Rebirth and Blood

Izuku had never been so happy to be called back into the office. His manager had called him up last night saying they were swarmed with work and he needed to come and that his days off would be refunded until the rush was dealt with. Lucky, Ochako also had the same issue when she called both him and Himiko to apologize for not being able to spend time with them. Himiko still had a boatload of articles to write before her deadline which had been pushed up to next week so that also cleared him for a day at least.

The workload was continuous, but nothing he couldn't turn out like clockwork. Moving some account numbers around, rechecking balances, signing forms, stopping to breathe every so often. A usual busy day at the office that he threw himself headlong into, grateful to dissociate in the haze of paperwork as nothing more than a living machine. He didn't have to think about his home life or the nice clusterfuck he had gotten into(literally). 

Bakugou was a weird, insistent dick as always but he bought dinner and didn't ask about his relationship which he almost thanked him for. Because he may hate the guy and he broke up with her years ago, Izuku still felt shame for what he did when the man who once loved her was right in front of him. Still he was a dick and Rosey belonged to him and Himiko now, so he can fuck off.

Though he did take half of the money he gave him back and invested it under Izuku's name so there might be some more cash coming his way. But at the same time it was more to think about so deeper into work he went. Paper after paper was completed as he turned off the parts of his brain that dealt with anything not related to the task at hand while the world shrank away into the background and white noise filled his ears. Muttering the calculations and proper accounts the time flowed like ice and soon it was all there was aside from his computer screen.

Then like the interference of a divine being he was brought out of his trace by a hand tapping his shoulder. Tensen was standing behind him with an exhausted face as the entire office was rapidly becoming empty as their coworkers flooded out. Looking at the clock he could see that it was time for their lunch break. Getting up without a word, Izuku followed behind the redhead to the break room and set himself next to him. His lunch was a box meal he picked up on the way and Tensen had some homemade fried chicken.

Not caring either way with how hard they had to work in less than a half hour, the two set themselves to finish eating. Ten minutes later that necessity was done and the pair had twenty more to simply relax until the bell ushered them back. Staring at wall Izuku lurched forward when he heard a *ping* from his phone. Opening it he saw a text message from Ochako.

"Hey Zuki, sorry about having to take a rain check on you and Miko. I'm sorry that my job got in the way, but I should be able to get off early and Himiko is still gonna be on that writing thing for a while, so how about we surprise her with something sweet? A cake maybe? Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you're alright since you were kinda upset yesterday and Miko needs her kisses too. Love you."

Staring at the message Izuku was floored with guilt at how he had forgotten most of everything else in his work, but there was that saying of "leaving your trouble at the door". Thinking for a minute he shrugged as he responded. 

"Hey Rosey, I'm happy to hear from you again. It's fine that you had to take care of stuff, you have a big job after all. Anyway I might be swamped for a while, but I'll try to be off by eight. As for that little reaction of mine, it was just some idiot I gotta be nice to. Aside from that I think Himiko would love some cake, but she won't be in the mood for us hanging around. Regardless, we should do something nice for her and if she isn't up for us, then you and I can hang out. Love you too btw."

A minute passed and he got this text.

"I'll try to be off by seven at the least, if I can't then could you come over to my place and keep me company? You can bring Miko and we can do stuff."

Again he shrugged as the weight of his work weighed off in the distance.

"Sure, like you said we all need to put in effort to make this work and after tonight I'm going to need some cuddling."

A thumbs up emoji came back once he hit the send button and that was all he needed to end the call. Stuffing the device in his pocket Izuku noticed Tensen giving him a curious gaze.

"Was that your girlfriend?"

The quirkless man leanen deeper into the back of his chair.

"Yes, what of it?"

The redhead kept his quizzical look.

"You've just been more...present recently. Honestly when the prez of the company took you up that elevator last week a lot of us thought you had left for greener pastures. Yet you come back in our darkest hour having more energy about yourself then in the entire two years I've known you. So logically I assumed you had to have something new in your life. Which raises the question of what this girl's like?"

He leaned forward and lowered his voice in a conspiratorial manner.

"Is she a mutant? Like one of those really weird looking ones?"

Izuku felt vaguely insulted by the assumption, but knew he probably would have dated a mutant if he didn't have those two. Lord knows one of those sorts gave him so much back then.

"Nah man, she isn't a mutant. She's...baseline. Aside from that she's as sweet as can be."

The fellow office drone nodded and sipped some water as he regarded Izuku with a more critical eye before dropping it.

"I'm glad you've got something good going for you. Personally, my life is kinda a mess since I got involved with my old girlfriend from college. We kept in touch since we graduated and she sorta forced me into a relationship after I stopped by to see her. We fooled around like old times except instead of calling it that she's been clinging to me. Not that I mind, but dealing with her and my family and the job...it's a bit much."

Izuku shrugged as he downed some of his own water.

"Eh, so long as she makes you feel loved then the hassle is worth it. Trust me when I say this, some hardship is better than being alone so long as she isn't abusive or cheating. Because if you have nobody at all...that can get to be a very dark place."

Tensen studied him for a moment and suddenly glowed with concern.

"You alright?"

Izuku smiled at his former misery.

"I am now."

There would have been more to say between the two coworkers, but the bell rang and they had to return to the chains of their desk. The rest of the day dragged on in a freeflow of nothing as Izuku continued to punch away at the numbers, his voice bouncing off his ears as he redid the math and piled through the things demanded of them. He never stopped to ask, never hesitated as he went about it, the man simply absorbed himself in his task. Then a ring came from his phone that made him detach from his computer and see the world around him.

The office was empty and he was the only soul in the room. The automatic lights had flipped off all around him, leaving him a shroud of darkness that his work station kept at bay. Had he really worked that long again? Pulling out his phone he could see the time was eight in the afternoon and that the person calling was Ochako. Answering it, Izuku paused for a moment as he stepped up to stretch.

"Hey Rosey, everything alright?"

A bubbly tone filled the dead room and suddenly Izuku felt far better as the woman chased away the weight of his body with her voice.

"Hey Zuki, everything's fine. I just got off my shift a little bit ago and wanted to check up on you. Do you mind meeting me at this coffee house?"

A text with a location pinned to it filled the top of the screen as Izuku went about closing everything up at his desk.

"Sure, I could go for something sweet. Anyway, how was work,or you are not up to talking about it?"

The heroine had a tired tint to her voice that signified how much her career was on her shoulders that worried the man as he listened.

"I've had to deal with that shit all day, right now I'd rather just meet up with you and Miko and forget it for a while."

Shutting his computer off after logging out and sorting his paperwork, Izuku made his way to the door and clocked out with the phone still in his hand.

"I'm more than happy to oblige you my dear, but as for Himiko...knowing her she's not going to be in the mood for company."

Ochako waved away the concern with her voice as Izuku made his way out of the building.

"That's fine, Miko was always a hardass at times. We can hang out for a few hours before crashing at her place. Still think we should get her a treat or something."

He shrugged as he entered the streets, careful to be mindful of everything around him with a tight grip on his device.

"Yeah, but before that is there anything else going on that you want? Anything I can do for you?"

A far softer tone came into the girl's voice that made him feel warm inside.

"No, no Zuki, I don't need anything. Just spend a little time with me is all I ask. In fact let me cover the bill when we get there, okay Greenie?"

Blush filled his cheeks as Izuku felt the warmth spread through him at the merest sound of her happiness.

"You got it Rosey, I'll be there when I can."

He was sure she was smiling with those cute birthmarks jumping to the edge of her cheeks.

"Sure thing, I'll be waiting inside. Love ya Zuki."

A smile took over his face when he heard that. It was nice to hear someone, anyone, say they loved him even if it wasn't Himiko.

"Love you too, see you in a bit."

They ended the call and Izuku made his way to the train station. Taking a seat near the rear of the cart while keeping an eye on his GPS, he couldn't help but to wonder at the state of his life. Here he was a few years from thirty with a woman he loved above all else and another woman who was...something to him. Something good and fuzzy, but still. 

Then there was the fact he was doing hero work now, granted as a sidekick, but he was still doing it. Along with how Katsuki was trying to be a part of his life again which would bring an unlimited amount of problems with how his life was now.

Izuku didn't know what to make of it, yet he knew it was better than he could have thought. His life was still worth living and he knew would have had any of this if he had taken that step off those bridges. He shuddered at the thought of him simply leaping off the bridge that night while Himiko was a few feet away, either of them never knowing each other.

Thank the god of luck and fortune he waited a few minutes to talk with her at the time, otherwise he'd never get any of this. Izuku paused for a moment, should he tell Ochako this? Why should he? They only knew each other for a few days so far, why should he burden her with that knowledge? Yet, she was his partner alongside Himiko so shouldn't he be open about that issue?

He had done the same to Aki one night and that changed his life for a while. Though he knew there'd never be another woman like her anywhere, even Himiko wasn't so...wonderful. 

Putting the past away for now, he thought more on the idea. He wasn't that low anymore and he doubted he would be ever again so long as he had something to live for. Yet the fact that your new partner revealed one of his darkest secrets on what is basically a first date is a major red flag. 

Why didn't he know how to do this? Oh right, because his dad ran out on him when he was four and he never had to formally court a woman since Himiko forced herself on him and Aki practically marked him the second they met on the track field. Thinking more on it, he decided to drop the idea and focus on something more pleasant to talk about. 

Maybe he should ask about her quirk? He already knew everything about it though. Her parents? No one would wanna discuss that when they're relaxing. Her interests? Was that too bland a statement? How much did he know about Ochako as a person to begin with?

Hearing a *ding* from the cart speaker as it rolled into the next station, Izuku chose to try and wing it because otherwise he'd be too paralyzed to act. Following the map he arrived at the coffee house, it was a national chain one that cropped up after the reconstruction, one he knew belonged to the Uraraka Corporation. Looking at the window he saw the daughter herself walk into view as she was sitting at a table with a bored expression staring at the door expectedly. 

Taking the sign he entered the shop and was greeted by Ochako's dull expression lighting up at his arrival. The two grinned at each other as he took the opposite chair with a strange feedback loop of giddiness and joy that didn't feel right and yet did at the same time. 

"Good to see ya again, sorry I took a while getting here with the train and all that."

Ochako threw a hand out to end his concerns while still having that adorable smile.

"Ah, it doesn't matter, you're here now. Anyway, work treating you alright?"

Izuku shrugged as he began to relax into the chair, glad to be away from the troubles of his life yet again.

"Rather not say since there's nothing to talk about. I went there, did my work till my shift ended and that was it. Same old stuff as they claim. What about you, anything of note?"

The brunette mused on her day for a few minutes and shrugged.

"Same old, same old, just like you. Got off a few hours ago with nothing much to do other than wait for the next day. Honestly I was looking forward to seeing you and Himiko again since now the both of you are the most exciting part of my day given how I'm usually just stuck inside or hanging out at a bar."

Izuku listened and found himself more than a little prideful at how she regarded him. Yet he was at a loss as to how to carry the conversation even when going off the cuff. What did he even want to talk about? What did he like? Thinking on it more he found his oldest interest bubbling up.

"So going completely off topic, what do you think about quirks? Like just your general thoughts on them?"

Ochako considered it for a few minutes and answered matter of factly.

"Quirks are...interesting in how they shape a person. Their entire identity as a human being is usually so closely tied with their abilities that it gets hard to distinguish the two. I mean my entire livelihood, my career, the way people have regarded me since I was four, why I know the people I do and the things I've experienced...It was all because of my quirk. If my genetics were a little screwy or my quirk developed into something else then I wouldn't have the life I have, I don't think I'd even be the same person."

She continued as a bit of rant was building up.

"Like there are some people with weak quirks that have no practical use even in an illegal sense and people with bad mutant type quirks that practically guarantee discrimination which leads to a far high rate of crime amongst them. Then you have people who's quirks are like Miko's that can literally make them insane. But then there's people like me and the rest of my old graduating class who hit the genetic lottery."

Ochako kept going.

"It's like humanity has been cursed and blessed with things that can make an individual literally irreplaceable to society in a way knowledge or brawn or any basic skill can't, while at the same time make their lives infinitely worse. I mean there is this one girl my class rescued from some yakuza back in the day and she had the ability to literally rewind time on any living thing she touched if she thought about the number in her head."

Pulling out her phone Izuku was confronted by a group picture of what had to be Ochako's graduating class judging by how she, Kacchan, Ashido, Shoji, Ojiro and a lot of other faces he recognized from news articles were centered around a Christmas tree. Sitting in the front was a rather odd looking girl with a small horn coming from her head.

"The government took note of how the villains had used her blood to make quirk canceling bullets so they took the tech and reverse engineered it by using cloned samples of her blood to make more of them, along with the Rewind Shots. Those things have literally revolutionized medicine and law enforcement to a decree not seen since practically the Industrial Revolution and the thing about it is that they plan to never run out because they just keep making copies of her femurs and using the marrow to manufacture her blood on an industrial scale."

Putting the phone away she went on with her rant.

"This poor girl had her entire life ruined because of her quirk, she had accidentally killed one of her parents when her quirk emerged so her mother abandoned her which led to those yakuza using her for their plans and us barely being able to save her. All because of her ability, but on the flipside she is literally one of the most important people in history now and she lives in the lap of luxury without a worry in the world."

Izuku felt his old intellect buzz at the information and asked what was on his mind when his lover stopped to catch her breath.

"You mind me asking where she is now?"

Ochako paused to recall and found the answer somewhere in her brain.

"She's living with Lamillion and his wife, the guy adopted her the second he was able. Only right since he was the one who saved her from those monsters. Though he was still shooken up after he had to shoot that red beak wearing fucker through the head after knocking out the plague doctor and grabbing his gun. So there's still problems but everything turned out okay for them. Granted the big guy really stepped back from the hero thing for a while, so take it for what you will."

She eyed the man for a few seconds once she was finished and sucked in air through her teeth as her own curiously boomed.

"Hey Zuki, not to be rude or anything, but...would you mind telling what life was like for you with being quirkless?"

Instantly she doubled back on the question and looked absolutely ashamed and flustered at how it sounded.

"Ah crap, I'm sorry, I-"

Izuku raised a hand to calm her and remained relaxed as he likely could be in public. He didn't really care about the fact of his disability, he had a lifetime to get used to it. Besides, some catharsis would be nice.

"It isn't a big deal, most don't wanna hear my story anyway."

He saw some memories of his past and had some of his comfort die as he remembered the trials of his life. Sitting up for a brief second to clear his head Izuku looked at the woman who was the one of the closest people he had in his life right now and spoke.

"From my experience at least, being without a quirk isn't as big a deal as being a mutant since you can hide the difference whereas they can't. People treat you pretty normally so long as you don't make a big deal out of it, but usually the discrimation comes from a place of pity or superiority. I've had more people feel sorry for me then wanna mess with me so that asshole was an exception. Don't get me wrong it does have its downsides, but it's minor all things considered."

He continued to be drawn into the past and kept speaking almost absentmindedly.

"For me the biggest thing was isolation, but that could be because I'm quirkless or because I just didn't talk to most of anyone once I entered highschool."

Now Ochako raised an eyebrow at him in a stern disbelief.

"You mean to tell me that for your entire academic life you never had one friend? Now that has to be bullshit."

He pursed his lips and thought back to some of the better days of his existence despite the pain. Pushing it back he answered as best he could.

"Okay, so I did have one friend back in my day. We had met on the track field one day when I just wanted to run and when I finished, she walked up to me and started talking. Long story short, she convinced me to join the track team after she beat me in a race and we kinda stuck to each other like glue."

The heroine softened her eyes ever so slightly as she took note of the emotion in the back of his gaze.

"Do you guys still keep in touch?"

Instantly all the mirth and mellow that was inside him vanished as he seemed to dry up at the question like it had harmed him.

"No, we don't."

She pressed on anyway in spite of the change of mood.

"Did anything happen?"

He inhaled deeply for a moment and spoke flatly.

"The Calamity happened. We were supposed to...I was supposed to answer an important question she gave me that night, but I wanted to think on it instead of acting on blind passion so I decided to wait until the next day to work up the courage to say yes. Only for everything to get turned into a slaughterhouse the day I meant to accept her. Afterwards when the smoke had cleared and I actually decided to go look for her...I was too busy making sure I wasn't in poverty to do so. Now I'm afraid…"

He shook his head and began to smile again.

"Ah what does it matter? She's alive and well living her own life and I have you guys. Sure I have no idea about her other than she's above ground, but enough about that. Tell me something about you."

Caught a little off guard by the moodswing she had to regain her mental footing before answering and referenced her mental catalog of life.

"Well...I grew up on old pre-emergence animations, old Disney and Miyazaki stuff. It was all my parents could afford when I was growing up so I always had this thing for art. I even wanted to be an artist for a while before I realized that being a crime fighter was more profitable."

Izuku squinted at the idea, it did seem to fit her rather well for what it was worth.

"Did you just stop once you got into UA?"

Ochako nodded.

"Yeah, having to juggle so much didn't leave me with a lot of free time to pursue it. Not that I'm complaining or anything, I love doing what I do so long as it doesn't eat my life up completely. Really I never put any serious effort into it so it wasn't like I missed anything. Besides, I still have years ahead of me and it doesn't take a lot to hold a pencil."

He considered it for a bit and found a spark of anger within him at the thought. She had done more than most people to set the world right so she deserved to pursue her passions, even if they were lesser to her. The anger died quickly as a rather touchy question found its way to his brain.

"You ever think of retiring from the game all together and living the rest of your life by some Swiss mountain side so you can paint?"

She pursed her lips at the concept.

"I've never really thought about retiring from the industry, at least not until I have kids. People need my help and I know the next generation can fill in for me, but I still feel some obligation. Plus, painting in some lonely mountain side cabin isn't what I wanna spend the rest of my life on. I have enough cash to retire, but I want to be a mother and a wife."

Izuku was suddenly feeling a tad uncomfortable about the certainty in how she said it.

"Not that it isn't a bad goal or anything, but mind me asking why you're so hellbent on this? You're still in your mid twenties."

There was a glare in those hazel eyes that made even Himiko's domineering side seem less with how much force was burning in them. 

"That's exactly why I have to get my chance soon. My family has a history of infertility, that's why we have these birthmarks on our cheeks. It causes our eggs to die rapidly due to the amount of blood flowing to our ovaries after we hit thirty. My grandma always talked about how the birthmarks would get pale when we can't have kids anymore and she was right when I saw my aunt and my mom."

The force in her eyes grew as she stared at Izuku with what had to be a near lifetime of worry.

"They could only have kids before the dead age and even then they both had to try really hard to get pregnant. That's why I don't have any cousins because my aunt just didn't try hard enough with my uncle. Hell, my mom told me one time about how she had to handcuff my dad to the-"

She halted when she realized where this was going. Glaring at him, the first and only daughter of the Uraraka family continued to speak.

"You get the idea. I don't have a lot of time left to make my dream a reality so excuse me if I seem a bit pushy."

Not wanting to touch this snake with a twenty foot pole Izuku laughed and diverted his partner's view towards the store counter.

"I could go for a cookie right now, how about you?"

Ochako relaxed herself and got up to move to the cashier with Izuku passively behind.

"What do you want?"

Two donuts and a horrifying silence later, Izuku suggested they go see Himiko since that was the one thing he could think of that would be brought back to the topic at hand. This was not how he saw the night turning and if anything he felt even more strange. He did want kids, he knew that at least, but he didn't know this woman that well and there were a million other things he had to figure out.

He didn't want to outright say no because it was a chance if Himiko still refused him, as awful as it was to admit. Yet he wasn't going to just outright agree to it when he only knew the girl for four days. Taking a seat on the tram Izuku wrapped an arm around her and felt Ochako grip his hand tightly. Not one to give too much of a care, he leaned into it and enjoyed the warmth of being near her as they arrived at the station. 

A few turns into the rougher side of town and a pit stop at a local bakery later they arrived at Himiko's apartment complex and soon, her place. Taking a knock at the door, the two were faced by a very ragged, tired Himiko who had even heavier bags under her eyes. She didn't smile upon seeing them, only wordlessly ushering them in before setting herself on the couch.

Locking the door behind them Izuku approached the blonde while Ochako put the bag with the cake on the table. Himiko was unresponsive as he proceeded to wrap himself around her, whispering and kissing lightly into her ear which earned a glare of mild annoyance. He briefly turned his eyes towards the other girl and motioned with a finger for help. Taking the hint, Ochako moved herself to the left of Himiko and wrapped her arms around the villainess.

The three said nothing for a minute, letting the slasher just relax while they each held everyone. Then she spoke up and it sounded rough as ever.

"Take me to the bedroom."

Not missing a beat Izuku stood up with her in his arms bridal style like she weighed nothing and did as asked, opening the door and setting Himiko on the red covers before turning back to grab Ochako. He was a lot more forceful when moving the brunette, but it wasn't much of an issue. Taking the right side, Izuku put himself next to her and nuzzled into her chest without a word. The heroine took up residence on her back and let her hands enclose tight around her belly.

Putting a hand to both, Himiko kissed Izuku's forehead and caressed the hand over her stomach with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I've had a shit day and I'm in an even worse mood. I finally met the deadline, but I had to power through the night so I haven't really slept."

Ochako chimed in with a condescending tone that lessened the pain in the air.

"No wonder you're so crabby right now, Miko you need to sleep."

The blonde rolled her eyes and turned her head towards Izuku who still had that ever present look of adoration in his soul when he came forward and kissed her, much to her mild annoyance. Sitting up he reached over and grabbed Ochako by the cheeks as he then kissed her as well, to Himiko's slight jealousy. Flipping herself over she mimicked her original lover and pecked the brunette on the lips.

Smiling at the events, Izuku shifted himself over to the other side of the mattress and situated himself behind Ochako as he started to kiss and suckle at her neck. He made eye contact with Himiko who followed suit and began to do the same to the girl's front. It wasn't an overtly erotic thing, no further moves were made to push the envelope. The best thing it could be compared to was a game between the two where they tried to leave the most marks on their lover. To Izuku's credit Himiko was far more relaxed than when they first arrived and she was even giggling as he reached over from behind to occasionally kiss her as well.

The one being subjected to this was a different story as she eventually had enough and spoke up with a hand on both of their foreheads. 

"Can we just go to sleep? If this keeps going on I won't be able to go to work tomorrow with how pick-marked my skin will look." 

Izuku grinned mischievously as he trapped her from behind with his arms locking snuggly around her belly.

"Would you believe us if we said no?"

Ochako shook her head at his words and Himiko followed Izuku's example by crushing herself to the heroine. Putting her head on the anti gravity user's left shoulder while he took the right, Himiko spoke up with her voice carrying the most weight.

"I agree with Cheeky, we all need to sleep and wasting time teasing her isn't going to help any one of us. So Zuzu stop playing around with her and Cheeky switch out with me, I wanna be in the middle."

Izuku withdrew his head from the brunette's shoulder and stared at the blonde. It was a testing gaze as he tightened his hold on the girl's belly which was met by a slight ire thrown his way. Eventually after two minutes he reluctantly let go and latched onto Himiko like a koala when she moved to the center of the bed. There was a murmur of annoyance as he moved and grabbed and nuzzled, but Himiko made no attempt to stop him.

Ochako did much the same as she grabbed the comforter below them and brought it up while moving along the villainess' back and putting her arms around both her and Izuku.

Not sure on what to do at this point, she relied on her last time with the two of them and rested her head somewhere on Miko's torso. The blonde sighed and raised up her hands and clapped which turned the light off, casting them all in a comforting darkness.

"Good night you two."

The pair of crime stoppers said nothing in response as they languished under the warmth of their bodies and before long they had all fallen asleep, drifting away from the world and preparing for the next day.