I'll always be there ~Tsuchako~

Starting to notice?

(Tsu's POV)

I woke up to loud knocking coming from the door of my dorm room. Not wanting to get up, I called to see who it was. "Who is it?"

My voice was groggy and dry, and I noticed that I hadn't eaten the breakfast I'd gotten earlier.

"It's me, Ochako, are you okay in there?"

I cleared my throat and tried to sound well rested. Out of everyone in the whole world, she was the last person I wanted to carry my problems.

"Yeah! Sorry, I was just resting. Ribbit." I forced my voice to sound cheerful.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong? You've been in your room all day, it's already 6 o'clock."

"Oh sorry!" I stumbled my way out of bed and rubbed my eyes. Before opening the door I checked my reflection in my mirror so that I didn't look like a mess.

I slowly opened the door to reveal Ochako's beautiful brown eyes looking at me with concern.

"Has something been going on?" Ochako asked me.

"No, really, I'm fine. Ribbit." I smiled, "You don't have to worry."

(Ochako's POV)

Ever since she helped me with Deku, Tsu has been seeming a lot more down than usual. But she acts as though everything is fine, so I don't know how to help.

"Does it have something to do with Deku?" I asked, "You've been acting a little off ever since you helped me with him."

"No, not at all." Tsu smiled again, "You two look.. really happy together."

Something in the tone of her voice sounded sad. Which made me wonder if she was uncomfortable with me being with Deku in some way.

"You're my best friend Tsu, and I want to help you. If you're uncomfortable with me being with Deku in some way then..."

"No, I don't want to get in the way of your relationship." She cut me off.

"Well.. we aren't really in a relationship yet," I told her, "but you would never be getting in the way. Are you upset because I won't spend as much time with you if I started dating him?"

"Uh.."

"...you are, aren't you..?" I leaned forward and gave her a hug. Tsu was important to me. And I love Deku too, but if I was going to hurt Tsu by dating him, I might wait or reconsider. There had to be some way that I could spend time with both of them equally without making either of them feel left out, right?

When I let go, Tsu had a tint of blush on her cheeks. I wonder why that was...

"I'll make sure to spend as much time as I can with both of you!" I reassured her.

"Thanks Ochako," Tsu gave another smile, but this one seemed even more sad than the other ones. I wondered what I must've been doing wrong.

I felt ashamed that I couldn't help my best friend when it's clear that she needed someone. But I didn't know what I was supposed to do.

"Are you sure nothing else is wrong?"

"Yeah! I've never felt better! Ribbit!" Tsu struggled to smile brighter than she already was. I noticed tears starting to form under her eyelids.

"Tsu... you're crying.." I used my thumbs to wipe away the tears that started to roll down Tsu's face.

"I-I'm sorry. It's not your fault.." Tsu tried to turn away from me like she was ashamed of something.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"It's nothing. Ribbit." Tsu spoke softly, "It's not important anyways.."

"Do you wanna go to my room and talk about it?" I gently grabbed ahold of her hand.

A small hint of blush reappeared on Tsu's face. "N-no, I don't want you to feel sorry for me. You have Midoriya.."

I had no clue what she was talking about.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I looked down at my feet and let go of her hand. "Just know that I care about you Tsu, and I want to help you. I just don't know how."

I took a step away, figuring that she might still need a little more time to herself. I turned away and was about to leave, but Tsu grabbed my hand.

"Wait, Ochako... I need to tell you something..."