Chapter Text
“This is exhausting.” Ochaco huffed, as she threw herself down into one of the lavish armchairs by the fire
Ochaco’s friend, who’d had his nose buried in his book up until now, jumped at her sudden appearance and let out a little squeak. He snapped his book shut and his wide, green eyes studied her with worry.
After recovering from his shock, he set his book beside his leg in the chair and shifted slightly to give Ochaco his better attention.
“Work again?” He asked
“Yeah, work again.” Ochaco replied
The boy across from her sighed in understanding.
“I know it’s hard.” He said
“Well wait until you hear what happened to me today, Izuku.” She said
“Well, I do love stories.” He chuckled
The brunette shot him a pouty glare.
“Just trying to lighten the mood. But that’s not what you want; got it.” He said, running his scarred hand through his messy green curls
Ochaco nodded curtly, then sat up more in her chair and proceeded to recount to Izuku the events that transpired during her day at work.
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Uraraka Ochaco was a young sorceress in training, who was currently studying at ‘Ultra Academy’. The best magic boarding school that sat in the center of a large campus, located just East in the main city. It was a wonderful school, with hidden classrooms, impressive history, credible teachers, and many other skilled students.
However U.A. was also imfamous for assigning their students to part-time jobs. One of the reasons was for the students to learn how to gather money on their own.
Another reason was to give them more everyday experience with magic.
And the third reason was to simply torture their students, because U.A. was full of sadists who enjoyed watching teenagers suffer.
...That last one is in fact: not ture. But Ochaco liked to think it was.
She hated her job.
Sure she got money.
Sure she got to use her magic freely.
And sure, she had a few other girls working with her that she enjoyed calling friends.
But if it weren’t for the other girls; Ochaco would’ve quit her job long ago whilst simultaneously pleading insanity.
‘Oi, Sweet Cheeks! Get over here!’
Case in point.
Ochaco scowled, sighed agitatedly, and politely excused herself from her interrupted conversation.
She put on an insanely sweet smile as she turned in the direction she’d been ‘called’ from.
Keeping her smile, she marched up to the knight who’d called out to her, and stopped once she was close enough.
“I have a name, Sir .” She said, through her teeth
“Yeah, Yeah.” The knight said, waving his hand in front of her face; dismissing her words and continuing on with his own, “My superior has assigned me and a few other Knights on a mission to the mountains.” He told her
“How; exciting .” Ochaco said fakely
The knights around here- being the huge, misogynistic jackasses they were- liked to boast to the working girls about what they were assigned to fight next, or how ‘impressive’ their ‘skill sets’ were.
None of the girls assigned to this knight agency were ever impressed, or interested, in any of the boys that also worked there.
“We’ll be gone for two weeks. We’ve been tasked to find and kill a very dangerous demon. “Apparently it’s been attacking and killing off anyone who climbs higher than 22 hundred feet.” He continued
“Hold brave of you to go after it, then.” Ochaco said, trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt
“I’m not here to boast, Witchy-poo.” He said
Ochaco’s eye twitched at the condescending nickname.
‘I’m not a Witch, I’m a Sorceress. There’s a difference JackAss.’ She thought angrily
Knights were easily the most pig-headed, cocky, privileged types of people, Ochaco had ever had the misfortune of interacting with.
Genuinely good knights were hard to come across now-a-days.
Ochaco only knew of two, and both of them were currently off at a specialized training camp for knights skilled enough to be trained as assassins instead.
Ochaco truly hoped Tenya and Momo were doing okay there.
She hoped they were having more fun than she was right now.
The knight snapped his fingers in Ochaco’s face.
“Hey are you listening to me.?” He snapped slightly
Ochaco blinked in surprise.
“Sorry, you were saying?” She replied simply
The other rolled his eyes and sighed as if he were dealing with an annoying child.
This made Ocahco want to hex this agency into space even more than she already did.
“I said: the superior tasked me with telling you that you’re our assigned healer for the duration of the mission.” He explained
Ocahco felt her stomach flip into an aggressive knot.
The sole reason she and the other sorceresses worked there, was to be on sight healers for injured knights, or to be mission healers for bands of knights that had to go away on trips.
Ochaco hated those trips.
She was always treated like a servant.
She was always looked down on like a lower class whenever she went on missions.
And Ochaco really couldn’t do much about it since she didn’t want to specifically get yelled at by a head knight for breaking someone’s arm and giving them a black eye…. again .
“Oh.!”
Ochaco’s voice got higher as she tried to keep her composer, “How wonderful! Thank you for informing me.” She said
“We leave in three days; be back here around 7. That’s when we’ll leave.
You’re dismissed.” the knight said, then turned on his heel and walked away
“Oh I’m dismissed now am I?” Ochaco muttered to herself in a pitchy voice, “Thank you so much for informing me of that, and so kindly telling me about the upcoming mission Mr. ‘I’m a dumb knight so clearly I’m better than you’ Pants.
I hope you choke on a chicken leg, or get eaten by the demon when we find it. ”
The young sorceress cursed him out all the way back to her friends, who immediately asked what had happened with worried expressions.
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Izuku huffed, and gave Ochaco an apologetic look.
“Jeez, I’m sorry about your luck.” He said
“That makes two of us.” Ochaco pouted, “Why can’t I just work with you in the Library.? I would be fine with organizing and putting away books all day.”
“I-It’s more than just that Ochaco.!” Izuku stuttered, “Besides it’s super boring.” He sighed
“Well from what you say, the head boy who works at the front desk isn’t boring.” Ochaco smirked
Izuku’s freckled face flushed a deep shade of red at the mention of the other boy who also worked in the library.
“Shut. Up!!!” He squealed and threw his chair’s decorative pillow at Ochaco’s face
She laughed and caught it, then turned her head towards the entrance of the sitting room they were in.
“Oh! Hi Todoroki! I didn’t see you come in!” She chirped happily
Izuku all out yelped and shot out of his chair to stand and hide behind it.
Todoroki wasn’t actually there at all, and when Izuku saw no sign of said boy, he lunged towards his friend and pushed her down into her armchair more for her ‘cruel teasing’.
Ochaco let out a small ’EEK’ as Izuku pushed her, but continued to cackle with laughter at her friend’s red face and embarrassment.
“Oh shove off and go pack for your mountain trip!” Izuku hissed, while picking up his book and walking away with a pout
Ochaco sat up, still giggling.
She knew where he was going.
“Say hi to Todoroki when you see him!” She called after Izuku
“He probably already says hi back.!” Izuku retorted as he finally left through the open room doors and rounded the corner out of sight.
~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>~>
Ochaco seriously hated her job.
She was awoken by a large outbreak of cries and screams, a little before the sun rose.
Desperate to see what was going on, she rushed to change from her sleeping ware to her daily clothes; but she tripped several times and even hit her head against the ground twice.
The camp was an easy set up & scout camp. Pop up tents, and shrinkable pick nick tables that could be easily packed away with the help of Ochaco’s magic.
Which meant that her tent was cold, small, and cramped.
Sure she could make things grow and shrink, but she hadn’t yet mastered how to make things bigger on the inside than they were on the outside.
But perhaps her haste to get dressed and her unfortunate trips were all for nothing, and the young sorceress was now wishing she’d stayed in her cozy cocoon of blankets and bedding; pretending as though she didn’t hear a thing.
“We’re only at 13 hundred feet.” She whispered
Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, her eyes were wide, and her breath ran quick.
All around her, lay complete destruction of what used to be the camp set up.
The tables and chairs-or what were left of them that is- were singed black, and either smoking or burning.
The other tents had been reduced to snapped poles, and scrap fabric.
But the worst?
Bodies of the knights covered the ground.
Some dead; some still dying.
However one thing was for sure:
Ochaco’s magic couldn’t save any of them.
She wasn’t a strong enough healer to bring people close to death back to life.
Her breath caught in her throat.
“No..” She whispered, as her eyes blurred with water
“No,no, no..! I didn’t really want them to die.”
Ochaco started to feel sick as she continued to servay what was now a silent battle field.
Weapons lay broken, or abandoned.
Some were even still clutched in dismembered hands or even whole arms.
The girl clutched at her stomach.
Blood, and gore, and death, and destruction sat just meters beyond her boots; and Ochaco could do nothing about it.
She’d failed.
Just as her legs felt weak, and she thought she was going to collapse, a hearty laugh ran overhead.
Ochaco looked up to find something sitting in the highest tree a few feet from her.
“That’s what you fuckers get for coming up to my mountain.!” It snapped, though a slight hint of amusement shone through in its voice
‘The demon.’ Ochaco thought with horror, and reached for the protection talisman in her skirt’s back pocket.
‘Shit.!’
It wasn’t there.
She was stuck now.
The only magic Ochaco could really do with just her bare hands was sealing small cuts, or heating up small cups of liquid. And even that took her some time.
Maybe the demon hadn’t noticed her yet.
Maybe, if she was really careful, Ochaco could crawl back into her tent and find the page in her grimoire that would help transport her back to U.A. grounds.
Tsuyu would probably let her hideout in her room for a few weeks before a rescue group went looking for the fallen band.
Ochaco could suddenly appear in front of the agency looking all beaten up and dusty.
She could explain what happened- add some drama here and there- and maybe she wouldn’t be blamed for the death of 13 young knights!
Yeah! That worked.!
“Oh. Looks like I missed one.”
Nevermind.
Ochaco’s heart beat faster in her chest, as she watched the shadow of the demon crawl down from the tree and land heavily on the ground.
‘What do I do, what do I do?!’ She thought panickedly, as the demon started to step out of the shadows and towards her
‘Think, think, think!
What would you Izuku do? What would Izuku do?’ Ochaco questioned, looking around for anything to defend herself with
“No man could ever defeat me.” It snapped
Ochaco’s eyes widened.
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not a man.” She replied, and ducked down for one for the most untouched swords on the ground
She stood back up and swung forward, slashing the demon’s stomach.
She placed the tip of the sword dowards, and studied the demon’s shadowy form.
Waiting for some sign of its death.
Its red eyes looked at Ochaco with an unimpressed stare, and it stepped up to her fully.
Ochcao was about the height of his chest.
He had a strong looking, built body, and menacing red eyes.
His short, spiky hair was ash blond, and dark horns grew from his head, while smaller paler one’s that more matched his skin tone, sprouted from his forehead.
His black claws were sharp, and his hands were dripping with red.
His long black demon tail swung behind him lazily and cat-like
And when his lips twisted into a snarl, Ochaco could see that his sharp teeth were stained with blood.
“Did you actually think I meant the male of your species when I said that?!” He asked, looking at Ochaco with a condescending but amused look in his face
That reminded Ochaco of all the knights the demon had just killed.
She was so tired of men looking down at her like that.
“Yeah!” She snapped, “I was kinda hoping for that outcome.” Her face screwed into her own scowl and she glared up into the demon's red eyes
But the demon only barked out a cruel laugh.
Showing Ochaco that, once again, she held no real importance.
Ochaco let out a frustrated grunt, stomped her foot and threw down the sword. Then she turned her back sharply to the demon and opened her tent. She grabbed her staff that lay on the ground and picked it out along with her grimoire.
She flipped through the book's pages, and used her magic to leave it hovering in the air while she proceeded to shrink and pack away her things and tent, into her travel bag.
The demon scrunched up his face.
“What the hell are you doing?” He asked rudely
“Packing up my things.” Ochaco replied shortly, not turning around to answer him
“I can see that.” The demon bit back through his teeth, clearly not liking how Ochaco was acting, “ Why are you doing that? Aren’t you going to try fighting me so I can kill you?!”
“No.” Ochcao said simply
“Why not?!” The demon snapped
This was clearly not how he wanted this situation to go.
“Because I’m not a stupid knight, I’m a soreceress. And I was brought here against my will, and I don’t intend on dying trying to fight someone who clearly overpowers me. That’s stupid. I mean, look what happened to all these idiots.” Ochaco quickly waved her hand to motion around at all the dead bodies
“I didn’t want to fight a demon. I’m just here because I’m forced to be her.” she said
“Why are you forced to be here then? If you’re not a knight.” The demon questioned
Ochaco sighed as her magic finally closed up her backpack.
She turned back to the demon.
“Like I said,” She sighed again, “I’m a sorceress, and the school I study at assigns work to their students. I, and a few of my friends, were assigned to work as healers at one of the closest knight agencies. But I hate my job and I was told , I was to come along on this trip to heal up whatever knights got hurt while looking for the demon-- you, I guess.” Ochaco explained
“But now that you’ve killed everyone, the mission is a fail, and I want to go home.”
The demon stared at her for a second, just blinking before he spoke.
“You’ve got an attitude don’t ‘cha.” He said bluntly
Ochaco puffed out her cheeks with anger, and forced the air through her mouth to keep from punching the blond in the face.
“I’m constantly talked down to and brushed off by every knight in that agency; and simply treated like I should be there, rather than choosing to be there out of pure goodness. They’re all pigheaded, and misogynistic. But in order to keep my job I have to keep a smile on my face. So excuse me if I’m finally done with boys talking to me like I’m unimportant.”
The demon raised his eyebrows.
“that..Sounds really shitty.” He said
Ochaco bent down, picked up her backpack, and put it on.
“Yep!” She agreed, then began marching away, “I don’t know what you do with what you destroy, but have fun with cleaning that up; have a good life Mr. Demon.” She told him
The demon looked shocked, before his face showed frustration.
“Hey! Wait up, Witchy!” He barked, and started marching after her
Ochaco turned sharply, and the demon almost ran into her.
“I am not a Witch! Witches and Sorceresses are different! Witches most often live in the woods, and work with natural elements and different Gods. They create spells that take lots of preparation and require a collection of many materials.
Sorceresses , pull from the non-physical elements within the matter of the universe to do things right away or create powerful attack or defence spells. We’re more showy than Witches are, but our magic works faster and is most of the time physically stronger. Witches are about spirit, and Sorceresses are about strength.” Ochaco snapped
“Alright, alright! I get it! You’re a Sorceress , not a Witch . Fuck.” He growled, rolling his red eyes
“You’re a prick. You know that?!” Ochaco said suddenly
The demon narrowed his eyes, and growled fiercely at her.
Smoke billowed from his mouth thinly, while thicker clouds rose up from his hands.
“ Say it again. And I’ll kill you . ” He threatened
Ochaco looked unimpressed.
“Sure. Go ahead. but I’m going home.” Ochaco said, and turned around again, making her way back down the mountain
She planned to reach the cave she saw at the 5 hundred meter mark they passed two days ago. Once she got there she’d look for her transportation spell that would simply take her back to the school’s campus.
Then Ochaco would be done with this nightmare of a trip, and could put it behind her as nothing but an awful memory.
The demon huffed in annoyance from behind Ochaco, and turned around to deal with the mess he’d made moments ago.