The Emperor's Dragon

Nepotism and Other Extreme Crimes

"Little Dragon!" Ochaco squealed and Izuku braced as he was glomped by his friend. "When you told me you had a surprise for me I never thought it would be this!"

Izuku grinned. "Surprise!" He said superfluously. They were in different classes, so he'd managed to avoid her this morning, making their lunchtime reunion all the more poignant.

"I can't believe you're here!" Ochaco said as she released him.

"We moved back two days ago!" Izuku told her, which also explained why she hadn't been invited to his birthday. He had managed to see Hitoshi for his birthday and had given him the notes he'd taken on his quirk all year, and a single scale from the quirk his dad had given him. Izuku had gotten Kurogiri to put a hole in the scale so it could be worn as a pendant. He had one himself. And he was working on one for Himiko. Dad had promised him that he would get a proper birthday party next year. He'd even hinted that all his friends could come.

Ochaco grinned at him. "You've still got Kurogiri's bento?" She asked, looking down at his lunch.

"Yep," Izuku agreed. The bento was wrapped in a cold bag. That was new. It was a flexible, gel filled bag that kept his lunch cool, especially in the heat of summer. "Kurogiri makes the best bento's!" He reminded her. "Your mum made yours?"

Ochaco nodded, as Izuku looked around.

"Is Kazue here?" he asked.

She shook her head. "She moved away," Ochaco told him.

"Oh," Izuku replied, remembering that she had told him that. There wasn't much more that could be said. "Minato?"

Uraraka pointed. Izuku followed her gaze to see his old friend Minato. With the way he was sitting, he could tell he hadn't even noticed him here. He was sitting with Arata and Gatarui.

"Never mind," Izuku said, shaking his head. He knew what they were like and he knew exactly how they'd treat him. They'd proven that enough. Having had the experience of what it was like to be quirkless, he understood now why they were segregated. Except another thought came to him. "You haven't been alone?" He asked Ochaco desperately. She was way too nice to have been alone!

Thankfully she shook her head, but Izuku could detect a hint of sadness there. It hadn't been as good as it should have been.

"I'm here now!" Izuku declared. He knew it was cheesy. He knew that just because Ochaco was a girl that she didn't need protection but his declaration was to say that he was her friend. "And you won't need to pay to send me a letter," he added.

Izuku didn't get the reaction he expected.

Ochaco burst into tears. They weren't quiet either. The class looked at them, and then turned away. Izuku started for a few moments before abandoning his lunch and moving to comfort her.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Izuku said hastily. It was meant to be a joke. Something to reassure her that he was back and here and was her friend.

"It's okay," Ochaco calmed quickly but the freckled boy could see that she was still crying. He knew crying. He knew it could be silent.

"It's not okay," Izuku whispered to her. "I'm sorry," he added. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"It's okay," Ochaco said again, breathing hard. "It's okay. It's just-" She grimaced.

"It's just?" Izuku prompted gently after a few moments. He transferred the croquette Kurogiri had put into his lunch into Ochaco's bento. It said a lot that she didn't even notice.

She sighed. "I just want to give back to them. They do so much for me that I want them to have an easy life, so I was thinking of trying to become a hero."