True Sacrifice

by InuKagomeLuver4Eva

To be a hero means to sacrifice for those in need, yet there are times it requires a heavy toll. A private resort trip goes south even before it can begin and Ochaco Uraraka throws herself into the face of danger to protect her friends, resulting in the loss of the very thing that made her who she was. Soon after, a villain emerges and twists the odds to his favor. Izocha.

6. Overflowing Emotions

"Izuku, let me fix your hair again it's gotten all rustled up—"

"Mom, I'm fine. It's always this messy. Even if you flatten it down it won't stay down. You've messed with enough times already, they're going to open the door in a second."

"Nonsense, let me just—"

"Deku, you're here!"

Ochaco swung open the door to her parents' home with a bright smile adorning her face, auburn eyes dancing with happiness. She faltered when both mother and son twitched in surprise, Mama Midoriya with her hands messing with her son's hair while said son was trying to pry said woman from him. A laugh spewed from her mouth as the two bowed their heads nervously, muttering constant apologies. Now she knew where he got it from.

"Oh, welcome to our home. Please come in and make yourselves at home. I have green tea ready if you would like some?" Mama Uraraka appeared behind her daughter with a warm smile, hands placed gently on her daughter's shoulders. She quickly looked them both over and a knowing glint twinkled in her eyes as soon as they landed on Deku. Motherly instincts could tell her daughter's crush was kind and caring just from his appearance.

"Thank you very much, that sounds wonderful right now with all of this snow. Please excuse us for intruding." Inko ushered Izuku inside while Ochaco held the door open for them.

"Go ahead and take a seat anywhere in the living room while we get the tea. Are either of you hungry yet? I have some snacks if you'd like."

"I'm fine, but maybe you want something, mom?" Izuku politely declined the offer before turning to his mother. Whenever it began getting colder his mother would have trouble keeping warm so food and tea were generally a go to. The older she got the frailer she became so he did his best to keep her healthy when he was home. He noticed a few times where she seemed a bit gaunt in the face and his mother admitted that when he got into dangerous situations, it was hard for her to eat for a few days at a time.

"I wouldn't mind something small, the cold always seems to make me so hungry these days." Inko bowed briefly before clasping her hands together in front of her. "Forgive me, I should have done introductions first. I'm Inko Midoriya and this is my son Izuku. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"Fumi Uraraka, my husband is Kato though he isn't home just yet from the office. A pleasure to meet you both. I was very impressed with your battles during the school festivities, Izuku, you have such drive and tenacity for a young boy." Fumi chuckled behind her hand as the teen flushed while rubbing the back of his neck nervously. What Ochaco had told her was definitely beginning to make more sense now. She was starting to see why her daughter liked him so much; he was a rather shy and reserved person but just from watching his fights on the television, Fumi knew he was always willing to save people in need, especially those close to him. Not to mention he was a rather good looking young man who would no doubt steal her Ochaco's heart someday if he hadn't already. Fumi was already beginning to imagine what their wedding day would look like. The perks of having one child meant there was plenty of time to begin planning out Ochaco's big milestones in life. Not that her daughter was aware of any of it but it was nice to dream. She would need to make a few adjustments to the scrapbook later.

"I guess I should introduce myself as well," Ochaco shuffled back into the room with the tea tray in hand, carefully setting it down before turning to Izuku's mother and bowing. "Ochaco Uraraka. I'm in the same class as Deku. It's nice to meet you."

"Very nice to meet you as well. Izuku's told me all about you already, Ochaco," Inko beamed as her son turned bright red beside her and tried to hide his face in the crook of his arm. "I'm thankful that you're one of his closest friends. I hope you'll always stay by his side, he could use more caring friends like you. You're such a pretty young woman so I'm surprised at how well Izuku acts around you, he always gets nervous around women—"

"M-mom, cut it out!" Izuku muttered while covering his rubescent face with a hand, beyond mortified that his mother was already blurting out that he told her everything about his classmate. Ochaco slapped a hand over her cheeks while turning away, face aflame. He told his mother about her? How much did he tell her?

"I-I'll get the snacks!" The brunette squeaked out before hurrying into the other room to get away. She fanned at her cheeks rapidly to cool them down some as she paced back and forth across the floor. Getting all flustered now would crack the courage she'd built up just to endure having him over! The heat tinting her cheeks nearly had the teen in a dizzying state until she realized the room was now upside down as she spun away. She'd activated it again. It seemed to mainly activate whenever her emotions were high and they certainly were at the moment. Of course now it meant that she was going to suddenly drop to the floor with a painful thunk unless someone caught her. At least she could attempt to catch herself so long as she was positioned in the center of the room. There had been a few times where the table and fridge had caught her. Those bruises were finally turning yellow and disappearing.

"U-Uraraka, your mother asked me to help you…where did she go?"

Izuku glanced around the kitchen in confusion as he searched for his now missing classmate. Ochaco placed her fingertips against her mouth as he cautiously searched around the room, even going so far as to look beneath the table. Even though she hadn't seen him for over a week it felt like eternity. His messy green locks, virescent eyes, the way his mouth turned into a little pout when he was worried or puzzled. Her back hit the ceiling and Izuku's gaze shot upwards in a flash at the soft noise. The two stared at one another before a small laugh slipped from Ochaco's mouth breaking the silence. A short breath released from Izuku before he chuckled softly with a shake of his head.

"Sorry, Deku, it happened again."

"I, uh, can see that. Do you need some help?" He asked with a relieved grin, tension fading from his stiffened shoulders. "Or if you want to stay up there all day…"

"I think I've seen enough of the ceiling for one week and the spider that lives up here, thank you. His name is Kumo by the way. There's a broom in the corner my parents use to guide me to a softer part of the house when my quirk won't deactivate right away." Ochaco pointed to the corner where a broomstick with a pillow attached to the end of it resided. Deku gave it an odd look while examining it and the gravity user started laughing uncontrollably. Her hands tightened around her stomach as her classmate glanced between her and the modified broom with hesitation. Honestly her dad had come up with the idea because moving a chair around the house became too troublesome, so one day he marched into the living room to show off his construction skills. At first Ochaco thought it was a joke until he proudly used it one day to whack her into a different room. Suffice to say it served its purpose.

"Do they…just poke you with it or…? I'm not understanding the logic of this modification." Izuku scratched the back of his head as he gave it a test swing through the air. The weight proportions were off so it caused wrist strain when using it with one hand and two hands helped with leverage on the back end yet the function of the 'soft' broom didn't make much sense. "Do your parents use it to push you away since they can't reach you? This almost seems like a medieval torture device."

"Something like that. My quirk still deactivates randomly so they use it to shove me towards my room which is padded. You don't have to use the broom but it makes for some comedic relief with visitors." Ochaco said while placing a hand against the ceiling to stop herself from spinning around again. Her stomach was beginning to clench a bit so it would be best to get down as soon as possible before she lost her lunch all over the kitchen and her classmate. It was something she was working on again, stomach control, but each day she seemed to be returning back to normal.

"I can just catch you. I-I mean if you're fine with that! I don't want to make things awkward if you don't want me to catch you o-or anything like that!" Deku suddenly became flustered and waved his hands around wildly with a beet red face. Ochaco looked at him strangely before chewing on the inside of her cheek. He was acting really out of character all of a sudden. Why was he turning so red? Realization crept into the corners of her mind and Ochaco slapped her hands together before her lips as a certain memory began replaying in her mind. A quick flash of pink caught her eyes and her mouth formed into an o shape.

"Oh—"

Ochaco felt her quirk release violently and she braced to hit the floor yet she jolted to a stop short a few seconds later. Izuku carefully set her down on the floor, keeping a hand on her elbow for support until she regained her balance properly. "Whoops, thanks Deku. That was a bit of bad timing to start floating away. Nice catch though. Your reflexes are really improving!"

"Don't worry about it, Uraraka. I'd rather not let you hit the floor. It might make Kumo sad," He smiled nervously at her with a finger scratching his cheek. Ochaco made to step away from him when the hand on her elbow suddenly tightened the slightest bit, causing her to pause then look back questioningly. Izuku's face was flushing as he stared at her with palpable anxiety. Panic gripped her heart as she knew what was coming next. "I-I…c-can we talk for a minute?"

"Who are you and why do you have your hand on my daughter?"

Both teens looked over to see Kato Uraraka standing in the doorway of the kitchen with bulky arms crossed tightly over his chest, eyes narrowed in on the teenage boy grabbing his daughter. Izuku slowly blinked as he processed the situation, eyes darting to his hand currently latched onto Uraraka's elbow firmly. Ochaco stared owlishly at her father who seemed to grow more impatient as the seconds passed by. The air grew thick with tension and even Fumi stuck her head around the corner to see what the commotion was all about.

"Dad…this is Izuku Midoriya, my classmate? He's the one I told you was coming over for Christmas dinner today? I lost control of my quirk and he caught me so I wouldn't hit the floor."

"Answer the question, boy; why are you grabbing my daughter?" Kato asked once more over his daughter's protests. Izuku finally snapped from his paralyzed stupor and yanked his hand back as if he were burned. He promptly dropped into a deep bow with his quivering arms locked at his side tightly. Ochaco let out an indignant huff as her father approached her classmate with a tense jaw and fiery eyes. She may have forgotten to mention how overprotective he was of her…

"F-forgive me, sir! I meant Uraraka no harm! Her quirk activated so I caught her then held onto her elbow to help stabilize her." Izuku spoke loudly to the tiled floor, keeping his eyes averted from the clearly angry man towering before him. He was so not prepared to meet her father, let alone in a manner deemed inappropriate to the overprotective man. It was all honestly just one big misunderstanding yet any other words died out in his throat when the towering Mr. Uraraka leaned down to be level with him. He was scarier than when he first came face to face with Shigaraki and that said a lot.

"Dear, leave the poor boy alone! He's already shaking like a leaf so quit terrorizing Izuku. The situation was explained so come now, don't be rude to our guests." Fumi chastised then grabbed her husband by the earlobe, yanking him roughly away from the immobile Izuku. "I'm so sorry, Izuku, my husband can be a bit overprotective of Ochaco especially when it comes to any boy. Please don't worry about a thing and just try to relax for a minute. You, dear, on the other hand are in serious trouble tonight. Now go apologize to Inko for your disrespectful actions. You've made us look bad in front of our guests!"

Ochaco puffed out a sigh before looking at her shellshocked friend. Izuku had lifted his head back up though shock was still evident across his face. She was pretty sure he'd even dropped a few skin shades. "I'm sorry, Deku, dad can be a bit overprotective and come off as aggressive but he really isn't. Do you need anything? Water? Tea? I promise once you get to know him it'll get better."

I-I uh…some water would be nice, Uraraka." Deku crackled out as he shakily settled into the nearest chair. He placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart. That was close.

"Right!" Ochaco chirped before rushing around the tiny kitchen. Glasses clinked softly as she pulled them from the cabinet before pulling a pitcher from the fridge. Any bit of a distraction was needed as the brunette took the time to compose herself once more. "Oh, it looks like we're almost out of eggs again. I should ask mom if she wants me to grab some, but I doubt she'll want me going out alone. Especially with another snow storm coming in."

"Because of your quirk randomly activating?" Izuku thanked her for the water and took slow sips as his friend leaned against the opposite counter to look at him. On the surface she seemed happy as could be, but she'd already activated her quirk once in front of him so maybe something was bothering her. Ochaco nodded before uncrossing her arms to look at her palms.

"My quirk still isn't stable enough for me to be unattended outside and it's led to some embarrassing moments involving a rope tied around my wrist. Unfortunately, a lot of people here know I'm Uravity so I have to keep my emotions under control otherwise I'll start floating away subconsciously. It's been a serious hassle though I guess a broken quirk is better than no quirk."

He stared into his cup of water with strained brows. So her emotions were causing her quirk to activate? Strange, but in a way it made sense since it was a traumatic event that caused a PTSD attack when seeing blood. Maybe there was a link between the blood and a recessed memory that was preventing her quirk from stabilizing enough to resync to her body. Though there had also been recent trauma from her accidentally quirk activation so that could be another part of the puzzle. It was still a step of progress in the right direction—

"Deku, you're muttering again." Ochaco muffled a laugh behind her hand as her classmate jolted upright while blurting an apology sheepishly. He started rambling about possible explanations for her quirk randomly activating as soon as she mentioned it, muttering into his water cup almost instantly. He'd put in a lot of time and effort into looking into her quirk and while she was appreciative of the help…

"Hey, is it possible for you to tell me what happened the night of the attack? I still can't remember it and I think it'll help me overcome the trauma if someone told me. Sometimes I have nightmares of the bus exploding but the ending always seemed off to me." Izuku blinked owlishly twice then set his cup down to process her request. He honestly hadn't thought much of the explosion since it happened but now that she mentioned it, the trauma probably caused a lapse in memory due to the severity of event. Even if he wanted to, the teen could never erase the horrific scene from his mind. He clasped his hands around the glass and let out a deep breath before mentally preparing himself.

"Are you sure, Uraraka? It may trigger something unpleasant for you…"

"Yes. I feel like I'm missing something related to my quirk recovery. I've prepared myself in case it's going to be difficult but I'm sure I can handle it." Ochaco nodded solemnly before shifting to stand a little taller against the counters. The demons needed to be faced sooner rather than later and with Deku here, she had no doubt his support would help her push through.

"Ochaco, dear, would you mind quickly running to the store for me? It seems I forgot to grab enough rice vinegar when I last went and I just now thought about it after your father came home. Please take Izuku with you in case you try to float away again." Fumi stuck her head around the corner to ask her daughter, a few bills held out to the brunette. "You can pick yourselves up a treat as well for the misunderstanding with Kato. Try not to be too late, dinner will be ready in about an hour and a half. The shops should be open for a little while so please hurry."

"Of course, mom. Do you mind, Deku? I'd understand if you wouldn't want to leave your mom alone here." Ochaco grabbed the money and secured it into her pocket, ensuring multiple times it was in there. Money was a valuable thing in her family so losing it would be a devastating loss. Her parents worked themselves to the bone providing for their small family and Ochaco treasured every amount she was given. The memory retrieval would have to wait for another time.

"Of course not. Just let me check on mom before we head out." Izuku jumped from his chair and bowed to Fumi as he passed by her to go into the living room. Glancing back to ensure he was far enough away from the women, Fumi shuffled to her daughter who eased into her open arms. A worn hand stroked down chestnut locks tenderly in a slow, soothing motion. The amount of trauma her child had endured these past few weeks was enough to break her heart a million times over. Being so far from Ochaco made things that much worse, the anxious mother only watching from afar as villains attacked U.A. constantly. Poor Izuku seemed to be the main target and being a mother, her heart ached for both Inko and Izuku.

"I know I shouldn't worry about you all the time, Ochaco, but it's a mother's duty to fret over her children. Promise me you'll be careful out there?"

"I will mom, don't worry. I've got Deku with me." A knowing smile spread across the mother's lips. Intuition was never wrong when it came to love.

"I can tell he cares about you a lot so I know he'll protect you well. Now don't forget to take your gloves so you don't float yourself into the heavens. I don't want to get any phone calls about my daughter heading into orbit on Christmas."

"Alright, alright, I know." Ochaco smiled gently as her mother placed a loving kiss against her head before pulling back. "We'll be back soon enough."

"Are you sure you'll be fine, mom? I don't have to go if you're nervous to stay here alone," Izuku fretted over his mother who merely shook her head with an amused smile, a steaming cup of tea in her hands. She seemed right at home but he didn't want to leave her alone in case things became uncomfortable.

"Izuku, don't worry. I'll be fine and safe here. Besides, it's been awhile since I've sat down and had tea with anyone, so this gives us the opportunity to get to know one another better. Please take care of yourself and try not to get into any fights! I've seen those battles of yours and they can get so scary."

"I'll try my best. Call me if you need anything at all. We'll be back soon." The hero promised while slipping his jacket back on. He accidentally caught Uraraka's dad glowering at him and twitched nervously before yanking his gaze to the wall in fake interest. Fumi smacked her husband on the arm, earning only an amused huff in response. Now he was just doing it for fun.

"Ready, Deku?" Ochaco bounded over to her waiting classmate with gloved hands clasped together. She'd bundled up in a plain brown button down jacket with a pink paneled scarf tucket around her neck. Her usual tights and shorts completed the outfit though he wondered if she ever got cold wearing them, especially in winter. It took him a few seconds to realize it was almost the same exact outfit she'd worn to the entrance exams, where they first met. Heat tinted his cheeks and he coughed a little while moving towards the door. She looked cute in it.

"Y-yeah,"

"We'll be back soon!"

"Have fun! Be careful you two!" Inko called out just before the door shut silently.

Ochaco practically skipped down the hallway that led to the stairwell, a happy hum passing her lips. The air had turned bitterly cold as thick flakes of snow floated down to the ground in a heavy coat. She hadn't been out of the house for a few days and the freedom felt fantastic even as the cold bit at her exposed skin. Luckily her scarf and gloves added a bit more warmth. "The snow is always so pretty! I wish we could go sledding!"

"That's right, we were supposed to go sledding at some point. Maybe there's still time when we head back to school for the next semester." Izuku blew on his fingertips to warm them up. He should've brought some gloves but he was in such a panic to have everything ready to have dinner at Uraraka's house that they slipped from his mind until now. All he had to do was place them against his burning cheeks to warm them up though.

"Hmmm," The brunette hummed softly while keeping her gaze forward. The next semester, huh? She was already behind by about a month and making up all those tests could take longer than that since controlling her quirk was taking up most of her concentration. "I may not be able to join for the next semester since I'm so behind now. I haven't even taken the final retest yet and Mr. Aizawa is going to force me to take remedial courses beforehand. That's if they even let me back into the class until I can stop floating away."

"We can all help you get caught back up on studying. Here, I brought the notebook with all of the final notes and there's a study guide that goes over each section of each class. Iida and Yaoyorozu pitched in their help as well. We're all in this together, as both classmates and friends, Uraraka." Deku shuffled around the inside of his jacket until he produced a small notebook with Uraraka's name written neatly on the front. Gloved hands carefully took the book and opened it up. Each note was written with such care and detail that it made Ochaco teary eyed the more she flipped through it. Even outside of the school her friends were trying their best to help her stay on the path to becoming a hero. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry! Is it that bad of a gift?"

"Thank you, Deku," Ochaco softly closed the book before taking a deep breath in and raising her gaze to meet his. The wind died down a bit enough to settle the flakes to a gentle float, giving her a clear focus of the man who'd stolen her heart. A hand lightly curled over her heart as it began racing faster, a soft heat flushing her wind grazed cheeks. "For everything. You've always been there for me and continue to do so even when I'm at my lowest point. For weeks I've thought of leaving the school since my quirk was blocked and even as it began returning, there was still a fear that I'd lose complete control of it. How can a hero save others when they can't even save themselves? I've tortured myself every night questioning everything that happened, how I could've done something different to gain a better outcome. Mirio mentioned trying to keep smiling yet how can I when I'm still filled with turmoil?"

"Uraraka…" Deku started but trailed off with a bite of his cheek. Interrupting now while she was pouring her heart and soul out could cause her to close herself off and he wanted nothing more than for her to continue the healing process, even if it meant remaining all ears with sealed lips. The truth was painful but needed to be said.

"I've thought a lot about it, Deku, about the events that led up to the attack during the trip. Over and over I've tried to find different ways, different outcomes that would've led to a better future yet I can't. All Might told me something that I've kept with me to help move forward on the correct path in life. 'I finally understood that there's no going back to who you used to be, that's just not how it works, so the only left to do is move forward and try to understand who you are now.'" Ochaco diverted her eyes to the small pile of snow gradually building up on the fire hydrant beside her while her hands tightened against the notebook. There would be no going back to just friends after this, that she was sure of. But sitting around sulking didn't help while the emotions built up inside of her like a ticking time bomb. The first time she let those words slip was thanks to a fever, and a bit of blood loss, yet as she stood before him now in the serene winter weather with no one else around…

"Deku, what I said in the P.E. building wasn't a fevered delusion," Ochaco inhaled deeply through her nose and looked back at her now flustered and bewildered looking friend. His face was turning red and she could tell he had at least some idea of what she was about to say. The butterflies in her chest hummed loudly as she forced the words from her tongue. It was now or never. "Ever since the hero licensing exams, I've recently come to realize the feelings that've been growing inside of me. I've tried to push them down, keep them locked away since it would do nothing but hinder you on your path to becoming the number one hero. I also didn't want these feelings to ruin our friendship which is why I haven't said anything until now. Deku…I lo—"

Squealing tires followed by a thunderous crash abruptly ended her heartfelt confession and both teens looked over to see a massive pileup happening in the street. Cries of pain and fear filled the still air as more vehicles lost control on the slippery roads. Izuku immediately launched his black whip to stop a moving truck from colliding with a van full of kids and Ochaco surged forward instinctively only to falter to a stop. What could she do with an out of control quirk? Right now she was more dangerous than helpful, but useless was no longer in her vocabulary. Uncertainty trembled through her body as the cries grew louder, smoke filling the air as one of the vehicles began catching fire. Deku had already launched himself into the scene without hesitation, leaving the brunette to hesitate on the sidewalk. A young wail caught her attention causing auburn orbs darting to the source. A small girl stumbled from between some vehicles with a torn teddy in her arms as fat tears rolled down pinked cheeks. She was alone, afraid, confused and possibly injured. Brakes screeching reached her ears and deep down she instinctively knew where the vehicle was headed. The notebook slipped from her grasp as she took off running towards the girl with fingertips pressed together.

Ochaco slid across the slick street but kept pushing herself faster as the truck drew closer with each passing breath. The girl's eyes went wide and slowly she reached her arms out towards the hero, the teddy bear falling to the ground in response. As soon as her arms were wrapped securely around the little girl, a protective hand against the back of her head and another around her back, the truck bumped into them both in its attempt to regain control on the icy road before jerking to an abrupt stop. They both tumbled violently through the air spinning out of control. Ochaco couldn't tell which way was up or down as they floated higher and higher. Pain radiated throughout her legs from the impact but she ignored it. The collision wasn't hard enough to damage anything but she'd be sore for the next few days at least. Something shifted in her arms so she looked down at the locks of black moving around. Her pain could wait, she needed to make sure the child was safe and sound.

"Are you alright?" Ochaco asked gently as her grip tightened around the trembling child, fearful wide eyes brimming with tears as they looked up. The girl couldn't have been more than five or six years old, maybe a little older. Rescue training kicked in and she did her best to remain calm. The child was her priority right now.

"Y-yes. You're U-Uravity?" The name pinged across her heart so the brunette nodded. A child who looked up to her as a hero. It warmed her chest to know someone so small watched and idolized her. "T-thank you Uravity, for saving me. I always thought you were the coolest hero a-and I wanna be like you when I'm big and strong."

"What's your name?" Sirens began wailing in the distance. Surely they would notice two people floating away, especially Deku. Was he still helping the accident victims?

"S-Sylvia. I have a magnetism quirk. It means I can attract or repel metal objects and can pull myself towards heavier objects." Sylvia sniffled into her arm as she snuggled closer to her savior. The higher they went, the colder the air became. Keeping Sylvia warm became the highest priority, the child's jacket most likely still in one of the damaged vehicles. All that protected her from the cold was a long sleeved shirt and jeans with boots. "I tried to push the truck back from me but I think it just pushed us away."

"Sylvia, that's a pretty name and a cool quirk to have. Promise me you'll always help those in need with your quirk, okay? I know this is all scary right now, but can you use your quirk to pull us back towards the ground? I won't let you fall, I promise. I know you can do this."

Sylvia looked into the reassuring eyes of the hero holding her safely in her arms and nodded. Squeezing an arm free from the restrictive hold around her small frame, the child aimed her hand towards what she hoped was the ground. A low rumbling quivered within her small body as atomic electrons began separating within her bloodstream, creating small sparks of magnetic fields that rapidly spread like wildfire. Unpaired electrons started spinning wildly causing Sylvia to become a magnetic human being. Ochaco felt her phone jerk towards the child through her jacket pocket as she raised the level of magnetism even higher. After a few more tumbles through the air, the two floated to a stop right side up. With a sigh of relief the hero glanced over their surroundings. They'd been sent flying at least a few hundred feet into the sky as the street they were on looked more like a snow globe with square and rectangular buildings. Landing would be problematic without her gear and her quirk couldn't be entirely trusted to work on command. Ochaco looked around for a safe spot to land but there really weren't any nearby. A river not too far from the accident scene could work and it hadn't frozen over yet. An icy bath was the better alternative than splattering on concrete.

"You're doing great, Sylvia, try to keep your quirk steady so we can slowly float back down. You've got this." Ochaco reassured the girl while they began descending back to the ground. If she could keep this up then they could land safely without her deactivating her quirk. Uncertainty clawed at her throat. What if her quirk failed while they were so far up? Relying on the small girl in her arms to not only control more than three times her weight, but to keep her quirk activated long enough was dangerous. She hadn't activated her quirk for this long since the resort trip and even now it still deactivated on its own sometimes. The hero shook her head. No. She was done thinking like that. Right now, with a small life in her arms, she had to focus on returning them both to the ground safely. Even if they had to land in the river, she would take the full force of the impact. Even if it broke every bone in her body, Ochaco would save the life wrapped around her body.

"I-I'm scared, Uravity," Sylvia whimpered as she opened her eyes to look down, dark orbs widening at the dizzying height. "I wanna go back to mommy! I wanna get down!"

"It's okay. I've got you, Sylvia. I know it's hard and scary, but I need you to stay focused on holding your quirk steady just long enough for us to get to a safe distance." They started descending faster and Ochaco's stomach lurched at the sudden force of the drop. The faster they picked up speed the harder it was to control the landing. Were her emotions increasing the power output? A child her age would have a hard time mastering a powerful quirk so easily and the hero had a feeling they were about to lose control completely. "Take a deep breath in then let it out through your mouth—"

"I-I can't control it any longer!" The heavy pull of the magnetism quirk fizzled out and the two found themselves freefalling towards the snowy ground. Ochaco racked her brain for the least damaging strategies only to end up frustrated. She didn't have Deku's air force, black whip, or superhuman strength that would safely deliver them back to the ground which was beginning to grow closer by the second. Deactivating her quirk now could work then reactivating before they hit the ground would definitely make it safe, but the problem was if her quirk didn't reactivate. On multiple occasions it took a while for the quirk to deactivate before she plummeted onto her cushioned floor.

"Think, Ochaco, think…" The brunette chewed on her bottom lip nervously as their time was running out. A tune ringing against her hip jolted her from the turbulent thoughts and she looked down at her pocket. Her phone! She could tell Deku where they were! "Sylvia, I need you to latch your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist. Can you do that?" The child looked up in alarm but after a reassuring nod began complying. One arm locked against her back and Ochaco dug around in her pocket for the electronic. The screen flashed with Deku's name so she slammed her thumb over the green symbol a few times until the screen registered it.

"Uraraka, what happened? Where are you?" He was frantic as the sounds of sirens filled the background. People were shouting in the background and it made it difficult to hear him. "People are saying you leapt in front of a truck then disappeared. Did your quirk activate?"

"I activated my quirk to save a child but we floated away from the accident." Ochaco raised her voice over the grating wind tearing at them. No doubt it was beginning to throw their trajectory off and send them closer to the river. She could make out the approaching dots of cars enlarging into more detailed objects. The control on her quirk was beginning to fizzle as they intermittently sped up before slowing down again. If she didn't hurry… "I'm going to try and deactivate then reactivate my quirk in a second but I can't control our descent. We're headed towards the river and the little girl with me used her magnetic quirk to aim us back towards the ground so we're coming in hot."

"What's your positioning? Do you know how far you are from the wreck site?"

"We're headed towards the docks on the river, where the fishermen store their equipment for winter." Ochaco felt her body beginning to rotate from the force of the wind and tightened her grip on the small child. She balanced their weight with her legs and winced a little as pain shot up them. It was nothing compared to the break itself but it warped her concentration for a few seconds at a time.

"Are you in pain?" Sylvia asked in her ear with concern. Ochaco managed to smile before lightly shaking her head. She needed to focus otherwise neither of them would make it out alive. If anything, the pain now fueled her motivation to save the child. Deku had suffered worse injuries than this and kept on fighting.

"The police have the accident handled so I'm going to head to the river now."

"Make sure everyone's safe before heading for the river! I can handle a cold bath if I need to. They're the priority, Deku. There aren't too many heroes in this area and the police will be overwhelmed from the amount of injuries."

"Uraraka—"

"I'll catch up with you when we land. I've got this. Trust me, Deku." Ochaco finished confidently and she could nearly hear him mentally debating.

"Alright. I'll meet you at the river when I'm done." Deku replied after a short pause.

The call ended so Ochaco shoved the phone back into her pocket before pressing her pads together. Gravity took back over and she held on tightly to Sylvia with determination. She would save them both, that she was confident of. Right now she needed to focus on concentrating before reactivating her quirk just a short distance from the ground. They were headed directly for the river now and she had to try and soften the impact. Getting hit by a truck definitely wasn't expected, but as she held the small life in her arms close, it was worth all of the pain in the world.

"Sylvia, we're going to have to land in the river. I won't let go of you for even a second. It's going to be pretty cold and I want you to take in a big breath just before we go in, okay? It's just like jumping into a pool from a diving board. Have you ever done that before?" Ochaco asked the child trembling in her arms. The poor thing had to be freezing so high up in the harsh winds.

"Like during swimming lessons?" Sylvia asked with a hint of excitement. Good. That meant she knew how to swim and was used to jumping from heights. Ochaco beamed back down at her.

"Exactly! Just pretend we're jumping from a tall diving board into a big, cold pool. Do you remember how to swim to the surface?"

"By kicking my legs and pushing down with my arms! I'm the strongest swimmer in my class!"

"Exactly! I want you to get ready to hold your breath. We're going to hit the water in less than fifteen seconds. Ready? We're going to have to go Plus Ultra for this!"

"Plus Ultra!"

Ochaco counted down and motioned for the child to hold her breath, doing the same thing while straightening her legs out for impact. Just before reaching the waters, the hero pulled out her phone and threw it towards the snow piled on the riverbank. It would help Deku find them faster if he could track the GPS to narrow down the search area. Ochaco then locked her fingers together and closed her eyes hoping for the best. The icy waters punched the air from her lungs the moment the two slammed through the surface and Ochaco felt some bubbles of oxygen escape from her mouth from the impact. It took a few seconds for her to force her eyes open to see how far down they'd sunk. The surface was a good distance away, the escaping air bubbles showing the way, though it wouldn't be impossible to reach with her now half emptied lungs. Sylvia was still holding onto her breath the best she could and blearily looked up at the hero through the waters. With a free hand, Ochaco pointed towards the surface then began kicking her legs. The hero was thankful to have trained hard enough to be able to swim with added weight but until they were safe on snowy land, she wouldn't relax. She made a mental note to thank Tsu later for the underwater swimming lessons.

Docked boats with their anchors down swayed gently in the flowing water, the large chains intertwined with billowing stalks of freshwater seaweed. They would have to swim through a dense patch to reach the river's edge, having already successfully navigated through the thinner patches lining the riverbed. If they tried to swim directly towards the surface, they'd have to deal with rippling currents and piercing winds, though staying underwater meant a higher risk of drowning from cold shock. Either route was a losing option, but she wanted to make sure Sylvia reached the shore faster. Ochaco tried her best to avoid the tangling vines yet a few managed to snag around her leg with a sway of the current and halt their escape. Air bubbles hit her in the face and she looked down to see Sylvia expelling what remained in her lungs. She couldn't hold it any longer. The hero glanced between her tangled foot and the small child squirming in her arms. Without another thought, Ochaco motioned for her to keep swimming upward as she released her grasp on the child and moved to grab her feet. There were less than ten feet to the surface so she could make it with a strong boost. Making sure Sylvia was ready, the hero pressed all five finger pads against her legs then pushed up against from her feet as hard as she could. As soon as the child broke the surface with a visible splash, Ochaco cancelled the gravity alteration and turned to the pesky weeds that kept her bound to the river.

Her lungs were burning from the lack of fresh oxygen and she didn't have long to try and free herself, so she got right to work. Her fingers wrangled with the plant, pulling and ripping at the leaves and stems but they were slick and difficult to break. There was nothing left on her person that could cut through the tricky weeds and pulling on them wasn't working. She kicked her leg out in hopes of them untangling though that resulted in more vines latching onto the ones she was trying to get off. She took a few seconds to think before removing her remaining glove then unbuttoning the waterlogged jacket. With Zero Gravity in effect, the lightened weight load should give her a small boost towards the surface. As soon as she dropped the apparel, her leg tugged harder against the weeds but it wasn't enough. She'd become too tangled up to just slip through the vines. Ochaco let out a few small puffs of air to ease the growing strain on her lungs, but everything started to become sluggish. Every movement she made slowed down to a crawl, her fingers slipping from the vines before just floating up, her legs stopping their useless struggle. It wouldn't be long before water entered her lungs and then it was over. It only took a few seconds to fully drown once water entered. That was if the cold didn't completely shut her body down first.

Ochaco tried to flap her arms to reach the closest anchor chain but it was no use. She couldn't break free and reach the surface in time to get air. Her mind was starting to go numb from the lack of oxygen and she started to accept the looming fact that she wouldn't make it out. Sylvia was safe, that's all that mattered to the hero. The chance that someone would save her was slim, but she never gave up the hope that it would be Deku. The waters around her rippled violently and auburn orbs darted upwards to see what caused it. A shadow was growing larger and larger until with a hard blink, her brain comprehended it was a person and a familiar one at that.

Deku reached out for her hand and grabbed it to pull her up, but she shook her head and pointed at her leg. He nodded and pushed his way down to the weeds. It took a second for him to grab onto the slippery plant, and with a powerful yank he broke it from her leg. Ochaco felt herself slowly rising yet there wasn't enough strength in her body to kick her way to the surface and she began to weakly flounder. The last few bubbles of air left her mouth and the world began going dark around the edges.

Deku kicked himself towards her and grabbed on tightly before aiming his fingers downward. With a blast of air, the two propelled to the surface instantly and greedily took in the sharp, winter weather. Ochaco coughed harshly as they swam the short distance to shore in no time, Izuku standing once his footing hit the rocks at the water's edge. He swiftly picked her up and held on tightly as he clambered up the snowy incline. She was shivering violently as the air dropped her body temperature even lower, puffs of condensation billowing out with each exhale. If he'd been any later, his classmate would've drowned in the river.

"I need a medic! Her leg was caught on seaweed so she may have inhaled some water," Deku called out as people began rushing over to pull them up the bank. His footing slipped a few times but he dug his shoes in harder to get traction until a few men pulled them up the last few feet. They guided him to the waiting vehicle as quickly as they could while trying to get vitals.

The paramedics got right to work giving her oxygen and a warming blanket, offering Deku the same blanket after he denied other medical attention. Ochaco laid inside of the ambulance to warm up and recover from the near drowning experience as an officer asked Deku a few questions about the accident outside. The police were beginning to clear up the wreckage while paramedics attended to those injured in the crash. Ochaco regained her composure after a short while and pulled the mask away once she felt good enough to breathe on her own. She took a moment to thank the heavens above for sending Deku to where she was. Without him risking his own life, she wouldn't be sitting there breathing in fresh air.

"Uraraka? Are you awake? How are you holding up?" Deku asked worriedly and she looked right to see him sitting on the bench beside her. He was wearing a warming blanket and had a towel resting on his hair to help dry it, but his expression was what she could only describe as sheer terror. Tears were beginning to slip down his cheeks and despite his best efforts to stop them in their tracks, they continued pouring over.

"Cold and a bit out of breath, but alive. I can't thank you enough, Deku," Ochaco started yet her voice began cracking as tears formed in her eyes. The hero beside her covered his face with his arm as his emotions got the better of him and he broke down sobbing. She reached out and lightly touched the hand resting on his knee. The pain in his cries had her own tears bursting through the dam. "As soon as I realized I was stuck, I pushed Sylvia up then tried to free myself. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I wouldn't be here talking."

"I'm so glad you're okay. You should be thanking Sylvia for alerting me. She called out my name that she knew from watching the sports festival and hearing our phone call. That's how I knew where to find you, she guided us to where you were underwater." Deku replied roughly after momentarily regaining control of his emotions. His shaking hands were clenched together tightly against his lap acting as the last physical barrier preventing him from breaking down again. As soon as he saw her just floating there and not struggling to surface, it sent him into panicked overdrive. She must've gotten tangled up in the seaweed trying to get them both closer to the shore. Uraraka was seconds away from drowning in the depths of the frigid river. He never would've forgiven himself for that.

"Is she alright? Did she reunite with her parents?" Ochaco asked weakly. She needed to know if she was fine, if she'd saved that little girl. Deku gave her a wavering smile and nodded. "Oh, thank goodness. She told me she was the strongest swimmer in her class and I hoped she'd make it to the surface just fine. I used my quirk to push her faster."

"Her parents followed me to the river bank and she was taken to another ambulance for treatment. She told me how strong and brave you were for jumping in front of the truck to save her. Then she excitedly went over how you helped her manifest her quirk to get you both back towards the ground. You were incredible, Uraraka. You leapt in front of the truck without a second thought to save a child then you found a way to get her to safety. Even if your quirk isn't back to normal yet, you defied the odds and managed to use your hero training to not only save a life, but you also made sure she was calm throughout the whole experience. Even if you don't think so right now, you are still a hero. Your fast reaction today proved that along with the life of that little girl."

"Deku…"

"Mom called me a few minutes ago and they know what happened so they're on their way right now. Here, your phone is a little damaged from hitting the ground but I think we can get it repaired." Deku handed her the phone and she looked at it carefully. The screen had a crack on the top corner that didn't really interfere with usage but overall it seemed to be in good shape. A quick press of the unlock button showed the class photo wallpaper and she glanced it over before locking it. She was glad Jiro put a durable phone case on it.

"Thank you, Deku. I'd like to go see Sylvia now if you can show me where she is. I want to make sure she's alright before they leave." Ochaco placed the phone down on the bench beside her and accepted the extended hand to help her up.

Auburn eyes took in the chaos of the scene and noted families reunited on the side of the road, all huddled together to recuperate after the accident. For the most part it seemed like there weren't any major injuries, likely due to Deku jumping in and stopping the out of control vehicles, and it gave the brunette a sense of ease. He led the way to another ambulance that was sitting with its doors open and two people hovering at the entrance.

"…and then she said we had to go Plus Ultra! I held my breath for a super long time under the water and swam just like I did in swim class! It was awesome until she got stuck by some nasty seaweed, but she pushed me up so I could call her friend over! Did you know he's a hero too? I got saved by Uravity and Deku! They were both in the sports festival! I wanna be a hero just like them, momma!" Sylvia's voice filtered over the rest of the noise and Ochaco placed a hand against her chest out of sheer relief. Deku placed a hand against her shoulder gently when she started tearing up and trembling.

"I'm just so glad you're alright, sweetheart. When we couldn't find you after the crash, we ran around and around calling your name. Thankfully that hero heard us and brought us to the river." Sylvia's mother ran a hand down her child's sopping wet hair with loving strokes before turning to talk to the paramedic. Sylvia leaned over and her eyes went wide with excitement as soon as she saw Uraraka and Deku approaching.

"It's Uravity! And Deku! Momma, look! They both saved me!"

Both parents turned around in a flash and before Ochaco could even respond to the little girl, she was enveloped in a strong hug that threw her a little off balance. The mother sobbed against her shoulder while rubbing her back, surprising the hero who carefully returned the gesture. "I can't thank you enough for saving Sylvia! I'm so grateful you were here when everything happened. You risked your life to save my little girl and I'm forever indebted to you, Uravity."

More people gathered around the heroes who found themselves trapped in the center of the crowd with no way out. Everyone congratulated them on a fantastic save, some excitedly saying they recorded the whole thing and now it was getting thousands of views online already. The police helped break up the crowd and after a few minutes of being nearly crushed by fans and grateful citizens, the two heroes could breathe easy again. Ochaco felt something tugging at her hand after the nearly hysterical mother released her grasp so she looked down to see Sylvia eagerly motioning her down. She kneeled down to be eye level with the young girl who was nearly jumping from excitement.

"I'm glad to see you're doing good, Sylvia. You were very brave today and I know someday you'll make a great hero." Ochaco praised the child warmly who grinned at the praise.

"You were super awesome! Thank you again for saving me, Uravity. You're my new favorite hero! Here, I want you to have this pin. I kept it for good luck but I want you to have it now so that you'll kick some villain butt and be safe." Sylvia proudly procured a small Uravity pin that she placed in Ochaco's cold palm. The child hugged her tightly around the neck before skipping back to the ambulance to be checked over once more.

"You've really impacted her life, Uraraka. Thanks to you, she's going to become a strong hero one day in the future." Deku said while crouching next to her, looking down at the pin with a smile. It was such a cute little trinket of Uravity in a floating pose.

"I guess I have…" She replied softly.

"We should get you back to the ambulance to warm up before our parents show up. You're going to freeze even more sitting in the snow like this. Can I help you up?" Deku held out his hands for her to take but she merely let out a weak chuckle much to his confusion.

"Don't worry so much about me, Deku," Ochaco huffed out with a reassuring twitch of her lips. He was going to worry himself to death one of these days. "If anything, today's made me stronger and renewed my vigor on becoming a hero. I know it's a long way to go, but I'm ready to get back on track. Also, I may or may not have injured my legs a bit from the impact of the truck, then the river and now I can't get up. I don't have any strength left, sorry. This is a bit embarrassing…"

Deku blinked a few times before shifting in front of her with worry clouding his expression. Ochaco studied him endearingly. He was soaked to the bone from jumping in to save her but he didn't seem to care. He'd jumped into a freezing cold river without any hesitation or regard for his own safety. All that was on his mind was to save her. Her heart fluttered wildly and she placed a hand against her chest softly. He was making it harder and harder to stop the feelings growing within, so much so that something in her mind finally clicked into place and her lips slightly parted.

"I have to worry about you, Uraraka, because you mean too much for me to lose you. You almost lost your life today and I should've—"

Ochaco lightly grabbed his face with her frigid hands before yanking it down to hers, lips colliding together as a result. Auburn eyes squeezed shut tightly as all of the pent up emotions broke free from their dam, overflowing over wind scraped and reddened cheeks. Actions often spoke louder than words though in this instance it was more of a spur of the moment reaction than anything. Izuku stared owlishly at Ochaco as she slowly parted her lips from his, glistening auburn eyes wavering with emotion. Every part of his body was on fire and all he could do was stare in a stupor at the brunette before him. The cold water clinging to him wasn't even felt from the level of heat surging through every cell in his body. He wasn't expecting her to do that in the least…though she did just try to fully express her feelings before the crash happened. Still, as heat radiated from his face hotter than the sun, he couldn't help but gawk at her dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry, I-I wasn't thinking when I did that," Ochaco whispered with fingers pressing against her slightly swollen lips tentatively, warm orbs widening in realization. Deku was bright red as his hands shakily hovered over his mouth, virescent staring into auburn with what could be described as a shell-shocked gaze. "I just…I don't know what I was thinking, Deku…you kept being worried and I…"

"There you two are! What happened? You've been gone for less than fifteen minutes and then the news came on that there was a major crash! Izuku called and told us what happened! Are you okay? You're both soaked to the bone! We need to get you home and out of those soaking clothes!" Fumi sprinted over to the two teenagers with Kato escorting Inko close behind her heels. Ochaco blinked slowly before attempting to stand with pained and stiff movements, but Deku shot to his feet and grabbed her arm to stop her, the conflicting emotions swirling within him sharply swinging to fretful.

"Y-you can injure yourself more, Uraraka, please let the paramedics take another look at you."

"I don't need it, Deku," Ochaco reaffirmed quietly as their parents drew closer, turning a resolute gaze to him albeit with a trusting smile. "I can handle a bruise or two because that's what heroes do, right? Sacrifice their blood, sweat, and tears for the sake of those who can't fight. If I can't save one small girl in front of me, how can I become a hero that saves everyone?"

"Uraraka…" Izuku hesitated before nodding with a wavering smile just as the worried parents reached them, his hand quickly releasing her arm as he realized what he was doing. Kato was a scary man to deal with when it came to his daughter. The tide was beginning to turn towards the finish line, his friends resolve shining through the pain and unshed tears hiding behind the cracking mask. With her mind set back onto the hero path, Izuku Midoriya had no doubt Uraraka would rebound back to the hero path alongside himself and their classmates. Now all that was left to do was to help her remaster her quirk and find the villains behind the paralytic mist. A tug on his jacket sleeve drew his attention downward to see Sylvia looking up at him eagerly with a cheeky grin.

"Sylvia, how are you holding up? Are you getting ready to leave?" The teen asked while dropping to one knee to be eye level with the young girl. She was still soaked but didn't seem too bothered by it as she played around with her warming blanket. It reminded him of Eri playing with Mirio's cape, the little girl acting like a super hero and jumping around.

"Yeah, but I wanted to say thank you for saving Uravity and I. She helped me control my quirk so we could reach the ground safely. We went for a super cold swim but it was fun. It was like jumping off a diving board!"

"I'm glad to hear that. Your quirk is magnetism, isn't it? That's a pretty cool quirk to have. Do you really want to be a hero one day?" Izuku smiled when she nodded her head eagerly. She would be an amazing hero someday. The level of power she had as such a small child now would surely manifest into something greater later on down the road.

"Um, Deku, I have a question," Sylvia started nervously and began fidgeting with the edges of the blanket clenched in her little palms. Deku tilted his head quizzically when she scooted closer to him, motioning for the hero to lean down more. "Does it mean Uravity likes you 'cause she kissed you?"

Izuku felt his face heat up at the mention of it and jerked back in surprise, landing butt first in the cold substance coating the ground. Random jumbled words spilled from his mouth as he fluttered his hands around trying to explain it, though the girl merely grinned at his reaction before thanking him once more to return to her anxious mother. How that fact slipped from his mind he wasn't sure, it literally just happened, but that now added a third thing to try and figure out. Out of everything that had happened to him since entering U.A., sorting conflicted romantic feelings had to be the hardest thing for the hero to solve.

---

Foreman Shinso Takachi looked down at the search warrant handed to him by local police with an uneasy frown. A large police task force along with Endeavor, Hawks, and even U.A.'s Eraser Head had suddenly burst onto the docks demanding an itemized list of every container that had recently been delivered for departure. "What you're telling me is that there could be massive quantities of a paralytic poison in some of these containers? How in the world do you expect me to know which ones are which? There are dozens upon dozens of containers in this yard alone! It would take days to search through everything and even then stuff is moving out constantly. Not to mention everything coming in, I can't just shut the yard down otherwise there would be supply shortages for a minimum of weeks."

"Foreman Takachi, I understand that your operations are running nearly twenty-four seven to keep up with supply demands, but this has become an issue of national safety. We need to find those containers or else they'll be shipped out to other countries where they'll be used to take down heroes. There have been a few victims already including a young student. My men will move as fast as they can, but this yard is being shut down due to the threat of a terroristic attack." Detective Tsukauchi emphasized as he began waving his men forward to start the search. The foreman opened his mouth to protest but the words evaporated from looking between the warrant and the intimidating police force, so he shook his head and gave in.

"I heard about that, poor kid. Alright, alright, I'll shut the yard down but they won't be happy about it at all." The foreman scratched the back of his head before grabbing the radio attached to his chest. "Attention all dock workers; as of this moment the dock is being shut down due to a police investigation. I need all hands to meet at the office. I repeat, the dock is now shut down so head to the main office. No cargo goes in or out of this port."

"We'll get this over with quickly." Endeavor gruffed while striding forward purposely, Eraser Head and Hawks falling in line behind the number one hero. While the yard was massive, the three of them could sweep through it faster than any police force could.

"This is a massive port Endeavor, how do you suppose we search the entire yard before someone slips away with the cargo?" Hawks kicked a rock with his shoe before hopping to a float, crimson wings flapping gently to keep him level. "I've already sent tracker feathers out but I can't spare any more unless I leave myself completely defenseless and unable to fly."

"We'll split up for now. Search for any containers with the symbol of Quantum Council. Move your way towards the outer perimeter and signal when you find one." Eraser Head ordered before splitting off from the other heroes and disappearing behind a stack of shipping containers.

"Bossy one, ain't he?" Hawks mused before pushing off with a mighty pulse of his wings. Not that he blamed the stealth pro, it was just amusing to be ordered around by a teacher.

"Letting feelings guide your judgement is why he never became a top hero in the first place." Endeavor huffed to himself with an ignition of his flames.

Shota sprinted through the containers on a mission, concealed eyes darting around every corner. The leads on the Quantum Council had been growing weaker ever since they started capturing villains working for the group, and now the torch lighting the path directly to them was about to extinguish. All of the suffering his student had endured; her broken body, mind and spirit, he would make them pay for it, all of it. Never again would he let one of his students be injured like that, not while his body still drew breath. The League had been getting brazen with their recruiting as of late, but he'd see to it personally that they were squashed back down like the bugs they were. A shadow caught his attention so the pro turned on a dime to pursue. With all of the dock workers being gathered towards the front of the yard there shouldn't be anyone wandering around, especially not hiding deep within rows of containers. He needed the higher advantage so with a swift flick of his wrist he shot his scarf up to wrap around a towering aisle marker, pulling himself up easily to the top.

There was still plenty of daylight left and thanks to the quick action of the police, they'd gotten a search warrant within an hour of the courts opening. Principal Nezu had instructed the teacher to go along in case things got difficult but he knew why the principal had sent him. Nezu knew how important it was to Aizawa regarding any information on the Quantum Council, clearly stating it was for his powerful quirk and reconnaissance skills, but with an underlying tone of understanding about the care of his student. In the distance behind him, Shota could hear shouts of pain yet had no doubt the number one hero had found some lingering people between the containers. Sharp eyes locked onto another shadow sprinting between containers so the pro swung himself to the next aisle marker to stay high in the sky. Staying high above gave him the advantage of mapping out the dock while strengthening his defenses. Running wildly between containers gave him limited view and open blind spots so strategy-wise he was in the best position. Years of behind the scenes work was to thank for his current skillset.

Flashes of darkness slipped in between the containers as he surveyed the layout. Eraser Head knew they were being used as decoys the moment he saw two shadows pass by each other with the slightest overlap of arms. He was being pushed deeper into the dockyard which meant they were either luring him towards the villains waiting to ambush him, or keeping him away from their precious cargo nestled nearby. Seeing as there were three pro heroes scouting the area, acting as decoys was the more plausible option to give them time to remove the cargo before it was confiscated. "Hawks, Endeavor, they're using decoys to distract us from where the cargo is. I'm following a villains quirk right now that'll lead me straight into the hive."

"That much is obvious, Eraser Head," Endeavor grunted into his earpiece. "I'm only finding low-level grunts over in this section. Hawks, what's your status?"

"I'm picking up major vibrations just to the west of where Eraser is. Seems like they're moving some serious cargo towards the water. I'm on my way over there." Hawks replied. Aizawa clenched his jaw tightly. They weren't going to escape, not again.

"I'm almost to the waters edge, keep an aerial view of both of us. Don't let them leave this dockyard."

Eraser took off swinging from pole to pole until he reached a long row of containers lined up just before an inlet to the side of the yard. A group of villains shuffled quickly through the narrowed aisles with bulky boxes in their arms and the pro landed quietly on top of the container closest to them. The bright hazard label caught his eye. They were smuggling the paralytic out of the country through a different channel, one that could be mistaken as a rainwater outlet.

"Get this stuff moved before the pros reach us! I didn't work this hard just for them to ruin my damn job!" A man with a dark cloak residing over his body barked while directing the lackeys with a pointed finger towards the water. "My shadows aren't enough to keep three pros off for long!"

"You're right, your shadows were sloppy enough to see right through. You've also weakened your abilities by using them during the day with limited darkness. Maybe next time you should focus on strengthening your plans ahead of time." Eraser interrupted the ringleader before wrapping his scarf around him tightly and yanking him towards the skies. The other villains jolted in surprise, some dropping the boxes before running for it while others activated their quirks defensively.

"Stop making this harder than it has to be, hero. Just let us go about our business and you won't get hurt!" The shadow user griped while wiggling a hand free from the bindings, pointing it directly down at the hero. "Shadow images aren't the only thing I can do! Take this, Shadow Spear!"

A black, jagged projectile erupted from his palm and headed straight towards the hero. Eraser Head merely tilted his head up the slightest amount before triggering his quirk, rendering the shadow attack to dust. "Is that all you've got? Disappointing. I've dealt with dust bunnies more terrifying than you. Maybe you should've stuck to something other than villainy if that's all you can manage against a hero."

"W-what the hell are you?" The bindings around him tightened as the villain was swung around violently, spinning in wide circles before the material loosened enough to send him flying towards the waters. He landed with a thunderous splash and Eraser returned hardened, glowing eyes to the remaining villains below him. The remaining ones shakily put their arms up in surrender as Hawks hovered above with Endeavor hot on his heels, the number one pro landing heavily on a shipping container.

"One angry teacher."

_B_

"Great work today you three. We've managed to secure their cargo and it's being sent to a testing facility so we can analyze and hopefully neutralize the paralytic. I'm just glad we were able to catch the cargo before it left the docks," Detective Tsukauchi praised as the rounded up villains were loaded into an armored van for transport. Eraser Head had forced the other locations of the paralytic from the drowned shadow user so the police and nearby heroes could begin rounding up the poisonous containers.

"All in a day's work for three top heroes," Hawks beamed with an arm on the heroes' shoulders. Aizawa merely sighed in displeasure while Endeavor raised his temperature to discourage the overly friendly blond from touching him. The blond jerked his arm away while tucking his wings further from the heat, his easy grin never faltering. No roasted bird today.

"Only two of us are top heroes, a disgruntled U.A. teacher who chose to take the darker path of heroism is barely better than your average quirked citizen."

"My decision to stay out of the spotlight doesn't alter my status as a pro. Unlike you, Endeavor, I don't have to constantly keep up my appearance in the public eye twenty-four hours a day. Besides, I've accomplished more in my younger years discovering underground operations than you have parenting Shoto." Eraser Head shot back easily with pocketed hands, turning his gaze away as the air around them suddenly skyrocketed in temperature. Hawks jumped back to avoid the flames licking at his wings, the smile now replaced with pursed lips and raised brows. Damn, someone was a little spicy today. The two had never gotten along well, that much was obvious from their contrasting backgrounds, but normally they kept things civil when on missions. Ever since his student had been injured, Eraser Head had been losing his cool and slipping up as his personal feelings mingled with his hero façade. Also going as far as to bring up the sensitive subject of Shoto Todoroki was a low blow, even for those close to the human torch. Though he hated to admit it, it was a pretty good jab at the now fuming number one. Shitty family humor always hit well with Hawks.

"Easy, boys, let's not burn the dockyard down when the nice people have work to do. Detective, do you have all you need for the time being? I think it's about time we head our separate ways within the next thirty seconds before we all become BBQ." The Wing Hero interjected quickly while maintaining a safe distance from the pyromaniac and quirk erasing man. He was not getting in between the two when he had a hot date tonight with Tiffany from the sunglass hut. Then he was getting ice cream with Yumi after that. After that there was a sleepover with Candace. Oh, he couldn't forget Utsumi for their movie night. He might have to reschedule something.

"Uh, yes, that should be all I need for the time. Thank you once again, gentlemen, for your time and efforts today. Eraser Head, I'll be in touch with you once I have the results of the analysis. Good day." Detective Tsukauchi bowed briefly before hurrying away with his stack of documents. Aizawa eased up the tension in his jaw. He didn't like where this was going at all. There was still a chance a shipment had slipped past them before they even arrived, yet they couldn't react without the proper paperwork to shut down the shipyard and recall all barges. The United Nations had been notified of the potential threat that could reach the shores of other countries, so they would handle things on that end while the heroes in Japan secured their own country.

"Eraser Head," Shota turned his head back towards the flaming powerhouse with a concealed gaze. No doubt he was about to tear into him about the sensitive topic of his son but when the number one hero lowered the heat of his quirk, he knew it was much more serious than that. "Shoto's classmate, the gravity manipulator, how is she doing? He refuses to answer my calls and texts with an update. Might as well ask the main source while its here."

"She's still recovering but her quirk seems to be remanifesting. The school is keeping an eye on her while she's resting at home. Why the sudden interest?"

"Any crucial evidence should be reported to the rest of us heroes in case we happen upon the paralytic. While my team researches everything U.A. sends, it's better to have direct information from someone who doesn't filter anything. I understand your feelings for your students though you're beginning to slip when in combat. You've noticed it too, haven't you?" Endeavor finally looked down upon the teacher passively, no trace of emotion showing on his heavily scarred face. Aizawa felt a scowl don his lips. He had been letting his emotions getting the better of him whenever it came to villains transporting the paralytic. Letting his emotions get the better of him, he knew better than to do, yet whenever he remembered the alarm suddenly going off in the infirmary and how close he was to losing one of his students because of the substance…

"My personal feelings are irrelevant to the missions. Our goal is to end the distribution of the paralytic poison before it spreads to the rest of the world and incapacitates any more heroes. If we find anything else out the school will contact your agency with the information. If you'll excuse me, I have classes to return to now if there's nothing else."

"Shota Aizawa, I will be holding you to your words. If for any reason you fail to control yourself in the midst of battle, then I personally will subdue you for the safety of those around you." Shota faltered in his steps before tilting his head up just a little bit higher. So, he was going to play this the hard way. Endeavor had no business sticking his nose into someone else's life, let alone that of his students.

"Then so be it."

---

"Mina, dinner is almost ready! Why don't you wash up before you head down?" Mrs. Ashido called up to her daughter from downstairs. The pink teen flopped over on her bed while holding her phone above her head to scroll through social media out of boredom. The Christmas charm was a little slow today so she stalked her classmates pages to see what they were doing.

"Sure, sure. I'll be down in a minute, mom!" Her fingers flicked past her friends' stories in a flash, only stopping to scroll back up and investigate pictures they posted of their holidays. Christmas was tomorrow but some of her classmates started a bit early to enjoy a quieter Christmas Day. Just as she was about to exit the app, something caught her attention so she scooted the page back up to investigate. There was a news story about a big traffic accident in a different city that was beginning to trend. Mina skimmed through the details of the crash after examining the main photo until two names popped out like neon signs, yellow eyes widening along with her mouth. The teen flipped onto her stomach and held the phone close to her face, tracing over the familiar her names with a splitting grin. "No way…no freaking way! Those two are together on Christmas Eve?! I KNEW IT! Ochaco, girlie, I always believed you had it in you! Oh my god, I was right this whole time! Kirishima owes me twenty big ones! I'm gonna call him!"

The phone rang twice until the line connected and the teen could barely contain her excitement. She kicked her legs eagerly against the pillow waiting for him to speak. "Hey, Ashido! What's up—"

"MIDORIYA AND OCHACO TOGETHER ON CHRISTMAS EVE, THAT'S WHAT! I'm sending you the link, but they were together on scene of an accident in the city where Ochaco lives! There's totes pictures of them together! This can't be a coincidence!"

"Seriously?! Damn, Midoriya, not wasting time on those moves! Hey, wait…someone just sent me the same link through text. I don't recognize the number but maybe it's someone from middle school. Holy crap!"

"What? What is it? Don't leave me hanging here, Kirishima! Give me the juicy deets!" Mina demanded while staring down at the phone screen. She clicked it to speaker so she could text the other girls the good news. Her fingers were flying across the screen as she made a group text with the link attached. There were only a few days until they all returned to the dorms so she had to act fast in order to organize an ambushing.

"I don't who sent this, but it's just a picture of them…kissing?!"

Mina let out a piercing shriek that had Kirishima dropping the phone on his bed to cover his ears. He was pretty sure everyone in the house heard it so he rolled off the bed to shut the door. It'd be too much of a hassle to try and explain to his family what was going on. That and he didn't want the sound travelling to any of the neighbors.

"Send. It. To. Me. NOW."

"Alright, alright. Just try not to blow out my eardrums again! Can't be a hero if I can't hear."

"This…this is pure gold! I don't know who took that picture or sent it to you, Kirishima, but I owe you big time! I've gotta go organize the girls so we can confront Ochaco! Rally the boys, this is going to get fun! Have a good Christmas, see you at school, bye!"

Kirishima stared at the call ended screen before shaking his head with a toothy grin. Ashido sure was spirited when it came to other people's love life's. But then again, that was just one part of her personality that drew him in.

---

Ochaco stood before the mirror in her bedroom constantly brushing off invisible fuzz and hairs. It was the first day she was being allowed back into the classroom as the new semester started and she was an anxious wreck. It'd been over a month since she'd stepped foot into the room, yet the teachers had decided she was well enough recovered to rejoin the class so as to not fall further behind. With one final adjustment of her uniform, Ochaco nodded to herself before shifting the bag over her shoulders. She wanted to get there earlier than the rest of the class to surprise them. Over break, she'd finally turned her phone back on so the messages became almost endless about how she was and why the electronic had been shut off. It wasn't that they were purposefully being ignored, it was the fact that the teen needed some space to figure things out mentally and emotionally regarding…well, everything.

The memory of kissing Deku emerged and instinctively she slapped her hands against her cheeks, face aflame. Things had been awkward between them since that day; neither could hold their gaze for more than a few seconds and every physical interaction between them became extremely awkward with a side of pure nervousness. She hadn't even fully processed what'd happened until she pulled back to see his frozen surprised face staring right back at her. He just kept worrying about her so she did the first thing that came to her mind. Apparently that might not have been the correct thing seeing as they were both avoiding each other for the time being. After a somewhat uncomfortable Christmas Eve dinner, the Midoriya's bid the Uraraka's farewell for the evening before heading to the train station to return home. Ochaco had walked them out into the cold weather, albeit a little stiffly from the truck and river plunge, and properly thanked them for coming over. Inko gushed over the brunette by thanking her for the wonderful evening with a bright smile. The two had hit it off so well that she gave Ochaco her personal number in case she ever needed anything. Deku quickly thanked his classmate before immediately averting his flustered gaze, a hand coming to rest against his mouth. Neither had sent texts to the other since. Had she gone too far?

"Ochaco, are you sure you're ready? We can always ask for an extension if you're not ready to return to the school," Fumi fretted as her only child tapped her foot against the ground to adjust her shoe. "You have everything, right? You don't need your sleeping gloves?"

"Do you need the broomstick?" Kato added seriously from beside his wife, modified broomstick in hand. Ochaco spit out a laugh at the ridiculous contraption. Even Deku couldn't quite comprehend the functionality of the thing.

"I'm fine, both of you, really. I've been looking forward to returning since I'm really behind in the classes now. I'll call you once I get there, but I need to go before I miss the train. Love you both, bye!" Ochaco waved before darting out the door and into the winter air. It'd become bitterly cold as of late so she tugged the thick scarf around her neck a little tighter. Her original jacket and scarf were swimming in the bottom of the river, but her mother gave her a replacement set after learning their fate. She just had to catch the morning train then it was a short distance to U.A.. To say she wasn't nervous was a lie because she was anxious to return. Class 1-A was worried about her and she appreciated their concerns, but some things she just had to do herself. Like kissing Deku…

The brunette quickly shook the thoughts away. Obviously she was in the wrong for kissing him without permission and the regret started once she laid eyes on his shell-shocked face. If the confession and car accident hadn't happened, then maybe she could've pretended everything was back to normal but then her body reacted without thinking and poof, lip contact. How was she supposed to face him now? She'd been dreading it ever since he saved her from drowning in the river. In all honesty, Ochaco knew Deku would save her, just as he'd always done. But there was that brief thought of no one getting to her in time. Sylvia was safe and sound, that she was thankful for, and the hero would've gladly given up everything to do so. But Deku had other plans. He wasn't going to let a friend die so easily. Seeing him swim down to her with fierce determination filled her with awe. He didn't care about anything other than making sure she was safe and sound. He was the straight cut definition of a hero.

Ochaco grabbed the bar of the train deep in thought as they jostled forward. Things were left awkward and tense between them all because she couldn't control herself. Losing control of her emotions was what got her into trouble in the first place and now the feelings were running rampant like a wildfire. She'd coherently confessed, for the most part, and gotten it off her chest so why wasn't she satisfied yet? Maybe it just wasn't the right situation? The first time wasn't, obviously, but the second confession outlined her feelings clearly. A frown adorned her face. Was she just bad at confessing? Maybe he didn't take it like a romantic gesture. The crowd shuffled her along and before she knew it, the hero was standing outside the door of the classroom. Ochaco finally jerked from her thoughts and glanced around, noting no one else around her yet. It was still early for class to start and she wanted the time to prepare for her classmates to bombard her with questions. Not to mention she needed the space to push aside the feelings threatening to overwhelm her. That was going to be the hardest part.

"At least I'll have some time to compose myself. You can do it, Ochaco!" She hyped herself up as slender fingers bent to grasp the door handle. The massive door slid open with ease and she quietly shut it behind her then turned to head to her seat. A mess of green locks by the window startled her bad enough that she bumped into the front desk and caused it to screech, arousing the one person she hadn't heard from since Christmas Eve. Deku jerked his head up from his raised palm to stare at her with wide eyes and mouth agape, torn from the deep thoughts plaguing his mind. Both stared at one another as time ticked on, faces progressively shading rubescent. The air was uncomfortable as neither teen knew how to handle the situation correctly. Deku made to stand with a hand raising in greeting but Ochaco gripped her bag straps tighter and shifted back a little.

"Good morn—"

"S-sorry! Wrong room!"

"…ing?"

Ochaco's body reacted before her mind caught up and she sprinted back through the door with a trembling chest. Why was he here so early?! Was he waiting for her to return? Normally he was never this early to the classroom! Her shoes clacked loudly against the tiled floor as she pushed herself as far away as possible from the classroom to calm her pounding heart. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. She arrived early to have time to collect her thoughts in order to face the reality of the strained relationship yet it all went out the door, literally at this point, with Deku already sitting in his seat. And to top it all off, she just said wrong room to the classroom they shared. Way to go, Ochaco, way to go.

"Uraraka, wait!" Deku called out from behind her but she shook her head before turning a corner and taking the stairs two at a time to the upper level. No, no, no, not now. He was probably going to try and bring the kiss up after he rejected her once before with his silence. Damnit, all of the confidence she had stepping out the door this morning was gone the instant their eyes met. Ochaco Uraraka, the girl who blatantly confessed not once, but twice to her crush only be met with silence both times. She hoped it wouldn't spread around the school.

"I didn't mean to interrupt, Deku! I'm sorry!" Ochaco shouted back into the stairwell, praying he would heed her feeble words of warning. His louder, heavier footsteps echoed up the stairs faster than hers as he began closing the distance. The brunette tapped her pads together to lighten her body then took off down an empty hallway. He could catch up to her in a matter of seconds so she had to find someplace to hide where he couldn't find her. It was cowardice to run like this but the other option was to face it head on and that wasn't the best choice given the moment.

"What are you sorry about? Just tell me what's wrong! If something's bothering you then I'll listen and help!" Deku shot up the stairwell with power coursing through his legs. He bounced off the opposite wall before continuing to sprint down the vacant corridor. Uraraka had suddenly taken off after entering the classroom and he had a heavy hunch as to why.

He'd avoided texting her the remainder of the break due to becoming completely overwhelmed with new emotions whenever he thought of their kiss. Well, technically her kiss because he was too shocked to even say a word let alone physically respond. Everything had turned to chaos during her heartfelt confession so there wasn't time to respond properly or even acknowledge her. He'd spent the break time mulling over everything that'd happened regarding his newfound emotions, thoughts, new perspective of his friend. Best friend. Uraraka had poured her heart and soul out so now it was his turn with urgent, overflowing thoughts. Hopefully he didn't make a fool of himself but the probability of that was zero.

Ochaco glanced back behind her while rounding another corner, unaware of where she was going or where she even was. A door caught her attention so she threw it open before flinging herself straight into the room. As quietly as she could, the teen shut the door before turning to shuffle deeper into the dark room. It looked like a science lab judging by the separated tables with beakers and test tubes, though most everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. The shades were drawn so she was shrouded in a gentle darkness. She walked in between the tables slowly to catch her breath. Running was the worst option she could've done, but what else was there to do? Confront him about how both of his reactions had hurt her deeply and left the teen in a swirling chaos of emotions? First was the silence, then was the car accident and near drowning, the spontaneous kiss, then silence again. She stopped briefly as All Might's words drifted to the forefront of her mind. Be straight forward, huh? It was always easier said than done.

Ochaco swiped at the overflowing tears. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how foolish she was acting. Running from her problems solved nothing and only strained things. But trying to bring it up to Deku was harder than fighting a villain. She cracked the blinds open half way to stare out at the gently falling snow. The semester hadn't even officially started yet and she was already running away from him. She'd even brought a late Christmas gift that she'd found on sale at a figurine store, but it wasn't possible to give it to him when she was directly avoiding him. The teen hopped up onto one of the tables to stare outside with confliction. Just when she had all of her thoughts and emotions figured out.

"Uraraka…" Deku announced his presence softly to avoid startling her as he shut the door behind him. This wing of the school hadn't been used in months since it was due for renovations over the summer in preparation of the fall school year, so they would be alone for the time being. He only guessed to check the room because it was slightly cracked opened and there was a bit of light coming through. Uraraka was sitting quietly on the farthest table from the door facing the window. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you…are you okay?"

"I'm not really sure, Deku. Everything's just been a lot to handle lately. I guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed right now." Ochaco spoke softly without tearing her gaze from the winter wonderland outside. Her fingers grasped the edge of the tabletop firmly as she tried to organize the turbulent thoughts. Deku's persistence meant he'd wait all day for her to speak, to verify she was fully okay and offer his assistance. It was definitely a personality quirk that made him the perfect hero…and an amazing friend. Did she really want to ruin what they had?

"Do you want to talk about it?" Deku offered lightly, a hand instinctively touching the back of his neck as his heartrate spiked. Was there a good way to ease into this conversation? He knew exactly what needed to be brought up and despite hours of practicing his response in the mirror, the words seemed to be slipping from his mind.

"During the villain attack in the mountains," Deku took a few steps forward but stopped at the next closest table, waiting for her to continue. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable with being so close, yet he needed to let her know he was there for support. "When I stepped in after Bakugo shoved you, I got so frustrated that he was still treating you like that. That's why I called him out on his actions and stood up to him, but…I think in that moment, I was covering up my own weakness. Losing control of my quirk in class made me realize that even though I'm getting stronger physically, I'm still weak mentally. I let my emotions get the better of me which is how I lost control so easily. And when I willingly tossed myself above the battlefield, it was to try and prove that I could be helpful. Instead it took away a lot of my confidence that came from my quirk."

"I can empathize that feeling of losing control and feeling so weak. I've lost control of my anger so many times in a battle because I let the words and actions of others get to me. We push ourselves to get stronger as fast as possible, though we don't take in account that its more than being physically strong. What you did on the mountain by shutting off the machine saved countless lives, Uraraka. The teachers wouldn't have been able to hold up forever and your quick thinking saved the innocent bystanders and our class."

"That's what Mr. Aizawa told me, that it takes all of these little pieces put together to be a full hero. What I did on the mountain felt like I had to prove to myself that I could do it instead of being a burden. We train night and day to be the shining knights in armor the world needs, but what happens when it's the hero who needs saving? Who's supposed to save them, Deku?"

"Friends, teachers, pros, and even our families. They're there to provide help when we need it, but the first step is always the hardest. It's admitting when you need help. We train to be tough, to work in teams, go on missions, learn from the pros and take down villains. Be the heroes the world needs us to be," Deku replied and she looked over at him. He leaned against the next table over from her but kept his eyes on the snow outside in thought. She wouldn't admit aloud that he looked so cool standing there with a serious face, the image solely for her memory alone. "A lot of people forget that we're still kids. It takes years of hard work and skill honing just to be allowed into the streets as a fully licensed hero. There will always be hard times and heartaches with each battle we wage. There are times when you just want to quit, to give in to the exhaustion that's dragging at every inch of your body. But remember the people we're helping, what we're doing for them and why."

"Everyone's offered their support without hesitation," Ochaco released her grip on the counter to interlock the fingers together, gently opening and closing her hands. The nerves were slowly melting away the more she opened up. "I'm grateful for the support, I truly am. But I'm afraid to rely on them too much, to distract them from continuing on their paths to become great heroes. Especially you, Deku."

"What do you mean?" Deku asked curiously with a head tilt.

"You're an amazing hero already and you always risk yourself to save others even to point of severely injuring yourself. I know one day you'll be the number one hero, so I want to support you wholeheartedly on the way, but every time I mess up it seems like a burden when you have to save me. It takes you away from helping those in dire need. If I'd paid more attention to my surroundings then maybe you could've stopped the villains before they detonated the bomb. You risked getting blown up to save me because I was careless and got my quirk blocked. And the only thing I could do when we were falling off the cliff was push you out of the way. There wasn't enough strength left in my body to do any more than that. With the Rough Raiders, you had to step in because I was weak and outnumbered. During the accident over Christmas break, how many more people could you have saved if—"

"You will never be a burden to me, Uraraka," Deku stated firmly as he stood to face his friend, virescent boring into auburn with sincerity. "Or anyone else in the class. You're my friend so it's natural for me to want to protect you. Friends worry about one another and do everything they can to make sure they're always smiling, right? When I saw you couldn't lift the bus, I was terrified you'd gotten injured on top of the hill. You were pale, shaking, and could barely get any words out. I didn't know what happened but I knew something was wrong. Despite all that, you still tried to save the rest of our classmates. No one blames you for it, Uraraka, I know they're grateful to your actions. Even when you were outnumbered by those three guys, you still fought back and unarmed them with martial arts. You risked your life saving Sylvia from being hit by a truck then calculated out a landing that would absorb the impact of the fall, all while keeping her calm and encouraging the use of her quirk. If anything, I felt like a failure for not doing more."

"Why would you say that? There wasn't anything more you could do in any of those situations. You threw yourself into the fray without thinking about your own safety, Deku, just like always." Ochaco asked with brows furrowed in confusion. He'd already done so much, wholeheartedly throwing himself into the skirmishes without a second thought to protect those in need. Then realization slowly dawned on her. He was blaming himself for not preventing his classmates from being injured. He couldn't act fast enough to save everyone. He couldn't save her.

"Because you still got injured. Every time I replay it in my head, all I can think of is how I should've done something different. If I'd reacted faster after you pushed me out of the way, maybe the villain would've missed and just fallen into the woods. Maybe I could've gotten the rest of the class to safety. Maybe I could've fought off the villains who tried to ambush us mid-air. Maybe I could've prevented you from breaking your leg, being cut or nearly drowning in the bottom of the river. I start to think I'm not strong enough to protect others whenever I look back on it. But I know those mistakes are how I can better myself for the future. Now I know how to better prepare myself for future battles, and how to protect those I care about."

"That's such a Deku thing for you to say,"

"I-I'm not quite sure I understand what that means…"

"It means you're going to be a great hero one day!"

"Thank you?"

Ochaco giggled and Deku smiled before following suit. For a bit the air seemed to clear between the two as they shared a vulnerable moment. She swiped at her eyes to remove the remnant unshed tears before looking back out into the snow. She didn't want to ruin what they were having. Just two friends talking over their concerns and hopes for the future. It had to be brought up sooner or later. Once things settled down for a bit, they'd have all the time in the world to talk about it. The teen jumped down from the table and brushed any dirt from her skirt and leggings. "Class is starting soon so we should head back. I don't want to miss out on anymore lectures or homework, I'm still super buried from last semester. Thanks for listening to me, Deku, it means a lot. I'm thankful to have a great friend like you always supporting me."

"R-right. You're welcome. I'm grateful to have you as my friend too. It's just…" Deku trailed off with a nervous voice while rubbing his neck. Come on, Izuku, you can do this! Just say what you preached and express yourself clearly. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about, Uraraka. What happened on Christmas Eve…"

Ochaco froze in place as she noticed the heat creeping up his face, nervous stature, and wide avoiding gaze. Her hands immediately went to her burning face as the memories of that day flooded back. Apparently they were going to talk about it now. "W-what about it, Deku?"

"Well, it's…it's just that…um…I'm not sure the best way to go about it, really…"

The butterflies started fluttering in her chest and Ochaco felt herself getting a bit lightheaded from the anticipation. Was he going to bring up her confession or the kiss first? Oh God, her first day back and she was having to charge at the looming beast head on. Initially that was the plan, but that was before they started having a heart to heart talk about her failures. She was just going to leave things as is since they'd cleared most of the awkwardness, but apparently Deku had a lot on his mind. While they did have class starting soon, in about fifteen minutes, Ochaco was hoping to use it as a reason to not delve further into romantics. The blood rushing to her face made her feel like she was floating into orbit and it was making her a bit dizzy.

"U-Uraraka, you're floating away again!" Deku finally blurted out while jumping towards her to become a landing pillow for the out of control brunette. She blinked a few times before realizing she was indeed floating towards the ceiling, slowly rotating around in an orbit. Both hands clapped over her eyes. It was starting to become humiliating every time she floated away in front of him.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. I lost focus for a second." Ochaco muffled out as she curled into a tight ball.

"It's dangerous to try and release your quirk in here, so I'll catch you." Deku reassured as he shifted around the room to follow her path of travel.

"You're too good for me…" The brunette mumbled quietly into cupped palms, slowly sliding them down to look at him. Virescent eyes worriedly watched every movement she made though his expression was that of reassurance. After a few seconds of debate, Ochaco pressed her hands together and fell straight into Deku's waiting arms.

"Are you alright?" The green haired teen asked while carefully setting his friend to her feet.

"Seriously, Deku, you worry too much!" Ochaco laughed it off with a bright smile. "Thanks for catching me. It's nice to know you'll always be there to help. And the same goes for me, whenever you need help just ask, okay?"

"O-of course," Deku replied before hurriedly checking his watch. There was still time to bring up what happened over Christmas break. He could do this, all he had to do was open his mouth and just say it. She was waiting there patiently for him to say something, hands interlocked behind her back. Images of her standing in the snow flashed in his mind and his tongue twisted for a minute. It shouldn't be this hard to just blurt it out and get it over with. He'd fought villains of all variety yet he couldn't say even a few words directly to her face? Deku bit the inside of his cheek to redirect the conversation back to where it started. "Uraraka, what I wanted to talk about was…you dropped your notebook in the snow so here!"

"Oh. You found it? I didn't realize it was missing until the next day when I couldn't find it. I guess in the moment I forgot I'd dropped it. You're a life saver, Deku." Ochaco carefully took the extended study book and ran a hand over the cover. A deep ache replaced the humming butterflies, a feeling she couldn't quite comprehend the complexities of. Discouragement? Disappointment? She didn't know but it gripped her heart with its long, sharp talons in a vicing clench. The hopes she had floating high came crashing down like a satellite out of orbit. Keeping the turmoil below the surface, the brunette carefully set her bag down to keep it safe until it was needed.

"Y-yeah, one of the people watching found it and figured it belonged to one of us. I wanted to make sure you got it back so you could study for the tests you have to make up soon." Deku mentally smacked himself as he quickly blurted out a cover while she was turned away. That was not what he meant to say. He had an entire spiel going over her confessions and what his response would be that apparently left his brain the moment his mouth opened. A hand clenched the front of his shirt tightly as Ochaco readjusted the bag back onto her back. His mouth tried to correct what was said yet nothing came out no matter how hard he attempted. The window of opportunity was getting away, he just needed to say it! She turned back around and he shut his mouth, swallowing hard with a clenched jaw. Her usual bubbly expression had slipped into something different, almost sad yet as soon as it flashed, a cheerful one concealed it.

"I'm going to head out first, Deku. I want to get settled back in before class starts and I know the girls are going to demand answers. I'll see you in class, okay?" Ochaco gave him a wave before weaving her way through the abandoned science lab and out the door, shutting it silently behind her.

Deku braced himself against one of the tables with both arms planted on top and his head hung low. Damnit. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He was a coward. His body deflated and he slumped forward until his head was resting against his palms. Tears stung his eyes yet they kept tightly shut even with the threat of overflowing. What was he doing? It should've been easy to tell Uraraka how he felt…so why wasn't it? They were friends, right? Shouldn't they be able to go past that threshold to something more? Or was he afraid of going into a territory that he knew nothing about? She was his best friend and they worked well together on and off the field…did the fear of losing what they had stop him?

It took a few minutes of self-berating and composure before he could present himself enough to be in front of his classmates, the teen lightly brushing the dust from his sleeves without much thought. His mind was still jumbled through the barely taped together façade as he worked his way back down to the classroom. Students were filtering in with their usual callouts of morning greetings, some energetic while others were grunts of acknowledgement. As soon as he stepped into the classroom, his eyes went immediately to her seat. Uraraka was surrounded by the other girls currently interrogating the brunette as to why she kept her phone off during break. Sensing someone staring, she looked up and their eyes connected for the briefest of seconds before he quickly looked away and headed to his seat with his head down.

Ochaco's face slipped a little bit though she threw herself back into the conversation with gusto, attempting to pretend everything was fine. Nothing was fine. Nothing would ever be fine again. She was so sure he was going to bring it up then nothing. Deku was a nervous person to begin with so maybe it was just his nerves getting the better of him. There was always that possibility though at this point, her hopes wouldn't be getting back up any time soon. But that didn't stop the pain of loving someone so much that it made her entire being ache. She swore at the licensing exam to lock her feelings away for good, shove them deep down inside to focus on becoming the number one hero in Japan. Fooling herself that admitting her feelings openly would work was a mistake.

A mistake that she wouldn't make again.

It's for the best, Ochaco.

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I love this rework so much more than the original. It has more angst and toughens Ochaco up more. I apparently added a few thousands words too, so it makes it more enjoyable for the reader. I'll keep adjusting as I go. Thank you!