Anything But Frail

-Earlier; Player 2 Waiting Room-

Reina found herself being dragged back over to the Player 2 Waiting Room courtesy of Ochaco as she had appeared to be in some sort of hurry. All along the way, she wondered what it is that she needed to talk to her about. When they finally arrived, she had been surprised about what she asked of her.

"You want to know about Katsuki-kun?" Reina said surprised.

"Yeah." Ochaco replied, "You know that he and I are supposed to fight in the final match of the first round. I need to know everything I can about him."

"I get that but…" Reina said, scratching her head a little, "But… Why on Earth would you ask me? I mean… Izuku-kun is the one that grew up with him so he knows more about him better than I could understand at least."

Ochaco started to twiddle her thumbs at this, "Well that's the thing. I know Deku could help me, but… I don't want to have to keep relying on him all the time. Plus…" She looked up to her looking her straight in the eyes, "... After the training exercise, you seemed to know how to help him when he was having a hard time. Even though Deku grew up with him… You seem to know him better than anyone."

Reina couldn't help but turn red at this as she stayed silent. She hid her face under her red hat, while she played with her ponytail a little.

"Please Reina-chan!" Ochaco said, "Can you tell me anything about him?"

Reina gave a sigh as she said as she tried her best to hide the red on her face, "... Where do you want me to start?"

"Well…" Ochaco started to say, before she thought of an answer, "... Maybe you can tell me about how he thinks, and maybe… How he you know--Treats you in a fight?"

Reina turned redder at this, at such a question but immediately calmed herself down after she had taken a deep breath. Ochaco noticed how she stayed quiet at the mention of Katsuki.

"Reina-chan?" Ochaco wondered.

Finally Reina responded, "... It's not easy to know what Katsuki-kun is thinking or what he's feeling at times. But… That doesn't mean he's hard to understand."

Ochaco tilted her head at this, "What… Do you mean?"

Reina at first was hesitant but soon replied, "... There was a time back in middle school, I was going through a rough patch. Not many people know this but… I was actually hopping from one school to the next since I was always getting into trouble."

Ochaco's expression seemed to have soften at this, as Reina continued, "I was acting really stupid back than. I was stupid enough not to realize that I was too far in to get myself out, and my stubbornness almost got me killed. Izuku-kun and Katsuki-kun got me out of it just in time, but… Even after that, I started to shut myself away from two of my closest friends. Even though I was out of the trouble, I just kept on skipping class or school entirely. Rumors started to go around about how I was weak that I let other people get the better of me. It was at that point, I was used to hearing it even though it hurt me."

"That's…" Ochaco said, "... That's terrible."

"It was." She said, "... One day, Katsuki-kun finally got fed up with the way I was acting, and confronted me when I skipped class again. I told him straight to his face that he shouldn't bother with someone like me, and told him to leave me alone. Of course, he didn't bother to listen, so I despite how tired I was… I punched him in the face so hard that he nearly fell on his back."

"What… What did he do?" She asked her, somewhat fearfully as part of her didn't want to know.

Reina merely scoffed as she answered, "I figured after I punched him, he would finally leave me alone, but he returned the favor. The next thing I knew, we started to fight. Looking back on it… I'm actually… Glad he threw back that punch."

Ochaco's eyes widened at this, "How can you be happy about that?"

Reina soon sat down in one of the many chairs provided as she replied, "Because… He knew that the words said to me weren't strong enough to get through, but rather… Something else entirely. He saw how angry I was, so he decided to help me vent out my anger. I ended up exhausting myself, and he won the fight that we had in the end. Finally he looked me straight in the eyes, and he said one thing to me."

Ocacho soon took a seat beside her, "What was it?"

Reina looked to Ochaco and she said with a warm smile, "... You are anything but frail."

Reina could see her eyes brighten a little at this, though she saw she had been curious about what she had been saying.

"Katsuki-kun… It's really complicated I'll admit." Reina told her, "And yeah sure, it's hard for him to talk to other people without blowing up in there faces both figuratively and literally. But… I've learned this from him… Despite everything he says, despite what he does… He knows strength when he sees it."

"Really?" Ochaco wondered.

Reina only gave her a nod before she continued, "He's proven me to that more times than I can count. When he sees strength in someone he'll give it his all in the fight. Though if there is anything he hates more than losing it's when someone gives him an easy win."

Ochaco seemed to have understood what she had been telling her, "You're saying… That I should give my all too?"

"Exactly." She told her, "I can tell that someone with your Quirk is strong, especially someone with your skills. You've proven that when the Villains attacked, and even during the Rescue Training with Izuku-kun and the others. You do this, and you may not only win this… But you'll earn his respect."

She saw Ochaco start to give it some thought, Reina couldn't help but wonder what it was she had been thinking exactly.

"Please take what I say to heart, Uraraka-chan. After all… You're stronger than I could ever hope to be."

Finally Ochaco looked up to her as she gave a smile, "Reina-chan…" She soon said, "... Thank you."

Reina couldn't help but smile back before her attention was drawn towards the door.

***

-Present-

After the last match of the first round, Reina had decided to clear her head, before her next match. She had to admit she was very surprised to see how the fight had turned out. She prayed with all her heart that her friend Ochaco would be alright, and that she wasn't hurt too badly in the fight. Though despite what the outcome of the fight had been, she was glad that Ochaco had taken her words to heart. She was happy to know that she helped someone today, though she wished she could say the same for the others.

She was just making her way towards the player one waiting room, where she was sure to find a familiar someone to congratulate. She went to enter the room, though she had been taken back at a certain sight.

Katsuki was shirtless as he had been cooling himself off after the match that had taken place prior; she had a clear view of his back and her face couldn't help but heat up. She let out a squeak out of shock, getting his attention.

"Reina?" He said calmly, as he wiped himself with a cool towel, "When did you get here?"

Reina started to stammer, as she immediately looked away, "I wasn't staring!"

Katsuki only tilted his head at the way she had been acting, "Why the hell are you getting so embarrassed?"

"Seriously, you're asking me that!? Do I even need to answer!?" Reina exclaimed, accidentally looking in his direction again. Almost immediately afterwards she put her hands over her face after letting out another squeak. Katsuki couldn't help but chuckle a little before he went over to her, gently prying her hands from her face despite his arm shaking a little.

"Stop being a weirdo, Lollipop Head." He said as he did this, "Honestly, I don't really know why you're making a big deal out of it."

"Can you really blame me?" She said as she had been struggling to look at him, "It's not like I see this kind of thing of...ten..."

Her eyes soon wondered where his rib cage had been, as her words began to trail off. There on his left side, she saw what looked to be a scar that looked as though it had been the burning sun like she would see in a coloring book or a folktale. It was almost up to his chest, as there looked to be flames. Her expression softened with concern and Katsuki realized where she had been looking as he started to look a little nervous. Finally she looked him in the eyes, her own filled with worry.

"What…" She started to say softly, "... What happened…?"

Katsuki merely gave a huff as he pried himself away from her. He picked up his jacket and slipped it back on.

"It's nothing that concerns you Reina." He said as he zipped up, "It stopped hurting a long time ago."

"But I've…" She started to say, shaking her head a little, "... Are you sure? I've heard from Oda-san that sometimes scars can still hurt even after--"

"I ALREADY SAID I'M FINE, SO QUIT IT WITH YOUR PRYING!" He suddenly shouted, hitting his already shaking hand on the table, causing Reina to flinch and let out a gasp. He immediately calmed down, when he saw Reina had a fearful look in her eyes.

"Sorry." He said as he used his other hand to shake it from shaking.

"Your arm…" She started to say, "... Does… Does it hurt?"

"It's not like I haven't dealt with it before. I'll be fine after awhile."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you're in pain."

"Don't worry about me, alright? Just worry about your own damn match."

Reina couldn't help but sigh as she could see he was just being stubborn as usual. As he sat in one of the many chairs provided, she had thought of a simple solution. She knew it probably wouldn't help much, but she had to try something at least. She went over and took him by surprise when she took his arm in her hands.

"Wha--?!" He said as his face started to turn red, "--What the hell are you doing!?"

"What's it look like?" She said, "I'm helping you."

"By doing what exactly!?" He yelled practically in her face.

"Calm down. It's just a massage."

"A what!?"

"A massage. It's meant to--"

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT IT IS!"

"Than what are YOU freaking out for Mr. Number One?"

"You know why! You mean to tell me you actually know how to do this?!"

Reina turned red from embarrassment again, "It's just something that I do when my legs start to hurt after I train. I find that ibuprofen is unreliable at times. I'm actually pretty good at this. Better than cooking anyway."

Katsuki merely looked off to the side at this as he growled, "Just… Do whatever you want alright?"

"Okay then." She said.

Thus Reina started going to work. She picked a spot on his arm and started to rub gently on the spot where she had picked. After but a few moments, he felt the tension in his arm start to ease and he felt relaxed. As he gazed to her as she worked, he couldn't help but have a thought come over his head as she softly hummed to herself.

"It would be so easy… Just to say what I want to say to you. I could just say three words I want you to hear, and it'll be done… But…"

He couldn't help but clench his hand.

"At the same time I can't… Even though it's killing me, I can't. Not until you've realized, what you've forgotten so long ago…"

She soon noticed that he had been staring at her, and her face turned red again. "Oh I'm sorry." She soon said, "Am I annoying you with my singing?"

He shook his head, "Idiot. Didn't you remember what I said? I told you that your voice is beautiful."

"Ri--Right." She said, fixing her hair a little, "You did say that before."

"Than what's stopping you?" He asked, "No one's around to listen. You can sing in front of me."

Reina only gave a nod as she gave her warm smile that he himself couldn't help but admire. Thus she started to sing with her angelic voice as she had continued to massage his arm.

"I saw the autumn leaves

Peel up off the street

Take wing on the balmy breeze

And sweep you off your feet

And you blushed as they scooped you up

On sugar maple leaves

To gaze down to the city below

Ablaze with the wondrous things

Downy feathers kiss your face and flutter everywhere

Reality is a lovely place

But I wouldn't want to live there "

As she continued to sing, the two remained unaware that certain Samurai had been standing just outside the door, listening to Reina sing. Oda had been blown away since he never knew in his life that Reina could sing. Though what really took him back was how the two of them were basically enjoying each other's company, as the two had smiles on their faces.

Oda couldn't help but laugh to himself as he said aloud, softly so the two of them wouldn't hear him, "ah the Joys of youth.."