RENEGADE [Izuku Midoriya x OC]

Chapter 36 - Nightmare

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In the dead of winter, Izuku jogged down the snowy sidewalk.

His freckled cheeks flushed with warmth. His exposed skin—mostly buried in an All Might scarf and too many layers, courtesy of his loving mother—burned from the icy wind. Izuku never expected to hear from Noriko in the middle of winter break, especially on a day that he had off from his hero internship with Endeavor. But when she asked if he wanted to grab food and hang out, he couldn't pass up the opportunity.

He may or may not have used a bit of One for All to speed through town, but slowed once he got close to their meet-up spot to avoid drawing attention. After being sent all over town by Endeavor, a little jog with no urgency was actually kind of nice.

Izuku rounded a corner onto the proper block and saw Noriko immediately. Her fiery hair danced in the winter wind, bright against the gray of the day; she wore all black—black earmuffs, a thick black scarf, black puffer jacket, ripped black jeans, and black combat boots—but he would've noticed her anywhere.

"Hey!" he said, beaming as he stumbled up to her. "You could've waited inside, Nori. It's freezing out here."

She batted those mile-long eyelashes at him and smiled. "I'm not cold."

He laughed. "That makes one of us. Shall we?"

Nori held the door for him, and the two of them walked into the warmth of the prefecture's largest comic book store. Izuku fluffed his hair with his hands, dusting the shoulders of his coat with melted snowflakes. "Are you okay?" he asked, eyeing Noriko with concern.

Raising an eyebrow, Nori nodded while she pulled her earmuffs down around her neck. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Just checking," Izuku lied. He'd been worried since he got her random, vague text, worried that something catastrophic had happened for her to reach out to him while on winter vacation... but she seemed fine. She said she was fine. Izuku wasn't quite convinced, but he tucked his concern away for later.

"Looking for anything specific?" he asked, gesturing to the shelves around them.

She shook her head, heading into the stacks without a destination in mind. "I just wanted to hang out. I was getting a little stir-crazy all cooped up in my house, and I figured Endeavor was probably getting on your last nerve, so I reached out."

"You weren't wrong," he chuckled, following her lead.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, just meandering and stopping every so often to thumb through a recently published volume or a new series. Like it always had been with the two of them, the silence wasn't tense or awkward. If things were different, Izuku could see them doing exactly the same thing—wandering through the stacks, de-stressing, enjoying each other's company—but on a real date, holding hands, maybe even kissing. He'd stop her in the center of the aisle by tugging on their laced fingers, slowing her to a stop before cupping her cheek in his palm, sliding his fingers into her hair, pulling her close—

"Have you read this one?"

Izuku walked straight into Noriko, but she dropped the book in her hands and caught him before he could bowl them both over. She laughed as their arms tangled, holding onto each other for balance. Finally, Izuku managed to find his footing once again. But when they had a moment to catch their breath, Izuku realized his arms were around Noriko, and her head rested on his chest, her arms around his hips.

By the grace of All Might, she didn't seem upset or even all that flustered. "You are such a space case," Nori laughed, pulling away from him just to look him in the eye. "Are you alright? Do I need to call for Recovery Girl?"