Orange Juice

<As Uraraka Ochako has taken the initiative to hold your hand, you have received a "Pump Up!" ability (Intermediate)>

He looked at his new ability and was in a daze.

This ability was quite simple since it gave him the ability to strengthen himself and the people around him with his cheers.

As long as he cheered for someone else, their ability would increase by 30%.

He could also strengthen himself with his cheers.

It was a good ability, yet he didn't expect he would receive it from this girl.

Out of all the girls in his class, the one that he had a close relationship with was Momo since she was sitting behind him. The next one should be Jiro and Hagakure since they were sitting quite nearby.

As for the rest, he wasn't that close.

Ashido Mina and Asui Tsuyu aside, he felt that Uraraka was the last girl that would do this. Yet this was normal since he could tell that her eyes had always been on Midoriya. From the first day of school until that attack of the villains, her eyes had never wandered and only on Midoriya.

However, it is different now.

She held his hand tightly, firmly, without hesitation.

Was it because of that day?

He knew that he had protected her, but if he didn't do that, the responsibility, if Uraraka was hurt, would be on him. Everything was his selfish desire, but that might not be the case with her since watching him hurt him might crush her heart. Still, he had to say that a damsel in distress was the best way for one to make a girl fall.

"Uraraka-san?"

Hearing his voice, Uraraka quickly realized what she was doing. She blushed and quickly let go of his hand and panicked. "Ah-um, I am sorry, Mineta-kun!" She also started to worry, wondering whether he thought of her as gross for suddenly holding his hand.

"Why did you apologize?" He was speechless.

"We-Well... I held your hand after all..." Her voice was low, trying to hold her shyness when she thought she took the initiative to hold his hand.

"No, no, it's okay. If you're not there, then I might be troubled by the girls before. Thank you for your help, Uraraka-san," he said sincerely since this is how he felt.

"Th-That's great..." Uraraka smiled brightly and shyly.

He stared at Uraraka for a while and thought this girl was charming. Like Ibara, Uraraka might not be the most beautiful girl, yet her smile was special. She was like a sunflower, cheering everyone up when they were exhausted. He had to say Midoriya was lucky to make this girl fall for him.

"Should we go back? I am sure that everyone is waiting."

"Ah, um! Wait a moment, Mineta-kun!"

Uraraka held his hand again, trying to stop him.

"Yes?"

He looked at her hand and held his hand again.

"Ah, sorry! I have to hold your hand again!"

It might be because his hand was comfortable to hold that she did it again, yet she had to say his hand gave her a sense of security.

'They are in the hands of men,' she thought.

Unlike her hands, his hands were firm, rugged, and strong. She wanted to hold them more, she thought.

'It's okay if you want to hold onto more.' He thought about it but didn't voice out since he had a girlfriend. If he said that, he might be seen as a playboy. "It's okay. You don't need to apologize that much, Uraraka-san. So is there something that you want to talk about?"

"......."

Uraraka lowered her head and didn't know how to talk about this matter.

"Should we go to a nearby bench to sit down?"

While the karaoke had good sound insulation, it was quite noisy in the corridor, considering many rooms were packed with a group or two singing together with all of their voices. He also felt it might be better to sit down when talking instead of standing.

"Ah, yes! Wait, no! It-it's better for us to talk here since I-I am afraid that I might not be able to talk."

Uraraka held his hands again to stop him from walking.

He didn't mention her hands anymore and said nothing waiting for her to open her mouth.

While the corridor was slightly noisy with muffled voices, only two were in this place, so even if Uraraka wanted to talk about something private, it was perfectly fine.

"I..."

Uraraka wanted to apologize, but the thought of him being hurt by that attack was. The thought of him lying under the pond of blood kept revolving in her mind, and she couldn't get him out of her mind, especially when she thought she was the one who caused him to be hurt. Her thoughts were tortured, and she was constantly dreaming about him.

After that incident, she had been staring at her phone, waiting for his news.

Fortunately, the news came out the next day, even if it was only a small text telling everyone he was alright.

However, was he really alright?

She couldn't help but keep thinking. She also hardly slept in the past two days since she was worried about him.

Yet she was also grateful toward him since if he wasn't there, she was the one that might be hurt, and everyone also might die. Because of his voice, she suppressed her fear and held Nomu in midair with her "Quirk." The thought that he would protect and support her again gave her strength.

However, when everything was over and they were saved, what welcomed her wasn't his warm smile but the picture of him half-dying.

Her emotion towards him wasn't something that could be described by mere words.

While she wanted to apologize, she was also grateful to him, but those words hardly came out of her lips since she just didn't know what to say first.

Lastly, while she didn't say it, she was also afraid. She was afraid that he might resent her, especially after he was hurt because of her. After all, unlike Midoriya, who was hurt by his own "Quirk," he was hurt by a villain. The weight between the two was different in her heart.

Suddenly, she wondered why she had been useless.

If she reacted faster. If she moved faster.

Many "ifs" kept resurfacing in her mind.

He looked at Uraraka for a moment and said, "Before you say something, can I say something?"

"Yes?" Uraraka said subconsciously while stupidly looking at him.

"While I know it is quite weird for me to say this, thank you."

"Thank you? Why?" She was at a loss before the emotions in her heart couldn't be controlled. "I couldn't do anything... I didn't do anything! I even troubled you and made you hurt! If you didn't protect me or if you didn't tell me to focus by shouting, then your injuries wouldn't be serious! I was useless!"

Her eyes were already wet from tears, and she couldn't stop them. The incompetent feeling she felt back then was like a sharp blade stabbing her heart.

"You did something for me." He shook his head, lowering his height to match her eyes, and gently caressed her hair. "You're fine. That means a lot to me since what I did before wasn't useless. I could protect you, so never say you regret what I did to you. My wounds for your life. I think it is a pretty low price." He put his thumb below her chin, gently raised it, looking straight into her teary eyes, and said, "And never said that you were useless. If you're not there, who can save everyone? You can also save me since if everyone is hurt, that monster might attack me again, and I might die."

He wouldn't die, though, but he wouldn't say it.

"So stop crying since someone might misunderstand us."

However, Uraraka didn't stop crying and even cried harder.

"UWAAAAAA!!!"

He was helpless and could only hug and let her use his chest as a place to cry.

Uraraka also hugged him tightly, without letting him go, crying with all her might.

---

"...sorry."

Uraraka blushed, feeling embarrassed when she cried while hugging him with all of her might. She knew she had to apologize to her girlfriend.

"It's okay, but wipe the tears and snot on your face, or they might misunderstand us."

"I-I don't have a snot on me!"

The two joked around for a while before they walked to their room.

"By the way, let me wash your uniform." Uraraka noticed the stains on his white shirt and couldn't help but feel guilty.

"It's okay."

"No, please! If I don't do this, I will feel even more guilty!

"But my girlfriend might have misunderstood us," he said helplessly. While he was eager to become stronger, he had to be smarter since he didn't want everything he had built to be capsized.

"....." Uraraka.

"So it's alright. You don't need to think much about this, okay?"

"...okay." Still, her mood was quite low since she realized she kept making him trouble. "But if you need my help, don't hesitate to talk, okay?"

"Okay." He nodded gently and didn't overthink it. "Should we go back now? I am sure everyone is waiting for us."

"Okay."

Uraraka also knew that everyone might get worried if they stayed outside too long.

The two walked together and were about to enter their room, but suddenly the door opened.

"Ah, Minate-kun! Eh, Uraraka-san?"

Midoriya was surprised when he saw Mineta and Uraraka were together.

"Ah, Deku-kun?" Uraraka was also surprised and didn't know why her heart was beating so fast, and she became so nervous at that moment.

"You're going to the toilet, Midoriya?"

"Ah, no, I am going to take a drink," Midoriya said with a shy smile.

"Is that so? By the way, the orange juice here tastes nice."

"Eh? Really? Then, I will have to taste it!" Suddenly, Iida stood up from his place while holding his glass. "Let's get the drink together, Midoriya-kun."

"Ah, uh, yes, Iida-kun!" Midoriya was slightly overwhelmed by Iida's enthusiasm, which made him wonder whether Iida loved orange juice. When Iida pulled him, he forgot about Mineta and Uraraka, who had slipped away since he wondered whether the taste of orange juice was as delicious as Mineta said.