Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

‘This wasn’t supposed to happen,’ Ochako thought to herself.

So much had changed since they first met on the day of the entrance exam; they had changed as people. But, in many ways,  the more things changed, the more they managed to stay the same. Izuku was still her best friend. Now he was just something more, too, which still made her stomach do flips like she had her Quirk activated. Things were anything but easy; but they had each other, and that made all the difference. Sometimes she wanted to smack her younger self for thinking she couldn’t have it all, that pulling away was better for both of them. But she was happy now, so perhaps it had to be this way. 

‘This wasn’t supposed to happen.’

She and Izuku had been looking forward to this dinner so much. Being third-years, finding time to be together had only gotten more difficult amongst their studies, spending time with friends, internships, and dealing with the League. They’d both had to reschedule a few times already. But today, finally, it was just going to be the two of them: no friends begging to come along with their significant others out of nerves, no Iida tagging along somehow (Although, anytime the three of them got to hang out like the old days could never be bad), just the two of them. A nice, quiet dinner far, far away from anything UA-related, and, according to Izuku, in a part of the city that didn’t see much villain activity. She should’ve known that was too good to be true.

‘This wasn’t supposed to happen.’

Three villains came bursting in through the wall, one of them looking like he was responsible for its destruction with his massive studded gloves on his arms. The sudden destruction caught the two of them by surprise, but they were UA students; they could handle a couple of villains looking to make a quick buck. The big one seemed familiar somehow, but there wasn’t time to figure that out. 

Izuku and she had talked about this a lot. If their relationship was going to work while they worked together in the field, they couldn’t let emotions compromise their decisions when the other was in danger. Ochako knew she didn’t just jump in like that because it was Izuku. She saw her partner in danger. She thought of a plan to get him out of it and get both of them in a better position for the rest of the fight. Ochako would never let another Hero slip through her fingers again. But if she jumped a little harder because it was him, well, no one had to know that.

‘This wasn’t supposed to happen.’

Ochako thought they were both free and clear. Turns out, she wasn’t. But at least Deku was. The last thing she remembers was the pain. Excruciating pain. She was vaguely aware of Deku shouting something; maybe it was her name.

This should’ve been one of those days she’d always look back at with happiness. This wasn’t supposed to happen, but Deku was safe. Ochako wouldn’t have it any other way.

The once quaint restaurant that had been their destination for the evening was now in utter shambles; from the tattered curtains on the single remaining window, to the cutlery and personal belongings were strewn about, to the tables broken in half, and the faint smell of burnt bread that must be the charred remains of their dinner, the place was a mess. It was a bit harder to see all of the chaos now that the Sun was beginning to set.

Izuku hadn’t even gotten to the giant hole in the wall, or to the… to the blood. The large pool of blood on the floor. 

Ochako’s blood.

There was just so much of it. Izuku clenched a piece of fabric from her pretty outfit that he’d stammered through a compliment about not even an hour ago; the sight of her bloodied body was still too fresh in his mind. Her once glossy, auburn hair, was now matted with her blood, stuck to her sickly yellow face.

Izuku sat alone on the ground of the destroyed restaurant next to the tied-up, unconscious villains awaiting the arrival of the Police and thought about how he had scrambled to get a hold of the first-aid kit from the ruins of the restaurant’s employee area and did the best he could to stop the bleeding. But no amount of bandages or first-aid could get rid of the sickeningly dark-red bruise that had formed on her chest. No amount of desperate pleading would rouse her into consciousness.

Because Izuku was desperate—  desperate to save his best friend, desperate to hear her laugh, to see her eyes light up one more time.

To tell her how much he loved her one more time.  

A weight settled into the pit of his stomach and made it hard to breathe because Izuku knew that it would be a miracle if she hung on long enough for the ambulance to get here.

Because Izuku knew that this was all his fault.

The minutes that passed between Ochako losing consciousness and hearing the sirens zoom towards him were the longest in his life, fraught with self-doubt and hate that he pushed to the side to try and do what he could for Ochako. Izuku went through every bit of first-aid training and advice he’d ever received, mumbling through a checklist of signs to look out for and noting all the injuries he could see to try and make the medics’ job easier if— no when — they got here in time.

 After what felt like an eternity had passed, and the miracle came through. The medics finally arrived; Ochako was unconscious, but still hanging on-- still fighting. A tiny part of that weight fell away, replaced with an ounce of relief. They’d get her to a good doctor with a healing Quirk— maybe even Recovery Girl. He made sure to pass on everything he’d noted about her condition, how long she’d been unconscious, and anything else he could remember.

He moved to get in and sit next to her after they’d loaded Ochako into the Ambulance, but one of the paramedics held out an arm in front of him, stopping him from getting inside. 

According to them, the police were on their way, so he had to wait for them to arrive to make his report. He couldn’t go with her to the hospital. 

He never thought he’d want to punch a paramedic for being right.

They hardly spared Izuku a glance, as he didn’t have any injuries nearly as critical as Ochako, and they took off in a hurry blazing sirens and all, leaving him all alone on the sidewalk with nothing but a destroyed restaurant and his thoughts. His mind was split between replaying the events leading up to this mess over and over again and hoping-- praying-- that she would be okay. The civilians had run off safely during the fight thanks to him and Ochako quickly taking command and ensuring they could escape; he doubted anyone of them would be coming back tonight, so he had no one to talk to or to get information from.

So he sat back down on the sidewalk, the sun slowly fading out of sight. Izuku patted his pockets for his phone and immediately felt the shattered glass from the screen. It seemed to have broken during the fight, a common occurrence for him at this point which only added to his frustration. He had no way of contacting his friends, or All Might, or even her parents. There was no way for anyone to get in touch with him, either. All he could do was wait. And wallow.

‘Why. Why why why,’ He kept repeating to himself,  ‘ Why did it have to be her? ’ It still didn’t feel real . This was just a normal day. A day they’d both spent ages waiting for— a day where they could just be a normal couple for once. It hadn’t been easy, trying to juggle a relationship on top of chasing their dreams. But they’d been through so much together. It became clear how they felt about each other. It felt like it was worth the risk. They weren’t all that confident early on— especially him— but they were happy, and that made it all worth it. Izuku knew he could always count on her, and that hadn’t changed. Being together allowed them to build on their strengths and shore up their weaknesses. They were always stronger together. They were still the best of friends and he was so grateful they didn’t lose that.

 Yet, today, he might lose it all. Because he was careless.

Was he truly still this useless? Izuku thought he’d improved, that he was well on his way to fully mastering One for All and all that it encompassed.

On that day almost three years ago, Izuku had made himself a promise when he grabbed hold of Eri’s hand that he would always win,  that he would always save everyone, and always be strong enough so that no one would have to worry about him. 

Today, he had failed to keep the latter two parts of his promise. And Ochako had paid the price for that failure. Izuku just prayed it wasn’t with her life.

The now clear night sky did nothing to clear the turmoil inside him. It was taking the police a lot longer than he’d like to show up, and it was doing nothing for his state of mind. Izuku scowled, wishing he could just use Full-Cowling and race over to the Hospital to her, but he couldn’t. As much as it pained him to stay, he still had responsibilities.

Izuku only hoped said responsibility wouldn’t keep him from seeing her for much longer.

If he wasn’t so lost inside his head, Izuku might’ve heard the sound of more sirens coming towards him; it didn’t look so good for a third-year UA student to be clutching his head in despair at the site of a villain attack, but he was past caring. He just wanted this to be over with so he could go see her. Tears crept towards his eyes, but Izuku couldn’t be feeling sorry for himself while Ochako fought for her life in the back of an ambulance, so he did as he had done several times since she had passed out— Izuku shoved his tears behind a dam and tried to think of what else he could do just sitting here.

“It’s been that kind of day, huh Midoriya?” A familiar voice called out to him, managing to bring him out of his head. Izuku looked up to see the trenchcoat clad silhouette of All Might’s old friend-- Naomasa Tsukauchi.

Standing up to greet him, Izuku was surprised to see him here. “Detective Tsukauchi! What are you doing here?”

“I was nearby when I heard the call over the radio. The names ‘Deku’ and ‘Uravity’ caught my ear, so I figured I’d come down.” Tsukauchi gestured at the pile of unconscious villains Izuku had dragged outside. “This is them?”

Izuku’s scowl came back in full force. “Yeah. This is them. I already know who the big guy is: Tendo Rappa, Villain Name: Jackhammer.”

“You’ve run into him before?” Tsukauchi asked, surprised at Izuku’s familiarity.

“I- we had a run-in with his brother a while back. This is the older brother of Kendo Rappa of the Shie Hassakai.”

The loudmouth had introduced himself upon his rather explosive entrance, making it easy for Uravity and Deku to piece together what his Quirk was likely to be thanks to the information they’d studied before the Hassakai Raid.

“That’s right; you both were part of the raid team that day. You actually remember the details about a villain’s family member from a mission years ago?”, Tsukauchi asked in amazement.

Izuku shrugged. “I remember everything about people’s Quirks. Writing it down helps.”

Like his brother, his Quirk allows him to rotate his shoulders at extreme speeds, allowing him to attack his targets with a near-endless barrage of bullet punches. Unlike his brother, he seemed to somehow amass strength with every punch, seemingly able to deal more and more damage with every subsequent hit.

Ochako could attest to that personally now.

“Listen, sir. Can we please do this later? I need to get to the hospital. I need to see her.” 

“Of course, I’d want to do the same, but,” Tsukauchi pursed his lips as if thinking something unpleasant over, “protocol dictates that we take the Heroes involved in an incident with Villains to a Police Station as soon as possible; gotta make sure everything gets squared away soon while it’s still fresh in your mind.” Izuku visibly deflated.

“But, sir!- “ Tsukauchi raised a finger, stopping Izuku’s objection.

“ However, a Hospital is pretty official-like, too, you know, A good substitute for a Police Station I’d say.  And, from what I remember, you’re pretty good at giving us the minute details. So, how about I drive you to the hospital myself, and you can give me the run-down on the way? My officers can take these criminals into custody.”

More relief flooded his barley stitched together heart. “Thank you,” he choked out, his eyes thankful.

 Tsukauchi merely smiled. “Think nothing of it; now come on, we’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us. Traffic is a killer this time of night. At least we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Izuku and Ochako had worked together enough times that they didn’t need to spend forever trying to figure out what the other was thinking. A single glance was all it took for them to formulate their initial plan of action. The priority had to be ensuring that the civilians got out safely— and with their rather explosive entrance, these villains had no qualms about getting into a fight. Some people were already injured after being struck with debris from the wall, so as Deku moved forward to prevent the villains from hurting anyone else, Uravity moved to get the injured out of harm’s way and try to get the rest of the civilians out of the restaurant. While Izuku was frustrated with the interruption, he wasn’t about to let that get in the way of protecting people, and he knew Uravity felt the same. This was something they’ve dealt with plenty in the past. Izuku was confident in their abilities; they could do this. 

It seemed that the big guy was the ringleader— and the only one with a Quirk they’d need to worry about. A sickening grin was plastered on his face, as if he relished the havoc he was causing. Who is this guy? He raised one of his studded, gloved hands, preparing to strike at an already-battered child whose head was bleeding from being struck by something. Any thoughts of trying to talk them down went out the window as Izuku felt his blood boil at the sight of this monster trying to cause even more harm to a child.

Izuku felt the familiar feeling of One for All surge through his body, and he made sure to target him first,  sending him flying out of the restaurant through the very hole they’d entered from and into a lamppost seemingly knocking him out. This may not have taken him out of the equation, but it gave them some breathing room and time to make sure everyone got out okay. Izuku carefully picked up the little boy who was hurt and dashed to safety with his Quirk before the two remaining goons could grab him.  

He could see that Uravity had already rallied the remaining guests and was pointing them towards the exit, making sure they didn’t trample each other. She’d even enlisted someone who appeared to be the manager to assist with getting the rest of the civilians out of there. After the civilians were safe, she made her way back towards Izuku so they could make short of the remaining villains together.

It had all happened in a manner of seconds.

Izuku had his back turned to the hole Tendo had made; he hadn’t woken up yet, so it was unlikely that he would soon. So instead, he turned his attention on one of the goons he’d brought with him. From a quick inspection, he seemed to have some sort of hardening Quirk, similar to Kirishima. It was unclear how strong he was compared to his friend; if his attacks were too weak, he wouldn’t have much of an effect on him, but if he used too much strength, he risked injuring him severely.

Rushing forward, he attacked with roughly 20% of One-for-All powering his body and landed a series of light jabs on him in quick succession. While it caused him to stumble back a couple feet from the force of Izuku’s attacks, he didn’t seem too phased.

A little ways behind his opponent in the corner, he could see Ochako making quick work of her own foe, taking him out with a quick throw to the ground and knocking his head against the floor. It was clear her Gunhead Martial Arts skills were as sharp as ever. 

Grinning at her success, he turned his focus back on his own foe, who was now charging him, his hands hardened to a point and poised as if to stab him. Dodging his swipes once, twice, and for a third time, he waited for a clear opportunity to end the fight with just one more blow, this time intending on using far more of One-for-All.

Izuku still was facing away from the hole in the wall, focusing entirely on what was in front of him. But he shouldn’t have turned his back on an opponent, seemingly unconscious or not.

He heard her call out, “Deku!” but he didn’t have time to react— he was still fighting this henchman. The next thing he noticed was the wires from Uravity’s grappling hook plant into the wall far in front of him before she crashed into him and activated her Quirk on him, sending them both flying towards the wall.

Thanks to Uravity’s quick thinking, he was out of reach from Tendo’s surprise attack. Izuku was already berating himself for turning his back on an unconscious but not yet bound opponent — but he needed to focus on the task at hand. She’d aimed him brilliantly— right at the nearby wall, so all Izuku had to do was angle himself properly and wait to get back into the fight. Izuku was certain he knew her plan; Uravity would release him from the effects of her Quirk right as he made contact, allowing him to push off the wall and go on the offensive to take Jackhammer down with his partner’s aid.

At least, that’s what he had expected to happen.

As Izuku twisted in midair with a well-timed One for All powered finger-flick at 40%, he reoriented himself to the room and expected for his feet to find purchase on the wall. Instead, he started to fall to the ground. 

It was as if everything had slowed down, and that moment stretched out for a lifetime, so as Izuku looked back at where he was launched from, he saw Uravity in the spot he was in seconds ago.

With Jackhammer right in front of her.

Pummeling away at her with a flurry of blows.

Izuku landed with a thump and skidded towards the wall he was supposed to kick off of. The sounds of the battle had faded into the background as he lay there for a moment, dazed. His vision was blurry from the impact and he raised his head, blinking rapidly trying to refocus his vision. The cry of pain he heard from Ochako sobered him up, bringing him back to himself as he scrambled to get back on his feet— but it was too late.

She was already down on the ground. Gasping for air.

Izuku always did his best to keep a level head in the field— letting his emotions get the better of him would benefit no one. But right then, all he could feel was fear. And rage. “You’ll pay for that!” is all he said before summoning every iota of One for All his body could manage and leaping towards the villain who hurt his best friend.

It was a short fight. This time, Izuku made sure he stayed down.

The villains now dealt with, Izuku raced over to her prone form and saw what he’d never wanted to see; Ochako bloodied and battered, struggling to breathe. “Ochako!”

Her eyes had been closed as Izuku knelt next to her, but they flew open at the sound of his voice. Ochako rapidly gasped for air, each breath shaky and wheezy. “D-d-dek- Iz-Izuku I- I- can’t- b-breathe I- It -urts s-so mu- “ His heart sunk hearing her in so much pain, and Izuku was moments away from a full-on panic before he tried to stay focused,  trying to get her attention as he looked for her injuries. There was already so much blood— he could make out large bruises on her chest, one of them looked worse than the others. There was blood coming out of a wound from the studs on his gloves.

“Ochako, Ochako! Stay with me okay? I-I can’t move you in this condition; I’ll call an ambulance and look for a first-aid kit— there’s got to be one here somewhere. Just look at me okay? T-try and stay awake for me please!” 

Izuku could only cradle her head in his lap, tears rushing down his face as he could do nothing for his best friend as she writhed in pain and started to wretch blood.

Blood that only added to the pool that began to form underneath her from a wound in her chest.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she lost consciousness. And all Izuku could do was cry.

For the entire drive, Tsukauchi didn’t say a word while he listened to Midoriya recount the day’s events. The kid’s attention to detail was impressive even after having worked with him a few times in the past. From what he was saying, the two of them had handled themselves tremendously for third-year UA students. All Might would be very proud of them.

However, as much detail Midoriya was providing, Tsukauchi felt as though he was holding something back. Midoriya wasn’t lying to him; he could tell that. But he seemed so… clinical, in how he went about describing the attack. It didn’t sound like him. He couldn’t tell what was wrong exactly, but if he had to guess, it had something to do with Uraraka and her current condition. They were together after all.

“Sounds like you did everything right really. That, unfortunately, doesn’t guarantee a good outcome in our line of work,” Tsukauchi said,  trying to console him.

“Yeah, of course.” Is all he got as a reply. Tsukauchi sighed; it didn’t seem as if he would be able to get through to him before they got to the hospital. He would just have to leave it up to his friends and the teachers at UA.

He had been up close to battles between Heroes and Villains many, many times. Perhaps a little too close at times. Sometimes, it was an easy victory for the Heroes and everyone could go home with big smiles.

But sometimes, not everyone got to go home. Tsukauchi hoped for Midoriya that this wasn’t one of those times — but from what he’d heard on his way over to the restaurant, it could go either way.

Detective Tsukauchi had dropped him off at the entrance to the ER and wished him luck before driving off, presumably back to a Police Station to take care of things. Izuku would make sure to thank him properly for not taking him to a station when he talked to him again— later. Right now, he needed to find out about Ochako. 

The sliding doors hissed open as Izuku walked into the ER’s waiting area. There were a series of rooms; Izuku figured it must be a busy hospital. In his tattered and blood-stained clothes, he stood out against the crowd of people bustling about. There were uniformed staff moving to and fro and the occasional civilian asking questions, pacing, or just sitting down and waiting, which is what he’d be doing soon if he didn’t find Ochako soon.

As Izuku walked further in he took note of the smaller rooms that offered visitors privacy,  and a larger more open area around the corner— where the sounds of his classmates’ anxious chattering could be heard coming from just down the hall of the waiting room. They must’ve gotten here first — before him.

Another thing he failed at.

Izuku braced himself against the wall right on the other side of the corner from his friends, but he couldn’t face them just yet.

‘I’m to blame for this,’ Izuku couldn’t stop thinking,  ‘but I can’t deal with that right now. Ochako. I need to focus on Ochako. She’s what’s important right now. My mistakes can be analyzed later. As long as she’s alright, it’ll all be alright; now I just need to- ‘

“This is awful; Ocha was looking forward to their dinner all week. They would’ve had it the day before, but Midori had to cancel because he got called into the agency. Can you believe their luck, Tsu?”

‘I’m to blame for this.’

 The girls were around the corner, so they hadn’t seen Izuku enter. 

Izuku took a deep breath, trying to center himself and held back his tears, shoving them behind the dam again. He pushed off of the wall and turned the corner, almost running right into Ashido and Tsu.

Izuku didn’t have any words left, he just wanted to know if she was okay, to see her. But he couldn’t just ignore his friends, either. “Hey Ashido, Tsuyu.” is all he managed to get out before being slammed into by Ashido, who proceeded to squeeze him into a hug.

“Midori! Thank goodness you’re here. Everyone from class who was able to get here has been taking turns heading outside to see if you got here yet; you must’ve just missed Iida! Why weren’t you picking up the phone? You don’t look too banged up compared to what usually happens to you; that's a huuuuuge relief. Mineta’s been crying buckets out of worry—not that the rest of us have been doing any better. It’s alright, though; you’re okay! You can talk some sense into that thick skull of hers.” Ashido seemed to have been quite worried about him, as was evident from her rapid shaking of his shoulders as she imitated his mumbling. 

“What she means is— it’s good to see that you’re okay, Midoriya. Uraraka didn’t know what condition you were in; at least, she didn’t when last she was awake, anyway. And we were more concerned with trying to convince her to go through with it.” Thankfully, Tsuyu’s usual calm demeanor managed to calm down Ashido, who sheepishly let go of him having realized what she was doing. 

It was hard for Izuku to pay attention to everything she’d said, what with all the shaking— but that last part caught his ear and sent a chill down his spine.

“Who? Ochako? What do you mean? Is she conscious? Why does she need to be convinced of something?” Izuku shot out, his heart pounding with dread at what the two girls had said. 

Ashido let out a gasp and clamped a hand over her mouth. Tsuyu sensed her friend’s distress and spoke for her. “You mean you don’t know, kero?”

Izuku turned his gaze to her now. “I just got here. The medics didn’t stick around long enough for me to ask them anything about her condition and my phone broke during the fight, so I couldn’t get in touch with anyone. Know what, Tsuyu? It’s been a long day, so just tell me: is she okay?” he pleaded.

Izuku could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Tsuyu Asui lost for words. This was one of them. “The last we heard, she’s... stable for now. But-- “

“Midoriya. Good, you’re here.” Before she could continue she was interrupted by Mr. Aizawa, who looked as tired as ever to Izuku, as he whirled around to face him.

“Mr. Aizawa! Please, how is she?”

He sighed. “Come with me, “ Gesturing to one of the other waiting rooms he said, “Asui, Ashido, make sure the others who are still here aren’t driving the nurses crazy.”

“You’ve got it, kero.”

Ashido’s eyes were filled with worry. “Midori… you hang in there okay? She’s gonna need you.”

‘She needed me then, before she got hurt saving my useless self.’, he wanted to yell. But his friends had bigger problems to deal with than his self-pity. So he shoved his tears back behind the dam, and instead said,  “Okay, I will. Tell everyone I said, ‘hi.’”

As Mr. Aizawa led him into one of the empty rooms, Izuku sat down and anxiously waited for him to start talking. He had to focus on the fact that she was stable. That was good, right? She must be on the mend now, and Recovery Girl was probably just giving her a tongue-lashing for being reckless or something. Izuku could hear it now- 

“You’re right, she is stable, and Recovery Girl already had a go at her, yes. Now calm down and let me explain,” Mr. Aizawa stopped his mumbling dead in its tracks.

“The good news first: most of her injuries weren’t so severe— multiple broken ribs, bruises, and some internal bleeding. They were mostly taken care of when Recovery Girl came in to do a session of healing. Uraraka was too tired to continue, so she’ll be back in the morning for another. The problem, “ Mr. Aizawa raised a hand, stopping Izuku from getting too relieved, “is her liver.”

Any peace of mind Izuku had managed to claw back shattered with two simple words. ‘Her liver?’ He thought back to the bruise he spotted on her chest that caught his attention and the yellow tinge her skin had started to take and berated himself for not putting it together sooner.

Mr. Aiizawa continued, knowing Izuku wanted all the details regardless of how much it made him sick. “I’m not going to lie; It’s bad. Her liver took the brunt of the damage and is in critical condition. I couldn’t make sense of all the details, but Recovery Girl said something about ‘uncontrollable bleeding’ and ‘insufficient hepatic function,’ which means there’s not enough oxygen getting to her liver. She’s already been showing several symptoms of acute liver failure: yellowing of the skin, malaise, nausea, disorientation, fatigue even without the medication she was put on, and extreme pain in the upper-right abdomen. Typically, the symptoms don’t show up so suddenly or all at once, but the damage she took was… severe. That, coupled with her other injuries, put her in a tight spot. Optimally, she needs a new liver, and fast. However…” he trailed off.

If something was giving Mr. Aizawa reason to pause it couldn’t be good. “Sir?” he prompted.

Aizawa rubbed his eyes in stress, sighing. “The state she’s in, any liver transplant would need to be done ASAP— which means skipping the transplant list and finding a living donor now. And the best chance of that would be from someone she knows— family or close friends.” Aizawa brought his other hand up to his forehead and tried to massage his apparent headache away. “However, Uraraka has decided to forgo the transplant— she won’t even let anyone from the class try and get tested to see if they’re a match.”

Izuku felt the weight in his chest grow heavier. “W-why?”

“You know her best, Midoriya; you tell me. No one else from class who’d managed to talk to her could get her to say, not that she was conscious for all that long.”

At the moment he didn’t feel like that was the case at all. Izuku racked his brain for any reason behind her strange decision. Why on Earth would she not want to take the fastest road to recovery? Izuku knew how much becoming a Pro Hero meant to her— not just trying to get her parents a better life anymore. No, her goals had evolved a long time ago. Ochako wants to be a Hero to save people, to save Heroes. It’s something she has always been passionate about, ever since their first year. 

Just today she demonstrated the strength of her convictions.

So why?

Taking a live liver donation from a close friend or family member would only speed things up for her recovery process, it would mean whoever would donate would have to recover with her of course, but why would that—

Oh.

That’s why.

Izuku could feel his heart flutter at her actions. He was pretty sure he just fell in love with her a little more. 

But at the same time, the pit in his stomach only grew in size.

If only he was better, she wouldn’t have to—

If only he was better.

Realizing Aizawa was still waiting for an answer he tried to tell him, but he just didn’t have the words. “She… she’s refusing it because she’s being Ochako- ” Izuku’s voice broke. “Stupid, stubborn, brilliant Ochako Uraraka.”

“I see. There’s also the option of going in and trying to repair what they can with surgery, but, according to Recovery Girl, the damage is so severe… it could make things worse.”

Izuku could feel the bile rising in his throat. Worse? How could things for Ochako possibly get worse?

How could this day get any worse?

Izuku’s eyes darted around as if searching for the answer. “Why? Why did this happen? This was supposed to be a good day— a great one even! We were finally going to get some time just to be us.” He settled for looking at Mr. Aizawa, pleading for answers.

“Why wasn’t I good enough?”

“Midoriya, this isn’t- “

“I should’ve noticed the guy behind me! I should’ve been faster! Or stronger! Or whatever I needed to be so she wouldn’t end up nearly bleeding to death in my arms! So she wouldn’t need a huge surgery or an organ donation that she won’t accept! I should’ve done anything BUT BE A USELESS FAILURE AGAIN.” He screamed, the frustration and guilt seeping out of him for all to see. 

When Aizawa got the call about one of his students being injured— his mind immediately jumped to a couple of names. Izuku Midoriya is one of them. Ochako Uraraka was not.

He had asked Toshinori to stay at the dorms for now and let the students who were still on their way back know what happened, even though he’d wanted to be here just as much as Aizawa did. He was lucky Recovery Girl was around and that she’d wanted to tag along.

They’d gotten shortly after the ambulance did, but details were sketchy. Uraraka was in bad shape. Seeing one of his students like this made him want to put on his goggles and go track down the bastards that did this.

But his students needed him here, and one of them was still out there all alone.

While Recovery Girl and the doctors got to work, Uraraka was able to talk for brief moments; the two of them were out for dinner; Villains attacked; Midoriya was in trouble, so she acted. That made a lot of sense considering who it was saying it. She’d come a long way from the Hassikai Raid. One thing she was adamant about, though, was that her injuries weren’t Midoriya’s fault. He’d done everything right.

That was good to hear, not that he ever doubted him.

Which brought Aizawa back to the boy in question. The boy who was angry,  hurt, and afraid. More than Aizawa had seen him be in a long time.

Later, Aizawa would be telling Toshinori that he knew something was wrong when he saw that there were no tears in Midoriya’s eyes. He’d always displayed his emotions clear on his face— not hiding behind a barely held-together dam like this. He wasn’t dealing. Midoriya was so focused on finding out if Uraraka was okay, he’d forgotten that he was just as much a victim as she was.

Midoriya was right, though— this should’ve been a great day for the two of them.

He’d kept a careful eye on him since he spotted him talking to Ashido and Asui. Aizawa even interrupted Ashido’s explanation; this wasn’t her responsibility. It was his. They might be third-years, but they were still just kids. His Class 3-A. 

So, when Midoriya sat there, in more pain than he’d ever seen him,  Aizawa didn’t scold him for the harsh tone he was taking with his teacher. Midoriya wasn’t mad at him.

He just kneeled, coming to eye-level with his favorite problem child (not that he’d ever say that aloud). “Midoriya, Listen to me: It’s not your fault.”

His eyes, still full of anger but no tears, shot Aizawa a look that told him a lot.

 A look that spoke of failure, of shame. “But I- “

“It’s not your fault,” Aizawa said again.

Izuku’s eyes started to water. “You weren’t- “

“It’s not your fault,” He said again.

“J-just saying that isn’t gonna- “ He was interrupted a third time by Aizawa. But this time, he did something Midoriya would never have expected; he pulled him into a hug.

“It’s not your fault.” 

“I- I- “ is all Izuku could manage before that hastily put-together wall came crashing down— and he sobbed. Sobbed for the girl he loved lying in a hospital bed somewhere in tremendous pain. Sobbed for their ruined dinner. But most importantly, he sobbed for himself, and let himself properly feel for the first time since he held Ochako’s unconscious form in his arms.

It took Izuku a few minutes to compose himself after that. He hadn’t expected Mr. Aizawa to do that, but he was extremely grateful. He’d needed to vent and someone to get him to see straight. He still felt a little guilt at Ochako’s condition, but he felt like he could breathe a little bit again. The weight he’d been carrying around grew lighter, if ever so slightly. What he truly needed was to talk to Ochako— but she was still resting and right now. He felt as though he still had nothing to offer her but empty words. His gratitude wasn’t enough. He could do better than a simple, ‘Thank you,’ and she deserved better, too.

Mr. Aizawa had helped him cope with that just a little bit—the Villains had done this, not him. But perhaps there was something he could do.

“Mr. Aizawa, have her parents been told?” Izuku asked, a plan slowly taking form in his mind.

“I just got off the phone with them a little while ago. They’re not particularly happy with her decision either; but she wasn’t in a condition to talk to them over the phone, so they couldn’t try and convince her. Her father said to do whatever we could to get her to change her mind, and that they’d be on the next train out. It’s still gonna be awhile before they get here, though.” Izuku couldn’t be sure, but it looked as though Mr. Aizawa grinned slightly before saying the next part. “They also said something about, ‘Putting that future son-in-law of ours to work looking after our girl until we get there.’ Make of that what you will, Midoriya.”

To say that he was embarrassed would be an understatement “F-future son-in-law?” Izuku managed to squeak out. Heat pooled on his face as he, for a moment, considered that. They weren’t ready for that yet! While he would be eternally pleased that the Urarakas approved of him, he could live without the teasing. Ochako always seemed to enjoy watching him squirm, though.

Thinking of her sobered him up quick enough, and led his thoughts back to her condition and his fledgling plan. Izuku knew why Ochako was refusing the transplant idea, and he was confident he could get her to change her mind. It would be quite difficult, though; once she made up her mind about something, it was monumentally difficult to get her to change it.

But he had already failed her once today— he wouldn’t do so a second time.

 They were both eighteen now, so that wouldn’t be an issue, nor would their blood types— but what else?

“Sir, do you know what the prerequisites are for a live liver transplant?” asked Izuku.

“Sure, Recovery Girl was going over them with Uraraka and me earlier; she gave us this pamphlet from the hospital.” Aizawa reached into his pocket and held out a folded up pamphlet for Izuku to take. As he reached out to grab it though, Mr. Aizawa pulled it back, raising an eyebrow at him. It seemed as though he had guessed as to why Izuku was asking about it. There were several questions in his gaze, Izuku knew that this wasn’t something to be undertaken lightly— but he had to at least know if it was possible.

So, Izuku wouldn’t back down easily and held his gaze.

A moment passed, and Mr. Aizawa held it out again.

Opening up the brightly colored pamphlet, Izuku saw that it had quite a bit of information about the risks of donating a liver for the donor, along with the benefits for the recipient. As well as it’s requirements.

Criteria for live donation of a liver:

• Must be in good physical and mental health

• Must be between the ages of 18 and 60

• Must have a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is less than 35

• Must have a compatible blood type with the recipient

• Must be free from the following:

• Significant organ diseases (i.e., heart disease, kidney disease. etc.)

• Ongoing malignancy (cancer)

• Hepatitis

• Active or chronic infection

• Active substance abuse

Living donors also need a strong support system in place to rely on for emotional and physical needs during recovery.

Donor Recovery:

Typically, a liver donor spends about a week in the hospital following surgery, followed by an additional six to eight weeks of recovery time. Depending on the type of work you do, you may be able to return to work at this time. Your liver will begin to regenerate immediately after surgery and will be back to normal size in six-to-eight weeks.

It was very thorough and provided Izuku with most of the information he’d needed. He met the criteria, and he was sure he was alright with the recovery process. And thankfully, he didn’t need to worry about having a strong support system in place, for Ochako and him both. They already had the greatest friends you could ask for.

“If you’re going to go through with this, you know you’ll be out of the field for a while, right? It’s major surgery for you, too; something could go wrong. Are you prepared for that?” It seemed Mr. Aizawa would wait no longer for answers. That was fine. Izuku knew what he was doing.

“I know this is a big deal, sir, but I want to do this; I want to donate half of my liver to Ochako,” said Izuku.

“Do you want to do this because your girlfriend was hurt and you think it’s your fault?”

That hit closer than Izuku would have liked. That did give him pause, though. Is that the only reason he wants to do this? Izuku was sure that it’s not. He would offer to do the same for any of his friends.

“No. That’s not the only reason why. It’s part of it for sure, but I want to do this,” he said adamantly.

“You might not even qualify.”

“I meet all the health criteria. And my blood type is O; I’m a universal donor. We can get the testing and stuff done quickly, right? The sooner the better.”

Mr. Aizawa didn’t say anything for a moment, seemingly thinking things over. “They shouldn’t take too long. I can drag Recovery Girl back here, and she can throw her weight around to get it done soon, I’m sure.”

At least he approved, given that he wasn’t exactly trying to discourage Izuku. “I assume you’re going to at least talk to your mother and Uraraka’s parents first? This isn’t something to do lightly. And you’d still need to get her to sign off on it.”

Izuku counted himself lucky that he and Uraraka were both eighteen now, and as such, they didn’t need parental approval. It was still incredibly unnerving. Mr. Aizawa was right: donating your liver wasn’t something to be taken lightly, no matter who it was that needed it. But the thought of Ochako in such pain and refusing to let anyone help only strengthened his resolve.

“I’ll be talking to them, yes. They deserve to know. But they’re not going to change my mind, and neither is Ochako.” he said determinedly.

Mr. Aizawa gestured for him to continue. “Keep going.”

With more surety in his voice than he’d had all morning, Izuku spoke up again. ” I don’t need their permission or my mom’s. We’re both eighteen now. Yes, they should be told, and I want to be the one to tell them. I don’t know exactly how yet, but I know I can convince her if I can just get a chance to talk to her. I know she’ll agree if she gets a chance to think; this is all happening so fast I can’t imagine what she’s going through. This is something I want to do for her, and our parents can’t convince me otherwise. Nor can she— nor can you, sir. Besides,” Izuku slows down in his speech and blushes again, before continuing. “Her parents want me to look after her, right? Well, this is what I can do for her right now.”

As he stood there, waiting for a response Izuku wasn’t sure what he was expecting from Mr. Aizawa, but it certainly wasn’t him grinning freakishly.

He simply said, “Alright then.”

“Wait, you mean you’re not going to try and convince me not to do this anymore?”

Mr. Aizawa just shrugged. “I was never against it at all; just wanted to make sure you were doing it for the right reasons, and that this wasn’t another one of your insane plans.” 

Izuku merely sat there, mouth agape, “Well. Alright then. Thank you, sir. Oh, uh could I borrow your phone? Mine got destroyed during the fight.”

He sighs. “Fine. You might want to hold off on the thanks though. When I tell the rest of the class what you’re planning on doing, you’re gonna get hounded as you’ve never seen before. I fully expect Iida to burst into tears about your heroism and whatnot.”

Oh right. The rest of their friends.

Was it too late to change his mind?

To say that Inko Midoriya had been beside herself with worry until her son finally called, was the greatest understatement known to mankind. She hadn’t wanted to interrupt their dinner, so Inko had refrained from calling to check-in. But when both of their phones had been going straight to voicemail long after he said that he’d be home, she had started pacing up and down her apartment with worry. She desperately wanted to call the Urarakas and ask if they had heard anything, but what good would it be to worry them over something that could possibly be nothing?

 Perhaps she really should hire a PI full-time to follow him around to make sure he was alright. Two pairs of flip-flops ruined from pacing the length of the Midoriya household several times, and 3 cases of passing out with worry later, Izuku finally got in touch with her— from an unknown number at that! 

She was just in the middle of recovering from fainting for the third time when she heard her phone ring. Still on the couch where she had passed out, Inko pulled the phone from the coffee table towards herself with her Quirk and hurriedly answered the call. “Hey, mom, it’s me.”

“Izuku! Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been! Are you all alright? Where are you? Did something happen at dinner?” Inko stood up, reinvigorated, and continued to pace the room with the phone pressed against her ear as Izuku tried to placate her. 

“I know, I know; it’s way past when I said I’d be home, and I’m sorry for not calling sooner. My phone kinda got... destroyed again.” 

Oh, Inko could feel another faint coming on. “What do you mean you destroyed your phone?? Did something happen at dinner?” She asked, massaging her head in preparation for the oncoming migraine.

For a moment, there was no reply, and Inko worried that the line had dropped. But then he spoke again. What made her worry is just how exhausted he sounded.

“Yeah, something did happen. Some villains attacked during dinner. Ochako and I got everyone out safely then we tried to stop them. She… she got hurt, mom. Really bad.” Izuku’s voice tapered off towards the end, as if he was holding back tears.

Inko stopped pacing. Her heart ached hearing that. As much as it would if it was Izuku who was injured. She knew how close Ochako and Izuku were, even before they had started dating. Ochako and her had grown very close over the years as well; she was like a daughter to her.

Moving again, this time with purpose, Inko started gathering her things— and things for Izuku as well— preparing to drive to wherever they were.

“Oh, Izuku, How is she doing? Do her parents know? What hospital are you at? I’ll be there as soon as I can!” 

“Most of her injuries weren’t so bad, but her… her liver got severely damaged. She’s in a lot of pain right now. Recovery Girl had already seen her by the time I got here, she said that Ochako’s best option is getting a new liver. There’s a surgery they can try but it’s risky. Her parents were told earlier by Mr. Aizawa. ”

It truly was a miracle she hadn’t fainted again yet. “Poor Ochako. How is she taking everything?”

“From what Mr. Aizawa said she's refusing to let anyone donate her a half a liver, not her parents, or anyone from school. She wants to go for the surgery.”

Her eyes nearly shot out of her head at that as she meandered around the apartment looking for her purse-- where had she left it?. “What?! Why?” Inko tilted her head in confusion. “And why does it sound like you haven’t spoken to her?”

“Because I haven’t. They… they wouldn’t let me ride with her in the ambulance to the hospital, mom. I had to wait for the police to show up, and since my phone was done for, I didn’t even know what condition she was in until I got here just now. And she’s unconscious right now; she’s been going in and out of it, so I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to her yet.”

She couldn’t believe those paramedics— not letting him ride with Ochako! That must’ve really upset Izuku, but he wasn’t saying anything. Her son wasn’t the type to hold everything in like that. Inko paused for a moment against the door to her room, before asking, “And how are you doing?”

“Like I said, I- I’m okay. I didn’t get hurt too bad at all, nothing a bit of rest won’t fix.” Izuku did his best to deflect off any concern, but the crack in his voice told her he wasn’t okay.

“No, I know you weren’t hurt too bad, Izuku. But, “ Inko gripped the phone tighter, wishing she could jump through and hug him. “how are you ?”

“...I thought I was going to lose her, mom. I really did,” Izuku tearfully admitted. “One second she was fine, and I thought we’d easily take care of everything and maybe get out in time to grab a snack somewhere else— but the next thing I knew she was just lying there… When I finally got to her, I held her in my arms, and she could barely breathe; the only thing I could hear her saying is, ‘It hurts.’” She heard sniffling from the other end. “Hearing that really hurt. If I hadn’t canceled the other day, this wouldn't've- ”

Despite the tears prickling at her own eyes, she couldn’t let him keep going on that line of thought, so she shut him down. “Izuku, no. I don’t have to know all the details to know it could never be your fault. And I know that Ochako feels the same.”

She heard him sigh. “You’re probably right, she would say something like that.” he chuckled. “It’s just… it was really hard seeing her like that, mom. I was so scared. It still feels like I’m responsible, even if I ‘know’ I’m not. I was a mess when I got to the hospital; still am.” 

Back at the restaurant, there wasn’t anything I could do to help her. But there is something I can do now.”

“What do you mean?”

Having finally located her purse— it had somehow gotten under the couch when she’d fainted! She was about to head out the door at last, asking Izuku for directions, when she slowed to a stop right in front of her door. After listening to her son speak so passionately over the line, Inko realized something. 

He wasn’t asking her permission— he wanted her blessing.

He was going to do this for the girl he loved, for his best friend, regardless of what she’d say next. Inko couldn’t help but tear up— where had she been while her baby was busy growing up so fast? 

As she shut the door behind her and headed downstairs, Inko couldn’t help but see how her little boy had matured into a bright young Hero.

 She couldn’t be prouder.

After informing his mother of what he wanted to do for Ochako, Izuku had wanted to go see her straight away— unconscious or not. He'd decided to hold off on calling her parents until he could talk to Ochako. However, Mr. Aizawa convinced him to start the process for all the testing he’d need to do. While he was busy filling out forms, Recovery Girl had arrived and helped speed up the process. She had all his records; and considering that he already met the criteria, and that this was rather urgent; the process was sped up considerably. Nothing more could be done without Ochako’s approval, but that was something only he could work on now.

He’d gotten a chance to go see his classmates again in-between tests. Everyone was relieved to see him, and the feeling was mutual. Just being amongst his closest friends had him feeling better. They had descended into slight pandemonium when he’d told them about wanting to donate half his liver (Iida did indeed burst into tears, just as Mr. Aizawa had predicted), but it was nice to feel normal again for a moment. He still had a difficult task ahead of him: convincing her to do it.

Right as he’d managed to extricate himself from their grasp, his mother had arrived, smothering him in her embrace and creating a pool of tears at their feet. It was great to see her, though. Talking to her earlier had let him vent some more, and he really needed it. The change of clothes she’d brought were also greatly appreciated. After ambushing him, she sat down with his friends and encouraged him to go on; he had someone to see, after all. 

So, after several hours (but what felt like several days) apart, he was finally able to go see her. All that separated them now was the dull brown door to her room. Yet he hesitated.

The small peace of mind he’d achieved thanks to the help of Mr.Aizawa and the rest of his friends was fading away quicker and quicker— what if she wouldn’t be convinced? What if he couldn’t help her?

What if she got upset by him even suggesting it?

But standing still would help no one; he knew that. Despite what his fears were telling him not to do, his body moved without thinking— and he opened the door.

Like the rest of the hospital, the room smelt of disinfectant— sterile. Yet instead of bringing him comfort, it only strengthened his despair. She shouldn’t be in a place like this. The room was large, with ample room to move about and chairs and a sofa for guests to sit down on. On one side, there was a small table with a bottle of water and some paper cups.  A big TV hung from one of the walls, currently turned off. the only sounds in the room were coming from the multitude of machines surrounding the single bed in the room’s center— the single bed upon which laid Ochako Uraraka.

As Izuku quietly made his way into the room and onto a chair to the right of her bed, he could see that already she looked magnitudes better than last he saw her; all traces of bruises and blood gone from her face, her hair glossy once more— no longer matted and sticking to her face, but tied up for once. Covered in her hospital gown and blanket, she looked almost peaceful. He’d almost believe it, too, were it not for the signs that she still was not well. 

While not as extreme as before, her skin was still slightly paler than he knew it should be, almost a ghastly yellow. Despite being asleep and hooked up on all sorts of medicines through the IV in her right hand, she would still scrunch up her face in pain occasionally, which made his heart sink.

Did she truly think this was a better solution than accepting a new liver? Izuku had suffered many grievous injuries since first enrolling at UA, But seeing her just laying there— partially because of him, was almost more than he could handle.

No, it was more than he could handle. He had tried to keep it together ever since he held her bloodied body in his arms not but a few hours ago— but Mr.Aizawa had drilled a hole straight through his dam, and seeing her again, seeing her alive and in her hospital bed just brought him such relief— and shattered that dam completely.

So he cried his heart out.

Izuku wanted to reach for her hand,  but stopped short. Partially due to not wanting to wake her up, but also because he wasn’t sure if he deserved to. 

This was his fault.

But he could still help her. If only she’d let him.

Izuku saw her face twist in pain as she slowly opened her eyes, probably drawn awake with his entrance. 

He didn’t say anything straight away, too busy wiping his tears away. He should be smiling right now to cheer her up, not turning her hospital room into an indoor swimming pool.

It took her a moment to wake up properly, likely still under the effects of whatever they had her on. She moved her head slowly, taking in her surroundings before finally coming to settle on him. “Izuku?” she said timidly.

“Hey.” 

She looked so glad to hear him respond. “You’re okay.”

Izuku rubbed his eyes some more. “Of course I am, all thanks to you. How are you feeling?” 

“Like I got beat up real bad.” Humor. Well, at least she was taking it well. It even got a chuckle out of Izuku. It might’ve even eased the tension, had she not followed that by a coughing fit.

“That you did. It’s… I can’t begin to tell you how good it is to see you, you know. You had me worried for a minute. Terrified, actually,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry for worrying you so much, but I don’t regret it. Not one bit. So stop crying, okay? I’m the one in the hospital bed.” Her attempts to cheer him up were appreciated, but he was too busy trying to figure out his approach. She seemed to be about to say something, before her eyes darted between him, and then the bottle of water on the side table. “Could… could you pour me some water, please?”

He shot up immediately, thrilled to do something for her, even if it was just pouring water. “Yes, of course!”

He walked over to the coffee table on the other side of the bed and hurriedly poured her a cup of water. Making sure not to spill any, he brought it over to her as she struggled a little to sit up slightly on her bed. Knowing she wouldn’t let him help since he was already bringing her water, he waited patiently by her bedside, cup in-hand. When she was comfortable, she took a deep breath and nodded, holding out her left hand for the cup. “Thanks,” she said.

“Don’t mention it.”

Waiting in the same spot in case she needed anything else, Izuku struggled to think of how best to broach the subject of the transplant— and, more importantly, why she refused it and how to change her mind. He was sure he knew why, but if he was going to have any chance of convincing her to change her mind, she had to talk about it. Brought out of his thoughts by the sound of her coughing some more, Izuku saw that she had finished drinking now, and was just looking at him intently. He leaned forward to take the cup from her— only to instead watch as she tossed the cup passed his head and pulled him forward-- right into a hug. “I’m really glad you’re okay, Izuku. Recovery Girl told me the only reason I made it to the hospital in time was because of how you took care of things quickly and did as much first-aid as you could. ‘Knew you wouldn’t let me down; you never do. You don’t have to be so tough for me right now. It’s okay to cry.”

This must be a new record: the number of times he’d been reduced to tears and consoled in someone’s arms in a single day. How was it possible that she was so strong? She was the one with a damaged liver, and here she is, making him feel better. He truly didn’t know what he did to deserve her. 

The last time he held her, she was so cold. He’ll probably never forget what that felt like.

But right now, she was hugging back and she was alive, and that’s what was important. He wanted to remember this. So he wrapped his arms around her in return and hugged back— carefully, as to not hurt in any way, and buried his head in the crook of her neck.

“I thought I was never going to see you again,” He croaked out.

“But you did. I’m fine, see? Just need a pesky surgery done, and I’ll be back on my feet in no --” Another fit of coughing interrupted her attempt at placating him. He drew his head back at that and sat down on the side of the bed.

“Ochako, we both know that you’re not okay— not yet. The surgery you’re talking about is too risky.”

“You’ve been talkin’ to Mr. Aizawa and Recovery Girl about me.” She pouted.

“Well, I talked to the class as well, who by the way, are concerned for you, too. You happened to be sleeping at the time. You know, from all the healing Recovery Girl did because you got hurt. ”Why don’t you want to get a liver transplant? You know it’s the fastest way to get you back on your feet,” he questioned.

Ochako had really hoped that Izuku wouldn’t bring up the transplant so quickly, but she supposed it was inevitable. She was in quite the pickle.

She didn’t remember getting hit by Jackhammer, only the lead up to it— and lots of pain afterwards. She drifted in and out of consciousness several times. Sometimes she was all alone, staring at the roof of the restaurant. Sometimes Izuku was with her. The next thing she properly remembered was waking up in this room in the hospital, with Recovery Girl and several doctors standing over her. Even that she only knew after being told where she was. She awoke disoriented, nauseous, and in tremendous pain. She didn’t even know what the first thing she said was.

Later, Recovery Girl told her that she wouldn’t even cooperate with their questions because she just kept asking if Izuku was okay.

It was hard to stay awake. She kept falling asleep every couple of minutes, and there was no telling how long she’d stay asleep this time. She’d be asleep for a good 10 minutes and then wake up from the pain all over again. Repeat ad infinitum. 

When she’d been told about her damaged liver, she didn’t know how to feel. On the one hand, she felt horrible. Setting aside the pain, this could very well prevent her from graduating at the same time as the rest of the class. She would fall behind, and she might never catch back up. How could she take care of her parents from all the way back there? How would she watch over her friends when she wouldn’t be able to stand by their side?

On the other hand, Izuku was safe. In the moment, that was all that had mattered to her. But her plan hadn’t worked the way she’d intended— and she’d left him to fend with Jackhammer all by himself. She knew Izuku could take him in a fight; that wasn’t the problem. She was the problem.

She was already out of the fight— because she wasn’t good enough, how could she ask someone she cared about to join her on the sidelines just for her sake? A liver transplant was out of the question. She’d just have to play the hand she’d been dealt and go with the surgery.

No one had been pleased to hear her say that not Recovery Girl, not her friends, and she was afraid of what Izuku would think, too.

So when he asked her why she turned down even looking into a liver transplant as an option, she wasn’t sure what to say. Where could she begin?

She hesitated, not meeting his eyes, playing with the blanket pooled at her waist. “There’s just no time! Not with how Recovery Girl was talking about how bad my liver is. The testing to find someone who’d be a good donor would take too long. Same with going on the transplant list.”

“The testing didn’t take too long. Things go pretty smoothly when you’ve got the Youthful Heroine on your side. It also didn’t hurt that I knew I met a lot of the requirements already.” Izuku offered..

Ochako must’ve been getting sleepy again, because it sounded like Izuku had just said he’d been getting tested for the very thing she didn’t want him of all people to get tested for.

“You… you got tested to be a liver donor?” Ochako asked disbelievingly.

“I did.”

“What the heck did’ya do that for?” It was rather difficult for someone in her current condition to come across as mad, but if the accent that was slipping out was any indication, she was trying. “You wanna gimme your liver?”

“Well, half of it, yeah. I’m gonna have to hang on to one half.” Was he making a joke about something so serious? Nevermind that she had done the same thing earlier!

She wasn’t happy. Not one bit. “Izuku, no. I can’t accept that. Have you even thought about how it would affect you?”

“Of course I have. Have you thought about how it'll affect you if the surgery to fix your damaged one goes wrong?” he countered.

“We don’t know that it will!” She said, scowling.

“But why take the chance when I’m a match?”

That gave her pause. He was a match? How on earth could that be? “You are?”

“I’m the right age, I’m healthy and of sound mind. I met the other stuff, too. But most importantly, my blood type is O. Universal donor, remember?”

“Oh.” She had forgotten that detail.

“Ochako, look at me please.” She’d been caught. Dang it.

She raised her chocolate eyes to meet his emerald ones. Even now they were able to calm her down and give her strength. Just by being there, Izuku made her stronger. “I… I just don’t want to burden anyone. I won’t be the reason their dreams suffer. This is my mess, my responsibility. I was the one who wasn’t good enough.”

“How on earth is any of this your fault?” He asked, baffled. 

“Because it was.” She said softly, scrunching up the blanket in her hands.

“Talk to me, please.”

“Because what good is saving a Hero if I end up having to be saved in return?” She loudly said, before wincing at the strain it put on her chest.

“That wasn’t your fault. Your plan was great. It would’ve put both of us in a great spot to continue the fight together.”

His saying that brought her some comfort, but she still couldn’t just let it go. “But it didn’t work,” she whispered.

Izuku paused for a moment, then said, “Sometimes, you can do everything right, and it still doesn’t go the way you want. Especially in our line of work. That doesn’t make it your fault. You did save me, remember that. If you hadn’t jumped in, I’d be in your position, or worse. Do you think it was my fault? That I should’ve been more alert?”

Her eyes widened in shock at his question. “What? No—Never! There was no way for you to know he was gonna attack while you were busy with the other one! Especially since you had already knocked him out once!”

He nodded in agreement, as if she made his point for him. “And there was no way for you to have predicted that he’d grab onto you so quickly. You saw a Hero in danger. You came up with a plan. You acted. You’re amazing, Ochako; you’re my Hero.”

He had said those very words to her several times over the last couple of years. Yet they never ceased to amaze her. She was his Hero? Someone as incredible as Izuku— one of her Heroes, thought of her as his Hero? He was really too kind to her. But hearing that made her so happy.

She could feel her resolve slowly crumbling. “You… you know this could hurt your chances of graduating, right?”

“It shouldn’t. Recovery Girl and the others will be there for us every step of the way. And besides, if you’re not there next to me during graduation, then I’d rather not graduate at all.”

“But the recovery time...” She was grasping at straws now.

“A month or two of lying around, and then getting better while spending more time together doesn’t sound so bad, does it?”

That did sound rather good.

“How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?” she asked bewilderedly.

“I really don’t think I do, “Izuku chuckled, “but when it comes to the things— and people-- that are important to me, I’ll figure it out eventually.”

She tried once more to get him to back down, but even she could tell her resolve was crumbling “You don’t have to do this just because we’re together or out of some sense of obligation because you were there when I got hurt.”

Izuku slowly reached out from his spot on the bed and took hold of her hands. “That may have been what gave me the idea once Mr. Aizawa helped me see the trees for the forest. But that’s not why I’m doing this. Someone needs my help. As much as you think you don’t need it, you need my help. I’d offer to do this for any of our friends. It being you just means I won’t take no for an answer.”

One of the many, many things she loved about Izuku Midoriya was how he could go from being a kind-hearted, soft-spoken cinnamon roll to getting that look in his eyes. The look that said nothing would stop him from helping someone in need, be it a child in danger or a Hero needing backup. He would become a rock-solid mountain, immovable and unwavering in his determination to save someone.

It wasn’t fair of him to get that look on his face right now.

Her resolve to refuse was all but gone now. “This… wasn’t supposed to happen Izuku. I was the one who was supposed to save you. Instead, I’m lying here, and you’re comin’ rushing in to save me.”

“Really? I was thinking the same thing earlier, but now? I feel like this was exactly how it was supposed to go down. Don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?” She asked, not getting what he was referring to.

Their hands still clasped, Izuku gently brushed his thumb over the pad on hers;  he knew she liked it, even if she was too embarrassed to say. “You’ve been so, so strong all day, Ochako; you’re amazing. I need you to be strong a little longer and get it through your head that accepting help doesn’t make you weak. I know I’m not one to talk but,”He stopped the ministrations of his fingers and instead, squeezed her hand tight, looking her right in the eyes with his own. “You help me, and I help you. That’s how it works between us. So, let me help you now. Please?” A spark of recognition flashed in her eyes, causing them to tear up.

“No fair. Usin’ my own words against me.” How could she turn him down when he said that? Especially with that look on his face? “Okay...”

He sniffled, and let out a deep breath. A lot of tension leaving his face, and relief replacing it. “Good. I’ll call Recovery Girl right now, and we can let her know. Thankfully there’s a phone in here, cause I broke mine.” he said sheepishly.

“Again?”

“I know!”

Recovery Girl was rather pleased that she was now consenting to the transplant. She also berated her for taking so long to decide, but alas. She said she’d take care of the arrangements, and that she wouldn’t have to wait too much longer. Izuku hung up, needing to call their parents to let them know as well.

Before he could, however, Ochako could feel herself teeter on the edge of consciousness again, her eyes drooping, struggling to stay open. She really hoped she hadn’t been dreaming all this time. She couldn’t imagine a dream better than this. Maybe she was about to wake up from a nightmare turned dream? She supposed she could do worse than a dream where she nearly dies saving her boyfriend— only for him to turn around and save her too. “Hey, ‘zuku?” 

“Yes?”

“I love you.” She whispered, smiling as her eyes drooped lower still.

They’d been together for some time now, but she knew hearing her say that still made him so happy (as it did when he said it to her), and a blushing mess, but that was par for the course when it came to Izuku Midoriya. “I-Me same! I mean, I love— and you’re asleep now.“ he chuckled, brushing a hand through her hair. “But that’s okay. I’ll be here at your side, when you wake up. I’ll always be here.”

The pain wakes her up again. It felt worse this time. Either the medicine they’d given her was wearing off, or she was getting worse. 

Still groggy, Ochako remembered speaking to Izuku, and agreeing to let him donate his liver. But as she looked to her right, where he sat before, she couldn’t see him. She started to panic, had she been dreaming after all?

“Otherside, ‘Chako.” She turns to see Izuku, also in a hospital bed, right next to hers. They must’ve brought one in while she was asleep. He wasn’t wearing his clothes from earlier either— he was wearing a patient’s gown, Just like she was. He was on his side, facing her, eyes droopy as if he’d been sleeping, but smiling nonetheless.

“It wasn’t a dream?”, She asks hesitantly.

“If you mean our conversation from earlier; no, thankfully it wasn’t.”

If it wasn’t a dream, then that meant...“You’re really gonna gimme half your liver?” The disbelief still present in her voice.

“Yeah, I am. You missed some of the others by the way, oh and my mom too. They came in to check up on you but I didn’t want to risk waking you up. Most of them are still around, so if you’re up for it I can go get them in a bit.”

She smiled. “There you go again, being the big Hero and saving the day. Like you always do.”

Izuku chuckled bashfully. “This time, I’d say we both have the spotlight. You’ve always been my Hero; and since you insist on calling me yours, we can be each other’s Hero. We’ll be there for each other; perpetually— be it spring, summer, autumn, or winter.”

She wished there was some way she could convey just how much his words meant, and how they tugged at her heart. She couldn’t find them so instead she settled for the simple way. “I-Izuku? Thank you.”

He just smiled, and reached across the gap between their beds and held out his hand for her to take.

And take it she did.

“No, thank you for always saving me.”