AN: Hey! So I'm back with another side project, this one courtesy of Homestuck.

Some fan videos got me thinking about Ochako as an eldritch being, and so we're back into the realm of urban fantasy! Much like my other side projects, this one will be drafted and released in "arcs" where I will have a flurry of weekly releases and then a break before the next arc. That said, this arc is mostly written, so I've got a double handful of chapters ready to go for everyone!

That said, I hope you enjoy it!

Izuku Midoriya wouldn't say that his life was bad. He had a spacious apartment in Mustafu, a couple close friends, and a well-paying job as a data analyst. One with amazing benefits, he may add.

The problem is how mundane it was.

Every day felt the same. Get up, get ready for the day. Board the train. Work his eight-to-four shift. Get dinner. Return home. Maybe play some video games, or read the latest about his favorite manga or comics. Go to bed. Repeat.

He always felt jealous of the characters he read about - people with superpowers, or who learned some ancient magic, or something. Sure they lived lives full of danger and risk. But they were helping people - making a difference!

Oftentimes, he wished his life was like that.

Tuesday started like every other day. Izuku sat at his desk scrolling through one of his hero forums, catching up on the latest news from western comics when he caught a familiar blond head of hair walking down the aisle - directly toward him. Locking his phone he spun around to greet his guest.

"Hi Denki," Izuku said.

"Hey Midoriya!" Kaminari, the office gossip, greeted him enthusiastically as he leaned on the edge of Izuku's cubicle. "Have you heard the latest?"

Izuku sighed. "I told you, I'm not interested in which of our coworkers are seeing-"

"What do you take me for?" Kaminari recoiled as he looked offended. "This is big news!"

"How big?" Izuku asked, deciding to play along.

"It's literally big!" Kaminari laughed at his own joke. "Do you remember how a bunch of roads and that one rail station were shut down this morning?"

"Of course," Izuku replied. "The subway was packed thanks to that."

"Well it turns out that was because the area near Tatooin station was the site of an actual kaiju battle!"

Izuku gave Kaminari an unamused stare. "That's not funny."

"I'm being serious!" Kaminari exclaimed. "Two giant people were apparently fighting there this morning!"

"Why didn't we hear about it on the news then? Something like that surely would have gotten attention!"

"I don't know! But it's all over social media, look!"

Pulling his phone out, Kaminari looked something up before he shoved it into Izuku's face. Taking the device, Izuku saw a still image of familiar streets, the streetlamps illuminating the area in the small hours of the morning. Pushing play, Izuku began to watch. It was grainy, but he definitely saw two large humanlike shapes - both taller than the surrounding buildings, their silhouettes outlined by the ambient light. The fight didn't last long - the clip lasted only a minute - but it was enough to plant the seeds of doubt in Izuku. It felt real, and not a fake, unlike many of the cryptid videos he had watched over the years.

"See what I mean?" Kaminari asked.

Izuku stared at the phone and watched the video a second time before he offered it back. "If that's true…"

"I knew you'd want to hear this!"

"But what does that mean for us?" Izuku pressed his thumb to his chin.

"You're the resident nerd, you tell me."

Izuku let out a defeated sigh. "More than likely it doesn't change anything. Even if these giant people are real, what does that change for us?"

"Man, here I thought you'd be more excited." Kaminari sounded disappointed.

"Maybe if there was a way for us to join in," Izuku admitted as he spun his chair around, looking at his collection of superhero and manga figures.

"Ha! There's the Midoriya I was expecting." Kaminari slapped Izuku's shoulder, causing him to flinch. "I'm sure you'll find a way. Just - can you tell me when you do?"

"Won't your wife be mad?" Izuku teased.

"Erp, uh…" Kaminari winced defensively. "I actually kind of think she'd be onboard with the whole 'getting powers' thing as long as we both got them?"

Izuku chuckled. "If I find anything out I'll let you know."

Waving behind him, Izuku waited until he was sure his co-worker had wandered off before he picked up his phone. Unlocking it, he began his own search for any information about the incident at Tatooin.

"Man, what a day," Izuku said to nobody as he walked home.

While his afternoon was exciting searching for information, it was clear that most people didn't have anything more to add than that initial video. There were signs of a media blackout around the event, which pointed to some sort of government involvement, but beyond that he didn't really have much to go on.

Which left him little better than where he was this morning.

"Hmm, I wonder…" Izuku continued monologuing. "I guess I can always get dinner at Tatooin tonight!"

Turning away from the subway station, Izuku began walking toward the site of the battle. It wasn't a long walk - he had done it many times before - and if nothing else it gave him an interesting detour for the evening. Mentally reviewing the photos and video footage he saw, the best guess he had for where the battle took place was in the area behind the train tracks. Normally that site was quiet and abandoned, so it wouldn't hurt to look.

This mystery proved to be a better distraction than he had hoped, and before he realized it he was at the open air market of Tatooin. Quickly crossing the plaza to the station itself, Izuku hesitantly approached the train tracks, half expecting the area to still be closed off.

To his surprise, it wasn't. Whatever presence was there that morning was completely gone, all traces of them removed. It was as if they were never there. While this reinforced Izuku's doubt that he'd find anything, his curiosity won out and he continued undaunted. He walked underneath the train tracks and emerged into the unused space behind it.

The area on the other side of the tracks was originally planned to be an expansion to the market - doubling its size. But then about six years ago Japan suffered a massive financial crisis that sent shockwaves throughout the country, and the plans were abandoned. Now the land sits unused, trash strewn about and concrete cracked as entropy and neglect worked their insidious magic. It was a sad state of affairs, and why people ignored this open area - continuing the cycle of decay.

Nobody was here, although Izuku would have been more surprised if someone actually was. Stepping out into the area, his gaze drifted about, looking for any clues of the battle that may have occurred. As he began walking, his mind was in overdrive as he applied his analyst skills, searching for a pattern in the chaos.

"There's no change in the concrete, so they weren't heavy enough to crack it, but there are odd areas where garbage is absent…" Izuku snapped his fingers. "Maybe that's the answer!"

Izuku raced across the empty area, his eyes scanning the ground until he found what he was looking for - an area at the far end, where the garbage and debris was suspiciously absent. Smiling, he began to carefully walk around the perimeter, trying to determine what it all meant.

Clink.

Izuku was shaken out of his thoughts by an unearthly sound, unlike any he had heard before. His brain tried desperately to assign some name to it, but couldn't decide if it was some type of metal or glass. As he looked down he saw the small black rock that he had kicked, barely a centimeter in diameter. But something about it looked wrong. It didn't have a shadow, while simultaneously appearing to emit a shadowy substance like smoke.

"What is this?" Izuku asked curiously. Gently tapping it with his shoe, he heard that strange sound again. As he watched the rock bounce once before settling, he felt a smile tugging at his lips. "I guess they didn't get everything after all!"

Reaching down, Izuku picked up the rock. When he touched it, he suddenly felt overcome with a sense of wrongness. He was hit with a wave of vertigo, and everything around him looked off, like reality had shifted by a single degree. His eyes searched for something normal in a desperate attempt to ground himself, but no matter where he looked, everything was subtly off.

The sensation departed just as quickly, leaving Izuku confused and bewildered. "What was that?" He asked no one in particular.

Looking back down at the rock he cautiously touched it again - this time no strange sensation came. With a shrug, he picked up the rock between two fingers and examined it. It was small and insignificant, but the detail was fascinating. It appeared to be made out of something akin to onyx, but at the same time it was unlike any rock Izuku had ever seen before. He had a magnifying glass at home - he'd be able to examine it better there.

Pocketing the strange object, Izuku quickly hurried back toward the train tracks and the shopping district beyond. He wanted to grab something at the convenience store and hurry home and examine his new discovery.

As he quickly walked away from the site of the mysterious battle, he failed to notice the nearby manhole cover as it shuddered.

Izuku looked around nervously for seemingly the hundredth time, then he let out a long sigh. He didn't know why, but ever since he left the convenience store with a bag of food, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Maybe I have read too many comic books, Izuku thought to himself as he thought about the stone in his pocket. Whenever the protagonist had the macguffin, they always were paranoid until they reached safety. In this case his home.

Although in comics they usually have good reason to! Izuku on the other hand… he was just Izuku, what would he have to worry about?

Shaking his head, he saw the crosswalk light up, permitting him to cross. Quickly jogging across the road, he continued onward to the final underpass that separated him from his neighborhood. He only had a few more blocks to go, and then he'd be home! Hopefully that would be enough to ease his nervous imagination.

Izuku had gotten halfway through the underpass when he heard a metallic rattle. Already spooked, he looked about frantically, searching for the source of the noise. He noticed the nearby manhole cover wobbled violently, just in time to watch it shoot upward and crash into the ceiling above.

Paralyzed with fear, Izuku couldn't help but watch as two comically large eyes appeared from the manhole, before a pool of grayish-green liquid began to rise out of the sewer.

"W-what are you?" Izuku whispered, desperately trying to will his body to move.

The slime creature slowly grew in height until it towered above Izuku, those two large eyes staring at him. Part of the slime separated, forming a gooey mouth. It began speaking, but Izuku couldn't understand the wet garbled noises that emerged from the impossible mouth.

To its benefit, the noise did the trick, and Izuku found himself in control of his legs again. Turning, he tried to run away from the creature - or at least trying to reach the safety of daylight, where he desperately hoped the creature wouldn't follow him.

He managed to make it two steps before he felt a wet appendage slap against him, sending him flying as if he weighed nothing. He was distantly aware of a crashing sound, his brain too dazed to inform him that he was the source of the sound. Izuku tried to scramble to his feet, only to feel a pair of slimy appendages grab hold of him.

Izuku barely registered the feeling of leaving the ground as he was pulled to eye-level with the creature, the two eyes staring at him as if trying to bore into his very soul. He felt his legs become engulfed in the goo as the monster opened its mouth, those strange sounds coming out a second time. Izuku redoubled his efforts to free himself, and felt a tiny sliver of hope as his right hand was freed. Those hopes were dashed seconds later as he discovered the only reason his arm was let go was so the monster could shove its gooey appendage in his face.

Izuku tried desperately to keep his mouth closed, clawing at the slime with his free hand, but any goo he pulled off felt like it was replaced by twice as much. Desperate for air, his body finally relented and he involuntarily gasped, only to quickly be invaded by slime. His body desperately called out for breath but it felt like he was underwater, his mouth and nose filled with the acrid goo.

Feeling weaker and unable to speak, he did the only thing he could do, and desperately pleaded for help, calling out with his mind.

Help! Anybody! Please!

I don't want to die here…

"There you are!" A cheerful voice spoke directly into his mind.

Izuku's eyes went wide. Was this a hallucination? Was his brain playing tricks on him from the lack of oxygen?

Wha- who are you?

"I have been looking for this guy! He is a slippery jerk and I have questions for him. Thanks for finding him for me!"

I- help me, please!

"Do not worry, I will take care of everything now. Just say my name."

Izuku didn't have time to think about why or how, but there, tugging at the edges of the brain, was a name he didn't know before. Unable to speak and his vision turning black from lack of option, he did the only thing left, and struggled to mentally repeat the name.

O-

cha-

ko.

Izuku knew he was suffering the effects of oxygen deprivation as he heard reality itself uttering screaming all around him, followed by the strange mixture of glass shattering and fabric tearing. Similarly, he wasn't in the overpass anymore - his vision must be playing tricks on him as he saw stars all around him.

Izuku felt the barest moment of relief as the tendril retracted from his mouth a fraction, as the slime creature looked about in confusion, uttering a new and different sound.

Izuku tried his hardest to stay conscious, but the hallucination continued as parts of space seemed to fold and warp around itself, forming thick tendrils which began to smash and grab at the slime creature. Letting out an unearthly scream, the creature seemed to forget about Izuku as it tried to fight back against its new assailant. Unfortunately he was not meant to witness the battle as darkness claimed him and he passed out.

"Eugh… what happened?" Izuku groaned. Opening his eyes, the memories came flooding back to him, causing him to bolt upright. "Wait! I'm- I'm alive!"

He frantically looked around him. He was still under the overpass, although the orange light streaming in informed him he had been there a while. Trying to piece together what happened he looked at his immediate surroundings. He was currently lying next to a fallen trash bin, garbage strewn out. Had he tripped and fallen into it? Was the strange encounter just a dream?

Sighing, he looked down at his discarded meal. Grabbing the back, he opened it and saw that the cartons were bent and warped, but still sealed. Thankful for small miracles, he pushed himself upright.

"The stone!" Izuku said before checking his pocket. Rooting around his pocket, he felt the foreign sensation as his fingertips brushed against it, causing him to sigh in relief. "I'm really not feeling good. That had to be what happened," he examined the surroundings, "I tripped and experienced all of… that. I really need to get home and relax."

As Izuku stood up, he thought he heard some strange whisper. The voice sounded almost familiar, like he had heard it before, but the language was unintelligible. Whipping around, he looked for the source of the voice.

"Is anyone there?"

Silence was his only reply.

Once again Izuku sighed and shook his head. "What is going on with you today, Izuku?"

Hurrying out of the underpass, Izuku emerged into the evening's light. He didn't bother slowing down, continuing at a brisk pace in an attempt to avoid any more strangeness before he got home. It wasn't because he felt a new sensation of being watched, not at all. Although the sensation was hard to explain. Unlike the last time, he felt no malice behind this feeling. More like… curiosity.

He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding as he turned the corner and saw his apartment building. Speeding up, he practically jogged the final distance to his complex, climbing the stairs two at a time until he reached his floor. He practically wrenched the door off its hinges when he opened it, and slammed it with too much force before he engaged all three of its locks. Breathing heavily, Izuku finally realized what he had done, letting out a small laugh as his tension drained out of him.

"Maybe I need to cut back on my manga a little bit, after all."

Walking over to his kitchen, he dropped the bag haphazardly on the counter before he sat down at his table and removed the mysterious pebble from his pocket. He stared at it, rubbing his thumb over the material as he tried to glean its secrets.

"What are you?" Izuku asked rhetorically as he poured over every surface of the object. He would have to do more research… later. Right now he wasn't in the right mindset to solve the mystery in front of him. What he really needed was food and rest.

Deciding to secure his treasure for now, he walked over to his bookshelf and pulled a fake book off the shelf, revealing a combination lock on the side. The small safe wasn't much, but it gave him a sense of security. He spun the dial until he heard a click and opened it to drop the stone inside, listening to its strange clink as it landed.

Izuku prepared to close the safe when he heard that strange whispering again. Head bolting up, he scanned the modest apartment for any signs of intruders.

"Is anyone there?" The air stilled and no reply came, and Izuku shuddered as he felt the sensation of being watched again. "What's gotten into you? There's nobody here!"

Looking around one final time to ease his nerves, he closed the safe and placed it back on his bookshelf, before he cautiously walked through his apartment. More than he would care to admit he jumped at the sight of a strange shadow, but it inevitably turned out to be nothing upon closer examination.

"Whatever happened to me earlier must really be getting to me."

Double checking the locks one last time, Izuku decided the best course of action was to salvage his dinner and then go to bed.

THUMP!

Izuku bolted upright, heart racing as he heard a loud sound in his living room. He looked at the clock next to his bed.

3:00 AM

The sound stopped, only to be replaced by another sound - that familiar voice that he swore he heard all evening. Now it was louder though, more tangible. And still indecipherable. Cautiously, Izuku got out of bed. Carefully opening his dresser, he retrieved the knife that he stored there - it felt small and ineffectual in his hands, but holding it made him feel better.

Silently padding across his bedroom, he heard the voice continue unabated as it talked to itself. The words were foreign and strange to his ears, but the voice itself was bright and clear. It's almost like he heard it before, but he couldn't remember where.

Grabbing the door handle, Izuku took a moment to calm himself before he pulled the door open and rushed into the living room.

"Who's there?!" Izuku demanded, pointing his knife at the shape in his living room.

The mysterious shadowy figure whipped around to face Izuku. He felt panic grip him, his stomach twisting as he heard a ripping sound, before a white light appeared over her shoulder. The light expanded, revealing a field of stars that appeared to warp and extend, creating a tentacle that appeared to be formed out of space itself as it emerged from the portal. The delay was enough for the woman to recognize her assailant, her face relaxing as the tendril disintegrating into white starlight.

"You!"

"M-me?" Izuku asked, using the ambient light that the mysterious woman was giving off to take in her strange features.

The woman herself was shorter than him and appeared ethereal and transparent. She had pale white hair in a bob cut that framed the gray skin of her face. To match her strange coloration, she wore nothing but a robe of inky blackness, leaving only her face and gray-skinned arms exposed. Her round face and soft features would be disarming, if it wasn't for the glowing white irises and patches of white on her cheeks that looked much like blush marks. Meanwhile, her dull gray lips were turned up into a smile as she examined the man in front of her.

"You are the one I have been looking for! The one who called my name and summoned me to this world!"

Izuku's eyes went wide as he felt like he was punched in the gut, the knife falling to the floor. "That slime monster!"

"Yeah!" The woman bobbed her head enthusiastically. "He was one of the creatures I have been searching for on your world. And it was you who found him and called out to me!"

"That was real." Izuku looked down at the floor and back up to the woman. "It was all real!"

"Of course it was real." The woman looked at him curiously, tilting her head. "What made you think otherwise?"

"It's just-" Izuku swallowed. "-this isn't normal."

"Of course nothing about this is normal! If it was, I would not be here!"

"Who-who are you?"

"Oh," the woman looked slightly bothered by his response, "you already forgot my name?"

Izuku's eyes went wide. It was there - just like before, at the fringes of his memory, waiting to be spoken. And unlike last time, he could say it properly. "Ochako?"

"Yes!" The woman gave him a radiant smile, and he swore the patches of light on her cheeks grew brighter.

"Ok," Izuku breathed. "So you're Ochako. You saved me from the slime monster that attacked me," Taking a deep breath, he examined her again. "But that doesn't tell me what you are. Or why you're in my apartment. How did you even get in?"

"I have been looking for you!" Ochako said as she examined herself. "After I dealt with that voidslime, I had to track you down again, before I started creating this body. Since you were unconscious I just started the process, and it is already far enough along that I can talk to you easily! Even if it will be a while for the process to finish."

"You were… looking for me?"

"Yes!" Ochako bobbed her head. "I am going to be here for a while, so I need someone to be my guide, and my anchor. You were the one who called out to me and opened the gate, so of course you were the first person I would ask."

"What do you mean you're going to be here a while?"

"There are…" Ochako paused, as if trying to think of the right words. "Strange things happening on your world. It is… concerning. So I have come to investigate. And… deal with it."

"Like that slime monster that attacked me?"

"The voidslime, yes! He was not from this plane of existence. And yet he was obviously here."

"I-" Izuku stepped over to his couch and slowly sat down. "That's a lot to take in."

"So will you help me?"

Izuku looked up at the monochrome woman standing in front of him, curiosity filling her face. Sure it was going to be dangerous, but wasn't this exactly what he was looking for? Why he went to that abandoned plaza and found the mysterious stone?

There was only one answer in his mind.

"Of course I'll help!"

"Great!" Ochako smiled at him. "I knew you would be a good anchor!"

"Anchor?"

"Yes!" Ochako said cheerfully. "Normally it takes a lot of effort to manifest on your planet. Effort that makes it difficult to perform my duties. However, I can get around that by building myself a body. Think of this," she gestured to herself, "as a vessel to wear in a hostile environment."

"Almost like a space suit," Izuku said to himself, trying to make sense of her explanation. Although describing the human body that way was weird! But so was talking to some sort of extra-dimensional being in the first place!

"Yes, like a space suit," Ochako repeated Izuku's words back to him. "Once it is done I will have a much easier time existing here, but until then I needed to find someone to tether myself to, someone native to this world to act as an anchor for me."

"That's why you were looking for me," Izuku said, the pieces falling into place.

"You called out for me, did you not?" Ochako asked curiously. "If you were willing to request my aid, then it was likely you would be willing to act as my anchor. And if you became my anchor, you could also help me learn about your planet!" She gave Izuku an entirely too-satisfied smile.

"I-" Izuku looked bewildered. "What does this mean for me?"

"Do not worry, you will not be harmed by the process. I just need to remain in close proximity to you until this vessel is properly formed."

"How close?" Izuku asked cautiously.

Ochako looked around the apartment, taking in its size. "As long as we are both within your home, that will be sufficient distance."

"But I have work! And shopping and-"

"Then I will have to go with you to remain close," Ochako tilted her head curiously. "Is there a problem with that?"

"I-" Izuku swallowed. "How long will it take?"

"I do not know." Ochako sounded a little sad as she said that. "This is my first time building such a vessel for myself."

"Oh. But you know how it works?"

"Yes! I have several siblings who have visited your planet in the past. They have used this method to great success."

"I see…" Izuku looked down at the floor.

He could make it work- his dizzy spells and attack could be an excuse to take a few days off of work, and if they kept Ochako covered up she could go to stores with him and wait far enough away from employees to attract attention while he got what he needed. It wouldn't take more than a couple of days, right? Then she'd be able to move around on her own, and she wouldn't need him anymore.

That would be okay, right? He asked himself. I can spend a few days with her and live the life I've always dreamed of. Then she'll leave and I'll be happy knowing I've helped some otherworldly being. Maybe I can even introduce her to Shoto before she leaves! I'm sure he'd love that!

Looking back up, he offered her a nervous smile. "Well, no point in backing out now. I said I'll help, and I meant it."

"Wonderful!" Ochako clapped her hands together, the sound strangely hollow. "Then we can get started! I have so many questions-"

"Wait!" Izuku said, holding up his hands defensively. "Can't this wait until morning?"

"Why would I wait until morning?"

Izuku stared at the woman incredulously. "It's- don't you get tired?" He paused, trying to think of the right words. "Don't you need rest?"

"Hmm," Ochako pressed a finger against her cheek and it squished inward more than it probably should have. "Whenever I do expend a lot of energy I need to take some time bathing in stellar radiation and solar winds to recover."

"T-that would kill us!" Izuku exclaimed. "I mean, i-if your body is really human that would destroy it! We humans need to sleep and eat to recover our energy."

"Sleep?" Ochako tilted her head curiously.

"Umm," Izuku looked around, before deciding to demonstrate by lying down on his side. "When our bodies get tired, we lay like this on a comfortable surface, and then we close our eyes and drift into unconsciousness." He sat up and looked at the being. "Then we wake up hours later feeling recharged!"

"Oh! Much like I gaze at the stars when I am recovering. Although that would be hard to do with my eyes closed…"

"I- if your body really is human I'm not sure what will happen, but it will need to rest," Izuku said as he stood up. "I was in the middle of sleeping when you woke me up, so I still need more time to… recharge."

"I understand," the woman said, bobbing her head with more vigor than necessary. "Very well then. You will need your strength. We will continue when you have finished your recovery period."

"What will you do in the meantime?"

"While waiting for you to appear, I was going to pass the time examining your knowledge archive," Ochako explained, pointing to his bookshelf. "But then this object stopped me," She glared at the chair as if it personally offended her.

"You're not used to having a solid form, are you?" Izuku asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No," Ochako stated flatly.

"Here, let me help." Izuku stood up and walked over to his bookshelf. "You sit down on the couch, just like I did, and I'll pick out the books that might help."

"Okay!"

The first thing Izuku pulled down was a dictionary, before selecting several other books that might be useful. Staring at his collection of manga and novels he idly wondered if she would be interested in them, but decided to leave those on the shelves for now. Returning to the couch, he placed the books on his coffee table.

"You can start with these," Izuku said. "I'm sorry I don't have more but-"

"This will be more than sufficient," Ochako said as she offered him a bright (literally!) smile.

"Will you be okay reading these? I mean, do you understand how to read?"

"Yes, I learned by observation before I arrived. As for seeing…" A small sphere of light appeared over her shoulders, emitting a white light that brightened the whole room. "This should be sufficient."

"I- yeah," Izuku swallowed nervously. "Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning, goodnight Ochako."

"Goodnight Izuku," Ochako said warmly.

Retiring to his room, Izuku laid down in bed. He felt himself drifting off to sleep when he suddenly realized something, his eyes snapping open.

I never told her my name!