Ochako feels her phone vibrate in the pocket of her skirt as she slips on her shoes. She takes it out, and it lights up with a text message from Izuku saying to meet him outside in the backyard. Today was the second day of school. This meant that Izuku is going to assign her, her first task to complete.

As she walked outside she wondered what Izuku would be doing as his assignments. She assumed he was going to be doing the harder things. Things that could get him exposed and arrested if he got caught. For some reason, those thoughts bothered her. She really didn't want Izuku to get hurt. Even if he was the bad guy after all.

She watches a smile find its way onto Izukus face as she approaches him. "Good Morning Uravity!" He chirps. Ochako lets out a huff. He was being extra annoying than usual. "Not a morning person I see. Don't worry I'll make it quick." He says, winking after.

He pulls out a phone from his pocket and places it in Ochako's palm. "That's what Shigiraki gave me for you to use. Don't lose it!" Ochako nods. "So all I have to do is put it in my pocket and let it record the teacher's conversations?" Ochako asks. Izuku nods. "Luch is their planning period so there might be some juicy stuff. Especially since it's the beginning of the year." Ochako looks down.

"So what are YOU going to be doing then?" She asks, looking back up at him. Izuku smiles. "I can't tell you. It's a secret between me and Tomura only!" He giggles. Ochako lets out a huff and stares at him. He was acting differently than he normally did. He was always more on the level-headed and timid side. The way he talked and sounded was more...cute? Now he was acting bubbly and innocent. Something that reminds her of...well...herself.

"You can stop acting like that now..." She says, letting out a puff and pouting her lips, her eyebrows furrowing. Izuku tilts his head, a finger on his lip. "Like what?" He asks with an innocent smile on his face. Ochako clenches her fists. "Like THAT. Like me!" She says, her voice getting loud. Izuku can't take her seriously with the way her cheeks puff up in an attempt to look angry.

He sighs. "You're right. I'll stop. I thought it would brighten your mood if I wasn't acting like an ass." Ochako raises an eyebrow. "Well, your idea was dumb." She mumbles, slowly walking away. Izuku pouts and grabs his bag off the ground catching up after her. "Fine. I'll only agree to show you my true and unfiltered self. I can't promise I'll be honest with my words though." Izuku says. It sent a rush of relief over Ochako hearing his voice and words back to normal. "I prefer that over being fake."

Izuku smiles slyly. "Okay then. Whatever you'd like, Uravity!" Ochako looks at him from the corner of her eyes. "Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?! I said to be normal!" She yells, causing a few eyes to be on them. "But I am being normal!" Izuku whines. "I just really think Uravity suits you." He says, winking. Ochako pouts for what feels like the hundredth time. He was going to kill her before she could even get started with the hard stuff.

--------

Ochako anxiously bit her nails as the last five minutes of class before lunch approached. She knew it wasn't a hard task and only had to act natural and nothing would happen, but for some reason, it was still making her nervous. She lets out a yelp as the bell rings, letting her know the class was over. Izuku makes his way over to her desk as she fetches out her bento box, her phone, and the phone Izuku lent her.

"All ready to go, Chako?" He says, stretching his arms. Ochako blushes and looks up at him. "C-Chako?!" She squeals. Izuku's eyes widen, and a light blush grazes his face. He ignores the hot feeling in his cheeks and comes up with a sarcastic remark about it. "Sorry. It just slipped out. Unless you want me to call you that since you hate Uravity so much." He says, leaning down and resting his hands on her desk. Ochako keeps her head down and hides her growing blush. Izuku can see the tips of her ears growing red and he giggles.

"No answer? Fine then. Come on Chako. Let's get ready for your first assignment. Wouldn't want to make a bad impression on the first day, would you?" Izuku says, his eyes narrow and a sly smile on his face. Ochako pouts her lips and stands up, grabbing her belongings.

The walk to the teacher's lounge is silent. Ochako was too nervous and it made her shocked how deku could be so calm about this. "After you," Izuku says, opening the door to let Ochako follow behind him. They both greet the teachers already inside the room, taking small bows. Ochako tries to ignore the sympathetic looks she gets. Especially Miss Midnight. She was more emotional than the others. Especially from the way she looked like she was about to burst into tears from making eye contact with her.

It turns out that secrets spread out faster than she thought once revealed.

Izuku hands her the phone after setting things up and once she's seated at a desk in a far corner. She didn't want to disturb anyone. "Alright, I'll see you in 20 minutes Chako." He says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He leans down, his lips near her ear. "Don't worry, if you don't get anything interesting I'll take the blame for it."

Ochako lifts her head and turns to look at Izuku, but before she can say anything he's already out the door. She narrows her eyes and pouts. "That dummy..." She whispers under her breath, stuffing rice into her mouth.

-------

Ochako stands up and gathers her things as the bell rings, letting her know lunch is over. She quickly bows to the teachers in the room and thanks them for letting her eat lunch with them.

Just as she expected Izuku is waiting for her when she exits the room. He gives her a smile that felt genuine and non-mocking for once. It made her stomach churn. She hadn't gotten anything juicy as she was hoping. She didn't want Izuku to take the blame for it.

It makes her anxious and her head hurt. She didn't want to think about what they would do when they did get the information they needed. There was nothing here for them. They were all innocent and had done nothing wrong.

"Alright, Chako. We'll discuss what you've got later. Don't want to be late for our first day of training now, would we?" Izuku says, walking up to her. Ochako looks down and nods. Izuku tilts his head and his smile fades. "Don't look so stressed. It makes you look gloomy. It's not a cute look on you!" He says as they walk down the quiet hallway back to class.

"I'm just nervous...For training." I haven't done anything extreme with my quirk all summer. I'm gonna be so far behind.." Ochako mumbles. Izuku stares at her as she continues looking down. "I know how that feels. I felt like that the entire time I've been training my quirk." He says. "I don't have any advice. Just, don't overwork yourself. It would make Toumra sad if my special helper died." Ochako looks up at him and pouts for the hundredth time today.

"I thought you were gonna be at least a little nice about it." Ochako says, giving him a tired look. She didn't mind. She knew he was just joking and it lifted some weight off her shoulders. Izuku smiles. "Sorry, I just had to be honest." He giggles. Once they reach the classroom Izuku waits for Ochako to put her lunch items back in her bag so they could go down to the locker rooms to change.

Ochako was fairly silent while changing and only gave vague answers to questions the girls asked her. She was nervous and didn't want people to think she was weak. She imagined how Izuku would feel. He had such a powerful quirk that could destroy his body if not trained properly. She found it hard to believe that he felt that he was far behind everyone else.

She could imagine him now. Chatting up a storm in the locker room with his newfound confidence and personality, then showing off his overpowered quirk(s). She wanted to be like him and she was sure everyone else looked up to him too.

She takes the hair tie off her wrist and ties her hair into a low ponytail to get her hair out of her face.

"Ochako!" Mina calls after her, her footsteps filling the silence that was once there. Ochako looks up at Mina as she walks next to her. "You look so gloomy today. What's up?" She says in a softer voice than before.

Ochako lets out a sigh and her arms drop to her sides. "I'm nervous about training. I didn't do anything with my quirk this summer. I'm probably at the same skill level as a first-year student by now." she whines. Mina looks down at her.

"Don't worry about it so much. The whole reason you're at UA in the first place is to get better at controlling your quirk, so the teachers will help you catch up quickly." She says, giving her a reassuring smile. Ochako sighs and looks down. "I hope so..." she says quietly.

......

"Alright. Today's lesson is to get you loosened up for tomorrow's training. I assume a lot of you did work studies over the summer, which is great. So take it easy and have fun!" Midnight says, clapping her hands together to start the class.

In seconds the class quickly spreads out, starting their warmups. Ochako starts off light by floating a few big rocks nearby. Her main weakness, for now, was floating things past her limit. She had gotten used to floating herself and not throwing up, but she forgot to work on the things that would come in handy.

Eventually, she finds herself asking Kirishima to slice some of the boulders for her to float, so that way she wouldn't run out.

Between floating and releasing the rocks, she loses track of time. She wanted to go above her limit. To prove she was more than a mentally unstable failure of a hero.

"Release..." she whispers, pressing her fingertips together. She takes a moment to breathe, resting her hands on her knees. She was getting tired, and nauseous, and her headache was pounding, making her ears ring, but she shrugged it off.

If she ever wanted to be a good hero she would keep going and ignore the side effects. They were there to slow her down.

She presses her hand against one of the heavier rocks she was saving for last. Then the one next to it. All she needed to do was float them for about fifteen minutes then she would take a break. Even though she was getting dizzy and her eyes were getting heavy.

She looks up to see how far up the rocks have gone, she sighs seeing them slowly tread their way up. She was starting to think that maybe she should let them go and float something lighter. Her energy was a big factor in how quickly and highly she could float items.

She shakes off the thought and continues focusing on steadying her breathing and ignoring her side effects. She could hear a nagging voice in her ear to release the rocks and take a break. But she ignored it assuming it was her brain trying to get her to chicken out by how faint it sounded.

She was never going to be a pro if she couldn't even float a rock a few hundred pounds heavier than her.

Ochako keeps repeating that in her head until her eyes become so heavy they close and her body becomes sluggish and wobbly. She lets out a heavy sigh.

"Maybe...Maybe I will take a little break." She mumbles before falling unconscious.

-----

When Ochakos eyes flutter open she let's out a hiss and squints. 'Too bright..' she thinks.

"Ah...you're awake. It's already 5 pm dear." She hears Recovery Girl say as she makes her way over to her bed. Ochako turns her head to look at her and notices her surroundings. A few bandages lined her arms and fingers and new bandages replaced the old ones that were covering her healing self-inflicted wounds.

She lightly blushes as she notices a familiar mop of green hair resting on the edge of the bed. 'He...fell asleep?' She thinks, gently threading her fingers through his hair. Izuku was sitting in a chair next to her, his head stuffed in his arms and hair pulled back into a low bun. He was in regular clothes and wondered if he came back to visit her after class ended.

"This is the second time you've been in my office in two days. You need to take it easy before you surpass this one's record as my most visited patient." Recovery Girl says before kissing Ochako on her forehead. She let out a sigh as the uncomfortable pain in her body started to subside.

"Sorry..." Was the only thing she managed to mumble out. Everything hurt and she didn't need to be reminded more of how much of a dumbass she was.

Great. Now she couldn't even float fucking rocks without looking weak and helpless. "Don't be sorry. It happens. In fact, be grateful this young man was the one to notice you passed out." Recovery Girl says. Ochako looks down at him again.

She felt...embarrassed that even though he was the one that needed saving, she was still the one who ended up getting saved. She averts her gaze and stays silent.

A knock on the door is heard and Recovery Girl smiles. "Looks like you have another visitor." She says.

Ochako looks over as her familiar scruffy and tired homeroom teacher walks in. She assumed he was there to check on her and it made her embarrassed.

"Good evening Uraraka. How are you feeling?" He asks, sitting in the chair next to Izuku's. Ochako looks down and picks at the skin around her nails. "Mn...better." She mumbles.

Aizawa sighs. "Ashido told me you felt uncomfortable with the class knowing what happened over the summer so I wanted to apologize. They were very worried and wouldn't stop bugging me."

Ochako sniffs. "It's fine. I was just being a cry baby." she says.

"You should try to take it easy. I know how it feels to want to prove you're better." He says. It makes Ochako turn her head to look at him.

"You can't force it. You just have to let it come to you naturally." Ochako nods. "I'll...I'll try.." She says gently. She knew he was right and she should push herself to go too far, but it would make her hate herself more if she didn't.

"Good. I wouldn't want you to become a second problem child like this one here." He says, ruffling her hair as he stands up. Ochako huffs and smiles gently.

"Get a lot of rest tonight. We'll be doing a lot tomorrow." Aizawa says as he walks towards the door, making his visit short.

"I will." Ochako says, not too confidently.

"Hm. He always has such a soft spot for his students." Recovery Girl hums as the door closes. Ochako smiles. She realized why Izuku liked him so much. He was a bit mean on the outside, but once you got to know him, he was a softie.

"Feel free to leave whenever dear. That one nice girl with the pink skin brought you a change of clothes." Ochako looks over at her and nods, thanking her before Recovery Girl leaves the room.

It was back to being silent. She left her phone in her backpack, which was across the room with her spare clothes, and felt too sluggish to get up. The thought of other people helping her because she was too weak to handle her own made her feel sick.

She promised everyone that she was okay. That she was better and didn't need to be looked after. And in less than a week she's already lied.

She really was a failure.

She blinks back the hot tears forming in her eyes, but a few have already escaped. She was sure if she went another day crying about something silly she was going to lose her mind.

She hears a light sound next to her and feels some movement, but her tears don't stop. She didn't want Izuku to see her like this. Crying again, but she couldn't help it.

Izuku sits up and stretches, his neck filled with aches. His eyebrows furrowed as he notices Ochako's puffy eyes and trembling lips.

"What's wrong Chako?" He asks, holding a hand to her cheek to wipe her tears. Seeing her crying isn't something he wanted to see when he first woke up. Ochako blushes and turns her head so he can't see her face.

Izuku would tease her for the way her cheek felt hot on his palm, but he figured it was a serious moment.

Ochako sniffs and attempts to dry her tears. "I don't wanna talk about it. I wanna go back to the dorms." She says, her voice low with a few cracks here and there. Izuku nods and stands up to go get her clothes.

Ochako thanks him and gets up to go change in the bathroom. To say Izuku was worried was an understatement. She was already broken about everything and the fact she was forced into his problems, but it was more than that. The fact she was broken already and how it was tied into her life now.

It made his heart hurt when he noticed a figure fall out the corner of his eyes and looked back only to see Ochako unconscious on the ground with two heavy boulders above her. She mentioned how she was stressed because she had fallen behind, but he thought she was better than that to overwork herself and go past what she could handle. Especially on a light training day.

It made him feel like shit that he wasn't paying enough attention to her.

"You can stop mumbling now.." Ochako says, dropping her dirty clothes in a bin and walking out of the bathroom in a comfy pair of shorts, a tank top, and a hoodie that looked to be three sizes too big for her.

"Sorry...I was worried." Izuku says, handing her bag to her. Ochako sighs. "It's Okay. Don't worry about me." She says, giving him a shaky smile as they walk out of the infirmary. Izuku only looks back at her, even more worried.

'How can I not worry about you when you keep proving to me you're not okay...' he thinks, watching the smaller brunette next to him.

......

When they arrive back at the dorms, Ochako is bombarded with questions from her classmates. Asked if she was okay if she needed anything to eat or anyone to talk to. It was annoying. She wanted to be treated normally. She had already said that. She appreciated that her class cared so much about each other and her. It made her feel happy. But sometimes it felt too far.

"I'm fine. I promise. I was just tired and I didn't realize it. I'll be safer tomorrow." She says, looking down. She was afraid she would turn into a stuttering mess and they would realize she was lying if she made eye contact.

It was an accident that had happened and she was ready to move on. After a fake smile and some reassuring words, she brushes everyone off and makes her way to her room. She was tired and that nagging headache just wouldn't go away.

She throws her bag onto the floor and flops onto her bed. She was too tired to shower so she made a mental note to take one in the morning.

She pulls her phone out of her pocket and turns it on, quickly being distracted by it. She had no motivation to get anything done and only wanted to lie down in the same spot and rest her aching muscles.

It had been an hour and so far no one had come to bother her. She was glad everyone took the memo that she wanted everyone to stay away from her.

'Or maybe they just really don't want to be around you anymore. Have you seen how pathetic you are?' The voice at the back of her head says to her. She was tired of it and stuffed her head in her pillow, blinking back more tears.

She shouldn't be crying because that's what she wanted. For people to leave her alone. And now that they were, she felt...lonely and that no one really cared for her in the first place.

After a few moments of silence, a knock on her door was heard and she groaned, accidentally jinxing herself. The door slowly opened, letting her know it was Izuku from the way he seemed to enter her room without waiting for an answer.

"You're not gonna eat dinner?" He asks, sitting on the edge of her bed. Ochako let out a muffled sound. "I'll take that as a no. Well, you should at least eat something later." He says, stretching his arms.

"Why do you care?" Ochako says, rolling onto her back. She noticed he had changed his outfit and was wearing a black hoodie and black shorts.

Izuku pouted. "Because I care about you. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore." He says gently. Ochako snorts. "That's funny. Then maybe you shouldn't have chosen me to be your co-worker then." She hums.

Izuku looks down. "You're right." He mumbles, getting up. Ochakos eyes narrow at the way he didn't have a sarcastic remark for that.

"Well. I have bad news. I gotta sneak out to meet up with Toumura tonight. If anyone asks where I am, tell them I went on a walk." Izuku says, looking at her with gentle eyes. Ochako sits up.

"You have to go now?" She asks. Izuku nods. "Don't worry Chako. I'll be back in less than an hour." He winks. It was almost after curfew. She hoped he wasn't going to get in any trouble.

"Alright...bye then..." Ochako mumbles as Izuku leaves by going out her sliding doors and hopping off her balcony. It reminded her all too much of what happened on Saturday night.

She was sure he was going to drive her crazy.

-----

Izuku sighs as he enters the lov base. Just being there for a minute has given him a headache. He despised working with them, but there were times things could get a little fun.

"Zuku-Kun! You're here. It's been so long since I've last seen you!" Toga squeals and Izuku plops himself down on the couch next to her.

"I was just here a few days ago. No need to be so clingy!" Izuku pouts as toga takes his hair out of its bun and parts it in half, tying the upper half into a small ponytail.

"I'm glad you listened to me and didn't cut your hair. It's so soft!" She says as he distracts himself with his phone. "I didn't do it for you.." He says. Toga pouts and her shoulders sink.

Then she sits up again. "Did you say hi to Ochako to me? I hope she hasn't forgotten me!" Izuku scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Sorry I forgot too. But I doubt she's forgotten you. Aren't you guys friends?" He teases. Toga nods frantically. "Yep, the best of friends!"

Izuku sighs and throws his head back against the couch cushion. "Where is everyone anyway?" Izuku asks. He saw Kurogiri, he was washing cups from the bar. But the three others were missing.

"Hmm. They went out a while ago. So I don't know." Toga says, stealing Izuku's phone to take a few selfies. "Fuck, really? I was gonna go to sleep early tonight." He mumbles.

"No cursing." Toga scolds. "Sorry."

If he knew Shigaraki was gonna call him to meet in person only to not be here we would have stayed at the dorms and talked to Ochako more. Even though she clearly hated him.

"Did you tell Ochako you like her yet?" Toga asks, checking her newly red painted nails. Izuku sighs. "No, not yet. I don't think she likes me."

"E-Eh? Of course, she does. She told me! Actually, I already knew!" Toga yells. "No! Not like that. I mean. In general. She said she doesn't want to be my friend anymore!" Izuku whines. Toga pouts.

"Of course she did. If I had a friend I liked who told me he was a bad guy now, I'd be mad too!" She says. Izuku runs his hands over his face. "But I'm not a bad guy!" He says.

Was he? It's not like he joined the lov because he wanted to. He had no choice. But, already he had done a few...not very heroic things and enjoyed doing them. He also enjoyed using Ochako as his pet. So maybe she did have the right to hate him.

"Eh? What's this? I hope you aren't falling in love with our special pet." Dabi says as he walks in, and Shigaraki follows behind him. Izuku sits up, a blush on his face.

"I am not! I'm just afraid she doesn't like me!" He whines. Tomura scoffs. "Why would she like you?" He chuckles. Izuku pouts. "Because...why not?"

Tomura sighs. "Well if she's going to be a distraction in that way, I might have to kill her now." He says, narrowing his eyes. Izuku slumps back. "Please don't..." Izuku says quietly.

He didn't want to get her hurt or himself in trouble so he stayed silent. Shigaraki had already wanted him. If anything funny happened outside of getting the information he needed he'd kill her in front of him.

"Hm. I assume the brat did her job today?" He asks. Izuku sighs and takes the spare phone out of his pocket, throwing it at Tomura. He caught it effortlessly. "Anything interesting?" He asked.

Izuku averted his gaze. "Uhhh. I dunno. I didn't ask her." He said. Shigaraki would kill him if he found out he was treating Ochako nicely and avoided asking her or telling her things because of the way it stressed her out.

"I did listen to some of it, and the teachers are planning on bringing the third years back to the USJ in a few weeks...All Might will be there." Izuku mumbles.

Shigaraki grins and throws the phone back at him. "Great. Looks like the fun will start soon." He says.

Toga sits up, bouncing her leg. "Does that mean I'll get to see Ochako again?" She asks, a smile on her face. Shigaraki nods and gives her a thumbs up.

Izuku sighs. "Can I go now? It's getting late and I'm the one who has to attend school." Izuku says, standing up. If he was going to be asked to sneak out of campus to go beat up some thugs during lunch again, he'd like to have the energy to do it.

"Sure. I'll let you know what you and that girl have to do by the morning." Izuku sighs again and mumbles out 'okay'. Shigaraki wasn't that bad, but today he was a bit irritating. Maybe it was the way he referred to Ochako. Surprisingly Toga seemed to be the nicest and least aggressive out of all of them besides Twice. So it's not like he hated her.

Izuku snuck back up onto Ochakos balcony and was relieved that she left her door unlocked. It would be awkward explaining why he was out at 10 pm.

When he walks in, her room is empty but her lights are on and her pink slippers are missing. He decides to check downstairs first, assuming she was down there.

He desperately missed her and wanted to at least see her one last time before he went to sleep.

He smiled as he saw her sitting at a table with a bowl of instant ramen in front of her. She hears the familiar pattern of his footsteps and looks behind her.

"I thought you'd already been sleeping." Izuku says gently as he sits in the seat in front of her. Ochako hums. "No. I got a bit hungry." She says, stuffing a bite of noodles into her mouth.

Izuku rests his head on his hand. "I missed you." He says, closing his eyes. Ochako looks up at him, a blush coating her cheeks. "Why?" She asks. Her heart was doing that dumb flutter again and her knees felt weak. Was it him saying he missed her all she needed to fall in love with him?

"Because. You're my friend. So I like you." He says, opening his eyes to look at her.

Ochako blushes more and aggressively stuffed noodles into her mouth. "You're dumb." She says with a full mouth, then swallows her food. "And you're incredibly annoying." She says.

She looks up at him. "But you're still Deku-kun deep down inside, so I guess you're not so bad after all." She mumbles.

Izuku's smile gets bigger and his heart pounds hard in his chest. "That's the nicest thing you've said to me all week!" He yells. Ochako can't help but giggle. "Stop being so loud before I take it back." She says.

Izuku giggles and hums. "But it's true!" He says in a sing-song voice. Ochako just rolls her eyes and goes back to eating, her focus back on her phone like before.

Maybe she didn't really hate him as much as she thought. 

A/N: hmm. Another chapter has arrived! School ends for me on Friday, so I should be able to update regularly after that. I can't make any promises though. Thank you for being patient with me and still reading my story!