AN: Thanks for reading and leaving reviews everyone!
Even though she was at her limit, Ochako trusted in her training to carry her through. Her limbs were heavy and sluggish from sleep, but it only took a few seconds for her to pull off her mittens. As she tugged off one and the other they began to float away, serving as a reminder of her current predicament. Finally free of her restraints, she oriented herself above her bed and forced her hands together.
"R-release!" She called out in a shaky voice, silently hoping that this still worked properly.
It did, and she suddenly felt all new pressures on her stomach as she fell through the air. She heard everything crashing into the floor moments before she landed on her bed. She bounced off of it and fell to the floor, landing with an undignified squeak.
"T-trash can," Ochako said weakly, pushing herself upright and scanning her room.
There!
Scrambling on all fours, she reached for her small trash can and grabbed it. Pushing it in front of her face, she felt the contents of her stomach come up as she promptly vomited into the can.
"Chako?!" Her dad was banging on the door. "Is everything alright?!"
"Ye-" Ochako said weakly before she vomited a second time.
The taste of bile and dinner sat in her mouth as she heard the door to her room slam open before both of her parents gasped.
"Wha- what happened here?" Miu asked.
"I don't know Mom," Ochako said weakly, holding onto the can like it was a lifeline. "My-my quirk…"
"Your quirk did this?" Katashi asked.
Not trusting her voice, Ochako nodded as she tried to steady her breathing. Unfortunately, her stomach wasn't done yet, and she found herself vomiting a third time.
"Hold on, I'll call a doctor–" Miu started.
"No!" Ochako practically yelled, whipping her head to look at her parents. Her stomach protested at the sudden movement and she closed her eyes, trying to save herself from further embarrassment.
"No?" Her mom repeated, blinking in confusion.
"I–" Ochako took several deep breaths, feeling her stomach finally ease up enough that she would risk opening her eyes. "I had a really bad dream and I think my quirk just… reacted to what I saw."
"If we don't know what your quirk did that sounds like we should get you checked out!" Her dad insisted.
"Yes but–" Ochako closed her eyes again as she took a steading breath. "-I… should see a counselor. There's that nice lady that Izuku and Risa have been seeing. Wouldn't she know better?" Ochako asked, leaving off the fact that the counselor in question was hand-picked by Toshinori and Recovery Girl to handle One For All for Izuku and Melissa.
"But what if your quirk goes haywire again?"
"I…" Ochako looked down at the trash can and the liquid residing within. "Don't think I'm gonna be getting any more sleep tonight. If it acts up while I'm awake we can call the doctors then?"
"If yer sure…"
"I'm sure Dad," Ochako tried to offer him a shaky smile. "I just… want something to drink…" She looked around her room. "And maybe clean this up instead of sleeping."
"If your stomach's upset…"
"I know," Ochako sighed as she placed the trash can on the ground and looked up at her parents. "Can you help me up?"
Giving her a sad smile, her dad came over and held out his arms, which Ochako gladly took. With his help, she slowly got to her feet, while her mom collected the trash can.
"Come on, I think there's some leftover rice in the fridge."
Ochako's parents stayed up with her for the next hour, making sure she had plenty to eat and drink as well as watching her in case her quirk went haywire again. Once the three of them started to relax, her dad went to bed while her mom agreed to stay up with her. Wanting to fix the mess she made of her room, Ochako excused herself and returned to her room. As she stood outside it, she took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves before she opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was a disaster. Her desk and bed were both upright, but her nightstand and chair were sideways and all of her things were scattered everywhere. She supposed one benefit of not owning much meant that she didn't have too much to clean up, but that was a small consolation. Kneeling next to her nightstand, she retrieved her glasses, examining them closely for damage.
"At least you survived this time," Ochako said as she put them on.
Now that she could see a little better, she retrieved her phone - surprisingly still tethered to the wall via her charger. Unlocking the screen, she froze.
"Five missed calls and thirty texts?!" Ochako squeaked out.
Quickly pressing the call log, she confirmed that four of them were from Izuku, with a recent one from Melissa. Face heating up, she selected Izuku's number and began dialing.
It only beeped once before she heard Izuku pick up on the other line. "Ocha, there you are! We've been worried about you!"
"Sorry!" Ochako quickly apologized. "I– something happened to my quirk."
"Something… what?!" Izuku exclaimed. Ochako opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as Izuku continued. "Actually wait a minute, let me dial Melissa in on this."
Ochako waited, and moments later heard Melissa's voice join them. "Ok, I'm here now. Did Izuku tell you anything?"
"Actually…" Ochako rubbed the back of her head. "No, I kind of interrupted him with my own crisis?"
"Ochako says her quirk went haywire," Izuku said.
"WHAT?!" Melissa yelled over the phone. "What happened?"
"I woke up under the effects of Zero Gravity… along with everything else in my room," Ochako began. Her friends understandably barraged her with a million questions. After finally assuring them that she was fine, she began from the beginning, starting from her waking up until the hour she just spent with her parents.
"...and then I found my glasses and saw your missed calls," Ochako concluded.
She was worried that she had lost connection when she heard nothing but silence from the other end of the line until Melissa finally spoke.
"There's no way," She breathed. "Izuku, that green light."
"It looked a lot like when I use One For All," Izuku agreed.
"What green light?" Ochako asked.
"Right," Izuku responded. "We were so caught up with you we didn't explain what happened to us. We found each other in the vestige realm!"
"You did?!"
"Mhm," Melissa replied. "And with Nana's help, I was able to reach Izuku, but then something happened."
"Melissa saw something in the water, a green blur - that looked a lot like someone using full cowling - skipping across the water. We didn't know what it meant but Nana was concerned enough that she woke us both up."
"That– It couldn't have been!" Ochako insisted. "I don't have – wait, the lights I saw!"
"The timing would line up," Melissa admitted.
"I– does this mean what I think it does?" Ochako asked, a mixture of fear and excitement in her voice.
"You were there…" Izuku said in awe. "Somehow you got pulled in too!"
"How did she get in there though?" Melissa asked, her tone changing slightly. Both Izuku and Ochako were familiar with it - it was the tone used when she was in 'analytical' mode, trying to solve a problem.
"What about my theory?" Izuku asked.
"It has potential but that still doesn't make sense with what we know!"
"What's your theory?" Ochako asked.
"Well…" Izuku began awkwardly. "We've been sharing food and drinks for months now, which means we've been taking in trace amounts of each other's saliva."
"Izuku thinks that may have been enough for our quirks to recognize each other, and somehow caused our vestige realms to form in parallel. Which is a reasonable guess but doesn't explain how you got in there."
Ochako felt her face heating up as she remembered her final thoughts before going to bed. "Th-that doesn't explain what's going on with my quirk though!"
"That actually makes sense if we assume you're somehow tapping into our quirks," Izuku mused. "Melissa's version of Float is much stronger than Nana's."
"You're right," Melissa agreed.
"So nothing's wrong with my quirk?"
"IF this theory is correct, then no," Melissa continued. "However it does sound like your body isn't really prepared for… whatever is happening to your quirk."
"No it isn't," Ochako agreed with a shudder, the memory of bile and vomit still fresh in her mind. "So how do I control it?"
"I think we need to meet and talk about this," Izuku said. "There's a lot we can't say over the phone."
"My parents won't let me leave until we talk to the quirk counselor in the morning," Ochako admitted.
"I don't think I can get over there until morning either," Izuku said. "Mom won't be happy with me sneaking out of the house at three AM, even if it's to go to your place."
"I can come over," Melissa said. "Perks of living alone," She said smugly.
"Could you?" Ochako asked hopefully.
"Sure, let me change and then I'll head on over."
"Let me know when you get there?" Izuku asked.
"Of course!" Melissa replied. "I'll fill Ochako in as best I can, and then we'll pick up in the morning."
"Sounds like a plan," Izuku said. "I'll see you in a few hours then."
Despite the excitement and dozens of questions floating in his head, once Melissa confirmed she was with Ochako, complete with a selfie, Izuku found sleep had quickly claimed him. Waking up in the morning, he told his mom something strange was going on with One For All and that they needed to talk to Toshinori and their quirk counselor.
Once she was assured that everything was being taken care of, he finally left, practically running the entire way to Ochako's apartment. Finally slowing down as he approached the door, he knocked and waited for an answer.
A moment later the door cracked open to reveal the form of Ochako's mother.
"Good Morning Midoriya."
"M-morning Mrs. Uraraka," Izuku bowed politely. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"Not at all," She shook her head. "You'll want to be quiet though."
"Okay," Izuku whispered. Silently he took off his shoes and followed the woman to the living room, and then he understood what she meant.
There on the couch, he saw Melissa and Ochako. Both girls had discarded their glasses on the table and were sleeping peacefully. Ochako was leaning against Melissa with a blanket wrapped around her, and the older girl was leaning back, her head resting on the back of the couch. Izuku froze at the sight.
Were they always this cute?!
Izuku felt the heat creeping up the back of his neck as he took in the image. Sure he'd seen them plenty of times, but something about seeing them peacefully asleep like this…
"Do you need anything?" Ochako's mother whispered as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
Izuku was quietly thankful that his training was enough to keep him from jumping and yelling, waking up his friends in the process. Turning his head, he rapidly shook it.
"No, I'll… just get comfortable on the floor. They need their sleep."
"I understand," She gave him a warm smile. "I'm gonna go grab a nap myself. When I get up we'll call your counselor and figure out what's going on. In the meantime, you keep a lookout for anything funny with her quirk."
"I will," Izuku promised.
He watched as Miu walked down to her room and closed the door before he settled down on the floor. Carefully moving the two pairs of glasses aside, Izuku pulled out his notebook. As he opened it, he began furiously scribbling away notes, trying his best not to think about the two girls sitting on the couch nearby. They were his best friends, and they both deserved someone better than him.
So there was no point lingering on the traitorous thoughts he was having: that he wouldn't mind waking up to see either of their faces every morning.
Melissa stirred first. With a snort, she jerked her head up and examined the unfamiliar room. Her brows furrowed as she locked onto Izuku, eyes struggling to focus on him before recognition filled her features.
"Izuku!" Melissa whisper-shouted. "How long have you been here?"
"About half an hour," Izuku replied as he held up a notebook.
"It's too early," Ochako complained, adjusting herself and trying to snuggle into the warmth of Melissa's side.
Izuku saw the emotions warring on the older girl's face before she let out a quiet sigh and retracted her arm, gently nudging the gravity girl. "Wake up Ochako."
"Risa I don't wanna…" Ochako grumbled.
A moment later her eyes snapped open and she shot upright as she realized what she had been doing. Her blush marks spread as she noticed Izuku sitting there on the floor, looking at the two of them awkwardly. With a nervous laugh, she reached down and grabbed Melissa's glasses, putting them on. Following her lead, Melissa grabbed Ochako's glasses and slipped them on, blinking while the world was still out of focus.
"Wait a minute…"
"C-cute." Izuku stammered out.
"Eh?!"
"Wha?!"
Both girls turned to Izuku who was frozen, his face turning red as he saw the two girls wearing each other's glasses. "You- you look good wearing each other's glasses!" Izuku explained quickly.
Melissa blinked and took off the glasses she was wearing, her eyes focusing on Ochako. "He's right, you do look cute in those frames."
"T-thanks," Ochako stammered out before ripping the glasses off of her face and offering them to Melissa.
"One sec," Melissa gave her a faint smile as she put Ochako's glasses back on. "How do I look?"
"They look really good on you," Ochako admitted.
"Thank you," Melissa gave the girl a warm smile, her cheeks turning a faint pink as she took off the glasses. "I don't think I'll change my frames though, I see worse out of your glasses than I do without mine."
"S-same," Ochako said as she retrieved her glasses and put them on. Trying to get her embarrassment under control, she jumped upright as her gaze bounced between the two. "We don't have anything fancy for breakfast, but I can make us some coffee?"
"That sounds great," Melissa said, punctuating her answer with a yawn. "Breakfast first, then we can figure out this mess that we've gotten ourselves into."
After a rudimentary breakfast of rice and eggs, arranging an appointment with Dr. Himitsu later that afternoon, and saying goodbye to Ochako's parents, the three finally sat down to discuss the events of the previous evening.
"So what does this all mean then?" Ochako said as she looked down at their notes. "I mean, besides the fact that I somehow can get into the vestige realm. Does that mean I'm now… using One For All?" Ochako asked as she looked at the exposed pads on her fingers.
"You'd be able to feel it if you were," Izuku explained.
"Yeah," Melissa pointed to her chest, right between her lungs. "It's like a fire that has taken root there, waiting to be unleashed. I know we don't have any experience with how quirks normally work…"
"Hmm," Ochako's brows furrowed as she tapped a finger on her cheek. "Zero Gravity doesn't feel like that at all. It's more like… a buzzing in my stomach, and an energy hiding just beneath my fingertips.
"Do either of those feel any different today than they did yesterday?" Izuku asked.
Ochako felt her face heating up as she looked down, staring at the bottom of her tee shirt. "My stomach's still a little tender after… that. But nothing like what you're talkin' about!"
"And your fingers?"
Ochako raised her hands and wiggled them. "No extra energy, and no pink sparks."
"Well, you haven't really tried using your quirk since then…"
"Of course not!" Ochako said. "And I don't plan on it until I can talk to the counselor. I don't want to throw up breakfast already."
"Ehe, sorry," Izuku winced as he apologized.
"So we can rule out you tapping into One For All, for now," Melissa said. "But that still doesn't explain what is going on."
"Has your Uncle Toshi come out yet?"
"No," Melissa sighed in frustration. "Then again if the Izuku in the vestige realm caused this, I imagine they are scrambling to figure out what's going on just as much as we are."
"Hopefully he'll get back to you before we have to go to bed. We've got even more reason to try going back into the vestige realm tonight."
"I wonder if the beach I was on will be any more clear now?" Ochako asked.
"That would make things easier," Melissa admitted.
"Maybe the other me will be more helpful this time?" Izuku asked.
"He wasn't particularly helpful last night," Ochako said. "He made it clear he'd rather jump into whatever water is there than get anywhere near me."
"Sorry–"
"What are you apologizing for?" Ochako asked.
"Because it's well… I'm the one being difficult?" Izuku said awkwardly.
"Nope!" Melissa shot out a finger. "If I don't apologize for Risa being cryptic, you don't get to apologize for this version of you being evasive."
"She's right," Ochako added. "Besides… maybe he was right. If getting close to him was enough to cause my quirk to do… whatever it did, then he could have been trying to protect me."
"I… thanks," Izuku gave them an apologetic smile. "I never thought of it that way."
"That's why we're a team," Melissa insisted.
"So where do we go next?" Izuku asked.
"Well first we go visit UA and get my quirk looked at," Ochako said. "And then I think I want to try another day of video games? Maybe one of these days won't actually end in excitement."
"Agreed," Melissa let out a forced laugh. "At this rate, I'll be looking forward to school being a break from whatever's going on!"
"Yeah," Izuku said, his eyes darting between the two girls. As they started talking, he couldn't help but wonder what it was like without having a support network - having to figure out One For All all on his own.
Is that what caused him to lose his arm? And was that why Risa came back in time to give them a second chance?
Several hours later the three made their way through the gates of UA.
"Uraraka, imagine my surprise when your parents called me this morning," the elderly voice of Dr. Himitsu called out. A tall portly woman, she stood in stark contrast to her companion, Recovery Girl.
According to Toshinori, the woman was a classmate of the Youthful Heroine. Her quirk was a seemingly simple Analysis quirk, allowing her to determine the fitness of her patients and isolate any irregularities. However, that same analysis also made her invaluable to heroes who suffered from the effects of quirks in the line of duty, and she quickly became a well-known quirk counselor in hero circles.
At David's insistence, the woman was vetted by Toshinori and kept on retainer in case Izuku or Melissa ran into problems with One For All.
So of course, Ochako was the first person who needed her specialized knowledge.
"Ehe," Ochako rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Sorry."
"No apologies needed," The woman softened her gaze. Raising her right hand Ochako felt a faint silvery light pass over her body. Moments later the woman raised her left, and a small hologram appeared in front of it. "Well, my initial analysis is that nothing is out of the ordinary. But if it were easy we wouldn't be here," She gave the three students a playful smile. "Come along then, let's go to a training ground."
"I see," the doctor said, scribbling notes down on an electronic tablet as she finished listening to Ochako's explanation. "So something in this dreamscape caused the equivalent of a Quirk Awakening."
"You'd classify it as an awakening?" Melissa asked curiously.
"Without any other information to go on, yes." The doctor finished her notes and looked up at the tall girl. "While the most common trigger for awakenings are near-death experiences, any period of high emotional stress can cause your quirk to respond in such a manner. In Miss Uraraka's case, seeing a close friend falling to his presumed death may have triggered such a response."
Ochako's face was on fire at the explanation. "It felt so real though!"
"Precisely," Himitsu said, "Now then. First things first." She pointed towards a stack of large training weights. "Let's see if your quirk still works as expected. What is your current maximum capacity for your quirk?"
"One thousand kilograms," Ochako said almost reflexively. "Then my stomach gives out."
"Very well then, That would be twenty weights. Try using your quirk on as many of them as you can, and let me know when your stomach begins to protest.
Ochako did as instructed, and soon enough twenty training weights were hovering in the air. She felt her stomach threatening to spill its contents again, but the doctor was not that cruel. Once she was satisfied she told Ochako to release her quirk, which she gratefully did. She felt relief overcome her as her stomach began to settle, ignoring the sound of twenty weights clattering to the ground.
"So your baseline quirk hasn't been affected, that's good news," Himitsu explained. "Your upper limit may have changed, but we won't be able to test that until you strengthen your body further.
"That's a relief," Ochako sighed. "I was afraid I couldn't use my quirk properly anymore!"
"That is rarely the case in these scenarios. While your body was understandably stressed as a result of the awakening, that was due to your quirk being used well beyond its normal limits. Given time you should be able to duplicate the effect without any adverse effects."
"That's amazing!" Melissa exclaimed.
"If your quirk becomes a field instead of touch-based that opens up so many things," Izuku said, hands instinctively grasping as if searching for a notebook.
Ochako smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. If all of that was true, maybe she could keep up with them after all!
Turning back toward the counselor, she continued. "So what's next?"
"Next, we should try to simulate the conditions in which your quirk awakened. Since we don't know how to activate it properly yet, that is a good place to start. If it works, then we can begin searching for ways that allow you to activate your Zero Gravity field on command."
"Simulate it? How are we gonna do that?"
"Do you want me to jump off of a building?" Izuku asked curiously.
"Don't you fucking dare," Ochako growled as she glared at him. "I already had to deal with that in my sleep, I don't need you to make that nightmare real."
"Ehe," Izuku withered under the gravity girl's gaze. "It was just a question!"
"I hope we don't have to resort to anything so… extreme," Himitsu admitted. "After all, it wouldn't do if young Uraraka needed you to leap off of a building every time she wished to use her quirk." She turned toward Ochako. "What I really want you to do is to recall the feelings and emotions you felt in the dreamscape. While it is not the same, I want you to try and simulate those feelings as best you can."
"Okay," Ochako said as she looked at the counselor. Taking a calming breath, she closed her eyes and held a hand out.
She thought about the desperate racing through the forest, the fear, and confusion about why Izuku was avoiding her. His panicked expression, before he finally jumped off the cliff. Her desperate attempt to reach him, to grab his hand. Even if he wasn't the Izuku she lo– Even if it wasn't the same Izuku, it was still Izuku!
As she lunged forward she remembered pink sparks dancing off of her fingertips. She didn't pay attention to them at the time because she was focused on Izuku but maybe…
"Ochako!"
"You're–"
Ochako's eyes snapped open as she looked down at her hand, just in time to see herself bathed in a silver light again. Looking around she didn't see anything floating. "Did something happen?"
"Yes!" Her friends exclaimed.
"It was only for a moment, but your hand. Pink sparks were coming off of your pads!" Izuku said.
"It was just like what you said happened!" Melissa added.
"Hmm," Himitsu held out her free hand and brought up her Analysis results. "Oh. Intriguing."
"What's that?" Ochako asked the woman.
"There appears to be trace elements of a foreign quirk lingering. It was almost as if you were under the effect of a quirk, except…"
"Except?" Izuku interrupted, earning him a glare from the counselor.
"Except the quirk signature matches that of Midoriya and Shield's quirks."
"So I'm actually tapping into One For All?" Ochako squeaked out.
Her eyes went wide as she slammed both of her hands over her mouth, accidentally activating her quirk on herself. Fortunately, her friends were quick to respond, and before she could get far she felt Melissa hook an arm around her leg, keeping her from floating off.
"It appears so," Himitsu dismissed the chart with a wave and began taking notes on her tablet. "These effects are common among quirks that involve an emotional connection between two people. But from what Yagi and Chiyo have told me, One For All doesn't have any component that would act like that."
"This is new…" Melissa mumbled, her hardest not to think about how her crush on Ochako may have caused this.
"E-emotional connection?" Ochako squeaked as her eyes darted to Izuku. "I mean. They're my best friends and all…"
"That is more than enough," The woman assured the two girls.
"But that should be impossible!" Izuku protested as he felt the back of his neck heating up.
"Quirks have made the impossible possible," Himitsu said pointedly. "Is it so far out of the realm of possibility that a transferable quirk can be partially transferred?"
"I… no," Izuku deflated.
"So what do we do now?"
"Hmm," The counselor tapped her stylus on her lips. "If this Quirk Awakening caused Uraraka's body to react violently, perhaps for now it would be best to not do anything. If my hypothesis is correct, this bond will continue to build and strengthen over time naturally. If that is the case then we don't need to do anything directly. However, I will recommend additional training to begin strengthening your quirk in the meantime, as well as scheduling a follow-up at the end of the semester to see how things are going. In addition, if any more of these incidents happen I'd like you to contact me."
"You mean this could happen again?"
"Yes," Himitsu gave her a sympathetic smile. "Due to the unique nature of what is going on, it will likely happen again if you encounter the right trigger until you properly grow into it."
"Great," Ochako grumbled. "It'll be my childhood all over again."
Melissa put a sympathetic hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that."
After their meeting with Dr. Himitsu, the three returned to Izuku's apartment. Sitting on the couch, Ochako called her parents and explained the situation - that everything was alright, but she'd have to redo her room until she figured out how to use this new aspect of her quirk.
Once she was done assuring her parents that everything was okay, Ochako hung up her phone, placed it on the table, and looked at her friends seated on either side of her.
"So now what?"
Melissa turned toward an empty wall. "Are you there Uncle Toshi?"
She didn't have to wait long for him to appear. "I've been waiting for you."
"That's a relief," Melissa exhaled. "Did you figure anything out on your end?"
"Not entirely," Toshinori said. "But we want to try again tonight."
"Great!" Melissa exclaimed, her eyes darting to her friends. "We wanted to try as well, and see if Ochako gets pulled in again."
"We are counting on it," Toshinori admitted.
"From what I heard the Izuku in there kind of panicked though."
"He did," Toshinori agreed. "But he also knows where Ochako appeared so he's the one who will look for her again."
Holding up a finger, Melissa relayed this information to Ochako.
"Promise he won't run away this time?" Ochako asked in Toshinori's general direction.
"He won't, as long as young Uraraka promises to maintain her distance from him," Toshinori explained. "Now that we know this… tether, for lack of a better term, exists, we don't want to do anything that could disrupt it. His greatest fear last night was causing a problem to begin with, but it appears we are past that point."
After hearing this, Ochako frowned. "I wish he would have just told me that! But I can keep my distance. As long as he makes it clear when I'm getting too close."
"I will tell him then," Toshinori agreed. "Once our Midoriya finds Young Uraraka, he will act as a beacon to guide Nana to bring you two to her."
"And then what?" Melissa asked.
Toshinori looked at Ochako. "We try to solve this mystery."
AN: Thank you for the suggestion of Cow Lady! At first I didn't think much of her, but looking into her career, she turned out to be quite the interesting heroine for Risa to intern under :D ~SupportGrrl47