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Even in his dreams, Tenya could never see it clearly.
The scene was always out of focus.
Blurry.
As if he’d taken off his glasses.
The scene is always dark. It’s nighttime, and he can tell it’s about midnight from the full moon's position. The sky is clear. If his vision were clear, he’d be able to see the stars decorating the sky.
It’s not winter or fall because the grass is green, a brilliant vermillion. He can almost feel the weight of his boots sinking into the grass.
Maybe it’s spring?
There’s a gentle breeze whistling around him as he approaches the clearing. Tenya visits this spot often in his mind. Tenya was sure that he’d find his footprints or a well-worn path in the grass if he could make out any details.
She’s always there.
Hovering above the pond.
White dress fluttering with the wind as she bathed in moonlight.
Her feet would dance above the water, big toes leaving ripple patterns beneath her.
Stars always dance around her.
Tenya is sure that she commands them. He can’t make out her precise movements, but the spotty image of her entrances him each time.
He always just watches.
Once, he called out to her, taking a daring step forward.
She stops.
He doesn’t need to see her know that she’s surprised. The dance stops as she curls into herself, hand perched beneath her chin as she tilts her head. There’s a little sound of surprise.
And then-
Tenya shot up with a gasp.
“You’re awake.”
Red eyes darted toward the crackling fire beside him before catching fluttering white linen.
“I was afraid ya weren’t gonna make it.” The glow of the fire illuminated her curves that were hidden by a modest nightgown. She shuffled toward him, fingers curling in the skirt of the fabric as dry grass crunched beneath her feet. “You lost a lot of blood, but,” she started, carefully kneeling down next to him, “I think you should be alright until sunrise.”
“Where-” Tenya grunted, watching in wonder as her little hands checked the wound on his shoulder. “-where is my armor?” His eyes shifted toward the hints of twilight peaking through the trees.
The last thing he remembered-
“What is the date?”
Maybe it was all a dream.
It wouldn’t be the first time his mind played tricks on him.
Even though he was a man of science and reason, Tenya couldn’t bring himself to suspend his belief in the forest faerie he’d known since he was a child. Maybe his brother hadn’t been beaten and bloodied within an inch of his life. He’d go home in a few hours to find his parents frightened lectures and his brother standing behind them as he waited for his turn to fuss.
“When the sun rises,” she hummed, gently easing his back to the ground, “ the last day of May will officially begin.”
“Oh.” Tenya squeezed his eyes shut as he swallowed tightly. “I fear I cannot remember what happened to me.” Ironic since he couldn’t forget what had happened to Tensei nearly a fortnight ago. “Could you tell me?”
“I’m not sure,” she whispered, checking over the wound on his shoulder. “I found you out here bleeding and barely conscious.”
He was alive. “I was in a fight.” That was the short story.
A bandit known as Stain had been picking off knights around the kingdom, and his brother happened to be the lucky seventh victim. The physicians warned them that he wouldn’t be able to use his legs again, but Tensei had escaped with his life somehow.
His parents thanked the heavens while Tenya silently vowed to avenge his brother. It was against his family’s motto.
Honor.
Loyalty.
Discipline.
But Tenya had found it difficult to exist in a world where the man who had nearly killed his brother walked away without punishment. He would have to kill Stain.
He’d traveled to Hosu with a plan hidden under the guise of goodwill. The days were spent patrolling with other knights and helping the citizens of the village, assuring them they were safe. No one would suspect that an honored son of murder. This would be an act of misfortune.
Stain would strike again, and Tenya intended to find him before he found his next target. It was only a matter of time before another knight or noble found themselves on the wrong side of his blade. He was set to prove that everyone bled red. And what better way to send that message was to paint the cobblestone of those with money.
Power.
Authority.
Nobles.
Knights.
His brother.
It hadn’t taken him long to find his target. Tenya had found Stain between a tavern and a leather shop with another knight in his clutches.
Everything else is fuzzy.
Tenya remembers being overpowered and seeing the point of Stain’s knife inching toward his neck. Moments from death and Tenya continued to promise the criminal that he would kill him. Tenya had accepted defeat, dishonor, and death as he waited for the blade, but-
“My friends! Where-”
Izuku had knocked the blade away just as he’d finished the prayer in his head.
“I,” he started coughing violently as he struggled to sit up, “I must go-”
“Lay still,” she commanded.
Tenya was shocked as she pushed him back to the ground. He was sure that he would tower well over her if they were standing in front of each other. If he had to guess, Tenya would say that she probably almost weighed the same as his armor, but she had pinned him down easily.
“You were stabbed. The worst of it in ya shoulder.” She hovered over him, placing her other hand against his cheek.
His body relaxed, back sinking into the hard earth below.
“I ain’t a doctor, but I’m smart enough to realize it would be best we get ya out to one as soon as there is light,” she told him, dark honey eyes gazing down at him with authority. “In the meantime, I need ya to be still. I got the bleeding under control, and you moving too much just might cause it to start again.”
He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he forced himself to obey. “My friends.” Tenya swallowed thickly. “There were two other young men with me; they-” They had saved his life. “Are they here?” Her hair tickled his cheek, and the smell of tea and warmth soothed his anxiety.
Her fingers gently released his shoulder. “No,” she whispered as she stroked his jaw. “Ya were all alone. I heard you collapse.” Her hand trailed down his neck and over the scratch long scrap on his chest, above his heart. “All that knight armor you had on was heavy.”
“I suppose.” Somehow a smirk worked its way on his lips. “To be honest, I don’t even notice it anymore.” He had trouble remembering when he didn’t spend most of the day in the suit.
“Well, it probably saved your life,” she continued. Her hand hesitated as it left his jaw as she kneeled next to him. “There was a lot of dents and dings on your chest piece. Whoever you were fighting, they had a sharp ole blade.”
If she only knew. “It was.”
She hummed.
“I just realized,” Tenya started, looking up at her, “I don’t know your name.”
This young woman felt familiar.
“You’re the reason I’m alive-” He shouldn’t feel safe around someone he’d never met, but the hand over his heart kept him grounded and calm. “Pardon my manners; I cannot believe-”
The soft chuckle on her lips made goosebumps bloom over his skin despite the comfortable fire roaring next to them. “It’s alright, Tenya.”
His name on her tongue sounded better, but- “How did you know my name?”
Her grin illuminated her face.
“I don’t-” He hadn’t given her his name. “-I didn’t tell you my name.”
Her head tilted to the side curiously.
Tenya swore her eyes were glowing as his body was left weightless beneath her palm.
“You don’t recognize me?” she questioned, smirking as her chin dipped down.
His dreams. “But, you’re-” It’s not real.
“Perhaps,” she shrugged as she released him. “My name is Ochako, by the way.”
She’d found him.
“Nice to finally meet ya.”