Chapter Text
“Katsuki- watch out!”
The slashing spell charged towards the barbarian king, its pulsating purple magic looming over him with no chance of stopping. It seemed like it was over, that he’d finally been caught off-guard by this stupid overpowered sorcerer. There wasn’t enough time for him to turn around and counter it with his fire, if his fire could even do a single goddamn thing against it.
His life flashed before his eyes, lit up in a violet hue. His first steps, watching his dragon familiar hatch, his father teaching him how to rule a kingdom and wield his elemental magic… and then, there was her.
At first, Katsuki couldn’t believe the audacity of the gods to allow such a bright, beautiful, irritatingly cheerful person into his life. And then, he quickly realised, he couldn’t believe her own audacity for making him fall for her. It had, admittedly, been love at first sight. But he was so stuck waist-deep in the swamp of his own denial that he had mistaken it for annoyance. Just the sight of her pink cheeks and her dazzling smile had set him off, the unfamiliar sparks in his stomach crackling onto his palms and dancing into his firey attitude.
He’d definitely flirted with her, in his own way, even before he knew what he was doing. Showing her more attention than anyone else, always teasing and provoking her to be stronger. Uraraka had seemed so withdrawn when they’d first met, holding back her own elemental magic and opting to take a backseat so she could heal their party members instead.
Seeing her hold herself back, to preserve people’s feelings - people who were clearly weaker than her anyway - in spite of her own abilities… it really pissed him off.
One night, he had wound her up so much that she finally snapped, agreeing to spar with him in the woods just outside of their camp. He’d told her not to hold back, to give him everything that she had - because he certainly wouldn’t be afraid to kick her ass - and to his surprise she’d agreed.
They’d faced each other in a small clearing, and he couldn’t stop himself from admiring how beautiful she’d looked in the moonlight. Her cute round face was steeled and determined, the cool night wind making her auburn hair flutter in the breeze, making it look like it was floating around her. She looked like an angel, albeit one that was definitely about to give him a run for his money.
Admittedly, at this point, he really didn’t know the full extent of her powers. At best, he had a grasp on the fact that her elemental magic was air based, but considering the way she had held back with it in battles up to this point, he had no idea what was in store for him.
It wasn’t until he was flat on his back, with Uraraka’s strong thighs restricting his neck and her hand pinning his head to the forest floor, that he realised what had happened. His eyes had widened as he took in her gloating smirk and the way that the wind was keeping his limbs splayed on the ground beneath her. Suddenly his heart was swept from underneath him, much like his legs had been not two seconds earlier. He was no longer in denial, he could no longer hide the fact that he was in the presence of a literal goddess. One that he swore then and there to pledge his life and loyalty to until the day he died.
Even if he’d wanted to get up, he wouldn’t. Katsuki was so deadly sure in that moment that he would happily spend the rest of his existence beneath this gorgeous, breathtaking woman. He couldn’t believe that she’d literally just knocked the sense into him.
All of a sudden, his body was bowled out of the way by what felt like a brick wall. The purple flash of magic narrowly missed him as he fell to the floor, something heavy and warm and… wet? Landing on top of him.
For a second, he kept his eyes closed, just thankful that he hadn’t met his end at the hand of some no-good fuckin’ final boss type bad guy. Then, the thing on top of him pulled in a rattling breath, whimpering in pain. His eyes snapped open and he hissed in shock to see Uraraka- Ochako was the thing that had saved him. She’d probably shoved him out of the path of the spell using her body and her magic.
Katsuki’s heart fluttered as he realised what she’d done for him - right before it dropped into an endless chasm as he saw the consequences of her actions. She had saved his life, but now he realised why it had felt so oddly wet.
Large, deep gashes were slashed across her arm and her back, purple sparks from the spell flashing across them so they wouldn’t naturally close. Blood spilled from each cut, coating them both in glistening crimson.
It was like the world had stopped spinning, time had halted in its tracks. Like the battle was playing out around them in slow motion while his brain desperately tried to think of any kind of solution. No… no! She couldn’t- he wouldn’t let her-
Panic flared up, clouding his mind as his hands reached out to grab her. Sitting up, he cradled her to his chest with one muscular arm, and used the other to whip off his cloak and bundle her up in it, hoping that if he wrapped her up tight enough it might just be enough to stop some of the bleeding.
Luckily, the rest of their party was keeping the sorcerer and his minions at bay, slowly weaning them down with each successful blow. So they remained uninterrupted as he held Ochako to him, his arms protectively wound around her as his eyes desperately searched her own. She was still so beautiful, even like this. His heart broke as she scrunched her face up in pain, her hands clinging to him for dear life.
“K… Katsuki…” She murmured, trying to sit up.
Ah. So maybe less clinging on to him and more using him as leverage. It was okay, his goddess could use him however she wanted to.
“Shut up, you dumbass. What the hell did you think you were doing, huh?” He scolded her, helping her upright and making sure her wounds were somewhat bandaged up. Fat lot of good it actually did, but he knew it would have to do until he could defeat the asshole that did this to her.
“Is that… all the thanks I get for- for saving your life?” Ochako countered, her voice weak and unsteady, but that same gloating smirk still played across her lips. Katsuki found it infuriatingly attractive.
“We can deal with that later.” He grunted, helping her to prop her back up against a tree. “Just… stay here. I swear, if you die on me, cheeks. I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Noted.” She said, grimacing as she tried to touch the wounds on her back. Katsuki gently slapped her hands away, shooting her a stern, but caring look. “Alright… jeez. Sorry, I won’t- I won’t touch it.”
“Good girl.” Katsuki said it before he could stop himself, and quickly regretted it. He pretended like he hadn’t said it at all, and kneeled down in front of her, pressing his forehead to her own. “Thank you, Ochako.”
That was all he said, before he stood back up again, giving her one last careful look-over. If he was going to end this battle and get her the help she needed, he was going to have to do this quickly. Fuck, she looked pale.
His jaw clenched and his hand squeezed into fists before he turned back towards the battle. Right. Let’s kill this magical motherfucker.
Flames burst from his hands and licked up his arms as he charged in, the only thing on his mind being his gorgeous goddess, and getting some well-deserved revenge for her. His rage seared through him like magma, boiling to the surface with each punch of his fists, each fireball that shot from his magic, each primal, furious roar that ripped from his throat.
It looked like it was nearly over, that the sorcerer was standing on his last feet. The party had banded together (barring Ochako) and was ready to give one last, final attack. Their enemy looked desperate, dangerous - but he was doubly so.
This was no longer just about his country and his people, his crown and the stability of the land. Arguably, it was just that much more important than that to him, now. This fucker had messed with the person he loved most in the world, and he wanted them dead.
Not that… she even knew he felt that way about her.
He gave a nod over to Deku, who nodded back, signalling that it was time. The other boy’s arms charged with green electricity as he readied himself, the magic he’d inherited flowing through him like it was truly his own now. In a way, Katsuki was proud of him. Throughout this journey, he’d really seen his childhood friend grow as both a person and a hero, no longer comparing himself to the lineage of magic users before him - but seeing himself as his own, stronger and better person.
A signature, cocky smirk tugged at Katsuki’s lips. One by one, each party member lined up and readied themselves for the last push. One final attack and it would all be over.
“So.. It has come to this?” The sorcerer murmured as he began readying his defence. It came a split second too late, but Katsuki saw something in his adversary’s eyes that seemed way too comfortable with the fact that he looked like he was going to lose.
The barbarian began to falter, but the rest of the party had already begun to move. Swords clashed, magic shot around the battleground, cries of war and determination rang through the air. Katsuki joined in, but something about it seemed… off.
Suddenly, the sorcerer dropped to the floor, slamming his hands against the ground. A tsunami of his dark, purple magic surged through the earth, knocking the party back. Every one of them went down. Every. Single. One.
Katsuki felt a wave of pain wash through him as the ground seemed to give way beneath him. He felt like he was falling, and he tensed up, waiting to hit the ground. When he didn’t, he opened his eyes, only to find out that he wasn’t falling. He was floating.
There was only one person he knew who was able to do something like that.
His head whipped around, and he looked on in dismay as he saw his love, his goddess, his Ochako, pale and trembling on her feet. It looked like she was biting the inside of her cheek raw just to keep herself standing while her wounds magically kept themselves open.
She took a shaky step forward, then another, seeming to gain strength with each step. Katsuki could hear the sorcerer laughing, though as he looked back over to the beacon of evil, he could see that their enemy, too, was looking weak. That last-ditch effort must have taken a lot of energy out of him.
“How dare you.” He heard Ochako growl, his body slowly lowering to the floor. Once his feet touched down, he rushed over to her, but she brushed him away. “You burned down my village, enslaved my parents, killed countless numbers of innocent people to turn into your thralls…”
“Oh yeah, and what are you going to do about it?” The sorcerer jeered, shakily getting back to his own feet. “You look like you’re going to drop dead any second! I think, when you do, I’ll turn you into one of mine. I’m sure your lovely boyfriend over there will enjoy having to fight your undead corpse!!”
“He’s not my-” She blurted out, her deathly pale cheeks gaining a little bit of colour before she got back to what was actually important. Her adorable face twisted into a cruel frown as she shot her arm out, commanding the wind to knock the sorcerer onto his knees. Katsuki noticed that her hand was trembling. “You picked the wrong witch to fuck with.”
The wind picked up around them, and Ochako screwed her eyebrows together in concentration, her legs growing shakier by the second. Katsuki couldn’t be idle any longer, he moved closer to her, respecting her power enough to know that she would only need him for balance. She was strong, so strong. But knowing how wounded she was, his body was electric with worry for her.
“What are you going to do, keep blowing on me until you keel over?” The sorcerer taunted once again, struggling to break free of the gale now circling around him. Ochako didn’t respond, but Katsuki knew for a fact that her powers, and her body, were growing significantly weaker the longer she exerted herself. She was concentrating everything into this, and he knew she would push until she had nothing left. He had to intervene.
“Shut up and die, asshole.” Katsuki yelled. Maybe not the best comeback, but he’d never really been one for words.
He raised his own hand, letting his flames join her air. The sparks of his magic drank up the increased oxygen she was providing them, dancing into the flow of the wind like it was always meant to be. Katsuki watched as their magic intertwined, the intimate display both dreadful and beautiful to watch.
It was only the screams of the sorcerer as he was burned alive in their cage of fire that brought him out of his trance. But even though he was desperate to watch the man who’d threatened the life of his people suffer the brutal death he deserved, he only had eyes for the woman beside him.
She was brutal, and gorgeous. The orange light of his magic caressed her round cheeks and illuminated the tears that fell from her perfect brown eyes. His arm moved around her, keeping her steady as they shared this final, deadly blow. His strength was her strength, his heart hers to keep. He watched as the malicious purple sparks digging into her wounds fizzled out, just as the screaming stopped.
Ochako managed to stay there for a few seconds longer, her jaw clenched in steadfast determination while her body swayed and shivered with the shock. When she fell, he was there to catch her, holding his love in his arms as she lost consciousness. His cloak was still wrapped around her as he carried her bridal-style, using his furnace-like body heat to keep her warm.
She was still breathing, but it was shallow. God, he hoped he could get her help in time.