BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. AFTER AN EMBARASSING INCIDENT WITH A LAWNMOWER, I HAVE DECIDED THAT EDNA WAS RIGHT. I WILL NO LONGER INCORPORATE A CAPE INTO MY HERO COSTUME.

Okay, let's see if Midoriya can have one normal week of school where nothing happens.

Pfft! HAHAHAHA!

Sorry, couldn't type that with a straight face.

My Alien Academia

Chapter 21

Fate Turns

Yaoyorozu was objectively an extremely intelligent girl. It was obvious that she was a genius after spending just a few minutes with her. However, she had a tendency to overthink things, to the point that she would miss the obvious.

In this case, she was kicking herself for not figuring out that Midoriya's 'Quirk' was something completely different. In fact, she was surprised that no one had ever called him out on the Ultimatrix; people were just so enamored with his power, because that was how one was judged in a society where Quirks were everything.

Considering that Midoriya didn't actually have a Quirk, and was reminded every day when someone said how cool he was, it must have been painful.

Now that Yaoyorozu knew the truth, that simple fact made her sick. Midoriya had been living in constant fear that someone might find out about the watch, and if the truth came out, the government would probably take the Ultimatrix away, and Midoriya would be arrested for fraud, all because he wanted to help people.

On the next Sunday, when her friends were at her house, she called on one person who might have an idea of how to help Midoriya—though calling him a person was up for debate.

"Ben?" she called out softly from the kitchen, where she was getting snacks for the next movie. "Are you there?"

It had taken a few days for Midoriya's friends to get used to Ben, but now that they knew about him, they made an effort to include the hologram whenever they could. Soon, it was like he had always been a part of the group—though, technically, he had. He just couldn't spend the same amount of time with them; he had explained that he could either allow only Midoriya to see him, or everyone, so he had to be careful.

To her surprise, the hologram did indeed flicker into view. "Yeah, just taking a tour of the place. Your house is huge! I mean, I already knew that, but it's something else to wander around."

"You can do that?" Yaoyorozu didn't know how she felt about the AI that could turn invisible to all but Midoriya at the drop of a hat wandering through her home.

Ben shrugged. "The range is limited, but I got a good look at the aquarium. How did your parents get a hammerhead shark?"

"They never told me," Yaoyorozu muttered, a little sullen, but then returned her focus to her question. "Anyway, I was hoping you could tell me something."

"Sure, go ahead." Ben crossed his arms. "There are a few things I can't disclose, though; it would go against my programming."

"Right. Um…" Yaoyorozu glanced back in the direction of her friends. "Is Izuku all right?"

Ben tilted his head. "In what way?"

"It's just that… he's been jumpy since I've met him, and I suspect he's been that way for a long time." Yaoyorozu frowned. "He was mistreated by people because he's Quirkless. Is he still afraid of that happening again?"

"Probably," Ben said. "He doesn't talk about it as much as he used to, so I think he's doing better. Actually, he's been a little less nervous than normal since he came clean with you guys. You were the first real people to be his friends, and I think that's all he cares about."

Yaoyorozu was touched, but also worried; with so few people that cared for the real Midoriya, it was a small foundation.

He's powerful, but he's still fragile.

"Thank you for telling me," she said. "I promise that we'll do all we can for him."

"Careful how you phrase that," Ben teased. "Uraraka's already making moves, and I don't think Izuku's poor heart could handle two girls fighting over him."

Yaoyorozu blushed at the implication, though it wasn't true; yes, Midoriya was cute, but he wasn't her type. For one thing, she preferred someone who didn't have to tilt their head back to look her in the eye.

Ben grinned and vanished, leaving Yaoyorozu to fume alone. After a minute, she grabbed the snacks and rejoined the others in the theater. There, she saw what Ben had been talking about—Uraraka was pressed into Midoriya's side, head on his shoulder. She had been doing that a lot over the week, and Yaoyorozu suspected that it was only a matter of time before one of them finally confessed to the other.

Midoriya, slightly red-faced—from Ashido's teasing, if the pink girl's saucy grin was anything to go by—turned and smiled at her. "H-hey, Momo, Tenya was about to start the movie!"

"Then I came at the right time," Yaoyorozu said as she handed out the food, though she knew Iida wouldn't have started without her. She then took the spare seat on Midoriya's other side. "I think you'll like Thor, Ochako."

"I don't know, Iron Man has been really good so far." Uraraka barely shifted to look at the other girl. "What's this Thor guy got?"

"A hammer that defies gravity," Yaoyorozu teased.

Uraraka reached around Midoriya and held out one hand. "Popcorn, please."

…

The following Monday, Class 1-A took their seats and waited for Aizawa to enter. As always, he gave them a sharp look to make sure that the students weren't goofing off; when he saw them sitting attentively, he nodded.

"All right, before we begin, there's an announcement I need to make." Aizawa shuffled a few papers on his desk. "In a few weeks, you'll have your final exams before summer. I expect you all to study and train even harder; the written portion will be your most difficult so far, and the practical portion is brutal." He gave the class one of his rare sadistic smiles. "Students have been known to drop out of the Hero Course altogether just from trying to pass."

Midoriya bit his lip nervously, but the groan from Ashido was telling—thanks to tutoring from him, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, she had risen to fifteenth in the class. However, a bad grade on the written part of the finals would send her plummeting back down to the bottom.

Aizawa sighed, as if what he was about to say next personally offended him. "Don't worry, there's more than just the stick as an incentive. The metaphorical carrot is the Summer Training Camp that UA holds every year. Think of it as a camping trip, though you'll be working to improve your Quirks and your skills while there." Before the class could even finish the first murmurs, Aizawa's hair rose and his eyes glowed, and they settled down. "However, if you fail the test, you can forget about going—in fact, if you do badly enough, you should seriously rethink being a Hero. Only the best will graduate from UA and become Pros. Remember that."

The class mulled that over as they started working, but as soon as they got a break, they split up into groups to talk amongst themselves.

"We're all going to the summer camp, right?" Uraraka asked. "I don't want to go without you guys, and I don't want to be left behind!"

Iida nodded vigorously. "I feel the same! The coming weeks will push our bodies and minds to their limits, and beyond!"

Midoriya had an idea about that, though he'd have to ask Nezu if it was okay; he was sure that it was, but he would have a lot of apologizing to do if he was wrong.

"Hey, remember what I said I did on Saturdays?" he whispered. "I think you could all join me. It might help for the practical exam."

"And we can study at Yaomomo's house for the written portion!" Ashido clasped her hands and pouted at Yaoyorozu. "You'll help me, right?"

"Of course," the other girl said, "but I expect you to have better than a passing grade."

Ashido gave her a thumbs-up. "You got it! And then we can have fun at the summer camp! Oh, I can't wait!"

"First, let's pass the exam, ribbit," Asui said. "Then we can have fun."

Sero cracked his knuckles. "Then let's get to it!"

…

Hero Training that day was one they were all looking forward to—combat training, which included Quirks. All Might was the teacher that day, along with Nezu, who had stopped by.

"Have any of the students shown any noticeable changes?" Nezu asked. "Good or bad, but I would like to know."

All Might nodded. "They've all shown at least a little improvement, but I'd say that the highest marks have to go to young Bakugo, as well as young Midoriya and his friends." His eyes widened. "Excuse me."

The Symbol of Peace vanished in a blur, and caught Kirishima before he collided with the far wall. The boy looked up at him and grinned; he was a little scuffed up, but his full-body Hardening had kept him from getting too hurt.

"Thanks, All Might-sensei," he said. "I got taken by surprise. Can I get back to the fight?"

"Yeah! Rath isn't done with this fight!"

Midoriya's newest transformation had surprised All Might; its form wasn't the strangest, but its impact on his personality had been polarizing. Rath, as he called himself, looked like a humanoid tiger, with a large claw curving forward on the back of his hands. He wore jeans and a black tank top, and the dial that came with all his transformations as part of a belt. The man-tiger bounced eagerly on the balls of his feet, impatient to go at Kirishima once again; his fighting style had been pure aggression, the unstoppable force to Kirishima's immovable object.

Well, immovable until Rath had punched him out of the ring with the force of a cannon.

"Very well, you two, but please try not to destroy the entire gym," All Might said, and put Kirishima down.

"We'll do our best!" Kirishima took a moment to reinforce his Hardening, and then charged. "Come on, Midoriya, don't tell me that's the best you've got!"

Rath let out a roar and met him head-on. "Let me tell you something, Kirishima Eijiro! Rath only held back because he didn't want to break the school, but you asked for it!"

Kirishima held up his arms to block Rath's punch; this time, he braced himself properly, which kept him from another involuntary flying lesson. Still, he was sent reeling; the force from the blow was enough that he could feel it through his Hardening!

With his arms covering his face, Kirishima didn't see Rath's open hand until he gripped his wrist and heaved him over his shoulder. Rath slammed him up and down for what felt like an eternity, the attacks coming so hard and so fast that Kirishima couldn't react. It was all he could to do maintain his Hardening, but he could feel his control slipping.

Finally, Rath let go, but Kirishima had barely started to get up from the mat when he saw his opponent jump into the air, body parallel to the floor and elbow extended in a way that Kirishima had only seen on TV.

You've gotta be kidding me!

"Polaris Piledriver!"

The impact was too much for Kirishima, and he was forced out of his Hardening. The breath left his lungs in a rush, and his body immediately felt like one giant bruise. Barely able to move, he tapped his hand weakly against the mat to signal that he was done.

Rath jumped to his feet and pumped a fist. "Yeah! Rath wins! Rath is king!"

Sero, who had taken a break after his own spar with Sato, chuckled. "Hey, Your Majesty, you wanna tone it down a notch?"

"Fine, whatever," Rath growled, but tapped the dial on his belt, and turned back to normal. He immediately ran over to Kirishima and helped him up. "I'm so sorry, Kirishima-san! I told you Rath was dangerous, but I've never actually used him in a fight, so I got a little… carried away."

Kirishima took a few deep breaths, but grinned with good humor. "Hey, no worries, Midoriya; I mean, I've been bugging you to use that one since last week." He winced. "Damn, but Rath packs a punch."

All Might let go of the tension he hadn't realized he'd had until now. Midoriya had struck him as a very kind soul, so seeing him fight so ruthlessly was alarming. He had been ready to intervene if the boy took things too far, but it turned out that he had enough self-control to stop.

Once again, All Might felt a little ashamed of himself. Every time Midoriya used a new part of his Quirk, he was reminded of All For One; during their fight six years ago, that man had pulled out a new power every ten seconds, and while none of them had been as outwardly drastic as Midoriya's transformations, seeing someone with such variety brought up too many bad memories. His mind and his heart told him to be kinder to his student, but something—maybe his instincts, maybe the remnants of One For All seeing a similarity between Midoriya and his nemesis—screamed 'threat'. Even Nezu's assurance that there was no connection hadn't completely removed his doubts.

At least young Midoriya has friends to keep him on the straight and narrow, he thought, as Sero and Todoroki walked over and started talking to Midoriya. I doubt All For One ever had anyone even try.

…

Asui was the first to notice that something was off about Midoriya and Uraraka as school ended. It was a small thing, really; both looked like they were about to speak to one another, but then decided against it at the last second. At first, Asui ignored it, but it happened more and more as they prepared to leave the school. Finally, when Uraraka glanced at her for a split second, Asui saw the embarrassed question in her eyes, and she made her decision.

"Make a distraction," she whispered to Sero. "Trust me."

Sero maintained his smile as easily as Asui maintained her blank expression, and reacted with believable surprise when she stepped on his foot. He yelped in pain, though Asui hadn't stepped that hard, and tape shot out of one elbow in 'reflex'. It hit Todoroki, who stumbled into Ashido, and they both fell; Iida and Yaoyorozu hurried over to check on them. Sero apologized profusely, maintaining the façade for another few minutes, until the realization dawned on them.

Midoriya and Uraraka were gone.

…

"H-hey, Ochako, what's going on?" Midoriya stumbled as Uraraka pulled at his wrist. "We should check on the others!"

"It's fine," she assured him, though her words were shaky. "I asked Tsu to do something, and I guess she got Sero to make a scene. I just… I needed to talk to you in private, and I didn't want to be rude to everyone else."

"Oh." Midoriya blinked; Uraraka had brought them to a shady corner of campus, under a tree. "I g-guess I wanted to talk to you, too."

"Really?" Uraraka wished her heart would stop beating so fast. It was probably unhealthy at this point. "Wait, hold on a second. Ben?"

Thankfully, no one else was around when Ben flickered into view. "Yeah?"

"Can you also give us a minute?" Uraraka bit her lip; she could feel her face heating up. "Please?"

"Sure thing." Ben grinned knowingly at them, then plugged his ears and slowly faded away. "La-la-la, I'm not listening…"

After he was gone, Uraraka and Midoriya looked at each other and stared for a moment.

"S-so, I was wondering/Deku-kun, can I ask—"

The words jumbled together as both spoke at the same time. They stopped, and both opened their mouths to speak; they stopped again, smiled, and laughed.

"You go first," Uraraka said.

"No, you brought us here," Midoriya insisted. "You go first."

Uraraka took a deep breath. Come on, Ochako, you can do this. You've faced Villains, this is nothing!

… Oh, who am I kidding, I'd take Villains over this any day.

"Okay, Deku-kun…" Uraraka looked up into his eyes. "I, uh, wanted to know if you were doing anything after school on Friday?"

"Nothing in particular…" Midoriya's brow furrowed; Uraraka could practically see him put the metaphorical pencil to paper, ready to connect the dots. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you'd l-like to go somewhere with me." Uraraka mentally patted herself on the back for only stammering once, before going in for the knockout. "And, to be clear, I mean this as a… as a date."

As expected, Midoriya's face turned an alarming shade of red; unexpectedly, rather than flail about, he gave her that wobbly smile that she found adorable.

"R-really? Sure! I mean, I w-was going to ask y-you the s-same th-thing."

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then both burst out laughing.

"We're hopeless, aren't we?" Uraraka wiped away a tear. "The others have been teasing us for weeks, and now…"

"They're never going to let us live this down." Midoriya said ruefully, but his smile never faded. "B-but, um, what are we going to do on our d-d-date?"

Uraraka froze. "You know, I was so focused on this moment, I didn't actually think that far ahead."

They both fell into another fit of giggles.

"Yeah, it's like you said." Midoriya tentatively reached out and took her hand. "We're hopeless."

"Yep." Uraraka looked up at him, and then blinked. "Darn it. I need to catch my train, but I don't want to leave."

"We'll see each other tomorrow?" Midoriya offered.

Uraraka smiled; she then took a moment to gather her courage for one more step, and gently kissed him on the cheek.

Midoriya froze, to the point that he actually thought his heart stopped. Uraraka Ochako, the girl he'd finally admitted to having feelings for, had just kissed him. For a moment, all he could focus on was her face; the blush on her cheeks, her smile, and her sparkling eyes…

All of which changed into a mortified expression, and Midoriya felt his heart drop into his stomach. Had he done something wrong? Was she regretting her actions? Did she realize that she didn't really like him after all? Then he saw that she wasn't looking at him—rather, at something behind him.

He turned, and saw the rest of their friends watching them. Yaoyorozu had her hands over her mouth as she bounced in place. Ashido and Sero had matching grins. Iida had a proud smile on his face. The only ones who hardly reacted were Asui and Todoroki; both kept their expressions blank, though they each gave a thumbs-up.

Ben flickered into view and took one look at Midoriya and Uraraka. He grinned, and a bow appeared in his hands; arrows with heart-shaped tips appeared next, and he pretended to shoot them at the new couple.

"So, um…" Uraraka took a step back, and then started to run. "Seeyouguystomorrowokaybye!"

To avoid further embarrassment for the day, Midoriya ran along with her to get to his own train. If they 'happened' to brush against each other as they ran, they didn't comment, but it was probably one of the reasons they couldn't stop smiling.

…

"Oh, my baby!"

Izuku was starting to wonder if his mother had a strength-enhancing Quirk that she'd never revealed, if her rib-cracking hug was anything to go by. To be fair, he should have known that she'd react like that when he told her about what had happened with Uraraka, along with the rivers of tears.

"I'm so happy for you, Izuku!" Inko finally took a step back and wiped her tears away. "This girl sounds absolutely wonderful, and I know that she's lucky to have you, too!"

"Mom!" Izuku looked away, embarrassed, but he couldn't keep the goofy grin off his face. "Y-yeah, I think I'm pretty lucky."

"Well, I'll leave you to it, young man." Inko smiled as brightly as her son could ever remember. "I'm just glad that you're having some normalcy in your life. I was worried you'd be so involved with becoming a Hero that you'd shut out everything else."

Izuku thought about how his friends had decided to stick with him, even after finding out he'd lied to them. "I don't think I have to worry about that, Mom."

"Good. Oh, and about your date?" Izuku shivered at the mischievous look in his mother's eyes. "I don't have a problem with you going out, since I know you'll have a chaperone. Right, Ben?"

Ben, who had been 'sitting' on the couch watching them, nodded. "You got it. I'll make sure they're home at a reasonable hour."

Izuku gave him a look. "How would you do that?"

Ben pointed at the Ultimatrix. "Break the rules, and I'll withhold the Ultimate function for an extra week."

"I'll be good," Izuku promised quickly.

"And now I feel better," Inko said. "Oh, Izuku, if you have any questions, I'm sure I could share some stories about your father and I when we first started dating—"

"Actually, I still have some homework, so I'm going to get right on that, bye!" Izuku grabbed his backpack and ran to his room, the laughter of Ben and his mother ringing in his ears.

I hope Ochako isn't going through something like this.

…

A small part of Uraraka was wishing that she'd never met some of her friends. She didn't mean it in the slightest, but it would have saved her a lot of teasing. At least it was only on the chat that the girls had set up for themselves, but still…

Crayon: I new it! I new u 2 wud get 2gether! Ha!

Frog: I wish I'd bet some money, ribbit. Ochako, you still owe me for buying you two some time.

Book: It was very sweet of you, Tsuyu… almost as sweet as that exchange between Ochako and Izuku.

Crayon: It was adorkable, and I luv it!

Comet: Thanks. Would you three please get boyfriends so that I can tease you?

Frog: All in good time, ribbit.

Crayon: boyfriend? U 2 alredy making it oficial?

Frog: Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd have thought you and Izuku had been together for a while.

Book: ^

Crayon: ^

Comet: Well, we like each other, OK? Can we at least have our date before going further?

Crayon: How much further? :P

Uraraka blushed and shut her phone off. Her hands went to her face in embarrassment, which immediately sent her floating through the air. She canceled her Quirk before she flew too high, and landed with a thud on the floor.

"Ouch," she hissed, and rubbed her sore knee. She'd done worse to herself whenever she accidentally made herself float, but she'd gotten much better at mitigating it after training at UA, and with Gunhead.

Her knee did little to distract her from her embarrassment; earlier, when she called her parents to let them know that she was going on her first date, her father had thrown an exaggerated fit. He had gone on and on about how 'his little baby girl was all grown up', until her mother had finally wrestled the phone away from him. She had then asked her daughter if she needed a refresher on 'the Talk'; it had been asked with such sincerity that Ochako hadn't been able to tell if she'd been teasing or not.

"At least my friends will stop messing with us after a few days," she muttered. "I'm going to have to deal with Mom and Daddy forever." She paused. "Wait, am I already calling us 'us'!?"

…

The week came and went in a blur for Midoriya. There were no Villain attacks, no internships, and no 'logical deceptions' from Aizawa, so by his standards, it had been a pretty boring week. There was only one noticeable change to his routine—Uraraka.

She hadn't exactly gotten clingy since they'd decided to date, but she stayed a bit closer to him whenever they walked together. She also smiled at him more; of course, she usually smiled around him, but now there was just a little more to it.

They had decided on something simple for their first date—a simple dinner, and a walk down the beach. Specifically, Dagobah Beach, which had briefly been on the news when it had been discovered that someone had cleaned it up in a single night. Midoriya and his friends knew the truth, and it had become like a shared joke between them whenever it was brought up.

The only hiccup in the planning for the date was the method of transportation. Midoriya could get there fairly easily, but Uraraka needed to take a train. She had originally been fine with paying for a couple of extra tickets, but Midoriya had offered to give her a ride.

"You don't have a car," Uraraka had pointed out.

"You're right." Midoriya had tapped the Ultimatrix with one finger. "I've got something better."

Uraraka's eyes had gone wide. "Deku-kun, you can't do that! We don't have licenses to use our Quirks in public!"

"Actually, the law specifically states that we can't use our Quirks to 'disrupt public affairs, damage property, or injure someone outside of self-defense if the attacker uses a Quirk first'," he had replied. "I can fly over the clouds, and no one will notice."

Uraraka had tried to argue against it, but he was technically right. They had even brought the matter up with Iida and Yaoyorozu—on the condition that they not speak about it to the others. They had agreed that Midoriya's plan skirted the edges of what was considered acceptable Quirk use, but it was the kind of thing that was generally overlooked, unless someone caused a scene. Midoriya had promised that no scenes would be caused, which was enough for them.

Which was why, on Friday night, Uraraka was waiting outside her apartment for Midoriya to literally pick her up. It was exactly six-thirty when Jetray swooped in to land in front of her.

"H-hey, Ochako," he said nervously. "Y-you look n-nice."

Uraraka nervously brushed some hair behind her ear. She hadn't really put extra effort into her appearance; a dress wasn't exactly suited to walking on the beach, after all. She was wearing a dark-green tank top under a pink button-up shirt, and a pair of white shorts; the only thing she'd added was a little makeup, something she'd only used a handful of times.

"Th-thanks, Deku-kun." She looked at Jetray dubiously. "Um, how are we getting to the restaurant? Can your arms carry me and fly?"

"N-no." Jetray turned and presented his back to him. "Just hold on tight."

"Really?"

"Or I can carry you with my feet."

Without another word, Uraraka hopped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Don't worry, we'll be there in less than a minute. Right, Ben?"

"What am I, your GPS?" Ben grumbled from inside the Ultimatrix. "Just don't hit any turbulence, and you'll be fine."

Uraraka most certainly did not squeak when Jetray took off into the sky, and she would send anyone who suggested otherwise into orbit. Thankfully, the terror was over almost as soon as it began, because Jetray pulled in to land in an alley, where he could transform without anyone seeing him.

"S-sorry," Midoriya said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

He sounded so miserable that Uraraka couldn't stay mad at him. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and looped her arm through his.

"It's fine," she promised. "Come on, let's get some food!"

As she led Midoriya down the street, she took a moment to take in her date's appearance. He wore grey shorts that went just past his knees, and an open blue shirt over a white t-shirt. There were also his ever-present red shoes, which made Uraraka wonder if he had ever worn shoes that weren't that color.

What had her distracted were the muscles she could feel under his shirt. They weren't excessively bulky, like All Might, but the muscles of someone who regularly exercised and kept to a healthy lifestyle. After a moment's consideration, she decided that a bodybuilder wasn't to her taste anyway.

"You too," she said.

"Huh?"

"You said I looked nice," she explained. "So do you."

"Th-thanks." Uraraka tried not to laugh when she felt him shaking like a leaf; at least she was better at hiding how nervous she was! "Hey, there's the restaurant."

While Midoriya had suggested the walk on the beach—a little cheesy, but it was sweet, and it was free, which appealed to both of them—Uraraka had been the one to find a place to eat. It wasn't quite a hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but it also wasn't somewhere that needed reservations, or a Yaoyorozu-level budget.

After finding a booth, the two started to look at the menu when things felt a little awkward. Both of them wanted to say something, but nothing felt right.

"Hey, Deku-kun?" Uraraka waited until she had his full attention before continuing. "Are we trying too hard?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, yeah, we're on a date, but we're still friends. We don't have to act differently just because we, uh—" Uraraka blushed.

"B-because we l-like each other?" Midoriya finished, and she nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right."

Like that, they relaxed, and started talking again. The only difference now was that they were willing to share things about themselves that they hadn't before. For instance, Midoriya was surprised to learn that Uraraka was taking it upon herself to learn physics, even though they wouldn't have classes on the subject until their third year at UA.

"Part of it is because of my Quirk," she admitted. "A lot of how I want to use my Quirk is learning how gravity applies to things, and then taking it out of the equation. I even sent a worksheet I completed to a physics professor in Tokyo; he was really confused why I deliberately chose the opposite of the answer, until I explained my Quirk." She giggled at the memory. "He said that he'd never met a reverse-physicist before, but I might be the first."

For his part, Midoriya let slip that he was actually pretty good at cooking, mostly out of necessity. It had started when he had gotten old enough to stay at home without supervision, and his mother could work again.

"No one wanted to babysit after they found out I was Quirkless." Midoriya shrugged the old memory away, but Uraraka allowed herself a moment of anger on his behalf. The nerve of those bigots!

"What about your dad?" she asked. "Wasn't he around to help?"

She wanted to slap herself for such an insensitive question. What if his father was dead, or had gotten a divorce? She didn't want to go into something so personal, especially on their first date!

"He's overseas most of the time," Midoriya explained, not bothered in the slightest. "He sets up meetings between companies, usually stuff that's too sensitive to be sent over email, and stays around to make sure that any deals hold firm. It's not that he doesn't want to be around, but he makes enough to keep our home and make sure we have enough money to live off of. Mom doesn't actually have to work, but she thought that if she made some money, Dad could come home more often."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"I video-call him every few weeks. I think Mom talks to him a couple times a week, but it's only for a few minutes." Midoriya paused. "If you mean in person, then it's been a little over two years."

Uraraka couldn't imagine going without seeing her parents for years on end; just a couple of months had been heartbreaking!

The two continued to talk until their food arrived. They had both ordered okonomiyaki, a type of savory pancake that was a little heavy on the calories, but considering how much they exercised, it wasn't that big a deal.

After eating and paying for their meal—Uraraka insisted they split the bill when Midoriya offered to pay for all of it—they headed back to the dark alley. One transformation later, and Jetray was taking them to Dagobah Beach.

"Wow, the news didn't do it justice," Uraraka said as they landed on the sand. "This place is beautiful!"

Midoriya had to agree; the last time he had been here, there had been too much going on in his head to really appreciate just what Ken had done. The sand looked like silver dust in the moonlight, and the gentle waves were soothing to hear.

They stood there in silence, watching the ocean, until Midoriya tentatively reached for Uraraka's hand. Their fingers laced together, though she made sure not to touch him with all five fingers. Hand in hand, they slowly walked to where the waves met the sand.

"Yeah," Uraraka whispered, "this is nice."

…

She had to keep running. She'd had enough, and had to get away. She couldn't go back with the bad men again—not to the needles and the pain and the darkness. But he was following her; she didn't know his name, but he would find her, just like all the others who found her when she ran away. But she had to try.

And then she saw them.

There were two of them, walking in the sand—though she didn't know why people would do that. They were holding hands, and the girl was resting her head on the boy's shoulder.

She didn't know either of them, but they had to be better than the bad men. And so, she made a decision, and turned.

…

Midoriya wondered if there was any way he could freeze time. This moment was about as perfect as it could get; for a few blissful minutes, there was nothing but him, Uraraka, and the beach.

And then something collided with him, sending him tumbling into the sand.

"Deku-kun, are you okay!?" At least Uraraka had kept her footing, but Midoriya was now trying to figure out just what the heck had hit him.

'It' turned out to be a little girl. She couldn't have been more than five or six years old, with long pale grey hair, and a small horn on the right side of her forehead—though whether it was a minor Mutant-type Quirk, or just an element of something else, Midoriya didn't know. She wore a ragged dress, and was barefoot; what alarmed him were the bandages around her arms and legs.

That set off alarms in the mind of a would-be Hero. There was a little girl who was possibly hurt, clearly didn't have the best quality of life, and if her trembling was any indication, she was absolutely terrified.

"Hey, hey," he said gently, and helped the girl to her feet. "Are you okay?"

The girl opened her eyes, revealing red irises. "P-please… help me."

Uraraka knelt down so that she could look the girl in the eye. "Of course, sweetie. Why don't we get out of this sand, okay?"

The girl must not have expected that kind of reaction, because she looked bewildered. Uraraka gently guided her to the street, while Midoriya dusted himself off.

"Ben," he muttered softly, so that the girl wouldn't hear, "I need you."

Ben—who had remained 'off' until Midoriya called for him—didn't materialize, but he was immediately aware that something was wrong. "What's up?"

"The girl looks like she was in trouble. Can you call the police through my phone if we need to?"

"You got it, buddy, but we've got incoming. Keep your guard up."

Sure enough, a man was walking quickly down the street; when he saw them, he increased his speed to just under a jog. He was easily six feet tall, with shaggy hair that almost looked like a lion's mane; his clothes had once been very nice, but looked like they'd been worn a few too many times.

"Eri, there you are," the man chided in a gruff voice that tried to sound sweet, and failed miserably. "Come on, you know better than to wander off." He looked at the teenagers and smiled; it looked more like a sneer, and did nothing to ease their nerves. "Sorry about that, kids; Eri likes to run off sometimes, but she needs to go home now."

The girl, Eri, whimpered and hid behind Uraraka.

"Sorry, she seems a little freaked out right now," Midoriya said, thinking quickly. "She fell down, and she might have gotten sand under her bandages. Can we have a minute to clean her up?"

The man shifted in place uneasily. "Fine, hurry up; my boss wants her back pronto."

Midoriya decided to take a big risk and turned his back on the man as he knelt in front of Eri; he had to trust that Uraraka would watch out for him.

"Are you hurt?" he whispered as he pretended to inspect Eri's bandages.

"No." Somehow, Eri realized that she had to be quiet. "He's a bad man. He'll hurt you!"

"We'll try to avoid that," Midoriya said as he brushed some sand out of her hair, and then stood up to face the man. "Sorry, it looks like she hurt her leg. We should get her to a doctor."

"No need, my boss is a doctor." The man gave Eri a hard stare. "He'll fix you right up, won't he, Eri?"

Every passing second sent up more red flags. Eri was clearly terrified, and now this man was trying to keep her away from any sort of authority. Were they dealing with a kidnapper and his victim?

"Excuse me, sir?" Uraraka was the picture of naïve innocence as she spoke. "Are you this girl's father?"

The man sneered. "Do I look like her dad? Look, I'm being nice, but this is your last chance—give me the girl, and no one gets hurt."

The innocent look melted away, leaving only fierce determination. "Funny, I was going to give you the same warning."

With a growl, the man pulled a knife from inside his coat and lunged. Uraraka reacted with apparent ease—she grabbed his wrist, twisted it to make him drop the knife, and used his momentum to knock him down.

This was all they could legally do. Without licenses, they couldn't use their Quirks, unless their attacker did so first. Midoriya scooped up Eri and backpedaled several paces; one of them had to keep the girl safe, so he had to trust that Uraraka could handle it.

"The police have been called," Ben said, his voice tense. "They'll be here in five minutes."

"Bad move, little girl," the man spat as he stood back up. "I'm gonna beat you bloody for that!"

Even to Midoriya's less-experienced eye, the man was no trained fighter; his punches were wide and obvious, and his footing was terrible. Uraraka danced around each swing, striking at openings with her knees and the heel of her palm. Individually, the blows weren't too damaging, but they added up, and the thug was rapidly running out of steam.

"Oh, screw this!"

The man roared, his mouth opening far wider than it should have been able to; his teeth grew into large fangs, and tan fur sprouted over his skin. Now, he really did look like a lion.

"Any last words, before I rip you to pieces?" he asked, holding out his claw-tipped hands for emphasis.

To her credit, Uraraka only raised an eyebrow. "Yeah—bad kitty!"

Midoriya couldn't help but wince as Uraraka stepped in close and drove her knee between her attacker's legs. One of the man's paws went down to cover his groin, while the other flailed out towards her. Apparently, his transformation made him faster, because Uraraka couldn't avoid his claws as easily as before; one of them raked across her left arm, and she cried out in pain.

That was enough for Midoriya. A Quirk had been used—also, much more importantly, the son of a bitch had hurt Uraraka. This was going to end now.

Uraraka had barely registered the searing pain in her arm when she saw a flash of green light in the corner of her eye. The next thing she knew, a full-sized Humungousaur brought a huge fist down on the lion-man. There was a gasp, and possibly a crack of something breaking, and when the fist pulled back, the thug was back in his human form, unconscious and probably in need of a hospital.

There was another flash of green light, and then Midoriya was running up to her. "Are you okay!?"

Uraraka looked at her arm; the cut was long, but shallow. "I don't think it's too bad."

Midoriya nodded, and then hugged her fiercely. "Good. I was…"

Uraraka just hugged him back with her uninjured arm. "I'm okay. We're both okay." She looked back and saw Eri, staring at the unconscious man with wide, disbelieving eyes. "And I think she's okay, too."

Midoriya nodded again, and then pulled off his outer shirt to wrap around her arm. "That should hold until we can get you to a doctor."

"Thanks, Deku-kun." Uraraka looked at the makeshift bandage that was quickly becoming stained with red. "Sorry about your shirt."

"I'd rather lose the shirt than you," he replied, as the sound of approaching sirens was heard.

Uraraka would later blame her blush on adrenaline.

…

With a potential kidnapping victim and Uraraka's injury to consider, the police brought them to the hospital first. Eri refused to be parted from her rescuers, holding onto Midoriya's hand the entire time, save for when he had to go to the bathroom, or was speaking privately to the police. When he came back, he found her hanging onto Uraraka; it would have been sweet, had the poor girl not looked so terrified.

The police quickly identified their attacker as a low-level Yakuza thug, who was wanted for several Quirk-related assaults. Considering that, and how the students had only acted in self-defense, the police barely gave them a slap on the wrist, and only because they were required to do so by law.

"Your school will be informed," an officer said. "But we'll keep your names out of the media, just in case that punk's bosses want revenge."

"Thank you," Midoriya said. "What about Eri?"

"The girl?" The officer looked over at Eri, who had all but fainted from stress; she was asleep on a chair, and rested her head on Uraraka's lap. "Unfortunately, she doesn't match the description of any missing persons. We also ran her fingerprints, but she's not in any system; whoever had her didn't want anyone to know about her."

Midoriya felt pity stab into him. "Then what's going to happen to her?"

"I don't know," the officer admitted. "Putting her in the foster system might be a bad idea, especially if her captors want her back. Plus, she's pretty traumatized."

That was an understatement; when the doctors had tried to take a blood sample, Eri had taken one look at the needle, screamed, and tried to get away. Only the combined efforts of Midoriya and Uraraka had calmed her down, and even then, the latter had to let the doctors take blood from her first, before Eri let them do the same to her. She also refused to let anyone but Uraraka and Midoriya change her bandages; that was when they saw the deep scars going up her arms and legs. It was obvious that Eri had been emotionally and physically scarred by a barbaric perversion of medical practice.

Something about Eri's circumstances was oddly familiar to Midoriya, and he almost hit himself for not realizing it sooner.

"Um, can I make a call?" he asked. "I think I know someone who might be able to help."

The police officer shrugged. "You can ask them, but they'll have to contact us before any decision is made."

"I understand." Midoriya hastily excused himself and went out into the hallway before dialing a certain number on his phone.

It only rang once before it was picked up. "Midoriya-san? This is an unexpected surprise. Is something the matter?"

"Hello, Nezu-sensei," Midoriya said. "I need your help."

…

Uraraka tilted her head as Midoriya returned a few minutes later. "What was that about?"

"I called Nezu-sensei to see if UA could take protective custody over Eri," he explained. "It's the safest place I could think of."

"That could work." Uraraka looked down at the sleeping girl in her lap and gently stroked her hair. "What did Nezu-sensei say?"

"He said he'd talk to the police about it; we'll find out more later." Midoriya pulled up a chair so that he sat in front of her. "Are you okay?"

Uraraka looked down at her bandaged arm. "I'll be fine. If I go to Recovery Girl, I probably won't even have a scar."

Midoriya sighed and leaned forward to put his head in his hands. "Thank goodness."

"Thank Gunhead; he's the one who showed me how to fight." She reached out and tilted his head up to look at her. "This isn't what I was expecting for a first date."

He flinched. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be! We helped someone who needed us, Izuku!" She smiled. "Besides, the next one can only be better, right?"

"Yeah, I guess—wait." Midoriya blinked. "You w-want to go out on another date?"

Uraraka wondered how to articulate just what she wanted to say. Nothing she could think of seemed to work.

Screw it, direct approach.

She pulled him in close and kissed him. This wasn't a peck on the cheek, but a real kiss that Uraraka hoped would convey just what she was feeling. At first, Midoriya froze; then to her surprise and delight, he leaned in and kissed her back. It was a little clumsy—neither of them had any experience with this sort of thing—but it felt right. They pulled back after several seconds, both grinning.

"So… are you my girlfriend?"

Uraraka gave her best teasing smirk. "Nah. You're my boyfriend."

Midoriya nodded. "I'm okay with that."

"Uh…" They looked down and saw Eri staring at them with wide eyes. "What are you doing with your faces?"

When a nurse came in to check on them, it was to the sight of the two teenagers blushing and sputtering.

I know I've said that Midoriya is a cinnamon roll that has to be protected. Well, Eri is that, times a thousand. Anyone who lays a hand on her is going to die, plain and simple. Why did I bring her in so early? Because I can, and I have plans. So many plans…

By the way, that law I talked about, regarding how people can use their Quirks? You're telling me that I can't use my ability in public, even if I'm not hurting anyone, damaging property, or otherwise breaking laws? That's BS, and really can't be applied for people who can't turn off their Quirks, like Asui or Hound Dog. Anyway, that's why Uraraka and Midoriya didn't go all-out from the beginning, because they could only escalate when the bad guy did so. And I wanted to show how Uraraka is becoming a better fighter.

And the pairing is official, guys! I know it was kind of obvious for a while now, but it feels good to have it be official. Sorry if this chapter caused fluffy feelings. If it persists for longer than three hours, consult a doctor.

I may have to take a break from this story for a little while, though. I've been neglecting some of my other stories, and I want to get back into writing science fiction, if only to keep myself in the right mindset to write my next book. But don't worry, I won't abandon this story for long!

If you want to read my first book before the second one comes out, please check out Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find as a PDF on my website (link in my profile), or in eBook and physical format on Amazon. I hope you enjoy!

If you want to support me in other ways, I have a P-atreon account! Any donations are sincerely welcome, as it goes into my savings, so I can one day live on my own and do nothing but write all day. You can find a link to my page on my profile!

And I'd like to thank the following patrons for sticking with me, even in these dark times:

Serious Muffins: jafr86, SpaceEmperorSpar, Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, ChaosSpartan575, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, Shaolin Khalil, killroy225

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844

Ultra Muffins: Adam Costello, Matthew Bunting, RangersRoll

Next Chapter: The next step in Eri's journey begins, Midoriya and his friends train in earnest, and Inko gets a message.

Stay safe out there!

Plus Muffin!