I do not own these characters or the world, that belongs to our lovely author of MHA, Kohei Horikoshi. Also, cover art was a commission by me from the artist Krumbs. Follow them on if you'd like! They are extremely talented!

A/N: I actually had this chapter written a completely different way from an entirely different POV to start off with but I fucking hated it so I redid it all which was not fun. Hopefully this one resonates with e'rrybody. Enjoy!

Thirty-Six
The Curse of Freewill

Uraraka sat at the coffee table in the common room, Tsu across from here. They had their notebooks opened and were quietly working on the day's homework together. While both Tsu and Uraraka were quietly working the rest of the common room was somewhat abuzz with excited chatter and the occasional giggle.

It had been well over an hour since they'd returned from classes and while Uraraka and Tsu were using the time to complete their homework, their classmate Mina Ashido had foregone such mundane activities. She had spent the majority of that hour wrangling the rest of the class that was available into doing the Pocky challenge with her. Uraraka would occasionally raise her eyes from her open notebook to the spectacle on the couch behind Tsu.

Ashido had peer pressured almost everyone in the room—aside from Uraraka and Tsu—into playing a round with her. It didn't really seem that much of a surprise to Uraraka that she continued to reign supreme in the game so far. Everyone who'd been pressured or bold enough to take up the other end of the stick had ultimately lost or backed out and pulled away out of what Uraraka assumed were nerves. Who wouldn't be nervous when you were playing a game that was designed to make you kiss the other player?!

Aside from Bakugo and Deku who were occupied at Deku's black whip one on one training, Ashido had cornered and coerced most of their class to participate. Of course, the shyer souls like Koda—who had furiously blushed and made an about face turn and left without a word—could not be swayed to participate. Others like Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Todoroki, and Shoji had stood their ground in refusing and had left the common room to go work on dinner together. Then there were the outliers like Ida, Mineta, and Jiro. Ida had adamantly refused to engage in the game since he felt it was a direct violation of UA's code of conduct. Jiro had refused, saying that she agreed with Ida and that if caught playing this game they'd likely get in trouble. And Mineta, who had practically begged and pleaded to be included, was outright banned from participating.

Uraraka shot a curious glance toward Mineta who had isolated himself into one of the corners of the common room, dramatically pouting. She wondered how long he'd keep on moping before trying to sneak his way into the game. It seemed like a likely Mineta move.

Ashido sat like a triumphant queen on the couch having handedly beaten Hagakure, Aoyama, and Sato so far. Her current competitor was the reluctant Ojiro, who sat across from Ashido with flushed cheeks, the Pocky stick barely held between his teeth. Clearly being this close to Ashido was not within his comfort zone.

Hagakure had lasted the longest so far when pitted against Ashido, their round almost ending in a draw, though honestly it was hard to tell since Hagakure was in fact invisible. Uraraka suspected that her lasting so long was likely because she didn't have the same anxiety factor that a lot of the boys had. Though to be fair, Aoyama had made it about half way down the stick before bowing out with a blush.

Sato had managed to take one nibble before the stick fell from his mouth once he saw Ashido expertly nibble along the candy, coming perilously close to his mouth. Her close proximity made him drop the stick completely, forcing his loss.

Now poor Ojiro was her victim and had yet to take even one bite of the Pocky whilst Ashido had made steady nibbling progress. Uraraka thought if she looked close enough she could see a bead of sweat on her poor classmates brow, the stick likely only still in his mouth because the dry chocolate stuck to the moisture of his lips. It practically dangled out of his mouth like an awkwardly held cigarette.

"Come on man! You got this! You can beat her!" Cheered Kaminari from behind the couch. He was leaned over the back of the couch, closely watching the progress.

"I must reiterate that this game does not follow the rules explicitly outlined in UA's code of conduct!" Ida interjected. Despite not agreeing to play the game, Ida had remained in the common room to discourage the continuation of the game. Uraraka wondered if he'd stayed because he secretly wanted to see the games outcomes.

Jiro had also remained, albeit in the background, despite refusing to play. Unlike Ida, she had stayed quiet, apparently just disapprovingly observing. Uraraka noted that her gaze would flicker between Ashido and the game and then to Kaminari who had spent the majority of the game behind the couch cheering on whoever was competing against Ashido. She thought back to Ashido's teasing over Jiro's feelings toward him and Jiro's usual strong reaction to it and wondered if refusing to play because it was against the rules was in fact a lie.

Ashido made another little nibble, this one large enough that it jarred the precariously placed stick and finally tumbled from Ojiro's mouth. Kaminari let out a sigh of frustration at his friends loss.

"I win again!" Ashido proclaimed proudly and winked at Ojiro who seemed to forget how to breathe at that same moment. "Thanks for playing with me!" The pinkette added with a tilted head and broad smile.

"How are you so good at this game Mina?! Are you like a secret champion to the Pocky challenge?" Hagakure asked in a pouty voice. Since losing she'd moved to sitting behind Ashido on the couch where she'd lean over her friends shoulder to get a closer look at the competition.

"Didn't you know? Ashido is good at everything!" Kirishima, who'd been largely quiet up until now, boldly added as he came up behind Ojiro and patted him on the shoulder. "Scoot over buddy, I'm next!"

Ojiro—who had now apparently recovered from being winked at and flirted with—stiffly rose from his place on the couch and made way for Kirishima. Uraraka thought she could hear him muttering, "What just happened?"

"Whoo! Kirishima you got this man! You can beat her!" Kaminari again cheered.

"Do your best Kirishima! You can win!" Sero, who had also been relatively invisible until just now, encouraged. Uraraka noted that he had taken a place next to Kaminari and appeared to be acting as the competition's newest cheerleader.

"Kaminari! Sero! Don't encourage them!" Ida huffed. Each new competitor that sat across from Ashido seemed to bring a new level of frustration for poor Ida. His cheeks had started to take on a slight blush that Uraraka felt fairly certain wasn't because he was embarrassed but more likely because he was growing more and more frustrated.

"Oh come on Ida, lighten up! It's just a game!" Hagakure said in defense of the game continuing.

Ashido had pulled out another stick of Pocky but paused and looked toward the class rep with hooded eyes. A playful smile tucked into the corner of her mouth as she practically purred, "You can always play too, Ida."

A deep shade of red—one that was almost certainly not from frustration—colored the poor boys cheeks and he opened his mouth to snap something back but sputtered in a very not like Ida fashion instead. "I, er, n-n—that is quite enough! If you're all going to continue to play this childish adolescent game and break the rules then I, I'm going to leave and go, er, go make dinner as well!" Ida turned to leave but paused briefly and shot a serious look back at everyone still in the common room. "You've all been warned!"

"Spoil sport," huffed Mineta, apparently done with his pouting and now standing beside Uraraka. Uraraka blinked in surprise. When had he left his corner? And when did he sneak up to stand beside her. As if he was privy to her private thoughts, Mineta shot Uraraka a lecherous look and smiled. "You know, we three can play, whaddya say Asui?"

"Um…thank you, but no. Tsu and I are studying we aren't actually playing," Uraraka rebuffed with an awkward smile.

"You say that, but here you are, oof—" Mineta oofed mid sentence as Tsu's impressive tongue shot out for a split second to slap him across the shoulder.

"That's enough of that Mineta," she scolded, her tongue now just poking out of the corner of her mouth.

Mineta looked down at his shoulder and then at Tsu, his face now beaming with a smile. "Hot."

"Mineta why are you the way you are?" Tsu deadpanned.

"Yeah Mineta, we told you you couldn't play, so yeah, leave them alone. No one is going to do a Pocky challenge with you, like ever," Ashido said looking down her nose at him.

"What? Are you afraid Ashido that I might be able to be—" Mineta was again interrupted, this time by Sero's tape like quirk shooting out to wrap around the pint sized boy and with Aizawa level efficiency, had him wrapped up in tape from head to toe.

"There. Okay, back to the game. Come on Kirishima!" Sero said with confidence as he turned back to the game.

"Nice man!" Kaminari added and high fived Sero.

"No more distractions. Come on Kirishima," Ashido challenged as she took her next Pocky stick and made a show of placing the chocolate covered in just inside her mouth. She leaned forward in such a way that there was a near instant blush on Kirishima's face. "Ready?" Despite her words being muffled by the candy in her mouth, there was an obvious husky undertone to her one word question.

"Uh, y-y-yeah," the red haired boy nervously replied and stiffly leaned forward to take the other end of the Pocky stick.

Uraraka took in the show and suddenly felt like she was witnessing a private moment between the two. Something about the blush in Ashido's cheeks, the playful tilt of her smile, the way she leaned forward on her outstretched hands in what could only be described as suggestive, and her unflinching gaze on Kirishima felt intimate. Likewise, Kirishima's rosy cheeks and the beginnings of an impish smile in the corner of his mouth gave the scene an unexpected romantic air.

Kirishima leaned forward and delicately took the opposite end of the stick in his mouth. Ashido made the smallest of nibbles followed by Kirishima mimicking her and taking an equally small bite.

Their faces had already been close before they started munching on the Pocky, but now even with just one bite in they were painfully close, practically nose to nose. Uraraka could feel a blush of her own color her cheeks. There was a silence in the room that hadn't been there a moment ago. Looking around, Uraraka noted that all eyes—even Mineta who had been struggling to free himself of Sero's tape until Kirishima had taken the Pocky—were locked on the two sharing the Pocky stick. She noted that both Kaminari and Sero had silently leaned forward, eyes wide and bright. Even the silent Jiro now seemed to be intently watching.

Uraraka realized that the audience had grown to more than just those who were present in the common room. Aoyama who had left to the kitchen after losing had returned and was now standing in the doorway to the dining area along with Yaoyorozu quietly observing. Farther behind them she could make out the peeking head of Ida, also apparently curious enough to investigate what had caused the stillness in the common room.

The pair continued silently nibbling until just a fingernails length of Pocky remained. Nose to nose now, Uraraka saw Kirishima pause and briefly flick his eyes toward Ashido. She swore that she saw the smallest of head nods from Ashido and then before she knew it, Kirishima had taken up the remaining stick and closed the distance between he and Ashido.

The two kissed. The round had ended in a kiss, a draw.

Mentally Uraraka understood that this was an expected and often times a desired outcome of the game, but to see it, to actually see two of her classmates—who she was now certain had something going on—choose to end in a draw left her open mouthed staring. As Uraraka stared, there was a quiet collective intake of breath as the two ended their turn in a draw.

A moment later the two pulled away and laughed, flushes of red dotting their cheeks. Kirishima had his eyes downcast but was smiling broadly and Ashido was giggling happily. Uraraka felt like it would be seen as rude if she kept staring but try as she might, she couldn't seem to redirect her gaze anywhere else.

Kirishima and Mina had just kissed, well Pocky kissed, in front of everyone! The other night when they'd spoken in Momo's room, she'd been intentionally vague about Kirishima's supposed staring at her and now, now they were here kissing each other in public! Well, Pocky kissing. It still counted as a kiss and it counted as an incredibly public, bold display of affection. It did count, right?

Uraraka cast a curious glance around the room and saw similar shocked and surprised expressions. No one had seen that coming. As she continued to glance around the room, she was perhaps most surprised by Mineta's reaction. He'd managed to get most of the tape off his head and face and while he too openly stared at the two, his eyes were narrowed as if in irritation and his mouth compressed into a line of…annoyance? That was weird. Shouldn't he be like frothing at the mouth? Or tearing up with jealousy?

"It's, it's…a draw…?" Kaminari whispered, his head tilted to the side and his eyes still wide with shock.

There was a heavy silence and then a chorus of testosterone filled whoops and hollers.

"My man! A draw! Way to go!" Sero congratulated, his face no longer shocked but bright and smiling.

"Yeah! A draw? You're so cool!" Gushed Kaminari.

"That was…intense, I can't believe you got her in a draw!" Exclaimed Ojiro, also smiling.

"Dude! That was amazing!" Sato cheered.

"Mon dieu! You're both practically glowing! C'est trés belle! I think I might shed a tear!" Aoyama said in a breathy voice, his eyes bright and shimmery as if he was in fact about to shed a few tears.

Ida had come back from lurking further behind Yaoyorozu and Aoyama and was blushing just a little. "Even though it goes against the code of conduct, I must say Kirishima, that your display of bravery to end this game in a draw is most inspiring!"

"Wow! Thanks guys!" Kirishima beamed.

Meanwhile, the girls had had similar reactions to the boys.

"Oh my gosh Mina! You're so brave! I can't believe you kissed him! I wish I was that brave!" Hagakure had practically squealed her voice was high with excitement.

"Mina, I just, wow." Jiro's voice was quiet amongst all the others but there was an undertone of intense respect in it.

"It's the first draw? How impressive!" Yaoyorozu had said with a genuine smile dotting her face.

"Ribbit," was the quiet, awed response from Tsu.

The one response that wasn't shocked and awed, and perhaps most surprising, was from Mineta of all people. The small boy looked particularly petulant as he sat next to Uraraka, still struggling to remove all of Sero's tape.

"A draw. Really. How… interesting," he'd said with narrowed eyes and what looked like a particularly venomous glare at Ashido.

Uraraka had managed to finally close her mouth and stopped staring only to start staring at Mineta. He was acting so strangely. Why would he be annoyed by a draw? Shouldn't he be acting like everyone else and excited? What was going on here that she wasn't seeing?

Ashido's bright and glowing demeanor abruptly changed to serious as she whipped her head in the direction of Mineta. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she said, "Yeah, it's a draw, so what? Now someone else can go."

"And who is that—" Mineta started a tone of irritation in his voice only to be interrupted by Ashido.

"Well somebody else can go then…and I think we just gained some possible new players too! Bakugo, Midoriya, come join us! We're doing the Pocky challenge!" The dark eyed girl said with a smile.

"What!?" Mineta exclaimed and turned his face toward the entryway in shock. Uraraka felt her stomach flip flop at Deku's name and she too turned her head and was once again shocked into open mouth surprise as she took in the two boys standing there.

Sure enough, both Bakugo and Midoriya stood in the entryway, their shoes discarded for slippers, coats awkwardly held in their hands. They both stood peering into the common room with curious and perplexed—though perhaps more so irritated in terms of Bakugo—expressions on their faces.

At some point during the silent and tension filled turn of Kirishima and Ashido, the two boys must've quietly returned from their one-on-one training with All Might and had walked into this little spectacle. Now they stood rather awkwardly on the precipice of the common room, unsure how to proceed.

"The fuck is this?" Bakugo asked gruffly.

Bakugo's growling voice made Uraraka snap her mouth shut as she tried to adjust to the new development. Her eyes wandered toward Deku and took in his rosy cheeks and confused expression.

Deku just arrived and Ashido and Kirishima just ended their turn in a draw. Does that mean that a new pairing is selected or does one of the two that ended in a draw go next? I guess a new pairing would make the most sense. So…Deku just got here and Ashido is probably going to step down and let someone else play. Will he want to play? If he plays, who will he play with? Better question, if he plays does that mean I want to play then? Wait…if I play and neither one of us chickens out then we'd end in a draw too and that would be like a huge declaration…right? It basically was with Kirishima and Ashido, though I guess it doesn't necessarily mean that they're like together. If I played, would I want to end in a draw? Would I want to have a public, game accepted kiss visible to the rest of my classmates? Uraraka had a serious blush cover her cheeks as her mind ran through that possibility. No. I don't even think Deku would be willing to play, I think that that would make him uncomfortable. He might be less uncomfortable if I was playing but I don't think he'd want to play and besides, I'm not even playing; Tsu and I have been like background characters this whole time! It would look even more suspicious if I just suddenly volunteered to go if Deku went all the sudden. There's no need to even keep thinking about this really so yeah, I can stop thinking about it. Anytime now…stop thinking about it. Stop. STOP IT!

Even as she tried to banish this line of thinking—to stop thinking about playing and having a draw ending with Deku—they kept returning to her. It didn't matter how hard she tried to dismiss the conjured image of Deku on the other end of a Pocky stick barely a hand away from her own mouth making suggestive little nibbles, she just couldn't get it out of her head. Every time she thought she managed to push the imaginings aside and focus on her homework it'd come back in some new iteration; no Pocky stick remaining between them, lips touching, rosy cheeks; Deku's tongue flicking over the Pocky stick and brushing her lip; the Pocky stick falling from her mouth and her leaping onto him, her lips pressing into—

"Ochako?" Came the sound of Tsu's curious voice which at last pulled Uraraka out of her thoughts and to the present moment. She realized that the majority of the room was staring at her now, Deku included. Bakugo was no longer at Deku's side, apparently having decided that whatever it was they were doing wasn't worth his time.

"What? I'm sorry, I was lost in thought," she explained, a rosy flush beginning to flower on her cheeks.

"Sheesh, take a mental nap later. Ashido explained that we're doing the Pocky challenge to Bakugo who said we were all stupid morons and then left so then I said Midoriya should go since they just got here and Ashido suggested you or Tsu go too," Mineta explained his gaze somehow deeply probing and causing the blush in her cheeks to darken. She couldn't explain it, but she somehow felt like he could read the thoughts she'd just had.

"Uh, well, I, well, Tsu and I aren't playing, that is," she stuttered, feeling her face grow hot and her heart starting to beat erratically.

"I, I think that I'm confused why it has to be either of us that goes too," Deku said softly.

"Why not go, Ochako? It doesn't have to be Midoriya. It could be anyone! Come on! It's just a game and it's actually kind of exhilarating and fun!" Suggested Kirishima this time with a genuine smile. Ashido, who was still beside him, held up the box of Pocky and looked at her expectantly.

"This feels a little peer pressurey—" Tsu started only to have Mineta interrupt by suddenly leaping from his seated position and into Tsu's lap, his pint sized hand slapped over her mouth.

"Shush! She can decide on her own!" He hissed, still holding his hand up to her mouth.

"Ew Mineta! Don't touch her! She did not give you permission to touch her!" Ashido chastised.

At the same time almost everyone else chimed in to admonish the smaller boy.

"Dude not cool," Kirishima said with a frown.

"Get off her, you pervert!" Jiro exclaimed angrily.

"Can't you keep your hands to yourself?" Sato asked as he looked on at the smaller boy, judgement heavy on his face.

"Clearly someone wasn't paying attention in the consent portion of our class," Yaoyorozu mumbled under her breath.

"Mineta! That is unacceptable or appropriate behavior!" Ida admonished.

"Do you ever learn, man?" Kaminari laughed.

"Mineta!" Hagakure scolded.

"That was kinda rude, Mineta," Deku quietly added.

"I'm going to have to cover you up in tape all over again," Sero said with a snicker as he raised his elbows in preparation for another round of tape bondage.

"Mon dieu!" Aoyama said and turned away dramatically as if what Mineta had done made him physically look away.

"Mineta what is your problem? Get off Tsu!" Uraraka exclaimed and started to angrily reach out toward Mineta and Tsu. How dare he just jump on her?!

"Bunch of idiots. Fix it myself," grumbled a harsh and angry voice that could belong to no one other than Bakugo.

Tsu pulled Mineta's hand off her mouth with some force. She frowned as she pulled the pint sized boy away from her to glare at him. "Mineta that was really out of line," but before she could say or do anything else, Mineta was suddenly forcefully pulled from her grip by an unknown pair of hands.

Uraraka followed the movement and was surprised to see that Bakugo had stepped in and snatched up the diminutive lecher and now held him tucked under one arm as if he were nothing more than a sack of groceries. His hand was pressed tightly over Mineta's mouth keeping the little creep quiet. With his free hand, he deftly grabbed the Pocky that Ashido still held in her hand.

"The Pocky challenge is a stupid waste of time game that's basically a glorified version of Spin the Bottle—another stupid game. And like I'm sure four eyes has droned on and on about, that is against the rules. Clearly none of you are mature enough to play this game without getting a little frisky," Bakugo sneered the last word at Mineta and seemed to tighten his grip over the boys mouth. "I'm taking your Pocky so the rest of you can go fuck off and help make dinner or whatever," he glanced down at Mineta and smiled wickedly, " ball boy and I are going to have a little talk." With that said, Bakugo left stilly carrying the currently silenced Mineta in one arm, the box of Pocky in the other.

A brief silence hung in the air over the now broken up game and ruined mood until Ida chimed in. "Let us use this time to all come together and assist with making dinner as a class!"

The rest of the class reluctantly started to leave their positions and head toward the kitchen as Ida had suggested. Uraraka watched the others clear out and couldn't help but feel like she dodged a bullet. Would she really have been peer pressured into playing? And what was Bakugo going to talk to Mineta about? She both wanted and didn't want to know how that conversation went.

"Do you want to join them or finish up, ribbit?" Tsu asked quietly from across the table.

"Oh, we can finish up I guess," Uraraka decided but then shot a tentative look to where she'd last seen Deku. He was no longer standing in the entryway, in fact, she couldn't see him at all. Where had he gone?

"Math homework? I have a little of my math homework left, we can do it together or I can help if you'd like!" Came the upbeat voice of Izuku Midoriya from behind Ochako, startling her.

"Eep!" She squeaked and looked back in surprise at him. When had he snuck up behind her?

"I could use some help if you're offering," Tsu said with a smile.

Deku cautiously moved from behind Uraraka to the other end of the table so he could face both Uraraka and Tsu. He gave an apologetic smile to Uraraka. "Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you and sorry about Mineta Asui, er, I mean Tsu."

"That's okay Midoriya. I think that's just how he is. He can't help himself. I just hope that Bakugo doesn't actually murder him. Ribbit," shrugged Tsu.

"I don't think Kacchan will actually hurt him, maybe just sternly talk to him," Deku said with a smile that somehow came off as more nervous that reassuring.

Uraraka sat quietly her eyes glued to her notebook as Tsu and Deku exchanged pleasantries. She wasn't sure she could look up at him without giving too much away. Sure, Tsu probably really already knew that she was quite fond of their classmate, but she wasn't ready for it to be painfully obvious to someone else yet. At the same time, her mind kept returning to Kirishima's and Ashido's Pocky kiss. Sure it had been a Pocky kiss but it had been a confession of sorts…would it have been the same for her and Deku if they'd been in their place? Would it be a public declaration of mutual feelings for one another? Was she overthinking this? Maybe? Yes? No? Probably.

And yet, sitting here with Deku so close to her, she could feel her heart skipping away in her chest at just his close proximity. The desire to look up and catch his gaze was nearly overwhelming. While he'd startled her initially, hearing his soft and comforting voice behind her had also filled her with an excitement that she was frightened of. That excitement really liked his voice; it liked, well, it liked everything about him…in fact it loved him.

Loved him. The words were like heavy blows to her stomach and for a split second, she couldn't breathe. Surely, she couldn't be in love with him? She was a teenager! Teenagers weren't supposed to navigate the confusing labyrinthine maze that was love, right?! That was for adults. For adults. Teenagers were entitled to first crushes and the idea of first love not actual love.

And for those who happen to find it, adult or not, whispered a voice from deep within herself.

Shyly, Uraraka raised her eyes from her notebook to the object of her affection. He was leaned over Tsu's notebook, helping her with some calculation. She took in the messy fall of his green hair, the easy smile on his face, and the healthy smattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. The sound of his soft dulcet like voice filled her mind and she thought she might legitimately swoon at the sight and sound of him.

As if aware of her staring, Deku stopped briefly to look at her. The brilliant flash of green met brown and Uraraka felt like her heart might've stopped. He tilted his head just slightly and smiled radiantly at her, eyes squeezed shut in happiness. "Hey Uraraka!"

"H-hey," she mumbled, struck stupid by the mere presence of the boy, the joy he emitted and elicited from within her.

Deku's eyes opened and he raised a brow slightly and said in that same soft voice, "I'm almost done with this problem Asui, er, Tsu, is working on, want to work on our homework all together then?" He paused, eyebrows now knitting together. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's the matter," she said practically breathless. Her gaze still lingered on his face and the beginnings of one of Deku's adorable blushes started to color his cheeks.

"You, uh, want to eat dinner together later?" He asked, the blush continuing to bloom over his face at Uraraka's prolonged stare. "Oh, Tsu, I didn't mean for me and Uraraka alone, you're welcome to join us, though I guess we kind of all eat as a group anyway, so uh, yeah, we can all eat together!"

Tsu's knowing eyes flickered between the two of them and she very briefly smiled before nodding. "Ribbit, sure."

Ochako at last managed to lower her gaze to her notebook. Deku seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and she vaguely became aware of him asking what problem she was on and her response.

But in the back of her mind only one thought reigned supreme:

I am in love Izuku Midoriya.