Chapter Text
There are few times more chaotic at Yūei than in the spring. With final exams approaching quickly students have little time to dedicate to anything other than last-minute studying. Since the beginning of the month, the 1-A common room has been the scene of many late-night study sessions. At this point nearly all of the infamous class find themselves spending at least some time in the area, hunched over various textbooks, scribbling down as many notes as possible.
Currently, the common area is rather empty. Tsuyu is seated on the floor, her back leaned against a couch occupied by Mina, Kyouka, and Ochako. The group is supposed to be focused on going over English phases but the conversation has drifted to more personal topics.
“I just think it’s cruel to have an exam scheduled on White Day.” Mina whines a pink arm draped dramatically across her face. “It's bad enough that I have to think about my stagnant love life, I don’t need to worry about failing an English exam on top of it.”
Kyouka lets out a snicker at the colorful girl's overly dramatic reaction. “I take it that means you won’t be getting chocolates from anyone then.” She replies jokingly.
Mina moves her arm to allow the group to see her rolling eyes. “Of course not, like everyone’s already paired up.” She whines.
“She isn’t wrong, Ribbit .” Tsuyu chimes in. “Ever since we moved into the dorms, there’s been at least a confession every other week.” It ultimately wasn’t a surprise to anyone that putting a bunch of teenagers in such close proximity to one another would spawn such a result.
“Well, there’s always Mineta., I’m sure he’d love to get anyone to accept his chocolates.” Kyouka sniggers, hand placed over her mouth as she struggles to finish the sentence with a straight face. Mina lets out a gag before chucking one of the pillows on the couch at her. Kyouka narrowly dodges it, allowing it to sail past her, and hits Ochako in the face with an indignant thump.
“Sorry, Ochako.” She winces. “And I don’t want to hear it from you Kyouka, not all of us have fabulously wealthy girlfriends to spoil us.”
The comment brings a blush to Kyouka’s face, she sputters out rejection to the idea that Momo spoils her. Her comments come across as weak considering all the girls were present when Yaoyorozu had gifted her with a brand new guitar. Judging by the way the musician’s eyes bulged out of her head when she saw the brand, the other girls could only assume it was pricey.
“Mina is right though, there aren’t many available options.” Ochako mutters to Tsuyu’s surprise.
“Really, you agree.” She responds curiously. “I thought that you’d be expecting something from Izuku.” A bright flush dawns across Ochako’s face as she vehemently shakes her head.
“Really Ochako, I thought you really liked Deku.” Mina questions, her head tilted curiously. Though the boy in question seems hopelessly oblivious to the fact, the rest of the class had long figured out Ochako’s crush.
“I still kinda do,” Ochako replies with a sad smile on her face. “It’s just he seems so focused on being number one and I’m not really sure where I’ll fit into that. Don't get me wrong I love that about him but I'm not really sure we'd really work in a relationship.”
The sorrowful admission earned sympathetic looks from the other girls. Mina crawls over an indignant Kyouka’s lap to wrap herself around Ochako. “Well, it’s his loss then.” She says. Her tone as firm as her hold on the slightly smaller girl. Ochako chuckles at the declaration, uttering a small thanks before refocusing herself on English verbs. The rest of the group follows her lead in returning to their studies, all except Tsuyu who finds herself in even less of a mood to focus.
She had just assumed that a confession was the next logical step for Izuku and Ochako. Sure Midoriya could be a little obtuse when it came to the cheerful girl’s feelings but it’s obvious he’s at least interested in her. He just needs a little push. Part of Tsuyu felt the need to say something, after all, it does often fall to her to state the obvious to her friends, to be the voice of reason. But another part, a more selfish part, wants to stay silent. Ochako seems to be coming to terms with how she feels and if Tsuyu doesn't interfere maybe her feelings for the other boy will lessen. Maybe she’ll start looking for love elsewhere. Maybe she’d finally notice-
No, nope, no way. There’s no point in continuing that line of thought. Even if Ochako is moving on from Midoriya, that doesn’t mean she’d be interested in anyone else. Tsuyu doesn’t even know if she likes girls, there’s no point in getting ahead of herself like that.
“Hey Tsu, do you have the notes from last week, mine are just filled with doodles,” Mina says with a giggle.
“Sure Mina,” She says, finally returning her attention to the task at hand.
--
Spring is absolutely, without a doubt Ochako’s favorite time of year. There’s simply something magical about watching the world wake up from its long winter’s slumber. Not only does the nature around them spring back to life but the student body does as well. With the warm weather comes the increasingly common sight of students lounging around the grounds of Yūei. It’s on those very grounds that Ochako now finds herself, leaned against the base of a still dormant cherry tree. Next to her, Tenya flicks calmly through his excessively organized flashcards, going over historical facts he no doubt has memorized by now.
Across from them, Shouto sits cross-legged one arm supporting himself while the other holds a novel. He seems completely at peace, which Ochako finds odd considering the way Izuku’s head is currently laying lazily in Shouto’s lap as the greenette naps. The two don't seem to take any notice of the situation they find themselves in. If Ochako is being honest with herself it's not a particularly noticeable one, to begin with. Well not anymore at least. Over the past few weeks, the two have become increasingly comfortable with the other's presence, to the point where casual touch such as this isn't out of the ordinary.
It only really stands out to her because it still kind of hurts to see. Although she had come to accept that she and Deku most likely wouldn't work out as a couple, she still couldn't help but hold some feelings for the freckled face boy. Maybe it'd be easier to accept if he and Todoroki were actually a couple. But it seems that Midoriya has finally found someone just as obtuse in terms of romance as he is. Neither of them seems to notice the clear change in their relationship.
“Ochako...Ochako!” Tenya says forcefully, jolting her from her thoughts.
“Yeah Tenya,” she says sheepishly, embarrassed at her lack of focus.
“I asked if you’d like to go over the major events of the first quirk war with me.” He repeats.
“Again, didn’t we just go over that yesterday?”
“Repetition over an extended period of time is recorded to be one of the best methods of studying” He replies firmly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Ochako can’t help but giggle at his seriousness.
“I’m sure your right but isn’t there such a thing as study overload.”
“Study overload?” Iida asks.
“Yeah,” Ochako chirps, “ I’m sure I read somewhere that consistent studying without breaks can be detrimental to long-term progress.” Uraraka definitely didn’t read that anywhere, but it sounds somewhat believable.
“I’m not sure…” Tenya says hesitantly.
“No, it’s absolutely a thing, right Shouto.” Shouto looks up from his book with a startled look on his face. Glancing between his two classmates he gives a hesitant nod, agreeing to the statement he definitely was only half listening to.
“Well, I suppose it’s not a completely baseless proposition,” Tenya mutters to himself. “Regular breaks between study sessions can help to reinforce focus.”
“Then it settled, we should take a break from studying and do something fun,” Ochako says sunnily, gathering up her things.
“I suppose we could return to the dorms and watch a movie. Izuku mentioned wanting to watch that new All Might documentary.” Shouto mentions. Seemingly at the sound of his mentor’s name, Izuku’s head perks up off of Shouto’s lap. The group takes a moment to have a good nature laugh at the boy’s obsessive fanboy nature before setting off for the dorm building.
“Hey, Shouto.” She calls hesitantly. At the sound of his name, the heterochromatic stop and turned towards her.
“Yes, Uraraka.”
“Shouto, I told you, you can call me Ochako.” She giggles
“Right sorry, I’m still getting used to it .” He mutters.
“It’s alright. You and Deku have been getting really close haven’t you.” Shouto tilts his head at the statement. In front of them, the boy in question is waving his arms frantically, stuttering out a response to what must have been an embarrassing question from Iida considering the bright red flush on his cheeks. The sight brings a slight smile to Shouto’s face.
“I suppose, it seems the whole class has been getting closer to one another since moving into the dorms.” He remarks, eyes still glued to the green-haired boy in front of him.
“Yeah, that true, but you and Izuku have really hit off lately,” Ochako says pointedly.
“What do you mean?” Todoroki asks, finally dragging his eyes off Midoriya and on to the Ochako. She studies his eyes for any sign of deception but finds none. The look he gives her is full of genuine bewilderment. He honestly doesn’t see what she’s getting at.
“Nevermind.” She says shaking her head. Those two really are helpless. Shouto opens his mouth to say something in response but is cut off by them arriving in front of the dorms.