Author's Note: Hey, all. In light of passing 50k views, and this chapter pushing us past 200k words, I wanted to thank everyone that's read this story so far. It brings me joy to know that there are people enjoying this and reading what I've written. This fic is a passion project, and there's been a few times where that passion has begun to flicker out, but seeing that people are reading along and enjoying my work gives me just a little more passion than I had before, and it keeps me going. So, thank you. Enjoy the chapter.

The shifting of small pebbles and rocks beneath his shoes was the only thing keeping Izuku focused on the now as he walked back to the group he'd left behind in his panic. It allowed him something to listen to, to be actively tuned to, and it helped a great deal, but he still found himself worrying about a few things. He obviously knew that he had to tell Ochako, Shinso and Tsu about how he'd been feeling, because they're the ones that he'd lied to, but he still didn't know if he was going to tell people like All Might, and Aizawa, people who knew more than his friends. He was even still debating going to Hound Dog with his feelings, though obviously not about the One for All and All for One stuff; his guilt over Iida's death was still fresh in his mind, but it felt detached now, like he was looking as an outside observer. He still felt the ache it'd left in his heart, but it was like an echo. Really, he was more guilty over lying to his friends, now. That was something he could rectify.

Izuku approached the table he'd run from and locked eyes with Ochako. She paused in her conversation with Shinso and stared at him for a moment, tears coming to her eyes. He sighed, hating that he'd made her feel like this. Izuku waved weakly to the group, who had sat back down at the table to talk. He knew that Shinso would feel bad about Izuku running off, but it wasn't Shinso's fault. Even if he could take the blame, it was a more even split than Shinso would admit to easily.

"Hey," Izuku said as he finally arrived.

"Izuku!" Ochako cried, leaping to her feet.

She wrapped him in a suffocating hug once again, but this time Izuku returned the embrace, holding her gently. It was nice to feel this warmth again, and Izuku savored it as long as he could before he had to let go. The two moved away from each other, and he gave Ochako a small smile that he hoped told her that he was okay. She searched his expression for a moment, but he found that he didn't mind as much as before; it felt genuine, now.

"How are you? Shinso said that you ran off," Ochako asked.

"I'm okay. I wasn't, for a bit, but I think I will be. I … have something to say, to all of you," Izuku admitted.

Ochako looked ready to cry again, but Izuku took her by the hands and guided her to her seat. He took his own next to Shinso, where he nodded briefly to him. Shinso nodded back, but with a confused expression that told Izuku that he needed answers. That was fine, because he was finally ready to give them. He made eye contact with Ochako once again, and Tsu, and began his confession.

"I've been lying to you. I've been saying that I'm fine, but I haven't been fine. I've been—It all started in the first week of school," Izuku said, his speech scattered. He took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. "That battle trial was so far outside anything I'd ever experienced up until that point. I mean, going into Quirked combat with my childhood tormentor? That's crazy! Then, you got hurt, Ochako, and I think that was the place where really I started viewing myself as … lesser. Not important," Izuku said.

"You're important!" Ochako yelled.

"To all of us," Shinso echoed.

"Besides, when you really think about it, I should have been more careful. Even if … Bakugo did go overboard, setting a trap was all but necessary for their team composition. I should have checked. None of that blame goes to you, Izuku," Ochako argued.

"I know that. But, I began to think that I wasn't good enough for letting you get hurt the way you did. Then, the USJ happened. I managed to save you, Shinso, but I couldn't save Aizawa. I landed a solid full power hit on their leader, but I get this weird feeling that I didn't manage to … kill him. I'm glad for that, obviously, but also scared. What if he tries something else? What if he manages to come back for me? He kind of already has, with the Nomu crashing our internships. It's just not a thought that I can easily get rid of," Izuku continued.

"We'll fight with you if that ever happens," Tsu declared.

"I already have," Shinso said, giving a mock salute with one finger.

"Yeah. Those thoughts have been weighing me down for a while now, I think. But, the Sports Festival happened next. I … had some issues during that whole thing," Izuku confessed.

"Yeah, no kidding," Shinso laughed.

"You lost some control over your abilities, didn't you?" Tsu asked.

"Something like that. I just wasn't doing so great throughout that entire thing. So, I've been worrying about that. What if those problems come back? I mean, they already are resurfacing, though to a much lesser degree. I'm getting tired faster, and my Quirk takes just a little bit more energy to use. It's like the energy tax has increased by a few percentage points. Nothing too worrisome, but if it continues to increase it could spell disaster," Izuku said.

"Are … you okay right now?" Ochako asked.

"Yes, though I am tired. I haven't been sleeping so well either lately, and that brings me to my last point. Iida. Tsu brought up that I freaked out on Monday, when I heard that Iida had passed. That's because I knew that he was going to fight the Hero Killer, and I tried to stop him, but he didn't listen," Izuku revealed.

Ochako lit up, her eyes wide as she seemingly remembered the full extent of what he'd said in the hall to Aizawa while she was there. The next expression that found itself on her face was horror, at the implications that she'd heard it and done nothing. Izuku put his hand over hers on the table between them, and gave her the best smile he could at the moment. It was the least he could do. Tsu was also going through some revelations, as her eyes had gone wide as well, but she looked to be handling it better than Ochako. Their situations were different, Izuku knew that, but he did have to commend Tsu on her strong handle on her own emotions. It wasn't an insult, but Ochako wore her heart on her sleeve. It was one of the things he loved about her, but it also tended to make her easy to read.

"I knew that he was likely going to die trying, and I told him that he didn't have to go through his grief alone, but he ignored me. When I'd heard that he'd passed in the fight, well, I panicked. I blamed myself, and thought that I should've tried harder, or gone with him myself, or even just taken his place. I wanted to fight the Hero Killer in his place, and I still do, but I know that I won't. I can't, as I am. It wouldn't be the moral, legal or healthy thing to do. Iida would want me to get better, and to be happy, like he did for everyone. So, that's what I'm gonna do," Izuku said.

"That's great, Izuku!" Ochako said, shakily. She was letting the tears flow, now, and Izuku was holding his own back with great effort at the sight.

"Yeah, it's about time," Shinso said, smirking slightly.

Ochako paused, and shot a look at Shinso. She glared at him with the intensity that honestly reminded Izuku a bit of All Might staring down Shigaraki at the USJ. It was frightening, on multiple levels, and it made Izuku take his hand off hers for a moment.

"Did you know this? You didn't say anything?" Ochako asked.

"Uh, yeah. I tried getting Midoriya to come clean himself, but if he wasn't going to do it, I would've stepped up. I didn't need to do that, though," Shinso explained.

"Oh. Cool," Ochako said coldly.

"Ochako, It's cool. Shinso was just trying to help. Speaking of that, though," Izuku said, turning to face Shinso. "You do deserve thanks and an apology. Thank you, for trying to help me, and I'm sorry for reacting to it the way I did. You don't deserve that, and I shouldn't have lashed out the way I did," he continued.

"It's all good. I know you were scared, and angry, and that doesn't excuse what you did, but I don't think that it was entirely your fault," Shinso said, putting a comforting hand on Izuku's shoulder.

Izuku nodded, and turned back to sit normally. He really had to thank En the next time he swung by the vestige realm. He breathed for a while, feeling the fresh air in his hair as it blew by. He heard a sigh from Shinso beside him, and looked back to see him beginning to speak.

"I don't think what you said before you left was entirely true, either," he put out.

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked.

"You said that Uraraka is the only person that loves you. That's not true, man. I'm not gonna say 'love', because I'm too cool for that," Shinso took a moment to laugh at himself, which got Izuku to chuckle as well. "But, you do have people that care about you very much, myself included. You told us your whole situation about not having friends, and to be honest … I was in the same boat when I got to UA," Shinso admitted.

"Really? You seem so cool, though!" Izuku gasped.

"Yeah. Believe it or not, not many kids wanted to hang around someone that could Brainwash them into doing anything he wanted. I was called Villain, Monster, and Freak. You guys are kinda the first friends I've ever had, and that all started with you, Midoriya. So, thank you for making my life far better by being in it," Shinso said, clearly trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"I'm much the same, actually. I'm a Mutant, and a lot of kids are grossed out by the more overt mutations that Quirks can give you, so I was ostracized from most of my peers as a child. They called me names as well, and it made me feel like nobody would ever want to be around me, let alone love me for who I am. I only really started making friends when I got to UA as well. I was introduced to people that do care about me, and love me for who I am," Tsu said, sending a sidelong glance at Shinso, who promptly choked on his breath, "through you, Midoriya. So, I have you to thank as well," she concluded.

Ochako looked shocked when Tsu and Shinso looked at her. She searched for the words, and stammered her way into her turn. Izuku laughed at her clumsiness with words, something he shared, and felt his hand slip back into hers subconsciously.

"Uh, yeah! You know I love you, and that you're my best friend! You've made me happy in ways that I never would've experienced on a construction site, so thank you, Izuku. For everything you do. But, I was honestly kind of disappointed," Ochako said, making Izuku flinch. She quickly course-corrected, however. "Not in you!" she scrambled for an explanation. "In myself! Because, to be honest, that … being vague so that somebody doesn't get the wrong idea," she shot a look at Shinso, "I was disappointed in myself for enjoying the day after the Sports Festival that we spent together. Is it wrong of me to be so sad that it's not something we can do again?" Ochako asked.

Tsu's eyes lit up in recognition. Izuku felt his cheeks heat up and knew he was probably redder than a tomato. He thought about it for a moment, looking everywhere but Tsu's staring eyes. She was looking at him expectantly, and of course she knew about it. This hadn't happened in so long that he almost went light headed at the rush of blood, but kept himself steady. He looked over at Shinso, who was grinning like a madman. Izuku had almost forgotten that he'd given Izuku the advice that he'd ultimately used on their not-a-date, and had been the driving factor behind why they'd spent that night together. Izuku groaned, and looked back at Ochako with what was likely an even redder face than before.

"Everyone here knows at least the basics of what happened that night. I kinda forgot to tell you, but Shinso is the one that helped me figure out what to do about our whole … situation back then," Izuku said.

"Huh, didn't expect that from you, Shinso. Alright, then, I guess I can speak freely," Ochako hummed in thought.

"Yeah, you can!" Shinso said, looking legitimately excited. Izuku could ruin him, he knew, but he wouldn't. Not for Shinso, he just didn't want to embarrass Tsu like that.

"Shinso, I think we should let Ochako and Midoriya have some privacy for a moment, don't you?" Tsu asked, already moving to stand.

"What? I wanna hear this! There hasn't been any relationship drama in class yet and I thrive in chaos!" Shinso said, clearly only half-joking.

Shinso verbally protested, but he went with Tsu willingly. Izuku saw his chance, and raised an eyebrow while wagging his finger between Shinso and Tsu, knowing that he'd get the implication. Shinso flushed, but didn't shake his head or anything that would indicate denial, so Izuku saw it as a win. He turned back to Ochako and saw that she was still blushing quite heavily, but so was he so he guessed they were even.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Izuku asked, already knowing the answer.

"Us. I know that you're ace, and I respect that. I love that you know who you are, and that you're able to be yourself without fear. But, I know who I am as well, and I still want things with you that I can't have. I feel certain things about you that can't be returned because you just don't feel those things. I love you, Izuku, but it's different. The way you love me isn't the same as the way I love you. You do love me, I know that, but you're not in love with me. I love you, but I'm not entirely certain that I'm not in love with you. Does that make sense?" Ochako explained.

"I get that. I've known that since we kissed. That was the moment that I knew I wasn't in love with you. That was also the moment that I knew you were in love with me. This is a tricky situation for both of us, and I don't think either of us quite know how to move forward," Izuku said.

"Yeah. We're kind of at an impasse, huh? How do you think we should handle this?" Ochako asked.

"I have no clue. I don't think we should just, not talk about it, though. I think we should be open about this sort of thing, and work together to get past it. This isn't something for you to go through alone. If anything, this is my fault," Izuku said, chuckling at himself toward the end.

"Nah, you can't help that you're so loveable," Ochako said, her cheeks reddening even more.

"Well, if I'm so loveable, imagine how other people see you ," Izuku said, pleasantly surprised that he could even string that sentence together in his mind, let alone say it out loud.

Ochako squeaked something unintelligible out before she covered her face with her hands. A faint pink flash came from her fingertips and Izuku stopped his soft chuckles. He knew she sometimes did this, which was why she slept with gloves with fingers cut off; so she didn't accidentally float herself in her sleep. It was kind of adorable, actually, watching her gently lift off the seat as she curled up into a ball.

Izuku didn't let her float away, however, as he used Blackwhip to tether Ochako to himself. He knew he didn't need to, because he could just Float up there anyway, but it was better to be safe. Izuku reeled Blackwhip in, bringing Ochako closer to the ground and letting her cancel her Quirk's effects, grounding her once more.

"Thanks," Ochako said in a small voice that didn't sound at all like the loud, bubbly personality that he loved.

"Sorry, I just couldn't let you get away without a compliment for yourself. I don't get how you can just give them out like the're candy, but when you get one yourself, you freeze up," Izuku admitted.

"It's … only really when you say those kinds of things that I get nervous. It's just … you know how I feel about you. Whenever you say something like that, I get nervous, and excited, and flustered, and a million and one different feelings at the same time just absolutely overwhelm me. But, then I remember that you don't feel quite the same way, even if you do love me. It hurts to know that we're almost there, but just that one little barrier is firmly stuck in place, and I have no way to break it down," Ochako seemed to think out loud.

Izuku flushed, remembering his conversation with Shinso at the Sports Festival.

"If I'm being honest, the barrier isn't as firm as you'd think," Izuku confessed, fidgeting with his fingers.

"What … do you mean?" Ochako asked, leaning away slightly.

"I mean that I had the kind of feelings that you're describing, and I had them for you. It's just that I was confused, and uncertain, and I thought that I was getting my wires crossed between close friends and … something more than that," Izuku blushed heavily. "The last time I had something even close to what we have was with … you know who, and that turned out to not be as good a friendship as I thought. So, when we started getting really close I thought 'Oh, this is just what good friends do. They call each other by their first names and tell each other secrets nobody else knows and all that other stuff'. But, I felt things for you that went beyond friendship. But, I can't act on those feelings," Izuku explained.

"Why not?" Ochako asked, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Because I won't be able to give you what you'll eventually need. There's nothing … physical about my love for you. It's all in here," Izuku put a hand over his heart. "I don't feel the need to kiss you, or hold your hand, or be …" Izuku trailed off, gaining his nerve. "... physically intimate with you in any way. But I do love you, and I want to stand by your side forever, as Heroes and as partners. It's just that I have limitations that you don't. You want something more physical than what I have to offer. That's my dilemma," Izuku answered.

"Y-You're speaking like you're wrong , somehow," Ochako noted.

"I'm not broken. I'm not wrong, but I'm also not right —for you, I mean. I'm not right for you. I mean it when I say that I will always love you, and be by your side for as long as you want me there, but you should find the kind of love that you're looking for with someone else. I can do a lot of things, but I can't be with you like that. I hope you understand, Ochako, that this hurts me as well. I want to love you in that way, but it's just … beyond me. I hope I don't come off as too self-pitying or anything," Izuku said.

"You don't sound that way to me. You sound … sad. I'm sorry for springing this on you," Ochako said, hanging her head low.

"No, don't say that. There's nothing to be sorry for. This was something you felt strongly about, so of course I'm going to hear you out. This is also something that's been hurting you, so I couldn't just let this fester and fester until it tore us apart one way or the other. This is something that we needed to work out, and sooner rather than later," Izuku hurriedly assured her.

"Yeah. Thanks for listening to me ramble a bit. It can't be fun to just sit and listen for a while," Ochako said, propping her head up on her hand.

"That's not an issue for me. Have you heard me when I get going? Oh, boy, Mom used to call it the Midoriya Motormouth. Apparently my Dad used to do the same thing. I guess it's genetic," Izuku said, his voice slowly losing enthusiasm and energy as he went on.

Ochako looked at him worriedly. He didn't tend to talk about his mother and father, mostly because he didn't speak to either nowadays. His father had left them when Izuku was four, so he didn't really ever speak to him, and, well, he was living at UA now, so no more of Inko Midoriya's famous breakfast feasts. Izuku almost laughed at the memory that forced its way into his mind of the mother and son sitting with the Bakguo family at a park—the same park they sat in at that moment, in fact—having a kind of brunch get together. It was before the youngest Bakugo had become what he had in the years since then, so they were all happy. That was the last time that he'd ever felt like a real family with anyone, so it was fitting that he'd get reminded of that while with Ochako. He knew that she would stick with him forever if he asked her to, so they kind of were like family. In a way. The best way.

"You okay?" Ochako asked.

"Perfect," Izuku replied, smiling genuinely. He'd been forcing it lately, but it felt good to really let some of his apparently trademarked sunshine finally break through.

"Great. We should let Tsu and Shinso know that they can— are they kissing ?" Ochako interrupted herself as she pointed, shocked, at somewhere behind Izuku's head.

Izuku looked over to where Ochako was pointing and saw that Tsu and Shinso were indeed kissing each other. He grinned so wide that he was sure he looked insane, feeling such immeasurable pride in Shinso that he started laughing. He didn't know why, maybe just to get the energy he was being flooded with out, but he simply cackled, and Izuku didn't even try to stop it. Ochako next to him was beaming like the sun, and they both shared the moment of pride they were sharing in their friends.

After a few moments, Tsu and Shinso pulled away from each other. Izuku couldn't see much, because they were so far away, but he knew that they were speaking with each other. He saw Tsu leap into Shinso, giving him a big hug, and Izuku thought he saw Shinso flush red. Izuku watched as he wrapped his arms around Tsu and returned the hug.

"Should we be standing here, just watching?" Izuku asked.

"Probably not. Do you have anything else to talk about?" Ochako asked, sitting back down on her seat opposite Izuku.

"Uh, yeah, actually. I wanted to talk to you about what happened after I visited you right after the whole USJ thing happened," Izuku said, taking his own seat.

"Yeah?" Ochako prompted.

"Yeah. I talked to you about how you shouldn't be living alone, and how you'd have a place at my own home if you wanted it," Izuku recalled.

"Right. I didn't want to burden you or your mother, so I kind of forgot about it a little," Ochako sheepishly admitted.

"Yeah. Well, I'm afraid that the offer no longer stands. I don't live at home anymore. I'm technically considered a ward of UA, now. I have a small apartment on campus that Cementoss made for me about two weeks ago," Izuku confessed.

"What? You've been living at UA for two weeks?" Ochako asked, gobsmacked.

"Well … no. I've been living there since the day I made you that offer," Izuku said, smiling shakily.

Ochako looked at Izuku with a blank stare. She looked immensely disappointed, and Izuku could tell that she was about to sound it, as well. Ochako took a deep breath and seemed to collect herself before returning to the matter at hand.

"Izuku, are you telling me that you left home over a month ago, but just conveniently forgot to mention it?" Ochako asked.

"Uh, yeah? I mean, Shinso knew but he found out on his own," Izuku answered.

"How did Shinso figure it out?!" Ochako yelled.

"He stuck around after school and found me out! I didn't mean for anybody to know until I was ready!" Izuku found himself raising his voice as well.

"What do you mean, 'until you were ready'?" Ochako asked, her voice becoming quiet once more.

"It wasn't exactly a mutual agreement. I kinda ran away?" Izuku said, his voice betraying him and breaking.

"Are you okay? Did she … hurt you?" Ochako whispered.

"Oh, God no! She'd never, intentionally. She just said some things that made me realize that we hadn't been happy with each other for a long time. I tried to go to your place, actually, but Aizawa stopped me before I could do anything and took me to UA. I think he stays there some nights, even though his apartment has at least one whole bed," Izuku quickly explained.

"Huh, so does anybody else know?" Ochako asked.

"Just Bakugo, but that's because his Mom and mine have been best friends practically forever. That's actually how we got introduced to each other, and we've been inseparable since, for better or for worse," Izuku answered.

Ochako forced out a brief laugh at the sentiment, but Izuku could tell that she was still uncomfortable with him. That was fine. He was as well, some days, but he knew that she'd find a way to move past those feelings. Admitting them is the first step to healing, and now they'd both done that with their various problematic emotions. Now, they could take the path to being better. He looked forward to what they could do once they were.