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The train doors opened, and a swarm of people streamed out onto the station while at the same time a bunch of people hurried to board the train. Ochako was in the latter category, and it was only thanks to Iida’s tight hold on her hand that she wasn’t lost in the crowd. He made sure they stuck together as they stepped across the platform and shuffled inside.
There were no free seats available, so they moved over to where the grab handles handing from the train ceiling were located. A few people were seated near them, so it was a bit of a tight fit, but spaces would free up at the next station stop.
“Man, it’s so busy! Everyone’s in a rush, huh?” Ochako sighed, one hand holding the handle above her head and the other fished out her phone from her skirt pocket.
Iida readjusted his glasses, which had slid down his face in the hustle and bustle of boarding the train, “It must be because of the late hour, as well as people coming home from work.”
Ochako hummed in agreeance, then tapped into her phone as the train doors closed and it started moving. She was still amazed by the power of touch screen, and how easily accessible everything was! Ochako had invested in purchasing a smart phone in her second year of university, and it was still holding up well a year later. Sure, she’d gotten an older, more outdated model, but she still loved it all the same.
Right now, she was scrolling through her photo album to look at the pictures she’d taken on their lunch date. They had eaten at a nice Vietnamese restaurant, which was nice for a change. Eating with him made it even better, but then again, just being in his company made a lot of things better than usual. Ochako had taken pictures of the food and the pretty sky, but those weren’t the pictures she wanted to see just now.
Instead, she scrolled to the ones she’d taken of her boyfriend, without his knowledge. In one of the pictures, Iida was hovering his phone over the food and peering down at it with a distinct focus. In another picture, Ochako had taken it when he was eating his noodles, because she found the serious face he maintained even while slurping up ridiculously long noodles was too hilarious.
She giggled and the sound caught his notice. He tilted his head to the side curiously, “What is it?”
“Nothing!” she chirped, tapping out of her photos and looking up at him with a sunny smile.
“You can’t tell me? Is it a secret?” he asked as he leaned in closer to her, attempting to probe further for an answer.
Ochako shook her head, tucking her phone back in her pocket with a cheeky grin, “It’s nothing! I’ll tell you later!”
“Fair enough,” he said with a resigned smile.
Ochako looked out the windows, watching the scenery whip past them in a colourful blur. It really had been a wonderful day. They hadn’t been able to go out together just the two of them in so long, what with exams and assignments taking up both their schedules so intensely. But for now, or at least until their grades were returned, they were free to enjoy their short break from studying and just be together.
She looked back and was surprised to see he was staring at her. She smiled curiously, “Hm? What is it? Is there stuff in my teeth from lunch?” Ochako grew self-conscious, lifting up a hand to cover her mouth as she ran her tongue over her teeth to check for any remnants of noodles or vegetables.
“No, I’m simply admiring your lovely face, that’s all,” he told her softly, a smile overtaking his face that was so gorgeous it shot an arrow straight through Ochako’s heart.
“Geez, don’t say things like that! It makes you look too cute, and I can’t take it!” she whined although she was still smiling widely. She playfully batted him on the arm, her pink cheeks turning a shade darker.
However, the moment was cut short when she saw Iida’s eyes dart sideways and narrow suddenly. The smile dropped off his face, replaced with a thin line as a harsh expression appeared instead.
“Iida-kun?” Ochako called, blinking confusedly when he stepped around her without saying a word.
“Stop what you are doing right now!” Iida said, his voice raised in a sharp, furious tone. Ochako startled, and noticed he was speaking to the man sitting not far from where she was standing. When the man didn’t react, Iida’s hand reached out to catch his wrist and pull it out from where Ochako was horrified to realise was stretched under her skirt.
His grip must have been painfully strong, because the other man hissed and dropped his phone, stumbling out of his seat and standing up. Releasing his wrist, Iida quickly bent down to pick it up and when he straightened, he made sure to position himself between the man and Ochako.
“To do something so disgraceful, do you have no shame?” Iida asked, his brows drawn together in quiet anger as he stared at the man with open condemnation.
“He was–? Ugh, you pervert!” Ochako screwed her face up, berating the man loudly as she realised what he had been doing.
Illegal filming of women, particularly on trains, was a prominent issue in Japan. Ochako had interfered when she’d witnessed it happening to other women before, but this was the first time she had been a victim of it herself. It was an awful feeling, like she was fully exposed even though her clothes were still on.
“Seems like I stopped you before you could do anything underhanded,” Iida remarked as he inspected the device, and Ochako breathed a soft sigh of relief as she saw the camera app open on the phone but the recording hadn’t been started yet.
Exiting out of the camera app, Iida fixed the other with a disparaging glare as he continued, “However, I’m assuming you have demeaning footage on here violating other women without their knowledge nor permission. I should report you to the police.”
Then, the man rushed in suddenly and shoved Iida roughly in the chest with one hand, snatching his phone back with the other. He then gripped Iida by the collar, yanking him forward and digging his fingers into his skin sharply, “Mind your own damn business, bastard!”
“Don’t touch him!” Ochako snapped angrily as she stepped forward, her hand striking out like a viper. She ripped the man’s hand away from Iida and she didn’t let go. Instead she grabbed hold of his fingers and bent them back harshly, twisting them at unnatural angles.
“ARRGHH! It hurts! Shit! Let go, let go!” he cried out, his form wilting like a plant under the burning sun. He eyed Ochako in open animosity as he gripped onto his phone tightly with his other hand. He’d rather hold onto it than risk losing it again by pushing her away. It only made Ochako reflexively tighten her grip with a scowl.
How dare he try to attack her boyfriend! Iida would never use violence against another person, even if they attempted to provoke him by using violence first. Ochako was of the same belief generally, but there was an exception where Iida was involved. There was no way she would just stand there and do nothing while he was getting hurt.
“Uraraka-kun,” she heard Iida’s voice over her shoulder, and felt his hand rest lightly on her arm that was currently abusing the pervert’s hand, “please, stop. At this rate, I'm concerned that you'll dislocate his fingers.”
It was only because of Iida grounding her that she was able to cool her head a little and look past her anger. That’s right, losing my temper and injuring him won’t do any good.
So, Ochako dropped her hold on his hand, throwing it back at him roughly. She glowered darkly at him while he clutched his hand to his chest. A lot of people were looking at him now, and some even had their phones out. All the unwanted attention made him skittish, as he tried to cover his face and search frantically for where he could run to next.
Coincidentally, the train had just pulled in at the next station. Throwing a filthy last look in their direction, the man scurried away and left the train in the bustle of other people departing and boarding. Her eyes narrowed as she watched his figure gradually disappear. It really pissed her off that disgusting guys like that could just get away with it, but she felt somehow mollified that she’d taught him a lesson.
“Are you alright, Uraraka-kun?”
Her face instantly softened when she looked up at him, and she turned around to face him, taking hold of both his hands, “Mm, I’m fine! What about you? I can’t believe he grabbed you like that!”
“No need to worry, it seems all he did was dirty my shirt and wrinkle it here and there,” he explained, glancing down at his clothes with a frown but overall unharmed. Thank god.
“Aww, and you’re dressed in such nice clothes, too,” Ochako pouted sadly, then began smoothing over the wrinkles with her hands, and straightened his shirt collar which had been bent out of shape, “it’ll be just like new again once it’s laundered properly, right?”
He gave her a small smile, “Of course, it can be easily fixed.”
“Phew, that’s good!” she sighed in relief.
“Uh, excuse me?” a voice called out to them, and they both turned to find a young woman standing nearby with her phone in hand.
Having gotten their attention, she continued, “I saw what happened with the two of you and that guy. And, well, I kinda videoed what happened. Would you, I dunno, want me to send it to you so the police can try and catch that guy?”
Ochako blinked in surprise, and Iida was quick to respond to her, “If you are comfortable with sharing it, we would greatly appreciate it. Here, let me give you my contact details.”
Once the video was sent to him, the woman smiled and turned to leave, “Hope it helps! See you!”
“Thank you for your help!” Iida bowed gratefully towards her, then once she was gone, he pulled up the video and lowered the volume to watch it.
“Are you really going to hand it in to the police? It might not be enough for them to go on,” Ochako asked in concern, looking down at his phone that was playing the video.
“Even though I acknowledge that might be the case, I think it’s better to give it to them. After all, even if it isn’t able to be followed up immediately, it may aid them in the future,” Iida explained, saving the video to his photo album and tucking his phone back inside his pocket. He sighed and shook his head as he continued, “It’s despicable, but a man like that is sure to try doing such things again. I’ll take it into the police station early tomorrow morning.”
Ochako watched him silently, inwardly thinking about how few people would actually bother with something like this, how they’d just let it go saying that there was nothing more they could do. Always, in anything, Iida went above and beyond to do what he believed was right not only to himself, but for other people involved as well. It was wonderful, and when she saw him do things like this, it made Ochako want to be a better person, too. To become the best version of herself possible, continually improving herself.
Well, that’s love for you, isn’t it?
“Oh, there are some seats free over there. Let’s go sit,” Iida gestured over to the seats with his signature hand chop, bringing her out of her thoughts.
Ochako spotted the seats and nodded, and the two of them made their way over. Iida stopped to let her in first, so that she was closest to the window. She tried to bite back a big smile as she plopped down on the seat, both amused and charmed at his protectiveness. Even though she had almost just dislocated all the fingers on a man’s hand, he still wanted to take care of her.
“Geez, how annoying! That guy was the worst!” she huffed, settling back in her seat to get comfortable.
“Yes, it was an unpleasant encounter we could have done without,” Iida agreed with her, then readjusted his glasses and inclined his head towards her, “Also, even though I was very worried for your safety, I still want to say thank you for stepping in to defend me.”
Maybe there were guys out there who would suffer a bruised ego and sulk if their girlfriend stepped into a fight and (successfully) deterred the attackers. However, Iida was not and would never be one of those guys.
She turned to him with a grateful smile and nodded, “Thanks for protecting me, too! I’m glad you stopped him before he did anything, but I feel kinda bad for not realising it myself. I’m sorry I didn’t notice that he was-”
“You don’t ever have to apologise in those sorts of situations, Uraraka-kun. It was entirely outside of your control, any person with common sense should understand that. The blame is on him and him alone,” Iida said, his eyes set in a determined gaze that made her heart beat out of its steady rhythm.
She should have known he’d give her a response like that, but Ochako’s heart still fluttered. Even with his words alone, he always made her feel safe, and he was always on her side no matter what.
“...I’m sorry for interrupting you, I just felt it necessary to let you know that it wasn’t your fault. Not in the slightest,” he added apologetically, earnest as ever when trying to convey a point of importance.
“Pfft, it’s okay, Iida-kun. I appreciate you telling me that, really I do,” she chuckled, and curled her arm around his, linking their hands over his knee.
“We protect each other, isn’t that right?” he asked, as he intertwined their fingers together and squeezed their hands warmly.
“Mhm, it is,” she hummed, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.
It truly was comforting to know that they would always be able to count on each other through thick or thin, without question.
Yes, that's love.