Izuku who had finished his conversation with Nighteye was about to say goodbye since their business was finished. Grand Torino had also left first since he still had to continue his investigation.

" Then I'll leave the rest to you Nighteye-san "

" Yes, are you going to visit her tonight? "

" Of course, didn't I promise? "

" I see, if Eri is willing to go, please let us know too "

" Yes, sure "

" I'll walk you out of the building "

Nighteye then escorted Izuku out of the building. There was no conversation between them as they exited, and only when they arrived outside the building did Izuku speak again.

" Alright, see you later Nighteye-san "

" Yes, see you later Guild Master"

As Izuku was about to leave he stopped again when he heard a familiar voice calling him.

" Oh! Isn't that Izuku-san? "

Hearing his name being called, Izuku turned toward the voice and saw several UA students who also leaving the building. Izuku immediately recognized some of their faces except for 2 of them. Especially with the girl who immediately turned her face away to hide her blushing cheeks as soon as she saw him. Seeing them Izuku immediately put on his usual business smile and greeted them.

" This is unexpected, I didn't expect to meet you guys here "

" us too, but what are you doing here? "

" I happen to have business with Sir Nighteye "

" I see "

" but why are you guys here? "

" Well, about that... "

" if you don't want to tell me it's okay, by the way, how are you guys doing? "

" we're fine, how about you? "

" I'm fine too "

Izuku continued his conversation with the 1st graders, while the 3rd graders watched them. Although Mirio had known Izuku from several meetings since the incident that happened to Nighteye that day, but not with his two friends. Because of her curiosity, the girl with Mirio patted his back and asked him for an explanation.

" Hey, hey, Togata who is that person? do you know? why is he close to the 1st graders? "

" He is the guild master of the Dawn guild "

" ah! Dawn guild! I know, that's the number one Hunter guild in Japan, isn't it "

" Why is someone that important here? "

" I don't know either "

Although Mirio could guess the reason Izuku came here, he couldn't say it regardless of the connection between Izuku's mission and the case they were currently working on. He then returned to watching Izuku who was interacting with the 1st graders.

From the outside Izuku was seen joking with his friends, but behind his smiling face, his eyes looked empty. Eyes that had lost their light that hid anger behind the thick fog that filled his eyes.

Although the others didn't realize this, someone managed to catch this detail. Ochako who had previously turned her face away because she was embarrassed to see Izuku immediately noticed this change as soon as she could look at him properly.

She got an unpleasant feeling when she noticed Izuku's gaze. The gaze that previously felt cold but held warmth now felt dark and scary. Ochako wasn't sure what reason made his gaze change like that and it worried her.

Ochako who was too attentive to Izuku's changes didn't even realize her friends' conversation had ended. She only realized this when her friend Tsuyu patted her shoulder which immediately pulled her back to reality.

" Ochako-chan? Are you okay? "

" huh?! oh! um yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about something "

" Really? "

" y-yeah, you guys go back first I still have something I want to talk to Izuku-kun so you guys can go first "

Seeing her flustered behavior certainly made her friends surprised and confused, especially for Tsuyu who was Ochako's close friend.

" what's wrong with you Ochako-chan? "

Meanwhile, Ochako who realized what she had just said her face quickly turned red with embarrassment. She also denied what she had just said.

" ah! That, no, that's not what I meant!, I... that... "

Seeing her behavior like that Izuku suddenly laughed, diverting all attention to him.

" hahaha... ah, I'm sorry, okay I understand. Then I'll borrow Uraraka-san for a while since she has something she wants to tell me "

The students who were quite confused by the change of events that occurred could only stare confusedly at Izuku and Ochako, that was before they turned to their homeroom teacher who was also there as if asking what they should do about this.

Aizawa who had also watched and listened to their conversation from start to finish could only scratch his head and sigh tiredly.

" huh... okay, but make sure you come back before 5 o'clock "

" of course, I'll make sure she comes back on time "

Immediately after saying that, Izuku took Ochako's hand whose face was as red as a tomato because of embarrassment, and led her away from the group.

Izuku and Ochako continued walking even after they were quite far from where they were before. Izuku still hadn't let go of her hand and walked slowly while waiting for Ochako to calm down. They finally arrived at a park that didn't have many visitors. Izuku occasionally glanced at Ochako who was busy fanning her red face while calming herself down.

Realizing this, Izuku took the girl to a park bench right under a shady tree and invited her to sit there. He left for a while and not long after Izuku returned with two bottles of cold drinks.

" Here... "

" Um... thank you... "

Ochako accepted the cold drink that Izuku brought and immediately drank it. After drinking and resting for a while, her condition looked calmer compared to before, the redness on her face had also subsided, leaving a faint pink hue. Feeling that Ochako had calmed down enough, Izuku finally started a conversation.

" so what do you want to say? "

" ah! that... "

" no need to rush, you can say it slowly "

" Well, it's just... you look like you're about to break down "

Hearing those words Izuku's body immediately jerked. The eyes hidden behind his black hair trembled at those words, creating a moment of silence between them. He wondered how he could carelessly show his weakness in front of the person he had to hide it from.

" ...why do you think so? "

" It's because of your eyes "

" my eyes? what's wrong with my eyes? "

" um, they look dark, I'm not sure but your eyes look covered by a thick fog and there's no light in them. Also, you look like you're carrying a lot of burdens that you can't bear on your shoulders, that's why, that... I... got worried about you "

Izuku fell silent again for a moment contemplating his carelessness before finally laughing mockingly with his hands covering both of his eyes. He couldn't help but laugh at himself, he couldn't believe that just by going back to his past he would reveal the hatred that he had worked so hard to hide from those closest to him.

Seeing Izuku who had suddenly gone from being silent to laughing certainly made Ochako even more worried. She was afraid that the man beside her would suddenly go crazy, or even be offended by her words.

" Y-you okay? "

" ah... I'm sorry about that, I guess you're right, and if you ask me if I'm okay then my answer is no "

Hearing Ochako's words made Izuku once again realize how the complicated emotions he had been holding back had destroyed him from the inside. The anger, revenge, and hatred that were suffocating him had limited his vision and clouded his judgment until he forgot to pay attention to what was around him. Instantly he remembered the advice and warnings of the people around him. He also remembered what he had done to his subordinates and his fight with Touya that day.

Izuku who thought back to his annoyance that came from his inability and instead forced his subordinates to follow his selfishness made him feel disgusted with himself.

" hahaha... I feel like trash "

Seeing Izuku who continued to insult himself made Ochako annoyed. Regardless of the reason he said that one should not belittle oneself like that. Ochako immediately grabbed Izuku's face and pulled him in front of her face. Izuku who was surprised by that couldn't fight back and let himself be pulled.

" Don't Say That! I don't know why you said that, but to me, Izuku-kun is not that kind of person. You are a strong person and you are the same as your stance, even though you are not a hero you have saved many lives "

" huh, what's the use of that if I can't even protect someone I care "

" that... "

" Can you believe it, even though I have this much power I failed to protect the person closest to me and even lost the perpetrator who did it. I'm angry and I hate myself. You can also laugh at me as much as you want. I am... really a pathetic person. "

Once again seeing Izuku insulting himself again made Ochako annoyed again. She immediately slapped Izuku's cheek hard which made him quite shaken. Even though it didn't hurt, he clearly felt a slap that made his head stop working for a moment. He looked back at Ochako who had an angry expression in front of him. Pulling Izuku closer to her once again, she scolded Izuku once again.

" STOP INSULTING YOURSELF!...

Do you think the person who left you wanted you to be like this?

OPEN YOUR EYES YOU STUPID!...

You are just a human being and not a God. No matter how big or how great your power is you can still make mistakes like other humans, don't use those mistakes as an excuse to hold you back. You should keep moving forward if not for yourself, then move forward for the people who are still by your side and also for that person! "

Ochako looked out of breath after scolding Izuku with all her might while Izuku was silent for a moment. Ochako's words slapped him harder than the slap on his face. Thanks to that his eyes once opened, and the blurry vision he saw slowly became clearer as he stared at Ochako who had a red face again with tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing her facial expression which was a mixture of anger, annoyance, and worry inevitably made Izuku laugh again. However, unlike before, his laughter this time did not contain any sarcasm towards himself. This time the laughter was a genuine laugh filled with relief.

Ochako who was confused looked at Izuku warily, she thought for a moment whether she had slapped him too hard that he lost his mind or whether he was laughing at her.

" ah... ahahaha... sorry, I'm so sorry, but every time I'm with you I always smile a lot "

Ochako wasn't sure if what she said was a tease or a compliment that made her put on an offended expression. Seeing her reaction like that made Izuku smile again. He also then patted Ochako's head which made her face blush again.

" I'm not teasing you or anything, I mean it.

Thank you, thanks to you my vision has opened "

" u-um... then, are you feeling better now? "

" Yes, and this is all thanks to you "

Ochako looks at the smile on Izuku's face. She noticed that his smile had returned to Izuku's usual smile, she also realized that the haze in his eyes had disappeared and returned to the beautiful blue eyes that she usually admired. Seeing this change, a satisfied smile spread across her face.

" Thank goodness "

Izuku was also happy with the smile that finally formed on Ochako's face. Although he wanted to see that smile longer, Ochako had to go back.

" I'm also grateful to meet you, but it's a shame that our meeting can only end here. I wish we could spend the whole day, there are several places I want to show you. So how should we hold our other meetings, of course just you and me "

Hearing Izuku's invitation that sounded like a date certainly made Ochako very embarrassed, her face also turned as red as a tomato while she pretended to make various reasons to reject it.

Seeing her behavior like that made Izuku chuckle again. Even though it was just teasing her, but inside Izuku still hoped that Ochako would accept it. He then stretched out his hand which only got a wary look from Ochako.

" Let's go, I'll take you home "

Ochako stared at the hand that Izuku offered for a moment with a suspicious look even though she still accepted it. Izuku then pulled Ochako closer, she also tripped over her own feet which made her fall into his arms.

Without having time to scream her surprise, Ochako was shocked again by her vision that suddenly went black and her footing felt like it was lifting quickly in the sky which made her close her eyes. She only opened her eyes when Izuku's calm voice asked her to open her eyes.

Following what Izuku said, Ochako slowly opened her eyes, and right in front of her eyes was a very beautiful sunset. A mixture of orange, yellow, pink, and purple reflected from her auburn pupils.

" beautiful ... "

Ochako's admiration only lasted for a moment before she finally realized where she was.

" Ah! ... why are we in the sky?! Are we allowed to do this? "

Seeing her panicked reaction, Izuku could only smile awkwardly while scratching his cheek.

" well, sorry if that surprised you, but I think it'll be okay as long as we don't get caught, after all, when else will we have this chance "

" but still... "

" It's alright, if something happens I'll take responsibility, so for now just enjoy what's in front of your eyes "

Izuku said that while looking straight into Ochako's eyes which made her waver again. She finally had no other choice but to follow what Izuku said and looked back at the scenery in front of her while letting herself lean on Izuku.

.