Chapter Twenty-Eight: Decision Made
Izuku Midoriya was quadruple-checking the pack containing the things he was bringing with him on his weekend trip with Uraraka while his mother watched from one side with an amused smile.
He had discussed things in more detail with Uraraka a few days prior, when they both hammered out who would be bringing what and where and when they would meet that morning. The morning in question was Saturday, May fourth, otherwise known as Greenery Day. It was a day meant to celebrate nature and thus a fitting day to set off on a trip to go stargazing.
The day was perfect. The weather was set to be perfect. Uraraka had done this sort of thing before so their campsite would most likely be perfect. Everything was perfect.
So, you know, no pressure or anything.
Inko, taking pity on her son's plight, stopped him from re-re-re-re-emptying the bag and checking everything yet again.
"Honey, you're fine. Everything's going to be fine. You've got everything you need, plus that thoughtful little add-on."
Izuku sighed and leaned against a nearby wall.
"I know, Mom. It's just that Uraraka-san's been really, reallylooking forward to this and I don't want to mess it up."
"Izuku," Inko gave her son a knowing smile, "from what you've told me about this girl, she sounds like the type who will be ecstatic just to be able to share this with you. Don't try too hard to make everything perfect; just relax and enjoy yourself. I think you'd do more to ruin things if you spent the whole time tense and worried, don't you?"
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Mom." Izuku zipped up the large pack and hefted it onto his shoulders. It was about time for him to get going and it was always a good idea to leave early just in case. He stepped forward and gave his mother a hug.
"See you tomorrow, Mom."
"See you tomorrow, Izuku. Be safe, alright?"
"I will."
Izuku turned and walked out the door, beginning his descent down the apartment stairs. If he had taken a moment to look back, he would have seen his mother starting to tear up with a big smile on her face.
It was, after all, the first time that Izuku would be spending the night away from her with someone other than the Bakugo family. Her little boy was growing up.
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Ochako Uraraka was bustling around her small apartment and doing a bit of last-minute packing. Honestly, it had been an oversight on her part. How could she have forgotten about something so basic?! Still, an early morning dash to the store and a flurry of cooking had resolved that issue quite nicely in her opinion.
Then, of course, she had to clean and dry the dishes. Leaving them to sit overnight like that would be a big no-no. Her parents had always said that whenever you left on a trip you should always make sure that everything at home was taken care of first, that way you wouldn't be distracted by the nagging feeling that there was still something left to take care of.
Ochako approved of this concept; she didn't want anything to distract her from her trip with Deku.
After all, she had more than just a good time riding on this. She had not forgotten her promise to herself from the previous week. If anything, her resolve had only grown stronger.
"Okay, there!" she nodded triumphantly to herself, "Everything's all set! I should still have about ten minutes or so before Deku-kun gets he-"
*Knock knock knock*
Ochako found herself interrupted mid-sentence by a series of polite knocks coming from her door. Had she mistaken the time? No, the clock definitely still said ten-twenty. Was he early?
This was Deku. Of course he would be early.
That didn't change the fact that her heart was beating about a million miles an hour right then, but it wasn't the worst scare that he had ever given her.
Far from it.
"Deku-kun, good morning!" she greeted him as she opened the door, giving him a quick once-over as she did so.
He was dressed comfortably, but practically. He had the same red boots as always along with a pair of dark cargo pants and a white t-shirt with All Might's face on it. He also had a dark green hoodie tied around his waist, presumably to prepare for the evening cold. Good idea.
There was also the matter of the large canvas pack that he had over his shoulders. It looked pretty full and Ochako felt a pang of guilt over making him walk all the way from the station to her apartment carrying it. He didn't look tired or uncomfortable though. On the contrary, he gave her one of his infectious smiles.
"Good morning, Uraraka-san! Sorry for being early, I just didn't want to risk making us late."
"Nope!" she shook her head, "You're just fine! Your timing is actually pretty good: I just finished packing my stuff. Still gotta get my shoes on though, so why don't you come in for a sec?"
He obliged, closing the door behind him and setting the pack down in the entryway before scanning the apartment curiously. Uraraka silently thought that he was likely to be disappointed. After all, there wasn't really anything interesting about the place.
Her bed was the dominating feature of the one-room abode, sitting in the center of her living space. Across from this was an old TV sitting on top of her dresser with a simple desk off to the side against the wall. The only doors in the area led to her closet and her bathroom. Add in a tiny corner kitchenette and voila: casa de Ochako.
"It's nice." he said as she did up her shoelaces.
"Thank you, Deku-kun, but I know you're just saying that to be nice."
"No, I mean it." he said, "It's simple, sure, but it's also got this warm, welcoming atmosphere. It feels…honest?" he spent a moment seemingly searching for a better word before shrugging, "I don't know. I guess it just feels like you, you know?"
Ochako took a bit longer to finish adjusting her shoes than may have been strictly necessary in order to give herself time to force the heat away from her face. Her parents had always teased her good-naturedly about how easily she blushed because of her fair skin, but she found it really annoying sometimes.
"Alright, Deku-kun! Let's get going!" she hefted her pack, letting out a small "oof" as she grew accustomed to the weight while he, meanwhile, picked his back up with barely a sound.
"Deku-kun, do you want me to use Zero Gravity to make that lighter?"
"Hmm?" he blinked, looking as thought he idea hadn't even occurred to him, "No, that's fine. It's really not that heavy."
She took it from him for a moment and would have let it drop if he hadn't reacted in time to prevent it.
"Holy cow!" she exclaimed, "That's got to be at least three times as heavy as mine! Exactly how strong are you, Deku-kun?!" he shouldered his pack and gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
"I'm really nothing special."
Ochako disagreed with this statement, but settled for rolling her eyes and leading him out of her apartment.
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They arrived at the bus station with time to spare and Izuku watched with fascination as Uraraka retrieved their tickets from the kiosk that she had told him about before. As predicted, it required a scan of both his and her student ID's in order to retrieve them. There were four tickets for each of them: two for the highway bus and two for the local bus once they had reached Hokuto.
As Uraraka had predicted, the layered discount they had received was substantial.
"Let's see…" she reviewed the bus schedule, "yep, eleven AM on the dot. We still have about seven minutes before it leaves, but we should go find the bus just in case."
They did so and it turned out that this was the first trip of the day for that particular bus, so it was there for them to board early.
"It'll take about two hours to get to Hokuto, so let's grab a seat in the back." she suggested, "We can put our bags on the floor and not be in anybody's way."
"Good idea." he agreed and soon the pair were seated together in the rear corner of the bus.
As it turned out, they needn't have worried. Several more people boarded but the bus was nowhere close to being even half-full.
"Direct line to Hokuto. Approximate travel time is two hours." the driver announced before pulling out of the station.
"So, have you ever been out this way before, Deku-kun?" Uraraka asked. Izuku shook his head.
"Nope. I've been a city boy for pretty much my whole life. I've been camping a couple times, sure, but not this far out."
"Wow, so this is a whole bunch of firsts for you, huh?"
"Yeah, this whole month has been a bunch of firsts." he remarked.
"Yeah…" her eyes glazed over for a moment before she shook her head slightly and came back to her senses, "heck, even just this past Wednesday you had a first! You managed to fight off Mina-chan…almost!"
"Almost." he laughed at her frank statement and the memory that it sparked.
It was Wednesday afternoon and somewhat earlier than Fight Club was usually held, given that there had been no class that day. A few students were missing from the group, but most had been able to make it. Izuku had finished mentally preparing himself for another several rounds of combat with the girls when Ashido had approached him, flanked only by Uraraka and Jiro.
"Sorry, Midori, but you only get the three of us today. You can't have all the girls to yourself all the time! It's just not fair to everyone else." she grinned at her own joke and then strutted over to the nearest ring that had been spray-painted on the ground, "Well, come on! Let's get this show on the road!"
Izuku was momentarily taken aback, but quickly accepted that he couldn't always expect to work his way up the ranks. Sometimes it would be rough right from the get-go and he needed to get used to that. With a resigned sigh, he stepped into the ring and raised his guard. Across from him, Ashido did the same.
The bell rang and Izuku prepared himself for the worst as Ashido charged him, right fist cocked back. The attack was clearly telegraphed and Izuku had no difficulty evading with a simple sway of his head. He expected her to close in or say something licentious, but instead she followed up with a roundhouse kick that he caught in the crook of his elbow and then proceeded to lift, trapping it with his other hand.
"What's the matter, Midori?" Ashido purred, "You look confused. Or did you just want to return the favor from last time?"
"What are you up to?" Izuku demanded.
"I'm fighting you. I thought that was obvious." she responded with a twinkle in her yellow-on-black eyes that did absolutely nothing to make her look less than guilty, "Here, maybe a quick shock to your system will help make things CLEAR!"
She utilized the considerable flexibility and balance that she had displayed at the arcade to rotate her body and deliver a massive kick to Izuku's hastily-constructed guard when he saw her leg heading for his head. This freed her initial leg, allowing her to follow through and send him sprawling.
Izuku quickly regained his feet. His arms had felt the force of that kick for sure, but his head was still clear. He had just been knocked down because it had been unexpected. He didn't have too much time to think about things since Ashido had already begun to close with him again, eager to re-engage.
With no time to think, all Izuku could do was react. His body instinctively moved in accordance with the motions he and Kacchan had developed over the course of the hundreds of matches they had had and before he fully realized what had happened, Izuku found himself with his feet planted wide apart, arm extended from where he had just launched Ashido with a powerful palm strike to the chest.
"Wow, Midori! That was a good one!" she coughed from the ground a few feet away.
"Oh, crap! Are you okay, Ashido-sa-GAK!"
When Izuku had moved to help her up, Ashido had hooked his legs with her own and brought him crashing to the floor with a wrench of her powerful lower body that ended with her looming over him with a fist streaking towards his solar plexus.
"HA!" her pink fist drove into his unprepared diaphragm, forcing all of the air out of his lungs and effectively ending the match.
"Guh…*cough*" Izuku struggled to regain his air and allowed himself to be helped to his feet by Ashido.
"That was a lot better than last time, Midori. You've still got issues with calling things a bit too early though. I was still raring to go."
"I can…see that."
"Still, it looks like our plan worked like a charm, eh, girls?"
It had been revealed to Izuku that part of the reason that Ashido had poured it on so heavily the first time was in accordance with the old "rip the bandage off" philosophy: if she gave him the worst she could think of (within the realm of relative decency), then a regular match would seem like no big deal by comparison.
"You're not out of the woods yet though, mister!" she had emphasized, "I'm not convinced that you've completely gotten over your issue, especially not that quickly. I'm going to be mixing it up from now on when you least expect it, so be ready for that! Also, apart from that one hit, you never actually tried to attack me, so that's still a problem. You can't win that way."
Still, Izuku thought, credit where credit was due: the girls had played him like a fiddle and he really did feel like they had taught him something.
BESIDES what a nice body Ashido has, thank you very much, Other Izuku. That was a set of images that he had worked very hard at suppressing. Hadn't gotten to sleep until an hour past what he usually did for the rest of the week thanks to that.
Yes, he was a teenage boy. Sue him.
It was about that time that Izuku noticed that Uraraka had fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder.
Duh. Of course she's tired; she's the one orchestrating all of this so she probably spent even more time stressing about it than I did.
…Mom was right. I need to just relax and enjoy this.
Having decided on the best course of action, Izuku set his phone to wake him in an hour and joined Uraraka in her nap.
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Izuku awoke precisely one hour later as his phone vibrated in his pocket, feeling rejuvenated. He deactivated the alarm and put his phone back into sleep mode to conserve battery before turning his head slightly to check on Uraraka. Sure enough, she was still asleep. They were set to arrive at Hokuto in around twenty minutes, so he waited another ten before gently shaking her awake.
He got a sense of déjà vu as she sleepily opened her eyes and blinked at him a few times before her brain started working again. She really did look absolutely adorable when she had just woken up.
"Gotta be careful…" she mumbled, "this is becoming a habit."
"Not one I particularly mind though." he chipped in.
Her response was to shove him half-heartedly on the shoulder, causing him to bounce off of the wall of the bus.
"No teasing. Just woke up."
"Fair enough. I'm not teasing you though. Well, I guess nowI am, but only because you made me."
She simply made a "hmph" sound and collapsed back onto his shoulder, giving a huge yawn as she did so.
"Are you alright?" Izuku felt the need to ask.
"Yeah." she responded, sounding a bit more awake, "I'm just a bit tired I guess: I got up early this morning. I'll catch another nap on the bus to Minamimaki and I'll be just fine after that. Promise."
As they exited the highway bus and made their way to the nearby stop for the local bus that would take them to Minamimaki, Izuku marveled at how casually he was able to interact with Uraraka, in spite of the familiar gestures they were making, such as sleeping on each other.
Had he gotten some sort of confidence boost from Fight Club? Had he just grown used to Uraraka, or was it something else?
Maybe he was just taking his mother's advice to heart? Maybe it was this incredibly fresh and clean countryside air?
Who knew?
They only had to wait about ten minutes for the local bus to arrive and then the pair were once again on the move with Uraraka having fallen back asleep almost as soon as they had sat down. The country road was rougher and a lot more winding than the highway had been, so Izuku put his arm around Uraraka's waist to keep her in place.
For safety purposes.
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The bus ride to Minamimaki ended up taking about forty-five minutes and Ochako felt much better after her second nap of the day. Good thing too: she would have hated being too tired to stay up for the late-night viewing.
Minamimaki itself was a small, rural town to the east of the Yatsugatake mountain range. As she was explaining to Deku, they would be hiking west for about three hours in order to A) get far enough away from the town that their lights wouldn't interfere and B) gain a bit more elevation so as to be able to see the night sky better. Specifically, they were headed to the Nobeyama Highlands at the base of Yatsugatake itself.
In all honesty, the hike would be relatively simple. They would be following established roads that led the way to the mountains, breaking trail only once they neared their destination.
Ochako had made sure to bring a map and after verifying their route with a kindly old couple and taking a moment to use a public restroom, they were on their way.
As they started along the road, they passed a school that had a sports field full of decorations, kites and laughing children. After waving at a few kids that had noticed them, Ochako wondered aloud if their classmates were doing anything special.
"Well, I know Kacchan and his family were going out of town to visit some relatives." Deku explained, "I think that Shoji-san was doing something similar, which is why he wasn't at the club on Wednesday. I'm not really sure about anyone else, sorry. I've had a lot on my mind recently."
"Does it have anything to do with the extra lessons you've been having with All Might-sensei?" she hazarded. Judging from how he pursed his lips and closed his eyes for a moment, it seemed like she was on the mark. He confirmed this a moment later.
"Yeah. I know that I can't just keep using my Quirk the same way I have been, so I've been working with him to try and find a better way of utilizing it. You know," he added with a grimace, "one that doesn't land me in the infirmary quite as often."
They had well and truly exited Minamimaki by this point and the greenery was becoming wilder and thicker. A combination of trees and shrubs loomed over the road, one side of which was protected by a concrete barrier that gave everything a slightly skewed perspective.
"Have you figured anything out?" Ochako continued their conversation after a few minutes, "About using your Quirk, I mean."
"Sort of." he responded in a slow manner, as though he was taking the time to carefully choose his words, "I've found a workaround for only being able to use it in one limb at a time, but at the moment it's just too inefficient. I can only keep it going for about twenty-two seconds right now and that's only if I've got a full tank. The Conflagration Zone at USJ is great for practicing, but I can't count on such easy access to fuel in a real situation."
It came down to managing resources then. Ochako could understand that: she basically lived it, after all.
"The thing is," Deku continued, "I know what the solution is. Well, sort of. It's just that actually implementing it takes so much concentration that I can't really do anything else. It's like trying to look left and right at the same time and I only know one person who can do that."
That was true. Shoji could look left, right, up, down, forward and backward all at once and still have a hand free to do something else with. Ochako tried to imagine what that would be like, but it gave her a headache.
"Don't you just have to practice it more then?" she suggested. He shook his head.
"I honestly don't think it's that simple. I just…I have this gut feeling that I'm doing something fundamentally wrong and I don't want to make a habit out of it."
Ochako wished there was something that she could do to help him. This was obviously something that had been gnawing at him for a while now. Heck, it would drive her crazy too: having all that power and not being able to use it? That would suck. She could barely imagine how it must be to have all that talent and not be able to put it to use.
Deku would deny it, of course. He would deny it until he was blue in the face; it was just the sort of humble guy he was. Still, to be born with a Quirk like that and still not be able to use it because it could scorch and break your body? Nature could be cruel sometimes.
"I'm sure you'll figure something out, Deku-kun. You're pretty much the smartest guy I know, so if you can't do it…then I guess it just means that it can't be done!"
Ochako was pretty proud of that bit of encouragement, so it irritated her a bit when Deku started laughing.
"Hey! Just 'cause I'm not as good with words as you or Iida-kun doesn't mean you have to be a meanie about it!"
"No, no Ura- *snrk* Uraraka-san," Deku got himself back under control, "I'm not laughing at you, just what you said." he took a long, slow breath to steady himself as they passed by a grassy clearing with a dirt road that led to an isolated building of some kind, possibly a house, "It's just, well, I think it was exactly what I needed to hear. This is something that I have to do, meaning that I have no choice but to find a way. If I'm the only one who can figure it out like you said, then that means it has to be possible!" he gave her a smile and a determined fist pump, "Plus Ultra!"
"Yeah," she nodded enthusiastically, mirroring his gesture with her own arm, "Plus Ultra!"
The spent the next hour or so in silence, passing several dirt paths branching off from the main road. Some looked like they might be driveways, but there were others that curved off into the wooded areas and were overcome by shadows.
This was an area that belonged to nature; she just allowed humans to pass through as a matter of course. The road wound through on a constant slight incline, taking them ever higher with only the guardrails that were in places almost completely obscured by foliage there to prevent what would be a deadly fall for an ordinary person.
There came a point when they reached a stretch of road that was largely straight for some distance. It was only then that they truly grasped the scale of what they were traversing. The furthest piece of road seemed to loom over them like a hill due to the incline.
Twice in quick succession they passed Y-intersections that split the road and had to consult their map to make sure they chose the correct one. After the second of these the road became noticeably older and more worn. The yellow paint was faded and the asphalt was cracked like a pane of glass with little bits of greenery poking through.
A single-lane road, constructed who knew how many years ago, winding its way ever upwards towards the Yatsugatake mountains.
Then there was a sudden break in the trees off the right side of the road and the relative shade gave way to an endless expanse of sky and fields that they were only separated from by a few layers of wire fencing.
"Look." Deku pointed towards the horizon at what first appeared to be some low-flying clouds, but when Ochako's eyes adjusted, she felt her lips open slightly in a soundless exclamation of wonder.
Across the massive field, faded by a combination of distance and shadows were rows of small mountains that stretched from one end of the horizon to the other.
"Incredible, isn't it?" he said.
All she could do was nod.
They admired the view for a minute or two, but then continued on their way. They only had so long before dark, after all.
Another mile or so down the path, Deku made a thoughtful noise that caused Ochako to give him a curious look.
"Oh," he elaborated, "I was just thinking about how long it must have taken to make these roads. I mean, these are clearly super-old, so it would have been even more difficult way back then, right? You'd have to clear the way first, then you'd have to manage to transport all of the materials so far into the trail…it's just really mind-boggling is all."
"Wow, yeah, I've never really thought about that." she admitted, "Do you think about things like this a lot, Deku-kun?"
"Sometimes." he shrugged.
They came to a sharp curve in the road and Deku pointed at the map where the road made a long, oblong curve due to the sudden change in elevation.
"You know…I think we could save some time here." he said.
"How?"
"Well, if the map is accurate, then the road should continue in almost exactly the same direction up the side of this mountain here, right?"
"More or less, yeah."
"Remember what we did back a couple of weeks ago to get up that building? I'm thinking that, except this time you'll make both of us weightless in short bursts."
This was unexpected. And exciting. Ochako hadn't been planning on Deku having an adventurous streak like this, though in retrospect she supposed that all Hero-hopefuls had to have at least some of an adventurous streak.
There was one slight problem, however.
"Deku-kun, I can't fit on your back with your pack in the way."
He considered this for a moment, eyes widening briefly as he apparently had an idea. His face reddened for a moment before he shook his head and slapped his cheeks, adopting a determined expression.
"Uraraka-san, do you trust me?"
It was a surprising question, so she didn't answer immediately. It was surprising not only because it had been unexpected, but also because she couldn't believe that he had to ask such a thing at this point.
How could she not trust him?
"Of course I do, Deku-kun."
"Okay, then here's what we're going to do…"
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Izuku almost couldn't believe what he was about to attempt. It was crazy. Reckless.
But he was completely confident that the two of them could manage it. It was simple physics, really: the only thing stopping people from leaping incredible distances was gravity. If there was someone, for example, Uraraka, that could remove the effects of gravity…
Well, there was nothing to stop one from leaping tall buildings in a single bound or, in this case, a mountain.
Same principle, really.
Now he just had to do it.
"Uraraka-san, are you all set?"
"Umm…y-yeah, Deku-kun. I'm good."
She was a bit pink in the face and given her current position, he couldn't exactly blame her. The only reason he wasn't in a similar state was that he was currently in full-on analysis mode and didn't have the time to be embarrassed.
Where before she had clung onto his back, this time she was clinging to his front. Her legs were wrapped around his waist while her arms were around his neck. Her head, slightly turned to the side, was resting against the left side of his chest while he had his left arm looped around her to hold her in place. With how they were positioned, his limbs, with the exception of his left arm, should have full range of motion and he would be able to keep her from getting hurt if things went badly.
"Deku-kun, are you sure that you don't want me to use my Quirk?"
"Not yet." he confirmed, "I don't want you to tax yourself too badly. This will be pointless if you end up getting sick."
That tree? No. That one. Tall and sturdy with thick branches. That would do nicely.
"Alright, Uraraka-san. Just like we talked about."
Her positioning also allowed her to reach both her pack and his own in addition to the two of them. Her pack was made weightless first, then his, then his body, then hers last of all in order to minimize the strain. The distance factor wouldn't be an issue, since they were in the same place relative to each other.
Time to test his theory.
Izuku jumped without the aid of One For All, shooting up the side of the tree and dodging or breaking through any branches that were in the way until he had reached the top.
"Cut it off and redo the packs!" he barked as he grabbed onto the top of the tree and maneuvered his feet over a branch that looked like it could hold their weight.
She complied and the branch proved sturdy. Now that the treeline wasn't in the way anymore, Izuku had a much clearer view of the situation. The side of the mountain was indeed far too steep for a road to run straight up it. A weightless human missile, however? No problem.
"Okay, here comes the big one. I'm going to aim us approximately where the road should be relative to the section we just came off of, but you might need to act quickly for us to land safely."
"I can do it."
He believed her.
"Okay, one…two…THREE!"
Izuku used a smash leap to launch the pair of them at an upwards angle towards where he had seen a glint of yellow and orange on the side of the mountain that likely came from a road sign.
Such a powerful leap was necessary for two reasons. First, Izuku didn't want to tax Uraraka's Quirk too badly. Second, even if they were weightless, they were not formless. Therefore, wind resistance would still play a part in slowing them down. Izuku planned on using this to their advantage: if they had slowed down a bit by the time they reached their destination, it would be easier to land.
It was a good thing he was so busy calculating and re-calculating everything in his head based on the feeling of the wind whipping through his hair and the sensations picked up by his body as it screamed through the air, or else Izuku might have remembered that what he was doing was absolutely terrifying.
A month for firsts indeed. Let's go ahead and add flying to the list. Why the hell not?
Uraraka, meanwhile, was pressed so tightly against him that he was fairly certain she was actually making them more aerodynamic by not allowing any air to pass between them.
On an intellectual level, Izuku knew that their trip through the air could not have taken more than a handful of seconds.
Damned if it didn't feel like an eternity though.
There. He could see the road again. It looked like he had overshot a bit, but too far was preferable to not far enough in this situation, so that was fine.
The speed at which they were still moving, however, might pose a bit of a problem.
Izuku righted himself in midair and spread his legs and his free arm wide, feeling the wind dragging on them. He was slowing them down, yes, but not quickly enough.
"Hold on!" he yelled as he shifted his left arm so that his palm was on the back of her head, burying her face into his collar as he inhaled and called up One For All.
No time for precision…somewhere between ten and fifteen percent should be fine!
Izuku pursed his lips and spewed forth a stream of flames that lasted for a solid four seconds before he judged that they had slowed enough and cut it off.
There. A tree. That would work.
"Release!" he shouted and felt gravity take hold once more as she complied.
"Zero the packs!" they were descending a bit too quickly. Removing the weight of the packs helped a bit, "Brace!"
He felt her arms tighten around him even more as he gave the dreaded final command.
"Smash!" Izuku tensed his one-armed guard the moment before impact and in doing so prevented his arm from snapping in multiple places and his shoulder from being dislocated.
"Phew…" he sagged against the trunk of the tree, gripping a nearby branch to steady the two of them, "Are you alright, Uraraka-san?"
"You mean apart from the fact that I might have had a heart attack?"
"Yeah, sorry. That was dumb."
"It was really dumb."
"At least we're okay though."
"Like, super dumb."
"You wanna get down from the tree?"
"No. I'm mad at you right now."
"Is it that you might have trouble standing?"
"I'm so mad that my legs don't work."
"Then I guess I'll just have to keep carrying you?"
"That's your punishment."
"Fair enough. Could you make me weightless for a moment though?"
She gave him a half-hearted glare and did as he asked, allowing him to easily hop down from the tree and land them on the ground, upon which she released her Quirk.
"Alright, let's keep going then."
A few minutes later, she spoke up.
"You can put me down, Deku-kun."
"Are you sure? If you haven't recovered yet then I can keep going."
"It's fine." he set her down.
"Sorry about that."
"It's alright. I agreed to it, so it's my fault too. Besides, you probably saved us at least half an hour. We are not doing that on the way back though, got it?"
"I agree completely."
"Good."
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
All told, it was just after five o'clock when the pair reached their intended campsite. Ochako had noticed that this particular spot, which was only about a quarter mile away from the road, was relatively clear of view-obstructing trees. It was also elevated a bit higher, so that would help too.
She had calmed down at this point, not that she was ever really that mad at Deku to begin with. She was just been coming down from one hell of an adrenaline rush and had been feeling a bit more aggressive than usual.
Damn Deku and his apparent nerves of steel whenever it came to anything like that. Being all brave and reliable. Who did he think he was, a Hero?
Ochako chuckled to herself as she helped Deku set up their small tent. She was holding the frame in place while he staked it to the ground to prevent it from blowing away, using his foot for lack of a hammer.
"There, that should do it." he said, sounding satisfied. "Next is pillows and sleeping bags."
They extracted the specified things from their respective packs and she volunteered to arrange them in the tent.
"It's gonna be a tight fit." she observed, "We'll really be elbow-to-elbow in here, but it should work. Gimme the pillows first."
He did as she asked. Once she had arranged the pillows, he handed her his sleeping bag, which she proceeded to unroll. With the length of the bags plus the pillows, the tent would just be able to zip closed. Once he handed Ochako her sleeping bag though, that was when problems arose.
She saw that it had come slightly unzipped and the zipper was stuck when she tried to close it, so she tried opening it a bit further, hoping that this would solve the issue and let her close it. When this didn't work, her only choice was to open it a bit further. Then a bit more. Then more.
Then it was completely unzipped and she had no idea what to do next.
"Deku-kun," she whined, "my sleeping bag won't listen to me! Tag in and I'll get dinner put together." she crawled out of the tent to see him squatting by the opening with a surprised look on his face.
"How did you know?"
"How did I know what?"
"That I brought dinner."
"You did what?" Ochako hadn't seen that one coming.
"Yeah, I mean, we never really talked about it and I thought that I'd make something simple just in case."
"I realized that we forgot to figure the food situation out just this morning, so I made something too. That's why I was up early." she admitted, then started and pointed her finger at him, "Deku-kun! You already took care of bringing the water, so it should have been my job to bring the food! It's not fair that I made you do so much!"
His response, again, was not what she was expecting.
"You can cook?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Of course I can cook!"
"I didn't want to assume!" he raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"Wait, Deku-kun, you can cook?" she turned his question back on him.
"A bit. I only really learned how to make things that I like and I don't have much occasion to practice, so it's nothing special. What did you bring, Uraraka-san?"
"Hambagu and veggies. You?"
"Tonkatsu and rice."
That gave her an idea.
"Deku-kun, you take care of the bedding and I'll take care of the food."
"Check the front pouch!" he called after her from inside the tent.
Curious, Ochako took out the two containers that contained the steaks and mixed vegetables that she had prepared that morning and set them aside. Then she retrieved the pork cutlets and rice from Deku's pack, noticing that the rice was in a big bowl. That would be perfect for her plan. When she checked the small front pouch of the pack as he had instructed, she found a bottle of tonkatsu sauce along with two pairs of chopsticks and a knife intended to be used to cut the meat.
He really did think of everything, didn't he? Well she could be tricky too!
Ochako took Deku's contribution back over by her pack and spread a thick blanket on the ground that was large enough for them to comfortably sit and lie on later. She plopped herself down on the blanket and went to work with a grin on her face.
When Deku exited the tent a few minutes later looking as though her sleeping bag had put up one hell of a fight, Ochako giggled at him and turned in place, holding out the results of her labor.
"Ta-dah! It's a tonkatsu-hambagu rice bowl with veggies!" she had meticulously diced the meats and vegetables before mixing them thoroughly with the rice and drizzling tonkatsu sauce over the whole thing. It was fortunate that he had brought such a large bowl, else everything wouldn't have fit.
"That looks really, really good." he stated, his stomach rumbling loudly in agreement. Ochako didn't blame him for being hungry: neither of them had eaten since breakfast and they had just spent the past two-and-a-half hours hiking. Frankly, she was starving too.
Without further ado, he sat down next to her, accepted his pair of chopsticks, and the two attacked their food voraciously.
By the time they were both full, the sun had started to set in earnest and they still had about a third of the food left.
"Well…guess that's breakfast." he said after draining what remained of his second bottle of water, the first having been mostly drained during the hike.
They weren't worried about running out since he had completely overkilled it and brought a twenty-four-pack with him, which made Ochako wonder yet again just how strong he really was. He had blazed an eight-and-a-half-mile trail with her (even if a large portion of that had been cut out by his little stunt) that increased their elevation by at least twenty-eight hundred feet while carrying a tent, sleeping bag, pillow, twenty-four-pack of water, half of their dinner and the notebook that she knew he had in there somewhere, all without complaining even once. Hell, he barely looked tired!
They passed the time until the sun had completely set by chatting idly, excusing themselves in turn to use nature's bathroom, or just watching the sky change colors.
Soon enough, it had darkened to the point where they could start to see stars, but even after the sun had seemingly completely set, she told him they still had at least an hour to wait before it was dark enough to properly stargaze. Something about how the sun's light still impacted visibility even if you couldn't see it in the sky or something like that. She couldn't remember completely. The point was they still had to wait.
That didn't stop Deku though. He laid down on the blanket and folded his arms behind his head, watching as more and more of the hidden cosmos revealed itself to him.
At first there were stars and a few blinking lights that might have been satellites.
Then there was more.
As time passed, patches of sky that had previously been empty were revealed to have fainter stars, then star clusters, nebulae, clouds of color that were always present but seldom visible.
Ochako joined him on the ground about half an hour after he had started watching in earnest and as the full splendor of the clear evening sky was revealed it took her breath away just like it always did.
"What do you think?" she asked quietly, turning her head so she could see his expression.
He turned his own to face her properly and he had such a look of reverence and wonder on his face that Ochako found herself breathless for the second time in less than five minutes.
"It's beautiful." he said, "I've seen pictures, yeah, but…it all falls short of reality. It's like the difference between seeing your favorite Hero on TV or in the newspaper and meeting them in real life. They're both amazing in their own way but…" he trailed off.
"One just can't compare to the other." she finished for him, getting a sideways nod of agreement.
"Uraraka-san?" she was about to resume watching the sky when he suddenly spoke.
"Yes, Deku-kun?"
"Thank you for sharing this with me. It's…it's more than I imagined. Not just this part but…the whole thing."
"Thank me later." she advised, "We aren't done yet."
They watched the sky together, pointing out the occasional constellation or unusual cosmic pattern. Neither could say for certain how long this went on, but eventually, as it always did, the vastness of space started to have effects on Ochako. Deku too, judging by his next statement.
"It makes you think, doesn't it?"
"Yeah…" she eventually worked up her nerve to just ask him outright.
"Deku-kun, do you ever wonder…whether or not you deserve to be a Hero?" she bit the last part off, forcing herself to finish the question that plagued her in the quiet moments when she allowed herself to sit and think.
Of course he doesn't. Deku was born to be a Hero. He's a completely different type of person than I am. What a stupid question.
"All the time."
That caused her head to whip around so quickly that some of her hair fell across her face. She swiped it out of the way and was about to ask him to explain himself when he went ahead and did it without being asked.
"I know that, as a Hero, people's lives will be in my hands. I'll be the one they look to when they have no other hopes left and I'll be the one with their blood on my hands if I fail." he raised his hands in front of his face to emphasize his point and clenched them into fists, "If I do well enough, I'll have a target painted on my back from any Villains looking to prove how tough they are. Maybe they'll even start targeting people they know I'm close with if they don't think they can take me head-on. I'll have even more people to protect and what's worse, they'll be the ones that matter to me the most. It'll be my fault they were ever in danger in the first place."
His fists impacted the ground with a pair of thuds that were muffled by the blanket as he allowed them to fall back to the ground.
"With all that in mind…yeah. I wonder all the time if I can be good enough. If I can be strong enough."
So he worries about that too? He's just like me?
The realization made her feel a new connection with the Hero-in-Training lying next to her, but at the same time it also made her feel a sense of hopelessness.
"I guess I've got no chance then, huh?"
"What?" he had turned to look at her, his green eyes searching.
"I mean, if someone as amazing as you feels that way, then what hope do I have?"
"How can you say that about yourself?" he looked worried now.
"I'm just being objective, Deku-kun. It's not that I don't think my Quirk is good enough but…compared to yours? Bakugo's? Todoroki's? Tokoyami's? Iida's? Yaomomo's? Kaminari's? I'm just not in the same league and that's not even talking about everything else that's wrong with me, or did you forget that I'm just in it for the money at the end of the day?" she laughed mirthlessly, "It's not that I'm not cut out to be a Hero: I flat-out don't deserve to be one."
"That's enough." he had sat up at this point and was looking at her in a way that he never had before. His mouth was set in a thin line and his narrowed eyes were filled with an intensity that made her shiver as she mirrored his movements.
"Uraraka-san, the simple fact that you're worried about this at all means that you deserve to be a Hero." he spoke with such conviction that she didn't dare contradict him or interrupt him, "The fact that you're worried about whether or not you can fulfill the duties of a Hero and whether or not you can be worthy to fill the shoes of those who came before you…any person that's never wondered those things doesn't deserve to be called a Hero."
Was the subtle orange glow in his eyes from the lantern they had lit, or did it come from somewhere deeper?
"Every Hero has doubts, even All Might! I know because he told me himself!" his voice was shaking, but from what, she couldn't tell.
"Uraraka-san," his hands were on her shoulders now and his face was closer, "feeling the way you do doesn't make you any less worthy of being a Hero and it doesn't make anyone think any less of you either. You're the most incredible girl that I've ever met and there isn't a single thing you can say to change my mind."
Ochako needed to say something, but she couldn't find any words. Her chest felt tight and if she didn't say the right thing then her heart was going to burst.
It hurt.
It hurt but at the same time it didn't.
There were no words, so she did the only other thing she could do to tell him how she felt at that moment.
She kissed him.
It was surprisingly easy to do when one considered all the hype that was put behind someone's first kiss or even just kissing in general. He was already close, so she didn't have to move much. They were both sitting, so there wasn't much of a height issue.
And she was so sure of her actions in that moment that she didn't need to hesitate.
Predictably, Deku was surprised. Predictably, his whole body tensed up and his eyes went wide. Less predictably, this only lasted for a brief instant before he was kissing her back.
She ran her fingers through his poofy hair as his arms enveloped her and pulled her closer to him. Their mouths stayed connected, as though they were scared of what might happen if they were separated. Eventually, they had to breathe. Upon taking stock of the situation, Ochako realized that she had somehow ended up in his lap.
"W-well…" she felt that, as the initiator, it was her duty to break the incredibly awkward silence, "that was…intense."
"Yeah…" he nodded dumbly, seemingly unable to believe what had just happened.
"I just…I couldn't think what to say and…"
"Yeah…"
"You're not mad right? You're okay with this?"
"Yeah…"
"What's two plus All Might?"
"Yeah…"
Crap…I think I broke him.
"Deku-kun? Earth to Deku-kun?" she waved a hand in front of his face to no avail.
She turned herself on his lap so she was facing him properly, feeling no inclination to get off. It wasn't like there was anyone else around or anything.
"You're really out of it, aren't you?"
"Yeah…"
"Good to know."
The seconds ticked by while she did her best to figure out how to snap him out of it.
"Deku-kun, I'm going to kiss you again."
"What?" he came back to reality, arms still around her as they had been the entire time.
"Welcome back from…wherever you were for the past minute."
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
"What?"
"I was planning on waiting to ask this and it does seem kinda redundant after…that…b-but, well…will you?"
Well, if he wanted to be coy about this then she could play that game.
"I'll have to think about it."
"Maybe over that second kiss you promised me a moment ago?"
That earned him a shove that sent him to the ground. Due to his arms being where they were, however, she went down with him.
"Meanie." she kissed him again anyway, this time more able to appreciate the sensation of his lips against hers and the hard contours of his chest beneath her hands.
Well, that went a long way towards explaining his incredible strength. Full of surprises indeed.
She rolled over so that she could see the sky again, and immediately let out a huge yawn.
"Tired?" he asked.
"I think all that excitement took up the rest of my energy."
"Yeah, me too. Time to get in the tent before we fall asleep in the open air."
"That'd be bad."
"Yeah."
"I don't wanna move."
His solution to that was to gather her up in his arms as if she had already used Zero Gravity on herself and walk towards the tent, kicking his shoes off at the entrance. She did the same, dropping them relatively close to his as he knelt down and entered the tent.
What she saw was not what she was expecting to see. Instead of two sleeping bags side-by-side, there was what she recognized as hers completely open and draped over the top of the other one, which was also open.
"Well," he said by way of explanation, "I was forced to admit defeat. I just could not get the zipper on yours to work, so I figured I would just make a bigger sleeping bag. I was a bit nervous about how you'd take it but…"
"Less nervous now?"
"Somehow, yes."
He set her down and was about to join her when he grimaced and held up a finger.
"Lantern." he explained and vanished from the tent for a few moments longer than she had expected.
"Get lost?" she asked when he returned.
"Almost." he joked, "I was putting the blanket away. I thought about bringing it in here but it's supposed to be a warm night, so…" he trailed off and got in the double bag.
Ochako wasted no time in snuggling in close to him and resting an arm on his chest, finding that he was actually surprisingly warm. It probably had something to do with his Quirk. Maybe that was why she had been so comfortable during her naps?
Another yawn interrupted her train of thought. She could think about stuff later. For now, she would just bask in the moment and snuggle.
…With her new boyfriend.
Well, decision made I guess.