"See you tomorrow, Uravity. Keep up the good work!"

Turning at this, Ochako Uraraka, Aka Uravity, the gravity hero, waved goodbye to her fellow intern, trying not to show any of the pain in her arm as she waved, a leftover present from a villain she had helped catch who had been rampaging through downtown.

"Thanks!" She called back, smiling as she turned back towards the bus stop. "I'll make sure to work hard and become the hero you helped me to be!"

Smiling at this, the two went their separate ways, giving the gravity hero some space letting her focus her thoughts on the events that had transpired earlier that day. Events that had landed her with a deep cut across her arm.

Now, being part of the rescuer hero line of work, combat didn't have to be her strong point, not that she was bad at it, but with her Quirk not really being an offensive style Quirk, she was at a huge disadvantage when it came to a fight. Especially when compared to her classmates, many of whom had learned to use their abilities creatively to let them either fight or scout. Something her more rigid Quirk just couldn't do.

"I'll need to be more careful from now on." The young hero thought quietly, reaching up to rub her bandaged in an attempt to ease the pain, completely oblivious to the pair of eyes watching her approach from an up head alley. "I know I'm not ready to face off against Deku or Bakugo, but I refuse to fall behind! I'll see about getting some more martial arts practice this weekend and maybe take a couple extra shifts at the local dojo. I can't afford to slack off!"

"…ooo…"

"Maybe I should start carrying a weapon with me. I mean, it's not very conventional, but it might help in the long run." Ochako thought, pressing her finger to her lips as she became absorbed in deep thought, not noticing the creepy whisper that carried on the wind.

"…ooocha…"

"The pros would be I'd have a bit of an edge in a fight if I didn't have any debris around to use as a weapon, the downside is that most heroes who carry weapons normally struggle to stand out among their peers. Even people like Snipe or Lady Nagant suffer from that problem." She thought, walking onto the sidewalk in front of the alley, still lost in her own head as she weighed her options.

"Maybe I could get something small, for emergencies. Not make it part of my identity but still have it if I need it." She thought, coming to a stop here as she waited for the light to turn. "I bet I could get something like that to work. Those learning how to use it would probably be the tricky part. Maybe I could get some lessons if I asked Himi-."

Suddenly the sound of hushed, rushing feet broke the young hero out of her thoughts. Spinning around, she slid into a wide stance facing the alley, just having enough time to see someone charging towards her at high speeds, giving her less then a second to react.

But when she saw who was charging at her, any tension that had built up in her vanished instantly.

"Ochaco!"

Immediately, Ochako was tackled head first by a dirty blond haired girl with two pigtails in her hair, her arms wrapping around her friend nearly taking them both to the ground.

Fortunately, the young hero had expected this from her close friend and moving subconsciously at this point, activated her Quirk catching both herself and the girl, making them both float a few inches off the ground as the blond nuzzled her head into her friend's neck.

"I miss you, Ochaco! What took you so long? I thought you were getting off early!" The girl, one Himiko Toga, whined. Her face carried a slight blush as she continued her public display of affection. Those not from embarrassment or anything, she just had a tendency to blush when becoming overly excited or emotional. Two things that tended to happen a lot when she was around her best friend.

"Sorry, Himiko." The brunette said, returning the hug with one arm as she reached out with the other, righting both girls by grabbing a nearby street sign. Disengaging her Quirk once they both their feet were touching the ground. "I got held up doing some paperwork after a sudden villain rampage. Just finished filling it so they can be prosecuted properly."

"Ug! Stupid villains. Stealing my Ochaco time! How dare they take that from me!" Toga hissed, looking up at her friend with a dark look in her eye. "Maybe I should swing down to the jail. Teach that filthy thing a lesson about trying to hurt my Ochaco. Take off a limb or two before making them eat their genitals with a side of f-."

"No, Himiko! That's not necessarily!" Ochako quickly and loudly cut in. "I appreciate the offer but you can't go around mutilating people!"

"Always the do gooder, aren't you?" Toga sighed, releasing her friend and taking a respectful step back, giving the girl some space to look her over. "Well, at least they didn't hurt you. If they had, the death penalty wouldn't be good enough."

Laughing awkwardly at this, Ochako rubbed the back of her head as she smiled at her friend, partly out of habit, partly to hide the wound on her arm. The girl making a mental note to come up with an excuse for her injury later. She didn't want to worry her childhood friend or cause her any unnecessary stress over the young hero's own mistakes. After all, Himiko was already opposed to her career path, she didn't want to argue about it today.

"Yep. Not a scratch!" Ochako lied convincingly. "You know me, I'm looking to become a well renowned hero and give my parents the retirement they deserve. No way some no name villain is ending my career before it even begins!"

This seemed to appease her friend and the two fell into an easy conversation as they both made their way across the street, heading towards the Uraraka family's office, talking about their respective days and how much homework was being piled on both of them.

Now, if anyone had seen that interaction, some might have assumed the two girls shared nothing in common. Which would be right to an extent. Himiko had been born to a rich family who rejected her because of her odd way of showing affection, resulting in her running away from home where she met an ex-convict named Jin Bubaigawara, who had somehow managed to win a custody battle with her parents making him her legal guardian.

Some people might have said that the judge must have been mad to give someone who had been charged with assault the responsibility to care for a child. But Himiko was happier with him than her old parents, so Ochako assumed everything was fine.

And it was actually that little fact that allowed the two to meet in middle school.

With both of their parents being strapped for crash, they had been sent to the same, low income school, meeting on the first day when they had introduced themselves to the whole class.

At first, the two hadn't really noticed each other very much. But one day, after watching a couple bullies picking on a smaller kid, Ochako had step in to try and stop it, only to end up with a bloody nose and a deep cut above her eye. Which had drawn the attention of the blond girl.

Ever since she could remember, Himiko had been really…weird. Her obsession with blood had been a point of contention between her and her original parents, as well as all her classmates, pushing them away until they were too freaked out to approach the girl, not giving her a chance to show just how nice and loyal of a friend she could be. So one could imagine how surprised the brunette was when she had been sitting outside the nurse's office as they treated the kid she had stood up for, Himiko had approached her, awkwardly asking if she wanted to let the young girl help treat her while she waited. And most would say no, Ochako had agreed. And as they say, the rest was history.

Now, after years of friendship, upon reaching high school, the two had split off, both going to different schools as they both wanted different things in their life. With the brunette aiming to make her goal of being a hero reality, with the blond seeking a medical degree so she could go into the funeral business. Or more specifically, dressing corpses for an open casket burial.

Despite their rigorous schedules, the two had still made the effort to remain in contact and spend time together whenever they could. Keeping their friendship strong while still setting some strong boundaries, ones there were mostly pretty unimportant, such as pineapple on pizza, with the most serious being that if one said they didn't want to talk about something, the other would drop it without question.

Well, there was one more thing the two had agreed upon as their number one rule, and that was they weren't allowed to talk about heroes. Which might seem strange to most as it was natural for kids to talk about such a prominent part of their culture, however it was a strong rule they held no matter what. For while Ochako might love watches heroes and the people who support them, Himiko-

"Hey, Ochaco. I've got a great idea for what we can do today."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Ochako returned her full attention back to her friend, letting her shift the conversation in a new direction and away from the scandal of how Himiko's school was now requiring longer skirts for all their female students.

"I know this great cafe that opened about two weeks ago. They have the cutest little coffee cakes you can imagine. And I was able to snag a few newly opened coupons when I swung by there the other day. So, if you're open, I was kinda hoping we could swing by there today and pick up something for Jin's upcoming birthday as well as something for ourselves when we-."

"Sorry, Himiko. I can't do that today." Ochako answered sadly. "I promised my family I'd help them out today after my internship, so I've got to meet up with the crew. I'm really sorry. I'll try to clear my schedule this weekend if you don't mind waiting. I promise I'll make this up to you later."

Clasping her hands together, the girl bowed slightly to her friend as she spoke, drawing an annoyed sigh from the other girl.

"Again? How many days in a row does that make?" Himiko whined, her smile dropping from her face. "I swear, you're becoming more and more of a workaholic. Keep this up and you'll end up getting gray hairs before you're forty."

"I'm sorry. I've just been really busy with both school work and helping my parents." Ochako replied, her head bowed as she apologized to her best friend. "I promise I'll make it up to you next week! Just…please don't be angry for today."

Ochako stayed like that for a couple seconds, waiting for her friend to reply. Her nerves twitching as she stood there until after about a minute, Himiko let out a sigh.

"Ochaco, relax." She laughed making the brunette look up to see a good natured grin on the blond's face. "You know I'm never going to be mad at you for working hard. I just want you to take a break every now and again so you don't go overboard and hurt yourself."

Sighing softly, Himiko stood up a bit straighter, her smile returning to her face as she watched her friend return to an upright position. "And besides, just because you can't hang out today doesn't mean we can't spend time together. I've got no problem tagging alone and watching you while you work. Might even help out, if that's okay with you. I mean, I technically need a part time job anyway, and if my Ochako is there, then we can spend time together while we work. A win-win for both of us!"

Starting at this, the brunette looked up, surprise clear on her face as she quickly responded to the suggestion. "A-are you sure?" She asked, a small, hopeful smile spreading across her face. "It's difficult work and doesn't pay that well. I mean I've got no problem with it but I just wanna know if you're sure you want to-?"

"Of course!" Himiko said happily. "It's gonna take a lot more than a simple schedule error to keep me from my Ochaco time! Besides, your parents are running the place. I know I'll get fair compensation for my help. Plus, isn't construction a big deal with heroes running around? It'll be a great way to pay for college later down the line! Plus, it's a good and useful job. Unlike some other things you're into."

The last part was muttered quietly, clearly not really intended for the brunette's ears. However Ochako still heard it and had to bite her inner cheek to stop herself from making a face, smiling instead as she pulled out her phone.

"Okay, if you're sure, I'll call my dad and see what he says about it. Until then, let's head over there so we can meet up and talk about hiring part time. That way, we can get started right away and hopefully finish in time to pick up that birthday present!"

With that, the two began heading towards the Uraraka family house, falling into an easy conversation as they went, both making a point not to bring up the subject again.

Yes, the two had agreed not to talk about heroes. Because for some reason Ochako couldn't comprehend, her close friend hated them with every fiber of her being.

Himiko let out a sigh as she sipped on her drink, bordly drumming her fingers on the cinderblock she saw on. An ugly hard hat sat on her head as she watched the construction team work, talking happily as they went, grinning at one another as they handed the literal weightless cement, stone, whatever they were using to each other.

After talk with Mr and Mrs. Uraraka, she had found out she didn't have the qualifications to work for their company and with their current budget, they couldn't afford an underage intern as not only was it expensive, but also a risky liability as if anything happened to her, they wouldn't be able to afford hospital bills or a lawsuit. And while they knew her guardian would never sue them, they still didn't want her to get hurt.

Letting out a huff, Himiko pulled her legs up as she watched her Ochaco laughing with the rest of the construction team, handing them another weightless piece of construction material, letting them set it in place, the girl releasing her Quirk once it was secured.

And as this piece slid into place, Ochaco, looking a little green, signaled to the foreman who stood atop a large crane that she was going on break, quickly making her way over to her friend.

"You're gonna over do it." Himiko called, offering the girl a bottle of water. "Keep that up and you're gonna end up puking your guts out again. I know ever since you went to that school, you've developed some kind of death wish, but I'd at least assume you wouldn't want your body covered in your own sick."

Blinking at her friend, Ochaco took a second to respond, smiling cheekily when she finally did, a playful sing-song tone in her voice.

"Well, I kinda figured you'd like that aspect about me." She teased good naturedly. "After all, one day when I come back home all beaten up and on the verge of death, we won't have to-."

"Don't say that!"

Ochaco broke off, jumping slightly at the sudden sharpness in her friend's voice. Her eyes wide as she saw the incredible fury behind the blond's eyes. Fury that only lasted a second before the girl lowered her head, her voice becoming much softer and more gentle as she continued.

"Don't joke about that." She whispered, wringing her hands as her voice quivered, eyes casted into shadow as she turned her face to the ground, fighting to keep her voice from breaking. "Don't ever joke about that. Please. It's not funny. I don't want to live in a world without you in it."

Taken aback by the sudden openness and honesty, Ochako bit her lip as she felt guilty suddenly flare up in her stomach.

In the past, Himiko had had a…obsession with blood and injuries, something that had made all the other children at their school steer clear of her, resulting in her having no friends and even her own family trying to distance themselves over her. Something in all honesty, the brunette didn't really blame them entirely for.

Now, don't get her wrong. The way Himiko had been treated by them was inexcusable. But she did understand how it could unnerve some people. And while she had just learned to accept her friend for all her weirdness, she would be lying if she said she couldn't see why people struggled to accept that.

And while Himiko was going to therapy to help cope with this, with her current financial situation, her progress was understandable slow.

And seeing how this upset she got over a supposedly friendly jab broke the round girl's heart.

Approaching her friend, Ochako reached out, gently placing her hand on her shoulder, speaking softly as if she was speaking to a small, wounded animal.

"Hey." She said, making her friend slowly lift her gaze from the ground. "I'm sorry about that joke. I didn't mean to offend or hurt you. I promise to be more sensitive towards you and your feelings."

Looking up, Himiko locked eyes with her best friend, a slight look of annoyance in her eyes.

"That's not-."

"Hero incoming! Brace for impact!"

Suddenly, Himiko was cut off by the foreman yelling into his megaphone, immediately alerting his entire team, drawing their attention skyward as they saw what looked like a bolt of light striking across the sky, flying right towards them at incredible speeds, sailing right above them creating a loud, sonic boom that could be felt from the ground.

The Hero, while none of them could identify, was clearly very fast, leaving behind a streak of yellow behind him that quickly faded as he disappeared, the workers below him cheering him on or covering their ears as they were hit by the vibrations, with Ochako being the former and Himiko the latter.

"Ug! Seriously?!" The blond complained, pressing her hands against her head as hard as she could. Her hard hat flying off from the shockwave. "Haven't these guys heard of public transport?! Why do they feel the need to be so flashy with everything they do?!"

"Well, seeing as it's part of their job to stand out, I'd say yes!" Ochako laughed, her voice raised cheerfully to make up for the ringing in both their ears. "Elemental manipulation Quirks are pretty common, so it's especially important for them to show off their personality as well as skill. Otherwise they'd fade into obscurity kinda like Endeavor did. With his name only being brought up in negative form. I mean, even Deku agrees with me that what he did is totally unacceptable for a hero."

As a happy smile spread across Ochako's at the mention of her classmate, Himiko felt herself bristle with irritation like she always did whenever her Ochaco brought him up, an ugly feeling taking root in her stomach.

Ever since her childhood friend had gone to UA, it had been Deku this, and Deku that, Infuriating the blond to no end! He was always on the brunette's mind as his opinions somehow always found a way into their conversations. From his stupid freckled face, to his obsession with All Might, (and people called her a stalker!) you'd think he'd interrupted every hang out the two girls had done given how much the blood sucker knew about him despite not even having met the boy!

Sure, she was happy Ochaco had found someone to share her love of heroes, but the fact that this stupid kid kept coming up vexed Himiko to no end, enraging her to the point she had found her feet carrying her to the gate of UA to try and meet her best friend before this freckled sheep could steal her away!

Seriously, where did he get off? Who was he to eat up her precious Ochaco's time?! She bet he'd turn tail and run the moment he got into a real fight or drop out once things got too tough. From what she heard, his Quirk was so self destructive, he ended up hurting himself whenever he used it. Meaning no respectable agency would be willing to hire him and have to pay the massive increase to their insurance. And even if they did, he'd probably stay a sidekick for the rest of his life as all he brought to the table was raw destructive power, which was already abundant in this world filled with "heroes" who couldn't care less for the little guys and girls who were in desperate need of saving.

Now, she might have been willing to overlook all that if it wasn't for a certain quality that drove her mad, one she had come to hate more and more since her Ochaco had gone to that stupid school. And now, after meeting him, she had grown to carry more and more of that quality that made the blond resent him even more. One that, while technically not personally, did encapsulate his whole being, the reason why she hated heroes to begin with.

And that quality was-

Bang!

Snapping out of her thoughts, both girls looked to see several steel beams plummeting down from the crane, the claw having opened releasing them right above two workers who were still looking in the direction the hero had flown off in, not realizing the danger they were in as their ears were still ringing from the sonic boom.

Eyes going wide, Himiko realized what had happened. The hero's electricity must have caused a shortage in the crane's operating system, causing the claw to release, dropping its contents on top of the unsuspecting workers, putting their lives in mortal danger as a result.

"Look o-!" Jumping to her feet, Himiko had barely gotten her first word out when Ochako shot forward, running full sprint towards a few hanging planks being raised right in front of the incoming accident.

Realizing what she was planning, Himiko wasted no time ripping her knife from her bag and hurling it at the ropes holding the planks, cutting one side making the wood fall, creating a sort of ramp the young hero ran up before leaping off, using her zero gravity Quirk to fly straight at the falling beams at high velocity, completely undeterred by the pull of the planet.

Reaching out, the young girl's hands shot out, letting her brush her five fingers against each of the steel beams as she sailed through them, turning upside down in the air, bring her hands together where she activated her Quirk, slowing the beams just enough for some other workers to tackle the other two out of the way, saving them just in the nick of time as Ochako's Quirk gave out, letting the beams crash to the ground with a deafening thud.

Unfortunately, that sound was drowned out completely by the blond as her eyes widened in horror as she watched her best friend enter a state of free fall, still moving at the same high speed as her jump, only now picking up more as gravity took hold of her, pulling her straight into a steel beam that served as a foundation for the building.

"Gah!" Ochaco cried as she slammed into it, her spine hitting it causing her head and legs to snap back, a horrible cracking sound echoing out across the construction site before she tumbled to the earth, her limbs spinning in a sickeningly limp fashion before she hit the ground, landing face first where she stopped moving.

"Uraraka!"

"Ochako!"

"OCHACO!"

Himiko's scream drowned out her friend's coworkers as she, alone with several others, raced over to the girl, the Forman getting their first where he knelt on the ground examining the girl. The blond schoolgirl skidding to her knees beside him.

"Is she okay?!" Himiko cried frantically, reaching out to her Ochaco only for the other man to grab her hand, stopping her.

"Don't touch her!" He snapped. "She needs medical attention! Daichi! Call 911! Misaki! Get the first aid kit! I'm going to perform emergency treatment to try and keep her stable until the ambulance arrives! Until then, I need everyone too-!"

Suddenly, the man broke off as below him, Ochako let out a harsh cough, her whole body trembling as she slowly began pulling herself up, resting on her elbows and knees where she stayed trembling for a few seconds, then opened her mouth and began getting reacquainted with her lunch.

"I'm…I'm okay!" The girl gasped, once she was done spitting rainbows. "I'm okay. Just a bit winded and probably going to be sore tomorrow, but I'll live!" Slowly crawling to a sitting position, Ochako wiped her mouth off with a tissue, continuing to reassure her coworkers she was fine as they fussed over her, asking her questions to make sure she hadn't broken anything.

"Guys, I'm fine. I promise." The young hero repeated, slowly getting to her feet showing she hadn't lost feeling or movement in her limbs. "Look, right as can be. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be good as new."

Smiling up at her coworkers, Ochako's gaze eventually fell onto her best friend's, who was giving her a stern look as she sat next to her on the dirt.

"Come on, Himiko. I told you I was fine." Ochako said with a smile. "Relax, will you? This is nothing! I've been through way worse during basic UA training. Believe me, a little bruising isn't going to-."

Suddenly, Himiko's arm shot out, with catlike agility and speed, she seized the brunette's arm and pulled it out, glaring down at it with an uncharacteristic hard expression.

Confused, Ochako followed her friend's gaze, immediately feeling her mouth go dry as she, and the rest of her coworkers saw what had caught the blond's attention.

There, staining her sleeve red, was a small gush of blood. Leaking out of the injury she had received earlier at work, the wound had reopened when she hit the beam and was now spilling all over her arm before dripping onto the ground.

"Umm." Ochako began, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable as the eyes of the entire crew were glued onto her injury, filling her with a sudden feeling of guilt as to concealing such a large wound. Immediately making her want to get out of the spotlight and find somewhere to rebandage it just to get everyone to stop staring at her.

"It's not as bad as it looks. I actually forgot it was there." She laughed as she pulled her arm out of her friend's grasp, holding it to her chest as she moved her other arm in front, trying to hide it from sight. "So, funny story, earlier today at my internship, I was helping this older woman with some car trouble, you now, old model had some kind of problem with her lock. Anyway, after fixing she accidentally pulled it shut where the rim scraped against my arm, cutting it a bit by accide-. Wha!"

Before she could finish, Himika lashed out again, this time sizing Ochako by her good arm where she promptly turned around and began marching out of the lot, dragging her friend behind her.

"Himiko?! Wha-?!" Ochako began, caught completely off guard by this sudden show of force from her best friend,

"Where are you taking me? I have to get back to work! I can't just leave everyone out on a limb like this!"

Despite her protests and half hearted attempts to stop, Himiko ignored her, simply pulling harder and moving faster, not giving her coworkers so much as a glance.

"No." The girl said shortly, tightening her grip on her friend's wrist. "We're going home. My place, Jim is going to treat that and any other nasty little secrets you've kept from me. Then, you're gonna go home, get some rest, and take tomorrow off. Understand me?"

Her voice was quiet, yet it still conveyed the hurt she felt at being left out of the loop, something that, much to the blond girl's chagrin, was becoming more and more common. Ever since she had begun attending that stupid hero school, she had been cutting her out more and more of what was going on in her everyday day life. Something that hurt the girl more than she'd care to admit.

And while it was clear from the brunette's voice that she understood somewhat of why her friend was upset, she clearly still missed the magnitude of how ticked off Himiko Toga was.

"Himiko, please. I'm fine. Let me just rest a bit and-."

"No."

"But I have too-!"

"No."

"Then at least let me clock out! There are time cards for a reason! I have to-"

"No."

As she dragged her friend out of the construction lot, Himiko bit back a wave of disgust that as it washed over her, the stubborn girl growing angrier and angrier with each passing excuse and assurance that the brunette was fine. She wasn't, any fool with half a brain could tell that. But her insistence that she was only fed into the blond's rage as it showed just how much this society had brainwashed her precious Ochaco with their stupid, absurd dogma they pushed onto everyone. The same dogma those stupid, fake heroes always pushed who were now threatening to take he best friend away.

Yes, while she had never been fond of heroes before, the reason that distaste had turned to hate was because of her friend. The very same one who, despite being perfect in every way, still insisted on behaving like those imbeciles. Something that became more and more apparent the longer she stayed at that damn school. And made her hate them more and more with every pacing piece of knowledge she gained from her Ochaco.

She didn't care if the so-called Symbol Of Peace taught at that school, anyone who dared place those moronic self-destructive thoughts in the head of her friend would be held personally liable if anything happened to her.

And believe her when she said that if her Ochaco didn't come home one day, that school, and the entire hero society would have hell to pay!

"Hey, Himiko. Stop pulling! Would you just-! Hey! Stop it! Would just-! Don't grab me there! Could you-! Himiko! I said, STOP!"

With one last shot, Ochako wrenched her arm out of her friend's grasp, taking several measures steps backwards, putting herself out of arm's reach and immediately widening her stance, ensuring she could react quick enough if Himiko made another attempt to grab her. Though her anger only partially diminished when the girl made no such attempt, simply standing there with her back facing her friend, head slightly lowered at the ground in the alley they were standing in.

"Would you just listen for a second! I said I'm fine!" Ochako snapped a bit more harshly than she meant. "Look, I'm sorry I kept this a secret from you, but I know you'd react this way and I didn't want to worry you. Like I said, this isn't serious! It's nothing compared to what heroes have to deal with on a daily basis and if I want to become a pro, I'm gonna need to get used to it! I can't just call in because I got a little scrape on my arm, that would be inappropriate to anyone else practicing the profe-."

"Hey, Ochaco. Could we talk?"

Breaking off mid sentence at the sudden quiet and somber tone of her friend, Ovhako felt her frustration evaporate into thin air, the young brunette caught completely off guard by the sudden shift in tone.

"Umm. Sure." She said awkwardly. "What's on your mind?"

An awkward silence filled the cold night air as the blond didn't reply right away, her gaze falling to the ground as her hands tightened into fists, taking a deep breath as she prepared to say something she knew would make her friend mad.

"Ochaco, I want you to drop out of that school. I don't want you to become a hero."

A heavy silence followed the blond girl's words, neither girl speaking as the brunette stood gaping at her friend's back, completely shocked by what her best friend had just said, her mind reeling from surprise at the sudden confusion.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, until finally, the round face girl was finally able to compose herself enough to form a question.

"Wha-?"

Before Ochako could even finish, Himiko spun around, silencing her friend as she saw the tears pouring from the blond's eyes, her voice cracking as she finally let the floodgates down, revealing all her bundled up emotions and feelings, letting them tumble out in a disorganized fashion that was very unlikely the girl.

"I hate watching you get hurt! Hate that you are always putting everyone else first!" She screamed, her voice getting louder and breaking as she continued. "Why can't you find another way to support your parents?! I don't want to watch you get beaten up, torn apart, sacrifice everything for these ungrateful people only for them to toss you aside when you have nothing left to give! It's not fair! You're too good for this stupid world! It doesn't deserve you! No one does!"

Reaching up, Himiko began wiping away her tears with her balled up fists, angrily trying to get rid of them as she began openly sobbing, her voice starting to crack.

"You are perfect! To perfect to go and sacrifice yourself for some dumb little kid who nobody's going to remember! I don't want it! Do you know how worried I'd be if you became one of those costumed clowns?! I don't want to turn on the news and see you there, striking so stupid pose while you bleed out! I don't want to watch you slowly destroying your body to save a bunch of randoms! I-! I couldn't live in a world where you died at 35 in some big villain bust! You deserve better than that! You deserve to live a long, full life! One where you aren't constantly watching your back! One where you don't have to sacrifice yourself to try to save everyone else! You-! You…"

Finally reaching her breaking point, Himiko finally went silent, balling into her hands as she stood on the spot, her entire body shaking as it was wracked by her emotions turmoil, unable to speak anymore as she sobbed openly despite her desperate attempts to stifle herself.

Unable to speak, the blond girl braced herself for her friend to start yelling, to be upset that she had attacked her dream. But Himiko couldn't keep those feelings down any longer. She was certain this would end their friendship, but if it was put even the slightest bit of hesitation inside Ochaco's head, just enough to stop herself from getting her killed, then Himiko would bear that hatred for the sake of her friend. Even if the brunette didn't see her that way anymore.

Closing her eyes, the young girl braced herself for her friend to get over her surprise and start yelling, taking a deep breath as she prepared several of the hundreds of rectors she had begrudgingly kept to herself whenever her friend did something stupid. Swallowed down for the sake of their friendship.

She had been afraid of this very moment, when everything she wanted to say came tumbling out. But now that it had, she honestly didn't regret it. She refused to let her friend die unceremoniously on the side of the road because a combat hero wasn't looking where she was attacking, or because some dumb kid tried playing the hero against someone they were outclassed by. The fact that most heroes lived to their mid 40 was a fact society had swept under the rug, and if her words could sway her friend even a little bit, she'd happily bear the consequences.

But while she didn't really know what the consequences would be, once she hadn't been expecting was for her friend to wrap her arms around her and pull her into a tight embrace.

"Wha-?" Himiko began, taken aback by the sudden show of affection. Only to stop dead in her tracks when she felt Ochako's arms tighten, refusing to let the blond girl go even when she instinctively tried to pull away.

"Himiko, I'm sorry." The brunette murmured, her voice soft and kind. "I know you always have my back, even when things are tough. I didn't realize I caused you so much pain and worry, I'm sorry I didn't realize that sooner."

Tightening her grip once again, the young hero pressed her cheek against the blond's, her warmth sending a shiver through the girl as she stood there too stunned to move, letting the round-faced girl speak.

"I understand you're worried about me, I get it. But please understand that this has become more than just me making money for my parents. It has become what I want to do for myself, a goal I want to chase. And while I wish I could promise I'll always come back unscathed, I know as well as you do that I can't promise something like that."

Releasing her friend, Ochako gripped Himiko by her shoulders, looking into her eyes as she continued, only for the girl to turn away as her friend bit back a surge of resentment that was filling her stomach.

She knew what that meant. Her Ochaco would be going through with this stupid hero thing, even if it cost her her life.

"But." The brunette added forcefully, drawing the blond's attention back to her friend. "I can promise you I'll do everything in my power to make sure I do come back to you alive. After all, a hero needs support from the people as well and not being able to put trust in that relationship is a detriment to it."

Smiling as she gazed into Himiko's eyes, Ochako pulled the girl back into a tight hug, burying her face into her neck as she murmured softly into her ear.

"And I already have the best supporting friend I could ask for before even becoming a sidekick. So I know it's a lot to ask, but it would mean the world to me if you could continue to support me now and into the future." She said with a sincere smile, her eyes shining. "After all, if I have such an amazing best friend waiting for me, I know I'll be able to work twice as hard to make it back alive, giving me something to look forward to when I'm off the clock, when I'm not a hero."

Pausing for a second here, Ochako took a deep breath, her gaze wavering for a second before she continued.

"I know you don't have to. And if you want to cut ties with me because of this, I won't blame you. But if you choose to stay with me, even though it'll hurt you, I will promise to always be there by your side for as long as you'll have me. So, if you want, I can-!"

Suddenly, Himiko threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Ochako, locking her in a loving embrace, her face buried in her neck as she let out a soft cry.

"How could you ask me to do that?!" Himiko demanded softly. "Of course I'll stay by your side! Through thick and thin, you've always had my back. Now I want to have yours! I may not approve of your choice of career, I might spend my nights worrying about you endlessly, but I-! I!"

Pulling back to look Ochako in the eyes, the blond's eyes were still leaking tears as she poured her heart out to her best friend.

"But I'd rather have that than losing all connection to you! I love you more than anything else in the world and I don't want to lose that love! So please, whatever you do, please just come back to me whenever you're done!"

With that, Himiko buried her face in Ochako's chest, sobbing as she clung to her like she was a lifeline, her entire body trembling as she continued to cry.

And as this happened, it was now the brunette's turn to begin tearing up. A mixture of both relief and guilt flooded her body as she wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing her back with all her might.

One on hand, she was grateful for her friend choosing to stay by her side, but on the other, she felt guilty over the amount of pain she had and would cause her. Like it or not, she knew Himiko would probably be better off distancing herself from the hero in training, finding a new friend with a less dangerous profession, no matter how much it would hurt both of them.

But she had chosen to stay by her side, be the one to support the one who supports, help her be Ochako Uraraka when Uravity wasn't needed. Something that they both knew the brunette would sorely need one day.

And so, there and then. Ochako made a promise to herself that no matter what, no matter how, she would find a way to protect not only others who couldn't protect themselves, not only heroes, but also herself. So that way, she could protect what was truly the most important thing to her.

The smile of a friend who would never leave.

"Nothing can be won by a sword swung in exchange for one's life." Byakuya Kuchiki.

Honestly, this chapter was the hardest to write as not only is Uraraka and Toga's relationship the one I'm least interested in, but I really couldn't think of anything for them to do. But I also knew if I didn't do this one next, it wouldn't ever get done.

Anyway, just gonna throw this out here, I am not a fan of the self sacrificial ideology of MHA. Like, wouldn't it make more sense to keep yourself in tiptop shape so you can save more people rather then sacrificing your body for a short term win? I get real life police and firefighters make these sacrifices every day, but my dad worked in forestry for most of his life, saving countless lives without needing to be on the frontline. And yes, his heath did take a good hit from his job, he wasn't like, burning himself to maybe save someone.

Although this might just be the more cynical side of me who wants to watch the world burn because during the pandemic, when the people my dad saved were given a chance to pay him back by doing something as simple as wear a mask, they said no. Either way, next chapter is already in progress and hopefully, won't take as long to come out as this one. Hope you enjoyed. Bye!