Green Gentleman

SevenRenny

Her uncle sent her off with his own daughter out of town. She wasn't sure what her parents were busy with, or why she needed to stay at her uncle's, or why she had to go on a kid's camping trip. Uncle said she'd like it. Said she could play and make lots of friends. She'd stuff her bag and hugged him goodbye before she hopped onto the bus. Some of the kids reminded her of the noisy ones she had to meet with at kindergarten, but the majority was silent, focused on their bags. She got to see mountains and lakes and the tops of houses as the bus drove on. The girl in the seat next to hers was shy but tried to make small talk. She was from another school a bit away. Hardly anyone knew each other on the bus, which would explain why most didn't talk.

Maybe, just maybe, summer camp wouldn't be so bad. Outdoor games and social events. Heck, maybe this was the thing she needed! She wouldn't be able to do these things years later! As the bus nosedived down the hill, she swore she'd collect as many memories.

They were assigned teachers and groups to work with and a schedule to follow. The smell of grass and wild dirt and natural bark reminded her just how far away she was from home. In her ten years of life, she never felt so distant from her parents. Maybe it was the sudden change in location, or perhaps the new adults that supervised the activities? Or maybe it was the new… everything.

The teaching area was sectioned off from the woods with direction signs to keep kids from exploring, though she did witness a teacher walk back with two boys who had tried to slip out. Wooden directions read: Swimming. Watersports. Canoe Zone. Wildlife Adventure. Hike Trail. Cabin. The lake sloshed back and forth by the bay where long canoes were waiting. Some groups were already paddling away from afar. Each cabin had numbered flags. The girls' side was closer to the lake than the boys.

She was on the bottom of the bunk bed. Someone had abandoned their stuff on the top one, marking the territory as taken. Most of the activity was outside as kids got to mingle. She had to go out there. She liked meeting people. Hopefully, they were friendly. Another bus arrived a few hours just as she finished putting away her things. New kids descended and went to the side of the bus to collect their belongings.

"Alright. Come fetch your bags, everyone," an employee said, walking to the side of the bus and opening the luggage holding area. "There's the other side, okay?"

One kid climbed down the bus, lost his footing on the last step and almost face planted if he hadn't grabbed onto the door. Chuckles irrupted and the poor lad scrambled to get out in a hurry, jostling around his backpack as he did so.

…

Her lifejacket made it slightly difficult to perform specific movements, but it was required and after a while, she didn't mind it or the rubbery sound it made every so often. She had to go along with one teacher who seemed to have the Quirk and physical features of an otter. The four-person canoe didn't feel as sturdy as she'd hoped it would be. It did hold, and the teacher didn't seem alarmed with how it wobbled nonstop. Getting in wasn't the most taxing part. Synchronized paddling, turned out, needed cooperation and trust. The ones in front couldn't see the peddlers at the back and would often check to see if they were doing their part.

Being at the very back, she got a few undeserved look-backs. It wasn't long into the lesson when the teacher seemed to be more interested in something happening in the distance. Something funny, perhaps, with the way she chuckled. It wasn't until they had to dock that Ochaco found out a group's canoe had capsized. Another group had to help the fallen victims up and flip the canoe upright. Nobody in that group was happy when they came back drenched.

"Do I need to ask?" her teacher asked the one that had been on that failed lesson.

He flapped his hat to clear it of dripping water, then slapped it back on. "Kid reached down. Other kid did the same and fell in. Third kid tried to pull him up and... Well..."

"Ah."

"Yeah. Okay, boys, go get dried up," he instructed tiredly. "We'll try again next time."

From the looks of it, two of the wet boys had managed to get to know each other, teasing one another and racing to their cabin. The third simply stripped off his lifejacket while going at his own pace, leaving a wet trail behind him.

…

With nature came bugs, and healthy bugs were large and crawled over wooden floors of their cabin sanctuary. Her roommates found two fast spiders, a wasp that managed to get stuck inside with them (which caused panic when it couldn't find the way out on its own), and a shiny beetle Ochaco took the time to show it the way out by blocking its path with a skinny notebook. For all the horns it had, it was a gentleman of an intruder, being the least threatening thing that slipped in so far. The lazy gentleman shimmied away from her wall of paper, out the cabin door, and clumsily tumbled down the short steps. It landed on its back, spinning in an attempt to get up but only managing to graze the floor with the tips of its feet. She helped flip it back upright with a flick of her notebook. It crawled away to go dig into the dirt somewhere.

Most of the kids were resting indoors after canoeing lesson right after the long bus trip. A small number were out exploring the camp area. A map stuck to a wooden sign showed a path for a sort of park. Groups of new friends would trot by along a grassless path. An individual boy followed that path, looking down at an open notebook in front of him as he walked on autopilot. It was the boy that almost face-planted at the bus, and also the one from the training team that capsized earlier. A loner, perhaps? Or just shy. She imagined it was harder to mingle when one wasn't too brave in front of strangers.

It looked like he wasn't watching his footing, with how focused he was on his notebook and pen. He was like a clumsy beetle, going somewhere but nowhere in particular. And like a beetle, he wasn't watching the steps. How and when she got near him, she couldn't tell. She was, however, glad to be there. For a split second, it looked like he was unaware his foot made no contact with the ground as the floor cut down sharply to the next step. He managed a yelp when wind from gravity blew in his face and he almost did the splits if she hadn't slapped him on the shoulder.

She would've laughed at the comedic moment if it wasn't for the horrified look on his face. He flailed like a fly caught in a spider's loose web.

A giggle escaped her. "Sorry I used my Quirk on you without asking." She ignored the look of utter confusion on his face and manually rearranged him to stand.

"Uh…" His brain hadn't caught on yet.

"It would've been bad luck if you fell. Are you okay?"

"I, uh… yeah." He took a look at his surroundings. "Thanks. I … Um…Where am I? I think I spaced out."

If aliens would've beamed him up, he wouldn't have noticed with how hard he was engrossed in that notebook of his.

"Just outside camp. What were you doing, there? You looked like you were thinking really hard." She knocked at her own head playfully.

"Oh. This?" He flipped a few pages to show how busy he had been. "I'm used to writing things down. It's, uh, not that busy around here. And there's no internet. There's… ah, there's that."

"You're that bored?" She chuckled.

An awkward laugh slipped out of him. "I just, you know… my mom and I thought a little change might be good for me. Thought I spent too much time on the internet."

She hummed. "Do you?"

"…yeah." He sighed in defeat.

Wanting to cheer him up, she walked ahead while still looking back at him. "There's a park up ahead. Wanna go see it? Might be fun!"

He blinked, surprised, maybe because she was still talking to him, or maybe she simply caught him off guard. He glanced at his notebook, then back at her, as if deciding which to choose. He hugged the notebook and stepped forward. "I… yeah." He gained the courage to go with her. "Yeah. Okay!"

He was shy, but brave.

The steps ended at a grassy field with a shallow river the shape of a hand. Smaller streams branched out from the palm like fingers. Tadpoles wiggled in groups over river stone. The grass was untrimmed and the longer parts reached their thighs. The 'park' wasn't much of a park, but a nature activity area. The more steady part of the river had handmade rock platforms for those wanting to pass over. Wooden poles sat at either side of the rover, holding on to loose rope. A cut of wood floated over the water with the rope going through rings at either end of the wooden squire to prevent it from going anywhere but back and forth. The platform was in the center of the river, bobbing away ay waves.

"How does…?" Ochaco got closer to check if she was missing something from this 'game'. There was no extra rope to pull it in. there was none.

The boy held the loose rope. "I think I got it." He pushed the rope up, tightening it. The platform moved to the other side of the river at a slow pace, gravity keeping it doing as the rope through its rings tightened.

"Is that it?" It seemed like some play area put together in a hurry. The river was shallow, so she only had to worry over getting her shows soggy. It didn't feel much of a puzzle after seeing it solved so easily. "Oh! Hold on!" She hopped on the rocky steps to get to the other side, then carefully got on the wobbly platform. The size of it said it wouldn't hold an actual person without sinking, but to her surprise, it held on. The surface dipped occasionally, but it held nonetheless. She had to pull on the rope to sail to get to the other side, and after reaching the middle, she noticed the boy holding the end of the rope steady to help her cross.

"Aaaaand–" She hopped off and landed on grass proudly. The platform wobbled and slowly drifted back to the center of the river. "Made it!"

He looked happy to see her pleased.

…

She never got his name. She told herself she would next time. He was polite – too polite to be alone. She thought she'd see him after the next canoeing lesson. The lesson didn't go as planned. She was supposed to explore the lake with a partner. She waited by the canoe, her teacher near with a list of student names to pick from. She found him where the teams were supposed to depart, sitting on a log. He was in his orange lifejacket, swinging his feet about.

"Hey!" She plopped down near him.

"Hey."

"What's wrong? I thought the boys left already," she said with a curious head tilt.

He sighed. "Yeah, Teacher is having trouble finding some of the guys."

She waited for him to add more, but he didn't. He didn't want to say he got forgotten by his busy teacher.

Her otter teacher eyed them from the corner, holding the clipboard to seem distracted. She scratched the back of her neck and made a tired sigh that sounded exaggerated. "Alright, you two. Get friendly and grab them paddles."

"What?" Ochaco couldn't help but ask.

"You gotta be busy around here." The teacher ruffled the boy's already crazy hair. "Can't leave anyone with nothing to do, eh?"

Excited, she grabbed his hands and shook them. He sheepishly reassured her he was coming.

"Do you want the back or the front?" She asked, looping an emergency whistle around her neck.

"I don't mind. Would you like to steer?"

He held onto the canoe so she could climb in safely. The second he tried to get in, his foot got caught on the lip of the canoe and he almost dove head first at her back.

"Sorry! Sorry!"

She laughed when she was sure he wasn't actually hurt. "Are you okay? Do you need any help?"

"It's okay – I've got it!"

She hoped he did. He was… clumsy, but he made it in. They had until unset, they were told. Alright. Enough time to enjoy the breeze. He was Izuku Midoriya; such a green name for a green looking fella. Fluffy coot chicks followed behind a bigger bird through the water's surface. A mosquito glided on the water with its legs spread out. It sprung out of the canoe's way. Waves chopped at the sides. Her paddle had some resistance as the water's hands waved at her stick. Heavy branches dropped down from tall bushes, the tips skimming the surface. Long grass jabbed out of the blanket of glaze. Lilly pads parted and she saw them drift by the sides of the canoe. She'd unknowingly steered them into a swampy-looking area, more enclosed by lands of tall grass protruding from the water.

He kept it surprisingly steady. They'd sometimes not row and just sit back to relax. Droopy grass curved over the path in a sort of upside-down U shape.

He was awfully quiet, as if no one was there at all. She glanced back, and he was physically there. His eyes looked at nothing in particular. His attention was directed to the side, at the tall grass, but was blurry and was unfocused. He had intelligent eyes, but there was too much grassy detail to take in all at once.

"You okay back there?" She let the paddle rest over her lap.

"Hmm?" he hummed without looking at her immediately.

"You're thinking too hard again," she reminded him half playfully.

"Hmm. Oh." He blinked and glanced at her briefly before looking around again like he'd miss something important. "Sorry. Can't help it."

"It's fine! It's cute. Whatcha thinking about?"

He blushed and his shoulders hitched shyly. "It's silly. Just… you know, everything. Just wondering how small we really are."

"Small?"

"Yeah. Everything looks really big here. Grass. Fish. Everything. I forget there are places like this out there. It's very pretty." A reminder the world was bigger than what was first envisioned.

Shadowy lines passed over their heads. Tree branches above held numerous twiggy heron nests that were empty at the moment. Up ahead, an overgrown bush was leaning over their path. Ochaco had to bend back fully and look up at the sky to let the few branches pass over her. The boy didn't have space behind him and had to bend forward with his paddle tucked into his stomach and blushing face next to her.

"Yeah," she said, giggling. "Very pretty."

He blushed even more and got up abruptly as soon as the branches passed over him.

…

Canoeing with him was nice. He was nice, so it was all nice. Through the later days, she ate prepared food with him, roasted marshmallows and cheered whatever side he was on when the boys played tug-o-war, even though he was the runt of the group. He was jumpy and timid, but kind and sweet. He had a hidden flare behind those eyes, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

It was midnight. Everyone should've been in bed. Her roommate got out of the bed above her and came down the steps. Ochaco was a heavy sleeper, but the squeak of the bed, the steps, and the jostling of her own bed alerted her something was going on.

She lifted her head, rubbed the sleep out her eyes to see her roommates huddled by the window.

"Wha's goin on?" she slurred.

"Boys at cabin Four are up. Teacher's checking it out."

An electrical zap went through Ochaco's mind. Cabin Four. That was Midoriya's. She slipped out of bed and squeezed past shoulders to get a look. The lights were on. The boys' teacher walked out, dragging her friend in one hand and another boy in the other. It was too dark to see what was exactly going on. The teacher didn't have to pull out the other two students. They both came out on their own. After what seemed like a few minutes of scolding, some of the boys from other cabins had to bring out their belongings to switch places with a few of the boys.

A fight had happened, she later heard. She couldn't believe it. Midoriya wasn't one to start a fight. It had to have been the other boys. Midoriya was too… docile. She wanted to know the full story, but she also couldn't shake it out of him. She knew this must've rattled him – muddied his mood. So when they got ready to head out on their usual canoeing activity, she had to ask: "Are you sure you wanna go today?"

He looked confused, then eased. "Yeah, it's okay. I guess you heard what happened last night."

"Little bit of it. Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, right?" She looked him over, just to be sure. Bruising on the elbow.

Fluttered by her concern, he laughed nervously. "No, no. I'm fine."

Her teacher flipped a paper from her clipboard. "You still going out there, kid?"

Izuku didn't seem to know if she was talking to him until she looked over at him. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I'm ready to go."

She eyed him for a few seconds. "Alright. Oh and just a reminder," she said. "Call a teacher next time your roommates act like hooligans. I know you wanted to be a hero and all, but you didn't exactly help."

His shoulders sagged and he looked down shamefully. "I know…"

The teacher snorted. "With that said, your heart's in the right place. I'll see you both later."

He looked stunned as the teacher walked away.

"What… what'd she mean?" Ochaco asked carefully.

He looked down while explaining. "My roommates kept picking on this one roommate. I got angry they wouldn't leave him alone. It's stupid, I know. It didn't involve me but…"

"But you got involved?" she finished for him.

He gave a node. "I couldn't help it… I couldn't just sit there..."

"But that's a good thing, isn't it?" she said.

"Eh?"

"You wanted to help! That's super cool!" She pointed at his chest. "Teacher's right. Heart in the right place!"

A flare was in his heart.

A heart bigger than his little body.

…

"Are you coming back next break?" she asked him, giving the water one more push. They bobbed over gentle waves. Ducks swam from afar.

He scooted forward and popped open the storage compartment from the middle seat. "I'm not… not sure? Think it depends? Haven't thought of it. Will you come back?" He picked out a water bottle and offered her one over her shoulder.

She laced the paddle over her lap and took it. "Thanks! Will I come back… Not sure? I might be back with my parents then." The bottle wasn't cold. "I'm gonna miss doing this with you!"

"…yeah, me too."

They had a few days to spend. They'd spend it wisely.

A paddle suddenly whacked the corner of her seat. She almost choked on her water. She turned to him in alarm.

He was holding up his paddle. "I'm sorry! Spider, I didn't know what to say–"

That word made her scoot away up abruptly from where he'd aimed. "Where?" She almost shrieked, holding her paddle tightly to smack it if she needed to.

"I… I think it went under the seat… Hold on – let me–" He shoveled around to scrape it out from underneath and nervously drop it over bending branches.

Catching spiders was not the wisest of ways to spend the remaining time, but they got a laugh, and a little bit of scare, out of it.

…

The teachers helped coordinate the kids as they packed their bags and waited for their buses. His ride would leave first. He strapped on his backpack, ready for the long ride home.

"I'll see you," he said hopefully.

She couldn't help herself. She squeezed him. "I'm gonna miss you!" She'd hugged friends before. Ones from school. They never turned so… pink in the face.

He was interesting.

She saw him sit at the back of the bus and waved wildly at him. He waved back and the bus started moving. She speed walked while waving, then ran for a bit and yelled: "I won't forget about you, okay?" with a wide smile.

She slowed to a stop. She wouldn't know if he heard her.

…

Ochaco never did see that kid from a few years back. She had that photo they gave her when she took that trip. Her and him and that old, beat-up canoe they always used. She thought of taking the photo, as well as photos of her parents, with her when she needed to move out. If she needed to move out. It wasn't clear if she would need to rent an apartment yet or not. She wasn't even sure if UA would accept someone like her.

Most likely not, but it was worth trying. Even if the possibility of rejection was high, she could tell herself she at least tried.

UA looked intimidating. She had to compete with so many people for the spot. Okay. Just calm down. No use worrying over it. She was sure she wasn't the only one overthinking. Look at that boy! He looked like he was overthinking hard… and… not… watching his footing. Oh dear.

The second she touched his shoulder, a trickle of information leaked at the back of her mind.

"Are you okay?" She kindly helped him up.

"I…"

A few more trickles.

He looked confused, stunned… the same.

The dame broke and it all came flooding.

"It's you!" They both yelled at the same time.

She laughed and grabbed his sleeves in her explosion of joy. "I can't believe it! It's really you, right? Do you remember me?"

"You're – you're Uraraka! From – from that trip!" He released a breathless laugh. "What… what are you…? Are you ta–"

"Taking the exam. Yep!" She smiled.

His cheeks blushed. "… so cool."

She assumed he meant the idea of them taking the same exam.

They had the same battle center for the practical test, and she got to see how cool he really was. She knew he had a flare. Seeing it was a whole different experience. He was shy but still very brave.

Notes:

-Not sure if I'll be able to post more things for Izuocha Week. I have half-written ideas but not enough time to finish them all. I might post them later but it depends on what Life might throw at me.