I didn't know what those triangle things you hold onto to keep from falling when you're standing on a train, so I took to google, apparently, they are commonly called and referred to as straps.
Ochaco sighed as she finally made it home and immediately removed her pinchy uniform shoes. A pipe burst had forced the school to close early, and she had spent the last couple of hours on a hellish five-mile walk home, Ochaco whimpered as she rubbed her sore feet but was glad her feet weren't bleeding this time.
She probably could've called her parents to pick her up or taken a bus or something to get home, but she wasn't going to bother her parents or waste her pocket money on public transportation when she knew she could do the walk all by herself.
Ochaco went back to her room and collapsed on her futon for a few seconds. Having successfully caught her breath, Ochaco sat up and dumped out her backpack to put away her school supplies and carefully set aside her homework for later.
In between the papers, she found some notes with crude drawings of pigs and hamsters on them along with insults and name-calling, typical of middle schoolers.
Ochaco could remember when things like this and how the other kids calling her greedy and stingy used to upset her so badly when she was younger. Now she simply tossed the notes in the trash making sure they wouldn't be easily found by her parents.
She knew the way she lived was more penny-pinching than frugal and though it had taken time, Ochaco toughened up enough to reassure herself she didn't have to explain her family's finances to anyone, much less to the girls who teased her for having a flip phone and only eating school lunches.
Well, Ochaco's penny-pinching was more her own choice rather than because of her parents. If she asked for it, Ochaco knew her parents would spend what little money they had on her... But the thought alone sat like a stone in her stomach.
Her family never had much money and becoming a hero was going to be an expensive venture... Unfortunately, her parents never let that little slip-up when she was a toddler go and they were intent on helping her live that childhood dream.
Heroism was still her dream job but as she got older, she couldn't ignore the financial strain it was putting on both of her parents. The long hours of overtime that caused her parents to return well after when she had gone to bed, memories of eavesdropping on hushed conversions over what bills should be paid or left delinquent so they could save a little more for her future.
When she was old enough to understand, Ochaco had done her best to help them save money. It was pretty hard in the beginning, mainly because her parents could see right through her lies. She can embarrassingly remember how she lied about not liking blueberries anymore once, but she had gotten much better about it since all those years ago.
She had picked up a job delivering newspapers when she was ten under the guise of using it as a form of training and that the job experience would make her application look better and while that was a nice bonus, the real reason was that she wanted to use the money to secretly buy food and necessities.
Perhaps she got it from her dad, but Ochaco could easily do the ton of math needed to budget monthly expenses, and from those numbers calculate her daily needs, setting a plan into motion well before she got her job.
Since she turned ten, Ochaco would wake up at 4 am to deliver newspapers, return in time to eat breakfast with her parents before catching a train to school, and she focused all her energy on learning until it was time to go home. Once she settled down at home, she'd get started on household chores like sweeping up and laundry before doing inventory, checking how much food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies they had, and popping over to the shop for anything that was needed before finishing her homework.
By then she'd start cooking dinner for her parents and set their plates away so they could eat it when they got home, Ochaco would also rinse some dishes so it would look like she ate a portion but honestly if her parents weren't there, she always skipped dinner, only having two maybe three blueberry jelly pouches and a meal replacement shake before she got ready for bed.
She was on the small side because of it but she did not have an eating disorder, Ochaco would never let herself fall into anything like that, she just couldn't afford something so costly. Her entire future relied heavily on becoming a hero and an eating disorder would ruin that in an instant, much less would she waste money and food by not eating it.
She had used a biology project when she was nine to secretly learn how many calories she would need to keep up with her training without going underweight or collapsing and ever since then her dinner was usually jelly pouches and meal replacement shakes, they were a decent tasting and cheap alternative.
Thinking of food made her stomach growl and Ochaco bit her lip, she didn't have lunch since the pipe burst before lunch period and Ochaco debated whether or not to skip lunch just this once or to eat up some more of her jelly pouches and a shake. Skipping one meal wouldn't kill her but it might throw off her training so after running some numbers Ochaco decided to have lunch.
She went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of blueberry jelly pouches and paired it with a vanilla shake. Ochaco was going to head back to her room to do her homework and eat but she noticed some papers left on the kitchen counter, Ochaco didn't like it, but she had developed a nasty habit of snooping through her parents' papers to check the financial situation of the house.
Looking through the papers she realized they weren't bills but her parents' paperwork and that her parents must have left it by mistake. Ochaco immediately panicked because she knew this kind of thing would cause major problems for her parents, she quickly gulped down her food and ran to her room to grab her school binder and her work shoes.
She put on her shoes and placed the papers in her binder so they would be safe then grabbed some of her money and rushed to the train station, thankfully there was a train towards where her parents worked was in the station after a few minutes. The car didn't have any empty seats so she would have to stand the whole ride but these papers were important so Ochaco would just suck it up.
She considered whether or not to call or text her parents to let them know she was on the way, but they might not answer if they were busy *Would mom or dad be free now? It's only just turned 1 pm so dad's probably on site but would mom be in a meeting? I know business has picked up since they extended to building maintenance in addition to construction... Maybe I should-* Ochaco's train of thought was interrupted by the train suddenly stopping.
She almost fell back with a squeak and would have hit the floor and lost her binder if she wasn't holding onto a strap. Unfortunately, someone standing next to her wasn't as lucky and they both fell to the ground when he crashed into her "Oh my gosh I-I'm so sorry!" The green-haired boy quickly apologized and immediately got off of her.
Ochaco was a little dazed as she sat up, but she hadn't hit her head "N-no it's fine, accidents happen." She told the boy waving her hands placatingly before realizing she wasn't holding her binder. Frantically looking around, Ochaco internally screamed when she saw the papers had fallen out of her binder along with her homework.
Ochaco rushed to pick up everything before it got lost or ruined, in her panic she didn't notice at first but after a few seconds she saw the boy was helping her "Thank you." Ochaco said once they had gotten all the papers back "N-no it was my fault you fell I should at l-least help you... Besides, s-some of these are mine." The boy bashfully replied, his face a touch red.
She blinked but once she looked at the two stacks of papers, she did think that it was a little more paper than what she had "Oh." She responded then she went through the papers trying to figure out what was and wasn't hers. Most of it was but there were a few pages packed full of odd characters that kind of looked like English and she reasoned they belonged to the boy.
"Here, I-I think these are yours, right?" The boy said offering Ochaco some papers and she laughed awkwardly "Y-yeah and these are yours?" She guessed getting a nod "Yes, thank you." The boy replied looking so relieved as he put his papers back in his Messenger bag then the boy stood up and offered her his hand "Thanks, sorry about all of this I'm Uraraka." Ochaco said letting him help her up and feeling it was only right to introduce herself after all of that trouble.
The boy smiled waving his hand dismissively. "It's alright, I s-should have been holding on t-to the strap better b-but nice to meet you Uraraka-San, I'm I-Izuku." He responded introducing himself in turn. Ochaco thought it was odd he used his first name, but she brushed it off.
Izuku suddenly turned sheepish as he opened and closed his mouth once before continuing to speak "U-um... T-this might be a bit f-forward of me." Izuku muttered twiddling his thumbs surprising Ochaco. She had assumed Izuku would want to move on and maybe avoid her due to the awkwardness of the accident.
"But o-one of your papers looked l-like a training schedule, are y-you training to be a h-hero?" Izuku asked and Ochaco felt her face heat up *Ahh! Of all the things he had to see that!?* she mentally cried to herself knowing there were a bunch of embarrassing doodles of hero costume ideas on all of the papers she made her training plans on.
"Y-yeah... I've been dreaming of being a hero ever since I could remember." She confessed her eyes going to her feet as she kicked the ground "That s-so cool you're going after your dream Uraraka-San. I only s-saw a little but you have s-some kind of gravity quirk, right?" Izuku guessed and she nodded "Yep." Ochaco answered perhaps a bit clipped and Izuku beamed at her.
"That's incredible! With a quirk like that, you'd dominate any field of heroics you'd choose to enter." He praised her flustering Ochaco "T-thanks Izuku, but I don't think my quirk will be that beneficial." She mumbled and Izuku looked at her funny "Of course it would! Uraraka-San, your quirk is a major game changer for any scenario." Izuku argued and he even went on to point out multiple ways her quirk would be helpful regardless of the branch of heroics.
Ochaco couldn't help feeling embarrassed but grateful for it all. Her parents were very supportive of her dream, but it was different having a stranger lay it all out for her made it just a little more real "Thank you, Izuku." She muttered trying to hide her cheeks underneath her hands and Izuku suddenly became red himself "S-sorry Uraraka-San! I'm a quirk nerd so I tend to obsess over them. I know most people aren't comfortable with that." He apologized rubbing the back of his neck looking just as embarrassed.
"N-no Izuku! It's fine, I'm just not used to anyone other than my parents being so supportive." Ochaco corrected waving her hands defensively "It was kind of nice actually. Do you think I could really do all of that?" She questioned and Izuku grinned sheepishly "Well, maybe not everything... I don't know the specifics of your quirk so you might not be able to do all of that." Izuku admitted.
However, Ochaco was thoroughly interested in the ideas Izuku proposed "Either way, I definitely want to try to do all of it. Especially that thing you said about making things heavier." She commented. She had always focused on making things lighter and lighter, she had never even thought of making things heavy but she did know her dad could so she could probably do it too.
That had prompted Izuku to talk with her about how to safely test things at home without doing much property damage which Ochaco was happy to listen to. They started chatting about heroes as well at some point and she noticed Izuku would get this look on his face when certain heroes were mentioned, he outright frowned when she offhandedly mentioned Endeavour from that morning's villain attack.
Despite the odd reactions, Ochaco found the conversation overall pleasant. When they got to her stop, she was kind of sad they would have to part ways, but she had to get the papers to her parents. She was about to say goodbye to Izuku, but Ochaco was surprised the boy followed her off the train, Izuku only looked a fraction as surprised as she was.
"I guess you're going to see your parents Uraraka-San. Then I think we're both going the same way." Izuku commented rubbing the back of his neck. Ochaco blinked and was going to ask how he knew her parents before a thought occurred to her "Oh! Does your family work with my parents Izuku?" Ochaco asked and Izuku chuckled awkwardly "Um... Something like that Uraraka-San." Izuku bashfully answered.
Almost instantly Ochaco understood all of Izuku's bashfulness, if his parents worked for her parents then it would be reasonable to conclude that Izuku was afraid of upsetting her in case of some kind of backlash on his parents. God knows she had been terrified the few times she randomly encountered the kids of her parents' clients.
Looking Izuku over she thought he didn't look like anyone Ochaco had met at the company parties over the years. He was pretty plain looking aside from the freckles and small bags under his eyes... But then again business had been picking up and her parents have hired more people, maybe Izuku was related to one of the new hires. Ochaco couldn't believe her luck.
Sure, she's met other employees' kids and had a couple of sleepovers with them when her parents needed someone to babysit her, but she had never clicked with any of them like she had with Izuku. Sure, Ochaco hadn't known the boy for long but she could just tell the two of them were going to be good friends. Ochaco beamed at him "Cool! Maybe we can get our parents to let us hang out sometime." She suggested, the idea of testing her quirk with Izuku made her so excited.
Izuku gave her a bittersweet smile "Maybe, but I'm usually pretty busy so we probably wouldn't be able to see each other often Uraraka-San." Izuku explained to her and Ochaco while disappointed understood, she was pretty busy too with her training and it would be super unfair of her to demand all of Izuku's time just because it's been a while since she had a friend.
"That's okay, Izuku. We can trade phone numbers and still talk after school if we can't meet instead." Ochaco replied with a clap of her hands. Izuku mulled it over before nodding "I... Guess that would be okay, Uraraka-San." He told her and she playfully huffed "You don't have to worry about honorifics Izuku. Just call me Ochaco." She said hoping he'd loosen up, she didn't want her new friend to feel on edge just because she was the bosses' kid.
"Uh, if you say so Urara- Sorry, Ochaco-Chan." Izuku replied and though he hadn't dropped the honorifics completely Ochaco definitely preferred "Chan" to "San" "It's fine Izu-Kun!" She responded only to be startled when she realized that they were standing in front of the shared office building her parents worked in "Oh! We're here already." She commented surprised that time went by so quickly.
There was a soft ringing and Izuku pulled out his phone "Sorry, it's my mom. I need to take this Ochaco-Chan." He apologized and she waved him off "I understand Izu-Kun. I'll go ahead and go in while you talk with your mom." She told him and rushed inside to her parents rented office space and found her mom straightening up some papers.
"Mom." She called surprising her mom "Ochaco! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you still be at school?" Mom questioned and Ochaco brushed it off "School ended early because of a pipe burst, but that's not important right now. I found these on the kitchen counter!" Ochaco told her pulling the papers out of her binder. Upon seeing the papers her mom searched her desk only to curse under her breath, something Ochaco dutifully ignored.
"Thank you Ochaco. Those papers are for Midoriya-San, and he'll be here any minute." Mom said and instantly Ochaco knew her panic was warranted because Midoriya-San was her parents' biggest client, and they could not afford to screw up any of their deals with him "Happy to help mom. I'm just glad I was able to get them to you in time." She told her beaming as her mom took the papers.
"I'll be busy with the meeting with Midoriya-San and Dad is at a site so we can't take you home right away. Will you be fine in the lobby by yourself Ochaco?" Mom asked slightly concerned but she was happy to hear it "Of course! I met one of the new workers' kid on the way over so I can probably just hang out with him until you finish." Ochaco assured.
Her mom blinked "Oh, really? I'm glad you're making friends sweetie. Do you know who his parents are?" Mom inquired and she twiddled her thumbs "Well no, I didn't catch his last name but he's so cool mom! He knows so much about quirks and heroes!" Ochaco explained already thinking of what she and Izuku could talk about while she waited on her mom.
Her mom was about to say something but the door to the office opened, and her friend Izuku entered. Ochaco was momentarily confused about why he came up here but shrugged it off as maybe he was here to pick up or drop off something for his parents like she just did. Well that's what she thought until her mom said: "Ah, welcome Midoriya-San!" And Ochaco's jaw dropped.
*Wait Izuku's family doesn't work for us!? He is Midoriya-San's son!? Did I just befriend our client's kid?!* Ochaco thought mentally panicking she had accidentally befriended a rich kid. Izuku beamed up at her mom "Hello Uraraka-San. Sorry for being late, I did ask for a meeting with such short notice, but I had to take a personal call." He responded and Ochaco's brain was officially fried.
*Ehh!? Izuku is Midoriya-San!? He's the multi-millionaire that's been hiring Mom and Dad!?* she screeched in her mind practically dead to the world wondering how the hell she could mistake Midoriya-San for a thirteen-year-old *Does he have some kind of anti-aging quirk? Oh God, was I annoying him? Did he feel uncomfortable with me trying to hang out with him?! Oh God, what if he stops hiring my parents because I was so clingy!?* Ochaco cried in her head as she started sweating profusely.
"It's no problem Midoriya-San. You said it was an important matter, correct? Was there something wrong with the latest draft for the projects? I've got the blueprints here if you want to go over them together." Mom told him but Izuku waved his hand dismissively "No, no Uraraka-San. The blueprints were perfect. I wanted to ask you about something else." Izuku corrected going to pull something out of his Messenger bag.
He pulled out some papers and gave offered them to her mom "I was wondering if you'd like to sign an exclusivity contract with me?" He inquired surprising both of them "What?" Ochaco's Mom said and Izuku's cheeks turned a bit red, and his eyes went down and to the side.
"Uraraka-San, your work has been impeccable. And I seriously doubt I would ever find any other company that would be so generous with me." Izuku told them "So I want to sign a contract saying that you're the only company I'll ever work with. You'll be free to work with others of course. This contract is more about guaranteeing work for both of us." He explained as mom shakily took the papers and started to look them over.
If Ochaco's jaw dropped before then it hit the floor this time. Izuku, the secret multi-millionaire, wanted to work with her parents exclusively!? He wasn't going to stop hiring them because she was clingy earlier?
Mom still in shock cleared her throat "I-if you're certain Midoriya-San, I see no problem with signing this contract with you." She told Izuku trying to return to her professional demeanor and Izuku beamed at her "That's great Uraraka-San. We can sign right away if you want." He replied before his eyes went wide "Oh Right! There is something else I need to ask you. It's more of a personal matter." Izuku mentioned and Ochaco's stomach dropped.
Izuku became very sheepish "W-would it be alright if I trade numbers with your daughter? Ochaco-Chan offered to e-earlier and my mom does want me to make more friends my age, but I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable." He timidly asked.
Ochaco's Mom looked between the two of them baffled before it dawned on her and her mouth opened and closed "W-well no, I don't think there would be any problem with that Midoriya-San." Mom answered passively and Izuku nodded. He pulled out a notepad and wrote something down then offered it to Ochaco "H-here's my number Ochaco-Chan. Maybe we c-can talk more tonight?" Izuku timidly offered as if he was scared she'd turn him down.
Honestly, Ochaco was starting to feel faint from all the bombshells being dropped on her in rapid succession. Was Izuku really a child multi-millionaire? And he wanted to be friends with her of all people? What was her life right now? Did she step into some kind of alternate dimension?
In her shell-shocked state, she simply took the paper saying "S-sure." Before rattling off her phone number. Izuku smiled as he added her contact to his phone "G-great! I'll talk to you later Ochaco-Chan. I've got another meeting to go to or I'll be late." He cheerfully said before he rushed out of the office leaving the two brunettes to stare at the door.
"Mom... Did- Did that just happen?" Ochaco asked looking over to her mom. Unfortunately, she looked just as confused as she did "I... think so Ochaco. Um... Congratulations on your new friend?" Mom pitifully offered her.