Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

She loops.

It’s as simple as clockwork. Another failed timeline, and she pulls the trigger to start over again. She’s gone back countless times; if she did try to keep track, she likely would have gone mad. Best to leave it up to the damn Incubators to know how many times she’s started over.

It’s a familiar routine when starting over. She wakes up, the hum of the fluorescent lights ringing gently in her ears. The air conditioning joins in, the noises together creating the ever so familiar melody of a hospital’s song.

She knew it well even before it started looping. The joys of being born weaker than everyone else.

She looks into the mirror and takes a moment to try to remember what she used to look like before she started this maddening magical mess. If she puts on her glasses and keeps the twintails in, she can see the old, meek timid girl she used to be.

Before she met the girl who caught her and saved her. The one who introduced her to magic when she still thought it was something pure and good with no strings attached.

She has no need for her glasses anymore. She fiddled enough with her magic to be able to see without them. The twintails come out and get pulled up into a high ponytail, just like at the start of every loop. She could cut it short, but it didn’t feel right, like it needed to be long enough to fiddle with when she was nervous or bored.

Besides, shoulder length hair belongs to the one who caught her.

She sighs as she pulls the sheets off of her and steps on the cold tile floor. The closer she gets to the mirror, the more she can notice how despite how bags no longer framed her eyes, her eyes didn’t shine like they did before the looping became serious. If her eyes were emeralds like her okaasan called them, then these gems were cracked and dirtied to what felt like beyond repair.

Yet she will never let them get that far.

She can’t afford to.

She slips her ring off her finger, the metal returning to its true form, a gem the color of her soul. There’s some darkness swimming inside of it, but it’s nothing she can’t take care of.

“You have a few days until you meet Uraraka-san for the first time again and one night before you have to stop her from damning herself with a wish. Let’s try to figure out where we went wrong in the last timeline before then.”

Midoirya Izumi loops.

But she never wanted to.

Izumi has heard the familiar speech given by the guidance counselor so many times that she doesn't need to pay attention anymore. Instead, her mind is running through the notes she made the past three days in frozen time, reviewing the information from the most recently completed timeline with all the past ones. Most people would find it annoying to write down every single timeline again, all the common events and failed mistakes that occur in the span of a single month. Yet there's something soothing about the methodical process, scribbling down all the details on notebook pages before carefully tearing them out to put on a wall. It felt like, for at least a moment, she had control over everything that was going on. Graphite filled the pages with notes on powers and personalities, like she was an author planning out her series.

Too bad it isn’t as fun as it was the first few timelines, back when she was scrambling to fill the pages with notes on the magic she was seeing, the magic she was using.

By the time Izumi returns to reality, she's standing outside the door to the first year's classroom, the tired voice of her homeroom teacher muffled by the door. The good thing about repeated timelines is the ability to pick up on stuff like this, stuff you would otherwise rack your brain trying to figure out what was said. By this point, she knows her teacher is going on about eggs, how a cousin would complain about men who complained about the way their eggs were prepared. At first Izumi would chuckle a little at the statement, but now it's just another cog in the wheel as the universe's clock tower keeps ticking.

The room goes silent, and the teacher announces that a new transfer student is joining today. There's mention about how she's previously been in the hospital, but that barely rings true for Izumi anymore. Despite her initial assumptions, her physical progress in the previous loops carried over with her, essentially giving her years of recovery. Which is a good thing; she needs all the strength she can get fighting Witches and keeping tabs on everything in this city.

Her name is called out, and the counselor pulls back the door. As she walks in, she smiles just a tiny bit before casually writing her name on the chalkboard. She turns around, hiding her Soul Gem ring with her other hand.

"My name is Midoriya Izumi. It's nice to meet all of you!"

She looks over her classmates starting on the right and drifting her gaze left, as if they were all just characters she was reading on paper. But there's a reason for this.

Because in every timeline, Uraraka Ochako always sits in the back seat on the left row.

Izumi can't help but gasp a little each time she sees her. Beautiful brown bangs frame her face, the rest of her hair held back by two ribbons woven together to form a headband. Her eyes shine the same color as her hair, full of warmth and looking like home. Her cheeks look as squishy as mochi, and the permanent blush marks on them only enhance her appearance. Her smile is the most radiant thing about her, somehow putting Izumi both at ease and taking her breath away.

Uraraka Ochako looks so casual, so happy, so innocent.

And it just reminds Izumi all the more of what she's trying to protect.

Uraraka gasps a little. The blush on her cheeks grows even larger as she waves at her– hands with no trace of a Soul Gem ring– and Izumi feels her own face flaring up. Dammit, had she been staring at her again? It happened all the more frequently with each class introduction. God, what a dumb move of hers. She can't keep doing this. Besides, all the staring likely made Uraraka uncomfortable. After all, who wanted a stranger staring at them, one they just met. Izumi knows she would have withered in her seat if their roles were reversed and she was still as timid as she used to be.

There's an open seat behind Bakugo, and she walks to it as the teacher points to it. Once upon a time she might have put in effort to reconnect with him after not really seeing him while in the hospital. But as she keeps looping over and over, she can't find the energy to keep that up anymore. There's too much at stake to worry about trying to repair stuff with him, even if there's a part of her that mourns that a little. But she still keeps tabs on him, as he keeps popping up in the timeline and creates ripples that hit Uraraka.

Izumi allows herself once more little glance at Uraraka, whose cheeks are no longer bright pink sans her blush marks. She's about to catch Izumi's eye when Izumi turns away and pretends to pull out a notebook to take notes on math in. She knows all the formulas by heart now, and truth be told she craves more of a challenge, but she has to put in an effort to appear normal.

Despite becoming well acquainted with time and how it works, Izumi can't help but feel like the school day moves at a snail's pace, that the gears turning the clock are all rusty. Same old lessons, same old answers. Teachers call on her, and memory takes over as she recites the poem perfectly in English and solves the chemical equation exactly as intended in science. The room fills with gasps each time she does so, and if she bothers to look at Bakugo, she can see just how flabbergasted he looks at her skill.

People ask her how she got so good.

"I had a lot of free time to read while stuck in bed," is what she tells them.

The most interesting part of the routine is PE, where the coach– who's also her homeroom teacher– is trying to judge just how much she can handle before her body gets the best of her. Some timelines she allows herself to rest easy, particularly if the last timeline was incredibly stressful and she needed a break for her sanity's sake. But more recently she's been showing off all she can do, jumping over poles without a sweat and leaving most of the class in the dust as they run laps. She can't help but feel a little proud of herself as jaws drop and whispers fly at the sight of her. After all, she was supposed to be the girl coming back from the hospital, not the athletic queen.

At least her physical skill has been getting better each time.

Uraraka runs up to Izumi as the class heads back to the changing rooms. "That was amazing, Midoriya-san! How did you get that good?!"

Izumi's heart skips a beat as Uraraka's compliment sinks in, her kind message made even sweeter by her lovely voice. "The hospital I was at had really good trainers to help me get back on my feet. They were good at holding your hand but also pushing you to do better."

Not a complete lie, though it was Witches and Incubators that trained her, and they certainly didn't hold her hand during the process.

"I kinda wish I could have had them as my middle school coaches," Uraraka chuckles. "Maybe then I'd be half as good as you are!"

"You were pretty good out there yourself. Better than at least half the class."

"You really think so? I still feel like I got a lot more to work on personally."

"Trust me. There are a few classmates of ours that could learn something from you." Izumi's cheeks flare up, and she kicks herself a little for letting her emotions start to take the reins. She couldn't afford to get distracted by these personal feelings, not if she wanted to save Uraraka.

"Stop it! You're making me blush!" There's a pause as they keep walking, and Uraraka bites her lip as it looks like she's thinking about something. The silence is broken by her clapping her hands together as she takes a sharp breath in. "I got it!"

"Hm?"

"Why don't you train me, Midoriya-san?! You can help me figure out what I need to do to improve my athletic skills!"

The gears in Izumi's head come to a screeching halt, and it feels like someone took one of her own guns and shot her in a lung with it. Never before had Uraraka ever asked for Izumi's training for anything, not even in early time loops and Uraraka was just learning how magic worked. This, this new request of hers was a new variable in the timeline, and the fear inside of Izumi couldn't help but worry that a possible butterfly effect was waiting to start.

The next thing she knows, she's tripping on her own feet and about to fall face first onto the ground. Her whole body is stiff, still in too much shock from the request to do anything about her current descent. She's accepted the consequences about to hit her when she stops falling and feels something holding her wrist.

"Shit, Midoriya-san, are you okay?!"

Izumi looks up and sees Uraraka holding her wrist with both her hands, the concern on her face clear as day. Suddenly Izumi feels even weaker in the knees than before, like she was just thrown back to the first timeline. Because that's exactly what this feels like, the first timeline. It's like she's back to being the weak little girl who was late to meeting up with the school counselor to learn more about the building she'd be spending the next three years of her life in, about to trip on her own feet from trying to run up to the front doors. A hand was there to catch her, a hand belonging to a kind girl with two ribbons in her hair and the kindest eyes ever and the world's most beautiful smile. A hand with a Soul Gem ring on it, even if Izumi didn't know it at the time.

"Well..."

"It would be bad luck if you fell on your first day of school right?" The current Uraraka asks, just like she did in the first timeline.

It's the first time in a long time the two of them found themselves in a position like this.

And it terrifies Izumi down to the center of her core.

"I-I'm um..." Words fail her right now as Uraraka helps her back on her feet. "Yeah, it would be." Dammit, how could this girl keep making Izumi feel so vulnerable?!

"If you're not comfortable training me, then maybe you could at least watch me and give me some pointers?" Uraraka suggests, blushing so much that her whole face is pink. “If it makes you feel any better, I was wanting to ask you for help with some of the homework anyways. You solved those problems with such ease that I thought you could teach me."

It was easy to know the answers when you memorized them through exposure. That wasn't to say Izumi didn't know how to get to them, just that she needed to brush up on them. "Y-yeah, I can help you with the homework. That's more my style anyways.”

"Great!" Uraraka flashes a large smile, and Izumi feels like all her emotions are about to spill out of her. "I'll give you my number once we're done with school. I think we only have a couple more classes left today."

"That would be helpful."

They resume walking, Uraraka making sure Izumi doesn't trip again. As she puts on her best 'everything is fine' face, the gears in her mind run frantically.

She doesn’t know what a request like this means, what being caught and saved from tripping again like this means.

Hopefully this timeline isn't damned so soon.

Izumi counts herself lucky she knows all the remaining material for the rest of the classes for today. Otherwise she'd be screwed, as the only thing she can focus on is Uraraka's request. To have her help with the upcoming material in their classes. The first quest like this she's ever made, not even the original Uraraka asked for something like this. Then again, if anyone needed help with their lessons in that timeline, it was definitely Izumi. God, how far behind everyone else she was back then.

The final bell finally rings, and Izumi packs her bag to head back home to greet her okaasan before going out Witch hunting and hopefully from reaching Kyubey from ever finding Uraraka. The further she can keep that alien parasite away from her the better.

Uraraka approaches Izumi as she's zipping her bag shut, and Izumi can spot the flip phone in her hands. There are two small charms hanging off it looking like Jupiter and Saturn, the two giants in the solar system. Some star stickers decorate the phone as well, forming a simple constellation.

She tries not to think about Uraraka's Soul Gem, how it was shaped like a star whenever she transformed.

"How was your first day?" Uraraka asks. "I bet it must have been nice."

"It was," Izumi nods, suppressing the confusion bubbling inside of her.

"I promised you my phone number so we could stay in contact and better plan for that tutoring session. Do you want me to put it in your phone or just write it down on some paper?"

"No, my phone is fine." Izumi pulls her own phone out of her pocket, and she's never been more grateful she kept all her timeline notes on paper. Besides, she could carry them between each loop if she stored them in her shield, unlike the data in her phone. No matter how hard she tried it always reset.

The two girls exchange their phones after unlocking them, and Izumi inserts her number and name into the contact information. It's a very simple process, and she closes the phone with a gentle 'snap' as she hands it back to Uraraka.

"Could you possibly take a photo of me?" Uraraka asks. "You don't have to if you don't want to, I just think it would be something nice!"

Izumi forgets how to breathe for a moment, and she barely processes telling her that it's okay with her as she takes back her phone. Uraraka tucks her phone away in her pocket before flashing up two peace signs with her fingers, two Vs for victory.

She used to do that at the end of each witch fight, back when she was the one at the front of the battle field. Before she asked Izumi to save her from herself.

Izumi takes the photo and shows Uraraka the result, and she smiles wide at it. "You did a great job with it! I think it's perfect."

"Well, it only turned out so good because you were the one posing."

Wait, did she really just say that? The bright blush on Uraraka's face confirms it, and Izumi wants to freeze time right then and there so she can run off without having to deal with something like Uraraka calling for her to come back.

"T-thank you, Midoriya-san! No one's ever really told me that before."

"You're welcome." Izumi tucks her phone back into her pocket and slides her backpack on. They both make their way to the doorway, no one else left in the classroom besides the two of them.

Except Uraraka stops a few steps before she reaches the doorframe.

"Hey, Midoriya-san," she begins, her voice shaking a little. "I know we just met and all, but is it okay if I tell you something weird?"

It isn't their first time meeting at all, but it's not like she could have known that. "I don't mind, Uraraka-san."

"Just, promise not to judge me, okay? I'm still not sure what to make of it myself."

"I promise."

Uraraka takes a deep breath in and clenches her fists tight.

"Last night I dreamt about you.”

The wind is knocked out of Izumi's lungs again, the news hitting her hard. Has Uraraka always dreamt of her before she started school? Or is this another sign of something being wrong with this timeline?

"It's too weird, I'm sorry," she apologizes. "I'm sorry for bringing it up and you can just forget about it and–"

"Keep going," Izumi blurts out, trying to keep her from stopping. "I want to know what I was doing in your dream."

Silence swims in the air for a moment as Uraraka clicks her tongue.

"We were both downtown," she continues. "Everything was destroyed. There were broken buildings hanging in the air and rubble as far as the eye can see. The ground was flooded and the sky was full of storm clouds. It looked like a natural disaster came through, like a tsunami.

"I had just arrived after walking through this black and white maze of a building. You were already there, wearing a strange outfit with a shield on your arm. You kept firing weapons up in the air when you weren't being thrown around. It looked like you were fighting some... some sort of floating lady hanging upside down and with gears for legs. There was also something behind her, something weird and circular."

Izumi takes a sharp breath in. Uraraka had just described Walpurgisnacht even though there's no way she should know what a fight with that Witch should look like.

"I wasn't alone. There was something white and cat light by me, with long limb like things coming out of its ears. It talked about how this fight you were in was too much for you to handle, but how if you gave up, everything would be over."

That damn rat had appeared in her dream?! Did that mean the Incubators were behind this happening?

"It said something about how I had the power to change fate? That I could stop the tragedy playing out in front of me, how the power rested inside of me. I just needed to accept its contract and become... what did it call it... a Puella Magi?”

Those two simple words made the nerves in Izumi sink deep into her stomach. No. Uraraka shouldn't know anything about Puella Magi, about the world of Witches and Incubators and everything else that came with that Faustian wish. Yet here she was, vaguely familiar with the concept thanks to a dream Izumi had no idea how to control.

"Did..." she hesitantly begins, "Did you accept?"

Uraraka shakes her head 'no', and Izumi wants to sigh with relief. "I woke up before I could do anything. I think I was in too much shock and couldn't stay asleep any more."

"That makes sense."

"Still, it had to mean something, right? To meet this amazing, gifted transfer student the night before in a dream, and a dream like that none the less! I can't help but wonder about it."

"Maybe..." The dream runs around in Izumi's brain, filling every crevice of her mind. "Uraraka-san, if someone or something offered you a wish that had the power to change the universe itself, would you take it?"

"Eh?" She gasps, flinching just a tiny bit from the question. "I'm honestly not sure. I feel like if someone offered me a wish like that, I wouldn't be able to accept it on the spot. I'd have to think it over first, decide what would be best to do with it."

"I personally wouldn't." She's lying, hiding the truth of her own actions, but she needs to keep Uraraka safe. To save the person she keeps running into loop after loop after loop. "I feel like a wish with that kind of power has to have some sort of cost to it, right? That I'll have to pay for it later on in a way that might seriously hurt me."

"I guess so. But still. I'd like to think that with a wish like that, I could bring a lot of hope to people and help them smile. After all, isn't hope a good thing?”

She desperately wants to say 'yes', to let her emotions run freely though her again without any fear of what might become of her if they become too negative. To drink up the joys of hope and light and be able to share them freely again without any fear of what might happen. But she's been hurt too many times, learned too many truths, and gave up too much to allow herself to let hope run freely through her again.

"Just be careful," Izumi states. "And always consider how much you mean to the people around you in the life you currently have." And with that, she turns on her heel and exits.

She curses herself a little for leaving on such a cryptic note, but she wasn't sure what else she could say in response to a question so soul-piercing as that. She just has to protect her and keep her safe, and everything will be worth it.

It would be damn cruel if it wasn’t.

It had been a long time since Izumi properly dreamed the way she used to. Her mind used to fly with fantasies of all kinds, but there's no room for those kinds of lies when the truth was so heavy. Now her dreams are nothing but black abyss, a temporary break from her seemingly infinite quest.

Well, the abyss and something else.

Izumi looks around, a familiar looking lawn and sidewalk surrounding her. Someone is walking on the sidewalk, a young teenage girl with simple glasses and semi-curly green hair tied back into two braids, muttering away from the looks of it.

Herself. Well, herself from the first timeline.

"So, it's a memory type night, huh?" She remarks to herself, gently sliding down the hill. As she approaches her younger self, she can better make out what her past self was saying, even though she knew the words by heart.

"I can't keep causing problems for everyone like this," her past self says, not missing a beat or even noticing her future self's arrival. "Just cause I was stuck in bed for nearly a year doesn't mean I can't stay behind everyone else. I need to get better at math and gym and all the other subjects. I can't let myself be a deku, can't keep failing and dragging others down. I can't stay like this..."

As she keeps rambling on, her voice shakes and she keeps tripping over her own words. "After all, what good am I if I can't help other people? It would be unfair to everyone else around me if they kept having to help me out. I can make it. I can keep up. I can't afford not to, otherwise I'm as good as worthless."

The current Izumi simply bites her lip hard as she listens. Sure, she can now solve the assigned problems with ease and leave everyone else on the field in the dust thanks to her practice (not to mention all the healing magic she used on herself), but something about her past self's words still ring true. She needs to protect others, to help them by keeping them safe. After all, what good is all her work– what good is she herself– if she can’t reach her goal despite so many attempts? She just has to keep pushing and trying and working harder and smarter to save everyone, to save Uraraka, and then it will all be worth it. If she can just save them all her sacrifice will be worth the effort, and she'll once again hold meaning in herself.

"You should just take a swan dive off the roof right now and hope you get a better body in the next life," a new voice chimes in. It echoes with childlike glee, so casually innocent despite its dark message. The current Izumi gasps a little at the tone of voice, despite knowing it was coming

"Maybe I should just take a swan dive..." the past Izumi repeats, her voice somewhat monotone and lifeless.

"You'll save everyone so much time if you just die!" The voice replies, the same ironically cheery voice giggling.

"If I just die..." The past Izumi doesn't initially notice the changing landscape, but the current one does. She pulls out one of her guns to try to stop the Labyrinth from forming and trapping her human self in it, but she stops as soon as she remembers that this is a dream. At least her muscle memory is sharp.

The past Izumi gasps as the weight of her words sinks in, and she takes a sharp breath in as she watches how the environment changes around her. The sky is blood orange, yellow swirls stretching across and spinning freely. The ground is black and white and looks like a bunch of distorted faces and bodies thrown on top of each other. A grand stone sprouts up from the ground, decorated with unique stone carvings in it and a strange cup on top with brushes sticking out of it. There are some dead looking trees coming from the ground as well, their branches looking like limbs reaching out for help.

Familiars emerge, little crumpled up balls of paper unfolding themselves to reveal sketches of people. They move throughout the surreal, gothic nightmare both Izumis reside in, the past one breathing heavily and on the verge of a panic attack from what's happening. The current one simply takes a sharp breath in, trying not to look too much at her past self. It's torture watching someone you can't help be in pain, even when you know the outcome.

"What the–” her past self squeaks out, taking small, shaking steps back. "What's going on? W-what is this place?!"

A Witch's Labyrinth, that's where. Izumi could never find out who this Witch used to be, but that doesn't matter. This Witch hasn't mattered to her since the first timeline.

Izumi starts to run away, terrified, but a scream echoes through the Labyrinth, catching her attention. She stops. She then bolts forward, dodging the paper Familiars as they stumble forward. The current Izumi starts running towards her past self, going right through the Familiars. Her shoes click on the ground, her ponytail blowing behind her.

Izumi runs up to a new cluster of Familiars, this time tearing away at their paper bodies. "Please, calm down! Let me try to help!"

There's a hand reaching out from the cluster, belonging to a nameless boy with messy purple hair and enough bags under his eyes to carry something. His actual eyes are wide awake, filled to the brim with terror as his life likely flashes before his eyes. His arm is shaking, making it hard for Izumi to grab his hand. It looks like she's about to touch it, and she does.

But her grip is loose.

And he easily slips out of it.

Izumi watches with horror as the Familiars pin him to the ground as an ink-and-stone tendril pierces his chest. It retracts, returning to the carving on top of the arch. Her mouth goes dry as she watches the paper spread out from the hole in him and consume him. He tries to scream, but he can't make a sound. Besides, it doesn't take long for the paper to consume his mouth and leave him speechless.

The paper finishes eating him, and he stands up, completely flat and void of anything looking human. Instead, his body is covered with scribbles, like a child drew over him. The past Izumi tries to run, to try to save her life, but she can't move. She's frozen in place, every muscle locked by fear.

No matter how many times you watch people die, you never forget your first death.

Izumi knows exactly how horrified she is.

She was so sure she was going to die here, to spend her afterlife made of paper wandering around with no real purpose.

“Release!”

That's when the arrows came.

They shoot through each of the Familiars' heads, like pink shooting stars descending from the sky. The resulting shock creates enough wind to send them flying back, and also enough to knock the past Izumi slightly off her feet. She can't help but let out a shocked scream as she starts to fall backwards and off a rather steep hill.

She's free falling for a moment, watching as bullets follow up the arrows and produce an array of ribbons to tie the Familiars to a nearby tree. She's so memorized, that it doesn't occur to her that she was falling until someone catches her in their arms. An embarrassingly large squeak escapes from her, and her face is bright red as she looks up at her savior. A tiny squeak escapes her now.

The girl carrying her is wearing a pink, frilly dress with a few bows on it. There's a ribbon choker on her neck, a star shaped pink gem hanging off of it. But what's most surprising about her is her rosy blush marks. Her warm brown eyes. Her comforting smile. Her soft brown hair. Her silky pink-red ribbons in said hair.

Wait. Could it be–

"Good thing I caught you in time again, huh?" She says, her voice confirming the past Izumi's hunch. "Be bad luck to fall on your first day again, huh?"

"U-Uraraka-san?!"

"Call me Ochako-chan," she replies as they land on the ground. "After all, you know my secret now!"

"Your secret?!"

"Ochako and Momo here are Puella Magi," Kuybey states, running up next to Ochako's leg. It takes every once of the current Izumi's restraint not to roll her eyes or try shooting the bastard again. It wouldn't do a thing about what already happened. "They help protect people and fight Witches."

"Hopefully we weren't too late, were we, Izumi-san?" Momo looks down at both of them, one of her stylized single-shot flintlock muskets in her hand. "I do hope those Familiars didn't cause you too much trouble."

"N-no!" She stutters in reply. "Though, someone else..." she pauses, and the current Izumi knows her past self is choking on her own words. From the weight of the truth.

"You can tell us what happened once you're safe," Momo assures her. "For now, let us handle the Witch."

"We can tell you everything else as well," Ochako states, placing Izumi gently on the ground. "Just promise me you won't tell our classmates about what we do, okay?"

Izumi silently nods in reply, and she watches in awe as Ochako and Momo fire off one large combined attack at the stone arch. It breaks into a million pieces, and the strange environment starts to shake as it fades away and reality returns.

"Amazing... so amazing..." Her past self whispers, but all the current Izumi sees is three girls blinded by innocence. Sure, her past self just watched a stranger get murdered, and she knows Momo only survived a horrible car wreck thanks to her wish, but in the grand scheme of the Puella Magi, they're all painfully clueless to the dangers of the job, the true cost of magic.

It's a kind of painful to look at, maybe even a bit envy inducing, and Izumi can feel her own throat tighten up as her eyes water just a bit.

Just a bit. Not a near waterfall waiting to break the damn wide open.

"I've had enough of this memory," she states, voice cracking ever so slightly. Unsure of how else to wake up from such a state of sleep, she pulls out one of her own guns– a Walther P5 from the looks of it– and brings the simple pistol to her head.

Then she pulls the trigger.

And the pain vibrates through her. Even if it wasn’t aimed at her Soul Gem. It stings and rings and hurts so, so bad.

She screams–

–and she wakes up.

Her breathing is rapid. She’s gasping for air. Sweat runs down her body. She’s shaking and she feels both hot and cold at the same time and–

Inko slams the door open and starts holding her tight, one hand on her back and the other holding one of Izumi’s. Izumi can’t make out exactly what she’s saying, something about if she had a nightmare or if they need to call a doctor. She tries to respond, but she’s too shaken to say anything coherent.

Oh well. At least she no longer has to watch her memories anymore that night.

The clock's echo rings fairly loud throughout the Midoriya apartment. It's a simple place on the second floor, with just enough bedrooms, a suitable kitchen space, and a welcoming living room, complete with a bowl of fake apples on the coffee table. If you were to ask about why they were there, Inko would tell you that they were to bring some extra happiness into the room, that it was the little things in life that made it worth living. Fried eggs for breakfast and May sunshine and warm hugs. Calling out someone's name or having your own name called out. The memories of a loved one.

But Izumi has left enjoyment of the simple things to Inko. She can't afford to take part in them. Simple things belong to the humans of the world, not to the Puella Magi. Even for the girls who don't spend years and years reliving the same month over and over, there's always another Witch fight, another person to save. How can one do all that when they're taking it slow and taking in all the little, basic details.

You can't.

But right now, Izumi is probably the closest she's ever been to the simple, little, basic details. Inko frets over her clothes, trying to flatten out every little wrinkle she can find on the sweater she's wearing. She fills the air with questions, muttering about having the right books to her phone being charged to possible health problems popping back up.

"The doctors said that I'm better than new," Izumi counters. "Remember, they described my recovery as being like a miracle. There's no need to fret over me."

"I know, dear." She wipes away a tear that fell down her face, her tear-ducts about to overflow like a damn. "It's just that you were in there for so long and that you've only been in school for three days and you're already going over to someone's place to study. I'm both so nervous about what could go wrong but also so happy for you that you're making friends."

Izumi flashes her a soft smile. "Thanks, okaasan." She bites her lip a little, but she doesn't let her expression waver a bit in fear of giving Inko reason to worry. Okaasan, okaasan, okaasan. Can she even call this timeline's Inko that? They both share blood, a simple DNA test proving that the two are related and that she gave birth to her. But beyond genetics, beyond the surface, did she even have the right to refer to this woman as her own mother? Sure, Izumi still has her memories from before and during the hospital, days of her Inko laughing and smiling with her and holding her hand when the doctors need to draw blood from her or do something else that made a younger Izumi scared. But if you thought about it...

Those actions don't belong to this timeline. They all live in Izumi's head, and technically belong to a different timeline than the one she’s in. Had she never gained the magic to manipulate time to her liking, she'd be back in the first timeline, her home timeline, with the Inko that belonged there, the one that resides in Izumi's memories. Sure, this Inko did all the same things with the Izumi that used to live in this timeline, but that Izumi doesn't exist anymore, replaced by another. Was this her Schrödinger's cat, Inko both her okaasan but also not at the same time?

Schrödinger's Inko could wait until Izumi finally belonged here. After all, she is an outsider looking to earn her place in a timeline, one where she can save the one who saved her and finally fully succeeds.

But before all of that, she just has to fake being a normal teenager for one extra afternoon.

"You're positive you know the way?" Inko asks for the fiftieth time. "You won't get lost?"

"Uraraka-san texted me the directions." Izumi holds up her phone, which is pulled up to the address inserted into the map application. "Besides, I know my way well around the city."

"That memory of yours is the one thing keeping me from dying of stress," Inko sighs. "I don't know how you know everything, but it's so good you do.”

"I just pay attention to what's going on around me." A half-lie. The loops just strengthen the observation skills.

"Hey, okaasan?" Izumi clicks her tongue. "Is it okay if I stay out for a bit extra after the study session? I wanna window shop a bit and just relax." A total lie. She knows there's some stubborn Familiars that frequently find their way to Ochako time after time. Not to mention she's been stupidly slacking on staying on top of Kuybey and its whereabouts.

"I'm gonna need you to call me when you're done with the session and tell me which district you're going to, as well as call me when you're heading back," Inko replies. "I do want you to enjoy yourself now that you're free to do so, but I don't wanna work up a sweat worrying about you."

"I can do that."

"Thank you, Izumi." Inko wraps her in a hug, and for a tiny moment Izumi allows herself to forget about the logistics of time travel and just enjoy a mother's embrace. It's warm and sweet and makes her Soul Gem buzz with happiness.

Inko lets go, but quickly grabs her hands and squeezes them tight. "You really seem to like that ring you got recently."

"Yeah, I think it just fits me, ya know?" Izumi pulls her ring hand up to her face, the metallic silver shining in the kitchen light.

"If you're getting into rings, do you want to leave that one here and borrow one of mine? I don't know if they're in style or not, but you can look through them to see if you like any of them!"

Izumi's heart beats a bit faster than before, and she can feel her shoulders slouching as she shakes her head. "I think I'm good with the one I currently have. But maybe another day?"

It breaks her heart a bit to see Inko's smile shrink some and her own shoulders slump, but Izumi couldn't properly accept her offer and leave her Soul Gem ring at home. Not if she doesn’t want her body to collapse a hundred meters away from her soul. Sure, she could change the ring back into this true form and carry her soul-turned-fabergé-egg in a pocket or something, but that presented its own risks. No one wants their soul to fall out of their pocket, nor for someone to find it and ask what it was. After all, there's no causal way to state that this fancy gem is actually your life force and your body is just a fancy husk for fighting.

"I can see that my old people fashion isn't wanted," Inko remarks.

"I'm sure your fashion is excellent, okaasan!" She stutters, trying to clean up some of the damage she caused. "I just chose this ring cause it goes well with what I'm wearing today, ya know? Ya know, silver with purple and black go well together and other color theory things!" She gestures to the purple jeans she's wearing before holding her ring hand up to the black diamonds on her sweater.

"And yet you insist on wearing those red shoes of yours," Inko chuckles, looking down at Izumi's sneakers, which admittedly do stand out. They're just comfy, okay?! "I know you have other ones, but you wear these all the time!"

"Not all the time," Izumi protests, technically telling the truth. After all, she wears low heeled boots whenever she transforms. Still, she finds herself pouting a bit at Inko's lack of faith for something so small.

"I know, you silly goose. It's just a mother's job to tease her child."

"Even when the child doesn't like it?"

"Especially then." Inko squeezes Izumi's cheek, and by this point Izumi can't help but chuckle a little.

She missed this. So much.

"Now get going! You don't want to keep your new friend late!"

"Right! I'm off!" And with that, she pivots to head out the door, the March wind blowing at her face and causing her ponytail to ripple in the wind. All she needs to do is go down the stairs now and catch the next bus heading east and then–

–crash right into somebody, apparently.

"Oh my God, are you alright?!" Izumi asks, taking a step back from the stairs, trying to give the other person room to breathe and gain their footing. "I totally didn't see you there, I swear!"

"Yeah, I am. Takes a lot to knock down a gal like me. Mama and Papa made sure of that."

Wait, that voice is familiar.

Izumi looks at their face, but the ribbons answer her question. Here's Uraraka, wearing a pink sweater decorated with a row of stars and another one of moons. Her shorts are well worn and run to her knees, and her red tennis shoes show similar wear on them. She has her backpack with her, and despite her very simple look, she looks nice. Like, really nice. Super cute. From the way her sweater sleeves clump together at her wrists to the cream color trim she had to have sewn onto the sides of her shirts. Her smile is still as blinding as ever, and she looks so damn adorable when slightly confused.

...oh God. When did Izumi get a fucking crush during all these loops? It's the last thing she needs and only makes her job more complicated than it already is.

"U-Uraraka-san?" Izumi gasps. "What are you doing over at my place? I thought we were meeting at yours!" She pulls out her phone, the map still open.

"We gave each other our addresses when we were still figuring out where to meet, remember? I wanted to go over to your place and you agreed to it."

Izumi tilts her head a bit to the side as pulls out their text conversation. As she carefully scrolls back and reads, she nearly freezes in place to find that, yes, they did ultimately agree to meet at her place to study.

Rather than freezing, Izumi's head falls into her free hand as she lets out a long groan. How could she have made a mistake as simple as this?! She was supposed to be a master at date memorization, able to know what is about to happen any given day thanks to her notes and countless experiences with the month. How could such a new a silly little event through her off this badly?! It's honestly rather foolish, and she wants to curl into a ball just a bit.

"If you really don't wanna study at your place, that's totally okay!" Uraraka counters. "We can just take the bus back to mine! I don't live anywhere fancy or have much to show off in my room but–"

"There's no need to do that!" Izumi blurts out, speaking a little too fast to count as normal. "After all, we did agree to my place and you already came all the way over here. The last thing I need to do is charge you extra bus fare, even if it would be nice to see your parents again."

"Again?" Now it's Uraraka's turn to be confused. "But I never introduced them to you."

Izumi's internal alarms yell at her, sounding almost like playground kids laughing at her. Had she really become this used to a familiar loop that she lost her ability to adapt to new things? Sure, there was comfort in knowing what was about to happen, always able to at least try to be one step ahead of the curve. At least she didn't have to be anxious over what would happen at school, even if she was now anxious about trying to control every variable in the equation. Still, what a wake up call. How the Hell would she even survive post-Walpurgisnacht if she completely lost her ability to adapt outside of a memorized month?

"I don't even know where that came from. Probably my mind still running in every direction."

"Then why don't we relax a bit before we start studying?" Uraraka suggests. "Besides, I'd like to meet your mama and see your room, if that's okay."

"Yeah, it is," Izumi replies, trying to sway the conversation away from her slip up. Gotta do better. Gotta be better. Gotta stay five steps ahead of everyone else to save them all.

"Great!" Uraraka claps her hands together. "Then lead the way!"

"Right!" Izumi takes a deep breath in as she heads back to her apartment, mentally checking the layout of her room in her head. She tucked her notes and cork-board into her shield last night once she was done with them, so it's not like that flag is out in the open.

"Thanks again for helping me out, Midoriya-san. Normally I ask Mina-chan for help with things, but she's usually the one turning to me for academic help," Uraraka pauses. "If today goes well and you want to do it again, is it okay if I bring her over next time? I think you'd get along great with her. She just lights up a room."

"Maybe." Izumi doesn't want a next time, but she can't bear to say 'no' outright to her face. Besides, one upon a time, she used to know Ashido as well, even if they weren't the closest of friends in any timeline.

Izumi knocks at her door, a bit too embarrassed to unlock it herself. "There was a change in plans. Can we come in?”

It doesn't take long for the door to open up to reveal a confused Inko standing on the other side. "Izumi, dear? What are you doing back so early? And who is standing beside you?”

"I had gotten the locations wrong," Izumi admits, blushing a little. "Uraraka-san is actually coming over to our place."

"Oh, I worried something would go wrong today. I'm just glad it happened so soon instead of leaving me in suspense."

"Okaasan!" Izumi is blushing even harder, and all she wants to do now is run off to regain her composure.

"I'm only half joking," Inko chuckles. She leans a bit to the side, eyes most likely meeting Uraraka's. "And that would make you Izumi's new friend, right?"

"Uraraka Ochako." She bows a bit before holding out her hand to shake. "It's very nice to meet you. I do hope I'm not intruding on you."

"Not at all," Inko shakes her hand. "I'm delighted to have you over. Please, make yourself comfortable here. Any friend of Izumi's is a good person in my books."

As she looks at the two of them, Izumi can't help but feel a little warm and nostalgic. It's not the first time these two have met, meeting as early as the first timeline after Izumi's first Witch encounter. Still, this is a rarity, these two paths barely crossing one another, especially as new timelines get added.

Maybe there was something good to come out of this study session.

"Thank you so much for your kind welcome." Uraraka takes her shoes off, and Izumi does the same, placing them next to hers like they were living in the same apartment together. As Uraraka walks past the kitchen and into the living room, her face is shimmering with awe.

"You two have such a lovely place!" She exclaims, spinning around a bit to look at every corner. "There's something on every shelf, not to mention the lovely grandfather clock on display."

Izumi glances over at said clock, its large pendulum swinging back and forth for all of eternity. Unbreaking. Unchanging. Always moving ahead as the hands tick along. It's quite a nice clock, but Izumi can't help but stare at it as the rest of the room fades out.

Did it always tick this loudly? Or is it just the smaller clocks in the other room adding to the noise?

The conversation around her fizzes out a bit, the words muddled like she is underwater. Gears take center stage in her mind, twisting and turning so each hand can move. They spin, the pallets making sure they don't go too fast and keep their proper rhythm. It's the same as in every clock. Even her shield has the same components. They never change unless something is wrong with the flow, something unnatural occurring.

Like going backwards.

"Midoriya-san?" Uraraka touches Izumi's shoulder, bringing her back to reality. "Is everything okay? Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-yeah..." She mutters, readjusting her mind and shaking the thoughts out of her head. "Sorry, just zoned out a bit."

Before anyone else can do or say anything, Inko tugs Izumi's arm to have her lean forward a bit. Izumi's small yelp echoes around the room, though she's quiet as Inko presses her hand against Izumi's forehead.

"You don't feel hot," she states, removing the hand and letting go of the arm. "Are you having trouble breathing? Did you get enough to eat today?"

"I promise I'm fine," Izumi says, backing up a tiny bit. "I only got lost in my thoughts, nothing more."

"Whatcha thinking about?" Uraraka asks.

"Stupid, silly stuff," Izumi replies, scratching the back of her neck. "You know, about the universe and the flow of time and shit." That was vague enough that she could say that, right?

"I knew you were smart, dear, but I never thought you were into that kind of stuff," Inko says. "I thought you were more into biology than quantum-physics and existentialism."

"I think it's cool," Uraraka states. "I mean, it's too complicated for someone basic like me to get, but I think it's neat that there are such talented people out there that try to answer those types of questions. I'll just stick with my simple, everyday physics."

"Uraraka-san, you're not basic," Izumi protests. "You're smart and caring and energetic and want the best for people. Not to mention you have real nice hair that fits you super well. I’d say that's the opposite of basic."

The blush on Uraraka's cheeks expands a bit, and all Izumi can think about is how cute she looks embarrassed and whether or not what she personally said counts as flirting. It's just a simple compliment pointing out the truth! Nothing more to it! Right?

Oh great. Another thing she can't be sure of.

Izumi quickly clears her throat, trying not to spend too long on this point of discussion. "Anyways, do you want to study in my room or the living room? Either is fine with me."

"I'd like to see what your room is like. After all, you can tell a lot about a person from how their bedroom looks."

"Yeah, you can," Izumi nervously chuckles. Shit, did she make the right decision?

"I'll leave you two be," Inko states. "I'll be there in a bit to bring in some tea and some snacks."

"Okaasan, you don't have to do that!"

"There's no need for anything like that!"

"Nonsense. Besides, it's the least I can do for my daughter and for a guest."

"R-right. Natural to do for a guest."

"Well then, can I see your room?" Uraraka asked. "We can start studying right away or relax a bit like we talked about outside."

"I don't mind starting right away." Probably the most logical option, as well as the most time convenient one.

"Then lead the way, Midoriya-san!"

Izumi's room is right next to the living room, so it doesn't take long for them to arrive. There's a simple twin bed pressed against the back wall, plain sheets covered by a mountain of plushies. Some are gifts from adults when she was first admitted into the hospital, such as the giant Mothra taking up half the bed, while others are from Christmas or crane games, like the vampire bat and the Hatsune Miku ones. The opposite wall has a shelf full of books, ranging from Alice falling down a rabbit hole to adventures in Middle Earth. That isn't even getting into her comic book and manga collection, nor the various biology books she got to better understand the illness she had been battling. There's a desk with pencils and sketchbooks on it, as well as a stack of writing notebooks lined up against the back. Posters are scattered across the walls for various movies and games. All and all, it looks like a very normal room belonging to a very normal girl.

In other words, the opposite of her.

"I'm so jealous, Midoriya-san!" Uraraka squeals. "This is such a nice room! Can I move in with you?"

"Eh?!" Izumi flinches.

"I'm just kidding about the moving in part. Still, this looks so much better than my room back home. All I have is a bed and a desk with a chair and a rug and that's pretty much it. I do have a few knickknacks but nothing like what you have." She walks over to the bed, squeezing the Mothra tight. "Oh, she's so soft! Fluffy guardian baby."

"You like kaiju as well?" It's not a completely stupid question to ask. These are the kinds of details that fall through the cracks when you loop over and over.

"I do! They're so cool and strong and powerful and fight for justice! Not to mention their really interesting history!"

"Yeah! The first Godzilla film has a lot of fascinating commentary behind it!" And she should know. She printed out a whole in depth article about it to read during frozen time, back when she was still amazed she could do such a thing with magic.

“Exactly! And then you get future movies coming out and introducing more kaiju and having Godzilla fight them, further evolving what he and kaiju as a whole represent! Kinda like different messages that are needed for different time periods and audiences!”

“Yeah, a lot like that! But then a new movie will come out to remind you that Godzilla originally came out as a message about the dangers of nuclear power.”

“Pretty much!” She rubs her hands up and down Mothra’s feelers before giving the plush one last good pat on the head. “It feels so nice to nerd out about stuff like this with someone else.”

“I definitely agree.” After all, it’s been far too long since she’s been able to do this

Uraraka starts looking at the rest of the plushies, ooo-ing and awe-ing at them. She picks up an eastern dragon plush, gently squeezing it like an excited kid. Despite squeezing it, she’s holding it with lots of care, even holding her pinkies up as she does. The smile on her face is nice and wide, and Izumi can feel her heart flutter. God, she wants this to last forever. There’s a strong temptation to take a photo to be able to hold onto a fraction of the moment, but she doesn’t want to look away for a millisecond.

After setting the dragon next to a fairy squirrel and a blue and white bunny, she walks over to the bookshelf and inspects them. Izumi can hear her mutter various names under her breath, as well as her chuckling at some of the titles. "I never would have guessed you were such a nerd by looking at you! You got stories about wizard schools and mysteries and more! Not to mention what looks to be a rather large time travel collection!"

"Time travel collection?!" Izumi quickly runs up to her side, looking at the same section of the books. Lo and behold, she's right, and it feels like the universe is laughing at her. How ironic that the actual time traveler used to read so much about it.

"The Clock that Went Backward, The Time Machine, Rip Van Winkle... you got a whole library of stories on this subject!"

"Huh, I never noticed that..." So many books on the subject. Her eyes catch The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, which Izumi knows was the first book on the subject she ever read. Still, this is too unnerving for her. Oh, why did Uraraka have to point this out?!

"Shouldn't we get started on studying?" She asks, voice cracking a bit.

"Aw, but I wanted to see what you've drawn if you'll let me!"

"Nope!" Izumi rushes over to her sketchbook, covering it with the back of her body. "Too personal!" And now her voice is squeaking. If there's anyone who can bring out the old Izumi, it would be Uraraka.

Uraraka pouts a bit, her cheeks looking even softer than normal. "I really wanna see, but not if you don't want me too. Maybe another time? We can even draw together if that would help."

"Y-yeah. Maybe." Drawing with her does sound rather nice. Maybe once she finally properly completes this month she can reward herself with some drawing with Uraraka.

"I look forward to it!"

"Me too... anyways, which subject do you want to start with first?" She plops down on the rug in the center of the room, as she has no real proper table to use that isn't her desk, which isn't really designed for two people sitting at it in the first place.

"Hmm, let's see, can we start with math?" Uraraka pulls out her notebook and the class textbook, opening the pages up to the lesson they've been covering in class. "I can follow the equation up to here, but once you simplify the equation and get the numerator, I just get lost and don't know how you get the answer."

"Let me get a closer look." Izumi pulls out her own notebook as well as something to write with. Her mind immediately jumps to the memorized answer, but Uraraka isn't looking for that when she's trying to figure out how to do it on her own. "Here. You need to set it up like this, and then you're gonna want to take the sum of F(x)."

"I think I get it. Let me try the rest out, Midoriya-san." Uraraka pulls out a traditional number two pencil and starts writing away, slowly but surely putting the steps together. After a few minutes and several grunts from her, she slides her notebook over to Izumi. "Did I get it?"

Izumi looks at the answer she circled, comparing it to the one in her mind. "Yep. 665 is the answer. You got it."

"Yes!" Uraraka pumps her fist slightly in the air. "Look out, math! You can't hold me back for long!"

"These problems are kinda tricky when you're still getting the hang of them. I used to struggle with them back when the hospital tutors first taught me about them."

"I find that hard to believe, Miss Ace of the Class," Uraraka smirks.

"It's true I promise! I used to suck at these problems!"

"No need to be so humble. Now, can you help me with this next one?"

That is their rhythm, the air buzzing with conversations about advanced algebra and integers and statistics. Pencils fly across pages as problem after problem is eventually solved and conquered. Sometimes Uraraka leans up against Izumi while looking over the textbook or Izumi's notebook, causing her heart to skip a beat. She feels so warm, making the timeline hopper feel safe and secure. It's almost like a reminder of what she was fighting for, for everyday study sessions like this and the glow of Uraraka's smile.

Eventually, Inko walks in, holding a tray with something delicious coming from it. "I hope you two girls are ready to take a break, because I have a bunch of snacks that aren't going to eat themselves." She places the tray on the ground, revealing two cups already filled with matcha tea, as well as a pot full of more of it. Two plates sit next to the cups, one with dorayaki and the other with dango.

"These look so good!" Uraraka says. "Again, I can't thank you enough for this. You really didn't have to."

"I don't mind at all," Inko insists. "It's my job as a hostess to make sure my guests are properly taken care of. Besides, it's my first time getting to spoil my Izumi like this."

"Thank you again, okaasan."

"Of course, dear. Now don't spend too long on a break. It's good to rest your mind but it shouldn't halt your progress." And with that, she walks out of the room, closing the door along the way.

"You wanna take a break?" Izumi asks.

"That sounds great right now." Uraraka shoves her books to the side, replacing them with a tea cup. "Thank you very much for the food!" She takes a sip of the tea, smiling the whole way through. "Your mama knows how to make a good cup."

"She really does. But just wait until you try her snacks! They probably had to be the main thing I missed in the hospital."

"Really?!"

"Well, at least in the top five.”

Uraraka puts her tea down to replace it with a dango. She pulls one of the balls off with her teeth, and her smile grows even wider and brighter as she chews. "Okay, I can definitely see why now.”

"If you think that's good, just try her katsudon! It's like she's perfected the recipe!" She takes a healthy bite into the dorayaki, savoring the flavor. Man, how she missed this.

"Midoriya-san, are you inviting me to dinner?"

The dorayaki goes down with a gulp. Izumi can feel her face flare up, almost steaming like the kettle in front of them. Her?! Invite Uraraka Ochako to dinner?! At her place?! "I– Um– that's not... you see..." Oh god, why couldn't she make a complete phrase to save her life?!

Uraraka chuckled. "I'm messing with you. Sorry if I crossed a line there. I'm not trying to force you to make a decision. I just saw a chance and decided to take it." Her smile is soft and sweet and sincere. There isn't a trace of anything on her face that suggested she was lying right now. Besides, Uraraka wasn't a pushy type of person at all. She was quite humble. If anything, she had trouble accepting other people's kindness sometimes.

"It just caught me off guard, that's all," Izumi replies. A wave of relief washes over as she reaches for the tea. This study session is already pushing the limits on how many distractions she can allow herself to partake in. Sure, this was allowing her to keep an eye on Uraraka, and dinner would do the same. But this isn't normal, isn't part of her routine. The more risks she takes, the more she increases the chances of something going wrong and Uraraka dooming herself to save everyone from Walpurgisnautc's destructive path, only to ultimately put them in more harm when her own Gem corrupts.

No. Izumi had figured out the formula, and she just needs to keep at it. She just has to perfect the path for one cycle and then every sacrifice will be worth it.

...wait. What was the definition of insanity again?

"Though, speaking of meals," Uraraka begins, bringing Izumi out from the turning gears in her mind. "How come I haven't really seen you in the cafeteria for lunch?"

"Eh?"

"I hope that isn't too weird of a question," Uraraka stutters, her blush taking up more of her face. Izumi can swear she hears her mutter something about screwing up twice with too forward questions and that she's making things awkward.

"No, it isn't," Izumi counters, and she can see a touch of relief on Uraraka's face. The blush is still there, but at least she isn't muttering like Izumi's old self. "I don't think you're watching me or anything outlandish like that. I'm just confused as to why me not eating with everyone else is such a big deal."

Uraraka slightly gasps, and for a moment her eyes appear to twinkle. "Well, I just want to make sure you're happy, if that makes any sense. Being alone or excluded honestly sucks, ya know. And I was worried that you hadn't found anyone to get to really know yet, even though you seem to amaze everyone just by breathing." There's a soft chuckle at the end of that, and Uraraka nibbles a bit on her dango.

"Trust me, I'm the opposite of amazing. I'm as plain as they come."

"Oh really?" Uraraka asks. "Let me set the scene. Aizawa-sensei tells us we're getting a new classmate who's only just recently gotten out of the hospital. No one knows what to expect. And then you walk in, ponytail gently trailing behind you. We're all trying to guess what kind of person you are, only to get blown away to find out that not only is the new transfer student is actually cute, but also an academic whiz able to put Yaoyorozu-san to shame!"

'She thinks I'm cute?!' Her blush returns ever so slightly, and she can feel her heart beating faster than normal.

So this is what normal girls experience when they get a crush, huh? Honestly, rather terrifying, and that's coming from someone who's seen the world end multiple times!

"And then we find out the transfer student is also an expert on the sports field, which is quite the shock because didn't you just come from the hospital?!" Uraraka continues. "Like, no offense, but I'm pretty sure everyone was expecting you to be at the bottom of the barrel rather than the top. Especially that Bakugo-kun." She chuckles just a bit. "I can still remember that silly expression he made when he saw you clear the high bar jump like it was nothing! He was so tense and stiff you'd think he'd explode if you touched him!"

"That sounds like him alright... still the same as ever..." She takes a sip of her tea, slightly grateful he doesn't draw too much of her attention within each loop.

Uraraka gasps slightly, but she shakes her head a bit like she's storing something for later. "You'd think someone like you would find lots of friends easily," Uraraka states, "but you're still alone. I know you've only been in school for a bit, but it doesn't feel right for anyone to be without at least one friend so soon." She pauses. "I just don't want anyone else to have to experience loneliness, as stupid as that sounds. Everyone needs at least one other person by their side, right? We're not meant to be alone."

Izumi's throat tightens just a bit, and she can't quite meet Uraraka's eyes. Her words flow through her body with the warmth and healing of honey, yet also the chill and venom of poison. Because, dammit, she's right. Izumi isn't meant to be alone. She shouldn't be alone. Her heart aches a tiny bit every time she sees a happy group of friends every time she goes out on patrol, a hunger burning in her for company that will never leave her side. To do or die, in both sickness and in health, whether the days be sunny and clear or full of a Witch caused disaster. Izumi reaches a bit towards Uraraka, wanting to take her hand and hold her forever...

...but she stops as the truth settles in. Puella Magi can't distract themselves. It's every girl for herself as she fights to obtain as many Grief Seeds as possible before her Gem becomes another Seed in the pile. That isn't even taking into account Izumi's personal burden of traveling through time, a naturally lonely path. One person turning back the universe's clock is bad enough; it doesn't need a second person tagging along for the ride. She just has to keep pressing on, never giving up, doing everything she can to stop despair and protect the person who showed her light so long ago. And once she's safe, then maybe she can go back to saving more and more people like she wanted to.

"Midoriya-san? Is everything okay? We can stop talking about it if I hit a bad nail right on the head."

"No, it's fine, I promise." Izumi flashes her a fake smile, a trick she's taught herself well. "I'm just not used to someone looking out for me like this, personally looking out for me and not just cause it's their job, that's all."

"What do you mean by that?" Uraraka leans forward. "Please, help me understand you better."

The whole truth sits on the tip of her tongue, but she swallows it back down deep. "People have either made fun of me, ignored me, or only really attended to me because I'm their patient. Growing up, I couldn't keep up with others on the playground or on adventures through the forest. I'd always need to stop and catch my breath and take a while to do so. They'd call me weak and a burden... Bakugo-kun even stated that I should be named 'Deku' since I was so worthless to them all and would only slow them down."

"You had an underlying condition," Uraraka states. "So what if you needed more breaks than the rest of them? And what a shitty move from them! Seriously?! Saying the sick girl deserved a name meaning worthless?! God, people like that disgust me.”

"We didn't know I had heart problems back then," Izumi clarifies. "Everyone around me just thought I was weaker. Even I would wonder why I was so frail."

"That still doesn't make it right."

"Never said it did. It's just the cruel truth."

"Hmph." She yanks off the remaining dango ball and swallows it without much effort. "And I'm guessing by your earlier statement that the teachers did pretty much nothing to help you?"

"You got it."

"Normally it's nice to be right, but this is just all wrong.”

"You can say that again," Izumi sighs. "The older I got, the more and more teachers got frustrated with me just for existing and having my own set of personal problems to deal with. They'd tend to ignore me, whether I was having a coughing fit or on the verge of passing out," She lets out a dry chuckle. "The most attention they'd give me were stern comments about how I needed to stop being a distraction to the other students and that if I kept being a nuisance I could end up in detention."

"And just when I thought the playground kids were already bad. Please tell me it got at least a bit better once you explained to them what was going on."

"I hate to disappoint, but I think it only made them angrier."

A small 'snap' rings throughout the room, and Uraraka places half of a dango stick on the tray.

"There was this one guy in middle school that would internally die whenever I asked to see the nurse. He would complain I just needed to stop making excuses for myself and pull myself into shape, and that it was my fault for having a weak heart."

"God, do I wish I could float him into the sun," Uraraka huffs.

"Please don't," Izumi says, not missing a single beat. "There's no need for you to make a wish like that. Or any wish at all. Besides, he ended up getting fired, and in the most hilarious fashion I must say."

"Oh? Do please tell me karma came for him."

"Guy got caught trying to switch some of my test grades with a student from a rich family to make the kid look better. And apparently I'm not the only student he's done this with. Investigation found him guilty of accepting a lot of bribes to do stuff like this. That isn't even mentioning the affairs they found with the history teacher and the gym coach."

"There is a god looking out for us after all!" Uraraka pumps her fist in the air, a slightly smug smile on her face as she does so. Izumi can't help but feel overwhelmed with a warm, sweet feeling as she watches her. They only recently met this timeline, and she already is cheering for her and wanting to send someone to the sun for her? And without a trace of pity? God, how can one person be so damn kind and caring?!

Then again, Uraraka is the kind of person that makes a time loop worth it.

"It was near the end of second year that my heart condition got worse," Izumi can feel her mouth go dry, and her body tenses up a bit. Time had mostly healed she was about to reveal, but it couldn't completely erase the pain.

"We were in the middle of history class. I had been having trouble breathing for a good chunk of the class and my chest was fairly tight. I didn't go to the nurse since I had already gone the day before and I don't want to annoy the teacher. Looking back, that was such a mistake."

Uraraka has already finished her dango by this point, and now her hand creeps towards Izumi's. It isn't long before their fingertips are touching.

"I was about to raise my hand to answer a question, when I felt this squeezing spread throughout me. Like I was almost being compressed. I wanted to throw up and my stomach was aching. I had already felt like I was gonna die by the end of the period, but right then and there it got so much worse. Next thing I knew..." She stops, the words caught in her tongue.

"Next thing I knew, I was falling out of my chair, gripping my chest as I was screaming louder than I ever had because I was in the worst pain I had ever had."

Uraraka takes a sharp breath in. She's biting her lip and her whole body is stiff. Her hand grips Izumi's.

"The nurse was brought in right away, and someone called the hospital," Izumi continues. "Turns out I had been getting so bad I had a heart attack in the middle of class. The doctors ran a few tests on me that night, and well, next thing I knew I was having to switch all my classes to homeschooling since I was staying at the hospital."

The room is quiet for a moment, the only noise being the grandfather clock from outside. Izumi's mouth is no longer dry, rather replaced by the strangely sweet smell that came whenever she cried. She musters up enough courage to look at Uraraka, and her eyes are watering as well. Her mouth moves, likely in an attempt to say something, but all that comes out are soft voice
cracks.

"I..." She finally manages to squeeze something out, only to go back to struggling to speak. She pulls her hand away from Izumi's, and her soul sinks just a bit before she's caught completely off guard by Uraraka's sudden hug.

"I can't even imagine going through something like that," Uraraka whispers. "I'm so sorry."

Izumi accepts the hug, and just for a moment, the world is only the two of them. No previous heart problems or bullies or jackass teachers. No Witches or time travel or Incubators. Just two girls holding onto each other.

If only this could be forever.

But it can't.

Eventually Uraraka lets go, and Izumi sits up as she does her best to ignore the ache in her heart. "I stayed there for a year doing tests and working to improve my condition as a whole. The nurses and doctors were... good. They weren't overly friendly or anything like that, but they were much better than the people I had been dealing with back at school. Still, that didn't stop some of them from giving me looks of pity. It made me wonder if any of them would actually care about me if they weren't getting paid to."

"I can see how you would see that..." Uraraka gently brings up her tea to her mouth, letting the rim of the cup sit on her lips.

"And now we're here," Izumi states. "Now I've recovered and can attend school in a class full of people again. And it's great, but I always feel like I need to be doing the best I can. Always need to study whenever possible to make sure I don't risk falling behind. Such as studying in the library during lunch. Always need to stay as in shape as possible so I'm not out of breath at the end of warm up laps. I can't let myself become a deku again because I don't want to be a deku. I don't want to be worthless to the world. I don't wanna be a burden to anybody. After all, I've been like that for so long and I'm tired of it."

'I just want to thank the person who showed me that I can be someone who can do her best. Who is doing her best.' She internally adds on. 'I want to give her as much hope and light as she's given me.'

Izumi flashes a weak smile at Uraraka. "Sorry for answering your question by dumping my life's story on you. I can understand if it's too much."

"You're absolutely fine, Midoriya-san. I promise. I just don't wanna say something stupid in response, that's all."

"I don't think you could ever say anything stupid, Uraraka-san."

Uraraka glances down at her legs, and for a moment Izumi can swear she sees her blushing a bit. "Thanks. I'm just... kinda amazed, if that makes sense?"

"Hm?"

"I feel like no one would blame you if you let your life turn you into a bitter person. I mean, you weren't dealt a fair deck in life at all. Yet from everything you've told me and from what I've seen from spending time with you, you're anything but bitter. You're overflowing with kindness and it shows.

"I've heard Bakugo-kun refer to you as 'Deku-san' a few times now. Though, the first time I heard him say it, I thought he was calling you 'Dekiru-san'. You know, saying that you were the kind of person who could do it and always does your best. It wasn't until Mina-chan started yelling at him for calling you useless that I realized what he actually said."

"I guess they are kinda similar." Besides, this isn't the first time she's heard Uraraka point out this similarity.

"And now that I know more about you and why you work so hard, I can't help but think about how you've kinda sorta basically turned 'deku' from meaning 'worthless' into meaning the same thing as 'dekiru'!" She lightly chuckles. "You made your insult into a word meaning 'do your best all' on your own by never giving up and well, always doing your best!"

There's something comforting about Uraraka point out how the words and the same and her changing the meanings and–

Wait.

That's not what she said.

She said something else.

That someone else changed the meaning.

And that someone was–

“Y-you're telling me I changed the meaning of 'deku' all on my own?!”

Her own self.

"Yeah!" Uraraka smiles, completely obvious to how she missed her cue for her to change the meaning. "I mean, it's like I said! You've been in all this work and look at you now! You're thriving and always trying to do your best! Who else could have changed it?"

'You!' Izumi wants to scream out. Oh, how the words clogged her throat and lungs, a storm of how Uraraka opened Izumi's eyes and made her feel like she was somebody with worth and deserved to live. How she only fueled Izumi's motivation to help as many people as possible, constantly amazed with all the effort Uraraka put in up until her very last breath. How she made Izumi want to do more, be more, be someone as strong as her. But there's too much truth woven into the rambles, too many dangerous secrets to admit. It's overwhelming and suffocating and–

Izumi struggles to breathe. In out. In out. In out. The air quickly comes and goes. The only thing faster than her breathing is her heart beat. It's too similar to that heart attack from long ago that it only enhances Izumi's fear.

Her skin is crawling with shards of glass. Like miniature bullets scraping her skin. Her ears ring like an emergency siren, drowning out whatever Uraraka is saying. The world around her is so detached while she's on edge. Fabric scratching skin. Sweat trickling in all the wrong places. Her Soul Gem burning inside the ring.

She's a glass about to break. A bullet shattering into pieces. Clock gears spinning too fast.

Every smidge of regret consumes her veins.

Is this what it feels like to become a Witch?

Regret.

Pain.

Glass in lungs.

Regret.

Pain.

Heart about break.

Regret.

Pain.

World spinning.

Regret.

Pain.

Dread crushing shoulders.

Regret.

Pain.

Regret.

Pain.

Regret.

Pain.

Something lifts her chin. A whimper escapes her.

A new face looks at her. Their mouth moves. Breathing? Something about breathing?

She forces herself to hold in the smidges of air. Let it out. Take in as much as possible, hold it, let it out. In, hold, out.

"–seven, out eight. In four, hold seven, out eight," a voice says, the world returning to normal. Izumi looks through teary eyes to see Inko guiding her through breathing. "Keep breathing, dear. We're here for you."

Izumi glances over to the side to see Uraraka sitting next to her. The fear is painted all over her face, but she's still smiling. "Listen to what your mama is saying. Just focus on breathing."

She attempts to say something in reply, but all that escapes is a soft squeak. Nevertheless, she keeps breathing, counting along to her okaasan's rhythm.

Her Soul Gem stops burning, returning to normal. It's probably filled with a fuck ton of corruption she'll need to clean out, but at least she hasn't become a Witch. She can't afford that, and certainly can't afford another fuck up like this.

'I have to put everything back on track.'

"Izumi, dear, how are you doing now?" Inko asks, her cheeks decorated with a few stray tear trails. "Can you breathe?"

She nods.

"Is your heart beating normally?"

She nods again.

"That's such a relief to hear." More tears run down Inko's face. "I was so scared but I'm so glad you're doing better."

Izumi can feel her own eyes water up as she leans into Inko, nestling her face into the soft knit. All she wants right now is to be held tight and loved and taken care of.

She returns the hug, though holding her gently. As a light stream falls down her face, Izumi reaches out for Uraraka. God, it's so embarrassing to do so, but she wants her. To be held and comforted by someone so important to her.

A normal person might have backed away from her request, but Uraraka scoots closer and grabs one of Izumi's hands with one of her own while holding onto her face with the other. Her hands are soft, especially her fingertips, which are squishy. They feel like Heaven, and there's no proper way to describe how much joy they bring to Izumi right now.

"Thank you, U-uraraka-san," she whispers.

"I'm here for you," she replies. "It's gonna be okay."

Izumi closes her eyes and lets Uraraka's words run through her body, smoothing out the remaining traces of the prickly, glass-like feeling. She's not sure she'll completely calm down today, but she's calmed down enough to be able to breathe normally and not feel like death.

"Uraraka-san," Inko begins. "Could you keep my daughter company? I just need to grab some medicine the doctors gave us for stuff like this."

"Of course."

Inko pulls back, now holding onto Izumi's arms. She leans in just enough to kiss both her tear ducts, just like she did when Izumi was a little girl. "Dear, I promise I'll be right back. I just need to get something for you to take. Is that okay?"

"Yeah..." Did the doctors give her stuff for panic attacks? Or maybe Inko thinks she had a small heart problem and that's what the medicine is for.

Inko gets up, letting go of Izumi. It isn't long until Uraraka is right by her side, and Izumi leans into her tight. She doesn't fight it at all, rather holding her nice and secure with one arm while tracing up and down her back with her free hand.

"Do you want me to leave?" She asks, voice soft. "I understand if you want time to calm down and–"

Izumi nestles her face closer into Uraraka's body. "Stay. Please." It's such a selfish request, to simply ask her to stay like this. But she doesn't have the strength to protect Uraraka right now, or anybody for that matter.

"Then I'll stay as long as I can.”

The clock does all the talking for them, Izumi simply embracing Uraraka's touch. It had been far too long since the two had embraced, far too long since they were just able to relax with one another without having to talk about magic. Izumi can hear her heart beating; it's surprisingly loud and actually faster than normal. Weird. She should have recovered from her attack earlier.

Inko comes back in with a horse pill in one hand and a glass of water in the other. Izumi can feel herself grimace at the sight of the pill. For fuck's suck, she had taken enough of those already! Then again, this was the first time in all her loops– well, minus the first few ones– that she's actually had to use her pills. Looking at it that way, it's actually been years since she last took a pill that big.

Pushing aside the somewhat unsettling thought of how many years she's spent looping, she takes the pill and glass. Then she takes a swig of water before pushing the pill into her mouth, washing it down with even more water.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that," Inko sighs, her head tilting slightly to the left. "I keep thinking you're gonna choke. Surely the pills don't taste that bad."

"They do, not to mention I need lots of water to make sure the taste doesn't stay in my throat. That's the hardest to get rid of."

"God, that reminds me of the generic cold and fever pills Mama gives me," Uraraka adds on. "They taste so bitter! Seriously! Why does all the cherry stuff taste bitter?!"

"It's so you try hard to stay healthy," Izumi chuckles. "You don't need to swallow death liquid if you aren't sick."

"I guess that's one way of looking at it," She snorts a little as she laughs, and Izumi can't help but join in. Inko simply rolls her eyes as she walks away, muttering something about 'two peas in a pod' as she does.

"I've told you all about me and my history," Izumi says. "What about you? Come on, I wanna know more about the girl in front of me."

Uraraka scratches the back of her head. "My history is honestly boring. You wouldn't wanna hear it."

"After everything that just happened, I think we need boring." Izumi stops as she fully processes her sentence. "Wait. Shit. You're not boring. I didn't mean to imply that. You're really cool and caring and I just wanna get to know you better." God, she's starting to mutter all over the place again. How does Uraraka keep doing this to her?!

Uraraka just smiles as she chuckles. "Don't worry, I know you weren't trying to offend me. Promise."

"God, that's such a relief to hear." She lets out a large sigh, and she can feel her face warm up. Man, she's such a crazy mess, if the repeated time loops weren't already enough of a sign of that.

"But if you really want to know about me and my past, I suppose I can tell you."

"I'd really like that. I'd really, really like that."

"Well... let's see..."

Uraraka's voice fills the air as well as Izumi's soul. It's not the first time she's heard all this, about her parents' job and how hard workers they are. How she wants to someday send them to Hawaii on vacation. How she first met Mina and instantly clicked. Yet despite knowing all the facts, Izumi pays attention to every word, sinking in everything she says like it's her first time hearing it. Even if Uraraka isn't sharing all the facts, leaving things out here and there. Not that she can blame her. There were certainly other timelines where they were closer, and even then Uraraka didn't reveal that information until later during the month.

"...And that's pretty much everything so far," Urarka finishes. "I tried to add some pizazz where I could, but like I said, it's admittedly boring."

"Boring isn't the right word for it. I'd say it's... something worth treasuring. Something to appreciate having and not making any huge, drastic changes to it so you don't lose it."

"I suppose you're right, Midoriya-san. Still, I want to help and make things better. I'm just not sure what that thing is yet."

Izumi bites her tongue, words all muddled in her mouth. She pulls her legs closer into her chest. She wants to be able to say something to her, but she doesn't want to risk accidentally encouraging her to make a wish and becoming a Puella Magi in the process. Silence is the best choice right now, even if she isn't satisfied with it.

"I know this is a really random thought," Izumi says, hoping Uraraka isn't weirded out by her changing the topic of conversation. "But do you, would you not if I well, didn't call you by your surname?"

Uraraka lets out a small, questioning noise. "Like would I mind being called by my given name?"

"Yeah. I understand if it's going too fast since we've only known each other for a bit, but I was wondering–"

"I think that actually would be really nice, Izumi-chan!"

Uraraka's sentence loops in Izumi's head, sounding lovelier each time it repeats. Her heart starts beating faster and her face burns even hotter, and she wouldn't be surprised if she started steaming at this point. Uraraka?! Call her Izumi?! Just like that?! Jesus, her heart is beating so fast now it's threatening to break out of her chest. Didn't she already fix her condition with magic?

"Eeep!" She can't even speak properly now! Who knew words were that powerful?!

"Are you okay, Midor-Izumi-chan?" Uraraka asks as she frets over Izumi. "Are we actually going too fast?"

"I-I'm fine," she squeaks out. "Though, maybe just 'Deku' for now? Since you pointed out how I changed the meaning of it and all..." Her spirit dips some with that last statement, but it isn't enough to completely destroy whatever positive emotions Uraraka just hit her with.

"Oh yeah! I can totally call you 'Deku-chan'! And you can call me 'Ochako-chan' in return!"

"That makes me really happy, Urara-Ochako-san. Really, really happy. More than you can imagine." Because in that moment there, even with the transformation of the meaning of deku thrown off kilter, it feels like things are starting to work out. That maybe this is the timeline everything works out and Urara-Ochako never has to make a Contract, maybe even never learn about Puella Magi if Izumi is lucky enough.

Maybe she can finally pull it off.

Izumi is the only one who can hear the clicking of her heels on the rooftops. It's the only noise she can hear besides her own breathing. While birds hang in the sky and people are walking the streets below, they're all completely silent.

After all, they're frozen in time.

The hourglass embedded in her shield is paused, the sand only moving because she is, not because time is flowing. None of the gears move; they're as still as glass. While there would normally be wind brushing up against her face, she can't feel any right now. A rather difficult phenomena to get used to, but one she managed to become accustomed to all the same.

She jumps on top of a lamp post as she makes her way to the next rooftop. Her feet land gracefully on top of the muted surface, the coloring looking like it was placed through a camera filter. Hell, the whole world looks like that. A little dimmer, a little grainer. That doesn't stop electronic billboards from shining obnoxiously bright, the photoshopped smiles never flickering as they show off the newest item to convince the masses to buy.

Not the dim colors matter when her target is pure white with golden rings around its ear fluff.

Izumi's fingers tighten on her Beretta 92FS, the gun close to her chest as she keeps scanning the area for that damn Incubator. Dammit, why did she slack on keeping an eye on that thing?! It's cleverly good at hiding from her, likely running off to wrap another young girl into a fatal contract. A grunt escapes from her just thinking about that blasted thing. Such a slippery pest.

(She had once tried a tracker on it. It flicked it off into the bottom of a river.)

She jumps onto a new rooftop, entering a worse part of town. If Inko knew she was here, she'd be freaking out. Then again, she'd be freaking out over Izumi leaping across buildings with a gun rather than running on the street to try to return something Ochako "left" behind.

Izumi bites her lip. Just cause she's good at lying to people doesn't mean she likes lying to Inko.

She runs across a few more building tops, some with broken windows and others surrounded by chain link fences. For an area behind a rather nice shopping center, the buildings here are rather neglected. Then again, it's not a problem as long as they're out of the way, right? That's how life works.

After landing on what feels like the million rooftop, she peeks into an alley and gasps.

"Gotcha."

She lines up the handgun right at her target, the fluffy creature not even aware of what's coming for it. Her heels continue to click as she gets closer to the edge of the building, not wanting to mess up the shot at all. Aiming a handgun is different than aiming a shotgun, a rifle, or even a machine gun. Handguns are light, and don't come with the same scooping tools as the larger guns do. Still, she doesn't need large firepower right now. Just something that can do the job.

The shot is lined up. She takes a deep breath, and pulls the trigger, the force released from it echoing in the frozen air. The bullet dives towards the Incubator, spinning in the air until stopping. After all, she's no longer touching it. Why would it move?

Izumi pulls her shield up towards her chest, letting out the air she had been holding. Her left hand pulls up toward the chest from pure memory, even though the gun is still in it. She can't exactly do Ochako's trick with something in her hand. After all, she needs all her fingertips to be free.

"Just press them together and shout 'release'! Like when I fire my arrows! I bet that will help you focus on unfreezing time!"

Even after all this time, she still does it.

Just as she does now.

"Release!"

The gears begin to tick. The sand starts moving. The world returns to its original color and noise.

And the bullet continues to fly.

The Incubator turns its head around at the noise, and starts to run. The bullet only scrapes its tail, though leaving a pretty good wound on it.

"Dammit," she mutters. Should have gotten closer.

Izumi jumps off the roof, following the space leech as it runs for help. She continues to fire the gun, the process of aiming even harder now that she's moving. Still, out of all the gun types to use while running, the handgun was probably the best bet. No need to worry about speed slowing down with its smaller size.

The bullets mostly scrape various parts, including the top of its head. It leaves a small, red trail as it continues to flee, dots of blood decorating the ground. She's surprised the thing even bleeds at all. After all, only things with a heart bleed, and the Incubators don't have a heart. They probably exchanged it for an extra brain.

The Incubator darts in between a bunch of trash cans, which are followed by a large garbage bin and a pretty thick chain fence. There must be a tear at the bottom of it, as she doesn't hear the thing start to crawl. Of course it had to get lucky.

Izumi jumps on top of trash can lid after trash can lid, the cans falling to the ground. She makes her way to the top of the large garbage bin and takes a large leap off of it, flying over the fence in one swoop. When she lands, the Incubator is gone, but the blood trail isn't.

The clicking of her heels only grows faster as continues to run, her breathing joining in near perfect harmony. Unlike when she was on the rooftops, the wind whips against her face here, making her ponytail flow behind her even more. It's only a minor observation, her mind once again focusing on locating the damn rat. She has to find it before anything bad happens tonight or–

"Are you okay?"

Her heels slam on the ground as she comes to a stop.

That voice.

She knows that voice.

Too well, in fact.

Izumi picks up the pace again, following the voice as if her life depended on it. The more she ran, the louder she got.

"Who could have hurt something like you? Here, let me pick you up. I'm sure Mina-chan won't mind if we help you before we eat."

And her fear only grows.

It only takes a couple turns around a few buildings for her to find the Incubator in someone's arms. The person appears to be female, wearing a pink sweater and well worn shorts and reddish pink ribbons in her hair–

–and the kindest, most fear filled eyes Izumi has ever seen.

Ochako looks up from the Incubator and her eyes meet Izumi's.

While transformed.

And with a gun in her hand.

Shit.

The Beretta falls onto the ground, bouncing a little bit away from Izumi's frozen body.

For the second time that day, she can barely breathe as she feels everything fall apart.

"Midori– Deku-chan?" She squeaks out. "What's going on?”

Oh, what an innocent fool Izumi was to think she could keep the Puella Magi from Ochako.

Such a fool.

And like all fools, it’s time for her to pay her price.

“Deku-chan, what are you?”