"Duck!" Ochaco yelled.
"Ah---!" Deku fell over as a wave of magic smacked into him. He sighed.
Ochaco came up to him and held out a hand. "Are you all right?"
"Yes..." Deku said meekly. He stood up. "But I'm not getting any faster. And I still can't summon it. We've been trying for hours."
"I think you're getting better at dodging." Ochaco tried to be optimistic. Then she covered her mouth. "Uh... maybe I've used too much magic today..."
"Here, sit down." Deku helped her sit on a log.
He shook his head.
It had been a whole 2 weeks since he'd become the 9th holder of the Sword of Light, after the 8th had tragically passed away from fighting a band of rogues and monsters. Due to a deception on his part that he'd not corrected until too late, his entire party had deserted him, except for Ochaco, who remained determined to help him become the new holder. So they'd been trying to train and living in the 8th's old cottage, but now, the food he'd had stored up there was almost out, as it had been meant for just one person, and Deku had yet to even be able to summon the sword. It was beginning to look hopeless.
Ochaco never gave up though. She always said they were getting so close to succeeding.
"You think maybe it's just time to go find the Hermit again?" Deku asked.
Ochaco bit her lip. "I... well... but wasn't the whole idea to at least know a few things before we found him? You said he's pretty grumpy."
"Yes..." Deku winced at the memory of the crotchety old man. "But this isn't working, and I feel like we're just wasting time.... We should go back South...and what if a monster shows up here?"
"But Deku, if you can't summon the sword, and all I have is my magic, how will we ever make it back through the Dark Lands?" Ochaco asked.
Deku looked up. "Well, I have an idea about that, actually. Let's go back to the cottage. I'll show you."
So they did.
Deku got out some old maps that the 8th had had in his library (which was one bookshelf of scrolls and old tomes). "Maybe I don't have the special map anymore, but these ought to do. We can go back to the mountain of Monsters and ask that nice amalgamated man we met for help. Maybe it won't be so bad. It's just two of us now."
"Deku, the whole point is that the monsters will want to eat you." Ochaco pointed to him. "I would feel safer if we had a party again."
"But there's no one to ask," Deku said.
The only people near were a small village along the bottom of the peninsula, and they hadn't even been there yet.
"And then there's the other problem..." Ochaco said, looking a little pink.
"What?" Deku said.
"Uh...well, you know... I don't really care what people think, but... it might be hard to get people to take us in if... well... you know..." Ochaco said.
"If what?" Deku was drawing a blank.
"If we're not married..." Ochaco mumbled awkwardly.
Deku turned red. He'd completely forgotten about that.... Yes, his mother would kill him if she knew he was sharing a house with a girl he wasn't married to! Not that anything had happened! Why, when she'd kissed him, they weren't even on their own yet.... It didn't look so good, now that he thought about it. It was pretty scandalous.... True, a lot of respectable inn keepers wouldn't want them to stay there, and he'd had enough of less respectful inns on his original quest...
"But what do we do about that?" he said, not making eye contact.
"I don't know..." Ocahco said, embarrassed, "That's why having a party was easier!"
There was a long pause.
"But we have to go. We can't stay here forever," Deku said, "We'll just have to tell people we're married."
"Oh... yes, that would solve the problem, I suppose," Ocahco said, not making eye contact either, "but... not how to safely get across the country."
"I don't know, but I didn't know anything when I left home, and somehow we got all the way here, so, maybe, it's just better to start and see as we go," Deku said, "At least, I'm not by myself this time... unless it's too risky, and you just want to stay here."
"Oh don't be silly," Ochaco looked up now. "I don't know anyone here, and I still need to collect my 500 pieces. I hope those two royals didn't forget about that. But if I never get back home, it's no use anyway. Who knows what could happen to my family? I'm definitely going."
"Okay... well... uh, we should pack up and get supplies then," Deku said, relieved.
"Sure, I'll get right on it..." Ochaco said, "after dinner. I'm starving after all that practice."
