Chapter Text
“Listen to me! You- You don’t want to do this! You know me, come on, I know you do- you just have to- Deku, stop!” Ochako yanked her whole body to the side as an iron clad red shoe sailed past her. She could see sparks of green lightning bouncing over its surface, and she only just had enough time to brace herself before the force of the kick, even though it had missed her, sent her flying backwards.
Ochako gripped her fingers together quickly and removed gravity from herself, slowing her momentum down enough that she could release her quirk and fall lightly to the bouncy soles of her boots. She managed to suck in a breath before he was on her again, covering the distance between them easily and twisting around for another kick.
Quicker! Her brain screamed. I must think quicker!
She ducked this time, her eyes darting over him, plans formulating as fast as she could execute them. So low to the ground, both his foot and the resulting shockwave missed her completely this time, and she shot a hand out to grab the leg he was still using to stand on. But no matter how quick she was, he was always quicker. Where she expected to feel the familiar material of his hero costume on his leg, her hand closed on nothing. The blast of air from his movement rushed around her, making her hair whip around her face, and she clenched her eyes shut, wishing she still had her visor.
Ochako cursed and spun around, pushing herself back to her feet.
He had leaped from the ground – with only one leg – faster than she could perceive.
Izuku landed heavily a distance away and stood tall, barely looking like he was even extending any effort. His messy green hair was dulled from all the dust and dirt their fighting had stirred up, and his hero costume had some scuffs from the villain fight earlier, but otherwise he remained untouched and unconcerned. His eyes glowed crimson in an expressionless face.
Ochako choked back a sob at the sight of him.
She clenched her shaking fists in front of her and tried desperately to control the shivers wracking through her body, though her teeth continued to chatter. This was all so wrong.
Izuku rushed forward again, and she had the time of a heartbeat to reduce her own gravity, slapping her fingertips together hastily so that she had enough to stay grounded, but would be able to move as fast as he could. She twisted as his fist punched forwards and jumped as his foot swept along the ground. With something close to desperation Ochako tried and tried to touch him, knowing it was her only chance; she was beginning to tire. Her limbs were burning in aching protest at being pushed so much harder than she ever had before. But she had to keep going.
Punch. Dodge. Kick. Jump. Punch. Move move move.
She was panting with exertion but he kept coming for her. Ochako knew she needed some distance or her movements would slow too much and he’d land a solid hit. With a grunt of effort Ochako touched her fingertips together again and shoved as hard as she could with her feet, her bouncy soles giving her added momentum, making her sail backwards through the air. Her landing was harder than she intended, her knees nearly giving out, but she managed to stay standing and sucked a breath through her teeth while she rubbed away the sweat about to drip into her eyes with the palms of her dirty hands.
Izuku wiped at his own forehead, though the action seemed cold and detached somehow, like it was a tactical move – he would need optimum vision, and sweat would only impede his fight. But Ochako allowed herself a shaky grin. Finally, she’d started giving him some trouble.
She might finally be making him extend some energy, but she was at the end of the reserves of hers.
Ochako forced her grin into a weak, true smile, even though it broke her heart - he’d taught her how to smile even in the direst of circumstances, even when she was so afraid that she could barely breathe. It was something he’d learned from All Might himself, and then passed on to her too. They’d spent a whole evening poking and prodding each other’s cheeks, smiling and laughing into their tiny bathroom mirror.
Ochako grabbed a small bottle of sand from the belt at her hip and poured it into her hand, curling her fingers tightly around the grains, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
“You want a fight?” Ochako called, hating the way her voice cracked and wobbled. “Then come and get one.”
She knew this needed to end quickly, but this plan was going to hurt.
Izuku leaped at the same moment that she released the sand in her palm, throwing it in front of her while she dashed backwards. The sand floated densely in the air, devoid of gravity, and created a smokescreen that he wasn’t expecting. Ochako knew she had mere seconds to react before he blew it all away with a shockwave. She crouched low and dove for him.
He spun his leg in a circle almost instantly and the force of it blew away all her sand, as she knew it would, but Ochako had already launched herself to the ground with as much strength as she could muster in her shaking legs, and skidded across the tarmac below his range of attack. She felt his kick sail over her back and tasted dirt on her bloody lips. Now! Ochako’s nails scraped on the ground as she surged upwards. But Izuku had already recovered from his miss and kicked again.
Something crunched in her side as his metal shoe connected with her body.
Ochako sailed through the air and felt an arm snap like a twig as she slammed onto the ground, skidding and rolling across the tarmac, scraping the skin on her arms and cheeks.
She wheezed and coughed. Pain like a fire burned through every atom of her skin, her lungs strained with the effort of simply breathing and she cried out as she tried to move her arm. She gritted her teeth and winced as she propped herself up on her good elbow and blinked rapidly to clear her eyes of tears, moving her hand to grip the pain pain pain at her side as she pushed herself up slowly to her knees. Another wheeze wracked her shivering body as Ochako struggled to her feet. She stumbled slightly and let out a breath that slowly transformed into a laugh, ringing with a slightly hysterical edge.
Izuku was being pressed down to the floor by an invisible force. His body was flat to the ground, pushed down by something even stronger than he was, though she could see him struggling and straining from where she stood some distance away. It hurt to see him like that, but she was trying desperately to hold herself together and ignore the pain blurring her vision.
Up until that point in their fight she’d done nothing but avoid his attacks, so he clearly hadn’t counted on her allowing him to hit her. It was a ‘last resort’ kind of plan that Izuku would go mad at her for using, under normal circumstances, but it had been her only option. She’d had to anticipate where his foot would be so that she could touch him the moment his kick landed, able to use her quirk on him at the same moment they’d been forced apart by his attack. But the strain of increasing his gravity was taking its toll on her already damaged and exhausted body; her hands shook violently, her head was pounding and she could barely stand. The worst of it, worrying her the most, was that she couldn’t feel her left arm much anymore and her chest burned with every breath.
When all this was over she would be happy to receive the telling off she knew she deserved for her reckless plan, if only because it meant she would be hearing his voice again and he would be normal, and they would be together. Ochako bit her lip and let herself fall to her knees, finally letting her chest heave and choke out the sob she’d been containing for so long. Everything hurt; her legs, her head – (Gods, increasing gravity made her head hurt) – her arms, her ribs, her heart. She hadn’t thought her heart could ever feel like it was hurting so much she’d rather rip it out of her chest than let it go on. Tears mingled with the blood dripping down her cheek and something wet and warm trickled out of her nose as she fought to stay conscious.
“Help,” she croaked and coughed, hugging her broken body and keeping her eyes locked on the body lying on the tarmac.
Green lightning flashed across Izuku’s skin, but even he couldn’t fight against gravity.