note;

italicized and underlined - ochako's negative thoughts

italicized and bolded - ochako's positive thoughts

☆

"Hmmm, all pairs have been assigned except for Uraraka.." Mr. Aizawa says, observing the pairs set before him.

He sets his eyes on the lonely Ochako, no one beside her whatsoever. "I'll go with her!" Mr. Aizawa looks behind him to find out who was the source of the voice. He sees Midnight, her hand raised high with a smile of empathy on.

"This is a Test Of Courage. I don't think it would test any of her bravery when she's aware there's someone to guard her." Mr. Aizawa stated. Despite his respone or perhaps, refusal, it did not shatter any of Midnight's hope and excitement.

She lets her hand down but keeps her smile on. "I'll pretend to be somewhat a victim or perhaps someone she has to defend for the test." Midnight insists.

Mr. Aizawa raises an eyebrow and turns his eyes on All Might (Retired Form). The brave hero couldn't help but smile despite his mouth usually straight with teeth all lined up. "I think this would be a good idea." Mr. Aizawa stated, landing his eyes back on Midnight.

He turns his head to the brunette. "You shall be partnered with Midnight. And like she said, simply imagine that you have to protect her. Understand?" Mr. Aizawa says. Ochako nods and looks over to Midnight. The woman starts to run towards her due to her excitement.

"Uraraka, I'm excited to be partnered with you. Please protect me at all costs!" She smiles, grabbing the brunette's hands firmly.

This isn't the sadistic Midnight she knew. She seemed so happy and bubbly, it's hard not to smile. Ochako lets her lips form a light smile on their own. She nods, "I shall try my best, Miss Midnight!"

○ • ○ • ○

Ochako walked on the same slow pace as Midnight, her sneakers crunching the dirt on the ground.

The bushes around them was filled with blooming flowers and there were several unknown trees.

Stars shimmer in the night sky as the pair walks slowly in the path.

"Ah! Look, it's my tree!" Midnight runs over to a tree that looked dull or worse, it looked like it's dying. "My name is still carved on it. Ah, how nostaligic ~" She says, her fingers gently tracing on the kanji carved on the surface.

Ochako walked up to her and observed the tree. "That's amazing.." She says, gasping as she smiles at the sight.

The class was sent off to the maze of trees with a mission,

- get on the hill.

A certain hill stood tall in the middle of the forest. It was clear and the grass was crispy and according to Midnight, it has the most incredible view. In order to identify the hill, there's a giant bolder there with a certain kanji written on it.

Whoever got there first would receive a prize from the teachers. Rumors say it's free midnight snacks for the bonfire later.

Despite the fact how difficult escaping forest would be, the teachers decided to add more obstacles.

They sent a few teachers out into the forest to capture the students. A few students were pulled away from their partners to become a ghost in the middle fo their walk. One of them was Bakugou or perhaps Todoroki. Whoever got snatched had to be a ghost for the whole test and scare the rest of the survivors.

Eventually, in the middle of the woman's gazing session, she says something. "You know, I used to come here with my first love.." She says, her hands stopping themselves from feeling the wood.

"Eh? Really?" Ochako gasped, stars twinkling in her eyes. Midnight straightens her posture and looks over to her with a smile, leaning her back on the bark.

"He actually carved this for me and named this tree Minuit. " Ochako lifts an eyebrow from her statement, "Minue..- W-What?"

Midnight giggles at her attempt in pronouncing. She lifts her head to gaze at the sky.

"It means 'Midnight'  in French. He came from France." She continued to gaze, most likely dreaming of him. In the middle of the calm silence, the woman decides to break it.

"Do you have a crush, Uraraka?" Midnight asks, looking over to her with a light smirk.

Ochako blushes immediatly, her body moving backward slightly from the sudden question. "N-No! I don't have one!" She hesitantly replies, a wobbled smile forming on her lips.

"Eh? ~ Is that so?" Midnight continued to tease. "Ye-Yes! Of course I don't!" Ochako stutters. Midnight continues to laugh at her embarrassed state. In the middle of her session of endless chuckles, Ochako lifts a finger to slightly scratch her cheek.

"Well.. I do kind of like someone but-" Despite the low volume of her voice, Midnight was able to hear it. "Eh?!" She smirked after letting out her mischievous gasp.

"You do have one!" She teased and started to laugh. "Well? Did you confess?" Midnight asks the brunette from excitement.

"Well, no. I don't really like him but..it's whatever!" Ochako dismisses it hesitantly, averting her eyes. "Aw, just when I thought you matured.." Midnight sarcastically replies.

"Hey!" The brunette stubbornly shouts back, causing the lady to laugh harder than she expected. Ochako stands there, an embarrassed frown on her lips and her face all red as she glares at Midnight laughing.

"W-Well what about you, Miss Midnight, did you confess?" Ochako asks, the dark shade of red that was previously painted on her face fading.

Midnight stopped laughing.

She averted her eyes and didn't reply. She remained silent for a short period of time as she stares at nothing but the dirt on tbe ground. Eventually, the woman smirks.

She lifts her index finger and places it against her lips. "That's a secret ~" Midnight states, laughing afterwards.

She continues to laugh as Ochako complains endlessly.

Suddenly, Midnight was snatched away into the thick bushes.

"Miss Midnight!" Ochako called out, her arm reaching out but was too late. She runs her hands into the thick bushes, ignoring the thorns sinking into her skin.

She makes a gap, only to see an empty space. 'She disappeared!' She thought, sweat starting to produce.

She immediatly starts running. 'I failed my mission.. Now all I can do is protect myself!' Ochako thought as she continues to run.

Suddenly, a sort of thin, white cloth wraps around her wrist. 'Tape?!' She thought,  gritting her teeth as she trys to release her arm from the grip.

'It must be Sero..!' She spoke internally. Instead of trying to free herself, she lifts her free hand to touch the thread.

This means it'll start to float. This could also affect the source, which most likely means Sero will start to float too. A familiar gasp comes out from the bushes and the thread eventually breaks.

Rustling sounds was the last thing Ochako heard before silence occupied the area.

She sighed in relief and continued to run. Despite the situation she was in just a while ago, she couldn't help but think of Midnight's empty eyes as she stares at the ground blankly after Ochako's question.

"Was she afraid of telling the truth too?"

□

Ochako stops her running, grabbing on to her knees for support. She pants heavily from exhaustion, sweat streaming down her skin.

Unexpectedly, she lifts her body up to see a huge space. It's the entrance to the hill.
It seemed like path that leaded up to a high area.

She takes deep breathes and walks up the hill, ignoring her back pains. She eventually reaches the top of the hill as a strong gust of wind hits her.

Despite the fact it being a hill, it felt like she was on top of an actual mountain. City Lights surrounded her, stars spread through out the sky as they twinkle brightly. Silence was all that remained as Ochako stood still on the hill.

Suddenly, a loud noise from Present Mic pierced her ears like swords. She shuts them immediatly. "Uraraka Ochako made it first! Her partner is currently missing, so she's first to come up the hill solo! Who shall be next?!" Unexpectedly, his announcement ends immediatly.

It most likely came from the campsite. He must be observing from afar on a large platform Cementoss made with a telescope in his hand.

Ochako sighed and ignored him. She continued to gaze at the sight. 'Alone once again..' Ochako stood still as she spoke to herself in her head.

'Finally, some time to think..' She thought. 'How do I confess? Do I say "I like you" directly? How should I start? How do confessions work anyways?' Ochako continued to think, her mind spinning endlessly.

After a long period of brainstorming, she screamed internally.'Ahh! What am I doing?!' She then smacked both of her cheeks, causing a loud smack to echo in the area.

Suddenly, something grabs her wrist firmly.

"Don't hurt yourself like that!" Ochako looks back to see a boy with fuzzy green hair with his eyebrows furrowed, clutching the brunette's wrist which was caressing her cheek.

It was Deku.

Ochako just stares, dumbfounded and clueless on what to do next.

Where's his partner? Sinc when was he here? How long ha she been here?

They just stand there, Deku holding on to the girl's wrist as the brunette just stares blankly in silence.

In the middle of the silence, his eyes widen and focuses on a certain portion of her wrist.

He tugs her wrist harder to take a closer look. "You have a bruise.." He says, worry filling his eyes.

Ochako still continues to stare, her heart beating faster than she expected. Her face remained calm despite the pressure inside her.

He keeps his hand wrapped around her wrist and pulls out a Mint Green Handkerchief and wraps it on the bruise that most likely came from dipping her hands into the thick bushes with thorns.

After tying, he lets go gently. "All done!" Deku says, satisfied. Ochako gazes at the cloth wrapped around her wrist, wonder and nostaligia filling her up.

Eventually, Deku realizes what bold action he just did. A blush emerges from his face, his mouth wobbling. "Ah, I-I'm sorry I grabbed you all of a sudden! I j-just didn't want you to hurt yourself and-" He shakes his hands in front of him, making endless excuses and soon stops.

Ochako lifts her eyes to him. "Ah, it's fine." She smiles lightly. "Thank you." She continues to speak, her light smile still on her face.

Deku stops shaking his hands, his blush slowly fading. His eyes gaze at the brunette's smile, his eyes filled with realization. 'Her smile doesn't look.. the same.' He thought, his mind flashing every smile Ochako gave him and noticing the obvious differences.

Cresent shaped eyes, shimmering teeth, and rosy cheeks. A masterpiece.

Now, it's just lips curved and eyes the same with no emotion.

It's not her smile.

"This reminds me a lot of what happened last time." Ochako says calmly, breaking Deku's gazing session. His blush faded and his mouth was slightly open.

"I remember walking on the path of the school and gazing at the sunrise with you. I remember you wrapping this on my wrist, do you do too?" She continues, her somewhat different smile still on her face.

Deku nods. 'Of course I remember. I'd never want to forget that moment.' He thought, wishing he would have just replied that.

The brunette looks up to the sky, turning her back around. All Deku could see was Ochako's silky chocolate locks and her back.

The stars shimmer in the night sky as Ochako gazes at them. The only reason she turned away was to avoid eye contact.

Looking through his emerald eyes might destroy her. Or perhaps, heal her.

Deku looks up to the sky too. Blue, Red, White. So much colors spread through out the sky. Clouds swim in the darkness as the moon shines brightly.

Ochako's heartbeat speed never slowed down. A light blush emerges from her face to think he still remembers.

'That memory must've been behind his head by now..' Ochako thought to herself silently, his nod repeating in her head.

'It's too bad it's stuck in the center of my mind.' She spoke internally, the corners of her lips dropping.

'I know you remember but.. Do you think of it everyday like I do? Do you smile when you see flash into your mind?' She thought, aware she was overthinking and ignoring it.

The fear of Overthinking took place and realization struck her.

(Pathetic.)

'Ah... I'm overthinking again.' She thought. Her eyes slowly losing emotion as the stars twinkle.

The brunette slightly furrows her eyebrows, allowing the thought and the shame to take over her. 'This will all end soon once I tell him.'

"So many stars.." She suddenly hears Deku talking. She turns her head slighty to see him standing still with his body pointed to the right as his eyes gaze at the stars.

Ochako looks back at the stars, noticing plenty of constellations the stars produced. "So much Constellations.." She replies back, not looking at him

(Speaking to him makes your heart race.)

She pushes her lips together after hearing the voice once again. 'That's true.' She silently admitted.

"You can identify constellations?" Deku says, curiousity filling him. He turns his body around to face her, aware he can't be seen.

"Uhm.. Yeah, I can." Ochako admitted, trying her best to sound like she's not bragging.

"I can too! Let's how many you and I can get in at least 5 Minutes." Deku stated, his eyes shimmering with joy and excitement from his statement. Ochako couldn't help but look back at him, staring at his excited smile. Her heartbeat calmed down after seeing something so heartwarming

She smirked, her teeth sparkling. "You're on!" She replied before looking back up to the sky. Deku secretly smiles after seeing the little smirk she gave. Despite it having a hint of mischief, it was enough for Deku to be happy.

He looks back up to stars to start counting constellations, muttering numbers out.

The only reason he knew about Constellations was after seeing her gazing at the sky last time. He thought if he learned more about stars, space and night skies, this would allow him to become closer with her.

As the two continued to count silently
with their fingers pointed up, Ochako couldn't help but smile to herself.

As soon as Five Minutes have passed, Ochako stops and looks over to Deku to inform him. She notices his hands shaking as he tries to find a constellation. He looks around hesistantly, trying to find a collection of stars forming a figure.

Ochako giggled, 'Cute..'

(You're falling for him again.)

"Uhm, Deku. Time's up." She chuckled as Deku looks over to her with an embarrassed look on his face. "I only got two.." He says, with a wobbled smile.

Ochako couldn't help but laugh. Not from her obvious win, but from how clumsy he looked.

"Wh-What about you?" Deku asks, turning his full body to face her.

Ochako smiled, "Seven". Deku's jaw dropped, "That's a lot!" He exclaimed. Ochako faked a cackle, "I win ~" She teased.

"It wasn't even a competition!" The boy pouted, trying to defend himself. "Why did you bring it up in the first place then?" She laughed.

Laughter was something she was so desperate to have just to forget her feelings.

But it's quite ironic from the fact she's laughing with the person she wanted to forget.

She continued to laugh as the moonlight shines below the pair. Shooting stars running in the darkness as clouds fly.

The two just having a great conversation together.

"Ah.. Two and Seven! Twenty-seven! December 27 is your birthday, right?" Deku says, a proud smile appearing on his face from his discovery.

Ochako stops laughing. Her eyes widen, "You remember?" She softly says. "Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?" Deku replies, his eyes sparkling.

Eventually, he realizes what he just says as a blush emerges on his face, causing Ochako to laugh endlessly once again.

She never knew seeing him embarrassed would make her laugh. "H-Hey! Stop Laughing!" Deku exclaims.

(This was not supposed to happen)

(This is allowed.)

She ignored the voices and lets her laughter take them away. Now is not the time to think.

Deku turns his around with his arms folded and a pout. An embarrassed look emerges from his face as he continues to listen to Ochako's laughter.

'It's been a while I heard her laugh..' He thought, his head looking down as a blush takes over his face. His stubborn, childish pout disappears as a wobbled smile takes over his lips instead.

Ochako turned her back against him too, still giggling. She makes an unexpected bold move and leans her back against his, her brown locks resting on his mop of hair.

The pair's heart rate was equal. Fast.

Ochako couldn't help but blush as she smiles. Deku's head was down while the brunette's was pointed upward.

A smile forms on the lips of the freckled boy, while Ochako couldn't help to do so too.

Silence occupied the area as the pair just remain like that. Backs sticking together with smiles on their faces. Their eyes shimmering secretly with joy as the stars sparkle, the moon shines and the silence soars through the area.

(This is your chance.)

Ochako gulped from the voice's statement, but she couldn't say anything.

'I..'

"Ah, by the way, Uraraka.."

Ochako hears Deku's voice from behind her. She turns her head slightly to see Deku's mop of green hair and his back turned against her. Her eyebrows rise from curiousity. "Yeah?"

"I like you."

~