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Ochako hadn't fully recovered by the next morning, so she decided to stay in the apartment and rest, much to Izuku's relief. After last night, he hoped having some time away from her would help him sort out his feelings. And suppress them. After all, Ochako Uraraka was a front, a persona that was only temporary before she accomplished her mission.

And besides, she had already explained her natural state didn't experience emotions. Not in any recognizable way, at least. Once she discarded her human shell, why would she even bother with someone like him?

Izuku let out another sigh as he stared at his computer monitor, waiting for the script to finish running.

"What's got you down?" Kaminari asked as he leaned over the cubicle wall.

Izuku winced. Normally he spotted his coworker coming a mile away, and that was before he found himself embroiled in a mystery involving extra-dimensional beings. If one of those snuck up on him the way his loud coworker did... Izuku didn't want to think about what would happen.

"It's nothing," Izuku said softly, not making eye contact with his coworker. The last thing he wanted was his loudmouthed friend to-

"It's about Ochako, isn't it?" Kaminari asked, causing Izuku to sputter. "It is!"

Well, at least Kaminari had the good grace to lean into his cubicle and lower his voice.

"What's got you down? I thought things were going great between the two of you!"

"That's… not the issue." Izuku winced as he spoke. Why was he being so open about this to Kaminari of all people?

Kaminari gave him a hard stare, before realization filled his face. "Ooooooooh! You weren't lying when you said you two weren't dating!"

Izuku groaned. "Of course I wasn't lying!"

"But you want to be dating her!" Kaminari declared, looking all too satisfied for Izuku's liking. "So what's holding you back?"

The fact that Ochako isn't exactly human.

"I already told you her job here in Mustafu's only temporary, a few months at best, and then she's going to be moving back to Nabari." Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "It's… better if I just don't. It would just… complicate things."

"Izuku, buddy," Kaminari disappeared from view, only to return a few seconds later wheeling in an office chair from an empty cube. Spinning it around so it was facing Izuku, he plopped down into it, "you know what they say. 'It's better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all.'"

"Did Kyoka teach you that one?" Izuku asked.

"You wound me!" Kaminari exclaimed as he placed his hand over his heart. Seeing Izuku not taking the bait, Kaminari finally sighed. "Yes, she did. But the fact remains! You never know what'll happen if you don't try."

"Why are you so worried about my love life?" Izuku asked his co-worker.

"Because you've changed this last month," Kaminari pointed out. "After taking that week off to get her settled in, you've been happier."

"Really?" Izuku asked in disbelief.

Kaminari slapped him on the shoulder. "Yep! It's not hard to guess why."

"I see." Izuku pressed his thumb to his lip as he thought about it.

"All I'm saying is whatever's going on between you and Ochako has been good for you. I'd hate to see you lose it just because you're overthinking things."

Izuku looked at his coworker and offered him a shaky smile. "Thanks. I'll… think about it."

"You should do more than think about it," Kaminari said as he stood up. "I can't really say much, since I miss Kyoka whenever she's on tour and those are usually only a month on the road, tops. But whenever she comes home…" His face lit up in a goofy smile. "If you two can figure out how to make it work, you won't regret it."

Izuku gave his coworker a small wave before he turned back to his computer with another sigh. So much for not thinking about Ochako today. Unlocking his phone, he smiled as he saw her text message complaining about how hard it was to cook rice, and praising the nearby convenience store from saving her from starvation.

Kaminari was right about one thing. No matter how much it was going to hurt when she finally did leave, until that happened Izuku knew he wanted to spend as much time with Ochako Uraraka as he could.

Several days later, Ochako was fully recovered and back at her investigations. She was happy to discover that she could now freely travel all across Mustafu, and possibly all across Japan, without having to rely on Izuku to help her push back against reality itself trying to reject her.

And that was when Izuku realized she had seemingly grown just as comfortable with their routine as he had. It was like nothing had changed. Once she had recovered she once again followed Izuku to his job before she took off to look in some new part of town or read some new book from the library. No matter what she did, however, she always came back to the park just in time to eat lunch with Izuku. After lunch she disappeared again, only to reappear at the end of the day.

This led to the one major change her newfound independence had brought. Now that Ochako was able to investigate on her own, she was much more open to relaxing in the evening. Filled with endless curiosity and excitement about emotional responses and the sensations she felt in her body, she was more than happy to spend time exploring the human condition further.

"Izuku!" Ochako smiled at her companion as she stood up, shoving a book into her satchel. "You are all done for the day?"

"Yeah," Izuku said. "What about you?"

"Yes," Ochako bobbed her head, "I was just reading the latest book from the library."

"I'm surprised you're still finding new books there every visit."

"I doubt I will ever be able to finish," Ochako admitted. "There is so much false information, it takes time to sift through it all and find the truth."

Izuku chuckled. "Maybe after you leave you can give your notebooks to Shoto as a gift."

Ochako tilted her head in confusion. "I thought we were not telling him the truth?"

"We aren't." Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "It's a joke."

"Oh." Ochako touched her index finger to her cheek as she looked skyward. After a moment she shook her head and looked at Izuku. "I do not understand."

"It's basically saying you are going to do something knowing it's a bad idea." Izuku rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "It sounds weird when I try explaining it like that."

"So it is not funny?"

"No," Izuku shook his head, "it- nevermind."

Ochako looked momentarily disappointed by his response, but decided to change the topic. She knew that even though Izuku was trying his best, sometimes he didn't have the proper words to explain things. But she trusted that he would explain it later. "So what do you want to do tonight?"

Izuku felt the back of his neck heating up. "Umm, well the monthly market's open at the shrine tonight and I thought maybe we could go?"

"Why would this market only open once a month?"

"It's supposed to keep the event special," Izuku tried to explain. "The shrine uses it to help pay for its regular costs and to maintain the grounds. I don't think most of the games and activities would interest you, but they decorate the nearby park with lights and lanterns, and it's really pretty!"

Ochako seemed to light up. "So they change the park to be completely different?"

"Not completely different, but it's enough to change the atmosphere of the place. They say it's more… magical," Izuku laughed nervously. "I guess you could tell for sure if something really does change, or if it's just one of those things where we convince ourselves to feel a certain way."

"That sounds interesting," Ochako agreed. "I suspect it is as you say, and you merely convince yourselves that magic is happening. I will be curious to see if it has the same effect on me. Shall we go then?"

"Mmm," Ochako said as she took a large bite of a strawberry crepe. She chewed it slowly, her face lighting up as she savored the mix of flavors. Swallowing the bite, she turned to Izuku. "This is wonderful!"

"Better than mochi?" Izuku asked.

Ochako tilted her head as she pondered, before shaking it. "No, so far spending time pressed against you remains the only thing that has elicited a stronger emotional response than mochi. This is close, though."

Izuku felt his face heating up at her statement. Oblivious to the effect she had on him, Ochako tried to hold the large crepe one-handed while she rummaged through her bag, in search of her phone. Izuku, meanwhile, was so caught up by the sight that he felt himself jump slightly as he felt a familiar arm wrap around his shoulder.

"Izuku, buddy! I didn't know you were into these sorts of things," Rody Soul, one of Izuku's coworkers, exclaimed.

"H-hey Rody," Izuku said nervously.

"Izuku," Ochako exclaimed, suddenly alert as she spun around.

"Ochako," Izuku said quickly. "This is actually one of my coworkers."

"Rody Soul, at your service," Rody said, extending his free hand toward Ochako. "And who might you be?"

Ochako looked at his hand in confusion before looking back at him. "I'm Ochako. I've been staying with Izuku while here on business."

"Oh, I see," Rody said, giving a sly grin to Izuku. "I didn't realize you were here on a date!"

"W-we aren't!" Izuku insisted. "She just - hasn't been to one of these festivals before! And why are you here, anyways?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Izuku realized his two grave mistakes when he saw Rody's face light up in a bright smile. "I actually just got back from flying! I'm getting ready to take my final exam soon so I've been logging as many hours as I can get recently."

"I-is that so?" Izuku said.

"Yeah man, It's going to be so freeing when I have my own pilot's license. Did you know I've been saving up all of my bonuses to cover a down payment on my own plane?"

"I didn't actually," Izuku said as he tried to subtly escape Rody's grasp.

"Oh man, you should come over to Marketing more often, then. I've already promised the whole department tours of the area. Gotta break in the new wings, ya know?"

"Yeah, I guess," Izuku said halfheartedly. "Usually I hear things from Kaminari."

"Oh, I've promised Denks a flight, too," Rody grinned. "I'm surprised he didn't tell you!"

"You know how he is," Izuku laughed nervously, "He's got a lot of news to share and only so much time."

"Huh, I guess you're right. Well the offer's open! I'll gladly take you up once I get my license. You can even bring Ochako, too, if she's still in town!"

"I do not need assistance to see the town from the sky," Ochako said flatly.

"What's she mean by that?" Rody asked Izuku.

"Ehehe, she's actually seen a bunch of satellite photos of Japan," Izuku said quickly. "You'd be surprised at how detailed they can get!"

"Huh, guess I've been so focused on the clouds I haven't thought of going higher," Rody admitted.

"May I suggest it sometime," Ochako said as her eyes narrowed. "Space is quite wonderful."

"Y-yeah," Izuku said, glancing back and forth between Ochako and Rody. Finally deciding he had enough, he ducked, slipping out from his co-workers grasp. "Sorry, but it's getting late and I want to show her more of the park before we call it a night. Work doesn't exactly care if I'm out late or not!"

Rody looked momentarily disappointed before he gave the pair an easy smile and wave. "Sure, I'll be sure to catch up with you later this week at work?"

"Sounds great!" Izuku said quickly. "Good luck on your exam if I don't see you before then!"

"Thanks!" Rody said.

Stepping next to Ochako, Izuku quickly wrapped his hand over her fist, hoping to assure her everything is okay. "Right, we'll be going now, see you later!"

"Have fun you two!" Rody called out, before he turned and finally left them alone.

Once he was out of earshot, Ochako turned toward Izuku and dropped her voice "I do not like that man."

"Why?" Izuku asked.

Ochako's brows furrowed as looked up at the sky, trying to come up with an explanation for her feelings. After a tense moment she finally looked at Izuku. "He was invading your personal space without your permission. And he was clearly trying to get closer to you. Both could be-"

"It's nothing like that, I promise," Izuku tried to assure her. "Rody's always been like that. It's why he's so good at his job."

"I do not like it," Ochako glared off in one direction, and Izuku can only assume she was following him with her expanded vision. "If he is like this, he would be the perfect tool for whatever forces are opposing us. They could take advantage of his nature to lower people's guard around him and-"

Izuku laughed, his grip on Ochako's hand tightening involuntarily. "Now you're starting to sound like Shoto."

"Izuku!" Ochako protested. "This is no laughing matter!"

"I'm sorry," Izuku conceded. "I'll… be more careful. I don't think Rody's part of the conspiracy but I'll keep an eye on him for you, if that'll make you feel better."

"It does," Ochako admitted, her fist slowly coming undone as she looked at Izuku. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Izuku smiled back at her. "But enough about him - he's already taken up enough of our evening, and I've got more to show you!"

"Of course, but can you let my hand go?"

"Ummm…"

"I still need to pull out my phone and document my findings," Ochako explained. "And my other hand is full." As if to emphasize the point, she took a large bite of her crepe and looked at Izuku while chewing it.

"Oh, right," Izuku felt his cheeks heating up as he let go of her hand, already missing the cool sensation of her skin.

He watched as Ochako fished out her phone and skillfully typed with one hand, adding notes to her spreadsheet while she continued to devour the crepe. Once she was done with both, she put her phone back in her bag before looking up at Izuku. "Now then, what else did you want to show me?"

"Why don't we go into the temple itself before we find another food vendor?"

"Okay," Ochako said, before offering him a faint smile.

Izuku led her through the park to the exit, which was across the street from the temple. While normally open, the grounds were covered in stalls and carts for the festival, assaulting Ochako with all manner of sights and smells. The pair continued through the stalls until they were on the temple grounds themselves, which were much quieter than the chaos they had just navigated.

"It is as if there was a noise suppression field around the temple," Ochako remarked as she walked through the temple area. "I see the stalls, and yet there is distinctly less noise pollution over here. I understand the physics behind it, but I am starting to understand what you said earlier."

"About how we convince ourselves that magic is happening?"

"Yes." Ochako bobbed her head. "It would be easy to believe that there is some mystical being residing here, and that the sounds in the air itself are paying homage to this creature. Much like humans are paying homage to the spirit that is supposed to reside here," she said, waving her hand toward an ongoing prayer ritual.

"But there's not, right?" Izuku asked cautiously.

"Of course not," Ochako assured him. "At least, not here. I would have to travel all over Japan to confirm that fact, though."

Izuku shuddered. "I don't think that's necessary. We already have enough going on right here in Mustafu."

"I agree," Ochako said. "Still… I must admire the passion and beauty of such a place. For humanity to come up with such a design that can replicate this feeling. Truly it is a testament to your species."

Izuku felt a small amount of disappointment at her words, as he was reminded of Ochako's true nature. "I'm glad you like it."

"I do." Ochako turned her gaze back to Izuku, her smile faltering as she saw him. "Is something wrong?"

"I- no," Izuku shook his head. "Just thinking about some stuff."

"Okay," Ochako said softly before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "Does this help?"

No, this makes it worse!

Izuku closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around the woman. "Yes, thank you."

"I am glad. We already had enough trouble tonight, we should enjoy the festival."

"You're right," Izuku said, a smile returning to his face as he separated from Ochako. "Let's go find some other food vendors!"

As far as the average passerby could see, Ochako quietly sat in the park, cell phone propped on one knee and a notebook open in her lap. Her face had a look of intense focus as she scribbled away, pen scratching against paper as she wrote. But that only told half of the story.

While she was trying to make sense of her emotions, trying to glean why certain chemical reactions were triggered by different experiences, most of her attention was hundreds of meters in the air, as she looked down on Mustafu from the heavens above. It wasn't a particularly effective means of searching for the source of the disturbance, but it was enough to warn her when creatures slipped through the weakened veil between worlds.

…Creatures like the pack of gnarled dogs that were approaching the bait she had placed so long ago.

Without a word Ochako blinked, refocusing all of her attention on her body. She grabbed her notebook and phone as she stood up, pen clattering to the ground as she gently shoved everything else into her bag. Dropping the satchel behind the bench, she opened a rift and stepped through, appearing seconds later in the abandoned lot.

Even without her supernatural senses, she could feel the disturbance in the air as the creatures warped reality around them.

"You must be strong, to fight back against the world itself like that," Ochako said as she began walking toward the bait, the sound of glass shattering behind her as she opened a half dozen smaller portals and called upon her preferred weapons. "I must deal with you before you cause permanent damage to this reality."

As she watched, they halted in front of her. Five creatures that humans would best describe as dogs, but that is where the similarities ended. Their maws had no lips to hide the rows of hellish obsidian teeth, and their red eyes glowed with unnatural light, tinting their neighbors in a crimson glow. Along their spine large spikes jutted out at unnatural angles, and along each creature's flank numerous shadowy tendrils floated menacingly. While four of the creatures stood about half Ochako's height, the lead creature loomed over her.

It was almost unfair how lopsided the fight was going to be.

As the lead creature howled, the four others charged forward. Ochako leapt skyward in response. Assisted by a pinch of manipulation to compress the space around her, she rocketed upward until she was ten meters in the air, gracefully flipping herself upside-down as she saw the four creatures swarming underneath her. Forming a solid platform under her feet, she launched herself downward, directly at the creatures.

As tendrils wrapped themselves around her in a protective cocoon, she slammed into the first creature, hearing a sound akin to rock shattering as she drove it to the ground. Not wasting any time she tore open a portal beneath the creature, banishing it to a pocket dimension as she regained her footing. Two of the creatures had already realized what was happening but the third was a second slower than its companions, struggling to turn around.

"Too bad," Ochako said as she launched a pair of tentacles at the third creature, wrapping around its torso and dragging it toward her. Acting quickly she opened up another portal, the tendrils shoving the creature inside before it had a chance to recover. She had hoped that the portal would catch one of the remaining pair by surprise, but she wasn't that lucky as the duo began to flank her. Worse, the large creature was charging toward her.

Ochako opened a portal underneath her feet, allowing herself to fall through just in time to miss the creature's charge… and appear above it. Silently she directed her weapons downward, a mass of tendrils trying to wrap themselves around the large creature. But its own appendages fought back, battering away her initial assault. Gritting her teeth, Ochako created another platform underneath her and used it to kick off into a backflip. She flew upward, safe from impalement on the vicious spikes along the creature's back.

Landing in a crouch, she saw that the two smaller creatures had spotted her, one was already charging toward her while the other began its own charge. Quickly calculating their positions, Ochako held her hands up, creating a portal that the first creature entered, only to have it exit out of the other portal and slam headfirst into its companion, stunning both and buying her precious seconds. Pressing her hands to the ground, Ochako ripped open a portal underneath the pair of creatures, sending them to meet their companions.

"Now that the pack is gone, it should be much easier to capture the Alpha," Ochako said as she straightened up and faced the massive creature.

The creature looked at her with those unearthly eyes before letting out a piercing howl. Ochako felt her body respond in a similar way to her first panic attack - she felt her palms beginning to sweat, her shoulders began to tremble, and her breathing became shallow and quick.

"I am impressed," Ochako said as she summoned forth more tentacles. "You were able to trigger a fear response in my body even though I have no reason to feel that way. It must be your reality warping powers at work."

The creature let out another howl before it charged. Ochako felt the trembling had reached her legs, and realized that in this state she wouldn't be able to outmaneuver the creature this time. A drawback of this creature's ability.

Very well then, she would just have to overpower it instead. Closing her eyes, she heard reality protesting as she tore holes into it, calling upon a wave of tentacles from the sea of stars.

The first tentacle came crashing down on the creature's back, slowing it but failing to halt its charge. Then the second tentacle repeated the process, while two more slapped its legs. The creature let out a fierce snarl as it finally stumbled, crashing into the ground and rising despite the barrage. Guided by her hands, thick tentacles began wrapping themselves around the creature's body while smaller tendrils fought back against the creature's own appendages, preventing them from protecting their owner. With a sense of finality, Ochako guided a smaller tendril to wrap itself around the creature's snout, forcing its mouth closed.

Her weapons having secured the creature, Ochako replayed Izuku's words in her mind.

Take a deep breath in… out… in… out… in…

Listening to his words, she followed his instructions, her breathing quickly steadying as she dispelled the fear response caused by the creature. Once she was confident that she had calmed herself down, she took a careful step toward the creature.

"I know you cannot understand me, but you and your pack do not belong here. Return home, and trouble this plane of existence no longer."

The creature responded with a snarl and a glare of hatred, but Ochako didn't flinch. Instead a rift began to open underneath the creature before her tendrils released the creature, dropping it into the pocket dimension. Extending her gaze through the portal, she saw the five creatures roaming restlessly as she opened an exit for them back to their own reality. It didn't take long for the Alpha to recover and lead its companions out of their dimensional prison, the door between worlds closing behind them.

Sighing in relief, Ochako let her senses return to her body. Smiling, she began to turn to look behind her. "The creatures have been sent home, Izu-"

Oh

"I merely used a memory of you to calm down," Ochako told herself. "You are still safe at work." As if not fully believing that, she looked around to confirm that Izuku was nowhere to be seen. "After all, it is so much easier to fight without having to protect you. It let me go all out without having to concern myself with your safety."

Despite the explanation, she didn't know what this new sensation was.

All she knew is that she didn't like it.

Returning to the park, Ochako retrieved her bag and sat back down. She had hoped that returning to her routine would be enough to clear this new sensation. However awareness brought persistence, and it refused to go away. In fact, it only made it worse.

Ever since that first night when he called her name and opened the door to bring her to this world, Izuku has always been there for her. Sure, he didn't have much of a choice for weeks while she was forced to tether himself to him, to use him as a literal anchor to keep her in this plane of existence, but he went above and beyond for her. Changing his schedule, helping her to fit in and investigate the activity around Mustafu…

And that was before the unexpected surprise of emotions!

That first morning when she was overwhelmed by the chemical reactions of her body, he was right there. He knew what to do, and after all of that, he convinced her to keep this form. And she was happy she did! It was an amazing experience, being human. It was so completely different from anything she's ever experienced before in her long existence! And Izuku…

Izuku was there by her side every step of the way.

With a sigh she flipped open her notebook to the pages of notes she had on Izuku. It's not like she wasn't open about her feelings toward him. He made her feel safe and secure, much in the way that he was an anchor to her when she was first entering the world.

Was that why she couldn't stop thinking about him? Why - why was she feeling so disappointed that he wasn't at the fight with her? She should feel relieved! This was the first time she was able to act without worry, without hesitation. And yet…

A growl of frustration (at least she was pretty sure it was frustration, given the other symptoms she was experiencing) escaped her lips as she slammed the notebook closed. Of course she was feeling all those things about Izuku!

But it didn't explain why those feelings are growing stronger with each passing day.

Nor why he was invading her thoughts more and more frequently when she was away from him. It's not like she hadn't been on solo missions before - in fact she was used to being alone, simply watching the stars as she floated through the void of space.

So what made Izuku so different?

Shoving her notebook into her bag, she decided to take a walk. She was thinking in circles and needed to clear her head.

Several hours and one long walk through Mustafu later, Ochako entered the apartment with a fresh stack of books. With a heavy sigh she hauled them over to the coffee table in the living room and dumped them there. Even visiting the library didn't help! Much like reviewing her notes, pursuing such a familiar activity only served to give her more time to think about Izuku.

As she reviewed her interactions with him, it was clear that he also felt strong feelings toward her. The blood rushing to his face, the periodic bout of embarrassment. The fervent insistence that everything was alright. All indications that he felt strongly about her.

So why does she feel disappointed that he tried to hide those feelings from her?

In the end, she had even more questions than when she started!

Well, it was time to begin the search for answers.

Collapsing on the couch, she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders to simulate the warmth of the sun before she plucked the first book off the top of the stack. Psychology and Human Emotions. A book she had read before, but perhaps it was time to review with fresh eyes.

Opening her notebook, she flipped to her entries on Izuku as she began to read.