Before Graduation

Regret

It's been a week since that girl asked Izuku out. Apparently he had said no to the first year, but Ochako was upset. Not at her best friend but at herself. She was worried that Izuku said no for her sake, that he'd seen through her true self. As much as she loved him, she didn't want to be the cause of him not finding someone. Although she would prefer herself to be his someone.

It was Saturday morning and she decided to lock herself in her room, completely forgetting the plans her group of friends, the deku-squad,  had made. She was drowning in self-loath and she cursed under her breath. She was being pathetic as always, she thought. Her confidence had taken a turn for the worse when it came to Izuku. She was completely ,utterly lost when he ran through her mind, invading her thoughts, but she wasn't complaining. 

A knock was heard from outside of her dorm room and she groaned. She didn't want to see him today, she was a coward.

"Ochako-chan, are you ready?" Tsuyu had called. Ochako yelled from under her blankets," I don't wanna come!" It was muffled but everyone outside could still hear her. Izuku had gone to the bathroom so the rest were waiting on her, the rest being  Iida , Tsuyu and Shoto.

"Is she sick?" Todoroki asked and Tsuyu shook her head. The girl was being stubborn and the greenette knew something was wrong. Ochako wouldn't miss a day being with Izuku unless something had happened.

"I will go and talk to her," Iida said, determination coursing through him. He warned Ochako that he was coming in before shutting the door behind himself, Todoroki and Tsuyu waiting for him outside.

After a minute, Iida came out with tears on his face.

"Her pet fish has died. Little Goldy had been with her since she was young. We should leave her to mourn!" he said while tears streamed down his face. Tsuyu sighed.

"She doesn't have a pet fish named Goldy, she lied," Asui shook her head at Iida's credulity/gullibility. Todoroki then faced the door.

"I guess I'll go in then," He walked inside, "Uraraka-sa, let's have a talk," and then shut the door, exactly what Iida had done.

After a few short minutes Shoto had come out, stars in his eyes as he held packets of cold soba.

"We should leaver her alone, she clearly is dealing with something," he said.

"You were bribed!" Tsuyu and Iida stated. The amphibian decided then to go talk to Ochako herself. She walked in and looked back at the boys.

"You shouldn't give in so easily Todoroki-kun," Iida shook Shoto, much like Fuyumi, Shoto's sister, had done at the family dinner when Endeavor came back from the hospital with a scar on his face. 

Tsuyu looked at the lump on Ochako's bed, knowing her friend was hidden beneath the sheets. She sat at the foot of the bed and waited for her friend to start talking.

"I don't want to see Deku-kun," she admitted to the frog girl. 

"Did you guys have a fight?"

"I feel guilty. He asked for my opinion on something and I said to do whatever makes him happy. I actually wanted to tell him no, but it seemed like he did whatever my mind said," She tried telling Tsu the story without actually saying it.

"That's vague, but he did what you told him right. To do what would make him happy," Tsuyu answered and Ochako sat up firmly, facing her best friend. She was right, Ochako thought. She didn't need to feel guilty, it was his decision after all. 

Ochako hugged her friend and immediately apologized. She got ready in under five minutes before leaving the room together with Asui.

"Uraraka-san," Izuku stood outside the door with the two other boys. He had gotten back from the bathroom when Asui had gone inside Ochako's room. 

"They said you weren't feeling alright. Are you okay? If you're not we can reschedule. We won't mind, your health is important. The last thing we want is for you to get sick. Wait- Are you sick? You should go see Recovery Girl-" Everyone laughed at Izuku's muttering. It was one of the things that hadn't changed but no one minded- most of the time.

"I'm alright now," Ochako answered with a smile. Izuku faced her with a wide grin before Iida started explaining about train times and that they should be leaving right away.

They decided to go to the mall for new school supplies. Unfortunately no-one thought of buying new school supplies during the summer, except for Yaoyorozu. Even Iida admitted that he hadn't thought about it then claimed to be a terrible class representative, but no-one payed him any mind saying that it was normal to forget.

They arrived at the busy mall and took a look around together. Izuku had fallen out of step with the rest when he was met with the opening of a new merchandise store. Ochako informed the rest and she volunteered to watch over Midoriya. In truth, she just wanted to spend some alone time with him.

"Deku-kun," she called out to him and he frowned once he saw her.

"Did the rest leave?" he asked and she shook her head.

"They'll head to the stationary store first, you seemed to be a bit preoccupied. I didn't want to leave you alone, especially after...last time," Ochako had meant the time when they were first years. The class were looking for supplies, for the training camp. Ochako had rushed off from being too nervous and left Izuku alone, leaving him with Shigaraki.

"That was a long time ago," Izuku said, frowning.

"I still haven't apologized for leaving you then, it's a bit over due, but I'm sorry," Ochako bowed her head but Izuku stopped her half way.

"We had no idea that was going to happen. I never blamed you for that incident," he reassured her.

She nodded remembering back to that time. She had ran all the way back to him, but her mind was too slow to register the scene in front of her. The man was clearly harming Izuku but she hadn't taken notice of Izuku, she was just staring at the man and then saw where Shigaraki's hand was placed. She used to blame herself everyday for not noticing quickly enough, but now that she knew Izuku never once thought of it that way, she was feeling a bit better.

"Want to check out the merch then?" She suggested and Izuku nodded excitedly before they both walked into the store.

~~

Once Izuku had bought his fill of merch they decided to buy what they first intended to, the rest apparently finished up their shopping and waited for the pair at the food court.

"I am hungry actually, I forgot to eat breakfast," Ochako groaned. Izuku laughed but didn't say anything. The mall had gotten more full so it was a bit difficult to walk around. Someone then accidently walked into Ochako , making the girl drop her things.

"Watch where you're going," the person said and before Izuku could even argue , the person was long gone. Ochako eventually got her things together and she sighed. Izuku was worried the same might happen again and decided to take her hand in his. He began walking, Ochako hot on his heels. 

Unfortunately, the brunette was too in a daze to register what was going on around her. All she could think was, he's holding my hand.

She stared at the back of his head with a blush on her cheeks. He was leading them to the food court without knocking into people. He's so kind, Ochako's blush darkened. How did she ever become friends with this...angel?- Was the first thing that came to her mind. 

They made it to a table where their friends sat. Izuku had kept a firm grip on Ochako's hands, not letting it go just yet. Nobody at the table questioned why the two were holding hands... well not Iida and Shoto, but Tsuyu was completely happy for her best friend. Even if it seemed like she didn't notice. 

They all started eating which meant the two had to let go of each other's hands. Ochako was a bit sad but kept a smile on her face. After they talked and finished their food, the group decided to take the long way back to the dorm, just enjoying the warm afternoon stroll.

What Ochako didn't expect was that Izuku took her hand again. She stared at their hands and couldn't help but think they fit perfectly together. She looked back at Izuku, he didn't say a word and kept walking with that gorgeous smile of his. 

He then noticed her staring at him, gripping her hand for a moment before saying," I wouldn't want to lose you out here."