stare blankly across her room, hearing them shift in the bed behind her but not looking back. The way they were so … comfortable with each other, in a way that Itsuka definitely wasn't with him. She'd poke Izuku and he'd go blood red and start flailing around, and Nejire would get in his face and make his face steam.

But with Ochako … he seemed so calm, so peaceful. So much that she told him that she was going to literally cuddle him to sleep and he didn't offer any resistance despite being so embarrassed about it.

Before, she had been amused by his nervousness around her, but now … but now she could feel some of the dots connecting in her head as she realized something. It made sense, of course, for Izuku to be closer with Ochako than he was with her - they had known each other for years, it made perfect sense that he was more comfortable around her. But the way Ochako was with him right now, how she seemed to understand his thoughts better than he did. How close they both were after only having each other for years … to her, everything was coming together.

The length of time they'd known each other. How Ochako had been in his corner for years, and he in hers. How close they were, even closer than Itsuka could ever hope to be with either of them.

They were …

… they were in love with each other. Probably have been for years, at this point.

Now that she thought of it, it made perfect sense, Itsuka thought as she buried her head a bit firmer into the pillow, hearing them both begin to breathe venly behind her, telling her that they were both probably asleep now. Ochako and Izuku were in love. That made sense. Everything was coming together in her mind - why Ochako had asked Itsuka if Nejire being up in Izuku's business bothered her as much as it bothered Ochako. Why she always got so worried and so angry whenever he did something reckless. Why she had gotten so protective over him at the USJ, literally using her thumbs to blind the hooded man.

She was in love with him … and Izuku was probably in love with her, and neither of them realized it.

And for some reason, that made Itsuka's heart clench in pain.

But … why? Why was she feeling so … weird about them being together? She should be jumping off the walls in happiness right now, making internal plans to get them together, being their biggest shipper - and yet, she felt like crying, tucking her face into her pillow as tears returned to her eyes yet again for a reason she didn't understand. She should be beside herself with joy right now, and yet …

… did … did the kiss today … did that have something to do with it?

She squirmed, going red again as she stared glumly at the wall. From their conversation earlier, it didn't seem like Ochako felt too awkward about it - well, she did, but not to the extent that they were going to be avoiding each other from now on. They didn't talk much about it, but … but Itsuka felt like she understood what had happened. High nerves and adrenaline had made her act on basic instinct, and temptation made her kiss Ochako.

She wasn't - yeah, that made sense, she thought to herself. Why else would she just … kiss Ochako of all people out of nowhere? She had never even thought of girls like that before - well, she barely thought of anyone like that before, to be fair, the selection of guys at middle school that she was attracted to was slim to none. But that wasn't important - she had crushes on celebrities before, of course, but they had all been guys. She had never even considered girls in that light before.

Her thoughts made sense - they'd barely escaped with their lives, they were panicked, and she just acted without thinking. That's why she kissed Ochako.

So … so she just needed a bit more time, if that was the case. Get over what happened with Ochako, pretend the kiss never happened, and … and then get to shipping her and Izuku together. It was clear from their conversation - she and Ochako acknowledged it happened, and it looked like they weren't going to put much thought into it. That was that, despite how Itsuka's heart ached at that thought.

But now … now that that was out of the way, there was one more thing that she had to think about, she frowned as she adjusted herself slightly so she wasn't laying on her broken arm.

"Why was your arm glowing?"

She had known it already, but to hear Ochako ask that question just confirmed her greatest fear. Ochako had seen her use One for All. She knew that there was something off, that there was something Itsuka was hiding from them. And it would only be a matter of time before she brought it up again. Or talk to Izuku about it and confer with him.

And then the two of them … they'd either ask her about it, or think that she was holding something back and wouldn't trust her ever again.

Which meant … it was time to bite the bullet. She had to tell them about One for All, and soon.

Finally glancing behind her shoulder, Itsuka stared at Izuku and Ochako as they quietly slumbered, and let out a small sigh as she rolled over, careful of her arm as she faced them. Izuku looked at least a little better, being held in a soft embrace by Ochako, and Itsuka smiled gently. After a small moment, she hesitantly reached out, and brushed the tips of her fingers against his face, before lowering it to rub Ochako's arm. Neither of them stirred, merely sighing as they relaxed in their sleep, and Itsuka couldn't help but smile at them both.

These two lovebirds … she couldn't help but let out a small breath as she moved a bit closer to them. No matter what empty and weird feelings she had, she knew that these two were pretty much stuck with her - so she'd get over this heavy feeling, whatever it was, and then give them the kick in the asses they needed to get together.

But before that, she would have to trust them with her biggest secret, and pray that it didn't push them apart.

But that … Itsuka felt her eyes grow heavier, resting her face pretty close to Izuku's without thinking, and began to drift off to sleep … that would be an issue that she'd have to face tomorrow. Because right now …

… right now, she wanted to rest beside her training partners.

And that would be enough.

---

Rain.

Wind.

Lightning.

Thunder.

Ordinarily, such weather wouldn't be something that Teko Kendou would even put any thought into, walking down the empty streets, but after what the police detective had told them over the phone this afternoon, he couldn't help but look up and narrow his eyes at the flashes of light in the dark clouds, wondering if it was true weather or just the work of the villain who had tormented his granddaughter.

At the moment, it was around eleven o'clock, long after he would ordinarily go to bed, but he couldn't sleep just yet. He had work to do, after all. With a huff, he adjusted the hood of his raincoat as he continued moving down the street.

At this point in the night, due to the weather, not many people were out and about, save a few people across the street hurrying into the local bar for cover or walking home with their umbrellas being beaten on by the rain. As lightning flashed across the sky again, Teko sighed as he moved down into the alley they had agreed to meet in, reaching into his pocket for the phone that Tenohira had purchased for him a few years ago, and checking hte messages.

After Itsuka had safely returned home, he had immediately sent a text asking for a meeting. He hadn't expected the head to come meet with an old man in the middle of a downpour, of course, but after checking his messages after dinner, he had gotten word back that a few of his subordinates would meet with him, and had quickly left his home for the meeting. He knew Tenohira had been suspicious about where he was going, but at this point, he wasn't much for caring - he had gotten the meeting, and his name carried enough weight after what happened two decades ago that they wouldn't send some hooligan to waste his time.

Still, Teko couldn't help but scowl as he looked around, raising a hand to scratch his wet beard - he would rather be home right now, sleeping in his bed, and he needed to get back soon so his daughter would not be suspicious for him being out for long.

After a few minutes of waiting and watching passerbys, Teko heard footsteps approaching him, splashing in the puddles. On guard, Teko subtly activated his quirk, feeling his shoulders loosen, as he looked around. Thankfully, he knew from the silhouettes of the dark figures moving through the shadows that they were here for him, feeling his eyes narrow.

Of course it was them. They were one of the few remaining yakuza groups who took a leaf out of the books of heroes and villains dressed themselves up, after all.

"I'm disappointed," He said in a gruff voice, relaxing his quirk, "Kai does not even wish to greet an old man out in the rain."

"You'll have to forgive our master," The man in the dark cloak and hat said, bowing slightly to the older man and dripping a bit of water down the bird mask he was wearing, splashing his own coat with it, "we had a few complications tonight with runaways, so he had to stay behind to ensure that they behaved. Had one of our guests not tried to flee, I assure you that Chisaki would have wanted to meet with you in person, Kendou-sensei."

It does not matter," Teko shook his head, walking a bit further into the alleyway so no one passing by would see him with what looked like two plague doctors, "as long as you two are here and reliable."

"Indeed we are. I believe that we have not been introduced," The man straightened up, gesturing to himself and the man beside him, his blonde hair flattening in the rain as they bowed respectfully, "I am Shin Nemoto, and this is Hekiji Tengai. We are but Two of Chisaki's Eight Bullets."

"Hm," Teko narrowed his eyes somewhat at that nickname, "well. It doesn't matter what you refer to yourselves as, as long as you hear out what I have to say."

The two yakuza straightened up, obviously a little intimidated by the older man standing before them. Good - if these two were truly members of the Shie Hassaikai, there would be no doubt that they would have been told the stories about him, and what he was capable of. He still had some street cred, after all.

"Today," He glanced between the two masked men as he buried his hands in his pockets, "there was an attack at UA High School, on a few of the students. Several of the students involved in the incident had been injured, including a few of my own."

"Ah, yes," Tengai nodded, raising a hand to rub the beak of his bird mask, "rumors of the group that got away from All Might himself have already begun circulating. I know that Chisaki was very interested to hear about them when they reached us."

"Well, he's not the only one that wants to know more about them," Teko narrowed his eyes somewhat, "I want to know everything about them. Their true names, where they operate out of, what power they might have. I want to know what the Hero Public Safety Commission is doing about them, and what other criminal groups may be interested in joining or imitating them. I want to know everything about this Villain Consortium."

"I see … and does it matter how we get that information?" Tengai tilted his head interestingly. "There may be bloodshed, sensei - few villains are willing to just talk, we may need to persuade them."

"Then so be it. As long as you get information about them, I don't care how you get it."

"Very well then, Kendou-sensei. The Shie Hassaikai will look into it. But know this, as Chisaki instructed us to tell you," Tengai folded his hands together, "the only reason we allow this partnership between us to continue is because of your past with our now former leader. We will assist you in gathering information about this Villain Consortium, but always remember that we will prioritize our own survival and safety above whatever debt we owe you."

Teko merely frowned at that, glancing between both gangsters as they looked back at him, before he huffed and turned to walk out of the alleyway.

"I am aware." He said over his shoulder, not even dignifying looking back. "Inform Chisaki that when you get the information I requested, to summon me. Do not come to my dojo, or I will send you out in a worse state than you come in."

"Very well. And do you have anything we should tell your son?"

Teko stopped walking for a moment, staring forward as the yakuza let the question hang in the air - and then he furrowed his brow, continuing to walk forward.

"If my son hasn't gotten himself killed yet," He gruffly said, "tell him that I expect him to arrive home for his lessons soon."

With that, Teko walked out into the night, and the two members of the Shie Hassaikai slid back into the darkness.