Best Of You [BNHA Fantasy AU]

11. The First Stop

A/N: Oh my god. We hit. 500. Reads. *internal screaming* 
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, where I shall be introducing Ochaco :3

—X—x—X—

'I see it- there. That's it...' Izuku said quietly, swaying slightly as he stood at the top of the hill. He stared at the cottage sitting below him; smoke billowed out of the chimney into the air, and warm lights flickered in the windows.
Both of the green-haired male's arms were tied against his chest in make-shift slings with a grey scarf, and he had Todoroki's jacket around his shoulders.

Shoto appeared at his side, looking concerned.
'Izu, are you sure you don't need me to carry you again? That's the fifth time you've passed out. You can't just get up and keep walking-'

He was interrupted by the relentless bickering of Ejirou and Bakugo, the pair coming into sight as they came to the top of the hill. The redhead, whose hair was limp and damp at his shoulders, was being dragged by his wrist by the ash-blonde.
Both were shirtless, although Bakugou had a thin blanket around his shoulders, and a sheet of cloth had been wrapped around Kirishima's hips just to make everyone a bit more comfortable with his....nakedness.

The sun had set a while ago, signalling that it had been around twenty-one hours since the  group had begun travelling from the area in which Ejirou had landed.
They had made good process, despite their relentless tiredness and Izuku's severe injuries, the pain of which had caused him to faint multiple times and be carried by Shoto - and Iida at one point, when the dual-haired Prince needed a break.
At first, Kirishima had proven too deprived of energy to walk very far, and so Bakugo had carried him on his back (Tenya had offered but the angry blonde would not allow it) for the first hour, whilst Ejirou dozed and recharged.

After Tenya had carefully sorted the snacks that they had, he had given each of the males, including himself, a certain amount of rations to last the trip.
Needless to say, they did not last the trip, despite Iida's best efforts, and all five of them were ravenous, but did not have the energy to hunt.
Their feet and muscles ached, their skin and blood frozen, their eyes threatened to close at any given moment due to fatigue, and they had barely any energy left to take another step.

However, they had made it nonetheless (although they had lost a good couple hours after Bakugo messed up with the compass and they had taken a wrong turn).

The knight materialised behind the rest of the group, one hand on his hip, the other holding the compass out in front of him. He had the drawstring bag, which was practically empty now, slung across his armoured chest, and a look of serious yet smug superiority on his face.

The five of them stood at the top of the hill, saying nothing. They stared longingly down at the hidden cottage, surrounded by overgrown foliage, their breath forming little clouds of mist in the cool air.

'Well...' Bakugo broke the silence. 'This is it then. Moment of truth an' all that shit.' He began to slowly walk forward, making his way down the hill.

The rest followed.

—X—X—X—

The five of them hovered in front of the short front door to the cottage, looking like a diseased rag-tag group of homeless citizens; their clothes were damp, they were splattered with mud and grime, and most were shivery and pale - especially Izuku, who winced every time he moved. His freckles were painfully clear on his now-colourless face.