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: No joke, in places where there's a smattering of flowering trees like cherry trees or plum trees, they start dropping their petals and flowers in such large quantities that the ground looks like it's a carpet of flowers. I was in Oregon one spring and the cherry blossoms were almost done and there were just blankets of fallen petals everywhere! As a lover of flowers, it was like something out of a great dream. Anyway, thanks for any comments/favs/follows. They're much appreciated. Drop me some more if you feel so inclined! Have a good read!
Forty-Eight
The Flower That Follows the Sun
There were plum blossom petals and flowers everywhere. It didn't matter if Ochako looked up, side to side or straight ahead, wherever she looked there was a near constant flow of pale pink, pink, and red flower petals. It was like something out of a movie or book; there were just so many! Ochako wondered if the sheer number of falling petals was due to the slight breeze in the air and the fact that the plum blossom season was nearing its end. She had distant memories of her childhood and attending Sakura festivals that had similar numbers of falling flowers.
Whatever the reason might've been, it had created a sort of ethereal landscape. Everything was blanketed in fallen flower petals. Along the sidewalks and street gutters there was an abundance of fallen petals, almost like a carpet made up of flowers.
After they'd found a restroom to dispose of their trash in and to do a quick use of the facilities, they'd proceeded deeper into the festival grounds. Both Ochako and Izuku had seen lots of cute little shop vendors and all sorts of yummy looking food stalls. They'd passed a few stalls boasting various games but since it was technically the winter season Ochako didn't think they'd pass by any kingyo sukui or goldfish scooping stalls.
They'd stopped briefly a festival stall that had games of wanage or ring tossing, and played a few rounds. Both Ochako and Izuku had been pretty good at it, though Deku was arguably a bit better at getting the wooden rings around the little pegs than she was. Izuku managed to win a round and was awarded a prize that he let Ochako pick out. She selected a small mochi plushie that had little hearts for eyes.
Ochako held her mochi plushie with one hand, her other hand delicately entwined with Deku's. She felt like she was floating on cloud nine; hand in hand with the boy she liked, dressed all fancy in a kimono, and sporting a prize that the boy that liked her won just for her.
"What's your favorite color Deku?" Uraraka asked as the two continued to make their way past various festival shops and food stalls. As they'd been walking, she realized that there were a bunch of little things that she didn't know about him, like his favorite color. She could assume it was green since his entire costume was a sort of jungle green color, but who knew if that was a correct assumption. She'd decided that she wanted to know everything there was to know about the green eyed boy. It was a bit random to ask now, considering that they'd been at the festival for a while now, but she wanted to know Deku's favorite things; she wanted to know the things that made him happiest.
"My favorite color? Huh, I guess I hadn't really thought about it much," Deku replied softly, his free hand was drawn up by his chin, as if in deep thought. Uraraka waited patiently for him to respond.
"I guess green? Like a dark green, like forest green meets jungle green," Izuku paused briefly and let out a small laugh. "Kind of on the nose huh? Since the Midori in my last name literally means green. Maybe that's why I like it?" He smiled broadly at her. Uraraka felt like she might need to dramatically swoon if he gave her another smile like that.
"I figured since you know your entire hero costume is basically green, but I thought I'd ask. What is your favorite food do you think?" Uraraka asked, smiling back at him.
"Um, I think my favorite is probably katsudon. My mom would always make that for me when I was having a bad day or for my birthday. I like beef stew quite a bit too, but wait," he paused and looked at her seriously, "what is your color? I think I know what your favorite food is—mochi—but what type of mochi do you think is your favorite?"
Uraraka didn't have to think for more than a second for what her favorite color was. "I like pink. Pretty much any shade of pink as long as it isn't like a fluorescent pink. That shade of pink kind of hurts my eyes and as for a type of mochi, hmm, let's see," Uraraka paused to think about what her favorite types of mochi were before answering. "Umm, I guess maybe some sort of Sakura mochi? It is kind of a delicate flavor but I like it because it's just the right balance of sweet."
"That makes sense. You look really good in pink—er, I mean that that is uh, a nice color on you, very flattering, er, haha, that's all," Izuku stammered as a blush started to dot his cheeks.
He's so cute when he gets all blushy, Uraraka thought to herself with little smile. "I uh, well I think you look good in green. Your hero costume's style and coloring are perfect on you." She lowered her eyes to the ground as she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment at the admission.
"Oh wow, gee thanks Urar—er, Ochako!"
The two continued walking along hand in hand before stopping at a turn off marked by a torii gate that led to a nearby shrine. Uraraka inclined her head toward the torii gate with a raised eyebrow. Did they want to go make an offering and wish to the gods? The two turned onto the path marked by the torii gate.
As they walked down the short little path that was lined with currently unlit little pink and white paper lanterns, Uraraka felt her heart flutter in her chest. When they got to the shrine, what would she wish for? What had she wished for in the past? For money and wealth, luck, academic success, health and wellness of herself and parents, admission into UA—she'd wished for all sorts of things but she'd never really made an offering to the gods in the hopes of romance; it had never been something that was all that present in her mind. Until now, that is.
"What do you think your favorite flower is?" Izuku asked her, pulling her out of her inner thoughts about making offerings at shrines.
"My favorite flower? Hmmm," Ochako was silent as she thought about the types of flowers that she knew of and that she liked. She thought lilacs and lilies smelled nice but were they her favorite? The Sakura was always really pretty but so short lived that she found it hard to call it her favorite. Orchids were pretty but honestly, since she'd learned that the bulb of the orchid was named because of its similarity to a testicle, well it was no longer really in the running. There were Forget-Me-Nots but they were so tiny and she'd read too many stories about how they were associated with loss which made her sad. The brilliant golden flash of a sunflower suddenly sprang into her mind and banished all other flowers. The sunflower and its representation of adoration, loyalty, and longevity; it's bright flowers and face always following the sun.
"Is it a poppy?" Izuku's voice cut into her thoughts of flowers making her blink at him in surprise.
"A poppy? Why would you think that?" She asked, gazing at him with curiosity.
Deku gave a nervous shrug before anxiously scratching the back of his neck. "Um well, you know, they're on your kimono and it's what your uh, hair ornament is." He reached out a shaking hand and briefly touched the floral hairpin tucked into her hair.
Uraraka felt her cheeks redden at both his tentative touch of her hair and by the obvious question that she'd completely overlooked. Of course it would look like she liked poppies, they were all over what she was wearing!
"Actually no, I like poppies but I don't think I'd call them my favorite," she paused briefly as she recalled that it had been the meaning behind the red poppy that had ultimately led to her choosing this particular kimono. "I think I would say the sunflower is my favorite flower."
"Oh, yeah? They're a really bright flower and they make pretty tasty seeds to eat! I think it's pretty cool that they can grow to all sorts of different sizes," Izuku said softly before quietly adding, "what uh, do you like about them?"
"I like that they're always so bright, it's like they're smiling. I guess that sounds kind of weird, huh? But I don't know, I feel like something about their bright petals and the fact that they open and close with and follow the sun makes them seem like they're smiling or at least happy to me. And yeah, you can eat the seeds or put the flowers into a pretty bouquet. There's just something about them that is I guess, sunny." And they bloom in the month that you were born, she thought to herself with a little blush.
"I don't think that's weird at all! If a flower could smile, I think it'd definitely be a sunflower! They're so bright and cheerful!" Deku said in a rush, clearly wanting to soothe any insecurity she felt.
"Thank you," she said in barely a whisper and gave their entwined hands a gentle squeeze, making Deku give a sheepish smile. "Do you have a favorite flower?"
"Oh me? Um, I don't know. I don't think I'd ever really thought that much about what my favorite would be," Deku replied thoughtfully.
They stopped midway to the shrine. Uraraka looked toward the shrine and back at Deku. Why had they stopped? She watched curiously as he knelt down briefly to pick up one of the fallen flowers. He held it delicately between his index finger and thumb and stared at it for a moment before extending the tiny blossom to her.
"I think my favorite is this, the plum blossom. It's the first real sign of spring, the hope that winter will end. It is one of the first flowers to bloom despite it being cold and grey. It flowers' despite snow or rain…it just seems like kind of a flower that represents hope, I guess."
Uraraka gently took the tiny flower from Izuku. She looked at the small blossom held between her fingers and then to Izuku and felt a sense of wonder wash over her. His cheeks were ever so slightly rosy, his gaze locked onto her but somehow far away as if he wasn't actually seeing her but something else, visible to only his eyes. He was magnificent! She didn't care what anyone else said; to her, he was the picture of beautiful. She would never forgive herself for having once referred to him as plain. He was anything but plain. He was radiant, a shining star that lit up whatever room he entered. At that moment she felt like she was the sunflower and he was the sun, always seeking out his brilliant rays of light. He's my own personal ray of sunshine.
"Uh, Uraraka?"
Ochako blinked at him, her enrapture broken. "Oh, uh, whoops, got distracted by uh, the, the flower! Um, that was really poetic what you said! I was just er, moved, by your words!" Definitely not awestruck by how amazing you are or how you are like the sun to my sunflower, or about how deep and caring you are or about how I am undoubtedly in love love with you. I don't care that I'm only sixteen years old; I know that I am in love with Izuku Midoriya.
"Really? I was just kind of saying what was on my mind, hadn't actually planned on making myself sound like a poet, hehe," Izuku explained, a nervous blush coloring his cheeks.
"Deku, I, well—" she stopped when the sounds of voices coming from the direction of the shrine drifted to her. Ochako turned in the direction of the voices, certain that one of the voices she'd heard was familiar to her.
"I'm cold, let's go back to UA!" Whined a familiar voice. The owner of the voice was just starting to become visible down the path, the gloom of the setting sun adding to the shadow.
"We can get some coffee or hot cocoa if you want. Might warm you up," answered another equally as familiar sounding voice.
Ochako could make out two figures coming their way from the shrine. One was taller than the other and they appeared to have their arms linked with one another. The first voice had been distinctly male and the second female. She was 99% certain that the voices belonged to Kaminari and Jiro. How interesting, a little voice whispered inside her.
"I think that's Jiro and Kaminari!" Ochako whispered, leaning into Deku so that she could speak into his ear.
"What!?" Izuku exclaimed, rather loudly.
"Shhhh!" Uraraka shushed.
"Hey I think I recognized that voice, and hey wait, doesn't that kind of look like Midoriya up there?" Asked the voice that Uraraka felt certain belonged to Kaminari.
"Shit," the female voice muttered. The smaller of the two stopped where they were, the taller one apparently not realizing that they'd abruptly halted and ended up getting jerked backwards.
"Hey Kyoka why'd you stop? If that's Midoriya we should go up and say hi—"
"Shut up!"
"What? Why?"
Even though Uraraka wasn't certain that it was in fact Kaminari and Jiro, she was starting to feel awkward at overhearing them. Not to mention, if it was Jiro and Kaminari, they were literally about to stumble into she and Izuku, which given their hands still entwined and Uraraka leaned up close toward Deku's ear, would look like nothing other than a couple on a date. What do I do? What do I do? Do I call out? Do we run? She thought to herself in a panic. Then again…they'd run into some of their other classmates and they'd not made a big deal about the two of them being together…maybe this would be the same way?
Before Uraraka could decide how she wanted to proceed, the smaller shadowed person that was likely Jiro, suddenly broke free of Kaminari and bolted into the bushes. The sound of twigs snapping and bushes shaking was all they could hear. The sound of moving shrubbery and the occasional grunt of frustration went on for several minutes, the sounds moving further away from them. A few minutes later and back at the head of the path by the torii gate, a small woman—who was most definitely Jiro—burst out of the shrubbery and ran into the crowd, effectively vanishing.
A moment later they heard the rapid approach of footsteps and saw the other formerly shadowed person, now unequivocally Kaminari, run up toward them. He slowed his pace briefly to flash them a nervous smile and said, "Oh hey guys, weird meeting you here, huh?" He paused briefly to look at their entwined hands and held a thumbs up and said, "Midoriya, nice man! Uh, gotta go now!" He then ran past them and in the same direction that Jiro had gone. Izuku and Ochako stood still and stared after them, perplexed by the entire scene that had just unfurled before them.
"They were definitely here together," Ochako murmured softly, still looking in the direction they'd gone.
"You think? Wow! Way to go Kaminari and Jiro! That's so cool!" Izuku exclaimed with a smile, his eyes following the swiftly disappearing Kaminari.
Uraraka finally looked away from the crowd and back toward Izuku. He was facing the direction that Kaminari had gone, an upbeat smile on his face. He's so sweet, she thought to herself with a blush. She looked down to the plum blossom she still held in her hand and back toward Izuku, suddenly struck by the compulsion to tuck the flower behind his ear. One last glance at the blossom and her mind was made up; she faced Izuku and gently tucked the tiny plum blossom into his hair and behind his ear. Her fingers lingered a bit longer than they should've at the upper portion of his ear, savoring the feel of his hair and skin.
"Wh-what are you doing?" He questioned, his cheeks now a deep scarlet, his eyes nervous.
"Sorry, I, I just couldn't resist. Flowers are something that everyone should get to enjoy, not just girls and I, well, I thought that it'd look pretty in your hair," she said with a bashful shrug before tugging on his hand to urge him further along the path, "come on, we, uh, should make our way to the shrine!"
Why did I have to put a flower in his hair? He probably thinks I'm weird now. Isn't that like something a boy should do for a girl? Yeah. What is wrong with me? Putting a flower into Deku's hair was weird, she thought to herself anxiously as she continued to tug on Deku, desperately hoping that once they arrived at the shrine they'd be preoccupied with that and Deku would forget the flower she'd put in his hair.
Okay, just make it to the shrine. What to wish for? What haven't I wished for? She cast a nervous glance over her shoulder at Deku before immediately looking back ahead. Okay, I haven't made wishes or prayed for things involving him…maybe, maybe…maybe I should wish for the courage to tell him how I really feel…and that he feels the same way…
"Uh, Urar—er, I mean, Ochako, sorry, habit, but uh, Ochako?" Deku's soft voice interrupted her turbulent thoughts, making her stop in her incessant march forward.
She cautiously turned around to face him but the sight of his blushing cheeks and downcast nervous green eyes sent her heart wildly aflutter so much so that she lowered her eyes. Stop being so lovestruck! "Y-yes?" Her gaze briefly darted up from the ground toward his face which was a mistake since he was looking at her and those emerald eyes locked her in place.
"Thank you for the flower, no one's ever put a flower in my hair or well, really given me one before…so uh, thank you." He flashed a smile at her that made her knees feel weak.
Against her better judgement, she suddenly surged forward and wrapped her arms around his middle and molded her head into his chest. She savored the scent of him, a smell like that of freshly fallen rain, Snuggle dryer sheets, clean linens—wait, no, he smelled like pure sunshine. With her head pressed into his chest she could hear the soft thumping of his heart, the sound fast at first, probably because he'd not expected her to capture him in an embrace, but then it slowed and she felt his arms gently wrap around her waist and settle on her low back.
"You're welcome," she whispered and slowly looked up toward his face. He was looking down at her, his eyes hooded, cheeks rosy. She inched forward, eager to close the distance between them, to taste him.
Street lights that lined the path suddenly switched on bathing what had been a cozy twilight into full illumination. The harsh light made Uraraka stop where she was and squint her eyes in response to the now well-lit area.
"Deku—" she started to say but the words suddenly caught on her tongue when the sound of voices echoing down the path from the festival reached her ears. She wasn't entirely certain, but she thought that she might've recognized a few of those voices. Could it be Jiro and Kaminari again? No, the voices were wrong for them…and there were more of them.
"I preferred the twilight. Revelry in the darkness," a voice very similar to Tokoyami's said.
"Not me! This way we can actually see where we're walking!" High pitched and excited—this voice sounded suspiciously like Hagakure.
"Well there goes my plan to cover these girly trees in tape," whined a voice that sounded like Sero.
"I cannot condone such behavior! This is a festival meant for everyone, Sero, and shouldn't be subject to childish pranks like vandalism! Vandalism is no laughing matter," chastised a voice that had to belong to no one else but Ida.
"I agree. That kind of thing would ruin this for everyone else," a soft but deeper voice; Yaoyorozu?
"Ribbit, you certainly like saying that 'revelry in the dark' Tokoyami," this voice was undoubtedly that of Tsu.
"If only these light's were bright like the trés belle chandeliers! This place would be a sight to see!" Exclaimed a flamboyant, soft voice.
Uraraka froze where she was, her eyes widening as she realized that the voices were most definitely that of her classmates and they were heading right for them. She peeked over Deku's shoulder and could clearly make out a crowd that looked like it consisted of Tokoyami, Tsu, Yaoyorozu, Hagakure, Ida, Sero, and Aoyama. Her gaze nervously shot back to Deku and she stared at him in a panic.
"Eeek! It's our classmates, not all of them, but a lot of them. They're not very far behind you, but I doubt they have identified us yet—" Uraraka started but the sound of one of her classmates suddenly calling out made the words die in her throat.
"Whoa! Is that Midoriya? Pretty sure I'd recognize that messy mop of hair anywhere!" Exclaimed Sero in an excited tone.
"What? Midoriya is here? No way!" Hagakure practically shouted with glee.
"Midoriya? Endeavor must've granted him leave. Excellent! I think getting out and enjoying a festival is much needed," Ida added, his voice not as loud as the other two but carrying and undertone of eagerness.
"It does indeed look Midoriya's hair," Tokoyami echoed Sero.
"Ribbit…uh what?" Tsu's voice had risen an octave with what Uraraka assumed was alarm. There was no way that Tsu would intentionally lead either herself or any of their classmates to a place she knew that Uraraka and Deku would be…not when she knew that they were basically on a date and didn't want to be disturbed.
"Oh, that does look like it might be Midoriya, wait, I think there's someone with him?" Yaoyorozu's voice this time. Uraraka felt her cheeks grow hot and she instinctually started to shrink into Deku. Her fingers had started to tingle and there were the beginnings of panicky butterflies dancing in her stomach. She would have to make sure she didn't panic too much or she was liable to activate her quirk on a whim.
"Hey Midoriya—er, if that is you—hey, dude! What are you doing here? Cool if Endeavor let you off! Where's Bakugo and Todoroki? And who do you have with you?" Sero's voice asked eagerly, the sound of footfalls suddenly picking up the pace.
"It looks like une petite fille to me! Midoriya, what have you been hiding?!" The sing-song voice of Aoyama chimed.
What do we do? We're about to be found out! What do we do! She thought to herself in a panic as she shot a nervous gaze up at Deku. She was shocked to see that his face wasn't pinched with anxiety and instead looked serenely calm. What?
"Hold onto me, okay?" Izuku whispered in a voice that was so quiet Uraraka almost missed what he said.
"Uh, maybe we should head back, I uh, I think, ribbit, that I, er, I broke my sandal!" Tsu called out, her voice still high with alarm.
"What? Here, let me see," Tokoyami commanded and Uraraka could hear some shuffling sounds.
"Wh-what? No, I don't need you to look at! Ribbit, no I really don't need you to do that!" Uraraka heard Tsu stammer and assumed that Tokoyami was trying to look at her supposedly broken sandal.
"Hey! Midoriya! Come hang out with us!" Hagakure shouted toward them. The sound of her voice had grown closer.
Uraraka felt Deku's hands shift on her, one hand moving to snake itself firmly around her waist, the other hand releasing her entirely. She looked at him in confusion but then a second later she saw his right hand shoot out into a fist and a dark tendril of pooling black energy unfurled from it. It shot out with shocking speed and latched itself onto a nearby street light, a moment later and green sparks of electricity seemed to envelope them entirely and they were suddenly airborne.
"Whoa! Where'd they go?" Uraraka heard Hagakure shout from somewhere below.
"Did he, did he just leap away from us?" Yaoyorozu asked.
Ochako held onto Deku tightly, becoming painfully aware that they were well above the tree's now. Instinctually she made herself weightless so that if she did fall, well she'd be weightless so it wouldn't be a lethal fall.
Deku held firmly onto Uraraka's waist with his left hand, turning them in midair as his right hand sent out another tendril of black whip out to latch onto a tree branch of one of the plum trees near the tori gate. The two were pulled in that direction.
"Do you want me to make you weightless?" Uraraka asked, her legs now tucked up by her chest as the two soared back down toward the festival.
"No, I think I can get us down there with black whip and just one fo—er, I can just get us down without your quirk," Deku said, stammering at the end of his sentence. Uraraka looked at him with a raised eyebrow. What had he been trying to say?
"I think you've gotten really good with black whip Deku! That was super-fast thinking!" Ochako practically gushed as another tendril sprung out of Deku's right fist and wrapped onto the top of the torii gate. They'd be back into the festival in no time!
Izuku blushed and let out a sheepish laugh. "Hehe, I don't know about that. This doesn't require sustaining it and I'm not having to capture anything. Using black whip for getting around is a lot easier than capturing or maintaining hold. Not so great at that still."
A moment later and Deku's black whip tendrils had withdrawn completely and he gracefully landed atop the torii gate before gently dropping down in front of it. A few people passing by looked at them curiously as they dropped down from the gate but no one really seemed to pay them too much attention.
Deku released Uraraka, who was still weightless until she hastily pushed her fingers together and released herself. She landed with a soft thud as Deku reached out to help stabilize her.
"That was some fast thinking!" She marveled again and cast a glance down the path that led to the shrine. She could see the group of her classmates farther down the trail now. Good, she thought to herself.
"Yeah uh, sorry. I just kind of sprung it on you without much warning. It might've been, well, it might've been a little jarring," Izuku apologized, his gaze lowered. He realized that he was still holding her shoulders from when she'd become weighted again and dropped his hands.
Uraraka watched the blush color his cheeks and had to resist smiling at his boyish awkwardness. She reached out one of her hands and took his hand into hers. "Well let's go back to the festival then?"
Izuku raised his eyes from the ground and to their entwined hands, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Right!"
A smile on both of their faces, Ochako and Izuku started to step into rejoining the crowd when Ochako suddenly ran into someone, or rather, someone ran into her. She stumbled backwards, Deku's free hand going up to her shoulder to help her regain her balance.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Excuse me—" Uraraka started but stopped when she actually looked at the person she'd just run into.
Before her stood Mina Ashido, her expression confused as she looked on at the scene in front of her. Movement from Ashido's side suddenly caught Ochako's eye and she looked down and practically yelped in alarm when she saw Mineta of all people standing at the pink girl's side. While Ashido looked confused, the look on Mineta's face could only be described as smug.
"Mina?" Uraraka croaked, her voice barely more than a scratchy hiss.
"Mineta?! Wait…I think I saw you earlier too, or well, someone dressed in something similar," the dulcet tone of Izuku's voice did nothing for Uraraka's swiftly fraying nerves as she continued to take in the surprised expression of Ashido and the triumphant look on Mineta's face.
Wait. Why is he wearing a trench coat and a mismatched fedora? Never mind, who cares! What matters is somehow getting out of this or I don't know, explaining something, Uraraka thought to herself in sheer panic. While their earlier encounters hadn't been that bad, running into a known gossiper like Ashido was bad news and it was worse news to run into their resident horndog. How were they ever supposed to find a moment of alone time if he was privy to their romantic status? He'd be like a continuous pebble in their shoe; the nosy neighbor; the unwanted and overbearing chaperone who wasn't actually interested in chaperoning but rather, in being involved. Ew.
"I didn't actually think…well wow," Ashido said softly, so softly Uraraka almost missed it. She saw Ashido's gaze drop from her face and to her hand joined with Deku's, her eyes widening just a bit.
"I knew it! I told you Ash—" Mineta started saying rather loudly but his sentence cut off when someone burst out of the crowd and literally onto Mineta, knocking the smaller boy onto the ground.
Both Izuku and Ochako bounced backwards and away from the commotion. Uraraka stared in shock as she realized that the person that had sprung out of the crowd was none other than, Bakugo. The ashen blonde crouched over Mineta, one hand twisting into the fabric of his oversized trench coat. He didn't even bother glancing up at either Midoriya or Uraraka but instead looked back toward the crowd and smiled a wild and unhinged smile.
"I fuckin told you icy hot! I fuckin told you! Get your ass over here!"
Both Uraraka and Deku looked in the direction that Bakugo was shouting and sure enough, Todoroki emerged from the crowd, albeit with much more grace than Bakugo had. By his side was Kirishima who wasn't looking at Bakugo or Mineta but rather at Ashido. His brow was furrowed, his mouth turned down into a small frown.
"Ashido, what are you doing here and with him?" Kirishima blurted out, his eyes shifting from the pinned Mineta to the pink haired girl.
"Eijiro! I mean, Kirishima! I, er, I—" Bakugo interrupted any response from Ashido with a loud laugh that bordered on maniacal.
"I warned you small fry but you just couldn't listen, could you? Now you're gonna die."
Mineta let out a grunt from beneath the far bigger boy. "Get off me!" He squirmed under Bakugo's hold but his attempts were useless; Bakugo was far more powerful and the pin he had Mineta locked into was inescapable.
"Wow! When did Bakugo, Todoroki, and Kirishima get here?!" Marveled Sero who had somehow managed to make his way to Deku's side. Deku nearly levitated at Sero's voice, apparently equally as surprised as Uraraka was at his abrupt appearance. Uraraka had to do a double take at his arrival and wondered when on earth he'd snuck away from what had looked like the retreating group of their classmates only to sneak up on them. "Also, I totally called it! Knew it was you man!" His eyes briefly lowered to the joined hands of Uraraka and Deku before he looked at Deku and said, "Nice." Uraraka felt certain that if her cheeks could grow any hotter that she might catch fire.
"What? Todoroki is here!?" Called Hagakure from somewhere behind Uraraka and Deku.
Uraraka looked over her shoulder and felt like her jaw would've fallen onto the ground had it not been attached. Behind her, the entire group from earlier was gathering a short way behind them. She saw a mixture of curious, shocked, and sympathetic—really only Tsu's expression was sympathetic—looks behind her.
"Bakugo, I fail to see what lunging at and assaulting Mineta—wait," Todoroki started but stopped, his head suddenly whipping to the side and his eyes narrowing. Almost faster than the eye could see, he raised his right hand and a small dagger like icicle flew from his outstretched fingers and impacted with something no one else had even seen. The icicle stopped about ten feet away from them and abruptly fell to the ground. Whatever it had run into was small enough that no one could really tell what it had actually impacted with.
"Did birdbrain catch up to us? Fucking dumbass if he thinks that I wasn't aware of his creeping freak feathers this whole time," Bakugo muttered as he glanced over his shoulder and back at Todoroki.
Birdbrain? What, who is he talking about? Uraraka thought to herself as she looked over toward where the icicle had fallen to the ground. What had it run into?
As if the gods had heard that very question and decided that answering it was of the utmost importance, the crowd of people suddenly parted and three people a good twenty to thirty feet away became visible. It was honestly a little hard to not see them. Hawks, Mirko, and what Uraraka assumed was a badly disguised Endeavor stood amongst the crowd, all three looking in their general direction.
"Mirko, Hawks, and Endeavor together at a group event?!" Izuku exclaimed excitedly as he looked over at the pro heroes. He really is a fanboy if he can momentarily forget the fact that we're about to be found out at just seeing three pros all together, Uraraka thought to herself with the littlest of smiles before returning to her previous state of extreme agitation.
"What?! Hawks is here! Oh my gosh! Do you think I'll be able to get an autograph!?" Hagakure squealed with excitement.
"Has this been what he's been busy with all this time? Shrugging me off to underlings so he can attend festivals?" Tokoyami's voice grumbled from further behind them.
"Mon dieu! Look at the way the number five hero practically glows in that kimono! I'm jealous!" Swooned Aoyama.
Todoroki's head was turned in the direction of the three pro's, his eyes narrowed, mouth pressed into a hard line. "Endeavor. How silly of me to actually take your word that you would give us the night off or at the very least, give me the night off," he said bitterly.
"Probably can't hear you over the crowd Todoroki," Sero suggested with a shrug.
"Wait, have we been being followed this whole time? How come I didn't know? You guys didn't think to inform me that pros, actual pros were following us?" Kirishima asked, his attention now divided between Ashido and the surprising appearance of Endeavor and company.
"Because you're fucking dense, duh, but yeah, pretty sure we've been tailed by birdbrain since we first got here. Shady little shit feathers," Bakugo growled with narrowed eyes in Hawks' direction. He turned his gaze back to Mineta. "Whatever. I don't care about them; I came here for you." His fist on Mineta's back tightened.
"Get off of me Bakugo! Jeez! I didn't do anything! All I'm guilty of is being at a festival…with a total hottie!" Mineta protested as he started to squirm under Bakugo's outstretched arm.
Kirishima's face whipped in Mineta's direction. "Ashido? What's going on?"
Ashido shifted uncomfortably. "Look Kirishima, it isn't what you think. Mineta had this whole stupid idea about following Mi—" she was interrupted by a wild hissing from Mineta.
"Don't spill the beans!" Mineta hissed as the fist on his back pressed harder. "Ouch! Quit it!"
"Can it you little creep!" Bakugo snarled.
"Shortly after I finished my soba I thought I saw what looked like a tiny red feather following us. I wasn't sure, especially because it seemed to knowingly escape my direct line of sight, but seeing it made me suspicious that we were being followed. I wasn't certain until now and I see I was right. I didn't know that Bakugo was aware of it too," Todoroki exhaled and turned away from Bakugo and Kirishima and toward the slowly approaching pro heroes.
"Nobody fuckin' cares anymore icy hot, but of course I was going to be aware you idiot. Fucking big bird thinks he's sly but I doubt he could slip even his smallest feather by me without me noticing. Your old man and shit feathers can do what they want though, I came here for the small fry." Bakugo grabbed hold of one of Mineta's small arms and twisted it up onto his back, causing the smaller boy to howl in pain.
"Looks like the jig is up! They're onto us number one," Hawks' voice cut through the noise of the crowd and to the group of perplexed, annoyed, and shocked students.
"Endea—" Todoroki started but was interrupted by Mirko's raucous voice.
"Bakugo, my murderous one-time playmate and hey, is that ball boy? What'd he do? Need help?"
At the mention of his name from her lips, Bakugo visibly bristled and shot a scathing look in her direction. "The fuck do you want, rabbit? Better question, what the hell are any of you pros even doing here? Other than waste taxpayer dollars judging by the dollar signs I see on that getup Endeavor is wearing or the kimono the rabbit is in."
Mineta raised his free hand and struggled to turn his face toward the direction that he'd heard Mirko's voice. "Present and eagerly awaiting punishment you deem appropriate!"
"Shut it!" Bakugo snapped angrily and slapped Mineta's hand down.
"Ribbit. This got out of hand quickly," Uraraka heard Tsu say but had no idea where she was. Oh how right she was; the entire thing was like one rapidly evolving comedy of errors!
Uraraka cast an uncertain glance at their surroundings, taking in the pro heroes that were now here, the group of her classmates behind her, and the group that was now in front of her as well. With the arrival of Endeavor, Hawks, and Mirko and Bakugo's outburst, well she might be able to use this as a getaway method. She gave a squeeze to Deku's hand and shot a nervous glance at him. He was still practically shoulder to shoulder with her, close enough that he could easily lean forward and whisper in her ear if he wished.
"Huh?" It was more of a grunt than an actual word and audible only to her. Izuku looked down at their hands and then up at her. Uraraka subtlety nodded her head to the side, toward the crowd of festival goers and darted her eyes in that direction, willing him to understand what she was trying to convey. She gently tugged on his hand and she saw understanding dawn on his face. He gave the slightest nod of acknowledgement. The two slowly began to creep away from Sero and toward the end of the torii gate, edging them closer to the crowd.
Endeavor, Hawks, and Mirko were easily within hearing and speaking range now. Endeavor looked ridiculous in the clothes he was wearing. If he'd been trying to go for inconspicuous, he'd failed miserably, unless this was just his personal style. Uraraka made a mental note to ask Deku about it later.
"Shoto…I am sorry," Endeavor began his voice somber, apologetic.
"Not interested," Todoroki snapped angrily.
"Your dad means well kid, he just doesn't always go about it the bes—" Hawks started only to have Endeavor interrupt him.
"You aren't helping Hawks!"
"My bad, sorry number one," Hawks said, hands up in apology.
Mirko moved away from Endeavor and Hawks and now stood over the still crouched Bakugo and pinned Mineta. She eyed them curiously before kneeling down so that she was on Bakugo's level. "What'd ball boy do this time? Make a pass at your girl?" Mirko's gaze briefly flickered back toward Todoroki and then back to Bakugo and she added with a devious little smirk, "or boy?"
Bakugo suddenly released Mineta in a huff and whirled to face Mirko. His eyes were wild and angry as he stared at the rabbit hero. "Why are you here when you as a pro should be out there chasing down villains?! Is hero work too much for the widdle baby wabbit? Had to tag along so shit bird and the worlds best dad can do your work for you?" His words were dripping with venom and while Hawks' eyes widened in response—Endeavor was too preoccupied with Todoroki to pay attention to the vitriol that came out of Bakugo's mouth—Mirko's smile just widened.
Uraraka and Deku edged closer to the crowd, their escape almost in sight. If they could just have maybe one more distracting event then they'd be home free.
"That's the spirit! I love it! Come on tell me how it really is my little explosive friend!" She exclaimed, leaning in toward Bakugo.
"I am NOT little! You, you…rabbit!" Bakugo shouted in protest. He stood up, towering over the rabbit hero, glowering at her. She rose to her full height, unintimidated by their height differences.
Uraraka and Deku had managed to creep past the farthest end of the torii gate, the crowd beckoned to them, all they needed to do was step into it.
"Ready?" Ochako whispered with a side glance at Deku.
"Right," Izuku whispered back. Hands still entwined, they disappeared into the crowd.
F/N: A note on sunflowers; they do in fact follow the sun when they are immature, a behavior that is called solar or sun tracking or for the true term, heliotropism. However, once they mature or are in full bloom the heliotropism stops and are primarily east-facing. This is because east-facing warms the flower up faster and bees like warm flowers, thus being pollinated is more likely to occur.