*8 Months ago...*
I slipped on my shoes quickly, getting ready to leave. I had seen the live news and was called in to action. It was night time, and a villain had destroyed a building and taking people hostage. Ochako came up to me, with a look of disapproval on her face
"You're going out again? You just got back two hours ago..." she said to me.
"I know, but I have to go. There's a villain again," I told her, before heading towards the door.
"But we hadn't had any time together, Izuku. Its been months since we've had time to ourselves... when are we going to?" She asked me.
"I don't know, but I have to go," I responded.
"Can't the other heroes deal with it? I'm sure Bakugo and Todoroki will be there to handle it," she stated, crossing her arms.
"I'm going, Ochako. Ever since... you know... I need to focus on becoming number one," I stated, grabbing the door knob. "I promised him I would."
"And what about this, Izuku?" she said, showing her engagement ring. "You proposed almost seven YEARS ago. When... when are we going to get married like you promised...?"
"I don't know, Ochako. With us opening the agency and all the work we have... I just don't know," I answered.
"The agency... you promised back at camp that we'd open our own agency together. Remember? It was a dream you had. But it only seemed to be your dream, not mine."
"I'm sorry. Things change, Ochako. But I'll make it up to you," I told her.
"You can make it up to me now, Izuku, by staying home. I want this, Izuku. I want to be able to love and spend time with you," she told me. "I don't want this to affect us, Izuku. Please, just one night..."
"I need to go and help, Ochako. Now I gotta go, I'll see you in a bit. Love you," I told her. She didn't say it back as I opened the door and left.
Little did I know, that was the last time I'd see her. That night when I got back, a lot of her stuff was gone. On the counter of our apartment, she left her engagement ring and a note;
Izuku,
I love you so much, but... I can't do this anymore. I feel like you only care about your job, and I know it's important, but it's been hard on me. I never get to spend time with you and we barely talk anymore. I go to sleep alone at night because you're always working late and wake up alone cause you leave early in the mornings. I just felt us growing slowly apart. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I'll regret it later. But for now... It's over. I'm sorry. I really tried...
~Ochako.
I remember seeing the tear marks on the paper, showing she cried while writing it.
I chose my job over the girl I spent almost nine years with, the girl I fell in love with, and the girl I wanted to marry and spend my life with. And to this day... I've regretted it.
__________
"So that's what happened... you never told us that," Todorki stated. I was talking to him and Iida.
"I just don't like bringing it up. But I just wanted to ease it off of me a little," I told them.
"It must still be hard. You two had so many memories like your first date, camp, hell even when she was kidnapped and you saved her and sacrificed your arm. You guys seemed inseparable," Iida stated.
"Yeah, we were... and not I don't know what to do," I replied.
"It might not be what you want to hear, but... maybe you should try to move on? There's probably plenty of girls out there itching to date the #2 hero after all," Todoroki stated.
"I don't know, Ochako was... everything to me. Plus, I wouldn't know where to start."
"Well if I saw correctly, I did see Kamuri hug you earlier after you received the number two spot. Maybe there's something there," Todoroki mentions.
"That was just a friendly gesture, though. I think it was, at least," I said, rubbing my head. I looked over to Kamuri, who looked at me and waved. I waved back and she headed towards the elevators.
"It does seem like there's a connection somewhere," Iida stated, scratching his chin.
"W-whaaa? You can't possibly know that after that simple exchange!" I said to them.
"Still, maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to try. We just wanna help," Iida stated. "Anyways, I'm gonna go find Hatsume before she tackles me into a hug like always. She even does it at home..."
He got up and walked away, same with Todoroki who was going to Yaoyoruzu. Everyone else at my agency was partying, drinking, and having fun. Even Melissa, who didn't usually drink. And yet I was by myself, not talking to anybody whilst everyone else talked. Luckily, a call from Kamuri on my transceiver drew my attention away.
"Hey Deku, you have a guest down here. They're waiting in the lobby downstairs for you," she spoke.
"Gotcha, I'll be down there in a second."
I wondered who it would be, as it could be anyone. We did get a lot of fans coming by, but of course, we never let them in. I rode the elevator down to the lobby, waving to Kamuri and seeing our guests, two people I knew quite well.
"Hey, problem child," the man spoke. "Congrats on being the new #2 hero."
It was Shota Aizawa. His hair was longer nowadays, but he wore it back in a ponytail. His scruffy face was as it always was, but neater. He also dressed nicely nowadays and had a better attitude, mainly because of the teenager behind him.
"Hey Aizawa, Eri! What brings you guys here?" I asked them.
"Hey Deku! Daddy and I were in town and decided to stop by! I haven't seen you in forever!" Eri shouted jumping up and hugging me.
"It surely has been a while, hasn't it?" Aizawa stated, rubbing Eri's long hair.
"So how's the wife doing, Aizawa?" I asked him, making conversation.
"Ugh, you know, making the same terrible jokes as always," he said, although with a smile. "You know, Eri is applying to UA for this school year since she's fifteen now."
"Really, that old already? Which course?" I asked.
"The rescue course!" she said, cheering.
"It's this new course that my good friend Oboro teaches at UA. It trains people who want to specialize in medical or emergency rescue, and since Eri mastered her rewind quirk, she's aiming for the medical portion," Aizawa stated.
"That's awesome, Eri! I'm sure you'll get in!" I stated.
"Yeah, I have high hopes for her. She already knows which agency she wants to do her internship with," Aizawa stated, chuckling.
"Dad..." she said, covering her face and blushing.
"Oh? which agency?" I asked.
"Yours..." she said, flustered.
"That's awesome, Eri! We don't specialize much in healing training, but Ojiro is in our rescue course, and I'm sure he'd love to teach you a thing or two!" I stated.
"Really? I'd like that a lot!" Eri stated again.
"Oh, I forgot to mention. My little daughter here's got herself a boyfriend," Aizawa stated.
"Daaaaaad, stop embarassing me!" Eri stated, puffing her face up.
"Ooh, a boyfriend huh? Who might it be?" Kamuri jumped in, giving Eri a puffy face back.
"His name's Kota Izumi. And it isn't anything serious, we just have a lot in common," Eri said, blushing.
"I know Kota very well. No need to worry, Aizawa. I'd like to think she's in good hands," I replied,
"He better not hurt her in any way," Aizawa stated, checking his phone. "Oh, Midoriya. Would you mind keeping Eri here for a little bit? I just have some stuff to do and I'll be back later."
"Yeah, no problem!" I stated, and Eri smiled happily.
"Thank you! I'll be back later. Behave yourself, Eri," Aizawa said, before calling someone on his phone and running outside.
"Hey Eri, they're having a little party on the third floor if you want to join them. It's pretty fun," Kamuri said to her.
"Sure! You coming, Deku? Miss?" she asked us.
"Sorry, duty calls. I still need to schedule a meeting, contact the costume company to check on those costume modifications for Yaoyoruzu and Todoroki, and do that grocery run before the end of the day. Oh, and order some new tools for the support group upstairs," Kamuri stated.
"Go have fun, Kamuri. Those can be done later today. In fact, I can go grab the groceries right now," I offered.
"I don't know, are you sure? Usually you're eager for work to get done," Kamuri stated. "That's why I came down here."
"I'm sure. We all have to live a little sometimes," I said, winking.
"Alright, alright. Maybe for a little bit. Here's the grocery list and the company card," She said, handing both to me. "You coming, Eri?"
"Yeah. Hurry back, Deku. I wanna hang out before dad gets back," Eri stated.
"I will!" I replied to them.
Once they were in the elevator, I grabbed the company van's keys. I figured if I was getting groceries, I wouldn't want to carry them back. I exited the agency and clicked unlock button of the key before hopping in the van. The grocery store wasn't too far away, so I got there in about five minutes with minimal traffic. Usually, city traffic would be worse.
I made a point to do the shopping quickly so I could be in and out quickly. I grabbed the items, mainly consisting of breakfast foods and lunch foods since some of us did our lunch breaks at the agency and had to be there extremely early. It would be pricey, but the company funds paid for it, not me. I made sure I got everything I needed before heading to one of the registers. I wasn't paying attention, loading my items onto the belt and scrolling through social media on my phone.
"Will that be all for-" The lady began. That voice, it sounded familiar... "D...Deku?"
I looked up at the woman. Her hair was a brunette color and long, going down to her tailbone, with the bottom tied into a ponytail. She also had brown eyes, which stared into mine in shock. I'll never know if it was a coincidence or a fate meeting, but...
it was her.