So it was that Izuku opened his eyes on Sunday morning, surprisingly relaxed and refreshed despite technically being awake all night.

Then he remembered what he had planned for the day.

So, maybe things weren't quite back to normal after all. And maybe that wasn't entirely a bad thing.


'Not Bad' did not necessarily mean 'Not Terrifying,' however. But that was certainly not something new to Izuku. If anything, most of the recent positive additions to his life had involved some level of extreme terror!

'That… doesn't seem healthy.' Yoichi murmured from the back of his mind.

'Definitely isn't.' Kinenkō agreed. 'Too much of that kind of thing can leave people with issues down the line.'

'That, or turn them into adrenaline junkies.' Daigoro added with a chuckle. 'Given his response to a few things recently, I think that ship might have already sailed, though.'

Izuku was too busy trying to determine which outfit he should wear to weigh in. He'd originally drawn on One for All to get Nana's opinion in addition to his mother's, which had helped him narrow it down. He'd been about to cut it off to… dissuade Daigoro from offering his own dating advice, but that thought had just prompted the Fifth Wielder to start laughing.

'Oh, HELL no! The venn diagram of MY type of woman and yours isn't so much a venn diagram as it is two barely related circles in different countries.' Daigoro said between gales of laughter. 'ANY advice I'm able to give you on wooing your girl is liable to lead to catastrophic failure more than anything. The only applicable thing I know is, like, the most basic rule of dating. Be YOU. Any relationship where you aren't being yourself isn't a relationship, it's a lie.'

In a fit of irony, that was one of the most helpful pieces of insight Izuku had received on the subject. His mother had said something along similar lines, but had seemed convinced that his success was a foregone conclusion. Toshinori, by contrast, had been completely blindsided by the fact that he had a crush on Uraraka at all, and had a grand total of 0 relevant experience with which to offer advice. He had, however, offered his newly finished house up as somewhere private for them to explain everything to her.

So, Daigoro's input hadn't exactly needed to clear a high bar, but it had still helped. He had to be himself, for better or worse. Urarka would know if he was being weird. She'd picked up on his acting strangely before he himself had earlier in the week. So, he'd do things his way, and if that wasn't what Uraraka wanted… well, then at least he'd really, genuinely tried.

So he went with the old blue T-shirt that had 'Dress Shirt' written in elegant script on the front, paired with black shorts and his usual red shoes.

Granted, the shirt was… tighter than he remembered. It was actually of a pretty similar fit to the shirts Toshinori had gotten him back at Might Tower now, so it wasn't uncomfortable, but it was enough to give him some pause. It wouldn't seem slobish to wear, right? Then again, he didn't want to look overly well dressed and make Uraraka feel like he was expecting anything. Casual was good. Right?

'Izuku. Sweetie.' Nana's voice had the tone of someone who was actively trying to sound patient. 'You've cycled back through this five times now. I'm sure whichever you choose will be fine.'

'Other than the All Might merch.' Bruce added. 'Whatever else happens, I guarantee she doesn't want your teacher staring into her soul every time she looks down.'

'Yeah, yeah, I gave up on that an hour ago.' Izuku grumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair, checking it in his mirror. Then he paused. 'Please tell me my internal clock is off…'

Silence.

Izuku checked his phone. It was 11:32. They didn't have a set schedule, but if they wanted to eat around noon…

'Well, decision made I guess.'

Izuku quickly made his way down the stairs, possibly letting a bit more of One for All out than strictly necessary to accelerate the process. Once he reached the bottom, he covertly eyed the main lobby, hoping against hope that he wouldn't encounter Ashido and what would inevitably be a lot of teasing questions. She was, thankfully, absent.

His mother, on the other hand, was smiling at him from next to the main doors. There was a twinkle in her eyes that meant he probably wasn't going to avoid the teasing entirely, but that it would mostly be a problem for later that evening. He finished his descent, then walked up to her.

"Really dressing up for this, hmm?" Inko asked with a small smirk. In a moment, however, it had bled into a warm smile. "I'm so proud of you! Going on your first-"

Izuku arched his eyebrows at her.

"...outing with a coincidentally female friend that may or may not be entirely platonic." Inko continued innocently. At his sigh, she let out a small laugh and pulled him into a hug. "Really, Izuku. Even if that's all this turns out to be, I'm proud of you. My boy is growing up and making plans with friends! It seems like just yesterday that you'd hide behind my legs every time you met someone new-"

Izuku groaned, then glanced around once more. Sero nodded to him from one of the couches in the lounge, but otherwise nobody seemed to be paying him any mind. Inko giggled, then pushed him out to arms length.

"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you." Her eyes flicked past him, and her smile widened. "I wouldn't want to ruin the moment, after all."

Izuku glanced over his shoulder-

Uraraka was quickly descending the stairs, looking flustered. Her hair was up in a bun in the back, but the long strands that framed her face were still free to sway with every step she took. She was wearing a white blouse, high waisted jean shorts, yellow sandals, and what looked like a white pair of artist gloves that covered her pinky and ring fingers.

She looked… really good. Really, REALLY good.

"Sorry!" Uraraka huffed once she reached the bottom of the stairs. She brushed a lock of hair from her face, then smiled sheepishly. "I kind of lost track of time while I was getting ready…"

Her eyes slipped downwards. She stared for a moment, then she blinked and her eyes refocused. She laughed, even as her natural blush seemed to grow. "Wow. You've got your bases covered, huh?"

"Hmm?" Izuku hummed absently. Then, his brain kicked partly back into gear. "Oh! Um, this is one of my old favorites."

Her eyes flicked down again, and her smile softened. "Yeah, I can believe that. Um, should we head out?"

The smile nearly scrambled Izuku's brain again, but he persevered. "Yeah. If we hurry, we can probably get to the station in time to catch the next train."

"Well, let's get going then!" Uraraka set a brisk pace towards the door.

Izuku gave his mother another quick hug, then jogged to catch up.


The Good News: They caught the train.

The Bad News: It was the first time Izuku had used public transport since the Hosu incident.

What should have been a relatively short and peaceful trip had rapidly gotten out of hand when one of the other passengers had recognized him. Once they'd made that realization public knowledge by loudly exclaiming "Hey! You're that kid who beat Stain!" Izuku had been almost immediately swamped by people.

Questions poured over him, his personal space was thoroughly violated, and he was overwhelmed by the fact that more than one person wanted an autograph. Uraraka had tried to help fend them off, but that had just drawn attention to her, which led to even more questions. He was on the brink of just grabbing her and making a break for it the next time the train stopped when a new contender entered the ring.

"Ok everyone, back up! You're making him uncomfortable!" A commanding voice called. While some looked reluctant about it, the crowd of people quickly backed away. Izuku looked to the side and saw a tall man with quaffed blond hair and odd blue eyes, arms crossed over a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt and yellow shorts. Despite the authority in his voice, he still looked cheerful.

The newcomer stepped forward to stand in front of them, then crouched down slightly. "You ok Midoriya?"

"Y-yes, thanks." Izuku forced out, then took a deep breath as the tension began to eb. "Sorry, that, um, kind of caught me off guard."

"My best friend doesn't do well with crowds either, so I recognized the look. I think he'd probably have burst into flames if that many people swarmed him." He grinned, and it was remarkably comforting. "I recognize you both from the 1st Year Sports Festival, but it's a pleasure to meet you in person. I'm Mirio Togata of class 3A! You can call me Mirio."

"OH! I recognize you from last year's festival!" Izuku finally connected the faintly familiar dots. "Sorry it took a moment. I would have recognized you sooner if I'd seen this year's recording, but I haven't gotten the chance yet. Things have been kind of… hectic."

Mirio faltered slightly, then laughed. "Frankly, if that's your frame of reference, I'm kind of glad you didn't recognize me immediately. Maybe that's finally fading from public memory."

Uraraka glanced between them. "Um… I don't want to be rude by asking, given you don't want people to remember, but…?"

Mirio waved his hand dismissively. "Honestly, it's funny in retrospect, but not the kind of thing that you really want the general public to think of every time you show up." Mirio leaned in conspiratorially, a hand cupped around his mouth. "The short version is that my Quirk lets me turn intangible, but it ONLY affects ME."

Uraraka waited a moment, evidently expecting a continued explanation. When none came, she thought for a second, then her eyes flew wide in realization. "Oh. Um. Yeah, I can see how that might cause a few public opinion speedbumps."

Mirio shrugged a 'what can you do?' shrug, though his grin never wavered. "Midnight still jokes about me being her secret protege, but it's not like I'm the first hero to have a wardrobe malfunction that severe. Regardless, that's enough about me. What are you two doing, if you don't mind me asking? Given your celebrity status right now Midoriya, I'd have expected you to stay out of the public eye."

Automatically, Izuku glanced to the side, hoping that Uraraka would offer an answer. Letting her set the pace felt like the safest option, and kept him from saying too much or too little, depending on what her expectations were.

Except she was also eyeing him from the corner of her eye.

They stared at each other for a long, awkward second, then both snapped their eyes forward and spoke in high pitched unison.

"Lunch!"

Mirio's smile widened and his eyes twinkled. Then, they flicked somewhere over Izuku's shoulder, and his face hardened. "Well, I hope the both of you have a grand time! I do have one quick request, though. What stop are you getting off at?"

"Two down." Izuku replied. "Why?"

"Great!" Mirio shot him a thumbs up. "Please leave my stuff with the security there!"

And with that, he dropped through the floor of the train. All that remained was his shirt, an indistinct lump underneath it. Izuku stared at it for a second, then glanced back through the window. A ways behind, he briefly saw someone leap a residential house in a burst of flame, then drop back out of sight. A wave of fire surged up from where they must have landed, but it cut off after a second. It was shortly followed by the sight of the presumed villain ragdolling back up and over the building. Mirio's head and shoulders briefly entered their line of sight before he dropped back below the rooftops.

"Wow." Uraraka murmured, and Izuku turned to see her watching as well. She glanced at him, then smiled. "Just goes to show how much further we have to go, huh?"

"Yeah." Izuku nodded, then warily looked back at the shirt still sitting in a pile on the floor. Hesitantly, he reached out and lifted it up.

To reveal sandals.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Uraraka laughed.


After a brief trip to a Donki store for a cheap set of sunglasses and a nondescript white beanie hat, during which Izuku had discovered the money his mother must have slipped into his pocket, they finally started making their way to the small strip of shops near Dagobah Beach. Izuku had walked or jogged past them every time he'd gone there to train with All Might, but he'd never had reason to go in while they were open in the summer months. The shops had never had much appeal; They mostly sold things he didn't need or food that would never fit into his strict diet. The only reason he'd even remembered them had been the ever-so-tempting smell that had wafted out of the restaurants, especially compared to the dump of a beach further down the road.

Truthfully, the closer they'd gotten, the more worried he'd become. He remembered them seeming nice enough, but maybe a little worn. That wasn't necessarily surprising, given their proximity to the ocean, but it was enough to make him second guess himself. Was that really where he wanted to take Uraraka on what might possibly end up being a date?

Thankfully, what he found on arrival looked almost nothing like what he remembered. Fresh paint on the buildings, with outdoor seating around the restaurants. Bustling shops, with brightly lit signs beckoning in all who passed. An assortment of food carts and pop-up merch stands scattered along the walk alongside the beach. The medley of scents and sights was a dramatic improvement over the barren strip it had been the last time Izuku had been there.

Uraraka was looking around with a wide smile on her face, the ocean breeze touseling her hair. Whatever else happened, that made the entire trip worth it for Izuku. That smile. It made him feel warm, and made his heart race, and brought a smile to his own face, and-

He blinked.

'Oh.' He realized in what felt like a rare moment of crystalline clarity. 'Oh, I have it bad, don't I?'

The sheer intensity of the overlapping pulse he felt seemed like a resounding 'DUH!' from the peanut gallery, but he couldn't really hold that one against them.

A light bump on his shoulder snapped him out of it, and he realized she'd swayed into him. She nodded her head to the side, and he realized he'd nearly led them past the Udon shop. If the realization made him blush, it was probably just blended in with the near permanent one already there.


'Oh, I have it BAD.' Ochako admitted to herself.

They'd been given a nice table with a view of the beach. The sand was dotted with colorful towels and umbrellas, people were running and swimming everywhere, and the waves glittered beautifully in the sun, but she just… couldn't look at it. Well, she COULD, but her eyes always found themselves drawn back to Midoriya, with his adorable face and the way his hair fluttered in the wind when he took his hat off to fix it and that smile that turned her brain into a useless puddle and-

She snapped her eyes back up from his chest. Damn him and his newfound penchant for tight shirts that made it very, very clear just how muscular he was. She hadn't even registered that there were words on it at first when she'd come down the stairs, which had been kind of mortifying because his mother had been RIGHT THERE! It was one thing for Inko to have coaxed a roundabout confession out of her during her tour of the dorms, but it was something else entirely for Ochako to ogle her son's muscle definition while she was a foot away.

Ochako blinked, then dragged her eyes upwards again. 'Damnit, maybe I should'a gotten a pair a' sunglasses too. He's gotta notice somethin' sooner or later, and I don't wanna make 'em feel weird. If I'm gonna stare, I wish I could do it without 'em noticing.' She paused, reconsidered that thought, then blushed harder. 'Ugh, I feel like Mineta.'

"Are you ok, Uraraka?" Izuku tilted his head to the side, then grimaced when his cheap glasses slipped a little. He pulled them off and looked at her, and suddenly his muscles were the last thing on her mind. His big, earnest, brilliant emerald eyes that caught the light and glinted in the noon sun consumed everything. It was almost like when he used his Full Cowling technique, except they were gentle and attentive rather than focused and intense.

Which, admittedly, had been unexpectedly delightful in its own way…

'Down girl…' Ochako groaned inwardly yet again. That particular thought had grown alarmingly close to a mantra in the past week.

"Just looking forward to eating." She said aloud, then glanced around again. "This seems like a nice place! I wish there had been a public beach like this near my home town."

"It actually wasn't really in use until recently." Their waitress said as she swept in, depositing a steaming bowl of Udon in front of her that immediately set her mouth to watering. "This place was defunct for years because junk washed up from the ocean, then people started using it as a dumping ground. Apparently there was a restoration effort recently, and it was reopened to the public!"

"It's awful that it got ruined like that in the first place. But I'm glad it made a comeback!" She smiled at the waitress as the woman put Midoriya's food in front of him, then raced off. "Did you know about that, Midoriya?"

"Hmm?" Midoriya hummed absently as he snapped his chopsticks. "O-oh, um, yeah. Some of the restoration was going on while I was training here. I'm really glad that it let the beach be used again! It seems really nice!"

Something about that felt a little off, but as the wind shifted and the scent of the Udon hit her again, Ochako determined she had more important things to focus on. She quickly snapped her own chopsticks, then tucked in.

It was very, very good. Light and savory, with a perfectly chewy noodle. They were both content to eat in relative silence for a time, enjoying the breeze and each other's company as they systematically destroyed the contents of their bowls. Once they'd finished and paid, they'd stood and looked out over the beach.

"So, um. Are you full, or do you want to get Mochi now?" Midoriya asked. "If you want to wait, we could go for a walk."

Ochako pondered that question. On one hand, Mochi. Mochi was ALWAYS welcome, full stomach or not. On the other hand, the idea of a walk on the beach together sounded delightful in a lot of ways, many of which set her heart fluttering. She was a little full, and Mochi would probably top her off enough that a walk wouldn't be as enjoyable afterwards, so…

"A walk sounds lovely! Let's go take a look around!"


The feeling of warm sand beneath his feet was delightful, especially in contrast to the still slightly cool breeze rolling off the ocean. It was a strangely surreal experience to be casually walking along the waterline; In his experience, Dagobah Beach had meant either hauling junk while building himself up for One for All, or his training in the Vestige Realm. To just… walk, with no real destination in mind, no straining muscles, and no mid-combat tension, was a new experience along this strip of sand.

"Ooooh! This one's gorgeous!" Uraraka cooed as she crouched down to pick up another cockle shell from the sand. She moved a few steps into the surf and dipped the shell into the water, washing away the sand and grit before she showed it to him.

"Wow, that is a good one!" Izuku smiled as he inspected the shell. Near the tail, it was a bright white with orange striations. Towards the front edge of the shell, however, the striations thickened even as the color darkened until a solid band of red-orange occupied the entire arc. It absolutely blew the smattering of sea glass and less colorful shells they'd previously found out of the water.

Carefully, Izuku opened the bag he'd kept from the Donki store, which contained their collection along with their shoes. Uraraka placed the newest addition inside, then smiled up at him brightly. The sight made his heart soar up into his throat.

The fact that he was walking the beach with Uraraka made the experience infinitely better. They'd talked about classes, training, goals, and a dozen other little things while they alternately enjoyed the warm sand or splashed through the cool water. They'd washed off sea shells next to each other, knees knocking into the other's as they tried not to lose their balance and fall to the waves. They'd playfully flicked water at each other from dripping fingers, laughing and smiling the entire time. It felt unspeakably wonderful to just… relax.

His fears were still there in the back of his mind. He still had the occasional idea for training that he tucked away for later use. But in the moment, with her resuming the enthusiastic description of some of the moves Ashido was sharing with her and how they worked in Zero Gravity, everything felt a little less overwhelming.

They hadn't even finished their outing and he already wanted to do this again. And again. And again. As many times as she'd agree to join him.

Unfortunately, that desire brought with it concerns that her presence couldn't banish.

He was almost certainly going to tell her about One for All. There were a plethora of reasons that made it the best choice, in his opinion. She was one of his best friends, and he didn't want to keep hiding things from her. She, by virtue of their friendship, would inevitably have a target painted on her back, and he refused to leave her vulnerable just to keep the secret. He was increasingly sure he wanted to start dating her, if she'd have him, and he wasn't going to do that without telling her what she was really getting into.

But that decision had its own slew of problems. If he just told her without preamble, she would be irrevocably involved with the conflict regardless of what she wanted. It wouldn't be fair of him to force that on her. But if he gave her a choice beforehand, and she declined, then she'd know without a doubt that he was hiding things from her, which could easily sour their friendship.

Perhaps even worse in a way was the fact that, if she did agree to learn the truth, that she would want to join him if and when he faced off against the League or, heavens forbid, All for One himself. The idea of doing so on his own was terrifying, but with her, Tenya, and possibly Bakugo at his side? The comfort that idea brought was drowned by the fear that they'd be hurt because of him.

Tenya had almost died before his eyes once already, and that had been a nightmare beyond comparison. He didn't think he'd recover if any of his friends were hurt because of him, much less killed. It would be even worse with Uraraka, both because of his crush and because telling her would have been his choice. Not an accidental visit to the Vestige Realm like Tenya. Not at Toshinori's suggestion like his mother. Not because of a spontaneous Quirk manifestation like Bakugo. A conscious decision, made with the knowledge that it could lead to her getting hurt.

This was a spiraling loop he'd been trapped within for days. There were so many ways things that could go wrong, and he'd feel culpable for anything that happened no matter what-

The moment his brain registered the incoming projectile just over Uraraka's head, the reflexes Hikage had been systematically drilling into his skull activated. Before he could even consciously acknowledge it, he'd wrapped an arm around Uraraka's waist and hopped back, towing her with him. The projectile, which turned out to be a volleyball, zipped past their heads and splunked into the water with a splunk.

He blinked, his brain trying to catch up with what had just happened.

It didn't get the chance.

A woman in a bikini ran up to them, long blue hair flowing behind her like a streamer. "Sorry about that! That was a good dodge, though! Are you a hero student? What's your Quirk- Oh! Wait! You're… those two from the train that Mirio mentioned! It looks like it really was a date! You're so cute together!"

Izuku reeled, the sudden and overwhelming barrage of stimulus far more than he really knew what to do with. Answers sprung to mind, but they all tripped over one another on their way to his mouth. In the end, what he actually said was more a confused gurgle than actual words.

The woman continued, unperturbed by his lack of a comprehensible response. "Anyway, my name is Nejiri Hado! I'm in class 3A with Mirio. It's nice to meet you! So, your Quirk-"

"Easy, Nejiri!" Mirio called as he jogged up, still only wearing his yellow swim trunks. In the distance, two people were chatting by a volleyball net, while a dark haired teen in a black wetsuit sat under an umbrella nearby, a book on his lap. "Remember, he's a little bit of a Mini-Tamaki!"

The man in the wetsuit looked up briefly, then went back to reading.

Hado's already large blue eyes widened, and she zipped back a few steps. "Oops! Sorry!"

"It's… Ok." Izuku managed to squeak out, still off kilter. "Um. It's nice to meet you. And hello again, Mirio. Did everything go alright with that villain? Did you get your belongings ok?"

"Yep! The Villain went down easy, and it didn't take that long to get to the station and pick everything up. Thanks for doing that for me even though I dumped it on you at the last second." His eyes flicked to Izuku's side, and he grinned widely. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks?" Izuku replied confusedly, then glanced in the direction Mirio had looked.

Uraraka was pressed firmly into his side by his arm, which was still wrapped tightly around her waist, his hand resting against her hip. She was also tomato red and staring up at him.

"Oh. Um. Huh." He distantly heard Mirio say after a stretch of silence. "Either they're having a SERIOUS 'Lost in each other's eyes' moment, or I just broke them again. Maybe both."

One of her hands was splayed across his chest in a way that felt electric. He thought he could feel her breath on his neck, and it was scrambling his mind with each barely there caress.

He was sure she must be able to feel his heart trying to hammer its way out of his chest. Hell, she could probably hear it from that close.

Uraraka looked nervous. Her brows were pinched over intense brown eyes that sparkled with reflected light from the ocean. They scrunched closed as she took a deep breath, then she spoke.

"Are they right?"

It took him a moment to register Uraraka's words, though his brain was still too addled by her proximity to really understand them. "About what?"

"About this bein' a date." One eye peeked open hesitantly. "Caus'I'dkindofbereallyhappyifitwas."

It was like the rest of the world ceased to exist. Suddenly, she was the only thing he could see, all he could hear. Had she actually just said that? Had he misunderstood? Was there any other interpretation he could be missing? He didn't think so. Which meant that she'd actually just said she wanted this to be a date.

Despite everything pointing to that being the case, part of him still hadn't expected it.

But she really did.

And so did he.

In the face of that, all his reservations crumbled away. There would be dangers, and pitfalls, and they'd still need to have the inevitable conversation about One for All, but damn it he was going to try.

So he tightened the arm around her waist slightly, then smiled through the nerves and the butterflies. "I was really hoping you'd feel that way, because I'd like that too!"

The way she lit up at those words would be etched into his memory for the rest of his life. Her eyes went huge, then crinkled at the corners as she smiled. The wind tousled her hair, which sent thin shadows dancing over her face, contrasting with the dappled light reflected from the water. Then, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged with all her rather considerable strength. Her hair tickled his cheek, and he caught a faint trace of honey past the salty sea air.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but he enjoyed every second of it.

Eventually, however, Uraraka pulled back slightly, and he reluctantly let her go. It did mean he got to see her smile again, which was just as brilliant as it had been before. If anything, she looked like she was almost vibrating.

"YES! Yes yes yes yes YES!" Uraraka pumped her fists into the air with a little hop, then did it over and over as she slowly spun in a circle. She let out a long breath, then looked back at him sheepishly. "Sorry, I've just been trying to work up the courage to do that all day. It's such a relief to have finally done it!"

"Same here." Izuku said, rubbing the back of his head with a giddy smile. "I've been thinking myself in circles trying to figure out what to do, but I was intending to ask you before we left at the latest."

That earned him another hug, and this time he could actually hug her back properly.

"I got the ball!" Hado cheered as she ran up, her now partly wet hair slung over her shoulders. "What'd I miss?"

Oh. Right. They were on a crowded beach, and were right next to their upperclassmen.

Uraraka yelped, then stepped back as her blush exploded again. "Sorry! That was…"

"Don't worry about it. If anything, we interrupted you two." Mirio chuckled. "We'll leave you to your date. C'mon Nejiri, I think those guys are getting impatient."

"Ooh! Maybe I can make them chase the ball this time!" Hado perked up, then spun to race back towards the Volleyball net. "It was nice to meet you both! Have fun!"

Mirio shook his head fondly at his friend's retreating back, then waved to them as he made to follow her. "I'll see you around campus. Enjoy your afternoon!"

"You too!" Izuku called back, then glanced at Uraraka, who he found was looking back at him. "So. Um. Mochi to celebrate?"

"This day just keeps getting better!" She cheered, her smile getting even wider. She grabbed his wrist, then started tugging him up the beach towards one of the stairways. She hesitated for a moment, then slid her hand down to his.

It took him a second to realize what she wanted, but he was more than happy to twine their fingers together as they ran through the sand, now hand in hand.


The line at the Mochi shop had been surprisingly long, but the wait had flown by. The list of options was expansive, with a plethora of flavors, toppings, and add-ons available. One in particular had caught his eye, however.

"Supercharged Mochi, huh?" He murmured. "What do you think that is, Urar- Er, O-ochako."

It would take a while to get used to that. He hoped she got as much of a thrill out of hearing that from him as he did when she called him Izuku.

Ochako squeezed his hand and smiled in a way that made him suspect she did. "Maybe it's caffeinated? That would be an odd option to have for everything, though. And I don't think that would justify doubling the price."

The elderly woman preparing fresh mochi behind the counter glanced up at them with a smile, though one corner of her mouth was tugged down by a ropey scar. "It's not caffeinated, I can tell you that much. I'm licensed to use my Quirk as part of my business, so long as I charge enough for it that it's not an 'Unfair Advantage' over other competitors."

"Oh?" Izuku asked, curiosity piqued. "From the name, I'd assume it's something that'll enhance the food in some way, probably energize people who eat it. It makes sense that you'd set up shop near the beach, then, given that people could buy some to keep their energy up…"

The old woman eyed him for a moment, and her gaze briefly flicked down to his chest. She looked surprised for a moment, but then her smile broadened as she once again met his eyes. "Clever boy, aren't you? My Quirk's called Guilt Free. If I use it on my ingredients, the food I make takes on special properties. No matter how many calories are in it, the food is burned for pure energy. No upset stomach, no peaky sugar rush, no weight gain no matter how many you eat. Just a nice energy boost so you can keep enjoying your day."

"That sounds dangerous." Ochako sounded almost envious. "I probably wouldn't be able to stop myself from eating everything I made."

The woman's eyes twinkled. "Oh, you better believe it, Missy. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, it doesn't digest any faster than normal food, so I still have to show some restraint. Knowing that didn't stop me from eating myself sick back in the day, though."

It took a few more minutes for them to make their orders. Ochako got a Red Bean Mochi, while he opted for a Matcha Mochi. A minute later, the old woman had come to the counter with their plates and had handed them to Izuku.

There was a slip of paper underneath his.

He'd hesitated momentarily, but the woman had simply given him a wink and headed towards the sinks. Once he and Ochako had settled themselves next to one another on a bench, he'd pulled out the slip and unfolded it to find… money? From a quick glance, it looked to be roughly the same amount he'd just paid.

Beneath that was a note.

Thank you for the work you did restoring the beach, Deku. When I discovered you'd finished clearing it over the winter while the shop was closed, I regretted not thanking you for your efforts when I had the chance. Given you're clearly trying to avoid being recognized, likely to do with the Hosu Incident, I didn't want to draw too much attention to you. Hopefully this will be an acceptable way to show my appreciation.

You'll never pay for Mochi at my shop, and I'll happily upgrade you to the Supercharged variety as I have with this order. It's the least I can do for the good you've done here.

Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy your food.

-Sakura Koritsu

Izuku stared down at the note, surprised. He'd known his disguise wasn't especially good, but the only others who'd recognized him were Hado and Mirio. The fact that Koritsu had not only recognized him as Deku, but had connected him to the scrawny kid she's apparently seen run past almost a year ago…

A realization struck him, and he couldn't help but laugh a little. He'd worn this shirt more than once during his training, along with a plethora of similar ones. Between that and the hair peeking out from underneath his hat, it was probably enough for a particularly sharp individual to recognize him.

Ochako made a half choked sound of surprise next to him, and he snapped his attention to her. She was staring at the note, eyes wide and chewing rapidly before she swallowed her bite. "Wait, is she serious? When the waitress said there were restoration efforts, I assumed there'd been, like, a team of people who came in. Did you actually…?"

"Um… kind of?" He gave her a nervous smile.

Ochako blushed, then cleared her throat. "Sorry for reading it. I shouldn't have without asking, but I caught a glimpse of the end and my curiosity got away from me..."

"It's ok." Izuku huffed a laugh. "I needed to train for UA, and the person training me thought it would be a good way to build muscle while helping the public. I'm sure an actual team did come in to take care of anything I missed under the sand and comb the water, but…"

Ochako turned to look out over the beach once more, eyeing it with something like awe. "How much was there?"

"...Let's go with 'A lot." Izuku muttered. "It took 10 months of spending every minute here I could, but it was worth it in the end."

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone about this? It's incredible!" She turned to look at him curiously. "Actually, you actively avoided saying anything earlier when the waitress was telling me about it. Were you just trying not to draw attention?"

"That was part of it. But it's kind of a long story that's better told in private. My trainer lives near UA and offered to help explain everything at his house when I asked to tell you. If you're not comfortable with that, I'm sure Nezu will let us use one of UA's private rooms."

Ochako arched her eyebrows at him. "The Principal is in on whatever this is too? Is your trainer some kind of UA talent scout or a top secret HPSC Agent?"

"Not quite, no. But those are… actually not that far off, from a certain perspective." Izuku mused.

She stared at him for a long moment. "...You know what, sure. Let's go see your beach loving, community service obsessed, super secret agent trainer."

He moved to stand, but a set of chopsticks pointed between his eyes stopped him.

"AFTER we finish our Mochi."


'When he said it was close to UA, he wasn't kidding.'

The house was a large three floor home with a four car garage. It was nestled in the woods only about a 3 minute walk from the UA campus, though it was in the opposite direction of the train station. It was hidden a long way back from the road at the end of a winding, tree lined cut-stone driveway that had easily added another few minutes to their trek.

Honestly, the house wasn't what Izuku had been expecting. After all the talk of renovations and security improvements, he'd envisioned something that looked more like a fortress than a relatively domestic family home, even if it was a very nice one. It certainly didn't look anything like what one would expect the Number One Hero to live in, which he supposed was probably intentional.

Ochako whistled appreciatively. "This is a really nice place! Well built, nice clean lines, not a loose stone in the entire driveway."

The front door swung open, and Toshinori stepped out onto the porch. "Thank you very much, young lady! I'm quite pleased with how it all turned out. I'm Toshinori Yagi, Izuku's trainer."

Ochako looked him over warily for a moment before her politeness overtook her surprise, at which point she hurriedly bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yagi! Thank you for agreeing to tell me about… whatever this is all about."

"Ultimately, it's Young Izuku's decision to make. He's just a polite young man and asks me regardless." Toshinori ruffled Izuku's hair with a grin as they joined him on the porch, much to his chagrin. Toshinori seemed to be enjoying this far more than Izuku had expected. "Now then. Let's head inside."

Beyond the front door was a short, unadorned hall with another door at the far end. Toshinori strolled down and firmly wrapped a hand around the knob, which lit up with a blue glow. "I am home!"

"Scanning complete. Voice authenticated. Welcome home, Toshinori." An electronic voice replied, and a series of clicks and beeps echoed through the small space, ending with a deep kerthunk. Toshinori tugged on the door, and the thick metal barrier swung open to reveal the well furnished room beyond.

Ochako stared. "...I kind of thought you were kidding about me being close with the secret agent comment."

Toshinori guffawed.

"Oh, he's nowhere near subtle enough for that, kid." With a quiet thump of air, one of the recliners slowly spun to reveal Sorahiko, fingers steepled and a wide grin on his face.

"And he calls me dramatic." Toshinori grumbled.

"Oh let me have my fun. I've only gotten to be part of this once, and I thought Mrs. Midoriya was going to skin you alive afterwards. Kinda took the shine off the whole thing." Sorahiko sniped. Then, almost as an afterthought, he continued. "And you don't have ANY damn room to judge. You're the biggest drama queen I've ever seen."

"Oh, I'm not THAT bad!"

"You have to talk to your door to get in here."

"It's for security!"

"The same way the giant ostentatious blast door at the agency is?"

Toshinori coughed lightly. "You know I barely ever use it."

"You realize that just proves my point, right?" Sorahiko snarked. "Whenever you DO, it's this whole grand event. Even them just being there is a statement."

Toshinori just grumbled.

Ochako's eyes were pinging between the two, clearly trying to figure out what was happening. Eventually, she just looked at Izuku with a vaguely pleading expression.

"Ok, let's actually answer some questions instead of making all of this seem even more confusing." Izuku turned back to Ochako, then took a deep breath. "10 months before the entrance exam, I was involved in two Villain attacks by the same Villain. Both times, All Might saved me-"

Ochako's eyes went huge, then she whipped around to stare at Toshinori. "HOLY SHIT I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHIN' FAMILIAR ABOUT YA'! YOU'RE ALL MIGHT!?"

Dead silence.

"Damn." Sorahiko sighed, clearly disappointed. "I was looking forward to the grand reveal, but I think she beat us to it."

"What gave me away?" Toshinori asked. "We weren't trying to be subtle, but I wasn't expecting you to get it this fast."

Ochako stared at Toshinori for a long moment, then shook her head. "Well, um, this was supposed to be about meeting Izuku's trainer, which was you. But it was a big secret that he was hesitant to share. With what he said about my HPSC secret agent joke being kind of close, I figured you were probably an off-the-books underground hero or something if he was being serious."

She gestured around herself. "But then we got here. Most limelight heroes don't make anywhere near enough for this kind of house, just from looking at the outside. Then you came out, and you sounded really familiar, but I couldn't place it because… well…"

"Because I'm a skeletal twig man."

Ochako spluttered. "I mean, I was going to say skinny, but… um… I guess that works too? Anyway, when Gran Torino turned around, for a second I thought HE was the mystery trainer, and you were just… a cover, for some reason? Maybe a middle man? Anyway, he kind of fit the bill. Unknown despite being terrifyingly strong. Used to be a UA teacher, which fit my other guess of you being some kind of UA talent scout. Sadistic enough to make someone clean an entire beach as training, if his one day of teaching us was anything to go by…"

"Guilty as charged!" Sorahiko agreed cheerily.

"But that wouldn't have made much sense. If it only took Izuku a week of training with him to figure out how to do so much with his Quirk, then it didn't make any sense that he wouldn't have had much better control from the start."

She glanced at him apologetically, but he just nodded in agreement. It was… almost entrancing to listen to her explain her logic. Actually, it was kind of hot.

He blushed. 'Not the time, Izuku.'

"So that left you. And when he started talking about All Might, it clicked. That's why you sounded so familiar. That's why the two of you seemed to know each other at school. That's why everything was such a big secret." Ochako finished. "The biggest thing I'm confused by is that you said it was Izuku's secret to share, when the secret is your secret identity."

"That was excellent deductive reasoning, which led to several very plausible theories based on the information available. Well done, Young Uraraka! I might have to see if I can give you extra credit!" Toshinori smiled broadly, lightly applauding. Between one clap and the next, he swelled into All Might in a puff of steam, which made Ochako jump with a small 'eep!' "But there's a key piece of information you're missing. While, yes, my identity is inextricably linked to what Young Izuku wishes to tell you, it is the lesser of the secrets."

"The lesser of…" Ochako gaped. "What? What could possibly be a bigger secret than your identity?! Are… wait. Izuku, are you All Might's son?!"

"...You know, you're the second person to come to that conclusion." Izuku couldn't help but laugh a little. "Shoto has been firmly convinced of that since at least the sports festival, and who knows how long before that. I've never seen Tenya look so completely bewildered as when he started explaining that theory back in the hospital."

"Do they know what's going on?" Ochako asked. "You and Iida in particular were much closer after everything that happened. I thought it might have just been because of what you went through together, but…"

"Shoto doesn't know. Tenya does, but he found out because of… easily the craziest part of the many absurd things we're going to tell you. His brother Tensei picked up that something was going on, so we brought him in on it. Toshinori suggested we tell Mom after internships. Then… Bakugo witnessed something in the Rescue Race that made it easier to just bring him and Mr. Aizawa into the loop." He sent her a small, shy smile. "You're the first person that I'm telling purely because I chose to, though. If you want to hear it, that is. I'll completely understand if this is all too much too suddenly."

The beginnings of what looked like a fond smile froze on her lips, and she looked at him askance. "Do you really think I would just walk away at this point? If nothing else, I'm agonizingly curious now."

Izuku met her eyes, saw the sincerity and conviction in them, then nodded. "Alright. Then we'll start from the beginning, at the dawn of Quirks, when our Quirk first came into existence."

"...Do you mean Quirks in general?"

"No, this one in particular. It's called One for All, and it has been passed down through the generations since the very beginning. All Might was the Eighth person to wield our Quirk, One for All. I'm the Ninth."

Ochako blinked.

She opened her mouth.

She closed her mouth.

Carefully, she stepped towards the large couch and sat down. "Ok, go ahead."

Izuku smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I know that's kind of jumping into the deep end."

"Hmm?" Ochako hummed. "Oh, no. That's a perfectly reasonable way to start an explanation that I'd originally thought would be about cleaning a beach. Kind of buried the lead there, Izuku."

"I can start there, if you'd like." Izuku offered.

"Yeah, because you can just drop 'Oh, hey, me, All Might, and seven other people have all shared a Quirk across a hundred and some odd years' then not explain." Ochako giggled a little. "Sorry, just… trying to wrap my brain around this. I'll try not to interrupt too much."

"It's completely ok if you have questions, Young Uraraka." Toshinori smiled reassuringly. "We're here to explain everything you want to know on the subject, at least regarding what we know ourselves."

Ochako took a deep breath, then nodded. "Let's begin, then."


Ochako proved to be a far more involved participant in the explanation than those before her had been. There were countless questions as she listened intently, trying to wrap her head around the entire situation.

She also managed to get Toshinori to show her a picture of Izuku before his training, much to his embarrassment. He'd expected that from his mother, not Toshinori. The complete disbelief on her face had been pretty funny, at least.

Their hands had been joined throughout, though who was comforting who seemed to change often. All the same, it was deeply reassuring that at no point had she ever pulled her hand away.

Even so, she looked dazed by the time they finished. It was completely understandable; she'd just been saddled with an overwhelming amount of information, much of which would be national secrets if the government knew of them.

Once more, Izuku gently squeezed her hand within his own. "Are you alright, Ochako?"

After a moment, she nodded. "Yeah. It's all just… it's so hard to believe. Not that I don't believe you! Just… if anyone else told me all this, I'd probably start checking to see if any nearby psychiatric hospitals had reported that a patient isn't had wandered off. But it weirdly makes some of the things I've noticed make more sense, as backwards as that feels."

"That's entirely understandable." Toshinori huffed. "The legacy of One for All is a strange one, even before everything that has happened of late. I was uncertain as well, back when Nana and Sorahiko first told me of it."

"For all of roughly five seconds. Then you were completely gung ho." Sorahiko snorted. "I was actually a little worried that you would be too gullible, but thankfully that didn't prove to be a problem."

Toshinori stared blankly into the distance for a beat, then turned to glare at Sorahiko. "Is THAT why you were constantly trying to trick me and tie my brain in knots early on? I assumed that was supposed to be some kind of weird mental fortitude training."

Ochako giggled as the two began another bickering volley, some of the tension in her frame defusing. Izuku smiled at the sound, then leaned over to bump his shoulder into hers.

"Thank you for hearing us out." He whispered lowly. "I know that was a lot, but I didn't want to keep things from you anymore. It's been difficult for a while, but not saying anything when we called during internships nearly made me rip out my hair. Once I got the clear, I was planning to let you know about it regardless of if we started dating, to make sure you were prepared."

She leaned into him as well. "It was, but I'm glad you told me. This is…"

She tapered off, eyes distant and a frown on her face. The frown hardened, determination beginning to burn in her eyes.

"The world is a much scarier place than I thought it was, even though I was so sure I knew what I was getting into by becoming a hero. I need to be stronger if I'm going to help protect people from it." She turned to meet his gaze. "So. This Vestige Realm is where you've been getting all that extra practice time. Any chance there's room for another visitor?"

Her determination stoked his own, and he felt a smile stretch across his lips. "You know, there might just be."


Notes:

At long last, the date! Shockingly, there was no villain attack that they needed to address, no disasters they had to help stop, and no *unexpected* existential crises. Just a run in with people who recognize Izuku, Mirio getting an early introduction along with the rest of the Big 3, and Izuku's community service paying unexpected dividends.

And, last but not least, Ochako is finally in the inner circle.

This chapter fought me on a few points, but I'm pretty happy with the vast majority of it! I hope it was worth the looooong build up, and that everyone enjoyed!

Unfortunately, there's some bad news. I managed to push through until The Date finally came to fruition, but I've been really strapped for time the last two months, which might show in the quality of my writing. On top of that, my job going on summer hours this year means I'll need to look for a second job for the summer, so I'll have less free time, not more. Between that, life in general, and wedding preparations in particular, my upload schedule is probably going to shift more to the tune of every three weeks to once a month, possibly less frequent depending on how things go.

Thank you to everyone who's read my story. It's been a joy to get to share it with you all, and I look forward to continuing to do so. I'll try not to leave you hanging on too many evil cliffhangers until I can get back to more regular posts.