Heartsick || An Izuku and Ochako story

Falling

Izuku was sick of feeling nervous.

Standing inside the USJ, with the rush of water from the falls nearby roaring in his ears, Izuku fidgeted relentlessly in his training clothes. His coach, or rather Ochako, wasn't here before him, a clear sign that she was beginning to fall behind.

He grumbled under his breath- had he not done enough yesterday? They'd only done some of her homework after she left unsuspectedly. He'd checked in with Momo-san and she confirmed that they had been studying together, which was a relief. A temporary one, however, once he saw Uraraka stumble in.

She was a mess, to put it simply. Her brown hair was flying in different strands and her eyes, sadly, had even deeper and more noticeable bags than before. The only thing that seemed normal about her appearance was the familiar glint of excitement in her eyes and a bright grin that was at home on her face. Izuku couldn't help but softly smile.

"Deku-kun!" She shouted as she ran towards him.

 "Hey, Uraraka-san!" he greeted, scanning her body for any detail he might have missed. 

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized. "I was busy with a few things."

Izuku shook his head. "It's okay. So, what are we doing today?"

She stood up straight, before examining him as well. "Actually, could you try something for me? Jump as high as you can, and give it everything you've got!"

He gave her a look of surprise. What was she planning? After his past experiences, Izuku knew never to underestimate Uraraka, who was not only the beauty but the brain as well. There was probably something behind this that she wanted to test.

"Okay," he responded, a little uneasy. With a burst of energy, he leaped into the air. A few moments later, he dropped to the ground, dust and particles flying everywhere upon his arrival. Ochako nodded with approval.

"Okay," she told him, "You can already activate it involuntarily, without trying to. Today, let's see how long you can stay in the air!"

"Wait!" Izuku called out. "What do you mean, involuntarily?"

She turned back to him. "You can activate it without actually...well, telling your brain to activate it!"

Ah, right. All Might had told him something similar in his office, about how he was able to already use float, but just hadn't mastered it yet. He nodded in understanding and Ochako led him out to one region of the USJ- a terrain of rocks and cliffs.

As they walked, Izuku began to feel a bit anxious. The territory was rugged and clearly unstable. The cliffs and other formations were jagged and sharper than a blade. He glanced over to Ochako, but she was only humming as they strolled.

She stopped at a large mountain, its peak coming close to scraping the domed roof. Turning to Izuku, she explained his first instructions.

"First, you need to climb to the top of this mountain. Then, from down here, when I give you a thumbs up, you need to jump and try to activate float to stay in the air!"

Izuku was beginning to wonder how many tricks Uraraka was borrowing from Aizawa, because now her lessons were beginning to have a knack for scaring him. His analytical mind was already at work identifying all the possible flaws in this plan, and there were many.

"What happens if I fall?" he asked, his voice weak with the grim prospect of his body tumbling to its doom, the sharp rocks below.

Uraraka still looked chipper than ever. "Don't worry, I'll be down here," she reassured, pointing two fingers to the ground. "If you fall, I'll just send out a Gravity Wave and you'll begin floating. From there, I'll rescue you!"