Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

From the dawn of quirks, legends have been passed around select groups, of a man who could take and give quirks, ‘curing’ people from their diseases, or granting them immense power to protect themselves or their family. The man worked from the shadows, the people he helped doing his bidding as repayment of what he had done for them. The man had gone by many names in the past, but ones that stood out the most were the Demon Lord and All For One. Not many people knew what the second name meant when they heard the whispers, but almost every criminal or villain knew the name of the Demon Lord, the one controlling the villainous underworld.

There were rumors that he wasn’t alone in the ruling, even fewer whispers mentioning a brother that stood by his side. Only a select few people knew the truth behind the brother, and how he was sickly and held captive by this Demon Lord. Forcing a quirk onto his brother, the Demon Lord expected the same servitude from his brother compared to that of his followers, but he was gravely mistaken.

But the rumors of the two brothers weren’t the only whispers on the wind. One spoke of a man who could control the elements, having a mastery over them and showcasing eminent power, seemingly having multiple quirks to allow him to do so. The whispers told stories of this man standing side by side with the Demon Lord, while others spoke of them opposing. Some even spoke of the man disappearing without a trace, never to be seen again, suspected to be killed by the Demon Lord for opposing him.

While these rumors were few and far between, some groups were more commonly spoken about throughout the underworld, battling alongside the Elemental Master or the Demon Lord. These diametrically opposing forces were known as the White Lotus and the Red Lotus. The whispers spoke of the groups maintaining an unbroken line of succession since before the dawn of quirks, dating back to the age of ‘benders’, hidden in the shadows and waiting for the perfect time to emerge back into the world. These rumors spoke of how the White Lotus were considered protectors and mentors of an ‘Avatar’ while the Red Lotus wanted to destroy said ‘Avatar’ and the world’s leaders to bring more stability back into the world.

As time went on, these rumors and whispers on the wind were lost, the Demon Lord continuing to rule the underworld from the shadows, while the ‘Elemental Master’ disappeared, never to be heard from or seen again. The White Lotus and Red Lotus also disappeared with seemingly no trace, falling back into the shadows, searching for the next avatar to train them for their own plans, continuing their tasks that had spread across many generations.

It was days after Izuku’s fourth birthday when Inko had taken him to their local doctor’s office, Dr. Tsubasa, for his yearly checkup. This was an important year for Izuku, the year that he would finally find out what quirk he was born with and be able to use.

The days leading up to the doctor’s appointment resulted in Izuku trying everything to summon a quirk similar to his mother’s or father’s quirk. He would try summoning Fire Breath continuously until he ran out of breath and almost passed out. He would try Telekinesis for hours, resulting in him receiving a pounding headache from concentrating so hard.

“I’m afraid there’s no hope for him.”

The doctor's words rang in Izuku’s ears every day after that, constantly reminding him that his dreams were shattered before he even had a chance to begin. His best friend turned against him, bullying him and beating him up almost on a daily basis. His father accepted a job in America not long after, disappearing from his family home, only heard from on the off chance when he called. While his mother worked longer hours to support them, she could only apologize to Izuku any chance she could, shouldering the blame for his quirkless status.

Izuku’s only saving grace was his notebooks that he constantly filled out with hero and quirk information, and his favorite All Might debut video on the internet. Most days he would research villain fights on the internet and break down quirks, or watch All Might’s debut video to keep him encouraged to not give up, to continue trying being a hero, regardless of his quirk status.

It wasn’t until years later, when Katsuki was picking on another student when Izuku had jumped in to protect him. The fear that Izuku felt, knowing how painful the blast from Katsuki’s quirk was, was shown in how shaky his legs were as he tried to stand above the younger kid that was being bullied.

“So Deku, the quirkless wonder, thinks he can play hero, huh?” Katsuki taunted him, punching his fist into his palm and letting an explosion go off. “Hold him still!”

Izuku panicked when the other boys approached him, throwing his hands out as if he could stop them from approaching, when a huge gust of wind pushed them backwards behind Katsuki. Everything was silent for a moment, before Katsuki exploded once more, rushing forward towards Izuku. Holding up his hands and wishing to protect himself once more, another massive wind gust pushed Katsuki back beside the other boys, tripping him so he fell onto his backside.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, DEKU?” Katsuki yelled out, getting on his feet and rushing forward once more, his goonies following close behind. “YOU QUIRKLESS BASTARD!”

Once more, Izuku held out his hands, wishing to protect himself again, and summoned another massive wind gust, pushing all three of his attackers back onto their backsides, before he looked down towards his own hands. “But, I’m quirkless?” Izuku questioned quietly, before a shout indicated that Katsuki was getting back up. He quickly turned around, grabbing the younger boy’s arm. “Run! Get out of here!” The boy looked at Izuku before looking at Katsuki once more, before turning around and running as fast as he could. Izuku watched him run, turning a corner, before turning around and running in the opposite direction.

It wasn’t until he got home and caught his breath, that he looked back down towards his hands. He always thought he was quirkless, never trying to activate a quirk after being told by the doctors he was quirkless. ‘Could they have missed this?’ Izuku thought to himself, as it was nothing like his mother’s or father’s quirk, if anything it was completely the opposite.

Sitting in his room, he kept looking at his hand as if they would tell him the answers. He knew that if he summoned another powerful wind gust in his room, that all his All Might merch would be scattered, broken, or completely destroyed, but that wasn’t going to stop him from experimenting.

He concentrated on the air in his room, thinking that if he summoned the massive air gusts earlier, he should be able to move the air in his room gently. Moving his hand in a small and slow circle, he imagined that he was spinning the air around in the circle. The loose papers in his room started ruffling in the wind, including the posters along his walls, following the small and slow circle he was currently moving his hand in. Izuku watched with awe as the wind moved the papers in his room, ruffling his clothes and hair in the process, as a smile graced his face.

“The doctor was wrong.” Izuku said quietly, moving his hand in different patterns and watching as the papers followed his movements, riding the air currents he was summoning. “The doctor was wrong!” Izuku said a little more loudly, stopping his hands and letting the papers fall to the floor and the air currents to stop moving around his room. Rushing out of his room, he went to find his mother, all while shouting ‘The doctor was wrong!’.

“Toshinori! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Nezu questioned, already placing a cup of tea in the skeleton of a man in front of him.

Without saying a word, the man leaned forward and placed a ‘White Dragon’ Pai Sho tile onto Nezu’s desk, indicating his real reason for dropping by the principal’s office. Nezu looked at it for a second, before clicking a secret button built into his desk, locking down the room and activating communications interference devices, making sure nobody would disrupt them when in their meeting. Nezu reached forward and placed down his ‘White Lotus’ Pai Sho tile beside Toshinori’s tile as this was all happening.

“Grand Lotus.” Toshinori greeted.

“Grand Master.” Nezu responded.

“There have been whispers on the wind of an air bender appearing in Musutafu.” Toshinori started out. “It’s been many years since we’ve seen someone with power as great as what was reported. The last one we thought was a good possibility was Todoroki’s boy.”

Nezu hummed in acknowledgement. “I’ve been following the same reports recently, and have been searching high and low for said bender, but it seems he popped up and disappeared just as quickly.”

“Do you think they got to him first?”

“No, I’ve been keeping my eye on the missing persons that the police report and the hidden ones the HPSC have.” A light gleamed in Nezu’s eyes, pulling up both reports as he spoke, seeing if there was another update. “It seemed to have been reported in a small neighborhood not far from here, but being an older and smaller neighborhood, there are very limited recording devices in the area.”

Nezu hummed in thought, bringing up a video and twisting his screen so that Toshinori could see it. “The only thing I’ve been able to gather is this here.” Pressing play, it showed three boys attacking another boy that was cut off by the camera, the only thing visible was his red shoes and the boy on the ground behind him. The video showed the boys seemingly getting pushed back by nothing, multiple times in a row, before the fallen boy got up and ran, the red shoes disappearing not long after.

“That definitely matches the reports I’ve received.” Toshinori hummed and sat back on the couch, taking a sip of his tea. “So we know nothing of how the person looks, other than his red shoes?”

“Not exactly.” Nezu confirmed, turning his screen back towards himself. “I’ve been running reports on every person in Musutafu, looking for someone who was recently quirkless suddenly gaining power, but so far it’s come back negative.” Nezu looked at the report, thinking about what he could have missed.

“What if they never corrected their quirk status?” Toshinori questioned, causing Nezu to look towards him. “What I’m saying is, maybe suddenly gaining this power scared them? Do you think that someone this strong would be using these powers all haphazardly after being told they were quirkless?”

Nezu hummed again, looking towards the report in front of him, and realizing that Toshinori was correct. “Based on the other boys in the video, they look to be aged anywhere between ten and fourteen.” Clicking a few keys, Nezu created a new search with new parameters. “That would mean the boy in the red shoes would be somewhere around their ages, and classified as quirkless.” Nezu sat back and took a sip of his tea as the report ran, before a ding was heard.

“Izuku Midoriya.” Nezu confirmed. “Diagnosed as quirkless by the age of four, father works in America, and mother works long hours to put food on the table.” Nezu hummed, looking over the report, before clicking on his school record. “Black marks all over his school record, most showing that he commonly got into fights with one named Katsuki Bakugo.” Nezu hummed again, looking at the description on some of the reports. “These seem to be all forged.”

“And that means?” Toshinori questioned.

Nezu didn’t respond, instead bringing up the profile of Katsuki to see if the records matched that of Izuku’s, and found them to be spotless. “It seems that Aldera is trying to make one student look good while making the other look like the problem.” Nezu growled slightly, before straightening his features. “If Izuku has these many reports against him, I can see why he never tried to summon a quirk again after being told he was quirkless all those years ago.”

“So what now? Do we step in?”

“No.” Nezu responded immediately. “If one of us steps in, they will know right away that we are suspicious. What we need now is someone who is lesser known keeping an eye on him.” Nezu hummed again, bringing up a list of who he could trust and a secret list of the Order of the White Lotus members that he knew of. “And I think I have the perfect person for the job.”

Ochako could count on one hand how many times she had been to Musutafu. Her parents rarely ever left Meiwa, either not having a reason to leave, work keeping them busy, or just not having the extra funds for them all. When her parents did leave Meiwa, it was on a special occasion to look at job sites or see if they could get higher quality material for cheaper, Ochako usually stayed home during these times.

This time was strictly work related, and for some reason, their potential employers wanted their whole family to come along. Ochako was unsure of coming along, opting to save her parent’s money for more important things, knowing that she could take care of herself if they needed to leave for a few days, but when her parents had said the tickets were bought for them, she had no reason to refuse.

Uraraka’s Construction was one of the lesser-known companies in the Mei prefecture, but they had some loyal customers who trusted their work over any of their competition, and for good reason too. Her parents always went the extra mile to make sure everything exceeded code when building, and while it cost them more money to do so, it resulted in these buildings lasting years into the future. Ochako often walks by some of her parents' work that was built when she was younger, and still admires how they still stand tall and proud compared to some of the other jobs around it.

Ochako wanted to help her parents when she finished school, her quirk, Zero Gravity, would have been perfect for reducing costs on moving equipment, or helping to build by removing the weight of said items. Her parents had refused her help over the years, instead telling her to follow her dreams of being a hero like her favorite hero, Space Hero: Thirteen.

It was during their walk to their potential new jobsite when tragedy struck. While walking down one of the major streets, a villain was running from heroes, landing in front of a car before jumping away again. This surprised the person driving the car, causing them to slam on their brakes and lose control. Ochako could see it happening in slow motion as the car slammed onto the sidewalk and into a building, running over an older gentleman with a mutant quirk in the process, causing him to be pinned under the car.

Without thinking, Ochako rushed forward, ignoring the screams of her parents behind her. She reached towards the car and slammed all five fingers against the side, feeling the effects immediately in her stomach as the weight approached her limit. Lifting the weightless car off the older gentleman, she grabbed him with all five of her fingers, feeling his weight removed, she dragged him out from under the car.

She quickly placed her fingers together, feeling the side effects lessen before checking on the person driving the car, making sure they were okay, before a hero arrived on scene. Looking up, she saw the towering figure of a man standing beside her, removing the person from the car, making sure they were fine before they looked down towards her. Ochako smiled at the hero, her mind telling her that everything was fine now, now that All Might was here, before her vision started to blur. She turned around and puked up her breakfast, and with the adrenaline leaving her, she swayed a second, before collapsing onto the ground and blacking out.

“Do you plan to go through with it?” A voice questioned from behind her on the rooftop. Swinging around and activating her quirk, she aimed the rifle directly at the smaller mammal who just seemed to smile at her.

“Nezu.” Kaina said, lowering her arm and dropping her quirk. She turned back around to look towards the HPSC offices that she had a meeting in soon. She had intel that it was a setup, but the source was unknown, and she wasn’t sure if she should trust it. Nezu jumped up on the edge of the building, sitting down and swinging his paws over the side, looking towards the same building that Kaina was looking at.

“You never answered my question.” Nezu said, not taking his eyes off the building in front of them.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Sir.” Kaina responded, taking a seat beside the small mammal.

“You’re an interesting one, Kaina.” Nezu responded, causing Kaina to look towards him. “I remember when you used to be so full of life when you first became a hero.” He hummed in thought. “Before the HPSC got their dirty hands on you, threatening you to comply.”

Kaina just scuffed at the mammal, and decided not to respond. She knew that over the years she had changed. All she ever wanted when she first became a hero was to help people, and when the HPSC took interest in her, she thought it was finally her chance. How wrong she had been when she was younger. She looked off into the distance, seeing the last traces of the sun disappearing behind the horizon, indicating that her meeting would be soon.

“I know you’ve read the files I sent you.” Nezu started, causing Kaina to look back towards him. “They plan to get rid of you, because of how much you know.” He placed a ‘Night Iris’ Pai Sho tile down between them, causing Kaina to raise her eyebrow in question. “I have a task for you, and a permanent position at UA, if you accept.” Nezu moved to stand up and start walking away. “When you’re ready to be a hero, a true hero, bring me that Night Iris.”

Kaina picked up the Night Iris tile, inspecting it, before looking over her shoulder to find she was alone once more. She inspected the tile for a minute, before shoving it into her pocket. “A true hero, huh?” She questioned out loud to nobody in particular.

Pulling out her HeroPhone, she opened the documents that were sent to her. ‘RatGod’ had contacted her out of the blue, and when she went to question who exactly they were, the contact showed that it didn’t exist and she couldn’t reply to them. Based on what Nezu had told her tonight, she now knew exactly who the ‘RatGod’ was, so she decided to look over the documents once more.

Files upon files of all the villains she had taken care of,the last few being corrupt heroes they had forced her to take out, threatening her with consequences if she didn’t take the jobs. The last document she opened showed that during their meeting tonight, she would kill the current President while all of her other documents would be released alongside his death, showing the world what kind of ‘hero’ she actually was.

She put her HeroPhone away, before pushing her palms into her eyes, releasing a frustrated sigh, before lowering her hands. Opening her eyes and looking towards her hands, she could almost see the bloodshed she had caused by all her confirmed kills and coverups, all ‘in the name of peace’. She took out the Pai Sho tile again, flipping it over in her fingers a few times as she looked towards the building in front of her.

“So you think you can make everything disappear?” Kaina questioned quietly, still flipping the tile back and forth between fingers. “That I can finally have a chance to become the hero I always wanted to be?” Lining up the tile on her thumb, she flipped it through the air, before catching it once more, holding it directly in front of her. “What more do I have to lose?”

Ochako could hear muffled voices as she slowly woke up, attempting to open her eyes, before slamming them tightly shut once more as the bright lights above her blinded her. Lifting up her arm, she covered her eyes as she slowly opened them once more, she quickly realized she was lying in a hospital bed, while All Might was standing beside her bedside talking to a shorter nurse.

The shorter woman slammed her cane into All Might’s shin. “Dammit woman! What’d I do this time?” The woman shook her hand slightly, before pointing her cane directly towards Ochako, causing All Might to look over. “You’re awake!” All Might exclaimed, moving towards the bed, and looking down towards Ochako. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay, I think?” Ochako questioned, looking between All Might and the nurse. “What happened? Where are my parents?” She tried to look around the hulking form of a man with little success.

“You passed out from quirk exhaustion.” The nurse confirmed, causing Ochako to cross her arms over her stomach as if expecting the pain to return at any moment. “This big oaf rushed you here as soon as he could, thinking something else had happened. Your parents are waiting outside.”

“But, why are you still here, All Might?” Ochako questioned. “I mean, I’m thankful for you looking out for me, but weren’t there other people at the scene of the accident that needed help?”

“Well, you see…” All Might started out, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as he looked towards the nurse.

“Don’t look at me for your answers. This is your mess.” The nurse responded instantly.

“Thank you, Recovery Girl, for summing that up.” All Might deadpanned as the nurse cackled to herself. All Might looked back towards Ochako, seemingly thinking of the words he wanted to say. “I wanted to question you on why you acted the way you did.” All Might clarified. “I arrived on scene to see you floating the car and pulling the older gentleman out, while the other heroes on scene barely reacted.”

Ochako looked down towards her hand for a moment, thinking about why she did what she did. “…I don’t know?” Ochako sounded unsure as she spoke. “I mean, I saw the villain land in front of the car before jumping away. I saw the car lose control, and I saw the older gentleman get run over.” Ochako hummed in thought for a moment. “It’s like, my body acted on its own? I heard my parents yelling towards me as I ran, but I couldn’t stop myself. All I could see was the man lying under the car, and knew I could help him.” She looked back up towards All Might. “Am I in trouble? I didn’t mean to use my quirk, but that man was being crushed! Oh my gosh, is the man okay?” Ochako quickly changed subject as she realized she never heard about the older gentleman with the mutant quirk.

“The man you saved is recovered and already released from the hospital, thanks to your quick thinking.” The nurse informed her. “Both his legs were broken from the impact, but other than a few scrapes and bruises, he survived.”

“Oh thank goodness.” Ochako said, letting the tension in her shoulders relax.

“Did you know that most of today’s greatest heroes show signs of greatness even as children?” All Might questioned Ochako, causing her to look up towards him. “What you explained to me was proof of that. Your body moved before your mind could even think of what to do.” Ochako let her mouth open up slightly in surprise, and was about to respond when she was cut off. “Which is why I’d like to offer you a proposition! I would like to make you my successor!”

Ever since Izuku’s quirk manifested, he practiced any chance he could, learning what he could do. He deducted that his quirk was Air Manipulation, allowing him to control the air around him. From creating the major wind gusts when it first manifested, to moving air around his room to ruffle his papers, hair, and clothes, to having full control of the temperature of the air around him, allowing him to stay cool on the warmest days, or warm in the coolest of mornings/evenings. He suspected that with a bit more practice and concentration on controlling the power of his quirk that he could possibly use it to float above the ground, or even fly.

Inko had been ecstatic for him when he had shown her that he finally manifested his quirk, and had offered to help him anyway she possibly could, including finding teachers or quirk counselors for him to use. Izuku knew how much those could cost, and knowing that his mother struggled some weeks to put food on the table for them, told her that he would practice as much as he could without someone to help him.

Katsuki had been more aggressive towards Izuku following the day his quirk manifested, and would often seek him out throughout the day. Most days, Izuku could dodge around him and his goonies, and the days that he couldn’t, resulted in Izuku controlling the temperature just enough to make Katsuki’s quirk ineffective against him. Not only did this make Katsuki even more aggressive towards him, calling him a ‘useless’ or ‘worthless’ or ‘weak’ Deku, but it often caused him to react just as aggressively with his fists and other means of hurting him. No matter how much Izuku tried to reason with Katsuki, it always ended in the same result.

The following weeks after his quirk manifested, Izuku felt like he was being watched anytime he left his apartment. It was a different feeling than when Katsuki used to stalk him, as this one didn’t feel as aggressive, and when he looked towards where he thought the feeling was coming from, he could never see anything.

He felt the most unease when he would train on Dagobah Municipal Beach Park, as it felt like he was being watched from multiple places, all at once, while also not being watched at all. He considered finding somewhere else to train his quirk, but that proved to be a waste of time because there were hardly any other places where he could openly train his quirk without the risk of being caught for public quirk usage. Dagobah was perfect for that exact reason, not many people came to the dumping ground of a beach, other than to dump more trash, and the piles of trash and the winds off the ocean allowed him to mask the usage of his quirk perfectly.

It was one early morning when he arrived on the beach for his training, that he encountered a scene he never thought he would experience in a million years. Standing at the top of the stairs and looking towards the beach, he found All Might sitting on top of a fridge in civilian clothes, while a girl around his age seemed to be trying to pull said fridge. He raised his eyebrow in question, before descending the stairs, controlling the air and sound currents around him to make him silent on his approach.

“This fridge makes quite the comfy perch!” All Might called out to the struggling girl, before she collapsed onto the sand.

“Why am I dragging this garbage across the beach anyways?” The girl panted out, still lying on the ground, but rolling onto her back to look towards the sky.

“The way your body is now is no good to be a successor of mine!” All Might exclaimed, taking a picture of the girl on the ground.

“Successor?” Izuku questioned, causing both parties to freeze and look towards him. “Uhh… Hi?”

Within a heartbeat, All Might was standing in front of Izuku, his hand on his shoulder, holding him firmly in place. “How long have you been standing there? How much did you hear? Explain yourself!”

“I’m sorry! I just got here! I came here to train! I didn’t think anybody else used this beach! I didn’t hear anything, I swear! My lips are sealed!” Izuku panicked, the words flowing out of his mouth faster than he could think of them. He could still feel the giant hand of All Might’s on his shoulder, and he was hoping and praying he didn’t stumble across anything he wasn’t supposed to. “I’m sorry!” Izuku cried again.

There was a sound of a rifle clicking into place and being placed against the Number One Hero’s head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, All Might.” The newcomer said. “He’s under my protection.”

“Lady Nagant.” All Might said, releasing his hand from Izuku’s shoulder, causing him to stumble back and land on his backside, looking towards the newcomer shoving a rifle into the side of All Might’s head. “I heard you disappeared.”

“I did, and for good reason.” Kaina moved around All Might to stand beside Izuku, her rifle barrel never moving from his head. “The Grand Lotus made me disappear.” Kaina dug into her pocket, before tossing the Pai Sho tile towards All Might, who caught it gracefully and held it in front of him.

“The Night Iris.” All Might hummed in thought, tossing back the Pai Sho tile. “The Grand Lotus informed me he had found someone, but never mentioned who.” All Might looked from Kaina towards Izuku who was looking between the two heroes in front of him, mirrored by the look of the girl on the other side of All Might, still panting from exhaustion. “Which means this is who I think it is. Has he shown any other signs?”

“Not from the time I started watching him.” Kaina admitted, lowering her rifle and making the gun disappear. “He practices here most days, which is why he’s here this morning.” Kaina looked past All Might towards the girl on the ground. “Successor? Grand Lotus informed me of the ‘need to know’ when it came to her.”

“Whoa, back up a second.” Izuku said, stumbling to get to his feet, standing between the heroes. The girl mirrored him, standing behind All Might more than standing between them. “Grand Lotus? Night Iris? Successor? Can someone explain what is going on?” Izuku questioned, looking between both heroes, before focusing on Kaina. “And you’ve been following me? Why?”

The two heroes looked between each other, before looking back down towards Izuku. They both seemed to want to say something, before Kaina’s HeroPhone rang, causing her to whip it out. “It’s the RatGod.” She told All Might, getting a curt nod, she answered the phone. “Nagant.”

“Nagant, All Might. Bring them both to UA. Now.” Nezu said firmly, before ending the phone call.

“UA? What does UA have anything to do with this? And you still haven’t answered my questions!” Izuku exclaimed.

“Need a lift?” All Might questioned Kaina.

“It sounded pretty serious, so we might as well.” Kaina responded, shrugging, before turning towards Izuku. “We’re taking the express train. Best to keep your eyes and mouth closed.”

“What does that mean?” Izuku questioned, before Kaina jumped onto All Might’s back and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. All Might moved and picked up both teenagers without struggle, and before either could protest, jumped.

“Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear? It doesn’t matter because I’m Nezu, UA’s principal!”

“You’re Nezu?!” Izuku questioned.

“You’re UA’s Principal?!” Ochako questioned at the same time.

Nezu chuckled to himself, before he activated the hidden button on his desk. The room commenced to lock itself down, shutters closing over the windows and doors, indicating that nobody was getting in or out of this room currently, while the communication interference device activated.

“What’s going on?” Izuku asked, watching as the shutters locked the room up, before looking back towards Nezu.

All Might and Kaina walked forward, putting their Pai Sho tiles onto the desk, to which Nezu also put his beside them. “Grand Lotus.” Both heroes said, and slightly bowed towards the mammal.

“Welcome, Izuku Midoriya, and Ochako Uraraka!” Nezu cheerily said, ignoring the greetings from the heroes who stood behind the students. “I bet you both have some questions for us. This room is completely sealed and will not allow anybody to enter or exit, and the CID, or communication interference device, will block all communications from entering or leaving the room.”

“But why go through all of this?” Izuku looked towards Ochako to see the same confused look. “I mean, I understand Uraraka and being All Might’s successor.” Ochako ‘eep’ed and looked away, still not used to being called All Might’s successor. “But why me?”

“All Might?” Nezu questioned, gesturing the Number One Hero forward.

“What you are about to witness, Young Midoriya, does not leave this room.” All Might said, before a bunch of steam started pouring off him.

“ALL MIGHT!” Izuku exclaimed, jumping up to his feet, before a frail looking man stood in the hero's spot. “An imposter?” Izuku questioned, slowly backing up and sitting down.

“I can assure you that I am not an imposter.” All Might said, lifting up his shirt. “A villain did this to me five years ago, resulting in the form you see before yourself.”

“Toxic Chainsaw did that?” Izuku questioned, looking at the gnarly scar in All Might’s side.

All Might chuckled. “You’ve done your research.” He became serious once more, lowering his shirt. “No, Toxic Chainsaw couldn’t even land a scratch on me. This was done by a supervillain that nobody heard of, because we made sure it was covered up.”

Izuku nodded slowly, before looking back up towards All Might. “But, All Might, why tell me?”

“Please, call me Toshinori Yagi while I look like this.” Toshinori waited until receiving a nod from Izuku before continuing. “You asked about my successor.” Toshinori said simply, gesturing a hand towards Ochako who blushed and looked away. “But you also asked what these tiles meant.” Toshinori reached behind him and picked up the three tiles, handing them to Izuku. Ochako looked over towards the tiles, watching Izuku inspect them. “These are Pai Sho tiles, normally used in a game of Pai Sho.”

“I’ve never heard of it.” Ochako said, reaching forward and taking one of the tiles for herself, inspecting it.

“It was a game played thousands of years ago.” Nezu explained. “The tiles in your hands were used almost like chess pieces, each meaning a different point. The rumors say the game was invented by spirits, and was quite popular all over the world. It was a game of strategy and chance, and each culture or nation had their own rules of playing.”

“But that doesn’t answer my questions from earlier.” Izuku handed the next tile to Ochako, before inspecting the last.

“The game of Pai Sho has been lost to time, even if you could find some varieties of it across the world, not many people understand how to play anymore.” Nezu explained. “No, instead it represents a secret society of people, called ‘The Order of the White Lotus’.”

“That’s what this tile is, right?” Izuku held up the tile in his hand, showing the mammal.

“Correct, Izuku. That tile is usually held by the ‘Grand Lotus’. The other two tiles in front of you two are the ‘White Dragon’ and the ‘Night Iris’.” Nezu confirmed, still watching Izuku and Ochako examine the tiles, before handing them back to Toshinori. “Toshinori’s tile is the ‘White Dragon’ and he goes by the rank of ‘Grand Master’.”

“My tile is called the ‘Night Iris’ because the Rat thought it would be funny.” Kaina said, taking the tile from Toshinori, and holding it up. “My ranking is ‘Apprentice’, having learned of the Order not long ago, and learning from both the Grand Lotus and Grand Master respectively. My task was to protect you, Midoriya, from the members of the Red Lotus, or whoever wished to cause you harm.”

“Cause me harm? Why would someone want to cause me harm?” Izuku questioned, before looking away. “Other than Kacchan, of course…” Nezu’s eyes glinted in the light, his smile never leaving his face, as he listened to Izuku mumble to himself quietly.

“We believe you are the next Avatar.” Toshinori explained simply.

“Avatar?” Izuku questioned, looking towards Ochako and receiving a shrug in response.

“The Avatar is an old legend, a person who could master all elements with ease. It was claimed that the Avatar was the only person who could bring harmony and peace within the nations.” Nezu explained. “While the Avatar was lost for multiple centuries, one appeared near the dawn of quirks, attempting to bring peace to the world when people were lost, confused, and scared.”

“The Order of the White Lotus was a secretive society tasked with finding the next Avatar and helping them train while also protecting them. The Red Lotus was also a secretive society whose only goal was to take down the Avatar and restore the world’s order to before the world leaders rose up.” Toshinori followed up.

“Whoa, hold up a second. How can I be the next Avatar? I only have Air Manipulation.” Izuku explained.

“Is that what you’re calling it?” Nezu hummed. “We are almost one hundred percent sure of you being the next Avatar, but there are multiple ways to verify. The first clue for us was that you were deemed quirkless from a young age, having the second pinky toe joint, and didn’t activate your ‘Air Manipulation’ until recently. The second clue was the power of your attacks when you first activated it.” Nezu turned the monitor around, showing him the video of Izuku protecting another kid. Ochako looked over at him in amazement, seeing how scared he was and still stood up for the kid. “The third clue was that your quirk didn’t match those of your parents.”

“But that just sounds like I was a late bloomer.” Izuku tried to reason. “I haven’t been able to control any other elements.”

“But have you tried?” Kaina questioned from behind him. “Since I started watching you, I haven’t seen you attempt anything other than Air Manipulation.”

“Well, no, I haven’t.” Izuku responded honestly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “Having two quirks is unheard of unless it was a combination of their parents, so I never considered trying a different element.”

Nezu hummed in thought, before looking towards Kaina. “Kaina, please get me a jug of water. I want to test a theory.” She nodded, quickly crossing the room and filling up the jug that was placed beside the sink, before bringing it back over towards Nezu’s desk and placing it on top. “I want you to close your eyes, Izuku, and focus on the water in this jug. Do whatever you think is best with the water.” Nezu explained.

“Okay.” Izuku took a deep breath, holding out his hand towards the jug in front of him, focusing on the water within the jug, and imagined lifting it into a sphere like he normally did with Air Manipulation. Hearing a gasp from Ochako beside him, he opened his eyes to see the water in a small ball hovering above the jug, before getting excited and letting it drop back into the jug with a plop. “I did it!”

“That proves my theory correct.” Nezu explained. “Izuku, you are the next Avatar.” Nezu jumped onto the desk, bowing slightly, while the other two heroes in the room bowed slightly towards him as well. “We will be available for anything you may have questions about or may need help with in the future.”

Chapter Text

“So what happens now?” Izuku questioned after the excitement of water bending passed, as Kaina moved the water jug back towards the sink.

“Going forward, you will have to be protected from members of the Red Lotus.” Nezu explained, typing a bit on his computer before looking back at Izuku. “Kaina would be the perfect person for that job, because of her past.” Kaina sighed behind Izuku, causing him to look around to find her with her eyes closed.

“Her past? What happened?” Izuku questioned, causing Kaina to open her eyes wide and look at him. Izuku could see the regret and pain behind them, before she quickly turned around and walked into the corner of the room, causing Izuku to look back towards Nezu. “I know she’s a pro hero by the name of Lady Nagant.”

“Kaina?” Nezu questioned the woman in the corner.

“They’re gonna find out anyway…” Kaina said quietly, still looking away from everyone.

“Very well.” Nezu turned to fully face Izuku now. “What I am about to tell you, does not leave this room, as it could put both of your lives into grave danger.” Izuku gulped, before looking at Ochako who had a panicked look across her face. “That goes for you as well, Ochako.” The two students nodded slowly. “Kaina Tsutsumi, otherwise known as Lady Nagant, has taken lives before.”

Kaina let out a huff, moving back to stand in front of Izuku and Ochako, crouching down in front of them. “There’s no point in beating around the bush. I was trained as an assassin, used for taking out criminals and corrupt heroes.” Izuku and Ochako gasped as she said that, before Kaina looked down towards her hands. “I- I have more blood on my hands then most villains ever do in their lifetime.”

Izuku sat there, watching Kaina look at her hands. Unbeknownst to anybody else in the room, Kaina could almost see the blood on her hands, remembering all her confirmed kills. He could hear Kaina take a few shaky breaths, still looking down at her hands, before he seemed to realize what she was looking at.

“Lady Nagant…” Izuku reached forward and grabbed her hands with his own, causing her to look up at him with unshed tears.

“It’s Kaina Tsutsumi. Lady Nagant is dead.” Kaina said, she closed her eyes, sitting on her legs as Izuku held their hands in front of her. “She died when Nezu offered me a position here, where he asked me to protect you.”

“I don’t believe that.” Izuku responded, causing Kaina to open her eyes suddenly. “When Lady Nagant first became a pro, everyone loved her. She always took time to talk with her fans, or comfort citizens after a villain attack. She quickly ascended the hero billboard because of how many people she protected or saved.” Kaina's mouth opened slightly, realizing what Izuku was telling her. “No, I don’t believe Lady Nagant is dead, I believe she’s lost, and needs some help finding herself again.”

“Izuku’s correct.” Nezu stated, causing Izuku and Kaina to look up towards him. “The Lady Nagant that I knew would have done anything and everything within her power to save or protect people.” Nezu hummed, taking a sip of his tea, before placing it back down on his desk. “It’s why I offered you a position here, why I offered you a position in the White Lotus. I know who Lady Nagant is, and I want to see her return.”

Kaina nodded, looking back towards Izuku. “Thanks, Kid.” Kaina released one of their hands, wiping her tears away, before a small smile graced her face.

“You’re welcome, Ms. Tsutsumi.”

“Kaina.” Kaina responded instantly. “I’m your protector, which means we’re gonna be working together for the foreseeable future.”

“Please, call me Izuku then.” Izuku responded, smiling back towards her. “Would you like a hug? I know when I’m feeling down like this, my mother always offers me hugs and they help tremendously.”

Kaina nodded, allowing Izuku to pull her up into a standing position, him following suit at the same time, before he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly. Kaina responded by hugging back just as tightly, not being able to remember ever being hugged, feeling more loved by this kid than she had ever felt before. She allowed a few tears to escape again, before releasing the hug, wiping them away again.

“If you are my protector, I don’t want you hiding in the shadows.” Izuku stated simply. “I’m going to explain this to my Mom, and that includes telling her about you.”

“Would it be wise to have me seen with the Avatar?” Kaina questioned, looking back at Nezu.

Nezu hummed, allowing a smile to grace his face as his eyes twinkled. “Considering that you’ve been erased, I believe it’s a wonderful idea.”

“What do you mean by erased?” Izuku questioned, titling his head at Nezu in question.

“Kaina has been removed from the hero database.” Nezu said, another twinkle in his eye. “While technically still licensed as a pro hero, she would be unrecognized except for some heroes she might have worked with in the past, and even those were few and far between.”

Izuku nodded, not really understanding what Nezu meant, but knowing the small mammal and the rumors about how smart he was, he knew that almost anything was possible.

“Now that’s taken care of.” Nezu said, pulling out a Pai Sho tile and inspecting it, before looking towards Toshinori and Ochako. “This will be Ochako’s tile.” Toshinori reached forward, grabbing it and inspecting it, before passing it towards his successor.

“My own tile?” Ochako questioned, as she looked towards the tile, before looking at Nezu. “Why?”

“When you accepted being Toshinori’s successor, you also accepted a position in which he holds.” Nezu explained. “While you won’t be granted the rank of Grand Master like Toshinori right now, you will eventually achieve said rank.”

Ochako nodded slowly, looking towards Izuku. “So that means Midoriya and I will be working together?”

“Correct!” Nezu exclaimed happily. “The tile in your hand is considered the White Wheel. Similarly to the White Dragon and White Lotus tiles, just considered a lower rank.” Ochako inspected it once more, seeing how it actually looked like a wheel.

“Would I be carrying a tile as well?” Izuku questioned, looking at Nezu.

“I believe the risk would be too dangerous to give you a tile as it stands.” Nezu explained, before producing a tile, inspecting it before placing it on the desk. “This tile would be considered yours, if you were to carry one.” Kaina moved forward, grabbing the tile and inspecting it. Her eyes went wide, before she looked towards Nezu and back towards Izuku, before handing him the tile. “This tile is considered the White Lotus, the same tile and ranking as mine.” Nezu explained.

“But shouldn’t I also start out as an apprentice?” Izuku questioned, looking back at Ochako and seeing her shrug. “It only makes sense? It sounds like the Grand Lotus is considered the top rank.”

“In most cases, you would be correct.” Nezu explained. “But the Avatar is a specific case. Considering you are a reincarnation of the previous Avatars, you have some knowledge from those lives, but there may be something you need to do to unlock that knowledge.” Izuku nodded slowly, looking at the tile in his hands. “No matter if you carry this tile or not, the White Lotus will acknowledge the Avatar, but by carrying this tile, you would be increasing the chances of the Red Lotus finding you.” Izuku nodded again, before handing the tile back to Kaina, who returned it to Nezu.

“Moving along, your training going forward will focus on air bending.” Nezu said.

“But I know how to use air bending, why wouldn’t I try training with the other elements to get a better understanding of how they work?” Izuku questioned.

“I want you to be able to master air bending first, and once you arrive at UA, we’ll move forward with training the other elements based on some old training scrolls that have been passed down through the generations.” Izuku nodded, allowing Nezu to continue. “If you would like to attempt the other elements in the meantime, I ask that you return to UA with Kaina, and I will grant you access to one of our training grounds.” Izuku nodded again, looking excited. “Outside of UA, you will use nothing but air bending for the time being.”

“What do you mean, ‘once I arrive at UA’?” Izuku questioned.

“Being the Avatar and the successor to All Might, both of you have guaranteed spots at UA.” Nezu smiled, his eyes twinkling. “I already have everything setup for you two to start next school year.”

Izuku looked at Ochako, seeing the surprised look that matched his, before he looked back at Nezu. “But, doesn’t that hurt other student’s chances?”

“Not exactly.” Nezu explained, sitting back in his chair. “I could have it setup so you both are recommendation students, and only put you through some small knowledge tests to see where we would be going forward with teaching you.” Nezu clicked another few buttons, looking at the screen that only he could see. “Or we can put you through the entrance exam like normal, the only difference would be allowing you to see what everyone else had gone through. You’d both be guaranteed a spot.”

“That doesn’t sound fair to the other students though…” Izuku trailed off.

“And neither does dropping the world’s problems on either of your shoulders.” Nezu responded immediately. “I have made sure UA is one of the safest places in the world, comparable to Tartarus in security. Having you both here would mean that we can train you to become heroes before the world needs you.”

Izuku looked towards Ochako to find a contemplative look on her face. “It makes sense.” Ochako said, looking back towards Izuku. “Especially if you have a whole organization that would hunt you down if they knew of your existence.”

Izuku nodded slowly, looking back at Nezu. “Can we still take the entrance exam? I don’t want to just be given a seat without earning it.”

Nezu hummed, taking a sip of his tea, before placing it back down on the desk. “I supposed that could be arranged.” Nezu looked towards Ochako, finding her watching him. “Thoughts on this, Ochako?”

“I agree with Midoriya, Sir.” Ochako confirmed. “I don’t want to feel like I didn’t earn my seat here.”

Nezu nodded, turning to his computer and typing a few things. “So be it. You both will still take the entrance exam, instead of being given your guaranteed seats.” Nezu looked back at the students, his smile growing as his eyes twinkled. “I expected great things.”

“Mom! I’m home!” Izuku called out in the apartment, leading Kaina into the entranceway. “I brought company!”

“Company?” Inko called back, sticking her head around the corner. “Who did you…?” Inko trailed off as she looked towards Kaina standing there awkwardly, stealing glances towards Inko. Inko walked around the corner, standing in front of Izuku, while still looking at Kaina behind him. “Who is this?”

“Mom, this is Kaina Tsutsumi.” Izuku introduced Kaina, before Izuku turned to the pro hero behind him. “Kaina, this is Inko Midoriya, my mother.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Midoriya.” Kaina said, bowing a bit and keeping her eyes off the shorter woman.

“It’s just Ms. Midoriya now.” Inko responded, causing the pro hero to lift her gaze up towards Inko. “Can I ask how you know my son?” Inko questioned, before shooting a look towards Izuku to get him to straighten up. “And how you seem to be on familiar terms with him?”

“Mom!” Izuku said. “It’s a long story and one that we need to tell you.” Inko raised her eyebrow at Izuku, before looking back at Kaina.

Inko hummed, looking back towards Izuku. “I expect to be told everything.” Izuku nodded firmly, giving her a look that promised he would. “Very well, I’ll put on some tea.”

“So Ms. Tsutsumi, you were hired as a guardian for my son, who is considered to be this legendary Avatar.” Kaina nodded. “By none other than Nezu, the principal of UA.” Another nod. “And not only that, but you are a part of a secret society whose goal is to help train and guide the Avatar to protect the world.” Kaina nodded once more. “And not only that, but there is another secret society out there whose only goal is to hunt and destroy said Avatar.” Inko let out a sigh, before looking towards Izuku. “What did you sneak into my tea?”

“Mom!” Izuku startled out, waving his hands in front of him.

“I know this sounds unbelievable, Ms. Midoriya, because I didn’t believe it at first either.” Kaina stated, reaching down slowly before taking a sip of her tea, letting the warmth flow through her and relaxing her a bit. “But Izuku has shown his ability of not only bending air but water as well. Two different elements that couldn’t be more opposite of each other.”

“You can manipulate water?” Inko questioned Izuku. “You never told me that.”

“Because I didn’t know!” Izuku exclaimed. “Nezu had instructed me to try and bend water, and after successfully doing so, told me that I was the Avatar.”

“You met with Nezu?” Inko questioned, her eyes full of suspicion. “When?”

“Today.” Izuku looked away awkwardly. “I went to the beach to train a bit after school, and when I got there, there was this girl training there as well, and before I knew it, we were sitting in front of Nezu.”

Inko hummed, before glaring towards Kaina. “And how did you meet Ms. Tsutsumi here?”

“Remember when I said it felt like someone was watching me?” Izuku mentioned, looking back towards his mother. “Kaina was the one following me, protecting me from the shadows.”

“And this other girl who was training? What does she have to do with anything?”

Izuku looked towards Kaina as she looked towards him. Izuku looked back towards his mother. “I-”

“Sorry, that’s Nezu’s specific ringtone.” Kaina explained, pulling out her phone and hitting the speaker phone. “Nagant. I’m with Izuku and Ms. Midoriya.” She quickly greeted and explained her situation.

“Perfect.” Nezu said happily. “Hello Ms. Midoriya. It’s unfortunate we cannot meet in person today, but this will have to do.”

“Nezu?” Inko questioned, looking towards Kaina and Izuku, seeing them both nod.

“That would be me!” Nezu said happily again. “I take it Kaina and Izuku just explained everything to you?”

“They did…” Inko started off. “But it doesn’t sound believable.”

Nezu hummed to himself, sounding almost like he was chuckling. “I can assure you that everything they spoke about today is true.” Nezu explained. “But I welcome you to come meet me at UA and I can explain further.”

“Very well, when are you free next?” Inko questioned through the phone.

“Any time works best for me, Ms. Midoriya. Just stop by at any time and I’ll make sure to make some time to speak with you. For the time being, please allow Kaina to watch over Izuku for the foreseeable future.” Nezu stated.

“Very well.” Inko accepted, releasing a sigh. “Is there anything else you need me to do, Nezu?”

“Nothing as of right now. I’ll explain more when we meet face to face.” Nezu said happily. “Please enjoy your evening.” With that, a click was heard from the phone, indicating the call had been disconnected.

“I hope you like katsudon, Ms. Tsutsumi.” Inko said as she stood up, grabbing the tea cups and carrying them towards the kitchen.

“I don’t mind katsudon?” Kaina questioned, looking towards Izuku to see that he was smiling. “Why?”

“Because that’s what we’re having for dinner tonight.” Inko explained.

“You… want me to stay for dinner?” Kaina questioned, looking back towards Inko, a surprised look across her face.

“If you are going to be watching over my son, the least I can do is invite you for dinner, even if I don’t understand everything that is going on.” Inko looked back towards Kaina and smiled, before looking away again. Seeing the kindness behind the smile, after being so suspicious not even minutes before, caused Kaina’s heart to skip a beat and her cheeks to warm, before she coughed and looked back down towards the table.

“Thank you, Ms. Midoriya.” Kaina said quietly, just loud enough for Inko to hear.

“Please, call me Inko.” Inko said from the kitchen, beginning to start on dinner.

Kaina looked back up at Inko with wide eyes, before she coughed into her fist again, recomposing herself. “In that case, please call me Kaina.” Kaina looked back over towards Izuku who was smiling at the interaction between his mother and his guardian. ‘How the hell did I end up here?’ Kaina thought to herself, still looking at Izuku’s smiling face. ‘First, this kid doesn’t care about what I’ve done, instead offering me a hug for the first time in forever. Now, his mother is treating me like I am part of the family.’ Kaina looked back over towards Inko, seeing how the shorter woman moved with such grace as she cooked. ‘How’d that saying go? Every cloud has a silver lining?’ Kaina thought to herself, but she couldn’t find anything in her to complain about this current situation.

After Inko had gone to UA to talk with Nezu, she had allowed Kaina to walk with Izuku when going to and from school. They often talked about training, or the other two members that were on the beach. Kaina liked to tease Izuku about how often he would get distracted and look over towards Ochako, causing him to groan and blush up a storm, before quickly trying to change the subject.

Even though Izuku was bullied most of his life for not having a quirk, most people opted to leave him alone when Kaina had started walking with him to school, and picking him up after the school day was done. Izuku could hear the whispers throughout the school, but just decided to ignore them and continue with his learning. Even Katsuki had left him alone more often than not, only bumping his shoulder in the hallway or when entering the classroom. Even the comments had died down to grumbles under his breath, and Izuku was thankful for that.

It only lasted a few days before Izuku was forcibly dragged aside once he exited the school, being thrown into the shadows of the building, hidden from prying eyes. Izuku looked up towards his attacker, his former best friend and bully, seeing him fuming with anger as pops could be heard from his palms. Behind him stood a few of his goonies.

“Hello, Kacchan.” Izuku plainly greeted.

“Fuck you, Deku.” Katsuki responded, his popping getting a bit louder. “Who the fuck is that woman walking with you every day?”

Izuku could tell that Katsuki was angry today, not being able to let his frustrations out on Izuku for quite a while. The popping was getting more consistent and louder as more pops were heard. “She’s a friend, and my mentor.” Izuku responded, not looking threatened by Katsuki’s quirk whatsoever, knowing that he could easily counter it.

“You don’t have friends, you quirkless loser.” Katsuki taunted, expecting a reaction from Izuku. “And you have no need for a mentor. You’ll never get into UA.” Katsuki let a sinister smile grace his face, taking a step towards Izuku. “Only I will be getting into UA from this shithole school, and I’ll be the next Number One Hero!”

“Are you still going around saying that?” Izuku responded in a bored tone. “I’m pretty sure everyone is tired of hearing it.”

“What the fuck did you just say?!” Katsuki reached forward with his hand, ready to send an explosion towards Izuku, while Izuku braced himself to counter the attack before it could happen.

The Explosion quirk user stopped in his tracks as he heard a rifle being cocked behind him. He slowly turned to look down the barrel of the gun that was attached to the woman’s arm that Izuku walked with everyday. “Do we have a problem here?” Kaina questioned quietly, looking down the rifle before looking towards Katsuki’s other goonies.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Katsuki said before pushing the gun out of his face. Kaina reacted instantly, kicking the back of his leg out and forcing him down to the ground, before aiming the gun at his face once more. “What the fuck!”

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay down.” Kaina said coldly, before looking towards the other students behind him. “If you don’t want to get caught up in this mess, I suggest you scram.” Katsuki’s goonies nodded quickly, before turning heel and running.

“Fucking useless extras.” Katsuki breathed out, before glaring down the rifle at Kaina.

“I’m only going to say this once, Kid.” Kaina said firmly, the rifle barrel only inches away from Katsuki’s face. “You will not go near Izuku again, or else the next meeting we have won’t be so civil. Got it?” Katsuki growled out, causing Kaina to force the gun into his forehead, seeing the look of panic cross his face, before anger overpowered it. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“I think he got the point, Kaina.” Izuku said, stepping away from the wall and moving beside Kaina.

“I wanted to make sure.” Kaina said, retracting the rifle back into her arm, giving Katsuki one more glare. She turned around and threw her arm around Izuku’s shoulder, guiding him away.

“GET THE FUCK BACK HERE, YOU USELESS DEKU!” Katsuki yelled out, forcing himself to his feet once more.

Kaina didn’t have time to think, swinging around while summoning her rifle arm, taking a shot into the ground in front of Katsuki, stopping his advance towards them. Katsuki stumbled back, falling onto his backside as he looked at where Kaina had shot her rifle bullet into the ground, leaving a decent side hole in the ground. Katsuki looked up in fear at Kaina, still holding her rifle aimed towards him, the end of it smoking slightly from the shot.

“Kaina!” Izuku whisper-shouted, pulling Kaina away from the scene. “You can’t just go shooting at people like that!”

Kaina folded her gun away, allowing Izuku to guide her away as she glanced back towards Katsuki who was still shaking on the ground, looking towards the bullet lodged into the ground. By the time they both turned a corner, Katsuki disappearing from their vision, Kaina allowed her shoulders to drop. “I didn’t shoot at him.”

Izuku looked towards Kaina in concern, causing Kaina to look towards him apologetically. “What?” Izuku questioned.

“I didn’t shoot at him.” Kaina repeated, before looking away with a sad look. “I don’t miss, Izuku.”

“Oh…” Izuku said quietly, looking back in front of him as they walked.

Silence fell over the two of them, the people around them moving out of their way. Kaina looked towards Izuku to see he still had a blank look on his face, his eyes focused on nothing as they walked. “I’m sorry, Izuku.” Kaina started, causing Izuku to look towards her.

“What are you sorry for, Kaina?” Izuku questioned, tilting his head towards her in question.

“I’m sorry for how I reacted.” Kaina started out slowly, but once she started speaking, it just flowed out. “I shouldn’t have threatened them! I shouldn’t have put my rifle barrel into that kid’s face! I shouldn’t have taken that shot! I could have killed him! Oh, my god…” Kaina trailed off as she realized what she just did.

“Kaina!” Izuku called out, stopping them both and pulling Kaina into a hug. “It’s okay! Nobody got hurt. You were only protecting me.” Kaina reacted by throwing her arms around Izuku, allowing them to hug right in the middle of the sidewalk. “Thank you, Kaina.” Izuku whispered out, pulling the hug tighter.

“For what?” She responded quietly.

“For being there. For protecting me. For stopping that bully before he could use his quirk against me.” Izuku pulled back to look at Kaina. “Thank you, Kaina.”

Kaina pulled him back into a hug, the two of them standing there for a moment longer, before separating. “Come on, Izuku. Can’t have your girlfriend worrying about where you are.”

Izuku groaned out. “She’s not my girlfriend! She’s just a friend!” Kaina giggled at Izuku’s reaction, wiping some unshed tears away, before throwing her arm around Izuku’s shoulders. He looked up towards her, seeing that she was in a better mood. “Plus, it’s your girlfriend that you should be worried about.”

Kaina stopped walking, stopping Izuku from continuing, before she looked down towards Izuku. “Girlfriend?” Kaina questioned curiously, not understanding who Izuku could be talking about.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you hanging out with my mother more.” Izuku said smugly, still looking up towards Kaina. He quickly pulled out of the hug, leaving a gobsmacked Kaina standing there. “She’s gonna ask what happened today, and you know I'll tell her everything.”

Kaina nodded slowly, everything Izuku just said clicking into place, before she looked at Izuku in fear. “You better not tell Inko!” She reached forward to grab Izuku, but he slipped under her grab and started running. “Izuku!”

“Training killed me today.” Ochako said, slumping down beside Izuku on the steps leading to the beach. “I don’t think I can feel my arms after moving that car.”

“I still can't believe Toshinori made you move that car by yourself.” Izuku commented, playing with some small objects in his hands, making them spin around each other with his air bending, practicing fine control and multitasking. “I offered to help, but he said it would be good for you to build those muscles up.”

Ochako groaned out, slumping even further into the stairs, before taking a sip of water. “Don’t remind me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt my muscles this sore before.”

Silence fell over the two of them. Izuku and Ochako were both taking a break from training, while Toshinori and Kaina talked among themselves. It was only about a month after they had first met, but they often talked with each other during their breaks when they lined up, or after training before going their separate ways. Izuku had to compliment Ochako on the work she had done on the beach, already clearing up a few piles around the marked areas. Ochako often questioned Izuku on the new things he was learning, and Izuku was more than happy to show her.

“Uraraka?” Izuku questioned, closing his hand and stopping the small objects. Ochako hummed in response, indicating that she was listening. “Do you mind if I try something with you?”

Ochako opened her eyes to look towards Izuku, to find he was looking away. Over the first couple of weeks they had started training, Izuku had been really nervous to talk with her, and would often look away and run his hands over one another as one of his ticks. She smiled, knowing that whatever he wanted to ask made him super nervous, but was also super cute. ‘Where the hell did that thought come from?’ Ochako thought to herself, before shaking her head. “Depends on what it is, Midoriya.”

“Well…” Izuku trailed off, before steeling himself and turning towards Ochako. “You already know that I can control other elements.” Ochako nodded, encouraging him to continue. “And I read this old technique where you could help relax the muscles with water.” Ochako nodded again, looking curious now. “And Nezu says that previous Avatars were known to use water bending for healing.”

“So you want to attempt water bending on me to see if you can help my muscles relax?” Ochako questioned with a small smile on her face.

“Only if you want to!” Izuku quickly exclaimed, moving his hands in front of him. “I’ve never tried it before and I don’t even know what I am doing and I’m not sure if it’ll even work and I completely understand…”

“Okay.” Ochako cut Izuku off as he started his mumble storm, smiling even wider as he looked gobsmacked at her answer.

“Are you sure?” Izuku questioned. “I don’t even know what might happen.”

“Midoriya. I trust you. If you think you could relax my muscles, I would like you to give it a try. It might even help me sleep better tonight.” Ochako watched as Izuku’s eyes lit up as a smile graced his face, causing butterflies in her stomach.

“Thank you so much, Uraraka!” Izuku jumped up and moved behind Ochako, carrying a water bottle with him. “Can you remove your shirt?” Ochako blushed as he asked, quickly whipping her head back to look at him in embarrassment. Izuku looked at her curiously, before she whipped back around and put her face into her hands, before it finally clicked to Izuku what he just said. “I didn’t mean it like that, Uraraka! I’m so sorry! Forget I even said anything! I’m sorry for asking!” Izuku apologized before he made to move away from Ochako, but before he could stand up, he felt a hand wrap around his wrist.

“It’s-” Ochako choked slightly, before smiling, her blush marks an even deeper red than what Izuku could remember ever seeing. “It’s okay, Midoriya.” Ochako reassured Izuku. “It just caught me off guard. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.”

After Izuku’s heart had restarted, he nodded slowly, before sitting back down behind Ochako. He had felt his heart skip a beat when she smiled, her blush marks a deep red, before she turned back around. Ochako removed the light jacket she worn during training, one that protected her skin from any exposed metal and unexpected sharp edges, revealing her fitness tank top underneath.

“This might be a bit cold.” Izuku reassured, before opening the water bottle and placing it between them. He concentrated, sticking his tongue between his lips, before focusing on the water. Bending the water, he rose it up to cover his hands. “Okay, here we go.” Izuku said quietly, before placing his hands on Ochako’s shoulders.

Ochako reacted instantly, squealing a bit when Izuku touched her with the water, causing Kaina and Toshinori to look towards them. “It’s cold!” Ochako squealed out, before getting used to the water and Izuku’s hands on her shoulders.

“Okay, I’m going to try and use the water to relax and heal your muscles.” Izuku confirmed, smiling to himself at how Ochako squirmed under his touch, making his heart beat faster. He concentrated once more, allowing his hands to glow a bit, and listening to the sounds Ochako was making.

“Holy crap!” Ochako exclaimed, moving into Izuku’s touch a bit more. “That feels…” Ochako trailed off as she closed her eyes, before leaning back some more. “…amazing.” Izuku heard her sigh in content, relaxing more into the embrace that he had on her, before he slowly started moving his hands from her shoulders and down her arms. “Ahhh…” Ochako exclaimed quietly.

“I thought we said you wouldn’t use any other elements outside of UA?” Kaina questioned as she approached, Toshinori standing beside her.

“I know.” Izuku said, still smiling before looking up at Kaina. “It’s just Uraraka worked hard today, and mentioned her shoulders were killing her.” He gutted his chin towards the girl in front of him. “I just wanted to help her relax a bit after moving that car.”

“You still shouldn’t be using any other elements outside of UA, Young Midoriya. Who knows who might see you?” Toshinori rebuked lightly. “But if this helps Young Uraraka relax, I’ll allow it this one time. After today, if you both want to do something like this again, I suggest taking it back home.”

“Understood, Sir.” Izuku responded, moving his hands once more. Ochako hummed in agreement, lost in the feeling of Izuku using his healing bending on her shoulder and arms.

Toshinori hummed to himself, looking at Ochako, before looking towards Izuku. “You know, if this helps your muscles relax, I can push you harder tomorrow.” Toshinori spoke down towards Ochako.

Ochako opened her eyes lazily, smiling up towards her mentor. “If the results are this every night, I’ll gladly work harder.” Ochako responded, not even thinking about what she said out loud.

Izuku, listening to what Ochako was saying, lost concentration and let the water fall from his hands, splashing all over Ochako and causing her to yelp in surprise. She bolted up from where she was sinking into the stairs in front of Izuku, before turning around and glaring at Izuku. “What the heck was that for?”

“I- I- I-” Izuku started out, but just looked at Ochako as his cheeks started to get warmer.

“I think you broke him.” Kaina deadpanned, before moving her hand in front of Izuku’s face. He continued to look at Ochako as his cheeks got even more red. “Yep, definitely broke him. Good going, Girl.”

Ochako wheeled around to look at Kaina, who had a smug smile on her face as she looked between Izuku and Ochako. “How the heck did I break him? All he was doing was using his healing magic to relax my muscles.”

“Think about what you just said.” Kaina responded, still smugly smiling.

Ochako thought back to what happened right before she was soaked in water. She thought about what Toshinori said, before she thought about her response. Realizing what she just said, she looked back towards Izuku to see he was still looking into the distance while his head looked as red as a tomato, before her cheeks started getting more red in response. “I’m going home!” She suddenly announced, putting her light jacket back on and jogging up the stairs. “See you tomorrow!” She called out as she disappeared down the parking lot.

Toshinori and Kaina looked at Izuku, seeing that he was still blue screening over what just happened, before looking towards each other and shrugging. “I give it a month before they are together.” Kaina commented, looking back towards Izuku.

“That’s too soon!” Toshinori responded, looking back at Izuku. “My bet is on three months.”

“Wager?” Kaina questioned, looking back at Toshinori with a smile.

Toshinori hummed to himself, thinking about what they could bet on their two students. “One hundred thousand yen?” He looked towards the rifle user, giving her a wide smile.

“Only one hundred thousand?” Kaina questioned, smugly smiling towards Toshinori. “Why not up the wager a little bit? How about five hundred thousand yen?”

“Are we allowed to encourage them?” Toshinori questioned, still smiling.

“Nothing past the usual teasing.” Kaina confirmed.

“Done.” Toshinori said, holding out his hand for Kaina to shake. Kaina reached forwards and gave his hand a firm shake.

Once they were done, they both looked down to find Izuku watching them. “Did you just bet on my love life?” Izuku questioned, his cheeks still rosy red from Ochako’s comment earlier. Kaina and Toshinori both whistled while looking away. “I don’t believe this…” Izuku put his head in his hands, shaking it slowly, but he couldn’t help the smile from appearing on his face.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Mom! We’re home!” Izuku called out as he entered the small apartment building, Kaina following right behind. Ever since Inko had that meeting with Nezu, Kaina had spent more time at their apartment than at her own. Izuku had questioned where she had lived once, and she made a comment that her living arrangements were constantly changing, but she had a permanent spot in the teacher dorms at UA.

“In here, Dear!” Inko called back from the kitchen, popping her head out and smiling at the newcomers. “Hello, Kaina!” Inko smiled at the taller woman, receiving a smile in response before she disappeared back around the corner. “I’m making Yaki Udon tonight!”

Izuku looked back at Kaina to find her cheeks a little rosy, as she looked back down towards Izuku. “It’s too bad Uraraka isn’t here, because I would place a bet on your love life.” Izuku smiled a bit smugly as Kaina went even more red.

“I’m supposed to be the one teasing you, not the other way around! I’m your senior!” Kaina whisper-shouted back.

Izuku, ignoring Kaina’s response, turned back around and started walking towards the kitchen. “What was it you said? A month?” Izuku smiled back over his shoulder. “Eh, you wouldn’t have the courage to ask Mom out within a month.” Izuku winked back, before walking into the kitchen.

“Izuku!” Kaina whisper-shouted, moving forward, before stopping at the door frame. Inko was looking directly at her with a smile on her face, like she knew exactly what they were talking about. “H-Hello, Inko.” Kaina stuttered out before clearing her throat. “I bet your Udon will be just as wonderful tasting as always.”

Inko blushed a bit, but her smile never left her face. “Thank you, Kaina.” Inko turned back around to check on the stove. “It will be ready momentarily, have a seat while it finishes.”

Kaina nodded, taking a seat beside Izuku, who was still smiling towards her. “Smooth.” He whispered out, causing Kaina to glare towards him in annoyance, before Inko turned back around and started placing bowls on the table, causing Kaina to place a smile on her face again.

“How was work, Inko?” Kaina questioned, hopefully changing the subject from her love life.

“It was tiring.” Inko admitted, placing the final bowl onto the table before taking a seat across from Kaina, Izuku sitting in between them. “Yaoyorozu is looking to acquire some more property to expand some of his businesses, but he’s also considering buying a smaller company by the name of HeroGlass.”

Izuku perked up at that. “HeroGlass?” At Inko’s confirmation, he continued. “I heard they’re a small up-and-coming support company that makes safety glasses meant to withstand hero work, with a bunch of features built in!”

“Those would be the ones.” Inko confirmed, smiling towards her son. “Yaoyorozu said their daughter found the company when she was considering support items for her quirk.” Inko hummed. “Actually, I think she's about your age, Izu. Maybe you guys will be heroes together?”

“That would be pretty cool.” Izuku responded, digging into his Udon right after. “The Yaki Udon is great, Mom.”

Kaina watched the interaction between the two Midoriya’s as she ate her dinner in silence. She often listened to them talk between themselves as they caught up on the day's events, and even if she started off the conversation with Inko, she was more than happy to let them converse. It brought a smile to her face to see the close relationship between mother and son, and she found herself wishing that would be her one day.

“Kaina?” Inko questioned, causing her to shake out of her daydream. “Are you feeling alright? You seemed to be staring off into space there.”

“Oh.” Kaina said, straightening out, and seeing Izuku smile towards her like he knew exactly what she was just thinking about. “Sorry, I was just thinking about what I could do to help Izuku train tomorrow.”

“How is training going?” Inko questioned Kaina. “Izuku says that he is learning quite a bit, but I’d like an outside perspective.” Inko glanced towards Izuku. “I think Izu is putting off how much he is actually learning.” Izuku let out a huff and a smile, continuing to eat his dinner, causing Inko to giggle at him.

“Izuku’s a fast learner.” Kaina confirmed, also looking towards her student. “He’s been practicing much harder than I expected someone his age to, and he has already mastered some of the more difficult air bending techniques.”

“I’m still trying to figure out how to use air bending to move faster.” Izuku said, putting his chopsticks down. “Based on the description of what Nezu told me, I should be able to run almost twice as fast with half the effort, reducing my air resistance in front of me, while using air bending to propel me forward.”

“Oh? That sounds really interesting.” Inko commented, before looking back towards Kaina. “Is air bending the only thing he has been training on?”

Kaina nodded. “Nezu doesn’t want Izuku to work on anything else where people could see him, saying it would be too much of a risk of the Red Lotus finding out.” Inko nodded, looking a little worriedly at her son. “But that didn’t stop him from using his water bending to relax his training partner’s muscles.” Izuku whipped his head towards Kaina, giving her a glare, causing Kaina to smile. “It was only a small slip up, but she did work really hard that day.”

“She?” Inko questioned, looking at Izuku with a smile. “You mentioned a training partner before, but never mentioned you were training with a girl.” Izuku blushed, picking up his chopsticks and going back to eating his Udon. “Is she cute?”

Izuku choked on his food, slamming his chopsticks down, before coughing a bit. “Is she c-c-cute?” Izuku stuttered out as he repeated the question. He looked at his mother with wide eyes, before looking towards Kaina with a glare, causing Kaina to giggle at him.

“She most definitely is.” Kaina teased some more. “You should see them when they’re on break.”

“Oh?” Inko questioned, before looking back towards Izuku. “I think I’d like to meet this ‘cute’ training partner.”

Izuku groaned out, moving his bowl before slamming his head down on the table. “I hate you both.” Inko and Kaina giggled at him, causing him to groan again, keeping his head on the table.

“In any case, I really would like to meet this training partner of yours.” Inko said, picking up the finished bowls. “You should invite her over for dinner tomorrow.”

“I don’t know…” Izuku said quietly as he lifted his head off the table. “She might already have plans.”

“Actually, I think Yagi mentioned she lives alone here in Musutafu.” Kaina mentioned, causing Izuku to look towards her.

“Really? She never mentioned anything like that to me.” Izuku questioned. “Why does she live alone?”

“According to Yagi, her parents work in Mie Prefecture, and since she is training to get into UA just like yourself, Yagi offered to rent her an apartment out here to better train her.” Izuku nodded, knowing that Kaina was leaving a few important details out that his mother didn’t know.

“Yagi is the other mentor you’ve mentioned?” Inko questioned, getting a nod from both Izuku and Kaina. “I’d like to meet him as well. Why don’t you invite them both over for dinner tomorrow?”

Izuku nodded. “I’ll ask them during training tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you for inviting us over, Midoriya.” Ochako said as she entered the apartment behind Izuku. Ochako could smell the wonderful scent of Inko's cooking that was flooding the apartment as she took her shoes off. Kaina and Toshinori were behind the two students, following along with taking their shoes off.

“You’re welcome, Uraraka.” Izuku said excitedly, moving further into the apartment. “As soon as my mother heard you lived alone, she was insistent on inviting you over for dinner.” Izuku stopped at the doorway into the kitchen, seeing his mom rushing around preparing dinner for the five of them. “Hey Mom!” Izuku called out, causing Inko to turn around and see the four of them standing in the doorway.

“Hello Izuku, Kaina!” Inko responded, before looking towards the newcomers. “This is your partner and other mentor?”

Izuku nodded. “This is Ochako Uraraka and Toshinori Yagi.” He introduced, taking a step to the side so they could move more into the doorframe. “This is my Mom, Inko Midoriya.”

“Thank you for having us, Ms. Midoriya.” Ochako bowed slightly, while Toshinori followed suit. “Whatever you're cooking smells wonderful.”

“You’re welcome, Dear!” Inko responded. “Izu, why don’t you make some tea for everyone? Dinner will still be a few minutes.” Izuku nodded, before beginning to make tea.

“Do you need any help, Inko?” Kaina questioned, moving into the kitchen next.

“If you don’t mind, I would love some help.” Inko smiled, before moving back towards the stove. “I’m making katsudon tonight, so I need some help with the vegetables.” Kaina nodded, before throwing on Izuku’s apron and standing beside Inko.

“You’re welcome to take a seat at the table, Uraraka, Yagi.” Izuku mentioned, showing them where they could sit. “Tea will be ready in just a moment.” Izuku looked over towards Inko and Kaina, seeing how close they were working, before smiling lightly. Izuku turned back around and poured some tea cups before setting them in front of Ochako and Toshinori.

“Thank you, Young Midoriya.” Toshinori said, picking up his teacup and taking a sip.

Ochako followed suit, picking up hers and taking a small sip, allowing the warmth to seep through her and relax her. “This is wonderful. What kind of tea is this?”

“Umm…” Izuku turned back around and picked up the tin from where he got the tea. “It’s called… Summer Romance?” Izuku sputtered out, before looking towards his mom. “When did you get this, Mom?”

“Oh! I picked it up this morning.” Inko said, looking over her shoulder and smiling at him. “Thought we’d try it out.” Inko winked, going unnoticed by the rest of their guests, causing Izuku to blush and return the tin to the countertop.

Izuku moved back towards the table, taking a seat beside Ochako with his own teacup. He noticed that Ochako was taking another sip while her blush marks were a darker red compared to normal, almost matching Izuku’s.

Once Izuku and Ochako were over their blushing mess, Toshinori had them engage in idle chit chat as they waited for dinner to be finished. He mostly asked Izuku questions about how his training was going, since he mostly focused on training Ochako, but there were times that he would direct a question towards Ochako to get her opinion on things. Inko and Kaina would comment from where they were standing, listening into the conversation as they finished off dinner.

Once dinner was finished, and placed on the table for everyone to enjoy, they ate mostly in silence. There were some questions exchanged between the five of them, but they were mostly comments about how dinner was tasting or if they wanted more tea to go with their meal.

When they had all finished dinner, Izuku and Ochako were tasked with cleaning up the dirty dishes, working together to get the job done faster. It felt almost natural for them to be working together, one cleaning while the other dried. They worked in silence, listening into the conversation the adults were having in the living room, content with how the night was going.

As they were about to enter the living room to sit with the adults, Ochako grabbed Izuku’s wrist, stopping him in the hallway. “Can I ask for a favor, Midoriya?” Ochako questioned, a blush on her cheeks as she looked away.

Izuku smiled at her, thinking about how cute she actually looked like that. ‘Dammit Mom and Kaina.’ Izuku thought to himself before shaking his head slightly, getting his mind back on track. “Of course, Uraraka. What can I help you with?”

“Well…” Ochako started off, before giving a small nod and steeling her nerves, and looking towards Izuku. “I was wondering if you could do that healing thing with your water bending.”

Izuku could see the hope behind her eyes, and all he could do was blush in return, before he answered her. “I don’t know if I’m allowed…” Izuku trailed off, seeing some of the hope disappear behind Ochako’s eyes as she looked away again and let go of his wrist.

“Go ahead, Izuku.” Kaina spoke towards them. “Nezu said you were allowed to practice your other elements within the comfort of your own home.” Izuku looked over towards Kaina to see that she was smiling, before looking at Toshinori and Inko, seeing similar smiles.

“Can we?” Izuku looked back towards Ochako to see the hope in her eyes again, and the excitement behind them now.

Izuku chuckled. “Of course, Uraraka.” He moved back into the kitchen, grabbing one of his unopened water bottles. “We can use my room.”

Ochako nodded as she followed Izuku through the small apartment, before coming across the door with an All Might design painted on the outside, topped by an All Might plaque with Izuku’s name on it. She raised her eyebrow seeing the two All Might pieces, but Izuku just opened the door and guided her in. Once she was inside the room, she looked around in amazement of all the All Might figures, posters, and other fan merchandise scattered around the room. “Whoa…”

Izuku chuckled embarrassingly, looking away. “Yeah…” Izuku responded, before moving to sit on his bed.

“That’s a lot of All Might.” Ochako commented, still taking in the room at large. Izuku nodded, even though she wasn’t looking towards him, following where she was looking. “You must really like him.” Ochako turned around and found herself smiling lightly towards Izuku’s abashed reaction.

“Remember during our meeting with Nezu, he mentioned that I was ‘deemed’ quirkless from a young age?” Izuku questioned, seeing Ochako nod in response. “Since I was quirkless, I didn’t know if I could become a hero, but All Might, he is what kept me pushing forward.” Izuku said, standing up and walking over to one of his displays. “I remember watching his debut video all those years ago. It’s what encouraged me to continue pursuing my dream of being a hero.” Izuku picked up one of the figures, adjusting it a bit, before placing it back down.

“So meeting All Might for the first time must have been a dream come true then?” Ochako questioned.

Izuku nodded, a smile on his face. “When I first saw him on the beach, I almost ran right up to him, but then I noticed you trying to pull that fridge with him on top of it.” Izuku chuckled. “Did you know that All Might weighs close to two hundred and seventy four kilograms? I don’t think he ever wanted you to move that fridge.”

“Of course he didn’t.” Ochako huffed out, causing Izuku to smile. Ochako looked up at Izuku and smiled in return, before she moved over beside him, looking at the figures. “You must have really wanted to become a hero.”

“It’s all I ever wanted when I was younger.” Izuku admitted. “When I unlocked my powers, I was ecstatic. I finally had the opportunity to become the hero I always wanted to be.” Ochako nodded, still looking at the figures while Izuku watched her. “What about you? Why do you want to become a hero?”

Ochako looked away sadly, causing Izuku to look at her with concern. “Honestly? I wanted to do it for the money.” Ochako admitted, still looking away. “But it was because I wanted to help my parents.” Ochako looked towards Izuku, and he could see the sadness in her eyes. “They raised me the best they could with the little money we had.”

Izuku nodded slowly, still looking at Ochako in concern. “I think that’s very admirable of you, Uraraka.”

“You think so?” Ochako looked into Izuku’s eyes to see if he was lying, but she could see nothing but admiration and honesty, causing her to blush. Izuku could see the fear and worriedness behind her eyes as she asked.

“I do think so.” Izuku nodded as he spoke. “Wanting to help others is what matters most when becoming a hero.”

“Thank you, Midoriya.” Ochako said quietly, closing her eyes and letting her head fall. “Truth be told, I wanted to become a rescue hero like Thirteen.” Ochako opened her eyes to look back up towards Izuku, and Izuku could see the resolve back in her. “But then I saved someone in front of All Might, and he offered me his power.”

This took Izuku by surprise, causing his eyes to go wide. “His power?” Izuku questioned.

Ochako realized what she just said, as her eyes went wide in return, before she looked away. “I guess we didn’t tell you that part.” Ochako let out a sigh. “Darn it.”

“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to.” Izuku reassured Ochako, causing her to look back at Izuku.

“If what Nezu said is true, we’re going to be working together for the foreseeable future.” Ochako let out another sigh. “And I did learn about your secret, which is just as big, if not bigger than mine.”

Izuku nodded. “Would you like to sit on the bed?”

Ochako looked towards the bed to see Izuku’s All Might sheets, before looking back towards him, giving him a small smile. “Only if you use that healing bending or whatever as I explain.”

Izuku chuckled. “Of course, Uraraka.”

“Whoa.” Izuku finally spoke after Ochako had finished speaking. “I’ve never heard of a transferable quirk before.” Izuku ran his arms along Ochako’s back, now lying down on the bed while she lifted her shirt. “But it makes sense. If people learned about a transferable quirk, that person would be targeted and forced to give it up.”

Ochako nodded the best she could. “Yeah…” She said quietly, letting Izuku work his magic. “So this training is supposed to prepare me for One for All in the meantime. Yagi mentioned that if he were to give me the power now, and I accidentally use it, I could blow off my limbs from the power.”

“Wow…” Izuku said, looking towards Ochako as she laid in front of him, her eyes closed. “I wouldn’t want you to do that.”

“Me neither.” Ochako responded, before letting out a sigh of content. “I never expected to be offered something like OFA, but I don’t think I could have passed up the opportunity. I originally wanted to be a rescue hero, but with a power like OFA, I could be a rescue hero and so much more.” Ochako opened her eyes, looking at Izuku the best she could. “I could actually save people before disasters happen.”

Izuku smiled back at her. “ I think you’ll be a great hero, Uraraka.”

“Ochako.” Ochako responded, causing Izuku to blush and look at her with wide eyes. “We’re going to be working together, and I would rather you call me by my first name.”

“A-Are you sure?” Izuku stuttered out, seeing Ochako smile and nod towards him made his heart skip a beat. “Okay… Please, call me Izuku in that case.”

“Okay, Izuku.” Ochako responded, before closing her eyes again, a smile never leaving her face. Izuku’s heart skipped a beat again when she said his name, before he looked back down towards his hands and focused once more, a smile and blush rushing up his own face. “Izuku?”

“Yes, O-Ochako?” Izuku stuttered out, looking at Ochako once more and seeing that her eyes were still closed.

Ochako giggled a bit, before releasing another content sigh as Izuku moved his hands to a different spot. “Would you be okay with doing this more often?” Ochako questioned, opening her eyes to look at Izuku’s reaction.

“Of course, Ochako.” Izuku responded. “You just have to ask, and I can use my healing on you.”

Ochako’s face fell a bit, as she looked away slightly. “Not just the healing, Izuku.” Ochako mentioned, looking back towards Izuku. “I mean actually hanging out like this, just talking. I know we do it during our breaks and before we go our separate ways after training, but…” Ochako looked away, closing her eyes again. “… it gets a bit lonely in my apartment by myself.” Ochako finished off quietly.

“Oh…” Izuku responded, hearing the sadness in Ochako’s voice, before bending the water back into the water bottle, capping it, and throwing it aside. “Of course, Ochako.” Izuku responded just as quietly. “I really enjoy spending time with you.” He blushed and looked away, not noticing Ochako looking towards him. “I never had many friends growing up, because I was considered quirkless, and honestly still am considered quirkless, so having a friend to talk to is nice.”

Ochako hummed. “I never had many friends back in my old school because of my parent’s financial status.” She looked away, but felt Izuku’s eyes on her as she continued. “And it’s hard making new friends at my current school.” Ochako admitted, letting out a sigh. “I’ve only started talking to this one girl recently. She has this mutant quirk which puts audio jacks on her ears. Even then, we don’t talk much.”

Izuku nodded, even though Ochako couldn’t see it, before he laid down on his back beside Ochako, causing her to look at him. “You’re always welcome to come over.” Izuku stated, looking towards Ochako. “My mother will probably insist that you come over for dinner, now that she knows you live alone.”

“I would like that.” Ochako smiled, pulling her shirt down before rolling over and lying down beside Izuku. She looked up towards the ceiling, seeing even more All Might merchandise. “Even the ceiling?” Ochako asked, a smile never leaving her face.

Izuku followed her look, seeing the All Might posters he had pinned to the ceiling, causing him to chuckle awkwardly and look away. “Yeah… It’s probably freaking you out quite a bit, seeing your mentor all over the place.”

Ochako giggled. “I think it’s awesome he’s been such an inspiration for you.” Ochako sighed, letting her smile fall a bit. “I wish I had the same ambition as you do. I still don’t think I deserve OFA, no matter how many times Yagi tells me otherwise.”

“But I think you do have similar ambitions to me.” Izuku commented, causing Ochako to look at him again, seeing that he had determination behind his eyes. “All Might had to see something in you for him to consider you as a successor, and I see how hard you’re working since starting at the beach.” Izuku looked away with a blush. “I mean, I’ve noticed the work you’ve completed, and I can definitely see more muscle on you, that would be hard even for me to do.”

Ochako blinked, as a blush rushed up her face. “Y-You’ve noticed?” Ochako squeaked out, causing Izuku to look back to her to find a similar blush on her face. “Y-You’ve been watching me clean the beach?”

“Yes! No! Maybe?!” Izuku panicked, not knowing what to say as he waved his hands in the air. “I mean, we’ve been working together for a while, and it’s hard not to notice the changes you’ve gone through!”

Ochako smiled, the blush still on her face, as Izuku panicked about her question. She had been a bit freaked out at first, but she knew Izuku had nothing but good intentions, and it brought a warmth to her that she didn’t recognize. “Thank you, Izuku.” Ochako said quietly, moving to bump her shoulder against his.

Izuku looked towards her with confusion all over his face, feeling her bump his shoulder, but also seeing the smile on her face. “F-For what?”

“For noticing.” Ochako responded, a blush and smile never leaving her face. “Everytime I look at myself, I think I look the same as when I started.”

“But you don’t!” Izuku exclaimed, moving his hands a bit more above them, causing Ochako to giggle. “You’ve been moving heavier scrap recently, and I can definitely see how much more definition your muscles have!”

“It's still nice that you recognized.” Ochako confirmed, closing her eyes, and keeping their shoulders touching. “So thank you, Izuku.”

“You’re welcome, Ochako.” Izuku responded, still looking over towards her. Izuku could feel a warmth blossom through him, and he thought back to what Kaina and Toshinori had spoken of on the beach prior, and what his Mother had said the day before. He smiled, before turning his head and closing his eyes as well.

Ever since that night in Izuku’s room where he and Ochako had just talked, they had found more reasons to talk with each other. Regardless if it was homework, what they were working on in terms of training, or what Izuku was currently trying to master when it came to his own powers. They had exchanged numbers, and would often text throughout the day about random topics. Both growing up with little to no friends meant they clung onto their friendship like it was a lifeline, enjoying the other's company as much as they could.

Izuku was correct in assuming that Inko wanted Ochako to come over for dinner more often, knowing that she lived alone, and offered to cook more food to balance the diet she needed. Ochako had said it wasn’t necessary and didn’t want to be a burden on the Midoriya family, but with some encouragement from Izuku, and Toshinori offering to pay for the food that she required for her diet, she had eventually caved and agreed. After that, Ochako had spent almost every dinner at the Midoriya’s household, sitting beside Izuku as they ate whatever Inko had cooked for them that night.

After training, Ochako often found herself walking home with Izuku, excited to get some of Izuku’s healing after a long day of hard work, but also just spending time with her friend. Izuku had never minded, excited to have her come over, and outside of the healing and talking they did, they often worked on homework from school, or trying to come up with new ideas for Izuku to try with air bending.

Even though Ochako was a bit envious that Izuku was training his powers, she enjoyed helping him come up with new moves, or helping him practice some of the old training scrolls that Nezu had sent over. Ochako wished she could be training OFA at the same time, but Izuku always reassured her that when she finally received it, he would do everything within his power to help her understand and use it. Toshinori had also been encouraging Ochako to use Zero Gravity while cleaning the beach, to help with maintaining control over long periods of time, pushing her close to her limit and holding it through their training.

It was during one of their afternoon training sessions that Ochako had moved a bigger piece of scrap, ready to run it up towards the disposal bin in the parking lot, where she had noticed something in the sand that didn’t look like scrap. Putting the piece down she was holding, she crouched down to look at the black object that was half hidden in sand, before it suddenly moved, scaring her to fall backwards into the sand. Yelping suddenly, she called out her training partner’s name. “Izuku!”

It wasn’t even a few seconds later that Izuku appeared beside her. “Ochako? What’s wrong? What happened?” Ochako continued to look at the black snake-like object that was half buried in the sand, but she attempted to point at it as she caught her breath, causing Izuku to look towards where she was pointing. “Huh.” Izuku said, moving closer to the object, before crouching down and inspecting it better. “Interesting…”

“Izuku?” Ochako questioned, finally finding her voice again. “It moved when I removed a piece of scrap.”

“It moved?” Izuku questioned, before reaching down and picking up the snake-like object in his hands. “It’s cold to the touch…” Izuku stood up, before walking back over towards Ochako, crouching down beside her.

Ochako looked between the object in Izuku’s hand towards Izuku and back a few times. As she looked towards the object once more, thinking that maybe she had envisioned it moving, suddenly two deep green eyes seemed to appear in the void. Ochako squealed again, stumbling back. “It has eyes!”

“Young Uraraka!” All Might called out as he appeared beside the two students. “What’s wrong? We heard you yell.” Not even two seconds later, Kaina was beside the students, rifle already out as she scanned the area.

“Izuku?” Kaina questioned as she finished scanning the area, looking at Izuku to see that he was focused on something in his hands. “What are you holding?”

“I’m not exactly sure.” Izuku admitted, moving the snake-like creature around so that he could look into the slowly blinking eyes. “It’s almost like a snake, but it has wings on the back?”

“Young Midoriya.” All Might said, kneeling down beside said boy, looking at the creature that was in his hands. “This creature…” All Might trailed off, before he stood back up, and pulled out his phone, quickly dialing a number. “Sir. Young Midoriya seems to have found a dragon.” Izuku’s and Ochako’s eyes went wide as they looked at the dragon in his hand, seeing the eyes still slowly blinking, but still feeling cold to the touch. “No sir, it’s a small one, but the scales are all black… What?!” All Might looked back at the dragon, seeing that it was slowly blinking. “Understood, Sir, we’re on our way.” All Might hung up the phone, before looking towards the three people looking towards him. “We need to get the dragon to UA immediately. Nezu says it’s highly possible that it’s dying.”

“If that’s the case, we can’t take the express train.” Izuku said, standing up. “But I can get it there with my new technique of running.”

All Might looked at Izuku, debating on the best course of action. He knew that if they took the express train, it could put that dragon into more danger, possibly even kill it, but if Izuku were to run to UA with the assist of his air bending, it would be almost as safe as walking it there, just a lot quicker. He looked towards Kaina to see her debating the same thing, before he let out a sigh. “Nezu will never forgive me if I did this, but if this dragon is as important as Nezu says, we need to get it to UA immediately and as safely as possible.” All Might looked down towards Izuku, seeing the determination in his eyes, before he nodded once. “Very well, Young Midoriya. I will take these two to UA and meet you along the way. Go!”

Izuku nodded, before moving, and within a few seconds, he was out of sight. “Holy crap…” Ochako said quietly, before she suddenly felt a hand wrap around her. “Whoa! Wait a second!” Before Ochako could even finish her protest, All Might had jumped.

“Toshinori! Do you know the risk that you put Izuku in by allowing him to do this?!” Nezu yelled out towards the Number One Hero. Nezu was currently pacing in front of Toshinori, Kaina, and Ochako. “And you! Kaina! You allowed him to do this!”

“Sir-”

“Don’t you ‘Sir’ me, Toshinori! We’ve been working hard to protect Izuku from getting into the public eye, and now he just up and uses air bending to cross half of Musutafu at speeds incapable of most humans!”

“Sir-”

“No, Kaina! I understand that Toshinori outranks you, but you’re meant to be protecting Izuku! What happens if someone saw what he did? What happens if they see him?”

“Izuku was only doing what he thought was right!” Ochako yelled towards the small mammal, standing up for her friend. “All Might said this dragon that we found was important, and that it was on the verge of dying! Izuku wouldn’t let that happen to anybody, regardless of the risks!” Ochako was breathing heavily, the other three adults looking towards her in shock.

Nezu let out a breath of air, ringing his paws together, before he started pacing again. It was a tense few seconds, before he turned back around and bowed towards Ochako. “My apologies, Ochako. I didn’t mean to allow my anger to get ahead of me, but you must understand that Izuku is very important, just like All Might and yourself.” Nezu stood back up, looking towards the three people in front of him. “I’m just worried about the fallout from this happening.”

Before Ochako could respond, Izuku appeared in the doorway, rushing into Nezu’s office. He didn’t even look winded or any worse for wear as he carefully kneeled in front of Nezu, showing him the small dragon in his hand. “He was half buried in the sand when Ochako found him, and he’s cold to the touch.”

“He’s cold to the touch?” Nezu looked over the dragon, running a slow paw over the snake-like creature, before finding the spot he was looking for. “It seems like its heart has been reduced to a slow steady beat, preserving its life. We need to get it under some heat and quickly!” Nezu moved back, before clicking a button and opening a secret panel in the back of his office. “Quickly now! We might not have much time!”

The four of them rushed after Nezu, pushing into the hidden room that was located behind his office. They wound up passing a bunch of things, ranging from really old scrolls, to books that seemed to be placed there recently. They passed a few items that seemed to be well worn or damaged from use on display in cabinets. Nobody paid much attention to what they were passing until coming across a small flame. “Izuku, you will need to put the dragon into this fire.”

“But won’t the flame hurt it?” Izuku asked in a panic, looking between the flame and Nezu.

“No. Dragons are fireproof, and when healthy enough, they should be able to breathe fire, but this one seems very young and on the verge of death.” Nezu explained, walking up the few small steps so that he can overlook the fire. “By putting the dragon into the fire, it should return the warmth to it, and allow it to function a bit better, allowing us to assess what happened, and start helping it.”

Izuku nodded, walking forward. He lowered the dragon down into the flame, watching as the fire surrounded both Izuku’s hands and the dragon himself, but he felt no pain. He carefully placed the dragon down, before retracting his hands to look at them, expecting burns but finding nothing. Looking back at the dragon, it seemed to blink its eyes a few times, before taking a deeper breath, and letting it out slowly, before its eyes closed and it stopped moving completely. “What happened?!” Izuku quickly asked, moving to pick up the dragon, before Nezu stopped him.

“It fell asleep.” Nezu confirmed. “I can see a heartbeat, and it’s steadily increasing in pace.” Nezu was looking over the monitor. “Whatever happened to this young dragon, caused it to almost die from exhaustion.” Nezu hummed, before looking at Izuku. “You got it here just in time, Izuku.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Izuku said, looking back at the dragon. “But how did you know it was a dragon? And why didn’t I get burned when I touched the flame?”

Nezu hummed again, before moving off the steps. “Follow me.” The four other people followed Nezu as he walked back through the hidden room. “You see, that flame is a very special flame, which is why it didn’t hurt you. It’s called the ‘Flame of Life’ by most, and it’s meant to signify Life as we know it. When people are born, there is a flame lit within them, and when that fire is extinguished, that person has passed.”

“But isn’t fire mostly destruction?” Izuku questioned curiously.

“Most people will usually compare fire to destruction, but that is because of how destructive it can be.” Nezu turned around, walking backwards at the same pace. “But people don’t realize the most destructive thing to exist.”

“People.” Izuku answered immediately.

“Correct, Izuku!” Nezu turned back around and continued walking, allowing the quad to get a closer inspection on the items as they passed earlier. Izuku felt a familiarity with all the items, as if he had used them before, or if they were once his. “I can tell by the look on your face, you recognize these items.”

“I do…” Izuku trailed off, looking back towards Nezu walking in front of them. “…But I’m not sure why exactly.”

“It’s because these items were from your previous lives.” Nezu confirmed, causing Izuku to look at him in shock. “Most of these have been passed down from Grand Lotus to Grand Lotus, always keeping them hidden and preserved. I didn’t expect to show you these until you entered UA.” Nezu hummed for a second, before seemingly arriving where he wanted to be. “Ah, here we are.”

The four people stood around as Nezu walked up another set of stairs, looking at another artifact, that seemed to be a tooth of some kind, surrounded by a glass cylinder. “You see, the previous Avatars always had animal companions to help guide them through their lives.” Nezu seemed to press a button next to the display before a picture appeared on the wall. It was hand drawn many years ago, based on the faded edges and almost yellowing paper. “One of your previous lives by the name of Roku, had a dragon as an animal companion, Fang.”

Izuku looked at the picture closely, seeing the Avatar painted with his wife and child, sitting against a huge snake-like creature that must have been a dragon. He noticed wings coming off the dragon, curled around its body protectively.

The description under the painting indicated the man’s name was Roku, a previous Avatar born in the Fire Nation. Beside him was his wife, Ta Min, with their child in her hands, Rina. The dragon lying behind them was described as being the Avatar’s animal companion, by the name of Fang. The date on the photo was thousands of years ago, before they even used the current dating system. Looking at the painting, it almost felt familiar to him, as if he was remembering something instead of seeing it for the first time.

“It’s almost the same…” Izuku trailed off, looking back in the direction of where they left the dragon. “But this one seems to be much smaller.”

Nezu hummed to himself in thought. “It’s smaller than even newly hatched dragons, which tells me something is wrong, but until we can heal it, we might never know.” Izuku nodded. “Regardless! You did good getting it here, but you will need to lay low for a while. What you did was risky, running across the city like that. What if anybody saw you?”

“I made sure to stick to back alleyways, and less busy streets.” Izuku confirmed. “And I was using a new technique that disrupts air around myself, making myself look like a blur.” Izuku then bowed slightly to Nezu. “I’m sorry, Sir. It won’t happen again.”

Nezu nodded, jumping back down beside him. “Please make sure that it doesn’t. We’ve been lucky the Red Lotus hasn’t gotten wind of you yet, but we might not be able to guarantee that now.”

“I understand, Sir.”

Chapter Text

Humming to himself, the man rewound the video that was playing on screen once more. He had been contacted by an associate, one believed to have perished or gone into hiding with the rest of them. He could never understand that group, such small minded individuals focused on the small fry. Color him intrigued when one of his long forgotten contacts had sent him the video file.

Playing the video again showed three boys getting blown back by a massive gust of wind, one that wouldn’t have been accomplished by just any Wind quirk. He could remember how those winds felt to be on the receiving end of them, with multiple other elements. Once the video had ended, he picked up his phone and dialed a number that he never thought he’d use again.

“Hello?” The male voice spoke from the other end of the line.

“Dragon of the West.” He responded in a calm voice. From the sounds through the line, he could only guess that the man on the other end almost dropped his phone. He hummed to himself unamused, knowing right away that it wasn’t the same person he had dealt with before. His old contact might have feared his wrath, but hadn’t reacted the last time they had spoken.

“DK.” The man on the other end cleared his throat. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.”

“There is no time to waste when a situation like this arises.” He confirmed, drumming his fingers along his chair. “Where was this video taken from?”

“Our source says the video was taken in Musutafu.” The man replied. “It was taken a few months ago, but it was only found recently.”

Humming, the man rewound the video again before playing it once more. “These boys seem to be young, no more than fifteen or sixteen.” He paused the video, seeing the red shoes in the one frame. “Quirkless Reds.”

“Sir?”

“It’s time for the Dragon in the West to come home.” The man said, closing the video. “We have much work that needs to be done.”

“Very well, Sir. I will finish up what I have started over here and make my way home.” The call went dead, indicating that the line had been disconnected.

“You won’t get away from me again, Avatar.” The man chuckled to himself. “Doctor! I want records of all quirkless kids in Musutafu!”

“Of course, All for One.”

“Have you heard anything from Nezu about the dragon?” Ochako asked during one of their breaks from training one day. It had been about a month since finding the dragon on the beach, and Nezu had informed Izuku that he would be updated as soon as there was some good news.

“No.” Izuku said sadly. “Nezu said we made it in time, but I’m worried that the dragon was already far too gone to recover fully.” Izuku looked away, thinking about what he could have done to help that dragon. Maybe he could have used fire bending to keep it warm when he found it and when he transported it?

“Stop that.” Ochako said, giving the side of his head a flick. “Stop thinking about how you could have changed what you’ve done.”

Izuku rubbed the side of his head, looking towards Ochako to see her smiling. “I was mumbling, wasn’t I?”

“Oh, totally.” Ochako laughed, bumping her shoulder against Izuku's, causing him to smile back. “You gotta stop worrying, Izuku. Nezu said he would call when he had an update.”

“I know you’re right, but I still can't help but worry.” Izuku admitted, slumping his shoulders.

“Well, why don’t you call him?” Ochako offered, seeing how down he was as he thought about the dragon. “I mean, it wouldn’t hurt, and he did say you could contact him if you had any questions.”

A little light returned to Izuku as he fished out his phone. “You’re right!” Izuku quickly went through his phone, before dialing Nezu’s number.

“Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear? It doesn’t matter because I’m Nezu, UA’s principal!”

“Nezu-”

“Hello, Izuku!” Nezu cut off Izuku before he could even greet the mammal. “I take it you’re calling about the dragon?”

“How did you…? Forget it.” Izuku let out a huff, before continuing. “How is it?”

“I have some good news, and some strange news.” Nezu started off, and Izuku and Ochako could hear him typing away. “The good news is that he seems to be making good progress on recovery.”

Izuku let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Oh, thank goodness.” Izuku said quietly, feeling Ochako throw an arm around him and give him a side hug. “What’s the strange news?”

“Well, I had Chiyo, you may know her as Recovery Girl, check over the dragon to see if her quirk could work on it. She confirmed that the dragon was too weak and injured for it to be effective without killing it.” Izuku nodded slowly, knowing that Recovery Girl’s quirk used the stamina of said person to recover faster. “While she was here, I had her check the dragon for quirk factors. Having never seen one of these in person, I wanted to see if the fire breath would come up as a quirk.” Nezu hummed a second, and the two students could hear some more typing. “Fire breath doesn’t come up as a quirk, but we found two unknown quirk factors within him.”

“What does that mean?” Izuku questioned, looking at Ochako and getting a shrug in response.

“Dragons were normally heard to not have any other abilities other than their fire breath and their flight, but after running some tests, we have a quirk that is similar to Mount Lady’s quirk, but also an unknown quirk that seems to be constantly changing.” Nezu hummed again, and they could hear him tapping his desk in thought. “We believe it’s a shapeshifting quirk, but it’s unlike any we’ve ever seen. Both quirk factors seem to be damaged somehow.”

“Quirk factors can be damaged?” Izuku questioned, still looking at Ochako as the color drained from both of their faces. “Does that hurt the user?”

“Not exactly.” Nezu confirmed. “Or not in this case.” Nezu hummed. “We still need to do more research on why he has quirks in the first place, before we can understand why they are damaged.”

“That makes sense.” Izuku said quietly, humming in thought. “Can Ochako and I come see the dragon?” Izuku questioned.

“I don’t believe that’s a good idea right now.” Nezu confirmed, while two students' shoulders fell. “I think it’s best we let it recover a bit more, before anybody is allowed to see it. We don’t want it straining itself and getting hurt again.”

“We understand, Nezu.” Izuku said sadly. “Thank you for letting us know.”

“You’re welcome, Izuku, Ochako!” Nezu said a bit more cheerily. “Now, I need to get back to work preparing for the new semester. I’ll be in touch soon!” Before Izuku or Ochako could respond, the phone line disconnected, the screen on Izuku’s phone changing to black.

“It’s not the news we were hoping for, but it’s better than the news we were expecting!” Ochako said with a little more cheeriness. “Izuku, you saved that dragon’s life. If you didn’t act like you did, it probably would have died here on the beach.”

Izuku looked back at Ochako and gave her a small smile. “Thank you, Ochako.”

“Anytime, Izuku!” Ochako said, getting back to her feet. “Come on, let’s get back to training so we can get done quicker! I feel like I can smell your Mom’s cooking already!”

Izuku chuckled, following Ochako as they made their way back down to the beach. The dragon was going to survive, thanks to his quick thinking of getting it to UA. He thought about what it would be like to fly on the back of a dragon, one the size of Fang, Roku’s dragon.

“Come on, Slowpoke! The day isn’t getting any younger!” Ochako called out from in front of him. Izuku chuckled before jogging towards her. Even though their training was different from each other, they had found themselves working closer together, encouraging and pushing each other as often as they could.

Another dinner was over, and Izuku and Ochako had retreated back to Izuku’s room for the night. Inko smiled to herself as she watched them, knowing how close they were getting in such a short time. It could have been that they were training together, or Izuku had someone that knew his secret and that he could confide in, or Ochako just really enjoyed Izuku’s company. It also probably helped that Izuku loved to use his healing on her, though he would never tell anybody.

“What’re you smiling about?” Kaina said, sitting beside Inko on the couch. She held out a teacup towards Inko, who gratefully accepted it, taking a sip.

“Just thinking about Izuku and Ochako and how close they are getting.” Inko confirmed, sitting back on the couch a bit, a smile still on her lips. “Izuku never had many friends when they thought he was quirkless.”

“Yeah.” Kaina said quietly, looking down into her teacup. “He told me that kids used to bully him, until I started walking with him.” Kaina scoffed. “I can’t believe kids are so mean to others. Their quirks shouldn’t matter!”

Inko reached over and put her hand on Kaina’s, causing her to look up at her. “You’re right, they shouldn’t, but Nezu told me your story.” Kaina's eyes dropped a bit, looking away. “Do you think they would have scouted you out if you didn’t have your quirk?” Kaina slowly shook her head. “Probably not. I mean, look at mine.” Inko summoned her quirk around a coaster on the coffee table in front of them, pulling it towards her. “I never would have been considered, but I never had a situation as bad as Izuku’s was.” Inko looked away and let out a sigh. “I just wish I could have done more for him.”

“But Inko, you’ve done plenty!” Kaina said, grabbing Inko’s hand and causing her to look at Kaina. “You’ve raised an amazing young man, who is destined to save the world one day.” Kaina let out a sigh, thinking back to when she first told Izuku her past. “He accepted me, even knowing my past, knowing that I could be better.” Kaina looked back towards Inko with a small smile. “The kid offered me a hug, after I told him I’ve killed people, like it was nothing.”

Inko chuckled quietly. “That sounds like Izuku. Saving everyone he can, even from themselves.” Inko let a smile grace her face as she took another sip of tea. “It fills me with intense joy and happiness that he is finally getting a chance to be the hero he’s always wanted to be.” Inko looked towards Kaina, finding her watching Inko. “I should be thanking you for helping train him. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“I think you would have figured it out.” Kaina smiled back, taking another sip of her tea.

Silence fell over the duo as they enjoyed their tea. They could hear muffled voices through Izuku’s door, sometimes getting louder as one laughed, bringing smiles to both their faces. Kaina thought back to what Izuku had said, before taking a quick glance towards Inko, seeing how peaceful and beautiful she looked sitting there. Checking her watch for the date, she noticed that it had been over a month since Izuku had told her, causing her to mentally sigh.

Kaina reached forward, placing her teacup down, before mentally hyping herself up, before turning towards the woman beside her. “Inko?” Kaina questioned quietly, waiting until Inko turned towards her. “Can I ask you something?”

“You just did.” Inko said with a smile, causing Kaina to let out a huff, before smiling back. “Of course, Kaina.”

“Canitakeyouonadate?” Kaina vomited out words, before a blush covered her face.

Inko blinked a few times towards Kaina in confusion, trying to think what she had just been asked.

Kaina let out a sigh, before facing away slightly. “Sorry…” Kaina said quietly, before looking back towards Inko with hope in her eyes. “I’m not good at this, but…” Kaina let out another sigh, moving to face her whole body towards Inko. “…can I take you on a date?” Inko looked at Kaina, processing the words she was just asked, seeing the hope behind Kaina’s eyes slowly fading as it took Inko so long to respond, before she blinked and looked away. “I shouldn’t have asked, it's just with Izuku encouraging me, I thought-”

“Yes.” Inko cut off Kaina, causing her to whip her head around so quickly, Inko was surprised she didn’t get whiplash from the movement.

“Yes?” Kaina asked quietly, hope returning to her purple eyes as they looked into the kind green ones.

“Yes.” Inko said again, smiling, before placing her teacup down beside Kaina’s before turning to fully face the woman beside her. “I’ve been hoping you’d ask, because I didn’t know if you were seeing anybody, or if you were even interested…”

Kaina snorted, causing Inko to look at her curiously. “I can see where Izuku gets it from.” Kaina smiled towards Inko, causing her to blush.

Inko chuckled as well. “I thought they would have been together already, but Izuku takes after me, too shy to ask.”

Kaina looked away. “Yeah… I’ve already lost the bet.”

“Bet?” Inko questioned, causing Kaina to look back towards her. “What bet?”

“Yagi and I both had a bet on when they’d get together.” Kaina admitted, hanging her head a bit. “I bet they’d be together within a month, while Yagi bet within three months.”

Inko smiled and shook her head. “Please tell me the bet wasn’t for anything important.”

Kaina chuckled awkwardly, looking away as her cheeks heated up with embarrassment. “It’s possibly, a very likely, most definite, chance that it was five hundred thousand yen…”

“Kaina…” Inko said quietly but fondly. “I could have told you it’d be longer than a month.”

Kaina looked back to Inko, to see that she had a small smile on her face. “Wait, you’re not mad?”

“Gods, no!” Inko chuckled, rocking back a bit. “I just wish you two would have involved me in the bet.”

“That sounds almost like cheating…” Kaina narrowed her eyes.

Inko just smiled, before grabbing Kaina’s hand. “Did you have a plan for the date?” Inko looked away in thought, before looking back at Kaina. “Are you allowed to leave Izuku alone for our date?”

Kaina hummed in thought for a moment. “I’m sure I can figure something out.” Kaina smiled. “Plus, I heard there is this nice little cafe close by, by the name of Leblanc.” Kaina looked away and chuckled awkwardly. “Not that Izuku mentioned it or anything.”

Inko let out a giggle, causing Kaina to look back towards her, matching her smile. “Of course he would.” Inko let out a sigh, looking towards where Izuku and Ochako were currently in Izuku’s room. “I couldn’t have asked for a better son.”

“We’re only a few months away from UA’s entrance exam.” Ochako said, lying on Izuku’s bed, holding a book above her. “These past months have flown by.”

“Tell me about it.” Izuku said, sitting on the floor with a book in his hand, resting against his bed. “It feels like just yesterday I learned I was the Avatar and you were All Might’s successor.” Ochako let out an annoyed huff, causing Izuku to smile. “Still don’t like being called his successor?”

“I still don’t think I deserve it!” Ochako said, sitting up and dangling her legs off the bed beside Izuku. “I mean, there has to be someone more worthy than someone who saved a man from getting crushed by a car.”

“Didn’t All Might tell you why he thinks you’re the best choice?” Izuku questioned, leaning his head back on the bed and looking at Ochako.

Ochako smiled down towards Izuku, thinking about how cute he appeared looking up at her, causing him to return the smile. “He mentioned something about moving before I could think.”

Izuku hummed, thinking about it for a second. “I think I remember an interview about All Might mentioning something about that.” Izuku lifted his head, pulled out his phone, and did a quick search. “Ah, here it is. ‘Some of the greatest heroes in time had shown signs of greatness, even as children. Whether it was saving a cat in a tree, to protecting another child from another, to risking their lives for the sake of others. They all said the same thing, Their body moved before their mind could even have a chance to think. That is my definition of a hero, one that moves without even thinking about it.’ Maybe that’s why he offered to make you his successor?” Izuku questioned, leaning his head back and looking up towards Ochako once more. “I mean, you saved someone from being crushed by a car, before any of the other heroes on scene could even react.” Izuku smiled. “That falls under the definition of a hero in All Might’s book.”

Ochako looked away from Izuku. “All I wanted to do was save that man. I never expected that all of this would come out of it.”

“Do you regret it?” Izuku questioned quietly.

Ochako whipped her head back to look at Izuku, shock and horror on her face. “Gosh, no!” Ochako said quickly. “He was about to be crushed, and I knew I could do something! I just had to save him!” Izuku smiled up at Ochako, as she let out a huff and looked away. “Okay, maybe I see why he chose me, but I still think there are other people out there that could be better.”

“There probably are.” Izuku said honestly, causing Ochako to look back down towards him. “But they didn’t prove to All Might that they were worthy.” Izuku poked Ochako’s leg, causing her to giggle a bit. “All Might chose you, and for good reason. I know you’ll be a good hero, Ochako.”

“Thank you, Izuku.” Ochako smiled back down towards Izuku.

“You’re welcome, Ochako.” Izuku said before lifting his head. “We should get this mock UA exam done, so you can get home. Don’t want to be tired for training tomorrow.”

Ochako moved her legs back on the bed, picking up her book again, but no matter how hard she tried, her mind couldn’t focus. She looked back towards Izuku, who seemed so focused on the mock exam, that she didn’t want to bother him. Looking back at the book, the words seem to blur together, before frustration overtook her and she put the book down.

“Izuku?” Ochako questioned, getting a hum in acknowledgement as he continued to read. “Do you want to go on a date?”

“I’d love to go on a date.” Izuku said, still reading the book in front of him. Ochako looked at him gobsmacked that he just answered that so casually. She was about to respond, before Izuku slammed his book shut, standing up to look at Ochako. “D-D-D-Date?” Izuku stuttered out, a blush rushing up his face.

“That was a delayed reaction.” Ochako responded, smiling up at Izuku as her blush marks deepened in color, never taking her eyes off Izuku. “You know what a date is, correct?”

“No! Yes! I mean, I know what a date is, but I’ve never been on one!” Izuku brought his hands up to his face, groaning into them. “But I never thought I’d be asked on one!”

“Is it really that unbelievable?” Ochako questioned, her smile falling a bit.

“With someone as amazing as you? Yes!” Izuku said without thinking, before bringing his hands up to cover his mouth, his eyes wide.

“You think I’m amazing?” Ochako questioned quietly. Izuku nodded his head slowly, never removing his hands from his mouth. Ochako smiled, her blush returning in full force. “I mean, I think you’re pretty amazing too…”

“You do?” Izuku whispered out behind his hands, still not believing the conversation they were having.

Ochako nodded, before she coughed, a smile never leaving her face. “Would you like to? A date, I mean.”

Izuku nodded quickly. “Yes!” He said quickly, causing Ochako to giggle at him.

Ochako moved to the edge of the bed, getting up and standing beside Izuku. “Well, you better start planning.” Ochako moved and gave Izuku a small kiss on the cheek, causing his knees to go weak. “And it better have mochi for dessert.” Izuku nodded again, before Ochako moved around him, and left the room.

“I have a date…” Izuku said quietly, slowly lowering himself to the ground before his legs gave out. “I have a date… with Ochako.” He quickly pinched himself, yelping in pain a bit, before he rubbed his thigh. “It’s not a dream…” Izuku continued quietly. “I need to start planning!”

“So how’d you get Tsutsumi to stop following us?” Ochako asked as they walked towards the street vendors. Izuku had decided to do something on the cheaper side, remembering that Ochako had mentioned her parent’s financial status in the past.

Izuku looked up towards a rooftop, Ochako following his look to see someone hidden in the shadows. “I don’t think Kaina will ever stop following us.” Izuku leaned closer to Ochako, lowering his voice. “I really don’t mind. She gives us enough privacy so we can do our own thing.”

Ochako nodded, before turning back towards Izuku, seeing how close he was, before he moved back. “So what did you have planned for our date?” Both of their cheeks went a little rosy at that, small smiles dancing on their lips.

“Mom mentioned that the street vendors were hosting a craft market this week.” Izuku pointed ahead, indicating said vendors. “Everything is supposed to be handmade.”

“Oh!” Ochako exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “How did you know I love handmade crafts?” Ochako asked, looking at Izuku with stars in her eyes, causing Izuku to smile.

“You’ve mentioned in the past how you enjoy making things yourself, so I thought, what better place to find inspiration than a craft show?”

“Back home, when the vendors would be passing through, I always begged Mama and Papa to go.” Ochako said, looking down towards the vendors as her mood fell a bit. “It’s been a while since we were able to go, and I think I missed this year’s because of training.”

Izuku looked at Ochako, before reaching over and pulling her into a side hug. “You miss them.” It wasn’t meant as a question, but Ochako nodded, throwing her arm around Izuku and moving into the hug a bit more. “Have you heard from them recently?”

“Yeah.” Ochako said quietly, still embracing the hug. “I try to call them every night when I get home, but they’ve been working longer hours since I’ve been gone.” Ochako let out a breath. “I’m worried they’re overworking themselves. The last time we talked was early last week.”

“Have you considered going to see them?” Izuku asked, rubbing his hand up and down Ochako’s back in comfort.

“Izuku, we only have a couple of months before the entrance exam, and Yagi still says I’m not ready.” Ochako looked up towards Izuku, seeing him look down at her in concern. “I need to be ready.”

“But what difference would a day or two make?” Izuku questioned, not really understanding Toshinori’s thought process. “Did he say when you will be ready?”

“Based on the schedule he gave me, he has me working until the day before the entrance exam.” Ochako confirmed, letting out a sigh.

Izuku shook his head. “So if that’s the case, he plans you to be ready the night before the entrance exam, or the day of.” Izuku looked up into the shadows, air bending his next few words. ‘We need to have a talk with Yagi about Ochako.’ Kaina looked down towards Izuku, catching his eyes, before giving him a curt nod, which Izuku returned.

“What did you just do?” Ochako asked Izuku, looking up at him curiously. “I saw your lips moving, but no sound came out?”

Izuku looked down towards Ochako and smiled. “A new technique I’ve been practicing. Sound waves are technically air particles, which means that I can do something like…” Izuku spoke again, before the sound hit Ochako from the other side. “…this.”

Ochako whipped her head around, before looking back towards Izuku. “So you’re basically throwing your voice?” She tilted her head curiously, causing Izuku’s heart to soar with how cute she looked.

“Technically.” Izuku confirmed. “I told Kaina that we needed to talk with Yagi about your… situation.”

“But what good-” Ochako couldn’t finish her question before disaster struck.

Izuku, not focusing on where they were walking, accidentally bumped into a stall, causing it to fall over. He quickly let go of Ochako as he fell with the stall, ending up surrounded by cabbages. Ochako covered her mouth with her hands, gasping at the sight of Izuku lying in a mess of cabbages.

“MY CABBAGES!” The stall vendor ran over and fell to his knees, picking up a cabbage.

“Sorry!” Izuku said apologetically, before pushing himself up into a standing position. “I wasn’t watching where I was going!”

The stall vendor turned around towards Izuku, pointing a finger at him. “You! My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather warned me about people like you!” The stall vendor stood up, still cradling a cabbage while continuing to point. “This better be a one time deal, you hear!”

“Of course! Sorry, Sir!” Izuku sputtered out, before bowing at a perfect ninety degree angle. “I will pay for any of the ruined cabbages.”

The vendor huffed out a breath, before turning around. “You’re lucky those were already day old cabbages. I’ll let it slide…” The vendor looked over his shoulder, giving the two teenagers a glare. “…this time.”

As the vendor walked away, Ochako moved closer to Izuku. “He was really passionate about his cabbages.”

“Yeah… I wonder what his family members warned him about?” Izuku looked towards Ochako. “There’s no way he was actually warned about me, right?” Ochako shrugged, to which Izuku shrugged in return. “Come on, there’s a few stalls I’d really like to check out!” Ochako nodded, as Izuku grabbed her hand and pulled her along, deeper into the sea of vendors.

The two teenagers walked side by side as they left the craft market, mochi in hand, as they ate in silence. Izuku looked over towards Ochako to see how much she was enjoying the mochi he had bought her, and he could see nothing but bliss across her face.

“Ohhhhh, I haven’t had mochi in months.” Ochako exclaimed as she finished off her mochi bun, licking her fingers, causing Izuku to giggle at her. She looked over towards Izuku with wide eyes, as if she just remembered that she was with him, before she looked away with rosy cheeks. “It was-” Ochako coughed into her hand, still looking away. “-really good.” She finished quietly.

Izuku giggled at her again, before pulling out another mochi bun, holding it out towards her. She quickly looked at the bun, before looking at Izuku. She swiped her hand forward, grabbing the bun and quickly taking a bite, causing Izuku to giggle again. “You really love mochi.” Ochako nodded, taking another bite. “You got a little something…” Izuku pointed out, before leaning forward and kissing her check.

Ochako froze mid-spot, slowly turning towards Izuku as the blush rushed across his face. “Did you?” Izuku nodded, confirming that he just used that little trick to give her a kiss. “Was there?” Izuku shook his head no, while Ochako’s blush grew in size. She raised her hand up, taking another bite, before swallowing slowly. “Wow…”

“Anyways…” Izuku trailed off, looking away from Ochako, their blushes still full force as they continued to walk. “Did you like the craft market?”

Ochako quickly finished her mochi bun, licking her fingers as she nodded. “I saw so many ideas!” Ochako happily exclaimed, her blush receding. “I really liked that woodburned sketchbook!” Ochako looked over towards Izuku, to find him watching her, his blush also receding. “I’m surprised you didn’t buy one! I’ve seen your drawings on heroes, it would have been perfect for you!”

“I had my eyes on other things…” Izuku admitted, looking away.

“Like what?” Ochako asked with a smirk. “The subject you talk about most is heroes!”

“Well…” Izuku turned back towards Ochako, holding something in his hands. Ochako looked at what was dangling from his hand, finding a pink planet that looked oddly similar to saturn. She looked up at Izuku to see that he was smiling, still holding the planet charm between them. “When I saw you pick it up, I thought it would be perfect for you, and when you put it down, I was questioning why.”

“It was so expensive…” Ochako said quietly, looking back down at the charm like she never saw it before.

“I was surprised at the price, but when I saw how much you really wanted it, I knew that it was more important than getting a simple sketchbook. I can draw in anything, but this charm? Who knows if we’d ever see it again.” Izuku said quietly, still holding the charm. “So I bought it, for you.”

Ochako’s eyes went wide, snapping to look at Izuku who was still smiling. “For me…?” She said quietly. He held it closer towards her, dangling it by the small string, before she reached up and grabbed it with two hands. “But…” She looked back up into Izuku’s eyes to see nothing but affection for her.

“No buts.” Izuku said, dropping his hand. “I wanted to buy you something special, and what better than something that represents who you are?” Izuku looked down towards the charm once more. “I was hoping it would bring you good luck in the future.”

“Izuku…” Ochako trailed off, closing her hand over the handmade charm, before moving forward, reaching around Izuku, and pulling him into a very tight hug. “Thank you so much.” She whispered out quietly, while Izuku’s hands snuck around her back and hugged back tightly.

“You’re welcome, Ochako.” Izuku responded, holding the hug as long as Ochako wanted.

When Ochako finally pulled back, Izuku could see her tear stained cheeks, while she wore a beaming smile on her face. Izuku was worried for half a second, before he realized that she was crying happy tears. She reached up and wiped some of the tears away, before looking at the charm once more. “I love it.” She said quietly, before pulling out her phone, and attaching it to her case. “It’s absolutely perfect.”

Ochako put her phone away, before reaching over and grabbing Izuku’s hand, pulling him close to her. Izuku, not expecting the strength from Ochako, yelped in surprise before feeling a strong arm circle around his arm while a hand slipped into his own. “Come on.” Ochako said, starting to walk back towards the Midoriya apartment. “We better get back so Tsutsumi can have some time with your Mom tonight.”

Izuku chuckled, walking hand in hand with Ochako. “Did you know she finally asked Mom out?”

“She didn’t!” Ochako exclaimed, looking at Izuku with happiness on her face.

“She did!” Izuku confirmed. “It was the same night you asked me out on a date, actually.”

“Wow.” Ochako giggled. “Talk about timing.”

“Right?!” Izuku exclaimed. “Mom told me the next day. Said Kaina is gonna take her to Leblanc.”

“Oh, that little cafe that you’ve mentioned before?” Ochako questioned, looking up at Izuku.

Izuku nodded, looking down towards her. “Yeah. It’s something simple, and I think Kaina would rather start out with something simple.”

“When are you taking me to Leblanc?” Ochako asked with a smirk, still looking at Izuku.

“Well, we would have to see when Kaina would be able to let us again.” Izuku let out a sigh, before looking away. “It kind of sucks that we have to have her watching me almost every single minute of the day…”

“You know how dangerous it could be otherwise.” Ochako said, leaning her head on Izuku’s shoulder as they continued to walk. “Plus, I don’t think Kaina minds. She really cares for you.”

Izuku hummed in thought. “She really does.” He looked up towards the shadows, finding Kaina watching them still. She seemed to know where they were going, skipping from building to building, always watching them. “Did you know that Yagi and Kaina placed bets on when we’d get together?”

Ochako lifted her head to look at Izuku in surprise. “They did what?”

“They placed bets on when we’d get together.” Izuku repeated, allowing Ochako to process what he just said. “Five hundred thousand yen.”

“WHAT?!” Ochako exclaimed, her eyes going even wider than before. “Do you know how much I could do with five hundred thousand yen!?” Ochako let out a huff of annoyance, before placing her head back on Izuku’s shoulder. “I’m gonna have a talk with Yagi the next time I see him.” She let out a sigh. “What was the bet anyways?”

“Kaina bet we’d get together by the first month, while Yagi bet that it would take us three months.” Izuku confirmed.

“When was this?”

“Back when I first helped relax your muscles, the day on the steps.”

“Wow…” Ochako exclaimed. “That was months ago.” Ochako looked up towards Izuku. “So who won?”

“Well, technically, we haven’t confirmed we’re dating.” Izuku sheepishly said, scratching the back of his head, looking away awkwardly. “But I don’t think anybody? It’s been over three months since that happened.”

“Huh. I guess we haven’t.” Ochako said, before pulling Izuku to a stop and turning towards him. She reached forward with her hand that wasn’t holding Izuku’s, guiding Izuku’s face towards her, before she reached up and gave him a chaste kiss. “Does that confirm we’re dating?” Ochako questioned, while a blush rushed up both their faces.

“Y-Y-Yes!” Izuku stuttered out, causing Ochako to giggle.