Trainer!Ochaco x Mer!Katsuki

[NicTheDjinn]

Ochaco tilted her head as she watched Zero swim off and go back to the plexiglass, tilting her head. He wasn't done with her, she could tell that much, plus if he was really pissed at her he'd just take the bucket, call her a stupid bitch, then leave. She tilted her head, stepping to the side. "Zero? Whatcha doin' buddy? We- You don't gotta-" She didn't get to finish telling him that he didn't have to try and say what she wanted, watching as he sped back over to her. She stumbled back onto her butt, watching as he came right up to her face and yelled at her.

She just sat there for a moment before laughing, nodding as she lifted up the fish for him to take. "Very good, Zero! Good job! You sound pretty angry, but I am annoying you. I would be too if someone was making me do tricks for my food." She let out a soft breath, giving him a gentle smile. "I won't make you say anymore words in exchange for food. But I do want to teach you my language. Then we can talk to each other!"

She tilted her head, shifting herself to sit beside the bucket and sit up straighter. "Do you think you could try saying my name? It's Ochaco! And it's nicer to call me than 'Bitch'. Plus, if you learn how to say things nicely, the other people that work here might want to help you out more. They might give you things you ask for or leave you alone when you ask. You don't always have to fight and explode things."

.....

As soon as the fish was offered, he snatched it right out of her hand, shoved the belly into his mouth, then dragged himself back into the water again. Soon enough, he was popping back up and floating on his back, in his usual feeding position, ripping a chunk out of his meal to chew while the rest was left to rest on his toned tummy for the moment. He was still very much annoyed, but at least he'd gotten his fish and hadn't sounded like an idiot doing so. At least he was fairly sure he hadn't.

Ugh was she still talking? She talked so much! Worse, she seemed to want him to talk more too. Well... He supposed he could see how it would be convenient to be able to speak to the idiots that 'took care of him'. He mulled it over while he ate, casually shooting the vitamins onto the stage as he found them. They really needed to come up with another way of getting those into him, this a waste at this point.

He sighed as he finished his fish, carrying the remains with him back to her and giving them back. He listened to the last that she had to say, but didn't quite seem to get the message. He understood a few words and definitely recognized the insult, but didn't recognize several words, including, of course, her name. He had heard it, but as of yet, hadn't bothered to learn it. He cocked his head to the side as he tried to grasp what she wanted to tall him, clearly confused, but still interested. Oh. Right.

"Fish... Please..." He grated out, clearly still annoyed, but at least he wasn't yelling this time. Baby steps...

.....

Ochaco watched him swim about with his fish, smiling softly. She really was just glad that he didn't get too violent around her anymore. It was really nice being able to just chill near his tank and just chatter away. She really hoped he wasn't too annoyed with her presence, but she imagined that if he was, he'd make that known pretty quickly. After all, he made it pretty clear that he didn't want her around when they first met. That had changed so far, however. She gathered up the vitamins as he shot them back at her, stacking them in their own little pile and looking over them. She'd have to talk to the staff about just removing these from his fish and figuring out another way to get him to take them. Maybe she could ask him about taking just a few before she left?

She looked back at him as he returned the fish remains and, surprisingly, asked for another politely. She smiled, nodding. "Yeah, you can have a fish." She reached into the bucket, pulling out a fish and handing it over to him. "You learn quick. You're really, really smart, Zero." She tucked her legs up near her chest once he'd taken the fish, watching him head off back by himself to eat his fish. She wondered just how much he had understood when she rambled, if he was even interested in learning to communicate with her. Only time would tell on that one, really.

She sighed. "I hope you like having me around, Zero. At least you don't launch the bucket at me anymore!" She laughed. "That was a really interesting first day between us. I'm hoping I'm making things a little better for you!" She rested her chin on her knees. "Do you want to try learning to say my name? I'd really like it if you did, but it's up to you! Actually, do you know the word name?"

.....

The clearly annoyed request got the reaction he'd hoped and like before he accepted the fish from her, this time simply taking it rather than snatching it. He was clearly grumpy about the whole thing, but had calmed a little at least. Rather than swimming off like he had before, he simply rolled over right there by her and started eating. He was actually within reach of her, though if trying to touch him or not was a good idea was debatable. A moment ago he'd been well within biting distance of her nose and angry what's more, but he hadn't actually attempted to harm her. Still, he was very much capable of it so it was still a risk.

All the same, he was dropping his vitamins on the stage as he ate, taking advantage that he could reach it and didn't need to shoot them over like before. This was pretty consistent behavior at this point, but who could blame him? Most anyone was more irritable when they were hungry. Like before he listened to her speak, clearly concentrating, but there were still too many gaps in his vocabulary. She was the first to attempt to teach him proper speech so she would have to set the foundation for him too as that was still rather lacking. She did luck out in one sense though.

He had figured out the meaning of the word 'know' from frustrated trainers trying to teach him tricks in the past and understood the lilt in sound to indicate a question. He was smart enough to understand that she might be asking him if he knew something. What, he couldn't say, but something. Rather than continuing to just stare uncomprehendingly, he looked uncertain then simply replied, "No." With that said, he took another bite of fish, continuing to watch her to see how she would respond, the metaphorical ball back in her court.

.....

Ochaco smiled softly as he rolled over and began to eat, pulling up one leg against her chest to rest her cheek against her knee. She watched him eat, not daring to touch him and giving him as much space as he seemed to need. It seemed like he was more used to her presence and didn’t generally despise her, but there still were boundaries that she needed to respect. She’d only touch him if he initiated or if it was an emergency.

Her eyes were soft and warm, watching him ponder her question. She could see in his eyes that he was really trying to figure out what she was saying, trying to understand her and give her an answer. She scooted the vitamins into a pile, thinking to herself about how there has to be a better way to do this. There had to be a better way to teach him. She couldn’t keep throwing words at him and hoping they stuck! But she couldn’t just keep trying things and seeing if he knew them. All any of that would do is frustrate and annoy the both of them.

Then, it hit her, the brunette sitting up straight. Dolphins!! She had to train him similar to a dolphin! They were incredibly smart and did understand human speech, so maybe that would apply here! “Zero! Buddy, let’s try something new!” She shifted onto her knees, smiling excitedly. She pressed a hand to her chest. “Name. Uraraka.” She tapped her chest again. “Uraraka. Ochaco Uraraka.” She lifted a fish tail from the bucket. “Fish-“ then tapped her chest again- “Uraraka-“ then gestured to him. “Zero. Name.”

[NicTheDjinn]

He was left in peace to enjoy his fish and that was probably for the best. Not testing his boundaries the moment the chance presented itself let him relax into things. It helped lay a more solid foundation of trust between them, one that she'd been working on for quite some time now, it would be a shame to ruin things by moving too fast for him. He was a difficult case, that much was clear, but he definitely wasn't a lost cause. Hell, the fact he was laying within arm's reach and eating was proof of that.

His eyes snapped at her wearily as she suddenly sat up. What was she so excited about? Sure enough, she seemed to want his attention and he gave it to her. Firey eyes followed as she indicated herself, his food, then himself. He set down the fish as his mind snapped up every word and his sharp mind started to put together what she was trying to tell him. She was trying to teach him what she was called, what his food was called, and what he was called.

It clicked into place then. Name. Name is the word for what things are called. She was named 'Uraraka', his food was named 'fish' which he had already put together, and he was named 'Zero'. Zero? Where had they gotten that name? Was that what they called him specifically or his species? He was fairly sure he'd heard other trainers calling her Uraraka so that had to be what she was named specifically, but what about him? There weren't any other members of his species for him to gauge against. He would just have to take a guess. If humans called each other by different names, it was likely that applied to him too.

"No. No, Zero." He sat up on his elbow bringing his other hand up to rest on his own chest. "Kats'ki. He lifted his hand a bit then pointedly touched his chest again. "Kats'ki. Kats'ki Baku'gou." This was groundbreaking! For the first time, he was proving that he wasn't just mimicking, but fully capable of understanding and communicating through complex language. What's more, he'd just told her something as abstract as a name, solidifying that his race had individual names for each other. If that weren't enough, he had provided a second name which suggested they likely had family names, pod names, or something else that was similar.