Workout
So quick note! Thanks for all the support on the first chapter on this series! I love writing it, and I can't wait to keep it going! I realized the entire last chapter I said Uraraka's name as 'Ochaco' instead of 'Ochako' like it's listed on this sit! So I went back and changed it, so it should be all good now!
Anyways, more shenanigans with Izuku and Ochako today! It'll be great! Also, Don't forget to review! Enjoy this chapter!
Ochako jolted awake when her alarm went off at five o'clock. She just sat in confusion for a moment, not processing why there was a blaring alarm in her ear so early in the morning. Then, she remembered that she was training with Izuku today.
With a groan, she shut off her alarm before laying back down on her bed, breathing out sharply.
Can I just- She cut herself off mid thought, No, If I want to become strong like Deku, this is where it starts. Ochako forced herself out of bed and over to her dresser, and was met with her first real dilema.
Ochako had never really worked out outside of Hero Basic Training. As she looked at her wardrobe, she realized that she really had no idea what to wear.
A track suit? But what if I get hot? Maybe a sports bra and shorts then? But it's cold in the morning… Ochako mentally argued with herself. Looking over at her clock, it read five fifteen.
"Eek!" Ochako squealed in surprise, not realizing how much time she had sat staring at her clothes. In a panic, she just threw on a sports bra and loose tank top and shorts. She fixed her bedhead, not wanting Izuku to see her in a messy state, before rushing out the door. She went down a floor to the main level, where Izuku was waiting at the entrance to the 1-A dorm.
"Good-" She was interrupted by a yawn, "Morning" she finished.
"Not used to waking up so early, huh?" Izuku teased. Izuku was wearing a simple green and white tracksuit.
"I guess not." Ochako responded, stifling another yawn. There was a moment of awkward silence. Izuku was the one to break it.
"Wanna go?" He said, pointing to the door behind him.
"Sure, yeah."
The two made their way down to the beach nearby in awkward silence, neither knowing what to start a conversation about. Ochako's thoughts drifted, as they tended to do when she was alone with Izuku.
I'm really glad he's okay. She thought. In the time she had been waiting in the doctor's room, so many anxieties had filled her mind, even now that Izuku was perfectly fine, she couldn't help but think about what could have happened. And how she hadn't been able to stop it.
That's why I'm here. Ochako clenched her fist, clearing her mind and choosing to focus on the task at hand.
"Here we are." Izuku said, throwing down his water bottle on the sand right by the steps.
"What's the route? I know you're faster than me and I don't want to drag you down." Ochako asked.
"It's just to the other end of the beach and back. That's four miles. And I'll keep with you until you finish your part. What's the point of working out together if I just leave you behind?"
Ochako felt uneasy, as if she were limiting him, but she wasn't going to tell him no. The more time she could spend with Izuku, the better.
"Okay, I think I'm ready." Ochako said, steeling herself and concentrating on the task ahead of her.
"Okay." And with that, Izuku took off at a light jog. Ochako took a moment to realize that he had started, and rushed to catch up. She fell in beside him, matching his running pace. She spaced her breathing, trying to conserve as much air as possible. She also kept her footsteps at a constant pace, humming a familiar tune in her head.
As she ran, she started to relax, tension in her shoulders and posture disappearing as she ran. Even though she was in close proximity to Izuku, she didn't find herself becoming flustered as she normally did around him. Possibly it was the constant thud of her feet on the sand, or the fact that she was pretty spaced out, lost in thought.
Ochako and Izuku continued to jog, and before they even got to the end of the beach to turn around, Ochako was starting to feel tired.
Guess I'm more out of shape than I thought I was… she realized as her breaths became sharper, her legs slower. She took the fastest pace she could without turning it into a sprint. They got to the turnaround point, and Ochako was starting to feel the burning in her calves.
By the time they were at the three mile point, she was sweating up a storm, all of her energy focused on making it all the way to the four mile mark. Her lungs were straining and her breaths were shallow, but she was determined to finish it out.
Ochako could see the finish point now, and her lungs were burning. Her calves felt like they were going to fall off, and she was soaked with sweat. She could feel the heat on her face.
When Ochako finally crossed the finish line, she nearly collapsed into the sand, breathing hard. Izuku jogged up next to her, running in place.
"I'm going to do my other four miles. Get some water and don't lay down. Your muscles will cramp up." Izuku didn't even sound winded, and when he turned around, he was going at least twice the speed that he had been going when he was running with Ochako.
Wow...Deku is so amazing… she thought to herself, forcing herself to stand up. She walked over to the staircase where she dropped her stuff, and realized something.
I forgot water! She realized with a panic. She was parched and felt like she was going to die if she didn't drink something soon. She looked around, and saw Izuku's water.
"Deku, I hope you don't mind." She panted, reaching over and picking up his water bottle, and taking two long gulps from it.
"Ahh… better." She said, dropping the bottle back to the sand where it was. She then proceeded to walk around in circles with her hands up behind her head to clear her airway and catch her breath.
Izuku made it back from his segment extremely quickly. While Ochako had taken about thirty five minutes to run the four miles, it had taken Izuku a mere twenty-four. And that was after he had already run the four miles with Ochako. Now, he was breathing a little harder, but still not panting like Ochako had.
"More out of shape...than you thought...huh?" He said, walking over to his water bottle. He eyed it, seeing it was only two thirds full.
"Sorry." She said sheepishly, "I forgot my water and I was really thirsty." Izuku shrugged.
"It's alright." He paused, putting the water bottle up to his lips and draining the entire thing. "I brought a big one today anyways, and I can refill it before the next part."
"What's next?" Ochako tried to keep her tiredness out of her tone.
"Well, I was going to say weightlifting," He paused, "But then I realized you don't really have to do that, do you? You can change the weight of anything you want, and anything you can't make weightless you can just lighten to where you can carry it." Izuku nearly started a muttering storm, but caught himself, "But for now let's just sit down for a break. You look tired."
"I thought you'd never ask." Ochako groaned, crashing into the sand next to Izuku, taking a much needed rest. Izuku slowly sat down next to her, resting his hand on his knee. As if the sun had been waiting for this moment, it peeked over the horizon, pulling above the distant waves of the ocean.
"Would you look at that." Izuku said, voice distant as he stared at the sunrise.
"It almost seems…" Ochako stopped herself, realizing what she had been about to say. Romantic… the word echoed in her head, and a blush surged to her face. Ochako looked down for a moment and realized that her hand was not even away from Izuku's. She let it stay there, not daring to move it.
Izuku didn't even seem to notice that Ochako trailed off, as if he were lost in his own thoughts.
"This beach is really pretty, don't you think?" Ochako struck up a conversation, "It's amazing that they cleaned it up." Izuku seemed taken off guard by her comment, as it broke him from his suptor.
"Yeah. Actually, the government didn't clean it up. One person did." Ochako laughed, before she realized he wasn't joking.
"No way one person could have cleaned up all that!" She exclaimed, "How long would that have taken?"
"Oh I'd say about...ten months." He said matter-of-factly.
"No way! You're wrong." Ochako looked over and saw Izuku smirking.
"I'm pretty sure I'm right." He had the look on his face like he knew something she didn't.
"After all, I'm the one that cleaned it up." He said. Any inclination of joking was absent from his joke, and Ochako knew he was telling the truth.
"Deku? You cleaned up the beach? How? Why?" She was in disbelief.
"That's a story for another time. But yes. And it took about ten months."
"That's amazing! You really changed this entire part of the city, all by yourself!" Izuku blushed, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"It's really-"
"No that's so cool! So many people use this beach now! People go down to the beach all the time from school!" Ochako jumped up. "I gotta tell everyone!" she turned to leave.
"Wait!" Izuku grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"What?"
"First of all, nobody's awake right now. Secondly..." He trailed off. When he spoke again his voice was softer, "I'd like to keep this under the radar. I only told you because I trust you."
Ochako's breath caught in her throat.
He only told me because he trusts me? Ochako tried her best to suppress a blush
"Oh." was all she could muster, not trusting her voice after the compliment she just got. Izuku stood up.
Ochako didn't know what came over her. Maybe it was the fact that she had just done it last night, maybe she was feeling a bit risky, but as soon as Izuku was on his feet, Ochako threw her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.
"Thanks for being so amazing, Deku." She said softly into his ear before pulling away. His face was as red as hers felt.
"I-It's really n-nothing." He stuttered out. Ochako laughed a little bit at the awkwardness. There was some silence for a few moments. Izuku looked genuinely shocked by the sudden gesture.
"W-well, what else can we do?" She finally asked, breaking the silence. Izuku shook himself back to reality.
"Well, since you don't really need to weightlift, I guess we could go practice our quirks." Izuku suggested, then frowned, "I don't really know how we would do that together though…"
"We'll see how it goes. Let's just go to the practice field." Ochako said, skipping away, revitalized. Izuku followed behind.
The entire class of 1-A was sitting in the common room on the third level of the dorm building, chatting and eating a light breakfast. Luckily for them, it was a weekend and they didn't have to worry about any sort of internships or classes.
"Has anyone seen Uraraka this morning?" Tooru asked as she walked into the room. Everyone was used to not seeing Izuku in the morning, but Ochako was a different story.
"She's not in her room?" Tsuyu asked.
"Not from what I saw." Tooru replied, walking over to the coffee table and plopping down on the couch.
"That is odd. Maybe she's visiting family for the weekend?" Kyoka suggested.
"Nope. I see her." Denki said from his seat by the window. He seemed to be looking outside at the ground below them, and he was smirking.
"What? Uraraka never gets up early! What's she doing outside at this hour?" Tsuyu asked, jumping up and walking over to the door.
"Well, she's not alone." Denki said smugly. That caught everyone's attention. Everyone ran up to the tall window and peered out of it, except for Bakugo, who just stayed in his spot, scowling.
"She's with…"
"Izuku?"
"Why is she with Izuku?" Everyone chatted up a storm.
"Are they...dating?"
"Did she finally confess?"
"Did he?" Bakugo started to get annoyed with all of his annoying classmates.
"Would all of you dumbasses stop talking over each other? It's annoying as hell!" He fumed, shutting everyone up, before they all turned to each other and talk in hushed tones.
"Does anyone have any idea what's going on here?" Kirishima asked. Everyone shook their heads.
"Maybe it has to do with Izuku being in the hospital yesterday? She was in there with him alone…"
"Guys, look. They're not going to the dorms." Denki said, pointing out the window. Indeed, the two walked away from the entrance to the dorm rooms in the direction of the practice fields.
"Where are they going?"
"Why are they alone?"
"Everyone!" Iida said, stopping all conversation, "You are all overreacting. I'm sure they just went out to do something. It's no big deal. Even if it is romantic, you should all know better than to pry into other people's romantic lives!" Iida scolded them, acting as the police, as he normally did.
Everyone shared sheepish glances with each other, feeling a bit chastised. Then, miraculously, Iida smirked.
"I do admit I am a bit curious however." The rest of the class looked at him in confusion, "What? Am I not allowed to be a little curious?" People nervously laughed, not sure what to do.
"If we're going to do something, can we get to it, instead of skirting around it?" a monotone voice said from the edge of the group. Everyone looked over and noticed that it was Shouto Todoroki who had made the comment. It took a moment for the surprise that even he was interested in the situation to wear off.
"I-I have a plan." Tokoyami said. Eyes turned to him. "Instead of just waiting for us to notice something or following them and invading their privacy, how about we just talk to them?"
"Aww that's no fun!" Tooru protested.
"It is the most respectful way of going about it though." Iida pointed out, rubbing his chin, "I do not know when we would be able to get them alone though…"
"How about the girls wait in Uraraka's dorm and the guys wait in Midoriya's dorm and we talk to them individually when they get back from...whatever they're doing." Ojiro suggested.
"That would work…"
"But that's no fun!" Tooru protested again.
"It is the most logical plan of action." Iida said,humming "Yes, I approve of this plan. This way we can figure out what's going on without invading their privacy!" He seemed to agree more to the plan as he spoke.
"One problem...how do we get in the rooms?" Tsuyu asked, addressing the elephant in the room.
"That isn't a problem." Tokoyami said, "Dark shadow can fit under the crack under the door and pull the handle from the inside."
"Well, it's a plan! We do have some time before they come back, but we definitely need someone on watch duty." Mina said.
"Operation: get Ochako and Izuku to stop avoiding their feelings is a go!"
Izuku and Uraraka finally made it to the quirk practice field. Initially, Izuku had been worried and nervous about spending so much alone time with Uraraka, but as time went on, he found himself relaxing. Uraraka was one of the few people he felt like he didn't need to put on a face for. He could be himself.
He threw down his recently refilled water bottle on the side and grabbed his new gloves from his bag, slipping them on his hands.
"What are those, Deku?" Uraraka asked.
Oh right...nobody except for Mei and All Might know about the gloves Izuku realized. Well, if anyone can keep a secret, it's her. I'll try to not divulge too much.
"Oh umm... these are to help me control something new I've learned about my quirk." Izuku said. Uraraka eyed him.
"What do you mean?" She asked, obviously confused.
How do I say this without giving away how my quirk works?
"Well, it would be easier to show you." Izuku said. That way he could show her without worrying about telling her how he did it.
Izuku channeled the power of One For All through his body, switching on the power. He felt his muscles and body strengthen and then with a flash of green lightning, "Full Cowling!" Whenever he activated full cowling, it felt like he needed to move. He couldn't stand still with all of the energy coursing through his body.
There's five percent Izuku told himself, then opened the door, letting a little more power through the floodgate, feeling the immense power on the other side. He let the energy disperse in his body, bringing him to eight percent. He could physically feel his muscles swell, causing his previously loose shirt feel tight.
Izuku bounced lightly from one foot to the other, not able to sit still any longer.
Okay here it goes. Izuku thought to himself, holding his hand in a flicking gesture. Focus. Just a split second. Only let that power for a moment.
Steeling himself, Izuku let a trickle of energy though the boundary once again, and he could feel his body straining for the mere moment her was at twenty percent.
Izuku flicked his finger, and forced the excess energy back away from his body.
In front of him, the wind surged, letting a blast of solid air fly from his hand, soaring across the field at hundreds of miles per hour. Izuku could see the grass flatten against the strong force, and the trees at the end of the field swayed.
The wind pressure calmed, and when he turned to Uraraka, she had a shocked expression and windswept hair.
"Deku...that was…" Uraraka started. She seemed unable to shake the shock, "That was so cool!"
Izuku laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck, "I only just learned to do it. It's mainly what I've been practicing. The problem is not destroying my finger by using too much energy."
"You just get more and more amazing, Deku!" Uraraka praised. A blushed surged to his cheeks, and he could swear he saw the same thing on her face before he turned away.
"Anyways, I don't really know what you do to practice your quirk." Izuku admitted.
"Well, I can do a few things. By conditioning, I can increase the weight limit and the amount of time I can keep something floating. There is something I've been working on, though." Uraraka said, "But it's a work in progress, so don't judge it too hard."
"I won't, I promise. What is it?"
"Here, let me show you." Uraraka walked over to Izuku's bag and picked up his water bottle. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, with a flsah, the water bottle was enveloped in a pink glow. When Uraraka let go of the water bottle, instead of falling to the ground or staying in the air like he had expected, the bottle flew. Straight up.
Izuku's mouth fell open, shocked at what he had just seen. Uraraka looked like she was really concentrating, and she was gritting her teeth. The bottle continued to accelerate into the sky, and after a while, Uraraka touched her fingers together.
"Release!" She said, letting out a held up breath. The bottle slowed down before reversing course and plummeting back to the ground.
"Uraraka! That was amazing!" Izuku praised, "What did you do?" Uraraka took her hands off her knees and looked up. Whatever it was, it had tired her out.
"The first time I did it, it was actually an accident. I can already make something weightless, or reduce its weight by a certain amount. So my quirk isn't exactly Zero Gravity, but more like gravity manipulation." Uraraka started.
"And?" Uraraka shot him a glare.
"I'm getting to it, dummy!" She chastised. Izuku felt a blush creep onto his cheeks.
"Sorry." He apologized. Uraraka just continued.
"So one day I was sitting in my room, and I was messing around on my phone. I wasn't really paying attention, and I was thinking about my quirk. It kind of just happened. One second my phone was in my hand, the next it was on the ceiling. I released it and was immediately as tired as if I had lifted an entire boulder with my quirk." Uraraka explained.
"So you can change the direction of gravity on things?" Izuku thought, astounded, "That's so powerful!" Izuku praised. This time, it was Uraraka's turn to blush.
Why is she getting flustered? Isuku thought, bewildered by her reaction.
"T-thanks but it's not really that good yet. I can barely maintain it." She said.
"Well, that's what practice is for." An idea popped into Izuku's head, and his eyes widened. "I know! Make me fall into the wall!"
"W-What?" Uraraka exclaimed.
"I said make me fall into that wall! Change my gravity! It'll help you practice, right?" Izuku suggested, excited at a chance to help Uraraka.
"Are you sure? What if you get hurt?"
"I'm sure! Come on!" Reluctantly, Uraraka walked up to Izuku. She closed her eyes again and placed her hand on Izuku's chest.
Izuku was initially taken aback by how close she was, and how borderline intimate the action was. His breath caught in his throat before he was enveloped in a pink glow. Izuku felt a surge of vertigo as he was no longer pulled down to earth, but rather flew straight towards the wall of the building next to him.
If Izuku hadn't been so flustered, he probably could have gotten his feet under him. Because he had been distracted however, he smacked right into the wall.
"Deku!" He heard Uraraka squeal. Because she had lost focus, gravity reasserted itself, causing Izuku to fall again, landing flat on his back on the grass.
"Ouch" He groaned as Uraraka rushed over, looking over him.
"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She had genuine concern in her tone.
"I'm alright, don't worry." He said, sitting up. He stood with some assistance from Uraraka, and when he got on his feet, she was literally inches from his face.
Izuku stood still fo a moment, frozen, not thinking. Uraraka took a step back, face as red as a tomato, and Izuku felt as if his was the same way.
"L-let's t-try that again." He stuttered out.
"Are you sure? You hit that wall pretty hard." Uraraka wanted to confirm.
"Yeah, I've had worse. Let's do it again. See how long you can hold it for." Uraraka walked up to him once again and placed her hand on his chest. A moment later, he was surrounded in a pink glow and started to fall towards the wall. This time, he was ready and got his feet below him. He stood up. On the wall.
"This is weird…" He muttered, looking at his surroundings. To him, Uraraka was standing on the wall, and if he stepped off the edge of the wall, he would be falling off a cliff. He saw Uraraka concentrating on keeping gravity defied.
Carefully, Izuku started to walk around on the wall, and it felt as normal as if he was walking on a sidewalk. He walked up the side of the building, getting higher and higher up. He didn't notice the pink glow fade.
Izuku gasped as gravity regained dominance and he started to fall towards the ground.
"Aah!" He yelled, panicking for a moment. He didn't have time to activate a full cowling, but he didn't feel like he needed to. The ground was coming to meet him quickly.
"Deku!" Uraraka cried. Her voice in his mind steeled his demeanor, allowing him to focus. He opened the gate, allowing the energy for ar twenty percent attack flow through his body, arriving at his fingertip. He flicked, and a blast of wind surged, hitting the ground and slowing his fall. The air blasted out in all directions from his landing point, but it slowed down his fall enough so that when he smacked into the ground, he at least didn't break anything.
Izuku just laid down on the grass for a moment, not wanting to get up. Even though he wasn't injured, it didn't mean smacking the ground with his face didn't hurt. He groaned, forcing himself up into a sitting position. He looked around the field around him for Uraraka, and when he finally spotted her, she was at least a hundred yards across the field.
Oh...the wind blast Izuku realized. He must have blasted her away with his flick meant to save himself. That fact was even more evidenced by the fact that her hair was a mess and her top was rowdy, showing much more of her stomach than she usually did.
Izuku blushed looking down at the grass right next to him.
"Deku! Are you okay?" Uraraka said, once again concerned for his well being.
She's so caring...Izuku thought to himself. Yet another thing to admire about her.
"Yeah I'm good." He said. Looking her in the eyes. She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. She looked exhausted.
"You look tired. What about we go back to the dorms." Izuku suggested. Uraraka visibly relaxed.
"I really need a nap…" She muttered as they started their walk back to the class 1-A dorm rooms.
"You look like it. It'll get better. The first week or so sucks and then it's not so bad."
"Good, because if I was this tired every day, I would never be awake for class." Uraraka joked, getting a hearty laugh from Izuku. The two walked, chatting, and even a little subtle flirting, back to the dorm building.
They arrived at the building and took the stairs to the second floor, where they parted ways with another quick hug initiated by Uraraka. Although Izuku felt awkward every time, he really enjoyed the hugs she gave him. It allowed him to be close to her, and he was happy and didn't want to pull away every time. He walked up to his door and unlocked it with his room key.
When Izuku opened the door, inside was a huge group of people lounging around.
"Uhh...hey guys? What's up? How did you get in my room?" Izuku asked, flustered at the fact that everyone was in his room, some even looking at his All Might shrine. Every guy from class 1-A was present except for Kacchan.
"We're having an intervention." Iida said.
Ochako pulled away from the hug reluctantly. Every time she hugged Izuku, she was left wanting more. She just barely held herself back from pulling him tight and not letting go. Her feelings for the young boy were starting to become unbearable, even to the point where she was considering acting on it.
But I can't let either of us get distracted She thought to herself, before groaning.
But I can't go on like this either! Ochako barely kept in a yell of frustration. She needed time alone to compose her thoughts and pick a path of action.
Ochako made it to the fourth floor and walked to her dorm room at the end of the hall. She was sweaty and tired and gross and just wanted a nap. She was surprised to see that her door was already unlocked when she turned the key on the door.
Ochako carefully opened the door, to be met with five people in her room. The five other girls of class 1-A were sitting in her room, looking at her.
"Eek! What are you all doing in my room?" She squealed, jumping.
"We're having an intervention" Tsuyu said.
There's that! A bit of a long one, huh? Yeah I got a bit carried away. I really enjoyed watching that, and I promise we will get to some actual relationship stuff soon! It won't take nearly as long as it normally takes me! I think they'll be together by chapter five, so yeah. See ya in the next one!
P.S. my LWA fic is getting the next update, I promise! I just kinda finished this one sooner, so yeah.
P.P.S. Please review! I really want some feedback on this chapter and I respond to every review! So if all you you lovely people that want to see me get better could drop a review, It would be so amazing! Thanks so much!
