Chapter 25 Deku: The Telekinetic Hero by sremiehzla

End-Of-Semester Brick Wall

Ochako was jogging behind Deku on their Saturday morning run. They hadn't done it the weekend prior due to their internships, so it felt good to once again go past the familiar buildings and streets. She had even started recognizing the same people as they moved along their routine route. But today, there was something different about their run. It took her a while to notice, but by the time they had reached the halfway point she was sure that Deku was slower than usual.

Ochako had gotten faster over the weeks she spent running with him, and by now could run the entire route instead of stopping midway, but she still shouldn't be able to keep up with him as much as she was.

That wouldn't have been too alarming on its own—after all, even Deku may have off days. But ever since the day they returned from internships, he'd been acting a bit strange. His speech was barely more hurried, he'd stare off into space even more often than usual, and he was getting a bit clumsy during hero training. Even now as they were taking their water break, she noticed bags under his eyes that weren't there before. He was fatigued and exhausted, and she could tell. But... Why?

"Hey Deku, how are ya doing?" she asked.

"I'm good," he nodded. "How about yourself?"

"Ah, you know... hah... Still breathing," she chuckled. "You're slower than usual today. I was keeping up more than normal."

"Or maybe you're just faster than you think," Deku chuckled and wiped at his eyes. Then he stood up straight and stretched his back, before saying, "Well, let's finish up our run."

They finally returned to Deku's house, where Inko had prepared them a good breakfast. Ochako gushed about how good it was, and Inko was so happy that the girl was satisfied, and Deku just laughed uncomfortably at their interactions. They stayed and talked a bit more, and before they knew it, it was time for Ochako to leave.

"Thanks again for the breakfast Inko," Ochako bowed.

"Oh of course Ochako," Inko smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" Deku asked. "Same time?"

"Yeah, sure," she nodded. "B-But actually, um, Deku... I-I'm having some some trouble with some of our Math and English subjects and was wondering, if, um... With, uh, final exams coming up and everything, could you maybe help me study a bit tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to," he nodded with a smile.

"Great! Thanks, I really appreciate it!" Ochako smiled brightly.

—

Izuku cracked down on the books for a while until lunch time, all the while utilizing his handheld workout equipment. Then, he began an actual exercise session. He'd slowed down on these during school and with everything going on in the past couple of months, but after his conversation with All Might he decided to build his body a bit more to eventually handle One For All.

He alternated mainly between push ups, curls, pull ups and lunges for a few hours, with other exercises and stretches interspersed between them. Then he did something he hadn't done for a longer while: he took a jog down to Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. Once there, he was glad to see that the beach was still relatively clean and was being enjoyed by quite a few people. Still, there was some trash here and there along the otherwise picturesque shore. So he grabbed a plastic bag and walked along, filling it with garbage from the sand.

He was recognized by plenty of people and some even asked to get pictures with him or autographs. He was actually starting to get used to this kind of thing, as strange as it sounded. Relatively, at least. It was still definitely a new experience and he wasn't exactly in his element.

Izuku finished filling his bag, then he made his way back to the top of the beach where there was a trash can to toss it. He looked over the beach again, over the people enjoying their afternoon on the white sand. This... was less people than those that died in Hosu.

He shook his head and sighed, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before turning around and walking home.

—

The next day, Izuku and Ochako went on another run and ate breakfast together once again. Then, they sat down in his room and got to studying. At first it was a lot of regular schoolwork, with Ochako asking Izuku plenty of questions about this and that. She really did seem to need help studying. Then, after a while, she surprised Izuku with another kind of question.

"Hey, Deku... Are you sleeping alright?"

"Uh, I— huh?" he looked at her, wide-eyed.

"I dunno, you've been acting kinda funny lately," she shrugged. "And you're running slower, and you have pretty big bags under your eyes."

"O-Oh, uh, yeah," he scratched the back of his head. "I'm fine, don't worry."

"Okay, let me change my phrasing," Ochako sighed. "I know something's wrong. What's up?"

Izuku glanced away and gulped, since each and every individual obstacle to his sleep was something that he couldn't tell her or didn't want to tell her.

The One for All situation? Über-classified. His single-handedly fighting off the hero killer Stain? Mostly a lie, as he'd be dead without Shoto and Tenya's backup, and the truth of that was also classified. The frequent nightmares about Hosu and the rare ones of the USJ? He mostly just felt silly about that. It had been almost 2 weeks since that night and even longer since the USJ, and he still suffered from them. Besides, nightmares were such a childish thing to have and he thought she'd think he was dumb or something.

"Well?" Ochako asked after a couple of moments waiting for a response.

"I-I said I'm fine—"

"And I said you're not!" she insisted. "You're way out of it Deku."

"Uraraka, I... I'm sorry," he sighed. "I'm just stressed about the exam."

"That's not it," she said. "Something's been wrong since we got back from the internships. Is it about that night in Hosu? Stain?"

"It's... Yeah, it is," he (mostly) lied.

"You gotta talk to someone if it's botherin' ya that much," Ochako told him. "Even talk to me, if it'd help ya feel better."

"... Yeah, you're right," he sighed. "I've been... having nightmares. Most nights."

"Fighting Stain all on your own must've been tough," Ochako nodded.

Izuku clenched his fist slightly. Yeah, going mono-e-mono with Stain would've been tough. In fact, he would have died. Or, maybe not? He was still confused about Stain's kill criteria. Either way, he definitely wouldn't have won without Shoto and Tenya. And even now, Ochako was talking like he was some big hero when he really wasn't. He didn't deserve that.

"Deku?" Ochako asked, as he'd been silent for a while.

"O-Oh, sorry, spaced out," he chuckled uncomfortably. "It's just that... Stain isn't the only thing bugging me."

But he couldn't tell anyone the truth of that fight.

"That night, before I even fought Stain, I was helping heroes with damage control from the Nomu attack," he said, and he shook at the memory. "A Nomu... destroyed a building, right in front of me. There were so many bodies... Some crushed, some burned, some burning alive in front of me... There were so many people, and I... couldn't save all of them. I keep seeing them, in my nightmares. Their faces... They were alive until that day, and I couldn't... I didn't save them."

Izuku sniffed and wiped away tears from his face, chuckling dryly at himself. He felt pretty pathetic at this point.

"But you did save so many!" Ochako protested. "On the news, I watched the interviews! The survivors and heroes mentioned how much you helped out!"

"But I should've done more!" he cried and shoved his hands into his eyes.

"No, no one would expect that from you!" she argued, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "If ya weren't there in the first place, way more people woulda died! And you wouldn't feel guilty about it then. But since you were there, you were able to save people! Then you went on to fight Stain and save Iida, Todoroki and Native on top of that! What you did that night was incredible!"

"But I still—"

"You couldn't have saved everyone Deku," she said as she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him. "Nobody can save everyone, not even All Might."

"They were right there," he sobbed into her shoulder as he hugged her back. "I watched them die in front of me."

"Shh, shh, it's okay," she whispered and rubbed his back. "Let it out."

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Inko yelled as she burst into the room, shocking both of the teens. "IZUKU WHAT HAPPENED?!"

—

Inko sat both of them down, and got them tea to help them relax. Then, once Izuku could speak coherently again, he told them all about the nightmares.

"But Izuku sweetie, you can't blame yourself for each person you couldn't save," his mother said. "You saved more than your fair share of people."

"She's right," Ochako nodded in agreement.

"But... Why should they have died when someone else was saved because of circumstance?" Izuku sighed. "I mean, I know it's because of circumstance, but the thought that they hoped to get rescued, and then weren't saved while someone else was, just feels unfair. They deserved to live just as much as anyone who I did save."

"But that's not your fault to begin with dear," Inko shrugged. "It's the villains' fault."

"I... I mean..." Izuku's shoulders slumped. "But that's what heroes are for, isn't it? To save people from villains."

"You did save people," Ochako groaned.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's just— I dunno..."

"I kinda get it Deku," she conceded. "I wasn't there, I didn't see it... I have no idea what's makin' you feel like this. And I ain't an expert, so..."

"Do you... think you should see an expert or something?" Inko asked. "Like... a therapist?"

"No, no I don't need to," he said quickly.

"Have you talked to All Might about it?" Ochako asked.

"W-Well, no," he admitted.

"He's been a hero for a long time, so he can probably help ya sort this thing out," she said.

"Probably," he sighed before finishing his tea. "Thanks."

—

"What is it Young Midoriya?" Toshinori asked as the two sat down in the teacher's lounge (which was now becoming their frequent meeting room). "Questions about One For All?"

"N-No, not that," Izuku explained. "I-It's just... For a while, I've been having some... issues with sleep."

"Hm? Oh, well I can't say I haven't noticed," he chuckled. "You've been a bit of a mess."

"It was obvious?"

"Yes," the teacher nodded. "I assumed you'd either handle it yourself or bring it up if you needed, so I didn't pry. But, what is it that's affecting your sleep?"

"A-A few things," he admitted. "But mostly nightmares, recently."

"Hm? So that's it," he sighed. "I can't say I'm unfamiliar with those. So what is it? The fight with Stain?"

Izuku explained exactly what was bothering him at night. The deaths, destruction and trauma of the Hosu attack, and the lies about that night, as well as the lingering effects of the USJ. Toshinori counseled him as best he could, and did actually alleviate much of the guilt he felt. Even All Might couldn't save everyone, and the Stain situation was essentially best-case scenario considering the circumstances. Hearing those things from the #1 himself really helped. But, as the weeks went on, he still suffered from occasional sleepless nights.

He spent those weeks studying and preparing for the exams, and helping Ochako on the weekends. He was overstressed, what with all that and the extra weight of One For All hanging over his head while he dealt with regular life.

Finally though, he was through it all and the day of the exams rolled around.

—

"That was hell," Denki groaned.

"I know, even after Yaomomo's tutoring," Mina sighed.

"I didn't think it was all too bad," Ochako commented.

The class had finished the written semester exam, and were now assembling for the practical. They weren't very worried about that part, since they had heard from Class 1-B's Itsuka that the test would be a scenario against robots. However...

"What if we failed?!" Mina cried. "I can't stay for summer school while you all go to the camp!"

"I'm sure you did fine," Momo laughed lightly. "You seemed to understand most of the concepts when we studied."

"But that's not under pressure like it was today!" Mina argued.

"Yeah, it was tough man," Denki agreed.

"When is Sensei gonna show up?" Katsuki groaned. "I'm ready to fuck up some bots already."

"Look!" Izuku exclaimed as he pointed out Aizawa approaching them along with the rest of U.A.'s staff.

"What're the other pros doing here, kero?" Tsuyu ribbitted.

"Good afternoon students!" Principal Nezu announced, appearing from under Aizawa's scarf. "Are you prepared to take part in the practical examination?!"

"Yeah, no sweat!" Rikido said confidently.

"It's just a brawl with robots, right?" Denki asked.

"Impressive, you gathered information!" Nezu laughed. "Unfortunately it's outdated and utterly wrong! Ahahaha!"

"Say what?!" the class exclaimed.

"With the increase in villain activity recently, we've decided that robot opponents are rather easy and impractical as measurements of your abilities. So, you will all be pairing up to take on the teachers!"

"HUH?!"

"Your pairs and opponents were decided by us," Nezu continued. "It was based on grades, Quirks, personalities, relationships, and our own observations!"

"First up," Aizawa grinned, "Todoroki and Yaoyorozu... You'll be facing me..! And next... Tokoyami, Aoyama, against Ectoplasm."

"I shine," Yuga winked at Fumikage, who looked away with a sigh.

"Midoriya, Shoji," Nezu announced, "face MMEEEEEEE!"

"The principal?!" Izuku gulped.

"Hitoshi, Sero, Midnight.

Koda, Jiro, Present Mic.

Iida, Ojiro, Power Loader.

Kirishima, Sato, Cementoss.

Bakugo, Uraraka—"

"Me!" All Might announced from out of nowhere.

"All Might?!" Katsuki exclaimed.

"W-What?!" Ochako squeaked.

"Neither of you can beat me," All Might laughed. "But work together, and you might pass! Ahahaha!"

"Uraraka and Kacchan against All Might?!" Izuku gawked.

—

"They're giving us almost no time to prepare," Izuku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do you think, Shoji?"

"The Principal's Quirk makes him an excellent warrior of intellect," the six-armed teen mused. "I expect that he has a plan to deal with us. That being said, my reconnaissance ability with your telekinesis' overall versatility is a decent match."

"It is," Izuku agreed. "If you tell me about obstacles or hazards I should be able to deal with them, not that you couldn't, but I wonder why they put us together then... Principal Nezu definitely knows that our Quirks don't clash."

"Your Quirk is a good match with almost anyone in our class, Midoriya," Mezo pointed out. "Our pairing was more likely the result of other students' evaluations."

"But still, the principal has to be taking us on with a plan," he sighed.

On top of his own match, Izuku was honestly concerned about Ochako and Katsuki facing All Might.

—

"I hope I don't receive too many patients this year," Recovery Girl complained. "Changing the exam from robots to this... It's just too much!"

"Now now Chiyo, you know why we're doing this," Toshinori sighed.

"Precisely why I hate this idea!" she exclaimed. "Causing them harm, putting them in stressful situations, and maybe ruining their grades will not prepare them for the future villains."

"That's not the point," Aizawa sighed.

"That stress is the kind of thing they'll need to get used to quick," Nezu chirped.

"... It's almost time," the deflated All Might sighed.

—

"It ain't that hard Round Face!" Katsuki shouted. "Just make me weightless and I'll handle the rest!"

"That might work for the rest of the teachers but we're against All Might," Ochako argued. "And stop calling me that!"

"The test will begin shortly! Please prepare yourselves!" the principal's voice announced over the speaker.

"I'm tellin ya, just distract him so I can touch him from behind and make him weightless!" Ochako told Katsuki. "Then he'll be immobilized!"

"No fucking way!" he snapped. "I'm not a distraction, and I can handle this! Just make me weightless so I can get past him!"

"3, 2, 1..."

"Fine!" Ochako exclaimed in frustration, slapping his shoulder.

"Begin!"

Katsuki flew up into the air, propelled by his explosions and unhindered by gravity, then he blasted off towards the finish using the explosive gauntlets. He was moving fast. In fact he probably would have crossed the entire faux city in a matter of seconds, except All Might jumped up and swatted him down like a fly.

If the force of All Might's hit wasn't enough on its own, there was also the fact that Katsuki was moving who knows how fast before meeting that brick wall of a hand, and the impact with the ground. Well, now that he thought about it, All Might probably didn't hit him too hard. After all, he was still conscious to see the hero land in front of him.

'I thought the weights would slow him down more than that,' he grunted inwardly.

"You fool," All Might thundered intimidatingly. "I'll kill you, then every last civilian in this city! Because I'm evil, AHAHAHA!"

—

"There are sounds of... heavy objects shifting," Mezo told Izuku as he listened around with his tentaclears.

A sudden crash from above Izuku caught his attention, and he looked up to see a piece of pipe falling towards them. He shouted at Mezo to get his attention as he used his telekinesis to catch the metal projectile, then looked back up to see a much wider array of debris on their way down.

"Let's move!" Mezo exclaimed as he picked up Izuku and started running in the direction of the exit. Then, more debris began falling down at the end of the alley. "Oh no, this way will get blocked!"

"No it won't, keep running!" Izuku said.

He took the metal pipe, which he was still holding in his telekinesis, and positioned it below the debris. He spun it quickly, like a helicopter blade, to block most of the debris. Enough of it was delayed for the two of them to get through unscathed, and Shoji continued beelining it for the exit. Then, another bang sounded.

"C-Crap! Look out Shoji!"

"I see it!"

The wall of a tall building had exploded outwards and dense debris showered down on the road in front of them. Then, several other buildings around them seemed to fall apart as well.

"W-Where even is he?" Izuku asked.

"I can't tell..!" Mezo responded. "There are always several smaller bangs before each major building explodes, so if I can find that source... And follow the bangs... I can predict where he'll try to block us!"

Mezo was able to navigate the labrynth of destruction caused by the principal fairly well, until they almost reached the end. Almost was the key word.

"Oh no!" the large teen shouted as a pile of debris crashed down, blocking the exit.

Izuku immediately began lifting the rubble, but Mezo had to jump back to avoid more falling concrete.

"What is this? A no-pass scenario?!" he shouted.

"No, I can lift it all! I just need time!" Izuku said. "Plus, there isn't an unlimited amount of buildings right near the exit. Soon enough, he won't be able to attack this spot anymore."

—

"URAVITY!" All Might thundered as Ochako darted between alleys. "You think hiding is an option? If you don't approach the exit or me, then you lose! If you do approach, I will attack you head-on and make you lose! In both situations, you lose! So come out and stop wasting time!"

'That idiot Bakugo went and got himself knocked out,' she complained in her head. 'I couldn't give him any backup since he rushed ahead so quick, and now All Might is holding him hostage. He overestimated his own speed! But I... need to do this!'

Ochako was getting out of breath from exerting herself so much, but it wasn't as bad as she expected. Her stamina was increased during her runs with Deku, after all. But that didn't make her stomach feel any less queasy.

'Alright, I can do this, I can do this—!'

"Release!"

As the sound of crashing debris sounded, Ochako ran out from behind the building and dove behind some of her makeshift cover. All Might would only be busy with blocking falling debris for a moment, so she had to be quick while he was distracted. She darted behind concrete blocks, vehicles, couches, and other things she had floated over the street before.

As she moved, she floated two objects that already landed: a car, and a table she had found inside of a building. She pushed the car so it flew above All Might, and took the table with her as she kept pushing forward. She released the car and All Might caught it, as she ran to the back of him.

"Trying to distract me and then sneak out of the exit? Smart, ahahaha!" Then All Might tossed the vehicle away and reared to punch straight at Ochako. "BUT FOOLISH!"

She raised the table as a shield and let it hang there, unaffected by gravity, as she slid underneath. All Might couldn't see past the table, so he just followed through with his punch as if Ochako was still behind it. But, by the time he realized where she was, she had already passed under his legs and made him weightless.

"YOU—!" he shouted, before punching at her again.

This time, it connected. Ochako felt what she assumed was bones breaking in her shoulder and back, and tears crept into her eyes. But, at the same time, All Might went flying back through multiple buildings from the force of his own punch.

"Hah... Ouch..." Ochako sighed, rolling onto her stomach. "I guess... that did it..."

She looked up at where the exit was, then at Katsuki's impromptu metal prison. The blonde was closer and she didn't know whether she could make it all the way to the finish, so she used her good arm to crawl over to him.

"Here," she groaned as she made the bars weightless.

Katsuki stood up and slowly untangled himself from the bent railing. The weightlessness didn't make that part easier perse, but it did allow him to reposition himself in an easier way.

"I thought I could make it," he grunted.

"You're so stupid," Ochako groaned. "Ya shoulda just... *ouch*... followed my plan..."

"I'm stupid?!" Katsuki exclaimed incredulously. "You just took on All Might, and got fuckin pounded!"

"You did too though," she pointed out.

THUD

"You haven't won yet!"

—

"I'm almost done!" Izuku told Mezo as he moved debris away from the exit.

Mezo glanced back at the fake city, which was currently being destroyed by the principal. None of the buildings were close enough to affect the two of them, so he wasn't very worried.

"Alright," Izuku panted. "Let's go."

"Right," Mezo nodded.

They passed through the exit gate, and the cartoony illustration of the principal have a thumbs up and a "Good job!"

—

All Might stood in front of Katsuki and Ochako, grinning confidently.

"H-How?" Ochako asked. "I haven't released my Quirk yet..!"

"True, Young Uraraka, but you failed to take every variable into consideration!" the number one hero explained. "You did make my body weightless, but you forgot that I am wearing these weights on my wrists and ankles! Though I'm only anchored by a fraction of my normal weight, I just have to adjust my power so I don't send myself flying!"

"So what you're saying is that you ain't packing as much of a punch as before?" Katsuki asked. "Then I'll be letting you know right now... I'm gonna get to that exit."

The blonde grinned and blasted off to his right, but All Might moved in a flash—even faster than before—and was upon him.

"I never said that, Young Bakugo!" he laughed, then kicked and buried his foot to anchor himself in the ground. "Don't misread the situation!"

"Take your own advice, All Might!" Katsuki screamed. "I ain't STUPID!"

He hit the ground directly with an explosion, and All Might's feet were dislodged. The number one hero stopped his punch mid-swing in order to stop himself from flying back, but Katsuki acted in that second of hesitation. He jumped up, planted his foot on All Might's face, then leapt up again from there.

"This'll at least stun you!" he smiled wildly as his body corkscrewed through the air above his opponent. "HOWITZER IMPACT!"

Katsuki's hand impacted All Might's face and let loose the mother of all explosions. The pro had dismantled his gauntlets when he had caught him earlier, but this blast was just as strong as one that they could muster. Without the gauntlets, though, his bones rattled and his arm tore from the force.

Katsuki landed a few feet from Ochako, and looked back at the plume of smoke where All Might was.

"G-Go!" the brunette told him. "Even if he can recover, this is your chance to get to the exit!"

"No shit!" he panted as he hauled himself up. "Use your Quirk on yourself, that way I can carry you out easier."

"Um... Okay," she sighed, then took a deep breath in before taking away her own weight. Katsuki picked her up by the arm and she yelled, "OWOWOW! L-Let go!"

"Why?!"

"I-I think it's broken!"

"Shut up, dumbass! That's your fault!" he yelled, then he shoved her to float over the exit and walked across with her.

"Good job!" the principal's image said with a thumbs up.