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Dear Number One,
My penpal name is Mochiko. I am 8 years old. The teacher said you are also 8 years old. Do you like being 8 years old? I don’t. I want to be older so I can be big and strong and smart and help my family. Oh, I am supposed to ask what you like to do when you are not doing school. I like to look at the stars.
Dear Mochiko,
That’s stupid. The stars don’t do anything. My mom makes me take music. I like to get bugs from the forest but I can’t take them home. 8 is okay. I want to be older so people don’t tell me what to do anymore.
Dear Number One,
Bugs are cool. I like to eat locusts. They’re crunchy and good. Music sounds fun! I like to dance to music but I am not very good yet. You didn’t ask me a question so I will ask another. What is your favorite bug?
Ochako Uraraka wrote to Number One for the rest of the school year. At first it was weird to write to him since he didn’t ask questions and was kind of mean sometimes but she liked him anyway. He made her laugh and was easy to talk to. At least he was interesting. When the teacher told them they were going to pick new penpals for next school year, Ochako decided to send Number One a letter on her own.
Dear Number One,
The teacher said we won’t be writing letters to your class anymore but I was wondering if I could still write to you? If yes, send me your address. I will write mine below.
Number One sent his real address along with their first question.
Why do you want to keep writing me?
Ochako thought long and hard before she wrote back. She asked her mom to help her since she didn’t want to get it wrong.
Dear Number One,
I like to write to you because you are funny. I like the way you write and you make me think about things. I feel like we are friends and I want to keep being friends. I bet my next penpal will be boring compared to you.
Dear Mochiko,
They will. I like the way you write too. I’ve seen other kids' letters and they suck. One of my friends is talking to a person and they can’t even spell! It’s not hard. My mom gave me a dictionary and my dad helps me look up the words I want to use. Do your parents help you?
Ochako looked forward to every mail delivery, practically jumping with glee every time she saw the familiar handwriting on the envelope. They sent a letter to each other every month for years, keeping up their penpal names they had chosen over the years like secret code names. They both felt like spies so they never revealed their names to keep the game up. At some point, the question of who the other one was simple. She was Mochiko and they were Number One. They didn’t need names.
When middle school started, the letters started to come more infrequently. It started with every other month, then longer than that, then twice a year. She didn’t question it too much. Ochako was busy with school and she didn’t want to pressure Number One into writing to her. However, it didn’t stop her from writing a letter every month even if she didn’t get one. She talked about everything she could think of from heroes on the news to new food she had tried and what she thought of it. Anything to keep the habit up.
The stress of middle school and the growing knowledge of her parents' money troubles weighed heavily on Ochako. Writing letters to Number One was her way of both escaping her problems and getting them out of her mind. She didn’t know if he read them since it was never addressed in the letters Number One sent her. Ochako didn’t care. They were more for her than for him.
When Ochako decided to pursue heroism as a career, she decided to not tell Number One. They had gone on and on about becoming a hero in his letters over the years and she didn’t want to seem like she was copying him.
After the U.A. exam and meeting the green, curly-haired boy with freckles, she waited patiently by the door for a different kind of letter. Days went by and every mail delivery came with disappointment until finally she was delivered two pieces of mail. One letter from U.A. and one from Number One.
She immediately ripped open the letter from U.A. and played the video, her hands shaking with anticipation. A short animal person came on screen and announced himself as Principal Nedzu. He told her about the exam, including the rescue points that had been hidden from the participants at the time. Ochako couldn’t wait any longer. She needed to know if she got in. This was her chance to help her family. Ochako tapped on her desk anxiously as he finished his speech by stating that she was an exemplary student and had been accepted into the hero program. Without hesitation, Ochako burst into tears. Her mom ran into the room and took a picture, crying alongside her.
“I’m so proud of you, Ochako!” Her mom said as she wrapped her arms around Ochako’s shoulders. “So so proud!”
Ochako was so overcome with emotion and parental love that she forgot about Number One’s letter. She didn’t have time to write to them anymore since she was in her final exams for middle school and preparing for U.A. Once she started high school, she was so busy with homework, training, and catastrophes that the thought of writing barely crossed her mind.
It wasn’t until she was packing up to move to her dorm room that she found the letter again. All of the memories flooded back and she felt so guilty for forgetting to write. She ripped open the letter and read as fast as she could.
Dear Mochiko,
This will be my last letter. I have told you for years that I am going to become a hero. Not just any hero either. The greatest hero in the world. I just finished my entrance exam into U.A. and there is not a chance in hell that I didn’t get in. So, this has been great. All these years of letters. But I need to focus on U.A. You’ve been an nice good fine acceptable friend penpal since grade school. It’s for the best. You don’t have to write letters to me anymore and I don’t have to feel guilty for not writing back. Have a good life, I guess.
Ochako read the letter again and again. She had been in the hero course with Number One for months without knowing. How could that be possible? She knew everything about Number One, how could she not recognize him out of the 40 students in the hero course in her year.
She had to find him.
Class 1-A’s first night in the dorms came quickly and Ochako had the idea to see everyone’s room so she could try and figure out if the person she’d been talking to all these years was in her class. It led nowhere. She had some suspicions just based on things Number One had disclosed to her. Even with all the letters, it wasn’t a lot. He was a pretty private person. Plus, Number One could be in Class 1-B. She didn’t really know the people in that class very well. If she couldn’t determine who it was in her class, she’d search there. The next Sunday, she went home and reread all the letters Number One had written her over the years. Her mother had insisted she keep them and Ochako was grateful. It took her entire day off but at the end she knew who it was. Tears welled in her eyes. How could she not have seen it? She pulled out a piece of paper and wrote two sentences.
Dear Number One,
I know who you are. If you want to know who I am, meet me at Ground Omega at 7pm.
The next day, Ochako peeked through her door and waited until Bakugou left their floor for class. As soon as he was on the elevators she ran to his room and slid the letter under his door.
Class and training couldn’t have gone any slower as she waited and worried. She tapped her toe inside her shoe as the teachers talked. Ochako heard nothing they were saying as she played out all the possible ways this interaction could go in her mind. Ochako stole glances in Bakugou’s direction all day. She still couldn’t believe that the explosive boy could be her penpal. He seemed so put together in his letters. All except the last one.
Unless she was completely and utterly wrong and she just made a big fool of herself. Even if Bakugou wasn’t Number One, he’d probably go to the meeting spot to chew out whoever bothered him.
Ochako had not thought this through.
At 6:30pm, Ochako couldn’t wait in the common room any longer. She ran to Ground Omega and walked through the trees. Her hands were shaking. What would Bakugou say to her? Did he have any clue who she was? What was she going to say when he finally got there?
“Mochiko?” She heard a tentative voice come from the gate. It definitely belonged to Bakugou but she had never heard him speak so softly before.
Ochako hid behind a tree and tried to slow down her breathing. She was too nervous to show herself.
“You never told me you were going to apply to U.A. or that you even wanted to be a hero.”
Ochako didn’t say anything.
“Are you going to show your face or what?!”
Ochako steeled herself for the worst and peeked out from behind her tree.
“Uraraka?” Bakugou asked out loud. His face was an expression Ochako had only seen once before when she had fallen during their match at the Sports Festival. Bakugou was shocked.
Ochako nodded and blushed. She shyly walked out from behind her tree and Bakugou could see her better.
“I didn’t read your last letter until a couple days ago,” Ochako admitted. Bakugou looked away from her. “Otherwise this probably would have happened earlier.”
“It’s better now. I’m better now. I know what I need to do to get better,” Bakugou hurried through his words. “Shit, I didn’t expect to ever meet you.”
“We’ve been meeting every day for months,” Ochako pointed out. “So it’s no big deal right now.”
She didn’t mean it. It was a huge deal but Bakugou seemed nervous which she never thought she would say.
Bakugou stared at her for a few moments before sitting down on the ground. He looked up at the stars.
“You know, after you told me you liked to watch the stars I tried it. For a while I couldn’t understand why you liked it but then I went mountain climbing.”
“You told me about it.”
“Right,” Bakugou shook his head as if he was trying to put Mochiko and Ochako together as the same person in his mind. “I went mountain climbing and when I stood on top of the mountain I looked down and-”
Bakugou closed his eyes. Ochako could only assume he was remembering how in awe he had been. He had described it so well in his letters but he couldn’t do it in person.
“So I like watching stars now too. Sometimes,” he finished roughly, clearing his throat. He refused to meet Ochako’s eyes.
“We don’t have to try and force a real friendship, Bakugou. I just--wanted you to know who I was. I bet the rest of those penpals in our class will never get to find out.”
“What do you mean force?” Bakugou stood up and got close to her. He stood over her with his teeth bared. “You don’t want to be friends?”
“No! That’s not it at all. I just mean, we’re both focused on being heroes and you’ve got your friend group and I’ve got mine.”
“There’s a lot of history here,” Bakugou said quietly. “You want to just act like it didn’t happen?”
“You seem like you don’t know how to act around me!” Ochako blurted out. “I don’t want you to think you have to be friends with me for any reason.”
Bakugou met her eyes and she saw them soften in real time as his cheeks flushed the palest pink.
“Mochiko was the first friend I thought I made for real. It wasn’t just because we went to school together. You actually gave a shit. Whenever I felt down, I remembered I had Mochiko. When I started training harder and I stopped writing, it felt like I had failed so I just cut ties. Then this girl, Uraraka, comes along at U.A. and she’s tough and gutsy. She’s not afraid to call me out and she reads me like a fucking book. The fact that you and Mochiko are the same person…” Bakugou trailed off and began to pace. He stopped and took a deep breath. Ochako was clenching her fists, waiting for him to explode at her but instead he just looked at her with an anxious expression. “Finding out you’re the same person is the weirdest thing that’s happened to me this year.”
“That’s saying a lot,” Ochako mumbled with wide eyes. “I used to like Number One and Bakugou is kind of cool. A little temperamental.”
Bakugou’s fists and jaw clenched.
“Used to?” He said after a moment.
“Number One pushed me aside.”
“I told you I’m trying to be better.”
“Do you want me to lie and say it didn’t hurt at all? That even though I wrote letters every month, it was fine when you didn’t write one back? You say you like me but it doesn’t seem like it from my perspective.”
“At the time-,” Bakugou paused. “-it seemed like the right move. Being a hero is the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”
“Well, that clears it up then,” Ochako passed him to leave Ground Omega.
“What? That’s it? After 8 years you want to give this up?”
“I didn’t. You did. When you wrote that last letter.”
“Fuck,” Bakugou whispered and ran after her. “Just listen for a second.”
“Why? If you had never known who I was, you would’ve left it at that.”
Bakugou stopped and Ochako kept walking.
“That’s not true.”
Ochako halted and turned slowly to face him.
Bakugou pulled out an envelope from his pocket.
“I was writing this a few days ago. After Kamino.”
Ochako walked over to him and took the letter. She opened it up with shaky hands and Bakugou watched her as she read the unsent letter.
Dear Mochiko,
I’m sorry. I’ll spare you the shitty details but something happened. and now I feel like a failure I am a failure. I destroyed everything. I know I said I wouldn’t write again and I wouldn’t be surprised if you had already stopped reading and threw away this letter. There’s more to being a hero than I realized and what I realized is that you need people. I have never needed anyone but you understand me. Almost everyone at school treats me like a sob story right now. I don’t want to explain why but you know how much I hate that shit. What I’m trying to say is you were are important and I shouldn’t have stopped writing. I shouldn’t have missed months but I did. Even if you accept this, you don’t have to write. I’ll understand if you want to leave everything in the past. I just thought
The letter stopped and Ochako checked for more pages.
“Where’s the rest?” Ochako asked.
“I didn’t finish.”
“Well, finish it now!”
Bakugou gulped.
“I just thought you might want to know that I think you’re one of those people I need. You’ve been someone by my side for a long time, Mochiko. When I got into U.A., I thought I had made it so I didn’t need someone to talk to anymore.”
Ochako could feel tears in her eyes.
“But I was wrong,” Bakugou said, his voice cracking. He tried to wipe his eyes discreetly and grimaced at what he considered was a show of weakness. “I’ve been wrong so much lately, Uraraka. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
Uraraka ran to him and hugged him as tight as she could. She felt Bakugou slowly put his arms around her and hug her back, which she wasn’t expecting.
“I’m not going anywhere now that I found you,” Ochako mumbled into his chest.
“I-I’m not as great as my letters. It takes me a long time to find the right words. I don’t have my dad to help me anymore,” Bakugou joked.
“I’ve got time. And that’s one thing you’re right about,” Ochako said and she looked into his eyes. “You’re not as great as your letters made you seem. You’re better.”
Bakugou pulled away from her.
“I’ve got a lot to work on,” he said quietly.
“Well, let’s just start with introducing ourselves. It’s nice to finally meet you Number One. I’m Ochako Uraraka.”
Ochako held out her hand and smiled at Bakugou. He stared at her hand before wiping his palms on his pants and shaking it.
“Katsuki Bakugou.”
“I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other.”
“Right.”
“Maybe you could take me to mountain climbing and I’ll show you my favorite constellations?”
“It’s a date,” Bakugou said without thinking. As soon as the words left his mouth, his face turned red. “Sorry-it’s a phrase not--”
“It’s a date,” Ochako agreed. “Just so you know, I expect make-up letters for all the months you missed. I missed a few too so I’ll write some as well.”
“That’s all I have to do for you to forgive me?”
“Oh-not even close. I definitely want some of that cooking you always bragged about and you definitely have to play your music for me. All those years of music classes must have made you good right?”
Bakugou grinned awkwardly and nodded.
“I can do that. Those are things I know how to do.”
“Good. For now, you can take me to go get some food,” Ochako said and pulled on Bakugou’s arm.
“Alright. I’m not eating any bugs though.”
“Locusts are good!” Ochako shouted defensively and Bakugou laughed. They walked together back to the dorms and reminisced about their childhood they hadn’t realized they’d shared. Ochako couldn’t help but feel like she had finally found the missing piece she had been looking for in the puzzle she had been trying to put together since she was 8 years old.
Now that she could see the whole picture, it was clear that little Mochiko would be so happy to have found her Number One. He was her best friend, her confidant, and now maybe something more than that. She guessed she’d have to wait and see how their date goes.