#dekuocha

The war is over. Tomura Shigaraki is dead. Himiko Toga is alive. Izuku must address the world, and inspire society to change for the better. Ochako must fight for Himiko's life, and inspire her to keep on living.

Things have been quiet.

Not much to talk about, or maybe no one wants to talk. Ochako doesn’t. She hasn’t felt like talking at all. Every time she opens her mouth, she wants to cry, wants to choke and break down, words don’t come easy through half shed tears. There’s no use in that. No use in bumming everyone out. Wallowing for the sake of wallowing.

It’s still quiet, though. Not just because of her, not just because she’s a coward and afraid to talk to any of her friends. No, they’re not speaking either. Bakugo, Todoroki, Iida, Mina, Jirou, and Yaoyorozu. Nothing. Maybe if the rest of the class were here too, maybe it wouldn’t be so awkward. But they’re off with their families, or recovering from injuries, or just wanting to be alone. Some of them aren’t ever coming back to UA after this. She can tell that much.

Ochako wants to be alone.

So much has been lost. Friends. Students. Heroes. Villains. After the hospital raid, they’d gotten used to losing people, losing friends. After the war, the term loss doesn’t feel appropriate anymore. It’s not a strong enough word. Death is no longer a stranger, it’s common, it’s casual. It exists alongside everything else. They’ve been mourning since Jaku. And now, they’ll mourn some more. And keep mourning. Heroes. Villains. Students. Friends. Family.

Ochako wants to be alone. But she isn’t.

What remains of Class A, they’re here, so she isn't.

The feeling started much earlier than he’d ever anticipated.

He remembers the day. Winter. Only a bit into their second year. A few months after the war, only a few weeks since their classes had returned to a state of normalcy. Snow drifted down upon the campus, fluttering and clumping together on the edges of the pathway. Their last class let out a bit early, Aizawa told them to take some extra time for themselves on a day like this. Most of the class ran back to the dorms. He and Ochako took the long path around the training field. The snow was fresher on that side, for some reason. She’d wanted to enjoy it.

Their shoes crunched on the salt sprinkled along the path. The cold nipped through his scarf and turned their breaths to little ghosts that blew away as fast as they appeared. Every time she’d bring her hands up and huff into them, he’d copy her and repeat the motion. She laughed so hard when she realized what he was doing. It hadn’t been that funny, but still, it made him feel electric to see her having fun.

“I love it when the snow gets all powdery on top.” She’d announced randomly, calling out as she tugged on his sleeve and made a beeline for the open field. “It’s like you’re walking through a cloud! Come on!”