Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Who Are You?

Hey Everyone I’m back with another story.  This one will be a Kimi No Na Wa AU, or better known as Your Name, the masterpiece of an anime movie.  I have seen this movie so many times I just HAVE to write some beautiful Izuocha for it. Anyways, I’ll be going over the events of the Your Name movie with a bnha twist (As well as my own twists).  I’ll be updating in between chapters of my pokemon fic, so watch out for it! For now, enjoy!

Sometimes, in the morning when I wake up, I find myself crying.  I don’t know why it happens or what’s wrong, but the feeling that I’ve lost something very important lingers for a long time after I rise.

I’ve always felt as if I were looking for something.  It could be a thing, a feeling, maybe even a person. In the end, it doesn’t really matter what it is, just that something is...missing.  Like a piece of me is that was once there disappeared one day.

Ever since that day, I’ve been searching.  Searching for the thing that I lost. The person that I lost.

Izuku woke up as if it were any other day.  He turned over on his side, gleaning away from the light shining into his eyes.  He smothered his face into his pillow, trying to force himself back into slumber.

No, I should get up… I’ll be late for school… He thought.  Reluctantly, he pushed himself off his bed into a sitting position.  Except, something felt different under him. His bed felt much more...solid than before.

Rubbing his eyes clear, he noticed something else was very off. He was wearing a bright pink sleeping gown, polka-dotted with even brighter pink spots.   There was something...else as well. The way his chest rounded out was...not normal.

Are these... Izuku put his hands up to his own chest and pushed them against the mounds present lightly. They squished softly in his hands, just like real ones should.  

Only then did he notice everything that was off about the room around him.  There was light brown hair that dropped in front of his vision slightly. He was wearing a pink night dress , and the room around him was significantly more feminine.  There were hair products and flowers laid out around. He wasn’t in his room at Yuuei, that was for certain.

“Ahh!” He said, shock all hitting him at once.  He jumped to his feet, panicking. That shriek was strikingly feminine.

“Are you alright, honey?” A man’s voice Izuku didn’t recognize called from somewhere else in the building he was in.

This must be a dream! I-I’ve turned into a girl! Izuku thought panicked.  “Everything’s alright!” He yelled back.  The voice that came out of his mouth was not his voice.  Trying to keep as level of a head as possible, he ran up to the mirror in the room and gazed into it to confirm his suspicion.

True enough, the face looking back at him was not...his.  It was to circular, and pink blush was present on the cheeks.  His had short brown hair similar to a bowl cut from the top of his head, and it was brown, not green.  Lastly, he dropped the robe.

Sure enough, as if to seal the deal, two, circular breasts were there to finalize the suspicion.  

Izuku’s face turned redder than a tomato.

Ochako woke up as if it were any other, normal day.  She got up off the makeshift mattress on the ground. And got dressed in her school uniform.  Ignoring her bed head, she went downstairs to get some breakfast.

“Good morning!” She said cheerfully, making her way to the rice cooker.  She opened it up, getting blasted with a warm wave of steam. She inhaled as deeply as possible through her nose, taking in the great scent of fresh rice.  She quickly spooned herself out a large bowl.

She went to sit down, but as she looked up she saw the weird look her father was giving her.  

“Is this too much?” She asked, taking her spot on the opposite side as him.  It was a minimalistic table, just stumpy wooden legs and a flat top. Then again, it was just the two of them, so there wasn’t much need for more seats.  Nobody ever visited anyways.

“No, it’s just you’re acting...normal today.” He noted, taking a sip of his coffee.

“What do you mean?” She tilted her head.

“When you came downstairs yesterday, it was like a demon had possessed you.  You were nuts!”

What on earth… Ochako thought.

“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Ochako said, going back to her rice.  Her dad just sighed and went back to eating his breakfast as well. They ate in silence for a few more moments.

“Don’t you have to be getting to school?” Her dad eventually piped up.

“What ti-AH!” Ochako wailed, finally noticing how late she had woken up, “I have to be there in 5 minutes! It’s all the way across the lake!” Ochako shoved the last of her rice in her mouth frantically, putting on her socks and shoes, as well as her school uniform.

“Have a nice day, honey!” Her dad bid her farewell as she shot out the door.  She turned around the corner before something caught her eye. The old scooter bike they kept from when they moved here.

It hasn’t had gas for years… Ochako realized, defeated.  Another long walk it is.

Ochako found herself nearly dozing of in class.  It was really turning out to be a bad day. First she wakes up late and shows up to school late, and now the teacher was going over some absurdly boring topic.

“Something something twilight, blah blah blah…” Ochako mumbled, resting her head on the desk in front of her.  She flipped through the notebook, taking notice of the doodles on the inside.

Some depicted just random spur of the moment ideas, such as flowers or a tree, while others had more importance.  One that specifically caught her eye was the one she’d just made last week.

It depicted herself, wearing a bright pink and black hero costume.  She was lifting massive chunks of concrete off of earthquake villains.  At the top of the little drawing was the bolded text “Uravity!” Ochako sighed,

A dream best forgotten…. She thought.

She had always wanted to be a hero, ever since she was young.  Not only did she want to help people, but she also knew heroes made good money.  Being a hero would have landed her enough money to help out her parents, whose construction company was failing.

But three years ago things took a turn for the worst.  When they had gotten a construction contract way back then, everyone was excited.  It was a small job in a remote town called Itomori, and would require them to live in the area for a few months, but that wasn’t a problem considering that it would save them, for a few more months anyways.

Everything went downhill when Ochako’s mother fell ill.  Apparently it was an extremely rare virus that many of the locals had an immunity to from years living in the area.  She caught the disease and it was like a storm went through her. She didn’t last two weeks.

The medical bills had crippled Ochako’s father, not to mention his mental state.  He fell into a deep depression for a couple years and practically ignored his business.  The company went bankrupt and the two of them were forced to take up permanent residence in Itomori.

Ochako was understanding.  Circumstances change, and she had been heartbroken at the loss of her mother as well.  Understanding and accepting were two completely different things.

Her entire shot at becoming a hero, the one thing she dreamed of, went out the window the day her mother died.  The only high school in Itomori didn’t have a heroics program. Odds are she would be stuck in this little village for the rest of her life.

Ochako absentmindedly turned the page again, wishing to take her thoughts off of those memories. What she expected to be a blank page was pointedly not blank.

“Who Are You?” It read.

The school bell tore Ochako from her thoughts.

“You’re acting surprisingly normal today, Uraraka.” Kirishima Ejirou said once lunch hour started.

“Normal? You’re the second one to say that to me today.” Ochako muttered, putting a piece of her sandwich in her mouth.

“Yeah, he’s right.  You forgot where your classes and locker were.  You had really bad bed head and no ribbon in your hair.  It was like you had amnesia.” Mina added, smug look on her pink face.

“I-I don’t remember any of this.” Ochako responded.

“You kept saying ‘this must be a dream’ under your breath, too” Kirishima finished.

“You seriously don’t remember?”

Ochako shook her head, “No, though there was something odd today in class.  Did either of you write this in my notebook?” She pulled the notebook out of her bad and showed them the page marked with the “Who are you” text.

“Nope.”

“Nu-uh.”

“Weird…” Ochako breathed, “I just wish I could get out of this town…” She mumbled.

Ochako walked by the shrine on the way home.  It was dark already, so the lights from the special ceremony could be seen from anywhere in the tiny town.  

She was walking by with Mina and Kirishima when she overheard a conversation.

“They say that this tradition is held every few years to appease those ancient gods that the people of this town used to believe in.” One of the villagers mentioned.

“Why keep doing it then?”

“For tradition’s sake.  Tradition is all we have these days.”

You’ve got that right… Ochako continued walking home.

About an hour later, she sat on the small stone balcony that their little house had to overlook the rest of the village.

It’s all wrapped up around the lake, like a scene from a movie.  It would be beautiful...If I weren’t stuck here. Ochako sighed and picked up the mug next to her.  She tossed it into the air, activating her quirk on it.  The ceramic just floated into the sky, defying all gravity.

“I wish I could just fly away like that…” Ochako mumbled, releasing her quirk.  Gravity retook hold on the mug, causing it to plummet back to earth, right back into Ochako’s hands.  She did this a few more times.

“Why couldn’t I just have been born as a handsome Tokyo boy!” She yelled into the void, falling onto her back.

It’s probably time for bed anyways…

Ochako woke up to the sound of a phone alarm going off.

Now that’s odd...usually I don’t set an alarm... Ochako thought.  She reached out her hand towards the source of the noise, only to be met by open space.  The fumbled her arm around a little more, but something suddenly shifted below her.

“Ahh!” She called out as she fell off her bed.  Wait...bed?

Ochako sat up and looked around .  Not only was there a full sized bed (not a little mattress on the ground), she was in a large room stocked full of All Might merchandise.  Like, every single decoratable square foot of the room was covered with something related to All Might.

This isn’t my room… Ochako thought as she stood up, her bed sheet falling off her body.  She felt...taller than normal. She walked around, exploring the room.

Except, when she took a first step, she noticed something very...off.  

There’s something there…. Ochako realized.  She looked down at her body, only to realize that it wasn’t her body.  Her arms were littered with deforming scars, and she could barely feel her right arm.  Like, it was almost totally numb.

Then, there was the fact that her precious hair was gone, replaced by an unruly, green bush on top of her head.  Her legs were hairy and there was... something between her legs.

She peeled back the waistband, daring a small look to confirm her suspicion.  She looked down and...yep. That was a thing. Okay.

Recovering from how red her face was, she decided to try to figure out what was going on.  Obviously this was a dream. She hadn’t just randomly become a completely different person overnight.

I am here! All Might’s voice echoed throughout the room, scaring Ochako.  She went over and picked up the phone, looking at the message.

“From Iida Tenya- Hurry, Midoriya! You may be late if you do not pick up the pace!” Ochako read out loud.

“Late?” Ochako panicked.  Even though it was a dream, for some reason it felt extraordinarily real.  Frantically she got dressed into what looked like the school uniform, ignoring how embarrassed by the look of her own, yet not her own body.

She blasted open the door of the room she was in, expecting to be met with a house.  Instead, she was met with a giant open area, with railings overlooking a staircase. The walls were lined with doors.

Dorm Rooms?

“Hey Midoriya! Just wakin’ up? Must be a rough day for ya, buddy! C’mon with us, before you’re late!” A boy with spiky yellow and black hair called, waving Ochako on.

May as well go along with the dream… she thought, jogging over.  She felt extraordinarily energetic, like there was an extra boost of strength there that she wasn’t used to.

Walking with the yellow haired boy was a girl, who had short violet hair and red marks under her eyes.  Extending from under her ears were what looked like earphone jacks.

“You’re usually as early as Iida, Midoriya! What, did you sleep your alarm?” The yellow haired boy said.

“Something like that…” Ochako muttered.

“At least he shows up on time, unlike you, Kaminari .” The purple haired girl said.  

So his name is Kaminari...

“Yeah, yeah.” Kaminari brustled off.  They walked down the stairs and made it out of the dorm building.  Ochako just generally followed the flow of where Kaminari and the purple haired girl went.

Eventually, the sight of a large glass building came into sight.  It was like a square with four large pillars and bridges connecting them.  

Yuuei! Ochako thought.  You’d have to be living under a rock to not know what Yuuei was.  Ochako was expecting to walk past the gates. Yet, when Kaminari and the girl walked through the metal arch, no problem, Ochako’s excitement couldn’t be contained.

“I’m going to Yuuei!” She yelled out, stepping past the arch as well. Kaminari looked back and gave him a weird look.

“You’ve been going to Yuuei for two years…” He said, giving Ochako a weird look.

“I-uhh-I-uhmmm….” Ochako stuttered. Why did this seem so real? Was she really going to a hero school in her dream? “I’m just a little excited, that’s all.”

“Well, we do have combat training today.  You’re always good at that.” The purple haired girl said.

“That’s what it is!” Ochako said, trying to change the subject.  Ochako followed the two all the way through the maze of hallways until they got to their homeroom.  There were sixteen total students, excluding Ochako herself.

What’s in store? Ochako thought, taking the empty seat she hoped was hers.  

Wait, if this is a hero school, then that means I have a really strong quirk! What’s my quirk? She tried touching the desk with all five fingers, but nothing happened. I don’t have me quirk, so it seems.

“Hey, Midoriya! You’re late!” A boy with short blue hair ran up to Ochako, waving his arms frantically. Ochako sat up a little straighter and scratched the back of her head.

“Sorry, I just found it a little hard to get out of bed this morning.”

“That is no way a future hero should be acting! As class representative, I must ensure that everyone is doing what the need to!” he said.  Ochako was a little taken aback by his sudden aggressiveness.

“Lay off, Iida.  It looks like he’s having a bad day.” Kaminari called over, “Plus he would’ve been here sooner if I didn’t insist he walk with us.”
If I had known where to go...Ochako thought. Suddenly, the blue haired boy, Iida, bowed to Ochako.

“My apologies. Midoriya.  I just want to ensure that you’re doing what you need to in the future.” Iida said.  Ochako was taken aback by the sudden change in demeanor, so she took an extra moment to react.

“O-oh, yeah, it’s fine.” She finally said.  Iida nodded again and returned to his seat. Ochako just sat in her seat for an extra few minutes, not joining in on any conversations, since odds are she would have no idea how to act.

“Such a weird dream…” Ochako muttered under her breath.  

Ochako was torn from her thoughts by someone sitting on his desk.

Oh here we go… Ochako looked up, and sitting on her desk was a girl.  She had long dark green hair, not totally unlike the hair currently on Ochako’s hair, though it was a bit darker of a shade.  It was tied in a ribbon behind her back, and she wore the normal girls’ uniform.

Her face was a bit flat, but not plain.  Her eyes were large and circular, and the pupils kind of reminded her of a frog’s.  Her legs were...significantly more muscular than the rest of her body.

“You’re acting odd this morning, Midoriya.” She said.

Straight to the point.

“I’m just feeling a little bit weird.” Ochako responded.  The girl eyed Ochako.

“You’re late, not talking with anyone, you don’t have your notebook out, and you haven’t once mentioned the combat exercise we have today, kero .”

Ochako stopped for a moment, Kero? She’s acting even more and more like a frog.

“I’m just a bit tired, I guess.” Ochako made the same excuse.  The girl just raised an eyebrow, obviously not buying it. She was about to open her mouth to talk again when the door to the classroom opened.

“I’m here. In your seats.” A man grumbled.  Everyone in the class immediately obeyed, scrambling to their seats in mere moments.

“As you all know, we have combat training today.  Get changed and meet All Might at test city A.” His voice was very monotone and emotionless.

All Might? Since when is All Might a teacher at Yuuei?

The class didn’t waste any time in hopping from their seats.  Panels opened on the wall, revealing seventeen briefcases, each labelled with a number.  Ochako grabbed the one that corresponded with the seat she was in and followed the flow of where everyone was going.

Ochako had nearly walked into the wrong changing room.  He was glad that the girl from earlier stopped him.

“You’re really out of it today.  Go to the right changing room.” She said.

“Oh, right.” She said, walking into the other locker room and proceeded to get changed, which was really embarrassing.  Ochako was pretty sure her face was hot pink, but she was facing the wall so that nobody saw her.

It took a little while to piece together the costume, but Ochako thought she got it right.  A dark green and black athletic suit with long gloves that went up to the biceps (Which she was surprised at how big those muscles were).  She also had iron soled boots and specially made gloves that looked like they were made for slotting something, or maybe concentrating a blast.  Lastly, there was a metal mouthguard and a green mask with green bunny ears popping up.

Ochako initially had the hood up, but after seeing herself in the reflection of the tile, she saw how utterly ridiculous she looked and decided to put down the hood and let the metal mouthguard hang around her neck.

After taking forever to change, Ochako hurried out after everyone else, catching up with the group.  Ochako chose to not take part in the small talk made on the way to the combat training venue for fear of saying something completely wrong and making a fool of herself.

She did, however, notice one more person that was not taking part in the group discussion.  While Ochako was at the back of the group, trailing behind, there was another boy ahead of the group, taking his own pace.  He had explosive blonde hair, and large grenade-looking gloves were on his arms.

They eventually made it to the place Ochako assumed was test city A.  All she could see was a giant concrete wall, and the tips of skyscrapers sticking out over the top of it.

How do they have enough money to make an entire city for combat drills? Ochako couldn’t even fathom how much money that would be.   Certainly enough to get out of stupid Itomori

They all walked through a dark tunnel to enter the city.  Ochako couldn’t see the people next to her, but she could see the blinding light ahead.  They continued on, stepping into the light.

Ochako was met with a perfect recreation of an urban city area.  She had obviously been in a city before, but it had been years. Whilst living in Itomori, Ochako longed for the city.  Being back in one, even if it was fake, was like a dream.  Except for that she was already dreaming. So a dream inside of a dream?

Standing in front of the group, about ten feet away in a yellow and black striped suit was a man.  He was tall, though extremely skinny.  His face was angular, almost as if it were made of straight lines.  He looked like a walking skeleton. He had a head of straight blonde hair that stuck up at weird angles, seemingly defying the laws of physics.

“Good morning, All Might!”

“Hey, All Might!” a few people greeted the man.

Wait...All Might? Where is he?

“Good morning, everyone.  I hope you are doing well.” the skeletal man responded.  Except it was in All Might’s voice.

It can’t-that can’t- that isn’t All Might, is it? Ochako started to freak out a little.  The people were referring to this man as All Might, though he looked noting of the sort, save for similar hair.  Not only that, but he was responding to the name as well.

Is that really All Might?

“Today, I have prepared an exercise for you very similar to the first one you all did on the first week of your first year.  We will be doing a hostage rescue scenario.” A holographic image popped up behind the skeletal man (All Might?). It depicted two videogame-like figures outside of a building.

“The villain team will have two hostages somewhere inside the building.” The hologram animated, shifting to a view of the villain team.  They were inside a room, looking menacing while two people were tied up with rope on the floor.

“The rules are simple. If the villain team is incapacitated or captured with the capture tape, or if the hostages are safely recovered, then the hero team wins.  If the hero team is incapacitated or captured, or if the hostages are severely injured then the villain team wins.” The hologram did a little animation for each battle scenario, depending on what team won.  It was kinda cute, to be honset.

“I’ll split up the teams now.  Remember to go beyond...PLUS ULTRA!” At the moment that the man said the last two words of Yuuei’s motto, he changed.  He grew bigger and his muscles expanded. Standing in front of Ochako for a moment was the man himself, All Might.

Then, he was gone with a puff of smoke, replaced by the same skeletal man, who was coughing. Ochako’s breath stopped.

It’s really All Might...What happened to him? Is he always like this when he’s not working? Ochako let out a squeak.  It was high pitched and full of surprise.  All the heads around her turned to the source of the noise.

Ochako’s hand flew up to her mouth, covering it with her hand.  Only then did she realize that squeak was very... not manly.  And she looked like a boy.  Ochako flushed crimson.

“Midoriya, my boy, are you okay?” All Might asked.  Ochako suppressed a second squeak.

“Yeah, sorry.  You’re just a little...skinnier than I remember.” Her voice was much higher than she intended.

“I was trying to put on weight… ” She heard All Might mumble.  The entire class burst into laughter, drawing the attention away from Ochako, much to her relief.

All Might drew the teams at random, and Ochako was sort of relieved to be placed with the girl who sat on his desk earlier, who she learned was named Tsu.  They were set to be the hero team, going in to capture a set of dummies that were the ‘hostages’.

“We’re up against Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, kero .” Tsu commented, drawing Ochako from her nervousness.  Tsu seemed to notice, though. “You look nervous. You never look nervous for combat training.

Tsu was right.  She was nervous.  Not only was it combat training, but she had no idea what her quirk even was.  She thought she felt some reserve of power in the back of her mind, but that could be almost anything.  Then again, it was a dream. Maybe her quirk would be whatever she wanted it to be.

“Yeah, I don’t know why…” Ochako drifted off as she saw the sign above the door.  It was a simple name for some fake business, but the first kanji caught her eye. It happened to be the same kanji that starts off the phrase “Who are you?”.  Ochako’s mind raced back to the note in her notebook.

Couldn’t hurt, right? I might end up waking up unexpectedly… Ochako looked around, and saw what she was looking for.  The building they were in front of had a little jar full of pens.  Carefully on the palm of her hand, she wrote down “Ochako”.

“Are you drawing up the plan?” Tsu asked, trying to peer over Ochako’s hand.  She quickly closed it, concealing the name. Thinking quickly, Ochako wheeled around and shook her head.

“I had an idea but it won’t work based on the height of the building.” Ochako said, hoping it sounded genuine.  

“Did you want to go in through the roof? I could climb up, but I don’t know if you could jump that high, kero .” Tsu commented/

So some kind of augmentation quirk? Ochako thought.  It made sense.

START! All Might’s voice boomed over the intercom.  Ochako and Tsu nodded to each other, walking in the front door.  They crept around the hallways, scouting for any sign of the hostages.

“How about you run ahead and scout the next floor quickly.  I’ll check this one. Let each other know of we see something.” Tsu said.  Ochako nodded.

She said quickly.  Maybe that means use my quirk? Ochako still sensed the well of power in the back of her mind. Here goes nothing!

Ochako mentally reached out and grabbed the power.  She felt raw, unfiltered strength flow through her limbs.  Looking down, she saw red, vein-like power running up and down her arms.

Tentatively, Ochako moved her arm.  She was not expecting it to move so drastically.  Instead of moving forwards a few inches like she intended, her arm flew in front of her in a punching motion.  

Wind whipped up, blasting from the area around Ochako.  A massive shockwave broke out in front of her, tearing the walls of the building itself apart.The columns supporting the building cracked before being blown apart themselves by the force of the blast.

The wind died down, only to be replaced by a rumbling. Ochako’s right arm fell limply to her side, unmoving and bruised purple. Ochako looked up to see the roof getting closer and closer.  

“Oops.” Ochako muttered, bracing herself for the impact as the entire building collapsed on top of her.

Well, that’s it for the first chapter of this story.  I’ll be updating it in-between chapters of the pokemon fic, though I may have to slow down my upload schedule slightly.  Uni is starting back up, and I don’t know how much time I’ll have to write. Who knows, it might be more time! Probably not.  Anyways, this won’t be a longfic like pokemon. I have a set 6-7 chapter timeline, as I am going to be going over the events of the Your Name movie with a bnha twist to it.  Anyways, I’ll see you all as soon as possible!

Chapter Text

We’re...swapping bodies?

I just wanted to start off by thanking everyone for all the support you’ve shown me on this fic so far.  It really means a lot to me. Anyhow, here’s the next chapter of this fic!

P.S. Just a heads up, this chapter has a lot of frequent jumps in perspective.  This is deliberate to mirror how the scene plays out in the movie.

Izuku woke up and immediately noticed something different.  First off, he wasn’t in his room. Usually when he woke up, he saw a picture of All Might staring down at him from the ceiling.  Instead, all he saw was a painted white plaster ceiling, no All Might to be seen.

Secondly, he wasn’t in his nice and comfy pajamas he normally wore to bed.  Looking down, he saw that he was in a tattered form of his hero costume, and his entire right arm was covered in bandages.  In the process of looking at his arm, he also noticed that he was in the nurse’s office for some reason.

Lastly, he was sore.  Like, more sore than he had been in a very long time.  His entire right arm was throbbing with a dull pain, though it was kind of refreshing to actually be able to feel it, as it was usually in a constant state of numb from his early days of overdoing his quirk.   The pain in his arm was familiar, but not welcome either. It was the same pain he felt when he broke his limbs with his quirk.

“What happened?” He groaned, trying to sit up in the hospital bed.

“Oh dear, you’re up already!” Recovery Girl’s voice called, and a moment later she appeared from behind the curtain, greeting Izuku with a smile on her face.  Izuku rubbed his eyes with his fists.

“You really tore yourself up out there.  It’s been a while since you blew up your arm.” Recovery girl said.  

“Blew up my arm? What?” Izuku tilted his head, completely confused.

“Do you not remember? A concussion perhaps?” Recovery Girl hobbled over, getting out a flashlight.  She ran Izuku through a quick concussion test before shaking her head, “No concussion.”

“Wait, can you tell me what is going on?” Izuku put out his hand, stopping conversation.

“I can explain, I hope.” All Might popped out from behind the curtain, coming in at the same angle that Recovery Girl had.  Izuku looked up at his mentor, waiting on an explanation.

“During the battle trail, you started acting odd.  You looked like you had no idea what you were doing, and your movements were sloppy.  Then, for some reason, you used a full powered attack with one for all, taking out the entire building at once.  We’re lucky that you were the only one injured.” All Might explained.

“I don’t-”

“And that brings me to my point!” All Might cut Izuku off and took a deep breath, “Don’t you know not to use full powered attacks anymore? Don’t you remember what the doctor said about what could happen if you overuse your quirk too many times? Don’t you have any sense of self-preservation!” All Might boomed.  He was in his powered down form, just as he had been for the last year or so since the battle with All for One. Even in that form, his voice was commanding and booming.

Izuku didn’t even know what he had done, yet he still felt ashamed, shying away from the older man in his bed.

“I-I’m sorry, but I actually have no idea what you’re talking about.” Izuku looked up into his mentor’s eyes.  The man stared back, tilting his head.

“You don’t remember any of that?” Izuku shook his head.

“The last thing I remember is going to bed last night.” All Might brought his hand to his chin, thinking. He turned to Recovery Gril.

“Could it be some other kind of memory loss aside from a concussion?”

“It’s always possible, though it’s very unlikely.”  All Might just shook his head, just as confused as Izuku now.

“I suppose you can head back to the dorms now, just let us know if any of it comes back.” All Might said.  Izuku nodded in confirmation, pushing himself off the bed with one arm, the other still cradled and covered in bandages.

Izuku opened the door to the 1-A dorm building, and within seconds he was surrounded by at least three people.

“Dude, are you okay?”

“That’s the first time in a while that you’ve blown yourself up like that!”

“You didn’t even give up a good fight, you damned nerd!”

Izuku took a step back, putting his hands up defensively.

“I-I’ don’t really remember any of that, sorry!” He said nervously, scratching his neck anxiously.

“Like memory loss?” Kaminari asked. Izuku nodded.

“I don’t remember anything between going to bed last night and waking up in the recovery room.” Kaminari and Sero ilted their heads, thinking.

“This whole situation is odd, man, I’m telling you.  First you were acting all weird this morning, then you take out the entire building with one blast from your quirk, and now you don’t remember any of it.” Kaminari muttered.

“I was acting odd this morning?”

“Yeah,” Jirou responded this time, “You were up late, you were super surprised for some reason that you were going to Yuuei, you freaked out when you saw All Might for some reason, and you spoke with a backcountry accent.”

“What!?” Izuku jumped back, surprised.

“Yeah, man, I swear it was like you weren’t yourself.” Sero added on. Izuku looked between the three of them, genuinely concerned.

This is so weird…

“I’m-I think I’m going to go back to my room and get some rest.” Izuku said, rubbing at his temples.  This whole situation was making his head hurt.

“Yeah, you look like you need it.” Kaminari said, leaving him with the rest of the three.  Bakugo had been standing off to the side, glaring at Izuku for the entirety of the conversation.  Izuku was happy that he didn’t follow.

Izuku got back to his room and crashed onto his bed.  He had only been awake for about half an hour (at least of what he could remember), but he already felt dead tired, though some of that exhaustion could be attributed to Recovery Girl’s quick working its magic.

Izuku changed into this pajamas lazily, throwing his hero suit into a lump on the ground.  He could fold it later. He jumped back onto his bed once again and reached for his phone on the bedside table.  He brought it in front of his face, but he noticed something odd.

In the crook of his left hand, he saw some black marks.opening his hand, Izuku recognized it as a few simple kanji. It read ‘Ochako’.  

Izuku’s mind immediately raced back to the really weird dream he had the previous night.  The one where he was in a girl’s body in some small town around a lake in back-country Japan.

The one where he wrote the question ‘Who Are You?’ in her notebook.  The same dream where people had been referring to Izuku by that very same name.

Now this is weird… Izuku thought.  Either he was sleepwalking in some way, or something...supernatural was occuring.  Izuku tried to refocus on his phone and ignore the oddities and attribute it to his memory loss from the morning, but every time he tried to fall asleep, his eyes were inexplicably drawn to the writing on his hand.

It was a while before he was actually able to fall asleep.

Izuku dreamed again of Ochako’s life.  He was once again in a small town in rural japan, attending a tiny high school.  He was once again a girl. Izuku looked around the room he had only dreamed of once before, but this time he looked at it with a new perspective.

Last time, he had asked the dream (Or was it a dream?) who Ochako was.  It had responded, though he had no idea or memory of how. Maybe if he asked it more questions he would figure out just what in the world was going on.

Izuku got up off the lousy mattress on the ground, taking the mittens off of his hands and setting them onto the table.  He scrambled to find a pen or something else to write on his arm with. As he passed by the mirror he noticed something.

Ochako was only wearing a see through shirt and underwear.  Izuku jumped away from the mirror, blushing harder than he ever had in his life.  Looking down at his own body, he was very easily able to see Ochako’s...chest.

If Izuku could eject those two mounds from his body, he would so long as it meant his face would stop being so red. It felt like he was on fire.  He tried to cover them up with his elbows so he couldn’t see them, but that proved to be even worse, as that meant touching them.  Izuku felt like he was about to faint.

Then, he realized that he had to take the transparent shirt off in order to get dressed.  He’d have to go through the day as normal once again, living in this foreign body. Preparing himself mentally, he took off the shirt, scrambling through the drawers for the school uniform he needed to wear.  He felt his face get even hotter as he accidentally got views of his bare chest.

He nearly passed out from embarrassment, but Izuku was able to power through and get the clothes on.  He took a deep breath, preparing to get started with improvising again, but he noticed something.

“Ochako, you’re not wearing your lucky bracelet!” The pink girl, Mina, had said last time Izuku was in this dream.  

Could she have meant this? Izuku grabbed a long ribbon that was sitting on the desk right next to the door.  It was red at the ends, but it faded to orange, then yellow, then blue, and finally white as it neared the center . Shrugging, Izuku wrapped it around his wrist before opening the sliding door.

I’ll write my message at the end of the day when nobody will question it. He thought.

Izuku barely made it through another day in the small town, living in someone else’s body, in someone else’s life.  He certainly got a few odd looks and glances from various people, but he made it through slightly better than his first time.  

He crashed onto the mattress on the floor, falling into a heap.  It was exhausting living a life he had no idea how to live, trying to figure things out along the way.  Not to mention the fact that Ochako had a quirk that made life difficult for someone not accustomed to it.  He had made at least ten things float unintentionally throughout the day.

Izuku closed his eyes, wishing for this dream to end so that he could go back to his own body. He felt himself drifting away then…

Oh no, I almost forgot! Izuku groggily sat up, leaning for the pen he could see on the shelf not too far away.  His fingers got close and then...stopped. Of course his arms weren’t long enough. Groaning, he got all the way back up, grabbed the pen, then plopped ‘himself down on the mattress.

He scribbled a few questions on Ochako’s left arm, using up all the space he could, trying to reach for as much information as possible in one go.  He was about to set down the pen and finally go to sleep, but thought of something last minute.

“Izuku Midoriya.” He signed his name at the bottom for good measure. Finally, he laid down on the floor mattress, falling into the clutches of sleep.

Ochako felt the light shine onto her eyelids. Light in her face only meant one thing.  It was morning. Mornings meant she had to go face real life in this tiny miserable town.

Why can’t I just stay in that dream where I was going to Yuuei? Ochako mentally complained.  Ochako reached out to her side to push herself up into a sitting position.  Except, when she put her hand down, it went straight through where the ground should be.

“Ahh!” She called out, her eyes snapping open.  She was spinning around on open air, propelled by the force of her hand whipping through the air. Around her, at least five objects from around her room were floating in the air, including her floor mattress, blanket, and coffee mug.

“Release!” She said, putting her hands together, touching all her fingers together.  She fell to the ground with a painful thud, and she heard the mug shatter against the ground.  Ochako sat up, rubbing her side.

“Ow ow ow... “ she forced herself to stand up, walking around the shards of ceramic and gathering the dustpan.  She shovelled the shattered pieces of the mug into the dustpan, dumping it into the trash can.

“I liked that mug, too…” She mumbled.  Looking around her room, Ochako noticed what had been wrong. Her mittens she normally wore to bed to keep herself from activating her quirk in her sleep were sitting on hre desk still.

I never forget my mittens anymore...odd. Ochako thought to herself.  She walked over and picked up her blanket and mattress, putting them back in the spots they belonged on the floor.  She reached with her left hand to grab the other assorted items she had accidentally floated when she noticed something odd. Her entire left arm was marked with black lings.

Flipping over her arm to look at her forearm, she noticed that the lines were Kanji.  

Ochako? Who Are you? What is going on? -Izuku Midoriya

Ochako dropped everything she was holding in shock, scrambling back as if she could get away from her own arm. She knew that name it was signed with.  It was the boy she had been in her dream, the one who went to Yuuei.

This is freaky…. Ochako thought, staring at the words.  

Ochako went through her day after her...eventful waking.  It was...enlightening to say the least. She was told of another giant list of things that she had done the previous day, none of which she had recollection of. They consisted of things like  Activating her quirk and a ton of random objects, including her school desk, coming to school without her hair done, and most surprising of all, completely and utterly dominating in gym.

Basically, it was a giant list of things she would not normally do.  Not to mention the writing that had been on her arm this morning.  That entire situation was a mystery. Had she written on her arm while sleepwalking or something? That seemed like the only logical explanation.

She got back home and watched TV for a few hours until her father got home and made dinner. Her dad, being the spoilsport that he was, turned off her show in favor of the stupid news .

“Did you see that comet that was supposed to be coming next month, Ochako?” He said between bites of food.

“Hmm?” She hummed, looking up from her noodle bowl.  She quickly slurped up her remaining noodles.

“Comet?” She asked.  Her dad just pointed to the TV.  Ochako looked over and saw that it was a news report on just that same topic.

“Next month, there will be a very special event that happens once every thousand years.  A comet will be making a close approach to earth, so close in fact, that it is just outside the point at which it would start to come apart due to Earth’s gravitational pull.  It will be visible to the naked eye.” There was a map in the background, showing the trajectory of the comet in relation to earth.

“That’s cool.” Ochako shrugged, turning back to her food.

“The town is holding a festival to view it.” He prodded.  Ochako just kept eating her food, “You should go.”

Ochako leaned back, groaning, “Do I have to?” She complained.  To her dismay, her father nodded.

“Honey, I know that you don’t like being here.  I know how you dream of the big city, but you’re just making your life miserable.  You need to-”

“-need to go out and get to know the town more.  Maybe I’ll like it more, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Ochako finished, “I’ll go, it it means that much.” She got up from her seat with her food, walking it over to the sink, putting her empty bowl down and washing it out.  Without another word, she left to go up the stairs.

She came into her room, throwing herself onto the measly little mattress on the floor, groaning into her pillow.

“Why can’t I just be a hero?” she said into the pillow, “Then I could finally get out of this place.  I could take Kirishima and Mina with me, too!”

Ochako eventually got tired of wanting what could never be, opting for the better option.  Being the boy in her dreams, the one that had gone to Yuuei. Maybe that way she could figure out exactly what had been going on, and why there was writing on her arm, seemingly from the boy she was in her dreams.

It wasn’t long before sleep overtook her.

Izuku woke up, and for the first time in three days, was met with the poster of All Might’s smiling face.

At least that’s normal... He thought.  There weren’t any shenanigans going on with being in the hospital room again, and he wasn’t dreaming up being in that small town again, living another life.  Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat up, preparing himself. Looking down, he saw just what he was hoping to see. Writing on his arm.

“Izuku? The boy I am in my dreams? What is going on? -Ochako Uraraka” Izuku blinked.  He was not expecting...that.  Not only was it a coherent sentence instead of some stray word Izuku could have written on himself in his sleep, but it was also a direct response to the question Izuku had written on Ochako’s arm in his dream.

“What…” Izuku breathed, taking in all the information.  “So it’s real...it’s not some figment of my imagination.  What the actual…” Izuku trailed off, hearing his phone buzz.  His head snapped to his bedside table, only to see that it was a post from the 1-A group chat. He was about to sleep his phone to go back to figuring out what the hell was going on, but something caught his eye. The date.

“September 13th? It should be the 12th!” Izuku exclaimed, staring at his phone screen.  His eyes snapped to the writing on his arm, then back to his phone, then back to his arm, an idea forming in his head.

He needed to test his theory.  Scrambling around his room, he found a marker.  He pulled up his sleeve, writing a small note on his shoulder, hopefully where someone wouldn’t be able to see it, but it would be obvious if his shirt was off.

“Check phone log.  Password is 5287.” Izuku capped the marker, step one of his plan complete. Picking up his phone, he opened the diary app his mom had insisted he install, though he had never once opened it until now.

Guess it’s coming in handy afterall.  Izuku thought, starting to type out the details to his plan to test his theory.

Ochako woke up to be met with a poster of All Might’s smiling face. She was confused at first before realizing that she was once again in her dreamscape.  Just to be sure, she turned her head, getting a look at her pillow, and sure enough, just at the sides of her vision was a fluffy green bush of hair on her head.

This was the third time she had woken up in this perfect reality.  The first time she had gone out and blown up a building with her crazy powerful quirk, and the second time had just been a regular old school day.  The regular school day had almost been more traumatic than destroying a building, as it had been a nightmare trying to figure out how to live a life she had no idea how to live.  She had to awkwardly follow people to class, and the coursework barely made sense to her.

Groaning, Ochako sat up on the mattress.  The bed she was in was at least ten times more comfy than her mattress on the floor back home, and she wished that she could just lay back down and sleep on it for longer, but she knew that she should probably go to school.

Ochako rubbed her eyes, putting her feet off the side of the bed.  She opened her eyes reluctantly, getting ready to start the new day and...was met with a completely shirtless body.

“Ahh!” Ochako jumped up in surprise, face going hotter than a flame.

S-S-Shirtless! She squeaked internally, trying not to look at her own shirtless body.  The last two times she had woken up, there had been a shirt on her body. That obviously was not the case this time.  Eventually, Ochako found the bravery to open her eyes again and look down. She felt her face flare up once again, but not as bad as last time.  

She’d seen this body shirtless before, but never had she gotten a good look.  All the other times had been when changing from one outfit to another, be it night clothes or the hero outfit.

Looking down at her (Izuku’s?) body now, she realized how toned it was.  All of it was pure muscle, not a hint of loose fat in sight. Her abs were extremely well defined, as well as her biceps and chest. Reaching up, Ochako poked one of the abs, only to be met with rock solid resistance.

“Eek!” Ochako squealed,  realizing what she was doing.  She shot her arms out to the side, trying to get her hands as far away as possible from her body.  In the process of trying to remove her own arms from her body, Ochako saw a flash of black on her left bicep.

“Huh? Check phone log.  Password is…” She trailed off.  She had written on this body’s arms before, but she had assumed that she’d just been talking to the dream, and then subconsciously responding in her sleep.  She did have a history with sleepwalking, after all. This however, was the first time she’d actually seen a response inside the dream.

Reaching over to the bedside table, she picked up the phone and typed in the password.  Miraculously, the phone unlocked, revealing a home screen. She swiped through, looking for something that could be the ‘phone log’, but all she saw were standard apps such as email, phone, texting, and youtube.

“Could this be it?” She mumbled, clicking on an app named ‘Diary’. It opened up with colorful depictions of the dates, all of which she could swipe through.   There was only one entry so far, so she clicked on it. It opened up to a massive paragraph that took up the entire screen and then some.

“Hello, Ochako, if you are reading this.”

“Freaky…” Ochako breathed.  She continued.

“If you are reading this, know this is a message from Izuku Midoriya, the person who you probably are right now.  For the last few days, I’ve been having weird dreams. I’m a girl in a small town in backcountry Japan named Ochako Uraraka.  I go to a high school in the only high school nearby, and two of my friends are Ejirou Kirishima and Mina Ashido. I live with my father and only my father.”

“Woah this is getting scary…” Ochako could feel her hands shaking slightly. The message continued.

“If any of this sounds familiar, especially if I was accurate with my descriptions of you, then I think something really weird is going on.  I’ve noticed that the date I thought it should be was in fact not the date it was.  It was like I magically lost a day to thin air, a day of which I have no memories.  I don’t have any proof of it, but I think…I think that we may be switching bodies.”

The phone fell out of Ochako’s hand, clattering onto the floor. That had been the end of the message anyways.  Ochako scrambled to pick it up again, taking a more careful look at the date.

“It’s the 14th...It should be the 13th.  Why is it the 14th? What in the…” Ochako tossed the phone back onto the bed, pacing back and forth in the room.  Everything made sense. The lost dates, the hazy memories, the perfect description of her life from someone that should not know what her life is.  How realistic the dreams were.

“Then why is it so hard to believe? It all makes so much more sense!”

Or it could be my mind playing a very elaborate trick on me.  Ochako stopped.  She walked back over to the bed and picked up the phone, typing out a message.

“It all makes sense, what you said, but I still think that there’s a chance my mind could be playing a trick on me.  People just don’t switch bodies, right? Right?” Izuku read out loud. He was having the same thoughts. He continued reading aloud.

“I’ve devised a test to be 100% certain that this is happening.  Throughout the day today, I asked Kaminari (I think that’s his name) To tell you the words ‘It’s real.’ If this whole swapping bodies thing is true and it’s not some figment of my imagination, then other people should be outside of the effect.  Next time we swap (If that is what’s happening), then tell Mina to say the same thing to me. That way we can confirm if this is really what’s going on.” That was the end of the message.

Panicking, Izuku tossed his phone down on the bed, grabbing a shirt and barreling out of his dorm room  He ran across the building , searching for the right room until he came across it. Izuku pounded on the door labelled “Denki Kaminari.”  He heard a groan from inside and someone moving around.

Eventually, Izuku heard the lock click and the door open to reveal an extremely looking Kaminari.  His yellow hair was all over the place, like a bad impression of an afro.

“Midoriya? It’s the weekend, dude…” Kaminari rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“What did I tell you to tell me yesterday?”

“Huh?” Kaminari shook his head, trying to rid the gogginess, “What, that? Is it really that important that you had to get me up so early?”

“Yes, now what was it?”

“It was umm...man, let me think...It was...oh yeah! It was ‘It’s Real,’ whatever that means.”  He said finally.

Izuku felt his heart drop like a rock.

“Now why-”

“Thanks Kaminari!” Izuku dashed away before the blonde could even say any more.

It’s real! All of it! It’s all real! Izuku didn’t know if he should be overjoyed that he had figured it all out or freaked out by the nature of the situation.  Maybe it was both.

That girl from my dreams...we’re

We’re… Swapping bodies!

Chapter Text

Getting What’s going on

Note: In this chapter, since I had to condense the “communication” between Izuku and Ochako, so just remember this formatting:

Italic text is Ochako “speaking”

Bold Italic text is Izuku “speaking ”

“I’m beginning to get what’s going on.   Izuku is a boy my age living in a suburb of Tokyo,  in the town where Yuuei is located. He is training in the hero course there.”

“I swap places with Ochako at random, a few times a week.  It’s caused by sleep, but we haven’t figured out a way to stop it.”

“ I have no memory of what happened in my body during the switch, but I remember the events that happened in Izuku’s body. “

“ But we’re definitely switching places, that much is evident based on the reactions of the people around us.”

“So, we decided to lay down some rules for each other during the switch.  Things to watch out for, a list of do’s and don’ts.”

“ We also decided to leave reports for each other, so that we have some semblance of an idea of what happened in our own bodies during the switch.”

“To tide over this mysterious phenomenon. But…”

“But…”

Izuku had typed out a massive list of rules in his phone, yet he still was having problems.  He decided to reemphasize by writing them out again.

“Go out for a run, EVERY MORNING! Don’t forget to do weight training after school! Work with my quirk so that you don’t blow my limbs off! I can’t have that happening anymore!” Izuku tossed his phone down on the desk and went to class.

“But exercising is sooo hard!” Was in the report the next morning.  Izuku growled in frustration.

“That girl!”

“No baths! No Touching! No flirting! Watch the skirts, boys are always watching! Make sure to put on the mittens before you go to sleep!” Ochako wrote in her phone.she’d already lost three of her favorite mugs

When she woke up the next time, everything was floating again. She rumbled, pulling at her hair.

“That guy!”

“Make sure to keep exercising, even if it’s hard!”

“But it’s not you who’s doing the work!”

“But it’s my body that falls behind if you don’t do it!”

“Then remember to put on the mittens before you go to sleep! It’s my mugs you’re breaking!”

Ochako was interested to hear the stories from Kirishima and Mina of what she’d been up to on days that Izuku was in her body, the parts that he didn’t detail in his notes, that is.  He was usually pretty thorough, but nobody was perfect.

“Yeah, and then you completely destroyed everyone in dodgeball! It was inhuman! Kinda manly!” Kirishima said

“You were more athletic than I’ve ever seen you! Have you been working out?” Mina asked.  Ochako shrugged, scratching the back of her neck.

“I guess you could say that…” She hadn’t been exercising in her own body, but she had been while in Izuku’s body, and Izuku said that he’d been doing it while in her body as well.  Old habits die hard, he’d said.

“There was this one part where You jumped over three balls, caught one, hit one guy in the face, then slid under two balls, caught another, and nailed someone else in the face! I take back what I said earlier, it was one hundred percent manly!” Kirishima gushed, looking enthused.

“There was one thing, though.” Mina said.

“Hmm?” Ochako tilted her head.

“You totally weren’t wearing a bra.  Went hanging loose, and a lot of the boys totally noticed.” Ochako felt her face flash redder than a tomato.

“W-what?”
She made sure to write in the notes “Always wear a bra!”

“I went and got coffee with Tsu.  She’s super nice!” Izuku read.  He clenched his fist in slight anger.  He left a message for the next day.

“Stop changing my relationship statuses!” He typed out, before closing his phone and going to class.  

When he got to class, Iida confronted him almost immediately.  

“Midoriya, you are looking better today than yesterday! Are you feeling better?” He said, moving his hand robotically as normal.

“Yeah, did I look bad yesterday?”

“You came in to class sweating like mad, like you’d just came in from a run!  Did you wake up late yesterday?”

“I must have.” He obviously had no memory of the situation.  It was at least good to know that Ochako was sticking to his exercise plan, even if she had woken up late.

“You were more sociable yesterday as well.  It was the most I’ve seen you talk in a long time, I was just wondering if you were feeling okay.”

“Talking more is a...bad thing?” Izuku tilted his head.  It was also concerning that Iida thought he didn’t talk much.  Did he really seclude himself that much?

“Not particularly, except for...who you were trying to talk to.” He responded.

“Who I was…” Izuku trailed off, realizing the implication.  He buried his face in his hands, “Bakugo…”

“He was not very happy that you were acting like he was your best friend, as he said it.” Izuku shook his head, realizing his mistake.

“Ochako…” He breathed, though not loud enough for Iida to hear.  He’d told Ochako that he and Bakugo grew up together, but he may have forgotten the part that they’re not on the..best of terms, to put it lightly.  She’d likely tried to start up a conversation.

That night, after class, he made the note, “Don’t try to make friends with Bakugo.  We aren’t on the best of terms.”

“Izuku, why is there a girl in love with me?”

“What are you trying to set up with Tsu?”

“You’re more popular when I’m you!”

“Yeah, right! All you are is more social! That doesn’t mean more popular!”

“Don’t be so full of yourself, It’s not like you have a girlfriend!”

“You don’t have a boyfriend!”

“Idiot, I’m single because I want to be!”

“ Moron, I’m single because I want to be!”

Izuku woke up to the sound of A phone alarm, and the feel of soft mittens on his hands.  

Here we go again… He thought, sitting up.  He quickly got dressed in Ochako’s school uniform and went downstairs.  The TV was already on, showing the news that Ochako’s dad liked to watch.

“The comet has been visible for a couple days now, but the peak of its brightness will be in a couple days’ time.” The broadcast said.

“Good morning, papa.” Izuku said, adopting the dialect that Ochako told him to use when around family.

“Good morning dear.” He said, sipping his coffee.  Izuku went over and served herself breakfast as her dad read the paper.  A few minutes into the silent ritual, he looked up, a confused look on his face.

“Why the uniform?” He said tilting his head.  Izuku tilted his head, looking at his flip-phone.  It was a weekday, so he should be going to class, right?

“It’s your mother’s birthday.  We are going to her grave today, remember?”  He said. Izuku felt his heart drop. Such an important day for Ochako, and he was the one that had to go through with it? She’d mentioned how she’d hoped they didn’t switch on this day. Izuku immediately felt guilt.

“I-I’ll go change.” He said, setting down his utensils.  He scrambled up the stairs, changing into the clothes set out on the dresser, the ones he assumed Ochako had picked out specifically for this day.  They were all black with gray accents, not unlike Ochako’s father’s wear.

He came down the stairs, and Ochako’s father was waiting at the door for her. He nodded silently, and Izuku followed him out.

Izuku couldn’t help but feel like he was intruding in the worst possible way.  It was Ochako’s mother’s birthday and he was the one going to pay respects.  It was the worst possible type of disrespect, in his eyes at least.  

“Not much farther.” Ochako’s father said after probably half an hour of walking.  They were going down a simple dirt trail the led into the mountains. They were slowly scaling up the edge of the basin that Itomori sat in, onto one of the plateaus that walled in the valley.

Izuku could feel that his knees were starting to get tired.  In his own body, this climb would’ve been a breeze, but since Ochako’s body was significantly less toned, it was slightly harder.

The trees cleared way after a while to reveal one of the most breathtaking views Izuku had ever experienced.  He could see the entire town circling the lake in the valley, trees circling that, and then the mountains circling those.  It was beautiful.

“Come on, not much farther.” Ochako’s father said.  Izuku nodded and followed him up the rest of the hill.  When they crested, Izuku expected to see a plateau, but instead he was met with a massive crater in the ground, like an oasis in a desert.  The entire plateau was desert and lifeless, except for this one crater. Inside, the edges sloped down to a center rock, little streams running down to a small lake in the middle.

“Your mother loved this place.  She’d go on that hike at least once a week to see this place.  It really is beautiful. It’s fitting that it’s her final resting place.”

Izuku’s heart went somber.  He couldn’t shake the feeling that he shouldn’t be here.  That Ochako was the one that should be in this place right now, paying respects to her late mother, not Izuku, an outsider.

Clenching his fists, he followed Ochako’s father down the slope towards the rock structure in the middle.  They jumped over streams and sifted through wild grass, but eventually they made it to the center. Izuku followed Ochako’s father into the small crack in the rock.

Inside of the structure, it was much more damp and humid.  It was also dark, though some light shined in from the outside.  Izuku reached for his phone for a flashlight to provide light, but stopped when he remembered Ochako didn’t have a smartphone.  She couldn’t afford one.

A little ways inside of the small cave was what Izuku was there to see.  A long oak casket inside the cave, a small stone shrine. The words were faded and hard to read, and Izuku couldn’t even read the first name but it said, “here lies ~~~~ Uraraka, amazing mother and my love.”

Izuku’s expression darkened even more.  He should not be the one doing this.  It felt wrong , in every possible way that something could feel wrong.  Izuku watched Ochako’s father kneel in front of the coffin, lightly resting his head against the side of it.   After a few minutes, he leaned back up, setting a bouquet of flowers down next to the casket.

He took out a small metal file and etched something into the edge of the casket. He walked away, nodding to Izuku, signaling it was his turn.

He walked up and kneeled against the casket, taking a similar pose to the one he’d seen Ochako’s father take.

I know I’m not the one that should be doing this, but I’ll give it everything I’ve got.    He took a deep breath.

I know that Ochako loved you, she’s said it in our notes many times before.  She really wanted to be the one to go on this journey, but here I am. You’re really important to her, you know?  She says you’re the first one that told her she could become a hero, even though she knew it was unlikely due to your money situation.   And if you’re important to Ochako, then you’re important to me, as well.

He didn’t even know this person personally, but for some reason, he could feel himself getting a little worked up.  What was this feeling? Why did Ochako caring about this unnamed woman so much make Izuku feel this way?

I wish Ochako could have been here instead, but thank you for everything you did for her. Izuku finished.  He leaned back up and picked the metal file off of the ground, from where Ochako’s dad had left it.

On the side of the casket, there were two lines of names etched in, going down consecutively.  It was Ochako’s father’s name, then each successive year after the first one. The other line was the exact same thing, except with Ochako’s name.  Izuku etched in Ochako’s name in the best semblance of her handwriting as possible, though it still was not good. He dated it and got up, turning around.

As soon as he turned around, he saw a flash of Ochako’s father’s face before the entire world went black, filling with a deep smoke.  All of the sudden, he couldn’t feel anything on his body except for his head and right hand, except they were still Ochako’s.

Eight pairs of lights shone in the distance, and Izuku recognized the scene immediately.  They were the previous holders of one for all.

But why are they appearing now? Why now of all times?  Izuku saw a pair of lights break off from the crowd and walk forwards.  Izuku was stuck in place, and the light started to take shape as it walked forwards.

Eventually, it formed into the form that Izuku recognized as All Might’s master, Shimura Nana.  She just looked at Izuku, tilting her head.

“That’s not right…” She said, referring to Izuku’s face.  He still had Ochako’s, “You’re dreaming, aren’t you?”

The entire scape faded to black again.

Izuku sat bolt upright in his bed, breathing heavily and sweating.  The power of One for All ran down his arm, but at least he hadn’t destroyed his room this time.  

What just happened? I was in Ochako’s body and then the vestiges came and then… Izuku stopped when he heard his alarm was going off.  He picked up his phone in a panic, looking at it.

“It’s already ten o’clock?! I slept through my alarm for three hours!” Izuku opened up his phone quickly to see if Ochako had anything odd to report, anything similar to his weird experience with the vestiges.

When he looked at the report, he saw the one sentence he had never hoped to see, and it had nothing to do with the vestiges.

“I set up a date with Tsu, meet at the station at 10:30.  I was hoping to go on this date, but if that doesn’t happen to be the case, then you’d better enjoy it on my behalf!”

“W-What!” Izuku scrambled out of bed, putting on clothes.  He didn’t even have time to process what Ochako had done.

Ochako bolted upright, torn from her sleep for some reason.  

At least I’m back in my body. She thought.  She’d been a bit disappointed that she’d missed her mother’s birthday due to the swap.  She’d also been disappointed that she’d switched at the wrong time and didn’t get to go on that date with Tsu.  A real shame.

Ochako just felt an air of sadness for some reason.  It was like a cloud of emotion she couldn’t escape, even though she knew she had nothing to really be sad over.  Possibly missing her mother’s birthday was the cause? But she’d gone to her mother’s birthday commemoration so many times now.

Was it that Izuku was going on a date with Tsu?

And not her?

That had two implications, and Ochako didn’t know which she was sad about.  She had wanted to go on that date with Tsu, as she had taken a real liking to the frog girl as a friend.  Yet, was that really it? Or was it what she was telling herself? Was she sad she couldn’t be in Izuku’s place?

Or was she sad she couldn’t be in Tsu’s?

Ochako shook her head, trying to rid such ridiculous thoughts from her mind. Of course she was disappointed she couldn’t go on that date instead of Izuku. She’d been the one to set up the date, afterall.

She went over to the mirror to fix her hair after getting dressed.  She saw her reflection and...were those tears? Tears running down her cheeks, flowing like streams.

“I...why?”

Chapter Text

What happened?

I’m finally back with a chapter of this! I hope you enjoy it! Also, the painting mentioned in the chapter is a direct reference to the official Kimi No Na Wa art that depicts Mitsuha tackle hugging Taki in front of the comet.  

Izuku sat bolt upright in his bed, breathing heavily and sweating.  The power of One for All ran down his arm, but at least he hadn’t destroyed his room this time.  

What just happened? I was in Ochako’s body and then the vestiges came and then… Izuku stopped when he heard his alarm was going off.  He picked up his phone in a panic, looking at it.

“It’s already ten o’clock?! I slept through my alarm for three hours!” Izuku opened up his phone quickly to see if Ochako had anything odd to report, anything similar to his weird experience with the vestiges.

When he looked at the report, he saw the one sentence he had never hoped to see, and it had nothing to do with the vestiges.

“I set up a date with Tsu, meet at the station at 10:30.  I was hoping to go on this date, but if that doesn’t happen to be the case, then you’d better enjoy it on my behalf!”

“W-What!” Izuku scrambled out of bed, running to his dresser.

You’re set up to meet at the station at ten thirty tomorrow! Don’t be late!

“T-ten thirty?” Izuku yelled, “I’m going to be late!” Izuku scrambled to his dresser, opening it and going through clothes.

“Is this too fancy? Is it a casual date? Should I dress up? Business casual?” Izuku mumbled as he threw a dress shirt back into the dresser, looking for something more casual to wear.  He was running out of time!.

“This will have to work!” He said, yanking out a shirt and pants from the bottom of the pile.  It was a green Polo shirt and simple jeans. Not super dressed up, but just dressed up enough. That way he would look casual if it was casual,  but he also wouldn’t look underdressed if it was a dress-nice date.

Izuku scrambled to get his things together and get dressed, bolting out the door as soon as he had everything.

With a little (technically illegal) help from Full Cowl, Izuku made it to the station at precisely ten twenty-eight.  It wasn’t that he couldn’t use his quirk.  He had his provisional license, after all.  It was just that he was only supposed to use it to stop villains, not make it to his date that he was late for. The date he hadn’t even signed up for, mind you.

Izuku tried to calm himself down and get air back into his lungs. Maybe he wouldn’t look like he was-

“Midoriya.” Tsu’s voice said from behind him. Izuku jumped, suppressing a squeal of surprise.  Izuku turned around to see Tsu and…

She looked stunning.  A simple green sundress with a straw hat on top of her head.  Izuku was barely able to find words, and he could tell his face was as red as a tomato.

“O-oh hey Tsu!” He said, voice a little higher than normal.

“You look nice.  Your hair's a little messed up, though.” Tsu said, blunt as ever.  She smiled at Izuku and he smiled back.

“So, where are we going?” Izuku prodded for info.  Maybe Ochako had set a certain thing aside.

“You don’t remember?” She asked, and Izuku nervously scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“Sorry, I’ve forgotten.” Izuku said sheepishly.  Tsu hummed, turning away from Izuku to look over the railing at the city.

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.  You, know, forgetting things.” Tsu observed.  Izuku could feel his palms sweating a little. When he didn’t say anything, Tsu continued, “But I suppose that doesn’t matter right not.  You said yesterday that we could go get some lunch then go to the history museum.”

Izuku almost laughed a little.  It seemed exactly like something Ochako would want to do.

Ochako Izuku thought, and suddenly his mood darkened a little.  He could feel an odd clutching sensation in his chest, though he had no idea why.  

“Midoriya, you’re crying again.” Tsu said, tearing Izuku from his thoughts.

“Huh?” He said, reaching up to his face with the back of his hand.  Sure enough, there was a tear running down his cheek.

What in the… Izuku knew he had leaky tear ducts, but something usually set it off.  He didn’t just cry for no reason.

“Sorry, i have no idea what that was.  Leaky eyes, you know?” He said, trying to laugh it off.  Tsu just tilted her head and gave him a an odd look. Eventually, she just smiled at him.

“Always the crier, Midoriya, kero.” She finally said, “Let’s go get some lunch.”

She grabbed Izuku’s wrist with one of her big hands, pulling him towards the train that led to the main market where they could go get some food.

Tsu was a particularly easy person to talk to.  Her bluntness made it easy to see her point in a conversation, and you didn’t have to talk in circles trying to get to her point.  That same bluntness made it very...interesting to talk to her as well. She’d say something that most people would filter out that would catch you completely off guard and sputtering for words.

Overall, the lunch was very good. The food was fantastic, and the conversation wasn’t bad either.  Tsu let Izuku ramble on about some hero news while they ate, and Tsu talked a little about her current internship.  

They then headed back towards the station so that they could board the train that would take them to the history museum.  Izuku and Tsu walked side by side in silence. There was a sort of feeling in the air that Izuku couldn’t quite describe. It was like there was a weight pushing down on everything that for some reason was making him feel...guilty?

Izuku looked down at his feet as he walked, and ne noticed something out of the corner of his eye.  Tsu’s hand was turned so that her palm was facing out, almost like an invitation for Izuku to take it. He looked between her and her hand.  She was just looking straight ahead, paying no attention to Izuku, but her hand said otherwise. Izuku licked his lips, feeling extra brave.

He started to lift his hand and move it to take Tsu’s.

He didn’t even make it halfway before he stopped moving all together.  Not just his hand, but his entire body. The instant he moved to take Tsu’s hand, it felt wrong. Like he was doing something sinful, even though in reality it was something simple and harmless.  He couldn’t put his finger on why, but something in the back of his mind had stopped him completely.

“Midoriya?” Tsu turned back to him, concern on her face.  Izuku flashed a smile, and for some reason, even though it was meant to be genuine, it felt fake.  

“I’m okay.  Just thinking and for some reason my legs stopped working! Haha!” Izuku laughed it off, walking up to meet Tsu.  She had a look of concern on her face, like she could tell that something was wrong. Which was odd, because Izuku didn’t even know what was troubling him.

The entire train ride to the history museum was suspended in an awkward silence.  Izuku wanted to enjoy this date.  He’d had a small crush on Tsu for a while, he just hadn’t wanted to act on it.  Now that he had it presented to him on a silver platter, he couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t what he’d hoped it would be.  For some reason, he just didn’t feel the click that he’d felt before.  

They made it to the art museum, and Izuku paid for their tickets like a gentleman, just as his mom had taught him.  Tsu thanked him for his generosity and they headed inside.

To Izuku, the history museum was fascinating .  They had all sorts of exhibits from anytime ranging from  the distant past to just a few years ago. Izuku’s favorite, however, was the hero exhibit.  They had sculptures and pictures of heroes ranging from the 1st generation over a hundred years ago to All Might.  Of course they had a statue of All Might.

Izuku was sure that Tsu was laughing at his nerdiness as he ran up to every single hero and rambled on about them, but he didn’t care.  It was all so cool! He’d definitely be coming back here whenever he got a chance to.

“Midoriya, it’s getting late.  Maybe we should leave?” Tsu suggested.  Izuku tore his attention from the spiel about Crimson Riot that he was reading to look at his phone.

“It’s already five? We must have spent a lot of time in here.” Izuku mumbled, reluctantly moving away from the hero biography to head with Tsu towards the exit.

“This was so cool!” Izuku said cheerfully.

“I’m glad you had fun, kero.” Tsu said.  Izuku swore he heard a tinge of sadness in her voice for some reason.

“I did ! I hope you did too?” Tsu nodded.

“I did have fun.” She said.  Izuku let out a breath. At least he wasn’t that bad of a date.  Izuku tried to make small talk as they walked towards the exit, but something caught his eye. Izuku stopped to look at the last exhibit in the hero section.

Unlike all the other exhibits, this one wasn’t about a hero.  Instead, it was a set of hand-drawn pictures that hung from the ceiling.  They depicted scenes from a town. Scenes that Izuku recognized.

Izuku felt his feet drift towards the picture, like a gravitational well pulling him in.  He looked up and down the pictures, and sure enough, he recognized all of them. They were pictures from itomori, the town that Ochako lived in.

The moment he saw the drawings, he felt that same weight from earlier settle down on him.  Like an emotional void filling him, making him empty. Why did he feel this way at the mere sight of Itomori? Why did he feel guilty? Was it the date? Was he doing something wrong?
Why were there drawings of Itomori in a hero exhibit?

“Midoriya, are you ready?” Tsu prompted.  Izuku looked back over his shoulder at Tsu, giving her a thumbs up.

“Sorry, i just got distracted.” He tired to laugh, but he knew it sounded forced. What was wrong with him?  

“You’re such a nerd, kero.” there it was, Tsu’s no-filter talking style.  It felt like a punch to the gut, but it wasn’t unwelcome. Izuku tore his gaze away from the drawings to leave with Tsu.  On his way out, however, there was one thing Izuku didn’t see, something that he didn't catch. The title of the exhibit that had the drawings of Ochako’s hometown.

“In Memory of Itomori, the town that disappeared.”

It was dark when Izuku and Tsu got off the train.  The stars were out, and the sky was clear. It would be a perfect night for stargazing.

“I’m going to go on my run that I didn’t go on this morning, if that’s fine by you.” Izuku said, stopping on the middle of the bridge that overlooked a street.  They weren’t that far away from the Yuuei dorms now, so Tsu should be fine getting the rest of the way there safely. She was an aspiring hero, afterall.  

“Midoriya, can I ask a question?” Tsu asked, stopping next to him.

“Y-yeah, sure.” Izuku was looking up at the sky, sipping on a soda he’d bought on their way out of the museum.

“You used to have a crush on me, right?” Izuku spat out his drink, sputtering for an answer.

“I-I-I. I..Uhmm..I y-y-yes?” Izuku finally got out, leaving Tsu laughing at his sudden bout of awkwardness.

“But you don’t anymore.” Izuku tilted his head.  Didn’t he just admit he did?

“You like someone else now.  I can tell. You were out of it for almost the entire time today.  I can tell that you didn’t feel right today. You even stopped yourself from holding my hand.” She continued.  So she had noticed him stopping himself. Izuku ran his hand through his hair, looking up.

“I don’t know.” He said honestly.

“You might not know yet, but I think the answer is yes.  Don’t feel bad about today. I had fun anyways, so you don’t have to feel like you made it a bad date.  Some things just don’t work out.” Tsu said, “Now, I’m going to go back to the dorms. See you in class on monday!” She bid farewell with a wave, leaving Izuku on the bridge alone.

With a sigh, Izuku got out his phone.  Despite what Tsu said, he couldn’t help but feel like he’d messed it all up.  The first thing that opened when Izuku saw his phone was Ochako’s diary from the previous day. The one he hadn’t finished because he’d been in a rush.

The moment Izuku looked at Ochako’s writing, for some reason, it felt like a burden was lifted from his shoulders. The way she wrote with a happy, melodramatic style using a lot of emojis just lifted Izuku’s heart up for some reason.  Just reading her words made him feel better about his date with Tsu.

Was Ochako the reason he’d felt guilty? Was what Tsu said about him liking someone else true?  Izuku ran his hand down his face. He didn’t know. His emotions were all over the place, and trying to decipher them would be a nightmare.  He couldn’t help but feel like it was something that needed some thought, though.

Izuku decided to pick off where he’d left off.

By the time it’s dark, the comet should be fully visible.  You should go out and watch it with Tsu if the night sky is clear! It read.

It’s too late for that. Izuku thought, before frowning.  The sky was perfectly clear, but there was not trace of a comet to be found.  All there was was the moon and stars. Not even a hint of some comet.

What does she mean? Izuku thought.  He shook his head. Maybe she was just talking nonsense.  He’d have to ask her next time the switched. With a deep breath, Izuku marked it down on his phone as something to ask her before heading back to the dorms to get ready for his run.

Izuku was ready to ask her what she meant about the comet.  He waited for the next day to come when they’d switch again.  

Except they didn’t. Izuku woke up in his own body.  The next day, Izuku woke up in his own body once again.

And the day after that.

Then the day after that.  

Days passed, with nothing.  No switches, no word from Ochako. Izuku couldn’t help but wonder, had he done something wrong? Why weren’t they switching?  Two weeks passed, and Izuku was starting to lose hope. Were they ever going to switch again?

Ochako went through her normal morning routine after her interesting experience this morning.  Even though it should feel like a normal day, but she couldn’t help but feel...empty. Almost like a part of her was missing.  

She still felt that same pit in her chest when she headed downstairs to have breakfast with her father.  She walked over and got some rice into a bowl, sitting down next to her father.

“Are you feeling better today?” He asked.  Ochako nearly gave him a weird look before she remembered.  Yesterday was the day that they’d supposed to hike up to her mother’s grave, except Izuku had been in her body at the time.

“Haha, yeah I think so.” She said, hoping her father would fill in the details.

“You had me worried when you passed out like that.”

Ah.  So that’s why Izuku hadn’t left a log.  Did something happen? Was Izuku okay?

“I guess the hike really took it out of me…” Ochako muttered, turning to her food.  It probably wasn’t a good idea to get into a conversation about something that she had no idea about.  She’d just ask Izuku next time they swapped.

Or… Ochako thought, an idea forming in her mind.  

“Hey, papa?” Ochako’s father looked up from his newspaper, “Isn’t the public transit free on saturdays?”  

Her father tilted his head, giving her an odd look.

“I believe it’s cheaper, but not free...why?” Ochako hummed in response.

“No reason.  I was just curious is all.”  Ochako couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the idea forming in her head.  It was a perfect plan! The best of both worlds!

Ochako quickly finished her food, running up the stairs to her room to get ready for her little expedition.  She glanced over at the clock as she straightened her clothes.

It’s only eight o’clock!  Perfect timing! Ochako thought, excited.  As she was gathering all of her things, she noticed that the empty feeling from earlier was gone.  The feeling she’d felt when inexplicably crying in front of the mirror was replaced by something a little more hopeful.

Ochako looked at herself in the mirror, making sure she looked presentable.

Why do I care how I look? I’m not trying to impress him or anything! Ochako brushed away the thought quickly, not wanting to dwell on that topic.  She made for the door to leave before noticing something on her dresser.

“I almost forgot!” She said, reaching over and grabbing the object.  Her good luck charm bracelet. The one made from the ribbon that her mother had given her for her birthday so many years ago, back when she had long hair.  Ochako smiled, wrapping it around her wrist and clasping it on.

With that, she was ready to go.

It was the perfect plan.  She didn’t have school today, so she didn’t need to worry about meeting any classes, though she had a meeting planned with Kirishima and Mina that she had to skip out on.

Ochako didn’t know what made it come to her mind, but the instant it did, she couldn’t help but follow through.  She was going to take a trip into Tokyo.

The hike to the bus station that led away from Itomori was all the way at the top of the canyon, so it would be a little while before she got there, and then after that the busses only came at the top of every hour.  If she made it to the bus stop by nine, then it would be about an hour ride to the station, which would let her crash Izuku’s date right on time.

Yes, that was her plan.  She wanted to crash Izuku’s date with Tsu.  She had no idea why she thought about it, or why she even though it would be a good idea, but for some reason the entire situation put her at ease.  The feeling of emptiness in her chest was gone from that morning, and that was all that mattered.

“I can just imagine the look on his face!” Ochako said out loud as she walked the trail that led to the top of the canyon.  It would probably be a mix of surprise, then friendliness, then anger. She didn’t doubt that he was angry at her for setting him up with Tsu, especially after he specifically told her not to do so three times.  

Ochako noticed something as she climbed the dirt trail.  She wasn’t winded at all. Normally, the walk up the canyon would leave her huffing and puffing, her legs burning with exhaustion.  Yet, she barely felt a thing. If anything, it felt good . Maybe Izuku’s morning workouts he was doing (out of habit) while in her body were actually helping .  

Ochako made it to the top of the canyon at precisely eight forty five, fifteen minutes earlier than she’d expected.  She sat down on the bench at the lonely bus station and pulled out her phone out of habit. Except, when she looked at the screen, she realized she had no service.

Of course I’d have no service.  It’s Itomori. Only wi-fi works here. Ochako scolded herself, putting her phone back into her pocket.  One of the great many luxuries that she had while in Izuku’s body was cell service.  Being able to go on the internet anytime, anywhere was far better than she’d expected.  You don’t appreciate the things you have until they’re gone, right?

Ochako sighed, leaning her head back against the bench to stare up at the sky in boredom.  This was going to be a long hour and fifteen minutes.

Ochako arrived at the station at almost exactly ten fifteen.  It was possibly the most boring and awkward experience of Ochako’s life.  She’d just sat there on the seat for the entire ride staring out the window. The bus driver had headphones on the whole time, and hadn’t made any indication of wanting to talk.

That didn’t matter now, though, because Ochako was in the big city. Stepping off of the step onto the sidewalk only reaffirmed how much she wanted to live in the big city.  The bustling crowds and loud noises were so foreign to her, but definitely not unwelcome. With a big smile on her face, Ochako made her way to the spot that she’d told Tsu to meet with Izuku.

Ochako found a bench not too far away that also had a good sightline of the meeting place.  Ochako pulled out her phone, which now had service, and fiddled around on a few apps to kill the time.  

Ten thirty came around and there was no sign of either Izuku or Tsu.   Maybe they’re running late. Ochako thought, deciding to wait a little longer.  Five more minutes passed, nothing. Fifteen, still nothing.  Ochako was beginning to become concerned.

“Maybe they met up somewhere else? Did I miss them?” Ochako said, reluctantly getting up from her spot at the bench to go searching.  She decided to start with the station itself, maybe they stayed around?

Ochako walked all around the station searching for the couple of green haired students.  Still, there was no sign of the two. Ochako was sure she checked every corner of the building for any sign of them, and when she came up with nothing, she slumped up against a wall.

If I missed them somehow, then they must be at lunch.  I believe that I suggested the food court downtown? Ochako rose from her resting spot and made her way over to the board the posted the times and routes for all of the trains. One of the trains showed that it would be headed for the area that the food court was located in five minutes.  With a sigh, Ochako set off so that she wouldn’t miss it.

Tsu and Izuku weren’t at the food court.  She’d looked everywhere, including the surrounding area just in case they’d gone shopping.  Ochako followed what she had planned for the date and went to the history museum, and they weren’t there either.  Either they hadn’t followed the plan, or Ochako had somehow completely missed them.

By the time Ochako came out of the museum, it was already turning evening.  She looked up at the sky and the blue outline of the comet was visible in the sky against the background of vibrant oranges.  It would be such a beautiful sight if she wasn’t in such a sour mood.

Ochako slowly made her way back to the train station, defeated.  Her entire trip to the city had been for nothing, hours wasted. She didn’t have any more time to go searching for Izuku and Tsu, since she still had the festival at her hometown that night that she had to get ready for.  Ochako stared down at the ground as she waited for her train.

In the bottom of her stomach, she felt that same emptiness she’d felt this morning start to rise up again.  Seriously, what was wrong with her?

With a groan, Ochako sat up and leaned back to look at the ceiling as a train started to pull into the station.  Only one more to go before her train would be here to whisk her away back to the horrible countryside.

As the train came into the station, Ochako’s eyes glazed over the occupants of the train and…

A flash of green in the sea of black suit jackets.  She’d recognize that anywhere.

Ochako shot up from where she was standing, chasing the train to the spot where it was stopping. The doors slid open and a few people came out, and a moment later, the doors began to shut.

No! Ochako jumped forwards, making it through the doors just before they shut her out. With a sigh of relief, Ochako looked up at the crowded train, searching for her target.  After a moment, she spotted him, a tuft of bright green hair. With a smile, Ochako politely pushed her way through the crowded train car.  There wasn’t even enough space to turn around in this thing, much less be comfortable.

Finally, after what felt like a Canadian’s day worth of excuse me’s and sorry’s, Ochako made it to her destination.  There Izuku was, standing up against one of the hand rails, staring down at his phone.

Probably looking at hero news… Ochako thought.  She took note of how his appearance looked.  He looked...different for some reason, though Ochako couldn’t put a finger on why.  He wore a simple black shirt and pants, and it almost looked like the uniform that a middle schooler would wear.  Also, did he look shorter? Maybe it was Ochako’s eyes playing tricks on her, since she’d only ever seen herself from Izuku’s eyes in the mirror,but he looked shorter.  

Ochako shook her head to clear the uncertainties.  It was certainly Izuku, there was no doubt about that.  

“Izuku!” She chirped quietly, trying to get his attention.  She must have heard her, because his eyes looked up from his phone for a moment, scanning the area that was exactly opposite from her.

“Izuku!” She tried again, barely containing a giggle at his obliviousness.  This time, Izuku’s head snapped right to her. Instead of a look of recognition, he tilted his head, an odd look on his face.

“It’s me!” She said, “Ochako!” Izuku frowned, and Ochako was starting to become confused.  How did he not recognize her? There was no reason why he shouldn’t know who she was. He’d been in her body , afterall.

“D-do I know you?” He asked.  Ochako’s frown deepened. Did he really not recognize her?
“Don’t play dumb, silly!  It’s me!” She lightly tapped him on the shoulder with her fist.  Izuku didn’t relent his look of ignorance, though.

“L-l-look, I t-think you have the wrong person.” Izuku said.  He was stuttering really bad, and his tone said that he was completely serious. Ochako’s heart dropped.  How did he not recognize her?

Did he not care about her enough to remember what she looked like? A flurry of bad thoughts tore through Ochako’s mind.

Did he think of their body swapping as a chore? Was it some kind of cruel joke? How did he not recognize her? The void inside Ochako from that morning opened back up, taking hold in full force once again.  She felt empty, like everything good in her life was gone. What was happening?

The sound of the train door opening tore Ochako from her thoughts.  Everyone started to move, and Ochako started to panic. She was getting pulled away by the tide of people, and try as she may, she couldn’t push back.  Her one and only chance to try to talk things out with Izuku as to why he didn’t know who she was was fleeing with the tide of people.

“Wait! Who are you?” Izuku called over the roar of the crowd. Ochako tried to look over the crowd, only to see Izuku looking over the crowd at her expectantly.  Ochako could see it in his eyes at that moment. He, truly, honestly didn’t know who she was. If Ochako’s heart could drop any lower, it would have.

Maybe something to remember you by will jog his memory! Ochako thought in her panic.  Looking around, there was only one thing she could do.  She was running out of time and there weren’t any better solutions right now. Ochako reached to her wrist, unhooking the clasp that held her mother’s ribbon to her wrist.

“Ochako! My name is Ochako!” She said, throwing out one side of the band.  Izuku reached forwards, grabbing the band. As Ochako was carried away by the tide of people, she let go of her side of the band.

Please remember she thought desperately.

The way home was filled with a constant, thumping mantra in the back of her head.

He didn’t remember.  He didn’t recognize me.  He didn’t remember

Ochako may not have been able to identify that empty feeling that she’d had earlier, but what she was feeling now was something she was very familiar with.  She didn’t have to guess at what it was. It was sadness. Pure, unkempt sadness.

Ochako loaded onto the bus and sat at the back this time.  There wasn’t anyone else on the bus, just like last time, so she didn’t have trouble taking the furthest seat from the driver.  Maybe there, in combination with the headphones he wore, he wouldn’t hear the soft sounds of Ochako crying the entire way back, legs curled up in front of her.

Mina and Kirishima were sitting on the wooden benches next to the wooden table that Ochako had helped them make out of logs.  It had a spot for an umbrella and enough seating for six people. They called it their “Ghetto cafe”.

“The one day I choose to show up on time!” Mina groaned, fidgeting in her seat.  Kirishima just chuckled at his friend’s impatience.

“If how long you took to get ready is any indication, then I’d say she’s still getting ready.”

“Hey!” Mina punched him on the arm, “I’ll have you know that it takes time to look this good.” Kirishima just raised an eyebrow at her.

“You’re literally wearing a Kimono.” he deadpanned.

“So? I had to-” She cut off before jumping to her feet and waving to someone off in the distance.

“Ochako!” She yelled, drawing the attention of at least ten people from the area.  Mina had a tendency to do that. Kirishima turned his attention to where Mina was waving to see Ochako approaching from a distance, wearing a pink Kimono and…

“Woah!” Kirishima exclaimed. Ochako didn’t look like Ochako at all.  Sure, she was wearing formal festival attire, but that wasn’t the reason.  Her hair was disheveled, she wasn’t wearing her bracelet that her mother had given her, but most of all, her face was very puffy and red.

“Ochako!” Mina said, rushing over.  Kirishima made his way over, concerned for his friend as well.

“H-hey guys.” Ochako said.  Her voice was croaky and didn’t have the peppiness that it had.  Everything about it said something was wrong.

“Are you okay?” Ochako just nodded.

“I’m fine, I promise.”  Mina raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve been crying.  Was it your dad? I swear if it was your-”

“My dad didn’t do anything wrong.” Ochako cut her off, “Seriously, guys, I’m fine.  Let’s just enjoy the festival, okay?” Kirishima didn’t like the way she was trying to shove it off, and things were obviously not okay, but he knew that ignoring it for now was the best plan of action.

“If you say you’re okay, then we believe you.  Let’s enjoy the festival!” Kirishima said, cutting off another protest from Mina, who shot him a glare.  Ochako, on the other hand, gave him an appreciative smile.

Ochako felt like garbage.  That was the simplest way to say it.  She’d cried the entire way back from Tokyo, and then a little bit once she got home too.  She’d barely had time to get ready for the festival. She knew she looked like a mess, if her friends’ reactions were any indication.

At least her appearance reflected her emotional state.

Ochako followed closely behind Mina and Kirishima as they entered the festival grounds.  You couldn’t really even call it a festival. There were two lines of tents that had vendors selling anything from trinkets to food, and then a large sectioned off section of grass for people to view the comet from.  

Ochako tagged along with Kirishima and Mina as they went around the stalls, buying trinkets, or in Mina’s case, food.  Lots and lots of food. Eventually, they made their way to the main event, the comet.

One giant light blue streak across the sky, lighting up the entire area brighter than the moon ever could.  It was really a sight to behold. Definitely one of the most beautiful sights Ochako had ever witnessed. So stunning in fact, that Ochako forgot her troubles for a moment.  Just a moment.

“It’s so pretty!” Mina squeaked, pointing at the sky and jumping up and down.  

“It really is.  Never seen a comet before, so I guess this is a good start.” Kirishima said, placing his hand on Mina’s shoulder to get her to stop jumping all over the place.

“What do you think, ‘Chako?” Mina prompted.

“Huh?” the words pulled Ochako from her awe filled gazing at the sky, “Oh, it’s really nice.” She said.  They sat, staring up at the sky for a few more minutes, making small talk.

“I’ll be right back.  I have to use the restroom.” Ochako excused herself.  Mina and Kirishima nodded and ochako took her leave.

In reality, Ochako didn’t really need to use the restroom.  She just needed some time to think to herself. Okay, need isn’t the right word.  What she probably needed to do was tell her friends the truth and stay with them.  Yet, for some reason she just wanted more time alone. Some time away from her friends’ overwhelming positivity.

Ochako decided to take a walk around the stalls, all of which were practically empty, with everyone being on the field to watch the comet and all.  Ochako walked up and down the stalls, looking at the merchandise that she hadn’t cared to look at earlier.

There were a lot of cute and interesting things now that she looked closely.  Some shops were selling paintings of the comet, even. One in particular depicted the comet in the background with a starry sky, and in the foreground there was a girl jumping towards a guy cheerfully.  They looked happy.

And immediately Ochako’s mood sombered.  She left the stand before she made herself any more sad.  

At the end of the row, Ochako came across an odd looking tent.  There was no merchandise at the front, and the inside was zipped shut, though Ochako could see a soft glow coming from the inside.  

Ochako knew she shouldn’t, but she was too curious.

“Hello? Is anyone in there?” She said, knocking on the wooden post of the tent. There was no sound made, not even any movement.  For some reason, Ochako couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness.

“This is a bad idea.” She muttered, grabbing the zipper and opening the tent.

There was nobody on the inside, but there was something .  A very large something.  It looked like it could be an extra large boulder, but something was off about it.

The entire rock was encased in a soft white glow, and when Ochako listened carefully, she could hear a soft buzzing.  It was warm to the touch.

Ochako stopped, instincts screaming.  Two months ago if she’d seen a rock like this, she would have thought nothing of it and moved on.  It’s just a weird rock. This wasn’t two months ago, however. She’d been swapping places with Izuku for two months, and he was a student at Yuuei.  

An unattended tent, with some large object inside that was not acting like a rock should.  It was placed in an area where a lot of civilians would be gathering.  The uneasy feeling that was welling up inside Ochako.  It all screamed one thing.

“Villain attack.” Ochako muttered.  She could be wrong. She could be completely wrong.  Yet, she still couldn’t shake the feeling.  Ochako turned, getting ready to call the authorities to get it checked out.

Just as she turned around, Ochako heard a sharp crack .

Everything went white.

Chapter Text

How?

Ya’ll are gonna hate me for this

It had been two weeks since the last swap.  two weeks since his disaster of a date with Tsu, and two weeks of confusion.  He couldn’t get in contact with Ochako, and he was beginning to get worried. Was it something he’d done?

Thus, Izuku made a decision.  He was going to go see Ochako in person.   If he couldn’t see her through their body swapping phenomenon, then he’d just have to take steps to see her in person.  

Now, the thing was, seeing Ochako in person was much easier said than done.  First off, he’d have to figure out a day where he could get away without being really being missed.  If he went during the week, he’d be missing class, which wasn’t an option. If he went on a weekend, he’d be missing vital training sessions with his classmates  They were second years, afterall.

Izuku chose the lesser of two evils, giving Tsu and Iida the call that he wouldn’t be able to make it to their saturday training session.  He hated to slack off on his intense training regimen, but this was important to him.

That wasn’t where the complications stopped, however.  There was one, major, glaring problem. He had no idea where he had to go.  It didn’t help that he’d completely forgotten the name of the town, and of looking at maps of rural japan hadn’t jogged his memory.  All he had to go on was his memory of what the place looked like, and the fact that it was about an hour’s drive from Japan.

With a sigh, Izuku leaned back in his seat, looking at his handiwork.  It was as best of a representation of the town that Izuku could manage with his limited artistic ability.  He liked to think that it was a pretty decent drawing, and if anyone had experience with the town, they could recognize it from his drawing.

The paper next to it was much more technical, and more for Izuku’s reference than anything else.  Using research of location and range of cell phone towers and satellite paths, Izuku was able to triangulate the general area that the town was located.  See, it laid in a valley between mountains and it got not cell phone signal, so he was able to use that knowledge in combination with the knowledge that it was about an hour’s drive from Tokyo to find an area about twenty five kilometers in radius that the town could be located.

“So here’s the plan…” Izuku muttered, “I catch the eight o’clock train tomorrow morning that goes to the north edge of Tokyo, and then I ride the bus systems and ask for guidance from shopkeepers. Simple!” It wasn’t really that simple.  The expedition could go one of two ways. Either it could be easy and he’d be led right to the town, or he could wander around all day and get no progress.

Izuku looked over at the time and gasped.

It’s already midnight? I have to get up early tomorrow! Izuku thought, turning off the lamp on his desk and climbing into bed.  He knew that he needed to get to sleep soon, but he couldn’t help but feel a little excited for tomorrow.  It was going to be the first day that he’d see Ochako in person.

She would probably scold him at first for bombing his date with Tsu, then she’d blame him for somehow stopping the body swaps.  Then, at least he hoped, she’d be happy to see him.

Over the last two weeks, Izuku had felt somehow...empty.  Only once he’d lost contact with Ochako did he realize how much he missed their phenomenon. Even if their interactions directly with each other had been limited to little entries in diaries, he still missed it.

Towards the most recent weeks up until the swapping had stopped, Ochako and Izuku had started putting more than just logs into the diaries.  They’d ranted to each other about random things, ranging from Izuku’s hard schoolwork to Ochako’s annoyance with being stuck without cell service.  They’d talked each other out of low spots, and told each other about their days they’d had inside their own bodies.

Ochako, to Izuku, had been one of the people he’d been most comfortable talking to.  Maybe it was because he didn’t have to talk to her directly, but somehow he doubted that.  He felt like he understood Ochako far better than he’d understood anyone else, and he knew that she understood him.  That part was almost certainly due to the fact that they’d literally been in each other’s shoes.

It was something Izuku greatly missed. He wanted someone to talk to, to vent to.  Someone that he felt comfortable with, someone he trusted. The more Izuku thought about it, the more it felt like he thought of Ochako as a...girlfriend?

Izuku squeaked out loud, face lighting up like a lamp. That’s not it! Right? Izuku thought.  They couldn’t be dating if they’d never even asked each other out, nor had they met in person! Plus, she probably doesn’t even feel that way!

It was a long while before Izuku was able to straighten his thoughts enough to fall asleep.

Izuku went on his normal morning run, though he could feel extra energy running through his limbs.  He couldn’t shake the feeling of excitement. He got back at about seven thirty and took a shower, before putting on some clothes.

He decided that casual clothes would suffice.  It wasn’t like he was going on a date or anything.  He was just going to go see a friend. That just happened to be a friend that he’d swapped bodies with on numerous occasions.

Izuku walked down to the station, luckily it wasn’t far from Yuuei.  The entire way there he went over his game plan in his head. What was he going to say to Ochako? Would she be excited to see him.  

Izuku made it to the station in record time.  Apparently he’d been walking quickly subconsciously.  He was about to walk down the stairs to where his train would be when he recognized two faces in the midst.

“Tsu! Iida!” Izuku yelped in surprise.  About ten feet in front of him, standing off to the side of the staircase were his two friends, waiting for him with their hands on their hips, “W-what are you guys doing here?”

“We’re here to ask why you decided, out of the blue, to cancel out on the training session.  You haven’t missed a single one for over a year.” Tsu deadpanned.

“I can concur with that statement! I am concerned for you!” Iida said, chopping his hand furiously.

Izuku wasn’t expecting his friends to confront him like this, so he didn’t have an explanation to cover for him, so he just sighed and decided to tell the truth.

“I’m going to go see a friend out in the countryside.” Izuku said, Tsu tilted her head at him.

“Then we’ll come with you!” She said after a moment.

“H-huh?” Izuku said, “No! I mean, I couldn’t trouble you guys like that! I’ll be fine!”

Iida puffed out his chest, “I agree with Tsu! What is the harm in allowing your friends to come with you to meet another friend?”

The fact that I haven’t actually met her yet? Izuku thought.  

“Plus, we already bought tickets.”

“Wha-how did you know what train I was on?”

“You left the tickets out on the table in the common room yesterday.” Tsu said simply.  Izuku couldn’t come up with any excuses as to why Tsu and Iida couldn’t come that would actually make sense.  He couldn’t really tell them ‘Hey, I’ve been randomly swapping bodies with this girl for like a month up until two weeks ago and now I’m going to go see her in person’.  He was sure that wouldn’t go over well.

“Fine.” Izuku sighed, waving for Tsu and Iida to follow him down the stairs.

“So what you mean to say is that you have nothing to go on other than a drawing and a general area to search in?” Tsu looked at him suspiciously.  Izuku ran his hand through his hair.

“I know it sounds bad, but yeah.”

“Midoriya, are you sure this is safe?  I can’t help but feel like this is some sort of trap.”

“It’s not.” Izuku said immediately.  He just knew it wasn’t a trap.  The body swapping was real, it had to be.  Plus, he’d seen the drawings of the town at that museum exhibit.

“How can you be-”

“I’m sure.” Izuku cut him off.  Iida just gave him a concerned look before looking away in defeat.

They arrived at the train station at the edge of Tokyo after a little while.  Izuku could tell that Tsu and Iida had their reservations about the entire situation, but they  played along.

The search started off simple.  Walk down the various trails that said they led to outposts and then ask around if anyone recognized the town that he had drawn.  He also provided a verbal description just in case someone couldn’t tell based off of his drawing.

To Izuku’s relief, Tsu and Iida didn’t question why he only knew what it looked like.  In fact, they didn’t even question anything after the initial encounter. Nothing about why he’s going into the middle of nowhere, searching for someone he refused to name.  

To Izuku’s dismay, he was getting nowhere. Not a single clue of where he should go next.  Not a single shopkeep knew anything about where the town was.  Some said that they recognized his drawing, but had no actual idea where it was.

The bus driver had no clue.

The convenient store had no idea.

The waitress had no idea at lunch.

Iida and Tsu insisted that they go to the little mall that was just outside Tokyo.  The entire time that Izuku had been networking, Tsu and Iida had been excitedly going around to different parts of the mall and having fun.  Tsu had even completely geeked out about a panda that they had on exhibit.

Izuku was starting to lose hope.  He couldn’t find anything, and it was starting to get late.  They’d been at it for over seven hours now. They were now on a bus that was headed towards the last shop Izuku had on his list.  It was a small little cafe in the middle of nowhere.

“If we can’t find anything here, I think it’s time we call it a day.” Tsu said.  Izuku sighed and nodded.

“As much as I’d like to find her, it’s getting late.” Izuku said.  He was met with silence. Izuku turned his head to the other two to see them looking at him in shock.

“You never told us it was a girl!” Iida said extraordinarily loud, drawing the eyes of everyone on the bus. Izuku’s face lit up like a christmas tree.

“Were you coming here for a date, Midoriya?”

“N-no! She’s just a friend! I swear!” Izuku said, waving his hands in front of him.  He knew he looked like a strawberry. Tsu just snorted. That snort turned into a laugh, and the laugh into nearly rolling off of her seat.

“I-I’m sorry!” She said between laughs, “I just-I just get why you were so set on wanting to find her! She was your date!” She said.  Izuku didn’t know if his face could get any more red.

“I-I-I u-uhh. I s-s-swea-” Izuku was saved by the sound of the bus screeching to a stop. Izuku shot up out of the seat and bolted it, getting away from the conversation as fast as possible.  

Hoping his face was cooled down at least a little bit, Izuku walked up to the door to the cafe and opened it.  Waiting behind a counter, cleaning it off with a rag was an old man, presumably the person that owned the establishment.

“How can I help you, young man?” He asked.  

“Just three of us.” Izuku said.  He could barely keep his voice from wavering.  He still wasn’t recovered from his embarrassment.  

“Right here then!” He said cheerfully, gesturing to an empty table.  There weren’t many other people there to eat, so many tables were free.  Izuku thanked him and sat down at the table, and not long after, Tsu and Iida came in and sat at the table as well.  

Luckily, Tsu and Iida seemed to have made the decision to drop the teasing in favor of more normal conversation, much to Izuku’s relief.  He wasn’t sure if he could take any more embarrassment. Izuku decided what he was going to eat and set his menu down.

“I feel like I recognize you all.” the old man had come up to their table, a piece of paper out to take their orders, “Anyways, what could I get for you?”

Izuku ordered a simple dinner plate, as did Iida.  Tsu ordered a salad with a coffee. The old man nodded before moving to leave.  Halfway through his turn, he stopped and looked back at the three of them, a huge smile on his face.

“Now I know where I recognized you! You’re all from Yuuei, aren’t you?” The asked.  Izuku nervously scratched the back of his neck. Getting recognized in public was becoming more and more common, especially after the second years’ sports festival.  

“We are.” Tsu said simply.

“May I ask what you all are doing all the way out here? This little cafe is quite a ways away from the school!” The man asked, waving his coffee pot in a circle excitedly.

Iida gestured to Izuku, “He could tell you a lot, I’m sure.  We are mostly here for the ride.”

“I umm...yeah.” Izuku said, reaching into his bag and starting to remove the drawing he’d made, “I have this friend, and she-”

“Oh is that Itomori?” As soon as the man said the name, Izuku knew it was right.  The name of the town that he’d completely forgotten was Itomori.

“That’s it! I forgot the name of the town, but that’s it! Itomori!  Do you recognize it?”

“Recognize it?” The man snorted out a laugh, “I grew up there!”

Izuku was elated.  Everything throughout the day wasn’t for naught.  He’d found a lead.

“Can you take us there? I have this friend…” Izuku trailed off when he looked at the man’s face, as well as Tsu and Iida’s.  Their faces had gone from a happy smile to a more somber frown.

“What’s wrong?”

Iida cleared his throat, “Midoriya, I think you may have the wrong name of the town.”

Izuku shook his head violently, “It was Itomori, I’m sure of it.” He knew it was Itomori.  The second he’d heard the name, it was like his soul resonated.

“Midoriya,” Tsu picked up, “Itomori was…”

“Yeah, sure I can take you there…” The old man said softly.  He had a concerned look on his face, and he wasn’t smiling anymore.  Izuku looked back and forth between the old man and his friends’ somber expressions.  Whatever it was, it could wait until he’d talked to Ochako.

The car ride in the old man’s truck was unbearably silent.  Nobody talked for the entire forty minute car ride there. Not a single word, and everyone wore a sad face.  Izuku was genuinely confused.

“We’re here.” The man said, stopping the car on the side of the road.  Izuku could see that it ended a few meters up.

That must be the edge of the canyon that Itomori lies in Izuku recognized the landscape as well.  Izuku opened the door and ran towards the ledge.

What he saw was not Itomori.  It was what remained.

Itomori usually laid in a single crater, the entire town circling a little lake. What he saw in front of him was not one crater, but rather, two large craters that overlapped on the edges.  What the entire north side of where the town used to be was now filled with water, the land blasted away by whatever had made the crater.

The south side of the crater wasn’t in much better shape either. The buildings were destroyed and in pieces, only the concrete remains visible.  The only standing buildings were on one, tiny little corner of the crater, though they looked overgrown as if they hadn’t been touched for years.

“What...happened?” Izuku breathed, looking at the destruction laid bare before him.

“I thought you’d know, based off of how much hero news you watched…” Tsu said, her voice thick with remorse.

She continued, “Three years ago, there was a massive terrorist attack here.  Half of the city was destroyed and the other half was damaged by the shockwave.  Some sort of villain with an explosion quirk, if I remember correctly.”

Izuku sank to his knees.   Something’s wrong.  How was I swapping places with Ochako? What is going on here?

“Over five hundred people died,” Iida continued, “Midoriya, I don’t know who you were looking for here, but nobody has lived here for three years.”

Blood was pounding in Izuku’s ears.  He could barely hear his friends. Something was wrong. Everything was wrong .  How was he swapping bodies with? If it was all in his head, where had those days gone? How?

As Izuku looked over the destruction, he started to lose hope.  What if it was all in his head?  Izuku could feel the tears welling up.  How had all of this happened?

Then, a thought.

One, final, desperate thought.  

What if she IS still alive?

Izuku jumped up, spinning around to look at the old man, “Is there some sort of archive? Some way I can read about the town? I have a theory I need to check.”  

“Well, there is a memorial not too far away.  It was built after the disaster and it has all of the information in it that could be gathered about the town.” He said.

“Where? Can you take us?” Izuku’s voice was frantic and pained. This was the last thing he had left. The old man simple nodded sadly, gesturing to the car.

To get to the memorial site, they just had to drive down a side road to a different entrance to the canyon.  The memorial was a small building, not unlike a museum. Izuku thanked the old man for his kindness, insisting that he and his friends could make it back on their own.  It wasn’t that far to the nearest bus station anyways. Apparently there was a bus that ran directly from the canyon to the main station in Tokyo.

Izuku rushed inside the memorial to see that it consisted of two simple rooms.  The downstairs was a main desk that was unattended, with a simple note that said ‘We are open to the public at all times.  Please enjoy your time at the Itomori Memorial’. The upstairs was a small carpeted room with two bookshelves stacked with books.

Izuku removed stack after stack of books specifically about the town and its inhabitants.  The bulk of the information was about the spiritual side of the town, which was supposedly unique.  Nearly all but one shelf on one bookcase was devoted to the topic. All in all, it wasn’t a lot of information, but it was the best he could get.

Each notable structure had its own section of the book, and Izuku read through it, he started to reaffirm his original statement.  He’d seen these before. The library.  The center shrine. Even the Miyamizu house that was the biggest in the town.  All of it was familiar.

“Midoriya, I think I found something.” Tsu said, tearing Izuku from his scrutiny.  He looked up to see her carrying a big black book. She placed it down on the desk and Izuku looked at the title.

“The victims of the Itomori crisis.” Izuku breathed, almost not daring to open it.  But he knew he had to. This one book had all the answers to his problems.

Opening the cover, Izuku saw that the names were listed alphabetically.  Flipping through, Izuku saw the list get bigger and bigger, and his heart started to drop. Then he saw the first name.

‘Ejirou Kirishima’ Izuku almost stopped right then and there.  Ochako’s friend was on the list. Somehow, he found it in himself to keep turning. Then the second name.

‘ Mina Ashido’ Izuku’s hand was shaking.  These people he’d known, even for a short time, had been dead for three years, all under his nose.  Izuku couldn’t help but shake the feeling of utter uselessness. That and the feeling of pure confusion . How had all of this happened? How had he been swapping bodies with Ochako?

Izuku was feeling sick, like he was about to throw up. Still, somehow, he found it within himself to turn to the next page.

And there it was, the name he was hoping with all of his heart not to see.

‘Ochako Uraraka’

Chapter Text

Moving forwards

Tsu needed a break. They'd been at it for a couple hours now, looking through book after book in search of that one name Izuku was raving over. "Ochako Uraraka", whoever it was, whatever the name meant, it carried a lot weight. The only times she saw Izuku this dedicated to something was when he was doing hero analysis in his little notebooks. Maybe that wasn't even on this level.

Tsu got a drink from the vending machine, needing to cool down. She was getting tired, and if the book searching was going to be going on for any longer, she'd need an extra boost to help her through the night. Looking at the options, she decided on a green tea.

The vending machine dispensed the drink and Tsu took a seat on the other side of the room on a bench, cracking open the lid and sipping the drink. After a few minutes, she head the steps creaking, and a moment later, Iida popped out from around the corner.

"Is he still looking?" Tsu asked. Iida just silently nodded, making his way down the stairs. He went over to the vending machine and got a drink. It was a large energy drink, the kind that was unhealthy and packed full of caffeine. Iida silently walked over and took a seat next to Tsu.

They sat in silence for a few moments, not knowing what to say.

"I'm worried about him…" Tsu finally said, sighing. Iida nodded solemnly in agreement.

"I as well. He seems really torn up about that girl." Iida nodded.

Tsu hummed, "It doesn't make sense. Why is he so concerned about a girl he didn't even know that died three years ago?"

Iida sat for a moment, finger to his chin and thinking. "I haven't a clue, but it seems fishy to me. Almost like something else is involved. Some outside party."

"Like a villain?"

Iida scratched the back of his head, "I don't know, maybe?" he sipped at his drink, "This is really not very good."

Tsu looked at him, before breaking into soft laughter at his expression, "Have you never had an energy drink before?"

"Of course not! They are horrible for your health and not proper for a prospective hero to be consuming!" Iida slouched, "The only reason I got it was so that I would have the energy to assist Midoriya with his research!"

Tsu sighed, "What is he even looking for anyways?"

Izuku was looking for a sign. Something, anything, to latch onto. A report of missing people not found at the crime scene was his first thought, but that hope had been grimly shattered by the notion of how anyone within a three mile radius had been incinerated the instant of the attack.

The villain's name was Entropy. He had a quirk that allowed him to convert matter directly into energy based on the mass of the object and how long he touched it. Touching an object for long enough would "prime" the object, and the villain could could choose how long until the quirk actually activated. When the quirk activated, the object would detonate. The larger the object, the larger the explosion.

He only knew this because the villain was apprehended two years ago, when he was beaten in a head to head with All Might. Two years after when he'd left Itomori to be engulfed in an explosion. His motive? He felt like it.

Izuku was seething with rage. The fact that someone would destroy an entire town on a whim, taking their lives, just because he felt like it? That was worse than Overhaul's twisted idea of cleansing. Worse than Shigaraki's drive to end hero society as a whole.

Izuku slammed the book shut. There had to be something else, some kind of sign that Ochako was still alive? What other explanation could there be for them switching bodies? What's up with their time difference? Why was Ochako's name in the book of the dead?

Hours passed, and Izuku was starting to lose hope. All he could find was articles about the history of the town. Hardly any mention of the survivors. Apparently only thirteen people had escaped with their lives.

Thoughts started to weave his way through his tired mind. It was already one in the morning, and he was tired, but he couldn't help but think, what if it all was in my head?

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. What would logically describe body swapping? It only happened when he was sleeping, so it would be his dreams. Extraordinarily vivid dreams.

The more Izuku read about Itomori's attack, the more familiar it was. Now, after the fact, he remembered reading and studying those news reports. It had been in the middle of his middle school career, when he'd been at his peak of hero nerdiness.

Izuku slammed the final book closed at three in the morning, giving up. There was only one explanation left. His mind had been making everything up for him, supplementing it all with information from the news reports.

He made his way to where Tsu and Iida had already set up sleeping bags, laying down on the floor between rows of shelves. They'd turned in hours ago, leaving Izuku to finish the hunt.

Izuku crawled into his sleeping bag, a feeling of overwhelming sadness and despair settling on his shoulders. Everything had been for naught. The girl he'd...he didn't want to think about that part. She was all a part of his imagination afterall.

As Izuku laid down on the cold, hard floor, an idea came to mind. One ray of hope. Eyes snapping open, Izuku stood up and got out of his sleeping bag. He needed to see.

Tsu opened her eyes groggily to the feeling of someone shaking her shoulder. She rubbed the corner of her eyes, sitting up. It was Iida, a look of concern plastered on his face. He was holding something.

"Midoriya left this." Tsu picked up the note and read it over, clearing the sleep from her eyes.

Tsu and IIda,

I am writing this to let you know that I won't be there when you wake up tomorrow. I had one more thing I needed to test tonight, one last thing to do. I couldn't not do it. My head wouldn't let me.

Please don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I have a quirk license for a reason! You guys can head back without me. I'll end up back there some time later today or tomorrow, I promise.

-Midoriya

Tsu read it over twice, just checking to make sure what she was reading was correct. Izuku had decided to leave, in the middle of the night, to go to some unknown place to test something that she had no idea what implications it might have.

"Should we go after him?"

By all logical reason, Tsu should have said yes. They should go after Midoriya and see what's actually wrong, instead of some incoherent mumblings. Something was obviously wrong, and Tsu was concerned. But that's not what came out of her mouth.

"I trust him. He'll be okay. Let's catch the bus back." She said.

It was rainy in the middle of the night, but that wasn't going to stop Izuku. He had something he needed to do, one last thing he needed to test. One last place that could either confirm or deny his suspicions.

As Izuku ran on One for All empowered legs, he ran over his plan once more. He was going to go to the canyon that Ochako's mother was laid to rest in. Everything else from his dreams could be explained off as his brain coming up with random fodder to fill the space, but not that.

If Ochako's signatures and engravings were there, especially the one he had made himself, that meant it was all real. Looking back over news footage of the villain showed that the crater wasn't even mentioned in the slightest by any media coverage. It was on the opposite side of the valley as where the explosion had happened, and there was no signs of damage based on satellite imaging.

If the markings were there, hell, even if the coffin was there, that meant everything had been real. The body swapping, the feelings, all of it. Where he'd go from there, he didn't know, but at least that would give him some peace of mind. Whatever had been happening with the time difference and the villain attack could be figured out later.

The cold rain stuck against Izuku's skin, but he kept running. He was far faster than normal running speed, but he couldn't compete with something like a car. Izuku had to run to the other side of the crater, so it had been a long run.

Izuku darted between trees, following the path that he'd taken in that last day in Ochako's body. The entire thing felt familiar, and he recognized the scenery, even if it was older and overgrown. He ran up the slope, getting a feeling of hope in his chest. He knew this trail.

Izuku was out of breath when be reached the peak of the hike. The rain had long since stopped, and it was early morning. Iida and Tsu would probably be up and reading his note soon. He hoped they didn't try to go after him.

Taking a deep breath, Izuku walked up the last of the slope that led to the lip of the crater. He peaked, and laid in front of him was the same scenery he'd seen before. The grassy crater with interspersed trees and small streams leading from the sides of the crater. The water had collected in the middle, leaving a small river. In the middle, isolated on its own little hill, was the rock structure.

It's real. It was all- Izuku stopped, shaking his head, I have to be sure.

Izuku took off towards the middle of the crater, moving as fast as his legs would take him. He hopped over the river with a quirk-powered jump. Looking up at the rock structure, it looked a little smaller than he remembered.

Ochako is shorter, so I guess that makes sense

Izuku took a deep breath, walking around to the other side of the rock, finding the opening that he'd walked in the last time. It was dark on the inside, so he took out his phone, turning on the flashlight. The bright light lit up the entire small room.

And there it was. The coffin, held up on a small pedestal. Sleek and brown, and worn down over the years. Izuku quickly got closer to get a better look. At closer inspection, he could see it. Just the thing he was looking for. His crude approximation of Ochako's signature, engraved onto the side of the wood. That wasn't something made up by the back of his mind. He'd made that, with his own hand.

Izuku leaned back, staring at the ceiling of the cave. It had been all real. Everything was real. He'd been swapping bodies with a girl from three years in the past. Izuku started to cry. Not tears of sadness, but tears of relief. Those memories hadn't been fake. Ochako had been real, and she was the person he knew, deep down, on a personal level.

The tears quickly turned to tears of sadness. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, the facts stacked too much in opposition of his hopes. The swapping had stopped on the same day that the villain attack had happened, three years prior. There was no trace left of the girl named "Ochako Uraraka" on the earth.

Ochako was dead. She'd been dead for three years, even though they'd talked through the messages in this phone mere weeks ago. When Izuku had checked, all of the diaries had been deleted from his phone memory somehow. Even if he still had the diaries, it wasn't like it mattered. She was dead and there wasn't anything he could do about it.

"Why?" Izuku said to the empty room, repositioning himself against the wall, "What kind of cruel existence is this? Why make me swap bodies like that if all that was going to come out of it was this?"

Izuku didn't know why he was weeping his soul out to the thin air, but the words just kept coming.

"Why her? She was so sweet, so nice, so caring, even if she was a bit pigheaded sometimes," Izuku snorted out a cry-laugh, "Why did you have to take her? I-I-I…" Izuku trailed off.

Was that really the right thing to say? Could he really, truly say that? When he hadn't even met her in person? When he'd just communicated with her through phone diaries? Izuku tugged at the red, orange, and yellow braided cord wrapped around his wrist. He couldn't remember where he got it, but he'd felt some sort of attachment to the object, and tended to mess with it when he was emotionally unstable, such as now.

As Izuku thought about it, the less it made sense. Yet, that was the nature of the heard, wasn't it? It defied reason.

"I...loved her, didn't I?" Izuku whispered, the words echoing around the room. He was shaking now.

"I loved her, and she's gone. I'll never be able to tell her." Izuku buried his face in his hands.

Izuku mumbled into his hands, one last mantra. "If whatever caused the swapping can hear me, please. Give me one more chance. Let me save her."

Izuku knew it was useless. He'd had his chance, and he'd blown it.

Then, everything went black. Izuku looked up, and he recognized the scenery. The smoky black surroundings, and the sets of lights in the distance. He was left as nothing but a head and a hand, the rest of his body shrouded in smoke.

The vestiges.

Each of the sets of eyes looked over him with scrutiny, as if he was appearing against their court. Izuku didn't say a thing as the tears ran down his face. The set of eyes in the middle was the only one to move. It stepped forwards, taking place right in front of Izuku, looking down at him.

A moment later, it nodded, and everything snapped back to color.

Izuku shot upright, drawn from some kind of unconsciousness. Light was streaming in through some kind of filter, lighting up the area. He wasn't in the rocky cave.

He was in Ochako's room. Looking down at himself, he wasn't in his own body. He saw the two familiar mounds of Ochako's chest, and Izuku was so relieved that he didn't even think about getting embarrassed.

Sinking to his knees, Izuku let out a few tears of joy. He had one more shot. One more try to save not only Ochako, but the entire town.

"A villain attack? Are you serious?" Mina practically yelled. Izuku quickly shushed her, gesturing to the fact that there were people outside of the room.

"Yes, tonight. I can't exactly explain why I know it's going to happen, but it's going to happen." Izuku emphasized. Mina was looking at him in disbelief, while Kirishima had a studious look on his face.

Mina slumped back, rubbing at her curly hair, "Itomori hasn't had any villains attack since the rise of quirks…" Mina mumbled, "I can't help but doubt that it's just going to happen tonight. Especially since you can't give us a real explanation."

"Mina, tone it down, she's just trying to help." Kirishima interrupted, giving Izuku a polite nod.

Izuku breathed out, "Look, please, you have to believe me. If you've never believed me on anything else, then just believe me on this!" he pleaded. This was his one shot, he wasn't going to mess it up, "I'm going to try to stop him anyways, so you guys can either help me, or you can not."

"Woah, wait there, Uraraka. What kinda villain are we talking about?" Kirishima asked. Izuku scratched the back of his, er...Ochako's head. If he told them the truth, the full truth, then they would freak out, that or they wouldn't believe him. Who would believe that the entire village was going to explode? But if he worded it right…

"The bad kind. If we can get the help there soon enough, then we should be able to stop him before he does damage, or at least minimize the damage. But if we let him have time to gather a plan of action and execute it, that will mean some really bad news." Izuku said in one quick breath. Kirishima and Mina looked to each other.

"How would we stop this hypothetical villain?" Mina was at least buying in a little bit.

"Well, first we would need to track him down and isolate him. Get him separated from civilians, then we need to work together to play around his quirk and-"

"'Chako, you're not actually planning on taking on the villain on our own, right?" Mina interrupted. Izuku instantly stopped muttering and looked up.

I was thinking in terms of playing it as if I was an actual hero here… Izuku realized.

"Sorry, I guess I got caught up trying to play the hero!" Izuku let out a nervous laugh.

Kirishima cleared his throat, "We should contact the mayor about this. He can call in the heroes. At least, maybe we can get him to call in a few for extra safety."

"No! We can't tell the mayor! There's no way he'd believe us."

"'Chako has a point. I barely believe her and we're best friends." At least Mina was on board now, "We need another way to get the heroes here…"

A thought came to mind. Something that Izuku knew based on his internship experiences. When rural areas that didn't have any hero agencies had some kind of disaster or emergency happen, the agencies in the nearest city would dispatch whatever hero could get there fastest. If Izuku's knowledge of hero agencies three years ago was correct, then that meant…

"I have an idea!" Izuku blurted out, interrupting both Mina and Kirishima. They turned to him, expecting an answer, "But...it may include some illegal activities."

The setup took quite a while to figure out, and the entire time, Izuku was dealing with an existential crisis. The plan was shoddy at best, but if it worked out, then everyone would be saved. Not to mention that the entire plan was based around creating one disaster to stop another.

When small towns have events that requires the attention of a hero, the nearest big city sends out a proper response. In most cases, the town is far enough away that the city will send out the fastest heroes they can in hopes that they can stop the crisis.

The plan was to cause something solvable like a forest fire to lure heroes to the little town. One team would be allocated to causing the disaster, while the rest was to find the villain. Izuku only had a description of what Entropy looked like, but he was sure he could find him if he looked hard enough. Itomori was small afterall, and the man would certainly be here to set up his trap.

When the fire drew a hero to the scene, Izuku, including Mina and Kirishima if he could convince them to help, would engage the villain and cause a commotion, causing the hero to engage the villain. Mina had been in opposition to it, but Kirishima had somehow gotten her to trust Izuku enough to follow through with it.

So now here Izuku was, using his knowledge of chemistry from Yuuei's rigorous academic program to make a homemade bomb. Apparently sugar and a few other items was all that was needed to make a weak explosive. And all it was going to take to destroy the power plant that happened to be in the middle of a heavily forested area was a weak explosive.

As Izuku worked, he felt himself drawn towards thoughts of Ochako. If he was in her body...did that mean she was in his right now? Was she stranded on that mountain with nowhere to go?

Wait...if she leaves the crater, she'll see…The entirety of Itomori's destroyed landscape was visible from the top of that crater. Who knew what she'd think? Did she even know there was a time difference? No, she couldn't have. There wasn't any way for her to know.

Izuku finished his part, and set off to find Kirishima and Mina. There was one more thing he needed to do before they put his plan into action. He needed to see. Something weird was going on with one for all, and he suspected it was the cause of the entire body swapping situation. Only people that had held one for all could see or interact with the vestiges.

Then, did that mean he could interact with the vestiges while in Ochako's body? Could she interact with them while in his body?

Could it draw them together?

Izuku spotted Kirishima's telltale spiky red hair over a crowd. He stuffed the makeshift explosive into his coat pocket and ran up ahead to get his attention. He tapped the boy on the shoulder.

"Huh-oh! Hey Uraraka! I haven't found the guy you described yet, sorry." He said, scratching at the back of his head.

"That's fine, keep looking." Izuku looked up at the sun. They were running out of time, "Look, there's something I need to do. If I'm not back by three, then I need you to take this up to the power plant and start the operation." He took the package and shoved it into Kirishima's hand. He started to walk away.

"Uraraka, wait!" He shouted. Izuku turned to look over his shoulder. Kirishima gave him a big smile, "Good luck."

Izuku smiled back, "You too. Let's be the heroes today."

Izuku ran up the path that led to the canyon as fast as Ochako's legs would take him. This would be his third time up the path, so it was more familiar now than even the second time. Trying to coax one for all into working for him was probably not going to work. The quirk seemed to work of its own volition, picking and choosing when to involve the vestiges. Izuku knew that, yet he couldn't stop himself from hoping that it could work.

He reached the peak of the path, already low on breath. It took significantly more work to cover the same distance without the use of his own quirk. He clambered onto the ridge and looked down into the small valley. The rock was there, just as he'd remembered.

Ochako woke up with a start, sitting up. Something slammed into her forehead hard causing her head to reel. She reached up to clutch the throbbing part of her skull, looking around. All she saw on all sides was black and a small source of light pointing against the ground.

Where am I? She thought. One moment she was inspecting that suspicious object in the tent, and the next...everything had gone white. Now, she was here. With a groan, she reached over and grabbed for the light source, only to see that it was a smartphone with the flashlight on, facing the ground.

Picking up the phone shined the light around the room, and she recognized it immediately. She was in the cave where her mother had been laid to rest. She saw the coffin just a few feet away. When she looked at the phone in her hand, she realized it wasn't actually her hand. The scars that lined the arms only belonged to one person. Reaching up to her head confirmed it. She was in Izuku's body again.

But why is he here of all places? Why did we swap so randomly? Nothing about this entire situation made any sense. Picking herself up, she made her way to the cave entrance carefully, her head still throbbing from the impact on the rocky ceiling of the cave.

Clambering out of the entrance to the cave revealed that it was just becoming morning, and it was raining outside. The entire middle of the canyon was filled with water, making a large river. Ochako waded through the water, trying to get to the edge of the canyon so she could see just what Izuku was doing at Itomori, at her mother's grave no less. Well, getting to the edge of the canyon wouldn't do that, but at least she could go down the path to town and see what was going on.

Wait, if Izuku is here, then does that mean that he's in my body down in town? Ochako's speed increased slightly, I can go chastise him for not recognizing me! Ochako climbed up the rim of the steep hill that led to the rim of the crater.

As soon as she got to the top, her heart dropped to the floor.

Itomori was in ruins. Where the north side of the crater should have been, it was instead replaced with another, larger crater. The other side of the crater, the side that was still standing, was completely abandoned and overgrown. Izuku's phone clattered to the floor as her hand went limp.

"D-did I die?" She sunk to her knees. The parts of the puzzle all started to fit together in her head. The object she'd been suspicious of, it was whatever had caused this crater, wasn't it? This Itomori had been abandoned for years, not recently.

Ochako leaned over, feeling sick. The reason Izuku hadn't recognized her...that wasn't her Izuku, was it? It was him from years ago, from before Itomori had been destroyed by a villain attack. The reason Izuku was here...he came to visit her, and she'd been dead. She started to cry.

Ochako? Ochako looked up. It was her voice, but it sounded like it was coming from a distance. Her own voice talking to her. Unless…

"Izuku?" She called out weakly. Ochako looked up, and she saw something odd. The seams of reality seemed to be emitting a kind of black smoke.

"Ochako is that you?" Izuku's voice was clearer now.

"Izuku?" She was crying. She stood up, looking around for him. He was here somewhere.

"Ochako! Where are you?"

"Where are you?"

"Ochako!"

"Izuku!"

The world went black. She was standing in a completely black void. She was back in her own body.

Ochako spun around, and she was met with just who she hoped was there. Standing across from her, wearing a wet jacket, with his fluffy green hair, was Izuku.

"Hi." He said stupidly. Ochako threw herself forwards, wrapping her arms around him tightly, never wanting to let go. Izuku seemed shocked at first, but soon enough, she felt his arms wrap around her back.

Ochako separated just enough to look at him in the eyes, "You're taller than I remember." Izuku just looked at her for a moment, before breaking out into hard laughter. The laughing infected Ochako, and they both started to reel at the horribly awkward comment.

"Of all the things to say, " Izuku got our between laughs, "That's what you say? You were in my body!"

"Well, it's kind of hard to get a scope of how tall you are in your own body, to be fair." She said grumpily. She looked up at him, "What happened?"

Izuku's expression darkened, "The swapping stopped. A month or so passed, and I couldn't take it, so I came to visit you." He started. Ochako thought she knew where this was going.

Izuku continued, "I came to the town and...Ochako, there was a villain attack three years ago. Almost everyone died." His voice got softer, "Including you."

"Izuku, what year is it for you?"

"2352." He said softly. Ochako nodded.

"It's 2349. We're three years apart." Ochako said softly. They just sat there for a moment, revelling in each other's embrace. Neither wanted to let go. After what felt like an eternity, Izuku cleared his throat.

"Ochako, I don't have time to explain, but I need you to trust me. My quirk has a secret side to it that I haven't ever told anyone. The thing is, it's given me a chance to try to save you. To save everyone." He paused, "But my time is up. I have to give it off to you. I need you to save everyone."

Ochako looked up at him, "What do you need me to do?"

Izuku gave the rundown of the plan. As he talked, Ochako saw the logic in it, but it was also insane. Essentially performing domestic terrorism in order to save the town. She was also going to have to go up against a villain in direct combat. Sure, she'd done it before in training sessions at Yuuei, but that had also been in Izuku's body with Izuku's quirk.

"I-I don't know about this, Izuku." She said, "Isn't there some other way?"

Izuku saldy shook his head.

"There's one more thing I need to tell you."

"In order to save the one you love, you'll have to sacrifice something." Nana Shimura's voice said, "We can't just give and give and give, it's not the way the world works."

"Please, anything." Izuku was on his knees, laid bare before the vestiges. They were the ones responsible for the switching. The mysterious previous holders of one for all had caused the swapping, and that meant they had control over it.

"Your memories." Nana Shimura said, "You'll lose your memories of all events during the switching in exchange for changing history."

"I'll do it." Izuku said immediately, without a second thought. Anything to save Ochako.

"Our...memories?" Ochako looked up, "We won't remember each other?"

Izuku was crying now. Tears streaming lightly down his chiseled face, "The last thing I want to do is lose you, but I just thought...maybe we will be able to find each other again if you are still...here." He sniffled, "It was the only option, I'm sorry…"

Ochako pounded on his chest lightly, "You did what you had to do, silly. It's fine, I'll save everyone, and we can find each other again. When will the memories fade?"

Izuku wiped away a tear, "I don't know. It scares me, but I don't know."

Ochako was still embracing him, they hadn't let go since that first hug. Whatever they were, Ochako didn't want to let it go.

But she had to. She pulled away from the hug.

"Time's runnin' out, right?" Ochako asked. Izuku just nodded solemnly. She reminisced over their memories. The first few swaps, not knowing what was going on. Then, the days of writing to each other with-

"That's it!" She said, reaching for Izuku's hand. She patted herself down, looking for a pen, but didn't find one, "Uhmm, do you have a pen?"

Izuku raised his eyebrow and searched through his pocket. He pulled out a little black ink pen. She opened her palm, presenting the pen to Izuku.

"If we write our names on each other, even when we forget, we can still find each other." Izuku just smiled in response, scribbling kanji onto the inside of Ochako's palm. She went to open her hand and look, but Izuku quickly closed her hand.

"When you're beat down and need something to keep you going, only then do you look at it. Remember me and keep yourself going." Ochako smiled back at him. Clenching her fist closed.

"Now it's your turn!" She grabbed the pen from his hand, opening it to write. She brought the pen down to write. She only got through the first line when Izuku's entire hand disappeared.

Time's up.

Chapter Text

Memories

Sorry this took so long! I got a little wrapped up with school. And...lots and lots of osu. I’ve been playing WAY too much osu.  It’s almost to the point where it isn’t exactly healthy, with my hand cramps and stuff. And good news for some of you! This didn’t wrap up this chapter like I thought it would.  You’ll all be getting an epilogue in a few days’ time. Hopefully not too long, as I need to work on a new chapter for my pokemon fic AND izuocha week.

Anyways, that’ll be it from me for now! Enjoy this last chapter of the main story.

The pen dropped to the ground.  

“Wait, no!” He shouted, reaching to pick up the pen, as if grabbing ahold of it would bring Ochako back.  

“I’ve gotta write it down! Her name!” He said, scrambling to grab the pen from where it had rolled to on the rocky ground. He brought the pen up to his hand.

“Her name, it was…” Suddenly, there was a gap in his mind.  Like something that ought to be there no longer was.

“What was her name!?” He cried out, falling to his knees.

“What was her...what was…” It was like he was reaching after something running away from him.  Like he was trying to grab the air.

And then it was gone.

Izuku looked around, eyes scanning the landscape

“Why am I here?”

When Izuku’s hand disappeared, the black landscape disappeared with him.  Ochako was now looking at the lively landscape of Itomori below her. It took a moment for the whole situation to sink in.

She had something to do.

Suddenly taking off at a sprint, Ochako started down the hill back towards the town, legs moving as fast as they could take her.   

“I won't forget! I won’t!” She shouted as she ran, “Izuku! Izuku, that’s your name! It’s Izuku!”

She knew she should be going over the plan, the one he’d made to save the city, but that was taking a backseat.  Something more important was completely absorbing her mind.

“Izuku! Izuku!” She repeated, not giving herself a moment’s break.

“It’s Izuku! Izu-” Ochako was cut off as her foot caught on a rock, sending her flying towards the ground.  Her forwards momentum carried her down the hill where she struck the ground with a distinctive crack of her shoulder, and rolled a few meters before skidding to a stop.  Her entire right side burned with pain, and she knew she was covered in scratches from the rocky trail.

You can’t give up! Do it for...for… She drew a blank.  His name! What was his name?

Ochako tried to force herself to her feet, only for her right arm to give out, sending her back to the ground.  

“I-Iz…” She trailed off.  She couldn’t remember. Why couldn’t she remember? She swore she wouldn't forget! Why now? Why…

Tears came to her face, and she couldn’t tell if it was from pain or something else.  Her right hand fell to the ground, falling limp in front of her face. On the inside of her palm, she saw something.  Black streaks.

His name? She opened her palm slowly, reading the writing on her palm.

...

“I love you.”

...

For some reason, Ochako smiled.  She should be sad, she should by crying more.  He hadn’t written his name. Still, for some reason, it helped.  A soft smile came to her face, and the tears ran down from her eyes.

“I can’t remember your name with this…” She said softly. Miraculously, this time, when she pushed herself back up, her legs didn’t give out under her.  She continued her run.

“I have to finish this.” She ran.

With every step she took, her mind seemed to be getting cloudier and cloudier.  As she ran down the hill towards town, she filled her mind with two things. Two simple things to keep her going.  The words written on the inside of her hand, and what she had to do in order to save the town. She ran through the entire plan over and over, and every time she doubted it, she looked at the inside of her hand again.

She had no idea who had written it there, but for whatever reason, when she saw it, her heart fluttered, and she found the determination to push on. When she finally got to the town, her legs were sore and everything hurt.  Still, she pushed on.

“I think everything is in place.” Kirishima said, looking down at his watch.

“Kiri, are we really going to blow up the power plant?” Mina said nervously, scratching at the back of her head.  Kirishima frowned. It wasn’t the best idea, but it seemed like the only option.

He sighed, “I trust Uraraka,  and if she’s right about there being a villain attack tonight, then I don’t really see any other options.” Mina clicked her tongue.

“I can’t help but get a bad feeling in my chest about all of this.”

Kirishima nodded, “I feel you there.  Now, if we can find-” he trailed off, looking over Mina’s shoulder, before smiling and waving, “Uraraka, hey!”

Mina spun around to greet their friend.  As soon as saw Ochako, she rushed over, running towards their friend.

“‘Chako, are you okay?” Mina asked, looking at Ochako.  Her face was red and puffy, she was covered in small scrapes and bruises, and she was cradling her right arm.

“Y-yeah, I’m okay.  I just fell.” She brushed off Mina’s hand, but Kirishima could tell that it was something more than a little fall.  Her tone of voice was flat and lifeless. He almost said something, but quickly decided against it. There were more important things to worry about right now.

Ochako turned to Kirishima, tilting her head, “Is everything set up?”

He nodded, “I set the time for…” He looked at his watch, “well, about one minute from now.”  

As if on queue, the sound of an explosion ripped across the area, drawing the attention of everyone in the area.  Looking towards the mountain, a smoke plume could be see rising into the air.

Step one complete.  Ochako thought, Now for step two, insight panic

“It’s a villain attack! Everyone get to safety!” Ochako screamed at the top of her lungs.  To emphasize her point, she grabbed Kirishima and Mina’s hands and took off at a run.

“Everyone take shelter at the high school!” Mina added, yelling so that all around her could hear.  

“There’s a villain attack!”

“Take shelter at the high school!”

“Everyone, run!”

The three of them ran up and down the streets of Itomori, spreading the word of a villain attack.  It wasn’t long before there was a crowd following them, yelling the same types of things. Everyone was evacuating.  It was working!

“Kirishima, Mina, we need to split up here.  Go searching for someone fishy and send anyone you know towards the school.  It should be out of the danger zone.” Ochako said under her breath, nodding to her friends.  They nodded in return, splitting off.

Ochako was able to get away from the mass of people moving to safety, and started heading back towards the areas that they hadn’t covered yet.  Specifically, the area where the festival was going to be held, that way she could get anyone that was setting up for the event away from danger.

Ochako found a couple families in her trek, and they had all believed her enough to head towards the safe zone, much to her relief.  Ochako continued towards her target area.

Once she was about halfway there, she heard the familiar sound of the town’s notification system firing up.  The speakers were dispersed throughout the entire town, allowing the local government to communicate with the townsfolk.

“It has come to our attention that there has been a villain attack at the power plant up the hill.  We have called the most readily available hero agency to come diffuse the situation. For now, we would like to advise all civilians to evacuate to the high school.  Thank you for your cooperation.” The announcement ended with a click, and Ochako let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. At least everyone was going to be in a relatively safe spot.

That also meant one more thing.  The only people that she should see lurking around this side of town would be either herself, Kirishima, Mina, or the villain they were trying to catch.  Ochako ducked her head, continuing her search.

By the time Ochako made it to the festival grounds, she hadn’t found a single person.  She could see the tips of the red tents at the top of the hill, and she hurried up the stairs.

“Ochako!” She heard a whisper-shout.  Ochako spun around, immediately on guard.  When she took in what she was seeing, however, she realized it was just Mina waving to her...from behind a tree?

Ochako rushed over, and when she rounded the tree, she saw that Kirishima was also crouching near the ground, “What is it?” Ochako whispered.

“We saw someone enter that white tent and zip themselves inside.”  Kirishima explained, motioning for Ochako to step behind the tree as well.

“Do you think it’s the villain?” Mina said, voice wavering a little bit.

Ochako put her finger to her chin, humming, “It could be.  The announcement said to get to safety on the other side of the canyon, so it doesn’t make sense why anyone else would be over here.”

“Unless you’re crazy, like us.” Mina added at the end.  Ochako barely stifled a laugh.

They sat in silence for a few moments, noone daring to move yet.  “How long have they been in there?” Ochako asked eventually.

Kirishima looked down at his watch, “About seven minutes.”  Ochako frowned.

“I think we need to go in there and see what’s up.  It may not even be the villain, just a lost civilian.” Ochako said, eliciting a squeak from Mina.

“C-can’t we wait for a hero to come or something?” She asked.

“What if the villain does something bad before a hero can get here?” Ochako said.  Mina immediately froze.

Kirishima cleared his throat  , “I think Uraraka is right on this one,  If we can do something, we should. Didn’t we all want to be heroes when we were kids?” he smiled, “Maybe this is our shot at it.”

Mina gulped, before standing up a little straighter, “Let’s do this.”

Ochako smiled at her friend, “Let’s go be heroes.”

Ochako, Mina, and Kirishima tip toed up the steps, trying to not draw attention.  As they got close to the white tent, Ochako noticed that it was zipped closed.

“Mina,” Ochako whispered, “We want to get the drop on whoever is in there.  Could you just melt the side off?”

Mina silently nodded, as everyone took up positions around the tent.  Mina looked to Ochako for confirmation, who nodded to her friend. Mina took a deep breath, before throwing her hands out in front of her, thick balls of acid falling onto the side of the thin material, which in response melted away.

“Gah! What the hell?” A man’s voice said from inside the tent.  Ochako rushed over to look in the opening. There was a man wearing a large coat sitting on the ground, his hand up against a...large boulder?  There was a soft humming sound that filled the air.

He was tall, with short blonde hair that was covered up by a beanie.  He looked to be in his mid-twenties, and when he moved, he didn’t take his hand off of the rock.

“Sir, what are you doing out here?” Ochako asked, putting on a nice front.  Just looking at the man, Ochako got an odd feeling in her chest. The back of her mind was screaming at her that there was some kind of danger.

“W-what’s it to you? I’m just trying to make sure everything is in order for the festival today!” He said, as if he were convincing himself as he came up with the lie.

Ochako frowned, opening her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Kirishima, “Why don’t you come out of the tent and we can talk?”

The man just looked up at Kirishima, before slowly getting up, his right hand not moving off of the rock. Why won’t he let go of this boulder?

“Here, just let me grab…” He leaned forwards, grabbing a little blue ball off of the table next to him.  Ochako watched as the blue ball started to change color as the man held onto it. It turned from blue to a soft yellow, to orange, to red, and then to white.

“Catch!” He said, throwing the now-white ball at Kirishima.  Ochako’s gut twisted, telling her something was wrong. Ochako immediately launched into action, tackling Mina away, using her quirk on the girl and herself, allowing them to jump a significant amount of distance away from the tent.

Ochako looked over her shoulder to see Kirishima catch the object, rolling it over in his hand.  At that moment, she saw the man from inside the tent burst out of the zipper, diving for safety as well.

“Kirishima!” Ochako shouted, but she was too late.

Boom!

An explosion erupted from where Kirishima had been standing, the area getting enveloped in a fiery blast.  

“No!” Mina screamed, reaching out with one arm towards their friend.  Ochako released her quirk, trying to scramble to her feet. She got up just as the man did, and he put himself between Ochako and the smokey ball that concealed where Kirishima had been before the explosion.

“Why do you kids have to get in the way?” The man, the villain, said.

“You-!” Mina choked back.  Ochako could see the anger in her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet.  As soon as she was up, she tried to sprint at the villain.

“Mina, no!” Ochako said, grabbing her shirt, holding her back. “We don’t even know what that villain can do.”

Mina looked to Ochako, tears at the corners of her eyes, “But Kiri-! He...he…”

“Damn, I really liked that shirt, too.” A voice that was distinctly not the villain said.  A figure strode out of the cloud of smoke, his skin straight and spiky. Kirishima had activated his quirk.

The villain spun around, looking at Kirishima incredulously, “How did you-”

“No time for questions!” Kirishima said, rushing forwards, body still hardened.  He threw his arm forwards, striking the villain in the shoulder with a punch, sending him sprawling away.

“Gah!” The villain cried in pain, pushing himself to his feet.  

“Ochako, what do we do?” Mina asked, the nervousness audible in her voice.

“We fight.  Even as a villain, he doesn’t really stand a chance against three of us.” Ochako said, “Though, that doesn’t mean you can be reckless.  Play around his quirk, and use yours to your advantage.”

“What is his quirk anyways?” Kirishima asked, “It’s obviously some way to make explosions.”

“It-Watch out!” Ochako said, diving away from where another glowing ball had landed near their feet.  This one exploded in the exact same way as the previous one. An idea was forming in her head.

“It looks like he can make anything explode if he holds onto it for long enough!” Ochako shouted out her hypotheses, watching for the villain’s reaction.  When he flinched, Ochako knew her theory was confirmed.

“You got me there, not like it matters.” He said, “The bigger the object, the bigger the explosion.  Now, die!” He reached into his coat, grabbing another ball from the inside and throwing it directly at Ochako.  The way this one was going, she wouldn’t be able to get out of the way in time.

Until something intercepted it mid-air, stopping it in its tracks.  The ball melted mid-air, falling to the ground as a little pile of goop.  

“Don’t worry, ‘Chako! I’ve got you!” Mina said, giving Ochako a thumbs up and a smile.  Ochako smiled back at her friend before turning to the task at hand.

“Kirishima, pressure him up close, Mina, try to dissolve anything that he throws at us!” Ochako said, “I’ll try to incapacitate him!”

The three students sprung into action immediately,  working as a unit. Kirishima rushed forwards, trying to get in close to the villain.  The villain reached inside his jacket, and just as Kirishima got close, he threw out a series of little bead-like objects, that exploded like a package of a bunch of miniature explosions.

Kirishima was obviously okay due to his quirk, but it was enough to stop his advance and give the villain enough time to keep running away.  

“He’s gonna outrun us!” Kirishima said as soon as he recovered from the explosion.

“Don’t worry!” Mina said, running on ahead, chasing after the villain.  She seemed like she was skating on land, and she was gaining on the villain quickly. Acid skating Ochako realized.

“Take...this!” Mina said, punching the villain square in the back with a spray of an acid, some of which landing on his skin.

Ochako caught up before the villain could get up again, placing her hand on his chest, removing gravity’s hold on him.  She moved him into the air where he couldn’t run away any longer.

“Kirishima, hold him down until the authorities can get here.  It shouldn’t be too hard when he’s weightless.” Ochako said. Kirishima nodded. Grabbing the villain harshly by the arms, holding him down against the ground.  

“Make sure he can’t get his hands on anything to blow up.” Kirishima nodded again.  They all just kind of sat there in a group, catching their breath. It hadn’t been a long fight, but it had been intense.

Eventually, for some reason, the villain started laughing.  Ochako tilted her head, looking at the man as he started laughing more and more.  It was an insane sort of laughter, the kind that you’d hear from someone that had lost their minds.

“What are you laughing for?” Ochako asked eventually.

“You’re all so naive...you beat me yes, but did you really win?” The villain said.  

Did we really- Ochako stopped, freezing as she came to a realization. The man’s quirk let him blow up objects that he touched for long enough.  

He’d been touching that boulder in the tent for a long time.

“The rock! It’s gonna blow!” Ochako said, scrambling into a sprint, “Mina, come with me! Kirishima, knock him out!”

Ochako didn’t look back to see if they followed directions.  Ochako lightened her clothes so that she could run even faster than she normally could. It wasn’t much, but it was going to have to be enough.

Ochako made it back to the tent and scrambled through the hole that Mina had melted in the side.  Inside, the rock was humming with a low buzzing sound, and she could feel a soft heat emanating from it.  

More importantly, it was glowing a bright white.

“Ochako!” Mina said, skidding to a stop right next to her.  She looked at the scene, and her face dropped.

“It’s gonna blow any second now.  We need to get out of here.” Mina said, grabbing Ochako’s arm.  Ochako pulled her arm back, shaking her head.

“If this thing blows up, everyone at the school might die.  We don’t know how far the explosion could go.” Ochako said, “We need to get rid of it.”

“How the hell do we get rid of a giant ass boulder?” Kirishima said, having made it back, presumably after knocking the villain out.

Ochako, looked at it, trying to think as hard as possible.  

“Ochako, your quirk!” Mina finally said, “Can you launch it into the sky?”

Ochako mentally berated herself for not thinking of that sooner.  Ochako looked over the boulder, trying to gauge its weight. It looked heavy enough to be at least a couple tons.  If she reached her limit before it blew…

I just will have to push past my limit...plus ultra Ochako thought with a mental laugh, that sounds oddly familiar.  Where do I know that catchphrase?

“Ochako?” Kirishima snapped, bringing Ochako back to reality.

“Sorry, I was thinking.  I think I can to it. I could use your guys’ help to try to throw it as far away as possible.  I don’t know how long I can go with holding that thing weightless before I reach my limit.” Ochako said, reaching over towards the rock.  

Mina melted the rest of the tent, giving a clear shot towards the sky.  Ochako, Mina, and Kirishima gathered around it, ready to go.

“Okay, three, two, one, go!” Ochako said, activating her quirk on the rock.  The three of them heaved on the rock, trying to throw it into the air with as much force as possible.  

“Let’s hope it goes far enough.” Ochako said.  She could already feel the weight taking its toll.  It was as if a rock had been put inside her stomach.  

“All we can do it hope.” Kirishima said, grabbing ahold of Mina’s hand.  Ochako eyed it, but decided to not make a comment on it. She just crossed her fingers, staring up at the object as if floated further and further away.  

After a minute or so, Ochako could feel the weight taking a toll on her stomach.  She was feeling nauseous, and it wouldn’t be long before her stomach would give out.  Looking up, Ochako could only barely make out the white spek against the black background of the night sky.

Then, there was light.

The explosion sent a shockwave through the area so powerful, even from where Ochako was standing, she felt the ground rattle.  The explosion was so big, looking up at it, Ochako could feel the heat on her face.

“We did it! Oh my God, we did it!” Mina said, jumping up and down.  

“Kiri, we did it!” Mina said again, jumping towards the boy, sticking a kiss on his lips.

“Wha-Mina!” Kirishima said, his face going red as he gave an apologetic smile to Ochako, “This isn’t how we meant to tell you, I swear.”

Ochako just laughed, but for some reason it felt empty, “That’s fine.  All that matters is that we did it. We saved everyone. We were real heroes today.”

By all means, she should be ecstatic.  She’d saved the day from a villain that could have wiped them all out.  Yet, for some reason, she still had that lingering sadness on her mind, the same sadness that had been there inexplicably since she’d gotten back from her trip to the crater. Not to mention all the gaps in her mind.  How had she known about the villain attack? How had she known a plan that would make it work?

Ochako found herself looking at the marking on the inside of her right hand again.  

I love you It still read.  Ochako felt tears poking at the corners of her eyes.  She had no idea who wrote it. It could have been some total stranger pulling a prank on her, for all she knew.  Even so, her heart screamed one thing. A single sentence she wanted, with all of her heart to say back to that person.

I love you too.

Chapter Text

Your Name…?

The residents of Itomori survived that day, everyone coming away without injury.  The massive explosion in the sky had been written off as All Might stopping a villain attack.  He had been called to the scene to look into what had seemed to be an explosion at the local power plant.  Uraraka knew she and her friends wouldn’t have ever been given credit for stopping the villain anyways. It wasn’t good for public relations.

Ever since that day, she’d felt oddly...empty.  Almost as if she were missing something that her heart knew should be there.  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but ever since then her life had been dull, even more so than usual.  Itomori hadn’t been destroyed in the villain attack, but after Ochako graduated high school, she moved out of the small town.  

She moved to Tokyo, the big city that she’d always dreamed of going back to, ever since she was a little girl.  She got a job with a construction company, using her quirk to ease the hard lifting that the workers had to do.  She got paid good money, and it was certainly a respectable job. It allowed her to support herself and her father, who had chosen to stay behind in Itomori.

Despite all of that, she still felt like something was missing.  She wasn’t unhappy with her life, but she felt like there was something holding her back from actually being happy.

It was like she was searching for something.  Maybe it was a tangible object, maybe it was something else, but she couldn’t help but feel like it was eluding her grasp.  It was difficult to search for something when you didn’t actually know what it is you’re searching for.

With a sigh, Ochako put her light jacket on and stepped out of the door.

Izuku had everything he’d ever wanted since he was a kid.  An amazing quirk, All Might’s quirk to boot.  He was already working as a sidekick with a top agency in central Tokyo, saving people from villains and working towards becoming the next symbol of peace.

Ever since he was a kid, that had been all he’d wanted.  To be a hero, plain and simple. Yet, now that he had that, why did he feel so empty?  Life felt dull in so many ways, like all the color had been replaced with greyscale.

He still put on a smile for those he was saving, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was faking it, that his smile was just there for show, ingenuine.  How could he be a hero, truly and down to his core, if he was putting up a front?

It was like a part of him was missing, his other half.  He couldn’t put a finger on when he started feeling this way, but if he had to guess, he’d probably have to say that day with the comet flying through the sky six years ago.  

It was the same day that there had been a villain attack stopped by All Might in a small backcountry town called Itomori.  For some reason, he’d been completely engrossed in those events back then, and he still didn’t know why. By all means, it should have just been another accomplishment to add to All Might’s book, but for some reason, Izuku felt especially invested in that story in specific.

It had gotten to the point where he’d read nearly every single news article about the incident, and he’d even dragged himself out to the town one day to visit.  It made no sense, but every single time he looked back on that, he felt like there was something missing .

With a sigh, Izuku got ready to head to work.  It was a hassle to get on his hero suit, but all of the extra support it provided was invaluable.  As he was about to leave, he remembered he almost forgot one last important thing.

His lucky bracelet.  A small, braided rope that faded from red to orange to yellow, ending with white in the middle. He couldn’t remember for the life of him where he’d gotten it, but he felt a sort of attachment to the object.  He hadn’t left the house without it for years.

Clipping it to his arm, Izuku left his apartment.

Ochako got off of work for her lunch break feeling tired.  Today had been an especially busy day so far, which meant a lot of using her quirk, which meant she needed something to help soothe her stomach.  She still had to work more after her break, afterall.

She decided on the ramen shop that wasn’t too far away.  It was cheap, and good enough that she didn’t feel like she was drinking broth flavored water with some noodles in it.  It also wasn’t very far away from the current construction site, so she didn’t need to waste any money getting on a train to go somewhere for lunch.

She walked into the shop and ordered her food, sitting down alone at one of the booths.  One of the problems with working in a construction company was that, well, she didn’t exactly have very many friends.  She’d kept in touch with Mina and Kirishima, sure, but they’d moved to a completely different part of Japan. Her coworkers were almost exclusively men, and many of them didn’t seem to want to get social on the job. They tended to respond to her questions with simple grunts (She swore it was some kind of language that she couldn’t understand).

A few of the more sociable ones had asked her on dates.  Even though she had no excuse not to, she always declined. For some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was doing something wrong, that her heart already belonged somewhere else, even if she’d literally never gone on a date in her life.

With a sigh, Ochako turned back to her bowl, not wanting the noodles to get cold before she could eat them. The bell that signaled someone coming into the shop rand, and Ochako looked up from her bowl for a moment.

It was a man wearing black pants with a black hoodie, the hood up over his head, concealing his face, hiis mouth covered up by a balaclava.  Ochako started to stand up, a bad feeling rising up in her gut.

Just as she was about to stand all the way up, the man moved, reaching inside his sweatshirt pocket.  He pulled out a simple handgun with one arm, grabbing the woman in line in front of him with the other.

“Nobody move!” He yelled, holding the gun to the woman’s head, “Don’t move or I’ll shoot!”

Ochako stopped in her tracks, freezing on the spot.  The man looked frantic, a crazed look in his eyes. People that looked like that were the types that had nothing left to lose. Those types of people were the most dangerous.

“Everyone get on the ground!” The man said, pushing his way to the front of the line.  Everyone in line dropped to the floor on his command, moving out of the way. The cashier frantically started getting all of the money out of the register, handing it to the man in a panicked manner.

Ochako ran through the situation in her mind, trying to figure out something to do. If she tried to make a move on him, he might hear her and panic, which could lead to the hostage getting hurt.  

But if she could get ahold of authorities…yes that would work.

Ochako reached behind her, trying to grab her phone out of her pocket as quietly as possible.  She shifted, pulling the smartphone out. Except, just as she removed it from her pocket, it went clattering to the floor.  The entire room’s eyes shot to her.

The criminal, the villain, turned to her, that same crazed look in his eyes as before.  He looked at her, and then to her phone on the ground, then back to her.

“Were you going to call the cops?” He asked, now pointing the gun at her.  Ochako vigorously shook her head, not able to formulate words.

“You were weren’t you?” He shook his gun at her, and Ochako tried to scramble away, but she didn’t really have anywhere to go.  The booth was behind her, blocking her path.

“N-no!” She said desperately, but she saw it was to no avail.

“Well, it’ll be the last-”

It all happened in the blink of an eye.  One moment, the villain was pointing a gun at her, the next, he was on the ground with a shower of green sparks.

“It’s alright now.” A man’s voice said.  Ochako looked up at the figure. The man who’d come in and taken out the villain with a single hit, saving not only her, but everyone in the entire restaurant. “Because I am here.”

He was looking away from her, but Ochako felt her heart jump  immediately. Green hair, green eyes, a wide smile. Something inside her heart clicked.

All this time, she hadn’t been looking for something, no, she’d been looking for someone .  Just looking at this man, the weight that had been sitting on her chest for years seemed to be lifted.  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it just felt so familiar .

Izuku gave the report to the police that showed up on site. The people of the cafe had all came up to him to give him their thanks, all of which Izuku reciprocated with a big smile and nod. At the beginning of his career, he’d tried to remember every single person’s face, but by now, they all blended together.

By the time the police karted away the villain, Izuku was already off of his shift.  Stopping a villain attack tended to end that way, eating up an entire shift’s worth of time. Izuku thanked the officer one last time before the car drove away.

“Excuse me?” a woman’s voice said from behind Izuku.  Izuku turned around, and was met with something he was not expecting.

A woman, with a short, simple hair, wearing what looked to be normal civilian clothes.  By all means, she should be just another civilian.

But when Izuku looked at her, his heart jumped through a million hoops.  As soon as he saw her, he knew. This is who he’d been looking for. Izuku instinctively tugged at the bracelet around his wrist.

They stood in silence for a moment, looking at each other   It all felt so...so familiar

“H-have we met before?” Izuku finally asked, barely finding his voice. The girl smiled, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

“I thought so, too.” She said, wiping at the corner of her eye.  Izuku felt a wet tear roll down his face as well. Izuku took a few steps forwards.

“What’s…” She started.

“Your name…?” They said together.  Izuku smiled, and she smiled back, letting out a little laugh.

“Izuku.”

“Ochako.”

Everything came back.  Ochako, it was Ochako! The body swapping, going to Itomori, the villain attack, the time they shared at the top of the canyon, all of it.

“Izuku?” Ochako said, she was crying now.  He was, too.

“Ochako! It’s you, Ochako!” Izuku rushed forwards, and she did the same. They threw their arms around each other, pulling one another into the tightest hug they could possibly manage.  After years and years, they’d finally done it. They’d found each other.

“You saved everyone.” Izuku said, pulling back from the hug just enough to look her in the eyes.  Both of their faces were stained with tears of joy.

She punched him lightly on the chest, “And you didn’t actually write your name!”

Izuku smirked, nodding, “You’re right, I wrote something more important.”

They just stood there for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes, losing themselves in the other’s gaze.  Nothing else mattered except for them.

“You know, I never got a chance to tell you.” Ochako said.  Izuku tilted his head, prompting her to finish. “I love you, too”

With that, she lunged forwards, capturing Izuku’s lips in a deep kiss.  Izuku melted into it, not wanting to back away. Nothing else in the world mattered, nothing except for each other.

The newspapers the next day were filled with headlines about how the professional hero Deku had a girlfriend.

That’s it for this chapter, everyone.  Don’t think I’m done with this beautiful world, though.  I have a few one shots at least that are planned for this universe, so be on the lookout.  But nevertheless, this entire fic has been a journey and a half, and I want to thank everyone for sticking through with it until the end.  It really means the world to me. Until next time, everyone.