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The rest of the train ride had gone by slowly. Ochaco had spent the time thinking about her meeting with Deku's mother and the things she had found out about him. She was still having a hard time grasping it all. If Midoriya's quirk only developed the previous year, he hadn't had much time to train it before applying for the hero course and he had still ranked seventh in the entrance exam. She admired him more and more for every day that passed, but she also couldn't help the anguish she felt on his behalf.
He hadn't outright told her, but judging from his nature and the way he reacted to Bakugo's presence, Ochaco was almost certain that he had been bullied. She had thought about it before, but now that she knew he hadn't always had a quirk, the probability was even higher. It would also explain his skittish nature and his lack of confidence. Kids could be horrible and she could only imagine the hardships he must have suffered for being born different. Sneaking a glance at her snoozing friend, Ochaco was relieved he had held on to his dream of becoming a hero.
He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, it was hard to believe that this was the same person who had nightmares and worked harder than anyone to fight the evil of the world. Ochaco's eyes lingered on his face while they sat. From here she could count his freckles and trace the outline of his jaw with her eyes. She had to admit that he was good-looking and possessed tons of boyish charm that made her knees weak. His fingers moved and made her look down at his hand that she was still holding and her eyes found their way to the scars on his right hand and forearm. The brunette didn't want to think about how he had gained all his scars, so she checked the time and began waking him up instead.
"Deku-kun?" She whispered and tapped his shoulder a few times. His eyelids fluttered open and locked onto hers and for a moment Ochaco forgot what she was doing, but then he blinked and ended her trance.
"Hm?" Deku brought a hand up and rubbed his face tiredly.
"We have to get off soon, so I thought I would wake you." Ochaco explained and watched as he rolled his shoulders a few times.
"Thanks." He muttered and closed his eyes again, breathing deeply. Ochaco was afraid he was falling asleep again, but then Midoriya took a deep breath and stretched as best as he could in the small space they were occupying.
"Strange, I don't even remember falling asleep." He smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. Looking up at the brunette beside him, Izuku noticed that their hands were still in contact. His fingers were half-curled around Uraraka's smaller ones, but she made no move to remove them so Izuku left his hand where it was, trying his best not to short-circuit.
"You only slept for 20 minutes." Uraraka replied and caught his attention. She sounded distracted; Izuku thought and looked at her curiously. She was looking down at her lap with the same troubled expression she had been wearing for the past few hours.
"Is something wrong?" Izuku wanted to know. He hoped he hadn't offended her or said anything rude, but he wasn't sure what it could have been. Maybe she was feeling troubled because he dragged her to his house and had her meet his mom on such short notice or maybe he hadn't been a very good host?
"I don't know..." Uraraka replied and looked up at him. She looked as though something was on her mind and he was just about to ask if it had been something he had said, when their stop was announced over the speakers.
Frowning, Izuku got up and walked over to the automatic doors with Uraraka trailing behind him. The train slowly came to a stop and the doors opened, letting the two students out onto the platform where other passengers boarded. It would take them around 15 minutes to walk back to their dorm, but the sun hadn't set yet, so Izuku thought it would be easier to talk somewhere away from the dorm. He couldn't stand seeing her bothered by anything.
"There's a park nearby where we can talk." He suggested quietly. Uraraka seemed to consider it for a moment and then nodded, so he started leading the way. They were quiet while they walked, but for once it wasn't a comfortable silence that engulfed them. Ironically, the silence felt deafening to Izuku, but he didn't feel much for making small talk. Instead, he resigned himself to walking in silence while trying to figure out what was on Uraraka's mind. Once they found a bench to sit on, he waited for her to start talking, but she seemed to be content to just sit in silence. He was just about to ask her what was on her mind when she spoke.
"Deku-kun... were you bullied in school?" Her question made Izuku freeze up. He had tried his best to hide the truth about his school years before UA and had been somewhat confident that he had succeeded, so why was she asking him this now?
"Your mom told me your quirk developed late." Uraraka quietly said and watched him try to formulate a sentence. She had completely taken him by surprise and he couldn't seem to find his voice. He was too embarrassed to confirm it and couldn't deny it either.
"I... uh..." Izuku struggled to answer. What was he supposed to tell her? Yeah, I was bullied by other kids that thought I was worthless because I didn't have a quirk. Once I was told to jump off the school roof and I still dream about it, but enough about me, how are you doing? His face must have revealed what he was thinking, because Uraraka seemed to have caught on without words being needed.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She whispered and Izuku noticed that her voice shook slightly. What was more surprising though was that her eyes shone with unshed tears that were threatening to spill onto her cheeks.
"Uraraka-san?" Izuku felt a surge of alarm, but tried to push it down. It wouldn't do if he started panicking and upset the brunette further. She sniffled and swiped furiously at her eyes.
"I know how people without quirks are treated and I'd hate it if you had experienced any of it. You don't deserve it!" Her voice was raw with emotion and Izuku had to bite down hard on his lip to stop it from quivering. His chest constricted and he had to fight to control his voice.
"What do you mean?" Izuku whispered hoarsely.
"There was a man in my neighborhood who would say hi to everyone and give the kids treats and help everyone out no matter the task. But he was quirkless and at first I didn't know what it meant, but as I grew up I realized that people looked down on him for no reason! And I would get so frustrated because he was so nice, but I could see it in the way people looked at him that they didn't want to have much to do with him and I can't imagine how horrible it must have been for you if you grew up like that too!" Uraraka was openly sobbing now and tears were also falling from Izuku's eyes. Luckily, they were sitting in a secluded part of the park and no one was around.
"It's true... I was bullied." Izuku managed to croak out despite the lump in his throat. It was painful to say out loud, but seeing how much Uraraka was hurting on behalf of him, he wanted her to know that he was okay now.
"D-did you ever tell anyone?" She hiccupped and tried her best to calm down before carrying on with their conversation.
"I couldn't tell my mom... if I told her, it would break her heart." Izuku, too, tried to calm down and prevent an outburst. No one had ever asked him so directly and although he was chocked, he suddenly wanted to pour his heart out and come clean about everything. But he couldn't. An image of All Might flashed through his mind and he bit back the words that were at the tip of his tongue.
"That's so horrible." Uraraka's hands flew to her mouth. He couldn't stand seeing Uraraka so upset over something that had happened to him so many years ago.
"Don't worry, Uraraka-san. I am okay now. I-I have so many amazing friends now and it feels like it would be a waste if I spent my time being sad and depressed, when I could be with you guys instead and make new memories. My dream came true and I will be a hero, and I think that's much more important to think about." He reached over to put a hand on her arm, but Uraraka launched herself at him and hugged him so tightly that he almost couldn't breathe. When she finally let go of him, she had calmed down considerably.
"Was Bakugo your bully?" Uraraka looked very uncomfortable at the prospect and Izuku knew that she wasn't on the best of terms with the blond. He wanted to deny it, but he couldn't lie to Uraraka who wore her heart on the sleeve. Izuku couldn't bring himself to admit it either, so he settled for a more cryptic response.
"It wasn't that bad. Kacchan wasn't the only one." Crap, it sounded worse that he had thought it would. Uraraka's eyes widened and Izuku hastily tried to explain himself.
"I-I mean, kids say a lot of stuff without really meaning it. I think they all realized as we got older..." He defended weakly. It was true that kids often said hurtful things in the spur of the moment, but that didn't mean they meant it or couldn't change their opinion as they got older.
Kacchan hadn't been that bad. He didn't understand things the same way others did, so it had lead to many misunderstandings between them as the years progressed. Izuku had always admired the blond boy and wanted to become like him, while Kacchan had thought of his admiration as mockery.
"He's still a jerk and a bully." Uraraka said with finality in her voice. Izuku couldn't argue with her on that. Bakugo's personality and his foul mouth hardly left room for discussion.
"He's not so bad..." Izuku tried to defend him anyways, but the look on Uraraka's face told him she wasn't convinced. His aspiration to become the no. 1 hero and his immense talent obviously didn't paint the whole picture, but to Izuku, who had witnessed Kacchan's hardships, it was enough to tell him that the angry boy had grown up quite a bit.
"He harasses you for no reason." Uraraka pointed out, which made Izuku scratch his head in thought.
"I agree that he isn't exactly the friendliest guy at UA, but that's not the real Kacchan. It's hard to believe but Kacchan is very smart and sensitive. He has learned that his actions and attitude has consequences..." Izuku trailed off.
He thought back to a conversation he had had with All Might a while ago. All Might had mentioned Kacchan's growth following all the failures he had experienced and pointed out his incredible potential that was hindered by himself. Izuku knew a thing or two about failure, but people tended to forget that Kacchan was human and had goals that sometimes fell to the ground. His hollow victory at the sports festival, his failed provisional exam, his bad attitude that made him a target for villains and led to his kidnapping, just to name a few. Kacchan had been struggling for so long and people overlooked how much effort the blond put in trying to achieve his goals.
"Deku-kun? Are you okay?" Uraraka put a hand on his arm and snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Ah yes! Sorry."
"I'm sorry I brought up the bullying." Uraraka apologized. Her tears were dry now, but her eyes were a little red. Izuku was afraid that his expression had made her think he was reminded of his middle school days.
"It's okay. I've just never really spoken to anyone about it, so I don't know what to say." Truth be told, Izuku had been all too happy to put it all behind him and move forward. He should have expected to be asked about it at one point or another, but he was glad it was Uraraka who had been the one to bring it up. Izuku blamed his lack of sleep and emotional turmoil for being taken by surprise and getting overwhelmed by Uraraka's compassion. Hopefully he would be better prepared the next time around.
"Is that also why you haven't told anyone that your quirk developed late?" The brunette regarded him carefully. She had wanted him to tell her more, but it was a heavy conversation to have and Deku seemed to genuinely be fine. She had to believe him when he said that he had put it behind him.
"Yeah, I guess so... It's a little embarrassing to have so poor control over your quirk when you are in high school." Izuku admitted and felt his cheeks flush for the umpteenth time that day. He obviously couldn't tell her about One for All, but this was as close to the truth as it got.
"I disagree. If it only developed recently, it is amazing that you've made it so far without being able to control it fully." Uraraka, always looking at the bright side, smiled.
"Besides, you work harder than anyone else to get to where you want, so I think you should cut yourself some slack." She added as an afterthought and laughed when he blushed.
"Thank you. For always supporting me." Izuku smiled shyly. He looked at Uraraka through his bangs and noticed her getting flustered.
"Y-y-you're welcome!" Uraraka squeaked and covered her face in embarrassment, which puzzled Izuku. He was only telling the truth, which was that Uraraka had supported him since day one.
He remembered how she had gone to Present Mic to share her points with him after the entrance exam and how she had become his first friend at UA. She had teamed up with him at the sports festival when everyone else avoided him and she had rooted for him all the way. There was also the instance at the training camp where Izuku had been chasing after Kacchan and Uraraka had torn her shirt in half to wrap up his wounded arms to lessen his pain. She hadn't refused him and told him to stop, quite on the contrary, she had known that he would continue and only tried to make him a little less uncomfortable. Izuku knew that he could always go to her when he needed help.
"Ohmygod!" Uraraka's voice was high-pitched and Izuku realized he had said some of that put loud. He felt embarrassed all the way to his hair and hoped she hadn't heard everything. Izuku stared very intently at the ground, wanting a hole to open up and swallow him. As a feeble attempt to do some damage control, Izuku tried to explain himself, but found himself sitting alone on the bench when he turned to the brunette beside him.
"Uraraka-san?" He called after her and heard her unintelligibly sounds... from above him? Looking up, Izuku saw Uraraka floating and rotating slowly. Her face was hidden under her hands and Izuku could barely understand what she was muttering. Not wanting her to get nauseous, Izuku activated Full Cowl and jumped up to grab Uraraka before she could float too far away.
The brunette had curled in on herself so Izuku had to catch her under her legs and behind her back before he could safely bring her down. She squealed when Izuku pulled her close to his chest and landed effortlessly back on the ground. The last time he had caught her like this, it had been an imposter imitating her and Izuku actually felt silly for being relieved that she didn't transform into someone else again.
"Thank you..." Uraraka whispered and peeked at him through the gaps in her hands. Her face was beet-red and Izuku felt bad for embarrassing her like that.
"No problem. We should head back to the dorm before it gets late." Izuku had noticed the streetlamps flickering on a little while ago and thought it would be better to get back before a rescue team was sent to retrieve them. Iida would probably scold them for being out so late if they didn't hurry back.
"Y-you can put me down now." Uraraka said and reminded Izuku that he was still carrying her bridal-style. Apologizing profusely, he carefully lowered her to the ground and let go of her. On the way back they talked about what they would be revising the next day and tried to pretend they weren't both blushing.