Chapter Text
A burnt-orange evening sky greeted Tsuyu Asui as she exited the train station. She hurried excitedly down the street, past blocks of small apartment buildings and storefronts, with a wide grin across her face. For the first time in what seemed like months, Tsu had a free weekend, and she was going to spend it with her best friend, Ochako Uraraka.
With her parents constantly away from home on business, Tsuyu didn’t get a lot of time to herself. When she wasn’t attending school, or to the literal piles of homework that they dropped on U.A. High students, Tsu was busy cleaning the house and cooking for herself and her younger siblings. It wasn’t easy, taking-on the Hero course while also looking after two little kids, but this had been her life for so long, even before entering U.A., that she could scarcely remember a time she wasn’t performing this balancing act. That was just her reality. But this weekend was a rare exception. Her parents had both come home earlier than expected on Thursday, so Tsu was at liberty to make plans for the weekend.
That day at school, she had asked Ochako if she wanted to spend Sunday together.
“It’s been so long since I’ve had a free weekend, ribbit. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the beach, or maybe see a movie, Ochako-chan?”
“I have an even better idea,” her friend had replied. “How about we do all of that, but you also come over tonight to sleep over at my apartment? I already finished my essay for Mr. Aizawa, and I’d rather not spend the evening by myself... I usually just end-up falling asleep too early.”
And so that day, after going home to change out of her U.A. uniform, bathe, and prep a quick meal for her family, Tsuyu put on her favourite green dress and big hat, packed herself a small overnight bag, and took the train across town to Uraraka’s neighborhood.
As she patrolled the aisles of a combini, looking for snacks to share with her friend, Tsu couldn’t help but think about how this was the first time she’d ever really had a sleepover with anybody before. Outside of school, Tsu never had the time to see her friends from school. Previously, it hadn’t been a problem for her because in middle school, she’d been too busy studying to get into U.A. and taking care of her brother and sister to make any at all. Save for in her last term, when she and Habuko Mongoose started talking, Tsuyu couldn’t really think of any point in her life where she’d been even somewhat close to any of her peers. But ever since entering U.A. and meeting Uraraka, it had become harder for her to ignore how lonely she’d been. Having grabbed two bottles of iced green tea, a bag of potato chips and some karaage from the hot food counter, Tsu made her way to the register. Passing back through the sweets aisle, she noticed a small box of pink and green mochi to the side.
“Oh yeah, Ochako-chan told me she liked mochi the other day at lunch. I don’t think she gets to eat it as often now that she’s living away from home, ribbit. I should pick some up for her as a thank you gift for letting me stay over.”
Ever since the day they’d met, Ochako and Tsuyu had spent a lot of their time at school together. As they were both in class 1-A, they’d been able to eat lunches and work on group assignments with one another, and in that small amount of time, the two girls had bonded. Tsu felt they were somewhat kindred spirits; both of them had dedicated themselves to looking out for their families. Ochako had even chosen to pursue a career in heroism because it’d be easier for her to help out her family on a Pro-Hero’s steady income. Tsu could understand and appreciate how much her friend cared for her mother and father’s financial well-being. Grabbing the box of mochi and adding it to her shopping basket, she paid for her items and started back down the street once more, towards the row of apartments in the distance.
Ochako’s place was, putting it politely… humble. The apartment was situated in a typical grouping of small buildings, with a 16m x 20m floorplan. Tsu made her way up the staircase to the long balcony, which held a row of doors across from a guard railing. Upon locating her friend’s address, Tsu raised her big hand and gave the door a knock. She heard a squeal and some faint shuffling come from the other side, and soon enough, Ochako was there to greet her, opening the door and wrapping her arms around the frog girl in a big hug.
“Hi Tsu-chan! Come in! I was just getting some cleaning done. Oop!” Ochako let go of Tsu and touched her fingertips together. A soft but clear *thump* sound came from beyond the entryway. “I just remembered my futon was still hovering above the floor. Sorry for any leftover mess. I love your dress, Tsu-chan. I’m sure you know already, but green really suits you” Tsuyu thought Ochako looked really cute too; she was wearing a simple pink sleeveless top with a pair of shorts, but it was a look that worked for her. In truth, it was the first time she’d ever really seen her friend in anything apart from their school uniform.
“Thank you, Ochako-chan, you look really nice too” Tsu blushed gratefully. “And that’s okay. It couldn’t have been worse than Samidare’s bedroom, ribbit” she joked, removing her sandals in the genkan and stepping past the threshold into her friend’s home.
The entryway led into the kitchen, and just past there was the main living area. As she peered around the small room, Tsuyu couldn’t help but wonder if Ochako even owned enough of anything to make any kind of mess. The walls were mostly bare, apart from a framed photograph of a younger-looking Ochako with her mother and father and a poster of All-Might, posing heroically above the U.A. High logo. There wasn’t much in the way of furniture besides a small table, an electric fan (and some other utilities), and the aforementioned futon, which sat in a heap in the corner. A laptop computer that looked about 4 years obsolete sat plugged-in against the wall, next to a flip-phone. Tsu felt a twinge of guilt. It must’ve been hard living by yourself on a budget. She was lucky enough to have parents with well-paying jobs.
“You can just put your bag down anywhere.” Ochako said as she went straighten-out her futon.
“I brought us some snacks, ribbit. Karaage and potato chips. I didn’t know which flavour you liked so I got plain, I hope that’s okay. Oh, and I got some iced tea, ribbit”
“AWWWW Tsu-chan, you didn’t have to do that, thank you so much! Would you mind putting the iced tea in the fridge? I’ll get us some plates for the chicken.”
The two girls sat cross legged in front of the table as they ate their dinner together. That week, Aizawa-sensei had given them a really dry assignment; a comparative essay on the differences between early and contemporary Pro-Hero Regulation. U.A. may have been a special school, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t copious amounts of written work to go along with their practical examinations.
“It wasn’t so much the readings I found difficult,” Ochako lamented, between mouthfuls of fried chicken. “I mean, a lot of those changes in hero law seemed obvious to me. But finding a way to describe why they were necessary…”
“Seemed overly redundant, ribbit” Tsuyu replied, as she finished the last bite of her karaage.
“YES. Oh my GOSH, I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that! I love being a U.A. student but sometimes, the written work drives me crazy.”
“Between you and me, Ochako-chan, I hope the finals aren’t as heavy on the written work. I don’t mind doing it most of the time, but it also cuts into my sleep-schedule, ribbit.”
Ochako turned to look at her friend’s face, her wide grin softening a bit. “Because you have to take care of your brother and sister, huh?”
“Yeah,” Tsuyu sighed. “It can be difficult to get a full-night’s sleep for me. My siblings are both usually in bed by 8:00pm, but then I have to clean, plan meals for the rest of the week, and do a lot of homework. Sometimes, I don’t get to bed until 1:00am.”
“That mustn’t be easy, Tsu-chan. I mean, kinda being like a parent to two kids while also studying at U.A. I don’t know a lot of people our age who’d be able to do what you do.”
“Yeah, it’s not easy, but… well, I’m happy to do it all in the end. Because I know my mom and dad rely on me and I want to make them proud you know, ribbit? They sacrificed a lot in order to get the jobs they have now, and our family can live comfortably because of that. I want to do my part by helping them out how I can.”
“I get what you mean, Tsu-chan.” Ochako responded. “I mean, we are studying to be Pro-Heroes, after all, and if the desire to help people wasn’t something that drove each of us, I suppose we wouldn’t be U.A. students.”
Tsuyu looked her friend in the eyes and smiled. She could tell by the look Ochako had on her face that she understood her. And not just about wanting to help people, but about wanting to help her family. The two girls picked-up their now empty plates and chopsticks and brought them over to the sink.
“It was really nice of you to bring me some nice, hot food, Tsu-chan,” said Ochako as she dusted off the crumbs from her plate into a small, silver trashcan. “It’s been ages since I’ve eaten something other than a cup noodle or curry rice bowl for dinner. Fried chicken was a nice change of pace.”
Tsuyu took the greasy plate from her friend’s hand and ran it under the hot water, along with her own.
“It was the least I could do, Ochako-chan, ribbit. I only wish I could’ve made it for you myself. My sister and brother love when I make them karaage.”
“No way, you probably did more than your fair share of cooking this week already, Tsu-chan. You deserve breaks too, you know. Now all I have to do is find some way to help you out to pay you back for this nice meal. Hey, how about we watch a movie?”
“Sure, ribbit!”
Tsuyu nodded happily and finished-up with the dishes. After drying them, she handed them back to Ochako, who put them back in the small cupboard above her kitchen counter. The two girls walked back to the living room area and Ochako pulled her futon closer towards the table, then retrieved her old computer and placed in front of them.
“I don’t really have many cushions, and the tatami gets kind of annoying to sit on for an hour, so we’ll probably be more comfortable this way. I hope that’s okay,” Ochako said, sounding genuinely apologetic.
“It’s fine, ribbit,” replied Tsuyu, laughing her little froggy laugh. “Just as long as we choose something other than a children’s film. That’s all my little sister, Satsuki, ever lets us watch in our house.
The girls chose a lighthearted romantic comedy, about a big-time Pro-Hero who falls for a quirkless salaryman. It was a good time; they laughed out loud at some of the best moments, like when the salaryman pretended to have an animal manipulation quirk while on a date at the zoo to impress the protagonist. Tsuyu was even sure she heard Ochako tear-up a little at the ending, when the protagonist professed her love for the salaryman, despite his quirklessness. Just being able to spend time with Ochako made Tsuyu feel happy. She felt as if she could just be a normal teenager around her friend. Just plain Tsuyu, as opposed to ‘onee-chan’ or Froppy. Once the credits began to roll, Ochako stopped the movie and closed the laptop screen. Grabbing for her flip phone, she took a look at the time: 9:53pm.
“Hey, it’s almost 10 o’clock,” she said, somewhat excitedly. “Tsu-chan, do you want to see something really cool?”
[End of Part 1]