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Chapter Text8:23 PM, Wednesday(Fifth Time and Fourth Reset)

Izuku watched as the police took the villain away, quirk-suppressing handcuffs locked tight onto the man's wrists. 

It was finally over.

After going through the same day five times(even more, if you factored in his use of Perfect Recall), he was out of the time loop. He'd found Reset's user.

Uraraka was his age, and this was the first time she had used her quirk(not that she could even remember it). Reset must have some kind of specific activation condition, or maybe it only worked when she died. Izuku frowned at that thought. Either way, Uraraka would've lived quirkless since no one knew about Reset. He couldn't imagine having gone through that in a quirk-focused society.

He wanted her help. If Reset could be activated without harming her, then they basically had a way to travel back in time. Izuku could save so many people with an ability like that.

Yet he knew nothing about Uraraka besides that she was amazingly brave and could throw a mean punch. How would he convince her that she even had a quirk, not to mention to use for hero work?

A man walked up, breaking Izuku out of his thoughts. He wore a kind smile and a tan coat, waving at Izuku and Uraraka as he approached.

"Hello. My name is Tsukauchi Naomasa, and I'm a detective. Are you two alright?"

"Yeah," Uraraka replied, and Izuku simply nodded next to her.

"Wonderful." Tsukauchi pulled out a notepad and pen. "Is it okay to ask the two of you some questions about this incident, then?"

They took a booth in the cafe, and Tsukauchi sat across from the two of them. Most of the customers and police already cleared out. Tsukauchi was probably questioning them here to save their parents an anxious trip to the station.

"Your Uraraka, right? Do you work at this cafe?" Tsukauchi asked.

"Yep. My part-time shift's from 5:00 to 8:00."

"Wait, so you got robbed just before you got off shift?" Izuku blurted. Damn, that was tough.

"...Yes."

"Can you give your account of what happened here?" Tsukauchi asked.

"The man stomped through the door, and immediately I saw the knife in his hand. The cafe went silent." Uraraka bit her lip. "He demanded money, and I was terrified and handed the money in the cash register over. I was doing that thing, you know, where you take really deep breaths? So you don't panic? And it helped, a lot, but he was being impatient..."

"Uraraka, we can continue this another time-"

Uraraka shook her head. "No, no I'm fine. Anyway, so this woman in the back, the one who got that latte with sooo much sugar, tried to call the cops, but the guy noticed. He got kinda angry and tried to grab me, but then bam!" Tsukauchi's pen paused at the sound effect before it kept moving. "This guy jumped up from under the counter, and beat him up! It was so cool!"

"From...under the counter?" Tsukauchi glanced at Izuku.

His actions were pretty odd without context, Izuku realized. He'd just been focused on saving Uraraka, and not at all what'd it look like.

"It was weird for me, too!" Uraraka exclaimed. "He-wait, what's your name?"

"Midoriya Izuku."

"Midoriya-kun-" Izuku blinked. Where'd that honorific come from? "-came in shortly before Pink Jacket did. But before I could get him his coffee, the villain was walking in, and I don't remember seeing Midoriya-kun get under the counter...Huh. But anyway, Pink Jacket was losing to some really cool moves and then tried to use some kind of blue lightning, and Midoriya-kun stopped it with his rubber gloves!" Uraraka paused, turning to Izuku. "Wait, how'd you know to bring rubber gloves?"

Oh, that wasn't good.

Tsukauchi hummed. "Yes, Midoriya. Why'd you bring rubber gloves with you, today?"

"I needed the gloves for school; a science experiment. Turned out pretty lucky for me, huh?" Izuku shrugged, lying through this teeth.

The index finger on Tsukauchi's right hand moved the slightest bit. Izuku would normally have missed it, but the experienced detective was otherwise the perfect sign of control, calmly listening to their stories. Maybe Izuku was just being paranoid?

"I don't mean to pressure you, here. But why were you behind the cafe's counter? Do you have some kind of precognition quirk?"

Izuku winced. "It's a little embarrassing, so I didn't want to say. I walked around the counter to ask Uraraka-san something, but that's when...Pink Jacket came in. So I ducked under before he could see me."

The finger twitched again.

"I was right there when the villain grabbed for Uraraka, so I had to help her...he had a knife." Izuku didn't need to put on an act here, he'd truly been terrified for her. He couldn't let her die again. "I could tell he had an electricity quirk from the smell and sparks, so I put on my rubber gloves. Tsukauchi-san, am I going to face...vigilante charges?"

Izuku was sure the finger didn't move an inch after that statement. Why?

"You're very good at thinking under pressure, Midoriya. Taking on a villain is no easy feat." Tsukauchi praised. "Don't worry about charges, this was clearly a case of self-defense and according to the other witnesses, neither of you used a quirk."

"I've never seen Kamui Woods in-person before." Izuku suddenly said.

Tsukauchi stared at him, confused. "What?"

Izuku lied, and the index finger on his right hand moved. He didn't, and the finger stayed still. The twitch was so ridiculously small that Izuku's photographic memory only caught it after he reviewed the times where he lied. The detective must've endlessly trained the tell out of himself, but he couldn't remove it completely. And, well, Izuku doubted he was trying his best for two teenagers.

Izuku had no idea how it worked, but the effect was clear. Lie Detection, a perfect quirk for a detective. The information wasn't much use to Izuku now, unfortunately, now that he'd already lied about the most important parts.

"Sorry, I just heard about his villain fight today, he's amazing," Izuku said. "Do detectives got to meet heroes often? That must be really cool."

Tsukauchi smiled. "Yeah, we do. For us cops the hero-worship fades a little after years of working with them, but they're still neat, aren't they? Who's your favorite hero, Midoriya?"

"If you asked me when I was little, I would have told you it was be All Might, and the way he could save everyone with a warm smile on his face," Izuku said. "But now, I think I'd say Sir Nighteye."

Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow. "That's a rare one. Despite being All Might's sidekick, he isn't very well known. May I ask why?"

"I think I can imagine myself with the same kind of investigative focus in Heroics. And his quirk is amazing, isn't it?"

The detective chuckled. "You're right about that, kid. Having future knowledge is any hero's dream."

Tsukauchi waved as he walked out of the cafe. Would he care to investigate Izuku's lies? Or would he just dismiss Izuku as a weird teenager?

"Here!" Izuku turned to see Uraraka, holding a cup of coffee out in her hand.

"Thanks." He didn't expect her to remember, especially after all of that.

Uraraka smiled. "You saved me, it's the least I can do. But all of that-do you really not have some kind of precognition quirk? I heard you mention Sir Nighteye..."

Izuku opened his mouth then hesitated, taking a sip of his coffee. 

"It's...pretty complicated." Izuku started. "But if you're free tomorrow, Uraraka-san, I could try to explain."

Uraraka pouted. "Making me wait, I see. I'm curious now. Fine then, does lunch work for you? We can meet here!"

12:34 PM, Thursday

Uraraka sat across from him in the booth, as the people buzzed around the full cafe. 

Black gloves covered Uraraka's hands, yet left two of her fingers exposed. 

"So...what's your quirk?" Uraraka asked, leaning forward eagerly. "Something super complex?"

"Nothing that special." Izuku tapped his temple. "I never forget anything I've lived through."

"Wow! That must be so useful!" Uraraka exclaimed. "Never forgetting anything you need to do. And you can study so easily!"

"Yeah. What about...yours?" Izuku asked, a little hesitant. He didn't want to force her to admit she was quirkless, but-

"Oh, it's called Zero Gravity!" Uraraka chirped brightly.

Izuku blinked. Wait, what?

She took her gloves off, grabbing the water bottle in front of her. Izuku watched, stunned, as a pink glow surrounded the bottle before it seemed to float in the air.

"Release!" The water bottle dropped to the table. "Cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is..." She clearly had a touch-based quirk, completely different from Reset. Was he wrong? No, Uraraka definitely had Reset.

Maybe she had two quirks?

You either got one of your parent's quirks, a combination of the two, or something completely new(and if you were incredibly unlucky, nothing.) Some of the more unique quirk combinations could sometimes seem like two separate abilities, but they were just a single versatile ability.

It was theoretically possible, though very rare, to be born with two. And if a quirk as insane as Reset existed, then Izuku couldn't disregard the fact.

"I think it'll be easier to show you." Izuku held out his hand. "Through skin contact, I can show people my memories."

Uraraka stared. "And you're...willing to show me them? Isn't that like, letting me inside your mind?"

"Well yeah...that's what I said," Izuku said. Was he missing something?

Uraraka took his hand after a moment's hesitation and Izuku closed his eyes, searching for the right memory.

"Hello, what can I get you today?" A bright voice said next to him.

Izuku glanced up to see a brunette smiling at him, menu in hand. Huh...why was someone his age working in a cafe? 

"Uh...coffee." 

Photographic memory and he still couldn't remember what else he was supposed to say. Figures.

"What size?" The girl prompted kindly. 'Uraraka', her nameplate read. 

"Medium, please." 

"I'll be right back then," Uraraka walked away, and he checked his phone.

Uraraka's eyes were wide. "Wow, that was so weird!"

"What?"

"Everything was in so much detail! Like...max resolution, or something!"

"Oh, that must be because of my perfect memory." Izuku mused. He hadn't realized that it could be disorienting. "You don't have a headache or anything, do you?"

"Nope, I'm good. But..." Uraraka frowned. "That memory-it's not what happened! You went-" Her voice dropped, imitating his. "'Can I have a coffee, medium.' all smooth-like."

"No, I can assure you that's what happened. The first time at least." 

"Huh?"

"Uraraka...you have another quirk," Izuku said. "You probably don't believe me, but I can prove it."

"What? But I already have Zero Gravity." Uraraka protested. "I got its properties from both my Dad and my Mom. How can I have another quirk?"

Izuku shrugged. "It's super rare, but not impossible to have two."

"...Alright, what is it, then?"

"Time reversal," Izuku stated. "You can rewind time, including everything and everyone around you, back at least a day."

Uraraka laughed. "That's hilarious-wait, your serious? That's actually possible for a quirk?"

Izuku let out a sigh. "Yep. Time travel's insane, but well..." He shrugged. "You can negate gravity, and one of the top ten heroes is a washing machine. I don't think anything's really impossible, anymore.

"That's why you ordered differently in that memory, and how you stopped that guy so easily and came in right before he did." Uraraka realized. "You're saying that I activated this quirk on you, somehow, and sent you back in time?"

Izuku blinked. He didn't expect her to catch on that quickly, not to mention go along with his crazy story. "Kind of, but your second quirk isn't target-based. I've analyzed Reset a bit already-that's what I named it, by the way. You can change it if you want."

Uraraka sounded it out. "Reset, huh. That sounds cool!"

"Instead of sending people back in time, it rewinds the entire world back to a specific point." Uraraka's eyes went wide.

"The whole world? Are you sure?"

Izuku nodded. "Otherwise, the area around you wouldn't match up, timewise, and it wouldn't make sense." Not to mention that Izuku wasn't anywhere near her the other times. "But anyway, you rewinded me back a day, so I came into the cafe knowing exactly how to stop the villain-"

Uraraka held up her hands. "Wait, wait, go back. What happened the first time, then?"

"...It didn't end as well."

Uraraka nodded. "So something pretty bad must have happened, probably to me. Nothing else would have triggered this quirk that I've never even noticed before." 

Izuku barely hid his flinch.

"But then, why don't I remember it?" Uraraka tapped a finger against her chin. "If I activated the quirk, I should remember, right?"

"Your quirk is a perfect reset," Izuku said. "It rewinds everything back, including your memories."

"Then isn't it completely useless, if I can't remember what I've erased? I'd use it, only to repeat the exact same mistakes over and over again. But then why do you remember..." Uraraka trailed off.

"My quirk, Perfect Recall, protects my memories. Since I always have complete access to my past, I can remember what happened in an erased timeline. That's why I wanted to talk to you. Both to tell you about your new quirk, and ask for your help."

"My help?" Uraraka tilted her head to the side. "Sure, if it's possible."

"...What? I haven't even said anything yet."

"You saved my life, Midoriya-kun. Of course, I'd hear you out!" 

"Well, alright then. Uraraka-san, are you aiming to become a hero?"

"Yeah, I'll be taking the U.A Exams in two years. Why?"

Izuku let out a sigh of relief. "That makes things easier; I'm going to be a hero too. Essentially, I want to make a deal. I'll help you study, train, and figure out your new quirk; Reset, and analyze Zero Gravity as well. I'm pretty good at quirk analysis. In return...I want to use your quirk to save lives, and stop or even prevent villain attacks altogether with the advantage foreknowledge gives me."

Uraraka didn't say anything for a minute, deep in thought. Izuku waited patiently, watching the girl in front of him mull it over.

"My parents own a construction company." Uraraka started. "So I know a few things about business deals and contracts. I can tell your brilliant, Midoriya-kun, and if I really do have this second quirk, so I'll gladly agree to help you to use it for our future hero work."

Izuku opened his mouth, but before he could speak Uraraka raised two fingers. Her eyes narrowed.

"But all of that? It's entirely in your favor. I don't remember when I Reset; you would be the only one able to make any decisions. And handing over that much power, to someone I've known for a day, is a lot. So I have two conditions."

"One: show me your memories of what I've erased. You don't have to show me every single thing that happened in your life, just the important events and stuff that made you want to Reset. I also want to see things that deal with me." Uraraka paused. "This is still so much power to give someone, but...I think I'll trust you."

"Two: show me everything that happened the first time I Reset, with Pink Jacket. I can tell it's not something you want to see again, but-"

Izuku let out a hollow laugh. "Uraraka, I've used my quirk to remember that fight many, many times. I just didn't want you to see it." He looked down at their still linked hands. "But your right, that's only fair. I agree; I'll show you what you forget from now on, and what you've already forgotten."

Uraraka's lip suddenly quirked up, breaking the serious air. 

"What?" Izuku asked.

"You dropped the honorific, hmm? I wasn't expecting that."

"Oh, I didn't even notic-"

Uraraka smiled. "Don't worry about it. If you're right about this quirk thing, then we'll be working together a lot in the future. Just call me Ochako!"

"There's no way I could call you that!" Izuku exclaimed, cheeks burning.

Uraraka giggled. "Why not?"

Within moments, Izuku realized, she'd changed the mood around them.

"I think I'll just stick to Uraraka, for now." Izuku smiled back. "This memory is going to be a little long, and not nearly as fun, so try to brace yourself."

He activated his quirk, and the cafe shop around them shifted.

Uraraka gripped his hand like a lifeline, so tight that Izuku winced. Her face was pale.

"So that's how you knew to bring your gloves," Uraraka stated, her voice rough.

Oh. The only other person Izuku had brought into his memories was his Mom. He didn't realize Uraraka would experience everything the memory had to offer, including that very painful shock. 

Damn it.

"I should have warned you-"

"No, I knew what I was getting into." Uraraka hesitated. "That white light at the end. That's the Reset thing you mean, right?"

Izuku nodded. "And then I open my eyes, and it's 7:58 AM again."

"Alright." Uraraka stood up, letting go of his hand. Her own was shaking, the slightest bit. "Thanks for sharing all that with me, Midoriya-kun. I think I need some time to...process, though. Can we meet here again, on Saturday?"

"Sure, but for what?"

A hint of Uraraka's usual smile returned.

"Well you wanted to analyze Reset, didn't you?"

10:22 AM, Saturday

Emitter Quirk: Reset.

User: Uraraka Ochako.

Ability: Reverses everything back to a certain point(except my memories.) 

Observed Use: Activates automatically on the user's death, but after seeing her other quirk it's possible that it could be activated otherwise. A Reset floods everything in white light, appearing to deconstruct the world around the user. In my experience, the Reset took me back to 7.58 AM from 7:50 PM. Is that its maximum duration?

Possible Applications: If we both agree to Reset, then we've gifted ourselves with hours and hours of accurate foresight. That'd be invaluable to hero work.

Drawbacks: Uraraka's quirk reverses her own memories as well. But if a Reset causes any symptoms of quirk overuse, those negative effects would be instantly reversed as well.

Uraraka skimmed through the page, curious. "You've got a lot of cool theories here, Midoriya-kun. What's the blank page here for, though?"

"Oh, that's usually where I sketch the quirk's user." Izuku scratched the back of his head. "People don't usually see these notebooks. I mean, if you don't want me to draw you, Uraraka..."

"No, I think it'd be neat!"

"That's good, then. By the way, has anything felt different, since your quirk awakened?"

Uraraka nodded. "Yeah. I didn't notice it last time we met. But there's like, this tingling feeling-" She poked her stomach. "-here. It's not the same as Zero Gravity, but I can tell there's something new now. It's hard to explain."

"Have you tried using Reset since Thursday?" Izuku asked.

"Nope. I didn't want to forget all of this, and you might have to stop that guy again. I wonder how'd you even convince me a second time?"

Honestly, Izuku wouldn't mind beating Pink Jacket up again. But he was still happy about the way things went.

"Then, why not try it now?" Izuku suggested. "I don't think your quirk can rewind super far, and it's already been about three days since the robbery. I doubt you'll go past Thursday."

Uraraka closed her eyes, focusing. 

"I'm trying to use it, but nothing's happening," She said after a minute. "I can tell I have the quirk now..but how do I use it?"

Izuku tilted his head, considering. "Well, how do you use Zero Gravity?" 

Uraraka blinked, surprised at the question. "I just touch something with all five fingers, and the quirk reacts. Honestly, it's more of an effort to not float stuff. And then when I want to Release, I put my hands together and the...energy pauses, basically, and then everything falls down."

Izuku hummed. "So maybe Reset only works if your hands are together?"

Uraraka took off her gloves, placing them on the table before lining up her fingertips. 

A bright light shone between her hands, a mix of blue and pink.

"Whoa. Zero Gravity's pink, so that blue must be it. Holding my hands together feels weird-like I'm constantly using up power. Wait, I remember now!"

"Remember what?"

"You said I brought you back at 7:58 AM, right? That's around when I wake up. On Wednesday, I dropped my phone and just barely caught it before it slammed into the floor. My hands were together, just like this, and I yelled 'Save!'-" Uraraka's hands glowed blue. "-though I ignored the feeling at the time, that must've been what set the checkpoint!"

"Reset's just like a video game." Izuku realized. "You say 'Save' to set it up, and then when you say 'Reset' time is reversed back to the first activation."

Uraraka blinked, her hands still pressed together. "So like, if I say Reset-"

Reset.

10:25 AM, Saturday(First Reset)

"-though I ignored the feeling at the time, that must have been what set the checkpoint!"

Izuku stared at her. "Huh."

"What?"

They needed to be careful with that. He placed a hand on her arm, showing her what happened seconds ago.

"Reset's just like a video game." Izuku realized. "You say 'Save' to set it up, and then when you say 'Reset' time is reversed back to the first activation."

Uraraka blinked, her hands still pressed together. "So like, if I say Reset-"

Uraraka gasped. "It works with just a word, that's so cool! All I need to say is Reset-"

Reset.

10:25 AM, Saturday(Second Reset)

"-though I ignored the feeling at the time, that must have been what set the checkpoint-wait, what are you doing?" 

Izuku grabbed her hands as soon as his consciousness returned, pulling them apart.

"Your quirk sets a Save just like that, and if you say Reset with your hands together...it activates." Izuku sighed.

Uraraka looked down, sheepish. "Ah, I can see what must have happened. Sorry about that."

"It's fine, we figured out how Reset works now. Can you set another Save, now that you know?" Izuku let go, and she very carefully joined her fingertips.

Uraraka tapped her phone. "Alright. Save; Saturday, 10:25 AM."

Her hands glowed blue again.

"Logging the time is a nice touch," Izuku commented.

"Some of us aren't lucky enough to have a photographic memory like you do, so it's nice to keep track of it. Though I feel really, really tired now, for some reason..."

"Saves must really tire you out," Izuku noted. So that's what the main drawback of Reset was; sapping her stamina whenever she set a Save. "You should limit checkpoints to once a day; I don't want to push a powerful quirk and potentially hurt you-"

A snore cut him off.

Izuku glanced over to see Uraraka's head down on the table, fast asleep as her brown hair covered her face. 

He reached out a hand to wake her, then paused. There were dark circles under her eyes.

She'd gone through a robbery and unlocked a new quirk. Before she could process it, Izuku showed her how the villain attack could've gone worse in maximum detail. How did it feel to hear your own death? Izuku winced, his hand dropping to the table. He'd really sprung so many things on Uraraka, within days.

The least he could do was let Uraraka rest a little.

Notes:

Izuku finally getting a chance to talk to Uraraka! This chapter is almost all dialogue since I thought setting up how Reset works and their friendship was pretty important.

Also, I've tweaked the format a little so that from now on, the day will be listed as by the number of resets since the last Save/checkpoint, rather than the number of times Izuku has experienced it(since they might keep a Save for over a day)

For example, Uraraka resets four times in the cafe robbery, so Izuku experiences the day five times. I would list it as '8:23 PM, Wednesday(Fourth Reset). This is probably self-explanatory, but I just wanted to clarify.

Thoughts and feedback are welcome!