Chapter Text
Uraraka was in such a good mood. She’d just had a great training session with Deku, and she hadn’t blushed even once. They were about to start their second year, and Shinsou was going to join Class 1-A.
As she walked back to the dorm, a black liquid spurted out of her mouth, choking and acrid. It swallowed her and spat her back out in a room with no windows, no furniture, only a single overhead light and a door.
She was frightened and disoriented, but not as surprised as she might have been. After Bakugou had gotten kidnapped, they’d all attended a special lecture on what to do if a similar situation happened. The atmosphere in the class had been solemn, and it had made a deep impression on Uraraka, that they were here to become heroes, and fight against real villains. True evil.
When she’d been a kid, she hadn’t considered the “beating up bad guys” aspect of the job as much as “saving people” and making people smile.
Before she could react in any way, she felt a prick in her neck and unconsciousness dragged her under.
When she awoke, she was in a different room, so dark she could barely see. Her head was killing her and her mouth was so dry it felt she’d swallowed a whole desert. She felt weak and shaky, like she the time she hadn’t eaten dinner for a whole week straight, only much worse.
But she was here now, and so she kept as calm as she possibly could, trying to be ready for anything.
The most pressing question for her was why? The League of Villains had captured Bakugou because of his behaviour at the podium at the Sports Festival. They’d thought that they could turn him over to their side. Uraraka couldn’t think of anything she’d done to attract their attention in that way. Did they think she’d ever join them?
She hadn’t had as much contact with the villains as Bakugou or Deku, except for the attack in the training ground forest. She shuddered as she remembered the girl she’d pinned to the ground, her ecstasy as she rambled on about being friends and having a crush on someone. She hoped that that girl wasn’t around.
Another person she hoped wouldn’t be there was Shigaraki Tomura, the apparent leader of the League. She remembered his dead looking eyes, his cracked face, and chillingly casual threats to kill innocent bystanders. Deku had been so brave even as Shigaraki’s hand wrapped around his neck, and even an accidental shift on his part could’ve ended his life.
She had to be brave now.
She took stock of her self. She was uninjured, she still had her quirk, and she hadn’t been restrained in any way. That was a little insulting, but mostly a relief. The door was, of course, locked. She jiggled the handle fruitlessly, wishing she had a hairpin. That lessened the possibility that they’d captured her in order to turn her to their side. But then why would they have targeted her?
It couldn’t be for ransom or leverage, she wasn’t connected to anyone important. Could it have been random? The stated aim of the League of Villains was to bring down hero society. A good way to do that was to shake the public’s trust in heroes, and a seconding kidnapping of a U.A. student was like saying that the heroes were powerless to protect anyone. But then why her? Out of all the students in U.A. why her?
Todoroki or Deku would make much better targets, as the son and protege of the current and former number one heroes. She wasn’t connected to anyone important at all.
Unfortunately, her thoughts were all she had to occupy her for a full day. She was so hungry, and thirsty. Most likely they were leaving her alone in order to increase her unease and throw her off balance. She was, but mostly relieved. The longer they stayed away from her, the longer the heroes had to find her location and rescue her. She was sure Tsuyu, Iida or Deku had noticed her absence by now and alerted the teachers. Of course, she didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, but it couldn’t have been more than a day or two, judging by her state of hunger.
Bakugou had been in captivity for a few hours until he’d been rescued. She only hoped that her own rescue would be as swift and bloodless. Only, that had been when All Might was still an active hero. She remembered his spine chilling message as he stood, triumphant over evil for the last time, “You’re next”. She wished, selfishly, that All Might still had his abilities. He’d seemed so invincible for so long.
But no, they couldn’t rely solely on the Symbol of Peace anymore. Every hero, and hero in training, had to step up and do their part. Including her, right now. This situation, while terrifying, still presented an opportunity to gather information about the League of Villains, which operated in secret.
She wished Deku was here. There go her feelings again, even in a situation as dire as this. He’d offered to walk back to the dorm with her, but she could clearly see he wanted to train more on his own, always testing out new ideas and seeking to improve. She’d been thrilled at the offer, but firmly tamped down on her feelings. Becoming heroes came first. Practically running from the training hall, too flustered to look back beyond a quick, “See you later, Deku, have a nice training session!” She’d missed the slightly crestfallen look on his face.
She hoped he wasn’t too upset about her disappearance, not even to blame himself in any way. She could easily picture him doing that, even though he wasn’t at fault in any way. She also hoped he wasn’t coming to rescue her (ok, in her deepest most girlish centre of her heart she did sort of wish he would come), but Aizawa had been clear that the Bakugou incident had been the very last straw, and his hero career would be over if he committed another infraction.
Uraraka WAS unnerved. She hadn’t seriously prepared for a situation like this. She had listened intently during the lecture, but she never imagined it would happen to her. That was the worst part, not knowing what was going on at all. Would someone ever come into the room at any point? Were they just going to let her starve to death?
She couldn’t hear a single sound apart from her own breathing for hours and hours and hours. The strain of trying to be alert and ready was getting to her. No, she had to be strong, she had to be brave, like Deku. She was just as determined to be a hero.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the doorknob clicked. She’d been half dozing off, despite her efforts to stay awake, but jumped up in a ready stance immediately.
Only to be completely floored when Deku stepped through the door, wearing his hero costume. She was so relieved and shocked she almost ran to him, but something stopped her immediately. It was the look in his eyes, restrained glee and excitement. Deku wouldn’t be excited to see her in this place, even if he was here to rescue her. He’d be concerned, first and foremost.
“Himiko Toga.” Dread seized her insides, even as determination stiffened her limbs. It was just so wrong seeing Deku’s face with a sadistic smile on it. She hoped that the deception failing meant she would drop the guise of her best friend, but her hopes were sorely disappointed.
Instead the villain giggled in delight, rambling about how you could always tell about the person you loved. Uraraka’s heart beat faster and adrenaline rushed through her veins. The villain was insane, talking as if she truly believed they were friends. He-no, she was also unarmed, as far as Uraraka could tell, but she couldn’t let her guard down. She had to be ready for anything.
“Why am I here?” She demanded, proud that her voice didn’t shake. Toga paused mid giggle, looking her up and down in a way Uraraka didn’t understand, but unnerved her more than anything else had so far. Deku’s appearance being used by this villain made her feel sick, and angry.
“You’re here because of Izuku of course, “ Toga breathed, looking more excited than Uraraka had ever seen her. Deku’s voice was copied, pitch perfectly, but he’d never, ever sounded like this before. Every syllable was dripping in sadistic delight.
“What do you mean?” She asked, confused. That made no sense at all. Why would they kidnap her because of Deku? Because of his connection to All Might?
“Because Izuku loves you, and I love you! We’re going to be together now. Aren’t you happy Ochako-chan? Doesn’t it make you feel good, to be with the one you love?”
She’d had just about enough of this. Uraraka reacted, her battle training kicking in as Toga lunged at her, a blade appearing in her hand. She dodged the first wild slash, and then the next, then grabbed her wrist, trying to twist the knife out of her hand. She couldn’t hesitate to attack just because she looked like Deku. She couldn’t afford to underestimate Toga.
The room they were in was too cramped. She had to be conscious of her surroundings if she was going to survive.
Much to her shock, Toga allowed the blade to drop from her hand. The lack of resistance threw Uraraka off, making her hesitate. Another blade appeared in Toga’s hand, and Uraraka threw herself backward to avoid being stabbed through the gut, but couldn’t avoid a small nick that tore through her blazer and blouse. Oh, that made her angry. She’d have to mend the tears, because she couldn’t afford a replacement uniform.
Uraraka leaped forward, going on the offensive, aiming a strike at Toga’s face. She tried with all her might not to hold back. It’s not Deku, it’s not Deku, she repeated to herself, driving forward. And it wasn’t Deku, at all. Toga’s fighting style was erratic, undisciplined. She was quick, and dangerous to be sure, but she wasn’t a hero. She was more suited to stealth and hit and run tactics.
Uraraka finally got a solid hit in, her fist connecting solidly with Deku’s freckled cheek. Toga stumbled back, stunned and Uraraka pressed her advantage, yanking the knife out of her hand and throwing it into the mattress. In the days and weeks to come, she would regret not keeping a hold of it.
Uraraka prepared to strike again when a burst of blue flame forced her back. She shriek in surprise more than pain. Her blazer had caught on fire.
“I told you to sedate her first.” Dabi. The serial killer. This was bad. Uraraka leapt onto the floor, rolling around to smother the flames. She tried to scramble to her feet as quick as possible, but Toga was on her, twisting her arms behind her back and pinning her to the ground, just as Uraraka had once done to her.
“What would be the fun in that?” Toga giggled insanely in Deku’s voice and it just sounded so wrong. Uraraka forced herself to be calm. Struggling right now would only dislocate her shoulders.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” Dabi sighed, sounding bored. This was really bad. She needed to keep calm, but it was hard. Toga was so excited she was trembling. Dabi’s footsteps sounded closer and closer. He was going to sedate her, not burn her to a crisp, Uraraka tried to convince herself, gathering her courage.
When he crouched down right next to her, Uraraka reacted, kicking Toga in the back, causing her grip to loosen just a tiny bit. Uraraka seized her wrist and Deku’s voice exclaimed in shock as Toga’s gravity was canceled. Uraraka pushed herself to go as fast as she possibly could. This could be her last and only chance.
She grabbed onto Toga’s flailing leg and threw her in Dabi’s direction, catching him directly on his scarred chest and hoping he wasn’t crazy enough to burn his own comrade. She needed to get out of this confined room. Toga maybe she could handle, but Dabi could incinerate her moving barely an inch. The second mistake she’d regret is not disposing of the sedative needle, especially when two seconds after she ran out of the room, down a hall, it stung her lightly in the crook of her knee.
Uraraka collapsed instantly, paralysed. Toga and Dabi circled around her and she was abruptly yanked off the ground. Dabi glared at her murderously, blue flames flickering over his hand. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even flinch or gasp, only stared as his hand inched closer to her face. He was going to burn her face.
“Dabi, stop.” Her heart pounded madly in her chest. She couldn’t feel relief, not when Shigaraki Tomura himself strode casually down the hall towards them.
“I wasn’t gonna kill her,” Dabi said, sounding less angry and more bored now. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he’d directly defy an order from his boss.
“Shiggy-chan! We’ve been having so much fun!” It was so surreal hearing that come from Deku’s mouth. Don’t panic. Don’t panic.
She couldn’t help it. She couldn’t move at all, barely even her eyes shifted. Only her heart pounded madly. She could feel Dabi’s rough scarred hand on her cheek, but she kept her eyes on Shigaraki Tomura. Out of all of them, he was the most dangerous one, even if he didn’t look like much.
“That’s good, Toga. Take her back to the room. Dabi, let’s go.”
Toga bounded forward, scooping her into her arms easily, with surprising strength. She thought that the extent of her quirk was to copy appearances. Did it now extend to physical abilities? Quirks?
Dabi didn’t protest, and stalked off. Shigaraki Tomura stared after them a bit and from the cradle of Deku’s-no it was Toga- arms, Uraraka stared back, unable to read the emotion, if any, he had in his eyes.
He didn’t have those severed hands on his face, and his face looked as horrific as ever. But before they turned back into the room where she’d been held and she lost sight of him, she could’ve sworn he looked…sorry.
Toga closed the door behind them and dropped Uraraka to the mattress with surprising gentleness. Uraraka tried to twitch even a single finger, but nothing happened. She couldn’t even open her mouth. Only muffled pants and strained noises issued from her throat.
What Toga did next shocked her to the core. Uraraka wasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t for Deku’s gloved hand to gently brush her hair out of her face, then start stroking her cheek. The rough material was cool against her flushed face. Her heart was still pounding madly from the fight, but her adrenaline rush was starting to fade, and the cold grip of fear crept over her heart. What was happening.
“Ochako-chan, you’re so strong and amazing. I haven’t had so much fun in a long time,” Why did Toga keep using Deku’s body and voice? Wasn’t her quirk based on blood? Why was she wasting the blood she had to keep this form? What was going on?
Stop. Take that face off.
The stroking continued, and Deku’s kind green eyes lit up with a mad light. Toga had been eerily excited from the start, and throughout the fight clearly enjoyed herself, so unlike Deku, who always fought with a look of determination, and not this sick enjoyment of causing pain. The look in Deku’s eyes shifted and changed, and the hand that was stroking her cheek drifted over to her lips.
Then Toga leaned down over her and bit her. Uraraka had never been so shocked in her entire life. It felt so unreal, and painful, that for a second she thought this must be a nightmare. Maybe she’d hit her head during training and she’d wake up back at U.A.
It only got worse from there. Toga breathed in-was she smelling her? Uraraka still didn’t understand what was happening.
Then she started to suck on her neck. Uraraka could’ve sworn her heart stopped. Her mind went blank with confusion.
“You taste so good, Ochako-chan,” Deku’s voice panted against her neck. This was wrong. This was all wrong. A sick trembling started in her heart, and though she tried to stop it, her eyes started to well with tears.
Get off me. Stop touching me. Don’t use his voice. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. She was trapped in her own body, powerless to stop it as Toga touched her.
Despite everything, somehow Uraraka didn’t expect it when Toga slashed her shirt and blazer off, uncaring that the blade nicked her skin, scoring down her breastbone and arms. It hurt. The cool air against her bare skin was shocking in a way she couldn’t describe. The warm blood seemed to rush down her skin, driven by the wild galloping of her heart, beating so fast and hard against her ribs that it hurt.
Stop. Stop it. Uraraka closed her eyes, unable to bear it. She hated this villain so much right now, for using her dearest friend’s face to do this to her. She would rather Toga had transformed into anyone else, Tsuyu, her parents, anyone. As much as it shamed her to admit. And she didn’t know why. Why was this happening right now?
Please, someone come and save her.
“Ah, ah, ah, Ochako-chan, I want to see your eyes. Look at me or else I’ll slit your throat, “ Toga purred lasciviously. Uraraka opened her eyes immediately. Despite that Shigaraki Tomura had seemed to want her alive, Toga was the most unstable and unpredictable person she’d ever met. She couldn’t assume that she wouldn’t make good on her threat.
Her stomach heaved, bile crawling up her throat. Deku’s face was dripping blood, his eyes filled with adoration. It’s not real, it’s not the real Deku. Still it hurt. It hurt so much to see Deku’s fluffy green hair as Toga nuzzled at her chest, and his kind features twisted in sadistic, lustful excitement. She tried to be strong, and brave, and endure like Deku, but she couldn’t. This was a nightmare.
Please, please just stop.
Uraraka didn’t know how long it was as Toga viciously alternated between slashing at her hands, feet, arms and torso and praising and touching her. She could only wait, limp, as tears blurred her vision. It hurts. I’m scared. Not Deku. Please someone, anyone else.
“Does it hurt Ochako-chan? You look so cute covered in blood, I love you so much,”
How could anyone be so cruel? It was Deku’s face saying these things, his freckles that she’d always thought were cute, his green eyes, even the slight dimple on his right cheek. The words she’d dreamed of hearing him say one day, warped into something horrifying.
Toga lifted her knife up, and plunged it into her chest. Uraraka reeled from the shock and the pain. Her mind went blank with terror. I don’t want to die. Her only thought drove her desperately. Her muscles seized with pain from how hard she was trying to move. One of her hands slipped to the ground and she activated her quirk out of pure adrenaline. Nothing happened, of course. She was touching the ground. She couldn’t cancel the gravity of the ground.
As she stared up into the green eyes of her best friend, and if she was going to die, she might as well admit it to herself, the boy she loved, she kept her quirk active, even though it was hopeless. If she died, she wanted to die at least trying.
Toga leered excitedly at the blood gushing from her wounds, and her green hair…maybe it was just the panic and adrenaline, but it seemed like Deku’s gravity-defying mop was…falling downward?
Finally, after an eternity of pain and horror, Toga seemed to convulse in ecstasy and collapsed on top of her, breathing hard. Uraraka’s lungs burned as his weight crushed her down and all her cuts stung horribly. She struggled to breath, panicking when Toga wouldn’t let up. Her mind went black with sheer terror and her vision started to fade. Was this how it ended? Would she die here at the hands of this villain, wearing Deku’s skin? She’d never become a hero, only a tragic victim.
Toga pushed herself up just as Uraraka truly thought she would die, and air rushed into her lungs as she gasped and panted. To her horror, a pitifully scared whimper crawled out of her throat when it seemed like Toga would either stab or touch her again. But she only patted her on the cheek, blissful contentment on those wrong features, the first expression that even resembled anything Deku would wear. She’d seen him like that as they chatted on the couch at night, tired after a long day of training, but happy.
“Thank you, Ochako-chan, you’ve made me so happy. Aren’t you happy too? You got to be with the one you love,” Horror wrenched in her stomach and she almost gagged. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be real.
“Don’t worry, we’re not gonna kill you,” Toga maybe thought she sounded reassuring, but Uraraka only continued to cry, whimpering.
Please don’t touch me again. She never wanted anything as much as she wanted that in her entire life.
“You must be wondering why this is all happening,” Toga continued, calmly, as if she hadn’t just tortured another human being while shape-shifted to look like her best friend. Her…crush.
“Don’t worry, Shiggy-chan is gonna explain everything now. I wish we could play more, but I’ve gotta go. Bye~” with that she hopped up and exited the room, even giving a cheerful wave before she left, as if they’d just had a fun tea party. Horror choked her throat along with the fear and pain. How could anyone be so insane? So happily cruel?
She didn’t even transform back into her normal form before she left. They wouldn’t even give her the relief of seeing that it wasn’t Deku.
Shigaraki Tomura entered the room and right then Uraraka wanted to die. She’d never felt so ashamed and exposed her entire life. The all consuming thought- I wanna die- even banked the fires of fear in her mind. She was so helpless she wouldn’t be able to do a single thing to prevent him from hurting or killing her. He could do whatever he wanted and she’d just have to endure it.
He stopped just short of the mattress and casually sat down with a sigh, right next to her feet. Her shoes were still on, Uraraka noted dimly.
How could these people be so casual about this? This level of insanity went beyond what she’d ever imagined.
“Uraraka Ochako. There’s only one reason why this happened to you,” Shigaraki stated, staring at her straight in the eyes. Uraraka blinked, tears streaking down her temples. She was so ashamed she couldn’t even be thankful he was only staring at her eyes. The hint of remorse from before- she must have imagined it. Because there was nothing at all in his red, dull eyes right now. It was like he wasn’t even alive.
“We took you because of Midoriya Izuku.”
Her world stopped dead. What did he mean by that?
His voice was dispassionate, but a flash of hatred crossed his face when he mentioned Deku.
“We’re going to let you go. We’re not going to kill you. I wanted to hurt Midoriya Izuku, so this happened to you. This is all his fault,” Shigaraki spat, smiling a little bit with his cracked lips. Like the thought of hurting Deku brought him genuine joy.
No. No. Why? Why would they do this? Hurt Deku? What grudge did they have against him?
“The heroes are almost here, “ dread pierced her heart. Before she’d wanted to be rescued more than anything, but she didn’t want anyone to see her like this. Please, not Deku. She'd rather die than let him see her like this.
“And when you see him, I want you to tell him this. Tell Midoriya Izuku that he failed. That he couldn’t protect you. Tell him he’s no hero, there’s no such thing as heroes. Tell him it’s his fault that this happened,” Shigaraki was almost screaming towards the end, even though his voice barely raised in volume. His eyes were livid with hatred. He didn’t seem to be addressing her anymore, but some other person.
With that he closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and stood up, walking out of the room without a second glance at her. He didn’t even close the door behind him.
Uraraka lay there, stunned at what had just happened. It made no sense, why? Why did this villain hate Deku so much? To the point of using her to get at him? This couldn’t be real.
She didn’t know how long it had been since she’d been overpowered and drugged, but she needed to get up. Her wounds were sluggishly bleeding still. None of the cuts were deep, but there were so many, dozens littered all over her in a grotesque patchwork. She’d never be able to forget the wild pleasure in Toga’s eyes- Deku’s eyes, as she lapped up the blood.
Her cuts burned, skin cold except for where her warm blood dripped out. She shivered, feeling hollow and used.
One thought dominated above all else. She needed to get up. She couldn’t let the heroes see her like this. A victim, helpless and weak.
Concentrating with all her might, she tried to move her fingers, face, toes, anything. It seemed like hours before she could finally twitch. Was she going to die before the heroes could get here? None of her wounds were deep, but there were so many, she’d lost count. She might die of blood loss. Panicked, she struggled even harder.
One finger finally curled inwards and relief rushed through her like a storm. Slowly, bit by bit she struggled to her feet, wincing in pain as her cuts split and shifted. There was nothing to cover herself with, but, shaking hard, she closed her tattered shirt, painfully eased off her blazer, and tied it around her chest.
Just as she’d accomplished that, a huge boom rocketed through the building. Heroes. Come to save her. There were sounds of shouts and rushing feet, but it didn’t seem like there was fighting. Maybe the League had already fled.
Still, that didn’t mean she was out of danger yet. Slowly, agonisingly, she raised to her feet, but just as she was about to take a step forward, the door burst open and the familiar form of her teacher appeared.
“Sensei,” she cried, trembling. She almost took a step forward, when a horrifying thought struck her. What if it was Toga again? But then again, Toga wouldn’t look so horrified. She’d never seen Aizawa so stricken in her entire life. And then he did something that she’d never forget, never stop being grateful for in her entire life.
He closed the door behind him so that no one else could see them. It was him. There was no doubt. She was safe.
“Sensei,” she said again, shaking, crying like a child. She couldn’t help it. She couldn’t say anything else.
Eraserhead took off his goggles, his hair dropping down over his pale face. Slowly, trying not to alarm her, he stripped off his black shirt, revealing a white long-sleeved shirt underneath, and handed it to her.
She tried to catch it, but her hands were shaking too much, and slippery with blood. It dropped to the ground, and suddenly it was all too much. She collapsed, her eyes wide with tears streaming down.
Aizawa bent down and gently helped her into the shirt and lifted her up.
“Can you walk?” He asked, in a steady voice. She drew strength from that, trying to calm herself, rubbing at her eyes and smearing blood into them.
Leaning heavily on him, she limped out of the room where her nightmare had occurred and down the hall, trying to focus on putting one foot in front of her. The sounds of shouting grew nearer and nearer, and they turned the hall into a wide open space, a warehouse by the look of it, absolutely packed and swarming with heroes and police.
Oh no. Dread filled her and her blood pressure dropped. Her vision started to black out and she stumbled, clutching onto her teacher with a death drip.
Before she lost consciousness entirely, a wild desperation seizing her she said, “Don’t let Deku see me like this,” and that last thought echoed in her mind as she finally fell into darkness.