Gone With the Tide ((MIDORIYA IZUKU X OC))

11

The remainder of that week went on with no further leads on Rin's situation. Aizawa continued his teachings as normal, and Deku took her to the beach each time he was asked to do so.

As of now, Rin sat in her lonesome on the sofa in the living area of the dorms, staring aimlessly at the TV remote that she had found between the cushions. Her lips pursed and brow furrowed as she contemplated which of the many buttons to push, and felt the blanket that she had draped around her shoulders adjust under an unknown source.

Upon looking up, Rin was met with the green eyes of Deku. He was in the midst of sitting down beside her whilst repositioning the blanket that had fallen off of her shoulder, and smiled kindly once Rin had looked at him.

"Hey, Rin," Deku greeted, turning his body in her direction. He glanced down at the remote. "Do you need some help with that?"

Rin only hummed in response, handing the controller over. Deku let out a loose, amused sigh and positioned the remote for Rin to see as he pressed the red button in the upper left corner. The action elicited the TV before them to flicker on, and the sight made Rin gasp in surprise.

"Is there anything you're interested in?" Deku asked, gesturing toward the TV with a nod of his head. "Comedy, drama?"

"Mmm..." Rin hummed, unsure on how to respond as she gave him a clueless look. Deku smiled understandingly and turned toward the screen.

"That's okay," he said gently. "We'll channel surf."

As he spoke, Deku began to browse through the channels. Rin peered at the screen as the flashing images changed before her, and a wave of amazement coursed through her system. Deku watched from the corner of his eye as Rin leaned forward in her seat, and felt yet another blush spread across his face at her cute innocence.

After a moment of clicking through the channels, Rin setting her palm against the remote stopped him. The sight of the Discovery Channel doing a segment on dolphins lit the screen, and Deku really couldn't say he was surprised. He snuck another glance in her direction to see her slit pupils dilate, figuring that the animal inside her was studying for an attack opening. The idea of Rin doing something like taking out a dolphin — or any other creature for that matter — seemed pretty silly to him considering the gentle girl he had come to know, and this side of her furthered his interest in meeting the girl she really was under the waves of the ocean.

A loose sigh filtered from his nose as his eyes fell down to her hand — of which was still set on top of the remote in his hand. Tiny white scars dotted her knuckles and fingertips. Her nails were surprisingly even and sharp, and her touch was warm against his skin. Deku felt his brow furrow the longer he stared at her tattered fingers, and he had to fight himself in order to tear his gaze away.

Instead of dwelling on the past he knew nothing about, Deku slid his free hand into the pocket of his shorts. His fingers grazed against the surface of the conch shell Rin had given him the previous week. A jitter tickled his rib cage at the contact, and he took a deep breath in, remembering the reason why he was looking for Rin in the first place.

"Um..." he began, eliciting the small girl to his left to jump slightly at the sound of his voice. She turned to face him, questioning. "I've uh... got something for you, Rin."

As he spoke, he shifted his body in her direction, reluctantly slipping the hand Rin still had hers on in order to discard the remote to the armrest beside him. Rin copied his motions whilst pulling her legs up on the cushion. She hugged her arms around her thighs and watched intently as he unbuttoned one of the four pockets on his shorts. His hand disappeared and reappeared instantly, and in his grip was an action figure.