Sunday, December 7, 2025
Getting off the train on the Chiyoda Line in Otemachi Station, Ochaco Uraraka walked out of the station and took a sniff of the cold air of December. As she exhaled, she pulled out her flip phone and looked at the time to see that it was 2:57 p.m., exactly three minutes before her meet-up time with someone. Looking at the date, she made a sigh.
"It's almost been a full year huh?" she said to herself before placing the phone back into her skirt pocket.
Today wasn't any special day or anniversary for her and the person she was meeting with, but simply a normal outing that brought a warm feeling to her chest. True to her words, nearly a whole year has passed since she herself returned back to the real world. She remembered it like it was yesterday when she got transferred from the floating tower in MHO to the ginormous Space Station in MBO. As time passed, her time in that cell slowly began to become nothing but a distant memory as she got back to her normal life.
It took some time to adjust since she spent nearly two and a half years stuck in a world filled with nothing but polygons and numbers. Normally she'd forget that she doesn't have her original Quirk and constantly touch things expecting them to float. Looking at her own fingers now she could see that they were clear of the pink pads that she had back then. Feeling the cold wind brush against their fingers, compared to the cold she felt when she visited the 55th floor of Musutafu, she couldn't help but wonder, "I wonder what's the difference between the virtual and the real world?"
"It's all about the amount of data," a voice said snapping her back to reality.
"H-huh?" she gasped in surprise realizing that she asked that question out loud. Before she could even wonder who answered, she looked up and was face to face with the person she was meeting up with. It was a young boy who looked roughly around her age but slightly taller than her.
He had black messy hair, green emerald eyes, and freckles on both cheeks, and was wearing an outfit that consisted of a green jacket over a white shirt, black jeans, and red sneakers.
"Hey, don't scare me like that!" she said pouting at the boy in front of her.
"S-Sorry, my bad. I'm on time though right?" the boy said holding up his arms in an apologetic way. Seeing his nervous expression made Ochaco giggle as she always found it adorable.
"Nope, you're right on time actually," Ochaco said straightening up herself and clearing her throat. "So um, how are you today, Deku?"
The boy in front of her, Izuku Midoriya, formed a smile on his face, held up his hand, and said, "It's been good so far. Thank you for asking"
Both of them couldn't help but laugh at how formally they greeted each other, even though they'd been dating for nearly a whole year. Deku is the name/handle Izuku Midoriya gave himself when he entered the world of My Hero Online. During the two years he was trapped in it, Uravity, the name/handle Ochaco Uraraka gave herself, teamed up with him once in a while on the front lines to clear the game. Over time, their feelings for each other grew so much, they confessed to each other, got married through the system, and even lived together in the same home for about 2 weeks before the game was cleared.
Even after My Hero Online was beaten, and Ochaco never woke up, Izuku never gave up on his true love. After finding out that she was in another game, Izuku and his best friend dove right into it, ventured into the new world with another game player, defeated the final boss, and brought her back to the real world. Since that day, they started their relationship anew, as real-life boyfriend and girlfriend just like their other friends.
"Sorry again I couldn't pick you up on my Vespa," Izuku said scratching the back of his head apologetically.
"Geez, I told you it's okay. Your mom's car was in the garage and it's not bad to take the train once in a while," she said with hands on her hips. Looking into his eyes she noticed that he's been examining her from head to toe with his hand still on the back of his head. Feeling her cheeks heat up with a blush, she rubbed both her legs together and asked, " Wh-what are you looking at?"
Realizing he was staring at her for too long, Izuku blushed and looked the other way before saying, "Sorry, it's just, your outfit, looks very pretty on you. It even brings back some good memories"
Wondering what he was talking about, Ochaco looked down at the clothes she was wearing. For the cold winter, she was wearing a pink sweater, black skirt, thick black stockings on her legs, and white sneakers. It didn't take her long to realize that she was wearing the exact colors of her old costume her avatar wore nearly every day in My Hero Online.
"Wow, look at that, you're right. No wrist gauntlets though," she said rubbing her wrists. While doing it, she eyed Izuku up and down and gave a playful smirk. "But you're one to talk mister Jade Rabbit"
Looking down at himself, he realized he too was sporting his old colors from My Hero Online with his green color and red shoes. Izuku chuckled before saying, "Yeah, what are the odds?"
Ochaco on the other hand noticed the sweat on his face despite the cold air, so she moved close to him, up to his face, and stared straight into his eyes. Izuku's mouth trembled before finally giving in and said, "I uh, just loaded my laundry this morning"
"Don't let your laundry pile up mister," she said jokingly jabbing him disapprovingly on the shoulder, then slipping her hand around his arm while giggling. "Still, it's funny how we're dressed in our old signature colors today"
"I mean, if we see each other every day..." he said only to feel a finger land on his lips, causing him to shut up.
"You do know that was a rhetorical question right?" she asked before taking her finger off his lip. As Izuku blushed in embarrassment, Ochaco giggled even more before pulling his arm.
"C'mon, let's go already," she said dragging him away by the arms.
"Okay, okay," Izuku said allowing her to drag him away. As they walked over the bridge over the waterway, they were heading towards Hibiya Park. The imperial gate, which was white and traditional, was lit by the already reddish western sun, throwing black shadows over the bridge. Despite it being a Sunday, the cold weather kept the tourist crowds away. They passed a police officer in a heavy coat and went through the gate to a little checkpoint, where they took plastic entrance tickets. After the silver fence, they found themselves amid tiny woods that were so peaceful. It was Ochaco's idea to go somewhere on Sunday, but it was Izuku's suggestion that they meet outside the Imperial Palace gate. Naturally, it was her first time visiting since she was from the countryside. As they made their way along the wide path, she was struck by a sudden curiosity and turned to the boy at her right.
"So, why'd you choose here for our date spot?" she asked causing Izuku to look at her surprised as she held onto his hands. Since it was still cold, they would normally stay close to each to keep the other warm.
"Oh well, I just thought that you'd find the palace kind of interesting and all," Izuku said answering.
"Interesting? How so?" Ochaco asked back in return. Izuku then smiled and reached out with his right hand and pointed at the thick trees surrounding them.
"It is 2 kilometers in length and 1.5 kilometers in width, covering 20% of Chiyoda ward. No tunnels or subways are running under it, and planes are not permitted to fly overhead. This zone is a huge restricted area in the heart of Tokyo, which is isolated not only physically but also information-wise," he explained before pointing up, at a nearby lamp post. At least, that's what Ochaco thought it was with the orb shape at the top until Izuku spoke up and said, "That right there is a security camera. This place has its own unique closed network, and you can't access it from outside at all.
"Wait, that's a camera?" she said looking at a surprise. "Kind of weird looking don't you think? And I thought it was a Lamppost?
"Heh, heh, yeah. I thought it was one too when I first saw it but when I took a closer look, I realized the way it was," he said while still looking at the camera. "Not only is this place in the middle of Tokyo, but it's also its own, isolated world. There's also..."
He stopped talking for a moment before looking at Ochaco, who just smiled at him with knowing eyes. He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head before saying, " I'm muttering again am I?"
"Yeah, but just like Bakugo, you know I'm used to it," she said giggling which made Izuku blush in embarrassment.
The two of them continued walking down the path they were on as it wound around an enormous stone wall and rose up a sudden hill. They walked in silence for a few moments and the view opened up before them. Over the wall was an enormous grassy field so large it was hazy. The grass was dried and dead in the midwinter cold, and the trees around it had lost all of their leaves, but it was sure to be a splendid sight in the spring. "This is where Edo Castle's inner citadel used to be"
"C'mon, let's go then!" Ochaco said squeezing Izuku's hand and was about to let her drag him away before realizing a nearby vendor selling some sweets.
"Hold on," he said retrieving his arm back so he could run towards the sweet cart. Ochaco stood in place confused while watching him talk to the owner of the cart. As he handed the owner some cash, the owner gave him something which he hid behind him as he ran back to his girlfriend.
"Hm?" Ochaco asked confused looking at the hands Izuku had behind his back. Not a second later, he moved his hands and showed what he was holding. To her surprise, he had gotten two boxes of Pocky Sticks in two different flavors: Matcha and Strawberry.
With sparkles in her eyes, Ochaco snagged the strawberry-flavored box and began snacking on them. There were still very few other visitors, and nearly all of them were foreign tourists. As they walked and ate their Pockys, Ochaco offered to share some of hers with him when suddenly they heard a camera flash. The source came from a woman who looked like a foreigner. She approached them and bowed her head in apology saying that since she and her family were new to Japan, they wanted to capture as many pictures as they could. Seeing a young Japanese couple, she couldn't help but take a picture.
Izuku of course understood and offered to take a picture of her and her family together in exchange that she would kindly send the picture she had just taken of them to his phone. With that, a man who appeared to be her husband, and two twin girls who looked like her daughters, lined up together so Izuku could take the photo. Once the photo file was sent to their phones, they waved goodbye to the little girls and their parents. As the family walked away into the orange-setting sun, Ochaco stared at the picture the woman took of them when they weren't looking.
"That lady's phone is so cool. To put a heart-shaped background behind us, wish we could've done more," Ochaco said holding Izuku's phone while Izuku held both their Pocky boxes. Eventually, they found a bench near a fork in the path and plopped down so they could take a breather. As Izuku leaned back on the bench, Ochaco leaned on his side as they both stared at the sunset.
"Hey, remember the survey they gave us about what we'll do after graduation?" Ochaco asked looking up at him.
"Yeah, Iida said he was gonna follow his brother's footsteps and become a police officer," Izuku said in response. "When he told me that, I couldn't help but admire his determination."
"Same. I even admire Kaminari's goal to help Jirou become a famous pop singer. I heard he wrote down the same dream as her so he could stay her guitarist," Ochaco said before putting a finger to her lips. "And I think Mina is trying to decide whether to become a dancing star or a hotel owner"
"Both goals require a lot of hard work, so I hope Kirishima will be there to help her," Izuku said before chuckling a little. "You already know what she's like with tests"
"Heh, heh, yeah," Ochaco said giggling at the faces Mina makes when she fails a test. "So? What's your pick?"
"I think I'm going to shift from being a player to a creator," Izuku said before gazing out into space.
"A creator? For games?" Ochaco asked, curious.
"Not exactly. I want to develop a man-machine interface to replace our current full-dive technology," Izuku responded to her query. "I've been reading a lot of tech forums to learn more, but since they're all in English, it's been a little hard"
After saying that, Ochaco smiled, clenched Izuku hand tighter, and said, "I don't care what I do in the future when I grow up, I just want to live with you and Eri forever"
Izuku was caught off guard by that response because he blushed and looked the other way while smiling. Eri was the name of a girl they'd met on the old MHO server. Eri was an AI who had accepted Ochaco as her mother and Izuku as her father. When Musutafu collapsed, Izuku saved Eri's program and made a desktop PC for her in his room. They could only interact with her in MBO, but they could contact her using their cell phones. Despite how much they loved each other, there was always a wall between them.
"When we have access to augmented reality at all times, we'll be able to live with her. Currently, there's too much difference in the amount of information," Deku said.
"You said that it was all about the amount of data before. What does that mean?" Ochaco said leaning off him a little.
"Picture this," he said squeezing the hand held Ochaco's in. "Us holding hands here, compared to us holding hands in MBO, would you be able to tell the difference?"
"I know I could. I can feel more with your real hands," she said, squeezing her hand tighter. "Hey, is that what you meant by 'the amount of data'?"
"Yup, and what if we could replicate the sensations of touch in an avatar's hand? Would it feel the same as a real hand?" Izuku asked.
"I could because it would be your hand I'm touching," Ochaco said looking down at their hands as their fingers entwined with each other. Izuku looked at them too and smiled as Ochaco kept talking. " But it isn't only touching. Don't sound and taste have a lot more information in reality, too?"
"Yup, even if the Amuspheres had augmented reality capability, you would immediately know whether something was real or not the moment you saw or touched it. But, if there's a significant technological advancement one day, and we can receive a vast amount of sensory information in the real world..." Izuku said before being cut off by Ochaco.
"We could cross the boundary between worlds and be with Eri forever," she said in excitement, imagining Eri sleeping in between them and them holding her like their actual daughter. "Do you really think that'll happen one day?"
"I don't think, I know," Izuku said before looking at the distance. "I'll make something like that for us,"
"You always have a way of doing the unexpected, Deku. I know too that you'll be able to do it," she said, leaning onto his shoulder. Oddly enough, the words they exchanged were nearly the same as what they said after leaving Eri behind on the 22nd floor of Musutafu. When Ochaco realized this, something warm flooded into her heart.
The promise of that reunion was fulfilled just months later, so what they said just now was sure to come true as well. They were close to the winter solstice, and the sun plummeted behind the trees to the west as if it had been dropped. Birds flocked against the brilliant red sky as they returned to their nests.
"Well, time to get going. This place closes at five," Izuku said turning his head to Ochaco.
"Okay. We should bring everyone next time for a picnic on the grass: Bakugo, Camie, Kirishima, Mina, Tsu, Kaminari, Momo, Todoroki, Jirou..."
"Yeah. Maybe in the spring went it's not all that cold," Izuku suggested as he was about to get up
Using his grip to get to her feet, Ochaco took one last look at the sunset in all directions. She wanted to see this kind of sunset not just with Izuku, but with Eri in their little forest cottage that they once had on the 22nd floor of the old Musutafu. The little log cabin was obliterated in the destruction of the floating tower, but Ochaco had a secret plan percolating in her heart. Until that plan came to fruition, they used a well-equipped room in the Wolf Tribe Territory. After the new Mobian Online game was released, the leader of the wolf tribe, Lady Lupe, offered Izuku as Deku and his friends their own personal room where they could hang out and meet up, since their funds were transferred from the old version after it's old publisher RCT Progress collapsed from lawsuits and poor publicity.
As they walked to the gate to exit the park, Izuku's phone vibrated, causing him to stop along with Ochaco who held his hand. As he went to his message app, he saw the highlighted name and said it out loud. "Hatsume?"
Upon hearing that name, an image flashed from the back of Ochaco's mind as a memory of what happened 2 years ago came flooding back. One she tried so desperately to forget.
Hatsume was the name of someone she and Izuku met in Musutafu, meaning she too was a survivor of MHO. Her real name was Mei Hatsume, and she attended the same survivor school as they did. Back in the game, she assists in a shop on the 1st Floor, constantly making items to give to players so they can advance to further floors. Izuku, Ochaco, and their companions often visit her to get item upgrades but often leave in a flash so as not to get caught up in her crazy experiments.
It wasn't that Ochaco hated her, but she just didn't like it when she got up close to everyone she talked to, especially Izuku. She tends to observe people at an extremely close range so she can work with them. She was thankful at times when their friend Tenya was there to restrain her cause if not, she would take matters into her own hands, more likely, her fists. When the school opened an auto mechanic room, she spent most of her time there in the chemistry lab. So seeing her text him made Ochaco pout angrily.
"She texted you?" she asked.
"Oh yeah. Just once in a while," Izuku responded as he tapped her name.
"Once... in a... while?" Ochaco murmured to herself, quietly enough so Izuku couldn't hear. She was about her mouth and speak in a serious tone when she saw the look on Izuku's face. It looked horrified and shocked. She spoke louder and asked, "Wh-what's wrong?"
She took his hand and lowered it so she could see what he was looking at. It was a text from Hatsume, but what she texted sent fear into Ochaco's heart. It read, "Tenya's brother, Tensai Iida, was attacked last night behind the police station! Tenya and I are on the way to the Central Hospital right now!"
"Oh my god," Ochaco said covering her mouth in shock. Both she and Izuku looked at each other, and without even speaking, the two of them dashed off in the same direction. It was the same hospital where Izuku's mother works so they know where it is. Taking the trains, they can't help but worry about their friend and how he must be feeling right now.
"Hang on Iida, we're coming," Izuku mentally said while holding onto the rail of the train with Ochaco at his side.
Heyo. It's Kevhedgehog.
I know I haven't been updating in a while so I just want to apologize. I've been more preoccupied these days so it's hard for me to write. Anyway, question for y'all. I already have an idea for Iida, but you can tell me if you want. But for Deku, if he was an Autobot, what kind of vehicle would be the best suited for him? You can tell be the type of car, brand, etc.
I like to keep an open mind😜
つづく
Next Chapter: "The Revengeful Player"