One of the many wonders of Spring is that without it, and without the absence brought upon by the cooler months, many would neglect to appreciate its beauty. The majesty of Spring is simply the return of what has been absent. The heralding of Spring is the first peaks of green grass; that brilliant shade of green that soon grows to carpet the earth. Then the trees, warmed by new sunlight and crisp rain, unfurl their greenery until the last, late trees unfold their leaves and bridge the seasons into Summer.
With Spring comes the blooming of flowers. Each bloom is beautiful in its own right, decorating nature with a stroke or splash of color. The brilliant beauty and gentle fragrance defies description. It's almost sad when the petals fade and cascade downwards, like some other-worldly snow, to carpet the grass below.
During the morning time, as the sun ascends the sky, Spring is announced with a symphony of birds. The musical orchestra sounding with the wind in the trees, the flutter of wings, and the call of birds, twittering and chattering.
It is the sense of smell that is most subtly touched by Spring. However, it is the memory of its scent that lingers. The scent of Spring is that of the fresh air as the morning wind brushes by. The night rain shower leaves a rich, pungent smell of wetness, but now the dawn breeze carries the scent of morning dew. This new life, this image of Spring, brings about a reminder of long dormant pleasure.
On this day, in mid March, the picture of Spring is accompanied with the sound of sandals flopping against the sun-warmed dirt, the blue of a young girl's yukata, rosy cheeks, and the scent of fresh linens as the wind brushed through seafoam green hair. Her breath escaped her in short pants as she ran forward, as fast as her little legs would allow. Arms stretched outward and small fingers spread wide, she reached for the object that managed to capture her attention, a round red ball. Clumsily, every time it seemed to be within her reach, she would accidentally kick it away.
She huffed in frustration, petal pink lips pouting and brows furrowing on her tiny forehead. She tried again, this time she approached slowly, arms spread as if to catch it in a hug. Her pout quickly melted into a smile as she ebbed closer to the object of her desire. Just as she was about to finally hug it tight in her arms, it vanished before her eyes.
Brows once again furrowing, lips pursing back into a pout, she looked up at the offender. Big eyes met the sight of two boys, both much older than she. One boy had dark hair and ears that were pointed abnormally. The other boy, with light colored hair and horns on his head, held her ball tight in his hands.
"May I please have my ball back?" Her voice was soft as she lifted her tiny hands to reach what was now raised far above her head.
"No way!" One of the boys grinned, bouncing the ball in front of her. "It belongs to us now!"
For a moment, all she could manage was to stand on her toes and jump for her ball as much as her sandal clad feet would allow. It seemed so close, but still so far away. Soon, disheartened, she lowered her arms, tiny fists clenching at the sleeves of her yukata while she bowed her tiny head.
"But it's mine…" She mumbled.
Hardly a second passed by when she suddenly found herself on the ground. Her shoulder hurt from being pushed while her wrist stung from catching her fall. Big, seafoam green eyes stared up at her two assailants as they welled up with tears.
"Can't you hear?" One of the boys scowled, crossing his arms over his chest with an air of superiority. "It's ours now!"
The little girl sniffled softly, lower lip beginning to quiver. "But…"
"Fine! You want it back so bad?" The boy with her ball in hand, clenched it tight as he raised it above his head. "You can have it back!"
A small gasp escaped her at the threat; she squeezed her eyes shut in fear as she waited for the impact. She waited for an impact that never came, and when she hesitantly opened her eyes, she was astonished to see someone standing before her with her red ball caught in his tiny hands.
His back faced her, so she couldn't see his face, but she noted his unkempt, blond hair and bright red backpack. He seemed to be about her age and just as small as her, if not a tad bigger. She felt joy at the sight of her unknown savior, but fear still lingered in the pit of her tummy. If he was just as small as her, her two tormentors were still just as big.
"What are you doing?!" The little boy was loud, his confident voice sufficient in spooking a nearby pair of birds, prompting them to fly away.
"Who are you?!" One of the boys pointed at the newcomer. "Mind your own business!"
"I don't have to listen to someone as weak as you!"
The girl was astonished. She couldn't wrap her head around how a boy of her age could speak to two older kids so confidently. Clumsily, she stood, legs still shaking from the fright she got from her two aggressors. Seeing how the two older kids seemed to forget about her, the little girl used the opportunity to stumble away, hiding herself behind a nearby tree.
None seemed to notice her there. Small fists balled against the rough bark, nearly giving herself splinters, but she paid no mind. With wide eyes, she observed as the young boy with unruly blond hair fought with the two kids that bullied her. Their verbal battle quickly turned physical. Often she'd gasp or avert her eyes, but ultimately her legs remained rooted to that spot behind a tree. She looked on with amazement at the battle, silently cheering on the little boy that dared to come to her rescue.
From the eyes of this little girl, the battle carried on endlessly, but in reality it ended just as quickly as it had started.
"We'll remember this tomorrow!" One of the older boys had shouted as they ran away, beaten and bruised.
"You were the ones who started it…" The boy with spiky blond hair shook his little fist at the retreating bullies.
From where she stood, the little girl watched how the boy's small frame began to tremble ever so; he was just as beaten and bruised as those bullies had been. She could just barely make out the tears in his eyes as he rubbed the back of his fist against his nose. Hesitantly, she took a small step toward him, intending to console him and thank him, but stopped upon seeing three other little boys beat her to it. One had wings, another had oddly long fingers, and the other sported an unkempt head of curls.
"Whoa!" A little boy with long fingers exclaimed. "You won in a fight against two fourth-graders!"
"The number one, most coolest hero"-the boy with wild, spiky hair sniffed away his unshed tears-"always wins in the end."
He looked at his companions, frown slowly twitching upward into a confident grin. The little girl looked on in wonder, small fists clenching at the sleeve of her yukata ever so. Wow, was the word on her lips that never escaped, too awestruck to speak. In that moment, the small child felt her body quiver with a kind of excitement she'd never felt before. Casting one more look at the boy who saved her, she turned and ran away. Her small legs carried her faster and farther than she ever believed they could. The butterflies in her stomach were reminiscent of the butterflies that sprouted from their cocoons to welcome Spring. Her breath escaped in short pants, excitement shortening her breath. She often stumbled and would fall to her knees, but none of it phased her. It seemed like no time at all before she saw her home come into view. There, at the entryway, stood her mother with a less than pleased expression etched onto the features of her face. However, she paid no mind, rushing up to the waiting woman and clinging to her leg.
"Young lady!" Her mother's voice was reproachful. "Where have you been? And why are you covered in dirt?!"
Eyes filled with worry, the child's mother stared down at her as her tiny fists bunched up the fabric of her robes. "Mommy! Mommy!"
Gazing down at her child, the mother took in her short pixie hair, which curled cutely just below her ears, and her big eyes that regarded her with wonder, both tinted the color of the sea. The worry that reflected in her eyes seemed completely lost on the child and slowly, despite herself, the mother's furrowed brow began to smooth, her eyes soften, and a smile settled on her lips.
She let out a hopeless sigh. "Yes, sweetie?"
"When I grow up," even during the middle of the day, the little girl's eyes reflected the stars. "I wanna be a hero!"
On this day, in mid March, the start of Spring brings new beginnings.
A/N: Ah, beginnings are always the hardest to write! Starting this gave me a bit of trouble...
Well, I feel that I should explain the title!
The title is (of course) "To Get Her in Spring". It's a play on words. When trying to come up with a name for this story, I remembered how when I was in Kindergarten, I had a tough time spelling the word 'together'. During the middle of a spelling test I started crying because I didn't know how to spell it, so when my friend asked why I was crying and I told her why, she spelled the word for me. Well, someone in my class overheard our conversation and told the teacher that I was cheating. Naturally, I got in trouble! xD
My mom wasn't too happy, either. But, when I told her I didn't know how to spell 'together' she told me: "It's a mix of three words you already know how to spell: to, get, and her." Of course, I felt like an idiot, because when she put it that way it seemed so obvious! :P
All that being said, the title is officially "To Get Her in Spring", but it can also be read as "Together in Spring".
Well, there's my little tidbit for the day! xD
I also feel the need to mention that I intend to make this a bit of a slow burn. I don't really know how it's going to progress, but I'm not a huge fan of forced romantic plot lines or "love at first sight" type stories. I don't know...we'll see how it goes! I'll also try really hard to keep the integrity of the original My Hero Academia story. I'm not a huge fan of when OCs steal the spotlight, so to speak, from the main characters. Every story has moments that's crucial for a character's development, so I'll try not to impede on those moments.
...I hope all of this is making sense... ;;
For now, I'll be rating the story as T, but depending on how the story progresses it may eventually go to M, so keep that in mind.
Anyway, I'll leave it at that for now! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Please comment and tell me what you think! Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see or if there's anything I can improve on! I love to read what you all have to say!
Stay tuned for the next chapter! :)