AN: heartfanglives - Toga was the best worst case scenario to get out of the way. Now Ochako at least has gotten past her hurdle.
Flashyyyyyy - Himiko's pretty happy with the new arrangement, too!
LEGOBRICK13 - Thanks for the apology. I do appreciate your enthusiasm though!
fencer29 - Oh yeah, that would be ugly, and she'd have help.
Oujiswan - thanks!
InfinityMask - There's a time skip coming up, but we have a few chapters to go first.
SwordOfTheGods - The best part here is that Izuku and Ochako are shipping themselves. They just have, um, complications that they don't really want to talk about.
DestructionDragon360 - Himiko is a surprisingly interesting character to play with, which is why I decided to have the heroes grab her early, instead of just letting her fall to villainy.
Ochako woke up and stretched, looking around her new room with a small grin.
While she liked sleeping in when she could, she knew how important it was to prepare her body so that she could hold One For All. Even if things didn't work out, it would be helpful when she attended UA again, knowing what was coming.
Throwing on her running clothes, Ochako quietly padded to the door of her new apartment and made her way to the street, where she began running, following the route she programmed into her phone.
After a kilometer, the familiar sight of green hair and red shoes greeted her. Eagerly, she waved. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting long!
Izuku smiled. "Nope! I've only been here a few minutes. I'm sure we can get our runs synched up in a few days, tops!"
Ochako chuckled at that. "Always the overachiever."
"W-what can I say? I've always had to work harder than everyone else, after all."
"Nope!" Ochako jabbed a finger in his chest. "You're not allowed to make that excuse anymore!"
Izuku blushed. "Right." Turning, he pointed down the street. "If we hurry, we can get to the beach before sunrise. Although, I'm sure the sight won't be as nice as I remember."
"Lead the way!"
Nodding, Izuku ran. Ochako settled into a comfortable pace beside him. Together, they ran another couple of kilometers until they came to their destination: Takoba Municipal Beach Park.
Although right now, Takoba Junkyard would be a more appropriate name. Ochako frowned as she surveyed it. As far as the eye could see, there were artificial mountains of appliances, scrap metal, and debris.
"This is a mess!"
"Yeah," Izuku sighed, "all that hard work, gone."
Ochako turned, seeing the disappointment on his face. "Don't worry, we'll clean it again! And this time, it's going to stay that way!"
Izuku beamed at her, his spirits lifted. "Right!"
The two carefully climbed a pile of trash and found an old vending machine to sit on. As they sat there, they watched the sunrise together; its rays cut through the morning fog, revealing the full extent of their task.
"Nobody ever came here when I was at UA, and now I can see why."
Izuku nodded. "People began coming here after I cleaned it, and a local group of volunteers maintained the beach after I was done. I can't wait for you to see it when we're done!"
Ochako's smile twinkled, her eyes sparkling at Izuku. "I can't wait!"
Standing on their vantage point, they saw All Might drive up to the beach in his pickup truck and scrambled down, ready to kick off their training.
Several days later, Izuku and Ochako finally had an afternoon where they were both free. Despite seeing each other every day for training, their schedules didn't exactly line up for them to have free time for the two of them. Between handling Himiko and Ochako moving, it had been over a month since they were last able to have a quiet afternoon together.
So when they at last found an afternoon where they were both free, they jumped at the opportunity to just spend time walking around Mustafu together.
It was nice. They've done it before, but it felt different, knowing that their day wouldn't end with Ochako having to leave early and spend four hours on a train to go home.
Unfortunately, their peaceful afternoon didn't last. As they walked through the shopping district, Izuku winced involuntarily when he heard a familiar voice.
"Oi! Deku!"
Stopping, the two turned to the source of the voice only to see Katsuki stomping towards them along with two of his so-called 'extras.'
Izuku sighed. "What is it Bakugo?"
"What kind of school are you going to? Must be full of weaklings if someone's willing to hang out with the likes of you."
"Montross prides itself on having a high rate of success for its students getting into hero schools. Or didn't you know that?" Izuku's tone remained neutral.
However, looking over, he saw the anger on Ochako's face. He knew her own experience with Katsuki was fairly antagonistic, if nowhere near as bad as his relationship. Katsuki had the same haughty attitude towards his classmates in her timeline, but there was an awkward peace between him and his classmates.
That is until Analyst joined the hero course. At that point, Katsuki became as aggressive towards Analyst as Katsuki was to Izuku during their first semester. He continuously argued that nobody who was quirkless deserved to be a hero and constantly set out to prove that sentiment true.
Unfortunately for him, the other 18 members of 1-A grew to appreciate Analyst's quick thinking and analysis skills. He helped every one of them improve their quirks, and in many cases, designed support gear for them with the help of several other first years. They all supported Analyst's dream of becoming a quirkless hero. This created a rift between Katsuki and the rest of 1-A.
"Tch. No wonder you went there then. You need all the help you can get."
"Izuku's going to be a great hero!" Ochako retorted, clearly done with the explosive boy.
"Oh?" Katsuki's expression darkened. "Izuku huh? You're on a first name basis with Deku already?"
Katsuki glanced at Izuku. "Does she know that you're just a quirkless los-"
Katsuki never got to finish that sentence as Ochako punched him in the face, sending him reeling to the ground.
"You take that back! Quirkless or not, Izuku's going to be a better hero than you'll ever be!"
Katsuki jumped to his feet and got in a fighting stance, small pops in his hand warning everyone what he was capable of. "What was that round face?"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Izuku warned. "We're not at Aldera. Using your quirk to harm someone is enough of a black mark to keep you from enrolling at UA, if not barring you from every hero school in the country."
"Oh yeah? And who's going to stop me?"
Between Ochako's punch and Katsuki's small explosions, they had gathered a few onlookers at this point. Izuku swept his hand around to indicate the crowd before pointing down the street. "I think he may have something to say about it."
Katsuki turned, and sure enough, the hero Slugger was heading in their direction, drawn by the commotion.
"Tch. This is always like you, having someone else fight your battles. I don't know how you expect to be a hero if you can't fight for yourself."
Despite his attitude, Katsuki found himself panicking internally. The same feeling from school returned, where he felt like he was missing something important. The feeling that he had fallen behind Izuku, despite the latter's quirklessness.
He would never admit it, but he worried about what would happen if he fought Izuku in a straight-up fight. In the past, Izuku always backed down before he had to get physical, so he never tested it. But looking into Izuku's eyes, he knew he wasn't backing down anymore.
Katsuki put his hands in his pocket and turned around. "Come on, I've already wasted enough of my time with these two."
The trio strode away as Izuku and Ochako watched until Slugger came up to them.
"Is everything ok?"
Ochako put on a bright smile. "Everything's fine! Someone was just insulting my friend here, calling him a quirkless loser. He even had the gall to ask me why I wanted to be friends with him!"
Slugger frowned. "While it's noble to protect your friends like that, you should be more careful next time. I saw him getting ready to use his quirk on you. You don't want to accidentally cross an actual villain and get hurt!"
"Yes sir," both Izuku and Ochako responded.
Seemingly satisfied, Slugger turned around, getting the crowd to disperse as Izuku and Ochako took each other's hands and slipped away.
"That felt really good though," Ochako giggled.
Izuku nodded. Even though he would be receiving One For All in a little over three months, it felt good having friends who supported him despite his quirklessness.
"Himiko, are you sure you want to do this?"
As Izuku got ready to introduce Himiko to his friends, she looked extremely anxious. He could sympathize - after what happened to her, he imagined the prospect of meeting new people was a scary one.
Himiko looked at Izuku from the couch, tearing her lip open with her teeth before nodding. "I want to, but it's a little scary."
Izuku tried to reassure her, "They're good people! They won't judge you, and you don't have to tell them what happened if you don't want to."
Himiko sent him a shaky smile. "I just need to be myself, right?"
Izuku nodded. "Yeah. I know you're still trying to figure yourself out, but spending time with people will help you see what's normal for kids like us, right? Not what the Togas thought was normal."
Himiko nodded and took a deep breath. "Ok, I can do this!"
Izuku was about to continue, till he heard a knock on the door. Rushing over to open it, he saw Ochako standing there and smiled.
"Ready to meet Jiro again?" he asked in a low voice.
Ochako gave a small smile. "As long as I don't screw up and say anything I shouldn't know."
Izuku laughed nervously. "Yeah, I've had a few close calls, but you'll get used to it."
After letting Ochako in, Izuku and Himiko said their goodbyes to Inko before the group left to meet up with Izuku's friends.
Arriving at the food court, Izuku saw that his friends had already claimed a table for themselves. Jiro heard them coming and waved them over.
"Sounds like you've had a busy vacation, Midoriya," Jiro commented as she looked at the two girls walking up next to him.
"Y-yeah," Izuku said, "Well, I have told you all about Ochako."
Ochako stepped forward and put on a bright smile. "Hi, I'm Ochako Uraraka."
"Ochako, huh?" Aika turned toward Izuku with a playful smirk on her face.
"It's a long story," Izuku warily supplied. "We actually met on some hero forums a while ago, and then it turned out her family had to move to Mustafu for work?"
Ochako bobbed her head in agreement. "Y-yeah. It was really lucky that I knew someone here!"
"You've only talked online and you're already on a first name basis, though!" Aika pressed.
Himiko spoke up. "You'll get used to it."
Izuku smiled timorously. "And this is Himiko."
Himiko forced a smile on her face. "Hi, I'm Himiko Toga. But please, call me Himiko."
"She's living with me and my mom now, and she'll also be attending Montross next year."
"Got any more friends hiding up your sleeve?" Hikari asked.
Izuku laughed and shook his head. "No, this is it. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"
Jiro sent a lazy wave. "I'm Kyoka Jiro."
Hikari just gave the two girls a nod. "I'm Hikari Sunako."
"And I'm Aika Shizu!" Aika pumped her hand in the air for emphasis.
"Nice to meet you!" Ochako greeted.
"S-same," Himiko added.
"Well, why don't you three sit down?" Jiro suggested. "It's early so we haven't grabbed any food yet."
The three sat down. Jiro turned to Ochako. "You said you met Midoriya on a hero forum, does that mean you're as much of a nerd as he is?"
Examining Jiro's face, Ochako saw the slight upturn of her lip that told her that Jiro wasn't being entirely serious before mentally sighing in relief. She was also friends with the hearing hero during their time at UA and didn't want to ruin that early.
"No, Izuku's on his own level," Himiko answered for Ochako.
Ochako sputtered and scowled at Himiko before turning back to Jiro. "N-no. I've just always liked heroes and wanted to become one. When I was online one day, I saw someone who had wrong opinions about rescue heroes and we got into an argument."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "We just sort of kept talking after that, and then a year later, her parents got a job offer here in Mustafu? So of course we met up."
"And now they spend all their free time together!" Himiko finished, causing Aika to snicker.
"Oh, what kind of job offer?" Hikari asked.
Ochako beamed. "My parents own a construction company, and they're going to help renovate UA's training grounds!"
"That's awesome!" Jiro exclaimed. "UA is my top choice of school! Do you think you could get us a tour?"
"I'm sure they could get you more than a tour," Himiko jumped in, "Izuku actually has been learning from some of the teachers there."
Izuku winced as his three friends looked at him, eyes wide.
"Why haven't you told us this before!" Aika demanded.
"I-I didn't want you guys to think I was getting special treatment," Izuku admitted.
"What do you mean they're teaching you?" Jiro curiously asked.
"They've been teaching me a few things about heroics that I didn't know before, and an assistant at a large agency is responsible for my physical training regime?"
"No wonder your training is so intense," Hikari exclaimed, "if it's the kind of stuff full-fledged heroes use."
Akia nodded. "What hero?"
Izuku looked around to make sure nobody was in earshot before he shot Ochako a questioning look. She gave him a resigned smile.
They're going to find out eventually, might as well tell them now.
Izuku felt the heat rise to his face as he rubbed the back of his neck. "All Might."
Suddenly, the table went silent as Izuku and Ochako waited for the reaction from the others. Himiko wasn't phased, since she knew most of this already, but as they watched, the shock was evidently drawn across Jiro and Aika's faces before they both collectively exclaimed. "What?"
"Seriously?!" Aika cried.
"Dude, you totally have to get us copies of your training materials now," Jiro added.
"Exactly! You're already amazing without a quirk. Those of us with quirks would be unstoppable!" Aika turned to Jiro.
This earned the girl a fiery glare from Ochako before she turned to Izuku. "I guess we could ask?"
"You're getting training too?" Hikari asked, still trying to process what he heard.
"Yep!" Ochako said, a little too loudly.
"Midoriya, can I just say your life is crazy," Jiro said, "but the more I hear, the more I'm jealous."
Himiko laughed, "You don't know the half of it."
"And you've just volunteered to tell us all about it!" Aika exclaimed.
Himiko looked like a deer in headlights at the sudden attention. "I-I-"
Izuku put a hand on Himiko's shoulder, turning to Aika. "Himiko needs to take things at her own pace."
"Oh, sorry!" Aika started blushing as she looked at Himiko.
"You'll have to forgive her. She often speaks without thinking first. We try to keep her in line but it doesn't always work," Hikari added.
Himiko took a moment to compose herself before smiling. "Thanks." She turned towards Aika, "I think we're going to be good friends."
"Yay!"
"So about that tour?" Jiro asked.
Ochako blushed, glancing at Izuku. "Yeah. I think we can get you a tour of UA. If you want our training regime, that's a whole other issue."
"What's so bad about it?" asked Aika.
"Our training is harsh enough that your parents will probably need to talk to the person training us. And he will have to interview you to help prepare a personalized lesson."
That seemed to make the two girls pause.
Jiro spoke up. "What's so bad that we would need this trainer to visit our parents?"
Izuku laughed uneasily. "Um, do you know Takoba Beach? We're actually cleaning it."
"Wait, seriously?" Hikari questioned.
Himiko nodded. "Yep, Izuku gets up criminally early every morning to jog down there, meeting up with Ochako along the way!"
"You really are intense!"
Jiro looked bashful. "T-talk to my parents, huh?"
"Is something wrong?" Ochako asked Jiro.
Jiro looked like a deer caught in headlights. "N-no. I just haven't exactly told my parents that I want to go to a hero high school yet?"
Izuku remembered Jiro taking the lead for their class during the school festival when she admitted that she always thought of music as more of a hobby than a career choice. He never realized how self-conscious she was about her parent's opinion until that moment.
"Well, no time like the present?"
Ochako nodded. "Yeah, I mean, once school starts in a couple of weeks we're going to have those career development worksheets, right? You'll have to tell your parents then."
Jiro looked down at the table. "I just don't want my parents to be disappointed in me."
Aika slapped Jiro on the back hard. "No moping! Your parents are awesome and are totally going to support you!"
"Yeah, you have the coolest parents," Hikari added.
Izuku looked over and saw Himiko wincing. While the three were distracted, he reached out and placed a hand on her arm, offering her an encouraging smile. That seemed to do the trick, and he saw Himiko immediately brighten up.
"Alright, I'll do it!" Jiro proclaimed; a look of obstinacy scrawled all over her face. "I'll tell my parents, and then, I'll help you guys clean the beach!"
"I'm in! Anything to help me catch up to you two!"
"Three," Hikari corrected. "Uraraka's just as crazy as Midoriya, after all."
Ochako blushed but didn't deny it.
Jiro turned back to Ochako, "Well, it's official then. Welcome to Team Future Heroes. Population: four."
"Coming!" Inko called down the hallway when she heard the knock on the door.
Opening the door, Inko was surprised to see Toshinori Yagi standing at the door. While she had only spoken to him a couple of times about her son's training, she hadn't expected him today. Normally she expected Kan or Kayama for these regular visits to check up on Himiko.
Not that she was particularly worried, but she could understand the precaution. While the girl improved, she was still recovering from years of abuse, and that didn't happen overnight. So until the heroes were satisfied with Himiko's condition, they continued visiting to check up on her.
"Oh. Mr. Yagi, I wasn't expecting you."
Toshinori held up his hand. "I understand. The teachers are busy preparing for the next year of school starting in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, I have more free time than them, and so I volunteered to check on young Toga's progress."
"Come in then, I will prepare some tea." Inko ushered Toshinori inside.
Toshinori sat down on the couch and opened the binder Kayama had given him. It was a simple questionnaire and checklist, one which he was sure Mrs. Midoriya was tired of answering. Judging by her appearance, she didn't seem to mind, however.
Inko came back a few minutes later and set a cup of tea down for him. "Now then, Himiko has been doing quite well over the past week."
Toshinori caught the subtle hint and made sure to correct himself. "I am glad. It would be a shame to see all of the effort spent on young Himiko go to waste."
"I agree," Inko concurred, looking at Toshinori, "but right now I think she is scared of herself. She is terrified of relapsing, and attacking Izu or myself."
"Oh?" Toshinori took notes. "Have you brought this up with her therapist yet?"
Inko shook her head. "Not yet, although I intend to later this week."
Toshinori paused to allow Inko to sip her tea before he continued talking to Inko about Himiko, covering a wide range of topics about her. From listening to the woman speak, he could see how much she truly cared for the young girl.
"It seems like we are truly lucky that you have decided to care for young Himiko." Toshinori finished up his notes.
"It just sort of happened," Inko revealed. "Once I heard about the way her family treated her, I volunteered without thinking about it?"
Toshinori froze, and then looked at the woman again in a new light. "I see. Truly, you are a remarkable woman. I can see where your son gets it from."
This caused Inko to blush. "I-I am sure any mother would have done the same!"
Toshinori shook his head. "No, what you did was really special. By taking her in, you have completely changed young Himiko's life."
And the lives of young Midoriya and Uraraka, Toshinori thought.
"Himiko, you're going to join us for training, right?"
Himiko groaned and threw a pillow at Izuku. "What time is it, anyway?"
"5:30."
Himiko rolled over to glower at Izuku. "Why did I even agree to join you for training?"
"Because when Mr. Yagi said we could bring Jiro and Shizo to help us clean the beach, you didn't want to be left out?"
"Right." Himiko pushed herself out of bed. "The quirk counselor told me I needed to keep exercising. But why are you up so early? We don't need to be at the beach until 7!"
"I wanted to make sure you were up before I left for my morning run."
Izuku dodged the next pillow Himiko chucked at him. "I'll be there, but I'm getting another hour of sleep first!"
Izuku smiled at Himiko. "I'll hold you to that."
As Himiko retrieved her pillows, Izuku slipped out of the house to begin his morning run, meeting up with Ochako before they made their way to the beach. The truth was, they didn't expect Toshinori to accept training their friends. However, when they approached him, he appeared excited by the prospect of a whole group of students cleaning the beach.
Shortly after they arrived at the beach, they heard Toshinori arrive in his pickup truck. They intercepted him on his way to the beach, arms full of folders and a cooler.
"You're starting to look like a real teacher!" Ochako told him with a smile.
Toshinori chuckled which turned into a fit of coughing. "I have been reading ahead of the classes Nezu enrolled me in. I must admit, there is a lot more to teaching than I expected."
"Well," Izuku began, "that's because your training mostly consisted of Gran Torino beating you up."
That made Toshinori pale at the memories. "That… is a good point."
Toshinori led the two to the area they would be working in today and set down his supplies. "I have prepared plans for the three that will be joining us. It's less intensive than the two of yours, but with five of you, we should be able to clear two kilometers of the beach by summer vacation."
Izuku smiled at that. "I'm sure everyone will appreciate having the beach by then."
Toshinori buffed up in a cloud of smoke. "Indeed! Which is why it is such a noble goal!" Just as quickly, Toshinori let go of his muscle form, reverting to his true form.
Ochako grinned as she looked out at the mounds of garbage. "I can't wait to see it!"
The three didn't have to wait long until the other students showed up. Toshinori explained to the newest members of the group how he used the beach clean-up as strength training. As he went over each student's individualized training plan, Izuku and Ochako observed from the sidelines.
"We're really changing things this time," Izuku remarked. He watched the trio listen to Toshinori's instructions.
Ochako bobbed her head. "I like it! If Jiro has extra training that will be really helpful next year!"
"What about Shizu and Himiko?"
Ochako shrugged. "I don't know why Shizu didn't show up at 1-A in either of our timelines. Does Himiko even want to become a hero?"
"I think Shizu failed the exam. We could tutor her to help her get her grades up," Izuku reasoned. "Himiko is still lost. She doesn't know what she wants to do yet. Mom tells her that joining a general studies course for high school is perfectly reasonable."
Ochako gazed thoughtfully. "I guess we'll see what happens?"
Izuku smiled. "Yeah. We've already changed the future with Himiko, who knows what we can accomplish with more friends and allies on our side."
AN: Meet the final form of the Dekusquad (or is it the Izusquad? I suspect Izuku isn't going to end up using Deku as his hero name this time around), finally together for the next year at Montross Middle School.