Chapter 5

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Ochako took another shuddering breath. It was over, why was she still trembling?

Class 1-A was spread out in front of the USJ while the police officers and medical personnel milled around, assessing wounds and taking statements. A sense of chaos still reigned among the students despite Iida's efforts to get them into some semblance of organization.

Briefly Uraraka pondered that he would make a good class representative. But that was the only thing that really registered in Ochako's mind - she could barely hear over her racing heart and ragged breathing.

She was startled into awareness, though, when something dropped onto her shoulders, not alarming, but unexpected. She blinked at the the orange blanket that now covered her shoulders, then at the boy who stood in front of her.

"I'm sorry to startle you, I tried talking to you earlier, but you weren't responding. You were going into shock." He smiled slightly, running a hand through a forest of green hair. Off in the distance an explosion sounded, a sure sign that Bakugou was fine. The boy in front of her flinched, but he wore an expression of... recognition? Ochako's mind was too addled to properly decipher the boy in front of her.

"You need to sit down, let's go over to the shade," the boy suggested, pointing to the right direction. It was a little cluster of trees that would simultaneously provide shade and block her from the sight of others. It was also still within the boundaries of where they could go, making it the perfect haven.

Maybe the boy had ulterior motives, but Ochako got the sense he was giving her privacy to deal with her emotions, and she was grateful beyond words. It was also hard to believe that this boy could have anything but the best intentions.

At first glance he was around her age, and pretty plain-looking. His hair was messy, and freckles were liberally sprinkled across his skin, but his eyes were a deep green that for whatever reason felt incredibly comfortable to Ochako. She found herself looking into them, blaming it on the shock.

He situated her comfortable on the ground, seemingly not noticing her attention. "Does anything hurt?"

Thinking for a moment, Ochako shakily raised her right arm. "I did something to my wrist. I don't know if it's broken."

The boy gently took the appendage in his hands, gently rolling back her sleeve. "I'm an EMT, by the way. I'm not just some random kid. Your wrist isn't broken, it's just a pretty nasty sprain. Give me a second and I'll..." The boy trailed off, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he procured a fabric bandage, expertly wrapping her fingers with nimble fingers, his lips silently moving. Ochako once again found herself fixated on him, fascinated. As he worked, his face grew more animated, more defined, and it was like she was looking at a completely different person.

When he was finished, Ochako gingerly moved her wrist. "Wow, it almost doesn't hurt at all. Thank you!"

"It's no problem. It was also probably unnecessary, someone like Recovery Girl will probably heal it in a matter of seconds," the boy mumbled. "Does anything else hurt?"

Ochako smiled with false brightness. "I'm fine."

She expected that to be the end of things, but it wasn't. Midoriya cocked his head to the side, looking at her intently. "But you're not."

That made her reel in shock. Most of the time when Ochako's world was falling apart and she insisted everything was fine, everyone believed her - including her parents. She was always fine, that was how she dealt with life.

"I know it's seems easier to pretend everything is okay and just deal with it alone, but it's not. That's actually something I just learned recently. You just went through something traumatic, you can admit that you're not okay. I don't think any less of you," he said, that kind smile laced with untold emotion.

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