The Silent Gamer

Chapter 17 : The Talk

"U-U-Uraraka-san? What do you want to say about Uraraka-san?" Yui asks with a confused tone. Izuku promptly sits on the wooden fence, facing the gamer girl and pats on the spot next to his seat. The woman promptly sits down facing the man who plagued her dreams everyday. The moment was silent and Yui noticed how Izuku was fumbling with his fingers, with a serious look on his face, as if he was picking his words carefully. Without her knowledge, she puts her hand over his scarred hand, giving him a reassuring squeeze. This causes Izuku to give her a gentle smile. He then takes in a few deep breaths and after squeezing Yui's hand back, he decides to speak.

"I had three childhood friends. Setsuna, Katsuki and Ochako. Suna And I were neighbors, so we practically knew each other since we were babies. When we turned four, our parents had us join a kindergarten and that is where we met Katsuki and Ochako", Izuku starts and Yui motions him to continue. He continues, saying, "We four friends were bound to hips. We did many things together. Explore the forest, playing, having drawing sessions, everything. We even roped each other in our hobbies. Ochako liked to dress up a lot, so there were days when Suna, Katsuki, and I had to dress up. Setsuna loved Dinosaurs, so we used to play as helpless victims, when she rampaged as a T-Rex. Katsuki.... He liked to make a lot of noise, so we did get grounded many times because of him. And me, I loved to draw a lot".

A pregnant silence falls on the duo and after a second, Izuku continues to say, "As we grew up, our scope of activities also increased. Sneaking out of our house, having sleepovers and all. It got to the point that our parents and our classmates referred to us as 'The Honor Cards' ".

"The Honor Cards?" Yui asks to which Izuku replies, "Yep. Setsuna was the ace. I don't know why people called her that, but it was quite a fitting name for her. Katsuki... He was the king. You can say that he had a kingly vibe to himself. Ochako was the queen. Every classmate of ours referred to her as that".

"And you were Jack?" Yui asks with a chuckle, Izuku replies, "Well. It made a lot of sense. 'Jack of all trades, master of none' , is something which fits me very well. So I never complained".

"Well I can see why people would call you that", Yui says remembering all the achievements and skills Izuku had collected over the period of years. "Then what happened?" Yui asks to which the green haired animator replies, "Well, then things started to take a turn for the worse. When we entered middle school, I started to have feelings for Ochako".

This causes Yui's eyes to widen a bit, but she remains quiet. Internally she was sorting out her thoughts and emotions. After a brief relapse, she asks, "What did you do after learning about your feelings?"

"Nothing", he replies back.

"Nothing?" Yui asks to which Izuku replies, "I was scared. I knew Ochako from a very long time and I didn't want to ruin what we had. I was scared that if I confessed my feelings to her, then our friendship would be spoiled and that is something I couldn't stand. But it was something I couldn't keep quiet about. So I confided with my sister, my mom, Setsuna and Katsuki regarding this. They said that I was still young and I should take it slow. Wait for a while. If the feelings don't change, go for it. If they do, it's fine. Consider that as my first infatuation and continue leading my life, as if nothing changed".

"How long did you wait?" Yui asks in a quiet voice, which came out meek, and Izuku didn't like where the conversation was going. But he had to do this. This conversation was very crucial for their relationship.

"By the time I entered high school, I was very sure that my feelings were true", Izuku simply says and he continues to say, "Setsuna's parents got a transfer, so she had to go. It was just me, Ochako and Katsuki. We still stuck together, but I still didn't confess my feelings".