Chapter Text
In mere moments, Izuku and Ochako arrived back at the dorms, where the rest of class 2-A awaited them. Practically everyone besides Katsuki was worried that Izuku was nowhere to be found, collectively coming to the correct conclusion that the boy was overworking himself. All eyes were upon the pair as they came through the door and made their way towards the kitchen where Rikido was preparing breakfast for everyone.
“Hey! Midoriya! It’s good to see you.” Rikido said, handing each of the teenagers a helping of pancakes and some syrup.
“Thanks for the pancakes, Satou.” Izuku murmured before digging in silently. None of the students expected him to be very talkative.
“Midoriya.” Tenya said as he approached, pulling the boy’s attention away from his breakfast.
“Yes Iida?” Izuku inquired.
“You have my condolences. I’m very sorry for your loss. If there's anything you need, you only have to ask.” Tenya told him, rubbing Izuku’s shoulder.
“That means a lot to me, Iida. You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for.” Izuku responded, smiling genuinely once again despite the tears that were beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.
“Hey Deku.” Katsuki said, approaching the green haired boy with a neutral expression nobody had ever seen the fiery teen wearing. “I know how much your mom meant to you. If you need to talk I’ll put up with it.”
“Thanks Kachan.” Izuku said, nodding towards his explosively tempered rival.
“What the heck was that about? That was so unlike him.” Denki whispered as Katsuki walked away.
“Kachan can be difficult sometimes, but he’s sensitive when he needs to be. He’s changed a lot since coming to U.A.” Izuku tells them. “For now I think I’m going to go rest in my room, I tired myself out pretty bad. Thanks for the pancakes Sato, I’ll see you guys later.” As Izuku says this, he shuffles off in the direction of his bedroom. Ochako knows that Izuku probably needs time alone to sort this out but at the same time she can’t just leave him. Before she knows what she’s doing, she’s following him, moving quickly to catch up.
“Deku.” She asks, hoping to get his attention. He sluggishly turns to face her, giving her another forced smile.
“What is it, Uraraka?”
“If you need me, just call. Don’t worry about what time it is or where I might be, I’ll come.” She tells him, her cheeks heating up slightly for some reason.
“T-thank you.” He shakily responds, his heart touched by her sincerity. He turns away from her and continues shuffling towards his room. Not long after he closes his door does he receive a call from his father.
“H-hey dad.” Izuku stutters out, his grief painfully clear in his voice.
“I’m sorry Izuku.” Are his father’s words. “I just learned about what happened. Please don’t blame yourself. She loved you so much. She told me every chance she got. She would jump at the opportunity to give me updates on how well you were doing in school, she was so excited and proud that you won the sports festival. She believed in you. I’m sorry that this happened, I wish I’d have been there. I know we never really had a relationship but . . the funds that were continuously sent her way, I want you to have them. It's what she would have wanted too.” It was obvious to Izuku by this point that his father was crying as well. “I missed her. I always told myself that I did what I had to do so that you both could have a better life. Now look where that’s got me. I missed so many years with you two. I always promised myself that that I’d go back to her whenever things settled down. I know I can’t ask for a place in your life, but please accept this. I want to help you like I helped her, it’s what she would’ve wanted I think. Just . . when you need help sorting through this, give me a call. I will always answer, I promise. I love you son, and so did she.”
Instead of bitterness, instead of resentment or even anger, Izuku simply nodded. “I love you too, dad. I’ll hold you to it.” And at that Izuku ended the call. Truthfully, neither of them could handle it going on for any longer anyways. Izuku flumped face-first into his bed, being utterly exhausted already. The day was barely halfway over. He thought about calling Ochako over to help him again, he was quickly learning that her hugs were the best. Whenever she was around, he just felt better, it was as simple as that. The pain didn’t go away completely, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon unfortunately, but her presence dulled it significantly. Maybe he would call her. “No.” He told himself. Finals were next week, she needed to focus, he couldn’t distract her. He had already studied, but he didn’t know if she had. He decided against it, lowering his phone in defeat, refusing to allow his “selfish” desires to get the best of him. Just as his phone touched the bed, it pinged. It was the custom tone that he had set for All Might. His phone would declare in his mentor’s voice “I am here!”, something that even now never failed to bring a smile to Izuku’s face, even just a little one considering the circumstances. He read the message.
“Come meet with the principal and I in my office as soon as you can, immediately if possible. I know you’re going through a lot, but the sooner we get this done, the better.” His mentor messaged him.
Izuku wondered if it had anything to do with his mom, but immediately ruled it out. It had only been a day since . . that . . . happened and it was far too early for anything groundbreaking to have occured.
“Sure. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” Izuku responded, pocketing his phone and putting his shoes back on. Thankfully, his friends decided against questioning him when he crossed the threshold and left the dorms. They figured he just needed some fresh air, and there wasn’t any reason to worry since he wasn’t wearing his gym clothes.
As he made his way towards the administrative section of the U.A campus, Izuku pondered the reasoning for All Might summoning him. He had no idea what to expect as he opened the doors to see principal Nedzu and All Might patiently waiting for him.
“Young Midoriya! Good that you could make it.” All Might called out to him, trying to brighten the somber mood that has already taken hold over the room.
“In light of recent events and your excellent performance during the sports festival, we are excusing you from finals this year. Your academic career has been astoundingly bright, and I see no point in causing these tragic events to hold you back. You have a bright future, Midoriya, just take the vacation to rest and recover.” The principal explained. Even his usually chipper tone was somewhat solemn, it was strange to say the least, but still comforting.
“Thank you sir.” Izuku said and bowed. “But what about the other students? If we go in pairs for our finals like last time, someone will be the odd one out.” Izuku responded, curious as to what the teachers had in mind.
“That’s an excellent point young Midoriya.” All Might added. “But we have something else in mind this time. You didn’t think we would go all this way without mapping everything out first, did you?” All Might asked his pupil with a knowing smile on his face.
“No, I was just making sure.” The young man responded sheepishly. “Thank you again for doing this for me.”
“Of course.” Nedzu responded. “We wouldn’t dream of allowing such tragic events to hold back one of our brightest students. Like we said, just take the summer and use it to recover. You’ll be entering your third and final year here at U.A, so you would do well to prepare yourself and keep with your training if you can. On that note, you are free to go, your classmates are likely wondering where you are by now. Oh, and Midoriya?” The principal caught him, right as he was about to turn to leave.
“Yes?” The grieving young man asked.
“Don’t do anything rash. We haven’t forgotten who you are and how far you’ve come. You may have won the sports festival, yes, but you are far from strong enough to take down the league of villains by yourself. Very soon you’re going to reach a stage in grieving where you’ll be angry, very angry. The desire to take matters into your own hands and hunt down Shigaraki will be almost irresistible, but you can’t. This must be done through the proper channels if the full extent of the law is to be rained down upon this wretched villain. Remember that. You are dismissed.” The principal instructed him, staring directly into the boy’s soul. “Oh, and in addition, you probably shouldn’t live alone this summer. I would recommend that you find a way to bunk with a close friend of yours.”
This confused Izuku slightly, but he figured they wanted someone to look after him and keep him in line during the summer. It made sense that they didn’t completely trust him not to run off and do something stupid, it was his most common course of action after all. As he left for the dorms, he thought about who he’d want to bunk with. His thoughts immediately turned towards his closest friends. His options were Ochako or Tenya. He ruled out Katsuki because despite changing a lot since he enrolled in the hero course, the guy could still be kind of abrasive. He wanted to rule Ochako out just because she was a girl and he was beyond flustered at the idea of living with her and her family, but some part of him wanted to entertain the idea for a while longer. Rooming with Tenya wasn’t a bad option either, he was on very good terms with his bespectacled comrade, and the hero fanatic within him was excited at the prospect of meeting such a prestigious family. He was back in front of the dorms before he knew it, opening the door and climbing up the stairs towards his room. He really was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. His sleep last night was fitful at best, and since he had no finals to worry about he figured he’d use his recovery time. As he approached his door he found Ochako waiting for him.
“Hey Deku.” She greeted him. “Where’d you go? I was kinda worried you ran back to the weightroom.” She half scolded him, punching his shoulder lightly.
“No, I was called to meet with the principal. He and All Might excused me from finals because of what happened. They gave me a lot to think about.” He told her.
“Like what?” She asked, immediately feeling bad for prying. She wanted to help him however she could, and she figured that any extra information she could get about whatever he was struggling with would be a godsend.
“It's just . . . T-they want me to room with someone over the summer. They don’t trust me to not do something dumb if I was left by myself.” He told her, kicking his foot against the ground nervously.
Before she could realize what she was doing, Ochako said “You could room with me for the summer! My parents want to meet you anyways!” This effectively flustered both of the teens. Despite blushing so red that it would make a ripe tomato seem dull, she couldn’t come up with any reasons why it wouldn’t be a good idea. It would help her keep an eye on him, and she would be able to keep her friends updated on how he was coping. Besides, she really liked him, so maybe it would give her a chance to . . “ No! She almost slapped herself. She couldn’t be thinking about those things, he was mourning for heaven’s sake! She suddenly realized that Izuku had begun speaking.
‘I-I’d love to Uraraka, but are you sure? Letting me live with you guys for a whole summer is a big commitment, I wouldn’t want you to just do it because you feel bad. And besides, I know how you guys’s financial situation is.” He told her, looking rather somber. Noticing his state, Ochako took action.
“Of course I’m sure! I wouldn’t just offer because I feel bad for you. We’re best friends, aren’t we? It’s only natural that we’d room together. I just gotta give my parents a call to tell them what's going on.” She told him, smiling earnestly at him all the while. Suddenly, Izuku’s face lit up briefly as if he remembered something important.
“I can pay rent!” He told her excitedly. “The funds my father used to funnel to my mother . . . he gave me a call and said they were coming my way now. I should be able to give you guys something for letting me stay. It's not like I’d have anything else to do with the money anyway.” He said, seemingly depressed because he was reminded yet again of his situation. “Just . . give them a call. I’m going to rest for a while, and you should study for your finals.” He told her, turning to leave only to be tackled by a surprise hug from her, causing his face to turn beet red once again.
“I’m sure my parents would love to have you stay over. Like I said, they really want to meet you. I can’t wait! I’m going to go call them, I’ll see you later Deku!” She said, and before she could stop herself she gave the already flustered boy a peck on the cheek and ran away, leaving a very confused Izuku.
“She just kissed me on the cheek to comfort me.” He told himself. “There’s no way she likes me, right? Does this mean she likes me? No way . .” He mutters to himself before entering his room and flopping himself to his bed. He had no energy or bainpower remaining to confront whatever just happened, he figured he’d just ask her about it later.
Meanwhile, Ochako sprinted into her room and slammed the door shut behind her, startling her classmates. “Why did I do that? I’ve gotta get myself under control, especially if he’s going to be living with me. Speaking of which, I need to call my mom.” She said to herself, calming down somewhat. Sure, she liked him, and while that was definitely one of the top reasons that she wanted him to spend the summer with her family, it wasn’t the only one. She wanted to be able to keep a close eye on him. She agreed with the principal, Izuku didn’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to staying out of trouble and using his head. The biggest reason however, was that she wanted to be there for him. The thought of the person she cared about so much suffering through this horrible mess alone made her heart wrench. He had always been so supportive of her, he was always able to see right through her whenever she tried to hide anything she was struggling with, it was the least she could do to return the favor. If something else came out of this, that would be great too, but that wasn’t the objective.
She had tried her best to bury her feelings for Izuku, to shut them down. It was easy at first, but slowly it began to hurt more and more. Once she learned that his mother died, she just dropped the facade. She was reminded of how everything was so temporary, she was reminded of how short the lives of heros were. She decided it wasn’t worth ignoring it anymore. Besides, she could manage this while focusing on her studies at the same time, it was far from the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life. She had made up her mind to pursue her feelings for him sometime after he recovered, but if it happened before that she certainly wasn’t going to complain.
She mentally prepared herself before dialing her mother’s number. It rang only a couple times before her mother picked up. “Hi honey! I’m surprised to hear from you, is everything ok?” Her mother asked, a slight tone of concern present in her voice.
“Yeah, everything's alright on my end mom, its my friend that I’m calling about.” She informed her.
“Oh? Which friend is this?” Her mother inquired, her tone turning slightly mischievous. “It’s that Izuku Midoriya, isn’t it?”
“How’d you know?” Ochako asks in exasperation.
“A mother always knows.” She replied smugly. “You never stop talking about him. You know that, right?”
“You caught me, but that’s not what this is about. He’s going through a lot right now, the league of villains killed his mother the other night. He’s so lost mom, its heartbreaking. This has completely shattered him. He has nowhere to stay and I can’t just let him live alone for the entire summer, he’s my best friend.” She confesses to her mother, slightly crying herself at the tragedy. “I want him to stay with us.” She declares.
“I’m sorry to hear that, but are you sure? I’m not against it but it means you’d have to share a room. Our apartment isn’t the biggest, you know.” Her mother informed her. Ochako facepalmed, how could she possibly forget?
“We’ll figure something out.” She said to her mother, thankful she couldn’t see her blushing through the phone, though her flustered state may have been evident in her voice.
“Should I be worried?” Her mother jokingly asked. “You and a cute boy sharing a room, both of you being teenagers too . . “ Her mother trailed off teasingly.
“W-what?! He’s not like that!” Ochako practically screamed into the phone, her face now a vibrant shade of tomato-red.
“I’m just kidding you, honey. I’m going to put you down and propose it to your father. I’ll fill him in on the entire situation, don’t worry.” She comforted her daughter. They both knew how protective her father could be, the thought of his daughter sharing a room with a boy could cause him to immediately shut down the idea despite their good intentions. Ochako paced back and forth in her room nervously as she tried to listen to the muffled conversation her parents were having. She couldn’t discern anything very clearly, but her father seemed to be agreeing with it. She couldn’t allow herself to get her hopes up though. After what seemed like forever, she heard the phone being picked back up. It was her father speaking.
“Hey there sweetie. Your mother told me everything. We know how much you care about this boy, and I do kinda want to meet him, but he’s also a growing teenager and I don’t know if we can afford another mouth to feed.” Her father said in a sad tone.
“Oh, don’t worry about that, dad! He said he could pay rent. His dad works overseas and is funneling him some funds so he can continue to live comfortably.” She told her father in a rather chipper tone, happy that things were turning out in her favor.
“Well in that case I’m all aboard. It would be nice to have another guy around anyway. Especially if he’s going to be my future son!” Her father says teasingly.
“Not you too!” Ochako screams again, her blush returning in full force. She was going to start floating any second now.
“Relax kiddo, I’m just teasing you. You know your mother and I love to do that. Now that things are settled, is there any chance I could speak with him before he comes over?” Her father inquired.
“I’ll set you up for a call with him once he’s calmed down some more. He still isn’t very emotionally stable. I caught him trying to work through his grief in the weightroom today, if I hadn’t dragged him out of there he might have been there all day. He has no clue how to deal with this, I want to help him.” Ochako said, expressing her feelings and concerns wholeheartedly.
“I’m sorry to hear that. There's certainly worse things that he could be doing, though. I’m gonna let you go for now, do your best on your finals. Make us proud!” He instructed her, his affections clear in his voice. They ended the call and Ochako practically squealed in excitement before remembering the events that led to this opportunity. She had to tell Izuku that he was in the clear, that would totally cheer him up! She began on her short journey to where his room was, only to find that the door stood ajar. He must have been too tired to close it. She cautiously opened it, only to find a heartbreaking scene. Deku was lying asleep on his bed in a fetal position not unlike the one he had pulled himself into the night before. He was cradling the portrait of his mother that he had brought with him to the dorms. Trails of tears stained his cheeks as they continued to flow despite his slumber. Even in his sleep, there was no escape. Ochako remembered from last night how the kiss she gave him seemed to ease his slumber, so maybe it would do the trick again. Against her better judgement, Ochako leaned down and planted a light kiss on his forehead, which seemed to immediately dispel his troubling thoughts. The boy smiled in his sleep and slightly unfolded himself, stretching his arms and legs and shifting onto his back. She could get used to doing that. He looked so peaceful now, he must have been having a good dream. She would tell him the good news later, for now she would let him sleep. Lord knows he needed it.
She closed Izuku’s door softly behind her, not wanting to wake him from his much needed rest. She traversed her way down the hallway, intent on meeting up with some of her friends to study, only to be intercepted by All Might.
“Ah, young Uraraka. I was looking for you.” Her teacher said.
“Oh? What do you need?” She inquired, raising an eyebrow at her professor.
“Young Midoriya needs a place to stay this summer, and you two seem so close that I figured -” All Might was cut off by Ochako.
“He told me. I’ve already ran it by my parents and they are on board with it.” She told him, presenting her teacher with her trademark smile.
“Excellent work young Uraraka.” All Might exclaimed, coughing up some blood in the process. “In that case, I’d like to have a word with your parents. I’ve been made his temporary guardian since his father is overseas and young Midoriya is still a minor, so I’d like to formally express my gratitude.” All Might tells her.
“Wow, so you’re like his dad now?” Ochako asks without missing a beat. “Well I guess this just makes it official. You two are really similar after all.” She teases her teacher, eliciting a smile from the emaciated man. “Here, let me dial them for you.” She told him, ringing her father’s number this time. Similar to her last call with her mother, the phone only rang a few times before her father picked up.
“Calling again so soon? Did you forget something sweetie?” He asked.
“No, but I have someone who wants to talk with you.” She tells him, handing the phone off to All Might.
“Hello Mr. Uraraka.” All Might calmly addresses the man.
“Oh, is this All Might? To what do I owe the pleasure?” He inquires.
“I would like to express my gratitude to you for giving my student a place to stay over the summer. I’m sure you’re aware, but some tragic events befell the poor boy and he was in quite a hopeless situation. I’ve seen the effect your daughter has on him, and I couldn’t ask for a better place for him to stay.” All Might said.
“You’re welcome. We see how much out daughter cares about him, we only hope we can be accommodating.” Her father lamented.
“No need to worry about that. I’m sure young Midoriya has already propositioned to pay you rent for allowing him to stay, but I’ll be taking over that function. My work as the symbol of peace as well as my teaching profession has left me with more funds than I care to spend. I will be covering all of your expenses during the summer, it's the least that I can do. All of my students are very important to me, and you are performing a great service.” All Might proudly tells the man.
The two men say their goodbyes and end the call. All Might returns Ochako’s phone to her. “Now, young Uraraka. You have finals to prepare for, I wish you the best of luck. I’ll be seeing you on monday.”