A/N: My first ever BNHA fanfiction and of course it had to be from my favorite soft pairing, Izuku and Ochaco. I was rereading the manga recently, and I wondered so much what more could have been said between the two. We never got an apology from Deku, and I wonder what Ochaco felt in those moments when she read his letter. But obviously all that is put aside as the war wages. And this isn't a shoujo manga either. So, here is a retelling of Chapter 348/349 from what I think could have been going through their minds!

Words Left Unsaid

.

Izuku's heart dropped as he heard Uraraka's painful cry not too far from him. Turning quickly, his eyes landed on the bright, red stain that was growing on her right shoulder. A chill down his spine as Toga stood close behind her with a sickening smile on her face.

Flashbacks of Kaachan pushing him out of Shigaraki's menacing attack flashed before his eyes. Kaachan's blood splattered everywhere, the black tendrils piercing through multiple parts in his body.

His eyes grew wider as visceral images of Uraraka suffering similar injuries as Kaachan invaded his mind. Her body pale, twisted at the feet of Himiko Toga, as the league of villain member drank her blood.

Izuku shivered at the picture in his mind.

"I'd thought that at least you'd be understanding, Ochaco-chan." Her voice was borderline melancholic, but there was a sneer there too. But the gleam in her eye twinkled, a sickening smile arose on her lips and Izuku gaped as the knife in her hand lifted for another strike.

Danger sense triggered, that buzzing in his ear, that cold shiver in his back. He lifted his hand, Black Whip ready at his command, ready to pull Uraraka away from Toga's next strike.

"After all, Ochaco-chan and I are the same." Her voice eerily stated and Izuku frowned, ready to pull his best friend out of harm's way.

But out of nowhere, Froppy joined the fray, sending Himiko Toga flying off with a full force kick.

"Asu... Tsu – FROPPY!" Izuku corrected himself, and he could hear the frog hero ribbit, apologizing for her lateness. Relief filled him when he saw Toga away from Uraraka, those horrible images away from his mind.

Immediately, he turned to the brown-haired girl and with concern in his bright, green eyes, and shouted "Are you hurt?!"

The Zero Gravity hero slowly stood, her arm clutching her right shoulder. Looking at him, she sighed deeply.

"I'm fine! It's only skin deep!" Her eyes trailed back to Toga, who was looking at them with a killer's intent. "We need to get that knife back though. My blood's on it." She muttered to herself and Izuku looked back up to the villain.

"Toga is one of the most unpredictable enemies, ribbit. Sending her this island, so far away, it was the right call, ribbit." Tsuyu explained, and Izuku crept closer to Uraraka. His want to help her filled him, but he also knew that Uraraka Ochaco was strong enough to help herself.

He believed in the power of his best friend.

"Tsuyu-chan." Toga looked up from the floor, her eyes pinching into a glare so fierce, Izuku almost froze in place.

"That's Froppy to you, Himiko Toga." The frog hero looked back at Izuku, a hard look in her eyes. "Leave now, Deku. This isn't the time nor place to be talking about romance, sero."

Black Whip's tendrils were waving around him as his eyes went wide at the assurance in Froppy's voice. The waves crashed, the ocean's torrent current pushing and pulling at his feet.

"We'll stick to the original plan and rely on Uravity, who has had the most encounters with Toga. Don't you worry. We'll take care of this."

His eyes shifted to Toga, then Tsuyu, and finally Uraraka. He didn't like it. Having lost so much already, having endured all the pain they had, Izuku didn't want to just abandon his friends.

Not again.

Izuku had the upmost confidence in his classmates. He knew how strong Tsuyu and Uraraka were. Hell, he had sparred with Uraraka more times than he could count. And their recent training together showed him how much she had improved in strength.

But Deku said he needed to stay, he needed to help. Because he wouldn't have anyone dying on him today. Never again.

"Deku-kun…"

Uraraka's soft, yet confident voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Despite the sounds of battle, the waves roaring around them, her voice was the single most important sound he could hear at this moment.

His eyes found hers.

She was looking over her shoulder, sweat or maybe water… who knew, trailed down her forehead. But Izuku was held in place by the sheer determination in her eyes. Her normally joyous, cheerful, energetic brown eyes were replaced with a fierce conviction.

As they looked at one another, Izuku realized he had so much to say.

Things like I'm sorry for leaving you. Can you ever forgive me? You're my best friend. I don't want to lose you.

But the words never left his tongue, and the unspoken words between them weighed heavily. But their eyes said all that needed to be said.

I forgive you.

"Deal with Shigaraki. We've got this." She said with sincere resolution, her smile giving him the encouragement he needed to know they would be okay. "Good luck."

Don't die.

"I guess that makes us both quite the oddballs then, hmm?"

Her resolution was the same as his.

When they spoke on that cliffside, Izuku was finally able to thank her. Thank her for her courage, her braveness, her kindness. Even when he abandoned her, left her behind, Uraraka still saved him.

She was always saving him.

How could he ever repay her for that? For that moment? For everything she had done in between? For the kind smiles, and encouraging words, and uplifting attitude? For changing the meaning on his name?

Instead, he repaid her by leaving her behind.

But this was Uraraka Ochaco.

And her ability to forgive was remarkable.

She was remarkable.

So much to say. But no time to say it.

"Why is life… so hard." Toga was standing, bent over, a devilish look in her eye. She was staring down all three of them, her eyes particularly looking back and forth between him and Uraraka.

"Even though… Even though I love you so much." The pale blond spoke into her facemask, her voice low and menacing.

"RUN!" Uraraka shouted, her eyes back to Toga, and that was all the assurance he needed to activate One-For-All and take off at the speed of light.

He let his mind wonder to Uraraka Ochaco for one more moment, a silent promise that if he got out of this alive, he would tell her.

Tell her everything.

.

When Deku was successfully off the island and blasting through the water, Uraraka Ochaco could finally put her attention to Toga Himiko.

"He's gone." She said, eyes set with determination.

"That's good, ribbit!" Tsuyu said next to her.

Ochaco couldn't forget the look in his eyes, the pleading, the words that were unspoken between them. The moment they had for themselves, at the cliffside, before they set off on this 2nd war, Ochaco kept close to her heart. Those feelings she had thought she absolved came bursting back.

She thought herself insane.

A hero? Feeling sympathy for a villain? After all this destruction? After all the lives they cost? After all the damage they done? They may as well send her off to the psychiatric hospital, right?

But Midoriya Izuku thought different.

He had the same look on his face, his own words with resounding conviction.

"I get you."

"I too saw the little boy, crying inside Tomura Shigaraki. I know that our conflict is unavoidable. But also, I don't want to ignore that side of him."

It wasn't difficult to forgive Deku for leaving.

Of course, she was upset. They had all been. And maybe Ochaco had felt betrayed and hurt that he didn't trust her with his secret. Her. Of all people. Part of her felt anger and bitterness towards Midoriya Izuku, who she trusted with her whole being. Thank you for everything. That small, measly sentence. Scribbled hurriedly. She could see the tear stains around the letter. Everything they'd been through and that was it? Thank you for everything. It infuriated her.

But seeing him there, in Kamino, ragged, exhausted, lifeless, she understood.

She didn't think twice about standing up for him at UA. She didn't regret any of her words that night. Even at the brink of pure exhaustion, she wouldn't stop until Midoriya Izuku was safe behind UA's walls again.

Because after all, who saved heroes when heroes needed saving?

"Midoriya won't be able to ignore this girl's words, sero."

No.

Knowing Deku, similar to herself, her words will stay with him.

"I've had enough. Enough of Izuku-kun, Ochaco-chan, and Tsuyu-chan." With a wobblily stance, Toga's own tendrils readied themselves around her, her eyes set to kill.

"Although I love you… I'm done with you." She muttered. "I'll be what I set out to be and carve my own path."

Her head shot upwards; eyes locked with hers. Her body prepped into a sloppy battle stance and Ochaco could see the murder intent radiating off her body.

"I am Toga Himiko! I have no more need for heroes! So please, just disappear, okay?!"

Remembering all her training from Gunhead martial arts, Ochaco readied into her battle stance, her own resolution set.

"No way! I'm going to follow my own desires, just like you! As Uraraka Ochaco!"

And before the girls clashed into battle, Ochaco gave herself a minute to hope that when this was all over, if they had survived, she wouldn't miss her moment again. She would say everything she needed too.