Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia. If I did, I would have probably shipped all the characters and made it about dating in a superhuman verse. Probably. For better or for worse I don't own it. It's good as it is. (Especially the latest arc)
A/N: So a few words. Thank you all for your patience. And the 33 favourites. I really feel Plus Ultra for that! I would have posted this earlier, but... Life got in the way, so to speak.
Basically I lost my job and quarantine stay at home time ain't fun. I lost my motivation and I was pretty much feeling like a zombie who's only satisfaction is to consume. Coupled with the an existential crisis or two and my sleeping schedule being Thanos Snapped. It wasn't fun...
Well I'm back now and I'm back with a vision about this fic of where it's going. Originally I just wrote it for fun, but I really got back into it abd I want to properly finish it.
Anyway, without further adieu.
Move Forward And Take Flight: Part 3
"It's going to be alright!" It was 9 am and Ochako was shaking in front of Izuku's room "Remember! Hero training comes first! No need to add extra complexity to yours and Deku's life, Ochako. There will be a time for that, some day. Maybe. But it's just not NOW!"
She took a deep breath and proceeded to knock on his door. Only she didn't knock. Her knuckles stopped mid air a few centimetres away from his door.
"What is the matter with you, Ochako! You face dangerous villains on a near weekly basis and you can't even knock on the door of one of your best friends, for a stupid study date!? A study date!! A study... Date? A date? What would..."
Her mind wandered as she imagined going on a date with Deku. It was nice, more than nice. Just the two of them, sitting alone on the beach, staring into the sunset, sharing a drink with two straws...
"DAMN IT!!!" She yelled out for the entire dorm to hear. Quickly placing her hands on her mouth. "Oh, no! What if Deku heard that. He knows I'm here! Damn it! There's no going back now is there?" She swallowed her nerves and knocked on his door.
"Hey, Deku? Are you ready for our study session?" There was no response. "Deku?"
"Bonjour mademoiselle." She turned her head and noticed the familiar sparkling face of her classmate and Deku's next door neighbor, Yuga Aoyama. "If you're looking for Izuku Midoriya he's sadly not here at this time. Should I leave a message?"
"Oh hey, Aoyama." She said sheepishly "There's no need. I think I can find him on my own."
"Ohhh?" He noticed the stacks of book she was carrying "You're going to be studying together. I see." His face turned slightly sinister "Do have fun on your little date, will you not."
"WHAT?! NO!!! It's not a date!" Ochako resembled a yelling tomato "We're just studying for the final exams, that's all!"
"That's how it usually starts, my dear. A blossoming romance budding in between the textbooks! You'd like that wouldn't you?"
"HUH!?" She blushed even harder "W-w-well, I-I don't-"
"You don't need to answer, my dear. I already know." He winked, making her even more uncomfortable. "Au revoir." He closed the door leaving the girl alone and confused. In panic she dropped the books on the ground and began running towards the stairs.
"You're so, stupid Aoyama! You don't know me at all! How could you, we barely even speak with each other. Why do you think you're an expert on my feelings, when you're clearly not! At least, well... Does he?" She kept running down the stairs until she reached the ground floor. "Never mind that, now! I made up my mind about this. Now all I have to do is find Deku! Now where could he be?" She walked by the dorm's common area and overhead some familiar voices. "Wait is that?"
"I just, feel so stressed out." She overheard Momo's voice as she entered the lounge, she peaked and was surprised at what she saw.
Momo was lying on the couch as if she was visiting a therapist, which in this case was Mina, sitting with her legs crossed on the couch next to her"What the hell?"
"It's like nothing I do matters!" Momo continued "I want to be a great hero and I want to help people, but on the inside I just feel this void. Like, I'm unworthy of my dreams. But at the same time I don't want to give up either. I don't know anymore, I just feel like I'm useless all the time and that's why I try to help others succeed. To feel worthy of living, even for just a second. One measly second of my life. Constantly. I don't know what to do, Mina."
"I see." Mina said, chin on her fist. Her black eyes looking intensely at her friend and technically patient. "And your parents? Do they know this?"
"I highly doubt it. I mean they're always busy, so I hardly see them at all. I was raised and homeschooled by my maids and butlers. They taught me everything I know. I did miss having my parents around, but at the same time I knew what they were doing was pretty time demanding. I understood that and still tried my best to live up to their expectations. I mean, what else could I have done?"
"I see..." Mina gave a wide smile as if she came to a breakthrough of some sorts.
"Uhmm, am I interrupting, something?" Mina and Momo turned towards the door to see their Brown eyed friend staring at them.
"Ochako! No it's alright, you can come in." Mina said with a welcoming smile, while Momo just wanted to hide away. "Relax Yaomomo, this is a safe space filled with all the love of the Universe. There is absolutely nothing to fear, my child. Ochako would never judge you and you know that." Mina said in a calm soothing voice, which seemed to make the wealthy girl calm down.
"Love? Universe? What's going on here?" Ochako had more questions than she cared to admit.
"Oh, Ochako, isn't it wonderful? Thanks to Yaomomo's morning meditation and tea routine, I feel enlightened and filled with all the love of the Universe!" She said, sounding like one of those online meditation gurus. "I feel like a beautiful Phoenix that rose from the ashes of my old self into a new more meaningful existence. AND, since Yaomomo's the reason I reached this state, I figured I'd return the favor, by sharing some of that love with her. Pretty awesome, right?" The pink girl quickly changed to her old loudmouth self as if nothing happened at all.
"Riiiight...?" Ochako said, regretting she asked. "Well, I was just looking for Deku. We're supposed to studying together for the exams, but he's not in his room and I can't find him anywhere."
"We saw him earlier, but he ran off somewhere before we had a chance to ask him. I think Mina scared him off." Momo explained.
"A lot of people are afraid of love, Yaomomo. They're so used to living in darkness that the light terrifies them to their core." Mina was speaking like a guru again. "We need to accept that, the light of love is welcoming, pure and fulfilling, or we will never fully reach enlightenment."
"O-kaaaay...?" Ochako was too weirded out by the situation and just wanted to leave at this point. "Anyways, I'm gonna go look for him. Good luck with, whatever you two were doing." She slowly walked towards the exit of the building trying to seem calm and collected. In the same manner she opened the front door to the Heights Alliance and stepped outside.
"What is up with everyone today! First Aoyama, then Mina and Momo? What's next?"
"OUTTA THE WAY!!!" She heard an angry male and suddenly a loud wave of explosions blasted in front of her. There's only one person who this could be "Oh, it's you, Pink Cheeks!" The explosion subsided revealing the muscular silhouette of Katsuki Bakugo. "If you're looking for Deku, I saw him head to town earlier."
"Wait a second, you don't know even know who I'm looking for, Bakugo! I..."
"Oh, give me a break!" He scoffed. "You two've been so inseparable this past year, they should be selling merch of you two in a combo pack with the frase" Buy one useless nerd get one bubbly airhead for free!" In big, gay pink letters! Anyway, he ain't here so, fuck off! I'm busy."
"Hey, you're the one who..." Before she could finish he had already launched himself into the sky with his blasts. "What was that all about? Anyway he's wrong! We don't spend that much time together... I think. Do we?" She sighed in defeat "I need to do something to clear my head, but what if Deku comes back. He probably just went grocery shopping or something. Yeah, that's it. Maybe I could..." She turned to face the side of the dorms "Yeah, a solid morning workout sounds perfect to kickstart the day!" She joyfully said as she ran towards the back yard round round the side of the building, avoiding entertaining the lobby.
"I'm so LATE!!"*m It was 9:45 and Deku was running towards the dorms, having barely escaped his newly discovered fan club. His hair was messier than usual, he was dusty all over and he had lipstick stains on his cheeks. "Oh, man, what's Uraraka gonna think? I can explain it, can't I? Oh, but what if she doesn't believe me? What if she thinks I went picking up girls instead of studying with her?"
"Deku, how could you! Not only did you keep me waiting, but you show up looking like you just had sex? I'm disgusted by you! I'd rather fail than study with you!" Uraraka's voice echoed in his imagination.
"Oh crap. Oh craaap. What do I do? I'm so dead! Unless. M-maybe she's in a good mood! Maybe she will understand! Oh I hope she does."
He stopped in front of the dorm building catching his breath. Not so much from the running, but from everything that happened in town. Izuku felt like he had one of the craziest mornings in his life and now to top it off a whole new dilemma presented itself in front of him as he stood in front of the Heights Alliance building.
"Why am I soo nervous?" He asked himself as he shook in front of his current home. "Come on Izuku, it's just a study session. A study session with a girl. A girl you... Kinda like. Yeah... Don't make it weird! Haha... But, what If I make it weird? What if she's disgusted by me and doesn't want to speak to me again? What if I confess by accident and she doesn't like me back and things become awkward? What if I became awkward because I'm thinking this stuff? What if she's secretly weird. What if I'm weird? There's too many variables! There's gotta be a way to find control, but if things go out of hand I don't know how will I..."
"Deku?" His muttering was interrupted by his brunette friend peaking out the corner "You're back! I could hear your muttering from a mile away."
"Uraraka, hey!" He answered his nerves skyrocketing. "You didn't catch what I was muttering about, did you?"
"Nope, no clue!" She reassured walking closer to him, with a big ominous smile "Uhm, Deku?"
"Yeah?"
"What's with that lipstick on your cheeks?" She asked with the same ominous smile
"Oh, this?" Deku asked nervously, wiping his face in the process "It's nothing, really. I ran into some fans of mine from the sports festival. Which kinda surprised me and all... I mean, me having fans. That's... Why I'm so late. Not that I was thinking about that all the time, I was trying to get away from them. I tried explaining it to them. That I'm busy and running late. But they just... Wouldn't listen and kept bombarding me with questions and requests. On top of that a villain showed up in town and I was the only one close enough to take him down, so yeah. Mornings! Hehehe... Hehe... He..." Ochako was silently watching him with the same ominous smile as before. The silence was unnerving.
"Wow, sounds like you had quite the crazy morning." The brunette broke the silence, being as cheerful as ever punching the air.
"You have no idea." Izuku sighed then smiled "What was I even worried about? Even when I'm late, she always super understanding. Yeah, everything's gonna be alright!"
"So, how's your morning been, Uraraka?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Working up a sweat, feeling the burn, going Plus Ultra!" Her look had turned pretty intense, as she got into a battle pose and threw some weak punches at him. "Makes me feel unstoppable!"
"I see... Well, I'm glad." Ochako's intense side was a rarity, that always caught her friends off guard. "Sooo, should we head upstairs and start studying?"
"You betcha!" Uraraka said in a borderline manly voice "Practicing the mind and body! Let's have a PLUS ULTRA study session!!!" She yelled out.
"Y-yeah." Midoriya said nervously which seemed to make Uraraka even more agitated.
"I said, let's have a PLUS ULTRA STUDY SESSION!!!!" She lifted her hand in the air waiting for a high five.
"Yeah!" Izuku said louder and high fived his best friend
"That's the spirit, Deku." Just like that she was back to being cheerful and bubbly again. "So did it work?"
"Did, what work?"
"Did, I lift your spirits?"
"You sure did." He smiled affectionately "Thanks for that, I really needed it."
"Anytime, Deku! Now come on let's go ace those tests."
"Right. Your place or mine?"
"Yours is good! Also do you want me to carry those?" She looked at the big bags he was carrying
"It's no problem, I don't want you to strain yourself."
"Hmm" She lightly scoffed as she forcefully took the bags from him and ran up ahead "You forget who your talking to, Deku. I could use the quirk training" Uraraka held the bags up, her quirk making them float like pom-poms.
"Well if you insist." He sighed in defeat and started heading upstairs with her.
"So what did you buy?"
"Oh, well I figured some snacks since we'll be studying for a while, along with other things. I know you like Mochi, so I got a pack of different flavors."
"Really!?" She squealed in joy "That's so sweat of you, Deku."
"Think nothing of it. Anything for my best friend!"
"Wait, what?"
"THINK NOTHING OF IT!!!" He repeated himself hoping to save himself "Damn it, you idiot! Get a hold of your mouth. I swear half the weird things happened because of this. I can't..."
"No, after that." Ochako insisted which made Izuku tense up. "Crap, okay think, what sounds like best friend! Uhm, fest grind? Beast friend, no that sounds worse. Beast mind? Grease Trend? Dense Pound? Force Bind? Horse Fiend? Ahhhh!" His brain was in a mental equivalent of a blue screen of death.
"ANYTHING FOR MY BEAST TREND!!!"
"Beast trend? Wait whaat?" Ochako had a puzzled face with several question marks hanging in the air.
"Crap,that sounded even worse! Damn it Izuku why are you like this? She probably thinks I'm gonna start breeding animals with quirks and call them some sort of ridiculous uncreative name like Quirkémon. God damn it! I really messed things up now." As his head was going in circles, out of nowhere he felt a kind and loving presence. "Say it! Be honest!" A familiar motherly voice echoed in his head, soothing the nervous boy to his core.
"I'm sorry, what I meant to say is." He took a deep breath and said with a big earnest smile "Anything for my best friend."
"Do you... Do you really mean it? Best friend? Me?" She asked him with stars in her eyes. As soon as he saw them Izuku knew he just couldn't take it all back. The cat was out of the bag. One of the cats at least. And it felt good, it felt like a weight was of his chest. Maybe the rest would come down easier.
"I-I do. I've been thinking about it a lot recently. About everything you did for me and how well we get along... I just." And the waterworks started "I feel so blessed when I'm with you, really. I don't want to force you to think of me like that Uraraka, I just-" He was interrupted, by his best friend hugging him tightly "U-uraraka?" There were no words. Just hugs. And hug her back he did.
"Wow, hugging a girl is... Amazing. I can feel her. I can feel her heartbeat. Her body's so warm. It just... Feels so... Welcoming and nice, like everything's okay."
"Wow, I had no idea he felt that way. I know he cries a lot, and usually I don't think twice about it, but in that moment... His eyes... I could see it, the pain, the loneliness, the struggle. So much..." She hugged him tighter "How can I even think about those feelings. Its wrong! I'd just be exploiting him emotionally. I don't. I want to be his friend! His best friend! His hero. There's just no room or time for anything else. Not now at least. I'll survive, somehow." She let go of the embrace and looked him in the eyes with a caring look "Feeling better?"
"Yeah, loads. Thank you, Uraraka."
"I'm... Glad." She said soft smile "I'm really glad. And... I'm glad that you're my best friend." No words came out of Izuku's mouth, just a smile. A smile of a boy who felt blessed by an angel "Come on, let's get these exams done with!"
"Oh, right." Midoriya snapped out of his trance and they both continued on their merry way, up the stairs.
"By the way, you said you fought a villain this morning, right?"
"Oh, yeah, that. It's no big deal really. Just a purse snatcher with an attitude. His quirk was a bit difficult, but nothing my Black Whip can't handle."
"When did he become so confident?" Ochako thought to herself, letting a soft smile creep up on her face again. "Just last year, he was this cute timid boy that can't even hold a conversation, and now... He's more open, more sure of himself, more confident. I can't lie, I like this side of him" Her smile grew wider. "You know, I like this new side of you Deku."
"New side? What do you mean?" he asked perplexed.
"You became a lot more confident is what. And you know confidence is important if you want to be a great hero someday."
"Confident? Me?" He chuckled at the thought. "Come on, I'm still that same muttering nervous wreck, I've always been."
"Truuue, but..." She twirled in front of him "What I meant was that you learned to stand up for yourself more! You speak easier, you're more open about how you feel and you generally... Give off a more confident vibe you know?" Ochako played with her locks.
"Wow, do you really mean it?" Izuku was surprised. He never thought of himself as confident. In his head he never did change, but coming from someone else really made him think.
"Of course I do! Would I ever lie to you?"
"I guess not, but still. Thanks Uraraka, it means a lot. Really."
"Anytime, Deku! I mean what's a best friend if they can't put you in your place, am I right?" She punched the air vigorously
"Well, that's one way to put it." Izuku sweat dropped. "Anyway we-" His sentence was interpreted by the scene in front of his room. Books on the ground. Everywhere. "Woah, what happened here?"
"Boy, this is embarrassing." Ochako lightly blushed and scratched the back of her haid "I sorta accidentally dropped them by your door."
"How!?"
"Aoyama startled me."
"Well, I can imagine. He is pretty... eccentric, after all. But still, you shouldn't have left them lying on the ground like that. Think about it. What if Iida had walked by." The thought made Ochako burst in laughter
"He would have been something like: What's this!" She made her best Tenya Iida face she could muster "How dare you imbeciles degrade the sacred books of our dear school. As class representative it is my duty to uphold the sacred unquestionable rules and principles of the prestigious UA high-school and punish anyone who disregards them in anyway." Izuku started laughing his ass off mid sentence.
"Hahaha. That does sound exactly like him."
"I know right!"
"Apchooh!!" In his room, Tenya Iida was studying when he randomly sneezed. "Huh, that's odd. I hope I'm not catching a cold."
After laughing at his best friend's impression of the class rep Izuku was helping Ochako pick up her books. They both reached out for the same one and accidentally touched hands, resulting in a blush from both parties.
"I'm sorry!"
"It's fine, It's fine. You're helping me out so there's nothing to apologize for." Her expression turned surprised as she saw someone behind Deku.
"Is something wrong?" Behind Izuku, Aoyama was peering through the door with a devilish smirk. He simply winked at her and slowly closed the door, resulting in her blushing like a tomato. Izuku turned around, but there was nothing there "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine! It's nothing, really. Come on let's go inside."
"Right." As Izuku was unlocking his door, Ochako was trying to subdue her nerves. Her gaze wandered to an interesting looking tree that could be seen from the outside window.
"Is everything okay?" Deku asked a bit worried
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" She turned around quickly trying to hide her previous fit. "It's all peachy, I was just admiring that... Tree! The one behind the window!"
"The tree? Are you serious Ochako? That's the best excuse you can come up with?"
"It is a nice looking tree. I guess I haven't paid much attention since I see it every day."
"Well, you should! Trees are awesome!!!"
"I guess they are." He opened the door revealing his All Might Fanboy Cave. "Speaking of Trees did you hear that Kamui Woods rose through the ranks recently. I saw that he was involved with quite a few villains attacks this week. Some of them were quite dangerous as well. There was a guy with a fire quirk and one with a quirk that bends metal like it's rubber. He took them out all on his own. It's a amazing what a real pro can do."
"It really is." Ochako sighs in relief at her friend and crush's obliviousness "You know someday we'll be pro heroes ourselves, with our own agencies and... Working all the time, catching villains." Her tone turned sad
"Something wrong?" Izuku said standing in the doorway to his room.
"It's nothing, it's just." She placed her hand on her heart "I'm really enjoying our time herw at UA. Getting to meet you and Iida, Todoroki, Mina, Kyouka, and everyone else. It's just..."
"You don't want it to end huh?" Izuku said sympathetically. "I get you. Honestly this whole year has been a huge blessing for me. You wouldn't believe me but..."
"No, not now. Not yet. It doesn't feel right. I want to say it but, not now"
"But what?"
"Ah its nothing, let's forget about the past and the future and just focus on the now. Exams!!" His unusual enthusiasm for exams was probably due to him hiding something coupled with nervousness.
"You're right, Deku. Let's ace these exams..."
"PLUS ULTRA!!!" As soon as they realized they said it in unison they exploded with laughter.
"Anyway you coming?"
"Sure, let's do this!"
"Right! Sorry if it's a bit of a mess, I didn't have time to clean uuuUUH-" As he was speaking, Izuku slipped backwards on the water puddle he left in the morning. As he was about to hit the floor something grabbed his head and he suddenly stopped mid fall.
"Deku, are you alright?" Ochako reacted quickly, freezing him mid fall with her quirk. Izuku started laughing while still in the air. Ochako gave him a soft smile "When did start laughing like this? Is it because..."
"I really should clean that up!" He said in defeat. "Thanks, Uraraka."
"Any time!" She adjusted him to a standing position and released her quirk "Deja vu, huh?"
"Yeah. Honestly where would I be without you keeping an eye on me." He jokingly said rubbing the back of his head.
"On the floor, of course!" Ochako said with a bright smile. It took him a second before he burst out in laughter again which caused her to laugh as well.
And so their long study session had begun.
A/N: And that's a wrap. Again thank you all for your patience and support. Means a lot and if you continue enjoying it I'll continue posting new chapters.Also a little teaser: The Next chapter is one of my personal favorites so I'll do my best to release it soon. I will only see this. It's ridiculous. Beyond Plus Ultra, ridiculous and I enjoyed every minute of writing it. Just needs a proof read and edit and it will be up.Until then. Take care and Go Beyond. Plus Ultra!