A Wanderer

Chapter Fifteen

Deku walked through thick forest and pushed the strong branches out of his way. Him and Ochaco had been spent the past three days still working on her technique and although he wouldn't let her know, he was impressed. She picked up on everything quicker than he would have expected and soon they were going to tackle her quirk. Deku grinned as he spotted a squirrel shimmy up a tree, but he stopped when he heard a voice. He stood still in the wilderness and listened to the familiar voice closely.

.....

Ochaco sat on the marble floor of the temple and looked at the statue in front of her. Ochaco let out a doubtful laugh and gave the carving a confused gaze."I-I really don't know why I'm doin' this, but Deku said people did it back in the day, so why not give it a try. " She began to twiddle her thumbs and let her eyes drooped to the floor."I'm not sure on how to do this, so I hope this is right Mr. God, sorry I don't know your name. There is this guy I know, and I think he's in a lot of pain, I'm not sure, but there's somethin' about his eyes. Whenever he looks at me it's like he is being tortured, but I'm too scared to say somethin'." Ochaco rubbed her eyes as they began to water."I-I'm not too good at lettin' people in after what happened to my Daddy and Momma, but I like this guy, even if I won't let him know it. He has done a lot for me, and I haven't done much in return. He's even helpin' me learn how to protect myself, and I don't deserve it, so I want to help him out. I'm not sure if this works, but if it does I hope you'll maybe think about givin' Deku a hand. I want to make sure he can find someway to be happy, and not the fake happiness that he tries to feed to himself. I'm talkin' about real happiness where ya don't need anythin' else, and can sleep easy at night. The kind where you can wake up in the mornin' and not worry about a girl who can't keep the people she loves safe. The kind where ya can smile and it's real, that's what I want for Deku."

.....

Deku shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek. He then cleared his throat and tried to ease the guilty feeling in his stomach.

.....

Deku floated in the lake and looked at the sky. His head rested on his arms and his eyes studied to stringy clouds in the sky. He let out a sigh as he tried to clear his mind, and he could still feel the odd sensation in his stomach. Hours had passed since Ochaco prayed to his statue and her words still echoed throughout his head. He could not wrap his mind around the idea that his pain was eating away at her. He had done everything in his power to keep his problems his, but it was like a disease that spread to Uraraka, and now it was withering her away. Deku closed his eyes for minutes and took slow and methodical breaths, and when he opened his eyes he saw the last thing he expected. Ochaco soared above him in a Bikini and landed on top of him.

Deku submerged under the water and he watched as Ochaco sat on top of him and laughed. He pushed the woman off of him and she flipped face first into the lake. Deku floated back to the top and he gasped for air. He pushed his dark curls out of his eyes and searched for Ochaco. He was startled when she popped out of the water inches from him and smiled with her short hair soaking wet. He stopped himself from falling and glared at Ochaco,"What the hell was that about !"

She tilted her head and gave him a curious gaze with her chocolate eyes."I thought I'd get in the water too."

"So you jumped on top of me ! When the hell did you even get a bathing suit !"

"I wasn't aimin' for you, but my cannon ball had a little too much cannon." Uraraka then pointed to her swim suit."You told me to buy clothes and I figured maybe I'd need this, and I was right."

Deku glared at her and gritted his teeth because she was right."Just stay away from me and we're good. Go play with a shell or some shit."

Ochaco frowned and slightly nodded her head. She wanted to yell at Deku for overreacting, but her heart was still heavy from earlier in the temple. Ochaco turned away from Deku and the man felt guilty for how he treated her for the first time. She always brushed off what he would say, but this time it seemed to bother her. As Uraraka walked away she felt a splash of water against her skin. She turned around and saw Deku with a grin as he splashed her again. Ochaco smirked and ran her hand across the surface of the lake. The crystal clear water splashed into the air and across the man's handsome, freckled face."You don't want this," giggled Ochaco.

"Are you sure about that ?"

"Definitely, I was an Olympic swimmer as a little girl."

"There's no damn way; there was barley any water where you lived. The only thing you could've swam in was sand dunes."

Ochaco splashed Deku again."You think you're so funny don't ya ?"

"I know I am." He then sent a wave of water towards Ochaco.

.....

Deku and Ochaco sat on the sandy shore of the lake. Ochaco rested her hands on the sand behind her and slightly leaned back. She looked out at the water, meanwhile Deku's attention was elsewhere. For the past five minutes he had been throwing sideways Ochaco's way and the woman had not taken notice. He would try and study her beauty with a quick look, but it never was enough, it had not been for the past few weeks. Ochaco turned to look at Deku, but when she did he was looking out at the lake; she was too slow to catch him in the act. Ochaco furrowed her brow and thought about what to do. She smiled as a plan popped into her brain and she scurried across the sand. Moments later she was eye-to-eye with Deku and the man leaned back in shock."What the hell are you doing ?"

"I wanted to get your attention and this was the only thing I could think of," explained Uraraka with a pretty smile.

"Have you ever heard of calling someone's name ?"

"You would've ignored me."

Deku raised his finger to object, but he could not say anything, she was right."What do you want ?"

"I want to ask ya a quick question ?"

"You can ask one question that's it." Deku was expecting something about her training or why he never came back with food, but the girl gave him a curveball

"What makes you happy ?"

Deku took a gulp and looked back at her. He did not know how to get out of this one. He could not tell her the truth, and in the moment he did not want to lie. He slightly lifted his hand as he looked at Ochaco and her pretty face. Her was entranced by her porcelain skin and the light blush marks across her cheeks, but his hand made it halfway to her face before he stopped himself. Ochaco watched as the man lowered his hand back to the sand and hung his head."Nothing." That was his answer. He chose to lie in the moment, despite it tasting sour in his mouth.