Chapter 4 Deku: The Telekinetic Hero by sremiehzla

You Can Do It

Izuku found himself outside of Ochako's apartment just before 9:30 the next morning. He had eaten, ran, and bathed earlier, and was now wearing a simple green t-shirt and jeans as he walked to her door. He still felt a bit nervous, despite numerous attempts to calm himself down, and he hesitated to knock on the door. They really hadn't covered the details of this excursion. What did she think if it? How long should they stay out? Where would they go, and would they eat lunch? There was so much that was unplanned, and he would still probably be nervous even if he didn't have a small-maybe-moderate-to-large crush on Ochako. But, he knew that they wouldn't be able to plan any more if he didn't knock on the door and talk to her. So, he finally raised his hand and knocked. He was going to knock 3 times, as was standard, but the door quickly opened in the middle of the second knock.

"Hey, Midoriya!" Ochako exclaimed in her bubbly voice. "I'm all ready!"

She was wearing a pink blouse with a grey knee-long skirt and dark leggings. Izuku stood there for a moment, a little surprised by her prompt door answer and still holding his hand up in the knocking position. After processing what had just happened, he quickly waved his hand and smiled.

"Ah, g-good morning, Uraraka!" He stuttered. "Y-You answered the door... pretty quickly."

"Eh," she sighed, closing and locking the door behind her. "I didn't have anything else to look forward to today, so I got ready a little early."

"Well, we should probably get going."

"Yeah. Where are we going, anyways?"

"Well, there's a nice park near here. We could also go to the shopping center near here, or I could show you my favorite places to get food." Izuku stopped himself there, because he didn't want to start muttering too much in front of Ochako again.

"Let's save that one for lunch," Ochako giggled. "I kinda wanna go to the shopping center. I haven't needed to go there yet, but I want to see what stores are there."

"That sounds good to me."

As they started walking, Izuku asked, "Why do you have an apartment here already? Shouldn't you wait until you know that you'll get into U.A.?"

"Well, my parents own a construction company," Ochako explained. "They helped build these apartments, and the guy who runs the place said that it's the least they could do to let me stay here for a month free-of-charge. I'm here early to get familiar with the area."

"Well, what about school? Don't you still have to go?"

"Nuh-uh," she shook her head. "The school schedule is a little ahead in Mie, so I guess I have an extra long break."

"That's lucky," Izuku sighed. "I still have my finals in a couple weeks."

"Well, you can do it!" Ochako pumped her fist enthusiastically.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, nodding his head. "You said your parents own a construction company? Isn't your Quirk perfect for that kind of work?"

"Yeah, right?" Ochako agreed, before her smile faded. "I told them I wanted to help and work for them, but... They wanted me to follow my own dreams."

"Why do you sound so down about that?" Izuku tilted his head, concerned.

Ochako looked at Izuku for a moment. She hadn't been planning on telling anyone about her family's situation until she really got to know them, but... This boy saved her life, so why should she go out of her way to hide anything from him?

"Well, my family's company doesn't get a lot of business. We're... poor... Like, real poor. But they wouldn't take my help, even though I wanted to give it to 'em." She smiled at Izuku. "That's why I wanna be a hero though. I'm gonna get real popular, and earn enough money to fully support them."

"Woah, that's a nice motivation to be a hero," he mused. "Your parents sound like great people."

"They are," Ochako smiled. "What about your parents? What're they like?"

"Well, my mom's always been really supportive," Izuku said. "I got my Quirk from her, not my dad, and she was so happy and proud and all that. Ever since, she's always been cheering me on towards my dream of being a hero." He smiled fondly, reminiscing about how she cried happily when he first told her about his Quirk, despite the bruises covering him. "Honestly, she's kinda too supportive."

"She seems nice," Ochako chuckled. "What about your dad?"

"Oh, I don't know him too well," Izuku sighed. "He works abroad. He sends money home to support me and Mom, but I only see him during holidays, and even then only occasionally."

"O-Oh, sorry I asked," Ochako apologized, worried that she'd upset him.

Izuku chuckled, "It's fine, really. He's always nice when he does visit, and Mom always seems happy to see him. Besides, he's working for our sake. How could I be upset with him for that?"

"I guess that's true," she said. "So, what's it like to live in the city, so close to U.A.?You must see a lot of cool heroes around!"

"Yeah, I've seen some," he said thoughtfully, looking down at the sidewalk. "We get big villain attacks around here once or twice a month sometimes."

"Have you ever met Thirteen, the space hero?" Ochako's eyes brightened as she asked. "He's my favorite hero!"

"No, I actually haven't," Izuku said, placing his hand on his chin. "But I've met Death Arms, Backdraft, All Might, Kamui Woods–"

"You met All Might?" Ochako cut him off. "That must have been exciting!"

"That isn't even the half of it," Izuku chuckled. "He even personally trained me for U.A.'s entrance exam."

"Eh?" Ochako stopped walking and looked at Izuku, dumbfounded. "You were trained by All Might? Like, the All Might?!"

Suddenly, Izuku regretted saying that. He hadn't needed to worry too much about leaking All Might's physical condition due to his lack of a major social life, but now he needed to be careful. Hell, he didn't even know if he was allowed to talk about the training itself! However, he hesitantly nodded his head, "Y-Yeah, All Might."

"... NO WONDER YOU'RE SO STRONG!" Ochako exclaimed, gripping her hair. It suddenly made sense to her. His amazing control over his Quirk, the way he jumped to save her when no one else did, his toned muscles and his fit body all made sense. "What's he like?! Is he really as big as he looks on TV?!"

"I thought he looked a little t-taller in person," Izuku said. "Yeah, taller."

"Wow," Ochako sighed. "Meeting him is one thing, but you trained with him, too! That's so lucky!"

"Yeah, probably. Come on, we're almost at the shopping center."

"Huh? Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" They started walking again, before Ochako continued, "All Might must have been pretty impressed with you to train you like that. How did you meet him?"

"Well, it was... about a year ago, I think ten months. It was his first day in the area, and there was a villain attack. I helped out, and he talked to me afterwards."

"And he's been training you ever since? Jeez, no wonder you're so amazing."

"Well, I don't think I'm that cool." Izuku scratched the back of his neck and looked away.

"Of course you are! You got over 50 points in that exam, and then still had enough power to rip all the way through that huge robot!"

Izuku looked back at Ochako, who had been wildly gesticulating while praising him, and smiled. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to manage even close to that if you didn't make me weightless."

Ochako tilted her head at him and smiled as well. "I guess so. It's really cool how compatible our Quirks are, huh?"

"Yeah, it is," Izuku smiled. "If U.A. lets us, we should work on combination moves."

"Why are you so sure that I'll get into U.A.?" Ochako pouted.

"I told you, I just have a feeling."

"No offense, but that's not very reassuring."

"Well, we'll see."

As the two reached the shopping center, their conversation quickly shifted to more simple matters, such as where to go. They started by simply walking around to see what stores were there, but eventually started browsing through a convenience store, and then a department store. They didn't buy anything, but Ochako was constantly commenting about how everything was too expensive, much to Izuku's amusement. They ended up going to an arcade, too, although Ochako didn't want to spend too much money there either. Before they even knew it, it was already time for lunch, so they headed to a traditional japanese restaurant that was also in the shopping center to eat. Izuku ordered katsudon and Ochako ordered sushi, and as they ate they talked more about the area, their favorite heroes, and other things.

"I can't believe it slipped my mind earlier," Ochako said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin, "but I meant to ask about your run this morning. I mean, how long was it?"

"It was about four miles," Izuku said nonchalantly. "Hmm, their katsudon isn't as good as my mom's."

"You ran four miles? Jeez, I know I can't do that in one day."

Ochako glanced down for about the tenth time that day as a gust of wind blew Izuku's shirt against his abs, letting their outline become apparent. She wasn't staring because she liked him or anything. She wouldn't do that, right? No, she was just impressed by the hard work he must have put in. Sure he had a pretty good figure, and a really nice personality, and his face was pretty plain yet cute too, and his hair looked so soft... and he had such pretty green eyes that she currently found herself lost in... But no! 'That isn't how it is,' she thought as she shook the thoughts from her head and took another bite of sushi. 'Besides, there's no way he'd think that way about me.'

"Anyway," Izuku sighed as he finished the last of his meal, "how much longer do you want to stay out? We could go to the park, or the beach that's nearby or something."

"There's a beach here?" Ochako asked, looking back up at him. "I didn't even realize that."

"It's called the Dagoba Municipal Beach Park. It used to be a junkyard, until pretty recently."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, the current washed a lot of garbage ashore. It built up, then people started to hide their own illegal dumping in with the pile. It was pretty bad."

"But someone cleaned it?"

"Oh, I cleaned it. As part of my training with All Might."

"H-How big is the beach...?" Ochako asked, not sure what to expect given what she already knew about him.

Izuku pulled out his phone, and began looking for the local news article that talked about it. "Well, the garbage spanned for about half a kilometer, I think. Maybe a little more."

"How long did it take you to clean?"

"About a month, I think. Here." Izuku handed Ochako his phone, showing before and after shots of the beach. "It's gotten pretty popular since then."

"Sure, let's go," Ochako said, getting up from their table. "The photos look beautiful, but I want to see what it looks like in person."

They approached the register, and Ochako paid for both of their meals before Izuku could even reach for his own wallet. He found this very odd, since she had been openly displaying her frugality all day and had even told him that her family was poor.

As they left the shopping center, Ochako looked over to the shops one more time. "Is that a mochi shop?!" She exclaimed, pointing at said mochi shop.

"Yeah," Izuku replied. "Do you like mochi?"

"It's my favorite!" she cried, drooling a little bit. Then, she clutched at her stomach and sighed, "But I'm so full right now! I can't!"

"Well, we can get it later, after we check out the beach."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan," Ochako conceded, following Izuku onto the sidewalk.

They chatted a bit, but halfway to the beach, Izuku brought up what he had been thinking about for a while.

"Why did you pay for my katsudon?" he asked.

"Well, that's just my start on repaying you," Ochako said in an almost melodic tone. "You know, for saving my life in the exam."

"I told you, you don't need to repay me for anything."

"Don't say that. I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for you!"

"Well," Izuku sighed as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, "I guess I can't argue against that, but I don't want you to owe me anything for it."

"You can't stop me," Ochako insisted with a small giggle.

"I guess not. Oh, we're here!" Izuku pointed forward at the metal guard rail overlooking the beach park.

Ochako looked out over the bright sand and blue water, populated with people enjoying the beach. A salty breeze blew across her face, and she couldn't help but smile at the experience.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly. There was no better way for her to describe it. Turning to Izuku, she said, "People get to enjoy this because of you, Midoriya. That's pretty cool, y'know?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he replied, smiling as he watched the families relax and play on the beach he had restored.

The two of them ended up walking along the beach for hours, talking pleasantly about nothing important. The topic came up about Izuku having other friends, and he avoided it as best he could. Ochako made a mental note about his reluctance to talk about it, but moved on with the conversation like she hadn't noticed. There was a game of volleyball, a group of performers, and a few other amusing sights along the way. There was even a villain attack, although it was pretty short and disappointing compared to most. Neither of them noticed that they were out so long, until they saw the sun getting low to the horizon and the glint reflecting off of the water.

"Woah, what time is it?" Ochako asked as she looked out over the water.

Izuku checked his phone and gasped as he saw the time and 6 missed calls from his mom! "It's almost six!" he said, his voice squeezing into a higher octave. "My mom called me six times! I forgot my phone was on silent!"

"What?!" Ochako cried. "We should get going!"

They both started back to Ochako's apartment in a quick walk, and Izuku called his mom to apologize vehemently for staying out so long without letting her know. She was fine with it, but she wanted him home because she was making dinner. When they reached Ochako's apartment, Izuku walked her to the door.

"Thanks for taking me out today, Midoriya," Ochako said with a small smile. "I'm kinda glad that we lost track of time y'know? The beach looked so pretty this late."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed.

"But, we never went to get mochi, did we?" Ochako pouted as she suddenly remembered the mochi shop.

"Well, how about this," Izuku proposed. "After we get our acceptance letters from U.A., we can go there to celebrate!"

"Well..." Ochako was about to say again that she might not be accepted, but decided against it. "I might end up going there on my own in the meantime."

"That's fine," Izuku laughed. "I really need to go home now, though. It was nice to spend time with you, Uraraka."

"Yeah, it was good to see you too. See ya later, Midoriya!"

Ochako waved as Izuku started running off to catch the next train home. She was filled with some odd happiness as she thought about the events of the day. She was glad that Izuku was the first friend she made here, but there was something else too. It was some warm, good feeling that she could feel in her chest. She couldn't place it, but it definitely wasn't that she liked him beyond friendship. No way.

When Izuku got home, he received a light scolding from his mother, although she was more worried than angry. After eating, Izuku went through the hero news of the day as always.

Over the next week, Izuku and Ochako kept in touch, and Izuku busied himself with his workout routines and school. He tried to contact All Might multiple times, but his messages were always left on 'read'. It was a rather uneventful week. Katsuki kept bragging about his high score of 77 villain points to his classmates, and he took Izuku's silence about his score to mean that he had failed miserably so he left him alone for the most part. The week flew by, and before Izuku even realized, it was Saturday evening. The time that letters should arrive from U.A. He was in the middle of a conversation with Ochako on the phone when his mother excitedly knocked on his door, calling his name.

"I gotta go, Uraraka," Izuku said into the phone as he got up. "My mom needs me for something."

"Oh, your acceptance letter probably got there" she replied brightly. "My mail should get here in about ten-ish minutes, too... Well, have fun being accepted!"

"Yeah, you too."

"IF I get accepted."

"You will."

"Yeah, sure. I'll text you later."

"Alright, I'll be waiting. Talk to you later."

"Bye!"

Izuku hung up and quickly opened the door, which his mother was still rapidly knocking on.

"IZUKU!" Inko screeched, holding an envelope up to her son. "IZUKU, IT'S HERE! THE LETTER!"

"Ah, my ears," Izuku muttered, rubbing his temple and holding up his other hand at his mother. "Yeah, I kind of guessed that."

"Let's open it! I wanna see your face when you get in!" Inko smiled proudly with a hint of tears behind her glistening eyes.

"Alright," Izuku chuckled, taking the envelope.

As Izuku walked toward the living room with his mom, he noted the heft of the envelope and the presence of a small circle-shaped object in its center. He sat down on the couch next to the excited Inko and opened the letter on the coffee table, first sliding out the disk that he felt. It beeped once before erupting with a blue glow, and a hologram projection filled the air above it.

"I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION!" the booming voice of All Might roared as his form became apparent in the hologram."

"Eh? ALL MIGHT?!" Izuku exclaimed, glancing down at the envelope labeled 'U.A.' "This is from U.A., isn't it?"

Inko was equally confused, as she was well aware that All Might wasn't affiliated with the high school.

"I have been busy, so I haven't been able to contact you, Young Midoriya! My apologies! But, you see, the entire reason I came to this prefecture was for my new job! I'll be teaching at U.A.!"

Izuku's jaw dropped at the announcement. 'All Might? At U.A.?' Izuku thought as he began smiling. 'No way!'

A hand popped into the hologram, gesturing at All Might to get on with it.

"Eh? Get it over with? But I have things that I need to–" All Might debates with the hand. "Whatever needs to be said can be said later? It'll push everything back? Well then...

"Young Midoriya! You passed both the written exam and the practical exam, and have gained admittance to U.A. High! I'm sure that you already know that, but there's more! You scored 51 villain points in the practical exam, which was the 3rd highest amount out of the examinees! Well done! On top of the villain points, though, we were testing your resolves to be true heroes! The will to give up one's own energy, time, effort, and well-being to help others was also considered!

"I heard about your efforts regarding Ochako Uraraka, and saw your interactions during the exam! So, I thought I should let you know directly. This exam was also graded using... Rescue Points! They were awarded by a panel of judges based on your actions in the exam!

"For saving Uraraka, breaking your own bones in the process, and later offering up your own points for her benefit, you get 50 Rescue Points! And for Young Uraraka, for assisting with the robot when she was so exhausted and injured and had her own lower score, and also for inspiring you to take your own action, she also gets 50 rescue points!"

All Might gestures to a screen behind him, showing the top 10 scorers in the practical exam. In 1st place, with a total of 101 points, was Izuku himself. He couldn't even believe that he had been the top scorer, let alone by such a large margin. In 2nd place, much to Izuku's joy, was Ochako Uraraka. Her 28 Villain Points and her 50 Rescue Points added up to 78 in total.

'And she thought she wouldn't pass!' Izuku sighed inwardly as he grew incredibly proud of her.

The 3rd place spot almost made Izuku burst out in laughter, but the whole situation was going by so fast that he didn't even have time. Katsuki Bakugo had gotten 3rd place with 77 Villain Points and 0 Rescue Points. He technically had the most Villain Points out of all of the examinees, yet was considered 3rd due to the wrench thrown in that was the Rescue Points. Even more amusing to Izuku was the fact that he lost to Ochako by one point. He was actually almost scared of Katsuki for the first time in a long time. He had no idea what he'd do in those circumstances.

"So, Young Midoriya," All Might continued, his smile somehow widening even more, "you both pass! Now, come! U.A. High will be your Hero Academia!"

With that, the hologram shut down. Izuku sat there for a moment, processing everything, before his mother tackled him off of the couch in a tight hug, crying happily and proudly. Izuku looked at the forms in the envelope after his mom calmed down. Since he had gotten first place in the entrance exam, he would be the first-year student representative that would speak before U.A.'s annual sports festival. He was extremely excited about that. Class 1-A in U.A.'s hero course would be his new class at the beginning of the next semester. He wondered if Ochako would also be in the same class, and when he thought of her, he remembered that they were planning to go to the mochi shop. She was getting her mail after him, so he had time... Time enough to wash off the stench of sweat and BO that had accumulated through his day of working out.

When Izuku got out of the shower, he was greeted by a text from Ochako that read 'I GOT IN! *Excited emojis*'. Izuku sent her a text asking if she was still up for mochi, since they hadn't discussed it after the initial suggestion, and she quickly replied that she would love to. So Izuku finished freshening up and made his way out of his house, then to Ochako's apartment.

"Hey Midoriya!" Ochako greeted, jumping out from the door and quickly closing it behind her. "Let's go get mochi!"

"Uh, y-yeah... G-Good evening," Izuku stuttered, once again caught off guard by her prompt door answer and energetic attitude.

"I'm so excited to get in to U.A.!" She said as they started walking toward the shopping center. "And second place, too! I had no idea about the Rescue Points! But your score was big!"

"W-Well, I guess..." Izuku scratched his cheek and looked off to the side. "I'm about as surprised as you."

"You got all those Rescue Points on top of your Villain Points! The other applicants are probably intimidated by your score, honestly." She laughed a little bit, but then her face went straight. "Speaking of intimidated, did you see the guy who got 3rd? He got 77 Villain Points and 0 Rescue Points... Sounds like he's probably pretty brutal..."

"Oh, you mean Kacchan?" Ochako looked at him, a little confused. "Oh, I meant Katsuki Bakugo. That's his name."

"D-Did you just say K-Kacchan?" Ochako laughed. "Is that a nickname or something? Do you know him?"

"Oh, yeah. We've known each other for our entire lives."

"Well maybe he's not so brutal, then?"

"No, he is. Definitely."

Ochako noticed something odd in the tone of Izuku's voice. "Are you guys... friends?"

"We used to be. Not anymore, though."

"Why?"

"Well... It's a pretty long story. I don't want to bore you."

"Well, you don't need to go into detail. I wanna know, though."

Izuku considered it for a moment and decided that he didn't have a reason not to tell her, unlike his training with All Might which he had let slip anyways.

"Well, we were friends when we were really little. But the Quirk he got was really strong. He got arrogant and started bullying me because my Quirk hadn't come in yet."

"Jeez, what an idiot," Ochako sighed. "What's his Quirk?"

"Explosion. He can secrete a nitroglycerin-based liquid from his hands like sweat, and detonate it remotely. It's one of the most versatile Quirks I've ever seen. He can create massive explosions or just little pops, he can propel himself, use it to attack, or use it to maneuver midair. It's really strong."

"But yours is too, right?"

"He doesn't know that. My Quirk was weak when it first manifested, so he still bullied me even then. I've been training my Quirk though, so I can show him that I'm stronger than him one day."

"I think that's super cool and inspiring," Ochako said, smiling. "A story about overcoming a bully is always good. Still, I hope he isn't in my class."

"I can only imagine how pissed he'll be that he got 3rd place." Something that Ochako had said just clicked in Izuku's head. "Uraraka, what class will you be in?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm in 1-A."

"I'm in 1-A too!"

They both smiled and cheered and high fived as they realized that they'd be classmates at U.A. Then, as they finally reached the mochi shop, their talk went back to their regular friendly chatting about less important things. They both seemed to know what they wanted to order beforehand, and since they couldn't decide who would pay, they just paid seperately. Before too long, they sat down at an outside table with their rice cake ice cream desserts.

"Mm, their strawberry mochi is good!" Ochako exclaimed after taking a bite. "What flavor did you get, Midoriya?"

"Green tea. It's pretty good, too."

"Green tea? That's an interesting flavor."

"It's my mom's favorite, so I guess it just rubbed off on me."

"Are you sure it isn't because your name is 'green'?" Ochako chuckled.

"No, it's because yours is 'tea-girl'," Midoriya laughed too.

He hadn't really meant anything by it, but he realized how weird it sounded when he looked up and saw that Ochako's blush had grown beyond what it normally was.

Pretty quickly, Ochako recovered and laughed, "Hey, our hero duo name should be Green Tea!"

They both laughed at the thought of a hero duo named Green Tea. The thought was entertaining to them, to say the least. They had only been laughing for a few seconds, however, when Izuku caught a glimpse of a pair of blond, spiky heads of hair walking across from them in the lot.

Katsuki Bakugo and his mother, Mitsuki, were on their way to the supermarket in that shopping center. Izuku didn't think that they'd seen him, but he could see Katsuki's extremely aggravated scowl from the chair he was now sinking back into.

"Hey Midoriya, what's wrong?" Ochako asked, concerned about his obvious discomfort.

"O-Oh, it's nothing," Izuku said quickly, sitting back up in his seat. "I-I just saw Kacchan. I don't think he saw me, though."

"You mean the bully that got 77 Villain Points?" Ochako inquired, her eyebrows furrowing. "What's he doing here?"

"Probably just going to the store. He lives around here too, you know."

Izuku looked back toward the supermarket, but saw Mitsuki walking into the store alone. Katsuki was, instead, walking across the parking lot straight toward the mochi shop. He had an unfamiliar look on his face. He was still scowling angrily, but it was different than normal.

"N-Nevermind, he's c-coming this way," Izuku stammered, facing back towards Ochako and taking another shaky bite of his mochi.

"I swear, if he says one thing–"

"Don't do anything to upset him too much, please."

Ochako furrowed her brow, but nodded at him. She looked at the sour-looking blonde approaching the shop, which she assumed was the guy Izuku was talking about. He walked directly to their table and only glanced at Ochako for a second before turning to Izuku with an intense look.

"You piece of shit, worthless, fucking Deku," he said harshly, and almost in a whisper. He again glanced at Ochako. "Who the fuck is Round Face? Your shitty girlfriend or something?"

"N-No, Kacchan!" Izuku denied, more embarrassed than scared. "I-I know her from the practical exam."

"Oh, yeah, the exam." Katsuki let out a small pop that shook the table. "How the fuck did you get such a high score? I mean, I know you cheated, but who's dick did you suck to get so many points?"

"I didn't do anything, Kacchan. I-I don't know about the Rescue Points, but I did get 51 Villain Points."

"Rescue Points..." Katsuki clicked his tongue and shot his glare away. "They're fucking pointless. You don't need to save people if you just beat up the villains they'd need saving from."

"That's not true," Izuku said. "Heroes are public servants, not just crime fighters."

"That's a damn boring way of looking at heroes." Katsuki turned to Ochako, still frowning. "You took the exam too, Round Face?"

"Y-Yes!" Ochako replied nervously, unprepared to talk with Katsuki. "A-And my name's Uraraka."

"Well, Round Face," he emphasized pointedly, "considering the fact that you're eating with Deku instead of crying in the corner of your room, I'll guess that you passed. Mind telling me your score?"

Ochako started to reply, but Izuku interrupted, "She does mind. Leave us alone, Kacchan."

"Let the girl talk, dumbass Deku." Katsuki looked at Izuku with a death stare. Turning back to Ochako, he asked again, "What's your fucking score?"

"I... I, um, I got..." She glanced back and forth between Izuku and Katsuki a few times before admitting, "I-I g-g-got 78!"

"Hmph," Katsuki grunted. "I'll let you both know right now, you aren't shit compared to me. I'm going to become the number one hero, and you two won't be anywhere close to me." He turned to Izuku, looking like he wanted to add something else, but decided against it and walked away.

Izuku and Ochako both watched silently as he stalked off toward the supermarket. Ochako looked down and pouted when she saw that the ice cream in her mochi had mostly melted, before looking back up at Izuku.

"Woah, he's intimidating," she said, glancing once again at Katsuki as he entered the store. "There's no way someone like him can become the number one hero."

"Well, he has a pretty good chance if he can get that attitude under control," Izuku sighed, inspecting his own melted mochi.

"You're right that heroes are more than crime fighters," Ochako said. "Heroes are people that help others, just like you helped me in the exam! And... And even after the exam! You have a way better chance!"

Izuku looked up from his mochi. "After the exam?"

"O-Oh, in the message I was sent, t-they played a video that showed you talking with Present Mic! I... really appreciate everything you said, by the way."

"Oh, um..." Izuku desperately thought back to that day, trying to remember what he had said to Present Mic. "D-Did I say anything embarrassing?"

"Well, you said my face is round," Ochako said, chucking a little bit.

Izuku's entire face blanched. "Ah! No, nonono! I didn't mean– That wasn't meant as an insult it anything, I just–!"

Ochako laughed as Izuku stammered for some excuse. 'You called me cute, too,' she thought, smiling. For the first time, Ochako really took a conscious look at Izuku. She scrutinized his face, his body that she couldn't help but notice during the exam and when they last went out, his frizzy hair, green eyes, freckles, the cute embarrassed face he was currently making... 'He thinks I'm cute?' She shook her head to get rid of the thought, and tried to think of something to change the subject to. Izuku went on without noticing that Ochako's blush widened.

"It's fine, I didn't take it that way," she said with a chuckle. "Hey, Midoriya... Why did Bakugo call you Deku?"

"O-Oh, it's just a nickname that he gave me a long time ago."

"Why, though?"

"It's another way to read my name. It means 'someone who can't do anything'."

"O-Oh, I see..." Ochako thought for a moment before smiling. "W-Well, I like how it sounds. It kinda sounds like dekiru. 'You can do it', y'know?"

"I... I guess I never thought of it that way." Izuku smiled at Ochako. "You can call me that, if you want."

"Alright... Deku..." Ochako giggled as she called Izuku by the nickname. "Ooh, I like it! I'll call you Deku from now on, then!"

"A-Alright," Izuku said, chucking a little uncomfortably. "N-Nobody had ever called me that, except to bully me. I think I like it."

"That's good," she sighed, before standing up from the table. "I think we should get going."

"Oh, yeah," Izuku agreed as he stood up. "The mochi was pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll come back here sometime."

The two of them once again made their way to Ochako's apartment, talking the whole way. It didn't take long to get over the Katsuki encounter, so they quickly reentered their standard friendly chatter.

"Anyway," Ochako sighed as they reached her door, "thanks again. I had a great time."

"Yeah, me too," Izuku said, before scrunching up his face. "Except for running into Kacchan, I guess."

"Despite that, I mean. I... I'll see you later, Deku."

Izuku blushed and laughed a little bit at the new nickname. "Y-Yeah, I'll see you later Uraraka."

As she closed the door behind her, Ochako let out a sigh. Izuku really seemed amazing to her. The training from All Might, his score in the exam, and the fact that he put up with Katsuki on a daily basis were all so incredible. This fluttering that she felt in her stomach whenever she was with him... It must have been pure admiration. That's the word she wanted: admiration. Admiration for this boy who thought that she was cute.

'God, he thinks I'm cute,' she thought, smiling to herself and blushing.

The next night, Izuku got a message from All Might to meet him at the beach. Izuku didn't even question it. He got out of the house in less than 5 minutes.

"All Might!" Izuku called as he approached the emaciated man on the beach.

"Who's that?!" Toshinori replied, gesturing to two people on the beach who had heard Izuku's calling. He whispered, "Repeat after me! 'My mistake, wrong person!'"

"M-My mistake! Wrong person!" Izuku yelled more than loud enough for the couple to hear him.

"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori exclaimed as he put his hands on Izuku's shoulders. "I can't express how proud I am of you! Not only have you gotten better with your Quirk, but your selflessness is continually inspiring!"

"Ah... I... Thank you All M–!"

"SSHUSH!" Toshinori shushed sharply, covering Izuku's mouth with his hand. "And by the way, I didn't let the school or the judges know about your connection with me. You seem like the kind of person who would be dissatisfied with favoritism!"

"T-Thank you, Mr. Yagi. I really appreciate everything... It's been incredible to train with you, and everything. And I'm so happy with the opportunity to go to U.A. AND YOU'RE TEACHING THERE!"

"Listen, Midoriya. I can't train you anymore. As a teacher at U.A., I'll have no time to foster your individual growth."

"Yes, that's fine! I-I feel like I've already accepted too much help, so I'll be fine."

"Ahaha! Of course you will be!"

Izuku expected to be called into the principal's office with Katsuki because they both got into U.A. The meeting had gone exactly how he thought it would, with the principal congratulating them both on a job well done. But that day, before going home, Katsuki grabbed Izuku and pulled him into an alley near the school.

"We never finished our talk on Saturday, Deku," he growled, shoving Izuku against the wall. "What... Are you looking down on me out something? Did you cheat?! Or did you just pretend that your damn Quirk was worthless all these years, and laugh while I bought it?!"

"N-No, Kacchan! I didn't try to–!" Izuku started before being cut off.

"I was supposed to be the only one from this shitty school to make it into U.A.! I told you not to apply, you ass! I guess I was too easy on you, and I hardly trained. Well, I'm not slacking anymore! You hear me, fucking Deku?! I'm going to get so strong that you can't even hope to match me!"

"Get off of me, Kacchan," Izuku said quietly, gripping Katsuki's arm that held his shirt collar.

"Or fucking what, Deku? Are you gonna fight me or some shit? Huh?!"

"Get off!"

Suddenly, a green glow enveloped Katsuki and he flew back against the wall opposite of Izuku. Izuku might have put a bit too much force into that, but he wasn't focusing on that at the moment.

"Argh! Fucking Deku, I can't move!" Katsuki shouted as small explosions popped around his hands.

"I'm not scared of you, Kacchan! I've never been scared of you!" Izuku shouted, brimming with anger. "I have my own dreams to follow, and you won't get in the way! I'll become a great hero, Kacchan! Number one! And you'll see me do it in front of you!"

Izuku stormed off toward his house, releasing Katsuki from his Quirk as he did so. He was instantly disgusted with himself. He had vowed never to use his Quirk violently against an innocent, even Katsuki, but he had let himself lose it for just a few seconds. So, he promptly renewed that promise to himself.

Despite his frustration with himself, he was conscious enough to be surprised that Katsuki didn't chase him down right then and fight him. He was even more surprised when Katsuki stopped teasing him altogether in school. They didn't even acknowledge each other's existence for the most part. Izuku could tell, though, that something changed. Somehow, he could tell that Katsuki was taking him seriously now. But that'd only push Izuku to work harder, too.