Deku x OC My hero, My heroine

Chapter 3-Mess in the mess hall

When Ayako approached the cafeteria, she felt lightheaded and giddy. The long walk from her class to the large hall had ended in a blink, people and buildings passing by like a blur. When she crossed the threshold, and found Midoriya's green tuft of hair sticking out from behind a divider, she realized she had prepared nothing to talk about.

She took as much time as possible choosing the food and placing it on her tray, but no conversation topic came to mind. Her wits had decided to abandon her when she needed them the most. Her tray ow loaded, she had no choice but to make her way towards Midoriya. She would have to improvise.

She approached his table with measured steps. She felt vulnerable, as if everyone in the hall was now judging her every move. Her stomach seemed made out of knots, continually twisting and unravelling inside her. What if Midoriya forgot about the appointment?

She was so close to his table now, but still Midoriya didn't seem to notice her, his head turned sideways in conversation.

Who is he talking to?

If he didn't notice her, Ayako decided she would just walk by and go sit somewhere else, alone, forgotten. Midoriya turned around and looked straight at her. Her stomach twisted and heaved.

There, he doesn't recognize me.

But to her surprise, Midoriays' face broke into a smile as he waved at her with enthusiasm.

"Miss Haguruma!"

Ayako forgot about her cramped stomach, and waved back with a smile.

"Hi, Midoriya!" She couldn't help herself from grinning as she rounded the corner and put her tray in front of him. But as she sat down, she saw Iida, who was busy talking to other students, and hadn't noticed her, and Uraraka, who was sitting next to Midoriya and smiled at her politely.

Ayako's hope crumbled. Of course Midoriya would invite his friends, what was she expecting? To have a date? To be alone with him for lunch? Ayako's neck grew hot in embarrassment, and she tried to hide it by greeting everyone in turn. And why did it have to be Uraraka of all people?

Once again, the image of the small girl loomed into her mind, her longing look directed at Midoriya's back. Ayako shook the image away. It wasn't true, besides, this time Uraraka seemed to be her perfectly normal, polite self, greeting her with a smile.

"So, are you ready for the joint exercise this evening?" Ayako asked, more to dispel her uneasy feelings.

Midoriya jumped with enthusiasm. "Of course!"

"This will be a chance for us to test out powers with your equipment! We can learn so much!"

He looked straight at Ayako, his eyes twinkling.

"What are you going to bring!? Of course you can't tell me, haha."

But Ayako was more than happy to share the details of her power suit with him, and explained her machine in detail. Soon their conversation turned to the more technical aspects of the equipment. Midoriya took in everything Ayako was saying, asking questions and getting excited. He even produced a notebook from somewhere, and started to write down what Ayako was saying, while Iida shook his head and admonished him to be politer to their guest.

But this was the first time Ayako had met someone as interested in her craft, the first time she'd felt this appreciated. Ayako was so engrossed in the conversation, she barely noticed Uraraka, who was growing quieter and quieter by the minute, just as her own enthusiasm was growing. Before Ayako could stop herself, in a fit of euphoria, she blurted out.

"You're so smart! Your girlfriend must be proud!"

But As soon as she uttered those words, Ayako knew she'd made a mistake. The conversation stopped and Midoriya's face turned red as he started to frantically explain his situation.

"Of course not, I don't have one yet...I mean not that I want one right now. I mean I'd like to, but..." He trailed off and laughed nervously, avoiding Ayako's gaze.

But something else was tugging at Ayako's attention. She peered at Uraraka while Midoriya was fumbling with his words, and was greeted with an ice-cold stare.

Uraraka's cold gaze pierce her, as if all of her feelings had been laid bare and were being meticulously picked apart and studied. She nervously shifted her eyes away, but the uneasiness didn't go away. Iida was busy calming Midoriya down, and Midoriya himself didn't seem to notice.

What the hell was that?

Uraraka, avoiding Ayako's eyes this time, announced louder than usual. "Don't worry about dating. I don't think Deku would want that now, right? There would be no time, with all the training we have to do." The stiffness in her tone was not lost on Ayako, who looked at her tray, face burning, not daring to look up.

Iida was still busy calming Midoriya, who was mumbling excuses, both of them oblivious to what was happening.

Ayako's legs felt weak, as if she'd just run for miles. They were trembling, paralyzed on her seat. And sweat was forming on her palms. Fortunately, Midoriya seemed to recover, and looked at Ayako. "Y-yes, I have too much to do now, haha! Plus, we'll have to study for the training exercise this evening."

Ayako was relieved the conversation had turned away from her blunder. She answered with much more enthusiasm than she felt.

"Of course, me too!"

"Well, it won't be much of an exercise. More likely we'll share information on our powers and abilities." Uraraka cut in, looking straight at Ayako. "And I doubt we'll have to fight."

But something told Ayako that this was Uraraka's preferred outcome. She felt a shiver run through her legs, and kept her eyes locked on the table.

Since when was Uraraka so aggressive?

As the three heroes stood up with their trays, waving their goodbyes to Ayako, she remained planted in her seat, unable to move. Her thoughts went to the evening exercise, something she looked forwards to just a few minutes ago, but that now she dreaded like the worst of exams.