Ochako's voice burst through his smartphone's speaker, startling him and making him wince back in surprise.
"U-Uraraka-san, please calm down," he replied, trying not to chuckle.
"Eh?"
It took a moment, but Ochako finally realized her blunder.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Midoriya-kun!" she squeaked out in embarrassment. "I was just so excited because I just received my acceptance letter from U.A...."
"'Acceptance letter', you say~? Does that mean you passed?"
"Yes! I passed the exam and got confirmed for U.A. Hero Major!"
"Is that so? Congrats~!"
"Hehe~ thank you, Midoriya-kun..."
There was a brief silence on the line...
"Wait! That's not it!"
"Hmm? That's not what?"
"M-Midoriya-kun!"
"Yes, I'm Midoriya."
"H-How's your entrance result?! Did you get accepted?!"
"Ohhh, that? I got accepted in the Hero Major as well~."
"R-Really...?! Thank goodness..."
"Heh, is that the sound of relief I'm hearing?"
"Huh? N-No—I mean, y-yes!" Ochako stammered, so flustered that even Izuku could sense her blushing through the phone. "I-I-I'm just so relieved to hear that you passed the exam...! But... it's just that..."
"What's wrong?"
"W-Well... I was actually worried that you didn't get accepted... because of me..."
"Hmm? Why would you think that?"
"...You saved me back there, Midoriya-kun."
She paused, her voice softening as she carefully chose her words.
"I had been desperate during the exam, trying to scour for more points, hunting down more of those faux villain robots... but instead, I got myself cornered by that giant robot's rampage..."
Izuku could only listen in contemplative silence, letting Ochako continue.
"I thought I was done for when the I got stuck in that rubble, and all of my effort would've gone to waste because of my own desperate greed... but then, you saved me...!"
Ochako's voice trembled slightly, gratitude overflowing in her tone.
"You saved me when I was at my most helpless, which is why I'm so grateful to you..."
"Uraraka-san..."
"Thank you, Midoriya-kun...!"
Izuku was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected to hear such genuine gratitude.
And her appreciation helped thin out the fog of doubt clouding his thoughts.
But...
"...Midoriya-kun..."
Ochako's voice, which had been bright and bubbly, suddenly turned hesitant... even careful.
"...Yes, Uraraka-san?"he asked back, concerned by the shift in her tone he could feel through the call.
"Are you... really the one they call 'Kamen Rider'...?"
A small pause hung in the air...
"...Yeah, I'm the Kamen Rider. At your service~."
"So it is true... I wasn't just being delusional..." Ochako breathed out, somewhat relieved herself. "M-Midoriya-kun!"
"Yeah?"
"...Are you okay with your identity being exposed like that? You revealed yourself back at the entrance exam... in front of everyone."
"...I don't really mind," Izuku replied, his voice calm and composed.
"R-Really...? But still... aren't you worried?"
"Worried? About what?"
"W-Well, a lot of things, aren't you...? I mean, I heard tons of people are after you—like the government, the police force, and whatnot..."
"Oh, that? Don't worry about it. I can handle them."
"R-Really...? Are you really okay with all of this?"
"Haha~, I'd be lying if I said all of this isn't troublesome."
"—!"
Ochako gasped softly, guilt creeping in as she realized it might've been her fault for causing him this trouble.
"M-Midoriya-kun! I'm so sorry—!"
"But if I had to do it again... I would."
"—!"
His words stopped her...! Both his voice and the faint smile behind it reassured her, even if she couldn't see his face.
"Because that time... I was saving a friend, after all."
"...Midoriya-kun...!"
There was silence on the other end for a moment.
Not heavy.
Not awkward.
Just... warm.
"...Thank you. Truly..."She finally accepted his words. "Then... I hope we can meet again soon—in U.A.!"
"Heh, yeah... same here. See you soon, Uraraka-san."
"Take care, Midoriya-kun~!"
And with that, their call ended.
Izuku stared at the darkened screen for a moment longer... letting the calmness settle in—
RING~!!!
"...?"
But his phone lit up once more with another incoming call!
And it was...
"Kacchan...?"
He promptly answered the call—
"Hello? Kacchan—"
"DEKU! YOU IDIOT!!! WHY WEREN'T YOU ANSWERING?!"
The familiar voice of his childhood friend erupted from the speaker, making him reel back with a wince.
"K-Kacchan—"
"I've been calling you nonstop, dumbass! Your line's been busy this whole damn time!"
"Oh, really? Sorry about that. I was on a call with someone and didn't notice another one coming in, haha~."
"You were on a call...?" Katsuki's voice dropped slightly, suspicion lacing her voice. "...With who?"
"Hehe~, wouldn't you like to know, Kacchan~?"
"Ugh, you're so annoying sometimes..."
Izuku let out a light laugh. He could already picture her annoyed, grumpy visage through the phone.
"Chill out, it was just Uraraka-san."
"Huh...? That damn brunette extra...?!"she snapped, caught off guard. "Why the hell was she calling you?!"
"Oh, right. She called to talk about the U.A. entrance exam results."
"Gah—!? She did—?!"
He could clearly hear the sound of teeth grinding from the other end...
And then, barely under her breath—
"...That damn vixen... she actually got the jump on me...!"
"Kacchan? What's wrong?"
"It's nothing..." she muttered, her voice barely making sense to him, "...you dense idiot..."
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
"Ugh...! I said it's nothing!"
"Okay, okay, relax."
"Hmmph!"
Izuku let out another chuckle as he waited for Katsuki to finally calm down.
A silence then hung between them... before it was broken by Izuku.
"So... how's your exam result, Kacchan?"
"M-My exam result...?"
"Yup. But, knowing you, I bet you passed it with flying colors~."
"...Hmph, of course I did," she finally replied, pride slowly surfacing behind her voice through the call. "Those damn weak robots were just metal scraps against my explosion."
Izuku smiled.
'That's more like it.'
"...Then how's yours, Izuku?"she asked back, with a soft huff. "You didn't flunk, right?"
"Why, of course not. I passed it too~."
There was a brief pause. And then...
"...Heh. I knew you would."
Her voice shifted. That usual roughness mellowed for a moment... replaced with something gentler.
"I never doubted you, Izuku."
Izuku blinked. For some reason, that hit him harder than expected.
Even now, hearing that kind of support from her... it still felt a little unreal.
"Thanks, Kacchan. That... really means a lot."
Another silence followed—this time, more comfortable than before.
"...We're finally becoming heroes, huh, Izuku?"
"Haha~, don't get ahead of yourself, Kacchan. We still gotta finish the Hero Major first before we can get our Pro-Hero license, you know."
"O-Of course I know that, dumbass,"she snapped back, visibly flustered even through the call. "W-Well... it's just that my dream's finally getting closer, that's all..."
"Your dream? Becoming a hero?"
"Partly that, but not exactly."
"Oh? Then what is it?"
"I dream... about us becoming heroes. Fighting bad guys side by side... rescuing civilians from danger and whatnot... together."
As those wishful words drifted quietly through the call, Izuku was left stunned. It wasn't exactly something he'd expect to hear from the ever-blunt Katsuki.
"...Heh. Since when did you become so sentimental, Kacchan?"
"Wha—!! Deku, you jerk...!"
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I'm not making fun of you, I swear!"
"Izuku..."
"You know... I've said this before, but I really do want to be heroes together with you, Kacchan. I meant it back then... and I still mean it now."
There was another silence... before her voice came back, softer this time.
"...You better be serious."
"I am, and if that's your dream... then I'll do my best to help you achieve it."
"I see... then I'm gonna make sure you stick to those words, got it?"
"Got it!"
Hearing his earnest reply, a soft giggle could be heard from Katsuki at the end of the call, and Izuku could almost picture the smile forming on her lips.
"Then... Izuku, let's become heroes... together."
"Roger that~!"