Author: ~Wolfy~
. . .
Ochako smiled as the girls of Class 1-A gushed over her cousin, a sweet girl with very short dark brown hair that was filled with colored streaks, dark brown eyes that matched her natural hair color, and horn-rimmed glasses that framed her delicate face beautifully. Her name was Akiko Kasumi, and ever since Ochako and Akiko were little, the pair had been the best of friends, always excited for family gatherings. As a result, when Akiko's parents were sent out of town for work, Ochako was delighted and immediately offered to have her come stay with her in the dorms at U.A. After getting all of the paperwork signed off with Principal Nedzu and Aizawa, Akiko had temporarily moved into Ochako's dorm for the week, eager to meet all of Ochako's friends and classmates.
"So what can your quirk do?" Mina asked excitedly, staring starry-eyed at the new girl.
Akiko flushed a bit at all of the attention but smiled and addressed all of the eager girls in the room, clutching a pillow to her chest as she sat cross legged on Ochako's bed.
"Well, it's a strange kind of telepathy quirk. I can actually read other people's thoughts but only if I am able to tunnel through the mental shields that most people tend to naturally have against powers like mine. Some are stronger than others which means it takes me longer to dig through the shield but usually I can get through unless you get special training against my quirk type."
"WHOA! Really!?" A very excited Hagakure squealed.
Akiko rubbed the back of her neck nervously and gave a little chuckle.
Ochako smiled at Akiko, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She knew her cousin was easily flustered and she also knew that her friends could sometimes be a lot to handle. Giving her shoulder a slight squeeze, Ochako rose from her spot, claiming she had to go to the bathroom. Leaving the room, the other girls waved a brief goodbye before turning their attention back on Akiko.
"Yeah, but that's not all," Akiko continued. "Recently, with some psychological training from my teachers, I have found that I am also able to project what other people are thinking to those around them. For example, I could choose to send Ashido's thoughts to Yaoyorozu and vice versa without the rest of the room hearing. It's like opening channels, allowing different channels to open allows different people to hear what travels down those channels."
"That's..., amazing!" Momo said, her eyes sparkling as she appraised the new girl.
"Urm, thanks! Sorry, I'm really not used to this kind of attention," Akiko said with a giggle.
"Yeah, I get that, sorry we can be so overbearing sometimes. Just, as aspiring heroes, many of us just love learning about a new quirk! Also, we don't get many visitors since this school is so exclusive, so it's kind of nice to meet someone new," Jirou said from where she was sitting on Ochako's windowsill, her arms propped up on her bent knees.
Suddenly, glancing around with a mischievous look in her eye, Mina leaned forward excitedly.
"Hey, quick question, does Ochako know about the second part of your quirk, the part where you can allow other people to hear the thoughts of someone else? You mentioned you had just recently discovered this about yourself..."
"No, she doesn't yet. I was planning on telling her this week during my stay since it was such an interesting update on my quirk and we usually love talking about that kind of stuff together. We have quirk talks all the time but we usually like to have them in person so we can display them for the other person to see," Akiko said with a shake of her head, her short curls bouncing with the movement.
"Okay good, don't tell her about it yet. Please, I need a favor from you, and it will require Ochako not knowing about this part of your quirk, otherwise she will try to stop you," Mina said. Hagakure suddenly leaned forward. The two of them must have been talking about this together beforehand, Akiko realized, as the other girls gave each other confused and slightly concerned looks.
"Ashido? Hagakure? What is this 'favor' you want from Akiko?" Momo asked carefully, not wanting to put the new girl in an uncomfortable situation.
Mina's smile got wider and Hagakure started giggling uncontrollably from beside her.
"Okay, so I don't know how much she had told you, since I know you two are close but quite busy, but has Ochako ever mentioned a boy named Deku?" Mina asked.
"Hmmmm, once or twice, but like you said, we haven't had the chance to talk in a while since we are both so busy so she hasn't said too much about him, why?"
"Because they both love each other but they both refuse to admit it," Hagakure said. "They are always so flustered next to each other and they are constantly hanging out together. They are really close and yet they still refuse to acknowledge the elephant in the room. At this point, even the other guys are starting to notice and calling Midoriya out for it. Everybody in this class ships them but they, very annoyingly, refuse to believe that their crush likes them back.
Mina nodded her head in agreement, her lip stuck out in a small pout. At first, the other girls had been nervous about what kind of a 'favor' Mina and Hagakure could want from Akiko, but now that they had heard what they wanted from her, they were all more than excited, their eyes shining.
"So what do you want me to do?" Akiko asked with a knowing smirk.
"We want you to finally show them that they both like each other. We are all so tired of watching them dance around each other, they just need to drop everything and make out already," Mina said.
"It is true that they are practically made for each other, but neither of them believes they are good enough for the source of their affections so they keep pushing each other away. I know it would make both of them very happy if they were together though, ribbit," Tsu said, her finger resting on her chin as she talked.
The other girls nodded in agreement and Akiko smiled brightly.
"I want to meet this 'Deku' character first, get to know him and make sure he is good enough for my favorite cousin, and then I'll accept your offer if I think he's alright. I can't imagine Ochako liking someone who wasn't right for her, she has always had good taste in everything, but I just want to be sure. Other than that, I accept."
Akiko finished outlining her requirements just as Ochako came back into the room from her bathroom break, yawning and mussing her hair a bit.
"Sorry that took so long, guys. I took the stairs to the main floor rather than the elevator since I didn't want to wake anyone else up, it is getting late."
"Oh that's fine, Ochako, very thoughtful of you," Tsu said, standing up and stretching. "But I think it's time for me to hit the hay, you're right, it is getting late."
The other girls quickly agreed and made their way out of Ochako's room to head back to their own dorms for the night.
Mina threw out one last cheeky, "it was great meeting you! Thank you for talking to us!" before she left with a playful wink, but Ochako thought nothing of it as the gravity girl began to get ready for bed, exhaustion making her movements slower than usual.
Akiko had to force herself to stop from smiling as she too got ready for bed, constantly sneaking glances at her cousin and best friend as her conversation with the girls of Class 1-A replayed in a loop in her mind.
By the time the two of them had settled beneath the covers of the dorm bed and turned out the light, Ochako muttering a quiet, "goodnight," Akiko was practically humming with excitement, eager to meet this crush of Ochako's and hopefully make dreams come true.
________________________________
Akiko bounced down the stairs the next morning, humming softly. Ochako looked at her quizzically but Akiko waved her off.
"Don't worry, cousin, I'm just excited to meet your other friends! The girls from last night were so sweet and welcoming, I'd love to get to know everybody else too!" Akiko said, purposely skipping over the part where she admitted she was actually eager to meet the previously mentioned 'Deku' from the night before.
Ochako smiled at her, missing the mischievous glint in her eye, beaming at her cousin's willingness to meet her other classmates. She knew Akiko was a little shy, so to see her normally elusive friend come out of her shell was an experience all in itself, making Ochako feel all warm and tingly inside.
"I'm so glad they didn't scare you too much last night," Ochako said with a light laugh as they continued to walk down to the common space.
"Oh no, your friends were amazing! They were all so sweet and gentle and they were really interested in my quirk which was fun to talk about. Of course, I was a little nervous being the center of attention the whole time but they weren't super overbearing about it."
"Good, I was a little worried they'd be too hyper around you. I love them but they can get a little over eager sometimes," Ochako said with a chuckle and a shake of her head.
Akiko giggled.
"Who are your other friends? Besides the girls, I mean, and what are they like?"
Ochako hummed to herself as she thought, a bright smile adoring her features as she thought about her other friends in Class 1-A.
"Well, I have my friend Iida, who is a very polite, respectful, kind boy, but he can be a little intense sometimes, especially when it comes to rules," Ochako said. "And then we have my friend Kirishima, who is very bold and loud and energetic, but he is also very sweet and has a heart bigger than his chest. I actually became friends with him quite recently because we like to work out together."
"Okay, anyone else?" Akiko asked, making sure to keep her voice light to avoid suspicion.
"I guess the only other two I'd consider my really close friends out of the boys would be my friend Bakugo, who I got closer to after our second year here at U.A. because we started training together, and my friend Deku. I will warn you, even though he has mellowed out quite a bit since freshman year, Bakugo can still be very intense, aggressive, and explosive most of the time. He might make you nervous but he really doesn't mean much harm, at least to us. He and I started to spar together once a week when he realized that our quirks actually worked together kind of well. I still wouldn't call him my best friend, but he is definitely an ally of mine," Ochako said with a smile.
She still found it so crazy that she managed to become as close as she has to the explosive blonde, especially when she had originally labeled him as unapproachable during their freshman year. To give him credit, Bakugo had changed a lot since then, his temperament mellowing out a bit, and his intensity dialing back a little with each passing year as he improved both himself and his quirk. Ochako attributed some of that to Bakugo's relationship with Kirishima, the blonde's gentle yet competitive boyfriend complimenting him well and cooling him down when his mood got too hot tempered, but nobody ever said that aloud, letting Bakugo believe he had done all of the improvement himself.
"Thanks for the warning," Akiko said with a warm chuckle. "But what about this 'Deku' character, huh? You talked a lot about everyone else but not him."
"Oh! Sorry, I kinda went on a bit of a tangent didn't I?" Ochako asked, her face flushing a little as her hand came up to scratch at the back of her neck.
It took all of Akiko's self control not to smile at the sight of her normally composed cousin devolving into a tittering mess.
"Yeah, you did but that's alright. What is Deku like?"
"Well, Deku is... one of the greatest people I've ever met. He is so determined, so strong, so amazingly driven and powerful all while having the sweetest personality of anyone I've ever met. He's so protective of people, so willing to help others, to the point where he injures himself to get others to safety. It makes me worry about him, but it also makes me so inspired by him. He is so amazing, I know he will be the best hero this world has ever seen. He always inspires me to do better, has always lifted me up, encouraging me to follow my dreams. I know I entered U.A. wanting to be a hero, but after meeting him, my focus and determination to make that vision into a reality has increased tenfold," Ochako said, her eyes glazing over a bit as she talked about her best friend. "I love him so much. He is my best friend and I am the luckiest person alive to be able to call him that."
Akiko was looking at her cousin in shock. She had never heard Ochako talk about anyone in this way, with such reverence and love in her voice. It made Akiko smile despite herself, her cheeks aching with how far her lips stretched.
When Ochako looked over and caught the smug smile on Akiko's face, she gave her cousin a light slap on the arm with the back of her hand, blushing when Akiko laughed.
"Sounds like you really like this Deku guy, huh?"
"Shut up."
The pair finally reached the bottom of the stairs, making their way into the common space as Akiko laughed at Ochako's remark, patting her friend on the back comfortingly.
"Okay, okay, I won't bring it up again," Akiko said.
Ochako ruffled her hair with a warm smile, her body relaxing as her cousin's teasing ceased.
"Good, otherwise I'm going to have to tell everyone about that one time when you accidentally ruined Christmas for everyone that one year because you told everyone what their gifts were by accidentally reading the minds of everyone in the family and then cried for an hour when your parents explained how you had ruined the surprise," Ochako said with a smirk.
"No! 'Chako you wouldn't! I was only six years old, come on!"
Ochako laughed at her cousin's expense before branching off to grab a water from the kitchen while Akiko was summoned by a waving Mina. Rushing over to the pink alien girl, Akiko smiled brightly and nodded in response to Mina's unasked question.
"Seriously!? You did it already?" Mina asked in a hushed whisper once Akiko had skidded to a stop in front of her.
"Yeah, we were on the stairs and I asked her to tell me about him. She was going on and on about him so I just sneakily opened her channel while she was talking. She has no idea that I did it and that poor boy probably has no idea why he could suddenly read Ochako's thoughts, but I'm pretty sure it worked. He should've heard everything that Ochako was thinking."
Mina squealed and spun in a happy circle.
"Okay, I've got to go tell the others! Keep and eye out for Midoriya for now, don't worry, he won't be very hard to miss, he's got bright green hair and lots of freckles."
Akiko nodded and made her way back to where Ochako was in the kitchen just as a brood of male students came down the stairs, all of them talking loudly as they thundered into the common space like a herd of giants.
As soon as everyone was settled in the common space, Ochako introduced her cousin to everyone, watching with a smile as all of the boys welcomed and fawned over her, smiling and laughing with the shy yet surprisingly funny new girl. Akiko talked with everyone that she could but kept glancing at Deku, whom she had pinpointed almost immediately, forcing down her smile whenever she saw him. He had welcomed her just as everyone else had but he had seemed distracted, his gaze constantly darting to Ochako before he quickly glanced away, a befuddled expression on his face.
"Oi Deku, what's with that weird look on your face? You look like you need to take a shit," Bakugo snapped suddenly, Akiko looking over to find that the blonde had also been watching Izuku, his red eyes narrowed.
Izuku blushed a bright red and stood ramrod straight as he replied, "it's nothing Kacchan! Sorry!"
Bakugo merely made an annoyed sound before stomping over to where Kirishima was eating some sausage and eggs. The outburst from the explosive boy must've shaken Izuku out of his daze because he quickly turned around and made his way into the kitchen to start making his own breakfast, his movements hurried as if trying to distract himself.
Akiko looked over at Ochako to see her with her head tilted in confusion, her brow furrowed in a cute pout as she watched the green-haired boy rush into the kitchen.
"Something wrong, 'Chako?" Akiko asked with feigned concern.
"Oh, it's nothing really, Deku is just acting strange today," Ochako said.
"Maybe he just has a lot on his mind," Akiko said with a shrug, biting her lip to keep from smiling.
Ochako nodded absentmindedly before walking up to the boy. It was obvious from the frantic manner in which Izuku was making his toast that he was too busy overthinking everything in his head to notice the gravity girl behind him. Akiko ducked her head to avoid letting everyone else see her bright smile when she saw Deku jump at Ochako's touch as her hand came to rest gently on his shoulder.
"Hey, Deku, are you okay? You seem really distracted today," she asked gently.
Izuku's nearly panicked gaze flew to her face and he coughed nervously, turning back to where he was murdering his bread with the butter knife.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Ochako, I just have a lot on my mind."
Ochako frowned a bit as Akiko's words floated across her mind, and the gravity girl turned to see her cousin talking eagerly with Hagakure. Ochako's eyes narrowed on her cousin, but she ignored the strange feeling in her gut and turned back to her friend. His behavior was starting to worry her. She knew he could be frantic and flustered when he was thinking about heroes or strategizing a plan for an exercise but this felt different. This felt more like he was embarrassed rather than just getting lost in his usual moments of overthinking.
"Are you sure? You're shaking."
'Oh gods, how do I tell her? Should I even tell her? She obviously knows something is up, but how do I tell her that I heard what she said? And how do I do it so that I don't scare her away? Gods, what do I do!?'
Ochako jolted in place as what sounded like Izuku's voice filled her head. Izuku glanced at her, but she waved him off, trying to get a grasp on her racing heart before she even attempted to explain what had just happened.
"Yeah, I'm alright, Ochako, just stressed for this upcoming exam. You know how I get sometimes, it'll pass, I just need a moment to get a hold of myself, you know?" Izuku said in response to her earlier question, forcing himself to calm down a little.
"Oh, okay..., if you're sure you're alright. Do you want some help with anything? I could help you study or bring you some food if you need me to," Ochako said, pushing away her jumbled thoughts to focus on her obviously anxious friend. She wasn't even entirely sure he was telling her the truth after what she had just heard, but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and help him through anything he might possibly need her help with. He deserved it.
"I'm alright, Ochako, thank you for the offer though. You're too good to me," Izuku said, flashing her a bright smile that she returned in kind once she saw it was genuine.
'Gods, she's so pretty...'
Ochako jerked in place again, her heart rate shooting up like a rocket. What the hell was this? Was this real?
"Ochako, are you okay? You keep jumping, almost as if you're getting shocked by an electric fence. Are you hurt?" Izuku asked, suddenly worried.
He ignored her protests as he started to scan her body over with his eyes, moving around her in a circle to make sure he wasn't missing an injury she had been trying to hide.
"It's nothing Deku, really, it's not."
Ochako could tell that Izuku was not buying it, but he sat up straighter and went back to buttering his toast, giving her space.
"Okay, only if you say so..."
'It's so sweet that he's so worried about me. And he's so adorable like this, his hair all tousled from sleep and his eyes bright whenever he looks at me. Gods what did I do to deserve him? Nothing. Nothing at all. I guess that just makes him all the more special.'
Now it was Izuku's turn to jump as the words filled his head, just like they had done earlier that morning when he was getting ready for the day in his room. He had been changing out of his pajamas when the voice had hit him the first time, making him fall over when he heard Ochako's voice energetically describing how amazing he is.
His hands paused in their making of his toast, his eyes snapping over to her face. He already knew she hadn't really spoken, but he had to make sure, the notion that he could read her mind just seemed too overwhelming. Neither of them had brain related quirks, if they could read each other's thoughts, that could be both very exciting and terrifying.
He made up his mind when he saw that Ochako had indeed not spoken as she reached for the refrigerator door handle to make her own breakfast. Reaching out, he grasped her wrist before she could get to the fridge, causing her to look back at him in concern.
"Deku-"
"Follow me for a minute... please."
Ochako swallowed nervously but nodded, moving to follow him as he released her wrist and stood from his chair, making his way around the corner to an abandoned hallway. The pair were silent as they walked, Ochako getting more nervous by the second, every bad thing she had ever done running through her mind in that moment as she worried about what he was going to tell her. Had she offended him somehow? Was he going to tell her he didn't want to be her friend anymore? It didn't sound like something he would do, but she honestly couldn't think of any other reason for his behavior.
They finally stopped in the far end of an empty hallway, Izuku only turning to face her when they were far away from everyone else. He was quiet for a minute, shuffling from foot to foot as he tried to put what he wanted to say into words. Ochako was looking everywhere except for at him, her hands twisting nervously.
"Ochako, I-"
"Deku I-"
The pair stopped for a second before breaking out into a small fit of giggles after interrupting each other at the same time, some of the awkwardness in the atmosphere dissipating with the laughter.
"Sorry," Izuku said.
"Oh no, it was my fault, you go first," Ochako said.
"Well, um... I think, um... that we...," Izuku managed to spit out. He cursed himself. Why couldn't he just say what he wanted to say? He felt like his throat was closing in on itself, the words getting harder and harder to form.
'Why can't I just tell her that I think we can hear each other's thoughts? Is it because I'd have to admit I heard what she said about me? That she thinks I'm amazing and cute? Or is it because I'd have to admit that I'm in love with her? Gods why is this so damn difficult! Shit, she is probably so confused right now, and it's all because I can't open my damn mouth. Come on you idiot, just tell her you love her. Just rip the band aid off. If she doesn't like you back, you'll find a way to deal with it, but you aren't going to get anywhere if you just keep standing here with your mouth open like a beached fish.'
Izuku opened his mouth to attempt to talk again when he met her gaze. He froze, his body tensing as he saw her face. Her jaw had dropped so that her mouth was agape, her eyes were wide with shock, and her whole face was a bright red. He closed his eyes in embarrassment.
"You heard all of that, didn't you?" Izuku asked.
Ochako snapped her mouth shut and nodded mechanically, her eyes still wide.
"O-Ochako, I am so-"
"I love you too!" Ochako said excitedly, cutting him off as she launched herself at him, her arms wrapping around him as she buried her face in his neck.
Izuku stiffened at the contact at first, surprise flooding his system, before his arms wrapped around her waist and hugged her close, burying his face in her hair. She smelled good, like warm strawberries, and it felt so right to have her held against him, her body pressed close to his.
When they pulled away from each other, Izuku's eyes were shining with unshed tears, looking down at her with such strong love it made Ochako's knees weak. Gathering her frayed strings of courage, Ochako rose up on her toes and kissed him, her eyes closing at the feeling of his warm lips against hers.
Izuku wasted no time in returning the kiss, a light sigh escaping him at the feeling of her against him. That sigh was like an electric shock to Ochako, the sound making her nerves tingle and her heart pound. The kiss was gentle but passionate, conveying their suppressed love for each other from over the years, finally allowing themselves to indulge in the thing they wanted most.
When they broke apart they were panting, still holding each other close as they fought to catch their breath. Ochako's heart was on fire and Izuku's head was swimming, both of them trying to come to terms with what had just happened. It felt like a dream, but both of them knew it was real when they looked at each other, both of their faces rivaling that of a ripe tomato. Suddenly, Izuku's brow furrowed.
"Hey Ochako, how do you think we were able to read each other's thoughts? I thought maybe it was because of us being in close proximity, but I heard you talking about me this morning when I was in my room and you were somewhere else, probably heading down for breakfast. Was there a villain or training exercise that you remember us doing lately that might have caused something like this?"
Ochako blushed when he admitted he had heard her raving about him that morning, but the feeling quickly went away when she suddenly realized who had caused all of this.
"No, I know exactly who did this," Ochako said, looking around.
"Who?"
"Normally, her quirk can't do something like this, but my cousin has a mind reading quirk, maybe she has a new manifestation she hasn't told me about yet."
Just as Ochako was about to give up looking, she caught sight of two light brown eyes watching her from around the back corner of the hallway, the eyes shining brightly with mischief and love.
"AKIKO!!!" Ochako bellowed as the eyes disappeared from behind the wall, the sound of multiple people running away echoing down the hall, giggles and cheers following the thundering sound of their shoes as they scrambled to get away.
Ochako sighed in both annoyance and love, a smile creeping onto her face despite herself. Looking over at Izuku, she saw him looking down at her, a bright smile on his face. She reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek before motioning him to follow her.
"Come on, let's go face the questions and let them know you're mine now," Ochako said, laughing when Izuku blushed at her bold statement.
The green-haired boy trotted up beside her and grabbed her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together as they made their way back to the common room, both of them smiling so hard their faces hurt.
"Thank you, for everything, Ochako," Izuku said, squeezing her hand. "I love you."
"I love you too, Izuku. I guess I owe it to my cousin for showing us the way, huh?"
"Yeah, I owe her too," Izuku said with a bright grin. "Big time."
