Chapter Text
The shopping district of Musutafu is absolutely packed with people this late Sunday morning, despite the winter chill that has settled deep into the concrete of the city over the past week. Other than the cold, it’s quite nice out, and the bright sun makes Ochako wonder if it was really necessary to bundle up as much as she had.
“Kendo-san said it was going to be busy, but isn’t this a little ridiculous??” Hagakure laments somewhere off to Ochako’s left. It’s difficult to spot her floating hat and scarf against the crowd, but their entire group has wisely chosen to stick close together for now. “Maybe we should have listened when she suggested we go later...”
“I mean, maybe?” Jirou has one of her earphone jacks raised high, listening for...something. “It might just be the main street that’s crowded, though.”
“It was important we all leave our afternoon and evening schedules free for studying and training!" Iida says. "This may be a rare opportunity to leave campus, but we mustn't use it as an excuse to neglect our studies!”
“Plus,” Ochako interjects, standing on her tip-toes to try and get a look at some of the stores over the heads of the crowd. “It’s a big sale event, right before Christmas. With this crowd, if we’d come later, half the stuff we wanted would probably be gone!”
Now that everyone in their class had finally obtained their hero licenses, after much deliberation it was decided that class 1-A would be allowed to spend their day off away from campus, so long as they reported where they would be beforehand, got approval, used a buddy system, and made sure to check in with the school at regular intervals. This was perfect timing, because Ochako and some of her classmates were in desperate need of winter supplies, and everyone was eager for the chance to do something fun before the end of 2nd term exams.
Ochako and Hakagure had managed to rope Aoyama, Deku, Iida, Jirou, and Todoroki into coming along with them. Everyone else seemed to have other plans, especially Tsuyu, which Ochako was a little bummed about. But most of her friends are here, and Ochako is determined to not have this turn into a disaster like their last shopping trip. They’re here to buy things, and have fun!
“What were you all hoping to find?” Deku asks, helpfully. “We should coordinate where we’re going, so we don’t get lost or spend forever wading through all these people.”
“There’s a music shop somewhere around here I wanted to check out, see if they have any amps that are—” Jirou begins, but is interrupted by Hagakure’s gloved grabby hands.
“There’s that huuuuge department store, though, Jirou-chan!! This is the perfect opportunity to find cute winter clothes!!!” She bounces up and down in excitement, and Jirou grimaces as she’s shaken by her shoulders. “You have to come with me! I neeeed your feedback, since Ashido-chan isn’t here!”
“Eh? Why me? Our fashion senses are completely—”
“Isn’t that it, mon ami?” Aoyama says, pointing out a tall building a block or so away that seems to be drawing a sizable chunk of the crowd. “Look at how it attracts attention. It calls to me!”
“Ooooh yeah! Definitely!” Hagakure wastes no time dragging Jirou off, pushing through the throngs of people with surprising ease.
“Hold on, I didn’t agree to—hey!!”
Iida huffs and stands up straighter to shout over the noise of the crowd. “Where are you three going? We are meant to be coordinating our movements! This is not coordination!!”
Aoyama turns around and gives them a salute before following the other two girls. “We shall rendezvous elsewhere for lunch, yes??”
“Uh...sure...?” Deku replies, bewildered, and far too quiet for Aoyama to hear him.
Ochako sighs and cups her hands over her mouth. “We’ll text you!!!”
She sees a thumb stick up over a few heads in the crowd in confirmation. Chuckling, she turns to the remainder of their group with a shrug. “Guess this will make it easier for the rest of us?”
“Right,” Deku says, pulling out his phone and presumably texting Aoyama. “Todoroki-kun, you’ve been pretty quiet.”
Todoroki just shrugs. “Didn’t have anything to say. There wasn’t much room to interject, anyway.”
“Hehe, sorry,” Ochako says, feeling a little guilty for almost forgetting he was there. “What did you want to buy? I need a new pair of winter boots that aren’t a part of my hero costume. And I’ll obviously keep an eye out for good Christmas gifts.”
Todoroki looks pensive as they all shuffle forward with the flow of the other shoppers. “Just something to give my mom for the holiday. Whatever catches my eye. I don’t have anything specific in mind.”
They end up cutting down a side street into a much less busy intersection. There’s a lot more breathing room, here, and Ochako doesn’t have to stand on her toes to see where they’re going. This helps things go much more smoothly. Soon Iida stops them as they pass a sporting goods store. “This looks as if it might carry maintenance equipment for my engines. They require much more careful management during winter, after all.”
“Ooooh, and boots,” Ochako notes, seeing plenty of winter gear in the window display. She’s already following Iida towards the entrance, Deku close behind.
“Do you think you guys could help me find some arm braces? I’ve only got the one, and I need to wear it all the time now, apparently...” Deku says, eyes scanning the storefront.
Todoroki stays put, however, looking at something further down the street. “...You guys go on ahead. I’ll check out a different place and meet you back here in a bit.”
Iida turns around and gives Todoroki a disapproving look. “Todoroki-kun, I believe our teachers explicitly stated we weren’t to wander off anywhere alone...”
Todoroki sighs, exasperated. “It’s literally a block down the street, Iida.” Iida crosses his arms, and the two stare each other down for a few seconds before Deku tries to break the tension.
“I-I could go with you, Todoroki-kun, it’s no problem!”
“You’re looking for something specific, and I’m not. I’d rather not waste your time,” Todoroki counters, stubbornly. But never let it be said he isn’t willing to compromise. “Look. I’ll meet you guys back here in exactly 20 minutes. If you don’t see or hear from me, you can assume disaster has struck. Fair?”
Ochako turns her attention to Deku. He’s the one with most reason to be worried, considering what happened to him last time they had an outing like this. He returns her gaze, and they exchange hesitantly approving smiles which they then transfer to Iida. Iida gives in.
“20 minutes on the dot!” Iida insists, even as Todoroki is already walking away, giving them a nonchalant backwards wave as he goes.
Ochako is quick to usher both boys into the store, because otherwise, they’re likely to just keep staring at Todoroki’s back all wistfully for at least another minute. “Come on, come on! Shopping!!! Shoooopping!”
After a little cajoling, Ochako is able to get the two boys to stop worrying long enough to actually do some shopping. Deku helps Ochako look for an affordable pair of winter boots, and as always, has plenty of input when it comes each pair's potential utility. She loses track of what he’s saying when he starts mumbling, so she affectionately sends him off to help Iida instead while she buys her shoes. Ochako can hear him practically interrogating Iida about the specifics of his engine’s winter maintenance regimen in the background, and it makes her smile.
The 20 minutes are almost up before any of them have time to help Deku look for his arm braces. Ochako and Iida both feel a little guilty. Deku waves it off. “Oh, no, we really should go wait for Todoroki-kun. We can come back in afterwards, maybe!” Which is sensible enough.
They once again brave the cold to stand outside the store and wait for Todoroki to arrive sometime within the next few minutes. Iida keeps checking his watch, impatiently tapping his foot. Ochako pokes his shoulder, intending on telling him to relax.
“...is that Deku?!”
“No way!”
Deku nearly jumps several feet in the air. A group of four people have spotted them from across the street, and Ochako’s first thought is that Deku has been recognized by his hero name. Amazing?!
But Deku's already gone stiff as a board, looking as shell shocked as he usually does when caught unawares. Ah, well. All that usually requires is a little cajoling and reassurance to help him get past his nerves. Ochako smirks and elbows his side. “Hooo, would you look at that, Deku-kun? You’ve got fans!” Ochako waves at the strangers, and is surprised to see three of them start to run across the street, despite potential traffic. “Haha, and they’re enthusiastic too!”
“Uuuummm....” Deku is trembling a bit, hunching in on himself and doing that thing he sometimes does where he looks around frantically for an escape route. “I don’t know...”
Ah. Deku’s crippling social awkwardness strikes again. Honestly, Ochako doesn't quite get how Deku can be this anxious over harmless social interaction, yet doesn’t even flinch in the face of real, deadly danger. There's something about it that's at least a little endearing, though. “Hey, c’mon. Relax!” She shoots him an encouraging grin.
Deku frowns at her for a moment, but manages to plaster a nervous smile on his face and give the three approaching strangers a half-hearted wave. Once they’re closer, Ochako can tell they’re three boys, about their age, and the fourth across the street is a girl who looks none too happy about being left behind.
Once they’ve reached the sidewalk the boys stop and catch their breath, chuckling at each other. Ochako’s smile dips a little when she sees that their expressions aren’t...friendly, exactly.
Iida adjusts his glasses and posture, clearing his throat. “You know, you really need not cross the road in such a dangerous—”
“Aaaaaah!” One of them shouts, his eyes comically bursting nearly a foot out of their sockets in Deku’s direction. Even Ochako jumps a bit in surprise, but Deku flinches back pretty violently. All three boys laugh. “Dude, what are the chances!”
Uhhh, what? Why do these people think they can just...talk to them like that out of nowhere? Is this just excitable awkwardness, maybe? Ochako’s smile dips even further, while Deku’s becomes twice as strained. He stares intently at the ground. “Uhm. H-hi, Kanta-kun...”
...Huh???
Ochako and Iida glance at each other with matching looks of confusion. The second boy nudges Deku’s arm with his elbow. “How are you holding up, pal??” It’s rude, and overly familiar. Deku stiffens further and rubs absentmindedly at the place he was touched. Ochako’s eyes narrow. Does Deku know these guys? If he does, it would seem it's not in a good way.
She regrets waving them over almost instantly.
On the surface, Deku’s behavior isn’t all that out of character. But something in Ochako’s gut is telling her this is very, very wrong. Beyond them just being outrageously rude, anyway. Especially since they're targeting Deku while hardly acknowledging her or Iida at all.
“Ahem,” Iida coughs. “Midoriya-kun, do you know these people?” He asks carefully, his tone making his growing irritation clear.
“I, well...” Deku bites his lip. “Y-yeah. They’re from my middle school.” He fidgets a bit before motioning to each of them in turn. “Kanta-kun, Nobirou-kun, and Yubito-kun.”
Well...that confirms that, then. Ochako purses her lips. It's almost close to confirming her other suspicions, too. The only other person they've met from Deku's middle school is, well. Bakugou. And judging from these first impressions, somehow Bakugou is more representative of Aldera Middle's student body than Deku. Which doesn't bode well at all.
“I saw you at the sports festival,” Nobirou says to Deku, leaning in uncomfortably close with his oddly long neck. “Pretty impressive! Unbelievably so, I’d say!” For some reason, they find this extremely funny.
“I’m surprised you even remember us!” Yubito says, flicking his long brown hair out of his face with comically long fingers. “Don’t let all that fame and glory get to your head, eh, Deku? Hahaha!”
This is also, apparently, hilarious. Ochako grimaces. This is quickly becoming grating. Their voices and high-pitched laughter are like nails on a chalkboard! “Hey,” she snaps, desperate to get at least one word in edgewise. “What the heck is so funny, exactly??"
But Ochako is ignored. Their attention is instead drawn by the girl from earlier running up behind them, huffing and putting her hands on her hips. “What’s the big idea, running into the street like a bunch of idiots??? Have none of you heard of a goddamn crosswalk?!” Her expression is absolutely thunderous, and her long purple hair moves on its own, fanning out behind her not unlike a cobra rising to strike.
All three boys immediately appear cowed. Nobirou rubs the back of his neck and laughs awkwardly. “Haaaah, sorry, Kazahashi-senpai.”
“We just, uh...” Kanta starts, shooting a quick glance at Deku. “Got excited?”
Kazahashi rolls her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose with a groan.
Ochako looks between this Kazahashi girl and Deku, who now appears confused on top of uncomfortable. She isn't sure what to make of this development, exactly. “So...” Ochako starts. “Is she also an old classmate, Deku-kun?”
Before Deku can even properly shake his head ‘no’, Kazahashi barks out a “...Who??” and shoots him a disdainful glare that makes even Ochako flinch with its intensity. “I have no idea who any of you are. Let alone why you're sooooo important.”
Yubito, his index finger extending to twice it’s previous length, points at Deku. “It’s Deku! He went to our middle school?” A pause, and no look of recognition. “...They’re UA students?”
Ochako and Iida are treated to the same glare as Deku while she looks between the three of them. Then, Kazahashi blinks. “Oh. Right. The sports festival.”
Okay. So, not off to a great start. Bad first impressions abound. But in the interest of keeping things civil, maybe she can find it in herself to look past that and discover some common ground. Ochako wonders if perhaps these four are just a little overzealous like Kaminari and Sero and Ashido sometimes are, and only need to be reigned in a bit. She forces herself to relax. Their class has been training in public speaking, lately. Now's a good time to practice! “Haha, yeah!” Ochako says. “So hey, what school do you—”
“You three all did a very nice job,” Kazahashi interrupts. “Making fools of yourselves on live television, anyway.”
...what.
“Especially you,” the girl continues, referring to Ochako.
......WHAT??
“That fight with the angry one? Don’t you think that was a bit...I dunno, grotesque? I know UA is all about over-the-top spectacles, but as a girl, you really should learn to pay attention to your image if you’re going to go anywhere as a hero.” She looks down her nose at Ochako. “Especially with how plain-looking you are, and all.”
..............PLAIN-LOOKING?!?!?!
"EXCUSE ME?!" Ochako nearly screeches, face flushing dark scarlet as she is surrounded by a black aura of pure malice. Who the fuck does this bitch think she is??? She’ll show her ‘grotesque’!!!!
But then Deku steps in front of Ochako, putting himself between them. “Y-yubito-kun!” He stammers, voice unsteady. “You all, um...go to the same high school, now?” He shrinks in on himself again once all eyes are turned to him, but he doesn’t back down. “Did you...get into a hero course? You all wanted to, if I’m...r-remembering right, haha.”
Kazahashi rolls her eyes. Ochako wants to slap her stupid, smug, UGLY face. “This shit again...”
The three boys’ expressions harden. Nobirou crosses his arms. “Not really. We can’t all pull whatever strings you did to get into a school like UA, Deku.” He huffs.
It finally occurs to Ochako that these three are not calling Deku by his hero name. They probably don’t even know what it is. When they say ‘Deku’, they mean ‘worthless’. She feels her hair start to stand on end as her rage spikes.
“Like, seriously,” Nobirou continues. “How did you get in? You? The hero course?”
“Did you cry so much at the entrance exam they thought it was your quirk, and let you in out of pity?” Kanta jokes, and he and Yubito laugh.
“And what was all that wind at the sports festival? Is UA using special effects, now?!”
Ochako is about five seconds from punching each and every one of these fuckers in the face. How DARE they?? She lunges forward, but Iida is quick to catch her before any of them notice. Ochako whines in protest, her fists aching to meet pompous boy flesh. Iida’s own expression is quite severe, but he turns his attention to Deku.
“Midoriya-kun,” he asks stiffly. “These three weren’t old friends, were they?” He’s clearly only asking so Deku can say no, and ask them to leave.
“WHO WOULD BE?!” Ochako shouts, struggling a bit against Iida’s arm. There’s no doubt in her mind that Deku would never be friends with people like this. “Grotesque?! Who says that!!!”
But Deku doesn’t say anything at all. He’s been standing there stiffly and staring at the ground this entire time, like he’s just waiting for this to be over. She can see him trembling in what Ochako hopes is anger. But it probably isn’t.
The boys don’t seem to take Ochako’s outburst as the insult it’s meant to be, and instead just keep chortling away like a pack of noxious hyenas. “Haha, yeah, right,” they...agree? “Not friends exactly.” Yubito attempts to put his gross, spindly fingers on Iida’s shoulder, as if they're comrades in whatever these assholes are saying about Deku. Iida calmly shrugs it off, but he is clearly disgusted. “You two must really be some kind of hero material, taking pity on a guy like Deku.”
Iida scowls. “I think not.” He stops himself from shoving Yubito away, and instead moves from restraining Ochako to stand at Deku’s other side. Who still remains frozen in place, unresponsive.
“Man, but Bakugou is in the same class, right?”
“Hahaha! How are you not DEAD?”
Maybe this is why Deku gets so anxious around people. Is this how he’s used to being treated?
“I genuinely do not understand how you haven’t been kicked out yet, though. I haven’t gone crazy, right? This should be impossible?”
Ochako’s anger starts to deflate. This shouldn’t be about her. Yes, they are currently making her want to rupture her own eardrums, and kicking them in the nuts would be extremely satisfying to her personally. But getting into a fight isn’t going to make Deku feel better. Deku is more important than her ego. They should just leave and meet Todoroki in the store, or something.
“What the hell is the state of the hero industry if they’re letting guys like Deku in???”
“What’s he going to do to villains? Annoy them into giving up?”
She reaches out to gently touch Deku’s elbow, but he doesn’t acknowledge her. Ochaka’s heart sinks, and she tries to whisper to him that they’re going to leave. But her voice is drowned out by the loud, incessant laughter of these...these bullies. That's what they are. Regular, garden variety bullies.
God, do they EVER stop laughing? It’s starting to get to her, now. It worms itself between her ears and makes an inexplicable knot of shame writhe in her stomach. It doesn't make any sense, she has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. They aren't even targeting her! But just by being adjacent to this incessant, nonsensical ridicule, all of her own insecurities start to bubble up, unbidden. The shame she feels when she has to explain why she can’t go to the movies with friends, or when she notices a new hole in one of her shirts, or has to pilfer bits of food from her friends’ plates at lunch some days...
Even Kazahashi has something to say, pretentious attitude out in full force. “He isn’t anything special to look at either, really. What is going on with your hair? My family runs a salon, you don’t need me to give you a referral, do you?”
Iida, with a growl of frustration, slices his arm between all of them as a barrier. “That is enough! I must demand that you cease and desist immediately! This conduct is appalling!”
Deku finally reacts, blinking at Iida’s arm in front of his face, like he’s just snapped out of a trance. Ochako breathes a small sigh of relief and tightens her grip on his elbow, trying to smile at him reassuringly. “Deku-kun, let’s go, okay?” She tugs at him gently, trying to guide him away. She shoots a glare at the bullies. “And you four should be ashamed of yourselves, I can’t believe—”
“Uraraka-san, Iida-kun,” Deku says, not moving despite Ochako’s urging. “You don’t need to. It’s...it’s fine.”
Ochako gapes a bit. Fine? What part of any of this is fine?? He’s still shaking like a leaf!
Deku meets the eyes of his bullies, taking a deep breath. He lets out a humorless laugh. “Haha. O-okay then. Thanks, Kazahashi-san, for the...the advice. Yobito-kun, Kanta-kun, Nobirou-kun. I-it was...nice seeing you. But we should...go.” He swallows hard, eyes glassy, and finally turns to leave of his own volition.
Except Nobirou’s long neck extends even longer and longer, until his head has gone clear around Ochako and Iida to cut in front of Deku’s path. “Hey, come on! So soon? At least tell us how you managed to get in! If there’s some trick to it, don’t you think the heroic thing to do is help give everyone else a chance??”
“Hey.”
The interrupting voice is low and impatient. The already chilly air around them gets noticeably colder, and the ground beneath their feet crackles as a thin layer of frost slowly forms over the concrete. All eyes turn to Todoroki, who is standing behind the group of bullies, eyes narrowed into an intense, frigid glare they haven’t seen him wear in quite a while. He breathes out a flurry of ice crystals. He’s carrying a shopping bag.
“Sorry I’m late. I texted, but looks like you were distracted.”
After a moment of stunned silence, recognition seems to dawn on the faces of the four interlopers. Kazahashi stammers, moving closer to him. “Hey...aren’t you—?”
“You’re in the way. Move.”
“Eep!” Kazahashi squeaks, and immediately jumps out of the way as Todoroki walks past her. She visibly shivers, and her living hair moves to wrap itself around her for warmth.
Todoroki pointedly ignores them and addresses wide-eyed Deku. “I found a decent place to meet the others for lunch. It’s got good soba. If you guys are finished here, I can take us there. You should text Aoyama.”
“U-um...” Deku takes a few seconds to register what is happening before he numbly takes out his phone. Todoroki is patient. “Right. Right...”
“Seriously?” Kanta grumbles, and the other two boys scowl. “Full of yourself, much?”
“What ever,” Kazahashi spits out petulantly. “This was nothing but a waste of time. I still have shopping to do. I blame you idiots, now let’s go.” She stomps away and, when the three boys don’t follow after her heels immediately, barks at them. “Now!”
A minute later, they’re gone.
“...So,” Todoroki starts, breaking the awkward silence. “Are we good to go, or?”
Ochako tugs gently at Deku, who’s still staring blankly at his phone. “Deku-kun?” Rather than responding, Deku gently pulls his arm out of Ochako’s grip, putting away his phone and rubbing at the area she’d been touching. Oh. He...didn’t like that. A new knot forms in her stomach.
“We have yet to help Midoriya-kun find the arm braces he was looking for,” Iida says when it becomes clear Deku isn’t going to.
Shouto shrugs. “Fine by me. It’s a little while until lunch, anyway. We have time.”
Ochako turns to glare at the retreating backs of the bullies and sticks her tongue out at them. “Guh, that was AWFUL! The nerve! The GALL of those people!!” She crosses her arms and scoffs.
Iida’s arms start to gesticulate like usual, his own frustrations making themselves known. “It’s a very good thing none of them are aiming to be heroes any longer! Such attitudes are hardly heroic!!”
“Bakugou is way worse, though,” Todoroki points out. “If they all went to the same school, a lot of things start to make sense...”
“Were they like that in middle school, Deku-kun?” Ochako asks, hoping he’ll actually respond to something.
Deku takes a deep breath at being addressed, closing his eyes for a moment. His grip on his elbow loosens slightly as he breathes out. “...Yeah. Um. P-pretty much.”
...And isn’t that just the icing on the cake? Ochako can just imagine it. Those three assholes following Bakugou around like sycophants, instead of that Kazahashi girl. Goading him into indulging his every aggressive, immature impulse and taunting each of his targets. It usually feels like Bakugou’s bark is worse than his bite, but maybe that’s only because nobody in their class encourages him. The way it must have been before, with Deku being singled out and ganged up on by so many of his classmates...it just makes her blood boil!! Ochako scowls and stomps her foot with a huff. “Well...good riddance to bad garbage!!!”
Deku gives her a short, shaky smile. But then he sighs, and goes to lean against the wall of the store.
“Are you alright?” Iida asks, making sure to stay close, but trying not to hover or crowd him.
“I’m...y-yeah, I’m fine, Iida-kun,” Deku answers, though he still looks really down. Before anyone can ask something stupid like ‘are you sure’, he continues. “It’s silly, really. Everything they said was pretty toothless. I just wasn’t...expecting it, I guess. Kind of a pathetic reason to get upset, considering everything else that’s happened this year?” He tries to laugh it off, though his heart clearly still isn’t in it. “I’m sorry you guys had to deal with that, though, just because you were with me...”
“You don’t have to apologize for them,” Ochako huffs, seething at the mere implication that any of this was in any way Deku’s fault. “Besides, it’s really not a big deal. We care way more about you than what some assholes think.” So what if getting called ‘plain-looking’ kind of hit a sore spot? That’s where the thick skin of a hero comes in handy.
“What kind of heroes would we become if we weren’t more than willing to weather a few mean-spirited comments for the sake of a dear friend?” Iida says, echoing Ochako’s own thoughts.
Deku’s smile doesn’t brighten. “...I’m just not sure what kind of hero I’m going to be if I still let people like that get to me.”
Oh. Did they make Deku think he was weak for being bothered? That’s not what they meant! Ochako isn’t sure what she could possibly say to help him feel better. He looks so...ashamed of himself. It’s so wrong for him to be feeling this way about something that isn’t even a little bit his fault!
While Ochako has an internal crisis, Todoroki rummages through his shopping bag and pulls out two notebooks. One with a UA logo on the front and ‘Plus Ultra!’ written on the back, and another with All Might colors. “I saw these and thought of you,” he says in his usual deadpan. “I noticed volume 13 of your hero notes is almost full, so...better to give this to you now, instead of waiting for Christmas.”
This, finally, seems to break through the stormy cloud that had nestled itself behind Deku’s eyes. He accepts the notebooks gingerly, lip quivering just a little. He sniffs and wipes away the beginning of tears in his eyes. “...Thank you,” he says, a little watery, but heartfelt. A wobbly smile spreads on his face as he holds the notebooks tight to his chest.
Man. Todoroki is so good at this. Ochako isn’t jealous. She’s not!!! To prove it, she follows his lead in taking Deku’s mind off this whole stupid thing and cheering him up. She moves to lean on the wall next to him, reading his body language to make sure she’s welcome in his personal space. She gives him a quick hug from the side, which makes Deku stiffen and go a little red, but he always does that. Ochako releases him quickly and smiles brightly at him. “Gosh, speaking of notes, do you think I could borrow yours, Deku? To study for the test tomorrow?”
After a moment, Deku finally relaxes, returning her smile in earnest. “Um...sure? But maybe we could just study together?”
“Yesssss!” She pumps her fist victoriously. “I’m so gonna ace this exam, now.”
Deku chuckles. Todoroki clears his throat. “So. Finish shopping, then lunch?”
“You seem in a bit of a hurry. We still have at least half an hour!” Iida says to Todoroki, eyes narrowing a little.
“...The restaurant has good soba, though.” Todoroki counters, like that obviously explains everything.
“You eat cold soba for lunch nearly every day! Made by the expert culinary skills of Lunch Rush, no less!”
“Because I like it.”
“Yes, but surely you must consider other options to keep your diet adequately balanced! Not to mention the carbohydrAAAAAA!!!” Iida is startled when someone sneaks up behind him and begins to tickle his sides.
“SURPRISE!” Hagakure says, laughter in her voice as Iida flails to regain his composure and face her. Along with the invisible girl is an exhausted-looking Jirou, and Aoyama, who poses dramatically and winks.
“We have returned, friends!!” Aoyama declares, showing off the several shopping bags he’s sporting.
Iida is bright red from embarrassment. Todoroki looks quite smug, considering he must have seen Hakagure coming and didn’t give Iida any warning. On purpose? Probably. Deku still holds his gift tightly to his chest, and he’s still a little quiet, but is otherwise smiling like normal. Good.
“These two bought so...many...clothes.” Jirou groans, sagging with the weight of the bags she’s holding. “Hagakure, can you take these back now? It’s YOUR stuff.”
“Okayyyyy,” Hagakure sing-songs, taking the bags back with a chuckle.
“Are we going to lunch? Because I still haven’t even gotten a glimpse of the store I wanted to check out,” Jirou complains.
“We wanted to help Deku get one more thing here...we could go after lunch?” Ochako suggests.
They spend another few minutes catching up and coordinating their plans. Deku remains a little quiet, a little subdued, but not upset. Ochako is determined to keep things cheerful for him. Which isn’t particularly difficult, since Hagakure and Aoyama together are a force to be reckoned with.
When they find Deku’s braces, Iida asks him a few questions about what they’re for. To try and get him talking, Ochako thinks.
“O-oh, um,” Deku stutters, looking up from the label he was examining. “It’s just good to keep my arm under a little bit of pressure all the time? Outside of just my hero costume? It helps with, like...muscle aches and stuff?”
Iida nods like this is incredibly fascinating. “And just your right arm? Not your left?”
“My right is a lot worse than my left,” Deku admits, looking a little embarrassed about it.
This is Iida’s cue to lay off. “Well, I’m quite glad you’re taking care of yourself!” He says with an air of finality. He puts his hand on Deku’s shoulder and smiles. Ochako’s not the only one looking out for him, it seems. Deku is perceptive, and can clearly see what they’re doing.
“...It’s easier when you have help,” Deku says softly, smiling.