AN:

Thank you to the kind people from the IzuOcha discord for betaing my fic. Specifically, thank you EdouRanSan and Mal. Their help was instrumental in cleaning this fic up and I'm eternally grateful.

She was sitting there, her legs dangling from the edge with her brown hair blowing softly in the gentle wind. The sun was setting, and Ochako was confident that Aldera Junior High's rooftop was one of the best views in the area for said sunset. The way it just barely overlooked the other buildings in view really accentuated the event. She reminisced of her old school and friends, but her parents had moved as it was better for their construction business evidently. She sighed deeply. Thoughts of her friend flooded her consciousness. Memories that consisted of fun and adventure flashed before her eyes as she watched the sun inevitably set. But, alas, it was not meant to be as that event transpired and soon after, she moved to a new school with her parents. It was here, though, that she eagerly awaited the stars to make themselves visible. It was her favorite pastime. She figured that if she hadn't decided to become a Pro Hero, perhaps she would've studied to become an astronomer instead. She still resolved to find a better area in regards to light pollution; though, for the time being, this worked for her.

"She would've loved this place…" Ochako said aloud. Her mind drifted to her friend once again, and her mood subsequently soured. Ochako and her were close, but unbeknownst to Ochako, she suffered extensive bullying, and eventually took her own life, jumping off of the school rooftop. The thought made her want to gag. Ever since her death, Ochako resolved that as part of her being a hero, she would put an end to bullying. At least, as much as she possibly could. No one should ever have to go through it, she reasoned. The tragedy of her friend shook her to her core when she heard the news. It was then she likened bullies to in reality be villains.

A noticeable gust of wind blew, and Ochako was forced to brush her hair back. The sun was only going to be visible for a couple more moments, all of which she absorbed as she thought on and on.

As she gazed upon the celestial ball of fire, she heard a door open and slam behind her, immediately drawing her attention. She noted a green-haired boy that stood not even 20 feet from her. He appeared out of breath, like he was running. Sweat, no, tears stained his face. She realized that this was one of the people in her school, though one she hadn't spoken to before. Concern started taking hold of her as she looked upon him more, and for some reason, she was reminded of her friend. Without realizing it, Ochako found herself standing up from her spot on the edge and slowly walking towards the seemingly frightened boy.

"Are you okay?" she asked slowly, stopping her movements about 10 feet from him.

The boy clutched his arms, hugging himself tightly as he turned his head away from her.

"I…" he started, but never finished.

Ochako gulped, the dread filling her gut much more strongly than before. Her instincts were screaming at her to do something, but she didn't know what exactly to do. This boy in front of her was in a state of incredible distress; that much was obvious. She didn't want to jump to conclusions but… She had a feeling she knew what he came up here this late at night to do.

"It's okay, you know…" she found herself saying. "I don't know what's wrong but… I'm sure that it's okay, that it'll work out," she said. Ochako hoped her words reached him, but that remained to be seen.

The boy shook his head again, a couple stray tears being flung to the side.

"I can't… It won't… I'm sorry!" he finally half-shouted before running to the side, to the edge of the rooftop.

Ochako's eyes widened before she screamed, "No!"

She thought of her friend for a moment, and realized she was sprinting. It wasn't a huge distance to sprint by any means- some people could probably jump it in a single bound- but she went as fast as she possibly could. The boy was only several feet from the edge when Ochako tackled him, knocking him down onto the hard surface. Her heart was racing a thousand miles an hour she realized, but she had done it. He was secured. As she pinned him down, she regained her posture, sitting up slightly as the boy underneath her wailed. Her heart ached, and she wondered what could have caused this.

He struggled pathetically, his strength having left him entirely. Finally, the green-haired boy went limp as the girl thought of what in the heck to say. As she scrunched her face in thought and concern, he spoke.

"Please let me go…"

Ochako's heart broke once again hearing him plead like that, but she didn't release the grip she had on him. She realized that if someone else saw them right now they may get the wrong idea since she was on top of him and holding him down. She breathed, trying to collect herself. Her situation had certainly changed drastically in the past couple of minutes. Focusing on the distraught boy, she steeled herself.

"No."

The boy had a range of emotions flash across his face, finally settling on a cross between anger and anguish, but he didn't say anything.

"It's okay… I don't know why you're doing this but…" she breathed again. "I know someone loves you; you're worth it. Someone would be very, very sad if you were gone. I lost a friend because of… this… and not a day goes by that I don't think of them. And not just me, but their family, too! Losing her destroyed me, all of us! So please!"

She saw that his gaze softened, but his crying remained just as intense as it was before.

"Whatever is wrong, I'm sure you can get through it, but if you do this, there's no take backs!" She unknowingly got louder and louder as moisture pooled in her own brown eyes. "This is a permanent solution to a temporary problem!" She grabbed the collar of his shirt with both of her hands and she proceeded to yell at him, her emotions pouring out of control as her own tears fell onto his own shocked expression. "If you do this, you're gone forever!" She let go of his shirt and pulled away, however, she remained on top of him. She proceeded to wipe her eyes, doing her best to control her emotions and failing miserably. Seeing the stunned face of the boy under him, she closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath before opening them again.

What Ochako saw surprised her, though she admitted that maybe she didn't know what to expect. She saw anger, and perhaps resentment.

"This isn't a temporary problem…" he said slowly, gritting his teeth together.

Confusion spread across her expression. "What's the problem then?"

He shifted uncomfortably, and she realized that this was due to their position, but she was unwilling to relent just yet.

His face scrunched up in agony yet again before he spoke. "I'm quirkless."

Oh.

Her heart went out to him at that moment. She realized that must be incredibly difficult in today's age where nearly everyone has a quirk. She opened her mouth to respond, but was immediately silenced by the green-haired boys continued rumination.

"I can't be a hero if I don't have a quirk!" he shouted in obvious emotional pain. She turned his head to the side, hiding his eyes from the girl. "K-Kacchan said that if I jump off…" Her eyes narrowed viciously. "...maybe I could get r-reborn in the next life w-with a q-q-quirk…" he stuttered badly, but she understood.

This poor, innocent boy was being bullied.

Bullied because he didn't have a quirk.

Bullied over something he had no control over.

And said bullying drove him to try and take his own life.

A deep seated rage rose within her.

In a move totally uncharacteristic of her, she screamed.

"Fuck them! Fuck bullies, and FUCK anything they have to say!" She rose up from the boy whose name she still didn't know and continued to yell angrily. "They're monsters! They're villains and they get away with murder! I hate them! I hate them so much!" She stood by the edge, with the boy getting up to a sitting position as he watched her in awe. She turned around, focusing her brown eyes at his green ones. "Please! Don't let them win!" She dove back at him, stopping just in front of him as he sat down, and she proceeded to beg him on her knees. "I-I had a friend kill herself because of bullying…" she said solemnly. "It's okay… It's okay…" She wiped her eyes dry again. "I'm trying to be a hero too, y'know? Maybe we can both become heroes…" she said slowly, her emotions spiraling out of control.

Izuku sat there, absolutely shocked as to what the girl was saying. He would go as far as to say that she was becoming more emotional than even he was. He shook his head sadly though. He knew reality wasn't so kind, and what the truth really was.

"I can't be a hero without a quirk…"

She raised her head back up and stared into his eyes, making the boy slightly uncomfortable with their intensity. He observed the tears flowing down her eyes and it made him incredibly sad to see someone be so distraught. He was about to stand up and go home before she said a sentence that would change his fate forever.

"I think you can be a hero."

She said it with such conviction, staring hard into his eyes. Almost like she really believed that. Like she really believed in him. Just some student he didn't know, believing that he can be a hero. Without a quirk. His eyes widened more than before and he felt so vulnerable at that moment.

"Y-y-you do?!" he asked, panicked. A feeling he had forgotten rushed within him: hope. He was so hopeful that someone believed in him. It almost seemed like a light he hadn't been able to see. Even his own mother didn't believe in him. "You really do?!" he asked again, more desperate than before.

She smiled, seeing she had gotten through to him. "Yeah, I think you can be a real hero someday." Her eyes stopped watering as much, her emotions being brought under control. She saw the immediate reaction of the boy in front of her and it filled her with happiness. He started crying again, but she could tell it was out of joy. She closed the distance again and enveloped him in a warm hug, which he didn't contest. He still trembled in her arms, but she was confident he wouldn't do anything rash now. She briefly thought of her friend, but she was glad that she was able to help someone in a similar situation.

"Thank you… thank you thank you thank you thank you!" he kept saying as he hugged her back. She simply smiled and let him express his intense emotions. Eventually, after a couple of moments, they separated and Ochako looked up at the stars, finally visible to the naked eye. Night was upon them and she would soon have to head home, but she looked back to the boy and resolved to ask him a question. She took in yet another calming breath before continuing.

"My name is Ochako Uraraka; what's yours?" she asked in a friendly manner, despite both of them looking like a mess.

Izuku immediately became quite shy, realizing he hadn't even introduced himself yet in the chaos of what had recently transpired. "I'm I-Izuku Midoriya," he gulped. "It's nice to meet you!" he said happily, yet also nervously. She laughed, and he wondered if he had done anything wrong.

"It's nice to meet you too, Izuku." She looked up at the stars longingly for a moment. "Hey, Izuku?" she asked while bringing her gaze back to focus on him.

"Yeah?"

"Let's become heroes!"

He gasped slightly, before smiling and eagerly nodding. He took notice of Ochako smiling as well. He thought briefly about what had just happened and he would've never imagined anything like this happening, but he was quite happy that it did.

"Awesome! I guess we should figure out a time to train then, huh?" she pointed out.

"Y-yeah!"

"You have a phone number?"

"O-o-oh, yeah I do," he fumbled.

"May I have it, silly?" she smiled at his awkwardness

Izuku's face then burned. The only girl that has his phone number was his mom, and now he was giving it to a girl he had just met. He reached for his phone and frowned when he saw the text message he had been about to send to his mom that was saved as a draft. A suicide note. He quickly deleted it, shaking his head. Ochako stayed silent but saw it all quite clearly, yet she didn't say anything. They then exchanged numbers with Ochako pulling her phone out.

"Y'know, I'm actually new here," she mentioned, putting her phone away.

Izuku looked at her curiously. It was true, surely. He hadn't actually seen her around before. He realized that she must've moved soon after her friend had… Izuku shook his head. Bad thoughts.

"S-so I was just, well… Hmm, let me start over." She took a breath before briskly asking, "Hey, so what are you doing tomorrow after school?"

"...I have nothing planned…"

"Wanna hangout or something?"

"...Sure…"

"Awesome!" she cheered. "Maybe we can go to the park and train or something!" She was bubbling with exuberance and excitement, emotions that Izuku noted he hadn't been experiencing much of lately.

Just as Izuku was about to respond, he felt a text go off in his pocket. Checking it, he saw that it was his mother asking where in the world was he at this hour and gulped. Of course, there were also the previous messages and missed calls. This would be fun to deal with, he thought.

"Hey, Ochako?"

She turned her head as she was gazing at the stars again, of which he made sure to mentally note down.

"Yes, Izuku?"

He frowned, not wanting this moment with his new friend to come to an end.

"I g-got to go home; it's getting late…" he spoke softly, the disappointment tangible in his voice.

She frowned, but understood. "Okay, I should probably get home too…"

They both stood up and made their way down the stairs. There was a special path to the roof that remained open even when school was closed, much to Ochako's surprise. She would've figured there'd be more people there, perhaps experimenting with drugs or other such nonsense. Nevertheless, it was abandoned every day she went up there. Well, with today's exception she noted as she glanced toward the green-haired boy. She hadn't expected to make a new friend tonight, much less stop said new friend from comitting suicide, but it all worked out, she reasoned. Plus, they were even going to train to be heroes! How exciting! She hadn't made any new friends in her new school yet, so she was definitely rather excited to meet Izuku in that regard.

Finally on the sidewalk by the school exit, Ochako turned to Izuku and asked, "So which way're you going?"

Izuku blushed and pointed left, eliciting a smile from the girl.

"I'm going that way too!"

Izuku smiled, happy to have a little more time with his new friend. They continued on, and as they walked they asked each other about the classes they had. Sadly, they didn't share any- probably due to her joining halfway through the year. Izuku was curious about her old school, and she spoke highly of it, but mentioned how they had left due to her family's business being better in this area. They also learned they lived only a few blocks from each other.

Ochako quickly learned how inquisitive her new friend was. Once he opened up, he kept asking question after question, which Ochako was happy to answer. Perhaps all he needed was someone who he felt comfortable around to really be able to open up.

Eventually arriving at Ochako's house, they stopped.

"This is my house; it's not the best but-"

"I t-think it's quite nice, actually!" he interrupted, causing Ochako to smile awkwardly. While she appreciated the notion, she was under no illusion. Though, she supposed, at least it did look okay from the outside. She did mention that part of the reason for her moving here was due to her family's financial situation, but in the end, Izuku sympathized, having elaborated that it's just been him and his mom so he understands how that can be. Though he didn't get into it, the child support his mother received usually meant they had plenty to spare.

"Thank you… I'll see you tomorrow, Izuku!" she said, starting to walk backwards toward the house and waving before turning around entirely.

Izuku's heart clenched at the prospect of departure with his friend, but he resolved that he'd see her tomorrow.

"S-See you, Ochako!" he said, waving back. Suddenly, though, a thought crossed his mind and he chased her a little bit to her house, trying to get her attention.

"W-wait!" he half-shouted.

Ochako stopped and turned around, curious.

Izuku realized what he was doing and blushed madly- thinking perhaps this to be a horrible idea- but he already put himself in this situation so he may as well follow through with it.

"M-maybe we could meet up here and walk to school tomorrow?" he said impossibly quickly.

There.

He said it.

He saw the gears turning in Ochako's head, translating what Izuku told her, taking a moment, presumably due to the speed at which it was said. He worried he may have done something wrong, but his worries were dispelled when he saw her smile and reply.

"Okay! I'll be outside at 7:20! Bye!" she told him before waving and running inside.

Izuku stood there, waving back at her, a smile stretching wide across his face. He eventually, after a moment or several, turned around and walked home.

Entering his home, his mom greeted him at the door, worry and panic evident on her face. There, Izuku realized that Ochako was right, someone did love him, his dear old mother. He could've never imagined the grief she would've had to endure if he disappeared. He gulped at the thought and shook his head.

"Hi Mom, sorry I'm late…" he said slowly.

His mom fell to her knees and hugged him tightly, and he could see that she had been crying, which made Izuku realize the evidence of his own emotions had mostly disappeared, besides the top part of his shirt perhaps. Izuku stayed there, surprised, but in the end, accepted it.

"Where have you been?! You weren't answering my calls or texts! I was so worried about you! Are you okay? Are you hurt?!" she rambled, customary to her personality, as well as his own. Izuku shook his head.

"No Mom, I'm sorry…" he thought back to Ochako. "I was h-hanging out with a new friend and I accidently had my phone turned off." A half truth, similar to the ones he'd told her before regarding any bruises he may have or why he needed extra school uniforms.

She hugged him again, more tightly, before backing up slightly. "Izuku, if anything is bothering you please, please tell me!"

It was almost like she knew…

"O-okay…" he said quietly. He didn't want to bring up the immediate past, well, at least the bad parts.

"Alright… Alright… Well dinner is ready if you want some." Inko said, getting herself under control. She expected him to refuse and go to his room. Another symptom of depression, one of many she recognized in her son. However, to her surprise…

"Okay! I wouldn't m-mind some food right now; I'm kind of hungry."

She smiled, happy her son finally had an appetite. He also just seemed happier, perhaps as a result of this new friend? She resolved to ask him more about that during dinner.

They both went inside and shut the door behind them. Izuku went to his room briefly to change while Inko prepared the food. It wasn't Katsudon, but nevertheless, she was proud of this take on classic stir-fry.

When Izuku came to the dinner table, they got to eating. It didn't take long for Inko's curiosity to get the better of her and ask Izuku about his new friend.

"So you made a new friend today? You meet them at school?" Inko asked, breaking the silence as they ate.

Izuku stopped for a moment as he thought about his reply.

"Yeah, her n-name is Ochako Uraraka; she's really nice."

"That sounds like a pretty name! How'd you guys meet exactly?"

Izuku thought carefully about this one, as he got the feeling that 'she selflessly stopped me from killing myself' wasn't exactly the best thing to say to his dear old mother.

"She… we met on the rooftop of the school and we were looking at the stars and just started… talking I guess?"

They proceeded to talk about what he and this Ochako girl discussed, and he kept it for the most part true. He revealed they sadly didn't have any classes together, but had plans on hanging out and such. He omitted the part about hero training, though, not wanting to worry his mom. Eventually they finished their meal and Izuku headed off for bed.

"T-thank you for the food, Mom," he said, leaving the table.

"Goodnight, Izuku!" Inko smiled, waving at him as she grabbed the dishes.

He opened the door to his bedroom, turned the lights off, and plopped on the bed. He glanced over to one of his collector's edition All Might posters. He sighed and repeated the famed mantra.

"Plus Ultra…"

He rolled over to grab his phone, and looked over various news articles, many related to heroism and such. Just as he was setting his alarms though, he got a text message from Ochako and he wasn't oblivious to the rush it gave his heart. Hitting the notification, he read the message.

'It was awesome meeting you tonight, Izuku, see you tomorrow~!'

Izuku noted that following the message was a smiley face. He smiled to himself and crafted his response. He made a couple different iterations, deleting them each time because he felt they were lacking or just weren't good enough to convey the feelings he had. Eventually, he formulated what he felt was the correct order of words.

'Thank you so much for tonight, it really meant a lot to me. I'll be at your place at 7:20. Goodnight!'

He hoped that was okay. As he was putting the phone down, he felt another vibration and checked his messages.

'Awesome! Goodnight!'

His heart swelled. She was so nice. It really made him happy.

He put the phone down at last and closed his eyes, and all he seemed to think about was her. He slept restfully.

AN:

I'm going to shamelessly recommend the IzuOcha discord for anyone who finds themselves to be big fans of the ship, there's an incredible amount of content as well as like-minded people there: r9YqRFT is the invite code. Again, big thanks to EdouRanSan and Mal from the editors_beta_chamber.

I made this story with a couple key points in mind, of which will become clear but primarily I wondered, "What if Ochako met up with Izuku early on?" There's many more themes but, that's the primary one, I suppose.

I sure do love reviews, as well as answering any questions someone may have.

Won't you review? ;-;