AN: Thanks for the reviews, favorites and follows everyone!

Ricardo Valencia - I heard about that! And don't worry, all of my work is on a google drive, so short of the internet going down, I've got a backup.

Amit Barabi - They can't see each other's dreams. Both need to be in the vestige realm for them to interact - if one or the other is just sleeping normally, then they are separated for the night.

Mew-the-Dark-Matter-buster1 - Yep. Sadly due to the size of the MLA, the heroes need some time to figure out how to handle them.

Naruto30 - It'll be a bit before they get to UA, they've still got a semester and a half to go before the entrance exams, and I'm sure they'll get into some nonsense before then. And since Izuku transferred out of Aldera I haven't bothered putting the camera on him, per se. But he'll be back when we get to the entrance exams.

Izuku woke up in the morning with a smile on his face. After several whirlwind nights where Nana tried to make up for forty years of lost time, she finally gave him and Ochako some much-needed privacy.

While he appreciated having her in his life, he never realized how much he valued their quiet time in the observatory until it was ripped away from him. It was the one place where they could truly be themselves, away from the pressures of the world, and worse, the machinations of his sister. The worst part was he knew Nana meant well, which only made him feel even more selfish. It wasn't her fault that she had just woken up to discover her grandson was the current One For All holder, and that after the life she lived, she deserved the chance to relax and catch up.

But last night after talking to Nana, she agreed to leave them alone. Instead, she tracked down the vestige of Toshinori, the other primary focus of her attention now that she had awoken.

The difference was night and day. As Izuku lay there in bed, he wondered if it was an effect of the emotional exhaustion preventing him from properly resting when he woke up, or if it had something to do with the calming effect Ochako had on him. He always felt like he could do anything when he was around her, knowing that she would be there to catch him. Ever since she learned about how often he threw himself in danger, she had gone out of her way to make sure he knew that he wasn't alone anymore. That she was right there beside him, shouldering the same burdens.

Rolling out of bed, Izuku quickly pulled on his clothes and quietly made his way through the apartment, ready for his morning run.

When Izuku returned home from his morning run, he saw his mom in the kitchen, working on breakfast.

"Morning mom!" Izuku called as he took off his shoes.

"Morning Izu!" Inko replied with a smile. "How was your run today?"

"It was good." Izuku walked into the living room. Peeking into the kitchen, he noticed he had enough time for a shower. "I'll be back after I wash up!"

"Ok, take your time!"

After a quick shower, he saw his mom had finished up and had begun plating breakfast. Grabbing a couple of the plates, Izuku began moving the food to the table. "By the way, I spoke with Nana last night."

"You did?" Inko asked, the spatula frozen in midair while she turned toward her son. "What did she say?"

"Well…" Izuku put down the plate so that he could use his free hand to rub the back of his head. "She cried a lot. I guess we get that from her?"

"I could have told you that." Inko grinned, setting the spatula down. "Aunt Ayaka was the same way, after all."

"Anyways, she said that she still feels bad for giving you up the way she did. Even if you said it's ok. She still feels terrible."

"And you told her that her sister made sure I was happy growing up?"

"Yeah." Izuku nodded his head. "And she wants me to find a way to thank her. Which will be hard to explain since we can't tell her about One For All…"

Inko chuckled, walking over to her son and giving him a warm hug. "I'm sure we'll think of something. It's a miracle that we were able to reconnect with her at all. Even if you're the only one who can talk to her directly."

Izuku leaned into his mom's hug. "I don't mind. I'll tell her anything you want."

"Anything Izu?" Inko asked in a playful tone.

Suddenly, Izuku's face grew pale with shock as the implications of his mom's words sank in. "I-"

Inko pulled away and laughed at how red and flustered her son was. "Don't worry, I won't make you say anything like that!"

"I- thanks." He sighed in relief.

"Now come on, let's eat while it's still warm."

The two sat down and started eating, only for Himiko to stumble out of her room a few minutes later.

"Why are you eating so early?" Himiko complained, walking to the table.

"Well if you weren't up late watching anime again-!"

"Shut up!" Himiko swatted at Izuku, collapsed in her chair, and grabbed her chopsticks. "I can't help it. They keep ending episodes on cliffhangers!"

"If you know it's going to end on a cliffhanger, why don't you just wait until morning then to watch the next part?"

"Because it's summer break!" Himiko flashed a toothy grin. "I've got to take advantage of the time while I can!"

"Will you be ok going out today?" Inko asked her daughter.

"Of course!" Himiko suddenly sat up straight. "I need to pick out cute accessories for next semester!"

"And an outfit for when you visit a certain American girl next week," Izuku teased.

"Shut up!" Himiko snapped, but the growing blush on her cheeks betrayed her true feelings.

Izuku simply smiled back. "There's also dinner and Karaoke afterward!" he reminded her. "We'll be out pretty late. You don't want to fall asleep while we're out."

"Well, it's a good thing my younger brother is super strong!" Himiko shot back. "And it wouldn't be any effort at all for him to carry me home."

"Himi, I'm not going to carry you," Izuku said amusedly.

"Fine!" Himiko folded her arms, gave him an exaggerated pout, and then returned to her food.

Once they finished, Izuku and Himiko helped clean up and said their goodbyes before departing. The pair only had to wait a few minutes till they saw Ochako walking up.

"Hey, guys!" Ochako smiled, jogging the last few meters to meet them. "I hope I haven't been keeping you long!"

"Nope."

"Well, shall we get going?"

Per usual, the three fell into an easy pace, eventually arriving at the train station. Himiko took the lead, skipping ahead of the pair while they followed behind her.

"There's the slowpokes," Jiro said, pointing with one of her ear jacks as Izuku, Ochako, and Himiko exited the station.

"What took you guys so long?" Aika called out. "We've been waiting here for hours!"

"Aika, it's been 10 minutes," Hikari said, showing her the clock on his phone.

"Yeah well, it felt like hours!"

"What am I going to do with you?" Jiro shook her head and jabbed Aika's shoulder. "Let's get going before she explodes."

As the group walked toward the shopping district, Izuku felt a soft tug. Looking at Ochako with a questioning glance, he watched her eyes gesture toward a nearby park. He nodded in understanding. Even though her family was better off financially thanks to the contract with UA, she still didn't like spending money on herself.

Izuku turned back toward the others walking ahead. "We'll catch up to you guys later, ok?"

"Huh?" Himiko spun around, looking slightly disappointed. "You're not going to help me pick out cute accessories?"

"Midoriya," Kyoka said flatly. "I think your brother is the last person I would trust to be the arbiter of cute things." With her ear jack, she pointed at his shirt: a simple green shirt with the kanji for 'grass' written across it.

"True!"

Despite her words, Izuku saw the disappointment in her eyes. He winced and mouthed an apology to her, knowing that she would make him pay for it later.

"Come on, we don't need them!" Aika declared, grabbing Himiko's arm. "Hikari's got a better eye for things anyway!"

"Fine," Himiko decided, shooting one last look at the two. "You'd better pick up when I call though!"

"Don't worry, we will!" Ochako reassured her.

Satisfied, the group of four continued onward, leaving Izuku and Ochako alone.

"Sorry about that," Ochako apologized. "I want to hang out with them! I just don't want to spend the whole day shopping."

"I understand," Izuku replied with a patient smile. He motioned towards the park. "Want to take a walk until they're done?"

"Yep!"

The pair crossed the street, hand-in-hand, and strolled into the park. Sights galore surrounded them: families gathered on picnic blankets with food laid out, parents watched their children run around and play, and groups of students walked along the paths making idle chatter.

Ochako breathed out a content sigh. "It's so peaceful, isn't it?"

"Mhm." Izuku nodded. "It's nice."

Walking together, Izuku spotted an unoccupied tree; with a gentle tug of Ochako's hand, they left the path and sat down under it.

"I do feel a little guilty," Ochako confessed. She opened her bag and pulled out her water bottle. "Like we should be doing more. Instead of–" She gestured around with her bottle, indicating the park. "–this."

"I know what you mean," Izuku agreed. "I have a good partner though. She helps keep me grounded."

Ochako giggled, her permanent blush spreading as she covered her hand with her mouth. "I know what you mean. I've got a pretty good partner too. His sister's a little overbearing though."

Izuku laughed, "You just don't like how she keeps me up late watching her shows."

"Nope! Especially now." Ochako gave a fake pout.

"Well, it's better than the alternative, right?"

"Yeah…" Ochako had a faraway look on her face. "It is. Even if she is scarier now. Because now we know what she's really like!"

"I don't mind." Izuku shrugged. "It's nice- having that reminder. That we're making a difference."

"Eri too," Ochako added, quickly turning to Izuku. "She's supposed to go home soon, right? We should throw a party for her!"

"Good idea! I think she'd like that."

"And I know everyone would help! Even if our friends haven't met her yet."

"You know Aika's just going to adopt her on the spot, right?"

"Yep! Jiro will too."

Izuku thought back to the culture festival when Kyoka gave it her all to lead the class in their performance and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she definitely will."

Izuku and Ochako sat there for hours, but for them, it felt like mere minutes. Knowing their partner was next to them, safe and sound, put them more at ease than all of the jubilations in the park.

Loud buzzing broke the tranquility. Izuku peeked at his ringing phone. Reaching out and grabbing it, he checked the name of the dialer - his sister. He accepted the call and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Himi."

"Izu! We're all done here."

"Alright." Izuku pushed off against the tree to stand up. "Where do you want to meet up?"

"We're going to get ramen. I'll save some seats for you."

"Ok, see you in a few minutes!"

Izuku hung up the phone and watched Ochako shove her water bottle back into her bag. He offered a hand which she took, using the leverage to pull herself up. "Is ramen ok?"

"Sure! Not like they'd let us vote anyways," Ochako joked.

After spending the afternoon at the shopping district, the group returned to the Midoriyas' apartment to drop off their bags and then set out for karaoke.

"I'm surprised you've never done this before," Kyoka told Himiko as they ambled to the booth they rented for the evening.

"Nope," Himiko confirmed, "the Togas thought it was a waste of time."

"Of course they did," Ochako sourly muttered, rolling her eyes. "Well, they're fun! We get to go and embarrass ourselves in front of each other for a few hours."

"Speak for yourself 'Raka," Kyoka said with a lazy smile. "Some of us are actually good at singing."

"Yeah!" Aika chimed in. "You hear me every time we practice!"

"Not just in practice," Hikari mentioned. "Every day at school you're humming, and half the time when we're walking to the train station…"

"I've got to be perfect if I want to be a Songstress Hero, after all!"

Ochako's face saddened by their talk. Taking notice of her distress, Izuku nudged her shoulder with his own. "I'm sure you'll be fine. If you're still worried, we can pick songs to sing together."

"Thanks, Izu," she replied; a small smile formed. "I think I'd like that."

Hikari found their designated booth and opened the door, ushering everyone inside. Once seated, they ordered some drinks and snacks. Aika jumped up and made her way to the machine.

"I'll go first!"

"Nooo!" Hikari gave an exaggerated cry. "Can you at least pick something that isn't from one of your idol groups!"

"You want me to sing one of my idol's songs?" Aika asked with genuine excitement in her voice.

"That's not what I said!"

"Sorry Hikari," Jiro apologized, "you know how Aika is." She crossed her arms and leaned back on the couch. "You shouldn't have said anything."

"It could be worse," Izuku remarked as he watched Aika scroll through the list. "I see songs from Himi's anime on the list."

"Really?" Himiko exclaimed. She watched Aika scroll through the list with laser focus until she finally cried out in delight. "They do!"

Ochako laughed, leaning into Izuku's side. "At least I won't be alone in embarrassing myself tonight."

"Why can't you all just be normal and like good music?" Kyoka asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"In case you forgot, you're the one who suggested this," Hiarki pointed out. "And you were excited when we all agreed!"

"Mistakes were made," Kyoka deadpanned. "Mido, please tell me you have good taste in music at least?"

Izuku's face turned pink. "Umm, I can think of a few songs that you won't hate?"

Kyoka visibly groaned and hung her head. "You are all dead to me."

"Hey, you don't have to act cool around us!" Aika retorted. A chime signaled the song of her choice. Everyone looked at the screen, noting it was a duet.

"Wait, who's your partner going to be?" Ochako asked.

Kyoka's eyes went wide for a moment. Before she could attempt to flee, Aika grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. No matter how hard her ear jacks fought, Aika was relentless and pulled her up to the machine, shoving a microphone in her hand. "Kyoka, of course!"

"Aika-"

"No buts! I know you like them almost as much as I do!" Aika revealed. Enthusiastically, she pressed the start button. "And you're up first!"

Kyoka's face heated up with embarrassment. She started tapping her foot in rhythm to the song and immediately jumped in when her lines came up. By the time they were halfway through the song, Aika and Kyoka weren't even looking at the screen anymore and were both having fun doing a coordinated dance for their friends.

When they finished, everyone keenly clapped as Aika gave an exaggerated bow while Kyoka just put her microphone back and slunk back into her seat, hoping everyone would just forget what happened. It was not likely, but a girl could hope. When she sat down, Izuku gave her an encouraging thumbs up. "You did great, Jiro!"

"Thanks," Kyoka said, menacingly raising her ear jacks, "but you'd better not mention this to anyone at school, or else!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Izuku nervously replied.

Hikari was up next, singing a power metal ballad. Izuku was impressed and began to wonder if he had some secondary mutation that gave him increased lung capacity with how long he was able to go between taking breaths.

After that, it was Himiko's turn. She, of course, chose an incredibly cheesy theme song from one of her animes and gave a toothy grin to Jiro, who looked like her soul was leaving her body when the first chords dropped. Himiko began singing, and Izuku couldn't help but feel embarrassed by proximity. Much like the other versions of her, Himiko didn't know the concept of shame and was perfectly happy to sing along, despite being horribly off-key.

Aika and Hikari didn't seem to care, and when she was done both cheered her on. Desperately, Jiro tried to find an excuse to prevent Himiko from singing for the rest of the night. Izuku merely clapped politely and turned to Ochako. "After that, your singing can't be that bad, right?"

"I guess not," Ochako chuckled, standing up. "Guess it's our turn?" She offered her hand to Izuku. He took it and pulled himself up.

"Izu, are we there yet?" Himiko asked sleepily, her feet dragging along the sidewalk.

"We're almost there Himi," Izuku answered. "Look! We can see the intersection."

"Good!" Himiko ran ahead to a lamp post and leaned against it. "You two say your goodbyes, but if I fall asleep before you're done you're carrying me the rest of the way back!"

"We're not that bad!" Izuku insisted.

"It's ok Izu," Ochako said, slowing to a stop with Izuku matching her. "It's not like I won't see you later tonight," she whispered.

"Yeah." Izuku wore a bright smile on his face. "Once Nana's done with me, at least."

Ochako snickered. "Sure, but she has been getting better."

"That's true. Still, I had fun today."

"Me too, even if we terrified Jiro with our singing."

Izuku laughed. "Well, if we never get invited to karaoke again we know why."

"Yep!"

Izuku opened his arms for a hug, and Ochako stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. Even though it was a common gesture, it was one Izuku always found himself treasuring. He knew, deep down, that there would be many more hugs, but each one was special on its own.

Finally, they pulled away. Ochako stepped back, a light blush on her face. "Goodnight, Izu."

"Goodnight, Ocha."

He watched Ochako turn away and start walking down the street. Turning toward the lamppost, he noted Himiko's futile attempts to stay awake with her head occasionally nodding off. With a resigned sigh, he walked up to his sister and turned around. "Hop on, I guess I'll carry you the rest of the way."

"Yay!" Izuku felt the added weight as Himiko hopped on his back, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. "You're the best Izu!"

AN: Stain stalked across the rooftops of Tipoca City as he followed the so-called hero. One of several he had been tracking, but unfortunately for Catalyst, he had drawn the short straw.

As he watched, Catalyst stopped in an alleyway, meeting two other individuals, one of them holding a briefcase. He couldn't hear them from where he was standing, but he didn't need to. The hero had a brief conversation with the individuals before they handed him the briefcase. He quickly opened it to examine its contents, before snapping it shut again.

Their business concluded, the two men walked away, leaving Catalyst alone in the alleyway.

Now

Silently drawing his sword, Stain jumped down, crashing into the hero's back and running his sword through his shoulder.

"Who sent you?!" Catalyst cried out, struggling to free himself.

"No one." Stain replied as he pulled his blade out. Quickly licking the blood, he activated his quirk, feeling the hero's body go limp beneath him. "I'm simply here to expose you for the false hero that you are."

"What?" Catalyst asked in surprise.

Stain walked over to the case, and used his sword to break the locks. He opened it up to reveal a dozen syringes, each containing Trigger. "Now why would a true hero need to conspire with common criminals for drugs?"

"You don't understand-" Catalyst tried to defend himself.

"Oh I understand," Stain said as he picked up two of the syringes. "You don't think you're strong enough, right? That you need more strength? Is this the answer?" He thrust the syringes into the hero's face. "You sicken me."

Placing the syringes on the ground, he found the hero's phone on his belt and he pushed the emergency dial button. "Hello, officer? I'd like to make a report. It appears the Hero Catalyst has been using Trigger. In fact, I think he's suffering from a Trigger overdose right now."

Catalyst's eyes went wide. "No! Help!"

"You can find him with the GPS on this phone," Stain finished speaking. Setting the phone down, he looked at the hero as he retrieved the syringes.