Chapter Text
"Don't look at me like that, Ochako," Izuku sighed, sticking his hands into the pockets of his slacks. It still amazed Ochako how drastically he had changed from his time at the U.A. He was the number one hero, Deku, now—just a shell of that nervous, dorky kid he used to be. He stood tall and his previously vibrant green eyes had dulled, a sign of a weathered veteran despite only being in the industry for a couple of years. His muscular body made the material of his suit stretch, unlike how his uniform used to hang off his stick-like body.
Not everything was different though. He still wore his signature red shoes (that have spawned several successful shoe deals with various brands). If Ochako glared at him hard enough, a bit of his old self would peek through his confident facade and he would start to get flustered. Most importantly, Izuku was still kind. Like his predecessor, he saved people with a genuine smile. Even if his eyes have lost some of their light, he was a warm hero that was loved by the public.
That being said, Ochako wanted nothing more than to punch him right in the throat at the current moment. "Don't order me around, Deku. I'll look at you however I want. Especially after what you just said to me."
Despite the fact that everyone knew him as Deku now, Ochako continued to call him that. To her, that nickname meant something personal. After all, she was the first to use it with a positive connotation. Izuku stiffened at the sharp tone of her voice. She fought back a smile; he was so different yet not at all.
"Just this once. You know I need to go see All Might—"
"I became a free agent specifically so I didn't have to go to these dumb conferences!" She angrily placed her hands on her hips. "All Might can wait one extra day to see you."
Izuku sighed again, running a hand through his wild hair. That was another thing that hadn't changed. "He has to go to a meeting of his own the next day. Please, Ochako, you know I wouldn't ask if I didn't have to. Besides, you'll get to see some of our old classmates."
She narrowed her eyes. "Maybe, but someone else is going to be there also."
"Kirishima goes in his place. Kacchan has never been the type to sit quietly in a conference."
Hearing her ex-boyfriend's name made Ochako wince. Even though it had been years, Bakugou Katsuki was still a wound in her heart that had yet to heal. They had dated during her senior year at the U.A. and briefly after they graduated but (messily) broke up once they both began to rise to prominence as pros and the media started getting involved in their relationship.
If you asked her whether or not she was still in love with him, Ochako would say no. (But she's become a rather skilled liar, especially to herself)
Deku (and maybe Katsuki) was the only one who could see through her. He placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "He won't be there, Ochako. I swear it."
Now, it was her turn to sigh. "You owe me."
Katsuki wasn't going to be there, yet Ochako still put on her prettiest dress and tallest heels. She curled her hair with an old curling iron that she used once in high school (and burnt herself several times in the process) while clumsily sweeping some glittery eyeshadow onto her lids. She applied some sticky strawberry lip gloss (that Katsuki used to lick off her lips like candy) before doing a twirl in front of the mirror.
"It's my first time seeing everyone in a while," she said aloud to herself, "of course I want to look nice. Yeah, that's right."
As she examined herself some more, she heard her phone go off. It was a text from Deku.
m. deku [4:32pm]: i asked shoto and yaoyorozu to pick you up, they should be here any minute
As if on cue, three staccato raps on her door alerted Ochako of their arrival. Grabbing her purse and nearly twisting her ankle on her way down the stairs, Ochako rushed to open the door for them. Todoroki Shoto and Yaoyorozu Momo greeted her with jovial smiles (well, more of a slight upward turn of the lips in Todoroki's case). Yaoyorozu had her arm looped through Todoroki's, and her cheek rested on his shoulder. They were such a picturesque couple, and it made Ochako green with envy. Not to mention Yaoyorozu was the most gorgeous girl on Earth.
"Good evening, Uraraka-san," Yaoyorozu greeted. "It's been too long. You look lovely."
"You look lovelier," Ochako laughed. "Hi, Todoroki-kun."
Todoroki nodded. "Hello, Uraraka."
Yaoyorozu clapped her hands together. "This is so exciting! Everyone is going to be so happy to see you!"
"Yeah?" Ochako asked as they walked toward the Mercedes parked outside.
"Of course! It's a shame you haven't joined an agency yet. We never get to see you at the annual Agency Conferences," Yaoyorozu said. "Shoto and I would love to have you if you would consider us, Uraraka-san."
Ochako smiled as she buckled her seatbelt. "Thanks, Yaoyorozu, but I'm a free agent on purpose. Conferences and meetings and paperwork aren't really my thing."
"Like Bakugou," Todoroki said without blinking. That earned him a swift elbow to the ribs from Yaoyorozu, but he didn't even flinch. Ochako stiffened but managed an awkward chuckle.
"You haven't changed much, Todoroki-kun."
"I'm so sorry, Uraraka-san." Yaoyorozu looked like she wanted to dig a hole and hide in it. "I keep telling him to read the atmosphere a bit more but—"
"It's all right," Ochako interrupted. "What he said was true."
"But still..."
"We dated when we were teenagers. I'm over it now." She shrugged, fiddling with the hem of her dress.
"Is that why you don't come to the Agency Conferences, or the class reunions, or even bother to stay in contact with us, except occasionally Midoriya, because you're scared to see him?" Todoroki asked, frowning.
"Shoto," Yaoyorozu hissed. "that's enough."
Ochako clenched her fists.This is why she insisted on not attending the conference. Just seeing Yaoyorozu and Todoroki's faces brought back so many memories. Memories she tried so hard to bury. Memories of Katsuki.
"I wanted everything to be normal again," Ochako said, plastering on a smile. "but everyone was trying so hard for my sake. Trying to pretend like nothing happened. We were all walking on eggshells, and it was exhausting. Katsuki and I couldn't be in the same vicinity or else the energy would shift. One of us had to go, so I did."
"Oh, Uraraka-san...why didn't you just tell us?" Yaoyorozu asked sadly.
"Because I didn't want to. I was tired of everything. I just wanted to get away. Somewhere that wouldn't link me to Katsuki or vice versa." To her utter surprise, Ochako didn't even feel like crying anymore.
"You're a coward," Todoroki said, icy blue eyes darkening.
Ochako laughed, harsh and bitter.
"I guess I am."
The rest of the car ride went about as awkwardly as expected. Yaoyorozu and Ochako chatted about nothing while Todoroki ignored Ochako completely, much to his girlfriend's chagrin. Fortunately, it was a short drive. Ochako breathed out a sigh of relief and quickly stepped out of the car, letting the evening breeze rustle her meticulously curled hair.
"Holy shit! Is that Uraraka?" The all-too-familiar voice of Kaminari Denki shouted, pointing a finger at her.
"Shut up! Is it really?" Ashido Mina gasped, locking eyes with Ochako. "It is!"
Asui Tsuyu calmly climbed down the stairs of the building and threw her arms around Ochako. "It's been so long, Ochako-chan. It's nice to see you again."
"You too, Tsu-chan," Ochako smiled (genuinely, this time). It wasn't long before she was swarmed by her former classmates. Iida still did that weird arm waving thing, Mineta was still a pervert, Kaminari and Jirou were a thing now, so were Ojirou and Hagakure, Aoyama still didn't make sense when he spoke, Tokoyami definitely had a thing for Tsuyu (but did she know?), and so much more that Ochako missed out on.
"Shit." Kirishima's voice cut through the plethora of voices like a knife. Ochako looked up and noticed how panicked the redhead was. He looked back as if—
Oh.
Almost instantly, all talking ceased when Katsuki stepped out from behind Kirishima. Bakugou Katsuki had not changed a single bit. His blonde hair was sticking out in all directions, his red eyes were cold and harsh, and he was scowling. He was wearing a dapper black suit with sneakers and no tie (he claimed it strangled him). His hands were in his pockets and if he was surprised to see Ochako was here, he didn't show it.
"K-K-Kirishima-kun and B-Bakugou-kun, you're here," Iida spoke first.
"Wh-What a surprise," Kaminari chimed in. "H-How'd you get Bakugou to come, Kirishima?"
"Well, I—" Kirishima paused, eyes still glued on Ochako. "—just dragged him here with me."
Katsuki was looking at her too, but she couldn't read his expression. It was its usual glower like always. She let out a small huff, racking her brain for something to say that would put everyone at ease.
"Hey, Round Face."
Ochako froze instantly. That name brought back a whirlwind of feelings all at once, and she was suddenly feeling sick.
"How many fucking times do I have to tell you to stop using that stupid curling iron if you're gonna burn yourself?" He simply said before turning on his heel and walking towards the building. "Come on, you dumbasses. Stop staring so hard and pick up your fucking jaws from the ground."
Ochako's hand slowly drifted up to the shell of her ear and gently brushed the pad of her index finger against the tender area from when she burned herself an hour ago. How on Earth had he noticed it?
"Let us go find our seats, Uraraka-san," Yaoyorozu said, gently taking Ochako by the elbow. She simply nodded, only focusing on Katsuki's back as she watched his figure retreat into the building.
Ochako should have never come. This was a mistake and a big one at that. As she sat in her seat with a name tag that read Midoriya Izuku instead of her own name, Ochako thought about all of her escape options. Just as she was going to go with pretending to be sick, the conference began and it was now too late.
I am going to murder Deku.
She listened half-heartedly as other pros droned on about their agencies and heroes, instead opting to begin scratching off her nail polish. Her feet were throbbing due to their unfamiliarity with stilettos. She unconsciously let out a loud sigh. How did Deku do this all the time? Yaoyorozu looked over with concern, but Ochako pretended she didn't see it.
What felt like three hours (but was only about twenty minutes) passed by and Ochako was now reduced to staring at her glass of water. There was no possible way someone could be this bored. She noticed how absolutely miserable she looked in the reflection of the glass. There was also glitter all under her eyes from the fallout of her eyeshadow. As she focused on rubbing off the glitter with her thumb, she almost didn't notice when the glass began to tremor. Frowning, Ochako wrapped her fingers around the glass and felt the surprisingly strong vibrations.
She looked around, assessing if anything was awry. She accidentally caught Katsuki's eye, but it seemed he noticed something seemed off too. Nevertheless, she quickly looked away and fixed her gaze on the glass again. It was now shaking so hard that it was slowly moving.
"What on Earth..." she mumbled underneath her breath. Yaoyorozou looked over again.
"What's wrong, Ura—"
It all happened at once. There was a loud explosion, Ochako was thrown onto her back and she felt her head hit the ground hard, people were yelling, her eyes were so heavy, Katsuki was in front of her suddenly, his lips were moving but she couldn't hear him and then—
nothing.