Hey all, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here!

So on the last chapter, I had written down a math equation, but I forgot that FanFiction doesn't allow certain types of symbols in the stories.

Because I'm doing this on my phone mostly, I can't fix it until I can re-copy the story on a computer and re-write the problem out.

Sorry. I haven't written a blog since my Verapollo one in a while.

Anyways, I hope you all can enjoy!

(Transitional Thingy Lol)

Day 5 of 21

Wednesday

- POV - Deku -

I walked down the hallway to the Hero Class in the morning, prepared for another intensive practice day. Why did I have to confuse and alienate Uraraka yesterday...

I am extremely frustrated. I feel like now I have to explain why my crying fit happened, and I'll probably have to lie to cover that up as well.

Once again, I haven't told or intentionally hinted to anybody that I had acquired my quirk and that I wasn't born with it. The only people who I did tell were Bakugo and my mother.

(A/N: a reviewer noted something in the last chapter, and to respond, I know. Neither the manga or the anime have a scene where Inko Midoriya was told about One For All. I'm aware, but I added this in myself.)

I'll have to explain this to Iida as well, which I don't know if that's going to make me feel any better. I'm going to summarize the story so I feel like I'm lying less.

I arrived at the classroom early, and I saw most of everyone there. I walked up to Uraraka's desk. "Hey, I want to apologize for shutting you out last night."

"A-Ah! D-Deku!"

"Shh!" I said. I looked around, and everyone else were in groups, chatting. "I want to explain this and tell you something."

"Okay..." I got in close. Hmm... normally I'd be nervous about this closeness. But the gravity of the situation makes it less difficult.

It seemed that the roles had been reversed. Uraraka looked extremelt uncomfortable. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah... go on."

"When you hugged me last night... it reminded me of when my mother hugged me one time."

"W-When...?"

I paused. Maybe I don't have to lie. "When I was young, I watched the viral video of All Might saving people from a fire over and over and over again."

"Oh, I know which one that was."

"And when I watched it later on, I asked my mother: 'Can I be a hero too?' And she hugged me, bawling her eyes out."

Uraraka's face looked sad again, but she maintained self-control. "I'm s-sorry..."

"Please don't mention these things to anyone. Not even do I want to be reminded if possible. Okay?"

I looked at her face, and she was staring into my eyes. The look was very neutral. She smiled. "Okay."

I could still see the pity in her eyes as I went to my seat.

(Transitional Thingy Lol)

- POV - Iida -

Momo had called me last night. It was the first time I had gotten a girl's number, and the first time I've called one too. In fact, I've never dated. So I'll admit I was a nervous wreck at first.

But anyways, she asked me what it was about.

*flashback*

"Hey, Iida. What did you want to ask me about at lunch?"

"So, you know about Uraraka's crush on Midoriya, correct?"

"Right. I sort of found out at the incident that happened when I couldn't save her and Izuku stepped in."

"Yeah, about that... this is going to sound weird..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you dating anybody?"

I could practically hear the blood rushing to her face. "N-No, not now!"

"Have you ever dated somebody?"

"Y... Yeah. I've had a few boyfriends in middle school..."

"Perfect. I was expecting you'd say that."

"O-Oh, thanks." Yeah, I totally sound like I'm hitting on her now. Keep it related to Uraraka.

"Uraraka is coming to me for almost everything, and while I can handle most of it, I really don't know the... behavioral side? I don't know how to describe it."

"So you're saying you want me to help her with her social stuff? Like how she acts, what she says and what make-up she wears?"

"Sort of. I already do a lot of things. I got her to help tutor him in math yesterday, I can encourage and reassure her to the best of my ability, and I can gove her some advice. But I'm sure you know more."

"Don't worry, I know what you're talking about, and I know you're not trying to pin this whole thing on me."

"Yeah. The problem is how we're going to tell her you know."

"Good point. What should we do?"

I pondered for a bit. She might be tutoring Izuku again today, so maybe we could do it... over dinner?

No, Momo would think I'm trying to hit on her. Maybe just a simple dorm meeting? That'll do.

"We could just meet at my dorm around 6:30 to explain it to her."

"That's close to dinnertime. Would you want to go someplace and grab food while we do it? With Uraraka, of course."

WHAT?! "U-Uh... sure! Sounds good!"

"Where do you want to go?"

"I'll ask Uraraka and she'll decide with me. I'll text you later."

"That sounds great! Talk to you later!"

"Bye!" I closed my phone. Did she just read my mind?

*flashback ends*

So now, later today, I'm going to be going to grab some food with Uraraka and Momo to explain that she already knows. We have a new kind of "guidance counselor" for Uraraka, I guess.

I'm thankful. It takes some of the heat off of me, as sometimes Uraraka would text me questions I don't know the answee to late at night.

I hope she doesn't do this to Momo, but maybe they can be answered at the restuarant, or when they meet up in the future.

Back to the "now", we had the intensive activity today. The pairs were switched. I worked with Bakugo, and that man is the worst possible partner. I feel bad for Midoriya having to deal with him in the final.

Uraraka and Asui worked together today, and Momo worked with Todoroki. That's right, Momo.

Apparently the teachers saw the save that Midoriya had on Uraraka and decided to move him into Momo's position for the day to see how it would work.

As they expected, he did fairly well. He didn't even need support items. But he had bruised legs after the exercise.

We were now in the lunch line. "Hey, Izuku. Are your legs all right?"

"Yeah. I just overexerted them a bit, and now they're bruised. That's all."

"You didn't fall over or anything, did you?"

"No."

Now that I think about it, Uraraka raised a good point at quirk bowling. "Actually, Midoriya, why can you only now con-"

"Shh!" There was a brief moment of silence. "I have an explanation, but for reasons I'll explain later, I can't have everyone know."

"Oh, okay. When should you tell me?"

"Well, I'm going to be tutored by Uraraka for math again today. Maybe afterwards?"

Uh oh. If he finds out that Momo, Uraraka and I are talking about him after his tutoring? "I'll be busy."

"Busy? Doing what?"

Quick, Iida! "I'll be visiting my brother at the hospital."

"Oh, okay." We walked through and got our lunches. I turned to Uraraka, and she winked and smiled. That was close...

I sat down to eat my food when a hot burst heated my neck and made me jump out of my seat. "Hey, damn nerd."

"Kacchan?" Deku believed he was talking to him as that's often how he is addressed, but he was wrong.

"No, I was talked to Mr. Class Rep. You both are nerds though."

I rolled my eyes. "What do you want?"

Bakugo started lighting tiny explosions within his fingertips. "You need to learn to listen, Iida. Nobody ever does it to you, so why don't you treat people the way you want to be treated?"

Ironic coming from Bakugo. But he's mad at me for trying to tell him to stop being so crude during the practice. I was about to step in when Deku took the front seat.

"You know what your biggest problem is, Kacchan?"

"Do I need to hear it from you?"

"As someone who relentlessly studied you and knows a good deal about how your mind works, yes."

"Then tell me, Deku! I bet you're wrong!"

"There's a piece of advice I've heard from my father when I was young. 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.' It's very helpful."

Bakugo looked surprised. This was totally out of character for Midoriya. "Wha... WHO ARE YOU TO TRY AND SILENCE ME!" He was shaken. I could tell he was a bit afraid.

Midoriya's face and arms lit up with his quirk. "I'm a 'nerd' who can smell your fear. You don't want to go under house arrest again, do you?" The entire lunch room was looking at Midoriya now.

"A... Are you... YOU... How dare you try and-"

"You know internally I was holding back. Now scoot and go back to your table."

Bakugo looked stunned. "Geez, somebody's miffed today." He left.

I was beyond shocked. Midoriya has a humble and gentle spirit, and he's not one to taunt those as reckless as Bakugo. I tapped him on the back of his shoulder.

"Izuku... are you alright? You seem a tad... off."

He turned to face me, with his regular smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. That helped me get some things out."

"Oh, did something happen?"

"Oh, w-well... I-"

"It was nothing! He's fine!" Uraraka jumped in, seeming to know something.

This is clearly something personal between them, though it doesn't seem to be coming between them. Probably just something that happened that Uraraka knows about.

I'd probably be best staying out of it. After all, I'd say it's better that he can trust Uraraka more than me right now.

(Transitional Thingy Lol)

- POV - Uraraka -

Deku and I finished our Algebra class and walked back to my dorm this time. Today we had a test and had moved on from quadratic functions to understanding the functions themselves rather than working around them.

We found this unit to be a bit easier. This is where we had the "What is the answer if the function is g of f(1)?" It took more work, however.

Deku looked at his homework and frowned. "I don't really like math..." he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah. Me neither. I can tell, too."

"How so?"

"You're an avid note taker and ace student in the hero course. But when it comes to math, your interest goes down to zero."

"Well, yeah, you're not wrong." Deku looked at his homework, then slammed the desk. At first I was a bit rattled.

"What's the matter?"

"What does g o f(7) mean? They never discussed this in class!"

"Oh, sorry! That means the same thing as g of f(1). It's just written differently."

"Oh. That seems a but unnecessary."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I know right?"

We had gone back to working individually in my dorm. We decided that we'd work by ourselves and check between each two problems.

"I'm done, Uraraka." I gawked. He was finished before I was, and that almost never happens. In fact, he was doing unusually well here.

He'd never gotten any answers different from me, and we both got them all right so far.

"Alrighty, just one second!" He doesn't seem as happy right now. "Got it!"

We checked our work, and we had both gotten the same answer. "Okay, let's double check it." There was a website that plugged in the numbers for us, and we used to to double check.

"Looks like we got it! Those were the last two problems!" I looked at the clock. We'd only been in here for forty-five minutes since I first came in.

That's partially because he's not talking as much as he was yesterday. Often times yesterday I'd have to tell him to stop and focus on the work, though I let him talk to me a good bit.

It feels good when the person you like is at least platonically interested in you. But he did seem, as Iida said, a tad off.

Deku sat on my bed next to where I was sitting and opened his textbook to re-read the section we were supposed to look over. I looked at his face.

He didn't seem happy. In fact, his expression seemed a bit negative-neutral. Not sad, not mad. Well, both. But I can't tell which one is moreso. But both are very subtle.

"We're doing the process correctly. It looks like we don't have anything to look over."

"That's neat! Do you want to still talk about anything or do anything before you go?"

Deku was silent. He didn't say anything to me, and just looked at the ground. "Deku?" No words.

After I turned to check the clock, he spoke without making eye contact with me. "No. I just want to go to my dorm."

He stood up and got ready to leave. He put his hand on the doorknob, but before I was ready to turn it, I went in to grab his wrist. I grabbed his hand on accident. He didn't turn the doorknob.

I lightly pulled his hand from it. He was allowing me to do it, so I could tell I wasn't forcing anything. "Deku..." I paused.

"Uraraka?" I lightly blushed and let go of his hand. I didn't realize I was still holding it. My reactions and my ability to not get flustered is getting better, but I still need to calmly react.

"Deku, you know you can tell me anything id you want to talk to somebody. I'm right here." Just yesterday, he may have held something elsenfrom me.

I want to know what it is. It seems to be driving him mad. Ever since lunch, his patience and gentle spirit seems to have disappeared.

"Is there something else that happened?" He fell down to his knees and looked down so I could no longer see his eyes. His lips were trembling.

I bent my knees to go down a bit and put my hand on his shoulder. "Will you tell me what it is?"

"I-I'm sorry... I trust you... but no..."

"That's okay. You don't have to."

"I... I don't really know what it is, Uraraka."

I wanted to ask him something, but a lump appeared in my throat. Shrug it off, Ochaco. "Do you need a hug?"

He didn't look up at me or verbally answer, but he nodded. I went down to my knees to meet his level and hugged him.

His chin laid on my right shoulder, and mine on his left. A single tear fell onto my neck, but he didn't cry any more than that. He just shook a little bit.

I revelled in this for a while. He smelled nice, and the feeing of hugging him was comforting. I loved this closeness. Blood rushed to my face when I realized my own thoughts.

I can try and use this as an opportunity to practice acting natural. Don't think weird thoughts.

"Whatever it is, you know that I'm here for you." He lightly gasped, and I felt another tear fall onto my shirt. "You're always here for me. You saved me twice, and you're a strong pillar for me. That won't change one bit, Deku."

I felt his heart starting to pump faster. "Don't ever feel like you aren't helping me, or Iida like you did today. You're already a hero, Deku."

"Stop!" I gasped. My heart skipped a beat out of fear, then immediately kicked back into high gear. What? Did I do something wrong?

He pulled back and looked more straight, but didn't look at me in the eye. "Am I doing something?"

"Uraraka... what do you want me to do for you?"

Am... am I hearing this correctly? "You don't have to do-"

"This isn't fair... why am I the one being pushed up on a pedestal here?"

I paused. I am worshipping him hard, but it's not because I hate myself. It's because I like him.

"I got lucky... and I could control my quirk... and I gor a golden opportunity... but you're only here for other people!"

My breaths were quickening. Am I making him break down on himself by trying to bring him up? Is that even possibel?

"I'm here so I can accomplish my dream... to become a hero. But you... you're just here because you want to help your parents!"

My face turned white. He's not wrong, but I don't like this. "Why is it you helping me? Why are you being so selfless? Why can't you live for yourself, damnit!" He was shouting at me at this point.

He didn't seem to have much left to say afterwards. He was waiting for my response. "Is that why... you want to do something for me...?"

"Yes. How can I repay you? What do you want?"

I... I love you, Deku.

Wait... did I just?

I didn't say it out loud, but just the thought made my face light up like a match. I put my hands over my cheeks, and turned away.

"N-Nothing! You don't need to do anything! You're fine!"

"Do you like me?" I looked up, still facing my wall. No! No! Act natural! Calm down! This can't be when he finds out! I can't... I can't let him think that!

"No! I don't! That's not it; I swear, I swear!" I turned around and wasn't expecting Deku to be so close to me.

He put his hand on my cheek. "Uraraka, it's okay. Stop ignoring your feelings."

"Deku, I'm not-" He closed the gap between my lips and his. The sensation drove me insane. His lips were warm, and the contact was soft. But it had a peculiar sense of relief.

He pulled away. That... was very... I covered my mouth with both of my hands. I was mortified, but so happy at the same time.

"Ochaco, please tell me. Have you been harboring any kind of feelings for me like that?"

He used my first name... I was stunned. I had utterly no idea how to respond. Time seemed to be frozen at that moment. What should I say?

If I say no, he could be heartbroken. He just initiated the kiss we just shared, after all. These feelings must have been killing him.

But if I don't know if he's doing this for me or for him. His statement was clear: he's trying to make it up to me. And if he thinks I like him... then he couldn't...

I was shaking so much. "D-Deku... I don't want this..." He looked unnerved. He immediately turned back into the shy Deku I knew and loved.

"Uraraka... are y-you serious?"

"Yes... I'm sorry, Deku..."

His cheeks blew up brighter than Bakugo's hands did when I fought him. "I'M SO SORRY! I WAS SO SURE THAT-"

"It's fine... I'm just a bit... startled." I guess we have our answer. I picked correctly.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay. I know you were just trying to make me feel better." He looked at me with a neutral expression. "How about we just relax a little by ourselves, okay? Are you good?"

"Yes..."

"See you tomorrow!" I tried to sound as natural as possible, and waved as he closed the door. I waited for his footsteps to disappear from my hearing.

Once they were gone, I fell down in utter disappointment. He doesn't like me...

Tears started rolling down my face. He did that just to 'make it up' to me... because he felt so much pressure on his shoulders...

I got a phone call from Iida. I picked it up immediately. "Hey, it's 4:30. Ready to leave in 30 minutes?"

"I'm not coming."

"Uraraka, this is importa-"

"No." I hung up immediately. I tried to take a breather when he called me back.

"Uraraka, did something ha-"

"YES!" There was a short pause. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I hung up for the last time, and then covered my head with my pillow. That's when I started weeping more loudly now that nobody was watching.